Difference between revisions of "Stewart Brand"

Stewart Brand is best known as the creator of the Whole Earth Catalog, which was an expression of hippy counter-culture and back-to-land communalism. Brand however went on to play a role in the digital revolution. He thus personally exemplifies the roots of the hacker movement in the hippy counter-culture.

Stewart Brand is best known as the creator of the Whole Earth Catalog, which was an expression of hippy counter-culture and back-to-land communalism. Brand however went on to play a role in the digital revolution. He thus personally exemplifies the roots of the hacker movement in the hippy counter-culture.

Stewart Brand obtained a degree in biology in 1960 from Stanford University, where he encountered systems theory in a biology class taught by Paul Ehrlich, a specialist in butterfly ecology (who later wrote The Population Bomb).

Stewart Brand obtained a degree in biology in 1960 from Stanford University, where he encountered systems theory in a biology class taught by Paul Ehrlich, a specialist in butterfly ecology (who later wrote The Population Bomb).

Upon graduation from Stanford, Brand was drafted into the U.S. Army, where he ended up an army photographer. While in the Army, Brand spent off-duty weekends visiting New York, where he came into contact with the bohemian art world of Manhattan. On returning to civilian life in 1962, Brand settled in San Francisco, where he collaborated periodically with an art troupe called USCO, short for "The US Company," which went on to transform the "happening" into a psychedelic celebration, using strobe lights, projectors, tape decks and stereo speakers. In 1963 Brand met author Ken Kesey, then host of a burgeoning psychedelic scene on the San Francisco peninsula. Together with Kesey and promoter Bill Graham, Brand helped organised the Trips Festival, a multi-media event held in the Longshoreman's Hall in San Francisco for three nights on a weekend in January 1966, which heralded the start of the Haight-Ashbury era.

Upon graduation from Stanford, Brand was drafted into the U.S. Army, where he ended up an army photographer. While in the Army, Brand spent off-duty weekends visiting New York, where he came into contact with the bohemian art world of Manhattan. On returning to civilian life in 1962, Brand settled in San Francisco, where he collaborated periodically with an art troupe called USCO, short for "The US Company," which went on to transform the "happening" into a psychedelic celebration, using strobe lights, projectors, tape decks and stereo speakers. In 1963 Brand met author Ken Kesey, then host of a burgeoning psychedelic scene on the San Francisco peninsula. Together with Kesey and promoter Bill Graham, Brand helped organised the Trips Festival, a multi-media event held in the Longshoreman's Hall in San Francisco for three nights on a weekend in January 1966, which heralded the start of the Haight-Ashbury era.

Later in 1966, Brand initiated a public campaign to have NASA release a rumored satellite image of the entire Earth as seen from space. He sold buttons which read, “Why Haven’t We Seen A Photograph of the Whole Earth Yet?” During this Earth-photograph campaign Brand met Richard Buckminster Fuller, who offered to help him in his projects.

Later in 1966, Brand initiated a public campaign to have NASA release a rumored satellite image of the entire Earth as seen from space. He sold buttons which read, “Why Haven’t We Seen A Photograph of the Whole Earth Yet?” During this Earth-photograph campaign Brand met Richard Buckminster Fuller, who offered to help him in his projects.

A few year later, in 1972, Brand wrote an article for Rolling Stone called “Fanatic Life and Symbolic Death Among the Computer Bums,” describing the latest developments in the computer sub-culture of that time, including computer games played on a time-sharing computer, a prototype computer which was a forerunner of the personal computer, and ARPANET, the forerunner of internet. The piece also described the work of Resource One, a San Francisco experiment in providing community groups with shared time on a mainframe computer.

A few year later, in 1972, Brand wrote an article for Rolling Stone called “Fanatic Life and Symbolic Death Among the Computer Bums,” describing the latest developments in the computer sub-culture of that time, including computer games played on a time-sharing computer, a prototype computer which was a forerunner of the personal computer, and ARPANET, the forerunner of internet. The piece also described the work of Resource One, a San Francisco experiment in providing community groups with shared time on a mainframe computer.

In 1974, to carry on the work begun with the Whole Earth Catalog, Brand founded the Coevolution Quarterly (CEQ), a journal which published full-length articles on specific topics in natural sciences, invention, arts and social sciences. (The term "coevolution" was inspired by the ideas of Gregory Bateson.) The journal continued to 2001 after a change of name to Whole Earth Magazine.

In 1974, to carry on the work begun with the Whole Earth Catalog, Brand founded the Coevolution Quarterly (CEQ), a journal which published full-length articles on specific topics in natural sciences, invention, arts and social sciences. (The term "coevolution" was inspired by the ideas of Gregory Bateson.) The journal continued to 2001 after a change of name to Whole Earth Magazine.

In 1983-85 Brand served as Editor-in-Chief of the Whole Earth Software Catalog and founded a magazine called the Whole Earth Software Review. The magazine was introduced just as the offer of specialized books and journals about consumer software was exploding, and it failed, but was later merged with the Coevolution Quarterly to form the Whole Earth Magazine.

In 1983-85 Brand served as Editor-in-Chief of the Whole Earth Software Catalog and founded a magazine called the Whole Earth Software Review. The magazine was introduced just as the offer of specialized books and journals about consumer software was exploding, and it failed, but was later merged with the Coevolution Quarterly to form the Whole Earth Magazine.