Blinking lights

[Dr. Whom]

I caught the opening of Westworld on TV last night, and I was struck by the banks of computers which had, in true 70s style, lots of lights going on and off, like a Christmas decoration gone beserk. So I wondered, what are these supposed to represent? They can't be warning lights or status indicators, if they go on and off at that speed. Besides, the operators are watching the monitors. What are they, and why did people in the 60s and 70s think that a computer needed a lot lights blinking really fast?

[Dennis]

I believe it had to do with a popular, but simple explanation of how binary code worked in a computer, which was basically like a light switch, the light was either on or off. Hollywood gets a hold of this along with the idea of huge rolls of magnetic tape and you end up with lots of blinking lights and spooling rolls of tape to show that the computer was up and running. One of my favorites was the computer on the Seaview from "Voyage to the Bottom of the Sea", almost filled a whole side of the control room with flashing lights. I can remember wishing I had one to help with my homework.