The ideas in this thesis were shaped by a lifetime of learning from other people and other work. There is room here to only thank some of them: Marvin Minsky has been my advisor and agent provocateur for a long time. His unique way of seeing the world constantly kept me on my toes. Mitch Resnick was my other advisor and provided invaluable assistance in actually getting this work focused and finished. Pattie Maes and Whitman Richards also provided a great deal of good advice and encouragement. Alan Kay got me started on this path of inquiry when he began the Vivarium project at MIT and Apple in 1986. Since then he has provided consistent support and inspiration for my research over the years. Ann Marion's vision was at the nucleus of this project, and she and the rest of the people involved at Apple's Learning Concepts Group get my heartfelt thanks for thinking in nonstandard directions and encouraging others to do the same.
The Narrative Intelligence reading group provided a suitably underground context in which subversive ideas could flourish. While many wonderful people participated, I have particularly benefited from the conversation and friendship of Amy Bruckman, Marc Davis, Warren Sack, and Carol Strohecker. The original Vivarium group at the Media Lab provided the initial growth medium for this work. The lifeforms making up the ecology included Margaret Minsky, Steve Strassman, David Levitt, Allison Druin, Bill Coderre, Silas the dog, Noobie the chimera, numerous fishes, and the autonomous blimp. More recently the people of the Epistemology and Learning Group have made me feel at home and helped me through the home stretch.
Special thanks go to those whose work and advice have had a great deal of influence on my own ideas, including Edith Ackermann, Henry Lieberman, Hal Abelson, Seymour Papert, Andy diSessa, and Phil Agre. LiveWorld, like any large piece of software, was built on the shoulders of other programmers. In this case the giants include Ken Haase, Alan Ruttenberg, and the Macintosh Common Lisp team in its various incarnations at Coral, Apple Computer, and Digitool. Thanks also go to all who helped me out by reading drafts and giving me feedback and encouragement, including Paul Pangaro, Amy Bruckman, David Mankins, Linda Hershenson, Marcio Marchini, and others.
Deepest thanks go to my friends who helped to keep me together and push me along through this process: David Mankins and John Redford, who have been my friends and sometime housemates for more years than any of us would like to admit; Alan Ruttenberg, my partner in hacking, resistance, and exile; and Amy Bruckman, who raises common sense to an art form.
Thanks to those organizations who provided financial support for my work, including Apple Computer, Toshiba, and the Mitsubishi Electric Research Laboratory. Last and most, thanks to Linda, Tanya & Ben. A family--what a concept.
