Hacker Cinema
Whiz Kids
1983 · TV series · 60 min episodes · 1 season
Created by Philip DeGuere Jr., Bob Shayne
The premise follows four high school tenth-graders, who use their sophisticated knowledge of computers to become amateur detectives, solving crimes and bringing perpetrators to justice.
1 negative3 neutralfrom 4 commenters
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4 comments on Hacker News
OK, now that I'm actually awake, I'll try to finish answering per the OP's request:
Briefly mention the reason for the attribution. Or in other words write your heart out about why you love your field and why you love "the" books.
For starters, the 3 books mentioned are the only three that really stand out to me as having specifically related to my interest in computing. But it's not fair to say that I credit them solely with sparking my passion for computing. In fact, despite being an avid reader who reads a number of books that most people would probably find ludicrous, I would probably credit more of my interest in computing to other factors. Those would include TV shows I watched as a kid (Whiz Kids, Knight Rider, Automan, Max Headroom, etc.), movies (War Games, Tron, and years later The Matrix), magazines (in the 90's I was constantly devouring issues of PC Magazine, Byte, Computer Shopper, and suchlike), and early exposure to text adventure games and so on.
I'd also credit some books that sparked my overall interest in science / technology / engineering, if not computing specifically. Like a book on electronics that I borrowed from the high-school library over and over again until the cover was falling off (literally), a biography of Charles Proteus Steinmetz, etc.
All of that said, the three books do stand out as having been influential to me. Here's why:
The Soul of a new Machine - Kidder took a story that a lot of people would probably find very dry and boring, and made it into high adventure, involving a fascinating cast of characters. It's easy to read this book and come away with the feeling that creating a new computer is The Most Important Thing Ever. For my high-school aged self, that was profound.
Neuromancer - one of my first exposures to the idea that computers were more than just fancy calculators, or utilitarian tools, and rather a gateway to an entirely different world. No, an entirely different kind of world. The idea of "cyberspace" and the adventuring that could happen there... wow. Ever since reading Neuromancer I think I've secretly, on some inner level, been hoping for the day when we achieve VR or simulations that are that immersive and engaging, to the point of truly feeling like you're entering another world. Watching The Matrix definitely amplified that.
Cyberpunk: Outlaws and Hackers on the Computer Frontier - there are parts of this book that are of dubious veracity, especially some of the parts about Mitnick. Nonetheless, for me at age 24 or so, reading this was my first introduction to the idea that there were specific subcultures associated with computing, and frankly some of the exploits that these characters engaged in seemed rather exciting, if not even enticing. Who read this and didn't want to change the Class of Service on a friend's phone to "payphone" so they would pick up to dial and get the "Please deposit 25 cents for the next 5 minutes" message? C'mon, admit you. You all did.
Note that Autism and Asperger's Syndrome are "male dominated". Something like 4:1.
If you have a field toward which nerds gravitate, it will become male-dominated.
What happened around 1984? Yes, home computers were becoming much more common as the article aptly notes.
But what else? It was becoming obvious that the people who flocked to these things most, who outright related to these computers, were nerds.
Popular culture latched on to this instantly!
What was on the big screen and on TV?
- War Games (1983)
- Superman III (1983) - Major character is a computer nerd played by Richard Pryor (August "Gus" Gorman).
- Riptide TV Series (1983) [1] - Major character Murray "Boz" Bozinsky is an utter nerd
- Whiz Kids TV Series (1983) [2]
When 1984 rolled around the trend went all out:
- Revenge of the Nerds (1984)
Nerd stereotypes were in the spotlight, as well as the connection between nerds and technology, especially computers. And that of course is going to have some effect on enrollment in fields of study having to do with computers. Young people respond to stereotypes in mass culture.
[1]: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Riptide_%28TV_series%29
[2]: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Whiz_Kids_%28TV_series%29
I was a regular reader of BYTE magazine and Creative Computing. Nibble, not so much since I did not have Apple II class PCs. I believe that the TV series you refer to was Whiz_Kids: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Whiz_Kids_%28TV_series%29
I remember readying an magazine article (K-Power?) about the 1983 TV series "Whiz Kids". They used a similar typing simulation to make the hacker kids appear to be perfect speed typists. The magazine even include a BASIC program so you could run it on your home computer, too. :)
The Associated Press review of the show said: "Whiz Kids does not make a whimper on the sex-and-violence scale, yet it may be more dangerous to children than anything on television this season. Our adolescent heroes – sort of Hardy Boys high on silicon chips – engage, willy-nilly, in assorted illegal activities: computer tampering, driving without licenses and grave-robbing."
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Whiz_Kids_%28TV_series%29