Electronics-Themed Comics
November 1962 Radio-Electronics

November 1962 Radio-Electronics [Table of Contents] Wax nostalgic about and learn from the history of early electronics. See articles from Radio-Electronics, published 1930-1988. All copyrights hereby acknowledged.

The comic on page 98 of this 1962 issue of Radio-Electronics magazine reminds me of how I am amazed that the "master-slave" terminology is still used in today's electronics. The master-slave terminology in technology, particularly in electronics and mechanics, describes a hierarchical control relationship where one entity (the "master") governs the actions of one or more subordinate entities (the "slaves"). In electronics, it is ubiquitous in systems like flip-flops (e.g., master-slave JK flip-flops, where the master latches data and the slave follows on clock cycles), communication protocols (e.g., I2C, with a master device directing slave peripherals), and computer architectures (e.g., master processors syncing slave cores). In mechanics, it appears in systems like hydraulic couplings or automotive brakes, where a master cylinder dictates slave cylinder motion. Dating back to at least the 1904 Dictionary of Electrical Words, per NIST, the terms were chosen for their clear analogy to authority and dependency, not social connotations. Despite today's politically correct push - spurring alternatives like "primary-secondary" or "controller-worker" from groups like IEEE and IETF - their persistence stems from entrenched technical precision, widespread legacy documentation, and resistance to change in engineering culture, where functionality trumps linguistic sensitivity; critics argue it's neutral in context. The page 113 comic is pretty clever. I colorized the comics.

Electronics-Themed Comics

Page 98

"Well, that completes the system - Hi-Fi in every room."
Page 102

"It's the main set in the basement that's out of order - this is just the extension."
Page 113