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Processing: Creative Coding and Computational Art

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then jump 400 years to 1614 <strong>and</strong> John Napier, the Scottish supergenius who developed<br />

logarithms (which allow multiplication <strong>and</strong> division to be h<strong>and</strong>led like simple addition <strong>and</strong><br />

subtraction), as well as a system of using metal plates for performing multiplication <strong>and</strong><br />

division. For this, Napier gets credited with developing the earliest known attempt at a<br />

mechanical means of calculation. Building upon Napier’s work, Edmund Gunter gets credited<br />

in 1620 with developing the second most important geek tool of all time, the slide<br />

rule (see Figure 1-6). Leaping ahead 200 years or so to the 1830s, we come across a very<br />

significant moment in computing history <strong>and</strong> some extremely interesting characters:<br />

Charles Babbage, Ada Lovelace, <strong>and</strong> the Analytical Engine.<br />

Figure 1-5. Reconstruction of a Roman abacus<br />

Figure 1-6. Pickett circular slide rule with two cursors<br />

CODE ART<br />

9<br />

1

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