Mingyi Yu is a PhD candidate in the Film and Visual Studies program at Harvard University where he works on media theory and cultural techniques with a focus on the history of computing and questions of historiography. Recent research topics include: the cathode-ray tube as a component of the computer; hardcopy output devices; color as a framework of algorithmic thinking; orthography and the inscription of calculi; and, the emergence of the concept of a "pre-historic" era.