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Outline of presentation. 1. Vannevar Bush – CV 2. The after-war situation 3. The Memex 4. Steven Johnson on Bush 5. Discussion point 6. Links (Vannevar Bush and the Memex). Vannevar Bush - CV. Born in Everett, Massachusetts, USA Graduated from Tufts College with B.S., M.S.

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Outline of presentation

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  1. Outline of presentation 1. Vannevar Bush – CV 2. The after-war situation 3. The Memex 4. Steven Johnson on Bush 5. Discussion point 6. Links (Vannevar Bush and the Memex)

  2. Vannevar Bush - CV • Born in Everett, Massachusetts, USA • Graduated from Tufts College with B.S., M.S. 1914-15 Worked for Inspections, U.S. Navy 1916-17        Earned his doctorate in engineering, MIT WWI Worked on submarine detection for the U.S. Navy • Returned to MIT as an Associate Professor • Made a Full Professor at MIT • Appointed Vice-president of MIT • Developed the "differential analyzer“ at MIT

  3. Vannevar Bush - CV 1939-41 Chairman of the National Advisory Committee for Aeronautics (member until 1948) • Chairman of President Roosevelt’s National Defence Research Committee (NDRC) 1941-47 Director of the Office of Scientific Research and Development (OSRD) 1944 President Roosevelt asks Bush for recommendations on the application of "lessons learned" from WWII to civilian, peace-time activities • Bush submits "Science, the Endless Frontier" in response to Roosevelt's request.

  4. Vannevar Bush - CV 1945 Bush proposes the Memex in his article, "As We May Think", published in the Atlantic Monthly • Chairman of the Joint Research and Development Board of the War and Navy Departments 1950 Establishment of the National Science Foundation (NSF) under the direction of Bush 1974 Bush ends his life on 30 June

  5. Vannevar Bush - photos Portraits

  6. Vannevar Bush - photos The profile tracer (1913)

  7. Vannevar Bush - photos The differential analyzer (1931)

  8. The after-war situation Situation: The creative aftermath of WWII Information overload - “a growing mountain of research”Invention of mechanical aid devices Problem: Need for storageNeed for making information accessible (by use of science) Solution:The Memex(a device which was half microfilm machine and half computer)

  9. The Memex • A mechanized device in which knowledge may be stored and easily consulted (→ the PC). • Consists of a desk. (→ desktop metaphor). • Contains information stored on microfilm. • The user has several projection positions (→ Windows) • An extension of the powers of human memoryAssociation vs. indexing

  10. The Memex • Trails are built by codes. (→ DOS/Windows)       “Thereafter, at any time, when one of these items are in view, the other can be instantly recalled merely by tapping a button below the corresponding code space. Moreover, when numerous items have been thus joined together to form a trail, they can be reviewed in turn, rapidly or slowly, by deflecting a lever (...)” • “[The user] has supplemental levers. One deflecting one of these levers to the right he runs through the book before him, each page in turn being projected at a speed which just allows a recognizing glance at each. If he deflects it further to the right. he steps through the book ten pages at a time; still further at 100 pages at a time. Deflection to the left gives him the same control backwards.” • Trails may be inserted in other memexes (→ Floppy disc, CD, DVD)

  11. Steven Johnson on Bush · Anticipates the World Wide Web ·  ... and online databases and CD-ROM’s ·  Bush’s vision exceeds the WWW • Building vs. following trails of interest • Building trails compared to bookmarks ·  Bush missed the core competency of the PC

  12. Discussion point To what extent is there a need for the possibility of building rather than simply following trails of interest on the Web?

  13. Additional information on Vannevar Bush • http://www.discovery.com/stories/deadinventors/dead980807/deadinventors.html • http://alto.histech.rwth-aachen.de/www/quellen/bush/photos.htm (including photos) • http://www.ibiblio.org/pioneers/bush.html • http://web.mit.edu/invent/www/inventorsA-H/bush.html • http://www.boxesandarrows.com/archives/002719.php • http://www.livinginternet.com/?i/ii_bush.htm • http://www.eecs.mit.edu/AY95-96/events/9.html • http://www.everettweb.com/history/bush.htm (including CV) • http://www.cs.brown.edu/research/graphics/html/info/timeline.html (including CV) • http://www.maxmon.com/1927ad.htm (the Differential Analyzer) • http://jefferson.village.virginia.edu/elab/hfl0034.html • http://www.ausbcomp.com/~bbott/wik/bushref.htm (links to Vannevar Bush references)

  14. Additional information on the Memex http://www.cs.brown.edu/memex/ http://www.press.jhu.edu/press/books/landow/memex.html http://jefferson.village.virginia.edu/elab/hfl0051.html

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