As We May Think
Reference¶
Bush, Vannevar. “As We May Think.” The Atlantic, July 1, 1945. https://www.theatlantic.com/magazine/archive/1945/07/as-we-may-think/303881/.
[!info] - Cite Key: [[@bushWeMayThink1945]] - Abstract: “Consider a future device … in which an individual stores all his books, records, and communications, and which is mechanized so that it may be consulted with exceeding speed and flexibility. It is an enlarged intimate supplement to his memory.” - Bibliography: Bush, V. 1945. As We May Think. The Atlantic, 1 July 1945. Available at https://www.theatlantic.com/magazine/archive/1945/07/as-we-may-think/303881/ [Last accessed 4 February 2023].
Summary & Key Take Aways¶
In the article As We May Think (1945), Vannevar Bush applies his knowledge and experience as an American engineer to theorize on the future of cataloguing ones individual data. That is, of course, the bare minimum of what Bush achieves with this article. He imagines the future of photography, computers, and the concept of digitizing books and records. In the article he describes a device that can supplement one's memory by way of storing all their communications and records in one spot.
His article is groundbreaking for its time and many of his concepts have come to fruition in modern day.