Weaving the Web

I had a very strong reaction to the first chapter; mostly because the book defied my expectations. Based on past readings of technical history, commentary, or biography books, I was anticipating an “I” book written in technologese with lots of eureka moments.
His idea of sharing information is what prompted him to think of developing a computer program that would put all of his scientist colleagues on an equal playing field – all would have access to all information and therefore all would be free to pursue their scientific interest.
Berners-Lee describes the numerous attempts he made to get funding for his idea; his persistence is inspiring. As he says, there was no one moment when he was done, his idea developed over a span of several years. This is the true work of science: persistent, daily, incremental progress.
One remarkable tone I immediately picked up on, is that he name drops, in a very positive way. He makes himself look insignificant when he describes the technical contributions of others. But the proof is in the pudding, He is the man who pulled everybody else’s ideas together.
The text is well written and reads easily and quickly. I think it will end up being philosophical, although I am not sure about this.
After reading the first chapter, I conclude that the web of today would look very different had someone other than Berners-Lee pulled it together.