erlang

Our lethargic lead is fallen hero Erlang Shen, who used to be a big deal but now leads a group of scrappy bounty hunters on a flying wooden boat that seems in continual danger of running out of fuel.

Erlang developed the first mathematical models of how lines worked in the early 20th century to complement a new device at the time: the telephone.

Erlang's work helped the phone company figure out how many phone lines and operators the old-fashioned central switchboard needed to keep customers from waiting too long.

Computer programmers use a variety of “languages” to create websites and apps—they’re called Ruby on Rails, Python, Erlang, C+, Basic, and so on.

It’s on the seventh floor of Erlang House, a dilapidated 1960s office block in London.