₦airaland Forum

Dr.Leslie P.Michelson:
It has been nearly thirty years since Shiva and I have spoken. After observing the news following his being honored at the Smithsonian on February 16, 2012, and the abusive reaction from certain individuals, I believed that it was important to respond for many reasons. My first reason is to unequivocally authenticate that Shiva created “EMAIL”, the first email system, in my lab, starting in 1978. EMAIL, for the record, was more than just a “program“ but a complete system --- it was the “electronic inter-office, inter-organizational mail system,” the first of its kind, an integrated platform that provided all the recognizable elements of what we call email today, as related in a previous and accurate article written by Doug Aamoth in Time. EMAIL went beyond “electronic messaging.”

My second reason is to offer an appreciation of the ecosystem and environment, in which this creation of EMAIL took place at UMDNJ. Much of the abuse and invective surrounding news of the invention of the world’s first email system by a 14-year-old, is more about perhaps a shattering of a false and long-held narrative that innovation can only take place in environment of big universities, large companies and the military, and by certain people. My third reason, perhaps the most important one, is to share a different narrative, that our efforts at UMDNJ, which supported EMAIL’s innovation, demonstrate that innovation can take place any place, any time and by anybody, if the right structure and resources are provided, even in Newark, NJ in 1978 by a 14-year-old.

Noam Chomsky: It is heartening to hear that the exposition of facts on the publicly available web site, http://www.inventorofemail.com is helping the public validate that a 14-year-old boy invented email in 1978, while working in Newark, NJ. What continue to be deplorable are the childish tantrums of industry insiders who now believe that by creating confusion on the case of "email", they can distract attention from the facts.

In languages such as FORTRAN IV, it was conventional and a well-known fact that names of programs, variables and subroutines were typically written in upper case --- thus the convention of "EMAIL" to refer to the main subroutine name of the program VA Shiva Ayyadurai developed. By the source code submitted to the US Copyright Office and by the documents provided to the Smithsonian, email's intention and origin was to replicate electronically the interoffice, inter-organizational mail system. These are indisputable facts, as I have referred to in my earlier statement.

Note by the Copyright Act of 1976, once a work is in publication it is protected. In 1978, “email” was first coined and used by Shiva to name his program. According to the Oxford English Dictionary, in modern times, the date of origin of email is 1979, except for an old English reference to mean enamel in the 1500's. The Merriam-Webster has the date of origin as 1982. Note Shiva, received his formal Copyright registration in 1982.

As late as December 1977, Mr. David Crocker, one of Shiva's detractors, part of the ARPAnet coterie, clearly stated in a report he authored, “...no attempt is being made to emulate a full-scale, inter-organizational mail system.”

Given the term email was not used prior to 1978, and there was no intention to emulate “...a full-scale, inter-organizational mail system,” as late as December 1977, there is no controversy here, except the one created by industry insiders, who have a vested interest to protect a false branding that BBN is the “inventor of email”, which the facts obliterate.

Email, upper case, lower case, any case, is the electronic version of the interoffice, inter-organizational mail system, the email we all experience today --- and email was invented in 1978 by a 14-year-old working in Newark, NJ. The facts are indisputable.

Noam Chomsky: I have known VA Shiva Ayyadurai since he was a sophomore at MIT, when he designed and pursued an Undergraduate Research Opportunities Program (UROP) on the origins and evolution of the Indian caste system. I have kept up with him since that time. I have now become aware of the controversy on the invention of Email following the recent Washington Post article.


Here are some background facts. On January 21, 1981, Shiva received a Westinghouse Science Talent Search Honors Award for creating EMAIL. On August 30, 1982, he received the first US Copyright for "EMAIL" for the "Computer Program for Electronic Mail System". On February 16, 2012, the Smithsonian National Museum of American History accepted his code, papers and artifacts demonstrating his work on EMAIL.

The angry reaction to the news of his invention of EMAIL and the steps taken to belittle the achievement are most unfortunate. They suggest an effort to dismiss the fact that innovation can take place by anyone, in any place, at any time. And they highlight the need to ensure that innovation must not be monopolized by those with power — power which, incidentally, is substantially a public gift.

The efforts to belittle the innovation of a 14-year-old child should lead to reflection on the larger story of how power is gained, maintained, and expanded, and the need to encourage, not undermine, the capacities for creative inquiry that are widely shared and could flourish, if recognized and given the support they deserve.

It sounds like the system we use today hasn’t changed all that much.?


Shiva: Exactly, because the fundamentals of the system came from interoffice mail, which went through decades and decades of development. There’s still the “to:”, the “from:”, the “cc:”, the subject line, the body and the attachments. Attachments were originally called enclosures, because in the physical mail system they’d type “encl.” followed by the enclosure.

budaatum:
....believing Shiva Ayyadurai invented email despite all the evidence .....

budaatum:
To me, believing Shiva Ayyadurai invented email despite all the evidence .....

budaatum:
Below is Shiva Ayyadurai's patents as listed at the US Patent Office where I assume he registered this so called patent of his. Perhaps you can do better finding the one for 'email'.
https://patents.google.com/?q=Email&inventor=shiva&oq=Email+shiva&page=4

And the next is US Patent No 9,547,842 which might as well be a patent for air.
https://www.theregister.co.uk/2017/03/01/ibm_out_of_office_email/

budaatum:
A patent does not connote "creation",....

budaatum:
Sounds like Genesis waving as evidence of God creating the universe.

budaatum:
Like some "know for a fact" that Jesus is their Lord, I suppose.

budaatum:
Like some "know for a fact" that Jesus is their Lord, I suppose.

I do not "believe government scientists invented the email". Evidence shows government, private venture, and individuals created email

budaatum:
As I said, I too consider it wise to load up on Vit B and C at these times. I've in fact taken a liking for lemons and meat, though not on the same plate. Would it not however be "irrational spookism" to claim I created Vit B and C, or that it is a cure for Covid-19?

budaatum:
You can't be the creator in 1978 of what existed way back in the 60s. And claiming otherwise is, "irrational spookism".

https://www.washingtonpost.com/blogs/omblog/post/reader-meter-who-really-invented-e-mail/2012/02/24/gIQAHZugYR_blog.html

https://www.washingtonpost.com/blogs/omblog/post/origins-of-e-mail-my-mea-culpa/2012/03/01/gIQAiOD5kR_blog.html

budaatum:
That said, Vit B & C is what anyone with sense would do as there's no harm in assisting the immune system. But since we're here claiming cures for Covid-19 without bothering about efficacy, here's one for you to consider.
https://www.nairaland.com/5783187/divine-coronavirus-protection-oil-sale#88254917

Amujale:
Are you suggesting that I haven’t made the necessary research before sharing with the family?

If that is what your saying here, then the insinuation points right back at you.

You and I are not cut from the same understanding.

It has always been my understanding that one shares these facts so those of us that actually take the time to research topical issues can does so at our own leisure.

The research suggests that Dr Shiva took it to the courts claiming the patent for the use of the term ‘Email’.,,

budaatum:
"You and I are not cut from the same understanding", is what some say when one does not worship their gods. And the gods, here where medicines are concerned, are clinical trials and properly presented evidence, which you are not showing understanding of.

budaatum:
The point is his claims would be diminished if he's making such claims, especially 30 years after...

budaatum:
The evidence suggests he didn't. And to be honest, you make me believe you do way more research than you done here.

wirinet:
So the Democrats, Dr Fauci, Bill Gates, Hillary Clinton, WHO, UN, CNN, BBC, etc., and all who does not believe everything Trump says is deep state.
Your own case is worse than Jonny Nash of "a beautiful mind".

budaatum:
....