"As We May Think" By Vannevar Bush, 1945

Vannevar Bush's 1945 piece talked about his idea of the "Memex". Initially coming across this idea, I was a little confused; However, as i went on reading, I found it to be interesting how Bush basically predicted the technology that we have today. One of my favorite aspects of the piece was his ability to integrate ideas from different disciplines and still be able to return back to his central idea. For example, he mentioned Mendel and his ideas:

"Mendel's concept of the laws of genetics was lost to the world for a generation because his publication did not reach the few who were capable of grasping and extending it; and this sort of catastrophe is undoubtedly being repeated all about us, as truly significant attainments become lost in the mass of the inconsequential."

I loved this comment as it helped to get Bush's point across and explain how we do so much research and we somehow still neglect monumental ideas (exactly what happened to Mendel at the time). Furthermore, Bush's attempt to further this idea by comparing it to the inforrmation assessment done by the Human Brain is one of my favorite additions. Being a person who doesn't always grasp the technological aspect of things, this inclusionhelped to ground the idea in my head in a way that I was able to comprehend.

"Long Live the Web" By Tim Berners Lee, 2010

Out of the 2 pieces, I think this this piece was my favorite to read. I think Lee brings up an idea that is still relevant till this day and will forever be relevant. We all know that our privacy has been and is still being threatened by our government and for somebody like Lee, who crafted the World Wide Web as a place for our freedom to express ourselves and not be heavily regulated, it's saddening to see how far we've come in this area.

"As long as the web’s basic principles are upheld, its ongoing evolution is not in the hands of any one person or organization—neither mine nor anyone else’s. If we can preserve the principles, the Web promises some fantastic future capabilities."

I think the inclusion of the privacy violations that many companies such as Facebook are currently being investigated for was a great idea. I find it to be a way of regression for our society, as the goal was always to advance in the field of technology, not bee held back. People rely on the Web as a place where they can go and say or do what they want (obviously with moderation) and not be penalized for it; however, with all that companies are doing now, it's hard to believe we're going to be able to get past this. Also associated to this, the fact that companies are making profit out of this idea, such as creating ideas of personal chips for every individual to have, is not only the fear that Lee was concerned with but also a fear that alot of People now have.