A Journey through a revolution ...

From Cambridge University Press, Computing Universe by Tony Hey and Gyuri Papay was just released this week and I have been leafing through a digital version of its pages which are “intended to be intelligible to both high school and first year university students and to stimulate their interest in the wide range of opportunities of a career in computer science.”  The book covers developments related to computers from the 1930’s to the present day and includes discussion of topics like semiconductors, the rise of robots and computer games. 

As I started reading, I thought of my review of Innovators by Isaacson and although that book covers a much bigger time period, both titles focus on pioneers like Alan Turing.  And with The Imitation Game movie coming soon, there seems to be plenty of general interest.  Authors Hey and Papay make frequent reference to [Gordon] Moore’s law, lectures and contests from Richard Feynman, and predictions from Michio Kaku which will hopefully promote exploration of and greater familiarity with work by those distinguished scientists.  I also enjoyed the section explaining how algorithms were developed for IBM’s Watson, the eventual Jeopardy! champion.

Computing Universe includes plenty of pictures, but still seems a bit “dry” and “textbook-ish” overall.  I am wondering why publishers are not building more links and interactive elements into their books, especially on a subject such as this one; certainly, that would increase the appeal for their intended audience.

For example, Maria Popova at Brain Pickings created a terrific visual review  (check out #27 about Hedy Lamarr’s contribution to wifi type communication; who knew?!) of 100 Ideas that Changed the Web by Jim Boulton.  Or look into The Gentleman who made Scholar and be sure to investigate 12 Lesser-known Google Projects that are Absolutely Amazing.

A favorite quote found in Computing Universe is “every 30 years there is a new wave of things that computers do.  Around 1950, they began to model events in the world (simulation) and around 1980 to connect people (communication). Since 2010, they have begun to engage with the physical world in a non-trivial way (embodiment).”  I look forward to a future edition of Computing Universe filled with engaging, interactive elements.

How Has The Internet Changed The Way You Think?

That was the annual question posed by Edge magazine. Here's one favorite response it ponder; it's from George Dyson, science/historian:

KAYAKS vs CANOES

In the North Pacific ocean, there were two approaches to boat building. The Aleuts (and their kayak-building relatives) lived on barren, treeless islands and built their vessels by piecing together skeletal frameworks from fragments of beach-combed wood. The Tlingit (and their dugout canoe-building relatives) built their vessels by selecting entire trees out of the rain forest and removing wood until there was nothing left but a canoe.

The Aleut and the Tlingit achieved similar results — maximum boat / minimum material — by opposite means. The flood of information unleashed by the Internet has produced a similar cultural split. We used to be kayak builders, collecting all available fragments of information to assemble the framework that kept us afloat. Now, we have to learn to become dugout-canoe builders, discarding unnecessary information to reveal the shape of knowledge hidden within.

I was a hardened kayak builder, trained to collect every available stick. I resent having to learn the new skills. But those who don't will be left paddling logs, not canoes.

*** To read more responses from Nichols Carr, Howard Gardner, Howard Rheingold and others go to the Edge site and scroll down about one-third of the way until you see a grey box on the left with 172 contributors (sorry, the anchor link to there is not working properly). If you want to read more and have a New Trier login, go to CQ Researcher's recent (Sept. 24, 2010) report on "Impact of the Internet on Thinking"

And if you are looking for a book length discussion, read The Shallows and/or Cognitive Surplus.