The "digital age" is a central theme in this book. It covers digital transformation, social media, artificial intelligence, autonomous drones and walking robots, as well as self-driving cars. It also discusses quantum computers, DNA storage, 3D printing, and the power and influence of tech giants. Amid the wave of digitization and the enthusiasm for generative artificial intelligence, it's easy to overlook the fact that there is also an extremely fascinating analog world. For example, the highly powerful human brain operates analogically while consuming very little energy.
The book provides a detailed account of things that have, in some cases, already fallen into oblivion: magnificent musical automata, astonishing picture clocks (with and without musical mechanisms), mysterious figure automata and androids, historical surveying instruments, magnificent astronomical clocks, ornate astrolabes and armillary spheres, educational terrestrial and celestial globes, mechanical looms, talking machines and chess-playing machines, abacuses, calculating tables, calculating cloths, counting coins, counting rods, pocket calculators, calculating cylinders, proportional angles, reduction compasses, cash registers, integrating machines, the Enigma, the Turing bomb, and Colossus, clay tablets, notched bones, notched sticks, knotted cords, and finger counting. The enigmatic Inca abacus, the yupana, is also included.
The volume contains over 500 illustrations (90% in color) from the fields of mathematics, computer science, astronomy, surveying, timekeeping, and automaton construction. The objects come from Africa, the Americas, Asia, Australia, and Europe, spanning more than 20 countries. Written in accessible language, this book is intended for anyone who enjoys the history of technology and culture—from laypeople to experts.
Key Topics
- Digitization
- Social Networks
- Artificial Intelligence
This book complements the two-volume work Milestones in Computing Technology by the same author, which spans over 2,000 pages and was published by De Gruyter Oldenburg in its 3rd edition in 2020.