Blog 5

The shift between computers being culturally invisible to becoming a new engine of culture started out as a mindset. If you look at the development from the beginning of computers to now, there is only a 20 to 25 year development span. That is a very short period of time for a necessity of culture in any time period. Computers seemed to pop out of no where. This sudden development would of either created a mindset of "this is new I do not want to get involved and it is not going to catch on" or " this is new, this is interesting I want to know and own. The mindset where people did not catch on made computers seem invisible and not important. Also because computers came out of no where created a sense of invisibility. For the individuals who became interested in computers and followed, they are the ones that carried the transition to computers being our new engine of culture. There were enough followers to create this "mainstream" we have today. Those who did not follow are now behind and out of the mainstream. Remember, all of this has happened in about only a quarter century. What will another quarter bring to the table?

Liicklider, Sutherland, Nelson, Engelbart, and Kay were some of the inventors that society does not know much about. Why not? Maybe because their inventions were not documented toward as much as other inventions. How come they were not? Because computers were invented during a time period that world culture was about progress and mostly progress toward money and profits. Another aspect is that computers have only been around for a short period in cultural history. 20 years is not that far away to be considered history where individuals would be able to view the publications about computer history such as other subjects and inventions. Also software is usually unseen or recongnized because it is the behind scene process that happens. What you see is just the visual or GUI of the program not the coding or the brains behind the program that the software inventors have busted their butt to create.

Computers have spanned a new culture where everyone is connected and freedom upon communicating and creation of programs are on the rise. They have just become a convenience and a tool to do everything in life. We use computers and especially software in about everything we do. We have almost adapted to live in technology and inside the box of our living environment. From an alarm to wake you up, cell phone use, printing, driving a car, creating a document, making media, all types of communication, tools to make life easier have all contributed to our use of invisible software that we do not recognize or to a point appreciate.