Ted Nelson is the guy who coined the term “hypertext” in 1963 – a pioneer of our information society. (What’s hypertext, you ask? This is an example of hypertext*, i.e. linked text, an idea that seems so basic now that it’s hard to believe someone had to invent it.)
So why do I mention this? Because he has come out with a new book, titled Geeks Bearing Gifts – How the Computer World Got This Way. The chapters are numbered -27 to 20 (including one numbered 0). And he’s self-publishing it with Lulu. He doesn’t seem to follow many conventions, but he does know how to think. If you want some thought-provoking reading, you probably can’t go wrong with this one. Here’s the link:
* Ted Nelson had much higher ambitions for hypertext than what we now call hypertext on the World Wide Web today. For example, he hoped links would always be two-way (or something like that — see his original writings for all the details).
Troy McConaghy 