World Brain

There is no practical obstacle whatever now to the creation of an efficient index to all human knowledge, ideas and achievements, to the creation, that is, of a complete planetary memory for all mankind. And not simply an index; the direct reproduction of the thing itself can be summoned to any properly prepared spot. . . This in itself is a fact of tremendous significance. It foreshadows a real intellectual unification of our race. The whole human memory can be, and probably in a short time will be, made accessible to every individual. And what is also of very great importance in this uncertain world where destruction becomes continually more frequent and unpredictable, is this, that. . . [i]t need not be concentrated in any one single place.

The date? The writer? The technology? After the jump:

The date: 1937.

The writer: H. G. Wells (“World Brain: The Idea of a Permanent World Encyclopaedia – Contribution to the new Encyclopédie Française”)

The technology: microfilm.

[via What’s Next: Top Trends]