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Memex Explained |
Vannevar Bush and the WWW |
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Vannevar Bush:
I conceived of the memex as "a sort of mechanized private file and library." It would store books, records, communications, and every bit of information you might want. Because it would be mechanized, you could find anything on the memex with "exceeding speed and flexibility." Basically, it could fill in all the gaps in your memory and could "think" like you do because you told it how to think.
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Vannevar Bush with his Differential Analyzer |
"...Modern-day computers? The Internet? Are they similar to what you thought the memex
would be?" |
Jim Marinetti:
That sounds very promising Vannevar - even today. May I call you Vannevar? You might not know because you have been "missing" for so long, but the name "Bush" has such a negative connotation these days...I'm sorry. Because you have been gone, you haven't followed the development of the digital age. Have you seen modern-day computers? The Internet? Are they similar to what you thought the memex would be?
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Vannevar Bush:
I spent some time working on a modern computer yesterday and earlier today. I have to admit that it is a bit disappointing, personally, that digital computers flourished instead of my early idea of an analog computer. However, today's computers are physically very similar to my memex. They have a viewing screen, keyboard, and various buttons and seem to be attached to desks. The portable machines, the ones detached from desks, are the ones that excite me. I never imagined the mechanisms becoming so small.
You also wanted to know about the Internet. Well, yesterday, I was on the World Wide Web for the first time looking for information. I found it frustrating, but entertaining. It was a bit like a game, really. I can see why people like to compare the World Wide Web to what I wrote, but the Web seems to be quite a bit different from my memex.
|  Bush sits back and discusses the merits of modern computing |
