AbstractThe advent both of punch cards and of the electric tabulating machine, which was invented in 1889, are typically described as key milestones in the development of modern data processing, bringing about a fundamental and inexorable transformation of information technology. This essay aims to decenter the American Hollerith revolution by assessing precisely how punch cards and machine processing transformed established manual techniques and practices of census compilation. By focusing on the Prussian census bureau and its long-standing reluctance to mechanize, this essay reveals an unremarked European revolution in data processing during the 1860s, when a new notion of “data,” novel paper tools, and a carefully nurtured workforce, including many women working from home, yielded unprecedentedly refined census statistics. The essay argues that manual concepts, technologies, and practices of data power—rather than punch cards and Hollerith machines—heralded the modern information age.

中文翻译：

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数据权力的机器：19 世纪欧洲的手动与机械人口普查编制

摘要 打孔卡和 1889 年发明的电动制表机的出现通常被描述为现代数据处理发展的关键里程碑，带来了信息技术的根本性和不可阻挡的变革。本文旨在通过准确评估打孔卡和机器处理如何改变既定的手工技术和人口普查编制实践，使美国霍勒瑞斯革命去中心化。通过关注普鲁士人口普查局及其长期以来不愿机械化，这篇文章揭示了 1860 年代欧洲数据处理领域的一场默默无闻的革命，当时“数据”的新概念、新颖的纸质工具和精心培养的劳动力，包括许多在家工作的妇女产生了空前完善的人口普查统计数据。