--- title: "Meaning & Key Takeaway of: Let me introduce the word 'hypertext' to…" description: "\"Let me introduce the word 'hypertext' to mean a body of written or pictorial material interconnected in such a complex way that it could not convenient..." image: "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/4bb/ted-nelson-13662_body_let-me-introduce-the-word-hypertext-to-m_3086473.png" --- # Let me introduce the word 'hypertext' to mean a body of… ![“Let me introduce the word 'hypertext' to mean a body of written or pictorial material interconnected in such a complex way that it could not conveniently be presented or represented on paper.” quote by Ted Nelson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/4bb/ted-nelson-13662_body_let-me-introduce-the-word-hypertext-to-m_3086473.png) [Download](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/4bb/ted-nelson-13662_body_let-me-introduce-the-word-hypertext-to-m_3086473.png) [Open image](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/4bb/ted-nelson-13662_body_let-me-introduce-the-word-hypertext-to-m_3086473.png) > “Let me introduce the word 'hypertext' to mean a body of written or pictorial material interconnected in such a complex way that it could not conveniently be presented or represented on paper.” [Ted Nelson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ted-nelson/) ## About This Quote This interpretation was drafted with AI assistance. It is one reading of the quote, not the author's own explanation. Hypertext describes a network of linked information that cannot be fully captured on static paper. **In simple terms:** Linked digital content beyond paper limits. Key Takeaway Embrace non-linear digital structures. Themes information architecture digital media networking Mood innovative analytical Type theoretical technical When to use this quote - web design - academic research - digital libraries - education technology Key Concepts hypertext nonlinear navigation Questions to Reflect On - How does hypertext change reading habits? - What challenges arise in linking vast information? A Different Perspective Requires robust indexing to avoid chaos. ★ ★ ★ ★ ★ No ratings yet [Body](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/body/) [Complexes](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/complexes/) ## Related quotes > [“Written in ink, in German, in a small, hopelessly sincere handwriting, were the words, “Dear God, life is hell.” Nothing led up to or…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/j-d-salinger/written-in-ink-in-german-in-a-small-hopelessly-sincere-handwriting/) [J.D. Salinger](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/j-d-salinger/) > [So, that notion of hypertext seemed to me immediately obvious because footnotes were already the ideas wriggling, struggling to get free, like a cat…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ted-nelson/so-that-notion-of-hypertext-seemed-to-me-immediately-obvious-because/) [Ted Nelson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ted-nelson/) > [The objective of hypertext research is to save the planet.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ted-nelson/the-objective-of-hypertext-research-is-to-save-the-planet/) [Ted Nelson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ted-nelson/) > [ Hypertext makes a virtue out of lack of organization, allowing ideas and thoughts to be juxtaposed at will. \[...\] The advent of hypertext is… ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/donald-a-norman/hypertext-makes-a-virtue-out-of-lack-of-organization-allowing-ideas/) [Donald A. Norman](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/donald-a-norman/) > [The serendipitous nature of hypertext links is just brilliant for a curious mind. I love it.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/thomas-watson-jr/the-serendipitous-nature-of-hypertext-links-is-just-brilliant-for-a/) [Thomas Watson, Jr](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/thomas-watson-jr/) > [What is hypertext? It is a method of giving a text more depth, structuring it, and letting the computer help you explore it. Links,…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/robert-cailliau/what-is-hypertext-it-is-a-method-of-giving-a-text-more-depth/) [Robert Cailliau](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/robert-cailliau/) > [WorldWideWeb: Proposal for a HyperText Project](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/tim-berners-lee/worldwideweb-proposal-for-a-hypertext-project/) [Tim Berners-Lee](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/tim-berners-lee/) > [“Even though the World Wide Web has made hypertext commonplace, indeed ubiquitous, research continues to show that people who read linear text comprehend more,…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/nicholas-carr/even-though-the-world-wide-web-has-made-hypertext-commonplace-indeed/) [Nicholas Carr](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/nicholas-carr/) > [While we may blame the Internet for the ease with which conspiracy theories