"In the distant future, humans live in a computer-aided society and have forgotten the fundamentals of mathematics, including even the rudimentary skill of counting.?
-The Feeling of Power by Isaac Asimov (1958)
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/The_Feeling_of_Power
[Snippets of the text below.]
Congressman Brant took out his computer a second time and flicked it, "By Godfrey, so it is. How did he guess?"
"No guess, Congressman," said Shuman. "He computed that result. He did it on this sheet of paper."
"Humbug," said the general impatiently. "A computer is one thing and marks on paper are another."
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"Computing without a computer," said the President impatiently, "is a contradiction in terms."
"Computing," said the Congressman, "is only a system for handling data. A machine might do it, or a human brain might. Let me give you an example." And using the new skills he had learned, he worked out sums and products until the president, despite himself, grew interested.
"Does this always work?"
"Every time, Mr. President. It is foolproof."
"Is it hard to learn?"
It took me a week to get the real hang of it. I think you would do better.
"Well," said the President, considering, "it's an interesting parlor game, but what is the use of it?"
"What is the use of a newborn baby, Mr. President? At the moment there is not use, but don't you see that this points the way toward liberation from the machine? Consider, Mr. President," the congressman rose and his deep voice automatically took on some of the cadences he used in public debate, "that the Denebian war is a war of computer against computer. Their computers forge an impenetrable shield of counter-missiles against our missiles, and ours forge one against theirs. If we advance the efficiency of our computers, so do they theirs, and for five years a precarious balance has existed.
"Now, we have in our hands a method of going beyond the computer, leapfrogging it, passing through it. We will combine the mechanics of computation with human thought; we will have the equivalent of intelligent computer, billions of them. I can't predict what the consequences will be in detail, but they will be incalculable. And if Deneb beats us to the punch, they may be unimaginably catastrophic."
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"Put the power of the administration behind the establishment of a secret project on human computation. Call it Project Number, if you like. I can vouch for my committee, but I will need the administration behind me."
"But how far can human computation go?"
"There is no limit. According to Programmer Shuman, who first introduce me to his discovery-"
"I've heard of Shuman, of course."
"Yes. Well, Dr. Shuman tells me that in theory there is nothing the computer can do that the human mind cannot do. The computer merely takes a finite amount of data and performs a finite number of operations upon them. Then human mind can duplicate the process."
The President considered that. He said, "If Shuman says this, I am inclined to believe in - in theory. But in practice, how can anyone know how a computer works?"
Brant laughed genially. "Well, Mr. President, I asked the same question. It seems that at one time computers were designed directly by human beings. Those were simple computers, of course, this being before the time of the rational use of computers to design more advanced computers had been established.
"Yes, yes. Go on."
"Technician Aub apparently had, as his hobby, the reconstruction of some of these ancient devices, and in so doing, he studied the details of their workings and found he could imitate them. The multiplication I just performed for you is an imitation of the workings of a computer."
"Amazing!"
The congressman coughed gently. "If I may make another point, Mr. President - the further we can develop this thing, the more we can divert our federal effort from computer production and computer maintenance. As the human brain takes over, more of our energy can be directed into peacetime pursuits and the impingement of war on the ordinary man will be less. This will be most advantageous for the party in power, of course."
"Ah, said the President, "I see your point, Well sit down, Congressman, sit down I want some time to think about this, But meanwhile, show me that multiplication trick again. Let's see if I can't catch the point of it."
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But Loesser was holding back. He said, "I'm not sure I like the idea of relaxing our hold on computers. The human mind is a capricious thing. The computer will give the same answer to the same problem each time. What guarantee have we that the human mind will do the same?"
"The human mind, Computer Loesser, only manipulates facts. It doesn't matter whether the human mind or a machine does it. They are just tools.
"Yes, yes. I've gone over your ingenious demonstration that the mind can duplicate the computer, but it seems to me a little in the air. I'll grant the theory but what reason have we for thinking that theory can be converted to practice?"
"I think we have reason, sir. After all, computers have not always existed. The cave men with their stone axes, and railroads had no computers."
"And possibly they did not compute."
"You know better than that. Even the building of a railroad or a ziggurat called for some computing, and that must have been without computers as we know them."
"Do you suggest they computed in the fashion you demonstrate?"
"Probably not. After all, this method - we call it 'graphitics,' by the way, from the old European word 'grapho,' meaning 'to write' - is developed from the computers themselves so it cannot have antedated them. Still, the cave men must have had some method, eh?"
"Lost arts! If you're going to talk about lost arts -"
"No, no. I'm not a lost-art enthusiast, though I don't say there may not be some. After all, man was eating grain before hydroponics, and if the primitives ate grain, they must have grown it in soil. What else could they have done?"
"I don't know, but I'll believe in soil-growing when I see someone grow grain in soil. And I'll believe in making fire by rubbing two pieces of flint together when I see that too."
Probability, Statistics and programming a bit more ubiquitous then BASIC assembly language, having the closest meaningful semblance to informal high-level description of the operating principles involved with 'If,' 'And,' 'While,' 'EndIf,' 'EndPgrm,' etc.
