Confession: I work in the field of biomedical computing as a software developer. After journeying through a BS in computer science and medical school, I desire to devote much of my life towards advancing this field along with other bookish pursuits. So this book, by its title, caught my interest.
November does an excellent job of chronicling the advance of applying computing towards biomedical pursuits. Much of the early advances in computing came at the military’s expense. Many, like myself, desire to pursue non-military applications of computing that did not involve the taking of human lives. A field like biology was and is ripe for having computer assistance. And not all of the goals that were set out by the greats in this book have been completed. There are more advances left to be made. I have a pair of follow-up thoughts:
First, I am left curious, What happened after the mid-1960s with biomedical computing (i.e., after this book ends)? The story/stories do not terminate there. Being in the field, I feel that the history-making is just getting started. A follow up work to this could be in order.
Second, November could practice in a more engaging writing style that would interest more people. This book reads like a well-researched doctoral dissertation. (There’s nothing wrong with that.) The style could delve into the psychology of what drives computer innovation. That human story was not told in this book. The history was well-mapped (to November’s credit), but I am left wondering what internal drives moved these people towards contributing so. I think that story would allow November’s erudition to reach a wider audience.
Overall, I am glad that I chose to read this book. It’s always interesting to study the giants coming before in one’s profession. There aren’t a ton of historians of science out there – much less historians of computing. This work solidifies many thoughts which animate my profession.
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