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Tuesday, June 17, 2008

Le réseau du monde

posted by on June 17 at 11:09 AM

The New York Times has a neat article today on Paul Otlet, a Belgian who imagined the internet 57 years before the first web browser was released:

In 1934, Otlet sketched out plans for a global network of computers (or “electric telescopes,” as he called them) that would allow people to search and browse through millions of interlinked documents, images, audio and video files. He described how people would use the devices to send messages to one another, share files and even congregate in online social networks. He called the whole thing a “réseau,” which might be translated as “network” — or arguably, “web.”

A short excerpt from a documentary about Otlet, describing his idea for the “electric telescope” network in his treatise Le livre sur le livre.


Otlet is also credited with being the first to declare: “l’Internet est pour la pornographie!”


RSS icon Comments

1

Yeah, most computer theory was created before computers. I remember in college, our Automata book was written in the 20s, and our Computer Language theory book was mostly written by Chomsky, who isn't a computer person to most people.

Posted by A | June 17, 2008 11:43 AM
2

On that note, transistors are what made computer theory into reality, here is a modern version of pre-transistor adders/calculators:
http://www.retrothing.com/2006/12/the_tinkertoy_c.html

Posted by A | June 17, 2008 11:45 AM
3

The best programmers and computer language creators have always been women.

But the demand for pr0n is why men popularized the Net - ok, that and getting good beamtime ...

Posted by Will in Seattle | June 17, 2008 12:11 PM
4

I'd say sex has nothing to do with it, I've known some piss-poor programmers, both male and female. My current team is great and has both as well.

Posted by A | June 17, 2008 12:22 PM
5

gender.

not sex.

please note I include FTM and MTF as their chosen gender.

Posted by Will in Seattle | June 17, 2008 2:08 PM
6

Will, shut the fuck up.

Posted by Greg | June 17, 2008 4:49 PM

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