A Cyborg Manifesto: Science, Technology, and Socialist-Feminism in the Late Twentieth Century
Donna Haraway’s essay discusses the relationship of cyborgs and feminism in relation to mythological goddesses. She sees the goddesses as an image founded by a matriarchal utopia, whereas the cyborg is relative only to the present. She analyses the history of the cyborg through many veins, including science fiction. Her essay has been very influential in relation to science and technology; it offers a model for cultural and political engagement.
The GNU Manifesto
Richard Stallman was unhappy with the shift from free software to closed programs. He was a member at MIT, and saw the shift from free software to proprietary software. He then decided to develop software that would be free to all users. He would make programs that allowed people to manipulate or alter the programs to their choosing. The main issue is the value of intellectual property. He comes up with the term “copyleft”, which means that a programmer would copyright a program, but then add distribution terms which allows everyone to modify it. I really like his idea, and I think his philosophy would really open up the computer world, allowing ideas to build on each other, and for people to augment ideas. I think the programs would be a lot more powerful, and a lot more customized to our individual purposes.
Using Computers: A Direction for Design
Winograd and Flores wrote this article in regards to artificial intelligence. They essentially tell us that computers will never be able to attain human-like intelligence. They say that the “essence of intelligence is to act appropriately when there is no simple pre-definition of the problem.” They think that the artificial research should not be abandoned, only that they should focus on designing tools. They are more focused on the ontological perspective of communication technology.
Two Selections by Brenda Laurel: The Six Elements and the Causal Relations Among Them, Star Raiders: Dramatic Interaction in a Small World.
Brenda Laurel writes a unique essay on how computer work in relation to Aristotle’s Poetics. She approaches computers from a humanistic perspective, using models that have been used on other forms of art. She says computer art can only happen if it is taken away from technologists, and put in the hands of humanists. She applies the elements of drama as explained by Aristotle to computers. I think this is a really interesting approach to computer art, and I like how she explains that in order for computer art, or drama to occur, it needs to be developed by people who understand human interactions, not scientists or programmers.
Towards a New Classification of Tele-Information Services
Bordewijk and Kaam consider the social role of various digital media, and not on a sensory level like McLuhan describes. He classifies the various applications on the internet as either being conversational or for consultation. I’m really unclear as to what he’s actually saying in this essay. The intro points out the social roles that technology creates, and he sees that eventually computer communication will integrate into almost every aspect of human interaction. He seems to just put out a way that describes how we communicate.
Friday, November 16, 2007
Thursday, November 15, 2007
New Media Reader 443 - 514
From Literary Machines: Proposal for a Universal Electronic Publishing System and Archive
Ted H. Nelson proposes an idea for a hypermedia network called Xanadu. It is a network where anyone can produce their own documents and connect them with other public documents. What it sounds like he’s proposing is exactly like Wikipedia; a place where versions of documents can be changed by anyone as long as it’s public. There will be a version tracker so anyone will be able to see what it was before it was changed. This design is intended to work with any imaginable form of media. I think Nelson was a great visionary in that he was able to foresee all these problems with fragmented information on the Internet and also a way to propose a solution.
Will There Be Condominiums in Data Space?
Bill Viola is the first video artist to create “70 millimeter” video art; which means he was able to transcend the cheap aspects of video production. In this essay he writes about the poetic nature of video art. It was much easier to understand this article after seeing the documentary on him. I really like his introduction paragraph about memory, and how it’s a filter. Then goes on to say, “Life without editing, it seems, is just not that interesting”. This is to say, that as we go through our continuous existence, our memory is constantly editing our perception, but if we were to simply video tape our existence it would be incredibly boring.
The Endless Chain
Ben Bagdikian’s “The Endless Chain”, articulates the relationship of the dominance of new media over old media; video games are now bigger than movies, the web is reducing the amount of books sold, etc. Bagdikian notices a relationship between old and new media, and through press accounts he sees that old and new media systems seem to be integrating into a single system. He says that new media is no longer a marginal phenomenon, but I think he’s just looking at the emergence of certain new media becoming mainstream. I think there will always be new media in the margin, and only a few will actually become mainstream. He also discusses the influence that major media broadcasters have, and how they dominate the media industries.
