As we may think

This was a article written by Vannevar Bush in 1945. It starts with a discussion about the research advancements that were done at the time when the article was written. With a explosion in the number of researchers and their findings, the authors states that any researcher has to devote a considerable amount of time in reading all the findings of his/her field. Couple of researchers having innovative ideas could not make them to practical use (viz. Leibnitz for calculating machine, Babbage for arithmetical machine). Interchangeable parts, which required skilled labors, can be produced at low cost using machines. Then the article moves towards the scope for advancements in photography. Right from the lenses, size of the camera to development of the picture from the film, there was ample scope for changing the way the camera was back then. Microphotography involving microfilm and reductions by linear factor give good results after the re-enlarging. With a greater reduction factor of 10k, a big Encyclopoedia can be stored in very small space using microflim.
           
The retrieval of data from these storages does matter. Author mentions Voder and Vocoder which convert mechanical stroke into sound and vice versa. A stenotype clubbed with Vocoder can create a device which can type when talked to. Such device is being described and its benefits to a experimenter is discussed. Arithmetic operations like addition can be performed on these media. With that, complex calculations can be done quickly and even by naive people. With the increasing market needs, complex analysis and predictions are also expected to be done on these media which can open doors to deeper insights into the any data: economical or laboratory readings. This would free up people from doing what they are not good at and allow them to focus on things that they are really good at. This need for analyzing data is not restricted to people who high end researchers, even common man can employ it. Any conclusion can be derived using logical circuits. Later he talks about Memx and his prediction about how it can be used to revolutionize from various circles of the occupation. In the end, argument is made for possible experiments that could be performed using the known technologies and those discussed earlier in the article.

This article shows Vannevars' vision of solving real world problems by looking at the existing solutions or technologies. His thinking was directed quite far from the technology present at the time when he wrote the article. The merging of stenotype and Vocoder is classic signature of a person who has been around in the field for a long while and knows how to fit things together. Its stunning to read an article dated in 1945 with mention of tools for analysis that can might be needed not only for people with in high end lab with scientific background but to common people. In the idea for memex, he knew that merely using compression and getting the data stored in compact films wont just work out to be a complete solution. Being a person with business sense, rather real designer, he has this understanding that ability to use the data and do something from that would be needed. He also evaluated his solution in terms of benefits to doctors, historian, etc which clearly distinguishes him from a blind researcher.