Tony Glosson, probablyJan 3, 2023
Robert McNees

Lynn Conway, electricial engineer and computer scientist, co-architect of the VLSI design revolution, and transgender activist, was born #OTD in 1938.

She invented Dynamic Instruction Scheduling at IBM, but IBM fired her when they learned she was transitioning.

Photo: Lynn Conway

Jan 2, 2023 at 3:23pmIvory for iOS
Show threadRobert McNeesJan 2, 2023
Instead of spinning this out into a thread, allow me to point you to Lynn Conway’s website where you can read her story in her own words:
http://ai.eecs.umich.edu/people/conway/BioSketch.html
Show threadChristine Burns MBE 🏳️‍⚧️📚⧖Jan 2, 2023
@mcnees And here’s a detailed explanation that I wrote ten years ago when she was being honoured for her VLSI work http://blog.plain-sense.co.uk/2013/02/meeting-lynn-conway.html
Meeting Lynn Conway

I can clearly remember the evening in late 1999 when the very first email from Professor Lynn Conway plopped into my inbox. In those days ...

Show threadDave WarnockJan 2, 2023
@christineburns @mcnees wow what an incredible woman!
Show threadJorge StolfiJan 2, 2023

@christineburns @mcnees

I was one of the 20-so students who took the very first VLSI-design-for-dummy-engineers course based on the just-issued Mead & Conway book. It was taught at Stanford by a researcher from Xerox PARC. Didn't know anything about them at the time; they were just two names on the book's cover...

Show threadex or current IDF unwelcomeJan 2, 2023
@JorgeStolfi @christineburns @mcnees Xerox Parc invented the mouse
Show threadChristine Burns MBE 🏳️‍⚧️📚⧖Jan 2, 2023
@JorgeStolfi @mcnees @JohnLoader6 The whole user interface paradigm in fact — windows, icons, mouse, pull-down menus (WIMPs)
Show threadex or current IDF unwelcomeJan 2, 2023
@christineburns @JorgeStolfi @mcnees my Amstrad PC used Gem pre Windows.
Show threadJorge StolfiJan 2, 2023

@christineburns @mcnees @JohnLoader6

To be honest, the mouse and some of those other technologies had been invented a few years prior, by Doug Engelbart at SRI. PARC just produced the first usable computer based on them, the Alto.

(SRI was previously Stanford Research Institute, a for -profit research branch of Stanford University. Its connection was severed and it had its name reduced to an officially meaningless acronym after students protested for military research used in Vietnam.)

Show threadグレェ「grey」Jan 2, 2023

@JorgeStolfi If you really want to be a stickler, Bill English (RIP), who worked with Engelbart, invented the mouse.

I knew Doug personally, he was annoyed at having the mouse being misattributed as his invention, even if the mouse was used with NLS. Doug liked giving his colleagues attribution for their creations.

SRI also had cross licensing agreements with SAIL (Stanford AI Lab) not just Xerox PARC, they shared a lot collaboratively, intentionally.
@christineburns @mcnees @JohnLoader6

Show threadStargeezer SmithJan 2, 2023
@mcnees
Wasn't aware of her.
Show threadRobert McNeesJan 2, 2023
@stargazersmith I expect there will be a bunch of replies to the post from people saying they have her book on the subject on their shelf.
Show threadDarfashJan 2, 2023
@mcnees Disgraceful
Show threadgnarlygeekJan 2, 2023
@mcnees Thanks for sharing this important piece of computing history. It's yet another reminder that the "modern world" owes a huge debt to the diversity of humanity. I've only finished the first part of the UMich link and can already tell that I will eagerly follow on with the references. 👏
Show threadex or current IDF unwelcomeJan 2, 2023
@mcnees no blue suit?
Show threadDavid MankinsJan 2, 2023
@mcnees A chip designer friend of mine credits her book with Mead for changing his life and seeing him on his career path.
Show threadRD HallJan 2, 2023
@mcnees I hope she was able to find a higher paying position elsewhere that appreciated her knowledge & inventiveness.
Show threadFrank CoteJan 2, 2023
@mcnees she might not want to but she should sue for wrongful termination.
Show threadחנן כהן • Hanan CohenJan 2, 2023

@mcnees @dweinberger

Since we (or at least I) don't want to turn the fediverse into a rage machine, this also needs to be noted.

