[extropy-chat] Who Anticipated Internet Exploding in 90s?

[natashavita at earthlink.net]

Robin, I discussed the inceptive, imaginations/conceptions of the Internet
with John Perry Barlow today and and he told me:

"The first prediction I can think of is this: 

'Is it a fact - or have I dreamt it - that, by means of electricity, 
the world of matter has become a great nerve, vibrating thousands of 
miles in a breathless point of time? Rather, the round globe is a 
vast head, a brain, instinct with intelligence!'

That, believe it or not, was Nathanial Hawthorne, from the invocation 
of The House of Seven Gables. 

Then there was Pierre Teilhard de Chardin, who predicted, back in the 
50's. that evolution would next create a new layer based on global 
consciousness. 

Also, there was J.C.R. Licklider who was in charge of DARPA when the 
Internet was first conceived. 

My vote goes to Hawthorne, however."

Natasha

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