Conferences (was Re: First WWW flyer)

On the subject of conferences,

I was reading a book recounting the first conferences on cybernetics (then called conferences on the Circular Causal and Feedback Mechanisms in Biological and Social Systems), in 1946, and the author recounts quite vividly the discussions that took place then, which turned out to be pivotal for the newborn information science. It so happens that some of the conference's discussions were recorded in shorthand by one of the attendees and proved to be more valuable than the papers presented [1].

I don't know if at, say, Hypertext '91 there were similarly fascinating and important discussions on the newborn Web, and if they were properly recorded. I can see a "trip report" at [2], but it's for sale! I hope there are other testimonials to be found (it's not as if all they attendees are now dead) and studied to trace the evolution of concepts and ideas.

Cheers,
Max.


[1] The book is "The Information" by James Gleick and a site on the conferences is at http://www.asc-cybernetics.org/foundations/history/MacySummary.htm
[2] http://dl.acm.org/citation.cfm?id=134438

 I recently wondered about the proceedings of early-Web conferences. Not proceedings as in the list of papers published, but discussions that may have taken place, that were (or not) recorded.



On 11 Jul 2012, at 19:40, Daniel Dardailler wrote:

> I have what I think is the first A4 leaflet produced by Tim, that my wife
> brought back from Hypertext 91' in San-Antonio Texas (a conf she attended as a
> Digital engineer working on their own hypertext of that time, called Memex,
> integrated in DecWindows). It has on one side a variation of the "Web bus" [...]