The book is also available in paperback on Amazon and on our Website for a donation to NextNow Collaboratory (free shipping in the USA).
The book launch party for”Engelbart Hypothesis” at the Tech Museum, San Jose, July 22, was a wonderful event. http://engelbarthypothesis.eventbrite.com/ We created a photo album chronicling the event. Ted Nelson and Marlene flew in for the event from the East Coast and Doug’s words provided us all with inspiration.
We are posting the contents of our book “The Engelbart Hypothesis: Dialogs with Doug Engelbart.” We hope you will give us feedback so each edition gets better and better. If you would like to post a chapter…please do so.
This is supported by NextPress…to support our efforts we encourage you to donate to the NextNow Collaboratory NextPress project and you will receive a complementary copy of the book “The Engelbart Hypothesis: Dialgos with Douglas Engelbart” by Valerie Landau and Eileen Clegg in conversation with Douglas C. Engelbart.
January 14, 2009 at 10:39 pm
This is so great, I read the book and just wanted to say thank you so much. I feel like I finally understand his message.
January 15, 2009 at 3:48 am
What a joy to be able to read the book! I have read Doug’s papers and have really struggled to put his ideas into the right words. With the book, I felt like I was having a fireside chat. What a joy! So many times, while I was reading, I jumped out of the chair because I feel that I now have the right vocabulary to share things which I have wanted to share for a long time. Thank you Doug, Valerie, and Eileen! You have done a wonderful thing and I offer my thanks and congratulations!
January 15, 2009 at 5:34 pm
This was the clearest, most down-to-earth exposition of Doug’s ideas that I have ever read. Thanks to Doug, Valerie and Eileen for doing a superb job of condensing and explaining the work of one of the great thinkers of the 20th century. Readable, comprehensible and comprehensive, this is truly “Engelbart for Dummies” in the best tradition of that series of books.
January 16, 2009 at 4:03 am
Rob, thanks and always love your sense of humor (the third generation Princeton humor). You of all people know the challenge D, V & I faced in bringing the ‘vision’ into lay language. Many thanks for your comment.
January 16, 2009 at 10:59 pm
At last! I finally understand what has been going on these last decades that revolutionized my life as a writer.
After seeing the three of you authors work together over the last five years, it’s a pleasure to to find it such an inspiring and uplifting read.
I am recommending this book to all my friends who avidly use the computer but don’t understand it’s profundities.
January 18, 2009 at 10:03 pm
I read the book last night and was blown away. There were multiple moments when I was in disbelief at how brilliant some of these ideas are. I never knew the history of Doug’s demo or the history surrounding it. It’s incredible that the demo was so impressive the first reaction was, “this is a hoax.” Even more incredible is the realization that their ability to produce ideas so revolutionarily powerful, that people thought they were magic, was not because of the so stereotypical “lone genius” or because they had gathered the foremost researchers in these fields from around the world – indeed it would have been impossible to do such a thing since they were creating many of the fields they produced advances in. It was incredible to realize that what made the demo possible, and what is most significant about it, are not the artifacts it produced but the ability to use a methodology capable of producing such breakthroughs in such an unbelievable short time period.
I remember Valerie trying to explain the A, B, C revision cycle to me. I understood some of it but couldn’t see its full potential. It seems clear that Engelbart’s insight was the creation of a stunningly effective thought development cycle whose remarkable applicability was clearly shown in the 1968 demo and the ensuing reaction to it. Yet, as much progress as had been made in computer technology, no one’s been able to push forward the core methodology which made the 1968 demo so effective. We have wikis, video conferencing, nearly ubiquitous networking and communication, we have all the tools.
But, with the lack of breakthrough results rivaling the 1968 demo, should I conclude that Engelbart’s method was never again practiced effectively? Or, have there been demos rivaling Engelbart’s? If not, why not and what happened? Why haven’t we seen his demonstrably powerful methods applied more frequently?
January 19, 2009 at 2:31 am
Peter,
Thanks for your observations…now if we could only get BACK to the FUTURE. Perhaps with the state of the world this is the time to bring out the ELECTRIC CATTLE PROD of Doug’s ideas. If we don’t get more collectively intelligent…
BTW, isn’t it sad that bacteria and viruses are collectively more intelligent than humans!!!!