Shaping Technology: Great Minds Think Big

by Clare Kaufman

The Digital Revolution is the story of creative trailblazers who dared to think outside the beige box. These innovators shaped the evolution of computer technology. The first computers occupied entire rooms and seemed destined as data management tools. But a handful of creative visionaries saw a world of potential in those number-crunching machines.

They resolved to think big, and (to quote Apple Computer's slogan) 'Think Different.' Seventy years later, computers permeate our daily lives--our business, our entertainment, our creative expression, our social networking...

Here's a closer look at three great thinkers who made technology what it is today.

The Mother of Modern-Day Programming: Rear Admiral Grace Hopper

Grace Murray Hopper earned her nickname "Amazing Grace" for her pioneering work with computers in the mid-twentieth century. She played an active role in developing the earliest computers, called the Mark I and II Calculators, as well as the early programming language COBOL. But her real legacy is more fundamental: she conceived of computer programming as language rather than code.

Hopper's thorough understanding and creative thinking allowed her to perceive the limitations of the status quo and envision an alternative. In her day, programming was still a set of rudimentary instructions resembling basic machine code. In contrast, COBOL programmers use English words and sentence-like commands. This profound departure from the norm laid the foundation for contemporary computer programming

Besides her mathematics and physics training, Grace Hopper possessed irreverence and creativity. Legend has it that she kept a clock in her office running counter-clockwise, as a reminder to question assumptions and take a new look at problems. She is credited with the famous quotation, "It's easier to ask forgiveness than it is to get permission." This attitude allowed Hopper to succeed in a man's world, silencing chauvinists and skeptics with her irrepressible visionary spirit.

Learn More: To learn the languages that run computers today, look for software development training and computer programming degrees.

Advocate of the Digital Media Revolution: Steve Jobs

Steve Jobs is Silicon Valley's original enfant terrible, a quirky technology wizard whose path took him from calligraphy class to Atari video game design to Apple I, the 4kB desktop computer he built with Steve Wozniak in his parent's garage. Along the way he took time off to pursue a spiritual quest in India.

This eccentric history makes sense in retrospect: Jobs' most profound contribution may be his humane vision of technology as functional yet approachable. Thus the iMac's pulsing 'standby' light, which gives the illusion that the computer breathes in its sleep. Form and function merge in everything from Apple's sleek iPod to the animated blockbusters produced by Jobs' movie studio, Pixar.

How did Steve Jobs become one of the leading lights of Silicon Valley's digital media revolution? He offers this advice: "follow your own inner voice... the only thing that kept me going is that I loved what I did. You've got to find what you love."

From video game design to Pixar animation, Jobs taught Silicon Valley that technology isn't just a beige box on your desk. It's part of our lives, our work, and most importantly, our fun.

Learn More: Can work really be all fun and games? Find out more about video game design schools and animation programs.

Business Mogul and Technological Innovator: Bill Gates

Bill Gates is the Rockefeller of our time, responsible for revolutionizing the computer industry and reviving large-scale philanthropy. Back when computers were the exclusive property of tech development companies and a few thousand hobbyists, Gates envisioned a future in which every office desk and every home would have a computer.

He was right. Thanks in part to Gates' company, Microsoft, computers are an integral part of our daily lives. Microsoft's Windows operating system acted as the bridge between this powerful technology and the average user. In Gates' own words: "personal computers have become the most empowering tool we've ever created. They're tools of communication, they're tools of creativity, and they can be shaped by their user."

Impeccable timing and a well-thought business plan helped elevate Gates to the pinnacle of the personal computer revolution. But Gates himself adds another factor: focus. "My success, part of it certainly, is that I have focused in on a few things." For better or worse, that single-minded drive empowered Gates to sweep past obstacles, even in the face of widespread opposition.

Hero or villain, Gates is unquestionably a great thinker and an architect of the world as we know it today. Time named him among the 100 people who most influenced the 20th century.

Learn More: To negotiate the business world like a pro, start with a business degree, or head straight to B-school for your online MBA.

Without the vision of Hopper, Jobs, and Gates, technology wouldn't be the same. All three are responsible for making technology integral to our everyday lives. Computers are data processing machines. But thanks to these visionaries, computers also speak a language similar to ours, they can be programmed to mimic human intelligence, and they can function as media for work, creative expression, and social networking. Where will technology take us next? That's up to the next generation of visionaries who dare to think 'different.' Are you one of them?