Timeline of Mathematics and Computing

60,000 BC

The end of the ice age is nearing. In lush grassland that will later be known as the Sahara Desert lives a nomadic tribe that calls itself The Wandering People. One tribesman known as Tall Man is walking a distance from camp. He spots a small herd of seven antelope. It has been some time since the tribe has killed any game and The Wandering People are starting to get hungry. Time is of the essence and Tall Man needs help. He races back to camp and tells his fellow hunters of his find. The hunters grab their spears but tell Tall Man that they are confused as to how many antelope he had seen.

The tribe’s language does not have words to represent numbers. Though communication is difficult, Tall Man is suddenly inspired. He walks over to a pile of rubble and hoists seven rocks and places them before his fellow hunters. He explains that each rock represents one antelope. The hunters see the seven rocks and envision a one-to-one correspondence with the antelopes. With a ‘whoop’, the hunt is on.

Word spreads quickly about Tall Man’s abstract representation of numbers. People throughout the Sahara Grasslands begin to use boulders to represent numbers. To facilitate communication, they start to carry sacks of rocks with them wherever they go.

Do to the difficulty of carrying the heavy sacks from campsite to campsite, formerly nomadic tribes decide it is easier to stay put and set up permanent villages. They abandon their wandering existence and take up farming rather than hunting and gathering. Civilization is born.

Rocks are the most common forms of mathematics. With developments from more of intensive farming, mankind’s knowledge grows.

Suddenly, a new mathematical revolution occurs. Some of the village folk discover they can count with their fingers instead of rocks. The new practice is immediately recognized as a breakthrough. Counting fingers is superior to counting rocks. Without having to carry heavy sacks of boulders wherever they go, people are now able to move about freely once again. Villagers move more freelywithout hindrance about Africa, and on to Asia and Europe. They take civilization and mathematics with them.

The only disadvantage to the new mathematics system is that it only goes accounts for numbers up to ten.

An elderly man Chinese man, who is thirty years old, discovers that he can count with his toes as well as his fingers. The new numbering system is an improvement over the old because its capacity is suddenly doubled to twenty.

People living in colder regions are at a disadvantage, however, as those climates require wearing mukluks and other foot coverings. The ability to count toes is negated.

The Egyptians develop the first written number system. Their system expands upon counting the digits of appendages and is a ten-based system.

The abacus, device for performing mathematics calculations, is invented in China. The device consists of two boards on a frame, ten parallel wires strung between them,, and with nine sliding beads on each wire. The device can be used for addition and subtraction. More elaborate processes enable the performance of multiplication and division.

A Venetian merchant, Giovanni Formentini, returns from a long journey to the Orient. Along In addition to many strange spices and trading goods, he returns with an abacus. Formentini demonstrates and promotes its use to Europeans. An angry and frightened mob immediately seizes the abacus. They smash it to bits and burn Formentini at the stake as a heretic and witch.

The first general-purpose electronic digital computer is invented in Pennsylvania.

Academics warn of a coming crisis that will occur with the arrival of the year 2000. Since computers use two-digit computer clocks to track years, going from the year 1999 to 2000 would cause the shut down of time-sensitive software, or cause erroneous computer calculations.

In a newspaper article, the editor of a major computing magazines says, "This is the sort of thing that is brought up at conferences as a sort of joke. But it is a legitimate concern. If companies started right now to modify their systems, it would be duck soup to get finished. But if they wait until 1990 it could be a problem."

A spokesperson for IBM is quoted as saying the Y2K problem presents, "no major difficulty and would be dealt with on a case-by-case basis."

The government finally realizes the seriousness of the pending computer crisis and passes a myriad of laws compelling businesses to become Y2K compliant. It is a case of being too little, too late. In the meantime, most of the government’s own systems are deficient. Only a handful of large businesses make an effort to comply. Virtually no effort is made in throughout the rest of the world to update computer systems.

Computer systems throughout the world crash. Water delivery systems shut down, leaving populations thirsty. Bank computers show zero dollar balances for all accounts.

Due to the failure in their software program, Russian nuclear missiles are launched toward the United States. Due to the fact that there has been no maintenance performed on the missiles in fifteen years, they all break apart before reaching their targets. Only one missile detonates. It explodes high over northern Canada, killing fifteen moose, one polar bear, and giving 2nd degree burns to three French speaking fur-trappers.

Incensed over the injuries to the French-Canadian fur trappers, and believing the injuries are were a Russian attack on the dying French language, France declares war on Russia.

The stock markets of the world collapse.

The cheese eating, wine drinking French government surrenders without a shot being fired. The Russians set up a puppet government in France. The country is renamed "Vichy France." The government proves to be ineffectual since Vichy France, as well as the rest of the world, has descended into anarchy.

Technology is a distant memory. The last of the power plants closed down a couple generations ago.

An Indiana blacksmith from Logansport, Jasper Hoban, rummages through the ruins of Old Indianapolis. He finds an old undamaged computer. He takes it back to Logansport and hooks it up to an old generator that he retooled to run on methane gas. He processes the methane from chicken droppings. In Logansport, Hoban promotes and demonstrates his computer. An angry and frightened mob immediately smashes the computer to bits and burns Hoban at the stake as a heretic and witch.

The abacus is reintroduced in America. The device consists of two boards on a frame, ten parallel wires strung between them, andwith nine sliding beads on each wire. It replaces the more popular system of counting, which required people to carry heavy sacks of rocks wherever they went.

An electronic digital computer is invented in Wheaton, Illinois.

Academics warn of a coming crisis that will occur with the arrival of the year 3000. Since computers use two-digit computer clocks to track years, going from the year 2999 to 3000 will cause the shut down of time-sensitive software and cause erroneous computer calculations. The media dubs it the ‘Y3K Crisis.’

The Pork Council, the only organization that has survived over the last millennia, has filled the governmental void in North America. Unfortunately, it is oblivious to the dire predictions.

Computer systems throughout the world crash. Water delivery systems shut down, leaving populations thirsty. Computers show zero dollar balances on bank accounts. The stockmarkets of the world collapse. The Pork Council disbands. The world descends into anarchy.

The power void in the world is filled by the goose-stepping crack troops of Vichy France. Cheese eating and wine guzzling becomes the norm worldwide.

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