The reading As We May Think was written by Dr Vannevar Bush in July, 1945, when the Second World War was coming to a close. A short introduction from the editor makes several points, a strong one being that the inventions of Bush’s time had acted as a way to extend physical power, but not mental power – using the microscope’s extension of sight as an example. From the beginning of Bush’s article it is clear that he will be contemplating the role of scientist, particularly physicists, amidst the conclusion of the war. This really was an issue or aspect of war that I had never really considered.
Bush lists some of the things that were accomplished during his time, such as swift communication between individuals, where he states that knowledge must evolve throughout the life of a race, rather than the individual. A section that felt particularly relevant to us was when he stated ‘truly significant attainments become lost in the mass of the inconsequential’. This is clearly still an issue even with our current technology, as we are all currently trying to increase our audiences for our blogs.
Bush comments on the fact that complexity is no longer synonymous with unreliability, citing inventions such as the typewriter and automobile. Today, we might add things like the mobile phone (particularly the smart phone) and the internet to that list. The line ‘an age of cheap complex devices of brat reliability; and something is bound to come of it’ is extremely prescient, as is the article as a whole.
The importance of recording is stressed by Bush, claiming it must be continuously extended, stored and consulted in order to be useful. Again comparing this to the current day, the internet has undeniably developed the recording of information, as have mobile phones in a more personal sense of recording. The enjoyment of this article comes largely from the advantageous position of reading it almost 70 years after it was written, as lines such as ‘often it would be advantageous to be able to snap the camera and to look at the picture immediately’ are so evidently identical to what progressions were to be made in the coming years.