Author: Mel Croucher
Publisher: Andrews UK Limited
ISBN: 1785387561
Category : Humor
Languages : en
Pages : 204
Book Description
The unexpurgated, hilarious and unflinching history of computers, of the lunatics who create them, and of the idiots who use them, retold in cartoon strips by Mel Croucher and Robin Evans. Great Moments In Computing is the longest-running, most widely read and best loved computer cartoon strip in the world, and this unique collection contains every single episode ... along with unpublished and previously censored versions, and the behind-the-scenes secrets of how it all really happened.
Great Moments in Computing
Author: Mel Croucher
Publisher: Andrews UK Limited
ISBN: 1785387561
Category : Humor
Languages : en
Pages : 204
Book Description
The unexpurgated, hilarious and unflinching history of computers, of the lunatics who create them, and of the idiots who use them, retold in cartoon strips by Mel Croucher and Robin Evans. Great Moments In Computing is the longest-running, most widely read and best loved computer cartoon strip in the world, and this unique collection contains every single episode ... along with unpublished and previously censored versions, and the behind-the-scenes secrets of how it all really happened.
Publisher: Andrews UK Limited
ISBN: 1785387561
Category : Humor
Languages : en
Pages : 204
Book Description
The unexpurgated, hilarious and unflinching history of computers, of the lunatics who create them, and of the idiots who use them, retold in cartoon strips by Mel Croucher and Robin Evans. Great Moments In Computing is the longest-running, most widely read and best loved computer cartoon strip in the world, and this unique collection contains every single episode ... along with unpublished and previously censored versions, and the behind-the-scenes secrets of how it all really happened.
50 Great Moments
Author: Kyle Ratinac
Publisher: Sydney University Press
ISBN: 192089876X
Category : Biography & Autobiography
Languages : en
Pages : 409
Book Description
This captivating book presents 50 great moments from the past five decades of the Electron Microscope Unit¿s activities. Blending history and science in an engaging style, 50 Great Moments tells the story of the unit¿s creation and profiles the key figures that have forged the facility into the success that it is today. The book looks at the instruments, events and achievements that have defined the unit¿s character and contributed so much to Australian microscopy and microanalysis. Finally, this volume explores some of the important research done by the scientists and engineers who have used the unit¿s advanced microscopes.
Publisher: Sydney University Press
ISBN: 192089876X
Category : Biography & Autobiography
Languages : en
Pages : 409
Book Description
This captivating book presents 50 great moments from the past five decades of the Electron Microscope Unit¿s activities. Blending history and science in an engaging style, 50 Great Moments tells the story of the unit¿s creation and profiles the key figures that have forged the facility into the success that it is today. The book looks at the instruments, events and achievements that have defined the unit¿s character and contributed so much to Australian microscopy and microanalysis. Finally, this volume explores some of the important research done by the scientists and engineers who have used the unit¿s advanced microscopes.
Great Moments in Mathematics: After 1650
Author: Howard Eves
Publisher: American Mathematical Soc.
ISBN: 0883853116
Category : Education
Languages : en
Pages : 278
Book Description
What a splendid addition this is to the Dolciani Mathematical Exposition series! This second set of lectures on great moments in mathematics (after 1650) is a fascinating collection of pivotal points in the historical development of mathematics...The four lectures devoted to the liberation of geometry and algebra are of particular interest. The lectures should be required reading for all teachers of mathematics. —Herbert Fremont, The Mathematics Teacher Eves is never less than tantalizing and usually inspiring...each 'great moment' has detailed exercises following it, as these have been carefully chosen to illustrate the depth of the ideas in question. —C. W. Kilmister, The London Times, Higher Education Supplement As is usual with Eves' work, the books are well written and entertaining. They give an historical background to many of the best known mathematical results, and, in addition, provide interesting pieces of information about the mathematicians involved. Eves includes relevant exercises at the end of each chapter. These are a good source of different, interesting problems, and when combined with the material in the chapter, could form the basis for a mathematical project...Eves' book provides an interesting, well-written, and enjoyable account. You won't be disappointed. —David Parrott, The Australian Mathematics Teacher
Publisher: American Mathematical Soc.
