The MIT libraries can be difficult to navigate. Also, it seems that Netanyahu went under the surname Nitay during his time at MIT.
So, if you would *actually* like to read his master's thesis (jointly with Zeev Zurr) under Lester Thurow, here you go:
https://dspace.mit.edu/handle/1721.1/108858
Here's a screenshot of the abstract:
Yeah, those days were full of surprises and mis-forecasts like that.
Anent newspapers:
I worked a consulting gig with a guy whose previous client was the NYT, around 1980. They wanted a *custom* word processing application, to be integrated with their custom editing and typesetting pipeline. This was before vendor-provided, reasonably standard word processors were a thing, beyond toys.
He learned several things, but the ones that stick out in my memory are:
(1) User interviews are an unreliable way to get requirements. You can implement *exactly* what they ask, and they will say, "No, not like that." This is a truism today, but in 1980 it was a frustrating thing to have to learn.
(2) Management *liked* that the skills learned using their custom application were not portable, so people couldn't switch jobs. Management equally *disliked* that they couldn't just hire people who already had those skills. This is a periodic reminder that management can be kinda parasitic at times. (Admittedly, not *all* the time, but enough to be annoying.)
@MishaVanMollusq @cstross @Shunra
No, vacuum tubes would have been cool! (metaphorically)
Anybody who could keep a tube computer working that long would have to have had the Divine Madness.
If there had been actual tubes in combat use, I'd have a photo taken standing next to it, and I'd be using that as my avatar.
Nobody would *ever* hear the end of telling that story.
Dena
Weekend Editor
Charlie Stross
CrazyITGuy42
Medea Vanamonde🏳️⚧️ ♀