Sn, Au, and willfull memory loss
I ran across the Sn/Au issue on sockets (root of the "pull and re-seat" voodoo dance) in the 1970s. Researching it, I found a paper from the 1960s, and then a paper from the 1950s. Apparently the issue of the Sn/AU high-resistance eutectic is just one of those things that our (technical) society forgets regularly, perhaps as a consequence of the "up or out" policies of companies regarding technical people. When the only way to pay your adjustable rate mortgage or get your kids through school is to move from the "technical ladder" to the "management ladder", most just move, and thus every decade (including apparently the 90s with SIMMs, and probably the 80s as well) the "common knowledge" gets lost.
Biting the hand that feeds IT
