The Computer and Us

For most of us, the Computer has had little effect - we think. Or more accurately, we are determined to think. 

When, in fact, it has changed our world (and us) completely. To which you may reply "But not fundamentally, we are still what we always have been." 

I won't argue with you, but note (to myself) that you are wrong, and wrong about an important subject. 

Back in the Fifties, when I was in High School, I was going to become a Scientist. I became an Electronics Engineer instead. I became an expert in Vacuum Tubes, which were just that: glass tubes with a vacuum in them thru which electrons could flow freely. Control Elements in them could control the flow of these electrons. Hence the name: Electronics. 

Vacuum Tubes were made in all sizes. The display of a TV was a tube with a flat face. The largest of these was 5 feet in diameter and was dangerous to handle because they could implode explosively. They were the output display of Radars, at which I became an expert. This was during the Cold War, which made a lot of money for me. 

The Computer was made of semiconductors, mainly Silicon. Hence Silicon Valley, where I worked in the Nineties. Where the emphasis was on Software. 

And people-oriented, because only people can make Software.