Revisionism is fine as long as you have the documentation,
1st hand accounts, and anything else to back it up. One problem with
being a participant though, especially if it's something on a grand
scale, is that rarely do you get to see anything other than the
smallest piece of the pie. One has to wonder though how much of what
is written as 'factual history' would actually be proved wrong if
more hard core data was available? A good example is the Dynalogic
Hyperion and Commodore link. During my initial research on the
machine, I found vague references to the possibility that Commodore
had at least thought of producing them. Not even Jim Brain's site
had anything hard on the connection. Then a few months later I
started talking to an ex-Commodore UK employee and he explained the
link to me, which I've documented on my page. Granted, it's not
written documentation, but it is direct from someone who is said to
have been part of it. Not a big piece of the puzzle, but saved from
nearly being forgotten all the same.
Jeff
Good point. Revisionist historians are oft times
derided for trying to
see into events things the actual participants claim was just not the
case. But sometimes it's really their own personal biases that taint
their memories.
It's important to collect as many objects, stories, and data as possible
today, so that tomorrow's historians can paint an accurate picture of what
when on we were in the midst of it all.
Sellam Ismail Vintage Computer Festival
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