The Internet Was Actually Invented In the 1930s?

Forget Al Gore. The Internet – at least as a concept – was invented nearly a century ago by a Belgian information expert named Paul Otlet imagining where telephones and television might someday go.

That was one of the topics in a wild discussion on the history of the Internet, and its future, at the recent World Science Festival in New York City.

Panel member Alex Wright, who heads up the “user experience” team at The New York Times, reminded the audience that the ideas leading to the Internet have been around a lot longer.

In 1934, Paul Otlet realized that the wires and radio waves connecting the world could be used for more than chatter and entertainment, but also to bring the world’s knowledge into any home.

In his Radiated Library vision, people would place a telephone call requesting information to a great library. It wasn’t as easy as typing a question into Google, but Otlet was making the most of the technology he had.

Read the full article here.