Episode 161 - The IAS Machine
Jul 13, 2025•1 hr 3 min•Ep. 161
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Episode description
The first batch of digital computers emerge directly following WWII. The hallmark of this generation is uniqueness: no two computers are the same. However, there is a machine that bucks that trend. The IAS Machine, built in Princeton in the late 1940s, served as the inspiration for at least a dozen later computers. But how similar were these Princeton-class computers? What exactly was so special about the IAS Machine? And how does good 'ol Johnny von Neumann get tied up in all of this?
The Eastern Boarder map fundraiser
Selected Sources:
Bigelow Oral History - https://www.si.edu/media/NMAH/NMAH-AC0196_bige710120.pdf
Prelin IAS Machine Report - https://www.ias.edu/sites/default/files/library/Prelim_Disc_Logical_Design.pdf
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