3 ms·

I wonder why we enjoy looking back so much? I remember being inspired by, "Where Wizards Stay Up Late: The Origins of the Internet". For myself, I think the hu

by p0d 3y ago

I wonder why we enjoy looking back so much? I remember being inspired by, "Where Wizards Stay Up Late: The Origins of the Internet". For myself, I think the human element is what I find fascinating. Hearing other people's stories makes me think, I could do that. I also find it inspiring to read about great minds, and where we have come from.

detourdog 3y ago
I enjoy looking back because the present makes no sense. Most decisions only make sense in context. If one can understand the context of the decision one can better understand which constraints are relevant to the actually problem domain under consideration. There was only one interpreter I believe. It was called shell.
- jrussino 3y ago
  This. When I was a kid, history classes were my least favorite. I just had very little interest in what I was being taught. At some point, I started to notice that we're all showing up "in the middle of the story", so to speak, and stories about the past are immensely helpful for putting the current moment into context. This is true for what we think of as "textbook history", like the history of politics and war and the rise and fall of nations, to put current world events in context, but it's perhaps even more valuable for smaller things that matter to us more immediately in day-to-day life. I have found that reading about the history of a scientific or mathematical field helps the ideas stick much better when trying to study. Learning about my parents' and grandparents' lives before I was born made some aspects of my childhood make a lot more sense. And reading about the history of the software and tools we use helps illuminate some of the design decisions and tradeoffs that were made. For me, that shift didn't happen until I was well into adulthood, and I suspect that's common. I think once you reach a point where parts of your own life feel like "history", like a prelude for where you currently are, then it's a lot easier to notice the value of history in other areas.
matthrtly 3y ago
I think I read computing history to live vicariously through the greats of our industry. Right at the end of high school I read "Revolution in the Valley" the story of the first Apple Macintosh and its amazing to think people not too different in job from myself accomplished something so revolutionary. In my day job I spend my time adding components to a company's website. It pays my bills and keeps a (comfortable) roof over my daughter's head but I'm under no illusion that going this route will accomplish anything that puts a dent in the universe like these legends of industry.
- ghaff 3y ago
  In fairness, you're seeing a lot of survivorship bias. A lot of money and years of people's lives went into building hardware and writing software that have largely sunk beneath the waves without a trace.
89vision 3y ago
that's a great book
crimsontech 3y ago
I think part of it is seeing how something really successful started from small beginnings. It makes anything feel possible.

by p0d 3y ago

detourdog 3y ago

I enjoy looking back because the present makes no sense. Most decisions only make sense in context. If one can understand the context of the decision one can better understand which constraints are relevant to the actually problem domain under consideration. There was only one interpreter I believe. It was called shell.

jrussino 3y ago
This. When I was a kid, history classes were my least favorite. I just had very little interest in what I was being taught. At some point, I started to notice that we're all showing up "in the middle of the story", so to speak, and stories about the past are immensely helpful for putting the current moment into context. This is true for what we think of as "textbook history", like the history of politics and war and the rise and fall of nations, to put current world events in context, but it's perhaps even more valuable for smaller things that matter to us more immediately in day-to-day life. I have found that reading about the history of a scientific or mathematical field helps the ideas stick much better when trying to study. Learning about my parents' and grandparents' lives before I was born made some aspects of my childhood make a lot more sense. And reading about the history of the software and tools we use helps illuminate some of the design decisions and tradeoffs that were made. For me, that shift didn't happen until I was well into adulthood, and I suspect that's common. I think once you reach a point where parts of your own life feel like "history", like a prelude for where you currently are, then it's a lot easier to notice the value of history in other areas.

matthrtly 3y ago

I think I read computing history to live vicariously through the greats of our industry. Right at the end of high school I read "Revolution in the Valley" the story of the first Apple Macintosh and its amazing to think people not too different in job from myself accomplished something so revolutionary. In my day job I spend my time adding components to a company's website. It pays my bills and keeps a (comfortable) roof over my daughter's head but I'm under no illusion that going this route will accomplish anything that puts a dent in the universe like these legends of industry.

ghaff 3y ago
In fairness, you're seeing a lot of survivorship bias. A lot of money and years of people's lives went into building hardware and writing software that have largely sunk beneath the waves without a trace.

89vision 3y ago

that's a great book

crimsontech 3y ago

I think part of it is seeing how something really successful started from small beginnings. It makes anything feel possible.