Will there be Condominiums in Data Space?

With the expansion of new technology, artists have more freedom and ability to experiment and produce art than ever before, explains Bill Viola in his essay “Will there be Condominiums in Data Space.”  For example, with the Internet, more people can access, interact, create, and share with one another. Viola calls this a “data space” or collection of thousands of ideas and works of art with which users can view and interact.

Perhaps the most important concept to take away from Viola’s article: “The Whole is the Sum of the Parts.”  He describes a friend’s experience with musicians. While rehearsing a song with them, he could not get the musicians to focus on and play only parts of it. “The idea of taking a small part out of context, or playing just a few bars, simply did not exist. The music was learned and conceived as a whole in the minds of the musicians.” 

Viola also comments on how perceiving things as discrete parts enables people to rearrange them. The contrast between this holistic way of perceiving and our typically fragmented view of everything is interesting. It brings to mind the question of why we constantly fracture things and experiences into pieces and and analyze the parts. I think it makes it easier for us to understand. Even in reading the articles for this seminar, I have noticed that it is easier for me to understand them by pulling out important nuggets of information, then attaching them to previous readings or pieces of knowledge.

This technique will become even more important in the future as we are increasingly bombarded with information. As the author states, in the age of “information overload,” we have reached a critical mass that has accelerated the perfection of recording technologies.” We must come up with strategies for simplifying this information.


--Mia

The Medium is the Message

Sixties’ media philosopher Marshall McLuhan discusses how all media are extensions of some human faculty - psychic or physical. This means the will is an extension of the foot, or a book is the extension of the eye. The evidence McLuhan puts forward to prove his argument is very convincing, and is all logically sound. For example, “The phonetic alphabet forced the magical world of the ear to yield to the neutral world of the eye”.

He also discusses how man has gone from villages to individualistic beings due to the technology of the printed word— and because we read books privately, this causes us to become more privately oriented. However, with the invention of the television and the Internet though, we have a constant flow of shared information moving around us, causing people to become more social. So in a sense, we have moved from a village into an individualistic society, back to a village, but on a global scale due to the constant sharing of information.

McLuhan predicted the coming of a Global Village in which telecommunications technology would figuratively shrink the world. He argued that the environment we create is our medium for describing our role in it. In fact, we have moved from a village mentality to an individualistic mentality and are now moving back to the village mentality. These transformations are due to our technology and the way it affects us intimately. He is right, in part, because satellites, the Internet, multinational communications giants, televisions and computers have helped realize his prophecy.

Questions to ponder:

Elitism - At one time, American music, TV, film, sports, fashion, and food spread worldwide often competing with the local fare. At some point, many Americans were guilty of cultural imperialism. Is this still the case?  Who are the big players and what kind of village have they created today?

Social Media - The media of our time changes our patterns of social interaction and our personal life. What does that mean for today’s digital culture in which cell phones, computers, etc. make it possible to community 24/7. Have we become more or less individualistic? Referring back to Englehart’s bootstrapping principles, have today’s popular media made it easier to collaborate with our peers.

The Medium is the Message

Sixties’ media philosopher Marshall McLuhan discusses how all media are extensions of some human faculty - psychic or physical. This means the will is an extension of the foot, or a book is the extension of the eye. The evidence McLuhan puts forward to prove his argument is very convincing, and is all logically sound. For example, “The phonetic alphabet forced the magical world of the ear to yield to the neutral world of the eye”.

He also discusses how man has gone from villages to individualistic beings due to the technology of the printed word— and because we read books privately, this causes us to become more privately oriented. However, with the invention of the television and the Internet though, we have a constant flow of shared information moving around us, causing people to become more social. So in a sense, we have moved from a village into an individualistic society, back to a village, but on a global scale due to the constant sharing of information.

McLuhan predicted the coming of a Global Village in which telecommunications technology would figuratively shrink the world. He argued that the environment we create is our medium for describing our role in it. In fact, we have moved from a village mentality to an individualistic mentality and are now moving back to the village mentality. These transformations are due to our technology and the way it affects us intimately. He is right, in part, because satellites, the Internet, multinational communications giants, televisions and computers have helped realize his prophecy.

Questions to ponder:

Elitism - At one time, as American music, TV, film, sports, fashion, and food spread worldwide often competing with the local fare. At some point, we were guilty of cultural imperialism. Is this still the case?  Who are the big players and what kind of village have they created today?

Social Media - The media of our time changes our patterns of social interaction and our personal life. What does that mean for today’s digital culture in which cell phones, computers, etc. make it possible to community 24/7. Have we become more or less individualistic? Referring back to Englehart’s bootstrapping principles, have today’s popular media made it easier to collaborate with our peers.

The Independent Woman Phenomena - Presentation

I presented a paper on the "Myth of the Independent Woman" this weekend at the AEJMC Midwinter Conference at OU in Norman, Oklahoma. The presentation went well.

One thing that I really want to emphasize is the lyrics in rap songs that discuss "Independent" women are definitely more positive that other gangster rap songs. At least they don't spotlight drugs, violence or degrade women (too much). However, the songs still feature misogynistic messages. They call women names such as "bitch," "broad" and "chick." In addition, they place unrealistic standards on women such as being beautiful, wealthy, domestic and willing to dote on a man. On the other hand, the songs do not place any expectations on men -- even emphasizing that they may be thugs or gangsters.

My question is if "independent" women are so busy paying their bills, looking beautiful, taking care of their children, the house, etc. do they really have time for a relationship? And if they do, at what point is it okay for them to ask a man to help them out? Never, according to these songs that appear to demonize women who desire a 50-50 relationship in which men and women contribute equally to a relationship. They place women in the categories of "gold digger" or "independent" woman.

Personal Dynamic Media Alan Kay and Adele Goldberg

The Dynabook concept, coined by Alan Kay in 1968, describes what is now known as a laptop computer with a long battery life and software aimed at giving children access to digital media. The article "Personal Dynamic Media," written by Kay and Adele Goldberg, discusses this idea of a gadget that would allow users to manipulate fonts, draw, paint and create music, animations, etc. Note that the target audience was children.

We envision a device as small and portable as possible, which could both take in and give out information in quantities approaching that of human sensory systems.

The authors' question: “What would happen in a world in which everyone had a Dynabook? If such a machine were designed in a way that any owner could mold and channel its power to his own needs.” This question seems absurd nowadays because most children have access to computers that do exactly what the two researchers describe.

However, one may have to put together different packages to get the end product he envisioned. For example, Tux Paint is a drawing program for children that combines an easy-to-use interface, fun sound effects, and an encouraging cartoon mascot who guides users as they draw, paint and create different pictures. Music Ace Deluxe offers a series of music lessons and games that teach the basics of music theory, rhythm, pitch, note reading, listening, and the keyboard. Users of both software packages can design, create and save their final products.

 

However, the one missing ingredient is children do not write programs for these products as Kay envisioned. I am sure there is software out there that allows children to do just that, but I have not come across any. Worth noting is older children often rewrite and add to video games, which is a growing trend in the gaming industry. Somehow, I do not think this is what he had in mind—or was it?
                                                                                                                                                     --Mia