"A Logic Named Joe"

The 1946 Story That Predicted How Crazy the Internet Could Get

Charlie Jane Anders | March 21, 2016

You often hear people say things like, “no science fiction writer could have predicted the Internet,” when they’re talking about science fiction’s lack of predictive power. But actually, writer Murray Leinster did get a lot right about the Internet, in the 1946 story “A Logic Named Joe.”
In Leinster’s story, everyone has a device in their house called a “Logic,” and it provides whatever kind of information you want. Each “Logic” is connected to a “tank” that contains tons of data. But one “Logic,” named Joe, gets too smart and starts to become dangerous—not by trying to wipe out the human race, but by giving us too much information. Including how to poison your spouse without getting caught, how to cover up a drinking binge, and how to rob a bank. 

"Three complete novels of humorous adventure, one of them a Hugo Award finalist, plus a trio of witty short stories with the distinctive Leinster touch." Source: http://www.amazon.com/Logic-Named-Joe-Murray-Leinster-ebook/dp/B00AP989JK/ref=sr_1_1?ie=UTF8&qid=1458742411&sr=8-1&keywords=a+logic+named+joe

<more at http://io9.gizmodo.com/the-1946-story-that-predicted-how-destructive-the-inter-1766262905; related articles and links: http://www.theregister.co.uk/2016/03/19/a_logic_named_joe/ (A Logic Named Joe: The 1946 sci-fi short that nailed modern tech. 70 years later, Murray Leinster's disaster scenario is the internet you know and love. March 19, 2016) and http://www.amazon.com/Logic-Named-Joe-Murray-Leinster-ebook/dp/B00AP989JK/ref=sr_1_1?ie=UTF8&qid=1458742411&sr=8-1&keywords=a+logic+named+joe (A Logic Named Joe Kindle Edition)>