Seventy-five years ago, Jay Forrester filed a patent for magnetic core memory, a technology that would dominate computer storage for two decades. This invention, developed at MIT for the Project Whirlwind air defense system, used tiny ferrite rings to store data, enabling larger and more reliable computing. The patent's subsequent legal battles with RCA and IBM resulted in a then-record $13 million settlement for MIT, with Forrester personally receiving $1.5 million. AI
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IMPACT This historical development in computer memory laid the groundwork for future computational advancements, including those in AI.
RANK_REASON Historical milestone for a foundational computing technology. [lever_c_demoted from research: ic=1 ai=0.1]
