Technological revolutions are often thought of as modern, but this year’s first Kennedy Lecture argued the first major revolution had occurred in the 13th century.
Keith Devlin, a professor of mathematics at Stanford University, spoke at Templeton-Blackburn Alumni Memorial Auditorium Tuesday night about his research regarding the similarities of two personal computing revolutions: Leonardo Fibonacci’s teaching of the number system and the invention of the personal computer.
Though equally important, the two revolutions took place “thousands of miles and 800 years apart,” Devlin said.
The subjects of the lecture, Leonardo Fibonacci, previously known as Leonardo of Pisa, and Steve Jobs, the Apple founder and former CEO, showed similarities in their paths to success, the Stanford professor contended.
They were both “understanders and visionaries,” Devlin said.
Although the content of their work was not completely original, their ability to market technical ideas to the average person changed the world, he said.
“Good ideas don’t change the world; implementing good ideas does,” Devlin said.
Fibonacci is known for spreading Hindu-Arabic arithmetic to the Western world and living during the 13th century.
Before then, average people used Roman numerals and their fingers to compute. The introduction of arithmetic brought the birth of modern finance, Devlin said.
Jobs made an equally large impact on personal computation by making complicated technology a consumer product.
Those in attendance reacted positively to the lecture, waiting in line to have their books signed by Devlin. Several children took the microphone for questions after the presentation, including the daughter of Athens resident Wang Yi-Ting.
“We were curious about Dr. Devlin because we heard about how he was making mathematics accessible to people,” Yi-Ting said.
Don McGuire, an Amesville resident, said the lectures have become a family event for him. “I’ve been to a lot of (Kennedy lectures),” McGuire said. “I like to bring my son to them.”
While the costs of Devlin’s lecture were not immediately clear at press time, the Kennedy Lecture series itself is made possible by funding from Evelyn and Ruth Kennedy, according to Devlin’s lecture.
@CarolineBartels
cb536511@ohiou.edu
