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During this History of Information Technology course, I wrote three essays. The first essay, I wrote on the development of the Chinese written language. The second essay, I wrote on the advancement from sail powered nautical vessels to steamboats and how they advanced transportation and the delivery of messages. My third essay and the essay which I found the most interesting and enjoyable to write, I wrote on the importance of radio communications in World War II, or more accurately, how important it was for the warring nations involved to properly encrypt their transmissions and decrypt their opponents’. In writing these essays, I have come to see that China and the United States as a very good example of how a nations advancements in information technology are directly correlated with its success as a nation and world power.
In my first essay in this course, I analyzed the progression of the Chinese written language and China’s development of new writing methods and materials that went hand in hand with the development of the language. I learned about the stages of the development of a writing system in class lectures and through research that I did on the Chinese language. After some research, I came to the conclusion that China would be a good subject to analyze in order to learn more about the development process. As the written language and writing tools both advanced, so did the ability to spread and preserve information. It went from only religious figures being able to read and write to children being made literate in schools. Printing advances made it possible for information to quickly be spread all across the nation and for research and literary collaborations to be formed across long distances. Because, their writing system improved exponentially, their nation’s productivity and cultural advancement had a brilliant start compared to other rival nations at the time.
In my second essay, I analyzed the transportation advancement from sail powered nautical vessels on rivers to the engine powered steamboats. In our lectures, we learned about the effectiveness of the Pony Express and how quickly such an amazing innovation was made obsolete by the railroad. This made me wonder about the steamboat which I saw as being the nautical equivalent to the railroad. I did some research and decided to write on how they changed transportation. The switch to steam boats made a lot of things possible that previously were not. The new steamboats could now travel upstream against the current. Before, river travel could only be done downstream. This made it so that round trip travel could be done much more quickly than before. Steamboats also did not depend on the weather as much as the wind-dependent sail boats did. Therefore, they could operate on a much tighter schedule and were much more reliable than their predecessors. Also due to the steamboats independence on wind, they were much easier to handle on the waters than the sail boats. This made them much less likely to crash, sink or become stranded on a sand bar than their wind-dependent predecessors. This also made them more reliable to customers who needed goods or information sent along the river. All of these improvements and advantages made the spread of information between river towns and settlements much easier and faster. Not to mention, the success of the steam engine made for further investment by these towns and settlements, and eventually, the national government in steam power. Not only did the steamboat help advance river transportation and communication, but it also encouraged further advancement in nautical transportation.
In my third essay, I analyze the use of the radio in the Second World War. More specifically, I demonstrated the importance of encrypting radio transmissions by using the Navajo Code Talkers as an example and I demonstrated the importance of decrypting your opponent’s transmissions using the British counter to Germany’s Enigma known as Colossus as an example. I chose this topic, because I have been interested in both the Code Talkers and the Enigma ever since I was in middle school. I educated myself on both throughout my middle and high school careers. Because of this, I was able to write this essay quite easily. The Navajo Code talkers were able to provide a double layered encryption to their transmissions using both the Navajo language and a code within the language to communicate with each other. This was used in the war in the Pacific against the Japanese. It was very successful and allowed the United States to freely communicate with each other with no fear of Japanese spying. This gave the Allies a distinct advantage in the Pacific and heavily contributed to the eventual defeat of the Japanese. In Europe, the Germans had also devised an effective means of encrypting their transmissions with a machine known as The Enigma. For a long time, the Enigma baffled the Allied Forces, allowing the Germans to communicate freely, with no chance of repercussions. However, the British eventually got their hands on a German defector who told them how the Enigma worked and used his knowledge to develop Colossus. Colossus was a machine that could take an Enigma transmission and decrypt it. This took away the only communication advantage that the Germans had over the Allies and gave a valuable spying ability to the Allies. This contributed heavily to the Allies’ eventual defeat of the Axis powers in Europe. Both of these scenarios demonstrated that outperforming competitors in wireless communications gives a nation or civilization a very serious advantage.
