{"id":2502,"date":"2023-05-15T15:36:00","date_gmt":"2023-05-15T14:36:00","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/rethinkq.adp.com\/?p=2502"},"modified":"2024-09-03T11:57:09","modified_gmt":"2024-09-03T10:57:09","slug":"artifact-first-calculating-machine","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/rethinkq.adp.com\/artifact-first-calculating-machine\/","title":{"rendered":"The very first calculating machine"},"content":{"rendered":"\n<header class=\"entry-header bg-adp-tan block--article-header alignfull block--article-header\" >\n\n  \n\n<figure class=\"wp-block-image size-full entry--image\"><img decoding=\"async\" width=\"1569\" height=\"1167\" src=\"https:\/\/rethinkq.adp.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2023\/05\/Schickard-von-hinten.jpg\" alt=\"\" class=\"wp-image-2505\" srcset=\"https:\/\/rethinkq.adp.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2023\/05\/Schickard-von-hinten.jpg 1569w, https:\/\/rethinkq.adp.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2023\/05\/Schickard-von-hinten-300x223.jpg 300w, https:\/\/rethinkq.adp.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2023\/05\/Schickard-von-hinten-1024x762.jpg 1024w, https:\/\/rethinkq.adp.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2023\/05\/Schickard-von-hinten-768x571.jpg 768w, https:\/\/rethinkq.adp.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2023\/05\/Schickard-von-hinten-1536x1142.jpg 1536w\" sizes=\"(max-width: 1569px) 100vw, 1569px\" \/><figcaption class=\"wp-element-caption\">Cylinders in a recreation of the <em>Rechenuhr<\/em>. Source: Arithmeum&nbsp;<br><\/figcaption><\/figure>\n\n\n\n<div class=\"wp-block-group entry--title-wrapper\"><div class=\"wp-block-group__inner-container is-layout-flow wp-block-group-is-layout-flow\"><div class=\"entry--social-share\">\n  <ul>\n    <li><a href=\"https:\/\/www.facebook.com\/sharer\/sharer.php?u=https:\/\/rethinkq.adp.com\/artifact-first-calculating-machine\/&#038;t=The very first calculating machine\" target=\"_blank\"><img decoding=\"async\" src=\"https:\/\/rethinkq.adp.com\/wp-content\/themes\/rethink-quarterly\/img\/facebook.svg\" alt=\"Facebook logo - click to share this article on Facebook\"><\/a><\/li>\n    <li><a href=\"http:\/\/twitter.com\/share?text=The very first calculating machine&#038;url=https:\/\/rethinkq.adp.com\/artifact-first-calculating-machine\/\" target=\"_blank\"><img decoding=\"async\" src=\"https:\/\/rethinkq.adp.com\/wp-content\/themes\/rethink-quarterly\/img\/twitter.svg\" alt=\"Twitter logo - click to share this article on Twitter\"><\/a><\/li>\n    <li><a href=\"https:\/\/www.linkedin.com\/sharing\/share-offsite\/?url=https%3A%2F%2Frethinkq.adp.com%2Fartifact-first-calculating-machine%2F\" target=\"_blank\"><img decoding=\"async\" src=\"https:\/\/rethinkq.adp.com\/wp-content\/themes\/rethink-quarterly\/img\/linkedin.svg\" alt=\"LinkedIn logo - click to share this article on Facebook\"><\/a><\/li>\n  <\/ul>\n<\/div>\n\n            <a class=\"entry--tag tag-style\" href=\"https:\/\/rethinkq.adp.com\/artifact\/\">Artifact<\/a>\n\n        \n  <h1 class=\"entry-title\">The very first calculating machine<\/h1>\n\n\n<p class=\"is-style-summary-style\">Four centuries ago, during a time of great innovation, Wilhelm Schickard invented the first-ever calculating machine in Germany.<\/p>\n<\/div><\/div>\n\n\n  <div class=\"entry--meta content-width\">\n           <p class=\"authors\">By\n                        <a href=\"https:\/\/rethinkq.adp.com\/author\/ina-prinz\/\">Ina Prinz<\/a>\n\n             \n         \n     <\/p>\n    \n  \n  <p>15 May 2023  <span class=\"desktop-only\">\u2014<\/span> <a href=\"https:\/\/rethinkq.adp.com\/issue-8-risk\/\">Issue 8: Risk<\/a> \n  <\/div><!-- .entry-meta -->\n\n<\/header><!