What’s in a word? Did Yevick actually use “holographic” in her 1970 speech to students?

Miriam Lipschutz Yevick ends A Testament for Ariela with a spontaneous speech she gave to Princeton students in 1970, as follows:

... a global knowledge can evoke that “holographic awareness” which transcends its interpretation in the mechanical language of recurrent programs. It “holds compact in one” that global vision which continuously reinterprets reality in terms of lived experience. Thus you will assert your superior humanity and do better than the computer.

That’s the only place she uses the word “holographic” (or any of its cognates) in the entire book. That in itself is important because her 1975 article, Holographic or Fourier Logic, was an important paper and it was certainly important to her.

I’m now been wondering whether or not she actually used that word in that speech or whether it’s something she used in the course of assembly the book. Why does the issue arise? Because, as far as I have been able to determine (after only a little research), holography and holograms were not widely known at the time.

Dennis Gabor was awarded the Nobel Prize in Physics in 1971 for his work on holography, which can be traced back to a paper he published in 1947 (BTW, the year Yevick got her degree from MIT) and to work done in the 1950s and 1960s. As far as I remember, 1977’s Star Wars was the first widespread depiction of “holograms,” though they’d shown up earlier in a few places. The holodeck was a running motif in Star Trek: The Next Generation, starting with the 1988 episode, “The Big Goodbye.” As best I can recall, I first became aware of holography in Karl Pribram’s 1969 Scientific American article, The Neurophysiology of Remembering, which references an article on holography that the magazine published in 1965 (I may have seen that, though I don’t remember so).

This brings us back to Yevick’s 1970 speech. She may well have been aware of holography by that time. She probably was, after all she was a mathematician with a strong interest in physics, and has traced her interest in holography to her 1950s correspondence with David Bohm (from an article she published in 2003 in the Newsletter of the Association for Women in Mathematics). But would she have used it in that 1970s speech given that holography was not widely known at the time?

For that matter, where the words she reported in a book published in 2012, those she actually used in what was an impromptu speech given in 1970? I rather doubt it. The words she writes in the book probably captured the mood and themes of that speech, but not the exact wording. That makes her use of “holographic” all the more important, for it thereby indicates a felt unity between her intellectual passion and her social and political concerns.

I’ve appended a “conversation” I had earlier this morning with ChatGPT on the subject of holography.

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I’m interested in the history of holography. I’m particularly interested in when the general public became aware of holograms. I believe Gabor got his Nobel Prize for holography in 1971. And there was a depiction of a hologram in “Star Wars,” which came out in 1977. By that time the general public would have been aware of holograms. What was going on before that time?

The history of holography is indeed quite fascinating. Holography as a concept and technology was developed before it became widely known to the general public. Here's a brief timeline of key events leading up to the general awareness of holograms:

1. Invention of Holography: The term "holography" was coined by the Hungarian-British physicist Dennis Gabor, who first described the principles of holography in a 1947 paper. His work laid the theoretical foundation for holography.
2. Development of the First Holograms: Gabor's theoretical work was initially not very practical due to the limitations of available technology. It wasn't until the 1960s that the first successful holograms were created, thanks to advancements in lasers. These early holograms were often simple and monochromatic, and they were mostly used for scientific and industrial purposes.
3. The Nobel Prize: Dennis Gabor was awarded the Nobel Prize in Physics in 1971 for his invention and development of the holographic method. However, it's worth noting that his work primarily focused on using holography for electron microscopy and not the 3D imagery that most people associate with holograms.
4. Public Awareness and Popularization: Holography started gaining public awareness and popularity in the 1970s and 1980s. This was due in part to advancements in holographic techniques, including the creation of full-color holograms, and increased exposure in the media.
5. "Star Wars" and Pop Culture: The release of the original "Star Wars" film in 1977, which featured a scene with a "holographic" message from Princess Leia, significantly contributed to the popularization of holograms. While the technology depicted in the movie wasn't a true hologram, it bore a resemblance, and it captured the public's imagination.
6. Art and Entertainment: Artists and performers began to experiment with holography as a medium for artistic expression and entertainment. Holographic art exhibitions and concerts featuring holographic performances helped increase public interest.
7. Holographic Applications: As the technology improved, holography found practical applications in security features for credit cards and banknotes, as well as in advertising and product packaging.
8. 1990s and Beyond: Holography continued to advance and diversify in its applications. Holographic displays, holographic microscopy, and even holographic telepresence systems have been developed in recent years.

In summary, while Dennis Gabor's pioneering work on holography dates back to the 1940s, it took a couple of decades for the technology to become more widely known and adopted by the general public. The combination of advancements in holographic techniques, popular culture references like "Star Wars," and practical applications in various industries contributed to the increased awareness of holography in the 1970s and beyond.

Karl Pribram published about neural holography in Scientific American in 1969. Do you have any idea about public awareness of holography at that time?

Karl Pribram's article on "neural holography" in Scientific American in 1969 was certainly an important contribution to the field of neuroscience and cognitive science. Pribram's idea that the brain processes information in a way analogous to how holograms are formed was an intriguing concept, and it added to the growing interest in holography during that time.

However, it's important to note that the awareness of holography in the general public in the late 1960s was still somewhat limited. Holography was primarily a niche technology and concept that was more well-known among scientists, researchers, and individuals in technical fields. It had not yet reached the level of widespread public recognition and understanding that it would achieve in the 1970s and 1980s.

The publication of Pribram's article may have contributed to the growing interest in holography among academics and researchers, but it likely had a limited impact on the broader public awareness at that time. The true popularization of holography, as mentioned earlier, occurred more prominently in the 1970s and 1980s, with cultural references like those in "Star Wars" and the development of practical holographic applications.