From all of these essays and all of the lectures and research that went into the creation of each of them, I learned that the development of information technology acts as an accelerator for all other advancements and dominating the field of information technology gives a society a strong advantage over its rivals. It seems that throughout history, the countries with the best ability to record and spread information are the ones that more quickly develop new technologies and policies that allow them to outperform their competitors. Ancient China used their writing system to grow their society and power. They became one of the most influential cultures in history due, in part, to their development of their writing system. The Allied forces in World War II were able to defeat the Axis powers and change the course of history for the better, due to their ability to control the flow of information between both allies and enemies using radio encryption and decryption. Those who dominate information technology stand a better chance of dominating every other field.
References
[1] “From Bones to Press” Nikolos van Leer
[2] “Steamboats and River Transportation” Nikolos van Leer
[3] “Words and War” Nikolos van Leer
Words and War
Nikolos van Leer 2019, section 3
HR: none
Throughout the history of warfare, disrupting the enemy’s communications has been key to military success. Most militaries in recent history have relied on telecommunications such as radios and telephones. We have many military contingency plans for if war were to break out with other countries. Many of these contingency plans begin with strategically bombing power grids and stations that are critical to the enemy’s instant telecommunications. A major key to military success is dominating the battlefield of communications. This can be done in many ways, such as intercepting enemy communications. This is why it is important to encrypt your radio communications and learn to decrypt the enemy’s. This can be demonstrated by examining the battles over the airwaves in World War II.
2.1. The Code Talkers
During the War in the Pacific, the U.S. and Japanese were both able to hear each other talk to each other over the radio. There was no way to hide their frequencies from each other. The only way for the U.S. to encrypt their messages was to use a code. However, they needed a code complex enough that the Japanese would never be able to figure it out. To meet this demand, they came up with a method of encryption that had two layers to it. This method was the use of the famous Navajo Code Talkers.
2.2. The First Layer
The first layer was simply talking to each other in the Navajo language as opposed to English. There may have been Japanese soldiers who knew English, but it was highly unlikely that any of them knew Navajo. There was also no way that the Japanese could find a Navajo to work with them. The Navajo were a proud people with a time-honored warrior tradition and they would never betray their allies. In addition to this, it was nearly impossible for the Japanese to capture one in the first place. The U.S. kept them very safe from enemy capture and were prepared to kill the Code Talkers before letting them fall into enemy hands.
2.3. The Second Layer
The first layer would likely have been enough to keep the Japanese from understanding on its own, but the second layer was still needed. The second layer of encryption came from the fact that the Navajo language did not contain words for many relevant terms of war. This meant that they had to get creative with how they worded their messages. For instance, they did not have a word for “ship”. Instead, they used the phrase “metal fish”. Because of this, not only would the Japanese have to translate the Navajo language but they would also have to figure out the meanings of these improvised phrases.
2.4. The Effect
The Japanese had no way to properly deal with the code talkers and had no hope of ever developing a way. All that they could do to disrupt United States radio communication was to get on their frequencies and make as much disruptive noise as possible. They would scream and shout and bang metal objects together in an attempt to drown out the voices of the Code Talkers, but it was not enough. The Code Talkers were still very much able to effectively communicate with each other and securely pass on vital tactical information.
3.1. The Enigma
In the War in Europe, the Allies’ struggle was not in encrypting their own messages, but rather in decrypting the Germans’. Nazi Germany had developed a brilliantly designed machine known as “The Enigma”. The way it worked was that each letter in the alphabet would not actually reference itself but rather another randomly selected letter. The letters that each letter referenced was changed daily and every German command would be given the day’s code to decrypt the messages. This meant that in order to decrypt the Germans’ messages, the Allies would have to decrypt each code every day. The Germans were able to talk to each other freely with no consequences.
3.2. Colossus
Eventually, Britain got their hands on a German defector who understood how the Enigma functioned. This meant that Britain could now heavily invest in a means to defeat the Enigma. Using the defector’s information, British forces were able to develop a machine known as Colossus. Colossus used an algorithm to analyze a message and test possible decryption solutions until it found one that produced an actual message. Using Colossus, they were able to understand what the Germans were telling each other. The Colossus was one of the most closely guarded secrets of the war. The German’s never found out about Colossus and thought that their Enigma messages were still unbeatable. Meanwhile, the British secretly had the upper hand the entire time. The Germans would fearlessly send sensitive strategic information with Enigma encryption and virtually serve their secrets to the Allies on a silver platter.