ISBN: 0883853116
Category : Education
Languages : en
Pages : 278
Book Description
What a splendid addition this is to the Dolciani Mathematical Exposition series! This second set of lectures on great moments in mathematics (after 1650) is a fascinating collection of pivotal points in the historical development of mathematics...The four lectures devoted to the liberation of geometry and algebra are of particular interest. The lectures should be required reading for all teachers of mathematics. —Herbert Fremont, The Mathematics Teacher Eves is never less than tantalizing and usually inspiring...each 'great moment' has detailed exercises following it, as these have been carefully chosen to illustrate the depth of the ideas in question. —C. W. Kilmister, The London Times, Higher Education Supplement As is usual with Eves' work, the books are well written and entertaining. They give an historical background to many of the best known mathematical results, and, in addition, provide interesting pieces of information about the mathematicians involved. Eves includes relevant exercises at the end of each chapter. These are a good source of different, interesting problems, and when combined with the material in the chapter, could form the basis for a mathematical project...Eves' book provides an interesting, well-written, and enjoyable account. You won't be disappointed. —David Parrott, The Australian Mathematics Teacher
Great Moments in Mathematics Before 1650
Author: Howard Eves
Publisher: American Mathematical Soc.
ISBN: 1614442142
Category : Mathematics
Languages : en
Pages : 286
Book Description
Great Moments in Mathematics: Before 1650 is the product of a series of lectures on the history of mathematics given by Howard Eves. He presents here, in chronological order, 20 ``great moments in mathematics before 1650'', which can be appreciated by anyone who enjoys mathematics. These wonderful lectures could be used as the basis of a course on the history of mathematics but can also serve as enrichment to any mathematics course. Included are lectures on the Pythagorean Theorem, Euclid's Elements, Archimedes (on the sphere), Diophantus, Omar Khayyam, and Fibonacci.
Publisher: American Mathematical Soc.
ISBN: 1614442142
Category : Mathematics
Languages : en
Pages : 286
Book Description
Great Moments in Mathematics: Before 1650 is the product of a series of lectures on the history of mathematics given by Howard Eves. He presents here, in chronological order, 20 ``great moments in mathematics before 1650'', which can be appreciated by anyone who enjoys mathematics. These wonderful lectures could be used as the basis of a course on the history of mathematics but can also serve as enrichment to any mathematics course. Included are lectures on the Pythagorean Theorem, Euclid's Elements, Archimedes (on the sphere), Diophantus, Omar Khayyam, and Fibonacci.
A History of Modern Computing, second edition
Author: Paul E. Ceruzzi
Publisher: MIT Press
ISBN: 9780262532037
Category : Technology & Engineering
Languages : en
Pages : 468
Book Description
From the first digital computer to the dot-com crash—a story of individuals, institutions, and the forces that led to a series of dramatic transformations. This engaging history covers modern computing from the development of the first electronic digital computer through the dot-com crash. The author concentrates on five key moments of transition: the transformation of the computer in the late 1940s from a specialized scientific instrument to a commercial product; the emergence of small systems in the late 1960s; the beginning of personal computing in the 1970s; the spread of networking after 1985; and, in a chapter written for this edition, the period 1995-2001. The new material focuses on the Microsoft antitrust suit, the rise and fall of the dot-coms, and the advent of open source software, particularly Linux. Within the chronological narrative, the book traces several overlapping threads: the evolution of the computer's internal design; the effect of economic trends and the Cold War; the long-term role of IBM as a player and as a target for upstart entrepreneurs; the growth of software from a hidden element to a major character in the story of computing; and the recurring issue of the place of information and computing in a democratic society. The focus is on the United States (though Europe and Japan enter the story at crucial points), on computing per se rather than on applications such as artificial intelligence, and on systems that were sold commercially and installed in quantities.
Publisher: MIT Press
ISBN: 9780262532037
Category : Technology & Engineering
Languages : en
Pages : 468
Book Description
From the first digital computer to the dot-com crash—a story of individuals, institutions, and the forces that led to a series of dramatic transformations. This engaging history covers modern computing from the development of the first electronic digital computer through the dot-com crash. The author concentrates on five key moments of transition: the transformation of the computer in the late 1940s from a specialized scientific instrument to a commercial product; the emergence of small systems in the late 1960s; the beginning of personal computing in the 1970s; the spread of networking after 1985; and, in a chapter written for this edition, the period 1995-2001. The new material focuses on the Microsoft antitrust suit, the rise and fall of the dot-coms, and the advent of open source software, particularly Linux. Within the chronological narrative, the book traces several overlapping threads: the evolution of the computer's internal design; the effect of economic trends and the Cold War; the long-term role of IBM as a player and as a target for upstart entrepreneurs; the growth of software from a hidden element to a major character in the story of computing; and the recurring issue of the place of information and computing in a democratic society. The focus is on the United States (though Europe and Japan enter the story at crucial points), on computing per se rather than on applications such as artificial intelligence, and on systems that were sold commercially and installed in quantities.
