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This article by Vannevar Bush inspired JCR Licklider to write his "Libraries of the future" [1] which in turn inspired the young researchers working on DARPA co

This article by Vannevar Bush inspired JCR Licklider to write his "Libraries of the future" [1] which in turn inspired the young researchers working on DARPA computing projects, who then went on to invent a large fraction of modern computing fundamentals at Xerox PARC. Beyond just the indelible influence on the field of computing, Vannevar Bush was instrumental in setting up government institutions to support R&D in the build-up to WW2. Once the war finished, he also realized [2] that need for a post-war science research funding ecosystem to carry forward the institutional momentum & talent that had been developed during the war. He also considered his public engagement important enough that he wrote his memoirs to present his perspective and the whole arc of his activities over the decades [3]. It's hard to overstate his influence on the institutional setup for modern science & technology. [1]: https://archive.org/details/librariesoffutur00lickuoft https://archive.org/details/librariesoffutur00lickuoft [2]: https://www.goodreads.com/book/show/1024680.Science https://www.goodreads.com/book/show/1024680.Science [3]: https://www.goodreads.com/book/show/14290284-pieces-of-the-action https://www.goodreads.com/book/show/14290284-pieces-of-the-a...

cf141q5325 3y ago
He was also the one bringing the https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Frisch%E2%80%93Peierls_memorandum https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Frisch%E2%80%93Peierls_memoran... to the attention of the president. I find him to be incredibly inspiring and "As we may think" even more so. The gravitas is palpable and reading this paper is one of these moments when "standing on the shoulders of giants" feels very much true. edit: Regarding the memorandum, i found the following quote by Peierls especially chilling: >Any competent nuclear physicist would have come out with very similar answers to ours if he had been asked: "What is the likely fission cross-section of pure U235? What critical size for separated U235 follows from this? What will be the explosive power of such a mass? How much industrial effort would be needed to do the separation? And would the military value be worthwhile?" The only unusual thing that Frisch and I did at this point was ask those questions. Its hard to overstate how important it is to not make asking these kind of questions necessary again. I am doubtful about humanities chances for survival otherwise.
- deleted 3y ago
  [deleted]
- kwhitefoot 3y ago
  When I studied for my bachelor's in applied physics in the mid-70s several of those questions were standard exercises in the nuclear physics course.
- TeMPOraL 3y ago
  > Its hard to overstate how important it is to not make asking these kind of questions necessary again. I am doubtful about humanities chances for survival otherwise. Here's a problem though: those are the kind of questions I'd expect physicists to ask and give back-of-the-napkin answers to while killing boredom in a cafe or a bar. So I guess it's really more about what you'll do with the answers afterwards.
  - cf141q5325 3y ago
    Dont ask, dont tell? And dont scan the napkin
Vetch 3y ago
Don't forget that Vannevar Bush also inspired Douglas Engelbart (it saddened him that Bush would not accept his and his team's digital computer innovations). The Mother of All Demos, by Engelbart's Augmentation Research Center (ARC) group was far ahead of its time and was a major influence on all of modern computing. It was a major and more direct influence on Xerox PARC than the also influential "Libraries of the future". Engelbart was primarily motivated by augmenting the human intellect [1]. > Increased capability in this respect is taken to mean a mixture of the following: more-rapid comprehension, better comprehension, the possibility of gaining a useful degree of comprehension in a situation that previously was too complex, speedier solutions, better solutions, and the possibility of finding solutions to problems that before seemed insolvable. Licklider also wrote: > It is often said that programming for a computing machine forces one to think clearly...it disciplines the thought process. If the user can think his problem through in advance, symbiotic association with a computing machine is not necessary. > >...many problems that can be thought through in advance are very difficult to think through in advance. easier to solve...solved faster, through an intuitively guided trial-and-error procedure in which the computer...[revealed] unexpected turns in the solution We have yet to realize the core vision laid forth in As We May Think and by other pioneers of modern computing. And if a certain group that thinks Tools for Augmenting Human Intellect are too dangerous to be spread widely has their way, we may never do so; at least not without first regressing for a substantially long time. [1] https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Intelligence_amplification#Douglas_Engelbart:_Augmenting_Human_Intellect https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Intelligence_amplification#Dou...
- tauchunfall 3y ago
  >It is often said that programming for a computing machine forces one to think clearly...it disciplines the thought process. Gerald J. Sussman's "Structure and Interpretation of Classical Mechanics" (2001) also focuses on programming exercises for physics. In the preface they write: >The requirement that the computer be able to interpret any expression provides strict and immediate feedback as to whether the expression is correctly formulated. --- >Don't forget that Vannevar Bush also inspired Douglas Engelbart Interestingly he read the July 1945 issue with "As We May Think" while stationed as radar technician in the Phillippines on an remote island. Having the time while waiting for redeployment and the radar technician background greatly contributed to his (and his teams) later inventions.

