On Oct 22, 2020, at 11:18 AM, Theodora Dryer <tjdryer@gmail.com> wrote:

Thank you, Barbara! I'm looking forward to your work on "Creation Myths"  

It's not new, but Leila McNeill's piece is another great short read on this topic: https://thebaffler.com/outbursts/surely-youre-a-creep-mr-feynman-mcneill.

On Thu, Oct 22, 2020 at 11:42 AM Barbara B Walker <bbwalker@unr.edu> wrote:

Hi, everybody,

 

Hope everyone is safe and well.

 

Here is an article on the importance of looking beyond the mythologies and cults of genius in the history of science and tech.

 

https://undark.org/2020/10/22/the-fiction-of-individual-genius/

 

However, I would argue that in computer history as everywhere else in the history of science and tech, debunking is not enough – we must understand the reasons, cultures and process of cult-formation and myth-making that plays such an influential role in our understanding of the past. That’s something I’m exploring in an article on John von Neumann that I recently submitted for publication review (“Creation Myths”). Am also looking at the formation of political personality cults in a seminar I am teaching this semester.

 

Barbara Walker

 

 

Barbara Walker

Associate Professor

Department of History/308

University of Nevada, Reno

Reno NV 89557

 

_______________________________________________
This email is relayed from members at sigcis.org, the email discussion list of SHOT SIGCIS. Opinions expressed here are those of the member posting and are not reviewed, edited, or endorsed by SIGCIS. The list archives are at http://lists.sigcis.org/pipermail/members-sigcis.org/ and you can change your subscription options at http://lists.sigcis.org/listinfo.cgi/members-sigcis.org

--

Theodora Dryer, Ph.D. 

Lead Research Scholar, Climate + Water 

AI Now Institute | New York University 

https://www.theodoradryer.com/

_______________________________________________
This email is relayed from members at sigcis.org, the email discussion list of SHOT SIGCIS. Opinions expressed here are those of the member posting and are not reviewed, edited, or endorsed by SIGCIS. The list archives are at https://nam10.safelinks.protection.outlook.com/?url=http%3A%2F%2Flists.sigcis.org%2Fpipermail%2Fmembers-sigcis.org%2F&amp;data=04%7C01%7Cdspicer%40computerhistory.org%7C12087b26a05c40ac0b9708d876b6db04%7Cb6a9c12a29ee4c5f8f93f0d7a8e2db2f%7C0%7C0%7C637389875040684746%7CUnknown%7CTWFpbGZsb3d8eyJWIjoiMC4wLjAwMDAiLCJQIjoiV2luMzIiLCJBTiI6Ik1haWwiLCJXVCI6Mn0%3D%7C1000&amp;sdata=whTfAhvFMqxvbhhhgWFlhuQ8vGg%2BPLBz%2B1RN1U8ODSw%3D&amp;reserved=0 and you can change your subscription options at https://nam10.safelinks.protection.outlook.com/?url=http%3A%2F%2Flists.sigcis.org%2Flistinfo.cgi%2Fmembers-sigcis.org&amp;data=04%7C01%7Cdspicer%40computerhistory.org%7C12087b26a05c40ac0b9708d876b6db04%7Cb6a9c12a29ee4c5f8f93f0d7a8e2db2f%7C0%7C0%7C637389875040684746%7CUnknown%7CTWFpbGZsb3d8eyJWIjoiMC4wLjAwMDAiLCJQIjoiV2luMzIiLCJBTiI6Ik1haWwiLCJXVCI6Mn0%3D%7C1000&amp;sdata=pyXiaJk%2FoE2irAFY%2FMFSSDYSkVtyOVYfMDbBeADDir0%3D&amp;reserved=0