Book Description

Then, Now, and Beyond is a book of essays by members of the MIT Class of 1964 written on the occasion of their 55th reunion. It is about how the world has changed since they entered MIT in 1960. The essays are a blend of history and biography written by those who led, participated, or observed the unfolding events in many disciplines, not just science and engineering. The essays cover 1960 through 2019, and for some a view of what the future might hold.The late fifties and sixties were times of significant change - social, cultural, and technological. We had the good fortune of being drawn together from many places, spending time together, and then being blasted out into the real world - to amass experiences and to evolve beliefs and views of what the world (big and small) might be like for our grandchildren. That's what this book is about.Lots of people before us have written about: the way things were, or the history of "X," of the future of "Y." What we capture in these essays is a sense of the people of our times, change as we saw it unfold and our belief as to its future impact. The essays are about hobbies, politics, culture, business, science and technology."Then" is the late 50's early 60's. We took exams with your "slip stick" (slide rule) and often you could bring anything into an exam except another person. Telecommunications was often teletype and computer input was punched cards and paper tape. Computers were big and not very powerful - such as the IBM 709, 7090, 7094, TX-0, or PDP-1. You waited your turn for the main frame much as a supplicant to the gods. Then there was MIT Project MAC (Mathematics and Computation) which introduced timesharing. "Now" is well NOW. Computers abound - they wait on our wanting to use them and applications get written with stuff you don't need to prove you need an update and a faster machine. More power in a tiny device than existed in a room full in 1964. Wi-Fi antennas abound. The Internet has a lot of information including, old stuff about our undergraduate days, where we now live, what we do, meetings we go to, etc. etc. Would George Orwell, author of "1984," have recognized the "New privacy?"And "Beyond" is in the offing - much like what a landlubber sees when she stares toward the horizon and sees the ships going to far off places. It's where predictions of the future don't necessarily come true, but that is hardly a reason not to predict.Authors: Jim Allen, Bob Blumberg, Robert Colvin, Ron Gilman, Bob Gray, Conrad Grundlehner, Leon Kaatz, Jim Lerner, Paul Lubin, John Meriwether, Jim Monk, Lita Nelsen, Bob Popadic, David Saul, Tom Seay, David Sheena, Don Stewart, Bob Weggel, and Warren Wiscombe.Essay TopicsArts and CultureThen and Now - Did our world get better? Maybe yes. - David SheenaIt Was Different Then - Especially for Women - Lita NelsenCoeducation at MIT - Bob GrayBusinessHow Technology Has Changed the Law - Ron GilmanTechnology Comes to Shopping - Conrad GrundlehnerChecks are Going Away and Have Been for a Long Time - Bob PopadicScience and TechnologyMoonshot - David SaulThe Journey of an Aeronomer - John MeriwetherHalf a Century of Medicine - Robert ColvinAnalog to Digital - Close Up View - Don StewartFrom Pong to PCs - Jim AllenHow Electronics Changed since Graduation - A Compression of Space and Time - Bob BlumbergFrom Aeronautics Student to Citizen Lobbyist - Jim LernerReflections on Energy - Jim MonkMy Personal Odyssey in Climate Science - Warren WiscombeNuclear Deterrence and Satellite Communications - Thomas Seay My Many Years With Magnets - Bob WeggelThe Evolution of Instant Photography - Paul Lubin RecreationAmateur Photography and Cinematography - Bob Popadic How Small Boat Costal Navigation Has Changed - Bob Popadic Ice Climbing and Technology- Leon Kaatz