30 Apr
2025
30 Apr
'25
4 p.m.
Hi all, I'm looking for any additional information about a team at Bell Labs called "Special Systems Exploratory Development" or sometimes just "Special Systems Development." Team was definitely in operation in the mid-1950s, but maybe lasted into the 1970s. I have a few documents from the *Bell Laboratories Record *that mention it, but I can't work out what its actual scope / mission is, and the archivist at Nokia Bell Labs said they "don't have more to add." Anyone heard of this team, or teams with titles like this from this era? Any clue if this mystery indicates important Cold War secrecy or just boring corporate vagueness? Cheers, Cass Adair -- Cassius Adair Assistant Professor of Media Studies The New School