Direct Manipulation: A Step Beyond Programming Languages
Shneiderman proposes a new type of communication, one that is not based on words, but a visual language. His justification is that words are just representations of things, so why not be able to carry around a new way to visually represent ideas. He describes a direct manipulation system that doesn’t rely on a programming language, but relates the computer to an ordinary action. The benefits of this is with the interface design; Photoshop being a good example of direct manipulation. I’m not quite sure I understand the importance of this article. He seems to simply be making a statement about good user interfaces, as opposed to the ones that don’t work.
Video Games and Computer Holding Power
Turkle, in her article, approaches computing and video games from a psychoanalytical standpoint. She noticed the major force video games had on our culture, and analyzed how the computer enables us to enact personae that are different from non-computing situations. Instead of the common conception that video games are a bad influence, her research discovered that they allowed people to take on different roles that are important to them psychologically. Computers influence the way we interact with the world and ourselves. I really like reading about this analysis, it gives video games more justification, and gives good insight into the psychoanalysis of it.
Ted H. Nelson proposes an idea for a hypermedia network called Xanadu. It is a network where anyone can produce their own documents and connect them with other public documents. What it sounds like he’s proposing is exactly like Wikipedia; a place where versions of documents can be changed by anyone as long as it’s public. There will be a version tracker so anyone will be able to see what it was before it was changed. This design is intended to work with any imaginable form of media. I think Nelson was a great visionary in that he was able to foresee all these problems with fragmented information on the Internet and also a way to propose a solution.
Will There Be Condominiums in Data Space?
Bill Viola is the first video artist to create “70 millimeter” video art; which means he was able to transcend the cheap aspects of video production. In this essay he writes about the poetic nature of video art. It was much easier to understand this article after seeing the documentary on him. I really like his introduction paragraph about memory, and how it’s a filter. Then goes on to say, “Life without editing, it seems, is just not that interesting”. This is to say, that as we go through our continuous existence, our memory is constantly editing our perception, but if we were to simply video tape our existence it would be incredibly boring.
The Endless Chain
Ben Bagdikian’s “The Endless Chain”, articulates the relationship of the dominance of new media over old media; video games are now bigger than movies, the web is reducing the amount of books sold, etc. Bagdikian notices a relationship between old and new media, and through press accounts he sees that old and new media systems seem to be integrating into a single system. He says that new media is no longer a marginal phenomenon, but I think he’s just looking at the emergence of certain new media becoming mainstream. I think there will always be new media in the margin, and only a few will actually become mainstream. He also discusses the influence that major media broadcasters have, and how they dominate the media industries.
Direct Manipulation: A Step Beyond Programming Languages
Shneiderman proposes a new type of communication, one that is not based on words, but a visual language. His justification is that words are just representations of things, so why not be able to carry around a new way to visually represent ideas. He describes a direct manipulation system that doesn’t rely on a programming language, but relates the computer to an ordinary action. The benefits of this is with the interface design; Photoshop being a good example of direct manipulation. I’m not quite sure I understand the importance of this article. He seems to simply be making a statement about good user interfaces, as opposed to the ones that don’t work.
Video Games and Computer Holding Power
Turkle, in her article, approaches computing and video games from a psychoanalytical standpoint. She noticed the major force video games had on our culture, and analyzed how the computer enables us to enact personae that are different from non-computing situations. Instead of the common conception that video games are a bad influence, her research discovered that they allowed people to take on different roles that are important to them psychologically. Computers influence the way we interact with the world and ourselves. I really like reading about this analysis, it gives video games more justification, and gives good insight into the psychoanalysis of it.
