[ih] Review: Yasha Levine's "Surveillance Valley"

[Dave Crocker]

On 7/3/2018 8:47 PM, Eric Gade wrote:
> Regarding PARC, my understanding from reading the historical literature 
> is that it's best to view what happened there as a kind of "last gasp" 
> of the ARPA research community. There were lots of ARPA project alumni 
> there (some two "academic generations" deep in ARPA research) and Bob 
> Taylor helped run the show in its prime.


Eric,

With some trepidation that I'm taking the bait, I'll ask for 
clarification about your choice of phrasing with "last gasp".  In 
several ways it doesn't make sense to me.

Yes, there were folk from the Arpanet community who sent to PARC and 
some/much of the PARC work followed-on from Arpanet-related work, but a) 
the PARC work went for quite awhile; b) the PARC work did a wide variety 
of things that had major effects; c) the remaining Arpanet community 
went on for quite awhile -- well, really, is still going; and d) it also 
did a wide variety of things that had major effects.

One thinks of 'last gasp' as constrained in time and effect (and 
typically with limited efficacy.)

Hence my confusion.

d/

-- 
Dave Crocker
Brandenburg InternetWorking
bbiw.net