2.6 Debating in class

As well as being very small, chips are also very strong, require very little electrical power and have no movable parts that can wear out or go wrong. As they are produced in great quantities, they are also inexpensive. The silicon chip created the Computer Revolution, and has put microcomputers at reasonable prices within reach of many people. Microcomputers have revolutionised shops, offices and industry and made exploration of space possible. Indeed, it was the need to make computers smaller and lighter to fit into spacecraft, which gave birth to the 'miracle' chip.

We must not make the mistake of thinking that computers are intelligent. They are merely very efficient machines, which can do only what we tell them to do. They are incapable of original thought but seldom make mistakes, unless they are given incorrect information by the people who use them. In fact, when we talk of `computer error' we really mean `human' error.

1. Discuss the following questions in pairs and complete the answers.

True or false? Are the following statements True (T), Possibly True (PT) or

False (F)? Give reasons for your answers.

1. Before the invention of the silicon chip, computers were kept in large cupboards.
2. It is a good thing that cars have not reduced in size at the same rate as computers.
3. Silicon chips are mass-produced.
4. After the invention of the chip, the Americans and Russians decided to build spacecraft.
5. A computer is better than the human brain.
6. The electrical circuits inside a computer are called buses because they transport information.
7. Computers never make mistakes.
8. Computers are not intelligent because they cannot think for themselves.

To the Teacher:

Mean machine

The message on the Christmas card was simple: "The first McLaren F1 will run on 23 December." Bang on schedule, there was a new star in the firmament - XP1 Experimental prototype.

Most people believe it is the car's style, speed, design and technology which makes it the world's most exotic sports car, but Derek Waeland, manufacturing director at McLaren Cars and the man responsible for building the F1 right, begs to differ. The car's stunning shape and enormous road ability attract potential buyers in the first place, he says, but it is engineering excellence, quality finish and fanatical attention to detail which finally convince them that a McLaren F1 is worth their very large investment. A very large investment it is, as it's price was 540 000 pounds in June 1994. "Our owners are very special people," Waeland says. "They're successful, they're smart they know cars and there's no pulling wool over their eyes. They know quality when they see it, and they know you can't just bolt it on.

Unlike any other production road car the F1 has a central driving position. You sit far forward in the car with a passenger seat on either side and some distance behind. Luggage is carried in two carpeted compartments on either side of the car, behind the passenger seats.

Each F1 takes three-and-a-half months to build: large luxury saloons can be mass-produced in little more than a day. Thanks to its carbon fibre construction, it possesses a sense of indomitable strength and McLaren has also paid much attention to the all-important details such as the way the doors close, the stitching of the leather, the exorcism of all rough edges. The McLaren F1 is the finest driving machine yet built for the public road, indeed a mean machine.

Everyone who road tested this car is also convinced that the F1 will be remembered as one of the great events in the history of the car, one to rival the launch of the Mini What we are looking at here is very possible, beyond 370 km/h, the fastest production road car the world will ever see. It is a walking, talking piece of history.

Assessment

Memorandum

The Miracle Chip

(i) PT

(ii) T

(iii) T

(iv) F

(v) F

(vi) PT / F

(vii) T (Humans do)

(viii) T