Felder 1 Viti Felder Ms. Myers AP Eng. Comp. 25 April 2012 H.G.

Wells Anything But Modest Proposal In The Idea of a Permanent World Encyclopedia H.G. Wells proposes the idea of a comprehensive index of the entirety of human knowledge, the benefits of such a database, and a few suggestions of how to create such an encyclopedia. Although his ideas have merit, Wells fails to truly comprehend the vast requirements necessary to compile such a large system, focusing on humanitarian interests instead of concentrating on logistical details. Without these concrete details, Wells rudimentary sketch of a world encyclopedia lacks any chance of coming to fruition. H.G. Wells, a celebrated English author, lived from 1866-1946. Known as the Father of Science Fiction, Wells wrote many acclaimed novels, including The Time Machine and The Invisible Man, as well as many nonfiction bestsellers. In 1938, Wells published the essay, The Idea of a Permanent World Encyclopedia in his work World Brain, a collection of essays. In his essay, The Idea of a Permanent World Encyclopedia, H.G. Wells asserts that the encyclopedia of his day is severely lacking, and that the world needs an up to date compilation of the entirety of human knowledge. Wells goes on to purport the benefits of such a database, including world peace in his predicted outcomes. He furthermore states that not only is building such a world encyclopedia doable, it can

Felder 2 be expected in a short time, as he writes, it is difficult not to believe that in quite the near future, this Permanent World Encyclopediawill not come into existence. Wells essay leaves us asking many questions. For starters, who will decide what goes into an index of human knowledge? Although Wells seems to assert that all of the information of his time should be included, it is ludicrous to assume that in actuality, any one source could contain ALL information available. (This is especially true when taking into account 20th century resources.) Therefore, someone must decide what the index contains. Who will be appointed to this job? Will the decision be democratic, or will select powerful individuals determine what is important enough to be included in the encyclopedia? Suppose a system is developed to ascertain which material is to be included in the index; we are still left wondering -who will build such a vast database? Wells suggests that expert librarians and museum curators and so forth, know how manageable, wellordered facts can be made However, should a qualified and appropriate team be assembled, it is still unclear as to how such a project would be funded. Setting out to compile a majority of the information available to the human race is a gargantuan task. Who will compensate the team of assemblers, or pay for supplies? Perhaps Wells believes such a project would be funded by individual sponsors - thinkers of the forward-looking type, who are beginning to realize that the most hopeful line for the development of our racial intelligence lies rather in the direction of creating a new world organ for the collection, indexing, summarizing, and release of knowledge This could

Felder 3 be a viable option. It is still realistically necessary, on the other hand, to propose a specific payment process before any system can be designed. Once we have decided who will build and fund a world encyclopedia, we still must concern ourselves with international politics. Wells writes that its creation is a way to world peace, declaring that a world encyclopedia is a surefire way to end world conflict, and without violence. What Wells fails to take into account are the disagreements that would no doubt occur in the building of the encyclopedia itself. International quarrels would rise over issues such as: the language of the index and where it will be built or stored. Certainly various countries would try to claim sovereignty, and even if, say, an international board of contributors, for example, is assembled, it is guaranteed that warring countries will disrupt the compilation process in attempt to thwart their enemies. It would perhaps be more feasible, therefore, to compile facts in only one country, in one language, using whatever resources and information available to that country. However, this would not be the Permanent World Encyclopedia that Wells dreamed of. Wells wished to create a complete planetary memory for all mankind. It is inconvenient then, that that very process by which Wells yearned to unite the world would rather have specific potential to cause further dispute. Perhaps today, in our world of general intellectual agreement, an international committee for the pursuance of knowledge would be achievable. However, Wells post WWI, pre WWII world, such international cooperation would be impossible.

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In addition to political issues and financial woes, Wells proposal of a distribution method is worrisome. Chester Carlsons 1938 xerography invention definitely influenced Wells ideas, as did the concurrent popularity of the microphotograph. The flaws of this method of distribution are obvious; even with microfilm, to assume that all the information in the world can be duplicated and then allocated in any feasible manner is ridiculous. A microfilm, colored where necessary, occupying an inch or so of space and weighing little more than a letter, can be duplicated from the records and sent anywhere Wells is a noble idea, but ultimately unrealistic. Wells suggests multiple times through his essay that his idea of a world encyclopedia is a pragmatic and realistic one. In this way, he is mistaken. His vision is grounded in idealistic goals, lacking specific details as to how to bring such an index to life. His suggestions, when he does provide them, are vague, impractical, or unrealistic. Wells goes as far as to declare There is no practical obstacle whatever now to the creation of an efficient index to all human knowledge, ideas and achievements Wells, starry-eyed, is blind to the obvious flaws of his idea. Basic concerns about labor, finances, and supplies are disregarded in his quest to save the world. Ironically, Wells also fails to see the potential political difficulties. He even goes as far to allege that his purported encyclopedia will bring about world peace, when in reality it would likely cause an increase of international disagreements. Wells assures us that a Permanent World Encyclopedia, certainly not too far off, is no remote dream, no fantasy. In fact, due to the lack of any specific plan, thats all it would remain. (When the internet arrives, that is another story.) Unfortunately, in The Felder 5

Idea of a Permanent World Encyclopedia, the only modest thing is Wells practical intellect.