COMPUTERS AND DEMOCRACY = NOTHING NEW
In today's society, the words democracy and computers are part of our everyday vocabulary. So, it should come as no surprise that these terms are linked to a strong foundation dating back to ancient times, where they were originally conceptualized and developed. Let us take a look at the past to help us understand the present and provide equality in the future. Let us take a step in solving the Digital Divide!
The search for equality has been discussed throughout history. In the Latin culture, many instances for equality occurred, but here are the most significant. As consuls, the political leaders of Rome, the Gracchi brothers, Tiberius and Gaius, proposed that the landless poor be given estates from the public lands in 133 BC. Again, in 100 BC, Gaius Marius, another leader striving for equality, proposed that colonial land in the Roman Republic be distributed to veterans as a reward for their service in the Roman Army. Many of us are more familiar with Julius Caesar, assassinated on March 15, 44 BC, by conservative members of the Senate who feared loss of power through his liberal political strategies aiding the poor. These men were advocating for those who did not have a voice. These men were striving for Equality, something that this society is still trying to achieve. We have been working on it for 2,133 years.
TIBERIUS AND GAIUS GRACCHI
In 500 BC, the abacus, is first used as a counting device. It is thought that the Babylonians began using this device 200 years earlier. Around 150 BC, the Antikythera Mechanism was constructed, many say, on the Isle of Rhodes in the Aegean Sea, where there was an Academy for astronomy and engineering. Designed by Archimedes, a noted scientist, it was the first computer for the mathematical predictions of astronomy and the orbit of the Moon. Another astronomical tool was the Astrolabe, attributed to Hipparchus, a Greek mathematician, which navigated the position of the Sun, Moon, Planets and Stars, and could determine local time from latitude position.
From here the computer went through numerous phases and eventually evolved into the amazing machine you see before you. You may find that hard to believe, but it is true. In 500 BC when the abacus was first used, no one could have imagined the Digital Divide which has taken shape 2,500 years later.
 Abacus (500 BC)  Antikythera (150 BC)  Astrolabe (100 BC)So we know about the past,
we know about the Digital Divide,
now let's make a change for our future!
|
Clipart from http://www.vroma.org/