The Computer Contradictionary
Author: Stan Kelly-Bootle
Publisher: MIT Press
ISBN: 9780262611121
Category : Computers
Languages : en
Pages : 262
Book Description
Ascertain the meaning before consulting this dictionary, warns the author of this collection of deliberately satirical misdefinitions. New computer cultures and their jargons have burgeoned since this book's progenitor, The Devil's DP Dictionary, was published in 1981. This updated version of Stan Kelly-Bootle's romp through the data processing lexicon is a response to the Unix pandemic that has swept academia and government, to the endlessly hyped panaceas offered to the MIS, and to the PC explosion that has brought computer terminology to a hugely bewildered, lay audience.' The original dictionary, a pastiche of Ambrose Bierce's famous work, parried chiefly the mainframe and mini-folklore of the 1950s, 1960s and 1970s. This revision adds over 550 new entries and enhances many of the original definitions. Key targets are a host of new follies crying out for cynical lexicography including: the GUI-Phooey iconoclasts, object orienteering and the piping of BLObs down the Clinton-Gore InfoPike.
Publisher: MIT Press
ISBN: 9780262611121
Category : Computers
Languages : en
Pages : 262
Book Description
Ascertain the meaning before consulting this dictionary, warns the author of this collection of deliberately satirical misdefinitions. New computer cultures and their jargons have burgeoned since this book's progenitor, The Devil's DP Dictionary, was published in 1981. This updated version of Stan Kelly-Bootle's romp through the data processing lexicon is a response to the Unix pandemic that has swept academia and government, to the endlessly hyped panaceas offered to the MIS, and to the PC explosion that has brought computer terminology to a hugely bewildered, lay audience.' The original dictionary, a pastiche of Ambrose Bierce's famous work, parried chiefly the mainframe and mini-folklore of the 1950s, 1960s and 1970s. This revision adds over 550 new entries and enhances many of the original definitions. Key targets are a host of new follies crying out for cynical lexicography including: the GUI-Phooey iconoclasts, object orienteering and the piping of BLObs down the Clinton-Gore InfoPike.
Great Moments
Author: Prakasha Shanbog
Publisher: Pustaka Digital Media
ISBN:
Category : Fiction
Languages : en
Pages : 162
Book Description
We have seen people often making the statement, ‘That one moment made the difference in my life.’ There are moments in one’s life which have made a big positive impact on the individual and on the people associated with that person. There are other moments which add to the positive impact of earlier moments. There are moments which did not make any impact on the individual and just passed off unnoticed. Maybe we can call these as neutral moments. People also experience moments which created some negative impact. The great moment was the one when you took ‘that’ decision which turned out to be the best decision. It changed your life and made enormous changes for the people associated with you either in your professional or personal life. this book is about such moments. Why does a moment become great? Who makes the moment great? Is it the individual experiencing it? Is the surrounding ambience responsible for the great moment or is it the people with whom the individual is associated? These are the questions to be debated. This book does not really teach you any technique or skill to make your moments great. The book is a collection of essays on divergent topics. The essays as you read through will trigger a debate in you through which you will develop some unique insights of your own. Insights are purely individual's experience and derivatives. These insights will be responsible to lead you to the arena of great moments.
Publisher: Pustaka Digital Media
ISBN:
Category : Fiction
Languages : en
Pages : 162
Book Description
We have seen people often making the statement, ‘That one moment made the difference in my life.’ There are moments in one’s life which have made a big positive impact on the individual and on the people associated with that person. There are other moments which add to the positive impact of earlier moments. There are moments which did not make any impact on the individual and just passed off unnoticed. Maybe we can call these as neutral moments. People also experience moments which created some negative impact. The great moment was the one when you took ‘that’ decision which turned out to be the best decision. It changed your life and made enormous changes for the people associated with you either in your professional or personal life. this book is about such moments. Why does a moment become great? Who makes the moment great? Is it the individual experiencing it? Is the surrounding ambience responsible for the great moment or is it the people with whom the individual is associated? These are the questions to be debated. This book does not really teach you any technique or skill to make your moments great. The book is a collection of essays on divergent topics. The essays as you read through will trigger a debate in you through which you will develop some unique insights of your own. Insights are purely individual's experience and derivatives. These insights will be responsible to lead you to the arena of great moments.
