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Secret History of Silicon Valley

Computer History Museum · lecture · Watch on YouTube

History of computingTech company stories & documentariesMilitary history & warfare

What it is

Steve Blank's Computer History Museum lecture argues that Silicon Valley's roots lie in WWII radar and electronic warfare work, Stanford's Fred Terman and Cold War military funding rather than the semiconductor alone.

Why Hacker News recommends it

HN commenters call it a favorite introduction to Valley history and cite it whenever government and military funding of tech comes up.

  • 6 people recommended it
  • 6 different months
  • 2 strong recommendations
  • first 2010, last 2026

What HN commenters said

  1. “my favorite introduction to the valleys history was Steve Blanks The Secret History of Silicon Valley. It's well worth the hour”

    Favorite introduction to the Valley's history by Steve Blank

    lukejduncan, 2012-04 · Strong recommendation · in “The Birth Of Silicon Valley (timeline)”

  2. “You've gotta watch Steve Blank's "The Secret History of Silicon Valley". Goes back to its post-war roots in 40's and 50's. A real gem and quite surprising.”

    Post-war roots of Silicon Valley in the 40s and 50s

    cpr, 2014-01 · Strong recommendation · in “PayPal Mafia”

  3. “I suspect many of you haven't seen his take on the history of the valley”

    Steve Blank's take gives context on the Valley's evolution

    jstrate, 2012-05 · Recommendation · in “'The Golden Age of Silicon Valley Is Over, and We're Dancing on its Grave'”

  4. “Not a book, but a great video via Steve Blank”

    Great video on Silicon Valley history via Steve Blank

    DeBraid, 2020-04 · Recommendation · in “Ask HN: What are some great posts or articles about history of computing?”

  5. “I like this talk given at the Computer History Museum about the history of Silicon Valley”

    Talk on the long-secret history of Silicon Valley

    dundarious, 2022-07 · Recommendation · in “A Look Back at the USSR Computer Industry”

  6. “this is a very good presentation on the topic (of Silicon Valley and Stanford).”

    Presentation on the history of Silicon Valley and Stanford

    rapsey, 2024-04 · Recommendation · in “Big Tech and Silicon Valley are transforming the military-industrial complex”

Excerpts from Hacker News comments, linked to the originals. Summaries and labels were written by a language model from those comments.

Topics: silicon valley, steve blank, radar, stanford, military funding, history

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