Moths to the Flame: The Seductions of Computer Technology

ISBN-10: 0262680971
ISBN-13: 9780262680974
Category: Computers
Pages: 184
Language: English
Published: 1997-05-09
Publisher: MIT Press
Author: Gregory J. E. Rawlins

Description

"For two decades now I've been awaiting a book explaining computers and their social consequences to literate readers without using any unnecessary jargon or pedantry--or math. I wanted such a book to lend to all those friends who've pestered me about computers and to all the computer science students who've asked me about computers over the years. I particularly wanted a book that I could buy for my father, who's an accountant of the old school, to explain something of the mysterious world I live in." Gregory Rawlins, who teaches artificial intelligence at Indiana University, got tired of waiting for that book and decided to write it himself. In Moths to the Flame he takes us on a humorous yet thought-provoking tour of the world wrought by modern technology, a technology, he points out, that is rooted deep inside the military: a technology that when applied to everyday life, may have startling results. Unlike space technology, today's technological race won't simply bring us Tang-flavored Velcro. Rawlins educates by entertaining. His stories and anecdotes enliven and surprise us while increasing our awareness of technology itself as a player in the political and commercial climate of our times. In our headlong rush toward networked humanity Rawlins raises serious concerns about our future jobs and our future wars: we can figure out what kind of job to get today if we know where technology is taking us tomorrow. The book's first four chapters explore the worlds of privacy, virtual reality, publishing, and computer networks, while the last four focus on social issues such as warfare, jobs, computer catastrophes, and the future itself. Throughout unusual, eye-opening analogies and historical comparisons--from Egyptian hieroglyphics to the sewing machine to the codebreakers of World War II--give us a context for the computer age, showing how new technologies have always bred intertwined hope and resistance. Provocative yet balanced and sophisticated, Moths to the Flame is an indispensable guidebook to the future: a Baedeker for the Brave New World. A Bradford Book

Get the book

Similar books

Family History Digital Libraries
By William Sims Bainbridge
One named Sara and Timberlake had 11 male workers, 1 female worker, and 4 children workers, so it might have employed the Minor family.
Foundation Dreamweaver MX
By Craig Grannell, Jerome Turner, Matt Stephens
So here's what we need to do to arrive at our layout: s Create the main table to hold all the page elements. s Deal with the navigation area which is ...
Cisco CCNA Certification, 2 Volume Set: Exam 200-301
By Todd Lammle
This inclusive, two-book set provides what you need to know to succeed on the new CCNA exam. The set includes Understanding Cisco Networking Technologies: Volume 1 and the CCNA Certification Study Guide: Volume 2.
CompTIA Network+ Study Guide: Exam N10-006
By Todd Lammle
... you can use: –a –A –c –n –r –R –S –s All nbtstat switches are case sensitive. Generally speaking, lowercase switches deal with NetBIOS names of hosts, ...
CompTIA Network+ Study Guide with Online Labs: N10-007 Exam
By Todd Lammle, Jon Buhagiar
... you can use: –a –A –c –n –r –R –S –s All nbtstat switches are case sensitive. Generally speaking, lowercase switches deal with NetBIOS names of hosts, ...
CCNA: Cisco Certified Network Associate FastPass
By Todd Lammle
S The S reference point defines the point between the customer router and an ... with the letter E deal with using ISDN on the existing telephone network.
Stranger in the Chat Room
By Todd Hafer, Jedd Hafer
A sequel to In the Chat Room With God finds a group of teens contacted by a mysterious and increasingly malevolent character who claims to know about their encounters with the Almighty and challenges their beliefs. Original.
Error Correction Coding: Mathematical Methods and Algorithms
By Todd K. Moon
M M−1∑ k=0 −∞ ∞ k=0 The average energy per signal E s ∫ can be related to the ... we will deal primarily with additive white Gaussian noise (AWGN), ...
Security+ Training Guide
By Todd King
... to deal with most , but unfortunately not all , of these potential threats . ... The S / MIME standard implements encryption for message content using ...
CCDA: Cisco Certified Design Associate Study Guide: Exam 640-861
By Todd Lammle, Andy Barkl
S reference point The S reference point defines the reference point between ... with the letter E deal with using ISDN on the existing telephone network.