proliferate, the net is really much more culpable for the way…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/douglas-rushkoff/while-we-may-blame-the-internet-for-the-ease-with-which-conspiracy/) [Douglas Rushkoff](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/douglas-rushkoff/) > [The Web is actually a coming together of three technologies, if you like: the hypertext, the personal computer, and the network. So, the network…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/robert-cailliau/the-web-is-actually-a-coming-together-of-three-technologies-if-you/) [Robert Cailliau](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/robert-cailliau/) > [The fundamental deficiency in HTML is that it reduces hypertext and the intertwinedness of human communication to a question of how it is rendered…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/erik-naggum/the-fundamental-deficiency-in-html-is-that-it-reduces-hypertext-and/) [Erik Naggum](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/erik-naggum/) > [Hypertext is an idea. The Internet is a medium. They grow up beside each other, they influence each other, and their evolving relationship will…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/mark-bernstein/hypertext-is-an-idea-the-internet-is-a-medium-they-grow-up-beside/) [Mark Bernstein](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/mark-bernstein/) > [“A 1989 study showed that readers of hypertext often ended up clicking distractedly “through pages instead of reading them carefully.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/nicholas-carr/a-1989-study-showed-that-readers-of-hypertext-often-ended-up-clicking/) [Nicholas Carr](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/nicholas-carr/) > [ Hypertext, as Nelson \[Ted Nelson\] originally wrote, is interlinked reading and writing. Links make hypertext. ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/mark-bernstein/hypertext-as-nelson-ted-nelson-originally-wrote-is-interlinked/) [Mark Bernstein](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/mark-bernstein/) > [Forming of a web of information nodes rather than a hierarchical tree or an ordered list is the basic concept behind HyperText.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/tim-berners-lee/forming-of-a-web-of-information-nodes-rather-than-a-hierarchical-tree/) [Tim Berners-Lee](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/tim-berners-lee/) ## More by Ted Nelson > [The problem is not software 'friendliness'. It is conceptual clarity. A globe does not say, 'good morning'. It is simple and clear, not 'friendly'.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ted-nelson/the-problem-is-not-software-friendliness-it-is-conceptual-clarity-a/) [Ted Nelson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ted-nelson/) > [I have long been alarmed by people's sheeplike acceptance of the term 'computer technology' - it sounds so objective and inexorable - when most…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ted-nelson/i-have-long-been-alarmed-by-people-s-sheeplike-acceptance-of-the-term/) [Ted Nelson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ted-nelson/) > [How is MS-DOS like MSG? Both raise your blood pressure and give you a tightening sensation around your forehead.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ted-nelson/how-is-ms-dos-like-msg-both-raise-your-blood-pressure-and-give-you-a/) [Ted Nelson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ted-nelson/) > [You can and must understand computers NOW.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ted-nelson/you-can-and-must-understand-computers-now/) [Ted Nelson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ted-nelson/) > [Power corrupts, and obsolete power corrupts obsoletely.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ted-nelson/power-corrupts-and-obsolete-power-corrupts-obsoletely/) [Ted Nelson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ted-nelson/) > [I am looking at it from the point of view of a harried user, which I am, and I believe that I am much…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ted-nelson/i-am-looking-at-it-from-the-point-of-view-of-a-harried-user-which-i/) [Ted Nelson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ted-nelson/) > [The Web is trivially simple - massively successful and its like Karaoke - anybody can do it.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ted-nelson/the-web-is-trivially-simple-massively-successful-and-its-like-karaoke/) [Ted Nelson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ted-nelson/) > [So, I was always frustrated having to write and having to cut things. Why should you have to cut anything?](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ted-nelson/so-i-was-always-frustrated-having-to-write-and-having-to-cut-things/) [Ted Nelson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ted-nelson/) > [Telling computer guys that they need to have permission to quote things is like having to tell little children about Death.