Speaking of Edward O. Thorp, who in 1955 co-created with Claude Shannon what’s accepted as the first wearable computer, Life magazine profiled the academic/gambler in 1964. The story’s hook was undeniable: a brilliant mathematician who utilized his beautiful mind at gaming tables to bring pit bosses to heel. He didn’t rely on the fictional “hot hand” but instead on cool computer calculations. What wasn’t known at the time–and what Thorp didn’t offer to reporter Paul O’Neil–is that the Ph.D. had a stealthy sidekick if he chose in the aforementioned wearable. Click on the page below for a larger, readable version of the article’s opening.