What do a sandwich, a saxophone, and the Heimlich maneuver all have in common?
Subject: Invention - Mouse
Event: Patent issued for first computer mouse, 1970
On this day in 1970, a patent was issued for the first computer mouse.
The invention of the mouse is credited to Douglas Engelbart, who created what he called an “X-Y position indicator for a display system” in 1964 while working for the Stanford Research Institute. His invention, a wooden shell with two metal wheels, was called a “mouse” while it was being developed in the lab because its cord resembled a mouse’s tail. In 1970, a decade before personal computers went on the market, there was little application for such a device. It would be ten more years before someone stepped up to take the mouse to the big time.
In early 1980 Apple co-founder Steve Jobs visited Xerox’s Palo Alto Research Center (PARC) where he saw a computer called the Alto. The Alto operated with a graphical user interface that used icons and a handheld input device called a mouse. The problem, however, was that the Alto’s mouse was primitive and would cost $400 to manufacture. To solve this problem, Jobs turned to an industrial design firm called Hovey-Kelley Design and challenged them to not only improve the durability and efficiency of the Xerox mouse, but also to reduce the cost from $400 to $35. Hovey-Kelley took the challenge, and miraculously they succeeded. In 1983, the Apple Lisa, the first personal computer to offer a graphic user interface, appeared on the market.
At a price of almost $10,000, the Lisa was not a commercial success, but Apple rebounded one year later with the Macintosh 128K. Like the Lisa, the Macintosh had a single-button mouse. The Macintosh and its graphic user interface revolutionized personal computing.
With the popularity of Microsoft Windows in the 1990s, the mouse became what it is today: ubiquitous (1).
Another interesting invention that we might remember today is the Mobius strip, named for its inventor the German mathematician and astronomer August Mobius, who was born on this day in 1790. To construct a Mobius strip, take a rectangular piece of paper, give one end of the paper a half twist, and tape the two together. If you construct your strip correctly, it should have only one continuous side.
Recall, Retrieve, Recite, Ruminate, Reflect, Reason: Although the computer mouse was invented in 1964, it didn’t become popular until the 1980s. What caused its surge in popularity?
Challenge - What’s in Name?: Because a Mobius strip is named after its inventor, August Mobius, it is known as an “eponymous invention.” Eponymous means, “a thing named after a particular person.” Do some research on other eponymous inventions, such as the sandwich, the saxophone, or the Salsbury steak. Find one invention that you find interesting, and tell the story of the person behind the invention.
ALSO ON THIS DAY:
November 17, 2020: On this day, neuroscientist Lisa Feldman Barrett published her book Seven and a Half Lessons About the Brain. In her book, Barrett makes a counterargument to the usual idea that the brain evolved to provide humans with the capacity for reasoned thought:
It’s not rationality. Not emotion. Not imagination, or creativity, or empathy. Your brain’s most important job is to control your body -- to manage allostasis -- by predicting energy needs before they arise so you can efficiently make worthwhile movements and survive. Your brain continually invests energy in the hopes of earning a good return, such as food, shelter, affection, or physical protection, so you can perform nature’s most vital task: passing your genes to the next generation.
Sources:
1-Pang, Alex Soojung-Kim. Mighty Mouse. Stanford Alumni March/April 2002.
2-Barrett, Lisa Feldman. Seven and a Half Lessons About the Brain. New York: Mariner Books, 2020: 10.
.jpg)
No comments:
Post a Comment