Writing Helped Me See the World from a Different Perspective

Charles University Magazine 2 2019 — iforum.cuni.cz Writing helped me see the world from a different perspective Med student Marcela Remeňová, author of popular fantasy/sci-fi series / 48 Magazine Charles University 2019 Panorama Panorama Interview Spotlight History Final Word The Golden Age of Remembering Excellence in Not every form of How Heyrovský French minister the Arcade November ’89 science is crucial diabetes is the same won the Nobel Prize at CU / 10 / 14 / 24 / 42 / 50 / 64 Dear readers, an inspiration, many people in Prague told us this year. What Czechoslovaks achieved over the period of “just a few weeks” in November and December ’89, they said, was unforgettable. To return for a moment to pop culture, Czech bookstores just recently stocked the new Czech translation of another seminal work, William Gib- son’s Neuromancer which – in 1984 – seamlessly fused American Noir with a future including cyber- i space and emerging AI still fairly different from our own. In his introduction to the Czech edition, writ- er Ondřej Neff recalls how the ’80s in Czechoslo- vakia really were “punk” for budding programmers, a time when microcomputers had to be smuggled Photo by René by Volfík Photo into the country. Luckily, we have a history of the period written by Charles University’s Jaroslav It seems like the 1980s have been in the news a Švelch (published by MIT Press). In our interview, lot lately. Perhaps it’s the phenomenal success of you’ll learn how programmers in Czechoslovakia the Duffer Brothers’ Stranger Things (a tremen- coded their own text-based games and stuck a fin- Forum 7 Forum CU Point dous love letter to all things ’80s including Spiel- ger in the eye of the communist authorities – with- berg, Dungeons & Dragons and Stephen King). out them being the wiser! We even provide a handy Or it might be because this year we finally reached link to some of those games today. Information and “November 2019” – the month in which the 1982 In this issue, we also take a close look at the cult classic Blade Runner is set. While the world work of doctors and researchers at the Second Fac- is not yet nearly as desolate as Rick Deckard’s Los ulty of Medicine and the Motol University Hospi- Editorial services in one place Angeles, many of the warnings are decidedly bleak; tal, helping children who suffer from type 1 diabe- many of us pondered to what degree the film, made tes and other illnesses. We are luckily a long way 1 almost 40 years ago, predicted the future. What was away from the days when pediatric patients died Charles University fantasy and what could still come true? from such diseases on a fairly regular basis. While For Czechs, 2019 was the year to look back and no one has a warranty for a healthy child, it is the Celetná 13, Prague 1 mark the 30th anniversary of the Velvet Revolution work of specialists like these that give children and which brought down communism in Czechoslova- their families hope. Every advance, large or small, kia. Against all odds, the events of November ’89 helps. While most researchers caution there is no spelled the end of a repressive and unjust regime, breakbrough around the corner, I am confident one [email protected] putting the country back on the path to democra- day there will be. cy and freedom. The most remarkable chapter in Have a great holiday season and if you too are ukpoint.cuni.cz the fairy tale? That playwright and dissident Václav enjoying the continuing ’80s vibe, you know what Havel – previously jailed by the authorities – be- to do. Pull out the old cassette player from your +420 224 491 850 came president. (parents’) basement and don’t be afraid to wear Highlighted inside, are two new publications by your sunglasses… at night. our own Karolinum Press: The Velvet Revolution – 30 Years After and one of the most important books Jan Velinger of the Normalisation period: Ludvík Vaculík’s A Editor Czech Dreambook. Along with an interview with editor Mike Baugh, this issue of Forum includes historic photographs from ’89 as well as testimo- nies from some of the main student figures who witnessed the brutal crackdown by the communist police at Narodní třída. Protestors’ courage and de- termination and conviction of their beliefs remain You can read the articles online too! Students Foundation offers a world of possibilities to young scientists / 46 marcela remeňová – Writing 52 gave me a broader perspective / 48 4 History jiří barek – How Heyrovský won the Nobel Prize / 50 Alumni pavel pola – Caring for the Infant Jesus of Prague / 52 Contents My CU Interview Classrooms instead