Assignment 5: New Media Reader Ch. 48 + 49

You Say You Want a Revolution?

-Stuart Moulthrop

-"all distributed computing systems are hypertextual, since they deliver information dynamically in response to a user's demands"

-Moulthrop seems to get at the question of why hypertext hasn't really taken off as a big thing, despite how great it is. He points out that while there is in fact a general consensus of "we need a revolution" relating to the current (written in 1991) system of information, the problem may very well lie within the fact that people don't seem to understand what it is that they're asking for exactly, through the scope of a misunderstanding of technological history.

-Relates back to Nelson's Xanadu, proposing that it would in fact (after being actually realized), help the desired paradigm shift of the information infrastructure: how it is accessed, changed, etc.

-Nelson's hope lies mostly in returning to literacy, as a "cure for the television stupor".

-Populitism: combines "populism" with "elite". Points to the idea of equal access of information to all.

-Looking at Hypertext through the scope of the four basic questions:

"What does Hypertext enhance of intensify?"

Being what it is, Moulthrop argues that hypertext in fact naturally augments peoples' ability to make and recognize patterns. Moulthrop also likens this awareness of a bigger picture to Pynchon's take on "paranoia", which stems from the realization of everything being connected.

"what does Hypertext displace or make obsolete?"

It is stated that the book might seem like the obvious answer. This is somewhat true, insofar that it seems that an ideal hypertext might in fact need to be digitized as opposed to printed, simply for ease of navigation. Thus, hypertext doesn't seek the obsolescence of literature or literacy, as much as what Moulthrop refers to as post-literacy, in other words, the television.

"What does Hypertext retrieve that was previously obsolete?"

As pointed out in the previous question, Moulthrop goes on to state that Hypertext is a very literacy-based system, wherein people will need to actively write and interact with one another as opposed to say, passively sitting and receiving everything that comes out of a TV.

"What does hypertext become when taken to its limit?"

"every form, pushed to the limit of its potential, reverses its characteristics". Thus, one possibility that is pointed out: "an empowering technology turned into a mechanism of cooptation and enslavement". Nelson's perspective combats this, with mention of a negotiated consensus, compared to the idea of a consensual illusion. -Nelson claims that people would in fact go out of their ways to make their voices heard and actively partake, discuss, and compromise as necessary, as opposed to there being those that would simply follow and join something that they think is already set in stone.

The End of Books

-Robert Coover

-Coover starts by pretty much saying that in this digital age, the printed book is slowly but surely nearing its last days.

-Believes the power of the line within conventionally written books to be oppressive. Hypertext of course, is the answer!

-Hypertext provides multiple paths between text segments, or "Lexias".

-It is pointed out that hypertext may be something a bit difficult to fully perceive, with its lack of starting points, boarders, boundaries, etc.

-Taught a Hypertextual writing course. Points out that naturally, some fear the erasure of their known structures, while others embrace venturing into the unknown.

- Coover believes that despite advances in technology, the basic framework of hypertext will stay the same. It will however be difficult to maintain/migrate some hypertexts because of the constant advancement, so there are are some issues with compatibility.

-Navigation also proves to be something of a problem. Coover asks: "how do you move around infinity without getting lost?".

Assignment 4: Oulipo, Prose, and select demos

First things first: Nelson and Hypertext revisited (briefly):

"Hypertext is text which contains links to other texts. The term was coined by Ted Nelson around 1963 (but an article using the term was published term in 1965).

The prefix hyper- (comes from the Greek prefix "υπερ-" and means "over" or "beyond") signifies the overcoming of the old linear constraints of written text.

The term "hypertext" is often used where the term "hypermedia" might seem appropriate. In 1992, author Ted Nelson – who coined both terms in 1963 – wrote:

“By now the word "hypertext" has become generally accepted for branching and responding text, but the corresponding word "hypermedia", meaning complexes of branching and responding graphics, movies and sound – as well as text – is much less used. Instead they use the strange term "interactive multimedia": this is four syllables longer, and does not express the idea of extending hypertext. — Nelson, Literary Machines, 1992”

The Oulipo:

- a group interested in examining and creating "potential literature".

