Augmenting Human Intellect (1962)
dougengelbart.org
Augmenting Human Intellect (1962)
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Re: Augmenting Human Intellect (1962)
#2Thank you, Doug.
Re: Augmenting Human Intellect (1962)
#3> Can I get a raise of hands for folks who think "Dream Machines" is the #1 book on software? How about for those who believe that Engelbart's Augmenting Human Intellect is a driving force for humanity? And that software is a radical embodiment of that all? I think we can get a modest show of hands; I've seen enough confirming points of view from about. (Would that I have a memex to highlight all the mentions I've seen, all the other endorsements!)
Me, about an hour ago[1], in the "How can you not be romantic about software?" discussion. Amusing to see Doug echoed back on HN so quickly. Small world!
It's in reply to one of the most critical pieces of the thread, to me. The overarching article is somewhat fetishistic, just in to the wizardry of it all, the power, the skill. I was replying specifically to someone promoting the use of personal knowledge systems, to capture everything you are learning, to build a log & indexes. This, really, is the heart of what I find so romantic: this augmentative, compounding nature of software, of informatics. To gain heightened view points, and to make ourselves steersmen[2].
That thread included a shout out to Karli Coss, who has done more than anyone I've seen to draw together all the streams, to gather & create views of his own existence as it forms across the digital[2]. He's brought a wide range of software- from ebook readers to music players to web browsers- into his own domain, to build his extended brain. Karli has augmented his intellect far further than anyone else.
There's a lot of compelling things about software, a lot of ways to have fun. But of the ways to be romantic about programming, Augmenting Human Intellect is the most profound & resounding romantic notions that I have ever encountered. I see so many people engaged in software, but this seems like the core of where almost all real true meaning lives, and we should reshape our focus, abandon so much software, to chase an integrative, augmentative vision of computing in pursuit of this romance. We should be inspired, as Doug was.
Re: Augmenting Human Intellect (1962)
#4My favourite part is still the 'demo' of tying a brick to a pen to prove the power of augmentation via de-augmentation
Re: Augmenting Human Intellect (1962)
#5Each time I see the Mother of all demos, I think to myself that this guy must be a time traveler from the future.
Re: Augmenting Human Intellect (1962)
#6> By "augmenting human intellect" we mean increasing the capability of a man to approach a complex problem situation, to gain comprehension to suit his particular needs, and to derive solutions to problems.
Sounds like math.
Re: Augmenting Human Intellect (1962)
#7Is there a TL;DR version? Before you downvote, I don't want to invest hours into reading something when 80% of the value can probably be summarized into one paragraph.
BTW, I wonder how many of the people who upvoted this have actually read it.
Re: Augmenting Human Intellect (1962)
#8> By "augmenting human intellect" we mean increasing the capability of a man to approach a complex problem situation, to gain comprehension to suit his particular needs, and to derive solutions to problems. Sounds like math.
It sounds like general problem solving ie. Collect all the individual components of the problem and research the known methods of connecting the components to each other to achieve the desired result. When the desired result is found the problem is solved. It's how basic word problems are formatted. This is well documented. The problem is getting humans to follow the steps instead of making what they think are intuitive leaps but are really mental errors.
Re: Augmenting Human Intellect (1962)
#9FYI this website is blocked by MalwareBytes for having a trojan
Re: Augmenting Human Intellect (1962)
#10Is there a TL;DR version? Before you downvote, I don't want to invest hours into reading something when 80% of the value can probably be summarized into one paragraph. BTW, I wonder how many of the people who upvoted this have actually read it.
title is missing the year (it's 1962) -- he's talking about the computer and internet. fyi doug invented the mouse, among other things..