Evolution of the Internet

I don't know if anyone else was with me today, but I felt like that video might as well have been in German. There was so much terminology and jargon, and I felt a little- scratch that- a lot overwhelmed being presented with so much conceptual information at once. I don't understand how someone can write all this code, and make these super computers and all of it manages to work perfectly in cyber space? HOW?! I just don't get it! But, the video is only halfway through. Perhaps I will gain more clarity as it progresses. I feel like I can share my lack of understanding with the rest of you because we are all friends, right?

Now for the assignment. One thing, among many, that I found interesting in the video was the fact that there was so much hesitation to develop the technology surrounding the Internet. With so much availability and accessibility, we often forget about the process that came first- the innovators, the pioneers, the grad students- those that fought for its development, and thankfully won. What would have happened if they gave up on the idea of the "interface" baby computers? Or hadn't been given the funding? All things I really hadn't thought about before the video.

Something else I learned/found interesting from the video, was the role that space exploration and wartime played in the evolution of the Internet. It had never occurred to me that Internet was being developed during a time of such heavy national significance, and that it easily could have failed because of that. How could someone fight for the funding of Internet when the US is at war and we are trying to land a man on the moon? Crazy.

Anyways, I am looking forward seeing the rest of the video and hearing more about the Internet's growth into the monster it has become.