View a FREE sample

This test consists of 5 short answer questions, 10 short essay questions, and 1 (of 3) essay topics.

Short Answer Questions

1. How many years ago was the first language established?

2. Why did businessmen immediately take to the telegraph?

3. What word book by Robert Cawdrey was published first in 1604?

4. Why did Lovelace publish her mathematical arguments anonymously?

5. Before "A Table Alphabeticall", how were most catalogs and word lists arranged?

Short Essay Questions

1. How was the "telephone number" born?

2. What was the purpose behind the creation of the Oxford English Dictionary?

3. While working on plans for this "analytical engine," Babbage struck an acquaintance with what young woman?

4. What culture developed the earliest known method of writing language with the use of pictures to represent things?

5. Who invented the telegraph and what is its fundamental functionality?

6. In modern times, what innovation has had the most impact on language?

7. What technological breakthrough resulted from Claude Shannon's theories and work?

8. Who invented the "first" telegraph?

9. After the use of pictures, what were the next two stages of language development?

10. Who first conceived the idea of a machine that could think and under what circumstances?

Essay Topics

Write an essay for ONE of the following topics:

Essay Topic 1

What is a meme? What is the role of a meme? What are some examples of memes?

Essay Topic 2

Why is the year 1948 considered a huge turning point in information theory and technology? What advances were made by researchers at Bell Laboratories during this time frame?

Essay Topic 3

Describe Norbert Weiner's views on the work and theories of Claude Shannon. Explain the circumstances under which Weiner coined the phrase "cybernetics". What was George Miller's observation on the capacity for the human mind to retain information?

(see the answer keys)

This section contains 718 words (approx. 3 pages at 300 words per page) View a FREE sample