While a reading a science fiction by Robert Heinlein: "The Door into Summer" (1957) I found this part about a drafting machine quite interesting.

"This gismo would let them sit down in a big easy chair and tap keys and have the picture unfold on an easel above the keyboard."







Cripes, someone in the future might find this idea inspiring!

Marc

Marc,

Ironically I am sitting in a big easy chair reading this!

Awesome! I will have to check out this book.

Have you read "The Industrialization of Design" by Carroll Gantz? Not fiction, but full of great design and design history.

Michael T.

Interesting passage. I'm old enough to have taken mechanical drafting in college, and also remember "radio shops" :)

Another great book from the same era is the 1952 Player Piano by Kurt Vonnegut Jr. Some amazing predictions regarding machines and society - Conflicts between the wealthy upper class—the engineers and managers who keep society running—and the lower class, whose skills and purpose in society have been replaced by machines. And of course his prediction that an actor would become the president of the US in 1985. His prediction was off by only 4 years.

Ed

Thanks for the suggestions Ed and Michael, sounds interesting!

I have also learned on a drafting table, I think autocad existed but wasn't widely used at the time.
It always fascinates me how much we get rapidly used to such sophisticated tools.

Maybe one day I will give a try to model this machine with it's rigged electric typewriter and easel(s)!

Marc

Hi ...
Giving away my age ... (81 today).
I spent 35 years on the drafting table before discovering AutoCad in 1981 ... never looked back ..
and, yes, I was ready, having read Heinlein and other prophets in the 50's and could hardly wait.
cheers,
eric

Hi eric - wow! A big Happy Birthday to you today!

- Michael

Eric,

wow! My dad´s 80, and he always left the digital stuff to me. You easily are the most senior person I came across (no interaction on this forum between us, so I can hardly say "met" ;) ), the internet on such a specialized forum!

As a kid of the 1970ies I am still waiting for all the flying cars and personal backpacks they promised us.

Michael

Well Happy birthday Eric!

I guess that if someone with your experience is liking Moi, it must be a sign that Michael is on the right track!

Marc

Bon anniversaire! ;)

Happy birthday Eric!

Nice to see a senior tech head :)....Happy Birthday Eric!

Cheers

"The Door Into Summer" is a wonderful book for suggesting ideas and predicting a lot of possible robotic applications. I'm still waiting for several of them to be accomplishied. The "Rhumba" autonomous vaccum cleaner is a start, but doesn't meet up to Heinlein's predictions...yet. I'm still waiting and hoping...8^D

Mark