Berners-Lee And His Side Project
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In the 1990s, a computer scientist named Timothy Berners-Lee published the first web page on the World Wide Web. Interestingly enough though, he, himself, invented and pioneered the World Wide Web. In a way, he is the creator of today’s digital era. We perform many of our tasks based on its existence and we never consider how our lives would be if the Web simply did not function. The degree to which we have integrated the web into our daily lives is immeasurable therefore as important as it is that we use it, we have to express gratitude for the mere fact that Berners-Lee thought and developed this magnificent system.
When Berners-Lee invented the World Wide Web, he was an independent software engineer at European Organization for Nuclear Research. European Organization for Nuclear Research or CERN is a research facility located in Geneva, Switzerland, where “physicists and engineers … use the world's largest and most complex scientific instruments to study the basic constituents of matter – fundamental particles” [“About CERN.”]. CERN is an illustration of the collaboration between 23 countries, whereby studying particles and subatomic particles, are trying to uncover mysteries of the universe. CERN began in 1954, which the year itself is an indicator of the issue Berners-Lee sought to solve. To further explain, all the scientific instruments used at CERN took advantage of advanced sensors that collected vast amounts of digital data every day, and the data collected from each sensor in particle accelerators were stored in separate computers and hardware. Meaning, if a scientist or engineer was searching for specific information, he or she had to log onto the correct computer to retrieve and analyze the data. Additionally, experts arriving at CERN from different countries wanted to efficiently share data with their peers, however, there was no technology that made that possible. The problem led to the inception of what is known as the World Wide Web.
Berners-Lee identified the cumbersome task of logging into each computer as an outright inefficient process for the scientists and engineers, therefore he designed and developed the World Wide Web or Web in short. As a method to share information more efficiently using emerging technologies such as the Internet and hypertext, the Web addressed the problem researchers were facing at the time. Although the Web is dependent on the availability of the Internet, it was far more adaptable and precise. With its birth, all the data could be stored in a large internal or external database. Any computer, even ones that were newly bought from stores could access its data if the user had the correct login credentials. What was once a side project for Berners-Lee turned into a revolutionary technology that our societies are relying more and more on.
The hyperlinking mechanism of the Web was built upon the emerging Internet and now, the new technologies and ideas of the modern centuries are built upon the ability to search and retrieve information from the World Wide Web. The Web ushered “large-scale permissionless innovation and unbounded creativity, provided a voice to more than half of the world’s population, and revolutionized communication, education, and business,” as Ruben Verborgh, the Professor of Decentralized Web Technology at Ghent University stated. From the beginning, Berners-Lee had an opaque idea that his proposal under the title “Information Management: A Proposal” would not only help researchers at CERN but also impact the general public. The Web or an aspect of this technology exists in every computer and software we use, ranging from “web” browsers such as Chrome and Safari to productivity applications such as Microsoft Word. If the World Wide Web was not invented, the endless capabilities of the Internet might have never been taken advantage of, leaving the Internet as just another obsolete communications device. It is necessary for all of us to be aware and grateful for the fact that Timothy Berners-Lee pursued his small side-project, and along with his team, provided humans with a system so effective and efficient that it truly revolutionized the way humans interact digitally.
To conclude, as though it may seem that it does not, the Web affects each and every part of our lives and we never realize that we have become so accustomed to using the technology until it is gone, therefore it is necessary for us to be grateful for Berners-Lee’s idea and his team’s creation that was once just a floating idea. Humanity would have not been able to build societies so advanced unless people such as Berners-Lee took action to solve issues, whether that is to make the process of solving universe mysteries easier or to supply impoverished populations with food and access to health. If each human on this planet solved one small or large problem, humanity would be able to progress much faster.