Computers: The road to ruin

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[See the full post at: Computers: The road to ruin]

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Elly, flackcatcher, AJNorth, EstherD, ryegrass

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The novel entitled “Fail-Safe” was published in 1962 (becoming a film in 1964); it included this this bit of dialog between the electronics engineer whose company installed the equipment at the [then] SAC headquarters in Omaha, NE, and a Pentagon consultant (that can be extrapolated to represent technology in general):

KNAPP: “The more complex an electronic system gets, the more accident-prone it is. Sooner or later, it breaks down… A transistor blows, a condenser burns out. Sometimes they just get tired, like people…”

GROETESCHELE: “But Mr. Knapp overlooks one thing. The machines are supervised by humans. Even if the machine fails, the human being can always correct the mistake.”

KNAPP: “I wish you were right. The fact is the machines work so fast; they are so intricate; the mistakes they make are so subtle that very often a human being can’t know if a machine is lying or telling the truth.”

Again, that was in 1962!

Today, America is not only divided into 10 kinds of people (those who know binary and those who don’t), but we seem increasingly to be morphing into a society comprised of clones of the Wizard of Oz — who replied to Dorothy’s pleas to come back at the end of the picture as the balloon drifts away, “I can’t; I don’t know how it works.”

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Elly, ryegrass, HiFlyer, woody, DeWayne12

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As a post script, some readers may enjoy this blast from the past: a television program entitled “The Thinking Machine” ― an installment of the “Tomorrow” television series produced by CBS for MIT on occasion of MIT’s Centennial in 1961 ― http://techtv.mit.edu/videos/10268-the-thinking-machine-1961—mit-centennial-film (running time: 53:03).

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Elly, DeWayne12

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AJNorth wrote:

10 kinds of people (those who know binary and those who don’t)

You are definitely one of the binary people!

Group "L" (Linux Mint)
with Windows 10 running in a remote session on my file server

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DeWayne12, AJNorth

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Binary solo!

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=2IPAOxrH7Ro&t=2m38s

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Computers: The road to ruin

I’ve definitely been “ruined” by computers, although it didn’t happen with me as a teenager. I was in college at around age 25. I took a Pascal programming class and found myself staying up all night, every night — not much of an exaggeration — working on programs, to the detriment of all my other studies. I knew at that moment that I should do IT for a living.

Group "L" (Linux Mint)
with Windows 10 running in a remote session on my file server

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The BBC WORLD SERVICE began a new three-part series today, Aleks in Wonderland: The History of the Internet.

Part 1: The Origin of the Internet.

Synopsis: “In this first episode we go back to the days before the internet to look at the cultural and technological landscape from which it grew, and unravel some of the key moments – now lost in time and obscured by technology folklore, which mark when the internet lost its innocence.”

The program may be listened to on-demand at the program’s website, or downloaded as an MP3; running time is 26:58.  Highly recommended.

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Elly, BobbyB

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The source should be this, just for the records

https://www.facebook.com/Computer-Science-Memes-for-Travelling-Salesman-Teens-419913568381772/photos/a.419916265048169.1073741828.419913568381772/469150703458058/

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