Alex Wright


Reader responses

June 18, 2008

Here's a quick round-up of reader responses to my recent Science Times article on Paul Otlet:

Kevin Kelly takes the piece as a starting point for a fascinating rumination on dead media, probing the history of edged-notched punch cards and the long-lost McBee card (which apparently once powered the Whole Earth Catalog).

David Brandin, former president of the ACM, wrote in to call my attention to another forgotten visionary, Wilhelm Weber, who imagined the possibility of electronic information networks back in the mid-nineteenth century.

University of Texas professor Eric Freudenthal questioned my characterization of the telegraph as an "analog" machine, pointing out that since the telegraph relied on sequences of long and short pulses to encode data, it fits the dictionary definition of a digital device.

Elsewhere, the piece got a good workout on both Slashdot and Gawker (two constituencies who, on the face of it, wouldn't seem to have much in common). My favorite was the commenter who suggested the Mundaneum could boost attendance by changing its name to "Fundaneum."

And here's a list of additional blog mentions via Google Blog Search.

Thanks to everyone who blogged/commented/wrote in about the piece. I haven't had time to respond individually to everyone who wrote in, but will do my best to catch up as time allows over the next few days.


File under: Publications

_____________________
« The Web That Time Forgot | Around the dial »

 

Glut: Mastering Information Through the Ages

GLUT:
Mastering Information Through the Ages

New Paperback Edition

“A penetrating and highly entertaining meditation on the information age and its historical roots.”
—Los Angeles Times     

Buy from Amazon.com