September 2014 - Members - lists.sigcis.org

The email saga continues
by Brian Randell 04 Sep '14

04 Sep '14

Hi: Techdirt has an article "Why Is Huffington Post Running A Multi-Part Series To Promote The Lies Of A Guy Who Pretended To Invent Email?” at: https://www.techdirt.com/articles/20140901/07280928386/huffpo-publishes-biz… Cheers Brian Randell School of Computing Science, Newcastle University, Newcastle upon Tyne, NE1 7RU EMAIL = Brian.Randell(a)ncl.ac.uk PHONE = +44 191 222 7923 URL = http://www.cs.ncl.ac.uk/people/brian.randell

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What is unusual about the email dispute.
by Thomas Haigh 04 Sep '14

04 Sep '14

Those are interesting parallels, and certainly indicate a public need to put a single inventor next to each technology. So “Who invented X” becomes the one and only question that attracts a broad audience to an aspect of the history of technology. However I do think that something a little out of the ordinary is going on here. The various candidates for inventors of the “first computer” had each done something or other first, and the question was which one deserved the grand prize. That came down to trying to define “computer,” which was clearly subjective, and so a set of hyphenated qualifications such as “general-purpose electronic digital” were agreed on and everyone left with some kind of prize in the goody bag. If people care enough to argue and gather documents until the different contributions are pinned down then something similar is likely to happen with ATMs. What is exceptional about Ayyadurai is his insistence to have invented something many years AFTER the date range during which historians agree it was invented. Also the slickness of his public relations campaign and its stubborn disconnection from reality. His efforts to blame all doubt on corporate lies, racism, and class prejudice are also unusual. Like this incredible Huffington Post video. It features the man himself, his father, his girlfriend (“The Nanny”), her dog, and several of his supporters and is clearly in the “fawning celebrity profile” genre. Most questions come down to variants on “How amazing does it feel to have invented email.” http://live.huffingtonpost.com/r/segment/third-metric-thrive-on-live-annive… Huffington Post apparently claims that none of this was paid for, but it reminds me of nothing more than a late night infomercial. By the way, the SIGCIS page is quoted from extensively in the latest TechDirt debunking article. Mike Masnick there has really been doing a good job of staying on top of this. https://www.techdirt.com/articles/20140903/18514728409/huffington-post-fina… Best wishes, Tom From: members-bounces(a)sigcis.org [mailto:members-bounces@sigcis.org] On Behalf Of Bernardo Batiz-Lazo Sent: Thursday, September 04, 2014 12:44 PM To: Andrew Meade McGee Cc: sigcis Subject: Re: [SIGCIS-Members] Why is HuffPost publishing another "invention of email" series? Thanks to Barbara and Andrew for their provocation. My research on cash machines faces the same issue, with sources attributing a single inventor to John Sheppard-Barron (BBC & Wikipedia), Don Wetzel (Smithsonian), Luther Simjian (MIT) and James Goodfellow (UK Intellectual Property Office). I've tried to reason with each and all of them showing original research that the ATM was a complex technology and there was more than a single individual involved. My experience is that the managers of the information are reluctant to change it if there is any shred of evidence to support their claim. So to Andrew I would respond that it is not only the preference for simplicity but also the costs of "saving face" after a retraction. Best Bernardo Bangor University (Wales) Sent from my iPad On 4 Sep 2014, at 15:48, Andrew Meade McGee <amm5ae(a)virginia.edu> wrote: I'm glad Barbara raised the issue of misattribution. It's something I was mulling over yesterday afternoon while this e-mail thread was percolating. Like Paul, I was reminded of the Atanasoff debate. I'm curious, though, and I'm sure many on the list have given this thought, why the impulse within the media and the general public to seek out specific "founders" or "firsts" with regard to technology, and if the answers are muddled or messy or not inclined to point ot a single finger, why is there a willingness to embrace shoddy claims just for the sake of having a representative "creator" figure? It seems as though some fields and industries are particularly prone to this, and I wonder if computing is one of these? In this case their are obvious publicity and pecuniary benefits to being accorded the honor in the mind of the public as the "creator" of e-mail. (And residual benefits to those associated with individuals identified as key founders of technology. I'm sure Newark and Rutgers would not mind having Ayyadurai labeled the originator of such a ubiquitous