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The Computer Disease

So true Mr. Feynman, this is so true!

"Well, Mr. Frankel, who started this program, began to suffer from the computer disease that anybody who works with computers now knows about. It's a very serious disease and it interferes completely with the work. The trouble with computers is you play with them. They are so wonderful. You have these switches if it's an even number you do this, if it's an odd number you do that and pretty soon you can do more and more elaborate things if you are clever enough, on one machine.

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Absolutely useless. We had tables of arctangents.But if you've ever worked with computers, you understand the disease the delight in being able to see how much you can do. But he got the disease for the first time, the poor fellow who invented the thing."

-Richard P. Feynman
Nobel Laureate Physicist

Excerpt from Surely You're Joking, Mr. Feynman! (Adventures of a Curious Character)

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