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Edited byN oahWardrip P ru in an d N ick Mon tf ort
Des ign ed byMichael Cru m pton
T he MIT P res s
Cam bridge, Mas s achu s etts
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@ 2 003 N oahWardrip-F ru in an d N ick Mon tf ort
Sin ce this page can n otl egibl yaccom odate al l the copyrightn otices ,
pages 7 9 9 -802 con s titu te an exten s ion tothe copyrightpage.
Al l rights res erv ed. N opartof this book m aybe reprodu ced in an yf orm
byan yel ectron ic orm echan ical m ean s ( in cl u din g photocopyin g,
recordin g, orin f orm ation s torage an d retriev al )w ithou tperm is s ion in
w ritin g f rom the pu bl is her.
T his book w as s etin IT C Chapparal , Of cin aSerif , an d
Of cin aSan s byMichael Cru m pton .
P rin ted an d bou n d in the U n ited States of Am erica.
Libraryof Con gres s Catal ogin g-in -P u bl ication Data
T he n ew m ediareader/ edited byN oahWardrip-F ru in an d N ick Mon tf ort
p. cm .
In cl u des bibl iographical ref eren ces an d in dex.
ISBN 0-2 6 2 -2 32 2 7 -s ( hc.: al k. paper)
1. T el ecom m u n ication . 2 . Mas s m edia. 3. Com pu ters an d
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Al an T u rin g, 19 50
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N orbertWien er, 19 54
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Happen in gs in the N ew Y ork Scen e
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F ou rSel ection s byExperim en ts in Artan d T echn ol ogy
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T heodorH. N el s on , N ichol as N egropon te, an d Les Lev in e, 19 7 0
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Han s Magn u s En zen s berger, 19 7 0
R equ iem f orthe Media
Jean Bau dril l ard, 19 7 2
T he T echn ol ogyan d the Society
R aym on d Wil l iam s , 19 7 4
F rom Com pu terLib/ Dream Machin es
T heodorH. N el s on , 19 7 0-19 7 4
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F rom Sof tArchitectu re Machin es
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P rom Com pu terP ow eran d Hu m an R eas on
Jos ephWeizen bau m , 19 7 6
R es pon s iv e En v iron m en ts
Myron W. Kru eger, 19 7 7
P ers on al Dyn am ic Media
Al an Kayan d Adel e Gol dberg, 19 7 7
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T heodorH. N el s on , 19 81
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T he En dl es s Chain ( f rom T he MediaMon opol y)
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DirectMan ipu l ation :AStepBeyon d P rogram m in g Lan gu ages
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SherryT u rkl e, 19 84 '
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in the Late T w en tiethCen tu ry
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T erryWin ograd an d F ern an doF l ores , 19 86
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T he N ew MediaR eader, AU s er' s Man u al
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Au dien ce
T he N ew MediaR eaderis des ign ed as af ou n dation f oru n ders tan din g n ew m edia. We hav e s el ected its con ten ts w ith
three au dien ces in m in d:
N ew MediaP rof es s ion al s
T he ideas n ow cu rren tin n ew m ediaare af ew of the m an ypu tf orw ard du rin g the f ou n din g of this f iel d. T he
s el ection s here rev eal w here today' s im portan tideas cam e f rom an d prov ide abas is f orLm ders tan din g them m ore
deepl y. T he N ew MediaR eaderal s opres en ts ideas thats til l aw aittheirm om en tin the s u n ideas f rom the s am e
v is ion aries w hobrou ghtu s the m ou s e, the l in k, obj ect orien ted program m in g, an d m ore. Con s iderin g how thes e
ideas pl ayou tin today' s n ew m ediaen v iron m en tcou l d be the s ou rce of the n extbig in n ov ation .
Stu den ts an d P rof es s ors
T hes e s el ection s prov ide the bas is f oraw ide v arietyof n ew m ediacou rs es , es pecial l yf orcou rs es thatm erge theory
an d appl ication , aes thetics an d im pl em en tation . T heycou l d s erv e as the s ol e texts f oracou rs e on the his toryof n ew
m edia. In othercou rs es , T he N ew MediaR eadercan u n dergird as yl l abu s thatal s ocon tain s as el ection of cu rren t
w ritin gs , program s , an d im ageryin the cou rs e' s areaof f ocu s . T he m aterial s of f ered here al s orepres en taw eal thof
in s piration f orf in al proj ects an d in depen den ts tu dies , an d prov ide aref eren ce f ors chol ars , of f erin g his torical w orks
thatare hard toacces s in otherw ays .
R eaders Seekin g toU n ders tan d N ew Media 5
Whoev erm aytrytou n ders tan d the com pu teras n ew m ediain ou rchan gin g w orl d w hetheraj ou rn al is t, a
m an ager, aden tis t, oradel iv erydriv er w il l f in d in T he N ew MediaR eaderan in trodu ction toeachs el ection , pl acin g
itin con textan d expl ain in g its im portan ce. T hes e in trodu ction s don otas s u m e areaderw ithadegree in com pu ter
s cien ce orm athem atics orin l iteratu re orphil os ophy, f orthatm atter.
Con ten ts
T he N ew MediaR eadercon tain s three types of m aterial :
F ou n dation al Writin gs
T he texts in the book partof T he N ew MediaR eadercom e f rom com pu ters cien tis ts , architects , artis ts , w riters ,
al l tu ral critics an d qu ite af ew peopl e w hos e def in in g in s ights cam e precis el yf rom w orkin g acros s thes e categories
T hes e es s ays ran ge f rom Worl d WarIItothe em ergen ce of the Worl d Wide Web. T heybegin j u s tas digital
com pu tin g, cybern etic f eedback, an d the earl yideas thatl ed tohypertextan d the In tern etare em ergin g in topu bl ic
dis cu s s ion -an d theyen d as the com bin ed produ ctof thes e ideas en ters in tothe m ain s tream of pu bl ic l if e. T hes e
w ritin gs are the m os tin f l u en tial en caps u l ation s of n ew m edia' s m os ts ign if ican tcon cepts an d critiqu es .
F u n ction in g P rogram s
On the CDpartof T he N ew MediaR eaderare w orkin g v ers ion s of s om e of the m os tim portan tn ew m ediaartif acts
ev ercreated, m an yof w hichare extrem el ydif f icu l ttof in d el s ew here ordif f icu l ttogetru n n in g on m odern
com pu ters . In cl u ded are gam es , tool s , digital art, an d m ore -w iths el ection s of academ ic s of tw are, in depen den t
l iteraryef f orts , an d hom e-com pu ter-eracom m ercial s of tw are s u chas Karateka, af am ou s cin em atical l y-in s pired
com pu tergam e f rom the creatorof P rin ce of P ers iaan d T he Las tExpres s .
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Digitized Video
Al s oon the CD are pieces of digitized v ideo, docu m en tin g s om e n ew m ediaprogram s of w hichn ooperation al
v ers ion exis ts an d docu m en tin g im portan tdem on s tration s of program s . F orexam pl e, there is av ideorecord of Dou g
En gel barts 19 6 8 dem on s tration , on e thatf u n dam en tal l yal tered the cou rs e of n ew m edia. T his w as the f irs t
pres en tation of the m ou s e, the w ord proces s or, the hyperl in k, com pu ten s u pported cooperativ e w ork, v ideo
con f eren cin g, an d ev en adiv idin g u pof the s creen thatw ed n ow cal l n on -ov erl appin g w in dow s . Al on g m ore artis tic
l in es , there is al s ov ideodocu m en tation of in teractiv e artw orks byLyn n Hers hm an an d Graham e Wein bren w orks
thatredef in ed w hat, an d how , n ew m ediacou l d m ean .
Direction s
R eadin g T he N ew MediaR eaderin the u s u al w ays hou l d of cou rs e be in f orm ativ e an d hel pf u l . Bel ow are tw o
particu l ars u gges tion s of otherw ays toappl ythe con cepts an d critiqu es herein .
Make Som ethin g
U n ders tan din g n ew m ediais al m os tim pos s ibl e f orthos e w hoaren ' tactiv el yin v ol v ed in the experien ce of n ew
m edia; f ordeepu n ders tan din g, actu al l ycreatin g n ew m ediaproj ects is es s en tial togras pin g theirw orkin gs an d
poetics . T he ideas des cribed in thes e s el ection s can open im portan tn ew creativ e areas f orbegin n ers an d
prof es s ion al s al ike. T he book an d CD can al s ohel preaders av oid an al l too com m on probl em in the n ew m ediaf iel d:
the rein v en tion of the w heel . In s tead of rebu il din g the s am e s ys tem s w ithn ew techn ol ogies , thos e w hol ook toT he
N ew MediaR eadercan bas e theirn ew attem pts on the l es s on s l earn ed f rom exis tin g w ork.
R ethin k Som ethin g
N ew m edias bigges tbreakthrou ghs hav en ' tcom e bys im pl yexpen din g hu ge res ou rces totackl e w el l -u n ders tood
probl em s . T heyhav e com e f rom m om en ts of real ization :thataprobl em others hav en ' ts ol v ed is bein g f orm u l ated in
the w ron g w ay, orthatatechn ol ogyhas aradical l ydif f eren tpos s ibl e u s e than its cu rren ton e, orthatthe m etaphors
an d s tru ctu res of on e com m u n ityof practice cou l d com bin e w iththe produ cts of an othertocreate athird. T hatis ,
breakthrou ghs hav e com e f rom thin kin g acros s dis cipl in es , f rom rethin kin g on e areaof in qu iryw ithtool s an d
m ethodol ogies gain ed f rom an other w hetherin the direction of T ed N el s on ' s con ception of com pu tin g in l iterary
term s , orthe oppos ite m ov em en tof R aym on d Q u en eau s f orm u l ation of s torytel l in g an d poetryin al gorithm ic
term s . On e of thes e brou ghtu s the Web; the other, digital n arrativ e. T here are al m os tcertain l ys til l f u n dam en tal
con tribu tion s l ike this tobe m ade in n ew m edia. R eadin g T he N ew MediaR eaders s el ection s again s ton e an othercan
of f eraw aytobegin this type of rethin kin g.
T he N ew MediaR eaders peaks toarticu l ate the his toryof af iel d thathas
tooof ten gon e u n heard, bothbyen trepren eu rs s eekin g tobrin g the n extbig
thin g tothe Web an d byacadem ics approachin g n ew m ediaf rom theirow n
dis cipl in e. Whythe pas thas been n egl ected is n om ys tery:the gen eal ogyof
n ew m ediais m u chm ore obs cu re than its ecs tatic, f u l l y-in dexed, on l in e
pres en t. Whathis torical docu m en ts are av ail abl e are of ten f ou n d in
f ragm en ts on the Web in P DF , in an as s ortm en tof an thol ogies div ided by
s u bf iel ds , orin the du s tym icrof il m f il es thatVan n ev arBu s hhoped w ou l d
on e daybe hooked in tothe m em ex. Of ten w hen earl yarticl es in n ew m edia
are reprin ted theydon otin cl u de the im portan til l u s tration s that
accom pan ied the origin al pu bl ication s . T his an thol ogy, em bracin g prin tan d
digital m edia, is ou ref f orttou n cov eran d as s em bl e arepres en tativ e
col l ection of critical thou ghts , ev en ts , an d dev el opm en ts f rom the com pu ters
hu m an is tic an d artis tic pas t, its con ception n otas an adv an ced cal cu l atorbu t
as an ew m ediu m , oras en abl in g n ew m edia. Man yof thes e origin al in s ights ,
ev en m an yof the m os tradical , grew ou tof an u n ders tan din g of m ediathat
cam e bef ore as w el l as abackgrou n d in w hatal readyexis ted of the n ew m edia
f iel d. We hope the m aterial s here w il l hel pprov ide s u chan u n ders tan din g
an d of f erf u el f orin s piration .
T he u ppern u m berin an edge l in k tel l s the chaptern u m ber
13 an d the l ow ern u m beris the page n u m berof thatchapter.
:
theN EWMEDIAR EADER
4.
Ackn ow l edgm en ts
We of f erou rthan ks tothe peopl e atthe MIT P res s ( es pecial l yDou g Sery, Michael Sim s , an d Katherin e In n is ), thos e
w hocon tribu ted the in trodu ction s ( Lev Man ov ichan d Jan etMu rray), an d ev eryon e w hogav e perm is s ion f ortheir
m aterial s tobe reprodu ced in the book an d on the CD. Au thors w hos e w ork is in cl u ded in the v ol u m e hav e al s o
of f ered m u chaddition al as s is tan ce, ran gin g f rom hel pw iththe perm is s ion s proces s tocorres pon din g w ithu s s o
thatw e cou l d betterin trodu ce theirideas . T he con tribu tion s of al l of thes e peopl e hav e m ade this proj ectpos s ibl e.
T he proj ects adv is ors , l is ted earl ier, hav e con tribu ted in es tim abl e qu an tities of tim e an d w is dom tom ake. T he N ew
MediaR eaderas u cces s , f orw hichw e are v erygratef u l . Man yotherpeopl e hav e al s oof f ered v al u abl e as s is tan ce, an d
w e than k In grid An kers on , Marcel Ben abou , Michael Ben edikt, John Boe, Jan Cohen -Cru z, MaryCoppern ol , Warren
Motte, Cel iaP earce, Jef f O' Con n el l , an d Graham e Wein bren f ortheirhel pas w el l . H ' I
T he s u pportof N ew Y ork U n iv ers ity' s Cen terf orAdv an ced T echn ol ogyan d MediaR es earchLaboratoryw as
es s en tial , an d w e particu l arl yw is htothan k directors Ken P erl in an d Mike U rets ky, directorof operation s Cl il l y
Cas tigl ia, f ou n din g directorJack Schw artz, an d f ou n din g program coordin atorCyn thiaAl l en . T he l ibraries of N ew
Y ork U n iv ers ity, the U n iv ers ityof Cal if orn iaatSan taCru z, Stan f ord U n iv ers ity, MIT , an d the U n iv ers ityof
P en n s yl v an ia, as w el l as the N ew Y ork P u bl ic Library, prov ided n eeded res ou rces . Otherhel pcam e f rom the MIT
MediaLab, the School of In f orm ation Arts an d T echn ol ogies atthe U n iv ers ityof Bal tim ore, the Schol arl yT echn ol ogy
Grou pof Brow n U n iv ers ity, the Departm en tof Com pu teran d In f orm ation Scien ce atthe U n iv ers ityof P en n s yl v an ia,
an d the R hode Is l an d School of Des ign .
N oahWardrip-F ru in than ks the P ACEprogram atLon g BeachP ol ytechn ic HighSchool ( w here his f irs tel ectron ic
w ritin g proj ectw as com pl eted), the John s ton Cen terf orIn tegrativ e Stu dies atthe U n iv ers ityof R edl an ds , an d the
Gal l atin School of In div idu al ized Stu dyatN ew Y ork U n iv ers ityf orprov idin g the edu cation al en v iron m en ts in
w hichthe roots of this proj ectgrew . T han ks are al s odu e tom an yn otm en tion ed el s ew here, in cl u din g Ben
Abraham s e, Ken draAn ders on , Jan etAl l ard, Kam Bel l am y, Adam Chapm an , Hetal Dal al , Gertru de F ru in , R ichard
F ru in , N orm aGrady, Marj ettaGeerl in g, Hel en e Goodm an , P atHarrigan , Bob Hu ds peth, Kirs tin Kan tn er, N an cy
Kapl an , Su zan n e Kem perm an , N an cyKram er, Kev in Leathers , Marj orie Lu es ebrin k, Bil l McDon al d, Bel l aMirabel l a,
Brion Mos s , Y as hOw ada, KathyOgren , Cyn thiaBethR u bin , Chris Spain , Stephan ie Strickl an d, Chris Wal ker,
Bu f ord Wardrip, El m aWardrip, N athan Wardrip F ru in , Du an e Whitehu rs t, Kev in Whel an , T iaWin n , an d SaraZatz.
N ick Mon tf ortthan ks thos e, f rom m an ydif f eren tdis cipl in es , w hohav e been his m en tors in n ew m ediaatthe
U n iv ers ityof T exas atAu s tin , MIT , an d Bos ton U n iv ers ity:Michael Ben edikt, Ju s tin e Cas s el l , Gl orian n aDav en port,
Eds gerW. Dij ks tra, Hen ryJen kin s , Ben j am in Ku ipers , J__a_n etMu rray, R obertP in s ky, Bru ce P orter, an d John Sl atin .
He al s oappreciates the com pan yof his f el l ow s tu den ts an d of col l eagu es he has m etthrou ghthe Digital Arts an d
Cu l tu re con f eren ce an d throu ghIF N Y C, an d thatof others in on l in e com m u n ities he has been apartof :BBSs in San
An ton io, the Wel l , Cyborgan ic, an d if MU D. Expl orin g the l iteraryan d hu m an is tic u s es of the com pu terhas been
m ore rew ardin g than ks tos u chf rien ds .
Michael Cru m pton than ks the gu ys atBCWdes ign w hos how ed him how tohav e f u n w ithgraphic des ign an d his
w if e Marj ettaf orherpatien ce w iththe crazyl if e of af reel an cer. Las tbu tn otl eas the w an ts toackn ow l edge his
gran dm otherHadaBos tel m an n w hos e in s piration an d s u pportgav e him the w orl d of artan d des ign .
We w is htodedicate this proj ecttoou rparen ts :Carol yn an d Mark, John an d Gen a, N in aan d Charl es an d Edw ard.

, .
P ers pectiv es on N ew Media
T w oIn trodu ction s

In v en tin g
the Mediu m
Jan etH. Mu rray
T his is al an dm ark v ol u m e, m arkin g the f irs tcom prehen s iv e
ef f ortates tabl is hin g the gen eal ogyof the com pu teras an
expres s iv e m ediu m .
Al thou ghthe n am e of the book is T he N ew MediaR eader:
its s u bj ectis the em ergen ce of as in gl e m ediu m , an d on e
w hichw e can de n e m ore particu l arl ythan bym erel yby
poin tin g toits n ov el ty. T he digital m ediu m w hichw e s ee
em ergin g in thes e w el l -s el ected an d con textu al ized es s ays
m ays eem pl u ral tou s n ow , becau s e itis s om yriad in its
f orm s v irtu al real ityCAVEs , the In tern et, en han ced
tel ev is ion , v ideogam es . In deed, l ike the m ediu m of f il m 1OO
years earl ier, the com pu term ediu m is draw in g on m an y
an teceden ts an d s paw n in g av arietyof f orm ats . Bu tthe term
n ew m edia"is as ign of ou rcu rren tcon f u s ion abou tw here
thes e ef f orts are l eadin g an d ou rbreathl es s n es s atthe pace
of chan ge, particu l arl yin the l as ttw odecades of the 2 0th
cen tu ry. How l on g w il l ittake bef ore w e s ee the gif tf orw hat
itis as in gl e n ew m ediu m of repres en tation , the digital
m ediu m , f orm ed bythe braided in terpl ayof techn ical
in v en tion an d cu l tu ral expres s ion atthe en d of the 2 0th
cen tu ry?T his reader, ref l ectin g the bu rgeon in g of N ew
MediaStu dies "throu ghou tacadem ic l if e an d n ew m edia
practice throu ghou tthe w orl d, s hou l d hel ptohas ten that
chan ge in ou rthin kin g.
Here f orthe f irs ttim e w ithin as in gl e v ol u m e w e can trace
the cu l tu ral hel ix, the echoin g an d oppos in g s tran ds that
f orm the DN Af orcybers pace its el f . T he f irs ttw oes s ays
es tabl is hthe pattern , acal l an d res pon s e of f an tas is tan d
en gin eer, phil os opheran d in v en tor. Borges ( O01), the
s torytel l er-l ibrarian , an d Bu s h( Q 02 ), the s ol dier-s cien tis t,
s peak tou s ou tof the s am e m idcen tu ryf ram e of m in d,
exhau s ted byw ar, exhil arated byadaw n in g s en s e of
gl obal is m . T heyare bothal m os tv is ceral l yaw are of the
in creas ed com pl exityof hu m an con s ciou s n es s an d the f ail u re
of l in earm ediatocaptu re the s tru ctu res of ou rthou ght.
Borges , on e of the f irs tf iction w riters topl ace him s el f in the
In v en tin g the Mediu m
expan ded con textof agl obal cu l tu re, is f as cin ated bythe
arbitrarin es s of l an gu age its el f , bythe f l u tterof m ean in g
acros s cu l tu ral bou n daries . His f iction ev okes as en s e of
f l ickerin g f ocu s , of an in div idu al con s ciou s n es s con s tan tl y
ref orm in g its el f , of an u tteran ce con s tan tl yin the proces s of
tran s l ation . Borges con f ron ts u s w iththe pu l l u l atin g
m om en t, w hen w e becom e aw are of al l the pos s ibl e choices
w e m ightm ake, al l the w ays in w hichw e m ightin ters ecton e
an otherf orgood orev il . His im agin ed Garden of F orkin g
P aths is bothabook an d l an ds cape, abook thathas the
s hape of al abyrin ththatf ol ds back u pon its el f in in f in ite
regres s ion . Itis adizzyin g v is ion , on e w hichw il l be des cribed
again byhu m an is tw riters f orthe res tof the cen tu ry.
F orVan n ev arBu s h, the s cien tis t, the w orl d is n otan
im pris on in g l abyrin th, bu tachal l en gin g m aze, w aitin g tobe
s ol v ed byan appropriatel yorgan ized an d cl ev erteam ef f ort.
Like Borges , Bu s him agin es al tern ate l ibraries . Bu tw here
Borges s v is ion s are pl ayf u l an d s u bv ers iv e of ration al is t
expl oration , Bu s hdream s of the hyperration al . He is al arm ed
todis cov erthatthe l ibrarys hel f is n ol on geran adequ ate
m apof kn ow l edge. Book bas ed organ ization al s tru ctu res
hav e been ou tpaced bythe tem poof in v es tigation , an d n o
l on gerref l ectthe con s tan tl yref orm u l atin g dis cipl in ary
bou n daries of con tem porarys chol ars hip. Kn ow l edge is
expan din g, bu thu m an l i.f e rem ain s toos hort. Where Borges
is f rozen atthe cros s roads , en raptu red bythe prol if eratin g
paths , Bu s his im patien tl ys earchin g f orthe s hortcu ts , the
paths f orged bythe experts w hohav e s cou ted the territory
bef ore u s . He w an ts tof ol l ow in theirf oots teps an d tol ay
dow n n ew trail s , trail s thatdon otf ade. His en gin eers
com m itm en ttothe redem ptiv e m achin e ru n s throu ghou t
this v ol u m e as w el l .
Bu s h, of cou rs e, is n otthin kin g abou tthe com pu ter
an d n eitheris Borges . In s tead theyare in v en tin g f an tas y
in f orm ation s tru ctu res abook-garden -m aze, ades k l ibrary-
m achin e- thatref l ectn otan ew techn ol ogybu tachan ge in
how ou rm in ds are w orkin g. T he chan ge theyim agin e is
m ade m ore u rgen tbythe experien ce of tw ow orl d w ars , w ars
thatm ade apparen tthe hu ge gu l f betw een ou rtechn ol ogical
prow es s an d ou rs ocial dev el opm en t, betw een ou rcom pl ex
thin kin g an d ou ratav is tic behav ior. In Borges s f abl e, the
protagon is tkil l s am an as af orm of in f orm ation proces s in g,
the m u rdered m an bein g s ign if ican ton l ybecau s e his n am e in
the n ew s paperw il l actas an appropriate coded m es s age.
In v en tin g the Mediu m
Bu s hs exam pl e of arepres en tativ e res earchs u bj ectis the
his toryof bow an d arrow techn ol ogy. He has l earn ed the
pow erof in f orm ation organ ization in the con textof w artim e
w eapon s dev el opm en t, w here m ore kn ow l edge m ean s m ore
pow eragain s tthe en em y.
Cen tral toBorges ' s s toryis ou rdis com f ortov erthe
n arrator' s am oral choice, the im pers on al , pol itical m u rderof a
m an w hoin al tern ate f orks becom es his f rien d. T here is n o
rights ide in his w ars cape; the m u rdererdoes n otbel iev e in
his cau s e orcare w hichs ide w in s . In the w orl d of the f orkin g
pathgarden , tim e does n otm ov e f orw ard atal l , bu tou tw ard
in prol if eratin g pos s ibil ities of creation an d des tru ction that
m ake u pthe total ityof hu m an poten tial . T ol iv e in Borges ' s
w orl d is tof eel com pl icityan d exhau s tion , bu tal s ow on der.
Bu s h' s v iew , on the otherhan d, is m oral is tic, en ergetic, an d
en gaged. Im pl icitin Bu s hs n arrativ e is the En l ighten m en t
f aithin hu m an progres s driv en byexpan ded kn ow l edge, the
Am erican m etaphorof the richf ron tierw aitin g tobe
con qu ered bythe abl e trail bl azer, the abs ol u te n eces s ityof
s el f -def en s e. Bu s h' s m aze chal l en ges u s , bu tw e are s m art
en ou ghtof in d ou rw ayou t. T he s ol u tion l ies in bu il din g
s om ethin g, in m akin g s om ethin g n ew thatw il l betters erv e
hu m an n eed. T his dichotom yru n s throu ghthe res tof the
cen tu ryan d is echoed throu ghou tthis an thol ogy.
Al l creativ itycan be u n ders tood as takin g in the w orl d as a
probl em . T he probl em thatpreoccu pies al l of the au thors in
this v ol u m e is the pu l l u l atin g con s ciou s n es s thatis the
directres u l tof 500years of prin tcu l tu re. On e can thin k of
the hu m an is ts tran d as dram atizin g the probl em , am pl if yin g
ou rdis com f ortbyden atu ral izin g the ritu al s byw hichw e
den yit. T he dis cipl in aryhu m an is ts in this v ol u m e, w hether
artis ts , theoris ts , ors chol ars , are al l en gaged in
f oregrou n din g ou rcu l tu ral con f u s ion s , tu n in g u pou rs en s e
of exis ten tial bef u ddl em en tbef ore the s cien tif ical l yrev eal ed
w orl d of the tw en tiethcen tu ry. T he en gin eers , on the other
han d, pu ttheirf aithin the in v en tion of the proper
in s tru m en ts , that, l ike the m icros cope an d tel es cope bef ore
them , w il l l etu s f ocu s on the thin gs thatbaf f l e an d u n hin ge
u s s othatw e can thin k abou tthem in as ys tem atic w ay. T he
rightin s tru m en ts organ ize n otj u s tthe ou terw orl d bu t
con s ciou s n es s its el f , aphen om en on thatis f eared bythe
hu m an is ts an d em braced bythe en gin eers . T he en gin eers
s ee the cen tral tas k of ou rtim e f in din g the keytos u rv iv al
in the atom ic age as achal l en ge toou rin tel l ects . T he
theN EWMEDIAR EADER
w orl d has becom e m ore dif f icu l ttou n ders tan d, s ow e n eed
betterw ays of thin kin g abou tit, m ore pow erf u l m ethods of
m as terin g com pl exity. T he l ibrarys hel f an d the chaptered
book create bothov erv iew an d cl os e-u pan d al l ow u s to
m ov e betw een them w ithou tl os in g ou rpl ace. Whatthe
com pu terof f ers u s is am ore capaciou s s hel f , af in ergrain ed
div is ion . T he en gin eers articu l ate av is ion of an ew m eta-
book, an av igabl e col l ection of books thatw il l carryu s
gracef u l l ytothe n extl ev el of in f orm ation con trol an d
s ys tem atic thou ght, j u s tas the in v en tion of prin tdid 500
years ago. T he hu m an is tv oices in this s u rv eys tartof f ata
greaterdis tan ce f rom the m aterial bas is of the n ew m ediu m ,
an d theyare of ten m u chl es s hopef u l . T heyf in d the pu n ch
cards of the earl yin f orm ation age of l ittl e u s e. T heyare
s u rv eyin g the w reck of ideol ogies , com in g toterm s w iththe
f ail ed prom is es of prin t, the horrif yin g traj ectoryof the
ration al is tarrow . T heyin s is tthatw e experien ce the
f l ickerin g f ocu s , the s l ippin g aw ayof m ean in g betw een the
s ign if ieran d the s ign if ied, thatis the in tel l ectu al
predicam en tof the s econ d hal f of the tw en tiethcen tu ry.
T he au thors in this v ol u m e l in e u pon boths ides of this
div ide, bu ttheyare al s of acin g on e an otheral on g the braided
path. T he dif f eren ce is n ots om u chin w hattheydes cribe as
in theirorien tation toit. T he hu m an is ts s ee the
con tradiction s an d l im itation s of the greats ys tem s of
thou ghtan d itcau s es them toqu es tion the v eryproj ectof
s ys tem ized thin kin g. Su chqu es tion in g is of theirm om en t
bu tital s ois partof al on gertradition of l iteraryan d
phil os ophical dis cou rs e thatarticu l ates the u n kn ow abil ityof
l if e, its tragic dim en s ion , an d the abs u rd an d m adden in g
pers is ten ce of l on gin g, s u f f erin g, n eed.
T he en gin eers are grou n ded in atradition thatem phas izes
s ol u tion an d def in es the n eeds itcan n ots atis f y an d the
s u f f erin g its s ol u tion s can in f l ict as ou ts ide the dom ain of
the probl em . Atits w ors t, the en gin eerin g m en tal itycreates
ef f icien tkil l in g m achin es , f as teran d m ore deadl yarrow s . It
exu l ts in the abil itytoP u t-T hat-T here"( Q 2 9 ), tom ov e
w eapon s arou n d am apw iththe f l ick of am agical l ygl ov ed
f in ger. Atits bes t, itf os ters the com ic v iew of the w orl d in
w hichw e are res il ien ten ou ghtoprobl em s ol v e ou rw ayou t
of ou rtrou bl es u ptothe v erybarrierof m ortal ityits el f . At
its bes t, ital s ocel ebrates the hu m an capacitytol earn an d to
con ceiv e thin gs thathad n otbeen thou ghtof bef ore, thin gs
thatm ightm ake u s n otj u s ts m arterbu tm ore creativ e.
T he s tran ds cros s on e an otherthrou ghou tthe period that
this an thol ogydel in eates , an d as in gl e in div idu al of ten s eem s
tos traddl e the gapbetw een them . T he en gin eers draw u pon
cu l tu ral m etaphors an d an al ogies toexpres s the m agn itu de
of the chan ge, the s hape of the as yetu n s een m ediu m . T he
s torytel l ers an d theoris ts bu il d im agin aryl an ds capes of
in f orm ation , w ritin g s tories an d es s ays thatl aterbecom e
bl u eprin ts f oractu al s ys tem s . T he en gin eers pace them s el v es
again s tan accel eratin g threatof an n ihil ation bythe n ew w ar
techn ol ogies ; the hu m an is ts im agin e the m achin e as a
redem ptiv e en v iron m en t, w el com in g the pros pectof cyborg
architectu res thatrecon f igu re ou rbodies , ou rcu l tu res , ou r
s el v es in hopef u l w ays . T he tw otradition s com e together
m os ten ergetical l yin col l aboration s f ocu s ed on n ew
s tru ctu res of l earn in g in w hichexpl oration of the com pu ter
is m otiv ated byades ire tof os terthe expl oratoryproces s es of
the m in d its el f . Gradu al l y, the braided col l aboration giv es ris e
toan em ergen tf orm , an ew m ediu m of hu m an expres s ion .
Bybrin gin g thes e tw os tran ds togetherin this
chron ol ogical l yarran ged col l ection , the editors in v ite u s to
l ook m ore cl os el yatthe richin terpl ayof cu l tu ral practice an d
techn ical in n ov ation . We s ee the s cien tif ic cu l tu re
articu l atin g am ediu m thatau gm en ts ou rhu m an ity, that
m akes u s s m arterbypool in g ou rthin kin g an d organ izin g it
atahigherl ev el , an d ev en byf acil itatin g n ew w ays of
thin kin g thatare m ore s yn thetic an d hav e m ore pow erto
m as tercom pl exoperation s an d ideas . Mean w hil e the arts are
en gaged in dicin g the l an gu age an d recom bin in g itran dom l y,
cal l in g atten tion tothe arbitraryn atu re of the w ritten an d
s poken s ign if iers , dram atizin g the s en s e of cu l tu ral
u n rav el in g af tertw ow orl d w ars . Seein g al l of thes e pl ayers
gathered w ithin the bou n daries of this on e v ol u m e w e can
al m os tim agin e them in as in gl e room , participatin g in akin d
of qu il tin g bee. In on e corn er, Borges ( O01), Bu rrou ghs ( Q 07 ),
an d the Ou l ipo( O12 )are bu s ys hreddin g the ou tgrow n
garm en ts of prin t, w hil e acros s the room Bu s h( O02 ),
En gel bart( O08, O16 ), an d the XeroxP AR C col l aborators
( Q 2 6 )are eagerl ys ew in g the f ragm en ts togetherin toan
in tricatel ypattern ed, v as t, an d w el com in g qu il t. T he proces s
begin s in m id-cen tu ry, w iththe earl ies tu n ders tan din g by
T u rin g ( O03), Wien er( O04), an d others of the poten tial of
the com pu terf ors ym bol ic repres en tation an d f orthe captu r-
in g of com pl exin teractiv e s ys tem s .
In v en tin g the Mediu m
Com pu terl an gu ages w ere dev el oped thatal l ow ed f or
m ore pow erf u l m an ipu l ation of qu an titativ e an d text bas ed
data, s u pportin g l arge databas es , s cien tif ic an d econ om ic
s im u l ation s , an d res earchin artif icial in tel l igen ce. T he
19 6 0s w ere atim e of dizzyin g progres s f orcom pu ter
s cien tis ts , the period in w hichthe f iel d its el f w as def in ed,
s eparated f rom el ectrical en gin eerin g an d m athem atics
w ithits ow n adv an ced degree program s . Itw as the tim e
w hen Lickl ider( O05)an d others w ere propos in g the
In tern et, w hen Weizen bau m ( O2 4)in adv erten tl yin v en ted
the f irs tbel iev abl e com pu ter-bas ed character, w hen N el s on
( O11, ( > 2 1, ( > 30)coin ed the w ord hypertext an d began his
l if el on g qu es ttoem bodyit.
An d itw as the tim e w hen Dou gl as En gl ebart, l ookin g
abou thim an d s eein g thatthe hu m an race w as "in trou bl e,"
com m itted his careertothe au gm en tin g of hu m an
in tel l ect."Had En gl ebartbeen giv en the res ou rces toreal ize
m ore of his F ram ew ork, he m ighthav e been the prol if ic
Michael an gel oof the com pu terren ais s an ce, dem on s tratin g
how todom an ydif f icu l tthin gs w ithm axim u m
expres s iv ity. As itw as , he has been akin d of Leon ardo,
accom pl is hin g m u ch, in directl yin f l u en cin g m u ch, bu t
l eav in g behin d the u n real ized pl an s f orev en m ore.
En gl ebartdid n otthin k of the com pu teras m erel y
im prov in g hu m an thin kin g, bu tas tran s f orm in g the
proces s es of ou rin s titu tion s in am ore prof ou n d w ay. T he
au gm en ted in s titu tion as he s aw itw ou l d chan ge n otin to
abiggeran d f as ters n ail bu tw ou l d becom e an ew s pecies ,
l ike acat, w ithn ew s en s oryabil ities an d en tirel yn ew
pow ers . T he ev ol u tion arym etaphoris an expres s ion .-of aw e
atthe m agn itu de of the s hif t, aw ayof s harin g the s hiv erof
terroratthe u n f am il iarru s hof m in d-pow erthatm akes u s
w on derif w e m ightbe capabl e of ou tthin kin g ou rv ery
hu m an ity.
Bythe en d of the 19 6 0s the en gin eers had agood
u n ders tan din g of the poten tial of the com pu ter. T heyw ere
s u pportin g l arge databas es , experim en tin g w ithon -s creen
im ages an d gam e-l ike in teraction , es tabl is hin g n etw orked
s ys tem s thatcou l d be acces s ed byrem ote term in al s w ith
m u l tipl e u s ers s harin g the s am e m ain f ram e, an d bu il din g
l arge-s cal e s im u l ation s ys tem s . Al thou ghthe m achin es ~
them s el v es w ere s l ow an d of l ittl e capacitybycu rren t
s tan dards , an d w ere prim aril yu s ed f orn u m bercru n chin g,
;
as T akes
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@ -
In v en tin g the Mediu m
theyhad been dev el oped w el l en ou ghtom ake con crete
T u rin g' s v is ion of au n iv ers al m achin e. Adecade bef ore the
dev el opm en tof m u l tim edia an d atthe poin tw hen
hypertext w as j u s tacon cept, the s heerrepres en tation al
pow erof the com pu terw as apparen ttothos e w how ere
l eadin g its dev el opm en t. T heyreal ized thatthe w hol e of the
m ediu m w as m u chm ore than the s u m of the v ariou s
en abl in g techn ol ogies .
As Ihav e argu ed el s ew here, the aw e-in s pirin g
repres en tation al pow erof the com pu terderiv es f rom its
f ou rdef in in g qu al ities :its procedu ral , participatory,
en cycl opedic, an d s patial properties . T he m os tobv iou s
propertyof the n ew m ediu m , the on e m os tcl earl yn eeded
bythe pos t-w arw orl d, w as its en cycl opedic capacity. T he
digital com pu teris s im pl ythe l arges tm ediu m hu m an bein gs
hav e ev erin v en ted, the on e capabl e of hol din g the m os t
in f orm ation . In the 19 6 0s m u chof thatm em oryw as on
tape orpu n chcards , an d depen den ton l in earreadin g. In the
s u cceedin g decades itreached dizzyin g thres hol ds of
ran dom acces s av ail abil ity, w ithexpon en tial in creas es
becom in g the n orm . Bu tthe deeperen cycl opedic poten tial
of bin aryrepres en tation its el f w as cl earf rom T u rin gs tim e.
If the com pu teris au n iv ers al m achin e, capabl e of
repres en tin g an ythin g, then can itrepres en tal l of hu m an
kn ow l edge?Like othercapaciou s techn ol ogies ( prin t,
m ov in g im ages )w hichthe com pu tercon tain s , itcal l s f orth
ou rdes ire togetev erythin g in on e pl ace, toget, as Wil l iam
F au l kn eron ce des cribed the as piration of the n ov el is t, the
w hol e w orl d in on e s en ten ce.
F u rtherm ore, the com pu tercan pres en tits el f tou s as a
pl ace, on e w hichw e en teran d don otw is htol eav e. T his
en v el opin g qu al ityderiv es f rom the s patial propertyof the
m ediu m , its capabil ityf orem bodyin g dim en s ion al ity. T hat
is , w e can pl ace thin gs w ithin itin as s ign ed l ocation s , both
actu al ( as regis ters w ithin the m achin es )an d, m ore
im portan tl y, s ym bol ic ( as on aWeb s ite, orin adu n geon
u n deratrapdoorw ithin af an tas yen v iron m en t). T hes e
l ocation s are m ore than m erel yl abel s becau s e w e can
n av igate bythem , an d theyw il l be con s is ten trel ativ e toon e
an other. T his s patial qu al itym ade the earl ytext-bas ed
du n geon gam es l ike Adv en tu re an d Zork en orm ou s l y
s u cces s f u l . T his s patial izin g qu al ityis bas ed u pon the other
tw oproperties of the digital m ediu m , the tw om os tbas ic
an d def in in g attribu tes :its proces s in g pow er, w hichal l ow s
theN EWMEDIAR EADER
u s tos pecif yprocedu res w hichw il l be n otm erel yrecorded
bu texecu ted; an d its participatoryqu al ity, w hichal l ow s itto
receiv e in pu t, toal l ow m an ipu l ation of its proces s es an d
databythe u s er. T he creation of the il l u s ion of s pace w ithin
the m achin e, w hichcan be achiev ed w ithon l yatext-bas ed
dis pl ay, is the res u l tof its capacityf oracceptin g n av igation al
com m an ds f rom u s an d then res pon din g accordin g toits
program m in g in acon s is ten tm an n erthatrein f orces ou r
n otion of s pace. T hatis , w e can program the res pon s es of
the com pu tertos im u l ate an ys pace w e can im agin e,
dis pl ayin g "n orth"an d s ou th orl ef t an d right
appropriatel ys othatthe participatin g u s erw il l f orm a
rel iabl e m en tal m apof the s ym bol ical l yrepres en ted
territory. Bu tev en thou ghthis s patial propertyis
deriv ativ e of the procedu ral an d participatoryproperties , it
is s of u n dam en tal tothe w ayw e experien ce the w orl d, an d
s odes irabl e am ean s of repres en tin g the w orl d, thatw e hav e
tothin k abou titas apropertyin its el f . Itis n otacciden tal
thatw e ref ertoin f orm ation in digital n etw orks as exis tin g
in cybers pace, orthatthe f irs tcom pu tergam e tobe
m as s iv el ydis tribu ted byn etw ork w as atext-bas ed
expl oration of av irtu al cav e.
T ogetherthe tw oproperties of en cycl opedic capacityan d
s patial n av igabil itycreate the experien ce of en cl os u re in
expl orabl e, exten s iv e s paces . T hes e can be f iction al
l an ds capes , l ike Borges ' s l abyrin thin e garden , ortheycan be
in f orm ation s paces , l ike Bu s h' s m em exm achin e. T he s en s e of
f ol l ow in g atrail is the s am e in bothcas es , an d itis as en s e
thatcreates the pl eas u rabl e experien ce of im m ers ion , of
m ov in g w ithin acapaciou s , con s is ten t, en v el opin g digital
en v iron m en tratherthan j u s tl ookin g atit.
Bu tthe m ore f u n dam en tal properties , the procedu ral an d
participatoryf ou n dation of the com pu ter, are the on es that
prov ide the bas is f orw hatw e thin k of as the def in in g
experien ce of the digital m ediu m , its in teractiv ity. Al thou gh
this w ord is of ten u s ed l oos el yitcan be thou ghtof as
en com pas s in g thes e tw oproperties , an d al s othe pl eas u re of
agen cy, the s en s e of participatin g in aw orl d thatres pon ds
coheren tl ytoou rparticipation . We dos om ethin g w iththe
com pu ter w hetheritis s hootin g ataf an tas yen em yor
m an ipu l atin g w ords orim ages orm ov in g f rom on e Web s ite
toan other an d itproces s es ou rin pu tan d res pon ds in a
w aythatm akes s en s e tou s . Becau s e of the in teractiv e n atu re
of the m ediu m , the com pu teren v iron m en tis n otj u s t
im m ers iv e, itis an im ated. T his ef f ectw as cl earf rom the
in trodu ction of the com pu terw orks tation in the 19 6 05,
w hen the n ew con v ers ati_on al s tru ctu re of program m eran d
proces s or, keyboard an d dis pl ay, con n ected in real tim e
prov oked pl ayf u l appl ication s l ike the therapis tEl izaor
the du n geon an d dragon of Adv en tu re . Bothof thes e
in v en tion s took adv an tage of the s tream l in ed in teractiv ityof
the n ew en v iron m en ts . T heyel icited en gagem en tf rom an
in teractor, an d theyres pon ded tothaten gagem en tin aw ay
thatm ade cl earthe an im atin g ru l es of the com pu ters w orl d.
T he in v en tion of El izais particu l arl yin s tru ctiv e. U n l ike
earl yhypertexts ys tem s thatw ere dev el oped in an s w ertothe
v is ion of the m em ex, El izaf arexceeded expectation s . El izas
pers u as iv en es s , herexis ten ce n otas aprogram bu tas a
perceiv ed hu m an bein g, as acharactercapabl e of in s pirin g
theatrical bel ief , cam e as as hock toJos ephWeizen bau m .
T u rin g had cal l ed f oras im il ars ys tem as ates tof the pow ers
of the com pu tertos im u l ate ahu m an bein g in f ree
con v ers ation , bu tWeizen bau m w as of f en ded bys u ch
con f u s ion s an d dis m ayed tohav e in adv erten tl ycreated a
program thatw as m is taken l ybel iev ed tohav e pas s ed the
T u rin g tes t. T he w ides pread con f u s ion ov erEl izas poten tial
as areal ratherthan as im u l ated an d com ic therapis t, an d
Weizen bau m s attem pts tos traighten peopl e ou t, w ere
s ym ptom s of the gapbetw een ou rn ew abil itytom ake
digital artif acts an d ou rin abil itytou n ders tan d w hatw e
w ere m akin g. Weizen bau m cam e toterm s w ithhis creation
on l yaf terhe w as abl e todes cribe itin l iteraryterm s . His
s ecretaryw hothou ghtEl izaw as areal therapis tan d his
com pu ters cien tis tf rien ds w how ere charm ed byherdes pite
theiru n ders tan din g of the code w ere n otdel u ded; theyw ere
m erel yen gagin g in the w il l in g s u s pen s ion of dis bel ief , as
Col eridge had poin ted ou tthattheatergoers do. Bu the
m is s ed the im portan ce of this ev en t:the dis cov eryof an ew
l iterarym ediu m , l ike the pl ayorthe n ov el orthe s on n et a
m ediu m thatcon s is ted of the w ritin g of procedu ral ru l es an d
the en gagem en tof an im prov is in g in teractorw iththe ru l e-
gov ern ed s ys tem . p
Withthe in v en tion of El iza, the com pu terhad reached an
im portan tm il es ton e:ithad achiev ed the il l u s ion of l if e
throu ghthe ru l es of behav ior. Bu titw as n otu n til the 19 805
thatpractice becam e s el f -con s ciou s en ou ghtoal l ow f ora
s eriou s dis cou rs e abou tdigital artif acts . F orw hil e com pu ter
s cien tis ts w ere l ayin g dow n the techn ical f ou n dation f ors u ch
In v en tin g the Mediu m
im m ers iv e an d in teractiv e en v iron m en ts , hu m an is ts w ere
expan din g ou rtheoretical gras pof techn ol ogies of
repres en tation . Cu l tu ral critics an d com m u n ication s
res earchers , res pon din g tothe grow thof tel ev is ion in the
19 50s an d its expan s ion in the 19 6 0s , f ocu s ed ou ratten tion
on the m ediaexperien ce its el f as as u bj ectof an al ys is an d
en cou raged an ew in teres tin an al yzin g the v arieties of m edia
experien ces . N ew erm edias u chas photography, radio, f il m ,
an d tel ev is ion cou l d n ow be s een in the l on gerhis torythat
s tretched back beyon d the prin tin g pres s tooral com pos ition
an d the in v en tion of w ritin g. Mars hal l McLu han ( O13)in
particu l arbrou ghtin teres tin m ediatothe f oref ron tw ithhis
pl ayf u l an d in s ightf u l aphoris tic w ritin gs . Like the com pu ter
s cien tis ts w how ere in v en tin g the f ou n dation al techn ol ogies
of the com in g In tern et, McLu han s aw m ediaas exten s ion s
of m an , am ean s toau gm en tou rpow ers of perception an d
com m u n ication . He cel ebrated this chan ge, bu the did s oin
the ton e of an ol d tes tam en tprophet, ackn ow l edgin g the
threaten in g as w el l as the thril l in g as pects of this n ew
com m u n icativ e pow er. Othercritics w ere m ore dis tru s tf u l ,
s eein g the m as s m ediaas the m ean s byw hichthe exis tin g
pow ers tru ctu res m ain tain the s tatu s qu o. T he bas is of the
m u chof the popu l aran d academ ic dis cou rs e on the m ediaof
l aterdecades begin s in the 19 6 05w iththis f as cin ation w ith,
an d dis tru s tof , tel ev is ion . As ares u l tdigital en thu s ias ts
of ten des cribed theiref f orts as rem ediatin g the dan gers of
tel ev is ion ( f orexam pl e, in al l ow in g tw o-w ayin s tead of on l y
on e-w aycom m u n ication ), an d digital s keptics con dem n ed
the n ew m ediu m as am pl if yin g the des tru ctiv e pow ers of
tel ev is ion ( f orexam pl e, in exercis in g ev en greaterhol din g
pow erov ercon s u m ers , f u rtheral ien atin g them f rom the
"real "w orl d).
T he techn ophobic res pon s e tocom pu ters , w hichw as
s tron g throu ghou tthe period cov ered here, w as al s oan
im portan tpartof the s tory, an d its hou l d con tin u e tobe s o.
T he au gm en tin g of hu m an in tel l ectrem ain s an u n certain
an d ev en aperil ou s activ ity. I-Iitl er' s gen ocidal ef f icien cyw as
m ade pos s ibl e bys ophis ticated in f orm ation proces s in g. T he
cen s u s tool s he rel ied on are m ere crayon s cratches com pared
w iththos e atyran tcou l d n ow com m an d toau tom ate the
kn ow l edge of ev erythin g f rom ou rreadin g habits toou r
DN A. Su rv eil l an ce can n ow be exten ded n otj u s tin s ide the
w al l s of ou rhou s es bu tin s ide ou rbrain w here w e can
w itn es s the retriev al of am em oryal m os tn eu ron byn eu ron .
L
In v en tin g the Mediu m
N ew m ediain an yage are al w ays dis tru s ted m edia.
P rom etheu s is aherotos om e an d atran s gres s ortoothers ,
an d bothare right. F ire w arm s an d f ire bu rn s . Itrem ain s to
be s een w hichof the an ti-techn ol ogical v oices f rom the
s econ d hal f of the tw en tiethcen tu ryw il l be of l as tin g
im portan ce. T he techn ophobic res pon s e is m os tcl earl y
u s ef u l w hen its pu rs u s toqu es tion the u s es tow hichw e pu t
techn ol ogyan d togu ard again s tthe dan gers of abu s e. Itis
perhaps l es s pers u as iv e w hen argu in g the aban don m en tof a
m ediu m w hetheritis prin t, photography, tel ev is ion , or
com pu ters orw hen itargu es f orthe cu l tu ral orm oral
s u periorityof on e m ean s of expres s ion ov eran other,
regardl es s of the con ten t. Bu tthe an xieties arou s ed byan ew
m ediu m are real , an d w orthyof atten din g to. T he critics of
techn ol ogyare an im portan tpartof the dev el opm en tof a
n ew m ediu m becau s e theychal l en ge u s toiden tif ym ore
cl earl yw hatw e f in d s ocom pel l in g abou tit, w hyw e are s o
draw n tos hape this n ew cl ayin toobj ects thathav e n ot
exis ted bef ore.
T hrou ghou tthe 19 7 0s the hu m an ities expan ded its
critical v ocabu l aryan d s ophis tication in u n ders tan din g the
Eproces s of repres en tation , appl yin g the s am e f ocu s ed
an al ys is tom as s com m u n ication an d cu l tu ral ritu al s ( s u ch
as adv ertis in g pos ters an d s ports ev en ts )as had f orm erl y
been directed tow ard greatw orks of l iteratu re. An d as the
pos tw arbabies cam e in tom atu rity, eagertou n ders tan d an d
tran s cen d the des tru ctiv e his toryof the 2 0thcen tu ry,
ideol ogyits el f becam e an im portan ts u bj ectof s tu dy,
es pecial l yits em bodim en tin cu l tu ral artif acts w ithin both
highan d l ow cu l tu re. T he pol itical in s ights of the 19 6 0s
com bin ed w iththe m ethodol ogies of s em iotics an d its
s u cces s ors w ere appl ied toev eryas pectof hu m an s ociety,
in cl u din g the dis cou rs es of hu m an is m its el f w ithdev as tat-
in g res u l ts . T he greatpil l ars of kn ow l edge an d s ocial
coheren ce w ere expos ed as tyran n ical atw ors t, del u s ion al at
bes t. Al l w as ideol ogy, an d atthe bottom of thes e v as t
n es ted pyram ids of ideol ogical repres en tation w as l an gu age
its el f , w hichw as l ef ttopoin tatn othin g real beyon d ou r
ow n con s ciou s n es s , n othin g extern al beyon d ou rs hared
hal l u cin ation s . T he s ign if iers of cu l tu ral dis cou rs e byw hich
w e def in ed ou rl iv es f aith, l ov e, gen der, f am il y, n ation ,
m oral ity poin ted aton e an otherin adizzyin gl yin f in ite
regres s ion . In s hort, f orhu m an is ts of the l ate 2 0thcen tu ry
the tool s of an al ys is w ere in creas in g, bu tthe con ten tof the
theN EWMEDIAR EADER
an al ys is w as dis orien tin g. We u n ders tood how hu m an
bein gs con s tru cted m ean in g betterthan w e had ev erdon e
bef ore; bu tw e n ol on gercou l d bel iev e in an ythin g thatw e
as s erted. T his con dition , w hichcam e tobe thou ghtof as
pos tm odern is m , w as on e thatcal l ed f orn ew f orm s of
artis tic expres s ion thats im u l tan eou s l yu til ized an d
dis tan ced them s el v es f rom the greattradition s of cu l tu ral
expres s ion . Itw as the age of the pu t-on , an iron ic age in
w hichev en the m os texu beran texpres s ion s had abitter
af tertas te, an d m u chof the m os tam bitiou s w ork pos s es s ed
acol d deris iv e qu al ity, as en s e thatev erythin g had been s aid
bef ore an d thatitw as al l l ies . Academ ic dis cou rs e w as
in f ected w ithw ord pl aythats u bs titu ted al l u s ion f or
as s ertion as its prev al en trhetorical s tyl e.
F orthe com pu ters cien tis ts , on the otherhan d, the 19 7 0s
w ere atim e of greatearn es tn es s an d exhil aratin g pos s ibil ities
as the com pu terw as com in g in toits ow n as an ew m ediu m
of repres en tation . Bu tw hil e edu cation al in n ov ators l ike Al an
Kay( 02 6 )an d Seym ou rP apert( 02 8)w ere cel ebratin g the
com pu teras an ew an d pow erf u l tool f orthe activ e
con s tru ction of m ean in g, artis ts an d hu m an is ts w ere
cel ebratin g decon s tru ction , f in din g ev iden ce in highan d l ow
cu l tu re throu ghou tthe w orl d of the in ev itabl e u n rav el in g of
m ean in g. Al l throu ghou tthe 19 7 05w hil e u n iv ers ity-bas ed
res earchers w ere en j oyin g the n ew In tern ettechn ol ogies , an d
the com pu terw as grow in g as av ehicl e f orcon n ection an d
im agin ativ e en gagem en t the dis cou rs e of hu m an is m w as
grow in g in creas in gl yf ragm en ted an d dis tru s tf u l of the
con s tru ctiv e im agin ation .
Of cou rs e the hu m an is ts w ere n otin v en tin g the
pos tm odern con dition -theyw ere m erel ychron icl in g it,
regis terin g an d giv in g f orm tothe cu l tu ral an xietycau s ed by
the l os s of f aithin the greathu m an m eta-n arrativ es of s acred
an d s ecu l ars al v ation . Atthe heartof the m os tiron ic
decon s tru ction of ou tw orn con v en tion s w as acel ebration of
expres s iv ityits el f , adel ightin throw in g of f the m on ol ithic
s traightj acketin f av orof an an tic, m u tabl e s eries of
cos tu m es , of f oregoin g the l on gin g f orthe en d of the s toryin
ordertorev el in the pos s ibil ities of the m iddl e. Whatw as
m is s in g w as af orm thatcou l d con tain s om an ym iddl es an d
s u chas u s tain ed ref u s al of an en din g.
T he 19 80s m arked the begin n in g of the s hif t. F orm an y
hu m an is ts akeycom pon en tof this chan ge w as prov ided by
Del eu ze an d Gu attari( 02 7 )w ho, w ithou tthin kin g of
dis cou rs e thats erv ed as abridge f orm an yhu m an is ts tothe
otherw is e al ien w orl d of the m achin e. T he tw ophil os ophers
s u gges ted an ew m odel of textu al organ ization torepl ace the
ideol ogical l ys u s pecthierarchies of the ol d prin t bas ed w orl d
T he n ew ideal of f orm w as the rhizom e an eru dite w ord
f orav erydow n toearththin g apotatoroots ys tem Itw as
as if Del eu ze an d Gu attarihad du g ben eaththe f orkin g path
garden of Borges ( w hichaf teral l w as s til l ahierarchyof
s orts )an d com e u pw ithan ev en m ore prof ou n d l abyrin th
bu ton e thatof f ers the hope of kn ow abil ityan d am etaphor
of heal thygrow thT he potatoroots ys tem has n obegin n in g
n oen d an d grow s ou tw ard an d in w ard atthe s am e tim e It
f orm s apattern f am il iartocom pu ters cien tis ts an etw ork
w ithdis crete in tercon n ected n odes . Here w as aw ayou tof
the pu l l u l atin g paral ys is on e thatw en tbeyon d the
s u bv ers ion of al l exis tin g hierarchies Here w as aw ayof
con s tru ctin g s om ethin g n ew T he hu m an is tproj ectof
s hreddin g cu l tu re had f ou n d aradical n ew pattern of
m ean in g aroots ys tem thatof f ered am etaphorof grow th
an d con n ection ratherthan rotan d dis as s em bl y
T he gif tof this m etaphoratthe begin n in g of the 19 80s
coin cided w iththe in trodu ction of the f irs tpers on al
com pu ters an d the in trodu ction of w ord proces s in g
s of tw are, brin gin g an ew acces s ibil ityof com pu tation al
pow ertothos e ou ts ide the com pu terl ab. Atthe m ore
priv il eged edu cation al in s titu tion s , the 19 80s brou ghtgif ts
of equ ipm en tan d gran tm on eythatal l ow ed f orhitherto
u n preceden ted col l aboration s betw een en gin eers an d
hu m an is ts . George Lan dow atBrow n U n iv ers ity, Gregory
Cran e atHarv ard, LarryF riedl an deratStan f ord, an d others
gain ed acces s tos ophis ticated com pu tation al s ys tem s an d
began appl yin g them tothe repres en tation of n etw orked
kn ow l edge s ys tem s , w orkin g in f iel ds s u chas Victorian
cu l tu re, An cien tGreece, an d Shakes peare. In N orthCarol in a,
J. Dav id Bol ter( 047 ), Michael Joyce ( 042 ), an d John Sm ith
in v en ted Storys pace, ahypertexts ys tem s pecif ical l y
des ign ed f ors torytel l in g, w hichgreatl yexpan ded the u s e
of com pu ters in the hu m an ities . Withthe arriv al of
HyperCard an d s im il arn otecard-bas ed s ys tem s the
pers on al com pu tercam e in tou s ef u l n es s throu ghou tthe
edu cation al s ys tem as al ocation f orthe creation of
edu cation al res ou rces byteachers an d s tu den ts , riv al in g the
dev el opm en tof textbooks . T hes e au thorin g en v iron m en ts
gi.
com pu ters atal l , of f ered am etaphorf orin tel l ectu al an d appl ication s program s of the 19 80s m arked an ew erain
In v en tin g the Mediu m
the expres s iv en es s of the m ediu m , byopen in g u pthe
en cycl opedic an d s patial properties of the com pu terto
w idercom m u n ities of practices , com m u n ities com pos ed n ot
of program m ers bu tof artis ts , w riters , an d edu cators .
Whil e the academ ical l y-rooted experim en ts w ithhypertext
took theircou rs e an d f ou n d theiren thu s ias tic bu trel ativ el y
s m al l au dien ces , the v ideogam e w as grow in g in toa
en tertain m en tf orm toriv al m ov ies a.n d tel ev is ion . Video
gam es w ere s u cces s f u l becau s e, as Bren daLau rel ( 038)
poin ted ou t, theyexpl oited the com pu ters capacityto
repres en taction in w hichhu m an s cou l d participate. T he
v ideogam e al s ow on ov erthe you n g tothe n ew m ediu m an d
dev el oped an expan din g v ocabu l aryof en gagem en t, in cl u din g
ev erm ore detail ed an d in tricate el aboration on the them e of
the v iol en tcon tes tas w el l as in creas in g in teres tin creatin g
detail ed, im m ers iv e, expres s iv e s toryw orl ds .
T he expan s ion of practice w as accom pan ied byan other
m ark of am atu rin g m ediu m , the m om en tatw hich
com pu terpractice becam e w ides pread en ou ghtobecom e an
obj ectof s tu dyin its el f . SherryT u rkl e ( 034)of f ered the
f ou n dation al v iew of the ps ychos ocial dyn am ics of the
digital m ediu m , cal l in g itas econ d s el f u pon w hichw e
proj ected con s ciou s n es s , an d an ev ocativ e obj ect w hichhad
trem en dou s hol din g pow er ov erthe in teractor. T he f irs t
on l in e com m u n ities w ere f orm in g an d began todis pl aythe
com pl exs ocial rel ation s hips s ow el l captu red in the accou n t
byMorn in gs taran d F arm er( 046 )of Lu cas f il m s Habitat.
T he con f l ictbetw een pl ayerkil l in g an d com m u n itybu il din g
in thatw orl d w as m irrored bythe con f l ictbetw een thos e,
l ike R ichard Stal l m an ( 036 ), w how an ted adis tribu ted,
cooperativ e open program m in g com m u n ityan d the
com m ercial in f l u en ces , n ow pers on if ied byMicros of t, w ho
w an ted tos tan dardize dev el opm en ton cl os ed, cen tral l y
con trol l ed s ys tem s . T he com pu terbegan toem erge as a
n oticeabl e en tityin the s ocial w orl d, w ithits u topian an d
dys topian prom is es n ow the s u bj ectof expl icitpol icy
debates .
T he 19 80s al s om arked the begin n in g of ou r
u n ders tan din g of in teractiv e des ign as an ew f iel d of s tu dy,
the begin n in g of the s el f -con s ciou s creation of digital
artif acts n otbys m al l team s of res earchers bu tbyan ew l y
def in ed prof es s ion . Appl e es tabl is hed gu idel in es f orits
graphical u s erin terf ace, al l ow in g m u l tipl e dev el opers tou s e
-53
%
E
-a
%
In v en tin g the Mediu m
the s am e con v en tion s f orthe s am e f u n ction s . T he origin al
f ocu s of des ign , bu il din g on the in du s trial des ign in s ights of
Don al d N orm an an d others , pl aced em phas is on the
in terf ace. Shn eiderm an ( 033), Lau rel ( O38), an d Win ograd
( 037 )m ov ed the em phas is tothe hu m an actoran d the
s hapin g of the in teraction . T his chan ge w as m arked bythe
m ov em en tof the f iel d f rom Com pu terHu m an In terf ace to
Hu m an Com pu terIn teraction , f rom CHI( w hichis s til l the
des ign ation of the s pecial in teres tgrou pof the ACM w hich
hol ds the cen tral m eetin g in the f iel d)toHCI( w hichis w hat
u n iv ers ities n ow teachan d giv e degrees in ).
T he hu m an ities an d arts becam e m ore v is ibl e tothe
en gin eers as com pu ters becam e m ore av ail abl e tothe
hu m an is ts . T he s patial propertyof the m ediu m brou ght
f orthan ew in teres tin architectu re; the participatory
propertyprov oked in teres tin im prov is ation al theater. T he
team s w hoprodu ced n ew appl ication s of tw are, n ew
edu cation al en v iron m en ts , an d n ew m u l tim edia gam es
becam e in ten tion al l yin terdis cipl in ary. As theys tru ggl ed to
u n ders tan d on e an others con f l ictin g des ign criteria, n ew
academ ic program s aros e toedu cate prof es s ion al s f ora
rapidl ym orphin g f iel d.
Bythe en d of the 19 805the com pu terhad em erged as an
ev erydaytool f orbu s in es s , edu cation , an d en tertain m en t.
Bu titw as prim aril yades ktoptool , n etw orked toa- f ew co-
w orkers perhaps . T hos e w how ere u s in g the In tern eton a
regu l arbas is w ere m os tl yu s in g itf orem ail orf orthe
u pl oadin g an d dow n l oadin g of f il es betw een hom e an d
of f ice m achin es orperhaps am on g as m al l circl e of cl os e
col l aborators . T his w as tochan ge dram atical l yw iththe
in v en tion of the Worl d Wide Web, w hichis the s u bj ectof
the f in al es s ayin this an thol ogy.
Itis f ittin g thatthis chron icl e of j oin tin v en tion en ds w ith
T im Bern ers Lee ( O54), w hois bothin v en toran d cu l tu re
hero. Bern ers Lee s etou ttos ol v e atechn ical probl em of
in f orm ation f l ow , tos im pl if y-the com m u n ication of the
w orl dw ide com m u n ityof phys ics . He chan ged the m odel of
com m u n ication f rom pas s in g arou n d con tain ers of
in f orm ation ( s tream in g bits iden tif ied byf il en am e)to
pas s in g arou n d v iew abl e docu m en ts ( Web pages ). By
dis pl ayin g the docu m en ts on the s creen an d atadis tan ce, he
open edu pthe pos s ibil ityof atru e gl obal l ibrary, an u l tim ate
Al exan dria. He al s o, s om ew hatin adv erten tl y, open ed u pa
n ew m arketpl ace. T he Worl d Wide Web s tan ds atthe
the-N EWMEDIAR EADER
cros s roads of m an yof the s tran ds w ithin this v ol u m e,
com bin in g Stal l m an s pas s ion f oropen s tan dards w ith
N egropon tes ( 02 3)en chan tm en tw ithbits ( repl acin g
atom s )as agl obal com m odity. Itis the bes tem bodim en t
s of arof the en cycl opedic, l abyrin thin e f an tas ies of the
m em exan d the potatogarden . Ital l ow s f orprev iou s l y
u n im agin abl e l ev el s of s u rv eil l an ce w ebcam s operatin g
2 4/ 7 in the s erv ice of s cien ce, tou ris m , exhibition is m ,
pol icin g, s tal kin g, an d ev en pu re w him s y, m on itorin g, f or
in s tan ce, the s tate of atof f ee potiiial ab hal f w ayarou n d
the w orl d. T he Web al s oprov ides participatoryexperien ces
w iths u cheas e of av ail abil itythatgam in g is of ten des cribed
in the pres s as athreattoprodu ctiv ityin the of f ice an d to
l earn in g f rom kin dergarten throu ghcol l ege. An d ov erthe
horizon is af as tercon n ection , abiggerdatapipe, am ore
el egan tl ydes ign ed in dexin g, retriev al , an d dis pl ays ys tem , a
m ore tactil e in terf ace, am orecoin pl ete con v ergen ce of
en tertain m en tm ediain toin teractiv e T V an dof m u s eu m s ,
l ibraries , u n iv ers ities in toas in gl e digital in f orm ation s ou rce.
T he titl e of on e activ e cu rren tf iel d of des ign cou l d s tan d as
s u m m aryf orthe w hol e ef f ortatthe tu rn of the 2 1s t
cen tu ry:w e are m ov in g tow ard aw orl d of u biqu itou s
com pu tin g An d akeyen abl in g techn ol ogybehin d this
chan ge is the coheren ttran s m is s ion of in f orm ation acros s
m u l tipl e pl atf orm s w iths tan dardized protocol s l ike thos e
thatn ow u n derl ie the Web.
Bu tas im portan tas T im Bern ers -Lees techn ical w ork is his
rol e as cu l tu re heroof the in f orm ation age. In s tead of
com m ercial izin g his in v en tion , Bern ers Lee es tabl is hed an
open Web s tan dard, adm in is tered in the in teres tof u n itin g
al l the w orl ds in f orm ation s ou rces in toev erl arger_an d m ore
coheren tu n its . Bern ers -Lees gran d ges tu re of ren u n ciation
( as itis of ten des cribed)is acou n ter f abl e tothe on e w ith
w hichthis an thol ogybegin s . T he s pyin the f orkin g garden is
atool of the m ean in g m achin e, bou n d totran s m itm es s ages
atan ycos t( m es s ages . thatcarryn om ean in g tohim )in
obedien ce tothe prev ail in g s ocial order, the orderof
com petition tothe death. T he Bern ers Lee f abl e, on the other
han d, cel ebrates aref u s al tocom m odif ythe m es s age, an af f ir-
m ation of m ean in g ov erm on ey, of w orl d cooperation ov er
gl obal com petition . Itof f ers aw ayou tof the pu l l u l atin g,
paral yzed con s ciou s n es s of m ean in gl es s . Itof f ers a
f u l f il l m en tin partof Bu s hs v is ion . In the w orl d of s tru ctu red
Web pages , w e agree on m etadatathatw il l l in k on e bitof
; __
in f orm ation w ithits cou n terpartacros s the gl obe, an n otated
byan otherhan d. We m ake m u l tipl e pattern s an d chan ge
them kal eidos copical l ytoexpres s m an yv iew s of the s am e
data, the s am e obj ect, the s am e ev en t. T he prom is e of the
Web, n otas itis , bu tas itcou l d be, is l ike thatof the book
bef ore it:itw il l al l ow u s tos aym ore com pl icated thin gs to
m ore peopl e w ithgreateru n ders tan din g. T he prom is e is that
w e w il l n otbe cru s hed byou row n kn ow l edge, as the w riters
atthe begin n in g of this period an ticipated, becau s e w e w il l
organ ize ittogetherin av as tdis tribu ted an d s yn chron ized
ef f ort. We w il l n otbe m ere pris on ers of the l abyrin th, n or
ev en trail -bl azers :w e w il l be the m akers of the l abyrin th, the
gods of ou row n m achin es .
P erhaps the m os tam azin g thin g in al l thes e es s ays is the
record of pers ev eran ce. Whatw ou l d m ake u s en gage w ith
m achin es f orf if tyyears des pite theircore s tu pidity, theirOs
an d 1s an d theirpropen s itytocras h, theirm adden in g
l iteral n es s an d obl iv iou s torpor?Whydow e s tru ggl e to
m ake them coheren tan d expres s iv e des pite al l thatcan be
s aid of theirin hu m an rigidityan d s til l prim itiv e s tate?Why
dohu m an bein gs choos e atthis tim e in ou rcu l tu ral his tory
tocom m u n icate w ithon e an otherbym akin g com pl ex
artif acts ou tof el ectrical im pu l s es ?F orthe s am e reas on that
w e cou l dn ' tpu tdow n the s tyl u s orthe w hittl in g kn if e. We
In v en tin g the Mediu m
are draw n toan ew m ediu m of repres en tation becau s e w e
are pattern m akers w hoare thin kin g beyon d ou rol d tool s .
We can n otrew in d ou rcol l ectiv e cogn itiv e ef f ort, s in ce the
digital m ediu m is as m u chapattern of thin kin g an d
perceiv in g as itis apattern of m akin g thin gs . We are draw n
tothis m ediu m becau s e w e n eed ittou n ders tan d the w orl d
an d ou rpl ace in it.
T oretu rn toBu s hs s pecu l ation s :n ow thatw e hav e s haped
this an ew m ediu m of expres s ion , how m ayw e thin k?We m ay,
if w e are l u ckyan d m in df u l en ou gh, l earn tothin k together
bybu il din g s hared s tru ctu res of m ean in g. How w il l w e es cape
the l abyrin thof decon s tru cted ideol ogies an d s el f ref l ectiv e
s ign s ?We w il l , if w e are l u ckyen ou ghan d m in df u l en ou gh,
in v en tcom m u n ities of com m u n ication atthe w ides t. pos s ibl e
ban dw idthan d s m al l es tpos s ibl e gran u l arity.
We n eed n otim agin e ou rs el v es s tran ded s om ew here ov er
the ev ol u tion aryhorizon , s eparated f rom ou rs pecies bythe
pow erof ou row n thin kin g. T he m achin e l ike the book an d
the pain tin g an d the s ym phon yan d the photographis
m ade in ou row n im age, an d ref l ects itback again . T he tas k
is the s am e n ow as itev erhas been , f am il iar, thril l in g,
u n av oidabl e:w e w ork w ithal l ou rm yriad tal en ts toexpan d
ou rm ediaof expres s ion tothe f u l l m eas u re of ou r
hu m an ity.
N ew Mediaf rom
Borges toHT ML
Lev Man ov ich
T he N ew MediaF iel d:
aShortIn s titu tion al His tory
T he appearan ce of T he N ew MediaR eaderis am il es ton e in
the his toryof an ew f iel d that, j u s taf ew years ago, w as
s om ew hatof acu l tu ral u n dergrou n d. Bef ore takin g u pthe
theoretical chal l en ge of def in in g w hatn ew m ediaactu al l yis ,
as w el l as dis cu s s in g the particu l arcon tribu tion s this reader
m akes toan s w erin g this qu es tion , Iw ou l d l ike v erybrief l yto
s ketchthe his toryof the f iel d f orthe ben ef itof w hos e w ho
are n ew com ers toit.
If w e are tol ook atan ym odern cu l tu ral f iel d s ociol ogical l y,
m eas u rin g its s tan din g bythe n u m beran d the im portan ce of
cu l tu ral in s titu tion s dev oted toits u chas m u s eu m
exhibition s , f es tiv al s , pu bl ication s , con f eren ces , an d s oon , w e
can s aythatin the cas e of n ew m edia( u n ders tood as
com pu ter-bas ed artis tic activ ities )ittook abou tten years f or
ittom ov e f rom cu l tu ral peripherytothe m ain s tream .
Al thou ghSIGGR AP H in the U n ited States an d Ars
El ectron icain Au s triahad al readyacted as an n u al gatherin g
pl aces of artis ts w orkin g w ithcom pu ters s in ce the l ate 19 7 0s ,
the n ew m ediaf iel d began totake real s hape on l yin the en d
of the 19 80s . Arou n d thattim e n ew in s titu tion s dev oted to
the produ ction an d s u pportof n ew m ediaartw ere f ou n ded
in Eu rope:ZKM in Karl s ru he ( 19 89 ), N ew MediaIn s titu te in
F ran kf u rt( 19 9 0), an d ISEA( In ter Societyf orthe El ectron ic
Arts )in the N etherl an ds ( 19 9 0). ( Jef f reyShaw w as
appoin ted tobe directorof the partof ZKM f ocu s ed on v is u al
m ediaw hil e the F ran kf u rtIn s titu te w as headed byP eter
Weibel .)In 19 9 0as w el l , In tercom m u n ication Cen terin
T okyobegan its activ ities in n ew m ediaart( itm ov ed in toits
ow n bu il din g in 19 9 7 ). T hrou ghou tthe 19 9 0s , Eu rope an d
Japan rem ain ed the bes tpl aces tos ee n ew m ediaw ork an d to
participate in high-l ev el dis cu s s ion s of the n ew el d. F es tiv al s
s u chas ISEA, Ars El ectron ica, an d DEAF hav e been requ ired
pl aces of pil grim age f orin teractiv e in s tal l ation artis ts ,
com pu term u s ician s , choreographers w orkin g w ith
N ew Mediaf rom Borges toHT ML
com pu ters , m ediacu rators , critics , an d, s in ce the m id-19 9 0s ,
n etartis ts .
As w as of ten the cas e throu ghou tthe tw en tiethcen tu ry,
cou n tries otherthan the U n ited States w ere f irs ttocritical l y
en gage w ithn ew techn ol ogies dev el oped an d depl oyed in the
U n ited States . T here are af ew w ays toexpl ain this
phen om en on . F irs tl y, the s peed w ithw hichn ew techn ol ogies
are as s im il ated in the U n ited States m akes them in v is ibl e
al m os tov ern ight:theybecom e an as s u m ed partof the
ev erydayexis ten ce, s om ethin g w hichdoes n ots eem to
requ ire m u chref l ection . T he s l ow ers peed of as s im il ation
an d the highercos ts in v ol v ed giv e othercou n tries m ore tim e
toref l ectu pon n ew techn ol ogies , as itw as the cas e w ithn ew
m ediaan d the In tern etin the 19 9 0s . In the cas e of the
In tern et, bythe en d of the 19 9 0s itbecam e as com m on pl ace
in the U n ited States as the tel ephon e, w hil e in Eu rope the
In tern ets til l rem ain ed aphen om en on toref l ectu pon , both
f orecon om ic reas on s ( U .S. s u bs cribers w ou l d payav eryl ow
m on thl yf l atf ee; in Eu rope theyhad topaybythe m in u te)
an d f orcu l tu ral reas on s ( am ore s keptical attitu de tow ards
n ew techn ol ogies in m an yEu ropean cou n tries s l ow ed dow n
theiras s im il ation ). Sow hen in the earl y19 9 0s the Soros
F ou n dation s etu pcon tem poraryartcen ters throu ghou tthe
Eas tern Eu rope, itw is el ygav e them am an date tof ocu s their
activ ities on n ew m ediaart, bothin ordertos u pport
you n gerartis ts w hohad dif f icu l tygettin g arou n d the m ore
es tabl is hed artm af ia in thes e cou n tries an d al s oin orderto
in trodu ce the gen eral pu bl ic tothe In tern et.
Secon dl y, w e can expl ain the s l ow U .S. en gagem en tw ith
n ew m ediaartdu rin g the 19 9 0s bythe v erym in im al l ev el of
the pu bl ic s u pportf orthe arts there. In Eu rope, Japan , an d
Au s tral iaf es tiv al s f orm ediaan d n ew m ediaarts u chas the
on es Im en tion ed abov e, com m is s ion s f orartis ts tocreate
s u chw ork, exhibition catal ogs an d otherrel ated cu l tu ral
activ ities w ere f u n ded bythe gov ern m en ts . In the U n ited
States the l ack of gov ern m en tf u n din g f orthe arts l ef ton l y
tw ocu l tu ral pl ayers w hichecon om ical l ycou l d hav e s u pported
creativ e w ork in n ew m edia:an ti-in tel l ectu al , m arket- an d
cl iche-driv en com m ercial m as s cu l tu re an d equ al l ycom m ercial
artcu l tu re ( i.e., the artm arket). F ordif f eren treas on s , n either
of thes e pl ayers w ou l d s u pportn ew m ediaartn orw ou l d
f os terin tel l ectu al dis cou rs e abou tit. Ou tof the tw o,
com m ercial cu l tu re ( in otherw ords , cu l tu re des ign ed f orm as s
au dien ces )has pl ayed am ore progres s iv e rol e in adoptin g an d
N ew Mediaf rom Borges toHT ML
experim en tin g w ithn ew m edia, ev en thou ghf orobv iou s
reas on s the con ten tof com m ercial n ew m ediaprodu cts has
had s ev ere l im its . Y etw ithou tcom m ercial cu l tu re w e w ou l d
n othav e com pu tergam es u s in g artif icial in tel l igen ce;
n etw ork-bas ed m u l tim edia( in cl u din g v ariou s Web pl u g-in s
w hichen abl e dis tribu tion of m u s ic, m ov in g im ages an d 3-D
en v iron m en ts ov erthe Web); s ophis ticated 3-Dm odel in g;
an im ation an d ren derin g tool s ; databas e-driv en Web s ites ;
CD-R Ol \/ Is , DVDs , an d others torage f orm ats ; an d m os tother
adv an ced n ew m ediatechn ol ogies an d f orm s .
T he 19 9 0s the U .S. artw orl d prov ed tobe the m os t
con s erv ativ e cu l tu ral f orce in con tem porarys ociety, l aggin g
behin d the res tof the cu l tu ral an d s ocial in s titu tion s in
deal in g w ithn ew m ediatechn ol ogies . ( In the 19 9 0s a
s tan dard j oke atn ew m ediaf es tiv al s w as thatan ew m edia
piece requ ires tw oin terf aces :on e f orartcu rators an d on e f or
ev erybodyel s e.)T his res is tan ce is u n ders tan dabl e giv en that
the l ogic of the artw orl d an d the l ogic of n ew m ediaare
exactoppos ites . T he f irs tis bas ed the rom an tic ideaof
au thors hipw hichas s u m es as in gl e au thor, the n otion of a
on e-of -a-kin d artobj ect, an d the con trol ov erthe dis tribu tion
of s u chobj ects w hichtakes pl ace throu ghas etof excl u s iv e
pl aces :gal l eries , m u s eu m s , au ction s . T he s econ d priv il eges
the exis ten ce of poten tial l yn u m erou s copies ; in f in itel ym an y
dif f eren ts tates of the s am e w ork; au thor-u s ers ym bios is ( the
u s ercan chan ge the w ork throu ghin teractiv ity); the
col l ectiv e; col l aborativ e au thors hip; an d n etw ork dis tribu tion
( w hichbypas s es the arts ys tem dis tribu tion chan n el s ).
Moreov er, exhibition of n ew m ediarequ ires al ev el of
techn ical s ophis tication an d com pu terequ ipm en tw hich
n eitherU .S. m u s eu m s n orgal l eries w ere abl e toprov ide in
the 19 9 0s . In con tras t, in Eu rope gen erou s f ederal an d
region al f u n din g al l ow ed n oton l yf orm ou n tin gs of
s ophis ticated exhibition s bu tal s of orthe dev el opm en tof a
w hol e n ew f orm of art:the in teractiv e com pu terin s tal l ation .
Itis tru e thataf term an yyears of its exis ten ce, the U .S. art
w orl d l earn ed how todeal w ithan d in f actf u l l yem braced
v ideoin s tal l ation bu tv ideoin s tal l ation s requ ire
s tan dardized equ ipm en tan d don ' tdem an d con s tan t
m on itorin g. N eitheris the cas e w ithin teractiv e in s tal l ation s
orev en w ithWeb pieces . Whil e in Eu rope equ ipm en t-
in ten s iv e f orm s of in teractiv e in s tal l ation hav e f l ou ris hed
throu ghou tthe 19 9 0s , the U .S. artw orl d has taken the eas y
w ayou tbyf ocu s in g on n etart, i.e., Web-bas ed pieces w hos e
theN EWMEDIAR EADER
exhibition does n otrequ ire m u chres ou rces beyon d an of f -
the-s hel f com pu teran d an etcon n ection .
Al l this s tarted tochan ge w ithin creas in g s peed bythe en d
of the 19 9 0s . Variou s cu l tu ral in s titu tion s in the U n ited
States f in al l ybegan topayatten tion ton ew m edia. T he f irs t
w ere edu cation in s titu tion s . Arou n d 19 9 5u n iv ers ities an d
arts chool s , particu l arl yon the Wes tCoas t, began toin itiate
program s in n ew m ediaartan d des ign as w el l as open f acu l ty
pos ition s in thes e areas ; bythe begin n in g of the n ew decade,
practical l yev eryu n iv ers ityan d arts chool on the Wes tCoas t
had bothu n dergradu ate an d gradu ate program s in n ew
m edia. Acou pl e of years l aterm u s eu m s s u chas Wal kerArt
Cen terbegu n tom ou n tan u m berof im pres s iv e on l in e
exhibition s an d s tarted tocom m is s ion on l in e proj ects . T he
2 000Whitn eyBian n u al in cl u ded aroom dedicated ton etart
( ev en thou ghits pres en tation con ceptu al l yw as ages behin d
the pres en tation of n ew m ediain s u chpl aces as Ars
El ectron icaCen terin Lin z, In tercom m u n ication Cen terin
T okyo, orZKM in Germ an y). F in al l yin 2 001, boththe
Whitn eyMu s eu m in N ew Y ork an d the San F ran cis co
Mu s eu m of Modern art( SF MOMA)m ou n ted l arge s u rv ey
exhibition s of n ew m ediaart( Bits tream s atthe Whitn ey,
O1010l :Artin T echn ol ogical T im es atSF MOMA). Add tothis
acon s tan tf l ow of con f eren ces an d w orks hops m ou n ted in
s u chbas tion s of Am erican Academ iaas the In s titu te f or
Adv an ced Stu dies in P rin ceton ; f el l ow s hips in n ew m edia
in itiated bys u chpres tigiou s f u n din g bodies as the
R ockef el l erF ou n dation an d Social Scien ce R es earchCou n cil
( bothbegu n in 2 001); book s eries on n ew m ediapu bl is hed
bys u chw el l -res pected pres s es as the MIT P res s . Whatten
years agow as acu l tu ral u n dergrou n d becam e an es tabl is hed
academ ic an d artis tic f iel d; w hathas em erged f rom on -the-
grou n d in teraction s of in div idu al pl ayers has s ol idif ied,
m atu red, an d acqu ired in s titu tion al f orm s .
P aradoxical l y, atthe s am e tim e as the n ew m ediaf iel d
s tarted tom atu re ( the en d of the 19 9 0s ), its v eryreas on f or
exis ten ce cam e tobe threaten ed. If al l artis ts n ow , regardl es s
of theirpref erred m edia, al s orou tin el yu s e digital com pu ters
tocreate, m odif y, an d produ ce w orks , dow e n eed tohav e a
s pecial f iel d of n ew m ediaart?As digital an d n etw ork m edia
rapidl ybecom e an om n ipres en tin ou rs ociety, an d as m os t
artis ts cam e torou tin el yu s e thes e n ew m edia, the f iel d is
f acin g adan gerof becom in g aghettow hos e participan ts
w ou l d be u n ited bytheirf etis his m of l ates tcom pu ter
techn ol ogy, ratherthan byan ydeepercon ceptu al , ideol ogical
oraes thetic is s u es akin d of l ocal cl u b f orphoto
en thu s ias ts . Ipers on al l ydothin k thatthe exis ten ce of a
s eparate n ew m ediaf iel d n ow an d in the f u tu re m akes v ery
good s en s e, bu titdoes requ ire aj u s tif ication s om ethin g
thatIhope the res tof this text, bytakin g u pm ore theoretical
qu es tion s , w il l hel ptoprov ide.
Sof tw are Des ign an d Mod ern Art:
P aral l el P roj ects
T en years af terthe appearan ce of the f irs tcu l tu ral
in s titu tion s s ol el yf ocu s ed on n ew m edia, the f iel d has
m atu red an d s ol idif ied. Bu tw hatexactl yis n ew m edia?An d
w hatis n ew m ediaart?Su rpris in gl y, thes e qu es tion s rem ain
n ots oeas ytoan s w er. T he book you are n ow hol din g in you r
han ds does prov ide v eryin teres tin g an s w ers tothes e
qu es tion s ; ital s oprov ides the m os tcom prehen s iv e
f ou n dation f orthe n ew m ediaf iel d, in the proces s redef in in g
itin av eryprodu ctiv e w ay. In s hort, this book is n otj u s ta
m apof the f iel d as ital readyexis ts bu tacreativ e
in terv en tion in toit.
T he particu l ars el ection s an d theirj u xtapos ition this book
re-def in e n ew m ediaas paral l el ten den cies in m odern artan d
com pu tin g techn ol ogyaf terthe Worl d WarII. Al thou ghthe
editors of the an thol ogym ayn otagree w iththis m ov e, I
w ou l d l ike toargu e thatev en tu al l ythis paral l el is m chan ges
the rel ation s hipbetw een artan d techn ol ogy. In the l as tf ew
decades of the tw en tiethcen tu ry, m odern com pu tin g an d
n etw ork techn ol ogym aterial ized certain keyproj ects of
m odern artdev el oped approxim atel yatthe s am e tim e. In the
proces s of this m aterial ization , the techn ol ogies ov ertook art.
T hatis , n oton l yhav e n ew m ediatechn ol ogies com pu ter
program m in g, graphical hu m an -com pu terin terf ace,
hypertext, com pu term u l tim edia, n etw orkin g ( bothw ired-
bas ed an d w irel es s )~ actu al ized the ideas behin d proj ects by
artis ts , theyhav e al s oexten ded them m u chf u rtherthan the
artis ts origin al l yim agin ed. As ares u l tthes e techn ol ogies
them s el v es hav e becom e the greates tartw orks of today. T he
greates thypertextis the Web its el f , becau s e itis m ore
com pl ex, u n predictabl e an d dyn am ic than an yn ov el that
cou l d hav e been w ritten byas in gl e hu m an w riter, ev en
Jam es Joyce. T he greates tin teractiv e w ork is the in teractiv e
hu m an -com pu terin terf ace its el f :the f actthatthe u s ercan
eas il ychan ge ev erythin g w hichappears on hers creen , in the
N ew Mediaf rom Borges toHT ML
proces s chan gin g the in tern al s tate of acom pu terorev en
com m an din g real ityou ts ide of it. T he greates tav an t-garde
f il m is s of tw are s u chas F in al Cu tP roorAf terEf f ects w hich
con tain s the pos s ibil ities of com bin in g togetherthou s an ds of
s eparate tracks in toas in gl e m ov ie, as w el l as s ettin g v ariou s
rel ation s hips betw een al l thes e dif f eren ttracks an d itthu s
itdev el ops the av an t-ga.rde ideaof af il m as an abs tractv is u al
s core toits l ogical en d, an d beyon d. Whichm ean s thatthos e
com pu ters cien tis ts w hoin v en ted thes e techn ol ogies J. C.
R . Lickl ider( 005), Dou gl as En gel bart( 008. 016 ), Iv an
Su therl an d ( 9 09 ), T ed N el s on ( 011, 02 1, ( > 30), Seym ou r
P apert( O2 8), T im Bern ers Lee ( 054), an d others are the
im portan tartis ts of ou rtim e, m aybe the on l yartis ts w hoare
tru l yim portan tan d w how il l be rem em bered f rom this
his torical period.
T oprov e the exis ten ce of his torical paral l el is m , T he N ew
MediaR eaderpos ition s n exttoeachof the keytexts by
m odern artis ts thatarticu l ate certain ideas thos e keytexts
bym odern com pu ters cien tis ts thatarticu l ate s im il arideas
in rel ation tos of tw are an d hardw are des ign . T hu s w e f in d
n exttoeachotheras torybyJorge Lu is Borges ( 19 41)( 001)
an d an articl e byVan n ev arBu s h( 19 45)( 002 )w hichboth
con tain the ideaof am as s iv e bran chin g s tru ctu re as abetter
w aytoorgan ize dataan d torepres en thu m an experien ce.
T he paral l el is m betw een texts byartis ts an d bycom pu ter
s cien tis ts in v ol v es n oton l ythe ideas in the texts bu tal s othe
f orm of the texts . In the tw en tiethcen tu ryartis ts typical l y
pres en ted theirideas eitherbyw ritin g m an if es tos orby
creatin g actu al artw orks . In the cas e of com pu ters cien tis ts ,
w e eitherhav e theoretical articl es thatdev el oppl an s f or
particu l ars of tw are an d/ orhardw are des ign s orm ore
des criptiv e articl es abou tal readycreated prototypes orthe
actu al w orkin g s ys tem s . Stru ctu ral l ym an if es tos corres pon d
tothe theoretical program s of com pu ters cien tis ts , w hil e
com pl eted artw orks corres pon d tow orkin g prototypes or
s ys tem s des ign ed bys cien tis ts tos ee if theirideas dow ork
an d todem on s trate thes e ideas tocol l eagu es , s pon s ors an d
cl ien ts . T heref ore T he N ew MediaR eadertoal arge exten t
con s is ts of thes e tw otypes of texts :eithertheoretical
pres en tation s of n ew ideas an d s pecu l ation s abou tproj ects
( ortypes of proj ects )thatw ou l d f ol l ow f rom them ; orthe
des cription s of the proj ects actu al l yreal ized.
In s titu tion s of m odern cu l tu re thatare res pon s ibl e f or
s el ectin g w hatm akes itin tothe can on of ou rcu l tu ral
$@ @
E-
@ -
% -
@ -
| %
N ew Mediaf rom Borges toHT ML
m em oryan d w hatis l ef tbehin d are al w ays behin d the tim es .
Itm aytake af ew decades orev en l on gerf oran ew f iel d
w hichis m akin g an im portan tcon tribu tion tom odern
cu l tu re tom ake it in tom u s eu m s , books , an d otherof f icial
regis ters of cu l tu ral m em ory. In gen eral , ou rof f icial cu l tu ral
his tories ten d topriv il ege art( u n ders tood in arom an tic
s en s e as in div idu al produ cts an in div idu al artis ts )ov erm as s
in du s trial cu l tu re. F orin s tan ce, w hil e m odern graphical an d
in du s trial des ign ers dohav e s om e l ev el of cu l tu ral v is ibil ity,
theirn am es , w iththe exception of af ew con tem porary
cel ebritydes ign ers s u chas Bru ce Mau an d P hil ipStark, are
gen eral l yn otas kn ow n as the n am es of f in e artis ts orf iction
w riters . Som e exam pl es of keycon tem poraryf iel ds thats o
f arhav e n otbeen giv en theirdu e are m u s ic v ideos ,
cin em atography, s etdes ign , an d in du s trial des ign . Bu tn o
cu l tu ral f iel d s of arhas rem ain ed m ore u n recogn ized than
com pu ters cien ce an d, in particu l ar, its s pecif ic bran chof
hu m an -com pu terin teraction , orHCI( al s ocal l ed hu m an -
com pu terin terf ace des ign ).
Itis tim e thatw e treatthe peopl e w hohav e articu l ated
f u n dam en tal ideas of hu m an -com pu terin teraction as the
m aj orm odern artis ts . N oton l ydid theyin v en tn ew w ays to
repres en tan ydata( an d thu s , bydef au l t, al l dataw hichhas
todow ithcu l tu re, i.e. the hu m an experien ce in the w orl d
an d the s ym bol ic repres en tation s of this experien ce)bu t
theyh.av e al s oradical l yredef in ed ou rin teraction s w ithal l of
ol d cu l tu re. As the w in dow of aWeb brow s ercom es to
s u ppl em en tthe cin em as creen , m u s eu m s pace, CD pl ayer,
book, an d l ibrary, the n ew s itu ation m an if es ts its el f :al l
cu l tu re, pas tan d pres en t, is bein g f il tered throu ghthe
com pu ter, w ithits particu l arhu m an -com pu terin terf ace.
Hu m an -com pu terin terf ace com es toactas an ew f orm
throu ghw hichal l ol derf orm s of cu l tu ral produ ction are
bein g m ediated
T he N ew MediaR eadercon tain s es s en tial articl es bys om e
of the keyin terf ace an d s of tw are des ign ers in the his toryof
com pu tin g s of ar, f rom En gel barttoBern ers -Lee. T hu s in m y
v iew this book is n otj u s tan an thol ogyof n ew m ediabu t
al s othe f irs texam pl e of aradical l yn ew his toryof m odern
cu l tu re- av iew f rom the f u tu re w hen m ore peopl e w il l
l IheN EWMEDIAR EADER
than pain ters , f il m m akers , orf iction w riters , w hos e f iel ds
rem ain ed rel ativ el ys tabl e du rin g this his torical period.
WhatIs N ew Media? EightP ropos ition s
Hav in g dis cu s s ed the particu l arpers pectiv e adopted byT he
N ew MediaR eaderin rel ation tothe l argercu l tu ral con textw e
m ayw an ttopl ace n ew m ediain the n otion of paral l el
dev el opm en ts in m odern artan d in com pu tin g In ow w an t
togothrou ghotherpos s ibl e con cepts of n ew m ediaan d its
his tories ( in cl u din g af ew propos ed bythe pres en tau thor
el s ew here). Here are eightan s w ers ; w ithou tadou bt, m ore
can be in v en ted if des ired.
1 N ew Mediav ers u s Cybercu l tu re
T obegin w ith, w e m aydis tin gu is hbetw een n ew m ediaan d
cybercu l tu re. In m yv iew theyrepres en ttw odis tin ctf iel ds of
res earch. Iw ou l d def in e cybercu l tu re as the s tu dyof v ariou s
s ocial phen om en aas s ociated w iththe In tern etan d other
n ew f orm s of n etw ork com m u n ication . Exam pl es of w hat
f al l s u n dercybercu l tu re s tu dies are on l in e com m u n ities ,
on l in e m u l ti-pl ayergam in g, the is s u e of on l in e iden tity, the
s ociol ogyan d the ethn ographyof em ail u s age, cel l phon e
u s age in v ariou s com m u n ities , the is s u es of gen deran d
ethn icityin In tern etu s age, an d s oon . N otice thatthe
em phas is is on the s ocial phen om en a; cybercu l tu re does n ot
directl ydeal w ithn ew cu l tu ral obj ects en abl ed byn etw ork
com m u n ication techn ol ogies . T he s tu dyof thes e obj ects is
the dom ain of n ew m edia. In addition , n ew m ediais
con cern ed w ithcu l tu ral obj ects an d paradigm s en abl ed by
al l f orm s of com pu tin g an d n otj u s tbyn etw orkin g. T o
s u m m arize:cybercu l tu re is f ocu s ed on the s ocial an d on
n etw orkin g; n ew m ediais f ocu s ed on the cu l tu ral an d
com pu tin g.
2 N ew Mediaas Com pu terT echn ol ogy
U s ed as aDis tribu tion P l atf orm
Whatare thes e n ew cu l tu ral obj ects ?Giv en thatdigital
com pu tin g is n ow u s ed in m os tareas of cu l tu ral produ ction ,
f rom pu bl is hin g an d adv ertis in g tof il m m akin g an d
architectu re, how can w e s in gl e ou tthe areaof cu l tu re that
s pecif ical l yow es its exis ten ce tocom pu tin g?In m yT he
Lan gu age of N ew MediaIbegin the dis cu s s ion of n ew m edia
recogn ize thatthe tru e cu l tu ral in n ov ators of the l as tdecades byin v okin g its def in ition w hichcan be dedu ced f rom how
of the tw en tiethcen tu ryw ere in terf ace des ign ers , com pu ter
gam e des ign ers , m u s ic v ideodirectors an d DJs rather
the term is u s ed in popu l arpres s :n ew m ediaare the cu l tu ral
obj ects w hichu s e digital com pu tertechn ol ogyf or
dis tribu tion an d exhibition ?T hu s , In tern et, Web s ites ,-
com pu term u l tim edia, com pu tergam es , CD-R OI\/ l s an d
DVDs , v irtu al real ity, an d com pu ter-gen erated s pecial ef f ects
al l f al l u n dern ew m edia. Othercu l tu ral obj ects w hichu s e
com pu tin g f orprodu ction an d s torage bu tn otf orf in al
dis tribu tion tel ev is ion program s , f eatu re f il m s , m agazin es ,
books an d otherpaper-bas ed pu bl ication s , etc. are n ot
n ew m edia.
T he probl em s w iththis def in ition are three-f ol d. F irs tl y, it
has tobe rev is ed ev eryf ew years , as yetan otherpartof
cu l tu re com es torel yon com pu tin g techn ol ogyf or
dis tribu tion ( f orin s tan ce, the s hif tf rom an al og todigital
tel ev is ion ; the s hif tf rom f il m -bas ed todigital proj ection of
f eatu re f il m s in m ov ie theatres ; e-books , an d s oon )Secon dl y,
w e m ays u s pectthatev en tu al l ym os tf orm s of cu l tu re w il l
u s e com pu terdis tribu tion , an d theref ore the term n ew
m edia def in ed in this w ayw il l l os e an ys pecif icity. T hirdl y,
this def in ition does n ottel l u s an ythin g abou tthe pos s ibl e
ef f ects of com pu ter-bas ed dis tribu tion on the aes thetics of
w hatis bein g dis tribu ted. In otherw ords , doWeb s ites ,
com pu term u l tim edia, com pu tergam es , CD-R OMs , an d
v irtu al real ityal l hav e s om ethin g in com m on becau s e they
are del iv ered tothe u s erv iaacom pu ter?On l yif the an s w er
is atl eas tapartial yes does itm akes s en s e tothin k abou t
n ew m ediaas au s ef u l theoretical category.
3 N ew Mediaas Digital Data
Con trol l ed bySof tw are
T he Lan gu age of N ew Mediais bas ed on the as s u m ption that,
in f act, al l cu l tu ral obj ects thatrel yon digital repres en tation
an d com pu ter-bas ed del iv erydos hare an u m berof com m on
qu al ities . In the book Iarticu l ate an u m berof prin cipl es of
n ew m edia:n u m erical repres en tation , m odu l arity,
au tom ation , v ariabil ity, an d tran s codin g. Idon otas s u m e
thatan ycom pu ter-bas ed cu l tu ral obj ectw il l n eces s arybe
s tru ctu red accordin g tothes e prin cipl es today. R ather, thes e
are ten den cies of acu l tu re u n dergoin g com pu terization that
gradu al l yw il l m an if es tthem s el v es m ore an d m ore. F or
in s tan ce, the prin cipl e of v ariabil itys tates thatan ew m edia
cu l tu ral obj ectm ayexis tin poten tial l yin f in itl ym an y
dif f eren ts tates . T odaythe exam pl es of v ariabil ityare
com m ercial Web s ites program m ed tocu s tom ize Web pages
f oreachu s eras s he is acces s in g the s ite, orDJs rem ixes of
al readyexis tin g recordin gs ; tom orrow the prin cipl e of
N ew Mediaf rom Borges toHT ML
v ariabil itym ayal s os tru ctu re adigital f il m w hichw il l
s im il arl yexis tin m u l tipl e v ers ion s .
Idedu ce thes e prin cipl es , orten den cies , f rom the bas ic f act
of digital repres en tation of m edia. N ew m ediais redu ced to
digital datathatcan be m an ipu l ated bys of tw are as an yother
data. T his al l ow s au tom atin g m an ym ediaoperation s , to
gen erate m u l tipl e v ers ion s of the s am e obj ect, etc. F or
in s tan ce, on ce an im age is repres en ted as am atrixof
n u m bers , itcan be m an ipu l ated orev en gen erated
au tom atical l ybyru n n in g v aiiou s al gorithm s , s u chas
s harpen , bl u e, col orize, chan ge con tras t, etc.
More gen eral l y, exten din g w l dritIpropos ed in m ybook, I
cou l d s aythattw obas ic w ays in w hichcom pu ters m odel
real ity throu ghdatas tru ctu res an d al gorithm s can al s o
be appl ied tom ediaon ce itis repres en ted digital l y. In other
w ords , giv en thatn ew m ediais digital datacon trol l ed by
particu l arcu l tu ral s of tw are, itm ake s en s e tothin k of an y
n ew m ediaobj ectin term s of particu l ardatas tru ctu res
an d/ orparticu l aral gorithm s item bodies ?Here are
exam pl es of datas tru ctu res :an im age can be thou ghtof as a
tw o-dim en s ion al array( x, y), w hil e am ov ie can be thou ght
of as athree-dim en s ion al array( x, y, t). T hin kin g abou t
digital m ediain term s of al gorithm s , w e dis cov erthatm an y
of thes e al gorithm s can be appl ied toan ym edia( s u chas
copy, cu t, pas te, com pres s , f in d, m atch)w hil e s om e s til l
retain m edias pecif icity. F orin s tan ce, on e can eas il ys earch
f oraparticu l artexts trin g in atextbu tn otf oraparticu l ar
obj ectin an im age. Con v ers el y, on e can com pos ite an u m ber
of s til l orm ov in g im ages togetherbu tn otdif f eren ttexts .
T hes e dif f eren ces hav e todow ithdif f eren ts em iotic l ogics
of dif f eren tm ediain ou rcu l tu re:f orexam pl e, w e are ready
toread practical l yan yim age oracom pos ite of im ages as
bein g m ean in gf u l , w hil e f oratexts trin g tobe m ean in gf u l
w e requ ire thatitobeythe l aw s of gram m ar. -On the other
han d, l an gu age has aprioridis crete s tru ctu re ( as en ten ce
con s is ts of w ords w hichcon s is tif m orphem es , an d s oon )
thatm akes itv eryeas il ytoau tom ate v ariou s operation s on
it( s u chas s earch, m atch, repl ace, in dex), w hil e digital
repres en tation of im ages does n otbyits el f al l ow f or
au tom ation of s em an tic operation s .
5-
N ew Mediaf rom Borges toHT ML
4N ew Mediaas the MixBetw een Exis tin g Cu l tu ral
Con v en tion s an d the Con v en tion s of Sof tw are
As aparticu l artype of m ediais tu rn ed in todigital data
con trol l ed bys of tw are, w e m ayexpectthatev en tu al l yitw il l
f u l l yobeythe prin cipl es of m odu l arity, v ariabil ity, an d
au tom ation . How ev er, in practice thes e proces s es m aytake a
l on g tim e an d theydon otproceed in al in earf as hion
rather, w e w itn es s u n ev en dev el opm en t."F orin s tan ce, today
s om e m ediaare al readytotal l yau tom ated w hil e in other
cas es this au tom ation hardl yexis ts ev en thou gh
techn ol ogical l yitcan be eas il yim pl em en ted.
Letu s take as the exam pl e con tem poraryHol l yw ood f il m
produ ction . Logical l yw e cou l d hav e expected s om ethin g l ike
the f ol l ow in g s cen ario. An in div idu al v iew erreceiv es a
cu s tom ized v ers ion of the f il m thattakes in toaccou n t
her/ his prev iou s v iew in g pref eren ces , cu rren tpref eren ces ,
an d m arketin g prof il e. T he f il m is com pl etel yas s em bl ed on
the f l ybyAIs of tw are u s in g pre-def in ed s cripts chem as . T he
s of tw are al s ogen erates , again on the f l y, characters , dial og,
an d s ets ( this m akes produ ctpl acem en tparticu l arl yeas y)
thatare taken f rom am as s iv e "as s ets "databas e.
T he real itytodayis qu ite dif f eren t. Sof tw are is u s ed in
s om e areas of f il m produ ction bu tn otin others . Whil e s om e
v is u al s m aybe created u s in g com pu teran im ation , cin em a
s til l cen ters on the s ys tem of hu m an s tars w hos e s al aries
accou n tf oral arge percen tof af il m bu dget. Sim il arl y, s cript
w ritin g ( an d cou n tl es s re w ritin g)is al s otru s ted tohu m an s .
In s hort, the com pu teris keptou tof the keycreativ e
decis ion s , an d is del egated tothe pos ition of atechn ician .
If w e l ook atan othertype of con tem porarym edia
com pu tergam es w e w il l dis cov erthattheyf ol l ow the
prin cipl e of au tom ation m u chm ore thorou ghl y. Gam e
characters are m odel ed in 3D; theym ov e an d s peak u n der
s of tw are con trol . Sof tw are al s odecides w hathappen s n extin
the gam e, gen eratin g n ew characters , s paces , an d s cen arios in
res pon s e tou s er' s behav ior. Itis n othard tou n ders tan d w hy
au tom ation in com pu tergam es is m u chm ore adv an ced than
in cin em a. Com pu tergam es are on e of the f ew cu l tu ral f orm s
n ativ e tocom pu ters ; theybegan as s in gu l arcom pu ter
program s ( bef ore tu rn in g in toacom pl exm u l tim edia
produ ction s w hichtheyare today) ratherthan bein g an
al readyes tabl is hed m ediu m ( s u chas cin em a)w hichis n ow
s l ow l yu n dergoin g com pu terization .
theN EWMEDIAR EADER
Giv en thatthe prin cipl es of m odu l arity, au tom ation ,
v ariabil ityan d tran s cocl in g are ten den cies thats l ow l yan d
u n ev en l ym an if es tthem s el v es , is there am ore precis e w ayto
des cribe n ew m edia, as itexis ts today?T he Lan gu age of N ew
Mediaan al yzes the l an gu age of con tem poraryn ew m edia( or,
topu tthis dif f eren tl y, earl yn ew m edia")as the m ix( w e can
al s ou s e s of tw are m etaphors of m orph orcom pos ite)
betw een tw odif f eren ts ets of cu l tu ral f orces , orcu l tu ral
con v en tion s :on the on e han d, the con v en tion s of al ready
m atu re cu l tu ral f orm s ( s u chas apage, arectan gu l arf ram e, a
m obil e poin tof v iew )an d, on the otherhan d, the
con v en tion s of com pu ters of tw are an d, in particu l ar, of HCI,
as theyhav e dev el oped u n til n ow .
Letm e il l u s trate this ideaw ithtw oexam pl es . In m odern
v is u al cu l tu re arepres en tation al im age w as s om ethin g on e
gazed at, ratherthan in teracted w ith. An im age w as al s oon e
con tin u ou s repres en tation al f iel d, i.e. as in gl e s cen e. In the
19 80s the graphical u s erin terf ace ( GU I)redef in ed an im age
as af igu re-grou n d oppos ition betw een an on in teractiv e,
pas s iv e grou n d ( typical l yades ktoppattern )an d activ e icon s
an d hyperl in ks ( s u chas the icon s of docu m en ts an d
appl ication s appearin g on the des ktop). T he treatm en tof
repres en tation al im ages in n ew m ediarepres en ts am ix
betw een thes e tw ov erydif f eren tcon v en tion s . An im age
retain s its repres en tation al f u n ction w hil e atthe s am e tim e
is treated as as etof hots pots ( im age-m ap). T his is the
s tan dard con v en tion in in teractiv e m u l tim edia, com pu ter
gam es , an d Web pages . Sow hil e v is u al l yan im age s til l
appears as as in gl e con tin u ou s f iel d, in f actitis broken in toa
n u m berof region s w ithhyperl in ks con n ected tothes e
region s , s ocl ickin g on aregion open s an ew page, orre-s tarts
the gam e n arrativ e, etc.
T his exam pl e il l u s trates how aHCIcon v en tion is
s u perim pos ed ( in this cas e, bothm etaphorical l yan d
l iteral l y, as ades ign erpl aces hots pots ov eran exis tin g
im age)ov eran ol derrepres en tation al con v en tion . An other
w aytothin k abou tthis is tos aythatatechn iqu e n orm al l y
u s ed f orcon trol an d datam an agem en tis m ixed w itha
techn iqu e of f iction al repres en tation an d f iction al n arration .
Iw il l u s e an otherexam pl e toil l u s trate the oppos ite proces s :
how acu l tu ral con v en tion n orm al l yu s ed f orf iction al
repres en tation an d n arration is s u perim pos ed ov er
s of tw are techn iqu es of datam an agem en tan d pres en tation .
T he cu l tu ral con v en tion in this exam pl e is the m obil e cam era
m odel borrow ed f rom cin em a. In T he Lan gu age of N ew Media
Ian al yze how itbecam e agen eric in terf ace u s ed toacces s an y
type of data:
Origin al l ydev el oped as partof 3Dcom pu tergraphics
techn ol ogyf ors u chappl ication s as com pu ter-aided
des ign , f l ights im u l ators , an d com pu term ov ie
m akin g, du rin g the 19 80s an d 19 9 0s the cam era
m odel becam e as m u chof an in terf ace con v en tion as
s crol l abl e w in dow s orcu tan d pas te operation s . It
becam e an accepted w ayf orin teractin g w ithan ydata
w hichis repres en ted in three dim en s ion s w hich, in
acom pu tercu l tu re, m ean s l iteral l yan ythin g an d
ev erythin g:the res u l ts of aphys ical s im u l ation , an
architectu ral s ite, des ign of an ew m ol ecu l e, s tatis tical
data, the s tru ctu re of acom pu tern etw ork an d s oon .
As com pu tercu l tu re is gradu al l ys patial izin g al l
repres en tation s an d experien ces , theybecom e
s u bj ected tothe cam era' s particu l argram m arof data
acces s . Zoom , til t, pan , an d track:w e n ow u s e thes e
operation s toin teractw ithdatas paces , m odel s ,
obj ects an d bodies .
T os u m u p:n ew m ediatodaycan be u n ders tood as the m ix
betw een ol dercu l tu ral con v en tion s f ordatarepres en tation ,
acces s , an d m an ipu l ation an d n ew ercon v en tion s of data
repres en tation , acces s , an d m an ipu l ation . T he ol d dataare
repres en tation s of v is u al real ityan d hu m an experien ce, i.e.,
im ages , text-bas ed an d au dio-v is u al n arrativ es w hatw e
n orm al l yu n ders tan d bycu l tu re. T he n ew datais
n u m erical data.
As ares u l tof this m i_x, w e gets u chs tran ge hybrids as
cl ickabl e im age-m aps , n av igabl e l an ds capes of f in an cial
data, Q u icl <T im e ( w hichw as def in ed as the f orm atto
repres en tan ytim e~bas ed databu tw hichin practice is u s ed
excl u s iv el yf ordigital v ideo), an im ated icon s akin d of
m icro m ov ies of com pu tercu l tu re an d s oon .
As can be s een , this particu l arapproachton ew m edia
as s u m es the exis ten ce of his torical l yparticu l araes thetics
thatcharacterize n ew m edia, orearl yn ew m edia, today.
( We m ayal s ocal l itthe aes thetics of earl yin f orm ation
cu l tu re)T his aes thetics res u l ts f rom the con v ergen ce of
his torical l yparticu l arcu l tu ral f orces :al readyeids tin g cu l tu ral
con v en tion s an d the con v en tion s of I-ICI. T heref ore, itcou l d
n othav e exis ted in the pas tan d itu n l ikel ytos tayw ithou t
N ew Mediaf rom Borges toHT ML
chan ges f oral on g tim e. Bu tw e can al s ode n e n ew m ediain
the oppos ite w ay:as s pecif ic aes thetic f eatu res w hichkeepre~
appearin g atan earl ys tage of depl oym en tof ev eryn ew
m odern m ediaan d tel ecom m u n ication techn ol ogy.
5N ew Mediaas the Aes thetics thatAccom pan ies
the Earl yStage of Ev eryN ew Modern Mediaan d
Com m u n ication T echn ol ogy
R atherthan res erv in g the term n ew m edia toref ertothe
cu l tu ral u s es of cu rren tcom pu teran d com pu ter-bas ed
n etw ork techn ol ogies , s om e au thors hav e s u gges ted that
ev erym odern m ediaan d tel ecom m u n ication techn ol ogy
pas s es throu ghits n ew m edias tage. In otherw ords , at
s om e poin tphotography, tel ephon es , cin em a, an d tel ev is ion
eachw ere n ew m edia. T his pers pectiv e redirects ou r
res earchef f orts :ratherthan tryin g toiden tif yw hatis
u n iqu e abou tdigital com pu ters f u n ction in g as m edia
creation , m ediadis tribu tion an d tel ecom m u n ication dev ices ,
w e m ayin s tead l ook f orcertain aes thetic techn iqu es an d
ideol ogical tropes w hichaccom pan yev eryn ew m odern
m ediaan d tel ecom m u n ication techn ol ogyatthe in itial s tage
of theirin trodu ction an d dis s em in ation . I-Iere are af ew
exam pl es of s u chideol ogical tropes :n ew techn ol ogyw il l
al l ow f orbetterdem ocracy; itw il l giv e u s abetteracces s to
the real ( byof f erin g m ore im m ediacy a.n d/ orthe
pos s ibil itytorepres en tw hatbef ore cou l d n otbe
repres en ted); itw il l con tribu te tothe eros ion of m oral
v al u es ; itw il l des troythe n atu ral rel ation s hipbetw een
hu m an s an d the w orl d byel im in atin g the dis tan ce
betw een the obs erv eran d the obs erv ed.
An d here are tw oexam pl es of aes thetic s trategies that
s eem toof ten accom pan ythe appearan ce of an ew m ediaan d
tel ecom m u n ication techn ol ogy( n ots u rpris in gl y, thes e
aes thetic s trategies are directl yrel ated toideol ogical tropes I
j u s tm en tion ed). In the m id 19 9 0s an u m berof f il m m akers
s tarted tou s e in expen s iv e digital cam eras ( DV)tocreate
f il m s characterized byadocu m en tarys tyl e ( f orin s tan ce,
T im ecode, Cel ebration , Mif u n e). R atherthan treatin g l iv e
action as araw m aterial tobe l aterre-arran ged in pos t-
produ ction , thes e f il m m akers pl aced prem ierim portan ce on
the au then ticityof the actors perf orm an ces . DV equ ipm en t
is s m al l en ou ghtoal l ow af il m m akertol iteral l ybe in s ide the
action as itu n f ol ds . In addition toadoptin g am ore in tim ate
f il m ic approach, af il m m akercan keeps hootin g f oraw hol e
N ew Mediaf rom Borges toHT ML
du ration of a6 0or12 0m in u te DV tape as oppos ed tothe
s tan dard ten m in u te f il m rol l . T his giv es the f il m m akeran d
the actors m ore f reedom toim prov is e arou n d athem e, rather
than bein g s hackl ed tothe tightl ys cripted s horts hots of
tradition al f il m m akin g. ( In f actthe l en gthof T im ecode
exactl ycorres pon ds tothe l en gthof as tan dard DV tape.)
T hes e aes thetic s trategies f orrepres en tin g the real , w hich
atf irs tm ayappeartobe u n iqu e todigital rev ol u tion in
cin em a, are in f actn otu n iqu e. DV-s tyl e f il m m akin g has a
predeces s orin an in tern ation al f il m m akin g m ov em en tthat
begu n in the l ate 19 50s an d u n f ol ded throu ghou tthe 19 6 0s .
Cal l ed directcin em a, can did cin em a, u n con trol l ed
cin em a, obs erv ation al cin em a, orcin em av rit ( cin em a
tru th), ital s oin v ol v ed f il m m akers u s in g l ighteran d m ore
m obil e ( in com paris on tow hatw as av ail abl e bef ore)
equ ipm en t. Like today' s DV real is ts , the 19 6 0s direct
cin em a propon en ts av oided tights tagin g an d s criptin g,
pref errin g tol etev en ts u n f ol d n atu ral l y. Boththen an d n ow ,
the f il m m akers u s ed n ew f il m m akin g techn ol ogytorev ol t
again s tthe exis tin g cin em acon v en tion s thatw ere perceiv ed
as bein g tooartif icial . Boththen an d n ow , the keyw ord of
this rev ol tw as the s am e: im m ediacy
Mys econ d exam pl e of s im il araes thetic s trategies re-
appearin g deal s w iththe dev el opm en tof m ov in g im age
techn ol ogythrou ghou tthe n in eteen thcen tu ryan d the
dev el opm en tof digital techn ol ogies todis pl aym ov in g
im ages on acom pu terdes ktopdu rin g the 19 9 0s . In the f irs t
partof the 19 9 0s , as com pu ters s peed keptgradu al l yin creas -
in g, CD R Ol \/ Ides ign ers w ere abl e togof rom as l ide s how
f orm attothe s u perim pos ition of s m al l m ov in g el em en ts
ov ers tatic backgrou n ds an d f in al l ytof u l l -f ram e m ov in g
im ages . T his ev ol u tion repeats the n in eteen thcen tu ry
progres s ion :f rom s equ en ces of s til l im ages ( m agic l an tern
s l ides pres en tation s )tom ov in g characters ov ers tatic
backgrou n ds ( f orin s tan ce, in R eyn au d' s P raxin os cope
T heater)tof u l l m otion ( the Lu m ieres ' cin em atograph)
Moreov er, the in trodu ction of Q u ickT im e byAppl e in 19 9 1
can be com pared tothe in trodu ction of the Kin etos cope in
189 2 :bothw ere u s ed topres en ts hortl oops , bothf eatu red
the im ages approxim atel ytw obythree in ches in s ize, both
cal l ed f orpriv ate v iew in g ratherthan col l ectiv e exhibition
Cu l tu ral l y, the tw otechn ol ogies al s of u n ction ed s im il arl y:as
the l ates ttechn ol ogical m arv el . If in the earl y189 0s the
pu bl ic patron ized Kin etos cope parl ors w here peep hol e
H
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III
theN EWMEDIAR EADER
m achin es pres en ted them w iththe l ates tin v en tion tin y
m ov in g photographs arran ged in s hortl oops ; exactl ya
hu n dred years l ater, com pu teru s ers w ere equ al l yf as cin ated
w ithtin yQ u ickT im e m ov ies thattu rn ed acom pu terin a
f il m proj ector, how ev erim perf ect. F in al l y, the Lu m ieres ' f irs t
f il m s creen in gs of 189 5w hichs hocked theirau dien ces w ith
hu ge m ov in g im ages f ou n d theirparal l el in 19 9 5CD-R OM
titl es w here the m ov in g im age f in al l yf il l s the en tire
com pu ters creen ( f orin s tan ce, in the John n yMn em on ic
com pu tergam e, bas ed on the f il m bythe s am e titl e). T hu s ,
exactl yahu n dred years af tercin em aw as of f icial l yborn , it
w as rein v en ted on acom pu ters creen .
In teres tin g as theyare, thes e tw oexam pl es al s oil l u s trate
the l im itation s of thin kin g abou tn ew m ediain term s of
his torical l yrecu rren taes thetic s trategies an d ideol ogical
tropes . Whil e ideol ogical tropes in deed s eem tobe
reappearin g ratherregu l arl y, m an yaes thetic s trategies m ay
on l yreappeartw oorthree tim es . Moreov er, s om e s trategies
an d/ ortropes can be al readyf ou n d in the f irs tpartof the
n in eteen thcen tu ryw hil e others on l ym ade theirf irs t
appearan ce m u chm ore recen tl y?In orderf orthis approach
tobe tru l yu s ef u l itw ou l d be in s u f f icien ttos im pl yn am e the
s trategies an d tropes an d torecord the m om en ts of their
appearan ce; in s tead, w e w ou l d hav e todev el opam u chm ore
com prehen s iv e an al ys is w hichw ou l d correl ate the his toryof
techn ol ogyw iths ocial , pol itical , an d econ om ical his tories of
the m odern period.
Sof arm ydef in ition s of n ew m ediahav e f ocu s ed on tech-
n ol ogy; the n extthree def in ition s w il l con s idern ew m ediaas
m aterial re-articu l ation , oren codin g, of pu rel ycu l tu ral
ten den cies in s hort, as ideas ratherthan techn ol ogies .
6 N ew Mediaas F as terExecu tion of Al gorithm s
P rev iou s l yExecu ted Man u al l yorthrou gh
OtherT echn ol ogies
Am odern digital com pu teris aprogram m abl e m achin e. T his
s im pl ym ean s thatthe s am e com pu tercan execu te dif f eren t
al gorithm s . An al gorithm is as equ en ce of s teps thatn eed to
be f ol l ow ed toaccom pl is hatas k. Digital com pu ters execu te
m os tal gorithm s v eryqu icl cl y how ev erin prin cipl e an
al gorithm , s in ce itis j u s tas equ en ce of s im pl e s teps , can al s o
be execu ted byahu m an , al thou ghm u chm ore s l ow l y. F or
in s tan ce, ahu m an can s ortf il es in aparticu l arorder, or
cou n tthe n u m berof w ords in atext, orcu tapartof an
im age an d pas te itin adif f eren tpl ace.
T his real ization giv es u s an ew w aytothin k abou tboth
digital com pu tin g, in gen eral , an d n ew m ediain particu l aras
am as s iv e s peed-u pof v ariou s m an u al techn iqu es thatal l
hav e al readyexis ted. Con s ider, f orin s tan ce, the com pu ter' s
abil itytorepres en tobj ects in l in earpers pectiv e an d to
an im ate s u chrepres en tation s . When you m ov e you r
characterthrou ghthe w orl d in af irs tpers on s hooter
com pu tergam e ( s u chas Q u ake), orw hen you m ov e you r
v iew poin tarou n d a3Darchitectu ral m odel , acom pu terre-
cal cu l ates pers pectiv al v iew s f oral l the obj ects in the f ram e
m an ytim es ev erys econ d ( in the cas e of cu rren tdes ktop
hardw are, f ram e rates of 80f ram es as econ d are n ot
u n com m on ). Bu tw e s hou l d rem em berthatthe al gorithm
its el f w as codif ied du rin g the R en ais s an ce in Ital y, an d that,
bef ore digital com pu ters cam e al on g ( thatis , f orabou tf iv e
hu n dred years )itw as execu ted byhu m an draf ts m en .
Sim il arl y, behin d m an yothern ew m ediatechn iqu es there is
an al gorithm that, bef ore com pu tin g, w as execu ted m an u al l y.
( Of cou rs e s in ce arthas al w ays in v ol v ed s om e techn ol ogy
ev en as s im pl e as as tyl u s f orm akin g m arks on s ton e w hat
Im ean bym an u al l y is thatahu m an had tos ys tem atical l y
gothrou ghev erys tepof an al gorithm him s el f , ev en if he w as
as s is ted bys om e im age m akin g tool s .)Con s ider, f orin s tan ce,
an otherv erypopu l arn ew m ediatechn iqu e:m akin g a
com pos ite f rom dif f eren tphotographs . Soon af ter
photographyw as in v en ted, s u chn in eteen thcen tu ry
photographers as Hen ryP eachR obin s on an d Os carG.
R ej l an derw ere al readycreatin g s m oothcom bin ation prin ts
bypu ttin g togetherm u l tipl e photographs .
Whil e this approachtothin kin g abou tn ew m ediatakes u s
aw ayf rom thin kin g abou titpu rel yin techn ol ogical term s , it
has an u m berof probl em s of its ow n . Su bs tan tial l ys peedin g
u pthe execu tion of an al gorithm byim pl em en tin g this
al gorithm in s of tw are does n otj u s tl eav e thin gs as theyare.
T he bas ic poin tof dial ectics is thatas u bs tan tial chan ge in
qu an tity( i.e., in s peed of execu tion in this cas e)l eads tothe
em ergen ce of qu al itativ el yn ew phen om en a. T he exam pl e of
au tom ation of l in earpers pectiv e is acas e in poin t.
Dram atical l ys peedin g u pthe execu tion of apers pectiv al
al gorithm m akes pos s ibl e prev iou s l yn on exis ten t
repres en tation al techn iqu e:s m oothm ov em en tthrou gha
pers pectiv al s pace. In otherw ords , w e getn oton l yqu ickl y
produ ced pers pectiv al draw in gs bu tal s ocom pu ter-gen e rated
m ov ies an d in teractiv e com pu tergraphics .
N ew Mediaf rom Borges toHT ML
T he techn ol ogical s hif ts in the his toryof com bin ation
prin ts al s oil l u s trate the cu l tu ral dial ectics of tran s -
f orm ation of qu an tityin toqu al ity. In the n in eteen th
cen tu ry, pain s takin gl ycraf ted com bin ation prin ts
repres en ted an exception ratherthan the n orm . In the
tw en tiethcen tu ry, n ew photographic techn ol ogies m ade
pos s ibl e photom on tage thatqu ickl ybecam e on e of the bas ic
repres en tation al techn iqu es of m odern v is u al cu l tu re. An d
f in al l ythe arriv al of digital photographyv ias of tw are l ike
P hotos hopas w el l as s can n ers an d digital cam eras , in the
l ate 19 805an d 19 9 0s , n oton l ym ade photom on tage m u ch
m ore om n ipres en tthan bef ore bu tital s of u n dam en tal l y
al tered its v is u al characteris tics . In pl ace of graphic an d
hard edge com pos ition s pion eered byMohol y N agyan d
R odchen kow e n ow hav e s m oothm u l ti im age com pos ites
w hichu s e tran s paren cy, bl u r, col orization , an d othereas il y
av ail abl e digital m an ipu l ation s an d w hichof ten in corporate
typographythatis s u bj ected toexactl ythe s am e
m an ipu l ation s ( thu s in pos t-P hotos hopv is u al cu l tu re the
type becom es as u bs etof aphoto-bas ed im age). T os ee this
dram atic chan ge, itis en ou ghtocom pare atypical m u s ic
v ideof rom 19 85an d atypical m u s ic v ideof rom 19 9 5:
w ithin ten years , the v is u al aes thetics of photom on tage had
u n dergon e af u n dam en tal chan ge.
F in al l y, thin kin g abou tn ew m ediaas s peedin g u pof
al gorithm s w hichprev iou s l yw ere execu ted byhan d
f oregrou n ds the u s e of com pu ters f orf as tal gorithm
execu tion , bu tign ores tw ootheres s en tial u s es : real tim e
n etw ork com m u n ication an d real tim e con trol . T he abil ities
toin teractw ithorcon trol rem otel yl ocated datain real tim e,
tocom m u n icate w ithotherhu m an bein gs in real tim e, an d
con trol v ariou s techn ol ogies ( s en s ors , m otors , other
com pu ters )in real tim e con s titu te the v eryf ou n dation of
ou rin f orm ation s ociety phon e com m u n ication s , In tern et,
f in an cial n etw orkin g, in du s trial con trol , the u s e of m icro-
con trol l ers in n u m erou s m odern m achin es an d dev ices , an d
s oon . T heyal s om ake pos s ibl e m an yf orm s of n ew m ediaart
an d cu l tu re:in teractiv e n etart, in teractiv e com pu ter
in s tal l ation s , in teractiv e m u l tim edia, com pu tergam es , real -
tim e m u s ic s yn thes is .
Whil e n on -real tim e m ediagen eration an d m an ipu l ation
v iadigital com pu ters can be thou ghtof as s peedin g u pof
prev iou s l yexis tin g artis tic techn iqu es , real -tim e n etw orkin g
an d con trol s eem tocon s titu te qu al itativ el yn ew phen om en a.
as atypew riter). How ev er, in the cas es w hen acom pu ter
m on itors s en s ors an d m odif ies program s bas ed on their
Withn ew m edia, 19 2 0s com m u n ication techn iqu es
acqu ire an ew s tatu s . T hu s n ew m ediadoes repres en t
an ew s tage of the av an t-garde. T he techn iqu es
in v en ted bythe 19 2 0s Lef tartis ts becam e em bedded
in the com m an ds an d in terf ace m etaphors of
com pu ters of tw are. In s hort, the av an t-garde v is ion
becam e m aterial ized in acom pu ter. Al l the s trategies
dev el oped toaw aken au dien ces f rom adream -
exis ten ce of bou rgeois s ociety( con s tru ctiv is tdes ign ,
N ew T ypography, av an t-garde cin em atographyan d
f il m editin g, photo-m on tage, etc.)n ow def in e the
bas ic rou tin e of apos t-in du s trial s ociety:the
in teraction w ithacom pu ter. F orexam pl e, the av an t-
garde s trategyof col l age reem erged as acu tan d
pas te com m an d, the m os tbas ic operation on e can
perf orm on an ycom pu terdata. In an otherexam pl e,
the dyn am ic w in dow s , pu l l -dow n m en u s , an d HT ML
g
archiv e- -tel ev is ion program s , f il m s , au diorecordin gs , etc -
w hichbecam e the raw datatobe proces s ed, re-articu l ated
m in ed an d re-packaged throu ghdigital s of tw are rather
than raw real ity. In m yarticl e If orm u l ate this as f ol l ow s
N ew Mediaf rom Borges toHT ML theN EWMEDIAR EADER
When w e u s e P hotos hoptoqu ickl ycom bin e photographs tabl es al l al l ow aCom pu teru s ertos im u l tan eou s l y
together, orw hen w e com pos e atextu s in g aMicros of tWord, Work w ithP raCtl 3a1l Y u n res tricted am ou n tOf
w e s im pl ydom u chf as terw hatbef ore w e w ere doin g either in f orm ation des pite the l im ited Su rf ace of the
com pl etel ym an u al l yoras s is ted bys om e techn ol ogies ( s u ch m _pu tef Screen T hl s Strategyca be_ted to
Lis s itzkys u s e of m ov abl e f ram es in his 19 2 6
exhibition des ign f orthe In tern ation al ArtExhibition
in terprets ors yn thes izes hu m an s peechin real tim e, .
in Dres den .
in pu tin real tim e, orcon trol s otherdev ices , again in real - T he en codin g of the 19 2 0s av an t-garde techn iqu es in
tim e, this is s om ethin g w hichs im pl ycou l d n otbe don e s of tw are does n otm ean thatn ew m edias im pl y
bef ore. Sow hil e itis im portan ttorem em berthat, on on e qu an titativ el yexten ds the techn iqu es w hichal readyexis ted
l ev el am odern digital com pu teris j u s taf as tercal cu l ator, w e Ju s tas itis the cas e w iththe phen om en on of real -tim e
s hou l d n otign ore its otheriden tity:thatof acybern etic com pu tation thatIdis cu s s ed abov e, tracin g n ew m edia
con trol dev ice. T opu tthis in dif f eren tw ay, w hil e n ew m edia heritage in the 19 2 0s av an t-garde rev eal s aqu al itativ e chan ge
theorys hou l d paytribu tes toAl an T u rin g ( 003), its hou l d as w el l . T he m odern is tav an t-garde w as con cern ed w ith
n otf orgetabou tits othercon ceptu al f ather N orbertf il terin g v is ibl e real ityin n ew w ays . T he artis ts w ere
Wien er( 004). con cern ed w ithrepres en tin g the ou ts ide w orl d, w iths eein g
7 N ew Media35the En codin g Of Modern is titin as m an ydif f eren tw ays as pos s ibl e. Of cou rs e s om e
Av an t-Garde; N ew MediaBS Metam edia artis ts al readybegan toreacttothe em ergin g m edia
T he approachton ew m ediaj u s tdis cu s s ed does n oten v iron m en tbym akin g col l ages an d photo-m on tages
f oregrou n d an yparticu l arcu l tu ral period as the s ou rce of con s is tin g of n ew s papercl ippin gs , exis tin g photographs ,
al gorithm s thatare ev en tu al l yen coded in com pu ter pieces of pos ters , an d s oon ; yetthes e practices of
s of tw are. In m yarticl e Av an t-Garde as Sof tw are Ihav e m an ipu l atin g exis tin g m ediaw ere n otyetcen tral . Bu ta
propos ed that, in f act, aparticu l arhis torical period is m ore n u m berof decades l atertheyhav e m ov ed tothe f oregrou n d
rel ev an tton ew m ediathan an yother thatof the 19 2 0s of cu l tu ral produ ction . T opu tthis dif f eren tl y, af teracen tu ry
( m ore precis el y, the years betw een 19 15an d 19 2 8)?Du rin g an d ahal f of m ediacu l tu re, al readyexis tin g m ediarecords
this period the av an t-garde artis ts an d des ign ers in v en ted a ( orm ediaas s ets , tou s e the Hol l yw ood term )becom e the
w hol e n ew s etof v is u al an d s patial l an gu ages an d n ew raw m aterial f ors of tw are-bas ed cu l tu ral produ ction an d
com m u n ication techn iqu es thatw e s til l u s e today. Accordin g artis tic practice. Man ydecades of an al og m ediaprodu ction
tom yhypothes is , res u l ted in ahu ge m ediaarchiv e an d itis the con ten ts of this
N ew m ediain deed repres en ts the n ew av an t-garde,
an d its in n ov ation s are atl eas tas radical as the f orm al
in n ov ation s of the 19 2 0s . Bu tif w e are tol ook f or
thes e in n ov ation s in the real m of f orm s , this
tradition al areaof cu l tu ral ev ol u tion , w e w il l n otf in d
them there. F orthe n ew av an t-garde is radical l ydif f er-
en tf rom the ol d:
1. T he ol d m ediaav an t-garde of the 19 2 0s cam e u p
w ithn ew f orm s , n ew w ays torepres en treal ityan d
n ew w ays tos ee the w orl d. T he n ew m ediaav an t-
garde is abou tn ew w ays of acces s in g an d
m an ipu l atin g in f orm ation . Its techn iqu es are
hyperm edia, databas es , s earchen gin es , datam in in g,
im age proces s in g, v is u al ization , an d s im u l ation .
2 . T he n ew av an t-garde is n ol on gercon cern ed w ith
s eein g orrepres en tin g the w orl d in n ew w ays bu t
ratherw ithacces s in g an d u s in g in n ew w ays
prev iou s l yaccu m u l ated m edia. In this res pectn ew
m ediais pos t-m ediaorm eta-m edia, as itu s es ol d
m ediaas its prim arym aterial .
Mycon ceptof m eta-m edia is rel ated toam ore f am il iar
n otion of pos tm odern is m the recogn ition thatbythe
19 805the cu l tu re becam e m ore con cern ed w ithrew orkin g
al readyexis tin g con ten t, idiom s an d s tyl e, ratherthan
gen ial l ycreatin g n ew on es . WhatIw ou l d l ike tos tres s ( an d
w hatIthin k the origin al theoris ts of pos t-m odern is m in the
19 80s hav e n ots tres s ed en ou gh)is the keyrol e pl ayed bythe
m aterial f actors in the s hif ttow ards pos tm odern is t
aes thetics :the accu m u l ation of hu ge m ediaas s ets an d the
arriv al of n ew el ectron ic an d digital tool s w hichm ade itv ery
eas ytoacces s an d re-w ork thes e as s ets . T his is an other
exam pl e of qu an titychan gin g in toqu al ityin m ediahis tory:
the gradu al accu m u l ation of m ediarecords an d the gradu al
au tom ation of m ediam an agem en tan d m an ipu l ation
techn iqu es ev en tu al l yrecoded m odern is taes thetics in toa
v erydif f eren tpos tm odern aes thetics .
8 N ew Mediaas P aral l el Articu l ation of Sim il ar
Ideas in P os t-WWIIArtan d Modern Com pu tin g
Al on g w iththe 19 2 0s , w e can thin k of othercu l tu ral periods
thatgen erated ideas an d s en s ibil ities particu l arl yrel ev an tto
n ew m edia. In the 19 805an u m berof w riters l ooked atthe
con n ection s betw een Baroqu e an d pos t-m odern s en s ibil ities ;
giv en the cl os e l in k betw een pos t-m odern is m an d n ew m edia
Ij u s tbrief l ydis cu s s ed, itw ou l d be l ogical if paral l el s betw een
the Baroqu e an d n ew m ediacan al s obe es tabl is hed?Itcan
al s obe argu ed thatin m an yw ays n ew m ediaretu rn s u s toa
pre-m odern is tcu l tu ral l ogic of the eighteen thcen tu ry:
con s iderf orin s tan ce, the paral l el betw een eighteen th-
cen tu rycom m u n ities of readers w how ere al s oal l w riters
an d participan ts in In tern etn ew s grou ps an d m ail in g l is ts
w hoare al s obothreaders an d w riters .
In the tw en tiethcen tu ry, al on g w iththe 19 2 05, w hichf or
m e repres en ts the cu l tu ral peak of this cen tu ry( becau s e
du rin g this period m ore radical l yn ew aes thetic techn iqu es
w ere prototyped than in an yotherperiod of s im il ar
du ration ), the s econ d cu l tu ral peak the 19 6 0s al s 0s eem s
N ew Mediaf rom Borges toHT ML
tocon tain m an yof n ew m edia' s gen es . An u m berof w riters
s u chas Soke Din kl ahav e argu ed thatin teractiv e com pu ter
art( f rom the 19 805on )f u rtherdev el ops ideas al ready
con tain ed in the n ew artof the 19 6 05( happen in gs ,
perf orm an ces , in s tal l ation ):activ e participation of the
au dien ce, an artw ork as atem poral proces s ratherthan as a
f ixed obj ect, an artw ork as an open s ys tem .8 T his con n ection
m akes ev en m ore s en s e w hen w e rem em berthats om e of the
m os tin f l u en tial f igu res in n ew m ediaart( Jef f reyShaw , R oy
As cott( 010))s tarted theirartcareers in the 19 6 05an d on l y
l aterm ov ed tocom pu tin g an d n etw orkin g techn ol ogies . F or
in s tan ce, atthe en d of the 19 6 0s Jef f reyShaw w as w orkin g
on in f l atabl e s tru ctu res f orf il .m proj ection s an d
perf orm an ces w hichw ere big en ou ghtocon tain as m al l
au dien ce in s ide -s om ethin g w hichhe l atercam e back toin
m an yof his VR in s tal l ation s , an d ev en m ore directl yin the
EVEproj ect? _
T here is an otheraes thetic proj ectof the 19 6 05thatal s o
can be l in ked ton ew m edian oton l ycon ceptu al l ybu tal s o
his torical l y, s in ce the artis ts w hopu rs u ed this proj ectw ith
com pu ters ( s u chas Man f red Mohr)kn ew of m in im al is t
artis ts w hodu rin g the s am e decade pu rs u ed the s am e proj ect
m an u al l y ( m os tn otabl y, Sol LeWitt).1 T his proj ectcan be
cal l ed com bin atorics . Itin v ol v es creatin g im ages an d/ or
obj ects bys ys tem atical l yv aryin g as in gl e param eterorby
s ys tem atical l ycreatin g al l pos s ibl e com bin ation s of as m al l
n u m berof el em en ts . Com bin atorics in com pu terartan d
m in im al is tartof the 19 6 05l ed tothe creation of rem arkabl y
s im il arim ages an d s patial s tru ctu res ; itil l u s trates w el l that
the al gorithm s , this es s en tial partof n ew m edia, don ot
depen d on techn ol ogybu tcan be execu ted byhu m an s .
F ou rDecades of N ew Media
Al on g w iththe on es Ial readym en tion ed m ore con n ection s
betw een 19 6 05cu l tu ral im agin ation s an d n ew m ediaexis t.
As w ithan otherrecen tim portan tan thol ogyon n ew m edia
( R an dal l P ackeran d Ken Jordan ' s Mu l tim edia:F rom Wagn erto
Virtu al R eal ity), T he N ew MediaR eadercon tain s an u m berof
im portan ttexts bythe radical artis ts an d w riters f rom the
19 6 05w hichhav e con ceptu al af f in itytothe l ogic of
com pu tin g techn ol ogy:thos e of Al l an Kaprow ( 006 ), Wil l iam
Bu rrou ghs ( 007 ); the Ou l ipo( 012 )( w hos e m em bers pu rs u ed
the com bin atorics proj ectin rel ation tol iteratu re), N am Ju n e
P aik ( 015)an d others . Section I, T he Com pl ex, the
l
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N ew Mediaf rom Borges toHT ML
Chan gin g, an d the In term ediate an d s ection II, Col l ectiv e
Media, P ers on al Media, pres en tw hatis todate the m os t
com prehen s iv e s etof cu l tu ral texts f rom the 19 6 05. T hes e
ideas particu l arl yres on ate w iththe dev el opm en ts in
com pu tin g in the s am e period.
Al thou ghm odern com pu tin g has m an ycon ceptu al f athers
an d m others , f rom Leibn itz toAdaLov el ace, an d its
prehis torys pan s m an ycen tu ries , Iw ou l d argu e thatthe
paradigm thats til l def in es ou ru n ders tan din g an d u s age of
com pu tin g w as def in ed in the 19 6 05. Du rin g the 19 6 05the
prin cipl es of the m odern in teractiv e GU Iw ere giv en cl ear
articu l ation ( al thou ghthe practical im pl em en tation an d
ref in em en tof thes e ideas took pl ace l ater, in the 19 7 05at
XeroxP AR C). T he articl es byLickl ider( 005), Su therl an d
( 009 ), N el s on ( 011, 02 1, 030), an d En gel bart( 008, 017 )
f rom the 19 6 05in cl u ded in the readerare the es s en tial
docu m en ts of ou rtim e; on e daythe his torian s of cu l tu re w il l
rate them on the s am e s cal e of im portan ce as texts byMarx,
F reu d, an d Sau s s u re. ( Otherkeydev el opm en ts thatal s otook
pl ace in the 19 6 05an d earl y19 7 05w ere the In tern et, U n ix,
an d obj ect-orien ted program m in g. An u m berof other
es s en tial ideas of m odern com pu tin g s u chas n etw orkin g
its el f , the u s e of com pu ters f orreal -tim e con trol , an d the
graphical in teractiv e dis pl ayw ere articu l ated earl ier, in the
s econ d partof the 19 405an d the f irs tpartof the 19 505.)
T he f irs ttw os ection s of the readertake u s in tothe en d of
keyprin cipl es of m odern com pu tin g an d the GU Ihad al ready
been practical l yim pl em en ted an d ref in ed bythe dev el opers
atXeroxP AR C bu ttheyw ere n otyetcom m ercial l yav ail abl e
tocon s u m ers T he third s ection Des ign Activ ityan d
Action ru n s f rom the en d of the 19 7 05in tothe 19 805. N ear
the en d of this period the Macin tos h( rel eas ed in 19 84)
popu l arized the GU I; ital s os hipped w ithas im pl e draw in g
an d pain tin g program s w hichem phas ized the n ew rol e of a
com pu teras acreativ e tool ; f in al l y, itw as the f irs t
in expen s iv e com pu terw hichcam e w ithabit-m apped dis pl ay
Ataricom pu ters m ade com pu ter-bas ed s ou n d m an ipu l ation
af f ordabl e; com pu tergam es achiev ed an ew l ev el of
popu l arity; cin em as tarted tou s e com pu ters f ors pecial
ef f ects ( T ron , rel eas ed byDis n eyin 19 82 , con tain ed
s ev en teen m in u tes of 3-D com pu tergen erated s cen es );
tow ards the v eryen d of the decade, P hotos hop, w hichcan be
cal l ed the keys of tw are appl ication of pos tm odern is m , w as
the 19 7 05; du rin g the tim e period cov ered in s ection IIthe com pu tin g on e again . If the 19 805gradu al l ym ade v is ibl e the
-
theN EWMEDIAR EADER
f in al l yrel eas ed. Al l thes e dev el opm en ts of the 19 805created
an ew s etof rol es f orthe m odern digital com pu ter:a
m an ipu l atorof exis tin g m edia( P hotos hop); am edia
s yn thes izer( f il m s pecial ef f ects , s ou n d s of tw are); an d an ew
m ediu m ( orrather, m ore than on e n ew m edia)in its ow n
right( com pu tergam es ). T he N ew MediaR eadercol l ects
es s en tial articl es bycom pu ters cien tis ts f rom the 19 805that
articu l ate ideas behin d thes e n ew rol es of acom pu ter( Bol t
( 02 9 ), Shn eiderm an ( 033), Lau rel ( 038)an d others ).
As com pu tin g l ef tthe s trictreal m of big bu s in es s , the
m il itary, the gov ern m en t, an d the u n iv ers ityan d en tered
s ocietyatl arge, cu l tu ral theoris ts begin tothin k abou tits
ef f ects , an d itis appropriate thatT he N ew MediaR eaderal s o
reprin ts keytheoretical s tatem en ts f rom the 19 805( e.g.,
SherryT u rkl e ( 034), Don n aHaraw ay( 035)). Is hou l d n ote
here thatEu ropean cu l tu ral theoris ts reacted to
com pu terization earl ierthan the Am erican s :bothJean -
F ran cois Lyotards T he P o5t Modern Con dition ( 19 7 9 )an d
Jean Bau dril l ards Sim u l acraan d Sim u l ation s ( 19 81)con tain
detail ed dis cu s s ion s of com pu tin g, s om ethin g w hichtheir
19 805Am erican adm irers did n ots eem ton otice.
T he l as ts ection of the reader, R ev ol u tion , R es is tan ce, an d
the Lau n chof the Web con tin u es tow eav e texts by --'
com pu ters cien tis ts , s ocial res earchers , cu l tu ral theoris ts , an d
critics f rom the en d of the 19 805on w ard; ital s otakes u s in to
the earl y19 9 05w hen the ris e of the Web redef in ed
n ew rol e of acom pu teras am ediam an ipu l atoran d an
in terf ace tom edia the dev el opm en ts w hichev en tu al l y
w ere codif ied arou n d 19 9 0in the term n ew m edia in the
19 9 05an otherrol e of adigital com pu ter( w hichw as al ready
pres en ts in ce the l ate 19 405)cam e tothe f oregrou n d:thatof
af ou n dation f orreal -tim e m u l tim edian etw orkin g, av ail abl e
n otj u s tf ors el ected res earchers an d the m il itary( as itw as
f ordecades )bu tf orm il l ion s of peopl e.
In the 19 6 05w e can f in d s tron g con ceptu al con n ection s
betw een com pu tin g an d radical artof the period, bu tw ith
the s ol e exception of T ed N el s on ( the con ceptu al f atherof
hypertext)n ocom pu ters cien tis tw as directl yappl yin g
radical pol itical ideas of the tim es tocom pu terdes ign . In f act
thes e ideas had as tron g ef f ecton the f iel d, bu titw as del ayed
u n til the 19 7 05w hen Al an Kay( 02 6 )an d his col l eagu es at
XeroxP AR C pu rs u ed the v is ion of pers on al com pu ter
w orks tation thatw ou l d em pow eran in div idu al ratherthan a
big organ ization . In the l ate 19 80s an d earl y19 9 0s , how ev er,
w e s eem tow itn es s adif f eren tkin d of paral l el betw een s ocial
chan ges an d com pu terdes ign . Al thou ghcau s al l yu n rel ated,
con ceptu al l yitm akes s en s e thatthe en d of Col d Waran d the
des ign of the Web took pl ace atexactl ythe s am e tim e. T he
f irs tdev el opm en ten ded the s eparation of the w orl d in to
parts cl os ed of f f rom eachother, m akin g itas in gl e gl obal
s ys tem ; the s econ d dev el opm en tcon n ected w orl d' s
com pu ters in toas in gl e n etw ork. T he earl yWeb ( i.e., bef ore it
cam e tobe dom in ated bybig com m ercial portal s tow ards the
en d of the 19 9 0s )al s opractical l yim pl em en ted aradical l y
horizon tal , n on -hierarchical m odel of hu m an exis ten ce in
w hichn oidea, n oideol ogy, an d n ov al u e s ys tem can
dom in ate the res t thu s prov idin g aperf ectm etaphorf ora
n ew pos t Col d-Wars en s ibil ity.
T he em ergen ce of n ew m edias tu dies as af iel d tes tif ies to
ou rrecogn ition of the keycu l tu ral rol e pl ayed bydigital
com pu ters an d com pu ter-en abl ed n etw orkin g in ou rgl obal
s ocietyF oraf iel d in its in f an cy, w e are v eryl u ckyton ow
hav e s u chacom prehen s iv e record of its origin s as the on e
prov ided byT he N ew MediaR eader; Ibel iev e thatits readers
w il l con tin u e tothin k abou tboththe ideas in its in div idu al
texts an d the en dl es s con n ection s w hichcan be f ou n d
betw een dif f eren ttexts f orm an yyears tocom e.
N ew Mediaf rom Borges toHT ML
1. F oragood exam pl e of cybercu l tu re paradigm , s ee the R es ou rce
Cen terf orCybercu l tu re Stu dies ,
<http:/ / w w w .com .w as hin gton .edu / rccs / >
2 . Lev Man ov ich, T he Lan gu age of N ew Media( Cam bridge: MIT
P res s , 2 001).
3. Idon ' tm ean here the actu al datas tru ctu res an d al gorithm s
w hichm aybe u s ed byparticu l ars of tw are rather, Iam thin kin g of
them in am ore abs tractw ay: w hatis the s tru ctu re of acu l tu ral
obj ectan d w hatkin d of operation s iten abl es f orthe u s er.
4. Man ov ich, T he Lan gu age of N ew Media, 80.
5. Ibel iev e thatthe s am e probl em s appl ytoErkkiHu htam os v ery
in teres tin g theoryof m ediaarcheol ogyw hichis cl os e tothe
approachpres en ted here an d w hichadv ocates the s tu dyof tropes
w hichaccom pan ythe his toryof m odern m ediatechn ol ogy, both
the on es w hichw ere real ized an d the on es w hichw ere on l y
im agin ed.
6 . Lev Man ov ich, Av an t-Garde as Sof tw are,"in Os tran en ie, edited
byStephen Kov ats ( F ran kf u rt: Cam pu s Verl ag, 19 9 9 ).
<http:/ / w w w .m an ov ich.n et/ docs / av an tgarde_as _s of tw are.doc>
( Q u otation s are f rom the on l in e text.)
7 . N orm an Kl ein is cu rren tl ycom pl etin g abook en titl ed F rom
Vatican toLas Vegas : AHis toryof Special Ef f ects thatis dis cu s s in g
in detail the con n ection s betw een the treatm en tof s pace in the
Baroqu e an d in cybercu l tu re.
8. See f orin s tan ce Soke Din kl a, F rom P articipation to
In teraction : T ow ards the Origin s of In teractiv e Art,"in Cl ickin g In :
Hots Lin ks toaDigital Cu l tu re, edited byLyn n Herhm an Lees on
( Seattl e: BayP res s , 19 9 6 ).
9 . Jef f reyShaw , ed., Jef f reyShaw - AU s er' s Man u al ( DAP , 19 9 7 ).
10. In f orm ation on Man f red Mohrcan be f ou n d on l in e at
<http:/ / w w w .em ohr.com / > .
11. F ran k Dietrichhas u s ed the term "com bin atorics "total k abou t
aparticu l ardirection in the earl ycom pu terartof the 19 6 0s . See
Dietrich, F ran k, "Vis u al In tel l igen ce: T he F irs tDecade of Com pu ter
Art,"Com pu terGraphics , 19 85.
12 . Itis in teres tin g thatSol LeWittw as abl e toprodu ce w orks "by
han d"w hichof ten con s is ted of m ore s ys tem atic v ariation s of the
s am e el em en ts than s im il arw orks don e byotherartis ts w hou s ed
com pu ters . In otherw ords ; w e can s aythatSol LeWittw as better
in execu tin g certain m in im al is tal gorithm s than the com pu ters of
the tim e.
13. See P au l N . Edw ards , T he Cl os ed Worl d: Com pu ters an d the
P ol itics of Dis cou rs e in Col d WarAm en ca( Cam bridge: MIT P res s ,
19 9 7 )
T he Com pl ex
the Chan gm
an d the In determ in ate
O .
v - -in 1?? / ii
<1 M an y
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v
.s
is \\
6
i:/ ' > ~ F
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1 /
Op & T T . 4.;
O1 | 2 9 T he Garden of F orkin g P aths
O2 35
O3 49
O4 6 5
O57 3
O6 83
ov is s
08 9 3
09 ,109
10,12 7
11 133
12 |147
Jorge Lu is Borges 19 41
As We MayT hin k
Van n ev arBu s h19 45
Com pu tin g Machin eryan d In tel l igen ce
Al an T u rin g 19 50
Men Machin es , an d the Worl d Abou t
N orbertWien er19 54
Man -Com pu terSym bios is
J C R Lickl ider19 6 0
Happen in gs in the N ew Y ork Scen e
Al l an Kaprow 19 6 1
T he Cu t U pMethod of Bn on Gys in
Wil l iam S Bu rrou ghs 19 6 3
F rom Au gm en tin g Hu m an In tel l ectACon ceptu al F ram ew ork
Dou gl as En gel bart19 6 2
Sketchpad AMan Machin e Graphical Com m u n ication Sys tem
Iv an Su therl an d, 19 6 3
T he Con s tru ction of Chan ge
R oyAs cott19 6 4
AF il e Stru ctu re f orthe Com pl exthe Chan gin g an d the In determ in ate
T heodorI-I N el s on 19 6 5
SixSel ection s bythe Ou l ipo
.,"9 ".- . ,,,,.,---, 01. T he Garden of
F orkin g P aths
01. [ In trodu ction ]
T he Garden of F orkin g P aths
Man yof n ew m edias im portan tideas an d in f l u en ces f irs tappeared in u n expected con texts . Artis ts
an d w riters hav e of ten pres aged dev el opm en ts in n ew m ediathatw ere in v is ibl e tothe m os tes teem ed
techn ol ogis ts . T ed N el s on an d Dou g En gel bart, w hodev is ed m an yof n ew m edias m os tim portan t
oom epts , hav e s pen tm os tof theircareers on the peripheryof the f iel d. T he Web, the on e s ys tem that
has created the greates tpu bl ic in teres tan d in v ol v em en tin n ew m edias of ar, w as in itial l yrej ected by
the n ew m ediacom m u n ityas agian tbackw ard l eapbothcon ceptu al l yan d techn ol ogical l y. T hu s itis
ttin g tobegin this an thol ogyn otw iths om e j ou rn al articl e f rom an es tabl is hed s cien tis tbu tw ith
the f ol l ow in g detectiv e s tory, w ritten byan Argen tin e l ibrarian .
T os aythatJorge Lu is Borges w as al ibrarian , of cou rs e, is l ike s ayin g Wal l ace Stev en s w as an
in s u ran ce execu tiv e. Itis tru e bu tparticu l arl ym is l eadin g. Borges did head Argen tin as N ation al
l ibraryf ors om e tim e, an d books an d l ibraries f igu re prom in en tl yin his w ritin g. Borges al s om ay
hav e been the m os tim portan t gu re in Span is h l an gu age l iteratu re s in ce Cerv an tes . Bu tw hatev erhis
particu l arl iteraryran k, he w as cl earl yof trem en dou s in f l u en ce, w ritin g in tricate poem s , s horts tories ,
m d es s ays thatin s tan tiated con cepts of dizzyin g pow er.
T he con ceptBorges Cl SC1l l )( -Id in T he Garden of F orkin g P aths in s ev eral l ayers of the s tory, bu t
m os tdirectl yin the com bin ation book an d m aze of T s ' u iP en is thatof an ov el thatcan be read in
m u l tipl e w ays , ahypertextn ov el . Borges des cribed this in 19 41, priortothe in v en tion ( oratl eas tthe
pu bl ic dis cl os u re)of the el ectrom echan ical digital com pu ter. N oton l ydid he in v en tthe hypertext
n 0v el Borges w en ton todes cribe atheoryof the u n iv ers e bas ed u pon the s tru ctu re of s u chan ov el .
T hen he s ketched ou t, in the action s of the protagon is t, on e particu l arexis ten tial phil os ophyw hich
m otiv ates action w ithin this u n iv ers e, au n iv ers e in w hichev erythin g thatis pos s ibl e does in deed
occu rin s om e bran chof real ity. T hes e m atters are al l han dl ed in the s toryal on gs ide is s u es of race,
w ar, es pion age, an ces try, an d ev en the n atu re of academ ic dis cou rs e abou this tory.
Borges did n otev erw rite ahypertextn ov el . In f act, al thou ghCarl os F u en tes has s tated thattoday' s
Latin Am erican n ov el w ou l d n otexis tw ithou tBorges , he n ev erw rote an ov el atal l . He f ou n d it
Su f f icien ttoen code ideas richen ou ghf ortreatm en tin an ov el in af orm atw hichw as s m al l erthan
the typical s horts tory, af orm athe cal l ed af ic tion ."Ahypertextn ov el ( in codexf orm )w as in f act.
w ritten byan otherArgen tin e au thor, Ju l ioCortazar. His Hops cotch, w hichhas s ev eral expen dabl e
chapters an d w hichin v ites the readertoread in tw odif f eren tw ays , w as w ritten in P aris an d
pu bl is hed in 19 6 3. ( Itw as s oon af terw ards read byR obertCoov er, an d l ed him toexperim en tw ith
pu n ch card l iteratu re.)Al thou ghCortazaran d Borges hel d dif f eren tpol itical v iew s , w rote in dif f eren t
s tyl es , an d l iv ed f arapart, the au thorof Hops cotchw as certain l yacqu ain ted w ithBorges s w ritin g.
Borges , as editorof El Su r, pu bl is hed Cortazars f irs ts toryin 19 46 .
Writers u s in g the com pu teras am ediu m hav e f ou n d m an ytypes of in s piration in the w ork of
Borges In s tru ctu rin g w orks , theyhav e l ooked n oton l ytoT he Garden of F orkin g P aths "bu tal s oto
com bin atorial ideas an d n otion s of textu al in f in ityf ou n d in T he Libraryof Babel an d T he Book of
$an d.' Man yw riters hav e al s of ou n d the m etaf iction al w orkin gs of Borges ' s s tories , an d his
s ytn bol ogy( w hichin cl u des ches s boards , m irrors , an d m azes )tobe in s pirin g. N oton l ydid Stu art
Mou l thropcreate ahypertextu al v ers ion of T he Garden of F orkin g P aths in 19 87 ; he al s ogav e his
im portan thypertextn ov el s etdu rin g the Gu l f Waratitl e thatref ers tobothAm erican w artim e
ef f orts an d toBorges : VictoryGarden .
F orn ew m ediatoexis t, agreatdeal of experim en tation an d program m in g had tobe u n dertaken ,
m u chof itatav eryl ow l ev el an d requ irin g greattechn ical s kil l an d ef f ort. Borges w as n ohacker; n or
rid he s pecif ythe hypertextn ov el in perf ectdetail . Bu tcom pu ters don otf u n ction as theydotoday
01. T he Garden of
F orkin g P aths
theN |:' .WMEDIAR EADER
on l ybecau s e of the pl ayf u l l aborof hackers orbecau s e of pl an n ed-ou tproj ects toprogram , dev el op, an d recon f igu re s ys tem s .
Ou ru s e of com pu ters is al s obas ed on the v is ion s of thos e w ho, l ike Borges pron ou n cin g this s toryf rom the grow in g dark of
his bl in dn es s s aw thos e cou rs es thatf u tu re artis ts , s cien tis ts , an d hackers m ighttake. _
N M
Origin al P u bl ication
T ran s . Don al d A. Y ates . Labyn n ths : Sel ected Stories & Other
Writin gs , 19 -2 9 . Ed. Don al d A. Y ates an d Jam es E. Irby. N ew Y ork:
N ew Direction s , 19 6 4. F rom the Span is hEl j ardin de s en deros qu e
s e bif u rcan ,"f irs tpu bl is hed in El j ardin de s en deros qu e s e
bgf u rcan . Bu en os Aires : Su r, 19 41.
T he Garden of
F orkin g P aths
Jorge Lu is Borges
F orVictoriaOcam po
On page 2 2 of Liddel l I-Iart' s His toryof Worl d WarIyou w il l
read thatan attack again s tthe Serre-Mon tau ban l in e by
thirteen Britis hdiv is ion s ( s u pported by1,400artil l ery
pieces ), pl an n ed f orthe 2 4thof Ju l y, 19 16 , had tobe
pos tpon ed u n til the m orn in g of the 2 9 th. T he torren tial
rain s , Captain Liddel l Hartcom m en ts , cau s ed this del ay, an
in s ign if ican ton e, tobe s u re.
T he f ol l ow in g s tatem en t, dictated, reread an d s ign ed by
Dr. Y u T s u n , f orm erprof es s orof En gl is hatthe Hochs chu l e at
T s in gtao, throw s an u n s u s pected l ightov erthe w hol e af f air.
T he f irs ttw opages of the docu m en tare m is s in g.
. . an d Ihu n g u pthe receiv er. Im m ediatel yaf terw ards , I
recogn ized the v oice thathad an s w ered in Germ an . Itw as
thatof Captain R ichard Madden . Madden ' s pres en ce in
ViktorR u n ebergs apartm en tm ean tthe en d of ou ran xieties
an d bu tthis s eem ed, ors hou l d hav e s eem ed v erys econ dary
tom e- al s othe en d of ou rl iv es . Itm ean tthatR u n eberg had
been arres ted orm u rdered. Bef ore the s u n s eton thatday, I
w ou l d en cou n terthe s am e f ate. Madden w as im pl acabl e. Or
rather, he w as obl iged tobe s o. An Iris hm an atthe s erv ice of
En gl an d, am an accu s ed of l axityan d perhaps of treas on ,
how cou l d he f ail tos eize an d be than kf u l f ors u cha
m iracu l ou s opportu n ity:the dis cov ery, captu re, m aybe ev en
the deathof tw oagen ts of the Germ an R eich?Iw en tu pto
m yroom ; abs u rdl yIl ocked the dooran d threw m ys el f on m y
back on the n arrow iron cot. T hrou ghthe w in dow Is aw the
f am il iarroof s an d the cl ou d-s haded s ixo' cl ock s u n . Its eem ed
in credibl e tom e thatthatdayw ithou tprem on ition s or
s ym bol s s hou l d be the on e of m yin exorabl e death. In s pite of
m ydead f ather, in s pite of hav in g been achil d in a
s ym m etrical garden of HaiF en g, w as I -n ow goin g todie?
T hen Iref l ected thatev erythin g happen s toam an precis el y,
precis el yn ow . Cen tu ries of cen tu ries an d on l yin the pres en t
dothin gs happen ; cou n tl es s m en in the air, on the f ace of the
earthan d the s ea, an d al l thatreal l yis happen in g is
happen in g tom e. . . . T he al m os tin tol erabl e recol l ection of
Madden s hors el ike f ace ban is hed thes e w an derin gs . In the
m ids tof m yhatred an d terror( itm ean s n othin g tom e n ow
tos peak of terror, n ow thatIhav e m ocked R ichard Madden ,
n ow thatm ythroatyearn s f orthe n oos e)itoccu rred tom e
thatthattu m u l tu ou s an d dou btl es s happyw arriordid n ot
s u s pectthatIpos s es s ed the Secret. T he n am e of the exact
l ocation of the n ew Britis hartil l erypark on the R iv erAn cre.
Abird s treaked acros s the grays kyan d bl in dl yItran s l ated it
in toan airpl an e an d thatairpl an e in tom an y( again s tthe
F ren chs ky)an n ihil atin g the artil l erys tation w ithv ertical
bom bs . If on l ym ym ou th, bef ore abu l l ets hattered it, cou l d
cryou tthats ecretn am e s oitcou l d be heard in Germ an y. . . .
Myhu m an v oice w as v eryw eak How m ightIm ake itcarry
tothe earof the Chief ?T othe earof thats ick an d hatef u l
m an w hokn ew n othin g of R u n eberg an d m e s av e thatw e
w ere in Staf f ords hire an d w how as w aitin g in v ain f orou r
reportin his arid of f ice in Berl in , en dl es s l yexam in in g
n ew s papers . . . . Is aid ou tl ou d:Im u s tf l ee. Is atu pn ois el es s l y,
in au s el es s perf ection of s il en ce, as if Madden w ere al ready
119 41 s o 1: o +9 :o ---~- ~~ ~~o---:4 01. T h3 Garden Of
F orkin g P aths
-
l yin g in w aitf orm e. Som ethin g perhaps the m ere v ain
os ten tation of prov in g m yres ou rces w ere n il m ade m e
l ook throu ghm ypockets . If ou n d w hatIkn ew Iw ou l d f in d.
T he Am erican w atch, the n ickel chain an d the s qu are coin ,
the keyrin g w iththe in crim in atin g u s el es s keys to
R u n ebergs apartm en t, the n otebook, al etterw hichIres ol v ed
todes troyim m ediatel y( an d w hichIdid n otdes troy), a
crow n , tw os hil l in gs an d af ew pen ce, the red an d bl u e pen cil ,
the han dkerchief , the rev ol v erw ithon e bu l l et. Abs u rdl y, I
took itin m yhan d an d w eighed itin ordertoin s pire cou rage
w ithin m ys el f . Vagu el yIthou ghtthatapis tol reportcan be
heard atagreatdis tan ce. In ten m in u tes m ypl an w as
perf ected. T he tel ephon e book l is ted the n am e of the on l y
pers on capabl e of tran s m ittin g the m es s age; he l iv ed in a
s u bu rb of F en ton , l es s than ahal f hou r' s train ride aw ay.
l am acow ardl ym an . Is ayitn ow , n ow thatIhav e carried
toits en d apl an w hos e peril ou s n atu re n oon e can den y. I
kn ow its execu tion w as terribl e. Ididn ' tdoitf orGerm an y,
n o. Icare n othin g f orabarbarou s cou n tryw hichim pos ed
u pon m e the abj ection of bein g as py. Bes ides , Ikn ow of a
m an f rom En gl an d am odes tm an w hof orm e is n ol es s
greatthan Goethe. Ital ked w ithhim f ors carcel yan hou r, bu t
du rin g thathou rhe w as Goethe. . . . Idid itbecau s e Is en s ed
thatthe Chief s om ehow f eared peopl e of m yrace f orthe
in n u m erabl e an ces tors w hom erge w ithin m e. Iw an ted to
prov e tohim thatayel l ow m an cou l d s av e his arm ies .
Bes ides , Ihad tof l ee f rom Captain Madden . His han ds an d
his v oice cou l d cal l atm ydooratan ym om en t. Idres s ed
s il en tl y, bade f arew el l tom ys el f in the m irror, w en t
dow n s tairs , s cru tin ized the peacef u l s treetan d w en tou t. T he
s tation w as n otf arf rom m yhom e, bu tIj u dged itw is e to
take acab. Iargu ed thatin this w ayIran l es s ris k of bein g
recogn ized; the f actis thatin the des erted s treetIf el tm ys el f
v is ibl e an d v u l n erabl e, in f in itel ys o. Irem em berthatItol d
the cab driv ertos topas hortdis tan ce bef ore the m ain
en tran ce. Igotou tw ithv ol u n tary, al m os tpain f u l s l ow n es s ; I
w as goin g tothe v il l age of As hgrov e bu tIbou ghtaticketf or
am ore dis tan ts tation . T he train l ef tw ithin av eryf ew
m in u tes , ateight f if ty. Ihu rried; the n exton e w ou l d l eav e at
n in e-thirty. T here w as hardl yas ou l on the pl atf orm . Iw en t
throu ghthe coaches ; Irem em beraf ew f arm ers , aw om an
dres s ed in m ou rn in g, ayou n g boyw how as readin g w ith
f erv orthe An n al s of T acitu s , aw ou n ded an d happys ol dier.
T he coaches j erked f orw ard atl as t. Am an w hom I
recogn ized ran in v ain tothe en d of the pl atf orm . Itw as
Captain R ichard Madden . Shattered, trem bl in g, Is hran k in to
the f arcorn erof the s eat, aw ayf rom the dreaded w in dow .
F rom this broken s tate Ipas s ed in toan al m os tabj ect
f el icity. Itol d m ys el f thatthe du el had al readybegu n an d that
Ihad w on the f irs ten cou n terbyf ru s tratin g, ev en if f orf orty
m in u tes , ev en if byas troke of f ate, the attack of m y
adv ers ary. Iargu ed thatthis _v . _. .
s l ightes tof v ictories Z. = 5
f ores hadow ed atotal v ictory. I J p
argu ed ( n ol es s f al l aciou s l y)thatf H:
m ycow ardl yf el icityprov ed that
Iw as am an capabl e of carryin g " _. i' ..
ou tthe adv en tu re s u cces s f u l l y. I
R icl iaird
F rom this w eakn es s Itook J1; _Al l
s tren gththatdid n otaban don gtf g~d.gf gn e:,in i:g_,~ g _Z
m e. If ores ee thatm an w il l res ign if _'

