A closer look
Early computer scientists were given an auditory warning system for machine errors and immediately used it to pirate music. The Ferranti Mark 1, a massive 1951 mainframe, featured an instruction called a 'hoot' that produced a harsh tone to alert operators if the machine got stuck in an infinite loop. It took Alan Turing and his colleagues about five minutes to realize that by carefully timing these error hooters, they could generate different pitches. They effectively weaponized a glorified error buzzer to play 'God Save the King,' inventing computer music through sheer boredom.
