Stan Kelly-Bootle
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Stan Kelly-Bootle (born 1929, in Liverpool), notable for achieving the first postgraduate degree in computer science (1954), is a prolific author (nine books, numerous magazine articles), and songwriter (his folk songs have been performed by artists such as Pete Seeger).
Kelly-Bootle is well known in the computer community for his books The Devil's DP Dictionary and its second edition, The Computer Contradictionary (these are sarcastical/cynical lexicographies in the vein of Ambrose Bierce's The Devil's Dictionary). His articles for magazines such as AI / Expert and UNIX Review have been stunning examples of word-play, criticism of silly marketing and usage (he refers often to the computer "laxicon") and commentary on the industry in general. Currently, Kelly-Bootle writes an online monthly column posted on the Internet (see external links, below).
Stan Kelly-Bootle was schooled at the Liverpool Institute and Downing College, Cambridge. He started his computing career programming the pioneering EDSAC computer, designed and built at Cambridge University (fully operational 1949).
External links
- Stan Kelly-Bootle's homepage (http://www.feniks.com/skb/)
- Son of Devil's Advocate aka SODA (http://www.sarcheck.com/skb/index.htm) – Kelly-Bootle's online monthly column