i( IEdi.toi? > f T -n iiiie; q)i"i' ; . I
atrociou s u n dertakin gs ; s oon _g__ ;
there w il l be n oon e bu tw arriors ' J " * ' If I J '
him s el f eachdaytom ore
an d brigan ds ; Igiv e them this cou n s el :T he au thorof an
atrociou s u n dertakin g ou ghttoim agin e thathe has al ready
accom pl is hed it, ou ghttoim pos e u pon him s el f af u tu re as
irrev ocabl e as the pas t. T hu s Iproceeded as m yeyes of am an
al readydead regis tered the el aps in g of thatday, w hichw as
perhaps the l as t, an d the dif f u s ion of the n ight. T he train ran
gen tl yal on g, am id as htrees . Its topped, al m os tin the m iddl e
of the f iel ds . N oon e an n ou n ced the n am e of the s tation .
As hgrov e? Ias ked af ew l ads on the pl atf orm . As hgrov e,
theyrepl ied. Igotof f .
Al am pen l ighten ed the pl atf orm bu tthe f aces of the boys
w ere in s hadow . On e qu es tion ed m e, Are you goin g toDr.
Stephen Al berts hou s e? Withou tw aitin g f orm yan s w er,
an others aid, T he hou s e is al on g w ayf rom here, bu tyou
w on tgetl os tif you take this road tothe l ef tan d atev ery
cros s roads tu rn again toyou rl ef t."Itos s ed them acoin ( m y
l as t), des cen ded af ew s ton e s teps an d s tarted dow n the
s ol itaryroad. Itw en tdow n hil l , s l ow l y. Itw as of el em en tal
earth; ov erhead the ban ches w ere tan gl ed; the l ow , f u l l m oon
s eem ed toaccom pan ym e.
F oran in s tan t, Ithou ghtthatR ichard Madden in s om e
w ayhad pen etrated m ydes perate pl an . Veryqu ickl y, I
u n ders tood thatthatw as im pos s ibl e. T he in s tru ction s to
tu rn al w ays tothe l ef trem in ded m e thats u chw as the
com m on procedu re f ordis cov erin g the cen tral poin tof
certain l abyrin ths . Ihav e s om e u n ders tan din g of l abyrin ths :
31
01. T he Garden of
F orkin g P aths
n otf orn othin g am Ithe greatgran ds on of thatT s ' u iP en
w how as gov ern orof Y u n n an an d w horen ou n ced w orl dl y
pow erin ordertow rite an ov el thatm ightbe ev en m ore
popu l ou s than the Hu n g Lu Men g an d tocon s tru cta
l abyrin thin w hichal l m en w ou l d becom e l os t. T hirteen years
he dedicated tothes e heterogen eou s tas ks , bu tthe han d of a
s tran germ u rdered him ~an d his n ov el w as in coheren tan d
n oon e f ou n d the l abyrin th. Ben eathEn gl is htrees I
m editated on thatl os tm aze:Iim agin ed itin v iol ate an d
perf ectatthe s ecretcres tof am ou n tain ; Iim agin ed iteras ed
byrice f iel ds orben eaththe w ater; Iim agin ed itin f in ite, n o
l on gercom pos ed of octagon al kios ks an d retu rn in g paths ,
bu tof riv ers an d prov in ces an d kin gdom s . . . . Ithou ghtof a
l abyrin thof l abyrin ths , of on e s in u ou s s preadin g l abyrin th
thatw ou l d en com pas s the pas tan d the f u tu re an d in s om e
w ayin v ol v e the s tars . Abs orbed in thes e il l u s oryim ages , I
f orgotm ydes tin yof on e pu rs u ed. If el tm ys el f tobe, f oran
u n kn ow n period of tim e, an abs tractperceiv erof the w orl d.
T he v agu e, l iv in g cou n trys ide, the m oon , the rem ain s of the
dayw orked on m e, as w el l as the s l ope of the road w hich
el im in ated an ypos s ibil ityof w earin es s . T he af tern oon w as
in tim ate, in f in ite. T he road des cen ded an d f orked am on g the
n ow con f u s ed m eadow s . Ahigh pitched, al m os ts yl l abic
m u s ic approached an d receded in the s hif tin g of the w in d,
dim m ed byl eav es an d dis tan ce. Ithou ghtthatam an can be
an en em yof otherm en , of the m om en ts of otherm en , bu t
n otof acou n try:n otof f iref l ies , w ords , garden s , s tream s of
w ater, s u n s ets . T hu s Iarriv ed bef ore atal l , ru s tygate.
Betw een the iron bars Im ade ou tapopl argrov e an d a
pav il ion . Iu n ders tood s u dden l ytw othin gs , the f irs ttriv ial ,
the s econ d al m os tu n bel iev abl e:the m u s ic cam e f rom the
pav il ion , an d the m u s ic w as Chin es e. F orprecis el ythat
reas on Ihad open l yaccepted itw ithou tpayin g itan yheed. I
don otrem em berw hetherthere w as abel l orw hetherI J
kn ocked w ithm yhan d. T he s parkl in g of the m u s ic
con tin u ed.
P rom the rearof the hou s e w ithin al an tern approached:a
l an tern thatthe trees s om etim es s triped an d s om etim es
ecl ips ed, apaperl an tern thathad the f orm of adru m an d the
col orof the m oon . Atal l m an bore it. Ididn ' ts ee his f ace f or
the l ightbl in ded m e. He open ed the dooran d s aid s l ow l y, in
m yow n l an gu age:Is ee thatthe piou s I-Is iP ' n g pers is ts in
correctin g m ys ol itu de. Y ou n odou btw is htos ee the
garden ?
theN EWMEDIAR EADER
Irecogn ized the n am e of on e of ou rcon s u l s an d Irepl ied,
dis con certed, T he garden ?
T he garden of f orkin g paths .
Som ethin g s tirred in m ym em oryan d Iu ttered w ith
in com prehen s ibl e certain ty, T he garden of m yan ces torT s u i
P en .
Y ou ran ces tor?Y ou ril l u s triou s an ces tor?Com e in .
T he dam ppathzigzagged l ike thos e of m ychil dhood. We
cam e toal ibraryof Eas tern an d Wes tern books . Irecogn ized
bou n d in yel l ow s il k s ev eral v ol u m es of the Los tEn cycl opedia,
edited bythe T hird Em perorof the Lu m in ou s Dyn as tybu t
n ev erprin ted. T he record on the phon ographrev ol v ed n ext
toabron ze phoen ix. Ial s orecal l af am il l e ros e v as e an d
an other, m an ycen tu ries ol der, of thats hade of bl u e w hich
ou rcraf ts m en copied f rom the potters of P ers ia. . .
Stephen Al bertobs erv ed m e w ithas m il e. He w as , as Ihav e
s aid, v erytal l , s harp f eatu red, w ithgrayeyes an d agray
beard He tol d m e thathe had been am is s ion aryin T ien ts in
bef ore as pirin g tobecom e aSin ol ogis t.
We s atdow n Ion al on g, l ow div an , he w ithhis back to
the w in dow an d atal l circu l arcl ock. Ical cu l ated thatm y
pu rs u er, R ichard Madden , cou l d n otarriv e f oratl eas tan
hou r. Myirrev ocabl e determ in ation cou l d w ait.
An as tou n din g f ate, thatof T s ' u iP n ,"Stephen Al berts aid.
Gov ern orof his n ativ e prov in ce, l earn ed in as tron om y, in
as trol ogyan d in the tirel es s in terpretation of the can on ical
books , ches s pl ayer, f am ou s poetan d cal l igrapher he
aban don ed al l this in ordertocom pos e abook an d am aze.
He ren ou n ced the pl eas u res of bothtyran n yan d-j u s tice, of
his popu l ou s cou ch, of his ban qu ets an d ev en of eru di' tion
al l tocl os e him s el f u pf orthirteen years in the P av il ion of the
Lim pid Sol itu de. When he died, his heirs f ou n d n othin g s av e
chaotic m an u s cripts . His f am il y, as you m aybe aw are, w is hed
tocon dem n them tothe f ire; bu this execu tor - aT aois tor
Bu ddhis tm on k in s is ted on theirpu bl ication .
We des cen dan ts of T s ' u iP en , Irepl ied, con tin u e tocu rs e
thatm on k. T heirpu bl ication w as s en s el es s . T he book is an
in determ in ate heapof con tradictorydraf ts . Iexam in ed it
on ce:in the third chapterthe herodies , in the f ou rthhe is
al iv e. As f orthe otheru n dertakin g of T s u iP en , his
l abyrin th. .
Here is T s ' u iP n ' s l abyrin th, he s aid, in dicatin g atal l
l acqu ered des k.
An iv oryl abyrin th! Iexcl aim ed. Am in im u m l abyrin th.
119 41........a9 1> : at. _O . 01. T he Garden of
F orkin g P aths
' Al abyrin thof s ym bol s , he corrected. An in v is ibl e
l abyrin thof tim e. T om e, abarbarou s En gl is hm an , has been
en tru s ted the rev el ation of this diaphan ou s m ys tery. Af ter
m ore than ahu n dred years , the detail s are irretriev abl e; bu tit
is n othard tocon j ectu re w hathappen ed. T s ' u iP en m u s thav e
s aid on ce:Iam w ithdraw in g tow rite ahook. An d an othertim e:
Iam w ithdraw in g tocon s tru ctal ahyrin th. Ev eryon e im agin ed
tw ow orks ; ton oon e did itoccu rthatthe book an d the m aze
w ere on e an d the s am e thin g. T he P av il ion of the Lim pid
Sol itu de s tood in the cen terof agarden thatw as perhaps
in tricate; thatcircu m s tan ce cou l d hav e s u gges ted tothe heirs
aphys ical l abyrin th. Hs u iP n died; n oon e in the v as t
territories thatw ere his cam e u pon the l abyrin th; the
con f u s ion of the n ov el s u gges ted tom e thatitw as the m aze.
T w ocij tcu m s tan ces gav e m e the corrects ol u tion of the
probl em . On e:the cu riou s l egen d thatT s ' u iP n had pl an n ed
tocreate al abyrin thw hichw ou l d be s trictl yin f in ite. T he
other. af ragm en tof al etterIdis cov ered.
Al bertros e. He tu rn ed his back on m e f oram om en t; he
open ed adraw erof the bl ack an d gol d des k. He f aced m e an d
in his han ds he hel d as heetof paperthathad on ce been
crim s on , bu tw as n ow pin k an d ten u ou s an d cros s s ection ed.
T he f am e of T s ' u iP en as acal l igrapherhad been j u s tl yw on . I
read, u n com prehen din gl yan d w ithf erv or, thes e w ords
w ritten w itham in u te bru s hbyam an of m ybl ood:Il eav e to
the v ariou s f u tu res ( n ottoal l )m ygarden of f orkin g paths .
Wordl es s l y, Iretu rn ed the s heet. Al bertcon tin u ed:
Bef ore u n earthin g this l etter, Ihad qu es tion ed m ys el f
abou tthe w ays in w hichabook can be in f in ite. Icou l d
thin k of n othin g otherthan acycl ic v ol u m e, acircu l aron e.
Abook w hos e l as tpage w as iden tical w iththe f irs t, abook
w hichhad the pos s ibil ityof con tin u in g in def in itel y. I
rem em bered toothatn ightw hichis atthe m iddl e of T he
T hou s an d an d On e N ights w hen Scheherazade ( throu gha
m agical ov ers ightof the copyis t)begin s torel ate w ord f or
v m rd the s toryof T he T hou s an d an d On e N ights ,
es tabl is hin g the ris k of com in g on ce again tothe n ight
w hen s he m u .-s trepeatit, an d thu s on toin f in ity. Iim agin ed
as w el l aP l aton ic, hereditaryw ork, tran s m itted f rom f ather
tos on , in w hicheachn ew in div idu al adds achapteror
corrects w ithpiou s care the pages of his el ders . T hes e
con j ectu res div erted m e; bu tn on e s eem ed tocorres pon d,
n otev en rem otel y, tothe con tradictorychapters of T s ' u i
P en . In the m ids tof this perpl exity, Ireceiv ed f rom Oxf ord
the m an u s criptyou hav e exam in ed. Il in gered, n atu ral l y, on
E.
the s en ten ce:Il eav e tothe v ariou s f u tu res ( n ottoal l )m y
garden of f orl cin g paths . Al m os tin s tan tl y, Iu n ders tood:the
garden of f orkin g paths ' w as the chaotic n ov el ; the phras e
the v ariou s f u tu res ( n ottoal l )s u gges ted tom e the f orkin g
in tim e, n otin s pace. Abroad rereadin g of the w ork
con f irm ed the theory. In al l f iction al w orks , eachtim e a
m an is con f ron ted w iths ev eral al tern ativ es , he choos es on e
an d el im in ates the others ; in the f iction of T s ' u iP n , he
choos es s im u l tan eou s l y al l of them . He creates , in this
w ay, div ers e f u tu res , div ers e tim es w hichthem s el v es al s o
prol if erate an d f ork. Here, then , is the expl an ation of the
n ov el s con tradiction s . F an g, l etu s s ay, has as ecret; a
s tran gercal l s athis door; F an g res ol v es tokil l him .
N atu ral l y, there are s ev eral pos s ibl e ou tcom es : F an g can kil l
the in tru der, the in tru dercan kil l F an g, theybothcan
es cape, theybothcan die, an d s of orth. In the w ork of T s u i
P n , al l pos s ibl e ou tcom es occu r; eachon e is the poin tof
departu re f orotherf orkin gs . Som etim es , the paths of this
l abyrin thcon v erge: f orexam pl e, you arriv e atthis hou s e,
bu tin on e of the pos s ibl e pas ts you are m yen em y, in
an other, m yf rien d. If you w il l res ign you rs el f tom y
in cu rabl e pron u n ciation . w e s hal l read af ew pages .
His f ace, w ithin the v iv id circl e of the l am pl ight, w as
u n qu es tion abl ythatof an ol d m an , bu tw iths om ethin g u n -
al terabl e abou tit, ev en im m ortal . He read w iths l ow
precis ion tw ov ers ion s of the s am e epic chapter. In the f irs t,
an arm ym arches toabattl e acros s al on el ym ou n tain ; the
horrorof the rocks an d s hadow s m akes the m en u n derv al u e
theirl iv es an d theygain an eas yv ictory. In the s econ d, the
s am e arm ytrav ers es apal ace w here agreatf es tiv al is takin g
pl ace; the res pl en den tbattl e s eem s tothem acon tin u ation of
the cel ebration an d theyw in the v ictory. Il is ten ed w ith
properv en eration tothes e an cien tn arrativ es , perhaps l es s
adm irabl e in them s el v es than the f actthattheyhad been
created bym ybl ood an d w ere bein g res tored tom e byam an
of arem ote em pire, in the cou rs e of ades perate adv en tu re,
on aWes tern is l e. Irem em berthe l as tw ords , repeated in
eachv ers ion l ike as ecretcom m an dm en t:T hu s f ou ghtthe
heroes , tran qu il theiradm irabl e hearts , v iol en ttheirs w ords ,
res ign ed tokil l an d todie.
F rom thatm om en ton , If el tabou tm e an d w ithin m ydark
bodyan in v is ibl e, in tan gibl e s w arm in g. N otthe s w arm in g of
the div ergen t, paral l el :an d f in al l ycoal es cen tarm ies , bu ta
m ore in acces s ibl e, m ore in tim ate agitation thattheyin s om e
m an n erpref igu red. Stephen Al bertcon tin u ed:
01. T he Garden of
F orkin g P aths
Idon ' tbel iev e thatyou ril l u s triou s an ces torpl ayed idl y
w iththes e v ariation s . Idon itcon s ideritcredibl e thathe
w ou l d s acrif ice thirteen years tothe in f in ite execu tion of a
rhetorical experim en t. In you rcou n try, the n ov el is a
s u bs idiaryf orm of l iteratu re; in T s ' u iP n ' s tim e itw as a
des picabl e f orm . T s ' u iP en w as abril l ian tn ov el is t, bu the w as
al s oam an of l etters w hodou btl es s did n otcon s iderhim s el f
am ere n ov el is t. T he tes tim on yof his con tem poraries
procl aim s an d his l if e f u l l ycon f irm s his m etaphys ical
an d m ys tical in teres ts . P hil os ophic con trov ers yu s u rps agood
partof the n ov el . Ikn ow thatof al l probl em s , n on e dis tu rbed
him s ogreatl yn orw orked u pon him s om u chas the abys m al
probl em of tim e. N ow then , the l atteris the on l yprobl em
thatdoes n otf igu re in the pages of the Garden . He does n ot
ev en u s e the w ord thats ign if ies tim e. How doyou expl ain
this v ol u n taryom is s ion ?"
Ipropos ed s ev eral s ol u tion s al l u n s atis f actory. We
dis cu s s ed them . F in al l y, Stephen Al berts aid tom e:
In ariddl e w hos e an s w eris ches s , w hatis the on l y
prohibited w ord?
Ithou ghtam om en tan d repl ied, T he w ord ches s .
P recis el y, s aid Al bert. T he Garden of F orkin g P aths is an
en orm ou s riddl e, orparabl e, w hos e them e is tim e; this
recon dite cau s e prohibits its m en tion . T oom itaw ord al w ays ,
tores orttoin eptm etaphors an d obv iou s periphras es , is
perhaps the m os tem phatic w ayof s tres s in g it. T hatis the
tortu ou s m ethod pref erred, in eachof the m ean derin gs of his
in def atigabl e n ov el , bythe obl iqu e T s ' u iP en . Ihav e com pared
hu n dreds of m an u s cripts , Ihav e corrected the errors thatthe
n egl igen ce of the copyis ts has in trodu ced, Ihav e gu es s ed the
pl an of this chaos , Ihav e re-es tabl is hed Ibel iev e Ihav e re-
es tabl is hed the prim ordial organ ization , Ihav e tran s l ated
the en tire w ork:itis cl eartom e thatn oton ce does he
em pl oythe w ord tim e.T he expl an ation is obv iou s :T he
Garden of F orl <in g P aths is an in com pl ete, bu tn otf al s e, im age
of the u n iv ers e as T s u iP en con ceiv ed it. In con tras tto
N ew ton an d Schopen hau er, you ran ces tordid n otbel iev e in a
u n if orm , abs ol u te tim e. He bel iev ed in an in f in ite s eries of
tim es , in agrow in g, dizzyin g n etof div ergen t, con v ergen t
an d paral l el tim es . T his n etw ork of tim es w hichapproached
on e an other, f orked, broke of f , orw ere u n aw are of on e
theN EWMEDIAR EADER
an otherf orcen tu ries , em braces al l pos s ibil ities of tim e. We
don otexis tin the m aj orityof thes e tim es ; in s om e you exis t,
an d n otI; in others I, an d n otyou ; in others , bothof u s . In
the pres en ton e, w hichaf av orabl e f ate has gran ted m e, you
hav e arriv ed atm yhou s e; in an other, w hil e cros s in g the
garden , you f ou n d m e dead; in s til l an other, Iu tterthes e
s am e w ords , bu tIam am is take, aghos t.
In ev eryon e, Ipron ou n ced, n otw ithou tatrem bl e tom y
v oice, Iam gratef u l toyou an d rev ere you f oryou rre-
creation of the garden of T s ' u iP en .
N otin al l , he m u rm u red w ithas m il e. T im e f orks
perpetu al l ytow ard in n u m erabl e f u tu res . In on e of them Iam
you ren em y."
On ce again If el tthe s w arm in g s en s ation of w hichIhav e
s poken . Its eem ed tom e thatthe hu m id garden that
s u rrou n ded the hou s e w as in f in itel ys atu rated w ithin v is ibl e
pers on s . T hos e pers on s w ere Al bertan d I, s ecret, bu s yan d
m u l tif orm in otherdim en s ion s of tim e. Irais ed m yeyes an d
the ten u ou s n ightm are dis s ol v ed. In the yel l ow an d bl ack
garden there w as on l yon e m an ; bu tthis m an w as as s tron g
as as tatu e . . . this m _an w as approachin g al on g the pathan d
he w as Captain R ichard Madden . I
T he f u tu re al readyexis ts , Irepl ied, bu tIam you rf rien d.
Cou l d Is ee the l etteragain ?"
Al bertros e. Stan din g tal l , he open ed the draw erof the tal l
des k; f orthe m om en this back w as tom e. Ihad readied the
rev ol v er. If ired w ithextrem e cau tion . Al bertf el l u n com pIain -
in gl y, im m ediatel y. Is w earhis deathw as in s tan tan eou s -a
l ightn in g s troke.
T he res tis u n real , in s ign if ican t. Madden broke in , arres ted
m e. Ihav e been con dem n ed tothe gal l ow s . Ihav e w on ou t
abom in abl y; Ihav e com m u n icated toBerl in the s ecretn am e
of the citytheym u s tattack. T heybom bed ityes terday; Iread
itin the s am e papers thatof f ered toEn gl an d the m ys teryof
the l earn ed Sin ol ogis tStephen Al bertw how as m u rdered by
as tran ger, on e Y u T s u n . T he Chief had deciphered this
m ys tery. He kn ew m yprobl em w as toin dicate ( throu ghthe
u proarof the w ar)the citycal l ed Al bert, an d thatIhad
f ou n d n ootherm ean s todos othan tokil l am an of that
n am e. I-Ie does n otkn ow ( n oon e can kn ow )m yin n u m erabl e
con trition an d w earin es s .
Y
I
r
D
v v w u -u rn s -oi-v ' .* v v -w v r' I' :* r<r\Y .' W' -K-\* -N "Y -"~
O I19 O _.. i. .0-. - - .9 , 02 . As We MayT hin k
02 . [ In trodu ction ]
As We MayT hin k
T he bl as ts thatl ev el ed Hiros him aan d N agas akiw ere produ ced byon e of the m os tpow erf u l f orces
of the 2 0thcen tu ry:the U .S. m il itary-in du s trial com pl ex. Van n ev arBu s hw as argu abl ythe m an
thatpu tthis f orce in m otion , an d w as aprim aryorgan izerof the Man hattan P roj ectthat
produ ced the bom bs them s el v es . Y etBu s hw as al s odeepl ytrou bl ed byl aterdev el opm en ts in the
Col d Wararm s race. His v is ion of how techn ol ogycou l d l ead tow ard u n ders tan din g an d aw ay
f rom des tru ction w as aprim aryin s piration f orthe pos tw arres earchthatl ead tothe dev el opm en t
of n ew m edia.
Bef ore the w ar, Bu s hhad been the architectof grou n dbreakin g an al og com pu tin g proj ects at
MIT . In Ju n e 19 40he con v in ced F ran kl in Del an oR oos ev el ttogiv e him f u n din g an d pol itical
s u pporttocreate an ew kin d of col l aborativ e rel ation s hipbetw een the m il itary, in du s try, an d
academ ic res earchers w ithou tcon gres s ion al , orn earl yan yother, ov ers ight. His in f l u en ce, an d
the s ize of this n ew col l aboration , grew phen om en al l yov erthe n extf iv e years . T he res u l tw as
n am ed the m il itary-in du s trial com pl ex"byDw ightEis en how er, bu tthis s tru ctu re is perhaps m ore
aptl ycal l ed the iron trian gl e"of s el f -perpetu atin g m il itary, in du s trial , an d academ ic rel ation s hips .
T he iron trian gl e had adecis iv e rol e in the his toryof n ew m edia( f u n din g an d s hapin g m an y
im portan tproj ects )as w el l as in Bu s his pers on al his tory.
As We MayT hin k"w as pu bl is hed tw ice in 19 45 in the Atl an tic Mon thl yan d Lif e f irs ts hortl y
bef ore, an d then j u s taf ter, the U .S. n u cl earattacks on Japan . On on e l ev el , the techn ol ogies it
des cribes n ow s eem am u s in gl yan tiqu ated, as if theycou l d s ital on gs ide raygu n s an d f ood pil l s . Bu t
read in adif f eren tl ight, the articl e s eem s rem arkabl ycu ttin g-edge. Itdes cribes v oice in teraction ,
w earabl e in f orm ation dev ices , an d w irel es s datacon n ection s thatare s til l partof ou rn ear-f u tu re
v is ion today. T hes e des cription s , how ev er, are on l ythe preparation f orBu s hs m os tf am ou s propos al :
the m em ex, af u tu re dev ice f orin div idu al u s e . . . as ortof m echan ized priv ate f il e an d l ibrary in
the s hape of ades k. T he m em ex, as des cribed, u s es m ethods s u chas m icrof il m s torage, dry
photography, an d an al og com pu tin g togiv e pos tw ars chol ars acces s toahu ge, in dexed repos itoryof
kn ow l edge an ys ection of w hichcan be cal l ed u pw ithaf ew keys trokes .
T he f iel d of in f orm ation retriev al has been in s pired byBu s h' s v is ion of s im pl e, el egan t
in f orm ation acces s . N ew m edia, how ev er, has been in s pired byadif f eren tas pectof Bu s h' s v is ion :
the s chol arcreatin g l in ks an d pathw ays throu ghthis in f orm ation as s ociativ e con n ection s that
attem pttopartial l yref l ectthe in tricate w eb of trail s carried bythe cel l s of the brain . T he trail s
en v is ion ed f reel yin tercon n ectal l the con ten ts of the m em ex, w hichin cl u de bothpu bl ic
docu m en ts an d pers on al n otes , diagram s , an d photographs . Giv en am em ex, as chol arcou l d create
herow n kn ow l edge tool s as con n ection s w ithin ream s of in f orm ation , s hare thes e tool s , an d u s e
com pl exes of tool s tocreate yetm ore s ophis ticated kn ow l edge thatcou l d in tu rn be depl oyed
tow ard this w ork. T he m em exhas been en v is ion ed as am ean s of tu rn in g an in f orm ation expl os ion
in toakn ow l edge expl os ion . T his rem ain s on e of the def in in g dream s of n ew m edia.
Shortl yaf ter' As We MayT hin k w as f irs tpu bl is hed, Dou g En gel bart, ayou n g radartechn ician ,
cam e acros s itin aR ed Cros s l ibraryf orU .S. s ol diers in the P hil ippin es . Later, w iththe m em exin
m in d, En gel bartbegan w ork thatw ou l d res u l tin the in v en tion of the m ou s e, the w ord proces s or, the
hyperl in k, an d con cepts of n ew m ediaf orw hichthes e grou n dbreakin g in v en tion s w ere m erel y
en abl in g techn ol ogies . An otherhis tory-m akin g m om en tof in s piration is l ikel ytohav e taken pl ace at
the din n ertabl e of T ed N el s on s gran df ather, w horegu l arl yread al ou d f rom the Atl an tic Mon thl y.
N el s on , l ater, cou l dn ' tpl ace exactl yhis f irs ten cou n terw ithBu s h' s es s ay. He kn ew , how ev er, thatit
w as am aj orin f l u en ce as he m ade his dis cov eryof the hyperl in k ( in depen den tof En gel barts
w
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02 . As We MayT hin k theN EWMEDIAR EADER
dis cov eryof it), coin ed the term s hypertext an d hyperm edia, an d w rote books thaten v is ion ed
pers on al com pu tin g an d n etw ork pu bl is hin g ( of am ore s ophis ticated s ortthan n ow prov ided by
Web techn ol ogies )bef ore the f irs tpers on al com pu terw as ev en av ail abl e.
Bu s h' s is the f irs tof m an yes s ays in T he N ew MediaR eaderthatl ook n ottow ard bu tbeyon d the
Web. T he docu m en ts pres en ted in this v ol u m e are u s ef u l n oton l ybecau s e theycon tain ideas that
w ere in f l u en tial . T hes e docu m en ts are al s ou s ef u l becau s e theycon tain ideas that, tom an yu s ers
an d produ cers of n ew m edia, are in f acts til l n ew . Bu s h' s trail s are an exam pl e of this . N othin g
qu ite l ike them yetexis ts on the Web, orin othercom m on n ew m edias ys tem s . In addition to
on e j u m p, on e w ayl in ks , w ou l dn ' titbe apl eas u re tohav e trail s , capabl e of con n ectin g throu gha
s eries of in f orm ation pl aces in ordertohel pcon s tru ctam ore n u an ced m apof con n ection s in the
reader' s m in d?
Bu s hcon cl u ded his articl e byexpres s in g the hope thatthe appl ication s of s cien ce, w hichhad
recen tl ybeen u s ed tothrow m as s es of peopl e again s ton e an otherw ithcru el w eapon s ,"cou l d al s o
hel pthe hu m an race en com pas s the greatrecord an d togrow in the w is dom of race experien ce.
Bu s hhad al readyhel ped tos peed the w orl d tow ard bothou tcom es . T ow ard the f irs t, bypl ayin g an
in s tru m en tal rol e in in itiatin g am as s iv e w orl dw ide arm s race, w hos e dan gers he s aw cIearl y he
s aid, s hortl yaf terthe droppin g of the f irs thydrogen bom b, thatitw as atu rn in g poin tw hen w e
en tered in tothe grim w orl d thatw e are en terin g rightn ow ( En dl es s F ron tier, 36 4). T ow ard the
s econ d, byf os terin g an d in s pirin g the res earchcom m u n itythatw ou l d con tribu te s on otabl ytothe
greatrecord"in w artim e an d pos tw aryears .
N WF
I19 ; . 02 . As We MayT hin k
Origin al P u bl ication
T extf rom the Atl an tic Mon thl y, 17 6 ( 1):101 108. ( Ju l y19 45).
Im ages f rom Lif e, 19 ( 11); 112 -114, 116 , 12 1, 12 3-12 4.
( Septem ber19 45). T he textprin ted in the Atl an tic Mon thl yw as
abridged in Lif e.
As We MayT hin k
Van n ev arBu s h
As Directorof the Of ce of Scien ti c R es earchan d Dev el opm en t,
Dr. Van n ev arBu s hhas coordin ated the activ ities of s om e s ix
thou s an d l eadin g Am erican s cien tis ts in the appl ication of s cien ce
tow arf are. In this s ign i can tarticl e he hol ds u pan in cen tiv e f or
s cien tis ts w hen the ghtin g has ceas ed. He u rges thatm en of
s cien ce s hou l d then tu rn tothe m as s iv e tas k of m akin g m ore
acces s ibl e ou rbew il derin g s tore of kn ow l edge. F oryears in v en tion s
hav e exten ded m an ' s phys ical pow ers ratherthan the pow ers of his
m in d. T n pham m ers thatm u l tipl ythe s ts , m icros copes that
s harpen the eye, an d en gin es of des tru ction an d detection are n ew
res u l ts , bu tn otthe en d res u l ts , of m odern s cien ce. N ow , s ays Dr.
Bu s h, in s tru m en ts are athan d w hich, if properl ydev el oped, w il l
giv e m an acces s toan d com m an d ov erthe in herited kn ow l edge of
the ages . T he perf ection of thes e paci c in s tru m en ts s hou l d be the
rs tobj ectiv e of ou rs cien tis ts as theyem erge f rom theirw arw ork.
Like Em ers on ' s f am ou s addres s of 1837 on T he Am erican Schol ar,"
this paperbyDr. Bu s hcal l s f oran ew rel ation s hipbetw een
thin kin g m an an d the s u m of ou rkn ow l edge.
T HEEDIT OR [ T he Atl an tic Mon thl y]
T his has n otbeen as cien tis t' s w ar; ithas been aw arin
w hichal l hav e had apart. T he s cien tis ts , bu ryin g theirol d
prof es s ion al com petition in the dem an d of acom m on
cau s e, hav e s hared greatl yan d l earn ed m u ch. Ithas been
exhil aratin g tow ork in ef f ectiv e partn ers hip. N ow , f or
m an y, this appears tobe approachin g an en d. Whatare the
s cien tis ts todon ext?
F orthe biol ogis ts , an d particu l arl yf orthe m edical s cien tis ts ,
there can be l ittl e in decis ion , f ortheirw arhas hardl yrequ ired
them tol eav e the ol d paths . Man yin deed hav e been abl e to
carryon theirw arres earchin theirf am il iarpeacetim e
l aboratories . T heirobj ectiv es rem ain m u chthe s am e.
Itis the phys icis ts w hohav e been throw n m os tv iol en tl y
of f s tride, w hohav e l ef tacadem ic pu rs u its f orthe m akin g of
s tran ge des tru ctiv e gadgets , w hohav e had todev is e n ew
m ethods f ortheiru n an ticipated as s ign m en ts . T heyhav e
don e theirparton the dev ices thatm ade itpos s ibl e totu rn
back the en em y, hav e w orked in com bin ed ef f ortw iththe
phys icis ts of ou ral l ies . T heyhav e f el tw ithin them s el v es the
s tirof achiev em en t. T heyhav e been partof agreatteam .
N ow , as peace approaches , on e as ks w here theyw il l f in d
obj ectiv es w orthyof theirbes t.
1
Of w hatl as tin g ben ef ithas been m an ' s u s e of s cien ce an d of
the n ew in s tru m en ts w hichhis res earchbrou ghtin to
exis ten ce?F irs t, theyhav e in creas ed his con trol of his
m aterial en v iron m en t. T heyhav e im prov ed his f ood, his
cl othin g, his s hel ter; theyhav e in creas ed his s ecu rityan d
rel eas ed him partl yf rom the bon dage of bare exis ten ce. T hey
hav e giv en him in creas ed kn ow l edge of his ow n biol ogical
proces s es s othathe has had aprogres s iv e f reedom f rom
dis eas e an d an in creas ed s pan of l if e. T heyare il l u m in atin g
the in teraction s of his phys iol ogical an d ps ychol ogical
f u n ction s , giv in g the prom is e of an im prov ed m en tal heal th.
Scien ce has prov ided the s w if tes tcom m u n ication betw een
in div idu al s ; ithas prov ided arecord of ideas an d has en abl ed
m an tom an ipu l ate an d tom ake extracts f rom thatrecord s o
thatkn ow l edge ev ol v es an d en du res throu ghou tthe l if e of a
race ratherthan thatof an in div idu al .
T here is agrow in g m ou n tain of res earch. Bu tthere is
in creas ed ev iden ce thatw e are bein g bogged dow n todayas
s pecial ization exten ds . T he in v es tigatoris s taggered bythe
f in din gs an d con cl u s ion s of thou s an ds of otherw orkers
con cl u s ion s w hichhe can n otf in d tim e togras p, m u chl es s to
rem em ber, as theyappear. Y ets pecial ization becom es in creas -
in gl yn eces s aryf orprogres s , an d the ef f orttobridge betw een
dis cipl in es is corres pon din gl ys u perf icial .
P rof es s ion al l you rm ethods of tran s m ittin g an d rev iew in g
the res u l ts of res earchare gen eration s ol d an d byn ow are
total l yin adequ ate f ortheirpu rpos e. If the aggregate tim e
s pen tin w ritin g s chol arl yw orks an d in readin g them cou l d
be ev al u ated, the ratiobetw een thes e am ou n ts of tim e m ight
w el l be s tartl in g. T hos e w hocon s cien tiou s l yattem pttokeep
abreas tof cu rren tthou ght, ev en in res tricted f iel ds , bycl os e
an d con tin u ou s readin g m ightw el l s hyaw ayf rom an
exam in ation cal cu l ated tos how how m u chof the prev iou s
m on ths ef f orts cou l d be produ ced on cal l . Men del s con cept
of the l aw s of gen etics w as l os ttothe w orl d f oragen eration
becau s e his pu bl ication did n otreachthe f ew w how ere
capabl e of gras pin g an d exten din g it; an d this s ortof
catas trophe is u n dou btedl ybein g repeated al l abou tu s , as
tru l ys ign if ican tattain m en ts becom e l os tin the m as s of the
in con s equ en tial .
02 . As We MayT hin k
T he dif f icu l tys eem s tobe, n ots om u chthatw e pu bl is h
u n du l yin v iew of the exten tan d v arietyof pres en tday
in teres ts , bu tratherthatpu bl ication has been exten ded f ar
beyon d ou rpres en tabil itytom ake real u s e of the record.
T he s u m m ation of hu m an experien ce is bein g expan ded ata
prodigiou s rate, an d the m ean s w e u s e f orthreadin g throu gh
the con s equ en tm aze tothe m om en taril yim portan titem is
the s am e as w as u s ed in the days of s qu are-rigged s hips .
Bu tthere are s ign s of achan ge as n ew an d pow erf u l
in s tru m en tal ities com e in tou s e. P hotocel l s capabl e of
s eein g thin gs in aphys ical s en s e, adv an ced photography
w hichcan record w hatis s een orev en w hatis n ot,
therm ion ic tu bes capabl e of con trol l in g poten tf orces u n der
the gu idan ce of l es s pow erthan am os qu itou s es tov ibrate
his w in gs , cathode raytu bes ren derin g v is ibl e an occu rren ce
s obrief thatbycom paris on am icros econ d is al on g tim e,
rel aycom bin ation s w hichw il l carryou tin v ol v ed s equ en ces
of m ov em en ts m ore rel iabl ythan an yhu m an operatoran d
thou s an ds of tim es as f as t- there are pl en tyof m echan ical
aids w ithw hichtoef f ectatran s f orm ation in s cien tif ic
records .
T w ocen tu ries agoLeibn itz in v en ted acal cu l atin g m achin e
w hichem bodied m os tof the es s en tial f eatu res of recen t
keyboard dev ices , bu titcou l d n otthen com e in tou s e. T he
econ om ics of the s itu ation w ere again s tit:the l aborin v ol v ed
in con s tru ctin g it, bef ore the days of m as s produ ction ,
exceeded the l abortobe s av ed byits u s e, s in ce al l itcou l d
accom pl is hcou l d be du pl icated bys u f f icien tu s e of pen cil an d
paper. Moreov er, itw ou l d hav e been s u bj ecttof requ en t
breakdow n , s othatitcou l d n othav e been depen ded u pon ;
f oratthattim e an d l on g af ter, com pl exityan d u n rel iabil ity
w ere s yn on ym ou s .
Babbage, ev en w ithrem arkabl ygen erou s s u pportf orhis
tim e, cou l d n otprodu ce his greatarithm etical m achin e. His
ideaw as s ou n d en ou gh, bu tcon s tru ction an d m ain ten an ce
cos ts w ere then tooheav y. Had aP haraohbeen giv en detail ed
an d expl icitdes ign s of an au tom obil e, an d had he u n ders tood
them com pl etel y, itw ou l d hav e taxed the res ou rces of his
kin gdom tohav e f as hion ed the thou s an ds of parts f ora
s in gl e car, an d thatcarw ou l d hav e broken dow n on the f irs t
triptoGiza.
Machin es w ithin terchan geabl e parts can n ow be
con s tru cted w ithgreatecon om yof ef f ort. In s pite of m u ch
com pl exity, theyperf orm rel iabl y. Witn es s the hu m bl e
typew riter, orthe m ov ie cam era, orthe au tom obil e. El ectrical
theN EWMEDIAR EADER
con tacts hav e ceas ed tos tick w hen thorou ghl yu n ders tood.
N ote the au tom atic tel ephon e exchan ge, w hichhas hu n dreds
of thou s an ds of s u chcon tacts , an d yetis rel iabl e. As pider
w eb of m etal , s eal ed in athin gl as s con tain er, aw ire heated
tobril l ian tgl ow , in s hort, the therm ion ic tu be of radios ets , is
m ade bythe hu n dred m il l ion , tos s ed abou tin packages ,
pl u gged in tos ockets an d itw orks ! Its gos s am erparts , the
precis e l ocation an d al ign m en tin v ol v ed in its con s tru ction ,
w ou l d hav e occu pied am as tercraf ts m an of the gu il d f or
m on ths ; n ow itis bu il tf orthirtycen ts . T he w orl d has arriv ed
atan age of cheapcom pl exdev ices of greatrel iabil ity; an d
s om ethin g is bou n d tocom e of it.
2
Arecord if itis tobe u s ef u l tos cien ce, m u s tbe con tin u ou s l y
exten ded, itm u s tbe s tored, an d abov e al l itm u s tbe
con s u l ted. T odayw e m ake the record con v en tion al l yby
w ritin g an d photography, f ol l ow ed byprin tin g; bu tw e al s o
record on f il m , on w axdis ks , an d on m agn etic w ires . Ev en if
u tterl yn ew recordin g procedu res don otappear, thes e
pres en ton es are certain l yin the proces s of m odif ication
an d exten s ion .
Certain l yprogres s in photographyis n otgoin g tos top.
F as term aterial an d l en s es , m ore au tom atic cam eras , f in er-
grain ed s en s itiv e com pou n ds toal l ow an exten s ion of the
m in icam eraidea, are al l im m in en t. Letu s proj ectthis tren d
ahead toal ogical , if n otin ev itabl e, ou tcom e. T he cam era
hou n d of the f u tu re w ears on his f orehead al u m pal ittl e
l argerthan aw al n u t. Ittakes pictu res 3 m il l im eters s qu are,
l atertobe proj ected oren l arged, w hichaf teral l in v ol v es on l y
af actorof 10beyon d pres en tpractice. T he l en s is of
u n iv ers al f ocu s , dow n toan ydis tan ce accom m odated bythe
u n aided eye, s im pl ybecau s e itis of s hortf ocal l en gth. T here
is abu il t in photocel l on the w al n u ts u chas w e n ow hav e on
atl eas ton e cam era, w hichau tom atical l yadj u s ts expos u re f or
aw ide ran ge of il l u m in ation . T here is f il m in the w al n u tf ora
hu n dred expos u res , an d the s prin g f oroperatin g its s hu tter
an d s hif tin g its f il m is w ou n d on ce f oral l w hen the f il m cl ip
is in s erted. Itprodu ces its res u l tin f u l l col or. Itm ayw el l be
s tereos copic, an d record w ithtw os paced gl as s eyes , f or
s trikin g im prov em en ts in s tereos copic techn iqu e are j u s t
arou n d the corn er.
T he cord w hichtrips its s hu tterm ayreachdow n am an ' s
s l eev e w ithin eas yreachof his f in gers . Aqu ick s qu eeze, an d
the pictu re is taken . On apairof ordin arygl as s es is a
o Il aas ~~~--as : a~-~o = ~~a1= --~- ~ o ~ ~11 -~ ~- o------ 02 . AS We May
s qu are of f in e l in es n earthe topof on e l en s , w here itis ou t
of the w ayof ordin aryv is ion . When an obj ectappears in
thats qu are, itis l in ed u pf orits pictu re. As the s cien tis tof
the f u tu re m ov es abou tthe l aboratoryorthe f iel d, ev ery
tim e he l ooks ats om ethin g w orthyof the record, he trips
the s hu tteran d in itgoes , w ithou tev en an au dibl e cl ick. Is
this al l f an tas tic?T he on l yf an tas tic thin g abou titis the
ideaof m akin g as m an ypictu res as w ou l d res u l tf rom its
u s e.
Wil l there be dryphotography?Itis al readyhere in tw o
f orm s . When Bradym ade his Civ il Warpictu res , the pl ate
had tobe w etatthe tim e of expos u re. N ow ithas tobe w et
du rin g dev el opm en tin s tead. In the f u tu re perhaps itn eed
n otbe w etted atal l . T here hav e l on g been f il m s im pregn ated
w ithdiazodyes w hichf orm apictu re w ithou tdev el opm en t,
s othatitis al readythere as s oon as the cam erahas been
operated. An expos u re toam m on iagas des troys the
u n expos ed dye, an d the pictu re can then be taken ou tin to
the l ightan d exam in ed. T he proces s is n ow s l ow , bu t
s om eon e m ays peed itu p, an d ithas n ograin dif f icu l ties s u ch
as n ow keepphotographic res earchers bu s y. Of ten itw ou l d
he adv an tageou s tobe abl e tos n apthe cam eraan d tol ook at
the pictu re im m ediatel y.
An otherproces s n ow in u s e is al s os l ow , an d m ore orl es s
du m s y. F orf if tyyears im pregn ated papers hav e been u s ed
w hichtu rn dark atev erypoin tw here an el ectrical con tact
tou ches them , byreas on of the chem ical chan ge thu s
produ ced in an iodin e com pou n d in cl u ded in the paper. T hey
hav e been u s ed tom ake. records , f orapoin term ov in g acros s
them can l eav e atrail behin d. If the el ectrical poten tial on the
poin teris v aried as itm ov es , the l in e becom es l ightordark in
accordan ce w iththe poten tial .
T his s chem e is n ow u s ed in f acs im il e tran s m is s ion . T he
poin terdraw s as etof cl os el ys paced l in es acros s the paper
on e af teran other. As itm ov es , its poten tial is v aried in
accordan ce w ithav aryin g cu rren treceiv ed ov erw ires f rom a
dis tan ts tation , w here thes e v ariation s are produ ced bya
photocel l w hichis s im il arl ys can n in g apictu re. Atev ery
in s tan tthe darkn es s of the l in e bein g draw n is m ade equ al to
the darkn es s of the poin ton the pictu re bein g obs erv ed by
the photocel l . T hu s , w hen the w hol e pictu re has been
cov ered, arepl icaappears atthe receiv in g en d.
As cen e its el f can be j u s tas w el l l ooked ov erl in e byl in e
bythe photocel l in this w ayas can aphotographof the
s cen e. T his w hol e apparatu s con s titu tes acam era, w iththe
added f eatu re, w hichcan be dis pen s ed w ithif des ired, of
m akin g its pictu re atadis tan ce. l tis s l ow , an d the pictu re is
poorin detail . Stil l , itdoes giv e. an otherproces s of dry
photography, in w hichthe pictu re is f in is hed as s oon as itis
taken .
Itw ou l d be abrav e m an w how ou l d predictthats u cha
proces s w il l al w ays rem ain cl u m s y, s l ow , an d f au l tyin detail .
T el ev is ion equ ipm en ttodaytran s m its s ixteen reas on abl y
good pictu res as econ d, an d itin v ol v es on l ytw oes s en tial
dif f eren ces f rom the proces s des cribed abov e. F oron e, the
record is m ade byam ov in g beam of el ectron s ratherthan a
m ov in g poin ter, f orthe reas on thatan el ectron beam can
s w eepacros s the pictu re v eryrapidl yin deed. T he other
dif f eren ce in v ol v es m erel ythe u s e of as creen w hichgl ow s
m om en taril yw hen the el ectron s hit, ratherthan achem ical l y
treated paperorf il m w hichis perm an en tl yal tered. T his
s peed is n eces s aryin tel ev is ion , f orm otion pictu res rather
than s til l s are the obj ect.
U s e chem ical l ytreated f il m in pl ace of the gl ow in g s creen ,
al l ow the apparatu s totran s m iton e pictu re on l yratherthan
as u cces s ion , an d arapid cam eraf ordryphotographyres u l ts .
T he treated f il m n eeds tobe f arf as terin action than pres en t
exam pl es , bu titprobabl ycou l d be.
More s eriou s is the obj ection thatthis s chem e w ou l d
in v ol v e pu ttin g the f il m in s ide av acu u m cham ber, f or
el ectron beam s behav e n orm al l yon l yin s u chararef ied
en v iron m en t. T his dif f icu l tycou l d be av oided byal l ow in g the
el ectron beam topl ayon on e s ide of apartition , an d by
pres s in g the f il m again s tthe others ide, if this partition w ere
s u chas toal l ow the el ectron s togothrou ghperpen dicu l arto
its s u rf ace, an d toprev en tthem f rom s preadin g ou t
s idew ays . Su chpartition s , in cru de f orm , cou l d certain l ybe
con s tru cted, an d theyw il l hardl yhol d u pthe gen eral
dev el opm en t.
Like dryphotography, m icrophotographys til l has al on g
w aytogo. T he bas ic s chem e of redu cin g the s ize of the
record, an d exam in in g itbyproj ection ratherthan directl y,
has pos s ibil ities toogreattobe ign ored. T he com bin ation of
optical proj ection an d photographic redu ction is al ready
produ cin g s om e res u l ts in m icrof il m f ors chol arl ypu rpos es ,
an d the poten tial ities are highl ys u gges tiv e. T oday, w ith
m icrof il m , redu ction s byal in earf actorof 2 0can be
em pl oyed an d s til l produ ce f u l l cl arityw hen the m aterial is
re en l arged f orexam in ation . T he l im its are s etbythe
grain in es s of the f il m , the excel l en ce of the optical s ys tem ,
02 . As We MayT hin k
an d the ef f icien cyof the l ights ou rces em pl oyed. Al l of thes e
are rapidl yim prov in g.
As s u m e al in earratioof 100f orf u tu re u s e. Con s iderf il m
of the s am e thickn es s as paper, al thou ghthin n erf il m w il l
certain l ybe u s abl e. Ev en u n derthes e con dition s there w ou l d
be atotal f actorof 10,000betw een the bu l k of the ordin ary
record on books , an d its m icrof il m repl ica. T he En cycl opoedia
Britan n icacou l d be redu ced tothe v ol u m e of am atchbox. A
.-
I' j J_l
\
I 1 ,.. ,__
F igu re 2 .1. As cien tis tof the f u tu re records experim en ts w itha
tin ycam era tted w ithu n iv ers al -f ocu s l en s . T he s m al l s qu are in
the eyegl as s atthe l ef ts ights the obj ect( Lye 19 ( 11), p. 112 ).
l ibraryof am il l ion v ol u m es cou l d be com pres s ed in toon e
en d of ades k. If the hu m an race has produ ced s in ce the
in v en tion of m ov abl e type atotal record, in the f orm of
m agazin es , n ew s papers , books , tracts , adv ertis in g bl u rbs ,
corres pon den ce, hav in g av ol u m e corres pon din g toabil l ion
books , the w hol e af f air, as s em bl ed an d com pres s ed, cou l d be
l u gged of f in am ov in g v an . Mere com pres s ion , of cou rs e, is
n oten ou gh; on e n eeds n oton l ytom ake an d s tore arecord
bu tal s obe abl e tocon s u l tit, an d this as pectof the m atter
com es l ater. Ev en the m odern greatl ibraryis n otgen eral l y
con s u l ted; itis n ibbl ed atbyaf ew .
Com pres s ion is im portan t, how ev er, w hen itcom es to
cos ts . T he m aterial f orthe m icrof il m Britan n icaw ou l d cos ta
n ickel , an d itcou l d be m ail ed an yw here f oracen t. What
w ou l d itcos ttoprin tam il l ion copies ?T oprin tas heetof
n ew s paper, in al arge edition , cos ts as m al l f raction of acen t.
T he en tire m aterial of the Britan n icain redu ced m icrof il m
f orm w ou l d goon as heeteightan d on e-hal f byel ev en
in ches . On ce itis av ail abl e, w iththe photographic
reprodu ction m ethods of the f u tu re, du pl icates in l arge
qu an tities cou l d probabl ybe tu rn ed ou tf oracen tapiece
beyon d the cos tof m aterial s . T he preparation of the origin al
copy?T hatin trodu ces the n extas pectof the s u bj ect.
theN EWMEDIAR EADER
3
T om ake the record, w e n ow pu s hapen cil ortapa
typew riter. T hen com es the proces s of diges tion an d
correction , f ol l ow ed byan in tricate proces s of types ettin g
prin tin g, an d dis tribu tion . T ocon s iderthe f irs ts tage of the
procedu re, w il l the au thorof the f u tu re ceas e w ritin g by
han d ortypew riteran d tal k directl ytothe record?He does
s oin directl y, bytal kin g toas ten ographeroraw axcyl in der;
bu tthe el em en ts are al l pres en tif he w is hes tohav e his tal k
directl yprodu ce atyped record. Al l he n eeds todois totake
adv an tage of exis tin g m echan is m s an d toal terhis l an gu age.
Atarecen tWorl d F airam achin e cal l ed aVoderw as
s how n . Agirl s troked its keys an d item itted recogn izabl e
s peech. N ohu m an v ocal chords en tered in tothe procedu re at
an ypoin t; the keys s im pl ycom bin ed s om e el ectrical l y
produ ced v ibration s an d pas s ed thes e on toal ou d-s peaker. In
the Bel l Laboratories there is the con v ers e of this m achin e,
cal l ed aVocoder. T he l ou ds peakeris repl aced bya
m icrophon e, w hichpicks u ps ou n d. Speak toit, an d the
corres pon din g keys m ov e. T his m aybe on e el em en tof the
pos tu l ated s ys tem .
T he otherel em en tis f ou n d in the s ten otype, that
s om ew hatdis con certin g dev ice en cou n tered u s u al l yatpu bl ic
m eetin gs . Agirl s trokes its keys l an gu idl yan d l ooks abou t
the room an d s om etim es atthe s peakerw ithadis qu ietin g
gaze. P rom item erges atyped s tripw hichrecords in a
phon etical l ys im pl if ied l an gu age arecord of w hatthe s peaker
is s u ppos ed tohav e s aid. Laterthis s tripis retyped in to
ordin aryl an gu age, f orin its n as cen tf orm itis in tel l igibl e
on l ytothe in itiated. Com bin e thes e tw oel em en ts , l etthe
Vocoderru n the s ten otype, an d the res u l tis am achin e w hich
types w hen tal ked to.
Ou rpres en tl an gu ages are n otes pecial l yadapted tothis
s ortof m echan ization , itis tru e.
Itis s tran ge thatthe in v en tors of u n iv ers al l an gu ages hav e
n ots eized u pon the ideaof produ cin g on e w hichbetter
f itted the techn iqu e f ortran s m ittin g an d recordin g s peech.
Mechan ization m ayyetf orce the is s u e, es pecial l yin the
s cien tif ic f iel d; w hereu pon s cien tif ic j argon w ou l d becom e
s til l l es s in tel l igibl e tothe l aym an .
On e can n ow pictu re af u tu re in v es tigatorin his
l aboratory. His han ds are f ree, an d he is n otan chored. As
he m ov es abou tan d obs erv es , he photographs an d
com m en ts . T im e is au tom atical l yrecorded totie the tw o
records together. If he goes in tothe f iel d, he m aybe
P
rt
i-' 2
I.
o Wl 19 45o--~a~= s o aw ~ o~ s 02 . AS We May
con n ected byradiotohis recorder. As he pon ders ov erhis
n otes in the ev en in g, he again tal ks his com m en ts in tothe
record. His typed record, as w el l as his photographs , m ay
bothbe in m in iatu re, s othathe proj ects them f or
exam in ation .
Mu chn eeds tooccu r, how ev er, betw een the col l ection of
dataan d obs erv ation s , the extraction of paral l el m aterial
f rom the exis tin g record, an d the f in al in s ertion of n ew
m aterial in tothe gen eral bodyof the com m on record. F or
m atu re thou ghtthere is n om echan ical s u bs titu te. Bu t
creativ e thou ghtan d es s en tial l yrepetitiv e thou ghtare v ery
dif f eren tthin gs . F orthe l atterthere are, an d m aybe,
pow erf u l m echan ical aids .
Addin g acol u m n of f igu res is arepetitiv e thou ghtproces s ,
an d itw as l on g agoproperl yrel egated tothe m achin e. T ru e,
the m achin e is s om etim es con trol l ed byakeyboard, an d
thou ghtof as orten ters in readin g the f igu res an d pokin g
the corres pon din g keys , bu tev en this is av oidabl e. Machin es
hav e been m ade w hichw il l read typed f igu res byphotocel l s
an d then depres s the corres pon din g keys ; thes e are
com bin ation s of photocel l s f ors can n in g the type, el ectric
circu its f ors ortin g the con s equ en tv ariation s , an d rel ay
circu its f orin terpretin g the res u l tin tothe action of
s ol en oids topu l l the keys dow n .
Al l this com pl ication is n eeded becau s e of the cl u m s yw ay
in w hichw e hav e l earn ed tow rite f igu res . If w e recorded
them pos ition al l y, s im pl ybythe con f igu ration of as etof
dots on acard, the au tom atic readin g m echan is m w ou l d
becom e com parativ el ys im pl e. In f actif the dots are hol es ,
w e hav e the pu n ched-card m achin e l on g agoprodu ced by
l iol l orithf orthe pu rpos es of the cen s u s , an d n ow u s ed
throu ghou tbu s in es s . Som e types of com pl exbu s in es s es
cou l d hardl yoperate w ithou tthes e m achin es .
Addin g is on l yon e operation . T operf orm arithm etical
com pu tation in v ol v es al s os u btraction , m u l tipl ication , an d
div is ion , an d in addition s om e m ethod f ortem porary
s torage of res u l ts , rem ov al f rom s torage f orf u rther
m an ipu l ation , an d recordin g of f in al res u l ts byprin tin g.
Machin es f orthes e pu rpos es are n ow of tw otypes :keyboard
m achin es f oraccou n tin g an d the l ike, m an u al l ycon trol l ed
f orthe in s ertion of data, an d u s u al l yau tom atical l y
con trol l ed as f aras the s equ en ce of operation s is con cern ed;
an d pu n ched-card m achin es in w hichs eparate operation s
are u s u al l ydel egated toas eries of m achin es , an d the cards
then tran s f erred bodil yf rom on e toan other. Bothf orm s are
v eryu s ef u l ; bu tas f aras com pl excom pu tation s are
con cern ed, bothare s til l in em bryo.
R apid el ectrical cou n tin g appeared s oon af terthe
phys icis ts f ou n d itdes irabl e tocou n tcos m ic rays . F ortheir
ow n pu rpos es the phys icis ts prom ptl ycon s tru cted
therm ion ic-tu be equ ipm en tcapabl e of cou n tin g el ectrical
im pu l s es atthe rate of 100,000as econ d. T he adv an ced
arithm etical m achin es of the f u tu re w il l be el ectrical in
n atu re, an d theyw il l perf orm at100tim es pres en ts peeds ,
orm ore.
Moreov er, theyw il l be f arm ore v ers atil e than pres en t
com m ercial m achin es , s othattheym ayreadil ybe adapted
f oraw ide v arietyof operation s . T heyw il l be con trol l ed bya
con trol card orf il m , theyw il l s el ecttheirow n dataan d
m an ipu l ate itin accordan ce w iththe in s tru ction s thu s
in s erted, theyw il l perf orm com pl exarithm etical
com pu tation s atexceedin gl yhighs peeds , an d theyw il l
record res u l ts in s u chf orm as tobe readil yav ail abl e f or
dis tribu tion orf orl aterf u rtherm an ipu l ation . Su chm achin es
w il l hav e en orm ou s appetites . On e of them w il l take
in s tru ction s an d dataf rom aw hol e room f u l of girl s arm ed
w iths im pl e keyboard pu n ches , an d w il l del iv ers heets of
com pu ted res u l ts ev eryf ew m in u tes . T here w il l al w ays be
pl en tyof thin gs tocom pu te in the detail ed af f airs of m il l ion s
of peopl e doin g com pl icated thin gs .
4
T he repetitiv e proces s es of thou ghtare n otcon f in ed
how ev er, tom atters of arithm etic an d s tatis tics . In f act, ev ery
tim e on e com bin es an d records f acts in accordan ce w ith
es tabl is hed l ogical proces s es , the creativ e as pectof thin kin g is
con cern ed on l yw iththe s el ection of the dataan d the proces s
tobe em pl oyed an d the m an ipu l ation thereaf teris repetitiv e
in n atu re an d hen ce af itm attertobe rel egated tothe
m achin e. N ots om u chhas been don e al on g thes e l in es ,
beyon d the bou n ds of arithm etic, as m ightbe don e,
prim aril ybecau s e of the econ om ics of the s itu ation . T he
n eeds of bu s in es s an d the exten s iv e m arketobv iou s l y
w aitin g, as s u red the adv en tof m as s -produ ced arithm etical
m achin es j u s tas s oon as produ ction m ethods w ere
s u f f icien tl yadv an ced.
Withm achin es f oradv an ced an al ys is n os u chs itu ation
exis ted; f orthere w as an d is n oexten s iv e m arket; the u s ers of
adv an ced m ethods of m an ipu l atin g dataare av erys m al l part
of the popu l ation . T here are, how ev er, m achin es f ors ol v in g
02 . As We MayT hin k
dif f eren tial equ .ation s an d f u n ction al an d in tegral
equ ation s , f orthatm atter. T here are m an ys pecial m achin es ,
s u chas the harm on ic s yn thes izerw hichpredicts the tides .
T here w il l be m an ym ore, appearin g certain l yf irs tin the
han ds of the s cien tis tan d in s m al l n u m bers .
If s cien tif ic reas on in g w ere l im ited tothe l ogical proces s es
of arithm etic, w e s hou l d n otgetf arin ou ru n ders tan din g of
the phys ical w orl d. On e m ightas w el l attem pttogras pthe
gam e of pokeren tirel ybythe u s e of the m athem atics of
probabil ity. T he abacu s , w ithits beads s tru n g on paral l el
w ires , l ed the Arabs topos ition al n u m eration an d the
con ceptof zerom an ycen tu ries bef ore the res tof the w orl d;
an d itw as au s ef u l tool s ou s ef u l thatits til l exis ts .
Itis af arcryf rom the abacu s tothe m odern keyboard
accou n tin g m achin e. Itw il l be an equ al s teptothe
arithm etical m achin e of the f u tu re. Bu tev en this n ew
m achin e w il l n ottake the s cien tis tw here he n eeds togo.
R el ief m u s tbe s ecu red f rom l aboriou s detail ed m an ipu l ation
of higherm athem atics as w el l , if the u s ers of itare tof ree
theirbrain s f ors om ethin g m ore than repetitiv e detail ed
tran s f orm ation s in accordan ce w ithes tabl is hed ru l es . A
m athem atician is n otam an w hocan readil ym an ipu l ate
f igu res ; of ten he can n ot. He is n otev en am an w hocan
readil yperf orm the tran s f orm ation s of equ ation s bythe u s e
of cal cu l u s . He is prim aril yan in div idu al w hois s kil l ed in the
u s e of s ym bol ic l ogic on ahighpl an e, an d es pecial l yhe is a
m an of in tu itiv e j u dgm en tin the choice of the m an ipu l ativ e
proces s es he em pl oys .
Al l el s e he s hou l d be abl e totu rn ov ertohis m echan is m ,
j u s tas con f iden tl yas he tu rn s ov erthe propel l in g of his car
tothe in tricate m echan is m u n derthe hood. On l ythen w il l
m athem atics be practical l yef f ectiv e in brin gin g the grow in g
kn ow l edge of atom is tics tothe u s ef u l s ol u tion of the
adv an ced probl em s of chem is try, m etal l u rgy, an d biol ogy. F or
this reas on there s til l com e m ore m achin es tohan dl e
adv an ced m athem atics f orthe s cien tis t. Som e of them w il l be
s u f f icien tl ybizarre tos u itthe m os tf as tidiou s con n ois s eu rof
the pres en tartif acts of civ il ization .
5
T he s cien tis t, how ev er, is n otthe on l ypers on w ho
m an ipu l ates dataan d exam in es the w orl d abou thim bythe
u s e of l ogical proces s es , al thou ghhe s om etim es pres erv es
this appearan ce byadoptin g in tothe f ol d an yon e w ho
becom es l ogical , m u chin the m an n erin w hichaBritis hl abor
theN EWMEDIAR EADER
l eaderis el ev ated tokn ighthood. When ev erl ogical proces s es
of thou ghtare em pl oyed~thatis , w hen ev erthou ghtf ora
tim e ru n s al on g an accepted groov e there is an
opportu n ityf orthe m achin e. F orm al l ogic u s ed tobe akeen
in s tru m en tin the han ds of the teacherin his tryin g of
s tu den ts s ou l s . Itis readil ypos s ibl e tocon s tru ctam achin e
w hichw il l m an ipu l ate prem is es in accordan ce w ithf orm al
l ogic, s im pl ybythe cl ev eru s e of rel aycircu its . P u tas etof
prem is es in tos u chadev ice an d tu rn the cran k, an d itw il l
readil ypas s ou tcon cl u s ion af tercon cl u s ion , al l in accordan ce
w ithl ogical l aw , an d w ithn om ore s l ips than w ou l d be
expected of akeyboard addin g m achin e.
Logic can becom e en orm ou s l ydif f icu l t, an d itw ou l d
u n dou btedl ybe w el l toprodu ce m ore as s u ran ce in its u s e.
T he m achin es f orhigheran al ys is hav e u s u al l ybeen
equ ation s ol v ers . Ideas are begin n in g toappearf orequ ation
tran s f orm ers , w hichw il l rearran ge the rel ation s hip
expres s ed byan equ ation in accordan ce w iths trictan d
ratheradv an ced l ogic. P rogres s is in hibited bythe i
exceedin gl ycru de w ayin w hichm athem atician s expres s
theirrel ation s hips . T heyem pl oyas ym bol is m w hichgrew
l ike T ops yan d has l ittl e con s is ten cy; as tran ge f actin that
m os tl ogical f iel d.
An ew s ym bol is m , probabl ypos ition al , m u s tapparen tl y
precede the redu ction of m athem atical tran s f orm ation s to
m achin e proces s es . T hen , on beyon d the s trictl ogic of the
m athem atician , l ies the appl ication of l ogic in ev eryday
af f airs . We m ays om e daycl ick of f argu m en ts on am achin e
w iththe s am e as s u ran ce thatw e n ow en ters al es on acas h
regis ter. Bu tthe m achin e of l ogic w il l n otl ook l ike acas h
regis ter, ev en of the s tream l in ed m odel .
Som u chf orthe m an ipu l ation of ideas an d theirin s ertion
in tothe record. T hu s f arw e s eem tobe w ors e of f than
bef ore- f orw e can en orm ou s l yexten d the record; yetev en
in its pres en tbu l k w e can hardl ycon s u l tit. T his is am u ch
l argerm atterthan m erel ythe extraction of dataf orthe
pu rpos es of s cien tif ic res earch; itin v ol v es the en tire proces s
byw hichm an prof its byhis in heritan ce of acqu ired
kn ow l edge. T he prim e action of u s e is s el ection , an d here w e
are hal tin g in deed. T here m aybe m il l ion s of f in e thou ghts ,
an d the accou n tof the experien ce on w hichtheyare bas ed,
al l en cas ed w ithin s ton e w al l s of acceptabl e architectu ral
f orm ; bu tif the s chol arcan getaton l yon e aw eek bydil igen t
s earch, his s yn thes es are n otl ikel ytokeepu pw iththe
cu rren ts cen e.
19 45
m l . . ~ -0 02 . As We MayT hin k
Sel ection , in this broad s en s e, is as ton e adze in the han ds
of acabin etm aker. Y et, in an arrow s en s e an d in otherareas ,
s om ethin g has al readybeen don e m echan ical l yon s el ection .
T he pers on n el of f icerof af actorydrops as tack of af ew
thou s an d em pl oyee cards in toas el ectin g m achin e, s ets a
code in accordan ce w ithan es tabl is hed con v en tion , an d
produ ces in as horttim e al is tof al l em pl oyees w hol iv e in
T ren ton an d kn ow Span is h. Ev en s u chdev ices are m u chtoo
s l ow w hen itcom es , f orexam pl e, tom atchin g as etof
f in gerprin ts w ithon e of f iv e m il l ion on f il e. Sel ection
dev ices of this s ortw il l s oon be s peeded u pf rom their
pres en trate of rev iew in g dataataf ew hu n dred am in u te.
/ .
@ o
r 4* ' i
M
f l
~ e
a"re?
* % ?T e?? ' ?T
?$..
F igu re 2 .2 . Su pers ecretaiyof the com in g age, the m achin e
con tem pl ated here w ou l d take dictation , type itau tom atical l y
an d ev en tal k back if the au thorw an ted torev iew w hathe had
j u s ts aid. Itis s om ew hats im il artothe Voders een atthe N ew
Y ork Worl d' s F air. Like al l m achin es s u gges ted bythe diagram s in
this articl e, itis n otyetin exis ten ce ( Lif e 19 ( 11), p. 114).
Bythe u s e of photocel l s an d m icrof il m theyw il l s u rv ey
item s atthe rate of athou s an d as econ d, an d w il l prin tou t
du pl icates of thos e s el ected.
T his proces s , how ev er, is s im pl e s el ection :itproceeds by
exam in in g in tu rn ev eryon e of al arge s etof item s , an d by
pickin g ou tthos e w hichhav e certain s pecif ied characteris tics .
T here is an otherf orm of s el ection bes til l u s trated bythe au to-
m atic tel ephon e exchan ge. Y ou dial an u m beran d the
m adiin e s el ects an d con n ects j u s ton e of am il l ion pos s ibl e
s tation s Itdoes n otru n ov erthem al l . Itpays atten tion on l y
toacl as s giv en byaf irs tdigit, then on l ytoas u bcl as s of this
giv en bythe s econ d digit, an d s oon ; an d thu s proceeds
rapidl yan d al m os tu n errin gl ytothe s el ected s tation . It
requ ires af ew s econ ds tom ake the s el ection , al thou ghthe
proces s cou l d be s peeded u pif in creas ed s peed w ere
econ om ical l yw arran ted If n eces s ary, itcou l d be m ade
extrem el yf as tbys u bs titu tin g therm ion ic-tu be s w itchin g f or
m echan ical s w itchin g, s othatthe f u l l s el ection cou l d. be m ade
in on e on e-hu n dredthof as econ d. N oon e w ou l d w is hto
s pen d the m on eyn eces s arytom ake this chan ge in the
tel ephon e s ys tem , bu tthe gen eral ideais appl icabl e el s ew here.
T ake the pros aic probl em of the greatdepartm en ts tore.
Ev erytim e acharge s al e is m ade, there are an u m berof
thin gs tobe don e. T he in v en toryn eeds tobe rev is ed, the
s al es m an n eeds tobe giv en creditf orthe s al e, the gen eral
aocou n ts n eed an en try, an d, m os tim portan t, the cu s tom er
n eeds tobe charged. Acen tral records dev ice has been
dev el oped in w hichm u chof this w ork is don e con v en ien tl y.
T he s al es m an pl aces on as tan d the cu s tom ers iden tif ication
card, his ow n card, an d the card taken f rom the articl e s ol d
al l pu n ched cards . When he pu l l s al ev er, con tacts are m ade
throu ghthe hol es , m achin eryatacen tral poin tm akes the
n eces s arycom pu tation s an d en tries , an d the properreceiptis
prin ted f orthe s al es m an topas s tothe cu s tom er.
Bu tthere m aybe ten thou s an d charge cu s tom ers doin g
bu s in es s w iththe s tore, an d bef ore the f u l l operation can be
com pl eted s om eon e has tos el ectthe rightcard an d in s ertit
atthe cen tral of f ice. N ow rapid s el ection can s l ide j u s tthe
properca.rd in topos ition in an in s tan tortw o, an d retu rn it
af terw ard An otherdif f icu l tyoccu rs , how ev er. Som eon e. m u s t
read atotal on the card, s othatthe m achin e can add its
com pu ted item toit. Con ceiv abl ythe cards m ightbe of the
dryphotographytype Ihav e des cribed. Exis tin g total s cou l d
then be read byphotocel l , an d the n ew total en tered byan
el ectron beam .
T he cards m aybe in m in iatu re, s othattheyoccu pyl ittl e
s pace. T heym u s tm ov e qu ickl y. T heyn eed n otbe tran s f erred
f ar, bu tm erel yin topos ition s othatthe photocel l an d
recordercan operate on them . P os ition al dots can en terthe
data. Atthe en d of the m on tham achin e can readil ybe m ade
toread thes e an d toprin tan ordin arybil l . Withtu be
s el ection , in w hichn om echan ical parts are in v ol v ed in the
s w itches , l ittl e tim e n eed be occu pied in brin gin g the correct
card in tou s e as econ d s hou l d s u f f ice f orthe en tire
operation . T he w hol e record on the card m aybe m ade by
m agn etic dots on as teel s heetif des ired, in s tead of dots tobe
02 . As We MayT hin k
obs erv ed optical l y, f ol l ow in g the s chem e byw hichP ou l s en
l on g agopu ts peechon am agn etic w ire. T his m ethod has the
adv an tage of s im pl icityan d eas e of eras u re. Byu s in g
photography, how ev eron e can arran ge toproj ectthe record
in en l arged f orm an d atadis tan ce byu s in g the proces s
com m on in tel ev is ion equ ipm en t.
On e can con s iderrapid s el ection of this f orm , an d dis tan t
proj ection f orotherpu rpos es . T obe abl e tokeyon e s heetof
am il l ion bef ore an operatorin as econ d ortw o, w iththe
pos s ibil ityof then addin g n otes thereto, is s u gges tiv e in
m an yw ays . Itm ightev en be of u s e in l ibraries , bu tthatis
an others tory. Atan yrate, there are n ow s om e in teres tin g
theN EWMEDIAR EADER
f rom s u bcl as s tos u bcl as s . Itcan be in on l yon e pl ace, u n l es s
du pl icates are u s ed; on e has tohav e ru l es as tow hichpath
w il l l ocate it, an d the ru l es are cu m bers om e. Hav in g f ou n d
on e item , m oreov er, on e has toem erge f rom the s ys tem an d
re-en teron an ew path.
T he hu m an m in d does n otw ork thatw ay. Itoperates by
as s ociation . Withon e item in its gras p, its n aps in s tan tl yto
the n extthatis s u gges ted bythe as s ociation of thou ghts , in
accordan ce w iths om e in tricate w eb of trail s carried bythe
cel l s of the brain . Ithas othercharacteris tics , of cou rs e; trail s
thatare n otf requ en tl yf ol l ow ed are pron e tof ade, item s are
n otf u l l yperm an en t, m em oryis tran s itory. Y etthe s peed of
F igu re 2 .3. Mem exin the
f orm of ades k w ou l d
in s tan tl ybrin g l es an d
m aterial on an ys u bj ect
tothe operator' s
n gertips . Sl an tin g
tran s l u cen tv iew in g
s creen s m agn if y
s u perm icro l m f il ed by
code n u m bers . Atl ef tis
am echan is m w hich
au tom atical l y l
photographs l on ghan d
n otes , pictu res an d
l etters , then f il es them
in the des k f orf u tu re
ref eren ce ( Lif e 19 ( 11),
p. 12 3).
com bin ation s pos s ibl e. On e m ight, f orexam pl e, s peak toa
m icrophon e, in the m an n erdes cribed in con n ection w iththe
s peechcon trol l ed typew riter, an d thu s m ake his s el ection s . It
w ou l d certain l ybeatthe u s u al f il e cl erk.
6
T he real heartof the m atterof s el ection , how ev er, goes
deeperthan al ag in the adoption of m echan is m s byl ibraries ,
oral ack of dev el opm en tof dev ices f ortheiru s e. Ou r
in eptitu de in gettin g atthe record is l argel ycau s ed bythe
artif icial ityof s ys tem s of in dexin g. When dataof an ys ortare
pl aced in s torage, theyare f il ed al phabetical l yorn u m erical l y,
an d in f orm ation is f ou n d ( w hen itis )bytracin g itdow n
l
action , the in tricacyof trail s , the detail of m en tal pictu res , is
aw e-in s pirin g beyon d al l el s e in n atu re.
Man can n othope f u l l ytodu pl icate this m en tal proces s
artif icial l y, bu the certain l you ghttobe abl e tol earn f rom it.
In m in orw ays he m ayev en im prov e, f orhis records hav e
rel ativ e perm an en cy. T he f irs tidea, how ev er, tobe draw n
f rom the an al ogycon cern s s el ection . Sel ection by
as s ociation , ratherthan in dexin g, m ayyetbe m echan ized.
On e can n othope thu s toequ al the s peed an d f l exibil ity
w ithw hichthe m in d f ol l ow s an as s ociativ e trail , bu tit
s hou l d be pos s ibl e tobeatthe m in d decis iv el yin regard to
the perm an en ce an d cl arityof the item s res u rrected f rom
s torage.
"' 7 W' .' V' [ I
or l 19 45r> - - A s o-* 1 are o :: 02 . AS w e May
Con s ideraf u tu re dev ice. f orin div idu al u s e, w hichis as ort
of m echan ized priv ate f il e an d l ibrary. Itn eeds an am e, an d,
tocoin on e atran dom , m em ex w il l do. Am em exis adev ice
in w hichan in div idu al s tores al l his books , records , an d
com m u n ication s , an d w hichis m echan ized s othatitm aybe
con s u l ted w ithexceedin g s peed an d f l exibil ity. Itis an
en l arged in tim ate s u ppl em en ttohis m em ory.
Itcon s is ts of ades k, an d w hil e itcan pres u m abl ybe
operated f rom adis tan ce, itis prim aril ythe piece of f u rn itu re
atw hichhe w orks . On the topare s l an tin g tran s l u cen t
s creen s , on w hichm aterial can be proj ected f orcon v en ien t
readin g.
T here is akeyboard, an d s ets of bu tton s an d l ev ers .
Otherw is e itl ooks l ike an ordin arydes k.
l n on e en d is the s tored m ateria.l . T he m atterof bu l k is
w el l taken care of byim prov ed m icrof il m . On l yas m al l part
of the in teriorof the m em exis dev oted tos torage, the res t
tom echan is m . Y etif the u s erin s erted 5000pages of
m aterial adayitw ou l d take him hu n dreds of years tof il l
the repos itory, s ohe can be prof l igate an d en term aterial
f reel y. -
Mos tof the m em excon ten ts are pu rchas ed on m icrof il m
readyf orin s ertion . Books of al l s orts , pictu res , cu rren t
periodical s , n ew s papers , are thu s obtain ed an d dropped in to
pl ace. Bu s in es s corres pon den ce takes the s am e path. An d
there is prov is ion f ordirecten try. On the topof the m em ex
is atran s paren tpl aten . On this are pl aced l on ghan d n otes ,
photographs , m em oran da, al l s orts of thin gs . When on e is in
pl ace, the depres s ion of al ev ercau s es ittobe photographed
on tothe n extbl an k s pace in as ection of the m em exf il m , dry
photographybein g em pl oyed.
T here is , of cou rs e, prov is ion f orcon s u l tation of the record
bythe u s u al s chem e of in dexin g. If the u s erw is hes tocon s u l t
acertain book, he taps its code on the keyboard, an d the titl e
page of the book prom ptl yappears bef ore him , proj ected
on toon e of his v iew in g pos ition s . F requ en tl y u s ed codes are
m n em on ic, s othathe s el dom con s u l ts his code book; bu t
w hen he does , as in gl e tapof akeyproj ects itf orhis u s e.
Moreov er, he has s u ppl em en tal l ev ers . On def l ectin g on e of
thes e l ev ers tothe righthe ru n s throu ghthe book bef ore
him , eachpage in tu rn bein g proj ected atas peed w hichj u s t
al l ow s arecogn izin g gl an ce ateach. If he def l ects itf u rtherto
the right, he s teps throu ghthe book 10pages atatim e; s til l
f u rtherat100pages atatim e. Def l ection tothe l ef tgiv es
him the s am e con trol backw ards .
As pecial bu tton tran s f ers him im m ediatel ytothe f irs t
page of the in dex. An ygiv en book of his l ibrarycan thu s be
cal l ed u pan d con s u l ted w ithf argreaterf acil itythan if it
w ere taken f rom as hel f . As he has s ev eral proj ection
pos ition s , he can l eav e on e item in pos ition w hil e he cal l s u p
an other. He can add m argin al n otes an d com m en ts , takin g
adv an tage of on e pos s ibl e type of dryphotography, an d it
cou l d ev en be arran ged s othathe can dothis byas tyl u s
s chem e, s u chas is n ow em pl oyed in the tel au tographs een in
rail road w aitin g room s , j u s tas thou ghhe had the phys ical
page bef ore him .
7
Al l this is con v en tion al , exceptf orthe proj ection f orw ard of
pres en t-daym echan is m s an d gadgetry. Itaf f ords an
im m ediate s tep, how ev er, toas s ociativ e in dexin g, the bas ic
ideaof w hichis aprov is ion w herebyan yitem m aybe cau s ed
atw il l tos el ectim m ediatel yan d au tom atical l yan other. T his
is the es s en tial f eatu re of the m em ex. T he proces s of tyin g
tw oitem s togetheris the im portan tthin g.
When the u s eris bu il din g atrail , he n am es it, in s erts the
n am e in his code book, an d taps itou ton his keyboard.
Bef ore him are the tw oitem s tobe j oin ed, proj ected on to
adj acen tv iew in g pos ition s . Atthe bottom of eachthere are a
n u m berof bl an k code s paces , an d apoin teris s ettoin dicate
on e of thes e on eachitem . T he u s ertaps as in gl e key, an d the
item s are perm an en tl yj oin ed. In eachcode s pace appears the
code w ord. Ou tof v iew , bu tal s oin the code s pace, is in s erted
as etof dots f orphotocel l v iew in g; an d on eachitem thes e
dots bytheirpos ition s des ign ate the in dexn u m berof the
otheritem .
T hereaf ter, atan ytim e, w hen on e of thes e item s is in v iew ,
the othercan be in s tan tl yrecal l ed m erel ybytappin g a
bu tton bel ow the corres pon din g code s pace. Moreov er, w hen
n u m erou s item s hav e been thu s j oin ed togethertof orm a
trail , theycan be rev iew ed in tu rn , rapidl yors l ow l y, by
def l ectin g al ev erl ike thatu s ed f ortu rn in g the pages of a
book. Itis exactl yas thou ghthe phys ical item s had been
gathered togetherf rom w idel ys eparated s ou rces an d bou n d
togethertof orm an ew book. Itis m ore than this , f oran y
item can be j oin ed in ton u m erou s trail s .
T he ow n erof the m em ex, l etu s s ay, is in teres ted in the
origin an d properties of the bow an d arrow . Specif ical l yhe is
s tu dyin g w hythe s hortT u rkis hbow w as apparen tl ys u perior
tothe En gl is hl on g bow in the s kirm is hes of the Cru s ades .
02 . As We MayT hin k
He has dozen s of pos s ibl ypertin en tbooks an d articl es in his
m em ex. F irs the ru n s throu ghan en cycl opedia, f in ds an
in teres tin g bu ts ketchyarticl e, l eav es itproj ected. N ext, in a
his tory, he f in ds an otherpertin en titem , an d ties the tw o
together. T hu s he goes , bu il din g atrail of m an yitem s .
Occas ion al l yhe in s erts acom m en tof his ow n , eitherl in kin g
itin tothe m ain trail orj oin in g itbyas ide trail toaparticu l ar
pin g " _- j
-' . _I *
. < 3 P . .
-.a~ ,9 .
s -; ; _. :; _~
7 :-
.k-.
1" ' \\_.-
' R ?
50'
( i-
"1' :-::= _
/ L__ _
:34 _- . . ' .
; -a -- -' ~ \-0|
L Q ' \ .
-u ? % /
-= -.. R EE
P M g
F igu re 2 .4. Mem exin u s e is s how n here. On on e tran s paren t
s creen the operatorof the f u tu re w rites n otes an d com m en tary
deal in g w ithref eren ce m aterial w hichis proj ected on the s creen
atl ef t. In s ertion of the propercode s ym bol s atthe bottom of
right-han d s creen w il l tie the n ew item tothe earl ieron e af ter
n otes are photographed on s u perm icrof il m ( Lif e 19 ( 11), p. 12 4).
item . When itbecom es ev iden tthatthe el as tic properties of
av ail abl e m aterial s had agreatdeal todow iththe bow , he
bran ches of f on as ide trail w hichtakes him throu gh
textbooks on el as ticityan d tabl es of phys ical con s tan ts . He
in s erts apage of l on ghan d an al ys is of his ow n .
T hu s he bu il ds atrail of his in teres tthrou ghthe m aze of
m aterial s av ail abl e tohim .
An d his trail s don otf ade. Sev eral years l ater, his tal k w ith
af rien d tu rn s tothe qu eerw ays in w hichapeopl e res is t
in n ov ation s , ev en of v ital in teres t. He has an exam pl e, in the
f actthatthe ou traged Eu ropean s s til l f ail ed toadoptthe
T u rkis hbow .
l n f acthe has atrail on it. Atou chbrin gs u pthe code book.
T appin g af ew keys proj ects the head of the trail . Al ev erru n s
throu ghitatw il l , s toppin g atin teres tin g item s , goin g of f on
s ide excu rs ion s . Itis an in teres tin g trail , pertin en ttothe
dis cu s s ion . Sohe s ets areprodu cerin action , photographs the
w hol e trail ou t, an d pas s es ittohis f rien d f orin s ertion in his
ow n m em ex, there tobe l in ked in tothe m ore gen eral trail .
theN EWMEDIAR EADER
8
Whol l yn ew f orm s of en cycl opedias w il l appear, readym ade
w itham es hof as s ociativ e trail s ru n n in g throu ghthem ,
readytobe dropped in tothe m em exan d there am pl if ied.
T he l aw yerhas athis tou chthe as s ociated opin ion s an d
decis ion s of his w hol e experien ce, an d of the experien ce of
f rien ds an d au thorities . T he paten tattorn eyhas on cal l the
m il l ion s of is s u ed paten ts , w ithf am il iartrail s toev erypoin t
of his cl ien ts in teres t. T he phys ician , pu zzl ed byapatien ts
reaction s , s trikes the trail es tabl is hed in s tu dyin g an earl ier
s im il arcas e, an d ru n s rapidl ythrou ghan al ogou s cas e
his tories , w iths ide ref eren ces tothe cl as s ics f orthe
pertin en tan atom yan d his tol ogy. T he chem is t, s tru ggl in g
w iththe s yn thes is of an organ ic com pou n d, has al l the
chem ical l iteratu re bef ore him in his l aboratory, w ithtrail s
f ol l ow in g the an al ogies of com pou n ds , an d s ide trail s to
theirphys ical an d chem ical behav ior. T he his torian , w itha
v as tchron ol ogical accou n tof apeopl e, paral l el s itw itha
s kiptrail w hichs tops on l yon the s al ien titem s , an d can
f ol l ow atan ytim e con tem porarytrail s w hichl ead him al l
ov erciv il ization ataparticu l arepoch. T here is an ew
prof es s ion of trail bl azers , thos e w hof in d del ightin the tas k
of es tabl is hin g u s ef u l trail s throu ghthe en orm ou s m as s of
the com m on record. T he in heritan ce f rom the m as ter
becom es , n oton l yhis addition s tothe w orl d' s record, bu t
f orhis dis cipl es the en tire s caf f ol din g byw hichtheyw ere
erected.
T hu s s cien ce m ayim pl em en tthe w ays in w hichm an
produ ces , s tores , an d con s u l ts the record of the race. Itm ight
be s trikin g toou tl in e the in s tru m en tal ities of the f u tu re
m ore s pectacu l arl y, ratherthan tos tick cl os el ytom ethods
an d el em en ts n ow kn ow n an d u n dergoin g rapid
dev el opm en t, as has been don e here. T echn ical dif f icu l ties of
al l s orts hav e been ign ored, certain l y, bu tal s oign ored are
m ean s as yetu n kn ow n w hichm aycom e an ydayto
accel erate techn ical progres s as v iol en tl yas did the adv en tof
the therm ion ic tu be. In orderthatthe pictu re m ayn otbe too
com m on pl ace, byreas on of s tickin g topres en t-daypattern s ,
itm aybe w el l tom en tion on e s u chpos s ibil ity, n otto
prophes ybu tm erel ytos u gges t, f orprophecybas ed on
exten s ion of the kn ow n has s u bs tan ce, w hil e prophecy
f ou n ded on the u n kn ow n is on l yadou bl yin v ol v ed gu es s .
Al l ou rs teps in creatin g orabs orbin g m aterial of the
record proceed throu ghon e of the s en s es the tactil e w hen
w e tou chkeys , the oral w hen w e s peak orl is ten , the v is u al
19 45
0| ~ ~ A 0 A o* ~~- = ~~--1:0 A e 02 . AS WEMay
w hen w e read. l s itn otpos s ibl e thats om e daythe pathm ay
be es tabl is hed m ore directl y?
We kn ow thatw hen the eye s ees , al l the con s equ en t
in f orm ation is tran s m itted tothe brain bym ean s of
el ectrical v ibration s in the chan n el of the optic n erv e. T his is
an exactan al ogyw iththe el ectrical v ibration s w hichoccu r
in the cabl e of atel ev is ion s et: theycon v eythe pictu re f rom
the photocel l s w hichs ee ittothe radiotran s m itterf rom
w hichitis broadcas t. We kn ow f u rtherthatif w e can
approachthatcabl e w iththe properin s tru m en ts , w e don ot
n eed totou chit; w e can pick u pthos e v ibration s by
el ectrical in du ction an d thu s dis cov eran d reprodu ce the
s cen e w hichis bein g tran s m itted, j u s tas atel ephon e w ire
m aybe tapped f orits m es s age.
T he im pu l s es w hichf l ow in the arm n erv es of atypis t
con v eytoherf in gers the tran s l ated in f orm ation w hichreaches
hereye orear, in orderthatthe f in gers m aybe cau s ed tos trike
the properkeys . Mightn otthes e cu rren ts be in tercepted,
eitherin the origin al f orm in w hichin f orm ation is con v eyed to
the brain , orin the m arv el ou s l ym etam orphos ed f orm in
w hichtheythen proceed tothe han d?
Bybon e con du ction w e al readyin trodu ce s ou n ds :in tothe
n erv e chan n el s of the deaf in orderthattheym ayhear. l s it
n otpos s ibl e thatw e m ayl earn toin trodu ce them w ithou t
the pres en tcu m bers om en es s of f irs ttran s f orm in g el ectrical
v ibration s tom echan ical on es , w hichthe hu m an m echan is m
prom ptl ytran s f orm s back tothe el ectrical f orm ?Witha
cou pl e of el ectrodes on the s ku l l the en cephal ographn ow
produ ces pen -an d-in k traces w hichbears om e rel ation tothe
el ectrical phen om en agoin g on in the brain its el f . T ru e, the
record is u n in tel l igibl e, exceptas itpoin ts ou tcertain gros s
m
m is f u n ction in g of the cerebral m echan is m ; bu tw how ou l d
n ow pl ace bou n ds on w here s u chathin g m ayl ead?In the
ou ts ide w orl d al l f orm s of in tel l igen ce w hetherof s ou n d or
s ight, hav e been redu ced tothe f orm of v aryin g cu rren ts in
an el ectric circu itin orderthattheym aybe tran s m itted.
In s ide the hu m an f ram e exactl ythe s am e s ortof proces s
occu rs . Mu s tw e al w ays tran s f orm tom echan ical m ov em en ts
in ordertoproceed f rom on e el ectrical phen om en on to
an other?l tis a-s u gges tiv e thou ght, bu tithardl yw arran ts
prediction w ithou tl os in g tou chw ithreal ityan d
im m ediaten es s .
P res u m abl ym an s s pirits hou l d be el ev ated if he can better
rev iew his s hadypas tan d an al yze m ore com pl etel yan d
obj ectiv el yhis pres en tprobl em s . He has bu il taciv il ization s o
com pl exthathe n eeds tom echan ize his records m ore f u l l yif
he is topu s hhis experim en ttoits l ogcal con cl u s ion an d n ot
m erel ybecom e bogged dow n partw aythere byov ertaxin g his
l im ited m em ory. His excu rs ion s m aybe m ore en j oyabl e if he
can reacqu ire the priv il ege of f orgettin g the m an if ol d thin gs he
does n otn eed tohav e im m ediatel yathan d, w iths om e
as s u ran ce thathe can f in d them again if theyprov e im portan t.
T he appl ication s of s cien ce hav e bu il tm an aw el l -s u ppl ied
hou s e, an d are teachin g him tol iv e heal thil ytherein . T hey
hav e en abl ed him tothrow m as s es of peopl e again s ton e
an otherw ithcru el w eapon s . T heym ayyetal l ow him tru l yto
en com pas s the greatrecord an d togrow in the w is dom of
race experien ce. He m ayperis hin con f l ictbef ore he l earn s to
w iel d thatrecord f orhis tru e good. Y et, in the appl ication of
s cien ce tothe n eeds an d des ires of m an , itw ou l d s eem tobe
as in gu l arl yu n f ortu n ate s tage atw hichtoterm in ate the
proces s , ortol os e hope as tothe ou tcom e.

Com pu tin g Machin ery

an d In tel l igen ce
com pu ters w ere v iew ed pu rel yas n u m ber cru n chers . F rom theirpaper-tape in pu ttotheir A
n u m eric ou tpu t, theyu s ed theirs ym bol m an ipu l ation pow ers tocal cu l ate, produ cin g tabl es of
m m pu ters cou l d u s ef u l l ym an ipu l ate w ords . T he l eapin tol an gu age m ade pos s ibl e ahu ge ran ge of
Appl ication s :em ail , w ord proces s in g, v oice recogn ition , an d ev en the s im pl e abil itytocl ick OK. i
Mm al l am ou n tof earl ycom pu tin g actu al l yw as textproces s in g, al thou ghof ahighl y r
m athem atical s ort. T he Britis hCol os s u s com pu ters , bu il ts tartin g in 19 43 w iththe hel pof
Cam
n e experien ce thatl ed com pu terpion eerT u iin g ( w hoal s odev is ed the m athem atical abs traction
ddl e T u rin g m achin e, atheoretical , f orm al l y des cribed m achin e thatcan s ol v e an ycom pu tabl e
T u rin g tes t. In s tead of as kin g if acom pu tercan thin k, T u rin g repl aced thatqu es tion w ithon e that1
eou l dbe an s w ered:can acom pu ter, com m u n icatin g ov eratel eprin ter, f ool apers on in tobel iev in g itj
Khu m an ?T he T u rin g tes thas in s pired the an n u al Loebn erP rize com petition f orchatterbots that1
in 19 9 1, bu tithas of ten been derided as u s el es s f orcom pu ters cien ce. Its im portan ttorecal l ~
Ii!!!T u rin g of f ered ittothe phil os ophers w horead the j ou rn al Min d n ottocom pu ters cien tis ts , as a
ty f chal l en gin g theirn otion of in tel l igen ce an d of how itcou l d be def in ed phen om en ol ogical l y.
WP
Others w il l thin k of itas prov ocativ e f orpredictin g athin kin g com pu terw ithin f if ty A A AA A A A AA A ,
j years T il rin gpu tf orthan otherin teres tin g ideain this articl e, how ev er:thatactu al hu m an -com pu ter
O
A.
L
Q
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l s irgdev el oped f oru s e bybu s in es s es , an d thes e did s u gges tthatthe com pu tercou l d actas s cribe.
T hee
ppecw aaim portan tn otj u s tin des cribin g athin kin g m achin e, bu tin des cribin g an es s en tial l y
i hl l om odern program m in g l an gu ages an d operatin g s ys tem s , today' s Web, an d al l s orts of
j l t
19 50
O . I W_- - 03. Com pu tin g Machin ery
an d In tel l igen ce
[ In trodu ction ]
f orartil l erytargetin g ortohel pcon s tru ctthe atom ic bom b. Itw as n ' tobv iou s , earl yon , that~
bridge m athem atician Al an T u rin g, w orked todecrypten coded l an gu age. T hatm ighthav e been
tow rite this grou n dbreakin g es s ay. T u rin g' s es s ayis w el l kn ow n f ors ettin g f orththe
ters cien tis ts are qu itel ikel ytorem em berthis paperas an ticipatin g the f iel d of artif icial
u s in g l an gu age cou l d take pl ace. Atthe begin n in g of the 19 505, s om e bil l in g s ys tem s w ere ,
. I .
s ys tem s f itboil erpl ate l an gu age arou n d w hatw ere bas ical l ym athem atical operation s . T u rin g' s
i' com pu terthatcou l d con v ers e f l u idl y.
' S des cription of av erbal com pu terw as on e in s piration f orearl yprogram m ers tof orge in to I
m edia, pu s hin g com pu tin g in toterritorybeyon d thatof n u m bers an d cal cu l ation . U s in g A
Q m pu ters tom an ipu l ate w ords m ade pos s ibl e n otj u s tthe m u n dan e yetim portan tw ord proces s or, I
A aes thats tore text. Whil e readers of T u rin gs paperw ere bris tl in g atthe ideaof athin kin g
( com pu ter, am ore s u btl e ideaw as bein g portrayed in the exam pl e con v ers ation s qu oted:that
' ' n g m achin erycou l d be en gin eered tooperate on l an gu age.
h
03. Com pu tin g Machin ery
an d In tel l igen ce
theN EWMEDIAR EADER
are
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Origin al P u bl ication
Min d: AQ u arterl yR ev iew of P s ychol ogyan d P hil os ophy59 ( 2 36 ):
433-46 0. October19 50.
Com pu tin g
Machin eryan d
In tel l igen ce
Al an T u rin g
1 T he Im itation Gam e
Ipropos e tocon s iderthe qu es tion , Can m achin es thin k?
T his s hou l d begin w ithdef in ition s of the m ean in g of the
term s m achin e an d thin k. T he def in ition s m ightbe
f ram ed s oas toref l ects of aras pos s ibl e the n orm al u s e of
the w ords ,bu tthis attitu de is dan gerou s . If the m ean in g of
the w ords m achin e an d thin k are tobe f ou n d by
exam in in g how theyare com m on l yu s ed itis dif f icu l tto
es cape the con cl u s ion thatthe m ean in g an d the an s w erto
the qu es tion , Can m achin es thin k?"is tobe s ou ghtin a
s tatis tical s u rv eys u chas aGal l u ppol l . Bu tthis is abs u rd.
In s tead of attem ptin g s u chadef in ition Is hal l repl ace the
qu es tion byan other, w hichis cl os el yrel ated toitan d is
expres s ed in rel ativ el yu n am bigu ou s w ords .
T he n ew f orm of the probl em can be des cribed in term s of
agam e w hichw e cal l the im itation gam e. Itis pl ayed w ith
three peopl e, am an ( A), aw om an ( B), an d an in terrogator
( C)w hom aybe of eithers ex. T he in terrogators tays in a
room apartf rom the othertw o. T he obj ectof the gam e f or
the in terrogatoris todeterm in e w hichof the othertw ois the
m an an d w hichis the w om an . He kn ow s them byl abel s X
' . ' -- - .". " ' . "' . \ -.
_ .i,~ . . Q . _ .
an d Y , an d atthe en d of the gam e he s ays eitherX is Aan d Y
is B orX is Ban d Y is A. T he in terrogatoris al l ow ed topu t
qu es tion s toAan d Bthu s :
C:Wil l X pl eas e tel l m e the l en gthof his orherhair?
N ow s u ppos e X is actu al l yA, then Am u s tan s w er. Itis A' s
obj ectin the gam e totryan d cau s e C tom ake the w ron g
iden tif ication . His an s w erm ighttheref ore be Myhairis
s hin gl ed, an d the l on ges ts tran ds , are abou tn in e in ches l on g.
In orderthatton es of v oice m ayn othel pthe in terrogator
the an s w ers s hou l d be w ritten , orbetters til l , typew ritten .
T he ideal arran gem en tis tohav e atel eprin tercom m u n icatin g
betw een the tw oroom s . Al tern ativ el ythe qu es tion an d
an s w ers can be repeated byan in term ediary. T he obj ectof the
gam e f orthe third pl ayer( B)is tohel pthe in terrogator. T he
bes ts trategyf orheris probabl ytogiv e tru thf u l an s w ers . She
can add s u chthin gs as Iam the w om an , don ' tl is ten tohim !"
toheran s w ers , bu titw il l av ail n othin g as the m an can m ake
s im il arrem arks .
We n ow as k the qu es tion , Whatw il l happen w hen a
m achin e takes the partof Ain this gam e? Wil l the
in terrogatordecide w ron gl yas of ten w hen the gam e is
pl ayed l ike this as he does w hen the gam e is pl ayed betw een a
m an an d aw om an ?T hes e qu es tion s repl ace ou rorigin al ,
Can m achin es thin k?
2 Critiqu e of the N ew P robl em
As w el l as as kin g, Whatis the an s w ertothis n ew f orm of
the qu es tion ,"on e m ayas k, Is this n ew qu es tion aw orthy
on e toin v es tigate?"T his l atterqu es tion w e in v es tigate
w ithou tf u rtherado, therebycu ttin g s hortan in f in ite
regres s .
T he n ew probl em has the adv an tage of draw in g af airl y
s harpl in e betw een the phys ical an d the in tel l ectu al capacities
of am an . N oen gin eerorchem is tcl aim s tobe abl e to
a. . I19 5. . - A4: a. as - ac 03. Com pu tin g Machin ery
an d In tel l igen ce
produ ce am aterial w hichis in dis tin gu is habl e f rom the
hm n an s kin . Itis pos s ibl e thatats om e tim e this m ightbe
don e, bu tev en s u ppos in g this in v en tion av ail abl e w e s hou l d
f eel there w as l ittl e poin tin tryin g tom ake athin kin g
m achin e m ore hu m an bydres s in g itu pin s u chartif icial
f l es hT he f orm in w hichw e hav e s etthe probl em ref l ects
this f actin the con dition w hichprev en ts the in terrogator
f rom s eein g ortou chin g the othercom petitors , orhearin g
theirv oices . Som e otheradv an tages of the propos ed criterion
m aybe s how n u pbys pecim en qu es tion s an d an s w ers . T hu s :
Q P l eas e w rite m e as on n eton the s u bj ectof the
F orthBridge.
A:Cou n tm e ou ton this on e. In ev ercou l d w rite
P 06 "?-
Q ; Add 349 57 to7 07 6 4.
A"( P au s e abou t30s econ ds an d then giv e as an s w er)
1056 2 1.
Q :Doyou pl ayches s ?
k Y es .
Q :Ihav e Katm yK1, an d n ootherpieces . Y ou hav e
on l yKatK6 an d R atR 1. Itis you rm ov e. Whatdo
you pl ay?
It( Af terapau s e of 15s econ ds )R R 8 m ate.
T he qu es tion an d an s w erm ethod s eem s tobe s u itabl e f or
in trodu cin g al m os tan yon e of the f iel ds of hu m an en deav ou r
thatw e w is htoin cl u de. We don otw is htopen al is e the
m achin e f orits in abil itytos hin e in beau tycom petition s , n or
topen al is e am an f orl os in g in arace again s tan aeropl an e.
T he con dition s of ou rgam e m ake thes e dis abil ities
irrel ev an t. T he "w itn es s es "can brag, if theycon s iderit
adv is abl e, as m u chas theypl eas e abou ttheircharm s ,
s tren gthorherois m , bu tthe in terrogatorcan n otdem an d
practical dem on s tration s .
T he gam e m ayperhaps be criticis ed on the grou n d that
the odds are w eighted tooheav il yagain s tthe m achin e. If the
m an w ere totryan d preten d tobe the m achin e he w ou l d
cl earl ym ake av erypoors how in g. He w ou l d be giv en aw ayat
on ce bys l ow n es s an d in accu racyin arithm etic. Mayn ot
m achin es carryou ts om ethin g w hichou ghttobe des cribed
as thin kin g bu tw hichis v erydif f eren tf rom w hatam an
does ?T his obj ection is av erys tron g on e, bu tatl eas tw e can

s aythatif , n ev erthel es s , am achin e can be con s tru cted topl ay

the im itation gam e s atis f actoril y, w e n eed n otbe trou bl ed by
this obj ection .
Itm ightbe u rged thatw hen pl ayin g the im itation gam e"
the bes ts trategyf orthe m achin e m aypos s ibl ybe s om ethin g
otherthan im itation of the behav iou rof am an . T his m aybe,
bu tIthin k itis u n l ikel ythatthere is an ygreatef f ectof this
kin d. In an ycas e there is n oin ten tion toin v es tigate here the
theoryof the gam e, an d itw il l be as s u m ed thatthe bes t
s trategyis totrytoprov ide an s w ers thatw ou l d n atu ral l ybe
giv en byam an .
3 T he Machin es Con cern ed in the Gam e
T he qu es tion w hichw e pu tin 1 w il l n otbe qu ite def in ite
u n til w e hav e s pecif ied w hatw e m ean bythe w ord m achin e.'
Itis n atu ral thatw e s hou l d w is htoperm itev erykin d of
en gin eerin g techn iqu e tobe u s ed in ou rm achin es . We al s o
I
w is htoal l ow the pos s ibil itythan an en gin eerorteam of
en gin eers m aycon s tru ctam achin e w hichw orks , bu tw hos e
m an n erof operation can n otbe s atis f actoril ydes cribed byits
con s tru ctors becau s e theyhav e appl ied am ethod w hichis
l argel yexperim en tal . F in al l y, w e w is htoexcl u de f rom the
m achin es m en born in the u s u al m an n er. Itis dif f icu l tto
f ram e the def in ition s s oas tos atis f ythes e three con dition s .
On e m ightf orin s tan ce in s is tthatthe team of en gin eers
s hou l d be al l of on e s ex, bu tthis w ou l d n otreal l ybe
s atis f actory, f oritis probabl ypos s ibl e torearacom pl ete
in div idu al f rom as in gl e cel l of the s kin ( s ay)of am an . T odo
s ow ou l d be af eatof biol ogical techn iqu e des erv in g of the
v eryhighes tprais e, bu tw e w ou l d n otbe in cl in ed toregard it
as acas e of con s tru ctin g athin kin g m achin e. T his prom pts
u s toaban don the requ irem en tthatev erykin d of techn iqu e
s hou l d be perm itted. We are the m ore readytodos oin v iew
of the f actthatthe pres en tin teres tin thin kin g m achin es "
has been arou s ed byaparticu l arkin d of m achin e, u s u al l y
cal l ed an el ectron ic com pu ter"ordigital com pu ter."
F ol l ow in g this s u gges tion w e on l yperm itdigital com pu ters
totake partin ou rgam e.
T his res triction appears atf irs ts ighttobe av erydras tic
on e. Is hal l attem pttos how thatitis n ots oin real ity. T odo
this n eces s itates as hortaccou n tof the n atu re an d properties
of thes e com pu ters .
Itm ayal s obe s aid thatthis iden tif ication of m achin es
w ithdigital com pu ters , l ike ou rcriterion f orthin kin g, w il l
03. Com pu tin g Machin ery
an d In tel l igen ce
on l ybe u n s atis f actoryif ( con trarytom ybel ief ), ittu rn s ou t
thatdigital com pu ters are u n abl e togiv e agood s how in g in
the gam e.
T here are al readyan u m berof digital com pu ters in
w orkin g order, an d itm aybe as ked, Whyn ottrythe
experim en ts traightaw ay?Itw ou l d be eas ytos atis f ythe
con dition s of the gam e. An u m berof in terrogators cou l d be
u s ed, an d s tatis tics com pil ed tos how how of ten the right
iden tif ication w as giv en . T he s hortan s w eris thatw e are n ot
as kin g w hetheral l digital com pu ters w ou l d dow el l in the
gam e n orw hetherthe com pu ters atpres en tav ail abl e w ou l d
dow el l , bu tw hetherthere are im agin abl e com pu ters w hich
w ou l d dow el l . Bu tthis is on l ythe s hortan s w er. We s hal l s ee
this qu es tion in adif f eren tl ightl ater.
4Digital Com pu ters
T he ideabehin d digital com pu ters m aybe expl ain ed by
s ayin g thatthes e m achin es are in ten ded tocarryou tan y
operation s w hichcou l d be don e byahu m an com pu ter. T he
hu m an com pu teris s u ppos ed tobe f ol l ow in g f ixed ru l es ; he
has n oau thoritytodev iate f rom them in an ydetail . We m ay
s u ppos e thatthes e ru l es are s u ppl ied in abook, w hichis
al tered w hen ev erhe is pu ton toan ew j ob. He has al s oan
u n l im ited s u ppl yof paperon w hichhe does his cal cu l ation s .
He m ayal s odohis m u l tipl ication s an d addition s on ades k
m achin e, bu tthis is n otim portan t.
If w e u s e the abov e expl an ation as adef in ition w e s hal l be
in dan gerof circu l arityof argu m en t. We av oid this bygiv in g
an ou tl in e of the m ean s byw hichthe des ired ef f ectis
achiev ed. Adigital com pu tercan u s u al l ybe regarded as
con s is tin g of three parts :
( i)Store.
( ii)Execu tiv e u n it.
( iii)Con trol .
T he s tore is as tore of in f orm ation , an d corres pon ds tothe
hu m an com pu ter' s paper, w hetherthis is the paperon w hich
he does his cal cu l ation s orthaton w hichhis book of ru l es is
prin ted. In s of aras the hu m an com pu terdoes cal cu l ation s in
his head apartof the s tore w il l corres pon d tohis m em ory.
T he execu tiv e u n itis the partw hichcarries ou tthe v ariou s
in div idu al operation s in v ol v ed in acal cu l ation . Whatthes e
in div idu al operation s are w il l v aryf rom m achin e tom achin e.
U s u al l yf airl yl en gthyoperation s can be don e s u chas
Mu l tipl y35406 7 5445by7 07 6 3456 87 bu tin s om e
theN EWMEDIAR EADER
m achin es on l yv erys im pl e on es s u chas Write dow n O"are
pos s ibl e.
We hav e m en tion ed thatthe book of ru l es "s u ppl ied to
the com pu teris repl aced in the m achin e byapartof the
s tore. Itis then cal l ed the tabl e of in s tru ction s ."Itis the du ty
of the con trol tos ee thatthes e in s tru ction s are obeyed
correctl yan d in the rightorder. T he con trol is s ocon s tru cted
thatthis n eces s aril yhappen s .
T he in f orm ation in the s tore is u s u al l ybroken u pin to
packets of m oderatel ys m al l s ize. In on e m achin e, f or
in s tan ce, apacketm ightcon s is tof ten decim al digits .
N u m bers are as s ign ed tothe parts of the s tore in w hichthe
v ariou s packets of in f orm ation are s tored, in s om e
s ys tem atic m an n er. Atypical in s tru ction m ights ay
Add the n u m bers tored in pos ition 6 809 tothatin
4302 an d pu tthe res u l tback in tothe l atters torage
pos ition .
N eedl es s tos ayitw ou l d n otoccu rin the m achin e
expres s ed in En gl is h. Itw ou l d m ore l ikel ybe coded in af orm
s u chas 6 809 4302 17 . Here 17 s ays w hichof v ariou s pos s ibl e
operation s is tobe perf orm ed on the tw on u m bers . In this
cas e the operation is thatdes cribed abov e, v iz Add the
n u m ber. . . Itw il l be n oticed thatthe in s tru ction takes u p
10digits an d s of orm s on e packetof in f orm ation , v ery
con v en ien tl y. T he con trol w il l n orm al l ytake the in s tru ction s
tobe obeyed in the orderof the pos ition s in w hichtheyare
s tored, bu toccas ion al l yan in s tru ction s u chas
N ow obeythe in s tru ction s tored in pos ition 56 06 ,
an d con tin u e f rom there
m aybe en cou n tered, oragain
If pos ition 4505con tain s O obeyn extthe in s tru ction
s tored in 6 7 07 , otherw is e con tin u e s traighton .
In s tru ction s of thes e l attertypes are v eryim portan tbecau s e
theym ake itpos s ibl e f oras equ en ce of operation s tobe
repeated ov eran d ov eragain u n til s om e con dition is f u l f il l ed,
bu tin doin g s otoobey, n otf res hin s tru ction s on each
repetition , bu tthe s am e on es ov eran d ov eragain . T otake a
dom es tic an al ogy. Su ppos e Motherw an ts T om m ytocal l at
the cobbl er' s ev erym orn in g on his w aytos chool tos ee if her
s hoes are don e, s he can as k him af res hev erym orn in g.
Al tern ativ el ys he can s tick u pan otice on ce an d f oral l in die
hal l w hichhe w il l s ee w hen he l eav es f ors chool an d w hich
F
2
19 50
OAAAAAAA rAAAAAAA | AA ~o 4A A A0 AAAA s A Q ~ A AAAe~ 03. Com pu tin g Machin ery
an d In tel l igen ce
tel l s him tocal l f orthe s hoes , an d al s otodes troythe n otice
w hen he com es back if he has the s hoes w ithhim .
T he readerm u s tacceptitas af actthatdigital com pu ters
can be con s tru cted, an d in deed hav e been con s tru cted,
accordin g tothe prin cipl es w e hav e des cribed, an d thatthey
can in f actm im ic the action s of ahu m an com pu terv ery
cl os el y.
T he book of ru l es w hichw e hav e des cribed ou rhu m an
com pu teras u s in g is of cou rs e acon v en ien tf iction . Actu al
hu m an com pu ters real l yrem em berw hattheyhav e gotto
do. If on e w an ts tom ake am achin e m im ic the behav iou rof
the hu m an com pu terin s om e com pl exoperation on e has to
as k him how itis don e, an d then tran s l ate the an s w erin to
the f orm of an in s tru ction tabl e. Con s tru ctin g in s tru ction
tabl es is u s u al l ydes cribed as program m in g. T opro-
gram m e am achin e tocarryou tthe operation A m ean s to
pu tthe appropriate in s tru ction tabl e in tothe m achin e s o
thatitw il l doA.
An in teres tin g v arian ton the ideaof adigital com pu teris
adigital com pu terw itharan dom el em en t. T hes e hav e
in s tru ction s in v ol v in g the throw in g of adie ors om e
equ iv al en tel ectron ic proces s ; on e s u chin s tru ction m ight
f orin s tan ce be, T hrow the die an d pu tthe res u l tin g
n u m berin tos tore 1000."Som etim es s u cham achin e is
des cribed as hav in g f ree w il l ( thou ghIw ou l d n otu s e this
phras e m ys el f ). Itis n otn orm al l ypos s ibl e todeterm in e
f rom obs erv in g am achin e w hetherithas aran dom
el em en t, f oras im il aref f ectcan be produ ced bys u ch
dev ices as m akin g the choices depen d on the digits of the
decim al f or1t.
Mos tactu al digital com pu ters hav e on l yaf in ite s tore.
T here is n otheoretical dif f icu l tyin the ideaof acom pu ter
w ithan u n l im ited s tore. Of cou rs e on l yaf in ite partcan hav e
been u s ed atan yon e tim e. Likew is e on l yaf in ite am ou n tcan
hav e been con s tru cted, bu tw e can im agin e m ore an d m ore
bein g added as requ ired. Su chcom pu ters hav e s pecial
theoretical in -teres tan d w il l be cal l ed in f in itiv e capacity
com pu ters .
T he ideaof adigital com pu teris an ol d on e. Charl es
Babbage, Lu cas ian P rof es s orof Mathem atics atCam bridge
f rom 182 8 to1839 , pl an n ed s u cham achin e, cal l ed the
An al ytical En gin e, bu titw as n ev ercom pl eted. Al thou gh
Babbage had al l the es s en tial ideas , his m achin e w as n otat
thattim e s u chav eryattractiv e pros pect. T he s peed w hich
w ou l d hav e been av ail abl e w ou l d be def in itel yf as terthan a
._..
hu m an com pu terbu ts om ethin g l ike 100tim es s l ow erthan
the Man ches term achin e, its el f on e of the s l ow erof the
m odern m achin es . T he s torage w as tobe pu rel ym echan ical ,
u s in g w heel s an d cards .
T he f actthatBabbages An al ytical En gin e w as tobe
en tirel ym echan ical w il l hel pu s torid ou rs el v es of a
s u pers tition . Im portan ce is of ten attached tothe f actthat
m odern digital com pu ters are el ectrical , an d thatthe n erv ou s
s ys tem al s ois el ectrical . Sin ce Babbages m achin e w as n ot
el ectrical , an d s in ce al l digital com pu ters are in as en s e
equ iv al en t, w e s ee thatthis u s e of el ectricitycan n otbe of
theoretical im portan ce. Of cou rs e el ectricityu s u al l ycom es in
w here f as ts ign al l in g is con cern ed, s othatitis n ots u rpris in g
thatw e f in d itin boththes e con n ection s . In the n erv ou s
s ys tem chem ical phen om en aare atl eas tas im portan tas
el ectrical . In certain com pu ters the s torage s ys tem is m ain l y
acou s tic. T he f eatu re of u s in g el ectricityis thu s s een tobe
on l yav erys u perf icial s im il arity. If w e w is htof in d s u ch
s im il arities w e s hou l d l ook ratherf orm athem atical an al ogies
of f u n ction .
5U n iv ers al ityof Digital Com pu ters
T he digital com pu ters con s idered in the l as ts ection m aybe
cl as s if ied am on gs tthe "dis crete s tate m achin es . T hes e are
the m achin es w hichm ov e bys u dden j u m ps orcl icks f rom
on e qu ite def in ite s tate toan other. T hes e s tates are
s u f f icien tl ydif f eren tf orthe pos s ibil ityof con f u s ion betw een
them tobe ign ored. Strictl ys peakin g there are n os u ch
m achin es . Ev erythin g real l ym ov es con tin u ou s l y. Bu tthere
are m an ykin ds of m achin e w hichcan prof itabl ybe thou ght
of as bein g dis crete s tate m achin es . F orin s tan ce in
con s iderin g the s w itches f oral ightin g s ys tem itis a
con v en ien tf iction thateachs w itchm u s tbe def in itel yon or
def in itel yof f . T here m u s tbe in term ediate pos ition s , bu tf or
m os tpu rpos es w e can f orgetabou tthem . As an exam pl e of a
dis crete s tate m achin e w e m ightcon s ideraw heel w hich
cl icks rou n d throu gh12 0 on ce as econ d, bu tm aybe s topped
byal ev erw hichcan be operated f rom ou ts ide; in addition a
l am pis tol ightin on e of the pos ition s of the w heel . T his
m achin e cou l d be des cribed abs tractl yas f ol l ow s . T he
in tern al s tate of the m achin e ( w hichis des cribed bythe
pos ition of the w heel )m aybe q,, qz orq3. T here is an in pu t
s ign al 1' 0or1' , ( pos ition of l ev er). T he in tern al s tate atan y
m om en tis determ in ed bythe l as ts tate an d in pu ts ign al
accordin g tothe tabl e
03. Com pu tin g Machin ery
an d In tel l igen ce
Las tState
qr Q 2 qa
l o Q 2 Q 3 qr
In pu t.
iiqr qz qs
T he ou tpu ts ign is , the on l yextern al l yv is ibl e in dication of
the in tern al s tate ( the l ight), are des cribed bythe tabl e
State q, qz q3
Ou tpu t00 000,
T his exam pl e is typical of dis crete s tate m achin es . T heycan
be des cribed bys u chtabl es prov ided theyhav e on l yaf in ite
n u m berof pos s ibl e s tates .
Itw il l s eem thatgiv en the in itial s tate of the m achin e an d
the in pu ts ign al s itis al w ays pos s ibl e topredictal l f u tu re
s tates . T his is rem in is cen tof Lapl ace' s v iew thatf rom the
com pl ete s tate of the u n iv ers e aton e m om en tof tim e, as
des cribed bythe pos ition s an d v el ocities of al l particl es , it
s hou l d be pos s ibl e topredictal l f u tu re s tates . T he prediction
w hichw e are con s iderin g is , how ev er, rathern earerto
practicabil itythan thatcon s idered byLapl ace. T he s ys tem of
the u n iv ers e as aw hol e"is s u chthatqu ite s m al l errors in the
in itial con dition s can hav e an ov erw hel m in g ef f ectatal ater
tim e. T he dis pl acem en tof as in gl e el ectron byabil l ion thof a
cen tim etre aton e m om en tm ightm ake the dif f eren ce
betw een am an bein g kil l ed byan av al an che ayearl ater, or
es capin g. Itis an es s en tial propertyof the m echan ical
s ys tem s w hichw e hav e cal l ed dis crete s tate m achin es "that
this phen om en on does n otoccu r. Ev en w hen w e con s iderthe
actu al phys ical m achin es in s tead of the ideal is ed m achin es ,
reas on abl yaccu rate kn ow l edge of the s tate aton e m om en t
yiel ds reas on abl yaccu rate kn ow l edge an yn u m berof s teps
l ater.
As w e hav e m en tion ed digital com pu ters f al l w ithin the
cl as s of dis crete s tate m achin es . Bu tthe n u m berof s tates of
w hichs u cham achin e is capabl e is u s u al l yen orm ou s l yl arge.
F orin s tan ce, the n u m berf orthe m achin e n ow w orkin g at
Man ches teris abou t2 16 5' , i.e abou t105' . Com pare this
w ithou rexam pl e of the cl ickin g w heel des cribed abov e,
w hichhad three s tates . Itis n otdif f icu l ttos ee w hythe
n u m berof s tates s hou l d be s oim m en s e. T he com pu ter
theN EWMEDIAR EADER
in cl u des as tore corres pon din g tothe paperu s ed byahm n an
com pu ter. Itm u s tbe pos s ibl e tow rite in tothe s tore an yon e
of the com bin ation s of s ym bol s w hichm ighthav e been
w ritten on the paper. F ors im pl icitys u ppos e thaton l ydigits
f rom 0to9 are u s ed as s ym bol s . Variation s in han dw ritin g
are ign ored. Su ppos e the com pu teris al l ow ed 100s heets of
papereachcon tain in g 50l in es eachw ithroom f or30digits .
T hen the n u m berof s tates is 101"5"3, i.e 105' . T his is
abou tthe n u m berof s tates of three Man ches term achin es
pu ttogether. T he l ogarithm tothe bas e tw oof the n u m ber
of s tates is u s u al l ycal l ed the s torage capacity"of the
m achin e. T hu s the Man ches term achin e has as torage
capacityof abou t16 5,000an d the w heel m achin e of ou r
exam pl e abou t1.6 . If tw om achin es are pu ttogethertheir
capacities m u s tbe added toobtain the capacityof the
res u l tan tm achin e. T his l eads tothe pos s ibil ityof s tatem en ts
s u chas T he Man ches term achin e con tain s 6 4m agn etic
tracks eachw ithacapacityof 2 56 0, eightel ectron ic tu bes
w ithacapacityof 12 80. Mis cel l an eou s s torage am ou n ts to
abou t300m akin g atotal of 17 4,380."
Giv en the tabl e corres pon din g toadis crete s tate m achin e
itis pos s ibl e topredictw hatitw il l do. T here is n oreas on
w hythis cal cu l ation s hou l d n otbe carried ou tbym ean s of a
digital com pu ter. P rov ided itcou l d be carried ou t
s u f f icien tl yqu ickl ythe digital com pu tercou l d m im ic the
behav iou rof an ydis crete s tate m achin e. T he im itation gam e
cou l d then be pl ayed w iththe m achin e in qu es tion ( as B)
an d the m im ickin g digital com pu ter( as A)an d the
in terrogatorw ou l d be u n abl e todis tin gu is hthem . Of cou rs e
the digital com pu term u s thav e an adequ ate s torage capacity
as w el l as w orkin g s u f f icien tl yf as t. Moreov er, itm u s tbe
program m ed af res hf oreachn ew m achin e w hichitis
des ired tom im ic.
T his s pecial propertyof digital com pu ters , thattheycan
m im ic an ydis crete s tate m achin e, is des cribed bys ayin g that
theyare u n iv ers al m achin es . T he exis ten ce of m achin es w ith
this propertyhas the im portan tcon s equ en ce that,
con s ideration s of s peed apart, itis u n n eces s arytodes ign
v ariou s n ew m achin es todov ariou s com pu tin g proces s es .
T heycan al l be don e w ithon e digital com pu ter, s u itabl y
program m ed f oreachcas e. Itw il l be s een thatas a
con s equ en ce of this al l digital com pu ters are in as en s e
equ iv al en t.
We m ayn ow con s ideragain the poin trais ed atthe en d of
3. Itw as s u gges ted ten tativ el ythatthe qu es tion , Can
19 50
at. as e as a-am -_- 03. Com pu tin g Machin ery
m achin es thin k? s hou l d be repl aced byAre there im agin abl e
digital com pu ters w hichw ou l d dow el l in the im itation
gam e? If w e w is hw e can m ake this s u perf icial l ym ore
gen eral an d as k Are there dis crete s tate m achin es w hich
w ou l d dow el l ? Bu tin v iew of the u n iv ers al itypropertyw e
s ee thateitherof thes e qu es tion s is equ iv al en ttothis , Letu s
f ixou ratten tion on on e particu l ardigital com pu terC. Is it
tru e thatbym odif yin g this com pu tertohav e an adequ ate
s torage, s u itabl yin creas in g its s peed of action , an d prov idin g
itw ithan appropriate program m e, C can be m ade topl ays at~
is f actoril ythe partof Ain the im itation gam e, the partof B
bein g taken byam an ?"
6 Con traryView s on the Main Q u es tion
We m ayn ow con s iderthe grou n d tohav e been cl eared
an d w e are readytoproceed tothe debate on ou r
qu es tion , Can m achin es thin k? an d the v arian tof it
qu oted atthe en d of the l as ts ection . We can n ot
al togetheraban don the origin al f orm of the probl em , f or
opin ion s w il l dif f eras tothe appropriaten es s of the
s u bs titu tion an d w e m u s tatl eas tl is ten tow hathas tobe
s aid in this con n ection .
Itw il l s im pl if ym atters f orthe readerif Iexpl ain f irs tm y
ow n bel ief s in the m atter. Con s iderf irs tthe m ore accu rate
f orm of the qu es tion . Ibel iev e thatin abou tf if tyyears tim e
itw il l be pos s ibl e toprogram m e com pu ters w ithas torage
capacityof abou t109 tom ake them pl aythe im itation gam e
s ow el l thatan av erage in terrogatorw il l n othav e m ore than
7 0percen t. chan ce of m akin g the rightiden tif ication af ter
f iv e m in u tes of qu es tion in g. T he origin al qu es tion , Can
m achin es thin k? Ibel iev e tobe toom ean in gl es s todes erv e
dis cu s s ion . N ev erthel es s Ibel iev e thatatthe en d of the
cen tu rythe u s e of w ords an d gen eral edu cated opin ion w il l
hav e al tered s om u chthaton e w il l be abl e tos peak of
m achin es thin kin g w ithou texpectin g tobe con tradicted. I
bel iev e f u rtherthatn ou s ef u l pu rpos e is s erv ed bycon ceal in g
thes e bel ief s . T he popu l arv iew thats cien tis ts proceed
in exorabl yf rom w el l -es tabl is hed f acttow el l -es tabl is hed f act,
n ev erbein g in f l u en ced byan yu n prov ed con j ectu re, is qu ite
m is taken . P rov ided itis m ade cl earw hichare prov ed f acts
an d w hichare con j ectu res , n oharm can res u l t. Con j ectu res
are of greatim portan ce s in ce theys u gges tu s ef u l l in es of
res earch.
In ow proceed tocon s ideropin ion s oppos ed tom yow n .
L
an d In tel l igen ce
( 1)T he T heol ogical Obj ection
T hin kin g is af u n ction of m an ' s im m ortal s ou l . God has giv en
an im m ortal s ou l toev erym an an d w om an , bu tn ottoan y
otheran im al ortom achin es . Hen ce n oan im al orm achin e
can thin k.
Iam u n abl e toacceptan ypartof this , bu tw il l attem ptto
repl yin theol ogical term s . Is hou l d f in d the argu m en tm ore
con v in cin g if an im al s w ere cl as s ed w ithm en , f orthere is a
greaterdif f eren ce, tom ym in d, betw een the typical an im ate
an d the in an im ate than there is betw een m an an d the other
an im al s . T he arbitrarycharacterof the orthodoxv iew
becom es cl earerif w e con s iderhow itm ightappeartoa
m em berof s om e otherrel igiou s com m u n ity. How do
Chris tian s regard the Mos l em v iew thatw om en hav e n o
s ou l s ?Bu tl etu s l eav e this poin tas ide an d retu rn tothe m ain
argu m en t. Itappears tom e thatthe argu m en tqu oted abov e
im pl ies as eriou s res triction of the om n ipoten ce of the
Al m ighty. Itis adm itted thatthere are certain thin gs thatHe
can n otdos u chas m akin g on e equ al totw o} bu ts hou l d w e
n otbel iev e thatHe has f reedom tocon f eras ou l on an
el ephan tif He s ees f it?We m ightexpectthatHe w ou l d on l y
exercis e this pow erin con j u n ction w itham u tation w hich
prov ided the el ephan tw ithan appropriatel yim prov ed brain
tom in is tertothe n eeds of this s ou l . An argu m en tof exactl y
s im il arf orm m aybe m ade f orthe cas e of m achin es . Itm ay
s eem dif f eren tbecau s e itis m ore dif f icu l ttos w al l ow . Bu t
this real l yon l ym ean s thatw e thin k itw ou l d be l es s l ikel y
thatHe w ou l d con s iderthe circu m s tan ces s u itabl e f or
con f errin g as ou l . T he circu m s tan ces in qu es tion are
dis cu s s ed in the res tof this paper. In attem ptin g tocon s tru ct
s u chm achin es w e s hou l d n otbe irrev eren tl yu s u rpin g His
pow erof creatin g s ou l s , an ym ore than w e are in the
procreation of chil dren :ratherw e are, in eithercas e,
in s tru m en ts of His w il l prov idin g m an s ion s f orthe s ou l s
thatHe creates .
How ev er, this is m ere s pecu l ation . Iam n otv eryim pres s ed
w iththeol ogical argu m en ts w hatev ertheym aybe u s ed to
s u pport. Su chargu m en ts hav e of ten been f ou n d
u n s atis f actoryin the pas t. In the tim e of Gal il eoitw as
argu ed thatthe texts , An d the s u n s tood s til l . . . an d has ted
n ottogodow n abou taw hol e day ( Jos hu ax. 13)an d He
l aid the f ou n dation s of the earth, thatits hou l d n otm ov e at
an ytim e ( P s al m cv . 5)w ere an adequ ate ref u tation of the
Copern ican theory. Withou rpres en tkn ow l edge s u chan
e | |_
Las tState
l l Y 2 l s
' 0( Y 2 is Q 1
In pu t.
iiqr Q 2 Q 3
T he ou tpu ts ign al s , the on l yextern al l yv is ibl e in dication of
the in tern al s tate ( the l ight), are des cribed bythe tabl e '
State q, q, q,,
Ou tpu t00 000,
T his exam pl e is typical of dis crete s tate m achin es . T heycan
be des cribed bys u chtabl es prov ided theyhav e on l yaf in ite
n u m berof pos s ibl e s tates .
Itw il l s eem thatgiv en the in itial s tate of the m achin e an d
the in pu ts ign al s itis al w ays pos s ibl e topredictal l f u tu re
s tates . T his is rem in is cen tof Lapl ace' s v iew thatf rom the .
com pl ete s tate of the u n iv ers e aton e m om en tof tim e, as
des cribed bythe pos ition s an d v el ocities of al l particl es , it
s hou l d be pos s ibl e topredictal l f u tu re s tates . T he prediction
w hichw e are con s iderin g is , how ev er, rathern earerto
practicabil itythan thatcon s idered byLapl ace. T he s ys tem of
the u n iv ers e as aw hol e is s u chthatqu ite s m al l errors in the
in itial con dition s can hav e an ov erw hel m in g ef f ectatal ater
tim e. T he dis pl acem en tof as in gl e el ectron byabil l ion thof a
cen tim etre aton e m om en tm ightm ake the dif f eren ce
betw een am an bein g kil l ed byan av al an che ayearl ater, or
es capin g. Itis an es s en tial propertyof the m echan ical
s ys tem s w hichw e hav e cal l ed dis crete s tate m achin es "that
this phen om en on does n otoccu r. Ev en w hen w e con s iderthe
actu al phys ical m achin es in s tead of the ideal is ed m achin es ,
reas on abl yaccu rate kn ow l edge of the s tate aton e m om en t
yiel ds reas on abl yaccu rate kn ow l edge an yn u m berof s teps
l ater.
As w e hav e m en tion ed, digital com pu ters f al l w ithin the
cl as s of dis crete s tate m achin es . Bu tthe n u m berof s tates of
w hichs u cham achin e is capabl e is u s u al l yen orm ou s l yl arge.
F orin s tan ce, the n tu n berf orthe m achin e n ow w orkin g at
Man ches teris abou t2 6 5' , i.e abou t105". Com pare this
w ithou rexam pl e of the cl ickin g w heel des cribed abov e,
w hichhad three s tates . Itis n otdif f icu l ttos ee w hythe
n u m berof s tates s hou l d be s oim m en s e. T he com pu ter
W
03. Com pu tin g Machin ery theN EWMEDIAR EADER
an d In tel l igen ce
in cl u des as tore corres pon din g tothe paperu s ed byahu m an
com pu ter. Itm u s tbe pos s ibl e tow rite in tothe s tore an yon e
of the com bin ation s of s ym bol s w hichm ighthav e been
w ritten on the paper. F ors im pl icitys u ppos e thaton l ydigits
f rom O to9 are u s ed as s ym bol s . Variation s in han dw ritin g
are ign ored Su ppos e the com pu teris al l ow ed 100s heets of
papereachcon tain in g 50l in es eachw ithroom f or30digits .
T hen the n u m berof s tates is 10* 53, i.e. 1O15' . T his is
abou tthe n u m berof s tates of three Man ches term achin es
pu ttogether. T he l ogarithm tothe bas e tw oof the n u m ber
of s tates is u s u al l ycal l ed the s torage capacity"of the
m achin e. T hu s the Man ches term achin e has as torage
capacityof abou t16 5,000an d the w heel m achin e of ou r
exam pl e abou t1.6 . If tw om achin es are pu ttogethertheir
capacities m u s tbe added toobtain the capacityof the
res u l tan tm achin e. T his l eads tothe pos s ibil ityof s tatem en ts
s u chas T he Man ches term achin e con tain s 6 4m agn etic
tracks eachw ithacapacityof 2 56 0, eightel ectron ic tu bes
w ithacapacityof 12 80. Mis cel l an eou s s torage am ou n ts to
abou t300m akin g atotal of 17 4,380."
Giv en the tabl e corres pon din g toadis crete s tate m achin e
itis pos s ibl e topredictw hatitw il l do. T here is n oreas on
w hythis cal cu l ation s hou l d n otbe carried ou tbym ean s of a
digital com pu ter. P rov ided itcou l d be carried ou t
s u f f icien tl yqu ickl ythe digital com pu tercou l d m im ic the
behav iou rof an ydis crete s tate m achin e. T he im itation gam e
cou l d then be pl ayed w iththe m achin e in qu es tion ( as B)
an d the m im ickin g digital com pu ter( as A)an d the
in terrogatorw ou l d be u n abl e todis tin gu is hthem . Of cou rs e
the digital com pu term u s thav e an adequ ate s torage capacity
as w el l as w orkin g s u f f icien tl yf as t. Moreov er, itm u s tbe
program m ed af res hf oreachn ew m achin e w hichitis
des ired tom im ic.
T his s pecial propertyof digital com pu ters , thattheycan
m im ic an ydis crete s tate m achin e, is des cribed bys ayin g that
theyare u n iv ers al m achin es . T he exis ten ce of m achin es w ith
this propertyhas the im portan tcon s equ en ce that,
con s ideration s of s peed apart, itis u n n eces s arytodes ign
v ariou s n ew m achin es todov ariou s com pu tin g proces s es .
T heycan al l be don e w ithon e digital com pu ter, s u itabl y
program m ed f oreachcas e. Itw il l be s een thatas a
con s equ en ce of this al l digital com pu ters are in as en s e
equ iv al en t.
We m ayn ow con s ideragain the poin trais ed atthe en d of
3. Itw as s u gges ted ten tativ el ythatthe qu es tion , "Can
0. ~--v s _[ ""s -A as -as ~ --s -as e s A e- 03. Com pu tin g Machin ery
m achin es thin k? s hou l d be repl aced byAre there im agin abl e
digital com pu ters w hichw ou l d dow el l in the im itation
gam e? If w e w is hw e can m ake this s u perf icial l ym ore
gen eral an d as k Are there dis crete s tate m achin es w hich
w ou l d dow el l ? Bu tin v iew of the u n iv ers al itypropertyw e
s ee thateitherof thes e qu es tion s is equ iv al en ttothis , Letu s
f ixou ratten tion on on e particu l ardigital com pu terC. Is it
tru e thatbym odif yin g this com pu tertohav e an adequ ate
s torage, s u itabl yin creas in g its s peed of action , an d prov idin g
itw ithan appropriate program m e, C can be m ade topl ays at-
is f actoril ythe partof Ain the im itation gam e, the partof B
bein g taken byam an ?
6 Con traryView s on the Main Q u es tion
We m ayn ow con s iderthe grou n d tohav e been cl eared
an d w e are readytoproceed tothe debate on ou r
qu es tion , Can m achin es thin k? an d the v arian tof it
qu oted atthe en d of the l as ts ection . We can n ot
al togetheraban don the origin al f orm of the probl em , f or
opin ion s w il l dif f eras tothe appropriaten es s of the
s u bs titu tion an d w e m u s tatl eas tl is ten tow hathas tobe
s aid in this con n ection .
Itw il l s im pl if ym atters f orthe readerif Iexpl ain f irs tm y
ow n bel ief s in the m atter. Con s iderf irs tthe m ore accu rate
f orm Of the qu es tion . Ibel iev e thatin abou tf if tyyears tim e
itw il l be pos s ibl e toprogram m e com pu ters w ithas torage
capacityof abou t109 tom ake them pl aythe im itation gam e
s ow el l thatan av erage in terrogatorw il l n othav e m ore than
7 0percen t. chan ce of m akin g the rightiden tif ication af ter
v e m in u tes of qu es tion in g. T he origin al qu es tion , Can
m achin es thin k? Ibel iev e tobe toom ean in gl es s todes erv e
dis cu s s ion . N ev erthel es s Ibel iev e thatatthe en d of the
cen tu rythe u s e of w ords an d gen eral edu cated opin ion w il l
hav e al tered s om u chthaton e w il l be abl e tos peak of
m achin es thin kin g w ithou texpectin g tobe con tradicted. I
bel iev e f u rtherthatn ou s ef u l pu rpos e is s erv ed bycon ceal in g
thes e bel ief s . T he popu l arv iew thats cien tis ts proceed
iiexorabl yf rom w el l -es tabl is hed f acttow el l -es tabl is hed f act,
n ev erbein g in f l u en ced byan yu n prov ed con j ectu re, is qu ite
m is taken . P rov ided itis m ade cl earw hichare prov ed f acts
an dw hichare con j ectu res , n oharm can res u l t. Con j ectu res
are of greatim portan ce s in ce theys u gges tu s ef u l l in es of
res earch.
In ow proceed tocon s ideropin ion s oppos ed tom yow n .
M
an d In tel l igen ce
( 1)T he T heol ogical Obj ection
T hin kin g is af u n ction of m an ' s im m ortal s ou l . God has giv en
an im m ortal s ou l toev erym an an d w om an , bu tn ottoan y
otheran im al ortom achin es . Hen ce n oan im al orm achin e
can thin k.
Iam u n abl e toacceptan ypartof this , bu tw il l attem ptto
repl yin theol ogical term s . Is hou l d f in d the argu m en tm ore
con v in cin g if an im al s w ere cl as s ed w ithm en , f orthere is a
greaterdif f eren ce, tom ym in d, betw een the typical an im ate
an d the in an im ate than there is betw een m an an d the other
an im al s . T hearbitrarycharacterof the orthodoxv iew
becom es cl earerif w e con s iderhow itm ightappeartoa
m em berof s om e otherrel igiou s com m u n ity. How do
Chris tian s regard the Mos l em v iew thatw om en hav e n o
s ou l s ?Bu tl etu s l eav e this poin tas ide an d retu rn tothe m ain
argu m en t. Itappears tom e thatthe argu m en tqu oted abov e
im pl ies as eriou s res triction of the om n ipoten ce of the
Al m ighty. Itis adm itted thatthere are certain thin gs thatHe
can n otdos u chas m akin g on e equ al totw o, bu ts hou l d w e
n otbel iev e thatHe has f reedom tocon f eras ou l on an
el ephan tif He s ees We m ightexpectthat. He w ou l d on l y
exercis e this pow erin con j u n ction w itham u tation w hich
prov ided the el ephan tw ithan appropriatel yim prov ed brain
tom in is tertothe n eeds of this s ou l . An argu m en t. of exactl y
s im il arf orm m aybe m ade f orthe cas e of m achin es . Itm ay
s eem dif f eren tbecau s e itis m ore dif f icu l ttos w al l ow . Bu t
this real l yon l ym ean s thatw e thin k itw ou l dl be l es s l ikel y
thatHe w ou l d con s iderthe circu m s tan ces s u itabl e f or
con f errin g as ou l . T he circu m s tan ces in qu es tion are
dis cu s s ed in the res tof this paper. In attem ptin g tocon s tru ct
s u chm achin es w e s hou l d n otbe irrev eren tl yu s u rpin g His
pow erof creatin g s ou l s , an ym ore than w e are in the
procreation of chil dren :ratherw e are, in eithercas e,
in s tru m en ts of His w il l prov idin g m an s ion s f orthe s ou l s
thatHe creates .
How ev er, this is m ere s pecu l ation . Iam n otv eryim pres s ed
w iththeol ogical argu m en ts w hatev ertheym aybe u s ed to
s u pport. Su chargu m en ts hav e of ten been f ou n d
u n s atis f actoryin the pas t. In the tim e of Gal il eoitw as
argu ed thatthe texts , An d the s u n s tood s til l . . . an d has ted
n ottogodow n abou taw hol e day ( Jos hu ax. 13)an d He
l aid the f ou n dation s of the earth, thatits hou l d n otm ov e at
an ytim e ( P s al m cv . 5)w ere an adequ ate ref u tation of the
Copern ican theory. Withou rpres en tkn ow l edge s u chan
03. Com pu tin g Machin ery
an d In tel l igen ce
argu m en tappears f u til e. When thatkn ow l edge w as n ot
av ail abl e itm ade aqu ite dif f eren tim pres s ion .
( 2 )T he Heads in the San d"Obj ection
T he con s equ en ces of m achin es thin kin g w ou l d be too
dreadf u l . Letu s hope an d bel iev e thattheycan n otdos o.
T his argu m en tis s el dom expres s ed qu ite s oopen l yas in
the f orm abov e. Bu titaf f ects m os tof u s w hothin k abou tit
atal l . We l ike tobel iev e thatMan is in s om e s u btl e w ay
s u periortothe res tof creation . Itis bes tif he can be s how n
tobe n eces s aril ys u perior, f orthen there is n odan gerof him
l os in g his com m an din g pos ition . T he popu l arityof the
theol ogical argu m en tis cl earl ycon n ected w iththis f eel in g. It
is l ikel ytobe qu ite s tron g in in tel l ectu al peopl e, s in ce they
v al u e the pow erof thin kin g m ore highl ythan others , an d are
m ore in cl in ed tobas e theirbel ief in the s u periorityof Man
on this pow er. I
Idon otthin k thatthis argu m en tis s u f f icien tl ys u bs tan tial
torequ ire ref u tation . Con s ol ation w ou l d be m ore appropriate:
perhaps this s hou l d be s ou ghtin the tran s m igration of s ou l s .
( 3)T he Mathem atical Obj ection
T here are an u m berof res u l ts of m athem atical l ogic w hich
can be u s ed tos how thatthere are l im itation s tothe pow ers
of dis crete s tate m achin es . T he bes tkn ow n of thes e res u l ts is
kn ow n as Gocl el s theorem ,an d s how s thatin an ys u f f icien tl y
pow erf u l l ogical s ys tem s tatem en ts can be f orm u l ated w hich
can n eitherbe prov ed n ordis prov ed w ithin the s ys tem ,
u n l es s pos s ibl ythe s ys tem its el f is in con s is ten t. T here are
other, in s om e res pects s im il ar, res u l ts du e toChu rch, Kl een e,
R os s er, an d T u rin g. T he l atterres u l tis the m os tcon v en ien tto
con s ider, s in ce itref ers directl ytom achin es , w hereas the
others can on l ybe u s ed in acom parativ el yin direct
argu m en t:f orin s tan ce if Godel s theorem is tobe u s ed w e
n eed in addition tohav e s om e m ean s of des cribin g l ogical
s ys tem s in term s of m achin es , an d m achin es in term s of
l ogical s ys tem s . T he res u l tin qu es tion ref ers toatype of
m achin e w hichis es s en tial l yadigital com pu terw ithan
in f in ite capacity. Its tates thatthere are certain thin gs that
s u cham achin e can n otdo. If itis rigged u ptogiv e an s w ers
toqu es tion s as in the im itation gam e, there w il l be s om e
qu es tion s tow hichitw il l eithergiv e aw ron g an s w er, orf ail
togiv e an an s w eratal l how ev erm u chtim e is al l ow ed f ora
repl y. T here m ay, of cou rs e, be m an ys u chqu es tion s , an d
qu es tion s w hichcan n otbe an s w ered byon e m achin e m aybe
s atis f actoril yan s w ered byan other. We are of cou rs e
s u ppos in g f orthe pres en tthatthe qu es tion s are of the kin d
W
theN EWMEDIAR EADER
tow hichan an s w erY es orN o is appropriate, ratherthan
qu es tion s s u chas Whatdoyou thin k of P icas s o? T he
qu es tion s thatw e kn ow the m achin es m u s tf ail on are of this
type, Con s iderthe m achin e s pecif ied as f ol l ow s . . . . Wil l this
m achin e ev eran s w erY es toan yqu es tion ? T he dots are to
be repl aced byades cription of s om e m achin e in as tan dard
f orm , w hichcou l d be s om ethin g l ike thatu s ed in 5. When
the m achin e des cribed bears acertain com parativ el ys im pl e
rel ation tothe m achin e w hichis u n derin terrogation , itcan
be s how n thatthe an s w eris eitherw ron g orn ot
f orthcom in g. T his is the m athem atical res u l t:itis argu ed that
itprov es adis abil ityof m achin es tow hichthe hu m an
in tel l ectis n ots u bj ect.
T he s hortan s w ertothis argu m en tis thatal thou ghitis
es tabl is hed thatthere are l im itation s tothe pow ers of an y
particu l arm achin e, ithas on l ybeen s tated, w ithou tan ys ort
of proof , thatn os u chl im itation s appl ytothe hu m an
in tel l ect. Bu tIdon otthin k this v iew can be dis m is s ed qu ite
s ol ightl y. When ev eron e of thes e m achin es is as ked the
appropriate critical qu es tion , an d giv es adef in ite an s w er, w e
kn ow thatthis an s w erm u s tbe w ron g, an d this giv es u s ai
certain f eel in g of s u periority. Is this f eel in g il l u s ory?Itis n o
dou btqu ite gen u in e, bu tIdon otthin k toom u chim portan ce
s hou l d be attached toit. We tooof ten giv e w ron g an s w ers to
qu es tion s ou rs el v es tobe j u s tif ied in bein g v erypl eas ed at
s u chev iden ce of f al l ibil ityon the partof the m achin es .
F u rther, ou rs u perioritycan on l ybe f el ton s u chan occas ion
in rel ation tothe on e m achin e ov erw hichw e hav e s cored ou r
pettytriu m ph. T here w ou l d be n oqu es tion of triu m phin g
s im u l tan eou s l yov eral l m achin es . In s hort, then , there m ight
be m en cl ev ererthan an ygiv en m achin e, bu tthen again
there m ightbe otherm achin es cl ev ereragain , an d s oon .
T hos e w hohol d tothe m athem atical argu m en tw ou l dl
thin k, m os tl ybe w il l in g toacceptthe im itation gam e as a
bas is f ordis cu s s ion . T hos e w hobel iev e in the tw oprev iou s
obj ection s w ou l d probabl yn otbe in teres ted in an ycriteria.
( 4)T he Argu m en tf rom Con s ciou s n es s
T his argu m en tis v eryw el l expres s ed in P rof es s orJef f ers on ' s
Lis terOration f or19 49 , f rom w hichIqu ote.
N otu n til am achin e can w rite as on n etorcom pos e a
con certobecau s e of thou ghts an d em otion s f el t, an d
n otbythe chan ce f al l of s ym bol s , cou l d w e agree that
m achin e equ al s brain thatis , n oton l yw rite itbu t
kn ow thatithad w ritten it. N om echan is m cou l d f eel
( an d n otm erel yartif icial l ys ign al , an eas y
_as l l gw a ._._..a.._._. . O3, Com pu tin g Machin ery
con triv an ce)pl eas u re atits s u cces s es , grief w hen its
v al v es f u s e, be w arm ed byf l attery, be m ade m is erabl e
byits m is takes , be charm ed bys ex, be an gryor
depres s ed w hen itcan n otgetw hatitw an ts .
T his argu m en tappears tobe aden ial of the v al idityof
ou rtes t. Accordin g tothe m os textrem e f orm of this v iew
the on l yw aybyw hichon e cou l d be s u re thatam achin e
thin ks is tol ae the m achin e an d tof eel on es el f thin kin g. On e
cou l d then des cribe thes e f eel in gs tothe w orl d, bu tof
cou rs e n oon e w ou l d be j u s tif ied in takin g an yn otice.
Likew is e accordin g tothis v iew the on l yw aytokn ow thata
m an thin ks is tobe thatparticu l arm an . Itis in f actthe
s ol ips is tpoin tof v iew . Itm aybe the m os tl ogical v iew to
hol d bu titm akes com m u n ication of ideas dif f icu l t. Ais
l iabl e tobel iev e Athin ks bu tBdoes n ot w hil s tBbel iev es
Bthin ks bu tAdoes n ot. In s tead of argu in g con tin u al l y
ov erthis poin titis u s u al tohav e the pol ite con v en tion that
ev eryon e thin ks .
Iam s u re thatP rof es s orJef f ers on does n otw is htoadopt
the extrem e an d s ol ips is tpoin tof v iew . P robabl yhe w ou l d be
qu ite w il l in g toacceptthe im itation gam e as ates t. T he gam e
( w iththe pl ayerBom itted)is f requ en tl yu s ed in practice
u n derthe n am e of v iv av oce todis cov erw hethers om e on e
real l yu n ders tan ds s om ethin g orhas l earn titparrot
f as hion . Letu s l is ten in toapartof s u chav iv av oce:
In terrogator:In the f irs tl in e of you rs on n etw hich
reads Shal l Icom pare thee toas u m m ers day, w ou l d
n otas prin g day doas w el l orbetter?
Witn es s :Itw ou l dn ' ts can .
In terrogator:How abou taw in ters day?T hatw ou l d
s can al l right.
Witn es s :Y es , bu tn obodyw an ts tobe com pared toa
w in ters day.
In terrogator:Wou l d you s ayMr. P ickw ick rem in ded
you of Chris tm as ?
Witn es s :In aw ay.
In terrogator:Y etChris tm as is aw in ters day, an d Ido
n otthin k Mr. P ickw ick w ou l d m in d the com paris on .
Witn es s :Idon ' tthin k you ' re s eriou s . Byaw in ters day
on e m ean s atypical w in ters day, ratherthan as pecial
on e l ike Chris tm as .
an d In tel l igen ce
An d s oon . I/ Vhatw ou l d P rof es s orJef f ers on s ayif the s on n et-
w ritin g m achin e w as abl e toan s w erl ike this in the v iv av oce?
Idon otkn ow w hetherhe w ou l d regard the m achin e as
m erel yartif icial l ys ign al l in g thes e an s w ers , bu tif the
an s w ers w ere as s atis f actoryan d s u s tain ed as in the abov e
pas s age Idon otthin k he w ou l d des cribe itas an eas y
con triv an ce. T his phras e is , Ithin k, in ten ded tocov ers u ch
dev ices as the in cl u s ion in the m achin e of arecord of
s om eon e readin g as on n et, w ithappropriate s w itchin g to
tu rn iton f rom tim e totim e.
In s hortthen , Ithin k thatm os tof thos e w hos u pportthe
argu m en tf rom con s ciou s n es s cou l d be pers u aded to
aban don itratherthan be f orced in tothe s ol ips is tpos ition .
T heyw il l then probabl ybe w il l in g toacceptou rtes t.
Idon otw is htogiv e the im pres s ion thatIthin k there is
n om ys teryabou tcon s ciou s n es s . T here is , f orin s tan ce,
s om ethin g of aparadoxcon n ected w ithan yattem ptto
l ocal is e it. Bu tIdon otthin k thes e m ys teries n eces s aril yn eed
tobe s ol v ed bef ore w e can an s w erthe qu es tion w ithw hich
w e are con cer-n ed in this paper.
( 5)Argu m en ts f rom Variou s Dis abil ities
T hes e argu m en ts take the f orm , Igran tyou thatyou can
m ake m achin es doal l the thin gs you hav e m en tion ed bu tyou
w il l n ev erbe abl e tom ake on e todoX. N u m erou s f eatu res X
are s u gges ted in this con n ection . Iof f eras el ection :
Be kin d, res ou rcef u l , beau tif u l , f rien dl y( 6 ( 5)), hav e
in itiativ e, hav e as en s e of hu m ou r, tel l rightf rom
w ron g, m ake m is takes ( 6 ( 5)), f al l in l ov e, en j oy
s traw berries an d cream ( ( 5)), m ake s om e on e f al l in
l ov e w ithit, l earn f rom experien ce ( ' 7 ), u s e w ords
properl y, be the s u bj ectof its ow n thou ght( 6 ( 5)),
hav e as m u chdiv ers ityof behav iou ras am an , do
s om ethin g real l yn ew ( 6 ( 6 )). ( Som e of thes e
dis abil ities are giv en s pecial con s ideration as in dicated
bythe s ection n u m bers .)
N os u pportis u s u al l yof f ered f orthes e s tatem en ts . I
bel iev e theyare m os tl yf ou n ded on the prin cipl e of s cien tif ic
in du ction . Am an has s een thou s an ds of m achin es in his
l if etim e. F rom w hathe s ees of them he draw s an u m berof
gen eral con cl u s ion s . T heyare u gl y, eachis des ign ed f orav ery
l im ited pu rpos e, w hen requ ired f oram in u tel ydif f eren t
pu rpos e theyare u s el es s , the v arietyof behav iou rof an yon e
of them is v erys m al l , etc., etc. N atu ral l yhe con cl u des that
thes e are n eces s aryproperties of m achin es in gen eral . Man y
of thes e l im itation s are as s ociated w iththe v erys m al l
O3. Com pu tin g Machin ery
an d In tel l igen ce
s torage capacityof m os tm achin es . ( Iam as s u m in g thatthe
ideaof s torage capacityis exten ded in s om e w aytocov er
m achin es otherthan dis crete s tate m achin es . T he exact
def in ition does n otm atteras n om athem atical accu racyis
cl aim ed in the pres en tdis cu s s ion .)Af ew years ago, w hen
v eryl ittl e had been heard of digital com pu ters , itw as
pos s ibl e toel icitm u chin credu l itycon cern in g them , if on e
m en tion ed theirproperties w ithou tdes cribin g their
con s tru ction .-T hatw as pres u m abl ydu e toas im il ar
appl ication of the prin cipl e of s cien tif ic in du ction . T hes e
appl ication s of the prin cipl e are of cou rs e l argel y
u n con s ciou s . When abu rn tchil d f ears the f ire an d s how s
thathe f ears itbyav oidin g it, Is hou l d s aythathe w as
appl yin g s cien tif ic in du ction . ( Icou l d of cou rs e al s odes cribe
his behav iou rin m an yotherw ays .)T he w orks an d cu s tom s
of m an kin d don ots eem tobe v erys u itabl e m aterial to
w hichtoappl ys cien tif ic in du ction . Av eryl arge partof
s pace tim e m u s tbe in v es tigated, if rel iabl e res u l ts are tobe
obtain ed. Otherw is e w e m ay( as m os tEn gl is hchil dren do)
decide thatev erybodys peaks En gl is h, an d thatitis s il l yto
l earn F ren ch. l
T here are, how ev er, s pecial rem arks tobe m ade abou t
m an yof the dis abil ities thathav e been m en tion ed. T he
in abil itytoen j oys traw berries an d cream m ayhav e s tru ck
the readeras f riv ol ou s . P os s ibl yam achin e m ightbe m ade to
en j oythis del iciou s dis h, bu tan yattem pttom ake on e dos o
w ou l d be idiotic. Whatis im portan tabou tthis dis abil ityis
thatitcon tribu tes tos om e of the otherdis abil ities , eg. tothe
dif f icu l tyof the s am e kin d of f rien dl in es s occu rrin g betw een
m an an d m achin e as betw een w hite m an an d w hite m an , or
betw een bl ack m an an d bl ack m an .
T he cl aim thatm achin es can n otm ake m is takes s eem s a
cu riou s on e. On e is tem pted toretort, Are theyan ythe
w ors e f orthat? Bu tl etu s adoptam ore s ym pathetic
attitu de, an d trytos ee w hatis real l ym ean t. Ithin k this
criticis m can be expl ain ed in term s of the im itation gam e. It
is cl aim ed thatthe in terrogatorcou l d dis tin gu is hthe
m achin e f rom the m an s im pl ybys ettin g them an u m berof
probl em s in arithm etic. T he m achin e w ou l d be u n m as ked
becau s e of its deadl yaccu racy. T he repl ytothis is s im pl e. T he
m achin e ( program m ed f orpl ayin g the gam e)w ou l d n ot
attem pttogiv e the rightan s w ers tothe arithm etic probl em s .
Itw ou l d del iberatel yin trodu ce m is takes in am an n er
cal cu l ated tocon f u s e the in terrogator. Am echan ical f au l t
w ou l d probabl ys how its el f throu ghan u n s u itabl e decis ion as
T !
theN EWMEDIAR EADER
tow hats ortof am is take tom ake in the arithm etic. Ev en
this in terpretation of the criticis m is n ots u f f icien tl y
s ym pathetic. Bu tw e can n otaf f ord the s pace togoin toit
m u chf u rther. Its eem s tom e thatthis criticis m depen ds on a
con f u s ion betw een tw okin ds of m is take. We m aycal l them
errors of f u n ction in g an d errors of con cl u s ion . Errors of
f u n ction in g are du e tos om e m echan ical orel ectrical f au l t
w hichcau s es the m achin e tobehav e otherw is e than itw as
des ign ed todo. In phil os ophical dis cu s s ion s on e l ikes to
ign ore the pos s ibil ityof s u cherrors ; on e is theref ore
dis cu s s in g abs tractm achin es . T hes e abs tractm achin es are
m athem atical f iction s ratherthan phys ical obj ects . By
def in ition theyare in capabl e of errors of f u n ction in g. In this
s en s e w e can tru l ys aythatm achin es can n ev erm ake
m is takes . Errors of con cl u s ion can on l yaris e w hen s om e
m ean in g is attached tothe ou tpu ts ign al s f rom the m achin e.
T he m achin e m ight, f orin s tan ce, type ou tm athem atical
equ ation s , ors en ten ces in En gl is h. When af al s e propos ition
is typed w e s aythatthe m achin e has com m itted an errorof
con cl u s ion . T here is cl earl yn oreas on atal l f ors ayin g thata
m achin e can n otm ake this kin d of m is take. Itm ightdo
n othin g bu ttype ou trepeatedl y0= 1. T otake al es s perv ers e
exam pl e, itm ighthav e s om e m ethod f ordraw in g con du s ion s
bys cien tif ic in du ction . We m u s texpects u cham ethod to
l ead occas ion al l ytoerron eou s res u l ts .
T he cl aim thatam achin e can n otbe the s u bj ectof its ow n
thou ghtcan of cou rs e on l ybe an s w ered if itcan be s how n
thatthe m achin e has s om e thou ghtw iths om e s u bj ectm atter.
N ev erthel es s , the s u bj ectm atterof am achin es operation s
does s eem tom ean s om ethin g, atl eas ttothe peopl e w ho
deal w ithit. If , f orin s tan ce, the m achin e w as tryin g tof in d a
s ol u tion of the equ ation x2 40x- 11 = 0on e w ou l d be
tem pted todes cribe this equ ation as partof the m achin es
s u bj ectm atteratthatm om en t. In this s ortof s en s e a
m achin e u n dou btedl ycan be its ow n s u bj ectm atter. Itm ay
be u s ed tohel pin m akin g u pits ow n program m es , orto
predictthe ef f ectof al teration s in its ow ; n s tru ctu re. By
obs erv in g the res u l ts of its ow n behav iou ritcan m odif yits
ow n program m es s oas toachiev e s om e pu rpos e m ore
ef f ectiv el y. T hes e are pos s ibil ities of the n earf u tu re, rather
than U topian dream s .
T he criticis m thatam achin e can n othav e m u chdiv ers ity
of behav iou ris j u s taw ayof s ayin g thatitcan n othav e m u ch
s torage capacity. U n til f airl yrecen tl yas torage capacityof
ev en athou s an d digits w as v eryrare.
19 50
. . A - O O3. Com pu tin g Machin ery
T he criticis m s thatw e are con s iderin g here are of ten
dis gu is ed f orm s of the argu m en tf rom oon s ciou s n es s . U s u al l y
if on e m ain tain s thatam achin e can doon e of thes e thin gs ,
an d des cribes the. kin d of m ethod thatthe m achin e cou l d
u s e, on e w il l n otm ake m u chof an im pres s ion . Itis thou ght
thatthe m ethod ( w hatev eritm aybe, f oritm u s tbe m echan i-
cal )is real l yratherbas e. Com pare the paren thes is in
Jef f ers on s s tatem en tqu oted in 5( 4).
( 6 )LadyLov el ace' s Obj ection A
Ou rm os tdetail ed in f orm ation of Babbages An al ytical
En gin e com es f rom am em oirbyLadyLov el ace In its he
s tates , T he An al ytical En gin e has n opreten s ion s toorigin ate
an ythin g. Itcan dow hatev erw e kn ow how toorderitto
perf orm ( herital ics ). T his s tatem en tis qu oted byHartree
( p.7 0)w hoadds :T his does n otim pl ythatitm ayn otbe
pos s ibl e tocon s tru ctel ectron ic equ ipm en tw hichw il l thin k
f orits el f , orin w hich, in biol ogical term s , on e cou l d s etu pa
con dition ed ref l ex, w hichw ou l d s erv e as abas is f orl earn in g.
Whetherthis is pos s ibl e in prin cipl e orn otis as tim u l atin g
an d excitin g qu es tion , s u gges ted bys om e of thes e recen t
dev el opm en ts . Bu titdid n ots eem thatthe m achin es
con s tru cted orproj ected atthe tim e had this property.
l am in thorou ghagreem en tw ithI-Iartree ov erthis . Itw il l
be n oticed thathe does n otas s ertthatthe m achin es in
qu es tion had n otgotthe property, bu tratherthatthe
ev iden ce av ail abl e toLadyLov el ace did n oten cou rage herto
bel iev e thattheyhad it. Itis qu ite pos s ibl e thatthe m achin es
in qu es tion had in as en s e gotthis property. F ors u ppos e that
s om e dis crete-s tate m achin e has the property. T he An al ytical
En gin e w as au n iv ers al digital com pu ter, s othat, if its s torage
capacityan d s peed w ere adequ ate, itcou l d bys u itabl e
program m in g be m ade tom im ic the m achin e in qu es tion .
P robabl ythis argu m en tdid n otoccu rtothe Cou n tes s orto
Babbage. In an ycas e there w as n oobl igation on them to
cl aim al l thatcou l d be cl aim ed
T his w hol e qu es tion w il l be con s idered again u n derthe
headin g of Learn in g Machin es ( 7 ).
Av arian tof LadyLov el aces obj ection s tates thata
m achin e can n ev erdoan ythin g real l yn ew . T his m aybe
pain ed f oram om en tw iththe s aw , T here is n othin g n ew
u n derthe s u n . Whocan be certain thatorigin al w ork that
he has don e w as n ots im pl ythe grow thof the s eed pl an ted
in him byteachin g, orthe ef f ectof f ol l ow in g w el l -kn ow n
gen eral prin cipl es . Abetterv arian tof the obj ection s ays that
am achin e can n ev ertake u s bys u rpris e. T his s tatem en tis a
L
an d In tel l igen ce
m ore directchal l en ge an d can be m etdirectl y. Machin es take
m e bys u rpris e w ithgreatf requ en cy. T his is l argel y"becau s e I
don otdos u f f icien tcal cu l ation todecide w hattoexpect
them todo, orratherbecau s e, al thou ghIdoacal cu l ation , I
doitin ahu rried, s l ips hod f as hion , takin g ris ks . P erhaps Is ay
tom ys el f , Is u ppos e the v ol tage here ou ghttobe the s am e as
there:an yw ayl ets as s u m e itis . N atu ral l yIam of ten w ron g,
an d the res u l tis as u rpris e f orm e f orbythe tim e the
experim en tis don e thes e as s u m ption s hav e been f orgotten .
T hes e adm is s ion s l aym e open tol ectu res on the s u bj ectof
m yv iciou s w ays , bu tdon otthrow an ydou bton m y
credibil ityw hen Ites tif ytothe s u rpris es Iexperien ce.
Idon otexpectthis repl ytos il en ce m ycritic. He w il l
probabl ys aythats u chs u rpris es are du e tos om e creativ e
m en tal acton m ypart, an d ref l ectn ocrediton the m achin e.
T his l eads u s back tothe argu m en tf rom con s ciou s n es s , an d
f arf rom the ideaof s u rpris e. Itis al in e of argu m en tw e m u s t
con s idercl os ed, bu titis perhaps w orthrem arkin g thatthe
appreciation of s om ethin g as s u rpris in g requ ires as m u chof
acreativ e m en tal act w hetherthe s u rpris in g ev en t
origin ates f rom am an , abook, am achin e oran ythin g el s e.
T he v iew thatm achin es can n otgiv e ris e tos u rpris es is
du e, Ibel iev e, toaf al l acytow hichphil os ophers an d
m athem atician s are particu l arl ys u bj ect. T his is the
as s u m ption thatas s oon as af actis pres en ted toam in d al l
con s equ en ces of thatf acts prin g in tothe m in d
s im u l tan eou s l yw ithit. Itis av eryu s ef u l as s u m ption u n der
m an ycircu m s tan ces , bu ton e tooeas il yf orgets thatitis f al s e.
An atu ral con s equ en ce of doin g s ois thaton e then as s u m es
thatthere is n ov irtu e in the m ere w orkin g ou tof
con s equ en ces f rom dataan d gen eral prin cipl es .
( 7 )Argu m en tf rom Con tin u ityin the
N erv ou s Sys tem
T he n erv ou s s ys tem is certain l yn otadis crete-s tate m achin e.
As m al l errorin the in f orm ation abou tthe s ize of an erv ou s
im pu l s e im pin gin g on an eu ron , m aym ake al arge dif f eren ce
tothe s ize of the ou tgoin g im pu l s e. Itm aybe argu ed that,
this bein g s o, on e can n otexpecttobe abl e tom im ic the
behav iou rof the n erv ou s s ys tem w ithadis crete-s tate
s ys tem .
Itis tru e thatadis crete-s tate m achin e m u s tbe dif f eren t
f rom acon tin u ou s m achin e. Bu tif w e adhere tothe
con dition s of the im itation gam e, the in terrogatorw il l n otbe
abl e totake an yadv an tage of this dif f eren ce. T he s itu ation
can be m ade cl earerif w e con s iders om e others im pl er
03. Com pu tin g Machin ery
an d In tel l igen ce
con tin u ou s m achin e. Adif f eren tial an al ys erw il l dov eryw el l .
( Adif f eren tial an al ys eris acertain kin d of m achin e n otof
the dis crete-s tate type u s ed f ors om e kin ds of cal cu l ation .)
Som e of thes e prov ide theiran s w ers in atyped f orm , an d s o
are s u itabl e f ortakin g partin the gam e. Itw ou l d n otbe
pos s ibl e f oradigital com pu tertopredictexactl yw hat
an s w ers the dif f eren tial an al ys erw ou l d giv e toaprobl em ,
bu titw ou l d be qu ite capabl e of giv in g the rights ortof
an s w er. F orin s tan ce, if as ked togiv e the v al u e of it( actu al l y
abou t3.1416 )itw ou l d be reas on abl e tochoos e atran dom
betw een the v al u es 3.12 , 3.13, 3.14, 3.15, 3.16 w iththe
probabil ities of 0.05, 0.15, 0.55, 0.19 , 0.06 ( s ay). U n derthes e
circu m s tan ces itw ou l d be v erydif f icu l tf orthe in terrogator
todis tin gu is hthe dif f eren tial an al ys erf rom the digital
com pu ter.
( 8)T he Argu m en tf rom In f orm al ityof Behav iou r
Itis n otpos s ibl e toprodu ce as etof ru l es pu rportin g to
des cribe w hatam an s hou l d doin ev erycon ceiv abl e s etof
circu m s tan ces . On e m ightf orin s tan ce hav e aru l e thaton e is
tos topw hen on e s ees ared traf f ic l ight, an d togoif on e s ees
agreen on e, bu tw hatif bys om e f au l tbothappeartogether?
On e m ayperhaps decide thatitis s af es ttos top. Bu ts om e
f u rtherdif f icu l tym ayw el l aris e f rom this decis ion l ater. T o
attem pttoprov ide ru l es of con du cttocov erev ery
ev en tu al ity, ev en thos e aris in g f rom traf f ic l ights , appears to
be im pos s ibl e. Withal l this Iagree.
F rom this itis argu ed thatw e can n otbe m achin es . Is hal l
trytoreprodu ce the argu m en t, bu tIf earIs hal l hardl ydoit
j u s tice. Its eem s toru n s om ethin g l ike this . If eachm an had
adef in ite s etof ru l es of con du ctbyw hichhe regu l ated his
l if e he w ou l d be n obetterthan am achin e. Bu tthere are n o
s u chru l es , s om en can n otbe m achin es . T he u n dis tribu ted
m iddl e is gl arin g. Idon otthin k the argu m en tis ev erpu t
qu ite l ike this , bu tIbel iev e this is the argu m en tu s ed
n ev erthel es s . T here m ayhow ev erbe acertain con f u s ion
betw een ru l es of con du ct an d l aw s of behav iou r tocl ou d
the is s u e. Byru l es of con du ct Im ean precepts s u chas Stop
if you s ee red l ights , on w hichon e can act, an d of w hichon e
can be con s ciou s . Byl aw s of behav iou r Im ean l aw s of
n atu re as appl ied toam an s bodys u chas if you pin chhim
he w il l s qu eak. If w e s u bs titu te l aw s of behav iou rw hich
regu l ate his l if e f orl aw s of con du ctbyw hichhe regu l ates
his l if e in the argu m en tqu oted the u n dis tribu ted m iddl e is
n ol on gerin s u perabl e. F orw e bel iev e thatitis n oton l ytru e
thatbein g regu l ated byl aw s of behav iou rim pl ies bein g s om e
theN EWMEDIAR EADER
s ortof m achin e ( thou ghn otn eces s aril yadis crete-s tate
m achin e), bu tthatcon v ers el ybein g s u cham achin e im pl ies
bein g regu l ated bys u chl aw s . How ev er, w e can n ots oeas il y
con v in ce ou rs el v es of the abs en ce of com pl ete l aw s of
behav iou ras of com pl ete ru l es of con du ct. T he on l yw ayw e
kn ow of f orf in din g s u chl aw s is s cien tif ic obs erv ation , an d
w e certain l ykn ow of n ocircu m s tan ces u n derw hichw e cou l d
s ay, We hav e s earched en ou gh. T here are n os u chl aw s .
We can dem on s trate m ore f orcibl ythatan ys u ch
s tatem en tw ou l d be u n j u s tif ied. F ors u ppos e w e cou l d be s u re
of f in din g s u chl aw s if theyexis ted. T hen giv en adis crete-
s tate m achin e its hou l d certain l ybe pos s ibl e todis cov erby
obs erv ation s u f f icien tabou tittopredictits f u tu re
behav iou r, an d this w ithin areas on abl e tim e, s ayathou s an d
years . Bu tthis does n ots eem tobe the cas e. Ihav e s etu pon
the Man ches tercom pu teras m al l program m e u s in g on l y
1000u n its of s torage, w herebythe m achin e s u ppl ied w ith
on e s ixteen f igu re n u m berrepl ies w ithan otherw ithin tw o
s econ ds . Iw ou l d def yan yon e tol earn f rom thes e repl ies
s u f f icien tabou tthe program m e tobe abl e topredictan y
repl ies tou n tried v al u es .
( 9 )T he Argu m en tf rom Extra-Sen s oryP erception
Ias s u m e thatthe readeris f am il iarw iththe ideaof extra-
s en s oryperception , an d the m ean in g of the f ou ritem s of it,
v iz tel epathy, cl airv oyan ce, precogn ition an d ps ycho-kin es is .
T hes e dis tu rbin g phen om en as eem toden yal l ou ru s u al
s cien tif ic ideas . How w e s hou l d l ike todis creditthem !
U n f ortu n atel ythe s tatis tical ev iden ce, atl eas tf ortel epathy, is
ov erw hel m in g. Itis v erydif f icu l ttorearran ge on es ideas s oas
tof itthes e n ew f acts in . On ce on e has accepted them itdoes
n ots eem av erybig s teptobel iev e in ghos ts an d bogies . T he
ideathatou rbodies m ov e s im pl yaccordin g tothe kn ow n
l aw s of phys ics , togetherw iths om e others n otyetdis cov ered
bu ts om ew hats im il ar, w ou l d be on e of the f irs ttogo.
T his argu m en tis tom ym in d qu ite as tron g on e. On e can
s ayin repl ythatm an ys cien tif ic theories s eem torem ain
w orkabl e in practice, in s pite of cl as hin g w ithE.S.P .; thatin
f acton e can getal on g v eryn icel yif on e f orgets abou tit. T his
is rathercol d com f ort, an d on e f ears thatthin kin g is j u s tthe
kin d of phen om en on w here E.S.P . m aybe es pecial l yrel ev an t.
Am ore s pecif ic argu m en tbas ed on E.S.P m ightru n as
f ol l ow s :
Letu s pl aythe im itation gam e, u s in g as w itn es s es am an
w hois good as atel epathic receiv er, an d adigital com pu ter.
T he in terrogatorcan as k s u chqu es tion s as Whats u itdoes
119 50
the card in m yrighthan d bel on g to? T he m an bytel epathy
orcl airv oyan ce giv es the rightan s w er130tim es ou tof 400
cards . T he m achin e can on l ygu es s atran dom , an d perhaps
gets 104right, s othe in terrogatorm akes the right
iden tif ication . T here is an in teres tin g pos s ibil ityw hich
open s here. Su ppos e the digital com pu tercon tain s aran dom
n u m bergen erator. T hen itw il l be n atu ral tou s e this to
decide w hatan s w ertogiv e. Bu tthen the ran dom n u m ber
gen eratorw il l be s u bj ecttothe ps ycho-kin etic pow ers of the
in terrogator. P erhaps this ps ycho-kin es is m ightcau s e the
m achin e togu es s rightm ore of ten than w ou l d be expected
on aprobabil itycal cu l ation , s othatthe in terrogatorm ight
s til l be u n abl e tom ake the rightiden tif ication . On the other
han d, he m ightbe abl e togu es s rightw ithou tan y
qu es tion in g, bycl airv oyan ce. WithE.S.P an ythin g m ay
happen .
If tel epathyis adm itted itw il l be n eces s arytotighten ou r
tes tu p. T he s itu ation cou l d be regarded as an al ogou s tothat
w hichw ou l d occu rif the in terrogatorw ere tal kin g tohim s el f
an d on e of the com petitors w as l is ten in g w ithhis eartothe
w al l . T opu tthe com petitors in toatel epathy-proof room
w ou l d s atis f yal l requ irem en ts .
7 Learn in g Machin es
T he readerw il l hav e an ticipated thatIhav e n ov ery
con v in cin g argu m en ts of apos itiv e n atu re tos u pportm y
v iew s . If Ihad Is hou l d n othav e taken s u chpain s topoin t
ou tthe f al l acies in con traryv iew s . Su chev iden ce as Ihav e I
s hal l n ow giv e.
Letu s retu rn f oram om en ttoLadyLov el aces obj ection ,
w hichs tated thatthe m achin e can on l ydow hatw e tel l itto
do. On e cou l d s aythatam an can in j ect an ideain tothe
m achin e, an d thatitw il l res pon d toacertain exten tan d
then dropin toqu ies cen ce, l ike apian os trin g s tru ck bya
ham m er. An others im il e w ou l d be an atom ic pil e of l es s than
critical s ize:an in j ected ideais tocorres pon d toan eu tron
en terin g the pil e f rom w ithou t. Eachs u chn eu tron w il l cau s e
acertain dis tu rban ce w hichev en tu al l ydies aw ay. If , how ev er,
the s ize of the pil e is s u f f icien tl yin creas ed the dis tu rban ce
cau s ed bys u chan in com in g n eu tron w il l v eryl ikel ygoon
an d on in creas in g u n til the w hol e pil e is des troyed. Is there a
corres pon din g phen om en on f orm in ds , an d is there on e f or
m achin es ?T here does s eem tobe on e f orthe hu m an m in d.
T he m aj orityof them s eem tobe s u b-critical , i.e to
corres pon d in this an al ogytopil es of s u b-critical s ize. An
eeeeee -o- 03. Com pu tin g Machin ery
an d In tel l igen ce
ideapres en ted tos u cham in d w il l on av erage giv e ris e tol es s
than on e ideain repl y. As m al l is hproportion are s u per-
critical . An ideapres en ted tos u cham in d m aygiv e ris e toa
w hol e theory con s is tin g of s econ dary, tertiaryan d m ore
rem ote ideas . An im al s m in ds s eem tobe v erydef in itel ys u b-
critical . Adherin g tothis an al ogyw e as k, Can am achin e be
m ade tobe s u per-critical ?
T he s kin of an on ion an al ogyis al s ohel pf u l . In
con s iderin g the f u n ction s of the m in d orthe brain w e f in d
certain operation s w hichw e can expl ain in pu rel ym echan ical
term s . T his w e s aydoes n otcorres pon d tothe real m in d:itis
as ortof s kin w hichw e m u s ts tripof f if w e are tof in d the
real m in d. Bu tthen in w hatrem ain s w e f in d af u rthers kin to
be s tripped of f , an d s oon . P roceedin g in this w aydow e ev er
com e tothe real m in d, ordow e ev en tu al l ycom e tothe s kin
w hichhas n othin g in it?In the l attercas e the w hol e m in d is
m echan ical . ( Itw ou l d n otbe adis crete-s tate m achin e
how ev er. We hav e dis cu s s ed this .)
T hes e l as ttw oparagraphs don otcl aim tobe con v in cin g
argu m en ts . T heys hou l d ratherbe des cribed as recitation s
ten din g toprodu ce bel ief .
T he on l yreal l ys atis f actorys u pportthatcan be giv en f or
the v iew expres s ed atthe begin n in g of 6 , w il l be that
prov ided byw aitin g f orthe en d of the cen tu ryan d then
doin g the experim en tdes cribed. Bu tw hatcan w e s ayin the
m ean tim e?Whats teps s hou l d be taken n ow if the
experim en tis tobe s u cces s f u l ?
As Ihav e expl ain ed, the probl em is m ain l yon e of
program m in g. Adv an ces in en gin eerin g w il l hav e tobe m ade
too, bu tits eem s u n l ikel ythatthes e w il l n otbe adequ ate f or
the requ irem en ts . Es tim ates of the s torage capacityof the
brain v aryf rom 101 to1015bin arydigits . Iin cl in e tothe
l ow erv al u es an d bel iev e thaton l yav erys m al l f raction is
u s ed f orthe highertypes of thin kin g. Mos tof itis probabl y
u s ed f orthe reten tion of v is u al im pres s ion s . Is hou l d be
s u rpris ed if m ore than 109 w as requ ired f ors atis f actory
pl ayin g of the im itation gam e, atan yrate again s tabl in d
m an . ( N ote T he capacityof the En cycl opaeal iaBritan n ica,
11thedition , is 2 x109 .)As torage capacityof 107 w ou l d be a
v erypracticabl e pos s ibil ityev en bypres en ttechn iqu es . Itis
probabl yn otn eces s arytoin creas e the s peed of operation s of
the m achin es atal l . P arts of m odern m achin es w hichcan be
regarded as an al ogu es of n erv e cel l s w ork abou tathou s an d
tim es f as terthan the l atter. T his s hou l d prov ide am argin of
s af ety w hichcou l d cov erl os s es of s peed aris in g in m an y
03. Com pu tin g Machin ery
an d In tel l igen ce
w ays . Ou rprobl em then is tof in d ou thow toprogram m e
thes e m achin es topl aythe gam e. Atm ypres en trate of
w orkin g Iprodu ce abou tathou s an d digits of program m e a
day, s othatabou ts ixtyw orkers , w orkin g s teadil ythrou gh
the f if tyyears m ightaccom pl is hthe j ob, if n othin g w en tin to
the w as te-paperbas ket. Som e m ore expeditiou s m ethod
s eem s des irabl e.
In the proces s of tryin g toim itate an adu l thu m an m in d
w e are bou n d to. thin k agood deal abou tthe proces s w hich
has brou ghtittothe s tate thatitis in . We m ayn otice three
com pon en ts ,
( a)T he in itial s tate of the m in d, s ayatbirth,
( b)T he edu cation tow hichithas been s u bj ected
( c)Otherexperien ce, n ottobe des cribed as edu cation ,
tow hichithas been s u bj ected.
In s tead of tryin g toprodu ce aprogram m e tos im u l ate the
adu l tm in d w hyn otrathertrytoprodu ce on e w hich
s im u l ates the chil ds ?If this w ere then s u bj ected toan
appropriate cou rs e of edu cation on e w ou l d obtain the adu l t
brain . P res u m abl ythe chil d-brain is s om ethin g l ike an ote-
book as on e bu ys itf rom the s tation ers . R atherl ittl e
m echan is m , an d l ots of bl an k s heets . ( Mechan is m an d
w ritin g are f rom ou rpoin tof v iew al m os ts yn on ym ou s .)Ou r
hope is thatthere is s ol ittl e m echan is m in the chil d-brain
thats om ethin g l ike itcan be eas il yprogram m ed. T he
am ou n tof w ork in the edu cation w e can as s u m e, as af irs t
approxim ation , tobe m u chthe s am e as f orthe hu m an chil d.
We hav e thu s div ided ou rprobl em in totw oparts . T he
chil d-program m e an d the edu cation proces s . T hes e tw o
rem ain v erycl os el ycon n ected We can n otexpecttof in d a
good chil d-m achin e atthe f irs tattem pt. On e m u s t
experim en tw ithteachin g on e s u chm achin e an d s ee how
w el l itl earn s . On e can then tryan otheran d s ee if itis better
orw ors e. T here is an obv iou s con n ection betw een this
proces s an d ev ol u tion , bythe iden tif ication s
Stru ctu re of the chil d rn achin e = Hereditarym aterial
Chan ges of the chil d-m achin e = Mu tation s
N atu ral s el ection = Ju dgm en tof the experim en ter
On e m ayhope, how ev er, thatthis proces s w il l be m ore
expeditiou s than ev ol u tion . T he s u rv iv al of the f ittes tis a
s l ow m ethod f orm eas u rin g adv an tages . T he experim en ter,
bythe exercis e of in tel l igen ce, s hou l d be abl e tos peed itu p.
Equ al l yim portan tis the f actthathe is n otres tricted to
theN EWMEDIAR EADER
ran dom m u tation s . If he can trace acau s e f ors om e w eakn es s
he can probabl ythin k of the kin d of m u tation w hichw il l
im prov e it.
Itw il l n otbe pos s ibl e toappl yexactl ythe s am e teachin g
proces s tothe m achin e as toan orm al chil d Itw il l n ot, f or
in s tan ce, be prov ided w ithl egs , s othatitcou l d n otbe as ked
togoou tan d f il l the coal s cu ttl e. P os s ibl yitm ightn othav e
eyes . Bu thow ev erw el l thes e def icien cies m ightbe ov ercom e
bycl ev eren gin eerin g, on e cou l d n ots en d the creatu re to
s chool w ithou tthe otherchil dren m akin g exces s iv e f u n of it.
Itm u s tbe giv en s om e tu ition . We n eed n otbe toocon cern ed
abou tthe l egs , eyes , etc. T he exam pl e of Mis s Hel en Kel l er
s how s thatedu cation can take pl ace prov ided that
com m u n ication in bothdirection s betw een teacheran d pu pil
can take pl ace bys om e m ean s orother.
We n orm al l yas s ociate pu n is hm en ts an d rew ards w iththe
teachin g proces s . Som e s im pl e chil d-m achin es can be
con s tru cted orprogram m ed on this s ortof prin cipl e. T he
m achin e has tobe s ocon s tru cted thatev en ts w hichs hortl y
preceded the occu rren ce of apu n is hm en t s ign al are u n l ikel y
tobe repeated, w hereas arew ard-s ign al in creas ed the
probabil ityof repetition of the ev en ts w hichl ed u ptoit.
T hes e def in ition s don otpres u ppos e an yf eel in gs on the part
of the m achin e. Ihav e don e s om e experim en ts w ithon e s u ch
chil d-m achin e, an d s u cceeded in teachin g itaf ew thin gs , bu t
the teachin g m ethod w as toou n orthodoxf orthe experim en t
tobe con s idered real l ys u cces s f u l .
T he u s e of pu n is hm en ts an d rew ards can atbes tbe apart
of the teachin g proces s . R ou ghl ys peakin g, if the teacherhas
n ootherm ean s of com m u n icatin g tothe pu pil , the am ou n t
of in f orm ation w hichcan reachhim does n otexceed the
total n u m berof rew ards an d pu n is hm en ts appl ied Bythe
tim e achil d has l earn ttorepeatCas abian ca he w ou l d
probabl yf eel v erys ore in deed, if the textcou l d on l ybe
dis cov ered byaT w en tyQ u es tion s techn iqu e, ev eryN O
takin g the f orm of abl ow . Itis n eces s arytheref ore tohav e
s om e otheru n em otion al chan n el s of com m u n ication . If
thes e are av ail abl e itis pos s ibl e toteacham achin e bypu n is h-
m en ts an d rew ards toobeyorders giv en in s om e l an gu age,
eg as ym bol ic l an gu age. T hes e orders are tobe tran s m itted
throu ghthe u n em otion al chan n el s . T he u s e of this
l an gu age w il l dim in is hgreatl ythe n u m berof pu n is hm en ts
an d rew ards requ ired
Opin ion s m ayv aryas tothe com pl exityw hichis s u itabl e
in the chil d-m achin e. On e m ighttrytom ake itas s im pl e as
19 50
0:- -_l oA ___03, Com pu tin g Machin ery
pos s ibl e con s is ten tl yw iththe gen eral prin cipl es .
Al tern ativ el yon e m ighthav e acom pl etes ys tem of l ogical
in f eren ce bu il tin ."3 In the l attercas e the s tore w ou l d be
l argel yoccu pied w ithdef in ition s an d propos ition s . T he
propos ition s w ou l d hav e v ariou s kin ds of s tatu s , eg. w el l -
es tabl is hed f acts , con j ectu res , m athem atical l yprov ed
theorem s , s tatem en ts giv en byan au thority, expres s ion s
hav in g the l ogical f orm of propos ition bu tn otbel ief -v al u e.
Certain propos ition s m aybe des cribedas im perativ es . T he
m achin e s hou l d be s ocon s tru cted thatas s oon as an
im perativ e is cl as s ed as w el l -es tabl is hed the appropriate
action au tom atical l ytakes pl ace. T oil l u s trate this , s u ppos e
the teachers ays tothe m achin e, Doyou rhom ew ork n ow .
T his m aycau s e T eachers ays ' Doyou rhom ew ork n ow m tobe
in cl u ded am on gs tthe w el l -es tabl is hed f acts . An others u ch
f actm ightbe, Ev erythin g thatteachers ays is tru e."
Com bin in g thes e m ayev en tu al l yl ead tothe im perativ e, Do
you rhom ew ork n ow , bein g in cl u ded am on gs tthe w el l -
es tabl is hed f acts , an d this , bythe con s tru ction of the
m achin e, w il l m ean thatthe hom ew ork actu al l ygets s tarted,
bu tthe ef f ectis v erys atis f actory. T he proces s es of in f eren ce
u s ed bythe m achin e n eed n otbe s u chas w ou l d s atis f ythe
m os texactin g l ogician s . T here m ightf orin s tan ce be n o
hierarchyof types . Bu tthis n eed n otm ean thattype f al l acies
w il l occu r, an ym ore than w e are bou n d tof al l ov eru n f en ced
cl if f s . Su itabl e im perativ es ( expres s ed w ithin the s ys tem s , n ot
f orm in g partof the ru l es of the s ys tem )s u chas Don otu s e a
cl as s u n l es s itis as u bcl as s of on e w hichhas been m en tion ed
byteacher can hav e as im il aref f ecttoDon otgotoon ear
the edge.
T he im perativ es thatcan be obeyed byam achin e thathas
n ol im bs are bou n d tobe of aratherin tel l ectu al character, as
in the exam pl e ( doin g hom ew ork)giv en abov e. Im portan t
am on gs ts u chim perativ es w il l be on es w hichregu l ate the
orderin w hichthe ru l es of the l ogical s ys tem con cern ed are
tobe appl ied. F orateachs tage w hen on e is u s in g al ogical
s ys tem , there is av eryl arge n u m berof al tern ativ e s teps , an y
of w hichon e is perm itted toappl y, s of aras obedien ce tothe
ru l es of the l ogical s ys tem is con cern ed. T hes e choices m ake
the dif f eren ce betw een abril l ian tan d af ootl in g reas on er, n ot
the dif f eren ce betw een as ou n d an d af al l aciou s on e.
P ropos ition s l eadin g toim perativ es of this kin d m ightbe
When Socrates is m en tion ed, u s e the s yl l ogis m in Barbara
orIf on e m ethod has been prov ed tobe qu ickerthan
an other, don otu s e the s l ow erm ethod."Som e of thes e m ay
an d In tel l igen ce
be giv en byau thority,"bu tothers m aybe produ ced bythe
m achin e its el f , eg. bys cien tif ic in du ction .
T he ideaof al earn in g m achin e m ayappearparadoxical to
s om e readers . How can the ru l es of operation of the m achin e
chan ge?T heys hou l d des cribe com pl etel yhow the m achin e
w il l reactw hatev erits his torym ightbe, w hatev erchan ges it
m ightu n dergo. T he ru l es are thu s qu ite tim e in v arian t. T his
is qu ite tru e. T he expl an ation of the paradoxis thatthe ru l es
w hichgetchan ged in the l earn in g proces s are of aratherl es s
preten tiou s kin d, cl aim in g on l yan ephem eral v al idity. T he
readerm aydraw aparal l el w iththe Con s titu tion of the
U n ited States .
An im portan tf eatu re of al earn in g m achin e is thatits
teacherw il l of ten be v eryl argel yign oran tof qu ite w hatis
goin g on in s ide, al thou ghhe m ays til l be abl e tos om e exten t
topredicthis pu pil ' s behav iou r. T his s hou l d appl ym os t
s tron gl ytothe l ateredu cation of am achin e aris in g f rom a
chil d-m achin e of w el l tried des ign ( orprogram m e). T his is in
cl earcon tras tw ithn orm al procedu re w hen u s in g am achin e
todocom pu tation s :on es obj ectis then tohav e acl ear
m en tal pictu re of the s tate of the m achin e ateachm om en t
in the com pu tation . T his obj ectcan on l ybe achiev ed w itha
s tru ggl e. T he v iew thatthe m achin e can on l ydow hatw e
kn ow how toorderittodo, appears s tran ge in f ace of this .
Mos tof the program m es w hichw e can pu tin tothe m achin e
w il l res u l tin its doin g s om ethin g thatw e can n otm ake s en s e
of atal l , orw hichw e regard as com pl etel yran dom behav iou r.
In tel l igen tbehav iou rpres u m abl ycon s is ts in adepartu re
f rom the com pl etel ydis cipl in ed behav iou rin v ol v ed in
com pu tation , bu tarathers l ighton e, w hichdoes n otgiv e ris e
toran dom behav iou r, ortopoin tl es s repetitiv e l oops .
An otherim portan tres u l tof preparin g ou rm achin e f orits
partin the im itation gam e byaproces s of teachin g an d
l earn in g is thathu m an f al l ibil ity is l ikel ytobe om itted in a
rathern atu ral w ay, i.e. w ithou ts pecial coachin g. ( T he reader
s hou l d recon cil e this w iththe poin tof v iew in 6 ( 5).)
P roces s es thatare l earn tdon otprodu ce ahu n dred percen t.
certain tyof res u l t; if theydid theycou l d n otbe u n l earn t.
Itis probabl yw is e toin cl u de aran dom el em en tin a
l earn in g m achin e ( s ee 4). Aran dom el em en tis ratheru s ef u l
w hen w e are s earchin g f oras ol u tion of s om e probl em .
Su ppos e f orin s tan ce w e w an ted tof in d an u m berbetw een
SO an d 2 00w hichw as equ al tothe s qu are of the s u m of its
digits , w e m ights tartat51.then try52 an d goon u n til w e
gotan u m berthatw orked. Al tern ativ el yw e m ightchoos e
03. Com pu tin g Machin ery
an d In tel l igen ce
n u m bers atran dom u n til w e gotagood on e. T his m ethod
has the adv an tage thatitis u n n eces s arytokeeptrack of the
v al u es thathav e been tried, bu tthe dis adv an tage thaton e
m aytrythe s am e on e tw ice, bu tthis is n otv eryim portan tif
there are s ev eral s ol u tion s . T he s ys tem atic m ethod has the
dis adv an tage thatthere m aybe an en orm ou s bl ock w ithou t
an ys ol u tion s in the region w hichhas tobe in v es tigated f irs t.
N ow the l earn in g proces s m aybe regarded as as earchf ora
f orm of behav iou rw hichw il l s atis f ythe teacher( ors om e
othercriterion ). Sin ce there is probabl yav eryl arge n u m ber
of s atis f actorys ol u tion s the ran dom m ethod s eem s tobe
betterthan the s ys tem atic. Its hou l d be n oticed thatitis u s ed
in the an al ogou s proces s of ev ol u tion . Bu tthere the
s ys tem atic m ethod is n otpos s ibl e. How cou l d on e keeptrack
of the dif f eren tgen etical com bin ation s thathad been tried,
s oas toav oid tryin g them again ?
We m ayhope thatm achin es w il l ev en tu al l ycom pete w ith
m en in al l pu rel yin tel l ectu al f iel ds . Bu tw hichare the bes t
on es tos tartw ith?Ev en this is adif f icu l tdecis ion . Man y
peopl e thin k thatav eryabs tractactiv ity, l ike the pl ayin g of
ches s w ou l d be bes t. Itcan al s obe m ain tain ed thatitis bes t
toprov ide the m achin e w iththe bes ts en s e organ s that
m on eycan bu y, an d then teachittou n ders tan d an d s peak
En gl is h. T his proces s cou l d f ol l ow the n orm al teachin g of a
chil d. T hin gs w ou l d be poin ted ou tan d n am ed etc. Again I
don otkn ow w hatthe rightan s w eris , bu tIthin k both-
approaches s hou l d be tried.
We can on l ys ee as hortdis tan ce ahead, bu tw e can s ee
pl en tythere thatn eeds tobe don e.
theN EWMEDIAR EADER
Bibl iography
Sam u el Bu tl er, Erew hon , Lon don , 186 5. Chapters 2 8, 2 4, 2 5, T he
Book of the Machin es .
Al on zoChu rch, An U n s ol v abl e P robl em of El em en taryN u m ber
T heoryAm erican J. of Math., 58 ( 19 36 ), 345-36 3.
K. Godel , U berf orm al u n en ts cheidbare Satze derP rin cipia
Mathem aticau n d v erw an dterSys tem e, I, Mon ats hef te f u rMath. u n d
P hys ,( 19 31),17 3-189 .
D. R . Hartree, Cal cu l atin g In s tru m en ts an d Machin es , N ew Y ork,
19 49 .
S. C. Kl een e, Gen eral R ecu rs iv e F u n ction s of N atu ral N u m bers
Am erican J. of Math., 57 ( 19 35), 153-17 3 an d 2 19 -2 44.
G. Jef f ers on , T he Min d of Mechan ical Man , Lis terOration f or19 49
Britis hMedical Jou rn al , v ol . i( 19 49 ), 1105-112 1.
Cou n tes s of Lov el ace, T ran s l ators n otes toan articl e on Babbage' s
An al ytical En gin e Scien ti c Mem oir( ed. byR . T ayl or), v ol . 3
( 1842 ), 6 9 1-7 31. p
Bertran d R u s s el l , His toryof Wes tern P hil os ophy, Lon don 19 40.
AM. T u rin g, On Com pu tabl e N u m bers , w ithan Appl ication tothe
En ts cheidu n gs probl em , P roc. Lon don Math. Soc. ( 2 ), 42 ( 19 37 ),
2 30-2 6 5.
N otes
1. P os s ibl ythis v iew is heretical . St. T hom as Aqu in as ( Su m m a
T heol ogica, qu oted byBertran d R u s s el l , 1, 480)s tates thatGod
can n otm ake am an tohav e n os ou l . Bu tthis m ayn otbe areal
res triction on His pow ers , bu ton l yares u l tof the f actthatm en ' s
s ou l s are im m ortal , an d theref ore in des tru ctibl e.
2 . Au thors n am es in ital ics ref ertothe Bibl iography.
3. Orratherprogram m ed in f orou rchil d-m achin e w il l be
program m ed in adigital com pu ter. Bu tthe l ogical s ys tem w il l n ot
hav e tobe l earn t.
4. Com pare LadyLov el ace' s s tatem en t( 5( 6 )), w hichdoes n ot
con tain the w ord on l y.
ox. --1 -ea- - - - I39 5! eo 0 1- . or -o~~~-.:- Men ; Machl n es ;
04. [ In trodu ction ]
Men , Machin es , an d
the Worl d Abou t
N orbertWien erbegan w orkin g tow ard cybern etics w hil e en gaged in aWorl d WarIIres earchproj ect.
T his proj ect, l ike the atom ic bom b, w as f u n ded an d organ ized byVan n ev arBu s hs ( Q 02 )
academ ic/ in du s trial / m il itaryiron trian gl e. In res pon s e tothe droppin g of the bom b an d other
horrors of the w ar, Wien erdecided thatan ew type of s cien tis tw as requ ired, as cien tis ten gaged w ith
the con s equ en ces of s cien tif ic w ork ( as Wien erargu ed el oqu en tl yin the open l etterIAScien tis t
R ebel s "). In the f ol l ow in g s el ection , f irs tdel iv ered as an addres s tothe N ew Y ork Academ yof
Medicin e an d Scien ce, Wien erexpl ain ed s om e of the his toryan d con cepts of his n ew cybern etic
s cien ce, w hil e s im u l tan eou s l yattem ptin g tobe the n ew s cien tis tf orw hichhe had cal l ed.
Cybern etics is perhaps m os tim m ediatel yrecogn ized f orbrin gin g the cyber pref ixin toEn gl is h
u s age in term s l ike cyborg an d "cybers pace." Other, l es s im m ediatel yobv iou s term s w ere al s o
in trodu ced in tocom m on s peechbyWien ers w ritin gs on cybern etics in cl u din g f eedback, in pu t,
an d ou tpu t. T hes e w ords had exis ted in En gl is h, bu tf orv eryn arrow techn ical pu rpos es -f orthe
des cription of en gin eerin g probl em s , the des cription of m achin es . N ow theyare u s ed todes cribe
hu m an in terchan ges , as w hen on e as ks f orf eedback f rom acol l eagu e on an idea.
Cybern eticis ts s ou ghttocreate an ov erarchin g s tu dyof com m u n ication an d con trol in the an im al
an d m achin e."T he w ork of the cybern eticis ts w as extrem el yin f l u en tial , redef in in g the obj ectof
s tu dyf orm an ys cien tis ts an d techn ol ogis ts . Bef ore cybern etics , techn ol ogyw as l argel ydef in ed in
term s of m echan ics . Stu dies in v ol v ed m ov em en ts of pow eran d accom pan yin g obs erv abl e, phys ical
chan ges s u chas on e m ighthav e f ou n d in s ide Van n ev arBu s h' s m em ex:its operation s of requ es t,
recordin g, cal cu l ation , an d dis pl aym ov in g l ike an in tricate j u keboxorcl ockw ork. When
com m u n ication an d con trol ~ becam e the obj ectof s tu dy, the grou n d s hif ted Com m u n ication an d
con trol in v ol v e pow erdif f eren tial s an d hav e phys ical m an if es tation s , tobe s u re, bu tare m ore akin to
the w orkin gs of adigital com pu ter:m os tobs erv abl e, n otw ithav ol tage m eterorthe gaze of the
n aked eye, bu tf rom the in s ide, f rom w ithin the s ys tem . An d thes e s ys tem s ten d toov erf l ow the
bou n daries of an ys in gl e obj ect. As ares u l ts om e prev iou s s tu dies of is ol ated obj ects s eem ed
ou tm oded in acybern etic con text, w hil e cybern etics created af ram ew ork f ors tu dyin g com m u n i-
cation an d con trol s ys tem s thats pread acros s m u l tipl e en tities . T he f irs tof thes e s tu died, an d
perhaps the def in in g cas e of cybern etics , w as the s u bj ectof the WWIIres earchproj ecton w hich
Wien erw orked:the s ys tem of abom ber, an an ti-aircraf tgu n , an d the hu m an operators of each.
an d the Worl d Abou t