Proposal for a Universal Electronic Publishing System and Archive
Ted H. Nelson proposes an idea for a hypermedia network called Xanadu. It is a network where anyone can produce their own documents and connect them with other public documents. What it sounds like he’s proposing is exactly like Wikipedia; a place where versions of documents can be changed by anyone as long as it’s public. There will be a version tracker so anyone will be able to see what it was before it was changed. This design is intended to work with any imaginable form of media. I think Nelson was a great visionary in that he was able to foresee all these problems with fragmented information on the Internet and also a way to propose a solution.
Moliere's Misanthrope
Recently I went to go see a play that heavily incorporated new media. It was a version of Moliere’s “Misanthrope” at the New York Theatre Workshop. The stage was very modern, only consisting of a low, wide grey table, and a low grey bench. The stage itself was gray, with black, one way windows surrounding the sides. On the back wall there were three flat screens positioned vertically next to each other. What was interesting about the play is that there was a live feed of the performance on these screens. It added a new dimension to their performance. And sometimes they would play video clips of the characters that were in contrast to the performance, and one time they showed a second-life character. There were times when the stage would be empty, and the actors would be acting backstage in the dressing room. The play then broke the wall of the cage surrounding them, and ventured into the audience, then even into the street where a cameraman followed them.
I thought it was really interesting how this play reinvented this classic script. The use of the cameras and flat screens did not feel forced. I think that Marshall McLuhan would have appreciated it because it involved so many different mediums, which to him would have given a strong message. I appreciated how it created new layers to a theater production. I will admit that I have not been to many successful theater shows recently, but this one helped me appreciate them again.
I thought it was really interesting how this play reinvented this classic script. The use of the cameras and flat screens did not feel forced. I think that Marshall McLuhan would have appreciated it because it involved so many different mediums, which to him would have given a strong message. I appreciated how it created new layers to a theater production. I will admit that I have not been to many successful theater shows recently, but this one helped me appreciate them again.
Sunday, November 11, 2007
TIMELINE
1940-45 - Vannevar Bush – Primary organizer of the Manhattan Project. Created groundbreaking analog computing projects at MIT. 1940 got grand by Franklin Roosevelt for funding and research between military, industry and academic “iron triangle” which led to new media. 1945 wrote As We May Think.
Doug Engelbart – Inspired by Bush’s “As We May Think”, he invented the mouse, word pressor, and the hyperlink.
1950 – Alan Turing worked to decrypt encoded language. He wrote an essay, Computing Machinery and Intelligence, which discusses the many aspects of artificial intelligence.
1952 – “Grace Murray Hopper programmed the first compiler, computer languages began to take shape.”
1954 – Norbert Wiener began working toward cybernetics, which is “the science of communications and automatic control systems in both machines and living things.” (Apple Dictionary). Wrote the essay Men, Machines, and the World About.
1957 – Allan Kaprow established a new trend in performing arts where the audience became more and more involved with the performance, these were called “happenings”.
1959 – Brion Gysin was an artist who made popular the “cut-up” technique, where he would cut newspapers into sections and rearrange the text.
1960 – J.C.R. Licklider was an American computer scientist famous for his publication of “Man-Computer Symbiosis”. This article describes the need for the symbiosis of computers and man-power.
1962 – Doug Engelbart invented the computer mouse.
1963 – Ivan E. Sutherland – Sketchpad was created, which is a three dimensional communication program.
1966 – E.A.T. (Experiments in Art and Technology) was founded. Which led to the development of the relationship between artist and engineer.
1967 – Negroponte founded the Architecture Machine Group at MIT.
1968 – “The mother of all demos” Douglas Engelbart and others demonstrated the research behind ARC (Augmentation Research Center) about interactive computing. This led to an explosion of interest in the field.
1974 – Augusto Boal writes “Theater of the Oppressed”, which brought about ideas of interactive theater, further blurring the line between audience and actors.
1975 – Nicholas Negroponte publishes “Soft Architecture Machines”; an article that depicts the importance of humans being empowered by computers, allowing for creative experimentation.
1976 – Joseph Weizenbaum writes “Computer Power and Human Reason”; which brings up concerns about the effects human relations have with the advance of computer interaction.
