A Note on the Changing Faces of (D)ARPA

Unlike the rest of the FreakTakes ARPA series, today’s piece does not have the usual narrative structure. It is, instead, a set of personal notes cleaned up and re-structured as a post. While the post is atypical, the ARPA series would be incomplete if I did not outline the factors that mark key regime changes at the agency over time. The piece is not an exhaustive account of every regime change in DARPA history, but details three major variables that mark regime changes and provide some illustr...