具体描述
Before Palm Pilots and iPods, PCs and laptops, the term "computer" referred to the people who did scientific calculations by hand. These workers were neither calculating geniuses nor idiot savants but knowledgeable people who, in other circumstances, might have become scientists in their own right. When Computers Were Human represents the first in-depth account of this little-known, 200-year epoch in the history of science and technology.
Beginning with the story of his own grandmother, who was trained as a human computer, David Alan Grier provides a poignant introduction to the wider world of women and men who did the hard computational labor of science. His grandmother's casual remark, "I wish I'd used my calculus," hinted at a career deferred and an education forgotten, a secret life unappreciated; like many highly educated women of her generation, she studied to become a human computer because nothing else would offer her a place in the scientific world.
The book begins with the return of Halley's comet in 1758 and the effort of three French astronomers to compute its orbit. It ends four cycles later, with a UNIVAC electronic computer projecting the 1986 orbit. In between, Grier tells us about the surveyors of the French Revolution, describes the calculating machines of Charles Babbage, and guides the reader through the Great Depression to marvel at the giant computing room of the Works Progress Administration.
When Computers Were Human is the sad but lyrical story of workers who gladly did the hard labor of research calculation in the hope that they might be part of the scientific community. In the end, they were rewarded by a new electronic machine that took the place and the name of those who were, once, the computers.
作者简介
David Alan Grier is Associate Professor in the Center for International Science and Technology Policy at George Washington University. His articles on the history of science have appeared in the "American Mathematical Monthly", "Chance", the "Christian Science Monitor", and the "Washington Post". He is Editor in Chief of the "IEEE Annals of the History of Computing". Long before he learned that his grandmother had been trained as a human computer, he absorbed the methods of programming the electronic computer from his father, who was a scientific computing specialist for the Burroughs Corporation.
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用户评价
说实话，我原本以为这是一本偏向硬核技术论述的著作，但事实证明我的预判是错的。这本书的深度在于它对“人机交互”这一概念在历史维度上的哲学探讨。它不仅仅记录了“什么”被发明了，更重要的是探讨了“为什么”要这样设计，以及这种设计如何反过来塑造了使用者的思维习惯。书中对图灵测试的早期讨论以及人工智能概念的萌芽阶段进行了细致入微的梳理，让我对我们今天对“智能”的定义有了更审慎的思考。它提供了一个极佳的参照系，让我们能够站在历史的高点去审视当前的AI热潮，避免陷入盲目乐观或过度恐慌的境地。阅读此书如同在数字时代的一个喧嚣路口，找到了一处安静的瞭望塔，让人得以清晰地回顾来时的路，并对前方的道路多了一份敬畏。
这本书简直是一部引人入胜的编年史，它将我们带回了计算机技术诞生的最初年代，那种纯粹的、充满探索精神的氛围扑面而来。作者的笔触细腻入微，仿佛让我亲眼目睹了那些早期工程师和数学家们如何在几乎是白手起家的条件下，一点点构建起我们今天习以为常的数字世界的基石。我特别欣赏作者对于那些关键性技术突破背后的“人”的刻画，他们不仅仅是冰冷的逻辑机器，更是充满激情的梦想家和富有远见的战略家。书中对于早期计算设备那些笨重、庞大且常常需要人工干预的特性描绘得极其生动，让人不禁感叹科技进步的惊人速度。阅读过程中，我不断地被提醒，在那些闪烁着指示灯和嗡嗡作响的磁带驱动器背后，是人类智慧的火花在熊熊燃烧。这种对历史脉络的深度挖掘，远超出了普通的技术科普范畴，它更像是一部关于人类如何学会与非生命体进行复杂协作的史诗。
这本书的结构组织堪称典范，它没有采用那种简单的时间轴罗列，而是围绕几个核心的概念性转折点进行深入剖析。我特别欣赏作者在处理不同地域、不同机构之间的竞争与合作关系时的平衡感。冷战背景下的科研竞赛、学术界的开放共享精神与商业利益的萌芽，这些复杂的关系被作者梳理得井井有条，避免了将技术发展描绘成一条单向度的直线。每一次技术迭代，都伴随着巨大的资源投入、政治博弈乃至伦理上的挣扎，这些“幕后故事”才是让这本书熠熠生辉的关键所在。它让我明白了，每一次计算能力的飞跃，背后都是无数次失败、妥协和天才灵光的碰撞。对于任何一个对技术伦理或创新管理感兴趣的读者来说，这本书都提供了宝贵的案例研究材料。
我非常喜欢作者那种冷静而略带幽默的叙事口吻，它使得阅读过程充满了愉悦感，即使面对复杂的工程问题也能保持轻松的心态。全书给我的核心印象是“谦逊”——对早期先驱们的成就保持敬意，同时对技术本身的局限性保持清醒的认知。例如，书中对早期程序调试中遇到的那些荒谬又充满智慧的“打补丁”方法进行了有趣的描述，那些片段读来，简直就像是看一出上世纪的默剧，充满了生活气息和创造力。这本书成功地将冰冷的机器逻辑与火热的人类情感连接起来，展示了技术进步并非是命中注定的，而是人类主动选择和塑造的结果。它不仅是一部历史书，更像是一封写给所有“问题解决者”的情书，提醒我们，在追求更强大的工具时，不要忘记那些最初驱动我们探索未知的好奇心。
初读此书，我最大的感受是那种扑面而来的怀旧气息，它成功地唤醒了我记忆深处对“老物件”的迷恋。叙事节奏处理得非常巧妙，它没有陷入晦涩难懂的技术细节泥潭，而是将重点放在了人与机器之间互动模式的演变上。例如，书中对早期的编程语言和操作系统的描述，让我体会到，在那个年代，与计算机“交流”本身就是一种高度专业化且充满仪式感的行为，远没有现在触摸屏的直观便捷。作者对那些早期的“数据输入员”和“调试员”的社会角色变迁着墨甚多，揭示了技术革命是如何潜移默化地重塑了工作性质和社会结构。这种社会学和技术史交织的叙事方式，使得原本可能枯燥的工程史变得富有戏剧张力。我尤其欣赏它对那些被历史遗忘的女性先驱的关注，她们在那个男性主导的领域中留下的深刻印记，值得被世人铭记。
