Computers will be the greatest influence on human development in the next fifty years. I can only talk about the next fifty years because beyond that, the only constraints are the imagination.

Most people will agree that computers are already a major influence on their lives. However,most would disagree that computers are the biggest influence on their lives,but there is a lot of growing evidence to the contrary that even the most ardent skeptic cannot ignore.

The history of computers is very brief when compared to the rest of recorded history. The first form of a computer dates back to the abacus of ancient China and Babylon. There is still some dispute over who first invented it(Maxfield and Brown 41). Next was the Leonardo Da Vincis "machine" for arithmetic calculations (the credit is usually given to Blaise Pascal,but it was recently proven that Da Vincis was invention was a hundred fifty years earlier). Then there was Joseph-Marie Jacquards punchcards. Originally designed for silk looms ,the cards through later variation allowed the storage of programs for computers.

Next came Charles Babbage. He invented the first of what we might today c

we can see how he showed that mathematician George Booles concepts of true and false could be used to represent the functions of switches in electronic circuits. Shannon's thesis has been called the most important masters thesis of the twentieth century by many leading scientists. To understand why this is felt, know that electronics engineers still use these techniques as a cornerstone for their design of electronic circuits today.

These influences will leave no corner of human existence untouched. Legal, ethical,religious, and

As it stands,the internet is arguably the computers greatest application. This may change in the next thirty years with the emergence of AI ,or Artificial Intelligence, but the internet will continue to have lasting effects in some form or another for a very long time to come.

As with most things in life people will willingly ,or unconsciously,give up their privacy,civil rights,compromise their ethics, and surrender other liberties for ease and comfort in life. We will not,or do not,think about how much control we will be under as long as we can cook our pizza two minutes faster. People will gladly let themselves be influenced and controlled in exchange for more leisure time,or faster performance of a given task without thinking of the long-term ramifications on society or themselves.

Some topics in this essay:
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