How does it feel to be known as the father of the Internet?
First of all, I am not the father of the Internet; I’m one of the fathers. Right, you’re referring now to the works of other scientists like you who have pioneered work on the Internet. That is correct. But how does it feel — it feels wonderful. I’m highly gratified. I am thrilled that my 94-year-old mother today is now on the Internet. She sends me some messages while I am here in Singapore. Lovely — it’s a wonderful feeling that you helped create something that is important as this. But it’s not something that I’ll rest my laurels on. I continue to do work. The excitement I find with the engineering challenge and the teaching of the technology to my students and to the rest of the world — that’s where the thrill comes. You have to understand what makes the Internet powerful is not the early pioneering work that was done, it’s the hundreds and millions of people today who are contributing their creative juices, the form of new services, new applications, new concepts — that’s what
