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The story of the first "computer bug"... is a pile of lies.
A fun, endearing, delightful pile of lies.
August 28, 2023
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Many of us have heard the story of “The First Computer Bug”. It goes something like this…

On September 9, 1947 — at 3:45pm — Grace Hopper recorded the “first actual case of a bug being found” in her logbook. The bug was a moth found between the relay contacts of the Harvard Mark II computer.

The story is a fantastic one. A bug. An actual bug causing a computer to misbehave.

The fact that this was found by Grace Hopper — who is an absolute legend in the world of computer programming — adds to the legendary status of this story. And this story has been repeated countless times as the origin for why we use the term “bug” when talking about errors and defects in computer software.

Here is a picture of the actual log book page. Note that the moth in question is actually taped onto the page. Which, I must say, is a pretty awesome way to handle a “bug report.”

Photo of the log book from 1947.

So that you can get a full appreciation for the computer we’re talking about here, this is what the console of the Harvard Mark II computer looked like. Note the teletypes to either side of the desk

The Console of the Harvard Mark II. Image courtesy of Gwen Bell.

See that cool control sitting in the middle of the table? Here’s a close up view of that beauty. Just because.

Photo courtesy Smithsonian.

And what about those relays where that moth was found? Well. Here is a picture of the bank of relays of the Harvard Mark II. This is where the moth was discovered.

Photo courtesy Smithsonian.

Petty cool right?

And a cool story! The origin of the “computer bug”! By Grace Hopper! Awesome!

A story so cool that it has been repeated (with ever so slight variations) in so many major publications. Everything from the New York Times to Newsweek has repeated this anecdote. Telling this story in computer publications is almost a sacred tradition at this point. Such as in the January, 1984 edition of BYTE (which has a truly fantastic magazine cover).

 

Note this retelling of the story references the Harvard Mark I instead of the Mark II. Technically both machines existed at this time. But it was likely the Mark II.

There’s just two problems with this story:

  1. This was not the origin of term “bug” being used for engineering — including computer software.

  2. And it was not likely discovered — or recorded — by Grace Hopper.

Seriously.

The two most critical parts of this story — a story repeated more times than almost any other throughout the computing world — are not true. At all.

Let’s start with the logbook.

The likelihood is… that this logbook was not actually Grace Hopper’s. The handwriting does not match Hopper’s — even the National Museum of American History considers this logbook page to not be written by Hopper. And the discovery of the moth in the relay was not Hopper’s discovery either.

Who wrote this logbook entry? That remains a bit of a mystery. One that I would very much like to solve. Considering the relatively small size of the team who worked on the Mark II, I’m hopeful to eventually get a definitive answer to this.

Now. Let’s address the other factual problem with this story…

This is not the first time that computer defects were referred to as “bugs”.

In fact, that was already common at this point — as it had become standard throughout many engineering fields for several decades.

In fact, here is a quote from Thomas Edison — dated March 3rd, 1878 — where he talks about finding a bug affecting his technology:

“You were partly correct, I did find a ‘bug’ in my apparatus, but it was not in the telephone proper. It was of the genus ‘callbellum.’ The insect appears to find conditions for its existence in all call apparatus of telephones” - Edison

Here is a scan of the entire letter from Edison:

In fact, even this is not the first time Edison, himself, used “bug” to talk about engineering defects.

A “bug” was a common issue in Quadruplex Telegraphs in the 1800s — specifically referring to “false signals”. In order to fix these “bugs”, Edison invented something called a “Bug Trap”. Which led to a series of trademark disputes well into the 1920s.

And, by this time, “bug” was quickly becoming a common term for any sort of engineering error or anomaly. As computer creation progressed during the 1940s, the terminology was both well understood and used by those early computer engineers and programmers.

Whoever wrote that famous 1947 log entry — “first actual case of a bug being found” — was making a joke. It was, indeed, the first time a physical, insect “bug” was recorded to be found inside a computer.

  • It was not, however, the first time a joke was made about finding a real “bug” in a work of engineering (that would go to Edison).

  • Nor was it the first time that a computer glitch would have been referred to as a “bug”.

  • Nor was it found or recorded by Grace Hopper.

This has become one of those stories which has been repeated so often — and blindly accepted as fact (in large part, I think, because we have a picture of the actual moth) — that it will continue to be be re-told, over and over again, and never questioned.

Even though it’s filled with falsehoods.

Still. A fun story, though.

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The Unpublished Anti-Lunduke Hit-Piece
A Tech Journalist interviewed me for a hit-piece article. But the questions made them look bad, and they shelved the story. So I'm publishing their hit-piece for them.

Back in September, shortly after the assassination of Charlie Kirk, I was contacted by a Tech Journalist writing for FossForce.com (a smaller, Open Source focused publication) who was working on an article around Open Source, Antifa, and the Lunduke Journal’s coverage of those topics.

This particular outlet had, several months prior, run an “anti-Lunduke” hit piece without first reaching out for comment — which resulted in their most popular article (at least on social media) in quite some time.

With that in mind, it seemed reasonable that they’d want to repeat that success with another “anti-Lunduke” story.

This time they were doing the responsible thing. They reached out to the subject of the hit-piece article with questions. I like encouraging Tech Journalists when they do actual journalism, so I answered each and every query with easy-to-quote responses.

But, it would appear that the answers they received were not conducive to creating the hit-piece they were hoping for — my guess is they realized their questions made them look like the villain in the story. The villain they, clearly, hoped to portray me as.