of casinos / 58 7 jaroslav švelch – Forum 2/2019, Issue No. 7 Forum 7 Forum How programmers in the ’80s Forum Life at CU / 60 Charles University Magazine used games to mock the regime / 4 Published by Interview Charles University jan konvalinka – Excellence Ovocný trh 5, 116 36 Prague 1 Panorama Final Word in science is crucial / 24 Contents Responsible for Content The Golden Age of the Arcade / 10 French minister outlines Contents Jan Velinger challenges facing EU / 64 2 Editor-in-chief 3 The day the Future arrived / 12 Martin Rychlík Science Lab Editorial Inquiries +420 224 491 248 Remembering November ’89 / 14 filip kolář – A star in the field of botany E-mail clinches an important ERC grant / 30 [email protected] Layout and Graphic Design Books On the Wings of the Desert Dragon / 32 Filip Blažek, Eliška Kudrnovská, Designiq mike baugh – A Czech Dreambook Cover Photo available in English at last! / 18 Spotlight Vladimír Šigut A look inside The Velvet Revolution – jan lebl – No one gets a warranty Forum is published twice a year and is 30 Years After / 21 for a healthy child / 38 free. The opinions expressed in Forum 48 are those of the contributors and zdeněk šumník – A cure for diabetes not necessarily those of the Charles is not on the horizon yet / 40 University. Reprinting of any articles or images from Forum without štěpánka průhová – Not every form the express permission of Charles University is forbidden. of diabetes is the same / 42 lenka petruželková – Parents want This issue was published 18 in December 2019 solutions now / 44 Registration MK ČR E 22422 ISSN 1211-1732 Jaroslav Švelch: How programmers in the ’80s Forum 7 Forum 7 Forum used games Interview Interview 4 to mock 5 the regime PCs were almost impossible to get in Czechoslovakia in the ’80s but microcomputers were a different matter. As hobby programming caught on, enthu- siasts soon coded their own computer games. Some subtly – and others rather daringly – mocked the communist regime. CU’s Jaroslav Švelch mapped the history in a book published by MIT Press. STORY BY Jan Velinger PHOTOS BY Vladimír Šigut Jaroslav Švelch is an assistant professor of media but which certainly ran faster. But in the Soviet studies at the Faculty of Social Sciences at Charles sphere – and in Czechoslovakia – people used cas- University and his book is called Gaming the Iron settes almost until the 1990s. Curtain. When we met at the Carolinum, he told me not only about his findings but about how his There was a lag in available hardware, if you own foray into computers as a child began: got your hands on a computer at all? Yes, in a manner of speaking. Computers weren’t The first time I saw a microcomputer was as a officially imported or only on a very limited scale. kid at my dad’s work in the 1980s. He worked as a People tried to get their hands on them from abroad programmer for Solo Sušice, a famous factory that but that was extremely hard. People had to smuggle used to produce matches and other wood products them in. Bringing them in legally was not practical and they had machines there including an East as the customs fees were just incredibly high. German computer called the Robotron. To do so, people had to spend a lot of money It was an 8-bit machine that had this black & to be able to get their hands on western curren- green screen and you could play a number of basic cy, then maybe to bribe someone to get a permit games on it that were text only but still fascinating to travel to the West. While there, they bought the and thrilling. Equally thrilling was the fact that you computer and then officially had to pay customs could do your own programming on it. It was clear fees that almost matched the price of the comput- that there was just so much you could do with the er! A lot of people opted to just smuggle them in, machine. instead. The Spectrum was particularly suitable because How common were microcomputers in it was so compact and easy to disguise. One thing The ZX Spectrum and a homemade joystick made by a Czech hobbyist in the ’80s. Czechoslovakia? that I heard that people did (although it is hard They were the most viable option and the most to verify) was to buy a box of chocolates and hide common if anyone had a computer at all. For a the computer inside. It fit easily, as you can see. Or reason: excluding big institutional mainframe ma- they would wrap it in sandwich paper and would like them, they were hard to import. So they were often ports or clones or conversions of American chines, the first PCs were for business use but they basically disguise it as food.

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