From "The Man Who Tried to Redeem the World with Logic" —
"To store the programs as data, the computer would need
something new: a memory. That’s where Pitts’ loops
came into play. 'An element which stimulates itself
will hold a stimulus indefinitely,' von Neumann wrote
in his report . . . ."
— Amanda Gefter, Nautilus , Feb. 5, 2015
Related material —
"Here we go loop de loop" — Johnny Thunder, 1962
* I.e., Ben Affleck in his new film.