Algorism vs. Algorithm
Scott Smith
and I noticed the author used "algorism" where I would use "algorithm".
From what I could gather, the author was American and had taught only in
the US.
Is algorism still used? Why the switch? Was it pronounced like algorithm?
Thank you,
--
Scott Lacy Smith <sls...@quik.com>
Student of Computer Science
"Nullus Anxietas" Denton, Texas, US
The University of North Texas
Heinz W. Wiggeshoff
Scott Smith (sls...@bugfree.quik.com) writes:
> I was reading a book on number theory (written around the 1940's, I think)
> and I noticed the author used "algorism" where I would use "algorithm".
> From what I could gather, the author was American and had taught only in
> the US.
I can't find algorism in Webster's New Collegiate Dictionary, so if
anyone uses it in a Scrabble game, I'll challenge. Maybe s/he had an
inverse lisp.
Andrew Gabriel
sls...@bugfree.quik.com (Scott Smith) writes:
>I was reading a book on number theory (written around the 1940's, I think)
>and I noticed the author used "algorism" where I would use "algorithm".
>From what I could gather, the author was American and had taught only in
>the US.
I've never heard it before; it's in my Oxford English
Dictionary as an alternative spelling of Algorithm.
>Is algorism still used? Why the switch?
If I understand the symbols in my dictionary, Algorism
comes from Middle English and Algorithm comes from Old
French. Probably both from a common root, al-Kuwarizmi
name of 9th centry mathematician and/or the Latin algorismus.
>Was it pronounced like algorithm?
Not according to OED - pronounced as you'd expect from
the spelling.
--
Andrew Gabriel
Consultant Software Engineer
gr...@apple2.com
> I was reading a book on number theory (written around the 1940's, I think)
> and I noticed the author used "algorism" where I would use "algorithm".
> From what I could gather, the author was American and had taught only in
> the US.
>
> Is algorism still used? Why the switch? Was it pronounced like algorithm?
If it were a modern book, I'd say it was an Al Gore-ism.
--
Nine quadrillion, nine hundred ninety-nine trillion, nine hundred ninety-nine
billion, nine hundred ninety-nine million, nine hundred ninety-nine thousand,
five hundred seventy bottles of beer. You take one down, pass it around, nine
quadrillion, nine hundred ninety-nine trillion, nine hundred ninety-nine
Dave Brockman
>
> In article <slrn7m7s2v...@bugfree.quik.com>,
> sls...@bugfree.quik.com (Scott Smith) writes:
> >and I noticed the author used "algorism" where I would use "algorithm".
> >From what I could gather, the author was American and had taught only in
> >the US.
>
> Dictionary as an alternative spelling of Algorithm.
>
The American Heritage dictionary gives this:
1. The Arabic system of numeration; the decimal system. 2. Computation
with Arabic figures. [Middle English algorisme, from Old French, from
Medieval Latin algorismus, after Muhammad ibn Khwarizmi-Musa al-.]
Quite a bit different meaning than Algorthm.
**************************
Dave Brockman/Portable
http://www.oz.net/~daveb
**************************
Wolfram Schmied
>Andrew Gabriel wrote:
>> In article <slrn7m7s2v...@bugfree.quik.com>,
>> sls...@bugfree.quik.com (Scott Smith) writes:
>> >I was reading a book on number theory (written around the 1940's, I think)
>> >and I noticed the author used "algorism" where I would use "algorithm".
>> >From what I could gather, the author was American and had taught only in
>> >the US.
>> I've never heard it before; it's in my Oxford English
>> Dictionary as an alternative spelling of Algorithm.
>The American Heritage dictionary gives this:
>1. The Arabic system of numeration; the decimal system. 2. Computation
>with Arabic figures. [Middle English algorisme, from Old French, from
>Medieval Latin algorismus, after Muhammad ibn Khwarizmi-Musa al-.]
>Quite a bit different meaning than Algorthm.
Algorthm? Isn't he a trademarked anime character? ;-)
Now I just have to figure out a way to smuggle "algorism" into my next
English test. Recently, my teacher opined that "thusly" is not a legal
adverb, and that "to prepare to leave to do s.th" must be used
reflexively, so "algorism" is going to drive her up the wall! <G>
Wolfram "teetaciously catawamptious" Schmied
Charlie Gibbs
(Wolfram Schmied) writes:
I'm so glad we finally got our books out of boxes and onto new shelves.