Rapture for the Geeks
Author: Richard Dooling
Publisher: Crown
ISBN: 0307449955
Category : Computers
Languages : en
Pages : 274
Book Description
Will the Geeks inherit the earth? If computers become twice as fast and twice as capable every two years, how long is it before they’re as intelligent as humans? More intelligent? And then in two more years, twice as intelligent? How long before you won’t be able to tell if you are texting a person or an especially ingenious chatterbot program designed to simulate intelligent human conversation? According to Richard Dooling in Rapture for the Geeks—maybe not that long. It took humans millions of years to develop opposable thumbs (which we now use to build computers), but computers go from megabytes to gigabytes in five years; from the invention of the PC to the Internet in less than fifteen. At the accelerating rate of technological development, AI should surpass IQ in the next seven to thirty-seven years (depending on who you ask). We are sluggish biological sorcerers, but we’ve managed to create whiz-bang machines that are evolving much faster than we are. In this fascinating, entertaining, and illuminating book, Dooling looks at what some of the greatest minds have to say about our role in a future in which technology rapidly leaves us in the dust. As Dooling writes, comparing human evolution to technological evolution is “worse than apples and oranges: It’s appliances versus orangutans.” Is the era of Singularity, when machines outthink humans, almost upon us? Will we be enslaved by our supercomputer overlords, as many a sci-fi writer has wondered? Or will humans live lives of leisure with computers doing all the heavy lifting? With antic wit, fearless prescience, and common sense, Dooling provocatively examines nothing less than what it means to be human in what he playfully calls the age of b.s. (before Singularity)—and what life will be like when we are no longer alone with Mother Nature at Darwin’s card table. Are computers thinking and feeling if they can mimic human speech and emotions? Does processing capability equal consciousness? What happens to our quaint beliefs about God when we’re all worshipping technology? What if the human compulsion to create ever more capable machines ultimately leads to our own extinction? Will human ingenuity and faith ultimately prevail over our technological obsessions? Dooling hopes so, and his cautionary glimpses into the future are the best medicine to restore our humanity.
Publisher: Crown
ISBN: 0307449955
Category : Computers
Languages : en
Pages : 274
Book Description
Will the Geeks inherit the earth? If computers become twice as fast and twice as capable every two years, how long is it before they’re as intelligent as humans? More intelligent? And then in two more years, twice as intelligent? How long before you won’t be able to tell if you are texting a person or an especially ingenious chatterbot program designed to simulate intelligent human conversation? According to Richard Dooling in Rapture for the Geeks—maybe not that long. It took humans millions of years to develop opposable thumbs (which we now use to build computers), but computers go from megabytes to gigabytes in five years; from the invention of the PC to the Internet in less than fifteen. At the accelerating rate of technological development, AI should surpass IQ in the next seven to thirty-seven years (depending on who you ask). We are sluggish biological sorcerers, but we’ve managed to create whiz-bang machines that are evolving much faster than we are. In this fascinating, entertaining, and illuminating book, Dooling looks at what some of the greatest minds have to say about our role in a future in which technology rapidly leaves us in the dust. As Dooling writes, comparing human evolution to technological evolution is “worse than apples and oranges: It’s appliances versus orangutans.” Is the era of Singularity, when machines outthink humans, almost upon us? Will we be enslaved by our supercomputer overlords, as many a sci-fi writer has wondered? Or will humans live lives of leisure with computers doing all the heavy lifting? With antic wit, fearless prescience, and common sense, Dooling provocatively examines nothing less than what it means to be human in what he playfully calls the age of b.s. (before Singularity)—and what life will be like when we are no longer alone with Mother Nature at Darwin’s card table. Are computers thinking and feeling if they can mimic human speech and emotions? Does processing capability equal consciousness? What happens to our quaint beliefs about God when we’re all worshipping technology? What if the human compulsion to create ever more capable machines ultimately leads to our own extinction? Will human ingenuity and faith ultimately prevail over our technological obsessions? Dooling hopes so, and his cautionary glimpses into the future are the best medicine to restore our humanity.
When Computers Were Human
Author: David Alan Grier
Publisher: Princeton University Press
ISBN: 1400849365
Category : Science
Languages : en
Pages : 423
Book Description
Before Palm Pilots and iPods, PCs and laptops, the term "computer" referred to the people who did scientific calculations by hand. These workers were neither calculating geniuses nor idiot savants but knowledgeable people who, in other circumstances, might have become scientists in their own right. When Computers Were Human represents the first in-depth account of this little-known, 200-year epoch in the history of science and technology. Beginning with the story of his own grandmother, who was trained as a human computer, David Alan Grier provides a poignant introduction to the wider world of women and men who did the hard computational labor of science. His grandmother's casual remark, "I wish I'd used my calculus," hinted at a career deferred and an education forgotten, a secret life unappreciated; like many highly educated women of her generation, she studied to become a human computer because nothing else would offer her a place in the scientific world. The book begins with the return of Halley's comet in 1758 and the effort of three French astronomers to compute its orbit. It ends four cycles later, with a UNIVAC electronic computer projecting the 1986 orbit. In between, Grier tells us about the surveyors of the French Revolution, describes the calculating machines of Charles Babbage, and guides the reader through the Great Depression to marvel at the giant computing room of the Works Progress Administration. When Computers Were Human is the sad but lyrical story of workers who gladly did the hard labor of research calculation in the hope that they might be part of the scientific community. In the end, they were rewarded by a new electronic machine that took the place and the name of those who were, once, the computers.
