--- title: "Meaning & Key Takeaway of: It was the academic community who wired…" description: "\"It was the academic community who wired up their universities so it was put together by smart, well-meaning people who thought it was a good idea.\" — T..." image: "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/cb8/tim-berners-lee-3302_academic_it-was-the-academic-community-who-wired_2260975.png" --- # It was the academic community who wired up their… ![“It was the academic community who wired up their universities so it was put together by smart, well-meaning people who thought it was a good idea.” quote by Tim Berners-Lee](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/cb8/tim-berners-lee-3302_academic_it-was-the-academic-community-who-wired_2260975.png) [Download](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/cb8/tim-berners-lee-3302_academic_it-was-the-academic-community-who-wired_2260975.png) [Open image](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/cb8/tim-berners-lee-3302_academic_it-was-the-academic-community-who-wired_2260975.png) > “It was the academic community who wired up their universities so it was put together by smart, well-meaning people who thought it was a good idea.” [Tim Berners-Lee](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/tim-berners-lee/) ## About This Quote This interpretation was drafted with AI assistance. It is one reading of the quote, not the author's own explanation. The academic community built the web with good intentions, but it was assembled by many well‑meaning people. **In simple terms:** Web created by collaborative, idealistic effort. Key Takeaway Recognize collective responsibility. Themes technology collaboration idealism Mood reflective optimistic Type historical technical When to use this quote - policy making - education - digital ethics - infrastructure planning Key Concepts network design social impact innovation Questions to Reflect On - How can we balance optimism with foresight? - What responsibilities do creators have? A Different Perspective Idealism may ignore unintended consequences. ★ ★ ★ ★ ★ No ratings yet [Academic](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/academic/) [Academic Community](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/academic-community-2976068/) [Community](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/community/) [Community Wired](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/community-wired-5202194/) [Education](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/education/) [Good ideas](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/good-ideas/) [Ideas](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/ideas/) [People](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/people/) [People Thought](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/people-thought/) [Smart](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/smart/) [Together](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/together/) [Universities Smart](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/universities-smart-5202192/) [University](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/university/) [Wells](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/wells/) [Wired Universities](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/wired-universities-5202193/) ## Related quotes > [One of the biggest costs in the whole scientific publishing world is borne by the academic community, which is the peer review.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/mark-walport/one-of-the-biggest-costs-in-the-whole-scientific-publishing-world-is/) [Mark Walport](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/mark-walport/) > [Being a professor and working are not the same thing. The academic community is composed largely of nitwits. If I may generalize. People who…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/robert-b-parker/being-a-professor-and-working-are-not-the-same-thing-the-academic/) [Robert B. 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Lockhart](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/e-lockhart/) > [People thought I have attitude yeah they are right](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/sumit-rohilla/people-thought-i-have-attitude-yeah-they-are-right/) [Sumit Rohilla](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/sumit-rohilla/) > [“People, I thought, wanted security. They couldn’t bare the idea of death being a big black nothing, couldn’t bear the thought of their loved…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/john-green/people-i-thought-wanted-security-they-couldn-t-bare-the-idea-of-death/) [John Green](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/john-green/) > [“She was too dependent on what other people thought of her, and that was her downfall. She cared too much. She was only what…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/steph-bowe/she-was-too-dependent-on-what-other-people-thought-of-her-and-that/) [Steph Bowe](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/steph-bowe/) > [Imagine what you'd do if it absolutely didn't matter what people thought of you. Got it? Good. Never go back.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/martha-beck/imagine-what-you-d-do-if-it-absolutely-didn-t-matter-what-people/) [Martha Beck](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/martha-beck/) ## More by Tim Berners-Lee > [When something is such a creative medium as the web, the limits to it are our imagination.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/tim-berners-lee/when-something-is-such-a-creative-medium-as-the-web-the-limits-to-it/) [Tim Berners-Lee](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/tim-berners-lee/) > [You can’t propose that something be a universal space and at the same time keep control of it.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/tim-berners-lee/you-can-t-propose-that-something-be-a-universal-space-and-at-the-same/) [Tim Berners-Lee](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/tim-berners-lee/) > [Web users ultimately want to get at data quickly and easily. They don't care as much about attractive sites and pretty design.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/tim-berners-lee/web-users-ultimately-want-to-get-at-data-quickly-and-easily-they-don/) [Tim Berners-Lee](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/tim-berners-lee/) > [Physicists analyse systems. Web scientists, however, can create the systems.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/tim-berners-lee/physicists-analyse-systems-web-scientists-however-can-create-the/) [Tim Berners-Lee](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/tim-berners-lee/) > [AI is not just heading for our industry, it will radically change the machinery we use in marketing.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/tim-berners-lee/ai-is-not-just-heading-for-our-industry-it-will-radically-change-the/) [Tim Berners-Lee](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/tim-berners-lee/) > [Web pages are designed for people. For the Semantic Web, we need to look at existing databases.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/tim-berners-lee/web-pages-are-designed-for-people-for-the-semantic-web-we-need-to/) [Tim Berners-Lee](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/tim-berners-lee/) > [One of the issues of social networking silos is that they have the data and I don't.