Intricate Machine Fits Men to Jobs (May, 1929)
Intricate Machine Fits Men to Jobs
A MACHINE known as a mechanical correlator which takes certain information about an individual and after a few minutes’ work tells him just what occupation he should pursue has been used with success in fitting men into the right jobs. The machine operates on a pneumatic principle, using a perforated paper roll similar to that which produces music in player pianos. In an incredibly short space of minutes it makes calculations which involve more than 2,000 separate multiplications. It was devised to tabulate the results of 60 distinct pyschological tests.
Scores made by an individual in each of these tests are fed into the machine and it computes from this information the occupations for which the individual is best suited. The National Research Council at Washington has cooperated in the development of the electrical calculator. Modified machines of this type may soon be used in testing school children.