Turing's Man: Western Culture in the Computer Age

by J. David Bolter

Book Overview

Trained in both classics and computer science, Bolter considers the cultural impact of computers on our age, comparing the computer to earlier technologies that redefined fundamental notions of time, space, language, memory, and human creativity. Surprisingly, he finds that in many ways the outlook of the computer age bears more resemblance to that of the ancient world than to that of the Enlightenment. The classical philosopher and the computer programmer...

• Format: Paperback
• Language: English
• ISBN: 0807841080
• ISBN13: 9780807841082
• Release Date: March 1984
• Publisher: University of North Carolina Press
• Length: 276 Pages
• Weight: 0.98 lbs.
• Dimensions: 0.8" x 6.0" x 9.0"

Customer Reviews

A critical look at how computers impact human interaction...

I imagine I would never have come across "Turing's Man" if it hadn't been required reading for a course I took at NYU entitled "The Digital Revolution." The course examined the sociological impact of the computerized world and the ever-expanding internet on human life and interaction, which means that Bolter's text was just what we needed: an overview of where technological progress has come from, where it is going, and what it is doing to us in the process.Although Turing's Man is a little bit dated -- it was published in 1984, before the internet had even taken on a significant presence in modern life, it suggests and foreshadows a numer of themes which have become more prominent since the text was printed.Beginning with an overview and survey of technological evolution, from the Ancient World right up through the present, Bolter does a fine job of articulating the complex process through which technology changes and is changed by the society into which it is introduced. Once this idea has been established, Bolter pauses to provide a basic overview of how computers work... and while it changes over time, his description is general enough as to still be accurate -- AND non-technical enough to be understood without much computer knowledge.He then goes on to examine certain ideas as they apply to both humans and computers, comparing the disparate nature of such fundamental concepts as time, space, language, and logic.(Maybe this sounds confusing when I write it, but rest assured that Bolter is more articulate than I am feeling just now. He explains it all, and explains it well.)In closing, Bolter considers the changes that computers have already initiated in our lifestyles and our thinking processes, and ventures some predictions as to future changes and developments.Remember, though, that this book WAS written in 1984, and that the developments which we have seen since then are more extensive than those that Bolter laid out... if you are more interested in the specific impact of newer technologies, such as the internet and telecommunications, you'd be better served with a subscription to WIRED magazine, or a text such as Marshall McLuhan's "Understanding Media." This text provides a more general look at computers, their origin, and the fundamental ideas that they have instilled in our lives.Fascinating ideas, especially if you are interested in the role that computers and new media have in shaping and directing our modern lives... "Turing's Man" isn't casual reading, perhaps, but it IS engaging and provocative.