That way, when this thread made me think of the word "algorasm", I was
able to immediately dig out my copy of Stan Kelly-Bootle's "The Devil's
DP Dictionary" and look it up:
algorasm n. [Origin: blend of algorism + orgasm.] A sudden, short-
lived moment of pleasure enjoyed by the programmer (and, for all
we know, by the system), when the final kludge rings the bell.
The next entries, sure enough, are:
algorism n. A pre-LISP algorithm devised by abu-Ja'far Mohammed
ibn-Musa al-Khuwarizmi (Persian mathematician fl. A.D. 825) who
wrote the first BASIC substring modifier in a vain attempt to
shorten his name.
algorithm n. [Origin: algorism with a pronounced LISP.] A rare
species endangered by the industry's cavalier pursuit and gauche
attempts at domestication.
I've snipped the detailed background information, including Omar
Khayyam's wonderful lament about the lack of effective text-editing
facilities:
The Moving Finger writes; and, having writ,
Moves on: Nor all your Piety nor Wit
Shall lure it back to cancel half a Line,
Nor all your Tears wash out a Word of it.
Anyone who reads a.f.c. and hasn't seen this book is missing
something wonderful. I don't know whether it's still available,
but my copy is from McGraw-Hill, 1981, ISBN 0-07-034022-6.
--
cgi...@sky.bus.com (Charlie Gibbs)
Remove the first period after the "at" sign to reply.
Derek Peschel
Charlie Gibbs <cgi...@sky.bus.com> wrote:
[The Devil's DP Dictionary]
>Anyone who reads a.f.c. and hasn't seen this book is missing
>something wonderful. I don't know whether it's still available,
>but my copy is from McGraw-Hill, 1981, ISBN 0-07-034022-6.
I understand it to be out of print. There is a new version called
_The Computer Contradictionary_. I know it includes some new definitions.
I'm sure it gets rid of old ones. You can read about multimedia but you
can't read about the floppy drumette or how to convert your drumette system
to diskette (with the handy converter kit from IBM, available when you send
the box tops from only three 370/195 systems).
BTW the Devil's DP Dictionary quotes from the Jargon File before it was the
Hacker's Dictionary. Since it's called JARGON FILE instead of _the_ JARGON
FILE, I guess it was still living on an ITS system and JARGON FILE was the
file's name.
And anyone who reads the Devil's DP Dictionary should buy (or download!) the
Devil's Dictionary by Ambrose Bierce.
-- Derek
Foobar T. Clown
>
> I'm so glad we finally got our books out of boxes and onto new
> Stan Kelly-Bootle's "The Devil's DP Dictionary" [...] Anyone who
> reads a.f.c. and hasn't seen this book is missing something
> wonderful.
I've seen it. It's kind of like a Jargon File for the Dark Side.
Rick Lugg
news:slrn7m7s2v...@bugfree.quik.com...
> I was reading a book on number theory (written around the 1940's, I think)
> and I noticed the author used "algorism" where I would use "algorithm".
> From what I could gather, the author was American and had taught only in
> the US.
>
Well Thcott it depenth on whether you lithp
--
Rick Lugg
Aaron Crane
I was hoping someone else would bring this up, because I may very well be
wrong, but here goes anyway. If al-Khwarizmi wrote his name with the letter
named `Za' or `Dha' (rather than the one named `Zen' or `Zaay') then the
reason for the confusion is quite simple: some Arabic dialects pronounce
this letter as `dh' (the initial sound in English words like `this') rather
than as `z'.
Some references:
* The letter I'm talking about has the `emphatic loop' with a vertical
stroke and a dot. I won't try to draw it in ASCII art; you can see it
at <URL:http://www.mysite.com/syria/fig389.gif>.
* <URL:http://www.mysite.com/syria/alpd110.htm> calls this letter `Za'.
* <URL:http://www.arabic2000.com/arabic/alphabet.html> calls it `Thaa'.
--
Aaron Crane <aaron...@pobox.com> <URL:http://pobox.com/~aaronc/>
** Please send on-topic followups by Usenet, not email **
Carl R. Friend
>
> algorasm n. [Origin: blend of algorism + orgasm.] A sudden, short-
> lived moment of pleasure enjoyed by the programmer (and, for all
> we know, by the system), when the final kludge rings the bell.
