Illustrious geophysicist Enders A Robinson*'s new book Basic Wave Analysis** (BWA) sets out to explain the fundamentals of computer processing in exploration geophysics. After reading the introduction we imagined an exchange between the authors and their editor who asks why there is no mention of big data, artificial intelligence and machine learning. BWA's introduction is an impassioned answer to our imagined query, and its content an erudite exposé of centuries of'prior art'.