iiinova — where your digital self keeps evolving

Honghong Tinn @honghongtinn.bsky.social · 08/09/2026

I will present my chapter, TSMC and the New Geopolitics of the Twenty-First Century, virtually this Thursday, September 10, at 12 pm Eastern Time / 11 am Central Time/ 9 am Pacific Time, for the Consortium for History of Science, Technology and Medicine's newly-formed History of Computing group.

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Honghong Tinn @honghongtinn.bsky.social · 09/08/2026

📙Technological Humanities: Essays in Honor of Ronald R. Kline📖 has been published! My chapter "Teaching the History of Emerging Technologies in an Information Age" discusses pedagogical insights historians of technology can offer in the age of AI, algorithms, and computer-fueled automation.

link.springer.com

Teaching the History of Emerging Technologies in an Information Age

This chapter discusses pedagogical insights historians of technology can offer in the age of artificial intelligence (AI), algorithms, and computer-fueled automation, drawing from my teaching of a low...

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Honghong Tinn @honghongtinn.bsky.social · 13/07/2026

My third presentation in July will be held on the 20th at GIS NTU Convention Center. Several panelists will participate in this event, including Dr. James Lin, author of In the Global Vanguard: Agrarian Development and the Making of Modern Taiwan: www.hss.ntu.edu.tw/zh-tw/activi...

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Honghong Tinn @honghongtinn.bsky.social · 13/07/2026

Mt second presentation in July is scheduled on the 16th at National Taiwan Normal University. And in the same event, Dr. Wayne Soon will also present his new research about the history of single-payer universal health insurance system in Taiwan. Registration link: forms.gle/jfe51ZmoDWYT...

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Honghong Tinn @honghongtinn.bsky.social · 13/07/2026

I look forward to giving three presentations in July, related to my book Island Tinkerers in Taiwan. The first one is scheduled on July 14 as an online streaming panel discussion with Dr. Wen-Hua Kuo. Register at tinyurl.com/y2jppt9j.

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Honghong Tinn @honghongtinn.bsky.social · 02/06/2026

I'd like to recommend Dr. Sarah Plovnick's new YouTube video"This coffee costs $95. So I flew to Taiwan to find out why" youtu.be/WRMDam8-yvY?...

youtu.be

This coffee costs $95. So I flew to Taiwan to find out why

YouTube video by Taiwan Salad

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Honghong Tinn @honghongtinn.bsky.social · 09/04/2026

Thanks to the invitation from Drs. Ruo-Fan Liu and Karen Eggleston at Stanford University's Shorenstein Asia-Pacific Research Center--I gave a talk there in March. The YouTube video of my presentation has been available online. 感謝劉若凡與翁笙和博士的邀請，我在史丹佛大學給了演講，跟大家分享演講影片: www.youtube.com/watch?v=lu7j...

youtu.be

Island Tinkerers: How Taiwan Became the World’s Tech Powerhouse | Honghong Tinn

YouTube video by Stanford APARC

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Honghong Tinn @honghongtinn.bsky.social · 31/03/2026

I am looking forward to visiting Vassar College to give a presentation on TSMC on April 1! pages.vassar.edu/dss/files/20...

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Honghong Tinn @honghongtinn.bsky.social · 11/03/2026

I look forward to joining a panel at University of Montreal on April 15, with Drs Olga Alexeeva and Lillian Tsay about the documentary A Chip Odyssey www.eventbrite.com/e/projection...

eventbrite.com

Projection & panel - A Chip Odyssey

Projection de A Chip Odyssey suivie d’une discussion avec deux expertes sur l’impact géopolitique mondial des semi‑conducteurs taïwanais.

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Honghong Tinn @honghongtinn.bsky.social · 01/03/2026

I am heading to Stanford University to give a book talk on Thursday, March 5. Below are more details about the venue and time. 12:00 PM - 1:15 PM (Pacific) Philippines Conference Room (C330) Encina Hall, 3rd Floor 616 Jane Stanford Way, Stanford, CA 94305 aparc.fsi.stanford.edu/events/islan...

aparc.fsi.stanford.edu

Island Tinkerers: Innovation and Transformation in the Making of Taiwan’s

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Honghong Tinn @honghongtinn.bsky.social · 16/02/2026

Thanks to EASTS and Dr. Juyoung Lee for publishing a generous review of my book Island Tinkerers! Happy lunar new year holidays🏮 to EASTS editorial office and Dr. Juyoung Lee. Full text is available at www.tandfonline.com/doi/full/10.... Dr. Juyoung Lee: www.mh.sinica.edu.tw/UserDetail.a...