IBM apologizes for firing a transgender pioneer, 52 years late

https://www.latimes.com/business/story/2020-11-23/ibm-apology-lynn-conway

IBM apologizes for firing transgender pioneer Lynn Conway

Lynn Conway's brilliant contributions to computer science didn't stop IBM from firing her during her gender transition. Now it has apologized.

Los Angeles Times
Show threadRobert McNeesJan 2, 2023
@hananc @dweinberger Thanks, was looking for a good story to add.
Show threadDavid WeinbergerJan 2, 2023
@hananc @mcnees Thanks for the follow up to the story, Hanan.
Show threadRickNobodyBeinzJan 2, 2023
@hananc @mcnees @dweinberger
I'm a retired IBMer 1974-2002 & I can prove that transgender workers had 2 be quieter than anyone else, due 2 the 'stigma' that was attached to them by management. I worked with a guy that, after IBM, transitioned 2 a woman.
She told me long ago that she was uncomfortable at work everyday she worked there!
Before the transition, he was a software developer & auditor of IBM educational software packages.
I think she's working in the same field, even today. #IBMsucks
Show threadJim NealJan 2, 2023

@hananc @mcnees @dweinberger

Apologies don’t mean squat. How about reparations?

#ibm #trans #transphobia #otherness

Show threadחנן כהן • Hanan CohenJan 2, 2023

@jaswneal @mcnees @dweinberger

I am not responsible to what IBM did so this question is not relevant to me.

Show threadPaul HartJan 2, 2023
@mcnees @hananc @dweinberger she gave several talks to IBM audiences recently - it seemed to be a very genuine apology and desire to give her a platform to discuss her experiences.
Show threadAlix Maiden-Baillie (she/her)Jan 3, 2023
@paulhart @mcnees @hananc @dweinberger A friend of mine from college was very well supported by IBM when she transitioned about 10 years ago. I was delighted to run into her in my pharma company's cafeteria a couple years ago when she was onsite consulting on a major IT project with IBM.
Show threadRobert McNeesJan 3, 2023
@alixmb9 @paulhart @hananc @dweinberger That’s great to hear
Show threadAlisonW ♿🏳️‍🌈♾️Jan 2, 2023
@hananc @mcnees @dweinberger
Oh I'm so pleased to read that IBM eventually realised their mistake and apologised. That didn't happen everywhere.
Show threadTodd GattsJan 2, 2023

@mcnees
This was in the 60's, right? The world was a different place.

The world was a mess. It got better.
The world is still a mess. It's still getting better.

We can see that a company known for being up-tight didn't get it right at the time. And we can use that insight to help us avoid the same mistakes today.

Show threadrooted_&_tootedJan 2, 2023
@mcnees golly she is pretty 😍
Show threadThe Chaotic Good 🏳️‍⚧️🏳️‍🌈🖖Jan 2, 2023
@mcnees Lynn rocks. I don’t know if she is in Mastodon, but I bet @christineburns would know ;)
Show threadKarl Heinz Marbaise (he/him)Jan 2, 2023
@mcnees https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Lynn_Conway
Lynn Conway - Wikipedia

Show threadCollin BeyerJan 3, 2023
@mcnees IBM cant afford to keep her around. Anyone would hire her lmao let IBM fall even further behind the industry they dont even make their own powerpc chips and servers they are lame af these days! move on to a better job!
Show threadMatthijs van WaverenJan 3, 2023
@mcnees The photo is cut in a strange manner on Mastodon on a PC ... On a mobile it is fine.
Show threadTiaJan 4, 2023
@mcnees
That's awful!