About nerd1951 Site Name
Nerd
Nerd is defined in online dictionaries as:
- A technically bright but socially inept person
- A person who is more interested in pursuing intellectual interests than in keeping up with trends in fashion
Nerds Circa 1970
By these definitions, I was a nerd long before the term came into general usage. In high school, my friends and I could always be found hanging around the physics class room or the library. I haven’t changed much since then, except that now I can play with computers all day and get paid for it.
The year, 1951
1951 was the year that the computer industry was born. On June 14, 1951 the worlds first comerciallyavailable electronic computer, the Univac I was delivered to the United States Census Bureau.
Univac 1 at the Cenus Bureau 1951
The Univac I went on to accomplish many “firsts” in computing. In 1953, CBS used a Univac I computer to predict the results of the presidential election. At 8:30 P.M. Eastern time, on the basis of less than 1% of the vote, the computer’s program predicted Eisenhower’s victory by a wide margin contrary to the opinion of many pundits.
Much of Admiral Grace Hopper’s pioneering work, developing high-level programming languages, was done using a Univac I computer.
In all, forty six Univac I’s were produced. Many were kept in service for a long time. The last Univac I was not retired until 1970.
And I assumed it was because you were born in 1951. I didn’t think you were actually that old.
Comment by Brian Carlton — November 27, 2007 @ 9:31 am