-- .entry-header -->\n\t<div class=\"entry-content content-width\">\n\n\n\n<p>At the beginning of the 17th century, the dawn of the <a href=\"https:\/\/en.wikipedia.org\/wiki\/Age_of_Enlightenment\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noreferrer noopener\">Age of Enlightenment<\/a> in Europe, the need for correct and speedy calculations was greater than ever. Scientific fields including astronomy and geodesy were blossoming, as were the fields of architecture and trade.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>The carrying of tens is usually the biggest source of errors in written arithmetic. Even when calculating with simple arithmetic tools, such as Napier\u2019s rods, carrying tens must be done mentally.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<figure class=\"wp-block-image size-large is-style-zoooom\"><img decoding=\"async\" width=\"1024\" height=\"788\" src=\"https:\/\/rethinkq.adp.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2023\/05\/Hand-engraved-set-of-Napier-rods-made-of-ivory-from-the-17th-century-in-Germany-Arithmeum-FDM-8265-1024x788.jpg\" alt=\"\" class=\"wp-image-2506\" srcset=\"https:\/\/rethinkq.adp.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2023\/05\/Hand-engraved-set-of-Napier-rods-made-of-ivory-from-the-17th-century-in-Germany-Arithmeum-FDM-8265-1024x788.jpg 1024w, https:\/\/rethinkq.adp.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2023\/05\/Hand-engraved-set-of-Napier-rods-made-of-ivory-from-the-17th-century-in-Germany-Arithmeum-FDM-8265-300x231.jpg 300w, https:\/\/rethinkq.adp.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2023\/05\/Hand-engraved-set-of-Napier-rods-made-of-ivory-from-the-17th-century-in-Germany-Arithmeum-FDM-8265-768x591.jpg 768w, https:\/\/rethinkq.adp.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2023\/05\/Hand-engraved-set-of-Napier-rods-made-of-ivory-from-the-17th-century-in-Germany-Arithmeum-FDM-8265-1536x1182.jpg 1536w, https:\/\/rethinkq.adp.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2023\/05\/Hand-engraved-set-of-Napier-rods-made-of-ivory-from-the-17th-century-in-Germany-Arithmeum-FDM-8265-1600x1232.jpg 1600w, https:\/\/rethinkq.adp.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2023\/05\/Hand-engraved-set-of-Napier-rods-made-of-ivory-from-the-17th-century-in-Germany-Arithmeum-FDM-8265.jpg 1920w\" sizes=\"(max-width: 1024px) 100vw, 1024px\" \/><figcaption class=\"wp-element-caption\">Hand-engraved set of Napier\u2019s rods made of ivory from the 17th century in Germany. Source: Arithmeum<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n\n\n\n<p>John Napier of Scotland created this manually operated calculating tool in 1617 \u2014 it uses multiplication tables to aid in multiplying and dividing numbers quickly.&nbsp;<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>Around the same time, Wilhelm Schickard, a young professor of Hebrew in T\u00fcbingen, Germany, was also ruminating on arithmetic. Schickard had many talents and was interested in astronomy, geodesy and mathematics.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>In 1617, he met Johannes Kepler, a fellow astronomer and mathematician, who had come to T\u00fcbingen to defend his mother in a witch trial (which she won). Together they developed the idea of a calculating machine that could calculate without error. Schickard, who was also a gifted mechanic, began designing and building the machine and completed it in 1623. He called it the <em>Rechenuhr<\/em>, or calculating clock.<\/p>\n\n\n<div class=\"wp-block-image is-style-zoooom\">\n<figure class=\"alignright size-large is-resized\"><img decoding=\"async\" width=\"837\" height=\"1024\" src=\"https:\/\/rethinkq.adp.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2023\/05\/WilhelmSchickardPortrait-837x1024.jpg\" alt=\"\" class=\"wp-image-2508\" style=\"width:419px;height:512px\" srcset=\"https:\/\/rethinkq.adp.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2023\/05\/WilhelmSchickardPortrait-837x1024.jpg 837w, https:\/\/rethinkq.adp.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2023\/05\/WilhelmSchickardPortrait-245x300.jpg 245w, https:\/\/rethinkq.adp.