-potential literature is something meant to analyze and synthesize the constraints put forth (according to Lionnais) by ordinary literature, including but not limited to vocabulary, syntax, dramatic convention, etc.

-techniques by which this would be achieved include the lipogram and the palindrome.

-"choose your own adventure" as a hypertext, comes up as an example of such boundary breaking as well.

-The main example here though is the featured A Hundred Thousand Billion Poems. It even comes with a very specific algorithm on how to go about rearranging the poem to make a new one, as many times as the reader would like, creating an interactive reading experience.

Brief History of the Oulipo

-founded by Francois Le Lionnais, first met on November 24, 1960.

-Met with the original intention of sitting around composing poems.

-Originally called themselves SLE -roughly translated/expanded to seminar for experimental literature.

-ou-li-po derived from ouvroir, literature, and potential.

-claim (and i guess demonstrate) that language, like a science, is an operable concept, which eventually relates back to the idea of experimenting with the already constructed conventions of literature.

-came to the conclusion of two lipos:

analytic - delves into the text for existing possibilities and meanings that may be unknown to the author himself.

synthetic - creates new possibilites.

Prose and Anticombinatorics

-by Italo Calvino

-discusses the use of computers as an a way to build on a limited number of structures initially put forth by the author, with exponential possibilities.

-Calvino himself discusses his idea of a story in the style of a murder mystery, where the reader is given set number of choices, each within certain categories, that will often lead to different experiences.

-Discusses the algorithms that would need to be in place in order for the story to be made feasible, and outlines a good number of potential outcomes.

-Makes me think of it as a much more intricate choose-your-adventure story.

Demos:

1. Blockhead - The Music Scene

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=NhheiPTdZCw

-I found this video to be particularly interesting mostly because it definitely left an impression on me the first time around, as it had this sort of overwhelming quality to it. Just trying to wrap my head around all that was going on, with all the color and the fluid transition from one scene to another was an experience in and of itself. On top of all of this, you realize that the intricate animation is in fact coordinated with the sound, which makes it all the more mind-blowing in my opinion. One all of that settled in, it hit me that someone sat their and actually drew all of this, in all of its intricacy. Thus, I guess what I have to say is that I appreciate both the sensory overload as well as the faint idea i have of how much work must have gone into it.

2. Reactable

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Mgy1S8qymx0

- A demonstration of a new very hands-on electronic music-making interface.

-Basically, it seems to be a table-top computer with some sort of input capability in the screen, which allows it to interact with small blocks, each representing a different sound/loop/modifier.

-Its incredible to see how basic loops can be put together and manipulated to create something seemingly so much greater than the sum of its parts.

3. Music Maze

http://static.echonest.com/musicmaze/classic.html

- A website that allows the user to search for an artist, after which it suggests other artists to listen to, based on the previous. It does this over and over.

-What I found most interesting about this was

a) being able to look up someone I liked, and subsequently end up following a trail of artists that I'd already known and liked. -It was fun to see how certain artists were related to one another

b) being able to branch off into something new that I might like as well.

Assignment 3: Ted Nelson, Ken Perlin, Hypertext, and More.

A File Structure for the Complex:

- Nelson coined "Hypertext", as well as the original concept. It is noted however that it differs from what we generally acknowledge as hypertext today (the internet, with its "chunk-style" info setup, where one static link might lead to another and so on).

-Starts by pointing out the need for a dynamic system of file storage/retrieval, one that can be shifted/rearranged to suit a number of needs at any given moment.

-Proposed solution: Evolutionary List File, or ELF, to be written in PRIDE.

-Began work in 1960, ultimately intent on the Dream file, a sort of file that would hold information just the way the user wanted, in a very user-specific order/layout. Makes sense so far, I absolutely can't stand having to pack up an in-progress workspace, only to have to come back to the project or whatever it is and then unpack again, and take the time to settle back into that familiar zone of comfort/convenience.

