Monthly Programs

Map published by Paolo Forlani, 1565

Most months a member will give a presentation, discussing a current work in progress, the research and writing process, or an area of personal interest and expertise. A collegial Q&A ensues, and the speaker can, if they wish, ask for suggestions for improvement in case they will be giving the talk at other venues. These programs are usually held at 2:00 PM on the third Sunday of the month, except for December; exceptions can be made as necessary. A digital projector and screen are available. Another member volunteers to take notes and write a report for the newsletter, or the speaker may provide a synopsis instead.

We try to have a speaker each month, though this is not always possible. Ideally, we schedule the programs as far in advance as possible. Members who are interested in giving a talk or other program (such as a film or exhibit tour) should email president@tihs.org.

Videos of some presentations can be viewed on our YouTube Channel.

Next Monthly Program

Saturday, April 19, 10:00 am, Monthly Program via Zoom. (NOTE THE NEW DATE AND TIME!!!!)
The Y2K Problem and What it Means
A presentation by Daniel Kohanski

A 128-kilobyte memory unit for the IBM 360 (1964), weighing 600 lbs.

On December 31, 1999, the world held its collective breath waiting to see if our computers could cope with the changeover to the year 2000. By and large it did because of extraordinary efforts by programmers and managers all over the world to find the flaws in our programs and databases and fix them. Dan Kohanski, who was one of those programmers, explains in (mostly) non-technical terms what Y2K is all about, why it was so dangerous, and what it took to fix it. He will then explore what Y2K can tell us about how modern information technology has as much potential to wreak havoc as to help us live better lives. Dan Kohanski was a professional programmer for over 35 years. He was one of the senior programmers on a critical project at the Bank of America from 1993 to 2004, and was intimately involved in crafting its solution to Y2K. His first book, The Philosophical Programmer , was published in 1998, at a time when Y2K was already coming to public attention. (His most recent book, A God of Our Invention , is an examination of the history of western religion.)
You are welcome to invite friends and colleagues to attend.
The presentation will be recorded, and posted on YouTube. If you don’t want to be on the recording, just make sure your video is off. And please remember to mute your microphone!
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