MACHINE BEAUTY: Elegance and the Heart of Technology

by David Gelernter ‧ RELEASE DATE: Feb. 11, 1998

The growth of the computer sciences has been spurred by a relentless search for beauty--or so argues this eminent Yale computer scientist. Gelernter (Drawing Life: Surviving the Unabomber, p. 1083; 1939: The Lost World of the Fair, 1995) recognizes that the nonscientist may not be able to regard a machine as beautiful. He defines machine beauty as a combination of simplicity and power--power in the ability to accomplish tasks. Good design and visual beauty are necessarily related, the author argues. The application of these concepts to computer science takes up most of the book. The conflicting aims of hardware and software designers are particularly crucial; a hardware designer has to build a practical, affordable machine that can reliably perform many different jobs. Yet a software designer, unencumbered by physical limitations, can spin fantastic webs of complexity, with no concern for the average user's machine. Mere calculation cannot resolve these conflicting aims, says Gelernter; rather, a sense of beauty is needed to produce something that will work. For example, the elegance and pragmatic ease of the original Macintosh's operating system made it attractive to software designers. But in the long run, the Mac lost. out to the decidedly ""uglier"" IBM platform. Gelernter's contention that the Mac's perceived ""cuteness"" failed to appeal to ""manly"" corporate buyers seems facile, although it does score the point that elegance may not actually be an asset in the world of big business. Gelernter goes on to examine the elegance of operating systems and algorithms. The rise of the desktop computer--the true basis of the computer revolution--gets a comprehensive exploration, and Gelernter discusses the impact of elegance in home software design. Provocative and full of quirky insights, this book takes a fascinating look at the broader questions raised by the machines that rule so much of our lives.

Pub Date: Feb. 11, 1998

ISBN: 046504316X

Page Count: 176

Publisher: Basic

Review Posted Online: N/A

Kirkus Reviews Issue: Dec. 1, 1997

Categories: NONFICTION