From reading both of Bush's
articles, I derived that the "Memex" was a futuristic form of
advanced technology that would help to better organize individuals. In his
initial article, Bush discussed the Memex as being a supplement to one's
memory--a place for the consolidation and storage of large amounts of
information. One of the key features he notes is its ability to sort and
retrieve the information stored in it as well.
In Bush's second article, he differs in focusing his
thoughts about the Memex's evolution around those of magnetic tape. Not only
could this magnetic tape allow for the recording of information, but it also
included the ability to erase unwanted information. An additional change Bush
makes point of is the Memex's ability to work when its master is not present--something
extremely futuristic but Bush viewed as conceivable.
The comments from the symposium on Bush noted that
despite Bush's views of the society being analog and microfilm-based whereas
our society is digital and electronic-based, Bush was very accurate in
describing a functional environment nonetheless. Additionally, commentators
noted Bush went even further to imply the social impact the Memex and
technology alike would have on society. However, one criticism during this
symposium was that Bush had neglected the importance of collaboration between
people in his description of this environment.
When I Googled 'Memex', what caught my eye were the
images provided about what the Memex would have looked like. Contrary to what I
thought, the Memex was not merely a single machine, it was entire workspace and
desk apparatus. This image was from a Time Magazine article about Bush in 1945,
when he was on the cover of the magazine. The image (posted below) showed the
various keyboard and button functions, screens, and "scanning"
features of the Memex. I found it interesting that all of these functions were
separate parts of the machine, whereas I pictured them to all be incorporated
into one screen/keyboard setup, similar to that of a modern laptop. Today,
technology has become so advanced that nowadays we are able to fit our modern
"Memex" in our pockets and the palm of our hands.
Link to website image of
Memex:
1 comment:
Carly,
Very interesting perspective mentioning the criticisms others had on Bush during the symposium. I'm also a big fan of the picture you posted in your post. I too also found it more helpful to visualize what the Memex actually looked like.
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