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2023\/05\/WilhelmSchickardPortrait-768x940.jpg 768w, https:\/\/rethinkq.adp.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2023\/05\/WilhelmSchickardPortrait-1255x1536.jpg 1255w, https:\/\/rethinkq.adp.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2023\/05\/WilhelmSchickardPortrait.jpg 1348w\" sizes=\"(max-width: 837px) 100vw, 837px\" \/><figcaption class=\"wp-element-caption\">Wilhelm Schickard, painted by Conrad Melperger, 1632. Source: T\u00fcbingen Professors&#8217; Gallery&nbsp;<br><\/figcaption><\/figure><\/div>\n\n\n<p>He tested his machine extensively and wrote Kepler enthusiastically in a letter: &#8220;You would laugh out loud if you were there and saw how it increases the digits on the left all by itself when it exceeds a ten or a hundred, or takes something away from them when it subtracts<em>.<\/em>&#8220;<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>Schickard&#8217;s invention was a major step in the mechanization of arithmetic. Never before had an inventor constructed a calculating machine that could mechanically add and subtract up to six digits.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>Unfortunately, no one today has ever seen that first calculating machine. Kepler\u2019s copy was lost during the 30 Years&#8217; War, which raged in Europe from 1618 to 1648, and Schickard&#8217;s own prototype burned up in his workshop before he died in 1635. What we know about Schickard&#8217;s invention comes from his surviving drawings, which were discovered in the mid-20th century and have since been used to create reconstructions.&nbsp;<\/p>\n\n\n\n<div class=\"wp-block-group alignwide\"><div class=\"wp-block-group__inner-container is-layout-constrained wp-block-group-is-layout-constrained\">\n<div class=\"wp-block-columns is-layout-flex wp-container-core-columns-is-layout-9d6595d7 wp-block-columns-is-layout-flex\">\n<div class=\"wp-block-column is-vertically-aligned-center is-layout-flow wp-block-column-is-layout-flow\" style=\"flex-basis:50%\">\n<figure class=\"wp-block-image size-large is-style-zoooom\"><img decoding=\"async\" width=\"1024\" height=\"896\" src=\"https:\/\/rethinkq.adp.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2023\/05\/schickard2-1024x896.jpg\" alt=\"\" class=\"wp-image-2611\" srcset=\"https:\/\/rethinkq.adp.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2023\/05\/schickard2-1024x896.jpg 1024w, https:\/\/rethinkq.adp.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2023\/05\/schickard2-300x262.jpg 300w, https:\/\/rethinkq.adp.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2023\/05\/schickard2-768x672.jpg 768w, https:\/\/rethinkq.adp.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2023\/05\/schickard2-1536x1344.jpg 1536w, https:\/\/rethinkq.adp.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2023\/05\/schickard2.jpg 1575w\" sizes=\"(max-width: 1024px) 100vw, 1024px\" \/><figcaption class=\"wp-element-caption\"><em>Reconstruction of Wilhelm Schickard&#8217;s calculating machine built in 1982 by Bruno Baron Freytag von L\u00f6rringhoff, Arithmeum. Source: Arithmeum<\/em><\/figcaption><\/figure>\n<\/div>\n\n\n\n<div class=\"wp-block-column is-layout-flow wp-block-column-is-layout-flow\" style=\"flex-basis:50%\">\n<figure class=\"wp-block-image size-large is-style-zoooom\"><img decoding=\"async\" width=\"810\" height=\"1024\" src=\"https:\/\/rethinkq.adp.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2023\/05\/Handskizze-Detail-S.50_Cod.hist_.qt.203-810x1024.jpg\" alt=\"\" class=\"wp-image-2612\" srcset=\"https:\/\/rethinkq.adp.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2023\/05\/Handskizze-Detail-S.50_Cod.hist_.qt.203-810x1024.jpg 810w, https:\/\/rethinkq.adp.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2023\/05\/Handskizze-Detail-S.50_Cod.hist_.qt.203-237x300.jpg 237w, https:\/\/rethinkq.adp.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2023\/05\/Handskizze-Detail-S.50_Cod.hist_.qt.203-768x971.jpg 768w, https:\/\/rethinkq.adp.