OK, so it’s neither easy nor important to remember genuine trivia, such as the derivation of the names “ARPANET” and “Altair.” That part of the quiz was strictly for fun.
But really, folks, a whole bunch of you thought that vacuum tubes–the basis of electronics–existed in the 18TH CENTURY? How do you explain the fact that radio–the first electronic technology–wasn’t invented until more than 100 years later? Or did you think that Paul Revere went on his famous midnight ride because hisbatteries were dead and the drugstores were closed, so he couldn’t warn the colonists that “The British Are Coming” on his WALKIE-TALKIE?
And RAM–random access memory? That would have been a real boon to the factories of the 1700’s, which were powered by steam engines and illuminated by torches.
Do the names Thomas Edison and Enrico Fermi ring any bells–the people who took electricity out of the laboratory and tamed it for use in practical devices and appliances? Just a little over ahundred years ago?
The results of this test are really scary! It’s hard to believe that just one generation ago people in our profession were often respectfully called “computer scientists.”
American schools desperately need to put both science and history back in the curriculum.