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ted-nelson/telling-computer-guys-that-they-need-to-have-permission-to-quote/) [Ted Nelson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ted-nelson/) > [The ideas keep going, you have the material, you cut because there's a limit to the space allowed to you. And the space is…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ted-nelson/the-ideas-keep-going-you-have-the-material-you-cut-because-there-s-a/) [Ted Nelson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ted-nelson/) > [In my second year in graduate school, I took a computer course and that was like lightening striking.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ted-nelson/in-my-second-year-in-graduate-school-i-took-a-computer-course-and/) [Ted Nelson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ted-nelson/) > [The technicalities matter a lot, but the unifying vision matters more.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ted-nelson/the-technicalities-matter-a-lot-but-the-unifying-vision-matters-more/) [Ted Nelson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ted-nelson/) > [Making things easy is hard.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ted-nelson/making-things-easy-is-hard/) [Ted Nelson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ted-nelson/) > [Project Xanadu is essentially my trademark. It was originally, and has returned to my arms as that.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ted-nelson/project-xanadu-is-essentially-my-trademark-it-was-originally-and-has/) [Ted Nelson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ted-nelson/) > [Everything is deeply intertwingled.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ted-nelson/everything-is-deeply-intertwingled/) [Ted Nelson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ted-nelson/) [Explore all 49 Ted Nelson quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ted-nelson/) ## More Body quotes > [Most of us are convinced that we are our egos, which is who we think we are. The ego is part of our incarnation.…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ram-dass/most-of-us-are-convinced-that-we-are-our-egos-which-is-who-we-think/) [Ram Dass](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ram-dass/) > [The very purpose for being in this body, for every one of us, is to live and rejoice in that virgin area, that untouched,…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/sri-sri-ravi-shankar/the-very-purpose-for-being-in-this-body-for-every-one-of-us-is-to/) [Sri Sri Ravi Shankar](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/sri-sri-ravi-shankar/) > [Because of the womb being a central phenomenon in the feminine body, the whole psychology of woman differs: she is non-aggressive, non-inquiring, non-questioning, non-doubting,…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/rajneesh/because-of-the-womb-being-a-central-phenomenon-in-the-feminine-body/) [Rajneesh](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/rajneesh/) > [When you're scared - and I mean really scared, not just hearing a noise in the night, or standing toe to toe with someone…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/alexander-gordon-smith/when-you-re-scared-and-i-mean-really-scared-not-just-hearing-a-noise/) [Alexander Gordon Smith](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/alexander-gordon-smith/) > [I've used the Phoenix Centrifuge to replicate what the body's going to go through on the flight up. I've also done some gravity tests…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/richard-branson/i-ve-used-the-phoenix-centrifuge-to-replicate-what-the-body-s-going/) [Richard Branson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/richard-branson/) > [Practically all animals which move fast in a homogeneous medium have found means of giving their body a streamlined shape, thereby reducing friction to…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/konrad-lorenz/practically-all-animals-which-move-fast-in-a-homogeneous-medium-have/) [Konrad Lorenz](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/konrad-lorenz/) > [If the media is sending girls the message that their value lies in their bodies, this can only leave them feeling disempowered and distract…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jennifer-siebel-newsom/if-the-media-is-sending-girls-the-message-that-their-value-lies-in/) Jennifer Siebel Newsom > [Boys and boys' body image and clothes have become just as important an issue for boys as for girls.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/rosalind-wiseman/boys-and-boys-body-image-and-clothes-have-become-just-as-important-an/) [Rosalind Wiseman](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/rosalind-wiseman/) > [By making conscious choices in our behavior and where we focus our attention, we can transform our experience of our body, decrease our biological…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/deepak-chopra/by-making-conscious-choices-in-our-behavior-and-where-we-focus-our/) [Deepak Chopra](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/deepak-chopra/) > [Racism is a cancer. You cannot ignore it and it'll go away. If you ignore cancer, it simply metastasizes and consumes the whole body.