From mboxrd@z Thu Jan 1 00:00:00 1970 X-Spam-Checker-Version: SpamAssassin 3.4.4 (2020-01-24) on inbox.vuxu.org X-Spam-Level: X-Spam-Status: No, score=-0.8 required=5.0 tests=DKIM_INVALID,DKIM_SIGNED, HTML_MESSAGE,MAILING_LIST_MULTI,RCVD_IN_DNSWL_NONE autolearn=ham autolearn_force=no version=3.4.4 Received: (qmail 2200 invoked from network); 16 Jun 2021 04:14:19 -0000 Received: from minnie.tuhs.org (45.79.103.53) by inbox.vuxu.org with ESMTPUTF8; 16 Jun 2021 04:14:19 -0000 Received: by minnie.tuhs.org (Postfix, from userid 112) id B2D409C9AF; Wed, 16 Jun 2021 14:14:16 +1000 (AEST) Received: from minnie.tuhs.org (localhost [127.0.0.1]) by minnie.tuhs.org (Postfix) with ESMTP id F020D9C8E8; Wed, 16 Jun 2021 14:13:50 +1000 (AEST) Authentication-Results: minnie.tuhs.org; dkim=fail reason="signature verification failed" (2048-bit key; unprotected) header.d=iitbombay-org.20150623.gappssmtp.com header.i=@iitbombay-org.20150623.gappssmtp.com header.b="aTcV7DUx"; dkim-atps=neutral Received: by minnie.tuhs.org (Postfix, from userid 112) id 172649C8E8; Wed, 16 Jun 2021 14:13:50 +1000 (AEST) Received: from mail-pf1-f175.google.com (mail-pf1-f175.google.com [209.85.210.175]) by minnie.tuhs.org (Postfix) with ESMTPS id 05AAF9C8E7 for ; Wed, 16 Jun 2021 14:13:49 +1000 (AEST) Received: by mail-pf1-f175.google.com with SMTP id z26so1131325pfj.5 for ; Tue, 15 Jun 2021 21:13:49 -0700 (PDT) DKIM-Signature: v=1; a=rsa-sha256; c=relaxed/relaxed; d=iitbombay-org.20150623.gappssmtp.com; s=20150623; h=from:message-id:mime-version:subject:date:in-reply-to:cc:to :references; bh=ocKChvA1eQwwphaO57k/jajFovUzS3GJD2Re4zebtsQ=; b=aTcV7DUxiawCI8hGJxiTP5GFkUzTXql/3OCMpDGv656d0zpoVTtjaYmu9iC2EzoHmO kt3QU7kLWwCeSBjSaNHLc8JiJRYfZzhI4x1Jny7fBelCwETO2nSoe5AX5fH8MHOvvS/f pNr35BS8riRA/RTRspj20U63DCgC4KfnD3tNeQPA7+2Z98gY+jmU8HLjxHpGiecQfL8J +ULuHyjTkE4FmZMZowg3pH4rsx/ay4StO5evt0pSiGfsD7a5bKwCpz/1taTiqycu/Qi7 vR7nHNzG2B6mBad/1DI74RpwxQDQSqmUxfTFfcOSP95bgGlruzBXc9UJi4W237X4PpDP N2Pg== X-Google-DKIM-Signature: v=1; a=rsa-sha256; c=relaxed/relaxed; d=1e100.net; s=20161025; h=x-gm-message-state:from:message-id:mime-version:subject:date :in-reply-to:cc:to:references; bh=ocKChvA1eQwwphaO57k/jajFovUzS3GJD2Re4zebtsQ=; b=PTGeWqUfk2CzA3b1/D2U3ZidsdHlXduA13l+9FdfCoSnSGxOvDRAQXt3NxBSqh2UQB 8CQygftKYcBRydl8GKVT/I3Srl4GuuUgIGPFDGMmxpntbxeNN4D9rykYf6uOT5R1Mfw7 qQAvAHlBWO/gL2gzB260gd17uKpSQg+CT9ApOFM3PWXVAIWnJOjsnwdvbJmRNav5yOH4 IOI5Bl7lXOcHCL+RT07zOa3Oh+yxiR4k7V+O2OFxPhS6ex5uPpdvBG9UEKGQK1bu4Bz+ r9EhrLmMfaqAUFyrVEw6EPiFffjkI+g93mCLDieFZ1KvLnqJXg5oV1/AtPWW2QFrJ5CZ CuLw== X-Gm-Message-State: AOAM531CwnnYY1QQ+/254kIZP4/+A7UFxHfr9EHfaIAQ2LsLjR7h/LdC dpy+2rnQu/WODTdJAmAm+w/8gA== X-Google-Smtp-Source: ABdhPJwDUF60DXOvODK64FVOV/1w8apNT3posoaG3FZmNTD5nCenjCYEi4Xgyv8kYuiDLQvAIMEmUg== X-Received: by 2002:a63:1a4f:: with SMTP id a15mr2909095pgm.313.1623816828523; Tue, 15 Jun 2021 21:13:48 -0700 (PDT) Received: from smtpclient.apple (107-215-223-229.lightspeed.sntcca.sbcglobal.net. [107.215.223.229]) by smtp.gmail.com with ESMTPSA id c14sm634512pgv.86.2021.06.15.21.13.47 (version=TLS1_2 cipher=ECDHE-ECDSA-AES128-GCM-SHA256 bits=128/128); Tue, 15 Jun 2021 21:13:48 -0700 (PDT) From: Bakul Shah Message-Id: Content-Type: multipart/alternative; boundary="Apple-Mail=_B55790D6-E3D2-4DB8-B2E1-E462C756AE6D" Mime-Version: 1.0 (Mac OS X Mail 14.0 \(3654.100.0.2.22\)) Date: Tue, 15 Jun 2021 21:13:44 -0700 In-Reply-To: To: Rob Pike References: <20210615221659.ltbL6%steffen@sdaoden.eu> X-Mailer: Apple Mail (2.3654.100.0.2.22) Subject: Re: [TUHS] 70th anniversary of (official) programming errors X-BeenThere: tuhs@minnie.tuhs.org X-Mailman-Version: 2.1.26 Precedence: list List-Id: The Unix Heritage Society mailing list List-Unsubscribe: , List-Archive: List-Post: List-Help: List-Subscribe: , Cc: The Eunuchs Hysterical Society Errors-To: tuhs-bounces@minnie.tuhs.org Sender: "TUHS" --Apple-Mail=_B55790D6-E3D2-4DB8-B2E1-E462C756AE6D Content-Transfer-Encoding: quoted-printable Content-Type: text/plain; charset=utf-8 h= ttps://spectrum.ieee.org/the-institute/ieee-history/did-you-know-edison-co= ined-the-term-bug Like Edison, she (Grace Hopper) was recalling the word=E2=80=99s older = origins in the Welsh bwg, the Scottish bogill or bogle, the German = b=C3=B6gge, and the Middle English bugge: the hobgoblins of pre-modern = life, resurrected in the 19th century as, to paraphrase philosopher = Gilbert Ryle, ghosts in the machine. Electrical circuits can have "bad connections" so I do wonder if Edison = coined this word based on "ghost like" faults that magically appear and = disappear! -- Bakul > On Jun 15, 2021, at 8:48 PM, Rob Pike wrote: >=20 > There are citations from Edison in the 19th century using the word, = and a quote somewhere by Maurice Wilkes about the stairwell moment when = he realized much of the rest of his life would be spent finding = programming errors. >=20 > That moth was not the first bug, nor the first "bug", it was the first = recorded "actual bug". >=20 > -rob >=20 >=20 > On Wed, Jun 16, 2021 at 9:46 AM Dan Cross > wrote: > On Tue, Jun 15, 2021 at 6:55 PM John Cowan > wrote: > On Tue, Jun 15, 2021 at 6:25 PM Steffen Nurpmeso > wrote: > As not being hard-to-the-core i may have missed it, but also in > 1951, in March, the wonderful Grace Hopper "conceives the first > compiler, called A-O and later released as Math-Matic. Hopper is > also credited with coining the term 'bug' following an incident > involving a moth and a Mark II. >=20 > Yes, but wrongly. The label next to the moth is "First actual case of = bug being found", and the word "actual" shows that the slang term = already existed then. Brief unexplained faults on telephony (and before = that telegraphy) lines were "bugs on the line" back in the 19C. = Vibroplex telegraph keys, first sold in 1905, had a picture of a beetle = on the top of the key, and were notorious for creating bugs when = inexperienced operators used them. (Vibroplex is still in business, = still selling its continuous-operation telegraph keys, which ditt as = long as you hold the paddle to the right.) >=20 > Indeed, the Vibroplex key is called a "bug". I suspect this has = something to do with its appearance more than anything else, though (it = kinda sorta looks like, er, a bug). >=20 > - Dan C. >=20 --Apple-Mail=_B55790D6-E3D2-4DB8-B2E1-E462C756AE6D Content-Transfer-Encoding: quoted-printable Content-Type: text/html; charset=utf-8 https://spectrum.ieee.org/the-institute/ieee-history/did-you-kn= ow-edison-coined-the-term-bug

