Most of us have grown so blase about computer developments and capabilities — even some that are spectacular — that it is difficult to believe or imagine there was a time when we suffered the noisy, painstakingly slow, electromechanical devices that chomped away on punched cards.

The beginning of the Monte Carlo method, published by Necia Grant Cooper, Roger Eckhardt, Nancy Shera (1989). From cardinals to chaos: reflections on the life and legacy of Stanislaw Ulam. CUP Archive. p. 125. ISBN 0521367344.