-Obstacles: Cost, sense of need, design - actually making the thing

-Relating back to the worksace idea, this seems like it'd strive to be an ultimate workspace tracker, keeping tabs on certain steps the user's taken to make the progress that he or she has, and being able to recall to any previous decision at the push of button, to potentially branch out on a separate idea from there. -Totally hypertextual.

Oh Hey, Some More Ted Nelson: Nelson Wiki

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Ted_Nelson

-born in 1937, he is a sociologist, philosopher, and pioneer of information technology

-founded Project Xanadu in 1960, intent on creating an easy to use computer network

-the project never quite came to be. Though it seems as though Nelson was more concerned with the ideology behind it, as it is noted that he still advocates it.

-Co-founded IBM as a retailer, and eventually influenced them to put out their own PC.

-Working on the ZigZag data structure, which seems a bit derivative of some of his original ideas from Xanadu.

-Coined "Populitism", relating to the idea of authority within a writing space should be local and contingient

Nelson's Hyperland:

http://ted.hyperland.com/

-also a poet

- as such, i guess its interesting to point out how much the man enjoys the word "hither".

-points out that the world wide web was not in fact his idea, contrary to what some have said of him.

Nelson's Literary Machines:

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Literary_Machines

-Literary Machines - Nelson's first book, published in 1980.

-Delves greatly into Nelsons's Term "Hypertext", and his Project Xanadu.

-Discusses his theories on "tumblers", "transclusion", and "microPayments".

-The book itself is nonlinear, and can be followed in most any order, so long, I assume, as there is some logical thought behind the chosen order, in terms of "Hey, reading x just made me think of y, let me go and look further into y". Then again, something along the lines of "Hey, while reading about x, y, totally unrelated, came to mind, let me look further into that" seems feasible as well.

Eccescopy, Part 1

http://blog.kenperlin.com/?p=4844

-Starts with the idea of "The game is in there, you just can't open the box yet". An interesting sentiment, which pretty much puts forth the notion of setting a goal for the future, and working towards that goal. In this case, the goal was Sims 4, despite Sims 2 still being in production. I guess it also goes to say that having some tangible reminder of your goal is also something important, for the sake of motivation, etc.

-Eccescopy - Ecce stands for eye centered computer environment.

-An eccescope, Perlin says, is a device that enables the user to see an alternate world created within the computer cloud, alongside what is seen in the real world. Augmented Reality.

Eccescopy, Part 2

http://blog.kenperlin.com/?p=4846

-one example: Video wherein ideas are shown to be pulled out of thin air and manipulated.

- generally the idea behind augmented reality seems consist of being able to manipulate and interact with images, information, etc, as it is visually represented (not actually there/physically intagible) by some sort of computing technology, whether its a smartphone, through the lens of a computer, projector, etc.

-most interesting to me was the Magic Projection Demo, as it brings the AR into a realm in which many people can interact with it all within the same instance, as opposed to each viewer requiring their own personal viewer.

Eccescopy, Part 3

http://blog.kenperlin.com/?p=4862

-Here, Perlin states that an early example of eccescopy can be seen in the original Star Wars films, where characters look at what I originally perceived as being holograms, or projections of images into a shared physical space, similarly to how people watch a television, only the image is projected into thin air.

-Speak of the Devil, (the devill having been referred to in the previous post) Perlin also points out the idea of the eccescope not disrupting the shared physical space, meaning the user/viewer doesn't require his/her own apparatus to view whatever it is thats being shown.

Eccescopy, Part 4

http://blog.kenperlin.com/?p=4881

-Holodust eccescopy - a more physical take on the idea of thin-air projection. (Physical being in reference to their being actual particles in the air). The premise here is that a cloud of particles is precisely lit up to create the image of something being projected in thin air.

- Points out that the Heliodisplay technology is not in fact eccescopic, as there isn't interactivity to it. No that the previous example can necessarily be physically fiddled with, but the distinction here lies in the fact that the Holodust renders a multi-dimensional image that can be observed from different angles, where as the Heliodisplay is simply a flat image, and will remain the same no matter how it is viewed.