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2023\/05\/Handskizze-Detail-S.50_Cod.hist_.qt.203.jpg 1133w\" sizes=\"(max-width: 810px) 100vw, 810px\" \/><figcaption class=\"wp-element-caption\"><em>Sketch of Schickard&#8217;s calculating machine, the so-called &#8220;Stuttgart sketch.&#8221; Source: W\u00fcrttembergische Landesbibliothek.<\/em><\/figcaption><\/figure>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div><\/div>\n\n\n\n<h2 class=\"wp-block-heading\">A competitor arises<\/h2>\n\n\n<div class=\"wp-block-image is-style-zoooom\">\n<figure class=\"alignright size-large is-resized\"><img decoding=\"async\" width=\"599\" height=\"1024\" src=\"https:\/\/rethinkq.adp.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2023\/05\/Blaise-Pascal-599x1024.jpg\" alt=\"\" class=\"wp-image-2512\" style=\"width:300px;height:512px\" srcset=\"https:\/\/rethinkq.adp.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2023\/05\/Blaise-Pascal-599x1024.jpg 599w, https:\/\/rethinkq.adp.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2023\/05\/Blaise-Pascal-176x300.jpg 176w, https:\/\/rethinkq.adp.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2023\/05\/Blaise-Pascal-768x1312.jpg 768w, https:\/\/rethinkq.adp.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2023\/05\/Blaise-Pascal-899x1536.jpg 899w, https:\/\/rethinkq.adp.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2023\/05\/Blaise-Pascal.jpg 1132w\" sizes=\"(max-width: 599px) 100vw, 599px\" \/><figcaption class=\"wp-element-caption\">Blaise Pascal as depicted in the book&nbsp; \u201cOeuvres de Blaise Pascal, Tome premier Den Haag,\u201d 1779&nbsp;<br><\/figcaption><\/figure><\/div>\n\n\n<p>The earliest calculating device still in existence today was invented by Blaise Pascal in 1645.&nbsp;<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>Pascal was just 19 when he designed the calculating machine, made with the help of clockmakers in Rouen, France. His father, a tax official in Normandy, presented the machine to his superior, the chancellor Pierre S\u00e9guier, who obtained a royal privilege (akin to a patent) for Pascal. Several Pascalines were produced that could add and subtract mechanically in a similar way to the machine designed by Schickard. Although the Pascaline was not the first calculating machine, it was by far the most elegant. Thanks to its mechanical implementation, the carrying of tens was easy.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>In Schickard&#8217;s calculating machine, the force required to move all the digits is added together for the secondary carrying of tens, but in the Pascaline, the force is stored at each digit. Thus, in the calculation 999,999 + 1 = 1,000,000, the carrying of tens is activated like a row of dominoes \u2014 each one triggers the next. This was made possible by a small weight that rose when a digit was placed. At 9, the weight reaches its highest position. The next addition triggers a carry and releases the weight, and gravity takes care of all secondary carrying.&nbsp;<\/p>\n\n\n\n<figure class=\"wp-block-image size-large is-style-zoooom\"><img decoding=\"async\" width=\"1024\" height=\"446\" src=\"https:\/\/rethinkq.adp.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2023\/05\/This-original-calculating-machine-by-Blaise-Pascal-from-1645-is-on-permanent-loan-to-the-Arithmeum-from-IBM-USA-1024x446.jpg\" alt=\"\" class=\"wp-image-2513\" srcset=\"https:\/\/rethinkq.adp.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2023\/05\/This-original-calculating-machine-by-Blaise-Pascal-from-1645-is-on-permanent-loan-to-the-Arithmeum-from-IBM-USA-1024x446.jpg 1024w, https:\/\/rethinkq.adp.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2023\/05\/This-original-calculating-machine-by-Blaise-Pascal-from-1645-is-on-permanent-loan-to-the-Arithmeum-from-IBM-USA-300x131.jpg 300w, https:\/\/rethinkq.adp.