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1 of 1 people found the following review helpful:
5.0 out of 5 stars
Important book about the role of computers in our culture, 10 Jan 1997
By A Customer
This remains one of the best books about the role
of computers in our society, dealing with such
topics as:
(1) How computers, by doing clerical work faster
than human clerks, have enabled established bureaucratic
structures to endure, and therefore the "computer
revolution" has really
been a powerful conservative/reactionary social process.
(2) How huge incomprehensible computer systems come
to tyrannize people (both end users and
maintenance programmers) into submitting to the systems'
irrational behavior, because the known problems cannot be
fixed without risk of making things even worse.
(3) The social responsibility of
technical workers, who generally are myopically focused
on "efficiently" doing whatever they do, without
being concerned about *what* should be being done
and whether what *they* are working on is something which
should be done differently or not be done at all.
This book should be *must* reading for all computer
programmers, computer "scientists", et al., to help
them begin
to think more about the social context of technology,
and begin to aspire to *wisdom* and *responsibility*
commensurate with the social impact of their work.
"Computer Power and Human Reason"
is also well written to be understandable by
lay persons. A wide range of readers
should find it enjoyable,
interesting and thought-provoking.
Thus it can help "Everyman" understand
better the role of computers in our lives.
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