Relay computers - OR functionality

[Tony Duell]

> What Genius decided that + should be OR, as opposed to AND, which seems
> actually logical and not counter-intuitive?

A set-theorist, I guess. It's acutally a very sensible notation, AND is 
much closer to multiplication than addition...

A sort-of way to justify this. If take 0 as false and anything greater 
than 0 as true (and some BASICs did just that), then multiplying two 
'logical' variables is the way you AND them (if either is false (that is 0), 
then the product is 0 and thuse false, if both are true (>0), then the 
product is also true), and adding them is the way you OR them (if both 
are false (0), then the result is false, if either or both are true, the 
result is true).

> 
> >  These are just symbols until one applies meaning to them. I
> 
> Right, but it's hard to work around ingrained meanings that have been with
> you since 1st grade.

The problem is you're confusing addition with AND. They have little to do 
with each other.
k
-tony