The Dream Machine

De: M. Mitchell Waldrop

Narrado por: Jamie Renell

Behind every great revolution is a vision, and behind perhaps the greatest revolution of our time, personal computing, is the vision of J.C.R. Licklider. He did not design the first personal computers or write the software that ran on them, nor was he involved in the legendary early companies that brought them to the forefront of our everyday experience. He was instead a relentless visionary who saw the potential of the way individuals could interact with computers and software.

At a time when computers were a short step removed from mechanical data processors, Licklider was writing treatises on "human-computer symbiosis", "computers as communication devices", and a now not-so-unfamiliar "Intergalactic Network". His ideas became so influential, his passion so contagious, that Waldrop called him "computing's Johnny Appleseed".

In a simultaneously compelling personal narrative and comprehensive historical exposition, Waldrop tells the story of the man who not only instigated the work that led to the internet, but also shifted our understanding of what computers were and could be.

Included in this edition are also the original texts of Licklider's three most influential writings: "Man-computer symbiosis" (1960), which outlines the vision that inspired the personal computer revolution of the 1970s; his "Intergalactic Network" memo (1963), which outlines the vision that inspired the Internet; and "The computer as a communication device" (1968, coauthored with Robert Taylor), which amplifies his vision for what the network could become.

©2018 M. Mitchell Waldrop (P)2018 Stripe Press

A true visionary

The man-computer symbiosis that JCR Licklider imagined is closer to reality than ever. I am grateful for the pioneers who dreamt and who lived under circumstances that allowed them to realize those dreams. This narrative is highly accessible to non-technical readers and a page turner for me. As a Gen-Xer who was exposed to the MS DOS Logo drawing program and BASIC programming language as a child, learning about the origins of of these curiously warmed my heart and brought me closer to the originators of these ideas.

Fascinating insight into how our world was shaped.

I enjoyed listening to this book and learning about how this one man’s vision directed our future.

A saga that makes you wonder

I’m halfway through the book and feel compelled to write this review. Two things that struck me the most are:

1) How the visionaries defined our modern life in the 1950-60s (first AI lab was established in 1957 at MIT and Lick’s internal memo talking about e-commerce)

2) Lick perfectly fits into the stereotype of an intellectual giant as what we are taught in school: his brilliance, his desire to connect and inspire, with a sheer lack of interests in money and fame, stands so differently from his counterparts today (or lack of). I challenge anyone to find any modern figure who fits into this image.


Now the question is, who is our Lick today? Try asking this question to AI and you’ll be disappointed.

The fundamental reason is the broad stagnation of science and technology: there is no 0 to 1 innovations in recent decades. Why?

Which prompted me to think about the effect of peer review in academia. (Peer review was established around 1960s.) Its most pernicious effect is concentrating science research around funding, which is largely driven by government. Nobody can do research just for the pursuit and excitement. This also explains the recent major breakthroughs were all made possible through intensive capital investment.

This further introduces China into the world stage…

Really Interesting

I wish they had enlisted a reader who was familiar with computer science terminology, who would use correct pronunciation. Hearing terms mispronounced became a significant distraction by the end of the book.

Well done

This book was a complete surprise based off the cover which makes it seem like it's going to be very dull and long biography. However, it's not boring at all, in fact I'd say it's probably the best creation of the internet book I've read in that it covers most everything AND it's really well written, moves at a good pace, and is interesting. I like longer and more in depth books but the downside of getting additional detail that makes books long is often the author can bog down the story, and that's why this book is excellent, I never thought the story got bogged down in needless detail, yet I think it provided enough detail for you to understand what is happen, how and why (for the most part).

Overall this is a really excellent book and highly recommended to anyone that has any interest in the subject matter.

The reader does a great professional job as well.