The Second Age Of Computer Science

By the end of the 1960s, a new discipline named computer science had come into being. A new scientific paradigm--the 'computational paradigm'--was in place, suggesting that computer science had reached a certain level of maturity. Yet as a science it was still precociously young. New forces, some technological, some socio-economic, some cognitive impinged upon it, the outcome of which was that new kinds of computational problems arose over the next two decades. Indeed, by the beginning of the 1990's the structure of the computational paradigm looked markedly different in many important respects from how it was at the end of the 1960s. Author Subrata Dasgupta named the two decades from 1970 to 1990 as the second age of computer science to distinguish it from the preceding genesis of the science and the age of the Internet/World Wide Web that followed. This book describes the evolution of computer science in this second age in the form of seven overlapping, intermingling, parallel histories that unfold concurrently in the course of the two decades. Certain themes characteristic of this second age thread through this narrative: the desire for a genuine science of computing; the realization that computing is as much a human experience as it is a technological one; the search for a unified theory of intelligence spanning machines and mind; the desire to liberate the computational mind from the shackles of sequentiality; and, most ambitiously, a quest to subvert the very core of the computational paradigm itself. We see how the computer scientists of the second age address these desires and challenges, in what manner they succeed or fail and how, along the way, the shape of computational paradigm was altered. And to complete this history, the author asks and seeks to answer the question of how computer science shows evidence of progress over the course of its second age.

When you think about how far and fast computer science has progressed in recent years, it's not hard to conclude that a seven-year old handbook may fall a little short of the kind of reference today's computer scientists, software engineers, and IT professionals need. With a broadened scope, more emphasis on applied computing, and more than 70 chapters either new or significantly revised, the Computer Science Handbook, Second Edition is exactly the kind of reference you need. This rich collection of theory and practice fully characterizes the current state of the field and conveys the modern spirit, accomplishments, and direction of computer science. Highlights of the Second Edition: Coverage that reaches across all 11 subject areas of the discipline as defined in Computing Curricula 2001, now the standard taxonomy More than 70 chapters revised or replaced Emphasis on a more practical/applied approach to IT topics such as information management, net-centric computing, and human computer interaction More than 150 contributing authors--all recognized experts in their respective specialties New chapters on: cryptography computational chemistry computational astrophysics human-centered software development cognitive modeling transaction processing data compression scripting languages event-driven programming software architecture

I found it a delight to read. The author is not trying to write yet another book on the history of computer developments but rather to show that those developments rely on a long history of humans creating solutions to problems that arose as they became more and more sophisticated in their treatment of concepts of information and its manipulation. In many ways it resembles a work of philosophy more than a technical history, but relies on explaining that technical history to make his points. Michael R. Williams, Department of Computer Sciences, University of Calgary The idea that the digital age has revolutionized our day-to-day experience of the world is nothing new, and has been amply recognized by cultural historians. In contrast, Stephen Robertson’s BC: Before Computers is a work which questions the idea that the mid-twentieth century saw a single moment of rupture. It is about all the things that we had to learn, invent, and understand – all the ways we had to evolve our thinking – before we could enter the information technology revolution of the second half of the twentieth century. Its focus ranges from the beginnings of data processing, right back to such originary forms of human technology as the development of writing systems, gathering a whole history of revolutionary moments in the development of information technologies into a single, although not linear narrative. Treading the line between philosophy and technical history, Robertson draws on his extensive technical knowledge to produce a text which is both thought-provoking and accessible to a wide range of readers. The book is wide in scope, exploring the development of technologies in such diverse areas as cryptography, visual art and music, and the postal system. Through all this, it does not simply aim to tell the story of computer developments but to show that those developments rely on a long history of humans creating technologies for increasingly sophisticated methods of manipulating information. Through a clear structure and engaging style, it brings together a wealth of informative and conceptual explorations into the history of human technologies, and avoids assumptions about any prior knowledge on the part of the reader. As such the expert and the general reader alike will find it of interest.

The idea that the digital age has revolutionized our day-to-day experience of the world is nothing new, and has been amply recognized by cultural historians. In contrast, Stephen Robertson's BC: Before Computers is a work which questions the idea that the mid-twentieth century saw a single moment of rupture. It is about all the things that we had to learn, invent, and understand - all the ways we had to evolve our thinking - before we could enter the information technology revolution of the second half of the twentieth century. Its focus ranges from the beginnings of data processing, right back to such originary forms of human technology as the development of writing systems, gathering a whole history of revolutionary moments in the development of information technologies into a single, although not linear narrative. Treading the line between philosophy and technical history, Robertson draws on his extensive technical knowledge to produce a text which is both thought-provoking and accessible to a wide range of readers. The book is wide in scope, exploring the development of technologies in such diverse areas as cryptography, visual art and music, and the postal system. Through all this, it does not simply aim to tell the story of computer developments but to show that those developments rely on a long history of humans creating technologies for increasingly sophisticated methods of manipulating information. Through a clear structure and engaging style, it brings together a wealth of informative and conceptual explorations into the history of human technologies, and avoids assumptions about any prior knowledge on the part of the reader. As such, it has the potential to be of interest to the expert and the general reader alike.