Qian Xuesen and the Yangtze River Computer is a historical science fiction story based on the development of computer science in China since 1949, and Qian Xuesen’s systematic theories. It is a fictionalized account of a “supercomputer” created with the computing power of humans and the hydropower resources of the Yangtze River. It incorporates into its narrative framework historical elements based on historical documents, like China’s 1956 twelve-year science and technology plan, the development of the steel industry, the Third Front industrial movement, and Chile’s Project Cybersyn, psychic power studies etc., as well as trendy concepts like quantum computing and bitcoin mining. The alternative documentary format presents the historical development of electronic technology in socialistic societies in a reportage format that was widely used in the 1980s.
This event is only open to the NYU Shanghai community. The screening will be followed by Q&A with director Shi Qing.
RSVP: https://events.shanghai.nyu.
