Skip to content

David Gelernter

Writer, Artist, & Computer Scientist

David Gelernter is professor of computer science at Yale, chief scientist at Mirror Worlds Technologies, contributing editor at the Weekly Standard, and member of the National Council of the Arts. He is the author of several books and many technical articles, as well as essays, art criticism, and fiction. The "tuple spaces" introduced in Carriero and Gelernter's Linda system (1983) are the basis of many computer-communication and distributed programming systems worldwide. According to Reuters, his book "Mirror Worlds" (Oxford University Press, 1991) "foresaw" the World Wide Web and was "one of the inspirations for Java"; the "lifestreams" system (first implemented by Eric Freeman at Yale) is the basis for Mirror Worlds Technologies' software. Gelernter is also the author of "The Muse in the Machine" (Free Press, 1994), the novel "1939" (Harper Perennial, 1995), "Machine Beauty" (Basic Books, 1998), and most recently, "Judaism: A Way of Being" (Yale University Press, 2010).

My Problem with AI

It’s obvious to anybody that the mind does much more than solve problems.

The Danger is not Machines Becoming Humans, but Humans Becoming Machines

The extent to which human beings are willing to be duped by computers is already very large.

How Superficial Science Can Compromise Human Dignity

David Gelernter: We’re seeing wisdom and moral seriousness come under attack and often from the same people who want to do the genetic engineering.

How the Cloud Protects You From Hackers

People are rightly hesitant to put all their private data in the hands of big corporations, but Gelernter argues that this is in fact the safest place for it.

The Danger of Crusading Atheists

The Yale computer guru decries the dangerous trend of know-it-all scientists (Richard Dawkins?) telling people that “religion is trash.”

▸

3 min

—

with

David Gelernter

Will We Disappear Into Our Machines?

The major question of the 21st century “is whether human beings can summon the integrity … to resist the many ways in which computers will encroach on human dignity.”

▸

8 min

—

with

David Gelernter

It’s Going to Be a Colorful Century

What excites the legendary computer scientist about the future? In a word: graphics.

▸

3 min

—

with

David Gelernter

Surviving the Unabomber

The terrorist attack David Gelernter experienced in 1993 left his body injured, but his mind unfazed.

▸

4 min

—

with

David Gelernter

Computers Are Stuck in 1984

The basic user interface of our personal computers has stayed the same for a generation. How can we move beyond the desktop?

▸

6 min

—

with

David Gelernter

Will Cloud Computing Make Us Safer?

How spreading sensitive information over thousands of computers could revolutionize digital security.

▸

5 min

—

with

David Gelernter

Is Western Civilization a Jewish Invention?

The “Judaism: A Way of Being” author makes the case for Judaism as the most important intellectual development in Western history.

▸

8 min

—

with

David Gelernter

The Language of Jewish Art

Throughout the history of Jewish culture, the image has been inseparable from the word.

▸

4 min

—

with

David Gelernter

Big Think Interview With David Gelernter

A conversation with the writer, artist, and Yale computer scientist.

▸

40 min

—

with

David Gelernter

Only Good Writing Can Save Print Media

Every year, David Gelernter’s students at Yale “are less and less able to express themselves in writing.” Unless that trend changes, old media may wither.

▸

2 min

—

with

David Gelernter

“Abolishing the Book Is Like Abolishing the Symphony”

The Yale computer science expert believes books “are among the most beautiful things we have.” To replace them all with digital texts would be a serious blow to learning.

▸

4 min

—

with

David Gelernter

Will Lifestreaming Become a Fact of Life?

The concept that David Gelernter defined in the 1990s is fast becoming universal.

▸

5 min

—

with

David Gelernter

“Access to My Entire Information Life”

Obstacles to software unification should have been surmounted already. When they are, David Gelernter will be a happy man.

▸

2 min

—

with

David Gelernter

Big Think Interview With David Gelernter

A conversation with the professor of computer science at Yale University.

▸

12 min

—

with

David Gelernter