They opted to not publish the piece.

So I’m publishing their hit-piece for them.

Below is every question — and every answer (with no edits) — which I was asked, on September 19th, by a Tech Journalist by the name of Christine Hall, writing for FossForce.

Fair warning: This is very, very politically charged.

Enjoy.


September 19th

Hall:

The last time I mentioned you in an article, you castigated me for not reaching out to you beforehand. Well, I’m reaching out now. We’ll see what comes of this.

You do recognize that the vast majority of organizations using the term antifa as a descriptor are not in the least bit terrorist and pose no threat to society -- and indeed, the only threats they might pose to fascist groups are not physical or life-harming?

Lunduke:

Hello Christine! Nice to hear from you!

Many, if not most, of those proclaiming support for Antifa (within Open Source) have also made statements encouraging or supporting violence and discrimination.

Regardless of that fact -- which I have documented extensively in Lunduke Journal coverage -- when violent acts are committed (such as murder, riots, and lynchings) in the name of “Antifa”, to turn around and immediately declare yourself to be “Antifa” is a clear declaration of support of that violence.

Hall:

And why did you feel it necessary to call out Danielle Foré’s [the founder of the elementary OS Linux Distribution] trans status in such an ugly manner?

Lunduke:

There is a noteworthy overlap between “Trans activism” and support for political violence -- including in the recent murder of Charlie Kirk (the murderer’s boyfriend was “Trans”).

In the case of Daniel Fore, he, a leader of an Open Source project, regularly calls for discrimination (and violence) against people he disagrees with -- often in conjunction with his self-declaration as “Trans”.

Thus, his declaration of being “Trans” becomes a part of the overall story.

It is worth noting here that The Lunduke Journal has never -- and would never -- call for discrimination or violence against someone because of how they identify or who they may (or may not) vote for.

This is in stark contrast those, such as Mr. Fore, who consider themselves “Trans” or “Antifa” -- who actively advocate for both discrimination and violence.

Hall:

Mentioning a person’s trans status in ways that are pertinent to your argument necessates rudeness such as calling her a “dude who likes to wear dresses”?

Lunduke:

Dan Fore is, in fact, a dude who likes to wear dresses.

The only reason to view that as a negative is if you view dudes wearing dresses as a negative.

Hall:

I’ll quote you on that, which I’m pretty sure won’t bother you in the least.

Lunduke:

Absolutely! Quote anything I say here. In fact, I suggest quoting absolutely everything I’ve written to you here, today.

Hall:

You also understand, don’t you, that voicing disagreement with an assessment made by POTUS is not only legal but a healthy part of the national dialog.

Lunduke:

Absolutely! Did I say somewhere that it was illegal to disagree with a politician? It seems unlikely that I have ever said that.

Hall:

Also, how would you reply to this:

There have been very few murders linked to individuals associated with Antifa, some incidents of rioting attributed to Antifa supporters, and no credible evidence of lynchings conducted in the name of Antifa. Compared to far-right groups, violence attributed to Antifa is much less frequent and lethal, with only one suspected kill—Aaron Danielson in Portland, by an anti-fascist activist—officially confirmed in recent U.S. history.

Lunduke:

Murder is bad. I am opposed to all murder.

In the context of these discussions, bearing in mind the Kirk murder is important (as many statements were made in response to it). The murderer of Kirk appears to have been pro-Trans and pro-Antifa (based on all available information).

Hall:

Is there any evidence that the suspect was part of an antifa group? I haven’t seen any.

Lunduke:

I have seen some reporting to this effect (including statements from family and messages he wrote).

But, far more important to this story, is the response to the murder among Antifa supporters (including those within Open Source). A large portion of Antifa supporters have celebrated the murder as justified because it killed someone they considered to be a “fascist”.

Hall:

Also, no group should be held responsible for what some deranged person who identifies with the group has done.

Lunduke:

I agree that a broader group should not be held responsible for the actions of a small number of individuals.

However, and this is critically important, it is entirely appropriate to hold people responsible for their own statements and actions.

With that in mind: The overall messaging of Antifa (and Antifa supporters) tends heavily towards violence. Punching, killing, molotov cocktails, etc. are all common messaging used by Antifa (including by those I quote within the Open Source world -- many of whom have advocated violence against myself).

Advocating for violence, then celebrating when violence is committed, are not good things.

Yet we see a great deal of that among Open Source supporters of Antifa.

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Sale ends in a few hours, Lifetime Subs set up.

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To everyone who grabbed a Lifetime Subscription over the last few days: All of you are set to full Lifetime access. You should have a confirmation email in your inbox. If not, email me and I’ll make sure you’re setup properly.

That “50% off” sale ends tonight at midnight. So you have a few hours to snag a discounted subscription, if you haven’t already.

A huge thank you to everyone who supports this work. Couldn’t do it without you.

-Lunduke

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The “50% off every kind of Subscription to The Lunduke Journal” sale has been extended through Monday (October 13th).

So. You know. Grab one at 50% off between now and end of the day on Monday.

To all of you amazing nerds who have picked up a Lifetime Subscription already this weekend: You are awesome. You’ll be receiving a confirmation email, with all of the Lifetime Subscription details, by tomorrow (if you haven’t already).

Oh, and remember how we hit 11 Million views last month? Yeah. We’re well on our way to blowing past those numbers in October.

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See you all on Monday!

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