4 ms·

Who Is This “Licklider” Guy? (2008)

82 points by indigodaddy 7y ago

utopian3 7y ago
“Where Wizards Stay Up Late” is a fantastic book that has some good insight on Lick’s imagination and contributions to technology. And LOADS more! https://www.amazon.com/Where-Wizards-Stay-Up-Late/dp/0684832674 https://www.amazon.com/Where-Wizards-Stay-Up-Late/dp/0684832...
- fossuser 7y ago
  I read that one too and if you liked it you'll probably like the one mentioned in the article more: https://press.stripe.com/#the-dream-machine https://press.stripe.com/#the-dream-machine The Dream Machine goes a lot more in depth and covers more of the story.
- dbish 7y ago
  Loved this book. If you like tech bio/history books, this one is a must read.
- signa11 7y ago
  actually, i like "Michael A. Hiltzik’s Dealers of Lightning: Xerox PARC and the Dawn of the Computer Age" (https://www.amazon.com/gp/product/0887309895/ https://www.amazon.com/gp/product/0887309895/) much better than the wizards book. it is quite a long read, but is very good.
  - lordgrenville 7y ago
    I've read both. They're about different topics. Wizards is about the development of the internet. I found it slightly more fun reading, but both books are highly worthwhile, if you're interested in the history of technology.
    - signa11 7y ago
      hmm, me too :o) but from reading the 'dealers of lightning' it was kind of apparent, that parc had a huge influence on development of internetworking-protocols than is widely known f.e. we must surely remeber about the 'parc universal packet' aka PUP (https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/PARC_Universal_Packet https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/PARC_Universal_Packet) as a precursor to the much beloved tcp/ip protocol suite etc etc. unfortunately, i didn't really enjoy the 'wizards' book as much as i would have really liked...i had the distinct impression that it was kind of 'jumping all over the place'
pmoriarty 7y ago
"One such example of how he did this was his famous 1963 memo which began: "[to the] Members and Affiliates of the Intergalactic Computer Network." In his mind, Lick was referring to a human network. He continued: "It is evident that we have among us a collection of individual (personal and/or organizational) aspirations, efforts, activities, and projects." The challenge now was to exploit "the possibilities for mutual advantage". He went on to describe a connected system that would keep all the research projects together, a network focused on human thoughts but connected by wires. In essence, the early signs of the Internet." Not to take anything away from Licklider, but in 1909 E. M. Forster was already envisioning something like the internet in his short story The Machine Stops.[1][2] [1] - https://web.archive.org/web/20190102114403/http://archive.ncsa.illinois.edu/prajlich/forster.html https://web.archive.org/web/20190102114403/http://archive.nc... [2] - https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/The_Machine_Stops https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/The_Machine_Stops
dfeojm-zlib 7y ago
For a second, I thought this was an ice cream licking precursor. Phew
janvdberg 7y ago
While on the subject of books and Licklider. Here [1] is a great Licklider quote about paper (books) in a book [2], that I always loved. [1] https://j11g.com/wp-content/uploads/2018/12/Licklider.png https://j11g.com/wp-content/uploads/2018/12/Licklider.png [2] http://worrydream.com/refs/Licklider%20-%20Libraries%20of%20the%20Future.pdf http://worrydream.com/refs/Licklider%20-%20Libraries%20of%20...
jvanderbot 7y ago
I first encountered his name when digging into ION, the interplanetary overlay network becuase of the LTP protocol. https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/Licklider_Transmission_Protocol https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/Licklider_Transmission_Proto... Really stellar work.
tosh 7y ago
The Dream Machine: J.C.R. Licklider and the Revolution That Made Computing Personal https://www.amazon.com/Dream-Machine-Licklider-Revolution-Computing/dp/014200135X https://www.amazon.com/Dream-Machine-Licklider-Revolution-Co...
macca321 7y ago
Jeff's blog is really great btw., especially the Towards Moore's Law series.

82 points by indigodaddy 7y ago

“Where Wizards Stay Up Late” is a fantastic book that has some good insight on Lick’s imagination and contributions to technology. And LOADS more! https://www.amazon.com/Where-Wizards-Stay-Up-Late/dp/0684832674 https://www.amazon.com/Where-Wizards-Stay-Up-Late/dp/0684832...

fossuser 7y ago
I read that one too and if you liked it you'll probably like the one mentioned in the article more: https://press.stripe.com/#the-dream-machine https://press.stripe.com/#the-dream-machine The Dream Machine goes a lot more in depth and covers more of the story.
dbish 7y ago
Loved this book. If you like tech bio/history books, this one is a must read.
signa11 7y ago
actually, i like "Michael A. Hiltzik’s Dealers of Lightning: Xerox PARC and the Dawn of the Computer Age" (https://www.amazon.com/gp/product/0887309895/ https://www.amazon.com/gp/product/0887309895/) much better than the wizards book. it is quite a long read, but is very good.
- lordgrenville 7y ago
  I've read both. They're about different topics. Wizards is about the development of the internet. I found it slightly more fun reading, but both books are highly worthwhile, if you're interested in the history of technology.
  - signa11 7y ago
    hmm, me too :o) but from reading the 'dealers of lightning' it was kind of apparent, that parc had a huge influence on development of internetworking-protocols than is widely known f.e. we must surely remeber about the 'parc universal packet' aka PUP (https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/PARC_Universal_Packet https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/PARC_Universal_Packet) as a precursor to the much beloved tcp/ip protocol suite etc etc. unfortunately, i didn't really enjoy the 'wizards' book as much as i would have really liked...i had the distinct impression that it was kind of 'jumping all over the place'

pmoriarty 7y ago

"One such example of how he did this was his famous 1963 memo which began: "[to the] Members and Affiliates of the Intergalactic Computer Network." In his mind, Lick was referring to a human network. He continued: "It is evident that we have among us a collection of individual (personal and/or organizational) aspirations, efforts, activities, and projects." The challenge now was to exploit "the possibilities for mutual advantage". He went on to describe a connected system that would keep all the research projects together, a network focused on human thoughts but connected by wires. In essence, the early signs of the Internet." Not to take anything away from Licklider, but in 1909 E. M. Forster was already envisioning something like the internet in his short story The Machine Stops.[1][2] [1] - https://web.archive.org/web/20190102114403/http://archive.ncsa.illinois.edu/prajlich/forster.html https://web.archive.org/web/20190102114403/http://archive.nc... [2] - https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/The_Machine_Stops https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/The_Machine_Stops

dfeojm-zlib 7y ago

For a second, I thought this was an ice cream licking precursor. Phew

janvdberg 7y ago

While on the subject of books and Licklider. Here [1] is a great Licklider quote about paper (books) in a book [2], that I always loved. [1] https://j11g.com/wp-content/uploads/2018/12/Licklider.png https://j11g.com/wp-content/uploads/2018/12/Licklider.png [2] http://worrydream.com/refs/Licklider%20-%20Libraries%20of%20the%20Future.pdf http://worrydream.com/refs/Licklider%20-%20Libraries%20of%20...

jvanderbot 7y ago

I first encountered his name when digging into ION, the interplanetary overlay network becuase of the LTP protocol. https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/Licklider_Transmission_Protocol https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/Licklider_Transmission_Proto... Really stellar work.

tosh 7y ago

The Dream Machine: J.C.R. Licklider and the Revolution That Made Computing Personal https://www.amazon.com/Dream-Machine-Licklider-Revolution-Computing/dp/014200135X https://www.amazon.com/Dream-Machine-Licklider-Revolution-Co...

macca321 7y ago

Jeff's blog is really great btw., especially the Towards Moore's Law series.