Comment on Analog computing is undergoing a resurgence
floquant@lemmy.dbzer0.com 19 hours agoThis has nothing to do with retro technology. This is about thinking “is using binary really the most efficient way to run every computation we need to do?”, which is really relevant today.
floo@retrolemmy.com 19 hours ago
Is it? Binary is not a “analog” vs “digital” thing. “Binary” existed in analog computing for a couple of centuries at least before the concept of “digital“ even existed.
floquant@lemmy.dbzer0.com 19 hours ago
With “binary” I mean “has two states”, as in discrete, as in digital. You can represent binary bits using analog circuits, but it doesn’t make those circuits binary. What makes these chips different is that they are able to not only represent but actually model continuous functions and values, like physical models.
floo@retrolemmy.com 19 hours ago
I think perhaps you might’ve misunderstood my comment, because this is exactly what I was saying. You’re just being a lot more specific in your explanation.
floquant@lemmy.dbzer0.com 19 hours ago
No offense taken! I just believe that a subtle difference does not mean unimportant and wanted to be precise. I didn’t take you as someone who doesn’t understand analog and digital, especially considering your instance :) I edited my previous comment for some additional clarity. I just think they’re neat ^^
frezik@lemmy.blahaj.zone 19 hours ago
That doesn’t contradict anything above.
There’s a company pushing their hybrid analog/digital chip for real use cases. I dunno if it’s going to be successful, but it’s not retro.