1977 - Burroughs and Gysin publish “The Third Mind,” a collection of cut-up writings and essays.
1977 – Myron Kreuger publishes “Responsive Environments”. He is the godfather of virtual reality, and interactive computer spaces.
1977 – Alan Kay and Adele Goldberg publish “Personal Dynamic Media”. They developed the ideas that led to the development of the laptop and desktop computer.
1988 – Ivan Sutherland won the Turing Award for his invention of the Sketchpad”
Doug Engelbart – Inspired by Bush’s “As We May Think”, he invented the mouse, word pressor, and the hyperlink.
1950 – Alan Turing worked to decrypt encoded language. He wrote an essay, Computing Machinery and Intelligence, which discusses the many aspects of artificial intelligence.
1952 – “Grace Murray Hopper programmed the first compiler, computer languages began to take shape.”
1954 – Norbert Wiener began working toward cybernetics, which is “the science of communications and automatic control systems in both machines and living things.” (Apple Dictionary). Wrote the essay Men, Machines, and the World About.
1957 – Allan Kaprow established a new trend in performing arts where the audience became more and more involved with the performance, these were called “happenings”.
1959 – Brion Gysin was an artist who made popular the “cut-up” technique, where he would cut newspapers into sections and rearrange the text.
1960 – J.C.R. Licklider was an American computer scientist famous for his publication of “Man-Computer Symbiosis”. This article describes the need for the symbiosis of computers and man-power.
1962 – Doug Engelbart invented the computer mouse.
1963 – Ivan E. Sutherland – Sketchpad was created, which is a three dimensional communication program.
1966 – E.A.T. (Experiments in Art and Technology) was founded. Which led to the development of the relationship between artist and engineer.
1967 – Negroponte founded the Architecture Machine Group at MIT.
1968 – “The mother of all demos” Douglas Engelbart and others demonstrated the research behind ARC (Augmentation Research Center) about interactive computing. This led to an explosion of interest in the field.
1974 – Augusto Boal writes “Theater of the Oppressed”, which brought about ideas of interactive theater, further blurring the line between audience and actors.
1975 – Nicholas Negroponte publishes “Soft Architecture Machines”; an article that depicts the importance of humans being empowered by computers, allowing for creative experimentation.
1976 – Joseph Weizenbaum writes “Computer Power and Human Reason”; which brings up concerns about the effects human relations have with the advance of computer interaction.
1977 - Burroughs and Gysin publish “The Third Mind,” a collection of cut-up writings and essays.
1977 – Myron Kreuger publishes “Responsive Environments”. He is the godfather of virtual reality, and interactive computer spaces.
1977 – Alan Kay and Adele Goldberg publish “Personal Dynamic Media”. They developed the ideas that led to the development of the laptop and desktop computer.
1988 – Ivan Sutherland won the Turing Award for his invention of the Sketchpad”
New Media Reader 339-439
Theatre of the Oppressed
Augusto Boal created interactive performances that confront problems of the ordinary people. These performances led to the Brazilian government killed his colleagues, tortured him and told him to get out of the country. His work involves techniques for therapeutic purposes. He later returned to Brazil after it was safe for him, and became a politician. His methods of interactive theater are still used around the world, blurring the line of actor/audience.
Soft Architecture Machines
Negroponte brought about the idea that the user be empowered by computers, rather than complying with machine experts. The ‘soft architecture’ he talks about is the concept of network or software systems as spatial. He founded the Architecture Machine Group at MIT in 1967. He began to manage data spatially, rather than in the form of numeric or textual lists. He argues that the computer should not be used only as an expert with special knowledge, but as a tool for individual experimentation that would lead to new ideas.
Computer Power and Human Reason: From Judgment to Calculation
Joseph Weizenbaum wrote one of the most famous chatterbox in the history of computing, and then perceived the dangers of some of the uses that can come from it. He then demanded that scientists and technologists take responsibility for what they develop. One of the concerns was that machines would take over jobs as well as emotional functions. He is worried that people will not be able to differentiate the difference between a computer program and real human interactions. He brings up good ideas, but they are fairly outdated by now. I think that we have been able to distinguish that computer therapeutic programs are not a substitute for the real, human therapy.
