What Is a Computer? Foundations of Computer Science E.H
What is a Computer? Foundations of Computer Science E.H. Turner and R.M. Turner If you are reading this book, it is almost certain you are very familiar with computers. You probably own at least one (laptop, desktop, cell phone. ), and you likely use them most days, probably for quite a few hours per day. It is possible, however, to be familiar with something without really knowing how it works, or even what is truly is. So what is a computer? At one level, a computer is a tool. Like any tool, it allows us to do things better than we could without it, or even to do things we could not do at all prior to the tool’s invention. Originally, and still to a large extent, computers augment our ability to do calculations: whereas we may be able to do one or two mathematical operations per second, with a computer, we can do billions; by ourselves, we may be able to laboriously do complex calculations, but with a computer, it becomes easy; by ourselves, and with pencil and paper, we may be able to remember quite a few data points, but with a computer, we can remember a virtually unlimited amount. Computers do more than math, of course. In fact, they can do so many things, including controlling things in the real world, that computers have been called the “universal tool”. We are all familiar with the myriad things that this tool enables us to do: write papers, carry hundreds of books in our pocket and read them, talk over long distances (cell phones, the Internet), listen to music, create music, watch movies, create movies, play video games, construct things (3D printers, robots), drive effortlessly (modern cruise control, autonomous cars), explore other planets and the deep sea, defend ourselves or attack others (torpedoes, drones), and on and on.
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