The Invention of the Internet
In the small amount of time that the Internet has existed, it has already done many things for humanity that previous inventions, like the telephone and printing press, took decades to accomplish. It began with a theory proposed by psychologist J.C.R. Licklider, a professor at MIT, in 1950. Licklider knew that the computers already allowed for better communication, but he envisioned a world where all computers were connected to be more useful with sharing information between other computer users. During this time, computers were believed to be such a sci-fi concept; this idea of communication through computers seemed out of the ordinary and so imaginative that it seemed impossible.
It wasn’t until the United States found their way into the Space Race against Russia, where computer science was used to help research. However, as time in the Space Race went on, the United States became more eager to get someone on the moon that there was no need for computer science. This allowed for the computer scientists to focus their attention on other research, so a grad student began theorizing and his theories contributed to the idea that computer communication was possible. Then on September 1, 1969, the first piece of hardware being used to create this network that would jumpstart the internet arrived at UCLA. Since it was an experimental computer network that no other computer had, it was only being used to send messages to itself. But, soon it would no longer be the only one, by 1971 about 18 computers were connected to the network, which was known as the ARPANET. The next two decades held a number of changes for this network: emails were created, a demonstration to the government was held, local area networks were started, and a standard for computer communication was made. Although there was constant change as more people connected to the network, ARPANET’s initial use was for defense research and was restricted to universities and labs that worked on government projects. The growth of the network was limited since there weren't enough users.
This all changed on June 9, 1992 when congress finally passed a bill that would open the Internet to the public for commercial use, and was put into effect when President Bush signed it in the following November. As soon as it was open to the public, the floodgates opened and many new uses were created for the Internet. The World Wide Web was a pivotal creation during this time, made by Tim Berners-Lee; this made it easier to find different branches of information. Once user-friendly access to the World Wide Web was enabled to the public in 1993, the internet grew by 314,000%. The internet also made better use for the personal, at-home computers. What was once used for simple tasks, like word processing and spreadsheets, was capable of far more complex tasks while being simple to use by the late 90s. As time went on, 11 million domains were made and over 70 millions websites became accessible. The internet has allowed for instant connections to other sides of the world with just a point and click.
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