[TUHS] off-topic: resurrecting the IMP

[random832 at fastmail.us]

On Sun, Dec 1, 2013, at 16:18, Aharon Robbins wrote:
> > 	In addition ``reliability code'' was developed to allow a
> > 	Pluribus IMP to keep functioning as a packet switch in the
> > 	face of various bits of its hardware failing, such as a
> > 	processor or memory [Katsuki78, Walden11 pp. 534-538]. This
> > 	was so successful there was no simple off switch for the
> > 	machine; a program had to be run to shut parts of the machine
> > 	down faster than the machine could ``fix itself'' and keep
> > 	running.

So, I'm not old enough to know anything about this era... I have a
question.

If these things were so reliable, why couldn't they be shut down by
simply cutting power to everything at once?