Computer pioneer who was ahead of his time by Geoff Browne
Source: Nostalgia
One of the great pioneers in an advanced branch of that science was a Leek man who died tragically young, before he could see where his work would lead.
Greatly respected in the academic world but little known outside it, Max Clowes was a charismatic and inspirational teacher in the rarified science of artificial intelligence.
It's a difficult notion to get hold of, but AI, as it's generally known (not to be confused with the farming AI!) is the science of building intelligent machines.
In practical terms that includes such things as keyboards which anticipate which word you will type next, computers that fill in forms automatically or recognise speech, and search engines that understand what you are looking for.
It's much more than computer science; it also takes in philosophy, logic and the working of the human mind, and relates to how people can use computers without having to know how they work.
One of Max's legacies is the present-day Centre for Cognitive Science at Sussex University, where he was a professor in the 1970s.
Among other documents, he produced a classic work on how computers could interpret line drawings.
One of his colleagues said of him that "he treated teaching and learning as more than just an intellectual process: deep emotions were also involved.
"He devised ways of presenting material and running seminars to help students build up confidence as well as understanding and skills. For many students the result was an unforgettable learning experience."
Max was older than me but I knew him when he was at Leek High School, although he and his mother went to live in Trinidad for a few years in the late 1940s.
I also remember him and his Sixth Form friend John Bell at the Brunswick Youth Club in the Regent Street school, where they had deep philosophical discussions way over the heads of younger boys like myself.
After Leek High School he took a PhD in physics at Reading University, then worked at the National Physical Laboratory, and had a spell in Australia as a research consultant, before going to Sussex.
His parents had the twin shops at the top of West Street. His mother had the long-established hairdressing salon bearing her name, Elaine, and next door was the painting and decorating business, Clowes and Southerington.
Mrs Clowes was also a member of Leek Urban District Council for many years.
Max left Sussex University in 1980 to work on a new project for computing in schools, but died suddenly in April 1981, aged 47 and leaving a wife and four children. He is buried in Leek Cemetery.
The early professional computers required whole rooms with careful temperature control and operators communicated with them by feeding in punched tapes, but at the time of Max's death the first home computers were appearing, such as the BBC, Sinclair and Vic20.
Within a few years personal computers, affordable and easy to use, would be on every desk. Exciting developments lay ahead.
The tragedy is that he didn't live to see where his vision was helping to lead the industry. Only this week, an American newspaper carried a story about artificial intelligence being the next big thing in Silicon Valley...
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