An abacus was an early mathematics aid invented thousands of years ago.
History[]
Even an electronic abacus had the same limits as a nanoprocessor: it could not expand its functions beyond its programming. (TNG novel: Foreign Foes)
When Q asked Spock for nine reasons to save humanity from an approaching asteroid in 1999, he cited the invention of the abacus second, after crafting the Magna Carta. (ST audiobook: Spock vs. Q)
In 2024 within Chateau Picard of an alternate timeline, Agnes Jurati moved a bead idly on an abacus. (PIC episode: "Watcher")
In 2269, when Leonard McCoy visited the Tranquility Park museum on Luna, he was amazed at the pioneers who traveled there aboard the Apollo 11 command module with early computers that were barely more advanced than an abacus. (TOS novel: Prime Directive)
In B'hala on Bajor, early carved stone figures of Jalkaree mystics included Shabren, Eilin, and Naradim. Regarding it in 2374, Kasidy Yates thought Naradim ought to be carrying his traditional symbol of knowledge — an abacus — but Jake Sisko explained that Naradim did his mathematics without a computational aid. (DS9 - Millennium novel: Inferno)
Appendices[]
Appearance[]
References[]
- TNG novel: Foreign Foes
- ST audiobook: Spock vs. Q
- TOS novel: Prime Directive
- DS9 - Millennium novel: Inferno