08 - The Information Age Begins

Engineering and Society:
The Information Age Begins
Dr. Gershon Weltman

Engineering 183EW, UCLA SEAS
Lecture 8
Copyright Gershon Weltman, 2015
Technology Timeline
1950
1960
1970
1980
1990
2000
Car Production
Consumer Products
Infrastructure
Korean
KoreanWar
War Vietnam
VietnamWar
War
Network Television
Commercial Jets
Atomic Energy
Electronic Computing
Space Satellites
Key Elements
Tract Housing
Highway Infrastructure
Consumer Products
Television sets
Electric appliances
Transistor radios
Automobile Manufacture
Interstate highways
Urban freeways
Rise of the suburbs
Ford, GM, Chrysler, Others

Steel & aluminum production
Airline Transportation
Network Television: The Promise Fulfilled
Public Forum
Entertainment for All
Good Drama & Comedy

New Sports and Pageants
Old Soaps and Schlock
Advertisers Paradise
Newly Interconnected World
Political Conventions
Political Commentary
Daily News
Real time, real life

Everybody seeing the same thing
Seeing is believing
Television is Real-Time
Joe Adonis watches Costello's
Kathyhands,
Fiscus Trapped
Life 1951/04/06
April, 1949
Senators O'Conor, Kefauver, counsel Rudy Halley, Life 1951/04/06

Kefauver Hearings
Carey Estes Kefauver was chairman of the Special Committee on Organized Crime in Interstate Commerce, referred
to as the "Kefauver Committee." He was a Democrat from Tennessee who had been elected to the House 1939-49,
and would serve in the Senate 1949-63. The hearings began in May 1950 and lasted for 15 months, held sessions in
14 cities, and questioned 800 witnesses. It was not the first congressional committee to be televised, but it was the
first to attract a large audience. Although few homes owned TVs in 1950-51, many people were able to watch in bars
and restaurants and businesses.
and Everyone is Watching

People watch TV on sidewalks
in front of electronics stores
The TV set becomes the new

focus of family life
Television
Televisionisisthe
thenext
nextsocietal
societal
progression
of
communications
progression of communications
from
fromoral,
oral,printing,
printing,and
andradio
radio
Technical Milestones
IBM 701 Mainframe, 1952
Thomas Watson, Sr. (seated,) the CEO of IBM,

using the IBM 701 computer, the company's
first fully electronic model. This computer had
the ability to read/write magnetic tape, but at
this stage it still relied mainly on punched cards
for I/O. Nineteen 701s were installed during its
3 year lifespan at a lease rate of about $15,000
per month. Many more 700s were to follow.
History changed on October 4, 1957, when

the Soviet Union successfully launched
Sputnik I. The world's first artificial satellite
was about the size of a basketball, weighed
only 183 pounds, and took about 98 minutes
to orbit the Earth on its elliptical path.
Sputnik I Satellite, 1957
Key Science-Based Technologies
Atomic Energy
Atomic power: Unbounded electricity, radioactive waste

H-bomb development: Escalated Balance of Terror
Main frames: Punched card input, batch processing
Semi-conductor components: Diodes, transistors
Distributed computers: Stand alone minis
Space Satellites
Sputnik as Wake-up Call to U.S.A.

The Space Race Begins
Socio-Technical Fallout:
Humans become space travelers
Instrumentation gets miniaturized

1st Transistor, 1947
Math and Science dominate education, vocational training suffers
Postwar Design I: The Jet Aesthetic
Jet Car Design.

1950
Ford
1957
Thunderbird
10
and Auto Exuberance
11
Postwar Design II: The Space Age

Googies Coffee Shop, Sunset Strip
Los Angeles gives Googie

to the Western World
12
Bauhaus Evolves to the International Style
Richard Neutra house, Silverlake, Los Angeles www.laokay.com/RichardDionNeutra.htm

