Brain Archive

Originally published August 30, 2001 on KurzweilAI.net.

The passing of Michael Dertouzos leaves a large void. I cannot think of anyone else who contributed in as many diverse ways, all of which were infused with his humanitarian concern, and optimism.

I recall a time in 1987, right before I was to speak to a group of MIT students, I was anxious to get to the lecture on time, but he was more eager to hear about my entrepreneurial struggles. Although I've had many such interchanges over the decades, I recall this one vividly because of the enthusiasm, delight and fatherly warmth he so innately displayed. I left that encounter greatly encouraged by his support, a feeling that has lasted to this day. He has done the same with countless students and innovators, as for example his mentoring of Tim Berners-Lee and the World Wide Web Consortium, prior to the world having heard about Tim's World Wide Web idea.

In addition to teacher and mentor, Michael was himself an innovator as an accomplished individual inventor, and as the director of MIT's celebrated Laboratory for Computer Sciences for more than a quarter century. His most recent passion has been "Project Oxygen," seeking to make computers "as natural a part of our environment as the air we breathe." "Oxygen" is an apt symbol of Michael Dertouzos' passion, which has been applying technology to meet human needs, and ultimately to relieve human suffering.

It was on the issue of human suffering that Michael and I had our most recent interaction in a series of point -- counterpoint articles in MIT's Technology Review. We were both taking issue with Bill Joy's prescription of relinquishing the pursuit of knowledge in certain areas that may engender new dangers, such as nanotechnology. In keeping with Michael's delight in the power of a debate to illuminate a complex subject, we approached the issue from different perspectives, and had a lively exchange on the ultimate nature of the exponential growth of technology and its impact. We were fully in agreement, however, on Michael's closing statement, which sums up his own pioneering contributions, "This process [of applying our knowledge] will serve us best if, alongside our most promising technologies, we bring our full humanity, augmenting our rational powers with our feelings, our actions, and our faith."

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		What wil be? Michael Dertouzos posted on 11/13/2001 6:19 PM by Karel@gorillapark.com	[Top] [Mind·X] [Reply to this post]
	Although I never had the privilige to meet Michael Dertouzos I was shocked to hear he is no longer with us. His latest book What wil be? Was an inspiration for us all. In the age of gold fever and dot.com rush, What will be described how technology can and will be applied to not make millions for the massses, but to serve civilization and to contribute to society as a whole. I believe we have now entered a phase in technology where we can make some of his dreams a reality. Karel van der Poel.

		Re: Tribute to Michael Dertouzos (1936 -- 2001) posted on 11/21/2001 2:16 PM by markplus@hotmail.com	[Top] [Mind·X] [Reply to this post]
	I wasn't impressed by _What Will Be_. I was especially amused by Dertouzos's example of the "limits" to reason, the time-worn Barber Paradox: Imagine a village where the barber shaves everyone who doesn't shave himself. Who shaves this barber? If the barber doesn't need to shave, this situation is entirely possible, logically and empirically. It's like the village where the dental hygienist cleans the teeth of everyone who doesn't clean her own teeth. Who cleans the dental hygienist's teeth? If the dental hygienist is toothless, this situation is not paradoxical.

		Re: Tribute to Michael Dertouzos (1936 -- 2001) posted on 11/23/2001 8:26 PM by lifesaparty@home.com	[Top] [Mind·X] [Reply to this post]
	It is not a paradox no matter how you look at it. >Imagine a village where the barber shaves everyone who doesn't shave himself. Who shaves this barber? The barber either shaves himself or isn't shaved. Just because he shaves everyone who shaves himself does NOT mean he does not also shave those who DO shave themselves. It doesn't say he shaves ONLY those who do not shave themselves, does it? Ditto on the dental hygienist. Say I do the brick work for all the homes in my county that are costing the owners more than a million dollars to build. This doesn't mean I can't be doing the brick work on my own $900K house, does it? I think not. Indeed, I think not, therefore I am. :)