Five points to those who can name the computer(s) which actually
had bells on them (Teletypes do _not_ count). I know of at least
two. How many others are out there?
> algorithm n. [Origin: algorism with a pronounced LISP.]
That cost me another round of keyboard and monitor cleaning, thank
you very much. I need to acquire said tome.
--
+------------------------------------------------+---------------------+
| Carl Richard Friend (UNIX Sysadmin) | West Boylston |
| Minicomputer Collector / Enthusiast | Massachusetts, USA |
| mailto:carl....@stoneweb.com | |
| http://www.ultranet.com/~crfriend/museum | ICBM: N42:22 W71:47 |
+------------------------------------------------+---------------------+
John F. Eldredge
>In article <slrn7m7s2v...@bugfree.quik.com>, sls...@quik.com wrote:
>
>> I was reading a book on number theory (written around the 1940's, I think)
>> and I noticed the author used "algorism" where I would use "algorithm".
>> From what I could gather, the author was American and had taught only in
>> the US.
>>
>> Is algorism still used? Why the switch? Was it pronounced like algorithm?
>
>If it were a modern book, I'd say it was an Al Gore-ism.
Such as "inventing the Internet".
--
John F. Eldredge -- eldr...@poboxes.com
PGP key available from http://www.netforward.com/poboxes/?eldredge/
--
"There must be, not a balance of power, but a community of power;
not organized rivalries, but an organized common peace." - Woodrow Wilson
Dennis Ritchie
> Five points to those who can name the computer(s) which actually
> had bells on them (Teletypes do _not_ count). I know of at least
> two. How many others are out there?
The GIOC on the GE (later Honeywell) 645, the Multics machine,
had a real bell, as in commercial burglar-alarm type;
it turned on when a serious error was detected, and it could
be turned off only by pushing the reset switch. It wasn't
any ding-ding gadget; it was real noise. I don't remember
how far into successor machines it survived. It was heard
less often once the early days had passed and the OS no
longer provoked the serious errors.
Dennis
Scott Smith
wrote:
>Charlie Gibbs wrote:
>>
>> algorasm n. [Origin: blend of algorism + orgasm.] A sudden, short-
>> lived moment of pleasure enjoyed by the programmer (and, for all
>> we know, by the system), when the final kludge rings the bell.
>
>had bells on them (Teletypes do _not_ count). I know of at least
>two. How many others are out there?
From "Computer Architecture A Quatitative Approach" (2nd ed),
a quote at the start of Chapter 2 (Instruction Set Principles and Examples):
A n Add the number in storage location n into the accumulator.
E n If the number in the accumulator is greater than or equal to
zero execute next the order which stands in storage location;
otherwise proceed serially.
Z Stop the machine and ring the warning bell.
Wilkes and Renwick
Selection from the List of 18 Machine
Instructions for the EDSAC (1949)
Matt Curtin
Dennis Ritchie <d...@bell-labs.com> said:
DMR> It wasn't any ding-ding gadget; it was real noise.
[snip]
DMR> It was heard less often once the early days had passed and the OS
DMR> no longer provoked the serious errors.
If nothing else, that's a very interesting means of providing impetus
to fix "serious errors". If such things were standard equipment on
computers today, I wonder how much sleep anyone would get in
Redmond...
(Given the way this industry works, though, we'd probably see a
redefinition of "serious error" rather than real fixes...)
--
Matt Curtin cmcu...@interhack.net http://www.interhack.net/people/cmcurtin/
Shez
rather the study of algae. And my dictionary (Concise Oxford) says
algorism & algorithm are synonyms, but then what would they know, it was
written by lexicographers who are notoriously illiterate when it comes
to technology. Finally, algolagnia is where people manage to transcend
existential despair by the simple device of getting sexual gratification
from self-mutilation. Now why does it not surprise me that this is so
close to words like "algorithm" in the dictionary?
-Shez.