13
Modernism Evolves: Plastic and Mushrooms
Chemosphere House
John Lautner 1960
Monsanto House of the Future, Disneyland, 1957
14
..and the All-Electric Kitchen of the Future
Marketing
Marketingtries
triesto
toturn
turnRosie
Rosiethe
theRiveter
Riveterinto
intoaaHomemaker-Manager.
Homemaker-Manager.
But
Butthings
thingsdont
donthappen
happenthat
thatway,
way,for
formany
manyreasons.
reasons.
RCA/Whirlpool Miracle Kitchen, 1957
15
Two Other Postwar Inventions
1960s Coffeehouses: Folk Music

and Revolutionary Ideas
1950s Teenagers: Americas New Consumers

http://studentweb.providence.edu; http://www.sohoblues.com
16
1950s Futurism: The Jetsons c. 2050
Advanced technology
Push button world

Flying cars
Robot helpers
Video everywhere
Space age clothing

3-hr work days
Conservative values
Breadwinner husband
Stay-at-home mom
All white family and
neighbors
Soon to be challenged!
17
Reactions: Sociology & Literature
1949 Arthur Miller, Death of a Salesman
1950 George Orwell, 1984
The costs of security and high living standard
1958 John Kenneth Galbraith, The Affluent Society
Other-directed vs. inner-directed character
1957 William Whyte, Jr., The Organization Man
Mass movements and fanaticism
1953 David Riesman et al, The Lonely Crowd
Technical totalitarianism Big Brother is watching you.
1951 Eric Hoffer, The True Believer
Personal America ends, technological America begins
The economics and societal effects of opulence
1959 Vance Packard, The Status Seekers
Consumerism, occupation and class in the new America
18
Reactions: Coffeehouse Satire & Cynicism

Mort Sahl
Jules Feiffer
"I'm totally corrupted. I mean, really. My whole act, my whole economic

success, whatever that is, is based solely on the existence of segregation,
violence, despair, disease and injustice. And if by some miracle, the whole
world would suddenly tranquilize, be pured, I would be standing in an
unemployment line somewhere. So you see, I'm not a moralist."
19
Reactions: Civil Rights
Rev. Martin Luther King, Jr.
March on Washington for Jobs and

Freedom; August 28, 1963,
20
Reactions: Womens Rights
The
TheCivil
CivilRights
RightsAct
Actof
of1964
1964made
madeillegal
illegalracial
racialsegregation
segregationand
and
discrimination
discriminationBased
Basedon
onrace,
race,color,
color,religion,
religion,sex
sexor
ornational
nationalorigin.
origin.
The
TheVoting
VotingRights
RightsAct
Actof
of1965
1965prohibited
prohibitedracial
racialdiscrimination
discriminationinin
voting,
voting,and
andgave
gavethe
theGovernment
Governmentmeans
meansto
toenforce
enforcethe
theAct.
Act.
These
Thesesweeping
sweepingsocial
socialchanges
changeswere
werenot
notwithout
withoutviolent
violentreaction.
reaction.
Dick Gregory, Betty Friedan and Gloria Steinem march with Rep. Elizabeth Holtzman
21
Reactions: Political Assassinations
John Kennedy, Nov 1963
M.L. King,
Malcolm
X,April
Feb 1968
1965
Robert Kennedy, June 1968
22
Reactions: Anti-War and Free Speech
Mario Savio and the UC Berkeley

Free Speech Movement 1964
Abbie Hoffman and the Yippies
Anti War Demonstrations at the Chicago Democratic Convention 1968

23
A Turning Point
Kent
KentState
StateUniversity,
University,Ohio,
Ohio,May
May4,4,1970.
1970. Ohio
OhioNational
NationalGuard
GuardTroops
Troopsopen
open
fire
fireon
onwar-protesting
war-protestingstudents,
students,killing
killing4.4.The
TheUS
UStips
tipson
onits
itspower
poweraxis.
axis.
24
Reactions: The Effects of Technology
1962 Rachel Carson, Silent Spring
1965 Ralph Nader, Unsafe At Any Speed
Effects of chemical pollutants on natural ecosystems

Beginning of environmental activism
Corporate and engineering culpability in car accidents
Beginning of consumer activism
1967 Marshall McLuhan The Medium is the Message
Power of television and modern media

The Global Village, connectivity imagined
25
Reactions: The Effects of Technology
1962 Rachel Carson, Silent Spring
1965 Ralph Nader, Unsafe At Any Speed
Corporate and engineering culpability in car accidents

Beginning of consumer activism
1967 Marshall McLuhan The Medium is the Message
Effects of chemical pollutants on natural ecosystems

