Synopses & Reviews
A rich collection of essays that explores enduring themes of the computer era
Too Soon to Tell is a revised and expanded collection of David Alan Grier's popular monthly column "In Our Time" for Computer magazine. In forty-three personal essays—twenty of which are entirely new for this publication—the author draws upon the experiences of everyday people, their companies, and their interactions to reveal how computers moved from the drawing table and into our offices and living rooms. The result is a book that offers a singular portrait of the computer revolution that has yet to be told.
Written in a simple, easy-to-follow style that is free of industry jargon, each essay begins with a short introduction that recounts the author's experiences with his students or those of the author's father and his generation of computer scientists—which seamlessly connect the themes that are explored throughout the book. Set against a backdrop that spans more than half a century, this poignant book allows readers to gain an intimate and meaningful understanding of the relationship between humans and machines, the connections between fathers and sons, the impact of rapid technological change on the family, and the revolutionary nature of a technology that has rebuilt human institutions in its own image.
Too Soon to Tell is an original and starkly human portrait of the computer era that will entice readers from all walks of life.
Review
"This work, a publication of IEEE, one of the premier societies of the IT industry, provides a systematic account of the industry's history and its movement from a hardware to a software focus." (CHOICE, November 2009)
Synopsis
Based on author David A. Grier's column "In Our Time," which runs monthly in Computer magazine, Too Soon To Tell presents a collection of essays skillfully written about the computer age, an era that began February 1946. Examining ideas that are both contemporary and timeless, these chronological essays examine the revolutionary nature of the computer, the relation between machines and human institutions, and the connections between fathers and sons to provide general readers with a picture of a specific technology that attempted to rebuild human institutions in its own image.
Synopsis
Provides an organized and carefully selected collection of current research papers from two recent symposia, including The Characterization and Processing of Nanosize Powders and Particles and Nanoscale and Multifunctional Materials symposia both held at the 6th Pacific Rim Conference on Ceramic and Glass Technology in Fall 2005. The topics covered include techniques to characterize nanosize powders and nanoparticle dispersions, green processing of nanopowders, and the sintering and microstructure of nanoparticle assemblies.
About the Author
Kevin G. Ewsuk is a Principal Member of the Technical Staff in the Ceramic Processing and Inorganic Materials Department (1815) at Sandia National Laboratories, where he is responsible for ceramic processing and process modeling R&D, advanced composite processing and characterization, and characterizing and modeling powder compaction and sintering. From 1985-1990, he was a technical staff member in the Central Research and Development Department at E. I. du Pont de Nemours and Co., Inc. Kevin received his Ph. D. and M. S. degrees in Ceramic Science from the Pennsylvania State University, and his BS degree in Ceramic Engineering from Alfred University. Kevin's research interests are in powder processing, process characterization, and sintering science and technology. He is currently the lead principal investigator of a major R&D program at Sandia Labs to characterize and model sintering. Kevin has published more than 90 technical papers, including invited chapters on ceramic processing for the Kirk-Othmer Encyclopedia of Chemical Technology, the Encyclopedia of Chemical Physics and Physical Chemistry, and the Encyclopedia of Materials: Science and Technology. He was Guest Editor of the December 1997 MRS Bulletin on Compaction Science and Technology, and he has edited one book. Kevin holds one patent. He is a Fellow of the American Ceramic Society (ACerS), a member of the Basic Science Division of the ACerS, and a member of the International Microelectronics and Packaging Society (IMAPS).
Dr. Yury Gogotsi is Professor of Materials Science and Engineering at Drexel University in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania. He also holds appointments in the Departments of Chemistry and Mechanical Engineering at Drexel University and serves as Director of the A.J. Drexel Nanotechnology Institute and Associate Dean of the College of Engineering. He received his MS (1984) and PhD (1986) degrees from Kiev Polytechnic and a DSc degree from the Institute of Materials Science, Ukrainian Academy of Science, in 1995.
His research group works on carbon nanotubes, nanoporous carbide-derived carbons, and nanofluidics. He has also contributed to the areas of structural ceramics, corrosion of ceramic materials, and pressure-induced phase transformations, creating a new research field called High Pressure Surface Science and Engineering. He has co-authored two books, edited nine books, obtained more than 20 patents and authored about 200 journal papers and a dozen of book chapters. He has advised a large number of MS, PhD and post-doctoral students at Drexel University and University of Illinois at Chicago. Gogotsi has received several awards for his research including I.N. Frantsevich Prize from the Ukrainian Academy of Science, S. Somiya Award from the International Union of Materials Research Societies, G.C. Kuczynski Prize from the International Institute for the Science of Sintering, and Roland B. Snow Award from the American Ceramic Society (twice). He has been elected a Fellow of the American Ceramic Society, Academician of the World Academy of Ceramics, and Full Member of the International Institute for the Science of Sintering.
Table of Contents
Preface: To Have Been Young in that Hour.
Section I: The Computer Era (1946-1973).
Out of Position.
Seymour Cray's Cat.
Songs of Comfort and Joy.
Life on the Frontier.
Museum Pieces.
The Curve of Innovation.
Public Image.
The Enduring Myth of Hardware.
Choosing Our Way.
Friend of the Band.
Family Portrait.
Section II: The Age of Information (1974-1987).
Coming of Age.
Riding with Bohannon.
The Language of Bad Love.
Common Knowledge.
Conflict-Free Memories.
On the Right Side of the Road.
Fork in the Path.
The Best Deal in Town.
Crossing the Divide.
Auditions.
Annie and the Boys.
Mergers and Divestitures.
Old Bottles.
Section III: The Days of Cyberspace: (1986-2007).
Alley Life.
On the Camino Real.
Dirty Electricity.
Because We Were Different.
A Winter of Hope and a Spring of Despair.
Coming into the Country.
Outposts.
The Captured Imagination.
Shutdown.
Force of Nature.
Ever Onward! Thanks for Asking!
Emailing from Armenia.
The Boundaries of Time.
Counting Beans.
The Eyes of the World.
The Lay of the Land.
Circle of Light.
Beyond the Horizon.
Epilogue: Indicator Lamps.
Disclaimers, References and Notes.
Index.