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Ted Nelson struggles with uncomprehending radio interviewer, 1979

TheTedNelson

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  • Recommended by 1 person: 1 on Hacker News.
  • Presented by Ted Nelson, pioneer of information technology

Beginner. No background in the topic needed.

19K views9 years ago1 recommendation

History and cultureSoftware designHistory of computingPeople who shaped computing

Ted Nelson patiently explains his prophetic vision of computers as creative tools for thinking and visualizing to a highly skeptical radio interviewer in 1979.

Max Allen of CBC radio asks over and over how a computer could possibly be useful for thinking and visualizing. He absolutely does not get it. With unprecedented patience, Ted answers over and over and over and over.

Why it's here

1 person recommends this, 1 disputes it

What people say. Highly recommended for its historical perspective on the early skepticism toward personal computing and Ted Nelson's visionary ideas.

dangirshon Hacker News • Recommends

On “Ted Nelson on What Modern Programmers Can Learn from the Past [video]”

My favorite Ted Nelson interview: link to this video It gives a great perspective on Ted's prophetic vision for computers as well as the intense skepticism it raised in many.
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shawnzon Hacker News • Disputes

On “Dumb Phone”

The author's arguments kind of remind me of those of the interviewer in this 1979 clip with Ted Nelson: link to this video
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drtse4on Hacker News • Mentions

On ““There Is No Reason for Any Individual to Have a Computer in Their Home””

From the same period, a radio interview where Ted Nelson tries to convince, unsuccessfully, a skeptical radio host that home computing has a future: link to this video
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tudorwon Hacker News • Mentions

On ““There Is No Reason for Any Individual to Have a Computer in Their Home””

As an adjunct, here's a journalist in 1979 struggling to comprehend Ted Nelson's vision that the computer would become a creative tool for the masses, link to this video
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abtinfon Hacker News • Mentions

On “‘Knitting Is Coding’ and Yarn Is Programmable in This Physics Lab”

Ted Nelson pointed out that knitting (or was it weaving?) is one of the most popular programming languages back in 1979. link to this video Edit to add: I wouldn’t be surprised if there are more knitting programmers today than all computer programming languages combined. Just the size and pervasive presence of Walmart or Joann’s yarn and fabric sections makes me almost certain.
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DonHopkinson Hacker News • Mentions

On “The Call of the Ocean: Hypertext, Universal and Open (1988)”

Ted Nelson: Computer Lib / Dream Machines (1975) pdf (worrydream.com) link link For what it's worth, YC is helping Ted Nelson sell his "Computer Lib / Dream Machines" book: link This book is a truly unique and is worth owning in hardcopy format. link Ted versus The Media Lab link to this video (youtube.com) link link Interview with Ted Nelson (notion.so) link link Ted Nelson on What Modern Programmers Can Learn from the Past link to this video (ieee.org) link link Ted Nelson struggles with uncomprehending radio interviewer (1979) audio (youtube.com) link link to this video Ted Nelson’s published papers on computers and interaction, 1965 to 1977 (archive.org) link link Ask HN: What is the best r…
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superphunthymeon Hacker News • Mentions

On “The Objects of Our Life (1983)”

This one with Ted Nelson? link to this video It's got the skeptical interviewer, and at 9:56 (with some lead-in before) there is a discussion of libraries, catalogs, tagging, etc. Edit: and then he goes on to mention Dewey Decimal as well.
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