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Cyhist Jul 3 1996 D
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Date: Wed, 3 Jul 1996 23:11:42 -0700
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From: Scott Sibbald To: "Multiple recipients of list cpsr-history@cpsr.org" Subject: CM> Origins of the word "ghost in the machine."
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Sender: Scott Sibbald Subject:
>Sarah Stein writes
>
> Can anyone tell me the origins and meaning of the phrase "ghost in the
machine," as well as some >history of its usage?
Not sure about this, but it seems like a corruption of the old term "god in
the machine", or in Latin, "deus ex machina", which, according to my
handy-dandy Microsoft Bookshelf, means:
1. In Greek and Roman drama, a god lowered by stage machinery
to resolve a plot or extricate the protagonist from a difficult situation.
2. An unexpected, artificial, or improbable character, device, or event
introduced suddenly in a work of fiction or drama to resolve a situation or
untangle a plot.
3. A person or event that provides a sudden and unexpected solution to a
difficulty.
[New Latin deus ex machin=E2 : deus, god + ex, from + machina, machine
(translation of Greek theos apo m=EAkhan=EAs).]
The American Heritage=AE Dictionary of the English Language, Third Edition
copyright =A9 1992 by Houghton Mifflin Company. Electronic version licensed
from InfoSoft International, Inc. All rights reserved.
To me, computers certainly seem to answer to both definitions #2 and #3. If
I stop and think about the advances that have come just since I started
dealing with computers in the late 70's, it boggles. I wantone of those
$100 Rolls Royces that runs forever on $10 worth of gas a year...
Scott
______________________________________________________________________
Reply-To: cpsr-history@Sunnyside.COM
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From: Scott Sibbald To: "Multiple recipients of list cpsr-history@cpsr.org" Subject: CM> Origins of the word "ghost in the machine."
X-Listprocessor-Version: 9.1 -- List Server by Sunnyside Computing, Inc.
X-Comment: Discussion of history of computing
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Sender: Scott Sibbald Subject:
>Sarah Stein writes
>
> Can anyone tell me the origins and meaning of the phrase "ghost in the
machine," as well as some >history of its usage?
Not sure about this, but it seems like a corruption of the old term "god in
the machine", or in Latin, "deus ex machina", which, according to my
handy-dandy Microsoft Bookshelf, means:
1. In Greek and Roman drama, a god lowered by stage machinery
to resolve a plot or extricate the protagonist from a difficult situation.
2. An unexpected, artificial, or improbable character, device, or event
introduced suddenly in a work of fiction or drama to resolve a situation or
untangle a plot.
3. A person or event that provides a sudden and unexpected solution to a
difficulty.
[New Latin deus ex machin=E2 : deus, god + ex, from + machina, machine
(translation of Greek theos apo m=EAkhan=EAs).]
The American Heritage=AE Dictionary of the English Language, Third Edition
copyright =A9 1992 by Houghton Mifflin Company. Electronic version licensed
from InfoSoft International, Inc. All rights reserved.
To me, computers certainly seem to answer to both definitions #2 and #3. If
I stop and think about the advances that have come just since I started
dealing with computers in the late 70's, it boggles. I wantone of those
$100 Rolls Royces that runs forever on $10 worth of gas a year...
Scott
______________________________________________________________________