- @
4-Q .
As Katherin e Hayl es poin ts ou t, this type of s tu dyhas the ef f ectof erodin g l iberal hu m an is tideas - 1
of s u bj ectiv ity. T hatis tos ay, if w e hu m an s are s im pl yparts of s ys tem s ou rs kin s n otbou n daries ~' ' I I
bu tperm eabl e m em bran es , ou raction s m eas u red as behav iorratherthan byin tros pection -the
au ton om ou s , s u f f icien ts el f begin s tos eem an il l u s ion . T his an ticipates s om e pos ts tru ctu ral is t
pos ition s , an d echoes , in s om e w ays , Zen Bu ddhis m . How ev er, an ticipatin g m an yU .S. reaction s to
pos ts tru ctu ral is m an d Zen , Wien erdid n otem brace this thou ght.
Wien ers dev otion tos ocial j u s tice tobecom in g as cien tis ten gaged w iththe s ocial ou tcom es of
his w 0rl < ' is particu l arl yn otabl e in the McCarthyit.e con textof the 19 50s . Af terWorl d WarII
Wien erref u s ed totake an ym il itaryf u n din g f orhis w ork, an d his f igu re of the n ew s cien tis thas
becom e an im portan tm odel f orm an y. Sin ce 19 87 , Com pu terP rof es s ion al s f orSocial R es pon s ibil ity
( n otabl e oppon en ts of StarWars s pace w eapon s an d propon en ts of ethics in hightechn ol ogy
con texts )has giv en ayearl yWien erAw ard torecogn ize ou ts tan din g con tribu tion s tow ard s ocial
res pon s ibil ityin com pu tin g techn ol ogy.
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04. Men , Machin es ,
an d the Worl d Abou t
theN EWMEDIAR EADER
Com m u n ication an d con trol is in s om e w ays s yn on ym ou s w ithin teractiv ity. Whil e
cybern etics ( an d ev en its pref ix-progen ys u chas cybers pace")m ays eem an achron is tic atthe
pres en tm om en t, n ew m edia' s f ocu s on in teractiv ityis u n f l aggin g. F rom this pers pectiv e, the
f ou n dation al an d on goin g im portan ce of cybern etics can n otbe ov ers tated. T his is tru e n oton l yin
the en gin eerin g areas of n ew m edia, bu tal s oin the arts . Som e con s iderR oyAs cotts T he
Con s tru ction of Chan ge ( O10)tobe the f ou n din g docu m en tof n ew m ediaart an d in thates s ay
As cotttakes cybern etics as his expl icits u bj ect. An im portan tearl yexhibition of n ew m ediaartw as
Jas iaR eichardts Cybern etic Seren dipity. An d Jack Bu rn ham an d Les Lev in e' s con ceptof Sof tw are
art( O17 )w as , in m an yw ays , con s tru cted as areaction tothe in f l u en ce of cybern etic con cepts on
n ew m ediaart. In the s am e period, particu l arl yv iathe in f l u en ce of John Cage, the arts w ere al s o
brin gin g con cepts of Zen Bu ddhis m topu bl ic con s ciou s n es s . N am Ju n e P aik ( O15), of ten con s idered
the f irs tv ideoartis tan d the f irs ttou s e tel ev is ion as an artobj ect, con s idered his w ork cybern etic
an d w as acl os e as s ociate of Cages .
- N I/ VF .
IEQ S4
0- 0- o 0 0 0. 0 o o A _. A 04. Men , Machin es ,
Origin al P u bl ication
Medicin e an d Scien ce, 13-2 8, N ew Y ork Academ yof Medicin e an d
Scien ce. Ed. I. Gal ders ton , N ew Y ork: In tern ation al U n iv ers ities
P res s , 19 54.
Men , Machin es , an d
the Worl d Abou t
N orbertWien er
Iw an ttopoin this torical l ytothe v ariou s thin gs thatgotm e
in teres ted in the probl em s of m an , m achin es , an d the w orl d
abou t, becau s e theyare rel ev an ttothe v ariou s thin gs Is hal l
hav e tos ayabou tthe pres en ts tatu s of the probl em .
T here w ere tw ocon v ergin g s tream s of ideas thatbrou ght
m e in tocybem etics . On e of them w as the f actthatin the
l as tw ar, orw hen itw as m an if es tl ycom in g, atan yrate bef ore
P earl Harbor, w hen w e w ere n otyetin the con f l ict, Itried to
s ee if Icou l d f in d s om e n iche in the w aref f ort.
In thatparticu l arprobl em , Il ooked f ors om ethin g todo,
an d f ou n d itin con n ection w ithau tom atic com pu tin g
m achin es . Au tom atic com pu tin g m achin es , of w hatis cal l ed
an an al ogys ort, in w hichphys ical qu an tities are m eas u red
an d n otn u m bers cou n ted, had al readybeen m ade v ery
s u cces s f u l l ybyP rof es s orVan n ev arBu s h, bu tthere w ere
certain gaps in the theory.
On e of the gaps Ican expres s m athem atical l ybys ayin g
thatthes e m achin es cou l d doordin arydif f eren tial equ ation s
bu tn otpartial dif f eren tial equ ation s . Is hal l expres s it
phys ical l ybythe f actthatthes e m achin es cou l d w ork in on e
dim en s ion , n am el y, tim e, bu tn otin an yef f icien tw ayin tw o
dim en s ion s , orthree. '
N ow , itoccu rred tom e that( a)the u s e of tel ev is ion had
s how n u s aw aytorepres en ttw oorm ore dim en s ion s on on e
dev ice; an d ( b)thatthe prev iou s dev ice w hichm eas u red
qu an tities s hou l d be repl aced byam ore precis e s ortof dev ice
thatcou n ted n u m bers .
T hes e w ere n oton l ym yideas , bu tatan yrate, theyw ere
ideas thatIhad then , an d Icom m u n icated them in a
m em oran du m toVan n ev arBu s h, w how as in charge of
s cien tif ic w arpl an n in g f orthe en tire cou n try. T he report
thatIgav e w as , in m an yw ays , n otin al l , as u bs tan tial
accou n tof the pres en ts itu ation w ithau tom atic com pu tin g
an d the Worl d Abou t
m achin es . T hu s , Ihad al readybecom e f am il iarw iththe idea
of the m achin e w hichdoes its arithm etic bym akin g choices
on the bas is of prev iou s choices , an d thes e on the bas is of
prev iou s choices , an d s oon , accordin g toas chedu l e
f u rn is hed tothe m achin e bypu n ched tape, orbym agn etized
tape, orotherm ethods of the s ort.
T he otherthin g w hichl ed m e tothis w ork w as the
probl em thatIactu al l ygotpu tin toaw arw ork. Ittu rn ed ou t
thatatthattim e P rof es s orBu s hdid n otf eel thatthis
con tribu tion w as im m ediate en ou ghtohav e been ef f ectiv e in
the l as tw ar. SoIl ooked arou n d f oran otherthin g, an d the
greatqu es tion thatw as bein g dis cu s s ed atthattim e w as
an tiaircraf tdef en s e. Itw as atthe tim e of the Battl e of
En gl an d an d the exis ten ce of the U n ited States as a
com batan tcou n try the s u rv iv al of an ybodytocom bat
Germ an y s eem ed todepen d on an tiaircraf tdef en s e.
T he an tiaircraf tgu n is av eryin teres tin g type of
in s tru m en t. In the F irs tWorl d War, the an tiaircraf tgu n had
been dev el oped as af irin g in s tru m en t, bu ton e s til l u s ed
ran ge tabl es directl ybyhan d f orf irin g the gu n . T hatm ean t,
es s en tial l y, thaton e had todoal l the com pu tation w hil e the
pl an e w as f l yin g ov erhead an d n atu ral l y, bythe tim e you got
in pos ition todos om ethin g abou tit, the pl an e had al ready
don e s om ethin g abou tit, an d w as n otthere.
Itbecam e ev iden t -an d this w as l on g bef ore the w ork
thatIdid bythe en d of the F irs tWorl d War, an d certain l y
bythe period betw een the tw o, thatthe es s en ce of the
probl em w as todoal l the com pu tation in adv an ce an d
em bodyitin in s tru m en ts w hichcou l d pick u pthe
obs erv ation s of the pl an e an d f u s e them in the properw ayto
getthe n eces s aryres u l ttoaim the gu n an d toaim it, n otat
the pl an e, bu ts u f f icien tl yahead of the pl an e, s othatthe
s hel l an d the pl an e w ou l d arriv e atthe s am e tim e as
in du ction . T hatl ed tos om e v eryin teres tin g m athem atical
theories .
Ihad s om e ideas thattu rn ed ou ttobe u s ef u l there, an d I
w as pu ttow ork w ithaf rien d of m in e, Ju l ian Bigel ow . Very
s oon w e ran in tothe f ol l ow in g probl em :the an tiaircraf tgu n
is n otan is ol ated in s tru m en t. Whil e itcan be f ired byradar,
the equ iv al en tan d obv iou s m ethod of f irin g itis tohav e a
gu n poin ter. T he gu n poin teris ahu m an el em en t; this
hu m an el em en tis j oin ed w iththe m echan ical el em en ts . T he
actu al f ire con trol is as ys tem in v ol v in g hu m an bein gs an d
m achin es atthe s am e tim e. Itm u s tbe redu ced f rom an
04. Men , Machin es ,
an d the Worl d Abou t
en gin eerin g poin tof v iew , toas in gl e s tru ctu re, w hichm ean s
eitherahu m an in terpretation of the m achin e, ora
m echan ical in terpretation of the operator, orboth. We w ere
f orced- -bothf orthe m an f irin g the gu n an d f orthe av iator
him s el f -torepl ace them in ou rs tu dies byappropriate
m achin es . T he qu es tion aros e:I-Iow w ou l d w e m ake a
m achin e tos im u l ate agu n poin ter, an d w hattrou bl es w ou l d
on e expectw iththe s itu ation ?
T here is acertain s ortof con trol apparatu s u s ed f or
con trol l in g s peed in the gov ern ors of s team en gin es thatis
u s ed f orcon trol l in g direction in the s hip-s teerin g apparatu s ,
w hichis cal l ed an egativ e f eedback apparatu s . In the s hip-
s teerin g apparatu s , the qu arterm as terw hotu rn s the w heel
does n otm ov e the ru dderdirectl y. T he ru dderis m u chtoo
heav yin the m odern s hipf oradozen qu arterm as ters todo
that. Whathe does is tom ov e an el em en tin the s teerin g-
en gin e hou s e w hichis con n ected w iththe til l erof the s hipby
an otherel em en t. T he dif f eren ce betw een the tw opos ition s is
then con v eyed tothe s teerin g en gin es of the tw os ides of the
s hiptoregu l ate the adm is s ion of s team in the portor
s tarboard s teerin g en gin e. T he s teerin g en gin e m ov es the
ru dderhead, the til l er, in s u chaw ayas tocan cel this in terv al
thathas been pl aced betw een this m ov in g el em en tan d the
ru dderhead, an d in doin g thatitrecl os es the v al v es an d
m ov es the ru dderw iththe s hip. In otherw ords , the ru dderis
m ov ed bys om ethin g repres en tin g the dif f eren ce betw een the
com m an ded pos ition an d in its ow n actu al pos ition . T hatis
cal l ed n egativ e f eedback.
T his n egativ e f eedback, how ev er, has its dis eas es . T here is a
def in ite pathol ogytoitw hichw as al readydis cu s s ed- you
w il l be ratheras ton is hed atthe date -in 186 8, bythe great
phys icis t, Cl erk Maxw el l , in apaperin the P roceedin gs of the
R oyal Societyin Lon don . If the f eedback of the ru dder, orthe
gov ern or, is tooin ten s e, the apparatu s w il l s hootpas tthe
n eu tral pos ition al ittl e f u rtherthan itw as origin al l ypas tit
on on e s ide- w il l s hootf u rtherpas titon the other an d
w il l goin toos cil l ation .
Sin ce w e thou ghtthatthe s im pl es tw aythatw e cou l d
expl ain hu m an con trol w as byaf eedback, w e w on dered
w hetherthis dis eas e w ou l d occu r. We w en tw iththe
f ol l ow in g qu es tion toou rf rien d, Dr. Artu roR os en bl u eth, a
phys iol ogis t, w how as then Can n on s right han d m an in the
Harv ard Medical School :Is there an yn erv ou s dis eas e kn ow n
in w hichapers on tryin g toaccom pl is hatas k s tarts s w in gin g
theN EWMEDIAR EADER
w ideran d w ider, an d is u n abl e tof in is hit?F orexam pl e, I
reachf orm ycigar. Is u ppos e the ordin aryw ayIcon trol m y
action is s oas toredu ce the am ou n tbyw hichthe cigarhas
n otyetbeen picked u p. Is thatdis eas e of exces s iv e os cil l ation
kn ow n ?
T he an s w erw as m os tdef in itel ythatthis dis eas e is kn ow n .
Ithas exactl ythe s ym ptom s n am ed. Itoccu rs in the
pathol ogyof the cerebel l u m , the l ittl e brain . Itis kn ow n as
pu rpos e trem ororcerebel l artrem or.
Wel l , thatgav e u s the l ead Itl ooked as if acom m on
pattern cou l d be giv en toaccou n tf orhu m an behav ioran d
con trol l ed m achin e behav iorin this cas e, an d thatit
depen ded on n egativ e f eedback.
T hatw as on e of the l eads w e had. T he otherl ead w en t
back tothe s tu dyof the au tom atic con trol l in g m achin e, the
au tom atic com pu tin g m achin e.
In the f irs tpl ace, au tom atic com pu tin g m achin eryis of n o
v al u e exceptf oron e thin g:its s peed. Itis m ore expen s iv e
than the ordin arydes k m achin e, en orm ou s l ym ore. Y ou do
n otgetan ythin g ou tof itu n l es s you u s e itathighs peed Bu t
tou s e am achin e athighs peed, itis n eces s arytos ee that
ev eryoperation itcarries ou tis carried ou tata
corres pon din g s peed. If you m ixin s l ow s tages w ithf as t
s tages of the m achin e, the s l ow s tages al w ays w in ou t. T hey
m ore n earl ygov ern the behav iorof the m achin e than the
f as ts tages . T heref ore, the com m an ds giv en toahigh-s peed
com pu tin g m achin e can n otbe giv en byhan d, w hil e the
m achin e is ru n n in g. T heym u s tbe bu il tin in adv an ce to
w hatis cal l ed atapin g, l ike pu n ched cards , l ike pu n ched tape,
l ike m agn etic tape, ors om ethin g of the s ort; an d you r
m achin e m u s tn oton l ycon trol the n u m bers an d their
com bin ation s , bu tthe s chedu l in g of operation s . Y ou r
m achin e m u s tbe al ogical m achin e.
T here again w e f ou n d agreats im il aritytow hatahu m an
bein g w as doin g. T he hu m an n erv ou s s ys tem , itis perf ectl y
tru e, does n otexhau s tal l of hu m an con trol activ ity. T here
is , w ithou tan ydou bt, acon trol activ ityin m an thatgoes
throu ghhorm on es , thatgoes throu ghthe bl ood, an d s oon .
Bu t, as f aras the n erv ou s s ys tem w orks , the in div idu al
f ibers com e v eryn eartos how in g an al l orn on e action ,
thatis , theyf ire ortheydon otf ire; theydon otf ire
hal f w ay. If you rin div idu al f ibers l eadin g toagiv en f iber,
an d con n ected toitbyw hatis kn ow n as as yn aps e, f ire in
the propercom bin ation - perhaps atl eas tas m an yas a
19 54
o~ . as as . at 04. Men , Machin es ,
certain n u m ber an d if certain s o-cal l ed in hibitoryf ibers
don otin terru ptthem , the ou tgoin g f ibers f ire. Otherw is e
theydon ot.
T his is an operation of con n ected s w itchin g extrem el yl ike
the con n ected s w itchin g of the au tom atic com pu tin g
m achin e. T his l ed u s toan othercom paris on betw een the
n erv ou s s ys tem an d the com pu tin g m achin e, an d l ed u s ,
f u rtherm ore, tothe ideathats in ce the n erv ou s s ys tem is n ot
on l yacom pu tin g m achin e bu tacon trol m achin e, thatw e
m aym ake v erygen eral con trol m achin es , w orkin g on the
s u cces s iv e s w itchin g bas is an d m u chm ore l ike the con trol
m achin e part, the s chedu l in g partof acom pu tin g m achin e,
than w e m ightotherw is e hav e thou ghtpos s ibl e.
In particu l ar, its eem ed tou s av eryhopef u l thin g tom ake
an au tom atic f eedback con trol apparatu s in w hichthe
f eedback its el f w as carried ou t, in l arge m eas u re, by
s u cces s iv e s w itchin g operation s s u chas on e f in ds eitherin
the n erv ou s s ys tem orin the com pu tin g m achin e.
Itw as the f u s ion of thes e tw oideas , eachof w hichhas a
hu m an oran im al s ide an d has am achin e s ide, w hichl ed to
Cybern etics . T hatbook Iw rote in res pon s e toarequ es tf rom
aF ren chpu bl is her, an d Ichos e the n am e, f orIf el tthatthis
particu l arcom bin ation of ideas cou l d n otbe l ef ttool on g
u n baptized, took itf rom the Greek w ord icu l iepv av m ean in g
togov ern , as es s en tial l ythe artof the s teers m an .
F rom here on , Ican goahead in v erym an yw ays . T he f irs t
thin g thatIw an ttos ayis thatthe f eedback m echan is m s are
n oton l yw el l kn ow n tooccu rin the v ol u n taryaction s of the
hu m an body, bu tthattheyare n eces s aryf orits v eryl if e.
Af ew years ago, P rof es s orHen ders on of Harv ard w rote a
book en titl ed T he F itn es s of the En v iron m en t. An ybodyw ho
has read thatbook m u s tregard itas v erym u chof am iracl e
thatan yorgan is m can l iv e, an d particu l arl yahu m an
organ is m . Man can n otexis tov eran yv arietyof
tem peratu res . F orthatm atter, there is n oactiv e l if e, certain l y
n otabov e the boil in g poin tan d bel ow the f reezin g poin t, an d
m os tpl an ets probabl ydon othav e tem peratu res l yin g in
thatcon v en ien tran ge. When Is ayboil in g poin t an d
f reezin g poin t, Im ean of w ater, becau s e w ateris av ery
dis tin ctan d s pecial s ortof chem ical s u bs tan ce.
N ow , ev en af is hcan n otexis tatthe boil in g poin t. Itcan
exis tats om ethin g l ike ou row n tem peratu re tos om ethin g
arou n d the f reezin g poin t, perhaps al ittl e bitbel ow , bu tn ot
m u chbel ow
an d the Worl d Abou t
We can n otdoan ythin g l ike that. We eitherhav e achil l ora
f ev erif w e getn earit. T he tem peratu re atw hichl if e is
pos s ibl e does n otv aryf orm an f oran yexten ded period of
tim e. Itcertain l ydoes n otv arym u chov erten degrees , an d
practical l yv aries m u chl es s than that. Again , w e m u s tl iv e
u n dercon s tan tcon dition s of s al tin es s of ou rbl ood, of u rea
con cen tration in ou rbl ood an d s oon .
How dow e dothis ?T he ideagoes back toCl au de Bern ard
an d w as dev el oped v erym u chbyCan n on . We are f u l l of
w hatis cal l ed hom eos tatic m echan is m s , w hichare
m echan is m s l ike therm os tats . Ahom eos tatis am echan is m
w hichkeeps certain bodil ycon dition s w ithin an arrow ran ge.
On e of thos e hom eos tats , l ocated partl y, atl eas t, in the
m edu l l a, regu l ates tem peratu re. An otheron e regu l ates
breathin g. An otheron e of them regu l ates u reacon cen tration .
T hatis the apparatu s of the kidn eys . T here are n oton l ya
f ew , bu tm an y, m an ys u chcon trol s .
N ow , s u chcon trol is l ike the hou s e therm os tat. T he hou s e
therm os tat, if you rem em berit, is apiece of apparatu s w hich
has al ittl e therm om eterin itm ade of tw opieces of m etal . It
m akes acon tactaton e tem peratu re an d breaks itatothers ,
an d itregu l ates the adm is s ion of oil tothe f u rn ace an d the
ign ition of thatoil . T he in teres tin g thin g is ithas its ow n
pathol ogy. Man yof you peopl e m u s tkn ow that.
We hav e ahou s e in w hichthere is atherm os tatw hich
s om e bril l ian tarchitectpl aced in the on l yroom in the hou s e
w ithaf irepl ace. T he res u l tis thatif w e w an ttocool the
hou s e in w in ter, w e l ightthe f ire becau s e w e giv e f al s e
in f orm ation tothe therm os tatthatthe hou s e is w arm an d
the therm os tattu rn s ou tthe f u rn ace f ire.
Im ightpoin tou tthatas im il arbehav iorin the hu m an
therm os tatm ightcau s e chil l s orm ightcau s e f ev er. Iam
goin g todepartal ittl e f rom the m ain partof the f orm al tal k,
becau s e this thin g is m edical l yv eryin teres tin g.
T here are certain dis eas es Iam n otgoin g in toa
characterization of thes e, becau s e Iam n otgoin g tocom m it
m ys el f bef ore s om an ydoctors in w hichthe produ ction of
certain s u bs tan ces , s aycel l s , the den s ityof certain cel l s in the
bl ood, as in l eu kem ia, in in creas in g s teadil y. How ev er, this
s teadyin creas e is ratheraregu l arthin g in the dis eas e. T he
actu al rate of produ ction an d des tru ction of the cel l s is m u ch,
m u chhigherthan the rate of in creas e. T hatm ightbe du e,
con ceiv abl y, toan in depen den tdis eas e of produ ction orof
des tru ction , bu tIdon otthin k s o, becau s e if thes e tw o
04. Men , Machin es ,
an d the Worl d Abou t
phen om en agiv e you big qu an tities thatare n earl ythe s am e,
arel ativ el ys m al l chan ge in on e w il l throw this dif f eren ce ou t
badl yan d produ ce agreatirregu l arityin theirdif f eren ce.
T hatis w hatw ou l d hav e happen ed if w e had n ohom eos tat. I
don otthin k thatis w hathappen s . Ithin k thatthe regu l arity
of the procedu re is an in dication thatw e hav e ahom eos tat
w hichis w orkin g, bu tw orkin g atthe w ron g l ev el , as if the
s prin g of the hou s e therm os tatw ere chan gin g. T hatis an
ideaw hichis en tirel yten tativ e, bu tw hichm ayhav e s eriou s
con s equ en ces f orm edicin e.
T here is an others ide tothis w hichis al s oin teres tin g. T he
hom eos tats in the bodythatIhav e s poken of are bu il tin to
the hu m an body. Can w e m ake ahom eos tatthatis partl yin
the bodyan d partl you ts ide?T he an s w eris def in itel yyes .
Dr. Bickf ord atthe MayoCl in ic -an d he has been
f ol l ow ed in this byDr. Verzean oin the Cu s hin g Veteran s
Hos pital in F ram in gham - -has m ade an apparatu s w hich
takes the brain w av es of the el ectroen cephal ogram an d
div ides them u p, u s in g the total am ou n tthathas pas s ed f or
as tated tim e, toin j ectan es thetic eitherin tothe v ein orin to
am as k. T he procedu re is this :as the patien tgoes u n der, the
brain w av es becom e l es s activ e; the in j ection s becom e l es s , as
l es s in j ection is actu al l yn eeded tokeepthe l ev el of
u n con s ciou s n es s . In this w ay, an es thes iacan be keptata
reas on abl ycon s tan tl ev el f orhou rs . Here you hav e a
hom eos tatw hichis am an u f actu red on e. Idon otbel iev e
thatthis is the l as texam pl e in m edicin e. Ithin k thatthe
adm in is tration of dru gs byhom eos tats w hichare m on itored
bytheirphys iol ogic con s equ en ces is af iel d w hichhas agreat
f u tu re. How ev er, Is aythis ten tativ el y.
N ow , s of arIhav e been tal kin g abou tm an . Letu s goto
the m achin e. Where w il l w e f in d acas e w here ahom eos tatic
m achin e is particu l arl ydes irabl e?
Chem is tryis an in teres tin g cas e in poin t. Achem ical
f actoryis gen eral l yf u l l of pipes carryin g acids , oral kal is , or
expl os iv es ~ atan yrate, s u bs tan ces dan gerou s tow ork w ith.
When certain therm om eters reachcertain readin gs , an d
certain pres s u res hav e been reached, an d s oon , s om ebody
tu rn s certain v al v es . He had bettertu rn the rightv al v es ,
particu l arl yin s om ethin g l ike an oil -crackin g pl an toratom ic
en ergypl an t, w here w e are deal in g w ithradioactiv e m aterial s .
If he has totu rn v al v es on the bas is of readin gs , then , as in
the an tiaircraf tgu n , w e can bu il d in in adv an ce the
com bin ation s w hichs hou l d tu rn v al v es as dis tin gu is hed
theN EWMEDIAR EADER
f rom thos e w hichs hou l d n ot. T he v al v es m aybe tu rn ed
throu gham pl if iers , throu ghw hatis es s en tial l ycom pu tin g
apparatu s , bythe readin g of the in s tru m en ts them s el v es , the
in s tru m en ts ors en s e organ s .
Y ou m ays ay, Verygood, bu tyou hav e tohav e am an to
prov ide f orem ergen cies .
Bythe w ay, itis extrem el ydes irabl e n ottohav e peopl e in a
f actorythatis l ikel ytoexpl ode. P eopl e are expen s iv e to
repl ace, an d bes ides w e hav e certain el em en tary
hu m an itarian in s tin cts .
T he qu es tion is : Is am an l ikel ytou s e betterem ergen cy
j u dgm en tthan am achin e?T he an s w eris n o. T he reas on f or
thatis this :An yem ergen cyyou can thin k of , you can
prov ide f orin you rcom pu tin g an d con trol apparatu s . If
bef ore the tim e of the em ergen cy, you can n otthin k of w hat
todo, du rin g the em ergen cyyou are al m os tcertain tom ake
aw ron g decis ion . If you can n otf igu re ou tareas on abl e
cou rs e of con du ctin adv an ce, you s im pl ydon otf in d that
the Lord w il l giv e you the rightthin g todow hen the
em ergen cycom es . Em ergen cies are prov ided f orin tim es of
peace. Ial s om ean bythat, em ergen cies l ike the f al l in g of an
atom ic bom b, abou tw hichIm ayorm ayn othav e
s om ethin g tos ayl ater.
T hen , f orperf ectl yl egitim ate orev en hu m an itarian
reas on s , the au tom atic con trol s ys tem is com in g in in the
chem ical in du s tryan d in otheres pecial l ydan gerou s
in du s tries . How ev er, the s am e techn iqu es thatm ake pos s ibl e
the au tom atic as s em bl yl in e f orau tom obil es , perhaps on e
au tom atic as s em bl yl in e in the textil es in du s try, an d pos s ibl y
ev en in dozen s of otherin du s tries .
T he in teres tin g thin g is this :thatw hil e the s u cces s iv e
orders thatyou giv e can be al m os tin def in itel yv aried in a
m achin e, the in s tru m en ts w hichel aborate s u cces s iv e orders
are practical l ys tan dard, n om atterw hatyou are doin g.
T hes e are tw ov ariabl es :on e is the qu as ihu m an han ds to
w hichthe cen tral m achin e l eads , an d the otheris the
s equ en ce of orders pu tin .
T ochan ge f rom on e s etof orders , s ay, f rom on e m ake of
cartoan other, ortochan ge f rom on e s tyl e of bodyto
an other, in an as s em bl yl in e, itis n otn eces s arytoal terthe
order-giv in g m achin e. Itis en ou ghtoal terthe particu l ar
tapin g of thatm achin e.
Is u ppos e agood m an yof you hav e s een the m ov ie,
Cheaperbythe Dozen . In thatm ov ie, w hatIcon s idertobe the
19 54
a.L.. --o-- 0 _.~s .-as -43- ~o- -1 04. Men , Machin es ,
l eadin g ideaof the Gil braiths is com pl etel ym is s ed, as it
w ou l d be in m os tm ov ies . T he Gil braiths had the ideathat
m an w as n otw orkin g atan ythin g l ike his f u l l ef f icien cyin
his ordin aryoperation s . T heythou ghtthatf am il ies of a
dozen w ere n othad bypeopl e s im pl ybecau s e of hu m an
s tu pidityin the perf orm an ce of dail ytas ks , an d thatthis
cou l d be av oided byabetterorderin g of thos e tas ks . T hat
w as the m otiv e behin d the l arge f am il y. T hatw as the m otiv e
behin d the s ys tem atic brin gin g u pof thos e chil dren .
How ev er, w hen you hav e s im pl if ied atas k byredu cin g itto
arou tin e of con s ecu tiv e procedu res , you hav e don e the s am e
s ortof thin g thatyou n eed todotopu tthe tas k on atape
an d ru n the procedu re byacom pl etel yau tom atic m achin e.
T he probl em of in du s trial m an agem en tan d the s ys tem atic
han dl in g of ordin arydetail bythe Gil braiths , an d s of orth, is
al m os tthe s am e probl em as the tapin g of acon trol m achin e;
s othatin s tead of actu al l yim prov in g the con dition s of the
w orker, theiradv an ce has ten ded totel es cope the w orkerou t
of the pictu re. T hatis av eryim portan tthin g, becau s e itis a
procedu re takin g pl ace n ow .
Iw an ttos aythatw e are f acin g an ew in du s trial
rev ol u tion . T he f irs tin du s trial rev ol u tion repres en ted the
repl acem en tof the en ergyof m an an d of an im al s bythe
en ergyof the m achin e. T he s team en gin e w as its s ym bol .
T hathas gon e s of arthatthere is n othin g thats team an d
the bu l l dozercan n otdo. T here is n orate atw hichpu re pick-
an d-s hov el w ork can be paid in this cou n tryw hichw il l
gu aran tee am an s doin g itw il l in gl y. Itis s im pl y
econ om ical l yim pos s ibl e tocom pete w ithabu l l dozerf or
bu l l dozerw ork.
T he n ew in du s trial rev ol u tion w hichis takin g pl ace n ow
con s is ts prim aril yin repl acin g hu m an j u dgm en tan d
dis crim in ation atl ow l ev el s bythe dis crim in ation of the
m achin e. T he m achin e appears n ow , n otas as ou rce of pow er,
bu tas as ou rce of con trol an d as ou rce of com m u n ication . We
com m u n icate w iththe m achin e an d the m achin e
com m u n icates w ithu s . Machin es com m u n icate w ithon e
an other. En ergyan d pow erare n otthe propercon cepts to
des cribe this n ew phen om en on .
If w e, in as m al l w ay, m ake hu m an tas ks eas ierbyrepl acin g
them w itham achin e execu tion of the tas k, an d in al arge
w ayel im in ate the hu m an el em en tin thes e tas ks , w e m ay
f in d w e hav e es s en tial l ybu rn ed in cen s e bef ore the m achin e
god. T here is av eryreal dan gerin this cou n tryin bow in g
an d the Worl d Abou t
dow n bef ore the bras s cal f , the idol , w hichis the gadget. I -
kn ow agreaten gin eerw hon ev erthin ks f u rtherthan the
con s tru ction of the gadgetan d n ev erthin ks of the qu es tion
of the in tegration betw een the gadgetan d hu m an bein gs in
s ociety. If w e al l ow thin gs tohav e areas on abl ys l ow
dev el opm en t, then the in trodu ction of the gadgetas it
n atu ral l ycom es m ayhu rtu s en ou ghtoprov oke as al u tary
res pon s e. So, w e real ize w e can n otw ors hipthe gadgetan d
s acrif ice the hu m an bein g toit, bu tas itu ation is eas il y
pos s ibl e in w hichw e m ayin cu radis as ter.
Letu s s u ppos e thatw e getin toaf u l l -s cal e w arw ith
R u s s ia. Ithin k thatKorea, if n othin g el s e, has s how n u s that
m odern w arm ean s n othin g w ithou tthe in f an try. T he
trou bl e of occu pyin g Koreais s eriou s en ou gh. T he probl em of
occu pyin g Chin aan d R u s s ias taggers the im agin ation .
We s hal l hav e toprepare todothis , if w e gotow ar, atthe
s am e tim e as w e hav e tokeepu pan in du s trial produ ction to
f eed the Arm y. Im ean f eed itw ithm u n ition s as w el l as w ith
ordin aryf ood an d ordin aryequ ipm en t, aj ob s econ d ton on e
in his tory. We s hal l hav e todoam axim u m produ ction j ob
w ithal aborm arkets im pl ys craped tothe bottom , an d that
m ean s the au tom atic m achin e.
Aw arof thats ortw ou l d m ean thatw e w ou l d be pu ttin g a
l arge partof ou rbes ten gin eerin g tal en tin dev el opin g the
m achin e, w ithin tw om on ths , probabl y. Ithappen s thatthe
peopl e w hodothis s ortof j ob are there. T heyare the peopl e
w how ere train ed in el ectron ic w ork in the l as tw arw hen
theyw orked w ithradar. We are f u rtheron w iththe
au tom atic m achin e than w e w ere w ithradaratP earl Harbor.
T heref ore, the s itu ation is thatprobabl ytw otothree years
w il l s ee the au tom atic f actoryw el l u n ders tood an d its u s e
begin n in g toaccel erate produ ction . F iv e years f rom n ow w il l
s ee in the au tom atic as s em bl yl in e s om ethin g of w hichw e
pos s es s the com pl ete kn ow -how , an d of w hichw e pos s es s a
v as tbackl og of parts .
F u rtherm ore, s ocial ref orm s don otgetm ade in w ar. At
the en d of s u chaw ar, w e s hal l f in d ou rs el v es w itha
trem en dou s backl og of parts an d kn ow -how , w hichis
extrem el ytem ptin g toan ybodyw how an ts tom ake. a
qu ickie f ortu n e an d getou tf rom u n der, an d l eav e the res tof
the com m u n itytopick u pthe pieces . T hatm ayv eryw el l
happen . If thatdoes happen , heav en hel pu s , becau s e w e w il l
hav e an u n em pl oym en tcom pared w ithw hichthe great
depres s ion w as an ice l ittl e j oke.
04. Men , Machin es ,
an d the Worl d Abou t
Wel l , you s ee the pictu re draw in g together. Is u ppos e on e
of the thin gs thatyou peopl e w ou l d l ike w ou l d be
con s ol ation . Gen tl em en , there is n oSan taCl au s ! If w e w an t
tol iv e w iththe m achin e, w e m u s tu n ders tan d the m achin e,
w e m u s tn otw ors hipthe m achin e. We m u s tm ake agreat
m an ychan ges in the w ayw e l iv e w ithotherpeopl e. We m u s t
v al u e l eis u re. We m u s ttu rn the greatl eaders of bu s in es s , of
in du s try, of pol itics , in toas tate of m in d in w hichtheyw il l
con s iderthe l eis u re of peopl e as theirbu s in es s an d n otas
s om ethin g tobe pas s ed of f as n on e of theirbu s in es s .
We s hal l hav e todothis u n ham pered bys l ogan s w hich
f itted aprev iou s s tage in s ocietybu tw hichdon otf itthe
pres en t.
We s hal l hav e todothis u n ham pered bythe creepin g paral -
ys is of s ecrecyw hichis en gu l f in g ou rgov ern m en t, becau s e
s ecrecys im pl ym ean s thatw e are u n abl e tof ace s itu ation s as
theyreal l yexis t. T he peopl e w hohav e tocon trol s itu ation s
are as yetin n opos ition tohan dl e them .
We s hal l hav e toreal ize thatw hil e w e m aym ake the
m achin es ou rgods an d s acrif ice m en tom achin es , w e don ot
hav e todos o. If w e dos o, w e des erv e the pu n is hm en tof
idol ators . Itis goin g tobe adif f icu l ttim e. Itw e can l iv e
throu ghitan d keepou rheads , an d if w e are n otan n ihil ated
byw arits el f an d ou rotherprobl em s , there is agreatchan ce
of tu rn in g the m achin e tohu m an adv an tage, bu tthe
m achin e its el f has n oparticu l arf av orf orhu m an ity.
Itis pos s ibl e tom ake tw okin ds of m achin es ( Is hal l n otgo
in tothe detail s ):the m achin e w hos e tapin g is determ in ed
on ce an d f oral l , an d the m achin e w hos e tapin g is con tin u al l y
bein g m odif ied byexperien ce. T he s econ d m achin e can , in
s om e s en s e, l earn .
Gen tl em en , the m oral probl em of the m achin e dif f ers in n o
w ayf rom the ol d m oral probl em of m agic. T he f actthatthe
m achin e f ol l ow s the l aw of N atu re an d thatm agic is
s u ppos ed tobe ou ts ide of N atu re is n otan in teres tin g
dis tin ction . Sorceryw as con dem n ed in the Middl e Ages . In
thos e ages certain m odern types of gadgeteerw ou l d hav e
been han ged orbu rn ed as as orcerer. An in teres tin g thin g is
theN EWMEDIAR EADER
thatthe Middl e Ages toacertain exten t oh, Idon ' tm ean in
its l ov e f orthe f l am e, bu tin its con dem n ation of the
gadgeteer w ou l d hav e been right; n am el y, s orceryw as n ot
the u s e of the s u pern atu ral , bu tthe u s e of hu m an pow erf or
otherpu rpos es than the greatergl oryof God
N ow , Iam n ottheis tic w hen Is aythe greatergl oryof
God. Im ean byGod s om e en d tow hichw e can giv e a
j u s tif iabl e hu m an v al u e. Is aythatthe m ediev al attitu de is
the attitu de of the f airytal e in m an ythin gs , bu tthe attitu de
of the f airytal e is v eryw is e in m an ythin gs thatare rel ev an t
tom odern l if e.
If you hav e the m achin e w hichgran ts you you rw is h, then
you m u s tpayatten tion tothe ol d f airytal e of the three
w is hes , w hichtel l s you thatif you dom ake aw is hw hichis
l ikel ytobe gran ted, you had betterbe v erys u re thatitis
w hatyou w an tan d n otw hatyou thin k you w an t.
Y ou kn ow Jacobs s toryof the m on keys paw , the tal is m an .
An ol d cou pl e cam e in topos s es s ion of this , an d l earn ed that
itw ou l d gran tthem three w is hes . T he f irs tw is hw as f ortw o
hu n dred pou n ds . Im m ediatel y, am an appeared f rom the
f actorytos aythattheirboyhad been cru s hed in the
m achin ery, an d al thou ghthe f actoryrecogn ized n o
res pon s ibil ity, theyw ere readytogiv e as ol atiu m of tw o
hu n dred pou n ds .
Af terthis theyw is hed the boyback again , an d his ghos t
appeared.
T hen theyw is hed the ghos ttogoaw ay, an d there they
w ere l ef tw ithn othin g bu tadead s on . T hatis the s tory.
T his is apiece of f ol kl ore; bu tthe probl em is qu ite as
rel ev an ttothe m achin e as toan ypiece of m agic.
How ev er, am achin e can l earn . Here the f ol kl ore paral l el is
tothe tal e of the f is herm an an d the gen ie. Y ou al l kn ow the
s tory. T he f is herm an open s abottl e w hichhe has f ou n d on
the s hore, an d the gen ie appears . T he gen ie threaten s him
w ithv en gean ce f orhis ow n im pris on m en t. T he f is herm an
tal ks the gen ie back in tothe bottl e. Gen tl em en , w hen w e get
in totrou bl e w iththe m achin e, w e can n ottal k the m achin e
back in tothe bottl e.
om +_- ~r-- - .~-.s - - e - o - -s --- -_<> ~; m ._._.+_~._.-~.a - - - - -
' } 9 6 O
05. [ In trodu ction ]
Man -Com pu terSym bios is
On e arm of the m il itary in du s trial com pl exthatVan n ev arBu s h( 9 02 )hel ped toes tabl is his dev oted
tohel pin g the m il itaryu s e com pu ters m ore ef f ectiv el ythrou ghf orw ard-l ookin g res earch. T his w as
origin al l ycal l ed the Adv an ced R es earchP roj ects Agen cy( AR P A, n ow DAR P A, the Def en s e Adv an ced
R es earchP roj ects Agen cy). Itw as organ ized tohead the m il itarys s pace program . Leav in g his pos tas
v ice-pres iden tof Bol tBeran ek an d N ew m an ( BBN )toas s u m e l eaders hipof this agen cyin 19 6 2 w as
Jos ephCarl R obn ettLickl ider, w how en tbythe n ickn am e Lick. He had an u n u s u al backgrou n d, in
bothen gin eerin g an d behav ioral s cien ce. Lickl iders oon becam e af orce in prom otin g com pu ter
s cien ce edu cation , tim e-s harin g s ys tem s , in teractiv e com pu tin g, an d com pu tern etw orks an d ev en
in prom otin g m ore v is ion aryexten s ion s of com pu tin g as n ew m edia. "
Byredirectin g AR P Af u n din g f rom com pan ies tou n iv ers ities , Lickl iderhel ped tom ake the iron
trian gl e of in du s try, the m il itary, an d academ iaas equ il ateral l ytrian gu l aras itis today. AR P Af u n din g
an d Lickl iders in v ol v em en tal s ol ed toP h.D. program s in com pu ters cien ce atMIT , Berkel ey, Carn egie
Mel l on U n iv ers ity, an d Stan f ord. ( Com pu ters cien ce P h.D.s w ere n otof f ered atal l bef ore Lickl ider
took ov eratAR P A.)Lickl iderw as prais ed byhis con tem poraries f ordirectin g AR P Af u n din g tow ard
proj ects thatw ere of broad ben ef it, ratherthan on es thats erv ed excl u s iv el yorev en prim aril y
m il itarypu rpos es .
In 19 6 2 Lickl ideraddres s ed am em otoagrou phe cal l ed Mem bers an d Af f il iates of the
In tergal actic Com pu terN etw ork. In thatdocu m en t, as atothertim es in the earl y19 6 0s , Lickl ider
en cou raged u n iv ers ities tol in k theircom pu ters togethers oas toben ef itf rom the dev el opm en tof
s of tw are tool s thathad al readybeen don e on othercam pu s es . Al thou ghLickl iderl ef tAR P Ain 19 6 4,
the n etw ork he en v is ion ed took s hape as AR P An etu n derthe gu idan ce of Law ren ce R oberts . In
October19 6 9 , the s econ d AR P An etn ode w as con n ected byDou g En gel barts grou patSR 1 ( 9 08, 9 16 ),
brin gin g on l in e. the n etw ork thatw ou l d ev en tu al l ybecom e the In tern et.
Lickl iders radical v is ion of hu m an / com pu tercoexis ten ce thatappears here w as the f irs t
in f l u en tial pu bl ication f rom this v is ion aryan d im pl em en terof v is ion s . Writin g w ithR obertW.
T ayl orin 19 6 8, he began an otherim portan tarticl e, T he Com pu teras aCom m u n ication Dev ice,
w ithabol d s tatem en t:In af ew years , m en w il l be abl e tocom m u n icate m ore ef f ectiv el ythrou gha
m achin e than f ace tof ace. T hen the tw ow en ton toprov ide ev iden ce:theyhad accom pl is hed in
tw odays , du rin g acom pu ter m ediated techn ical m eetin g, w hatu s u al l ytook aw eek tohas hou t.
( T he au thors al s ocol l aborated on thatarticl e, in f act, f rom dif f eren tcities .)T he articl e argu ed
again s tcom m u n ication as bein g as im pl e on e-w ayproces s betw een s en deran d receiv er. An
il l u s tration in the articl e ev en hin ted atthe pos s ibil ityof cyber-rom an ce. Lickl ideran d T ayl orpu t
f orththe ideaof apers on al n etw ork agen t an Ol iv er, oron ~l in e in teractiv e v icariou s expediter
an d res pon der. In con tras ttos om e pro-com pu terpol itical propon en ts in the 19 9 0s , theyw ere n ot
s an gu in e abou tthe pos s ibil ityof agl obal com pu tern etw ork exacerbatin g in equ al ity:Wil l tobe on
l in e be apriv il ege oraright?If on l yaf av ored s egm en tof the popu l ation gets achan ce toen j oythe
adv an tage of in tel l igen ce am pl if ication ,the n etw ork m ayexaggerate the dis con tin u ityin the
s pectru m of in tel l ectu al opportu n ity.
In the detail s of the articl e thatf ol l ow s , on e can s ee how Lickl iderhas des cribed apl an f oras peech
recogn ition s ys tem of the s ortBu s hhad en v is ion ed. Lickl ideral s os u gges ted an eed f orgraphical
in pu tan d han dw ritin g recogn ition . Al thou ghhis prediction thatcorporate pres iden ts w ou l d n ot
n eed totype has n othel d tru e, Lickl iderw as , in gen eral , pres cien tin thathe s aw an eed in itial l yin
m il itaryoperation s f orqu ick acces s tocom pu tin g toaid in decis ion -m akin g.
N M
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05. Man -Com pu ter
Sym bios is
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05. Man -Com pu ter
Sym bios is
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theN EWMEDIAR EADER
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,_1iii-1' e' ; eai; gi_:j _I_1~AR e or 6 ; 1; 1i?1' Aiiigu s tj ,.19 9 ; ' httiri/ f gatek eper; d cicon iZP @ !U / B / SR Cj res i a"| h% report; / abs t ict [ s rc4n 06 i.~htn i| .. 5I; j __~, .
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Origin al P u bl ication
IR ET ran s action s on Hu m an F actors in El ectron ics , HF E _1:4 11.
March19 6 0. R eprin ted in Digital SR C R es earchR eport6 1, 7 Au gu s t
19 9 0. <http:/ / gatekeepen dec.com / pu b/ DEC/ SR C/ res earch-
reports / abs tracts / s rc-rr 06 1.htm l > .
Man -Com pu ter
Sym bios is
J. C. R . Lickl ider
Su m m ary
Man -com pu ters ym bios is is an expected dev el opm en tin
cooperativ e in teraction betw een m en an d el ectron ic
com pu ters . Itw il l in v ol v e v erycl os e cou pl in g betw een the
hu m an an d the el ectron ic m em bers of the partn ers hip. T he
m ain aim s are 1)tol etcom pu ters f acil itate f orm u l ativ e
thin kin g as theyn ow f acil itate the s ol u tion of f orm u l ated
probl em s , an d 2 )toen abl e m en an d com pu ters tocooperate
in m akin g decis ion s an d con trol l in g com pl exs itu ation s
w ithou tin f l exibl e depen den ce on predeterm in ed program s .
In the an ticipated s ym biotic partn ers hip, m en w il l s etthe
goal s , f orm u l ate the hypothes es , determ in e the criteria, an d
perf orm the ev al u ation s . Com pu tin g m achin es w il l dothe
rou tin izabl e w ork thatm u s tbe don e toprepare the w ayf or
in s ights an d decis ion s in techn ical an d s cien tif ic thin kin g.
P rel im in aryan al ys es in dicate thatthe s ym biotic partn ers hip
w il l perf orm in tel l ectu al operation s m u chm ore ef f ectiv el y
than m an al on e can perf orm them . P rerequ is ites f orthe
achiev em en tof the ef f ectiv e, cooperativ e as s ociation in cl u de
dev el opm en ts in com pu tertim e s harin g, in m em ory
com pon en ts , in m em oryorgan ization , in program m in g
l an gu ages , an d in in pu tan d ou tpu tequ ipm en t.
~___- .,.- .~. .
1 In trodu ction
1.1 Sym bios is
T he f ig tree is pol l in ated on l ybythe in s ectBl as tophaga
gros s oru n . T he l arv aof the in s ectl iv es in the ov aryof the f ig
tree, an d there itgets its f ood. T he tree an d the in s ectare
thu s heav il yin terdepen den t:the tree can n otreprodu ce
w ithou tthe in s ect; the in s ectcan n oteatw ithou tthe tree;
together, theycon s titu te n oton l yav iabl e bu taprodu ctiv e
an d thriv in g partn ers hip. T his cooperativ e l iv in g togetherin
in tim ate as s ociation , orev en cl os e u n ion , of tw odis s im il ar
organ is m s is cal l ed s ym bios is [ 2 7 ].
Man -com pu ters ym bios is "is as u bcl as s of m an -m achin e
s ys tem s . T here are m an ym an -m achin e s ys tem s . Atpres en t,
how ev er, there are n om an -com pu ters ym bios es . T he
pu rpos es of this paperare topres en tthe con ceptan d,
hopef u l l y, tof os terthe dev el opm en tof m an -com pu ter
s ym bios is byan al yzin g s om e probl em s of in teraction
betw een m en an d com pu tin g m achin es , cal l in g atten tion to
appl icabl e prin cipl es of m an -m achin e en gin eerin g, an d
poin tin g ou taf ew qu es tion s tow hichres earchan s w ers are
n eeded. T he hope is that, in n ottoom an yyears , hu m an
brain s an d com pu tin g m achin es w il l be cou pl ed together
v erytightl y, an d thatthe res u l tin g partn ers hipw il l thin k as
n ohu m an brain has ev erthou ghtan d proces s datain aw ay
n otapproached bythe in f orm ation -han dl in g m achin es w e
kn ow today. _
1.2 Betw een Mechan ical l yExten ded Man
an d Artif icial In tel l igen ce"
As acon cept, m an -com pu ters ym bios is is dif f eren tin an
im portan tw ayf rom w hatN orth[ 2 1] has cal l ed
m echan ical l yexten ded m an . In the m an -m achin e s ytem s of
the pas t, the hu m an operators u ppl ied the in itiativ e, the
direction , the in tegration , an d the criterion . T he m echan ical
parts of the s ys tem s w ere m ere exten s ion s , f irs tof the
hu m an arm , then of the hu m an eye. T hes e s ys tem s certain l y
did n otcon s is tof dis s im il arorgan is m s l iv in g together. . .
T here w as on l yon e kin d of organ is m m an an d the res t
w as there on l ytohel phim .
I19 6 0
o ~o o o * 9 o m
In on e s en s e of cou rs e, an ym an -m ade s ys tem is in ten ded
tohel pm an , tohel pam an orm en ou ts ide the s ys tem . If w e
f ocu s u pon the hu m an operatorw ithin the s ys tem , how ev er,
w e s ee that, in s om e areas of techn ol ogy, af an tas tic chan ge
has taken pl ace du rin g the l as tf ew years . Mechan ical
exten s ion "has giv en w aytorepl acem en tof m en , to
au tom ation , an d the m en w horem ain are there m ore tohel p
than tobe hel ped. In s om e in s tan ces , particu l arl yin l arge
com pu ter-cen tered in f orm ation an d con trol s ys tem s , the
hu m an operators are res pon s ibl e m ain l yf orf u n ction s thatit
prov ed in f eas ibl e toau tom ate. Su chs ys tem s ( hu m an l y
exten ded m achin es , N orthm ightcal l them )are n ot
s ym biotic s ys tem s . T heyare "s em iau tom atic"s ys tem s ,
s ys tem s thats tarted ou ttobe f u l l yau tom atic bu tf el l s hort
of the goal .
Man -com pu ters ym bios is is probabl yn otthe u l tim ate
paradigm f orcom pl extechn ol ogical s ys tem s . Its eem s
en tirel ypos s ibl e that, in du e cou rs e, el ectron ic orchem ical
m achin es w il l ou tdothe hu m an brain i.n m os tof the
f u n ction s w e n ow con s iderexcl u s iv el yw ithin its prov in ce.
Ev en n ow , Gel ern ters IBM-7 04program f orprov in g
theorem s in pl an e geom etryproceeds atabou tthe s am e
pace as Brookl yn highs chool s tu den ts , an d m akes s im il ar
errors . [ 12 ] T here are, in f act, s ev eral theorem -prov in g,
probl em -s ol v in g, ches s -pl ayin g, an d pattern -recogn izin g
program s ( toom an yf orcom pl ete ref eren ce [ 1, 2 , 5, 8, 11,
13,17 , 18, 19 , 2 2 , 2 3, 2 5])capabl e of riv al in g hu m an
in tel l ectu al perf orm an ce in res tricted areas ; an d N ew el l ,
Sim on , an d Shaw ' s [ 2 0] gen eral probl em s ol v er m ay
rem ov e s om e of the res triction s . In s hort, its eem s
w orthw hil e toav oid argu m en tw ith( other)en thu s ias ts f or
artif icial in tel l igen ce bycon cedin g dom in an ce in the dis tan t
f u tu re of cerebration tom achin es al on e. T here w il l
n ev erthel es s be af airl yl on g in terim du rin g w hichthe m ain
in tel l ectu al adv an ces w il l be m ade bym en an d com pu ters
w orkin g togetherin in tim ate as s ociation . Am u l ti-
dis cipl in arys tu dygrou p, exam in in g f u tu re res earchan d
dev el opm en tprobl em s of the AirF orce, es tim ated thatit
w ou l d be 19 80bef ore dev el opm en ts in artif icial in tel l igen ce
m ake itpos s ibl e f orm achin es al on e todom u chthin kin g or
probl em s ol v in g of m il itarys ign if ican ce. T hatw ou l d l eav e,
s ay, f iv e years todev el opm an -com pu ters ym bios is an d 15
years tou s e it. T he 15m aybe 10or500, bu tthos e years
s hou l d be in tel l ectu al l ythe m os tcreativ e an d excitin g in the
his toryof m an kin d.
- . . 05. Man -Com pu ter
Sym bios is
2 Aim s of Man -Com pu terSym bios is
P res en t-daycom pu ters are des ign ed prim aril ytos ol v e
pref orm u l ated probl em s ortoproces s dataaccordin g to 7
predeterm in ed procedu res . T he cou rs e of the com pu tation
m aybe con dition al u pon res u l ts obtain ed du rin g the
com pu tation , bu tal l the al tern ativ es m u s tbe f ores een in
adv an ce. ( If an u n f ores een al tern ativ e aris es , the w hol e
proces s com es toahal tan d aw aits the n eces s aryexten s ion of
the program .)T he requ irem en tf orpref orm u l ation or
predeterm in ation is s om etim es n ogreatdis adv an tage. Itis
of ten s aid thatprogram m in g f oracom pu tin g m achin e f orces
on e tothin k cl earl y, thatitdis cipl in es the thou ghtproces s . If
the u s ercan thin k his probl em throu ghin adv an ce, s ym biotic
as s ociation w ithacom pu tin g m achin e is n otn eces s ary.
How ev er, m an yprobl em s thatcan be thou ghtthrou ghin
adv an ce are v erydif f icu l ttothin k throu ghin adv an ce. T hey
w ou l d be eas iertos ol v e, an d theycou l d be s ol v ed f as ter,
throu ghan in tu itiv el ygu ided trial an d-errorprocedu re in
w hichthe com pu tercooperated, tu rn in g u pf l aw s in the
reas on in g orrev eal in g u n expected tu rn s in the s ol u tion .
Otherprobl em s s im pl ycan n otbe f orm u l ated w ithou t
com pu tin g-m achin e aid. P oin care an ticipated the f ru s tration
of an im portan tgrou pof w ou l d-be com pu teru s ers w hen he
s aid, T he qu es tion is n ot, Whatis the an s w er?T he qu es tion
is , Whatis the qu es tion ? On e of the m ain aim s of m an -
com pu ters ym bios is is tobrin g the com pu tin g m achin e
ef f ectiv el yin tothe f orm u l ativ e parts of techn ical probl em s .
T he otherm ain . aim is cl os el yrel ated. Itis tobrin g
com pu tin g m achin es ef f ectiv el yin toproces s es of thin kin g
thatm u s tgoon in real tim e, tim e thatm ov es toof as tto
perm itu s in g com pu ters in con v en tion al w ays . Im agin e
tryin g, f orexam pl e, todirectabattl e w iththe aid of a
com pu teron s u chas chedu l e as this . Y ou f orm u l ate you r
probl em today. T om orrow you s pen d w ithaprogram m er.
N extw eek the com pu terdev otes 5m in u tes toas s em bl in g
you rprogram an d 47 s econ ds tocal cu l atin g the an s w erto
you rprobl em . Y ou getas heetof paper2 0f eetl on g, f u l l of
n u m bers that, in s tead of prov idin g af in al s ol u tion , on l y
s u gges tatactic thats hou l d be expl ored bys im u l ation .
Obv iou s l y, the battl e w ou l d be ov erbef ore the s econ d s tepin
its pl an n in g w as begu n . T othin k in in teraction w itha
com pu terin the s am e w aythatyou thin k w ithacol l eagu e
w hos e com peten ce s u ppl em en ts you row n w il l requ ire m u ch
tightercou pl in g betw een m an an d m achin e than is s u gges ted
bythe exam pl e an d than is pos s ibl e today.
05. Man -Com pu ter
Sym bios is
3 N eed f orCom pu terP articipation in
F orm u l ativ e an d R eal -T im e T hin kin g
T he precedin g paragraphs tacitl ym ade the as s u m ption that,
if theycou l d be in trodu ced ef f ectiv el yin tothe thou ght
proces s , the f u n ction s thatcan be perf orm ed bydata-
proces s in g m achin es w ou l d im prov e orf acil itate thin kin g
an d probl em s ol v in g in an im portan tw ay. T hatas s u m ption
m ayrequ ire j u s tif ication .
3.1 AP rel im in aryan d In f orm al T im e-an d-Motion
An al ys is of T echn ical T hin kin g
Des pite the f actthatthere is av ol u m in ou s l iteratu re on
thin kin g an d probl em s ol v in g, in cl u din g in ten s iv e cas e
his torys tu dies of the proces s of in v en tion , Icou l d f in d
n othin g com parabl e toatim e-an d-m otion s tu dyan al ys is of
the m en tal w ork of apers on en gaged in as cien tif ic or
techn ical en terpris e. In the s prin g an d s u m m erof 19 57 ,
theref ore, Itried tokeeptrack of w haton e m oderatel y
techn ical pers on actu al l ydid du rin g the hou rs he regarded as
dev oted tow ork. Al thou ghIw as aw are of the in adequ acyof
the s am pl in g, Is erv ed as m yow n s u bj ect.
Its oon becam e apparen tthatthe m ain thin g Idid w as to
keeprecords , an d the proj ectw ou l d hav e becom e an in f in ite
regres s if the keepin g of records had been carried throu gh
in the detail en v is aged in the in itial pl an . Itw as n ot.
N ev erthel es s , Iobtain ed apictu re of m yactiv ities thatgav e
m e pau s e. P erhaps m ys pectru m is n ottypical - Ihope itis
n ot, bu tIf earitis .
Abou t85percen tof m ythin kin g tim e w as s pen tgettin g
in toapos ition tothin k, tom ake adecis ion , tol earn
s om ethin g In eeded tokn ow . Mu chm ore tim e w en tin to
f in din g orobtain in g in f orm ation than in todiges tin g it.
Hou rs w en tin tothe pl ottin g of graphs , an d otherhou rs in to
in s tru ctin g an as s is tan thow topl ot. When the graphs w ere
f in is hed, the rel ation s w ere obv iou s aton ce, bu tthe pl ottin g
had tobe don e in ordertom ake them s o. Aton e poin t, itw as
n eces s arytocom pare s ixexperim en tal determ in ation s of a
f u n ction rel atin g s peech-in tel l igibil itytos peech to-n ois e
ratio. N otw oexperim en ters had u s ed the s am e def in ition or
m eas u re of s peech-to-n ois e ratio. Sev eral hou rs of cal cu l atin g
w ere requ ired togetthe datain tocom parabl e f orm . When
theyw ere in com parabl e f orm , ittook on l yaf ew s econ ds to
determ in e w hatIn eeded tokn ow . -
T hrou ghou tthe period Iexam in ed, in s hort, m ythin kin g
tim e w as dev oted m ain l ytoactiv ities thatw ere es s en tial l y
cl erical orm echan ical :s earchin g, cal cu l atin g, pl ottin g,
theN EWMEDIAR EADER
tran s f orm in g, determ in in g the l ogical ordyn am ic con -
s equ en ces of as etof as s u m ption s orhypothes es , preparin g
the w ayf oradecis ion oran in s ight. Moreov er, m ychoices of
w hattoattem ptan d w hatn ottoattem ptw ere determ in ed
toan em barras s in gl ygreatexten tbycon s ideration s of
cl erical f eas ibil ity, n otin tel l ectu al capabil ity.
T he m ain s u gges tion con v eyed bythe f in din gs j u s t
des cribed is thatthe operation s thatf il l m os tof the tim e
al l egedl ydev oted totechn ical thin kin g are operation s that
can be perf orm ed m ore ef f ectiv el ybym achin es than by
m en . Sev ere probl em s are pos ed bythe f actthatthes e
operation s hav e tobe perf orm ed u pon div ers e v ariabl es an d
in u n f ores een an d con tin u al l ychan gin g s equ en ces . If thos e
probl em s can be s ol v ed in s u chaw ayas tocreate a
s ym biotic rel ation betw een am an an d af as tin f orm ation -
retriev al an d data~proces s in g m achin e, how ev er, its eem s
ev iden tthatthe cooperativ e in teraction w ou l d greatl y
im prov e the thin kin g proces s .
Itm aybe appropriate toackn ow l edge, atthis poin t, that
w e are u s in g the term com pu ter tocov eraw ide cl as s of
cal cu l atin g, data-proces s in g an d in f orm ation ~s torage-an d-
retriev al m achin es . T he capabil ities of m achin es in this cl as s
are in creas in g al m os tdail y. Itis theref ore hazardou s tom ake
gen eral s tatem en ts abou tcapabil ities of the cl as s . P erhaps it
is equ al l yhazardou s tom ake gen eral s tatem en ts abou tthe
capabil ities of m en . N ev erthel es s , certain gen otypic
dif f eren ces in capabil itybetw een m en an d com pu ters do
s tan d ou t, an d theyhav e abearin g on the n atu re of pos s ibl e
m an -com pu ters ym bios is an d the poten tial v al u e of
achiev in g it.
As has been s aid in v ariou s w ays , m en are n ois y, n arrow -
ban d dev ices , bu ttheirn erv ou s s ys tem s hav e v erym an y
paral l el an d s im u l tan eou s l yactiv e chan n el s . R el ativ e tom en ,
com pu tin g m achin es are v eryf as tan d v eryaccu rate, bu tthey
are con s train ed toperf orm on l yon e oraf ew el em en tary
operation s atatim e. Men are f l exibl e, capabl e of
program m in g them s el v es con tin gen tl y on the bas is of
n ew l yreceiv ed in f orm ation . Com pu tin g m achin es are s in gl e-
m in ded, con s train ed bytheirpre-program m in g. Men
n atu ral l ys peak. redu n dan tl an gu ages organ ized arou n d
u n itaryobj ects an d coheren taction s an d em pl oyin g 2 0to6 0
el em en tarys ym bol s . Com pu ters n atu ral l y s peak
n on redu n dan tl an gu ages , u s u al l yw ithon l ytw oel em en tary
s ym bol s an d n oin heren tappreciation eitherof u n itary
obj ects orof coheren taction s .
19 6 0
0. ' - _O1 05. Man -Com pu ter
Sym bios is
T obe rigorou s l ycorrect, thos e characterization s w ou l d
hav e toin cl u de m an yqu al if iers . N ev erthel es s , the pictu re of
dis s im il arity( an d theref ore poten tial s u ppl em en tation )that
theypres en tis es s en tial l yv al icl Com pu tin g m achin es can do
readil y, w el l , an d rapidl ym an ythin gs thatare dif f icu l tor
im pos s ibl e f orm an , an d m en can doreadil yan d w el l , thou gh
n otrapidl y, m an ythin gs thatare dif f icu l torim pos s ibl e. f or
com pu ters . T hats u gges ts thatas ym biotic cooperation , if
s u cces s f u l in in tegratin g the pos itiv e characteris tics of m en
In d com pu ters , w ou l d be of greatv al u e. T he dif f eren ces in
s peed an d in l an gu age, of cou rs e, pos e dif f icu l ties thatm u s t
be ov ercom e.
6 Separabl e F u n ction s of
Men an d Com pu ters in the
An ticipated Sym biotic As s ociation
l ts eem s l ikel ythatthe con tribu tion s of hu m an operators
an d equ ipm en tw il l bl en d togethers ocom pl etel yin m an y
operation s thatitw il l be dif f icu l ttos eparate them n eatl yin
an al ys is . T hatw ou l d be the cas e if , in gatherin g dataon
w hichtobas e adecis ion , f orexam pl e, boththe m an an d the
com pu tercam e u pw ithrel ev an tpreceden ts f rom experien ce
an d if the com pu terthen s u gges ted acou rs e. of action that
agreed w iththe m an ' s in tu itiv e j u dgm en t. ( In theorem -
prov in g program s , com pu ters f in d preceden ts in experien ce,
an d in the SAGESys tem , theys u gges tcou rs es of action . T he
f oregoin g is n otaf ar~f etched exam pl e.)In otheroperation s ,
how ev er, the con tribu tion s of m en an d equ ipm en tw il l be to
s om e exten ts eparabl e. ..
Men w il l s etthe goal s an d s u ppl ythe m otiv ation s , of
cou rs e, atl eas tin the earl yyears . T heyw il l f orm u l ate
hypothes es . T heyw il l as k qu es tion s . T heyw il l thin k of
m echan is m s , procedu res , an d m odel s . T heyw il l rem em ber
thats u ch-an d-s u chapers on did s om e pos s ibl yrel ev an tw ork
on atopic of in teres tback in 19 47 , oratan yrate. s hortl y
af terWorl d WarII, an d theyw il l hav e an ideain w hat
j ou rn al s itm ighthav e been pu bl is hed. In gen eral , theyw il l
m ake approxim ate an d f al l ibl e, bu tl eadin g, con tribu tion s , _
an d theyw il l def in e criteriaan d s erv e as ev al u ators , j u dgin g
the con tribu tion s of the equ ipm en tan d gu idin g the gen eral
In c of thou ght.
In addition , m en w il l han dl e the v ery-l ow -probabil ity
s itu ation s w hen s u chs itu ation s doactu al l yaris e. ( In cu rren t
m an -m achin e s ys tem s , thatis on e of the hu m an operator' s
m os tim portan tf u n ction s . T he s u m of the probabil ities of
v ery-l ow -probabil ityal tern ativ es is of ten m u chtool arge to
n egl ect.)Men w il l f il l in the gaps , eitherin the probl em
s ol u tion orin the com pu terprogram , w hen the com pu ter
has n om ode orrou tin e thatis appl icabl e in aparticu l ar
circu m s tan ce.
T he in f orm ation -proces s in g equ ipm en t, f orits part, w il l
con v erthypothes es in totes tabl e m odel s an d then tes tthe
m odel s again s tdata( w hichthe hu m an operatorm ay
des ign ate rou ghl yan d iden tif yas rel ev an tw hen the
com pu terpres en ts them f orhis approv al ). T he equ ipm en t
w il l an s w erqu es tion s . Itw il l s im u l ate the m echan is m s an d
m odel s , carryou tthe procedu res , an d dis pl aythe res u l ts to
the operator. Itw il l tran s f orm data, pl otgraphs ( cu ttin g the
cake in w hatev erw aythe hu m an operators pecif ies , orin
s ev eral al tern ativ e w ays if the hu m an operatoris n ots u re
w hathe w an ts ). T he equ ipm en tw il l in terpol ate, extrapol ate,
an d tran s f orm . Itw il l con v erts tatic equ ation s orl ogical
s tatem en ts in todyn am ic m odel s s othe hu m an operatorcan
exam in e theirbehav ior. In gen eral , itw il l carryou tthe
rou tin izabl e, cl erical operation s thatf il l the in terv al s betw een
decis ion s .
In addition , the com pu terw il l s erv e as as tatis tical -
in f eren ce, decis ion -theory, orgam e-theorym achin e tom ake.
el em en taryev al u ation s of s u gges ted cou rs es of action
w hen ev erthere is en ou ghbas is tos u pportaf orm al
s tatis tical an al ys is . F in al l y, itw il l doas m u chdiagn os is , I
pattern m atchin g, an d rel ev an ce-recogn izin g as itprof itabl y
can , bu titw il l acceptacl earl ys econ darys tatu s in thos e
areas .
5P rerequ is ites f orR eal ization of
Man -Com pu terSym bios is
T he data-proces s in g equ ipm en ttacitl ypos tu l ated in the
precedin g s ection is n otav ail abl e. T he com pu terprogram s
hav e n otbeen w ritten . T here are in f acts ev eral hu rdl es that
s tan d betw een the n on s ym biotic pres en tan d the
an ticipated s ym biotic f u tu re. Letu s exam in e s om e of them
tos ee m ore cl earl yw hatis n eeded an d w hatthe chan ces are
of achiev in g it.
5.1 Speed Mis m atchBetw een Men an d Com pu ters
An ypres en t-dayl arge s cal e com pu teris toof as tan d too
cos tl yf orreal -tim e cooperativ e thin kin g w ithon e m an .
Cl earl y, f orthe s ake of ef f icien cyan d econ om y, the com pu ter
m u s tdiv ide its tim e am on g m an yu s ers . T im e-s harin g
s ys tem s are cu rren tl yu n deractiv e dev el opm en t. T here are
05. Man -Com pu ter
Sym bios is
Q
ev en arran gem en ts tokeepu s ers f rom cl obberin g"an ythin g
bu ttheirow n pers on al program s .
Its eem s reas on abl e toen v is ion , f oratim e 10or15years
hen ce, athin kin g cen ter thatw il l in corporate the f u n ction s
of pres en t-dayl ibraries togetherw ithan ticipated adv an ces in
in f orm ation s torage an d retriev al an d the s ym biotic
f u n ction s s u gges ted earl ierin this paper. T he pictu re readil y
en l arges its el f in toan etw ork of s u chcen ters , con n ected to
on e an otherbyw ide ban d com m u n ication l in es an d to
in div idu al u s ers byl eas ed-w ire s erv ices . In s u chas ys tem , the
s peed of the com pu ters w ou l d be bal an ced, an d the cos tof
the gigan tic m em ories an d the s ophis ticated program s w ou l d
be div ided bythe n u m berof u s ers .
5.2 Mem oryHardw are R equ irem en ts
When w e s tarttothin k of s torin g an yappreciabl e f raction
of atechn ical l iteratu re in com pu term em ory, w e ru n in to
bil l ion s of bits an d, u n l es s thin gs chan ge m arkedl y, bil l ion s
of dol l ars .
T he f irs tthin g tof ace is thatw e s hal l n ots tore al l the
techn ical an d s cien tif ic papers in com pu term em ory. We m ay
s tore the parts thatcan be s u m m arized m os ts u ccin ctl y
the qu an titativ e parts an d the ref eren ce citation s bu tn ot
the w hol e. Books are am on g the m os tbeau tif u l l yen gin eered,
an d hu m an -en gin eered, com pon en ts in exis ten ce, an d they
w il l con tin u e tobe f u n ction al l yim portan tw ithin the
con textof m an -com pu ters ym bios is . ( Hopef u l l y, the
com pu terw il l expedite the f in din g, del iv erin g, an d retu rn in g
of books .)
T he s econ d poin tis thatav eryim portan ts ection of
m em oryw il l be perm an en t:partin del ibl e m em oryan d part
pu bl is hed m em ory. T he com pu terw il l be abl e tow rite on ce
in toin del ibl e m em ory, an d then read back in def in itel y, bu t
the com pu terw il l n otbe abl e toeras e in del ibl e m em ory. ( It
m ayal s oov er-w rite, tu rn in g al l the 0' s in to1' s , as thou gh
m arkin g ov erw hatw as w ritten earl ier.)P u bl is hed m em ory
w il l be "read-on l y m em ory. Itw il l be in trodu ced in tothe
com pu teral readys tru ctu red. T he com pu terw il l be abl e to
ref ertoitrepeatedl y, bu tn ottochan ge it. T hes e types of
m em oryw il l becom e m ore an d m ore im portan tas
com pu ters grow l arger. T heycan be m ade m ore com pact
than core, thin -f il m , orev en tape m em ory, an d theyw il l be
m u chl es s expen s iv e. T he m ain en gin eerin g probl em s w il l
con cern s el ection circu itry.
In s of aras otheras pects of m em oryrequ irem en tare
con cern ed, w e m aycou n tu pon the con tin u in g dev el opm en t
theN EWMEDIAR EADER
of ordin arys cien tif ic an d bu s in es s com pu tin g m achin es .
T here is s om e pros pectthatm em oryel em en ts w il l becom e
as f as tas proces s in g ( l ogic)el em en ts . T hatdev el opm en t
w ou l d hav e arev ol u tion aryef f ectu pon the des ign of
com pu ters .
5.3 Mem oryOrgan ization R equ irem en ts
Im pl icitin the ideaof m an -com pu ters ym bios is are the
requ irem en ts thatin f orm ation be retriev abl e bothbyn am e
an d bypattern an d thatitbe acces s ibl e throu ghprocedu re
m u chf as terthan s erial s earch. Atl eas thal f of the probl em of
m em oryorgan ization appears tores ide in the s torage
procedu re. Mos tof the rem ain ders eem s tobe w rapped u pin
the probl em of pattern recogn ition w ithin the s torage
m echan is m orm ediu m . Detail ed dis cu s s ion of thes e
probl em s is beyon d the pres en ts cope. How ev er, abrief
ou tl in e of on e prom is in g idea, trie m em ory,"m ays erv e to
in dicate the gen eral n atu re of an ticipated dev el opm en ts .
T rie m em oryis s ocal l ed byits origin ator, F redkin [ 10],
becau s e itis des ign ed tof acil itate retriev al of in f orm ation
an d becau s e the bran chin g s torage s tru ctu re, w hen
dev el oped, res em bl es atree. Mos tcom m on m em orys ys tem s
s tore f u n ction s of argu m en ts atl ocation s des ign ated bythe
argu m en ts . ( In on e s en s e, theydon ots tore the argu m en ts at
al l . In an otheran d m ore real is tic s en s e, theys tore al l the
pos s ibl e argu m en ts in the f ram ew ork s tru ctu re of the
m em ory.)T he trie m em orys ys tem , on the otherhan d, s tores
boththe f u n ction s an d the argu m en ts . T he argu m en tis
in trodu ced in tothe m em oryf irs t, on e characteratatim e,
s tartin g atas tan dard in itial regis ter. Eachargu m en tregis ter
has on e cel l f oreachcharacterof the en s em bl e ( e.g., tw of or
in f orm ation en coded in bin aryf orm )an d eachcharactercel l
has w ithin its torage s pace f orthe addres s of the n ext_
regis ter. T he argu m en tis s tored byw ritin g as eries of
addres s es , eachon e of w hichtel l s w here tof in d the n ext. At
the en d of the argu m en tis as pecial "en d-of -argu m en t
m arker. T hen f ol l ow direction s tothe f u n ction , w hichis
s tored in on e oran otherof s ev eral w ays , eitherf u rthertrie
s tru ctu re orl is ts tru ctu re of ten bein g m os tef f ectiv e.
T he trie m em orys chem e is in ef f icien tf ors m al l m em ories ,
bu titbecom es in creas in gl yef f icien tin u s in g av ail abl e
s torage s pace as m em orys ize in creas es . T he attractiv e
f eatu res of the s chem e are thes e: 1)T he retriev al proces s is
extrem el ys im pl e. Giv en the argu m en t, en terthe s tan dard
in itial regis terw iththe f irs tcharacter, an d pick u pthe
addres s of the s econ d. T hen gotothe s econ d regis ter, an d
___~o . .0 o ~ 05.Man -Com pu ter
addres s of the third etc 2 )If tw oaru m en ts
l characters in com m on theyu s e the s am e s torage
hos e characters 3)T he l en gths of the argu m en ts
e the s am e, an d n eed n otbe s pecif ied in adv an ce
n IIIs torage 1S res erv ed f ororu s ed byan y
u n til 1tIS actu al l s tored T he trie s tru ctu re IS
the item s are in trodu ced in tothe m em ory5A
an be u s ed as an argu m en tf oran otherf u n ction
ye te thth tt
in ction as an a1 gu m en tf orthe n extT hu s , f or
I n rin g w 1 e argu m en m arix
l Zl On , on e m ightretriev e the en tire program f or
am atrixm u l tipl ication on the com pu ter6 )By
the s torage atagiv en l ev el on e can determ in e
f l l h b d F I f ars im aritem s av e een s tore orexam pe, 1
citation f orEgan J P it1S bu tas teportw o
topick u pthe trail of Egan Jam es
I rties u s tdes cribed don otin cl u de al l the des ired
theybrin g com pu ters torage in tores on an ce w ith
I8l ' &t0l ' S an d theirp1d.Il Cl I1OI' 1 todes ign ate thin gs
gor in tin g
l an gu age P robl em
dis s im il aritybetw een hu m an l an gu ages an d
l an gu ages m aybe the m os ts eriou s obs tacl e totru e
al readybeen m ade, throu ghin terpretiv e
an d particu l arl ythrou ghas s em bl yorcom pil m g
s u ch F OR T R AN td tc trthu an
I Itis reas s u rin g how ev erton ote w hatgreat
N B
as oaapom pu es o m
f orm s T he In f orm ation P ioces s in g Lan gu age of
w el l , Sim on , an d El l is [ 2 4] repres en ts an otherl in e of
Irf l exibil itybyadoptin g s tan daid f orm u l as of
D011 an d expres s ion thatare readil ytran s l atabl e
in c l an gu age
pu rpos es of real -tim e cooperation betw een m en
em en tAn d,1n ALGOLan d rel ated s ys tem s , m en are
he
:3
h
e
al an d ratherdif f eren tprin cipl e of
tion an d con trol T he ideam aybe highl ighted by
pu ters ,1tw 1l l be n eces s aryhow ev er, tom ake u s e of
on
m
igl n s tru ction s ordin aril yaddres s ed toin tel l igen t
rs T he l atters pecif yprecis el ythe 1n d1v 1du al s teps
dthe s equ en ce in w hichtotake them T he f orm er
im ys om ethin g abou tin cen tiv e orm otiv ation
Iem gs w ithin s tru ction s ordin aril yu s ed w ith
n
D1
rl u ppl yacriterion byw hichthe hu m an execu torof
u ctl on s w il l kn ow w hen he has accom pl is hed his
ihortm s tru ction s directed tocom pu ters s pecif y
~__
Sym bios is
cou rs es ; in s tru ction s directed tohu m an bein gs s pecif y
goal s .
Men appeartothin k m ore n atu ral l yan d eas il yin term s of
goal s than in term s of cou rs es . T ru e, theyu s u al l ykn ow
s om ethin g abou tdirection s in w hichtotrav el orl in es al on g
w hichtow ork, bu tf ew s tartou tw ithprecis el yf orm u l ated
itin eraries . Who, f orexam pl e, w ou l d departf rom Bos ton f or
Los An gel es w ithadetail ed s pecif ication of the rou te?
In s tead, toparaphras e Wien er,m en bou n d f orLos An gel es
trycon tin u al l ytodecreas e the am ou n tbyw hichtheyare n ot
yetin the s m og.
Com pu terin s tru ction throu ghs pecif ication of goal s is
bein g approached al on g tw opaths . T he f irs tin v ol v es
probl em -s ol v in g, hil l -cl im bin g, s el f organ izin g program s . T he
s econ d in v ol v es real tim e con caten ation of preprogram m ed
s egm en ts an d cl os ed s u brou tin es w hichthe hu m an operator
can des ign ate an d cal l in toaction s im pl ybyn am e.
Al on g the f irs tof thes e paths , there has been prom is in g
expl oratoryw ork. Itis cl earthat, w orkin g w ithin the l oos e
con s train ts of predeterm in ed s trategies , com pu ters w il l in
du e cou rs e be abl e todev is e an d s im pl if ytheirow n
procedu res f orachiev in g s tated goal s . T hu s f ar, the
achiev em en ts hav e n otbeen s u bs tan tiv el yim portan t; they
hav e con s titu ted on l ydem on s tration in prin cipl e."
N ev erthel es s , the im pl ication s are f ar-reachin g.
Al thou ghthe s econ d pathis s im pl eran d apparen tl y
capabl e of earl ierreal ization , ithas been rel ativ el yn egl ected.
F redkin ' s trie m em oryprov ides aprom is in g paradigm . We
m ayin du e cou rs e s ee as eriou s ef f orttodev el opcom pu ter
program s thatcan be con n ected togetherl ike the w ords an d
phras es of s peechtodow hatev ercom pu tation orcon trol is
requ ired atthe m om en t. T he con s ideration thathol ds back
s u chan ef f ort, apparen tl y, is thatthe ef f ortw ou l d produ ce
n othin g thatw ou l d be of greatv al u e in the con textof
exis tin g com pu ters . Itw ou l d be u n rew ardin g todev el opthe
l an gu age bef ore there are an ycom pu tin g m achin es capabl e
of res pon din g m ean in gf u l l ytoit.
5.5In pu tan d Ou tpu tEqu ipm en t
T he departm en tof dataproces s in g thats eem s l eas t
adv an ced, in s of aras the requ irem en ts of m an -com pu ter
s ym bios is are con cern ed, is the on e thatdeal s w ithin pu tan d
ou tpu tequ ipm en tor, as itis s een f rom the hu m an operator' s
poin tof v iew , dis pl ays an d con trol s . Im m ediatel yaf ters ayin g
that, itis es s en tial tom ake qu al if yin g com m en ts , becau s e the
en gin eerin g of equ ipm en tf orhigh-s peed in trodu ction an d
ii
05. Man -Com pu ter
Sym bios is
extraction of in f orm ation has been excel l en t, an d becau s e
s om e v erys ophis ticated dis pl ayan d con trol techn iqu es hav e
been dev el oped in s u chres earchl aboratories as the Lin col n
Laboratory. Byan d l arge, in gen eral l yav ail abl e com pu ters ,
how ev er, there is al m os tn oprov is ion f oran ym ore ef f ectiv e,
im m ediate m an ~m achin e com m u n ication than can be
achiev ed w ithan el ectric typew riter.
Dis pl ays s eem tobe in as om ew hatbetters tate than
con trol s . Man ycom pu ters pl otgraphs on os cil l os cope
s creen s , an d af ew take adv an tage of the rem arkabl e
capabil ities , graphical an d s ym bol ic, of the charactron dis pl ay
tu be. N ow here, tom ykn ow l edge, how ev er, is there an ythin g
approachin g the f l exibil ityan d con v en ien ce of the pen cil an d
doodl e pad orthe chal k an d bl ackboard u s ed bym en in
techn ical dis cu s s ion .
1)Des k-Su rf ace Dis pl ayan d Con trol
Certain l y, f oref f ectiv e m an -com pu terin teraction , itw il l be
n eces s aryf orthe m an an d the com pu tertodraw graphs an d
pictu res an d tow rite n otes an d equ ation s toeachotheron
the s am e dis pl ays u rf ace. T he m an s hou l d be abl e topres en t
af u n ction tothe com pu ter, in arou ghbu trapid f as hion , by
draw in g agraph. T he com pu ters hou l d read the m an ' s
w ritin g, perhaps on the con dition thatitbe in cl earbl ock
capital s , an d its hou l d im m ediatel ypos t, atthe l ocation of
eachhan d draw n s ym bol , the corres pon din g characteras
in terpreted an d pu tin toprecis e type-f ace. Withs u chan
in pu t ou tpu tdev ice, the operatorw ou l d qu ickl yl earn to
w rite orprin tin am an n erl egibl e tothe m achin e. He cou l d
com pos e in s tru ction s an d s u brou tin es , s etthem in toproper
f orm at, an d check them ov erbef ore in trodu cin g them f in al l y
in tothe com pu ter' s m ain m em ory. He cou l d ev en def in e n ew
s ym bol s , as Gil m ore an d Sav el l [ 14] hav e don e atthe Lin col n
Laboratory, an d pres en tthem directl ytothe com pu ter. He
cou l d s ketchou tthe f orm atof atabl e rou ghl yan d l etthe
com pu ters hape itu pw ithprecis ion . He cou l d correctthe
com pu ter' s data, in s tru ctthe m achin e v iaf l ow diagram s , an d
in gen eral in teractw ithitv erym u chas he w ou l d w ith
an otheren gin eer, exceptthatthe otheren gin eer"w ou l d be a
precis e draf ts m an , al ightn in g cal cu l ator, am n em on ic w izard,
an d m an yotherv al u abl e partn ers al l in on e.
2 )Com pu ter-P os ted Wal l Dis pl ay
In s om e techn ol ogical s ys tem s , s ev eral m en s hare
res pon s ibil ityf orcon trol l in g v ehicl es w hos e behav iors
in teract. Som e in f orm ation m u s tbe pres en ted
s im u l tan eou s l ytoal l the m en , pref erabl yon acom m on grid,
theN EWMEDIAR EADER
tocoordin ate theiraction s . Otherin f orm ation is of rel ev an ce
on l ytoon e ortw ooperators . T here w ou l d be on l ya
con f u s ion of u n in terpretabl e cl u tterif al l the in f orm ation
w ere pres en ted on on e dis pl aytoal l of them . T he
in f orm ation m u s tbe pos ted byacom pu ter, s in ce m an u al
pl ottin g is toos l ow tokeepitu ptodate.
T he probl em j u s tou tl in ed is ev en n ow acritical on e, an d it
s eem s certain tobecom e m ore an d m ore critical as tim e goes
by. Sev eral des ign ers are con v in ced thatdis pl ays w iththe
des ired characteris tics can be con s tru cted w iththe aid of
f l as hin g l ights an d tim e-s harin g v iew in g s creen s bas ed on
the l ight v al v e prin cipl e.
T he l arge dis pl ays hou l d be s u ppl em en ted, accordin g to
m os tof thos e w hohav e thou ghtabou tthe probl em , by
in div idu al dis pl ay~con trol u n its . T he l atterw ou l d perm itthe
operators tom odif ythe w al l dis pl ayw ithou tl eav in g their
l ocation s . F ors om e pu rpos es , itw ou l d be des irabl e f orthe
operators tobe abl e tocom m u n icate w iththe com pu ter
throu ghthe s u ppl em en tarydis pl ays an d perhaps ev en
throu ghthe w al l dis pl ay. Atl eas ton e s chem e f orprov idin g
s u chcom m u n ication s eem s f eas ibl e.
T he l arge w al l dis pl ayan d its as s ociated s ys tem are
rel ev an t, of cou rs e, tos ym biotic cooperation betw een a
com pu teran d ateam of m en . Laboratoryexperim en ts hav e
in dicated repeatedl ythatin f orm al , paral l el arran gem en ts of
operators , coordin atin g theiractiv ities throu ghref eren ce toa
l arge s itu ation dis pl ay, hav e im portan tadv an tages ov erthe
arran gem en t, m ore w idel yu s ed, thatl ocates the operators at
in div idu al con s ol es an d attem pts tocorrel ate theiraction s
throu ghthe agen cyof acom pu ter. T his is on e of s ev eral
operator-team probl em s in n eed of caref u l s tu dy.
3)Au tom atic SpeechP rodu ction an d R ecogn ition
How des irabl e an d how f eas ibl e is s peechcom m u n ication
betw een hu m an operators an d com pu tin g m achin es ?T hat
com pou n d qu es tion is as ked w hen ev ers ophis ticated data-
proces s in g s ys tem s are dis cu s s ed. En gin eers w how ork an d
l iv e w ithcom pu ters take acon s erv ativ e attitu de tow ard the
des irabil ity. En gin eers w hohav e had experien ce in the f iel d
of au tom atic s peechrecogn ition take acon s erv ativ e attitu de
tow ard the f eas ibil ity. Y etthere is con tin u in g in teres tin the
ideaof tal kin g w ithcom pu tin g m achin es . In l arge part, the
in teres ts tem s f rom real ization thaton e can hardl ytake a
m il itarycom m an deroracorporation pres iden taw ayf rom
his w ork toteachhim totype. If com pu tin g m achin es are
ev ertobe u s ed directl ybytop-l ev el decis ion m akers , itm ay
19 6 0
rs Q - l I -+ -- -<: - 1 - 05. Man -Com pu ter
Sym bios is
be w orthw hil e toprov ide com m u n ication v iathe m os t
n atu ral m ean s , ev en atcon s iderabl e cos t.
P rel im in aryan al ys is of his probl em s an d tim e s cal es
s u gges ts thatacorporation pres iden tw ou l d be in teres ted in
as ym biotic as s ociation w ithacom pu teron l yas an
av ocation . Bu s in es s s itu ation s u s u al l ym ov e s l ow l yen ou gh
thatthere is tim e f orbrief in gs an d con f eren ces . Its eem s
reas on abl e, theref ore, f orcom pu ters pecial is ts tobe the on es
w hoin teractdirectl yw ithcom pu ters in bu s in es s of f ices .
T he m il itarycom m an der, on the otherhan d, f aces a
greaterprobabil ityof hav in g tom ake critical decis ion s in
s hortin terv al s of tim e. Itis eas ytoov erdram atize the n otion
of the ten m in u te w ar, bu titw ou l d be dan gerou s tocou n ton
hav in g m ore than ten m in u tes in w hichtom ake acritical
decis ion . As m il itarys ys tem grou n d en v iron m en ts an d
con trol cen ters grow in capabil ityan d com pl exity, theref ore,
areal requ irem en tf orau tom atic s peechprodu ction an d
recogn ition in com pu ters s eem s l ikel ytodev el op. Certain l y, if
the equ ipm en tw ere al readydev el oped, rel iabl e, an d av ail abl e,
itw ou l d be u s ed.
In s of aras f eas ibil ityis con cern ed, s peechprodu ction
pos es l es s s ev ere probl em s of atechn ical n atu re than does
au tom atic recogn ition of s peechs ou n ds . Acom m ercial
el ectron ic digital v ol tm etern ow reads al ou d its in dication s ,
digitbydigit. F oreightorten years , atthe Bel l T el ephon e
Laboratories , the R oyal In s titu te of T echn ol ogy( Stockhol m ),
the Sign al s R es earchan d Dev el opm en tEs tabl is hm en t
( Chris tchu rch), the Has kin s Laboratory, an d the
Mas s achu s etts In s titu te of T echn ol ogy, Du n n [ 6 ], Ean t[ 7 ],
Law ren ce [ 15], Cooper Stev en s [ 2 6 ], an d theirco-
w orkers , hav e dem on s trated s u cces s iv e gen eration s of ,
in tel l igibl e au tom atic tal kers . R ecen tw ork atthe Has kin s
Laboratoryhas l ed tothe dev el opm en tof adigital code,
s u itabl e f oru s e bycom pu tin g m achin es , thatm akes an
au tom atic v oice u tterin tel l igibl e con n ected dis cou rs e [ 16 ].
T he f eas ibil ityof au tom atic s peechrecogn ition depen ds
heav il yu pon the s ize of the v ocabu l aryof w ords tobe
recogn ized an d u pon the div ers ityof tal kers an d accen ts w ith
w hichitm u s tw ork. N in ety-eightpercen tcorrectrecogn ition
of n atu ral l ys poken decim al digits w as dem on s trated s ev eral
g
years agoatthe Bel l T el ephon e Laboratories an d atthe
Lin col n Laboratory[ 4], [ 9 ]. T ogoas tepu pthe s cal e of
v ocabu l arys ize, w e m ays aythatan au tom atic recogn izerof
cl earl ys poken al pha-n u m erical characters can al m os ts u rel y
be dev el oped n ow on the bas is of exis tin g kn ow l edge. Sin ce
u n train ed operators can read atl eas tas rapidl yas train ed
on es can type, s u chadev ice w ou l d be acon v en ien ttool in
al m os tan ycom pu terin s tal l ation .
F orreal -tim e in teraction on atru l ys ym biotic l ev el ,
how ev er, av ocabu l aryof abou t2 000w ords , e.g., 1000w ords
of s om ethin g l ike bas ic En gl is han d 1000techn ical term s ,
w ou l d probabl ybe requ ired. T hatcon s titu tes achal l en gin g
probl em . In the con s en s u s of acou s tician s an d l in gu is ts ,
con s tru ction of arecogn izerof 2 000w ords can n otbe
accom pl is hed n ow . How ev er, there are s ev eral organ ization s
thatw ou l d happil yu n dertake todev el opan au tom atic
recogn izerf ors u chav ocabu l aryon af iv e-yearbas is . T hey
w ou l d s tipu l ate thatthe s peechbe cl ears peech, dictation
s tyl e, w ithou tu n u s u al accen t.
Al thou ghdetail ed dis cu s s ion of techn iqu es of au tom atic
s peechrecogn ition is beyon d the pres en ts cope, itis f ittin g to
n ote thatcom pu tin g m achin es are pl ayin g adom in an trol e in
the dev el opm en tof au tom atic s peechrecogn izers . T heyhav e
con tribu ted the im petu s thataccou n ts f orthe pres en t
optim is m , orratherf orthe optim is m pres en tl yf ou n d in
s om e qu arters . T w oorthree years ago, itappeared that
au tom atic recogn ition of s izeabl e v ocabu l aries w ou l d n otbe
achiev ed f orten orf if teen years ; thatitw ou l d hav e toaw ait
m u chf u rther, gradu al accu m u l ation of kn ow l edge of
acou s tic, phon etic, l in gu is tic, an d ps ychol ogical proces s es in
s peechcom m u n ication . N ow , how ev er, m an ys ee apros pect
of accel eratin g the acqu is ition of thatkn ow l edge w iththe aid
of com pu terproces s in g of s peechs ign al s , an d n otaf ew
w orkers hav e the f eel in g thats ophis ticated com pu ter
program s w il l be abl e toperf orm w el l as s peech-pattern
recogn izes ev en w ithou tthe aid of m u chs u bs tan tiv e
kn ow l edge of s peechs ign al s a.n d proces s es . P u ttin g thos e
tw ocon s ideration s togetherbrin gs the es tim ate of the tim e
requ ired toachiev e practical l ys ign if ican ts peechrecogn ition
dow n toperhaps f iv e years , the f iv e years j u s tm en tion ed.
05. Man -Com pu ter
Sym bios is
R ef eren ces
[ 1] A. Bern s tein an d M. deV. R oberts , Com pu terv ers u s ches s -
pl ayer, Scien ti c Am erican , v ol . 19 8, pp. 9 6 -9 8; Ju n e, 19 58.
[ 2 ] W. W. Bl eds oe an d I. Brow n in g, P attern R ecogn ition an d
R eadin g byMachin e,"pres en ted atthe Eas tern Join tCom pu terCon f .,
Bos ton , Mas s ., Decem ber, 19 59 .
/ .
[ 3] F . S. Cooper, etal ., "Som e experim en ts on the perception of
s yn thetic s peechs ou n ds ,"J. Acou s t. Soc. Am en , v ol . 2 4, pp.
59 7 -6 06 ; N ov em ber, 19 52 .
[ 4] K. H. Dav is , R . Biddu l ph, an d S. Bal as hek, "Au tom atic recogn ition
of s poken digits , in W. Jacks on , Com m u n ication T heory,
Bu tterw orths Scien ti c P u bl ication s , Lon don , En g., pp. 433-441;
19 53. '
[ 5] G. P .Din n een , "P rogram m in g pattern recogn ition ,"P roc. WJCC,
pp. 9 4-100; March, 19 55.
[ 6 ] H. K. Du n n , T he cal cu l ation of v ow el res on an ces , an d an
el ectrical v ocal tract,"J. Acou s t. Soc. Am er., v ol . 2 2 , pp. 7 40-7 53;
N ov em ber, 19 50.
[ 7 ] G. F an t, 0n the Acou s tics of Speech,"paperpres en ted atthe
T hird In tern atl . Con gres s on Acou s tics , Stu ttgart, Ger.; Septem ber,
19 59 .
[ 8] B. G. F arl eyan d W. A. Cl ark, "Sim u l ation of s el f -organ izin g
s ys tem s bydigital com pu ters ."IR ET ran s . on In f orm ation T heory, v ol .
IT -4, pp. 7 6 -84; Septem ber, 19 54.
[ 9 ] J. W. F orgie an d C. D. F orgie, R es u l ts obtain ed f rom av ow el
recogn ition com pu terprogram ,"J. Acou s t. Soc. Am er, v ol . 31, pp.
1480-1489 ; N ov em ber, 19 59 .
[ 10] E. F redkin , "T rie m em ory,"Com m u n ication s of the ACM, Sept.
19 6 0, pp. 49 0-49 9 .
[ 11] R . M. F riedberg, Al earn in g m achin e: P artI,"IBM J. R es . &
Dev ., v ol . 2 , pp. 2 -13; Jan u ary, 19 58.
[ 12 ] H. Gel ern ter, "R eal ization of aGeom etryT heorem P rov in g
Machin e. U n es co, N S, ICIP , 1.6 .6 , In tern atl . Con f . on In f orm ation
P roces s in g, P aris , F ran ce; Ju n e, 19 59 .
[ 13] P . C. Gil m ore, AP rogram f orthe P rodu ction of P roof s f or
T heorem s Deriv abl e Within the F irs tOrderP redicate Cal cu l u s f rom
Axiom s ,"U n es co, N S, ICIP , 1.6 .14, In tern atl . Con f . on In f orm ation
P roces s in g, P aris , F ran ce; Ju n e, 19 59 .
theN EWMEDIAR EADER
:14] J. T . Gil m ore an d R . E. Sav el l , T he Lin col n Writer,"Lin col n
Laboratory, M. I. T ., Lexin gton , Mas s ., R ept. 51-58; October, 19 59 .
:15] W. Law ren ce, etal ., Methods an d P u rpos es of Speech
Syn thes is ,"Sign al s R es . an d Dev . Es tab., Min is tryof Su ppl y,
Chris tchu rch, Han ts , En gl an d, R ept. 56 / 1457 ; March, 19 56 .
[ 16 ] A. M. Liberm an , F . In gem an n , L. Lis ker, P . Del attre, an d F . S.
Cooper, Min im al ru l es f ors yn thes izin g s peech,"J. Acou s t. Soc.
Am en , v ol . 31, pp. 149 0-149 9 ; N ov em ber, 19 59 .
:17 ] A. N ew el l , "T he ches s m achin e: an exam pl e of deal in g w itha
com pl extas k byadaptation ,"P roc. WJCC, pp. 101-108; March, 19 55.
:18] A. N ew el l an d J. C. Shaw , P rogram m in g the l ogic theory
m achin e."P roc. WJCC, pp. 2 30-2 40; March, 19 57 .
:19 ] A. N ew el l , J. C. Shaw , an d H. A. Sim on , "Ches s -pl ayin g
program s an d the probl em of com pl exity,"IBM J. R es . & Dev ., v ol . 2 ,
pp. 32 0-335; October, 19 58.
[ 2 0] A. N ew el l , H. A. Sim on , an d J. C. Shaw , R eporton agen eral
probl em -s ol v in g program , U n es co, N S, ICIP , 1.6 .8, In tern atl . Con f .
on In f orm ation P roces s in g, P aris , F ran ce; Ju n e, 19 59 .
[ 2 1] J. D. N orth, T he ration al behav iorof m echan ical l yexten ded
m an ,"Bou l ton P au l Aircraf tLtd., Wol v erham pton , En g.; Septem ber,
19 54.
[ 2 2 ] O. G. Sel f ridge, P an dem on iu m , aparadigm f orl earn in g,"P roc.
Sym p. Mechan is ation of T hou ghtP roces s es , N atl . P hys ical Lab.,
T eddin gton , En g.; N ov em ber, 19 58.
[ 2 3] C. E. Shan n on , "P rogram m in g acom pu terf orpl ayin g ches s ,"
P hil . Mag., v ol . 41, pp. 2 56 -2 7 5; March, 19 50.
[ 2 4] J. C. Shaw , A. N ew el l , H. A. Sim on , an d T . O. El l is , Acom m an d
s tru ctu re f orcom pl exin f orm ation proces s in g,"P roc. WJCC, pp.
119 -12 8; May, 19 58.
[ 2 5] H. Sherm an , AQ u as i-T opol ogical Method f orR ecogn ition of
Lin e P attern s ," U n es co, N S, ICIP , H.L.5, In tern atl . Con f . on
In f orm ation P roces s in g, P aris , F ran ce; Ju n e, 19 59 .
[ 2 6 ] K. N . Stev en s , S. Kas ow s ki, an d C. G. F an t, "El ectric an al og of
the v ocal tract,"J. Acou s t. Soc. Am en , v ol . 2 5, pp. 7 34-7 42 ; Ju l y,
19 53.
[ 2 7 ] Webs te/ s N ew In tern ation al Diction ary, 2 n d ed., G. an d C.
Merriam Co., Sprin g el d, Mas s ., p. 2 555; 19 58.
06 . [ In trodu ction ]
II I
Happen in gs in
the N ew Y ork Scen e
T he Happen in gs are atou chs ton e f orn earl yev erydis cu s s ion of n ew m ediaas itrel ates to
in teractiv ityin art.
T he term Happen in g has been u s ed todes cribe m an yperf orm an ces an d ev en ts , organ ized by
Al l an Kaprow an d others du rin g the 19 50s an d 19 6 0s , in cl u din g an u m berof theatrical produ ction s
thatw ere tradition al l ys cripted an d in v ited on l yl im ited au dien ce in teraction ( e.g., appl au s e). Y et
how ev erin teractiv e the v ariou s ev en ts actu al l yw ere, the ideaof in teraction as s ociated w ith
Happen in gs w as prof ou n dl yin s pirin g an d has rem ain ed s of ordecades . Kaprow w rote in the es s ay
bel ow , Som e of u s w il l probabl ybecom e f am ou s . Itw il l be an iron ic f am e f as hion ed l argel ybythos e
w hohav e n ev ers een ou rw ork."An d, in f act, m an ym ore cam e in tocon tactw ithHappen in gs
throu ghthe w ritin g abou tthem than throu ghthe actu al experien ce of them . P erhaps the
Happen in gs achiev ed s u chf am e, beyon d thos e w hoparticipated directl y, becau s e theyref l ected an d
prov oked ades ire tobreak dow n dis tin ction s betw een creatoran d au dien ce ades ire an d activ ity
n ow cen tral f orm an yn ew m ediapractition ers .
On ce w e hav e pu tas ide the qu es tion of w hetherthe origin al Happen in gs w ere actu al l y
in teractiv e, w e m aytu rn tothe con s ideration , m ore thou ght-prov okin g in an ew m ediacon text, of
how w e can l earn f rom the con tras ts betw een this an d otherm odel s of in teractiv ity. Whil e w e
m ightcom pare Kaprow s s tatem en ts w ithobv iou s l y-dis s im il arm odel s ( s u chas m en u -driv en s pecies
of in teraction ), itis argu abl ym ore in teres tin g toas k how this m odel of in teractiv e perf orm an ce
com pares w iththatof otherperf orm an ce m odel s , s u chas Au gu s toBoal s ( O2 2 ). F orexam pl e,
Kaprow dis cu s s es in creas in g the. res pon s ibil ityof the obs erv er, an d then abol is hin g the au dien ce
al together, w iththe artis trem ain in g the organ izin g f orce. Boal s im il arl ys peaks of abol is hin g the
dis tin ction betw een actoran d s pectator( in his perf orm an ces the protagon is t becom es atu rn -
takin g rol e), an d m akes organ ization of the perf orm an ce activ ityacom m u n ityf u n ction as w el l .
How ev er, the w ork Kaprow reports does n otn eces s aril yem pl oyin teraction in the s erv ice of
s om ethin g bes ides the creation of an ew experien ce an d type of atten tion -w hil e Boal s w ork is
an al ytical l yan d pol itical l ym otiv ated, hopin g torecogn ize an d practice opportu n ities f oraction
again s toppres s ion . In bothcas es the in teractiv e m ethod com es f rom ou ts ide the com m u n ity, an d
becau s e the organ izin g prin cipl es are n otw ithin the au dien ces s phere of in f l u en ce, on e m ightn ext
as k w hetherin teractiv ityof eitherof thes e s orts actu al l ygoes beyon d w hatJean Bau dril l ard ( 9 19 )
cal l s rev ers ibil ity" proces s es l ike s en din g l etters tothe editortothe n ew s paper an d rearran ges
com m u n ication in af u n dam en tal w ay.
In paral l el , Kaprow ' s in s ightin tothe cu l tu ral m om en tf rom w hichHappen in gs s pran g m ayhel p
u s pu trel ated n ew m ediatechn ol ogydev el opm en ts in tocon text. F orexam pl e, au s ef u l con n ection
can be draw n betw een Kaprow s an ti-hierarchical f orm u l ation of artan d N el s on ' s an ti-hierarchical
f orm u l ation of com pu tin g. Kaprow s Happen in gs s eem tohav e theircl os es tn ew m ediarel ativ e in
Myron Kru egers ( 02 5)res pon s iv e en v iron m en ts - abodyof w ork heral ded as artbys om e, as
techn ol ogybyothers , an d as n eitherbypow erf u l grou ps in eachf iel d. Y etKru egers w ork, l ike
Kaprow s , has been en orm ou s l yin f l u en tial . P erhaps this am biv al en ce an d in f l u en ce is the m ark of
tru e in term edia w ork aterm coin ed byF l u xu s artis tDick Higgin s todes cribe w ork of this
cu l tu ral m om en t, w ork w hichw as greeted w ithecs tas yan d rej ected w ithhorroras itthreaten ed to
ov erf l ow , an d ev en w as haw ay, the bou n daries betw een dis cipl in es thatthe total f orm s ( s u chas
opera)had on l ys u bs u m ed an d rein f orced.
N WF
, .
O6 . "Happen in gs "in
the N ew Y ork Scen e
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06 . "Happen in gs "in
the N ew Y ork Scen e
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4 ' I
Origin al P u bl ication
ArtN ew s 6 0( 3):36 -39 ,58-6 2 . 19 6 1. R eprin ted in Al l an Kaprow ,
Es s ays on the Bl u rn n g of Artan d Lif e. Ed. Jef f Kel l ey. Berkel ey:
U n iv ers ityof Cal if orn iaP res s , 19 9 3.
II
Happen in gs 1n the
N ew Y ork Scen e
Al l an Kaprow
If you hav en ' tbeen tothe Happen in gs , l etm e giv e you a
kal eidos cope s am pl in g of s om e of theirgreatm om en ts .
Ev erybodyis crow ded in toadow n tow n l of t, m il l in g abou t, l ike
atan open in g. Its hot. T here are l ots of big carton s s ittin g al l
ov erthe pl ace. On e byon e theys tarttom ov e, s l idin g an d careen ~
in g dru n ken l yin ev erydirection , l u n gin g in toon e an other,
accom pan ied byl ou d breathin g s ou n ds ov erf ou rl ou ds peakers .
N ow its w in teran d col d an d it' s dark, an d al l arou n d l ittl e bl u e
l ights goon an d of f attheirow n s peed w hil e three l arge brow n
gu n n ys ack con s tru ction s drag an en orm ou s pil e of ice an d
s ton es ov erbu m ps , l os in g m os tof it, an d bl an kets keepf al l in g
ov erev erythin g f rom the ceil in g. Ahu n dred iron barrel s an d
gal l on w in e j u gs han gin g on ropes s w in g back an d f orth,
cras hin g l ike chu rchbel l s , s pew in g gl as s al l ov er. Su dden l y, m u s hy
s hapes popu pf rom the f l ooran d pain ters s l as hatcu rtain s
drippin g w ithaction . Aw al l of trees tied w ithcol ored rags
\.. . < - _ - .
af l 7 A I ' j , , 7 :; j if I A '
< . .. ' . _. ... ,
adv an ces on the crow d, s catterin g ev erybody, f orcin g them to
l eav e. T here are m u s l in tel ephon e booths f oral l w itharecord
pl ayerorm icrophon e thattu n es you in toev erybodyel s e.
Cou ghin g, you breathe in n oxiou s f u m es , orthe s m el l of
hos pital s an d l em on j u ice. An u de girl ru n s af terthe racin g pool
of as earchl ight, throw in g s pin achgreen s in toit. Sl ides an d
m ov ies , proj ected ov erw al l s an d peopl e, depictham bu rgers :big
on es , hu ge on es , red on es , s kin n yon es , f l aton es , etc. Y ou com e in
as as pectatoran d m aybe you dis cov eryou re cau ghtin itaf teral l ,
as you pu s hthin gs arou n d l ike s om u chf u rn itu re. Words ru m bl e
pas t, w his perin g, dee-daaa, baroom , l ov e m e, l ov e m e; s hadow s
j oggl e on s creen s ; pow ers aw s an d l aw n m ow ers s creechj u s tl ike
the I.R .T . atU n ion Squ are. T in can s rattl e an d you s tan d u pto
s ee orchan ge you rs eatoran s w erqu es tion s s hou ted atyou by
s hoes hin e boys an d ol d l adies . Lon g s il en ces w hen n othin g
happen s , an d you ' re s ore becau s e you paid $1.50con tribu tion ,
w hen ban g! there you are f acin g you rs el f in am irrorj am m ed at
you . Lis ten . Acou ghf rom the al l ey. Y ou giggl e becau s e you re
af raid, s u f f ercl au s trophobia, tal k tos om eon e n on chal an tl y, bu t
al l the tim e you ' re there, gettin g in tothe act. . . . El ectric f an s
s tart, gen tl yw af tin g breezes of N ew -Cars m el l pas tyou rn os e as
l eav es bu rypil es of aw hin in g, bu rpin g, f ou l , pin kym es s .
Som u chf orthe f l av or. N ow Iw ou l d l ike todes cribe the
n atu re of Happen in gs in adif f eren tm an n er, m ore
an al ytical l y theirpu rpos e an d pl ace in art.
Al thou ghw ides pread opin ion has been expres s ed abou tthes e
ev en ts , u s u al l ybythos e w hohav e n ev ers een them , theyare
19 6 1 I I
o ._06 ."Happen in gs ' ' l l l
the N ew Y ork Scen e
actu al l yl ittl e kn ow n beyon d as m al l grou pof in teres ted
pers on s . T his s m al l f ol l ow in g is aw are of s ev eral dif f eren tkin ds
of Happen in gs . T here are the s ophis ticated, w ittyw orks pu ton
bythe theaterpeopl e; the v erys pars el yabs tract, al m os tZen -l ike
ritu al s giv en byan othergrou p( m os tl yw riters an d m u s ician s );
an d thos e in w hichIam m os tin v ol v ed, cru de, l yrical , an d v ery
s pon tan eou s . T his kin d grew ou tof the adv an ced Am erican
pain tin g of the l as tdecade, an d thos e of u s in v ol v ed w ere al l
pain ters ( ors til l are). T here is s om e ben ef icial exchan ge am on g
the three, how ev er.
In addition , ou ts ide N ew Y ork there is the Gu taigrou pin
Os aka; reported activ ityin San F ran cis co, Chicago, Col ogn e,
P aris , an d Mil an ; an d ahis torythatgoes back throu gh
Su rreal is m , Dada, Mim e, the circu s , carn iv al s , the trav el in g
s al tim ban qu es , al l the w aytom ediev al m ys terypl ays an d
proces s ion s . Of m os tof this w e kn ow v eryl ittl e; on l ythe s pirit
has been s en s ed. Of w hatIkn ow , If in d thatIhav e decided
phil os ophical res erv ation s . T heref ore, the poin ts Im ake are
in ten ded torepres en t, n otthe v iew s of al l thos e w hocreate
w orks thatm ightbe gen erical l yrel ated, orev en of al l thos e
w hos e w ork Iadm ire, bu tof thos e w hos e w orks If eel tobe the
m os tadv en tu res om e, f ru itf u l l yopen toappl ication s , an d the
m os tchal l en gin g of an yartin the airatpres en t.
Happen in gs are ev en ts that, pu ts im pl y, happen . T hou ghthe
bes tof them hav e adecided im pact thatis , w e f eel , here is
s om ethin g im portan t theyappeartogon ow here an d don ot
m ake an yparticu l arl iterarypoin t. In con tras ttothe arts of the
pas t, theyhav e n os tru ctu red begin n in g, m iddl e, oren d. T heir
f orm is open -en ded an d f l u id; n othin g obv iou s is s ou ghtan d
theref ore n othin g is w on , exceptthe certain tyof an u m berof
occu rren ces tow hichw e are m ore than n orm al l yatten tiv e.
T heyexis tf oras in gl e perf orm an ce, oron l yaf ew , an d are gon e
f orev eras n ew on es take theirpl ace.
T hes e ev en ts are es s en tial l ytheaterpieces , how ev er
u n con v en tion al . T hattheyare s til l l argel yrej ected bydev otees
of the theaterm aybe du e totheiru n com m on pow eran d
prim itiv e en ergy, an d totheirderiv ation f rom the rites of
Am erican Action P ain tin g. Bu tbyw iden in g the con cept
"theater"toin cl u de them ( l ike w iden in g the con cept"pain tin g"
toin cl u de col l age), w e can s ee them again s tthis bas ic
backgrou n d an d u n ders tan d them better.
T om yw ayof thin kin g, Happen in gs pos s es s s om e cru cial
qu al ities thatdis tin gu is hthem f rom the u s u al theatrical w orks ,
ev en the experim en tal on es of today. F irs t, there is the con text,
the pl ace of con ception an d en actm en t. T he m os tin ten s e an d
L
es s en tial Happen in gs hav e been s paw n ed in ol d l of ts ,
bas em en ts , v acan ts tores , n atu ral s u rrou n din gs , an d the s treet,
w here v erys m al l au dien ces , orgrou ps of v is itors , are
com m in gl ed in s om e w ayw iththe ev en t, f l ow in g in an d am on g
its parts . T here is thu s n os eparation of au dien ce an d pl ay( as
there is ev en in rou n d orpittheaters ); the el ev ated pictu re-
w in dow v iew of m os tpl ayhou s es is gon e, as are the
expectation s of cu rtain open in gs an d tabl eau xv iv an ts an d
cu rtain cl os in gs . . ..
T he s heerraw n es s of the ou t-of doors orthe cl os en es s of
din gycityqu arters in w hichthe radical Happen in gs f l ou ris his
m ore appropriate, Ibel iev e, in tem peram en tan d u n -artin es s , to
the m aterial s an d directn es s of thes e w orks . T he pl ace w here
an ythin g grow s u p( acertain kin d of artin this cas e), thatis , its
habitat, giv es toitn oton l yas pace, as etof rel ation s hips tothe
v ariou s thin gs arou n d it, an d aran ge of v al u es , bu tan ov eral l
atm os phere as w el l , w hichpen etrates itan d w hoev er
experien ces it. Habitats hav e al w ays had this ef f ect, bu titis
es pecial l yim portan tn ow , w hen ou radv an ced artapproaches a
f ragil e bu tm arv el ou s l if e, on e thatm ain tain s its el f byam ere
thread, m el tin g the s u rrou n din gs , the artis t, the w ork, an d
ev eryon e w hocom es toitin toan el u s iv e, chan geabl e
con f igu ration .
If Im aydigres s am om en ttobrin g this poin tin tof ocu s , it
m ayrev eal w hythe better gal l eries an d hom es ( w hos e decoris
s til l aby-n ow -an tis eptic n eocl as s icis m of the tw en ties )des s icate
an d prettif ym odern pain tin gs an d s cu l ptu re thathad l ooked s o
n atu ral in theirs tu diobirthpl ace. Itm ayal s oexpl ain w hy
artis ts s tu dios don otl ook l ike gal l eries an d w hyw hen an
artis t' s s tu diodoes , ev eryon e is s u s piciou s . Ithin k thattoday
this organ ic con n ection betw een artan d its en v iron m en tis s o
m ean in gf u l an d n eces s arythatrem ov in g on e f rom the other
res u l ts in abortion . Y etthe artis ts w hohav e m ade u s aw are of
this l if el in e den yit; f orthe f l atteryof bein g on s how bhn ds
them toev eryin s en s itiv ityheaped u pon theirs u dden l y
w eaken ed of f erin gs . T here s eem s n oen d tothe w hite w al l s , the
tas tef u l al u m in u m f ram es , the l ov el yl ightin g, f aw n grayru gs ,
cocktail s , pol ite con v ers ation . T he attitu de, Im ean the
w orl dv iew , con v eyed bys u chaf l u ores cen treception is in its el f
n otbad. Itis u n aw are. An d bein g u n aw are, itcan hardl ybe
res pon s iv e tothe artitprom otes an d prof es s es toadm ire.
Happen in gs in v ite u s tocas tas ide f oram om en tthes e proper
m an n ers an d partake w hol l yin the real n atu re of the artan d
( on e hopes )l if e. T hu s aHappen in g is rou ghan d s u dden an d
of ten f eel s dirty. Dirt, w e m ightbegin toreal ize, is al s oorgan ic
I O
06 . Happen in gs ' in
the N ew Y ork Scen e
an d f ertil e, an d ev erythin g, in cl u din g the v is itors , can grow a
l ittl e in s u chcircu m s tan ces .
T oretu rn tothe con tras tbetw een Happen in gs an d pl ays ,
the s econ d im portan tdif f eren ce is thataHappen in g has n o
pl ot, n oobv iou s phil os ophy, an d is m aterial ized in an
im prov is atoryf as hion , l ike j azz, an d l ike m u chcon tem porary
pain tin g, w here w e don otkn ow exactl yw hatis goin g to
happen n ext. T he action l eads its el f an yw ayitw is hes , an d the
artis tcon trol s iton l ytothe degree thatitkeeps on s hakin g
right. Am odern pl ayrarel yhas s u chan im prom ptu bas is , f or
pl ays are s til l f irs tw ritten . AHappen in g is gen erated in action
byaheadf u l of ideas oraf l im s il yj otted dow n s core of root
direction s .
Apl ayas s u m es thatw ords are the al m os tabs ol u te m ediu m . A
Happen in g f requ en tl yhas w ords , bu ttheym ayorm ayn ot
m ake l iteral s en s e. If theydo, theirs en s e is n otpartof the f abric
of s en s e thatothern on v erbal el em en ts ( n ois e, v is u al s tu f f ,
action )con v ey. Hen ce, theyhav e abrief , em ergen t, an d
s om etim es detached qu al ity. If theydon otm ake s en s e, then
theyare heard as the s ou n d of w ords in s tead of the m ean in g
con v eyed bythem . Words , how ev er, n eed n otbe u s ed atal l :a
Happen in g m ightcon s is tof as w arm of l ocu s ts bein g dropped
in an d arou n d the perf orm an ce s pace. T his el em en tof chan ce
w ithres pecttothe m ediu m its el f is n ottobe expected f rom the
ordin arytheater.
In deed the in v ol v em en tin chan ce, w hichis the third an d
m os tprobl em atical qu al ityf ou n d in Happen in gs , rarel yoccu rs
in the con v en tion al theater. When itdoes , itis u s u al l ya
m argin al ben ef itof in terpretation . In the pres en tw ork, chan ce
( in con j u n ction w ithim prov is ation )is adel iberatel yem pl oyed
m ode of operatin g thatpen etrates the w hol e com pos ition an d
its character. Itis the v ehicl e of the s pon tan eou s . An d itis the
cl u e tou n ders tan din g how con trol ( the s ettin g u pof chan ce
techn iqu es )can ef f ectiv el yprodu ce the oppos ite qu al ityof the
u n pl an n ed an d apparen tl yu n con trol l ed. Ithin k itcan be
dem on s trated thatm u chcon tem poraryart, w hichcou n ts u pon
in s piration toyiel d thatadm ittedl ydes irabl e v erv e ors en s e of
the u n s el f con s ciou s , is byn ow gettin g res u l ts thatappear
pl an n ed an d academ ic. Al oaded bru s han d am ightys w in g
al w ays s eem tohitthe bal l tothe s am e s pot.
Chan ce then , ratherthan s pon tan eity, is akeyterm , f orit
im pl ies ris k an d f ear( thu s rees tabl is hin g thatf in e n erv ou s n es s
s opl eas an tw hen s om ethin g is abou ttooccu r). Ital s obetter
n am es am ethod thatbecom es m an if es tl yu n m ethodical if on e
con s iders the pu ddin g m ore aproof than the recipe.
theN EWMEDIAR EADER
T radition al arthas al w ays tried tom ake itgood ev erytim e,
bel iev in g thatthis w as atru ertru ththan l if e. Artis ts w ho
directl yu til ize chan ce hazard f ail u re, the f ail u re of bein g l es s
artis tic an d m ore l if el ike. T he Art,theyprodu ce m ight
s u rpris in gl ytu rn ou ttobe an af f airthathas al l the in ev itabil ity
of aw el l -ordered m iddl e cl as s T han ks giv in g din n er( Ihav e s een
af ew rem arkabl e Happen in gs thatw ere bores in this s en s e).
Bu titcou l d be l ike s l ippin g on aban an apeel , orgoin g toheav en .
If af l exibl e f ram ew ork w iththe bares tl im its is es tabl is hed by
s el ectin g, f orexam pl e, on l yf iv e el em en ts ou tof an in f in ityof
pos s ibil ities , al m os tan ythin g can happen . An d s om ethin g
al w ays does , ev en thin gs thatare u n pl eas an t. Vis itors toa
Happen in g are n ow an d then n ots u re w hathas taken pl ace,
w hen ithas en ded, ev en w hen thin gs hav e gon e w ron g. F or
w hen s om ethin g goes w ron g, s om ethin g f arm ore right, m ore
rev el atory, has m an ytim es em erged. T his s ortof s u dden n ear-
m iracl e pres en tl ys eem s tobe m ade m ore l ikel ybychan ce
procedu res .
If artis ts gras pthe im portof thatw ord chan ce an d acceptit
( n oeas yachiev em en tin ou rcu l tu re), then its m ethods n eedn ' t
in v ariabl ycau s e theirw ork toredu ce toeitherchaos orabl an d
in dif f eren ce, l ackin g in con creten es s an d in ten s ity, as in atabl e
of ran dom n u m bers . On the con trary, the iden tities of thos e
artis ts w hoem pl oys u chtechn iqu es are v erycl ear. Itis odd that
w hen artis ts giv e u pcertain hithertopriv il eged as pects of the
s el f , s othattheycan n otal w ays correct s om ethin g accordin g to
theirtas te, the w ork an d the artis tf requ en tl ycom e ou ton top.
An d w hen theycom e ou ton the bottom , itis av erycon crete
bottom !
T he f in al poin tIs hou l d l ike tom ake abou tHappen in gs as
again s tpl ays is im pl icitin al l the dis cu s s ion ~ their
im perm an en ce. Com pos ed s othataprem iu m is pl aced on the
u n f ores een , aHappen in g can n otbe reprodu ced. T he f ew
perf orm an ces giv en of eachw ork dif f ercon s iderabl yf rom on e
an other; an d the w ork is ov erbef ore habits begin tos etin . T he
phys ical m aterial s u s ed tocreate the en v iron m en tof
Happen in gs are the m os tperis habl e kin d:n ew s papers , j u n k,
rags , ol d w ooden crates kn ocked together, cardboard carton s cu t
u p, real trees , f ood, borrow ed m achin es , etc. T heycan n otl as tf or
l on g in w hatev erarran gem en ttheyare pu t. AHappen in g is thu s
f res h, w hil e itl as ts , f orbetterorw ors e.
Here w e n eed n otgoin tothe con s iderabl e his torybehin d
s u chv al u es em bodied in the Happen in gs . Su f f ice ittos aythat
the pas s in g, the chan gin g, the n atu ral , ev en the w il l in gn es s to
f ail are f am il iar. T heyrev eal as piritthatis aton ce pas s iv e in its
19 6 1
.~ .-a__--.--._. 06 ./ Happen in gs in
I
acceptan ce of w hatm aybe an d af f irm ativ e in its dis regard of
s ecu rity. On e is al s ol ef texpos ed tothe qu ite m arv el ou s
experien ce of bein g s u rpris ed. T his is , in es s en ce, acon tin u ation
of the tradition of R eal is m .
T he s ign if ican ce of the Happen in g is n ottobe f ou n d s im pl y
in the f res hcreativ e w in d n ow bl ow in g. Happen in gs are n otj u s t
an othern ew s tyl e. In s tead l ike Am erican artof the l ate 19 40s ,
theyare am oral act, ahu m an s tan d of greatu rgen cy, w hos e
prof es s ion al s tatu s as artis l es s acriterion than theircertain ty
as an u l tim ate exis ten tial com m itm en t.
Ithas al w ays s eem ed tom e thatAm erican creativ e en ergy
on l ybecom es charged bys u chas en s e of cris is . T he real
w eakn es s of m u chv an gu ard arts in ce 19 51 is its com pl acen t
as s u m ption thatartexis ts an d can be recogn ized an d practiced.
l am n ots os u re w hetherw hatw e don ow is artors om ethin g
n otqu ite art. If Ical l itart, itis becau s e Iw is htoav oid the
en dl es s argu m en ts s om e othern am e w ou l d brin g f orth.
P aradoxical l y, if ittu rn s ou ttobe artaf teral l , itw il l be s oin
s pite of ( orbecau s e of )this l argerqu es tion .
Bu tthis expl os iv e atm os phere has been abs en tf rom ou rarts
f orten years , an d on e byon e ou rm aj orf igu res hav e dropped by
the w ays ide, l aden w ithgl ory. If ten s e excitem en thas retu rn ed
w iththe Happen in gs , on e can on l ys u s pectthatthe pattern w il l
be repeated. T hes e are ou rgreen es tdays . Som e of u s w il l
becom e f am ou s , an d w e w il l hav e prov en on ce again thatthe
on l ys u cces s occu rred w hen there w as al ack of it.
Su chw orries hav e been v oiced bef ore in m ore dis cou ragin g
tim es , bu ttodayis hardl ys u chatim e, w hen s om an yare rich
an d des ire abef ittin g cu l tu re. Im ays eem theref ore tothrow
w ateron akin dl ys park w hen Itou chon this n ote, f orw e
cu s tom aril ypref ertocel ebrate v ictories w ithou tev er..
qu es tion in g w hethertheyare v ictories in deed. Bu tIthin k itis
n eces s arytoqu es tion the w hol e s tate of Am erican s u cces s ,
becau s e todos ois n oton l ytotou chon w hatis
characteris tical l yAm erican an d w hatis cru cial abou t
Happen in gs bu tal s opartl ytoexpl ain Am ericas s pecial s tren gth
An d this s tren gthhas n othin g todow iths u cces s .
P articu l arl yin N ew Y ork, w here s u cces s is m os tev iden t, w e
hav e n otyetl ooked cl earl yatitan d w hatitm ayim pl y
s om ethin g that, u n til recen tl y, aEu ropean w hohad earn ed it
did qu ite n atu ral l y. We are u n abl e toacceptrew ards f orbein g
artis ts , becau s e ithas been s en s ed deepl ythattobe on e m ean s
tol iv e an d w ork in is ol ation an d pride. N ow thatan ew hau t
m on de is dem an din g of u s artan d m ore art, w e f in d ou rs el v es
ru n n in g aw ayorru n n in g toit, s hocked an d gu il ty, eitherw ay. I
the N ew Y ork Scen e
m u s tbe em phatic:the gl arin g tru th, toan yon e w hocares to
exam in e itcal m l y, is thatn earl yal l artis ts , w orkin g in an y
m ediu m f rom w ords topain t, w hohav e m ade theirm ark as
in n ov ators , as radical s in the bes ts en s e of thatw ord, hav e, on ce
theyhav e been recogn ized an d paid han ds om el y, capitu l ated to
the in teres ts of good tas te. T here is n oov ertpres s u re an yw here.
T he patron s of artare the n ices tpeopl e in the w orl d. T hey
n eitherw is htocorru ptn oractu al l ydos o. T he w hol e s itu ation
is corros iv e, f orn eitherpatron s n orartis ts com prehen d their
rol e; bothare al w ays al ittl e edgy, how ev erabu n dan tl ys m il es are
exchan ged. Ou tof this hidden dis com f ortthere com es a
s til l born art, tightorm erel yrepetitiv e atbes tan d atw ors t, chic.
T he ol d darin g an d the charged atm os phere of precariou s
dis cov erythatm arked ev eryhou rof the l iv es of m odern artis ts ,
ev en w hen theyw ere n otw orkin g atart, v an is hes . Stran gel y, n o
on e s eem s tokn ow this except, perhaps , the u n s u cces s f u l
artis ts w aitin g f ortheirday. . . .
T ou s , w hoare al readyan s w erin g the in creas in g tel ephon e
cal l s f rom en trepren eu rs , this is m ore than dis tu rbin g. We are,
atthis w ritin g, s til l f ree todow hatw e w is h, an d are w atchin g
ou rs el v es as w e becom e cau ghtu pin an irrev ers ibl e proces s .
Ou rHappen in gs , l ike al l the otherartprodu ced in the l as t
decade an d ahal f bythos e w ho, f oraf ew brief m om en ts , w ere
al s of ree, are in n os m al l partthe expres s ion of this l iberty. In
ou rbegin n in g s om e of u s , readin g the s ign s al l toocl earl y, are
f acin g ou ren d.
If this is cl os e tothe tru th, itis s u rel ym el odram aas w el l , an d
Iin ten d the ton e of m yw ords tos u gges tthatqu al ity. An yon e
m ov ed bythe s piritof tou gh-gu yis m w ou l d an s w erthatal l of
this is aps eu do-probl em of the artis ts ow n m akin g. T heyhav e
the al tern ativ e of rej ectin g f am e if theydon otw an tits
res pon s ibil ities . Artis ts hav e m ade theirs au ce; n ow theym u s t
s tew in it. Itis n otthe patron s an d the pu bl icis ts m oral
obl igation toprotectthe artis ts f reedom .
Bu ts u chan obj ection , w hil e s ou n din g heal thyan d real is tic, is
in f actEu ropean an d ol d f as hion ed; its ees the creatoras an
in dom itabl e herow hoexis ts on apl an e abov e an yl iv in g
con text. Itf ail s toappreciate the s pecial characterof ou rm ores
in Am erica, an d this m atrix, Iw ou l d m ain tain , is the on l yreal ity
w ithin w hichan yqu es tion abou tthe arts m aybe as ked.
T he tou ghan s w erf ail s toappreciate ou rtas te f orf ads an d
m ov em en ts , eachon e in creas in gl yequ iv al en ttothe l as tin
v al u e an d com pl exion , m akin g f orthatv as ten n u i, thatan xiety
l yin g s ocl os e tothe s u rf ace of ou rcom f ortabl e exis ten ce. Itdoes
n otaccou n tf orou rn eed tol ov e ev erybody( ou rdem ocracy)
8
I O
06 . "Happen in gs ' II1
the N ew Y ork Scen e
thatm u s tgiv e ev erydog his bon e an d com pel s ev eryon e
kn ow n byn oon e tow an ttobe addres s ed byan ickn am e. T his
rel en tl es s crav in g l ov es ev erythin g des tru ctiv el y, f oritactu al l y
hates l ov e. Whatcan an yon el s in teres tin this kin d of artorthat
m arv el ou s pain terpos s ibl ym ean then ?Is itam ean in g l os ton
the artis t?
Where el s e can w e s ee the u n bel iev abl e bu tf requ en t
phen om en on of s u cces s f u l radical s becom in g f as tf rien ds w ith
s u cces s f u l academ ician s , u n ited on l ybyacom m on s u cces s an d
del iberatel yin s en s itiv e tothe f u n dam en tal is s u es theirdif f eren t
v al u es im pl y?Iw on derw here el s e bu there can be f ou n d that
s hu ttin g of the eyes tothe qu es tion of pu rpos e. P erhaps in the
U n ited States s u chaqu es tion cou l d n otev erbef ore exis t, s o
perv as iv e has been the am oral m u s h.
T his ev erydayw orl d af f ects the w ayartis created as m u chas
itcon dition s its res pon s e ares pon s e the critic articu l ates f or
the patron , w hoin tu rn acts u pon it. Mel odram a, Ithin k, is
cen tral toal l of this .
Apartf rom thos e in ou rrecen this toryw hohav e achiev ed
s om ethin g prim aril yin the s piritof Eu ropean art, m u chof the
pos itiv e characterof Am ericacan be u n ders tood bythe w ord
m el odram a: the s agaof the P ion eeris tru e m el odram a, the
Cow boyan d the In dian ; the R en tCol l ector, Stel l aDal l as , Charl ie
Chapl in , the Organ ization Man , Mike T odd are m el odram a. An d
n ow the Am erican Artis tis am el odram atic f igu re. P robabl y
w ithou ttryin g, w e hav e been abl e tos ee prof ou n dl yw hatw e
are al l abou tthrou ghthes e archetypal pers on ages . T his is the
qu al ityof ou rtem peram en tthatacl as s ical l ytrain ed m in d
w ou l d in v ariabl ym is take f ors en tim en tal ity.
Bu tIdon otw an ttos u gges tthatav an t-garde artis ts
produ ce ev en rem otel ys en tim en tal w orks ; Iam ref errin g
m ore tothe hard an d s il l ym el odram aof theirl iv es an d
al m os tf arcical s ocial pos ition , kn ow n as w el l as the s toryof
George Was hin gton an d the CherryT ree, w hichin f u s es w hat
theydow ithapow erf u l yetf ragil e f ev er. T he ideais partl y
thattheyw il l be f am ou s on l yaf tertheydie, am ythw e hav e
taken toheartf arm ore than the Eu ropean s , an d f arm ore
than w e care toadm it. Hal f -con s ciou s l y, thou gh, there is the
m ore in digen ou s dream thatthe adv en tu re is ev erythin g; the
tan gibl e goal is n otim portan t. T he P acif ic coas tis f arther
aw aythan w e thou ght, P on ce de Leon s F ou n tain of Y ou thl ies
beyon d the n extev ergl ade, an d the n ext, an d the n ext. . .
m ean w hil e l et' s battl e the al l igators .
theN EWMEDIAR EADER
Whatis n otm el odram atic, in the s en s e Iam u s in g the w ord,
bu tis dis appoin tin g an d tragic, is thattodayv an gu ard artis ts
are giv en theirprizes v eryqu ickl yin s tead of bein g l ef ttotheir
adv en tu re. F u rtherm ore, theyare l ed tobel iev e, byn oon e in
particu l ar, thatthis w as the thin g theyw an ted al l the w hil e. Bu t
in s om e obs cu re reces s of theirm in d, theyas s u m e theym u s t
n ow die, atl eas ts piritu al l y, tokeepthe m ythin tact. Hen ce, the
creativ e as pectof theirartceas es . T oal l in ten ts an d pu rpos es ,
theyare dead an d theyare f am ou s .
In this con textof achiev em en t an d-death, artis ts w hom ake
Happen in gs are l iv in g ou tthe pu res tm el odram a. T heiractiv ity
em bodies the m ythof n on s u cces s , f orHappen in gs can n otbe
s ol d an d taken hom e; theycan on l ybe s u pported. An d becau s e
of theirin tim ate an d f l eetin g n atu re, .on l yaf ew peopl e can
experien ce them . T heyrem ain is ol ated an d prou d. T he creators
of s u chev en ts are adv en tu rers too, becau s e m u chof w hatthey
dois u n f ores een . T heys tack the deck thatw ay.
Bys om e reas on abl e bu tu n pl an n ed proces s , Happen in gs , w e
m ays u s pect, hav e em erged as an artthatcan f u n ction precis el y
as l on g as the m echan ics of ou rpres en tru s hf orcu l tu ral
m atu ritycon tin u e. T his s itu ation w il l n odou btchan ge
ev en tu al l yan d thu s w il l chan ge the is s u es Iaddres s here.
Bu tf orn ow there is this tocon s ider, the poin tIrais ed earl ier:
s om e of u s w il l probabl ybecom e f am ou s . Itw il l be an iron ic
f am e f as hion ed l argel ybythos e w hohav e n ev ers een ou rw ork.
T he atten tion an d pres s u re of s u chapos ition w il l probabl y
des troym os tof u s , as theyhav e n earl yal l the others . We kn ow
n obetterthan an yon e el s e how tohan dl e the m etaphys ics an d
practice of w orl dl ypow er. We kn ow ev en l es s , s in ce w e hav e n ot
been in the s l ightes tin v ol v ed w ithit. T hatIf eel itn eces s ary, in
the in teres ts of the tru th, tow rite this articl e, w hichm ay
has ten the con cl u s ion , is ev en m ore f atef u l l yiron ic. Bu tthis is
the chan ce w e take; itis partof the pictu re. . . .
Y etIcan n othel pw on derin g if there is n ' tapos itiv e s ide, too,
as ide al s os u bj ecttothe throw of the dice. T othe exten tthata
Happen in g is n otacom m oditybu tabrief ev en t, f rom the
s tan dpoin tof an ypu bl icityitm ayreceiv e, itm aybecom e as tate
of m in d Whow il l hav e been there atthatev en t?Itm aybecom e
l ike the s eam on s ters of the pas torthe f l yin g s au cers of
yes terday. Is hou l cl n treal l ym in d, f oras the n ew m ythgrow s on
its ow n , w ithou tref eren ce toan ythin g in particu l ar, the artis t
m ayachiev e abeau tif u l priv acy, f am ed f ors om ethin g ptu el y
im agin aryw hil e f ree toexpl ore s om ethin g n obodyw il l n otice.
19 6 1
- o ~ ~ ~ --as -- - a - ---4 } -- -- ~ - - -<3 --- w ---- -3,} --4 07 9
07 . [ In trodu ction ]
T he Cu t-U pMethod of Brion Gys in
T here is n othin g n ew u n derthe s u n . Here, Wil l iam Bu rrou ghs addin g m achin e f ortu n e heir,
j u n kie, kil l erof his w if e, m os tchal l en gin g an d com pl exof the Beatw riters des cribes atechn iqu e
its el f bas ed on earl ierexperim en ts of the s u rreal is ts , w hichin tu rn had theirorigin s cen tu ries
bef ore, in techn iqu es of v eryl iteral cu tan d pas te editin g. Itis qu ite f ittin g thatBu rrou ghs in v oked
com pu tin g pion eerJohn v on N eu m an n in tracin g the u s es of the cu t-u pm ethod, f orthes e
techn iqu es hav e been em pl oyed in m an yas pects of n ew m edia, in com pu terl iterarypractice as w el l
as gam e theory. T hattheyare n otn ov el s hou l d n otdeterw riters f rom u s e of thes e techn iqu es .
Al thou ghdraw in g w ords ou tof ahattof orm apoem m aybe ol d hat, itcan s til l be an ef f ectiv e tech-
n iqu e f ortextu al produ ction . Itcan al s os u gges tdif f eren ttechn iqu es w hichare gen u in el yn ew .
T here hav e been pl en tyof s u rreal is t poetrygen erators av ail abl e on the Web f oryears . T heir
in v ocation of s u rreal is m is m is l eadin g. Gen eratin g texts directl yf orreaders bym ean s of com pu ter-
approxim ated ran dom n es s is n otw hatthe Su rreal is ts orBu rrou ghs m ean ttos u gges t. Bu rrou ghs
in dicates , rather, thatran dom n es s an d recom bin ation can be u s ed byan au thoras an in term ediate
s tepin com pos ition . T he s u rreal is ts w ere u n in teres ted in tos s in g dice u n l es s the throw m ighthel p
tocoaxs om ethin g u pf rom the u n con s ciou s n es s . Itis on l yin j u xtapos ition w ithou rpers on al an d
s ocial ghos ts , as Ital oCal v in ow rites , thatran dom l y-retriev ed w ords res on ate.
T hos e u s in g the cu t-u pm ethod s hou l d n ote thatitis hardl yin com patibl e w iththe proces s of
rev is ion . In f act, this v eryarticl e w as s u bs tan tial l yrev is ed an d expan ded byBu rrou ghs betw een its
f irs tappearan ce in 19 6 1 an d its pu bl ication in a19 7 8 book thathe an d Brion Gys in edited. In the
m u chs horterorigin al articl e, Bu rrou ghs w rote thatT he cu t-u pm ethod w as u s ed in N aked Lu n ch
w ithou tthe au thors f u l l aw aren es s of the m ethod he w as u s in g. . . . Su bs equ en tl yIu s ed the m ethod
w ithaw aren es s s cis s ors in Min u tes toGoan d T he Exterm in ator He en cou raged cu t-u pcreators to
Cu tpapercu tf il m cu ttape"an d toem pl oyScis s ors ors w itchbl ade as pref erred.
Al thou ghthe cl aim w as m ade thatthe book T he P ol icem an s Beard is Hal f Con s tru cted w as
gen erated bycom pu teral on e, f ew w hohav e s tu died the text( an d the program thatpu rportedl y
gen erated it, R acter)bel iev e this cl aim . R ather, its eem s certain thatR acterw as l oaded w iths pecial ,
addition al tem pl ates togen erate adraf t, w hichw as then edited in toits pu bl is hed s hape byahu m an
editor. As im il arm ethod w as u s ed w ithou tdis s im u l ation byCharl es O. Hartm an , w hohas w ritten
com pu terprogram s , had them program m atical l ym an gl e texts , an d then has gon e on tou s e the
texts in creatin g poem s . More recen tl y, f ree s of tw are has been u s ed togen erate m etrical , rhym ed
s on n ets . T hes e are des cen dan ts of the tradition al poetic cu t-u pf orm , the cen to, cros s -bred w ith
Bu rrou ghs s cu t-u ptechn iqu e an d the com bin atorial an d procedu ral m ethods of the Ou l ipo( 9 12 ).
N M
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rirriirrgri; w r' rriairas ; i, ' r.n ei?,Iriirr i; pr 1r; r; e~riaarip.ri; ; ' iipairgaer 7 ?hi it1 xpil p; 1 i,f f _izA( i5r,-; av .,r.,,; ; _@ ,_,g' j r "
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l irm rpticitein .it> irrrr.T riiar!c_ef pf a.l , "
tl f 1,atf \a; t ; a-; ' f _c,ert:ai~n .
P 9 iii?is Y i-"Y ? d= .* tl tR 19 rt; L
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"f rr ,; r@ i> in 1} h .r; 1_{ e* _ r> hdi- rev el -_-is ;
9 l * l ~)3?f ?13&t:~rl ?tF l ?i' i t ?1|".@ . 1 j
pariah)-ail rt; .rihr tem ptation s . .
pos .s il rl f 6 ' n ' .l ; a~.,g,iir l 1 ?r.T 1at,e{rial ,.' i1
bit. Y the ..r19 ? ii Y r u j l i.i i; t11j 1b .&.,; =
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.. .- . 2 ... . _"~ , _~.'
07 . T he Cu t-U pMethod
Origin al P u bl ication
ACas ebook on the Beat, 105-106 . Ed. T hom as P arkin s on . N ew Y ork:
Crow el l , 19 6 1. T his textis f rom Wil l iam S. Bu rrou ghs an d Brion
Gys in , T he T hird Min d, 2 9 -33. N ew Y ork: Vikin g, 19 7 8. T his text
w as rev is ed an d en l arged byBu rrou ghs f rom his s ixparagraphs in
ACas ebook on the Beat.
El l ips es are f rom the textas pu bl is hed in T he T hird Min d.
T he Cu t-U pMethod
of Brion Gys in
Wil l iam S. Bu rrou ghs
Atas u rreal is tral l yin the 19 2 0s T ris tan T zarathe m an f rom
n ow here propos ed tocreate apoem on the s potbypu l l in g
w ords ou tof ahat. Arioten s u ed w recked the theater. An dre
Breton expel l ed T ris tan T zaraf rom the m ov em en tan d
grou n ded the cu t u ps on the F reu dian cou ch.
In the s u m m erof 19 59 Brion Gys in pain teran d w ritercu t
n ew s paperarticl es in tos ection s an d rearran ged the s ection s
atran dom . Min u tes toG0res u l ted f rom this in itial cu t-u p
experim en t. Min u tes toG0con tain s u n edited u n chan ged cu t
u ps em ergin g as qu ite coheren tan d m ean in gf u l pros e.
T he cu t-u pm ethod brin gs tow riters the col l age, w hichhas
been u s ed bypain ters f orf if tyyears . An d u s ed bythe
m ov in g an d s til l cam era. In f actal l s treets hots f rom m ov ie
ors til l cam eras are bythe u n predictabl e f actors of pas s ers by
an d j u xtapos ition cu t-u ps . An d photographers w il l tel l you
thatof ten theirbes ts hots are acciden ts . . . w riters w il l tel l
you the s am e. T he bes tw ritin g s eem s tobe don e al m os tby
acciden tbu tw riters u n til the cu t-u pm ethod w as m ade
expl icit al l w ritin g is in f actcu tu ps . Iw il l retu rn tothis
poin t had n ow aytoprodu ce the acciden tof s pon tan eity.
Y ou can n otw il l s pon tan eity. Bu tyou can in trodu ce the
u n predictabl e s pon tan eou s f actorw ithapairof s cis s ors .
T he m ethod is s im pl e. Here is on e w aytodoit. T ake a
page. Like this page. N ow cu tdow n the m iddl e an d cros s the
m iddl e. Y ou hav e f ou rs ection s : 1 2 3 4. . . on e tw o
three f ou r. N ow rearran ge the s ection s pl acin g s ection f ou r
w iths ection on e an d s ection tw ow iths ection three. An d
theN EWMEDIAR EADER
you hav e an ew page. Som etim es its ays m u chthe s am e
thin g. Som etim es s om ethin g qu ite dif f eren t cu ttin g u p
pol itical s peeches is an in teres tin g exercis e in an ycas e you
w il l f in d thatits ays s om ethin g an d s om ethin g qu ite def in ite.
T ake an ypoetorw riteryou f an cy. Here, s ay, orpoem s you
hav e read ov erm an ytim es . T he w ords hav e l os tm ean in g
an d l if e throu ghyears of repetition . N ow take the poem an d
type ou ts el ected pas s ages . P il l apage w ithexcerpts . N ow cu t
the page. Y ou hav e an ew poem . As m an ypoem s as you l ike.
As m an yShakes peare R im bau d poem s as you l ike. T ris tan
T zaras aid:P oetryis f orev eryon e. An d An dre Breton cal l ed
him acopan d expel l ed him f rom the m ov em en t. Sayitagain :
P oetryis f orev eryon e."P oetryis apl ace an d itis f ree toal l
cu tu pR im bau d an d you are in R im bau ds pl ace. Here is a
R im bau d poem cu tu p.
Vis itof m em ories . On l yyou rdan ce an d you rv oice
hou s e. On the s u bu rban airim probabl e des ertion s . . .
al l harm on ic pin e f ors trif e.
T he greats kies are open . Can dorof v aporan d ten t
s pittin g bl ood l au ghan d dru n ken pen an ce.
P rom en ade of w in e perf u m e open s s l ow bottl e.
T he greats kies are open . Su prem e bu gl e bu rn in g
f l es hchil dren tom is t.
Cu t-u ps are f orev eryon e. An ybodycan m ake cu tu ps . Itis
experim en tal in the s en s e of bein g s om ethin g todo. R ight
here w rite n ow . N ots om ethin g total k an d argu e abou t.
Greek phil os ophers as s u m ed l ogical l ythatan obj ecttw ice as
heav yas an otherobj ectw ou l d f al l tw ice as f as t. Itdid n ot
occu rtothem topu s hthe tw oobj ects of f the tabl e an d s ee
how theyf al l . Cu tthe w ords an d s ee how theyf al l .
Shakes peare R im bau d l iv e in theirw ords . Cu tthe w ord
l in es an d you w il l heartheirv oices . Cu t-u ps of ten com e
throu ghas code m es s ages w iths pecial m ean in g f orthe
cu tter. T abl e tappin g?P erhaps . Certain l yan im prov em en ton
the u s u al depl orabl e perf orm an ce of con tacted poets
throu gham ediu m . R im bau d an n ou n ces him s el f , tobe
f ol l ow ed bys om e excru ciatin gl ybad poetry. Cu ttin g
R im bau d' s w ords an d you are as s u red of good poetryatl eas t
if n otpers on al appearan ce.
.__J19 2 a- o .- K 07 . T he Cu t-U pMethod
Al l w ritin g is i.n f actcu t-u ps . Acol l age of w ords read heard
ov erhead. Whatel s e?U s e of s cis s ors ren ders the proces s
expl icitan d s u bj ecttoexten s ion an d v ariation . Cl earcl as s ical
pros e can be com pos ed en tirel yof rearran ged cu t-u ps .
Cu ttin g an d rearran gin g apage of w ritten w ords in trodu ces
an ew dim en s ion in tow ritin g en abl in g the w ritertotu rn
im ages in cin em atic v ariation . Im ages s hif ts en s e u n derthe
s cis s ors s m el l im ages tos ou n d s ighttos ou n d s ou n d to
kin es thetic. T his is w here R im bau d w as goin g w ithhis col or
of v ow el s . An d his s ys tem atic deran gem en tof the s en s es .
T he pl ace of m es cal in e hal l u cin ation :s eein g col ors tas tin g
s ou n -ds s m el l in g f orm s .
T he cu t-u ps can be appl ied tootherf iel ds than w ritin g. Dr
N eu m an n in his T heoryof Gam es an d Econ om ic Behav ior
in trodu ces the cu t-u pm ethod of ran dom action in togam e
an d m il itarys trategy:as s u m e thatthe w ors thas happen ed
an d actaccordin gl y. If you rs trategyis ats om e poin t
determ in ed . . . byran dom f actoryou roppon en tw il l gain n o
adv an tage f rom kn ow in g you rs trategys in ce he can n ot
predictthe m ov e. T he cu t-u pm ethod cou l d be u s ed to
adv an tage in proces s in g s cien tif ic data. How m an y
dis cov eries hav e been m ade byacciden t?We can n otprodu ce
acciden ts toorder. T he cu t-u ps cou l d add n ew dim en s ion to
f il m s . Cu tgam bl in g s cen e in w ithathou s an d gam bl in g
s cen es al l tim es an d pl aces . Cu tback. Cu ts treets of the
w orl d Cu tan d rearran ge the w ord an d im age in f il m s . T here
is n oreas on toacceptas econ d-rate produ ctw hen you can
hav e the bes t. An d the bes tis there f oral l . P oetryis f or
ev eryon e . . .
N ow here are the precedin g tw oparagraphs cu tin tof ou r
s ection s an d rearran ged:
ALLWR IT IN G IS IN F ACT CU T -U P S OF GAMES
AN D ECON OMIC BEHAVIOR OVER HEAR D?WHAT
ELSE?ASSU MET HAT T HEWOR ST HAS
HAP P EN ED EXP LICIT AN DSU BJECT T O
ST R AT EGY IS AT SOMEP OIN T CLASSICALP R OSE.
CU T T IN G AN D R EAR R AN GIN G F ACT OR Y OU R
OP P ON EN T WILLGAIN IN T R ODU CES AN EW
DIMEN SION Y OU R ST R AT EGY . I-IOWMAN Y
DISCOVER IES SOU N DT O KIN EST HET IC?WECAN
N OWP R ODU CEACCIDEN T T O HIS COLOR OF
VOWELS. AN D N EWDIMEN SION T O F ILMS CU T
T HESEN SES. T HEP LACEOF SAN D. GAMBLIN G
SCEN ES ALLT IMES COLOR S T AST IN G SOU N DS
SMELLST R EET S OF T HEWOR LD. WHEN Y OU
CAN HAVET HEBEST ALL:P OET R Y IS F OR
EVER Y ON E DR N EU MAN N IN ACOLLAGEOF
WOR DS R EAD HEAR D IN T R ODU CED T HECU T -U P
SCISSOR S R EN DER S T HEP R OCESS GAMEAN D
MILIT AR Y ST R AT EGY , VAR IAT ION CLEAR AN D
ACT ACCOR DIN GLY IF Y OU P OSED EN T IR ELY OF
R EAR R AN GED CU T DET ER MIN ED BY R AN DOM A
P AGEOF WR IT T EN WOR DS N OADVAN T AGE
F R OM KN OWIN G IN T OWR IT ER P R EDICT T HE
MOVE. T HECU T VAR IAT ION IMAGES SHIF T
SEN SEADVAN T AGEIN P R OCESSIN G T OSOU N D
SIGHT T OSOU N D. HAVEBEEN MADEBY
ACCIDEN T IS WHER ER IMBAU DWAS GOIN G
WIT H OR DER T HECU T U P S COU LD SY ST EMAT IC
DER AN GEMEN T OF T HEGAMBLIN G SCEN EIN
WIT H AT EAHALLU CIN AT ION :SEEIN G AN D
P LACES. CU T BACK. CU T F OR MS. R EAR R AN GE
T HEWOR DAN D IMAGET O OT HER F IELDS T HAN
WR IT IN G.
_?
08.
* F rom Au gm en tin g Hu m an In tel l ect
l 19 6 2
o~~-~ eeeeeeeeeeoe e-~~ -a~-= 9 4: ~ ~a ~ --0s ea4 A-A-~--~o - 9 +-A
[ In trodu ction ]
ACon ceptu al F ram ew ork
T-51 Iiii IF F II u U Iu L u _ ' _
' W\ .' l -' .' v VIi-iIZi
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Iw as doin g odcl j ob el ectrical en gin eerin g w ork atAm es R es earchLaboratoryin Mou n tain View ,
Cal if orn ia, w iththe N ation al Adv is oryCom m ittee f orAeron au tics ( N ACA, f oreru n n erof N ASA). F or
s ev eral m on ths Ihad been dev otin g m os tof m ys pare tim e tos earchin g f orprof es s ion al goal s ; f ors om e g. I
reas on Iw an ted toin v es tthe res tof m yheretof ore aim l es s careertow ard m akin g the m os tdif f eren ce
in im prov in g the l otof the hu m an race. . . .
Su dden l y, u pthrou ghal l of this del ightf u l , you thf u l abs traction bobbed the f ol l ow in g cl earreal ization :
T he com pl exityof the hu m an s itu ation w as s teadil yin creas in g. Al on g w iththe in creas in g com pl exity
had com e agen eral in creas e in the u rgen cyas s ociated w iththe m ore critical probl em s . . . .
F LASH 1:T he dif f icu l tyof m an kin ds probl em s w as in creas in g atagreaterrate than ou rabil ityto
cope. ( We are in trou bl e.)
F LASH 2 :Boos tin g m an l cin ds abil itytodeal w ithcom pl ex, u rgen tprobl em s w ou l d be an attractiv e
can didate as an aren ain w hichayou n g pers on m ighttrytom ake the m os tdif f eren ce. ( Y es , bu t
there' s thatqu es tion of w hatdoes the you n g el ectrical en gin eerdoabou tit?R etread f orarol e as
edu cator, res earchps ychol ogis t, l egis l ator, . . . ?Is there an yhan dl e there thatan el ectrical en gin eer
cou l d. . . ?)
F LASH~3:Ahal i graphic v is ion s u rges f orthof m e s ittin g atal arge CR T con s ol e, w orkin g in w ays
thatare rapidl yev ol v in g in f ron tof m yeyes ( begin n in g f rom m em ories of the radar s creen con s ol es I
u s ed tos erv ice).
T he im ageryof F LASH 3 ev ol v ed w ithin af ew days toagen eral in f orm ation en v iron m en tw here the
bas ic con ceptw as adocu m en tthatw ou l d in cl u de m ixed textan d graphic portrayal s on the CR T . T he
im agerycarried on toexten s ion s of the s ym bol ogyan d m ethodol ogythatw e hu m an s cou l d em pl oyto
doou rheav ythin kin g. T here w ere al s oim ages of otherpeopl e atcon s ol es attached tothe s am e
com pu tercom pl ex, s im u l tan eou s l yw orkin g in acol l aboration m ode thatw ou l d be m u chcl os eran d
m ore ef f ectiv e than w e had ev erbeen abl e toaccom pl is h.
Within w eeks Ihad com m itted m ycareertoau gm en tin g the hu m an in tel l ect ( 188~189 ).
"4. ?l ' rai n in g {-+t_he_Ji' 1- ' _Y ___
' "diti<> )' f ' ie l ' d 1" i
08. Au gm en tin g
Hu m an In tel l ect
> in l 1rre@
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Dou gl as En gel bartin v en ted m an yof the def in in g f eatu res of the com pu terin terf aces w e w ork w itheach 'I Z
day, in cl u din g the m ou s e, the w in dow , an d the w ord proces s or. He hel ped es tabl is hthe In tern et, m ade
the f irs ts eriou s in v es tigation of com pu ter s u pported cooperativ e w ork, f irs tdem on s trated A
v ideocon f eren cin g an d m ixed text/ graphic dis pl ays , created s tru ctu red program m in g editors an d u s ed ".
rem ote procedu re cal l s in the 19 6 05, an d in depen den tl yin v en ted the hyperl in k atthe s am e tim e the idea
. w as bein g hatched byT ed N el s on ( 9 11). A I
In s hort, En gel bartis on e of the greatin v en tors of the 2 0thcen tu ry. U n f ortu n atel y, in addition to
bein g l argel yu n recogn ized, he is al s oon e of the m os tm is u n ders tood f igu res in n ew m edia. F ew w ho - - -. _.
kn ow him as the in v en torof the m ou s e real ize thatEn gel barts in v en tion s hav e n ev erbeen w idel yu s ed _. _, _. . _. _
' topu rs u e the goal s thatm otiv ated his w ork in the f irs tpl ace. His in v en tion s todate repres en ton l ythe l obj egts i' deS1g:n ed:- to "l I I
f irs ts teps of an u n f u l f il l ed v is ion , on e s u m m ed u pin the titl e of this report, Au gm en tin g Hu m an
In tel l ect."In 19 88, in AHis toryof P ers on al Works tation s , En gel barttol d the s toryof his decis ion topu rs u e
this path:
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Hu m an In tel l ect
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theN EWMEDIAR EADER
En gel bartqu ithis j ob, earn ed aP h.D., w en ttow ork atthe Stan f ord R es earchIn s titu te ( SR 1), an d
began topu rs u e f u n din g f orhis au gm en tation res earchprogram . T w oyears af terj oin in g SR I( in 19 59 )
he had partial s u pportf orhis tim e. T he n extyearhe w as f u l l tim e on au gm en tation , an d in 19 6 2 he
f il ed the his toric reportexcerpted here the f irs tm aj orf ru itof F LASH 3.
Som e of the m os ts tirrin g, m os tpres cien ts ection s of En gel barts reportare tol d in the s tyl e of a
graphic v is ion "( thatis , in the s tyl e of s cien ce f iction )an d are n arrated in the s econ d pers on . Other
s tyl es f ou n d in the reportin cl u de arel ativ el ys tan dard reportin g s tyl e, pers on al ref l ection on his m odes
of w orkin g, as pecu l ativ e v oice, an d aden s e in v es tigation of the hu m an au gm en tation s ys tem . T he l as t
of thes e is the m os tchal l en gin g toread; s eriou s s tu den ts an d practition ers of n ew m ediaw il l ben ef it
f rom readin g En gel barf s en tire report. T he excerpts here repres en ts om e of the m os tu s ef u l s tartin g
poin ts f orthis w ork.
T hes e excerpts are s itu ated w ithin the reporf s ov eral l f ram ew ork. T he f irs texcerptcom bin es a
gen eral in trodu ction tothe reportw ithav is ion of proces s au gm en tation "f oran architect( of f ered
bef ore N ichol as N egropon tes f am ou s T he Architectu re Machin e an d its f ol l ow ~u pSof tArchitectu re
Machin es , 9 2 3). T he s econ d excerptin cl u des En gel barts dis cu s s ion of Van n ev arBu s hs As We May
T hin k ( O02 )an d of experim en ts En gel bartu n dertook al on g m em exl in es u s in g papern otecards . ( T hes e
experim en ts m ayrem in d on e of XeroxP AR Cs N otecards s ys tem , orof apas s age f ou n d in Wal ter
Ben j am in s R e ection s thatis w el l -l ov ed byhypertexttheoris ts :An d todaythe book is al ready, as the
pres en tm ode of s chol arl yprodu ction dem on s trates , an ou tdated m ediation betw een tw odif f eren t
f il in g s ys tem s . F orev erythin g thatm atters is tobe f ou n d in the card boxof the res earcherw how rote it,
an d the s chol ars tu dyin g itas s im il ates itin tohis ow n card in dex"( 7 8).)F in al l y, aportion of En gel bm ts
s econ d-pers on n arration of f u tu re techn ol ogyis in cl u ded R atherthan al s oexcerptthe dead-on
s pecif ication f orw hatw e w ou l d com e tokn ow as the w ord proces s or, thes e s el ection s in cl u de pow erf u l
des cription s of capabil ities m os tcom pu ters s til l don othav e, 40years l ater. Som e of thes e capabil ities
rel ate cl os el ytotoday' s res earch in cl u din g the F is heye View s gen eral ized byGeorge F u rn as an d l in k
types ( w hichen abl e l in ks topl ayagreaterv arietyof in f orm ation al rol es than bein g j u m pm arkers ).
Sin ce En gel bart, l in k types hav e been in v es tigated bym an yw orkin g in hypertext. Whil e theyhav e f ail ed
togain the popu l aritythatthe m on ol ithic l in k of the Web has gain ed, theym aycom e in tom ore popu l ar
u s e if the W3C' s XLin l < orarel ated s tan dard is s u cces s f u l .
More dis cu s s ion of En gel barts w ork, an d its his tory, is in cl u ded in this v ol u m es in trodu ction tohis
19 6 8 paperw ithWil l iam En gl is h, AR es earchCen terf orAu gm en tin g Hu m an In tel l ect."( 9 16 )
N WF
.. , ,. .. . . . . .. . .. . . .._, .. . . ..,. ._.. . . . .
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here ' his ' _.m o_s ; ts i' gn ij ican tf co_htiibu tion -> to' ..-tl ie el dj pf n egv _m edia; 1h .?,di$ iis $e5-T in f A% rHis ioyl i "Eeis on at' Worl {s tation s f $~ I7 I f p
thatI
; m _ight' l is t,.1f or' .|; ' j 5toi ical reiiiordrit."ts n ' r.-ai.teghqqtpgy, , 1515.31-. ; r1j ar1l ( r.{tin g' ,_._or-i-bu s in es s ,-m ode' l ,f ; .. it.-is 1; ,cal l , m y'
1F ram ew 0Irk.' f _.My- m m ew ork j s l has d; Lgpon * an _1i.n } ; u ii:iv ef .q1_n ; v igrion -,s j m pl a' r1,ted; _.in _i~,m ( _"_hea.d ( .ap_p; air; ehitl y ; _perj m an en tl y)-m et; s o; ye' ar' s , Eago, that
the Q eieas iiiehv r s a e k W1 4@ s s = % Wt> * s aritiil itrs tates riirl l if rs tieis bv . ?P 1f ' r T riv ,.ta,rv # 3aQ @ a.* hi s ti' ie !1 19 9 .iWil l il i rev . l aiges . -
s m eraphon cal l y, 11< ~s e_.e. thee..a",i' i,f gn ' 1j e' n t i:l iorgian ization ,"_ ; s 1in s rit; _titics } n ,' or} the. More.1as .:1chan ,g.i-n g; n ot-_.as .Aan @ ,arg* a' n i; g1 m erel y~t9 ?.f bj } 1"a,biggerf an d
f as ter. s n am f bu rrdiia' i1i/ ev - s ; u t; h.hev ' il i,l eJv ,el s ,of s n s ory,-capabiil ity, l s peed, ,.aav . ; ,i1~an diatbbrdrn ation _as ,; tq' .1be:om e, a~. n ew -; s .j s eci. s _= -.-a. Cat,"_
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19 6 2
0- . area---J eeo-I-If ea-~---~ ou re -~ - a o a~* a~-~a~--. eras
Origin al P u bl ication
Excerpted f rom Su m m aryR eportAF OSR 32 2 3 u n derCon tractAF
49 ( 6 38) 102 4, SR 1 P roj ect357 8 f orAirF orce Of f ice of Scien ti c
R es earch, Men l oP ark, Cal if orn ia: Stan f ord R es earchIn s titu te,
October19 6 2 .
Au gm en tin g
Hu m an In tel l ect
ACon ceptu al F ram ew ork
Dou gl as En gel bart
I In trodu ction
AGen eral
Byau gm en tin g hu m an in tel l ect"w e m ean in creas in g the
capabil ityof am an toapproachacom pl exprobl em s itu ation ,
togain com prehen s ion tos u ithis particu l arn eeds , an d to
deriv e s ol u tion s toprobl em s . In creas ed capabil ityin this
res pectis taken tom ean am ixtu re of the f ol l ow in g:m ore-
rapid com prehen s ion , bettercom prehen s ion , the pos s ibil ity
of gain in g au s ef u l degree of com prehen s ion in as itu ation
thatprev iou s l yw as toocom pl ex, s peediers ol u tion s , better
s ol u tion s , an d the pos s ibil ityof f in din g s ol u tion s to
probl em s thatbef ore s eem ed in s ol u bl e. An d bycom pl ex
s itu ation s w e in cl u de the prof es s ion al probl em s of
dipl om ats , execu tiv es , s ocial s cien tis ts , l if e s cien tis ts , phys ical
s cien tis ts , attorn eys , des ign ers w hetherthe probl em
s itu ation exis ts f ortw en tym in u tes ortw en tyyears . We do
n ots peak of is ol ated cl ev ertricks thathel pin particu l ar
s itu ation s . We ref ertoaw ayof l if e in an in tegrated dom ain
w here hu n ches , cu t an d-try, in tan gibl es , an d the hu m an f eel
f oras itu ation u s ef u l l yco-exis tw ithpow erf u l con cepts ,
s tream l in ed term in ol ogyan d n otation , s ophis ticated
m ethods , an d high-pow ered el ectron ic aids .
Man s popu l ation an d gros s produ ctare in creas in g ata
con s iderabl e rate, bu tthe com pl exityof his probl em s grow s
s til l f as ter, an d the u rgen cyw ithw hichs ol u tion s m u s tbe
f ou n d becom es s teadil ygreaterin res pon s e tothe in creas ed
rate of activ ityan d the in creas in gl ygl obal n atu re of that
activ ity. Au gm en tin g m an ' s in tel l ect, in the s en s e def in ed
abov e, w ou l d w arran tf u l l pu rs u itbyan en l ighten ed s ocietyif
h__
there cou l d be s how n areas on abl e approachan d s om e
pl au s ibl e ben ef its .
T his reportcov ers the f irs tphas e of aprogram aim ed at
dev el opin g m ean s toau gm en tthe hu m an in tel l ect. T hes e
m ean s can in cl u de m an ythin gs al l of w hichappeartobe
bu texten s ion s of m ean s dev el oped an d u s ed in the pas tto
hel pm an appl yhis n ativ e s en s ory, m en tal , an d m otor
capabil ities - -an d w e con s iderthe w hol e s ys tem of ahu m an
an d his au gm en tation m ean s as aproperf iel d of s earchf or
practical pos s ibil ities . Itis av eryim portan ts ys tem toou r
s ociety, an d l ike m os ts ys tem s its perf orm an ce can bes tbe
im prov ed bycon s iderin g the w hol e as as etof in teractin g
com pon en ts ratherthan bycon s iderin g the com pon en ts in
is ol ation .
T his kin d of s ys tem approachtohu m an in tel l ectu al
ef f ectiv en es s does n otf in d aready-m ade con ceptu al
f ram ew ork s u chas exis ts f ores tabl is hed dis cipl in es . Bef ore a
res earchprogram can be des ign ed topu rs u e s u chan
approachin tel l igen tl y, s othatpractical ben ef its m ightbe
deriv ed w ithin areas on abl e tim e w hil e al s oprodu cin g res u l ts
of l on g-ran ge s ign if ican ce, acon ceptu al f ram ew ork m u s tbe
s earched ou t ~af ram ew ork thatprov ides orien tation as to
the im portan tf actors of the s ys tem , the rel ation s hips am on g
thes e f actors , the types of chan ge am on g the s ys tem f actors
thatof f erl ikel yim prov em en ts in perf orm an ce, an d the s ort
of res earchgoal s an d m ethodol ogythats eem prom is in gi
In the f irs t( s earch)phas e of ou rprogram w e hav e
dev el oped acon ceptu al f ram ew ork thats eem s s atis f actory
f orthe cu rren tn eeds of des ign in g ares earchphas e. Section II
con tain s the es s en ce of this f ram ew ork as deriv ed f rom
s ev eral dif f eren tw ays of l ookin g atthe s ys tem m ade u pof a
hu m an an d his in tel l ect-au gm en tation m ean s .
T he proces s of dev el opin g this con ceptu al f ram ew ork
brou ghtou tan u m berof s ign if ican treal ization s :thatthe
in tel l ectu al ef f ectiv en es s exercis ed todaybyagiv en hu m an
has l ittl e l ikel ihood of bein g in tel l igen ce l im ited- thatthere
are dozen s of dis cipl in es in en gin eerin g, m athem atics , an d
the s ocial , l if e, an d phys ical s cien ces thatcan con tribu te
-
~f eT ti1w e= 0u r1i.rherr r* r:ai @ 1r@ r:a1en @ ew a.r..rraim ev o= it4
3; l ira.,p; aqe; ; , .qrras aa r; m ay.1aarn ri,aa; trait' v ; <
v i
-= -~= di iP 1i rir. r s arehf is e eraiiiv .; iid$; ir e-Sas hre t:-s ._.
ri.i.~v w r~.:. . f rarm ew rat:.s rw <ii :; rbw i v r w rIiv 4n ee
:f rh= = \:f 1 rre* .rric1r; i?f reier ir' i+s arcn ..n bas 1:Cer eon izih f s res earchI* a
,.._A ' ' .- ~ , _ _,. . . . _, -., '
. _. .. ~_.. ' ,_.. .. .-I... - . ~ ' .
. - . 08. Au gm en tin g
Hu m an In tel l ect
08. Au gm en tin g
Hu m an In tel l ect
im prov em en ts tothe s ys tem of in tel l ect-au gm en tation
m ean s ; thatan yon e s u chim prov em en tcan be expected to
triggerachain of coordin atin g im prov em en ts ; thatu n til
ev eryon e of thes e dis cipl in es com es toas tan ds til l an d w e
hav e exhau s ted al l the im prov em en tpos s ibil ities w e cou l d
gl ean f rom it, w e can expecttocon tin u e todev el op
im prov em en ts in this hu m an in tel l ect s ys tem ; thatthere is
n oparticu l arreas on n ottoexpectgain s in pers on al
in tel l ectu al ef f ectiv en es s f rom acon certed s ys tem -orien ted
approachthatcom pare tothgs e m ade in pers on al geographic
m obil itys in ce hors eback an id s ail boatdays .
T he pictu re of how on e can v iew the pos s ibil ities f ora
s ys tem atic approachtoin creas in g hu m an in tel l ectu al
ef f ectiv en es s , as pu tf orthin Section IIin the s oberan d
Ou ts ide Worl d
H-LAM/ T Sys tem
4 _in i7 _; ' r _. ' J' 7 ; . \
Matchin g En ergy tchin g
P roces s es F l ow P roces s es .
I
, ii,~,
I I
Hu m an P roces s es F T T I7 Artif actP roces s es
Man -Artif ac i
In terf ace W
a ..- .. . .i. .__.-a . ._._._c. W - W. _. . _. _ea
F igu re 8.1. P ortrayal of the T w oActiv e Dom ain s Within the H-LAM/ T
Sys tem .
F rom s ection II.C.3: T he hu m an an d the artif acts are the on l y
phys ical com pon en ts of the H-LAM/ T s ys tem . Itis u pon their
capabil ities thatthe u l tim ate capabil ityof the s ys tem w il l depen d.
. . . T here are thu s tw os eparate dom ain s of activ ityw ithin the
H-LAM/ T s ys tem : thatrepres en ted bythe hu m an , in w hichal l
expl icit-hu m an proces s es occu r; an d thatrepres en ted bythe arti-
f acts , in w hichal l expl icit-artif actproces s es occu r. In an ycom pos ite
proces s , there is cooperativ e in teraction betw een the tw odom ain s ,
requ irin g in terchan ge of en ergy( m u chof itf orin f orm ation exchan ge
pu rpos es on l y). F igu re 8.1 depicts this tw o-dom ain con cept. . . .
Exchan ge acros s this [ m an -artif act] "in terf ace"occu rs w hen an
expl icit-hu m an proces s is cou pl ed toan expl icit-artif actproces s .
Q u ite of ten thes e cou pl ed proces s es are des ign ed f orj u s tthis
exchan ge pu rpos e, toprov ide af u n ction al m atchbetw een other
expl icit-hu m an an d expl icit-artif actproces s es bu ried w ithin their
res pectiv e dom ain s thatdothe m ore s ign i can tthin gs . F or
in s tan ce, the f in geran d han d m otion s ( expl icit-hu m an proces s es )
activ ate key-l in kage m otion s in the typew riter( cou pl e toexpl icit-
artif actproces s es ). Bu tthes e are on l ypartof the m atchin g
proces s es betw een the deeperhu m an proces s es thatdirectagiv en
w ord tobe typed an d the deeperartif actproces s es thatactu al l y
im prin tthe in k m arks on the paper.
theN EWMEDIAR EADER
gen eral term s of an in itial bas ic an al ys is , does n ots eem to
con v eyal l of the richn es s an d prom is e thatw as s tim u l ated
bythe dev el opm en tof thatpictu re. Con s equ en tl y, Section III
is in ten ded topres en ts om e def in ite im ages thatil l u s trate
m ean in gf u l pos s ibil ities deriv eabl e f rom the con ceptu al
f ram ew ork pres en ted in Section II an d in aratherm arked
dev iation f rom ordin arytechn ical w ritin g, agood portion of
Section IIIpres en ts thes e im ages in af iction -dial ogu e s tyl e as
am echan is m f ortran s m ittin g af eel in g f orthe richn es s an d
prom is e of the pos s ibil ities in on e region of the
im prov em en ts pace thatis rou ghl ym apped in Section II.
T he s tyl e of Section IIIs eem s tom ake f oreas ierreadin g. If
Section IIbegin s tos eem u n rew ardin gl ydif f icu l t, the reader
m ayf in d ithel pf u l tos kipf rom Section II-Bdirectl yto
Section III. If its erv es its pu rpos e w el l en ou gh, Section III
w il l prov ide acon textw ithin w hichthe readercan goback
an d f in is hSection IIw ithl es s ef f ort.
In Section IV ( R es earchR ecom m en dation s )w e pres en ta
gen eral s trategyf orpu rs u in g res earchtow ard in creas in g
hu m an in tel l ectu al ef f ectiv en es s . T his s trategyev ol v ed
directl yf rom the con cepts pres en ted in Section s IIan d III;
on e of its im portan tprecepts is topu rs u e the qu ickes t
gain s f irs t, an d u s e the in creas ed in tel l ectu al ef f ectiv en es s
thu s deriv ed tohel ppu rs u e s u cces s iv e gain s . We s ee the
qu ickes tgain s em ergin g f rom ( 1)giv in g the hu m an the
m in u te by-m in u te s erv ices of adigital com pu terequ ipped
w ithcom pu ter-driv en cathode-ray-tu be dis pl ay, an d ( 2 )
dev el opin g the n ew m ethods of thin kin g an d w orkin g that
al l ow the hu m an tocapital ize u pon the com pu ter' s hel p. By
this s am e s trategy, w e recom m en d thatan in itial res earch
ef f ortdev el opaprototype s ys tem of this s ortaim ed at
in creas in g hu m an ef f ectiv en es s in the tas k of com pu ter
program m in g.
T ogiv e the readeran in itial orien tation abou tw hats ortof
thin g this com pu ter-aided w orkin g s ys tem m ightbe, w e
in cl u de bel ow as hortdes cription of apos s ibl e s ys tem of this
s ort. T his il l u s trativ e exam pl e is n ottobe con s idered a
des cription of the actu al s ys tem thatw il l em erge f rom the
program . Itis giv en on l ytos how the gen eral direction of the
w ork, an d is cl othed in f iction on l ytom ake iteas ierto
v is u al ize.
Letu s con s ideran au gm en ted architectatw ork. He s its
ataw orkin g s tation thathas av is u al dis pl ays creen s om e
three f eeton as ide; this is his w orkin g s u rf ace, an d is
con trol l ed byacom pu ter( his cl erk")w ithw hichhe can
19 6 2
I-. -. o~ - 08. Au gm en tin g
com m u n icate bym ean s of as m al l keyboard an d v ariou s
otherdev ices .
He is des ign in g abu il din g. He has al readydream ed u p
s ev eral bas ic l ayou ts an d s tru ctu ral f orm s , an d is tryin g them
ou ton the s creen . T he s u rv eyin g dataf orthe l ayou the is
w orkin g on n ow hav e al readybeen en tered, an d he has j u s t
coaxed the cl erk tos how him apers pectiv e v iew of the
s teephil l s ide bu il din g s ite w iththe
roadw ayabov e, s ym bol ic repres en tation s
of the v ariou s trees thatare torem ain on
the l ot, an d the s erv ice tie poin ts f orthe
dif f eren tu til ities . T he v iew occu pies the
l ef ttw o-thirds of the s creen . Witha
poin ter, he in dicates tw opoin ts of
in teres t, m ov es his l ef than d rapidl yov er
the keyboard, an d the dis tan ce an d
el ev ation betw een the poin ts in dicated
appearon the right han d third of the
s creen .
N ow he en ters aref eren ce l in e w ithhis
poin ter, an d the keyboard. Gradu al l ythe
s creen begin s tos how the w ork heis
doin g an eatexcav ation appears in the
hil l s ide, rev is es its el f s l ightl y, an d rev is es
its el f again . Af teram om en t, the architect
chan ges the s cen e on the s creen toan
ov erhead pl an v iew of the s ite, s til l
s how in g the excav ation . Af ew m in u tes of
s tu dy, an d he en ters on the keyboard al is t
of item s , checkin g eachon e as itappears on
the s creen tobe s tu died l ater
Ign orin g the repres en tation on the
dis pl ay, the architectn extbegin s toen tera
s eries of s pecif ication s an d data as ix-
in chs l ab f l oor, tw el v e-in chcon crete w al l s
eightf eethighw ithin the excav ation , an d
s oon . When he has f in is hed, the rev is ed
s cen e appears on the s creen . As tru ctu re is
takin g s hape. He exam in es it, adj u s ts it,
pau s es l on g en ou ghtoas k f orhan dbook or
catal og in f orm ation f rom the cl erk at
v ariou s poin ts , an d readj u s ts accordin gl y.
He of ten recal l s f rom the cl erk his
w orkin g l is ts of s pecif ication s an d
con s ideration s toref ertothem , m odif y
Hu m an In tel l ect
them , oradd tothem . T hes e l is ts grow in toan ev er-m ore-
detail ed, in terl in ked s tru ctu re, w hichrepres en ts the
m atu rin g thou ghtbehin d the actu al des ign .
P res cribin g dif f eren tpl an es here an d there, cu rv ed s u rf aces
occas ion al l y, an d m ov in g the w hol e s tru ctu re abou tf iv e f eet,
he f in al l yhas the rou ghextern al f orm of the bu il din g
bal an ced n icel yw iththe s ettin g an d he is as s u red thatthis
Au gm en tation is f u n dam en tal l yam atter01 organ ization .
( typew riter, 7 s econ ds )_
4g% ; &5zk2 ?5 gz:; ; _( cu rs iv e s cript, 2 0s econ ds ).
2 3-" -.
re s ..__ l de.-.-eu s n en teel f . ._eu _; :e.1v e ..ee; .1.e.t.c_ 5. as een dal -
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W_ . an _.a::' .if ' ; ' i. ; ...._1 .
l d9 * BU Bm en ted cu rs iv e s cript, l arge s 1ze 42 s econ ds tocom pl e w hol e
pas s age ( com pl eted on s eparate s heet)].
F igu re 8.2 . Experim en tal R es u l ts of T yin g aBrick toaP en cil to"De-Au gm en t"the In div idu al
F rom s ection II.C.-4: Brain s of equ al pow ertoou rs cou l d hav e ev ol v ed in an en v iron m en t
w here the com bin ation of artif actm aterial s an d m u s cl e s tren gths w ere s os cal ed thatthe
n eates ts cribin g tool ( equ iv al en ttoapen cil )pos s ibl e had as hape an d m as s as m an ageabl e
as abrick w ou l d be tou s as s u m in g thatou rm u s cl es w ere n ots pecial l ycon dition ed to
deal w ithit. We f as ten ed apen cil toabrick an d experim en ted. F igu re 8.2 s how s the
res u l ts , com pared w ithtypew ritin g an d ordin arypen cil w ritin g. . . . How w ou l d ou r
civ il ization hav e m atu red if this had been the on l ym an u al m ean s f oru s tou s e in graphical
m an ipu l ation of s ym bol s ? F oron e thin g, the record keepin g thaten abl es the organ ization
of com m erce an d gov ern m en tw ou l d probabl yhav e taken af orm s odif f eren tf rom w hatw e
kn ow thatou rs ocial s tru ctu re w ou l d u n dou btabl yhav e ev ol v ed dif f eren tl y. . . .
08. Au gm en tin g
Hu m an In tel l ect
f orm is bas ical l ycom patibl e w iththe m aterial s tobe u s ed as
w el l as w iththe f u n ction of the bu il din g.
N ow he begin s toen terdetail ed in f orm ation abou tthe
in terior. Here the capabil ityof the cl erk tos how him an y
v iew he w an ts toexam in e ( as l ice of the in terior, orhow the
s tru ctu re w ou l d l ook f rom the roadw ayabov e)is im portan t.
He en ters particu l arf ixtu re des ign s , an d exam in es them in a
particu l arroom . He checks tom ake s u re thats u n gl are f rom
the w in dow s w il l n otbl in d adriv eron the roadw ay, an d the
cl erk com pu tes the in f orm ation thaton e w in dow w il l
ref l ects tron gl yon tothe roadw aybetw een 6 an d 6 :30on
m ids u m m erm orn in gs .
N exthe begin s af u n ction al an al ys is . He has al is tof the
peopl e w how il l occu pythis bu il din g, an d the dail y
s equ en ces of theiractiv ities . T he cl erk al l ow s him tof ol l ow
eachin tu rn , exam in in g how doors s w in g, w here s pecial
l ightin g m ightbe n eeded. F in al l yhe has the cl erk com bin e
al l of thes e s equ en ces of activ itytoin dicate s pots w here
traf f ic is heav yin the bu il din g, orw here con ges tion m ight
occu r, an d todeterm in e w hatthe s ev eres tdrain on the
u til ities is l ikel ytobe.
Al l of this in f orm ation ( the bu il din g des ign an d its
as s ociated thou ghts tru ctu re)can be s tored on atape to
repres en tthe des ign m an u al f orthe bu il din g. Loadin g this
tape in tohis ow n cl erk, an otherarchitect, abu il der, orthe
cl ien tcan m an eu v erw ithin this des ign m an u al topu rs u e
w hatev erdetail s orin s ights are of in teres ttohim an d can
appen d s pecial n otes thatare in tegrated in tothe "des ign
m an u al f orhis ow n ors om eon e el s es l aterben ef it.
In s u chaf u tu re w orkin g rel ation s hipbetw een hu m an
probl em s ol v eran d com pu tercl erk, the capabil ityof the
com pu terf orexecu tin g m athem atical proces s es w ou l d be
u s ed w hen ev eritw as n eeded. How ev er, the com pu terhas
m an yothercapabil ities f orm an ipu l atin g an d dis pl ayin g
in f orm ation thatcan be of s ign if ican tben ef ittothe hu m an
in n on m athem atical proces s es of pl an n in g, organ izin g,
s tu dyin g, etc. Ev erypers on w hodoes his thin kin g w ith
s ym bol ized con cepts ( w hetherin the f orm of the En gl is hl an -
gu age, pictographs , f orm al l ogic, orm athem atics )s hou l d be
abl e toben ef its ign if ican tl y.
B Obj ectiv e of the Stu dy
T he obj ectiv e of this s tu dyis todev el opacon ceptu al
f ram ew ork w ithin w hichcou l d grow acoordin ated res earch
an d dev el opm en tprogram w hos e goal s w ou l d be the
theN EWMEDIAR EADER
f ol l ow in g: ( 1)tof in d the f actors thatl im itthe ef f ectiv en es s
of the in div idu al s bas ic in f orm ation han dl in g capabil ities in
m eetin g the v ariou s n eeds of s ocietyf orprobl em s ol v in g in
its m os tgen eral s en s e; an d ( 2 )todev el opn ew techn iqu es ,
procedu res , an d s ys tem s thatw il l betterm atchthes e bas ic
capabil ities tothe n eeds , probl em s , an d progres s of s ociety.
We hav e pl aced the f ol l ow in g s pecif ication s on this
f ram ew ork:
( 1)T hatitprov ide pers pectiv e f orbothl on g-ran ge
bas ic res earchan d res earchthatw il l yiel d practical
res u l ts s oon .
( 2 )T hatitin dicate w hatthis au gm en tation w il l
actu al l yin v ol v e in the w ayof chan ges in w orkin g
en v iron m en t, in thin kin g, in s kil l s , an d in m ethods of
w orkin g.
( 3)T hatitbe abas is f orev al u atin g the pos s ibl e
rel ev an ce of w ork an d kn ow l edge f rom exis tin g f iel ds
an d f oras s im il atin g w hatev eris rel ev an t.
( 4)T hatitrev eal areas w here res earchis pos s ibl e an d
w ays toas s es s the res earch, be abas is f orchoos in g
s tartin g poin ts , an d in dicate how todev el op
appropriate m ethodol ogies f orthe n eeded res earch.
T w opoin ts n eed em phas is here. F irs t, al thou gha
con ceptu al f ram ew ork has been con s tru cted, itis s til l
ru dim en tary. F u rthers earch, an d actu al res earch, are n eeded
f orthe ev ol u tion of the f ram ew ork. Secon d, ev en if ou r
con ceptu al f ram ew ork did prov ide an accu rate an d com pl ete
bas ic an al ys is of the s ys tem f rom w hichs tem s ahu m an s
in tel l ectu al ef f ectiv en es s , the expl icitn atu re of f u tu re
im prov ed s ys tem s w ou l d be highl yaf f ected by( expected)
chan ges in ou rtechn ol ogyorin ou ru n ders tan din g of the
hu m an bein g.
III Exam pl es an d Dis cu s s ion
A Backgrou n d
2 Com m en ts R el ated to[ Van n ev ar] Bu s h' s Articl e
T here are m an ys ign if ican titem s in the articl e, bu tthe m ain
on es u pon w hichw e s hal l com m en there w il l be thos e
rel ativ e tothe u s e an d im pl ication s of his Mem ex. T he
as s ociativ e trail s w hos e es tabl is hm en tan d u s e w ithin the
f il es he des cribes ats om e l en gthprov ide abeau tif u l exam pl e
of an ew capabil ityin s ym bol s tru ctu rin g thatderiv es f rom
I9 6 2
Q 7 7 7 7 @ ; 7 _7 7 7 7 7 7 _..7 _g7 _......_7 7 7 _-_,$7 7 _7 _7 .. 7 g_.__7 7 7 Q ; 7 7 __..:_7 ~_7 7 __; 7 _7 7 7 7 7 ._.7 7 - 7
n ew artif act-proces s capabil ity, an d thatprov ides n ew w ays
todev el opan d portraycon cepts tru ctu res . An yf il e is a
s ym bol s tru ctu re w hos e pu rpos e is torepres en tav arietyof
con cepts an d con cepts tru ctu res in aw aythatm akes them
m axim al l yav ail abl e an d u s ef u l tothe n eeds of the hu m an s
m en tal -s tru ctu re dev el opm en t w ithin the l im its im pos ed.
bythe capabil ityof the artif acts an d hu m an f orj oin tl y
execu tin g proces s es of s ym bol -s tru ctu re m an ipu l ation . T he
Mem exal l ow s ahu m an u s ertodom ore con v en ien tl y( l es s
en ergy, m ore qu ickl y)w hathe cou l d hav e don e w ith
rel ativ el yordin aryphotographic equ ipm en tan d f il in g
s ys tem s , bu the w ou l d hav e had tos pen d s om u chtim e in the
l ow er-l ev el proces s es of m an ipu l ation thathis m en tal tim e
con s tan ts of m em oryan d patien ce w ou l d hav e ren dered the
s ys tem u n u s abl e in the detail ed an d in tim ate s en s e w hich
Bu s hil l u s trates .
T he Mem exadds af actorof s peed an d con v en ien ce to
ordin aryf il in g-s ys tem ( s ym bol s tru ctu rin g)proces s es that
w ou l d en cou rage n ew m ethods of w ork bythe u s er, an d it
al s oadds s peed an d con v en ien ce f orproces s es n otgen eral l y
u s ed bef ore. Makin g iteas ytoes tabl is han d f ol l ow the
as s ociativ e trail s m akes practical an ew s ym bol -s tru ctu rin g
proces s w hos e u s e can m ake as ign if ican tdif f eren ce in the
con cepts tru ctu rin g an d bas ic m ethods of w ork. Itis al s o
probabl e thatcl ev eru s age of as s ociativ e-trail m an ipu l ation
can au gm en tthe hu m an s proces s s tru ctu rin g an d
execu tin g capabil ities s othathe cou l d s u cces s f u l l ym ake u s e
of ev en m ore pow erf u l s ym bol -s tru ctu re m an ipu l ation
proces s es u til izin g the l \/ Iem excapabil ities . An exam pl e of
this gen eral s ortof thin g w as giv en byBu s hw here he
poin ts ou tthatthe f il e in dexcan be cal l ed tov iew atthe
pu s hof abu tton , w hichim pl icitl yprov ides greater
capabil itytow ork w ithin m ore s ophis ticated an d com pl ex
in dexin g s ys tem s .
N ote, too, the im pl ication s exten din g f rom Bu s hs m en tion
of on e u s erdu pl icatin g atrail ( aportion of his s tru ctu re)an d
giv in g ittoaf rien d w hocan pu titin tohis I\/ Iem exan d
in tegrate itin tohis ow n trail ( s tru ctu re). Al s on ote the
w hol l yn ew f orm s of en cycl opedia, the prof es s ion of trail
bl azers , an d the in heritan ce f rom am as terin cl u din g the
en tire s caf f ol din g byw hichs u chaddition s tothe w orl ds
record w ere erected. T hes e il l u s trate the types of chan ges in
the w ays in w hichpeopl e can cooperate in tel l ectu al l ythat
can em erge f rom the au gm en tation of the in div idu al s . T his
type of chan ge repres en ts av erys ign if ican tpartof the
i__
poten tial v al u e in pu rs u in g res earchdirectl yon the m ean s
f orm akin g in div idu al s in tel l ectu al l ym ore ef f ectiv e
3 Som e P os s ibil ities w ithCards
an d R el ativ el ySim pl e Equ ipm en t
An u m berof u s ef u l n ew s tru ctu rin g proces s es can be m ade
av ail abl e toan in div idu al throu ghdev el opm en tan d u s e of
rel ativ el ys im pl e equ ipm en tthatis m os tl yel ectrom echan ical
in n atu re an d rel ativ el ycheap. We can begin dev el opin g
exam pl es of this bydes cribin g the han d-operated, edge-
n otched card s ys tem thatIdev el oped an d u s ed ov erthe pas t
eightyears .
aAn Exis tin g N ote an d F il e Sys tem
T he u n itrecords here, u n l ike thos e in the I\/ Iem exexam pl e,
are gen eral l ys craps of typed orhan dw ritten texton IBM-
card s ized edge-n otchabl e cards . T hes e repres en tl ittl e
kern el s of data, thou ght, f act, con s ideration , con cepts , ideas ,
w orries , etc., thatare rel ev an ttoagiv en probl em areain m y
prof es s ion al l if e. Eachs u chs pecif ic probl em areahas its
n otecards keptin as eparate deck, an d f oreachs u chdeck
there is am as tercard w ithdes criptors as s ociated w ith
in div idu al hol es abou tthe peripheryof the card. T here is a
f iel d of hol es res erv ed f orn otchcodin g the s erial n u m berof
aref eren ce f rom w hichthe n ote on acard m ayhav e been
taken , orthe s erial n u m bercorres pon din g toan in div idu al
f rom w hom the in f orm ation cam e directl y( in cl u din g acode
f orm ys el f , f ors el f gen erated thou ghts ).
N on e of the prin cipl es of in dexin g ors ortin g u s ed here is
n ew :coordin ate-in dexin g des criptors w ithdirectcodin g on
edge-n otched cards , w ithn eedl e-s ortretriev al . Main l yw hat
is n ew is the u s e of the s m al l eru n its of in f orm ation , in
res tricted s u bj ects ets ( n otedecks )s othatIgain con s iderabl e
f l exibil ityin the m an ipu l ation s of m ythou ghtprodu cts at
the l ev el atw hichIactu al l yw ork in m ym in u te-by~m in u te
s tru ggl e w ithan al ytical an d f orm u l ativ e thou ght. N oton l y
dom yow n thou ghts produ ce res u l ts in this f as hion , bu t
w hen Idiges tthe w ritin gs of an otherpers on , If in d gen eral l y
an yw aythatIhav e extracted f rom his s tru ctu re an d
in tegrated in tom yow n as pecif ic s el ection of f acts ,
con s ideration s , ideas , etc. Of ten thes e dif f eren textracted
item s f itin todif f eren tpl aces in m ys tru ctu re, orbecom e
en cas ed in s pecial s u bs tru ctu res as Im odif yorexpan d his
con cepts . Extractin g s u chitem s orkern el s an d pu ttin g each
on its ow n n otecard hel ps this proces s con s iderabl y the
rol e orpos ition of eachs u chitem in the grow thof the n ote
s tru ctu re is in depen den t, an d yetif des ired al l can qu ickl ybe
08. Au gm en tin g
Hu m an In tel l ectL-
. -L
08. Au gm en tin g
Hu m an In tel l ect
is ol ated an d extracted bys im pl e n eedl e s ortin g on the
ref eren ce-n u m bern otchin g f iel d.
T hes e n otecards repres en tm u chm ore than j u s tan in
f orm ation f il e. T heyprov ide aw orks pace f orm e, in w hichI
can brow s e, m ake addition s orcorrection s , orbu il d n ew s ets
of thou ghtkern el s w ithagood deal of f reedom . Ican l eav e
n otes w iths u gges tion s orqu es tion s f orm ys el f thatw il l drop
ou tatan appropriate l atertim e. Ican dodocu m en t-ref eren ce
s earches w ithgood ef f icien cy, too, byn eedl e s ortin g f orn otes
w ithin rel ev an tdes criptorcategories . An yn otecard w ith
rel ev an tn otes on itpoin ts tothe origin al s ou rce ( bythe
s ou rce s erial n u m ber, w hichIal w ays w rite, togetherw iththe
page, atthe topof the card). When Iam in the proces s of
dev el opin g an in tegrated w riteu pcov erin g s om e oral l of the
n otedecks m aterial , Ican qu ickl yn eedl e ou tas etof cards
rel ev an ttothe topic u n dercon s ideration atthe m om en t
w ithal l othercards in on e pil e tothe s ide an d In eed doa
v erym in im u m of han d s earchin g ors tackin g in s pecial l ittl e
categorypil es . If Iu til ize s pecif ic in f orm ation f rom an other
pers on , Ican regis term yackn ow l edgm en tin m ydraf t
w riteu pm erel ybyw ritin g in the s ou rce s erial n u m berthatis
atthe topof the n otecard itis as traightf orw ard cl erical j ob
f oras ecretaryl atertoarran ge f ootn ote en tries an d
n u m berin g.
b Com m en ts on the Sys tem
F irs t, l etm e rel ate w hathas been des cribed tothe s pecial
term s brou ghtou tin prev iou s s ection s . T he w ritin g
con tain ed on eachn otecard is as m al l -s ized s ym bol
s tru ctu re, repres en tin g orportrayin g tom e as m al l
s tru ctu re of con cepts . T he n otches on the edges of the cards
are s ym bol s thats erv e totie thes e card-s ized s ym bol
s u bs tru ctu res in toal arge s ym bol s tru ctu re ( the n otedeck).
On e as pectof the s tru ctu re is the phys ical grou pin g of the
cards atagiv en tim e -w hichhappen s tobe the on l yas pect
of the ov er al l s tru ctu rin g thatm yhu m an capabil ities can
m ake directu s e of an d in this res pectIcan execu te
proces s es w hichprodu ce res tru ctu rin g ( thatis , phys ical
regrou pin g)thathel ps m e con s iderabl ytoperceiv e an d
as s im il ate the con cepts of w orthtom e. T his res tru ctu rin g
is ef f ected bycom pos ite proces s es in v ol v in g m e, am as ter
code card, as ortin g n eedl e, an d aw ork s u rf ace. Ican add to
the s ym bol s tru ctu re byexecu tin g othercom pos ite
proces s es w hichin v ol v e m e, w ritin g in s tru m en ts ( pen ,
pen cil , ortypew riter), am as tercode card, an d acard
n otcher.
theN EWMEDIAR EADER
If m ym en tal proces s es w ere m ore pow erf u l , Icou l d
dis pen s e w iththe cards , an d hol d al l of the card-s ized
con cepts tru ctu res in m ym em ory, w here al s ow ou l d be hel d
the categorization l in kages thatev ol v ed as Iw orked ( w ith
m yf eetu pon the artif acts an d m yeyes cl os ed). As itis , an d
as itprobabl yal w ays w il l be n om atterhow w e dev el opor
train ou rm en tal capabil ities , Iw an ttow ork in probl em areas
w here the n u m beran d in terrel ation s hipcom pl exityof the
in div idu al f actors in v ol v ed are toom u chf orm e tohol d an d
m an ipu l ate w ithin m ym in d. So, m ym in d dev el ops con s ciou s
s ets of con cepts , orrecogn izes an d s el ects them f rom w hatit
perceiv es in the w ork of others , an d itdirects the
organ ization of an extern al s ym bol s tru ctu re in w hichcan be
hel d an d portrayed tothe m in d thos e con cepts Ican n ot
( rel iabl y)rem em berorw hos e m an ipu l ation s Ican n ot
v is u al ize. T he price Ipayf orthis au gm en tation s how s u pin
the tim e an d en ergyin v ol v ed in m an ipu l atin g artif acts to
m an ipu l ate s ym bol s togiv e m e this artif icial m em oryan d
v is u al ization of con cepts an d theirm an ipu l ation .
c As s ociativ e-Lin kin g P os s ibil ities
Bu tl etu s gof u rtherw ithdis cu s s in g s pecif ic exam pl es of
m ean s f orau gm en tin g ou rin tel l ects . In u s in g the edge-
n otched-card s ys tem des cribed, If ou n d s ev eral types of
s tru ctu rin g w hichthats ys tem cou l d n otprov ide, bu tw hich
w ou l d bothbe v eryu s ef u l an d probabl yobtain abl e w ith
reas on abl ypractical artif actm ean s . On e n eed aros e qu ite
com m on l yas train s of thou ghtw ou l d dev el opon agrow in g
s eries of n otecards . T here w as n ocon v en ien tw aytol in k
thes e cards togethers othatthe train of thou ghtcou l d l ater
be recal l ed byextractin g the ordered s eries of n otecards . An
as s ociativ e-trail s chem e s im il artothatou tl in ed byBu s hf or
his Mem excou l d con ceiv abl ybe im pl em en ted w iththes e
cards tom eetthis n eed an d add av al u abl e n ew s ym bol -
s tru ctu rin g proces s tothe s ys tem . Straightf orw ard
en gin eerin g dev el opm en tcou l d prov ide am echan is m that
w ou l d be abl e tos el ectas pecif ic card f rom arel ativ el yl arge
deck byaparal l el edge n otchs orton au n iqu e s erial n u m ber
n otched in toeachcard, an d the s earchm echan is m cou l d be
s etu pau tom atical l ybyahol e s en s in g m echan is m f rom
in tern al pu n ches on an othercard thatw as pl aced in the
s en s in g s l ot. An au xil iaryn otchin g m echan is m cou l d
au tom atical l ygiv e s u cceedin g s erial -n u m beren codin g ton ew
n otecards as theyare m ade u p.
Su ppos e thaton e w an ts tol in k Card BtoCard A, tom ake
atrail f rom AtoB. He pu ts Card Bin toas l ots othatthe
19 6 2
0-7 7 7 a 7 7 7 -7 @ 7 7 7 7 7 -7 7 --0-:7 7 7 7 7 0 7 7 :7 7 7 ~--= 7 o 7 7 m 7 7 7 * 7 7 > 7 7 7 7 -<37 7 7 7 -7 -7 7 7 7 7 -7 -7 7 0-7 - 7 7 -
edge n otched codin g of the card' s s erial n u m bercan
au tom atical l ybe s en s ed, an d s l ips Card Au n derahol e-
pu n chin g head w hichdu pl icates the s erial -n u m bercode of
Card Bin the codin g of the hol es pu n ched in as pecif ic zon e
on Card A. Later, w hen he m ayhav e dis cov ered Card A, an d
w is hes tof ol l ow this particu l aras s ociativ e trail tothe n ext
card, he al ign s thatzon e on Card Au n derahol e-s en s in g head
w hichreads the s erial n u m berf orCard Btherein an d
au tom atical l ys ets u pthe s ortin g m echan is m . Av eryqu ick
an d s im pl e hu m an proces s thu s in itiates the au tom atic
extraction of the n extitem on the as s ociativ e trail . Its n ot
u n reas on abl e toas s u m e thates tabl is hin g al in k w ou l d take
abou tthree s econ ds , an d tracin g al in k tothe n extcard abou t
three tof iv e s econ ds .
T here w ou l d s til l be des criptor-code n otchin g an d s el ection
toprov ide f orgen eral grou pin g cl as s if ication s an d w e can
s ee thatthe s ys tem cou l d real l yprov ide am ean s f orw orkin g
w ithin the s tru ctu re of the con tain ed in f orm ation .
d An Experim en tIl l u s tratin g U s age an d
F u rtherSys tem P os s ibil ities
Ion ce tried tou s e m ycards , w iththeirs eparate l ittl e.
con ceptpackets , in the proces s of dev el opin g af il e m em o
ou tl in in g the s tatu s an d pl an s of ares earchproj ect. If irs t
dev el oped as etof cards u pon eachof w hichIdes cribed a
s eparate con s ideration , pos s ibil ity, ors pecif ication abou tthe
m em o in the dis orderl ys equ en ce in w hichtheyoccu rred to
m e as m ythou ghts abou tthe bas ic f eatu res of the m em o
ev ol v ed. R ightof f the batIn oticed thatthere w ere tw o
dis tin ctgrou ps s om e ideas w ere abou tw hatthe m em o
ou ghttoaccom pl is h, w hattim e period its hou l d cov er, w hen
its hou l d be f in is hed, w hatl ev el an d s tyl e of pres en tation
s hou l d be u s ed, etc., an d s om e ideas w ere abou tthe s u bj ectof
the m em o. As m ore thou ghts dev el oped, If ou n d thatthe
l attergrou pal s odiv ided in toideas repres en tin g pos s ibl e
con ten tan d thos e repres en tin g pos s ibl e organ ization .
Is eparated the cards in tothree corres pon din g grou ps
( w hichIs hal l cal l Specif ication , Organ ization , an d Con ten t),
an d began toorgan ize eachof them . Is tarted w iththe
Speci cation grou p( itbein g the highes t in n atu re), an d
im m ediatel yf ou n d thatthere w ere s ev eral types of n otes
w ithin thatgrou pj u s tas there had been in the total grou p.
Becom in g im m ediatel ys u s piciou s , Is orted throu gheachof
the othertw om ain grou ps an d f ou n d s im il ars itu ation s in
each. In eachgrou pthere w as f in al l ytoem erge adef in ite s et
of s tatem en ts ( produ cts tatem en ts )thatrepres en ted that
i_
grou p' s pu rpos e e.g., the s pecif ication s cu rren tl yaccepted
f orthe des ign of the m em o an d s om e of the ca.rds
con tain ed can didate m aterial f orthis . Bu tthere w ere al s o
con s ideration s abou tw hatthes e f in al s tatem en ts m ight
in cl u de orexcl u de ortake in toaccou n t, orcon dition s u n der
w hichin cl u s ion orm odif ication m ightbe rel ev an t, or
s tatem en ts thatw ere toobu l kyorbrief orim precis e tobe
u s ed as n al s tatem en ts .
Itbecam e apparen tthatthe f in al is s u an ce f rom m yw ork,
the m em oits el f , w ou l d repres en tbu ton e f acetof acom pl ex
s ym bol s tru ctu re thatw ou l d grow as the w ork progres s ed
as tru ctu re com pris in g three m ain s u bs tru ctu res , eachof
w hichhad def in ite s u bs tru ctu rin g of its ow n thatw as
apparen t. Ireal ized thatIw as bein g ratherphil os ophical l y
in tros pectiv e w ithal l of this an al ys is , bu tIw as cu riou s as to
the poten tial v al u e of f u tu re au gm en tation m ean s in
al l ow in g m e todeal expl icitl yw iththes e types of s tru ctu rin g.
SoIw en tahead, keepin g the grou ps an d s u b-grou ps of cards
s eparated, an d tryin g toorgan ize an d dev el opthem .
If ou n d ratherqu ickl ythatthe j ob of extractin g,
rearran gin g, editin g, an d copyin g n ew s tatem en ts in tothe
cards w hichw ere torepres en tthe cu rren ts etof produ ct
s tatem en ts in eachgrou pin g w as rathertediou s . T his
brou ghtm e toappreciate the v al u e of s om e s ortof copyin g
dev ice w ithw hichIcou l d tran s f ers pecif ied s trin gs of w ords
f rom on e card toan other, thu s com pos in g n ew s tatem en ts
f rom f ragm en ts of exis tin g on es . T his type of dev ice s hou l d
n otbe toohard todev el opan d produ ce f oraprice thata
prof es s ion al m an cou l d j u s tif ypayin g, an d itw ou l d certain l y
f acil itate s om e v al u abl e s ym bol -s tru ctu rin g proces s es .
Ial s of ou n d thatthere w ou l d hav e been greatv al u e in
hav in g av ail abl e the as s ociativ e-trail m arkin g an d f ol l ow in g
proces s es . Statem en ts v eryof ten had im pl icitl in kages to
others tatem en ts in the s am e grou p, an d itw ou l d hav e been
v eryu s ef u l tokeeptrack of thes e as s ociation s . F orin s tan ce,
w hen s ev eral con s ideration s tatem en ts bore u pon agiv en
produ cts tatem en t, an d w hen thatprodu cts tatem en tcam e
tobe m odif ied throu ghs om e othercon s ideration , itw as n ot
al w ays eas ytorem em berw hyithad been es tabl is hed as it
had. Bein g abl e tof is hou tthe othercon s ideration s l in ked to
thats tatem en tw ou l d hav e hel ped con s iderabl y.
Al s o, trial organ ization s of the s tatem en ts in agrou pcou l d
be l in ked in totrial as s ociativ e trail s , s othatan u m berof s u ch
organ ization s cou l d be con s tru cted an d con s idered w ithou t
copyin g thatm an ys ets of s pecial l yordered s tatem en ts . An y
08. Au gm en tin g
Hu m an In tel l ect
08. Au gm en tin g
Hu m an In tel l ect
of the prev iou s l ycon s idered organ ization s cou l d be
recon s tru cted atw il l .
In tryin g todof l exibl e s tru ctu rin g an d res tru ctu rin g
w ithin m yexperim en t, If ou n d thatIj u s tdidn ' thav e the
m ean s tokeeptrack of al l of the kern el s tatem en ts ( cards )
an d the v ariou s rel ation s hips betw een them thatw ere
im portan t atl eas tbym ean s thatw ere eas yen ou ghto
l eav e tim e an d thou ghtcapacityen ou ghf orm e tokeepin
m in d the es s en tial n atu re of the m em o w ritin g proces s . Bu t
itw as av eryprov ocativ e experien ce, con s iderin g the
pos s ibil ities thatIs en s ed f orthe f l exibl e an d pow erf u l w ays
in w hichIcou l d appl ym ys el f tos ou n iv ers al ades ign tas k if l
bu thad the n eces s arym ean s w ithw hichtom an ipu l ate
s ym bol s tru ctu res .
Itw ou l d actu al l ys eem qu ite f eas ibl e todev el opau n it-
record s ys tem arou n d cards an d m echan ical s ortin g, w ith
au tom atic trail -es tabl is hm en tan d trail f ol l ow in g f acil ity, an d
w ithas s ociated m ean s f ors el ectiv e copyin g ordatatran s f er,
thatw ou l d en abl e dev el opm en tof s om e v erypow erf u l
m ethodol ogyf orev erydayin tel l ectu al w ork. Itis pl ain that
ev en if the equ ipm en t( artif acts )appeared on the m arket
tom orrow , agood deal of em pirical res earchw ou l d be n eeded
todev el opam ethodol ogythatw ou l d capital ize u pon the
artif actproces s capabil ities . N ew con cepts n eed tobe
con ceiv ed an d tes ted rel ativ e tothe w aythe thou ght
kern el s cou l d be kn itted togetherin tow orkin g s tru ctu res ,
an d rel ativ e tothe con ceptu al pres en tation s w hichbecom e
av ail abl e an d the s ym bol -m an ipu l ation proces s es w hich
prov ide thes e pres en tation s . Su chan approachw ou l d
pres en tu s ef u l an d in teres tin g res earchprobl em s , an d cou l d
v eryl ikel yprodu ce practical an d s ign if ican tres u l ts ( l an gu age,
artif acts , m ethodol ogy)f orim prov in g the ef f ectiv en es s of
prof es s ion al probl em s ol v ers . How ev er, the techn ol ogical
tren ds of todayf oretel l the obs ol es cen ce of s u ch
el ectrom echan ical in f orm ation han dl in g equ ipm en t. Very
l ikel y, bythe tim e good au gm en tation s ys tem s cou l d be
dev el oped, an d the f irs tgrou ps of u s ers began toprov e them
ou ts othattheycou l d gain m ore w ides pread acceptan ce,
el ectron ic data-proces s in g equ ipm en tw ou l d hav e ev ol v ed
m u chf u rtheran d becom e m u chm ore prev al en tthrou ghou t
the critical -probl em dom ain s of ou rs ocietyw here s u chideas
w ou l d f irs tbe adopted. T he rel ativ e l im itation s of the
m echan ical equ ipm en tin prov idin g proces s es w hichcou l d be
u s ef u l l yin tegrated in tothe s ys tem w ou l d s oon l ead toits
repl acem en tbyel ectron ic com pu terequ ipm en t.
theN EWMEDIAR EADER
T he n exts etof des criptiv e exam pl es w il l in v ol v e the u s e of
el ectron ic com pu ters , an d theirgreatl yin creas ed f l exibil ity
an d proces s in g poten tial w il l be ev iden t. R es earchbas ed
u pon s u chel ectron ic artif acts w ou l d be abl e toexpl ore
l an gu age an d m ethodol ogyin n ov ation s of am u chw ider
ran ge of s ophis tication than cou l d res earchbas ed u pon
l im ited an d rel ativ el yin f l exibl e el ectrom echan ical artif acts .
In particu l ar, the el ectron ic-bas ed experim en tal program
cou l d s im u l ate the types of proces s es av ail abl e f rom
el ectrom echan ical artif acts , if its eem ed pos s ibl e ( f rom the
v an tage of experien ce w iththe w ide ran ge of au gm en tation
proces s es )thatrel ativ el ypow erf u l au gm en tation s ys tem s
cou l d be bas ed u pon theircapabil ities bu tthe rel ativ e
payof f s f orprov idin g ev en m ore-s ophis ticated artif act
capabil ities cou l d be as s es s ed toos othatcon s ideration s of
how m u chtoin v es tin capital equ ipm en tv ers u s how m u ch
in creas e in hu m an ef f ectiv en es s toexpectcou l d be bas ed
u pon s om e experim en tal data.
III Exam pl es an d Dis cu s s ion
B Hypothetical Des cription of
Com pu ter- Bas ed Au gm en tation Sys tem
4 Stru ctu rin g an Argu m en t
If w e w an ttogoon toahigher-l ev el capabil itytogiv e you a
f eel in g f orhow ou rrebu il tcapabil ityhierarchyw orks , itw il l
s peed u s al on g tol ook athow w e m ightorgan ize thes e m ore
prim itiv e capabil ities w hichIhav e dem on s trated in tos om e
n ew an d betterw ays tos etu pw hatw e can cal l an
argu m en t.T his ref ers l oos el ytoan ys etof s tatem en ts ( w e' l l
cal l them produ cts tatem en ts )thatrepres en ts the produ ct
of aperiod of w ork tow ard agiv en obj ectiv e. Con f u s ed?Wel l ,
take the s im pl e cas e w here an argu m en tl eads toas in gl e
produ cts tatem en t. F orin s tan ce, you com e toaparticu l ar
poin tin you rw ork w here you hav e todecide w hattodof or
the n exts tep. Y ou gothrou ghs om e reas on in g proces s
u s u al l yin v ol v in g s tatem en ts an d com e u pw itha
s tatem en ts pecif yin g thatn exts tep. T hatf in al s tatem en tis
the produ cts tatem en t, an d itrepres en ts the produ ctof the
argu m en torreas on in g proces s w hichl ed toit.
Y ou u s u al l ythin k of an argu m en tas as erial s equ en ce of
s teps of reas on , begin n in g w ithkn ow n f acts , as s u m ption s ,
etc., an d progres s in g tow ard acon cl u s ion . Wel l , w e dohav e to
O ~~+ iQ __, . _-.l ,__Il f __,...,._.___,,__,-_......... O8, Au gm en tin g
Hu m an In tel l ect
thin k throu ghthes e s teps s erial l y, an d w e u s u al l ydol is tthe
s teps s erial l yw hen w e w rite them ou tbecau s e thatis pretty
m u chthe w ayou rpapers an d books hav e topres en tthem
theyare prettyl im itin g in the s ym bol s tru ctu rin g theyen abl e
u s tou s e. Hav e you ev en s een as cram bl ed-textprogram m ed
in s tru ction book?T hatis an in teres tin g exam pl e of a
dev iation f rom s traights erial pres en tation of s teps .
Con ceptu al l ys peakin g, how ev er, an argu m en tis n ota
s erial af f air. Itis s equ en tial , Igran tyou , becau s e s om e
s tatem en ts hav e tof ol l ow others , bu tthis does n ' tim pl ythat
its n atu re is n eces s aril ys erial . We u s u al l ys trin g Statem en tB
af terStatem en tA, w ithStatem en ts C, D, E, F , an d s oon
f ol l ow in g in thatorder this is as erial s tru ctu rin g of ou r
s ym bol s . P erhaps eachs tatem en tl ogical l yf ol l ow ed f rom al l
thos e w hichpreceded iton the s erial l is t, an d if s o, then the
con ceptu al s tru ctu rin g w ou l d al s obe s erial in n atu re, an d it
w ou l d be n icel ym atched f oru s bythe s ym bol s tru ctu rin g.
Bu tam ore typical cas e m ightf in d Atobe an in depen den t
s tatem en t, Bdepen den tu pon A, C an d D in depen den t, E
depen din g u pon D an d B, Edepen den tu pon C, an d F
depen den tu pon A, D, an d E. See, s equ en tial bu tn ots erial ?
Acon ceptu al n etw ork bu tn otacon ceptu al chain . T he ol d
paperan d pen cil m ethods of m an ipu l atin g s ym bol s j u s t
w eren ' tv eiyadaptabl e tom akin g an d u s in g s ym bol
s tru ctu res tom atchthe w ays w e m ake an d u s e con ceptu al
s tru ctu res . Withthe n ew s ym bol -m an ipu l atin g m ethods
here, w e hav e terrif ic f l exibil ityf orm atchin g the tw o, an d
boy, itreal l ypays of f in the w ayyou can tie in toyou rw ork.
T his m akes you recal l dim l ythe gen eral ization s you had
heard prev iou s l yabou tproces s s tru ctu rin g l im itin g s ym bol
s tru ctu rin g, s ym bol s tru ctu rin g l im itin g con cepts tru ctu rin g,
an d con cepts tru ctu rin g l im itin g m en tal s tru ctu rin g. Y ou n od
cau tiou s l y, in hopes thathe w il l proceed in s om e w aythat
w il l tie this kin d of tal k tos om ethin g f rom w hichyou can get
the f eel of w hatitis al l abou t. As ittu rn s ou t, thatis j u s t
w hathe in ten ds todo.
Let' s actu al l yw ork s om e exam pl es . Y ou hel pm e. An d you
becom e in v ol v ed in atru l yf as cin atin g gam e. Joe tel l s you
thatyou are todev el opan argu m en tl eadin g tos tatem en ts
s u m m arizin g the au gm en tation m ean s s of arrev eal ed toyou
f ordoin g the kin d of s traight-textw ork u s u al l ydon e w itha
pen cil an d eras eron as in gl e s heetof paper. Y ou
u n con s ciou s l yl ook f oras cratchpad bef ore you real ize that
he is tel l in g you thatyou are goin g todothis the au gm en ted
w ay byu s in g him an d his s ys tem w ithartf u l coachin g
L
f rom him . U n derabitof u rgin g f rom him , you begin s el f -con -
s ciou s l ytom u m bl e s om e in an e s tatem en ts abou tw hatyou
hav e s een , w hattheyim pl y, w hatyou rdou bts an d
res erv ation s are, etc. He m ercil es s l yign ores you robv iou s
dis com f ortan d giv es you n ocu e tos top, u n til he drops his
han ds tohis l apaf terhe has f il l ed f iv e f ram es w iththes e
s tatem en ts ( the s u rpl u s f il l ed f ram es dis appeared to
s om ew here -you as s u m e Joe kn ow s w here theyw en tan d
how togetthem back).
Y ou n otice how you w an dered dow n dif f eren ts hortpaths ,
an d cris s -cros s ed you rs el f af ew tim es ? Y ou n od depres s ed,
n odef en s e. Bu the is n ' tn eedl in g you . Veryn atu ral
dev el opm en t, j u s tthe w ayw e hu m an s al w ays s eem tos tart
ou ton atas k f orw hichw e aren tal l prim ed w ithkn ow l edge,
m ethod, experien ce, an d con f iden ce w hichis toin cl u de
es s en tial l yev eryprobl em of an ycon s equ en ce tou s . Sol et' s
s ee how w e can accom m odate the hu m an s w ayof dev el opin g
his com prehen s ion an d his f in al probl em s ol u tion .
P erhaps Is hou l d hav e s topped s oon er Iam s u ppos ed to
be coachin g you in s tead of teas in g you bu tIhad areas on .
Y ou hav en tbeen m akin g u s e of the s im pl e s ym bol -
m an ipu l ation m ean s thatIs how ed you otherthan the
s horthan d f orgettin g the s tu f f on the s creen s . Y ou s tarted
ou tprettym u chthe w ayyou m ightw ithyou rtypew riteror
pen cil . I' l l s how you how you cou l d hav e been doin g
otherw is e, bu tIw an tyou ton otice f irs thow hard itis f ora
pers on toreal ize how real l yu n qu es tion in g he is abou tthe
w ayhe does thin gs . Som ehow w e im pl icitl yv iew m os tal l of
ou rm ethods as j u s ts ortof the w aythin gs are don e, thats
al l .Y ou kn ew thats om e exotic techn iqu es w ere goin g tobe
appl ied, an d you l l hav e toadm itthatyou w ere pas s iv el y
w aitin g f orthem tobe han ded toyou .
Withan on -com m ittal n od, you s u gges tgettin g on w ithit.
Joe begin s , Y ou ' re probabl yw aitin g f ors om ethin g
im pres s iv e. WhatI' m tryin g toprim e you f or, thou gh, is the
real ization thatthe im pres s iv e n ew tricks al l are bas ed u pon
l ots of chan ges in the l ittl e thin gs you do. T his com pu terized
s ys tem is u s ed ov eran d ov eran d ov eragain tohel pm e do
l ittl e thin gs w here m ym ethods an d w ays of han dl in g l ittl e
thin gs are chan ged u n til , l o, they' v e added u pan d s u dden l yI
can doim pres s iv e n ew thin gs .
Y ou don ' tkn ow . Hes an ice en ou ghgu y, bu the s u re gets
preachy. Bu tthe good s ide of you rcharacters how s throu gh,
an d you real ize thatev erythin g s of arhas been abou tl ittl e
thin gs this is probabl yan im portan tpoin t. Y ou l l s tick w ith
'
v i?- --_.i -
, F E
l
08. Au gm en tin g
Hu m an In tel l ect
him . Okay, s ow hatcou l d you hav e been doin g tou s e the
s im pl e tricks he had s how n you in au s ef u l w ay?Joe picks u p
the l ightpen , pois es his otherhan d ov erthe keys et, an d l ooks
atyou . Y ou didn ' tn eed the hin t, bu tthan ks an yw ay, an d l et' s
s tartrearran gin g an d cl ean in g u pthe w ork s pace in s tead of
j u s tdu m pin g m ore raw m aterial on it.
Withcl os ercoachin g n ow f rom Joe, you s tartthrou ghthe
l is tof s tatem en ts you ' v e m ade an d begin toedit, re-w ord,
com pil e, an d del ete. It' s f u n pu tthats en ten ce back u phere
betw een thes e tw o an d bl in k, its don e. Grou pthes e f ou r
s tatem en ts , in den ted tw os paces , u n derthe headin g
s horthan d, an d bl in ko, it' s don e. In s ertw hatIs ayn ext
there, af terthats en ten ce. Y ou dictate as en ten ce toexten d a
thou ghtthatis dev el opin g, an d Joe ef f ortl es s l ycon v erts it
in toan in s erted n ew s en ten ce. Y ou rideas begin totake
s hape, an d you can con tin u al l yre-w ork the exis tin g s etof
s tatem en ts tokeeprepres en tin g the s tate of you rcon cept
s tru ctu re.
Y ou are qu ite el ated bythis f reedom toj u ggl e the record of
you rthou ghts , an d bythe w aythis f reedom al l ow s you to
w ork them in tos hape. Y ou ref l ected thatthis f l exibl e cu t-an d-
tryproces s real l ydid appeartom atchthe w ayyou s eem ed to
dev el opyou rthou ghts . Gol l y, you cou l d be w ritin g m ath
expres s ion s , ad copy, orapoem , w iththe s am e type of
D 1 A1
Exis tin g dis cipl in es
rel ev an ttoAu gm en tation
res earch, prov idin g both
s u bj ectm atteran d tool s
an d techn iqu es
T he begin n in g
Au gm en tation -
res earchprogram ,
prin cipal l yin
pu rs u itof Goal 1.
F igu re 8.3. In itial Au gm en tation -R es earchP rogram
F rom s ection IV.E: An in tegrated s etof tool s an d techn iqu es w il l
repres en tan artof doin g au gm en tation res earch. Al thou ghn os u ch
artexis ts ready-m ade f orou ru s e, there are m an yappl icabl e or
adaptabl e tool s an d techn iqu es tobe borrow ed f rom other
dis cipl in es . P s ychol ogy, com pu terprogram m in g an d phys ical
techn ol ogy, dis pl aytechn ol ogy, arti cial in tel l igen ce, in du s trial
en gin eerin g ( e.g., m otion an d tim e s tu dy). m an agem en ts cien ce,
s ys tem s an al ys is , an d in f orm ation retriev al are s om e of the m ore
l ikel ys ou rces . T hes e dis cipl in es al s oof f erin itial s u bj ectm atterf or
the res earch. Becau s e this kin d of diagram m in g can hel pm ore l ater
on , w e repres en tin F igu re 8.3 the s itu ation of the begin n in g
res earchdraw in g u pon exis tin g dis cipl in es f ors u bj ectm atteran d
tool s an d techn iqu es .
T he program begin s w ithgen eral depen den ce u pon other, exis tin g
dis cipl in es f orits s u bj ectm atter( s ol id arrow )an d its tool s an d
techn iqu es ( das hed arrow ), Goal 1 has been s tated as thatof
v erif yin g the bas ic hypothes is thatcon certed au gm en tation res earch
can in creas e the in tel l ectu al ef f ectiv en es s of hu m an probl em s ol v ers .
theN EWMEDIAR EADER
ben ef it. Y ou w ere readytotel l Joe thatn ow you s aw w hathe
had been tryin g totel l you abou tm atchin g s ym bol
s tru ctu rin g tocon cepts tru ctu rin g- w hen he m ov ed on to
s how you as u cces s ion of othertechn iqu es thatm ade you
real ize you hadn ' tyetgotten the f u l l s ign if ican ce of his pitch.
Sof arthe s tru ctu re thatyou hav e bu il tw ithyou rs ym bol s
l ooks j u s tl ike w hatyou m ightbu il d w ithpen cil -an d paper
techn iqu es on l yhere the bu il din g is s om u cheas ierw hen
you can trim , exten d, in s ert, an d rearran ge s of reel yan d
rapidl y. Bu tthe s am e com pu terhere thatgiv es u s thes e
f reedom s w iths otriv ial an appl ication of its pow er, can j u s t
as eas il ygiv e u s others im pl e capabil ities w hichw e can appl y
tothe dev el opm en tan d u s e of dif f eren ttypes of s tru ctu re
f rom w hatw e u s ed tou s e. Bu tl etm e u n f ol d thes e l ittl e
com pu tertricks as w e com e tothem .
"When you l ook atagiv en s tatem en tin the m iddl e of you r
argu m en ts tru ctu re, there are an u m berof thin gs you w an t
tokn ow . Let' s s im pl if ythe s itu ation bys ayin g thatyou m ight
as k three qu es tion s , Whats this ?' , How com e?' , an d So
w hat?Let' s take thes e qu es tion s on e atatim e an d s ee how
s om e chan ges in s tru ctu rin g m ighthel papers on an s w er
them better.
"Y ou l ook atas tatem en tan d you w an ttou n ders tan d its
m ean in g. Y ou are u s ed tos eein g as tatem en tportrayed in j u s t
the m an n eryou m ighthearit as as erial s u cces s ion of
w ords . Bu t, j u s tas w iththe s tatem en ts w ithin an argu m en t,
the con ceptu al rel ation s hipam on g the w ords of as en ten ce is
n otgen eral l ys erial , an d w e can ben ef itin m atchin g betterto
the con ceptu al s tru ctu re if w e can con v en ien tl yw ork w ith
certain n on -s erial s ym bol -s tru ctu rin g f orm s w ithin s en ten ces .
"Mos tof the s tru ctu rin g f orm s I' l l s how you s tem f rom the
s im pl e capabil ityof bein g abl e toes tabl is harbitraryl in kages
betw een dif f eren ts u bs tru ctu res , an d of directin g the
com pu ters u bs equ en tl ytodis pl ayas etof l in ked
s u bs tru ctu res w ithan yrel ativ e pos ition in g w e m ight
des ign ate am on g the dif f eren ts u bs tru ctu res . Y ou can
des ign ate as m an ydif f eren tkin ds of l in ks as you w is h, s o
thatyou can s pecif ydif f eren tdis pl ayorm an ipu l ativ e
treatm en tf orthe dif f eren ttypes .
Joe picked ou ton e of you rs en ten ces , an d pu s hed the res t
of the textaf ew l in es u pan d dow n f rom ittois ol ate it. He
then s how ed you how he cou l d m ake af ew s trokes on the
keys ettodes ign ate the type of l in k he w an ted es tabl is hed,
an d pick the tw os ym bol s tru ctu res thatw ere tobe l in ked by
m ean s of the l ightpen . He s aid thatm os tl in ks pos s es s ed a
l 19 6 2
o7 --. 7 -07 7 -a-7 een 7 7 -n 7 7 -7 7 * -7 7 --- 7 -7 .7 7 .o~7 7 7 7
direction , i.e., theyw ere l ike an arrow poin tin g f rom on e
s u bs tru ctu re toan other, s othatin s ettin g u pal in k he m u s t
s pecif ythe tw os u bs tru ctu res in agiv en order.
He w en ttow ork f oram om en t, rapidl ys ettin g u pl in ks
w ithin you rs en ten ce. T hen he s how ed you how you cou l d
gets om e hel pin l ookin g atas tatem en tan d u n ders tan din g
it. Here is on e s tan dard portrayal , f orw hichIhav e
es tabl is hed acom pu terproces s todothe s tru ctu rin g '
au tom atical l yon the bas is of the in terw ord l in ks . Af ew
s trokes on the keys etan d s u dden l ythe s en ten ce f el l to
pieces dif f eren tparts of itbein g pos ition ed here an d there,
w iths om e l in es con n ectin g them . R em em berdiagram m in g
s en ten ces w hen you w ere s tu dyin g gram m ar?Som e good
m ethods , pl u s abitof practice, an d you ' d be s u rpris ed how
m u chadiagram m atic breakdow n can hel pyou tos can a
com pl exs tatem en tan d u n tan gl e itqu ickl y.
We hav e dev el oped qu ite af ew m ore l ittl e s chem es tohel p
atthe s tatem en tl ev el . Idon ' tw an ttotan gl e you u pw ithtoo
m u chdetail , thou gh. Y ou can s ee, probabl y, thatqu ick
diction ary-l ooku phel ps . He aim ed ataterm w iththe l ight
pen an d hitaf ew s trokes on the keys et, an d the ol d text
j u m ped f artherou tof the w ayan d the def in ition appeared
abov e the diagram , w iththe def in ed term brighterthan the
res tof the diagram . An d he s how ed you al s ohow you cou l d
l in k s econ daryphras es ( ors en ten ces )toparts of the
s tatem en tf orm ore detail ed des cription . T hes e s econ dary
s u bs tru ctu res w ou l dn ' tappearw hen you n orm al l yv iew ed
the s tatem en t, bu tcou l d be brou ghtin bys im pl e requ es tif
you w an ted cl os ers tu dy.
Itprov es tobe terrif ical l yu s ef u l tobe abl e tow ork eas il y
w iths tatem en ts thatrepres en tm ore s ophis ticated an d
com pl excon cepts . Sortof l ike bein g abl e tou s e s tru ctu ral
m em bers thatare l ighteran d s tron ger -itgiv es you n ew
f reedom in bu il din g s tru ctu res . Bu tl et' s m ov e on w e' l l
com e back tothis areal ater, if w e hav e tim e.
When you l ook atas tatem en tan d as k, How com e?' , you
are u s ed tos can n in g back ov eras erial arrayof prev iou s l y
m ade s tatem en ts in s earchof an u n ders tan din g of the bas is
u pon w hichthis s tatem en tw as m ade. Bu ts om e of -thes e
prev iou s s tatem en ts are m u chm ore s ign if ican tthan others
tothis s earchf oru n ders tan din g. Letu s u s e w hatw e cal l
an teceden tl in ks topoin ttothes e, an d I' l l giv e you abas ic
ideaof how w e s tru ctu re an argu m en ts othatw e can
qu ickl ytrack dow n the es s en tial bas is u pon w hichagiv en
s tatem en tres ts .
Y ou hel ped him pick ou tthe prim aryan teceden ts of the
s tatem en tyou had been s tu dyin g, an d he es tabl is hed l in ks to
them . T hes e s tatem en ts w ere s cattered back throu ghthe
s erial l is tof s tatem en ts thatyou had as s em bl ed, an d Joe
s how ed you how you cou l d eitherbrighten oru n derl in e
them tom ake them s tan d ou ttoyou reye j u s tby
requ es tin g the com pu tertodothis f oral l directan teceden ts
of the des ign ated s tatem en t. He tol d you , thou gh, thatyou
s oon gets oyou aren ' tv erym u chin teres ted in s eein g the
s erial l is tin g of al l of the s tatem en ts , an d he m ade an other
requ es tof the com pu ter( v iathe keys et)thatel im in ated al l
the priors tatem en ts , exceptthe directan teceden ts , f rom the
s creen . T he s u bj ects tatem en tw en ttothe bottom of the
f ram e, an d the an teceden ts tatem en ts w ere n eatl yl is ted
abov e it.
U II
r-' - "1
F igu re 8.4. R egen eration
F rom s ection IV.F : We bas ical l yrecom m en d A1 res earchadherin g to
w hatev erf orm al m ethodol ogyis requ ired f or( a)kn ow in g w hen an
im prov em en tin ef f ectiv en es s has been achiev ed, an d ( b)kn ow in g
how toas s ign rel ativ e v al u e tothe chan ges deriv ed f rom tw o
com petin g in n ov ation s .
Beyon d this , an d as s u m in g dedication tothis goal , reas on abl e
m atu rity, an d pl en tyof en ergy, in tel l igen ce, an d im agin ation , w e
w ou l d recom m en d tu rn in g l oos e agrou pof f ou rtos ixpeopl e ( ora
n u m berof s u chgrou ps )todev el opm ean s thatau gm en ttheirow n
program m in g capabil ity. We w ou l d recom m en d thattheirw ork begin
bydev el opin g the capabil ityf orcom pos in g an d m odif yin g s im pl e
s ym bol s tru ctu res , in the m an n erpictu red in Section III-B-2 , an d
w ork u pthrou ghahierarchyof in term ediate capabil ities tow ard the
s in gl e high-l ev el capabil itythatw ou l d en com pas s com pu ter
program m in g. T his w ou l d al l ow theirem bryon ic an d f ree w heel in g
"artof doin g au gm en tation res earch togrow an d w ork ou tits
kin ks throu ghas u cces s ion of in creas in gl ycom pl exs ys tem
probl em s an d al s o, redes ign in g ahierarchyf rom the bottom u p
s om ehow s eem s the bes tapproach.
As f orthe type of program m in g totel l them tobecom e good at-
tel l them , the kin d thatyou f in d you hav e todoin you rres earch."
In otherw ords , theirj ob as s ign m en tis todev el opm ean s thatw il l
m ake them m ore ef f ectiv e atdoin g theirj ob. F igu re 8.4depicts this
s chem atical l y, w iththe addition tow hatw as s how n in F igu re 8.3 of
acon n ection thatf eeds the s u bj ect-m atterou tpu tof theirres earch
( au gm en tation m ean s f ortheirtype of program m in g probl em s )right
back in totheiractiv ityas im prov ed tool s an d techn iqu es tou s e in
theirres earch.
08. Au gm en tin g
Hu m an In tel l ect
....
08. Au gm en tin g
Hu m an In tel l ect
Joe then had you des ign ate an U 1
orderof im portan ce to
com prehen s ion am on g thes e |- - -
s tatem en ts , an d he rearran ged them
theN EWMEDIAR EADER
Attackin g the critical probl em s of ou rs ocietythatare dis cern ibl e
bythos e w ho can in itiate n ew m ethods tow ard theirs ol u tion . N o
dearthof s u chn ow , bu texpan s ion an d re orderin g of the l is t
radu al l af f ected b A4.
7 7 7 7 7 - I I
an -|.11_1u -u m -- \
accordin gl yas f as tas you cou l d
choos e them . ( T his choos in g w as
rem arkabl yhel ped byhav in g on l y A4
the rem ain ders tatem en ts tos tu dy
f oreachn ew choice an otherl ittl e
con tribu tion toef f ectiv en es s , you
thou ght.)He m en tion ed thatyou
Is ol atin g critical probl em s ,
an d edu catin g aw aren es s am on g
thos e w ho can in itiate pu rs u it
of theirs ol u tion s . Am on g thes e
probl em s are as s u m ed tobe thos e
of D 1 an d M 1, as w el l as the
--- probl em s of cl arif yin g obj ectiv es
an d al l ocatin g av ail abl e res ou rces _
w e s l v in critical robl em s .
l 7 P r0du ct-dev el opm en tan d
I m an u f actu re of au gm en tation
I artif acts , an d organ ization al _
l an d econ om ic probl em s of es - ,
' "' 7 M 1 tabl is hin g, s taf f in g, train in gj
l an d operatin g rea1 w orl d
au gm en tation s ys tem s --al l
tom ake pos s ibl e w ideru til i-,
l zation of pow erf u l au g T
I _1l 3 _n 138_i__; _i5)Q _r5JLs tem s _,__g , _I
cou l d des ign ate orderin gs u n der
s ev eral dif f eren tcriteria, an d l ater A3
hav e the dis pl ays how w hichev er
orderin g you w is hed. T his , he ,
im pl ied, cou l d be u s ed v ery
ef f ectiv el yw hen you w ere bu il din g A2
ors tu dyin g an argu m en ts tru ctu re
in w hichf rom tim e totim e you
Special app1ication res earch, bu il din g on bas ic LAM/ T dev el opm en ts to
deriv e au gm en tation s ys tem s s pecif ical l yappl icabl e togiv en rea1 w or1d
probl em -s ol v in g tas ks -am on g the f irs tof w hichare thos e of A4 an d
U 1. Mos tl ythis in v ol v es expan s ion of l an gu age an d m ethodol ogyin
deV@ 10' iH: aiiro-riate s -ecial ized hi; her-l ev el cal abil ities .
' 7 __.__" WiQ I _" ri"" i
Bas ic au gm en tation res earch em pirica11yan d tota1 s ys tem orien ted
w here the s pecial capabil ityappl ication s s el ected f orexperim en tal
dev el opm en t( toprov ide n eces s aryres earchf ocu s )are picked f rom
am on g thos e critical toA2 an d A3. Su cces s f u l techn iqu es are adopted
theI i _gg s piritof exerim en tal a l ication of n ew deyel om epps g
1C.______IL.___~._7 F __R R __________q :_.___
w an ted tos tren gthen you r
com prehen s ion rel ativ e todif f eren t
as pects of the s itu ation .
Eachprim aryan teceden tcan
s im il arl ybe l in ked toits prim ary
an teceden ts , an d s oon , u n til you
arriv e atthe s tatem en ts
repres en tin g the prem is es , the
accepted f acts , an d the obj ectiv es
u pon w hichthis argu m en thad been
es tabl is hed. When w e had es tabl is hed the an teceden tl in ks
f oral l the s tatem en ts in the argu m en t, the qu es tion So
w hat? thatyou m ightas k w hen l ookin g atagiv en s tatem en t
w ou l d be an s w ered byl ookin g f orthe s tatem en ts f orw hich
the giv en s tatem en tw as an an teceden t. We al readyhav e
l in ks tothes e con s equ en ts j u s ttu rn arou n d the arrow s on
the an teceden tl in ks an d w e hav e con s equ en tl in ks . Sow e
can eas il ycal l f orthan u n cl u ttered dis pl ayof con s equ en t
s tatem en ts tohel pu s s ee w hyw e n eeded this giv en
s tatem en tin the argu m en t.
T ohel pu s getbettercom prehen s ion of the s tru ctu re of
an argu m en t, w e can al s ocal l f orthas chem atic orgraphical
dis pl ay. On ce the an teceden t-con s equ en tl in ks hav e been
es tabl is hed, the com pu tercan au tom atical l ycon s tru cts u cha
dis pl ayf oru s . So, Joe s pen taf ew m in u tes ( w ithyou rhel p)
es tabl is hin g areas on abl e s etof l in ks am on g the s tatem en ts
F igu re 8.5. AT otal P rogram
Otherdf s bipiin es rel ev an ttobas ic Au g. R es .: el g T ps ychoiogy
' 1 >
l in gu is tics , artif icial in tel l igen ce, com pu tertechn ol ogyan d
D 1 roram m in dis l atechn ol o au tom ated in s tru ction
Su gges ted rel ation s hips am on g the m aj oractiv ities in v ol v ed in achiev in g the s tated obj ectiv e
( es s en tial l y, of s ign if ican tl yboos tin g hu m an pow erin A4an d U 1). Sol id l in es repres en ts u bj ect
in f orm ation orartif acts u s ed orgen erated w ithin an activ ity, an d das hed l in es repres en ts pecial
tool s an d techn iqu es f ordoin g the activ ityin the boxtow hichtheycon n ect. Su bj ectprodu ctof
an activ ity( ou tpu ts ol id)can be u s ed as w orkin g m aterial ( in pu ts ol id)oras tool s an d techn iqu es
( in pu tdas hed). T ool s an d techn iqu es as u s ed orn eeded in an activ ity( ou tpu tdas hed)can be u s ed
as eithertow ork on ( in pu ts ol id)oras tool s an d techn iqu es tow ork w ith( in pu tdas hed).
you had origin al l yl is ted. T hen an otherkeyed-in requ es tto
the com pu ter, an d al m os tin s tan tan eou s l ythere appeared a
n etw ork of l in es an d dots thatl ooked s om ethin g l ike a
tree exceptthats om etim es bran ches w ou l d f u s e together.
Eachn ode ordotrepres en ts on e of the s tatem en ts of you r
argu m en t, an d the l in es are an teceden t-con s equ en tl in ks . T he
an teceden ts of on e s tatem en tal w ays l ie abov e that
s tatem en t orrather, theirn odes l ie abov e its n ode. When
you getu s ed tou s in g an etw ork repres en tation l ike this , it
real l ybecom es agreathel pin gettin g the f eel f orthe w ayal l
the dif f eren tideas an d reas on in g f ittogether thatis , f or
the con ceptu al s tru ctu rin g.
Joe dem on s trated s om e w ays in w hichyou cou l d m ake u s e
of the diagram tos tu dythe argu m en ts tru ctu re. P oin ttoan y
n ode, giv e acou pl e of s trokes on the keys et, an d the
corres pon din g s tatem en tw ou l d appearon the other
19 6 2
0in o iWe s o re o* .~~.~~+.~~.-s to 08. Au gm en tin g
s creen an d thatn ode w ou l d becom e brighter. Cal l the
an teceden ts f orthon the s econ d s creen , an d s el ecton e of
s pecial in teres t del etin g the others . F ol l ow back dow n the
an teceden ttrail al ittl e f u rther, u s in g on e s creen tol ook at
the detail atan ytim e, an d the othertos how you the l arger
v iew , w ithau tom atic n ode-brighten in g in dication of w here
thes e detail ed item s f itin the l argerv iew .
F oral ittl e em bel l is hm en there, an d tos how of f an other
l ittl e capabil ityin m yrepertoire, l etm e l abel the n odes s o
thatyou can dev el opm ore as s ociation betw een the n odes
an d the s tatem en ts in the argu m en t. Ican dothis s ev eral
w ays . F oron e thin g, Ican tel l the com pu terton u m berthe
s tatem en ts in the orderin w hichyou origin al l yhad them
l is ted, an d hav e the l abel l in g don e au tom atical l y."T his took
him atotal of f iv e s trokes on the keys et, an d s u dden l yeach
n ode w as m ade in toacircl e w ithan u m berin it. T he
s tatem en ts thatw ere on the s econ d s creen n ow eachhad its
res pectiv e s erial n u m bers ittin g n exttoitin the l ef tm argin .
T his hel ps you rem em berw hatthe dif f eren tn odes on the
n etw ork dis pl aycon tain . We hav e al s oev ol v ed s om e han dy
techn iqu es f orcon s tru ctin g abbrev iation l abel s thathel p
you rm em oryqu ite abit.
Al s o, w e can dis pl ayextraf in e-s tru ctu re an d l abel l in g detail
w ithin the n etw ork in the s pecif ic l ocal areaw e happen tobe
con cen tratin g u pon . T his f in erdetail is w as hed ou tas w e m ov e
toan others potw ithou rcl os e atten tion , an d the coars er
rem ain in g s tru ctu re is com pres s ed, s othatthere is room f or
ou rn ew s pottobe bl ow n u p. Itis al otl ike u s in g zon es of
v ariabl e m agn if ication as you s can the s tru ctu re higher
m agn if ication w here you are in s pectin g detail , l ow er
m agn if ication in the s u rrou n din g f iel d s othatyou rf eel f orthe
w hol e s tru ctu re an d w here you are in itcan s tayw ithyou .
5Gen eral Sym bol Stru ctu rin g
If you are tan gl in g w ithaprobl em of an ys ize w hetherit
in v ol v es you f orhal f an hou rortw oyears the en tire
col l ection of s tatem en ts , s ketches , com pu tation s , l iteratu re
s ou rces , an d s ou rce extracts thatis as s ociated w ithyou rw ork
w ou l d in ou rm in ds con s titu te as in gl e s ym bol s tru ctu re.
T here m aybe m an yl ev el s of s u bs tru ctu rin g betw een the
l ev el of in div idu al s ym bol s an d thatrepres en ted bythe en tire
col l ection . Y ou an d Ihav e been w orkin g w iths om e of the
l ow er-ordered s u bs tru ctu res the in div idu al s tatem en ts an d
the m u l tis tatem en targu m en ts an d hav e s kim m ed throu gh
s om e of the w ays tobu il d an d m an ipu l ate them . T he res u l ts
of s m al l argu m en ts are u s u al l yin tegrated in ahigherl ev el
.__
Hu m an In tel l ect
n etw ork of argu m en torcon ceptdev el opm en t, an d thes e
in tos til l higher-l ev el n etw orks , an d s oon . Bu tatan ys u ch
l ev el , the m an n erin w hichthe in terrel ation s hipbetw een the
kern el s of argu m en tcan be tagged, portrayed, s tu died an d
m an ipu l ated is m u chthe s am e as thos e w hichw e hav e j u s t
been throu gh.
Su bs tru ctu res thatm ightrepres en tm athem atical or
f orm al -l ogic argu m en ts m aybe l in ked rightin w ith
s u bs tru ctu res com pos ed of the m ore in f orm al s tatem en ts .
Su bs tru ctu res thatrepres en tgraphs , cu rv es , en gin eerin g
draw in gs , an d othergraphical f orm s can l ikew is e. be
in tegrated. On e can al s oappen d s pecial s u bs tru ctu res , of an y
s ize, toparticu l arothers u bs tru ctu res . Af requ en tu s e of this
is toappen d des criptiv e m aterial s om ethin g l ike f ootn otes ,
on l ym u chm ore f l exibl e. Or, s pecial m es s ages can be hu n g on
thatof f erideas s u chas s im pl if yin g an argu m en tor
circu m v en tin g abl ocked path tobe u n cov ered an d
con s idered ats om e l aterdate. T hes e dif f eren tappen ded
s u bs tru ctu res can rem ain in v is ibl e tothe w orkeru n til s u ch
tim e as he w an ts tof l u s hthem in tov iew . He can as k f orthe
cu e s ym bol s thatin dicate theirpres en ce ( iden tif yin g w here
theyare l in ked an d w hattheirres pectiv e types are)tobe
s how n on the n etw ork dis pl ayan ytim e he w is hes , an d then
cal l u pw hichev erof them he w is hes . If he is in teres ted in
on l yon e type of appen ded s u bs tru ctu re, he can requ es tthat
on l ythe cu es as s ociated w iththattype be dis pl ayed.
Y ou s hou l d al s oreal ize thatas u bs tru ctu re does n ' thav e to
be ahu n k of datas ittin g n eatl ydis tin ctw ithin the n orm al
f orm of the l argers tru ctu re. On e can choos e f rom as ym bol
s tru ctu re ( ors u bs tru ctu re, gen eral l y)an yarbitrarycol l ection
of its s u bs tru ctu res , des ign ate an yarbitrarys tru ctu rin g
am on g thes e an d an yn ew s u bs tru ctu res he w an ts toadd,
an d thu s def in e an ew s u bs tru ctu re w hichthe com pu tercan
u n tan gl e f rom the l argers tru ctu re an d pres en ttohim atan y
tim e. T he as s ociativ e trail s thatBu s hs u gges ted repres en ta
prim itiv e exam pl e of this . Agood deal of this type of activ ity
is in v ol v ed du rin g the earl y, s hif tin g dev el opm en tof s om e
phas e of w ork, as you s aw w hen you w ere col l ectin g ten tativ e
argu m en tchain s . Bu there again , w e f in d ev erm ore del ightf u l
w ays tom ake u s e of the s traightf orw ard-s eem in g capabil ities
in dev el opin g n ew higher-l ev el capabil ities -w hich, of cou rs e,
s eem s ortof s traightf orw ard bythen , too.
If ou n d, w hen Il earn ed tow ork w iththe s tru ctu res an d
m an ipu l ation proces s es s u chas w e hav e ou tl in ed, thatIgot
ratherim patien tif Ihad togoback todeal in g w iththe s erial -
F IE
08. Au gm en tin g
Hu m an In tel l ect
s tatem en ts tru ctu rin g in books an d j ou rn al s , orother
ordin arym ean s of com m u n icatin g w ithotherw orkers . Itis
ratherl ike hav in g toproj ectthree-dim en s ion al im ages on to
tw o-dim en s ion al f ram es an d tow ork w iththem there
in s tead of in theirn atu ral f orm . Actu al l y, itis m u chcl os erto
the tru thtos aythatitis l ike tryin g toproj ectn -dim en s ion al
f orm s ( the con cepts tru ctu res , w hichw e hav e s een can be
rel ated w ithm an ym an yn on in ters ectin g l in ks )on toaon e-
dim en s ion al f orm ( the s erial s trin g of s ym bol s ), w here the
hu m an m em oryan d v is u al ization has tohol d an d pictu re the
l in ks an d rel ation s hips . Igu es s thats an atu ral f eel in g,
thou gh. On e gets im patien tan ytim e he is f orced in toa
res tricted orprim itiv e m ode of operation - exceptperhaps
f orrecreation al pu rpos es .
T m s u re thatyou ' v e had the experien ce of w orkin g ov era
j ou rn al articl e togetcom prehen s ion an d perhaps s om e
s pecial -pu rpos e con cl u s ion s thatyou can in tegrate in toyou r
ow n w ork. Wel l , w hen you ev ergethan dyatroam in g ov er
the type of s ym bol s tru ctu re w hichw e hav e been s how in g
here, an d you tu rn f orthis pu rpos e toan otherpers on s w ork
thatis s tru ctu red in this w ay, you w il l f in d aterrif ic
dif f eren ce there in the eas e of gain in g com prehen s ion as to
w hathe has don e an d w hyhe has don e it, an d of is ol atin g
w hatyou w an ttou s e an d m akin g s u re of the con dition s
u n derw hichyou can u s e it. T his is tru e ev en if you f in d his
s tru ctu re l ef tin the con dition in w hichhe has been w orkin g
on it -thatis , w ithn os pecial prov is ion s f orhel pin g an
ou ts iderf in d his w ayarou n d. Bu tw e hav e l earn ed qu ite a
f ew s im pl e tricks f orl eav in g appen ded road s ign s ,
s u ppl em en taryin f orm ation , qu es tion s , an d au xil iaryl in ks on
ou rw orkin g s tru ctu res in s u cham an n erthattheyn ev er
getin ou rw ayas w e w ork s othatthe v is itortoou r
s tru ctu re can gain his com prehen s ion an d is ol ate w hathe
theN EWMEDIAR EADER
w an ts in m arv el ou s l ys hortorder. Som e of thes e techn iqu es
are qu ite cl os el yrel ated tothos e u s ed in au tom ated-
in s tru ction program m in g- perhaps you kn ow abou t
teachin g m achin es ?
Whatw e f ou n d ou rs el v es doin g, w hen hav in g todoan y
exten s iv e diges tin g of j ou rn al articl es , w as totype l arge
batches of the textv erbatim in tocom pu ters tore. Itis s on ice
tobe abl e totearitapart, es tabl is hou row n def in ition s an d
s u bs titu te, res tru ctu re, appen d n otes , an d s of orth, in pu rs u it
of com prehen s ion , thatitw as gen eral l yw el l w orththe
trou bl e. T he keys ets horthan d m ade this reas on abl ypractical .
Bu tthe proj ectn ow has an optical characterreaderthatw il l
con v ertou rextern al ref eren ces in tom achin e code f oru s . T he
ref eren ces are av ail abl e f ors tu dyin origin al s erial f orm on
ou rs creen s , bu tan ys tru ctu rin g an d taggin g don e bya
prev iou s reader, orou rs el v es , can al s obe u til ized.
An u m berof u s here are u s in g the au gm en ted s ys tem s f or
ou rproj ectres earch, an d w e f in d thataf teraf ew pas s es
throu gharef eren ce, w e v eryrarel ygoback toitin its origin al
f orm . Its its in the archiv es l ike an oran ge rin d, w ithm os tof
the real j u ice s qu eezed ou t. T he con tribu tion s f rom thes e
ref eren ces f orm s tu rdym em bers of ou rs tru ctu re, an d are
du l ytagged as tos ou rce s othatackn ow l edgm en tis al w ays
im pl icitl yn oted. T he an al ys is an d diges tion thatan yof u s
m akes on s u charef eren ce is f u l l yav ail abl e tothe others . Itis
ratheram azin g how m u chs u perf l u ou s v erbiage is con tain ed
in thos e papers m erel ytotrytom ake u pf orthe pitif u l l y
s pars e pos s ibil ities av ail abl e f ors ym bol s tru ctu rin g in
prin ted text.
R ef eren ce
1. Ken n edy, J. L. an d P u tt, G. H., "Adm in is tration of R es earchin a
R es earchCorporation ,"R AN D Corporation R eportP -847 ( 2 0April
19 56 )
( 3 ~ ~-Q -_ -_4-1 - in ' 12 -6 3 -Q 1. - ~--+ - * 1 __~ -<5--- :~ ---D * <_~ 09 0
09 - [ In trodu ction ]
Sketchpad
AMan -Machin e Graphical Com m u n ication Sys tem
T he Sketchpad s ys tem created byIv an Su therl an d on acom pu terbu il tf ordev el opin g m il itary ;
radar is the graphical an ces torof todays hu m an -com pu terin teraction an d com pu tergraphics ,
an d m u chof n ew m ediain gen eral . In the earl y19 6 0s this s ys tem n oton l yl etpeopl e draw on a
com pu terdis pl ay, ital s oem bodied acru cial con ceptu al s tep:con s iderin g the s creen as m ore than a
poorrepl acem en tf orapiece of paper. I
Sketchpads m os tf am il iarf eatu res tou s todayare the bas ic v ocabu l aryof com pu terdraw in g
tool s s u chas ru bber-ban d l in es ( thats tartw ithon e poin t, an d chan ge the s ize an d direction of the
l in e s egm en tu n til the n extpoin tis def in ed)an d circl es thatare draw n bas ed on theirow n
con s train ts , s othatthe pathof draw in g n eed n otbe an ythin g l ike acircl e. T hes e f eatu res m ade
Sketchpad the f irs tdirect-m an ipu l ation in terf ace ( O33), the f irs tin terf ace tou s e con s train ts , an d
( as Su s an Bren n an argu es )the f irs tcon v ers ation al in terf ace.
Bu ts om ethin g w e rarel ycon s iderabou tcom pu terdraw in gs , s om ethin g w hichSketchpad f irs t
dem on s trated, is thatthes e im ages are obj ects , an d, as s u ch, can be m an ipu l ated, con s train ed,
in s tan tiated, repres en ted icon ical l y, copied, an d recu rs iv el yoperated u pon , ev en recu rs iv el ym erged.
Becau s e Sketchpad im pl em en ted al l of thes e thin gs , itl aid the f ou n dation f orm odern obj ect-
orien ted program m in g an d graphic u s erin terf aces .
Su therl an d des cribes how the bu il din g u pof obj ects an d con s train ts w ithin Sketchpad can al l ow
w ork on can til ev eran d archbridge des ign s , w ithappropriate f orce cal cu l ation s ; how l in kages can be
u s ed toprodu ce s im pl e com pu teran im ation s ; an d how el ectrical circu itdiagram s can be draw n an d
reu s ed. In this w ay, throu ghtheirw ork proces s , u s ers can as s em bl e com pl exobj ects ou tof prev iou s
con s tru ction s , f rom theirpers on al l ibraryof obj ects . When chan ges are m ade toim prov e or
otherw is e al terearl ierw ork, thes e chan ges are propagated au tom atical l y. Whil e Van n ev arBu s hhad
Su gges ted as im il ars trategyw iths chol arl yin f orm ation ( Q 02 ), an d bas ic code reu s e w as certain l y
n otn ew toprogram m ers , Su therl an d im pl em en ted this in the areaof dyn am ic m edia. Al an Kay
( Q 2 5)f ol l ow ed u pon thes e ideas , creatin g the obj ect-orien ted program m in g l an gu age Sm al l tal k an d
u s erem pow erin g m ediaen v iron m en tof the Dyn abook bu tin ou rcu rren tn ew m edial an ds cape
thes e as pects of Su therl an ds creation are s el dom as f u l l yreal ized.
N WF

