As We May Think

Strengthening collective knowledge

About

As We May Think is a new lab dedicated to building connective tissue across the disjointed digital commons. We're just setting up shop, so check back soon.

This repository is for the As We May Think webpage.

Core perspectives

• Digital Commons: Tools designed for shared knowledge and collective intelligence
• Non-Linear Thinking: Support for associative, branching, weblike structures
• Augmentation, Not Replacement: Technology that extends human capability rather than replacing it
• Open Web: Rooted in open standards, open-source collaboration, and the broader digital commons movement

What's in This Repository

This repo contains:

• Homepage (index.html) — The As We May Think landing page: a single self-contained static page with an email signup
• Signup backend (google-apps-script/) — A Google Apps Script Web App that records signups to a private Google Sheet

These are building blocks—feel free to fork, remix, and adapt them for your own knowledge tools and platforms.

Getting Started

View the Templates

Open the homepage in a browser to see the reference implementation:

# Open in your default browser
open index.html

Use as a Starting Point

1. Fork this repository or clone it locally
2. Adapt the HTML in index.html to match your project's needs
3. Point the signup at your own Google Sheet (see google-apps-script/README.md)
4. Build your tool on top of this foundation

git clone https://github.com/As-We-May-Think/AWMT.git
cd AWMT
# Edit files in your editor
# Test locally by opening .html files in a browser

Contributing

We welcome contributions, questions, and collaborations. Here's how to get involved:

1. Share ideas via GitHub Issues
2. Propose improvements through Pull Requests
3. Fork and adapt these templates for your own projects
4. Join the conversation about how technology can better support thinking and collaboration

For Contributors

• Keep templates modular and well-commented
• Document structural choices and design rationale
• Test across browsers and environments
• Reference how patterns connect to Bush's vision or broader project goals

Resources & Inspiration

• Vannevar Bush, "As We May Think" (1945)
• Memex concept — Bush's vision for associative linking and personal knowledge

Questions?

• Open an issue: GitHub Issues
• Join discussions: GitHub Discussions

Collaborators

As We May Think is a collaborative effort. Key contributors include:

• Dan Visel
• Jess Klein
• Ben Vershbow
• Bob Stein

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Made in the spirit of Vannevar Bush's vision for tools that help us think together.