Books & Publications
My current focus is on the
social and institutional history of the Cold War, as seen through the lens
of early historical developments in computing. He is working on a book, Calculating a
Natural World: Computers, Scientists and Engineers During the Rise
of American Cold War Research, which he hopes to publish through MIT
Press.
Epistemic Cultures and the Circuation of Knowledge: Visualizing an 'Ecology
of Knowledge'
In a recent three societies meeting of the British
Society for the History of Science, the Canadian Society for the History
and Philosophy of Science and the History of Science Society, which met in
Halifax, Nova Scotia (Aug 5-7, 2004), to discuss the theme of the "circulation
of knowledge," I presented a talk entitled:
"The Circulation of Knowledge and Disciplinary Formation: Modern Computing
as an Ecology of Knowledge." (click here to
download article. (MSWord format))
The paper was based on offering a visual metaphor for an ecology of knowledge,
and demonstrating its applicability to the conference theme and a specific
case study having to do with disciplinary formation and early 20th century
development in computing. The presentation was accompanied by Macromedia
Flash (6.0) graphics to illustrate the dynamic uses of the representation.
The graphics is provided below in both a narrated and unnarated format.
The file is divided into two parts, which should be viewed in turn.
Applying the Representation to Studies in Innovation
I have also had an opportunity to try to apply the representation to a case
study in the history of innovation, in a conference paper to be presented
at the annual meeting of the Society for the History of Technology (October
6-9, Amsterdam, Netherlands). The talk is entitled:
"Peripatetic Careers, Institutional Ecologies, and the Multiple Foundations
of New Technology:
John W. Mauchly and the Origin for the Digital Electronic Computer" (click here to
download article. (MSWord format))
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