Responsive Environments
Myron W. Krueger is often referred to as the father of virtual reality. His essay begins with observing that man-machine interaction is limited to poking at a machine with his fingers”. His essay goes from this initial observation to his development of VIDEOPLACE. This program provides a tool for devising interactions. I wonder what he thinks about the development of Secondlife, where the interactions and environment have been developed to such a degree that there is an entire world that people can live in.
Personal Dynamic Media
Alan Kay and Adele Goldberg published this article in 1977, which introduced the idea of a notebook computer. They developed the idea while working at Xerox PARC. They worked to develop the “Dynabook”. They believed that people other than businessmen should use the computer, and that it could be used creatively. With their vision, Xerox PARC developed the notebook as well as the personal desktop computer. Along with the vision of being able to carry a computer with them, they stated the importance of wireless communication, which didn’t come about until a few decades later. They led the way to the development of the computer I enjoy every day that I am able to take with me and use for many purposes.
A Thousand Plateaus
Gilles Deleuze and Felix Guattari used creative writing styles to illustrate ideas. For example they used “rhizomatic” writing to describe hypertext. They introduce a new way of thinking about writing, and this form of rhizomatic writing changes our perception and challenges our Western thought.
Mindstorms: Children, Computers, and Powerful Ideas
The 1980s brought about the home computer era, with it the idea of using computers as a learning device for children to use. Computers were not wide spread at the time the essay was written. Seymour Papert develops an idea of “constructionist education” which is an education system designed to look closely at the idea of mental construction. He designed a program, LOGO, which allows children to take control of the computer and learn mathematics.
“Put-That-There”: Voice and Gesture at the Graphics Interface
Richard A. Bolt’s essay brought about multimodal interfaces, which is a combination of speech and gesture input. They allow a person to communicate with a computer using speech and gestures. This can be arranged by setting up a three-dimensional space with screens and speakers. He created the program Put-That-There that includes this type of multimodal communication. This is in contrast to the notion at the time that the computer revolutionized textual purposes.
Augusto Boal created interactive performances that confront problems of the ordinary people. These performances led to the Brazilian government killed his colleagues, tortured him and told him to get out of the country. His work involves techniques for therapeutic purposes. He later returned to Brazil after it was safe for him, and became a politician. His methods of interactive theater are still used around the world, blurring the line of actor/audience.
Soft Architecture Machines
Negroponte brought about the idea that the user be empowered by computers, rather than complying with machine experts. The ‘soft architecture’ he talks about is the concept of network or software systems as spatial. He founded the Architecture Machine Group at MIT in 1967. He began to manage data spatially, rather than in the form of numeric or textual lists. He argues that the computer should not be used only as an expert with special knowledge, but as a tool for individual experimentation that would lead to new ideas.
Computer Power and Human Reason: From Judgment to Calculation
Joseph Weizenbaum wrote one of the most famous chatterbox in the history of computing, and then perceived the dangers of some of the uses that can come from it. He then demanded that scientists and technologists take responsibility for what they develop. One of the concerns was that machines would take over jobs as well as emotional functions. He is worried that people will not be able to differentiate the difference between a computer program and real human interactions. He brings up good ideas, but they are fairly outdated by now. I think that we have been able to distinguish that computer therapeutic programs are not a substitute for the real, human therapy.
Responsive Environments
Myron W. Krueger is often referred to as the father of virtual reality. His essay begins with observing that man-machine interaction is limited to poking at a machine with his fingers”. His essay goes from this initial observation to his development of VIDEOPLACE. This program provides a tool for devising interactions. I wonder what he thinks about the development of Secondlife, where the interactions and environment have been developed to such a degree that there is an entire world that people can live in.
