Title | The First Information Explosion. The Role of Punch Card Technology in the Office Rationalization in Germany, 1910-1939 |
Publication Type | Journal Article |
Year of Publication | 2017 |
Authors | Vahrenkamp, R |
Journal | Zeitschrift für Technikgeschichte |
Volume | 84 |
Issue | 3 |
Start Page | 209 |
Date Published | September 2017 |
Type of Article | Original |
Keywords | address machine, Bayer corporation, Dehomag, feminization, Heidinger, Hollerith, IBM, office mechanization, Powers, punch card, rationalization strategies, sorting machine, tabulating machine, type writer |
Abstract | I showed in my paper on punch card technology in Germany in the recent issue of the German journal Technikgeschichte how the introduction of punched cards induced the first information explosion in history. The concept of information explosion allows to explore further steps in the development of information technology. Today an autonomously driving car generates 1 terabyte of data each day. Does digital information technology reach a dead end? An English translation of my paper is available as my working paper of the History of Computing 1/2017. www.vahrenkamp.org/files/Punch_Cards_Vahrenkamp_WP1_2017.pdf |