COMPUTIN FOR ORDINAR MORTALS Y ROBERT ST. AMANADVANCE PRAISE FOR (COMPUTING FOR ORDINARY MORTALS his book reminded me why | got into computing in the first place. It's a stunning tale 's with nascent computers from the 1800s and ends with some of the wonders of our puter graphics, artificial intelligence, and the Internet. Sucna story could be impen- ut Professor St, Amant explains the arcana of computing with real-world stories and ‘that will be accessible to everyone.” JOE MARKS, former Vice President & Fellow, Disney Research ol and college students take the same required courses as their parents did, as if nation Age hadn't happened. Mathematics is considered essential for all students, utation, which runs the madern world and affects every aspect of our lives, is not. ave and skillful enough to explain the technology of the Information Age? Rob St. yondectul Computing for Ordinary Mortals tells us how computers and software work, support large applications and industries, what's theoretically possible, and the Interface between humans and machines.” PAUL R. COHEN, Professor and Director, School of information: Science, Technology and Arts, University of Arizona should be required for all high school students or university freshman. Too often literacy’ means little more than the ability to create a Power Point presentation or yeb. Meanwhile computers are pervasive in work, school, and home settings—not n our mobile phones. Whether you want to be a knowledgeable worker, an empow- sumer, oF productive hobbyist, having @ good intuition for the inner workings of s will ease your fears and frustrations while guiding your actions along the way. penning a dry textbook full of technical deta, St. Amantrelies on metaphors and om working in a bustling workplace (computer architecture), tending hiking trails 20ry], planning renovations {algorithms|, to running a family reunion (multi-tasking). < will recognize many favorite computer metaphors: pneumatic tubes {networking}, rogramming], and puzzles (Al). The end result is a comprehensive and engaging on to modern computing.” ELIZABETH MYNATT, Executive Director, Institute for People and Technology, Professor, School of Interactive Computing, Georgia Institute of Technology “ORD ISBN 978-0-19-977530-9 SITY PRESS 20000 7 | s ?