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Intertwingled: The Work and Influence of Ted Nelson
This engaging volume celebrates the life and work of Theodor Holm “Ted” Nelson, a pioneer and legendary figure from the history of early computing. Presenting contributions from world-renowned computer scientists and figures from the media industry, the book delves into hypertext, the docuverse, Xanadu and other products of Ted Nelson’s unique mind. Features: includes a cartoon and a sequence of poems created in Nelson’s honor, reflecting his wide-ranging and interdisciplinary intellect; presents peer histories, providing a sense of the milieu that resulted from Nelson’s ideas; contains personal accounts revealing what it is like to collaborate directly with Nelson; describes Nelson’s legacy from the perspective of his contemporaries from the computing world; provides a contribution from Ted Nelson himself. With a broad appeal spanning computer scientists, science historians and the general reader, this inspiring collection reveals the continuing influence of the original visionary of the World Wide Web.
166 pages, Hardcover
First published July 6, 2015
16 people are currently reading
60 people want to read
About the author
Douglas R. Dechow
5 books2 followersDouglas R. Dechow is a Writer, a Science Nerd, and a Librarian. Doug is currently working on his first novel, a cross-country spy thriller set during the Manhattan Project. Doug writes Lofty Ambitions blog with his wife, Anna Leahy. Together, Doug and Anna have previously published in the Smithsonian's Air & Space magazine, the BBC Online, Fifth Wednesday, and Chapman Magazine.
He is the Digital Humanities and Sciences Librarian at Chapman University in Orange, California. He is also the Curator of the Roger and Roberta Boisjoly Challenger Disaster Collection.
Doug earned his master's degree in Library and Information Science from the University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign, a doctorate in Computer Science from Oregon State University, a masters in Applied Mathematics from Ohio University, and a bachelors in Physics from Knox College. Despite some curious career choices, none of these schools has asked for their degrees to be returned.
He is the Digital Humanities and Sciences Librarian at Chapman University in Orange, California. He is also the Curator of the Roger and Roberta Boisjoly Challenger Disaster Collection.
Doug earned his master's degree in Library and Information Science from the University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign, a doctorate in Computer Science from Oregon State University, a masters in Applied Mathematics from Ohio University, and a bachelors in Physics from Knox College. Despite some curious career choices, none of these schools has asked for their degrees to be returned.
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Displaying 1 - 2 of 2 reviews
December 21, 2015
Intertwingled
This book is an interesting look into the life and impact of someone who had a great influence on the early days of computing and the internet, in some ways predicting and inspiring the web we have today, even while he is dissatisfied (to put it mildly) with the actuality of the web we have versus the hyperlinked network of content he envisioned so long ago.
I have mixed feelings about Ted Nelson and his work, but this book does not present much of a mixed message, being the proceedings of a conference celebrating his work and achievements. The fact that his most concrete achievement, a 2-in-one book called Computer Lib (from one direction) / Dream Machines (flipped and read the other way), was not lost on the attendees. Reading through, nearly every chapter began with how the presenter first found that book and the influence it had on them. So this is, by and large, the testimony of the faithful, believers in the vision.
Which is fine, the alternative view was summed up sufficiently by Gary Wolf, in a 1995 article for Wired, "The Curse of Xanadu." Xanadu, in this context, being Dr. Nelson's never-implemented software that he continues to claim is far superior to the web or any software that actually exists. Given that he has been pushing this idea in one form or another since 1965, he gets a good claim on world's longest running vapourware.
Of course, if people are unconvinced by your ideas after 50 years, and numerous attempts to actually build those ideas have failed, there is always the chance that the ideas aren't really the answer you think they are. For Nelson I think his "intertwingled" utopia is a solution for a problem that only he has, mixed with unworkable ideas for both hyperlinked media and for micropayments and copyright that I think even the RIAA would find laughably unenforceable. And, like many utopian ideals, the first step is to become ubiquitous.
Clay Shirky, in his 1996 essay, "In Praise of Evolvable Systems," did not call out Xanadu specifically, but when he wrote,
He could easily have had it in mind. The entire premise of Xanadu revolved around solving an intricate thicket of problems, ahead of time, and in concert with each other. Given that none of those problems have really been resolved individually in the ensuing 50 years gives some idea of the scope of this. While computers are good at many things, fixing problems that are social or personal are not among them, and I think that ultimately Xanadu serves as a reminder of that limit.
