
As We May Think (1945) - dpflan
https://www.theatlantic.com/magazine/archive/1945/07/as-we-may-think/303881/
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jasonhong
Here's a brief summary of why this article and why Vannevar Bush was so
impactful. (Please note that this is all from memory, so while some of the
specifics might be off, the general thrust is right)

Vannevar Bush helped organize the American scientific effort during World War
2, and afterward was instrumental in setting up the modern university research
system we have today. The main argument was that research was the "Endless
Frontier" (hence the name of the book about him). Things like the National
Science Foundation and DARPA are part of this compact, that the Federal
government would fund research universities to do fundamental and applied
research, which in turn would help contribute to American national security.

Regarding this specific article (As We May Think), I would argue that it's
core impact is that it made a case for why information technologies were
needed, and laid out a vision for what that world might be like. Even though
the article was written in 1945, it talks about information overload(!), and
the challenges of finding the right information when there is so much of it.
It also imagines an early form of hypertext via a device called the Memex,
which later inspired Ted Nelson, Doug Engelbart, and others in their work.
There's even discussion of a kind of collaboration in the form of "trails" or
paths as to how one found a piece of information in the first place. One might
share these trails with others, forming a kind of hyperlink that we don't have
a modern equivalent for. Intriguingly, Bush also imagines wearable computers
(a wearable camera) that can be used to help augment people's memories.

In short, this article heavily influenced a lot of people's thinking about
what computing technologies could potentially do in the future, and was a
major part in getting us to where we are today.

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ingve
For those who want to learn more, the book "Endless Frontier: Vannevar Bush,
Engineer of the American Century" [0] by G. Pascal Zachary is _very_ good. (G.
Pascal Zachary also wrote "Showstopper: The Breakneck Race to Create Windows
NT and the Next Generation at Microsoft")

[0]
[http://www.gpascalzachary.com/endless_frontier__vannevar_bus...](http://www.gpascalzachary.com/endless_frontier__vannevar_bush__engineer_of_the_american_century__1997__50100.htm)

[1]
[http://www.gpascalzachary.com/showstopper__the_breakneck_rac...](http://www.gpascalzachary.com/showstopper__the_breakneck_race_to_create_windows_nt_and_the_next_generation_at_m_50101.htm)

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hinkley
One of the reasons I bring him up is that I think it’s important for us to
have an awareness that we are on a bit of a merry-go-round where tech is
concerned. Most days we are answering questions that have been asked in some
form for fifty years. Or in this case, seventy.

Don’t fool yourself into thinking this is all new. It’s new to you. The
constraints may or may not be new, but you are often treading old, if fertile,
territory.

Why does this matter? Am I trying to be a buzzkill? Maybe. It’s about hubris,
in part. Knowing there is probably prior art means prior conversations that
you might be able to learn from. And those people who disagree with you and
you dismiss? They may be on the other side of this argument in five years when
the next new/old thing comes back and your amazing work hits the recycling
bin.

------
dang
Posted dozens of times, but surprisingly few got more than one comment.

2015
[https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=9787567](https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=9787567)

2012
[https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=4577865](https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=4577865)

2010
[https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=1565764](https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=1565764)

~~~
vidarh
It's one of those things that needs context around it to generate discussion.
On its own, it, well, stands on its own.

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criddell
I know it wasn't Vannevar Bush, but I think it was a contemporary of his that
made all these elementary robots, each taking the previous one that did
something simple (like avoid light) and adding a new behavior. It's driving me
crazy that I can't think of his name.

~~~
lisper
Valentino Braitenberg:

[https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Braitenberg_vehicle](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Braitenberg_vehicle)

[https://www.amazon.com/Vehicles-Experiments-Psychology-
Valen...](https://www.amazon.com/Vehicles-Experiments-Psychology-Valentino-
Braitenberg/dp/0262521121)

~~~
criddell
Thank you!

~~~
lisper
You bet.

------
pmoriarty
Those interested in this might also enjoy E M Forster's _The Machine Stops_
[1][2], which in 1909 predicted (in very rough, general form) something like
the Internet, Internet addiction, video chat rooms, and virtual reality.

[1] -
[https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/The_Machine_Stops](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/The_Machine_Stops)

[2] - [https://www.ele.uri.edu/faculty/vetter/Other-stuff/The-
Machi...](https://www.ele.uri.edu/faculty/vetter/Other-stuff/The-Machine-
Stops.pdf)

------
frabbit
The name should be corrected to _Vannevar_ in the title.

~~~
dpflan
Thanks for the pointing that out. I've updated the title.

~~~
evanb
Also, (1945).

~~~
dpflan
Thanks, updated!

