Dave Barry (a humorist, so those who take life too seriously need not
apply) has written a 14-part essay called "A brief history of computing".

Depending on YOUR experiences, you will either laugh or cry as you read
this material.

He begins with the basics: Mathematics.  Here is the very first paragraph:


  Early Mathematics

  The first human beings didn't need computers,
  because they had no numbers. This was a big
  problem for parents, because they had no way to
  control their children ("You kids stop that! I mean
  it! I'm going to count to. . . um. . . to. . . YOU
  KIDS STOP THAT!").




For the first installment (from which you can link to the others), point
your web browser to:

  http://www.yil.com/yil/dbarry/db960903.html


Hmmm...  I just noticed that this URL uses a non-millennium-compliant date
code (the six-digit "960903").  I wonder whether Dave Barry will address
the whole year-2000 fiasco as a fitting close to 20th-century technology
short-sightedness :-)

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