B C, Before Computers
"The idea that the digital age has revolutionized our day-to-day experience of the world is nothing new, and has been amply recognized by cultural historians. In contrast, Stephen Robertson’s BC: Before Computers is a work which questions the idea that the mid-twentieth century saw a single moment o...
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| Format: | Online |
| Language: | English |
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Open Book Publishers
2021
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| Online Access: | OCN: 1229814576 |
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| _version_ | 1869516221815193600 |
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| author | Robertson, Stephen |
| author_browse | Robertson, Stephen |
| author_facet | Robertson, Stephen |
| author_sort | Robertson, Stephen |
| collection | Directory of Open Access Books |
| description | "The idea that the digital age has revolutionized our day-to-day experience of the world is nothing new, and has been amply recognized by cultural historians. In contrast, Stephen Robertson’s BC: Before Computers is a work which questions the idea that the mid-twentieth century saw a single moment of rupture. It is about all the things that we had to learn, invent, and understand – all the ways we had to evolve our thinking – before we could enter the information technology revolution of the second half of the twentieth century. Its focus ranges from the beginnings of data processing, right back to such originary forms of human technology as the development of writing systems, gathering a whole history of revolutionary moments in the development of information technologies into a single, although not linear narrative.
Treading the line between philosophy and technical history, Robertson draws on his extensive technical knowledge to produce a text which is both thought-provoking and accessible to a wide range of readers. The book is wide in scope, exploring the development of technologies in such diverse areas as cryptography, visual art and music, and the postal system. Through all this, it does not simply aim to tell the story of computer developments but to show that those developments rely on a long history of humans creating technologies for increasingly sophisticated methods of manipulating information.
Through a clear structure and engaging style, it brings together a wealth of informative and conceptual explorations into the history of human technologies, and avoids assumptions about any prior knowledge on the part of the reader. As such, it has the potential to be of interest to the expert and the general reader alike." |
| format | Online |
| id | doab-20.500.12854ir-33882 |
| institution | Directory of Open Access Books |
| language | eng |
| publishDate | 2021 |
| publishDateRange | 2021 |
| publishDateSort | 2021 |
| publisher | Open Book Publishers |
| publisherStr | Open Book Publishers |
| record_format | ojs |
| spelling | doab-20.500.12854ir-338822025-06-11T06:56:27Z B C, Before Computers Robertson, Stephen history of computer developments digital age computer information technology revolution data processing cryptography visual art music postal system thema EDItEUR::U Computing and Information Technology thema EDItEUR::G Reference, Information and Interdisciplinary subjects::GP Research and information: general::GPF Information theory thema EDItEUR::J Society and Social Sciences::JN Education::JNV Educational equipment and technology, computer-aided learning (CAL) thema EDItEUR::D Biography, Literature and Literary studies::D Biography, Literature and Literary studies::DN Biography and non-fiction prose thema EDItEUR::U Computing and Information Technology::UB Information technology: general topics "The idea that the digital age has revolutionized our day-to-day experience of the world is nothing new, and has been amply recognized by cultural historians. In contrast, Stephen Robertson’s BC: Before Computers is a work which questions the idea that the mid-twentieth century saw a single moment of rupture. It is about all the things that we had to learn, invent, and understand – all the ways we had to evolve our thinking – before we could enter the information technology revolution of the second half of the twentieth century. Its focus ranges from the beginnings of data processing, right back to such originary forms of human technology as the development of writing systems, gathering a whole history of revolutionary moments in the development of information technologies into a single, although not linear narrative. Treading the line between philosophy and technical history, Robertson draws on his extensive technical knowledge to produce a text which is both thought-provoking and accessible to a wide range of readers. The book is wide in scope, exploring the development of technologies in such diverse areas as cryptography, visual art and music, and the postal system. Through all this, it does not simply aim to tell the story of computer developments but to show that those developments rely on a long history of humans creating technologies for increasingly sophisticated methods of manipulating information. Through a clear structure and engaging style, it brings together a wealth of informative and conceptual explorations into the history of human technologies, and avoids assumptions about any prior knowledge on the part of the reader. As such, it has the potential to be of interest to the expert and the general reader alike." 2021-02-10T14:12:04Z 2021-02-10T14:12:04Z 2020-10-28T10:00:31Z 2020 book OCN: 1229814576 https://library.oapen.org/handle/20.500.12657/42726 978180064290 9781800640306 9781800641044 9781800641051 9781800641068 9781800641044 9781800641051 9781800641068 978180064290 https://directory.doabooks.org/handle/20.500.12854/33882 eng open access image/jpeg image/jpeg image/jpeg image/jpeg Attribution 4.0 International Attribution 4.0 International Attribution 4.0 International Attribution 4.0 International https://library.oapen.org/bitstream/20.500.12657/42726/1/9781800640313.pdf https://library.oapen.org/bitstream/20.500.12657/42726/1/9781800640313.pdf https://library.oapen.org/bitstream/20.500.12657/42726/1/9781800640313.pdf https://library.oapen.org/bitstream/20.500.12657/42726/1/9781800640313.pdf Open Book Publishers 10.11647/OBP.0225 10.11647/OBP.0225 b014b543-78bd-4c3b-bc71-b68e2ac855b9 978180064290 9781800640306 9781800641044 9781800641051 9781800641068 9781800641044 9781800641051 9781800641068 978180064290 ScholarLed 170 open access |
| spellingShingle | history of computer developments digital age computer information technology revolution data processing cryptography visual art music postal system thema EDItEUR::U Computing and Information Technology thema EDItEUR::G Reference, Information and Interdisciplinary subjects::GP Research and information: general::GPF Information theory thema EDItEUR::J Society and Social Sciences::JN Education::JNV Educational equipment and technology, computer-aided learning (CAL) thema EDItEUR::D Biography, Literature and Literary studies::D Biography, Literature and Literary studies::DN Biography and non-fiction prose thema EDItEUR::U Computing and Information Technology::UB Information technology: general topics Robertson, Stephen B C, Before Computers |
| title | B C, Before Computers |
| title_full | B C, Before Computers |
| title_fullStr | B C, Before Computers |
| title_full_unstemmed | B C, Before Computers |
| title_short | B C, Before Computers |
| title_sort | b c before computers |
| topic | history of computer developments digital age computer information technology revolution data processing cryptography visual art music postal system thema EDItEUR::U Computing and Information Technology thema EDItEUR::G Reference, Information and Interdisciplinary subjects::GP Research and information: general::GPF Information theory thema EDItEUR::J Society and Social Sciences::JN Education::JNV Educational equipment and technology, computer-aided learning (CAL) thema EDItEUR::D Biography, Literature and Literary studies::D Biography, Literature and Literary studies::DN Biography and non-fiction prose thema EDItEUR::U Computing and Information Technology::UB Information technology: general topics |
| topic_facet | history of computer developments digital age computer information technology revolution data processing cryptography visual art music postal system thema EDItEUR::U Computing and Information Technology thema EDItEUR::G Reference, Information and Interdisciplinary subjects::GP Research and information: general::GPF Information theory thema EDItEUR::J Society and Social Sciences::JN Education::JNV Educational equipment and technology, computer-aided learning (CAL) thema EDItEUR::D Biography, Literature and Literary studies::D Biography, Literature and Literary studies::DN Biography and non-fiction prose thema EDItEUR::U Computing and Information Technology::UB Information technology: general topics |
| url | OCN: 1229814576 |
| work_keys_str_mv | AT robertsonstephen bcbeforecomputers |