Beginning of environmental activism
Power of television and modern media

The Global Village, connectivity imagined
1968 Joe McGinnis, The Selling of the President
Lessons from the Kennedy-Nixon debate 1960

Politics and politicians as packaged products
Beginning of good hair, sound bites and voter apathy
26
U.S. Car Industry Challenged (55-90)

32
100
North America
0o
1955
1990
0o
Japan
1955
1990
Japan
Japanisisclearly
clearlydoing
doingsomething
somethingright.
right. What
Whatisisit?
it?
27
Lean Production vs. Mass Production 1
Example
Elements of Lean Production
Meeting customer needs/desires

The factory as a total process
Emphasis on automation & robots
Coordinating the Supply Chain
Statistical Quality Control (W. E. Deming)
Bridging the management-labor gap
Sociological Effects
Change body panels dies

MP: skilled workers, 24 hours
LP: standard workers, 3 minutes
Outsourcing, off-shoring following labor costs

International manufacture new industrialized countries
De-unionization benefits, wages, security, power
Womack, J.P, et al, The Machine that Changed the World, Rawson Assoc. NY, 1990
28
U.S. Car Industry Begins to Respond
Unsafe at Any Speed (R. Nader)
Identifies built-in safety defects

Kills the Chevrolet Corvair
Blames uncaring auto industry:
engineers and management
Empowers consumer action
Institute of Transportation and

Traffic Engineering, UCLA SEAS
Corvair Rear Suspension, 64 & 65

c. 1955 Car Collision
Controlled and instrumented

collision of consumer vehicles
Use of anthropometric dummies
Dangers of unrestrained impact;
high G loads even at low speeds
Begins process of legislating seat
belts and car body collapsibility
29
Technology Timeline
1950
1960
Detroit Iron
1970
1980
1990
2000
Lasers & Fiber Optics
Infrastructure
Integrated Circuits
Agriculture
ARPANET
Consumer Products Dynamic RAM

Korean
KoreanWar
War Vietnam
VietnamWar
War
Network Television
Microprocessor
Commercial JetsMan on the Moon
Atomic Energy
Space Satellites
Ethernet
Personal Computers
Spreadsheet, WP
30
We Win the Space Race!
July 20, 1969. Neil Armstrong walks on the moon:

Thats one small step for man, one giant leap for mankind.
31
And the Information Revolution Speeds Up

The Whole Earth Catalog is created
by Stewart Brand in 1968 as a
modern, counterculture version of
the Sears Catalog. It lists machines,
tools, books, clothing and even
techniques but does not offer items
for sale.. only information.
Apple introduces the Macintosh in
1984 as the first personal computer
featuring a graphical user interface
and a mouse. It is targeted at the
home, education and professional
markets. Although overtaken by the
IBM PC in sales, it sets the standard
for easy-to-use personal computing.
32
Reactions to the Faster Pace
1979 Alvin Toffler

Future Shock
1989 Richard Saul Wurman
Information Anxiety
Commentators
Commentatorsexamine
examinethe
thesocietal
societaland
and
personal
personalimplications
implicationsof
ofthe
theinformation
information
revolution,
revolution,characterized
characterizedby
by rapid
rapid
changing
changingand
andextensive
extensivenew
newsources
sourcesof
of
data
dataand
andconsider
considerwhat
whatcan
canbe
bedone
doneto
to
achieve
achieveaasoft
softlanding
landingininaafuture
futureworld.
world.
33
Future Shock: Effects of Rapid Change
Keeping Up
Transience
Too many products, subcultures and lifestyles
Adaptability
Throw-away society, new nomads, modular man
Diversity
The accelerating pace of life, how to stay with it
Psychological and physical effects
Survival
Coping skills
Education for tomorrow
Taming technology
In
Inthe
thefuture,
future,everyone
everyonewill
willbe
befamous
famousfor
for15
15minutes.
minutes.
Andy
AndyWarhol,
Warhol,Artist,
Artist,c.1975
c.1975
34
Information Anxiety: Post-Explosion Stress

