I guess now we finally know why Babbage never finished building the Analytical Engine.

    • hayvan@feddit.nl
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      2 months ago

      Not exactly. An autocorrect is a closest-match or prediction device with correct input given beforehand. When you type “fridsy”, what it does is to answer the question “between fridsy and this set of words, what is the shortest distance?”

      • CookieOfFortune@lemmy.world
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        2 months ago

        But to the user, it can correct their inputs. The rest is an abstraction. My point is that there’s more to a platform than just precise calculations. Obviously the asker isn’t thinking this far ahead, but Babbage is also rather flippant in his response.

          • CookieOfFortune@lemmy.world
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            2 months ago

            I mean, that’s a hyperbole. I think there’s more depth to this question from our point of view than just what’s on the surface.

              • CookieOfFortune@lemmy.world
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                2 months ago

                Isn’t this just dependent on the level of abstraction? At the low level a CPU is just a calculator.

                Presumably the user has a way to enter these digits. If they’re using a touchscreen, then there’s plenty of algorithms being used to make sure the intended touch target is triggered, even if they touch something in between.

                There’s a lot of effort into making sure the user gets the intended result even if their input is fuzzy.