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/tim-berners-lee/one-of-the-issues-of-social-networking-silos-is-that-they-have-the/) [Tim Berners-Lee](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/tim-berners-lee/) > [The more you enter, the more you become locked in. Your social-networking site becomes a central platform - a closed silo of content, and…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/tim-berners-lee/the-more-you-enter-the-more-you-become-locked-in-your-social/) [Tim Berners-Lee](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/tim-berners-lee/) > [Celebrity damages private life.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/tim-berners-lee/celebrity-damages-private-life/) [Tim Berners-Lee](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/tim-berners-lee/) > [I think, in general, it's clear that most bad things come from misunderstanding, and communication is generally the way to resolve misunderstandings - and…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/tim-berners-lee/i-think-in-general-it-s-clear-that-most-bad-things-come-from/) [Tim Berners-Lee](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/tim-berners-lee/) > [When somebody has learned how to program a computer ... You're joining a group of people who can do incredible things. They can make…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/tim-berners-lee/when-somebody-has-learned-how-to-program-a-computer-you-re-joining-a/) [Tim Berners-Lee](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/tim-berners-lee/) > [I'm an optimist about humanity in general, I suppose.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/tim-berners-lee/i-m-an-optimist-about-humanity-in-general-i-suppose/) [Tim Berners-Lee](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/tim-berners-lee/) > [Anyone who has lost track of time when using a computer knows the propensity to dream, the urge to make dreams come true and…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/tim-berners-lee/anyone-who-has-lost-track-of-time-when-using-a-computer-knows-the/) [Tim Berners-Lee](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/tim-berners-lee/) > [Universality has been the key enabler of innovation on the Web and will continue to be so in the future.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/tim-berners-lee/universality-has-been-the-key-enabler-of-innovation-on-the-web-and/) [Tim Berners-Lee](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/tim-berners-lee/) > [What is a Web year now, about three months? And when people can browse around, discover new things, and download them fast, when we…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/tim-berners-lee/what-is-a-web-year-now-about-three-months-and-when-people-can-browse/) [Tim Berners-Lee](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/tim-berners-lee/) [Explore all 134 Tim Berners-Lee quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/tim-berners-lee/) ## More Academic quotes > [When I went to college, as much as my parents emphasized academic achievement, they emphasized marriage even more. 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Everett Koop](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/c-everett-koop/) > [Marx, however imperfectly he worked out the details, set himself the task of discovering the law of motion of capitalism, and if there is…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/joan-robinson/marx-however-imperfectly-he-worked-out-the-details-set-himself-the/) [Joan Robinson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/joan-robinson/) > [Now know I well what people sought formerly above all else when they sought Teachers of virtue. Good sleep they sought for themselves, and…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/friedrich-nietzsche/now-know-i-well-what-people-sought-formerly-above-all-else-when-they/) [Friedrich Nietzsche](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/friedrich-nietzsche/) > [Because my graduate academic training at law school was not one that included most of the intellectual traditions I find useful for understanding the…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/dean-spade/because-my-graduate-academic-training-at-law-school-was-not-one-that/) [Dean Spade](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/dean-spade/) > [An academic discipline, or any other semiotic domain, for that matter, is not primarily content, in the sense of facts and principles. It is…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/james-paul-gee/an-academic-discipline-or-any-other-semiotic-domain-for-that-matter/) [James Paul Gee](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/james-paul-gee/) > [“In the end, ethical interpretation of the Bible means to think critically about how our practices of textual engagement might help us to become…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/walter-brueggemann/in-the-end-ethical-interpretation-of-the-bible-means-to-think/) [Walter Brueggemann](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/walter-brueggemann/) > [Perhaps art criticism cannot be reformed in a logical sense because it was never well-formed in the first place. Art criticism has long been…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/james-elkins/perhaps-art-criticism-cannot-be-reformed-in-a-logical-sense-because/) [James Elkins](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/james-elkins/) > [And I'm the first one to tell people to break the rules. 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Byatt](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/a-s-byatt-2/) [Browse all 958 Academic quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/academic/) ```json { "@context": "https://schema.org", "@graph": [ { "@type": "Quotation", "text": "It was the academic community who wired up their universities so it was put together by smart, well-meaning people who thought it was a good idea.", "creator": { "@type": "Person", "name": "Tim Berners-Lee" }, "isPartOf": { "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#website" }, "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/tim-berners-lee/it-was-the-academic-community-who-wired-up-their-universities-so-it/", "about": { "@type": "Thing", "name": "Academic" }, "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/tim-berners-lee/it-was-the-academic-community-who-wired-up-their-universities-so-it/#quotation", "image": { "@type": "ImageObject", "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/cb8/tim-berners-lee-3302_academic_it-was-the-academic-community-who-wired_2260975.png", "contentUrl": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/cb8/tim-berners-lee-3302_academic_it-was-the-academic-community-who-wired_2260975.png", "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/cb8/tim-berners-lee-3302_academic_it-was-the-academic-community-who-wired_2260975.png", "width": 1080, "height": 1080, "caption": "“It was the academic community who wired up their universities so it was put together by smart, well-meaning…” — Tim Berners-Lee", "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": "Tim Berners-Lee", "item": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/tim-berners-lee/" }, { "@type": "ListItem", "position": 4, "name": "It was the academic community who...", "item": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/tim-berners-lee/it-was-the-academic-community-who-wired-up-their-universities-so-it/" } ], "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/tim-berners-lee/it-was-the-academic-community-who-wired-up-their-universities-so-it/#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 } } ] } ```