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H. G. Wells — World Brain

1938 · Book · Public Domain (US, no renewal on record)

H. G. Wells's "World Brain" is a collection of essays proposing a universal, accessible information system. It is notable for anticipating modern concepts of the internet and global knowledge networks.

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Reader guide

World Brain collects H. G. Wells’s 1930s essays proposing a continuously revised, widely accessible organization of human knowledge.

Why it matters

Wells proposes a permanent editorial organization in which specialists would coordinate, revise, and distribute reference knowledge for education and public decision-making—not a technical design for the modern internet.

What you will find

Arguments for a world encyclopedia, educational reform, expert collaboration, and the public organization of knowledge.

Available edition: Read the full public-domain text in the Internet Archive.

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