So while I am a sceptic, to put it mildly, of the grand vision of Xanadu, I have followed Dr. Nelson's work and influence over the years and found these proceedings to be an enjoyable look at the other view, and at the many ways he has influenced people over the years in their own (more achievable) work. In Nelson's own essay he says the whole thing felt like hearing his own obituary, and some of the chapters do feel like that, always calling back to the work he did in 1974. But many of the chapters are forward looking, to work still to be done, in a number of fields that have been influenced by Nelson's legacy. Because his vision, as vision, had had a much greater impact than attempts to codify it as software, and having inspired a generation to push further is not a bad way to be remembered.
This book is an interesting look into the life and impact of someone who had a great influence on the early days of computing and the internet, in some ways predicting and inspiring the web we have today, even while he is dissatisfied (to put it mildly) with the actuality of the web we have versus the hyperlinked network of content he envisioned so long ago.
I have mixed feelings about Ted Nelson and his work, but this book does not present much of a mixed message, being the proceedings of a conference celebrating his work and achievements. The fact that his most concrete achievement, a 2-in-one book called Computer Lib (from one direction) / Dream Machines (flipped and read the other way), was not lost on the attendees. Reading through, nearly every chapter began with how the presenter first found that book and the influence it had on them. So this is, by and large, the testimony of the faithful, believers in the vision.
Which is fine, the alternative view was summed up sufficiently by Gary Wolf, in a 1995 article for Wired, "The Curse of Xanadu." Xanadu, in this context, being Dr. Nelson's never-implemented software that he continues to claim is far superior to the web or any software that actually exists. Given that he has been pushing this idea in one form or another since 1965, he gets a good claim on world's longest running vapourware.
Of course, if people are unconvinced by your ideas after 50 years, and numerous attempts to actually build those ideas have failed, there is always the chance that the ideas aren't really the answer you think they are. For Nelson I think his "intertwingled" utopia is a solution for a problem that only he has, mixed with unworkable ideas for both hyperlinked media and for micropayments and copyright that I think even the RIAA would find laughably unenforceable. And, like many utopian ideals, the first step is to become ubiquitous.
Clay Shirky, in his 1996 essay, "In Praise of Evolvable Systems," did not call out Xanadu specifically, but when he wrote,
HTTP and HTML are the Whoopee Cushion and Joy Buzzer of Internet protocols, only comprehensible as elaborate practical jokes. For anyone who has tried to accomplish anything serious on the Web, it's pretty obvious that of the various implementations of a worldwide hypertext protocol, we have the worst one possible.
Except, of course, for all the others.
He could easily have had it in mind. The entire premise of Xanadu revolved around solving an intricate thicket of problems, ahead of time, and in concert with each other. Given that none of those problems have really been resolved individually in the ensuing 50 years gives some idea of the scope of this. While computers are good at many things, fixing problems that are social or personal are not among them, and I think that ultimately Xanadu serves as a reminder of that limit.
So while I am a sceptic, to put it mildly, of the grand vision of Xanadu, I have followed Dr. Nelson's work and influence over the years and found these proceedings to be an enjoyable look at the other view, and at the many ways he has influenced people over the years in their own (more achievable) work. In Nelson's own essay he says the whole thing felt like hearing his own obituary, and some of the chapters do feel like that, always calling back to the work he did in 1974. But many of the chapters are forward looking, to work still to be done, in a number of fields that have been influenced by Nelson's legacy. Because his vision, as vision, had had a much greater impact than attempts to codify it as software, and having inspired a generation to push further is not a bad way to be remembered.
April 22, 2025
DNF. This is not a book; it is a collection of accolades towards Ted Nelson in the form of the talks/articles by the people who worked with and knew Nelson. Nelson, undoubtedly deserves all praise and accolades, but your time will better spend reading Belinda Barnet, who covered the history of hypertext much more broadly in her Memory Machines. In her book, she talks about Nelson's roles from the more objective position of historian, not just a friend.
Displaying 1 - 2 of 2 reviews