--
____________________________________________________________
Committee, n.: A group of men who individually can do nothing
but as a group decide that nothing can be done. -- Fred Allen
____________________________________________________________
Address any email replies to Shez (email to "news" is rejected)
Take a break at the Last Stop Cafe at <URL: http://www.xerez.demon.co.uk/>
PGP key at Shez.asc [1359 6963 B720 A4D6 DBB4 B6C5 BC9E 5FE2 6B7B 37A5]
Bill Vermillion
>In article <3765630c...@news.blinx.de> wsch...@mail.blinx.de
>(Wolfram Schmied) writes:
>
>>On 14 Jun 1999 00:21:26 GMT, Dave Brockman <da...@oz.net> wrote:
>>>Quite a bit different meaning than Algorthm.
>>Algorthm? Isn't he a trademarked anime character? ;-)
>>Now I just have to figure out a way to smuggle "algorism" into my
>>next English test. Recently, my teacher opined that "thusly" is
>>not a legal adverb, and that "to prepare to leave to do s.th" must
>>be used reflexively, so "algorism" is going to drive her up the
>>wall! <G>
>I'm so glad we finally got our books out of boxes and onto new
>shelves. That way, when this thread made me think of the word
>"algorasm", I was able to immediately dig out my copy of Stan
>Kelly-Bootle's "The Devil's DP Dictionary" and look it up:
...
> algorism n. A pre-LISP algorithm devised by abu-Ja'far Mohammed
> ibn-Musa al-Khuwarizmi (Persian mathematician fl. A.D. 825) who
> wrote the first BASIC substring modifier in a vain attempt to
> shorten his name.
Thank goodness it's changed. I'd never be able to spell
alkhuwarizmi kerektlee
--
Bill Vermillion bv @ wjv.com
Bob Shair
"Carl R. Friend" <carl....@stoneweb.com> wrote:
>
> Five points to those who can name the computer(s) which actually
> had bells on them (Teletypes do _not_ count). I know of at least
> two. How many others are out there?
>
the dead (or a sleeping third-shift operator).
At the State of Illinois' central datacenter, they modified OS/360
to ring it when a tape mount had been unsatisfied for 20(?) minutes.
--
Bob Shair
Open Systems Consulting
Champaign, Illinois
Sent via Deja.com http://www.deja.com/
Share what you know. Learn what you don't.
gr...@apple2.com
eldr...@poboxes.com (John F. Eldredge) wrote:
>gr...@apple2.com wrote:
>> If it were a modern book, I'd say it was an Al Gore-ism.
> Such as "inventing the Internet".
Exactly. To elaborate:
Al Gore did not found the Internet. He found the Internet. Big difference.
--
Nine quadrillion, nine hundred ninety-nine trillion, nine hundred ninety-nine
billion, nine hundred ninety-nine million, nine hundred ninety-nine thousand,
five hundred six bottles of beer. You take one down, pass it around, nine
Ariel Scolnicov
> In article <37691f3e.190010059@localhost>,
> eldr...@poboxes.com (John F. Eldredge) wrote:
> >gr...@apple2.com wrote:
>
> >> If it were a modern book, I'd say it was an Al Gore-ism.
>
> > Such as "inventing the Internet".
>
> Exactly. To elaborate:
>
> Al Gore did not found the Internet. He found the Internet. Big difference.
>
Was it in September?
--
Ariel Scolnicov |"GCAAGAATTGAACTGTAG" |ari...@compugen.co.il
Compugen Ltd. |Tel: +972-2-6795059 (Jerusalem) \ NEW IMPROVED URL!
72 Pinhas Rosen St. |Tel: +972-3-7658520 (Main office)`--------------------
Tel-Aviv 69512, ISRAEL |Fax: +972-3-7658555 http://3w.compugen.co.il/~ariels
Charles Richmond
>
> On Sun, 13 Jun 1999 18:06:39 -0500, gr...@apple2.com wrote:
>
> >In article <slrn7m7s2v...@bugfree.quik.com>, sls...@quik.com wrote:
> >
> >> I was reading a book on number theory (written around the 1940's, I think)
> >> and I noticed the author used "algorism" where I would use "algorithm".
> >> From what I could gather, the author was American and had taught only in
> >> the US.
> >>
> >> Is algorism still used? Why the switch? Was it pronounced like algorithm?
> >
>
> Such as "inventing the Internet".
>
+-------------------------------------------------------------+
| Charles and Francis Richmond <rich...@plano.net> |
+-------------------------------------------------------------+