Douglas C. Engelbart, a truly legendary figure in the history of Silicon Valley, is famous for three main reasons:
- Inventor - Invention of the computer mouse: In the 1960’s, Engelbart and the research team he led at SRI International invented the computer mouse. Billions of people know what a computer mouse is and have used it. Very few people invent something that has been used by billions of people.
- Visionary - The “mother of all demos:” In 1968, live from a stage in San Francisco, California, Engelbart demonstrated the oN-Line System (NLS), an integrated vision of the coming future age of personal and social computers. It would become a guide toward productive and creative collaboration in intellectual and information-oriented activities.
- Crusader – The “father of bootstrapping human-tool system performance to address complex urgent problems as both scaled up:” His mission in life was to help humanity deal with complex urgent problems by improving our collective intelligence.
While billions have used a computer mouse, and millions have heard of Engelbart as an inventor and visionary, it is in his role as crusader that will perhaps become his most well- known and enduring legacy. Imagine someday in the future, when his vision can be more fully realized, and we better understand what is holding humanity back from realizing Doug’s vision sooner. You can read more about Engelbart’s Unfinished Revolution, in Doug’s own words in this interview blog on the Engelbart Institute website.
OHSL is inspired and aligned with Doug’s mission, specifically OHSL seeks “to encourage collaboration for collective action to resolve the targeted problems.”
The 2021 OHSL Engelbart Memorial online event was held Memorial Day Weekend and included video clips of Engelbart speaking around minute 15 of the recording. To learn more about this extraordinary man, his life’s mission, and perhaps even how to connect his ideas to your life’s mission, be sure to watch the 1.5-hour video here at the OHSL website.
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