By Cory Doctorow (GPG 0xBF3D9110957E5F4C) @doctorow.pluralistic.net · 03/07/2026All an electronic computer does is repeat these crude mechanical operations, millions of times per second, using microscopic transistors. 9/ 1100
By Cory Doctorow (GPG 0xBF3D9110957E5F4C) @doctorow.pluralistic.net · 03/07/2026None of that can be observed with the naked eye, of course. If you had a very sensitive multimeter and a very good microscope, it's conceivable that you could indirectly watch this intricate dance, but only on very early processors, and only if you drastically slowed down their operations. 10/ 1100
By Cory Doctorow (GPG 0xBF3D9110957E5F4C) @doctorow.pluralistic.net · 03/07/2026Later, I learned a word for what I got from the CARDiac: *legibility*. Together, the CARDiac and I made a working digital computer, with me standing in for the physics that propels electrons down the endless labyrinth of a microchip, like a pinball triggering various blooping, beeping bumpers. 11/en.wikipedia.orgFingerspitzengefühl - Wikipedia 1120
