Computers

When I was in college, I had to take a course in computer programming as a requirement for my major. This would have been fine if the course was in “Basic” language, but the preferred language for mathematics was “Fortran IV.” Back then, computers had a “main frame” that took up a whole building and programs were written on “punch cards” that were produced on special machines. The first day of class, I knew I was in trouble. The teacher talked gibberish and the textbook seemed to be written in a foreign language. As hard as I tried, I had no idea what was going on and nobody could help me. Whe...