Book details of 'The Closed World: Computers and the Politics of Discourse in Cold War America (Inside Technology)'

Title	The Closed World: Computers and the Politics of Discourse in Cold War America (Inside Technology)
Author(s)	Paul N. Edwards
ISBN	0262550288
Language	English
Published	August 1997
Publisher	MIT Press

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Reviewer amazon.com wrote:
Edwards traces how computers have emerged as the dominant technology as a direct result of Cold War politics and the defense research it engendered. From the first use of room-size mainframes to coordinate missile systems, Pentagon research aimed toward complete computer control, including the budget-busting and ultimately impractical Strategic Defensive Initiative. Edwards relates how the technolog--which is now so open as to be nearly anarchic--began in strictly enclosed secrecy. The military computer goal of perfect "command, control and communication" systems was understood to mean communication only within a very closed world. Edwards' thesis is that this approach influenced the very structure of our modern computers. --This text refers to an out of print or unavailable edition of this title.
Reviewer Rob Slade wrote:
In his recent general computer history (see reviews), Cerruzi notes that the American dominance of the computer industry is likely due to contracts and support from the US government and military. Inevitably, such a single source impetus has to have some kind of impact on the direction and shape both of the industry, and the technology itself, although the specifics of that influence might be difficult to determine. In the current work, the author tries to trace the leverage not only through the Cold War, but to a line running through Western philosophy back to Plato (who, incidentally, had a computer based training system, originally designed for the military, named after him). It is instructive, before looking at the book itself, to examine Edward's "closed world" term. This phrase comes from literary, and particularly theatrical, criticism. A closed world centres on some form of conflict, and all activity concentrates on, or relates to, the conflict itself. Hence a play like Hamlet, where every action and every line spoken feeds back to the fight between Hamlet and his uncle, and seemingly disparate events are generally attempts to control the battle. In opposition to closed world dramas, another type is the green world play, which is characterized by magic. Magic (except in our modern fantasy derivations from science fiction, and that would make a fascinating exploration some other time) is essentially uncontrollable. Chapter one outlines two general themes: that of the rampant paranoia of the Cold War, in which the US tried to contain and control the threat of communism; and the cyborg, the ultimate outgrowth of factory time and motion studies, in which the outcome of both production and the battleground can be predicted and controlled. Most of this chapter is spent outlining various philosophical concepts and developments. The early post war development of computers, a massive military investment in research and development, and the initial superiority of analogue computers over digital ones is reviewed in chapter two. Chapter three describes SAGE as the original of the various command and control technologies, but does little to relate this to computer development overall. This is extended through the sixties in chapter four, and although neither chapter serves to indicate how these events influenced computer design as such, chapter four does indicate the increasing technocratic orientation of American business management theories, and the utter failure of the first real command and control attempt in Vietnam. Chapter five is an interlude examining the metaphors used to think about computers, and how that affects the perception of them. The emergence of cybernetic or cognitive psychology as an identifiable field of study is related in chapter six. Chapter seven reviews the third "C" in military management; communications; and attempts to relate it to the emergence of cognitive science. Artificial intelligence gets covered in chapter eight with a heavy emphasis on programming language development. Chapter nine reviews the large scale military technology plans of the 1980s, particularly the Strategic Defense Initiative (alias "Star Wars"), involving a number of the technologies developed to date. The book comes, in a sense, full circle in chapter ten by returning to the world of theatre and fiction to look at attitudes towards technology and computers. An epilogue echoes this, looking first at recent history, and then at a "green world ascendant" interpretation of the movie "Terminator 2." Edwards' thesis is interesting. His historical recounting brings forward a number of events and links that are generally not included in previous mainstream computer histories. However, his analysis and presentation may not be fully convincing. The influence of society on technology, and technology on society, cannot be doubted, and should be considered more often than it is, but I question how much of Edwards' view is either real or valuable. copyright Robert M. Slade, 1998
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Book description:

"The Closed World is astonishing. One of the most important books of the 20th century." -- Howard Rheingold, editor, Whole Earth Review "A fascinating glimpse into the history of computing and a cogent reminder of the extent to which this history continues to inform our vision of the future." -- Grant Kester, The Nation The Closed World offers a radically new alternative to the canonical histories of computers and cognitive science. Integrating political, cultural, and technological history, it argues that we can make sense of computers as tools only when we simultaneously grasp their roles as metaphors and political icons. In this extended exploration of the relations of science and engineering to the evolution of modern society, Paul Edwards argues that what people have said, thought, and experienced through computers--as reflections of the nature of their minds; as solutions to political, commercial, and military problems; as icons of rationality--is as significant as anything computers have actually accomplished. Social and cultural context has shaped the growth of computer technology as much as it has been shaped by it.