Salt Lake Telegram | 1927-03-13 | Page 1 | Human 'Add' Machine Dies

HUMAN ADD MACHINE DIES Victim of Overwork in Developing Shortcuts in Figures OMAHA March 12 George AP-George I Jr H. Wood Omaha's lightning calculator calculator cal cal- and human adding machIne machine ma- ma chIne is dead dead-a vIctim his frIends say ot of strain and overwork in the development of mathematical shortcuts short short- cuts Exhausted by efforts expended In Inthe inthe the promulgation ot of his novel system system tem ot of addition by which he outstrIpped outstripped out out- strIpped the most modern adding machines manipulated by experts the Nebraska died after several weeks weeks' illness at his home today Woods Wood's peculiar system which he evolved after business hours while workIng in a bank at the little town ot of Louisville Neb was explained merely as elimination of Conversa- Conversa I tion Instead of saying ten and ten are twenty he would Immediately immediately immedi- immedi jot down the total Ir his mind saying twenty thereby saving the words ten and ten are etc While performIng hIs rapid calculation he would chat with friends and any adding machine operator who tried to keep pace with him A favorite exhIbition ot of Woods Wood's was to have someone jot down ten columns ot of ten figures each lie He would come into the room and without a word announce the result re- re suit sult in nine 01 ten seconds His mistakes said to have been less frequent than those of the addin adding add add- in ing machine operators There is nothing to it he would modestly confide except tion of conversation and training Prior to his breakdown in his to schools in the middle west in whIch tie he endeavored to install his system m he increased his speed In explaining his system Wood contended that mathematics as as taught in schools today Is wIthout system wasting millions of h Urs beca because sa ot of dealing with useless figures fig fig- urea ures He claimed that thIrty minutes min mm- utes of instruction with his system tern tem improved the mathematical mind of the student and clerk 50 per cent Many middle western schools have adopted plan of Instruction Mr Wood was 67 57 years old Ills widow plans to carry carryon oil hIs work