| Seltzer |
08-25-2009 12:10 AM |
Quote:
Originally Posted by Neapolitan
(Post 724674)
The University of Pennsylvania is not a country, so I wasn't trying to attribute it to a country I was only relaying a fact that I heard. This is how I see it, you are the one who is fighting over semantics, so what if I said computer or electronic computer. Why do I have to explain the etymology of the word "computer." The way "computer" is used today no one ever thinks of a person who does computations, a mechanical computer, or an elctro-mechanical computer. The University of Pennsylvania is attributed to the concept, developement and construction of the first computer, in fact the C stands for "computer" in ENIAC ("Electronic Numerical Integrator And Computer")
btw Nikola Tesla was an American citizen!
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You don't have to explain the etymology of the word computer. It still doesn't change the fact that there were electronic computers around before ENIAC. Have a look at the table here.
You mentioned American ingenuity before and that sounded to me like referring to a country.
Yes, Nikola Tesla was an American citizen. And so was Claude Shannon and many of the pioneers I listed earlier. My point is that the Americans did not invent the computer, ENIAC wasn't the first electronic computer, ENIAC wasn't very crucial on the scale of things, the computer is more of an international development than an invention, and as much as you want to, you can't discount the contributions of the Brits to computing. |