Publisher: Princeton University Press
ISBN: 1400849365
Category : Science
Languages : en
Pages : 423
Book Description
Before Palm Pilots and iPods, PCs and laptops, the term "computer" referred to the people who did scientific calculations by hand. These workers were neither calculating geniuses nor idiot savants but knowledgeable people who, in other circumstances, might have become scientists in their own right. When Computers Were Human represents the first in-depth account of this little-known, 200-year epoch in the history of science and technology. Beginning with the story of his own grandmother, who was trained as a human computer, David Alan Grier provides a poignant introduction to the wider world of women and men who did the hard computational labor of science. His grandmother's casual remark, "I wish I'd used my calculus," hinted at a career deferred and an education forgotten, a secret life unappreciated; like many highly educated women of her generation, she studied to become a human computer because nothing else would offer her a place in the scientific world. The book begins with the return of Halley's comet in 1758 and the effort of three French astronomers to compute its orbit. It ends four cycles later, with a UNIVAC electronic computer projecting the 1986 orbit. In between, Grier tells us about the surveyors of the French Revolution, describes the calculating machines of Charles Babbage, and guides the reader through the Great Depression to marvel at the giant computing room of the Works Progress Administration. When Computers Were Human is the sad but lyrical story of workers who gladly did the hard labor of research calculation in the hope that they might be part of the scientific community. In the end, they were rewarded by a new electronic machine that took the place and the name of those who were, once, the computers.
Masters of Mathematics
Author: Robert A. Nowlan
Publisher: Springer
ISBN: 9463008934
Category : Education
Languages : en
Pages : 623
Book Description
The original title for this work was “Mathematical Literacy, What Is It and Why You Need it”. The current title reflects that there can be no real learning in any subject, unless questions of who, what, when, where, why and how are raised in the minds of the learners. The book is not a mathematical text, and there are no assigned exercises or exams. It is written for reasonably intelligent and curious individuals, both those who value mathematics, aware of its many important applications and others who have been inappropriately exposed to mathematics, leading to indifference to the subject, fear and even loathing. These feelings are all consequences of meaningless presentations, drill, rote learning and being lost as the purpose of what is being studied. Mathematics education needs a radical reform. There is more than one way to accomplish this. Here the author presents his approach of wrapping mathematical ideas in a story. To learn one first must develop an interest in a problem and the curiosity to find how masters of mathematics have solved them. What is necessary to be mathematically literate? It’s not about solving algebraic equations or even making a geometric proof. These are valuable skills but not evidence of literacy. We often seek answers but learning to ask pertinent questions is the road to mathematical literacy. Here is the good news: new mathematical ideas have a way of finding applications. This is known as “the unreasonable effectiveness of mathematics.”
Publisher: Springer
ISBN: 9463008934
Category : Education
Languages : en
Pages : 623
Book Description
The original title for this work was “Mathematical Literacy, What Is It and Why You Need it”. The current title reflects that there can be no real learning in any subject, unless questions of who, what, when, where, why and how are raised in the minds of the learners. The book is not a mathematical text, and there are no assigned exercises or exams. It is written for reasonably intelligent and curious individuals, both those who value mathematics, aware of its many important applications and others who have been inappropriately exposed to mathematics, leading to indifference to the subject, fear and even loathing. These feelings are all consequences of meaningless presentations, drill, rote learning and being lost as the purpose of what is being studied. Mathematics education needs a radical reform. There is more than one way to accomplish this. Here the author presents his approach of wrapping mathematical ideas in a story. To learn one first must develop an interest in a problem and the curiosity to find how masters of mathematics have solved them. What is necessary to be mathematically literate? It’s not about solving algebraic equations or even making a geometric proof. These are valuable skills but not evidence of literacy. We often seek answers but learning to ask pertinent questions is the road to mathematical literacy. Here is the good news: new mathematical ideas have a way of finding applications. This is known as “the unreasonable effectiveness of mathematics.”