Wurmans Concerns:
The Non-Information Explosion
Language: Babel, Seduction, Content
Landmines in the Understanding Field
You Only Learn Relative to Something You Understand
Cultural Information: Personal Vision
The Map: Mankinds Ability to Perceive
Technomania: Information as Commodity
Prescription for Anxiety: Better Organization of Information
The
Theinformation
informationexplosion
explosionhas
hasbackfired,
backfired,leaving
leavingus
usinundated
inundated
with
withfacts
factsbut
butstarved
starvedfor
forinformation.
information. Richard
RichardSaul
SaulWurman
Wurman
35
Wurmans Accesstm Publications
Text
Textand
andpictures
picturesorganized
organizedininclear,
clear,geo-centered
geo-centeredgraphical
graphicalformats
formats
36
New Age Information Organization
Dar-el Mara Plan Map
3D Movie Map Narrated Tour

Information
Informationas
astext
textand
andpictures
picturesorganized
organizedby
bycomputer
computerpages
pagesand
andhyperlinks
hyperlinks
37
Technology Timeline
1950
1960
Detroit Iron
1970
1980
1990
Lasers & Fiber Optics
Personal Electronics
Integrated Circuits
Bioengineering
Infrastructure
Agriculture
ARPANET
Internet & WWW
Consumer Products Dynamic RAM

Korean
KoreanWar
War Vietnam
VietnamWar
War
Network Television
Microprocessor
Commercial Jets
Man on the Moon
Atomic Energy
Ethernet
Space Satellites
2000
Artificial Intelligence
Personal Computers
Spreadsheet, WP
38
The Cold War Ends
www.dantoc.net
www.mon-photo.com
In
In1989
1989the
thewall
wallseparating
separatingEast
Eastand
andWest
WestBerlin
Berlincame
camedown,
down,and
andthe
theSoviet
Soviet
Union
Unionwas
wasininthe
thefinal
finaldissolution
dissolutionprocess.
process. The
TheCold
ColdWar
Warwas
waseffectively
effectivelyover.
over.
39
Post-Modernism Begins
Habitat 67 Apartments, Moshe Safdie, Montreal, 1967
A
Ahouse
houseisisnot
notaamachine!
machine! Its
Itssomething
something
else
elsefor
forliving
livingbut
butnot
notaamachine.
machine.
Architects
Architectslike
likeme
megrew
grewout
outofofmodernism
modernism
and
andwe
weevolved
evolvedititfurther.
further.
Moshe
MosheSafdie,
Safdie,Architect
Architect
AT&T Building, Philip Johnson, NYC, 1984
40
and Continues
Jewish Museum, Daniel Libeskind, Berlin, 1992
Kauffman Center for the Performing Arts,

Moshe Safdie, Kansas City, 2011
The
Thecomputer
computerand
andmodern
modernmaterials
materials
technology
technologyhave
havegiven
givenarchitecture
architecture
the
theability
abilitytotoachieve
achievenew
newforms
formsand
and
totoexpress
expressnew
newfunctional
functionalvisions.
visions.
Disney Concert Hall, Frank Gehry, Los Angeles 1999
41
Societal Reactions: Starting to Get It
1981 Tracy Kidder, The Soul of a New Machine
1986 Alvin Toffler, The Third Wave
Growing up with electronic and online games
1998 Esther Dyson, Release 2.1
Geeks and others who built the ARPANET and the Internet
1996 J.C. Herz, Joystick Nation
Strategies for living in the digital future
1996 Katie Hafner, Where Wizards Stay Up Late
Information dominance as a source of power
1995 Nicholas Negroponte Being Digital
Computer engineering as a dramatic undertaking
Preparing for the dot com explosion
2000 Michael Lewis, The New New Thing
The technology investment bubble stretches to bursting
42
20th Century Summary
Revolutionary Progress.
The accelerating pace of change and acceptance
50 Million radio users

38 years
50 Million PC users
16 years
50 Million Internet users

4 years
Building new frameworks of reference
Balancing technologys expectations and realizations
.and Persistent Problems
A century of war and destruction
43
20th Century Wars

1900
1920
1940
World War I
1960
1980
2000
Iran-Iraq
World War II
Vietnam
Spain Civil
Afghanistan
China Civil
Russia Civil
Korea
Gulf War I
Estimated
EstimatedTotal
TotalMilitary
MilitaryDeaths
Deaths==Over
Over40
40Million!
Million!
Estimated
EstimatedTotal
TotalCivilian
CivilianDeaths
Deaths==Over
Over50
50Million!
Million!
44