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2023\/05\/This-original-calculating-machine-by-Blaise-Pascal-from-1645-is-on-permanent-loan-to-the-Arithmeum-from-IBM-USA-768x334.jpg 768w, https:\/\/rethinkq.adp.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2023\/05\/This-original-calculating-machine-by-Blaise-Pascal-from-1645-is-on-permanent-loan-to-the-Arithmeum-from-IBM-USA-1536x669.jpg 1536w, https:\/\/rethinkq.adp.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2023\/05\/This-original-calculating-machine-by-Blaise-Pascal-from-1645-is-on-permanent-loan-to-the-Arithmeum-from-IBM-USA-1600x697.jpg 1600w, https:\/\/rethinkq.adp.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2023\/05\/This-original-calculating-machine-by-Blaise-Pascal-from-1645-is-on-permanent-loan-to-the-Arithmeum-from-IBM-USA.jpg 1920w\" sizes=\"(max-width: 1024px) 100vw, 1024px\" \/><figcaption class=\"wp-element-caption\">This original calculating machine from 1645 by Blaise Pascal is on permanent loan to the Arithmeum from IBM USA.<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n\n\n\n<p>This ingenious idea was used in a similar way throughout the 19th century to carry tens in mechanical adding machines. Both Schickard&#8217;s and Pascal&#8217;s machines were able to add and subtract, but devising how to multiply or divide mechanically eluded them.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<h2 class=\"wp-block-heading\">The next level<\/h2>\n\n\n\n<p>Carrying tens in cases of multiplication and division was much more complicated. One could mimic multiplication by performing multiple addition functions and division by multiple subtraction functions. But four-function calculators required mechanical number storage to return a multiplication or division solution in one turn of the crank.&nbsp;<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>Gottfried Wilhelm Leibniz, who built the first mechanical four-function calculating machine in the late 17th century, recognized this problem. He was the first to develop such an intermediate storage device for carrying tens.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<figure class=\"wp-block-image size-large is-style-zoooom\"><img decoding=\"async\" width=\"1024\" height=\"683\" src=\"https:\/\/rethinkq.adp.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2023\/05\/fdm9569-14-1024x683.jpg\" alt=\"\" class=\"wp-image-2514\" srcset=\"https:\/\/rethinkq.adp.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2023\/05\/fdm9569-14-1024x683.jpg 1024w, https:\/\/rethinkq.adp.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2023\/05\/fdm9569-14-300x200.jpg 300w, https:\/\/rethinkq.adp.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2023\/05\/fdm9569-14-768x512.jpg 768w, https:\/\/rethinkq.adp.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2023\/05\/fdm9569-14-1536x1024.jpg 1536w, https:\/\/rethinkq.adp.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2023\/05\/fdm9569-14-375x250.jpg 375w, https:\/\/rethinkq.adp.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2023\/05\/fdm9569-14-1600x1067.jpg 1600w, https:\/\/rethinkq.adp.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2023\/05\/fdm9569-14.jpg 1920w\" sizes=\"(max-width: 1024px) 100vw, 1024px\" \/><figcaption class=\"wp-element-caption\">This four-function calculating machine with 16 digits in the result mechanism is a functioning replica based on Leibniz&#8217;s original. Source: Arithmeum<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n\n\n\n<p>After Leibniz\u2019s invention, other innovators conceived, developed and built very different technical solutions for carrying tens in four-function calculating machines. This major cultural-historical development of mechanical calculating machines did not come from one spontaneous idea, but was the result of the deliberations of many ingenious inventors.