technology by the public.) I guess what I don't understand is why the public seems so prefer the story of a single genius inventor, with a technology emerging fully formed, over the incremental evolution resulting from the input of several persons and groups (as is the case with the true development of electronic mail). Is it our impulse as humans to prefer a story? Our preference for simplicity over complexity? A desire to have particular humans rather than social process refine technology? I really don't understand the motivation to rally around a single claimant with a strained claim over a multifaceted history of a technology's formulation when it seems clear the latter is true. When you consider the fascinating Al Gore incident, when it became a staple of late night comedy, talk radio, and general zeitgeist, the joke was political or personality driven: the hubris or absurdity of a politician having created the internet. The dissonance in the popular imagination was with the idea of Gore as creator, not that something as large as "the internet" could have a single creator. Am I alone in my puzzlement? --Andrew -- -- -- -- -- -- -- -- -- -- -- -- -- -- -- -- Andrew Meade McGee Corcoran Department of History University of Virginia PO Box 400180 - Nau Hall Charlottesville, VA 22904 On Thu, Sep 4, 2014 at 9:20 AM, Ceruzzi, Paul <CeruzziP(a)si.edu> wrote: I am showing my age, but I've lived through a few of these--too many. Some of you may remember the Atanasoff-ENIAC controversy, which overflowed into a fuss over the labels in the Smithsonian's "Information Age" exhibit. And the books written by Pulitzer Prize winner Jane Smiley, Alice and Arthur Burks, et al. I can supply unpleasant details, but perhaps best off-list. When I mentioned this to Mel Kranzberg, he said, "Hey, people are still fighting over whether Newton or Leibniz invented the calculus!" Paul E. Ceruzzi, Chairman Division of Space History, MRC 311 National Air and Space Museum, Smithsonian Institution PO Box 37012 Washington, DC 20013-7012 202-633-2414 http://airandspace.si.edu/staff/paul-ceruzzi -----Original Message----- From: members-bounces(a)sigcis.org [mailto:members-bounces@sigcis.org] On Behalf Of Andrew Russell Sent: Wednesday, September 03, 2014 6:54 PM To: Coopersmith, Jonathan Cc: sigcis Subject: Re: [SIGCIS-Members] Why is HuffPost publishing another "invention of email" series? Hi folks - To be clear, I agree with Jonathan (and others) who pointed out Gore's important role in networking history. I think we can also blame Gore a little bit for using a clumsy turn of phrase in his CNN interview, which gave an opportunity to his political opponents who wanted to portray Gore as a liar. I found one article that Jonathan mentioned - "But Al Gore Did Help" - at http://articles.sun-sentinel.com/2000-10-26/news/0010250556_1_patron-new-te…. In it, Jonathan gave us a clear, fair, high-level summary: "Gore's early initiatives helped shape the Internet into a more open and universal system with more access to federal and university databases than it would have otherwise." In addition to Jonathan's piece, anyone teaching about this topic should know about Seth Finkelstein's page of articles and resources: http://www.sethf.com/gore/ The point I was trying to make in my earlier note is that this "invention of email" controversy (if we can call it that) resembles the Gore/invention "controversy" in that the consensus opinion of subject experts is dismissed, or deemed part of a conspiracy! The facts and evidence are well-known; yet journalists and others with opaque or questionable motives ignore them, or twist them. I'm reminded of the way that climate skeptics and creationists "teach the controversy," which is a strategy to destabilize the overwhelming consensus of specialists and experts. That topic gives me the same irritated sensation I felt when I read the new HuffPost/email series, which is the same type of irritation I feel when I tell people that I write about Internet history and they say "you mean how Al Gore invented it? heh heh." I hope somebody writes a biography of poor Al Gore that explains how Gore did such earnest and productive work with his advocacy of networking and climate change research, but found himself at the butt of jokes and public ridicule. Cheers, Andy _______________________________________________ This email is relayed from members(a)sigcis.org, the email discussion list of SHOT SIGCIS. The list archives are at http://sigcis.org/pipermail/members/ and you can change your subscription options at http://sigcis.org/mailman/listinfo/members _______________________________________________ This email is relayed from members(a)sigcis.org, the email discussion list of SHOT SIGCIS. The list archives are at http://sigcis.org/pipermail/members/ and you can change your subscription options at http://sigcis.org/mailman/listinfo/members