O9 . Sketchpad theN EWMEDIAR EADER

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F igu re 9 .1. T X-2 operatin g area Sketchpad in u s e. On the dis pl aycan be s een partof abridge s im il arto
thos e of F igu re 9 .15. T he Au thoris hol din g the l ightpen . T he pu s hbu tton s "draw ,"m ov e, etc., are on the
boxin f ron tof the Au thor. P artof the ban k of toggl e s w itches can be s een behin d the Au thor. T he s ize an d
pos ition of the partof the total pictu re s een on the dis pl ayare con trol l ed bythe f ou rbl ack kn obs j u s tabov e
the tabl es .
l 19 6 3
cs H 6 e ~ Q . ._-U s -. -ice. _a. ~:$._----.. 2
Origin al P u bl ication
Am erican F ederation of In f orm ation P roces s in g Societies ( AF IP S)
f on f eren ce P roceedin gs 2 3:32 9 -2 46 . Sprin g Join tCom pu ter
ton f eren ce, 19 6 3.
Sketchpad
AMan -Machin e Graphical
Com m u n ication Sys tem
Iv an E. Su therl an d
I In trodu ction
T he Sketchpad s ys tem m akes itpos s ibl e f oram an an d a
com pu tertocon v ers e rapidl ythrou ghthe m ediu m of l in e
draw in gs . Heretof ore, m os tin teraction betw een m an an d
com pu ters has been s l ow ed dow n bythe n eed toredu ce al l
com m u n ication tow ritten s tatem en ts thatcan be typed; in
the pas t, w e hav e been w ritin g l etters toratherthan
con f errin g w ithou rcom pu ters . F orm an ytypes of
com m u n ication , s u chas des cribin g the s hape of am echan ical
partorthe con n ection s of an el ectrical circu it, typed
s tatem en ts can prov e cu m bers om e. T he Sketchpad s ys tem ,
byel im in atin g typed s tatem en ts ( exceptf orl egen ds )in f av or
of l in e draw in gs , open s u pan ew areaof m an -m achin e
com m u n ication .
An In trodu ctoryExam pl e
T ou n ders tan d w hatis pos s ibl e w iththe s ys tem atpres en t
l etu s con s ideru s in g ittodraw the hexagon al pattern in
F igu re 9 .4. We w il l is s u e s pecif ic com m an ds w ithas etof
pu s hbu tton s , tu rn f u n ction s on an d of f w iths w itches ,
in dicate pos ition in f orm ation an d poin ttoexis tin g draw in g
parts w iththe l ightpen , rotate an d m agn if ypictu re parts by
tu rn in g kn obs , an d obs erv e the draw in g on the dis pl ay
s ys tem . T his equ ipm en tas prov ided atLin col n Laboratory' s
T X-2 com pu ter is s how n in F igu re 9 .1. When ou rdraw in g is
com pl ete itm aybe in ked on paper, as w ere al l the draw in gs
in this paper, byaP ACEpl otter.
If w e poin tthe l ightpen atthe dis pl ays ys tem an d pres s a
bu tton cal l ed draw , the com pu terw il l con s tru ctas traight
l in e s egm en tw hichs tretches l ike aru bberban d f rom the
in itial tothe pres en tl ocation of the pen as s how n in F igu re
9 .2 . Addition al pres s es of the bu tton w il l produ ce
4
09 . Sketchpad
Ido, __-____,3. ~-I"<4} --___.
addition al l in es , l eav in g the cl os ed irregu l arhexagon s how n
in F igu re 9 3A.
T om ake the hexagon regu l ar, w e can in s cribe itin acircl e.
T odraw the circl e w e pl ace the l ightpen w here the cen teris
tobe an d pres s the bu tton circl e cen ter, l eav in g behin d a
cen terpoin t. N ow , choos in g apoin ton the circl e ( w hichf ixes
the radiu s )w e pres s the bu tton draw again , this tim e
gettin g acircl e arc w hos e an gu l arl en gthon l yis con trol l ed by
l ightpen pos ition as s how n in F igu re 9 .2 .
N extw e m ov e the hexagon in tothe circl e bypoin tin g toa
corn erof the hexagon an d pres s in g the bu tton m ov e s o
thatthe corn erf ol l ow s the l ightpen , s tretchin g tw oru bber
ban d l in e s egm en ts behin d it. Bypoin tin g tothe circl e an d
term in atin g, w e in dicate thatthe corn eris tol ie on the circl e.
Eachcorn eris in this w aym ov ed on tothe circl e atrou ghl y
equ al s pacin g as s how n in F igu re 9 .3D.
We hav e in dicated thatthe v ertices of the hexagon are to
l ie on the circl e, an d theyw il l rem ain on the circl e
throu ghou tou rf u rtherm an ipu l ation s . If w e al s oin s is tthat
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F igu re 9 .2 . Steps f ordraw in g s traightl in es an d circl e arcs .

09 . Sketchpad
ta
O
A. SIX SIDED F IGU R E B. T 0BEIN SCR IBED IN CIR CLE
C. BY MOVIN G EACH COR N ER D. ON T O CIR CLE
E. MAKESIDES EQ U ALF . ER ASECIR CLE
oo
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G. CALL7 HEXAGON S H. JOIN COR N ER S
F igu re 9 .3. Il l u s trativ e exam pl e, s ee text.
the s ides of the hexagon be of equ al l en gth, aregu l ar
hexagon w il l be con s tru cted.
WithSketchpad w e can s ay, in ef f ect, m ake this l in e equ al
in l en gthtothatl in e, poin tin g tothe l in es w iththe l ightpen .
T he com pu ters atis f ies al l exis tin g con dition s ( if itis
pos s ibl e)w hen ev erw e tu rn on atoggl e s w itch. T his don e, w e
hav e acom pl ete regu l arhexagon in s cribed in acircl e. We can
eras e the en tire circl e bypoin tin g toan ypartof itan d
pres s in g the del ete bu tton . T he com pl eted hexagon is
s how n in F igu re 9 3F .
T om ake the hexagon al pattern in F igu re 9 .4w e w is hto
attachal arge n u m berof hexagon s togetherbytheircorn ers ,
an d s ow e des ign ate the s ixcorn ers of ou rhexagon as
attachm en tpoin ts bypoin tin g toeachan d pres s in g abu tton .
We n ow f il e aw aythe bas ic hexagon an d begin w ork on a
f res hs heetof paper bychan gin g as w itchs ettin g. On the
theN EWMEDIAR EADE
n ew s heetw e as s em bl e, bypres s in g abu tton tocreate eacl i
hexagon as an in s tan ce ors u bpictu re, s ixhexagon s arou n
acen tral s ev en thin approxim ate pos ition as s how n in F ; 1
9 .3G. As u bpictu re m aybe pos ition ed w iththe l ightpen ,
rotated ors cal ed bytu rn in g the kn obs , orf ixed in pos ition
byaterm in ation s ign al , bu tits in tern al s hape is f ixed.
Bypoin tin g tothe corn erof on e hexagon , pres s in g I
bu tton , an d then poin tin g tothe corn erof an otherhex1 v =
w e can f as ten thos e corn ers together, becau s e thes e cor' 4
hav e been des ign ated as attachm en tpoin ts . If w e attach
corn ers of eachou terhexagon tothe appropriate -corn ers .
the in n erhexagon , the s ev en are u n iqu el yrel ated, an d the
com pu terw il l repos ition them as s how n in F igu re 9 .3l -I. ' ~
en tire grou pof hexagon s , on ce as s em bl ed, can be treated
s ym bol . An in s tan ce of the en tire grou pcan be cal l ed u p<1
an others heetof paper as as u bpictu re an d as s em bl ed
othergrou ps orw iths in gl e hexagon s tom ake av eryl arge
pattern .
In terpretation of In trodu ctoryExam pl e
In the in trodu ctoryexam pl e abov e w e u s -ed the l ightpen
bothtopos ition parts of the draw in g an d topoin tto is -r
parts . We al s os aw in action the v erygen eral s u bpictu re,
con s train t, an d de n ition copyin g capabil ities of the s ys tem .
Su bpictu re
T he origin al hexagon m ightj u s tas w el l hav e been an -if
el s e: apictu re of atran s is tor, arol l erbearin g, oran air. ;
w in g. An yn u m berof dif f eren ts ym bol s m aybe draw n ,in _
term s of others im pl ers ym bol s if des ired, an d an ys yu I
m aybe u s ed as of ten as des ired.
Con s train t
When w e as ked thatthe v ertices of the hexagon l ie on
circl e w e w ere m akin g u s e of abas ic rel ation s hipbetw een .
pictu re parts thatis bu il tin tothe s ys tem . Bas ic rel ation s
( atom ic con s train ts )tom ake l in es v ertical , horizon tal ,
paral l el , orperpen dicu l ar; tom ake poin ts l ie on l in es or
circl es ; tom ake s ym bol s appearu pright, v ertical l yabov e v ,
an otherorbe of equ al s ize; an d torel ate s ym bol s toother
draw in g parts s u chas poin ts an d l in es hav e been in cl it--i
the s ys tem . Special ized con s train ttypes m aybe addedas
n eeded.
Def in ition Copyin g
We m ade the s ides of the hexagon be equ al in l en gthby
pres s in g abu tton w hil e poin tin g tothe s ide in qu es tion .
w e def in ed acom pos ite operation s u chas tom ake tw o = _
l l
IIQ 6 3
0 _Q , _ _@ . _ _~.@ _- _..Q ...__4 @ ___..__)____-..,..._3________Q ..__: __........9 _.____Q .. ' _ ._
bothparal l el an d equ al in l en gth, w e cou l d hav e appl ied it
j u s tas eas il y.
Im pl ication s of In trodu ctoryExam pl e
A:w e hav e s een , aSketchpad draw in g is en tirel ydif f eren t
f rom the trail of carbon l ef ton apiece of paper. In f orm ation
abou thow the draw in g is tied togetheris s tored in the
com pu teras w el l as the in f orm ation w hichgiv es the draw in g
its particu l arappearan ce. Sin ce the draw in g is tied together,
tw il l keepau s ef u l appearan ce ev en w hen parts of itare
m ov ed F orexam pl e, w hen w e m ov ed the corn ers of the
hexagon on tothe circl e, the l in es n exttoeachcorn erw ere
l u tom atical l ym ov ed s othatthe cl os ed topol ogyof the
hexagon w as pres erv ed. Again , s in ce w e in dicated thatthe
corn ers of the hexagon w ere tol ie on the circl e, they
Itm ain ed on the circl e throu ghou tou rf u rther
m an ipu l ation s .
As w el l as s torin g how the v ariou s parts of the draw in g are
tel ated, Sketchpad s tores the s tru ctu re of the s u bpictu res
u s ed. F orexam pl e, the s torage f orthe hexagon al pattern of
F igu re 9 .4in dicates thatthis pattern is m ade of s m al l er
pattern s w hichare in tu rn m ade of s m al l erpattern s w hich
are com pos ed of s in gl e hexagon s . If the m as terhexagon is
chan ged, the en tire appearan ce bu tn otthe s tru ctu re of the
hexagon al pattern w il l be chan ged. F orexam pl e, if w e chan ge
diebas ic hexagon in toas em icircl e, the f is hs cal e pattern
s how n in F igu re 9 .4in s tan tl yres u l ts .
Sketchpad an d the Des ign P roces s
Con s tru ction of adraw in g w ithSketchpad is its el f am odel
of the des ign proces s . T he l ocation s of the poin ts an d l in es
of the draw in g m odel the v ariabl es of ades ign , an d the
geom etric con s train ts appl ied tothe poin ts an d l in es of the
draw in g m odel the des ign con s train ts w hichl im itthe v al u es
of des ign v ariabl es . T he abil ityof Sketchpad tos atis f ythe
geom etric con s train ts appl ied tothe parts of adraw in g
m odel s the abil ityof agood des ign ertos atis f yal l the
des ign con dition s im pos ed bythe l im itation s of his
m aterial s , cos t, etc. In f act, s in ce des ign ers in m an yf iel ds
produ ce n othin g them s el v es bu tadraw in g of apart, des ign
con dition s m ayw el l be thou ghtof as appl yin g tothe
draw in g of apartratherthan tothe partits el f . When s u ch
con dition s are added toSketchpads v ocabu l aryof
Oon s train ts , the com pu terw il l be abl e toas s is tau s ern ot
on l yin arriv in g atan ice l ookin g draw in g, bu tal s oin
arriv in g atas ou n d des ign .
00009
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F igu re 9 .4. Hexagon al l attice w ithhal f hexagon an d s em icircl e as
bas ic el em en ts . .
P res en tU s ef u l n es s
As m ore an d m ore appl ication s hav e been m ade, ithas
becom e cl earthatthe properties of Sketchpad draw in gs
m ake them m os tu s ef u l in f ou rbroad areas :
F orStorin g an d U pdatin g Draw in gs
Eachtim e adraw in g is m ade, ades cription of thatdraw in g is
s tored in the com pu terin af orm thatis readil ytran s f erred to
m agn etic tape. Al ibraryof draw in gs w il l thu s dev el op, parts
of w hichm aybe u s ed in otherdraw in gs aton l yaf raction of
the in v es tm en tof tim e thatw as pu tin totheorigin al
draw in g.
F orGain in g Scien ti c orEn gin eerin g U n ders tan din g
of Operation s T hatCan Be Des cribed Graphical l y
Adraw in g in the Sketchpad s ys tem m aycon tain expl icit
s tatem en ts abou tthe rel ation s betw een its parts s othatas
on e partis chan ged the im pl ication s of this chan ge becom e
ev iden tthrou ghou tthe draw in g. F orin s tan ce, Sketchpad
m akes iteas ytos tu dym echan ical l in kages , obs erv in g the
pathof s om e parts w hen others are m ov ed.
As aT opol ogical In pu tDev ice f or
Circu itSim u l ators , etc.
Sin ce the s torage s tru ctu re of Sketchpad ref l ects the
topol ogyof an ycircu itordiagram , itcan s erv e as an in pu t
f orm an yn etw ork orcircu its im u l atin g program s . T he
addition al ef f ortrequ ired todraw acircu itcom pl etel yf rom
s cratchw iththe Sketchpad s ys tem m ayw el l be recom pen s ed
if the properties of the circu itare obtain abl e throu gh
s im u l ation of the circu itdraw n .
F orHighl yR epetitiv e Draw in gs
T he abil ityof the com pu tertoreprodu ce an ydraw n s ym bol
an yw here atthe pres s of abu tton , an d torecu rs iv el yin cl u de
s u bpictu res w ithin s u bpictu res m akes iteas ytoprodu ce
draw in gs w hichare com pos ed of hu ge n u m bers of parts al l
s im il arin s hape.
09 . Sketchpad
09 . Sketchpad
II ( R in g Stru ctu re
T he bas ic n -com pon en tel em en ts tru ctu re des cribed byR os s
I
has been s om ew hatexpan ded in the im pl em en tation of
Sketchpad s othatal l ref eren ces m ade toaparticu l arn -
com pon en tel em en torbl ock are col l ected togetherbya
s trin g of poin ters w hichorigin ates w ithin thatbl ock. F or
exam pl e, n oton l ym aythe en d poin ts of al in e s egm en tbe
f ou n d byf ol l ow in g poin ters in the l in e bl ock ( n -com pon en t
el em en t), bu tal s oal l the l in e s egm en ts w hichterm in ate on a
particu l arpoin tm aybe f ou n d byf ol l ow in g as trin g of
poin ters w hichs tarts w ithin the poin tbl ock. T his s trin g of
poin ters cl os es on its el f ; the l as tpoin terpoin ts back tothe
f irs t, hen ce the n am e rin g. T he rin g poin ts bothw ays to
U N IVER SE
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F igu re 9 .5. Gen eric s tru ctu re. T he n -com pon en tel em en ts f oreach
poin torl in e, etc., are col l ected u n derthe gen eric bl ocks l in es ,
"poin ts ,"etc., s how n .
m ake iteas ytof in d boththe n extan d the prev iou s m em ber
of the rin g in cas e, as w hen del etin g, s om e chan ge m u s tbe
m ade tothem .
Bas ic Operation s
T he bas ic rin g s tru ctu re operation s are:
1. In s ertin g an ew m em berin toarin g ats om e
s pecif ied l ocation on it, u s u al l yf irs torl as t.
' 1. R em ov in g am em berf rom arin g.
3.?u tt' m g al l the m em bers oion e rin g, ' m orderf m to
an otherats om e s pecif ied l ocation in it, u s u al l yf irs t
orl as t.
4. P erf orm in g s om e au xil iaryoperation on each
m em berof arin g in eitherf orw ard orrev ers e order.
theN EWMEDIAR EADER
T hes e bas ic rin g s tru ctu re operation s are im pl em en ted by
s horts ection s of program def in ed as MACR Oin s tru ction s in
the com pil erl an gu age. Bys u itabl e treatm en tof zeroan d on e
m em berrin gs , the bas ic program s operate w ithou tm akin g
s pecial cas es .
Su brou tin es are u s ed f ors ettin g u pn ew n -com pon en t
el em en ts in f ree s paces in the s torage s tru ctu re. As parts of
the draw in g are del eted, the regis ters w hichw ere u s ed to
repres en tthem becom e f ree. N ew com pon en ts are s etu pat
the en d of the s torage area, l en gthen in g it, w hil e f ree bl ocks
are al l ow ed toaccu m u l ate. Garbage col l ection periodical l y
com pacts the s torage s tru ctu re byrem ov al of the f ree bl ocks .
Gen eric Stru ctu re, Hierarchies
T he m ain partof Sketchpad can perf orm bas ic operation s on
an ydraw in g part, cal l in g f orhel pf rom rou tin es s pecif ic to
particu l artypes of parts w hen thatis n eces s ary. F orexam pl e,
the m ain program can s how an yparton the dis pl ays ys tem
bycal l in g the appropriate dis pl ays u brou tin e. T he big pow er
of the cl ear-cu ts eparation of the gen eral an d the s pecif ic is
thatitis eas ytochan ge the detail s of s pecif ic parts of the
program togetqu ite dif f eren tres u l ts w ithou tan yn eed to
chan ge the gen eral parts .
In the datas torage s tru ctu re the s eparation of gen eral an d
s pecif ic is accom pl is hed bycol l ectin g al l thin gs of on e type
togetherin arin g u n deragen eric headin g. T he gen eric
headin g con tain s al l the in f orm ation w hichm akes this type
of thin g dif f eren tf rom al l othertypes of thin gs . T hu s the
datas torage s tru ctu re its el f con tain s al l the s pecif ic
in f orm ation . T he gen eric bl ocks are f u rthergathered
togetheiu n ders u per-gen eric orgen eric-gen eric bl ocks , as
s how n in F igu re 9 .5.
Expan din g Sketchpad
Addition of n ew types of thin gs tothe Sketchpad s ys tem s
v ocabu l aryof pictu re parts requ ires on l ythe con s tru ction of
an ew gen eric bl ock ( abou t2 0regis ters )an d the w ritin g of
appropriate s u brou tin es f orthe n ew type. T he s u brou tin es
m ightbe eas ytow rite, as theyu s u al l yare f orn ew
con s train ts , ordif f icu l ttow rite, as f oraddin g el l ips e
capa\5i\' il oj ,ou tat\eas taf in ite, w e\\-def in ed tas kf aces on e to
add an ew abil itytothe s ys tem . Withou tagen eric s tru ctu re
itw ou l d be al m os tim pos s ibl e toadd the in s tru ction s
requ ired tohan dl e an ew type of el em en t.
Q _0 _0-~ 4:= ~. aI12 6 3 n :_4 O _-.~o 44 09 ,
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I/ I \
/ I I
/ / -r' /
/ /
/ ,/ AT LIN E
1' ":--- -( V / "7 4""' 7 ' T \
\\_i/ - _-- ) 1_111
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AT m ren s ecn ou
+\ - AT CIR CLE
\/ "\
I, "' ; * AT P OIN T
\._./
F igu re 9 .6 . Areas in w hichpen m u s tl ie to"aim at"exis tin g
draw in g parts ( s ol id l in es ).
III LightP en
In Sketchpad the l ightpen is tim e s hared betw een the
f u n ction s of coordin ate in pu tf orpos ition in g pictu re parts
on the draw in g an d dem on s trativ e in pu tf orpoin tin g to
exis tin g pictu re parts to
m ake chan ges . Al thou gh
al m os tan ykin d of
coordin ate in pu tdev ice cou l d
p_., be u s ed in s tead of the l ight
pen f orpos ition in g, the
dem on s trativ e in pu tu s es the
l ightpen optics as as ortof an al og com pu tertorem ov e f rom
con s ideration al l bu tav eryf ew pictu re parts w hichhappen
tof al l w ithin its f iel d of v iew , s av in g con s iderabl e program
tim e. Draw in g s ys tem s u s in g s torage dis pl aydev ices of the
Mem otron type m ayn otbe practical becau s e of the l os s of
this an al og com pu tation f eatu re.
P en T rackin g
T oin itial l yes tabl is hpen trackin g,the Sketchpad u s erm u s t
in f orm the com pu terof an in itial pen l ocation . T his has
com e tobe kn ow n as in kin g-u p"an d is don e bytou chin g
an yexis tin g l in e ors poton the dis pl ay, w hereu pon the
trackin g cros s appears . If n opictu re has yetbeen draw n , the
l etters IN Kare al w ays dis pl ayed f orthis pu rpos e. Sketchpad
u s es l os s of trackin g as aterm in ation s ign al tos top
draw in g. T he u s ers ign al s thathe is f in is hed draw in g by
f l ickin g the pen toof as tf orthe trackin g program tof ol l ow .
Dem on s trativ e U s e of P en
Du rin g the 9 0% of the tim e thatthe l ightpen an d dis pl ay
s ys tem are f ree f rom the trackin g chore, s pots are v ery
rapidl ydis pl ayed toexhibitthe draw in g bein g bu il t, an d thu s
the l in es an d circl es of the draw in g appear. T he l ightpen is
s en s itiv e tothes e s pots an d reports an yw hichf al l w ithin its
f iel d of v iew . T hu s , atabl e of the pictu re parts s een bythe l ight
pen is as s em bl ed du rin g eachcom pl ete dis pl aycycl e. Atthe en d
of adis pl aycycl e this tabl e con tain s al l the pictu re parts that
cou l d ev en rem otel ybe con s idered as bein g aim ed at.
T he on e-hal f in chdiam eterf iel d of v iew of the l ightpen ,
al thou ghw el l s u ited totrackin g, is rel ativ el yl arge f or
poin tin g. T heref ore, the Sketchpad s ys tem w il l rej ectan y
s een partw hichis f u rtherf rom the cen terof the l ightpen
than s om e s m al l m in im u m dis tan ce; abou t1/ 8 in chw as
f ou n d tobe s u itabl e. F orev erykin d of pictu re parts om e
m ethod m u s tbe prov ided f orcom pu tin g its dis tan ce f rom
the l ightpen cen terorin dicatin g thatthis com pu tation
can n otbe m ade.
Af terel im in atin g al l parts s een bythe pen w hichl ie
ou ts ide the s m al l eref f ectiv e f iel d of v iew , the Sketchpad
s ys tem con s iders obj ects topol ogical l yrel ated tothe on es
actu al l ys een . En d poin ts of l in es an d attachm en tpoin ts of
in s tan ces ( s u bpictu res )are es pecial l yim portan t. On e can
thu s aim atthe en d poin tof al in e ev en thou ghon l ythe l in e
is dis pl ayed. F igu re 9 .6 ou tl in es the v ariou s region s w ithin
w hichthe pen m u s tl ie tobe con s idered aim ed atal in e
s egm en t, acircl e arc, theiren d poin ts , ortheirin ters ection .
P s eu doP en Location
When the l ightpen is aim ed atapictu re part, the exact
l ocation of the l ightpen is ign ored in f av orof aps eu dopen
l ocation "exactl yon the partaim ed at. If n oobj ectis aim ed
at, the ps eu dopen l ocation is taken tobe the actu al pen
l ocation . T he ps eu dopen l ocation is dis pl ayed as abrightdot
w hichis u s ed as the poin tof the pen cil in al l draw in g opera-
tion s . As the l ightpen is m ov ed in tothe areas ou tl in ed in
F igu re 9 .6 the dotw il l l ock on tothe exis tin g parts of the
draw in g, an d an ym ov in g pictu re parts w il l j u m ptotheir
n ew l ocation s as the ps eu dopen l ocation m ov es tol ie on the
appropriate pictu re part.
Withj u s tthe bas ic draw in g creation an d m an ipu l ation
f u n ction s of draw , "m ov e,"an d del ete, an d the pow erof the
ps eu dopen l ocation an d dem on s trativ e l an gu age program s ,
itis pos s ibl e tom ake f airl yexten s iv e draw in gs . Mos tof the
I
I
l ira
09 . Sketchpad theN EWMEDIAR EADER
con s tru ction s n orm al l yprov ided bys traightedge an d
com pas s are av ail abl e in highl yaccu rate f orm . Mos t
im portan t, how ev er, the ps eu dopen l ocation an d
dem on s trativ e l an gu age giv e the m ean s f oren terin g the
topol ogical properties of adraw in g in tothe m achin e.
IV Dis pl ayGen eration
T he dis pl ays ys tem , ors cope, on the T X-2 is aten bitper
axis el ectros tatic def l ection s ys tem abl e todis pl ays pots ata
m axim u m rate of abou t100,000pers econ d. T he coordin ates
of the s pots w hichare tobe s een on the dis pl ayare s tored in
al arge tabl e s othatcom pu tation an d dis pl aym ayproceed
in depen den tl y. If , in s tead of dis pl ayin g eachs pots u cces s iv el y,
the dis pl ayprogram dis pl ays them in aran dom orderorw ith
in terl ace, the f l ickerof the dis pl ayis redu ced greatl y
Markin g of Dis pl ayF il e
Of the 36 bits av ail abl e tos tore eachdis pl ays potin the
dis pl ayf il e, 2 0giv e the coordin ates of thats potf orthe
dis pl ays ys tem , an d the rem ain in g 16 giv e the addres s of the
n -com pon en tel em en tw hichis res pon s ibl e f oraddin g that
s pottothe dis pl ay. T hu s , al l the s pots in al in e are tagged
w iththe rin g s tru ctu re addres s of thatl in e, an d al l the s pots
in an in s tan ce ( s u bpictu re)are tagged as bel on gin g tothat
in s tan ce. T he tags are u s ed toiden tif ythe particu l arpartof
the draw in g bein g aim ed atbythe l ightpen .
If apartof the draw in g is bein g m ov ed bythe l ightpen , its
dis pl ays pots w il l be recom pu ted as qu ickl yas pos s ibl e to
s how itin s u cces s iv e pos ition s . T he dis pl ays pots f ors u ch
m ov in g parts are s tored atthe en d of the dis pl ayf il e s othat
the dis pl ayof the m an yn on m ov in g parts n eed n otbe
dis tu rbed. Mov in g parts are m ade in v is ibl e tothe l ightpen .
Magn if ication of P ictu res
T he s haf tpos ition en coderkn obs bel ow the s cope ( s ee
F igu re 9 .1)are u s ed totel l the program tochan ge the dis pl ay
f raction of the total com pu tation al l oad of the s ys tem , bu tin
term s of program l ogical com pl exitythe edge detection
probl em is adif f icu l ton e. F orexam pl e, the com pu tation of
the in ters ection of acircl e w ithan yof the edges of the s cope
is eas y, bu tcom pu tation of the in ters ection of acircl e w ithal l
f ou redges m ayres u l tin as m an yas eightin ters ection s , s om e
pairs of w hichm aybe iden tical , the s cope corn ers . N ow
w hichof thes e in ters ection s are actu al l ytobe u s ed as s tarts
of circl e arcs ?
Lin e an d Circl e Gen eration
Al l of Sketchpads dis pl ays are gen erated f rom s traightl in e
s egm en ts , circl e arcs , an d s in gl e poin ts . T he gen eration of the
l in es an d circl es is accom pl is hed bym ean s of the dif f eren ce
equ ation s :
xi= xi-_l + Ax
( 1)
Y r= J/ 1:1 tA)
f orl in es , an d
Xi= Xi-2 +i<rr1-re)
( 2 )
yizyi-2 ' 1% ( Xi-1Xc)
f orcircl es , w here s u bs cripts iin dicate s u cces s iv e dis pl ay
s pots , s u bs criptc in dicates the circl e cen ter, an d R is the
radiu s of the circl e in Scope U n its . In im pl em en tin g thes e
dif f eren ce equ ation s in the program , the f u l l es tpos s ibl e u s e
is m ade of the coordin ate arithm etic capabil ityof the T X-2
s othatboththe xan d yequ ation com pu tation s are
perf orm ed in paral l el on 18 bits u bw ords . Ev en s o, abou t3/ 4
of the total Sketchpad com pu tation tim e is s pen tin l in e an d
circl e gen eration . Av ectoran d circl e gen eratin g dis pl ayw ou l d
m aterial l yredu ce the com pu tation al l oad of Sketchpad.
F orcom pu ters w hichdoon l yon e addition atatim e, the
dif f eren ce equ ation s :
s cal e f actororthe portion of the page dis pl ayed. T he ran ge of xi= xl -_1 + 1% yz-_l - yc
m agn if ication of 2 000av ail abl e m akes itpos s ibl e tow ork, in
ef f ect, on a7 -in chs qu are portion of adraw in g abou t1/ 4
m il e on as ide.
F oram agn if ied pictu re, Sketchpad com pu tes w hich
( ) -
( 3)
yizyi-1' ii( Xi' Xc) .
s hou l d be u s ed togen erate circl es . Equ ation s ( 3)approxim ate
portion ( s )of acu rv e w il l appearon the dis pl ayan d gen erates acircl e w el l en ou ghan d are kn ow n tocl os e exactl ybothin
dis pl ays pots f orthos e portion s on l yT he edge detection "
probl em is the probl em of f in din g s u itabl e en d poin ts f orthe
portion of acu rv e w hichappears on the dis pl ay.
In con ceptthe edge detection probl em is triv ial . In term s
of program tim e f orl in es an d circl es the probl em is as m al l
theoryan d w hen im pl em en ted, becau s e the xan d y
equ ation s are dis s im il ar.
Digits an d T ext
T ext, topu tl egen ds on adraw in g is dis pl ayed bym ean s of
s pecial tabl es w hichin dicate the l ocation s of l in e an d circl e
JAn Q Q Q Q AQ Q l n h
0 ~s ~ o~~-A ~ ~o Il iaow e ~9 1 W,~~o~ We o 09 . Sketchpad
s egm en ts tom ake u pthe l etters an d n u m bers . Eachpiece of
textappears as as in gl e l in e of n otm ore than 36 equ al l y
s paced characters w hichcan be chan ged bytypin g. Digits to
dis pl aythe v al u e of an in dicated s cal aratan ypos ition an d in
an ys ize an d rotation are f orm ed f rom the s am e type f ace as
text. Itis pos s ibl e todis pl ayu ptof iv e decim al digits w ith

F igu re 9 .7 . Dis pl ayof con s train ts .

s ign ; bin arytodecim al con v ers ion is prov ided, an d l eadin g
zeros are s u ppres s ed.
Su bpictu res , w hos e u s e w as s een in the in trodu ctory
exam pl e abov e, are eachrepres en ted in s torage as as in gl e n -
com pon en tel em en t. As u bpictu re is s aid tobe an in s tan ce
of its m as terpictu re. T odis pl ayan in s tan ce, al l of the l in es ,
text, etc. of its m as terpictu re m u s tbe s how n in m in iatu re on
the dis pl ay. T he in s tan ce dis pl ayprogram m akes u s e of the
l in e, circl e, n u m ber, an d textdis pl ayprogram s an d its el f to
expan d the in tern al s tru ctu re of the in s tan ce.
Dis pl ayof Abs traction s
T he u s u al pictu re f orhu m an con s u m ption dis pl ays on l y
l in es , circl es , text, digits , an d in s tan ces . How ev er, certain v ery
u s ef u l abs traction s w hichgiv e the draw in g the properties
des ired bythe u s erare repres en ted in the rin g s tru ctu re
s torage. F orexam pl e, the f actthatthe s tartan d en d poin ts of
acircl e arc s hou l d be equ idis tan tf rom the circl es cen ter
poin tis repres en ted in s torage byacon s train t bl ock. T o
m ake itpos s ibl e f orau s ertom an ipu l ate thes e abs traction s ,
eachabs traction m u s tbe abl e tobe s een on the dis pl ayif
des ired. N oton l ydoes dis pl ayin g abs traction s m ake it
L
pos s ibl e f orthe hu m an u s ertokn ow thattheyexis t, bu tal s o
m akes itpos s ibl e f orhim toaim atthem w iththe l ightpen
an d, f orexam pl e, eras e them . T oav oid con f u s ion , the dis pl ay
f orparticu l artypes of obj ects m aybe tu rn ed on orof f
s el ectiv el ybytoggl e s w itches . T hu s , f orexam pl e, on e can
tu rn on dis pl ayof con s train ts as w el l as orin s tead of the
l in es an d circl es w hichare n orm al l ys een .
If theirs el ection toggl e s w itchis on , con s train ts are
dis pl ayed as s how n in F igu re 9 .7 . T he cen tral circl e an d code
l etterare l ocated atthe av erage l ocation of the v ariabl es
con s train ed. T he f ou rarm s of acon s train texten d f rom the
top, rights ide, bottom , an d l ef ts ide of the circl e tothe f irs t,
s econ d, third, an d f ou rthv ariabl es con s train ed, res pectiv el y.
If f ew erthan f ou rv ariabl es are con s train ed, exces s arm s are
om itted. In F igu re 9 .7 the con s train ts are s how n appl ied to
du m m yv ariabl es ,"eachof w hichs how s as an X.
An otherabs traction thatcan be dis pl ayed if des ired is the
v al u e of as etof digits . F orexam pl e, in F igu re 9 .8 are s how n
three s ets of digits al l dis pl ayin g the s am e s cal arv al u e,
-59 7 8. T he digits them s el v es m aybe m ov ed, rotated, or
chan ged in s ize, w ithou tchan gin g the v al u e dis pl ayed. If w e
w is htochan ge the v al u e, w e poin tatits abs tractdis pl ay, the
# s een in F igu re 9 .8. T he three s ets of digits in F igu re 9 .8 al l
dis pl aythe s am e v al u e, as in dicated bythe l in es con n ectin g
them tothe # ; chan gin g this v al u e w ou l d m ake al l three s ets
of digits chan ge. Con s train ts m aybe appl ied in depen den tl y
toeitherthe pos ition of the digits ortheirv al u e as in dicated
bythe tw ocon s train ts in the f igu re.
""' "CON $T R AIN T MAKES
-5 on s ets u em en r
4--- CON ST R AIN T ON
SCALAR VALU E
SCALAR I- CO,
I 8 Q )
F igu re 9 .8. T hree s ets of digits dis pl ayin g the s am e s cal arv al u e.
09 . Sketchpad
V R ecu rs iv e F u n ction s
In the proces s of m akin g the Sketchpad s ys tem operate, af ew
v erygen eral f u n ction s w ere dev el oped w hichm ake n o
ref eren ce atal l tothe s pecif ic types of en tities on w hichthey
operate. T hes e gen eral f u n ction s giv e the Sketchpad s ys tem
the abil itytooperate on aw ide ran ge of probl em s . T he
m otiv ation f orm akin g the f u n ction s as gen eral as pos s ibl e
cam e f rom the des ire togetas m u chres u l tas pos s ibl e f rom
the program m in g ef f ortin v ol v ed. F orexam pl e, the gen eral
f u n ction f orexpan din g in s tan ces m akes itpos s ibl e f or
Sketchpad tohan dl e an yf ixed geom etrys u bpictu re. T he
pow erobtain ed f rom the s m al l s etof gen eral ized f u n ction s
in Sketchpad is on e of the m os tim portan tres u l ts of the
res earch.
In orderof his torical dev el opm en t, the recu rs iv e f u n ction s
in u s e in the Sketchpad s ys tem are:
1. Expan s ion of in s tan ces , m akin g itpos s ibl e tohav e
s u bpictu res w ithin s u bpictu res toas m an yl ev el s as
des ired.
2 . R ecu rs iv e del etion , w herebyrem ov al of certain
pictu re parts w il l rem ov e otherpictu re parts in order
tom ain tain con s is ten cyin the rin g s tru ctu re.
3. R ecu rs iv e m ergin g, w herebycom bin ation of tw o
s im il arpictu re parts f orces com bin ation of s im il arl y
rel ated otherpictu re parts , m akin g pos s ibl e
appl ication of com pl exdef in ition s toan obj ect
pictu re.
R ecu rs iv e Del etin g
If athin g u pon w hichotherthin gs depen d is del eted the
depen den tthin gs m u s the del eted al s o. F orexam pl e, if apoin tis
tobe del eted, al l l in es w hichterm in ate on the poin tm u s t
al s obe del eted. Otherw is e, s in ce the n -com pon en tel em en ts
f orl in es con tain n opos ition al in f orm ation , w here w ou l d
thes e l in es en d?Sim il arl y, del etion of av ariabl e requ ires
del etion of al l con s train ts on thatv ariabl e; acon s train tm u s t
hav e v ariabl es toacton .
R ecu rs iv e Mergin g
If tw othin gs of the s am e type w hichare in depen den tare m erged
as in gl e thin g of thattype res u l ts , an d al l thin gs w hichdepen ded
on eitherof the m erged thin gs depen d on the res u l t* of the m erger
F orexam pl e, if tw opoin ts are m erged, al l l in es w hich
prev iou s l yterm in ated on eitherpoin tn ow term in ate on the
s in gl e res u l tin g poin t. In Sketchpad, if athin g is bein g m ov ed
w iththe l ightpen an d the term in ation f l ick of the pen is
theN EWMEDIAR EADER
giv en w hil e aim in g atan otherthin g of the s am e type, the
tw othin gs w il l m erge. T hu s , if on e m ov es apoin ttoan other
poin tan d term in ates , the poin ts w il l m erge, con n ectin g al l
l in es w hichf orm erl yterm in ated on either. T his m akes it
pos s ibl e todraw cl os ed pol ygon s .
If tw othin gs of the s am e type w hichdodepen d on other
thin gs are m erged the thin gs depen ded on hyon e w il l he f orced
tom erge, res pectiv el y, w iththe thin gs depen ded on hythe other.
T he res u l t of m ergin g tw odepen den tthin gs depen ds ,
res pectiv el y, on the res u l ts of the m ergers itf orces . F orexam pl e,
if tw ol in es are m erged, the res u l tan tl in e m u s tref ertoon l y
tw oen d poin ts , the res u l ts of m ergin g the pairs of en d
poin ts of the origin al l in es . Al l l in es w hichterm in ated on
an yof the f ou rorigin al en d poin ts n ow term in ate on the
appropriate on e of the rem ain in g pair. More im portan tan d
u s ef u l , al l con s train ts w hichappl ied toan yof the f ou r
origin al en d poin ts n ow appl ytothe appropriate on e of the
rem ain in g pair. T his m akes it.. . .. - _
pos s ibl e tos peak of l in e
s egm en ts as bein g paral l el ev en ,
" ' f .
. . . i.~"l 1l ""-9 54* " "-5"
con tain n on u m erical 1n f or- " __ __= :' ; ' _:_j ; '
.~ - _~ J
thou gh( becau s e l in e s egm en ts
m ation tobe con s train ed)the I l I l H I
paral l el is m con s train tm u s tappl ytotheiren d poin ts an d
n ottothe l in e s egm en ts them s el v es . If w e w is htom ake
tw ol in es bothparal l el an d equ al in l en gth, the s teps
ou tl in ed in F igu re 9 .9 m ake itpos s ibl e. More obs cu re
rel ation s hips betw een depen den tthin gs m aybe eas il y
def in ed an d appl ied. F orexam pl e, con s train tcom pl exes can
be def in ed tom ake l in e s egm en ts be col l in ear, tom ake a
l in e be tan gen ttoacircl e, ortom ake the v al u es repres en ted
bytw os ets of digits be equ al .
R ecu rs iv e Dis pl ayof In s tan ces
T he bl ock of regis ters w hichrepres en ts an in s tan ce is
rem arkabl ys m al l con s iderin g thatitm aygen erate adis pl ay
of an ycom pl exity. F orthe pu rpos es of dis pl ay, the in s tan ce
bl ock m akes ref eren ce toits m as terpictu re. T he in s tan ce w il l
appearon the dis pl ayas af igu re geom etrical l ys im il artoits
m as terpictu re atal ocation , s ize, an d rotation in dicated by
the f ou rn u m bers w hichcon s titu te the v al u e of the
in s tan ce. T he v al u e of an in s tan ce is con s idered n u m erical l y
as af ou rdim en s ion al v ector. T he com pon en ts of this v ector
are the coordin ates of the cen terof the in s tan ce an d its
actu al s ize as itappears on the draw in g tim es the s in e an d
cos in e of the rotation an gl e in v ol v ed.
7 v I_IWU U
I
ow :-A ~ 0 1 -- --~1-_~.~a<.> 19 f 3-- 0 a eoa ~--w e-- - -~-0- - -- 09 . Sketchpad
In dis pl ayin g an in s tan ce of apictu re, ref eren ce is m ade to
the m as terpictu re tof in d ou tw hatpictu re parts are tobe
s hom m . T he m as terpictu re ref erred tom aycon tain in s tan ces ,
how ev er, requ irin g f u rtherref eren ce, an d s oon u n til a
pictu re is f ou n d w hichcon tain s n oin s tan ces . Ateachs tage in
the recu rs ion , an ypictu re parts dis pl ayed m u s tbe rel ocated
s othattheyw il l appearatthe correctpos ition , s ize an d
rotation on the dis pl ay. T hu s , ateachs tage of the recu rs ion ,
s om e tran s f orm ation is appl ied toal l pictu re parts bef ore
dis pl ayin g them . If an in s tan ce is en cou n tered, the
tran s f orm ation repres en ted byits v al u e m u s tbe adj oin ed to
the exis tin g tran s f orm ation f ordis pl ayof parts w ithin it.
When the expan s ion of an in s tan ce w ithin an in s tan ce is
f in is hed, the tran s f orm ation m u s tbe res tored f or
con tin u ation atthe higherl ev el .
Attachers an d In s tan ces
Man ys ym bol s m u s tbe in tegrated in tothe res tof the
draw in g byattachin g l in es tothe s ym bol s atappropriate
7 1
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LSECON D LIN E F . CON ST R AIN T S
u zn es o SAT ISF IED
_. Q A , \ "EQ U AL
~\R ALLELs u r Q LEN GT H
F igu re 9 .9 . Appl yin g atw o-con s train tde n ition totu rn a
qu adril ateral in toaparal l el ogram .
i_.
poin ts , orbyattachin g the s ym bol s directl ytoeachother. F or
exam pl e, circu its ym bol s m u s tbe w ired u p, geom etric
pattern s m ad.e byf ittin g s hapes together, orm echan is m s
com pos ed of l in ks tied togetherappropriatel y. An in s tan ce
m ayhav e an yn u m berof attachm en tpoin ts , an d apoin tm ay
s erv e as attacherf oran yn u m berof in s tan ces . T he l ightpen
has the s am e af f in ityf orthe attachers of an in s tan ce thatit
has f orthe en d poin tof al in e.
An in s tan ce-poin t con s train t, s how n w ithcode T in
F igu re 9 .1OC, is u s ed torel ate an in s tan ce toeachof its
attachm en tpoin ts . An in s tan ce-poin tcon s train tis s atis f ied
on l yw hen the poin tbears the s am e rel ation s hiptothe
in s tan ce thatam as terpoin tin the m as terpictu re f orthat
in s tan ce bears tothe m as terpictu re coordin ate s ys tem .
An ypoin tm aybe an attacherof an in s tan ce, bu tthe poin t
m u s tbe des ign ated as an attacherin the m as terdraw in g of
the in s tan ce. F orexam pl e, w hen on e f irs tdraw s ares is tor,
the en ds of the res is torm u s tbe des ign ated as attachers if
w irin g is tobe attached toin s tan ces of it. Ateachl ev el of
bu il din g com pl expictu res , the attachers m u s tbe des ign ated
an ew . T hu s of the three attachers of atran s is toritis pos s ibl e
tos el ecton e ortw otobe the attachers of af l ip-f l op.
VI Bu il din g aDraw in g, the CopyF u n ction
Atthe s tartof the Sketchpad ef f ortcertain ad hoc draw in g
f u n ction s w ere program m ed as the atoin ic operation s of the
s ys tem . Eachs u choperation , con trol l ed byapu s hbu tton ,
creates in the rin g s tru ctu re as pecif ic s etof n ew draw in g
parts . F orexam pl e, the draw bu tton creates al in e s egm en t
an d tw on ew en d poin ts ( u n l es s the l ightpen happen s tobe
aim ed atapoin tin w hichcas e on l yon e n ew poin tn eed be
created). Sim il arl y, there are atom ic operation s f ordraw in g
circl es , appl yin g ahorizon tal orv ertical con s train ttothe
en d poin ts of al in e aim ed at, an d f oraddin g apoin t-on -
l in e con s train tw hen ev erapoin tis m ov ed on toal in e an d
l ef tthere.
T he atom ic operation s des cribed abov e m ake itpos s ibl e to
create in the rin g s tru ctu re n ew pictu re com pon en ts an d
rel ate them topol ogical l y. T he atom ic operation s are, of
cou rs e, l im ited tocreatin g poin ts , l in es , circl es , an d tw oor
three types of con s train ts . Sin ce im pl em en tation of the copy
f u n ction ithas becom e pos s ibl e tocreate in the rin g s tru ctu re
an ypredef in ed com bin ation of pictu re parts an d con s train ts
atthe pres s of abu tton . T he recu rs iv e m ergin g f u n ction
m akes itpos s ibl e torel ate the copied s etof pictu re parts to
09 . Sketchpad
an yexis tin g parts . F orexam pl e, if al in e s egm en tan d its tw o
en d poin ts are copied in tothe obj ectpictu re, the action of the
draw bu tton m aybe exactl ydu pl icated in ev eryres pect.
Al on g w iththe copied l in e, how ev er, on e m ightcopyas w el l a
con s train t, Code H, tom ake the l in e horizon tal as s how n in
F igu re 9 .1OA, ortw ocon s train ts tom ake the l in e both
horizon tal an d three in ches l on g, oran yotherv ariation on e
cares topu tin tothe rin g s tru ctu re tobe copied.
When on e draw s adef in ition pictu re tobe copied, certain
portion s of ittobe u s ed in rel atin g ittootherobj ectpictu re
parts are des ign ated as attachers . An ythin g atal l m aybe
des ign ated:f orexam pl e, poin ts , l in es , circl es , text, ev en
con s train ts ! T he ru l es u s ed f orcom bin in g poin ts w hen the
draw bu tton is pres s ed are gen eral ized s othat:
F orcopyin g apictu re, the l as t-des ign ated attacheris l ef t
m ov in g w iththe l ightpen . T he n ext-to-l as t-des ign ated
attacheris recu rs iv el ym erged w ithw hatev erobj ectthe pen
is aim ed atw hen the copyin g occu rs , if thatobj ectis of l ike
type. P rev iou s l ydes ign ated attachers are recu rs iv el ym erged
w ithprev iou s l ydes ign ated obj ectpictu re parts , if of l ike
type, u n til eitherthe s u ppl yof des ign ated attachers orthe
s u ppl yof des ign ated obj ectpictu re parts is exhau s ted. T he
l as t-des ign ated attacherm aybe recu rs iv el ym erged w ith
an yotherobj ectof l ike type w hen the term in ation f l ick is
giv en .
N orm al l yon l ytw odes ign ated attachers are u s ed becau s e
itis hard tokeeptrack of addition al on es .
If the def in ition pictu re con s is ts of tw ol in e s egm en ts ,
theirf ou ren d poin ts , an d acon s train t, Code M, on the
poin ts w hichm akes the l in es equ al in l en gth, w iththe tw o
l in es des ign ated as attachers as s how n in F igu re 9 .1OB,
copyin g en abl es the u s ertom ake an ytw ol in es equ al in
l en gth. If the pen is aim ed atal in e w hen copy is pu s hed,
the f irs tof the tw ocopied l in es m erges w ithit( takin g its
pos ition an d n ev eractu al l ybein g s een ). T he othercopied l in e
is l ef tm ov in g w iththe l ightpen an d w il l m erge w ith
w hatev erotherl in e the pen is aim ed atw hen term in ation
occu rs . Sin ce m ergin g is recu rs iv e, the copied equ al l en gth
con s train t, Code M, w il l appl ytothe en d poin ts of the
des ired pairof obj ectpictu re l in es .
Copyin g In s tan ces
As w e h.av e s een abov e, the in tern al s tru ctu re of an in s tan ce
is en tirel yf ixed. T he in tern al s tru ctu re of acopy, how ev er, is
en tirel yv ariabl e. An in s tan ce al w ays retain s its iden tityas a
theN EWMEDIAR EADER
tm e AT T ACHER 2 1
P OIN T AT T ACHER 2 1 ,' \
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P OIN T AT T ACHER | J, ___--
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A_HQ R |ZON T ALl Ll N EAT T ACHER I
LIN E
B. EQ U ALLEN GT H
LIN ES
In
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P OIN T AT T ACHER 2
ou m ou oIN ST AN CE-4 1
P OIN T AT T ACHER | Q
I I
l .-f _ II
IN ST AN CE-P OIN T cou s rn m n rv I I
CON ST R AIN T S on m s rm ce +
C. P AR T LY F LEXIBLEAR R OW
IN ST AN CEAT T ACHER 2
IN ST AN CEAT T ACHER I
I ,. _I
D. P R E-JOIN ED IN ST AN CES
F igu re 9 .10. De n ition pictu res tobe copied, s ee text.
s in gl e partof the draw in g; on e can on l ydel ete an en tire
in s tan ce. On ce adef in ition pictu re is copied, how ev er, the
copyl os es al l iden tityas au n it; in div idu al parts of itm aybe
del eted atw il l .
On e m ightexpectthatthere w as in term ediate grou n d
betw een the f ixed in tern al -s tru ctu re in s tan ce an d the l oos e-
in tern al -s tru ctu re copy. On e m ightw is htoprodu ce a
col l ection of pictu re parts , s om e of w hichw ere f ixed
in tern al l yan d s om e of w hichw ere n ot. T heen tire ran ge of
v ariation betw een the in s tan ce an d the copycan be con s tru cted by
copyin g in s tan ces .
F orexam pl e, the arrow s how n in F igu re 9 .1OC can be
copied in toan obj ectpictu re tores u l tin af ixed in tern al
s tru ctu re diam on d arrow head w ithaf l exibl e tail . As the
def in ition in F igu re 9 .1OC is s etu p, draw in g diam on d-
arrow headed l in es is j u s tl ike draw in g ordin aryl in es . On e
aim s the l ightpen w here the tail is toen d, pres s es copy, an d
m ov es of f w ithan arrow head f ol l ow in g the pen . T he
O~ ~a eas e ~ 0~' 1?.6 3. ~~ 0 oar ~~o~~ O9 . Sketchpad
diam on d arrow head in this cas e w il l n otrotate ( con s train t
Code E), an d w il l n otchan ge s ize ( con s train tCode F ).
Copyin g pre-j oin ed in s tan ces can produ ce v as tn u m bers of
j oin ed in s tan ces v eryeas il y. F orexam pl e, the def in ition in
F igu re 9 .1OD, w hen repetitiv el ycopied, w il l res u l tin arow of
j oin ed, equ al s ize ( con s train tCode S)diam on ds . In this cas e
the in s tan ces them s el v es are attachers . Al thou gheachpres s
of the copy bu tton copies tw on ew in s tan ces in tothe obj ect
pictu re, on e of thes e is m erged w iththe l as tin s tan ce in the
grow in g row . In the f in al row , theref ore, eachin s tan ce carries
al l con s train ts w hichare appl ied toeitherof the in s tan ces in
the def in ition . T his is w hyon l yon e of the in s tan ces in F igu re
9 .101] carries the erectcon s train t, Code E.
VII Con s train tSatis f action
T he m aj orf eatu re w hichdis tin gu is hes aSketchpad draw in g
f rom apaperan d pen cil draw in g is the u s er' s abil ityto
s pecif ytoSketchpad m athem atical con dition s on al ready
draw n parts of his draw in g w hichw il l be au tom atical l y
s atis f ied bythe com pu tertom ake the draw in g take the exact
s hape des ired. T he proces s of f ixin g u padraw in g tom eet
n ew con dition s appl ied toitaf teritis al readypartial l y
com pl ete is v erym u chl ike the proces s ades ign ergoes
throu ghin tu rn in g abas ic ideain toaf in is hed des ign . As n ew
requ irem en ts on the v ariou s parts of the des ign are thou ght
of , s m al l chan ges are m ade tothe s ize orotherproperties of
parts tom eetthe n ew con dition s . Bym akin g Sketchpad abl e
tof in d n ew v al u es f orv ariabl es w hichs atis f ythe con dition s
im pos ed, itis hoped thatdes ign ers can be rel iev ed of the
n eed of m u chm athem atical detail . T he ef f ortexpen ded in
m akin g the def in ition of con s train ttypes as gen eral as
pos s ibl e w as aim ed atm akin g des ign con s train ts as w el l as
geom etric con s train ts equ al l yeas ytoadd tothe s ys tem .
De n ition of aCon s train tT ype
Eachcon s train ttype is en tered in tothe s ys tem as agen eric
bl ock in dicatin g the v ariou s properties of thatparticu l ar
con s train ttype. T he gen eric bl ock tel l s how m an yv ariabl es
are con s train ed, w hichof thes e v ariabl es m aybe chan ged in
ordertos atis f ythe con s train t, how m an ydegrees of f reedom
are rem ov ed f rom the con s train ed v ariabl es , an d acode l etter
f orhu m an ref eren ce tothis con s train ttype.
T he def in ition of w hatacon s train ttype does is a
s u brou tin e w hichw il l com pu te, f orthe exis tin g v al u es of the
v ariabl es of aparticu l arcon s train tof thattype, the error
L_
in trodu ced in tothe s ys tem bythatparticu l arcon s train t. F or
exam pl e, the def in in g s u brou tin e f orm akin g poin ts hav e the
s am e xcoordin ate ( tom ake al in e betw een them v ertical )
com pu tes the dif f eren ce in theirxcoordin ates . Whatcou l d be
s im pl er?T he com pu ted erroris as cal arw hichthe con s train t
s atis f action rou tin e w il l attem pttoredu ce tozeroby
m an ipu l ation of the con s train ed v ariabl es . T he com pu tation
of the errorm aybe n on -l in earortim e depen den t, oritm ay
in v ol v e param eters n otapartof the draw in g s u chas the
s ettin g of toggl e s w itches , etc.
When the on e pas s m ethod of s atis f yin g con s train ts tobe
des cribed l ateron f a.il s , the Sketchpad s ys tem f al l s back on
the rel iabl e bu ts l ow m ethod of rel axation toredu ce the
errors in dicated byv ariou s com pu tation s u brou tin es to
s m al l eran d s m al l erv al u es . F ors im pl e con s tru ction s s u chas
the hexagon il l u s trated in F igu re 9 .3, the rel axation
procedu re is s u f f icien tl yf as ttobe u s ef u l . How ev er, f or
com pl exs ys tem s of v ariabl es , es pecial l ydirectl ycon n ected
in s tan ces , rel axation is u n acceptabl ys l ow . F ortu n atel yitis
f orj u s ts u chdirectl ycon n ected in s tan ces thatthe on e pas s
m ethod s how s the m os ts trikin g s u cces s .
On e P as s Method
Sketchpad can of ten f in d an orderin w hichthe v ariabl es of a
draw in g m aybe re-ev al u ated tocom pl etel ys atis f yal l the
con dition s on them in j u s ton e pas s . F orthe cas es in w hich
the on e pas s m ethod w orks , itis f arbetterthan rel axation :it
giv es correctan s w ers aton ce; rel axation m ayn otgiv e a
corrects ol u tion in an yf in ite tim e. Sketchpad can f in d an
orderin w hichtore-ev al u ate the v ariabl es of adraw in g f or
m os tof the com m on geom etric con s tru ction s . Orderin g is
al s of ou n d eas il yf orthe m echan ical l in kages s how n in
F igu res 9 .13 an d 9 .14. Orderin g can n otbe f ou n d f orthe
bridge tru s s probl em in F igu re 9 .15.
T he w ayin w hichthe on e pas s m ethod w orks is s im pl e in
prin cipl e an d w as eas ytoim pl em en tas s oon as the n u an ces
of the rin g s tru ctu re m an ipu l ation s w ere u n ders tood. T o
v is u al ize the on e pas s m ethod, con s iderthe v ariabl es of the
draw in g as pl aces an d the con s train ts rel atin g v ariabl es as
pas s ages throu ghw hichon e m ightpas s f rom on e v ariabl e to
an other. Variabl es are adj acen ttoeachotherin the m aze
f orm ed bythe con s train ts if there is as in gl e con s train t
w hichcon s train s them both. Variabl es are total l yu n rel ated if
there is n opaththrou ghthe con s train ts byw hichtopas s
f rom on e tothe other.
09 . Sketchpad
Su ppos e thats om e v ariabl e can be f ou n d w hichhas s of ew
con s train ts appl yin g toitthatitcan be re-ev al u ated to
com pl etel ys atis f yal l of them . Su chav ariabl e w e s hal l cal l a
f ree v ariabl e. As s oon as av ariabl e is recogn ized as f ree, the
con s train ts w hichappl ytoitare rem ov ed f rom f u rther
con s ideration , becau s e the f ree v ariabl e can be u s ed tos atis f y
them . R em ov in g thes e con s train ts , how ev er, m aym ake
adj acen tv ariabl es f ree. R ecogn ition of thes e n ew v ariabl es as
f ree rem ov es f u rthercon s train ts f rom con s ideration an d m ay
m ake otheradj acen tv ariabl es f ree, an d s oon throu ghou tthe
m aze of con s train ts . T he m an n erin w hichf reedom s preads
is m u chl ike the m ethod u s ed in Moore' s al gorithm s tof in d
the s hortes tpaththrou gham aze. Hav in g f ou n d thata
col l ection of v ariabl es is f ree, Sketchpad w il l re-ev al u ate them
in rev ers e order, s av in g the f irs t-f ou n d f ree v ariabl e u n til l as t.
in re-ev al u atin g an yparticu l arv ariabl e, Sketchpad u s es on l y
thos e con s train ts w hichw ere pres en tw hen thatv ariabl e w as
f ou n d tobe f ree.
VIII Exam pl es an d Con cl u s ion s
T he exam pl es in this s ection w ere al l taken f rom the l ibrary
tape an d thu s s erv e toil l u s trate n oton l yhow the Sketchpad
s ys tem can be u s ed, bu tal s ohow itactu al l yhas been u s ed s o
-l _I_IT l _I_l _|' l _iT l _I' I

F igu re 9 .11. Zig-Zag f ordel ayl in e.
f ar. We con cl u de f rom thes e exam pl es thatSketchpad
draw in gs can brin g in v al u abl e u n ders tan din g toau s er. F or
draw in gs w here m otion of the draw in g, oran al ys is of a
draw n probl em is of v al u e tothe u s er, Sketchpad excel s . F or
highl yrepetitiv e draw in gs ordraw in gs w here accu racyis
requ ired, Sketchpad is s u f f icien tl yf as terthan con v en tion al
techn iqu es tobe w orthw hil e. F ordraw in gs w hichm erel y
com m u n icate w iths hops , itis probabl ybettertou s e
con v en tion al paperan d pen cil .
P attern s
T he in s tan ce f acil ityen abl es on e todraw an ys ym bol an d
du pl icate its appearan ce an yw here on an obj ectdraw in g at
the pu s hof abu tton . T his f acil itym ade the hexagon al
the-N EWMEDIAR EADER
+++
+* + +* +
4- + + T
+ + + +4,
4 I + + 1-
+ "' + + + I
+ +' I' +
Q 1' I + +
+4-
+++
++-
+
T +-
++
+
+-
+
+ + +
+++++
+
+"+
+
P
J-
+
+
+
+
+
+
+
+
* 4
+ 1-
+ + + + + + +
++ 1' ++ g. +
+ + + I-
+ + + ++
++ ++
+-I-+1-I
4-
F igu re 9 .12 . Bin arycoded decim al en coderf orcl ock. En coderw as
pl otted exactl y12 in ches in diam eterf ordirectu s e as al ayou t.
pattern w e s aw in F igu re 9 .4eas ytodraw . Ittook abou ton e
hal f hou rtogen erate 9 00hexagon s , in cl u din g the tim e taken
tof igu re ou thow todoit. P l ottin g them takes abou t2 5
m in u tes . T he draf tin g departm en tes tim ated itw ou l d take
tw odays toprodu ce as im il arpattern .
T he in s tan ce f acil ityal s om ade iteas ytoprodu ce l on g
l en gths of the zig zag pattern s how n in F igu re 9 .11. As the
f igu re s how s , as in gl e zig w as du pl icated in m u l tipl es of f iv e
"f a
' 0 1 ,0-
r T . -_' o_
~. ~:-. -- . ~-
. ~~ J. -\\
\ .
\, Q ,-
-:.
F igu re 9 .13. T hree barl in kage. T he paths of f ou rpoin ts on the
cen tral l in k are traced. T his is a15s econ d tim e expos u re of a
m ov in g Sketchpad draw in g.
19 6 3
Or" s F s 0 a~~ 9 0- F ~ Q ~ a ~ as F L-~43 in ~
F igu re 9 .14. Con ic draw in g l in kage. As the "driv in g l ev er is
m ov ed, the poin ts how n w ithaboxarou n d it( in A)traces a
con ic s ection . T his con ic can be s een in the tim e expos u re ( B).
an d three, etc. F iv e hu n dred zigs w ere gen erated in as in gl e
row . F ou rs u chrow s w ere pl otted on e-hal f in chaparttobe
u s ed f orprodu cin g aprin ted circu itdel ayl in e. T otal tim e
taken w as abou t45m in u tes f orcon s tru ctin g the f igu re an d
abou t15m in u tes topl otit.
As om ew hatl es s repetitiv e pattern tobe u s ed f oren codin g
the tim e in adigital cl ock is s how n in F igu re 9 .12 . Eachcros s
in the f igu re m arks the pos ition of ahol e. T he hol es are
pl aced s othatabin arycoded decim al ( BCD)n u m berw il l
in dicate the tim e. T otal tim e f orpl acin g cros s es w as 2 0
m in u tes , m os tof w hichw as s pen ttryin g toin terpretapen cil
s ketchof theirpos ition s .
;
Lin kages
Byf arthe m os tin teres tin g appl ication of Sketchpad s of ar
has been draw in g an d m ov in g l in kages . T he abil itytodraw
an d then m ov e l in kages open s u pan ew f iel d of graphical
m an ipu l ation thathas n ev erbef ore been av ail abl e. Itis
rem arkabl e how ev en as im pl e l in kage can gen erate com pl ex
m otion s . F orexam pl e, the l in kage of F igu re 9 .13 has on l y
three m ov in g parts . In this l in kage acen tral l l in k is
s u s pen ded betw een tw ol in ks of dif f eren tl en gths . As the
s horterl in k rotates , the l on geron e os cil l ates as can be s een
in the m u l tipl e expos u re. T he _Ll in k is n ots how n in F igu re
9 .13 s othatthe m otion of f ou rpoin ts on the u prightpartof
the _Lm aybe s een . T hes e are the f ou rcu rv es atthe topof
the f igu re.
T om ake the three barl in kage, an in s tan ce s haped l ike the
_l _w as draw n an d giv en 6 attachers , tw oatits j oin ts w iththe
otherl in ks an d f ou ratthe pl aces w hos e paths w ere tobe
obs erv ed. Con n ectin g the _Ls haped s u bpictu re on toal in kage
com pos ed of three l in es w ithf ixed l en gthcreated the pictu re
s how n . T he driv in g l in k w as rotated bytu rn in g akn ob bel ow
the s cope. T otal tim e tocon s tru ctthe l in kage w as l es s than 5
m in u tes , bu tov eran hou rw as s pen tpl ayin g w ithit.
Al in kage thatw ou l d be dif f icu l ttobu il d phys ical l yis
s how n in F igu re 9 .14A. T his l in kage is bas ed on the com pl ete
qu adril ateral . T he three circl ed poin ts an d the tw ol in es
w hichexten d ou tof the topof the pictu re tothe rightan d
l ef tare f ixed. T w om ov in g l in es are draw n f rom the l ow er
circl ed poin ts tothe in ters ection s of the l on g f ixed l in es w ith
the driv in g l ev er. T he in ters ection of thes e tw om ov in g l in es
( on e m u s tbe exten ded)has aboxarou n d it. Itcan be s how n
theoretical l ythatthis l in kage produ ces acon ic s ection w hich
pas s es throu ghthe pl ace l abel ed poin ton cu rv e an d is
tan gen ttothe tw ol in es m arked tan gen t. F igu re 9 .1413
s how s atim e expos u re of the m ov in g poin tin m an y
pos ition s . Atf irs t, this l in kage w as draw n an d w orkin g in 15
m in u tes . Sin ce then w e hav e rebu il tittim e an d again u n til
n ow w e can produ ce itf rom s cratchin abou t3 m in u tes .
Dim en s ion Lin es
T om ake itpos s ibl e tohav e an abs ol u te s cal e in draw in gs , a
con s train tis prov ided w hichf orces the v al u e dis pl ayed bya
s etof digits toin dicate the dis tan ce betw een tw opoin ts on
the draw in g. T his dis tan ce-in dicatin g con s train tis u s ed to
m ake the n u m berin adim en s ion l in e corres pon d toits
l en gth. P u ttin g in adim en s ion l in e is as eas yas draw in g an y
0 at1 09 . Sketchpad
P m
09 . Sketchpad
v aers reaarr
||
( l l N ID OIOI
Y E
Va
:88 -' - - 6 ~-- --
2 3 -are-3| _'
_} w :f 444
F igu re 9 .15. Can til ev eran d archbridges . T he n u m bers in dicate
the f orces in the v ariou s m em bers as com pu ted bySketchpad.
Cen tral l oad is n otexactl yv ertical .
otherl in e. On e poin ts tow here on e en d is tobe l ef t, copies
the def in ition of the dim en s ion l in e bypres s in g the copy
bu tton , an d then m ov es the l ightpen tow here the otheren d
of the dim en s ion l in e is tobe. T he f irs tdim en s ion l in e took
abou t15m in u tes tocon s tru ct, bu tthatn eed n ev erbe
repeated s in ce itis apartof the l ibrary.
Bridges
On e of the l arges tu n tapped f iel ds f orappl ication of
Sketchpad is as an in pu tprogram f orothercom pu tation
program s . T he abil itytopl ace l in es an d circl es graphical l y,
w hen cou pl ed w iththe abil itytogetaccu ratel ycom pu ted
res u l ts pictorial l ydis pl ayed, s hou l d brin g abou tarev ol u tion
in com pu terappl ication . Byu s in g Sketchpads rel axation
procedu re w e w ere todem on s trate an al ys is of the f orce
dis tribu tion in the m em bers of apin con n ected tru s s .
Abridge is f irs tdraw n w ithen ou ghcon s train ts tom ake it
geom etrical l yaccu rate. T hes e con s train ts are then del eted
an d eachm em beris m ade tobehav e l ike abridge beam . A
bridge beam is con s train ed tom ain tain con s tan tl en gth, bu t
an ychan ge in l en gthis in dicated byan as s ociated n u m ber.
U n derthe as s u m ption thateachbridge beam has acros s -
s ection al areaproportion al toits l en gth, the n u m bers
repres en tthe f orces in the beam s . T he bas ic bridge beam
def in ition ( con s is tin g of tw ocon s train ts an d an u m ber)m ay
be copied an d appl ied toan ydes ired l in e in abridge pictu re
bypoin tin g tothe l in e an d pres s in g the copy bu tton .
Hav in g draw n abas ic bridge s hape, on e can experim en t
w ithv ariou s l oadin g con dition s an d s u pports tos ee w hatthe
ef f ectof m akin g m in orm odif ication s is . F orexam pl e, an arch
bridge is s how n in F igu re 9 .15s u pported bothas athree-
hin ged arch( tw os u pports )an d as acan til ev er( f ou r
theN EWMEDIAR EADER
s u pports ). F orn earl yiden tical l oadin g con dition s the
dis tribu tion of f orces is m arkedl ydif f eren tin thes e tw ocas es .
Artis tic Draw in gs
Sketchpad n eed n otbe appl ied excl u s iv el ytoen gin eerin g
draw in gs . F orexam pl e, the girl N ef ertiten s how n in F igu re
9 .16 can be m ade tow in k bychan gin g w hichof the three
types of eyes is pl aced in pos ition on herotherw is e eyel es s
f ace. In the s am e w aythatl in kages can be m ade tom ov e, a
s tick f igu re cou l d be m ade topedal abicycl e orN ef ertitel s
haircou l d be m ade tos w in g. T he abil itytom ake m ov in g
draw in gs s u gges ts thatSketchpad m ightbe u s ed f orm akin g
an im ated cartoon s .
El ectrical Circu itDiagram s
U n f ortu n atel y, el ectrical circu its requ ire agreatm an y
s ym bol s w hichhav e n otyetbeen draw n properl yw ith
Sketchpad an d theref ore are n otin the l ibrary. Af ters om e
tim e is s pen tw orkin g on the bas ic el ectrical s ym bol s itm ay
be eas iertodraw circu its . Sof ar, how ev er, circu itdraw in g has
prov en dif f icu l t.
T he circu its of F igu re 9 .17 are parts of an an al og s w itchin g
s chem e. Y ou can s ee in the f igu re thatthe m ore com pl icated
circu its are m ade u pof s im pl ers ym bol s an d circu its . Itis
/ -1 / ""' * I.--
F igu re 9 .16 . Win kin g girl , N ef ertite, an d hercom pon en tparts .
ox A an o l 16 3 s ow 0 A oer ~a~ T oe 09 . Sketchpad
n ag
1* IO
rs o I50
4-,-00 v s ox -rs ox
IOK
I
to
om v en
_L5000
I50 I50 I50 I50
7 50K 7 50K 7 50K 7 50K
F igu re 9 .17 . Circu itdiagram s . T hes e are parts of the l arge circu it
m en tion ed in the text.
v erydif f icu l t, how ev er, topl an f aren ou ghahead tokn ow
w hatcom pos ites of circu its ym bol s w il l be u s ef u l as
s u bpictu res of the f in al circu it. T he s im pl e circu its s how n in
F igu re 9 .17 w ere com pou n ded in toabig circu itin v ol v in g
abou t40tran s is tors . In cl u din g m u chtrial an d error, the tim e
taken byan ew u s er( f orthe big circu itn ots how n )w as ten
hou rs . Atthe en d of thattim e the circu itw as s til l n ot
com pl ete in ev erydetail an d he decided itw ou l d be betterto
draw itbyhan d af teral l .
Con cl u s ion s
T he circu itexperien ce poin ts ou tthe m os tim portan tf act
abou tSketchpad draw in gs . Itis on l yw orthw hil e tom ake
draw in gs on the com pu terif you gets om ethin g m ore ou tof
the draw in g than j u s tadraw in g. In the repetitiv e pattern s
w e s aw in the f irs texam pl es , precis ion an d eas e of
con s tru ctin g greatn u m bers of parts w ere v al u abl e. In the
L
l in kage exam pl es , w e w ere abl e togain an u n ders tan din g of
the behav iorof al in kage as w el l as its appearan ce. In the
bridge exam pl es w e gotdes ign an s w ers w hichw ere w orthf ar
m ore than the com pu tertim e pu tin tothem . If w e had had a
circu its im u l ation program con n ected toSketchpad s othat
w e w ou l d hav e kn ow n w hetherthe circu itw e drew w orked,
itw ou l d hav e been w orthou rw hil e tou s e the com pu terto
draw it. We are as yetal on g w ayf rom bein g abl e toprodu ce
rou tin e draw in gs econ om ical l yw iththe com pu ter.
F u tu re Work
T he m ethods ou tl in ed in this papergen eral ize n icel ytothree
dim en s ion al draw in g. In f act, the w ork reported in
Sketchpad III"byT im othyJohn s on ?w il l l etthe u s er
com m u n icate s ol id obj ects tothe com pu ter. John s on is
com pl etel ybypas s in g the probl em of con v ertin g s ev eral tw o
dim en s ion al draw in gs in toathree dim en s ion al s hape.
Draw in g w il l be directl yin three dim en s ion s f rom the s tart.
N otw odim en s ion al repres en tation w il l ev erbe s tored.
Work is al s oproceedin g in directcon v ers ion of
photographs in tol in e draw in gs . R oberts reports acom pu ter
program g abl e torecogn ize s im pl e obj ects in photographs
w el l en ou ghtoprodu ce three dim en s ion al l in e draw in gs f or
them . R oberts is s torin g his draw in gs in the rin g s tru ctu re
des cribed here s othathis res u l ts w il l be com patibl e w iththe
three dim en s ion al v ers ion of Sketchpad.
Maj orim prov em en ts toSketchpad of the s am e orderan d
pow eras the exis tin g def in ition copyin g capabil itycan be
f ores een . Atpres en t. Sketchpad is abl e toadd def in ed
rel ation s hips toan exis tin g obj ectdraw in g. Am ethod s hou l d
be dev is ed f ordef in in g an d appl yin g chan ges w hichin v ol v e
rem ov in g s om e parts of the obj ectdraw in g as w el l as addin g
n ew on es . Su chacapabil ityw ou l d perm iton e todef in e, f or
exam pl e, w hatrou n din g of f acorn erm ean s . T hen , on e cou l d
rou n d of f an ycorn erbypoin tin g toitan d appl yin g the
def in ition .
09 . Sketchpad
N otes an d Ackn ow l edgem en ts
T his paperis bas ed in parton athes is s u bm itted tothe Departm en t
of El ectrical En gin eerin g, M.I.T ., in partial f u l l l m en tof the
requ irem en ts f orthe Degree of Doctorof P hil os ophy.
Lin col n Laboratoryis operated w iththe s u pportof the U .S. Arm y,
N av y, an d AirF orce.
T he au thoris in debted toP rof es s ors Cl au de E. Shan n on , Marv in
Min s kyan d Stev en A. Coon s of the Mas s achu s etts In s titu te of
T echn ol ogyf ortheirhel pan d adv ice throu ghou tthe cou rs e of this
res earch.
T he au thoral s ow is hes tothan k Dou gl as T . R os s an d Law ren ce G.
R oberts f ortheirhel pan d an s w ers tohis m an yqu es tion s .
Bibl iography
1. Cl ark, W. A., F ran kov ich, J. M., P eters on , H. P ., F orgie, J. W.,
Bes t, R . L., Ol s en , K. H., T he Lin col n T X-2 Com pu ter,"T echn ical
R eport6 M-49 6 8, Mas s achu s etts In s titu te of T echn ol ogy, Lin col n
Laboratory, Lexin gton , Mas s ., April 1, 19 57 , P roceedin gs of the
Wes tern Join tCom pu terCon f eren ce, Los An gel es , Cal if orn ia,
F ebru ary19 57 .
2 . Coon s , S. A., N otes on Graphical In pu tMethods , Mem oran du m
8436 -M-17 , Dyn am ic An al ys is an d Con trol Laboratory,
Mas s achu s etts In s titu te of T echn ol ogy, Departm en tof Mechan ical
En gin eerin g, Cam bridge, Mas s ., May4, 19 6 0.
3. John s on , T . E., SI<etchpad III, T hree Dim en s ion al Graphical
Com m u n ication w ithaDigital Com pu ter,"P roceedin gs of the Sprin g
Join tCom pu terCon f eren ce, Detroit, Michigan , May2 1-2 3, 19 6 3.
4. John s ton , L. E., AGraphical In pu tDev ice an d Shape Des cription
In terpretation R ou tin es , Mem oran du m toP rof . Man n , Mas s achu s etts
In s titu te of T echn ol ogy, Departm en tof Mechan ical En gin eerin g,
Cam bridge, Mas s ., May4, 19 6 0.
5. Lickl ider, J. C. R ., Man -Com pu terSym bios is ,"I.R .E. T ran s . on
Hu m an F actors in El ectron ics , v ol . HF E, pp. 4-10, March19 6 0.
theN EWMEDIAR EADER
6 . Lickl ider, J. C. R ., an d Cl ark, W., "0n -l in e Man -Com pu ter
Com m u n ication ,"P roceedin gs of the Sprin g Join tCom pu ter
Con f eren ce, San F ran cis co, Cal if orn ia, May1-3, 19 6 2 , v ol . 2 1, pp.
113-12 8.
7 . Loom is , H. H. Jr., Graphical Man ipu l ation T echn iqu es U s in g the
Lin col n T X-2 Com pu ter, Grou pR eport51G-0017 , Mas s achu s etts
In s titu te of T echn ol ogy, Lin col n Laboratory, Lexin gton , Mas s .,
N ov em ber10, 19 6 0.
8. Moore, E. F ., "On the Shortes tP athT hrou ghaMaze,"
P roceedin gs of the In tern ation al Sym pos iu m on the T heoryof
Sw itchin g, Harv ard U n iv ers ity, Harv ard An n al s , v ol . 3, pp. 2 85-2 9 2 ,
19 59 .
9 . R oberts , L. G., Machin e P erception of T hree Dim en s ion al Sol ids ,
P h.D. T hes is , Mas s achu s etts In s titu te of T echn ol ogy, El ectrical
En gin eerin g Departm en t, Cam bridge, Mas s ., F ebru ary19 6 3.
10. R os s , D. T ., R odrigu ez, J. E., T heoretical F ou n dation s f orthe
Com pu ter-Aided Des ign Sys tem ,"P roceedin gs of the Sprin g Join t
Com pu terCon f eren ce, Detroit, Michigan , May2 1-2 3, 19 6 3.
11. Sou thw el l , R . V., R el axation Methods in En gin eerin g Scien ce,
Oxf ord U n iv ers ityP res s , 19 40.
12 . Stotz, R ., Man -Machin e Con s ol e F acil ities f orCom pu ter-Aided
Des ign , P roceedin gs of the Sprin g Join tCom pu terCon f eren ce,
Detroit, Michigan , May2 1-2 3, 19 6 3, ( this is s u e).
13. Van derbu rgh, A. Jr., T X-2 U s ers Han dbook, Lin col n Man u al N o.
45, Mas s achu s etts In s titu te of T echn ol ogy. Lin col n Laboratory,
Lexin gton , Mas s ., Ju l y19 6 1.
14. Wal s h, J. F ., an d Sm ith, A. F ., Com pu terU til ization ,"In terim
En gin eerin g R eport6 87 3-IR -10an d 11, El ectron ic Sys tem s
Laboratory, Mas s achu s etts In s titu te of T echn ol ogy, Cam bridge,
Mas s ., pp. 57 -7 0, N ov em ber30, 19 59 .
15. Han dbook f orVaripl otterModel s 2 05$ an d 2 05T , P ACE, El ectron ic
As s ociates In corporated. Lon g Bran ch, N ew Jers ey, Ju n e 15, 19 59 .
O- -- . I19 6 -.. -- . . 10. T he Con s tru ction
10. [ In trodu ction ]
T he Con s tru ction of Chan ge
In 19 6 1, w hil e the Happen in gs Al l an Kaprow reported on w ere creatin g as tirin N ew Y ork ( O06 ), in
Lon don R oyAs cottw as rem akin g art( an d artedu cation )in v iew of Wien er' s cybern etics ( O04). T he
es s ayreprin ted here is As cotts f irs tpu bl ication on the s u bj ect, an d on e of the f irs tw ritin gs to
adv ocate this con n ection betw een cybern etics an d art, m akin g itaf ou n din g docu m en tf orthe f u s ion
of procedu ral techn ol ogyan d aes thetics / des ign thatis n ew m edia. T hrou ghthe res tof the 19 6 0s the
con n ection betw een cybern etics an d art w ou l d con tin u e tobe an areaof f ocu s , in thes e w ords . More
gen eral l y, artis tic in teres tcon tin u es tothis dayin con ception , in f orm ation , behav ior, an d in teraction .
Whil e the Happen in g is v iew ed bys om e as the paradigm atic exam pl e of artis tic in teraction , others
( as dis cu s s ed in the in trodu ction toKaprow s es s ay)w ou l d dis agree w iththis characterization . F ran k
P opper, in his in f l u en tial Artof the El ectron ic Age, redraw s the bou n ds of this debate byu n ders corin g a
dis tin ction betw een participation an d in teraction :
In the artis tic con text, participation m ean tin the 19 6 0s , an d s til l m ean s today, an in v ol v em en t
on boththe con tem pl ativ e ( in tel l ectu al )an d the behav iou ral l ev el . Itdif f ered f rom tradition al
attitu des tow ards the s pectatorbythis dou bl e in v itation an d byits pol itical an d s ocial im pl ication s .
Bes ides bein g in v ited toparticipate throu ghthe dev ices s pecif ic tothe pl as tic arts , the s pectator
w as of ten en cou raged totake partin ev en ts res em bl in g aritu al cerem on yortribal f eas t.
T he term in teraction has am ore recen this toryin this areaan d ref ers toas til l m ore
com prehen s iv e in v ol v em en t. Here the artis ttries tos tim u l ate atw o-w ayin teraction betw een his
w orks an d the s pectator, aproces s thatbecom es pos s ibl e on l ythrou ghthe n ew techn ol ogical
dev ices thatcreate as itu ation in w hichqu es tion s bythe u s er/ s pectatorare ef f ectiv el yan s w ered by
the artw ork its el f . Agl obal n etw ork is the u s u al f orm taken bythes e w orks , requ irin g equ al l y
gl obal in v ol v em en tf rom the s pectator. T he proj ects again hav e im portan ts ocial im pl ication s ,
thou ghtheyare f arl es s directl ypol itical than thos e of the 19 6 0s . T heyten d toaddres s m ore
im m ediatel ydail yprobl em s oren v iron m en tal is s u es , an d can hav e adis tin ctl ys cien tif ic f l av ou r.
T hu s , the term participation , in the con textof con tem poraryart, ref ers toarel ation s hipbetw een
as pectatoran d an al readyexis tin g open -en ded artw ork, w hereas the term in teraction im pl ies a
tw o-w ayin terpl aybetw een an in div idu al an d an artif icial in tel l igen ce s ys tem . ( 8)
P oppers dis tin ction can be au s ef u l on e, es pecial l yif w e are w il l in g toadoptf orits pu rpos es am u ch
broaderdef in ition of artif icial in tel l igen ce than is tradition al in com pu ters cien ce. Atthe s am e tim e,
how ev er, itis in s tru ctiv e ton ote thatAs cott' s l aterw orks don otf itn eatl yin toP oppers dichotom y. In
the 19 80s As cottbecam e apion eeran d prim aryarticu l atorof tel em atic art, in w hichan artis tcreates
as ys tem f orcom m u n ication an d col l aboration betw een phys ical l ydis pers ed in div idu al s . Su chcas es
are cl earl yn otw hatP oppercal l s participation , an d yettheyare al s on otcas es in w hichqu es tion s by
the u s er/ s pectatorare ef f ectiv el yan s w ered bythe artw ork its el f . In s tead theyare an s w ered, in a
s en s e, bythe otheru s er/ s pectators , throu ghthe con textcreated bythe artis t agl obal n etw ork of a
ratherdif f eren ts ort. T el em atic art, in f act, m ightpoten tial l ybe def in ed as w ork thatattem pts both
P oppers participation an d in teraction . F u rther, tel em atic artrem ain s f u l l ycon s is ten tw iththe
f ram ew ork As cottpres en ted in 19 6 4 of artas an in v es tigation of behav ior, of creatin g s itu ation s
f orexpl orin g behav ior.
' As cott' s exercis es in the s econ d portion of this es s aycan be read as dem aterial ized art( al on g the
l in es of Y okoOn o' s in s tru ction s )oras as traightf orw ard reportof the em bodied w ork he w as
carryin g ou tatthe Eal in g School of Art an d eitherreadin g m aybe u s ef u l .
N WF
of Chan ge
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Origin al P u bl ication
Cam bridge Opin ion 41 ( Modern Artin Britain ). 37 -42 , 19 6 4.
T he Con s tru ction
of Chan ge
R oyAs cott
Artan d Didactics
Whil e the creativ e proces s dem an ds acts of s yn thes is w hich
def yv erbal des cription an d w hichon l ythe w ork of artits el f
can def in e, there are s om e as pects of artis tic activ ityw hich
can be exam in ed an d s etdow n ration al l y. T heyare both
em pirical an d an al ytical an d in v ol v e f orays in tou n f am il iar
con ceptu al territories . Veryof ten s cien tif ic ideas can
rein f orce orexten d w hatis u n cov ered. T odis cu s s w haton e is
doin g ratherthan the artw ork w hichres u l ts , toattem ptto
u n rav el the l oops of creativ e activ ity, is , in m an yw ays , a
behav iou ral probl em . T he f u s ion of art, s cien ce an d
pers on al ityis in v ol v ed. Itl eads toacon s ideration of ou rtotal
rel ation s hiptoaw ork of art, in w hichphys ical m ov es m ay
l ead tocon ceptu al m ov es , in w hichBehav iou rrel ates toIdea.
Art, f orm e, is l argel yam atterof f reel ydev el opin g ideas
an d creatin g f orm s an d s tru ctu res w hichem bodythem .
Whatev erideas Im aypu rs u e, an d in the artthe en tire
u n iv ers e is open toin v es tigation an d recon s tru ction ,
Behav iou ris an im portan tref eren ce in m ycon s ideration s of
s pace, tim e an d f orm . Im ake s tru ctu res in w hichthe
rel ation s hips of parts are n otf ixed an d m aybe chan ged by
the in terv en tion of as pectator. As f orm al rel ation s hips are
al tered, s othe ideas theys tan d f orare exten ded. Iam
con s ciou s of the s pectators rol e. On ce pos ition ed toaw ork
he m aybecom e total l yin v ol v ed phys ical l yas w el l as
in tel l ectu al l yorem otion al l y. T oproj ectm yideas Is etl im its
.As ott; ; i1R o ; 5ed:; n ; f r6 n if n ' i-Coii$tiar s n $, 1 Irf :an .di, gn s tiriu 3n e $s i_ in ItheP os tkirru ragica{Era. E; E i:g' r:-il rir l l egt; 19 9 9 ' , _' :1; 3--I .
s tgyg,-.; egI; ; f rei m ii ..Cqn a rian ; ; ..; ra n riirqi,?r; r; bra .zoririrra-; i1a' ; to; r ori ; caraI<; gi.j ; r; rau diiby1tari; ~<u rs s rv r.rgr; a_trav ' el i-n g 1 .
1i > <l ?1i~Iii1' i<ii!@ iirtiariii l iiiP In ds P E.hde' n t:1@ ' 1rs ' f r$* I f em ti -n ' IP ( IQ )-L-iI$IeiriJY <?' I<; ; ~T \ri!ted} b~15I1 ?@ I3I@ r P ' 5 F @ d edit"?' bY .; i!1@ .i* -Wal ker
v ' . ~ I I . -. o. * . . .
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w ithin w hichhe m aybehav e. in res pon s e tobehav iou ral
cl u es in acon s tru ction ( topu s h, pu l l , s l ide back, open , peg-in ,
f orexam pl e)the participan tbecom es res pon s ibl e f orthe
exten s ion of the artw orks m ean in g. He becom es adecis ion -
m akerin the s ym bol ic w orl d w hichcon f ron ts him . My
Chan ge P ain tin gs an d kin etic con s tru ction s are n otin ten ded
on l ytodis cu s s an d proj ectideas , bu tas an al ogu es of ideas -
s tru ctu res w hichare s u bj ecttochan ge an d hu m an
in terv en tion in the w aythatideas them s el v es are. Itis
predom in an tl ythe experien ce of Chan ge an d the con ceptof
pow erw hichl ies behin d ou rcon trol an d prediction of ev en ts
w hichhol ds m yatten tion atpres en t.
In tryin g tocl arif ythe rel ation s hipbetw een art, s cien ce
an d behav iou r, Ihav e f ou n d m ys el f abl e tobecom e in v ol v ed
in ateachin g s itu ation w ithou tcom prom is in g m yow n w ork.
T he tw oactiv ities , creativ e an d pedagogic, in teract, each
f eedin g back tothe other. Both, Ibel iev e, are en riched. T he
didactics of art, s etagain s tthe dis cov eries of s cien ce, hav e
con cern ed m an yartis ts in the pas t. Itis u s ef u l totu rn tothe
w ritin gs of , f orexam pl e, Leon ardo, Seu ratorP au l Kl ee, bu t
theycan n otgoal l the w aytow ards deal in g w ithprobl em s
an d experien ces thatf ace u s today.
Al l artis , in s om e s en s e, didactic:ev eryartis tis , in s om e
w ay, s ettin g qu ttoin s tru ct. F or, byin s tru ction , w e m ean to
giv e direction , an d thatis precis el yw hatal l greatartdoes .
Arts hapes l if e. Itis af orce; on l ythe aes thete m akes aref u ge
of it. T hrou ghhis w ork the artis tl earn s tou n ders tan d his
exis ten ce. T hrou ghcu l tu re itin f orm s , artbecom es af orce f or
chan ge in s ociety. Its eem s tom e thaton e s hou l d be highl y
con s ciou s of the didactic an d s ocial rol e of on e' s arttoday.
Societyis in as tate of en orm ou s tran s ition . T he m os t
exten s iv e chan ges in ou ren v iron m en tcan be attribu ted to
s cien ce an d techn ol ogy. T he artis t' s m oral res pon s ibil ity
dem an ds thathe s hou l d attem pttou n ders tan d thes e
chan ges . Som e real f am il iarityw iths cien tif ic thou ghtis
in dis pen s abl e tohim . Itis n oten ou ghtoacceptou r
0 _0 ' 39 4. . -~47 . O a ._- 10. T he Con s tru ction
of Chan ge
con dition , ors im pl ytoen j oyit. Acceptan ce can on l yl ead toa
m u rderou s eas y goin gn es s , as T hom as Man n has des cribed
itItw ou l d n eedan ew s ocietyif artis again tobecom e in n o-
am tan d harm l es s .
Cu l tu re regu l ates an d s hapes s ociety. T he artis tf u n ction s
s ocial l yon as ym bol ic l ev el . He acts ou tthe rol e of the f ree
m an parexcel l en ce. Hav in g chos en the s ym bol ic f iel d w ithin
w hichhe w il l act, an d s ettin g f orhim s el f m aterial l im itation s
w ithw hichhe is f am il iar, he s ets ou ttodis cov erthe
u n kn ow n . He s takes ev erythin g on f in din g the u n f am il iar,
the u n predictabl e. His in tel l ectu al au dacityis m atched on l y
bythe v ital origin al ityof the f orm s an d s tru ctu res he creates .
s ym bol ical l yhe takes on res pon s ibil ityf orabs ol u te pow er
an d f reedom , tos hape an d create his w orl d. He dem on s trates ,
perhaps ritu al is tical l y, m an s capacitytocreate w hatis tobe
. . . m an s highes tm erit, af teral l , is tocon trol circu m s tan ces
as f aras pos s ibl e"( Goethe). In this con textthe artis ts
activ ityis as s ign if ican tas the artw ork he produ ces .
Creativ e l eaps are taken in s cien ce al s o. Scien ce s eeks to
redu ce the u n predictabl e tom eas u rabl e l im its . Whil e itm ay
hav e as ym bol ic orritu al is tic f u n ction , itis gen eral l ys ee to
operate in the practical w orks in con s ortw ithpractical
pow er. Byprediction , itredu ces ou ran xietyof the u n kn ow n
f u tu re. Bycon trol , itredu ces the con tin gen tn atu re of ev en ts
an d orders them toou radv an tage. Bycom paris on , the artis t
pl ays , bu titis pl ayin deeps eriou s n es s ( Man n ). T he cu l tu re
tow hichartcon tribu tes , al thou ghitw orks w ithou tpractical
pow er, is res pon s ibl e toacon s iderabl e exten tf orthe
direction in w hichs ocietym ov es . T he artis ts activ itys erv es
tos etbef ore his f el l ow m en the s ym bol ic pattern of an
exis ten ce in w hich, giv en abs ol u te choice an d res pon s ibil ity
an d the pow ertotake in cal cu l abl e ris ks , the w orl d an d his
ow n iden tityare s haped tohis w il l . its tan ds f orthat
optim u m of con trol an d creativ itytow hichm an s practical
l if e con s tan tl yas pires .
Scien ce an d aDis cipl in e f orArt
Cu l tu re has been w el l def in ed as the s u m of al l the l earn ed
behav iou rs thatexis tin agiv en l ocal ity. T he w ork of art
occu pies apiv otal poin tbetw een tw os ets of behav iou r, the
artis ts an d the s pectators . itis es s en tial l yam atrix, the
s u bs tan ce betw een . Itn eitherexis ts f orits el f n orbyits el f .
Con s equ en tl ythe artis tw ou l d dow el l toexam in e w ith
s om e precis ion the n atu re of the s pecial activ ityw hich
giv es ris e tohis ow n art. An organ is m is m os tef f icien t
w hen itkn ow s its ow n in tern al order. He m ightdirecthis
atten tion tothos e s cien ces w hichm eas u re behav iou r,
s cru tin is e biol ogical proces s es an d expl ore the in tern al
s ys tem s of com m u n ication an d s el f -regu l ation . He m ayas k
how the hu m an organ is m in teracts w ithits en v iron m en t:
w hatrel ation kn ow l edge has toperception . Acon s is ten t
an d thorou ghen qu irym ightl ead tothe f orm in g of a
dis cipl in e. Bu tthe behav iou ral s cien ces al on e cou l d hardl y
con s titu te the total backbon e toon es art. Som e real
u n ders tan din g of the w orl d tow hichw e res pon d an d w ith
w hichw e hav e com m erce m u s tbe obtain ed. T radition al l y
the artis trel ies on v is u al obs erv ation , in tu itiv e j u dgem en t
an d daytodayexperien ce f orthis . Bu ttof u l l yorien tate
him s el f in the m odern w orl d the artis tm u s ttu rn tos cien ce
as atool an d ref eren ce. Irecom m en d thathe tu rn to
Cybern etics .
Scien ce as aw hol e w orks on m an yf ron ts t0om an y
highl ys pecial is ed f iel ds , in f act, f orthe artis ttocon s u l tthem
al l , exceptcas u al l y. Cybern etics how ev eris es s en tial l y
in tegrativ e, draw in g m an ydis parate s cien ces together. It
ran ges ov erm an yterritories of s cien tif ic en qu iry. Itis aco-
ordin atorof s cien ce, as Artis the co-ordin atorof experien ce.
Cybern etic m ethod m aybe characteris ed byaten den cyto
exterioris e its con cepts in s om e s ol id f orm ; toprodu ce
m odel s in hardw are of the n atu ral orartif icial s ys tem itis
dis cu s s in g. Itis con cern ed w ithw hatthin gs do, how theydo
them an d w iththe proces s w ithin w hichtheybehav e. It
takes adyn am ic v iew of l if e n otu n l ike thatof the artis t.
P hen om en aare s tu died in s of aras theydos om ethin g orare
partof s om ethin g w hichis bein g don e. T he iden tityw e giv e
tow hatw e perceiv e is al w ays rel ativ e, yetitpres u ppos es a
w hol e. Ev erythin g chan ges ceas el es s l y; w e in v es tigate ou r
w orl d bes t. bys eein g f irs tthe s ys tem orproces s bef ore
ev al u atin g the thin g. Cybern etics is con cern ed w iththe
behav iou rof the en v iron m en t, its regu l ation an d the
s tru ctu re w hichrev eal s the organ is ation of its parts . Con trol
an d com m u n ication in an im al an d m achin e is aproper
s tu dyf orthe artis t.
Lin ked totechn ol ogy, Cybern etics is res pon s ibl e f or
u n preceden ted chan ges in the hu m an con dition . Cybern ation
is brin gin g abou tatotal in du s trial rev ol u tion w hichw il l hav e
f arreachin g s ocial con s equ en ces . T his s cien ce of con trol an d
com m u n ication is l eadin g ton ew con cepts of u rban
pl an n in g, produ ction , s hel ters , tran s portan d l earn in g
m ethods . T he bal l has s tarted torol l . T he artis tcan n ot
___
10. T he Con s tru ction
of Chan ge
ign ore this creativ e f orce w hichis chan gin g his w orl d.
Moreov er, Cybern etics deal s w ithcon cepts of in f orm ation ,
perception , tran s l ation , l ogic an d chan ce w hichare s in gu l arl y
rel ev an ttohis art.
An d m an s rel ation s hiptohis en v iron m en thas chan ged.
As ares u l tof cybern etic ef f icien cy, he f in ds him s el f
becom in g m ore an d m ore predom in an tl yaCon trol l eran d
l es s an Ef f ecter. T he m achin e, l argel ys el f -regu l atin g an d
highl yadaptiv e, s tan ds betw een m an an d his w orl d. It
exten ds his perception in tof u rthes ts pace an d deepin tothe
f in es tparticl es of m atter; phys ical l abou ris repl aced by
accu rate, tirel es s au tom ata; in m an ys itu ation s the m achin e
can gatherrequ ired in f orm ation , s tore, proces s an d acton it
m ore s w if tl yan d rel iabl ythan Man him s el f can . He perceiv es
the w orl d throu ghthe excel l en tartif icial s ys tem s he has
dev is ed. Cybern etics is n oton l ychan gin g ou rw orl d, itis
pres en tin g u s w ithqu al ities of experien ce an d m odes of
perception w hichradical l yal terou rcon ception of it.
Scien ce can in f orm adis cipl in e f orart, then , n ottoprodu ce
as cien tif ic w ork bu ttos u bs tan tiate ou rem pirical f in din gs
an d in tu ition s w ithcl earan al ys is an d reas on . T he f in al s tage
is beyon d theory; on l ycreativ e s yn thes is can produ ce thatco-
ordin atin g m atrixf orideas w hichis art.
T oprais e s cien ce, how ev er, is n ottoprais e as pu riou s
s cien tis m ; Im ean thatten den cyin Arttou s e im ages an d
n otation s f ou n d in the produ cts of s cien ce w ithn o
u n ders tan din g of the con cepts behin d them :- as cien tif ic
s tyl e; arom an ticis m of m achin es an d l aboratories , m icro-
photographs an d u n iden tif ied cros s -s ection s ; the f u rn itu re of
s cien ce, the props .T his attitu de is of ten accom pan ied bya
s en tim en tal n os tal giaf orthe pas t. T oign ore the theory, the
proces s , the dem on s tration m u s tbe acon tradiction of
s cien ce an d, in deed, of af orw ard-reachin g art. An ti~s cien ce in
artis equ al l ytobe criticis ed. Itis an attitu de w hichderiv es
f rom af earof the v ital ityof m odern l if e, its techn ol ogical
adv an ce, its s cien tif ic darin g. Itis hos til e toreas on an d
cl arityof pu rpos e, itis irres pon s ibl e an d v agu e.
Greatarts ym bol is es ou rw il l tos hape an d chan ge the
w orl d an d al s opu ts f orw ard the particu l aras piration s of its
tim e. Whatis ou rs ym bol of f aith?We m ayf in d thatitw il l
em bodyacon ceptof pow erreal is ed in ou rcapacityf or
highl yadaptiv e con trol , s u btl etyof com m u n ication , an d the
bol dn es s of ou rin v es tigation an d pl an n in g atthe m os t
com pl exbiol ogical an d en v iron m en tal l ev el s .
theN EWMEDIAR EADER
AGrou n dcou rs e f orArt
Bu tn om atterw hatou ras piration s orin ten tion s in art, w e
m u s tprepare adis cipl in e, agrou n dw ork f orcreativ e activ ity.
When Iem phas is e thatm yartan d didactics are on e, Iam
s u gges tin g thatthe artis ts dis cipl in e an d experien ce can be
u s ef u l l yexten ded tothe s tu den t. On e can hel phim tow in an
ou tl ook an d tocon s tru ctthe grou n dw ork f orhis ow n u n iqu e
creativ e iden tity. Bu ton e artis tis n oten ou gh. Aw ide
div ers ityof artis ts an d s cien tis ts , s u itabl yco ordin ated, m u s t
con f ron tthe s tu den t. He, in tu rn , m u s tbe s u f f icien tl y
u n in hibited tores pon d. Ou tof the f l u xam an ys ided
organ is m can ev ol v e. I
Su chan organ is m , s otos peak, is in the cou rs e of ev ol u tion
ataLon don arts chool ( Eal in g School of Art). T his tw oyear
Grou n dcou rs e ( in itiated an d directed byR oyAs cott)is a
m icrocos m of atotal proces s of artedu cation w hichw ou l d
s tretchf rom gen eral s econ daryedu cation tothe gradu ate
l ev el s of prof es s ion al artan d des ign train in g an d itoccu pies
the piv otal poin tin it. Ittakes s tu den ts f rom the s econ dary
s chool an d prepares them f oras u bs equ en tprof es s ion al
train in g. Iw ou l d l ike todes cribe the Grou n dcou rs e, v ery
broadl yMycol l aborators on the cou rs e hav e in cl u ded adel ib-
eratel yv aried s el ection of pain ters , s cu l ptors , des ign ers , an d
s cien tis ts . Eachon e has expan ded his ow n giv en areaof
teachin g w ithideas f res hf rom his s tu dioors tu dy. T hes e
areas in teractan d s u gges tn ew f iel ds of s tu dyan d the n eed
f orn ew kin ds of pers on al ities . Ideas grow an d exercis es
prol if erate as teachers dis cu s s an d dis s ecteachothers
attitu des an d pedagogic m ethods . S__om an yexercis es an d
m ethods of pres en tin g them are throw n u pin this creativ e
m il ieu , ev en in the cou rs e of on e w eek, thatitw ou l d be
im pos s ibl e tol is tthem here. Is hal l des cribe the gen eral areas
of s tu dyan d af ew exam pl es of s pecif ic probl em s s tu den ts
m aybe s et.
T he F irs tyearcou rs e has m an yf acets . Em pirical en qu iryin
res pon s e toprecis e qu es tion s is bal an ced bys cien tif ic s tu dy;
irration al acts byl ogical procedu res . Atthe core is acon cept
of pow er, the w il l tos hape an d chan ge. Cybern etics an d
behav iou ral s cien ces are s tu died regu l arl y.
T he n ew s tu den ts precon ception s of the n atu re of artan d
his ow n l im itation s ( artis Van Gogh; artis w hatm y
teachers aid itw as togetm e throu ghGCE; Iam n ogood at
col ou r; Iam the cl as s cl ow n "; Iam thick, bu tgood at
pattern s an d pos ters ")m u s tf irs tbe s ev erel ys haken an d
I
IEQ 6 4
o -o - 0 --~ e ~--o o ----0 --o 10. T he Con s tru ction
of Chan ge
open ed u ptohis cl os e s cru tin y. His dis orien tation is
con triv ed w ithin an en v iron m en tw hichis s om etim es
u n expectedl ycon f u s in g, w here he is f aced w ithprobl em s
w hichs eem abs u rd, aim l es s orterrif yin g.
T he n atu re of draw in g is qu es tion ed. Exam pl e 1. Draw the
room in rev ers e pers pectiv e. Whatin f orm ation is l os t?If an y,
f in d aw ayof addin g ittoyou rdraw in g. 2 . T im e-draw in g of
the m odel . Draw herhairin three s econ ds , f ace in three
m in u tes , l ef than d thm n b n ail in three hou rs , l egs in s ix
s econ ds , rightan kl e in tw odays . 3. Draw herw ithacu te
earache. 4. Draw the room u s in g on l yru bbin gs f rom s u rf aces
in it. Copythe draw in g precis el yw ithl in e an d ton e.
T he v al u es of pers pectiv e, m echan ical an d architectu ral
draw in g are practis ed an d tes ted again s tprobl em s of
s pace s can n in g an d des ign .
P erception s tu dies exam in e the m odes of hu m an
perception , theirco-ordin ation an d in cl u de the s earchf or
v is u al / pl as tic equ iv al en ts . Su rf ace ges tu re, m ark, col ou r,
v ol u m e are in v es tigated, al w ays w ithin s om e con text.
Exam pl e 1. Im agin e you w ake u pon e m orn in g tof in d that
you are as pon ge. Des cribe v is u al l yyou radv en tu res du rin g
the day. 2 . Lis tthe s en s e-dataof an u m brel l aorahotw ater
bottl e. Vis u al l yres tru ctu re the parts tof orm an ew en tity.
As k you rn eighbou rtoiden tif yit. 3. If f if teen ragged cris s -
cros s l in es s tan d f oracou gh, how w ou l d you draw the BBC
tim e s ign al ?4. U s e on l ys ol id s hapes todis cu s s you r
perception of :abottl e of in k; f is han d chips ; apol ice s iren ; ice
hockey. 5. Show how zebras dis gu is e them s el v es . 6 . In v en ta
typew riten bird an d s how the kin d of tree w ithin w hichit
cou l d m os ts u cces s f u l l yhide.
In the w orks hopthe s tu den tacqu ires s kil l s in j oin in g,
m ou l din g, s eparatin g, tran s f orm in g w ood, m etal s , an d
v ariou s tran s paren t, ref l ectiv e an d f l exibl e m aterial s .
Exam pl e 1. Make as cu l ptu re in pl as terof in terl ockin g u n its ,
s u chthatw hen akeypiece is rem ov ed, the res tf al l s apart.
Al l otcol ou rs tothe s eparate pieces , ( a)toin dicate the key, ( b)
tof acil itate reas s em bl y. 2 . U s in g on l yw ood, s heetal u m in iu m ,
s trin g an d pan el pin s , con s tru ctan al ogu es of :ahighpitched
s cream , the tas te of ice cream ; af ootbal l m atch. Kin etic
s tru ctu res are bu il tan d s tu dies . Con cepts can be f orm ed an d
dev el oped byv is u al m ean s . T his m ightbe s een as the third
l eg in the l earn in g proces s , w here, f ors om e reas on , v erbal or
n u m erical s ys tem s are in adequ ate. U n l ike the l atters ym bol ic
s ys tem s , how ev er, the v is u al ABC an d s yn taxhav e tobe
rein v en ted f orev eryprobl em . In v is u al term s s tu den ts s et
L
abou tan al ys in g an d in v en tin g gam es , l ogical propos ition s ,
ideas equ en ces , m atrices . Vis u al pol em ic is in du ced, codes
des ign ed an d broken .
N atu ral grow than d f orm in the con textof , s ays cal e,
reprodu ction , s im u l tan eityare an al ys ed w ithm eticu l ou s l y
detail ed draw in gs . Exam pl e 1. An al ys e an d dis s ectas ection
of apom egran ate. Dis cu s s w ithprecis e draw in g its three-
dim en s ion al cel l u l ars tru ctu re. 2 . Exam in e apl an tin m in u te
detail ; des ign an ew pl an tbas ed u pon the prin cipl es of
grow thyou hav e obs erv ed. 3. Dis cu s s v is u al l ythe
m ov em en ts of ahu n gry, caged l ion ; af righten ed s qu irrel .
In the l ighthan dl in g cl as s s tu den ts con trol al im ited
en v iron m en tw ithl ights , col ou red f il ters grids an d l en s es ,
m ov in g s creen s an d pref abricated item s . Atheatre-pl ay
s itu ation em erges , in the cou rs e of w hichs tu den ts rehears e a
v arietyof s ocial an d archetypal rol es an d expl ore the
rel ation s hipof il l u s ion toiden tityin term s of col ou ran d
l ight. T he regis tration of en v iron m en tal chan ges on l ight
s en s itiv e paperin trodu ces photography.
Con cepts of behav iou r, en v iron m en t, iden tityf in d their
w ayin topractical cl as s es . Exam pl e 1. Draw am an , m achin e
oran im al . Cu tu pthe draw in g in tos ev en s ection s ( e.g. arm ,
head, w heel , han dl e, etc). P u tthe pieces w ithev eryon e el s es
in abox. P u l l ou tan others ev en atran dom ; con s tru ct
l ogical l yan ew en tity. Draw the en v iron m en tin w hichyou
m ightexpecttoen cou n terit. 2 . Show , w ithl in e an d col ou r,
the poten tial f u n ction of :the s tu diodoor, aw atertap, an
el ephan t, the w in dow bl in d. Attem pttodes cribe w hatthey
m ighthav e in com m on . 3. In v en ttw odis tin ctl ydif f eren t
an im al s ; im agin e them tom ate an d draw the of f s prin g. 4.
Make the il l u s ion of , s ay, abu n ors au s age, in three
dim en s ion s an d on paper. Show itbein g s u bm itted tov ariou s
ev en ts :ru n ov er, s qu eezed s oaked in acid, m in ced, pierced
byas hotgu n . Meas u re the real again s tthe m etaphoric. 5.
Create aw orl d on paperw ithm aj oran d m in ors tru ctu ral
s ys tem s . Show af au l toccu rrin g in the m in oron e; des ign a
repaircen tre topu titright. 6 . En tropym aybe des cribed as a
con s tan tdrif tin the u n iv ers e tow ards as tate of total
u n dif f eren tiation ; pockets of res is tan ce are organ is in g I
con tin u ou s l y. Dis cu s s this propos ition , l im itin g you rs el f to
s ixv is u al el em en ts .
In this f irs tyearcou rs e the s tu den tis bom barded atev ery
poin tw ithprobl em s dem an din g atotal in v ol v em en tf ortheir
s ol u tion . Ideas are dev el oped w ithin m aterial l im itation s an d
in the abs tract. F orthe teachers , the f orm u l ation of probl em s
10. T he Con s tru ction
of Chan ge
is in its el f acreativ e activ ity; the abov e exam pl es giv e a
gen eral in dication of the kin d of qu es tion s theyhav e s et.
In the s econ d yearthe s itu ation chan ges radical l y. T he
gen eral direction is program m ed bu tbeyon d thats tu den ts
m u s tf in d theirow n probl em s . Stu den ts are s etthe tas k of
acqu irin g an d actin g ou tf oral im ited period ( ten w eeks )a
total l yn ew pers on al ity, w hichis tobe n arrow l yl im ited an d
l argel ythe con v ers e of w hatis con s idered tobe theirn orm al
s el v es . T heydes ign cal ibrators toread of f theirres pon s es
tos itu ation s , m aterial s , tool s an d peopl e. T heyequ ip
them s el v es w ithhan dym in d m aps "f orim m ediate ref eren ce
totheirbehav iou rpattern as chan ges in the l im itation s of
s pace, s u bs tan ce an d s tate occu r.
T heyf orm grou ps of s ix. T hes e s exagon al organ is m s ,
w hos e m em bers are of n eces s ityin terdepen den tan d highl y
con s ciou s of eachothers capabil ities an d l im itation s , are s et
the goal of produ cin g ou tof s u bs tan ces an d s pace in their
en v iron m en t, an ordered en tity.
T he l im itation s on in div idu al behav iou rare s ev ere an d
u n f am il iar. T he s tu den tw hothin ks him s el f u s el es s w ith,
s ay, col ou r, m achin e tool s , obj ectiv e draw in g, m ayf in d
him s el f w iththe s ol e res pon s ibil ityf orthes e thin gs in his
grou p. T he s hygirl m u s tactou tan eas ys ociabil ity; the
aggres s iv e you thm u s tbecom e co-operativ e. On e s tu den t
m aybe l im ited totran s portin g him s el f abou tthe s chool on a
trol l ey; an otherm ayn otu s e paper, n u m bers oradhes iv e
s u bs tan ces .
T he s u bs equ en tordered en tities are as div ers e as the
com pos ite pers on al ities of the organ is m s theyref l ect.
T otem s , tim e m achin es , s en s e boxes , f il m s , s exagon al
cabin ets , cages hav e been produ ced ou tof the f l u xof
dis cu s s ion an d activ ity.
Stu den ts are then in v ited toretu rn totheirf orm er
pers on al ities . T heym u s tm ake atotal v is u al docu m en tation
of the w hol e proces s in w hichtheyhav e been en gaged. T hey
m u s ts earchf orrel ation s hips an d ideas u n f am il iartoart( i.e.
theN EWMEDIAR EADER
s patial rel ation s hips are f am il iar). T heyu s e, atf irs t, ev ery
pos s ibl e expres s iv e m ean s :f il m , col l age, graphic proces s es ,
w ood, pl as ter, m etal , cl oth, gl as s , readym ades , ru bber, pain t
an d s oon . T heyw ork on ahu ge s cal e aton e poin t, an d in
m in iatu re atan other, s om etim es w ithkin etic s tru ctu res ,
s om etim es w iths tatic rel ation s hips .
In the proces s , an d ref l ectin g u pon theirprev iou s l y
con triv ed l im itation s of behav iou r, theybecom e aw are of the
f l exibil ityof theirres pon s es , theirres ou rcef u l n es s an d
in gen u ityin the f ace of dif f icu l ties . Whattheyas s u m ed tobe
in grain ed in theirpers on al ities , theyn ow ten d tos ee as
con trol l abl e. As en s e of creativ e v iabil ityis bein g acqu ired
T heym ov e progres s iv el yin toprobl em s of theirow n ; on e
s etof ideas is pref erred toan other, expl oited an d pu s hed to
an extrem ityof thou ghtortechn iqu e. T heyal s obegin to
chos e s pecif ic l im itation s of m aterial w ithin w hichtow ork.
T heyare m ov in g tow ards the poin tof decidin g w ithin w hich
prof es s ion al f iel d theyw il l act. T heyare becom in g aw are of
theirs pecial creativ e iden tity. An al ys is an d experim en tare
begin n in g tol ead tos yn thes is . T his is areportof w ork in
progres s ; itcan be l ittl e m ore than abrief s u m m aryof an
ev ol v in g s itu ation . Itis dif f icu l ttodoj u s tice tothe v ital ity
an d s en s e of pu rpos e w hichthe cou rs e en gen ders . Whathas
been propos ed is n otarigid s ys tem bu taf l exibl e s tru ctu re
w ithin w hichev erythin g can f in d its pl ace, ev eryin div idu al
his w ay. Itis an artw hichdoes n otes chew s cien ce. Iten abl es
the s tu den ttobecom e aw are of him s el f an d the w orl d w hil e
en abl in g him togiv e dim en s ion an d s u bs tan ce tohis w il l to
create an d chan ge.
N ote
1 Ken n ethAdam s , An thon yBen j am in , Adrian Berg, Dav id
Bin dm an , Den n is Bow en , Bern ard Cohen , Harol d Cohen , N oel
F ors ter, BF ren ch, N John s on , R BKitaj , Stephen McKen n a, J.
Morris , J N erichov , George P opperw el l , P eterStartu p, Wil l iam
Su ddaby, Brian Wal l , Brian Wright.
O- - ...,- l 5,,. .. 11. AF il e Stru ctu re
11. [ In trodu ction ]
AF il e Stru ctu re f or
the Com pl ex, the Chan gin g,
an d the In deten n in ate
T haiN el s on coin ed the w ord hypertext an d dev el oped the con ceptthatgoes al on g w ithit, on e that
u n derpin s m u l tim ediacom pu tin g, el ectron ic l iteratu re, an d the Worl d Wide Web. How ev er, as the
w n ten ts of this es s ayrev eal , N el s on ' s v is ion w as in s om e w ays f ardif f eren t his thin kin g m u ch
m ore gen eral , an d his propos al s s ign if ican tl ym ore adv an ced than the Webs m odel of hypertext.
T he Webs type of chu n k s tyl e hypertext s tatic l in ks thatal l ow the u s ertoj u m pf rom page to
pg- has been arou n d f ordecades an d has been criticized f orj u s tas l on g. F orN el s on , chu n k s tyl e
hypertextis j u s ton e s u btype of hypertext, aterm he in trodu ced tom ean abodyof w ritten or
s orial m aterial in tercon n ected in s u chacom pl exw aythatitcou l d n otcon v en ien tl ybe pres en ted
or-repres en ted on paper."T he hyper in N el s on s n eol ogis m does n otm ean l in k bu trather
' m n n 0tes exten s ion an d gen eral ity; cf . ' hypers pace.'
T his es s ay, in addition toin trodu cin g the term hypertext, al s opropos es as pecif ic type of
hypertext. Here N el s on s m odel is of com pl ex, recon f igu rabl e, l in ked s tru ctu res of in f orm ation ,
w hichcan be m an ipu l ated atagran u l aritym u chs m al l er( orl arger)than the page. In f act, N el s on ' s
} l V|IOSd f orm of hypertextm aybe al m os tu n recogn izabl e tothe u s erf am il iaron l yw iththe Web
otchu n k-s tyl e precu rs ors s u chas Appl e' s HyperCard).
Whil e the pow erof today' s Web is u n m is takabl e, its w orkin gs s hou l d n otbe m is taken f ora
tl e n iti-on of hypertext. R atherthan thin k of the Web as ahypertexts ys tem , w e m aydobetterto
thin kof itas am on u m en tal pu bl ic pu bl is hin g s pace on e thatattain ed critical m as s byem pl oyin g
Jm l is etof hypertextcon cepts , prim aril ythos e of the chu n k s tyl e. In the f u tu re the Web, an d other
in f orm ation techn ol ogies , m aybecom e yetm ore pow erf u l byim pl em en tin g otherel em en ts of
N el s on s hypertextv is ion s . F orexam pl e, the s pecif ic type of hypertextthatappears in this es s ay
( m tl in ed 30years bef ore the l au n chof the P al m P il ot)w ou l d f in al l ym ake pers on al in f orm ation
im n agrs u s ef u l pl atf orm s f orthin kin g an d w orkin g in an etw orked w orl d, ratherthan s ou ped-u p
idtl res s hooks . An d the poten tial f oraWeb-s ized hypertextem bodyin g m ore of N el s on ' s con cepts ,
w hichhe con s iders el s ew here in this v ol u m e ( Q 2 1, ( > 30), is excitin g en ou ghthatits tim u l ated
Q pru l atio-n f ordecades bef ore the ris e of the Web.
* hl WF
<
f orthe Com pl ex
l
|_
11. AF il e Stru ctu re
f orthe Com pl ex
Origin al P u bl ication
As s ociation f orCom pu tin g Machin ery: P roceedin gs of the 2 0th
N ation al Con f eren ce, 84 100. Ed. Lew is Win n er, 19 6 5.
AF il e Stru ctu re f or
the Com pl ex, the
Chan gin g, an d the
In determ in ate
T heodorH. N el s on
Su m m ary
T he kin ds of f il e s tru ctu res requ ired if w e are tou s e the
com pu terf orpers on al f il es an d as an adj u n cttocreativ ity
are w hol l ydif f eren tin characterf rom thos e cu s tom aryin
bu s in es s an d s cien tif ic dataproces s in g. T heyn eed toprov ide
the capacityf orin tricate an d idios yn cratic arran gem en ts ,
total m odif iabil ity, u n decided al tern ativ es , an d thorou gh
in tern al docu m en tation .
T he origin al ideaw as tom ake af il e f orw riters an d
s cien tis ts , m u chl ike the pers on al s ide of Bu s h' s Mem ex, that
w ou l d dothe thin gs s u chpeopl e n eed w iththe richn es s they
w ou l d w an t. Bu tthere are s om an ypos s ibl e s pecif ic
f u n ction s thatthe m in d reel s . T hes e u s es an d con s ideration s
becom e s ocom pl exthatthe on l yan s w eris as im pl e an d
gen eral ized bu il din g-bl ock s tru ctu re, u s er-orien ted an d
w hol l ygen eral pu rpos e.
T he res u l tin g f il e s tru ctu re is expl ain ed an d exam pl es of
its u s e are giv en . Itbears gen eric s im il arities tol is t-
proces s in g s ys tem s bu tis s l ow eran d bigger. Item pl oys
zippered l is ts pl u s certain f acil ities f orm odif ication an d
s pin -of f of v ariation s . T his is techn ical l yaccom pl is hed by
in dexm an ipu l ation an d textpatchin g, bu ttothe u s eritacts
l ike am u l tif ariou s , pol ym orphic, m an y-dim en s ion al , in f in ite
bl ackboard.
T he ram if ication s of this approachexten d w el l beyon d its
origin al con cern s , in tos u chpl aces as in f orm ation retriev al
an d l ibrarys cien ce, m otion pictu res an d the program m in g
craf t; f oritis al m os tev eryw here n eces s arytodeal w ithdeep
s tru ctu ral chan ges in the arran gem en ts of ideas an d thin gs .
theN EWMEDIAR EADER
Iw an ttoexpl ain how s om e ideas dev el oped an d w hat
theyare. T he origin al probl em w as tos pecif yacom pu ter
s ys tem f orpers on al in f orm ation retriev al an d docu m en -
tation , abl e todos om e rathercom pl icated thin gs in cl ear
an d s im pl e w ays . T he in v es tigation gathered gen eral ity,
how ev er, an d has ev en tu ated in an u m berof ideas . T hes e are
an in f orm ation s tru ctu re, af il e s tru ctu re, an d af il e l an gu age,
eachprogres s iv el ym ore com pl icated. T he in f orm ation
s tru ctu re Ical l zippered l is ts ; the f il e s tru ctu re is the ELF , or
Ev ol u tion aryLis tF il e; an d the f il e l an gu age ( propos ed)is
cal l ed P R IDE.
In this paperIw il l expl ain the origin al probl em . T hen I
w il l expl ain w hythe probl em is n ots im pl e, an d w hythe
s ol u tion ( af il e s tru ctu re)m u s tyetbe v erys im pl e. T he f il e
s tru ctu re s u gges ted here is the Ev ol u tion aryLis tF il e, tobe
bu il tof zippered l is ts . An u m berof u s es w il l be s u gges ted f or
s u chaf il e, in ordertos how the breadthof its poten tial
u s ef u l n es s . F in al l y, Iw an ttoexpl ain the phil os ophical
im pl ication s of this approachf orin f orm ation retriev al an d
datas tru ctu re in achan gin g w orl d.
Ibegan this w ork in 19 6 0, w ithn ohel pf rom an ybody. Its
pu rpos e w as tocreate techn iqu es f orhan dl in g pers on al f il e
s ys tem s an d m an u s cripts in progres s . T hes e tw opu rpos es
are cl os el yrel ated an d n ots harpl ydis tin ct. Man yw riters
an d res earchprof es s ion al s hav e f il es orcol l ection s of n otes
w hichare tied tom an u s cripts in progres s . In deed, of ten
pers on al f il es s hade in tom an u s cripts , an d the as s em bl yof
textu al n otes becom es the w ritin g of textw ithou tas harp
break.
Ikn ew f rom m yow n experim en tw hatcan be don e f or
thes e pu rpos es w ithcard f il e, n otebook, in dextabs , edge-
pu n chin g, f il e f ol ders , s cis s ors an d pas te, graphic boards ,
in dex-s tripf ram es , Xeroxm achin e an d the rol l -topdes k. My
in ten tw as n otm erel ytocom pu terize thes e tas ks bu tto
thin k ou t( an d ev en tu al l yprogram )the dream f il e:the f il e
s ys tem thatw ou l d hav e ev eryf eatu re an ov el is torabs en t-
m in ded prof es s orcou l d w an t, hol din g ev erythin g he w an ted
in j u s tthe com pl icated w ayhe w an ted ithel d, an d han dl in g
n otes an d m an u s cripts in as s u btl e an d com pl exw ays as he
w an ted them han dl ed
On l yaf ew obs tacl es im pede ou ru s in g com pu ter-bas ed
s ys tem s f orthes e pu rpos es . T hes e hav e been highcos t, l ittl e
s en s e of n eed an d u n certain tyabou ts ys tem des ign .
T he cos ts are n ow dow n con s iderabl y. As m al l com pu ter
w ithm as s m em oryan d v ideo-type dis pl ayn ow cos ts
o A. 0-.- al 19 6 5o . . . a 11.AF il e Stru ctu re
f orthe Com pl ex
$37 ,000; am ortized ov ertim e this w ou l d cos tl es s than a
s ecretary, an d s ev eral peopl e cou l d u s e itarou n d the cl ock. A
l argerin s tal l ation s erv icin g an editorial of f ice oran ew s paper
m orgu e, oradozen s cien tis ts ors chol ars , cou l d cos t
proportion atel yl es s an d giv e m ore tim e toeachu s er.
T he s econ d obs tacl e, s en s e of n eed, is am atterof f as hion .
Des pite chan gin g econ om ies , itis f as hion abl ybel iev ed that
com pu ters are pos s es s ed on l ybyhu ge organ ization s tobe
u s ed on l yf orv as tcorporate tas ks orin tricate s cien tif ic
cal cu l ation s . As l on g as peopl e thin k that, m achin es w il l be
bru tes an d n otf rien ds , bu reau crats an d n othel pm eets . Bu t
s in ce ( as Iw il l in dicate)com pu ters cou l d dothe dirtyw ork
of pers on al f il e an d texthan dl in g, an d doitw ithrichn es s
an d s u btl etybeyon d an ythin g w e kn ow , there ou ghttobe a
s en s e of n eed. U n f ortu n atel y, there are n oas certain abl e
s tatis tics on the am ou n tof tim e w e w as te f u s s in g am on g
papers an d m is l ayin g thin gs . Su rel yhal f the tim e s pen tin
w ritin g is s pen tphys ical l yrearran gin g w ords an d paperan d
tryin g tof in d thin gs al readyw ritten ; if 9 5% of this tim e
cou l d be s av ed, itw ou l d on l ytake hal f as l on g tow rite
s om ethin g.
T he third obs tacl e, des ign , is the on l ys u bs tan tiv e on e, the
on e tow hichthis papers peaks .
Letm e s peak f irs tof the au tom atic pers on al f il in g s ys tem .
T his ideais byn om ean s n ew . T ogoback on l yas f aras 19 45,
Van n ev arBu s h, in his f am ou s articl e As We MayT hin k,
des cribed as ys tem of this type. Bu s h' s paperis better
rem em bered f orits prediction s in the f iel d of in f orm ation
retriev al , as he f ores aw the s pread an d P ow erof au tom atic
docu m en than dl in g an d the m an yn ew in dexin g techn iqu es it
w ou l d n eces s itate. Bu tn ote his prediction s f orpers on al f il in g:
Con s ideraf u tu re dev ice f orin div idu al u s e. w hichis a
s ortof m echan ized priv ate f il e an d l ibrary. Itn eeds a
n am e, an d, tocoin on e atran dom , m em ex w il l do. A
m em exis adev ice in w hichan in div idu al s tores al l his
books , records , an d com m u n ication s , an d w hichis
m echan ized s othatitm aybe con s u l ted w ith
exceedin g s peed an d f l exibil ity. Itis an en l arged
in tim ate s u ppl em en ttohis m em ory.
Itcon s is ts of ades k, an d w hil e itcan pres u m abl ybe
" operated f rom adis tan ce, itis prim aril ythe piece of
f u rn itu re atw hichhe w orks . On the topare s l an tin g
tran s l u cen ts creen s , on w hichm aterial can be
proj ected f orcon v en ien treadin g. T here is akeyboard,
an d s ets of bu tton s an d l ev ers . Otherw is e itl ooks l ike
an ordin arydes k.
As pecial bu tton tran s f ers him im m ediatel ytothe
f irs tpage of the in dex. An ygiv en book of his l ibrary
[ an d pres u m abl yothertextu al m aterial , s u chas
n otes ] can thu s be cal l ed u pan d con s u l ted w ithf ar
greaterf acil itythan if itw ere taken f rom as hel f . As
he has s ev eral proj ection pos ition s , he can l eav e on e
item in pos ition w hil e he cal l s u pan other. He can add 1 3
m argin al n otes an d com m en ts . . . . ( l 06 7 )
U n ders tan din g thats u cham achin e requ ired n ew kin ds of
f il in g arran gem en ts , Bu s hs tres s ed his f il es abil itytos tore
rel ated m aterial s in as s ociativ e trail s , l is ts orchain s of
docu m en ts j oin ed together.
When the u s eris bu il din g atrail , he n am es it, in s erts
the n am e in his code book, an d taps itou ton his
keyboard Bef ore him are the tw oitem s tobe j oin ed,
proj ected on toadj acen tv iew in g pos ition s . Atthe
bottom of eachthere are an u m berof bl an k code
s paces , an d apoin teris s ettoin dicate on e of thes e on
eachitem . T he u s ertaps as in gl e key, an d the item s
are perm an en tl yj oin ed.
0000
T hereaf ter, atan ytim e, w hen on e of thes e item s is in
v iew , the othercan be in s tan tl yrecal l ed m erel yby
tappin g abu tton bel ow the corres pon din g code s pace.
Moreov er, w hen n u m erou s item s hav e been thu s
j oin ed togethertof orm atrail , theycan be rev iew ed
in tu rn , rapidl yors l ow l y, bydef l ectin g al ev erl ike
thatu s ed f ortu rn in g the pages of abook. Itis exactl y
as thou ghthe phys ical item s had been gathered
togetherf rom w idel ys eparated s ou rces an d bou n d
togethertof orm an ew book. Itis m ore than this , f or
an yitem can be j oin ed in ton u m erou s trail s .
u n p-
T hu s he goes , bu il din g atrail of m an yitem s .
Occas ion al l yhe in s erts acom m en tof his ow n , either
l in kin g itin tothe m ain trail orj oin in g itbyas ide trail
toaparticu l aritem . ( 107 )
T w odecades l ater, this m achin e is s til l u n av ail abl e.
_._. .,. _-.__~-5 - ,. ..~~_; _. .. -,
.-.- . .* -""' ,. ' ' .\"\ ~- 2 .1 I ' -"-. ' ~
,,- ._~_-_' ,_ . __..__s
Il ii* l i' -l iaiiid.. ei % ii:r; 1r} rn i h~* h 5; d s igriea= ,.is priw iru i.-5'
m i_cro [ r|i; .~i' n s tru ih_ept, {n itiris ; s u ited ; q.r_idip yn rrau e-' _' .;
pgrs orial ._u e_s ,_n or. to. . v ol _u tioha-ryim odi- cation ,<as _dej s r; ri,_bed 5
h re_v n der.?I."...' :- * I ~ I ..
~ ...-- . . ,,: ~ "< , , . re ' _.
It In - . ' . ..,
Ir."
u . -
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11. AF il e Stru ctu re
f orthe Com pl ex
T he hardw are is ready. Stan dard com pu ters can han dl e hu ge
bodies of w ritten in f orm ation , s torin g them on m agn etic
recordin g m ediaan d dis pl ayin g theircon ten ts on CR T
con s ol es , w hichf arou ts hin e des ktopproj ectors . Bu tn o
program s , n of il e s of tw are are s tan din g readytodothe
in tricate f il in g j ob ( keepin g track of as s ociativ e trail s an d
others tru ctu res )thatthe activ e s cien tis torthin kerw an ts
an d n eeds . Whil e Wal l ace3 reports thatthe Sys tem
Dev el opm en tCorporation has f ou n d itw orthw hil e togiv e
its em pl oyees certain l im ited com pu terf acil ities f ortheir
ow n f il in g s ys tem s , this is abare begin n in g.
Letu s con s iderthe otherdes ideratu m , m an u s cript
theN EWMEDIAR EADER
an d s equ en ce w il l create the ef f ects des ired: the bal an ce of
em phas is , s equ en ce of in terrel atin g poin ts , textu re of in s ight,
rhythm , etc. We m aybettercal l the ou tl in in g proces s
in du ctiv e:certain in terrel ation s appeartothe au thorin the
m aterial its el f , s om e atthe ou ts etan d s om e as he w orks . He
can on l ydecide w hichtoem phas ize, w hichtou s e as u n if yin g
ideas an d prin cipl es , an d w hichtos l ightordel ete, bytryin g.
Ou tl in es in gen eral are s pu riou s , m ade u paf terthe f actby
exam in in g the s egm en tation of af in is hed w ork. If af in is hed
w ork cl earl yf ol l ow s an ou tl in e, thatou tl in e probabl yhas
been ham m ered ou tof m an yin s piration s , com paris on s an d
tes ts .
han dl in g. T he rem arks thatf ol l ow are in ten ded toappl ytoal l Betw een the in s piration s , then , an d du rin g the s ittin g, the
f orm s of w ritin g, in cl u din g f iction , phil os ophy, s erm on s ,
n ew s an d techn ical w ritin g.
T he probl em s of w ritin g are l ittl e u n ders tood, ev en by
w riters . Sys tem s an al ys is in this areais s can ty; as el s ew here,
the bes tdoers m ayn otu n ders tan d w hattheydo. Al thou gh
there is con s iderabl e an ecdote an d l ore abou tthe dif f eren t
phys ical m an u s criptan d f il e techn iqu es of dif f eren tau thors ,
l iterarytradition dem erits an ycon cern w ithtechn ical
s ys tem s as detractin g f rom creativ ity. ( Con v ers el y, techn ical
peopl e don otal w ays appreciate the dif f icu l tyof organ izin g
text, s in ce in techn ical w ritin g m u chof the organ ization an d
phras eol ogyis giv en , orappears tobe.)Bu tin the com pu ter
s cien ces w e are prof ou n dl yaw are of the im portan ce of
s ys tem s detail s , an d of the v arietyof con s equ en ces f orboth
qu al ityan d qu an tityof w ork thatres u l tf rom dif f eren t
s ys tem s . Y ettodes ign an d ev al u ate s ys tem s f orw ritin g, w e
n eed tokn ow w hatthe proces s of w ritin g is .
tas k of w ritin g is on e of rearran gem en tan d reproces s in g,
an d the real ou tl in e dev el ops s l ow l y. T he origin al cru de or
f ragm en tarytexts created atthe ou ts etgen eral l yu n dergo
m an yrev is ion proces s es bef ore theyare f in is hed.
in tel l ectu al l ytheyare pon dered, j u xtapos ed, com pared,
adapted, tran s pos ed, an d j u dged; m echan ical l ytheyare
copied, ov erw ritten w ithrev is ion m arkin gs , rearran ged an d
copied again . T his cycl e m aybe repeated m an ytim es . T he
w hol e grow s bytrial an d errorin the proces s es of
arran gem en t, com paris on an d retren chm en t. Byexam in in g
an d m en tal l yn otin g m an ydif f eren tv ers ion s , s om e w hol e
bu tm os tf ragm en tary, the in tertw in in g an d organ izin g of
the f in al w ritten w ork gradu al l ytakes pl ace.*
Certain thin gs hav e been don e in the areaof com pu ter
m an u s cripthan dl in g. IBM recen tl yan n ou n ced its
Adm in is trativ e T erm in al Sys tem "5' 6 ' 7 ' 8 w hichperm its the
s torage of u n f in is hed s ection s of textin com pu term em ory,
T here are three f al s e orin adequ ate theories of how w ritin g perm its v ariou s m odif ication s bythe u s er, an d types u pthe
is properl ydon e. T he f irs tis thatw ritin g is am atterof
in s piration . Whil e in s piration is u s ef u l , itis rarel yen ou ghin
its el f . Writin g is 10% in s piration , 9 0% pers piration , is a
com m on s ayin g. Bu tthis l eads u s tothe s econ d f al s e theory,
thatw ritin g con s is ts of appl yin g the s eatof the pan ts tothe
s eatof the chair. In s of aras s ittin g f acil itates w ork, this v iew
s eem s reas on abl e, bu tital s os u gges ts thatw hatis don e
w hil e s ittin g is am atterof com parativ e in dif f eren ce;
probabl yn ot.
T he third f al s e theoryis thatal l you real l yn eed is agood
ou tl in e, created on priorcon s ideration , an d thatif the
ou tl in e is correctl yf ol l ow ed the requ ired textw il l be
produ ced. F orm os tgood w riters this theoryis qu ite w ron g.
R arel ydoes the origin al ou tl in e predictw el l w hatheadin gs
f in al draf tw ithpage n u m bers , rightj u s tif ication an d headers .
Whil e this is agood thin g, its f u n ction f orm an u s cripts is
cos m etic ratherthan organ izin g. Su chas ys tem can be u s ed
on l yw ithtextu al s ection s w hichare al readyw el l organ ized
the v is ibl e partof the iceberg. T he m aj oran d s tren u ou s part
of s u chw ritin g m u s tal readyhav e been don e.
If aw riteris real l ytobe hel ped byan au tom ated s ys tem , it
ou ghttodom ore than retype an d tran s pos e:its hou l d s tan d
-_~ I. ... . _. , ., _~ * ; ' \" . ' ' ' .. .. I ___~ _,
' . .. n . 1 . . __. 1 - 1 , ' .' - -.- - .. -_
m i
_ iiiil l l il l l -il il iil iiier f aithf u l l 9 il ~l * l < I
ii T
. iI ~
_-.~ - -. .,. .
or. A s as 0- ~~-1 ~ f or -<|1g 5-o- - ---a-- .~:<oa~:* as ~ <= -- --T a s o--~ ~ 11. A Stl ' U CtU l ' e
f orthe Com pl ex
byhim du rin g the earl yperiods of m u ddl ed con f u s ion , w hen How ev er, becau s e itis n eces s arytoexam in e chan ges an d
his ideas are s craps , f ragm en ts , phras es , an d con tradictory
ov eral l des ign s . An d itm u s thel phim throu ghtothe f in al
draf tw ithev eryf eas ibl e m echan ical aid m akin g the
f ragm en ts eas ytof in d, an d m akin g eas ierthe ten tativ e
s equ en cin g an d j u xtapos in g an d com parin g.
Itw as f orthes e tw opu rpos es , taken together pers on al
f il in g an d m an u s criptas s em bl y thatthe f ol l ow in g
s pecif ication s w e re draw n u p.
Here w ere the prel im in arys pecif ication s of the s ys tem :It
w ou l d prov ide an u p-to~date in dexof its ow n con ten ts
( s u ppl an tin g the code book s u gges ted byBu s h). Itw ou l d
acceptl arge an d grow in g bodies of textan d com m en tary,
l is ted in s u chcom pl exf orm s as the u s erm ights tipu l ate. N o
hierarchical f il e rel ation s w ere tobe bu il tin ; the s ys tem
w ou l d hol d an ys hape im pos ed. on it. Itw ou l d f il e texts in an y
f orm an d arran gem en tdes ired com bin in g, atw il l , the
f u n ction s of the card f il e, l oos e-l eaf n otebook, an d s oon . It
w ou l d f il e u n deran u n l im ited n u m berof categories . Itw ou l d
prov ide f orf il in g in Bu s htrail s . Bes ides the f il e. en tries
them s el v es , itw ou l d hol d com m en taries an d expl an ation s
con n ected w iththem . T hes e an n otation s w ou l d hel pthe
w riterors chol arkeeptrack of his prev iou s ideas , reaction s
an d pl an s , of ten con f u s in gl yf orgotten .
In addition tothes e s tatic f acil ities , the s ys tem w ou l d
hav e v ariou s prov is ion s f orchan ge. T he u s erm u s tbe abl e
tochan ge boththe con ten ts of his f il e an d the w aythey
are arran ged. F acil ities w ou l d be av ail abl e f orthe rev is in g
an d rew ordin g of text. Moreov er, chan ges in the
arran gem en ts of the f il es com pon en tparts s hou l d be
pos s ibl e, in cl u din g chan ges in s equ en ce, l abel l in g, in dexin g
an d com m en ts .
Itw as al s oin ten ded thatthe s ys tem w ou l d al l ow in dex
m an ipu l ation s w hichw e m aycal l dyn am ic ou tl in in g ( or
dyn am ic in dexin g). Dyn am ic ou tl in in g u s es the chan ge in on e
texts equ en ce togu ide an au tom atic chan ge in an othertext
s equ en ce. T hatis , chan gin g an ou tl in e ( oran in dex)chan ges
the s equ en ce of the m ain textw hichis l in ked w ithit. T his
w ou l d perm itaw ritertocreate n ew draf ts w itharel ativ el y
s m al l am ou n tof ef f ort, n otcou n tin g rew ordin gs .
_. . _ . .. -. _. -- _._. _.. _.. ., .. --
. .' ' . , . .- -- .- ._. . ~. ' <~ _' ~z .. .~, . < .
' IVu v ' I. _-' _. -_~ - ' ,, ' , -. . ~ . -~ - .- _. _~ ' . .'
l iii_F ' l ~e P @ i9 l ?Y * ?i<r@ ' "<!?1.* 1.Y i' i.
,i5i' t 5d@ r.is . di.ie teii-i 6 ; ?Gorer' $i i -<U ri$trim g:Harrr:. ,qr,F ' / rl r7
S r' ras s Writes a-~N oirel ; ;
H. I i - _- .\- . . . ' .- - . _-- _, _i j -, _.- -
_ , . -V _. _' . . _ __, _. __. * .._. __._
' ~ I ' < I ' .. -- -' ~ I IT ' .' -
- . " __. _ A ~ . __- ._. -,
L
n ew arran gem en ts bef ore decidin g tou s e orkeepthem , the
s ys tem m u s tn otcom m itthe u s ertoan ew v ers ion u n til he is
ready. In deed, the s ys tem w ou l d hav e toprov ide s pin -of f
f acil ities , al l ow in g adraf tof aw ork tobe pres erv ed w hil e its
s u cces s orw as created. Con s equ en tl ythe s ys tem m u s tbe abl e
tohol d s ev eral in f act, 1n an y ~al if f eren tv ers ion s of the
s am e s ets of m aterial s . Moreov er, thes e al tern ate v ers ion s
w ou l d rem ain in dexed toon e an other, s othathow ev erhe
m ighthav e chan ged theirs equ en ces , the u s ercou l d com pare
theirequ iv al en tparts .
T hree particu l arf eatu res , then , w ou l d be s pecial l yadapted
tou s ef u l chan ge. T he s ys tem w ou l d be abl e tos u s tain
chan ges in the bu l k an d bl ock arran gem en ts of its con ten ts .
Itw ou l d perm itdyn am ic ou tl in in g. An d itw ou l d perm itthe
s pin -of f of m an ydif f eren tdraf ts , eithers u cces s ors or
v arian ts , al l torem ain w ithin the f il e f orcom paris on oru s e
as l on g as n eeded- T hes e f eatu res w e m aycal l ev ol u tion ary.
T he l as ts pecif ication , of cou rs e, on e thatem erged f rom al l
the others , w as thatits hou l d n otbe com pl icated.
T hes e w ere the origin al des iderata. Itw as n otexpected at
f irs tthatas ys tem f orthis pu rpos e w ou l d hav e w iders cope
of appl ication ; thes e j obs s eem ed tobe qu ite en ou gh. As w ork
con tin u ed, how ev er, the s tru ctu re began tol ook m ore s im pl e,
pow erf u l an d gen eral , an d av arietyof n ew pos s ibl e u s es
appeared. Itbecam e apparen tthatthe s ys tem m ightbe
s u ited tom an yu n pl an n ed appl ication s in v ol v in g m u l tipl e
categories , texts u m m aries orotherparal l el docu m en ts ,
com pl exdatas tru ctu res requ irin g hu m an atten tion , an d f il es
w hos e rel ation s w ou l d be in con tin u in g chan ge.
N ote thatin the dis cu s s ion thatf ol l ow s w e w il l preten d w e
can s im pl ys ee in tothe m achin e, an d n otw orryf orthe
pres en tabou thow w e can actu al l ys ee, u n ders tan d an d
m an ipu l ate thes e f il es . T hes e are probl em s of hou s ekeepin g,
I/ O an d dis pl ay, f orw hichm an ys ol u tion s are pos s ibl e.
El em en ts of the ELF
Whatw as requ ired w e m aycal l an ev ol u tion aryf il e s tru ctu re:a
f il e s tru ctu re thatcan be s haped in tov ariou s f orm s , chan ged
f rom on e arran gem en ttoan otherin accordan ce w iththe
u s ers chan gin g n eed. Itw as apparen tal s othats om e type of
l is ts tru ctu re w as n eces s ary. Makin g the f il e ou tof l is ts
w ou l d al l ow dif f eren tcategories of pers on al n otes , s eparate
draf ts , ou tl in es an d m as terin dices al l tobe han dl ed as l is ts of
s om e s ort; theirs egm en ts cou l d then be m an ipu l ated
11. AF il e Stru ctu re
f orthe Com pl ex
throu ghau tom atic han dl in g of in dexn u m bers . T he res u l tin g
f il e s tru ctu re Iw il l accordin gl ycal l the Ev ol u tion aryLis tF il e,
orELF , s in ce itis an ev ol u tion aryf il e s tru ctu re con s tru cted
w ithl is ts . T he s ys tem propos ed here is n otthe on l yELF
pos s ibl e. Itis bu il tu pon as pecif ic techn iqu e of attachin g l is ts
togetherw hichhas an atu ral res is tan ce tobecom in g
con f u s ed an d m es s y.
As com pu ter-bas ed s ys tem s grow in capabil ityan d
div ers ityof u s es , theyten d tobecom e m ore an d m ore
cl u ttered w ithn iggl in g com pl ication s , hidden pas s agew ays ,
an d l u rkin g, detail ed in terl ocks , res triction s , s pecial ization s ,
prov is os . T hes e s hou l d be f ors w orn , if pos s ibl e, in the s ys tem
u n derdis cu s s ion , s othatitm ightbe attractiv e tol aym en
( in cl u din g artis ts an d w riters )w hof eel u r dn dl ydis pos ed
tow ard com pu ters . Its hou l d readil yadapttotheirow n s tyl es
of han dl in g thin gs , im pos in g f ew con v en tion s orm ethods of
u s e. How cou l d this im pos ition be av oided?An d am on g s o
m an yin teres tin g an d pos s ibl e s ys tem f u n ction s an d f il e
rel ation s , how m aythe u s ers kn ow w hatcon n ection s to
m ake, how m aytheyu n ders tan d w hattheyare doin g, an d
how m aytheyav oid m u ddl in g an d l os in g the thin gs theyare
w orkin g w ith?
T he an s w er, Ithin k you s ee, is tochoos e av erys im pl e
s tru ctu re thatcan be u s ed an d com pou n ded in m an y
dif f eren tw ays . T he bas ic arran gem en tchos en f orthes e
theN EWMEDIAR EADER
On the l ef tw e s ee tw ozippered l is ts . Betw een the en tries
of l is tAan d thos e of Bare das hed l in es , repres en tin g the
l in ks betw een the tw ol is ts . On the rightis the tabl e of l in ks
as itm ightl ook toam achin e. T he m achin e can read this
tabl e f rom righttol ef torl ef ttoright, f in din g en tries in B
thatcorres pon d togiv en en tries in A, orv ice v ers a. Achan ge
in the s equ en ce of eitherl is t, oraddition s toeitherl is t, w il l
n otchan ge the l in ks thats tan d betw een them . Chan ges in
the l in k s tru ctu re w il l occu ron l yif the u s ers pecif ical l y
A B A B
F l T 1\ 3
2 * / Y 1
-.... \X
4
.,r.._,
\.-<l \ -7 4 A-1
.\I/ \in
,.. ril l
- -err - F F A u i i> o4 r\> --
.-. \-___-5
L_ 5
__....,._, _....,..,_\
2
LIN KED LIST S LIN KT ABLE
F igu re 11.1. Zippered l is ts : 1-f or-1 l in ks betw een en tries are
in v arian tu n derl is tperm u tation .
pu rpos es is an in f orm ation s tru ctu re Iw il l ref ertoas zippered chan ges the l in ks , orif he des troys en tries w hichare l in ked to
l is ts . ( We m ightcal l itperm u tation -in v arian ton e f or-on e others .
in ter-l is ten try-l in kin g, bu tthatis n otn eces s ary.) T obe techn ical , then , tw ol is ts are zippered if there are an y
T here are on l ythree kin ds of thin gs in the zippered-l is tpairw is e l in ks betw een theirres pectiv e el em en ts , each
ELF , w ithn opredeterm in ed rel ation s am on g them n o el em en tis in n om ore than on e l in k pair, an d thes e l in ks are
hierarchies , m achin e-bas ed f eatu res ortrick exception s . T he u n af f ected byperm u tation of the l is ts , rem ain in g af f ixed to
s ys tem is u s er-orien ted an d open -f aced, an d its cl earan d the s am e pairs of el em en ts . Itis n otrequ ired thatthe tw o
s im pl e ru l es m aybe adapted toal l pu rpos es . l is ts be of the s am e l en gth, or, ev en if theyare, thatal l en tries
T he ELF has three el em en ts ". en tries , l is ts an d l in ks . An hav e al in k tothe otherl is t.
en tryis adis crete u n itof in f orm ation des ign atedbythe u s er.
Itcan be apiece of text( l on g ors hort), as trin g of s ym bol s , a T he ELF IS F l l .E0pEl ' 3tl Ol 1S
pictu re oracon trol des ign ation f orphys ical obj ects or
operation s .
Zippered l is ts are an in f orm ation s tru ctu re; the Ev ol u tion ary
Lis tF il e is af il e s tru ctu re. T he ELF des cribed in this paper
Al is tis an ordered s etof en tries des ign ated bythe u s er. A hol ds its con ten ts excl u s iv el yas zippered ( oru n zippered)
giv en en trym aybe in an yn u m berof l is ts . l is ts . Bu tthe f il e s tru ctu re m u s tal s oin cl u de as etof
Al irz/ < is acon n ector, des ign ated bythe u s er, betw een tw o operation s byw hichitm aybe m odif ied. T hes e f il e
particu l aren tries w ]' 11' c.-1' 1 are in dif f eren tl is ts ( F if gu re 11.1
operation s exis tf orcreatin g adj u s tin g orrem ov in g the
An en tryin on e 13:m aybe &' n kec2 ' to012 / yon e en l ryin en try s tan al hzii007 / bf m an zj n u / 312 ' / 7 _g I/ re s equ en ce
an otf zerl is t. rel ation . An ELF is actu al l yan ym acf zin e w hich on
|....
O 0* * * O I e eO* * O1 s * O 4 {}
com m an d, carryou tthe bas ic operation s on en try, l is t, l in k
an d s equ en ce.
En tries T he u s erm aycreate n ew en tries atan ytim e,
pu ttin g an ythin g in them thathe thin ks appropriate. En tries
m aybe com bin ed ordiv ided ( u n l es s in div is ibl e, l ike obj ects ,
com m an ds , etc.). En tries m aybe pu tin an yl is t, an d the s am e
en trym aybe pu tin dif f eren tl is ts . T he u s erm aydirectthat
en tries of on e l is tbe au tom atical l ycopied on toan otherl is t,
w ithou taf f ectin g the origin al l is t.
l l Sl IS T he u s erm aycreate l is ts an d as s ign en tries tothem .
He m ayatw il l m ake n ew copies of l is ts . He m ayrearran ge
the s equ en ce of al is t, orcopythe l is tan d chan ge the
s equ en ce of thatcopy. Lis ts m aybe com bin ed; l is ts m aybe
cu tin tos u bl is ts .
l l IIl ( S T he u s erm aycreate l in ks betw een en tries thatare in
dif f eren tl is ts . An yn u m berof l egal l in ks m aybe created,
al thou ghthe u pperl im itof l in ks betw een an ytw ol is ts is
determ in ed bythe 1-f or-1 ru l e. When an en tryoral is tis
copied in toal is t, l in ks w il l rem ain betw een paren tan d
dau ghteren tries . Moreov er, af teral is t-copyin g operation , the
dau ghterl is tw il l hav e the s am e l in ks toal l otherl is ts as does
the paren tl is t.
SGQ U Q IICGS T he u s erm aypu tal is tin an ys equ en ce he
w is hes . ( Acopied l is tw il l m ain tain the origin al s equ en ce
u n til m odif ied.)Sequ en ces m aybe tran s f erred betw een l is ts
v iathe l in ks :if the s equ en ce of Ais tran s f erred toB, each
en tryof Al in ked toan en tryin Btakes the s equ en tial
pos ition of its l in ked en tryin B.
N odef in ite m ean in g is as s ign ed tothes e en tities or
operation s bythe s ys tem ; the u s eris f ree. tol etthem m ean
an ythin g he l ikes . Al is tm aybe acategory, trail , in dex,
dial ogu e, catal ogu e orpoem , an d l is ts m aybe as s em bl ed in to
l argers tru ctu res . T he ELF m aybe thou ghtof as apl ace; n ota
m achin e, bu tapiece of s tation eryorof f ice equ ipm en tw ith
m an yl ittl e l ocation s w hichm aybe rearran ged w ithregard to
on e an otl ' 1er.' "'
N ote thatzippered l is ts gen erate on l yon e of v ariou s
pos s ibl e Ev ol u tion aryLis tF il es . In deed, the des cription of
the f il e s tru ctu re giv en here is in s om e w ays res trictiv e:the
ELF cou l d take an u m berof other, cl os el ys im il arf orm s an d
s til l be m u chthe s am e thin g. F orexam pl e, itw ou l d be
Q -' ~-> "' ' > ,' ,~v _ -.:l . \ r-' . ' 1.
' > 1- . _r\ g, , ~_,, . ,_' . > ..,.~_.' ,
I\- R \' q' -I V -l ' -I.-' ' 3 xi I.-I"' - .51 ' - I.-iv -. ' ~-"W- ".7
a - L":4A4' -_A__ -, ' .\. * ,' _-' 4 _~-._- _1. 1- - -- .-- ' -_
A - 11. AF il e Stru ctu re
f orthe Com pl ex
pos s ibl e toal l ow s u ben tries an d s u peren tries in tothe f il e, to
behav e an d l in k u pl ike n orm al en tries , ev en thou ghthey
con tain ed orw ere con tain ed in otheren tries . Bu tthe
equ iv al en tcan be don e w iththe cu rren ts ys tem . An other
pos s ibil ityw ou l d be toal l ow l in ks otherthan 1-f or-1; thes e
cou l d be m odal , the dif f eren tl in k-m odes hav in g dif f eren t
m ean in gs tothe u s er. Orw e m ightm ake itan ev ol u tion ary
n etw ork f il e, al l ow in g an ytw oen tries tobe con n ected. Or,
bes ides s u chgen eral chan ges in the ru l es , pl au s ibl e chan ges
an d acces s oryf u n ction s f oran ypu rpos es cou l d be
in trodu ced ou ts ide the giv en f il e s tru ctu re, ev en in cl u din g
m odif ication s an d w idgets todos om e of the s am e thin gs
m ore eas il y."
Bu ttothe u s ers u chcom pl ication m ightren derthe s ys tem
f arl es s han dyorpers picu ou s . T he ELF , w ithits as s ociated
techn iqu es as des cribed abov e, is s im pl e an d u n if ied. Man y
tas ks can be han dl ed w ithin the f il e s tru ctu re. T his m ean s it
can be of particu l arben ef ittopeopl e w how an ttol earn
w ithou tcom pl ication s an d u s e itin w ays theyu n ders tan d.
F orps ychol ogical , ratherthan techn ical reas on s , the s ys tem
s hou l d be l u cid an d s im pl e. Ibel iev e thatthis ELF bes tm eets
thes e requ irem en ts .
T echn ical As pects
Sin ce the ELF des cription abov e bears s om e res em bl an ce to
the l is tl an gu ages , s u chas IP L, SLIP , etc., adis tin ction s hou l d
be draw n . T hes e l is tl an gu ages g are particu l arl ys u ited to
proces s in g data, f as tan d iterativ el y, w hos e el em en ts are
m an ipu l abl e. in N ew el l -Shaw -Sim on l is ts . Es s en tial l ythey
m aybe thou ghtof as organ ization s of m em oryw hich
f acil itate s equ en tial operation s on u n predictabl ybran chin g
orhierarchical data. T hes e datam aychan ge f artooqu ickl y
f orhu m an in terv en tion . Ev ol u tion aryf il e s tru ctu res , an d the
ELF in particu l ar, are des ign ed tobe chan ged. piecem eal bya
hu m an in div idu al . Whil e itm ightbe con v en ien ttoprogram
an ELF in on e of thes e l an gu ages , the l ow s peed atw hich
u s erf il e com m an ds n eed tobe execu ted m akes s u chhigh-
pow ered im pl em en tation u n n eces s ary; the m ain probl em is
tokeeptrack of the f il e' s arran gem en ts , n ottoperf orm
com pu tation on its con ten ts . Al thou ghw ork has been don e
toaccom m odate the l is t-l an gu age. approachtol argerchu n ks
of m aterial than u s u al , the thin gs peopl e w il l w an ttopu t
in toan ELF w il l typical l ybe toobig f orcore m em ory.
T he ELF does in f acts hare s om e of the probl em s of the l is t
l an gu ages :n otav ail abl e-s torage accou n tin g orgarbage
_
11. AF il e Stru ctu re
f orthe Com pl ex
col l ection ( con cern s as s ociated w ithorgan ization of f as t
m em oryf orproces s in g, w hichm aybe av oided ats l ow er
s peeds ), bu tthe probl em s of checkou tf ordis pos al ( w hat
otherl is ts is an en tryon ?)an d l is tn am in g. T he f orm er
probl em is rathers traightf orw ardl ys ol v ed, p. 16 4; the l atter
is com pl icated in w ays w e can n otgoin tohere.
T he ELF appears tobe cl os es t, topol ogical l yan d in other
organ izin g f eatu res , tothe Mu l til is ts ys tem des cribed by
P ryw es an d Gray. Like thats ys tem , itperm its pu ttin g
en tries in m an ydif f eren tl is ts aton ce. How ev er, in cu rren t
in ten t thats ys tem is f irm l yhierarchical , an d thu s
s om ew hatrem ov ed f rom the ELF s s cope of appl ication .
An othercl os el yrel ated s ys tem is the In tegrated DataStore of
Bachm an 4"5' 16 "7 "8; this is in ten ded as ahardw are-s of tw are
s ys tem f ordis c I/ O an d s torage arran gem en t, bu tin its
detail s its eem s the ELF ' s cl os e rel ativ e. Eachof thes e s ys tem s
has acon n ection l ogic thatm ightbe f eas ibl e as abas is f oran
ELF dif f eren tf rom this on e. Or, eitherm ightprov e a
con v en ien tprogram m in g bas e f orthe im pl em en tation of
this f il e s tru ctu re.
An otherobv iou s techn ical qu es tion m u s tbe con s idered.
How can the ELF al l ow u n l im ited copies of en tries an d
l is ts ?Bypatchin g techn iqu es , of cou rs e. Varian ten tries an d
l is ts can take v irtu al l yn os pace, bein g m odif ication data
pl u s poin ters tothe origin al . When am odif ied v ers ion of a
l is toren tryis created, the m achin e patches the origin al
w iththe chan ges n eces s arytom ake the m odif ied v ers ion .
( F igu re 11.2 ).
U s es
In the dis cu s s ion thatf ol l ow s , w e w il l exam in e v ariou s
pos s ibl e appl ication s of zippered l is ts an d the ELF , an d
pos tpon e dis cu s s in g the f il e l an gu age theyrequ ire. F in al l yw e
w il l retu rn tothis probl em , an d des cribe the f il e l an gu age
P R IDEw hos e addition al f eatu res are n eeded toadaptthe
ELF f orthe u s es origin al l ydis cu s s ed.
Byas s ign in g en tries tol is ts , the ELF m aybe u s ed as a
gl orif ied card f il e, w iths eparate l is ts u s ed f orcategories ,
trail s , etc. T his perm its exten s iv e cros s -in dexin g bythe
as s ign m en tof on e en trytodif f eren tl is ts . Itperm its s u bs ets
an d s u b-s equ en ces f oran yu s e tobe hel d apartan d exam in ed
w ithou tdis tu rbin g the l is ts f rom w hichtheyhav e been
draw n , bycopyin g them on toother, n ew l is ts . T he ELF
perm its the f il in g of his torical trail s oras s ociativ e ( Bu s h)
trail s throu ghdocu m en ts , bu s in es s corres pon den ce, bel l es -
theN EWMEDIAR EADER
r:":; "": .1 W v
v , 4 V I l l
v .2 C,-3 l l
y H4 m s ) M
v 3 l
l V2
I 1
-_-..-i-_-qr i
v .5X E3
v ,3
LIST P AT CHIN G T EXT P AT CHIN G
F igu re 11.2 . Spin of f of v arian ts : extrav ers ion s n eed l ittl e s pace.
l ettres , cas e l aw , treaties , s chol arl yf iel ds an d his tory, an d the
m ixtu re of trail w ithcategorical f il in g.
T hes e are the s im pl e u s es ; the com pou n d u s es are m u ch
m ore in teres tin g. Bu ts in ce w e can n otin tu itiv el yf itev ery
pos s ibl e con ceptu al rel ation s hipin tozippered l is ts ,
im agin ativ e u s e is n eces s ary. R em em berthatthere is n o
correctw aytou s e the s ys tem . Giv en its s tru ctu re, the u s er
m ayf igu re ou tan ym ethod u s ef u l tohim . An u m berof
dif f eren tarran gem en ts can be con s tru cted in the ELF , u s in g
on l ythe bas ic el em en ts of en try, l is tan d l in k. Zippered l is ts
m aybe as s em bl ed in torectan gu l ararrays , l attices an d m ore
in tricate con f igu ration s . T hes e as s em bl ies of l is ts m aybe
as s ign ed m ean in g in com bin ation bythe u s er, an d the s ys tem
w il l perm itthem tobe s tored, dis pl ayed, taken apartf or
exam in ation , an d corrected, u pdated, orm odif ied.
Byu s in g s u chcom bin in g arran gem en ts on l is ts com pos ed
of text, the f il e can be s el f ~docu m en tin g, w ithal l l abel l in g
an d docu m en tation keptin tegral l yw ithin the f il e s tru ctu re.
Itis thu s pos s ibl e toin corporate, in abodyof in f orm ation
f il ed in the ELF v ariou s l ev el s of in dex, s u m m ary,
expl an ation an d com m en tary. Man yu s ef u l w ays of l is tin g
an d l in kin g s u chdocu m en tation are pos s ibl e. In F igu re 11.3
w e s ee s om e of the w ays thatdocu m en taryl is ts m aybe
l in ked together. T he l is ts s how n are ou tl in e, s u bou tl in e,
draf t, s u bdraf t, s u m m ary, com m en taryan d s ou rce l is t.
T hes e are n otal l the pos s ibl e types of docu m en taryl is ts ; f or
exam pl e, f ootn otes are om itted. T he ELF w il l perm itan y
n u m berof thes e docu m en taryl is ts ; obs erv e thattheycan be
bu il ton on e an other, an d in def in itel ycom pou n ded. T he
s ys tem w il l hav e n otrou bl e acceptin g acom m en taryon a
com m en taryon as u bdraf tof an ou tl in e f orav arian tl is tof
s ou rce m aterial s .
O" . O 19 5a.<-.~ . _0 11. AF il e Stru ctu re
F igu re 11.3 s how s al s ohow tw ol is ts m aycon tain s om e of
the s am e en tries . T he das hed l in e repres en ts l in kage betw een
en tries , the s ol id l in e s how s thatbothl is ts con tain the s am e
en try. T his m aybe u s ef u l f orcreatin g al tern ate v ers ion s , or,
as in this exam pl e, the l is ts con tain in g the s am e en trym ay
hav e dif f eren tpu rpos es . Here, f orin s tan ce, an en tryin the
s u m m aryis al s otobe f ou n d in the m ain draf t.
T his s el f docu m en tation f eatu re perm its an ys trin g of text
in the ELF , l on g ors hort, tobe an n otated orf ootn oted f or
s chol arl yorotherpu rpos es . Su chm argin al iacan be
tem poraryorperm an en t, f orthe priv ate m em oran daof an
in div idu al orf orcom m u n ication am on g dif f eren tpers on s
u s in g the f il e.
In al ike m an n er, the ELF is capabl e of s torin g m an ytexts
in paral l el , if theyare equ iv al en torl in ked in s om e w ay. F or
exam pl e, in s tru ction m an u al s f ordif f eren tm odel s of the
s am e m achin e m aybe keptin the f il e as l in ked l is ts , an d
ref erred tow hen m achin es are tobe com pared, u s ed orf ixed.
T his is of s pecial u s e torepairm en , proj ectm an agers an d
techn ical w riters .
Moreov er, the ELF s cros s s equ en cin g f eatu re the f act
thatl in ks ign ore perm u tation s perm its the col l ation of
v erydif f eren tcogn ate textu al m aterial s f orcom paris on an d
u n ders tan din g. In l aw , this w ou l d hel pin com parin g
s tatu tes ( orw hol e l egal s ys tem s ); in l iteratu re, v arioru m
edition s an d parodies . T hu s s u chbodies as the In terpreters
Bibl e an d aT otal Shakes peare ( in corporatin g F ol ios ,
bow dl erization s , s atires , an d al l critical com m en tary)cou l d
be as s em bl ed f ors tu dy.
Letm e trytoil l u s trate the pos s ibl e com prehen s iv en es s
an d v ers atil ityof this f il e s tru ctu re as appl ied totexts . F igu re
11.4s how s the dif f eren tarran gem en ts thatm ightbe u s ed by
on e m an in this cas e an his torian w ritin g abook to
as s em bl e an d in tegrate his in tel l ectu al an d prof es s ion al
con cern s . Al thou ghitis im pos s ibl e tos how the l in ks
betw een al l the s eparate en tries of thes e l is ts the en tries
are n otthem s el v es dis cern ibl e in this draw in g itis pos s ibl e
ton ote the kin ds of l in ks betw een l is ts . Athin l in e betw een
l is ts s how s thats om e l in ks exis t; as ol id l in e in dicates that
s om e en tries of bothl is ts are the s am e.
P erhaps this l ooks com pl icated. In f act, eachof the
con n ectors s how s an in dexin g of on e bodyof in f orm ation to
an other; this u s erm ayqu eryhis f il e in an ydirection al on g
thes e l in ks , an d l ook u pthe parts of on e l is tw hichare rel ated
toparts of an other. T heref ore the l in es m ean kn ow l edge an d
f orthe Com pl ex
Su b-Ou tl in e
. R '
Ou rl m e \\ Ven om
""""-I \\* \_Su bdrof ts
F > ~ ~ l T T - F T T \
-~._____Moin Draf t\\
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F * \ ,1 .
M \j f * """""""""""~"~""* \. Com m en taries
l l l -._ m ~$
1 \ Y X
l l "-.__1 X _
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l ,
/ / / F
s > / 5/
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\ ' 4 1 Sou rces E
- i / , \\ l .
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F igu re 11.3. Al l l ev el s of docu m en tation m aybe con tain ed in the
ELF . ( Heav yl in es in dicate thatl in ked en tries are iden tical .)
order. N ote thatin s u chu s es itis the m an ' s j ob todraw the
con n ection s , n otthe m achin e' s . T he m achin e is arepos itory
an d n otaj u dge. =
T he ELF m aybe an aid tothe m in d in creativ e tas ks ,
al l ow in g the u s ertocom pare arran gem en ts an d al tern ativ es
w iths om e priorideal . T his is hel pf u l in pl an n in g n on l in ear
as s em bl ages ( m u s eu m exhibits , cas tin g f orapl ay,)orl in ear
con s tru ction s of an ykin d. Su chl in earcon s tru ction s in cl u de
n oton l yw ritten texts ; theycan be an ycom pl icated
s equ en ces of thin gs , s u chas m otion pictu res ( in the editin g
s tage)an d com pu terprogram s .
In deed, com pu terprogram m in g w ithan on l in e dis pl ay
an d the ELF w ou l d hav e an u m berof adv an tages .
In s tru ction s m ightbe in terl eav ed in def in itel yw ithou tres ort-
in g totin yw ritin g. Moreov er, the program m ercou l d keepu p
w ork on s ev eral v arian tapproaches an d v ers ion s atthe s am e
tim e, an d eas il ydocu m en ttheirov eral l f eatu res , their
rel ation s toon e an otheran d theircorres pon din g parts .
Addin g al oad an d-gocom pil erw ou l d create as el f ~
docu m en tin g program m in g s cratchpad.
T he n atu ral s hape of in f orm ation , too, m aycal l f orthe ELF .
F orin s tan ce, s ection s of in f orm ation of ten arran ge
them s el v es n atu ral l yin al attice s tru ctu re, w hos e s tran ds
n eed tobe s eparatel yexam in ed, pon dered ortes ted. Su ch
l attices in cl u de P ER T n etw orks , program m ed in s tru ction
s equ en ces , his torybooks , an d gen eal ogical records . ( T he ELF
can han dl e gen eal ogical s ou rce docu m en tation an d its
origin al textas w el l .)In deed, an yin f orm ation al n etw orks
thatrequ ire s torage, han dl in g an d con s ideration w il l f itthe
ELF ; af eatu re thatcou l d hav e appl ication s in pl an tl ayou t,
11. AF il e Stru ctu re
f orthe Com pl ex
s ocial ps ychol ogy, con tin gen cy
pl an n in g, circu itdes ign an d Categories
theN EWMEDIAR EADER
Su b
Ohrorw pl eev U - 1 , team ed
U l ki v [ ,' ,' "Chm n opO9 as Corros pon den ce
Headin g
N otes itin eraries .
T he ELF m ay, throu ghits
m u tabil ity, its expan s ibil ity, an d
its s el f -docu m en tation f eatu res ,
I Sou rces
cu s tom aryredu ction s ; f or
. . . Ou tl in e
in s tan ce, the con tin gen cies of
pl an n in g, w hichare on l y
partial l yBool ean . Of ten the
Sm gect I
in ex pu b p 1
1 N t1 qI
, ___ ; - T hef if ef l cal ' - i
aid in the in tegration , = T reaty r , Arou m en w I
. o I 1-aw e I P rof es s ion al
u n ders tan din g an d chan n el in g f 7 ' "' ' """ I
. l l , * ,
of ideas an d probl em s thatw il l j "51 . W. . A A A 1. F l
l
n otyiel d toordin aryan al ys is or
Man u s cript l I
F ragm en ts gu , X13 Sou rce
Bibl iography
, T extQ u otation s .
.1 F ootn otes P tigl m I I
reas on f oras o cal l ed Gran d
Strategyin as ettin g is thatw e
can n otkeeptrack of the Su w u tl in e
in terrel ation s of particu l ar
con tin gen cies . T he ELF cou l d
hel pu s u n ders tan d the
in terrel ation s of pos s ibil ities ,
- -i- ~ -
3 I . v erbatim Ch6 |<
Sou roes I1
F F ' 7 V_" el gg l g: _:" ' _if _
l I T i
A
l
Y
F igu re 11.4. ELF ' s capacityf ortotal l in g: hypothetical u s e byhis torian . ( Athin l in e in dicates the
Con s equ en ces an d Strategic pres en ce of l in ks ; aheav yl in e in dicates thats om e l in ked en tries are iden tical .)
option s . In al ogical l ys im il ar
cas e, ev al u atin g es pion age, itm ighthel ptrace con s is ten cies
an d con tradiction s am on g reports f rom dif f eren ts pies .
T he u s e of an ELF as the bas is f oram an agem en t
in f orm ation s ys tem is n otin con ceiv abl e. Its ev ol u tion ary
capabil ityw ou l d prov ide as m oothtran s ition f rom the
priors ys tem s , phas in g ou tol d paperw ork f orm s an d
in f orm ation chan n el s piecem eal . Begin n in g w ith
con v en tion al accou n tin g arrays an d in f orm ation f l ow , an d
m ov in g throu ghdis crete ev ol u tion arys teps , the ELF m ight
hel pres tru ctu re an en tire corporate s ys tem . N u m erical
s u brou tin in g cou l d perm itthe s ys tem toen com pas s al l
bookkeepin g. T he addres s es of al l tran s action papers ,
zippered tol is ts of theirdates an d con ten ts , w ou l d aid in
con trol l in g s hipm en ts , in v en tory, an d cas h. T he ELF ' s cros s -
s equ en cin g f eatu re cou l d be pu ttocon crete u s es , hel pin g to
rearran ge w arehou s es ( an d the com pan yl ibrary)by
directin g the prin tou tof n ew l abel s togu ide phys ical
rearran gem en t. In v en tories , propertyn u m bers , an d paten ts
cou l d be s ocatal ogu ed an d recatal ogu ed in the ELF . Legal
docu m en ts , corres pon den ce, com pan yf acts , an d his tory
cou l d be in dexed orf il ed in his torical an d categorytrail s .
An d u pperm an agem en tcou l d add priv ate an n otation s to
the pu bl ic s tatem en ts , reports an d res earchof boththe
organ ization an d its com petitors , w itham en dm en ts ,
qu al if ication s , an d in s ide dope.
P R IDE
Whil e the ELF as des cribed is expected tobe gen eral an d
u s ef u l , the origin al pu rpos es des cribed atthe begin n in g of
this papercal l f orcertain f u rtherprov is ion s . N ow Iw ou l d
l ike todes cribe ades irabl e f il e an d in f orm ation han dl in g
l an gu age thatw il l m eetthes e n eeds , cal l ed the P R IDE
( P ers on al ized R etriev al , In dexin g, an d Docu m en tation
Ev ol u tion ary)Sys tem . Its pu rpos e is tof acil itate the u s e of
an ELF . T he s ys tem des cribed is n otyetim pl em en ted, n or
ev en f u l l ys pecif ied, bu tl etu s s peak as thou ghitis .
P R IDEin cl u des the ELF operation s . How ev er, f ors af ety
an d con v en ien ce n earl yev eryoperation has an in v ers e. T he
u s erm u s tbe perm itted, giv en al is tof w hathe has don e
recen tl y, tou n doit. Itf ol l ow s thatdes troy in s tru ction s
m u s tf ail s af e; if giv en acciden tal l y, theyare tobe rev ocabl e.
F ors af ety' s s ake, its hou l d take s ev eral s teps tothrow athin g
aw aycom pl etel y. An im portan toption w ou l d perm itthe u s er
toretrace chron ol ogical l yev erythin g he does on the s ys tem .
I 0 . 119 6 50. -_-- 11. AF il e Stru ctu re
I f orthe Com pl ex
I
I
I
I
p
Mos tof P R IDE' s appl ication s w il l in v ol v e texthan dl in g,
eitheras aprim arypu rpos e orin the docu m en tation of s om e
othertas k Hen ce an u m berof f eatu res exis tf orcon v en ien t
textu s age. T exthan dl in g com m an ds ( f orm odif yin g en tries )
in cl u de the equ iv al en ts of s tan dard proof readers m arks f or
in s ertion , del etion , an d s w itchin g of s ection s .
Al s of ortextu s age an d u s ercom f ort, there are certain
s ys tem n on res triction s . T here is n opractical res triction on
the l en gthof an in pu ten try, an d itn eed f ol l ow on l ythe m os t
triv ial f orm atcon v en tion s . In addition , the m achin e w il l
in terru ptan yotherP R IDEf u n ction toreceiv e in pu ttext
( in s piration m ode). Itis n eces s arythaten tries of u n s pecif ied
l en gthbe acceptabl e tothe s ys tem w ithou tf u s s orw arn in g.
P R IDEdoes n ots tipu l ate f ixed record l en gths , eitherf or
in pu tors torage; an ys u chres triction s w ou l d hav e a
ps ychol ogical l ycram pin g ef f ect. T here. is n oreas on the
s ys tem can n otappeartothe u s ertohav e n of ixed or
s tan dard u n itl en gths ; the m achin e' s operatin g u n its an d
s ection s s hou l d n otcon cern him .
Ideal l y, n eitherthe l en gthof en tries , the n u m berof l is ts , or
an yotherparam eterof af il e is res tricted byan ythin g bu tthe
abs ol u te s ize of m em ory. T his is adif f icu l trequ irem en t
f orthe program m er. R ou tin el y, how ev er, the s ys tem s hou l d
be abl e toaccepten tries thou s an ds of characters l on g, accept
hu n dreds of en tries toal is t, an d accepthu n dreds of l is ts in
the f il e. Otherw is e, extran eou s con s ideration bythe u s erof
w hetherthere' s room toadd m aterial ortryou tan of f s hoot
begin s toin terf ere w iththe s ys tem s u s e.
Al thou ghIhav e av oided dis cu s s in g the m ean s byw hich
the u s ers ees his f il e, P R IDEm u s t, of cou rs e, hav e f u n ction s
an d com m an ds f orthis pu rpos e. F oraCR T thes e in cl u de
qu ick l ooku ps chem es , pref erabl yw ithm ov in g m en u s an d
m ean s of readil ychan gin g the hierarchyof l ooku ps tru ctu re;
as w el l as v is u al cu in g an d m n em on ic f orm ats , in cl u din g
cu rs orm an eu v ers , ov erl ays an d an im ated w ipes an d other
tran s ition s . Bu ts u chgl am orou s f eatu res don otredu ce the
chal l en ge orw orthof w orkin g throu ghal in e prin ter, or
s eekin g tom ake the s ys tem u s ef u l u n derabatch-proces s in g
m on itor. _
Man yin s tru ction s as ide f rom thos e al readym en tion ed
w il l be n eeded bythe u s er; particu l arappl ication s w il l
requ ire s u choperation s as textl ooku pan d in teger
arithm etic. An d s u rel yal l the u s es of the s ys tem hav e n ot
been an ticipated. Hen ce as u brou tin in g f acil ityis tobe
av ail abl e, reachin g toas s em bl yl an gu age oropen in g in tothe
m achin e' s otherl an gu ages . T his cou l d be u s ed f orproces s in g
the f il e' s con ten ts ( e.g., n u m bers orcharacters trin gs ), orf or
creatin g m ore con v en ien tcom bin ed operation s ou tof the
dif f eren toperation s deal in g w ithf il e s tru ctu re, in pu t-ou tpu t
an d text.
P R IDEis on e pos s ibl e w aytom ake an ELF , oran y
ev ol u tion aryf il e s tru ctu re, u s ef u l . P R IDEw ou l d be a
f oregrou n d, f ree-s tan din g l an gu age w iththe prim ary
m is s ion of han dl in g f il es an d m an u s cripts , as dis cu s s ed at
the begin n in g, an d s econ daryappl ication s in orderin g an d
docu m en tin g otherkin ds of com pl exin f orm ation . Its m aj or
u s e w ou l d pres u m abl ybe in con n ection w ithtim e-s hared
dis pl ayan d in f orm ation s ys tem s . Bu ts u chal an gu age is
on l yon e s u gges tion . Actu al l y, there is n otm u chreas on that
the ELF cou l d n otbe m ade as tan dard f il e s tru ctu re f oral l
pu rpos es ; u n u s ed capabil ities w ou l d n otin tru de, bu tw ou l d
s til l be there if u n expectedl yw an ted. ELF s ys tem s cou l d be
bu il tin tothe f il e capabil ities of gen eral u til itys of tw are. T he
actu al com pu tation in v ol v ed is rel ativ el ytriv ial , an d the ELF
cou l d eas il ybe in corporated in toI/ Orou tin es ordata
chan n el l an gu ages . Ev en s m al l -s cal e hardw are
im pl em en tation s are n otu n thin kabl e; acon trol box
betw een atypew riteran d atape recorder, f orin s tan ce.
Al l thes e appl ication s depen d, of cou rs e, on the s ys tem ' s
bein g actu al l yu s ef u l , w hichis an em pirical qu es tion . A
n u m berof pos s ibl e appl ication s hav e been m en tion ed. Bu t,
exceptas acru tchtom an ' s f al l ibl e m in d, is there an yreas on
tos u ppos e thatthe s ys tem has an ygen eral appl icabil ityin
prin cipl e?
P hil os ophy
As phil os ophy Iw an ttos peak of tw om aj orthin gs . F irs t,
com pl exf il e s tru ctu res ( l ike the ELF )m ake pos s ibl e the
creation of com pl exan d s ign if ican tn ew m edia, the hypertext
an d hyperf il m . Secon d, ev ol u tion aryf il e s tru ctu res ( l ike the
ELF )m ake itpos s ibl e tokeeptrack of thin gs thathav e been
chan gin g, w ithou tou raw aren es s , al l al on g. T hes e in cl u de the
m aj orcategories of hu m an thou ght, w hichw il l goon
chan gin g.
Sys tem s of paperhav e grav e l im itation s f oreither
organ izin g orpres en tin g ideas . Abook is n ev erperf ectl y
s u ited tothe reader; on e readeris bored, an othercon f u s ed by
the s am e pages . N os ys tem of paper book orprogram m ed
text --can adaptv eryf artothe in teres ts orn eeds of a
particu l arreaderors tu den t.
_ij e n ieial ity; ; , f ._1f * hypers pace; f ' 1 the c_ritei"' ioi1,_1,o_' r,"; cl i_,ij s "pre xis T in g,
11. AF il e Stru ctu re
f orthe Com pl ex
How ev er, w iththe com pu ter-driv en dis pl ayan d m as s
m em ory, ithas becom e pos s ibl e tocreate an ew , readabl e
m ediu m , f oredu cation an d en j oym en t, thatw il l l etthe
readerf in d his l ev el , s u ithis tas te, an d f in d the parts that
take on s pecial m ean in g f orhim , as in s tru ction or
en tertain m en t.
Letm e in trodu ce the w ord hypertextm m tom ean abody
of w ritten orpictorial m aterial in tercon n ected in s u cha
com pl exw aythatitcou l d n otcon v en ien tl ybe pres en ted or
repres en ted on paper. Itm aycon tain s u m m aries , orm aps of
its con ten ts an d theirin terrel ation s ; itm aycon tain
an n otation s , addition s an d f ootn otes f rom s chol ars w hohav e
exam in ed it. Letm e s u gges tthats u chan obj ectan d s ys tem ,
properl ydes ign ed an d adm in is tered, cou l d hav e great
poten tial f oredu cation , in creas in g the s tu den t' s ran ge of
choices , his s en s e of f reedom , his m otiv ation , an d his
in tel l ectu al gras p. Su chas ys tem cou l d grow in def in itel y,
gradu al l yin cl u din g m ore an d m ore of the w orl d' s w ritten
kn ow l edge. How ev er, its in tern al f il e s tru ctu re w ou l d hav e to
be bu il ttoacceptgrow th, chan ge an d com pl exin f orm ation al
arran gem en ts . T he ELF is s u chaf il e s tru ctu re.
F il m s , s ou n d recordin gs , an d v ideorecordin gs are al s ol in ear
s trin gs , bas ical l yf orm echan ical reas on s . Bu tthes e, too, can
n ow be arran ged as n on -l in ears ys tem s f orin s tan ce,
l attices f oreditin g pu rpos es , orf ordis pl ayw ithdif f eren t
em phas is . ( T his w ou l d n atu ral l yrequ ire com pu tercon trol ,
u s in g the ELF orarel ated s ys tem , an d v ariou s cartridge orre-
recordin g dev ices .)T he hyperf il m abrow s abl e orv ari-
s equ en ced m ov ie is on l yon e of the pos s ibl e hyperm edia
thatrequ ire ou ratten tion .
Som u chf orw hatw e can create af res hw iththis s tru ctu re.
Whatabou tthe thin gs thathav e al readybeen arou n d aw hil e?
T he phys ical u n iv ers e is n otal l thatdecays . Sodo
abs traction s an d categories . Hu m an ideas , s cien ce, s chol ars hip,
an d l an gu age are con s tan tl ycol l aps in g an d u n f ol din g. An y
f iel d, an d the corpu s of al l f iel ds , is abu n dl e of rel ation s hips
s u bj ecttoal l kin ds of tw is ts , in v ers ion s , in v ol u tion s , an d
rearran gem en t:thes e chan ges are f requ en tbu tu n predictabl e.
R ecal l thatcom pu ters , on ce abran chof m athem atics , are n ow
theirow n f iel d ( bu tthe dev el opm en tof f l u id l ogic in dicates a
-iH,a= 5i_l i1v % ' th is ?abieee rate 9 m p_ri,s e i.' 9 l ' !$ibl y; iritol iif ieaf r,-' ~
is F ,e:x.t"_ f rl 4Il T gi. ' _9 T ev en m ediaref $ n v hBthi9 l 1 i" 1 7
._., .-.. ..__. ~. _. --.-w e _. , . '
__~ 1 ._.-_I ..-. ~ - - 0 - _ -.
; * "..f l f f * * T he' .,f l e' r' e; _ti; ii-w ares extehs ioo: ' al n d- I "I
theN EWMEDIAR EADER
pos s ibl e m ergerw iththe artof w in d in s tru m en ts ). Social
rel ation s , ps ychol in gu is tics an d ps ychon om ics are n ew el ds ,
ev en thou ghtheyres ton n os pecial dis cov eries ; pol itical
econ om y, n atu ral his toryan d s ocial ethics are gon e. Within a
giv en area, too, the s u bheadin gs of im portan ce are in con s tan t
f l u x. In the s ocial s cien ces , f orin s tan ce, the topic headin gs of
the n in eteen -thirties n ow s ou n d qu ain t.
Whil e the dis appearan ce an d u p en din g of categories an d
s u bj ects m aybe erratic, itn ev ers tops ; an d the m ean in g of this
f orin f orm ation retriev al s hou l d be cl ear. Las tw eeks
categories , perhaps l as tn ight' s f iel d, m aybe gon e today. T othe
exten tthatin f orm ation retriev al is con cern ed w iths eekin g
tru e orideal orperm an en tcodes an d categories an d ev en the
m os ts ophis ticated rol e in dicator s yn taxes are af orm of this
en deav or tothis exten t, in f orm ation retriev al s eem s tom e
tobe f u n dam en tal l ym is taken . T he categories are chim erical
( ortem poral )an d ou rcategorization s ys tem s m u s tev ol v e as
theydo. In f orm ation s ys tem s m u s thav e bu il tin the capacity
toacceptthe n ew categorization s ys tem s as theyev ol v e f rom ,
orou ts ide, the f ram ew ork of the ol d. N otj u s tthe n ew
m aterial , bu tthe capacityf orn ew arran gem en ts an d
in def in ite rearran gem en ts of the ol d, m u s tbe pos s ibl e. In this
l ight, the ELF , in def in itel yrev is ibl e an d u n pertu rbed by
chan ges in ov eral l s tru ctu ral rel ation s , of f ers s om e prom is e.
T here is , then , agen eral ration al e. Ibel iev e thats u cha
s ys tem as the ELF actu al l yties in betterthan an ythin g
prev iou s l yu s ed w iththe actu al proces s es byw hichthou ghtis
progres s iv el yorgan ized, w hetherin tos tories orhypertextor
l ibrarycategories . T hu s itm ayhel pin tegrate, f orhu m an
u n ders tan din g, bodies of m aterial s odiv ers el ycon n ected that
theycou l d n otbe u n tan gl ed bythe u n aided m in d. F orboth
l ogis tic an d ps ychol ogical reas on s its hou l d be an im portan t
adj u n cttoim agin ativ e, in tegratin g an d creativ e en terpris es . It
is u s ef u l w here rel ation s hips are u n cl ear; w here con tin gen cies
an d tas ks are u n def in ed an d u n predictabl e; w here the
s tru ctu res orf in al ou tcom e itm u s trepres en tare n otyetf u l l y
kn ow n ; w here w e don otkn ow the f il es u l tim ate
arran gem en t; w here w e don otkn ow w hatparts of the f il e are
m os tim portan t; orw here thin gs are in perm an en tan d
u n predictabl e f l u x. P erhaps this in cl u des m ore pl aces than w e
thin k. An d perhaps here, as in biol ogy, the on l yu l tim ate s tru ce
tu re is chan ge its el f .
. .. , .. . . ,. c. .. _. _- . . .. , ,._- . . -, .. a .
., ___.. ~ - ' 0 I ~ v .. ,
_.,,~ -iv _._., . _ .
- - ~~' \.,. 1 v <_. -- ~- ,., ~.
- v I . . ~ , -a
w il l ?1i% ~!$i; iit1* i idem l c"s t":~e1$ r h' @ f l * ; ; c
Iw as
0---a -a~---o--- - - -~~o---~- -c----~
Con cl u s ion
T his paperhas propos ed adif f eren tkin d of s tru ctu re f or
han dl in g in f orm ation .
Es s en tial l yitis af il e w ithcertain s torage prov is ion s w hich,
com bin ed, perm itthe f il e' s con ten ts tobe arran ged an y-
w hich-w ay, an d in an yn u m berof w ays aton ce. As etof
m an ipu l ation f u n ction s perm its m akin g chan ges orkeepin g
track of dev el opm en ts . T he f il e is capabl e of m ain tain in g
m an ydif f eren tarran gem en ts atthe s am e tim e, m an yof
w hichm aybe dorm an t. T his m akes ordin arym eas u res of ef f i-
cien cyin appropriate; as w ithhighf idel itym u s ic s ys tem s ,
en richm en tis deriv ed f rom the l av is hu s e of s u rpl u s capacity.
T he keyideas of the s ys tem are the in ter-l in kin g of
dif f eren tl is ts , regardl es s of s equ en ce oraddition s ; the re-
con f igu rabl e characterof al is tcom pl exin toan yhu m an l y
con ceiv abl e f orm s ; an d the abil itytom ake copies of aw hol e
l is t, orl is tcom pl ex in prol if eration , atw il l torecord its
s equ en ce, con ten ts orarran gem en tatagiv en m om en t. T he
Ev ol u tion aryLis tF il e is am em berof the cl as s of ev ol u tion ary
f il e s tru ctu res ; an d its particu l aradv an tages are thou ghttobe
ps ychol ogical , n ottechn ical . Des pite this f il es adaptabil ityto
com pl expu rpos es , ithas the adv an tage of bein g con ceptu al l y
v erys im pl e. Its s tru ctu re is com pl ete, cl os ed, an d u n if ied as a
con cept. T his is its ps ychol ogical v irtu e. Its u s e can be eas il y
tau ghttopeopl e w hodon otu n ders tan d com pu ters . We can
u s e ittotryou tcom bin ation s thatin teres tu s , tom ake
al tern ativ es cl earin theirdetail s an d rel ation s hips , tokeep
track of dev el opm en ts as theyoccu r, tos ketchthin gs w e
kn ow , l ike orcu rren tl yrequ ire; an d itw il l s tan d byf or
m odif ication s . Itcan be exten ded f oral l s orts of pu rpos es , an d
im pl em en ted orin corporated in an yprogram m in g l an gu age.
T here are probabl yv ariou s pos s ibl e f il e s tru ctu res thatw il l
be u s ef u l in aidin g creativ e thou ght. T his on e operates , as it
w ere, on l is ts thathook togethers idew ays , an d theircopies .
T here m aybe m an ym ore.
_.
M. 0 11. AF il e Stru ctu re
f orthe Com pl ex
R ef eren ces
1. Bu s h, Van n ev ar, "As We MayT hin k. T he Atl an tic Mon thl y, 17 6 :1
( Ju l y, 19 45), 101-108.
2 . Hirs ch, P hil , "T he Bu s hR apid Sel ector."Datam ation , Ju n e 19 6 5,
56 -57 .
3. Wal l ace, Ev erettR ., Experien ce w ithEDP Su pportof In div idu al s
F il e Main ten an ce."P aram eters of In f orm ation Scien ce: P roceedin gs of
the Am erican Docu m en tation In s titu te, v . I( Am erican
Docu m en tation In s titu te, 19 6 4), 2 59 -2 6 1.
4. Gorey, Edw ard, T he U n s tru n g Harp; or, MrEarbras s Writes oN ov el .
Du el l , Sl oan an d P earce, N .Y ., 19 53.
5. In tern ation al Bu s in es s Machin es DataP roces s in g Div is ion , T he
IBM Adm in is trativ e T erm in al Sys tem ."Com pan ybrochu re 52 0-1146 .
6 . In tern ation al Bu s in es s Machin es T echn ical P u bl ication s
Departm en t, "1440-146 0Adm in is trativ e T erm in al Sys tem
Appl ication Des cription ."IBM, White P l ain s , N ew Y ork.
7 . T im berl ake, W.D., "Adm in is trativ e T erm in al Sys tem "( abs tract.)
ST WP P roceedin gs , May19 6 5, n opage n u m ber. N ew Y ork: Societyof
T echn ical Writers an d P u bl is hers , 19 6 5.
8. F arrel l , Au s tin C., "Ev ol u tion of Au tom ated Writin g."ST WP
P roceedin gs , May19 6 5, n opage n u m bers . N ew Y ork: Societyof
T echn ical Writers an d P u bl is hers , 19 6 5.
9 . Bobrow , Dan iel G, an d Bertram R aphael , "ACom paris on of Lis t-
P roces s in g Lan gu ages . Com m . ACM 7 :4( April , 19 6 4), 2 31-2 40.
10. Com f ort, W.T ., Mu l tiw ord Lis tItem s . Com m . ACM 7 :6 ( Ju n e,
19 6 4), 351-36 2 .
11. Weizen bau m , J., Kn otted Lis tStru ctu res ."Com m . ACM 5:3
( March, 19 6 2 ), 16 1-16 5.
12 . P ryw es , N .S. an d H.J. Gray, T he Mu l til is tSys tem f orR eal T im e
Storage an d R etriev al . P roceedin gs of IF IP Con f eren ce, 19 6 2 ,
112 -116 .
13. P ryw es , N .S., In terim T echn ical R eport: T he Organ ization of
F il es f orCom m an d an d Con trol ."Moore School of En gin eerin g,
March, 19 6 4.
14. Bachm an , C.W. an d S.B. Wil l iam s , T he In tegrated DataStore A
Gen eral P u rpos e P rogram m in g Sys tem f orR an dom Acces s Mem ories ."
AF IP 5Con f eren ce P roceedin gs , v . 2 6 , 411-42 2 . Spartan Books , 19 6 4.
15. Gen eral El ectric Com pu terDepartm en t, "I-D-S."Com pan y
brochu re CP B-42 5.
16 . Gen eral El ectric Com pu terDepartm en t, "In trodu ction to
In tegrated DataStore. Com pan ybrochu re CP B-1048, 19 6 5.
17 . Bachm an , Charl es W., "Sof tw are f orR an dom Acces s P roces s in g."
Datam ation , April 19 6 5.
18. Gen eral El ectric Com pu terDepartm en t, In tegrated DataStore:
N ew Gen eral El ectric T echn iqu e f orOrgan izin g Bu s in es s Data.
Com pan ypu bl ication , Jan u ary19 6 5.
19 . Corbin , Harol d S., an d George J. Stock, "On -Lin e Q u eryin g v iaa
Dis pl ayCon s ol e."F ou rthN ation al Sym pos iu m on In f orm ation Dis pl ay:
T echn ical Ses s ion P roceedin gs , 12 7 -154. Societyf orIn f orm ation
Dis pl ay, Was hin gton , 19 6 4.
,, . . .0- _.._4151 - 017 3 48. - - 12 . T he Ou l ipo
n
J
H
12 .[ In trodu ction ] '
SixSel ection s bythe _Ou l ipo
AHu n dred T hou s an d Bil l ion P oem s an d
M
l l I!
Y ou rs f orthe T el l in g byR aym on d Q u en eau
. 4,\
I-oraP oten tial An al ys is oif c( ; om b1n atory
Literatu re"byCl au de Berge
"ABrief His toryof the Ou l ipo"byJean Les cu re
II O . O T
Com pu teran d Writer. T he Cen tre P om pidou
Experim en t byP au l F ou rn el
"P ros e an d An ticom bin atorics "byItal oCal v in o H
Loom in g ov erthe dev el opm en tof the l iterarym achin e in the l as tcen tu rys tan d the s m il in g m em bers
of the Ou l ipo( Ou v roirde Litt ratu re P oten til l e, Works hopf orP oten tial Literatu re). T he ou v roirof the
grou p' s n am e is n otaw orks hopof the Bread Loaf orBen n in gton s ort, bu takn ittin g room , apl ace
w here procedu ral ef f ortprodu ces atan gibl e textil e, orin this . cas e textu al , ou tcom e. T his kn ittin g circl e
is n otprim aril yabou tprodu cin g texts , how ev er- -itis - ten al l iteratu re, n otl iteratu re, thatits
m em bers f as hion . As F ran cois Le Lion n ais w rote in the rd ps f irs tm an if es to, an ordin aryl iterary
w ork is the res u l tof rigorou s con s train ts in areas s u chas v ocabu l aryan d s yn tax, n ov el is tic ordram atic
con v en tion , poetic m eteran d f orm , an d s of orth. T he ideaof poten tial l iteratu re is tobothan al yze an d
s yn thes ize con s train ts draw n f rom cu rren tm athem atics as w el l as f rom ol derw ritin g techn iqu es
thatn ev eren tered the l iterarym ain s tream . On e s u chtechn iqu e is the l ipogram , in w hichacertain
l etterof the al phabetm ayn otbe u s ed; an otheris the pal in drom e.
Som e f orm s , dem on s trated in s hortOu l ipian
Q u en eau s U n Con te av otre f acon is an appl ication
is its el f the s tru ctu ral m odel f orcou n tl es s w orks of an d m ore than ahu n dred Choos e-
Y ou r-Ow n -Adv en tu re books . ( John Crom bies tran s l ation Y ou rs f orthe T el l in g"is in cl u ded; an other
tran s l ation , byWarren Motte, is cal l ed Storyas Y ou Like It")Sys tem s of l exical orphon etic con s train ts
hav e prov en produ ctiv e in n ov el s s u chas George P erecs LaDis paration ( AVoid), w hichdoes n otcon tain
the l ettere. More el aborate s chem as res u l ted in tw os tu n n in g w orks thats itin n ocen tl yal on gs ide their
n on -Ou l ipian f el l ow s as m aj orn ov el s of the pas tcen tu ry:P erec' s LaVie m ode d em pl oi( Lif e aU s ers
Man u al )an d Ital oCal v in ds Se u n an otte din v ern ou n v iaggiatore"( If on aw in ters n ightatrav el er).
P erhaps the prototypical exam pl e of Ou l ipian poten tial f ihow ev er, rem ain s the grou p' s f ou n din g text,
Q u en eau s Cen tMil l e Mil l iards de po m es , in cl u ded here in F ren chan d in the En gl is htran s l ation by
Stan l eyChapm an , AHu n dred T hou s an d Bil l ion P oem s . ( An otherEn gl is htran s l ation of this in tricate w ork
has been don e byJohn Crom bie:On e Hu n dred Mil l ion Mil l ion P oem s .)On e s ees the P oem s atan y
m om en tas as on n et. If the readercu ts al on g the dotted l in es as this book in v ites hertodo, on e of 10
in terchan geabl e l in es of the poem ( w hichf itw iththe others in term s of the rhym e s chem e as w el l as
s yn tactical l yan d m etrical l y)can be s el ected totake its pl aceiin eachof the poem s 14pos ition s . As
des cribed in Com pu teran d Writer:T he Cen tre P om pidou Experim en t,"the Ou l ipian s real ized that
s u chas ys tem had the poten tial todef in e an ew typegcoigbu ter-m ediated textu al ity, produ cin g
cu s tom poem s in w ays thatgiv e the readeran en han ___H ro in the proces s of l iterarycreation .
theirbroaderm erits . R aym on d
al gorithm ic techn iqu es ton arrativ e, an d
v .
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12 . T he Ou l ipo theN EWMEDIAR EADER
Ital oCal v in o, in the es s ayhere abou tthe com pos ition of his s toryT he Bu rn in g of the Abom in abl e I-l ou s e, s how s thatthe
com pu tercan be u s ed todom ore than s pin ou tpractical l yin f in ite v ariation s f rom as etof in itial m aterial s . In s tead, Cal v in os
com pu tertakes av eryl arge s pace of pos s ibl e s tories an d n arrow s ittoon e. T his is apoten tial l ypow erf u l s tory-produ ction
m ethod, an d yetthe con cl u s ion of Cal v in os es s ayargu es thatthe s ol u tion of an yal gorithm , the n arrow in g of ev en the m os t
artf u l l ycon s tru cted s etof com bin atorypos s ibil ities , can n otcreate l iteratu re. He s tates thatitis the ' cl in am en ' w hich, al on e,
can m ake of the textatru e w ork of art. T he cl in am en is the dev iation , the errorin the s ys tem . In in teractiv e s ys tem s , in n ew
m edia, the m os tim portan tcl in am en can be thatw hichis in trodu ced f rom ou ts ide of the s ys tem , bythe readerin the com pan y
of the readers pers on al an d cu l tu ral experien ces . As im il arpoin tw as m ade byCal v in oin an im portan tl ectu re he gav e in T u rin
an d el s ew here in Ital y, Cybern etics an d Ghos ts ."
T he poten tial thatl ies w ithin s u chan u n ders tan din g of in teractiv e experien ces is arecon f igu ration of the rel ation s hip
betw een reader, au thor, an d text. T he pl ayf u l con s tru ction w ithin con s train ts thatthe Ou l ipodef in ed as the rol e of the au thor
can becom e an activ ityexten ded toreaders , w hocan take partin the in terpretation , con f igu ration , an d con s tru ction of texts .
N M 8:N WF
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Origin al P u bl ication
Ou en eau , R aym on d. 100,000,000,000,000P oem s ,"T ran s . Stan l eyChapm an . Ou l ipoCom pen diu m . Ed. HarryMathew s an d Al as tairBrotchie.
Lon don : Atl as P res s , 19 9 8, 15-33. F acin g the origin al F ren chtextof Cen tMil l e Mil l iards de poem es , P aris : Gal l im ard, 19 6 1, as corrected in
On e Hu n dred Mil l ion Mil l ion P oem s , T ran s . John Crom bie. P aris : Kicks haw s , 19 83.
Ou en eau , R aym on d. Y ou rs f orthe T el l in g. T ran s . an d des gin ed byJohn Crom bie, graphics bySheil aBou rn e. P aris : Kicks haw s , 19 82 . F rom the
F ren chU n Con te 3 v otre f acon ."Lal itteratu re poten tiel l e, P aris : Gal l im ard, 19 7 3.
Les cu re, Jean , ABrief His toryof the Ou l ipo. In Motte 19 86 , 32 -39 . F rom the F ren chP etite His toire pou ru n tri-cen ten aire, w ithf ou r
addition al paragraphs . Lal itteratu re poten tiel l e, P aris : Gal l im ard, 19 7 3.
Berge, Cl au de. F oraP oten tial An al ys is of Com bin atoryLiteratu re. In Motte 19 86 , 115-12 5. F rom the F ren ch"P ou ru n e an al ys e poten tiel l e
de l al itteratu re com bin atoire. Lal itteratu re poten tiel l e, P aris : Gal l im ard, 19 7 3.
F ou rn el , P au l "Com pu teran d Writer: T he Cen tre P om pidou Experim en t."In Motte 19 86 , 140-142 . F rom the F ren chOrdin ateu ret criv ain .
Atl as de l itteratu re poten tiel l e, P aris : Gal l im ard, 19 81.
Cal v in o, Ital o. P ros e an d An ticom bin atorics ."In Motte 19 86 , 143-152 . F rom the F ren chP ros e etan ticom bin atoire Atl as de l itteratu re
poten tiel l e, P aris : Gal l im ard, 19 81.
T oen j oyAHu n dred T hou s an d Bil l ion P oem s an d al l ow this l iteraryw ork tof u n ction as in ten eded, pl eas e
cu tal on g the l in es toal l ow an yof 10l in es tooccu pyeachof the 14pos ition s in the s on n et. T hos e t' oo
tim id tooperate on theirbooks m ayw is htophotocopythe pages an d cu tthe photocopies . Cu ttin g ou ta
s m al l gapbetw een eachs tripw il l al l ow the s trips totu rn an d be in terchan ged m os teas il y.
k
T
r 0 0- ... .119 6 ? --~o U 7 ? .48 . o 12 . T he Ou l ipo
I
m m
j
AHu n dred
I-
T hou s an d
!_
Bil l ion
P oem s
F
R aym on d Q u en eau
T ran s l ated byStan l eyChapm an
On l yam achin e can appreciate as on n et
w ritten byan otherm achin e.
T u rin g
L
12 . T he Ou l ipo theN EWMEDIAR EADER
Le roide l apam paretou rn e s achem is e
pou rl am ettre as cherau xcorn es des tau reau x
l e corn dbif en boite em pes te l arem is e
etf erm en ten tde m m e etl es cu irs etl es peau x
Je m e s ou v ien s en corde cette heu re exeu qu is e
l es gau chos dan s l apl ain e agitaien tl eu rs drapeau x
n ou s av ion s au s s if roid qu e n u s s u rl aban qu is e
* 1
l ors qu e pou rn ou s cl is traire ypl an tion s n os tr teau x
1
Du pol e aR os ariof aitu n e bel l e trotte
_ _-1
av en tu res on eu tqu is ' ypiqu e s ' yf rotte
l ors qu on boitdu m at l ' on dev ien targen tin
A-.I
L' Am riqu e du Su d s du itl es qu iv oqu es
exal ten tl es pagn ol l es oreil l es baroqu es
s il acl oche s e taitets on terl in tin tin
Don P edrof rom his s hirthas w as hed the f l eas
a. . a .-.. 119 6 1 a' 7 3 0-' 81 12 . T he Ou l ipo
9
T he bu l l ' s horn s ou ghttodryitl ike abon e
Ol d co' "rn ed beef s ru s tyarm ou rs preads dis eas e
T hats u ede f erm en ts is n otatal l w el l kn ow n

