Dan Lynch’s Love of ‘Brilliant Complexity’ Fuels Early Internet Development, Growth
Lynch’s statement underplays his substantial intellect (he once dreamed how to calculate the interior space of a Chinese lantern–and got the math right). And his conduct problems don’t reflect tension with peers — he just didn’t think authorities were always right. He liked to do things his way, or at least try. It’s a theme you often hear from technology leaders and luminaries, and one that likely helped secure Lynch a position in the 2019 Internet Hall of Fame inductee class for playing a key role in driving global adoption of TCP/IP protocols and fueling the Internet’s commercial success.
As you get to know Dan Lynch, what emerges is the rare and right individual who could grok complexity, grasp possibility, and navigate the human personalities necessary to build a dream. The more you learn about Dan Lynch before he was a leader in the development of the Internet, the better you can understand how the Internet developed as it did.
Lynch grew up in Southern California. His father had seriously considered the Jesuit priesthood, but instead became the enforcer of Hollywood’s Hays Code which placed so-called moral limits on what the movies could depict. His mother had a masters in chemistry. As he notes, Lynch was a successful student, even when he skipped three months of tenth grade to tend to a dying uncle whose brilliant military career he admired.