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/daryl-davis/racism-is-a-cancer-you-cannot-ignore-it-and-it-ll-go-away-if-you/) [Daryl Davis](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/daryl-davis/) > [America, you're sending girls a mixed message. On one hand, you're saying to have positive body image and love who we are; on the…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/adora-svitak/america-you-re-sending-girls-a-mixed-message-on-one-hand-you-re/) [Adora Svitak](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/adora-svitak/) > [I read a couple of books about neuroscience and the relationship between the mind and the body.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/joel-kinnaman/i-read-a-couple-of-books-about-neuroscience-and-the-relationship/) [Joel Kinnaman](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/joel-kinnaman/) > [If japa is maintained, no useless talk during work will be possible. The mind will always remain peaceful. Modern day diseases are mostly psychosomatic.…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/mata-amritanandamayi/if-japa-is-maintained-no-useless-talk-during-work-will-be-possible/) [Mata Amritanandamayi](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/mata-amritanandamayi/) > [It is the incongruous thing in my entire life, this isolation.. ... My work requires it - but I myself have no need or…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/marsden-hartley/it-is-the-incongruous-thing-in-my-entire-life-this-isolation-my-work/) [Marsden Hartley](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/marsden-hartley/) > [My friends, this body - perhaps more than any other gathering in human history - now faces that difficult task.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/leonardo-dicaprio/my-friends-this-body-perhaps-more-than-any-other-gathering-in-human/) [Leonardo DiCaprio](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/leonardo-dicaprio/) [Browse all 20,814 Body quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/body/) ```json { "@context": "https://schema.org", "@graph": [ { "@type": "Quotation", "text": "Let me introduce the word 'hypertext' to mean a body of written or pictorial material interconnected in such a complex way that it could not conveniently be presented or represented on paper.", "creator": { "@type": "Person", "name": "Ted Nelson" }, "isPartOf": { "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#website" }, "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ted-nelson/let-me-introduce-the-word-hypertext-to-mean-a-body-of-written-or/", "about": { "@type": "Thing", "name": "Body" }, "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ted-nelson/let-me-introduce-the-word-hypertext-to-mean-a-body-of-written-or/#quotation", "image": { "@type": "ImageObject", "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/4bb/ted-nelson-13662_body_let-me-introduce-the-word-hypertext-to-m_3086473.png", "contentUrl": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/4bb/ted-nelson-13662_body_let-me-introduce-the-word-hypertext-to-m_3086473.png", "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/4bb/ted-nelson-13662_body_let-me-introduce-the-word-hypertext-to-m_3086473.png", "width": 1080, "height": 1080, "caption": "“Let me introduce the word 'hypertext' to mean a body of written or pictorial material interconnected in such…” — Ted Nelson", "creditText": "SMS4Smile Quotes", "creator": { "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#organization" } } }, { "@type": "BreadcrumbList", "itemListElement": [ { "@type": "ListItem", "position": 1, "name": "Home", "item": "https://sms4smile.com/" }, { "@type": "ListItem", "position": 2, "name": "Quotes", "item": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/" }, { "@type": "ListItem", "position": 3, "name": "Ted Nelson", "item": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ted-nelson/" }, { "@type": "ListItem", "position": 4, "name": "Let me introduce the word 'hypertext'...", "item": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ted-nelson/let-me-introduce-the-word-hypertext-to-mean-a-body-of-written-or/" } ], "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ted-nelson/let-me-introduce-the-word-hypertext-to-mean-a-body-of-written-or/#breadcrumb" }, { "@type": "WebSite", "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#website", "name": "SMS4Smile Quotes", "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/", "publisher": { "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#organization" } }, { "@type": "Organization", "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#organization", "name": "SMS4Smile Quotes", "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/", "logo": { "@type": "ImageObject", "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/wp-content/themes/sq/assets/icons/icon-512.png", "width": 512, "height": 512 } } ] } ```