A Belief May Be Larger

The Responsibility For The Creation Of New Scientific Knowledge - And For Most Of Its Application - Rests On That Small Body Of Men And Women Who Understand The Fundamental Laws Of Nature And Are Skilled In The Techniques Of Scientific Research. We Shall Have Rapid Or Slow Advance On Any Scientific Frontier Depending On The Number Of Highly Qualified And Trained Scientists Exploring It.

Consider A Future Device For Individual Use, Which Is A Sort Of Mechanized Private File And Library. It Needs A Name, And, To Coin One At Random, "memex" Will Do. A Memex Is A Device In Which An Individual Stores All His Books, Records, And Communications, And Which Is Mechanized So That It May Be Consulted With Exceeding Speed And Flexibility. It Is An Enlarged Intimate Supplement To His Memory.

The Summation Of Human Experience Is Being Expanded At A Prodigious Rate, And The Means We Use For Threading Through The Consequent Maze To The Momentarily Important Item Is The Same As Was Used In The Days Of Square-rigged Ships.

Publication Has Been Extended Far Beyond Our Present Ability To Make Real Use Of The Record.

To Pursue Science Is Not To Disparage Things Of The Spirit.