Answer ยท confidence: partial
Who besides the Logic Theorist team could use RAND's 1956 computer, and how?
Research question: Who besides the Logic Theorist's authors could use the RAND Santa Monica computer in 1956, and how did someone request time on it?
The records show that many RAND researchers, not only the Logic Theorist's authors, used the JOHNNIAC at RAND 3. One named user was Nelson Lucas, a RAND draftsman 5. The machine was used for scientific and engineering calculations 4. The sources do not say how someone requested time on it; the document itself does not address how time was requested 1. Because the sources give no booking procedure and do not say whether the JOHNNIAC is the same machine the question means, the answer is only partly supported.
Checked 2026-10-14. Only documented and supported facts are used.
Dig deeper on this questionSources
[1] supported
The document links the Logic Theorist work to the JOHNNIAC computer, which found a succinct proof to replace one in Principia, but it does not say who else could use the RAND Santa Monica machine or how time on it was requested.
"To the second, reporting on how JOHNNIAC and the Logic Theorist programme had discovered a beautifully succinct proof to replace one in Principia"Problem-Solving (1991)
[2] supported
Herbert Simon was writing from the RAND Corporation in Santa Monica in 1956, when he wrote to Bertrand Russell about his work simulating human problem-solving with an electronic computer.
"So wrote the forty-year-old Herbert Simon from the RAND Corporation in Santa Monica in 1956"Problem-Solving (1991)
[3] supported
The JOHNNIAC at RAND was used by many RAND researchers, not only the Logic Theorist's authors, and the document names Newell, Shaw, and Simon among them.
"It was used by many RAND researchers, including Artificial Intelligence pioneers Newell, Shaw, and Simon."JOHNNIAC - CHM Revolution - Computer History Museum
[4] supported
The JOHNNIAC was used for scientific and engineering calculations.
"Used for scientific and engineering calculations, the JOHNNIAC was completed in 1954, though it was repeatedly expanded and improved throughout its 13-year lifespan."JOHNNIAC - CHM Revolution - Computer History Museum
[5] supported
Nelson Lucas, a RAND draftsman, was one of the JOHNNIAC's users.
"Nelson Lucas, modeling typical engineer attire, was a RAND draftsman and a JOHNNIAC user."JOHNNIAC - CHM Revolution - Computer History Museum