Eccescopy, Part 10

http://blog.kenperlin.com/?p=4996

-Finally the idea of individual eccescopes.

-Perlin mentions that if the eccesope is to be made into something for everyone in everyday life, it must be something unobtrusive, that wouldn't interfere too much with things like being able to make eye contact.

Eccescopy, Part 14

http://blog.kenperlin.com/?p=5077

- There are plenty of things to take into consideration when working on technology that will potentially change the way we live our every day lives, such as community, and how we will end up interacting with others because of it.

-Nonetheless, Perlin refers to his previous model of the Sims, though now the Sims 5, and how not quite having the means to achieve your ends yet in no way means that new ends should cease to be thought of.

Eccescopy, Part 18

http://blog.kenperlin.com/?p=5147

-Privacy in an ambiscopic world.

-Is there such a thing anymore, now that everyone has the ability to record another?

-Perlin points out there is a good and a bad side to everyone now having some sort of a recording device at the ready.

-Bad: As mentioned, no one really has any privacy anymore, when it comes to public sphere.

-Good: Uses the example of the anti-war protest, and how such injustice would be nearly impossible nowadays, as there is more of a public-generated source of info with which others can compare that which they simply hear or read about in the sometimes heavly edited/agenda-oriented mainstream.

Week 2: Favorite Links

Fluteboxing

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=e3kyNGVK-hI

This depicts Nathan "Flutebox" Lee as he plays a flute while simultaneously beatboxing. Also depicted is "Beardyman", another incredibly talented beatboxer, showing off his skills.

I found this video to be particularly interesting as it shows how someone can totally break the conventions of something like playing a certain instrument, and reinvent them by introducing a new element that wouldn't normally be thought to mix well at all, introducing a new medium even.
The same sort of goes for Beardyman. -It's amazing to see someone not only emulating, but making their own noises and beats that usually require some sort of mixing/computer skill, again, breaking convention.

Paint drop sculptures

http://www.psfk.com/2010/10/video-paint-drops-reacting-to-sound-waves.html

Still photos taken of paint drops as they react to vibrations in sound, creating the image of a solid sculpture of sorts.

Interesting to see the combination of the the various mediums (paint, sound, photo, tech) coming together to create something that wouldn't quite be perceptible as such to someone who might not know what the components are.

Assignment 2: Borges Articles

The Garden of Forking Paths:

http://www.american-buddha.com/garden.fork.htm

-A link to the story discussed in the previous post.

The Garden of Forking Paths Wiki:

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/The_Garden_of_Forking_Paths

-This article seems to focus mostly on Borges' work as hypertextual, and how arguably, it has paved the way for most other hypertext to come, including modern examples such as the Choose your own adventure books, and the novel Hopscotch. Reading about both of these brought to mind some personal examples, including the Fable videogame series (among quite a few others) that offers the player more than one way to play the game, where it allows the player to make various moral choices, which ultimately affect the ending. Mark Danielewski's House of Leaves also comes to mind (coincidentally enough, it happens to be by the same publishing company as Hopscotch, Pantheon), where there are essentially two stories being told at the same time (they're related for the most part), with tons of footnotes. -while the two alternate throughout the novel, it is ultimately up to the reader to decide if they want to follow one and then the other, or if they want to try and make sense of everything simultaneously. I personally need two bookmarks..

Borges Wiki:

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Jorge_Luis_Borges

-Born in Argentina in 1899, Borges was a writer, essayist, librarian, concerning himself with the themes of dreams, labyrinths, time, all of which are evident throughout Garden of Forking paths, among a lot of his other work apparently.

-Opposed communism, believed in the strength and significance of the individual self. Interesting to see how this might connect to his concerning himself so much with people being able to see as many various outcomes as possible for themselves.

Borges Biographical Sketch:

http://www.sccs.swarthmore.edu/users/00/pwillen1/lit/index3.htm

-This article goes more into detail regarding his childhood, emphasizing how he (along with his family felt like outsiders) starting from when he'd moved to Palermo, perpetuated by his "bookish" tendencies. It is pointed out that this class difference would influence his later writings.

