[hackerspaces] Respect the Past, Examine the Present, Build the Future

[Eric Gerlach]

On Wed, Aug 26, 2009 at 11:03:20AM -0400, Leigh Honeywell wrote:
> On Wed, Aug 26, 2009 at 10:15:18AM -0400, Far McKon wrote:
> > > not to forget: a wide array of collectively owned
> > > workshops, tool shops and spaces for making that
> > > emerged in the 1970s as part of new
> > > countercultural topologies (squat houses,
> > > communes and farming cooperatives etc.) ... as
> > > mentioned in "hacking the spaces".
> > 
> > Hear Hear. I second johannes.
> > 
> > I got into hakcersapces through the housing/tool cooperative(s)
> > movement.  I'm thinking of making a talk on how hackerspaces tie into
> > other collaborative spaces organizations, from condo's to food
> > cooperatives, for a talk I'm giving in January.  IF anyone has input,
> > let me know.
> > 
> > hack on,
> > - Far McKon
> 
> Another set of analogous spaces: the feminist women's health collectives
> of the 70's.  While they came out of a political movement, they were
> focused on providing services and self-education.
> 
> At least that's what immediately came to mind for me :)

Gus here at KwartzLab came up with some really old hackerspaces.

The first one:  The Royal Society of London.  It was a bunch of natural
philosophers who got together to make experiments and hack on nature!

Then, the Mechanics Institutes around the turn of the 20th century.
They were originally places where people could go to learn and practise
trades and build things.

I should get a copy of the presentation he did.  It was really cool.

Hackerspaces are older than you think!

Cheers,

Eric