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COMPUTING |
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In 1968 ace chess programmers challenged me to a game with a programme running on a Cambridge University mainframe, an experience that both fascinated and intrigued me, and that was the prelude to a career-long interest in computers. I soon started to do statistical analysis of my Psychology experiments by computer (for a long time on University mainframes) and I am familiar with the BMD, SPSS and Minitab software packages as well as numerous other programmes - my latest focus being the free package “R” (which is similar to S-Plus). I have also used personal computers for control of experiments, and for cognitive testing. From about 1985 I adopted word-processing software in preference to typewriters. My main mind-exercising hobbies, chess and number theory, have also involved heavy use of personal computers, including the learning of numerous computer languages. |
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I first bought a machine of my own in 1981. That was an 8-bit with 16K of memory - at the time it seemed like awesome power! Currently I use a 32-bit desktop with 512M. What I like about computers is that there are so many uses of them - for my part personal information management, database (handy for cataloguing, and also as membership secretary of organisations), spreadsheet, personal finance and numerous others. |
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