On Fri, May 24, 2024 at 9:45 AM Chuck Guzis via cctalk <
cctalk@classiccmp.org> wrote:

> Just pointing out that "firsts" are very difficult.

...

> "First" is a tricky term, like "best".
>
> --Chuck


Yep, which is part of the canonical debate ;)  This is why I and many
others in the hobby removed the term "first" from our vocabularies when
speaking of vintage computers.

It's kind of pointless anyway as people tend to want a starting point in
time at which they can point and say, "That is where it began", when in
reality all new invention is just a continuum of improvement over time and
occasionally a particular improvement makes more impact than others and
gets elevated to "first" status.  It's nice for newspaper headlines and
such but for historians it's a waste of time (as we've borne witness to
countless times over the years as this discussion re-rages periodically).

Sellam

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