Nobody but Us: A History of Cray Research's Software and the Building of the World's Fastest Supercomputer

Course overview

When second place meant people died, we at Cray Research developed wizard thinking. Observe the stakes and decisions made that built the world's fastest supercomputer.

8 parts
44 chapters
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Part 1

Introduction1 chapters

Begin part
  1. Introduction

Part 2

The First Invisible Battlefield (Radio Intelligence)7 chapters

Begin part
  1. The Human Cost of Staying First

  2. The Pattern Creators

  3. Decoding the Bootleggers

  4. Decoding the Naval Disarmament Conference

  5. Flying Against the Imperial Japanese Navy

  6. Was Location “AF” Midway, or the Aleutian Islands?

  7. Hedy Lamarr, the Mother of WiFi

Part 3

The Wizard’s Approach to Pattern Recognition9 chapters

Begin part
  1. Profile of the “Real Programmer”

  2. Think Like a Computer

  3. The Basics With a Side of Crypto

  4. Design an Algorithm in Your Head

  5. What Can the NSA Teach Us About Debugging?

  6. Problem in a Box

  7. Vacuum Tube Blackjack

  8. Running the Numbers

  9. Transcendent Patterns

Part 4

The Second Invisible Battlefield (Nuclear Deterrence)8 chapters

Begin part
  1. The Kiev Computer

  2. Project Whirlwind

  3. Semi-Automatic Ground Environment

  4. Engineering Research Associates

  5. Control Data Corporation

  6. Cray Research

  7. My First CRAY-1

  8. Big Iron

Part 5

Legacy of the Invisible Battlefield8 chapters

Begin part
  1. Software Development

  2. My NSA Mug Shot

  3. It Was Nothing, They Said

  4. Ducky Day

  5. The Transitive Property of Keeping Your Mouth Shut

  6. The Veil

  7. Oil Across the Water

  8. Desert Shield

Part 6

The Invisible Battlefield Develops Mastery5 chapters

Begin part
  1. Remembering “Scuzzy”

  2. Gate Keeping

  3. Imposter Syndrome

  4. The Road Less Traveled

  5. The Wizard’s Mirror

Part 7

Teaching Rocket Science5 chapters

Begin part
  1. The Search for Scientists

  2. Lady of the Lake Discovers Bomb Test

  3. Camelot, the German Rocket Scientists at Peenemünde

  4. Mittelwerk Extermination

  5. Sputnik Satellite Becomes Defense Priority

Part 8

Road Map1 chapters

Begin part
  1. Appendix A. HPC Tradecraft Road Map