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Re: [SIGCIS-Members] Why is HuffPost publishing another "invention of email" series?
by Andrew Meade McGee 04 Sep '14

04 Sep '14

I'm glad Barbara raised the issue of misattribution. It's something I was mulling over yesterday afternoon while this e-mail thread was percolating. Like Paul, I was reminded of the Atanasoff debate. I'm curious, though, and I'm sure many on the list have given this thought, why the impulse within the media and the general public to seek out specific "founders" or "firsts" with regard to technology, and if the answers are muddled or messy or not inclined to point ot a single finger, why is there a willingness to embrace shoddy claims just for the sake of having a representative "creator" figure? It seems as though some fields and industries are particularly prone to this, and I wonder if computing is one of these? In this case their are obvious publicity and pecuniary benefits to being accorded the honor in the mind of the public as the "creator" of e-mail. (And residual benefits to those associated with individuals identified as key founders of technology. I'm sure Newark and Rutgers would not mind having Ayyadurai labeled the originator of such a ubiquitous technology by the public.) I guess what I don't understand is why the public seems so prefer the story of a single genius inventor, with a technology emerging fully formed, over the incremental evolution resulting from the input of several persons and groups (as is the case with the true development of electronic mail). Is it our impulse as humans to prefer a story? Our preference for simplicity over complexity? A desire to have particular humans rather than social process refine technology? I really don't understand the motivation to rally around a single claimant with a strained claim over a multifaceted history of a technology's formulation when it seems clear the latter is true. When you consider the fascinating Al Gore incident, when it became a staple of late night comedy, talk radio, and general zeitgeist, the joke was political or personality driven: the hubris or absurdity of a politician having created the internet. The dissonance in the popular imagination was with the idea of Gore as creator, not that something as large as "the internet" could have a single creator. Am I alone in my puzzlement? --Andrew -- -- -- -- -- -- -- -- -- -- -- -- -- -- -- -- Andrew Meade McGee Corcoran Department of History University of Virginia PO Box 400180 - Nau Hall Charlottesville, VA 22904 On Thu, Sep 4, 2014 at 9:20 AM, Ceruzzi, Paul <CeruzziP(a)si.edu> wrote: > I am showing my age, but I've lived through a few of these--too many. Some > of you may remember the Atanasoff-ENIAC controversy, which overflowed into > a fuss over the labels in the Smithsonian's "Information Age" exhibit. And > the books written by Pulitzer Prize winner Jane Smiley, Alice and Arthur > Burks, et al. I can supply unpleasant details, but perhaps best off-list. > When I mentioned this to Mel Kranzberg, he said, "Hey, people are still > fighting over whether Newton or Leibniz invented the calculus!" > > Paul E. Ceruzzi, Chairman > Division of Space History, MRC 311 > National Air and Space Museum, Smithsonian Institution > PO Box 37012 > Washington, DC 20013-7012 > 202-633-2414 > http://airandspace.si.edu/staff/paul-ceruzzi > > > > -----Original Message----- > From: members-bounces(a)sigcis.org [mailto:members-bounces@sigcis.org] On > Behalf Of Andrew Russell > Sent: Wednesday, September 03, 2014 6:54 PM > To: Coopersmith, Jonathan > Cc: sigcis > Subject: Re: [SIGCIS-Members] Why is HuffPost publishing another > "invention of email" series? > > Hi folks - > > To be clear, I agree with Jonathan (and others) who pointed out Gore's > important role in networking history. I think we can also blame Gore a > little bit for using a clumsy turn of phrase in his CNN interview, which > gave an opportunity to his political opponents who wanted to portray Gore > as a liar. > > I found one article that Jonathan mentioned - "But Al Gore Did Help" - at > http://articles.sun-sentinel.com/2000-10-26/news/0010250556_1_patron-new-te…. > In it, Jonathan gave us a clear, fair, high-level summary: "Gore's early > initiatives helped shape the Internet into a more open and universal system > with more access to federal and university databases than it would have > otherwise." > > In addition to Jonathan's piece, anyone teaching about this topic should > know about Seth Finkelstein's page of articles and resources: > http://www.sethf.com/gore/ > > The point I was trying to make in my earlier note is that this "invention > of email" controversy (if we can call it that) resembles the Gore/invention > "controversy" in that the consensus opinion of subject experts is > dismissed, or deemed part of a conspiracy! The facts and evidence are > well-known; yet journalists and others with opaque or questionable motives > ignore them, or twist them. > > I'm reminded of the way that climate skeptics and creationists "teach the > controversy," which is a strategy to destabilize the overwhelming consensus > of specialists and experts. That topic gives me the same irritated > sensation I felt when I read the new HuffPost/email series, which is the > same type of irritation I feel when I tell people that I write about > Internet history and they say "you mean how Al Gore invented it? heh heh." > > I hope somebody writes a biography of poor Al Gore that explains how Gore > did such earnest and productive work with his advocacy of networking and > climate change research, but found himself at the butt of jokes and public > ridicule. > > Cheers, > > Andy > > _______________________________________________ > This email is relayed from members(a)sigcis.org, the email discussion list > of SHOT SIGCIS. The list archives are at > http://sigcis.org/pipermail/members/ and you can change your subscription > options at http://sigcis.org/mailman/listinfo/members >

