The 1st Professional Human Computer
Kirt's Cogitations™ #166

RF Cafe University "Factoids," "Kirt's Cogitations," and "Tech Topics Smorgasbord" are all manifestations of my ranting on various subjects relevant (usually) to the overall RF Cafe theme. All may be accessed on these pages:

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The 1st Professional Human Computer

Johann Dase, born in Hamburg, Germany in 1840, was of low intellect except for his extraordinary calculating powers. He could multiply two, 20-digit numbers in his head in 6 minutes. He could look at a field of sheep for only a couple seconds, then tell the exact count. His powers were attributed to a true photographic memory. Beginning at 16 years old, he was enlisted by famous mathematician Carl Friedrich Gauss to generate the most precise tables of the day for logarithms, hyperbolic and trigonometric functions. These calculations would otherwise take years to make and require an entire staff of mathematicians. Since Johann was paid for his services, this possibly constituted the world's first instance of rented computer time.

Innovative Power Products (IPP) Directional Couplers - RF Cafe Website

RF Cafe began life in 1996 as "RF Tools" in an AOL screen name web space totaling 2 MB. Its primary purpose was to provide me with ready access to commonly needed formulas and reference material while performing my work as an RF system and circuit design engineer. The World Wide Web (Internet) was largely an unknown entity at the time and bandwidth was a scarce commodity. Dial-up modems blazed along at 14.4 kbps while tying up your telephone line, and a lady's voice announced "You've Got Mail" when a new message arrived...