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Grace Hopper and the Invention of the Information Age

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Grace Hopper and the Invention of the Information Age

Grace Hopper Timely Role Model:

The idea for the book was hatched in San Francisco during the height of the dot.com madness, as 25 year olds dreamed of huge stock-option payouts as they “invented the information age.” Hopper is as important a figure to computing as Bill Gates, Larry Ellison and Steve Jobs, with similar hardnosed business instincts, but with an academic’s open curiosity and a naval officer’s sense of duty. Hopper, as well as the many other computer pioneers who the reader is introduced to in these pages, serve as responsible, civic oriented role models for our current and future technical and business leaders.

Government Supported Technical Innovation:

The main period covered in the book, 1940-1960, is the height of the US government’s participation in large scientific and technical projects. The ensuing computer revolution described in this book is a direct product of that intervention. As we move into a new era of enhanced government participation in the economy, the book reminds us that government can be a critical driving force of large scale technical transformation.

Transformative Technology:

As the nation and the world face unprecedented challenges ranging from global warming to crumbling economies, the early history of the information age is filled with examples of ordinary people overcoming extraordinary technical challenges. Today we call on a new generation of “Grace Hoppers” to envision the technological future and to dedicate their careers to solve our most pressing issues.

Lessons for Technical Innovation:

Above all Hopper was a great organizer of innovation. The book highlights best practices that are as practical today as they were 50 years ago. I refer to Hopper’s method as “distributed invention,” but it was in fact the beginning of open-source innovation.

Women and Technology:

Grace Hopper naturally serves as an ideal role model for women who still struggle to break glass ceilings within the computer and IT industries. Carol Bartz (CEO Yahoo), Meg Whitman (former EBay CEO), Marissa Mayer (VP Google), and other rising leaders are a positive sign, but a recent Stanford University study concluded that gender diversity in technical hubs like Silicon Valley has stagnated. Hopper, Betty Holberton, Jean Sammet, and other pioneering women in the book built their careers during much more hostile post-war cultural environments. How they navigated these male-dominated organizations (Hopper became the first woman to become an Admiral) is helpful and inspirational to women who find themselves as minorities in the computer and IT industries.

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Author Kurt Beyer Interviewed by Smithsonian

The Smithsonian's Lemelson Center for the Study of Invention and Innovation interviewed author Kurt Beyer about the career of Grace Hopper, the history of the computer industry, the process of innovation, and the nature of invention.

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