The imagineers of war
by Sharon Weinberger · first published 2017
83% recommend17% neutral
Why HN recommends it
Covers the history of DARPA and its role in military research, with detail on figures like J.C.R. Licklider and their funding choices; suited to readers interested in how government-funded R&D shaped technology.
Summarised by Claude from recommending comments
"The definitive history of the Defense Advanced Research Projects Agency, the Pentagon agency that has quietly shaped war and technology for nearly sixty years. Founded in 1958 in response to the launch of Sputnik, the agency's original mission was to create "the unimagined weapons of the future." Over the decades, DARPA has been responsible for countless inventions and technologies that extend well beyond the military. Sharon Weinberger gives us a riveting account of DARPA's successes and failures, its remarkable innovations, and its wild-eyed schemes. We see how the threat of nuclear Armaged
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Licklider is one the main persons behind the ARPANET. The Imagineers of War by Sharon Weinberger has a lot of context on his time in DARPA. Few things that I found particularly notable: * Licklider was conscious about not having too much funding compared to other DARPA projects…
on “Man-Computer Symbiosis (1960)” ↗…battlefield reports lavishly praising the AR-15 and the stopping-power of the 5.56 mm cartridge, and pressed for its adoption. For those who are interested more in Mr Godel’s role, please refer to The Imagineers of War by Sharon Weinberger.
on “M-16: A Bureaucratic Horror Story (1981)” ↗1. The Imagineers of War by Sharon Weinberger 2. The Nature of Technology by Brian Arthur 3. (Not a book but documentary) Connections by James Burk 4. Books by James Burk [0] [0]: https://www.thriftbooks.com/a/james--burke/215445/
on “Ask HN: Good Books on the History of Technology?” ↗…https://www.amazon.com/Dreaming-in-Code-Scott-Rosenberg-audi... The Pentagon's Brain: An Uncensored History of DARPA, America's Top-Secret Military Research Agency - https://www.amazon.com/Pentagons-Brain-Uncensored-Americas-T... The Imagineers of War: The Untold Story of DARPA, the Pentagon Agency That Changed the World - https://www.amazon.com/Imagineers-War-Untold-Pentagon-Change... The Technical and Social History of Software Engineering - https://www.amazon.com/Technical-Social-History-Software-Eng...…
on “Ask HN: Material on early computing history and innovation?” ↗…boondoggles, some produce good results. Take a hard look at that. Look at what Korea is doing. Figure out why Japan's R&D stagnated. There are two good books about DARPA - "The Pentagon's Brain", and "The Imagineers of War". I've read the first, but not the second. The first gives a good sense of how the organization works. (It's been a long time, but I've worked on a DARPA program.) [1] https://www.darpa.mil/our-research
on “Shifting the impossible to the inevitable: A Private ARPA user manual” ↗…initially dreamt up the connected network we now know as the internet. Interestingly, when an early iteration of the 'net was put to UCLA academics, they refused to get involved! [1] Sharon Weinberger, The Imagineers of War (2017).
on “What made Xerox PARC special? Who else today is like them?” ↗Finished The Imagineers of War by Sharon Weinberger and The Pentagons Brain Both are on DARPA.
on “Ask HN: Books you read in 2018?” ↗