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NNTP-Posting-Date: Mon, 07 Apr 2025 21:59:47 +0000
Subject: Re: Rewriting SSA. Is This A Chance For GNU/Linux?
Newsgroups: comp.os.linux.advocacy,comp.os.linux.misc
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From: c186282 <c186282@nnada.net>
Date: Mon, 7 Apr 2025 17:59:45 -0400
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On 4/7/25 4:39 PM, -hh wrote:
> On 4/5/25 18:27, c186282 wrote:
>> On 4/5/25 3:40 PM, The Natural Philosopher wrote:
>>> On 05/04/2025 20:22, c186282 wrote:
>>>> Analog ... 
>>>
>>> Massive arrays of non linear analogue circuits for modelling things 
>>> like the Navier Stokes equations would be possible: Probably make a 
>>> better stab at climate modelling then the existing shit.
>>
>>    Again with analog, it's the sensitivity to especially
>>    temperature conditions that add errors in. Keep
>>    carrying those errors through several stages and soon
>>    all you have is error, pretending to be The Solution.
>>    Again, perhaps some meta-material that's NOT sensitive
>>    to what typically throws-off analog electronics MIGHT
>>    be made.
>>
>>    I'm trying to visualize what it would take to make
>>    an all-analog version of, say, a payroll spreadsheet :-)
> 
> Woogh!  That makes my brain hurt.


   Indeed ! However ... probably COULD be done, it's
   a bunch of shifting values - input to some accts,
   calx ops, shift to other accts ....... lots and
   lots of rheostats ........

   I'm not gonna try it !  :-)


>>    Now discrete use of analog as, as you suggested, doing
>>    multiplication/division/logs initiated and read by
>>    digital ... ?
>>
>>    Oh well, we're out in sci-fi land with most of this ...
>>    may as well talk about using giant evil brains in
>>    jars as computers  :-)
>>
>>    As some here have mentioned, we may be closer to the
>>    limits of computer power that we'd like to think.
>>    Today's big trick is parallelization, but only some
>>    kinds of problems can be modeled that way.
>>
>>    Saw an article the other day about using some kind
>>    of disulfide for de-facto transistors, but did not
>>    get the impression that they'd be fast. I think
>>    temperature resistance was the main thrust - industrial
>>    apps, Venus landers and such.
> 
> Actually, one of the things that Analog's still good at is real world 
> control systems with feeback loops and all the like.

   As long as it's pretty straightforward, analog can
   sometimes do it quicker and simpler. I oft wonder
   whether the problem of a self-balancing android
   might be handled better with analog feedback schemes.

   Of course nerves are, ultimately, 'digital' - pulses
   of varying rate/spacing but always the same strength.
   Some of the sensory stuff even gets 'compressed'/encoded
   before going to the brain. Every little leg hair does
   not its own direct nerve to the brain.

> I had one project some time 'way back in the 80s where we were 
> troubleshooting a line that had a 1960s era analog control system, and 
> one of the conversations that came up was if to replace it with digital. 
> It got looked into and was determined that digital process controls 
> weren't fast enough for the line.
> 
> Fast-forward to ~2005.  While back visiting that department, I found out 
> that that old analog beast was still running the line and they were 
> trolling eBay for parts to keep it running.

   Hey, so long as it works well !

> On another visit ~2015, the update:  they finally found a new digitally 
> based control system that was fast enough to finally replace it & did.

   What was the thing doing ?