Personal Dynamic Media
Alan Kay and Adele Goldberg published this article in 1977, which introduced the idea of a notebook computer. They developed the idea while working at Xerox PARC. They worked to develop the “Dynabook”. They believed that people other than businessmen should use the computer, and that it could be used creatively. With their vision, Xerox PARC developed the notebook as well as the personal desktop computer. Along with the vision of being able to carry a computer with them, they stated the importance of wireless communication, which didn’t come about until a few decades later. They led the way to the development of the computer I enjoy every day that I am able to take with me and use for many purposes.
A Thousand Plateaus
Gilles Deleuze and Felix Guattari used creative writing styles to illustrate ideas. For example they used “rhizomatic” writing to describe hypertext. They introduce a new way of thinking about writing, and this form of rhizomatic writing changes our perception and challenges our Western thought.
Mindstorms: Children, Computers, and Powerful Ideas
The 1980s brought about the home computer era, with it the idea of using computers as a learning device for children to use. Computers were not wide spread at the time the essay was written. Seymour Papert develops an idea of “constructionist education” which is an education system designed to look closely at the idea of mental construction. He designed a program, LOGO, which allows children to take control of the computer and learn mathematics.
“Put-That-There”: Voice and Gesture at the Graphics Interface
Richard A. Bolt’s essay brought about multimodal interfaces, which is a combination of speech and gesture input. They allow a person to communicate with a computer using speech and gestures. This can be arranged by setting up a three-dimensional space with screens and speakers. He created the program Put-That-There that includes this type of multimodal communication. This is in contrast to the notion at the time that the computer revolutionized textual purposes.
Eric Rosenthal's Lecture
I really enjoyed Eric Rosenthal’s lecture. He seems like he’s going to be one of those people we have been reading about in the New Media Reader, and one day there will be a Wikipedia site for him and his accomplishments. He’s one of those professors that blow you away with their intellect and research. I really admire how he’s pursuing his research and making actual innovations in the digital world.
He was a very good speaker, and even though he was very smart, he knew how to convey his information in a rational way that we could understand. I always heard that the camera sees differently than us, and we have to take that into consideration when taking photos, but I never knew why that happened. I didn’t realize that our eyes had a 1:1,000,000 contrast ratio, and cameras only have a 1:1,000.
The main problem with contemporary digital photography is that it is based on a very outdated theory that we see with red green and blue rods and cones. His research indicates that that is not true, and his new cameras are being produced that are based on an entirely different theory, one that is a more accurate representation of how we see things.
Another problem is that JPEG and MPEG files are based on a compression algorithm based on mathematics, which takes out lots of information and creates artifacts into the image. I’m very intrigued about the layered compression he was talking about. I wonder where it is in its stage, and if it will ever go commercial. One of the main problems is the amount of space large photos take up, the new compression formula would negate that problem.
I am very interested to see where his research goes, and if it will ever become commercial (I’d want to pick up some of that stock as soon as I can). It sounds like it would completely revolutionize the photographic community; in research, fashion, and overall documentation.
He was a very good speaker, and even though he was very smart, he knew how to convey his information in a rational way that we could understand. I always heard that the camera sees differently than us, and we have to take that into consideration when taking photos, but I never knew why that happened. I didn’t realize that our eyes had a 1:1,000,000 contrast ratio, and cameras only have a 1:1,000.
The main problem with contemporary digital photography is that it is based on a very outdated theory that we see with red green and blue rods and cones. His research indicates that that is not true, and his new cameras are being produced that are based on an entirely different theory, one that is a more accurate representation of how we see things.
Another problem is that JPEG and MPEG files are based on a compression algorithm based on mathematics, which takes out lots of information and creates artifacts into the image. I’m very intrigued about the layered compression he was talking about. I wonder where it is in its stage, and if it will ever go commercial. One of the main problems is the amount of space large photos take up, the new compression formula would negate that problem.
I am very interested to see where his research goes, and if it will ever become commercial (I’d want to pick up some of that stock as soon as I can). It sounds like it would completely revolutionize the photographic community; in research, fashion, and overall documentation.
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