6 ms·

Zuse is an interesting example of history being written by the victors. Ask any German who invented the computer and they'll tell you it was Konrad Zuse, but he

Zuse is an interesting example of history being written by the victors. Ask any German who invented the computer and they'll tell you it was Konrad Zuse, but he is almost completely unknown elsewhere. Turing did brilliant work, but Zuse did the job of Turing and Tommy Flowers, working in isolation with very limited resources.

cmarschner 11y ago
As can be seen on Wikipedia: [1] vs. [2] - the English version of "computer science" does not mention Zuse. Time to change? Similarly, the German version of "Computer" mentions Zuse 20 times [3]; the English version starts describing the Z2 [4]. Quite fascinating how Wikipedia is written through the local lense. [1] https://de.wikipedia.org/wiki/Informatik#Entwicklung_moderner_Rechenmaschinen https://de.wikipedia.org/wiki/Informatik#Entwicklung_moderne... [2] https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Computer_science https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Computer_science [3] https://de.wikipedia.org/wiki/Computer https://de.wikipedia.org/wiki/Computer [4] https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Computer#Electromechanical https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Computer#Electromechanical
- wslh 11y ago
  Excellent catch! I love Wikipedia with all their faults but probably we need not so difficult to build tools to recognize anomalies between Wikipedia cultures... sorry, languages.
- deleted 11y ago
  [deleted]
- a3n 11y ago
  English and German sources are more likely to be accessible to people working in English and German, respectively, and less in the reverse. And Wikepedia is all about sources. So not surprising, but worth fixing.
schlowmo 11y ago
> "Zuse is an interesting example of history being written by the victors." This may hold true for the Zuse story, but he's also an example for german history about german scientists. While the Wikipedia article (both german and english) mentioning his ties to the NS and the german defence industry of that time, you probably find no hint about that at universities where lecture halls are named after him. For example in Hamburg, where the only "real" lecture hall at the CS department is named after him. In the small exhibition about his scientific life beneath this lecture hall you don't find a word about that (at least the last time I was there).
Keyframe 11y ago
You know, this first springed to my mind. As a kid, I had an old teacher whose father was an official in one of the nazi-backed regimes. There we were, talking about computer history and he was very upset (like really agitated) about this, saying to me that Zuse (Z3, basically) was the first digital computer / inventor. He said it was the case of history being written by the victors. I semi-believed him, considering his personal history, but was something I would hear quite often later in Germany as well.
Arnsaste 11y ago
I never realized that Zuse is unknown in the US. I am Austrian and I am pretty sure I have learned about Zuse in school. I assume the situation in Germany is similar. Now I am curious what people from other countries were taught. Did you learn anything about Zuse?
- rhaps0dy 11y ago
  Spaniard here. I had no idea about Zuse prior to a few minutes ago.
- pasquinelli 11y ago
  i only know about him because of my attraction to unusual ideas brought me once to a page about rechnender raum when i was a teenager.
grimoald 11y ago
As a German, I'm pretty sure most Germans have no idea who invented the computer or think it was someone in America. My parents, and I think the same goes for many others, heard the name of this guy for the first time today, when newspapers and radio programs brought short articles about him. One reason may be that, at least when I was in school, in computer science classes, no history about that field was taught at all.
- agumonkey 11y ago
  It's a bit sad how many misconceptions about .. just about everything. I wish people would like to unfold origins, history with precision. Not sure if they don't care, prefer to be fed a nice story, or just don't have the time.
pvg 11y ago
Zuse is known to everyone who's taken even a fairly superficial look at the history of the development of computing machines. It's also inaccurate to compare his work to Turing's, Zuse's focus was practical. He certainly did not independently develop Turing's theoretical work, nor did he really need to for his purposes.

cmarschner 11y ago

As can be seen on Wikipedia: [1] vs. [2] - the English version of "computer science" does not mention Zuse. Time to change? Similarly, the German version of "Computer" mentions Zuse 20 times [3]; the English version starts describing the Z2 [4]. Quite fascinating how Wikipedia is written through the local lense. [1] https://de.wikipedia.org/wiki/Informatik#Entwicklung_moderner_Rechenmaschinen https://de.wikipedia.org/wiki/Informatik#Entwicklung_moderne... [2] https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Computer_science https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Computer_science [3] https://de.wikipedia.org/wiki/Computer https://de.wikipedia.org/wiki/Computer [4] https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Computer#Electromechanical https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Computer#Electromechanical

wslh 11y ago
Excellent catch! I love Wikipedia with all their faults but probably we need not so difficult to build tools to recognize anomalies between Wikipedia cultures... sorry, languages.
deleted 11y ago
[deleted]
a3n 11y ago
English and German sources are more likely to be accessible to people working in English and German, respectively, and less in the reverse. And Wikepedia is all about sources. So not surprising, but worth fixing.

schlowmo 11y ago

> "Zuse is an interesting example of history being written by the victors." This may hold true for the Zuse story, but he's also an example for german history about german scientists. While the Wikipedia article (both german and english) mentioning his ties to the NS and the german defence industry of that time, you probably find no hint about that at universities where lecture halls are named after him. For example in Hamburg, where the only "real" lecture hall at the CS department is named after him. In the small exhibition about his scientific life beneath this lecture hall you don't find a word about that (at least the last time I was there).

Keyframe 11y ago

You know, this first springed to my mind. As a kid, I had an old teacher whose father was an official in one of the nazi-backed regimes. There we were, talking about computer history and he was very upset (like really agitated) about this, saying to me that Zuse (Z3, basically) was the first digital computer / inventor. He said it was the case of history being written by the victors. I semi-believed him, considering his personal history, but was something I would hear quite often later in Germany as well.

Arnsaste 11y ago

I never realized that Zuse is unknown in the US. I am Austrian and I am pretty sure I have learned about Zuse in school. I assume the situation in Germany is similar. Now I am curious what people from other countries were taught. Did you learn anything about Zuse?

rhaps0dy 11y ago
Spaniard here. I had no idea about Zuse prior to a few minutes ago.
pasquinelli 11y ago
i only know about him because of my attraction to unusual ideas brought me once to a page about rechnender raum when i was a teenager.

grimoald 11y ago

As a German, I'm pretty sure most Germans have no idea who invented the computer or think it was someone in America. My parents, and I think the same goes for many others, heard the name of this guy for the first time today, when newspapers and radio programs brought short articles about him. One reason may be that, at least when I was in school, in computer science classes, no history about that field was taught at all.

agumonkey 11y ago
It's a bit sad how many misconceptions about .. just about everything. I wish people would like to unfold origins, history with precision. Not sure if they don't care, prefer to be fed a nice story, or just don't have the time.

pvg 11y ago

Zuse is known to everyone who's taken even a fairly superficial look at the history of the development of computing machines. It's also inaccurate to compare his work to Turing's, Zuse's focus was practical. He certainly did not independently develop Turing's theoretical work, nor did he really need to for his purposes.