A new way to use the word Analog.

[Tuckers]

I was struck by this repurposing of the word Analog (at least its new to me). Its being used in a Space simulation program known as OASEAS. Their use of it is as Analog Simulation of Space conditions, I.E. placing humans in an environment (usually challenging) to gather data of Space like situations. You could call this In Vivo simulation I guess. While this is certainly nothing new, adding the word analog seems apt, and got me started thinking on a number of lines.

With us audiophiles, analog means something very different. And I wonder how that difference has been affected by the rise of digital audio. Before digital, the use of the word analog in audio was used much more sparsely. We kind of take it to mean a way of storing audio as contiguous wholistic waveform, as opposed to many individual datapoints of that waveform. Though I wonder if you really look closely the sample points in analog are either individual charged magnetic particles or bumps in the side of a vinyl groove, which are created somewhat randomly compared to digital which is locked to a time code (hopefully). Another difference that instead of a state of 1 or 0, analog has a multitude of states.

In my long term work doing due diligence of companies, products and ideas - mainly in the tech sector, I could apply this to my prime directive, which is first hand experience creates the best data. I seek analog experience first and foremost when I get into a due diligence process. This means trying the software, visiting the sites, interviewing developers etc.

Analog. Does any of this spark ideas with you?

 

[Another Johnson]

Analog computers were in common use before digital. They did not involve AD/DA conversion. You modeled the system, possibly on a bread board, and looked at the output as input was changed. Many problems could be solved by these analog modelers.
Obviousness digital computing won … but I don’t think there were ever any other expectations.

Analog computer - Wikipedia

en.m.wikipedia.org

 

[Folsom]

I don't understand how they're different.

 

[Another Johnson]

If you don’t have a background in mid 20th century engineering, I expect it would be difficult. Resistors are first order components. Inductors and capacitors are second order components. When you put them together in different ways, the input/ output relationship is predictably changed. Equations that simulate the behavior of systems can be modeled with these analog components. Analog comes from the concept of analogy. The circuit behavior is analogous to the equations that have been modeled.
I doubt that helps much. But perhaps some googling may help. Digital modeling is essentially done with switches and gates. Digital coming from the 0 or 1 status of such devices.
The Wikipedia article I linked to is not bad.