Computer Lib/Dream Machines
by Ted Nelson · first published 1974
56% recommend44% neutral
Why HN recommends it
Counterculture-flavored tour of early computing and hypertext, arguing computers should liberate people. Valued for its history, inspiration, and Nelson's vision; suits anyone curious about pre-PC computing.
Summarised by Claude from recommending comments
Nelson writes passionately about the need for people to understand computers deeply, more deeply than was generally promoted as computer literacy, which he considers a superficial kind of familiarity with particular hardware and software. His rallying cry "Down with Cybercrud" is against the centralization of computers such as that performed by IBM at the time, as well as against what he sees as the intentional untruths that "computer people" tell to non-computer people to keep them from understanding computers. In Dream Machines, Nelson covers the flexible media potential of the computer, whi
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…scene (seems quite linked to technology, especially in Germany?), but I'm keen to learn about other links. Some books/thinkers I've come across already are: - Stewart Brand and the Whole Earth Catalog - Computer Lib/Dream Machines by Ted Nelson - Erik Davis' 'Technopagans' essay in Wired - Jaron Lanier's 'Who Owns the Future' As well as books I'd be super interested in any links to good mailing list archives, or even first hand…
on “Ask HN: Computers and counterculture” ↗For what it's worth, YC is helping Ted Nelson sell his "Computer Lib / Dream Machines" book: https://twitter.com/nolimits/status/1087770718878687232 This book is a truly unique and is worth owning in hardcopy format.
on “Interview with Ted Nelson” ↗The term Hypertext was coined by Ted Nelson, probably 1965. Check out his book Computer Lib/Dream Machines. He envisioneers the internet quite well.
on “What does "HREF" stand for? (2008)” ↗Ted's book is fantastic, Computer Lib and Dream Machines. http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Computer_Lib_/_Dream_Machines http://www.amazon.co.uk/Computer-Lib-Dream-Machines-Tempus/d...
on “1995 Vannevar Bush symposium: Closing Panel” ↗Ted Nelson is very quotable and I would highly recommend reading at least the freely available excerpt [1] from his seminal 1974 book Computer Lib / Dream Machines to anyone who frequents HN. For those who don't know, his most famous invention is the term "hypertext" and he also appears to have invented, though is lest often acknowledged for, the history stack with…
on “Ted Nelson's Computer Paradigm Expressed as One-Liners (1999)” ↗I'd argue she's flat missed the most important aspects of programming, as shown in these two books: 1. Fred Brooks' The Mythical Man-Month, and, 2. Ted Nelson's Computer Lib/Dream Machines (Really, almost anything by Nelson, but this one is the classic.) Neither teaches programming. Both teach the things that make good programming good, and if you don't know these things, you're condemned…
on “MIT lecturer Ana Bell discusses books to learn CS and programming” ↗…9. Boyd: The Fighter Pilot Who Changed the Art of War by Robert Coram (OODA is the true core of agile thinking, and it works pretty much everywhere.) For software and computers specifically, add: 10. Computer Lib/Dream Machines by Ted Nelson (Impossible to categorize - it's a hypertext book for crying out loud - but browsing it can change your thinking.) 11. The Soul of a New Machine by Tracy Kidder. (Good for new products…
on “Ask HN: What makes a good technical leader – any recommended books?” ↗No, but also not just someone, Ted Nelson. I highly recommend Geeks Bearing Gifts or Computer Lib/Dream Machines. He is a crank, who has never been involved in a successful software project as far as I am aware. He is also great.
on “A Gentle Introduction to Ted Nelson's ZigZag Structure (2002)” ↗Not quite in the vein, but I think Ted Nelson's "Computer Lib/Dream Machines" deserves mention (although it's partly history.) https://computerlibbook.com/ https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Computer_Lib/Dream_Machines https://archive.org/details/computer-lib-dream-machines - -…
on “Ask HN: Most interesting, mildly impractical, well-written books on software?” ↗…roughly contemporaneous GPM of Christopher Strachey (1965), is a Turing complete language based on macros that can define other macros, etc. I learned about TRAC in the mid 1970s from Ted Nelson's book Computer Lib/Dream Machines [Nelson]. It was one of three languages featured in that book. A fun little book, Etudes for Programmers, which I bought in 1978 inspired me to implement a version of TRAC. It's a nice exercise. Many…
on “Bitmap Indexes in Go: Search Speed (2019)” ↗Not a traditional history narrative but: Computer Lib/Dream Machines by Ted Nelson - a fabulous exploration of the optimism of the early computing era. I imagine it's long out of print but apparently available from internet archive. Read it! Not a book, not non-fiction,…
on “The Joy of Computer History Books” ↗Try finding a copy of Computer Lib/Dream Machines by Ted Nelson (1974), it's pretty awesome. http://www.amazon.com/dp/0914845497/ To establish his credibility he lists both his "technology credentials" and his "counter culture credentials". If I had…
on “Ask HN: Favorite true story tech book?” ↗…dominant in the µprocessor market, as the IBM PC was a panic response to Apple's success, and IBM's scientific PC, based on a Motorola 68K chip, might have taken a larger market share. See Ted Nelson's book Computer Lib/Dream Machines for more on the state of personal computing prior to the start of Apple.
on “Would Steve Jobs have applied to Y Combinator?” ↗> I wish I could remember the name of it, it was a bright yellow cover with a superhero on it, I think. Could it be Computer Lib/Dream Machines by Ted Nelson: Cover of the 1974 edition: http://blogs.brandeis.edu/sarahw/files/2011/03/cover1.jpg Front cover of the 1987 edition (in yellow): https://www.amazon.co.uk/Computer-Lib-Dream-Machines-Tempus/...…
on “Languages Which Almost Became CSS” ↗And buy or borrow a copy of his iconic book https://www.amazon.com/Computer-Lib-Dream-Machines-Revised/d... it's not long, won't take you too long to read the first time.
on “Interview with Ted Nelson, 1990” ↗