Among the many things that struck me when we came to Moscow in March 1974 There was one whose significance to this day does not stop to amaze me and that marked the lives of our ancestors and current generations. Apparently we can not yet gauge the social changes it brings. I mean something as simple as the abacus.
In all businesses, shops, markets and restaurants when it came time to pay, agile hands moved from right to left, before my eyes, pure magic unravel the secrets of the calculation.
was there I met the abacus, the oldest instrument for counting, whose origin is attributed to the Babylonians and Chinese (1,300 ac). This mechanical device, used by all so familiar in the middle of the century XX, in turn revolutionized the technique of counting and allowed man to perform mathematical operations on several numbers. If the abacus had a program, certainly we would call a computer. World less known, is the Nepohualtzitzin, an invention of the Mexica made of wood, wires and grains of corn: the "computer Aztec
I must admit that I never learned to use the abacus. Apparently as punishment, I had to deal with in the university with the FORTRAN IV program which only remember judgments was classified in two groups and undrawn. And, of course, that without the command "ifort" every effort "intellectuals" they went to the garbage bin. There was no interface.
In all businesses, shops, markets and restaurants when it came time to pay, agile hands moved from right to left, before my eyes, pure magic unravel the secrets of the calculation.
was there I met the abacus, the oldest instrument for counting, whose origin is attributed to the Babylonians and Chinese (1,300 ac). This mechanical device, used by all so familiar in the middle of the century XX, in turn revolutionized the technique of counting and allowed man to perform mathematical operations on several numbers. If the abacus had a program, certainly we would call a computer. World less known, is the Nepohualtzitzin, an invention of the Mexica made of wood, wires and grains of corn: the "computer Aztec
I must admit that I never learned to use the abacus. Apparently as punishment, I had to deal with in the university with the FORTRAN IV program which only remember judgments was classified in two groups and undrawn. And, of course, that without the command "ifort" every effort "intellectuals" they went to the garbage bin. There was no interface.
All these memories come to my mind these days, when my father would have turned 77. On his birthday he received the visits of his friends. Celebrations and tokens of affection were accompanied, as God intended, the traditional "family gift." A major issue that could be easily resolved with a little imagination in a world where the supply is so large and for all tastes ... playing with imagination, we are seeing: a good book is always frowned upon as a gift (eg "Portales. A historical falsification" by Sergio Villalobos) if I had not read, difficult thing. Another option, a good selection of tangos, your favorite music. Not a bad idea: the latest version of Gardel mastered to accompany his collection of vinyl, cassettes and CDs.
man of simple tastes, but visionary and very modern, the final choice would have fallen in a supplement to your PC. Believe it or not, its proximity to the PC was great. With the two: the personal computer and the Communist Party.
authorized
When my father to return to Chile, one of the first things he did the year 89 was to buy a computer. I do not remember the brand or model, but it was one with two 5 ¼ diqueteras and printer continuous paper. With patience and dedication was seduced by new technology, taught himself to work with the operating system and program WordStar. As technology advanced and resources permitting, his team was improving. It was a great moment when he put the hard disk, and what to say when they were in the past WordStar commands and broke the wonderful Word Perfect!
With my brother Bernard, has become a commonplace to say: how to enjoy the old Internet. We close our eyes and we see him shine for his charm and fascination of technology and communications. I have no doubt that it would all day browsing, updating his blog daily, chatting with half the world (literally) and, of course, that would Facebook.
The emergence of the technological revolution in society, and very particularly the information technology and communications had not surprised and would certainly be discussed in the Socialist Party the need to use these tools to ensure public participation in public policy.
I imagine so many ways to enrich our lives ... and suddenly landed suddenly in our reality and I see on television the current Secretary General of Government, which uses no agenda or computer and defined as a technological illiterate.
In the antipodes, the Russian president threatened to sack staff who do not know how to use the computer ....