Re: Internet still reshaping history

[David Farber <dave () farber net>]

Begin forwarded message:

From: "David P. Reed" <dpreed () reed com>
Date: September 9, 2009 10:42:40 PM EDT
To: dave () farber net
Cc: ip <ip () v2 listbox com>
Subject: Re: [IP] Internet still reshaping history

A lot of people think Excel was the first spreadsheet program,  
invented by Microsoft, and many people think that the Apple II was the  
first personal computer, invented by Steve Jobs.

This is no different than the idea that Edison invented the motion  
picture, or that  Sarnoff invented television.

I recently took an Architectural Boat tour of Chicago.  It was really  
fun and informative.  But if you took the tour you would think that  
architectural design firms created all of the buildings you see - 10  
human beings or so.   I suspect that the viewpoint of the people who  
actually *built* the buildings - craftsmen and laborers, creative  
problem solvers who designed window technologies, steel structural  
technologies, etc. deserve more than a little credit.

But our culture cheers the "creators" who sit in their offices, drink  
expensive wine, and create personal cults of fame.

I don't mean to denigrate the architects, but to be honest, they are  
only part of the process.

On 09/09/2009 09:14 PM, Dave Farber wrote:
> Begin forwarded message:
>
> > From: John Shoch <shoch () alloyventures com>
> > Date: September 9, 2009 20:02:26 EDT
> > To: dave () farber net, ip <ip () v2 listbox com>
> > Cc: John Shoch <shoch () alloyventures com>
> > Subject: RE: [IP] Internet still reshaping history
> >
> > I continue to be surprised by how frequently this canard is asserted.
> >
> > My usual response:  "If you believe the Internet began with the  
> > Arpanet, then you must believe that television began with  
> > Marconi......"
> >
> > John Shoch
> >
> > -----Original Message-----
> > From: David Farber [mailto:Dave () farber net]
> > Sent: Sunday, September 06, 2009 1:43 PM
> > To: ip
> > Subject: [IP] Internet still reshaping history
> >
> >
> > Why do people say the internet is 40 years old. Is the Arpanet the
> > Internet -- I think not. djf
> >
> >
> >
> > Begin forwarded message:
> >
> > From: Suzanne Johnson <fuhn () pobox com>
> > Date: September 6, 2009 4:38:05 PM EDT
> > To: Dave () farber net
> > Subject: Internet still reshaping history
> >
> >
> >
> > At 40, the Internet still reshaping history
> > by Stephen Shankland
> >
> > At the time, it would have been hard to predict which of these events
> > 40 years ago would prove to be most momentous:
> >
> > * Humans step out of a spaceship and walk on the moon.
> > * The Woodstock concert becomes a seminal cultural moment for the  
> > baby-
> > boomer generation.
> > * A New York City police raid leads to the Stonewall riots and modern
> > gay-rights movement.
> > * A handful of engineers at UCLA send some data from one computer to
> > another.
> >
> > You may disagree, but in my opinion, it's the last of the list: four
> > decades ago today, the Internet was born.
> > ....clip......
> >
> > http://news.cnet.com/8301-30685_3-10323175-264.html?tag=rtcol;inTheNewsNow
> >
> >
> >
> >
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