THE MECHANICS OF ASSOCIATION
Abstract
The following modifications were made to the previously presented theoretical conclusions (AD-54 862) concerning the mechanics of the association of ideas: (1) an association system and an indexing system can be combined in one machine which will deliver both a network of associations and the documents characterized by these associations; (2) the vocabulary requirement of the system is raised from 5000 to 10,000 terms, and the idea of total display is abandoned for that of a 4-part display; (3) the plan of piping light through plastic tubes is superseded by the planned use of electrical actuation to light up words; and (4) the manual creation of dictionaries of association is difficult, while the creation of mechanical dictionaries is relatively simple. A simple demonstration unit, the Mematrex, was built which consists of cards to contain the information, a card storage and retrieval apparatus, a drilling device to enter information in the form of dedicated holes, a device to read-out document numbers and associations, and an association display. The initial storage capacity was designed for 10,000 cards, but this number may be doubled by the use of thin, transparent, red overlay.
Document Details
- Document Type
- Technical Report
- Publication Date
- Aug 01, 1955
- Accession Number
- AD0070065