The computer model that once explained the British economy
A sensation when it was unveiled at the London School of Economics in 1949, the Phillips machine used hydraulics to model the workings of the British economy but now looks, at first glance, like the brainchild of a nutty professor.
Speaking of early computers I just happened on what must be the origin of the term "black box". These stock tickers were literally black boxes.
The Black Box Ticker hit Wall Street around December of 1930. The Teletype Corporation began developing the technology around 1927, and after the crash of October 1929, stock brokers needed a faster, more reliable machine. By 1934, The New York Quotation Company had switched almost exclusively to the black box ticker.
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