When Computers Were Human (ebook)

Argumento de When Computers Were Human (ebook)

"The strength of this book is its breadth of research and its human touch. . . . [A] well written, informative and enjoyable work."--Amy Shell-Gellasch, MAA Reviews

"Overall, this book provides a wonderful survey of human computing from 1682 onward. . . . I recommend this book to all historians of computing, both professional and amateur."--Jonathan P. Bowen, IEEE Annals of the History of Computing

"When Computers Were Human is a detailed and fascinating look at a world I had not even known existed. After reading these accounts of ingenuity, determination, and true creative breakthrough, readers will look at today's computer-based society in an entirely different way."--James Fallows, National Correspondent, Atlantic Monthly

"How did the lives of people and the lives of numbers become so intimately entwined? David Alan Grier's authoritative, engaging, and richly detailed account of this neglected chapter in the history (and prehistory) of computing abounds with remarkable characters, sheds long-awaited light on their achievements, and could not have been better told."--George Dyson, author of Darwin among the Machines

"The story of computation before the invention of the computer is an important one--one that has not been told in this way before. This narrative grabs you right from the first page. Grier tells the human story behind some of the greatest scientific accomplishments, and tells it in a very readable way."--Michael R. Williams, Head Curator, Computer History Museum

"The history of the electronic computer has become the topic of a fair amount of scholarly work, and yet the wonderful story of the (collective) human computer has barely been noticed. This book will appeal both to an appreciable range of scholars and to more general readers. The style is pleasant and informal; the mathematics, accessible and interesting."--Theodore M. Porter, author of Trust in Numbers: The Pursuit of Objectivity in Science and Public Life

Winner of the 2006 Book Award in Computers/Internet, Independent Publisher Book Awards

"David Alan Grier's recovery of the wonderfully rich story of human computers . . . ask[s] why human computers were made to disappear in the first place. . . . It is notoriously difficult to recover details of the lives of ordinary people. . . . But Grier triumphantly achieves his aim when discussing the twentieth-century human computer, as many are alive to tell their tales."--Jon Agar, Nature

"Prior to the advent of programmable data-processing electronic devices in the mid-20th century, the word computer was commonly used to describe a person hired to crank out stupefyingly tedious calculations. . . . Human computers have . . . been largely forgotten, and David Alan Grier . . . is intent on restoring them to their rightful place in history."--Ann Finkbeiner, Discover

"When Computers Were Human is a detailed and fascinating look at a world I had not even known existed."--James Fallows, National Correspondent, Atlantic Monthly0Introduction: A Grandmother's Secret Life 1

Part I: Astronomy and the Division of Labor 1682-1880 9

Chapter One: The First Anticipated Return: Halley's Comet 1758 11
Chapter Two: The Children of Adam Smith 26
Chapter Three: The Celestial Factory: Halley's Comet 1835 46
Chapter Four: The American Prime Meridian 55
Chapter Five: A Carpet for the Computing Room 72

Part II: Mass Production and New Fields of Science 1880-1930 89

Chapter Six: Looking Forward, Looking Backward: Machinery 1893 91
Chapter Seven: Darwin's Cousins 102
Chapter Eight: Breaking from the Ellipse: Halley's Comet 1910 119
Chapter Nine: Captains of Academe 126
Chapter Ten: War Production 145
Chapter Eleven: Fruits of the Conflict: Machinery 1922 159

Part III: Professional Computers and an Independent Discipline 1930-1964 175

Chapter Twelve: The Best of Bad Times 177
Chapter Thirteen: Scientific Relief 198
Chapter Fourteen: Tools of the Trade: Machinery 1937 220
Chapter Fifteen: Professional Ambition 233
Chapter Sixteen: The Midtown New York Glide Bomb Club 256
Chapter Seventeen: The Victor's Share 276
Chapter Eighteen: I Alone Am Left to Tell Thee 298
Epilogue: Final Passage: Halley's Comet 1986 318

Acknowledgments 323
Appendix: Recurring Characters, Institutions, and Concepts 325
Notes 333
Research Notes and Bibliography 373
Index 401
Illustration Credits 412