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Comment by cmiller1 | Hacker News Reader

It feels weird to me to see Vint Cerf propped up in this title by being associated with Google. It seems the guy's name holds enough merit on it's own; I didn't even realize he was working with Google these days!

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This is the first I've heard of him. After reading about him on Wikipedia I'm very surprised I've never seen him mentioned before.

We've mostly forgotten the people that created modern computing unless they've made a billion dollars

It is Hacker News, not Computer Engineer/Scientist news. It was always supposed to tilt towards Silicon Valley. I don't think that's a good thing, but it's a free service from Y Combinator, so it's very understandable.

Well, since it was pg's idea, I'd guess "hacker" would slant more towards MIT-style hacks than anything to do with the valley.

I think the lack of Vint Cerf stories has more to do with the temporal nature of news than any biases that people might have. I'd chalk it up to him just not making news lately. Any text on the history of the Internet, TCP/IP, and networks in general liberally mentions him.

We've forgotten about most people unless they've made significant amounts of money. It's what our society values.

It's interesting to examine which historical figures have been remembered and which have been forgotten. Money is part of it but not the full story. Political leaders during times of chaos are remembered. Artists are remembered, many of which died penniless. Mass murderers are remembered. I think in general people just need a simple story to attach to a single person to remember them. Building a computer and making a billion dollars is a simple story. Walking on the moon is a simple story. Designing packet switching protocols is not. It's not a tragic situation it's just interesting to note.

Interesting... maybe an age thing? I'm 39 and Vint is right up there in my mind with the heavyweights of computer science.

That said, I wasn't aware he was with Google either. I imagine his place in my mind was solidified back in college during the .com days when history internet was a common topic of discussion.

Well it's certainly not the first time he's been mentioned on Hacker News.

He was supposed to give a talk here at Goddard Space Flight Center recently, but it was snowed out. I've heard him speak before, on his Interplanetary Internet work, and he's a good speaker.

Vint's been at Google since 2005.

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