Laying the Foundation—The WWII Origins of Computing and the Internet | History of the Internet Episode 0

Ryan Haylett

Welcome, everyone, to the very first episode of the Modularity Podcast!

Dave Rowley

We are excited to kick things off and finally share this project with you. This has been something we've been cooking up for a while now.

Ryan Haylett

Yeah, it’s been in the works for a bit.

Dave Rowley

We always wanted to build a show that dives deep where it matters—things like the history, the context, and the tech that shapes the internet as we know it today.

Ryan Haylett

Exactly. So I think it makes sense to talk about what this podcast is about. This first season of The Modularity Podcast is called The History of the Internet—and that title captures the goal. To trace the interconnected stories, breakthroughs, and people that shaped the digital world we live in today.

Dave Rowley

Right, it’s about breaking down big, complex ideas, like the evolution of the web, into smaller, understandable parts—and then showing how they connect to form the digital world we live in.

Ryan Haylett

And that’s where we come in. Each episode, we’re taking on a chunk of that bigger story. It’s history, it’s technology, it’s, it’s culture—and, honestly, how all of those things intersect.

Dave Rowley

I think we’re more interested in peeling back the layers and asking questions like, “How did we even get here?”mhm You know, what are the big turning points that actually shaped the internet—and, really, shaped everything from the way we communicate to how businesses run today?

Ryan Haylett

And where better to start than at, well, the beginning? Episode 0 today is all about laying the groundwork. We’re gonna talk about how World War 2—a massive global conflict—sparked the early seeds of what would eventually become modern computing and even the internet.

Dave Rowley

Yeah, it’s not the typical starting point most people think of, right?right When folks talk about the internet, they jump straight to, I don’t know, the 90s maybe? Dial-up connections, AOL CDs...

Ryan Haylett

Oh man, those CDs were everywhere—like, you couldn’t escape 'em. We used them as drink coasters... But no, no, we’re, uh, pushing things way further back.

Dave Rowley

Right, we’re rewinding to Alan Turing, the Enigma machine—and—what really stands out to me here—the importance of collaboration. I mean, it wasn’t just one person cracking codes in isolation; it was teams of minds, methods, and ideas coming together.

Ryan Haylett

And those breakthroughs? They weren’t just about winning the war—they laid the foundation for this modular, collaborative way of thinking that still drives innovation today.exactly So yeah, strap in—Episode 0 is gonna set the stage for everything moving forward.

Dave Rowley

It’s the historical piece of the puzzle that will make everything else we discuss, well, make sense. Let’s dive in.

Ryan Haylett

Alright, so let’s talk Enigma codes, cryptography, and Turing’s Bombe machine. I mean, this period—it’s fascinating, isn’t it? We’re in the middle of a world war, and you’ve got mathematicians trying to outthink Nazi technology with, you know, what seems like impossibly complex puzzles.

Dave Rowley

Yeah, and the Enigma machine wasn’t just some beginner-level cipher device. It created these, uh, insanely layered encryption systems. Every rotated rotor, every plugboard connection—all of it added more complexity. To the Germans, it seemed like their messages were, you know, invincible.

Ryan Haylett

Right. Invincible being the key word there—or so they thought. Enter Alan Turing and his team at Bletchley Park. What blew my mind when I first read about this was that they didn’t go at it with today’s, you know, computerized approaches—we’re talking early electromechanical machines designed to guess and test millions of possibilities at speed.

Dave Rowley

Exactly. And central to that was what became the Bombe. So, picture this: it’s this tall, boxy machine filled with rotating drums. Each "drum" simulated the action of an Enigma rotor, checking combinations rapidly—thousands of them—so they could find the secret daily settings in time to actually use the information during wartime.

Ryan Haylett

And it wasn’t just brute force, right? There’s this method to the madness. They’d use these “cribs,” which were basically known snippets of plain text, or weather reports. The Bombe would use those to work backwards. And because Enigma couldn’t, you know, match a letter to itself? That gave them a crack to exploit.

Dave Rowley

Yeah, the no-letter-to-itself rule was a fatal flaw Germany just didn’t realize they’d baked into the system.right And once Turing and the team exploited it—well, it wasn’t immediate, but the Bombe turned days or weeks of manual codebreaking into something manageable within hours. That was game-changing.

