Memex: A Visual Mockup

The thing that impressed me most about Bush's description of the "memex" was how closely it resembles even present-day computers. Although at first it may seem quite far off from what we now imagine as being a computer, the basic concepts are the same. In fact, Bush describes how he expected that the personal computer would not allow us to do anything fundamentally new, but would make the things that we do (physically and mentally) much faster, simpler and more efficient.

Bush was miles ahead in thinking of having a physical display. The first computers didn't have them, but now it's impossible to imagine one without a monitor. The keyboard is also very important, and was one of the first things that Bush mentioned. In order to accomplish something that might change, a user needs to issue input to the computer. What we consider to be today's "hard drive" is what Bush imagined would be copies of microfilm all stacked upon each other. RAM would effectively be represented by whatever part of the memex actually holds the microfilm while it is being displayed by what we would call the monitor. More RAM would mean more potential to access multiple microfilms on multiple displays. The processor would be whatever mechanism actually issues the commands for these things after considering user input. 

The most important thing to consider about the similarities between Bush's idea of a memex and our idea of a computer is that fundamentally the advancements of technology do not allow us to do anything beyond our original scope of possibilities: it only allows us to do the same things faster and on a grander scheme.