When asked if he had any theories about why the error so enchanted people, Cailliau wrote “I don’t even have a hunch about the 404 fascination. And frankly I don’t give a damn. The sort of creativity that goes into 404 response pages is fairly useless. The mythology is probably due to the irrationality, denial of evidence, and preference for the fairy tale over reality that is quite common in the human species … These human traits were relatively innocent in the past, when individual influence was small and information spread slowly. Today, and in no small way due to the existence of the net, these traits have gained a power that is dangerous.” As examples, he cited the election of Donald Trump, the deterioration of the EU, meek political responses to gun violence, and the proliferation of euphemism (“climate change”). Or the fascination could just be a dash of humanity, an appreciation that the internet is made by humans, and humans — especially on the internet — are often bored. | |
— Robert Cailliau | |
Quoted by: Anna Wiener | |
In her article: “Page Not Found: A Brief History Of The 404 ERROR“ | |
Appearing in: Wired Magazine | |
Dated: December 2017 | |
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On This Day In: | |
2017 | All At Once |
2016 | One Of My Vices |
2015 | The War Lord |
2014 | Orange October (II) – Giants Win NLDS Game 2 In 18 Innings (2 to 1)!! |
Acknowledging Doubt | |
2013 | Fulfilled Acceptance |
2012 | Error Is Tolerated Here (So Far) |
2011 | In Defense Of Pain |
Preference For Irrationality
October 5, 2018 by kmabarrett
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