Ryan Haylett

It really redefined cryptography—and beyond that, like, the scope of what machines could do. Suddenly, computation wasn’t just about mathematical theory anymore; it was solving life-and-death situations. And people—teams of people—like the Women’s Royal Naval Service, the Wrens, were keeping these things running 24/7.

Dave Rowley

Yeah, it was a total team effort. I mean, Turing often gets a lot of the credit, deservedly so, but there were, what, hundreds of analysts and operators in these, uh, cramped huts at Bletchley Park?wow The collaboration there was this perfect storm of innovation meeting necessity.

Ryan Haylett

And that collaboration—it’s one of those lessons that transcends the historical context. Like, okay, yes, their work dismantled German strategy and shaved years off the war, but it also created this blueprint for how to tackle big, complex problems: modular, team-driven, and methodical.

Dave Rowley

Right, and that modular approach, you know, trial-and-error, breaking down those processes into steps—that all echoes into modern computing.right The Bombe might’ve been clunky and electromechanical, but it paved the way for programmable hardware, which... well, that’s another story in itself.

Ryan Haylett

Totally. Still, what Turing and the Bombe machine proved was that innovation doesn’t wait for perfect tech. Sometimes, you work with what you’ve got and make it revolutionary. That’s what drove cryptanalysis into the future—and it’s what planted the seeds for what the internet world would build on.

Dave Rowley

Yeah. It was human ingenuity meeting machine logic in its earliest form. And here we are, decades later, standing on that foundation. Turing and his team didn’t just break codes—they built a new way to think.

Ryan Haylett

Alright, so here’s a name more of us really oughta know—Grace Hopper. Dave, I mean, where do we even start with her? She’s got this incredible story that’s equal parts coder, trailblazer, and honestly, just plain tenacious.

Dave Rowley

Definitely. I mean, Grace Hopper wasn’t just working with computers—she was shaping what programming even meant. We’re talking about the person who essentially invented the idea of a compiler, which allowed computers to understand higher-level instructions instead of just raw code.

Ryan Haylett

And for those of us not knee-deep in coding—a compiler is what makes your modern apps and software possible. Hopper’s idea actually made programming accessible.

Dave Rowley

Exactly. Before Hopper, programs had to be written purely in machine code, which is basically strings of numbers—think binary. Her invention took that process and said, "No, let’s create translations between human-readable languages and computer language." It was... it was absolutely groundbreaking at the time.

Ryan Haylett

What I think is so wild... it wasn’t just the technology she revolutionized—it was how people thought about coding. Hopper was all about making it inclusive, right? She believed that coding shouldn’t be this exclusive club of mathematicians—and she actually made it understandable, even, you know, approachable.

Dave Rowley

Right. And that’s where her work on Flow-Matic and later COBOL comes in. These were languages built using actual English words, opening up coding to a much broader audience—and, honestly, paving the way for software development as we know it.

Ryan Haylett

Flow-Matic—it’s like the ancestor of COBOL, huh? Which, by the way, is still being used for banking systems like... today. Think about that. Hopper helped create something that’s been operational, what, seven decades later? wow It’s incredible how something so early could have such staying power.

Dave Rowley

Yeah, and COBOL wasn’t just useful—it was revolutionary. Businesses could suddenly standardize processes, make their systems scale globally, and build stability into their operations. But this wasn’t by accident. Hopper was methodical, but she also listened—she understood what programmers and businesses actually needed.

Ryan Haylett

And her “debugging” anecdote? Absolute gold. There was an actual moth that got stuck in one of her computers, right? And then coined the term “debugging” when she fixed it—literally pulling out the bug. It’s such a perfect snapshot of her... what’s the word... irreverent but, like, deeply collaborative style.

Dave Rowley

Oh, for sure—and that story just encapsulates her personality. She had this knack for cutting through the complexity and making things work, right? And beyond all the tech, she was also an educator at heart. She always said her biggest accomplishment was inspiring younger generations. wow It’s amazing how she prioritized people as much as the technology itself.

Ryan Haylett

‘Amazing Grace,’ right? The nickname she picked up in the Navy—and, honestly, it fit. When you think about it, she wasn’t just revolutionary in tech—she broke down barriers as a woman in spaces that were, let’s be honest, usually dominated by men.

