The Victorian Internet: The Remarkable Story of the Telegraph and the Nineteenth Century's On-Line Pioneer delivers a tale of the history of the telegraph - one of the most vital technological innovation. The book written by Tom Standage, who is a journalist and author from England. He is also familiar as a science and technology writer for The Guardian who has skillfully applied the historical analogy in science, technology and business writing. The Victorian Internet is one of his famous book that gives a comprehensive view on the development of the telegraph and the story of the scientists who invented it. The Victorian Internet: The Remarkable Story of the Telegraph and the Nineteenth Century's On-Line Pioneer tells the story …show more content…
The extreme delay of the messages soon led people into finding another method to transmit information. Initially, they came up with the idea of using sound or light, but only when the electric telegraph was introduced that messages were transferred quickly than ever before. The telegraph represented a revolutionary development in communications because as long as people were joined by telegraphic wires, they were freed from the burden of long distance. The telegraph also reflects scientific and technological developments, both in the United States and other countries. The telegraph expanded the growth of the railroads, played a salient role in Civil War military, and cuts down information costs. It was widely used by banks and was also embraced among diplomats. In addition, the telegraph also became a bridge for many …show more content…
This chapter attracts most of my attention because it divulged how porous the telegraph system was to the perpetrators and how it was changed to be more secure. Even though the telegraph had been effectively functioning, it was still easily manipulated since it hugely depended on people to transmit. The messages must be transferred through the telegraph operators, therefore, some of them were bribed by many hackers to disclose the confidential information of the stock market. This negative criminal use of the telegraph led to the development of cryptography. The least interesting part of the book lay in Chapter 2 when Standage went into detail of describing the physical structure of the telegraph and enumerated the myriad names of scientists and physicists. If I were the editor in the publishing company and had an opportunity to read the author's draft, I would simplify the complex description of the physical structure of the telegraph and also reduce the number of names in the
using the telegraph is that the system is wire based and if given the chance be compromised by the enemy forces tapping into it. During World War II, the advancement of the military radio allowed more reliable communications. The major drawback to using a radio or walkie-talkie was that radio direction finders could locate military troops. Radio transmissions intercepted by the enemy allowed them to hear classified information. With these types of communication being unreliable as well as un...
As the need of human transportation and various forms of cargo began to rise in the United States of America, a group of railroads with terminal connections along the way began to form across the land mass of this country, ending with the result of one of the most influential innovations in American history, allowing trade to flow easily from location to location, and a fast form of transportation, named the Transcontinental Railroad.
The urgency of communication was never much felt until the beginning and use of telegraphy. It was much easier to transmit and receive messages over long distances that no longer needed physical transport of letters.
Works Cited The 1920s an Overview. Digital History. N.p., n.d. Web. The Web. The Web.
The Victorian Internet is a book reflects the story of telegraph invention which opened the doors for many technological communications inventions, such as the telephone and consequently the internet. Tom Standage the author who wrote this book born in 1969.He graduated from Oxford University then he persuaded a career as journalist and author (Word Press). Standage wrote the first copy of the Victorian Internet in 1998, which is only few years after the internet invention. The author’s title “the Victorian-era telegraph” was impartial, because he described events happened in the Victorian-era with any exaggeration or degradation, although he was biased in his text towards the telegraph invention. The author in his book described two main reasons
The way that the author forms his article is by first giving a rather exhaustive history of the telegraph, and reviews the impact that it had when it became a major form of fast communication. He then goes over some factors that are essential to understanding the evolution of society. One, that technology is of the nature of a "joint stock of knowledge for humankind"; two, the role institutions and organizations (like the government) play in the development of the technology; three, a so-called ceremonial encapsulation and path dependency; and four, the unpredictability of technological change and it’s impact on society.
Derry, T. K., and Trevor Williams. A Short History of Technology. Oxford: Oxford University Press, 1961.
Telegraph - The telegraph brought the end to the Pony Express when the East and West coast of the US were connected in 1861, just in time for a major role in the Civil War. The military Signal Corps was first established in both the Union and the Confederacy as a tactical and strategic communication method for the armies.
Canals, steamboats, and railroads allowed for faster travel of exports and the creation of bigger cities. The invention of the Pony Express, specialized regions, and infrastructure permitted Americans to keep in touch over long distances and the creation of market towns, which inspired a deep, national connection from all corners of the country. The giant leap made by the Transportation Revolution changed America greatly in ways of their economy and
I find it foolish and unsmart for someone who is a diplomat and goes over to another country and show rude behavior toward feigners. It is unacceptable and should not be tolerated, however, there are some examples of good diplomatic behavior throughout The Ugly American which I will discuss. Diplomats who are disbursed to other regions are representations of their home countries, therefore you can either be a good representation or a bad one perhaps. Diplomat’s jobs are very important because everything they do and say reflect their home country, and foreigners picture all U.S citizens based off of the diplomatic representative’s personalities and how they treat others. American ambassador Father Finian shows good “diplomatic behavior” in
On March 10th, 1876, a revolutionary invention was created by Alexander Graham Bell. The telephone was invented to send vibrations from one receiver to another electrically (History.com ‘Speech Transmitted by Telephone’ accessed on March 11, 2014), and due to Alexander Graham Bell accidentally discovering that he could hear the sound of a ‘clock spring twanging’ (Marry Bellis, ‘The History of the Telephone’ accessed on March 11, 2014), that was possible. The invention of the telephone permitted new levels of communication, allowed families connect around the world, and improved military systems, but also served negative consequences, such as breached privacy. If two people wanted to have a conversation, they would have to write letters back and forth, but with the telephone they were able to pick up the receiver, dial the number, and be connected in a matter of minutes. Telephones enabled long-distance communication, which allowed families to converse despite their location. Military officials and soldiers were also able to stay in touch through field telephones as well as keep contact with the president. Although telephones were originally placed in general stores or other major city locations and homes/neighborhoods that were wired (Elon.edu ‘World Changes Due to the Telephone’ accessed on April 2, 2014), telephones became commonly used in homes in the early twentieth century when telephones began to connect internationally.
Traditionally, people relied on cumbersome methods to transmit information and data over long distances, which usually made the communication process ineffective and slow. The ability to communicate deferred from one society to another and some societies had advantage over others due to their superior methods of communication. It was problematic to send urgent messages due to the lack of reliable and fast techniques of communication. The cell phone invention solved most of these issues. It introduced a platform through which parties could communicate instantaneously, regardless of their location or distance.
People started to see the significance of the telephone and what it can accomplish. Now with the help of the telephone, individuals communicated in a much quicker fashion. Once this became evident, it greatly enhanced the use of the telephone. After further development of the telephone, society recognized its ability to allow one to contact another person at any time any place with confidence that the call would be completed. The less time it took to communicate was a big draw for society because messages could be sent instantly. This invention allowed for such...
Landow, George P. "Victorian Technology." The Victorian Web: An Overview. University Scholars Programme, 24 May 2011. Web. 22 Sept. 2011. .
Throughout the years, there have been hundreds of inventions that have been created to change our way of life. These inventions have ranged from the beginning of time with the wheel through Thomas Edison’s invention of the light bulb, which had been used for years to keep houses lit. Possibly one of the greatest inventions in history that is still used today is the internet, which has made significant changes to how the day to day business is conducted.