T oon e s w eethou rof bl is s m ym em orycl in gs
Sign al l in g gau chos v eryrarel ys hav e
An icicl e of f rozen m arrow pin gs
L
As s l eepin g-bags the s il en tl an ds cape pav e
Stau n chpil grim s l on ges tj ou rn eys can ' tdepres s
Whatthin gs w e did w e w en tthe w hol e darn ed hog
An d pl ayed theirm ou n tain croqu etj u n gl e ches s
Sou thern baroqu es s edu ctiv e dial ogu e
s Su its l is pin g Span is hton gu es f orw hom s ays om e
1-._-
A
T he bel l tol l s f ee-l es s f i-l es s f o-l es s f u m
12 - T he Ou l ipo theN EWMEDIAR EADER
Le chev al P arthen on s en erv e s u rs af ris e
depu is qu e l ord El gin n egl igeas es n as eau x
l e T u rc de ce tem ps -l apatau geaitdan s s acris e
il chan taittou tde m em e ou im ais il chan taitf au x
Le chev al P arthen on f ris s on n aits ou s l abis e
du cl im atl on don ien ou s ' ebatten tl es beau x
il grel ottait, l e pau v re au xbords de l aT am is e
qu an d l es gr l on s f in m ars m itrail l en tl es bateau x
LaGrece de P l aton acou ps u rn es tpoin ts otte
on com ptaitl es es prits aceres al ahotte
l ors qu e Socrate m ortpas s aitpou ru n l u tin
Sas cu l ptu re es til l u s tre etdan s l e f on d des coqu es
on tran s porte etl e m arbre etdebris etdef roqu es
Sil Eu rope l e v eu tl ' Eu rope ou s on des tin
O -e -
ol l gf l _- l l } ..l 8_.... 0- A 12 . T he Ou l ipo
T he w il d hors e cham ps the P arthen on s topf rieze
Sin ce El gin l ef this n os tril s in the s ton e
T he T u rks s aid j u s ttake an ythin g you pl eas e
An d l ou dl ys an g of f -keyw ithou taton e
O P arthen on you hol d the chargers s trin gs
T he N orthWin d Bites in tohis architrav e
T hbu trageou s T ham es atrou bl ed arrow s l in gs
T obreak aru l e Britan n ias m ightm ightw aiv e
P l aton ic Greece w as n ots otal en tl es s
Apiercin g w itw ou l d s prightl ies thors es f l og
Socrates w atched his hem l ock ef f erv es ce
T heirs cu l ptors did ou rbes tou rhu l ks theycl og
Withm arbl e s ou v en irs then f il l as l u m
F orEu ropes gl oryw hil e F ates harpies s tru m
12 . T he Ou l iD0 theN EWMEDIAR EADER
Le v ieu xm arin breton de tabac prits apris e
pou rdu f in f on d du n ez exciterl es arceau x
s u rl an tiqu e bahu til chois its aceris e
il n ' av aitcl roitqu iau n e etl e j ou rdes R am eau x
Sou v en ez~v ou s am is de ces il es de F ris e
a
ou v en aien tparm il l iers s ' echou erl es haren ceau x
n ou s regrettion s u n peu ce tas cl e m archan dis e
l ors qu on v oyaitau l oin f l am berl es arbris s eau x
On s eche l e pois s on dorade ou m ol v e l otte
on s al e l e requ in on f u m e al echal ote
l ors qu ' on rev ien tau porten es s u yan tu n grain
En f in on v en d l e tou thom ards ets al icoqu es
on s ' excu s e il n ' yan ibal ein es n iphoqu es
l e m am m if ere es troin ou s s om m es s on cou s in
--4-- -0---# --- <> |> 19 6 <> l 81+~o 12 . T he Ou l ipo
Ats n u f f n oCorn is hs ail orm an w ou l d s n eeze
His n as al ecs tas ybeats bes tCol ogn e
U pon his ol d oak ches the cu ts his chees e
Withcherry-pips his cottage f l ooris s ow n
T he F ris ian Is l es m yf rien ds are cheris hed thin gs
Whos e ocean s til l -born herrin gs m adl ybrav e
Su chm erchan dis e am el an chol ybrin gs
F orbu rn in g bu s hes n ev erf is hf orgav e
When dried the terrapin can n au ghtexpres s
Shal l ots an d s harks f in s f ace the s m ou l drin g l og
Whil e hom ew ard thirs ts toeachqu en ched gl as s s ayyes
Lobs ters f ors al e m u s tbe ou rapol ogu e
On f is h-s l ab w hal e n ors eal has n ev ers w u m
T hey' re kin gs w e' re m am m al -cou s in s hihohu m
12 . T he Ou l ipo theN EWMEDIAR EADER
C' etaitacin qo' cl ock qu ' il s ortaitl am arqu is e
pou rcon s om m eru n the pu is des petits gateau x
l e chau f f eu rin dig n e atten daitdan s l abris e
el l e s ou f f l aitbien f ortpar-des s u s l es coteau x
On taitbien s u rpris parcette pl ain e gris e
qu an d s e carbon is aitl af u reu rdes ch iteau x
u n au dacieu xbaron em poche tou te accis e
l ors qu e v ien tl e pom pierav ec s es gran des eau x
Du Gan ge au Mal abarl e l ord an gl ais zozotte
com m e aChan dern agorl e m an an ts en tl acrotte
l e col on el s ' epon ge u n bl as on dan s l am ain
N e f al l aitpas s il oin agiters es brel oqu es
l es In des on tas s ez s an s cade pen del oqu es
l ' ecu , de v airou d' orn e du re qu ' u n m atin
Q _a 9 - 4~ L> l 81 o -~ 12 .
Atf iv e precis el you tw en tLaMarqu is e
F orteacu cu m bers an dw iches as con e
Hern ativ e chau f f eu rw aited in the breeze
Whichn eithertim e n ortide can l on g pos tpon e

How its u rpris ed u s pal e greyu n derl in gs
When f l am e af orm tow rathan ces tral gav e
Adarl in g baron pockets preciou s Min gs
T il l f irem en com e w ithhos e-piped tidal w av e
T he f as tin g f akirdoes n ' ts m el l the l es s
In In dian s u m m ers En gl is hm en drin k grog
T he col on el s s til l es cu tcheon ed in u n dres s
N on eed tocarts u chtreas u res f rom the f og
T he T aj l \/ Iahal has trin kets s pice an d gu m
An d l es s ors dates hav e al l toos hortas u m
I L
12 - T he Ou l ipo theN EWMEDIAR EADER
.
Du j eu n e av an tageu xl an ym ghe etaitepris e
' 4
s n ob u n peu s u rl es bords des bords f on dam en tau x
I1-ii
u n e toge il portaitqu idetail s pas gde m is e
- - - - H
.1.
V-
- a
des n arcis s es on cu eil l e ou bien on es tdes v eau x
Q u an d on pren cl des photos de cette tou rcl e P is e
dbu Gal il ee j adis j etas es pei ts pots
, ._. "4.
\ ",
-' 2
d' u n e etru s qu e in s cription l apierre taitin cis e
. _ ~ <.' - _.
l es Grecs etl es R om ain s en v ain cherchen tl eu rs m ots
Il es prits ou f f l e etres ou f f l e au -des s u s de l abotte
._' _.,
I
4 __ __ _
l e tou ris te aF l oren ce ign qbl e charibotte
i
l au tocarecrabou il l e u n peu d' es pritl atin
Les rapports tran s al pgn s n t-il s biu n iv oqu es ?
5
l es ban qu iers diil v ign on chan gen t-il s l es baioqu es ?
l e Beau n e etl e Chian ti"s on t-il s l e m em e v in ?
iv I
1,.
0 I O --- 17 2 - c-|81o~ 0 12
P rom pl ayboyChan ce the n ym phn ol on gerf l ees
T hrou ghs n obbis hgrow in g rou n d herhem l in e zon e
His togaru m pl ed highabov e his kn ees
On e gathers ros ebu ds orgrow s ol d al on e
Ol d Gal il eo' s P is an of f erin gs
Were pots graf f itid ov erbyas l av e
T he l ean in g l in gu is tcam eram an iac s in gs
Etru s can w ords w hichGreece an d R om e en grav e
Em boggl ed m in ds m aypu f f an d bl ow an d gu es s
Withgrav ityatgrav itys greatcog
On w heel s the tou ris tf ol l ow s his hos tes s
Withbreakin g v oice acros s the Al ps theys l og
Doban k cl erks ru l e theirabacu s bythu m b?
In cogn ac bran dyis Bacardiru m ?_m
12 . T he Ou l ipo theN EWMEDIAR EADER
l l s e pen che il v ou draitattrapers av al is e
<~~- 4- - - - --- - ---- - --- - - -w -_- ~-~i-_- --_.._ - - ._. . ---._._.. . _._?__..._____.__.._7 i__. ~ __.... _,.....,____. _-- .
qu e con v oitaitc' es ts u ru n e horde d' es crocs
_ - _ 7 _ 7
-F
il s e pen che etal ors as agran de s u rpris e
il n e trou v e au s s is ec qu ' u n s ac de v ieu xf ayots
I _
Il l depl ore il depl ore u n e tel l e m ain m is e
qu is e pl aitaf l ou erde pau v res prov in ciau x
al l eral agran dv il l e es tbien u n e en trepris e
el l e ef f raie l e Berrycom m e l es l \/ l orv an diau x
DGVEIT ILl aDOU G L1ID8l I' l OI' 1 I' tI' OL1SS S8 COLLG
on gif l e l e m arm otqu ipl on ge s am en otte
l ors qu ' il v oitl agadou e il cherche l e pu rin
On regrette al af in l es agres tes bicoqu es
on m ettaits an s f acon s es pl u s in f ectes l oqu es
m ais on n ' au raitpas v u l e m etropol itain
...."1 I7 34- J81 . 0 - 12 . T he Ou l ipo
0- e 4 ----.
He ben trightdow n topick u phis v al is e
T hathordes of crooks f el ttheyd m ore righttoow n
He ben trightdow n an d w el l w hatdid he s eize
T he thu m b an d f in ger-prin ts of Al Capon e
Ohhow ohhow he hates s u chpil f erin gs
F il chin g the l ol l ycou n trythrif thel ped s av e
Hes gon e toLon don how the echorin gs
T hrou ghhom es tead hil l s ide w oodl an d rock an d cav e
T he peas an ts s kirts on rain ydays s he' d tres s
An d s tarv e the s n iv el l in g babyl ike adog
Watchin g m an u re an d com pos tcoal es ce
On e m is s es crickethearthan d croakin g f rog
Where n oon e bothered how on e w arm ed on es bu m
he-..
J
Y etf rom the Citys pie pu l l ed n oton e pl u m
12 - T he Ou l ipo theN EWMEDIAR EADER
Q u an d l ' u n av ecqu e l au tre au s s itots ym pathis e
s e f aire il pou rraitbien qu e ce s oitdes j u m eau x
l adecou v erte al ors v oil aqu itrau m atis e
on es pere tou j ou rs tre de v rais n orm au x
Etpou rtan tc' etaitl u il e f r re de f ein tis e
qu icl ochard dev en an tj etaits es oripeau x
u n f rere m em e bas es tl apartin decis e
qu e l es paren ts f econ ds of f ren tau xpu rs berceau x
Le gen eal ogis te obs erv e l eu rbou il l otte
gratterl e parchem in dev ien dras am arotte
il v ou draretrou v erl e germ e adu l terin
F rere j e te com pren ds s iparf ois tu debl oqu es
f rere j e tabs ou drais itu m em berl u coqu es
l ag m el l ite v raie accu s e s on des tin
O iQ Itol l gs l t0' 7 2 --o 12 . T he Ou l ipo
When on e w itht' others traightaw ayagrees
T he an s w eris theycou l d be tw in s f u l l -grow n
R epl ies l ike this the du m bs tru ck brain m ayteas e
N orm al on e aim s tobe an d s hare the thron e
r
An d yet' tw as he the beggarF ate j u s tf l in gs
I
R ej ectin g erm in e tobecom e akn av e
_
l _
T he f ertil e m otherchan gel in g drops l ike kin gs
In pu res tcradl es thas how theybehav e
L
T he gen eal ogis tw ithf iel d an d f es s
T
Withqu il l w hite col l ared throu ghhis l if e w il l j og
T oprov e m am m aan adu l tw ithatres s
Bu tIcan u n ders tan d you BrotherGog
An d l etyou of f f rom you ropin ion s gl u m
.
Aw is e l oaf al w ays kn ow s its hu m bl es tcru m b
12 . T he Ou l ipo
theN EWMEDIAR EADER
Lors qu ' u n j ou rexal te l aecl e pros ais e
pou rdepl aire au prof an e au s s ibien qu ' au xidiots
-I
l acritiqu e l u cide apercoitce qu il v is e
il don n e al atribu des cris au xs en s n ou v eau x
L' u n etl au tre arais on n on l af ou l e in s ou m is e
l e v u l gaire s ' en tete av ou l oirdes v ers beau x
l u n etl au tre on trais on n on l af ou l e im precis e
atou s , n ' es tpas don n e d' aim erl es chocs v erbau x
Le poete in s pire n ' es tpoin tu n pol ygl otte
u n e l an gu e s u f f itpou rem pl irs acagn otte
m em e s ' il pren d s on s el au cel te c' es ts on bien
-- 7
Barde qu e tu m e pl ais tou j ou rs tu s ol il oqu es
tu m e s tu pef ies pl u s qu e tou s l es v en tril oqu es
l e m etrom an e af orce in carn e l e dev in
+5 -% ~ -- r-
I19 6 ]. T 3 N 81
._. .. .6 ..__I. . _.__-_ _. _. _._..__._...
12 . T he Ou l ipo
P ros e took the m in s trel s v ers e w ithou tas qu eeze
His exal tation s hocked bothyou than d cron e
pi.
T he u n ders tan din g critic f irs tl ys ees
7
Ere m ean in gs n ew toan cien ttribes are throw n
T heybothare rightn otu n tam ed m u tterin gs
1;
T hatm etred rhym e al on e can s ou l s en s l av e
Ii
T heybothare rightn otu n f orm ed s m atterin gs
-2
T hatev eryv erbal s hock aim s todeprav e
P OCCIC l .l CI' 1C I' 16 dS I' 1O s train OISIIY BSS
On e ton gu e w il l dotokeepthe v ers e agog
F rom cool P arn as s u s dow n tow il d LochN es s
Bard Iadore you ren dl es s m on ol ogu e
Ven tril oqu is ts be bl ow ed you s trike m e du m b
h~_
Sol il oqu ies predictgreatthin gs ol d chu m
12 - T he Ou l ipo theN EWMEDIAR EADER
Le m arbre pou rl ' acide es tu n e f rian dis e
d' au cu n s par-des s u s tou tpris en tl es es cargots
s u rl apl ace u n f orain de f eu s e gargaris e
qu is aits il e requ in bou l otte l es tu rbots ?
Du v ois in l e P apou s u cote l apophys e
qu e n apas dev ore l ahorde des m u l ots ?
l e gou rm eten s al ade av al e l e cytis e
l en f an tpu rau xyeu xbl eu s aim e l es berl in gots
Le l ou pes tam ateu rde coqetde cocotte
l e chatf aitu n f es tin de tetes de l in otte
chem in v icin al s e n ou rritde crottin
On abu du pin ard atou tes l es epoqu es
grign oterdes bretzel s dis traitbien des col l oqu es
m ais rien n e v au tgril l e l e m orceau de bou din
l
O . 0 al l g i.... e 0' 7 3 l m ... ....e 12 . T he Ou l ipo
T he acid ton gu e w ithgou rm ets expertis e
Licks rou n d carv ed m arbl e chops on s n ail s f u l l -bl ow n
T he s how m an gargl es f ire an d s w ord w itheas e
Whil e s harks tol ets s aypotted s hrim ps are pron e.
T he rou n dabou teats prof its m ade on s w in gs
N ou ghtcan the m ou s es tim id n ibbl in g s tav e
In s al ads al l chew gru bs bef ore theyv e w in gs
T he n ices tkids f ors trickies ttof f ees crav e
T he w ol f dev ou rs boths heepan d s hepherdes s
Abird-brain ban qu etm el ts bol d Mis tres s Mog
T he cou n tryl an d j u s tthriv es on f arm yard m es s
Whis keyw il l al w ays w ake an Iris hbog
T hou ghbretzel s take the dol s f rom board-room dru m
F ried gril l ed bl ack pu ddin gs s til l the w orl ds bes tyu m
/
/
T T
12 . T he Ou l ipo
theN EWMEDIAR EADER
Lors qu e tou tes tf in il ors qu e l on agon is e
.._...,.-.,_g __- --~--_-i_ii.__..____..i__.. .. .- .-.------ __
l ors qu e l e m arbrieras tiqu e n os tom beau x
des etres in decis v ou s parl en ts an s f ran chis e
ettou tv ien ts ign if ierl af in des haricots
i__ .; .; 4_4..a44-is . -
_-___.~; .; _.p4a4..xa-g; _._a; .x
On v ou s f aitdev en iru n e orde m archan dis e
on prepare l arou te au xpen s ers s epu l crau x
I
de l am orton v ou s gref f e u n e orde batardis e
l am ite agrign ote tis s u s os etrideau x
- - -1
Le brav e abeau crierahcre n om s aperl otte
l e l ache peu targu erde s am in e pal otte
l l
Les croqu e-m orts s on tl apou rs e m ettre au tu rbin
Cel acon s id ran t6 l ecteu rtu s u f f oqu es
com ptan ttes abattis l ecteu rtu te dis l oqu es
_-. -.--_--.._i_-..w ..-v -- . _... .. ..
tou te chos e pou rtan tdoitav oiru n e f in
Q - - _es - be as - - <2 -_1 _= a _-- -__- -0-- -_. -Q -~ -- 1--------_W -aw -------Q -- ~ _
0119 6 1 I7 3 J81
T he m arbl e tom b gapes w ide w ithj an gl in g keys
12 . T he Ou l ipo
When m as on s cl u tchthe breathw e hol d on l oan
F orm s s hadow yw ithin decis ion w heeze
r
I
An d em ptycages s how l if e bird has f l ow n
Its on e of m an yhorrid happen in gs
F
Withs om bre thou ghts theygrim l yl in e the n av e
if . ..
P rou d deathqu ite il -l e-gi-ti-m ate-l ys tin gs
Victoriou s w orm s grin d al l in tothe grav e
i Its n ogood richm en cryin g Heav en Bl es s
l .
Orgrin n in g l ike apal e-f aced gol l iw og
i-
P oorY orick com es tobu ryn otaddres s
We' l l s u f f ocate bef ore the epil ogu e
F
l
P oorreaders m il e bef ore you rl ips gon u m b
P "
T he bes tof al l thin gs toan en d m u s tcom e
O . I 19 6 1 o 81 12 . T he Ou l ipo
Y ou rs f orthe T el l in g
R aym on d Q u en eau
T ran s l ated byJohn Crom bie
1 Wou l d you l ike toread the tal e
of the three s prightl ypeas ?
If s o, goto4;
if n ot, goto2 .
2
Wou l d you pref erthe tal e of Wou l d you ratherread the on e abou tthe On ce u pon atim e there w ere three w ee peas
the three tal l , l an kybean pol es ? 3 three rathercom m on orgarden s hru bs ? 4dres s ed in green dozin g cos il yin theirpod. T hey
had chu bb m oon -s haped f aces an d breathed throu gh
If s o, goto16 ; If s o, goto17 ; _V
theirf u n n yl ittl e n ozzl es , s n orin g s of tl yan d
if n ot, goto3. if n ot, goto2 1. eu phom -Ou Sl y_

If you ' d pref eran otherdes cription , goto9 ;