Dave Rowley

Yeah, she served in the Women’s Naval Reserve during World War 2 and stayed connected to the Navy her entire career. Even her contributions there were immense—standardizing military computer languages and shaping early systems used by the armed forces.

Ryan Haylett

And really, her legacy is so much bigger than any single invention. Hopper’s whole philosophy—making programming straightforward and inclusive—just resonates, you know? It’s like she laid the foundation for what we now think of as tech for all.

Dave Rowley

Absolutely. She didn’t just shape programming—she shaped how we interact with machines. Hopper believed that technology should empower people, not intimidate them. That vision still drives so much of what we build today. mhm It’s why her influence feels timeless, honestly.

Ryan Haylett

So next time you boot up your laptop or write that tiny block of code? Yeah, say a little thanks to Grace Hopper. Her work reminds us that tech is, at its core, a tool—a tool to connect, empower, and include.

Ryan Haylett

So, Dave, here we are—taking stock of everything we’ve talked about today. The breakthroughs, the people, the sheer ingenuity—what really stands out to me is how much of this wasn’t, you know, just about individual brilliance. It was about collaboration—systems working together, just like the people behind them.

Dave Rowley

Exactly. And what’s interesting is the modular mindset they had—breaking a massive problem, like cracking Enigma, down into smaller, manageable pieces. That’s something we see echoed in tech to this day. I mean, think about the way we build software using microservices nowmhm, or even how the internet itself relies on distributed systems.

Ryan Haylett

Right, it’s like those early engineers were writing the playbook for managing complexity without even realizing it. And what I love most is how they didn’t wait for the “perfect tools.” Turing and his team took what they had—the Bombe machine, limited resources—and they made it work. Honestly, it’s a great reminder that innovation doesn’t need perfection. right It needs creativity and perseverance.

Dave Rowley

Yeah, and that adaptability is key. Wartime innovation didn’t have room for rigid processes—you had to pivot constantly. It’s a mindset we still need todayexactly, especially in tech, where things evolve so quickly. If you’re stuck chasing the perfect solution, you might already be too late.

Ryan Haylett

And let’s not forget the teamwork element. I mean, look at Bletchley Park or Grace Hopper’s work—they both show how real breakthroughs happen when people bring different skill sets to the table. No one person cracked Enigma, and no one singlehandedly redefined programmingright. It was teams, working in sync.

Dave Rowley

Right, and it wasn’t just technologists and mathematicians. The Wrens operating the Bombe machines, the naval officers coordinating logistics—they were all part of that bigger system. That’s something we should carry forward: valuing every piece of the puzzleright, every person’s contribution. Innovation isn’t about lone geniuses; it’s about collective effort.

Ryan Haylett

Totally. And honestly, it’s a lesson not just for tech, but, like, everything—business, science, education. Collaboration, breaking things into chunks, and staying flexible—that’s how we solve the big problemsexactly. It’s clear that these wartime lessons gave us more than just computers; they gave us a framework for thinking.

Dave Rowley

Exactly. The systems we rely on today—everything from the web to the devices in our hands—they echo those early principles. Innovation is modular, collaborative, and, frankly, a bit scrappy. If there’s one takeaway from all this, it’s that necessity doesn’t just breed invention—it builds a foundation that lasts generations.

Ryan Haylett

Couldn’t have said it better. These wartime innovations—whether we’re talking about codebreaking machines or the birth of programming—they remind us where it all started, and honestly, what’s possible when we come together to solve something monumental.

Ryan Haylett

So, what does all this have to do with the internet? Well, you can’t connect computers until you have them—and these wartime pioneers made that a reality. Their work didn’t just end with the war; it evolved into the technology that would eventually make the internet possible.

Dave Rowley

As we wrap up this introduction to the History of the Internet, we’re left with a question: How did the early groundwork laid by these visionaries, and the ambitions of Cold War-era research spark the creation of the ARPANET? The foundation of our modern internet!

Ryan Haylett

That’s exactly what we’ll dive into next time, on The History of the Internet. In the meantime, if you’re looking to build your own digital presence, reach out to us at modularity.us. Let’s build a digital presence together, one that stands the test of time, just like these early innovations. We will see you in the next episode!