A Network Orange: Logic and Responsibility in the Computer Age - Softcover

Crandall, Richard; Levich, Marvin

Softcover

ISBN 10: 1461274435 ISBN 13: 9781461274438

Publisher: Springer, 2011

Synopsis

The primary thesis here is the authors' belief that the emergence of computers as an elemental force in our society must be viewed with a sceptical eye. Crandall and Levich, one a mathematician, the other a philosopher, strive, however, to present a balanced viewpoint, investigating and reflecting on the good and bad sides of this revolution, and seek meaning in this "Information Age". Their examination is stripped of journalistic hyperbole, the cries of self-serving prophets, and the sales pitches of the soft- and hardware industries. In separating the wheat from the chaff, the authors provide readers with a much better understanding of the limitations of these new technologies, along with propositions for their better use and within the societal context.

About this title

About the Author

Richard Crandall currently holds the title of Apple Distinguished Scientist, having previously been Apples Chief Cryptographer, the Chief Scientist at NeXT, Inc., and recipient of the Vollum Chair of Science at Reed College. His primary interest is interdisciplinary scientific computation, though he has authored numerous theoretical papers in quantum physics, biology, mathematics, and chemistry, as well as various patents across engineering fields. Carl Pomerance received his Ph.D. in mathematics from Harvard University in 1972. Currently he is a professor at Dartmouth College. A popular lecturer and winner of the Chauvenet and Conant Prizes for expository mathematical writing, Pomerance is well known for his research in computational number theory, his efforts having produced important algorithms now in wide use.

From the Back Cover

Computer technology has become a mirror of what we are and a screen on which we project both our hopes and our fears for the way the world is changing. Earlier in this century, particularly in the post-World War II era of unprecedented growth and prosperity, the social contract between citi­ zens and scientists/engineers was epitomized by the line Ronald Reagan promoted as spokesman for General Electric: "Progress is our most impor­ tant product. " In more recent decades, post-Chernobyl, post-Challenger, post-Bhopal, post-Microsoft, the social contract has undergone a transfor­ mation. More people are uncertain, fearful, and downright opposed to the notion that more technology guarantees a better life. What is a "better life"? Who benefits and who loses when new technologies change the way we live, work, learn, and play? Who has a say in the way technologies are designed and deployed? Where are we going, are we sure we want to go there, and who has the power to do anything about itt From the early days of the railroads, into the era of electrification, through the McLuhan age, much of the discourse about technology has been hype, utopianism, and what some historians have called "the rhetoric of the technological sublime. " We have discovered, however, that not all people benefit economically or politically from technological change.

Edition details

• Publisher: Springer
• Publication date: 2011
• Language: English
• ISBN 10: 1461274435
• ISBN 13: 9781461274438
• Binding: Paperback
• Number of pages: 130