George Dyson's continued downplaying of British computing efforts is tiresome
1–10 of 28 posts
Re: George Dyson's continued downplaying of British computing efforts is tiresome
#2[deleted]
Re: George Dyson's continued downplaying of British computing efforts is tiresome
#3[deleted]
I think you are talking about James Dyson not George Dyson.
Re: George Dyson's continued downplaying of British computing efforts is tiresome
#4[deleted]
Wrong Dyson. Science historians aren't often billionaires.
Re: George Dyson's continued downplaying of British computing efforts is tiresome
#5Imagine what those wartime guys could have done with a BBC Micro!
Re: George Dyson's continued downplaying of British computing efforts is tiresome
#6Re: George Dyson's continued downplaying of British computing efforts is tiresome
#7The mythmaking around the early history of computing is fascinating (and maddening) to watch. In the rush to create compelling narratives around a few selected heroes, the complexities and the contributions of the many are too often shunted aside.
Re: George Dyson's continued downplaying of British computing efforts is tiresome
#8Is there an accurate account of the international history of computing in existence in book form?
Re: George Dyson's continued downplaying of British computing efforts is tiresome
#9George Dyson is the son of the physicist Freeman Dyson, who worked at the Institute for Advance Study from 1953 during the time when von Neumann et al were building the IAS computer. He (George) gave a talk [1] in 2008 where he mentioned that he used to hang out at the IAS as a child and met von Neumann, Kurt Godel, and others. This probably explains his emphasis on the IAS and von Neumann.
I do agree with the opinion expressed in the article, though, that the British contribution tends to be downplayed. But as a brit myself we're used to that...
The Manchester Baby is in the science museum here in Manchester and its worth a look if you somehow find yourself in Manchester. The long-now talk is interesting, but you might want to fast-fwd past the stuff about canoes and tree houses.
http://longnow.org/seminars/02004/jan/09/theres-plenty-of-ro...
EDIT: typo
Re: George Dyson's continued downplaying of British computing efforts is tiresome
#10Earlier quoted context omitted.
I think you are talking about James Dyson not George Dyson.
Apologies - silly me, should engage brain before posting.
By the time James invented the vacuum tube that never loses suction, the transistor had already largely taken over that role in computing.