Title
Odysseys in Technology: When Computers Were Human, lecture by David Alan Grier
Catalog Number
102651360
Type
Moving Image
Description
From abstract: "What did it mean to be a human computer? Who were the first ones? Before Palm Pilots and iPods, PCs and laptops, the term "computer" referred to people who did scientific calculations by hand. In his book When Computers Were Human, David Alan Grier, editor of IEEE Annals of History of Computing, offers the first in-depth account of these workers, who were neither calculating geniuses nor idiot savants but knowledgeable people who, in other circumstances, might have become scientists in their own right. Beginning with the return of Halley's Comet in 1758 and the effort of three French astronomers to compute its orbit to the UNIVAC electronic computer projecting its 1986 orbit, Grier traces "human computers" through the ages. Come join Grier, along with former "computers," for this look into a little-known slice of high tech history."
Date
2005-06-06
Credits
Grier, David Alan
Publisher
Computer History Museum
Place of Publication
Mountain View, CA, US
Duration
01:14:30
Format
Mini-DV
Category
Lecture