cf141q5325 3y ago

He was also the one bringing the https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Frisch%E2%80%93Peierls_memorandum https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Frisch%E2%80%93Peierls_memoran... to the attention of the president. I find him to be incredibly inspiring and "As we may think" even more so. The gravitas is palpable and reading this paper is one of these moments when "standing on the shoulders of giants" feels very much true. edit: Regarding the memorandum, i found the following quote by Peierls especially chilling: >Any competent nuclear physicist would have come out with very similar answers to ours if he had been asked: "What is the likely fission cross-section of pure U235? What critical size for separated U235 follows from this? What will be the explosive power of such a mass? How much industrial effort would be needed to do the separation? And would the military value be worthwhile?" The only unusual thing that Frisch and I did at this point was ask those questions. Its hard to overstate how important it is to not make asking these kind of questions necessary again. I am doubtful about humanities chances for survival otherwise.

deleted 3y ago
[deleted]
kwhitefoot 3y ago
When I studied for my bachelor's in applied physics in the mid-70s several of those questions were standard exercises in the nuclear physics course.
TeMPOraL 3y ago
> Its hard to overstate how important it is to not make asking these kind of questions necessary again. I am doubtful about humanities chances for survival otherwise. Here's a problem though: those are the kind of questions I'd expect physicists to ask and give back-of-the-napkin answers to while killing boredom in a cafe or a bar. So I guess it's really more about what you'll do with the answers afterwards.
- cf141q5325 3y ago
  Dont ask, dont tell? And dont scan the napkin

Vetch 3y ago

Don't forget that Vannevar Bush also inspired Douglas Engelbart (it saddened him that Bush would not accept his and his team's digital computer innovations). The Mother of All Demos, by Engelbart's Augmentation Research Center (ARC) group was far ahead of its time and was a major influence on all of modern computing. It was a major and more direct influence on Xerox PARC than the also influential "Libraries of the future". Engelbart was primarily motivated by augmenting the human intellect [1]. > Increased capability in this respect is taken to mean a mixture of the following: more-rapid comprehension, better comprehension, the possibility of gaining a useful degree of comprehension in a situation that previously was too complex, speedier solutions, better solutions, and the possibility of finding solutions to problems that before seemed insolvable. Licklider also wrote: > It is often said that programming for a computing machine forces one to think clearly...it disciplines the thought process. If the user can think his problem through in advance, symbiotic association with a computing machine is not necessary. > >...many problems that can be thought through in advance are very difficult to think through in advance. easier to solve...solved faster, through an intuitively guided trial-and-error procedure in which the computer...[revealed] unexpected turns in the solution We have yet to realize the core vision laid forth in As We May Think and by other pioneers of modern computing. And if a certain group that thinks Tools for Augmenting Human Intellect are too dangerous to be spread widely has their way, we may never do so; at least not without first regressing for a substantially long time. [1] https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Intelligence_amplification#Douglas_Engelbart:_Augmenting_Human_Intellect https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Intelligence_amplification#Dou...

tauchunfall 3y ago
>It is often said that programming for a computing machine forces one to think clearly...it disciplines the thought process. Gerald J. Sussman's "Structure and Interpretation of Classical Mechanics" (2001) also focuses on programming exercises for physics. In the preface they write: >The requirement that the computer be able to interpret any expression provides strict and immediate feedback as to whether the expression is correctly formulated. --- >Don't forget that Vannevar Bush also inspired Douglas Engelbart Interestingly he read the July 1945 issue with "As We May Think" while stationed as radar technician in the Phillippines on an remote island. Having the time while waiting for redeployment and the radar technician background greatly contributed to his (and his teams) later inventions.