The Mechanics Of Calculation

By Leo Gura - August 27, 2025

This is a great explanation of how calculation is mechanized, which is the basis for all computers.

The key insight here was that calculation does not require mental cognition but just the turning of some cleverly designed gears. It’s amazing how far this one simple insight has taken us. Which shows you the power of just one good insight. One good insight is worth a mountain of gold.

This mechanical process beautifully shows the relationship between addition and multiplication, and subtraction and division.

Also, interestingly, if you were in doubt about Terrence Howard’s lunatic claims about multiplication (that 1×1=2), the mechanical implementation in this video takes the question of what is proper multiplication out of the realm of human opinion. You can know what multiplication is by designing a set of gears to do it.

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