I can see how he can come across that way. The progress that was made before 1980, of which we're entirely still surfing on, has to be connected with the simplicity and lack of patterns. It was like the 60's in music; no one knew what to expect so everything was possible.
On the other hand, considering the PC-internet revolution is all based on technologies that he and his colleagues developed, you should check yourself. Maybe if our industry had an ounce of history and a modicum of respect, we wouldn't be swimming in the mess we're in.
In my opinion, there's no one alive in this field that you should respect more than Dr. Kay.
Also, the PC revolution exploded so quickly that it fractured the hacker community which had fostered it. It took on a life of its own, and the very people that invented it have often publicly questioned the various directions it has taken since. While it could be taken as similar to saying, "I liked the Internet before it was cool", Kay's remark about Pop phenomena struck me as utterly insightful.
On the other hand, considering the PC-internet revolution is all based on technologies that he and his colleagues developed, you should check yourself. Maybe if our industry had an ounce of history and a modicum of respect, we wouldn't be swimming in the mess we're in.
In my opinion, there's no one alive in this field that you should respect more than Dr. Kay.