Great Ideas

All scientific enterprises are driven by ideas and concepts that challenge accepted doctrine. In this unit, we will explore some of the great ideas that influenced the development of computer science. We will examine these original sources in the context of their impact on computing. In addition, we will consider some of the consequences of these ideas for science, technology, and society in general.

Readings

1. Shannon, Claude E. “A Mathematical Theory of Communication,” reprinted in Mobile Computing and Communications Review, Volume 5, Number 1 (January, 2001), 3 - 55. [ACM DL] NOTE: We will discuss "Introduction" and "Part I: Discrete Noiseless Channel" only. For more background, consult any of these sources.

cf. Lucky, Robert W. "A Theory of Information," from Silicon Dreams: Information, Man, and Machine. New York: St. Martin's Press, 1989. [reprint]

cf. Krippendorf, Klaus. "Mathematical Theory of Communication," University of Pennsylvania Scholarly Commons, Annenberg School for Communications (2009).

cf. Schneider, Thomas D. "Information Theory Primer," National Institute of Health (2014) [A primer written by and for molecular biologists. Features a review or tutorial on logarithms.]

2. Licklider, J.C.R. “Man-Computer Symbiosis,” IRE Transactions on Human Factors in Electronics, Volume HFE-1, (March, 1960) 4-11.

Licklider and Robert W. Taylor, “The Computer as a Communication Device,” Science and Technology, (April, 1968) 20-41.

both reprinted in "In Memoriam: J.C.R. Licklider," Digital Systems Research Center (1990).

3. Metcalfe, Robert M. and David R. Boggs. “Ethernet: Distributed Packet Switching for Local Computer Networks,” Communications of the ACM, Vol. 19, No. 7 (July, 1976), 395 - 404. [ACM DL]

4. Ritchie, Dennis and Ken Thompson. “The UNIX Time-Sharing System.” Communications of the ACM, Vol. 17, No. 7 (July, 1974), 365 - 75. [ACM DL]

5. R. L. Rivest, A. Shamir, and L. Adelman. “A Method for Obtaining Digital Signatures and Public-Key Cryptosystems,” Communications of the ACM, Vol. 21, No. 2 (February, 1978), 120 - 26. [ACM DL]

6. Saltzer, J.H., D.P. Reed, and David D. Clark. "The End-To-End Arguments in System Design, ACM Transactions on Computer Systems (TOCS), Volume 2, Issue 4 (November, 1984), 277-288. [ACM DL] also reprinted by Salzer.

7. Vinton Cerf, Robert Kahn, et. al.. “A Short History of the Internet.” ACM SIGCOMM Computer Communications Review, Vol. 39, No. 5 (October, 2009), 122 - 31. [ACM DL]

8. Berners-Lee, Tim. "1989 Proposal for WWW."

Berners-Lee, Cailliau, Robert, et al. "The World Wide Web." Communications of the ACM, Vol. 37, No. 8 (August, 1994), pp. 76-82. [ACM DL]

 

Background Readings

Law, David, Dan Dove, et al. "Evolution of Ethernet Standards in the IEEE 802.3 Working Group," IEEE Communications Magazine, Volume 51, Issue 8 (August, 2013), 88-96. [reprint]

Licklider, J.C.R. "The Intergalactic Network Memo," April 23, 1963. [Kurzweil reprint]

Waldrop, Mitchell. "The Origins of Personal Computing," Scientific American, Volume 285, No. 6 (December, 2001), pp. 84-91. [reprint in this issue]

Wu, Timothy. "The Broadband Debate: The User's Guide," Journal of Telecommunications and High Technology Law, Volume 3, No. 69 (2004), pp. 69-95. [reprint]

Bonvillian, William D. "Power Play," The American Interest, Volume 2, No. 2 (November, 2006) http://www.the-american-interest.com/2006/11/01/power-play/. [reprint]

Wu, Timothy. "Is Internet Exceptionalism Dead?", The Next Digital Decade: Essays on the Future of the Internet, edited by Berin Szoka and Adam Marcus.Washington, D.C.: TechFreedom, 2010, pp. 179-188. [reprint]