As We May Think
Year First Appeared
1945
Creator
Vannevar Bush
As We May Think is a 1945 essay by Vannevar Bush that introduced the memex, a hypothetical device for associative information storage, and is widely regarded as a precursor to hypertext, the Internet, and the modern information society.
Importance in Internet Culture
By proposing associative indexing and trail-based linking, Bush articulated the conceptual blueprint for hypertext and, by extension, the Web's model of interlinked documents. His essay directly inspired pioneers such as Doug Engelbart, Ted Nelson, and J. C. R. Licklider, who cited and developed his vision.
Interesting Fact
The essay first appeared in The Atlantic Monthly in July 1945. Life magazine then published an illustrated condensation on September 10, 1945, featuring a Cyclops Camera worn on the forehead to capture whatever the user saw, part of the popular imagery that spread Bush's ideas to a mainstream audience. The essay also imagined a speech-controlled typewriter for voice-driven selection.