tandfonline.com

Island Tinkerers: Innovation and Transformation in the Making of Taiwan’s Computing Industry

Published in East Asian Science, Technology and Society: An International Journal (Vol. 19, No. 4, 2025)

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Yangyang Cheng @yangyangcheng.bsky.social · 20/01/2026

"As the world appears entranced by faster chips and smarter electrical brains, elevating a company like TSMC to mythical status, few are pausing to ponder what the computing power is for—and who powers the computers?" I review Honghong Tinn's important new book, Island Tinkerers, in @thenation.com:

thenation.com

How Taiwan Became the Chipmaker for the World

A new book tells the story of the island-nation’s transformation into a central hub for technological development and manufacturing.

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MIT Press @mitpress.bsky.social · 20/01/2026

"Against all the saber-rattling, myth-making, and visions of world domination, [Island Tinkerers] offers a timely intervention and powerful antidote." @thenation.com reviews @honghongtinn.bsky.social's fascinating #OpenAccess contribution to the history of computing technology:

thenation.com

How Taiwan Became the Chipmaker for the World

A new book tells the story of the island-nation’s transformation into a central hub for technological development and manufacturing.

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💾 SIGCIS Conference @sigcisconf.bsky.social · 28/01/2026

Submissions for our upcoming hybrid conference, SIGCIS 2026: Known Error (June 17-18, Berkeley, CA) are due 2/16. Dwai Banerjee is our keynote speaker. See the full CFP here: docs.google.com/document/d/1...

docs.google.com

SIGCIS 2026 CFP: Known Error

The Special Interest Group for Computing, Information, and Society (SIGCIS) welcomes submissions to their 17th Annual Conference SIGCIS 2026: Known Error 🧯⚠️🪠 🚩 June 17-18 2026 | School of Informatio...

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Honghong Tinn @honghongtinn.bsky.social · 11/12/2025

North American Taiwan Studies Association has a call for paper for the 31st Annual Conference, June 26- June 28, 2026 Indiana University Bloomington. The theme is Resonance/Dissonance — Taiwan Studies, Knowledge Production, and Power Asymmetry. www.na-tsa.org/home

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Honghong Tinn @honghongtinn.bsky.social · 04/12/2025

I am so excited to discover an new YouTube channel about Taiwan by Dr. Sarah Plovnick! 跟台灣研究的專家們分享 Sarah Plovnick 博士的 YouTube 頻道 “台灣沙拉”！ www.youtube.com/@TaiwanSalad

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Honghong Tinn @honghongtinn.bsky.social · 04/12/2025

Sharing a call for paper, "Towards New Social and Historical Studies of Artificial Intelligence," for a special issue of RESET, edited by Valentin Goujon (médialab, Sciences Po), Mathilde Fichen (HT2s, Cnam), and Alexander Campolo (Durham University). journals.openedition.org/reset/6250

journals.openedition.org

Call for Papers n° 19 : Towards New Social and Historical Studies o...

Abstracts are due by January 16, 2026. Today public opinion on generative artificial intelligence is deeply divided. Techno-optimistic promises clash with ethical critiques, against the backdrop of...

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Patrick McCray @patrickmccray.bsky.social · 02/12/2025

Happy Publication Day to those who celebrate...README is out in the world via @mitpress.bsky.social mitpress.mit.edu/978026255348... My new book is a book about books about computing...enjoy!

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MIT Press @mitpress.bsky.social · 07/10/2025

"[An] important intervention complicating the historiography of technological development in Asia." @lareviewofbooks.bsky.social covers @honghongtinn.bsky.social's "Island Tinkerers" in a joint review of books on US-China tech industries & global competition:

lareviewofbooks.org

The Microchip Titans | Los Angeles Review of Books

Mason Wong reviews three books related to US-China tech industries and global competition.

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Honghong Tinn @honghongtinn.bsky.social · 03/12/2025

I just did a zoom talk with Digital Materialities working group at the the Center for Internet and Society (CIS, CNRS) in France at cis.cnrs.fr/materialites.... The seminars are fully run by PhD students! It's amazing they created an event poster for my talk. 感謝法國數位物質性研究會的研究生邀請我做線上演講!今秋有三個演講與台灣有關。

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Minnesota Star Tribune @startribune.com · 13/11/2025

The University of Minnesota’s Board of Regents unanimously passed a resolution Thursday morning saying its official doctors’ group “unlawfully” negotiated a $1 billion deal with Fairview Health Services that harms the U’s interests.

bit.ly

U Board of Regents threatens reprimand, action on designation for doctors group

Attorney General Keith Ellison says he pushed for agreement after the university walked away from negotiations.

