The history of computers
As I know it
This book review in The Economist (September 7th, 2023) reminded me of my own short story, published as a Blog post almost a decade ago now. Maybe I should have written the book myself, I’ve been there for most of the last 60 years of computer history.
It started with the calculator. Do you remember when you first used a digital calculator? Was it a Texas Instruments or the HP-35? Have you ever used a slide rule? I learned from the Economist that calculators and the slide rule go back to Isaac Newton in the 17th Century. Then along came Intel and the digital revolution of the 20th Century.
You can learn more fascinating facts if you buy the book, Empire of the Sum:
The Rise and Reign of the Pocket Calculator, by Keith Houston, 384 pages - U.S.$32.50, or you can read my short version of the history of computers as I know it at: https://delvinchatterson.com/history-computers-know/
Or you might want to tell your own version. Are there any significant computer milestones in your history that you’d like to share?
Looking back over the past decades of computer history may help us adjust to the current realities of hypercomputing and artificial intelligence that are dominating all aspects of modern technology, business, economics, culture, and our personal lives. Computer history is not repeating itself so much as it’s rushing ahead in all directions without any certainty of the destination, the unintended consequences, or the ultimate uses for good or evil.
It can be worrisome and we need to be more than passive consumers or observers and keep aware of evolving applications of powerful technologies and the need for them to be developed and used responsibly.
Be better. Do Better. Be an Enlightened Entrepreneur.
Del Chatterson, your Uncle Ralph
Learn more about Enlightened Entrepreneurship at: LearningEntrepreneurship.com
Read more of Uncle Ralph's advice for Entrepreneurs in Don't Do It the Hard Way & The Complete Do-It-Yourself Guide to Business Plans - 2020 Editions.
Read more Blog posts at: LearningEntrepreneurship Blogs.
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