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For more on the British computer industry and why it was a failure despite being world-leading in the mid-1940s, see Marie Hicks' "Programmed Inequality". It's
by bklaasen 9y ago
For more on the British computer industry and why it was a failure despite being world-leading in the mid-1940s, see Marie Hicks' "Programmed Inequality". It's part of the venerable MIT Computer History series.
https://mitpress.mit.edu/books/programmed-inequality https://mitpress.mit.edu/books/programmed-inequality
- walshemj 9y agoIts probably as much to do with the British class system and the fact that the civil service was run by amateur chaps who knew chaps in the same club who had done classics at Oxbridge. And now that the war was over all those gurls and those greasy engineers should go back to where they had come from. Its also similar to the way in the last few months of the war career officers (proper chaps again) who had had a desk job where parachuted in to command positions to benefit thee post-war career
- twostoned 9y agoI love this post, partly because of what you're saying, but also partly because of how excellently you captured the attitude using "proper chaps". I know nothing of the British Class system or the topic of which you speak but it brought a huge smile to my face.
- Angostura 9y agoI'm not sure there's any particular evidence that the computer industry failed in the UK due to class issues, actually.