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Why is HuffPost publishing another "invention of email" series?
by Andrew Russell 04 Sep '14

04 Sep '14

At the risk of (or in hopes of) provoking Tom Haigh and others, I thought I would share the following: https://www.techdirt.com/articles/20140901/07280928386/huffpo-publishes-biz… I’m sure many of you noticed the recent round of HuffPo stories, promoting the claims of the guy who claimed to invent email in 1978. Similar to the “Al Gore invented the Internet” story from several years ago, this particular “invention of email” story seems to be more compelling through a media studies lens (i.e., why do media outlets keep publishing nonsense?), and not at all a case of uncertainty or debate amongst serious historians or networking engineers. Andy

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Fascinating edit war at the Wikipedia page on email
by Thomas Haigh 04 Sep '14

04 Sep '14

Hello everyone, The last few days seem to have seen a great deal of back and forth in edits and on the talk section of Wikipedia's page on email. Pro-Ayyadurai forces have jumped in to seize on the Huffington Post series as documentation to rewrite the text to give him a staring role. A cynic might speculate that the Wikipedia page is the real prize and the Huffington Post articles merely a means to an end. They have, thus far, been beaten back with heavy resistance by Wikipedia loyalists. See http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Talk:Email#Recent_published_research:_1978_Inve ntion_by_Shiva_Ayyadurai. It is interesting to see the social processes at work in shaping what for most will be the first and only destination in a search for an authoritative account of something. I did notice many references to Ayyadurai being edited over the past couple of years into other, less policed, Wikipedia pages. This included about a dozen references to his book being added to various pages before it was even published. http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Special:Contributions/Arttechlaw Ayyadurai himself saw the removal of previous references to him from various articles as some kind of conspiracy and documented the process as part of how "systems of power react when they feel threatened." http://www.inventorofemail.com/Removal-Of-References-On-Wikipedia-To-VA-Shiv a-Ayyadurai-As-Inventor.asp Tom

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IBM Song Book
by Brian Randell 01 Sep '14

01 Sep '14

Hi: Arstechnica has an article about, and a full copy of an 1937 edition of the IBM Song Book. http://arstechnica.com/business/2014/08/tripping-through-ibms-astonishingly… Cheers Brian Randell School of Computing Science, Newcastle University, Newcastle upon Tyne, NE1 7RU EMAIL = Brian.Randell(a)ncl.ac.uk<mailto:Brian.Randell@ncl.ac.uk> PHONE = +44 191 222 7923 URL = http://www.cs.ncl.ac.uk/people/brian.randell

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