Tools for thought
by Howard Rheingold · first published 1985
67% recommend33% neutral
Why HN recommends it
Covers the history of computing and mind-expanding technology from Boole and Babbage through Turing, Licklider and the lead-up to the internet; a broad, accessible tech history that pairs well with The Dream Machine.
Summarised by Claude from recommending comments
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Mentions per year
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Howard Rheingold's 'Tools for Thought: The History and Future of Mind-Expanding Technology' - covers George Boole, Charles Babbage, Alan Turing, John Von Neumann Jon Gernter's 'The Idea Factory: Bell Labs and the Great Age of American Innovation'…
on “Ask PG/HN: Recommended reading on the history of technology” ↗tips hat my pleasure. I'll add that I've recently begun to read about the fascinating early history of computing myself through a series of HN threads which led me to read, "Tools for Thought" by Howard Rheingold. That book is highly cited in another book mentioned here in the comments about Licklider, "The Dream Machine". I highly recommend Tools for Thought. It is very clear from reading…
on “J.C.R. Licklider on the History of Personal Workstations (1986) [video]” ↗Some of my favourite internet-specific books: - The Dream Machine. Fantastic tech history coverage with a particular focus on the lead up to the internet https://press.stripe.com/#the-dream-machine. - Tools for Thought - Lots of similar ground to the Dream Machine but with a less internet-centric focus. Still great though - https://www.amazon.co.uk/Tools-Thought-History-Mind-Expandin... Perhaps not internet focused,…
on “Ask HN: Any good books on the history of the internet?” ↗I haven't read it yet, but Tools for Thought: The History and Future of Mind-Expanding Technology by Howard Rheingold looks very promising. The MIT Press edition [1] contains an afterword, in which Rheingold interviews some of the pioneers discussed…
on “The Joy of Computer History Books” ↗I'm following my own advice there at the end and browsing around a bit more, and one book dynamicland links to on their bookshelf (https://dynamicland.org/2024/Roots/) is "Tools for Thought" (https://www.rheingold.com/texts/tft/) which has this amazing blurb which reminded me of this thread: > Tools for Thought is an exercise in retrospective futurism; that is, I wrote it in the early 1980s,…
on “What is Realtalk’s relationship to AI? (2024)” ↗Howard Rheingold's Tools for Thought. http://www.rheingold.com/texts/tft/
on “Ask PG/HN: Recommended reading on the history of technology” ↗…preferred case, the two parties are able to state each other's position to the other's satisfaction. One of his tricks as a manager was to help the parties get to that state. This is either from Rheingold's Tools for Thought or Doug Smith's book. update: kind of but not exactly like this great scene from Horace & Pete https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=3iRM1iN-3a4
on “Bob Taylor Has Died” ↗Howard Rheingold's book "Tools For Thought" profiles Ted (along with Engelbart, Licklider, and other familiar names). And you can read it for free nowadays from the author's own site. <http://www.rheingold.com/texts/tft/index.html#index>
on “Ted Nelson on What Modern Programmers Can Learn from the Past (2018)” ↗…https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Literary_Machines http://www.eastgate.com/catalog/LiteraryMachines.html [Here's Ted Nelson talking about Jump Links:] https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=1gPM3GqjMR4 Rheingold, H. (1985). Tools for Thought: The People and Ideas behind the Next Computer Revolution. https://www.rheingold.com/texts/tft/
on “Revisiting why hyperlinks are blue” ↗