Moths to the flame : the seductions of computer technology

Author(s)

    • Rawlins, Gregory J. E.

Bibliographic Information

Moths to the flame : the seductions of computer technology

Gregory J. E. Rawlins

(Bradford book)

MIT Press, c1996

  • : hard

Available at  / 6 libraries

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Note

Includes index

Description and Table of Contents

Description

In "Moths to the Flame", the author takes us on a 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-flavoured Velcro. Rawlins' stories and anecdotes increase awareness of technology itself as a player in the political and commercial climate of our times. In our head-long 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.

Table of Contents

  • Too many secrets
  • infinite in all directions
  • the power of ideas
  • only connect
  • the bloody crystal
  • the life you save
  • the machine stumbles
  • a creation unknown.

by "Nielsen BookData"

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Details

  • NCID
    BA29614482
  • ISBN
    • 0262181762
  • LCCN
    96004729
  • Country Code
    us
  • Title Language Code
    eng
  • Text Language Code
    eng
  • Place of Publication
    Cambridge, Mass.
  • Pages/Volumes
    x, 184 p.
  • Size
    24 cm
  • Subject Headings
  • Parent Bibliography ID
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