Analogic Computing - Simulating Monetary Flows ( 1949 )

[Dante Monson]

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Phillips_Machine

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=rAZavOcEnLg

Phillips scrounged materials to create his prototype computer, including bits and pieces of war surplus parts from old Lancaster bombers.^[1] The first MONIAC was created in his landlady's garage in Croydon at a cost of £400 (equivalent to £15,000 in 2021).

Phillips first demonstrated the machine to leading economists at the London School of Economics (LSE), of which Phillips was a student, in 1949. It was very well received and Phillips was soon offered a teaching position at the LSE.

The machine had been designed as a teaching aid but was also discovered to be an effective economic simulator.^[2] When the machine was created, electronic digital computers that could run complex economic simulations were unavailable. In 1949, the few computers in existence were restricted to government and military use and their lack of adequate visual displays made them unable to illustrate the operation of complex models. Observing the machine in operation made it much easier for students to understand the interrelated processes of a national economy. The range of organisations that acquired a machine showed that it was used in both capacities.