Saturday, September 22, 2007

A 1945 technology prediction

An excerpt from "As We May Think" in the July 1945 Atlantic Monthly.
The author is Dr. Vannevar Bush, a man with imagination...

"Consider a future device for individual use, which is a sort of mechanized private file and library. It needs a name, and, to coin one at random, "memex" will do. A memex is a 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.

It consists of a desk, and while it can presumably be operated from a distance, it is primarily the piece of furniture at which he works. On the top are slanting translucent screens, on which material can be projected for convenient reading. There is a keyboard, and sets of buttons and levers. Otherwise it looks like an ordinary desk."

I'd say his idea indeed came to pass, even better than predicted 67 years ago.
Curious? Read the full 1945 article online here: http://www.theatlantic.com/doc/194507/bush/4