Geniac was a mechanical computer sold as an educational toy designed and marketed by Edmund Berkeley, with Oliver Garfield from 1955 to 1958, but with Garfield continuing without Berkeley through the 1960s.

Operation

With this basic setup Geniac could use combinational logic only, its outputs depending entirely on inputs manually set. It had no active elements at all – no relays, tubes, or transistors – to allow a machine state to automatically influence subsequent states. Thus, Geniac didn't have memory and couldn't solve problems using sequential logic. All sequencing was performed manually by the operator, sometimes following fairly complicated printed directions (turn this wheel in this direction if this light lights, etc.)

The main instruction book, as well as a supplementary book of wiring diagrams, gave jumper positions and wiring diagrams for building a number of "machines," which could realize fairly complicated Boolean equations. A copy of Claude Shannon's groundbreaking thesis in the subject, A Symbolic Analysis of Relay and Switching Circuits, was also included.

A typical project

A typical project was a primitive "Masculine–Feminine Testing Machine". The user was instructed to answer five questions related to gender, such as "Which makes a better toy for a child: (a) electric train? (b) a doll with a complete wardrobe?" Having wired five of the six rotary switches and set them to "off" positions, questions could be asked. For each "a" answer, a switch was turned to one of two "on" positions, setting a circuit segment; for each "b" answer, the other "on" position. The circuitry sensed the cumulative effect of the switch positions, the circuit being completed, and a "more masculine" or "more feminine" bulb lit, once three masculine or three feminine answers were recorded.

Popularity

Widely advertised in magazines such as Galaxy Science Fiction, the Geniac provided many youths with their first hands-on introduction to computer concepts and Boolean logic.

Brainiac

A nearly identical product, called Brainiac, was introduced in 1958 by Edmund Berkeley, after he had a falling out with Oliver Garfield. <!-- [??? The Brainiac link below clearly shows six rotary switches.] --> The device would influence the portrayal of the Superman villain Brainiac introduced the same year, whose creation was attributed by the editor to a "remarkable coincidence."

Helical slide rule

Oliver Garfield also sold the Otis King's Patent Calculator, a helical slide rule, under the Geniac brand. Initially he resold the ones manufactured by Carbic, Ltd., but his later products had no serial numbers so were probably his own version.

See also

  • Digi-Comp I
  • Digi-Comp II
  • WDR paper computer

References

  • Geniac photo and description at www.oldcomputermuseum.com
  • Brainiac K-30 photo and description at www.oldcomputermuseum.com
  • Geniac manuals, diagrams and other documents hosted at www.computercollector.com
  • Magazine ads and articles about Geniac at Modernmechanix blog
  • Article on Geniac at Early Computers Project
  • Geniac on list of early personal computers at Blinkenlights.com, with link to article on how it works by a gifted operator