Moths to the Flame: The Seductions of Computer Technology

By Gregory J.E. Rawlins, Gegory J. Rawlins, Gegory J E Rawlins, et al.

Book Overview

"For two decades now I've been awaiting a book explaining computers and their social consequences to literate readers without using any unnecessary jargon or pedantry--or math. I wanted such a book to lend to all those friends who've pestered me about computers and to all the computer science students who've asked me about computers over the years. I particularly wanted a book that I could buy for my father, who's an accountant of the old school, to explain something of the mysterious world I live in." Gregory Rawlins, who teaches artificial intelligence at Indiana University, got tired of waiting for that book and decided to write it himself. In Moths to the Flame he takes us on a humorous yet thought-provoking tour of the world wrought by modern technology, a technology, he points out, that is rooted deep inside the military: a technology that when applied to everyday life, may have startling results. Unlike space technology, today's technological race won't simply bring us Tang-flavored Velcro. Rawlins educates by entertaining. His stories and anecdotes enliven and surprise us while increasing our awareness of technology itself as a player in the political and commercial climate of our times. In our headlong rush toward networked humanity Rawlins raises serious concerns about our future jobs and our future wars: we can figure out what kind of job to get today if we know where technology is taking us tomorrow. The book's first four chapters explore the worlds of privacy, virtual reality, publishing, and computer networks, while the last four focus on social issues such as warfare, jobs, computer catastrophes, and the future itself. Throughout unusual, eye-opening analogies and historical comparisons--from Egyptian hieroglyphics to the sewing machine to the codebreakers of World War II--give us a context for the computer age, showing how new technologies have always bred intertwined hope and resistance. Provocative yet balanced and sophisticated, Moths to the Flame is an indispensable guidebook to the future: a Baedeker for the Brave New World. A Bradford Book

• Format: Paperback
• Language: English
• ISBN: 0262680971
• ISBN13: 9780262680974
• Release Date: May 1997
• Publisher: MIT Press
• Length: 196 Pages
• Weight: 0.75 lbs.
• Dimensions: 9.0" x 0.5" x 6.0"
• Age Range: 18 years and up
• Grade Range: Postsecondary and higher

Customer Reviews

What's wrong

Hey, I'm only half way through it but I'm loving this book. What's wrong with me? I found his chapter on e-books and publishing to be right on the mark and couldn't help but think of Napster when he talks about "dinosaur killers" in chapter 3, and Stephen Kings recent e-Book offering. I even double checked the publishing date as the book seems so current.Sure he is not as deep here as Postman or Roszak, but if you want an entertaining book you will buzz through in a couple of hours, get it.