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Minnesota Star Tribune @startribune.com · 12/11/2025

The University of Minnesota is battling in public with its own physician group and Fairview Health Services, the nonprofit group that owns the U’s teaching hospital in Minneapolis.

bit.ly

U of M blasting new Fairview deal with university physicians as ‘hostile takeover’

The health system and U doctors are announcing an agreement for medical school funding -- a deal the university is rejecting.

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Honghong Tinn @honghongtinn.bsky.social · 11/11/2025

So thankful for writer Joyce Yen(顏擇雅)'s endorsement of 科技造浪者, the traditional Chinese version of my Island Tinkerers! I haven't been able to see the physical copy of the book, but it's on Google Play's Books (tinyurl.com/te45du8h)! Link to Yen's short book review: www.facebook.com/share/p/14fR...

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Honghong Tinn @honghongtinn.bsky.social · 10/11/2025

感謝 Hansen Hsu 以及 Mountain View 電腦歷史博物館邀請我週二去演講，很高興有機會遇到了很多熱情的觀眾，認識新朋友(特別是康乃爾北加州校友會的John Lin！)，以及跟幾位好久不見的朋友敘舊！這次也有機會可以拍下博物館裡一些展覽的電腦，元件，或資訊，下學期教電腦史的課程的時候，可以用來更新我原來的投影片！（平時上課我已常簡短播放電腦歷史博物館所製作的影片或訪問！）。

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Honghong Tinn @honghongtinn.bsky.social · 10/11/2025

My talk at Computer History Museum is on YouTube now. Thanks to Hansen Hsu and CHM for hosting my talk on Tuesday! Acer's Micro-Professor II computer (1982) was displayed at the reception! Thank you, Dag Spicer, Shinyi Hsieh, Jofish Kaye, John Lin, and Ling-Fei Lin! www.youtube.com/watch?v=j6fu...

youtube.com

CHM Live | Taiwan Rising: The Origins of a High-Tech Industry

YouTube video by Computer History Museum

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Honghong Tinn @honghongtinn.bsky.social · 30/10/2025

A podcast on my book Island Tinkerers is available today. Thanks to senior programs manager Adrienne Wu at Global Taiwan Institute for arranging the interview and publishing the podcast! 華府的智庫「全球台灣研究中心」幫我做了一個關於我的新書以及台灣科技產業的軟實力的訪談，是智庫的經理吳至芳主持的「台灣沙龍」這個節目的最新一集喔，歡迎大家線上收聽！謝謝至芳！ mailchi.mp/globaltaiwan...

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Honghong Tinn @honghongtinn.bsky.social · 20/10/2025

I will be talking with Dr. Hansen Hsu, curator of the Software History Center, about my book Island Tinkerers at Computer History Museum on November 4 (7 - 8:15pm PST). Below is a registering link for attending in person or online: computerhistory.org/events/taiwa...

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Honghong Tinn @honghongtinn.bsky.social · 28/09/2025

Excited to see that my book Island Tinkerers (@mitpress.bsky.social) is reviewed in the Los Angeles Review of Books. lareviewofbooks.org/article/the-...

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Honghong Tinn @honghongtinn.bsky.social · 26/09/2025

I am looking forward to my visit to the University of Pittsburgh on Monday, October 6. My talk is scheduled at 2pm at 4130 Posvar Hall, hosted by Asian Studies Center. www.ucis.pitt.edu/asc/events/i...

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MIT Press @mitpress.bsky.social · 04/09/2025

Libraries and consortia interested in supporting the growing Direct to Open program can make their commitment through November 30, 2025. Learn more about this groundbreaking initiative and how your institution can participate: mitpress.mit.edu/mit-press-ex...

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Honghong Tinn @honghongtinn.bsky.social · 10/09/2025

Thanks to the Direct to Open (D2O) initiative of the MIT Press! My book was able to be published open access and reached many readers around the world!