3.3 The Effect
One might think that the Germans ought to have realized something was wrong once the Allies suddenly were able to make plans that perfectly countered their own. However, the British were extremely proficient at hiding the fact that they knew what the Germans were planning. They would only use their decrypted intelligence just enough to tip the scales of battle in favor of the Allies. Most of the Allies’ victories that were attributable to Colossus were seen by the Germans as a matter of dumb luck. These small victories added up, tipping the scales of the entire war in favor of the Allied Forces. The Allied victory over the Axis powers in Europe was possible partially because of the success of Colossus.
In warfare, one of the most important battlefields is the battlefield of communication dominance. The ability to safely communicate with your allies and the ability to listen in on your enemies can both be the difference between victory and defeat on the battlefield. More importantly, it can be the difference between life and death. The U.S. were able to dominate Japan in the Pacific, because they were able to securely encrypt their radio communications with each other. The British dominated Germany in Europe, because they were able to intercept and decrypt the radio messages sent by the Germans while the Germans thought that their information was safe. In both cases, the winners of the war were decided, in no small part, by the battle over the airwaves.
Steamboats and River Transportation
Nikolos van Leer 2019
Help Received: references
In the year 1807, an engineer named Robert Fulton changed the United States forever, by successfully creating the first American commercial steamboat. [1] The steam boat eliminated nautical dependence on sails and effectively removed the need for sailors to plan their voyages and routes based on the wind. Although limited to lakes, rivers and similar small-scale waterways, steamboats could traverse the waters freely and under their own power. [1] This made it so that deliveries of mail, messages and packages could be made more quickly, more regularly and more reliably. It is important to know how heavily one technological advancement can influence the environment around it.
2.1 Dangers of Travel and Safety of Cargo and Messages
Before steamboats, river travel was either painstakingly slow or life-threateningly dangerous. In some cases it was both. The fast moving vessels moved under sail power, making them hard to maneuver in the rivers which were often narrow at parts. The other vessels, such as paddle boats, were slower and easier to maneuver through rivers. They were safer in this way, but they were dangerous in another. Traveling the rivers at a slow pace, led to danger from bandits and Native American attack. In addition to these risks, previous vessels could not make the trip upstream, making river transportation a one way travel method. [2] Steamboats made the same trips at a relatively fast pace of up to five miles per hour. [1] They made the trips faster than all other previous vessels and they could carry more cargo and mail. As long as the vessel had an effective crew and enough fuel, they could move quickly both up and down stream. They were also much more likely to survive the trip.
The biggest danger that a steamboat ever faced was the chance of its boiler exploding. However dangerous a boiler explosion was, the risk of it happening was low compared to the dangers faced by previous river vessels. [1] Previous vessels faced a considerable amount of danger on every trip. The threat of attack, rogue winds, and just plain running aground made the use of river vessels a bit of a gamble. If you sent a message or a package down the river, there was no guarantee that it would ever make it to its intended destination. This was especially risky for messages that needed to stay confidential. On a steamboat, the only dangers were attacks and boiler explosions and both could be avoided by hiring an effective crew. [1] A good team of engineers could properly maintain and operate a boiler so that there was a very low risk of accident. A good boat crew on a steamboat could provide security for the boat and its passengers or cargo. Because the steam engine only required a small team to operate it at any given time, the remainder of the crew could come to arms if needed. There was also minimal risk of running aground or hitting sand barges, because the steamboats eventually became flat-bottomed. This made it so that the keel of the boats weren’t as deep in the water. This made the boats less susceptible to the dangers of shallow water. Overall, steamboats provided a more trustworthy method of delivering cargo and messages along the river. Along with this reliability, people could also deliver messages with more regularity.
2.2 Dependability and Speed
Because steamboats didn’t depend on wind for power, they maintained a constant speed. They were still faster going down stream than up stream, but they were constant and predictable. Steam engines provided the same amount of power at all times. [2] They weren’t a variable like wind power which could change at any given time. Sails were powered by wind which had both direction and magnitude that were susceptible to change at any given moment. This was especially unpredictable because of the inferior meteorology of the time. Comparatively, the steam engine was much more stable and much more predictable. This meant that they could operate on a tighter and more reliable schedule. [2] This meant that customers were better able to send anything that they needed to and know when it was going to reach its destination. This provided more constant and more regular communication options between people up and down river.