-Very much into writing and even critical thinking from a young age, making observations such the ones mentioned above. Seems due in part to his parents being educated.

Modern word - Borges:

http://www.themodernword.com/borges/

-This site seems to be the product of all that is J.L. Borges, including everything from references pertaining to "Books he never wrote" to sources to purchase his works, etc.

-One thing I found particularly interesting here was the one-liner heading the criticisms page, as it reads: "to refute him is to become contaminated with unreality". -Suggesting that there really isn't much that could go wrong by just taking the time to even think or consider any sort of alternative, when it comes to the now, what it will be, and what else it could be.

-Interestingly enough, the aforementioned House of Leaves is cited as being influenced by Borges: http://www.themodernword.com/borges/borges_infl_danielewski.html

Obituary:

http://www.nytimes.com/learning/general/onthisday/bday/0824.html

- For one thing, this seems like great tribute to Borges, with a handful of authors paying their utmost respects to him, saying things like even his "driest paragraph is somehow compelling."

- His concise yet ever-meaningful prose is praised for the ways in which it engages its readers and provokes thought.

Borges and the Foreseeable Future/ Borges and the Web:

http://www.nytimes.com/2008/01/06/books/06cohenintro.html

http://www.nytimes.com/2008/01/13/arts/13alsmail-BORGESANDTHE_LETTERS.html?ref=arts

-Here, the idea is proposed that Borges played a great role in "preconfiguring the world wide web" as we know it, with his notions of infinite libraries and and never-ending encyclopedias, and overall endless streams of information. using examples such as wikipedia, where anyone can contribute, have their facts checked, check others' facts, and just constantly document things.

Borge's Buenos Aires:

http://travel2.nytimes.com/2006/05/14/travel/14foot.html

- A travel article that explores Buenos Aires within the scope of Borges and his life there, pointing out places/areas he used to frequent as well as things like exhibits and other sites in his honor. The article also goes out of its way to quote Borges in talking about how he'd established his own sort of phantasmal presence in the city throughout the years, pointing out certain areas where he's experienced certain emotions, happenings, etc.

On Exactitude in Science:

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/On_Exactitude_in_Science

https://notes.utk.edu/bio/greenberg.nsf/0/f2d03252295e0d0585256e120009adab?OpenDocument

-When first reading through this story, I thought I had somehow made the silly mistake of interpreting it as the cartographers having made a map literally the same size as the empire. Then I realized that this idea being silly seemed to have been part of the point of the story itself. Here, Borges pretty much comments on how there may be no point to trying to replicate or represent something with complete accuracy, detail for detail, because at that point, why not just experience the original?

Assignment 1: The Garden of Forking Paths

The Garden of Forking Paths
by Jorge Luis Borges

1941

-Right away (starting in the intro at least), there seems to be a prevalent idea of innovation being somewhat directly related to Thomas Kuhn's concept of divergence vs. convergence, when it comes to the innovators themselves. -Where those that diverge from the norm cannot quite be left to their own devices, as there wouldn't be too much order, or anything to follow, though at the same time, those that converge after all, cannot be left to stagnate.

-1941 - Borge proposes the idea that there are multiple ways to read a novel.

-Story of the German Soldier desperately trying to escape what he thought to be his fate (something that he took as a given, or norm), by thinking of a plan and following it sort of on the fly. I find that this exemplifies the idea of diverging from the norm, and that which is expected, to help eventually point to something new and unheard of, all the while using preconceived knowledge (like the trick to labyrinths) to aid him on his way there.

-Interestingly relevant quote: "I felt myself to be, for an unknown period of time, an abstract perceiver of the world"(32).

-The idea of the infinite book: What comes to mind is something that doesn't quite have a cap on it, something that can always be added to, edited, updated, what else have you, with more knowledge. Something like the internet today, maybe?

-Moreover though, it would seem that the infinite book refers more to the idea of a figurative (though somewhat very real) web of potential paths and subsequent realities that exist, just by thinking "what if..?"

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