Through my search I discovered a short (2:33) YouTube video exhibiting what the Memex would look like and do. I found it interesting because it was just uploaded in 2009, and through the setup of the video, it was hard to tell what the goal or opinion of the person making the video was.The video uses a very monotonous person to narrate what was happening, while it showed the Memex making very slow and loud transactions. With such a futuristic vision presented in As We May Think, I thought a video made in 2009 would have exemplified this item in a more technologically advanced fashion; instead it was presented in a awkwardly slow fashion. This is why I think this video may have been meant to make fun of past technologies, as today's technology, this item would be viewed as slow, clunky, and unnecessary in comparison to our LTE-speed compact internet devices.
Memex Animation
3 comments:
Hey Kara, I also took a look at this video during my hunt for a Memex commentary. I definitely agree with you, it was really slow, and I would not have guessed that it was made in 2009! I think that the reader was pulling quotes that Bush himself had written in his first and second articles, but the creator could have made it more interesting by adding some more commentary to it that updated it to modern times, but if all he wanted to do was get the basic point across, I think he succeeded. Great video choice :)
I like Tiana, also viewed this video when searching through to find an item to discuss. I found the video to be odd in the sense that the animation in 2009 was much more sophisticated then the video animation gave credit to, however I wonder if it is on purpose. I thought that maybe the gritty, less then polished look might be aiming to show the grittiness of the original quality of the idea/invention. The video was helpful in explaining how the process and system would work, and as long as you only needed a very general overview of the Memex, this would be great to use as a full explanation! I enjoyed the critique, thanks for sharing it!
Kara,
I too used this video for my discussion post. Although the video might have lacked a goal or opinion, I thought it really helped me see the vision of Vannevar Bush's Memex. After watching the video, I reread Vannevar Bush's initial article and it seemed to make more sense. Also I was able to make more connections to present day technologies. Despite the non-futurisic vision compared to today's technologies, in 1945, this version portrayed in the video was probably very futuristic; therefore, that was how the video was made. But I definitely agree with you and Tiana, that the video could have been more interesting if updated to modern times!
Madeleine
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