BKCLSDWL.RVW   981114

"The Closed World", Paul N. Edwards, 1997, 0-262-55028-8, U$17.50
%A   Paul N. Edwards
%C   55 Hayward Street, Cambridge, MA   02142-1399
%D   1997
%G   0-262-55028-8
%I   MIT Press
%O   U$17.50 800-356-0343 fax: 617-625-6660 www-mitpress.mit.edu
%P   440 p.
%T   "The Closed World: Computers and the Politics of Disclosure in
      Cold War America"

In his recent general computer history (cf. BKHSMDCM.RVW), Cerruzi
notes that the American dominance of the computer industry is likely
due to contracts and support from the US government and military. 
Inevitably, such a single source impetus has to have some kind of
impact on the direction and shape both of the industry, and the
technology itself, although the specifics of that influence might be
difficult to determine.  In the current work, the author tries to
trace the leverage not only through the Cold War, but to a line
running through Western philosophy back to Plato (who, incidentally,
had a computer based training system, originally designed for the
military, named after him).

It is instructive, before looking at the book itself, to examine
Edward's "closed world" term.  This phrase comes from literary, and
particularly theatrical, criticism.  A closed world centres on some
form of conflict, and all activity concentrates on, or relates to, the
conflict itself.  Hence a play like Hamlet, where every action and
every line spoken feeds back to the fight between Hamlet and his
uncle, and seemingly disparate events are generally attempts to
control the battle.  In opposition to closed world dramas, another
type is the green world play, which is characterized by magic.  Magic
(except in our modern fantasy derivations from science fiction, and
that would make a fascinating exploration some other time) is
essentially uncontrollable.

Chapter one outlines two general themes: that of the rampant paranoia
of the Cold War, in which the US tried to contain and control the
threat of communism; and the cyborg, the ultimate outgrowth of factory
time and motion studies, in which the outcome of both production and
the battleground can be predicted and controlled.  Most of this
chapter is spent outlining various philosophical concepts and
developments.  The early post war development of computers, a massive
military investment in research and development, and the initial
superiority of analogue computers over digital ones is reviewed in
chapter two.  Chapter three describes SAGE as the original of the
various command and control technologies, but does little to relate
this to computer development overall.  This is extended through the
sixties in chapter four, and although neither chapter serves to
indicate how these events influenced computer design as such, chapter
four does indicate the increasing technocratic orientation of American
business management theories, and the utter failure of the first real
command and control attempt in Vietnam.  Chapter five is an interlude
examining the metaphors used to think about computers, and how that
affects the perception of them.  The emergence of cybernetic or
cognitive psychology as an identifiable field of study is related in
chapter six.  Chapter seven reviews the third "C" in military
management; communications; and attempts to relate it to the emergence
of cognitive science.  Artificial intelligence gets covered in chapter
eight with a heavy emphasis on programming language development. 
Chapter nine reviews the large scale military technology plans of the
1980s, particularly the Strategic Defense Initiative (alias "Star
Wars"), involving a number of the technologies developed to date.  The
book comes, in a sense, full circle in chapter ten by returning to the
world of theatre and fiction to look at attitudes towards technology
and computers.  An epilogue echoes this, looking first at recent
history, and then at a "green world ascendant" interpretation of the
movie "Terminator 2."

Edwards' thesis is interesting.  His historical recounting brings
forward a number of events and links that are generally not included
in previous mainstream computer histories.  However, his analysis and
presentation may not be fully convincing.  The influence of society on
technology, and technology on society, cannot be doubted, and should
be considered more often than it is, but I question how much of
Edwards' view is either real or valuable.

copyright Robert M. Slade, 1998   BKCLSDWL.RVW   981114