![\"\"](\"https:\/\/wkiri.com\/comphist\/wp-content\/uploads\/2011\/11\/First-arpanet-imp-log.jpg\")
<\/a>Log showing first communication over ARPANET<\/p><\/div>\n
The question of who, exactly, invented the internet has an ambiguous answer. Because the creation of the internet was such a collaborative, community effort, the best answer is probably that not one single person was solely responsible.<\/p>\n
Of important note was the use of packet switching, rather than circuit switching, in ARPANET. In circuit switched networks, a direct, physical connection has to be made between the two parties communicating. To make different connections, the actual infrastructure of the network has to be changed (example: telephone operators switching cable connections). In a packet switched network, on the other hand, lines in the network are shared (multiplexing) and traffic is managed by routers. In this system, the physical infrastructure of the network doesn\u2019t have to be changed to accommodate different connections, and ideal routes through the network can be determined dynamically. This kind of network is what makes the internet as we know it possible.<\/p>\n
The next topic of discussion was competition between humans and computers, and, more specifically, the supercomputers Deep Blue and Watson. Deep Blue is the name of a chess-playing computer that was created by IBM for the sole purpose playing chess. Deep Blue calculated its moves using brute force analysis \u2013 meaning that millions of possible moves would be considered every turn to find the most advantageous one. This kind of processing heavy analysis was possible because of Deep Blue\u2019s advanced processing capabilities and its specialized hardware. At its time, Deep Blue was the biggest and most powerful supercomputer in the world \u2013 it could calculate around 200 million moves per second. Renowned chess player Garry Kasparov was defeated by Deep Blue in 1997.<\/p>\n
Video: Deep Blue beat G. Kasparov in 1997<\/a><\/p>\n The other supercomputer we discussed was Watson, also designed by IBM. Watson was created to be a contestant on the game show Jeopardy. Because being successful on Jeopardy requires speedy interpretation of puns and other lingual tricks, this is a daunting task for a computer; it requires complex language analysis. But, with the ability to evaluate around 200 million pages of content per question and almost 3000 processor cores, Watson was able to defeat Jeopardy star Ken Jennings in a special match (video below). A simplified explanation of Watson\u2019s method: it selects key words from clues, runs them through its 15 terabyte knowledge stores, and then calculates the probability of the answer it has found being correct. If this probability meets a certain threshold, then Watson buzzes in.<\/p>\n