> On 29/09/2011 11:33 AM, Warp wrote:
>> Orchid XP v8<voi### [at] devnull> wrote:
>>> Books had O(log N) lookup before computers were invented! :-D
>>
>> Computer algorithms are much older than computer themselves. Consider
>> that
>> the first person who formalized the concept of "algorithm" as well as
>> many
>> key concepts of computability was Alan Turing (yes, that Turing), who
>> died
>> in 1954.
>
> The first "computer" was arguably the design by Babbage, and the first
> "algorithm" was allegedly written by Ada Lovelace, who died almost
> exactly 1 century before Turing.
>
> Now if we could establish when the first book with an index was created...

 From www.merriam-webster.com:

Origin of INDEX
Latin indic-, index, from indicare to indicate
First Known Use: 1561

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