if this on e w il l doyou , proceed to5.
-I,
Cl
|_
12 . T he Ou l ipo
Brief His tory
of the Ou l ipo
Jean Les cu re
His toryw il l n ev erqu es tion it:the Ou l ipow as f ou n ded by
F ran cois Le Lion n ais . Q u en eau s aid iton the radio. Leav es
an d w ritin gs f ade, bu tw ords rem ain . On the s am e occas ion ,
f u rtherm ore, Q u en eau in dicated thathe him s el f w as the
cof ou n der. On the cau s e of this f ou n dation , he expres s ed
him s el f in the f ol l ow in g term s
Ihad w ritten f iv e ors ixof the s on n ets of the Cen tMil l e
Mil l iards de poem es , an d Iw as hes itan ttocon tin u e; in s hort, I
didn thav e the s tren gthtocon tin u e; the m ore Iw en tal on g, the
m ore dif f icu l titw as todon atu ral l y[ here In ote thatthe
Gal l im ard edition , p. 116 of the En tretien s w ithGeorges
Charbon n ier, does n ' tpu n ctu ate this partof the s en ten ce,
w hereas on e w on ders if , w hen pron ou n cin g it, R aym on d
Q u en eau didn ' tpu tacom m abetw een doan d n atu ral l y. So
thatw e don ' tkn ow w hetherthe au thors in ten ded m ean in g
is itw as dif f icu l ttodon atu ral l y, w hichbrin gs u s tothe v ery
heartof Ou l ipian thou ght, oritw as dif f icu l ttodo, n atu ral l y].
Bu t[ Icon tin u e toqu ote] w hen Iran in toLe Lion n ais , w hois a
f rien d of m in e, he s u gges ted thatw e s tartas ortof res earchgrou p
in experim en tal l iteratu re T haten cou raged m e tocon tin u e
w orkin g on m ys on n ets .
Itm u s tbe adm itted:this en cou ragem en t, the n eces s ityof
w hichw as n otev iden ttoev eryon e, didn ' tappears u f f icien t
toan yon e. We hav e the proof of this in the m in u tes of the
f irs tm eetin g, on 2 4N ov em ber19 6 0, m in u tes w hichw e ow e
tothe in v igoratin g eagern es s of Jacqu es Ben s , n am ed f rom
thatdayf orw ard, an d def in itiv el ys o, prov is ion al s ecretary.
We read therein :
theN EWMEDIAR EADER
F orthe activ ityof the Ou l ipo, thatgoes w ithou ts ayin g. As
toan yon e el s es activ ity, w e didn ' tobj ectthattheiras s ign ed
tas k be the com pos ition of poem s . T hatdayin the bas em en t
of the VraiGas con , w hatm ore n eces s arytas k brou ght
togetherQ u ev al Jean , Q u en eau R aym on d, Les cu re Jean , Le
Lion n ais F ran cois , Du chateau Jacqu es , Berge Cl au de, an d
Ben s Jacqu es as is n oted in the m in u tes ?( With, m oreov er,
the in ten tion tou rge Schm idtAl bert-Marie, Arn au d N oel ,
an d Latis toatten d the n extl u n cheon .)
We as ked ou rs el v es thatqu es tion . We as ked ou rs el v es that
qu es tion the n extdayin w ritten f orm :Con s iderin g thatw e do
n otm eetm erel ytoam u s e ou rs el v es ( w hichis in its el f appreciabl e
s u rel y), w hatcan w e expectf rom ou rw ork?
Obv iou s l y, if w e w ere as kin g ou rs el v es this qu es tion , the
f actw as thatw e had n otyetan s w ered it. Al l ow m e tos l ipa
rem ark in tothis v acil l ation of ou rearl ydays . T his is thatof
the s ev en pers on s m eetin g on the occas ion of the f irs t
l u n cheon , s ixhad atten ded the ten -daycon f eren ce organ ized
atCeris yin Septem ber, tw om on ths earl ier, dedicated to
R aym on d Q u en eau , en titl ed U n e n ou v el l e def en s e etil l u s tration
de l al an gu e f ran cais e. N otal l of thos e s ixhad been f rien ds
bef ore the m eetin g atCeris y. Som e of them had n ev erev en
m et. T hos e s ix, pl u s An dre Bl av ier, w how ou l d l aterbecom e a
corres pon din g m em berof the Ou l ipo, had al readym etat
Ceris yin the l ittl e en trypav il ion w iththe in ten tion of
f orm in g agrou pw ithin the Col l ege de P ataphys iqu e. Du rin g
thats es s ion , Q u ev al w as ban n ed s ev eral tim es , f oratotal of
2 9 7 years , an d eachtim e readm itted bypopu l araccl aim .
Whichof cou rs e col ored his l atercareeras an Ou l ipian ,
con dem n in g him toban him s el f u n ceas in gl yan d equ al l y
u n ceas in gl ytocede toou robj ection s .
Atthe tim e of this f irs tm eetin g in N ov em berof 19 6 0, the
Ou l ipos til l cal l ed its el f the S.L.E., s hortf ors l itex, or
s m in aire de l itteratu re exp rim en tal e. Itw as n ' tu n til am on th
l ater, on 19 Decem ber19 6 0, an d on the happyin itiativ e of
Itw ou l d n ots eem thatthe com pos ition of poem s aris in g f rom a Al bert-Marie Schm idt, thatthis S.L.E. becam e the Ou l ipo, or
v ocabu l arycom pos ed byin ters ection s , in v en tories , oran yother
proces s m aycon s titu te an en d in its el f .
ratherthe Ol ipo:ou v roirde l itteratu re poten tiel l e. On e can
theref ore l egitim atel ys aythatdu rin g am on ththere w as a
5T heirs l eepw as dream l es s . T he f act6 T heyw ere dream in g. T he f actis thes e l ittl e 7 T heircu te l ittl e toots ies w ere m u t ed in
is thatthes e creatu res n ev erdeam . creatu res are al w ays deam in g, an d theirn ights cozys ocks , an d theyw ore bl ack v el v et
If you rd rathertheydid dream goto6 ; are qu ite del iciou s l yon eiric. m itten s in bed.
if n ot, goto7 _If you w is htokn ow w hattheyw ere dream in g, If you ' d pref erm itten s of an othercol ou r,
goto11; proceed to8;
if it' s n eitherhere n orthere toyou , proceed to7 . if you ' re happyw ithbl ack, goto10.
19 6 1 7 3
81--..-. 0e 12 . T he Ou l ipo
s iv ----4---- -a
poou l ipo. Apoten tial ou l ipo. Whatim portan tdif f eren ce did
the ou l ipoin trodu ce com pared tothe s til l born s l itex, or
S.L.E.?T he l idid n otchan ge. Of cou rs e, certain peopl e
cl aim ed thatthere w as al ottobe s aid abou tl i. Bu tou r
w ork atCeris yhad con v in ced u s thatl an gu age on l ys ol icited
ou ratten tion as l iteratu re. T hu s w e keptthe l iof l iteratu re.
S m in aire bothered u s in thatitcon j u res u ps tu d f arm s an d
artif icial in s em in ation ; ou v roii; on the con trary, f l attered the
m odes ttas te thatw e s hared f orbeau tif u l w ork an d good
deeds : ou tof res pectf orbothf in e arts an d m oral s , w e
con s en ted toj oin the ou tothe l i. T here rem ain ed the po, or
the poof this ou l i. T he in s piration w as gen eral . An d the w ord
experim en tal hav in g s eem ed tou s tobas e the en tire operation
on acts an d experim en ts as yeton l ypoorl ydis cern ibl e, w e
j u dged itadv is abl e tos ettl e ou rs el v es s qu arel yon an
obj ectiv e n otion , on areal f actof ev eryl iterarybein g:his
poten tial . ( T his poten tial rem ain in g in an ycas e s u f f icien t
u n toits el f , ev en w hen the experim en tal en ergyof the
l itt rateu rs w ou l d f in d itl ackin g.)
Itw as , f in al l y, the thirteen thof F ebru ary19 6 1 thatthe
P riv ate Gen eral Secretarytothe Baron Vice-Cu ratorof the
Col l ege de P ataphys iqu e, M. Latis , con cl u ded the n om in ation
of this en terpris e bys u gges tin g, f orthe s ake of s ym m etry,
thatw e add the s econ d l etterof the w ord ou v roirtothe O,
w hichdef in itel yren dered the Ol ipothe Ou l ipo.
Ou rf irs tl abors im m ediatel yin dicated the des ire to
in s cribe the Ou l ipow ithin ahis tory. T he Ou l ipodidn ' tcl aim
toin n ov ate atan yprice. T he f irs tpapers deal tw ithan cien t
w orks , w orks thatm ights erv e as an ces tors if n otas m odel s
f orthe w ork w e w an ted tobegin . T his l ed u s tocon s ider
accordin g agood deal of ou ref f orts toan H.L.E., orHis toire
des l itteratu res exp rim en tal es . Here, w e s aw the n otion of
experim en tation orexercis e reappear; atthe s am e tim e w e
w ere begin n in g toreal ize thatw hichdis tin gu is hed u s f rom
the pas t:poten tial ity. -
Bu tin an ycas e the es s en tial obj ectof ou rqu es tw as s til l
l iteratu re, an d F ran cois Le Lion n ais w rote:Ev eryl iteraryw ork
begin s w ithan in s piration . . . w hichm u s taccom m odate its el f as
w el l as pos s ibl e toas eries of con s train ts an d procedu res , etc.
Whatthe Ou l ipoin ten ded todem on s trate w as thatthes e
con s train ts are f el icitou s , gen erou s , an d are in f actl iteratu re
its el f . Whatitpropos ed w as todis cov ern ew on es , u n derthe
n am e of s tru ctu res . Bu tatthattim e, w e didn tf orm u l ate this
as cl earl y.
T he pos ition of the Ou l ipoin regard tol iteratu re is
determ in ed in m em oran du m # 4, m in u tes of the m eetin g on
13 F ebru ary19 6 1, in the f ol l ow in g f orm :
Jean Q u ev al in terv en ed toas k if w e are in f av orof l iterary
m adrn en . T othis del icate qu es tion , F . Le Lion n ais repl ied v ery
s u btl y:
We are n otagain s tthem , bu tthe l iteraryv ocation in teres ts
u s abov e al l el s e.
An d R . Q u en eau s tated precis el y:
T he on l yl iteratu re is v ol u n taryl iteratu re.
l f l m ayref ertothe hen cef orthf am ou s dictu m in Odil e, w e
can add tothis n otion the con s iderabl e con s equ en ces
res u l tin g f rom the f actthat:T he real l yin s pired pers on is n ev er
in s pired bu tal w ays in s pired Whatdoes this m ean ?What?T his
thin g s orare, in s piration , this gif tof the gods w hichm akes
the poet, an d w hichthis u n happym an n ev erqu ite des erv es
in s pite of al l his heartaches , this en l ighten m en tcom in g f rom
w hokn ow s w here, is itpos s ibl e thatitm ightceas e tobe
capriciou s , an d thatan yan d ev erybodym ightf in d itf aithf u l
an d com pl ian ttohis des ires ?T he s eriou s rev ol u tion , the
s u dden chan ge this s im pl e s en ten ce in trodu ced in toa
con ception of l iteratu re s til l w hol l ydom in ated byrom an tic
ef f u s ion s an d the exal tation of s u bj ectiv ity, has n ev erbeen
f u l l yan al yzed. In f act, this s en ten ce im pl ied the
rev ol u tion arycon ception of the obj ectiv ityof l iteratu re, an d
f rom thattim e f orw ard open ed the l attertoal l pos s ibl e
m odes of m an ipu l ation . In s hort, l ike m athem atics , l iteratu re
cou l d be expl ored
We kn ow thatf orQ u en eau , atCeris y, the origin of
l an gu age m ightbe traced back toam an w hohad a
s tom achache an d w an ted toexpres s thatf act?Bu tas
Q u en eau s tated toCharbon n ier, Of cou rs e he didn ' ts u cceed in
8 T heyw ore m idn ightbl u e v el v etm itten s 9 On ce u pon atim e there w ere three w ee peas w hotrav el l ed the open road. In the ev en in g,
_in bed. f oot-s ore an d w eary, theyw ou l d dropof f tos l eepin n otim e atal l .
If you ' d pref erm itten s of an othercol ou r, If you w is htokn ow w hathappen ed n ext,
goback to7 ; goback to5;
if you hav e n oobj ection tobl u e, if n ot, proceed to2 1.
proceed to10.
$_
12 . T he Ou l ipo
expres s in g this ; n ev ercou l d s u cceed; n obodyw il l ev ers u cceed
Sin ce this m ys teriou s origin , the f ail u res of l an gu age hav e
l ittl e byl ittl e l ed its u s ers toref l ecton this s tran ge tool
w hichon e cou l d con s ider, w hichs om etim es com m an ds
con s ideration , w ithou tref eren ce tou til ity.
P eopl e n oticed thattheyw ere l an gu age f rom head totoe.
An d thatw hen theythou ghttheyhad as tom achache, itw as
in f actal an gu age-ache. T hatal l of thatw as m ore orl es s
in dis cern ibl e. T hatm edicin e w as f in e an d dan dy, bu tif w e
w ere s u f f erin g in ou rl an gu age, m edicin e w as n ' ten ou gh,
al thou ghitits el f is al an gu age. We s tarted theref ore to
expl ore, ortow an ttoexpl ore, l an gu age. We began byrel yin g
on its properties . We l etitpl aybyits el f . Word gam es becam e
the gam e of w ords in Q u en eau , s u bj ectof the excel l en t
Dau bercies s doctoral thes is . We directed the gam es of
l an gu age, s earched, f ou n d, an d en cou raged certain of its
capacities . We rem ain ed atten tiv e tothis n atu re w hichit
s eem s tohav e, orw hichitcon s titu tes f orits el f an d w hich, in
tu rn , con s titu tes u s .
T his m ov em en tbecam e en tirel yn atu ral . An d this is w hyI
u n derl in ed Q u en eau ' s w ords al ittl e w hil e ago:the m ore
dif f icu l titw as todon atu ral l y. Ithas becom e s on atu ral thatw e
f orgetthe pu n ctu ation an d ev eryon e j u m ps in .
Letm e poin tou tthatL v i-Strau s s begin s the P en s e
s au v age w itharem ark on n om in ation , an d the expres s ion of
the con crete bythe abs tract. He qu otes tw os en ten ces f rom
Chin ook, av eryu s ef u l l an gu age f orl in gu is ts . T hes e tw o
s en ten ces u s e abs tractw ords todes ign ate properties or
qu al ities of bein gs orthin gs . T hu s , in ordertos ay: T he had
m an kil l ed the u n f ortu n ate chil d, on e w il l s ay: T he hadn es s of the
m an kil l ed the m is f ortu n e of the chil d; an d tos ay: T his w om an is
u s in g ahas ketw hichis toos m al l , on e w il l s ay:She is pu ttin g
poten til l aroots in tothe s m al l n es s of as hel l bas ket.
Itis cl earin this cas e thatthe n otion s of abs tractan d
con crete are con f u s ed an d, as L v i-Strau s s s ays , thatoak or
beech is j u s tas abs tractas "tree."Bu tan otherthin g
becom es cl eartothe w is e poetw hoexam in es this text. T his
is thatthe hadn es s of the m an kil l ed the m is f ortu n e of the chil d is
theN EWMEDIAR EADER
n otprecis el ythe s am e thin g as the had m an kil l ed the
u n f ortu n ate chil d. In f act, it' s n otthe s am e thin g atal l . An d
this dif f eren ce rev eal s an ew con creten es s w hichis n oton l y
thatof the thin g ref erred tobythe w ords bu tal s othatof the
w ords them s el v es . Lan gu age is acon crete obj ect.
On e can theref ore operate on itas on otherobj ects of
s cien ce. Lan gu age ( l iteraryl an gu age)does n ' tm an ipu l ate
n otion s , as peopl e s til l bel iev e; ithan dl es v erbal obj ects an d
m aybe ev en , in the cas e of poetry( bu tcan on e draw a
dis tin ction betw een poetryan d l iteratu re?), s on orou s
obj ects . Ju s tas in pain tin g the dis s im u l ation of the obj ectof
ref eren ce bygrids of n on f igu ration cl aim ed l es s toan n ihil ate
this obj ect, tabl e, l an ds cape, orf ace, than todiv ertatten tion
tow ard the pain tin g obj ect, acertain n u m berof s en ten ces
w ritten todayf ixthe atten tion of the obs erv eron the
s in gu l arobj ectthatis l iteraryl an gu age, w hos e s ign if ication s
becau s e of this m u l tipl yin def in itel y. U n u s u al des ign ation s
poin ttothe s ign ratherthan tothe s ign if ied.
As im pl e exam pl e w il l cl arif ythis :the begin n in g of Le
Chien den t:3 Am an s s il hou ette w as ou tl in ed s im u l tan eou s l y
thou s an ds . Areal is tn ov el is tw ou l d hav e w ritten :Ju l es cam e
al on g. T here w as acrow d. Bu tin w ritin g this , the real is t
n ov el is tw ou l d on l yhav e s how n thathe w as con f u s in g the
con creten es s of thin gs w ithl iterarycon creten es s , an d thathe
w as cou n tin g on qu as hin g the l atterin f av orof the f orm er.
He w ou l d hav e cl aim ed tohav e ren dered his s en ten ce w hol l y
tran s paren ttothatw hichitdes ign ates . T hatis l iteratu re
accordin g toSartre, an d tran s itiv e l an gu age. In l iteratu re, the
s m al l es tcom bin ation of w ords s ecretes perf ectl yin tran s itiv e
properties . T he recou rs e tothe abs tractin Q u en eau m ean s
s im pl ythe choice of as ys tem of con creten es s aton ce both
v eryan cien tan d v eryn ew :l iteratu re its el f .
Idon ' tm ean tos u gges tthatthis is an abs ol u te dis cov ery.
Q u en eau kn ow s betterthan an yon e thatl iteratu re exis ted
bef ore u s . F orexam pl e, on e f in ds in An ge P itou ades cription
of af ightthatcon f orm s precis el ytow hatw e' v e been
s ayin g. An ge P itou f ights w iththe s em in aris tw hohad
rais ed him , if m em orys erv es m e, an d w hom he had j u s t
1O Al l three w ere dream in g the s am e dream ; 1 1 T heyw ere dream in g theyhad gon e tof etchtheirs ou pf rom the s ou pkitchen an d,
f ortheyl ov ed eachotherten derl yan d, ol d u pon open in g theirbil l y-can s , dis cov ered ittobe v etchs ou p. Sicken ed w ithhorror,
in s eparabl es thattheyw ere, al w ays dream ed al ike. theyaw oke.
If you w is htokn ow theirdream , proceed to11; If you w is htokn ow w hytheyaw oke s icken ed w ithhorror,
if n otgoto12 . con s u l tyou rOxf ord En gl is hDiction aryu n der"v etch"an d draw you row n con cl u s ion s ;
if it' s al l the s am e toyou , proceed to12 .
J19 6 1 I7 3
0..-. 0 ~_ 0 ~ = ~a W. ~ 1.0 w e
f ou n d again . T he s em in aris tthrow s apu n chw hich, s ays A.
Du m as , An ge P itou w arded of f w ithan eye. Ev erythin g here is
con crete in its term s , bu tthe organ ization of thes e v ariou s
con cretes is abs u rd. It' s n otthe w orl d thats bein g ref erred
to, bu tl iteratu re. Bu tof cou rs e, l iteratu re is al w ays the
w orl d.
Its becau s e w e had the prof ou n d f eel in g thatw e w ere n ot
a abs ol u te-begin n in g, bu tratherthatw e bel on ged toa
tradition , thatthe Ou l ipodecided todev ote al arge s hare of
its w ork tobrin gin g togethertexts f oran an thol ogyof exper-
im en tal l iteratu re. F orthere w ere n oton l ythes e n aiv e an d
al eatoryil l u m in ation s of Al exan dre Du m as ' s s ort:other
w riters s ys tem atical l ys ou ghttotran s f orm the con s train ts of
l iteraryru l es in tos ou rces of in s piration . Hu gds f am ou s Je
rim e adait is an exam pl e of the en ergetic v irtu es of rhym e, if
n otof the w ork of the greates tof F ren chpoets .
Experim en tation w as thu s rein trodu ced in tothe Ou l ipo,
n oton l yin ordertoes tabl is hou rgen eal ogical tree, the
his toryof ou rorigin s , bu tal s otogiv e direction toou r
expl oration . F orm os tof the experim en ts thaton e can
con du cton l an gu age rev eal thatthe f iel d of m ean in gs
exten ds f arbeyon d the in ten tion s of an yau thor. It' s a
com m on pl ace todaythatan au thoru n ders tan ds on l yv ery
f ew of the m ean in gs of f ered byhis w ork. An d on e can n o
l on gerf in d as in gl e w riterprov in cial en ou ghtoexpl ain zl
in ten ded tos aythat. . . . When qu es tion ed today, the w riter
res pon ds :l w an ted to. . . an d the des cription of am achin e
produ cin g atthe dis cretion of con s u m ers f ol l ow s . In s hort,
ev eryl iterarytextis l iterarybecau s e of an in def in ite
qu an tityof poten tial m ean in gs .
T hatin v ol v es the obj ects of l iteratu re, an d on e n otices
that,~f rom this poin tof v iew , l iteratu re is poten tial . F or
w hichthe Ou l iporej oices . Bu tas the equ atin g of poten tial ity
an d l iteratu re w ou l d perhaps cau s e the Ou l ipotol os e its el f
in the total ityof l an gu age, w e had tos eek as pecif ic
poten tial ityw hichw e in ten ded tou s e f orou rpu rpos es . Its
n otthatof l iteratu re al readyw ritten bu tthatof l iteratu re
w hichrem ain s tobe w ritten .
a_|81..a - 12 . T he Ou l ipo
Itw as n otan eas ythin g toaccom pl is h. Itw as ev en
exceedin gl ydif f icu l t. F irs t, w e el aborated the f ol l ow in g broad
def in ition . Ou l ipo:grou pw hichpropos es toexam in e in w hat
m an n eran d byw hatm ean s , giv en as cien tif ic theoryu l tim atel y
con cern in g l an gu age ( theref ore an thropol ogy), on e can in trodu ce
aes thetic pl eas u re ( af f ectiv ityan d f an cy)therein . We w il l n ev er
kn ow exactl yw hocam e u pw iththis def in ition , the def in itiv e
s ecretaryhav in g gen erou s l yattribu ted ittoal l in his m in u tes
of the 5April 19 6 1 m eetin g?
T hin gs cou l d on l ygetw ors e. An d the s am e. day, the
Ou l ipian s s l yl y f ol l ow ed this def in ition w ithan other:
Ou l ipian s :rats w hom u s tbu il d the l abyrin thf rom w hichthey
propos e toes cape.
T he s torm broke on the tw en tiethof April ?T he w ord
af f ectiv ity"u n l eas hed the tem pes tthatJacqu es Ben s had
been broodin g f oram on th. Appeal in g toam ethod an d a
s cien tif ic on e, the prov is ion al s ecretarycl aim ed thatw e cou l d
on l yw ork f rom real thin gs , f rom exis tin g texts . T oAl bert-
Marie Schm idt, w how orried thatthe treatm en ts tow hich
thes e texts w ere s u bj ected in ordertoactu al ize their
poten tial ities in f actdes troyed the l atteras s u ch,
tran s f orm in g them in toreal ities , Arn au d an s w ered thatw e
m u s tbegin w iththe con crete, w iththe m aterial . Ou l ipian
activ ityappl ies s ys tem atic an d predictabl e treatm en ts to
thes e m aterial s . T hats the experim en tal m ethod. T ow hich
Q u en eau repl ied: Ou rm ethod cou l d be appl ied ton on exis ten t
acts . An d Les cu re Jean goin g s of aras tos u gges tthatthe
greates tpoten tial ityis thatof n on exis ten ce, Ben s cried in an
aggres s iv e v oice: T hats poetic m ethod n ots cien ti c. Q u en eau :
His torical l y, w e m aycon s iderthatthe dayw hen the Carol in gian s
began tocou n ton theirf in gers 6 , 8, an d 12 tom ake v ers e, they
accom pl is hed an Ou l ipian tas k. P oten tial l iteratu re is thatw hich
does n ' tyetexis t. Withthe w ors tin s in cerityin the w orl d,
Jacqu es Ben s then af f irm ed thatthatw as precis el yw hathe
had been s ayin g: T ogettothe poten tial ( in the f u tu re), on e m u s t
begin w iththatw hichexis ts ( in the pres en t). Gran ted thatit' s he
him s el f w how rites the m in u tes , he didn ' tin terru pthim s el f ,
an d he gav e him s el f the l as tw ord.
II!
12 Eeky-peeky! theycried as theypopped open theiroptics . "Eeky-peeky! Whata 13 Com e of f it. piped the rs tpea. "Sin ce
_ ghas tl ydream w e' v e j u s tdream ed!""Abad om en ,"the rs tpeas aid. "Am en ,"s aid _w hen w ere you abl e toan al ys e dream s ?"
the s econ d pea, "If eel qu ite gl u m . "Don ' tl etitu ps etyou s o,"s aid the third pea, w how as Y es , SIHCG w hen ?"piped the s econ d pea.
the s m artes tof the three; "the poin tis n ottom ope an d f retbu ttou n ders tan d, right?Ju s tIf you tooW1-Shtokn ow Sin ce w hen
you l is ten w hil e Ian al ys e ital l . .
If you can ' tw aittokn ow his in terpretation of the dream , goto15;
if you ' d ratherl earn how the othertw ores pon ded, proceed to13.
L.
proceed to14.
if n ot, proceed to14an yw ay, as you ' l l n otbe an y
the w is er.
12 . T he Ou l ipo
Itw as du rin g the n ightof 2 8 Au gu s t19 6 1, in the garden s
of F ran cois Le Lion n ais an d in the pres en ce of Lady
Godiv a,7 thatthe Ou l ipian s began tou n ders tan d w hatthey
had been tryin g todof ors ol on g. Le Lion n ais expres s ed
him s el f in thes e term s :Itis pos s ibl e tocom pos e texts thathav e
poetic, s u rreal is t, f an tas tic, orotherqu al ities w ithou thav in g
qu al ities of poten tial N ow itis thes e l as tqu al ities thatare es s en e
tial f oru s . T heyare the on l yon es thatm u s tgu ide ou rchoice. . . .
T he goal of poten tial l iteratu re is tof u rn is hf u tu re w riters w ith
n ew techn iqu es w hichcan dis m is s in s piration f rom their
af f ectiv ity. Ergo, the n eces s ityof acertain l iberty. N in e orten
cen tu ries ago, w hen apoten tial w riterpropos ed the s on n etf orm ,
he l ef t, throu ghcertain m echan ical proces s es , the pos s ibil ityof a
choice.
T hu s , con tin u es Le Lion n ais , there are tw oLipos :an an al ytic
an d as yn thetic. An al ytic l ipos eeks pos s ibil ities exis tin g in the
w ork of certain au thors u n bekn ow n s ttothem . Syn thetic l ipo
con s titu tes the prin cipal m is s ion of the Ou l ipo; its aqu es tion of
open in g n ew pos s ibil ities prev iou s l yu n kn ow n toau thors .
F in al l yel aborated, this def in ition rem ain s the Ou l ipol s ru l e.
In his con v ers ation s w ithCharbon n ier, Q u en eau retu rn s toit
n earl yw ord f orw ord:T he w ord poten tial con cern s the v ery
n atu re of l iteratu re; thatis , f u n dam en tal l yits l es s aqu es tion of
l iteratu re s trictl ys peakin g than of s u ppl yin g f orm s f orthe good u s e
on e can m ake of l iteratu re We cal l poten tial l iteratu re the s earch
f orn ew f orm s an d s tru ctu res thatm aybe u s ed byw riters in an y
w aytheys ee f it.
F in al l y, an d m ore recen tl y, Le Lion n ais :T he Ou l ipos goal is
todis cov ern ew s tru ctu res an d tof u rn is hf oreachs tru ctu re a
s m al l n u m berof exam pl es .
As w e can s ee, the ru l es of the s on n et, w hichare the
Q u l ipds bread an d bu tter, rem ain the perf ectexam pl e of ou r
aim s . Bu tin al l of this there is arel ativ el yn ew w ayof
con s iderin g l iteratu re, an d itis n otbychan ce ( an d w ithou t
bad f eel in gs tow ard the ol d w orl d)thatQ u en eau w rites that
w e propos e toel aborate aw hol e ars en al in w hichthe poetm ay
pick an d choos e, w hen ev erhe w is hes toes cape f rom thatw hichis
cal l ed in s piration ( En tretien s , p. 154).
theN EWMEDIAR EADER
His toryw il l tes tif ythatthe Ou l ipos av ed m en f rom the
in f an til e dis eas es of w riters an d gav e tru e f reedom tothe
l atter, w hichcon s is ts , exercis in g theirpas s ion ate tas te f or
the obs tacl e, in f in din g the s prin gboard of theiraction in
the w orl d its el f .
I-l av in g u n ders tood its m is s ion , the Ou l ipohappil y
em barked u pon the cen tu ries thataw aited it.9 Barel yin tothe
f if thof thes e, ithad as tu tel ym ixed the s apw hichOu l ipian s
w ere u n kn ow in gl ym akin g f rom l ipow iththe div ers e '
characters of its m em bers . Exercis es s om etim es il l u s trated
thes e characters . T here w ere s n ow bal l s , is os yn tactic,
is ov ocal ic, oris ocon s on atic poem s , an terhym es , l ipogram s ,
etc. . . . an d n u m erou s propos al s f orperm u tation s f ora
com bin atoryl iteratu re.
Bereav em en ts darken ed ou rhis tory. T he v erydear, v ery
l ettered, an d v eryf ratern al Al bert-Marie Schm idtf irs t,
throu ghw hos e deathw e l os tm u chof ou rs chol ars hip,
depriv in g u s as w el l of the m os tam u s in g w orks . Marcel
Du cham p, f rom on e of the Am ericas , becam e in teres ted in
the Ou l ipo. T he Ou v roirf l attered its el f tocou n thim am on g
its corres pon din g m em bers . I-l e died an Ou l ipian .
N ew on es w ere born : Georges P erec, Jacqu es R ou bau d,
Lu c Etien n e, Marcel B n abou , P au l F ou rn el . An d w e s aw
w orks appearbearin g obv iou s traces of ou rref l ection s . By
P erec, precis el y, LaDis parition . ByR ou bau d, w hos e Ein v en ts
con s train ts thatw il l con tin u e toprov oke com m en t. Zin ga8
byJacqu es Du chateau s u rpris ed an d ev en as ton is hed m e.
R aym on d Q u en eau s U n Con te av otre f acon , aprogram m ed
s tory. Le P etitMeccan opoetiqu e n OO, m odes texercis es f or
begin n ers .
Al thou ghthe goal of the Ou l ipois n ottogiv e birthto
l iteraryw orks , on e ou ghttom en tion thatthe w ork of the
bes tcan draw n ew f orce f rom it an d w e are del ighted to
n ote f rom Le Vol dl care thatR aym on d Q u en eau is m akin g
v erygood progres s .
Eachof ou rcen tu ries hav in g been cel ebrated bya
con f eren ce, it' s rathers atis f yin g toreal ize thatw e hav e n ow
you thf u l l ypas s ed ou rf irs tm il l en n iu m .
"Sin ce w hen ?"cried the "OK, l et' s s ee!"s aid his brothers . "Idon ' tcare m u chf oryou riron y,"the otherrepl ied; "you s han ' ts ee
14third pea. "How s hou l d I
kn ow ? T he f actis , Ian al ys e them ,
OK? Y ou ' l l s oon s ee!"
If you toow is htos ee,
proceed to15;
if n ot, proceed l ikew is e to15,
as you w on ' ts ee athin g. if n ot, goto2 1.
1 5athin g. Bes ides , has n ' tyou rf eel in g of horrordim m ed an d ev en f aded qu ite aw ays in ce this rather
heated exchan ge began ? Sow hybothertos tiru pthe s in k of you rl egu m in ou s u n con s ciou s ? Let' s goan d
bathe in the f ou n tain , rather, an d greetthis brightm orn in g in thats tate of hol yeu phoriathatis hygien e' s
ow n rew ard!"N os oon ers aid than don e. Sl ippin g ou tof theirpod, theyrol l ed dow n hil l an d s cam pered m erril y
of f tothe theatre of theirabl u tion s .
If you w is htokn ow w hathappen s atthe theatre of theirabl u tion s , proceed to16 ;
43 Q 11 - a____o' 19 6 Lc> l 1 em 1,2 ,
F oraP oten tial
An al ys is of
- ~ -Y 3
Com bm atory
Literatu re
Cl au de Berge
When , attw en tyyears of age, Leibn iz pu bl is hed his
Dis s ertatiode Arte Com bin atoria, he cl aim ed tohav e
dis cov ered an ew bran chof m athem atics w ithram if ication s
in l ogic, his tory, ethics , an d m etaphys ics . He treated al l s orts
of com bin ation s therein :s yl l ogis m s , j u ridical f orm s , col ors ,
s ou n ds ; an d he an n ou n ced tw o-by tw o, three-by-three, etc.,
com bin ation s , w hichhe w rote:com 2 n atio, com 3n atio, etc. . . .
In the f iel d of pl as tic arts , the ideaw as n oten tirel yn ew ,
s in ce Breu ghel the El ders ev eral years bef ore had n u m bered
the col ors of his characters in ordertodeterm in e their
dis tribu tion byarol l of the dice; in the f iel d of m u s ic, peopl e
w ere begin n in g togl im ps e n ew pos s ibil ities , w hichw ere to
in s pire Mozartin his Mu s ical Gam e, as ortof card in dex
thatal l ow s an yon e toachiev e the al eatorycom pos ition of
w al tzes , ron dos , an d m in u ets . Bu tw hatabou tl iteratu re?
On e has tow aitu n til 19 6 1 f orthe expres s ion com bin atory
l iteratu re tobe u s ed, u n dou btedl yf orthe f irs ttim e, by
F ran cois Le Lion n ais , in the pos tf ace toR aym on d Q u en eau s
Cen tMil l e Mil l iards de poem es . Literatu re is akn ow n qu an tity,
bu tcom bin atorics ?Makers of diction aries an d en cycl opedias
m an if es tan extrem e degree of cow ardice w hen itcom es to
giv in g adef in ition of the l atter; on e can hardl ybl am e their
in s ipid im precis ion , s in cetradition al m athem atician s w ho
"f eel "thatprobl em s are of com bin atoryn atu re v erys el dom
are in cl in ed toen gage in s ys tem atic an d in depen den ts tu dy
of the m ethods of res ol v in g them .
Is l VER SE 2 n d VER SE 3rd v gn grg
T hekin gof . .. l 0pu rin . .. thecom edbocf . ..
Q C
/ l l
\\ r r .\\ "
T T 18 Ol d s ari. . . \
T .* ,2 \ \s is
4 K_._c ,
.""-' -1.? r
/ M
0
/ l l \
He ben ds ov er. . .
.g
Whcn on e.
v
/ l \
\:' / / \l !y \\.l / 4
rl rk 4% irl \
w hen on e day. . .
4 ..
0 or rt"-, > ' r
T hem arbl c...
. ~ _e _. . F _.__
Whryl hin giu j
.. X.-e 4%
Z
l rk
F igu re 12 .1. P rin cipl e of the graphof the Cen tMil l e Mil l iards de
po m es ( n otal l of the arcs an d v ertices hav e been draw n ).
In an attem pttof u rn is ham ore precis e def in ition , w e s hal l
rel yon the con ceptof con gu ration ,"on e l ooks f ora
con f igu ration eachtim e on e dis pos es af in ite n u m berof
obj ects , an d on e w is hes todis pos e them accordin g tocertain
con s train ts pos tu l ated in adv an ce; Latin s qu ares an d f in ite
geom etries are con f igu ration s , bu ts ois the arran gem en tof
packages of dif f eren ts izes in adraw erthatis toos m al l , or
the dis pos ition of w ords ors en ten ces giv en in adv an ce ( on
the con dition thatthe giv en con s train ts be s u f f icien tl y
craf ty f orthe probl em tobe real )?Ju s tas arithm etic
s tu dies w hol e n u m bers ( al on g w iththe tradition al
operation s ), as al gebras tu dies operation s in gen eral , as
16 T hree tal l , l an kybean pol es w ere 1 7 T hree rathercom m on orgarden 18 Obs erv in g thattheyw ere bein g ogl ed,
w atchin g them . s hru bs w ere w atchin g them . the three s prightl ypeas , w how ere v ery
If you don ' tm u chcare f orthe three tal l l an ky If you don ' tcare f orthe three com m on or bas hf u htook totheirheel $'
bean pol es , goto2 1; garden s hru bs , goto2 1; If you w is htokn ow w hattheydid n ext, proceed
if you l ike the l ook of them , proceed to18. if , con trariw is e, theyrathertake you rf an cy, to19 ;
proceed to18.
L
if it' s im m aterial toyou , goto2 1.
12 . T he Ou l ipo
0
8 n on o l ookin g f or
P c f l s ays the the m an
0Y 5!" of f en ded
0" l ady
am g the Iam n ot
pl ate
50f ! 0._. .1 _ ~ r r
85
the m an
the f oetu s
w ho
h I bl acken s
l 2 f > s kcl 1l l :<l f l "3'
bef ore a M-1 5P l l 5
aterpil l ar 1"the
pitcher
F igu re 12 .2 . T he v ers es corres pon din g tothe arcs arriv in g atthe
s am e poin t( orl eav in g f rom the s am e poin t)w ere chos en in
f u n ction of av eryprecis e con s train t; f orexam pl e, thos e thaten d
u patpoin tD con tain the w ord "m an "; thos e l eav in g f rom poin tD
hav e the s am e gram m atical "s tru ctu re, etc. . . . U s in g this f igu re,
the readerm aychoos e apriorithe poin tof departu re an d the
poin tof arriv al , an d l ook f or"the s hortes tpath."He can al s o
con s tru ct"Ham il ton ian P oem s ,"w hichcorres pon d toan itin erary
in w hicheachpoin tis en cou n tered on ce an d on l yon ce. T hu s , the
Ham il ton ian P athBADC giv es :
ov cr pe
f ru its
N on os ays the of f en ded l adyIam n otl ookin g f orthe m an w ho
s pits in the pitcher."
On e can ev en con s tru ctqu as i-Eu l erian poem s , trav el in g throu gh
the f igu re w ithou tpas s in g tw ice bythe s am e arc, an d in
m axim izin g the n u m berof arcs u s ed; f u n dam en tal , pu rel y
m athem atical con cepts f rom the T heoryof Graphs f u rn is hthu s s o
m an ycon s train ts . . . an d the n u m berof texts thatm aybe
con s tru cted u s in g the s am e f igu re is in n ite!
the
s m w es l L
w hodcv ou rs hrs v cgctal s u bs tan ce w hos aw 6
theN EWMEDIAR EADER
1 4 9
~ ~~ av - ~ ~ ~> - 1
Y l9 w ?l l -1.
13 14
I
17 l is i'
3 2 1
F igu re 12 .3. Bif u rcatin g graphrepres en tin g the s tru ctu re of
R aym on d Ou en eau ' s AStoryas Y ou Like It,"[ "Y ou rs f orthe
T el l in g,"] Lettres N ou v el l es , Ju l y Septem ber19 6 7 . ( We ow e this
s agittal repres en tation toOu en eau .)
thatthe pru ritu s of com bin atorics has w rou ghtits w ors ton
the Ou l ipian breas t.
Al thou ghthe f irs tcom pl ete l iteraryw ork of f ran kl y
com bin atoryn atu re is the Cen tMil l e Mil l iards de po m es , an d
al thou ghR aym on d Q u en eau an d F ran cois Le Lion n ais are the
cof ou n cl ers of the Ou l ipo, created s im u l tan eou s l y, its hou l d n ot
be dedu ced thatcom bin atoryl iteratu re is the Ou l ipo.
If on e dis s ects Ou l ipian ten den cies w ithas harpen ou gh
s cal pel , three cu rren ts becom e apparen t:the f irs tOu l ipian
v ocation is u n dou btedl ythe s earchf orn ew s tru ctu res , w hich
an al ys is s tu dies f u n ction s , as geom etrys tu dies f orm s thatare m aybe u s ed byw riters in an yw aytheys ee f it, w hichm ean s
rigid an d topol ogythos e thatare n ot, s ocom bin atorics , f or
its part, s tu dies con f igu ration s . Itattem pts todem on s trate
the exis ten ce of con f igu ration s of acertain type. An d if this
exis ten ce is n ol on geropen todou bt, itu n dertakes tocou n t
them ( equ al ities orin equ al ities of cou n tin g), ortol is tthem
( l is tin g), ortoextractan optim al exam pl e f rom them ( the
thatw e w is htorepl ace tradition al con s train ts l ike the "s on n et"
w ithotherl in gu is tic con s train ts :al phabetical ( Georges P erecs
poem s w ithou te), phon etic ( N oel Arn au ds heteros exu al
rhym es ), s yn tactic ( J. Q u ev al s is os yn tactic n ov el s ), n u m erical
( J. Ben s l s irration al s on n ets ), ev en s em an tic.
T he s econ d Ou l ipian v ocation , apparen tl yu n rel ated tothe
probl em of optim ization ). f irs t, is res earchin tom ethods of au tom atic tran s f orm ation of
Itis thu s n ots u rpris in g tol earn thatas ys tem atic s tu dyof texts :f orexam pl e, J. Les cu res S + 7 m ethod.
thes e probl em s rev eal ed al arge n u m berof n ew m athem atical F in al l y, the third v ocation , the on e thatperhaps in teres ts
con cepts , eas il ytran s pos abl e in tothe real m of l an gu age, an d u s m os t, is the tran s pos ition of con cepts exis tin g in dif f eren t
pu l l ed dow n the l id ov erthem s el v es an d f in is hed. F in is hed! 2 1 n is hed. En ded!
19 T heys kedaddl ed back totheirpod, 2 O T here is n os equ el . T he tal e is In this cas e too, the tal e is
f el l f as tas l eepagain .
If you w is htokn ow the s equ el , proceed to2 0;
if n ot, goto2 1.
419 6 1 ' 13
0 o = ~~o e * * * * at0 j j j j at We # 1 W n ew
bran ches of m athem atics in tothe real m of w ords :geom etry
( Le Lion n ais ' s poem s w hichare tan gen tical am on g
them s el v es ), Bool ian al gebra( in ters ection of tw on ov el s byJ.
Du chateau ), m atrical al gebra( R . Q u en eau ' s m u l tipl ication of
texts ), etc. . . .
Itis w ithin this l as tcu rren tthatcom bin atoryl iteratu re is
s itu ated. Letu s s harpen ou rs cal pel al ittl e bitm ore an d cu t
u paf ew s pecim en s .
T he rou ghes tf orm , the Ston e Age of com bin atory
l iteratu re, itm u s tbe n oted, is f actorial poetry, in w hich
certain el em en ts of the textm aybe perm u ted in al l pos s ibl e
w ays as the reader( orchan ce)s ees f it; the m ean in g chan ges ,
bu ts yn tactic correctn es s is pres erv ed.
As earl yas the s ev en teen thcen tu ry, Hars dorf f erpu bl is hed
in his R cr ation s f actorial cou pl ets l ike:
N OR MALSIT U AT ION
A W _:,_._, Eachpers on R OMAN CE
, ' l 8kCS f 0! P rin cev s s on 0O
B Q g him s el f an d takes ,-
)t' . " 3"" the others f or / '
c 6 6 0" are P 00! Sl Ob -P ' .-
III! I0' ...
_:.' ., F os terf ather ..",,
aw are of the C-----.O' !_+_$Q
v au os v rttrs Secret
A I, ._0, Eachpers on
. kg?! takes him s el f f or OEDIP ALSIT U AT ION
C, Q n w .
.5
I
4'
-<|=
Q + Q _..
Q
B Q g, him s el f an d m is - Io
takes the iden tity
"" "" Jocas tas s on O
oou n tes OdiP 5q'
Ban d C F '
I
A 0 _.__ ,1.
0 * '
f " Acon f u s es dou bl es Jocas taO-----Q \; ; ; D
B G . -1... an d C
,\' P O COSIN U SIAN DIST R ACT IQ N
Z Q _._
\ ' & I
0000."3.
LU N AT IC ASY LU M-
A O
Cos in u s
athom e
o '
I"
' 0
_ Cos in u s at
l u n ahcs the den tis t' s
takin g them -
s el v es f or Madam e Bel azor
N apol eon
. Madam e X Q
Bo++~q o
N
c o~---of . o
~._x
F igu re 12 .4. Graphs of the T ern aryR el ation : X T akes Y f orZ ( paper
of the tw oothers I
O
48 P . 0 12 . T he Ou l ipo
EhrKu n s t, Gel d Gu th, Lab, Weib u n d Kin d
Man hat, s u cht, f ehl t, hof f tu n d v ers chw in d3
T he ten w ords in ital ics m aybe perm u ted in al l pos s ibl e
w ays bythe s peakerw ithou tal terin g the rhythm ( f orthey
are al l m on os yl l abic); w hen ce 3,6 2 8,800poem s , dif f eren tan d
gram m atical l ycorrect( if on e chan ges s u chttoSu cht, f ehl tto
F ehl m an toMan n ). Withn w ords toperm u te, the n u m berof
pos s ibil ities w ou l d be n f actorial , thatis , the n u m ber:
m = 1x2 x.Hxn
T his f orm of poetrys eem s m oreov ertohav e been
com m on du rin g the period w hen itw as cal l ed P rotean
P oetry"( P 0etices P roteos ), f ol l ow in g Ju l iu s Caes arScal iger,
w hos u ppos edl yin v en ted it. Leibn iz, in his Dis s ertatio, cites
n u m erou s exam pl es in m on os yl l abic Latin , f rom Bern hardu s
( as the occu pan tkn ow s . . . . . . toru n the el ev ator)
( pow erof the retou cher! . . . s he chan ges in toas is ter)
4 - .
Q 5330 ( ev eryon e . . . . . . aheav yw eight)
Den tis tQ ,.+.; .Q .H.4Q ( as itis as ked . . . . . . w an derin g s l ow l yon the
I"
ceil in g)
' an ea o ca
f . - |
"" ""0 ( s om etim es a . . . Wl |l Chboil s ) ( the s u n . . . . . . m arbl e)
s park. . .
F igu re 12 .5. T ree repres en tin g the em beddin g of the paren thes es
in R aym on d R ou s s el , N ou v el l es Im pres s ion s dAf n ' qu e, can toI
del iv ered byR aym on d Q u en eau atthe 2 6 Decem ber19 6 5m eetin g of ( the eheheted ht"hheF 5F eP Y e5ehtthe "u m ber0tthe \/ eF $e
the Ou l ipo.)
L
w herein the paren thes es are open ed orcl os ed).
12 . T he Ou l ipo
Bau hu s iu s , T hom as Lan s iu s , Johan P hil ippu s Ebel iu s , Johan
Baptis t-u s R icciol u s , etc. . . .
An d, as n othin g is in v en ted, w e m u s tw aitu n til 19 6 5f or
Saportatow rite an d pu bl is haf actorial n ov el , w hos e pages ,
u n bou n d, m aybe read in an yorder, accordin g tothe w him of
the reader.
F in al l y, in 19 6 7 , the Ou l ipos tated thatitn ol on ger
expected an ygood tocom e f rom pu re, u n bridl ed chan ce, an d
Jacqu es R ou bau d pu bl is hed his col l ection of poem s , E
( Gal l im ard, 19 6 7 ), w herein the au thorpropos es the readin g
of the 36 1 texts thatcom pos e itin f ou rdif f eren tbu tw el l
determ in ed orders .
An otherm ore el aborate f orm of com bin atorypoetry:
F ibon accian poem s . We cal l thu s atextw hichhas been s pl it
in toel em en ts ( s en ten ces , v ers es , w ords ), an d w hichon e
recites u s in g on l yel em en ts thatw ere n otj u xtapos ed in the
origin al text.
T his type of poetryis cal l ed F ibon accian becau s e, w ithn
el em en ts , the n u m berof poem s on e can en gen deris n on e
otherthan F ibon accis N u m ber":
= ,. n r tn .-1).! ., tn -zit, <n -3)! ,.
P " 1 1l ( n -1)+2 l ( n -2 )! aim s )! 4l ( n 7 )!
Here is an exam pl e, w hos e
origin is eas il yrecogn izabl e:
F eu f il an t,
d j as om m eil l an t,
b n is s ez v otre
os
j e pren drai
u n e v ieil l e accrou pie
v iv ez l es ros es de l av ie!5
U n f ortu n atel y, itis dif f icu l tto
in v en ttexts thatl en d them s el v es
tos u chm an ipu l ation s orru l es f or
in terv al s thatperm itthe
con s erv ation of l iteraryqu al ity.
In the Cen tMil l e Mil l iards cie
poem es , R aym on d Q u en eau
in trodu ces ten s on n ets , of
arbores cen ce of the
precedin g s ys tem of
paren thes es .
f ou rteen v ers es each, in s u cha
w aythatthe readerm ayrepl ace
theN EWMEDIAR EADER
F igu re 12 .7 . R epres en tation bym ean s of abif u rcatin g
arbores cen ce of an others ys tem of paren thes es : [ ( )] {[ ( )]} .
as he w is hes eachv ers e byon e of the n in e others that
corres pon d toit. T he readerhim s el f m aythu s com pos e 101"
= 100,000,000,000,000dif f eren tpoem s , al l of w hichres pect
al l the im m u tabl e ru l es of the s on n et. T his type of poetry
cou l d be cal l ed expon en tial , f orthe n u m berof poem s of n
v ers es on e can obtain w ithQ u en eau l s m ethod is giv en bythe
expon en tial f u n ction , 10". How ev er, eachof the hu n dred
thou s an d bil l ion poem s m ayal s obe con s idered as al in e
draw n in agraphof the s ortin dicated in f igu re 12 .1.
Accordin g tothis poin tof v iew , its hou l d be n oted thatthe
readeradv an ces in agraphw ithou tcircu its ; thatis , he can
n ev eren cou n terthe s am e v ers e tw ice in areadin g res pectin g
the direction of the arrow s .
F orthis reas on , in 19 6 6 w e propos ed the du al f orm , the
an tipode:thatis , poem s on graphs w ithou tcocircu its .
Withou tw is hin g todef in e acocircu ithere, l etu s s aythat
thes e graphs are characterized bythe propertythat,
begin n in g f rom agiv en poin t, on e can al w ays en d u pata
poin tdeterm in ed in adv an ce.
Letu s con s iderthe s im pl if ied exam pl e of gu re 12 .2 .
Otherpathw ayprocedu res w ere propos ed byP au l Braf f ort
an d F ran cois Le Lion n ais atthe 7 9 thm eetin g of the Ou l ipo.
T his prin cipl e is al s obehin d R aym on d Q u en eau s AStoryas
Y ou Like It [ Y ou rs f orthe T el l in g.] T his text, s u bm itted at
the Ou l ipos 83rd w orkin g m eetin g, draw s its in s piration
f rom the in s tru ction s giv en tocom pu ters , the readerateach
m om en tdis pos in g of tw ocon tin u ation s , accordin g to
w hetherthe adv erxtu res of the three al ertpeas . s u ithim or
n ot. P res en ted in the f orm of abif u rcatin g graph( f igu re
12 .3), im brication of circu its becom es apparen t, as do
F igu re 12 -5- R epres en tation con v ergin g paths , etc. . . . w hos e properties m ightbe an al yzed
bym ean s of abif u rcatin g
in term s of the T heoryof Graphs . [ See f igu re 12 .4f or
addition al Q u en eau graphs ]
L
|19 6 1 I7 3
0-.....-are 0 -0 W4- We-~ O
F in al l y, its hou l d be n oted thatin his Drail l es ( Gal l im ard,
19 6 8), Jean Les cu re trav el s pl eas an tl ythrou ghagraphof
order4:
F eu il l e de ros e porte dom bre
Om bre de f eu il l e porte ros e
F eu il l e, porte l ' om bre d' u n e ros e
F eu il l e ros e al om bre du n e porte
T ou te ros e om bre u n e porte de f eu il l e
An otherf orm of l iteratu re, w hichm ayl en d its el f to
s chem as richin com bin atoryproperties , is w hathas com e to
be cal l ed the epis odic s tory. Sin ce P otockis f am ou s n ov el , U n
Man u s crittrou v e aSaragos s e, es pecial l ys in ce the epis odic
n ov el s of Eu gen e Su e, certain au thors hav e im agin ed
diaracters w horel ate adv en tu res in w hichf igu re other
garru l ou s heroes w hoin tu rn rel ate otheradv en tu res , w hich
l eads toaw hol e s eries of s tories em bedded on e in the other.
In his poem s , R aym on d R ou s s el 6 w en ts of aras toem bed
progres s iv el ys ixs ets of paren thes es [ s ee f igu re 12 .5].
l n ordertodes cribe orcou n tthe aggl om eration s of
paren thes es in am on oid, the P ol is hl ogician Lu kas iew icz
es tabl is hed the bas es of am athem atical theory; itis tothis
theorythatw e ref erin f igu re 12 .6 , w here w e repres en tthe
s tru ctu re of the f irs tcan toof R aym on d R ou s s el s N ou v el l es
Im pres s ion s d' Af riqu e byabif u rcatin g arbores cen ce. Itm aybe
rem arked thatthis arbores cen ce is m u chl es s com pl exthan
thatof gu re 12 .7 , f orin s tan ce . . . w hichs eem s toopen the
doortoan ew f iel d of res earchf orthe Ou l ipo.
We cou l d n otcon cl u de this l ittl e in v en toryw ithou t
m en tion in g bi-Latin l iteratu re an d the w ork begu n w ithin
the Ou l ipobythe au thorw ithJacqu es R ou bau d an d Georges
P erec. Sin ce Eu l er, com bin atorics has been in teres ted in Latin
bi-s qu ares ; aLatin bi-s qu are of ordern is atabl e of n > < n
s qu ares , f il l ed w ithn dif f eren tl etters an d n dif f eren t
n u m bers , eachs qu are con tain in g al etteran d an u m ber, each
l etterf igu rin g on l yon ce in eachl in e an d eachcol u m n , each
n u m berf igu rin g on l yon ce in eachl in e an d eachcol u m n .
ALatin bi-s qu are of order10is reprodu ced in f igu re 12 .8;
itis , m oreov er, an extrem el yrare s pecim en , an d atthe
pres en ttim e on l ytw oare kn ow n toexis t. We thu s propos ed
tow rite 1O s tories ( repres en ted bythe 1O l in es of the tabl e)
w herein appear1O characters ( repres en ted bythe 1O
col u m n s of the tabl e). Eachcharacters attribu te is
J81. o~ 12 . T he Ou l ipo
determ in ed bythe l etterof the corres pon din g s qu are; his
action is l ikew is e determ in ed bythe n u m berof the
corres pon din g s qu are.
T hes e 10s tories con tain thu s al l the pos s ibl e
com bin ation s in the m os tecon om ical f as hion pos s ibl e.
Moreov er, theyare the res u l tof acen tu ryof ardu ou s
m athem atical res earch, f orEu l ercon j ectu red thataLatin bi-
s qu are of order10cou l d n oteids t, an d w e had tow aitu n til
19 6 0f orBos e, P arker, an d Shrikhan de toprov e him
7
w ron g. . . .
a s t n
axon
Iv a es
T , T .. T | ,
, T . . T i
/ - _, .
. T - T ~.
._
ed Jcl s h .5 l l .
Dego
cn ber
_T ,-= _. ._
Mr. De n
44- P au
T -T il . 0; } .
J ou n Be e
T ArchT n iT he 1,0
- JDes T
Va e
Don
JEM
-
,_, -1 '
._.
w -T ' i
ow
J
C
T .T
iiil iiiii
Storyn u m ber1, A, A G, 1 T D.
, _i_( "W r ' :"; * _____ _7 7 __I
l it.
2 T l l ,* B,rA, G,F ,~J,* I,,C, E,
.T _ T
-1:
Q
to
1 . 1:"
-' 1:
Q
u :
I
P P
3L1, 11,), C,1B,F A,"G,J,D,,E, F ,
T ~ -I~ T
r."J,.1,pH,o,' l c,.B,.t,E, 0,
5B0Jo T 10 T H: l T Es D1 l l T C: LF a G1 I At
in
____if V . i* * __.
6 ! o, J, T 1, , H, T 15, f T 1= :, Sc, A, , B,
7 T F E d D. J. I E11 G. Al B,
:1 ta ' C.
al e; DaIE|l F aIC' |A; l B.":l Il J0
. |
0, A, l T I, J, H,
e . _i_gr _, __T _5i,
9 ? E,T F , T B, A C1
0 P
T " W T 7 7 7 '
1oT o, A,l n ,T c,l n ,tE,Ir-:,.r,' n ,I1,
E T
E __j _ _i __. .- .
F igu re 12 .8. Specim en of the Latin bi-s qu are of order10; the
l etters repres en tacharacteris tic attribu te: A= v iol en tl ov er, B=
s tu pid as an ox, C = ras cal ; etc. . . . T he n u m bers repres en tthe
dom in an taction of the character: O = does n othin g, 1 = s teal s
an d as s as s in ates , 2 = behav es in as tran ge an d in expl icabl e w ay;
etc. . ..
Itis cl earthatthe con tribu tion of com bin atorics tothe
dom ain s of w ords , rhym es , an d m etaphors is m ore com pl ex
than its eem s , an d thatitis f arf rom the an agram s of the
R h toriqu eu rs orthe s tam m erin gs of the P rotean poets .
IE5
12 . T he Ou l ipo
Com pu ter
an d Writer
T he Cen tre P om pidou
Experim en t
P au l F ou rn el
When the l iteraryproj ectof the A.R .T A. w as l au n ched, rapid
ef f orts had tobe m ade toes tabl is habas is f orapos s ibl e
agreem en tbetw een com pu ters cien ce an d l iterarycreation ?
Chris tian Cav adiaen tru s ted the w hol e of the proj ecttoP au l
Braf f ort( l ogician , com pu ters cien tis t, an d w riter), w hos e
f irs tgoal w as toedu cate the pu bl ic an d the w riters
them s el v es abou tthis n ew u n dertakin g.
Aided R eadin g
Atf irs t, w ork w as brou ghttobearon preexis tin g l iterary
m aterial . T here are, in f act, af ew com bin atoryoral gorithm ic
w orks thatm aybe read f arm ore eas il yw iththe hel pof a
com pu ter. Here, the m achin e perf orm s as im pl e tas k of
s el ectin g an d editin g.
Com bin atoryLiteratu re
T he Cen tMil l e Mil l iards de poem es ibyR aym on d Q u en eau
f u rn is hes m aterial particu l arl yf av orabl e tothis type of
experim en t. Itcon s is ts of ten s on n ets com pos ed s u chthat
eachv ers e of eachof them m aybe com bin ed w ithan yof the
otherv ers es in the ten texts , w hichgiv es atotal of 10
s on n ets . T he prin ted col l ection is v eryprettil ycon ceiv ed, bu t
the m an ipu l ation of the s trips on w hicheachv ers e is prin ted
is s om etim es tediou s .
T he com pu ter, thou gh, m akes as el ection in the corpu s in
f u n ction of the l en gthof the readers n am e an d the tim e
w hichhe takes totype itin tothe term in al , then prin ts the
s on n et, w hichbears the dou bl e s ign atu re of Q u en eau an d
his reader?
T he au thorhim s el f m ayprof itf rom this proces s :w hen the
com bin ation s are this n u m erou s , he m aytake s ou n din gs of
his w ork. T he com pu terin this cas e s erv es as an as s is tan tin
the def in itiv e f in e-tu n in g of the te.xt.
theN EWMEDIAR EADER
Al gorithm ic Literatu re
Sam e appl ication in the dom ain of al gorithm ic l iteratu re:
Dom in iqu e Bou rgu ethas program m ed R aym on d Q u en eau s
AStoryas Y ou Like It [ Y ou rs f orthe T el l in g]"s oas to
f acil itate its readin g. In this brief text, the readeris repeatedl y
in v ited tochoos e w hatf ol l ow s in the tal e throu ghas ys tem
of dou bl e qu es tion s . T he el em en ts of n arration bein g v ery
s hort, the gam e dom in ates the readin g of the textits el f . T his
is u n f ortu n ate, s in ce al l of thes e pos s ibl e texts hav e real
charm . T he com pu terf irs tof al l s peaks w iththe reader,
propos in g the dif f eren tchoices tohim , then prin ts the
chos en textcl ean l y an d w ithou tthe qu es tion s . T he pl eas u re
of pl ayan d the pl eas u re of readin g are thu s com bin ed.
In the s am e s piritan d accordin g tothe s am e prin cipl es , a
m ediev al tal e w as program m ed byJean -P ierre En ard an d
P au l F ou rn el ,5an d the 7 2 0f airytal es of aw ork grou p
directed byJ. P Bal pe w il l be program m ed.
Aided Creation
Af teral l of this , the rel ation w ork > com pu ter > readerm u s t
be repl aced byothers orts of rel ation s in w hichthe au thor
pl ays arol e ( w ithou tn eces s aril ys trippin g the readerof his
rol e). Am on g the dif f eren tproj ects s u bm itted byau thors to
P au l Braf f ort, on e m ayal readyf in d exam pl es of v ery
dif f eren ttypes of rel ation s .
T ype 1:
Au thor > Com pu ter+Work
In this type, on l ycreation is aided. T he com pu teris an
in tegral partof the draf tin g proces s an d its w ork s erv es to
el aborate the def in itiv e text. Ital oCal v in opropos es l is ts of
characters , con s train ts , an d ev en ts tothe m achin e, as kin g it
todeterm in e throu ghprogres s iv e ref in em en tw hom ay
in deed hav e don e w hat. T he au thorthu s choos es tow ork on
m aterial thatthe m achin e al l ow s him todom in ate?
T ype 2 :
Au thoreCom pu ter > Work > Com pu ter > R eader
T he com pu terin terv en es on tw ol ev el s this tim e. F oron e of
the chapters in the P rin ces s e Hoppy, Jacqu es R ou bau d
el aborates , w iththe hel pof am achin e, achapterw hichthe
readerm u s tread w iththis s am e m achin e?I-l e w il l be cal l ed
u pon tos ol v e as eries of en igm as , an d the m achin e w il l
f u rn is hhim w ithcl u es ( in s pired bythe gam e of cork-pen n y)
as tohis gropin g progres s ion in the text.
2 - T he 0u l ip.a_.._.-.-.-.._-.-....-.---_.._......-0l . Q I? J81 . _ 12 . T he Ou l ipo
T ype 3:
Au thor > Com pu ter > R eader > Com pu ter > Work
Withthis third type w e en terin tothe dom ain of proj ects
thatare m ore dis tan tan d m ore techn ical l ycom pl ex. In
Marcel B n abou s artif icial aphoris m s , the au thorf u rn is hes
as tock of em ptyf orm s an d as tock of w ords des tin ed tof il l
them ; the readerthen com es al on g tof orm u l ate arequ es t,
an d, f ol l ow in g this requ es t, the m achin e com bin es w ords an d
f orm s toprodu ce aphoris m s .8
T he readers participation is l im ited, bu titn on ethel es s
n eces s itates af ew el em en taryf l exion s in the res u l tan ttext.
In s pite of ev erythin g, on e m ayaf f irin thatthe au thor
dom in ates his m aterial in thes e aphoris m s ; this is n ots oin
the cas e of the S.SA.Y .L.I. ( ShortStoryAs Y ou Like It)
proj ect.
T he goal of this en terpris e is toprodu ce div ers if ied s hort
s tories in v eryl arge qu an tities accordin g tothe precis e an d
v ariou s w is hes f orm u l ated bythe reader( he m aychoos e the
l en gth, the them e, the decor, the characters , an d the s tyl e).
Begin n in g w ithaf ew hom os yn tactic s horts tories , P au l
Braf f ortan d Georges Kerm idj ian attem pttoes tabl is han
extrem el ys u ppl e gen eral os s atu re an d as tock of agm s ,
m in im al u n ities of action ordes cription . T heirexact
des cription is in perm an en tev ol u tion , bu ton e m ays ay,
rou ghl y, thattheyare the in term ediaryu n ities betw een the
w ord an d the s en ten ce, w hichin theoryou ghttoperm iton e
toav oid boththe pitf al l s of gram m aran d the f eel in g of
s u f f ocation prov oked bys en ten ce types thatrecu r
in ces s an tl y( as in the w ork of Shel don Kl in e). Eachof thes e
agm s receiv es s pecif ic attribu tes w hichw il l com e in topl ay
accordin g tothe readers w is hes .
T he in teres tof this proj ectis tripl e:f irs t, ital l ow s on e to
produ ce s horts tories , an d this is n ice w hen on e l ikes
produ cin g s horts tories ; s econ d, iten abl es on e toel aborate a
particu l argram m arpru den tl y, s tepbys tep; third, ital l ow s
on e tocon s titu te as tock of agm s thatm aybe u s ed on other
occas ion s . Bu titis al on g-term proj ectthatis on l ybegin n in g.
Itw il l take patien ce, w ork, an d tim e ( = m on ey)"
L
P ros e an d
An ticom bin atorics
Ital oCal v in o
T he precedin g exam pl es con cern ed the u s e of the com pu ter
as an aid tol iterarycreation in the f ol l ow in g s itu ation s :
T he s tru ctu res chos en bythe au thorare rel ativ el yf ew in
n u m ber, bu tthe pos s ibl e real ization s are com bin atoril y
expon en tial .
On l ythe com pu term ayreal ize an u m ber( m ore orl es s
l arge)of thes e poten tial ities .
On the con trary, the as s is tan ce of the com pu tertakes on
an an ticom bin atorycharacterw hen , am on g al arge n u m berof
pos s ibil ities , the com pu ters el ects thos e f ew real ization s
com patibl e w ithcertain con s train ts .
Orderin Crim e
Ihav e been w orkin g f ors om e tim e on as horts tory( perhaps
an ov el ?)w hichm ightbegin thu s :
T he F ire in the Cu rs ed Hou s e
In af ew hou rs Skil l er, the in s u ran ce agen t, w il l com e toas k
f orthe com pu ters res u l ts , an d Ihav e s til l n otin trodu ced the
in f orm ation in tothe el ectron ic circu its thatw il l pu l v erize
in toin n u m erabl e im pu l s es the s ecrets of the Widow R oes s l er
an d hers hadypen s ion . Where the hou s e u s ed tos tan d, on e
of thos e du n es in v acan tl ots betw een the s hu n tin g yards
an d the s crapyards thatthe peripheryof ou rcityl eav es
behin d its el f l ike s om an yl ittl e pil es of tras hf orgotten bythe
broom , n othin g n ow rem ain s bu ts cattered debris . Itm ight
hav e been acu te l ittl e v il l abef orehan d, orj u s tas w el l
n othin g otherthan aghos tl yhov el :the reports of the
in s u ran ce com pan ydon ots ay; n ow , ithas bu rn ed f rom the
cel l artothe attic, an d n othin g w as f ou n d on the charred
cadav ers of its f ou rin habitan ts thatm ighten abl e on e to
recon s titu te the an teceden ts of this s ol itarym as s acre.
An otebook tel l s m ore than thes e bodies , an otebook f ou n d
in the ru in s , en tirel ybu rn ed exceptf orthe cov er, w hichw as
protected byas heetof pl as tic. On the f ron tis w ritten :
Accou n ts of horribl e acts perpetrated in this hou s e, an d on the
back there is an in dexdiv ided in totw el v e headin gs , in
al phabetical order:T oBin d an d Gag, T oBl ackm ail , T oDru g,
T oP ros titu te, T oP u s htoSu icide, T oR ape, T oSedu ce, T o
12 . T he Ou l ipo
Sl an der, T oSpyU pon , T oStab, T oStran gl e, T oT hreaten w ith
aR ev ol v er.
Itis n otkn ow n w hichof the in habitan ts of the hou s e
w rote this s in is terreport, n orw hatw as its in ten t:
den u n ciation , con f es s ion , s el f -s atis f action , f as cin ated
con tem pl ation of ev il ?Al l thatrem ain s tou s is this in dex,
w hichgiv es the n am es n eitherof the peopl e w how ere gu il ty
n orthos e of the v ictim s of the tw el v e action s f el on iou s or
s im pl yn au ghty an d itdoes n ' tev en giv e the orderin w hich
theyw ere com m itted, w hichw ou l d hel pin recon s titu tin g a
s tory:the headin gs in al phabetical orderref ertopage
n u m bers obs cu red byabl ack s troke. T ocom pl ete the l is t, on e
w ou l d hav e toadd s til l on e m ore v erb:T oSetAbl aze,
u n dou btedl ythe f in al actof this dark af f air accom pl is hed
byw hom ?In ordertohide ordes troyw hat?
Ev en as s u m in g thateachof thes e tw el v e action s had been
accom pl is hed byon l yon e pers on tothe prej u dice of on l yon e
pers on , recon s titu tin g the ev en ts is adif f icu l ttas k:if the
characters in qu es tion are f ou rin n u m ber, theym ay
repres en t, taken tw obytw o, tw el v e dif f eren trel ation s f or
eachof the tw el v e s orts of rel ation s l is ted. T he pos s ibl e
s ol u tion s , in con s equ en ce, are tw el v e tothe tw el f thpow er;
thatis , on e m u s tchoos e am on g s ol u tion s w hos e n u m beris
in the n eighborhood of eightthou s an d eighthu n dred
s ev en ty-f ou rbil l ion tw ohu n dred n in ety-s ixm il l ion s ix
hu n dred s i_xty tw othou s an d tw ohu n dred f if ty s ix. Itis n ot
s u rpris in g thatou rov erw orked pol ice pref erred tos hel v e the
dos s ier, theirexcel l en treas on in g bein g thathow ev er
n u m erou s w ere the crim es com m itted, the gu il tydied in an y
cas e w iththe v ictim s .
On l ythe in s u ran ce com pan yn eeds tokn ow the tru th,
prin cipal l ybecau s e of af ire in s u ran ce pol icytaken ou tbythe
ow n erof the hou s e. T he f actthatthe you n g In igodied in the
f l am es on l yren ders the qu es tion thatm u chthorn ier:his
pow erf u l f am il y, w hou n dou btedl yhad dis in herited an d
excl u ded this degen erate s on , is n otoriou s l ydis in cl in ed to
ren ou n ce an ythin g tow hichitm ayhav e acl aim . T he w ors t
con cl u s ion s ( in cl u ded orn otin thatabom in abl e in dex)m aybe
draw n abou tayou n g m an w ho, hereditarym em berof the
Hou s e of Lords , dragged an il l u s triou s titl e ov erthe park
ben ches thats erv e an om adic an d con tem pl ativ e you thas
beds , an d w how as hed his l on g hairin pu bl ic f ou n tain s . T he
l ittl e hou s e ren ted tothe ol d l an dl adyw as the on l yheritage
thatrem ain ed tohim , an d he had been adm itted in toitas
s u bl es s ee byhis ten an t, again s taredu ction of the al ready
tht-BN EWMEDIAR EADER
m odes tren t. If he, In igo, had been bothgu il tyin cen diaryan d
v ictim of acrim in al pl otcarried ou tw iththe im precis ion an d
in s ou cian ce thatapparen tl ycharacterized his behav ior, proof
of f rau d w ou l d rel iev e the com pan yf rom paym en tof dam ages .
Bu tthatw as n otthe on l ypol icythatthe com pan yw as
cal l ed u pon tohon oraf terthe catas trophe:the Widow
R oes s l erhers el f eachyearren ew ed al if e in s u ran ce pol icy
w hos e ben ef iciaryw as heradopted dau ghter, af as hion
m odel f am il iartoan yon e w hol eaf s throu ghthe m agazin es
dev oted tohau te cou tu re. N ow Ogiv atoois dead, bu rn ed
al on g w iththe col l ection of w igs thattran s f orm ed her
gl acial l ycharm in g f ace how el s e todef in e abeau tif u l an d
del icate you n g w om an w ithatotal l ybal d head? in to
hu n dreds of dif f eren tan d del ightf u l l yas ym m etric characters .
Bu tits ohappen ed thatOgiv ahad athree year-ol d chil d,
en tru s ted torel ativ es in Sou thAf rica, w how ou l d s oon cl aim
the in s u ran ce m on ey, u n l es s itw ere prov ed thatitw as s he
w hohad kil l ed ( T oStab?T oStran gl e?)the Widow R oes s l er.
An d s in ce Ogiv ahad ev en thou ghttoin s u re herw ig
col l ection , the chil ds gu ardian s m ayal s ocl aim this
in dem n ization , exceptif s he w ere res pon s ibl e f orits
des tru ction .
Of the f ou rthpers on w hodied in the f ire, the gian tU zbek
w res tl erBel in doKid, itis kn ow n thathe had f ou n d n oton l y
adil igen tl an dl adyin the Widow R oes s l er( he w as the on l y
payin g ten an tin the pen s ion )bu tal s oan as tu te im pres ario.
In the l as tf ew m on ths , the ol d w om an had in f actdecided to
f in an ce the s eas on al tou rof the ex m iddl ew eightcham pion ,
hedgin g herbets w ithan in s u ran ce pol icyagain s tthe ris k of
con tractdef au l tthrou ghil l n es s , in capacity, oracciden t. N ow
acon s ortiu m of prom oters of w res tl in g m atches is cl aim in g
the dam ages cov ered bythe in s u ran ce; bu tif the ol d l ady
pu s hed him tos u icide perhaps throu ghs l an derin g him ,
bl ackm ail in g him , ordraggin g him ( the gian tw as kn ow n in
in tern ation al w res tl in g circl es f orhis im pres s ion abl e
character), the com pan ycou l d eas il ys il en ce them .
Myheroin ten ds tos ol v e the en igm a, an d f rom this poin tof
v iew the s torybel on gs thu s tothe detectiv e m ys terygen re.
Bu tthe s itu ation is al s ocharacterized byan em in en tl y
com bin atoryas pect, w hichm aybe s chem atized as f ol l ow s :
4characters :A, B, C, D.
12 tran s itiv e, n on ref l exiv e action s ( s ee l is tbel ow ).
Al l the pos s ibil ities are open : on e of the 4characters m ay
( f orexam pl e)rape the 3 others orbe raped bythe 3 others .
J19 6 1 I7 3
0 0 W A 0 ~ ~~~s ~ ; ~~0-~ +0:
On e then begin s toel im in ate the im pos s ibl e s equ en ces .
In ordertodothis , the 12 action s are div ided in to4cl as s es ,
tow it:
toin cite
appropriation of w il l tobl ackm ail
todru g
tos pyu pon
appropriation of a
tobru tal l yextortacon f es s ion f rom
s ecret
toabu s e the con f iden ce of
tos edu ce
s exu al appropriation tobu ys exu al f av ors f rom
torape
tos tran gl e
m u rder tos tab in the back
toin du ce tocom m its u icide
Obj ectiv e Con s train ts
Com patibil itybetw een R el ation s
F orthe action s of m u rder:If As tran gl es B, he n ol on gern eeds
tos tab him ortoin du ce him tocom m its u icide.
Itis al s oim probabl e thatAan d Bkil l eachother.
On e m aythen pos tu l ate thatf orthe m u rderou s action s
the rel ation of tw ocharacters w il l be pos s ibl e on l yon ce in
eachperm u tation , an d itw il l n otbe rev ers ibl e.
F ors exu al action s :If As u cceeds in w in n in g the s exu al f av ors
of Bthrou ghs edu ction , he n eed n otres orttom on eyorto
rape f orthe s am e obj ect.
On e m ayal s oexcl u de, orn egl ect, the rev ers ibil ityof the
s exu al rapport( the s am e oran other)betw een tw ocharacters .
On e m aythen pos tu l ate thatf orthe s exu al acts , the
rel ation of tw ocharacters w il l be pos s ibl e on l yon ce in each
pem iu tation , an d itw il l n otbe rev ers ibl e.
F orthe appropriation of as ecret:If As ecu res Bs s ecret, this
s ecretm aybe def in ed in an otherrel ation thatf ol l ow s in the
s equ en ce, betw een Ban d C, orC an d B( orev en C an d D, orD
an d C), as exu al rel ation , orarel ation of m u rder, orof the
appropriation of w il l , orof the appropriation of an other
s ecret. Af terthat, An ol on gern eeds toobtain the s am e
s ecretf rom Bbyan otherm ean s ( bu the m ayobtain a
dif f eren ts ecretbyadif f eren tm ean s f rom Borf rom other
characters ). R ev ers ibil ityof the acts of appropriation of a
L.
Jm a. s - . 12 . T he Ou l ipo
s ecretis pos s ibl e, if there are on boths ides tw odif f eren t
s ecrets .
F orthe appropriation of w il l :If Aim pos es his w il l on B,
this im pos ition m ayprov oke arel ation betw een A( or
an other)an d B, orev en betw een Ban d C ( orA), arel ation
thatm aybe s exu al , m u rderou s , the appropriation of a
s ecret, the appropriation of an otherw il l . Af terthat, An o
l on gern eeds toim pos e the s am e w il l on Bbyan other
m ean s ( bu the m ay, etc.).
R ev ers ibil ityis pos s ibl e, obv iou s l y, betw een tw odif f eren t
w il l s .
Orderof Sequ en ces
In eachperm u tation , af teran action of m u rderhas taken
pl ace, the v ictim m ayn ol on gercom m itors u bm ittoan y
otheraction .
Con s equ en tl y, itis im pos s ibl e f orthe three acts of m u rder
tooccu rin the begin n in g of aperm u tation , becau s e n o
characters w ou l d then be l ef ttoaccom pl is hthe otheraction s
Ev en tw om u rders in the begin n in g w ou l d ren derthe
dev el opm en tof the s equ en ce im pos s ibl e. On e m u rderin the
begin n in g dictates perm u tation s of 11 action s f or3
characters .
T he optim al cas e is thatin w hichthe three acts of m u rder
occu ratthe en d.
T he s equ en ces giv en bythe com pu term u s tbe abl e to
rev eal chain s of ev en ts hel d togetherbypos s ibl e l ogical l in ks .
We hav e s een thatthe acts of w il l an d of s ecretcan im pl y
others . In eachperm u tation w il l be f ou n d priv il eged circu its ,
tow it:
determ in es an am u rder
appropriation
of w il l thatas exu al
determ in es appropriation
of as exu al
appropriation appropriation
of as ecret
of am u der
OY I
am u rder
as exu al appropriation
appropriation of aw il l l eads to thatdeterm in es , etc.
an appropriation of a
s ecret
Eachn ew rel ation in the chain excl u des others .
IE5
4'
J
-P
-
q
Q
Q
Q
12 . T he Ou l ipo
Su bj ectiv e Con s train ts
In com patibil ityof eachcharacterw ithcertain action s
com m itted ors u bm itted to. T he 12 action s m ayal s obe
div ided accordin g toas econ d s ortof s ys tem , cl as s if yin g
them in 4s u bj ectiv e categories .
acts of acts of dis l oyal acts acts thatexpl oit
phys ical pers u as ion an others
s tren gth w eakn es s
toabu s e
toin cite the
toextort con den ce tobu ygood
races
tos edu ce g
torape tos tab in
_the back tobl ackm ail
toin du ce
tos tran gl e tocom m it
s u icide tos pyu pon todru g
Of Aitis kn ow n thathe is am an of en orm ou s phys ical
s tren gth, bu tthathe is al s oan al m os tin articu l ate bru te.
Acan n ots u bm ittoacts of phys ical s tren gth.
Acan n otcom m itacts of pers u as ion .
Of Bitis kn ow n thats he is aw om an in com pl ete con trol
of hers el f , w ithas tron g w il l ; s he is s exu al l yf rigid; s he hates
dru gs an d dru g addicts ; s he is richen ou ghtobe in teres ted
on l yin hers el f .
Bcan n ots u bm ittoacts of pers u as ion .
Bis n otin teres ted in acts thatexpl oitan others w eakn es s
( s he is n otin teres ted in bu yin g s exu al f av ors , s he does n ot
tou chdru gs , s he has n om otiv e f orbl ackm ail ).
Of C itis kn ow n thathe is av eryin n ocen tBoyScou t, that
he has agreats en s e of hon or; if he takes dru gs , he v om its
im m ediatel y; his in n ocen ce protects him f rom al l bl ackm ail .
C can n ots u bm ittoacts thatexpl oitan others w eakn es s .
C can n otcom m itdis l oyal acts .
Of D itis kn ow n thats he is aterribl ym is tru s tf u l w om an
an d phys ical l yv eryw eak.
D can n ots u bm ittodis l oyal acts .
D can n otcom m itacts of s tren gth.
An u l teriorcom pl ication cou l d be in trodu cedl l l l
Eachcharactercou l d chan ge in the cou rs e of the s tory
( af tercertain action s com m itted ors u bm itted to):each
m ightl os e certain in com patibil ities an d acqu ire others l l l l l l l l
F orthe m om en t, w e f orgothe expl oration of this dom ain .
theN EWMEDIAR EADER
Es thetic Con s train ts
( orSu bj ectiv e on the P artof the P rogram m er)
T he program m erl ikes orderan d s ym m etry. F aced w iththe
hu ge n u m berof pos s ibil ities an d w iththe chaos of hu m an
pas s ion s an d w orries , he ten ds tof av orthos e s ol u tion s that
are the m os tharm on iou s an d econ om ical .
He propos es am odel , s u chthat:
eachaction be perpetrated byon e an d on l yon e
characteran d hav e on e an d on l yon e characteras av ictim ;
the 12 action s be equ al l ydis tribu ted am on g the 4
characters ; thatis , eachof them perpetrates 3 action s ( on e
on eachof the others )an d is the v ictim of 3 action s ( each
perpetrated byon e of the others );
eachof the 3 action s perpetrated byacharacterbel on gs
toadif f eren t( obj ectiv e)cl as s of action s ;
~the s am e as abov e f oreachof the three action s
s u bm itted tobyan ygiv en character;
betw een tw ocharacters there be n ocom m u tativ ity
w ithin the s am e cl as s of action s ( if Akil l s B, Bcan n otkil l A;
l ikew is e, the three s exu al rel ation s w il l occu rbetw een
dif f eren tl yas s orted cou pl es ).
Is itpos s ibl e atthe s am e tim e totake accou n tof the
s u bj ectiv e con s train ts an d of the s o-cal l ed es thetic
con s train ts ?
T his is w here the com pu tercom es in ; this is w here the
n otion of com pu ter-aided l iteratu re in exem pl if ied.
Letu s con s ider, f orin s tan ce, 4characters w hom w e s hal l cal l :
AR N O, CLEl \/ 1, DAN I, BABY
Av erys im pl e program perm its u s toen gen ders el ection s
of 12 m is deeds . Eachof thes e s el ection s m ightbe, in theory,
the s cen arioou rherois tryin g torecon s titu te.
Af ew exam pl es of s u chs cen arios are giv en on the n ext
page u n derthe headin gs SELEC1.
T he abs u rdityof thes e s cen arios is obv iou s . In f act, the
program u s ed is com pl etel ys tu pid:itperm its acharacterto
com m itam is deed again s thim s el f .
T he program can be im prov ed in im pos in g:
thatau tocrim es be excl u ded;
thateachcharacterf igu re on l y3 tim es as crim in al an d 3
tim es as v ictim .
On e then obtain s s cen arios as s how n u n derthe headin gs
SELEC2 on the n extpage.
T his n ew program com pris es obv iou s in ef f icien cies .
I
L
AR N O
CLEM
AR N O
AR N O
CLEM
AR N O
DAN I
BABY
CLEM
DAN I
AR N O
CLEM
AR N O
DAN I
BABY
BABY
BABY
CLEM
CLEM
DAN I
DAN I
DAN I
CLEM
BABY
DAN I
BABY
AR N O
BABY
CLEM
BABY
AR N O
DAN I
AR N O
DAN I
DAN I
AR N O
T hu s , in the f irs ts cen arioitis n otpos s ibl e f orCl em to
bl ackm ail Arn ow hohas al readybeen pois on ed byDan i. In
the s econ d s cen ario, Babycan n otrape Cl em becau s e Arn o
SELEC1 SELEC2
BU Y S
EXT OR T S ACON F ESSION F R OM
CON ST R AIN S
EXT OR T S ACON F ESSION F R OM
R AP ES
CU T S T HET HR OAT OF
CON ST R AIN S
EXT OR T S ACON F ESSION F R OM
P OESON S
EXT OR T S ACON F ESSION F R OM
ABJSES
EXT OR T S ACON F ESSION F R OM
SELEC1
P OISON S
SEDU CES
SP IESIJP ON
R AP ES
EXT OR T S ACON F ESSION F R OM
SP IESIJP ON
T HR EAT EN S
CON ST R AIN S
EXT OR T S ACON F ESSION F R OM
EXT OR T S ACON F ESSION F R OM
ABU SES
BLACKMAILS
SELEC1
SEDU CES
CON ST R AIN S
SP IESIJP ON
ABU SES
R AP ES
C-T S T HET HR OAT OF
ST R AN GLES
B-Y S
ABU SES
CU T S T HET HR OAT OF
SEDU CES
CON ST R AIN S
CLEM
AR N O
AR N O
BABY
DAN I
DAN I
BABY
AR N O
AR N O
CLEM
AR N O
CLEM
AR N O
DAN I
CLEM
CLEM
DAN I
AR N O
CLEM
BABY
BABY
AR N O
BABY
AR N O
AR N O
AR N O
DAN I
AR N O
CLEM
DAN I
AR N O
AR N O
AR N O
CLEM
CLEM
BABY
has al readycu tthe l atter' s throat, etc. P au l Braf f ort, w ho
en s u res the dev el opm en tin com pu ters cien ce n eces s aryto
the progres s of ou rw ork, has al s ow ritten as eries of
program s f ors el ection s thatprogres s iv el yaccou n tf orthe
con s train ts ou rs torym u s tres pectin ordertorem ain
l ogical l y an d ps ychol ogical l y acceptabl e.
DAN I P OISON S
BABY T HR EAT EN S
BABY SP IES U P ON
cttn BLACKMAILS
CLEM EXT OR T S ACON F ESSION F R OM
DAN I s tou cts
DAN I ST R AN GLES
AR N O R AP ES
BABY cu rs T HET HR OAT or
AR N O CON ST R AIN S
AR N O ABU SES
CLEM BU Y S
SELEC2
AR N O CON ST R AIN S
CLEM BLACKMAILS
DAN I BU Y S
AR N O CU T ST HET HR OAT OF
AR N O EXT OR T S ACON F ESSION F R OM
BABY R AP ES
CLEM SEDU CES
DAN I T HR EAT EN S
CLEM ABLSES
BABY ST R AN GLES
BABY P OSEON S
DAN I SP IESIJP ON
SELEC2
BABY SP IESIJP ON
AR N O CU T ST HET HR OAT OF
DAN I ST R AN GLES
DAN I T HR EAT EN S
BABY BLACKMAILS
DAN I BU Y S
CLEM EXT OR T S ACON F ESSION F R OM
BABY R AP ES
CLEM CON ST R AIN S
AR N O ABU SES
AR N O SEDU CES
CLEM P OISON S
T his cl earl ydem on s trates , w e bel iev e, thatthe aid of a
com pu ter, f arf rom repl acin g the creativ e actof the artis t
perm its the l atterrathertol iberate him s el f f rom the s l av ery
of acom bin atorys earch, al l ow in g him al s othe bes tchan ce of
con cen tratin g on this cl in am en w hich, al on e, can m ake of
the textatru e w ork of art.
0 ,. 419 6 1 .. 4,... ' 7 2 -ol 31, - 12 , T he Ou hpo
AR N O
CLEM
AR N O
AR N O
BABY
BABY
CLEM
BABY
DAN I
CLEM
DAN I
DAN I
CLEM
AR N O
AR N O
BABY
DAN I
CLEM
BABY
CLEM
DAN I
DAN I
AR N O
BABY
CLEM
DAN I
CLEM
AR N O
AR N O
BABY
BABY
DAN I
DAN I
BABY
CLEM
AR N O
-0
T
I
I
| |_
12 . T he Ou l ipo
Brief His toryof the 0u l ipo N otes
1. T he Col l ege de P ataphys iqu e takes its n am e f rom "pataphys ics ,"
the dis cipl in e propos ed byAl f red Jarry, w hichhe de n ed in his
Ges tes etopin ion s du Docteu rF ou s troil ( II, v iii)as the s cien ce of
im agin arys ol u tion s ."Jarryhim s el f s pel l ed the w ord w ithan in itial
apos trophe, perhaps tos u gges t patophys iqu e, or"s hockin g
phys ics ."T he Col l ege its el f w as f ou n ded on 11 May19 48, the
f tiethan n iv ers aryof F au s trol l ; its prin cipal ( if byn om ean s
excl u s iv e)f u n ction is toprom ote w ork on Jarry. P u bl ication s of the
grou pin cl u de the Cahiers du Col l ege de P ataphys iqu e an d the
Dos s iers du Col l ege de P otophys iqu e. See Lin daKl iegerStil l m an ,
Al f red Jarry( Bos ton : T w ayn e, 19 83), 41-42 . Sev eral of the
f ou n din g m em bers of the Ou l ipohel d titl es w ithin the Col l ege de
P ataphys iqu e: Q u en eau , f orexam pl e, w as aT ran s cen den tSatrap;
Latis w as the P riv ate Gen eral Secretarytothe Baron Vice-Cu rator;
N oel Arn au d is the R egen tof Gen eral P ataphys ics an d the Cl in ic of
R hetoricon os is , as w el l as Maj orCon f eran tof the Orderof the
Gran de Gidou il l e. ( WM)
2 . See N oel Arn au d, Etn aqu itl ' Ou v roirde Litt ratu re P oten tiel l e,
in Jacqu es Ben s , Ou l ipo19 6 0-19 6 3, 8. ( WM)
3.R aym on d Q u en eau ' s rs tn ov el , pu bl is hed byGal l im ard in 19 33.
( WM)
4. In the pen u l tim ate qu atrain of his Booz en dorm i,"VictorHu go
rhym es J n m adethw iths e dem an doit. As the f orm erpl ace n am e
gu res in n okn ow n atl as , ithas been con j ectu red thatJ n m adeth
m aybe read as j e n ' m e tidoit, or"Irhym e w ithdoit."( WM)
5. Accordin g toBen s ' s m in u tes , this m eetin g took pl ace n oton
April 5bu ton April 17 . See Ou l ipo19 6 0-19 6 3, 42 -43. ( WM)
6 . Again , accordin g toBen s , the date of the m eetin g w as n otApril
2 0bu tApril 2 8. See Ou l ipo19 6 0-19 6 3, 45-52 . ( WM)
7 . LadyGodiv aw as af em al e tortois e w hol iv ed in F ran cois Le
Lion n ais ' s garden . See Ou l ipo19 6 0-19 6 3, 7 1. ( WM)
8. Bau del aire, of cou rs e.
9 . Y ears becom e cen tu ries in Ou l ipos peak. ( WM)
10. Letu s recal l the n am es of the ol d on es : N oel Arn au d, Jacqu es
Ben s , Cl au de Berge, P au l Braf f ort, Jacqu es Du chateau , F ran cois Le
Lion n ais , Jean Les cu re, R aym on d Q u en eau , Jean Q u ev al . F oreign
corres pon den ts : An dr Bl av ier, R os s Cham bers , Stan l eyChapm an .
theN EWMEDIAR EADER
F oroP oten tial An al ys is of Com bin atoryLiterotu re N otes
1. Dis s ertatiode Arte Com bin otorio, J.-E. Erdm an n ( 16 6 6 ). Itis
s u rpris in g ton ote thatthis v eryrare w ork, w ritten in Latin , has
n ev ertoou rkn ow l edge been tran s l ated. We ow e certain of the
ref eren ces w e u s ed in the in v en toryof com bin atoryl iteratu re toY .
Bel av al . Letu s al s ocite an otherf am ou s m athem atician , Leon hard
Eu l er, w hos u gges ted prin cipl es f oraCom bin atoryArtin his Lettres
au n e prin ces s e dAil em ogn e s u rdiv ers s u j ets de phys iqu e etde
phil os ophie, Steidel ( 17 7 0-7 4), 2 7 .
2 . On e cou l d m athem atize the con ceptof con gu ration in de n in g
itas an appl ication of as etof obj ects w ithin an abs tractf in ite s et
prov ided w ithakn ow n s tru ctu re; f orexam pl e, aperm u tation of n
obj ects is abij ectiv e appl ication of the s etof obj ects w ithin the
s etordered 1, 2 , . . . , n ."N ev erthel es s , w e are in teres ted on l yin
thos e appl ication s thats atis f ycertain con s train ts , an d the n atu re
of thes e con s train ts is toov aried toal l ow u s tou s e this de n ition
as the bas is f oragen eral theory.
3. "Hon or, Art, Mon ey, P roperty, P rais e, Wom an , an d Chil d/ On e has ,
s eeks , m is s es , hopes f or, an d dis appears ."G. P . Hars dorf f er
( 16 07 -58), af ou n derof the P egn itz Shepherds ,"aN u rem berg
s ociety, w rote aP oetis cherT n chter( P oetic F u n n el )( 16 47 -53)w ith
w hichon e cou l d pou r the artof poetryin toan ybodyin s ixhou rs .
See J. G. R oberts on , Ou tl in es of the His toryof Germ an Literatu re
( Edin bu rgh: Bl ackw ood, 19 50), 83. ( WM)
4. Marc Saporta' s Com pos ition N o. 1 ( P aris : Seu il , 19 6 2 )w as
pu bl is hed in 19 6 2 , n ot19 6 5. ( WM)
5. T he poem Berge has tran s f orm ed is R on s ard' s "Q u an d v ou s s erez
bien v ieil l e":
Q u an d v ou s s erez bien v ieil l e, au s oir, al achan del l e,
As s is e au pres du f eu , dev idan tet l an t,
Direz, chan tan tm es v ers , en v ou s es m erv eil l an t: ,
R on s ard m e cel ebroitdu tem ps qu e j ' es tois bel l e.
Lors v ou s n ' au rez s erv an te oyan ttel l e n ou v el l e,
Des j as ou s l e l abeu radem ys om m eil l an t,
Q u i, au bru itde R on s ard, n e s ' ail l e r v eil l an t,
Ben is s an tv os tre n om de l ou an ge im m ortel l e.
Je s erays ou s l aterre, et, f an tos m e s an s os ,
P arl es om bres m yrteu xj e pren draym on repos ;
Vou s s erez au f ou yeru n e v ieil l e accrou pie,
R egrettan tm on am ou retv os tre erdes dain .
Viv ez, s im ' en croyez, n ' atten dez adem ain ;
Cu eil l ez d s au j ou rd' hu il es ros es de l av ie.
Q _ 1 A ~ ~ 4)
Hu m bertWol f e, in P ierre de R on s ard, Son n ets f orHel en ( Lon don :
George Al l en an d U n w in , 19 34), tran s l ates the poem as f ol l ow s :
When you are ol d, atev en in g can dl e-l it
bes ide the re ben din g toyou rw ool ,
read ou tm yv ers e an d m u rm u r, "R on s ard w rit
this prais e f orm e w hen Iw as beau tif u l ."
An d n otam aid bu t, atthe s ou n d of it,
thou ghn oddin g atthe s titchon broidered s tool ,
w il l s tartaw ake, an d bl es s l ov e' s ben e t
w hos e l on g del ities brin g T im e tos chool .
Is hal l be thin an d ghos tben eaththe earth
bym yrtl e s hade in qu ietaf terpain ,
bu tyou , acron e, w il l crou chbes ide the hearth
Mou rn in g m yl ov e an d al l you rprou d dis dain .
An d s in ce w hatcom es tom orrow w hocan s ay?
l iv e, pl u ck the ros es of the w orl d to-day. ( WM)
6 . See the s tu dyJean F errydev oted tohim in the j ou rn al Bizarre
34-35( 19 6 4).
7 . Work on the l iteraryappl ication s of the Latin bi-s qu are w as
pu rs u ed byGeorges P erec; in 19 7 8 itres u l ted in his LaVie m ode
dem pl 0i. ( WM)
5-.
Com pu teran d Writer: T he Cen tre P om pidou Expen ' m en t N otes
1. A.R .T .A.: Atel ierde R echerches etT echn iqu es Av an c es ,"or
Works hopof Adv an ced Stu dies an d T echn iqu es , agrou pw orkin g
atthe Cen tre P om pidou . F oratim e, the Ou l ipou s ed A.R .T .A.
equ ipm en tin theirw ork on com pu ter-aided l iteratu re. P ers on al
l etterf rom P au l F ou rn el tothe editor, 5Decem ber19 83. ( WM)
2 . Gal l im ard.
3. In the s am e s piritan d u s in g av erys im il artechn iqu e, Michel
Bottin program m ed the 10poem s con tain ed in the XLIs tkis s of
l ov e of Q u irin u s Ku hl m an .
4. T his s toryis pu bl is hed in Ou l ipo, LoLitt rotu re poten tf el l e,
Gal l im ard' s Id es "col l ection , 2 7 7 . [ Ital s oappears in the pres en t
v ol u m e ( WM).]
5. Aprototype of this textm aybe f ou n d in Ou l ipo, LoLitt ratu re
poten tiel l e, Gal l im ards Id es "col l ection , 2 81. [ Appearin g here as
T he T heaterT ree: ACom bin atoryP l ay." ( WM)]
6 . See Cal v in o' s P ros e an d An ticom bin atorics ."( WM)
7 . See R ou bau ds LaP rin ces s e Hoppyou l e con te du Labrador:
Bibl ioth qu e Ou l ipien n e 2 ( ch. 1); Bibl ioth qu e Ou l ipien n e 7 ( ch.
2 ); Chan ge 38 ( 19 80), 11-2 9 ( chs . 3, 4). ( WM)
8. See B n abou , U n Aphoris m e peu ten cacheru n ou tre. ( WM)
9 . T his paperw as pres en ted atthe Writer-Com pu ter"m eetin gs of
Ju n e 19 7 7 .
} :..."<-t'
13 19 3
14 2 11
II
Col l ectiv e Media
P ers on al Med1a
Y
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1
" .i
T w oSel ection s byMars hal l McLu han
T he Mediu m l s the Mes s age, 19 6 4( f rom U n ders can dzn giw edza)
T he Gal axyR econ f igu red orthe P l ightof Mas s Man m an l n div idu al is t
SOCity, 19 6 4( f rom T he Gu ten berg Gal axy)
F ou rSel ection s byExperim en ts in Artan d T echn ol ogy
F rom T he Garden P arty, Bil l yKl u v er, 19 6 1 F rom 9 Ev en in gs EAT 19 6 6
[ P res s R el eas e] EA.T .,19 6 6 T he P av il ion Bil l yKl u v er19 7 2
Cybern ated Art
N am Ju n e P aik, 19 6 6
AR es earchCen terf orAu gm en tin g Hu m an In tel l ect
Dou gl as En gel bartan d Wil l iam En gl is h, 19 6 8
F rom Sof tw are In f orm atz' on T echn ol ogy:Its N ew Mean in g orArt
T heodorH. N el s on , N ichol as N egropon te an d Les Lev in e 19 7 0
Con s titu en ts of aT heoryof the Media
Han s Magn u s En zen s berger, 19 7 0
R equ iem f orthe Media
Jean Bau dril l ard, 19 7 2
T he T echn ol ogyan d the Society
R aym on d Wil l iam s , 19 7 4
P rom Com pu terLib / Dream Machin es
T heodore H. N el s on , 19 7 4
F rom T heatre of the Oppres s ecl
Au gu s toBoal , 19 7 4
P rom Sof tArchitectu re Machin es
N ichol as N egropon te, 19 7 5
F rom Com pu terP ow eran d Hu m an R eas on
Jos ephWeizen bau m , 19 7 6
R es pon s iv e En v iron m en ts
Myron W. Kru eger, 19 7 7
P ers on al Dyn am ic Media
Al an Kayan d Adel e Gol dberg, 19 7 7
P rom AT hou s an d P l ateau s
Gil l es Del eu ze an d F el ixGu attari, 19 80
,,. ' * ' _a. -- 0I, l l i zr i, , ,4, 13. T w obyMcLu han
13. [ In trodu ction ]
T w oSel ection s byMars hal l McLu han
T he Gal axyR econ f igu red
T he Mediu m Is the Mes s age
Mars hal l McLu han s w ritin gs on m ediain trodu ced term s an d con cepts thatare n ow qu ite popu l ar,
an d u s ed in s om an ycon texts thatitcan be dif f icu l tf igu re ou texactl yw hattheyw ere on ce
s u ppos ed tom ean . McLu han ' s exhortation thatthe m ediu m is the m es s age is s til l repeated, of ten
hol l ow l y. T he ideathis phras e brou ghttothe f oregrou n d in the 19 6 0s thatm ediathem s el v es
ov erw hel m the im portan ce of theircon ten t" is n ow al m os tan u n s poken ( an d s om etim es
tm exam in ed)as s u m ption in today' s v is ion of the w orl d an d in ou ru n ders tan din g of ou rm edia
ecol ogy. Som e. of McLu han ' s others trikin g con tribu tion s are l aid ou tin the f ol l ow in g excerpts f rom
tw oof his m os tin f l u en tial books . Af terdes cribin g how m ediaexten d hu m an abil ities an d the
hu m an bodyits el f , McLu han dis tin gu is hed betw een hotan d col d m edia, w hichas s ertthem s el v es in
dif f eren tw ays an d in v ite dif f eren ts orts of en gagem en t. McLu han al s oargu ed thatthe cu l tu re w as
m ov in g ( becau s e of ou rm ediatran s ition )back tow ard tribal con f igu ration s , as he expl ain ed in on e
of tw oil l u s trated col l aboration s w ithQ u en tin Eiore: Waran d P eace in the Gl obal Vil l age abook
w hos e titl e gav e pol itician s an d pu n dits an otherf am ou s phras e.
McLu han s aw his 350-page T he Gu ten berg Gal axy, the con cl u din g chapterof w hichis pres en ted
here, as com pl em en taryw ithT he Sin gerof T al es byAl bertBates Lord, abook thats ou ghttodes cribe
the practice of oral l iteratu re n am el y, the Hom eric epics . McLu han s poin tw as todes cribe how
typographic techn ol ogycau s ed as hif tin Wes tern thou ght, as as tartin g poin tf oru n ders tan din g the
cu rren ts hif ts brou ghtabou tbyw hathe cal l ed el ectric orn ew m edia. T he m ediacon s idered in
U n ders tan din g Media, w hichappeared tw oyears l ater, in 19 6 4, in cl u de tel ev is ion an d radioas w el l as
w eapon s an d cl othin g al thou ghthe digital com pu terdid n otearn its ow n chapter.
U n ders tan din g Mediabrou ghtden ou n cem en ts f rom thos e in tradition al academ ic dis cipl in es .
Chris topherR icks , in atypical repl y, w rote in McLu han :Hot& Cool thatthe s tyl e is av iciou s f og,
throu ghw hichl oom s tu m bl in g m etaphors , an d con tin u ed bybem oan in g McLu han ' s artis tic tas te
an d his ideathatadv ertis em en ts hav e artis tic m erit( 2 15 2 16 ). On e of Han s Magn u s En zen s bergers
den u n ciation s of McLu han is f ou n d in 9 18. An otherhars hcritic of U n ders tan din g Media in 19 6 7 ,
atl eas t w as Jean Bau dril l ard ( 9 19 ). Bu tBau dril l ard began in the f ol l ow in g decades toem pl oy
s om e of McLu han ' s term in ol ogyan d ideas in his ow n critical w ritin g.
In decl arin g thatpopu l arm edias hou l d be s tu died, an d on theirow n term s , McLu han achiev ed
s pecial f am e tocom pl em en this popu l arin f am y. Al on g w iththe il l -f ated qu iz s how cham pion Charl es
Van Doren ( w hom McLu han def en ded as behav in g appropriatel y, w ithregard tothe tel ev is ion
m ediu m ), McLu han w as on e of the f irs ttru e cel ebrityacadem ics . He w as f requ en tl ydis cu s s ed
ou ts ide the academ yan d m ade acam eoappearan ce in WoodyAl l en s An n ie Hal l
McLu han appears on the m as thead of Wired m agazin e as patron s ain t,"bu tMcLu han ' s irrev eren ce
w as s een m ore cl earl yin Wireds s pu n kyan d iron ic kid brother, the f irs tWeb dail y, Su ck , w hichran
f oral m os ts ixyears . Al thou ghMcLu han s s tyl e is n otw ithou tpreceden t( his s om etim es ten tativ e
expl oration s real l ycon tin u e the origin al con ceptof the es s ayf rom Mon taign e), theyare am on g the
f irs tm odern academ ic w ritin gs tocom bin e irrev eren ce an d s eriou s thou ghtov ertl y, as s een in
McLu han s in ten tion al m is qu otation of Shakes peare in the s econ d of the f ol l ow in g s el ection s .
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theN EWMEDIAR EADER :
I Whil e McLu han s theories can be appl ied tothe com pu terin its m an ipu l ation s of dif f eren tm ediaorin its appearan ce as a
n ew m ediu m , the s hif the des cribed, f rom book-cu l tu re toacu l tu re of el ectron ic m edia, has certain l ytaken pl ace al ready.
Lookin g atMcLu han ' s expl oration s , al thou ghtheyare directed atearl iertypes of n ew m edia, is s u re toaid in u n ders tan din g
' ou rw orl ds f u rthertran s ition s f rom an al og todigital m edia. Ev en if McLu han ' s exhortation s toign ore con ten tcom pl etel yare
n otpers u as iv e, itcertain l ym akes s en s e attim es tocon s iderthe m ediu m on its ow n . Bes ides rem in din g u s of the excitem en ttf '
tran s ition al tim es an d prov idin g u s w ithu s ef u l an d pow erf u l ideas f orthin kin g abou tou rm ediaen v iron m en t, McLu han al s o
I s how s u s , byexam pl e, an others ign if ican tpoin t:its im portan ttohav e f u n an d toexpl ore n ew w ays of thin kin g abit, rather
than al w ays as s ertin g, argu in g, an d s if tin g the n ew in tool d categories an d ithel ps ton ottake you rs el f toos eriou s l y.
- N M
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f
Origin al P u bl ication
T T he Gal axyR econ gu red orthe P l ightof Mas s Man in an
In div idu al is tSociety"f rom T he Gu ten berg Gal axy: T he Makin g of
T ypographic Man . T oron to: U n iv ers ityof T oron toP res s , 19 6 2 .
1 "T he Mediu m Is the Mes s age"f rom U n ders tan din g Media: T he
Exten s ion s of Man . N ew Y ork: McGraw Hil l , 19 6 4.
- T he Gal axy
R econ gu red
orthe P l ightof Mas s Man in
f an In div idu al is tSociety
I Mars hal l McLu han
T he pres en tv ol u m e has em pl oyed am os aic pattern of
qr
perception an d obs erv ation u ptil l n ow . Wil l iam Bl ake can
prov ide the expl an ation an d j u s tif ication of this procedu re.
Jeru s al em , l ike s om u chof his otherpoetry, is con cern ed w ith
the chan gin g pattern s of hu m an perception . Book II, cha i
34, of the poem con tain s the perv as iv e them e:
If P erceptiv e organ s v ary, Obj ects of P erception s eem to
v ary:
If the P erceptiv e Organ s cl os e, theirObj ects s eem to
cl os e al s o.
Determ in ed as he w as toexpl ain the cau s es an d ef f ects of
ps ychic chan ge, bothpers on al an d s ocial , he arriv ed l on g a
atthe them e of T he Gu ten berg Gal axy:
T he Sev en N ation s f l ed bef ore him :theybecam e w hat
theybehel d.
Bl ake m akes qu ite expl icitthatw hen s en s e ratios chan ge, ,
chan ge. Sen s e ratios chan ge w hen an yon e s en s e orbodil yor
m en tal f u n ction is extern al ized in techn ol ogical f orm :
T he Spectre is the R eas on in g P ow erin Man , 8; w hen
s eparated
F rom Im agin ation an d cl os in g its el f as in s teel in aR atio
Of the T hin gs of Mem ory, Itthen ce f ram es Law s 8:
Moral ities
T odes troyIm agin ation , the Div in e Body, by
Martyrdom s & Wars .
o . ._<4|19 6 2 ' 6 $ . 13. T w obyMcLu han
Im agin ation is thatratioam on g the perception s an d
f acu l ties w hichexis ts w hen theyare n otem bedded orou tered
in m aterial techn ol ogies . When s oou tered, eachs en s e an d
f acu l tybecom es acl os ed s ys tem . P riortos u chou terin g there
is en tire in terpl ayam on g experien ces . T his in terpl ayor
s yn es thes iais akin d of tactil itys u chas Bl ake s ou ghtin the
bou n din g l in e of s cu l ptu ral f orm an d in en grav in g.
When the perv ers e in gen u ityof m an has ou tered s om e
partof his bein g in m aterial techn ol ogy, his en tire s en s e ratio
is al tered. He is then com pel l ed tobehol d this f ragm en tof
him s el f cl os in g its el f as in s teel ."In behol din g this n ew thin g,
m an is com pel l ed tobecom e it. Su chw as the origin of l in eal ,
f ragm en ted an al ys is w ithits rem ors el es s pow erof
hom ogen ization :
T he R eas on in g Spectre Stan ds betw een
the Vegetativ e Man 81 his Im m ortal Im agin ation ?
Bl akes diagn os is of the probl em of his age w as , l ike P opes in
T he Du n ciad adirectcon f ron tation of the f orces s hapin g
hu m an perception . T hathe s ou ghtm ythical f orm byw hichto
ren derhis v is ion w as bothn eces s aryan d in ef f ectu al . F orm yth
is the m ode of s im u l tan eou s aw aren es s of acom pl exgrou pof
cau s es an d ef f ects . In an age of f ragm en ted, l in eal aw aren es s ,
s u chas produ ced an d w as in tu rn greatl yexaggerated by
Gu ten berg techn ol ogy, m ythol ogical v is ion rem ain s qu ite
opaqu e. T he R om an tic poets f el l f ars hortof Bl ake' s m ythical
ors im u l tan eou s v is ion . T heyw ere f aithf u l toN ew ton ' s s in gl e
v is ion an d perf ected the pictu res qu e ou terl an ds cape as a
m ean s of is ol atin g s in gl e s tates of the in n erl if e?
Itis in s tru ctiv e f orthe his toryof hu m an s en s ibil ityto
n ote how the popu l arv ogu e of the Gothic rom an ce in Bl ake' s
tim e l ateru n f ol ded in toas eriou s es thetic w ithR u s kin an d
the F ren chs ym bol is ts . T his Gothic tas te, trite an d ridicu l ou s
as itf irs tappeared tos eriou s peopl e, w as yetacon f irm ation
of Bl ake' s diagn os is of the def ects an d n eeds of his age. Itw as
its el f apre-R aphael orpre-Gu ten berg qu es tf orau n if ied
m ode of perception . In Modern P ain ters ( v ol . III, p. 9 1)R u s kin
s tates the m atterin aw ayw hichen tirel ydis s ociates Gothic
m ediev al is m f rom an yhis torical con cern abou tthe Middl e
Ages . He s tates the m atterin aw aythatw on him the s eriou s
in teres tof R im bau d an d P rou s t:
Af in e grotes qu e is the expres s ion , in am om en t, bya
s eries of s ym bol s throw n togetherin bol d an d f earl es s
con n ection , of tru ths w hichitw ou l d hav e taken al on g
tim e toexpres s in an yv erbal w ay, an d of w hichthe
con n ection is l ef tf orthe behol dertow ork ou tf or
b
him s el f ; the gaps , l ef torov erl eaped bythe has te of the
im agin ation , f orm in g the grotes qu e character.
F orR u s kin , Gothic appeared as an in dis pen s abl e m ean s of
breakin g open the cl os ed s ys tem of perception thatBl ake
s pen this l if e des cribin g an d f ightin g. R u s kin proceeds ( p. 9 6 )
toexpl ain Gothic grotes qu e as the bes tw ayof en din g the
regim e of R en ais s an ce pers pectiv e an d s in gl e v is ion orreal is m :
Itis w ithav iew ( n otthe l eas tim portan tam on g m an y
others bearin g u pon art)tothe reopen in g of this great
f iel d of hu m an in tel l igen ce, l on g en tirel ycl os ed, thatI
am s triv in g toin trodu ce Gothic architectu re in todail y
dom es tic u s e; an d torev iv e the artof il l u m in ation ,
properl ys ocal l ed; n otthe artof m in iatu re-pain tin g in
books , oron v el l u m , w hichhas ridicu l ou s l ybeen
con f u s ed w ithit; bu tof m akin g w ritin g, s im pl e w ritin g,
beau tif u l tothe eye, byin v es tin g itw iththe greatchord
. of perf ectcol ou r, bl u e, pu rpl e, s carl et, w hite, an d gol d,
an d in thatchord of col ou r, perm ittin g the con tin u al
pl ayof the f an cyof the w riterin ev erys pecies of
grotes qu e im agin ation , caref u l l yexcl u din g s hadow ; the
dis tin ctiv e dif f eren ce betw een il l u m in ation an d pain tin g
proper, bein g, thatil l u m in ation adm its n os hadow s , bu t
on l ygradation s of pu re col ou r.
T he s tu den tof R im bau d w il l f in d thatitw as w hil e readin g
this partof R u s kin thatR im bau d f ou n d his titl e f or
Il l u m in ation s . T he techn iqu e of v is ion in the Il l u m in ation s or
pain ted s l ides , ( as R im bau d cal l ed them , in En gl is h, on his
titl e page)is exactl yas R u s kin del in eates the grotes qu e. Bu t
ev en Joyce' s U l ys s es f in ds an ticipatorydes ign ation in the
s am e con text:
Hen ce itis an in f in ite good tom an kin d w hen there is
f u l l acceptan ce of the grotes qu e, s l ightl ys ketched or
expres s ed; an d, if f iel d f ors u chexpres s ion be f ran kl y
gran ted, an en orm ou s m as s of in tel l ectu al pow eris
tu rn ed toev erl as tin g u s e, w hich, in this pres en tcen tu ry
of ou rs , ev aporates in s treetgibin g orv ain rev el l in g; al l
the good w itan d s atire expirin g in dail ytal k, ( l ike f oam
on w in e,)w hichin the thirteen than d f ou rteen th
cen tu ries had aperm itted an d u s ef u l expres s ion in the
arts of s cu l ptu re an d il l u m in ation , l ike f oam f ixed in to
chal cedon y.
Joyce, thatis tos ay, al s oaccepted the grotes qu e as am ode
of broken ors yn copated m an ipu l ation toperm itin cl u s iv e or
s im u l tan eou s perception of atotal an d div ers if ied f iel d. Su ch,
in deed, is s ym bol is m bydef in ition - acol l ocation , aparataxis
of com pon en ts repres en tin g in s ightbycaref u l l yes tabl is hed
I |
13. T w obyMcLu han
ratios , bu tw ithou tapoin tof v iew orl in eal con n ection or
s equ en tial order.
N othin g, theref ore, cou l d be m ore rem ote f rom Joyce' s
ratios than the aim of pictorial real is m . In deed, he u s es s u ch
real is m an d s u chGu ten berg techn ol ogyas partof his
s ym bol is m . F orexam pl e, in the s ev en thorAeol u s epis ode of
U l ys s es the techn ol ogyof the n ew s paperis m ade the occas ion
f orin trodu cin g al l of the n in e hu n dred an d m ore rhetorical
f igu res s pecif ied byQ u in til ian in his In s titu tes of Oratory. T he
f igu res of cl as s ical rhetoric are archetypes orpos tu res of
in div idu al m in ds . Joyce bym ean s of the m odern pres s
tran s l ates them in toarchetypes orpos tu res of col l ectiv e
con s ciou s n es s . He breaks open the cl os ed s ys tem of cl as s ical
rhetoric atthe s am e tim e thathe cu ts in tothe cl os ed s ys tem
of n ew s papers om n am bu l is m . Sym bol is m is akin d of w itty
j azz, acon s u m m ation of R u s kin ' s as piration s f orthe
grotes qu e thatw ou l d hav e s hocked him agood deal . Bu tit
prov ed tobe the on l yw ayou tof s in gl e v is ion an d N ew ton ' s
s l eep."
Bl ake had the in s ights bu tn otthe techn ical res ou rces f or
ren derin g his v is ion . P aradoxical l y, itw as n otthrou ghthe
book bu tthrou ghthe dev el opm en tof the m as s pres s ,
es pecial l ythe tel egraphpres s , thatpoets f ou n d the artis tic
keys tothe w orl d of s im u l tan eity, orof m odern m yth. Itw as
in the f orm atof the dail ypres s thatR im bau d an d Mal l arm
dis cov ered the m ean s of ren derin g the in terpl ayof al l the
f u n ction s of w hatCol eridge cal l ed the es em pl as tic
im agin ation ?F orthe popu l arpres s of f ers n os in gl e v is ion ,
n opoin tof v iew , bu tam os aic of the pos tu res of the
col l ectiv e con s ciou s n es s , as Mal l arm procl aim ed. Y etthes e
m odes of col l ectiv e ortribal con s ciou s n es s prol if eratin g in
the tel egraphic ( s im u l tan eou s )pres s , rem ain u n con gen ial
an d opaqu e tothe bookrn en l ocked in s in gl e v is ion an d
N ew ton ' s s l eep."
T he prin cipal ideas of the eighteen thcen tu ryw ere s o
cru de as tos eem ris ibl e tothe w its of the tim e. T he great
chain of Bein g w as in its w ayas com ical as the chain s w hich
R ou s s eau procl aim ed in his Social Con tract. Equ al l yin
adequ ate as an ideaof orderw as the m erel yv is u al n otion of
goodn es s as apl en u m :T he bes tof al l pos s ibl e w orl ds w as
m erel yaqu an titativ e ideaof abag cram m ed tothe u tm os t
w ithgoodies an ideaw hichl u rked s til l in the n u rs ery
w orl d of R . L. Stev en s on . ( T he w orl d is s of u l l of an u m ber
of thin gs )Bu tin J. S. Mil l s Libertythe qu an titativ e ideaof
tru thas an ideal con tain erpacked w ithev erypos s ibl e
theN EWMEDIAR EADER
opin ion an d poin tof v iew created m en tal an gu is h. F orthe
s u ppres s ion of an ypos s ibl e as pectof tru th, an yv al id an gl e,
m ightw eaken the w hol e s tru ctu re. In f act, the s tres s on the
abs tractv is u al ev oked as s tan dards of tru ththe m ere
m atchin g of obj ectw ithobj ect. Sou n con s ciou s w ere peopl e
of this m atchin g theoryas bein g dom in an t, thatw hen aP ope
oraBl ake poin ted ou tthattru this aratiobetw een the m in d
an d thin gs , aratiom ade bythe s hapin g im agin ation , there
w as n obodyton ote orcom prehen d. Mechan ical m atchin g,
n otim agin ativ e m akin g, w il l ru l e in the arts an d s cien ces , in
pol itics an d edu cation , u n til ou row n tim e.
Earl ier, in pres en tin g P ope' s prophetic v is ion of the retu rn
of tribal orcol l ectiv e con s ciou s n es s , the rel ation toJoyces
F in n egan s Wake had been in dicated. Joyce had dev is ed f or
Wes tern m an in div idu al pas s -keys tothe col l ectiv e
con s ciou s n es s , as he decl ared on the l as tpage of the Wake
He kn ew thathe had s ol v ed the dil em m aof Wes tern
in div idu al m an f aced w iththe col l ectiv e ortribal
con s equ en ces of f irs this Gu ten berg, an d n exthis Marcon i,
techn ol ogies . P ope had s een the tribal con s ciou s n es s l aten tin
the n ew m .as s cu l tu re of the book trade. Lan gu age an d the
arts w ou l d ceas e tobe prim e agen ts of critical perception an d
becom e m ere packagin g dev ices f orrel eas in g as pate of v erbal
com m odities . Bl ake an d the R om an tics an d the Victorian s
al ike becam e obs es s ed w iththe actu al ization of P ope' s v is ion
in the n ew organ ization of an in du s trial econ om yem bedded
in as el f -regu l atin g s ys tem of l an d, l abou r, an d capital . T he
N ew ton ian l aw s of m echan ics , l aten tin Gu ten berg
typography, w ere tran s l ated byAdam Sm ithtogov em the
l aw s of produ ction an d con s u m ption . In accordan ce w ith
P ope' s prediction of au tom atic tran ce orrobo-cen tris m ,"
Sm ithdecl ared thatthe m echan ical l aw s of the econ om y
appl ied equ al l ytothe thin gs of the m in d:In opu l en tan d
com m ercial s ocieties tothin k ortoreas on com es tobe, l ike
ev eryotherem pl oym en t, aparticu l arbu s in es s , w hichis
carried on byav eryf ew peopl e, w hof u rn is hthe pu bl ic w ith
al l the thou ghtan d reas on pos s es s ed bythe v as tm u l titu des
thatl abou r.
Adam Sm ithis al w ays f aithf u l tothe f ixed v is u al poin tof
v iew an d its con s equ en ts eparation of f acu l ties an d
f u n ction s . Bu tin this pas s age Sm ithdoes s eem tos en s e that
the n ew rol e of the in tel l ectu al is totapthe col l ectiv e
con s ciou s n es s of the v as tm u l titu des thatl abou r. T hatis to
s ay, the in tel l ectu al is n ol on gertodirectin div idu al
perception an d j u dgm en tbu ttoexpl ore an d tocom m u n icate
. . . .s ~~_. l l l g z f l -.... Mai~09 13. T w obyMcLu han
the m as s iv e u n con s ciou s n es s of col l ectiv e m an . T he
in tel l ectu al is n ew l ycas tin the rol e of aprim itiv e s eer, v ates ,
orheroin con gru ou s l ypeddl in g his dis cov eries in a
com m ercial m arket. If Adam Sm ithw as rel u ctan ttopu s hhis
v iew tothis poin tof the tran s cen den tal im agin ation , Bl ake
an d the R om an tics f el tn oqu al m s bu ttu rn ed l iteratu re ov er
tothe tran s cen den tal arm . Hen cef orth, Literatu re w il l be at
w arw ithits el f an d w iththe s ocial m echan ics of con s ciou s
goal s an d m otiv ation s . F orthe m atterof l iteraryv is ion w il l
be col l ectiv e an d m ythic, w hil e the f orm s of l iterary
expres s ion an d com m u n ication w il l be in div idu al is t,
s egm en tal , an d m echan ical . T he v is ion w il l be tribal an d
col l ectiv e, the expres s ion priv ate an d m arketabl e. T his
dil em m acon tin u es tothe pres en ttoren d the in div idu al
Wes tern con s ciou s n es s . Wes tern m an kn ow s thathis v al u es
an d m odal ities are the produ ctof l iteracy. Y etthe v erym ean s
of exten din g thos e v al u es , techn ol ogical l y, s eem toden yan d
rev ers e them . Whereas P ope f u l l yf aced u ptothis dil em m ain
T heDu n ciad Bl ake an d the R om an tics ten ded todev ote
them s el v es toon e s ide of it, the m ythic an d col l ectiv e. J. S.
Mil l , Matthew Arn ol d, an d agreatm an yothers dev oted
them s el v es tothe others ide of the dil em m a, the probl em of
in div idu al cu l tu re an d l ibertyin an age of m as s cu l tu re. Bu t
n eithers ide has its m ean in g al on e, n orcan the cau s es of the
dil em m abe f ou n d an yw here bu tin the total gal axyof ev en ts
thatcon s titu te l iteracyan d Gu ten berg techn ol ogy. Ou r
l iberation f rom the dil em m am ay, as Joyce f el t, com e f rom
the n ew el ectric techn ol ogy, w ithits prof ou n d organ ic
character. F orthe el ectric pu ts the m ythic orcol l ectiv e
dim en s ion of hu m an experien ce f u l l yin tothe con s ciou s
w ake a-dayw orl d. Su chis the m ean in g of the titl e F in n egan s
Wake. Whil e the ol d F in n cycl es had been tribal l yen tran ced
in the col l ectiv e n ightof the u n con s ciou s , the n ew F in n cycl e
of total l yin terdepen den tm an m u s tbe l iv ed in the dayl ight
of con s ciou s n es s .
Atthis poin t, T he GreatT ran s f orm ation byKarl P ol an yi, on
the pol itical an d econ om ic origin s of ou rtim e,"as s u m es
com pl ete rel ev an ce in the m os aic of T he Gu ten berg Gal axy.
P ol an yiis con cern ed w iththe s tages byw hichthe
N ew ton ian m echan ics in v aded an d tran s f orm ed s ocietyin
the eighteen than d n in eteen thcen tu ries , on l ytoen cou n tera
rev ers e dyn am ic f rom w ithin . His an al ys is of how priorto
the eighteen thcen tu rythe econ om ic s ys tem w as abs orbed
in the s ocial s ys tem is exactl yparal l el tothe s itu ation of
l iteratu re an d the arts u ptil l thattim e. T his w as tru e til l the
L_
tim e of Dryden , P ope, an d Sw if t, w hol iv ed todetectthe
greattran s f orm ation . P ol an yien abl es u s ( p. 6 8)tof ace the
f am il iarGu ten berg prin cipl e of practical adv an ce an d u til ity
bys eparation of f orm s an d f u n ction s :
As aru l e, the econ om ic s ys tem w as abs orbed in the
s ocial s ys tem , an d w hatev erprin cipl e of behav ior
predom in ated in the econ om y, the pres en ce of the
m arketpattern w as f ou n d tobe com patibl e w ithit. T he
prin cipl e of barterorexchan ge, w hichu n derl ies this
pattern , rev eal ed n oten den cytoexpan d atthe expen s e
of the res t. Where m arkets w ere m os thighl ydev el oped,
as u n derthe m ercan til e s ys tem , theythrov e u n derthe
con trol of acen tral ized adm in is tration w hichf os tered
au tarchybothin the hou s ehol ds of the peas an tryan d in
res pectton ation al l if e. R egu l ation an d m arkets , in ef f ect,
grew u ptogether. T he s el f -regu l atin g m arketw as
u n kn ov im ; in deed the em ergen ce of the ideaof s el f -
regu l ation w as acom pl ete rev ers al of the tren d of
dev el opm en t.
T he prin cipl e of s el f -regu l ation repeatin g byrev erberation
f rom the N ew ton ian s phere s w if tl yen tered al l the s ocial
s pheres . Itis the prin cipl e thatP ope m ocked in w hatev eris
is right an d thatSw if tridicu l ed in the m echan ickal
operation of the Spirit."Itderiv es f rom am erel yv is ion im age
of an u n in terru pted chain of Bein g orav is u al pl en u m of the
good as the bes tof al l pos s ibl e w orl ds . Gran ted the m erel y
v is u al as s u m ption s of l in eal con tin u ityorof s equ en tial
depen den ce, the prin cipl e of n on -in terf eren ce in the n atu ral
orderbecom es the paradoxical con cl u s ion of appl ied
kn ow l edge.
T hrou ghthe s ixteen than d s ev en teen thcen tu ries the
tran s f orm ation of m echan ization of craf ts bythe
appl ication of v is u al m ethod had proceeded s l ow l y. Bu titw as
aprocedu re of m axim al in terf eren ce w ithexis tin g n on -
v is u al m odes . Bythe eighteen thcen tu rythe proces s of
appl ied kn ow l edge had reached s u cham om en tu m thatit
becam e accepted as an atu ral proces s w hichm u s tn otbe
im peded s av e atthe peril of greaterev il : al l partial ev il
u n iv ers al good."P ol an yin otes ( p. 6 9 )this au tom ation of
con s ciou s n es s as f ol l ow s :
Af u rthergrou pof as s u m ption s f ol l ow s in res pecttothe
s tate an d its pol icy. N othin g m u s tbe al l ow ed toin hibit
the f orm ation of m arkets , n orm u s tin com es be
perm itted tobe f orm ed otherw is e than throu ghs al es .
N eitherm u s tthere be an yin terf eren ce w iththe
adj u s tm en tof prices tochan ged m arketcon dition s
13. T w obyMcLu han
w hetherthe prices are thos e of goods , l abor, l an d, or
m on ey. Hen ce there m u s tn oton l ybe m arkets f oral l
el em en ts of in du s try, bu tn om eas u re of pol icym u s tbe
cou n ten an ced thatw ou l d in f l u en ce the action of thes e
m arkets . N eitherprice, n ors u ppl y, n ordem an d m u s tbe
f ixed orregu l ated; on l ys u chpol icies an d m eas u res are in
orderw hichhel ptoen s u re the s el f regu l ation of the
m arketbycreatin g con dition s w hichm ake the m arket
the on l yorgan izin g pow erin the econ om ic s phere.
T he as s u m ption s l aten tin typographic s egm en tation , an d
in appl ied kn ow l edge bythe m ethod of f ragm en tin g of craf ts
an d the s pecial izin g of s ocial tas ks , thes e as s u m ption s w ere
the m os tacceptabl e in the degree thattypographyen l arged
its m arkets . T he s am e as s u m ption s pres ided ov erthe
f orm ation of N ew ton ian s pace an d tim e an d m echan ics . So
l iteratu re, in du s try, an d econ om ics w ere eas il yaccom ~
m odated w ithin the N ew ton ian s phere. T hos e w ho
qu es tion ed thes e as s u m ption s w ere s im pl yden yin g the f acts
of s cien ce. N ow thatN ew ton is n ol on gers yn on ym ou s w ith
s cien ce, w e can m editate on the dil em m as of the s el f -
regu l atin g econ om yan d the hedon is tic cal cu l u s w ithl ight
hearts an d cl earheads . Bu teighteen thcen tu rym an w as
l ocked in toacl os ed v is u al s ys tem thathad en v el oped him he
kn ew n othow . Sohe proceeded, robo cen tred, tocarryou t
the behes ts of the n ew v is ion .
How ev er, in 17 09 Bis hopBerkel eyhad pu bl is hed AN ew
T heoryof Vis ion , w hichrev eal ed the l op s ided as s u m ption s
of N ew ton ian optics . Bl ake, atl eas t, had u n ders tood the
Berkel eyan critiqu e an d had res tored tactil itytoits prim e
rol e as agen tof u n if ied perception . T odayartis ts an d
s cien tis ts al ike con cu rin prais in g Berkel ey. Bu this w is dom
w as l os ton his age thatw as w rapped in s in gl e v is ion an d
N ew ton ' s s l eep. T he hypn otized patien tcarried ou tthe
behes ts of the abs tractv is u al con trol . P ol an yiobs erv es
( p. 7 1): I
As el f -regu l atin g m arketdem an ds n othin g l es s than the
in s titu tion al s eparation of s ocietyin toan econ om ic an d
pol itical s phere. Su chadichotom yis , in ef f ect, m erel ythe
res tatem en t, f rom the poin tof v iew of s ocietyas a
w hol e, of the exis ten ce of as el f eregu l atin g m arket. It
m ightbe argu ed thatthe s eparaten es s of the tw o
s pheres obtain s in ev erytype of s ocietyatal l tim es . Su ch
an in f eren ce, how ev er, w ou l d be bas ed on af al l acy. T ru e,
n os ocietycan exis tw ithou tas ys tem of s om e kin d
w hichen s u res orderin the produ ction an d dis tribu tion
of goods . Bu tthatdoes n otim pl ythe exis ten ce of
s eparate econ om ic in s titu tion s ; n orm al l y, the econ om ic
theN EWMEDIAR EADER
orderis m erel yaf u n ction of the s ocial , in w hichitis
con tain ed. N eitheru n dertribal , n orf eu dal , n or
m ercan til e con dition s w as there, as w e hav e s how n , a
s eparate econ om ic s ys tem in s ociety. N in eteen thcen tu ry
s ociety, in w hichecon om ic activ ityw as is ol ated an d
im pu ted toadis tin ctiv e econ om ic m otiv e, w as , in deed, a
s in gu l ardepartu re.
Su chan in s titu tion al pattern cou l d n otf u n ction u n l es s
s ocietyw as s om ehow s u bordin ated toits requ irem en ts .
Am arketecon om ycan exis ton l yin am arkets ociety. We
reached this con cl u s ion on gen eral grou n ds in ou r
an al ys is of the m arketpattern . We can n ow s pecif ythe
reas on s f orthis as s ertion . Am arketecon om ym u s t
com pris e al l el em en ts of in du s try, in cl u din g l abor, l an d,
an d m on ey. ( In am arketecon om ythe l as tal s ois an
es s en tial el em en tof in du s trial l if e an d its in cl u s ion in
the m arketm echan is m has , as w e w il l s ee, f ar-reachin g
in s titu tion al con s equ en ces .)Bu tl aboran d l an d are n o
otherthan the hu m an bein gs them s el v es of w hichev ery
s ocietycon s is ts an d the n atu ral s u rrou n din gs in w hichit
exis ts . T oin cl u de them in the m arketm echan is m m ean s
tos u bordin ate the s u bs tan ce of s ocietyits el f tothe l aw s
of the m arket.
Am arketecon om ycan exis ton l yin am arkets ociety. Bu t
toexis t, am arkets ocietyrequ ires cen tu ries of tran s -
f orm ation byGu ten berg techn ol ogyr, hen ce, the abs u rdityin
the pres en ttim e of tryin g toin s titu te m arketecon om ies in
cou n tries l ike R u s s iaorHu n gary, w here f eu dal con dition s
obtain ed u n til the tw en tiethcen tu ry. Itis pos s ibl e tos etu p
m odern produ ction in s u chareas , bu ttocreate am arket
econ om ythatcan han dl e w hatcom es of f the as s em bl yl in es
pres u ppos es al on g period of ps ychic tran s f orm ation , Wl ' 1iCl ' 1
is tos ay, aperiod of al terin g perception an d s en s e ratios .
When as ocietyis en cl os ed w ithin aparticu l arf ixed s en s e
ratio, itis qu ite u n abl e toen v is age an others tate of af f airs .
T hu s , the adv en tof n ation al is m w as qu ite u n f ores een in the
R en ais s an ce, al thou ghits cau s es arriv ed earl ier. T he
In du s trial R ev ol u tion w as w el l on the w ayin 17 9 5, yet, as
P ol an yipoin ts ou t( p. 89 ):
. . . the gen eration of Speen ham l an d w as u n con s ciou s
of w hatw as on its w ay. On the ev e of the greates t
in du s trial rev ol u tion in his tory, n os ign s an d porten ts
w ere f orthcom in g. Capital is m arriv ed u n an n ou n ced. N o
on e had f orecas tthe dev el opm en tof am achin e
in du s try; itcam e as acom pl ete s u rpris e. F ors om e tim e
En gl an d had been actu al l yexpectin g aperm an en t
reces s ion of f oreign trade w hen the dam bu rs t, an d the
19 6 2 ,6 4
c% ~ A ee---' ~ T es s a: A A o A -erA ~~-@ --
ol d w orl d w as s w eptaw ayin on e in dom itabl e s u rge
tow ards apl an etaryecon om y.
T hatev erygen eration pois ed on the edge of m as s iv e
chan ge s hou l d l aters eem obl iv iou s of the is s u es an d the
im m in en tev en tw ou l d s eem tobe n atu ral en ou gh. Bu titis
n eces s arytou n ders tan d the pow eran d thru s tof
techn ol ogies tois ol ate the s en s es an d thu s tohypn otize
s ociety. T he f orm u l af orhypn os is is on e s en s e atatim e.
An d n ew techn ol ogypos s es s es the pow ertohypn otize
becau s e itis ol ates the s en s es . T hen , as Bl akel s f orm u l ahas it:
T heybecam e w hattheybehel d."Ev eryn ew techn ol ogythu s
dim in is hes s en s e in terpl ayan d con s ciou s n es s , precis el yin
the n ew areaof n ov el tyw here akin d of iden tif ication of
v iew eran d obj ectoccu rs . T his s om n am bu l is tcon f orm in g of
behol dertothe n ew f orm ors tru ctu re ren ders thos e m os t
deepl yim m ers ed in arev ol u tion the l eas taw are of its
dyn am ic. WhatP ol an yiobs erv es abou tthe in s en tien ce of
thos e in v ol v ed in the expeditin g of the n ew m achin e
in du s tryis typical of al l the l ocal an d con tem poraryattitu des
torev ol u tion . Itis f el t, atthos e tim es , thatthe f u tu re w il l be
al argerorgreatl yim prov ed v ers ion of the im m ediate pas t.
Ju s tbef ore rev ol u tion s the im age of the im m ediate pas tis
s tark an d f irm , perhaps becau s e itis the on l yareaof s en s e
in terpl ayf ree f rom obs es s ion al iden tif ication w ithn ew
techn ol ogical f orm .
N om ore extrem e in s tan ce of this del u s ion cou l d be
m en tion ed than ou rpres en tim age of T V as acu rren t
v ariation on the m echan ical , m ov ie pattern of proces s in g
experien ce byrepetition . Af ew decades hen ce itw il l be eas y
todes cribe the rev ol u tion in hu m an perception an d
m otiv ation thatres u l ted f rom behol din g the n ew m os aic
m es hof the T V im age. T odayitis f u til e todis cu s s itatal l .
Lookin g back tothe rev ol u tion in l iteraryf orm s in the
l atereighteen thcen tu ry, R aym on d Wil l iam s w rites in Cu l tu re
an d Society, 17 80-1850( p. 42 )thatchan ges in con v en tion
on l yoccu rw hen there are radical chan ges in the gen eral
s tru ctu re of f eel in g. Again , w hil e in on e s en s e the m arket
w as s pecial izin g the artis t, artis ts them s el v es w ere s eekin g to
gen eral ize theirs kil l s in tothe com m on propertyof
im agin ativ e tru th. ( p. 43)T his can be s een in the R om an tics
w ho, dis cov erin g theirin abil itytotal k tocon s ciou s m en ,
began bym ythan d s ym bol toaddres s the u n con s ciou s l ev el s
of dream l if e. T he im agin ativ e reu n ion w ithtribal m an w as
s carcel yav ol u n tarys trategyof cu l tu re.
L.
a 13. T w obyMcLu han
On e of the m os tradical of n ew l iterarycon v en tion s of the
m arkets ocietyof the eighteen thcen tu ryw as the n ov el . l t
had been preceded bythe dis cov eryof equ iton e pros e."
Addis on an d Steel e, as m u chas an ybodyel s e, had dev is ed
this n ov el tyof m ain tain in g as in gl e con s is ten tton e tothe
reader. Itw as the au ditoryequ iv al en tof the m echan ical l y
f ixed v iew in v is ion . Mys teriou s l y, itis this break-throu gh
in toequ iton e pros e w hichs u dden l yen abl ed the m ere au thor
tobecom e am an of l etters . He cou l d aban don his patron
an d approachthe l arge hom ogen ized pu bl ic of am arket
s ocietyin acon s is ten tan d com pl acen trol e. Sothatw ith
boths ightan d s ou n d giv en hom ogen eou s treatm en t, the
w riterw as abl e toapproachthe m as s pu bl ic. Whathe had to
of f erthe pu bl ic w as equ al l yahom ogen ized bodyof com m on
experien ce s u chas the m ov ie f in al l ytook ov erf rom the
n ov el . Dr. John s on dev oted his R am bl ern o. 4( March31,
17 50)tothis them e:
T he w orks of f iction , w ithw hichthe pres en tgen eration
s eem s m ore particu l arl ydel ighted, are s u chas exhibitl if e
in its tru e s tate, div ers if ied on l ybyacciden ts thatdail y
happen in the w orl d, an d in f l u en ced bypas s ion s an d
qu al ities w hichare real l ytobe f ou n d in con v ers in g w ith
m an kin d.
John s on s hrew dl yn otes the con s equ en ces of this n ew
f orm of s ocial real is m , in dicatin g its bas ic dev iation f rom the
f orm s of book l earn in g:
T he tas k of ou rpres en tw riters is v erydif f eren t; it
requ ires , togetherw iththatl earn in g w hichis tobe
gain ed f rom books , thatexperien ce w hichcan n ev erbe
attain ed bys ol itarydil igen ce, bu tm u s taris e f rom
gen eral con v ers e an d accu rate. obs erv ation of the l iv in g
w orl d. T heirperf orm an ces hav e, as Horace expres s es it,
pl u s on eris qu an tu m v en iae m in u s , l ittl e in du l gen ce, an d
theref ore m ore dif f icu l ty. T heyare en gaged in portraits
of w hichev eryon e kn ow s the origin al , an d can detect
an ydev iation f rom exactn es s of res em bl an ce. Other
w ritin gs are s af e, exceptf rom the m al ice of l earn in g,
bu tthes e are in dan gerf rom ev erycom m on reader; as
the s l ipperil l execu ted w as cen s u red byas hoem aker
w hohappen ed tos topin his w ayatthe Ven u s of
Apel l es .
John s on con tin u es in this v ein , poin tin g ou tf u rther
riv al ries betw een the n ew n ov el an d the ol derm odes of book
l earn in g:
In the rom an ces f orm erl yw ritten , ev erytran s action an d
s en tim en tw as s orem ote f rom al l thatpas s es am on g
13. T w obyMcLu han
m en , thatthe readerw as in v eryl ittl e dan gerof m akin g
an yappl ication s tohim s el f ; the v irtu es an d crim es w ere
equ al l ybeyon d his s phere of activ ity; an d he am u s ed
him s el f w ithheroes an d w ithtraitors , del iv erers an d per-
s ecu tors , as w ithbein gs of an others pecies , w hos e
action s w ere regu l ated u pon m otiv es of theirow n , an d
w hohad n eitherf au l ts n orexcel l en cies in com m on w ith
him s el f .
Bu tw hen an adv en tu reris l ev el l ed w iththe res tof the
w orl d, an d acts in s u chs cen es of the u n iv ers al dram a, as
m aybe the l otof an yotherm an ; you n g s pectators f ix
theireyes u pon him w ithcl os eratten tion , an d hope, by
obs erv in g his behav iou ran d s u cces s , toregu l ate their
ow n practices , w hen theys hal l be en gaged in the l ike
part.
F orthis reas on thes e f am il iarhis tories m ayperhaps be
m ade of greateru s e than the s ol em n ities of prof es s ed
m oral ity, an d con v eythe kn ow l edge of v ice an d v irtu e
w ithm ore ef f icacythan axiom s an d def in ition s .
Q u ite paral l el w iththis exten s ion of the book page in to
the f orm of atal kin g pictu re of ordin aryl if e, w as w hatLeo
Low en thal m en tion s in P opu l arCu l tu re an d Society( p. 7 5)as
the cru cial s hif tf rom P atron toP u bl ic, citin g the tes tim on y
of Ol iv erGol ds m iths 17 59 En qu iryin tothe P res en tState of
P ol ite Learn in g in Eu rope:
Atpres en tthe f ew poets of En gl an d n ol on gerdepen d
on the Greatf ors u bs is ten ce, theyhav e n ow n oother
patron s bu tthe pu bl ic, an d the pu bl ic, col l ectiv el y
con s idered, is agood an d gen erou s m as ter. . . . Aw riterof
real m eritn ow m ayeas il ybe richif his heartbe s eton l y
on f ortu n e:an d f orthos e w hohav e n om erit, itis bu tf it
thats u chs hou l d rem ain in m erited obs cu rity.
LeoLow en thal s n ew s tu dyof popu l arl iterarycu l tu re is n ot
on l ycon cern ed w iththe eighteen thcen tu ryan d af ter, bu t
s tu dies the dil em m as of div ers ion v . s al v ation throu ghart
f rom Mon taign e an d P as cal tom odern m agazin e icon ol ogy. In
poin tin g ou thow Gol ds m ithm ade agreatchan ge in criticis m
bys hif tin g atten tion tothe experien ce of the reader,
Low en thal has broken richn ew grou n d ( pp. 107 -8):
Bu tperhaps the m os tf ar reachin g chan ge w hichtook
pl ace in the con ceptof the critic w as thatatw o-w ay
f u n ction w as prem is ed f orhim . N oton l yw as he to
rev eal the beau ties of l iteraryw orks tothe gen eral pu bl ic
bym ean s of w hich, in Gol ds m iths term s , ev en the
phil os opherm ayacqu ire popu l arappl au s e; he m u s tal s o
in terpretthe pu bl ic back tothe w riter. In brief , the critic
theN EWMEDIAR EADER
n oton l yteaches the v u l garon w hatpartof acharacter
tol aythe em phas is of prais e, he m u s tal s os how the
s chol arw here topoin this appl ication s oas todes erv e V
it."Gol ds m ithbel iev ed thatthe abs en ce of s u chcritical
m ediators expl ain ed w hyw eal thratherthan tru e
l iteraryf am e w as the goal of s om an yw riters . T he res u l t,
he f eared, m ightbe thatn othin g w ou l d be rem em bered
of the l iteraryw orks of his tim e.
We hav e obs erv ed thatGol ds m ith, in his en deav orto
com e togrips w iththe dil em m aof the w riter,
repres en ted av arietyof s om etim es con f l ictin g v iew s . We
hav e s een , how ev er, thatitw as l ikel ytobe Gol ds m ithin
his optim is tic ratherthan in his pes s im is tic v ein w hos et
the ton e f orw hatw as tocom e. So, too, his v iew of the
ideal critic, of his f u n ction as on e of m ediation
betw een the au dien ce an d the w riter, w as toprev ail .
Critics , w riters , an d phil os ophers John s on , Bu rke,
Hu m e, R eyn ol ds , Kam es , an d the Wharton s .. al l
adopted Gol ds m iths prem is e as theybegan toan al yze
the experien ce of the reader.
As the m arkets ocietydef in ed its el f , l iteratu re m ov ed in to
the rol e of con s u m ercom m odity. T he pu bl ic becam e patron .
Artrev ers ed its rol e f rom gu ide f orperception in to
con v en ien tam en ityorpackage. Bu tthe produ cerorartis t
w as com pel l ed, as n ev erbef ore, tos tu dythe ef f ectof his art.
T his in tu rn rev eal ed tohu m an atten tion n ew dim en s ion s of
the f u n ction of art. As m an ipu l ators of the m as s m arket
tyran n ized ov erthe artis t, the artis tin is ol ation achiev ed
n ew cl airv oyan ce con cern in g the cru cial rol e of des ign an d of
artas am ean s tohu m an orderan d f u l f il m en t. Arthas
becom e as total in its m an date f orhu m an orderas the m as s
m arkets thatcreated the pl ateau f rom w hichal l can n ow
s hare the aw aren es s of n ew s cope an d poten tial f orev eryday
beau tyan d orderin al l as pects of l if e aton ce. R etros pectiv el y,
itm ayw el l prov e n eces s arytocon cede tothe period of m as s
m arketin g the creation of the m ean s of aw orl d orderin
beau tyas m u chas in com m odities .
Itis qu ite eas ytoes tabl is hthe f actthatthe s am e m ean s
thats erv ed tocreate the w orl d of con s u m erabu n dan ce by
m as s produ ction s erv ed al s otopu tthe highes tl ev el s of
artis tic produ ction on am ore as s u red an d con s ciou s l y
con trol l ed bas is . An d, as u s u al , w hen s om e prev iou s l yopaqu e
areabecom es tran s l u cen t, itis becau s e w e hav e m ov ed in to
an otherphas e f rom w hichw e can con tem pl ate the con tou rs
of the precedin g s itu ation w itheas e an d cl arity. Itis this f act
thatm akes itf eas ibl e tow rite T he Gu ten berg Gal axyatal l . As
' 19 6 2 ,6 4
0 ~04 n ae. w as .0: ac: ~. ea
w e experien ce the n ew el ectron ic an d organ ic age w ithev er
s tron gerin dication s of its m ain ou tl in es , the precedin g
m echan ical age becom es qu ite in tel l igibl e. N ow thatthe
as s em bl yl in e recedes bef ore the n ew pattern s of
in f orm ation , s yn chron ized byel ectric tape, the m iracl es of
m as s -produ ction as s u m e en tire in tel l igibil ity. Bu tthe
n ov el ties of au tom ation , creatin g w orkl es s an d propertyl es s
com m u n ities , en v el opu s in n ew u n certain ties .
Am os tl u m in ou s pas s age of A. N . Whiteheads cl as s ic
Scien ce an d the Modern Worl d ( p. 141)is on e thatw as
dis cu s s ed prev iou s l yin an othercon n ection .
T he greates tin v en tion of the n in eteen thcen tu ryw as
the in v en tion of the m ethod of in v en tion . An ew
m ethod en tered in tol if e. In ordertou n ders tan d ou r
epoch, w e can n egl ectal l the detail s of chan ge, s u chas
rail w ays , tel egraphs , radios , s pin n in g m achin es , s yn thetic
dyes . We m u s tcon cen trate on the m ethod in its el f ; that
is the real n ov el ty, w hichhas broken u pthe f ou n dation s
of the ol d civ il is ation . T he prophecyof F ran cis Bacon
has n ow been f u l f il l ed; an d m an , w hoattim es dream tof
him s el f as al ittl e l ow erthan the an gel s , has s u bm itted to
becom e the s erv an tan d the m in is terof n atu re. Its til l
rem ain s tobe s een w hetherthe s am e actorcan pl ay
bothparts .
Whitehead is rightin in s is tin g thatw e m u s tcon cen trate
on the m ethod its el f ."Itw as the Gu ten berg m ethod of
hom ogen eou s s egm en tation , f orw hichcen tu ries of
phon etic l iteracyhad prepared the ps ychol ogical grou n d,
thatev oked the traits of the m odern w orl d. T he n u m erou s
gal axyof ev en ts an d produ cts of thatm ethod of
m echan ization of han dicraf ts , are m erel yin ciden tal tothe
m ethod its el f . Itis the m ethod of the f ixed ors pecial is t
poin tof v iew thatin s is ts on repetition as the criterion of
tru than d practical ity. T odayou rs cien ce an d m ethod s triv e
n ottow ards apoin tof v iew bu ttodis cov erhow n ottohav e
apoin tof v iew , the m ethod n otof cl os u re an d pers pectiv e
bu tof the open f iel d an d the s u s pen ded j u dgm en t. Su chis
n ow the on l yv iabl e m ethod u n derel ectric con dition s of
s im u l tan eou s in f orm ation m ov em en tan d total hu m an
in terdepen den ce.
Whitehead does n otel aborate on the greatn in eteen th
cen tu rydis cov eryof the m ethod of in v en tion . Bu titis , qu ite
s im pl y, the techn iqu e of begin n in g atthe en d of an y
operation w hatev er, an d of w orkin g backw ards f rom that
poin ttothe begin n in g. Itis the m ethod in heren tin the
s * -~ .- is 13. T w obyMcLu han
Gu ten berg techn iqu e of hom ogen eou s s egm en tation , bu tn ot
u n til the n in eteen thcen tu ryw as the m ethod exten ded f rom
produ ction tocon s u m ption . P l an n ed produ ction m ean s that
the total proces s m u s tbe w orked ou tin exacts tages ,
backw ards , l ike adetectiv e s tory. In the f irs tgreatage of m as s
produ ction of com m odities , an d of l iteratu re as acom m odity
f orthe m arket, itbecam e n eces s arytos tu dythe con s u m er' s
experien ce. In aw ord itbecam e n eces s arytoexam in e the
ef f ectof artan d l iteratu re bef ore produ cin g an ythin g atal l .
T his is the l iteral en tran ce tothe w orl d of m yth.
Itw as EdgarAl l an P oe w hof irs tw orked ou tthe ration al e
of this u l tim ate aw aren es s of the poetic proces s an d w hos aw
thatin s tead of directin g the w ork tothe reader, itw as
n eces s arytoin corporate the readerin the w ork. Su chw as his
pl an in the phil os ophyof com pos ition ."An d Bau del aire an d
Val ry, atl eas t, recogn ized in P oe am an of the Leon ardoda
Vin cis tatu re. P oe s aw pl ain l ythatthe an ticipation of ef f ect
w as the on l yw aytoachiev e organ ic con trol f orthe creativ e
proces s . T . S. El iot, l ike Bau del aire an d Val ery, giv es his en tire
s an ction toP oe' s dis cov ery. In acel ebrated pas s age of his
es s ayon Ham l et?he w rites :
T he on l yw ayof expres s in g em otion in the f orm of artis
byf in din g an obj ectiv e correl ativ e"; in otherw ords , as et
of obj ects , as itu ation , achain of ev en ts w hichs hal l be
the f orm u l aof thatparticu l arem otion ; s u chthatw hen
the extern al f acts , w hichm u s tterm in ate in s en s ory
experien ce, are giv en , the em otion is im m ediatel y
ev oked. If you exam in e an yof Shakes peares m ore
s u cces s f u l tragedies , you w il l f in d this exactequ iv al en ce;
you w il l f in d thatthe s tate of m in d of LadyMacbeth
w al kin g in hers l eephas been com m u n icated toyou bya
s kil f u l accu m u l ation of im agin ed s en s oryim pres s ion s ;
the w ords of Macbethon hearin g of his w if es death
s trike u s as if , giv en the s equ en ce of ev en ts , thes e w ords
w ere au tom atical l yrel eas ed bythe l as tev en tin the
s eries .
P oe s etthis m ethod tow ork in m an yof his poem s an d
s tories . Bu titis m os tobv iou s in his in v en tion of the
detectiv e s toryin w hichDu pin , his s l eu th, is an artis t-es thete
w hos ol v es crim es byam ethod of artis tic perception . N ot
on l yis the detectiv e s torythe greatpopu l arin s tan ce of
w orkin g backw ards f rom ef f ecttocau s e, itis al s othe f orm in
w hichthe readeris deepl yin v ol v ed as co au thor. Su chis al s o
the cas e in s ym bol is tpoetryw hos e com pl etion of ef f ectf rom
m om en ttom om en trequ ires the readertoparticipate in the
poetic proces s its el f .
13. T w obyMcLu han
Itis acharacteris tic chias m u s thatw aits u pon the u tm os t
dev el opm en tof an yproces s thatthe l as tphas e s hal l s how
characteris tics oppos ite tothe earl yphas es . Atypical
exam pl e of m as s iv e ps ychic chias m u s orrev ers al occu rred
w hen Wes tern m an f ou ghtthe harderf orin div idu al ityas he
s u rren dered the ideaof u n iqu e pers on al exis ten ce. T he
n in eteen thcen tu ryartis ts m ade am as s -s u rren derof that
u n iqu e s el f hood, thathad been taken f orgran ted in the
eighteen thcen tu ry, as the n ew m as s pres s u res m ade the
bu rden s of s el f hood tooheav y. Ju s tas Mil l f ou ghtf or'
in div idu al ityev en thou ghhe had giv en u pthe s el f , the poets
an d artis ts m ov ed tow ards the ideaof im pers on al proces s in
artprodu ction in proportion as theyberated the n ew m as s es
f orim pers on al proces s in the con s u m ption of artprodu cts . A
s im il aran d rel ated rev ers al orchias m u s occu rred w hen the
con s u m erof popu l arartw as in v ited byn ew artf orm s to
becom e participan tin the artproces s its el f .
T his w as the m om en tof tran s cen den ce of the Gu ten berg
techn ol ogy. T he cen tu ries ol d s eparation of s en s es an d
f u n ction s en ded in aqu ite u n expected u n ity.
T he rev ers al byw hichthe pres en ce of the n ew m arkets
an d the n ew m as s es en cou raged the artis ttos u rren derthe
u n iqu e s el f m ighthav e s eem ed af in al con s u m m ation f orart
an d techn ol ogyal ike. Itw as as u rren derm ade al m os t
in ev itabl e w hen the s ym bol is ts began tow ork backw ards
f rom ef f ecttocau s e in the s hapin g of the artprodu ct. Y etit
w as j u s tatthis extrem e m om en tthatan ew rev ers al
occu rred. T he artproces s had n os oon erapproached the
rigorou s , im pers on al ration al e of the in du s trial proces s , in
the period f rom P oe toVal ery, than the as s em bl yl in e of
s ym bol is tartw as tran s f orm ed in tothe n ew s tream of
con s ciou s n es s m ode of pres en tation . An d the s tream of
con s ciou s n es s is an open f iel d perception thatrev ers es al l
as pects of the n in eteen thcen tu rydis cov eryof the as s em bl y-
l in e orof the techn iqu e of in v en tion . As G. H. Ban tock
w rites of it:
in aw orl d of in creas in g s ocial ization , s tan dardization ,
an d u n if orm ity, the aim w as tos tres s u n iqu en es s , the
pu rel ypers on al in experien ce; in on e of m echan ical
ration al ity, toas s ertotherm odes throu ghw hichhu m an
bein gs can expres s them s el v es , tos ee l if e as as eries of
em otion al in ten s ities in v ol v in g al ogic dif f eren tf rom
\) s _$cks .<2 a 1m m "k\s .<x* ~ s _1m <:s Q m \a&\e_Q \&s g\1<x
dis s ociated im ages ors tream of con s ciou s n es s m u s in gs ?
theN EWMEDIAR EADER
T hu s the techn iqu e of the s u s pen ded j u dgm en t, the great
dis cov eryof the tw en tiethcen tu ryin artan d phys ics al ike, is
arecoil an d tran s f orm ation of the im pers on al as s em bl y l in e
of n in eteen thcen tu ryartan d s cien ce. An d tos peak of the
s tream of con s ciou s n es s as u n l ike the ration al w orl d is
m erel ytoin s is tu pon v is u al s equ en ce as the ration al n orm ,
han din g artov ertothe u n con s ciou s qu ite gratu itou s l y. F or
w hatis m ean tbythe irration al an d the n on -l ogical in m u ch
m odern dis cu s s ion is m erel ythe redis cov eryof the ordin ary
tran s action s betw een the s el f an d the w orl d, orbetw een
s u bj ectan d obj ect. Su chtran s action s had s eem ed toen d w ith
the ef f ects of phon etic l iteracyin the Greek w orl d. Literacy
had m ade of the en l ighten ed in div idu al acl os ed s ys tem , an d
s etu pagapbetw een appearan ce an d real ityw hichen ded
w iths u chdis cov eries as the s tream of con s ciou s n es s .
As Joyce expres s ed itin the Wake, "Mycon s u m ers are they
n otm yprodu cers ? Con s is ten tl y, the tw en tiethcen tu ryhas
w orked tof ree its el f f rom the con dition s of pas s iv ity, w hich
is tos ay, f rom the Gu ten berg heritage its el f . An d this
dram atic s tru ggl e of u n l ike m odes of hu m an in s ightan d
ou tl ook has res u l ted in the greates tof al l hu m an ages ,
w hetherin the arts orin the s cien ces . We are l iv in g in a
period richeran d m ore terribl e than the Shakes pearean
Mom en t s ow el l des cribed byP atrick Cru ttw el l in his book
of the s am e titl e. Bu tithas been the bu s in es s of T he
Gu ten berg Gal axytoexam in e on l ythe m echan ical techn ol ogy
em ergen tf rom ou ral phabetan d the prin tin g pres s . What
w il l be the n ew con f igu ration s of m echan is m s an d of l iteracy
as thes e ol derf orm s of perception an d j u dgm en tare
in terpen etrated bythe n ew el ectric age?T he n ew el ectric
gal axyof ev en ts has al readym ov ed deepl yin tothe
Gu ten berg gal axy. Ev en w ithou tcol l is ion , s u chco-exis ten ce
of techn ol ogies an d aw aren es s brin gs trau m aan d ten s ion to
ev eryl iv in g pers on . Ou rm os tordin aryan d con v en tion al
attitu des s eem s u dden l ytw is ted in togargoyl es an d
grotes qu es . F am il iarin s titu tion s an d as s ociation s s eem at
tim es m en acin g an d m al ign an t. T hes e m u l tipl e tran s -
f orm ation s , w hichare the n orm al con s equ en ce of
in trodu cin g n ew m ediain toan ys ocietyw hatev er, n eed
s pecial s tu dyan d w il l be the s u bj ectof an otherv ol u m e on
U n ders tan din g Mediain the w orl d of ou rtim e.
or . ._al l -19 6 2 ' 6 f + as 13. T w obyMcLu han
T he Mediu m
Is the Mes s age
Mars hal l McLu han
In acu l tu re l ike ou rs , l on g accu s tom ed tos pl ittin g an d
div idin g al l thin gs as am ean s of con trol , itis s om etim es abit
of as hock tobe rem in ded that, in operation al an d practical
f act, the m ediu m is the m es s age. T his is m erel ytos aythat
the pers on al an d s ocial con s equ en ces of an ym ediu m that
is , of an yexten s ion of ou rs el v es res u l tf rom the n ew s cal e
thatis in trodu oed in toou raf f airs byeachexten s ion of
ou rs el v es , orbyan yn ew techn ol ogy. T hu s , w ithau tom ation ,
f orexam pl e, the n ew pattern s of hu m an as s ociation ten d to
el im in ate j obs , itis tru e. T hatis the n egativ e res u l t. P os itiv el y,
au tom ation creates rol es f orpeopl e, w hichis tos aydepthof
in v ol v em en tin theirw ork an d hu m an as s ociation thatou r
precedin g m echan ical techn ol ogyhad des troyed. Man y
peopl e w ou l d be dis pos ed tos aythatitw as n otthe m achin e,
bu tw haton e did w iththe m achin e, thatw as its m ean in g or
m es s age. In term s of the w ays in w hichthe m achin e al tered
ou rrel ation s toon e an otheran d toou .rs el v es , itm attered n ot
in the l eas tw hetherittu rn ed ou tcorn f l akes orCadil l acs .
T he res tru ctu rin g of hu m an w ork an d as s ociation w as
s haped bythe techn iqu e of f ragm en tation thatis the es s en ce
of m achin e techn ol ogy. T he es s en ce of au tom ation
techn ol ogyis the oppos ite. Itis in tegral an d decen tral is tin
depth, j u s tas the m achin e w as f ragm en tary, cen tral is t, an d
s u perf icial in its pattern in g of hu m an rel ation s hips .
T he in s tan ce of the el ectric l ightm ayprov e il l u m in atin g in
this con n ection . T he el ectric l ightis pu re in f orm ation . Itis a
m ediu m w ithou tam es s age, as itw ere, u n l es s itis u s ed to
s pel l ou ts om e v erbal ad orn am e. T his f act, characteris tic of
al l m edia, m ean s thatthe con ten t of an ym ediu m is al w ays
an otherm ediu m . T he con ten tof w ritin g is s peech, j u s tas
the w ritten w ord is the con ten tof prin t, an d prin tis the
con ten tof the tel egraph. If itis as ked, Whatis the con ten t
of s peech?, itis n eces s arytos ay, Itis an actu al proces s of
thou ght, w hichis in its el f n on v erbal . An abs tractpain tin g
repres en ts directm an if es tation of creativ e thou ghtproces s es
as theym ightappearin com pu terdes ign s . Whatw e are
con s iderin g here, how ev er, are the ps ychic an d s ocial
con s equ en ces of the des ign s orpattern s as theyam pl if yor
accel erate exis tin g proces s es . F orthe m es s age of an y
m ediu m ortechn ol ogyis the chan ge of s cal e orpace or
pattern thatitin trodu ces in tohu m an af f airs . T he rail w aydid
n otin trodu ce m ov em en tortran s portation orw heel orroad
in tohu m an s ociety, bu titaccel erated an d en l arged the s cal e
of prev iou s hu m an f u n ction s , creatin g total l yn ew kin ds of
cities an d n ew kin ds of w ork an d l eis u re. T his happen ed
w hetherthe rail w ayf u n ction ed in atropical oran orthern
en v iron m en t, an d is qu ite in depen den tof the f reightor
con ten tof the rail w aym ediu m . T he airpl an e, on the other
han d, byaccel eratin g the rate of tran s portation , ten ds to
dis s ol v e the rail w ayf orm of city, pol itics , an d as s ociation ,
qu ite in depen den tl yof w hatthe airpl an e is u s ed f or.
Letu s retu rn tothe el ectric l ight. Whetherthe l ightis
bein g u s ed f orbrain s u rgeryorn ightbas ebal l is am atterof
in dif f eren ce. Itcou l d be argu ed thatthes e activ ities are in
s om e w aythe con ten t of the el ectric l ight, s in ce theycou l d
n otexis tw ithou tthe el ectric l ight. T his f actm erel y
u n derl in es the poin tthatthe m ediu m is the m es s age
becau s e itis the m ediu m thats hapes an d con trol s the s cal e
an d f orm of hu m an as s ociation an d action . T he con ten tor
u s es of s u chm ediaare as div ers e as theyare in ef f ectu al in
s hapin g the f orm of hu m an as s ociation . In deed, itis on l ytoo
typical thatthe con ten t of an ym ediu m bl in ds u s tothe
characterof the m ediu m . Itis on l ytodaythatin du s tries hav e
becom e aw are of the v ariou s kin ds of bu s in es s in w hichthey
are en gaged. When IBM dis cov ered thatitw as n otin the
bu s in es s of m akin g of f ice equ ipm en torbu s in es s m achin es ,
bu tthatitw as in the bu s in es s of proces s in g in f orm ation ,
then itbegan ton av igate w ithcl earv is ion . T he Gen eral
El ectric Com pan ym akes acon s iderabl e portion of its prof its
f rom el ectric l ightbu l bs an d l ightin g s ys tem s . Ithas n otyet
dis cov ered that, qu ite as m u chas A.T .&T ., itis in the bu s in es s
of m ov in g in f orm ation .
T he el ectric l ightes capes atten tion as acom m u n ication
m ediu m j u s tbecau s e ithas n ocon ten t. An d this m akes it
an in v al u abl e in s tan ce of how peopl e f ail tos tu dym ediaat
al l . F oritis n ottil l the el ectric l ightis u s ed tos pel l ou ts om e
bran d n am e thatitis n oticed as am ediu m . T hen itis n otthe
l ightbu tthe con ten t ( orw hatis real l yan otherm ediu m )
thatis n oticed. T he m es s age of the el ectric l ightis l ike the
m es s age of el ectric pow erin in du s try, total l yradical ,
perv as iv e, an d decen tral ized. F orel ectric l ightan d pow erare
I
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13. T w obyMcLu han
s eparate f rom theiru s es , yettheyel im in ate tim e an d s pace
f actors in hu m an as s ociation exactl yas doradio, tel egraph,
tel ephon e, an d T V creatin g in v ol v em en tin depth.
Af airl ycom pl ete han dbook f ors tu dyin g the exten s ion s of
m an cou l d be m ade u pf rom s el ection s f rom Shakes peare.
Som e m ightqu ibbl e abou tw hetherorn othe w as ref errin g
toT V in thes e f am il iarl in es f rom R om eoan d Ju l iet:
Bu ts of t! w hatl ightthrou ghyon derw in dow breaks ?
Its peaks , an d yets ays n othin g.
In Othel l o, w hich, as m u chas Kin g Lear; is con cern ed w ith
the torm en tof peopl e tran s f orm ed byil l u s ion s , there are
thes e l in es thatbes peak Shakes peare' s in tu ition of the
tran s f orm in g pow ers of n ew m edia:
Is there n otcharm s
Byw hichthe propertyof you than d m aidhood
Maybe abu s d?Hav e you n otread R oderigo,
Of s om e s u chthin g?
In Shakes peare' s T roil u s an d Cres s ida, w hichis al m os t
com pl etel ydev oted tobothaps ychic an d s ocial s tu dyof
com m u n ication , Shakes peare s tates his aw aren es s thattru e
s ocial an d pol itical n av igation depen d u pon an ticipatin g the
con s equ en ces of in n ov ation :
T he prov iden ce thatl s in aw atchf u l s tate
Kn ow s al m os tev erygrain of P l u tu s ' gol d,
F in ds bottom in the u n com prehen s iv e deeps ,
Keeps pl ace w iththou ght, an d al m os tl ike the gods
Does thou ghts u n v eil in theirdu m b cradl es .
T he in creas in g aw aren es s of the action of m edia, qu ite
in depen den tl yof theircon ten t orprogram m in g, w as
in dicated in the an n oyed an d an on ym ou s s tan za:
In m odern thou ght, ( if n otin f act)
N othin g is thatdoes n ' tact,
Sothatis reckon ed w is dom w hich
Des cribes the s cratchbu tn otthe itch.
T he s am e kin d of total , con f igu ration al aw aren es s that
rev eal s w hythe m ediu m is s ocial l ythe m es s age has occu rred
in the m os trecen tan d radical m edical theories . In his Stres s
of Lif e, Han s Sel ye tel l s of the dis m ayof ares earchcol l eagu e
on hearin g of Sel yes theory:
When he s aw m e thu s l au n ched on yetan other
en raptu red des cription of w hatIhad obs erv ed in
an im al s treated w iththis orthatim pu re, toxic
m aterial , he l ooked atm e w ithdes peratel ys ad eyes an d
s aid in obv iou s des pair:Bu tSel ye, trytoreal ize w hat
theN EWMEDIAR EADER
you are doin g bef ore itis tool ate! Y ou hav e n ow
decided tos pen d you ren tire l if e s tu dyin g the
pharm acol ogyof dirt!
( Han s Sel ye, T he Stres s of Lif e)
As Sel ye deal s w iththe total en v iron m en tal s itu ation in
his s tres s theoryof dis eas e, s othe l ates tapproachtom edia
s tu dycon s iders n oton l ythe con ten t bu tthe m ediu m an d
the cu l tu ral m atrixw ithin w hichthe particu l arm ediu m
operates . T he ol deru n aw aren es s of the ps ychic an d s ocial
ef f ects of m ediacan be il l u s trated f rom al m os tan yof the
con v en tion al pron ou n cem en ts .
In acceptin g an hon orarydegree f rom the U n iv ers ityof
N otre Dam e af ew years ago, Gen eral Dav id Sarn of f m ade
this s tatem en t:We are toopron e tom ake techn ol ogical
in s tru m en ts the s capegoats f orthe s in s of thos e w how iel d
them . T he produ cts of m odern s cien ce are n otin them s el v es
good orbad; itis the w aytheyare u s ed thatdeterm in es their
v al u e. T hatis the v oice of the cu rren ts om n am bu l is m .
Su ppos e w e w ere tos ay, Appl e pie is in its el f n eithergood
n orbad; itis the w ayitis u s ed thatdeterm in es its v al u e. Or,
T he s m al l poxv iru s is in its el f n eithergood n orbad; itis the
w ayitis u s ed thatdeterm in es its v al u e. Again , F irearm s are
in them s el v es n eithergood n orbad; itis the w aytheyare
u s ed thatdeterm in es theirv al u e. T hatis , if the s l u gs reach
the rightpeopl e f irearm s are good. If the T V tu be f ires the
rightam m u n ition atthe rightpeopl e itis good. Iam n ot
bein g perv ers e. T here is s im pl yn othin g in the Sarn of f
s tatem en tthatw il l bears cru tin y, f oritign ores the n atu re of
the m ediu m , of an yan d al l m edia, in the tru e N arcis s u s s tyl e
of on e hypn otized bythe am pu tation an d exten s ion of his
ow n bein g in an ew techn ical f orm . Gen eral Sarn of f w en ton
toexpl ain his attitu de tothe techn ol ogyof prin t, s ayin g that
itw as tru e thatprin tcau s ed m u chtras htocircu l ate, bu tit
had al s odis s em in ated the Bibl e an d the thou ghts of s eers
an d phil os ophers . Ithas n ev eroccu rred toGen eral Sarn of f
thatan ytechn ol ogycou l d doan ythin g bu tadd its el f on to
w hatw e al readyare.
Su checon om is ts as R obertT heobal d, W. W. R os tow , an d
John Ken n ethGal braithhav e been expl ain in g f oryears how
itis thatcl as s ical econ om ics can n otexpl ain chan ge or
grow th. An d the paradoxof m echan ization is thatal thou gh
itis its el f the cau s e of m axim al grow than d chan ge, the
prin cipl e of m echan ization excl u des the v erypos s ibil ityof
grow thorthe u n ders tan din g of chan ge. F orm echan ization is
achiev ed byf ragm en tation of an yproces s an d bypu ttin g the
0 en s --- as o-<' <l } 9 6 2 ' 6 g . 13. T w obyMcLu han
f ragm en ted parts in as eries . Y et, as Dav id Hu m e s how ed in
the eighteen thcen tu ry, there is n oprin cipl e of cau s al ityin a
m ere s equ en ce. T haton e thin g f ol l ow s an otheraccou n ts f or
n othin g. N othin g f ol l ow s f rom f ol l ow in g, exceptchan ge. So
the greates tof al l rev ers al s occu rred w ithel ectricity, that
en ded s equ en ce bym akin g thin gs in s tan t. Within s tan t
s peed the cau s es of thin gs began toem erge toaw aren es s
again , as theyhad n otdon e w iththin gs in s equ en ce an d in
con caten ation accordin gl y. In s tead of as kin g w hichcam e
f irs t, the chicken orthe egg, its u dden l ys eem ed thata
chicken w as an eggs ideaf orgettin g m ore eggs .
Ju s tbef ore an airpl an e breaks the s ou n d barrier, s ou n d
w av es becom e v is ibl e on the w in gs of the pl an e. T he s u dden
v is ibil ityof s ou n d j u s tas s ou n d en ds is an aptin s tan ce of
thatgreatpattern of bein g thatrev eal s n ew an d oppos ite
f orm s j u s tas the earl ierf orm s reachtheirpeak perf orm an ce.
Mechan ization w as n ev ers ov iv idl yf ragm en ted ors equ en tial
as in the birthof the m ov ies , the m om en tthattran s l ated u s
beyon d m echan is m in tothe w orl d of grow than d organ ic
in terrel ation . T he m ov ie, bys heers peedin g u pthe
m echan ical , carried u s f rom the w orl d of s equ en ce an d
con n ection s in tothe w orl d of creativ e con f igu ration an d
s tru ctu re. T he m es s age of the m ov ie m ediu m is thatof
tran s ition f rom l in eal con n ection s tocon f igu ration s . Itis the
tran s ition thatprodu ced the n ow qu ite correctobs erv ation :
If itw orks , it' s obs ol ete. When el ectric s peed f u rthertakes
ov erf rom m echan ical m ov ie s equ en ces , then the l in es of
f orce in s tru ctu res an d in m ediabecom e l ou d an d cl ear. We
retu m tothe in cl u s iv e f orm of the icon .
T oahighl yl iterate an d m echan ized cu l tu re the m ov ie
appeared as aw orl d of triu m phan til l u s ion s an d dream s that
m on eycou l d bu y. Itw as atthis m om en tof the m ov ie that
cu bis m occu rred, an d ithas been des cribed byE. H.
Gom brich( Artan d Il l u s ion )as the m os tradical attem ptto
s tam pou tam bigu ityan d toen f orce on e readin g of the
pictu re thatof am an -m ade con s tru ction , acol ored can v as .
F orcu bis m s u bs titu tes al l f acets of an obj ects im u l tan eou s l y
f orthe poin tof v iew orf acetof pers pectiv e il l u s ion . In s tead
of the s pecial ized il l u s ion of the third dim en s ion on can v as ,
cu bis m s ets u pan in terpl ayof pl an es an d con tradiction or
dram atic con f l ictof pattern s , l ights , textu res thatdriv es
hom e the m es s age byin v ol v em en t. T his is hel d bym an yto
be an exercis e in pain tin g, n otin il l u s ion .
In otherw ords , cu bis m , bygiv in g the in s ide an d ou ts ide,
the top, bottom , back, an d f ron tan d the res t, in tw o
dim en s ion s , drops the il l u s ion of pers pectiv e in f av orof
in s tan ts en s oryaw aren es s of the w hol e. Cu bis m , bys eizin g
on in s tan ttotal aw aren es s , s u dden l yan n ou n ced thatthe
m ediu m is the m es s age. Is itn otev iden tthatthe m om en tthat
s equ en ce yiel ds tothe s im u l tan eou s , on e is in the w orl d of
the s tru ctu re an d of con f igu ration ?Is thatn otw hathas
happen ed in phys ics as in pain tin g, poetry, an d in
com m u n ication ?Special ized s egm en ts of atten tion hav e
s hif ted tototal f iel d, an d w e can n ow s ay, T he m ediu m is the
m es s age qu ite n atu ral l y. Bef ore the el ectric s peed an d total
f iel d, itw as n otobv iou s thatthe m ediu m is the m es s age. T he
m es s age, its eem ed, w as the con ten t, as peopl e u s ed toas k
w hatapain tin g w as abou tY ettheyn ev erthou ghttoas k
w hatam el odyw as abou t, n orw hatahou s e oradres s w as
abou t. In s u chm atters , peopl e retain ed s om e s en s e of the
w hol e pattern , of f orm an d f u n ction as au n ity. Bu tin the
el ectric age this in tegral ideaof s tru ctu re an d con f igu ration
has becom e s oprev al en tthatedu cation al theoryhas taken
u pthe m atter. In s tead of w orkin g w iths pecial ized
probl em s in arithm etic, the s tru ctu ral approachn ow
f ol l ow s the l in eaof f orce in the f iel d of n u m beran d has s m al l
chil dren m editatin g abou tn u m bertheoryan d s ets .
Cardin al N ew m an s aid of N apol eon , He u n ders tood the
gram m arof gu n pow der. N apol eon had paid s om e atten tion
tootherm ediaas w el l , es pecial l ythe s em aphore tel egraph
thatgav e him agreatadv an tage ov erhis en em ies . He is on
record f ors ayin g thatT hree hos til e n ew s papers are m ore to
be f eared than athou s an d bayon ets .
Al exis de T ocqu ev il l e w as the f irs ttom as terthe gram m ar
of prin tan d typography. He w as thu s abl e toread of f the
m es s age of com in g chan ge in F ran ce an d Am ericaas if he
w ere readin g al ou d f rom atextthathad been han ded tohim .
In f act, the n in eteen thcen tu ryin F ran ce an d in Am ericaw as
j u s ts u chan open book tode T ocqu ev il l e becau s e he had
l earn ed the gram m arof prin t. Sohe, al s o, kn ew w hen that
gram m ardid n otappl y. He w as as ked w hyhe did n otw rite a
book on En gl an d, s in ce he kn ew an d adm ired En gl an d. He
repl ied:
On e w ou l d hav e tohav e an u n u s u al degree of
phil os ophical f ol l ytobel iev e on es el f abl e toj u dge
En gl an d in s ixm on ths . Ayearal w ays s eem ed tom e too
s hortatim e in w hichtoappreciate the U n ited States
properl y. an d itis m u cheas iertoacqu ire cl earan d
precis e n otion s abou tthe Am erican U n ion than abou t
GreatBritain . In Am ericaal l l aw s deriv e in as en s e f rom
-
-
-
-\F
l
13. T w obyMcLu han
the s am e l in e of thou ght. T he w hol e of s ociety, s oto
s peak, is f ou n ded u pon as in gl e f act; ev erythin g s prin gs
f rom as im pl e prin cipl e. On e cou l d com pare Am ericatoa
f ores tpierced byam u l titu de of s traightroads al l
con v ergin g on the s am e poin t. On e has on l ytof in d the
cen teran d ev erythin g is rev eal ed atagl an ce. Bu tin
En gl an d the paths ru n cris s cros s , an d itis on l yby
trav el l in g dou m eachon e of them thaton e can bu il d u p
apictu re of the w hol e.
De T ocqu ev il l e, in earl ierw ork on the F ren chR ev ol u tion ,
had expl ain ed how itw as the prin ted w ord that, achiev in g
cu l tu ral s atu ration in the eighteen thcen tu ry, had
hom ogen ized the F ren chn ation . F ren chm en w ere the s am e
kin d of peopl e f rom n orthtos ou th. T he typographic
theN EWMEDIAR EADER
f rom an ys tru ctu re orm ediu m , thatits prin cipl es an d l in es of
f orce can be dis cern ed F oran ym ediu m has the pow erof
im pos in g its ow n as s u m ption on the u n w ary. P rediction an d
con trol con s is tin av oidin g this s u bl im in al s tate of N arcis s u s
tran ce. Bu tthe greates taid tothis en d is s im pl yin kn ow in g
thatthe s pel l can occu rim m ediatel yu pon con tact, as in the
f irs tbars of am el ody.
AP as s age toIn diabyE. M. F ors teris adram atic s tu dyof the
in abil ityof oral an d in tu itiv e orien tal cu l tu re tom eetw iththe
ration al , v is u al Eu ropean pattern s of experien ce. R ation al , of
cou rs e, has f orthe Wes tl on g m ean tu n if orm an d con tin u ou s
an d s equ en tial . In otherw ords , w e hav e con f u s ed reas on w ith
l iteracy, an d ration al is m w ithas in gl e techn ol ogy. T hu s in the
prin cipl es of u n if orm ity, con tin u ity, an d l in eal ityhad ov erl aid el ectric age m an s eem s tothe con v en tion al Wes ttobecom e
the com pl exities of an cien tf eu dal an d oral s ociety. T he
R ev ol u tion w as carried ou tbythe n ew l iteratian d l aw yers .
In En gl an d, how ev er, s u chw as the pow erof the an cien t
oral tradition s of com m on l aw , backed bythe m ediev al
in s titu tion of P arl iam en t, thatn ou n if orm ityorcon tin u ity
irration al . In F ors ters n ov el the m om en tof tru than d
dis l ocation f rom the typographic tran ce of the Wes tcom es in
the MarabarCav es . Adel aQ u es teds reas on in g pow ers can n ot
cope w iththe total in cl u s iv e f iel d of res on an ce thatis In dia.
Af terthe Cav es : Lif e w en ton as u s u al , bu thad n o
of the n ew v is u al prin tcu l tu re cou l d take com pl ete hol d. T he con s equ en ces , thatis tos ay, s ou n ds did n otechon orthou ght
res u l tw as thatthe m os tim portan tev en tin En gl is hhis tory
has n ev ertaken pl ace; n am el y, the En gl is hR ev ol u tion on the
dev el op. Ev erythin g s eem ed cu tof f atits rootan d theref ore
in f ected w ithil l u s ion .
l in es of the F ren chR ev ol u tion . T he Am erican R ev ol u tion had AP as s age toIn dia( the phras e is f rom Whitm an , w hos aw
n om ediev al l egal in s titu tion s todis card ortorootou t, apart
f rom m on archy. An d m an yhav e hel d thatthe Am erican
Am ericaheaded Eas tw ard)is aparabl e of Wes tern m an in
the el ectric age, an d is on l yin ciden tal l yrel ated toEu rope or
P res iden cyhas becom e v erym u chm ore pers on al an d m on ar- the Orien t. T he u l tim ate con f l ictbetw een s ightan d s ou n d,
chical than an yEu ropean m on archev ercou l d be.
De T ocqu ev il l es con tras tbetw een En gl an d an d Am ericais
cl earl ybas ed on the f actof typographyan d of prin tcu l tu re
creatin g u n if orm ityan d con tin u ity. En gl an d, he s ays , has
rej ected this prin cipl e an d cl u n g tothe dyn am ic ororal
com m on l aw tradition . Hen ce the dis con tin u ityan d
u n predictabl e qu al ityof En gl is hcu l tu re. T he gram m arof
prin tcan n othel ptocon s tru e the m es s age of oral an d
n on w ritten cu l tu re an d in s titu tion s . T he En gl is haris tocracy
w as properl ycl as s if ied as barbarian byMatthew Arn ol d
becau s e its pow eran d s tatu s had n othin g todow ithl iteracy
orw iththe cu l tu ral f orm s of typography. Said the Du ke of
Gl ou ces tertoEdw ard Gibbon u pon the pu bl ication of his
Decl in e an d F al l :' An otherdam n ed f atbook, eh, Mr. Gibbon ?
Scribbl e, s cribbl e, s cribbl e, eh, Mr. Gibbon ? De T ocqu ev il l e
w as ahighl yl iterate aris tocratw how as qu ite abl e tobe
detached f rom the v al u es an d as s u m ption s of typography.
T hatis w hyhe al on e u n ders tood the gram m arof
typography. An d itis on l yon thos e term s , s tan din g as ide
betw een w ritten an d oral kin ds of perception an d
organ ization of exis ten ce is u pon u s . Sin ce u n ders tan din g
s tops action , as N ietzs che obs erv ed, w e can m oderate the
f iercen es s of this con f l ictbyu n ders tan din g the m ediathat
exten d u s an d rais e thes e w ars w ithin an d w ithou tu s .
Detribal ization byl iteracyan d its trau m atic ef f ects on
tribal m an is the them e of abook bythe ps ychiatris tJ. C.
Carothers , T he Af rican Min d in Heal than d Dis eas e ( Worl d
Heal thOrgan ization , Gen ev a, 19 53). Mu chof his m aterial
appeared in an articl e in P s ychiatrym agazin e, N ov em ber,
19 59 :T he Cu l tu re, P s ychiatry, an d the Written Word.
Again , itis el ectric s peed thathas rev eal ed the l in es of f orce
operatin g f rom Wes tern techn ol ogyin the rem otes tareas of
bu s h, s av an n ah, an d des ert. On e exam pl e is the Bedou in w ith
his batteryradioon board the cam el . Su bm ergin g n ativ es
w ithf l oods of con cepts f orw hichn othin g has prepared
them is the n orm al action of al l of ou rtechn ol ogy. Bu tw ith
el ectric m ediaWes tern m an him s el f experien ces exactl ythe
s am e in u n dation as the rem ote n ativ e. We are n om ore
0 0| l .19 6 2 ' _ . . i. a--. 13. T w obyMcLu han
prepared toen cou n terradioan d T V in ou rl iterate m il ieu
than the n ativ e of Ghan ais abl e tocope w iththe l iteracy
thattakes him ou tof his col l ectiv e tribal w orl d an d beaches
him in in div idu al is ol ation . We are as n u m b in ou rn ew
el ectric w orl d as the n ativ e in v ol v ed in ou rl iterate an d
m echan ical cu l tu re.
El ectric s peed m in gl es the cu l tu res of prehis toryw iththe
dregs of in du s trial m arketeers , the n on l iterate w ith
s em il iterate an d the pos tl iterate. Men tal breakdow n of
v aryin g degrees is the v erycom m on res u l tof u prootin g an d
in u n dation w ithn ew in f orm ation an d en dl es s n ew pattern s
of in f orm ation . Wyn dham Lew is m ade this athem e of his
grou pof n ov el s cal l ed T he Hu m an Age. T he f irs tof thes e, T he
Chil derm as s , is con cern ed precis el yw ithaccel erated m edia
chan ge as akin d of m as s acre of the in n ocen ts . In ou row n
w orl d as w e becom e m ore aw are of the ef f ects of techn ol ogy
on ps ychic f orm ation an d m an if es tation , w e are l os in g al l
con f iden ce in ou rrighttoas s ign gu il t. An cien tprehis toric
s ocieties regard v iol en tcrim e as pathetic. T he kil l eris
regarded as w e doacan cerv ictim . How terribl e itm u s tbe to
f eel l ike that, theys ay. J. M. Syn ge took u pthis ideav ery
ef f ectiv el yin his P l ayboyof the Wes tern Worl d
If the crim in al appears as an on con f orm is tw hois u n abl e
tom eetthe dem an d of techn ol ogythatw e behav e in
u n if orm an d con tin u ou s pattern s , l iterate m an is qu ite
in cl in ed tos ee others w hocan n otcon f orm as s om ew hat
pathetic. Es pecial l ythe chil d, the crippl e, the w om an , an d
the col ored pers on appearin aw orl d of v is u al an d
typographic techn ol ogyas v ictim s of in j u s tice. On the other
han d, in acu l tu re thatas s ign s rol es in s tead of j obs to
peopl e- the dw arf , the s kew , the chil d create theirow n
s paces . T heyare n otexpected tof itin tos om e u n if orm an d
repeatabl e n iche thatis n ottheirs ize an yw ay. Con s iderthe
phras e Its am an s w orl d. As aqu an titativ e obs erv ation
en dl es s l yrepeated f rom w ithin ahom ogen ized cu l tu re, this
phras e ref ers tothe m en in s u chacu l tu re w hohav e tobe
hom ogen ized Dagw oods in ordertobel on g atal l . Itis in ou r
l .Q . tes tin g thatw e hav e produ ced the greates tf l ood of
m is begotten s tan dards . U n aw are of ou rtypographic cu l tu ral
bias , ou rtes ters as s u m e thatu n if orm an d con tin u ou s habits
are as ign of in tel l igen ce, thu s el im in atin g the earm an an d
the tactil e m an .
C. P Sn ow , rev iew in g abook of A. L. R ow s e ( T he N ew Y ork
T im es Book R ev iew , Decem ber2 4, 19 6 1)on Appeas em en tan d
the road toMu n ich, des cribes the topl ev el of Britis hbrain s
an d experien ce in the 19 30s . T heirI.Q .s w ere m u chhigher
than u s u al am on g pol itical bos s es . Whyw ere theys u cha
dis as ter? T he v iew of R ow s e, Sn ow approv es :T heyw ou l d
n otl is ten tow arn in gs becau s e theydid n otw is htohear.
Bein g an ti-R ed m ade itim pos s ibl e f orthem toread the
m es s age of Hitl er. Bu ttheirf ail u re w as as n othin g com pared
toou rpres en ton e. T he Am erican s take in l iteracyas a
techn ol ogyoru n if orm ityappl ied toev eryl ev el of edu cation ,
gov ern m en t, in du s try, an d s ocial l if e is total l ythreaten ed by
the el ectric techn ol ogy. T he threat. of Stal in orHitl erw as
extern al . T he el ectric techn ol ogyis w ithin the gates , an d w e
are n u m b, deaf , bl in d, an d m u te abou tits en cou n terw iththe
Gu ten berg techn ol ogy, on an d throu ghw hichthe Am erican
w ayof l if e w as f orm ed. Itis , how ev er, n otim e tos u gges t
s trategies w hen the threathas n otev en been ackn ow l edged
toexis t. Iam in the pos ition of Lou is P as teu rtel l in g doctors
thattheirgreates ten em yw as qu ite in v is ibl e, an d qu ite
u n recogn ized bythem . Ou rcon v en tion al res pon s e toal l
m edia, n am el ythatitis how theyare u s ed thatcou n ts , is the
n u m b s tan ce of the techn ol ogical idiot. F orthe con ten t of a
m ediu m is l ike the j u icypiece of m eatcarried bythe bu rgl ar
todis tractthe w atchdog of the m in d. T he ef f ectof the
m ediu m is m ade s tron g an d in ten s e j u s tbecau s e itis giv en
an otherm ediu m as con ten t. T he con ten tof am ov ie is a
n ov el orapl ayoran opera. T he ef f ectof the m ov ie f orm is
n otrel ated toits program con ten t. T he con ten t of w ritin g
orprin tis s peech, bu tthe readeris al m os ten tirel yu n aw are
eitherof prin torof s peech.
Arn ol d T oyn bee is in n ocen tof an yu n ders tan din g of
m ediaas theyhav e s haped his tory, bu the is f u l l of exam pl es
thatthe s tu den tof m ediacan u s e. Aton e m om en the can
s eriou s l ys u gges tthatadu l tedu cation , s u chas the Workers
Edu cation al As s ociation in Britain , is au s ef u l cou n terf orce to
the popu l arpres s . T oyn bee con s iders thatal thou ghal l of the
orien tal s ocieties hav e in ou rtim e accepted the in du s trial
techn ol ogyan d its pol itical con s equ en ces : On the cu l tu ral
pl an e, how ev er, there is n ou n if orm corres pon din g ten den cy.
( Som erv el l , I. 2 6 7 )T his is l ike the v oice of the l iterate m an ,
f l ou n derin g in am il ieu of ads , w hoboas ts , P ers on al l y, Ipay
n oatten tion toads . T he s piritu al an d cu l tu ral res erv ation s
thatthe orien tal peopl es m ayhav e tow ard ou rtechn ol ogy
w il l av ail them n otatal l . T he ef f ects of techn ol ogydon ot
occu ratthe l ev el of opin ion s orcon cepts , bu tal ters en s e
ratios orpattern s of perception s teadil yan d w ithou tan y
res is tan ce. T he s eriou s artis tis the on l ypers on abl e to
13. T w obyMcLu han
en cou n tertechn ol ogyw ithim pu n ity, j u s tbecau s e he is an
expertaw are of the chan ges in s en s e perception .
T he operation of the m on eym ediu m in s ev en teen th-
cen tu ryJapan had ef f ects n otu n l ike the operation of
typographyin the Wes t. T he pen etration of the m on ey
econ om y, w rote G. B. San s om ( in Japan , Cres s etP res s ,
Lon don , 19 31)cau s ed as l ow bu tirres is tibl e rev ol u tion ,
cu l m in atin g in the breakdow n of f eu dal gov ern m en tan d the
res u m ption of in tercou rs e w ithf oreign cou n tries af term ore
than tw ohu n dred years of s ecl u s ion . Mon eyhas
reorgan ized the s en s e l if e of peopl es j u s tbecau s e itis an
exten s ion of ou rs en s e l iv es . T his chan ge does n otdepen d
u pon approv al ordis approv al of thos e l iv in g in the s ociety.
Arn ol d T oyn bee m ade on e approachtothe tran s f orm in g
pow erof m ediain his con ceptof etherial ization , w hichhe
hol ds tobe the prin cipl e of progres s iv e s im pl if ication an d
ef f icien cyin an yorgan ization ortechn ol ogy. T ypical l y, he is
ign orin g the ef f ectof the chal l en ge of thes e f orm s u pon the
res pon s e of ou rs en s es . He im agin es thatitis the res pon s e of
ou ropin ion s thatis rel ev an ttothe ef f ectof m ediaan d
techn ol ogyin s ociety, apoin tof v iew thatis pl ain l ythe
res u l tof the typographic s pel l . F orthe m an in al iterate an d
hom ogen ized s ocietyceas es tobe s en s itiv e tothe div ers e an d
dis con tin u ou s l if e of f orm s . He acqu ires the il l u s ion of the
third dim en s ion an d the priv ate poin tof v iew as partof his
N arcis s u s f ixation , an d is qu ite s hu tof f f rom Bl akes
aw aren es s orthatof the P s al m is t, thatw e becom e w hat
w e behol d.
T odayw hen w e w an ttogetou rbearin gs in ou row n
cu l tu re, an d hav e n eed tos tan d as ide f rom the bias an d
pres s u re exerted byan ytechn ical f orm of hu m an expres s ion ,
w e hav e on l ytov is itas ocietyw here thatparticu l arf orm has
n otbeen f el t, orahis torical period in w hichitw as u n kn ow n .
P rof es s orWil bu rSchram m m ade s u chatactical m ov e in
s tu dyin g T el ev is ion in the Liv es of Ou rChil dren . He f ou n d areas
w here T V had n otpen etrated atal l an d ran s om e tes ts . Sin ce
he had m ade n os tu dyof the pecu l iarn atu re of the T V
im age, his tes ts w ere of con ten t pref eren ces , v iew in g tim e,
an d v ocabu l arycou n ts . In aw ord, his approachtothe
probl em w as al iteraryon e, al beitu n con s ciou s l ys o.
Con s equ en tl y, he had n othin g toreport. Had his m ethods
been em pl oyed in 1500A.D. todis cov erthe ef f ects of the
prin ted book in the l iv es of chil dren oradu l ts , he cou l d hav e
f ou n d ou tn othin g of the chan ges in hu m an an d s ocial
ps ychol ogyres u l tin g f rom typography. P rin tcreated
theN EWMEDIAR EADER
in div idu al is m an d n ation al is m in the s ixteen thcen tu ry.
P rogram an d con ten t an al ys is of f ern ocl u es tothe m agic of
thes e m ediaortotheirs u bl im in al charge. -
Leon ard Doob, in his reportCom m u n ication in Af rica, tel l s
of on e Af rican w hotook greatpain s tol is ten eachev en in g to
the BBC n ew s , ev en thou ghhe cou l d u n ders tan d n othin g of
it. Ju s ttobe in the pres en ce of thos e s ou n ds at7 P .M. each
dayw as im portan tf orhim . His attitu de tos peechw as l ike
ou rs tom el ody the res on an tin ton ation w as m ean in g
en ou gh. In the s ev en teen thcen tu ryou ran ces tors s til l s hared
this n ativ es attitu de tothe f orm s of m edia, as is pl ain in the
f ol l ow in g s en tim en tof the F ren chm an Bern ard Lam
expres s ed in T he Artof Speakin g ( Lon don , 16 9 6 ):
' T is an ef f ectof the Wis dom of God, w hocreated Man to
be happy, thatw hatev eris u s ef u l tohis con v ers ation
( w ayof l if e)is agreeabl e tohim . . . becau s e al l v ictu al
thatcon du ces ton ou ris hm en tis rel is habl e, w hereas
otherthin gs thatcan n otbe as s im u l ated an d be tu rn ed
in toou rs u bs tan ce are in s ipid ADis cou rs e can n otbe
pl eas an ttothe Hearerthatis n oteas ie tothe Speaker;
n orcan itbe eas il ypron ou n ced u n l es s itbe heard w ith
del ight.
Here is an equ il ibriu m theoryof hu m an dietan d
expres s ion s u chas ev en n ow w e are on l ys triv in g tow ork
ou tagain f orm ediaaf tercen tu ries of f ragm en tation an d
s pecial is m .
P ope P iu s XIIw as deepl ycon cern ed thatthere be s eriou s
s tu dyof the m ediatoday. On F ebru ary17 , 19 50, he s aid:
Itis n otan exaggeration tos aythatthe f u tu re of
m odern s ocietyan d the s tabil ityof its in n erl if e depen d
in l arge parton the m ain ten an ce of an equ il ibriu m
betw een the s tren gthof the techn iqu es of
com m u n ication an d the capacityof the in div idu al s ow n
reaction .
F ail u re in this res pecthas f orcen tu ries been typical an d
total f orm an kin d Su bl im in al an d docil e acceptan ce of m edia
im pacthas m ade them pris on s w ithou tw al l s f ortheir
hu m an u s ers . As A. J. Liebl in g rem arked in his book T he P res s ,
am an is n otf ree if he can n ots ee w here he is goin g, ev en if
he has agu n tohel phim getthere. F oreachof the m ediais
al s oapow erf u l w eapon w ithw hichtocl obberotherm edia
an d othergrou ps . T he res u l tis thatthe pres en tage has been
on e of m u l tipl e civ il w ars thatare n otl im ited tothe w orl d of
artan d en tertain m en t. In Waran d Hu m an P rogres s , P rof es s or
J. U . N ef decl ared:
. t-.- al l 9 6 2 ' 6 i .__._.___a . ._. 13. T w obyMcLu han
T he total w ars of ou rtim e hav e been the res u l tof a
s eries of in tel l ectu al m is takes . . . .
If the f orm ativ e pow erin the m ediaare the m edia
them s el v es , thatrais es ahos tof l arge m atters thatcan on l y
be m en tion ed here, al thou ghtheydes erv e v ol u m es . N am el y,
thattechn ol ogical m ediaare s tapl es orn atu ral res ou rces ,
exactl yas are coal an d cotton an d oil . An ybodyw il l con cede
thats ocietyw hos e econ om yis depen den tu pon on e ortw o
m aj ors tapl es l ike cotton , orgrain , orl u m ber, orf is h, orcattl e
is goin g tohav e s om e obv iou s s ocial pattern s of organ ization
as ares u l t. Stres s on af ew m aj ors tapl es creates extrem e
in s tabil ityin the econ om ybu tgreaten du ran ce in the popu l a-
tion . T he pathos an d hu m orof the Am erican Sou thare
em bedded in s u chan econ om yof l im ited s tapl es . F ora
s ocietycon f igu red byrel ian ce on af ew com m odities accepts
them as as ocial bon d qu ite as m u chas the m etropol is does
the pres s . Cotton an d oil , l ike radioan d T V, becom e f ixed
charges on the en tire ps ychic l if e of the com m u n ity. An d this
perv as iv e f actcreates the u n iqu e cu l tu ral f l av orof an y
s ociety. Itpays throu ghthe n os e an d al l its others en s es f or
eachs tapl e thats hapes its l if e.
T hatou rhu m an s en s es , of w hichal l m ediaare exten s ion s ,
are al s of ixed charges on ou rpers on al en ergies , an d thatthey
al s ocon f igu re the aw aren es s an d experien ce of eachon e of
L.
u s , m aybe perceiv ed in an othercon n ection m en tion ed by
the ps ychol ogis tC. G. Ju n g:
Ev eryR om an w as s u rrou n ded bys l av es . T he s l av e an d
his ps ychol ogyf l ooded an cien tItal y, an d ev eryR om an
becam e in w ardl y, an d of cou rs e u n w ittin gl y, as l av e.
Becau s e l iv in g con s tan tl yin the atm os phere of s l av es , he
becam e in f ected throu ghthe u n con s ciou s w iththeir
ps ychol ogy. N oon e can s hiel d him s el f f rom s u chan
in f l u en ce ( Con tribu tion s toAn al ytical P s ychol ogy, Lon don ,
19 2 8).
T he Gal axyR econ f igu red N otes
1. Jeru s al em , III, 7 4.
2 . Ibid., II, 36 .
3. T his N ew ton ian them e is dev el oped bym ys el f apropos T en n ys on
an d P ictu res qu e P oetry"in John Kil l ham , ed., Critical Es s ays on the
P oetryof T en n ys on , pp. 6 7 -85.
4. John R u s kin , Modern P ain ters , v ol . III, p. 9 6 .
5. See H. M. McLu han , Joyce, Mal l arm an d the P res s ," Sew an ee
R ev iew , w in ter, 19 54, pp. 38-55.
6 . Cited byR aym on d Wil l iam s , Cu l tu re an d Society, 17 80-1850, p.
38.
7 . In Sel ected Es s ays , p. 145.
8. "T he Social an d In tel l ectu al Backgrou n d"in T he Modern Age ( T he
P el ican Gu ide toEn gl is hLiteratu re), p. 47 .
14- Experim en ts in theN EWMEDIAR EADER
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2 5ST R EET AR MOR Y N Y C % P HON E: 6 89 -3315
1' 9 6 ' 6 6 |l 6 7 I7 2
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14. [ In trodu ction ]
P ou rSel ection s byExperim en ts
in Artan d T echn ol ogy
F rom T he Garden P arty"
F rom 9 Ev en in gs : T heatre & En gin eerin g
[ P res s R el eas e]
T he P av il ion
Experim en ts in Artan d T echn ol ogy( EAT )has had apiv otal rol e in adv an cin g the pos s ibil ities of
techn ol ogyan d arts in ce the 19 6 05. EAT . f orm u l ated w hathad been , bef ore thatgrou ps f ou n din g,
haphazard: the artis t-en gin eerrel ation s hip, an d the poten tial f orou rcu l tu re of j oin in g artis tic an d
tethn ical expl oration . EAT . began its of f icial l if e in the w ake of an am bitiou s perf orm an ce s eries ;
l au n ched an organ ization an d n ew s l etter; s pon s ored exhibition s , com petition s , an d dis cu s s ion s ;
treated the P eps ipav il ion f orExpo' 7 0; an d atits heightboas ted am em bers hipof 4,000ev en l y
div ided betw een artis ts an d en gin eers .
EA.T . w as f ou n ded in 19 6 6 byBil l yKl u v er, R obertR au s chen berg, R obertWhitm an , an d F red
Wal dhau er, an d w as an n ou n ced tothe pres s in 19 6 7 , w hen the third s el ection in this chapterw as
han ded ou t. E.A.T .' s s torybegin s , how ev er, in 19 6 0, w hen Kl u v er, ares earchs cien tis tatBel l
T el ephon e Laboratories , m ade ittechn ol ogical l ypos s ibl e f orJean T in gu el ytocreate Hom age to
N ew Y ork" as cu l ptu re thaten acted its ow n des tru ction in ahal f -hou rperf orm an ce atN ew Y orl <s
Mu s eu m of Modern Art. E.A.T . is the P hoen ixthatros e f rom thats cu l ptu res rem ain s . R obert
R au s chen berg, w hohad con tribu ted am on ey-throw in g m as cot toHom age, s oon w orked w ith
Kl u v eron the techn ical l y-adv an ced s ou n d/ s cu l ptu re en v iron m en tOracl e T his experien ce l ead them
toSorm u l ate the m odel of artis tan d en gin eeras tru e col l aborators ( ratherthan the en gin eeras an
artis t' s as s is tan t)w hichw ou l d becom e the f ou n dation of EAT .
T he n exts teptow ard EA.T .' s creation cam e in the f al l of 19 6 5, w hen Kl iiv erm etKn u tWiggen ,
w hocam e tov is ithim f rom Sw eden . Wiggen w as in the earl ys tages of pl an n in g aStockhol m
F es tiv al of Artan d T echn ol ogy, an d as ked Kl u v ertoorgan ize U .S. participation . Kl u v ers ign ed on to
brin g togetheragrou pof artis t/ en gin eerperf orm an ces f orthe f es tiv al . Workin g w ith
R au s chen berg, Kl u v ergathered in f l u en tial artis ts , m ain l yf rom the grou pas s ociated w iththe
Ju ds on Dan ce T heater( hel d atJu ds on Chu rchin dow n tow n N ew Y ork), as w el l as en gin eers , m an y
f rom Bel l Labs . When the f in al pl an s f orthe Stockhol m col l aboration cou l dn tbe s atis f actoril y
w orked ou t, the grou pf ou n d an ew hom e f ortheirperf orm an ces , on e richin his toryan d chal l en ges .
As N orm aLoew en w rote in herExperim en ts in Artan d T echn ol ogy, Du rin g the begin n in g of Au gu s t
1% 6 . . . the grou ps el ected the 6 9 thR egim en tArm oryatT w en ty-f if thStreetan d Lexin gton
Av en u e. T hos e tes tin g the properties of the s pace f ou n d the bu il din g' s s teel s tru ctu re . . . [ gav e] a
rev erberation tim e of abou ts ixs econ ds du ration . . . the en gin eers thou ghttheys om ehow cou l d
m an age. T he arm oryhad hou s ed ' T he In tern ation al Exhibition of Modern Artin 19 13, an ev en t
s om e hav e cal l ed atu rn in g poin tin the his toryof m odern Am erican art ( 6 4 6 5).
EA.T .' s perf orm an ce exhibition 9 Ev en in gs :T heatre 8:En gin eerin g tu rn ed ou ttobe an othertu rn in g
poin t, des pite its u n ev en reception . T he N ew Y ork pres s , l argel yu n f am il iarw ithdow n tow n
perf orm an ce, w as baf f l ed bythe program . R atherthan decrythe art, apoten tial l yv u l n erabl e
14. Experim en ts in
Artan d T echn ol ogy
o om -~ A 6 l -' 6 7 <> s o-A ~-~ o~ ~~ 14. EX|)l "l m n tS ' l l ' I
Artan d T echn ol ogy
Origin al P u bl ication
Kl iiv er, Bil l y. Excerptf rom T he Garden P arty." T he Machin e as Seen
atthe En d of the Mechan ical Age. N ew Y ork: Mu s eu m of Modern Art,
19 6 8. F irs tpu bl is hed in ZER O 1: 16 8-17 1. 19 6 1.
E.A.T . 9 Ev en in gs : T heatre an d En gin eerin g. P rogram . October19 6 6 .
E.A.T . P res s rel eas e. ( U n titl ed.)October19 6 7 .
Kl iiv er, Bil l y. T he P av il ion "in P av il ion . Ed. Bil l yKl iiv er, Ju l ie
Martin , an d BarbaraR os e. N ew Y ork: Du tton , 19 7 2 .
F rom
T he Garden P arty"
Bil l yKl iiv er
In the s am e w ayas as cien tif ic experim en tcan n ev erf ail , this
experim en tin artcou l d n ev erf ail . T he m achin e w as n ota
f u n ction al obj ectan d w as n ev ertreated l ike on e. T he
s pectacl e can theref ore n otbe j u dged in term s of w hether
this orthatthin g did n otw ork. Du rin g the con s tru ction of
the m achin e, Iw as con s tan tl yam azed atJean s dis regard f or
the s im pl es tru l es of en gin eerin g. In on e in s tan the w ou l d
dem an d thats om ethin g s hou l d f u n ction , an d in the n exthe
w ou l d v iol ate his dem an d bythe m os ttriv ial of action s . Jean
w orked as an artis t. He chos e his m otors an d pu ton his
s l in gs as an artis t. He w as in teres ted on l yin f u n ction al
operation s thathe cou l d u n ders tan d, s othathe cou l d rej ect
oracceptthem as he pl eas ed. Bu the w as al s oin s pired bypos -
s ibil ities of en gin eerin g an d real ized he cou l d u s e them as
l on g as he w as in com pl ete con trol of w hathe w as doin g. As
an en gin eer, w orkin g w ithhim , Iw as partof the m achin e.
T his n ew av ail abil ityw as l argel yres pon s ibl e f orthe s ize an d
com pl exityof the m achin e.
Jean s m achin e w as con ceiv ed ou tof total an archyan d
f reedom , as he pu tit.-T he f ree an d chaotic circu m s tan ces
u n derw hichitw as bu il tw ere an eces s ityan d, in aw ay, a
trem en dou s l u xu ry. Jean s u ppl ied the en ergytocreate the
f reedom an d w as ru l erov erthe chaos . When the en ergyw as
rel eas ed, ev erythin g thathappen ed w as rel ated tos om e of
Jean s decis ion s . N odis tin ction can be m ade betw een the
ran dom el em en ts , the acciden ts , orthe con trol l ed parts of
the s pectacl e. Itw as created in its total ityou tof f reedom an d
in n ocen ce. T he bottl es thatdid n otf al l , the paperrol l that
rotated in the w ron g direction , the f irem an an d the au dien ce
._
w ere al l partof the s am e s pectacl e. T here cou l d exis tn o
paradox, n oqu es tion , n on on s en s e, n oapriori, an d n o
chaos in this s pectacl e. Itw as adef in ite dem on s tration , m ade
w ithl ov e an d hu m or, an d n otaphil os ophical probl em .
Idon otin terpretthe s el .f des tru ction of Jean s m achin e as
an actof protes tagain s tthe m achin e, oran expres s ion of
n ihil is m an d des pair, as s om e critics hav e s u gges ted. T he s el f -
des tru ction ors el f el im in ation of the m achin e is an ideal of
good m achin es an d hu m an bein gs , this is an obv iou s tru th.
T his ideahas al readybeen expres s ed byCl au de Shan n on in
the Littl e Bl ack Box, in w hich, w hen you pu l l as w itch, al id
open s an d ahan d em erges thatthrow s the s w itchin the of f
pos ition w hereu pon the l id cl os es again ov erthe han d.
Ju s tas in ev erym om en tw e s ee an d experien ce an ew an d
chan gin g w orl d, Jean s m achin e created an d des troyed its el f
as arepres en tation of am om en tin ou rl iv es . T he artof the
m u s eu m is rel ated toapas ttim e thatw e can n ots ee an d f eel
again . T he artis thas al readyl ef this can v as behin d. T his art
then becom es partof ou rin herited l an gu age, an d thu s has a
rel ation toou rw orl d dif f eren tthan the real ityof the
im m ediate n ow . Lart ph m ere, on the otherhan d, creates a
directcon n ection betw een the creativ e actof the artis tan d
the receptiv e actof the au dien ce, betw een the con s tru ction
an d the des tru ction . Itf orces u s ou tof the in herited im age
an d in tocon tactw ithev er-chan gin g real ity. Iton e of Jean s
m an if es tos , he s ays thatw e s hal l be s tatic w ithm ov em en t.
We m u s tbe the creativ e m as ters of chan gin g real ity w hich
w e are, bythe def in ition of Man . T he parts f rom w hich
Jean s m achin e w ere bu il tcam e f rom the chaos of the du m p
an d w ere retu rn ed tothe du m p.
Jean kepts ayin g thathe w as con s tan tl ythin kin g abou t
N ew Y ork as his m achin e took f orm . T here are probabl y
m an ycon n ection s , the m os tobv iou s bein g am achin e that
has rej ected its el f an d becom e hu m oran d poetry. N ew Y ork
has hu m oran d poetry, in s pite of the pres en ce of the
m achin e, w hereas in apu rel ytechn ocratic s ocietythe
m achin e m u s tal w ays be af u n ction al obj ect. F ail u res of the
m achin e can theref ore n ev erbe al l ow ed, becau s e con trol is
the n eces s aryel em en tof thats ociety. Itis w hen the m achin e
m u s tf u n ction atan ycos tthatthere can be n oHom age to
N ew Y ork.
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14- E> <P erim en ts in theN EWMEDIAR EADER
Artan d T echn ol ogy
[ P res s R el eas e]
MAIN T AIN ACON ST R U CT IVECLIMAT E
F OR T HER ECOGN IT ION OF T HEN EW
T ECHN OLOGY AN D T HEAR T SBY A
CIVILIZED COLLABOR AT ION BET WEEN
GR OU P S U N R EALIST ICALLY DEVELOP -
IN G IN ISOLAT ION . ELIMIN AT ET HE
SEP AR AT ION OF T HEIN DIVIDU ALF R OM
T ECHN OLOGICALCHAN GEAN D EXP AN D
AN D EN R ICH T ECHN OLOGY T O ' IHE
IN DIVIDU ALVAR IET Y , P LEASU R EAN D
AVEN U ES F OR EXP LOR AT ION AN D IN -
VOLVEMEN T IN CON T EMP OR AR Y LIF E.
EN COU R AGEIN DU ST R IALIN IT IAT IVEIN
GEN ER AT IN G OR IGIN ALF OR ET HOU GHT ,
IN ST EAD OF ACOMP R OMISEIN AF T ER -
MAT H, AN D P R ECIP IT AT EAMU T U AL
AGR EEMEN T IN OR DER T O AVOID T HE
WAST E0F ACU LT U R ALR EVOLU T ION .
19 6 il 6 6 "_l 6 7 I7 2
Q ~- ~= :_0 ~ <0 4v :. A A ~ ~. A A 0 "~-<m := _=
T he P av il ion
Bil l yKl iiv er
T he in itial con cern of the artis ts w hodes ign ed the P av il ion
w as thatthe qu al ityof the experien ce of the v is itors hou l d
in v ol v e choice, res pon s ibil ity, f reedom , an d participation . T he
P av il ion w ou l d n ottel l as toryorgu ide the v is itorthrou gha
didactic, au thoritarian experien ce. T he v is itorw ou l d be
en cou raged as an in div idu al toexpl ore the en v iron m en tan d
com pos e his ow n experien ce. As aw ork of art, the P av il ion
an d its operation w ou l d be an open -en ded s itu ation , an
experim en tin the s cien tif ic s en s e of the w ord.
T his ideaf oran exhibition s pace corres pon ded, w e f ou n d
ou tl ater, tothe n otion s of the origin ators of Expo Ken zo
T an ge, ArataIs ozaki, Y os hial ciT on o, an d others w hos e
obj ectiv es w ere tocreate atechn ol ogical l yadv an ced
en v iron m en tin w hichpeopl e cou l d participate.
Worl d exhibition s du rin g the n in eteen thcen tu rypl ayed a
cru cial rol e in l ettin g peopl e experien ce atf irs than d an ew
m achin e orproces s . Iam qu otin g f rom apam phl etabou tthe
P aris Expos ition of 1889 :
in the Gal l eryof Machin es are hu ge m achin es w hich
m ake paper. En orm ou s crow ds are draw n abou tthes e
hu ge v ats an d s m okin g w heel s . . . . T hes e m achin es
operate in f ron tof v is itors w hocan n ottake their
eyes of f this f an tas tic m achin e, w here on e can s ee
paperpu l parriv e in as tate of l iqu id f orm in tw o
l arge v ats an d then l eav e atthe oppos ite en d of the
m achin e in the f orm of acon tin u ou s rol l of dryan d
s tu rdypaper. . . .1
In the tw en tiethcen tu ryef f icien tm ean s of s preadin g
techn ical in f orm ation hav e dev el oped an d n ow the em phas is
is on the in div idu al s rel ation s hiptothe en v iron m en t. T his is
achan ge in attitu de aw ayf rom con cern f orthe obj ect its
en gin eerin g, operation an d f u n ction , an d tow ard aes thetics
hu m an m otiv ation an d in v ol v em en t, pl eas u re, in teres t,
excitem en t.
T he artis tis apos itiv e f orce in perceiv in g how techn ol ogy
can be tran s l ated ton ew en v iron m en ts tos erv e n eeds an d
prov ide v arietyan d en richm en tof l if e. He m aybe the on l y
on e w hocan tran s cen d cu l tu ral bias an d deal w iththe
in div idu al s of acu l tu re on theirow n term s . T he direct,
s traight-ahead s en s ibil ityof the activ e artis tis n eeded in
thes e dif f icu l tprobl em s . Bas ed on this com m itm en ttothe
; -.
._-. 14. Expen m en ts 1n
Artan d T echn ol ogy
artis t, on e of E.A.T .s obj ectiv es in rel ation tothe P av il ion w as
todem on s trate phys ical l ythe v arietyan d m u l tipl icityof
experien ces thatthe n ew techn ol ogycan prov ide f orthe
in div idu al .
T he P av il ion w as al iv in g res pon s iv e en v iron m en t. T he F og
s u rrou n din g the P av il ion res pon ded tothe m eteorol ogical
con dition s ; the Su n trak s cu l ptu re w as tof ol l ow the pathof
the s u n ; the m ov in g f l oats reacted tophys ical con tact. T he
in s ide of the P av il ion w as an experim en tin in div idu al
experien ce. Itrepres en ted an ew f orm of theatre s pace, w hich
com pl etel ys u rrou n ded the au dien ce an d w here ev erypartof
the s pace had the s am e theatrical in ten s ityf orthe in div idu al .
T he s pace in the Mirrorw as gen tl e an d poetic, richan d
al w ays chan gin g. Itw as com pl exin s pite of its s im pl icity. We
dis cov ered n ew an d com pl icated rel ation s hips ev eryday,
optical ef f ects thatn oon e had des cribed bef ore. As theatre
s pace itw as u n iqu e. Itw as atan gibl e s pace; the ef f ectw as
n otps ychol ogical as in the cas e of s om eon e w itn es s in g a
dram aon s tage. In s tead, the v is itorbecam e partof the total
theatre experien ce. An ythin g thaton e did in this
en v iron m en tw as beau tif u l .
T he s ou n d s ys tem w as con s tru cted f orau tom ated con trol ,
w hichcou l d be ov erridden byl iv e m an ipu l ation . T he s ys tem
w as des ign ed f orthe s pherical s ym m etryof the s pace an d to
pres erv e the bas ic con ceptof the v is itors f ree choice in the
s pace. Sou n ds cou l d be m ov ed in pattern s ; bu t, f orin s tan ce, it
w ou l d be im pos s ibl e tobegin as ou n d atagiv en s peaker,
rotate itarou n d the dom e, an d s topitexactl yatthe s am e
s peaker. Exacts yn chron ization an d tim e s equ en cin g w ere
im pos s ibl e toaccom pl is h. In s tead the s ou n d s pace w as as
open -en ded an d chan gin g as the im age s pace.
T radition al l y, the artis tas s u m es com pl ete pers on al
res pon s ibil ityf orhis w ork. In the types of col l aboration s w e
s etu p, this approachw as as s u m ed. Mos tof the w ork on
s pecif ic el em en ts w as don e throu ghcol l aboration s that
in v ol v ed ov ers ev en ty-f iv e en gin eers an d artis ts an d
in du s tries in Japan an d dif f eren tparts of the U n ited States .
T he peopl e w how ere res pon s ibl e f or, an d in teres ted in , a
particu l aras pectm ade the decis ion s . If aprobl em aros e, it
w ou l d gotothe pers on con cern ed: the F og, the Mirror, the
l ights , the s hape of the en tran ce tu n n el . In this w ay, al l
decis ion s had the s am e in ten s ity.
If al l the s eparate s ection s of aproj ectare tobe of the bes t
qu al ity, then theym u s tdev el opin depen den tl y. In terf acin g of
14. Experim en ts in
Artan d T echn ol ogy
the v ariou s el em en ts becom es the ov erridin g probl em an d
good com m u n ication betw een m em bers of the proj ectis
n eces s ary. T his horizon tal operatin g s itu ation requ ires that
eachm em berof the grou pu n ders tan d his res pon s ibil ityas
w el l as his l im itation s . Com pl ication s aros e w hen
en gin eerin g an d aes thetic con s ideration s becam e con f u s ed:
w hen en gin eers w an ted tobe artis ts , w hen accou n tan ts
w an ted tobe en gin eers , orw hen artis ts w ere in tim idated by
en gin eerin g. T he artis thad toexpres s his aes thetic criteriain
ordertodeterm in e the s cal e, an d s othatthe en gin eerw ou l d
be aw are of the bou n darycon dition s .
T othes e in tern al com pl ication s w ere added dif f icu l ties of
deal in g w ithu n f am il iarJapan es e bu s in es s practices , the
u n kn ow n s of the Expo' 7 0s itu ation , an d the pres s u re of
tighttim e s chedu l es . In this con text, of cou rs e, w e m ade
m is takes . We rem ain ed com m itted tool on g toexperim en ts
in Japan in m akin g ahard m irrorpan el w here the
techn ol ogytheyw ere u s in g w as obv iou s l yin adequ ate. Itw as
on l yw hen tim e s chedu l es grew dan gerou s l ys hortan d
res u l ts w ere u n acceptabl e thatw e s w itched tothe n egativ e
pres s u re, air s tru ctu re m irror.
Origin al l y, w e had bel iev ed thatthe traf f ic f l ow w ou l d
pres en taprobl em s in ce the v is itorcou l d s tayas l on g as he
w an ted. We f ou n d thatthis w as acom pl ete m is u n ders tan din g
of the ef f ectof the Expoen v iron m en ton the v is itorw ho
w an ted tos ee as m an ypav il ion s as pos s ibl e in on e day. We
f ou n d thatan ef f orthad tobe m ade toattracthis atten tion
an d then he w ou l d becom e in v ol v ed in the s pace. Ev en a
s im pl e dem on s tration of the ef f ects of the Mirrorw ou l d
m ake peopl e w al k arou n d an d expl ore theirim ages .
Sev eral s ys tem s requ ired correctiv e m eas u res af terbein g
in s tal l ed on the s ite particu l arl ythe f og s ys tem , the s ou n d
s ys tem , an d the in teriorl ights ys tem . We f ail ed toreal ize the
Su n trak s cu l ptu re. Aw eak j oin tbu ckl ed w hen itw as
as s em bl ed. T he Su n trak w as dis m an tl ed f orthe f orm al
open in g, w iththe u n ders tan din g thatitw ou l d be
recon s tru cted. Itw as rem ov ed an d n ev errebu il t.
As the P av il ion s tood, itw as s u rrou n ded byam agn if icen t
F og s cu l ptu re. T he com bin ation of the Cl am R oom an d the
MirrorR oom repres en ted an architectu ral s pace of great
beau ty. T he m ov in g s cu l ptu res ou ts ide the P av il ion created a
m acros copic phys ical en v iron m en tthatchan ged
con tin u ou s l yan d thataf f ected the m ov em en tof the peopl e
w aitin g in l in e ou ts ide the P av il ion . T he n in ety-f ootdiam eter
s pherical Mirroran d the s ou n d s ys tem open ed u pthe
theN EWMEDIAR EADER
pos s ibil ityf orperf orm an ces thatw ou l d be as in tegral tothe
s pace as in Shakes peares Gl obe T heatre.
Boththe Eog an d the Mirrorw ere f irs ts in term s of s cal e.
In addition , theirtechn ol ogyhad f u rtherappl ication s . T he
F og s u rrou n din g the P av il ion w as the l arges tw ater v apor
m as s ev erprodu ced w ithou tthe u s e of chem ical s . T he
in s is ten ce on u s in g pu re w aterf orthe F og l ed toas ys tem
thatof f ered in teres tin g pos s ibil ities f oren v iron m en tal
irrigation s ys tem s , ou tdooraircon dition in g, an d protection
of crops f rom f ros t. T he Mirrorw as the l arges ts pherical
m irrorev erm ade an d w as the f irs tu s e of al \/ Iel in ex,
n egativ e-pres s u re, airs tru ctu re. Itu s ed the in s ide ref l ectiv e
s u rf ace of as phere f orthe f irs ttim e. Itis con ceiv abl e that
this m ethod of m akin g acon cav e ref l ectiv e s u rf ace cou l d be
u s ed in m akin g v ariou s types of an ten n as .
Liv e program m in g w as des ign ed tou s e the s pace in an
organ ic w ay. T he hardw are ideas w ere s orichin pos s ibil ities
thatthe con ceptof acon tin u ou s l ychan gin g en v iron m en t
dev el oped organ ical l y. Achan gin g grou pof f ou rartis ts
( com pos ers , dan cers , pain ters , ors cien tis ts )w ere tores ide at
the P av il ion atal l tim es an d determ in e the activ ities an d
program m in g. T he s ou n d an d l ights ys tem s , as w el l as the
f l oors pace, the han d-s ets ys tem , an d the Mirrorw ere
des ign ed takin g in toaccou n tthe dem an ds of this
con tin u ou s l ychan gin g en v iron m en t. T he P av il ion becam e
theatre con ceiv ed of as atotal in s tru m en t, u s in g ev ery
av ail abl e techn ol ogyin w hichthe accu m u l ated experien ce of
al l the program m ers expan ded an d en riched the pos s ibil ities
of the s pace. T he program m in g an d operation s of the
P av il ion w ere as im portan tas the des ign of the hardw are.
Leadin g artis ts in Japan an d the U n ited States agreed tobe
res iden tprogram m ers du rin g Expo7 0.
T he f ol l ow in g program s w ere pres en ted: HarryHarperan d
Jacqu el yn F arrel l , repres en tin g R ogerP ayn e of the Whal e
F u n d, produ ced an u n derw ateren v iron m en tu s in g
recordin gs of hu m pback w hal es s in gin g. T he han ds ets gav e
in f orm ation tothe v is itors abou tthe brain s , f eedin g habits ,
an d com m u n ication of thes e n ear-extin ctm am m al s .
Dav id T u dorm ade n in e program s u s in g the u n iqu e proper-
ties of the s ou n d-m odif ication s ys tem thathe had hel ped to
des ign . T hree of the program s w ere recorded bySon y.
P eps cil l ator u s ed the m odif ication s ys tem tos etu pan
os cil l ation thatw as s w itched f rom s peakertos peakerat
v ariou s rates an d in dif f eren tpattern s . P eps ibird an d
An im aP eps i"bothdrew u pon the s ou n d l ibraryEAT . had
.0... -_.. . 14. Experim en ts in oA A as co A A A
com pil ed, an d u s ed en v iron m en tal an d m icros copic s ou n ds
s u chas abeetl e w al kin g, u l tras on ic bat. s ou n ds , earth
v ibration s , an d n erv e im pu l s es .
T aku m iHij ikataprov ided aJapan es e m im e dan cerw ho
perf orm ed tothe s ou n ds of tradition al f u n eral chan ts , a
thu n ders torm , an d the caw in g of acrow . Japan es e w eddin g
robes w ere hu n g atdif f eren theights , w here theyrev ol v ed in
the Mirrordom e.
P au l in e Ol iv eros al s ocom pos ed m u s ic es pecial l yf orthe
P av il ion . P ep-P s i"w as arecordin g of m an tras bytw oChin es e
girl s s in gin g an d pl ayin g acel l oan d accordion . T he hos tes s es
w ere as ked tos in g w iththe m an tras an d togu ide the v is itors
in expl orin g the s ou n d-ref l ectiv e qu al ities of the dom e.
R iku roMiyais tw o-partprogram w as cal l ed Shadow s Lef t
on the Moon . In on e partaj u ggl erperf orm ed tothe
rhythm s of tradition al Japan es e f ol k f es tiv al m u s ic. His tricks
dem on s trated m an yof the optical qu al ities of the dom e. A
w hite bal l w as throw n u pan d appeared tof al l tw ice on the
others ide of the dom e. T he s econ d partof the program u s ed
N ew R ock an d dan cers in f l u ores cen ts u its w hol ef ts hadow s
of arm s an d han ds on eachotherw hen the s u its w ere
f l as hed w ithas trobe.
Bob Whitm an had prepared aprogram thatu s ed s l ides
an d Japan es e an d En gl is hw ords pl ayed in m an yw ays on the
s ou n d s ys tem , bu titw as n ev erperf orm ed.
T he P av il ion w as aw ork of artw ithits ow n u n ityan d
in tegrity, as w el l as an ew u n expl ored theatre an d con cert
s pace, arecordin g s tu diof orm u l tichan n el com pos ition s an d
af iel d l aboratoryf ors cien tif ic experim en ts . Social s cien tis ts
had al readyexpres s ed an in teres tin m akin g s tu dies of how
v is itors reacted tov ariou s s itu ation s . Architects w ere
in teres ted in the f ree f l ow of peopl e throu ghthe P av il ion .
Scien tif ic m eas u rem en ts of the F og an d its reaction tothe
w eatherw ere bein g m ade dail y. Meas u rem en ts of the optical
properties of the Mirror, m an yof w hichhad n ev erbeen s een
orexpl ain ed bef ore, w ere u n derw ay. Du rin g the m on ththat
w e operated an d program m ed the P av il ion , itf u n ction ed on
al l thes e l ev el s .
On April 2 5, atthe requ es tof P eps i-Col a, E.A.T . tu rn ed
ov erthe program m in g, operation s , an d m ain ten an ce of the
P av il ion toP eps i Col a, Japan .
Bil l yKl u v er
Au gu s t, 19 7 0
19 6 1 6 6 II6 7 7 2
; . ._.. _. __Lg ~~Q -
Artan d T echn ol ogy
P os ts cript
T he P eps i Col aproj ectw as rem arkabl e in its attem ptto
in v ol v e con tem poraryartis ts in an on arts itu ation . T his
attem ptrais ed an u m berof in teres tin g qu es tion s particu l arl y
in the areaof the rel ation of the artis ttoin du s tryan d the
l egal pos ition of the artis tin s ociety, w hichw ere dram atized
bythe breakdow n in ou rrel ation s hipw ithP eps iov erthe
program m in g of the P av il ion . T he u s u al f orm of in du s trial
s u pportof the arts is patron age of exis tin g artorartf orm s .
In this proj ectthe artis tw as con s idered ares ou rce in an
actu al phys ical s itu ation w ithaf u n ction al en d. T he f actthat
there w as n orecogn ized def in ition of this rol e of the artis t
w as atthe rootof the m is u n ders tan din gs .
T radition al l y, the artis toperates in al egal , in s titu tion al ,
an d v al u e s tru ctu re of his ow n , w hichis dif f eren tf rom s om e
s tan dard practices in the res tof s ociety, s om e of the
pecu l iarities of w hichare recogn ized byl aw :w orks of artcan
be im ported du tyf ree, ev en if theyare m ade of taxabl e
m aterial s ; as eriou s w ork of artis n ots u bj ecttothe u s u al
s tan dards of obs cen ityl aw s . T he artis tdoes n otcopyright
his w ork; he has n ocon trol ov eritaf teritis s ol d, exceptthat
itcan n otbe chan ged. F u rtherm ore, the artis ttakes his
m aterial f rom his en v iron m en tan d is n otrequ ired toget
perm is s ion orpayf orrights ~An dyWarhol s Bril l oBoxs eries
is af am ou s exam pl e. F u rther, if the w ork of on e artis tis
cl earl yderiv ativ e f rom the w ork of an other, he is dis m is s ed
as abad artis t. U n derl yin g this w hol e com pl exof v al u es an d
practices there is the as s u m ption of con s is ten cyan d
in tegrityof au thors hip. T hes e operation al , qu as i-l egal , an d
l egal as pects of the artis ts activ itym u s tbe taken in to
accou n tif he is tobe abl e tocon tribu te ef f ectiv el yas a
res ou rce ou ts ide his ow n f iel d.
In the s pecif ic cas e of the P eps i Col aP av il ion , Is u gges ted
the f ol l ow in g s ol u tion toDon al d Ken dal l , P res iden tof
P eps iCo., In c., in al etter, April 8, 19 7 0:
. . . As you kn ow , the P av il ion an d the program m in g
w ere des ign ed throu ghacol l aboration of al arge
n u m berof con tem poraryartis ts , en gin eers , s cien tis ts ,
an d otherprof es s ion al s . T he qu es tion thathas aris en
com es f rom the l egal dis tin ction betw een aw ork of
f in e artan d acom m ercial produ ct, orm ore
s pecif ical l ybetw een the creativ e artis tan d the
com m ercial artis tordes ign er.
Ou rl egal rel ation s hiptoP eps i-Col ahas dev el oped s o
thatthe artis ts are pu tin the categoryof com m ercial
i
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' 14. Experim en ts in
Artan d T echn ol ogy
Q
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v Al thou ghP eps i Col aw as n otw il l in g totake this s tep, the
artis ts des ign in g acom m ercial produ ct. On e
con s equ en ce of this is thatw e m u s tobtain rights
f rom al l artis ts an d en gin eers an d others in v ol v ed,
particu l arl yw ithregard tou s e of the P av il ion af ter
Expo' 7 0. Of cou rs e, there is n oqu es tion of P eps i' s
ow n ers hipan d righttou s e an d exhibitthe P av il ion
du rin g Expo7 0. Ou rdil em m ais w hetherthe artis ts
hav e created aw ork of f in e artoraw ork of
com m ercial arttow hichthere are rights w hichm u s t
be gu aran teed.
T radition al l y, the artis tcl aim s n orights tohis w ork:
his com m itm en ttoorigin al ityis u n qu es tion ed an d
he con tribu tes his w ork tothe w orl d w hen itis
f in is hed. l tis created f orthe ben ef itof the in div idu al
w hoexperien ces it, an d its ben ef its are f ree f orev ery-
on e tou s e.
T he P eps iproj ectw as u n dertaken in this s pirit; an d it
w as this s en s e of com m itm en tan d en ergyam on g the
artis ts an d en gin eers thatyou com m en ted on tom e
du rin g you rv is it. T he in div idu al s participatin g in this
proj ecthav e created al arge an d com pl exw ork of art.
T othe Japan es e an d Am erican artcritics w hohav e
s een the P av il ion , the abil ityof the con tem porary
artis ttoparticipate in aproj ectof this s cal e is an
ou ts tan din g achiev em en tan d radical l yexpan ds the
s ocial pos s ibil ities of art.
Iam as kin g you tohav e P eps i Col atreatthe P av il ion
as aw ork of art.
a ~ ~ Q o - - - - - . - . - - . - Q u -
Adecis ion torecogn ize the P eps iP av il ion as aw ork of
artan d totreatitas s u chw il l s etam u ch-n eeded
preceden tin this area. T he proj ectw il l be am odel f or
f u tu re in du s trial participation in proj ects w here the
artis tm ov es in tos ocietyan d in v ol v es in creas in g
n u m bers of peopl e in his w ork. P eps i Col aw il l be
recogn ized an d appreciated n oton l yas am aj orart
patron of ou rtim e, bu tm ore im portan t, as an
ou ts tan din g in n ov atorin the con tem poraryarts . . . .
exis ten ce of the P av il ion w as atribu te tothe pos s ibil ities
in heren tin acl os e w orkin g rel ation s hipbetw een the artis t
an d in du s try, w hichcan an d w il l dev el opin the f u tu re.
March, 19 7 1
theN EWMEDIAR EADER
N ote
1. Les Merv eil l es de l ' Expos r' tr' on de 1889 : His toire, Con s tru ction ,
In au gu ration . Des cription D tail l e des P al af s des An n exes etdes
P arcs . . . R dl g pardes Ecn iv u in s Sp ciau xetdes In g n ieu rs
( P aris : Al aLibrairie Il l u s tr e, 1889 ), p. 9 2 7 .
Ackn ow l edgm en ts
T he achiev em en tof the P av il ion P roj ectw as the u n iqu e w ayin
w hichits u cces s f u l l ycom bin ed the tal en ts of s om an ypeopl e. T his
is al is tof thos e in v ol v ed.
Des ign an d Con s tru ction
In itial Artis ts : R obertBreer, F orres tMyers , Dav id T u dor, R obert
Whitm an
Execu tiv e Coordin ator: Bil l yKl iiv er
Staf f : Bru ce Bl u germ an , Mim iCl em en ti, HarrietDe Lon g, Kaaba
Dij on , T om Gorm l ey, T errie Hol l an d, El izabethJoyce, N an cyKahan ,
P en el ope Ku l l aw ay, Dav id MacDerm ott, Gl oriaMal erba, El l en Marcu s ,
Ju l ie Martin , An n Ohl m acher, P eterP ool e, Man aSarabhai,
Jacqu el yn Serw er, Merl in Ston e, R obertWhitm an
E.A.T . Con s u l tan ts : George Edw ards , Karl Erik F riberg, R u bin
Gorew itz, R obertMcF arl an d, Lys McLau ghl in , R obertMu l rean y,
Sim on e Sw an , Dav id Woodbridge
Coordin atorin Japan : F u j ikoN akaya
Coordin atin g Architect: John P earce
_........- a|l "., 15Cybern ated Art
15. [ In trodu ction ]
Cybern ated Art
On e ten den cyof v ideoart, s in ce its begin n in g, has been tobe cybern etic, tobe in teractiv e, tobe n ew
m edia. An other( in depen den t)ten den cyhas been tocreate an al w ays -al readyhis tory. Bothof thes e
can be s een in the w ork of N am Ju n e P aik, w hois con s idered the f irs tv ideoartis t.
P aik w as am on g the f irs ttou s e tel ev is ion s in art, al terin g them as John Cage had al tered pian os .
P aik u s ed on e of the f irs tSon yportabl e v ideocam eras tocreate v ideoartof F l u xu s perf orm an ces an d
the P opes v is ittoN ew Y ork. When s how in g the l atter, he dis tribu ted al eaf l etas s ertin g the cathode
raytu be w il l repl ace the can v as ."He in tegrated v ideow ithl iv e perf orm an ce in u n u s u al an d
prov ocativ e w ays s u chas his T V Braf orLiv in g Scu l ptu re col l aboration w ithCharl otte Moorm an
( partof as eries f orw hichtheyw ere arres ted on in decen cycharges s ev eral tim es ), an d his R obot
K-456 col l aboration w ithShu yaAbe ( w ithw hom he al s opion eered v ideos yn thes is ). He coin ed the
term in f orm ation s u perhighw ay"an d created n ov el s atel l ite broadcas tartw orks . He al s ow rote the
m an if es toreprin ted bel ow , w hichprov ides acybern etic/ Bu ddhis tcon textf orhis w ork, an d a
con n ection w iththe docu m en ts f rom EA.T . ( O14), R oyAs cott( O10), an d N orbertWien er( O04)in
this v ol u m e. Whil e P aik has n otbeen al eaderin the in teractiv e in s tal l ation s ( as oppos ed to
perf orm an ces )n ow as s ociated w ithn ew m ediav ideo, the w ork of in teractiv e v ideopion eers s u chas
Bil l Viol a( O31), Graham e Wein bren , an d Lyn n Hers hm an ( O44)( as w el l , perhaps , as Myron
Kru eger, ( > 2 5)can be s een as l yin g in acybern etic v ideodirection he def in ed as can the
v icl eo/ robotic perf orm an ce w ork of artis ts ran gin g f rom Mark P au l in e of Su rv iv al R es earchLabs to
Adrian n e Wortzel .
Of cou rs e, the can on ization of P aik can n otn ow be in v oked w ithou tam en tion of how P aiks pl ace
in v ideoarthis toryw as n earl yco produ ced w iththe pieces thatn ow m ake u pthathis tory, in a
proces s thatrev eal s ou rcu l tu re as m u chas itrev eal s the n atu re of v ideoart. Ev en Viol a, w hol ater
in v ideoart' s traj ectorys eem ed totake u pthe m an tl e of cen tral itythathad prev iou s l ybeen P aik' s ,
rem em bers in His tory, 1OY ears , an d the Dream tim e that, In 19 7 4peopl e w ere al readytal kin g
abou tav ideohis tory, an d had been f oraf ew years . Irem em bers ittin g in aChin es e res tau ran tin
N ew Y ork on acol d F ebru aryev en in g w iths om e f rien ds . . . Som eon e s tarted tal kin g abou tv ideo
his tory: Videom aybe the on l yartf orm ev ertohav e ahis torybef ore ithad ahis tory.' Videow as
bein g in v en ted an d s im u l tan eou s l ys ow ere its m yths an d cu l tu re heroes . . ( 12 3). MarthaR os ier
pu l l s n opu n ches regardin g the cu l tu ral l y-l oaded el em en ts f rom w hichP aiks m ythis com pos ed:
T he el em en ts of the m yththu s in cl u de an Eas tern v is itorf rom acou n try[ Korea] rav aged byw ar
( ou rw ar)w how as in ocu l ated bythe l eadin g U .S. av an t-garde m as ter[ John Cage] w hil e in
techn ol ogyheav en ( Germ an y), w ho, on ce in the States repeatedl yv iol ated the cen tral s hrin e, T V
an d then goes tof ace the repres en tativ e of God on earth, captu rin g his im age tobrin g tothe av an t-
garde, an d w hothen w en tou tf rom ittopu l l togetherthe tw oen ds of the Am erican cu l tu ral
s pectru m bys ym bol ical l yin corporatin g the con s ciou s n es s in du s tryin tothe m ethods an d ideas of
the cu l tu ral apparatu s al w ays w ithf ou n dation , gov ern m en t, m u s eu m , broadcas t, an d other
in s titu tion al s u pport.
An d ohyes ! he is am an . T he heros tan ds u pf orm as cu l in e m as teryan d bow s topatriarchy, if
on l yin repres en tation . T he thread of his w ork in cl u des the f etis hization of af em al e bodyas an
in s tru m en tthatpl ays its el f , an d the com pl em en tarythread of hom age tootherf am ou s m al e
artis t-m agician s ors eers ( qu in tes s en tial l y, Cage). ( 45)
T his pictu re is , of cou rs e, in com pl ete. F orexam pl e, in P aiks w ork w ithMoorm an ( w hopl ayed the
cel l on earl yn u de)he al s opres en ted apiece. in w hichm en dis pl ayed theirdan cin g pen is es throu gha
cu rtain ( thou ghitis tru e thatthis m al e f etis hization didn ' t. getw ritten as prom in en tl yin tov ideoarts
kn
15. Cybern ated Art theN EWMEDIAR EADER
his tory). Y etthis in com pl eten es s s hou l d n otcau s e u s tol eav e R os l ers poin tas ide, orf ail tocon s ider
m ore cl os el you row n rol es in m ythol ogycon s tru ction . We n eed n otl ook f arf oran exam pl e. In
creatin g T he N ew MediaR eaderthe dan gers of m ythol ogizin g m an if es ted them s el v es con s tan tl y.
T he im portan ce of f igu res s u chas T ed N el s on s hou l d certain l ybe recogn ized, bu titis al s oim portan t
ton ote thatev en N el s on does n otf eel thathe in v en ted hypertextorn ew m edia- con s iderin g
in s tead thathe dis cov ered s om ethin g al readypres en t, bu tu n def in ed, u n expl ored. T he Web
particu l arl ys eem s todem an d atoo-earl yhis toryof greatm en ."Y etthe ideas in f l u en cin g n ew m edia
are s ov aried thatitis dif f icu l ten ou ghtodeterm in e im portan tin f l u en ces f rom decades ago. R ather
than obs es s iv el ys eek ton am e on e han df u l of im portan tn am es f oraw orl d w ide s ys tem s til l in its
you th, its eem s m ore appropriate tos u pportan d expan d the pos s ibil ities f orits div ers ity.
N WF
s - . . I19 . . 15. Cybern ated Art
Origin al P u bl ication : F rom Mam f es tos , p. 2 4. GreatBearP am phl ets . N ew Y ork: Som ethin g El s e P res s , 19 6 6 .
Cybern ated Art
N am Ju n e P aik
L
Cybern ated artis v eryim portan t, bu tartf orcybern ated l if e is m ore im portan t, an d the l attern eed n ot
be cybern ated
( Maybe George Brecht' s s im pl is s im ois the m os tadequ ate.)
Bu tif P as teu ran d R obes pierre are rightthatw e can res is tpois on on l ythrou ghcertain bu il t in pois on , then
s om e s pecif ic f ru s tration s , cau s ed bycybern ated l if e, requ ire accordin gl ycybern ated s hock an d cathars is . My
ev erydayw ork w ithv ideotape an d the cathode raytu be con v in ces m e of this .
Cybern etics , the s cien ce of pu re rel ation s , orrel ation s hipits el f , has its origin in karm a. Mars hal l McLu han ' s
f am ou s phras e Mediais m es s age w as f orm u l ated byN orbertWien erin 19 48 as T he s ign al , w here the
m es s age is s en t, pl ays equ al l yim portan trol e as the s ign al , w here m es s age is n ots en t.
As the Happen in g is the f u s ion of v ariou s arts , s ocybern etics is the expl oitation of bou n daryregion s betw een
an d acros s v ariou s exis tin g s cien ces .
N ew ton ' s phys ics is the m echan ics of pow eran d the u n con cil iatorytw o~partys ys tem , in w hichthe s tron g w in
ov erthe w eak. Bu tin the 19 2 0' s aGerm an gen iu s pu tatin ythird-party( grid)betw een thes e tw om ightypol es
( cathode an d an ode)in av acu u m tu be, thu s en abl in g the w eak tow in ov erthe s tron g f orthe f irs ttim e in
hu m an his tory. Itm ightbe aBu ddhis tic third w ay, bu tan yw aythis Germ an in v en tion l ed tocybern etics ,
w hichcam e tothe w orl d in the l as tw artos hootdow n Germ an pl an es f rom the En gl is hs ky.
T he Bu ddhis ts al s os ay
Karm ais s am s ara
R el ation s hipis m etem ps ychos is
We are in open circu its
16 AR es earchCen ter
' 19 6 8
0-::.+e o A--:4 ~~ Ag)A = _.__.> _e4--~--- _ A a~ ~ A A as --.~_~~
16 . [ In trodu ction ]
AR es earchCen terf or
Au gm en tin g Hu m an In tel l ect
U tm on s tration s hav e had an im portan t, perhaps ev en cen tral , pl ace in n ew m edia
in n ov ation . In s om e cen ters of n ew m edia, the tradition al kn ow l edge-w ork dictu m of
pu bl is horperis h is repl aced bydem oordie.
T his es s aydocu m en ts w hatis cal l ed the m otherof al l dem os , w hichtook pl ace atthe
1% 3 F al l Join tCom pu terCon f eren ce in San F ran cis co. On the s tage w as Dou gl as
En gel bart, w ithahu ge proj ection s creen behin d him . Backs tage w as Bil l En gl is h, an d
hick in Men l oP ark w ere m os tof the crew of theirAu gm en tation R es earchCen ter
( AR C). T he dem on s tration s how ed AR C' s w ork todate com bin in g En gel barts con cepts
En gl is hs proj ectl eaders hip, an d the dedicated w ork of AR C m em bers ( m an yof w hom ,
in s pired bytheirexperien ces w ithAR C, w ou l d goon tol ead high-prof il e res earchef f orts
' I\corporate an d u n iv ers itys ettin gs ).
T he dem on s tration w as ahu ge, cal cu l ated ris k. Liv e, pu bl ic dem on s tration s of
iiteractiv e com pu tin g w ere u n heard of atthe tim e. An yn u m berof thin gs cou l d hav e
gon e w ron g w iththe tem porarys etu pin San F ran cis co, the m ain s ys tem in Men l o
. P ark, orthe hodgepodge, pre-In tern etcon n ection ( carried
theybel iev ed in the pow erof the s ys tem theyw ere
_e - pl an n in g tos how , an d thou ghton l yal iv e dem on s tration
cou l d con v in ce the com pu tin g m ain s tream of the im portan ce of theirres earch.
T he hu n dreds in atten dan ce ros e totheirf eetin as tan din g ov ation . Ev erybook
dev oted topers on al com pu tin g ats om e poin treports this f am ou s pres en tation ,"T hierry
Bardin iw rites in Boots trappin g ( 138).
In the years thatf ol l ow ed, itw as others , ou ts ide of AR C, w horeceiv ed the res ou rces to
f orAu gm en tin g
, f rom Men l oP ark bym icrow av e). T heytook the ris k becau s e
to-n tin u e the w ork in trodu ced tothe w orl d thatday. Bob T ayl or, w how hil e in gov ern m en t
had been cen tral tothe f u n din g of En gel barf s ef f orts , w as ev en tu al l yhired byXeroxto
es tabl is htheirn earbyP AR C ( P al oAl toR es earchCen ter). AR C' s res earchs l ow ed, an d the
proj ectw as ev en tu al l ys ol d bythe Stan f ord R es earchIn s titu te toacom m ercial com pan y.
Man yAR C s taf f ers w en ttoP AR C, w here En gel barts in v en tion s w ere depl oyed tow ard
qu ite dif f eren tgoal s . T he n ew goal s , u s in g af ou n dation of En gel barts w ork, w ere def in ed
byXerox, ref in ed byAppl e, an d then adopted byMicros of ttobecom e todays dom in an t
Com pu tin g en v iron m en t. Con s iderthe dif f eren ces betw een AR Cis w ork an d thatw hich
f ol ow ed: -
( 1)
( a)AR C w as creatin g tool s f oru s ers toexpres s an d s hare con cepts tru ctu res , w ithhard
copyprodu ction as on l yon e of m an yu s e goal s f orthes e s tru ctu res ( s ee s tatem en ts
l b an d 3c of the f ol l ow in g s el ection , an d En gel barts 19 6 2 F ram ew ork docu m en t,
. partial l yreprin ted in this v ol u m e ( O08)).
( b)T he n ew goal s l ed in s tead toVVY SIWY G l ayou ttool s , w ithl ittl e prov is ion f or
keepin g track of an yin f orm ation bes ides thatrequ ired toprodu ce tidy-l ookin g
paperdocu m en ts . ( P erhaps becau s e, as T ed N el s on s ays , Xeroxw as apaper-
w hal l opin g com pan y)
16 AR es earchCen ter theN EWMEDIAR EADER
f orAu gm en tin g
12 1; ?-
( 2 )
( a)AR C w orked on the creation of tool s f orexpertcom pu teru s ers , as s u m in g thatf u tu re
kn ow l edge w orkers w ou l d s pen d m an yhou rs aw eek w orkin g atterm in al s . En gel barts bel ief
w as that, j u s tas acarpen terhas tool s thatrequ ire expertis e, an d abicycl e m es s en gerdoes n t
s til l u s e train in g w heel s , com pu terin terf aces s hou l d be optim ized f orexpertu s e an d cou l d
requ ire an u p-f ron tin v es tm en ttol earn .
( b)T he n ew goal s l ed in s tead tothe u s erf rien dl y s ys tem s atw hichm os tof u s s pen d ou rdays -
s ys tem s des ign ed tobe optim al f oraf irs t-tim e u s er, ratherthan as kil l ed w orker. Som e
program s payback al earn in g in v es tm en t( e.g., three dim en s ion al m odel in g s ys tem s ), bu tthe
bas ic in terf ace an d f il e s tru ctu re retain s an ou tm oded des ktop/ paperu s erf rien dl y m etaphor.
( 3)
( a)AR C w orked on aboots trappin g prin cipl e in w hichu s ers w ou l d u s e theirtool s bothf or
theirw ork an d f orthe creation of bettertool s . En gel barten v is ion ed u s ers creatin g tool s ,
s harin g tool s , an d al terin g the tool s of others .
( b)T he n ew goal s produ ced in s tead the s of tw are in du s tryw e kn ow today, w ithits gen eral l yv as t
gu l f betw een u s ers an d creators , an d its aggres s iv e m ov es again s ts of tw are piracy. ( Som e of
En gel barf s goal s , how ev er, l iv e on in the f ree s of tw are m ov em en t.)
( 4)
( a)En gel barts prim arygoal w as toal l ow peopl e tow ork togethertos ol v e dif f icu l tprobl em s m ore
eas il y( s ee his F ram ew ork). F orthis reas on , n etw orkin g an d s hared in f orm ation s paces w ere
es s en tial .
( b)En gel barts in s is ten ce on n etw ork com m u n ication an d s hared res ou rces m ade him s eem
an achron is tic in the eraof the Al tair, the Appl e II, an d then the P C boom . Itw as on l yw iththe
arriv al of the m ain s tream In tern etthatEn gel barts in s is ten ce on thes e poin ts cam e tobe
appreciated as abs ol u tel ycorrect.
T he f ol l ow in g es s ayin trodu ced the m ou s e, an d the n am e s tu ck, al thou ghEn gel barts n am e f orthe
w ord-proces s in g cu rs ord.Idl 1l IIbu g ( 4b2 a2 ). T he propos ed AR P Acom pu tern etw ork ( 5c6 a)is
w hatbecam e the AR P AN et, an d ev en tu al l ythe In tern et. AR C created the f irs tN IC ( N etw ork
In f orm ation Cen ter)f orthis n etw ork.
N WF
|....
o oi... -e -ow -~s _- ~ o a ---aa --~~o M. ~~ao--
Origin al P u bl ication
AF IP S Con f eren ce P roceedin gs 33, part1, 39 5-410. F al l Join t
Com pu terCon f eren ce, 19 6 8.
AR es earchCen ter
f orAu gm en tin g
Hu m an In tel l ect
Dou gl as En gel bartan d
Wil l iam En gl is h
1 Su m m ary
IaT his paperdes cribes am u l tis pon s orres earchcen terat
Stan f ord R es earchIn s titu te in m an -com pu terin teraction .
l al F orits l aboratoryf acil ity, the Cen terhas atim e-
s harin g com pu ter( 6 5K, 2 4-bitcore)w itha4.5m egabyte
s w appin g dru m an d a9 6 m egabyte f il e-s torage dis k. T his
s erv es tw el v e. CR T w ork s tation s s im u l tan eou s l y.
l al aSpecial hardw are com pl etel yrem ov es f rom the
CP U the bu rden of dis pl ayref res hin g an d in pu t
s am pl in g, ev en thou ghthes e aredon e directl you tof
an d in tocore.
l al b T he dis pl ayin au s ers of f ice appears on ahigh-
res ol u tion ( 87 5-l in e)com m ercial tel ev is ion m on itor,
an d prov ides bothcharacteran d v ectorportrayal s . A
rel ativ el ys tan dard typew riterkeyboard is
s u ppl em en ted byaf iv e keyhan ds etu s ed ( option al l y)
f oren tryof con trol codes an d brief l iteral s . An SR I
cu rs ordev ice cal l ed the m ou s e is u s ed f ors creen
poin tin g an d s el ection .
l al bl T he m ou s e is ahan d hel d X-Y tran s du cer
u s abl e on an yf l ats u rf ace; itis des cribed in greater
detail f u rthef on .
1a2 Special -pu rpos e high-l ev el l an gu ages an d
as s ociated com pil ers prov ide rapid, f l exibl e
dev el opm en tan d m odif ication of the repertoire of
s erv ice f u n ction s an d of theircon trol procedu res ( the
' l atterbein g the detail ed u s eraction s an d com pu ter
f eedback in v ol v ed in con trol l in g the appl ication of
thes e s erv ice f u n ction s ).
l b U s erf il es are organ ized as hierarchical s tru ctu res of
dataen tities , eachcom pos ed of arbitrarycom bin ation s of
textan d f igu res . Arepertoire of coordin ated s erv ice f eatu res
en abl es as kil l ed u s ertocom pos e, s tu dy, an d m odif ythes e
f il es w ithgreats peed an d f l exibil ity, an d tohav e s earches ,
an al ys es datam an ipu l ation , etc. execu ted. In particu l ar,
s pecial s ets of con v en tion s , f u n ction s , an d w orkin g m ethods
hav e been dev el oped toairprogram m in g, l ogical des ign ,
docu m en tation , retriev al , proj ectm an agem en t, team
in teraction , an d hard copyprodu ction .
2 In trodu ction
2 aIn the Au gm en ted Hu m an In tel l ect( AHI)R es earch
Cen teratStan f ord R es earchIn s titu te agrou pof res earchers
is dev el opin g an experim en tal l aboratoryarou n d an
in teractiv e, m u l ti-con s ol e com pu ter-dis pl ays ys tem , an d is
w orkin g tol earn the prin cipl es byw hichin teractiv e
com pu teraids can au gm en ttheirin tel l ectu al capabil ity.
2 b T he res earchobj ectiv e is todev el opprin cipl es an d
techn iqu es f ordes ign in g an au gm en tation s ys tem .
2 12 1 T his in cl u des con cern n oton l yf orthe techn ol ogyof
prov idin g in teractiv e com pu ters erv ice, bu tal s of or
chan ges bothin w ays of con ceptu al izin g, v is u al izin g, an d
organ izin g w orkin g m aterial , an d in procedu res an d
m ethods f orw orkin g in div idu al l yan d cooperativ el y.
2 c T he res earchapproachis s tron gl yem pirical . Atthe
w orkpl ace of eachm em berof the s u bj ectgrou pw e aim to
prov ide n earl yf u l l -tim e av ail abil ityof aCR T w ork s tation ,
an d then tow ork con tin u ou s l ytoim prov e boththe s erv ice
av ail abl e atthe s tation s an d the aggregate v al u e deriv ed
theref rom bythe grou pov erthe en tire ran ge of its rol es an d
activ ities .
2 d T hu s the res earchgrou pis al s othe s u bj ectgrou pin the
experim en t.
2 6 11 Am on g the s pecial activ ities of the grou pare the
ev ol u tion arydev el opm en tof acom pl exhardw are-
s of tw are s ys tem , the des ign of n ew tas k procedu res f or
the s ys tem ' s u s ers , an d caref u l docu m en tation of the
ev ol v in g s ys tem des ign s an d u s erprocedu res .
2 d2 T he grou pal s ohas the u s u al activ ities of m an agin g
its activ ities , keepin g u pw ithou ts ide dev el opm en ts ,
pu bl is hin g reports , etc.
2 d3 Hen ce, the particu l ars of the au gm en tation s ys tem
ev ol v in g here w il l ref l ectthe n atu re of thes e tas ks i.e.,
the s ys tem is aim ed atau gm en tin g as ys tem -dev el opm en t
proj ectteam . T hou ghthe prim aryres earchgoal is to
dev el opprin cipl es of an al ys is an d des ign s oas to
u n ders tan d how toau gm en thu m an capabil ity, choos in g
16 . AR es earchCen ter
f orAu gm en tin g
' 1-II
16 . AR es earchCen ter
f orAu gm en tin g
the res earchers them s el v es as s u bj ects yiel ds as v al u abl e
s econ daryben ef itas ys tem tail ored tohel pdev el op
com pl excom pu ter-bas ed s ys tem s .
2 e T his boots trap grou phas the in teres tin g ( recu rs iv e)
theN EWMEDIAR EADER
3a2 T he s ys tem is n otin ten ded tos erv e agen eral
com m u n ityof tim e-s harin g u s ers bu t1s bein g s haped in
its en tire des ign tow ard the s pecial n eeds of the
boots trappin g experim en t.
as s ign m en tof dev el opin g tool s an d techn iqu es tom ake it35W01l < SK-1ti0I1S
I m ore ef f ectiv e atcarryin g ou tits as s ign m en t.
Zel Its tan gibl e produ ctis adev el opin g au gm en tation
s ys tem toprov ide in creas ed capabil ityf ordev el opin g an d
s tu dyin g au gm en tation s ys tem s .
2 e2 T his s ys tem can hopef u l l ybe tran s f erred, as aw hol e
= orbypieces of con cept, prin cipl e an d techn iqu e, tohel p
others dev el opau gm en tation s ys tem s f oraidin g m an y
otherdis cipl in es an d activ ities .
2 f In otherw ords w e are con cen tratin g f u l l yu pon reachin g
the poin tw here w e can doal l of ou rw ork on l in e-pl acin g
in com pu ters tore al l of ou rs pecif ication s , pl an s , des ign s , pro-
gram s , docu m en tation , reports , m em os , bibl iographyan d
I. |
-
ref eren ce n otes , etc., an d doin g al l of ou rs cratchw ork,
pl an n in g, des ign in g, debu ggin g, etc., an d agood deal of ou r
-
in tercom m u n ication , v iathe con s ol es .
Zf l We are tryin g tom axim ize the cov erage of ou r
docu m en tation , u s in g itas adyn am ic an d pl as tic
s tru ctu re thatw e con tin u al l ydev el opan d al terto
repres en tthe cu rren ts tate of ou rev ol v in g goal s , pl an s ,
progres s , kn ow l edge, des ign s , procedu res , an d data.
2 g T he dis pl ay-com pu ters ys tem tos u pportthis experim en t
is j u s t( atthis w ritin g)becom in g operation al . Its f u n ction al
f eatu res s erv e abas ic dis pl ay-orien ted u s ers ys tem thatw e
hav e ev ol v ed ov erf iv e years an d throu ghthree othercom pu t-
ers . Bel ow are des cribed the prin cipal f eatu res of thes e
-u
s ys tem s .
3 T he U s erSys tem
3aBas ic F acil ity
3al As s een bythe u s er, the bas ic f acil ityhas the
-P f ol l ow in g characteris tics :
3a1a12 CR T con s ol es , of w hich1O are n orm al l y
l ocated in of f ices of AHIres earchs taf f .
, 3a1b T he con s ol es are s erv ed byan SDS 9 40tim e-
s harin g com pu terdedicated tof u l l -tim e s erv ice f orthis
s taf f , an d eachcon s ol e m ayoperate en tirel y
in depen den tl yof the others .
3al c Eachin div idu al has priv ate f il e s pace, an d the
grou phas com m u n itys pace, on ahigh-s peed dis c w ith
3 Capacityof 9 6 m il l ion Characters " F igu re 16 .1. T ypical w ork s tation , w ithT V dis pl aytypew riter
351 As n oted abov e, eachw ork s tation 1s equ ipped w itha
dis pl ay, an al phan u m eric keyboard am ou s e an d af iv e-
keyhan ds et.
3b2 T he dis pl ayateachof the w orks tation s ( s ee F igu re
16 .1)is prov ided on ahigh-res ol u tion cl os ed-circu it
tel ev is ion m on itor.
3l :r3 T he al phan u m eric keyboard 1s s im il artoaT el etype
keyboard Ithas 9 6 n orm al characters in tw ocas es A
third-cas e s hif tkeyprov ides f orf u tu re expan s ion an d
tw os pecial keys are u s ed f ors ys tem con trol
tqigau i
--|:|_:_"1-' ::" E, 1= = -P .
- ' -2 .2 -arf ,
-' n -|_' .
1-' _' _ _- -. = 1
r
keyboard, m ou s e, an d chord han ds et
..\l
, C
* 4
M
a- 16 . AR es earchCen ter
j pm
0 w e .0 n 0.. We ~--o o
354T he m ou s e produ ces tw oan al og v ol tages . As the tw o
w heel s ( s ee F igu re 16 .2 )rotate, eachchan gin g in
proportion tothe X orY m ov em en tov erthe tabl e top.
3b4aT hes e v ol tages con trol - v iaan A/ D con v erter,
the com pu ter' s m em ory, an d the dis pl aygen erator
the coordin ates of atrackin g s potw ithw hichthe u s er
m aypoin t topos ition s on the s creen .
> . - .
au 4__,_.__,_t,,,_.__..\_( _~
W
a
~&-
F igu re 16 .2 . U n ders ide of m ou s e.
312 4b T hree bu tton s on topof the m ou s e are u s ed f or
s pecial con trol .
3b4c As etof experim en ts , com parin g ( w ithin ou r
techn iqu es of in teraction )the rel ativ e s peed an d
accu racyobtain ed w iththis an d others el ection dev ices
s how ed the m ou s e tobe betterthan al ightpen ora
j oys tick ( s ee R ef s . En gl is h1 an d En gl is h2 ).
3b4cl Com pared toal ightpen , itis gen eral l yl es s
aw kw ard an d f atigu in g tou s e, an d ithas adecided
adv an tage f oru s e w ithras ter-s can , w rite throu gh
s torage tu be, proj ection , orm u l tiv iew erdis pl ay
s ys tem s . 31:5T he f iv e keyhan ds ethas 31 chords or
u n iqu e key-s troke com bin ation s , in f iv e cas es .
3b5aT he f irs tf ou rcas es con tain l ow er- an d u pper-cas e
l etters an d pu n ctu ation , digits , an d s pecial characters .
( T he chords f orthe l etters corres pon d tothe bin ary
n u m bers f rom 1 to2 6 .)
319 511 T he f if thcas e is con trol cas e. Aparticu l archord
( the s am e chord in eachcas e)w il l al w ays tran s f er
s u bs equ en tin pu t-chord in terpretation s tocon trol cas e.
3b5c In con trol cas e, on e can backs pace throu gh
recen tin pu t, s pecif yu n derl in in g f ors u bs equ en tin pu t,
f orAu gm en tin g
tran s f ertoan othercas e, v is itan othercas e f oron e
characteroron e w ord, etc.
3b5al On e-han ded typin g w iththe han ds etis
s l ow erthan tw o-han ded typin g w iththe s tan dard
keyboard. How ev er, w hen the u s erw orks w ithon e
han d on the han ds etan d on e on the m ou s e, the
coordin ated in ters pers ion of con trol characters
an d s hortl iteral s trin gs f rom on e han d w ith
m ou s e con trol action s f rom the otheryiel ds con
s iderabl e adv an tage in s peed an d s m oothn es s of
operation .
3b5al l F orl iteral s trin gs l on gerthan abou tten
characters , on e ten ds totran s f erf rom the
han ds ettothe n orm al keyboard.
3b5d2 Bothf rom gen eral experien ce an d f rom
s pecif ic experim en t, its eem s thaten ou ghhan ds et
s kil l tom ake its u s e w orthw hil e can gen eral l ybe
achiev ed w ithabou tf iv e hou rs of practice. Beyon d
this , s kil l grow s w ithu s age.
3c Stru ctu re of F il es
3d Ou rw orkin g in f orm ation is organ ized in tof il es ,
w ithf l exibl e m ean s f oru s ers tos etu pin dices an d
directories , an d tohopf rom f il e tof il e bydis pl ay-
s el ection orbytyped-in f il e-n am e des ign ation s . Each
f il e is highl ys tru ctu red in its in tern al organ ization .
3cl aT he s pecif ic s tru ctu re of agiv en f il e is determ in ed
bythe u s er, an d is an im portan tpartof his con ceptu al
an d s tu dy-m an ipu l ate treatm en tof the f il e.
3c2 T he in trodu ction of expl icits tru ctu rin g toou r
w orkin g in f orm ation s tem s f rom av erybas ic f eatu re of
ou rcon ceptu al f ram ew ork ( s ee R ef s . En gel bart1 an d
En gel bart2 )regardin g m ean s f orau gm en tin g hu m an
in tel l ect.
3c2 aWiththe v iew thatthe s ym bol s on e w orks w ith
are s u ppos ed torepres en tam appin g of on e' s
as s ociated con cepts , an d f u rtherthaton e' s con cepts
exis tin an etw ork of rel ation s hips as oppos ed tothe
es s en tial l yl in earf orm of actu al prin ted records , itw as
decided thatthe con cept m an ipu l ation aids deriv abl e
f rom real -tim e com pu ters u pportcou l d be appreciabl y
en han ced bys tru ctu rin g con v en tion s thatw ou l d m ake
expl icit( f orboththe u s eran d the com pu ter)the
v ariou s types of n etw ork rel ation s hips am on g
con cepts .
3c2 b As an experim en tw iththis con cept, w e adopted
s om e years agothe con v en tion of organ izin g al l
in f orm ation in toexpl icithierarchical s tru ctu res , w ith
16 AR es earchCen ter
f orAu gm en tin g
prov is ion s f orarbitrarycros s -ref eren cin g am on g the
el em en ts of ahierarchy.
3c2 bl T he prin cipal m an if es tation of this
hierarchical s tru ctu re is the breakin g u pof textin to
arbitrarys egm en ts cal l ed s tatem en ts , eachof
w hichbears an u m bers how in g its s erial l ocation in
the textan d its l ev el in an ou tl in e of the text.
T his paperis an exam pl e of hierarchical text
s tru ctu re.
3c2 c T os etu paref eren ce l in k f rom Statem en tAto
Statem en tB, on e m ayref erin Statem en tAeitherto
the l ocation n u m berof Bortothe n am e of B. T he
dif f eren ce is thatthe n u m beris v u l n erabl e to
s u bs equ en ts tru ctu ral chan ge, w hereas the n am e s tays
w iththe s tatem en tthrou ghchan ges in the s tru ctu re
theN EWMEDIAR EADER
3c4c We hav e com e tow rite al l of ou rdocu m en tation ,
n otes , reports , an d propos al s accordin g tothes e
con v en tion s , becau s e of the res u l tin g in creas e in ou r
abil itytos tu dyan d m an ipu l ate them du rin g
com pos ition , m odif ication , an d u s age. Ou r
program m in g s ys tem s al s oin corporate the
con v en tion s . We hav e f ou n d ittobe f airl yu n iv ers al
thataf teran in itial period of n egativ e reaction in
readin g expl icitl ys tru ctu red m aterial , on e com es to
pref erittom aterial prin ted in the n orm al f orm .
3d F il e Stu dyin g
3d1 T he com pu teraids are u s ed f ortw oprin cipal
"s tu dyin g"operation s , bothcon cern ed w ithcon s tru ction
of the u s er' s v iew s , i.e., the portion of his w orkin g text
thathe s ees on the s creen atagiv en m om en t.
arou n d it.
3c2 cl Bycon v en tion , the f irs tw ord of as tatem en tis
treated as the n am e of the s tatem en t, if itis
en cl os ed in paren thes es . F orin s tan ce, Statem en tO
on the s creen of F igu re 16 .1 is n am ed F JCC.
3c2 c2 R ef eren ces tothes e n am es m aybe em bedded
an yw here in others tatem en ts , f orin s tan ce as
s ee( AF I),"w here s pecial f orm atin f orm s the v iew er
expl icitl ythatthis ref ers toas tatem en tn am ed
AF I, orm erel yas as trin g of characters in acon text
s u chthatthe v iew ercan in f erthe ref eren cin g.
3c2 c3 T his n am in g an d l in kin g, w hen added tothe
bas ic hierarchical f orm , yiel ds ahighl yf l exibl e
gen eral s tru ctu rin g capabil ity. T hes e s tru ctu rin g
con v en tion s are expected toev ol v e rel ativ el yrapidl y
as ou rres earchprogres s es .
3c3 F ors om e m aterial , the s tru ctu red s tatem en tf orm
m aybe u n des irabl e. In thes e cas es , there are m ean s f or
s u ppres s in g the s pecial f orm attin g in the f in al prin tou t
of the s tru ctu red text.
3c4T he bas ic v al idityof the s tru ctu red textapproachhas
been w el l es tabl is hed byou rs u bs equ en texperien ce.
3c4aWe hav e f ou n d thatin bothof f -l in e an d on -l in e
com pu teraids , the con ception , s tipu l ation , an d
execu tion of s ign if ican tm an ipu l ation s are m ade m u ch
eas ierbythe s tru ctu rin g con v en tion s .
3c-412 Al s o, in w orkin g on l in e ataCR T con s ol e, n ot
on l yis m an ipu l ation m ade m u cheas ieran d m ore
pow erf u l bythe s tru ctu re, bu tau s er' s abil itytoget
abou tv eryqu icl dyw ithin his dataan d tohav e s pecial
v iew s of itgen erated tos u ithis n eed, are s ign if ican tl y
aided bythe s tru ctu re.
3dl aDis pl ayStart
3d1a1 T he f irs toperation is f in din g aparticu l ar
s tatem en tin the f il e ( cal l ed the dis pl ays tart); the
v iew w il l then begin w iththats tatem en t. T his is
equ iv al en ttof in din g the begin n in g of aparticu l ar
pas s age in ahard-copydocu m en t.
3dl b F orm of View
3dl bl T he s econ d operation is the s pecif ication of a
f orm of v iew itm ays im pl ycon s is tof a
s creen f u l of textw hichs equ en tial l yf ol l ow s the
poin ts pecif ied as the dis pl ays tart, oritm aybe
con s tru cted in otherw ays , f requ en tl ys oas togiv e
the ef f ectof an ou tl in e.
3d1c In n orm al , of f -l in e docu m en ts tu dyin g, on e of ten
does the f irs ttype of operation , bu tthe s econ d is l ike a
s is s ors -an d-s tapl e j ob an d is rarel ydon e j u s ttoaid
on e' s s tu dyin g.
3al l d ( Athird type of s erv ice operation thatw il l
u n dou btedl ybe of s ign if ican taid tos tu dyin g is
qu es tion an s w erin g. We don othav e this type of
s erv ice.)
3d2 Specif ication of Dis pl ayStart
3al 2 aT he dis pl ays tartm aybe s pecif ied in s ev eral
w ays :
3d2 al Bydirects el ection of as tatem en tw hichis
on the dis pl ay the u s ers im pl ypoin ts toan y
characterin the s tatem en t, u s in g the m ou s e.
3d2 a2 If the des ired dis pl ays tartis n oton the
dis pl ay, itm aybe s el ected in directl yif itbears a
m arker.
3d2 a2 aMarkers are n orm al l yin v is ibl e. Am arker
has an am e of u ptof iv e characters , an d is
O 16 . AR es earchCen ter
l 19 6 8
o o n 0 Io
attached toacharacterof the text. R ef errin g to
the m arkerbyn am e ( w hil e hol din g dow n a
s pecial bu tton )is exactl yequ iv al en ttopoin tin g
tothe characterw iththe m ou s e.
3d2 a2 b T he con trol procedu res m ake it
extrem el yqu ick an d eas ytof ixan d cal l m arkers .
3d2 a3 Byf u rn is hin g eitherthe n am e orthe
l ocation n u m berof the s tatem en t, w hichcan be
don e. in eitherof tw obas ic w ays :
3d2 a3aT ypin g f rom the keyboard
3al 2 a3l 9 Sel ectin g an occu rren ce of the n am e or
n u m berin the text. T his m aybe don e either
directl yorv iaan in directm arkers el ection .
3d2 b Af teriden tif yin g as tatem en tbyon e of the abov e
m ean s , the u s erm ayrequ es ttobe taken directl ythere
f orhis n extv iew . Al tern atel y, he m ayrequ es tin s tead
thathe be taken tos om e s tatem en tbearin g as pecif ied
s tru ctu re rel ation s hiptothe on e s pecif ical l yiden tif ied.
F orin s tan ce, w hen the u s eriden tif ies Statem en t3E4
byon e of the abov e. m ean s ( as s u m e ittobe am em ber
of the l is t3E1 throu gh3E7 ), he m ayas k tobe taken to
3cl 2 bl its s u cces s or, i.e., Statem en t3E5
3al 2 b2 its predeces s or, i.e., Statem en t3E3
3d2 b3 its l is ttail , i.e., Statem en t3E7
3d2 b4Its l is thead, i.e., Statem en t3E1
3d2 b5Its l is ts ou rce, i.e., Statem en t3E
3d2 b6 Its s u bhead, i.e., Statem en t3E4A
3al 2 c Bes ides bein g taken toan expl icitl yiden tif ied
s tatem en t, au s erm ayas k togotothe f irs ts tatem en t
in the f il e ( orthe n extaf terthe cu rren tl ocation )that
con tain s as pecif ied w ord ors trin g of characters .
3al .2 cl He m ays pecif ythe s earchs trin g bytypin g it
in , bydirect( m ou s e)s el ection , orbyin direct
( m arker)s el ection .
3:13 Specif ication of F orm of View
3d3aT he n orm al v iew begin n in g atagiv en l ocation is
l ike af ram e cu tou t. f rom al on g s crol l u pon w hichthe
hierarchical s etof s tatem en ts is prin ted in s equ en tial
f orAu gm en tin g
thos e s tatem en ts w hos e depth is l es s than or
equ al toL. ( F orexam pl e, Statem en t3E4is third
l ev el , 3Es econ d, 4B2 C1 f if th, etc.)T hu s itis
pos s ibl e tos ee on l yf irs t-l ev el s tatem en ts , oron l y
f irs t-, s econ d , an d third l ev el s tatem en ts , f or
exam pl e.
3d3b2 T ru n cation :Giv en as pecif ied tru n cation
param eter, T ( T = 1, 2 , . . . ,ALL), the v iew gen erator
w il l s how on l ythe f irs tT l in es of eachs tatem en t
bein g dis pl ayed.
3d3b3 Con ten t:Giv en as pecif ication f ordes ired
con ten t( w ritten in as pecial high-l ev el con ten t-
an al ys is l an gu age)the v iew gen eratoroption al l y
can be directed todis pl ayon l ythos e s tatem en ts
thathav e the s pecif ied con ten t.
3d3b3aOn e can s pecif ys im pl e s trin gs , orl ogical
com bin ation s thereof , ors u chthin gs as hav in g
the w ord m em ory w ithin f ou rw ords of the
w ord al l ocation .
3al 3b3b Con ten ts pecif ication s are w ritten as
text, an yw here in the f il e. T hu s the f u l l pow erof
the s ys tem m aybe u s ed f orcom pos in g an d
m odif yin g them .
3al 3b3c An yon e con ten ts pecif ication can then
be chos en f orappl ication ( bys el ectin g itdirectl y
orin directl y). Itis com pil ed im m ediatel yto
produ ce am achin e-code con ten t-an al ys is
rou tin e, w hichis then readytof il ter
s tatem en ts f orthe v iew gen erator.
3d3c In addition , the f ol l ow in g f orm atf eatu res of the
dis pl aym aybe in depen den tl yv aried:in den tation of
s tatem en ts accordin g tol ev el , s u ppres s ion of l ocation
n u m bers an d/ orn am es of s tatem en ts , an d s eparation
of s tatem en ts bybl an k l in es .
3d3d T he u s ercon trol s thes e v iew s pecif ication s by
m ean s of brief , m n em on ic charactercodes . As kil l ed
u s erw il l readj u s this v iew tos u itim m ediate n eeds
v eryqu icl dyan d f requ en tl y; f orexam pl e, he m ay
chan ge l ev el an d tru n cation s ettin gs s ev eral tim es in as
m an ys econ ds .
order. Su chav iew is dis pl ayed in F igu re 16 .1. 3d4P reeZin g Statem en ts
3cl 3b Otherw is e, three in depen den tl yv ariabl e v iew -
s pecif ication con dition s m aybe appl ied tothe
con s tru ction of the dis pl ayed v iew :l ev el cl ippin g, l in e
tru n cation , an d con ten tf il terin g. T he v iew is
s im u l tan eou s l yaf f ected byal l three of thes e.
3d3b1 Lev el :Giv en as pecif ied l ev el param eter, L( L=
1, 2 , . . . , ALL), the v iew gen eratorw il l dis pl ayon l y
3d4aOn e m ayal s opre em ptan arbitraryam ou n tof
the u pperportion of the s creen f orhol din g acol l ection
of f rozen s tatem en ts . T he rem ain in g l ow erportion is
treated as aredu ced-s ize s can n in g f ram e, an d the v iew
gen eratorf ol l ow s the s am e ru l es f orf il l in g itas a
des cribed abov e.
16 AR es earchCen ter
f orAu gm en tin g
34141)T he f rozen s tatem en ts m aybe in depen den tl y
chos en ordis m is s ed, eachm ayhav e l in e tru n cation
in depen den tof the res t, an d the orderin w hichthey
are dis pl ayed is arbitraryan d readil ychan ged. An y
s creen -s el ectoperan d f oran ycom m an d m aybe
s el ected f rom an yportion of the dis pl ay( in cl u din g the
f rozen s tatem en ts ).
3d5Exam pl es
3d5aF igu res 16 .3 an d 16 .4s how v iew s gen erated f rom
the s am e s tartin g poin tw ithdif f eren tl ev el -cl ippin g
param eters . T his exam pl e happen s tobe of aprogram
w ritten in ou rMachin e~Orien ted l an gu age ( MOL, s ee
bel ow ).
I 1. - or/ os rraT 313155
?s ; 1 trT 151! e= r~; r ., ' :. ' J* ' I0LEE" f WA1l '
I I F f il i; $11 __l -R , . I. _. _- A ' .
I
IIMCHAR T rn octbu atr .SCR :l :
u ttrraz N HAR = l B. l CHAR = l 0, n xrtu :ao. tin cts oi. I 1
otcl an tEXIE N M.Li5T = Ln rl ar= u . l e= \s 1a. caars s a. SP ACE= 0B:
occu rs SIAR = ' r' .m ov = ' 1' . P KED= 01 -
IF P res to ru es
is s cars .s c n tu s n 1 1
azru n xtl l rl itu tru s l l r
earn s IP ER N I:
tu n e. .R ES r
F igu re 16 .3. View of an MOLprogram , w ithl ev el param eters etto3
an d tru n cation to1.
AAJI au ra:/ atSIN SILS _
' : ' .. F okta tSrartu ts r
r
. . J
Il rcu s kl raocrn u n tr.s cn :r| , - j
Beam N cu As ; |0.,u cu an = |0. m em o. LIN ECIOL1 I I ~ A .
oecm e txttkm u u s m . u rn en . u m s s a. can s s b. s m cc-zan y-
n s crn l s $IAR = ' a' .An s oI= ' 1' . P t|eo= n i~ '
trP EEIED ru es - - 3 ' .; A
i il l } ' ' ' ..~' ; f
' P El Eh~0z | ' , A1:
_aeru n u rrru ttu carn l rru n : I 1
IF HOU R .6 2 H0458 I
1:; -"* ~
:12 .-' 1 v.-' ~.-< > n s s n iihiigal l ix rd
T HE!
' SE6 1! '
F GIIF R MU IIC I 1' 0l l A!Cl l D0~ .-7 <
' N CHAI ".8516 "! . A
E07 0I2 :
( HIM HOU R ' l | - ~
IIZI1 IF l 1$I T HEN
l CHAR ' ~ 01
aw ru n e u io
u s e aw n orm
. _. n rru l rl l ttn cu il l rr
F igu re 16 .4. Sam e program as F igu re 16 .3, bu tw ithl ev el param eter
chan ged toal l .
= ZL.1* IDR ! ( Ai.A2 .AJ.A4.A5l <P > IOR D DELl H!T <P > ' ..
; - : gr; cP > SAMP LEIOR DS "
Lu . 2 R .( +1Hs R I1 ~s P E01r ADJl R 8I.T R U E} L1T x:o IS n ew = > <AH> P L l ~ -
F igu re 16 .5. View of CMLprogram , s how in g s ixf rozen s tatem en ts
theN EWMEDIAR EADER
3d5b F igu re 16 .5dem on s trates the f reezin g
f eatu re w ithav iew of aprogram ( the s am e on e
s how n in F igu re 16 .8)w ritten in ou rCon trol
Metal an gu age ( CML, s ee bel ow ). Statem en te 3C,
3C2 , 2 B, 2 B1, 2 B2 , 2 B3, an d 2 B4are f rozen , an d
s tatem en ts f rom 2 J on are s how n n orm al l yw ith
L= 3, T = 1.
3d5bl T he f reezin g here w as u s ed tohol d f or
s im u l tan eou s v iew f ou rdif f eren tf u n ction al l y
rel ated proces s des cription s . T he s u brou tin es
( +BU G1SP EC)an d ( +WAIT )w ere l ocated byu s e
of the hop-to n am e f eatu re des cribed abov e.
1 SC in ] [ EDIT ] bs bl btttrtrks ai_0555
ICZ ii! Sx= DV DSP IIDELET EN OR D) IH,N OR D * hU Gl 9 P CWDS
- .l Bl ,P l .P 2 .P J.P Q iDEL1 .
-' tors au ors rs craw . cas e -
.- ran rcorcoroCs ) _ ' '
' zaz rau oiSP ECT BGGI orVAT ! n ev u s "
tas cu ocw s e ooroac P
' - - - - - s - - - u - | 1 1 '
' ZJ 1IAl T iBF . CASE '
' - 2 41 rcoiooroEs ] _ ~_-
_2 4: rearaeron u '
; zis eu ocs s c acrcw r01.: -- ' .
1+ L) ' ' ZK .02 ' .
* ; x| . s rat~ SF T BIJ P 3,?! s erarl rDELP T R IP T P l ! ooroCS)
. . zti1P czar! > cu biof A3* AJ u s e its eras ! <cu s to rA2 ~Az IA4/ ~?l 5
an d il l u s tratin g u s e of ref eren ce hoppin g.
3e F il e Modif ication
3el Here w e u s e as tan dard s etof editin g operation s ,
s pecif yin g w itheachoperation aparticu l artype of text
en tity.
3el aOperation s :Del ete, In s ert, R epl ace, Mov e, Copy.
3e1b En tities ( w ithin textof s tatem en ts ):Character,
T ext( arbitrarys trin gs ), Word, Vis ibl e ( prin ts trin g),
In v is ibl e ( gaps trin g).
3el c En tities ( f ors tru ctu re m an ipu l ation ):Statem en t,
Bran ch( s tatem en tpl u s al l s u bs tru ctu re), Grou p
( s u bl is tof bran ches ), P l ex( com pl ete l is tof bran ches ).
3e2 Stru ctu re m ayal s obe m odif ied byj oin in g s tatem en ts .
orbreakin g as tatem en tin totw oatas pecif ied poin t.
3e3 Gen eral l y, an operation an d an en titym ake u pa
com m an d, s u chas Del ete Word T os pecif ythe
com m an d, the u s ertypes the f irs tl etterof eachw ord in
.0- s ._.__... 16 . AR es earchCen ter
l 19 6 8
0- a 4 eeeeee at tr an _~ _~_-of
the com m an d:thu s DW s pecif ies Del ete Word. T here
are occas ion al cas es w here athird w ord is u s ed orw here
the f irs tl ettercan n otbe u s ed becau s e of am bigu ities .
3f P il e Ou tpu t
3f 1 F il es m aybe s en ttoan yof an u m berof dif f eren t
ou tpu tdev ices toprodu ce hard copy an u ppe.r/ l ow er-
cas e l in e prin ter, an on -l in e high-qu al itytypew riter, or
papertape todriv e v ariou s typew riters .
3f l aIn the f u tu re itw il l be pos s ibl e tos en d f il es v ia
m agn etic tape toan of f -l in e CR T -to-f il m s ys tem f rom
w hichw e can produ ce Xeroxprin ts , Mu l til ithm as ters ,
orm icrof orm records .
3f 2 F l exibl e f orm atcon trol m aybe exercis ed in this
proces s bym ean s of s pecial l ycoded directiv es em bedded
in the f il es ~ ru n n in g headers , page n u m berin g, l in e
l en gths , l in e cen terin g, s u ppres s ion of l ocation n u m bers ,
in den tin g, rightj u s tif ication ( hyphen l es s ), etc., are
con trol l abl e f eatu res .
3g Com pil in g an d Debu ggin g
3gl Sou rce-code f il es w ritten in an yof ou rcom pil er
l an gu ages ( s ee bel ow ), orin the SDS 9 40as s em bl y
l an gu age ( AR P AS, in w hichou rcom pil erou tpu tis
produ ced)m aybe com pil ed u n deron -l in e con trol . F or
debu ggin g, w e hav e m ade atriv ial addition tothe SDS
9 40' s DDT l oader debu ggers oas tooperate itf rom the
CR T dis pl ays . T hou ghitw as des ign ed tooperate f rom a
T el etype term in al , this s ys tem gain s agreatdeal in
s peed an d pow erbym erel ys how in g w ithadis pl aythe
l as t2 6 l in es of w hatw ou l d hav e been on the T el etype
ou tpu t. l
3hCal cu l atin g
3111 T he s am e s m al l in n ov ation as m en tion ed abov e f or
DDT en abl es u s tou s e the CALs ys tem f rom adis pl ay
term in al .
3! Con f eren cin g
311 We hav e s etu paroom s pecial l yequ ipped f oron -l in e
con f eren cin g. Sixdis pl ays are arran ged in the cen terof a
s qu are tabl e ( s ee F igu re 16 .6 )s othateachof tw en ty
participan ts has good v is ibil ity. On e participan tcon trol s
the s ys tem , an d al l dis pl ays s how the s am e v iew . T he
otherparticipan ts hav e m ice thatcon trol al arge arrrow
on the s creen , f oru s e as apoin ter( w ithn ocon trol
f u n ction ).
3112 As aqu ick m ean s of f in din g an d dis pl ayin g ( w ith
appropriate f orm s of v iew )an ydes ired m aterial f rom a
v eryl arge col l ection , this s ys tem is apow erf u l aid to
pres en tation an d rev iew con f eren ces .
f orAu gm en tin g
_ . _
F igu re 16 .6 . On -l in e con f eren ce arran gem en t.
313 We are al s oexperim en tin g w ithitin proj ectm eetin gs ,
u s in g itn oton l ytokeeptrack of agen daitem s an d
chan ges bu tal s otol og progres s n otes , action n otes , etc.
T he rev iew aid is of cou rs e highl yu s ef u l here al s o.
3i4We are an xiou s tos ee w hats pecial con v en tion s an d
procedu res w il l ev ol v e toal l ow u s toharn es s an u m berof
in depen den tcon s ol es w ithin acon f eren ce grou p. T his
obv iou s l yhas con s iderabl e poten tial .
4Serv ice-Sys tem Sof tw are
4aT he U s ers Con trol Lagu age
4011 Con s iderthe s erv ice au s ergets f rom the com pu terto
be in the f orm of dis crete operation s i.e., the execu tion
of in div idu al s erv ice f u n ction s f rom arepertoire
com pris in g as erv ice s ys tem .
4a1aExam pl es of s erv ice f u n ction s are del etin g a
w ord, repl acin g acharacter, hoppin g toan am e, etc.
4a2 As s ociated w itheachf u n ction of this repertoire is a
con trol -dial ogu e procedu re."T his procedu re in v ol v es
s el ectin g as erv ice f u n ction f rom the repertoire, s ettin g u p
the n eces s aryparam eterdes ign ation s f oraparticu l ar
appl ication , recov erin g f rom u s ererrors , an d cal l in g f or
the execu tion of the f u n ction .
4a2 aT he procedu re is m ade u pof the s equ en ce of
keys trokes , s el ectaction s , etc. m ade bythe u s er,
togetherw iththe in ters pers ed f eedback m es s ages
f rom the com pu ter.
4a3 T he repertoire of s erv ice f u n ction s , togetherw ith
theircon trol -dial ogu e procedu res , con s titu tes the u s ers
con trol l an gu age. T his is al an gu age f oram as ter-s l av e
dial ogu e, en abl in g the u s ertocon trol appl ication of the
com pu ter' s capabil ities tohis ow n s erv ice.
16 . AR es earchCen ter
f orAu gm en tin g
4a3aIts eem s cl earthats ign if ican tau gm en tation of
on e' s in tel l ectu al ef f ectiv en es s f rom the harn es s in g of
com pu ters erv ices w il l requ ire dev el opm en tof abroad
an d s ophis ticated con trol l an gu age v ocabu l ary.
4a3b Itf ol l ow s thatthe ev ol u tion of s u chacon trol
l an gu age is av eryim portan tpartof au gm en tation -
s ys tem res earch.
4:14F orthe des ign erof u s ers ys tem s , itis im portan tto
hav e good m ean s f ors pecif yin g the n atu re of the
f u n ction s an d theirres pectiv e con trol dial ogu e
procedu res , s othatades ign s pecif ication w il l be
4a4aCon cis e, s othatits es s en tial f eatu res are eas il y
s een
4a4b U n am bigu ou s , s othatqu es tion s abou tthe des ign
m aybe an s w ered cl earl y
4a4c Can on ical , s othatin f orm ation is eas il yl ocated
404d N atu ral , s othatthe f orm of the des cription f its
the con ceptu al f ram e of the des ign
4a4e Eas ytocom pos e, s tu dy, an d m odif y, s othatthe
proces s of ev ol u tion arydes ign can be f acil itated.
4a5Itis al s oim portan tf orthe u s ertohav e ades cription
of the s erv ice f u n ction s an d theircon trol -dial ogu e
procedu res .
405aT he des cription m u s tagain be con cis e,
u n am bigu ou s , can on ical , an d n atu ral ; f u rtherm ore, it
m u s tbe accu rate, in thatev erythin g rel ev an ttothe
F -Q - ___- - - --
CA ' T oDELET El
is n rn w "s m rs i
co L-----------*
theN EWMEDIAR EADER
u s erabou tthe s erv ice f u n ction s an d theircon trol -
dial ogu e procedu res is des cribed, an d ev erythin g
des cribed actu al l yw orks as in dicated.
4b State-ChartR epres en tation of Con trol Lan gu age Des ign
419 1 F igu re 16 .7 s how s achartin g m ethod thatw as u s ed
in earl iers tages of ou rw ork f ordes ign in g an d s pecif yin g
the con trol -procedu re portion s of the con trol l an gu age.
Ev en thou ghl im ited todes cribin g on l ythe con trol ~
dial ogu e procedu res , this repres en tation n on ethel es s
s erv ed v eryw el l an d l ed u s todev el opthe s u cces s iv e
techn iqu es des cribed bel ow .
412 2 F igu re 16 .7 s how s actu al con trol procedu res f orf ou r
s erv ice f u n ction s f rom the repertoire of an in teractiv e
s ys tem :Del ete Word, Del ete T ext, P l ace U pStatem en t,
an d F orw ard Statem en t.
4b2 aT he boxes con tain abbrev iated des cription s of
rel ev an tdis pl ay-f eedback con dition s , repres en tin g the
in term ediate s tates betw een s u cces s iv e u s eraction s .
Bothtoil l u s trate how the chartin g con v en tion s are
u s ed an d togiv e s om e f eel in g f orthe dyn am ics of ou r
u s er-s ys tem con trol procedu res , w e des cribe brief l y
bel ow boththe charts ym bol s an d the as s ociated
dis pl ay-f eedback con v en tion s thatw e hav e dev el oped
4b2 a1 T he w ritin g atthe topof eachboxin dicates
w hatis tobe s how n as com m an d f eedback atthe
topof the dis pl ay( s ee F igu res 16 .3, 16 .4an d 16 .5).
U OW
' I
e as C CD iiitit6 * ican is
m y _, . .. . ._
01E"T ' T Y ' ""' oetere w o0 '
og_e' re erm rv l 0_X ,
+ X OT HER
___O l 0T ,} |; , - - 6 - 4' 4.. +au c 1 s pec.
7 <h ~IO
02 31-
F
ST AR T
Jin an bu tn u n 1* Ju u l xxu in
L-e _. e ._.__ ~ - ~ ~ ~ __1.
ED Q Q BU G \
-- T rag , .2 i% ":.:* 55.. f f ; ?.".iZf f ., X
1--5 Q - . T - ' ~
-_.. 9 g OT HER om en om en
iiiVT W T
T ; OT HER DELET ET EXT
._.... T f ? x
-""" P LACEU P
T CW P itT 1BU G s rm em em X CA
___g F OWN AR D ( ; ,q,3 F OR WAR D Ex
___ST AT EMEN T
:T AT E""&5T X Q 0 on -ran
10301:
1-..
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OT HER OP EN T IT Y
1? *
-E:7 gg g OT HEF L co
rar------ F OR WAR D CA
___ ST AT EMEN T n u n X
[ X _ ororr DIGIT Q
.om en
N U M = HU M "D|Gl F '
T B-589 0-I6
F igu re 16 .7 . State-chartportrayal of partof the text-m an ipu l ation con trol l an gu age.
- w 0 _16 .AR es earchCen ter
19 6 8
O _~- - ~c~-- --( J- = 0A Q of A Q 0
4b2 a1aAn u parrow s om etim es appears u n der
the f irs tcharacterof on e of the w ords of
Com m an d F eedback.
4b2 a1a1 T his in dicates tothe u s erthatthe
n extcharacterhe types w il l be in terpreted as
des ign atin g an ew term torepl ace thatbein g
poin ted to n ou parrow u n derCom m an d
F eedback s ign if ies thatkeyboard action w il l
n otaf f ectthe com m an d des ign ation .
4b2 a1b En tity repres en ts the en tityw ord ( i.e.,
character, w ord, s tatem en t, etc.)thatw as
l as tu s ed as partof af u l l ys pecif ied com m an d.
419 2 0119 1 T he com pu terof ten of f ers the u s er
an en tityoption .
452 6 12 T he circl e in the boxin dicates the character
tobe u s ed f orthe bu g ( the trackin g s pot), w hich
al tern ates betw een the characters u parrow an d
pl u s .
4b2 a2 aT he u parrow in dicates thatas el ect
action is appropriate, an d the pl u s in dicates that
as el ectaction is in appropriate.
4b2 a3 T he s trin g of Xs , w ithu n derl in es , in dicates
thatthe s el ected characters are tobe u n derl in ed as
am ean s of s how in g the u s erw hatthe com pu ter
thin ks he has s el ected.
412 2 11 T here is f requ en tl yan X on the ou tpu tl in e f rom
aboxon the chart. T his in dicates thatthe com pu teris
tow aitu n til the u s erhas m ade an otheraction .
412 2 19 1 Af terthis n extaction , the com pu terf ol l ow s
abran chin g path, depen din g u pon w hatthe action
w as ( as in dicated on the chart)toreachan other
s tate-des cription boxoron e of the f u n ction -
execu tion proces s es .
4c T he Con trol Metal an gu age
4c1 In s earchf oran im prov em en tov erthe s tate chart, w e
l ooked f orthe f ol l ow in g s pecial f eatu res , as w el l as the
gen eral f eatu res l is ted abov e:
4c1aArepres en tation al f orm u s in g s tru ctu ral texts o
as toharn es s the pow erof ou ron -l in e text-
m an ipu l ation techn iqu es f orcom pos in g, s tu dyin g, an d
m odif yin g ou rdes ign s .
4c1b Af orm thatw ou l d al l ow u s tos pecif ythe s erv ice
f u n ction s as w el l as the con trol -dial ogu e procedu res .
4c1c Af orm s u chthatades ign des cription f il e cou l d
be tran s l ated byacom pu terprogram in tothe actu al
im pl em en tation of the con trol l an gu age.
f orAu gm en tin g
4c2 U s in g ou rT ree Metacom pil er-com pil er( des cribed
bel ow ), w e hav e dev el oped an exts tepf orw ard in ou r
m ean s of des ign in g, s pecif yin g, im pl em en tin g an d
docu m en tin g ou ron l in e con trol l an gu ages . T he res u l tis
cal l ed Con trol Metal an gu age ( CML).
4c2 aF igu re 16 .8 s how s aportion of the des cription f or
the cu rren tcon trol l an gu age, w ritten in Con trol
Metal an gu age.
4c2 a1 T his l an gu age is the m ean s f ordes cribin g
boththe s erv ice f u n ction s an d theircon trol -
dial ogu e procedu res .
3 ( w cz)zapcas e
F igu re 16 .8. Metal an gu age des cription of partof con trol l an gu age.
3A( b)[ edit] ds p( backw ard T es * ). cas e
3B( c)[ edit] ds p( copyT es * ):s tru e = > <am > adj 1: . cas e
3B1 ( c)s * = cc ds p( T c0pycharacter)e* = c,character
+bu g2 s pec +cdl im ( b1,p1,p2 ,p3,p4)
+cdl im ( b2 ,p5,p6 ,p7 ,p8)+cpcht> <( b1,p2 ,p4,pS,p6 );
3B2 ( w )s * = cw ds p( T copyw ord)e* = w ,w ord +bu g2 s pec
+w dr2 ( b1,p1,p2 ,p3,p4)+w dr2 ( b2 ,p5,p6 ,p7 ,p8)
+cpw dv s ( b1,p2 ,p4,p5,p6 );
3B3 ( l )s * = cl ds p( T copyl in e)e' * = l ,l in e +bu g2 s pec
+l dl im ( b1,p1,p2 ,p3,p4)+l dl im ( b2 ,p5,p6 ,p7 ,p8):c s t
b1<-s f ( b1)p2 , rif zpp2 > p1 cr: then ( cr)el s e ( n u l l ), p5
p6 , p4s e( b1): goto [ s ]
3B4( v )s * = cv ds p( T copyv is ibl e)e* = v ,v is ibl e +bu g2 s pec
+v dr2 ( b1,p1,p2 ,p3,p4)+v dr2 ( b2 ,p5,p6 ,p7 ,p8)
+cpw dv s ( b1,p2 ,p4,p5,p6 );
3B10en dcas e +caqm ;
3C ( d)[ edit] ds p( del ete T es * ). cas e
3C1 ( c)s * = dc ds p( T del ete character)e* = c,character
+bu g1s pec +cdl im ( b1,p1,p2 ,p3,p4)+del ;
3C2 ( w )s * = dw ds p( T del ete w ord)e* = w ,w ord +bu g1s pec
+w dr ( b1,p1,p2 ,p3,p4)+del ;
3C3 ( l )s * = -dl ds p( T del ete l in e)e* = l ,l in e +bu g1s pec...
16 . AR es earchCen ter
f orAu gm en tin g
4c2 b T he Con trol Metal an gu age T ran s l ator( CMLT )
can proces s af il e con tain in g s u chades cription , to
produ ce acorres pon din g v ers ion of an in teractiv e
s ys tem w hichres pon ds tou s eraction s exactl yas
des cribed in the f il e.
4c3 T here is as tron g corres pon den ce betw een the
con v en tion s f orrepres en tin g the con trol procedu res in
Con trol Metal an gu age an d in the State chart, as a
com paris on of F igu res 16 .8 an d 16 .7 w il l rev eal .
4c3aT he particu l arexam pl e prin ted ou tf orF igu re
16 .8 w as chos en becau s e its pecif ies s om e of the s am e
procedu res as in F igu re 16 .7 .
4c3b F orin s tan ce, the s teps of dis pl ayf eedback s tates ,
l eadin g toexecu tion of the Del ete Word f u n ction , can
readil ybe f ol l ow ed in the s tate chart.
4c3l 11 T he s teps are produ ced bythe u s ertypin g
then then s el ectin g acharacterin agiv en
w ord, an d then hittin g com m an d accept"( the CA
key).
4c3Z' } 2 T he corres pon din g s teps are ou tl in ed bel ow
f orthe Coiitrol Metal an gu age des cription of F igu re
16 .8, progres s in g f rom Statem en t3, toStatem en t
3c, toStatem en t3c2 , toSu brou tin e +BU GSP EC, etc.
4c3l 13 T he poin ts orregion s in F igu re 16 .7
corres pon din g tothes e s tatem en ts an d s u brou tin es
are m arked by( 3), ( SC), ( 3C2 ), an d ( +BU G1SP EC),
tohel pcom pare the tw orepres en tation s .
4c3c T he s am e s teps are in dicated in F igu re 16 .8,
s tartin g f rom Statem en t3:
4c3c1 D s ets u pthe s tate des cribed in Statem en t
3C
4c3c2 s ets u pthe s tate des cribed in Statem en t
3C2 -
4c3c3 T he s u brou tin e +BU G1SP EC w aits f orthe
s el ect w ord ( 1)an d CA( 2 )action s l eadin g tothe
execu tion of the del ete w ord f u n ction .
4c3c3a, T hen the T WDR s u brou tin e takes the
bu g-pos ition param eteran d s ets poin ters P 1
throu ghP 4todel im itthe w ord in the textdata.
4c3c3b F in al l y, the +DELs u brou tin e del etes
w hatthe poin ters del im it, an d then retu rn s to
the l as t-def in ed s tate ( i.e., tow here S* = DVV).
4d Bas ic Organ ization of the On -Lin e Sys tem ( N LS)
4d1 F igu re 16 .9 s how s the rel ation s hips am on g the m aj or
com pon en ts of N LS.
theN EWMEDIAR EADER
4d2 T he T ree MetaT ran s l atoris aproces s ors pecial l y
des ign ed toprodu ce n ew tran s l ators .
4d2 aT here is as pecial l an gu age the T ree Meta
Lan gu age f oru s e in des cribin g the tran s l atortobe
produ ced.
4d2 b As pecial T ree Metal ibraryof s u brou tin es m u s t
be u s ed, al on g w iththe ou tpu tof the T ree Meta
T ran s l ator, toprodu ce af u n ction in g n ew tran s l ator.
T he s am e l ibrarys erv es f orev erytran s l atorit
produ ces .
4d3 F orprogram m in g the v ariou s s u brou tin es u s ed in ou r
9 40s ys tem s , w e hav e dev el oped as pecial Machin e-
Orien ted Lan gu age ( MOL), togetherw ithan MOL
T ran s l atortocon v ertMOLprogram des cription s in to
m achin e code ( s ee R ef . Hay1 f oracom pl ete des cription )
4d3aT he MOLis des ign ed tof acil itate s ys tem
program m in g, byprov idin g ahigh-l ev el l an gu age f or
iterativ e, con dition al , an d arithm etic operation s , etc.,
al on g w ithabl ock s tru ctu re an d con v en tion s f or
l abel in g thatf itou rs tru ctu red s tatem en ton l in e
m an ipu l ation aids .
4-d3a1 T hes e perm its ophis ticated com pu teraid
w here s u itabl e, an d al s oal l ow the program m erto
s w itchtom achin e-l ev el codin g ( w ithf u .l l acces s to
v ariabl es , l abel s , etc.)w here core s pace, s peed,
tim in g, core m appin g arran gem en ts , etc., are
critical .
H
CMLT DISCR IP T ION , IN
T R EEMET ALAN GU AGE
B
T HEEn ew m es MET A
LIBR AR Y T rm n s u rron
CR T WOR KST AT ION
c
CON l ' R OL LAN GU AGED CON T R OL
DISCR IP T ION . IN MET A- "T ii
con -rn otMET A- LAN GU AGE
LAN Q U AQ E T R AN SLAT OR E
CQ N T Q LLIBR AR Y Of
P n ocgggon SU BR OU T IIES
G
F .
u s n an v s u r-3~
R OU T IN EDESCR |P - MOL
T ION IN MOLT R AN SLAT OF I I
T
L.
7 7 7 T oes aarriu oon u n e
s v s ren n u ts )
I- --____.__.|
T l -BIO-II
F igu re 16 .9 . Bas ic organ ization of N LS s how in g u s e of com pil ers
an d com pil er-com pil ertoim pl em en tit.
L
m .._o-~ - 16 .AR es earchCen ter
l 19 6 8
0- r 0 4 -= 0--* 4 -1) 0
46 17 4T he N LS is organ ized as f ol l ow s ( l etters ref erto
F igu re 16 .9 ):
4d4aT he Con trol P roces s or( E)receiv es an d proces s es
s u cces s iv e u s eraction s , an d cal l s u pon s u brou tin es in
the l ibrary( H)toprov ide its u chs erv ices as the
f ol l ow in g:
4d4a1 P u ttin g dis pl ayf eedback on the s creen
4d4a2 Locatin g certain datain the f il e
4:14:2 3 Man ipu l atin g certain w orkin g data
4:14:14Con s tru ctin g adis pl ayv iew of s pecif ied data
accordin g togiv en v iew in g param eters , etc.
4d4b T he N LS l ibrarys u brou tin es ( H)are produ ced
f rom MOLprogram s ( F ), as tran s l ated bythe MOL
T ran s l ator( G).
4d4c T he Con trol P roces s oris produ ced f rom the
con trol -l an gu age des cription ( D), w ritten in Con trol
Metal an gu age, as tran s l ated bythe CMLT ( C).
4d4d T he CMLT , in tu rn , is produ ced f rom a
des cription ( A)w ritten in T ree Meta, as tran s l ated by
the T ree MetaT ran s l ator( B).
4-115Adv an tages of Metal an gu age ApproachtoN LS
Im pl em en tation
4d5aT he m etal an gu age approachgiv es u s im prov ed-
m ean s f orcon trol -l an gu age s pecif ication , in term s of
bein g u n am bigu ou s , con cis e, can on ical , n atu ral an d
eas ytocom pos e, s tu dyan d m odif y.
4d5b Moreov er, the Con trol Metal an gu age
s pecif ication prom is es toprov ide in its el f au s ers docu -
m en tation thatis com pl etel yaccu rate, an d al s ohas the
abov e des irabl e characteris tics tof acil itate s tu dyan d
ref eren ce.
4d5c Modif yin g the con trol -dial ogu e procedu res f or
exis tin g f u n ction s , orm akin g areas on abl e ran ge of
chan ges oraddition s tothes e f u n ction s , can of ten be
accom pl is hed s ol el ybyaddition s orchan ges tothe
con trol -l an gu age record ( in CML).
4d5c1 Withou ron -l in e s tu dyin g, m an ipu l atin g an d
com pil in g techn iqu es , s ys tem addition s orchan ges
atthis l ev el can be thou ghtou tan d im pl em en ted
( an d au tom atical l ydocu m en ted)v eryqu ickl y.
4d5d N ew f u n ction s thatrequ ire bas ic operation s n ot
av ail abl e throu ghexis tin g s u brou tin es in the N LS
l ibraryw il l n eed tohav e n ew s u brou tin es s pecif ied an d
program m ed ( in MOL), an d then w il l n eed n ew term s
in CMLtoperm itthes e n ew f u n ction s tobe cal l ed
u pon . T his l atterrequ ires achan ge in the record ( A),
f orAu gm en tin g
an d an ew com pil ation of CMLT bym ean s of the T ree
MetaT ran s l ator.
4d5d1 On -l in e techn iqu es f orw ritin g an d
m odif yin g the MOLs ou rce code ( F ), f orexecu tin g
the com pil ation s , an d f ordebu ggin g the rou tin es ,
greatl yredu ce the ef f ortin v ol v ed in this proces s .
5Serv ice-Sys tem Hardw are
( OtherT han SDS 9 40)
5aIn addition tothe SDS 9 40, the f acil ityin cl u des peripheral
equ ipm en tm ade byotherm an u f actu rers an d equ ipm en t
des ign ed an d con s tru cted atSR I.
5b Al l of the n on SDS equ ipm en tis in terf aced throu ghthe
s pecial dev ices chan n el w hichcon n ects tothe s econ d
m em orybu s s throu ghthe SDS m em oryin terf ace con n ection
( MIC).
512 1 T his equ ipm en t, togetherw iththe R AD, is a
s ign if ican tl oad on thes econ d m em orybu s s . N ot
in cl u din g the propos ed s pecial operation s equ ipm en t,
the m axim u m expected datarate is approxim atel y
2 6 4,000w ords pers econ d oron e ou tof ev ery2 .1
m em orycycl es . How ev er, w iththe 9 40v ariabl e priority
s chem e f orm em oryacces s ( s ee P irtl e 1), w e expectl es s
than 1 percen tdegradation in CP U ef f icien cydu e tothis
l oad.
512 2 T his chan n el an d the con trol l ers ( w iththe exception
of the dis c con trol l er)w ere des ign ed an d con s tru cted at
SR I.
5b2 aIn the des ign of the hardw are s erv in g the
w orks tation s , w e hav e attem pted tom in im ize the CP U
bu rden bym akin g the s ys tem as au tom atic as pos s ibl e
in its acces s tom em oryan d byf orm attin g the datain
m em orys oas tom in im ize the execu tiv e tim e
n eces s arytoproces s itf orthe u s ers .
5c F igu re 16 .10is abl ock diagram of the s pecial dev ices
chan n el an d as s ociated equ ipm en t. T he m aj orcom pon en ts
are as f ol l ow s :
5c1 Execu tiv e Con trol
5c1aT his is es s en tial l yas ophis ticated m u l tipl exerthat
al l ow s in depen den t, as yn chron ou s acces s tocore f rom
an yof the 6 con trol l ers con n ected toit. Its f u n ction s
are the f ol l ow in g:
5c1a1 Decodin g in s tru ction s f rom the com pu ter
an d pas s in g them al on g as s ign al s tothe con trol l ers .
5c1a2 Acceptin g addres s es an d requ es ts f or
m em oryacces s ( in pu torou tpu t)f rom the
16 . AR es earchCen ter
f orAu gm en tin g
DISC
CON T R OL
BR Y AN T
T V
5 CAMER A 17 MON IT OR
theN EWMEDIAR EADER
' car. rev s tru es ) -' "SE
E.- Q rcev s er
( 0
kl