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Cyrus Mody @ccmmody.bsky.social · 30/07/2025

my T&C review of Engineers & the Two Taiwans by Kuo-Hui Chang, Gary Downey & Bono Po-Jen Shih. a concise, perceptive study of the politics of apolitical engineering & fine complement to other histories of Taiwanese S&T, eg @honghongtinn.bsky.social's Island Tinkerers. muse.jhu.edu/article/965841

muse.jhu.edu

Project MUSE - <i>Engineers and the Two Taiwans: The Abnormal Club</i> by Kuo-Hui Chang, Gary Lee Downey, and Bono Po-Jen Shih (review)

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Honghong Tinn @honghongtinn.bsky.social · 10/09/2025

I enjoyed giving the first fall semester colloquium talk for Department of Electrical and Computer Engineering's colloquium series last week.

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Honghong Tinn @honghongtinn.bsky.social · 10/09/2025

I'll be presenting this Friday! If you are on the campus of the U of Minnesota Twin Cities this week, please consider stopping by hstm's colloquium series. I will present my chapter about Orientalism and tinkerers at 3:35pm, September 12, at 216 Pillsbury Drive, Room 125.

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Honghong Tinn @honghongtinn.bsky.social · 21/06/2025

Taiwan's STS association will be hosting a panel on new STS books tomorrow in Taichung's science museum. I submitted a video presentation for my book. I am sharing a beautiful poster of these new sts books in Taiwan or about Taiwan--Thanks to Dr. Ching Hung for organizing this panel.

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Honghong Tinn @honghongtinn.bsky.social · 17/06/2025

World Journal and The United Daily News covered my participation in a conference at UCLA in early May--MIT (Made-In-Taiwan), Redux--organized by Shu-mei Shih and Raymond Kun-Xian Shen. The book cover of Island Tinkerers (mitpress.bsky.social) is included in the news article! tinyurl.com/3zbese4t

tinyurl.com

台灣製造=仿冒？學者揭宏碁創業初期遭誤解真相 | 聯合新聞網

在科技飛速發展的時代如何理解和想像科技？而台灣又扮演什麼角色？在洛加大與國立台灣師範大學聯合主辦的研討會中，三位學者分別...

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Honghong Tinn @honghongtinn.bsky.social · 20/03/2025

Thank you, Dr. Alexander Magoun and the IEEE History Center, for reviewing my book Island Tinkerers (mitpress.bsky.social, 2025) in the center's March Newsletter! I deeply appreciate his mention of formal and informal STEM skills and Hugo Gernsback in relation to my book! tinyurl.com/4eh4rz87

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Honghong Tinn @honghongtinn.bsky.social · 28/02/2025

I'm excited to talk in person and virtually on Mar. 6 at the UW Seattle's Taiwan Studies Program! Kind invitation by Dr. James Lin, author of In the Global Vanguard: Agrarian Development and the Making of Modern Taiwan. @mitpress.bsky.social Registration link: www.ticketleap.events/tickets/uwta...

ticketleap.events

Island Tinkerers with Honghong Tinn, University of Minnesota

Join us on March 6, 3:30 - 5 PM (Pacific). How did Taiwan, a former Japanese colony and the last fortress of the defeated Chinese Nationalists, ascend to such heights in high-tech manufacturing? In Is...

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Honghong Tinn @honghongtinn.bsky.social · 27/02/2025

In today’s Taipei Times, @jamesbaron.bsky.social wrote a book review of my book Island Tinkerers (@mitpress.bsky.social)! www.taipeitimes.com/News/feat/ar...

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Honghong Tinn @honghongtinn.bsky.social · 15/02/2025

Thanks to Charles Babbage Institute director @justcode.bsky.social' s kind invitation, I will give a presentation about my book Island Tinkerers (@mitpress.bsky.social) virtually on Tuesday, Feb. 25, 2025, 2 p.m. Here is the registration link: cse.umn.edu/cbi/events/i...

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Honghong Tinn @honghongtinn.bsky.social · 15/02/2025

At Macalester College yesterday, I received great questions about my book: the role of tinkerers in relation to the government, the relationship between geopolitics and tinkering activities, with regard to TSMC, and the rise and fall of the Orientalist representations of Taiwanese computer makers.

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Honghong Tinn @honghongtinn.bsky.social · 15/02/2025

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Honghong Tinn @honghongtinn.bsky.social · 31/01/2025

I am looking forward to giving a book talk at Macalester College on Feb 13, as a part of the Asian Studies Spring Colloquium series, and co-sponsored by Economics, Geography, and Mathematics Statistics and Computer Science Departments. www.macalester.edu/calendar/eve... @mitpress.bsky.social

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