Until now, I had never read any books pertaining to technology before, so I will admit I was somewhat apprehensive about the required reading for this course. I found the history of technology to be more complex than I realized, and it really is interesting. I had never really given much thought to how things were done thousands of years ago, or even hundreds of years ago. Swedin and Ferro take us back in time, starting with the discovery of the first mechanical computer that was used to calculate lunar, solar, and stellar calendars. I think the fact that it was found on a ship that sank somewhere between 100 and 40 B.C.E. is AMAZING--that this is how it all began, that long ago. Swedin and Ferro continued to hold my interest as they wrote about technology and how it developed and evolved throughout history, from the way calculations were made before computers, to the very first IBMs.
Something that truly amazed me was the fact that many of the people who played such an important role in the earliest technological devices were so YOUNG. One person in particular that stands out to me is Blaise Pascal. According to Swedin and Ferro (page 11), Pascal worked out Euclid’s geometric theorems ON HIS OWN at age twelve, described complex conical geometry in writing when was just sixteen, and invented a mechanical device called the Pascaline for adding and subtracting when he was only nineteen. He originally invented this device to assist his father in his job as tax collector. In order to create this machine, Pascal had to train himself as a mechanic, because there were no local mechanics that had the ability to work with the fine precision needed. I think back to what I was like at 12, 16, and 19, and I certainly wasn’t a great thinker, nor did I know any others my age who were. The fact that someone so young played such a pivotal role in the history of technology is truly impressive.
With Computers: The Life Story of a Technology, I was expecting a boring read, with a whole lot of terminology thrown at me that I wasn’t going to understand. Instead, Eric G. Swedin and David L. Ferro created a book that is actually an interesting and easy read. Thank you, gentlemen! I’m looking forward to the second half of the book.
Wow thank you nurse Nancy! I did not know about this history as it pertains to technology and its roots. This is so informational and interesting.
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Nancy, I have a theory about why the inventors in this book were young. Technology is the new and exciting. Most older people, not all are comfortablthe with the new. I found that the first part of the book boring, but the second half is much more interesting.
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