CS2642 & SWE2643 Computers and Society/Professional Practices and Ethics

Lecture 3--A Kid and a Dreamer

Overview
A Kid and a Dreamer

Epilogue from last class

John Mauchly

Pres Eckert

Eckert and Mauchly together

The Moore School

Homework 5

Summary

Epilogue from last term

Last term some of us discussed why so little happened in computing and intellectual achievement until the 1600’s.

We discussed varied cause-effect explanations

Galileo’s science and the church doctrine

Societal needs

Epilogue from last class

9/8/01 NPR Weekend Edition: Switch from beer to caffeine (Weinberg & Bealer, The world of caffeine)

Earlier, safe water was beer/wine--drunk all day

Coffee: 15th Century Yemen to 16th Century Arab World to 17th Century Western World

Caffeine replaced alcohol as the "societal drug of choice" (since water was boiled, made safe)

Suggests that the switch from alcohol-based drinks to caffeine-based drinks spawned the steep rise in intellectual achievement.

John William Mauchly

Born 8/30/1907 Cincinnati, OH

Died 1/8/1980 Ambler, PA

Ph.D. Physics Johns Hopkins 1932

Favorite Problem: Weather Prediction

http://www-groups.dcs.st-andrews.ac.uk/~history/Mathematicians/Mauchly.html

John Mauchly--Kid

Parents: Sebastian (physics professor) and Rachel

First problem solved: Parent detection system

High school math and physics whiz

Father insisted on engineering

After two years, John switched to (graduate) physics

John Mauchly--Early Adult

1930 married May Walzl, a mathematician

1932 Ph.D. in physics (depression)

1933 Ursinus College, Collegeville, PA

Great teacher--made science "come alive"

Was passionate about predicting the weather

Worked on circuits that could do arithmetic without learning history of calculation

Need: Faster calculation for weather prediction

John Mauchly--Quest for Faster Calculations for Weather

Field trips to Swarthmore-vacuum tube counters

1939 Course in electronics

Economics--fuse bulbs at 8 cents Vs. tube

1940 Saw Stibitz demonstrate relay flip-flop in his Complex Number Computer (AMS meeting)

Stibiz--Relays better than gears and wheels

Swarthmore--Vacuum tubes better than relays

Chat with Norbert Weiner--Electronic "the way to go"

Started building tube circuits for flip-flop function

John Mauchly--Quest for Faster Calculations for Weather

1941 Mauchly visited Atanasoff at Iowa State

Atanasoff attended Mauchly lecture in 1940--found both were working on digital, electronic calculation

Spent a weekend together working on Atanasoff’s gadget, which did not function to calculate

Mauchly informed he was accepted to Moore School

Hurried back to Philadelphia, PA

U.S. War Dept. Course - "Defense Electronics"

U.S. needed "brainpower" with premium for scientists

Mauchly needed electronics for weather calculations

Oldest, one of two Ph.D.’s (Who was the other?)

"Pres" Eckert
John Adam Presper Eckert, Jr.

Born 4/9/1919 Philadelphia, PA

Died 6/3/1995 Bryn Mawr, PA

Moore School of Electrical Engineering, 1940

Favorite Problem: Accurately measure very short time intervals

http://www-groups.dcs.st-andrews.ac.uk/~history/Mathematicians/ Eckert_John.html

Pres Eckert--Kid

Father: John (real estate developer)

First problem solved: Remote control model sailboat

High school math whiz (2nd in U.S. on SAT)

Father/Mother insisted on business at Wharton and living at home

After a while (1937) , Pres switched to electronic engineering, a second choice after physics

Pres Eckert--Early Adult

1940 first patent--movie sound system

Moore School and MIT teamed for radar

Need: Accurate measures of very short times

Radar pulse and acoustic pulse

Mercury delay line

Need: Electronics working very fast to accurately measure radar reflections

Pres Eckert--Quest for Electronics working very fast

Radar meant working on the roof

Eckert came down to the Differential Analyzer room to cool off

Met "computers" for firing tables

Became lab instructor in U.S. War Dept. Course - "Defense Electronics"

Assigned to John Mauchly

Eckert and Mauchly together

Mauchly--Quest for faster/better weather prediction

Eckert--Quest for electronics to work very fast

Both: Boredom from assigned labs

Discussions:

Mauchly: An electronic calculator (no moving parts)

Eckert: Yes but reliability of tubes was key

Try on part of Differential Analyzer (needed all of it)

Mauchly joined the faculty at Moore School

1942 Mauchly Proposal: "The use of high-speed vacuum tube devices for calculations"

The Moore School

Preferred inbreeding of faculty

Conventional electrical engineering

Mauchly/Eckert sought unconventional

Mauchly’s proposal for a digital, electronic, calculator was cast in conventional ee rhetoric

Still ignored by Penn’s Deans

Lost

To history
To prosperity (intellectual property)

Homework 5
What Led You to Computing?

Chapter 2 shows what led Eckert and Mauchly first together, and then to dream together, and then to invent the ENIAC.

What has led you to computing?

Do you believe or know that you share this dream with others?

Is this dream actually a societal need as it turned out for Eckert and Mauchly?

Summary
A Kid and a Dreamer

Epilogue from last class

John Mauchly

Pres Eckert

Eckert and Mauchly together

The Moore School

Homework 5

Midterm Idea

Distribute three lists:

People, e.g., Pres Eckert and John Mauchly

Dates, e.g., 1946

Events, e.g., unveiling of ENIAC

For a C: Put the dates, people, and events together with reasonable accuracy

For a B: Add a column that shows your references. Use at least five reference sources

Midterm Idea

Example Link that Y’all Have Already Established