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The Secret History of Silicon Valley

Google TechTalks · talk · Watch on YouTube

Tech company stories & documentariesWorld historyMilitary history & warfare

What it is

Steve Blank tells how World War II, Stanford's Frederick Terman and military and intelligence agencies shaped the rise of Silicon Valley. The talk centers on the Cold War electronic warfare and signals intelligence work that seeded the region's tech industry.

Why Hacker News recommends it

HN recommends it as an eye-opening, once-secret history of where Silicon Valley came from, and cites it whenever the military roots of tech come up.

  • 5 people recommended it
  • 5 different months
  • 2 strong recommendations
  • first 2008, last 2016

What HN commenters said

  1. “This is an eye opening perspective on some history "hidden in plain sight" of the origins of Silicon Valley.”

    Steve Blank on hidden military origins of Silicon Valley.

    skmurphy, 2008-11 · Strong recommendation · in “Steve Blank Nov-20 Lunch @ SV Computer History Museum "Secret History of Silicon Valley"”

  2. “absolutely brilliant and a must see.”

    Brilliant presentation with interesting content, better than the blog.

    nikcub, 2011-04 · Strong recommendation · in “Starting Up Silicon Valley Style”

  3. “History of electronic warfare -- very surprising, recently declassified stuff.”

    Surprising declassified history of electronic warfare and Silicon Valley.

    LocalMan, 2011-06 · Recommendation · in “Ask HN: What documentaries are worth watching?”

  4. “Great talk about Silicon Valley history”

    Talk on Silicon Valley history by Steve Blank.

    chubot, 2015-01 · Recommendation · in “Silicon Valley History”

  5. “There's an excellent video on him around”

    Excellent talk on why Silicon Valley emerged where it did.

    dredmorbius, 2016-07 · Recommendation · in “Why California is so expensive: It’s not just the weather, it’s the regulation”

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

Topics: steve blank, silicon valley, cold war, stanford, electronic warfare, military history

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