3 Conclusion
The steamboat provided a next generation method of river transportation. Steamboats were faster and could travel both up and down stream. They were more reliable and operated more regularly than their riverine predecessors. They were also safer, and therefore less likely to sink and lose cargo and mail. These advantages gave new capabilities to river communications. People were able to trust the river transportation more. The steamboat revolutionized transportation, and by extension, communication along rivers and lakes. The steamboat was an extremely important step in the direction towards modern powered nautical vessels and sea and river trading and communicating.
References
From Bones to Press
Nikolos van Leer HR: Wikipedia, www.ancient.eu
With the creation of the internet, a tool which allows people from all over the world to have instant access to billions of documents, technological advancement across the globe has skyrocketed. Before the internet, however, we had to rely on other means to share information with each other. Writing and printing are, perhaps, the most important developments for any growing society. As they develop further, most other aspects of a society will advance at exponentially faster rates. China is a prime example of how the advancement of a writing system is correlated with the advancement of a society as a whole.
China’s written language uses a logogram system. It evolved from a practice called “divination”. Divination was used by the rich and powerful as a means to predict the future or seek holy guidance. Diviners would take a question from someone, carve that person’s name, the current date and their question into a bone. They would then heat the bone using a hot poker or fire. Cracks would begin to appear on the surface of the bone. The diviners would then interpret the cracks on the bone as some kind of holy message. The markings that the diviners used on these oracle bones, would eventually come to be known as the first writing system of China. It was a primitive pictogram system called the Jiaguwen system. As time went on, the system evolved.
As more complex symbols were added to the system, it evolved into a new system called Dazhuan. They added more symbols to the writing system, but they all still represented objects and not concepts. Thus, it was still a pictogram system and not yet a logogram system. While this system was in use, reading and writing were still being inscribed into bronze and, most likely, wood. They had not yet developed any effective method of quick copying or paper. Because of this, it was expensive and time-consuming to write anything. The high cost of writing limited writing to religious and governmental purposes. Literacy was still a skill for the upper class.
Then, the system started to evolve from a pictogram system into a logogram system. Eventually, it became the Xiaozhuan system that we see today. Xiaozhuan came into existence sometime around 700 BCE. Symbols in Xiaozhuan no longer represented objects. Now they represent concepts, allowing for more detailed and efficient writing. Although, one might think that symbols representing concepts would be more complicated than symbols representing objects. However, it actually made the language so much easier that they were eventually able to start teaching it to children. Xiaozhuan also sparked Chinese interest in developing new printing technologies. Around 200 BCE, they started to make ink stamps out of wooden blocks, and would press them onto cloth and around 80 CE, they switched to paper. The problem with the wooden block printing was that they could not be adjusted. Once a block was inscribed with something, it could not be changed to anything else. Thus, a new block had to be made for each new document that they wanted to print. Around 1040 CE, they graduated to the movable type system. This system had interchangeable tiles for each character that printers would need, so that the press could be modified for each document. It was a simple design, which allowed for more common use. Printing became cheaper, which allowed more people to get their research or philosophy out into public circulation and allowed it to spread further. This allowed more people to see it and respond, which allowed for more collaboration between the Chinese people which led to an acceleration in technological, scientific and philosophical advances.
China’s writing system had a fairly simple evolution. The Jiaguwen system got the ball rolling for writing in China. The Dazhuan system took the first step towards improving the system. The Xiaozhuan system is the final product of the years of evolution of China’s writing and with this system, the technology of printing (and by extension, society as a whole) advanced in China. With the advancement of writing came the advancement of printing and common literacy. With the advancement of common literacy and printing, China’s people were able to more quickly and effectively spread ideas and collaborate with each other which lead to more and more advancements coming along. With today’s internet, we may start to take printing for granted, but we should always keep in mind that historical advancements in printing allowed us, as a species, to advance ourselves to the point where we are now.