The Information Age

The word computer refers to a series of machines that respond to a similar function. From the earliest computers to those of today, the evolution has been so significant that it may be difficult to recognize their material relationship. One of the first electromechanical computers was built in 1944 and was called MARK I. It was enormous, weighing about 5,000 kilograms. Its memory capacity was very limited and it could only add, subtract, multiply and divide.

Computers from the 1940s are sometimes called “dinosaurs” because of their prehistoric condition, their colossal size and their limited intelligence. Modern computers are very different. Some are genuine pocket computers. Even though they are small and inexpensive, today’s computers possess speed and operational capacity far superior to those affectionately called “dinosaurs.”

The function of a computer is to process the information supplied to it and provide the required results. In earlier times, the only ways of storing and transmitting information were related to the spoken or written word. On one hand there was oral language, which relied on personal memory. On the other hand there was written language, which constituted collective memory. In either case, interpreting that information and producing new information required the direct intervention of human beings.

A computer is obviously incapable of doing something for which it has not been programmed. The advance it represents is a mechanical challenge that includes reading through devices, receiving information and recording it in memory. This allows human beings, in many cases, to avoid intervening in minor and repetitive tasks that are tedious to perform.

What Is a Computer?

From a historical perspective, the computer may appear as a development of the 1940s. In reality it is the result of several centuries of work, until the technical maturity of engineering and social needs made it possible.

From a functional perspective, which is the most defining one, a computer can be described as a machine capable of carrying out and controlling complicated calculations and processes at very high speed. These operations require rapid decision-making through the systematic application of previously established criteria.

This definition includes several elements, which can be considered separately.

Machine

The computer has a mechanical structure capable of performing activities that, if carried out by a human being, would require intellectual abilities. The idea of the computer as an “electronic brain” is appropriate if it is understood as a mechanism that must be programmed, instructed or trained for each task it is required to perform.

Execution and Control

Its activity consists of performing certain tasks while simultaneously verifying the adequacy of the results obtained according to the control elements inherent in its programming and structure. It has the capacity to interact between the processes carried out and the elements stored in central memory.

High Speed

Although its procedure is simple and mechanical, the speed with which it performs calculations is remarkable. The first general-purpose electronic computer, ENIAC, built in 1946, was capable of performing in two hours the calculations necessary to solve a physics problem that would have required an estimated one hundred years of work by a single person.

Calculations

One of the principal activities of a computer is the execution of numerical calculations, generally for mathematical applications.

Processes

Another type of task, often more significant than numerical calculation, consists of carrying out processes. This means that the computer processes different pieces of information, then organizes and combines them appropriately according to the instructions given by the program. The preparation of a population census, the calculation of payroll, or the processing of texts are clear examples of this type of operation.

Complication

Complication should not be confused with complexity. The calculations and processes performed by a computer are complicated in the sense that they are lengthy, detailed and require extraordinary precision, which would demand great effort from human beings. The advantage of machines in this respect lies in the fact that they neither tire nor suffer fatigue.

Rapid Decision-Making

Human beings are increasingly required to make specific decisions about many stages of a process. A computer can make such decisions without delay or difficulty, provided that the criteria have been established beforehand by human programmers.

As a result of these characteristics, the computer offers enormous possibilities for carrying out processes that otherwise would not be feasible because of their duration or cost, since they would require the participation of many people. It provides a high level of reliability through precision and control while also freeing human beings from repetitive tasks, tasks for which machines are tireless and insensitive but which generate fatigue when performed by people.