1101, 0001;
1010, 0001;
1011, 0001;
1111, 1110
THE USEFULNESS OF SIMON
Thus we can see that Simon can do such a problem as:
Add 0 and 3.
Add 2 and the negative of 1.
Find which result is greater.
Select 3 if this result equals 2;
otherwise select 2.
To work out the coding for this and like problems would be a good exercise. Simon, in fact, is a rather clever little mechanical brain, even if he has only a mentality of 4.
It may seem that a simple model of a mechanical brain like Simon is of no great practical use. On the contrary, Simon has the same use in instruction as a set of simple chemical experiments has: to stimulate thinking and understanding and to produce training and skill. A training course on mechanical brains could very well include the construction of a simple model mechanical brain as an exercise. In this book, the properties of Simon may be a good introduction to the various types of more complicated mechanical brains described in later chapters.
The rest of this chapter is devoted to such questions as:
How do transfers of information actually take place in Simon?
How does the computer in Simon work so that calculation actually occurs?
How could Simon actually be constructed?