Final Essay 3

Alex Smith

Professor Kerr

EN 101-23

October 22, 2011

Changing the world one computer at a time

                Humans are animals of simplicity. People have always searched for a simpler way to complete a task, and today those people are often called engineers. The drive to make life simpler has had a huge impact from computers in the last fifty years.  Specifically, computer engineers have created answers to peoples’ demands for simplicity.  Using the computer, engineers have developed additional technology, and they continue to use computers in their research.

                Computers created a solid stepping stone for technology, but even that stone has been continuously modified since its creation.  Since the first programmable computer, the Z1, 1936, to the first personal computer in 1974, and all the way up to the present, computers have been a work in progress (“Inventors”). The age of the computer has grown tremendously.  Now, almost everything is either made by, or involved with computers (“Impact”). Richard L. Marcus, Northwestern University Law, states that “Computer enthusiasts like to claim that they have changed the world, and it is hard to deny that computers have had a significant impact” (Richard L. Marcus). Computers have impacted, and are impacting many different fields including business, entertainment, education, medical, and many others (“Impact”).

                Developed from computers, the internet, created a whole new realm. Ed. Judith S. Baughman, Victor Bondi, Richard Laymen, Tandy Mconnell, and Vincet Tompkins believe “the internet and the world wide web created a whole new digital culture” (“The Internet”).The internet started as only two computers, connected through a telephone line, as an experiment hosted by the government to make two computers operate as one unit (“The Internet”). Now those two computers have expanded to almost every computer in the world, creating many opportunities. Businesses were made and became multibillion dollar companies, all because of the internet, companies including Yahoo and Amazon (“The internet”). Neither of those two companies would even exist if the internet was not established. Unfortunately, however, the internet is not 100% safe. There are about 300 million internet users, and about one million are guilty of cyber-crime (“Computer Crime”).  This is not to say that all of these crimes are harmful, but some are very threatening, including millions of stolen dollars and priceless government information (“Computer Crime”). Overall the internet has many advantages, one of which is its access to information which aids one’s ability to do research.

                Research allows for known knowledge to be regurgitated and expanded upon, creating new and improved technology or knowledge. Medicine is an important field that humans constantly depend on. Seth, a Medical College graduate student and from KEM Hospital, states that “The internet, due to the recent upsurge in its penetration and the plethora of information available, has the potential for unparalleled impact on the way research can be conducted” (“Revolutionizing”). Thanks to the internet and computers, the medical field can now more efficiently distribute medicines, file and examine records, and perform observational studies (“Medical”). Some of these improvements came in the form of a completely new design - an invention. Sir Godfrey Hounsfield created a device that can look inside peoples bodies and give a three dimensional picture of that person’s skeleton - the x-ray machine “Godfrey”. Godfrey used computers to create his machine that is now used commonly in the medical world.

                The development of the computer was an invention that molded its way in society. Computers went from being a calculator, to mathematician’s use, to business use, and now to common personal use (“Inventors”). Computers have had a huge impact on humanity, and it all developed from people trying to make math simpler.  As the abacus gave way to the slide rule, the slide rule yielded to the hand held calculator and the calculator to the computer.  Problems that once took hours to work out are now computed in fractions of a second.  The advancement of computers has taken us from Copernicus and his early discovery of the  rotation of the planets and their revolutions about the sun to NASA’s ability to compute trajectory and thrust of spacecraft so accurately that it is possible to now land and explore the celestial bodies that Copernicus could only observe.  Anyone with a personal computer and internet access can view images from space more clearly than Copernicus could have ever imagined.

                Most people could not imagine a world without computers and everything that the engineers who design and develop them have brought to our world today.  We use computers to get the most accurate weather, to communicate with others, to do research for personal and professional use, to design buildings, to play games and to shop.  Computers have allowed millions of people to explore more, learn more and accomplish more in a day than people of a generation ago could accomplish in a week.

Work Cited

  “Computer Crime”        "Computer Crime." Gale Encyclopedia of E-Commerce. Ed. Jane A. Malonis. Vol. 1. Detroit: Gale, 2002. 144-148. Gale Virtual Reference Library. Web. 24 Oct. 2011.

“Godfrey”           "Godfrey Hounsfield." Encyclopedia of World Biography. 2nd ed. Vol. 7. Detroit: Gale, 2004. 517-519. Gale Virtual Reference Library. Web. 24 Oct. 2011.               

“Inventors”        "The History of Computers - Computer History Timeline." Inventors. Web. 23 Oct. 2011. <http://inventors.about.com/library/blcoindex.htm>.

“Impact”              "The Impact of Computers." The Impact of Computers. Web. <http://tatooine.fortunecity.com/vonnegut/320/history.htm>.

“Medical”            "Medical Informatics for Better and Safer Health Care." Agency for Healthcare Research and Quality (AHRQ) Home. Web. 24 Oct. 2011. <http://www.ahrq.gov/data/informatics/informatria.htm>.

“Revolutionizing”             Seth. "The Internet: Revolutionizing Medical Research for Novices and Virtuosos Alike Jethwani KS, Chandwani HS - J Postgrad Med." Journal of Postgraduate Medicine: Free Full Text Articles from JPGM, India. Web. 25 Oct. 2011. <http://www.jpgmonline.com/article.asp?issn=0022-3859;year=2008;volume=54;issue=1;spage=49;epage=51;aulast=Jethwani>.

“Richard L. Marcus”         Marcus, Richard L. "The Impact of Computers on the Legal Profession: Evolution or Revolution." Web. <http://www.law.northwestern.edu/lawreview/v102/n4/1827/LR102n4Marcus.pdf>.

“The Internet”  "The Internet." American Decades. Ed. Judith S. Baughman, et al. Vol. 10: 1990-1999. Detroit: Gale, 2001. Gale Virtual Reference Library. Web. 24 Oct. 2011.