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A collection of remastered algorithms for the Curta calculating machine
A tribute to Curt Herzstark
Once, the world of those who calculate was divided into two: the abaquists who pushed counters on lines and the algorists who developed written calculation by aligning numbers on their parchments. The feud that existed between them is long gone. Moreover, recently, the Curta and other mechanical calculators brought their two worlds together. We push the register sliders by executing all kinds of algorithms.
Today, the gears of these fantastic charts have given way to electrons. But the Curta, in particular, always has an element of mystery, not to say magic. Mechanical! It's all there before our eyes. The numbers dance to the sound of the gears and the calculations follow one another.
The Curta remains a fairly brilliant calculation tool, capable of sometimes performing two simultaneous calculations or the easy calculation of a polygon area which proves complicated with an electronic calculator. Because with mechanics, there are brains who have developed judicious algorithms by making the most of the creation of Curt Herzstark. Some of the ones presented here are simply brilliant.
Today, we have lost the reflexes and the knowledge of mechanical calculation and the manuals of the time are unsuitable for our busy time. Their literary or overly technical aspect is often confusing for modern, busy people. So I created this presentation system in the hope that it would make the calculations clearer. By providing an exhaustive overview of examples from the period, the aim was also to create unity in the presentation. The Futura font is that of the Contina manuals. There are also some new finds such as the Syracuse conjecture, the first research of which in the 1950s was probably carried out using a Curta. A little revenge too: How to transform a decimal number into binary?
I spent hundreds of hours hearing the click of gears, admiring the complex results, hundreds of hours discovering the mechanical intricacies of the Curta, hundreds of hours calculating without ever having to change the batteries. I hope this pleasure will be shared.
Bernard Stabile, November 2023
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