There's a story by George Dyson that gave me chills. He's playing in a barn as a kid and finds an ancient (clunky, weird) computer abandoned there. (George's dad, Freeman Dyson, was a heavyweight close to von Neumann & co)
George then realizes that computer was a prototype built by von Neumann – one of the first "modern design" computers, ever.
That's like coming into contact with the first life, directly, physically, in a barn.
There's something magical about these origin stories. What's it like to face such a sharp historic discontinuity, to hold it in your fingers, knowing what comes next?
George then realizes that computer was a prototype built by von Neumann – one of the first "modern design" computers, ever.
That's like coming into contact with the first life, directly, physically, in a barn.
There's something magical about these origin stories. What's it like to face such a sharp historic discontinuity, to hold it in your fingers, knowing what comes next?