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"I was wholly addicted to watching Kojack, for as long as it was on television."
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![]() Computers are young; the first working computer systems were created only a half-century ago. When information management systems are implemented in real work environments, like hospitals, the first problem is - what do we enter into the system? Think of all of the information that is passed around in notes, written by hand in patient charts, x-ray films and so forth. Now, imagine what would it be like to have the many different tidbits of data (in every conceivable format, as technologies improved and varied) entered over the course of tens of millenia to sort through! At this point in the novel, Taraza needs to check the records of the ancestry of particular individuals; the Bene Gesserit kept records of key bloodlines going back 300 generations and more.
Information management systems are as old as human bureaucracies; the ancient Egyptians had elaborate methods of ensuring that essential information (mostly related to taxes and land use) were kept from year to year. The "operating system" for information management was a whole social class; the scribes who could create and read the records. I also enjoyed this little tidbit from the Bene Gesserit archives: Bureaucracy destroys initiative. There is little that bureaucrats hate more than innovation, especially innovation that produces better results than the old routines. Improvements always make those at the top of the heap look inept. Who enjoys appearing inept? Comment/Join this discussion ( 0 ) | RSS/XML | Blog This | Additional
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Science Fiction
Timeline
Sleep Pods At Daxing International Airport
'Do not waste your priceless company on the unappreciative folds of a sleep pod...'
Robot Baristas Learn Their Trade Without Paying Royalties
'...so we've promised him a generous pension from the royalties.'
JAXA Int Ball 2 Coming Right Along As Star Wars Remote
'Hocus-pocus religions and archaic weapons are no substitute for a good blaster at your side.'
Robot Bricklayer Or Passer-By Bricklayer?
'Oscar picked up a trowel. 'I'm the tool for the mortar,' the little trowel squeaked cheerfully.'
Robot Gas Station Attendant Pumps Gas For You
'... he waited for the robotrix attendant to finish fueling up his ship.'
Engineer Creates Crazy Motorized Track Hospital Bed
The Roujin Z system provides care to fully bedridden patients - and then some!
Tiny Flying Robot Weighs Just One Gram
'Aerostat meant anything that hung in the air. This was an easy trick to pull off nowadays.'
Some Ringworld Configurations Are Stable
'The Ringworld had no horizon. There was no line where the land curved away from the sky.'
TRANSFORM Dynamic Furniture Concept Becomes What You Need
'An adjustment panel outside the door would cause it to extrude various appurtenances in memory plastic...'
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