Yes, Virginia, there was life before the Internet...
July 24, 2000 1:15 PM   Subscribe

Yes, Virginia, there was life before the Internet...
...but nobody's bothered to archive it yet. Thanks to those wacky .edu's, there's a fair amount of historical data out there, but if you're hoping the newspapers who charge for archive "reprints" will have material from the '40s, the '60s or even the '80s, you're still better off going to the library and flipping through microfiche (bet that's the first time THAT word's been used on MetaFilter). I hesitated blogging this story here until I saw how the Internet History Timeline caught some people by surprise... Yes, even we MetaFilterers are sitting on the shoulders of Giants (and a few of us are old enough to remember "They Might Be Giants" as a movie starring George C. Scott).
posted by wendell (8 comments total)
 
That was, in fact, the first time that microfiche was used on Metafilter.
posted by eyesandfists at 1:26 PM on July 24, 2000


Yes, "pre-Internet" history is not available via a logon. This discussion makes me think of a couple of things:
1) As stated by Gregory Bateson: "Epistemological errors are often reinforced and therefore self-validating" (Steps to an Ecology of Mind)
2) If you are satisfied with a history based on only the visual (and auditory in some cases) senses, you will only capture a bit of history.

Why are all future generations bound to commit the same error over and over again, thinking that they have found the singular solution to a particular or general problem? There is always much more to existence than what one perceives or believes.

Miguel Marcos
posted by mmarcos at 4:34 PM on July 24, 2000


Virgin for short, but not for long
posted by Satapher at 8:51 AM on July 25, 2000


Wait a minute Satapher, that's the kind of short wise-ass comment that I usually make...

(dammit... competition...)
posted by wendell at 9:51 AM on July 25, 2000


In fact, he even LOOKS like I did at his age... (but I didn't learn the first thing about computers until I was 2 years older than he is now...)
That's it. I'm retiring. I wonder if Sun City has DSL access...
posted by wendell at 9:56 AM on July 25, 2000


Bah. Don't draw attention to me. You know what they call a bee that gives milk? A boo-bee! Haha! What about a cat that gives milk? A Boo-Cat!
posted by Satapher at 10:12 PM on July 25, 2000


Okay, I'm not retiring after all..
Maybe after Satapher completes Crazy Uncle Joe's "Global Village Idiot" Accreditation Course...

BTW, CUJoe, shouldn't my diploma have arrived in the mail by now?
posted by wendell at 10:41 PM on July 25, 2000


Hah. You know you're going to tell someone that joke. Sinner.
posted by Satapher at 12:27 AM on July 26, 2000


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