Technological Revolutions

… the word [“hacker”] itself is quite old. In fact, the earliest record of the noun “hacker” is medieval: a type of chopping implement was known as a “hacker” from the 1480s. Evidently, over time the term moved from the implement to the person wielding the implement. Today the grammatical slippage remains, as “the hacker hacked the hack” is grammatically sound, if stylistically unfortunate. Notably, even in its earliest uses, “hacker” and “hacking” referred to necessary disruption. Arboriculture required careful pruning (with a hacker) to remove unwanted branches and cultivation necessitated the regular breaking up of soil and weeds in between rows of a crop (with a hacker).

by Sakari Taipale (Editor),‎ Terhi-Anna Wilska (Editor),‎ Chris Gilleard (Editor)

As with previous technological revolutions, innovations in the online world have triggered transformations in the labor market and the economy. While the Internet is trumpeted as a great job creator, there are also downsides that need to be identified and dealt with.

A Pulitzer Prize–winning historian discusses “the Cold War, political parties, the presidency, and many broader philosophical issues [with] incisive wit” (Library Journal).