Posted on 11/16/2009 4:47:22 PM PST by Daffynition
Okay, so this may not be important breaking news about astronomy, but it may answer a burning question posed by most people who have watched or read "2001: A Space Odyssey": that is, why does the computer HAL-9000 sing the song 'Daisy Bell' as the astronaut Dave Bowman takes him apart? Well, Stanley Kubrick and Arthur C. Clarke made HAL's final act in the world this song as a tribute to HAL's great ancestor, the first IBM computer to ever sing. Click below for more on this geeky topic!
In 1962 Arthur C. Clarke, who wrote the novel – and co-wrote the screenplay for the movie – "2001: A Space Odyssey", visited Bell Labs before putting the finishing touches on the work. There, he was treated to a performance of the song 'Daisy Bell' (or, 'A Bicycle Built for Two') by the IBM 704 computer. This evidently inspired him to have HAL sing the song as an homage to the programmers of the 704 at Bell Labs, John L. Kelly, Carol Lockbaum, and Max Mathews. Kelly and Lockbaum programmed the lyrics, and Mathews the accompaniment.
'Daisy Bell' was originally composed in 1892 by Henry Dacre, and English composer. Upon coming to the U.S., he was charged a duty fee for his bicycle. A friend remarked that it was lucky that he didn't bring a bicycle built for two, or he would have had to pay double duty. Taken by the phrase, he used in in a song to acclaim both before it became a smash hit with computers with a penchant for song, and after.
Here's a recording of the 704 talking and singing the song. If you want to sing along karaoke style to the original singer, here's a video of the 704 doing its ditty (ignore the different model name and year – the 7094 exists but can't even sing backup):
And, of course, here is HAL-9000 in his death throes with a more maniacal version of the classic:
“HAL is an homage to IBM in another way... just substitute the next letter in the alphabet for each letter in H, A, and L.”
Oh, come ON! “HAL” is an acronym for what??? Where does it end?
Of course, that's the story behind the acronym "HAL," each letter one before "IBM." But, if you look at the flight deck controls on the shuttle Dr. Floyd takes from the space station to the moon, the instruments are clearly labeled IBM.
Clarke stated that was never the case but the story became so strong and embedded that he gave up fighting it.
Now that there is cool! Thanks!
...........or maybe it's a 'D' instead of an 'O'...
Yup. And I think the pilot was American-Anglo actor Edward Bishop who became Colonel Straker in UFO who also was in two Bond films.
By the way, Hal was the name of Clarke's nonfiction editor at Harper & Row.
Aries 1B space-station-to-moon shuttle.
Didn’t Apple use this same song for one of their early computer commercials? Maybe the Apple II or the Lisa?
One version of the movie soundtrack had the inventor's name as a "Doctor Chandra." Amusingly, there was a Doctor Chandra at UIUC at the time. (Imagine that! A professor at a major university named "Chandra!" ≤]B^) However, when interviewed he explained that he was not involved directly in any type of computer science. Just the same, he opined, perhaps there was some mystical communication force that caused Clarke to choose his name.
Some time subsequent to the movie, there was for several years a "HAL Communications" in Urbana.
I’m afraid Dave......
The answer is simple.
The HAL9000 was a very sophisticated computer...but a computer nevertheless. He sang that song because, at some point, he was programmed to do so.
[I’m not sure] ;)
Disclaimer: Opinions posted on Free Republic are those of the individual posters and do not necessarily represent the opinion of Free Republic or its management. All materials posted herein are protected by copyright law and the exemption for fair use of copyrighted works.