Smarter Than Their Machines

Smarter Than Their Machines: Oral Histories of the Pioneers of Interactive Computing is based on oral histories archived at the Charles Babbage Institute University of Minnesota. Included are the oral histories of some key pioneers of the computer industry selected by John that led to interactive computing such as Richard Bloch Gene Amdahl Herbert W. Robinson Sam Wyly J.C.R. Licklider Ivan Sutherland Larry Roberts Robert Kahn Marvin Minsky Michael Dertouzos and Joseph Traub as well as his own. John has woven them together via introductions that is in essence a personal walk down the computer industry road. John had the unique advantage of having been part of or witness to much of the history contained in these oral histories beginning as a co-op student at Arthur D. Little Inc. in the 1950's. Eventually he would become a pioneer in his own right by creating the computer industry's first successful software products company (Cullinane Corporation). However an added benefit of reading these oral histories is that they contain important messages for our leaders of today at all levels including that government industry and academia can accomplish great things when working together in an effective way. This is how the computer industry was created which then led to the Internet both totally unanticipated just 75 years ago.