''The Computer Contradictionary'' is a
non-fiction book by
Stan Kelly-Bootle
Stanley Bootle, known as Stan Kelly-Bootle (15 September 1929 – 16 April 2014), was a British author, academic, singer-songwriter and computer scientist.
He took his stage name Stan Kelly (he was not known as Stan Kelly-Bootle in folk music circ ...
that compiles a satirical list of definitions of computer industry terms. It is an example of "cynical lexicography" in the tradition of
Ambrose Bierce's ''
The Devil's Dictionary''. Rather than offering a factual account of usage, its definitions are largely made up by the author.
The book was published in May 1995 by
MIT Press and is an update of Kelly-Bootle's ''The Devil's
DP Dictionary'' which appeared in 1981.
[
]
Examples
:Endless loop. See: ''Loop, endless''
:Loop, endless. See: ''Endless loop''
:Recursion. See: ''Recursion''
Reception
The '' Los Angeles Times'' panned the book, wrote that it was "smartly-titled" but was an "awfully stupid book".
References
Satirical books
MIT Press books
1995 books
Computer humor
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