Ziin iij -ij i_j iii
[ )|3|:-LAY DISP LAY
CON T R OLGEN ER AT OR
1 1
T O MEMOR Y
IN T ER F ACE EXECU T IVE
OISP LAY
GEN ER AT OR
DISP LAY
CON T R OL
IN P U T
DEVICES
CON T R OL
P ECIAL
OP ER AT ION S
,1 N ET WOR K1
Low LIN E1
I -
P R IOR IT Y P HN T ER A
DEVICES 1-----
r" """""".
1 DU F IAI 1
F igu re 16 .10. Special dev ices chan n el . l g
con trol l ers , determ in in g rel ativ e priorityam on g the
con trol l ers , s yn chron izin g tothe com pu tercl ock,
an d pas s in g the requ es ts al on g tom em oryv iathe
MIC.
Scl b T he execu tiv e con trol in cl u des acom prehen s iv e
debu ggin g pan el thatal l ow s an yof the 6 con trol l ers to
be operated of f -l in e w ithou tin terf erin g w iththe
operation of othercon trol l ers .
5c2 Dis c F il e
5c2 aT his is aModel 406 1 Bryan tdis c, s el ected f or
com patibil ityw iththe con tin u ed 9 40-s ys tem
dev el opm en tbyBerkel ey' s P roj ectGEN IE, w here
exten s iv e f il e han dl in g s of tw are w as dev el oped.
5c2 b As f orm atted f orou ru s e, the dis c w il l hav e a
s torage capacityof approxim atel y32 m il l ion w ords ,
w ithadata-tran s f errate of rou ghl y40,000w ords
pers econ d an d av erage acces s tim e of 85
m il l is econ ds .
5c2 c T he dis c con trol l erw as des ign ed byBryan tin
cl os e cooperation w ithSR 1 an d P roj ectGEN IE.
CAMER A
CON T R OL
5c3aT he dis pl ays ys tem s con s is ts of tw oiden tical
s u bs ys tem s , eachw ithdis pl aycon trol l er, dis pl ay
gen erator, 6 CR T ' s , an d 6 cl os ed-circu ittel ev is ion
s ys tem s .
5c3b T he dis pl aycon trol l ers proces s dis pl ay-com m an d
tabl es an d dis pl ayl is ts thatare res iden tin core an d
pas s al on g dis pl ay-bu f f ercon ten ts tothe dis pl ay
gen erators .
5c3c T he dis pl aygen erators an d CR T ' s w ere dev el oped
byT as kerIn du s tries toou rs pecif ication s Eachhas
gen eral character-v ectorpl ottin g capabil ityT heyw il l
acceptdis pl aybu f f ers con s is tin g of in s tru ction s ( beam
m otion , characterw ritin g, etc.)f rom the con trol l er
Eachw il l driv e s ix5-in chhigh-res ol u tion CR T s on
5c3 Dis pl aySys tem
U !
12
T AT IO
II
i
E]
Ip.._.._____.a_...______
KEY BOAR D
MOU SE
KEY S ET
1 KEY BOAR D
w hichthe dis pl aypictu res are produ ced.
5c3c1 Characterw ritin g tim e is approxim atel y8
m icros econ ds , al l ow in g an av erage of 1000
characters on eachof the s ixm on itors w hen
regen eratin g at2 0cps .
19 6 8
O~ . -0 T 16 .AR es earchCen ter Q - - ~o~--- - -<3} -- 6 ~- , O> > ~* - I ~~ <| Q > Q
5c3d Ahigh-res ol u tion ( 87 5-l in e)cl os ed-circu it
tel ev is ion s ys tem tran s m its dis pl aypictu res f rom each
CR T toatel ev is ion m on itoratthe corres pon din g
w ork-s tation con s ol e.
5c3e T his s ys tem w as dev el oped as abes ts ol u tion "to
ou rexperim en tal -l aboratoryn eeds , bu tittu rn ed ou t
tohav e properties w hichs eem v al u abl e f orm ore
w ides pread u s e:
5c3e1 Sin ce on l yal l bl ack oral l -w hite s ign al l ev el s
are bein g treated, the s can beam cu rren ton the
cam eras can be redu ced toachiev e as hort-term
im age s torage ef f ectthatyiel ds f l icker-f ree T V
ou tpu tev en w hen the dis pl ayref res hrate is as l ow
as 15cps . T his al l ow s adis pl aygen eratortos u s tain
abou tf ou rtim es m ore dis pl ayed m aterial than if
the u s ers w ere v iew in g direct-v iew ref res hed tu bes .
5c3e2 T he total cos tof s m al l CR T , T V cam era,
am pl if ier-con trol l er, an d m on itorcam e toabou t
$5500perw orks tation w here aran dom -
def l ection , dis pl ay qu al ityCR T of s im il ars ize w ou l d
cos tcon s iderabl ym ore an d w ou l d be harderto
driv e rem otel y.
5c3e3 An othercos tf eatu re w hichis v eryim portan t
in s om e s ys tem en v iron m en ts f av ors this T V
approach:T he expen s iv e partis cen tral l yl ocated;
eachou tl yin g m on itorcos ts on l yabou t$6 00, s o
term in al s can be s etu pev en w here u s age w il l be
l ow , w iths om e v ideos w itchin g in the cen tral
F igu re 16 .11. T el ev is ion dis pl ayobtain ed bym ixin g the v ideo
s ign al f rom arem ote cam eraw iththatf rom the com pu ter-
gen erated dis pl ay.
f orAu gm en tin g
es tabl is hm en ttotake on e term in al dow n an d pu t
an otheru p.
5c3e4An in teres tin g f eatu re of the v ideos ys tem is
thatw iththe f l ick of as w itchthe v ideos ign al can
be in v erted, s othatthe im age picked u pas bright
l in es on dim backgrou n d m aybe v iew ed as bl ack
l in es on al ightbackgrou n d. T here is adef in ite u s er
pref eren ce f orthis in v erted f orm of dis pl ay.
5c3f In addition tothe adv an tages n oted abov e, the
tel ev is ion dis pl ayal s oin v ites the u s e of s u ch
com m ercial l yav ail abl e dev ices as extracam eras , s can
con v erters , v ideos w itches , an d v ideom ixers toen rich
s ys tem s erv ice.
5c3f 1 F orexam pl e, the v ideoim age of au s er' s
com pu ter-gen erated dis pl aycou l d be m ixed w ith
the im age f rom acam eraf ocu s ed on acol l aborator
atan otherterm in al ; the tw ou s ers cou l d
com m u n icate throu ghboththe com pu teran d a
v oice in tercom . Eachu s erw ou l d then s ee the other' s
f ace s u perim pos ed on the dis pl ayof datau n der
dis cu s s ion .
5c3f 2 Su perim pos ed v iew s f rom cam eras f ocu s ed
on f il m im ages ordraw in gs , oron the com pu ter
hardw are, m ightal s obe u s ef u l .
5c3f 3 We hav e experim en ted w iththes e techn iqu es
( s ee F igu re 16 .11)an d f ou n d them tobe v ery
ef f ectiv e. T heyprom is e toadd agreatdeal tothe
v al u e of rem ote dis pl ayterm in al s .
5c4In pu t-Dev ice Con trol l er
5c4aIn addition tothe tel ev is ion m on itor, eachw ork-
s tation con s ol e has akeyboard, bin arykeys et, an d
m ou s e.
5c4b T he con trol l erreads the s tate of thes e dev ices ata
pres etin terv al ( abou t30m il l is econ ds )an d w rites it
in toaf ixed l ocation tabl e in core.
5c4b1 Bits are added toin f orm ation f rom the
keyboards , keys ets an d m ou s e s w itches toin dicate
w hen an ew characterhas been receiv ed oras w itch
has chan ged s tate s in ce the l as ts am pl e. If there is a
n ew characterors w itchchan ge, an in terru ptis
is s u ed af terthe s am pl e period.
5c4b2 T he m ou s e coordin ates are f orm atted as a
beam -pos ition in g in s tru ction tothe dis pl ay
gen erator. P rov is ion s are m ade in the dis pl ay
con trol l erf orin cl u din g an en tryin the m ou s e-
pos ition tabl e as adis pl aybu f f er. T his al l ow s the
m ou s e pos ition tobe con tin u ou s l ydis pl ayed
w ithou tan yatten tion f rom the CP U .
16 . AR es earchCen ter
f orAu gm en tin g
5c5Special Operation s
5c5aT he boxw iththis l abel in F igu re 16 .10is atthis
tim e on l yaprov is ion in the execu tiv e con trol f orthe
addition of ahigh-s peed dev ice. We hav e ten tativ e
pl an s f oraddin g s pecial hardw are here toprov ide
operation s n otav ail abl e in the 9 40in s tru ction s et,
s u chas character s trin g m ov es an d s trin g-pattern
m atchin g.
5c6 Low -P riorityDev ices
5c6 aT his con trol l eraccom m odates three dev ices w ith
rel ativ el yl ow data-tran s f errates . Atthis tim e on l ythe
l in e prin teris im pl em en ted w ithprov is ion s f oraddin g
an on -l in e typew riter( Du ra), apl otter, an d aterm in al
f orthe propos ed AR P Acom pu tern etw ork.
5c6 a1 T he l in e prin teris aP otterModel HSP -3502
chain prin terw ith9 6 prin tin g characters an d a
s peed of abou t2 30l in es perm in u te.
theN EWMEDIAR EADER
6 R ef eren ces
6 a( En gl is h1)WKEn gl is hD C En gel bartBHu ddartCom pu ter-
aided dis pl aycon trol F in al R eportCon tractN AS 1-39 88 SR IP roj ect
506 1 Stan f ord R es earchIn s titu te Men l oP ark Cal if orn iaJu l y19 6 5
6 b ( En gl is h2 )WKEn gl is hD C En gel bartM LBerm an Dis pl ay-
s el ection techn iqu es f ortextm an ipu l ation "IEEET ran s on Hu m an
F actors in El ectron ics Vol HF E-8 N o1 19 6 7
6 c ( En gel bart1)D C En gel bart"Au gm en tin g hu m an in tel l ect: A
con ceptu al f ram ew ork Su m m ary" R eportCon tractAF 49 6 38 102 4
SR I P roj ect357 8 Stan f ord R es earchIn s titu te Men l oP ark Cal if orn ia
October19 6 2
6 d ( En gel bart2 )D C En gel bartAcon ceptu al f rarn ew ork f orthe
au gm en tation of m an ' s in tel l ect"In Vis tas in In f orm ation Han dl in g
Vol 1 D WHow erton an d D C Weeks eds Spartan Books Was hin gton
D C 19 6 3
6 e ( Hay1)R EHayJ F R u l if s on MOL9 40: P rel im in arys peif ication s
f oran ALGOL-l ike m achin e-orien ted l an gu age f orthe SDS 9 40"
In terim T echn ical R eportCon tractN AS 1-59 40SR I P roj ect589 0
Stan f ord R es earchIn s titu te Men l oP ark Cal if orn iaMarch19 6 8
6 f ( P irtl e 1)M P irtl e In tercom m u n ication of P roces s ors an d
m em ory"P roc F al l Join tCom pu terCon f eren ce An aheim Cal if orn ia
N ov em ber19 6 7
P rin cipal s pon s ors are:
Adv an ced R es earchP roj ects Agen cyan d N ation al Aeron au tics an d
Space Agen cy( N AS1-7 89 7 ), an d R om e AirDev el opm en tCen ter
F 306 02 -6 8-C-02 86 .
0 A -4: ....- 0 1"!-9 7 08 9 .0- 17 - S0f tWal '
17 . [ In trodu ction ]
F rom Sof tw are-
In f orm ation T echn ol ogy
Its N ew Mean in g f orArt
Exhibition atthe Jew is hMu s eu m , 19 7 0
Docu m en tation of proj ects byT heodore H. N el s on ,
the Architectu re Machin e Grou p, an d Les Lev in e I
Atthe 19 7 0exhibition Sof tw are, organ ized byJack Bu rn ham , v is itors w ere in v ited todos om ethin g
extrem el ys tran ge:operate com pu ters . T he exhibitin trodu ced artis ts toan im portan tdim en s ion of
( Dm pu tin g, too, s in ce its u f f ered f rom the techn ical probl em s of the s am e s ortthats til l pl agu e I
ordin arycom pu teru s ers today. Edw ard Shan ken , aDu ke U n iv ers ityarthis torian , n otes thatin
m an yres pects itw as adis as ter: the com pu tercon trol l in g m an yof the w orks ( aP DP -8)didn ' tw ork
f oram on thaf terthe s tartof the exhibition , the gerbil s thatw ere partof Seek attacked eachother, a, $7 -
s how in g atthe Sm iths on ian In s titu tion w as can cel ed, an d the s how cau s ed af in an cial cris is f orthe T A
m u s eu m an d thu s the dis m is s al of directorKarl Katz. T hes e dif f icu l ties didn ' tprev en tSof tw are . I
f rom hav in g an in f l u en ce on artis ts , techn ol ogis ts , theoris ts , an d the pu bl ic. T his in f l u en ce w as f el t l I
boththrou ghthe pieces ithighl ighted w hichran ged f rom w orkin g techn ol ogical artif acts to
H
, 1
I
Oon ceptu al pieces an d throu ghthe u n derl yin g v is ion of artthatcau s ed thes e s el ection s f or . _1
Sof tw are todiv erge s os harpl yf rom thos e en cou n tered in the m aj ortechn ol ogyan d artexhibition s
thatpreceded it. E__
T he exhibition had acatal og byT ed N el s on cal l ed Labyrin th, w hichN el s on n am ed as the f irs t .
pu bl icl y-acces s ibl e hypertext. An otherparticipan tof n ew m ediaf am e w as N ichol as N egropon te
( 02 3). T he Architectu re Machin e Grou phe headed con tribu ted Seek ( f eatu red on the cov erof the
Sof tw are catal og), w hichhou s ed the abov em en tion ed v iol en ce-pron e gerbil s in an en v iron m en tof I
m etal bl ocks . T hes e bl ocks w ere l ighten ou ghtobe rearran ged bythe gerbil s m ov em en ts . Seek
reacted tothe m odif ication s the gerbil s m ade bys tackin g the bl ocks in tom ore grid-l ike v ers ion s of f
the gerbil s des ign s , u s in g am ov eabl e el ectrom agn et. F oron e grou pof obs erv ers the gerbil s an d 1
robotic arm s eem ed tof orm aprototypical cybern etic circu it:itw as an in s pirin g im age of a
m achin e thatpaid atten tion tothe pref eren ces expres s ed bythe gerbil s an d then com pl eted an d ,
Iorm al ized them in ton ew , pl eas in g s tru ctu res . Others took Seek as an im age of the l es s s u n n ys ide T
of hu m an -com pu terin teraction an d its f u tu re pos s ibil ities . As T ed N el s on w rote in Dream l
Machin es , Irem em berw atchin g on e gerbil w hos toodm otion l es s on his l ittl e kan garoom atchs tick -
l egs , w atchin g the GreatGrappl errearran gin g his w orl d. Gerbil s are s om ew hatin s cru tabl e, bu tI l I
had:s en s e thathe w as w ors hipin g it. He did n otm ov e u n til the bl ock s tarted com in g dow n on top .1
of him "( 14). 9
Otherov ertl ytechn ol ogical proj ects in v ol v ed con s tan tl ybroadcas tin g poetryin s ide on an AM r . - . _1 1- A
f requ en cy, tu rn in g the gl as s w in dow s of the m u s eu m in tol ow -pow ers peakers , an d of f erin g acces s 2 2
tov ariou s datas tream s an d in teractiv e com pu terprogram s v iaT el etype an d CR T . T here w ere al s o j
con ceptu al artis ts apl en tyatSof tw are. John Bal des s ariexhibited Crem ation P iece in terrin g the as hes T T
of his pain tin gs in the w al l of the m u s eu m behin d apl aqu e. VitoAccon ciis R oom Situ ation :
( P roxim ity)in v ol v ed his s tan din g n earapers on an d in tru din g on his pers on al s pace. ( Accon ciT
As s ign ed as u bs titu te todothis w hen he w as u n abl e toatten d.)T he catal og in cl u ded the textof the
repl yN am Ju n e P aik s en tw hen in v ited toparticipate an d Al an Kaprow s des cription of a
Septem ber19 6 9 Happen in g ( 006 ); Han s Haacke an d Jos ephKos u thal s otook part.
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Bu r_n han ' 1,' Ja.ck.' ; f f Art{' an .d' T echn ol ogyz he.T P an acea-iT I13l C~F ail ed."T he_Myths .-of l n f arn iotion f zf ecn n al ogyaiid.P o$ti daStri iIj f il l l il il f i-~' ,dl
W0OdW3f d~i.M_a_ Ii$O > % Wis c.4:~:~C,oda.:P re.s s , 19 80; R eprin ted in John ; ~Ha-n hardit-; ed-.,' I/ ideo.~Cu l _tare; . ACn iicar-n rv es rzrgarrohi( R oche_s tei,_1N 1.,Y
reg . . . ~ 8 . is . - ~
Shan l .<' _eE' ; .l iEl IY ,\ij 3' f IiI. * "m j iii; th j 1.n r rm aii .n Age:-T ei:hn ol ,"' o_gyan d-' Con tj eptIl aIIAf I} "- SI-6 GR Aj P H zoo-1' ; :El et,tra_n ,icr; 4rt' i:in d; A~n i' m azicn Catal og
_N ew _' Y orR 1ACIY l .."-P res s , 12 -Q 0_15.f ehttpz/ / Ww v n du ke; edu / > gif tw rap/ In f oAge.If itn il zf ' _- ' .,_,_.__- _i-
Shan ken ; -_= Edw a-rd.t1 Y T } he. Hou s e T hatJack .-"Bu il t:.~Ja-ck,j Bu rn ha-_m ' s Con cept, of ' s o1= m j are: ; as ; a:; Meraphar; r rv Arr.f ..rea; 1qraa:~l ec; tro* n ic Al m an ac
N P V?m l 39 ' :-19 9 .-84,<l I-F tP ?/ / W\irW-l k -edH7 ~9 IW{aP / H1Q IJ$9 -h1} 1l ? T ; f . ~
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theN EWMEDIAR EADER
T he exhibition w as n itabou tgettin g artis ts an d techn ol ogis ts together, orabou tu s in g n ew
techn ol ogies f orartis tic pu rpos es . Bu rn ham w rote in the catal og that, rather, the goal of Sof tw are is
tof ocu s ou rs en s ibil ities on the f as tes tgrow in g areain this cu l tu re:in f orm ation proces s in g s ys tem s
an d theirdev ices . He added, itm ayn otbe, an d probabl yis n ot, the prov in ce of com pu ters an d other
tel ecom m u n ication s dev ices toprodu ce artas w e kn ow it; bu ttheyw il l , in f act, be in s tru m en tal in
redef in in g the en tire areaof es thetic aw aren es s .
F orShan ken , Les Lev in eis con tribu tion s toSof tw are prov ide abridge f oru n ders tan din g the pl ace
of con ceptu al artis ts in the exhibition . Shan ken poin ts ou tthatLev in e' s Sys tem s Bu rn -Of f in
em bodyin g Lev in e' s s om ew hatidios yn cratic def in ition of the hardw are/ s of tw are s pl it, w as v erydos e
tothe con cern s of con ceptu al art. Itw as , as Shan ken w rites in ' Artin the In f orm ation Age,"an
artw ork thatprodu ced in f orm ation ( s of tw are)abou tthe in f orm ation produ ced an d dis s em in ated by
the m edia( s of tw are)abou tart( hardw are). Itof f ered acritiqu e of the s ys tem atic proces s throu gh
w hichartobj ects ( hardw are)becom e tran s f orm ed bythe m ediain toin f orm ation abou tartobj ects
( s of tw are). Whereas Lev in e s tated thatm os tarten ds u pas in f orm ation abou tart,Sys tem s Bu rn -Of f
w as artas in f orm ation abou tin f orm ation abou tart, addin g al ev el of com pl exityan d ref l exiv ityon to
thatcycl e of tran s f orm ation s in m ediacu l tu re"( 9 ). Lev in e s u gges ted the n am e f orSof tw are; his other
tw oproj ects in the exhibition pref igu re s ign if ican ttypes of recen tn ew m ediaart, s u chas
perf orm an ce-orien ted an d v oyeu ris tic Web v ideow orks .
Bu rn ham is in trodu ction tothe catal og des cribed the s el ection criteriaf orthe exhibition . Bef ore
Sof tw are, com pu terarts u chas thats how n atCybern etic Seren dipityhad of ten w orked todu pl icate the
ef f ects of prev iou s artf orm s , ev en tothe poin tof im itatin g the s tyl es of pas tm as ters . T he f ocu s w as
gen eral l yon af in is hed produ ct, produ ced w ithcom pu tertool s . T he Mu s eu m of Modern Artis
im portan tT he Machin e as Seen atthe En d of the Mechan ical Age w as s im il arl yf ocu s ed on f in is hed
produ cts , m an yof w hich( as the n am e im pl ies )w ere m echan ical s cu l ptu res , im ages of m achin es , or
in ertobj ects thatref erred tom achin es . Bu rn ham l aid ou tav is ion of n ew m ediaartm u chm ore in
l in e w ithhow itis v iew ed today n eitheracel ebration of techn ol ogyn oracon dem n ation , bu tan
in v es tigation , throu ghim pl em en tation , of n ew s hapes f orthe proces s es brou ghtin tothe cu l tu re v ia
com pu tation . Bu rn ham l ocated the begin n in gs of u n ders tan din g thes e proces s es in N orbertWien ers
cybern etics , bu tthen m ade the cas e thatcu rren tw ork had m ov ed beyon d this f orm u l ation , in tothe
s of tw are m odel . Bu rn ham w rote in the catal og thatm an yof the exhibits in Sof tw are deal w ith
con ceptu al an d proces s rel ation s hips w hichon the s u rf ace s eem tobe total l ydev oid of the u s u al art
trappin gs . . . Mos tim portan tl y[ Sof tw are] prov ides the m ean s byw hichthe pu bl ic can pers on al l y
res pon d toprogram m atic s itu ation s s tru ctu red byartis ts . He n oted thatMan yof the f in es tw orks
in the Sof tw are exhibition are in n ow aycon n ected w ithm achin es . In as en s e theyrepres en tthe
program s of artis ts w hohav e chos en n ottom ake pain tin gs ors cu l ptu res , bu ttoexpres s ideas orart
propos ition s ."Sof tw are con s idered in teraction in aw aythatbu il tu pon ideas in Happen in gs , an d in
the w orl d em ergin g throu ghin f orm ation proces s in g an d in then -cu rren tm ediatheory as ev in ced
byBu rn ham ' s m an yref eren ces toMars hal l McLu han ( 013). Itm arked the begin n in g of the
f u l f il l m en tof the cybern etic v is ion s of artis ts s u chas R oyAs cott( 010)an d N am Ju n e P aik ( 015)
( ev en as its ou ghtaf orm u l ation beyon d cybern etics w ithin w hichtodos o)an d al ook f orw ard tothe
w ork of l aterartis ts s u chas Lyn n Hers hm an ( 044).
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tieerw eeem eef iiieedetH- .' !el . 9 n l
__Labyrin th:An l n teraetl v e Catal ogu e 19 7 0
w ith|as ais t_an c_:e f rom -S-C-Otl Bradher( Art8. T echn ol ogy; in c., Bos ton ]
Digital Equ ipm en tCorporation ( tim e s hare P DP ~8 com pu ter) -
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toread-.-T .o.reed:m o_re oi an ys ection w hichis l argerthan the
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u be' gin n _i_n ' g-oithe_cataiogu e,theu s ' ertypes F l ( retu rn ). _-
T oobtain are.l a_ted_' s ection as in dicated byan as teris k - ' .
appearin g ihthe text, the u s ertypes _the' oodeappearin g w ith
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Bef ore l eav in g thes how , the m u s eu m goerm ayobtain
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Seek is as en s in gl ef f ectin g dev ice con trol l ed .by-as m al l " "
gen eral pu rpos e com pu ter. I.n con tras ttoan in pu t/ ou tpu tj
peripheral , Seek is am echan is m thats en s es the phys ical
en v iron m en t, af f ects -thaten v iron m en t, an d in tu rn attem pts
tohan dl e l ocal u n expected ev en ts w ithin the en v iron m en t.
Seek deal s w ithtoybl ocks w hichitcan s tack, al ign an d '
s ort. Atthe s am e -tim e, thes e bl ocks f orm the bu il t
en v iron m en tf oras m al l col on yof gerbil s w hichl iv e w ithin
Seek:three-dim en s ion al w orl d. _ . -
U n bekn ow n s ttoSeek, the l ittl ean im al s are b.u m p.in _g
in tobl ocks , dis ru ptin g con s tru ction s , an d toppl in g tow ers .
T he res u l tis as u bs tan tial m is m atchbetw een the three-
dim en s ion al real ityan d the com pu ted rem em bran ces w hich
res ide in the m em oryof Seeks com pu te r. Seek:rol e is to
deal w iththes e in con s is ten cies .In the proces s , Seek
exhibits in kl in gs of ares pon s iv e behav iorin as m u chas the
action s of the gerbil s are n otpredictabl e an d the
reaction s of Seek pu rpos ef u l l ycorrectoram pl if y
gerbil -prov oked dis l ocation s . . ~
Seek con s is ts of a5x8 f oots u pers tru ctu re s u pportin g acar
riage w hichhas three dim en s ion s of f reedom . its extrem ity
is com pos ed of an el ectrom agn et. s ev eral m icro-s w itches ,
an d pres s u re-s en s in g dev ices . T his el em en tarypros thes is is
gu ided bythe bl in d an d han dl es s com pu tertopick u por.
depos itits payl oad of as in gl e tw o-in chcu be. T he n u cl eu s of
the s ys tem l s an l n terdataModel 3 Com pu terw ith6 5536
s in gl e ( yes / n otbits of . m em oryw hichare s hared byin s tru c-
tion s an d data: _.. Q _ - "
Ev en in its triv ial ity-an d s im pl icity, Seek r_n et_aphor-
l cal l ygoes beyon d-the_-real -w orl _d s itu ation , w here m achin es
can n otres pon d tothe' u n p' r_ed' ic~tab' l e_n atu re of peopl e "
( gerbil s ).T odaym a_chi_n es "are"po_orathan dl in g s u dden _
chan ges in con texti_n ' .en v iron "m "en l ; T his l ack of adaptabil ity
l athe probl em Seekcon f ron ts in _cl im _in u tiv e.- _ ' _-
If com pu ters aretobe _ou r' f r_ien d' s -they-m u s tu n ders _' tan ' d
ou rm etaphors , l _f ' l the_y' -.ar_e to._b_' _e' r_es p' on s i' v e to__c_ha_n g_l n g"," ~_'
u n predictabl e, co_n _te_x_t d_epen de' n t' .hu _m an ; n eeds , they_w l l l _
n eed an artif icial in tel l igen ce thatcan ~c.ope' w ith"c* orn pl ex-
con tin gen cies in as ophis ticated m an n er( draw in g u pon
thes e m etaphors )m u chas Seek deal s w ithel em en tary
u n certain ties in as im pl e-m in ded f as hion .
Seek has been dev el oped an d con s tru cted byM.l .T .
s tu den ts w hof orm partof the Architectu re Machin e Grou p,
IF ord F ou n dation s pon s ored res earchef f ortw ithin the
M.l .T . U rban Sys tem s Laboratory. T he participan ts hav e
ran ged f rom f res hm en w orkin g in an U n dergradu ate
R es earchOpportu n ities P rogram , topos t-gradu ates
des ign in g el em en ts as partof theirres earchas s is tan ts hips .
T he co-directors of the grou pare P rof es s ors N ichol as
N egropon te an d Leon B. Grois s er, of the f acu l tyof
Architectu re an d P l an n in g. R an dyF l ettberg an d Mike
T itel bau m , s tu den ts in El ectrical En gin eerin g, hav e been in
charge of the e|ectron ics in particu l ar, the in terf ace an d
con trol l er. Stev en Gregory, agradu ate s tu den tin the School
of l rchitectu re an d P l an n in g, has been in charge of the
program m in g. Stev en P eters an d Ern es tVin cen thav e been
res pon s ibl e f orthe actu al con s tru ction of the dev ice.
F ol l ow in g the Sof tw are exhibition , Seek w il l retu rn toM.l .T .
tobe u s ed w ithm an ydif f eren tdetachabl e heads as agen -
eral pu rpos e s en s orl ef f ector. Seek w il l becom e af ram e f or
experim en ts con du cted bys tu den ts in com pu ter-aided
des ign an d in artif icial in tel l igen ce.
R ef eren ce: N ichol as N egropon te, T he Architectu re Machin e, M.l .T . P res s , 19 7 0.
Com pu ter: cou rtes yT he l n terdataCorporation , Ocen n pon , N ew Jers ey.
orbits :cou rtes yT u m bl ebrook F arm s , Bran tLake, N ew Y ork
- - ~ .
._. -,{' <-
T he Architectu re l l l ,a"chi_he_t3 -rou p,,tJt.l -,T . _ , y . _ ,
N ichol as N egropon te
9 7
Of . , * 0..--_.s __- H L04.--......_-... S. 0 17 Sof tw are
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theN EWMEDIAR EADER
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Les Lev in e
Sys tem s Bu rn -ol f X R es idu al Sof tw are 19 6 9
T he 33 photographs on exhibition w ere origin al l ytaken by
the artis tin Marchof 19 6 9 du rin g an excu rs ion byN ew Y ork
critics an d pres s tov iew the open in g of the Corn el l U n iv ers ity
"EarthWorks "exhibition in l thaca, N ew Y ork. V '
. l n April . .19 6 9 , Les Lev in e exhibited 31,000photographs
con s is tin g of 31 s eparate im ages , 1,000copies each, atthe '
v i
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I|GiAl D4l .Q tl _6 n
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P hyl l is Kin d Gal l ery, Chicago. Mos tw ere ran dom l ydis trib-
u ted on the f l ooran d cov ered w ithj el l o; s om e w ere s tu ck to
the w al l w ithchew in g gu m ; the res tw ere f ors al e.
_Sottw are is the program m in g m aterial w hichan ys ys tem
u s es , i.e. in acom pu teritw ou l d be the ow charts ors u b-
rou tin es f orthe com pu terprogram . In ef f ects of tw are in
real term s is the m en tal in tel l igen ce requ ired f oran y
experien ce. itcan al s obe des cribed as the kn ow l edge
requ ired torthe perf orm an ce of an ytas k ortran s m is s ion of
19 7 0
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u $5,
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' 0om m u n icati0n . T heys ay, it' s goin g tobe rain in g ' _~
tom orrow .is s of tw are. Al l activ ities w hichghal v e n ocon n ec~
l ion w ithobj ectorm aterial m as s are the res u l tof s 01"W~/ are.
Im ages them s el v es are hardw are. in f orm ation abou tthes e
im ages is s of tw are. Al l s of tw are~carries ' its ow n res idu al -s . ' 4
T he res idu al m aytake the f orm of in ew s ,_pain t, tel ev is ion -.
tapes orothers o-cal l ed m edia. in m an ycas es an yobiect
is of m u chl es s v al u e than . the s of tw are con cern in g the "
obj ect. T he obiectis the en dotas ys tem . T he s of tw are is an
.
open con tin u i' n g s ys tem . T he experien ce of s eein g s om e-.
thin g f irs than d is n ol on gerof v al u e in as oitw are cgn trol l ed
n 1 n ew ~ e : ~ Q ~~
Q
%
~..l ~* > ~' * * i= +u - ' 3
\f ag. ' 1' . u r". B
,~- _
j g i ~
Q ii-3 1' ; 1- M
I 1 .
, * -"' 7 I "~ F 4
( Q 4
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I9 -
~z
ob 5
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s * 1.-; HI
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s ociety, as an ythin gs een throu ghthe m ediacarries j u s tas -
m u chen ergyas f irs t_h_an ' d experien ce. We don 0U 3l U 8Sf i_0n '
w hetherthe_t_hi_n gs thath.appe<n on r-adiportel ev is ion hav e '
actu al -l yoc_cu r-red-.' T he f actthatw e"can _.' con rron rthem iI "
m en tal l ythr_cqu ghT el ectro' n ic_s is s u f f icien ttoru s to-kn ow n that
theyT e_xi_s t.,. . . In theis am e w ay, m ' os t._o_f theartthatis l ; v I
pro.d' u ced~ioda' y~en ds u p' as in torm atio.n abou tart.- L. L. 3 l "
.._J__ V
1 7 . Sof tw are
O = > 7 ~ a rm e > ow e 1 a l 19 7 O0* ~ O: aa 7 1 81 A
of the Media
18. [ In trodu ction ]
Con s titu en ts of a
T heoryof the Media
T he n ew m ediaare orien ted tow ard action , n otcon tem pl ation ; tow ard the pres en t, n ottradition .
T heirattitu de totim e is com pl etel yoppos ed tothat. . . w hichas pires topos s es s ion , thatis , to
exten s ion in tim e, bes tof al l , toetern ity. T he m ediaprodu ce n oobj ects thatcan be hoarded an d
au ction ed. T heydoaw aycom pl etel yw ithin tel l ectu al propertyan d l iqu idate the heritage.'
T hes e w ords m ighthav e appeared in the Id es F ortes s ection of a19 9 0s is s u e of Wired; theyw ere
w ritten , how ev er, aqu arter-cen tu rybef ore Wired ev erhitthe s hel v es . T heyare f rom the es s ay
reprin ted bel ow , w hichis al m os tim pos s ibl e toread n ow w ithou tan eerie s en s e of f am il iarityan d
dis ioin t. T his is n ' tdot-com m u n is m .
l tis N ew Lef ts ocial is m , how ev er, an d certain Marxis tcon cepts are im portan ttothis es s ayan d to
Jean Bau dril l ards repl y. T w ocen tral on es are bas e an d s u pers tru ctu re. T he bas e tradition al l yis
Said tocon s is tof the f orces an d rel ation s of produ ction -w hatgoes on in an iron f ou n dry, f or
exam pl e, w ou l d be partof the bas e. T he s u pers tru ctu re is tradition al l ys aid tobe m ade u pof thin gs
l ike pol itical s ys tem s , rel igion an d the m edia. In m an yin terpretation s of Marxthes e
s u pers tru ctu ral phen om en aare en tirel ydeterm in ed bythe bas e rel ation s hips , exis tin g in orderto
perpetu ate them . T he pos ition of the m ediain this s ys tem is im portan tbothtoEn zen s bergers an d
Bau dril l ards es s ays .
In his es s ayEn zen s bergeris takin g aim atthe m ediabu s in es s the con s ciou s n es s in du s try. T his
in du s tryis partof the s u pers tru ctu re in thatitoperates toperpetu ate an u n j u s ts ocietyby
con v in cin g u s toacceptthats ociety. Atthe s am e tim e, the m ediais abig bu s in es s , on e w here
capital is ts hope tom ake al otof m on ey. En zen s bergerargu es thattu rn in g aw ayf rom the m ediais a
poors trategyf oref f ectin g chan ge. R ather, on e s hou l d w ork atthe poin tof the m edia, w here the
u n j u s tcu l tu re is v u l n erabl e bothin term s of con s ciou s n es s an d in com e.
En zen s bergers es s ayis v erycom m on l ycited, bu tu n f ortu n atel yref eren ces toitof ten m ake iton l y
partw aythrou ghthe argu m en t. T his type of citation f ocu s es on pas s ages s u chas En zen s bergers
as s ertion thatitis w ron g toregard m ediaequ ipm en tas m ere m ean s of con s u m ption . Itis al w ays , in
prin cipl e, al s om ean s of produ ction ."Whatgets l ef tou tare the pas s ages s u chas : An yon e w ho
im agin es thatf reedom f orthe m ediaw il l be es tabl is hed if on l yev eryon e is bu s ytran s m ittin g an d
receiv in g is the du pe of al iberal is m w hich. . . m erel ypeddl es the f aded con cepts of apreordain ed
harm on yof s ocial in teres ts .
En zen s bergeris n ots im pl ypropos in g dis tribu ted produ ction of m edia he is propos in g an ew
f u n dam en tal organ ization of m edia, an d of thos e w orkin g tochan ge capital is ts ociety. F orexam pl e,
he w rites , T ape recorders , ordin arycam eras , an d m ov ie cam eras are al readyexten s iv el you m ed by
w age earn ers . T he qu es tion is w hythes e m ean s of produ ction don ottu rn u patf actories , in s chool s ,
in the of f ices of the bu reau cracy, in s hort, ev eryw here w here there is s ocial con f l ict. . . . On l ya
col l ectiv e, organ ized ef f ortcan teardow n thes e paperw al l s . He im agin es N etw orkl ike
com m u n ication s m odel s bu il ton the prin cipl e of rev ers ibil ityof circu its . . . am as s n ew s paper,
w ritten an d dis tribu ted byits readers , av ideon etw ork of pol itical l yactiv e grou ps ."
In otherw ords , En zen s bergerdoes n ots ee the l iberation of m ediacom in g f rom hobbyis tCBradio,
orthe T al kback!"f oru m u n dereachZDY ahooAP T im es N ets tory, oral t.barn ey.die.die.die. P rov idin g
ev eryon e w ithaDSLl in e an d "pers on al w eb s harin g"is al s on otw hatEn zen s bergeren v is ion s . P rom
En zen s bergers poin tof v iew the abil ityf oran yof u s toprodu ce m ediaw iththe equ ipm en tw e
hav e orev en dis tribu te it is n otparticu l arl ybig n ew s . He did n otev en w rite in aw aythatw ou l d
18. AT heory theN EWMEDIAR EADER
of the Media
q n ote the phen om en on of the R odn eyKin g v ideotape as radical , al thou ghthatbrou ghtm edia
; equ ipm en tin tothe s pace of s ocial con f l ict. Whathe m ayhav e in cl u ded in his v is ion , on the other
han d, is s om ethin g l ike the w aythatthe In tern ethas been u s ed toorgan ize an d prov ide
in f orm ation abou tprotes ts again s tthe Worl d T rade Organ ization . In this cas e, n ew m ediahav e l
been u s ed bothtos u pportthe al tern ativ e organ ization of as ocial m ov em en t( m ore an etw ork than
ahierarchy)an d toprov ide adif f eren tm odel of m ediacon s u m ption ( w hil e m ain s tream n ew s
reported thatSeattl e pol ice w ere s how in g adm irabl e res train tan d protes ters w ere breakin g
w in dow s , m an yn otatthe protes ts w ere s til l s eein g w hatthe n ew s ref u s ed tos how pictu res of
ru bberbu l l ets an d takedow n s , f irs than d accou n ts of peacef u l protes tan d v iol en tpol ice reaction -
del iv ered on the Web). If the R odn eyKin g in ciden thad been f ol l ow ed byan organ ized cam paign of
A v ideotapin g, an d bu il tan etw ork com m u n ication s tru ctu re an d s ocial m ov em en toppos ed topol ice
v iol en ce, thattoocou l d be s een as as tartf rom En zen s bergers poin tof v iew .
Jean Bau dril l ard, how ev er, l ooks tow ard adif f eren tm odel f oru n ders tan din g an d res is tin g the
dom in an ce of m edia, as his repl ytothis es s ay( O19 )expl ain s .
. N WF
oaaaa~ are 1 an on e- ~ are oer... aerate . ow e 18. AT IIGOT Y
of the Media
Origin al P u bl ication
N ew Lef tR ev iew ( 6 4)13-36 . N ov / Dec 19 7 0. R eprin ted in
En zen s berger, Han s Magn u s , T he Con s ciou s n es s In du s try, tran s .
Stu artHood. N ew Y ork: Seabu ryP res s , 19 7 4.
Con s titu en ts of a
T heoryof the Media
Han s Magn u s En zen s berger
If you s hou l d thin k this is U topian , then Iw ou l d as k
you tocon s iderw hyitis U topian .
Bertol tBrecht, T heoryof R adio
1. Withthe dev el opm en tof the el ectron ic m edia, the
in du s trythats hapes con s ciou s n es s has becom e the
pacem akerf orthe s ocial an econ om ic dev el opm en tof
s ocieties in the l ate in du s trial age. Itin f il trates in toal l other
s ectors of produ ction , takes ov erm ore an d m ore direction al
an d con trol f u n ction s , an d determ in es the s tan dard of the
prev ail in g techn ol ogy.
in l ieu of n orm ativ e def in ition s , here is an in com pl ete l is t
of n ew dev el opm en ts w hichhav e em erged in the l as t
tw en tyyears : n ew s s atel l ites , col ortel ev is ion , cabl e rel ay
tel ev is ion , cas s ettes , v ideotape, v ideotape recorders , v ideo-
phon es , s tereophon y, l as ertechn iqu es , el ectros tatic
reprodu ction proces s es , el ectron ic high-s peed prin tin g,
com pos in g an d l earn in g m achin es , m icrof iches w ith
el ectron ic acces s , prin tin g byradio, tim e-s harin g com pu ters ,
databan ks . Al l thes e n ew f orm s of m ediaare con s tan tl y
f orm in g n ew con n ection s bothw itheachotheran d w ith
ol derm edial ike prin tin g, radio, f il m , tel ev is ion , tel ephon e,
tel etype, radar, an d s oon . T heyare cl earl ycom in g together
tof orm au n iv ers al s ys tem .
T he gen eral con tradiction betw een produ ctiv e f orces an d
produ ctiv e rel ation s hips em erges m os ts harpl y, how ev er,
w hen theyare m os tadv an ced. Bycon tras t, protracted
s tru ctu ral cris es , as in coal m in in g, can be s ol v ed m erel yby
gettin g rid of abackl og, thatis tos ay, es s en tial l ytheycan be
s ol v ed w ithin the term s of theirow n s ys tem , an d arev ol u tion -
arys trategythatrel ied on them w ou l d be s horts ighted.
Mon opol ycapital is m dev el ops the con s ciou s n es s -s hapin g
in du s trym ore qu icl dyan d m ore exten s iv el ythan other
s ectors of produ ction ; itm u s tatthe s am e tim e f etterit. A
L
s ocial is tm ediatheoryhas tow ork atthis con tradiction ,
dem on s trate thatitcan n otbe s ol v ed w ithin the giv en
produ ctiv e rel ation s hips rapidl yin creas in g dis crepan cies ,
poten tial des tru ctiv e f orces . Certain dem an ds of a
progn os tic n atu re m u s tbe m ade of an ys u chtheory
( Ben j am in ).
Acritical in v en toryof the s tatu s qu ois n oten ou gh.
T here is dan gerof u n deres tim atin g the grow in g con f l icts in
the m ediaf iel d, of n eu tral izin g them , of in terpretin g them
m erel yin term s of trade u n ion is m orl iberal is m , on the l in es
of tradition al l abors tru ggl es oras the cl as hof s pecial
in teres ts ( program heads / execu tiv e produ cers ,
pu bl is hers / au thors , m on opol ies / m ediu m s ized bu s in es s es ,
pu bl ic corporation s / priv ate com pan ies , etc). An appreciation
of this kin d does n otgof aren ou ghan d rem ain s bogged
dow n in tactical argu m en ts .
Sof arthere is n oMarxis ttheoryof the m edia. T here is
theref ore n os trategyon e can appl yin this area. U n certain ty,
al tern ation s betw een f earan d s u rren der, m ark the attitu de
of the s ocial is tLef ttothe n ew produ ctiv e f orces of the
m ediain du s try. T he am biv al en ce of this attitu de m erel y
m irrors the am biv al en ce of the m ediathem s el v es w ithou t
m as terin g it. Itcou l d on l ybe ov ercom e byrel eas in g the
em an cipatorypoten tial w hichis in heren tin the n ew
produ ctiv e f orces apoten tial w hichcapital is m m u s t
s abotage j u s tas s u rel yas Sov ietrev is ion is m , becau s e it
w ou l d en dan gerthe ru l e of boths ys tem s .
T he Mobil izin g P ow erof the Media
2 . T he open s ecretof the el ectron ic m edia, the decis iv e
pol itical f actor, w hichhas been w aitin g, s u ppres s ed or
crippl ed, f orits m om en ttocom e, is theirm obil izin g pow er.
When Is aym obil ize Im ean m obil ize. In acou n tryw hich
has had directexperien ce of f as cis m ( an d Stal in is m )itis
perhaps s til l n eces s arytoexpl ain , ortoexpl ain again , w hat
thatm ean s n am el y, tom ake m en , m ore m obil e than they
are. As f ree as dan cers , as aw are as f ootbal l pl ayers , as
s u rpris in g as gu erril l as . An yon e w hothin ks of the m as s es
on l yas the obj ectof pol itics can n otm obil ize them . I-Ie
w an ts topu s hthem arou n d. Aparcel is n otm obil e; itcan
on l ybe pu s hed toan d f ro. Marches , col u m n s , parades ,
im m obil ize peopl e. P ropagan da, w hichdoes n otrel eas e s el f -
rel ian ce bu tl im its it, f its in tothe s am e pattern . Itl eads to
depol iticization .
18. AT heory
of the Media
F orthe f irs ttim e in his tory, the m ediaare m akin g pos s ibl e
m as s participation in as ocial an d s ocial ized produ ctiv e
proces s , the practical m ean s of w hichare in the han ds of the
m as s es them s el v es . Su chau s e of them w ou l d brin g the
com m u n ication s m edia, w hichu pton ow hav e n otdes erv ed
the n am e, in totheirow n . In its pres en tf orm , equ ipm en tl ike
tel ev is ion orf il m does n ots erv e com m u n ication bu t
prev en ts it. Ital l ow s n oreciprocal action betw een
tran s m itteran d receiv er; techn ical l ys peakin g, itredu ces f eed-
back tothe l ow es tpoin tcom patibl e w iththe s ys tem .
T his s tate of af f airs , how ev er, can n otbe j u s tif ied
techn ical l y. On the con trary. El ectron ic techn iqu es recogn ize
n ocon tradiction in prin cipl e betw een tran s m itteran d
receiv er. Ev erytran s is torradiois , bythe n atu re of its
con s tru ction , atthe s am e tim e apoten tial tran s m itter; itcan
in teractw ithotherreceiv ers bycircu itrev ers al . T he
dev el opm en tf rom am ere dis tribu tion m ediu m toa
com m u n ication s m ediu m is techn ical l yn otaprobl em . Itis
con s ciou s l yprev en ted f oru n ders tan dabl e pol itical reas on s .
T he techn ical dis tin ction betw een receiv ers an d tran s m itters
ref l ects the s ocial div is ion of l aborin toprodu cers an d
con s u m ers , w hichin the con s ciou s n es s in du s trybecom es of
particu l arpol itical im portan ce. Itis bas ed, in the l as tan al ys is ,
on the bas ic con tradiction betw een the ru l in g cl as s an d the
ru l ed cl as s thatis tos ay, betw een m on opol ycapital or
m on opol is tic bu reau cracyon the on e han d an d the
depen den tm as s es on the other.
T his s tru ctu ral an al ogycan be w orked ou tin detail . T othe
program s of f ered bythe broadcas tin g cartel s there
corres pon d the pol itics of f ered byapow ercartel con s is tin g
of parties con s titu ted al on g au thoritarian l in es . In bothcas es
m argin al dif f eren ces in theirpl atf orm s ref l ectacom petitiv e
rel ation s hipw hichon es s en tial qu es tion s is n on exis ten t.
Min im al in depen den tactiv ityon the partof the
v oter/ v iew eris des ired. As is the cas e w ithparl iam en tary
el ection s u n derthe tw o partys ys tem , the f eedback is
redu ced toin dices . T rain in g in decis ion m akin g is redu ced
tothe res pon s e toas in gl e, three-poin ts w itchin g proces s :
P rogram 1; P rogram 2 ; Sw itchof f ( abs ten tion ).
R adiom u s tbe chan ged f rom am ean s of dis tribu tion
toam ean s of com m u n ication . R adiow ou l d be the
m os tw on derf u l m ean s of com m u n ication im agin abl e
in pu bl ic l if e, ahu ge l in ked s ys tem - thatis tos ay, it
w ou l d be s u chif itw ere capabl e n oton l yof
tran s m ittin g bu tof receiv in g, of al l ow in g the l is ten er
theN EWMEDIAR EADER
n oton l ytohearbu ttos peak, an d did n otis ol ate him
bu tbrou ghthim in tocon tact. U n real izabl e in this
s ocial s ys tem , real izabl e in an other, thes e propos al s , W
w hichare, af teral l , on l ythe n atu ral con s equ en ces of
techn ical dev el opm en t, hel ptow ards the propagation
an d s hapin g of thatothers ys tem }
T he Orw el l ian F an tas y
3. George Orw el l ' s bogeyof am on ol ithic con s ciou s n es s
in du s tryderiv es f rom av iew of the m ediaw hichis
u n dial ectical an d obs ol ete. T he pos s ibil ityof total con trol of
s u chas ys tem atacen tral poin tbel on gs n ottothe f u tu re bu t
tothe pas t. Withthe aid of s ys tem s theory, dis cipl in e w hich
is partof bou rgeois s cien ce u s in g, thatis tos ay, categories
w hichare im m an en tin the s ys tem itcan be dem on s trated
thatal in ked s eries of com m u n ication s or, tou s e the
techn ical term , s w itchabl e n etw ork, tothe degree thatit
exceeds acertain critical s ize, can n ol on gerbe cen tral l y
con trol l ed bu ton l ydeal tw iths tatis tical l y. T his bas ic
l eakin es s of s tochas tic s ys tem s adm ittedl yal l ow s the
cal cu l ation of probabil ities bas ed on s am pl in g an d
extrapol ation s ; bu tbl an kets u perv is ion w ou l d dem an d a
m on itorthatw as biggerthan the s ys tem its el f . T he
m on itorin g of al l tel ephon e con v ers ation s , f orin s tan ce,
pos tu l ates an apparatu s w hichw ou l d n eed tobe n tim es
m ore exten s iv e an d m ore com pl icated than thatof the
pres en ttel ephon e s ys tem . Acen s or' s of f ice, w hichcarried ou t
its w ork exten s iv el y, w ou l d of n eces s itybecom e the l arges t
bran chof in du s tryin its s ociety.
Bu ts u perv is ion on the bas is of approxim ation can on l y
of f erin adequ ate in s tru m en ts f orthe s el f -regu l ation of the
w hol e s ys tem in accordan ce w iththe con cepts of thos e w ho
gov ern it. Itpos tu l ates ahighdegree of in tern al s tabil ity. If
this precariou s bal an ce is u ps et, then cris is m eas u res bas ed
on s tatis tical m ethods of con trol are u s el es s . In terf eren ce can
pen etrate the l eakyn exu s of the m edia, s preadin g an d
m u l tipl yin g there w iththe u tm os ts peed, byres on an ce. T he
regim e s othreaten ed w il l in s u chcas es , in s of aras itis s til l
capabl e of action , u s e f orce an d adoptpol ice orm il itary
m ethods .
As tate of em ergen cyis theref ore the on l yal tern ativ e to
l eakage in the con s ciou s n es s in du s try; bu titcan n otbe
m ain tain ed in the l on g ru n . Societies in the l ate in du s trial
age rel yon the f ree exchan ge of in f orm ation ; the obj ectiv e
pres s u res "tow hichtheircon trol l ers con s tan tl yappeal are
thu s tu rn ed again s tthem . Ev eryattem pttos u ppres s the
B
v "*
?
E
|
19 7 0
0r0 0~~~~~ ~0a 0 :1
ran dom f actors , eachdim in u tion of the av erage f l ow an d
eachdis tortion of the in f orm ation s tru ctu re m u s t, in the
l on g ru n , l ead toan em bol is m .
T he el ectron ic m ediahav e n oton l ybu il tu pthe
in f orm ation n etw ork in ten s iv el y, theyhav e al s os pread it
exten s iv el y. T he radiow ars of the f if ties dem on s trated that
in the real m of com m u n ication s , n ation al s ov ereign tyis
con dem n ed tow itheraw ay. T he f u rtherdev el opm en tof
s atel l ites w il l deal itthe cou pde grcice. Q u aran tin e regu l ation s
f orin f orm ation , s u chas w ere prom u l gated byf as cis m an d
Stal in is m , are on l ypos s ibl e todayatthe cos tof del iberate
in du s trial regres s ion .
Exam pl e. T he Sov ietbu reau cracy, thatis tos aythe m os t
w ides pread an d com pl icated bu reau cracyin the w orl d, has to
den yits el f al m os ten tirel yan el em en tarypiece of organ iza-
tion al equ ipm en t, the du pl icatin g m achin e,' becau s e this
in s tru m en tpoten tial l ym akes ev eryon e aprin ter. T he
pol itical ris k in v ol v ed the pos s ibil ityof al eakage in the
in f orm ation n etw ork, is accepted on l yatthe highes tl ev el s , at
expos ed s w itchpoin ts in pol itical , m il itary, an d s cien tif ic
areas . Itis cl earthatSov iets ocietyhas topayan im m en s e
price f orthe s u ppres s ion of its ow n produ ctiv e res ou rces
cl u m s yprocedu res , m is in f orm ation , f au xf rais . T he
phen om en on in ciden tal l yhas its an al ogu e in the capital is t
Wes t, if in adil u ted f orm . T he techn ical l ym os tadv an ced
el ectros tatic copyin g m achin e, w hichoperates w ithordin ary
paper w hichcan n ot, thatis tos ay, be s u perv is ed an d is
in depen den tof s u ppl iers is the propertyof am on opol y
( Xerox), on prin cipl e itis n ots ol d bu tren ted. T he rates
them s el v es en s u re thatitdoes n otgetin tothe w ron g han ds .
T he equ ipm en tcrops u pas if bym agic w here econ om ic an d
pol itical pow erare con cen trated. P ol itical con trol of the
equ ipm en tgoes han d in han d w ithm axim ization of prof its
f orthe m an u f actu rer. Adm ittedl ythis con trol , as oppos ed to
Sov ietm ethods , is byn om ean s w atertight f orthe reas on s
in dicated.
T he probl em of cen s ors hipthu s en ters an ew his torical
s tage. T he s tru ggl e f orthe f reedom of the pres s an d f reedom
of ideas has , u ptil l n ow , been m ain l yan argu m en tw ithin the
bou rgeois ie its el f ; f orthe m as s es , f reedom toexpres s
opin ion s w as af iction s in ce theyw ere, f rom the begin n in g,
barred f rom the m ean s of produ ction abov e al l f rom the
pres s an d thu s w ere u n abl e toj oin in f reedom of
expres s ion f rom the s tart. T odaycen s ors hipis threaten ed by
the produ ctiv e f orces of the con s ciou s n es s in du s tryw hichis
L
toeeeeeeee ~ A o 18. AT hOl ' y
of the Media
al ready, tos om e exten t, gain in g the u pperhan d ov erthe
prev ail in g rel ation s of produ ction . Lon g bef ore the l atterare
ov erthrow n , the con tradiction betw een w hatis pos s ibl e an d
w hatactu al l yexis ts w il l becom e acu te.
Cu l tu ral Archais m in the Lef tCritiqu e
4. T he N ew Lef tof the s ixties has redu ced the dev el opm en t
of the m ediatoas in gl e con cept -thatof m an ipu l ation . T his
con ceptw as origin al l yextrem el yu s ef u l f orheu ris tic
pu rpos es an d has m ade pos s ibl e agreatm an yin div idu al
an al ytical in v es tigation s , bu titn ow threaten s todegen erate
in toam ere s l ogan w hichcon ceal s m ore than itis abl e to
il l u m in ate, an d theref ore its el f requ ires an al ys is .
T he cu rren ttheor of m an iu l ation on the Lef tis
es s en tial l ydef en s iv ef its ef f ect} ; can l ead the m ov em en tin to
def eatis m . Su bj ectiv el ys peakin g, behin d the ten den cytogo
on the def en s iv e l ies as en s e of im poten ce. Obj ectiv el y, itcor-
res pon ds tothe abs ol u tel ycorrectv iew thatthe decis iv e
m ean s of produ ction are in en em yhan ds . Bu ttoreactto
this s tate of af f airs w ithm oral in dign ation is n aiv e. T here is
in gen eral an u n derton e of l am en tation w hen peopl e s peak
of m an ipu l ation w hichpoin ts toideal is tic expectation s as
if the cl as s en em yhad ev ers tu ck tothe prom is es of f airpl ay
itoccas ion al l yu tters . T he l iberal s u pers tition thatin
pol itical an d s ocial qu es tion s there is s u chathin g as pu re,
u n m an ipu l ated tru ths eem s toen j oyrem arkabl e cu rren cy
am on g the s ocial is tLef t. Itis the u n s poken bas ic prem is e of
the m an ipu l ation thes is .
T his thes is prov ides n oin cen tiv e topu s hahead. As ocial is t
pers pectiv e w hichdoes n otgobeyon d attackin g exis tin g
propertyrel ation s hips is l im ited. T he expropriation of
Sprin geris ades irabl e goal bu titw ou l d be good tokn ow to
w hom the m edias hou l d be han ded ov er. T he P arty?T oj u dge
byal l experien ce of thats ol u tion , itis n otapos s ibl e
al tern ativ e. Itis perhaps n oacciden tthatthe Lef thas n otyet
produ ced an an al ys is of the pattern of m an ipu l ation in
cou n tries w iths ocial is tregim es .
T he m an ipu l ation thes is al s os erv es toexcu l pate on es el f .
T ocas tthe en em yin the rol e of the dev il is tocon ceal the
w eakn es s an d l ack of pers pectiv e in on e' s ow n agitation . If
the l atterl eads tos el f -is ol ation in s tead of m obil izin g the
m as s es , then its f ail u re is attribu ted hol u s -bol u s tothe
ov erw hel m in g pow erof the m edia.
T he theoryof repres s iv e tol eran ce has al s operm eated
dis cu s s ion of the m ediabythe Lef t. T his con cept, w hichw as
18. AT heory
of the Media
f orm u l ated byits au thorw iththe u tm os tcare, has al s o, w hen
w hittl ed aw ayin an u n dial ectical m an n er, becom e av ehicl e
f orres ign ation . Adm ittedl y, w hen an of f ice-equ ipm en tf irm
can attem pttorecru its al es s taf f w iththe pictu re of Che
Gu ev araan d the textWe w ou l d hav e hired him , the tem ptation
tow ithdraw is great. Bu tf earof han dl in g s hitis al u xu rya
s ew erm an can n otn eces s aril yaf f ord.
T he el ectron ic m ediadoaw ayw ithcl ean l in es s ; theyare by
theirn atu re dirty. T hatis partof theirprodu ctiv e pow er. In
term s of s tru ctu re, theyare an tis ectarian af u rtherreas on
w hythe Lef t, in s of aras itis n otprepared tore-exam in e its
tradition s , has l ittl e ideaw hattodow iththem . T he des ire
f oracl ean l ydef in ed l in e an d f orthe s u ppres s ion of
dev iation s is an achron is tic an d n ow s erv es on l yon e' s ow n
n eed f ors ecu rity. Itw eaken s on e' s ow n pos ition byirration al
pu rges , excl u s ion s , an d f ragm en tation , in s tead of
s tren gthen in g itbyration al dis cu s s ion .
T hes e res is tan ces an d f ears are s tren gthen ed byas eries of
cu l tu ral f actors w hich, f orthe m os tpart, operate
u n con s ciou s l y, an d w hichare tobe expl ain ed bythe s ocial
his toryof the participan ts in today' s Lef tm ov em en t
n am el ytheirbou rgeois cl as s backgrou n d. Itof ten s eem s as if
itw ere precis el ybecau s e of theirprogres s iv e poten tial that
the m ediaare f el ttobe an im m en s e threaten in g pow er;
becau s e f orthe f irs ttim e theypres en tabas ic chal l en ge to
bou rgeois cu l tu re an d therebytothe priv il eges of the
bou rgeois in tel l igen ts ia achal l en ge f arm ore radical than
an ys el f -dou btthis s ocial grou pcan dis pl ay. In the N ew Lef t' s
oppos ition tothe m edia, ol d bou rgeois f ears s u chas the f ear
of the m as s es s eem tobe reappearin g al on g w ithequ al l yol d
bou rgeois l on gin gs f orpre-in du s trial tim es dres s ed u pin
progres s iv e cl othin g.
Atthe v erybegin n in g of the s tu den trev ol t, du rin g the
F ree SpeechMov em en tatBerkel ey, the com pu terw as a
f av orite targetf oraggres s ion . In teres tin the T hird Worl d is
n otal w ays f ree f rom m otiv es bas ed on an tagon is m tow ards
civ il ization w hichhas its s ou rce in con s erv ativ e cu l tu re
critiqu e. Du rin g the Mayev en ts in P aris , the rev ers ion to
archaic f orm s of produ ction w as particu l arl ycharacteris tic.
In s tead of carryin g ou tagitation am on g the w orkers w itha
m odern of f s etpres s , the s tu den ts prin ted theirpos ters on
the han d pres s es of the Ecol e des Beau xArts . T he pol itical
s l ogan s w ere han d-pain ted; s ten cil s w ou l d certain l yhav e
m ade itpos s ibl e toprodu ce them en m as s e, bu titw ou l d hav e
of f en ded the creativ e im agin ation of the au thors . T he abil ity
theN EWMEDIAR EADER
tom ake propers trategic u s e of the m os tadv an ced m edia
w as l ackin g. Itw as n otthe radioheadqu arters thatw ere
s eized bythe rebel s , bu tthe Od on T heatre, s teeped in
tradition .
T he obv ers e of this f earof con tactw iththe m ediais the
f as cin ation theyexerton l ef t w in g m ov em en ts in the great
cities . On the on e han d, the com rades take ref u ge in ou tdated
f orm s of com m u n ication an d es oteric arts an d craf ts in s tead
of occu pyin g them s el v es w iththe con tradiction betw een the
pres en tcon s titu tion of the m ediaan d theirrev ol u tion ary
poten tial ; on the otherhan d, theycan n otes cape f rom the
con s ciou s n es s in du s trys program orf rom its aes thetic. T his
l eads , s u bj ectiv el y, toas pl itbetw een apu ritan ical v iew of
pol itical action an d the areaof priv ate l eis u re; obj ectiv el y, it
l eads toas pl itbetw een pol itical l yactiv e grou ps an d
s u bcu l tu ral grou ps .
In Wes tern Eu rope the s ocial is tm ov em en tm ain l y
addres s es its el f toapu bl ic of con v erts throu ghn ew s papers
an d j ou rn al s w hichare excl u s iv e in term s of l an gu age,
con ten t, an d f orm . T hes e n ew s s heets pres u ppos e as tru ctu re
of partym em bers an d s ym pathizers an d as itu ation , w here
the m ediaare con cern ed, thatrou ghl ycorres pon ds tothe
his torical s itu ation in 19 00; theyare obv iou s l yf ixated on the
Is kram odel . P res u m abl ythe peopl e w hoprodu ce them l is ten
tothe R ol l in g Ston es , w atchoccu pation s an d s trikes on
tel ev is ion , an d gotothe cin em atos ee aWes tern ora
Godard; on l yin theircapacityas produ cers dotheym ake an
exception , an d, in theiran al ys es , the w hol e m edias ectoris
redu ced tothe s l ogan of "m an ipu l ation ."Ev eryf orayin tothis
territoryis regarded f rom the s tartw iths u s picion as as tep
tow ards in tegration . T his s u s picion is n otu n j u s tif ied; itcan
how ev eral s om as k on e' s ow n am biv al en ce an d in s ecu rity.
F earof bein g s w al l ow ed u pbythe s ys tem is as ign of
w eakn es s ; itpres u ppos es thatcapital is m cou l d ov ercom e an y
con tradiction acon v iction w hichcan eas il ybe ref u ted
his torical l yan d is theoretical l yu n ten abl e.
If the s ocial is tm ov em en tw rites of f the n ew produ ctiv e
f orces of the con s ciou s n es s in du s tryan d rel egates w ork on
the m ediatoas u bcu l tu re, then w e hav e av iciou s circl e. F or
the U n dergrou n d m aybe in creas in gl yaw are of the techn ical
an d aes thetic pos s ibil ities of the dis c, of v ideotape, of the
el ectron ic cam era, an d s oon , an d is s ys tem atical l yexpl orin g
the terrain , bu tithas n opol itical v iew poin tof its ow n an d
theref ore m os tl yf al l s ahel pl es s v ictim tocom m ercial is m .
T he pol itical l yactiv e grou ps then poin ttos u chcas es w ith
O We. Q - a~~..~.o... * ~w ~~~. 19 7 0:---0~ ~ ~ ----Q ~ 18. AT heory
s m u g Schaden f reu de Aproces s of u n l earn in g is the res u l tan d
boths ides are the l os ers . Capital is m al on e ben ef its f rom the
Lef t' s an tagon is m tothe m edia, as itdoes f rom the
depol iticization of the cou n tercu l tu re.
Dem ocratic Man ipu l ation
S. Man ipu l ation etym ol ogical l y, han dl in g m ean s
techn ical treatm en tof agiv en m aterial w ithaparticu l ar
goal in m in d. When the techn ical in terv en tion is of
im m ediate s ocial rel ev an ce, then m an ipu l ation is apol itical
act. In the cas e of the m ediain du s try, thatis bydef in ition
the cas e.
T hu s ev eryu s e of the m ediapres u ppos es m an ipu l ation .
T he m os tel em en taryproces s es in m ediaprodu ction , f rom
the choice of the m ediu m its el f tos hootin g, cu ttin g,
s yn chron ization , du bbin g, rightu ptodis tribu tion , are al l
operation s carried ou ton the raw m aterial . T here is n os u ch
thin g as u n m an ipu l ated w ritin g, f il m in g, orbroadcas tin g.
T he qu es tion is theref ore n otw hetherthe m ediaare m an ipu -
l ated, bu tw hom an ipu l ates them . Arev ol u tion arypl an
s hou l d n otrequ ire the m an ipu l ators todis appear; on the
con trary, itm u s tm ake ev eryon e am an ipu l ator.
Al l techn ical m an ipu l ation s are poten tial l ydan gerou s ; the
m an ipu l ation of the m ediacan n otbe cou n tered, how ev er, by
ol d orn ew f orm s of cen s ors hip, bu ton l ybydirects ocial
con trol , thatis tos ay, bythe m as s of the peopl e, w how il l
hav e becom e produ ctiv e. T othis en d, the el im in ation of
capital is tic propertyrel ation s hips is an eces s arybu tbyn o
m ean s s u f f icien tcon dition . T here hav e been n ohis torical
exam pl es u pu n til n ow of the m as s s el f -regu l atin g l earn in g
proces s w hichis m ade pos s ibl e bythe el ectron ic m edia. T he
Com m u n is ts f earof rel eas in g this poten tial , of the
m obil izin g capabil ities of the m edia, of the in teraction of f ree
produ cers , is on e of the m ain reas on s w hyev en in the
s ocial is tcou n tries , the ol d bou rgeois cu l tu re, greatl y
dis gu is ed an d dis torted bu ts tru ctu ral l yin tact, con tin u es to
hol d s w ay.
As ahis torical expl an ation , itm aybe poin ted ou tthatthe
con s ciou s n es s in du s tryin R u s s iaatthe tim e of the October
R ev ol u tion w as extraordin aril ybackw ard; theirprodu ctiv e
capacityhas grow n en orm ou s l ys in ce then , bu tthe
produ ctiv e rel ation s hips hav e been artif icial l ypres erv ed,
of ten byf orce. T hen , as n ow , aprim itiv el yedited pres s ,
books , an d theaterw ere the keym ediain the Sov ietU n ion .
T he dev el opm en tof radio, f il m , an d tel ev is ion is pol itical l y