38 years
50 Million PC users
16 years

4 years
Persistent Problems

No solutions to long-standing societal problems
45
Poverty in London (1905)
Jack London, People of the Abyss, 1902-5
46
Poverty in Los Angeles: 100+ Years Later!
47
Persistent Problems

No solutions to long standing societal problems
Anti-technology reactions

38 years
50 Million PC users
16 years

4 years
Technology as a malign force

Technology as creating more problems than it solves
Agnotologistics: Science of ignorance & false controversies
Pseudo-science & pseudo-technology
Real Society-Wide Issues -- Next Module
48
...and Perhaps Some 21st Century Hope

Sadism
Revenge
Dominance
Practical Violence
Ideological Violence
Inner Demons
Empathy
Morality
Reason
Self Control
Better Angels
InInhis
his2011
2011book,
book,author
authorSteven
StevenPinker
Pinkerargues
arguesstatistically
statisticallythat
thatthe
the
Better
BetterAngels
Angelsof
ofour
ourNature
Naturehave
havebeen
beenconquering
conqueringour
ourInner
InnerDemons
Demonsfor
for
centuries,
centuries,largely
largelyas
asaaresult
resultofofreason
reasonand
andscience
scienceand
andknowledge.
knowledge.
IfIftrue,
true,this
thisgives
givesus
usconsiderable
considerablehope
hopefor
forthe
thefuture.
future.
49

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Engineering and Society:

The Information Age Begins

Dr. Gershon Weltman

Copyright Gershon Weltman, 2015

Ford, GM, Chrysler, Others

Copyright Gershon Weltman, 2015

Network Television: The Promise Fulfilled

Entertainment for All

Good Drama & Comedy

Copyright Gershon Weltman, 2015

Real time, real life

Senators O'Conor, Kefauver, counsel Rudy Halley, Life 1951/04/06

Copyright Gershon Weltman, 2015

and Everyone is Watching

The TV set becomes the new

Thomas Watson, Sr. (seated,) the CEO of IBM,

Copyright Gershon Weltman, 2015

History changed on October 4, 1957, when

Sputnik I Satellite, 1957

Key Science-Based Technologies

Atomic power: Unbounded electricity, radioactive waste

Sputnik as Wake-up Call to U.S.A.

Humans become space travelers

Instrumentation gets miniaturized

Math and Science dominate education, vocational training suffers

Copyright Gershon Weltman, 2015

Postwar Design I: The Jet Aesthetic

Copyright Gershon Weltman, 2015

Jet Car Design.

and Auto Exuberance

Copyright Gershon Weltman, 2015

Postwar Design II: The Space Age

Los Angeles gives Googie

Bauhaus Evolves to the International Style

Richard Neutra house, Silverlake, Los Angeles www.laokay.com/RichardDionNeutra.htm

Modernism Evolves: Plastic and Mushrooms

..and the All-Electric Kitchen of the Future

RCA/Whirlpool Miracle Kitchen, 1957

Two Other Postwar Inventions

1960s Coffeehouses: Folk Music

1950s Teenagers: Americas New Consumers

1950s Futurism: The Jetsons c. 2050

Push button world

Space age clothing

Copyright Gershon Weltman, 2015

Reactions: Sociology & Literature

1949 Arthur Miller, Death of a Salesman

1950 George Orwell, 1984

The costs of security and high living standard

1958 John Kenneth Galbraith, The Affluent Society

Other-directed vs. inner-directed character

1957 William Whyte, Jr., The Organization Man

Mass movements and fanaticism

1953 David Riesman et al, The Lonely Crowd

Technical totalitarianism Big Brother is watching you.

1951 Eric Hoffer, The True Believer

Personal America ends, technological America begins

The economics and societal effects of opulence

1959 Vance Packard, The Status Seekers

Consumerism, occupation and class in the new America

Copyright Gershon Weltman, 2015

Reactions: Coffeehouse Satire & Cynicism

"I'm totally corrupted. I mean, really. My whole act, my whole economic

Copyright Gershon Weltman, 2015