Between Human and Machine
by David A. Mindell · first published 2002
100% recommend
Why HN recommends it
A history of feedback and control systems tracing how engineers built automatic control, including fire control and early computing, before cybernetics; engaging for readers curious about control technology.
Summarised by Claude from recommending comments
Mindell ponders the orgin of cybernetics beyond Norbert Wiener's 1948 hypothesis. Mindell returns to the time between the World Wars, when four disparate computing research cultures thrived in the United States: the U.S. Navy, the Sperry Gyroscope Company, the Bell Telephone Laboratories, and Vannevar Bush's laboratory at MIT. In each culture, different technical problems, organizational imperatives, and working evironment existed, but they were all researching control, communications, and computing. When President Roosevelt synthesized the four engineering cultures into a representative gover
Affiliate links. As an Amazon Associate I earn from qualifying purchases.
In case anyone enjoys reading about the history of control systems, Between Human and Machine: Feedback, Control, and Computing before Cybernetics by David Mindell is so much fun to read. https://www.amazon.com/Between-Human-Machine-Cybernetics-Tec...
on “How to Set Up an OpAmp Circuit to Do Complex Mathematics” ↗For more info read the very good "Between Human and Machine: Feedback, Control, and Computing before Cybernetics" by David Mindell.
on “When mechanical analog computers ruled the waves (2014)” ↗An excellent book on this subject (without any of the heavyhanded Big Tech comparisons) is “Between Human and Machine: Feedback, Control, and Computing before Cybernetics”, by David Mindell who also wrote the great “Digital Apollo”.
on “Before Silicon Valley got nasty the Pirates of Analog Alley fought it out (2014)” ↗…Points in Western Technology" Joel Mokyr in "Lever of Riches" and "Gifts of Athena" Edward Hutchinson in "Cognition in the Wild" James Utterback "Mastering the Dynamics of Innovation" David A. Mindell "Between Human and Machine: Feedback, Control, and Computing before Cybernetics" Stephen B. Johnson "The Secret of Apollo: Systems Management in American and European Space Programs"
on “We Need a New Science of Progress” ↗Also not directly related: David A. Mindell, "Between Human and Machine: Feedback, Control, and Computing before Cybernetics" https://press.jhu.edu/books/title/1207/between-human-and-mac... Absolutely epic book.
on “The Analog Computer for the Nike Missile System” ↗You may enjoy "Between Human and Machine Feedback, Control, and Computing before Cybernetics" by David A. Mindell.
on “Abraham Wald and the airplane diagram with red bullet holes” ↗I highly recommend "Between Human and Machine Feedback, Control, and Computing before Cybernetics" by David A. Mindell
on “Basic Mechanisms In Fire Control Computers (1953) [video]” ↗I read 'The Secret War' by Brian Johnson which was based on a 1970s BBC series. I think it's an earlier version of the same thing. Another great (although very dry) book is 'Between Human and Machine - Feedback, Control, and Computing before Cybernetics' by David A. Mindell. This goes into the fire control stuff that I mentioned, and describes how one effect of the war was to force together the different…
on “Knocker uppers: Waking up the workers in industrial Britain (2016)” ↗