"As We May Think," by Vannevar Bush (1945)

After reading Vannevar Bush’s 1945 article, "As We May Think," which appeared in the Atlantic, I can’t help but wonder what he would think about technology today. Would he be amazed with the personal computer, cell phone, digital camera, etc.? Or, would he be surprised that we haven’t advanced further, as he had envisioned similar devices over 60 years ago?

Perhaps the main reason that these technologies haven’t become widespread until recently is due to economics. Bush would appreciate this. I thought that his discussion on economics was one of the more interesting points in the article. He explains that had a Pharaoh been given the necessary knowledge of an automobile, it would have cost his kingdom a huge sum of resources to build one, only for it to break down “on the first trip to Giza (Bush 2).”

It is important for technology to be manufactured economically, perform reliably, and be sold at a reasonable price to the consumer. I can’t remember when it became common for everyone to have their own computer, cell phone, digital camera, iPod, etc., but today it seems that everyone I know has one of each. Not only that, but we rely on these devices and use them daily. I know that if I leave my phone at home for one day, I feel lost.

I think that Bush understood that in the future, people would rely heavily on technology – that it would be important for it to be fast, compressed, interactive, and ubiquitous. In closing, he writes that, “science may implement the ways in which man produces, stores, and consults the record of the race (11).”

My overall impression of the article was that Bush was an extremely bright man with incredible foresight. It’s hard to believe that this article was written in 1945! I wonder what he would think is in store for our future.