Standalone computers were especially popular in the developing world. In New Delhi, for example, outdoor computer kiosks were set up as 'Hole[s]-in-the-wall[s]'. These computers were connected to the Internet, but the Internet function rarely worked, the 'minimally invasive education' meant...
Defining data as dynamic higher-order functions worked badly when most computing was standalone. And it works even worse now that we have these things called networks. The problem is that a dynamic higher-order function is a sort of ethereal construct, a speck of four-dimensional pixie dust, ...