The evoulution of computers and humanity

      Its early April and Easter has arrived in the year 1900. A group of greek fisherman seek shelter on a small island in the Cyclades called Antikythera and stumble upon a great discovery. They find what is possibly a sunken Roman vessel that has a very old pre-modern mechanical computer amongst ivory statues that was used in calculating lunar, solar, and stellar calendars, according to Eric Swedin the author of Computers: The Life Story of Technology. As interesting as that is to uncover an artifact that gives precedence to the past, what is even more interesting is what we as a species, according to Swedin, have evolved so closely with technology. Mathematics have been around for so long that it only makes sense that it has been with us step by step to help us come up with innovation. Like Herman Hollerith's census machine that revolutionized task-oriented procedures like acquiring the data of millions of citizens (pg. 20). Or Charles Babbages difference machine that furthered mathematics to really expand the horizons of what we can accomplish in terms of numbers because it was a precursor to the modern calculator (pg 15). World War II really pushed technology as well. As battles were fought over land, air, and sea (and under), technology was developing many new ideas on how to wage it. like how a general would relay his tactics to others without giving away intelligence. The Germans were really good at this because they developed machines like the Enigma machine that would conceal missions or other information (pg 32). These machines were not small, in fact they were huge due to the fact they had vacuum tubes and other bulky parts to relay electric currents. It was not until the Cold war that things became more precise, less mechanical, and more automated (pg 52). Eventually with all this progress the concept of A.I (artificial Intelligence) came around and stopped being part of science fiction (pg 63). So what is the reason to ramble on about the history of computers so? Well, its simple, when you realize that we used to have computers that were the size of whole rooms where people had to crawl into them to fix them, we are now seeing cellphones and other hand-held devices that have more power then these old behemoths like the ENIAC (Electronic Numerical Integrator and Computer). It is amazing to realize that we have come so far in such a short span with technology. Two hundred years ago to even 30 years ago people got by with much in the sense of computers. You look at us today and everyone is hooked on them. They have become an all important tool in today's society. We use computers, we live off computers, we need computers in this day an age. Sixty years ago when the government was the only entity that found use for them, we today have built an entirely new infrastructure around them. The next time you pick up your cell phone just look at it and realize that this little device has more computing power then the computers that filled whole rooms that manned the Apollo Project for landing a man on the moon (pg. 67). That is not only technological evolution that is human evolution.