Fwd: Significance of "As We May Think"

From: Wade T.Smith (wade_smith@harvard.edu)
Date: Mon May 20 2002 - 12:53:17 BST

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Subject: Fwd: Significance of "As We May Think"
From: "Wade T.Smith" <wade_smith@harvard.edu>
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    I forward this request to this forum on behalf of Paul-

    - Wade

    ****

    Begin forwarded message:

    From: Paul W Harrison / interEnglish <intereng@netti.fi>
    Date: Mon May 20, 2002 07:39:44 US/Eastern
    To: skeptic@listproc.hcf.jhu.edu
    Subject: Significance of "As We May Think"

    http://www.nsf.gov/sbe/srs/seind00/access/c9/c9s1.htm

    '....In 1945, the same year that Vannevar Bush outlined his ideas for
    what
    became the National Science Foundation in Science-the Endless Frontier,
    he
    also wrote an article in the Atlantic Monthly that described his vision
    for
    capturing and accessing information ["As We May Think"]. In the Atlantic
    article, Bush proposed the development of a kind of work station, which
    he
    called a "memex," that would store and provide access to the equivalent
    of a
    million volumes of books. The memex would also employ a way of linking
    documents "whereby any item may be caused at will to select immediately
    and
    automatically another"-allowing the user to build a trail between
    multiple
    documents. Although Bush proposed using photographic methods for storage
    and
    mechanical means for retrieval, and the exact technological capability he
    dreamed of has not yet come to pass, the proposed function of his memex
    is
    remarkably similar to hypertext today...."

    Is anyone on the list familiar with Vannevar Bush, this article and its
    significance in introducing the kernel of the "hypertext" system so
    overwhelmingly in use today? Is his contribution indisputably of value?
    The
    reason why I ask is due to skeptical reservations brought up in an
    article I
    am currently proofreading for a university client.

    This sort of pioneering stuff in regard to the development of computers
    and
    what later became the Internet is really fascinating (at least to me!).

    Sender:
    Paul W Harrison, TESL
    interEnglish (Finland)
    <intereng@netti.fi>

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