Outrageous Idea - Computers for Fun

Back in 1956, computers were still new. They were as large as rooms and broke down frequently (they used vacuum tubes, not the IC’s of today). They consumed a huge amount of power, heated up, and had to be cooled. Interaction was via punched cards and printouts – there was no keyboard or monitors, no mouse or GUI. There were no programming languages yet, instructions had to be entered in 1’s and 0’s format. Access to computers was a precious and expensive service. One had to book slots to use the computer. Usage was designed with “efficiency” of the machine, not users. After all:

“Machine time was far more valuable than human time.”

 

Yet, even then, writes Mitchell Waldrop in The Dream Machine, a handful of people were already imagining a world where computers could be used for fun! Reactions to this outrageous idea?

“Some people thought it was wrong. They almost spoke in ethical terms. Computers are serious, you shouldn’t treat them lightly. You shouldn’t have fun with them. They shouldn’t be exciting.”

And:

“(You had to be insane to have) a crazy idea that these “ultrafast calculating machines” could become a new creative medium of expression.”

In a world where computing was a scarce and expensive resource:

“(Lots) thought it was a sacrilege to sit at a computer without thinking out what you were going to do beforehand.”

 

But proponents were already imagining a world where computing would be like the utilities – electricity, for example. “What begins as a convenience quickly becomes a necessity”:

“People begin to structure their work, their daily routines, even their entire lives around the utility.”

 

Prophetic words indeed. And with the smartphone, things have gone to a level where life isn’t just structured around the computer; it is addicted to the computer. Not just human life, even feline life!