Proposal for Talk Session: Back to the Hyper-Web: Ted Nelson’s Dream Machine/Comp Lib Revisited

In 1965, Ted Nelson proposed a very radical way of using computers. He suggested that they were, already, more powerful as media machines, worked on by everyone, for personal uses. The original paper didn’t get much interest, but when Nelson published his dual-book, Comp Lib/Dream Machines in 1974, at the beginning of the hobby personal computer boom, it became a best seller. It was said that every new employee of the then fledgeling Apple had to read the book.

What I would like to propose is a Talk Session where we revisit some of Ted Nelson’s more radical ideas in Comp Lib/Dream Machines and see where we are today. I make available a pdf of the book to everyone, and bring my first edition copy to the session.

Robin Boast