Preface to the 2nd or Hyper-Edition
Thirty years have passed since I wrote Whole Earth Inner Space. Many changes have taken place. I have learned new things, and forgotten old ones. So, it was something of a revelation to re-read Whole Earth Inner Space, since I had not once looked at it in all those years.
The book was revived because of the interest in it shown by Scott Byrd of Stillwater, Oklahoma, and by Kennydd (who prompted me to re-type the text, and who edited and presents this online version) of Seattle, Washington. Their possession of the book surprised me, to say nothing of their respect for it, since Whole Earth Inner Space had been out of print for decades. Apparently, it still circulates, as an underground classic. It was because of this that I decided to make no changes in this edition, except to correct a few errors of spelling or grammar. So, in most respects, this isn't a second edition, just a reprint of the first edition in the new medium of the World Wide Web.
The World Wide Web was itself foreseen in this book, in the form of the "telenet." The Web is not as complete as the telenet, since the Web lacks a "card catalog," or any way for Web publishers to make a living. The telenet was not a prophecy, just part of value science, which also includes the ecolomat, the only egalitarian economy ever proposed.
Whole Earth Inner Space rejects utopia, while I now embrace it. This isn't a change of heart, just a re-definition. But which is better, to develop value science in terms of theorems or in terms of ideals? I'm not sure. You be the judge.
It amuses me that the predictions and prophecies in Whole Earth Inner Space dealing with the remainder of the 20th Century have all been refuted by time. There is a lesson here. "Accept none of them as foreordained," said Edgar Cayce. Maybe there will be no WW III, no Armageddon, no cataclysmic earth changes. The splendid (and peaceful) celebration of the Millennium gives me new hope and optimism. It is still possible that the "Prophecies About Thales" will come true. They are positive, and they take the long view, looking far into the Third Millennium or beyond. Instead of taking them as prophecies, maybe we should just consider them hopeful expectations and possibilities, which it will be up to the future to fulfill or reject.
Christopher C. Humphrey, Ph.D.
Glenpool, OK, USA
January 2000