&nbsp;<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>Charles Xavier Thomas de Colmar was one of the first to succeed in constructing a four-function calculating machine in 1820. His Arithmom\u00e8tre went into series production in 1855, becoming the first commercially successful computing machine, and was sold around the world for 70 years. His idea of building a robust stepped-drum mechanism became the cornerstone of European calculating machine manufacturing.&nbsp;<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>He presented a luxe Piano Arithmom\u00e8tre, which was able to calculate results of up to 30 digits, at the 1855 Universal Exhibition in Paris.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<figure class=\"wp-block-image size-large is-style-zoooom\"><img decoding=\"async\" width=\"1024\" height=\"665\" src=\"https:\/\/rethinkq.adp.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2023\/05\/Piano-Arithmometre-1855-Arithmeum-1024x665.jpg\" alt=\"\" class=\"wp-image-2755\" srcset=\"https:\/\/rethinkq.adp.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2023\/05\/Piano-Arithmometre-1855-Arithmeum-1024x665.jpg 1024w, https:\/\/rethinkq.adp.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2023\/05\/Piano-Arithmometre-1855-Arithmeum-300x195.jpg 300w, https:\/\/rethinkq.adp.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2023\/05\/Piano-Arithmometre-1855-Arithmeum-768x498.jpg 768w, https:\/\/rethinkq.adp.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2023\/05\/Piano-Arithmometre-1855-Arithmeum-1536x997.jpg 1536w, https:\/\/rethinkq.adp.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2023\/05\/Piano-Arithmometre-1855-Arithmeum-1600x1038.jpg 1600w, https:\/\/rethinkq.adp.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2023\/05\/Piano-Arithmometre-1855-Arithmeum.jpg 1920w\" sizes=\"(max-width: 1024px) 100vw, 1024px\" \/><figcaption class=\"wp-element-caption\">The piano Arithmome\u0300tre is on permanent loan to the Arithmeum from IBM USA. Source: Arithmeum <\/figcaption><\/figure>\n\n\n\n<p>Accompanied by much smaller pinwheel calculating machines that came onto the market around 1890, the technology of Thomas de Colmar&#8217;s Arithmom\u00e8tre prevailed until the rise of the digital calculating machine in the mid-20th century.&nbsp;<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>The development of semiconductors, which led to the pocket calculator and the modern computer, has since overshadowed the 400-year history of mechanical calculators. But these early machines are still fascinating, showing how inventive mathematicians have been in pursuing perfect calculations \u2014 the essential basis of all quantitative sciences.&nbsp;<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>Many of these calculating machines are functional and on display in the Arithmeum at the University of Bonn, Germany. It remains to be seen whether our modern computers will still work as well in four centuries as the Pascaline does today.&nbsp;<\/p>\n\n\n<div class=\"block--author\">      <div class=\"block-author__inner\">\n        <div class=\"author--image\">\n                      <a href=\"https:\/\/rethinkq.adp.com\/author\/ina-prinz\/\"><img decoding=\"async\" src=\"https:\/\/rethinkq.adp.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2023\/05\/Ina_Prinz-298x305.jpg\" alt=\"\" \/><\/a>\n                  <\/div>\n        <div class=\"author--info\">\n                      <a href=\"https:\/\/rethinkq.adp.com\/author\/ina-prinz\/\" class=\"author--name\">Ina Prinz<\/a>\n\n          \n          <p><b>Professor Dr. Ina Prinz<\/b><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\"> is a professor in the history of computer science and mathematics and the director of the <\/span><a href=\"http:\/\/www.arithmeum.uni-bonn.de\"><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">Arithmeum<\/span><\/a><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">, a public museum at the University of Bonn, Germany. The Arithmeum has the world\u2019s most comprehensive collection of historical calculating machines, early calculating devices