
Paper Processor – What is fetch, decode, and execute? - maastaar
https://sites.google.com/site/kotukotuzimiti/Paper_Processor
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az0xff
One of the labs in my school's second intro to CS course does some paper
computer stuff, and I found it pretty fascinating.

[http://www.ugrad.cs.ubc.ca/~cs121/2015W2/Labs/Lab9/lab9.pdf](http://www.ugrad.cs.ubc.ca/~cs121/2015W2/Labs/Lab9/lab9.pdf)
[http://www.ugrad.cs.ubc.ca/~cs121/2015W2/Labs/Lab9/playcpu.p...](http://www.ugrad.cs.ubc.ca/~cs121/2015W2/Labs/Lab9/playcpu.pdf)

I think this kind of knowledge is pretty important for when you're writing
code, even if you work exclusively in the JVM. It helps to understand what
goes on under the hood and the fundamental limitations of what your computer
can do, so you know where you need to optimize.

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nickpsecurity
Maybe we need to make a new abacus for these kind of people.

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spraak
I really don't understand your comment. Is it sarcastic? And what would the
new abacus do? Which kind of people?

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nickpsecurity
There's a trend, small but growing, of people doing CPU's and algorithms
without computers implementing them. Many strive for simplicity to enable
learning or reduce subversion. Abacus is a simple, nonelectronic device for
computing arithmetic. A similar device might be constructed out of physical
components to emulate a primitive CPU or one part at a time.

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spraak
Thanks for explaining! Do you have any resources to communities or guides?

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monk_e_boy
I'm not OP, but there are lots of mechanical logic out there.

This uses levers to make a binary adder:
[https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=6hs6eqSdbGc](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=6hs6eqSdbGc)

And this uses marbles to make an adder:
[https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=GcDshWmhF4A](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=GcDshWmhF4A)

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nickpsecurity
Cant look at videos yet but descriptions sound like exact kind of thing im
talking about. Well, there's those that replace the function and others that
aid understanding. So, two categories of mechanical, fluidic, paper, and so on
systems.

