Recent content by AdamF

I read it as "n^2 - n - 41". -- The way it's written is more immediate, though. Reduce the last two terms to zero by setting n equal to the quantity you're subtracting. In this case, take: N = 41

Just wanted to pop in and say thank you to everybody who has generously answered my questions and provided all of these resources -- I think I have more than enough models and ideas to work on understanding for awhile.

10. (Didn't read the other comments.)

Thanks again for the Lego model, I understand a lot more of where I was off w/ identifying the memory now. I guess where I've been getting tripped up is the part where all of the modern components come in -- the idea is that the principles are exactly the same as in the Lego Turing machine...

Okay, so the idea of the computer memory is kind of like the wiring in a house, where you can turn off the power to the house, but when you turn it on again, the electricity will flow to the areas that were on before because the circuits are still being completed there, regardless of whether or...

By the way, in the Turing Tumble, the bottom area that collects the marbles would be analogous to a form of "memory", right?

Oh, this is awesome, I'm going to pick one up, thanks so much! Is the main reason that electricity is used for the modern computer is because electricity moves so much faster?

Hence, my initial interest in models which do not even involve electricity.

Found this, btw: http://visual6502.org/

I don't think they are, no. Raise more questions than they answer.

Downloaded, ty.

Well, my definition of understanding something is really "What I cannot create, I do not understand." My objective is to reach the point where I can de-construct today's PC and understand exactly why every decision was made the way it was on the level of exactly what the creator was thinking...

Okay, this makes a bit more sense (no pun intended): The specific sequence of bits which are generated by the keyboard are somehow related to the ASCII and Unicode stuff that I've been reading about in my Intro to Computer Science text? These are the specific standardization for each symbol or...

Right, I phrased my question poorly, the computer translates all data sources to bits, and then spits them back out again in other forms (as per the design that the human programmer has in mind), as far as I understand. What I was meaning to ask was "How are various sources of information...

As a more concrete example, take the calculator on a computer: I understand the binary number system and how it maps to using Boolean logic (I have a bit of math background), but I have trouble when it comes actually implementing a series of circuits to perform a calculation and store the...