Hi SIGCIS-

My buddy emailed and said (paraphrasing): “My son’s a 6^th grader; he and his classmates are doing research projects.  They have to interview an expert on some topic.  His classmate wants to research ‘the first computer.’  Can my son’s classmate interview you?”  Being an all-purpose “expert,”  I said yes! 

As historians, we tend to reject absolutes, hedge, and use qualifying adjectives like the first “electronic” or “programmable” or “personal” computer.  But this is a 6^th grader, so I don’t want to confuse him with too many carefully constructed hedges.  So I appeal to the wisdom of this crowd… 

Q: How would you approach this 6^th grader’s legitimate interest in the first computer?  Which computer(s) should I/we focus on?  Best books or other resources (e.g. Ceruzzi’s Concise History) to help me and the sixth grader get the facts straight?   

Many thanks!

Eric Hintz

======================
Eric S. Hintz, Ph.D.
Historian, Lemelson Center for

   the Study of Invention and Innovation
National Museum of American History
Smithsonian Institution

MRC 604, P. O. Box 37012

Washington, DC 20013-7012
WORK: 202-633-3734
CELL: 610-717-7134

FAX: 202-633-4593
hintze@si.edu
http://invention.si.edu