Perspective is worth 80 IQ points.
Alan KayRead
The Internet was done so well that most people think of it as a natural resource like the Pacific Ocean, rather than something that was man-made. When was the last time a technology with a scale like that was so error-free? The Web, in comparison, is a joke. The Web was done by amateurs.
Interpretation
What this quote means
The quote highlights how the Internet is perceived as a natural phenomenon rather than a human creation, emphasizing its complexity and reliability compared to the Web.
Alan Kay's quote reflects on the remarkable success of the Internet as a technology that delivers near-universal functionality with minimal error, positioning it as an almost natural resource. In contrast, he critiques the Web, suggesting that its shortcomings are indicative of amateurish attempts at creating a truly comprehensive and reliable technology, underscoring the intricate nature of these digital systems.
Themes
InternetTechnologyWebMan-MadeResourceError-Free
In practice
Example use cases
During a tech conference discussing the evolution of digital technologies, this quote can be used to emphasize the uniqueness of the Internet.
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By the time I got to school, I had already read a couple hundred books. I knew in the first grade that they were lying to me because I had already been exposed to other points of view. School is basically about one point of view -- the one the teacher has or the textbooks have. They don't like the idea of having different points of view, so it was a battle. Of course I would pipe up with my five-year-old voice.
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Simple things should be simple and complex things should be possible.
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If you're not failing 90% of the time, then you're probably not working on sufficiently challenging problems.
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Scratch the surface in a typical boardroom and we're all just cavemen with briefcases, hungry for a wise person to tell us stories.
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