and early digital computers. In addition is the Arithmeum Library, which contains the most complete collection of historical mathematics books. She researches the history of mechanical calculating and her next publication will present the prototype of the famous Arithmaurel calculating machine of 1848. <\/span><\/p>\n          <div class=\"block--author-social\"><ul class=\"author--socials\"><\/ul><\/div>\n        <\/div>\n      <\/div>\n       <\/div>\n\n<div class=\"block--recommended-content alignwide is-style-bg-adp-tan\"><div class=\"block-recommended-content__inner\">\n\n<h2 class=\"wp-block-heading\">Read more<\/h2>\n\n\n<div class=\"block--article-pushpoint pushpoint__small\">      <div class=\"block-article-pushpoint__inner\">\n        <a href=\"https:\/\/rethinkq.adp.com\/artifact-ithaca-hours\/\">\n        <div class=\"pushpoint--image\">\n          <img decoding=\"async\" src=\"https:\/\/rethinkq.adp.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/06\/ithaca-hours-large-1084x576.jpg\" alt=\"\" \/>\n        <\/div>\n        <div class=\"pushpoint--info\">\n                    <span class=\"pushpoint--title\">Ithaca Hours and time-based currencies\u00a0<\/span>\n          <p>An experiment in 1990s New York was a fairly recent example of a centuries-old idea: local currency projects based on labor.\n<\/p>        <\/div>\n      <\/a><\/div> <\/div>\n\n<div class=\"block--article-pushpoint pushpoint__small\">      <div class=\"block-article-pushpoint__inner\">\n        <a href=\"https:\/\/rethinkq.adp.com\/history-paper-paycheck\/\">\n        <div class=\"pushpoint--image\">\n          <img decoding=\"async\" src=\"https:\/\/rethinkq.adp.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2022\/04\/e3e3f53e-1084x576.jpeg\" alt=\"\" \/>\n        <\/div>\n        <div class=\"pushpoint--info\">\n                    <span class=\"pushpoint--title\">The rise and fall of the paper paycheck<\/span>\n          <p>The story of the paycheck is one of unrealized potential. Learn how this payroll innovation went out of fashion as quickly as it came.\n<\/p>        <\/div>\n      <\/a><\/div> <\/div>\n\n<div class=\"block--article-pushpoint pushpoint__small\">      <div class=\"block-article-pushpoint__inner\">\n        <a href=\"https:\/\/rethinkq.adp.com\/unique-job-sorbian-teacher\/\">\n        <div class=\"pushpoint--image\">\n          <img decoding=\"async\" src=\"https:\/\/rethinkq.adp.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2023\/08\/2A3HG4D-1084x576.jpg\" alt=\"\" \/>\n        <\/div>\n        <div class=\"pushpoint--info\">\n                    <span class=\"pushpoint--title\">A Sorbian teacher keeps the language alive<\/span>\n          <p>Speakers of Germany\u2019s minority Slavic language are in high demand as the country attempts to preserve its heritage. <\/p>        <\/div>\n      <\/a><\/div> <\/div>\n<\/div><\/div>\n\n\n<section class=\"wp-block-group alignfull section--sign-up has-background\" style=\"background-color:#7967ae\"><div class=\"wp-block-group__inner-container is-layout-flow wp-block-group-is-layout-flow\">\n<p class=\"has-text-align-center is-style-default has-white-color has-text-color has-large-font-size\"><a href=\"\/sign-up\/\">Sign up<\/a> to keep up to date with ReThink Q.<\/p>\n<\/div><\/section>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>Four centuries ago, during a time of great innovation, Wilhelm Schickard invented the first-ever calculating machine in Germany.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":2505,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_acf_changed":true,"footnotes":""},"categories":[37],"tags":[56,315,103,138],"coauthors":[307],"class_list":["post-2502","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-artifact","tag-artifact","tag-calculators","tag-germany","tag-history","issue-issue-8-risk"],"acf":[],"yoast_head":"<!-- This site is optimized with the Yoast SEO plugin v26.5 - 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