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Author Archives: GilPress
Walter Lippmann on Information Overload
Walter Lippmann in A Preface to Morals: “The inexperienced must be offered some kind of hypothesis when they are confronted with the necessity of making choices: They cannot be so utterly open-minded that they stand inert until something collides with … Continue reading
Posted in Information Overload
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Movies: First Screening
Today in 1895, Auguste and Louis Lumières held their first private screening of projected motion pictures. Who’s Who in Victorian Cinema: “The Cinématographe (a name used earlier by experimenter Bouly) gave its first public presentation in Paris, to the Société d’Encouragement … Continue reading
Posted in Film, This day in information
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Data-ism and Data Mania, 2013 and 1971
“If you asked me to describe the rising philosophy of the day, I’d say it is data-ism. We now have the ability to gather huge amounts of data. This ability seems to carry with it certain cultural assumptions — that … Continue reading
Posted in Big Data, Social Impact
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First Broadcast by Ham Radio Operator
Today in 1909, Einar Dessau of Denmark used a shortwave transmitter to converse with a government radio post about six miles away in what is believed to have been the first broadcast by a ‘ham’ radio operator. Susan Douglas in Inventing American Broadcasting on … Continue reading
Posted in Radio, This day in information, Wireless
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Edward Tufte Reviews Pocket Calculators
In 1975, just before the birth of the PC industry, Edward Tufte wrote a review of pocket calculators for the American Journal of Political Science. He summarized the rate of advance of the computer technology of the day (citing Rein … Continue reading
Posted in Caclulators, Computer history, Memory
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Piracy or Privacy?
MEGA is the new file hosting service launched by Kim Dot Com and the successor to the MegaUpload service. The service was launched on January 19, 2013, exactly one year after the U.S. government closed MegaUpload. Mega: Piracy or Privacy … Continue reading
Posted in Copyrights, Infographics, Piracy, Privacy
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First Internet Domain Name and a New Era for IT
Today in 1985, the first Internet domain name, symbolics.com, was registered. Bob Metcalfe connected this event with the thirty-year anniversary of the IEEE 802 standards committee starting its work on Local Area Networking and Metropolitan Area Networking standards: “These two … Continue reading
Posted in Computer history, This day in information
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On the History of Mathematical Notation
Stephen Wolfram: So, where did all the mathematical notation that we use today come from? Well, that’s all bound up with the history of mathematics itself, so we have to talk a bit about that. People often have this view … Continue reading
Posted in Mathematics
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Big Data in the Age of the Telegraph
Caitlin Rosenthal writes in “Big Data in the Age of the Telegraph,” McKinsey Quarterly, March 2013: “In 1854, Daniel McCallum took charge of the operations of the New York and Erie Railroad. With nearly 500 miles of track, it was one of … Continue reading
Race Against the Machine Watch
Today in 1811, the first Luddite attack in which knitting frames were actually smashed occurred in the Nottinghamshire village of Arnold. Kevin Binfield in Writings of the Luddites: “The grievances consisted, first, of the use of wide stocking frames to produce … Continue reading
The Story of Information 