FIRST SCANNERS

 

Origin Story:

The first scanned image is a ghostly picture of inventor Russell Kirsch's three month old son (“NIST TechBeat” 2007). This image was the first digitally reproduced image and scanned at a quality of 30,976 pixels in 1957 (“NIST TechBeat” 2007). Primarily, the first scanners were drum scanners developed at the National Bureau of Standards (“NIST TechBeat” 2007). This narrative is provides an unusual site of technological innovation compared to rags-to-riches stories of the Mac first developed by Steve Wozniack and Steve Jobs in their garage or Bill Gate's origin story. This dialectic that is then constructed illustrates the "myths" of contemporary neoliberalism. These myths act as modalities through which the signifier and signified are derived from a sign (text constructing the narrative) and meaning that is intentionally created (Barthes 100). For example, the Steve Jobs story has been recounted in biographies as well as news articles, video segments and multi-million dollar movies, providing numerous examples of signs. These are coupled with meaning, i.e. the importance of Apple's technological influence, to produce a myth that supports neoliberal values, specifically: independence, hard-work, and self-made success. Further these serve to reinforce the ruling ideology of hegemonic dominance, namely that of the middle-class white male. Therefore the alternative nature of the scanner's origin story provides an interesting way to reflect upon the culture of technological narrative. While Russell Kirsch was a white male, his job at the National Bureau of Standards does not emulate the same ideological qualities of neoliberalism.