Like Edison, she (Grace = Hopper) was recalling the word=E2=80=99s older origins in the = Welsh bwg, the = Scottish bogill or bogle, the German b=C3=B6gge, = and the Middle English bugge: the hobgoblins of = pre-modern life, resurrected in the 19th century as, to paraphrase = philosopher Gilbert Ryle, ghosts in the machine.

Electrical circuits can = have "bad connections" so I do wonder if Edison coined this word based = on "ghost like" faults that magically appear and disappear!

-- Bakul

On Jun 15, 2021, at 8:48 PM, Rob Pike = <robpike@gmail.com> wrote:

There are citations from Edison in the 19th century using the = word, and a quote somewhere by Maurice Wilkes about the stairwell moment = when he realized much of the rest of his life would be spent finding = programming errors.

That moth was not the first bug, nor the first "bug", it was = the first recorded "actual bug".

-rob


On Wed, Jun = 16, 2021 at 9:46 AM Dan Cross <crossd@gmail.com> wrote:
On Tue, Jun 15, 2021 at 6:55 PM John Cowan <cowan@ccil.org> wrote:
On Tue, Jun 15, 2021 at 6:25 PM Steffen Nurpmeso = <steffen@sdaoden.eu> wrote:
As not being hard-to-the-core i may have missed it, but also in
1951, in March, the wonderful Grace Hopper "conceives the first
compiler, called A-O and later released as Math-Matic.  Hopper = is
also credited with coining the term 'bug' following an incident
involving a moth and a Mark II.

Yes, but = wrongly.  The label next to the moth is "First actual case of bug = being found", and the word "actual" shows that the slang term already = existed then.  Brief unexplained faults on telephony (and before = that telegraphy) lines were "bugs on the line" back in the 19C.  = Vibroplex telegraph keys, first sold in 1905, had a picture of a beetle = on the top of the key, and were notorious for creating bugs when = inexperienced operators used them.  (Vibroplex is still in = business, still selling its continuous-operation telegraph keys, = which ditt as long as you hold the paddle to the = right.)

Indeed, the Vibroplex key is called a = "bug". I suspect this has something to do with its appearance more than = anything else, though (it kinda sorta looks like, er, a bug).

      =   - Dan C.


= --Apple-Mail=_B55790D6-E3D2-4DB8-B2E1-E462C756AE6D--