Memex

For this week's online assignment, I watched a youtube video demonstrating how the Memex worked.  The Memex was a futuristic idea that Vannevar Bush invented. This was all before the World Wide Web, and even complex processing machinery like a computer for that matter.  His invention was revolutionary.  Bush brought up the concept of aligning the brain/mind with the mechanical technology.  He wanted to mesh the two concepts together, and the Memex was a huge first step in that.  The video I watched was a sample walkthrough on how someone could go about using a Memex and what they would do.  In the essays, articles, and commentaries, I still could not visualize or grasp exactly what a Memex's functions were.  This video was very insightful as it showed every feature of the Memex and how a person would go about using it.  Also, it showed the complex natures of personalizing each Memex with notes that had a online saving feature.  One aspect of the Memex that shocked me was its resemblance to today's Kindle or online encyclopedias.  It gives you the power to pull up information from books or other sources, read, comment, take notes, and do many similar actions as the Kindle.  Obviously the two systems are very different and are from two very different eras in the digital world, but it was the first thing that came to mind when watching this video.  I thought this video was very simple to understand and allowed me to gain a further understanding of Bush's revolutionizing invention.

Video: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=c539cK58ees