The operation described on the chalkboard (about 12 minutes in) where they “add” letters together is known these days as the XOR operation. Here is the mathematics of the XOR. The teleprinter code used in those days was the baudot code. Modern computers use the ASCII code.
The good stuff (for me) starts at 43 minutes in and goes to the end. And yes. I’d like my monument to be a working machine. I’m working on one. I’m the hardware guy. I consult on the software.
My electronics experience goes back to the tube days so I understand the circuit diagrams (as much as you can from a glance) in the documentary. Not many people still around who can read that old stuff. I cut my teeth on radio/wireless magazines from the 1930s housed at the Omaha Public Library.
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One response to “The History Of Computing – Code Breaking”
For me, the significant part of the story has always been the human error.
Hitler was reliant on machines because he did not trust men, but ultimately it was not the failure of the machine, but the laziness of a man that was his downfall