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IP: re george Dyson


From: David Farber <farber () cis upenn edu>
Date: Thu, 29 May 1997 06:54:07 -0400

Date: Wed, 28 May 1997 18:30:01 -0700 (PDT)
From: George Dyson <gdyson () cc wwu edu>
To: farber () cis upenn edu


 
Dear David Farber, and associates,


I was, to say the least, astonished (with delight) to receive a copy of 
the comments by Willis Ware and Paul Baran that appeared on your list on 
May 25 (re: Darwin Among the Machines). To see my attempt at historical 
story-telling endorsed by these two pioneers, eyewitnesses who made so 
much history happen with their own hands and minds, is almost as 
unexpected as a message from Erasmus Darwin or Robert Hooke. 


As to where in the world I found all the sources quoted in the book, the 
truth is I stayed put here in Bellingham, Washington ("the city of subdued 
excitement") and turned almost everything up through our small university 
library, with help from interlibrary loan. (And no small credit to the 
Charles Babbage Institute's oral history collection, and Rand's unmatched 
habit of keeping _all_ its publications in print). Many times I thought 
about contacting Baran and Ware, but assumed they had much better things 
to do than answering questions from some neophyte writing a book. 


with many thanks (and one question: how do I get on your list?),




George B. Dyson                                        gdyson () cc wwu edu
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