Comment by rkomorn
10 hours ago
Isn't that story more myth than reality?
The history section of the Wikipedia entry for "bug" [1] suggests it predates computers by decades.
10 hours ago
Isn't that story more myth than reality?
The history section of the Wikipedia entry for "bug" [1] suggests it predates computers by decades.
It's also more moth than reality.
Moths are, technically [0], not bugs.
[0] https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Hemiptera
I don't think there's a precise scientific definition of "bug"
Yes and no. There's a group called "true bugs" (https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Hemiptera as linked above). "Bug" in the common sense doesn't have a precise definition (small arthropod that may or may not be a pest to humans is about as precise as I feel I can get), but there _is_ a scientific definition of "true bug".
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This is the kind of response I appreciate. Thank you!
The actual story is not myth. It just isn't the origin of the term.
Hopper's note didn't suggest the word was new, but was funny exactly because it was not.
Right, good correction. It's the origin part that's the myth.