Electronic Life
LC Class QA76.5 .C74 1983 | | |
Preceded by | Jasper Johns | |
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Followed by | Travels |
Electronic Life is a 1983
Description
Crichton owned several computers, and he wrote articles and computer programs in the programming language
The book was intended to introduce the idea of personal computers to a reader who might be faced with them at work or at home for the first time. It defined basic jargon and assured readers that they could master the machine when it inevitably arrived.
Electronic Life is written as a glossary, with entries like "Afraid of Computers (everybody is)", "Buying a Computer", and "Computer Crime". Entries consist mainly of Crichton's musings on these topics, and few of the entries reflect any research. The
Some portions of the book are dated. On page 140, Crichton points out that if you ask your computer to compute 5.01*5.02-5.03/2.04*100.5+3.06+20.07-200.08+300.09/1.10, there will be a noticeable delay as it works out the answer. Later he suggests that a user would do well to buy a CP/M-based system, because of all the excellent applications for that platform.
In the book, Crichton correctly predicts that computer networks would increase in importance. He saw this as a matter of convenience—computers can share pictures, which you can't do with a verbal phone call, and computer networks can operate asynchronously, so you can leave information for somebody and have them pick it up at their convenience.
He also comments on games that are played on computers, saying "Arcade games are the hula hoops of the '80s, and already there are indications that the mania for twitch games (another name for
In a section called "Microprocessors, or how I flunked biostatistics at Harvard", Crichton lashes out at a medical school teacher who had given him a 'D' fifteen years earlier.
Reception
See also
References
- ^ Christopher Lehmann-Haupt (Sep 16, 1983). "Books of The Times: ELECTRONIC LIFE. How to Think About Computers. By Michael Crichton. 209 pages. Knopf. $12.95". New York Times. p. C21.
- ^ Maher, Jimmy (2013-10-11). "From Congo to Amazon". The Digital Antiquarian. Retrieved 10 July 2014.
- ^ Lauerman, Connie (Oct 10, 1983). "Tempo: Advice from a Terminal Man; Michael Crichton exorcises the computer demons he bore". Chicago Tribune. p. f1.
- ^ Crichton, Michael. Electronic Life: How to Think About Computers (Alfred A. Knopf. New York, 1983), p69.
- Pournelle, Jerry (June 1985). "From the Living Room". BYTE. p. 409. Retrieved April 23, 2016.