of the Media
arres ted. F oreign s tation s l ike the BBC, the Voice of Am erica,
an d the Deu ts chl an d Wel l e theref ore, n oton l yf in d l is ten ers ,
bu tare receiv ed w ithal m os tbou n dl es s f aith. Archaic m edia
l ike the han dw ritten pam phl etan d poem s oral l ytran s m itted
pl ayan im portan trol e.
6 . T he n ew m ediaare egal itarian in s tru ctu re. An yon e can
take partin them byas im pl e s w itchin g proces s . T he
program s them s el v es are n otm aterial thin gs an d can be
reprodu ced atw il l . In this s en s e the el ectron ic m ediaare
en tirel ydif f eren tf rom the ol derm edial ike the book orthe
eas el pain tin g, the excl u s iv e cl as s characterof w hichis
obv iou s . T el ev is ion program s f orpriv il eged grou ps are
certain l ytechn ical l ycon ceiv abl e cl os ed circu ittel ev is ion
bu tru n cou n tertothe s tru ctu re. P oten tial l y, the n ew m edia
doaw ayw ithal l edu cation al priv il eges an d therebyw iththe
cu l tu ral m on opol yof the bou rgeois in tel l igen ts ia. T his is on e
of the reas on s f orthe in tel l igen ts ias res en tm en tagain s tthe
n ew in du s try. As f orthe s pirit w hichtheyare en deav orin g
todef en d again s tdepers on al ization "an d m as s cu l tu re, the
s oon ertheyaban don itthe better.
P roperties of the N ew Media
7 . T he n ew m ediaare orien ted tow ards action , n ot
con tem pl ation ; tow ards the pres en t, n ottradition . T heir
attitu de totim e is com pl etel yoppos ed tothatof bou rgeois
cu l tu re, w hichas pires topos s es s ion , thatis toexten s ion in
tim e, bes tof al l , toetern ity. T he m ediaprodu ce n oobj ects
thatcan be hoarded an d au ction ed. T heydoaw ay
com pl etel yw ithin tel l ectu al property"an d l iqu idate the
heritage, thatis tos ay, the cl as s s pecif ic han din g-on of
n on m aterial capital .
T hatdoes n otm ean tos aythattheyhav e n ohis toryor
thattheycon tribu te tothe l os s of his torical con s ciou s n es s .
On the con trary, theym ake itpos s ibl e f orthe f irs ttim e to
record his torical m aterial s othatitcan be reprodu ced atw il l .
Bym akin g this m aterial av ail abl e f orpres en t-daypu rpos es ,
theym ake itobv iou s toan yon e u s in g itthatthe w ritin g of
his toryis al w ays m an ipu l ation . Bu tthe m em orytheyhol d in
readin es s is n otthe pres erv e of as chol arl ycas te. Itis s ocial .
T he ban ked in f orm ation is acces s ibl e toan yon e, an d this
acces s ibil ityis as in s tan tan eou s as its recordin g. Its u f f ices to
com pare the m odel of apriv ate l ibraryw iththatof a
s ocial ized databan k torecogn ize the s tru ctu ral dif f eren ce
betw een the tw os ys tem s .
18. AT heory
of the Media
8. Itis w ron g toregard m ediaequ ipm en tas m ere m ean s of
con s u m ption . Itis al w ays , in prin cipl e, al s om ean s of
produ ction an d, in deed, s in ce itis in the han ds of the m as s es ,
s ocial ized m ean s of produ ction . T he con tradiction betw een
produ cers an d con s u m ers is n otin heren tin the el ectron ic
m edia; on the con trary, ithas tobe artif icial l yrein f orced by
econ om ic an d adm in is trativ e m eas u res .
An earl yexam pl e of this is prov ided bythe dif f eren ce
betw een tel egraphan d tel ephon e. Whereas the f orm er, to
this day, has rem ain ed in the han ds of abu reau cratic
in s titu tion w hichcan s can an d f il e ev erytexttran s m itted,
the tel ephon e is directl yacces s ibl e toal l u s ers . Withthe
aid of con f eren ce circu its , itcan ev en m ake pos s ibl e
col l ectiv e in terv en tion in adis cu s s ion byphys ical l yrem ote
grou ps .
On the otherhan d, thos e au ditoryan d v is u al m ean s of
com m u n ication w hichrel yon w irel es s are s til l s u bj ectto
s tate con trol ( l egis l ation on w irel es s in s tal l ation s ). In the f ace
of techn ical dev el opm en ts , w hichl on g agom ade l ocal an d
in tern ation al radio-tel ephon ypos s ibl e, an d w hichcon s tan tl y
open ed u pn ew w av eban ds f ortel ev is ion in the U I-IEban d
al on e, the dis s em in ation of n u m erou s program s in on e
l ocal ityis pos s ibl e w ithou tin terf eren ce, n ottom en tion the
pos s ibil ities of f ered byw ired an d s atel l ite tel ev is ion the
prev ail in g l aw s f orcon trol of the airare an achron is tic. T hey
recal l the tim e w hen the operation of aprin tin g pres s w as
depen den ton an im perial l icen s e. T he s ocial is tm ov em en ts
w il l take u pthe s tru ggl e f ortheirow n w av el en gths an d
m u s t, w ithin the f ores eeabl e f u tu re, bu il d theirow n
tran s m itters an d rel ays tation s .
9 . On e im m ediate con s equ en ce of the s tru ctu ral n atu re of
the n ew m ediais thatn on e of the regim es atpres en tin
pow ercan rel eas e theirpoten tial . On l yaf ree s ocial is t
s ocietyw il l be abl e tom ake them f u l l yprodu ctiv e. Af u rther
characteris tic of the m os tadv an ced m edia probabl ythe
decis iv e on e con f irm s this thes is :theircol l ectiv e
s tru ctu re.
F orthe pros pectthatin f u tu re, w iththe aid of the m edia,
an yon e can becom e aprodu cer, w ou l d rem ain apol itical an d
l im ited w ere this produ ctiv e ef f orttof in d an ou tl etin
in div idu al tin kerin g. Work on the m ediais pos s ibl e f oran
in div idu al on l yin s of aras itrem ain s s ocial l yan d theref ore
aes thetical l yirrel ev an t. T he col l ection of tran s paren cies f rom
the l as thol idaytripprov ides am odel of this .
theN EWMEDIAR EADER
T hatis n atu ral l yw hatthe prev ail in g m arketm echan is m s
hav e aim ed at. Ithas l on g been cl earf rom apparatu s l ike
m in iatu re an d 8m m m ov ie cam eras , as w el l as the tape r
recorder, w hichare in actu al f actal readyin the han ds of the
m as s es , thatthe in div idu al , s ol on g as he rem ain s is ol ated,
can becom e w iththeirhel patbes tan am ateu rbu tn ota
produ cer. Ev en s opoten tam ean s of produ ction as the
s hortw av e tran s m itterh.as been tam ed in this w ayan d
redu ced toaharm l es s an d in con s equ en tial hobbyin the
han ds of s cattered radioham s . T he program s w hichthe
is ol ated am ateu rm ou n ts are al w ays on l ybad ou tdated
copies of w hathe in an ycas e receiv es .
P riv ate produ ction f orthe m ediais n om ore than l icen s ed
cottage in du s try. Ev en w hen itis m ade pu bl ic itrem ain s pu re
com prom is e. T othis en d, the m en w hoow n the m ediahav e
dev el oped s pecial program s w hichare u s u al l ycal l ed
Dem ocratic F oru m ors om ethin g of the kin d. T here, tu cked
aw ayin the corn er, the reader( l is ten er, v iew er)has his s ay,
w hichcan n atu ral l ybe cu ts hortatan ytim e. As in the cas e
of pu bl ioopin ion pol l in g, he is on l yas ked qu es tion s s othat
he m ayhav e achan ce tocon f irm his ow n depen den ce. Itis a
con trol circu itw here w hatis f ed in has al readym ade
com pl ete al l ow an ce f orthe f eedback.
T he con ceptof al icen s e can al s obe u s ed in an other
s en s e in an econ om ic on e; the s ys tem attem pts tom ake
eachparticipan tin toacon ces s ion aire of the m on opol ythat
dev el ops his f il m s orpl ays back his cas s ettes . T he aim is to
n ipin the bu d in this w aythatin depen den ce w hichv ideo
equ ipm en t, f orin s tan ce, m akes pos s ibl e. N atu ral l y, s u ch
ten den cies goagain s tthe grain of the s tru ctu re, an d the
n ew produ ctiv e f orces n oton l yperm itbu tin deed dem an d
theirrev ers al .
T he poor, f eebl e, an d f requ en tl yhu m il iatin g res u l ts of this
l icen s ed activ ityare of ten ref erred tow ithcon tem ptbythe
prof es s ion al m ediaprodu cers . On topof the dam age s u f f ered
bythe m as s es com es triu m phan tm ockerybecau s e they
cl earl ydon otkn ow how tou s e the m ediaproperl y. T he s ort
of thin g thatgoes on in certain popu l artel ev is ion s how s is
taken as proof thattheyare com pl etel yin capabl e of
articu l atin g on theirow n .
N oton l ydoes this ru n cou n tertothe res u l ts of the l ates t
ps ychol ogical an d pedagogical res earch, bu titcan eas il ybe
s een tobe areaction aryprotectiv e f orm u l ation ; the gif ted
peopl e are qu ite s im pl ydef en din g theirterritories . Here w e
hav e acu l tu ral an al ogu e tothe f am il iarpol itical j u dgm en ts
1..
l 19 7 0
0: r> ~> : < O W_-0; ." 0< <+ > # .
con cern in g aw orkin g cl as s w hichis pres u m ed tobe
' s tu l tif ied"an d in capabl e of an ykin d of s el f determ in ation .
Cu riou s l y, on e m ayhearthe v iew thatthe m as s es cou l d
n ev ergov ern them s el v es ou tof the m ou ths of peopl e w ho
con s iderthem s el v es s ocial is ts . In the bes tof cas es , thes e are
econ om is ts w hocan n otcon ceiv e of s ocial is m as an ythin g
otherthan n ation al ization .
ASocial is tStrategy
10. An ys ocial is ts trategyf orthe m ediam u s t, on the con trary,
s triv e toen d the is ol ation of the in div idu al participan ts f rom
the s ocial l earn in g an d produ ction proces s . T his is im pos s ibl e
u n l es s thos e con cern ed organ ize them s el v es . T his is the
pol itical core of the qu es tion of the m edia. Itis ov erthis poin t
thats ocial is tcon cepts partcom pan yw iththe n eo-l iberal an d
techn ocratic on es . An yon e w hoexpects tobe em an cipated by
techn ol ogical hardw are, orbyas ys tem of hardw are how ev er
s tn ictu red, is the v ictim of an obs cu re bel ief in progres s .
An yon e w hoim agin es thatf reedom f orthe m ediaw il l be
es tabl is hed if on l yev eryon e is bu s ytran s m ittin g an d
receiv in g is the du pe of al iberal is m w hich, decked ou tin
con tem porarycol ors , m erel ypeddl es the f aded con cepts of a
preordain ed harm on yof s ocial in teres ts .
In the f ace of s u chil l u s ion s , w hatm u s tbe f irm l yhel d on
tois thatthe properu s e of the m ediadem an ds organ ization
an d m akes itpos s ibl e. Ev eryprodu ction thatdeal s w iththe
in teres ts of the produ cers pos tu l ates acol l ectiv e m ethod of
produ ction . Itis its el f al readyaf orm of s el f organ ization of
s ocial n eeds . T ape recorders , ordin arycam eras , an d m ov ie
cam eras are al readyexten s iv el yow n ed byw age-earn ers . T he
qu es tion is w hythes e m ean s of produ ction don ottu rn u pat
f actories , in s chool s , in the of f ices of the bu reau cracy, in
s hort, ev eryw here w here there is s ocial con f l ict. Byprodu cin g
aggres s iv e f orm s of pu bl icityw hichw ere theirow n , the
m as s es cou l d s ecu re ev iden ce of theirdail yexperien ces an d
draw ef f ectiv e l es s on s f rom them .
N atu ral l y, bou rgeois s ocietydef en ds its el f again s ts u ch
pros pects w ithabatteryof l egal m eas u res . Itbas es its el f on
the l aw of tres pas s , on com m ercial an d of f icial s ecrecy. Whil e
its s ecrets erv ices pen etrate ev eryw here an d pl u g in tothe
m os tin tim ate con v ers ation s , itpl eads atou chin g con cern f or
con f iden tial ity, an d m akes as en s itiv e dis pl ayof w orryin g
abou tthe qu es tion of priv acyw hen al l thatis priv ate is the
in teres tof the expl oiters . On l yacol l ectiv e, organ ized ef f ort
can teardow n thes e paperw al l s .
o ~11 oie 18. AT hE0|' y
of the Media
Com m u n ication n etw orks w hichare con s tru cted f ors u ch
pu rpos es can , ov eran d abov e theirprim aryf u n ction , prov ide
pol itical l yin teres tin g organ ization al m odel s . In the s ocial is t
m ov em en ts the dial ectic of dis cipl in e an d s pon tan eity,
cen tral is m an d decen tral ization , au thoritarian l eaders hipan d
an ti-au thoritarian dis in tegration has l on g agoreached
deadl ock. N etw orkl ike com m u n ication s m odel s bu il ton the
prin cipl e of rev ers ibil ityof circu its m ightgiv e in dication s of
how toov ercom e this s itu ation :am as s n ew s paper, w ritten
an d dis tribu ted byits readers , av ideon etw ork of pol itical l y
activ e grou ps .
More radical l ythan an ygood in ten tion , m ore l as tin gl y
than exis ten tial f l ightf rom on es ow n cl as s , the m edia, on ce
theyhav e com e in totheirow n , des troythe priv ate
produ ction m ethods of bou rgeois in tel l ectu al s . On l yin
produ ctiv e w ork an d l earn in g proces s es can their
in div idu al is m be broken dow n in s u chaw aythatitis
tran s f orm ed f rom m oral l ybas ed ( thatis tos ay, as in div idu al
as ev er)s el f -s acrif ice toan ew kin d of pol itical s el f ~
u n ders tan din g an d behav ior.
11. An al l -too w idel ydis s em in ated thes is m ain tain s that
pres en t-daycapital is m l iv es bythe expl oitation of u n real
n eeds . T hatis atbes tahal f ~tru th. T he res u l ts obtain ed by
popu l arAm erican s ociol ogis ts l ike Van ce P ackard are n otu n -
u s ef u l bu tl im ited. Whattheyhav e tos ayabou tthe
s tim u l ation of n eeds throu ghadv ertis in g an d artif icial
obs ol es cen ce can in an ycas e n otbe adequ atel yexpl ain ed by
the hypn otic pu l l exerted on the w age-earn ers bym as s
con s u m ption . T he hypothes is of con s u m erterror
corres pon ds tothe prej u dices of am iddl e cl as s , w hich
con s iders its el f pol itical l yen l ighten ed, again s tthe al l egedl y
in tegrated prol etariat, w hichhas becom e pettybou rgeois an d
corru pt. T he attractiv e pow erof m as s con s u m ption is bas ed
n oton the dictates of f al s e n eeds , bu ton the f al s if ication an d
expl oitation of qu ite real an d l egitim ate on es w ithou tw hich
the paras itic proces s of adv ertis in g w ou l d be redu n dan t. A
s ocial is tm ov em en tou ghtn ottoden ou n ce thes e n eeds , bu t
take them s eriou s l y, in v es tigate them , an d m ake them
pol itical l yprodu ctiv e.
T hatis al s ov al id f orthe con s ciou s n es s in du s try. T he
el ectron ic m ediadon otow e theirirres is tibl e pow ertoan y
s l eight-of ~han d bu ttothe el em en tal pow erof deeps ocial
n eeds w hichcom e throu ghev en in the pres en tdeprav ed
f orm of thes e m edia.
18. AT heory
of the Media
P recis el ybecau s e n oon e bothers abou tthem , the
in teres ts of the m as s es hav e rem ain ed arel ativ el yu n kn ow n
f iel d, atl eas tin s of aras theyare his torical l yn ew . T hey
certain l yexten d f arbeyon d thos e goal s w hichthe
tradition al w orkin g-cl as s m ov em en trepres en ted. Ju s tas in
the f iel d of produ ction , the in du s tryw hichprodu ces goods
an d the con s ciou s n es s in du s trym erge m ore an d m ore, s o
too, s u bj ectiv el y, w here n eeds are con cern ed, m aterial an d
n on m aterial f actors are cl os el yin terw ov en . In the proces s
ol d ps ycho s ocial them es are f irm l yem bedded s ocial
pres tige, iden tif ication pattern s bu tpow erf u l n ew them es
em erge w hichare u topian in n atu re. F rom am aterial is tic
poin tof v iew , n eitherthe on e n orthe otherm u s tbe
s u ppres s ed.
I-Ien riLef ebv re has propos ed the con ceptof the s pectacl e,
the exhibition , the s how , tof itthe pres en tf orm of m as s
con s u m ption . Goods an d s hopw in dow s , traf f ic an d
adv ertis em en ts , s tores an d the w orl d of com m u n ication s ,
n ew s an d packagin g, architectu re an d m ediaprodu ction
com e togethertof orm atotal ity, aperm an en ttheater,
w hichdom in ates n oton l ythe pu bl ic citycen ters bu tal s o
priv ate in teriors . T he expres s ion beau tif u l l iv in g m akes
the m os tcom m on pl ace obj ects of gen eral u s e in toprops f or
this u n iv ers al f es tiv al , in w hichthe f etis his tic n atu re of the
com m odities triu m phs com pl etel yov ertheiru s e v al u e. T he
s w in dl e thes e f es tiv al s perpetrate is , an d rem ain s , as w in dl e
w ithin the pres en ts ocial s tru ctu re. Bu titis the harbin ger
of s om ethin g el s e. Con s u m ption as s pectacl e con tain s the
prom is e thatw an tw il l dis appear. T he deceptiv e, bru tal , an d
obs cen e f eatu res of this f es tiv al deriv e f rom the f actthat
there can be n oqu es tion of areal f u l f il l m en tof its prom is e.
Bu ts ol on g as s carcityhol ds s w ay, u s e-v al u e rem ain s a
decis iv e categoryw hichcan on l ybe abol is hed bytrickery.
Y ettrickeryon s u chas cal e is on l ycon ceiv abl e if itis bas ed
on m as s n eed. T his n eed itis au topian on e is there. It
is the des ire f oran ew ecol ogy, f orabreakin g dow n of
en v iron m en tal barriers , f oran aes thetic w hichis n ot
l im ited tothe s phere of the artis tic."T hes e des ires are
n ot orare n otprim aril y in tern al ized ru l es of the gam e
as pl ayed bythe capital is ts ys tem . T heyhav e phys iol ogical
roots an d can n ol on gerbe s u ppres s ed. Con s u m ption as
s pectacl e is in parodyf orm the an ticipation of a
u topian s itu ation .
T he prom is es of the m ediadem on s trate the s am e
am biv al en ce. T heyare an an s w ertothe m as s n eed f or
theN EWMEDIAR EADER
n on m aterial v arietyan d m obil ity w hichatpres en tf in ds
its m aterial real ization in priv ate carow n ers hipan d
tou ris m an d theyexpl oitit. Othercol l ectiv e w is hes , i
w hichcapital of ten recogn izes m ore qu ickl yan d ev al u ates
m ore correctl ythan its oppon en ts , bu tn atu ral l yon l ys oas
totrapthem an d rob them of theirexpl os iv e f orce, are j u s t
as pow erf u l , j u s tas u n equ iv ocal l yem an cipatory:the n eed
totake partin the s ocial proces s on al ocal , n ation al , an d
in tern ation al s cal e; the n eed f orn ew f orm s of in teraction ,
f orrel eas e f rom ign oran ce an d tu tel age; the n eed f ors el f -
determ in ation . Be ev eryw here! is on e of the m os t
s u cces s f u l s l ogan s of the m ediain du s try. T he readers
parl iam en tof Bil d-Zeitu n g ( the Sprin gerP res s m as s
pu bl ication )w as directdem ocracyu s ed again s tthe
in teres ts of the dem os . Open s paces an d f ree tim e are
con cepts w hichcorral an d n eu tral ize the u rgen tw is hes of
the m as s es .
T here is corres pon din g acceptan ce bythe m ediaof u topian
s tories :e.g., the s toryof the you n g Ital o-Am erican w ho
hij acked apas s en gerpl an e togethom e f rom Cal if orn iato
R om e w as taken u pw ithou tprotes tev en bythe reaction ary
m as s pres s an d u n dou btedl ycorrectl yu n ders tood byits
readers . T he iden tif ication is bas ed on w hathas becom e a
gen eral n eed. N obodycan u n ders tan d w hys u chj ou rn eys
s hou l d be res erv ed f orpol itician s , f u n ction aries , an d -
bu s in es s m en . T he rol e of the pops tarcou l d be an al yzed f rom
as im il aran gl e; in itthe au thoritarian an d em an cipatory
f actors are m in gl ed in an extraordin aryw ay. Itis perhaps n ot
u n im portan tthatbeatm u s ic of f ers grou ps , n otin div idu al s ,
as iden tif ication m odel s . In the produ ction s of the R ol l in g
Ston es ( an d in the m an n erof theirprodu ction )the u topian
con ten tis apparen t. Ev en ts l ike the Woods tock F es tiv al , the
con certs in Hyde P ark, on the Is l e of Wight, an d atAl tam on t,
Cal if orn ia, dev el opam obil izin g pow erw hichthe pol itical
Lef tcan on l yen v y.
Itis abs ol u tel ycl earthat, w ithin the pres en ts ocial f orm s ,
the con s ciou s n es s in du s trycan s atis f yn on e of the n eeds
on w hichitl iv es an d w hichitm u s tf an , exceptin the
il l u s oryf orm of gam es . T he poin t, how ev er, is n otto
dem ol is hits prom is es bu ttotake them l iteral l yan d to
s how thattheycan be m eton l ythrou ghacu l tu ral
rev ol u tion . Social is ts an d s ocial is tregim es w hichm u l tipl y
the f ru s tration of the m as s es bydecl arin g theirn eeds tobe
f al s e, becom e the accom pl ices of the s ys tem theyhav e
u n dertaken tof ight.
19 7 0
0- ~-~---o-- -- --Q ----- -- 18. AT heory oe e as are A ~ -----aaaaaoe -~ -~~. A--
12 . Su m m ary
R epres s iv e u s e of m edia
Cen tral l ycon trol l ed program
On e tran s m itter, m an yreceiv ers
Im m obil ization of is ol ated
in div idu al s
P as s iv e con s u m erbehav ior
Depol iticization
P rodu ction bys pecial is ts
Con trol bypropertyow n ers or
bu reau cracy
Em an cipatoryu s e of m edia
Decen tral ized program
Eachreceiv erapoten tial
tran s m itter
Mobil ization of the m as s es
In teraction of thos e in v ol v ed,
f eedback
Apol itical l earn in g proces s
Col l ectiv e produ ction
Social con trol bys el f -
organ ization
T he Su bv ers iv e P ow erof the N ew Media
13. As f aras the obj ectiv el ys u bv ers iv e poten tial ities of the
el ectron ic m ediaare con cern ed, boths ides in the
in tern ation al cl as s s tru ggl e exceptf orthe f atal is tic
adheren ts of the thes is of m an ipu l ation in the m etropol es
are of on e m in d. F ran tz F an on w as the f irs ttodraw
atten tion tothe f actthatthe tran s is torreceiv erw as on e of
the m os tim portan tw eapon s in the third w orl ds f ightf or
f reedom . Al bertHertzog, ex-Min is terof the Sou thAf rican
R epu bl ic an d the m ou thpiece of the rightw in g of the ru l in g
party, is of the opin ion thattel ev is ion w il l l ead tothe ru in of
the w hite m an in Sou thAf rica. Am erican im perial is m has
recogn ized the s itu ation . Itattem pts tom eetthe rev ol u tion
of ris in g expectation s in Latin Am erica thatis w hatits
ideol ogu es cal l it bys catterin g its ow n tran s m itters al l ov er
the con tin en tan d in tothe rem otes tregion s of the Am azon
bas in , an d bydis tribu tin g s in gl e-f requ en cytran s is tors tothe
n ativ e popu l ation . T he attacks of the N ixon Adm in is tration
on the capital is tm ediain the U SArev eal its u n ders tan din g
thattheirreportin g, how ev eron e-s ided an d dis torted, has
becom e adecis iv e f actorin m obil izin g peopl e again s tthe w ar
in Vietn am . Whereas on l ytw en ty-f iv e years agothe F ren ch
m as s acres in Madagas car, w ithal m os t100,000dead, becam e
kn ow n on l ytothe readers of Le Mon de u n derthe headin g of
OtherN ew s an d theref ore rem ain ed u n n oticed an d
w ithou ts equ el in the capital city, todaythe m ediadrag
col on ial w ars in tothe cen ters of im perial is m .
T he directm obil izin g poten tial ities of the m ediabecom e
s til l m ore cl earw hen theyare con s ciou s l yu s ed f ors u bv ers iv e
of the Media
m ov em en ts in the U SA, in Japan , an d in Wes tern Eu rope
s oon recogn ized this an d, tobegin w ith, achiev ed
con s iderabl e m om en tarys u cces s w iththe aid of the m edia.
T hes e ef f ects hav e w orn of f . N aiv e tru s tin the m agical pow er
of reprodu ction can n otrepl ace organ ization al w ork; on l y
activ e an d coheren tgrou ps can f orce the m ediatocom pl y
w iththe l ogic of theiraction s . T hatcan be dem on s trated
f rom the exam pl e of the T u pam aros in U ru gu ay, w hos e
rev ol u tion arypractice has im pl icitin itpu bl icityf ortheir
action s . T hu s the actors becom e au thors . T he abdu ction of
the Am erican am bas s adorin R iode Jan eirow as pl an n ed
w ithav iew toits im pacton the m edia. Itw as atel ev is ion
produ ction . T he Arab gu erril l as proceed in the s am e w ay. T he
f irs ttoexperim en tw iththes e techn iqu es in tern ation al l y
w ere the Cu ban s . F idel appreciated the rev ol u tion ary
poten tial of the m ediacorrectl yf rom the f irs t( Mon cada,
19 53). T odayil l egal pol itical action dem an ds aton e an d the
s am e tim e m axim u m s ecu rityan d m axim u m pu bl icity.
14. R ev ol u tion arys itu ation s al w ays brin g w iththem
dis con tin u ou s , s pon tan eou s chan ges brou ghtabou tbythe
m as s es in the exis tin g aggregate of the m edia. How f arthe
chan ges thu s brou ghtabou ttake rootan d how perm an en t
theyare dem on s trates the exten ttow hichacu l tu ral
rev ol u tion is s u cces s f u l . T he s itu ation in the m ediais the
m os taccu rate an d s en s itiv e barom eterf orthe ris e of
bu reau cratic orBon apartis tan ticycl on es . Sol on g as the
cu l tu ral rev ol u tion has the in itiativ e, the s ocial im agin ation
of the m as s es ov ercom es ev en techn ical backw ardn es s an d
tran s f orm s the f u n ction of the ol d m edias othattheir
s tru ctu res are expl oded.
Withou rw ork the R ev ol u tion has achiev ed acol os s al
l aborof propagan daan d en l ighten m en t. We ripped
u pthe tradition al book in tos in gl e pages , m agn if ied
thes e ahu n dred tim es , prin ted them in col oran d
s tu ck them u pas pos ters in the s treets . . . . Ou rl ack of
prin tin g equ ipm en tan d the n eces s ityf ors peed
m ean tthat, thou ghthe bes tw ork w as han d-prin ted,
the m os trew ardin g w as s tan dardized, l apidaryan d
adapted tothe s im pl es tm echan ical f orm of
reprodu ction . T hu s State Decrees w ere prin ted as
rol l ed-u pil l u s trated l eaf l ets , an d Arm yOrders as
il l u s trated pam phl ets ?
en ds . T heirpres en ce is af actorthatim m en s el yin creas es the In the tw en ties , the R u s s ian f il m reached as tan dard that
dem on s trativ e n atu re of an ypol itical act. T he s tu den tw as f arin adv an ce of the av ail abl e produ ctiv e f orces .
._.
18. AT heory
of the Media
P u dov kin s Kin ogl as an d DzigaVertov s Kin oprav daw ere n o
n ew s reel s bu tpol itical tel ev is ion m agazin e program s av an t
l ecran . T he cam paign again s til l iteracyin Cu babroke throu gh
the l in ear, excl u s iv e, an d is ol atin g s tru ctu re of the m ediu m of
the book. In the Chin aof the Cu l tu ral R ev ol u tion , w al l
n ew s papers f u n ction ed l ike an el ectron ic m as s m ediu m at
l eas tin the big tow n s . T he res is tan ce of the Czechos l ov ak
popu l ation tothe Sov ietin v as ion gav e ris e tos pon tan eou s
produ ctiv ityon the partof the m as s es , w hichign ored the
in s titu tion al barriers of the m edia. ( Detail s tobe s u ppl ied.)
Su chs itu ation s are exception al . Itis precis el ytheiru topian
n atu re, w hichreaches ou tbeyon d the exis tin g produ ctiv e
f orces ( itf ol l ow s thatthe produ ctiv e rel ation s hips are n otto
be perm an en tl yov erthrow n ), thatm akes them precariou s ,
l eads torev ers al s an d def eats . T heydem on s trate al l the m ore
cl earl yw haten orm ou s pol itical an d cu l tu ral en ergies are
hidden in the en chain ed m as s es an d w ithw hatim agin ation
theyare abl e, atthe m om en tof l iberation , toreal ize al l the
opportu n ities of f ered bythe n ew m edia.
T he Media: An Em ptyCategory
of Marxis tT heory
15. T hatthe Marxis tLef ts hou l d argu e theoretical l yan d act
practical l yf rom the s tan dpoin tof the m os tadv an ced
produ ctiv e f orces in theirs ociety, thattheys hou l d dev el opin
depthal l the l iberatin g f actors im m an en tin thes e f orces an d
u s e them s trategical l y, is n oacadem ic expectation bu ta
pol itical n eces s ity. How ev er, w ithas in gl e greatexception ,
thatof Wal terBen j am in ( an d in his f oots teps , Brecht),
Marxis ts hav e n otu n ders tood the con s ciou s n es s in du s try
an d hav e been aw are on l yof its bou rgeois -capital is tdark s ide
an d n otof its s ocial is tpos s ibil ities . An au thorl ike George
Lu kacs is aperf ectexam pl e of this theoretical an d practical
backw ardn es s . N orare the w orks of Horkheim eran d Adorn o
f ree of an os tal giaw hichcl in gs toearl ybou rgeois m edia.
T heirv iew of the cu l tu ral in du s trycan n otbe dis cu s s ed here.
Mu chm ore typical of Marxis m betw een the tw ow ars is the
pos ition of Lu kacs , w hichcan be s een v erycl earl yf rom an
earl yes s ayin Ol d Cu l tu re an d N ew Cu l tu re. An ythin g that
cu l tu re produ ces can , accordin g toLu kacs , hav e real cu l tu ral
v al u e on l yif itis in its el f v al u abl e, if the creation of each
in div idu al produ ctis f rom the s tan dpoin tof its m akeran d a
s in gl e, f in ite proces s . Itm u s t, m oreov er, be aproces s
con dition ed bythe hu m an poten tial ities an d capabil ities of
the creator. T he m os ttypical exam pl e of s u chaproces s is the
theN EWMEDIAR EADER
w ork of art, w here the en tire gen es is of the w ork is
excl u s iv el ythe res u l tof the artis t' s l aboran d eachdetail of
the w ork thatem erges is determ in ed bythe in div idu al
qu al ities of the artis t. In highl ydev el oped m echan ical
in du s try, on the otherhan d, an ycon n ection betw een the
produ ctan d the creatoris abol is hed. T he hu m an bein g s erv es
the m achin e, he adapts toit. P rodu ction becom es com pl etel y
in depen den tof the hu m an poten tial ities an d capabil ities of
the w orker. T hes e f orces w hichdes troycu l tu re im pairthe
w ork' s tru thtothe m aterial , its l ev el , an d deal the f in al
bl ow tothe w ork as an en d in its el f . T here is n om ore
qu es tion of the organ ic u n ityof the produ cts of cu l tu re, its
harm on iou s , j oy giv in g bein g. Capital is tcu l tu re m u s tl ack
the s im pl e an d n atu ral han n on yan d beau tyof the ol d
cu l tu re cu l tu re in the tru e, l iteral s en s e of the w orl d.
F ortu n atel ythin gs n eed n otrem ain s o. T he cu l tu re of
prol etarian s ociety, al thou ghin the con textof s u ch
s cien tif ic res earchas is pos s ibl e atthis tim e n othin g m ore
can be s aid abou tit, w il l certain l yrem edythes e il l s . Lu kacs
as ks him s el f w hichare the cu l tu ral v al u es w hich, in
accordan ce w iththe n atu re of this con text, can he taken ov er
f rom the ol d s ocietybythe n ew an d f u rtherdev el oped An s w er:
N otthe in hu m an m achin es bu tthe ideaof m an kin d as an
en d in its el f , the bas ic ideaof the n ew cu l tu re, f oritis the
in heritan ce of the cl as s ical ideal is m of the n in eteen th
cen tu ry. Q u ite right. T his is w here the phil is tin e con ceptof
arttu rn s u pw ithal l its deadl yobtu s en es s -an ideatow hich
al l techn ical con s ideration s are f oreign an d w hichf eel s that
w iththe prov ocativ e appearan ce of the n ew techn ol ogyits
en d has com e.5
T hes e n os tal gic backw ard gl an ces atthe l an ds cape of the
l as tcen tu ry, thes e reaction aryideal s , are al readythe
f oreru n n ers of s ocial is treal is m , w hichm ercil es s l ygal v an ized
an d then bu ried thos e v erycu l tu ral v al u es w hichLu kacs
rode ou ttores cu e. U n f ortu n atel y, in the proces s , the Sov iet
cu l tu ral rev ol u tion w as throw n tothe w ol v es ; bu tthis
aes thete can in an ycas e hardl yhav e thou ghtan ym ore highl y
of itthan did J. V. Stal in .
T he in adequ ate u n ders tan din g w hichMarxis ts hav e
s how n of the m ediaan d the qu es tion abl e u s e theyhav e
m ade of them has produ ced av acu u m in Wes tern
in du s trial ized cou n tries in tow hichas tream of n on -
Marxis thypothes is an d practices has con s equ en tl yf l ow ed
F rom the CabaretVol taire toAn dyWarhol s F actory, f rom
the s il en tf il m com edian s tothe Beatl es , f rom the f irs t
19 7 0
an . ~o 1 ~~o 4~ ~~~ ~O ~~ 0 are ~~~ aWW. - 18. AT heory
com ic-s tripartis ts tothe pres en tm an agers of the
U n dergrou n d, the apol itical hav e m ade m u chm ore radical
progres s in deal in g w iththe m ediathan an ygrou pin g of the
Lef t. ( Exception Mu n zen berg.)In n ocen ts hav e pu t
them s el v es in the f oref ron tof the n ew produ ctiv e f orces on
the bas is of m ere in s titu tion s w ithw hichcom m u n is m to
its detrim en t has n otw is hed tocon cern its el f . T odaythis
apol itical av an t-garde has f ou n d its v en tril oqu is tan d
prophetin Mars hal l McLu han , an au thorw hoadm ittedl y
l acks an yan al ytical categories f orthe u n ders tan din g of
s ocial proces s es , bu tw hos e con f u s ed books s erv e as a
qu arryof u n diges ted obs erv ation s f orthe m ediain du s try.
Certain l yhis l ittl e f in gerhas experien ced m ore of the
produ ctiv e pow erof the n ew m ediathan al l the ideol ogical
com m is s ion s of the CP SU an d theiren dl es s res ol u tion s an d
directiv es pu ttogether.
In capabl e of an ytheoretical con s tru ction , McLu han does
n otpres en this m aterial as acon ceptbu tas the com m on
den om in atorof areaction arydoctrin e of s al v ation . He
adm ittedl ydid n otin v en tbu tw as the f irs ttof orm u l ate
expl icitl yam ys tiqu e of the m ediaw hichdis s ol v es al l
pol itical probl em s in s m oke the s am e s m oke thatgets in
the eyes of his f ol l ow ers . Itprom is es the s al v ation of m an
throu ghthe techn ol ogyof tel ev is ion an d in deed of
tel ev is ion as itis practiced today. N ow McLu han s attem pt
tos tan d Marxon his head is n otexactl yn ew . He s hares
w ithhis n u m erou s predeces s ors the determ in ation to
s u ppres s al l probl em s of the econ om ic bas e, theirideal is tic
ten den cies , an d theirbel ittl in g of the cl as s s tru ggl e in the
n aiv e term s of av agu e hu m an is m . An ew R ou s s eau l ike al l
copies , on l yapal e v ers ion of the ol d he preaches the
gos pel of the n ew prim itiv e m an w ho, n atu ral l yon ahigher
l ev el , m u s tretu rn toprehis toric tribal exis ten ce in the
gl obal v il l age.
Itis s carcel yw orthw hil e todeal w iths u chcon cepts . T his
charl atan s m os tf am ou s s ayin g the m ediu m is the
m es s age perhaps des erv es m ore atten tion . In s pite of its
prov ocativ e idiocy, itbetrays m ore than its au thorkn ow s . It
rev eal s in the m os taccu rate w aythe tau tol ogical n atu re of
the m ys tiqu e of the m edia. T he on e rem arkabl e thin g abou t
the tel ev is ion s et, accordin g tohim , is thatitm ov es athes is
w hichin v iew of the n atu re of Am erican program s has ,
adm ittedl y, s om ethin g attractiv e abou tit.
T he com pl em en tarym is take con s is ts in the w ides pread
il l u s ion thatm ediaare n eu tral in s tru m en ts byw hichan y
1-_
of the Media
m es s ages on e pl eas es can be tran s m itted w ithou tregard f or
theirs tru ctu re orf orthe s tru ctu re of the m ediu m . In the
Eas tEu ropean cou n tries the tel ev is ion n ew s readers read
f if teen -m in u te l on g con f eren ce com m u n iqu s an d Cen tral
Com m ittee res ol u tion s w hichare n otev en s u itabl e f or
prin tin g in an ew s paper, cl earl yu n derthe del u s ion thatthey
m ightf as cin ate apu bl ic of m il l ion s .
T he s en ten ce, the m ediu m is the m es s age, tran s m its yet
an otherm es s age, how ev er, an d am u chm ore im portan ton e.
Ittel l s u s thatthe bou rgeois ie does in deed hav e al l pos s ibl e
m ean s atits dis pos al tocom m u n icate s om ethin g tou s , bu t
thatithas n othin g m ore tos ay. Itis ideol ogical l ys teril e. Its
in ten tion tohol d on tothe con trol of the m ean s of
produ ction atan yprice, w hil e bein g in capabl e of m akin g the
s ocial l yn eces s aryu s e of them , is here expres s ed w ith
com pl ete f ran kn es s in the s u pers tru ctu re. Itw an ts the m edia
as s u chan d ton opu rpos e
T his w is hhas been s hared f ordecades an d giv en
s ym bol ical expres s ion byan artis tic av an t-garde w hos e
program l ogical l yadm its on l ythe al tern ativ e of n egativ e
s ign al s an d am orphou s n ois e. Exam pl e:the al readyou tdated
l iteratu re of s il en ce, Wa.rhol s f il m s in w hichev erythin g can
happen aton ce orn othin g atal l , an d John Cages f ortyef iv e
m in u te-l on g Lectu re on N othin g ( 19 59 ).
T he Achiev em en tof Ben j am in
16 . T he rev ol u tion in the con dition s of produ ction in the
s u pers tru ctu re has m ade the tradition al aes thetic theory
u n u s abl e, com pl etel yu n hin gin g its f u n dam en tal categories
an d des troyin g its s tan dards . T he theoryof kn ow l edge on
w hichitw as bas ed is ou tm oded. In the el ectron ic m edia, a
radical l yal tered rel ation s hipbetw een s u bj ectan d obj ect
em erges w ithw hichthe ol d critical con cepts can n otdeal .
T he ideaof the s el f s u f f icien tw ork of artcol l aps ed l on g ago.
T he l on g-draw n dis cu s s ion ov erthe deathof artproceeds in
acircl e s ol on g as itdoes n otexam in e critical l ythe aes thetic
con cepton w hichitis bas ed, s ol on g as item pl oys criteria
w hichn ol on gercorres pon d tothe s tate of the produ ctiv e
f orces . When con s tru ctin g an aes thetic adapted tothe
chan ged s itu ation , on e m u s ttake as as tartin g poin tthe
w ork of the on l yMarxis ttheoretician w horecogn ized the
l iberatin g poten tial of the n ew m edia. T hirty-f iv e years ago,
thatis tos ay, atatim e w hen the con s ciou s n es s in du s tryw as
rel ativ el yu n dev el oped, Wal terBen j am in s u bj ected this
phen om en on toapen etratin g dial ectical -m aterial is tan al ys is .
18. AT heory
of the Media
His approachhas n otbeen m atched byan ytheorys in ce
then , m u chl es s f u rtherdev el oped.
On e m ightgen eral ize bys ayin g:the techn iqu e of
reprodu ction detaches the reprodu ced obj ectf rom the
dom ain of tradition . Bym akin g m an yreprodu ction s it
s u bs titu tes apl u ral ityof copies f orau n iqu e exis ten ce. An d in
perm ittin g the reprodu ction tom eetthe behol derorl is ten er
in his ow n particu l ars itu ation , itreactiv ates the obj ect
reprodu ced. T hes e tw oproces s es l ead toatrem en dou s
s hatterin g of tradition w hichis the obv ers e of the
con tem porarycris is an d ren ew al of m an kin d. Bothproces s es
are in tim atel ycon n ected w iththe con tem porarym as s
m ov em en ts . T heirm os tpow erf u l agen tis the f il m . Its s ocial
s ign if ican ce, particu l arl yin its m os tpos itiv e f orm , is
in con ceiv abl e w ithou tits des tru ctiv e, cathartic as pect, thatis ,
the l iqu idation of the tradition al v al u e of the cu l tu ral
heritage.
F orthe f irs ttim e in w orl d his tory, m echan ical
reprodu ction em an cipates the w ork of artf rom its
paras itical depen den ce on ritu al . T oan ev ergreater
degree the w ork of artreprodu ced becom es the w ork
of artdes ign ed f orreprodu cibil ity. . . . Bu tthe in s tan t
the criterion of au then ticityceas es tobe appl icabl e to
artis tic produ ction , the total f u n ction of artis
rev ers ed. In s tead of bein g bas ed on ritu al , itbegin s to
be bas ed on an otherpractice pol itics . . . . T oday, by
the abs ol u te em phas is on its exhibition v al u e, the
w ork of artbecom es acreation w ithen tirel yn ew
f u n ction s , am on g w hichthe on e w e are con s ciou s of ,
the artis tic f u n ction , l aterm aybe recogn ized as
in ciden tal .
T he tren ds w hichBen j am in recogn ized in his dayin the
f il m an d the tru e im portof w hichhe gras ped theoretical l y,
hav e becom e paten ttodayw iththe rapid dev el opm en tof the
con s ciou s n es s in du s try. Whatu s ed tobe cal l ed art, has n ow ,
in the s trictHegel ian s en s e, been dial ectical l ys u rpas s ed by
an d in the m edia. T he qu arrel abou tthe en d of artis otios e
s ol on g as this en d is n otu n ders tood dial ectical l y. Artis tic
produ ctiv ityrev eal s its el f tobe the extrem e m argin al cas e of
am u chm ore w ides pread produ ctiv ity, an d itis s ocial l y
im portan ton l yin s of aras its u rren ders al l preten s ion s to
au ton om yan d recogn izes its el f tobe am argin al cas e.
Wherev erthe prof es s ion al produ cers m ake av irtu e ou tof
the n eces s ityof theirs pecial is ts kil l s an d ev en deriv e a
priv il eged s tatu s f rom them , theirexperien ce an d kn ow l edge
hav e becom e u s el es s . T his m ean s thatas f aras an aes thetic
theN EWMEDIAR EADER
theoryis con cern ed, aradical chan ge in pers pectiv es is
n eeded. In s tead of l ookin g atthe produ ction s of the n ew
m ediaf rom the poin tof v iew of the ol derm odes of -
produ ction w e m u s t, on the con trary, an al yze the produ cts of
the tradition al artis tic m ediaf rom the s tan dpoin tof
m odern con dition s of produ ction .
Earl ierm u chf u til e thou ghthad been dev oted tothe
qu es tion of w hetherphotographyis an art. T he
prim aryqu es tion w hetherthe v eryin v en tion of
photographyhad n ottran s f orm ed the en tire n atu re
of art w as n otrais ed. Soon the f il m theoretician s
as ked the s am e il l con s idered qu es tion w ithregard to
the f il m . Bu tthe dif f icu l ties w hichphotography
cau s ed tradition al aes thetics w ere m ere chil ds pl ayas
com pared tothos e rais ed bythe f il m ?
T he pan ic arou s ed bys u chas hif tin pers pectiv es is
u n ders tan dabl e. T he proces s n oton l ychan ges the ol d
bu rden s om e craf ts ecrets in the s u pers tru ctu re in tow hite
el ephan ts , ital s ocon ceal s agen u in el ydes tru ctiv e el em en t. It
is , in aw ord, ris ky. Bu tthe on l ychan ce f orthe aes thetic
tradition l ies in its dial ectical s u pers es s ion . In the s am e w ay,
cl as s ical phys ics has s u rv iv ed as am argin al s pecial cas e w ithin
the f ram ew ork of am u chm ore com prehen s iv e theory.
T his s tate of af f airs can be iden tif ied in in div idu al cas es in
al l the tradition al artis tic dis cipl in es . T heirpres en t-day
dev el opm en ts rem ain in com prehen s ibl e s ol on g as on e
attem pts todedu ce them f rom theirow n prehis tory. On the
otherhan d, theiru s ef u l n es s orotherw is e can be j u dged as
s oon as on e regards them as s pecial cas es in agen eral
aes thetic of the m edia. Som e in dication s of the pos s ibl e
critical approaches w hichs tem f rom this w il l be m ade bel ow ,
takin g l iteratu re as an exam pl e.
T he Su pers es s ion of Written Cu l tu re
1' 7 . Written l iteratu re has , his torical l ys peakin g, pl ayed a
dom in an trol e f oron l yaf ew cen tu ries . Ev en today, the
predom in an ce of the book has an epis odic air. An
in com parabl yl on gertim e preceded itin w hichl iteratu re w as
oral . N ow itis bein g s u cceeded bythe age of the el ectron ic
m edia, w hichten d on ce m ore tom ake peopl e s peak. Atits
period of f u l l es tdev el opm en t, the book tos om e exten t
u s u rped the pl ace of the m ore prim itiv e bu tgen eral l ym ore
acces s ibl e m ethods of produ ction of the pas t; on the other
han d, itw as as tan d-in f orf u tu re m ethods w hichm ake it
pos s ibl e f orev eryon e tobecom e aprodu cer.
- 18.AT heory
19 7 0
o 1 ego r 0- J1 A as
T he rev ol u tion aryrol e of the prin ted book has been
des cribed of ten en ou ghan d itw ou l d be abs u rd toden yit.
F rom the poin tof v iew of its s tru ctu re as am ediu m , w ritten
l iteratu re, l ike the bou rgeois ie w hoprodu ced itan d w hom it
s erv ed, w as progres s iv e. ( See the Com m u n is tMan if es to.)On
the an al ogyof the econ om ic dev el opm en tof capital is m ,
w hichw as in dis pen s abl e f orthe dev el opm en tof the
iidu s trial rev ol u tion , the n on m aterial produ ctiv e f orces
cou l d n othav e dev el oped w ithou ttheirow n capital
accu m u l ation . ( We al s oow e the accu m u l ation of Das Kapital
an d its teachin gs tothe m ediu m of the book.)
N ev erthel es s , al m os tev erybodys peaks betterthan he
w rites . ( T his al s oappl ies toau thors .)Writin g is ahighl y
f orm al ized techn iqu e w hich, in pu rel yphys iol ogical term s ,
dem an ds apecu l iarl yrigid bodil ypos tu re. T othis there
corres pon ds the highdegree of s ocial s pecial ization thatit
dem an ds . P rof es s ion al w riters hav e al w ays ten ded tothin k in
cas te term s . T he cl as s characterof theirw ork is u n qu es -
tion abl e, ev en in the age of u n iv ers al com pu l s oryedu cation .
T he w hol e proces s is extraordin aril ybes etw ithtaboos .
Spel l in g m is takes , w hichare com pl etel yim m aterial in term s
of com m u n ication , are pu n is hed bythe s ocial dis qu al if ication
of the w riter. T he ru l es thatgov ern this techn iqu e hav e a
n orm ativ e pow erattribu ted tothem f orw hichthere is n o
ration al bas is . In tim idation throu ghthe w ritten w ord has
rem ain ed aw ides pread an d cl as s -s pecif ic phen om en on ev en
in adv an ced in du s trial s ocieties . ~
T hes e al ien atin g f actors can n otbe eradicated f rom w ritten
l iteratu re. T heyare rein f orced bythe m ethods byw hich
s ocietytran s m its its w ritin g techn iqu es . Whil e peopl e l earn
tos peak v eryearl y, an d m os tl yin ps ychol ogical l yf av orabl e
con dition s , l earn in g tow rite f orm s an im portan tpartof
au thoritarian s ocial ization bythe s chool ( good w ritin g as a
kin d of breakin g-in ). T his s ets its s tam pf orev eron w ritten
com m u n ication -on its ton e, its s yn tax, an d its w hol e s tyl e.
( T his al s oappl ies tothe texton this page.)
T he f orm al ization of w ritten l an gu age perm its an d
en cou rages the repres s ion of oppos ition . In s peech,
u n res ol v ed con tradiction s betraythem s el v es bypau s es ,
hes itation s , s l ips of the ton gu e, repetition s , an acol u thon s ,
qu ite apartf rom phras in g, m im icry, ges ticu l ation , pace, an d
v ol u m e. T he aes thetic of w ritten l iteratu re s corn s s u ch
in v ol u n taryf actors as m is takes . Itdem an ds , expl icitl yor
im pl icitl y, the s m oothin g ou tof con tradiction s , ration al i-
zation , regu l arization of the s poken f orm irres pectiv e of
k
of the Media
' r
con ten t. Ev en as achil d, the w riteris u rged tohide his
u n s ol v ed probl em s behin d aprotectiv e s creen of
correctn es s .
Stru ctu ral l y, the prin ted book is am ediu m thatoperates as
am on ol ogu e, is ol atin g produ ceran d reader. F eedback an d
in teraction are extrem el yl im ited, dem an d el aborate
procedu res , an d on l yin the rares tcas es l ead tocorrection s .
On ce an edition has been prin ted itcan n otbe corrected; at
bes titcan be pu l ped. T he con trol circu itin the cas e of
l iterarycriticis m is extrem el ycu m bers om e an d el itis t. It
excl u des the pu bl ic on prin cipl e.
N on e of the characteris tics thatdis tin gu is hw ritten an d
prin ted l iteratu re appl ytothe el ectron ic m edia. Microphon e
an d cam eraabol is hthe cl as s characterof the m ode of
produ ction ( n otof the produ ction its el f ). T he n orm ativ e
ru l es becom e u n im portan t. Oral in terv iew s , argu m en ts ,
dem on s tration s , n eitherdem an d n oral l ow orthographyor
good w ritin g. T he tel ev is ion s creen expos es the aes thetic
s m oothin g ou tof con tradiction s as cam ou f l age. Adm ittedl y,
s w arm s of l iars appearon it, bu tan yon e can s ee f rom al on g
w ayof f thattheyare peddl in g s om ethin g. As atpres en t
con s titu ted, radio, f il m , an d tel ev is ion are bu rden ed toexces s
w ithau thoritarian characteris tics , the characteris tics of the
m on ol ogu e, w hichtheyhav e in herited f rom ol derm ethods
of produ ction an d thatis n oacciden t. T hes e ou tw orn
el em en ts in todays m ediaaes thetics are dem an ded bythe
s ocial rel ation s . T heydon otf ol l ow f rom the s tru ctu re of the
m edia. On the con trary, theygoagain s tit, f orthe s tru ctu re
dem an ds in teraction .
Itis extrem el yim probabl e, how ev er, thatw ritin g as a
s pecial techn iqu e w il l dis appearin the f ores eeabl e f u tu re.
T hatgoes f orthe book as w el l , the practical adv an tages of
w hichf orm an ypu rpos es rem ain obv iou s . Itis adm ittedl y
l es s han dyan d ittakes u pm ore room than others torage
s ys tem s , bu tu pton ow itof f ers s im pl erm ethods of acces s
than , f orexam pl e, the m icrof il m orthe tape ban k. Itou ghtto
be in tegrated in tothe s ys tem as am argin al cas e an d thereby
f orf eitits au raof cu l tan d ritu al .
T his can be dedu ced f rom techn ol ogical dev el opm en ts .
El ectron ics are n oticeabl ytakin g ov erw ritin g:tel eprin ters ,
readin g m achin es -, high-s peed tran s m is s ion s , au tom atic
photographic an d el ectron ic com pos ition , au tom atic w ritin g
dev ices , types etters , el ectros tatic proces s es , am pexl ibraries ,
cas s ette en cycl opedias , photocopiers an d m agn etic copiers ,
s peedprin ters .
18. AT he0|' y theN EWMEDIAR EADER
of the Media
T he ou ts tan din g R u s s ian m ediaexpertEl Lis s its ky,
in ciden tal l y, dem an ded an el ectro l .ibrary as f arback as
19 2 3 arequ es tw hich, giv en the techn ical con dition s of the
tim e, m u s thav e s eem ed ridicu l ou s oratl eas t
in com prehen s ibl e. T his is how f arthis m an s im agin ation
reached in tothe f u tu re:
Idraw the f ol l ow in g an al ogy:
In v en tion s in the f iel d
of v erbal traf f ic
In v en tion s in the el d
of gen eral traf f ic
Articu l ated l an gu age
Writin g
Gu ten berg' s prin tin g
pres s
? T he au tom obil e
_? T he airpl an e
U prightgait
T he w heel
Carts draw n byan im al
pow er
Ihav e produ ced this an al ogytoprov e thats ol on g as
the book rem ain s apal pabl e obj ect, i.e. s ol on g as itis
n otrepl aced byau to-v ocal izin g an d kin o v ocal izin g
repres en tation s , w e m u s tl ook tothe f iel d of the
m an u f actu re of books f orbas ic in n ov ation s in the
n earf u tu re.
T here are s ign s athan d s u gges tin g thatthis bas ic
in n ov ation is l ikel ytocom e f rom the n eighborhood of
thecol l otype
T oday, w ritin g has in m an ycas es al readybecom e a
s econ darytechn iqu e, am ean s of tran s cribin g oral l yrecorded
s peech:tape recorded proceedin gs , attem pts ats peech-
pattern recogn ition , an d the con v ers ion of s peechin to
w ritin g.
18. T he in ef f ectiv en es s of l iterarycriticis m w hen f aced w ith
s o-cal l ed docu m en taryl iteratu re is an in dication of how f ar
the critics thin kin g has l agged behin d the s tage of the
produ ctiv e f orces . Its tem s f rom the f actthatthe m ediahav e
el im in ated on e of the m os tf u n dam en tal categories of
aes thetics u pton ow f iction . T he f iction / n on f iction
argu m en thas been l aid tores tj u s tas w as the n in eteen th
cen tu ry' s f av orite dial ectic of art an d l if e. In his day,
Ben j am in dem on s trated thatthe apparatu s ( the con ceptof
the m ediu m w as n otyetav ail abl e tohim )abol is hes
au then ticity. In the produ ction s of the con s ciou s n es s
in du s try, the dif f eren ce betw een the gen iu n e origin al an d
the reprodu ction dis appears "thatas pectof real ityw hichis
n otdepen den ton the apparatu s has n ow becom e its m os t
artif icial as pect."T he proces s of reprodu ction reacts on the
obj ectreprodu ced an d al ters itf u n dam en tal l y. T he ef f orts of
this hav e n otyetbeen adequ atel yexpl ain ed epis tem ol ogi-
cal l y. T he categorical u n certain ties tow hichitgiv es ris e al s o
af f ectthe con ceptof the docu m en tary. Strictl ys peakin g, it
has s hru n k toits l egal dim en s ion s . Adocu m en tis s om ethin g
the f orgin g i.e. the reprodu ction of w hichis pu n is habl e
byim pris on m en t. T his def in ition n atu ral l yhas n o
theoretical m ean in g. T he reas on is thatareprodu ction , tothe
exten tthatits techn ical qu al ityis good en ou gh, can n otbe
dis tin gu is hed in an yw ayf rom the origin al , irres pectiv e of
w hetheritis apain tin g, apas s port, oraban k n ote. T he l egal
con ceptof the docu m en taryrecord is on l ypragm atical l y
u s ef u l ; its erv es on l ytoprotectecon om ic in teres ts .
_T he produ ction s of the el ectron ic m edia, bytheirn atu re,
ev ade s u chdis tin ction s as thos e betw een docu m en taryan d
f eatu re f il m s . T heyare in ev erycas e expl icitl ydeterm in ed by
the giv en s itu ation . T he produ cercan n ev erpreten d, l ike the
tradition al n ov el is t, tos tan d abov e thin gs . He is theref ore
partis an f rom the s tart. T his f actf in ds f orm al expres s ion in
his techn iqu es . Cu ttin g, editin g, du bbin g thes e are
techn iqu es f orcon s ciou s m an ipu l ation w ithou tw hichthe
u s e of the n ew m ediais in con ceiv abl e. Itis precis el yin thes e
w ork proces s es thattheirprodu ctiv e pow errev eal s its el f -
an d here itis com pl etel yim m aterial w hetheron e is deal in g
w iththe produ ction of areportage orapl ay. T he m aterial ,
w hetherdocu m en tary orf iction , is in eachcas e on l yapro-
totype, ahal f -f in is hed articl e, an d the m ore cl os el yon e
exam in es its origin s , the m ore bl u rred the dif f eren ce
becom es . ( Dev el opm ore precis el y. T he real ityin w hicha
cam eratu rn s u pis al w ays f aked, e.g., the m oon l an din g.)
C
0 0
T he Des acral ization of Art
19 . T he m ediaal s odoaw ayw iththe ol d categoryof w orks of
artw hichcan on l ybe con s idered as s eparate obj ects , n otas
in depen den tof theirm aterial in f ras tru ctu re. T he m ediado
n otprodu ce s u chobj ects . T heycreate program s . T heir
produ ction is in the n atu re of aproces s . T hatdoes n otm ean
on l y( orn otprim aril y)thatthere is n of ores eeabl e en d tothe
program af actw hich, in v iew of w hatw e are atpres en t
pres en ted w ith, adm ittedl ym akes acertain hos til itytothe
m ediau n ders tan dabl e. Itm ean s , abov e al l , thatthe m edia
program is open toits ow n con s equ en ces w ithou ts tru ctu ral
l im itation s . ( T his is n otan em pirical des cription bu ta
dem an d Adem an d. w hichadm ittedl yis n otm ade of the
m ediu m f rom w ithou t; itis acon s equ en ce of its n atu re, f rom
' I j in
_
19 7 0
O 4 o _~.o~ 4 a4 0 ~~~~c
w hichthe m u ch-v au n ted open f orm can be deriv ed an d
n otas am odif ication of it f rom an ol d aes thetic.)T he
program s of the con s ciou s n es s in du s trym u s ts u bs u m e in to
them s el v es theirow n res u l ts , the reaction s an d the
correction s w hichtheycal l f orth, otherw is e theyare al ready
ou t-of -date. T heyare theref ore tobe thou ghtof n otas m ean s
of con s u m ption bu tas m ean s of theirow n produ ction .
2 0. Itis characteris tic of artis tic av an t-gardes thattheyhav e,
s otos peak, apres en tim en tof the poten tial ityof m edia
w hichs til l l ie in the f u tu re. Ithas al w ays been on e of the
m os tim portan ttas ks of arttogiv e ris e toadem an d, the
tim e f orthe com pl ete s atis f action of w hichhas n otyetcom e.
T he his toryof ev eryartf orm has critical periods w hen that
f orm s triv es tow ards ef f ects w hichcan on l ybe eas il y
achiev ed if the techn ical n orm is chan ged, thatis tos ay, in a
n ew artf orm . T he artis tic extrav agan ces an d cru dities w hich
aris e in this w ay, f orin s tan ce in the s o-cal l ed decaden t
period, real l ys tem f rom art' s riches this torical s ou rce of
pow er. Dadais m in the en d teem ed w iths u chbarbaris m s . We
can on l yn ow recogn ize the n atu re of its s triv in g. Dadais m
w as attem ptin g toachiev e thos e ef f ects w hichthe pu bl ic
todays eeks in f il m w iththe m ean s of pain tin g ( orof
l iteratu re).9 T his is w here the progn os tic v al u e of otherw is e
in es s en tial produ ction s , s u chas happen in gs , f l u x, an d m ixed-
m edias how s , is tobe f ou n d. T here are w riters w hoin their
w ork s how an aw aren es s of the f actthatm ediaw iththe
characteris tics of the m on ol ogu e todayhav e on l yares idu al
u s e-v al u e. Man yof them adm ittedl ydraw f airl ys horts ighted
con cl u s ion s f rom this gl im ps e of the tru th. F orexam pl e, they
of f erthe u s erthe opportu n itytoarran ge the m aterial
prov ided byarbitraryperm u tation s . Ev eryreaderas itw ere
s hou l d w rite his ow n book. When carried toextrem es , s u ch
attem pts toprodu ce in teraction , ev en w hen itgoes again s t
the s tru ctu re of the m ediu m em pl oyed, are n othin g m ore
than in v itation s tof reew heel . Mere n ois e perm its of n o
articu l ated in teraction s . Shortcu ts , of the kin d thatcon cept
artpeddl es , are bas ed on the ban al an d f al s e con cl u s ion that
the dev el opm en tof the produ ctiv e f orces ren ders al l w ork
s u perf l u ou s . Withthe s am e j u s tif ication , on e cou l d l eav e a
com pu tertoits ow n dev ices on the as s u m ption thata
ac 0~.~~-of 18. AT heory
of the Media
ran dom gen eratorw il l organ ize m aterial produ ction byits el f .
F ortu n atel y, cybern etics experts are n otgiv en tos u ch
chil dis hgam es .
2 1. F orthe ol d f as hion ed artis t l etu s cal l him the
au thor itf ol l ow s f rom thes e ref l ection s thathe m u s ts ee it
as his goal tom ake him s el f redu n dan tas as pecial is tin m u ch
the s am e w ayas ateacherof l iteracyon l yf u l f il l s his tas k
w hen he is n ol on gern eces s ary. Like ev eryl earn in g proces s ,
this proces s toois reciprocal . T he s pecial is tw il l l earn as m u ch
orm ore f rom the n on s pecial is ts as the otherw ayrou n d.
On l ythen can he con triv e tom ake him s el f dis pen s abl e.
Mean w hil e, his s ocial u s ef u l n es s can bes tbe m eas u red by
the degree tow hichhe is capabl e of u s in g the l iberatin g
f actors in the m ediaan d brin gin g them tof ru ition . T he
tactical con tradiction s in w hichhe m u s tbecom e in v ol v ed in
the proces s can n eitherbe den ied n orcov ered u pin an yw ay.
Bu ts trategical l yhis rol e is cl ear. T he au thorhas tow ork as
the agen tof the m as s es . He can l os e him s el f in them on l y
w hen theythem s el v es becom e au thors , the au thors of
his tory.
2 2 . P es s il n is m of the in tel l igen ce, optim is m of the w il l
( An ton ioGram s ci).
N otes
1. Bertol tBrecht, T heoryof R adio( 19 32 ), Ges am m el te Werke, Ban d
VIII, pp. 12 9 f f , 134.
2 . DerSpiegel , Oct. 2 0, 19 6 9 .
3. El Lis s its ky, "T he F u tu re of the Book,"N ew Lef tR ev iew 41, p. 42 .
4. Kom m u n is m u s , Zeits chrif tderKom rn u n is tis chen In tern ation al e f iir
die Lan derSiidos teu ropas , 19 2 0, pp. 1538-49 .
5. Wal terBen j am in , Kl ein e Ges chichte derP hotographie in Das
Ku n s tw erk im Zeital ters ein ertechn is chen R eprodu zierbarkeit
( F ran kf u rt: 19 6 3), p. 6 9 .
6 . Wal terBen j am in , T he Work of Artin the Age of Mechan ical
R eprodu ction ,"Il l u m in ation s ( N ew Y ork: 19 6 9 ), pp. 2 2 1-2 5.
7 . Ibid., p. 2 2 7 .
8. Lis s its ky, "T he F u tu re of the Book,"p. 40.
9 . Ben j am in , "T he Work of Artin the Age of Mechan ical
R eprodu ction ,"p. 2 37 .
_l 19 7 2
0~10 411:. 3 4. ow o _* -. -are. 140- 0.; .~~
19 . [ In trodu ction ]
R equ iem f orthe Media
Jean Bau dril l ards res pon s e tothe prev iou s s el ection , En zen s bergers Con s titu en ts of aT heoryof
the Media, is n otan el aboration of the ideaof s im u l ation ( as m an yof his "w orks are), bu ta
dis cu s s ion of adif f eren tcon ceptthatm ightbe cal l ed in teraction .
Bau dril l ard argu es s tron gl yagain s ton e pos ition of En zen s berger, an d of Mars hal l McLu han :that
there is an in heren ts tru ctu re tom ediatechn ol ogical l y. Bau dril l ard argu es thatm edias erv e as ocial
f u n ction the redu ction of al l theyreprodu ce topal e m odel s , f orecl os in g an ypos s ibil ityof gen u in e
reciprocity. Itis in this s en s e thatBau dril l ard rereads McLu han ' s m axim thatthe m ediu m is the
m es s age."
Bau dril l ards pos ition is thatthe s itu ation w il l n otgetan ybetters im pl ybym akin g ev eryon e a
produ cer apoin tof v iew thatEn zen s bergers hares . Bu tBau dril l ard goes on tos aythatev en the
organ ized rev ers ibl e circu its En zen s bergerdis cu s s es w ou l d n otbe en ou gh. He w rites , R ev ers ibil ity
has n othin g todow ithreciprocity."
F orBau dril l ard the probl em l ies n otin w hotran s m its , orhow tu rn -takin g is arran ged, bu tin ou r
v eryu n derl yin g m odel of com m u n ication w hichis reprodu ced in the m edia, in pol itical l if e, an d
in econ om ic l if e. T his m odel , des cribed byF erdin an d de Sau s s u re, is thatof tran s m itter-m es s age
receiv er."As Bau dril l ard poin ts ou t, in this m odel there is n opl ace f orthe am bigu ityof tru e
exchan ge, T his s cien tif iccon s tru ction is rooted in as im u l ation m odel of com m u n ication . It
exdu des , f rom its in ception , the reciprocityan d an tagon is m of in terl ocu tors , an d the am biv al en ce
of theirexchan ge."
An al tern ativ e tothis s em io l in gu is tic con ception ( in w hichon e is the tran s m itteran d on e the
receiv er, w iththe m es s age al w ays goin g f rom on e toan other)is thatof j oin tprodu ction throu gh
gen u in e in teraction . In this , argu es Bau dril l ard, l ies the tru e poten tial f orchan ge in the ref u s al to
acceptam odel of produ cers an d con s u m ers , ev en on e in w hichthes e pos ition s can be rev ers ed.
Whichbrin gs u s tom ore con crete qu es tion s :How w ou l d on e takin g Bau dril l ards pos ition l ook
u pon the exam pl es of m ediaf rom the in trodu ction tothe prev iou s s el ection ( 018)?How w ou l d this
pos ition v iew En zen s berger' s ideas of N etw orkl ike com m u n ication s m odel s . . . am as s n ew s paper,
w ritten an d dis tribu ted byits readers , av ideon etw ork of pol itical l yactiv e grou ps orthe u s es of
m ediain rel ation tothe protes ts again s tthe Worl d T rade Organ ization ?
Bau dril l ards reaction toEn zen s bergers m as s n ew s paperan d v ideon etw ork is n ottodecl are
them in appropriate; he treats them s om ew hatpos itiv el y. How ev er, he s tates thattheirv al u e l ies
precis el yin the f actthattheyare in con s is ten tw iththe res tof En zen s bergers argu m en t. Bau diil l ard
s ees them n otas dem on s tratin g the rev ers ibil ityof produ cer/ con s u m er, bu tas tran s gres s in g thes e
categories .
T his m ightm ake ou rotherexam pl es as tart f rom aBau dril l ardian poin tof v iew as w el l . Y et
exam pl es of aphen om en on thatBau dril l ard critiqu es - the cybern etic abs orption of res pon s e in to
m ean in gl es s n es s v iarev ers ibl e m edia are s ign if ican tl ym ore pl en tif u l . Con s iderhow thos e w ho
w ere on ce s ol el ym ediacon s u m ers , an d s u dden l yare in cl u ded in produ ction , hav e s erv ed on l yto
cem en ttheirirrel ev an ce on real ity-bas ed T V, on gam e s how s , an d on corporate-ru n Web m es s age
boards .
N WF
19 . R equ iem
f orthe Media
Origin al P u bl ication
F oraCritiqu e of the P ol itical Econ om yof the Sign , 16 4-184. T ran s .
Charl es Lev in . Sain tLou is , Mo.: T el os P res s , 19 81. R eprin ted in
VideoCu l tu re: ACritical In v es tigation , ed. John Han hardt.
R oches ter, N .Y .: Vis u al Stu dies Works hopP res s . Dis t. Layton , U tah:
P eregrin e Sm ithBooks , 19 86 .
F rom the F ren chP ou ru n e critiqu e de l econ om ie pol itiqu e du s ign e.
P aris : Gal l im ard, 19 7 2 .
R equ iem
f orthe Media
Jean Bau dril l ard
In troit
T here is n otheoryof the m edia. T he m ediarev ol u tion has
rem ain ed em pirical an d m ys tical , as m u chin the w ork of
McLu han as w ithhis oppon en ts . McLu han has s aid, w ith
his u s u al Can adian -T exan bru tal n es s , thatMarx, the
s piritu al con tem poraryof the s team en gin e an d rail roads ,
w as al readyobs ol ete in his l if etim e w iththe appearan ce of
the tel egraph.1 In his can did f as hion , he is s ayin g thatMarx,
in his m aterial is tan al ys is of produ ction , had v irtu al l y
circu m s cribed produ ctiv e f orces as apriv il eged dom ain f rom
w hichl an gu age, s ign s , an d com m u n ication in gen eral f ou n d
them s el v es excl u ded. In f act, Marxdoes n otev en prov ide f or
agen u in e theoryof rail roads as m edia, as m odes of
com m u n ication :theyhardl yen terin tocon s ideration . An d
he certain l yes tabl is hed n otheoryof techn ical ev ol u tion in
gen eral , exceptf rom the poin tof v iew of produ ction
prim ary, m aterial , in f ras tru ctu ral produ ction as the al m os t
excl u s iv e determ in an tof s ocial rel ation s . Dedicated toan
in term ediate ideal ityan d abl in d s ocial practice, the m ode
of com m u n ication has had the l eis u re f oran en tire cen tu ry
19 . R equ iem theN EWMEDIAR EADER
f orthe Media
of m akin g rev ol u tion "w ithou tchan gin g the theoryof the
m ode of produ ction on e iotain the proces s .
Hav in g adm itted this m u ch, an d on con dition ( w hichis
al readyarev ol u tion bycom paris on toorthodoxMarxis m )
thatthe exchan ge of s ign s is n ottreated as am argin al ,
s u pers tru ctu ral dim en s ion in rel ation tothos e bein gs w hom
the on l ytru e theory( m aterial is t)def in es as produ cers of
theirreal l if e ( i.e., of goods des tin ed tos atis f ytheirn eeds ), it
is pos s ibl e toim agin e tw opers pectiv es :
1. On e retain s the gen eral f orm of Marxis tan al ys is
( dial ectical con tradiction betw een f orces an d rel ation s of
produ ction ), bu tadm its thatthe cl as s ical def in ition of
produ ctiv e f orces is toores tricted, s oon e expan ds the
an al ys is in term s of produ ctiv e f orces tothe w hol e m u rky
f iel d of s ign if ication an d com m u n ication . T his in v ol v es
s ettin g l oos e in al l theirorigin al itythe con tradiction s born
f rom this theoretical an d practical exten s ion of the-f iel dof
pol itical econ om y. Su chahypothes is is the poin tof
departu re f orEn zen s berger:Mon opol ycapital is m dev el ops
the con s ciou s n es s -s hapin g in du s trym ore qu ickl yan d m ore
exten s iv el ythan others ectors of produ ction ; itm u s tatthe
s am e tim e f etterit. As ocial is tm ediatheoryhas tow ork at
this con tradiction . Bu tthis hypothes is does l ittl e m ore
than s ign al the v irtu al exten s ion of the com m odityf orm to
al l the dom ain s of s ocial l if e ( an d tardil y, atthat). It
recogn izes the exis ten ce, here an d n ow , of acl as s ical
com m u n ication theory, abou rgeois pol itical econ om yof
s ign s an d of theirprodu ction ( j u s tas there exis ted on e of
m aterial produ ction as earl yas the 18thcen tu ry). Itis a
cl as s bou n d theoretical dis cipl in e?Ithas n otbeen an s w ered
byan yf u n dam en tal critiqu e thatcou l d be s een as the l ogical
exten s ion of Marx' s . Sin ce the en tire dom ain w as rel ated to
the s u pers tru ctu re, this critiqu e of the pol itical econ om yof the
s ign w as ren dered u n thin kabl e. T hu s , atbes t, En zen s berger?)
hypothes is can dol ittl e m ore than trytov itiate the
19 7 2
_- 19 . R equ iem 0444..- ew 4 _1 4444.0It
im m en s e retardation of cl as s ical Marxis ttheory. Itis on l y
radical in the eyes of of f icial Marxis m , w hichis total l y
s u bm erged in tothe dom in an tm odel s , an d w ou l d ris k its
ow n s u rv iv al if itw en tev en thatf ar. T he radical al tern ativ e
l ies el s ew here.
2 . T he produ ction of m ean in g, m es s ages , an d s ign s pos es
acru cial probl em torev ol u tion arytheory. In s tead of
rein terpretin g itin term s of cl as s ical f orces of produ ction
thatis , in s tead of m erel ygen eral izin g an an al ys is thatis
con s idered f in al an d s tam ped w iththe s eal of approv al by
the "s pokes m en of the rev ol u tion " -the al tern ativ e. is to
thorou ghl ydis ru ptthe l atterin the l ightof the eru ption of
this n ew probl em in tothe theoretical f iel d ( an approachn o
s el f -res pectin g Marxis tw ou l d take, ev en u n derthe gu is e of
ahypothes is ).
In otherw ords :perhaps the Marxis ttheoryof produ ction
is irredeem abl ypartial , an d can n otbe gen eral ized. Oragain :
the theoryof produ ction ( the dial ectical chain in g of
con tradiction s l in ked tothe dev el opm en tof produ ctiv e
f orces )is s trictl yhom ogen eou s w ithits obj ect -m aterial
produ ction an d is n on -tran s f erabl e, as apos tu l ate or
theoretical f ram ew ork, tocon ten ts thatw ere n ev ergiv en f or
itin the f irs tpl ace. T he dial ectical f orm is adequ ate to
certain con ten ts , thos e of m aterial produ ction :itexhau s ts
them of m ean in g, bu tu n l ike an archetype, itdoes n otexceed
the de n ition of this obj ect. T he dial ectic l ies in as hes
becau s e itof f ered its el f as as ys tem of in terpretin g the
s eparated orderof m aterial produ ction .
Al l in al l , this poin tof v iew is qu ite l ogical . Itaccords a
gl obal coheren ce toMarxis tan al ys is an in tern al
hom ogen eitythatprev en ts certain el em en ts f rom bein g
retain ed an d others f rom bein g excl u ded, accordin g toa
techn iqu e of bricol age of w hichthe Al thu s s erian s are the
m os ts u btl e artif icers . On the otherhan d, w e creditMarxis m
w itham axim u m coheren ce. An d s ow e dem an d thatthis
coheren ce be breached, f oritis in capabl e of res pon din g toa
s ocial proces s thatf arexceeds m aterial produ ction s
En zen s berger: ASocial is t"Strategy
In the abs en ce of atheoryan d apos itiv e s trategy, argu es
En zen s berger, the Lef trem ain s dis arm ed. Itis con ten tto
den ou n ce m as s m ediacu l tu re as an ideol ogical m an ipu -
l ation . T he Lef tdream s of am ediatakeov er, s om etim es as a
m ean s of n u dgin g the rev ol u tion arypris e de con s cien ce of the
m as s es , s om etim es as acon s equ en ce of radical chan ge in
f orthe Media
s ocial s tru ctu res . Bu tthis is acon tradictoryv el l eity,
ref l ectin g qu ite s traightf orw ardl ythe im pos s ibil ityof
in tegratin g the m ediain toatheoryof in f ra- an d
s u pers tru ctu re. T he m edia( an d the en tire dom ain of s ign s
an d com m u n ication , its hou l d be added)rem ain as ocial
m ys teryf orthe Lef t, accordin g toEn zen s berger, becau s e the
Lef thas f ail ed tocon ceiv e of them as an ew an d gigan tic
poten tial of produ ctiv e f orces . T he Lef tis div ided betw een
f as cin ation an d practice bef ore this s orcerytow hichital s o
f al l s v ictim , bu tw hichitreprov es m oral l yan d in tel l ectu al l y
( here is thatLef tin tel l ectu al s peakin g throu ghEn zen s berger
him s el f , m akin g his au tocritiqu e). T his am biv al en ce on l y
ref l ects the am biv al en ce of the m ediathem s el v es , w ithou t
goin g beyon d itorredu cin g it. Withabol d s troke of
Marxis ts ociol ogy, En zen s bergerim pu tes this phobia of
in tel l ectu al s an d Lef tm ov em en ts totheirbou rgeois orpetty
bou rgeois origin s :theydef en d them s el v es in s tin ctiv el yf rom
m as s cu l tu re becau s e its n aps theircu l tu ral priv il ege?T ru e
orf al s e, perhaps itw ou l d be m ore v al u abl e toas k, w ith
res pecttothis m es m erized dis tru s t, this tactical dis array
an d the Lef tin tel l igen ts ias ref u s al togetin v ol v ed w iththe
m edia, precis el yhow m u chare Marxis tprecon ception s
them s el v es tobl am e?T he n os tal gic ideal is m of the
in f ras tru ctu re?T he theoretical al l ergytoev erythin g that
is n tm aterial produ ction an d produ ctiv e l abor?
R ev ol u tion ary doctrin e has n ev ercom e toterm s w iththe
exchan ge of s ign s otherthan as pragm atical l yf u n ction al u s e:
in f orm ation , broadcas tin g, an d propagan da. T he con tem -
poraryn ew l ook of l ef t-w in g pu bl ic rel ation s , an d the w hol e
m odern is tpartys u bcu l tu re, are hardl ydes ign ed to
tran s f orm this ten den cy. T heydem on s trate qu ite
s u f f icien tl yhow bou rgeois ideol ogycan be gen erated
in depen den tl yof s ocial origin . V
Al l of this , En zen s bergercon tin u es , res u l ts in apol itical
s chizophren iaof the Lef t. On on e s ide, aw hol e ( s u bv ers iv e)
rev ol u tion aryf action aban don s its el f toapol itical
expl oration of n ew m edia( s u bcu l tu re, u n dergrou n d); on the
other, m il itan tpol itical grou ps s til l l iv e es s en tial l ythrou gh
archaic m odes of com m u n ication , ref u s in g topl aythe gam e,
ortoexpl oitthe im m en s e pos s ibil ities of the el ectron ic
m edia. T hu s , he reproaches the s tu den ts of May' 6 8 f or
hav in g regres s ed toartis an al m ean s ( ref errin g tothe han d
pres s es of the Ecol e des Beau xArts )f ors preadin g their
s l ogan s an d f orhav in g occu pied the Od on , s teeped in
tradition , in s tead of the OR T F .
19 . R equ iem
f orthe Media
En zen s bergerattem pts todev el opan optim is tic an d
of f en s iv e pos ition . T he m ediaare m on opol ized bythe
dom in an tcl as s es , w hichdiv ertthem totheirow n adv an tage.
Bu tthe s tru ctu re of the m ediarem ain s f u n dam en tal l y
egal itarian , an d itis u ptothe rev ol u tion arypraxis to
dis en gage this poten tial ityin s cribed in the m edia, bu t
perv erted bythe capital is torder. Letu s s aythe w ord:to
l iberate the m edia, toretu rn them totheirs ocial v ocation of
open com m u n ication an d u n l im ited dem ocratic exchan ge,
theirtru e s ocial is tdes tin y.
Cl earl yw hatw e hav e here is an exten s ion of the s am e
s chem aas s ign ed, s in ce tim e im m em orial , f rom Marxto
l \/ Iarcu s e, toprodu ctiv e f orces an d techn ol ogy:theyare the
prom is e of hu m an f u l f il l m en t, bu tcapital is m f reezes or
con f is cates them . T heyare l iberatory, bu titis n eces s aryto
l iberate them . T he m edia, as w e can s ee, don otes cape this
f an tas tic l ogic of in s cribin g the rev ol u tion in teral iaon to
thin gs . T os etthe m ediaback tothe l ogic of produ ctiv e f orces
n ol on gerqu al if ies as acritical act, f oriton l yl ocks them
m ore f irm l yin tothe rev ol u tion arym etaphys ic.
As u s u al , this pos ition bogs dow n in con tradiction s .
T hrou ghtheirow n ( capital is t)dev el opm en t, the m edia
as s u re thats ocial ization is pu s hed tom ore an d m ore
adv an ced s tages . Ev en thou ghitis techn ical l yqu ite
im agin abl e, there is n ocl os ed-circu ittel ev is ion f orthe happy
f ew w hocou l d af f ord it, becau s e this w ou l d goagain s tthe
grain of the s tru ctu re of the m ediu m . F orthe f irs ttim e in
his tory, the m ediam ake pos s ibl e the participation of the
m as s es in acol l ectiv e proces s thatis s ocial an d s ocial ized,
participation in w hichthe practical m ean s are in the han ds
of the m as s es them s el v es . Bu tthe s ocial is tm ov em en ts
m u s tf ightan d w il l f ightf ortheirow n w av el en gths .13 Why
f ight( abov e al l f orw av el en gths ), if the m ediareal ize
them s el v es in s ocial is m ?If s u chis theirs tru ctu ral v ocation ?
T he exis tin g order, s ays En zen s bergerf ol l ow in g Brecht
( T heoryof R adio, 19 32 ), redu ces the m ediatoas im pl e
m ediu m of dis tribu tion ? Sotheym u s tbe rev am ped in toa
tru e m ediu m of com m u n ication ( al w ays the s am e dream
hau n ts the Marxis tim agin ary:s tripobj ects of theirexchan ge
v al u e in ordertores tore theiru s e v al u e); an d this
tran s f orm ation , he adds , is n ottechn ical l yaprobl em . Bu t:
1. Itis f al s e thatin the pres en torderthe m ediaare pu rel y
an d s im pl ym ean s of dis tribu tion . On ce again , thatis to
treatthem as the rel ayof an ideol ogythatw ou l d f in d its
determ in ation s el s ew here ( in the m ode of m aterial
theN EWMEDIAR EADER
produ ction ); in otherw ords , the m ediaas m arketin g an d
m erchan dizin g of the dom in an tideol ogy. Itis f rom this
pers pectiv e thatthe rel ation m ediaprodu cer-tran s m itter "
v ers u s irres pon s ibl e, receptiv e m as s es is as s im il ated tothatof
capital is tv ers u s s al aried w orker. Bu titis n otas v ehicl es of
con ten t, bu tin theirf orm an d v eryoperation , thatm edia
in du ce as ocial rel ation ; an d this is n otan expl oitativ e
rel ation :itin v ol v es the abs traction , s eparation , an d abol ition
of exchan ge its el f . T he m ediaare n otco-ef f icien ts , bu tef f ectors
of ideol ogy. N oton l yis theirdes tin yf arf rom rev ol u tion ary;
the m ediaare n otev en , s om ew here el s e orpoten tial l y,
n eu tral orn on -ideol ogical ( the phan tas m of theirtechn ical
s tatu s orof theirs ocial u s e v al u e). R eciprocal l y, ideol ogydoes
n otexis tin s om e pl ace apart, as the dis cou rs e of the
dom in an tcl as s , hef ore itis chan n el ed throu ghthe m edia. T he
s am e appl ies tothe s phere of com m odities :n ow here dothe
l atterpos s es s on tol ogical s tatu s in depen den tl yof the f orm
theytake in the operation of the exchan ge v al u e s ys tem . N or
is ideol ogys om e Im agin aryf l oatin g in the w ake of exchan ge
v al u e:itis the v eryoperation of the exchan ge v al u e its el f .
Af terthe R equ iem f orthe dial ectic, itis n eces s arytotol l the
R equ iem of the in f ra- an d s u pers tru ctu re.
2 . Itf ol l ow s thatw hen Brechtan d En zen s bergeras s ert
thatthe tran s f orm ation of the m ediain toatru e m ediu m of
com m u n ication is n ottechn ical l yaprobl em ( itis n othin g
m ore, s ays Brecht, than the n atu ral con s equ en ce of their
techn ical dev el opm en t), itis n eces s arytou n ders tan d ( bu t,
con traril y, an d w ithou tpl ayin g on w ords )thatin ef f ectitis
qu ite correctl yn otatechn ical probl em , s in ce m ediaideol ogy
f u n ction s atthe l ev el of f orm , atthe l ev el of the s eparation it
es tabl is hes , w hichis as ocial div is ion .
SpeechWithou tR es pon s e
T he m as s m ediaare an ti-m ediatoryan d in tran s itiv e. T hey
f abricate n on com m u n ication this is w hatcharacterizes
them , if on e agrees todef in e com m u n ication as an exchan ge,
as areciprocal s pace of as peechan d ares pon s e, an d thu s of a
res pon s ibil ity( n otaps ychol ogical orm oral res pon s ibil ity,
bu tapers on al , m u tu al correl ation in exchan ge). We m u s t
u n ders tan d com m u n ication as s om ethin g otherthan the
s im pl e tran s m is s ion -reception of am es s age, w hetherorn ot
the l atteris con s idered rev ers ibl e throu ghf eedback. N ow , the
total ityof the exis tin g architectu re of the m ediaf ou n ds its el f
on this l atterdef in ition :theyare w hatal w ays prev en ts
res pon s e, m akin g al l proces s es of exchan ge im pos s ibl e
19 7 2
0- ....... 0' 4 ._0--~ 19 . R equ iem
( exceptin the v ariou s f orm s of res pon s e s im u l ation ,
them s el v es in tegrated in the tran s m is s ion proces s , thu s
l eav in g the u n il ateral n atu re of the com m u n ication in tact).
T his is the real abs traction of the m edia. An d the s ys tem of
s ocial con trol an d pow eris rooted in it.
T ou n ders tan d the term res pon s e properl y, w e m u s ttake it
in an em phatic s en s e, byref errin g toan equ iv al en tin
prim itiv e s ocieties :pow erbel on gs tothe on e w hocan giv e
an d can n othe repaid. T ogiv e, an d todoitin s u chaw aythat
on e is u n abl e torepay, is todis ru ptthe exchan ge toyou r
prof itan d toin s titu te am on opol y. T he s ocial proces s is thu s
throw n ou tof equ il ibriu m , w hereas repayin g dis ru pts this
pow errel ation s hipan d in s titu tes ( orrein s titu tes ), on the
bas is of an an tagon is tic reciprocity, the circu itof s ym bol ic
exchan ge. T he s am e goes f orthe m edia: theys peak, or
s om ethin g is s poken there, bu tin s u chaw ayas toexcl u de an y
res pon s e an yw here. T his is w hythe on l yrev ol u tion in this
dom ain in deed, the rev ol u tion ev eryw here:the rev ol u tion
tou tcou rt l ies in res torin g this pos s ibil ityof res pon s e. Bu t
s u chas im pl e pos s ibil itypres u ppos es an u pheav al in the
en tire exis tin g s tru ctu re of the m edia.
N oothertheoryors trategyis pos s ibl e. Al l v agu e im pu l s es
todem ocratize con ten t, s u bv ertit, res tore the tran s paren cy
of the code, con trol the in f orm ation proces s , con triv e a
rev ers ibil ityof circu its , ortake pow erov erm ediaare
hopel es s -u n l es s the m on opol yof s peechis broken ; an d on e
can n otbreak the m on opol yof s peechif on es goal is s im pl y
todis tribu te itequ al l ytoev eryon e. Speechm u s tbe abl e to
exchan ge, giv e, an d repayits el f as is occas ion al l ythe cas e
w ithl ooks an d s m il es . Itcan n ots im pl ybe in terru pted,
con geal ed, s tockpil ed, an d redis tribu ted in s om e corn erof the
s ocial proces s .
F orthe tim e bein g, w e l iv e in the eraof n on -res pon s e~ of
irres pon s ibil ity. Min im al au ton om ou s activ ityon the partof
the s pectatoran d v oter, s ays En zen s berger. T he m as s
m ediu m parexcel l en ce an d the m os tbeau tif u l of them al l , is
the el ectoral s ys tem :its crow n in g achiev em en tis the
ref eren du m , w here the res pon s e is im pl ied in the qu es tion
its el f , as in the pol l s . Itis as peechthatan s w ers its el f v iathe
s im u l ated detou rof ares pon s e, an d here as w el l , the
abs ol u tization of s peechu n derthe f orm al gu is e of exchan ge
is the def in ition of pow er. R ol an d Barthes has m ade n ote of
the s am e n on -reciprocityin l iteratu re:Ou rl iteratu re is
characterized bythe pitil es s div orce w hichthe l iterary
1-__
f orthe Media
in s titu tion m ain tain s betw een the produ cerof the textan d
its u s er, betw een its ow n eran d cu s tom er, betw een its au thor
an d its reader. T his readeris therebypl u n ged in toakin d of
idl en es s - he is in tran s itiv e; he is , in s hort, s eriou s : in s tead of
f u n ction in g him s el f , in s tead of gain in g acces s tothe m agic of
the s ign if ier, tothe pl eas u re of w ritin g, he is l ef tw ithn o
m ore than the poorf reedom eithertoacceptorrej ectthe
text:readin g is n othin g m ore than aref eren du m .
T oday, the s tatu s of the con s u m erdef in es this ban is hm en t.
T he gen eral ized orderof con s u m ption is n othin g otherthan
thats phere w here itis n ol on gerperm itted togiv e, to
reim bu rs e, ortoexchan ge, bu ton l ytotake an d tom ake u s e
of ( appropriation , in div idu al ized u s e v al u e). In this cas e,
con s u m ption goods al s ocon s titu te am as s m ediu m :they
an s w ertothe gen eral s tate of af f airs w e hav e des cribed.
T heirs pecif ic f u n ction is of l ittl e im port:the con s u m ption of
produ cts an d m es s ages is the abs tracts ocial rel ation that
theyes tabl is h, the ban rais ed again s tal l f orm s of res pon s e
an d reciprocity.
T hu s , itis f arf rom tru e that, as En zen s bergeraf f irm s , f or
the f irs ttim e in his tory, the m ediam ake pos s ibl e am as s
participation in aprodu ctiv e s ocial proces s ; n orthatthe
practical m ean s of this participation are in the han ds of the
m as s es them s el v es . As if ow n in g aT V s etoracam era
in au gu rated an ew pos s ibil ityof rel ation s hipan d exchan ge.
Strictl ys peakin g, s u chcas es are n om ore s ign if ican tthan the
pos s es s ion of aref rigeratororatoas ter. T here is n ores pon s e
toaf u n ction al obj ect:its f u n ction is al readythere, an
in tegrated s peechtow hichithas al readyres pon ded, l eav in g
n oroom f orpl ay, orreciprocal pu ttin g in pl ay( u n l es s on e
des troys the obj ect, ortu rn s its f u n ction in s ide ou t) Sothe
f u n ction al ized obj ect, l ike al l m es s ages f u n ction al ized bythe
m edia, l ike the operation of aref eren du m , con trol s ru ptu re,
the em ergen ce of m ean in g, an d cen s ors hip. As an extrem e
cas e, au thorityw ou l d prov ide. ev erycitizen w ithaT V s et
w ithou tpreoccu pyin g its el f w ithprogram m in g ( as s u m in g an
au thoritythatw as n otal s oobs es s ed bycon ten tan d
con v in ced of the ideol ogical f orce of m ediapers u as ion , an d
thu s of the n eed tocon trol the m es s age). Itis u s el es s to
f an tas ize abou tthe s tate proj ection of pol ice con trol throu gh
T V ( as En zen s bergerhas rem arked of Orw el l s 19 84):T V, by
v irtu e of its m ere pres en ce, is as ocial con trol in its el f . T here
is n on eed toim agin e itas as tate peris cope s pyin g on
ev eryon e' s priv ate l if e the s itu ation as its tan ds is m ore
19 . R equ iem
f orthe Media
ef f icien tthan that:itis the certain tythatpeopl e are n ol on ger
s peakin g toeachother; thattheyare def in itiv el yis ol ated in the
f actof as peechw ithou tres pon s e.
F rom this pers pectiv e, McLu han , w hom En zen s berger
s corn s as akin d of v en tril oqu is t, is m u chcl os ertoatheory
w hen he decl ares thatthe m ediu m is the m es s age"( s av e
that, in his total bl in dn es s tothe s ocial f orm s dis cu s s ed here,
he exal ts the m ediaan d theirgl obal m es s age w ithadel iriou s
tribal optim is m ). T he m ediu m is the m es s age is n otacritical
propos ition . Bu tin its paradoxical f orm , ithas an al ytic
v al u e, w hereas the in gen u ityof En zen s bergerw ithregard to
the s tru ctu ral properties of the m edia s u chthatn opow er
can perm itthe l iberation of theirpoten tial ity tu rn s ou tto
be m ys ticis m , al thou ghitw an ts tobe rev ol u tion aryT he
m ys tiqu e of the s ocial is tpredes tin ation of the m ediais
oppos ite bu tcom pl em en tarytothe Orw el l ian m ythof their
terroris tm an ipu l ation byau thority. Ev en God w ou l d
approv e of s ocial is m :Chris tian s s ayital l the tim e.
Su bv ers iv e Strategyan d "Sym bol ic Action "
Itcou l d be obj ected thatthe m ediadid, af teral l , pl aya
s ign if ican trol e in the ev en ts of May' 6 8 in F ran ce, by
s pon tan eou s l ypl ayin g u pthe rev ol u tion arym ov em en t.
Du rin g atl eas ton e m om en tof the action , theyw ere tu rn ed
again s tthe pow ers tru ctu re. Itis throu ghthis breachan d on
the pos s ibil ityof this rev ers al thatthe s u bv ers iv e s trategyof
the Am erican Y ippies ( e.g., Hof f m an , R u bin )is f ou n ded, an d
on w hichatheoryof s ym bol ic action is el aborated in the
w orl d rev ol u tion arym ov em en ts :co-optthe m ediathrou gh
theirpow ertochain react; u s e theirpow ertogen eral ize
in f orm ation in s tan tan eou s l y. T he as s u m ption here of cou rs e
is thatthe im pactof the m ediais rev ers ibl e, av ariabl e in the
cl as s s tru ggl e thaton e m u s tl earn toappropriate. Bu tthis
pos ition s hou l d be qu es tion ed, f oritis perhaps an other
ratherl arge s trategic il l u s ion . : . .
May' 6 8 w il l s erv e w el l en ou ghas an exam pl e. Ev erythi.n g
w ou l d l ead u s tobel iev e in the s u bv ers iv e im pactof the
m ediadu rin g this period Su bu rban radios tation s an d
n ew s papers s pread the s tu den taction ev eryw here. If the
s tu den ts w ere the deton ators , the m ediaw ere the res on ators .
F u rtherm ore, the au thorities qu ite open l yaccu s ed the m edia
of pl ayin g the rev ol u tion arygam e."Bu tthis s ortof
argu m en thas been con s tru cted in the abs en ce of an al ys is . I
w ou l d s aytothe con trarythatthe m ediahav e n ev er
dis charged theirres pon s ibil ities w ithm ore ef f icien cy, an d
theN EWMEDIAR EADER
that, in deed, in theirf u n ction of habitu al s ocial con trol , they
w ere righton topof the action . T his is becau s e, ben eaththe
dis arrayof theirrou tin e con ten t, theypres erv ed theirf orm ;
an d this f orm , regardl es s of the con text, is w hatin exorabl y
con n ects them w iththe s ys tem of pow er. Bybroadcas tin g
the ev en ts in the abs tractu n iv ers al ityof pu bl ic opin ion , they
im pos ed as u dden an d in ordin ate dev el opm en ton the
m ov em en tof ev en ts ; an d throu ghthis f orced an d an ticipated
exten s ion , theydepriv ed the origin al m ov em en tof its ow n
rhythm an d of its m ean in g. In aw ord:theys hort circu ited it
In the s phere of tradition al pol itics ( l ef t- orright-w in g)?
w here s an ctif ied m odel s an d akin d of can on ical s peechare
exchan ged, the m ediaare abl e totran s m itw ithou tdis tortin g
the m ean in gs in ten ded. T heyare hom ogen eou s w iththis
kin d of s peech, as theyare w iththe circu l ation of the
com m odity. Bu ttran s gres s ion an d s u bv ers ion n ev ergeton
the air"w ithou tbein g s u btl yn egated as theyare:
tran s f orm ed in tom odel s , n eu tral ized in tos ign s , theyare
ev is cerated of theirm ean in g. T here is n om odel of
tran s gres s ion , prototypical ors erial . Hen ce, there is n obetter
w aytoredu ce itthan toadm in is teritam ortal dos e of
pu bl icity. Origin al l y, this proces s m ighthav e l ef ton e
im pres s ed w iththe pos s ibil ityof s pectacu l ar res u l ts . In f act,
itw as tan tam ou n ttodis m an tl in g the m ov em en tby
depriv in g itof its ow n m om en tu m . T he actof ru ptu re w as
tran s f orm ed in toabu reau cratic m odel atadis tan ce an d
s u ch, in f act, is the ordin aryl aborof the m edia.
Al l of this can be read f rom the deriv ation an d dis tortion
of the term s ym bol ic its el f . T he action of March2 2 at
N an terre w as s ym bol ic becau s e itw as tran s gres s iv e:ata
giv en tim e in agiv en pl ace, an actof radical ru ptu re w as
in v en ted or, tores u m e the an al ys is propos ed abov e, a
particu l arres pon s e w as in v en ted there, w here the
in s titu tion s of adm in is trativ e an d pedagogical pow erw ere
en gaged in apriv ate oratoriaan d f u n ction ed precis el yto
in terdictan yan s w er. T he f actof m as s m ediadif f u s ion an d
con tagion had n othin g todow iththe s ym bol ic qu al ityof the
action . How ev er, todayitis precis el ythis in terpretation ,
s tres s in g the im pactof dis cl os u re, w hichs u f f ices todef in e
s ym bol ic action . Atthe extrem e, the s u bv ers iv e actis n o
l on gerprodu ced exceptas af u n ction of its reprodu cibil ity. Itis
n ol on gercreated, itis produ ced directl yas am odel l ike a
ges tu re. T he s ym bol ic has s l ipped f rom the orderof the v ery
produ ction of m ean in g tothatof its reprodu ction , w hichis
al w ays the orderof pow er. T he s ym bol ic becom es its ow n
19 7 2
o +a ~n eon e a -s o 0Al a~ ~ 1 More 19 . R equ iem
f orthe Media
coef f icien t, pu re an d s im pl e, an d tran s gres s ion is tu rn ed in to
exchan ge v al u e.
R ation al is tcritical thou ght( i.e., Ben j am in , Brecht,
En zen s berger)s ees this as as ign of decis iv e progres s . T he
m edias im pl yactu al ize an d rein f orce the dem on s trativ e
n atu re of n om atterw hichpol itical act ( En zen s berger). T his
ev iden tl ycon f orm s w iththe didactic con ception of the
rev ol u tion an d f u rtherw iththe dial ectic of com in g to
con s ciou s n es s , etc. T his tradition has yettoren ou n ce the
bou rgeois En l ighten m en t. Ithas in herited al l its ideas abou t
the dem ocratic ( here rev ol u tion ary)v irtu es of s preadin g l ight
( broadcas tin g). T he pedagogical il l u s ion of this pos ition
ov erl ooks that in aim in g its ow n pol itical acts atthe m edia,
an d aw aitin g the m om en ttoas s u m e the m edias m an tl e of
pow er the m ediathem s el v es are in del iberate pu rs u itof
the pol itical act, in ordertodepol iticize it.
An in teres tin g f actm ightbe cited here as s u pport:the
con tem poraryeru ption of tabl oid triv iaan d n atu ral dis as ter
in the pol itical s phere ( w hichcon v erges w ithBen j am in s
n otion of the gradu ation of the artobj ecttothe pol itical
s tage byv irtu e of its reprodu cibil ity). T here is atidal w av e in
P akis tan , abl ack titl e f ightin the U .S.; ayou this s hotbya
bis troow n er, etc. T hes e s orts of ev en ts , on ce m in oran d
apol itical , s u dden l yf in d them s el v es in v es ted w ithapow erof
dif f u s ion thatl en ds them as ocial an d his toric au ra. N ew
f orm s of pol itical action hav e crys tal l ized arou n d this
con f l ictu al ization of in ciden ts thatw ere hithertocon s ign ed
tothe s ocial col u m n s . T here is n odou btthat, toal arge
exten t, the n ew m ean in gs theyhav e taken on are l argel ythe
doin g of the m edia. Su chf airs div ers are l ike u n del iberated
s ym bol ic action s ,"bu ttheytake partin the s am e proces s of
pol itical s ign if ication . Dou btl es s , theirreception is
am bigu ou s an d m ixed; an d if , than ks tothe m edia, the
pol itical re-em erges u n derthe categoryof f airs div ers , than ks
tothe s am e m ediathe categoryof f airs div ers has total l y
in v aded pol itics . F u rtherm ore, ithas chan ged s tatu s w iththe
exten s ion of the m as s m edia:f rom aparal l el category
( des cen ded f rom al m an acs an d popu l archron icl es ), ithas
ev ol v ed in toatotal s ys tem of m ythol ogical in terpretation , a
cl os ed s ys tem of m odel s of s ign if ication f rom w hichn oev en t
es capes . Mas s m ediatization :thatis its qu in tes s en ce. Itis n o
en s em bl e of techn iqu es f orbroadcas tin g m es s ages ; itis the
im pos ition of m odel s . McLu han ' s f orm u l ais w orthreexam in in g
here: T he m ediu m is the m es s age"operates atran s f erof
m ean in g on tothe m ediu m its el f qu atechn ol ogical s tru ctu re.
Q
Again w e are con f ron ted w ithtechn ol ogical ideal is m . In f act,
the es s en tial Mediu m is the Model . Whatis m ediatized is n ot
w hatcom es of f the dail ypres s , ou tof the tu be, oron the
radio:itis w hatis rein terpreted bythe s ign f orm , articu l ated
in tom odel s , an d adm in is tered bythe code ( j u s tas the
com m odityis n otw hatis produ ced in du s trial l y, bu tw hatis
m ediatized bythe exchan ge v al u e s ys tem of abs traction ). At
bes t, w hatcan occu ru n derthe aegis of the m ediais af orm al
s u rpas s in g of the categories of f airs div ers an d pol itics , an d of
theirtradition al s eparation , bu ton l ythe bettertoas s ign
them togethertothe s am e gen eral code. Itis s tran ge thatn o
on e has tried tom eas u re the s trategic im portof this f orced
s ocial ization as as ys tem of s ocial con trol . On ce again , the
f irs tgreathis torical exam pl e of this w as the el ectoral s ys tem .
An d ithas n ev erl acked rev ol u tion aries ( f orm erl yam on g the
greates t, todaythe l eas ts ign if ican t)w hobel iev ed theycou l d
doit"w ithin the s ys tem . T he gen eral s trike its el f , this
in s u rrection al m ythof s om an ygen eration s , has becom e a
s chem atic redu cin g agen t. T hatof May' 6 8, tow hichthe
m edias ign if ican tl ycon tribu ted byexportin g the s trike toal l
corn ers of F ran ce, w as in appearan ce the cu l m in atin g poin t
of the cris is . In f act, itw as the m om en tof its decom pres s ion ,
of its as phyxiation byexten s ion , an d of its def eat. T obe s u re,
m il l ion s of w orkers w en ton s trike. Bu tn oon e kn ew w hatto
dow iththis m ediatized s trike, tran s m itted an d receiv ed as
am odel of action ( w hetherv iathe m ediaorthe u n ion s ).
R edu ced toas in gl e m ean in g, itn eu tral ized the l ocal ,
tran s v ers al , s pon tan eou s f orm s of action ( thou ghn otal l ).
T he Gren el l e accords hardl ybetrayed this ten den cy. T hey
s an ction ed this pas s age tothe gen eral ityof pol itical action , w hich
pu ts an en d tothe s in gu l arityof rev ol u tion aryaction . T odayit
has becom e ( in the f orm of the cal cu l ated exten s ion of the
s trike)the abs ol u te w eapon of the u n ion s again s tw il dcat
s trikes .
Sof arthe el ectoral s ys tem an d the gen eral s trike are al s o
m edia, af teraf as hion . P l ayin g on exten s iv e f orm al
s ocial ization , theyare the s u btl es tan d s teal thies t
in s titu tion s of f il tration , dis m an tl in g an d cen s ors hip. T hey
are n eitherexception s , n orm iracl es .
T he real rev ol u tion arym ediadu rin g Mayw ere the w al l s
an d theirs peech, the s il k s creen pos ters an d the han d-
pain ted n otices , the s treetw here s peechbegan an d w as
exchan ged -ev erythin g thatw as an im m ediate in s cription ,
giv en an d retu rn ed, s poken an d an s w ered, m obil e in the
s am e s pace an d tim e, reciprocal an d an tagon is tic. T he s treet
19 . R equ iem
f orthe Media
is , in this s en s e, the al tern ativ e an d s u bv ers iv e f orm of the
m as s m edia, s in ce itis n ' t, l ike the l atter, an obj ectif ied
s u pportf oran s w erl es s m es s ages , atran s m is s ion s ys tem ata
dis tan ce. Itis the f rayed s pace of the s ym bol ic exchan ge of
s peech ephem eral , m ortal :as peechthatis n otref l ected on
the P l aton ic s creen of the m edia. In s titu tion al ized by
reprodu ction , redu ced toas pectacl e, this s peechis expirin g.
Itis as trategic il l u s ion tohav e an yf aithin the critical
rev ers al of the m edia. Acom parabl e s peechcan em erge on l y
f rom the des tru ction of the m edias u chas theyare
throu ghtheirdecon s tru ction as s ys tem s of n on -
com m u n ication . T heirl iqu idation does n otf ol l ow f rom
this , an ym ore than the radical critiqu e of dis cou rs e im pl ies
the n egation of l an gu age as s ign if yin g m aterial . Bu tit
certain l ydoes im pl ythe l iqu idation of the exis tin g
f u n ction al an d techn ical s tru ctu re of the m edia of their
operation al f orm , s otos peak w hichin totoref l ects their
s ocial f orm . Atthe l im it, tobe s u re, itis the v erycon ceptof
m ediu m thatdis appears an d m u s tdis appear:s peech
exchan ged dis s ol v es the ideaan d f u n ction of the m ediu m ,
an d of the in term ediary, as does s ym bol ic l an d reciprocal
exchan ge. Itcan in v ol v e atechn ical apparatu s ( s ou n d,
im age, w av es , en ergy, etc.)as w el l as the corporeal on e
( ges tu res , l an gu age, s exu al ity), bu tin this cas e, itn ol on ger
acts as am ediu m , as an au ton om ou s s ys tem adm in is tered
bythe code. R eciprocitycom es in tobein g throu ghthe
des tru ction of m ediu m s pers e. P eopl e m eettheir
n eighbors f orthe f irs ttim e w hil e w atchin g theirapart-
m en thou s es bu rn dow n .2 5
T he T heoretical Model of Com m u n ication
Letu s s u m m arize the v ariou s hypothes es :
1. McLu han ( f orm em orys s ake):T he m ediam ake-
in deed, theyare the rev ol u tion , in depen den tl yof their
con ten t, byv irtu e of theirtechn ol ogical s tru ctu re al on e.
Af terthe phon etic al phabetan d the prin ted book com es the
radioan d the cin em a. Af terradio, tel ev is ion . We l iv e, here
an d n ow , in the age of in s tan tan eou s , gl obal com m u n ication .
2 . T he m ediaare con trol l ed bypow er. T he im perativ e is to
s tripthem of it, w hetherbytakin g the m ediaov er, or
rev ers in g them byou tbiddin g the s pectacl e w iths u bv ers iv e
con ten t. Here, the m ediaare en v is ion ed as pu re m es s age.
T heirf orm is n ev ercal l ed in toqu es tion ( an ym ore than itis ,
in f act, byMcLu han , w hov iew s the m ediu m on l yin its
as pectas m ediu m ).
theN EWMEDIAR EADER
3. En zen s berger:the pres en tf orm of the m ediain du ces a
certain type of s ocial rel ation ( as s im il ativ e tothatof the
capital is tm ode of produ ction ). Bu tthe m ediacon tain , by
v irtu e of theirs tru ctu re an d dev el opm en t, an im m an en t
s ocial is tan d dem ocratic m ode of com m u n ication , an
im m an en tration al ityan d u n iv ers al ityof in f orm ation . It
s u f f ices tol iberate this poten tial .
We are on l yin teres ted in En zen s bergers hypothes is
( en l ighten ed Marxis t)an d thatof the radical Am erican Lef t
( l ef tis ts of the s pectacl e). T he practice of the of f icial Lef t,
Marxis torotherw is e, w hichis con f ou n ded w iththatof the
bou rgeois ie, w il l be l ef tou tof accou n there. We hav e
an al yzed thes e pos ition s as s trategic il l u s ion s . T he cau s e of
this f ail u re is thatboths hare w iththe dom in an tideol ogythe
im pl icitref eren ce tothe s am e com m u n ication theory. T he
theoryis accepted practical l yev eryw here, s tren gthen ed by
receiv ed ev iden ce an d a( highl ys cien tif ic)f orm al ization by
on e dis cipl in e, the s em io-l in gu is tics of com m u n ication ,
s u pported on on e s ide bys tru ctu ral l in gu is tics , by
in f orm ation theoryon the other, s w al l ow ed w hol e bythe
u n iv ers ities an d bym as s cu l tu re in gen eral ( the m as s
m ediators are its con n ois s eu rs ). T he en tire con ceptu al
in f ras tru ctu re of this theoryis ideol ogical l ycon n ected w ith
dom in an tpractice, as w as an d s til l is thatof cl as s ical pol itical
econ om y. Itis the equ iv al en tof this pol itical econ om yin the
f iel d of com m u n ication s . An d Ithin k thatif rev ol u tion ary
practice has bogged dow n in this s trategic il l u s ion 1/ is -a-v is
the m edia, itis becau s e critical an al ys es hav e been s u perf icial
an d f al l en s hortof radical l yiden tif yin g the ideol ogical m atrix
thatcom m u n ication theoryem braces .
F orm al ized m os tn otabl ybyR om an Jakobs en , its
u n derl yin g u n ityis bas ed on the f ol l ow in g s equ en ce:
T R AN SMl T T ER MESSAGE R ECEIVER
( EN CODER -MESSAGE DECODER )
T he m es s age its el f is s tru ctu red bythe code an d
determ in ed bythe con text. As pecif ic f u n ction corres pon ds
toeachof thes e con cepts :the ref eren tial , poetic, phatic,
etc. Eachcom m u n ication proces s is thu s v ectorized in toa
s in gl e m ean in g, f rom the tran s m ittertothe receiv er:the
l attercan becom e tran s m itterin its tu rn , an d the s am e
s chem ais reprodu ced. T hu s com m u n ication can al w ays be
redu ced tothis s im pl e u n ityin w hichthe tw opol arterm s are
m u tu al l yexcl u s iv e. T his s tru ctu re is giv en as obj ectiv e an d
s cien tif ic, s in ce itf ol l ow s the m ethodol ogical ru l e of
decom pos in g its obj ectin tos im pl e el em en ts . In f act, itis
ea. a s 19 . R equ iem
19 7 2
or We o ~~ ~4 ~o~ae are A-~41
s atis f ied w ithan em perical giv en , an abs traction f rom l iv ed
experien ce an d real ity:thatis , the ideol ogical categories that
expres s acertain type of s ocial rel ation , n am el y, in w hichon e
s peaks an d the otherdoes n ' t, w here on e has the choice of the
code, an d the otheron l yl ibertytoacqu ies ce orabs tain . T his
s tru ctu re is bas ed on the s am e arbitrarin es s as thatof
s ign if ication ( i.e., the arbitrarin es s of the s ign ):tw oterm s are
artif icial l yis ol ated an d artif icial l yreu n ited byan obj ectif ied
con ten tcal l ed am es s age. T here is n eitherreciprocal rel ation
n ors im u l tan eou s m u tu al pres en ce of the tw oterm s , s in ce
eachdeterm in es its el f in its rel ation tothe m es s age orcode,
the in term ediu m thatm ain tain s bothin ares pectiv e
s itu ation ( itis the code thathol ds bothin res pect), ata
dis tan ce f rom on e an other, adis tan ce thats eal s the f u l l an d
au ton om ized v al u e of the m es s age ( in f act, its exchan ge
v al u e). T his s cien tif ic con s tru ction is rooted in as im u l ation
m odel of com m u n ication . Itexcl u des , f rom its in ception , the
reciprocityan d an tagon is m of in terl ocu tors , an d the
am biv al en ce of theirexchan ge. Whatreal l ycircu l ates is
in f orm ation , as em an tic con ten tthatis as s u m ed tobe l egibl e
an d u n iv ocal . T he agen cyof the code gu aran tees this
u n iv ocal ity, an d bythe s am e token the res pectiv e pos ition s
of en coderan d decoder. Sof ars ogood:the f orm u l ahas a
f orm al coheren ce thatas s u res itas the on l ypos s ibl e s chem a
of com m u n ication . Bu tas s oon as on e pos its am biv al en t
rel ation s , ital l col l aps es . T here is n ocode f oram biv al en ce;
an d w ithou tacode, n om ore en coder, n om ore decoder: the
extras f l ee the s tage. Ev en am es s age becom es im pos s ibl e,
s in ce itw ou l d, af teral l , hav e tobe def in ed as em itted an d
receiv ed. Itis as if the en tire f orm al ization exis ts on l yto
av ertthis catas trophe. An d therein res ides its s cien tif ic
s tatu s . Whatitu n derpin s , in f act, is the terroris m of the
code. In this gu idin g s chem a, the code becom es the on l y
agen cythats peaks , thatexchan ges its el f an d reprodu ces
throu ghthe dis s ociation of the tw oterm s an d the
u n iv ocal ity( orequ iv ocal ity, orm u l tiv ocal ity ithardl y
m atters :throu ghthe n on -am biv al en ce)of the m es s age.
( Likew is e, in the proces s of econ om ic exchan ge, itis n o
l on gerpeopl e w hoexchan ge; the s ys tem of exchan ge v al u e
reprodu ces its el f throu ghthem ). So, this bas ic com m u n i-
cation f orm u l as u cceeds in giv in g u s , as aredu ced m odel , a
perf ectepitom e of s ocial exchan ge s u chas itis -s u chas , at
an yrate, the abs traction of the code, the f orced ration al ity
an d terroris m of s eparation regu l ate it. Som u chf ors cien tif ic
obj ectiv ity.
f orthe Media
T he s chem aof s eparation an d cl os u re al readyoperates , as
w e hav e n oted, atthe l ev el of the s ign , in l in gu is tic theory.
Eachs ign is div ided in toas ign if ier, an d as ign if ied, w hichare
m u tu al l yappoin ted bu thel d in res pectiv e pos ition :an d
f rom the depths of its arbitraryis ol ation , eachs ign
com m u n icates w ithal l the others throu ghacode cal l ed a
l an gu age. Ev en here, as cien tif ic in j u n ction is in v oked again s t
the im m an en tpos s ibil ityof the term s exchan gin g am on gs t
eachothers ym bol ical l y, beyon d the s ign if ier s ign if ied
dis tin ction in poetic l an gu age, f orexam pl e. In the l atter, as
in s ym bol ic exchan ge, the term s res pon d toeachotherbeyon d
the code. Itis this res pon s e thatw e hav e m arked ou tdu rin g
the en tire es s ayas u l tim atel ydecon s tru ctiv e of al l codes , of
al l con trol an d pow er, w hichal w ays bas e them s el v es on the
s eparation of term s an d theirabs tractarticu l ation .
T hu s the theoryof s ign if ication s erv es as an u cl earm odel
f orcom m u n ication theory, an d the arbitrarin es s of the s ign
( thattheoretical s chem af orthe repres s ion of m ean in g)takes
on its pol itical an d ideol ogical s cope in the arbitrarin es s of
the theoretical s chem aof com m u n ication an d in f orm ation .
As w e hav e s een , al l of this is echoed, n oton l yin the
dom in an ts ocial practice ( characterized bythe v irtu al
m on opol yof the tran s m is s ion pol e an d the irres pon s ibil ity
of the receiv in g pol e, the dis crim in ation betw een the term s
of the exchan ge an d the diktatof the code), bu tal s oin al l the
v el l eities of rev ol u tion arym ediapractice. F orexam pl e, itis
cl earthatthos e w hoaim tos u bv ertm ediacon ten ton l y
rein f orce the au ton om yof the m es s age as as eparated n otion ,
an d thu s the abs tractbipol arityof the term ( in al )s of
com m u n ication .
T he Cybern etic Il l u s ion
Sen s ibl e of the n on -reciprocityof the exis tin g proces s ,
En zen s bergerbel iev es the s itu ation can be m itigated by
in s is tin g thatthe s am e rev ol u tion in terv en e atthe l ev el of
the m ediathaton ce dis orien ted the exacts cien ces an d the
epis tem ol ogical s u bj ect-obj ectrel ation , w hichhas been
en gaged in con tin u ou s dial ectical in terreaction ev ers in ce.
T he m ediaw ou l d hav e totake in toaccou n tal l the
con s equ en ces of in terreaction , w hos e ef f ectis tobreach
m on opol yan d perm itev eryon e' s in tegration in an open
proces s . T he program s of the con s ciou s n es s in du s trym u s t
s u bs u m e in tothem s el v es theirow n res u l ts , the reaction s
an d the correction s thattheycal l f orth. . . . T heyare
theref ore tobe thou ghtof n otas m ean s of con s u m ption
19 . R equ iem
f orthe Media
bu tas m ean s of theirow n produ ction .2 8 N ow , this
s edu ctiv e pers pectiv e l eav es the s eparated agen cyof the
code an d the m es s age in tactw hil e itattem pts , in s tead, to
break dow n the dis crim in ation of the tw opol es of
com m u n ication tow ard am ore s u ppl e s tru ctu re of the rol e
exchan ge an d f eedback ( rev ers ibil ityof circu its ). In its
pres en tf orm , equ ipm en tl ike tel ev is ion orf il m does n ot
s erv e com m u n ication bu tprev en ts it. Ital l ow s n oreciprocal
action betw een tran s m itteran d receiv er; techn ical l y
s peakin g, itredu ces f eedback tothe l ow es tpoin tcom patibl e
w iththe s ys tem .2 9 Again , w e f ail togetbeyon d the
categories of receiv eran d tran s m itter, w hatev erm aybe the
ef f orttom obil ize them throu ghs w itchin g. R ev ers ibil ity
has n othin g todow ithreciprocity. Dou btl es s itis f orthis
deeperreas on thatcybern etic s ys tem s todayu n ders tan d
perf ectl yw el l how topu tthis com pl exregu l ation an d
f eedback tow ork w ithou taf f ectin g the abs traction of the
proces s as aw hol e oral l ow in g an yreal res pon s ibil ity in
exchan ge. T his is in deed the s ys tem ' s s u res tl in e of def en s e,
s in ce itthu s in tegrates the con tin gen cyof an ys u ch
res pon s e in adv an ce.
As En zen s bergerhas dem on s trated in his critiqu e of the
Orw el l ian m yth, itn ol on germ akes s en s e tocon ceiv e a
m egas ys tem of cen tral ized con trol ( am on itorin g s ys tem f or
the tel ephon e n etw ork w ou l d hav e toexceed itn tim es in
s ize an d com pl exity; hen ce, itis practical l yexcl u ded). Bu tit
is al ittl e n aiv e toas s u m e thatthe f actof m ediaexten s ion
thu s el im in ates cen s ors hip. Ev en ov erthe l on g hau l , the
im practical ityof pol ice m egas ys tem s s im pl ym ean s that
pres en ts ys tem s w il l in tegrate thes e otherw is e u s el es s
m etas ys tem s of con trol bym ean s of f eedback an d
au toregu l ation . T heykn ow how toin trodu ce w hatn egates
them as s u ppl em en taryv ariabl es . T heirv eryoperation is
cen s ors hip:m egas ys tem s are hardl yrequ ired. Hen ce theydo
n otceas e tobe total itarian :in aw ay, theyreal ize the ideal
on e m ightref ertoas decen tral ized total itarian is m .
On am ore practical l ev el , the m ediaare qu ite aw are how to
s etu pf orm al rev ers ibil ity of circu its ( l etters tothe editor,
phon e in program s , pol l s , etc.), w ithou tcon cedin g an y
res pon s e oraban don in g in an yw aythe dis crim in ation of
rol es . T his is the s ocial an d pol itical f orm of f eedback. T hu s ,
En zen s bergers dial ectization of com m u n ication is oddl y
rel ated tocybern etic regu l ation . U l tim atel y, he is the v ictim ,
thou ghin am ore s u btl e f as hion , of the ideol ogical m odel w e
hav e been dis cu s s in g.
theN EWMEDIAR EADER
F rom the s am e pers pectiv e, En zen s bergerw ou l d break
dow n the u n il ateral characterof com m u n ication , w hich
tran s l ates s im u l tan eou s l yin tothe m on opol yof s pecial is ts
an d prof es s ion al s an d thatof the cl as s en em yov erthe
m edia, bypropos in g, as arev ol u tion arys ol u tion , that
ev eryon e becom e am an ipu l ator, in the s en s e of activ e operator,
produ cer, etc., in brief , m ov e f rom receiv ers tatu s tothatof
produ cer-tran s m itter. Here is as ortof critical rev ers al of the
ideol ogical con ceptof m an ipu l ation . Bu tagain , becau s e this
rev ol u tion atbottom con s erv es the categoryof tran s -
m itter, w hichitis con ten ttogen eral ize as s eparated,
tran s f orm in g ev eryon e in tohis ow n tran s m itter, itf ail s to
pl ace the m as s m edias ys tem in check. We kn ow the res u l ts
of s u chphen om en aas m as s ow n ers hipof w al kie-tal kies , or
ev eryon e m akin g theirow n cin em a:akin d of pers on al ized
am ateu ris m , the equ iv al en tof Su n daytin kerin g on the
peripheryof the s ys tem .
Of cou rs e, this is n ' tatal l w hatEn zen s bergerhas in m in d.
He is thin kin g of apres s edited dis tribu ted, an d w orked by
its ow n readers ( as is the u n dergrou n d pres s , in part), of
v ideos ys tem s atthe dis pos al of pol itical grou ps , an d s oon .
T his w ou l d be the on l yw aytou n f reeze abl ocked s itu a~
tion :In the s ocial is tm ov em en ts the dial ectic of dis cipl in e
an d s pon tan eity, cen tral is m an d decen tral is m , au thoritarian
l eaders hipan d an tiau thoritarian dis in tegration has l on g ago
reached adeadl ock. N etw orkl ike com m u n ication s m odel s
bu il ton the prin cipl e of rev ers ibil ityof circu its m ightgiv e
n ew in dication s of how toov ercom e this s itu ation .32 T hu s it
is aqu es tion of recon s titu tin g adial ectical practice. Bu tcan
the probl em con tin u e tobe pos ed in dial ectical term s ?Is n ' t
itthe dial ectic its el f w hichhas reached the m om en tof
deadl ock?
T he exam pl es En zen s bergergiv es are in teres tin g precis el y
in thattheygobeyon d adial ectic of tran s m itteran d
receiv er. In ef f ect, an im m ediate com m u n ication proces s is
redis cov ered, on e n otf il tered throu ghbu reau cratic
m odel s an origin al f orm of exchan ge, in f act, becau s e there
are n eithertran s m itters , n orreceiv ers , bu ton l ypeopl e
res pon din g toeachother. T he probl em of s pon tan eityan d
organ ization is n otov ercom e dial ectical l yhere:its term s are
tran s gres s ed.
T here is the es s en tial dif f eren ce:the otherhypothes es
al l ow the dichotom ized categories tos u bs is t. In the f irs tcas e
( m ediaon the priv ate s cal e), tran s m itteran d receiv erare
s im pl yreu n ited in as in gl e in div idu al :m an ipu l ation is , af tera
19 7 2
0 1% oreas ~~1J~ P 1 OIP O1 * ~~~0~~~~:- 19 - R equ iem
f as hion , in teriorized33 In the othercas e ( the dial ectic of
circu its ), tran s m itteran d receiv erare s im u l tan eou s l yon
boths ides : m an ipu l ation becom es reciprocal ( herm aphroditic.
grou pin g). T he s ys tem can pl aythes e tw ov ariation s as eas il y
as itcan the cl as s ic bu reau cratic m odel . Itcan pl ayon al l their
pos s ibl e com bin ation s . T he on l yes s en tial is thatthes e tw o
ideol ogical categories be s af e, an d w iththem the
f u n dam en tal s tru ctu re of the pol itical econ om yof
com m u n ication .
T orepeat, in the s ym bol ic exchan ge rel ation , there is a
s im u l tan eou s res pon s e. T here is n ottran s m itterorreceiv er
on boths ides of am es s age: n or, f orthatm atter, is there an y
l on geran ym es s age, an ycorpu s of in f orm ation todecode
u n iv ocal l yu n derthe aegis of acode. T he s ym bol ic con s is ts
precis el yin breachin g the u n iv ocal ityof the m es s age, in
res torin g the am biv al en ce of m ean in g an d in dem ol is hin g in
the s am e s troke the agen cyof the code.
AH of this s hou l d be hel pf u l in as s es s in g U m bertoEco' s
hypothes is . T os u m m arize his pos ition :chan gin g the
con ten ts of the m es s age s erv es n opu rpos e; itis n eces s aryto
the readin g codes , toim pos e otherin terpretiv e codes .
T he receiv er( w hoin f actis n ' treal l yon e)in terv en es here at
the m os tes s en tial l ev el he oppos es his ow n code tothatof
the tran s m itter, he in v en ts atru e res pon s e byes capin g the
trapof con trol l ed com m u n ication . Bu tw hatdoes this
s u bv ers iv e readin g actu al l yam ou n tto?Is its til l areadin g,
thatis , adecipherin g, adis en gagin g of au n iv ocal m ean in g?
An d w hatis this code thatoppos es ?Is itau n iqu e m in icode
( an ideol ect, bu tthu s w ithou tin teres t)?oris ityetan other
con trol l in g s chem aof in terpretation , ris in g f rom the as hes of
the prev iou s on e?Whatev erthe cas e, itis on l yaqu es tion of
textu al v ariation . On e exam pl e can il l u s trate Ecos
pers pectiv e: the graf f itirev ers al of adv ertis in g af terMay6 8.
Graf f itiis tran s gres s iv e, n otbecau s e its u bs titu tes an other
con ten t, an otherdis cou rs e, bu ts im pl ybecau s e itres pon ds ,
there, on the s pot, an d breaches the f u n dam en tal rol e of n on -
res pon s e en u n ciated byal l the m edia. Does itoppos e on e
code toan other?Idon ' tthin k s o:its im pl ys m as hes the code.
Itdoes n tl en d its el f todecipherin g as atextriv al in g
com m ercial dis cou rs e; itpres en ts its el f as atran s gres s ion . So,
f orexam pl e, the w itticis m , w hichis atran s gres s iv e rev ers al
of dis cou rs e, does n otacton the bas is of an othercode as
s u ch; itw orks throu ghthe in s tan tan eou s decon s tru ction of
the dom in an tdis cu rs iv e code. Itv ol atil izes the categoryof
the code, an d thatof the m es s age.
L
f orthe Media
T his , then , is the keytothe probl em :bytryin g topres erv e
( ev en as on e dial ectical l ytran s cen ds them )an ys eparated
in s tan ces of the s tru ctu ral com m u n ication grid on e obv iates the
pos s ibil ityof f u n dam en tal chan ge. an d con dem n s on es el f to
f ragil e m an ipu l atorypractices thatw ou l d be dan gerou s to
adoptas arev ol u tion arys trategy. Whatis s trategic in this
s en s e is on l yw hatradical l ycheckm ates the dom in an tf orm .
N otes
1. Mars hal l McLu han , Waran d P eace in the Gl obal Vil l age ( N ew Y ork:
19 6 8), p.5.
2 . Han s Magn u s En zen s berger, "Con s titu en ts of aT heoryof the Media,"
T he Con s ciou s n es s In du s try( N ew Y ork: Seabu ryP res s , 19 7 4), pp. 9 5-12 8.
3. T his pol itical econ om yof the s ign is s tru ctu ral l in gu is tics ( together
w iths em iol ogy, tobe s u re, an d al l its deriv ativ es , of w hich
com m u n ication theoryw il l be dis cu s s ed bel ow ). Itis apparen tthat
w ithin the gen eral ideol ogical f ram ew ork, s tru ctu ral l in gu is tics is the
con tem porarym as terdis cipl in e, in s pirin g an thropol ogy, the hu m an
s cien ces , etc., j u s tas , in its tim e, did pol itical econ om y, w hos e ' ?'
pos tu l ates prof ou n dl yin f orm ed al l of ps ychol ogy, s ociol ogy, an d the
m oral an d pol itical "s cien ces .
4. In this cas e, the expres s ion "con s ciou s n es s in du s try"w hich
En zen s bergeru s es tocharacterize the exis tin g m ediais adan gerou s
m etaphor. U n f ortu n atel y, itu n derl ies his en tire an al ytic hypothes is ,
w hichis toexten d the Marxis tan al ys is of the capi_tal is tm ode of
produ ction tothe m edia, tothe poin tof dis cov erin g as tru ctu ral an al ogy
betw een the f ol l ow in g rel ation s : r
dom in an tcl as s / dom in ated cl as s
produ cer-en trepren eu r/ con s u m er
tran s m itter-broadcas ter/ receiv er
0
\
5. In f act, Marxis tan al ys is can be qu es tion ed attw ov erydif f eren t
l ev el s of radical ity: eitheras as ys tem f orin terpretin g the s eparated
orderof m aterial produ ction , orel s e as thatof the s eparated orderof
produ ction ( in gen eral ). In the f irs tcas e, the hypothes is of the n on -
rel ev an ce of the dial ectic ou ts ide its f iel d of origin m u s tbe l ogical l y
pu s hed f u rther: if "dial ectical "con tradiction s betw een the produ ctiv e
f orces an d the rel ation s of produ ction l argel yv an is hin the f iel d of i
l an gu age, s ign s , an d ideol ogy, perhaps theyw ere n ev erreal l yoperativ e in
the f iel d of m aterial produ ction either, s in ce acertain capital is t
dev el opm en tof produ ctiv e f orces has been abl e toabs orb n 0tal l
con f l ict, tobe s u reeebu trev ol u tion aryan tagon is m s atthe l ev el of s ocial
rel ation s . Wherein l ies the v al idityof thes e con cepts , then , as ide f rom a
pu rel ycon ceptu al coheren ce?
In the s econ d cas e, the con ceptof produ ction m u s tbe in terrogated at
its v eryroot( an d n otin its div ers e con ten ts ); al on g w iththe s eparated
f orm w hichites tabl is hes an d the repres en tation al an d ration al izin g
s chem aitim pos es . U n dou btedl yitis here, atthe extrem e, thatthe real
w ork n eeds tobe don e. [ See Bau dril l ard' s Mirrorof P rodu ction , T ran s .
Mark P os ter( St. Lou is : T el os P res s , 19 7 5).-T ran s .]
6 . En zen s berger, "Con s titu en ts of aT heoryof the Media,"p. 9 6 .
7 . T his gen re of redu ctiv e determ in is m m aybe f ou n d in the w orks of
Bou rdieu an d in the phras eol ogyof the Com m u n is tP arty. Itis
theoretical l yw orthl es s . Ittu rn s the m echan is m of dem oeratization in toa
rev ol u tion aryv al u e pers e. T hatin tel l ectu al s m ay n d m as s cu l tu re
repu gn an thardl ys u f f ices tom ake itarev ol u tion aryal tern ativ e.
Aris tocrats u s ed tom ake s ou rif aces atbou rgeois cu l tu re, bu tn oon e
ev ers aid the l atterw as an ythin g m ore than acl as s cu l tu re.
19 . R equ iem
f orthe Media
8. Mos tof the abov e ref eren ces are toEn zen s berger, Con s titu en ts of a
T heoryof the Media,"pp. 102 -103.
9 . F ren chradio-T V headqu arters . T he OR T F is ahighl ycen tral ized s tate-
ru n m on opl oy.
10. T hu s w e n d au thority, the s tate, an d otherin s titu tion s either
dev oid orf u l l u pw ithrev ol u tion arycon ten t, depen din g on w hetherthey
are s til l in the gripof capital orthe peopl e hav e taken them ov er. T heir
f orm is rarel yqu es tion ed. '
11. En zen s berger, Con s titu en ts of aT heoryof the Media,"pp. 105, 108.
12 . Ibid., p. 9 7 .
13. Ibr' d., p. 107 .
14. Ibid., pp. 9 7 -9 8.
15. Itis n otaqu es tion of dial ogu e, w hichis on l ythe f u n ction al
adj u s tm en tof tw oabs tracts peeches w ithou tres pon s e, w here the
in terl ocu tors "are n ev erm u tu al l ypres en t, bu ton l ytheirs tyl ized
dis cou rs es .
16 . T he occu pation of the OR T F chan ged n othin g in its el f , ev en if
s u bv ers iv e "con ten ts "w ere "broadcas t."If on l ythos e in v ol v ed had
s cu ttl ed the OR T F as s u ch, f orits en tire techn ical an d f u n ction al
s tru ctu re ref l ects the m on opol is tic u s e of s peech.
17 . R ol an d Barthes , S/ Z( N ew Y ork: 19 7 4), p. 4.
18. Mu l tif u n ction al ityev iden tl ychan ges n othin g on this s core.
Mu l tif u n ction al ity, m u l tidis cipl in arity pol yv al en ce in al l its f orm s are
j u s tthe s ys tem ' s res pon s e toits ow n obs es s ion w ithcen tral ityan d
s tan dardization ( u n i-equ iv al en ce). Itis the s ys tem ' s reaction toits ow n
pathol ogy, gl os s in g ov erthe u n derl yin g l ogic.
19 . En zen s berger( pp. 118-19 )in terprets itthis w ay: "T he m ediu m is
the m es s age"is abou rgeois propos ition . Its ign i es thatthe
bou rgeois ie has n othin g l ef ttos ay. Hav in g n of u rtherm es s age to
tran s m it, itpl ays the card of m ediu m f orm ediu m ' s s ake. If the
bou rgeois ie has n othin g l ef ttos ay, "s ocial is m "w ou l d dobettertokeep
qu iet.
2 0. T his l ef t-rightdis tin ction is j u s tabou tm ean in gl es s f rom the poin t
of v iew of the m edia. We s hou l d giv e creditw here creditis du e an d
gran tthem the hon orof hav in g con tribu ted l argel ytoits el im in ation .
T he dis tin ction is in tercon n ected w ithan ordercharacterized bythe
tran s cen den ce of pol itics . Bu tl etu s n otm is take ou rs el v es ,"here: the
m ediaon l yhel p_tol iqu idate this tran s cen den ce of pol itics in orderto
s u bs titu te theirow n tran s cen den ce, abs tracted f rom the m as s m edia
f orm , w hichis thorou ghl yin tegrated an d n ol on gerev en of f ers a
con f l ictiv e s tru ctu re ( l ef t-right). Mas s m ediatran s cen den ce is thu s
redu ctiv e of the tradition al tran s cen den ce of pol itics , bu titis ev en m ore
redu ctiv e of the n ew tran s v ers al ityof pol itics .
2 1. T his f orm of s o-cal l ed "dis cl os u re"or"propagation "can be an al yzed
readil yin the el ds of s cien ce orart. Gen eral ized reprodu cibil ity
obl iterates the proces s es of w ork an d m ean in g s oas tol eav e n othin g
bu tm odel ized con ten ts ( cf . R aou l Ergm an n , "Le m iroiren m iettes ,"
Diogen e, n o. 6 8, 19 6 9 ; Bau dou in Ju rdan t, Lav u l garis ation s cien ti qu e,"
Com m u n ication s , n o. 14).
2 2 . Its hou l d be poin ted ou tthatthis l aboris al w ays accom pan ied by
on e of s el ection an d rein terpretation atthe l ev el of the m em bers hip
grou p( Lazars f el ds tw o-s tepf l ow of com m u n ication ). T his accou n ts f or
the highl yrel ativ e im pactof m ediacon ten ts , an d the m an ykin ds of
res is tan ce theyprov oke. ( How ev erw e s hou l d as k ou rs el v es w hether
thes e res is tan ces are n otaim ed atthe abs traction of the m ediu m its el f ,
theN EWMEDIAR EADER
ratherthan its con ten ts : Lazars f el ds dou bl e articu l ation w ou l d l ead u s
tothis con cl u s ion , s in ce the s econ d articu l ation bel on gs tothe n etw ork
of pers on al rel ation s , oppos ed tothe gen eral ityof m ediam es s ages .)
Stil l , this "s econ d"readin g, w here the m em bers hipgrou poppos es its
ow n code tothe tran s m ittef s ( cf . m ydis cu s s ion of U m bertoEco' s thes is
tow ards the en d of this articl e)certain l ydoes n ' tn eu tral ize or"redu ce"
the dom in an tideol ogical con ten ts of the m ediain the s am e w ayas it
does the critical ors u bv ers iv e con ten ts . T othe exten tthatthe dom in an t
ideol ogical con ten ts ( cu l tu ral m odel s , v al u e s ys tem s , im pos ed w ithou t
al tern ativ e orres pon s e: bu reau cratic con ten ts )are hom ogen eou s w ith
the gen eral f orm of the m as s m edia( n on -reciprocity, irres pon s ibil ity),
an d are in tegrated w iththis f orm in redu pl icatin g it, theyare, s oto
s peak, ov erdeterm in ed, an d hav e greaterim pact. T heygoov er"better
than s u bv ers iv e con ten ts . Bu tthis is n otthe es s en ce of the probl em . It
is m ore im portan ttorecogn ize thatthe f orm of tran s gres s ion n ev er
com es of f m ore orl es s w el l on the m edia: itis radical l yden ied bythe
m as s m ediaf orm .
2 3. T hu s , f orWal terBen j am in , the reprodu ced w ork becom es m ore an d
m ore the w ork "des ign ed"f orreprodu cibil ity. In this w ay, accordin g to
him , the w ork of artgradu ates f rom ritu al topol itics . "Exhibition v al u e"
rev ol u tion izes the w ork of artan d its f u n ction s . Wal terBen j am in , "T he
Work of Artin the Age of Mechan ical R eprodu ction ,"Il l u m in ation s ( N ew
Y ork: Schocken Books , 19 6 9 ).
2 4. T he Gren el l e accords w ere w orked ou tbetw een Georges S gu yof the
CGT an d Georges P om pidou du rin g the May' 6 8 gen eral s trike. Al thou gh
the m on etarycon ces s ion s in v ol v ed w ere f airl ybroad, theym is s ed the
poin t, an d w ere m as s iv el yrej ected byw orkers . T ran s .
2 5. JerryR u bin , DoIt( N ew Y ork: Sim on an d Schu s ter), p. 2 34.
2 6 . See R om an Jakobs en , Cl os in g Statem en t: Lin gu is tics an d P oetics ,"
in T .A. Sebeok, ed., Styl e in Lan gu age ( Cam bridge, Mas s .: M.I.T . P res s ,
19 6 0). pp. 350-37 7 .
2 7 . T hes e tw oterm s are s of ain tl ypres en ttoeachotherthatithas
prov en n eces s arytocreate a"con tact"categorytorecon s titu te the
total itytheoretical l y!
2 8. En zen s berger, "Con s titu en ts of aT heoryof the Media,"pp. 119 , 12 7 .
2 9 . Ibid., p. 9 7 .
30. On ce again En zen s berger, w hoan al ys es an d den ou n ces thes e con trol
circu its , n ev erthel es s l in ks u pw ithideal is m : "N atu ral l y[ E] s u ch
ten den cies goagain s tthe grain of the s tru ctu re, an d the n ew produ ctiv e
f orces n oton l yperm it, bu tin deed dem an d [ 1] theirrev ers al . ( Ibid, p.
108.)F eedback an d in teraction are the v eryl ogic of cybern etics .
U n deres tim atin g the abil ityof the s ys tem toin tegrate its ow n
rev ol u tion aryin n ov ation s is as del u s oryas u n deres tim atin g the capacity
of capital is m todev el opthe produ ctiv e f orces .
31. Ev okin g the pos s ibil ityof an open f ree pres s , En zen s bergerpoin ts to
the Xeroxm on opol yan d theirexorbitan tren tal rates . Bu tif ev eryon e
had his ow n Xerox orev en his ow n .w av el en gth the probl em w ou l d
rem ain . T he real m on opol yis n ev erthatof techn ical m ean s , bu tof
s peech.
32 . En zen s berger, "Con s titu en ts of aT heoryof the Media,"p. 110.
33. T his is w hythe in div idu al am ateu rcam eram an rem ain s w ithin the
s eparated abs traction of m as s com m u n ication : throu ghthis in tern al
dis s ociation of the tw oagen cies ( in s tan ces ), the en tire code an d al l of
the dom in an tm odel s s w eepin , an d s eize his activ ityf rom behin d.
ii A
34. U m bertoEco, LaStru ttu raas s en te ( Mil an : Bom pian i, 19 6 8).
, .. 41? ..- .,- 2 0. T he T echn ol ogy
2 0. [ In trodu ction ]
T he T echn ol ogyan d the Society
Atatim e w hen there w ere f ew critical approaches totel ev is ion , R aym on d Wil l iam s ' s T el ev is ion :
T echn ol ogyan d Cu l tu ral F orm prov ided an u m ber, in cl u din g the im portan tcon ceptof f l ow . F l ow w as
characterized as the prim aryorgan izin g prin cipl e of tel ev is ion - the f l u id com bin ation of program
s egm en ts , com m ercial s , an d otherm aterial thatm akes u pthe experien ce of w atchin g ( an d w atchin g
an d w atchin g)tel ev is ion m ore im portan tthatthe ideaof aprogram , of as u ppos edl yu n itary
dram a, docu m en tary, com edy, orn ew s report. '
Les s f am ou s than f l ow , bu tm ore cen tral f oru n ders tan din g n ew m edia, are the con cern s of
T el ev is ion s open in g chapter( reprin ted here). An attack on the techn ol ogical determ in is t accou n tof
techn ol ogy' s rol e in s ociety, the chapteral s os earches f oram ore f ru itf u l m odel , throu ghthe l en s of
com m u n ication s an d m ediatechn ol ogies . T echn ol ogical determ in is m , av iew poin tf orw hichMars hal l
McLu han is the can on ical f igu re in m edias tu dies , ten ds tof ram e qu es tion s arou n d techn ol ogyin
term s of techn ol ogys ef f ects on the cu l tu re. T his v iew poin thas been rej ected, orgreatl yqu al if ied in
its u s e, bym os tacadem ic w riters s in ce McLu han . How ev er, itrem ain s the dom in an tpopu l ar
dis cou rs e on techn ol ogy, an d m an yacadem ic w riters rem ain en gaged in ou tl in in g theirpos ition s as
al tem ativ es tothis v iew poin t. F orthes e reas on s , Wil l ia.m s ' s earl ys ection pres en tin g an u m berof
dif f eren tv arieties of techn ol ogical determ in is m rem ain s qu ite rel ev an ttoday
In the tim e s in ce Wil l iam s s book the exam pl e of tel ev is ion has rem ain ed atou chs ton e f or
dis cu s s ion s of the rel ation s hipbetw een techn ol ogyan d s ociety. Brian Win s ton u s ed the cas e of
tel ev is ion ' s dev el opm en ttoou tl in e acu l tu ral determ in is t v iew in his es s ay, How Are MediaBorn ?
T his es s ayow es m u chtoWil l iam s s pion eerin g an al ys is , bu tal s opropos es in teres tin g addition s tothe
dis cu s s ion , s u chas Win s ton ' s Law of Su ppres s ion of R adical P oten tial . Lan gdon Win n er( au thorof
' Mythin f orm ation ( 040))u s ed tel ev is ion as an exam pl e in his T echn ol ogies as F orm s of Lif e": l
N on e of thos e w how orked toperf ectthe techn ol ogyof tel ev is ion in its earl yyears an d f ew of
thos e w hobrou ghttel ev is ion s ets in totheirhom es ev erin ten ded the dev ice tobecom e em pl oyed
as the u n iv ers al babys itter. . . . Sim il arl y, if an yon e in the 19 30s had predicted peopl e w ou l d
ev en tu al l ybe w atchin g s ev en hou rs of tel ev is ion eachday, the f orecas tw ou l d hav e been l au ghed
aw ayas abs u rd Bu trecen ts u rv eys in dicate thatw e Am erican s dos pen d thatm u chtim e, rou ghl y
on e-third of ou rl iv es , s tarin g atthe tu be. T hos e w how is htoreas s ertf reedom of choice in the
m atters om etim es obs erv e, Y ou can al w ays tu rn of f you rT V In atriv ial s en s e thatis tru e. . . . Bu t
giv en how cen tral tel ev is ion has becom e tothe con ten tof ev erydayl if e, how ithas becom e the
accu s tom ed topic of con v ers ation in w orkpl aces , s chool s , an d others ocial gatherin gs , itis apparen t
thattel ev is ion is aphen om en on that, in the l argers en s e, can n otbe tu rn ed of f atal l . ( 12 )
Win n eris n otechn ol ogical determ in is t, bu ts tron gl yargu es w hatm an ycu l tu ral determ in is ts are in
dan gerof m is s in g:the thin gs them s el v es m atter. Ju s tas w e can n ottreattechn ol ogies as s im pl y
' in v en ted"f rom thin air, al terin g the cou rs e of hu m an l if e tof ittheirdicta_tes , s ow e can n otceas e ou r
an al ys is atthe poin tw hen atechn ol ogybecom es w idel ydis tribu ted w hen the s ocial in s tigation s
s eem pl ayed ou t.On ce atechn ol ogyis in pl ace itoperates as al if e f actor, em bodyin g the s ocial
proces s es thatl ed toits dis tribu tion , an d in teractin g w iths ocial in s titu tion s in im portan tw ays .
Of cou rs e, thes ocial proces s es thatbrin g techn ol ogies in tow ides pread u s e, as w el l as thos e
em bodied in techn ol ogies , m ayn otal w ays be thos e thatare m os tadm irabl e orj u s t. F orthis reas on ,
Win n eran d others ( e.g., R ichard Scl ov e, au thorof Dem ocracyan d T echn ol ogy)hav e been particu l arl y
attracted tothos e res earch, f u n din g, an d techn ol ogydev el opm en tpractices w hichs eek toin v ol v e
thos e w how il l be af f ected bythe ou tcom es . An u m berof Scan din av ian practices -in areas ran gin g
f rom au tom obil e m an u f actu rin g tos of tw are des ign ( as des cribed, f orin s tan ce, byEhn an d Kyn g
( il 45)) hav e been s een as good exam pl es of in v ol v in g w orkers in the des ign of the techn ol ogical
proces s es an d produ cts throu ghw hichtheyw il l w ork. T he res u l ts hav e of ten been higherw ork
s atis f action an d higherprodu ctqu al ity.
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2 0. T he T echn ol ogy theN EWMEDIAR EADER
an d the Society
Dou g En gel barf s boots trappin g is as im il arcon cepts pecif ic tothe real m of n ew m edia:u s ers are
con tin u al l yin v ol v ed in the on goin g def in ition an d con s tru ction of the tool s thattheyas acom m u n ity
w il l u s e ( 9 08). P roces s es of this s orthav e been the prim arym ethod of def in in g the In tern etov erthe
cou rs e of its his tory( an d ev en in its prehis toryas the AR P An et). Agood exam pl e of this is s een in '
R equ es ts f orCom m en ts ( R F Cs ). As Jan etAbbate w rites in In v en tin g the In tern et, Mem bers of the
N etw ork Workin g Grou pw ou l d pos tn ew R F Cs con cu rrin g w ith, criticizin g, orel aboratin g on ideas
pres en ted in earl ierR F Cs , an d an on goin g dis cu s s ion dev el oped Ev en tu al l y, af term em bers had
debated the is s u es throu ghR F Cs an d atN WG m eetin gs , acon s en s u s w ou l d em erge on protocol s an d
procedu res , an d this con s en s u s w as gen eral l yaccepted byAR P Aas of f icial pol icyf orthe n etw ork ( 7 4).
P erhaps itis n ots u chas u rpris e thatthis approachw as adopted, on ce on e con s iders thatthe
el ectron ic m ediu m u s ed f orthe exchan ge of R F Cs w as the N etw ork In f orm ation Cen ter( N IC)that
En gel barts grou pcreated atSR 1. How ev er, this m an n erof decis ion m akin g l as ted l on g af terthe N IC
( an d the dis cu s s ion )l ef tSR 1. In the 19 80s , w hen the In tern ethad al readygrow n s ign if ican tl y, itw as
decided thatthe in v ol v ed parties w hon eeded tobe repres en ted in In tern ettechn ol ogydecis ion m akin g
w ere qu ite af ew , an d, as Abbate w rites , m em bers hipin the grou ps w orkin g w ithR F Cs w as open ed to
an yon e, an yw here in the w orl d, w hohad the tim e, in teres t, an d techn ical kn ow l edge toparticipate"
( 2 07 ). Later, s he w rites , the In tern etEn gin eerin g T as k F orce ( IET F )con tin u ed the R F C decis ion -m akin g
proces s :Workin g grou ps w ithin thes e tas k f orces coordin ated theiractiv ities throu ghem ail , an d the
tas k f orces hel d m eetin gs s ev eral tim es ayear. Stan dards f orthe In tern etw ere s etbycon s en s u s , af ter
dis cu s s ion am on g al l in teres ted parties an d af terpropos ed protocol s had been tes ted in practice, an d
theycon tin u ed tobe pu bl is hed el ectron ical l yin the f orm of R equ es ts f orCom m en ts ( 2 07 ). T his
proces s en s u red the m ean in gf u l participation of ev eryon e f rom u n iv ers itys tu den ts tocorporate
in f orm ation s ys tem s m an agers toin teres ted res earchers al l actin g as in div idu al s , ratherthan repre-
s en tativ es of organ ization s , s in ce n oorgan ization al orcorporate m em bers hipin the IET F is pos s ibl e.
T he In tern etis n ow m ov in g tow ard an otherm odel of s ocial produ ction an d em bodim en t. Sin ce the
earl y19 9 0s the U .S. gov ern m en thas been in v ol v ed in priv atizin g the In tern et. T he s tated goal is to
prom ote com petition bu tthe oppos ite has happen ed. T he gov ern m en tpriv atized the In tern et
backbon e, an d af ew l arge carriers n ow dom in ate. T his probl em is eitherexacerbated orcau s ed bythe
gov ern m en ts ref u s al torequ ire thes e dom in an tpl ayers toin tercon n ectw iths m al l eron es . T he
gov ern m en tpriv atized the proces s of regis terin g the dom ain n am es of com pu ters , l eadin g to
u n dem ocratic m on opol ization :f irs tbyN etw ork Sol u tion s In corporated ( N SI), an d m ore recen tl yby
the In tern etCorporation f orAs s ign ed N am es an d N u m bers ( ICAN N ). N SIw as pu rchas ed byVeris ign ,
an d retain s the l u crativ e ow n ers hipof the com dom ain databas e as of this w ritin g v iaan
agreem en tw ithICAN N thatw as n egotiated an d con cl u ded in s ecret.
Som etim es characterized as the Worl d T rade Organ ization of the In tern et,"ICAN N is aDN S
decis ion -m akin g bodythathas repl aced the broad pu bl ic participation of organ ization s s u chas the
IET F w ithcl os ed-doorm eetin gs in v ol v in g prim aril ycorporate in teres ts . Ithas w orked con s is ten tiyto
broaden its pow er, attem ptin g torecas tbodies s u chas the IET F as m ere s u pportin g organ ization s f or
ICAN N ' s activ ities ( em pow ered on l ytom ake s u gges tion s toICAN N ), Mean w hil e, m an yhav e
qu es tion ed w hetherICAN N has an ybas is f orl egal exis ten ce atal l , an d ithas been s u gges ted that
In tern etu s ers m ayrev ol t. On the on e han d, rev ol tagain s tICAN N m ightbe eas y; u s e adif f eren ts ew er
than ICAN N s as the root f orthe dom ain n am e s ys tem an d pers u ade ev eryon e el s e w hohas
in f orm ation you w an ttoacces s todos o. Ev en then , the In tern etpriv atization thatICAN N repres en ts
has w ides pread s u pportin v erypow erf u l circl es .
In s hort, precis el ythe s ortof techn ol ogydef in ition thatWil l iam s w rote abou tis on goin g n ow . T he
In tern etdid n ots prin g, f u l l -grow n , f rom J. C. R . Lickl iders head. Itw as created, an d is s til l bein g
created, bys ocial proces s es in teractin g w iths cien tif ic/ techn ical protes s es . T hos e w how ork an d l iv e
w iththe In tern etcan choos e toeitherbecom e in v ol v ed orw aitan d s ee w hathappen s . T he decis ion
w il l hav e aprof ou n d im pacton the s ocial v al u es em bodied in the techn ol ogyof ou rn ext gen eration
In tern et. I
N WF
o~~~ ~ = 3 ~~c> - ~ 3 e~ P ee I19 -2 ~ 3 s ee-o~-3 2 0. T he T ECl ' l l ' l Ol ,Ogy
higin al P u bl ication
Hev is ion : T echn ol ogyan d Cu l tu ral F orm . Han ov er, N .H.:
Wes l eyan U n iv ers ityP res s , 3-2 5, 19 9 2 . 1s tprin tin g, Lon don :
hm an a, 19 7 2 .
T he T echn ol ogy
an d the Society
R aym on d Wil l iam s
Itis of ten s aid thattel ev is ion has al tered ou rw orl d. In the
l im e w ay, peopl e of ten s peak of an ew w orl d, an ew s ociety, a
m w phas e of his tory, bein g created brou ghtabou t _by
dds orthatn ew techn ol ogy:the s team -en gin e, the
l u tom obil e, the atom ic bom b. Mos tof u s kn ow w hatis
gen eral l yim pl ied w hen s u chthin gs are s aid. Bu tthis m aybe
the cen tral dif f icu l ty:thatw e hav e gots ou s ed tos tatem en ts
of this gen eral kin d, in ou rm os tordin arydis cu s s ion s , that
w e can f ail toreal is e theirs pecif ic m ean in gs .
F orbehin d al l s u chs tatem en ts l ie s om e of the m os t
dif f icu l tan d m os tu n res ol v ed his torical an d phil os ophical
Q .l $ti0n S. Y etthe qu es tion s are n otpos ed bythe s tatem en ts ;
in deed theyare ordin aril ym as ked bythem . T hu s w e of ten
dis cu s s , w ithan im ation , this orthatef f ect of tel ev is ion , or
the kin ds of s ocial behav iou r, the cu l tu ral an d ps ychol ogical
con dition s , w hichtel ev is ion has l ed to, w ithou tf eel in g
ou rs el v es obl iged toas k w hetheritis reas on abl e todes cribe
an ytechn ol ogyas acau s e, or, if w e thin k of itas acau s e, as
w hatkin d of cau s e, an d in w hatrel ation s w ithotherkin ds of
cau s es . T he m os tprecis e an d dis crim in atin g l ocal s tu dyof
Ef f ects "can rem ain s u perf icial if w e hav e n otl ooked in tothe
an d the Society
n otion s of cau s e an d ef f ect, as betw een atechn ol ogyan d a
s ociety, atechn ol ogyan d acu l tu re, atechn ol ogyan d a
ps ychol ogy, w hichu n derl ie ou rqu es tion s an d m ayof ten
determ in e ou ran s w ers .
Itcan of cou rs e be s aid thatthes e f u n dam en tal qu es tion s
are v erym u chtoodif f icu l t; an d thattheyare in deed dif f icu l t
is v erys oon obv iou s toan yon e w hotries tof ol l ow them
throu gh. We cou l d s pen d ou rl iv es tryin g toan s w erthem ,
w hereas here an d n ow , in as ocietyin w hichtel ev is ion is
im portan t, there is im m ediate an d practical w ork tobe don e:
s u rv eys tobe m ade, res earchu n dertaken ; s u rv eys an d
res earch, m oreov er, w hichw e kn ow how todo. Itis an
appeal in g pos ition , an d ithas the adv an tage, in ou rkin d of
s ociety, thatitis u n ders tood as practical , s othatitcan then
be s u pported an d f u n ded. Bycon tras t, otherkin ds of
qu es tion s eem m erel ytheoretical an d abs tract.
Y etal l qu es tion s abou tcau s e an d ef f ect, as betw een a
techn ol ogyan d as ociety, are in ten s el ypractical . U n til w e
hav e begu .n toan s w erthem , w e real l ydon otkn ow , in an y
particu l arcas e, w hether, f orexam pl e, w e are tal kin g abou ta
techn ol ogyorabou tthe u s es of atechn ol ogy; abou t
n eces s aryin s titu tion s orparticu l aran d chan geabl e
in s titu tion s ; abou tacon ten torabou taf orm . An d this is n ot
on l yam atterof in tel l ectu al u n certain ty; itis am atterof
s ocial practice. If the techn ol ogyis acau s e, w e can atbes t
m odif yors eek tocon trol its ef f ects . Orif the techn ol ogy, as
u s ed, is an ef f ect, tow hatotherkin ds of cau s e, an d other
kin ds of action , s hou l d w e ref eran d rel ate ou rexperien ce of
its u s es ?T hes e are n otabs tractqu es tion s . T heyf orm an
in creas in gl yim portan tpartof ou rs ocial an d cu l tu ral
argu m en ts , an d theyare bein g decided al l the tim e in real
practice, byreal an d ef f ectiv e decis ion s .
O
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2 0. T he T echn ol ogy
an d the Society
Itis w iththes e probl em s in m in d thatIw an ttotryto
an al ys e tel ev is ion as aparticu l arcu l tu ral techn ol ogy, an d to
l ook atits dev el opm en t, its in s titu tion s , its f orm s an d its
ef f ects , in this critical dim en s ion . In the pres en tchapter, l
s hal l begin the an al ys is u n derthree headin gs : ( a)v ers ion s of
cau s e an d ef f ectin techn ol ogyan d s ociety; the s ocial
his toryof tel ev is ion as atechn ol ogy; ( c)the s ocial his toryof
the u s es of tel ev is ion techn ol ogy.
theN EWMEDIAR EADER
( v i)T el ev is ion , dis cov ered as apos s ibil itybys cien tif ic
an d techn ical res earch, w as s el ected f orin v es tm en t
an d dev el opm en ttom eetthe n eeds of an ew kin d of
s ociety, es pecial l yin the prov is ion of cen tral is ed
en tertain m en tan d in the cen tral is ed f orm ation of
opin ion s an d s tyl es of behav iou r.
( v ii)T el ev is ion , dis cov ered as apos s ibil itybys cien tif ic
an d techn ical res earch, w as s el ected f orin v es tm en t
AVers ion s of Cau s e an d Ef f ectin T echn ol ogy
an d Society
( i)We can begin byl ookin g again atthe gen eral
s tatem en tthattel ev is ion has al tered ou rw orl d. Itis
w orths ettin g dow n s om e of the dif f eren tthin gs this
kin d of s tatem en thas been taken tom ean . F or
exam pl e:
( ii)T el ev is ion w as in v en ted as ares u l tof s cien tif ic
an d techn ical res earch. Its pow eras am ediu m of
n ew s an d en tertain m en tw as then s ogreatthatit
al tered al l precedin g m ediaof n ew s an d
en tertain m en t.
( iii)T el ev is ion w as in v en ted as ares u l tof s cien tif ic
an d techn ical res earch. Its pow eras am ediu m of
s ocial com m u n ication w as then s ogreatthatit
al tered m an yof ou rin s titu tion s an d f orm s of s ocial
rel ation s hips .
( iv )T el ev is ion w as in v en ted as ares u l tof s cien tif ic
an d techn ical res earch. Its in heren tproperties as an
el ectron ic m ediu m al tered ou rbas ic perception s of
real ity, an d then ce ou rrel ation s w itheachotheran d
w iththe w orl d.
( v )T el ev is ion w as in v en ted as ares u l tof s cien tif ic
an d techn ical res earch. As apow erf u l m ediu m of
com m u n ication an d en tertain m en tittook its pl ace
w ithotherf actors s u chas greatl yin creas ed phys ical
m obil ity, its el f the res u l tof othern ew l yin v en ted
techn ol ogies in al terin g the s cal e an d f orm of ou r
s ocieties .
( v i)T el ev is ion w as in v en ted as ares u l tof s cien tif ic
an d techn ical res earch, an d dev el oped as am ediu m of
en tertain m en tan d n ew s . Itthen had u n f ores een
con s equ en ces , n oton l yon otheren tertain m en tan d
n ew s m edia, w hichitredu ced in v iabil ityan d
im portan ce, bu ton s om e of the cen tral proces s es of
f am il y, cu l tu ral an d s ocial l if e.
an d prom otion as an ew an d prof itabl e phas e of a
dom es tic con s u m erecon om y; itis then on e of the
characteris tic m achin es f orthe hom e."
( v iii)T el ev is ion becam e av ail abl e as ares u l tof
s cien tif ic an d techn ical res earch, an d in its character
an d u s es expl oited an d em phas is ed el em en ts of a
pas s iv ity, acu l tu ral an d ps ychol ogical in adequ acy,
w hichhad al w ays been l aten tin peopl e, bu tw hich
tel ev is ion n ow organ is ed an d cam e torepres en t.
( ix)T el ev is ion becam e av ail abl e as ares u l tof s cien tif ic
an d techn ical res earch, an d in its characteran d u s es
boths erv ed an d expl oited the n eeds of an ew kin d of
l arge-s cal e an d com pl exbu tatom is ed s ociety.
T hes e are on l ys om e of the pos s ibl e gl os s es on the
ordin arybal d s tatem en tthattel ev is ion has al tered ou r
w orl d. Man ypeopl e hol d m ixed v ers ion s of w hatare real l y
al tern ativ e opin ion s , an d in s om e cas es there is s om e
in ev itabl e ov erl appin g. Bu tw e can dis tin gu is hbetw een tw o
broad cl as s es of opin ion .
In the f irs t ( i)to( v ) the techn ol ogyis in ef f ect
acciden tal . Beyon d the s trictl yin tern al dev el opm en tof the
techn ol ogythere is n oreas on w hyan yparticu l arin v en tion
s hou l d hav e com e abou t. Sim il arl yitthen has con s equ en ces
w hichare al s oin the tru e s en s e acciden tal , s in ce theyf ol l ow
directl yf rom the techn ol ogyits el f . If tel ev is ion had n otbeen
in v en ted, this argu m en tw ou l d ru n , certain def in ite s ocial
an d cu l tu ral ev en ts w ou l d n othav e occu rred.
In the s econ d ( v i)to( ix) tel ev is ion is again , in ef f ect, a
techn ol ogical acciden t, bu tits s ign if ican ce l ies in its u s es ,
w hichare hel d tobe s ym ptom atic of s om e orderof s ocietyor
s om e qu al ities of hu m an n atu re w hichare otherw is e
determ in ed. If tel ev is ion had n otbeen in v en ted, this
argu m en tru n s , w e w ou l d s til l be m an ipu l ated orm in dl es s l y
en tertain ed, bu tin s om e otherw ayan d perhaps l es s
pow erf u l l y.
F oral l the v ariation s of l ocal in terpretation an d em phas is ,
thes e tw ocl as s es of opin ion u n derl ie the ov erw hel m in g
19 7 2
> 11 * > ~ 0-- ~ o ~ ~ ol e ~
m aj orityof bothprof es s ion al an d am ateu rv iew s of the
ef f ects of tel ev is ion . 1/ Vhattheyhav e in com m on is the
f u n dam en tal f orm of the s tatem en t:tel ev is ion has al tered
ou rw orl d.
l tis then n eces s arytom ake af u rthertheoretical
dis tin ction . T he f irs tcl as s of opin ion , des cribed abov e, is
thatu s u al l ykn ow n , atl eas ttoits oppon en ts , as
techn ol ogical determ in is m . Itis an im m en s el ypow erf u l an d
n ow l argel yorthodoxv iew of the n atu re of s ocial chan ge.
N ew techn ol ogies are dis cov ered, byan es s en tial l yin tern al
proces s of res earchan d dev el opm en t, w hichthen s ets the
con dition s f ors ocial chan ge an d progres s . P rogres s , in
particu l ar, is the his toryof thes e in v en tion s , w hichcreated
the m odern w orl d."T he ef f ects of the techn ol ogies ,
w hetherdirectorin direct, f ores een oru n f ores een , are as it
w ere the res tof his tory. T he s team en gin e, the au tom obil e,
tel ev is ion , the atom ic bom b, hav e m ade m odern m an an d
the m odern con dition .
T he s econ d cl as s of opin ion appears l es s determ in is t.
T el ev is ion , l ike an yothertechn ol ogy, becom es av ail abl e as an
el em en toram ediu m in aproces s of chan ge thatis in an y
cas e occu rrin g orabou ttooccu r. Bycon tras tw ithpu re
techn ol ogical determ in is m , this v iew em phas is es othercau s al
f actors in s ocial chan ge. Itthen con s iders particu l ar
techn ol ogies , oracom pl exof techn ol ogies , as s ym ptom s of
chan ge of s om e otherkin d. An yparticu l artechn ol ogyis then
as itw ere aby-produ ctof as ocial proces s thatis otherw is e
determ in ed. Iton l yacqu ires ef f ectiv e s tatu s w hen itis u s ed
f orpu rpos es w hichare al readycon tain ed in this kn ow n
s ocial proces s .
T he debate betw een thes e tw ogen eral pos ition s occu pies
the greaterpartof ou rthin kin g abou ttechn ol ogyan d
s ociety. Itis areal debate, an d eachs ide m akes im portan t
poin ts . Bu titis in the en d s teril e, becau s e eachpos ition ,
thou ghin dif f eren tw ays , has abs tracted techn ol ogyf rom
s ociety. In techn ol ogical determ in is m , res earchan d
dev el opm en thav e been as s u m ed as s el f -gen eratin g. T he n ew
techn ol ogies are in v en ted as itw ere in an in depen den t
s phere, an d then create n ew s ocieties orn ew hu m an
con dition s . T he v iew of s ym ptom atic techn ol ogy, s im il arl y,
as s u m es thatres earchan d dev el opm en tare s el f -gen eratin g,
bu tin am ore m argin al w ay. Whatis dis cov ered in the
m argin is then taken u pan d u s ed.
Eachv iew can then be s een todepen d on the is ol ation of
techn ol ogyItis eitheras el f -actin g f orce w hichcreates n ew
g_
ac . 2 0. T he T echn ol ogy
an d the Society
w ays of l if e, oritis as el f -actin g f orce w hichprov ides
m aterial s f orn ew w ays of l if e. T hes e pos ition s are s odeepl y
es tabl is hed, in m odern s ocial thou ght, thatitis v erydif f icu l t
tothin k beyon d them . Mos this tories of techn ol ogy, l ike
m os this tories of s cien tif ic dis cov ery, are w ritten f rom their
as s u m ption s . An appeal tothe f acts , again s tthis orthat
in terpretation , is m ade v erydif f icu l ts im pl ybecau s e the
his tories are u s u al l yw ritten , con s ciou s l yoru n con s ciou s l y, to
il l u s trate the as s u m ption s . T his is eitherexpl icit, w iththe
con s equ en tial in terpretation attached, orm ore of ten im pl icit,
in thatthe his toryof techn ol ogyorof s cien tif ic dev el opm en t
is of f ered as ahis toryon its ow n . T his can be s een as adev ice
of s pecial is ation orof em phas is , bu titthen n eces s aril y
im pl ies m erel yin tern al in ten tion s an d criteria.
T ochan ge thes e em phas es w ou l d requ ire prol on ged an d
cooperativ e in tel l ectu al ef f ort. Bu tin the particu l arcas e of
tel ev is ion itm aybe pos s ibl e toou tl in e adif f eren tkin d of
in terpretation , w hichw ou l d al l ow u s tos ee n oton l yits
his torybu tal s oits u s es in am ore radical w ay. Su chan
in terpretation w ou l d dif f erf rom techn ol ogical determ in is m
in thatitw ou l d res tore in ten tion tothe proces s of res earch
an d dev el opm en t. T he techn ol ogyw ou l d be s een , thatis to
s ay, as bein g l ooked f oran d dev el oped w ithcertain pu rpos es
an d practices al readyin m in d. Atthe s am e tim e the
in terpretation w ou l d dif f erf rom s ym ptom atic techn ol ogyin
thatthes e pu rpos es an d practices w ou l d be s een as direct:as
kn ow n s ocial n eeds , pu rpos es an d practices tow hichthe
techn ol ogyis n otm argin al bu tcen tral .
B. T he Social His toryof T el ev is ion as aT echn ol ogy
T he in v en tion of tel ev is ion w as n os in gl e ev en tors eries of
ev en ts . Itdepen ded on acom pl exof in v en tion s an d
dev el opm en ts in el ectricity, tel egraphy, photographyan d
m otion pictu res , an d radio. Itcan be s aid tohav e s eparated
ou tas as pecif ic techn ol ogical obj ectiv e in the period
187 5-189 0, an d then , af teral ag, tohav e dev el oped as a
s pecif ic techn ol ogical en terpris e f rom 19 2 0throu ghtothe
f irs tpu bl ic tel ev is ion s ys tem s of the 19 305. Y etin eachof
thes e s tages itdepen ded f orparts of its real is ation on
in v en tion s m ade w ithotheren ds prim aril yin v iew .
U n til the earl yn in eteen thcen tu ry, in v es tigation s of
el ectricity, w hichhad l on g been kn ow n as aphen om en on ,
w ere prim aril yphil os ophical :in v es tigation s of apu zzl in g
n atu ral ef f ect. T he techn ol ogyas s ociated w iththes e
in v es tigation s w as m ain l ydirected tow ards is ol ation an d
2 0. T he T echn ol ogy
an d the Society
con cen tration of the ef f ect, f orits cl earers tu dy. T ow ards the
en d of the eighteen thcen tu rythere began tobe appl ication s ,
characteris tical l yin rel ation tootherkn ow n n atu ral ef f ects
( l ightn in g con du ctors ). Bu tthere is then akeytran s ition al
period in acl u s terof in v en tion s betw een 1800an d 1831,
ran gin g f rom Vol tas batterytoEaradays dem on s tration of
el ectro-m agn etic in du ction , l eadin g qu ickl ytothe produ ction
of gen erators . T his can be properl ytraced as as cien tif ic
his tory, bu titis s ign if ican tthatthe keyperiod of adv an ce
coin cides w ithan im portan ts tage of the dev el opm en tof
in du s trial produ ction . T he adv an tages of el ectric pow erw ere
cl os el yrel ated ton ew in du s trial n eeds :f orm obil ityan d
tran s f erin the l ocation of pow ers ou rces , an d f orf l exibl e an d
rapid con trol l abl e con v ers ion . T he s team en gin e had been
w el l s u ited totextil es , an d its in du s tries had been bas ed on
l ocal s itin g. Am ore exten s iv e dev el opm en t, bothphys ical l y
an d in the com pl exityof m u l tipl e partproces s es , s u chas
en gin eerin g, cou l d be attem pted w ithotherpow ers ou rces
bu tcou l d on l ybe f u l l yreal is ed w ithel ectricity. T here w as a
v erycom pl exin teraction betw een n ew n eeds an d n ew
in v en tion s , atthe l ev el of prim aryprodu ction , of n ew
appl ied in du s tries ( pl atin g)an d of n ew s ocial n eeds w hich
w ere them s el v es rel ated toin du s trial dev el opm en t( cityan d
hou s e l ightin g). P rom 1830tol arge-s cal e gen eration in the
1880s there w as this con tin u in g com pl exof n eed an d
in v en tion an d appl ication .
In tel egraphythe dev el opm en tw as s im pl er. T he
tran s m is s ion of m es s ages bybeacon s an d s im il arprim ary
dev ices had been l on g es tabl is hed In the dev el opm en tof
n av igation an d n av al w arf are the f l ag-s ys tem had been
s tan dardis ed in the cou rs e of the s ixteen than d s ev en teen th
cen tu ries . Du rin g the N apol eon ic w ars there w as am arked
dev el opm en tof l an d tel egraphy, bys em aphore s tation s , an d
s om e of this s u rv iv ed in topeacetim e. El ectrical tel egraphy
had been s u gges ted as atechn ical s ys tem as earl yas 17 53,
an d w as actu al l ydem on s trated in s ev eral pl aces in the earl y
n in eteen thcen tu ry. An En gl is hin v en torin 1816 w as tol d
thatthe Adm iral tyw as n otin teres ted. Itis in teres tin g thatit
w as the dev el opm en tof the rail w ays , them s el v es ares pon s e
tothe dev el opm en tof an in du s trial s ys tem an d the rel ated
grow thof cities , w hichcl arif ied the n eed f orim prov ed
tel egraphy. Acom pl exof techn ical pos s ibil ities w as brou ght
toaw orkin g s ys tem f rom 1837 on w ards . T he dev el opm en t
of in tern ation al trade an d tran s portbrou ghtrapid
exten s ion s of the s ys tem , in cl u din g the tran s atl an tic cabl e in
theN EWMEDIAR EADER
the 1850s an d the 186 0s . Agen eral s ys tem of el ectric
tel egraphyhad been es tabl is hed bythe 187 0s , an d in the
s am e decade the tel ephon e s ys tem began tobe dev el oped, in
this cas e as an ew an d in ten ded in v en tion .
In photography, the ideaof l ightw ritin g had been s u gges ted
by( am on g others )Wedgw ood an d Dav yin 1802 , an d the
cam eraobs cu rahad al readybeen dev el oped. Itw as n otthe
proj ection bu tthe f ixin g of im ages w hichatf irs taw aited
techn ical s ol u tion , an d f rom 1816 ( N iepce)an d throu ghto
1839 ( Dagu erre)this w as w orked on , togetherw iththe
im prov em en tof cam eradev ices . P rof es s ion al an d then
am ateu rphotographys pread rapidl y, an d reprodu ction an d
then tran s m is s ion , in the dev el opin g n ew s paperpres s , w ere
achiev ed. Bythe 1880s the ideaof aphotographed real ity"-
s til l m ore f orrecord than f orobs erv ation w as f am il iar.
T he ideaof m ov in g pictu res had been s im il arl ydev el opin g
T he m agic l an tern ( s l ide proj ection )had been kn ow n f rom
the s ev en teen thcen tu ry, an d had acqu ired s im pl e m otion
( on e s l ide ov eran other)by17 36 . F rom atl ates t182 6 there
w as adev el opm en tof m echan ical m otion -pictu re dev ices ,
s u chas the w heel of -l if e, an d thes e cam e tobe l in ked w ith
the m agic l an tern . T he ef f ectof pers is ten ce in hu m an
v is ion thatis tos ay, ou rcapacitytohol d the m em ory of
an im age throu ghan in terv al tothe n extim age, thu s
al l ow in g the pos s ibil ityof as equ en ce bu il tf rom rapidl y
s u cceedin g u n its had been kn ow n s in ce cl as s ical tim es .
Series of cam eras photographin g s tages of as equ en ce w ere
f ol l ow ed ( Marey, 1882 )bym u l tipl e-s hotcam eras . F ries e-
Green e an d Edis on w orked on techn iqu es of f il m in g an d
proj ection , an d cel l u l oid w as s u bs titu ted f orpaperreel s . By
the 189 0s the f irs tpu bl ic m otion -pictu re s how s w ere bein g
giv en in F ran ce, Am ericaan d En gl an d.
T el ev is ion , as an idea, w as in v ol v ed w ithm an yof thes e
dev el opm en ts . Itis dif f icu l ttos eparate it, in its earl ies t
s tages , f rom photo-tel egraphy. Bain propos ed adev ice f or
tran s m ittin g pictu res byel ectric w ires in 1842 ; Bakew el l in
1847 s how ed the copyin g tel egraph; Cas el l iin 186 2
tran s m itted pictu res byw ire ov eracon s iderabl e dis tan ce. In
187 3, w hil e w orkin g ataterm in al of the Atl an tic tel egraph
cabl e, Mayobs erv ed the l ight-s en s itiv e properties of s el en iu m
( w hichhad been is ol ated byBerzel iu s in 1817 an d w as in u s e
f orres is tors ). In ahos tof w ays , f ol l ow in g an al readyde n ed
n eed, the m ean s of tran s m ittin g s til l pictu res an d m ov in g
pictu res w ere activ el ys ou ghtan d toacon s iderabl e exten t
dis cov ered. T he l is tis l on g ev en w hen s el ectiv e:Careys
7
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I
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19 7 2
oz. Q A -on e a ~o~~ A w e ~-Aol a-4 or-> 4: a_-~~~--oe - 2 0. T he T echn ol ogy
an d the Society
el ectric eye in 187 5; N ipkow s s can n in g s ys tem in 1884;
El s teran d Geitel s photoel ectric cel l s in 189 0; Brau n s
cathode raytu be in 18,9 7 ; R os in gs cathode rayreceiv erin
19 07 ; Cam pbel l Sw in ton s el ectron ic cam erapropos al in
19 11. T hrou ghthis w hol e period tw of acts are ev iden t: thata
s ys tem of tel ev is ion w as f ores een , an d its m ean s w ere bein g
activ el ys ou ght; bu tal s othat, bycom paris on w ithel ectrical
gen eration an d el ectrical tel egraphyan d tel ephon y, there w as
v eryl ittl e s ocial in v es tm en ttobrin g the s cattered w ork
together. Itis tru e thatthere w ere techn ical bl ocks bef ore
19 14 the therm ion ic v al v e an d the m u l ti-s tage am pl if ier
can be s een tohav e been n eeded an d w ere n otyetin v en ted.
Bu tthe critical dif f eren ce betw een the v ariou s s pheres of
appl ied techn ol ogycan be s tated in term s of as ocial
dim en s ion : the n ew s ys tem s of produ ction an d of bu s in es s or
tran s portcom m u n ication w ere al readyorgan is ed, atan
econ om ic l ev el ; the n ew s ys tem s of s ocial com m u n ication
w ere n ot. T hu s w hen m otion pictu res w ere dev el oped, their
appl ication w as characteris tical l yin the m argin of
es tabl is hed s ocial f orm s the s ides how s u n til theirs u cces s
w as capital is ed in av ers ion of an es tabl is hed f orm , the
m otion -pictu re theatre
T hedev el opm en tof radio, in its s ign if ican ts cien tif ic an d
techn ical s tages betw een 1885an d 19 11, w as atf irs t
con ceiv ed, w ithin al readyef f ectiv e s ocial s ys tem s , as an
adv an ced f orm of tel egraphy. Its appl ication as as ign if ican tl y
n ew s ocial f orm bel on gs tothe im m ediate pos t-w arperiod, in
achan ged s ocial s itu ation . Itis s ign if ican tthatthe hiatu s in
techn ical tel ev is ion dev el opm en tthen al s oen ded. In 19 2 3
Zw orykin in trodu ced the el ectron ic tel ev is ion cam eratu be.
T hrou ghthe earl y19 2 0s Baird an d Jen kin s , s eparatel yan d
com petitiv el y, w ere w orkin g on s ys tem s u s in g m echan ical
s can n in g. F rom 19 2 5the rate of progres s w as qu al itativ el y
chan ged, throu ghim portan ttechn ical adv an ces bu tal s ow ith
the exam pl e of s ou n d broadcas tin g s ys tem s as am odel . T he
Bel l Sys tem in 19 2 7 dem on s trated w ire tran s m is s ion
throu gharadiol in k, an d the pre his toryof the f orm can be
s een tobe en din g. T here w as greatriv al rybetw een
s ys tem s es pecial l ythos e of m echan ical an d el ectron ic
s can n in g an d there is s til l greatcon trov ers yabou t
con tribu tion s an d priorities . Bu tthis is characteris tic of the
phas e in w hichthe dev el opm en tof atechn ol ogym ov es in to
the s tage of an ew s ocial f orm .
Whatis in teres tin g throu ghou tis thatin an u m berof
com pl exan d rel ated f iel ds , thes e s ys tem s of m obil ityan d
Q
tran s f erin produ ction an d com m u n ication , w hetherin
m echan ical an d el ectric tran s port, orin tel egraphy, photo-
graphy, m otion pictu res , radioan d tel ev is ion , w ere aton ce
in cen tiv es an d res pon s es w ithin aphas e of gen eral s ocial
tran s f orm ation . T hou ghs om e of the cru cial s cien tif ic an d
techn ical dis cov eries w ere m ade byis ol ated an d u n s u pported
in div idu al s , there w as acru cial com m u n ityof s el ected
em phas is an d in ten tion , in as ocietycharacteris ed atits m os t
gen eral l ev el s byam obil ityan d exten s ion of the s cal e of
organ is ation s :f orm s of grow thw hichbrou ghtw iththem
im m ediate an d l on ger-term probl em s of operativ e com m u n i
cation . In m an ydif f eren tcou n tries , an d in apparen tl yu n con -
n ected w ays , s u chn eeds w ere aton ce is ol ated an d techn ical l y
def in ed. Itis es pecial l yacharacteris tic of the com m u n i-
cation s s ys tem s thatal l w ere f ores een n otin u topian bu tin
techn ical w ays hef ore the cru cial com pon en ts of the dev el oped
s ys tem s had been dis cov ered an d ref in ed In n ow ayis this a
his toryof com m u n ication s s ys tem s creatin g an ew s ocietyor
n ew s ocial con dition s . T he decis iv e an d earl iertran s f orm a-
tion of in du s trial produ ction , an d its n ew s ocial f orm s , w hich
had grow n ou tof al on g his toryof capital accu m u l ation an d
w orkin g techn ical im prov em en ts , created n ew n eeds bu tal s o
n ew pos s ibil ities , an d the com m u n ication s s ys tem s , dow n to
tel ev is ion , w ere theirin trin s ic ou tcom e.
C. T he Social His toryof the U s es of T el ev is ion
T echn ol ogy
Itis n ev erqu ite tru e tos aythatin m odern s ocieties , w hen a
s ocial n eed has been dem on s trated, its appropriate techn ol ogy
w il l be f ou n d. T his is partl ybecau s e s om e real n eeds , in an y
particu l arperiod, are beyon d the s cope of exis tin g or
f ores eeabl e s cien tif ic an d techn ical kn ow l edge. Itis ev en m ore
becau s e the keyqu es tion , abou ttechn ol ogical res pon s e toa
n eed, is l es s aqu es tion abou tthe n eed its el f than abou tits
pl ace in an exis tin g s ocial f orm ation . An eed w hich
corres pon ds w iththe priorities of the real decis ion -m akin g
grou ps w il l , obv iou s l y, m ore qu ickl yattractthe in v es tm en tof
res ou rces an d the of f icial perm is s ion , approv al or
en cou ragem en ton w hichaw orkin g techn ol ogy, as dis tin ct
f rom av ail abl e techn ical dev ices , depen ds . We can s ee this
cl earl yin the m aj ordev el opm en ts of in du s trial produ ction
an d, s ign if ican tl y, in m il itarytechn ol ogy. T he s ocial his toryof
com m u n ication s techn ol ogyis in teres tin gl ydif f eren tf rom
eitherof thes e, an d itis im portan ttotrytodis cov erw hatare
the real f actors of this v ariation .
2 0. T he T echn ol ogy
an d the Society
T he probl em m u s tbe s een ats ev eral dif f eren tl ev el s . In the
v erybroades tpers pectiv e, there is an operativ e rel ation s hip
betw een an ew kin d of expan ded, m obil e an d com pl exs ociety
an d the dev el opm en tof am odern com m u n ication s
techn ol ogy. Aton e l ev el this rel ation s hipcan be reas on abl y
s een as cau s al , in adirectw ay. T he prin cipal in cen tiv es tof irs t-
s tage im prov em en ts in com m u n ication s techn ol ogycam e
f rom probl em s of com m u n ication an d con trol in expan ded
m il itaryan d com m ercial operation s . T his w as bothdirect,
aris in g f rom f actors of greatl yexten din g dis tan ce an d s cal e,
an d in direct, as af actorw ithin the dev el opm en tof tran s port
techn ol ogy, w hichw as f orobv iou s reas on s the m aj ordirect
res pon s e. T hu s tel egraphyan d tel ephon y, an d in its earl y
s tages radio, w ere s econ daryf actors w ithin aprim ary
com m u n ication s s ys tem w hichw as directl ys erv in g the n eeds
of an es tabl is hed an d dev el opin g m il itaryan d com m ercial
s ys tem . T hrou ghthe n in eteen than d in tothe tw en tieth
cen tu rythis w as the decis iv e pattern .
Bu tthere w ere others ocial an d pol itical rel ation s hips an d
n eeds em ergin g f rom this com pl exof chan ge. In deed itis a
con s equ en ce of the particu l aran d dom in an tin terpretation
of thes e chan ges thatthe com pl exw as atf irs ts een as on e
requ irin g im prov em en tin operation al com m u n ication . T he
directpriorities of the expan din g com m ercial s ys tem , an d in
certain periods of the m il itarys ys tem , l ed toadef in ition of
n eeds w ithin the term s of thes e s ys tem s . T he obj ectiv es an d
the con s equ en ttechn ol ogies w ere operation al w ithin the
s tru ctu res of thes e s ys tem s :pas s in g n eces s arys pecif ic
in f orm ation , orm ain tain in g con tactan d con trol . Modern
el ectric techn ol ogy, in this phas e, w as thu s orien ted tou s es
of pers on topers on , operatoran d operativ e tooperatoran d
operativ e, w ithin es tabl is hed s pecif ic s tru ctu res . T his qu al ity
can bes tbe em phas is ed bycon tras tw iththe el ectric
techn ol ogyof the s econ d phas e, w hichw as properl yan d
s ign if ican tl ycal l ed broadcas tin g. Atechn ol ogyof s pecif ic
m es s ages tos pecif ic pers on s w as com pl em en ted, bu ton l y
rel ativ el yl ate, byatechn ol ogyof v aried m es s ages toa
gen eral pu bl ic.
Y ettou n ders tan d this dev el opm en tw e hav e tol ook ata
w idercom m u n ication s s ys tem . T he tru e bas is of this s ys tem
had preceded the dev el opm en ts in techn ol ogy. T hen as n ow
there w as am aj or, in deed dom in an t, areaof s ocial
<s .> <ac\:c<.\\2 a:l ~at.' .a"i\m x\.\:\3 w is rs chq\ an ecq\cIx<.\R Q R
s ocial grou p. In addition , then as n ow , there w ere s pecif ic
theN EWMEDIAR EADER
is predicated on s ocial teachin g an d con trol :chu rches ,
s chool s , as s em bl ies an d procl am ation s , direction in pl aces of
w ork. Al l thes e in teracted w ithf orm s of com m u n ication '
w ithin the f am il y.
Whatthen w ere the n ew n eeds w hichl ed tothe
dev el opm en tof an ew techn ol ogyof s ocial com m u n ication ?
T he dev el opm en tof the pres s giv es u s the ev iden ce f orou r
f irs tm aj orin s tan ce. Itw as aton ce ares pon s e tothe
dev el opm en tof an exten ded s ocial , econ om ic an d pol itical
s ys tem an d ares pon s e tocris is w ithin thats ys tem . T he
cen tral is ation of pol itical pow erl ed toan eed f orm es s ages
f rom thatcen tre al on g otherthan of f icial l in es . Earl y
n ew s papers w ere acom bin ation of thatkin d of m es s age-
pol itical an d s ocial in f orm ation an d the s pecif ic
m es s ages cl as s if ied adv ertis in g an d gen eral com m ercial
n ew s of an expan din g s ys tem of trade. In Britain the
dev el opm en tof the pres s w en tthrou ghits m aj orf orm ativ e
s tages in periods of cris is : the Civ il Waran d
Com m on w eal th, w hen the n ew s paperf orm w as def in ed;
the In du s trial R ev ol u tion , w hen n ew f orm s of popu l ar
j ou rn al is m w ere s u cces s iv el yes tabl is hed; the m aj orw ars of
the tw en tiethcen tu ry, w hen the n ew s paperbecam e a
u n iv ers al s ocial f orm . F orthe tran s m is s ion of s im pl e orders ,
acom m u n ication s s ys tem al readyexis ted. F orthe
tran s m is s ion of an ideol ogy, there w ere s pecif ic tradition al
in s titu tion s . Bu tf orthe tran s m is s ion of n ew s an d
backgrou n d the w hol e orien tin g, predictiv e an d u pdatin g
proces s w hichthe f u l l ydev el oped pres s repres en ted there
w as an ev iden tn eed f oran ew f orm , w hichthe l argel y
tradition al in s titu tion s of chu rchan d s chool cou l d n ot
m eet. An d tothe l arge exten tthatthe cris es of gen eral
chan ge prov oked bothan xietyan d con trov ers y, this f l exibl e
an d com petitiv e f orm m ets ocial n eeds of an ew l dn d. As
the s tru ggl e f oras hare in decis ion an d con trol becam e
s harper, in cam paign s f orthe v ote an d then in com petition
f orthe v ote, the pres s becam e n oton l yan ew
com m u n ication s s ys tem bu t, cen tral l y, an ew s ocial
in s titu tion .
T his can be in terpreted as res pon s e toapol itical n eed an d:
pol itical cris is , an d itw as certain l ythis . Bu taw iders ocial n eed
an d s ocial cris is can al s obe recogn is ed. In achan gin g s ociety,
an d es pecial l yaf terthe In du s trial R ev ol u tion , probl em s of
s m xkqexs oecxxu e "a1\ts _s m .\ im "t\eor\1xxm \\:e&:axn exn n \ea&\h .
N ew rel ation s betw een m en , an d betw een m en an d thin gs ,
in s titu tion s of thatkin d of com m u n ication w hichin v ol v es or w ere bein g in ten s el yexperien ced, an d in this area, es pecial l y
19 7 2
- - - _- ._.... s - .4-. * --~- -Q -____~ 2 0. T he T echn ol ogy
in s titu tion s of chu rchan d s chool orof s ettl ed
an d pers is tin g f am il yhad v eryl ittl e tos ayAgreat
of cou is e s aid bu tf rom pos ition s def in ed w ithin an
of s ocietyIn an u m berof w ays , an d draw in g on a
im pu l s es f rom cu rios itytoan xietyn ew in f orm ation
iu n ds of orien tation w ere deepl yrequ ired m ore
In deed than an ys pecial is ation topol itical m il itaryor
in f orm ation can accou n tf orAn in creas ed
of m obil ityan d chan ge n otj u s tas abs traction s bu t
experien ces , l ed toam aj orredef in ition in practice an d
theoryof the f u n ction an d proces s of s ocial
can be s een m os tev iden tl yin the pres s can be s een
thedev el opm en tof photographyan d the m otion
T he photograph1s 1n on e s en s e apopu l arexten s ion of
f orrecogn ition an d f orrecord Bu t1n aperiod of
w ithn ew s eparation s of f am il ies an d w ith
an d extern al m igration s , itbecam e m ore cen tral l y
as af orm of m ain tain in g, ov erdis tan ce an d throu gh
pers on al con n ection s Moreov erin al ten n g
tothe phys ical w orl d, the photographas an obj ect
af orm of the photographyof obj ects m om en ts of
an d s tas is w ithin an experien ced ru s hof chan ge, an d
its techn ical exten s ion tom otion am ean s of
an d an al ys in g m otion its el f , in n ew w ays -
f orm 1n w hichn ew kin ds of recogn ition w ere n ot
bu tn eces s ary
Itis s ign if ican tthatu n til the period af terthe F irs t
an d in s om e w ays u n til the p1l OCl af terthe
Worl d Warthes e v aiyl n g n eeds of an ew kin d of
l n dan ew w ayof l if e w ere m etb w hatw ere s een as
m ean s the pres s f ol pol itical an d econ om ic
the photographf orcom m u n ityf am il yan d
l if e the m otion pictu re f orcu rios ityan d
tel egraphyan d tel ephon yf orbu s in es s
an d s om e im portan tpers on al m es s ages Itw as
tl l s com pl exof s pecial is ed f orm s thatbroadcas tin g
con s equ en tdif f icu l tyof def in in g its s ocial u s es , an d
l u n d of con trov ers yw hichhas ev ers in ce
1tcan then be m ore broadl yu n ders tood
the f irs tdef in ition s of broadcas tin g w ere m ade f or
radioItis s ign if ican tan d perhaps pu zzl in g thatthe
an d in s titu tion s then created w ere thos e w ithin
tel ev is ion dev el oped
an d the Society
We hav e n ow becom e u s ed toas itu ation in w hich
broadcas tin g is am aj ors ocial in s titu tion , abou tw hichthere is
al w ays con trov ers ybu tw hich, in its f am il iarf orm , s eem s to
hav e been predes tin ed bythe techn ol ogy. T his predes tin ation ,
how ev er, w hen cl os el yexam in ed, prov es tobe n om ore than a
s etof particu l ars ocial decis ion s , in particu l arcircu m s tan ces ,
w hichw ere then s ow idel yif im perf ectl yratif ied thatitis n ow
dif f icu l ttos ee them as decis ion s ratherthan as ( retros pec-
tiv el y)in ev itabl e res u l ts .
T hu s , if s een on l yin hin ds ight, broadcas tin g can be
diagn os ed as an ew an d pow erf u l f orm of s ocial in tegration
an d con trol . Man yof its m ain u s es can be s een as s ocial l y,
com m ercial l yan d attim es pol itical l ym an ipu l ativ e. Moreov er,
this v iew poin tis ration al is ed byits des cription as m as s
com m u n ication , aphras e u s ed byal m os tal l its agen ts an d
adv is ers as w el l , cu riou s l y, as bym os tof its radical critics .
"Mas s es "had been the n ew n in eteen th-cen tu ryterm of
con tem ptf orw hatw as f orm erl ydes cribed as the m ob."T he
phys ical m as s in g of the u rban an d in du s trial rev ol u tion
u n derw rote this . An ew radical cl as s ~con s ciou s n es s adopted
the term toexpres s the m aterial of n ew s ocial f orm ation s :
m as s organ is ation s . T he m as s m eetin g w as an obs erv abl e
phys ical ef f ect. Soperv as iv e w as this des cription thatin the
tw en tiethcen tu rym u l tipl e s erial produ ction w as cal l ed,
f al s el ybu ts ign if ican tl y, m as s produ ction ":m as s n ow m ean t
l arge n u m bers ( bu tw ithin certain as s u m ed s ocial
rel ation s hips )ratherthan an yphys ical ors ocial aggregate.
Sou n d radioan d tel ev is ion , f orreas on s w e s hal l l ook at, w ere
dev el oped f ortran s m is s ion toin div idu al hom es , thou ghthere
w as n othin g in the techn ol ogytom ake this in ev itabl e. Bu t
then this n ew f orm of s ocial com m u n ication -
broadcas tin g w as obs cu red byits def in ition as m as s
com m u n ication :an abs traction toits m os tgen eral
characteris tic, thatitw en ttom an ypeopl e, the m as s es ,
w hichobs cu red the f actthatthe m ean s chos en w as the of f er
of in div idu al s ets , am ethod m u chbetterdes cribed bythe
earl ierw ord broadcas tin g. Itis in teres tin g thatthe on l y
dev el oped m as s u s e of radiow as in N aziGerm an y, w here
u n derGoebbel s orders the P artyorgan is ed com pu l s orypu bl ic
l is ten in g grou ps an d the receiv ers w ere in the s treets . T here
has been s om e im itation of this bys im il arregim es , an d
Goebbel s w as deepl yin teres ted in tel ev is ion f orthe s am e kin d
of u s e. Whatw as dev el oped w ithin m os tcapital is ts ocieties ,
thou ghcal l ed m as s com m u n ication , w as s ign if ican tl y
dif f eren t.
2 0. T he T echn ol ogy
an d the Society
T here w as earl yof f icial in terv en tion in the dev el opm en tof
broadcas tin g, bu tin f orm this w as on l yatatechn ical l ev el . In
the earl iers tru ggl e again s tthe dev el opm en tof the pres s , the
State had l icen s ed an d taxed n ew s papers , bu tf oracen tu ry
bef ore the com in g of broadcas tin g the al tern ativ e ideaof an
in depen den tpres s had been real is ed bothin practice an d in
theory. State in terv en tion in broadcas tin g had s om e real an d
s om e pl au s ibl e techn ical grou n ds :the dis tribu tion of
w av el en gths . Bu ttothes e w ere added, thou ghal w ays
con trov ers ial l y, m ore gen eral s ocial direction s orattem pts at
direction . T his s ocial his toryof broadcas tin g can be dis cu s s ed
on its ow n , atthe l ev el s of practice an d prin cipl e._Y etitis
u n real is tic toextractitf rom an otheran d perhaps m ore
decis iv e proces s , throu ghw hich, in particu l arecon om ic
s itu ation s , as etof s cattered techn ical dev ices becam e an
appl ied techn ol ogyan d then as ocial techn ol ogy.
AF as cis tregim e m ightqu ickl ys ee the u s e of broadcas tin g
f ordirectpol itical an d s ocial con trol . Bu tthat, in an ycas e, w as
w hen the techn ol ogyhad al readybeen dev el oped el s ew here.
In capital is tdem ocracies , the thru s tf orcon v ers ion f rom
s cattered techn iqu es toatechn ol ogyw as n otpol itical bu t
econ om ic. T he characteris tical l yis ol ated in v en tors , f rom
N ipkow an d R os in g toBaird an d Jen kin s an d Zw yorkin ,
f ou n d theirpoin tof dev el opm en t, if atal l , in the
m an u f actu rers an d pros pectiv e m an u f actu rers of the
techn ical apparatu s . T he his toryaton e l ev el is of thes e
is ol ated n am es , bu tatan otherl ev el itis of EMI, R CAan d a
s core of s im il arcom pan ies an d corporation s . In the his toryof
m otion pictu res , capital is tdev el opm en tw as prim aril yin
produ ction ; l arge-s cal e capital is tdis tribu tion cam e m u chl ater,
as aw ayof con trol l in g an d organ is in g am arketf orgiv en
produ ction . In broadcas tin g, bothin s ou n d radioan d l aterin
tel ev is ion , the m aj orin v es tm en tw as in the m ean s of
dis tribu tion , an d w as dev oted toprodu ction on l ys of aras to
m ake the dis tribu tion techn ical l ypos s ibl e an d then attractiv e.
U n l ike al l prev iou s com m u n ication s techn ol ogies , radioan d
tel ev is ion w ere s ys tem s prim aril ydev is ed f ortran s m is s ion an d
reception as abs tractproces s es , w ithl ittl e orn ode n ition of
precedin g con ten t. When the qu es tion of con ten tw as rais ed, it
w as res ol v ed, in the m ain , paras itical l y. T here w ere s tate
occas ion s , pu bl ic s portin g ev en ts , theatres an d s oon , w hich
w ou l d be com m u n icativ el ydis tribu ted bythes e n ew techn ical
m ean s . Itis n oton l ythatthe s u ppl yof broadcas tin g f acil ities
preceded the dem an d; itis thatthe m ean s of com m u n ication
preceded theircon ten t.
theN EWMEDIAR EADER
T he period of decis iv e dev el opm en tin s ou n d broadcas tin g
w as the 19 2 0s . Af terthe techn ical adv an ces in s ou n d
tel egraphyw hichhad been m ade f orm il itarypu rpos es du rin g
the w ar, there w as aton ce an econ om ic opportu n ityan d the
n eed f oran ew s ocial def in ition . N on ation orm an u f actu rin g
grou phel d am on opol yof the techn ical m ean s of A
broadcas tin g, an d there w as aperiod of in ten s iv e l itigation
f ol l ow ed bycros s l icen s in g of the s cattered bas ic com pon en ts
of s u cces s f u l tran s m is s ion an d reception ( the v acu u m tu be or
v al v e, dev el oped f rom 19 04to19 13; the f eedback circu it,
dev el oped f rom 19 12 ; the n eu trodyn e an d heterodyn e circu its ,
f rom 19 2 3). Cru cial l y, in the m id-19 2 0s , there w as as eries of
in v es tm en t-gu ided techn ical s ol u tion s tothe probl em of
bu il din g as m al l an d s im pl e dom es tic receiv er, on w hichthe
w hol e qu al itativ e tran s f orm ation f rom Wirel es s tel egraphyto
broadcas tin g depen decl Bythe m id 19 2 0s 19 2 3 an d 19 2 4
are es pecial l ydecis iv e years this breakthrou ghhad
happen ed in the l eadin g in du s trial s ocieties :the U n ited States ,
Britain , Germ an yan d F ran ce. Bythe en d of the 19 2 0s the
radioin du s tryhad becom e am aj ors ectorof in du s trial
produ ction , w ithin arapid gen eral expan s ion of the n ew kin ds
of m achin es w hichw ere ev en tu al l ytobe cal l ed con s u m er
du rabl es . T his com pl exof dev el opm en ts in cl u ded the
m otorcycl e an d m otorcar, the boxcam eraan d its s u cces s ors ,
hom e el ectrical appl ian ces , an d radios ets . Social l y, this
com pl exis characteris ed bythe tw oapparen tl yparadoxical yet
deepl ycon n ected ten den cies of m odern u rban in du s trial
l iv in g:on the on e han d m obil ity, on the otherhan d the m ore
apparen tl ys el f -s u f f icien tf am il yhom e. T he earl ierperiod of
pu bl ic techn ol ogy, bes texem pl if ied bythe rail w ays an d city
l ightin g, w as bein g repl aced byakin d of techn ol ogyf orw hich
n os atis f actoryn am e has yetbeen f ou n d:thatw hichs erv edan
aton ce m obil e an d hom e-cen tred w ayof l iv in g:af orm of
m obil e priv atis ation . Broadcas tin g in its appl ied f orm w as a
s ocial produ ctof this dis tin ctiv e ten den cy.
T he con tradictorypres s u res of this phas e of in du s trial
capital is ts ocietyw ere in deed res ol v ed, atacertain l ev el , bythe
in s titu tion of broadcas tin g. F orm obil ityw as on l yin partthe
im pu l s e of an in depen den tcu rios ity:the w is htogoou tan d
s ee n ew pl aces . Itw as es s en tial l yan im pu l s e f orm ed in the
breakdow n an d dis s ol u tion of ol deran d s m al l erkin ds of
s ettl em en tan d produ ctiv e l abou r. T he n ew an d l arger
s ettl em en ts an d in du s trial organ is ation s requ ired m aj or
in tern al m obil ity, ataprim aryl ev el , an d this w as j oin ed by
s econ darycon s equ en ces in the dis pers al of exten ded f am il ies
19 !:
0 1.0 = ~<> ~ * 1~ 0 1~ ~ W0 4
an d in the n eeds of n ew kin ds of s ocial organ is ation . Social
proces s es l on g im pl icitin the rev ol u tion of in du s trial
capital is m w ere then greatl yin ten s if ied:es pecial l yan
in creas in g dis tan ce betw een im m ediate l iv in g areas an d the
directed pl aces of w ork an d gov ern m en t. N oef f ectiv e kin ds of
s ocial con trol ov erthes e tran s f orm ed in du s trial an d pol itical
proces s es had com e an yw here n earbein g achiev ed orev en
f ores een . Mos tpeopl e w ere l iv in g in the f al l -ou tareaof
proces s es determ in ed beyon d them . I/ Vhathad been gain ed,
n ev erthel es s , in in ten s e s ocial s tru ggl e, had been the
im prov em en tof im m ediate con dition s , w ithin the l im its an d
pres s u res of thes e decis iv e l arge-s cal e proces s es . T here w as
s om e rel ativ e im prov em en tin w ages an d w orkin g con dition s ,
an d there w as aqu al itativ e chan ge in the dis tribu tion of the
day, the w eek an d the yearbetw een w ork an d of f w ork
periods . T hes e tw oef f ects com bin ed in am aj orem phas is on
im prov em en tof the s m al l f am il yhom e. Y etthis priv atis ation ,
w hichw as aton ce an ef f ectiv e achiev em en tan d adef en s iv e
res pon s e, carried, as acon s equ en ce, an im perativ e n eed f or
n ew kin ds of con tact. T he n ew hom es m ightappearpriv ate
an d s el f -s u f f icien t bu tcou l d be m ain tain ed on l ybyregu l ar
f u n din g an d s u ppl yf rom extern al s ou rces , an d thes e, ov era
ran ge f rom em pl oym en tan d prices todepres s ion s an d w ars ,
had adecis iv e an d of ten adis ru ptin g in f l u en ce on w hatw as
n ev erthel es s s een as as eparabl e f am il y proj ect. T his
rel ation s hipcreated boththe n eed an d the f orm of an ew kin d
of com m u n ication :n ew s f rom ou ts ide, f rom otherw is e
in acces s ibl e s ou rces . Al readyin the dram aof the 18805an d
189 0s ( Ibs en , Chekhov )this s tru ctu re had appeared:the
cen tre of dram atic in teres tw as n ow f orthe f irs ttim e the
f am il yhom e, bu tm en an d w om en s tared f rom its w in dow s ,
orw aited an xiou s l yf orm es s ages , tol earn abou tf orces , ou t
there,"w hichw ou l d determ in e the con dition s of theirl iv es .
T he n ew con s u m er techn ol ogyw hichreached its f irs t
decis iv e s tage in the 19 2 0s s erv ed this com pl exof n eeds
w ithin j u s tthes e l im its an d pres s u res . T here w ere im m ediate
im prov em en ts of the con dition an d ef f icien cyof the
priv atis ed hom e; there w ere n ew f acil ities , in priv ate tran s port,
f orexpedition s f rom the hom e; an d then , in radio, there w as a
f acil ityf oran ew kin d of s ocial in pu t ~n ew s an d
en tertain m en tbrou ghtin tothe hom e. Som e peopl e s poke of
the n ew m achin es as gadgets , bu ttheyw ere al w ays m u ch
m ore than this . T heyw ere the appl ied techn ol ogyof as etof
em phas es an d res pon s es w ithin the determ in in g l im its an d
pres s u res of in du s trial capital is ts ociety.
L
0e. 4 - 0 . 2 0. T he T echn ol ogy
an d the Society
T he cheapradioreceiv eris then as ign if ican tin dexof a
gen eral con dition an d res pon s e. Itw a_s es pecial l yw el com ed by
al l thos e w hohad l eas ts ocial opportu n ities of otherkin ds ;
w hol acked in depen den tm obil ityoracces s tothe prev iou s l y
div ers e pl aces of en tertain m en tan d in f orm ation .
Broadcas tin g cou l d al s ocom e tos erv e, ors eem tos erv e, as a
f orm of u n i ed s ocial in take, atthe m os tgen eral l ev el s . What
had been in ten s iv el yprom oted bythe radiom an u f actu rin g
com pan ies thu s in terl ocked w iththis kin d of s ocial n eed, its el f
def in ed w ithin gen eral l im its an d pres s u res . In the earl ys tages
of radiom an u f actu rin g, tran s m is s ion w as con ceiv ed bef ore
con ten t. Bythe en d of the 19 2 0s the n etw ork w as there, bu t
s til l atal ow l ev el of con ten t def in ition . Itw as in the 19 30s , in
the s econ d phas e of radio, thatm os tof the s ign if ican t
adv an ces in con ten tw ere m ade. T he tran s m is s ion an d
reception n etw orks created, as al 2 y pr0du ct, the f acil ities of
prim arybroadcas tin g produ ction . Bu tthe gen eral s ocial
def in ition of con ten t w as al readythere.
T his theoretical m odel of the gen eral dev el opm en tof
broadcas tin g is n eces s arytoan u n ders tan din g of the
particu l ardev el opm en tof tel ev is ion . F orthere w ere, in the
abs tract, s ev eral dif f eren tw ays in w hichtel ev is ion as a
techn ical m ean s m ighthav e been dev el oped. Af tera
gen eration of u n iv ers al dom es tic tel ev is ion itis n oteas yto
real is e this . Bu titrem ain s tru e that, af teragreatdeal of
in ten s iv e res earchan d dev el opm en t, the dom es tic tel ev is ion
s etis in an u m berof w ays an in ef f icien tm ediu m of v is u al
broadcas tin g. Its v is u al in ef f icien cybycom paris on w iththe
cin em ais es pecial l ys trikin g, w hereas in the cas e of radiothere
w as bythe 19 30s ahighl yef f icien ts ou n d broadcas tin g
receiv er, w ithou tan yreal com petitors in its ow n l in e. Within
the l im its of the tel ev is ion hom e-s etem phas is ithas s of arn ot
been pos s ibl e tom ake m ore than m in orqu al itativ e
im prov em en ts . Higher-def in ition s ys tem s , an d col ou r, hav e
s til l on l ybrou ghtthe dom es tic tel ev is ion s et, as am achin e, to
the s tan dard of av eryin f eriorkin d of cin em a. Y etm os t
peopl e hav e adapted tothis in f eriorv is u al m ediu m , in an
u n u s u al kin d of pref eren ce f oran in f eriorim m ediate
techn ol ogy, becau s e of the s ocial com pl ex an d es pecial l y
thatof the priv atis ed hom e- w ithin w hichbroadcas tin g, as a
s ys tem , is operativ e. T he cin em ahad rem ain ed atan earl ier
l ev el of s ocial def in ition ; itw as an d rem ain s as pecial kin d of
theatre, of f erin g s pecif ic an d dis crete w orks of on e gen eral
kin d. Broadcas tin g, bycon tras t, of f ered aw hol e s ocial in take:
m u s ic, n ew s , en tertain m en t, s port. T he adv an tages of this
2 0. T he T echn ol ogy
an d the Society
gen eral in tak.e, w ithin the hom e, m u chm ore than
ou tw eighed the techn ical adv an tages of v is u al tran s m is s ion
an d reception in the cin em a, con f in ed as this w as tos pecif ic
an d dis crete w orks . Whil e broadcas tin g w as con f in ed to
s ou n d, the pow erf u l v is u al m ediu m of cin em aw as an
im m en s el ypopu l aral tern ativ e. Bu tw hen broadcas tin g
becam e v is u al , the option f orits s ocial adv an tages
ou tw eighed the im m ediate techn ical def icits .
T he tran s ition totel ev is ion broadcas tin g w ou l d hav e
occu rred qu ite gen eral l yin the l ate 19 30s an d earl y19 40s , if
the w arhad n otin terv en ed. P u bl ic tel ev is ion s erv ices had
begu n in Britain in 19 36 an d in the U n ited States in 19 39 , bu t
w iths til l v eryexpen s iv e receiv ers . T he f u l l in v es tm en tin
tran s m is s ion an d reception f acil ities did n otoccu ru n til the
l ate 19 405an d earl y19 50s , bu tthe grow thw as thereaf ter
v eryrapid. T he keys ocial ten den cies w hichhad l ed tothe
def in ition of broadcas tin g w ere bythen ev en m ore pron ou n -
ced. T here w as s ign if ican tl yhigherin v es tm en tin the priv a-
tis ed hom e, an d the s ocial an d phys ical dis tan ces betw een
thes e hom es an d the decis iv e pol itical an d produ ctiv e cen tres
of the s ocietyhad becom e m u chgreater. Broadcas tin g, as it
had dev el oped in radio, s eem ed an in ev itabl e m odel :the
cen tral tran s m itters an d the dom es tic s ets .
T el ev is ion then w en tthrou ghs om e of the s am e phas es as
radio. Es s en tial l y, again , the techn ol ogyof tran s m is s ion an d
reception dev el oped bef ore the con ten t, an d im portan tparts
of the con ten tw ere an d hav e rem ain ed by-produ cts of the
techn ol ogyratherthan in depen den ten terpris es . As l ate as the
in trodu ction of col ou r, col ou rf u l program m es w ere bein g
dev is ed topers u ade peopl e tobu ycol ou rs ets . In the earl ies t
s tages there w as the f am il iarparas itis m on exis tin g ev en ts :a
coron ation , am aj ors portin g ev en t, theatres . Acom parabl e
paras itis m on the cin em aw as s l ow ertos how its el f , u n til the
decl in e of the cin em aal tered the term s of trade; itis n ow v ery
w ides pread, m os tev iden tl yin the U n ited States . Bu tagain , as
in radio, the en d of the f irs tgen eral decade brou ghts ign if ican t
in depen den ttel ev is ion produ ction . Bythe m iddl e an d l ate
19 50s , as in radioin the m iddl e an d l ate 19 30s , n ew kin ds of
program m e w ere bein g m ade f ortel ev is ion an d there w ere
v eryim portan tadv an ces in the produ ctiv e u s e of the m ediu m ,
in cl u din g, as again atacom parabl e s tage in radio, s om e kin ds
of origin al w ork.
Y etthe com pl exs ocial an d techn ical def in ition of
broadcas tin g l ed toin ev itabl e dif f icu l ties , es pecial l yin the
theN EWMEDIAR EADER
produ ctiv e el d. Whattel ev is ion cou l d dorel ativ el ycheapl y
w as totran s m its om ethin g thatw as in an ycas e happen in g or
had happen ed. In n ew s , s port, an d s om e s im il arareas itcou l d
prov ide as erv ice of tran s m is s ion atcom parativ el yl ow cos t.
Bu tin ev erykin d of n ew w ork, w hichithad toprodu ce, it
becam e av eryexpen s iv e m ediu m , w ithin the broadcas tin g
m odel . Itw as n ev eras expen s iv e as f il m , bu tthe cin em a, as a
dis tribu tiv e m ediu m , cou l d directl ycon trol its rev en u es . Itw as ,
on the otherhan d, im pl icitin broadcas tin g thatgiv en the
tu n abl e receiv eral l program m es cou l d be receiv ed w ithou t
im m ediate charge. T here cou l d hav e been an d can s til l be a
s ocial l yf in an ced s ys tem of produ ction an d dis tribu tion
w ithin w hichl ocal an d s pecif ic charges w ou l d be u n n eces s ary;
the BBC, bas ed on the l icen ce s ys tem f ordom es tic receiv ers ,
cam e n eares ttothis . Bu ts hortof m on opol y, w hichs til l exis ts
in s om e s tate con trol l ed s ys tem s , the probl em s of in v es tm en t
f orprodu ction , in an ybroadcas tin g s ys tem , are s ev ere.
T hu s w ithin the broadcas tin g m odel there w as this deep
con tradiction , of cen tral is ed tran s m is s ion an d priv atis ed
reception . On e econ om ic res pon s e w as l icen s in g. An other, l es s
direct, w as com m ercial s pon s ors hipan d then s u pportiv e
adv ertis in g. Bu tthe cris is of produ ction con trol an d f in an cin g
has been en dem ic in broadcas tin g precis el ybecau s e of the
s ocial an d techn ical m odel thatw as adopted an d thathas
becom e s odeepl yes tabl is hed. T he probl em is m as ked, rather
than s ol v ed, bythe f actthatas atran s m ittin g techn ol ogy its
f u n ction s l argel yl im ited torel ayan d com m en taryon other
ev en ts s om e bal an ce cou l d be s tru ck; al im ited rev en u e cou l d
f in an ce this l im ited s erv ice. Bu tm an yof the creativ e
pos s ibil ities of tel ev is ion hav e been f ru s trated precis el ybythis
apparen ts ol u tion , an d this has f arm ore than l ocal ef f ects on
produ cers an d on the bal an ce of program m es . I/ Vhen there has
been s u chheav yin v es tm en tin aparticu l arm odel of s ocial
com m u n ication s , there is ares train in g com pl exof f in an cial
in s titu tion s , of cu l tu ral expectation s an d of s pecif ic techn ical
dev el opm en ts , w hichthou ghitcan be s een , s u perf icial l y, as
the ef f ectof atechn ol ogyis in f actas ocial com pl exof an ew
an d cen tral kin d
Itis again s tthis backgrou n d thatw e hav e tol ook atthe
dev el opm en tof broadcas tin g in s titu tion s , attheiru s es of the
m edia, an d atthe s ocial probl em s of the n ew techn ical phas e
w hichw e are abou ttoen ter. -
0 e iiA eee<<> - N - e-~- ~ a . a0l ee-cre . - ~~~-> -e as .. A e
I9 7 4
2 1. [ In trodu ction ]
P rom
Com pu terLib / Dream Machin es
Com pu terLib / Dream Machin es is the m os tim portan tbook in the his toryof n ew m edia.
N el s on s v ol u m e is of ten cal l ed the f irs tpers on al com pu terbook, probabl ybecau s e itarriv ed s hortl y
bef ore the f irs tpers on al com pu terkit( the Al tair)an d w as l aterrecogn ized tohav e predicted the
ef f ects of its com in g. T his , how ev er, w as on l yon e of the m an yv is ion s , pres cien tan d in f l u en tial ,
of f ered in the v ol u m e.
Com pu terLib / Dream Machin es is aJan u s -l ike codexthatj oin s tw obooks back toback; in the
m iddl e, the texts of the tw obou n d togetherbooks m eet. T he Com pu terLib s ide, its cov erf eatu rin g
arais ed f is tw ithacom pu terin the backgrou n d, didn ts im pl ypredictthatpers on al com pu ters w ere
com in g, bu tef f ectiv el ychal l en ged the popu l arn otion of w hatcom pu ters w ere f or, ataf u n dam en tal
l ev el . As Stew artBran d w rote in his f orew ord tothe 19 87 edition , T ed N el s on is accu ratel ydepicted
as the T om P ain e of the pers on al -com pu terrev ol u tion . His 19 7 4tract, Com pu terLib / Dream
Machin es , had the s am e ef f ectas P ain es Com m on Sen s e itcaptiv ated readers , in f orm ed them , an d
s etthem debatin g an d ev en tu al l ym archin g, ral l yin g arou n d acom m on cau s e m an yof them hadn ' t
real ized w as s ow orthyorev en acau s e bef ore. . . . T he en em yw as Cen tral P roces s in g, in al l its
com m ercial , phil os ophical , pol itical , an d s ocio econ om ic m an if es tation s . Big N u rs e. N el s on ' s book
rais ed the cry, Dow n w ithCybercru d!"He exhorted his readers todef ythe com pu terpries thood,
an d its then -l eaderIBM, an d ton ev eraccept, T he com pu terdoes n ' tw ork thatw ay as an an s w er
again . Com pu terLib w as in w ritin g w hatthe Al tairan d Appl e IIbecam e in en gin eerin g:an artif act
thatdes tabil ized the exis tin g com pu terorder, thatbrou ghtabou tacon ception of the com pu teras a
pers on al dev ice. ,
T he v ol u m es others ide, "Dream Machin es ,"had ev en greaters ign if ican ce f orn ew m edias
dev el opm en t. N el s on w rote in the Dream Machin es in trodu ction , F eel f ree tobegin here. T he
others ide is j u s tif you w an ttokn ow m ore abou tcom pu ters , w hichare chan geabl e dev ices f or
tw iddl in g s ym bol s . Otherw is e, s kipit."He w rote this bel iev in g his m os tes s en tial m es s age w as n ot
abou tcom pu ters , bu tabou tm ediaan d des ign . He bel iev ed the im portan ce of com pu ters l ayn otin
theircapacityf orcal cu l ation , bu tin the f actthattheyw ou l d en abl e n ew gen eration s of m edia. In
the pages thatf ol l ow ed, N el s on reported on s om e of the m os tim portan tw ork in n ew m ediau pto
thattim e, s u chas thatof Dou g En gel bart( 008, 016 )an d Iv an Su therl an d ( 009 ), an d s etf orthhis
ow n u n iqu e tw of ol d v is ion .
F irs t, he argu ed thatcom pu terexperien ces w ere m ediatobe des ign ed, an d thatthis des ign
s hou l d be bothacreativ e proces s an d u n dertaken w iththe au dien ce ( u s ers )in m in d. His m os t
s tirrin g es s ayon the s u bj ect( P an ties )is reprin ted here, al on g w ithas m al l s el ection of N el s on s
ow n des ign s . T hes e are f ou n din g docu m en ts f orthe f iel d n ow cal l ed hu m an -com pu terin teraction .
T heycau s ed N el s on ' s book tobe pas s ed arou n d, borrow ed, s tol en , an d m ade atotem ic obj ectin
earl yn ew m ediabu s in es s es . On e f orm erAppl e Com pu terdes ign ertel l s the s toryof hav in g acopy
of CL/ DM pl aced in herhan d the f irs tdays he reported f orw ork.
Secon d, N el s on propos ed thatthes e n ew , des ign ed m ediaexperien ces be pl aced in aradical , open
pu bl is hin g n etw ork. An etw ork thats u pported the recon f igu ration , com paris on , an d
in tercon n ection of his 19 6 5hypertextpropos al ( 011), in addition tocom pl exv ers ion m an agem en t
an d pow erf u l u s erin terf ace con v en tion s . In pages reprin ted here, he en v is ion s the res u l tin g
expl os ion of kn ow l edge radical l yal terin g the dail yexperien ces of ev eryon e f rom s tu den ts to
s cien tis ts . T his v is ion an d the proj ecttoreal ize it Xan adu m ade N el s on the bu ttof j okes f or2 0
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w ater."( Ma-n y.7 peo:pl e -a_re_- ; :.' _.
.--p' IiSo_n ers of -, the-\n j 1_edia,_. 7 -
m an yare m ahipu .l ators ,_- ' an ' d_, ' _
m an yw an tto-u s e- then al to, s
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MIP S @ N ari' pn aitom n v ter. * s tyr;
C9 .".l .f 9 F 8 _Ce,3iJ 0l Errios ition i1 .
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Des ign .3" T 1ie' .ArtorHu m ' an ' -Q
.E@ n P i-orrl n rerrqtes iv es f s n rI
.2 35= ,2 4e3 . Ed. Bren daiLau rj el . s
.R ef a"d' i' n g; ' _|1a' s is ._: Ad.d' is o' n ~ -.-..
Wes l ey; ' _1.9 .9 -0-.' -' -_Y
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T hoagh.-_t."-"T he_j .P eopie:i_an d = 1 _" ; ' ,
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years :he w as cal l ed acrackpot( an d w ors e)f orhis s tron g con v iction thatXan adu s f u n dam en tal s
repres en ted die f u tu re of m ediaan d cu l tu re. T he gen eral bel ief w as thatthere s im pl yw as n ot
dem an d f orapu bl ic, hypertexten abl ed pu bl is hin g n etw ork. T his bel ief w as res is ted how ev erby
s m al l grou ps arou n d the w orl d w hocreated an d w orked w iidiv ariou s types of hypertext-en abl ed
n etw orks . Al thou ghw e hav e n otyetreached Xan adu , w hen on e of thes e s ys tem s , the Worl d Wide
Web, began toexpl ode in popu l aritydu rin g the 19 9 0s ( 054), the v oices of N el s on n ays ayers w ere
2 1.. En in pu terLih theN EWMEDIAR EADER
/ Dream Machin es
drow n ed f orev erin af l ood of in tern ation al hypertextpu bl is hin g.
-N WP
Origin al P u bl ication
Sel f -pu bl is hed, 19 7 4. 2 n d ed., R edm on d, Was hin gton : T em pu s Books / Micros of tP res s , 19 87
if v C6 41 an d n v rf v n ql erx aql ce~/ WT "! / / 9 4
MP U T ER
of ~10 0 ~ t ~~~~O We ~; O> l 9 7 4O re~ a O"~~~~~~~ 1 2 1
/ Dream Machin es
( ' 9 ru m qu s
Ce) Q 4 H. m l ibk .
Al l rights res erv ed.
An yn itw itcan u n ders tan d com pu ters , an d m an ydo.
U n f ortu n atel y, du e toridicu l ou s his torical circu m s tan ces ,
com pu ters hav e been m ade am ys terytom os tof the w orl d.
An d this s itu ation does n ots eem tobe im prov in g. Y ou hear
m ore an d m ore abou tcom pu ters , bu ttom os tpeopl e it' s j u s t
on e big bl u r. T he peopl e w hokn ow abou tcom pu ters of ten
s eem u n w il l in g toexpl ain thin gs oran s w eryou rqu es tion s .
Stereotyped n otion s dev el opabou tcom pu ters operatin g in
f ixed w ays an d s ocon f u s ion in creas es . T he chas m betw een
l aym en an d com pu terpeopl e w iden s f as tan d dan gerou s l y.
T his book is am eas u re of des peration , s os eriou s an d
abys m al is the pu bl ic s en s e of con f u s ion an d ign oran ce.
An ythin g w ithbu tton s orl ights can be pal m ed of f on the
l aym en as acom pu ter. T here are s om an ydif f eren tthin gs ,
an d theirdif f eren ces are s oim portan t; yettothe l aypu bl ic
theyare l u m ped togetheras com pu ters tu f f ,"in dis tin ctan d
beyon d u n ders tan din g orcriticis m . It' s as if peopl e cou l dn ' t
tel l apartcam eraf rom expos u re m eterortripod, orcarf rom
tru ck ortol l booth. T his book is theref ore dev oted tothe
prem is e that
EVER Y BODY SHOU LD
U N DER ST AN D COMP U T ER S.
Itis in ten ded tof il l acryin g n eed. Lots of ev erydaypeopl e
hav e as ked m e w here theycan l earn abou tcom pu ters , an d I
hav e had tos ayn ow here l \/ l os tof w hatis w ritten abou t
com pu ters f orthe l aym an is eitheru n readabl e ors il l y. ( Som e
exception s are l is ted n earby[ on pp. 6 -7 of the f irs tedition ,
n otreprin ted here]; you can gotothem in s tead of this if you
w an t)Bu tv irtu al l yn ow here is the big pictu re s im pl yen ou gh
expl ain ed. N ow here can on e getas im pl e, s ou p to-n u ts
ov erv iew of w hatcom pu ters are real l yabou t, w ithou t
techn ical orm athem atical m u m bo-j u m bo, com pl icated
exam pl es , ortal kin g dow n . T his book is an attem pt.
( An d n ow here hav e Is een as im pl e book expl ain in g tothe
l aym an the f abu l ou s w on derl an d of com pu tergraphics
w hichaw aits u s al l , am atterw hichm ean s agreatdeal tom e
pers on al l y, as w el l as al ottoal l of u s in gen eral . T hats
dis cu s s ed on the f l ips ide.)
Com pu ters are s im pl yan eces s aryan d en j oyabl e partof
l if e, l ike f ood an d books . Com pu ters are n otev erythin g, they
are j u s tan as pectof ev erythin g, an d n ottokn ow this is
com pu teril l iteracy, as il l yan d dan gerou s ign oran ce.
Com pu ters are as eas ytou n ders tan d as cam eras . Ihav e
tried tom ake this book l ike aphotographym agazin e
breezy, f orcef u l an d as v iv id as pos s ibl e. T his book w il l
expl ain how totel l appl es f rom oran ges an d w hichw ayis u p.
If you w an ttom ake cider, orhel pgetthin gs rights ide u p,
you w il l hav e togoon f rom here.
Iam n otas kil l f u l program m er, han ds -on pers on or
em in en tprof es s ion al ; Iam j u s tacom pu terf an , com pu ter
f an atic if you w il l . Bu tif Dr. Dav id R eu ben can w rite abou t
s exIcan certain l yw rite abou tcom pu ters . Ihav e w ritten this
l ike al ettertoan ephew , chattyan d pers on al . T his is perhaps
l es s borin g f orthe reader, an d certain l yl es s borin g f orthe
w riter, w hois doin g this in ahu rry. Like aphotography
m agazin e, itthrow s atyou s om e ru dim en ts in am erry
s ettin g. Otherthin gs are throw n in s oyou l l getthe s ou n d of
them , ev en if the detail s are el u s iv e. ( We l earn m os tev eryday
thin gs bybegin n in g w ithv agu e im pres s ion s , bu ts om ehow
en cou ragin g thes e is u s n otu s u al l yf el ttobe res pectabl e.)
WhatIhav e chos en f orin cl u s ion here has been arbitrary,
bas ed on w hatm ightam u s e an d giv e qu ick in s ight. An y
brighthighs chool kid, oran yon e el s e w hocan s tu m bl e
throu ghthe detail s of aphotographym agazin e, s hou l d be
abl e tou n ders tan d this book, orgetthe m ain ideas . T his w il l
n otm ake you aprogram m eroracom pu terpers on , thou ghit
m ayhel pyou tal k thattal k, an d perhaps m ake you f eel m ore
com f ortabl e ( oratl eas tabl e tocope)w hen n ew m achin es
en croachon you rl if e. If you can getachan ce tol earn
program m in g its an aw f u l l ygood experien ce f oran ybody
abov e f ou rthgrade. Bu tthe m ain ideaof this book is tohel p
you tel l appl es f rom oran ges , an d w hichw ayis u p. Ihope you
dogoon f rom here, an d hav e m ade af ew s u gges tion s .
Iam pu bl is hin g this book m ys el f , in this f irs tdraf tf orm ,
totes tits v iabil ity, tos ee how m ad the com pu terpeopl e get,
an d tos ee if there is as m u chhu n gertou n ders tan d
com pu ters , am on g al l you F ol ks Ou tT here, as Ithin k. Iw il l
be in teres ted toreceiv e correction s an d s u gges tion s f or
s u bs equ en tedition s , if an y. ( T he com pu terf iel d is its ow n
expl odin g u n iv ers e, s oI' l l w orryabou tu p to-daten es s at
thattim e.)
w
2 1. Com pu terLib
/ Dream Machin es
Su m m aryof T his Book
Man has created the m ythof the com pu ter"in his ow n
im age, oron e of them :col d, im m acu l ate, s teril e, s cien tif ic,
. v
oppres s iv e.
Som e peopl e f l ee this im age. Others , draw n tow ard it,
hav e j oin ed the col d s teril e oppres s iv e cu l t, an d propagate it
l ike af aith. Man yare s til l abou tthis m is chief , m akin g peopl e
dothin gs rigidl yan d s ayin g itis the com pu ters f au l t.
Stil l others s ee com pu ters f orw hattheyreal l yare:
v ers atil e gizm os w hichm aybe tu rn ed toan ypu rpos e, in an y
s tyl e. An d s oaw eal thof n ew s tyl es an d hu m an pu rpos es are
bein g propos ed an d tried, eachpropon en tpropou n din g his
ow n dream in his ow n v erypers on al w ay.
T his book pres en ts apan opl yof thin gs
an d dream s . P erhaps s om e Wl l l appeal to gaf u m u s
the reader. . . _<' -_l ; "_:__?; _j ' '
-.E; T -' ..;
T he Com pu terP ries thood
Kn ow l edge is pow eran d s oitten ds tobe
hoarded. Experts in an yf iel d rarel yw an t
peopl e tou n ders tan d w hattheydo, an d
gen eral l yen j oypu ttin g peopl e dow n .
T hu s if w e s aythatthe u s e of com pu ters . .,_.
is dom in ated byapries thood, peopl e w ho
s patteryou w ithu n in tel l igibl e an s w ers an d
s eem u n w il l in g togiv e you s traighton es , it
. _._____.
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is n otthattheyare dif f eren tin this res pect
f rom an yotherprof es s ion . Doctors ,
l aw yers an d con s tru ction en gin eers are the s am e w ay.
Bu tcom pu ters are v erys pecial , an d w e hav e todeal w ith
them ev eryw here, an d this ef f ectiv el ygiv es the com pu ter
pries thood as tran gl ehol d on the operation of al l l arge
organ ization s , of gov ern m en tbu reau x, an d ev erythin g el s e
thattheyru n . Mem bers of Con gres s are n ow com pl ain in g
abou tcon trol of in f orm ation bythe com pu terpeopl e, that
theycan n otgetthe in f orm ation ev en thou ghit' s on
com pu ters . N exttothis its eem s as m al l m atterthatin
ordin arycom pan ies u n train ed pers on n el can tgets traight
qu es tion s an s w ered bycom pu terpeopl e; bu tits the s am e
phen om en on .
Itis im perativ e f orm an yreas on s thatthe appal l in g gap
betw een pu bl ic an d com pu terin s iderbe cl os ed. As the
s ayin g goes , w aris tooim portan ttobe l ef ttothe gen eral s .
Gu ardian s hipof the com pu tercan n ol on gerbe l ef ttoa
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theN EWMEDIAR EADER
pries thood. Is ee this as j u s ton e exam pl e of the creepin g ev il
of P rof es s ion al is m , the con trol of as pects of s ocietyby
cl iqu es of in s iders . T here m aybe s om e chan ce, thou gh, that
P rof es s ion al is m can be tu rn ed arou n d. Doctors , f orexam pl e,
are bein g tol d thattheyn ol on gerow n peopl e' s bodies . An d
this book m ays u gges ttos om e com pu terprof es s ion al s that
theirpos ition s hou l d n otbe as s acros an ctas theyhav e
thou ght, either.
T his is n ottos aythatcom pu terpeopl e are tryin g tol ou s e
ev erybodyu pon pu rpos e. Like an yon e tryin g todoa
com pl exj ob as he s ees f it, theydon ' tw an t,to_be bothered
w ithidl e qu es tion s an d com pl ain ts . In deed, probabl yan y
grou pof in s iders w ou l d hav e hoarded com pu ters j u s tas
m u ch. If the com pu terhad ev ol v ed f rom the
___: tel egraph( w hichitj u s tm ighthav e), perhaps
U I WI the l ibrarian s w ou l d hav e hoarded itcon ceptu -
al l yas m u chas the m idian d en gin eerin g
-.-.._~-__...- --
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peopl e hav e. Bu tthin gs hav e gon e toof ar.
. . P eopl e hav e l egitim ate com pl ain ts abou tthe
_.__-. :.:_.-.._- :_.=
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w aycom pu ters are u s ed, an d l egitim ate ideas
f orw ays theys hou l d be u s ed, w hichs hou l d n o
l on gerbe s hu n ted as ide.
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In n ow aydoIm ean tocon dem n com pu ter
peopl e in gen eral . ( On l ythe on es w hodon ' t
-___
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w an tyou tokn ow w hats goin g on .)T he el d
is f u l l of f in e, im agin ativ e peopl e. In deed the
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n u m berof creativ e an d bril l ian tpeopl e kn ow n
w ithin the f iel d f ortheircl ev eran d creativ e
con tribu tion s is con s iderabl e. T heydes erv e tobe kn ow n as
w idel yas , s ay, good photographers orw riters .
* T his is as ide poin t. Is ee P rof es s ion al is m as as preadin g dis eas e
of the pres en t-dayw orl d, as ortof pol y-ol igarchybyw hichv ariou s
grou ps ( s u bw aycon du ctors , s ocial w orkers , brickl ayers )can brin g
thin gs toahal tif theirparticu l arn ew in creas ed dem an ds are n ot
m et. ( Mean w hil e, the irrel ev an ce of eachprof es s ion in creas es , in
proportion toits in creas in g rigidity.)Su chl u ckygrou ps dem an d
m ore in eachgo-rou n d -bu tm ean tim e, the n u m berw hoare
perm an en tl yu n em pl oyed grow s an d grow s .
El l en F ran kf ort, Vagin al P ol itics . Q u adran gl e Books .
Bos ton Wom en ' s Heal thCol l ectiv e, Ou rBodies , Ou rs el v es . Sim on 8|
Schu s ter.
0~ ~~aos f ee f ora a w R a orR -aw a
' 39 .
"Eom pu ters are catchin g hel l f rom grow in g m u l titu des w ho
s ee them u n if orm l yas the tool s of the regu l ation an d
s u f f ocation of al l thin gs w arm , m ois t, an d hu m an . T he
charges , of cou rs e, are n ottotal l yu n f ou n ded, bu tin their
m os ts w eepin g f orm theyare in ef f ectiv e an d theref ore
actu al l yan acqu ies cen ce tothe dehu m an ization w hichthey
decry. We cl earl yn eed am u chm ore dis cern in g ev al u ation in
ordertocl arif ythe ethics of v ariou s rol es of m achin es in
- hu m an af f airs ."
P rogram m er' s R ef l ection s , in N ake 8. R os en f el d, eds .,
Graphic Lan gu ages ( N orth-Hol l an d P u b. ( 10.), p. 39 9 .
I Ken Kn ow l ton in "Col l aboration s w ithArtis ts a
I
H2 5
CQ HL@ v u -~ el s e)T L
itMI:v etT Be
<' = 3""?l .iiP r.l :t' ..l l ; .l l .:<""~
T his is the f l ips ide of Com pu terLib.
( F eel f ree tobegin here. T he others ide is j u s tif you w an t
tokn ow m ore abou tcom pu ters , w hichare chan geabl e
dev ices f ortw iddl in g s ym bol s . Otherw is e s kipit.)
( Bu tif you chan ge you rm in d itm ightbe f u n tobrow s e.)
In as en s e, the others ide has been acom e-on f orthis s ide.
Bu tits an hon es tcom e-on :If igu re the m ore you kn ow , the
readieryou ]l be f orw hatI' m s ayin g here. N otn eces s aril yto
agree ortobe s ol d, bu ttothin k abou titin the n on -s im pl e
term s thatare goin g tobe n eces s ary.
T he m aterial here has been chos en l argel yf orits
exhil aratin g an d in s piration al character. N om atterw hat
you rbackgrou n d ortechn ical kn ow l edge, you l l be abl e to
u n ders tan d s om e of this , an d n otbe abl e tou n ders tan d
s om e of the res t. T hat' s partl yf rom the has typreparation of
this book, an d partl yf rom the v arietyof in teres ts I' m tryin g
av 2 1. Com pu terLib
/ Dream Machin es
tocom pris e here. Iw an ttopres en tv ariou s dream s an d their
res u l tin g dream m achin es , al l l egitim ate.
If the com pu teris aproj ectiv e s ys tem , orR ors chach
in kbl ot, as al l eged on the others ide, the real proj ectiv e
s ys tem s the on es w ithproj ectors in them are al l the
m ore s o. T he thin gs peopl e trytodow ithm ov ies , T V an d
the m ore gl am orou s u s es of the com pu ter, w herebyitm akes
pictu res on s creen s are s tran ge in v ers ion s an d f ol dov ers of
the res tof the m in d an d heart. T hats the pecu l iarorigam iof
the s el f .
Veryw el l . T his book this s ide, Dream Machin es is
m ean ttol etyou s ee the choice of dream s . N otin g thatev ery
com pan yan d u n iv ers ity
.
__ts ; A -___: _. s eem s toin s is tthatits
' 2 3 ," ' :: J irs
'
I,.
grief ~ gi r
1; : I"
~ - s ys tem is the w av e of the
_____a..... - f u tu re,Ithin k itis m ore
rim - ; "' t
im portan tthan ev erto
,"".._T ; if * ___ I hav e the al tern ativ es
l ; _ T s pread ou tcl earl y.
\.~. -- - , ,___-__-
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""_..' ; . \|,- ' ~v ,> ; -I ' ' "
iii. ' 5 " Bu tthe experts are
T I_~_ __n otgoin g tobe m u ch
.1:-:1_~.t; ' ." -Y \' ____:__ ___,_
hel p; theyare partof the
_.,._-.___r___.- -_- _-v _. ~ _-
.<__-__
; -- . probl em . On boths ides ,
* ' * > "J* > * I the academ ic an d the
,_t_.,.
_u rn -, ru b n , ,' _7 7 1, .,:
I.-qhl l iu l y j --.-<-v \- ~
51.1-u -an . I
i_,_g___{ __E~_rgg_w __1_:_4_.___g_in du s trial , theyare bein g
T ""' l _"i' "* ' "T pain f u l l ypon tif ical an d
bom bas tic in the j arrin g
n ew j argon s . Littl e cl arityis s pread bythis . F ew thin gs are
f u n n ierthan the preten s ion s of thos e w hoprof es s todign ity,
s obrietyan d prof es s ion al is m of theirexpertprediction s
es pecial l yw hen they, too, are pou rin g ou ttheirow n pers on al
v iew s u n derthe gu is e of techn ical ity. Mos tpeopl e don t
dream of w hats goin g tohitthe f an . An d the com pu teran d
el ectron ics peopl e are l ike gen eral s preparin g f orthe l as tw ar.
F ran kl y, Ithin k it' s an ou trage m akin g itl ook as if there' s
an ykin d of s cien tif ic bas is tothes e thin gs ; there is an
u n derl ev el of techn ical ity, bu tl ike the f ou n dation s of a
cathedral , its erv es on l ytos u pportw hatris es f rom it. T I-IE
T ECI-IN ICALIT IES MAT T ER ALOT , BU T T I-IEU N IF Y IN G
VISION MAT T ER S MOR E.
T his book has s ev eral s im u l tan eou s in ten tion s :toorien t
the begin n erin el ds m ore com pl exan d tied togetherthan
al m os tan ybodyreal izes ; n ev erthel es s , topartial l ydebu n k
s ev eral real m s of expertis e w hichIthin k des erv e s l ightl yl es s
2 1. Com pu terLib
/ Dream Machin es
atten tion than theyget; an d tochartthe rightw ay, w hichI
thin k u n iqu el ycon tin u es the Wes tern tradition s of l iteratu re,
s chol ars hipan d f reedom . In this res pectthe book is m u ch
m oreol d-f as hion ed than itm ays eem atthe gee-w hiz, v ery-
n ow l ev el .
T he m ain ideas of this book Ipres en tn otas m yow n , bu t
as acu riou s s pecies of rev eal ed tru th. Ithas al l been obv iou s
tom e f ors om e tim e, an d Ibel iev e its hou l d be obv iou s as
w el l toan yon e w hohas n otbeen bl in ded byedu cation . If you
u n ders tan d the probl em s of creativ e thin kin g an d organ izin g
ideas , if you hav e s een the bad thin gs s chool s oof ten does to
peopl e, if you u n ders tan d the s ociol ogyof the in tel l ectu al
w orl d,.an d hav e ev erl ov ed am achin e, then this book s ays
n othin g you don otkn ow al ready.
F orev erydream , m an ydetail s an d in tricacies hav e tobe
w hittl ed an d in terl ocked. T heirj oin tram if ication s m u s tbe
deepl yu n ders tood bythe pers on w hois tryin g tocreate
w hatev er-it is . Eachcon f abu l ation of pos s ibil ities tu rn s ou t
tohav e the m os tin tricate an d exactl ydetail ed res u l ts . ( T his
is w hyIam s oirritated bythos e w hothin k "el ectron ic m edia
are al l al ike.) _ _
An d eachpos s ibl e com bin ation you choos e has dif f eren t
precis e s tru ctu res im pl icitin it, arran gem en ts an d u n its
w hichf l ow f rom thes e ram if ied detail s . Im pl icitin R adiol u rk
the T im e Sl otan d the P rogram . Bu tm an yof thes e
pos s ibil ities rem ain u n n oticed oru n s een , f orav arietyof
s ocial orecon om ic reas on s .
Whydoes itm atter?
Itm atters becau s e w e l iv e in m edia, as f is hl iv e in w ater.
-2
( Man ypeopl e are pris on ers of the m edia, m an yare
m an ipu l ators , an d m an yw an ttou s e them tocom m u n icate
artis tic v is ion s .)
Bu ttoday, atthis m om en t, w e can an d m u s tdes ign the
m edia, des ign the m ol ecu l es of ou rn ew w ater, an d Ibel iev e
the detail s of this des ign m atterv erydeepl y. T heyw il l be
w ithu s f orav eryl on g tim e, perhaps as l on g as m an has l ef t;
perhaps if theyare as good as theycan be, m an m ayev en bu y
m ore tim e orthe open -en ded f u tu re m os ts u ppos e
rem ain s . _
Soin thes e pages Ihope toorien tyou s om ew hatto
v ariou s of the propos ed dream s . T his is m ean tal s otorecord
the ef f orts of af ew Brew s terMcCl ou ds , eachtin kerin g
tow ard s om e n ew f l ightof f an cyin his ow n s en s oariu m .
Bu tbearin m in d thathard edged f an tas yis the corn erof
tom orrow . T he greatAm erican dream of ten becom es the
theN EWMEDIAR EADER
greatAm erican n ov el ty. Af terw hichits achoice of s tyl e, s ize
an d f in an cin g pl an .
T he m os texcitin g thin gs here are thos e thatin v ol v e -
com pu ters :n otabl y, becau s e com pu ters w il l be em braced in
ev erypres en tation al m ediu m an d thou ghtf u l m ediu m v ery
s oon .
T hats w hythis s ide is w edded tothe other:if you w an tto
u n ders tan d com pu ters , you can take the f irs ts tepbytu rn in g
the book ov er. If igu re thatthe m ore you kn ow abou t
com pu ters es pecial l yabou tm in icom pu ters an d the w ay
on l in e s ys tem s can res pon d toou rs l ightes tacts the better
you rim agin ation can f l ow betw een the techn ical ities , can
s l ide the parts together, can dis cern the s hapes of w hatyou
w ou l d hav e thes e thin gs do. T he com pu teris n otal im itl es s
partn er, bu tit, is deepl yv ers atil e; tow ork itw e m u s t
u n ders tan d w hatitcan do, the option s an d the cos ts .
Mys pecial con cern , tootightl yf ram ed here, is the u s e
of com pu ters tohel ppeopl e w rite, thin k an d s how . Bu tI
thin k pres en tation bycom pu teris abran chof s how biz an d
w ritin g n otof ps ychol ogy, en gin eerin g orpedagogy. T his
w ou l d be idl e dis pu tation if itdid n othav e f ar-reachin g I
con s equ en ces f orthe des ign s of the s ys tem s w e are al l goin g
tohav e tol iv e w ith. Atw ors t, If earthes e m ayl ock u s in ; at
bes t, Ihope theycan f u rtherthe in div idu al is tic tradition s of
l iteratu re, f il m an d s chol ars hip. Bu tw e m u s tcreate ou rbrav e
n ew w orl ds w ithart, zes t, in tel l igen ce, an d the highes t
pos s ibl e ideal s .
Ihav e n otm en tion ed the em otion s . Mov ies an d books ,
m u s ic an d ev en architectu re hav e f oral l of u s been partof
im portan tem otion al m om en ts . T he s am e is goin g tohappen
w iththe n ew m edia. T ow ork atahighl yres pon s iv e
com pu terdis pl ays creen , f orin s tan ce, can be deepl yexcitin g,
l ike f l yin g an airpl an e throu ghacan yon , ortal kin g to
s om ebodybril l ian t. T his is as its hou l d be. ( T he reas on is ,
an d byrights ou ghttobe, s l av e tothe em otion s . Bertran d
R u s s el l .)
In the des ign of ou rf u tu re m ediaan d s ys tem s , w e s hou l d
n ots hrin k f rom this em otion al as pectas al egitim ate partof
ou rf an tic ( s ee p. 317 )des ign . T he s u bs tratu m of
techn ical ities an d the m in d-ben din g, gu t s l am m in g ef f ects
theyprodu ce, are tw os ides of the s am e coin ; an d to
u n ders tan d the on e is n otn eces s aril ytobe al ien ated f rom
the other. .
T hu s itis f orthe I/ Vl iol in es s of the hu m an s pirit, thatw e
m u s tdes ign .
0-agar rev okes ao-
Dream s
T echn ol ogyis an expres s ion of m an s dream s . If m an
l idn otin du l ge his f an tas ies , his thou ghts al on e
w ou l d in hibitthe dev el opm en tof techn ol ogyits el f .
An cien tv is ion aries s poke of dis tan ttim es an d pl aces .
w here m en f l ew arou n d an d abou t, an d s om e cou l d
s ee eachotheratgreatdis tan ce. T he techn ol ogical
real ities of todayare al readyobs ol ete an d the f u tu re
of techn ol ogyis bou n d on l ybythe l im its of ou r
dream s . Modern com m u n ication s m ediaan d in
particu l arel ectron ic m ediaare ou tgrow ths an d
exten s ion s of thos e s en s es w hichhav e becom e
. 19 7 4 O1 a- a. O 2 1. Com pu terLib
/ Dream Machin es
If qon f eacrl r, av hu g ( ( 5.
4/ 0H R 7 ' 6 8r3"ql :r)? / ( L
543' / Ia)/ C w il l I181-u l aeah :f _
17 13 u pe f l j pda
dom in an tin ou rs ocial dev el oP m en t. 1"Gen , b&8!
How Wachs pres s , Hyper-R eal ity." | s N oT ' ~ S1-AR }
cw 1.peril
ril l . W35!
Ladies an d gen tl em en , the age of pres tidigitativ e
pres en tation an d pu bl is hin g is abou ttobegin . I
P al pitatin g pres en tation s , s creen -s cribbl ed, w il l
dan ce toyou rdes ire, m akin g m an if es tthe m an y
P m ys teries of w in din g w is dom . Bu tif w e are to
rehu m an ize an in creas in gl ybru tal an d
dis agreeabl e w orl d, w e m u s ts tepu pou ref f orts .
An d w e m u s thu rry. Hu rry. Steprightu p.
T heodorH. N el s on , Barn u m T ron ics .
Sw arthm ore Col l ege Al u m n iBu l l etin , Dec 19 7 0,
12 -15.
_._______________________|
When you ' re deal in g w ithm ediayou re in s how
bu s in es s , you kn ow , w hetheryou l ike itorn ot."
' Show bu s in es s ,"he s aid. ' Abs ol u tel y. We' v e gottabe in
s how bu s in es s . We' v e gottapu ttogetherateam that
w il l getu s there.
l m ade am en tal n ote tou s e the s how bu s in es s
m etaphoragain , an d con tin u ed, IBM' s real creativ e
tal en tprobabl yl ies in otherareas . .
Heyw ood Gou l d, Corporation F reak ( T ow er), 2 3.
L
501* m ov n s ctw j .
( T he f ol l ow in g articl e appeared in the Septem ber, 19 7 0
is s u e of Com pu terDecis ion s , an d gotan extraordin aryam ou n t
of atten tion . Ihav e chan ged m yv iew s s om ew hat -w e al l go
throu ghchan ges , af teral l bu taf tercon s ideration hav e
decided tore-ru n itin the origin al f orm , w ithou t
qu al if ication s , m ol l if ication s oran ythin g, f orits u n ity.
T han ks toCom pu terDecis ion s f oru s e of the artw ork byGan s
an d f orthe Su pers tu den tpictu re on the cov er, w hos e artis t
u n f ortu n atel yin s is ts on pres erv in g his an on ym ity.
An in teres tin g poin t, in ciden tal l y, is thatpeopl e read this a
l otof dif f eren tw ays . On e Dean of Edu cation hil ariou s l y
m is read itas an acros s the-board pl u g f orCAI. Others read in
itv ariou s f orm s of m en ace oradv ocacyof gen eral ized
m echan ization . On e l etter-w riters aid Iw as am en ace bu tat
l eas tw ritin g articl es keptm e of f the s treets . Here is m y
f u n dam en tal poin t:com pu ter-as s is ted in s tru ction , appl ied
tl iou ghtl es s l yan d im itativ el y, threaten s toexten d the w ors t
f eatu res of edu cation as itis n ow .
2 1- Com pu terLib theN EWMEDIAR EADER
/ Dream Machin es
byT heodorH. N el s on Whil e an exactarran gem en tof in ten ded m otiv ation s f or
T he N el s on Organ ization the s tu den tis pres etw ithin the s ys tem , theydon otu s u al l y
N ew Y 0f |< take ef f ectaccordin g tothe ideal . Itis n otthats tu den ts are
u n m otiv ated, bu tm otiv ated as kew . R atherthan s eek to
Som e thin k the edu cation al s ys tem is bas ical l yal l right, an d achiev e in the w aytheyare s u ppos ed to, s tu den ts tu rn to
m ore res ou rces w ou l d getitw orkin g again . School s w ou l d do chu rl is hn es s , s u rl in es s , orin tel l ectu al s heepis hn es s . Agen eral
thin gs the s am e w ay, exceptm ore s o, an d thin gs w ou l d gethu m an m otiv ation is god-giv en atthe begin n in g an d w arped
better. ordes troyed bythe edu cation al proces s as w e kn ow it; thu s
In thatcas e the obv iou s qu es tion w ou l d be, how can w e in tern al ize atl as tthatm os tf u n dam en tal of grow n u p
com pu ters hel p?How can com pu ters goal s :j u s ttogetthrou ghan otherday.
u s ef u l l ys u ppl em en tan d exten d the Becau s e of this procedu re ou rv eryn otion of
tradition al an d accepted f orm s of teachin g? T } _-_if ; _; __-? _i; _; 1} j - ; _ 3; ; .' ; 5; -gi; if < 1 i; j __hu m an abil ityhas s u f f ered. Adu l tm en tal ityis
T his is the qu es tion tow hichpres en t-day T :cau terized, an d w e cal l itn orm al . Mos tpeopl es
ef f orts in com pu teras s is ted in s tru ction " m in ds are m os tl ytu rn ed of f m os tof the tim e. We
cal l ed CAI s eem tores pon d. l kn ow v irtu al l yn othin g of hu m an abil ities exceptas
% \\\s \\Q s > . "am x ~ cs ' es \e.' \% Q i\' <2 ~S3<s m ' ~* s km \e kew kes ie)oees :\~ \s } rLed.' es > .<koQ iaed.\v \s dn ool s , w e n eed
in teres ttothe n ew gen eration of critics of toign ore al l thatan d s tartf res h. T ow an ts tu den ts to
ou rs chool s ys tem peopl e l ike John Hol t be n orm al is crim in al , w hen w e are al l s of arbel ow
( WhyChil dren F ail ), Jon athan Kozol ( Death ou rpoten tial . Bu ckm in s terF u l l er, in ISeem toBe a
atan Earl yAge)an d Jam es Hern don ( T he Verh, s ays w e are al l born gen iu s es :Syl v iaAs hton -
WayItSpozed toBe). More an d m ore, s u ch Warn ertel l s u s in T eacherof hers u cces s w iththis
peopl e are s ev erel yqu es tion in g the _prem is e, an d of the bril l ian ce an d creativ e poten tial
gen eral f ram ew ork an d s tru ctu re of the s he w as abl e tof in d in al l hers chool chil dren .
w ayw e teach. Cu rricu l athem s el v es des tru ctiv el yarran ge the
T hes e w riters des cribe particu l arl yghas tl yexam pl es of ou r s tu dys itu ation . Byw al l s betw een artif icial l ys egregated
s chool in g con dition s . Bu ts u chhorrors tories as ide, w e are s tu dies an d s eparate topics "w e f orbid the pu rs u itof
com in g torecogn ize thats chool s as w e kn ow them appear in teres tan d kil l m otiv ation .
des ign edatev eryK-:~v e{tos a6 otage the s u ppos ecf goa Of / ( 1' )U - ( I1 oratriarys c/ rooriiig c/ re r/ r rrirrcaaaotarr n chim s el f ta
cation . Achil d arriv es ats chool brightan d earl yin his l if e. By the cu rren ttopic exceptbyu n ders tan din g the of f icial an gl e
drabn es s w e depriv e him of in teres ts . Byf ixed cu rricu l u m of approachan d pres en tation . T hou ghtie-in s toprev iou s
an d s equ en ce w e rob him of his orien tation , in itiativ e an d in teres ts an d kn ow l edge are u s u al l ythe bes tw aytogetan
m otiv ation , an d bytes tin g an d s corin g w e s u bv erthis n atu ral in itial s en s e of athin g, there is on l ytim e tocon s iderthe
in tel l igen ce. of f icial l ypres en ted tie-in s . ( N eitheris there tim e toan s w er
School s as w e kn ow them al l ru n on the s am e prin cipl es : qu es tion s , exceptbrief l yan d rarel yw el l an d u s u al l yin a
iron al l s u bj ects f l atthan then proceed, in grou ps , ataf orced w aythatprom otes order bydis cou ragin g extran eou s tie-
m archacros s the f l atten ed pl ain . Material is du m ped on the in s f rom com in g u p.)
s tu den ts an d theirres pon s es cal ibrated; theirin teraction an d T he u n n eces s arydiv is ion an d w al l in g of s u bj ects ,
in v ol v em en ts w iththe m aterial is n oten cou raged n ortaken s equ en cin g an d kibbl in g of m aterial l ead peopl e toexpect
in tocon s ideration , bu ttheirdu tif u l n es s of res pon s e is s im pl if ication s , tof eel thatn am in g athin g is u n ders tan din g
caref u l l ym on itored. it, tof earcom pl exw hol es ; tobel iev e creativ itym ean s
or e s o 1 as 9 7 4 s ot. .4 0-e 2 1. COm pU tGl ' Ll b
/ Dream Machin es
= l ttv m bin ation , the pars in g of ol d rel ation s , ratherthan
s j n thes is .
Lil cepol itical bou n daries , cu rricu l u m bou n daries aris e
iim m n oticeabl e f eatu res of acon tin u u m an d becom e
progres s iv el ym ore f ortif ied. As behin d pol itical borders ,
m dal u n if ication occu rs w ithin them , s othatw hol l y
l is s im il arpractition ers w hos hare an am e com e tothin k
tl eydothe s am e thin g. An d becau s e theytal k m ain l ytoeach
other, theyf orgethow n earis the others ide of the border.
Becau s e of the f iction of s u bj ects , greatcon cern an d
con s ideration has al w ays gon e in tocal cu l atin g the correct '
teachin g s equ en ce f oreachs u bj ect. In recen tyears radical
n cw teachin g s equ en ces hav e been in trodu ced f orteachin g
v ariou s s u bj ects , in cl u din g m athem atics an d
l ow -l ev el tw is ts in qu es tion s thatl ead n ow here, u n der
pres s u re.
T he s ys tem of ten s ion s an d def en s es itcreates in the
s tu den ts pers on al ityare u n rel ated tothe s u bj ectorthe w ay
peopl e m ightrel ate tothe s u bj ect. An expl oitiv e attitu de is
f os tered. N otbecom in g in v ol v ed w iththe s u bj ect, the
s tu den tgrabs f orrote payof f ratherthan in s ight.
Al l in acon des cen din g circu m s tan ce. Con des cen s ion is
bu il tin tothe s ys tem atal l l ev el s , s operv as iv e itis s carcel y
n oticed. Stu den ts are s u bj ected toagrim v arietyof pu t-
dow n s an d den igration s . Whil e m an ypeopl e ev iden tl y
bel iev e this tobe right, its produ ctiv ityin bu il din g con f iden t
an d s el f -res pectin g m in ds m aybe dou bted.
T he probl em s of the s chool are n ot
phys ics . Bu ts u chef f orts appeartohav e been - .L__; M; ___; _-:_--\_._~_-__-_v p particu l arl ythe teachers f au l t. T he practice of
teachin g is prin cipal l yin v ol v ed w ithm an agin g m is in f orm ed bythe ideaof s u ppl an tin g the -_
' w ron g' teachin g s equ en ce w iththe right
l eachin g s equ en ce, on e w hichis v al idated.
Sm il arl y, w e hav e gon e f rom atim e w hen the I.
in s tru ction al s equ en ce w as abal an ce betw een 1,-_
tradition an d the l ow es tcom m on den om in ator
of eachs u bj ect, toatim e w hen teachers m aypick '
l l exibl e optim ized s trategies f rom textbooks .
An d this al l ign ores as im pl e f act:al l are arbitrary. ;
In s tru ction al s equ en ces aren ' tn eeded atal l if the
peopl e are m otiv ated an d the m aterial s are cl ear , , _.
an d av ail abl e. ' l
T es tin g as w e kn ow it( in tegrated w ithw al l ed
cu rricu l aan d in s tru ction al s equ en ces )is ades tru ctiv e
activ ity, particu l arl yf orthe orien tation w hichitcreates . T he
con cern s of tes tin g are extran eou s :l earn in g tof igu re ou t
" the cl as s , keepin g u pf ace, an d proj ectin g the
.- im age of the s u bj ectthatcon f orm s tothe
1 teachers ow n predil ection s . T he edu cation al
is ys tem is therebycom m itted tothe f u s s yan d
pris s y, tothe en f orcem en tof pecu l iars tan dards
-1 of righteou s n es s an d the el ev ation of
teachers ahu ge irrel ev an ts hel l arou n d the
s m al l kern el of kn ow l edge tran s m itted.
T he u s u al attacks on com pu terteachin g ten d
' . tobe s en tim en tal an d em otion al pl eas f orthe
al l eged hu m an is m of the exis tin g s ys tem . T hos e
w hoare oppos ed tothe u s e of com pu ters to
teachgen eral l ybel iev e the com pu tertobe col d an d
in hu m an . T he teacheris con s idered w arm an d hu m an .
T his v iew is qu es tion abl e on boths ides .
I\__
Som e prem is es rel ev an ttoteachin g
u rs ev erel ydim in is hed w hen w e l eav e s chool .
con v en ien ce.
1. T he hu m an m in d is born f ree, yetev eryw here itis in chain s . T he edu cation al s ys tem s erv es m ain l ytodes troyf orm os tpeopl e, in
v aryin g degrees , in tel l igen ce, cu rios ity, en thu s ias m , an d in tel l ectu al in itiativ e an d s el f -con den ce. We are born w iththes e. T heyare gon e
2 . Ev erythin g is in teres tin g, u n til ru in ed f oru s . N othin g in the u n iv ers e is in trin s ical l yu n in teres tin g. School in g s ys tem atical l yru in s
thin gs f oru s , w ipin g ou tthes e in teres ts ; the l as tthin g tobe ru in ed determ in es you rprof es s ion .
3. T here are n o"s u bj ects ."T he div is ion of the u n iv ers e in to"s u bj ects "f orteachin g is am atterof tradition an d adm in is trativ e
4. T here is n on atu ral orn eces s aryorderof l earn in g. T eachin g s equ en ces are arbitrary, expl an atoryhierarchies phil os ophical l ys pu riou s .
' P rerequ f s ites are af iction s paw n ed bythe div is ion of the w orl d in tos u bj ects ; "an d m ain tain ed byn otprov idin g s u m m aries ,
in trodu ction s ororien tation al m aterial s excepttothos e arriv in g throu ghacertain door.
5. An yon e retain in g his n atu ral m en tal f acil ities can l earn an ythin g practical l yon his ow n , giv en en cou ragem en tan d res ou rces .
6 . Hos tteachers m ean w el l , bu ttheyare s ocon cern ed w ithprom otin g theirim ages , attitu des an d s tyl e of orderthatv eryl ittl e el s e can
becom rn u n icated in the tim e rem ain in g, an d al m os tn on e of itattractiv el y.
L
1 iti r iif 7 i" r t "" N W i"r im e
2 1. Com pu terLib theN EWMEDIAR EADER
/ Dream Machin es
T he com pu teris as in hu m an as w e m ake it. T he com pu ter Stu den ts s hou l d dev el op, throu ghpractice, abil ities tothin k,
is n om ore col d an d in hu m an than atoas ter, bathtu b or argu e an d dis agree in tel l igen tl y.
au tom obil e ( al l as s ociated w ithw arm hu m an activ ities ). Edu cators an d com pu teren thu s ias ts ten d toagree on
Liv in g teachers can be as in hu m an as m em bers of an y thes e goal s . Bu tw hathappen s ?Man yof the in hu m an ities of
peopl e-proddin g prof es s ion , s om etim es m ore s o. the exis tin g s ys tem , n ol es s w ron g f orbein g u n in ten tion al .,
Com pu teris ts s peak of f reein g teachers f orthe creativ e partare bein g con tin u ed in tocom pu ter-as s is ted teachin g.
of theirw ork; in m an ycas es itis n otcl earw hatcreativ e Al thou ghthe prom oters of com pu ter-as s is ted in s tru ction ,
tas ks theycou l d be f reed f or. af f ection atel ycal l CAI, s eem tothin k of them s el v es as bein g
Atthe l as t, itis tores cu e the s tu den tf rom the in hu m an atthe v an gu ard of progres s in al l direction s , the f iel d al ready
teacher, an d al l ow him torel ate directl yan d pers on al l ytothe s eem s tooperate accordin g toas tereotype. We m aycal l this
in trin s ical l yin teres tin g s u bj ectm atter, than w e n eed tou s e cl as s ic orcon v en tion al CAI, aw ayof thin kin g depres s in gl y
com pu ters in edu cation . s u m m arized in T he U s e of Com pu ters in Edu cation by
Man ys u cces s f u l s ys tem s of teacherl es s l earn in g exis tin P atrick Su ppes , Scien tif ic Am erican , Septem ber, 19 6 6 ,
ou rs ociety:prof es s ion al an d in du s trial m agazin es ; 2 06 -2 2 0, an articl e of s em i-cl as s ic s tatu re.
con v en tion s an d theirdis pl aybooths an d Itis an u n exam in ed prem is e of this articl e that
brochu res ; techn ical s al es pitches ( m os t,_,l ____; ,_g__g _, the com pu ters ys tem w il l al w ays decide w hatthe
rem arkabl y. th0S@ Of m edl tal deti-111 m en ). 535-; ; :.: _' _s tu den t1S tos tu dyan d con trol his m ov em en ts
hobbyis tcircl es , w hichcom bin e pers on al i.' :_e1i__f .-:; .g.._. throu ghit. T he s tu den tis tobe l ed bythe n os e
acqu ain tan ce w itharou n d of m agazin es i I throu ghev erys u bj ect, an d the au thorexpres s es
an d gatherin gs ; thin k-tan ks an d res earch 1 perpl exityov erthe qu es tion of how the s ys tem
in s titu tes , w here s pecial is ts trade f iel ds ; can decide, atal l tim es , w here tol ead the s tu den t
an d the res pectf u l brief in g. bythe n os e ( topof col . 3, p. 2 19 ). Bu tl etu s n ot
N on e of thes e is l ike the con v en tion al -' 3-i"i an ticipate al tern ativ es .
cl as s room w ithits hau ghtyres ou rce- _f ; E"$5 Itis of ten as s erted ( as byAl pertan d Bitzerin
II
Chairm an ; theyare n gtru n on AdV<' :1I' 1CS in COH1pL1l I8I' -BHSQ CIEdL1C&' |Il OI' 1, SCl 8i1C8,
con des cen s ion ; an d theygetal otacros s . Maf h2 0, 19 7 0)thatthis i8 110' Ethe on l y
We ten d tothin k theyare n otedu cation = itI ; T "T :"T -' 3 approachcu rren t. T he trou bl e is thatits eem s to
an d thatthe m ethods can n otbe be the on l yapproachcu rren t, an d in the
tran s f erred orexten ded tothe region s n ow ru l ed by expan din g com pu teru n iv ers e ev eryon e s eem s tokn ow w hat
con v en tion al teachin g. Bu tw hyn ot? CAIis . An d this is it.
If ev erythin g w e ate w ere kibbl ed in tou n if orm dogf ood, Com pu ter-as s is ted in s tru ction , in this cl as s ical s en s e, is the
an d the am ou n tcon s u m ed ateachf eedin g tim e tediou s l y pres en tation bycom pu terof bite s ized s egm en ts of
w atched an d tes ted, w e w ou l d hav e l ittl e f on dn es s f oreatin g. in s tru ction al m aterial , bran chin g am on g them accordin g to
Bu tthis is w hatthe s chool s dotoou rf ood f orthou ght, an d ~ in v ol u n tarychoices bythe s tu den t( an s w ers )an d em beddin g
this is w hathappen s topeopl es m in ds in prim arys chool , s ec m aterial pres en ted the s tu den tin s om e s ortof ps eu do-
on darys chool an d m os tcol l eges . con v ers ation ( Verygood N ow , John n y, poin tatthe . . .)
T his is the w aytoprodu ce an ation of s heeporcl erks . If w e
are s eriou s abou tw an tin g peopl e tohav e creativ e an d CAI! BBSECI on U n n eces s aryP I' El ' l 1' l SES
ei; \et< gc' Lc~iccim r3\.s ,' \\' \s t\c:it\r~i\c\at&\:~1.ie ou ogxxm 3Lo.Y x\e.ts gim s eC\\i-1)dxc c\e\ie~t\e\1e\Q R c_o' ct\<.; \e1is .t\r.,&t)_c\es e to\:i\ie:oiu on a\Q h\
en thu s ias m are n atu ral tothe hu m an s pirit; w hydrow n them ? s ys tem s are bas ed on three prem is es :thatal l pres en tation s
Edu cation ou ghttobe cl ear, in v itin g an d en j oyabl e, con s is tof item s , s hortchu n ks an d qu es tion s ; thatthe item s
w ithou tbooby traps , hu m il iation s , con des cen s ion or are arran ged in tos equ en ces , thou ghthes e s equ en ces m ay
boredom . Itou ghttoteachan d rew ard in itiativ e, cu rios ity, bran chan d v aryu n dercon trol of the com pu ter; an d
the habitof s el f -m otiv ation , in tel l ectu al in v ol v em en t. thatthes e s equ en ces are tobe em bedded in af ram ew orl w f
r
I
L.
0 w oe "= 1 .0 19 7 4 0 4 ~ 2 1. cOm pu tef
dial ogu e; w iththe com pu tercom pos in g s en ten ces an d
qu es tion s appropriatel ybas ed on the s tu den ts in pu tan d the
bran chin g s tru ctu re of the m aterial s . Letu s cal l s u chs ys tem s
SIC ( Sequ en ced-Item Con v ers ation al )s ys tem s .
T hes e three prem is es are u n ited F orthere tobe dial ogu e
m ean s there m u s tbe u n derl yin g graphs tru ctu re of
poten tial s equ en ces arou n d w hichdial ogu e m aybe
gen erated; f orthere tobe poten tial s equ en ces m ean s
breakpoin ts , an d hen ce item s .
Letu s qu es tion eachof the prem is es in tu rn .
1 Is dial ogu e pl eas an tordes irabl e? .
Com pu l s oryin teraction , w hetherw ithatal kin g m achin e ora
s tereotyped hu m an , is its el f apu t-dow n orcon des cen s ion .
( N ote thaton s u perhighw ays there is of ten al in e of cars
behin d the au tom atic tol l booths , ev en w hen the m an n ed
on es are open .)Moreov er, f aked in teraction can be an
an n oyan ce. ( Con s iderthe green l ightatthe au tom atic tol l
booththatl ights u pw ithathan k you .)Moreov er, dial ogu e
bys im pl e s ys tem s ten ds tohav e af ake qu al ity. Itis byn o
m ean s obv iou s thatphon ydial ogu e w itham achin e w il l
pl eas e the s tu den t.
2 Is the item approachn eces s ary?
If the s tu den tw ere in con trol , he cou l d m ov e arou n d in areas
of m aterial , l eav in g eachs cen e w hen he gotw hathe w an ted,
orf ou n d in u n hel pf u l .
3 Are s equ en ces n eces s ary?
P rearran ged s equ en ces becom e u n n eces s aryif the s tu den t
can s ee w hathe has yettol earn , then pu rs u e it.
11% s en s e orpres tige an d participation
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/ Dream Machin es
' . i
CAI: U n n eces s aryCom pl ication
T he gen eral bel ief am on g practition ers is thatm aterial s f or
com pu ter-bas ed teachin g are extrem el ydif f icu l ttocreate, or
program . Becau s e of pos s ibl e item w eakn es s an d the great
v arietyof pos s ibl e s equ en ces w ithin the w eb, exten s iv e
experim en tation an d debu ggin g are requ ired. Eachitem m u s t
be caref u l l yprov en ; an d the dif f eren ts equ en ces open toa
s tu den tm u s tal l be tes ted f ortheiref f ectiv en es s . Al l pos s ibl e
m is u n ders tan din gs byas tu den tn eed tobe an ticipated an d
prev en ted in this w eb of s equ en ces , w hichm u s tbe des ign ed
f orits cov erage, correctorder, an d gen eral ef f ectiv en es s .
CAI: Gen eral Wron gf u l iies s
Com pu ters of f eru s the f irs treal chan ce tol etthe hu m an
m in d grow toits f u l l poten tial , as itcan n otw ithin the
s tif l in g an d in s u l tin g s ettin g of exis tin g s chool s ys tem s . Y et
m os tof the s ys tem s f orcom pu tet-as s is ted in s tru ction s eem
tom e tobe perpetu atin g an d en dors in g m u chthatis w ron g,
ev en ev il , in ou rpres en tedu cation al s ys tem . CAIin its
con v en tion al f orm en l arges an d exten ds the f au l ts of the
Am erican edu cation al s ys tem its el f . T heyare:
- Con du civ en es s toboredom ;
- T he rem ov al of opportu n ities f orin itiativ e;
- Gratu itou s con cern s , boths ocial an d adm in is trativ e
( s u bj ect, progres s in s u bj ect);
- Grades , w hichreal l yref l ectcom m itm en tl ev el , an xiety, an d
v rdl l in gn es s tof ocu s on core em phas is ;
- Stereotyped an d con des cen din g treatm en tof the s tu den t
( the N ow -John n y boxin the com pu terrepl acin g the on e
thats its bef ore the cl as s );
- T he n arrow in g of cu rricu l aan d av ail abl e m aterial s f or
res u l ts atthe expen s e of m otiv ation an d gen eral ized
orien tation ;
- Des tru ctiv e tes tin g of akin d w e w ou l d n otperm iton
del icate m achin ery; an d,
- An ov ertof hidden em phas is on in v idiou s ratin gs . ( U n graded
s chool s are n ice bu thow m an yu n its did you com pl ete
today?)
T here are of cou rs e im prov em en ts , f orin s tan ce in the
ef f ects of tes tin g. In the tel l -tes t, tel l -tes tn atterin g of CAI,
the tes tin g becom es m erel yan irritan t, bu ton e certain l yn ot
l ikel ytof os teren thu s ias m .
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dem on s trated. T opos tu l ate thatthe theorys til l appl ies in
dil u ted ors hif ted circu m s tan ces is al eapof f aith. I-Iu m an
bein gs are n ot, taken al l together, v eryl ike the ideal ized
pigeon s orrats of l earn in g theory, an d theirm otiv ation s an d
othercircu m s tan ces are n oteas il ycon trol l ed. Stu dies
con cern ed w ithrate of repetition an d rein f orcem en tare
s carcel yrel ev an tif the s tu den thates ordoes n otu n ders tan d
w hathe is doin g.
Idon otm ean toattack al l CAI, oran yteachin g s ys tem
w hichis ef f ectiv e an d gratif yin g. I/ VhatIdou btis thatSIC
s ys tem s f orCAIw il l becom e m ore an d m ore w on derf u l as
ef f ortprogres s es , orthatthe goal of tal kin g tu torial s ys tem s
is reachabl e an d appropriate. An d w hatIf u rthers u s pectis
thatw e are bu il din g boredom s ys tem s thatn oton l ym ake
l if e du l l erbu ts apin tel l ectu al in teres tin the s am e ol d w ay.
Shou l d Sys tem s In s tru ct?
Dril l -an d practice s ys tem s are def in itel yagood thin g f orthe
acqu is ition of s kil l s an d res pon s e s ets , an im prov em en tov er
w orkbooks an d the l ike, f u rn is hin g bothcorrection s an d
adj u s tm en t. T heyare borin g, bu tprobabl yl es s s othan the
u s u al m aterial s . Bu tthe CAIen thu s ias ts s eem tobel iev e the
l s am e con v ers ation al ized chu n k techn iqu es can be exten ded
i""--' * --"' * ~""' * """* ""' ' * "* """""* ' """"' * "' """""' * ""* "?""""" tothe real m of ideas , tos ys tem s thatw il l tu toran d cl n de,
an d thatthis w il l prov ide the s am e s ortof n atu ral in teres t
Bu tISl 1tCAISC' l El ' It' l C? prov ided byal iv e tu tors in s tru ction .
P artof CAIs m ys tiqu e is bas ed u pon the ideathatteachin g T he con v en tion al poin tof v iew in CAIcl aim s thatbecau s e
can becom e s cien tif ic in the l ightof m odern res earch, v al idation is s oim portan t, itis n eces s arytohav e a
es pecial l yl earn in g theory. Itis u n ders tan dabl e thats tan dardized f orm atof item , s equ en ce an d dial ogu e. T his
res earchers s hou l d prom ote this v iew an d thatothers s hou l d j u s tif ies tu rn in g the en deav orin topicky-w ork w ithin item s
f al l f orit. _ an d s equ en ce com pl exes , w ithatten dan tcu rricu l arf reeze,
l earn in g theory is an extrem el ytechn ical , m athem atical l y prem atu re. T he v arietyof al tern ativ e s ys tem s f orcom pu ter
orien ted, des cription of the behav iorof abs tractan d teachin g hav e n otev en begu n tobe expl ored. Shou l d s ys tem s
Laym en don otu n ders tan d, n orare theytol d thatan d s tu den tin an ition an d boredom . T his is en tirel y
ideal ized organ is m s l earn in g n on -u n if ied thin gs u n der in s tru ct atal l ?
s pecif ic con dition s of m otiv ation an d n on -dis traction .
Letu s as s u m e, pol itel y, thatl earn in g theoryis af u l l an d R GSpOl ' l Cl ' l l ' l g R GSOU T CESIan d Hyper-Media
con s is ten tbodyof kn ow l edge. Becau s e of its n am e, l earn in g
theoryhas atl eas tw hatw e m aycal l n om in al rel ev an ce to
teachin g; bu treal rel ev an ce is an otherm atter. Itm aybe
rel ev an tas N ew ton ian equ ation s are tos hootin g agood
gam e of pool :im pl icitbu tw ithou tpractical bearin g.
Becau s e of the actu al characterof l earn in g theory, an d its
gen eral rem oten es s f rom n on -s teril e con dition s , actu al
rel ev an ce toan yparticu l artype of appl ication m u s ts til l be
Atn oprev iou s tim e has itbeen pos s ibl e tocreate l earn in g
res ou rces s ores pon s iv e an d in teres tin g ortogiv e s u chf ree
pl aytothe s tu den ts in itiativ e as w e m ayn ow . We can n ow
bu il d com pu ter-bas ed pres en tation al w on derl an ds , w herea
s tu den t( orotheru s er)m aybrow s e an d ram bl e throu gha
v as tv arietyof w ritin gs , pictu res an d apparition s in m agical
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Af acil ityis s om ethin g the u s erm aycal l u ptoperf orm
rou tin el yacom pu tation orotheract, behav in g in des ired
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av ail abl e ataterm in al )an d the Cu l l er F reed graph-pl ottin g
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Hyper-m ediaare bran chin g orperf orm in g pres en tation s
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qu eried in s tyl ized w ays . T heyw il l n otbe program m ed, bu t
ratherdes ign ed w ritten , draw n an d edited byau thors , artis ts ,
des ign ers an d editors . ( T ocal l them program m ed w ou l d
s u gges ts pu riou s techn ical ity. Com pu ters ys tem s topres en t
them w il l be program m ed.")Like ordin arypros e an d
pictu res , theyw il l be m edia; an d becau s e theyare in s om e
s en s e m u l ti-dim en s ion al , w e m aycal l them hyperm edia,
f ol l ow in g m athem atical u s e of the term hyper.
AModes tP ropos al A
T he al tern ativ e is s traightf orw ard. In s tead of dev is in g
el aborate s ys tem s perm ittin g the com pu terorits
in s tru ction al con ten ts tocon trol the s itu ation , w hyn ot
perm itthe s tu den ttocon trol the s ys tem , s how him how to
dos oin tel l igen tl y, an d m ake iteas yf orhim tof in d his ow n
w ay?Dis card the s equ en ces , item s an d con v ers ation , an d
al l ow the s tu den ttom ov e f reel ythrou ghm aterial s w hichhe
m aycon trol . N ev erm in d optim izin g rein f orcem en tor
v al idatin g teachin g s equ en ces . Motiv ate the u s eran d l ethim
l oos e in aw on derf u l pl ace.
Letthe s tu den tcon trol the s equ en ce, pu thim in con trol of
in teres tin g an d cl earm aterial , an d m ake him f eel good
com f ortabl e, in teres ted, an d au ton om ou s . T eachhim to
orien thim s el f :n othav in g the s ys tem an s w erqu es tion s , al l
typed in , bu tal l ow in g the s tu den ttogetan s w ers byl ookin g
in af airl yobv iou s pl ace. ( Dial ogu e is u n n eces s aryev en w hen
itdoes n otin tru de.)Su chu l tra-richen v iron m en ts al l ow the
s tu den ttochoos e w hathe w il l s tu dy, w hen he w il l s tu dyit
an d how he w il l s tu dyit, an d tow hatcriteriaof
accom pl is hm en the w il l aim . Letthe s tu den tpick w hathe
w is hes tos tu dyn ext, decide w hen he w is hes tobe tes ted,
an d giv e him av arietyof in teres tin g m aterial s , ev en ts an d
opportu n ities . Letthe s tu den tas k tobe tes ted on w hathe
thin ks he kn ow s , w hen he is ready, s el ectin g the m os t
appropriate f orm of tes tin g av ail abl e.
T his approachhas s ev eral adv an tages . F irs t, it
circu m v en ts the in credibl e obs tacl es created bythe
dial ogu e-item -s equ en ce phil os ophy. Iten ds the dan gerto
s tu den ts of bu gs in the m aterial . An d l as t, itdoes w hat
edu cation is s u ppos ed todo f os ters tu den ten thu s ias m ,
in v ol v em en t, an d s el f -rel ian ce.
U n ders u chcircu m s tan ces s tu den ts w il l actu al l ybe
in teres ted, m otiv ated toachiev e f arm ore than theyhav e
ev erachiev ed w ithin the n orm al in s tru ction al f ram ew ork;
an d an yl ops idedn es s w hichm ayres u l tw il l be f arof f s etby
the degree of accom pl is hm en tw hichw il l occu r itbein g
m u chbettertocreate l ops ided bu ten thu s ias tic gen iu s
s pecial is ts than l is tl es s , apathetic, orcru el l yrebel l iou s
m ediocrities . If theys tarts oon en ou ghtheym ayev en reach
adu l thood w ithn atu ral m in ds :driv en byen thu s ias m an d
in teres t, crippl ed in n oareas , eagertol earn m ore, an d f ar
s m arterthan peopl e ordin aril yen d u pbein g.
En thu s ias m an d in v ol v em en tare w hatreal l ycou n t. T his is
w hythe righttoexpl ore f arou tw eighs an yadm in is trativ e
adv an tages of creatin g an d en f orcin g s u bj ects an d
cu rricu l u m s equ en ces . T he en han cem en tof m otiv ation that
w il l f ol l ow f rom l ettin g kids l earn an ythin g theyw an tto
l earn w il l f arou tw eighan ys pecial ization thatm ayres u l t. By
the el im in ation orben ign repl acem en tof bothcu rricu l u m
an d tes ts in an u l tra-richen v iron m en t, w e w il l prev en tthe
attrition of the n atu ral m otiv ation of chil dren f rom its
in itial l yen orm ou s l ev el s , an d m en tal dev el opm en tw il l be
the n atu ral s traightdiagon al ratherthan the cu s tom ary
parabol a.
Is ItSoHard? Som e Ideas
CAIis s aid tobe terribl yhard. Itw ou l d s eem al l the harder,
then , togiv e s tu den ts the richeran d m ore s tim u l atin g
en v iron m en ts adv ocated here. T his is becau s e of the
cram ped horizon s of com pu terteachin g today. Modes tgoal s
hav e giv en u s m odes tv is ion s , f arbel ow w hatis n ow pos s ibl e
an d w il l s oon be cheap.
T he s tatic com pu terdis pl ays n ow as s ociated w ithCAIw il l
giv e w aytodyn am ic dis pl ays driv en f rom m in icom pu ters ,
s u chas the IDIIOM, IBM 2 2 50/ 4orl m l ac P DS-1. ( T he l as t
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Itis gen eral l ys u ppos ed thats ys tem s l ike thes e n eed big
com pu ters an d im m en s e m em ories . T his is n ottru e if w e u s e
the equ ipm en tw el l , organ ize s torage cl ev erl y, an d in tegrate
dataan d dis pl ayf u n ction s u n deracom pactl m on itor. T his is
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Dis crete Hypertexts
Hypertext m ean s f orm s of w ritin g w hichbran chor
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dis pl ays creen s .
In ordin aryw ritin g the au thorm aybreak s equ en ce f or
f ootn otes orin s ets , bu tthe u s e of prin ton paperm akes
s om e bas ic s equ en ce es s en tial . T he com pu terdis pl ays creen ,
how ev er, perm its f ootn otes on f ootn otes on f ootn otes , an d
pathw ays of an ys tru ctu re the au thorw an ts tocreate.
Dis crete, orchu n k s tyl e, hypertexts con s is tof s eparate
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Ordin arypros e appears on the s creen an d m aybe m ov ed
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He cou l d al s otu rn the l ight pen in tohem os tatorf orceps ,
an d f u l l ydis s ectthe creatu re~ orpu titback togetheragain .
( T his n eed n otbe acom pl exs im u l ation . Man ykey
rel ation s hips can be s how n bym ean s of f airl ys im pl e
s chem atic pictu res , n eedin g adatas tru ctu re n otprohibitiv el y
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I T ION
Hyper-com ics are F u n
Hyper-com ics are perhaps the s im pl es tan d m os t
s traightf orw ard hyper-m ediu m . T he s creen hol ds acom ic
s trip, bu ton e w hichbran ches on the s tu den ts requ es t. F or
in s tan ce, dif f eren tcharacters cou l d be u s ed toexpl ain thin gs
in dif f eren tw ays , w iththe s tu den tabl e tochoos e w hichtype
of expl an ation he w an ted atas pecif ic tim e.
T echn ical ity' Is N otN eces s ary
P ropon en ts of CAIw an tu s tobel iev e thats cien tif ic teachin g
requ ires acertain s etu pan d f orm at, in com prehen s ibl e tothe
l aym an an d tobe l ef ttoexperts . T his is s im pl yn ottru e.
T echn ical ity"is am yth. T he probl em is n oton e of techn ical
rightn es s , bu tw hats hou l d be.
T he s u gges tion s thathav e been giv en are thin gs that
s hou l d be; theyw il l be brou ghtabou t.
I-._
0* as . I19 ~o 2 1-Com pu terLib
/ Dream Machin es
f EEL) EF F E T Srs ren g
Ate T HEn ew reortrl tg
HN T IC
-' Bv T \T S s qow n n kl s rl l e
T im ; P AR AMOU N T ,
N OT Ml ? T tcrl l l rcl n . $P CQ Hl L1r
Ah, Lov e! cou l d you an d Iw ithHim con s pire
T ogras pthis s orrySchem e of T hin gs en tire, ~
Wou l d n otw e s hatterittobits -an d then
R e-m ou l d itn earertothe Hearts Des ire!
Edw ard F itzgeral d.
Al m os tev eryon e s eem s toagree thatF N C5 _
Man kin d ( w ho?)is on the brin k of a
rev ol u tion in the w ayin f orm ation is han dl ed, A ;
an d thatthis rev ol u tion is tocom e f rom s om e
_-. 4
s ortof m ergin g of el ectron ic s creen
pres en tation an d au dio-v is u al techn ol ogy
w ithbran chin g, in teractiv e com pu ter
s ys tem s . ( T he n aiv e thin k the m ergin g is -
in ev itabl e, as if the m ergin g m ean tan ythin g '
cl ear. Iu s ed tothin k thattoo.)
s
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P rof es s ion al peopl e s eem tothin k this __--~:.~.
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m ergin g w il l be an in tricate m in gl in g of
techn ical s pecial ties , thatou rn ew s ys tem s
w il l requ ire w ork byal l kin ds of com m ittees an d con s u l tan ts
( addin g an d adj u s tin g)u n til the R es u l ts eithers pecif ic
produ ction s orov eral l Sys tem s are f in is hed. T hen w e w il l
hav e toLearn toU s e T hem . More con s u l tin g f ees .
Ithin k this is adel u s ion an d acon -gam e. Ithin k thatw hen
the real m ediaof the f u tu re arriv e, the s m al l es tchil d w il l
kn ow itrightaw ay( an d perhaps f irs t). T hat, in deed, s hou l d
an d w il l be the criterion . I/ Vhen you can ' ttearateen ykid
aw ayf rom the com pu ters creen , w el l hav e gotten there.
We are approachin g as creen apocal yps e. T he au thors bas ic
v iew is thatR ESP ON SIVECOMP U T ER DISP LAY SY ST EMS
CAN , SHOU LDAN DWILLR EST R U CT U R EAN D LIGI-IT U P
T HEMEN T ALLIF EOF MAN KIN D. ( F oram ore
con v en tion al ou tl ook, s ee boxn earby, An otherView poin t)
Ibel iev e com pu ters creen s can m ake peopl e happier,
s m arter, an d betterabl e tocope w iththe copiou s probl em s
of tom orrow . Bu ton l yif w e doright, rightn ow .
I-.".. -r:_
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Why?
T he com pu ters capabil ityf orbran chin g am on g ev en ts ,
con trol l in g exteriordev ices , con trol l in g ou ts ide ev en ts , an d
m ediatin g in al l otherev en ts , m akes pos s ibl e an ew eraof
m edia.
U n til n ow , the m echan ical properties of extern al obj ects
determ in ed w hattheyw ere tou s an d how w e u s ed them .
Bu then cef orththis is arbitrary.
T he recogn ition of thatarbitrarin es s , an d recon s ideration
am on g broaderan d m ore gen eral al tern ativ es , aw aits u s . Al l
the prev iou s u n its an d m echan is m s of l earn in g, s chol ars hip,
arts , tran s action an d con f irm ation , an d ev en s el f rem in der,
w ere bas ed in v ariou s w ays u pon phys ical obj ects -the
properties of paper, carbon paper, f il es , books an d
books hel v es . T oread f rom paperyou m u s t
- ' ?Il l h' ._
-. . L._.- - ..
g_M ___m ov e the phys ical obj ectin f ron tof you . Its
r con ten ts can n otbe m ade tos l ide, f ol d, s hrin k,
i becom e tran s paren t, orgetl arger.
~ = ; "' _.
at-. Bu tal l this is n ow chan gin g, an d s u dden l y.
T he com pu terdis pl ays creen does al l thes e
T _.._.. ;
thin gs if des ired, tothe s am e m arkin gs w e hav e
prev iou s l yhan dl ed on paper. T he com pu ter
:1 dis pl ays creen is goin g tobecom e u n iv ers al v ery
,. ~ 4.
f as t; this is gu aran teed bythe s u dden l yris in g
cos tof paper. An d w e w il l u s e them f or
"" ev erythin g. T his al readyhappen s w herev er
there are res pon din g com pu ters creen s ys tem s .
( Ihav e af rien d w ithtw oCR T s on his des k; on e
f orthe n orm al f l ow of w ork, an d on e tohan dl e in terru ption s
an d s ide excu rs ion s .)Al otof f ores ts w il l be s av ed.
N ow , there are m an ypeopl e w hodon ' tl ike this idea, an d
hu f f abou tv ariou s apparen tdis adv an tages of the s creen . Bu t
w e can im prov e perf orm an ce u n til al m os tev eryon e is
s atis f ied. F orthos e w hos aythe s creen s are toos m al l ,"w e
can im prov e rel iabil ityan d backu p, an d of f ers creen s
ev eryw here ( s othatm aterial n eed n otbe phys ical l ycarried
betw een them ).
T he exhil aration an d excitem en tof the com in g tim e is
hard tocon v eyon paper. Ou rs creen dis pl ays w il l be al iv e
w ithan im ation in theirs eparate s egm en ts of activ ity, an d
w il l res pon d toou raction s as if al iv e phys ical l ytoo.
T he qu es tion is , then :HOWWILLWEU SET HEM?T hu s
the des ign of s creen perf orm an ces an d en v iron m en ts , an d of
tran s action an d tran s m is s ion s ys tem s , is of the highes t
priority.
2 1. Com pu terLib
/ Dream Machin es
T he F ren chHav e aWord f orIt
In F ren chtheyu s e the term l l n f orm atiqu e tom ean ,
approxim atel y, the pres en tation of in f orm ation topeopl e by
au tom atic equ ipm en t.
U n f ortu n atel ythe En gl is hequ iv al en t, in f orm atics , has been
preem pted. T here is acom pu terprogram m in g f irm cal l ed
In f orm atics , In c., an d w hen Iw rote them abou tthis in the
earl ys ixties theys aid theydid n otw an ttheirn am e to
becom e agen eric term . T radem ark l aw s u pports them in this
toacertain exten t. ( Others , l ike Wal l yF eu rzeig, w an tthatto
be the w ord regardl es s .)Bu tin the m ean tim e Iof f eru pthe
term f an tics , w hichis m ore gen eral an yhow .
Media
Whatpeopl e don ts ee is how com pu tertechn ol ogyn ow
m akes pos s ibl e the rev is ion an d im prov em en t the
tran s f orm ation ~ of al l ou rm edia. Its ou n ds tootechn ical ."
Bu tthis is the bas ic m is u n ders tan din g:the f u n dam en tal
is s u es are N OT T ECHN ICAL. T ou n ders tan d this is bas ical l y
am atterof MEDIACON SCIOU SN ESS, n ottechn ical
kn ow l edge.
Al otof peopl e hav e acu te m ediacon s ciou s n es s . Bu ts om e
peopl e, l ike P atBu chan an an d the com m u n ards , s u gges tthat
there is s om ethin g s habbyabou tthis . Man ythin k, in deed,
thatw e l iv e in aw orl d of f al s e im ages prom u l gated by
m edia, as itu ation tobe corrected. Bu tthis is a
m is u n ders tan din g. Man yim ages are f al s e orpu f f y, al l right,
bu titis in correcttos u ppos e thatthere is an yal tern ativ e.
Mediahav e ev ol v ed f rom s im pl erf orm s , an d con v eythe
backgrou n d ideas of ou rtim e, as w el l as the f ads . Media
todayf ocu s the im pres s ion s an d ideas thatin prev iou s eras
w ere con v eyed byritu al s , pu bl ic gatherin gs , decrees , parades ,
behav iorin pu bl ic, m u m m ertrou pes . . . bu tactu al l yev ery
cu l tu re is aw orl d of im ages . T he chief tain in his pal an qu in ,
the s ham an w ithhis f eathers an d rattl e, are tel l in g u s
s om ethin g abou tthem s el v es an d abou tthe con tin u ityof the
s ocietyan d pos ition of the in div idu al s in it.
N ow the m edia, w ithal l theirqu irks , perf orm the s am e
f u n ction . An d if w e don otl ike the w ays om e thin gs are
treated bythe m edia, in partthis s tem s f rom n ot
u n ders tan din g how theyw ork. Media, ors tru ctu red
tran s m is s ion m echan is m s , can n othel pbein g pers on al ized by
thos e w horu n them . ( Like ev erythin g el s e.)T he probl em is
tou n ders tan d how m ediaw ork, an d thu s bal an ce ou r
u n ders tan din g of the thin gs thatm ediam is repres en t.
theN EWMEDIAR EADER
T hou ghts abou tMedia:
1 An ythin g Can Be Said in An yMediu m
An ythin g can be s aid in an ym ediu m , an d In s piration cou n ts
m u chm ore than s cien ce.Bu tthe techn iqu es w hichare u s ed
tocon v eys om ethin g can be qu ite u n predictabl e.
\/ V
Voice of Littl e Girl :
"San ta, are you m ore im portan tthan God?"
An n ou n cer, pl on kin gl yz
"Y ou ran s w eris . .."
El Y ,0M' l i!$E
H0~Ho
( Af terIj ogw T oBe ADepartm en tStore San tg Cl au s ,
produ ced bythe au thorf orCBS Laboratories
an d the AVS 10in s tru ction al dev ice.
Origin al Sl ide, s tarrin g Michel l e Del l in geran d
Hen ryShrady. u n f ortu n atel ym is l aid.)
2 T ran s pos abil ity
T here has al w ays been , bu tn ow is n ew l y, aU N IT Y OF
MEDIAOP T ION S. Y ou can getyou rm es s age acros s in apl ay,
atract, abroads ide, atextbook, aw al kin g s an dw ich-board, a
radioprogram , acom ic book orf u m etti, am ov ie, as l ide-
s how , acas s ette f orthe Au di-Scan orthe AVS 10, orev en a
hypertext.
( Bu ttran s pos in g can rarel ypres erv e com pl etel ythe
characterorqu al ityof the origin al .)
3 Big an d Sm al l Approaches
Whatf ew peopl e real ize is thatbig pictu res can be con v eyed
in m ore pow erf u l w ays than theykn ow . T he reas on they
don ' tkn ow itis thattheys ee the con ten tin the m edia, an d
n othow the con ten tis bein g gotten acros s tothem thatin
f acttheyhav e been giv en v erybig pictu res in deed, bu tdon ' t
kn ow it. ( Itake this poin ttobe the N ickel -Iron Core of
McLu han is m .)
1314
P eopl e w how an ttoteachin term s of bu il din g u pf rom the
s m al l tothe l arge, an d others w ho( l ike the au thor)l ike to
pres en taw hol e pictu re f irs t, then f il l in the gaps , are takin g
tw ov al id approaches . ( We m aycal l thes e, res pectiv el y, the Big
P ictu re approachan d the P iecem eal approach.)Big pictu res
are j u s tas m em orabl e as picky pieces if theyhav e s tron g
in s ights attheirm aj orin ters ection s . T
4T he Word-P ictu re Con tin u u m
T he arts of w ritin g an d diagram m in g are bas ical l ya
con tin u u m . In bothcas es the m en tal im ages an d cogn itiv e
s tru ctu res produ ced are am ergerof w hatis heard Or
receiv ed. Words are s l ow an d trickyf orpres en tin g al otof
con n ection s ; diagram s dothis w el l . Bu tdiagram s giv e apoor
f eel f orthin gs an d w ords dothis s pl en didl y. T he w riter
pres en ts exacts tatem en ts , in an accord-s tru ctu re of bu ts an d
in deeds , m ol ded in as tru ctu re of con n otation s hav in g ( if the
w riteris good)exactim precis en es s . T his is hardl ys tartl in g:
you re al w ays s el ectin g w hattos ay, an d the u s e of v agu e
w ords ( orthe u s e of precis e-s ou n din g w ords v agu el y)is
s im pl yaf l agran tf orm of om is s ion . In diagram s , too, the
choice of w hattol eav e in an d ou t, how torepres en t
ov erw een in g con dition s an d f orces an d exem pl arydetail s , are
highl ycon n otativ e. ( Greatdiagram s are tobe s een in the
Scien ti c Am erican an d ol deris s u es of T im e m agazin e.)
T his w ord-pictu re con tin u u m is j u s tapartof the broader
con tin u u m , w hichIcal l F an tics .
John B. Macdon al d
R es earchLeader, Com pu ter t
Appl ication s : Graphics ,
Wes tern El ectric Com pan y,
En gin eerin g R es earchCen ter
hl l 0T P |LV|N l ' Ol N T
[ f rom l m i-\.o-l l l 1' ||
EMT C00-r. .
P robl em s , P eril s , an d P rom is es of Com pu terGraphics
Iw ou l d begin w iths om e de n ition s w hichm aybe obv iou s bu t
bearrepeatin g.
1. En gin eerin g is the appl ication of s cien ce f or( $)pro t,
2 . Com pu tergraphics does n otm ake pos s ibl e an ythin g that
w as prev iou s l yim pos s ibl e; itcan on l yim prov e the ,
throu ghpu tof an exis tin g proces s ,
3. As u cces s f u l appl ication of com pu tergraphics is w hen
ov eraperiod of f iv e years the cos ts av in gs f rom im prov ed .
proces s throu ghpu texceed the cos ts of hardw are, s of tw are,
m ain ten an ce an d in tegration in toan exis tin g proces s f l ow .
_2 1. Com pu terLib
/ Dream Machin es
F an tics
Byf an tics "Im ean the artan d s cien ce of gettin g ideas acros s ,
bothem otion al l yan d cogn itiv el y. P res en tation cou l d be a
gen eral w ord f orit. T he characterof w hatgets acros s is
al w ays du al ; boththe expl icits tru ctu res , an d f eel in gs thatgo
w iththem . T hes e tw oas pects , exactn es s an d con n otation ,
are an in s eparabl e w hol e; w hatis con v eyed gen eral l yhas
both. T he readerorv iew eral w ays gets f eel in gs al on g w ith
in f orm ation , ev en w hen the creators of the in f orm ation
thin k thatits con ten t is m u chm ore res tricted. Abeau tif u l
exam pl e:pon derou s techn ical m an u al s w hichcarrym u ch
m ore con n otativ el ythan the au thorreal izes . Su chv ol u m es
m aycon v eytos om e readers an ( in ten ded)im pres s ion of
com peten ce, toothers as en s e of the au thors ' obtu s en es s an d
n on -im agin ation . Expl icitdecl arativ e s tru ctu res n ev erthel es s
hav e con n otativ e f iel ds ; peopl e receiv e n oton l ycogn itiv e
s tru ctu res , bu tim pres s ion s , f eel in gs an d s en s es of thin gs .
iF an tics is thu s con cern ed w ithboththe arts of ef f ect
' r:
. .
w ritin g, theateran d s oon an d the s tru ctu res an d
m echan is m s of thou ght, in cl u din g the v ariou s tradition s of
the s chol arl yev en t( articl e, book, l ectu re, debate an d cl as s ).
T hes e are al l af u n dam en tal l yin s eparabl e w hol e, an d
techn ical l y-orien ted peopl e w hothin k thats ys tem s to
in teractw ithpeopl e, orteach, orbrin g u pin f orm ation , can
f u n ction on s om e techn ical bas is -w ithn otie-in s to
hu m an f eel in gs , ps ychol ogy, orthe l argers ocial s tru ctu re-
are kiddin g them s el v es an d/ orev eryon e el s e. Sys tem s f or
teachin g bycom pu ter,"in f orm ation retriev al ,"an d s oon ,
hav e tobe gov ern ed in theirdes ign byl argerprin cipl es than
m os tof thes e peopl e are w il l in g todeal w ith:the con v eyan ce
of im ages , im pres s ion s an d ideas . T his is w hatw riters an d
editors , m ov ie-m al cers an d l ectu rers , radioan n ou n cers an d
l ayou tpeopl e an d adv ertis in g peopl e are con cern ed w ith; an d
u n f ortu n atel ycom pu terpeopl e ten d n ottou n ders tan d itf or
bean s .
2 1. Com pu terLib
/ Dream Machin es
In f an tics as aw hol e, then w e are con cern ed w ith:
1. T he artan d s cien ce of pres en tation . T hu s it
n atu ral l yin cl u des
2 . T echn iqu es of pres en tation :w ritin g, s tage direction ,
m ov ie m akin g, m agazin e l ayou t, s ou n d ov erl ay, etc.
an d of cou rs e
3. Mediathem s el v es , theiran al ys is an d des ign ; an d
u l tim atel y
4. T he des ign of s ys tem s f orpres en tation . T his w il l of
cou rs e in v ol v e com pu ters hereaf ter, bothcon ceptu al l y
an d techn ical l y; s in ce itobv iou s l yin cl u des , f orthe
f u tu re, bran chin g an d in tricatel yin teractiv e s ys tem s
en acted byprogram m abl e m echan is m s , i.e. com pu ters .
T hu s com pu terdis pl ay, datas tru ctu res ( an d, toan
exten t, program m in g l an gu ages an d techn iqu es )are
al l apart.
F an tics m u s tal s oin cl u de
5. P s ychol ogical ef f ectan d im pactof v ariou s
pres en tation al tec_hn iqu es bu tn otparticu l arf orm al
aes thetics , as of haiku orm u s ical com pos ition . Where
directl yrel ev an tf an tics al s oin cl u des
6 . Sociol ogical tie-in s es pecial l ys u pportiv e an d
dys f u n ction al s tru ctu res , s u chas tie-in s w ith
occu pation al s tru ctu re; s pon s ors hipan d com m ercial s ;
w hatw orks in s chool s an d w hy. Mos tprof ou n dl yof
al l , how ev er, f an tics m u s tdeal w ithps ychol ogical
con s tru cts u s ed toorgan ize thin gs :
7 . T he parts , con ceptu al threads , u n if yin g con cepts
an d w hatn otthatw e create tom ake as pects of the
w orl d u n ders tan dabl e. We pu tthem in toev erythin g,
bu ts tan dardize them in m edia.
F orexam pl e, take radio. Giv en in radio the techn ol ogical
f u n dam en t is m erel ythe con tin u ou s tran s m is s ion of
s ou n d. P u tin toithav e been the program , the s erial ( an d
thu s the epis ode), the an n ou n cer, the them e s on g an d the
m u s ical l Jricl ge con v en tion s w hichare u s ef u l
pres en tation al l y.
T he arbitrarin es s of s u chm en tal con s tru cts s hou l d be
cl ear. T heiru s ef u l n es s in m en tal organ ization perhaps is n ot.
Lets take as u rpris e exam pl e, n othin g el ectron ic abou tit.
Man yhighw ays are w hol l yf ictitiou s atl eas ttobegin
w ith. Let' s s aythataR ou te 3' 7 is created acros s the s tate: that
n u m beris m erel yas eries of s ign s thatu s ers can ref ertoas
theyl ook attheirm aps an d trav el al on g.
theN EWMEDIAR EADER
How ev er, as tim e goes by, R ou te 37 "takes on acertain
real ityas acon ceptu al en tity:peopl e thin k of itas athin g.
P eopl e s ayj u s ttake 3' 7 s traightou t"( thou ghitm aytw is t
an d tu rn ); grou ps l ike aR ou te 3' 7 Merchan ts As s ociation , or
ev en aCitizen s toSav e Scen ic 37 , m ays prin g u p.
Whatw as origin al l ys im pl yan om in al con s tru ct, then ,
becom es qu ite real as peopl e organ ize theirl iv es arou n d it.
T his al l s eem s arbitrarybu tn eces s aryin bothhighw ays
an d radio. What, then , does ithav e todow iththe n ew
el ectron ic m edia?
Sim pl ythis : til l n ow the s tru ctu res of m edias om ehow
s pran g n atu ral l yf rom the n atu re of thin gs . N ow theydon t
an ym ore R adio, books an d m ov ies hav e an atu ral in n er
dyn am ic of theirow n , l eadin g tos u chcon s tru cts . Whil e this
m ayprov e tobe s of orcom pu term ediaas w el l ( as Iargu ed
in Gettin g ItOu tof Ou rSys tem "), then again itm ayn ot. In
otherw ords , WEMU ST ACKN OWLEDGET HAT WEAR E
IN VEN T IN G P R ESEN T AT ION ALT ECHN IQ U ES IN T HE
N EWMEDIA, n otm erel ytran s portin g ortran s pos in g
particu l arthin gs in tothem , becau s e theys eem right. T he
ps ychol ogical con s tru cts of m an -m achin e s ys tem s m aytu rn ou tto
he l argel yarbitrary. T hu s brin gin g toterm in al s ys tem s
con v en tion s l .ike dial ogu e in s tru ction ( CAI), orarbitrary
res triction s of how thin gs m aybe con n ected, pres en ted or
w ritten on the com pu term aybe agreatm is take.
T he highw ay-n u m beran al ogycon tin u es . T he ol der
highw ays had n u m bers f orcon v en ien ce, an d ou rtrav el s
becam e organ ized arou n d them , an d particu l arhighw ays
( l ike U .S. 1 an d R ou te 6 6 ")cam e tohav e s pecial character.
Bu tn ow w iththe In ters tates , ahighw ayis apl an n ed s eal ed
u n it, n ol on gerj u s tacol l ection of roads gathered together
u n deran am e.
T his u n it, the In ters tate, is n otm erel yaps ychol ogical
con s tru ct, bu tapl an n ed s tru ctu re. Kn ow in g w hatw orks an d
w hatdoes n ' tin the des ign of f as thighw ays , the In ters tates
w ere bu il tf ors peed, s tru ctu red as cl os ed u n its . Des ign in g
them w ithl im ited acces s has been acon s ciou s decis ion in the
s ys tem des ign f orw el l -bas ed reas on s , n otachan ce s tru ctu re
brou ghtin f rom hors e an d~bu ggydays .
N ow , the con s tru cts of prev iou s m edia ,r/ \rritin g, f il m s ,
otherarts ev ol v ed ov ertim e, an d in m an ycas es m ayhav e
f ou n d theirw aytoan atu ral f orm . Bu tbecau s e of the
pecu l iarw aythatcom pu term ediaare cu rren tl yev ol v in g
( u n derl arge gran ts l argel ygran ted toprof es s ion al s w ho
u s e v eryl arge w ords toprom ote the ideathattheirorigin al
v 7 ",-515i
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ow ~~1= ~~ P ro... ~ ---0
prof es s ion s are l argel yappl icabl e ), this s ortof n atu ral
ev ol u tion m ayn ottake pl ace. T he n ew con s tru cts of
com pu term edia, es pecial l ycom pu ters creen -m edia, m ayn ot
hav e achan ce tobe thou ghtou t. We n eed des ign s f ors creen
pres en tation s an d theirm ixtu re v ign ettin g, Win dow s ,
s creen m os aics , tran s f orm ed an d au gm en ted
_ _--_,_.
v iew s , an d the rapid an d com prehen s ibl e
con trol of thes e v iew s an d w in dow s . We are
s til l j u s tbegin n in g tof in d cl ev erv iew in g
techn iqu es , an d hav e hardl ybegu n todis cov er
highl yres pon s iv e f orm s of v iew abil ityan d g
con trol ( cf . col l ateration in T hin kertoys , p. _
330), an d Kn ow l ton ' s bu tton -box( oops , '
om itted). ( See T . N el s on , ACon ceptu al _t- ~ _.; ,
F ram ew ork f orMan -Machin e Ev erythin g,
__ I. i\"r~} ___.__> . _.
~| -. .' .. _. """ I W
I131? a _..~-. ~s ....a._.-._._2 1. Com pu terLib
/ Dream Machin es
orthe s ide. N oon e f in ds this obj ection abl e; f ew peopl e ev en
n otice, its eem s .
Whatthis s how s , of cou rs e, is the w aythe m in d can u n if y
in toacon s is ten tm en tal w hol e ev en thin gs w hichare
in con s is ten tbyn orm al ru l es ( in this cas e, the ru l es of three-
dim en s ion al s tru ctu re).
" Ev en perception s are s u bj ecttothe s am e
- prin cipl e of u n if ication . T he f in gern ail is an
excres cen ce w ithn on erv es in it; yets om ehow
__you can f eel thin gs w ithyou rf in gern ail s tyin g
_togetherdis parate s en s ation s in toau n if ied
' \.
, s en s e of s om ethin g in the w orl d ( s ay, acoin
. ; ,. you re tryin g topick u p). In the s am e w ay, an
_._.-' _,
experien ced driv erf eel s the road; in av eryreal
s en s e, the cars w heel s an d s u s pen s ion becom e
an d m aterial on con trol s , bel ow .) :.-_1 e r , 1_' -f his ow n s en s oryexten s ion s .
~ _ . _- \.|
T " II
T he Min d' s U n if ication
On e of the rem arkabl e thin gs abou tthe hu m an m in d is the
w ayitties thin gs together. P erceptu al u n itycom es ou tof
n ow here. Abu n chof irregu l arres iden tial an d in du s trial
bl ocks becom es thou ghtof as m yn eighborhood. Am os t
rem arkabl e cas e of m en tal u n if ication is af f orded bythe
v is age of ou rgood f rien d MickeyMou s e. T he characteris
draw n in am os tparadoxical f as hion :tw ogl obel ike
protru s ion s ( repres en tin g the ears )are in dif f eren tpos ition s
on the head depen din g on w hetherw e v iew him f orthe f ron t
iw rP aaaooxrcaran atom yoru rcxeyn oos e
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hdif
MICKEY MOU SE( f ron tal ) f ioteeal l
R ol l in g
R el ativ e
toCam era
I\I / Q
P OSSIBLER ECOIi' C' ILl .4T -Z' 0N S .'
Diagon al Mou n tin g
T his prin cipl e of m en tal u n if ication is w hat
m akes thin gs com e together, bothl iteral l yan d
f igu rativ el y, in af an tic f iel d. Av iew ers ees tw ocon s ecu tiv e
m ov ie s hots of s treets an d u n if ies them in toon e s treet;
con trol s , if you are u s ed tothem , becom e as in gl e f u s ed
s ys tem of option s ; w e can hav e as en s e of agreaterw hol e, of
w hichon e
; ii.f ..??.i. ru t( 3,tS\l \l T , v w \brel v s ,
P a" I8 N OT N OWLST MQ
m atin ou 1LSEU l $-
Con trol s : T heirU n if ication an d F eel
Con trol s are in tim atel yrel ated tos creen pres en tation , j u s tas
arbitrary, an d j u s tas im portan t.
T he artf u l des ign of con trol s ys tem s is adeepl y
m is u n ders tood area, in n ow aydecon f u s ed bycal l in g it
hu m an f actors . T here are m an yf u n ction s tobe con trol l ed,
s u chas texteditin g operation s , v iew s of the u n iv ers e on a
s creen , the headin g of av ehicl e, the til tof an aircraf t, the
w in dage an d adj u s tm en ts of artil l ery, the tem peratu re of a
s tov e bu rn eran d an yothercon trol l abl e. dev ices . An d
n ow adays an ycon ceiv abl e dev ices cou l d con trol them
pu s hbu tton s , kn obs , cran ks , w heel s , l ev ers an d j oys ticks ,
trigger, dial s , m agic w an ds , m an ipu l ation byl ightpen on CR T
s creen s , f l icks of the f in ger, the tu rn in g of the eyes ( as in s om e
experim en tal gu n -aim in g dev ices ), the hu m an v oice ( bu tthat
in trodu ces probl em s ), keyboards , el ectron ic tabl ets , En gel bart
m ice an d chord w riters , an d s oon .
2 1. Com pu terLib
/ Dream Machin es
T he hu m an m in d bein g as s u ppl e as itis , an ythin g
w hatev ercan be u s ed tocon trol s ys tem s . T he probl em is
hav in g itbe acom prehen s ibl e w hol e.
As al readyrem arked, ou rabil itym en tal l ytou n if ythin gs
is extraordin ary. T hatw e s om ehow tie togethercl u tch, gear,
accel eratoran d brake in toacom prehen s ibl e con trol
s tru ctu re tom ake cars goan d s tops hou l d am aze an d
in s tru ct.
En gin eers an d hu m an f actors peopl e s peak as thou gh
there w ere s om e kin d of s cien tif ic ordeterm in ate w ayto
des ign con trol s ys tem s . P if f l e. We choos e as etof con trol s ,
m u chl ike an artis ts P al ette, on the bas is of gen eral
appropriaten es s ; an d then trybes tan d m os tartis tical l ytof it
them tow hatn eeds doin g.
T he res u l tm u s tbe con ceptu al l ycl earan d retroactiv el y
obv iou s --s im pl ybecau s e cl arityis the s im pl es tw aytokeep
the u s erf rom m akin g m is takes . Cl earan d s im pl e s ys tem s are
eas iertol earn , hardertof orget, l es s l ikel ytobe s crew ed u p
bythe u s er, an d thu s are m ore econ om ical gettin g m ore
don e f orthe res ou rces pu tin .
T here is as ortof paradoxhere. T he kin ds of con trol s are
total l yarbitrary, bu ttheiru n if ication in agood s ys tem is n ot.
Sm oothn es s an d cl aritycan com e f rom dis parate el em en ts . It
is f orthis reas on thatIl ayparticu l ars tres s on m yJOT
s ys tem f orthe in pu tan d rev is ion of text, u s in g apal ette of
keys av ail abl e on the s im pl es ts tan dard com pu terterm in al ,
the 33 T el etype. Ican n otm ake the f in al j u dgem en ton how
good this s ys tem is , bu titpl eas es m e. JOT is al s oan
im portan texam pl e becau s e its u gges ts thatacon ceptu al l y
u n if ied s ys tem can be created f rom the artf u l n on -obv iou s
com bin ation of l oos e el em en ts origin al l yhav in g dif f eren t
in ten ded pu rpos es . .
Men tal an al ogyis an im portan tan d cl earcon trol
techn iqu e. We ten d tof orgetthatthe s teerin g w heel w as
in v en ted s eparatel yrepl acin g boththe boats til l eran d the
au tom obil es til l er. We al s of orgetthatthe u s e of s u ch
s teerin g m echan is m s m u s tbe actu al l yl earn ed bychil dren .
Su chcon tin u ou s an al ogies , thou gh, requ ire corres pon din g
con tin u ities in the s pace tobe con trol l ed an im portan t
con dition .
Sim pl icityan d cl arityhav e n othin g todow iththe
appearan ce of con trol s , bu tw iththe cl arityan d u n iqu e l ocata
bil ityof in div idu al parts . F orthis reas on If in d depl orabl e the
arrayed con trol s thatare tu rn in g u p, e.g., on today' s au dio
theN EWMEDIAR EADER
equ ipm en t. Des ign ers s eem tothin k row s of thin gs are
des irabl e. On the con trary:the bes tdes ign ed con trol s Iev er
u s ed are on the Son yT C-50pockettape recorder
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WI! F OQ \Mf __9
l F F oKw qQ _|" |; 9 ; ];
R WU U 5T Hn |"-m e,
bu tof cou rs e this is n ow phas ed ou t; in s tead m os tcas s ette
recorders hav e f iv e ors ixs tu pid bu tton s in arow . ( Was ittoo
good tol as t?)
Spu riou s con trol el egan ce com es in m an ygu is es . Con s ider
Bru ce McCal l s des cription of the T ap-A-T oe F u tu roidic
F ootl es s De Cl u tchin g' s ys tem . T his w as of f ered on the
f ictitiou s 19 34Bu l gem obil es , an d al l ow ed you todriv e the
carw ithon e pedal , ratherthan three ( s ee boxp. 32 8).
Carel es s an d horribl e des ign s are n otal l f ictitiou s . On e
egregiou s exam pl e al s oin dicates the l ow l ev el of des ign
cu rren tl ygoin g in tos om e res pon din g s ys tem s :com pu ter
peopl e hav e des ign ed CR T w ritin g s ys tem s f orn ew s papers
w hichactu al l yhav e akil l bu tton on the con s ol e, byw hich
au thors w ou l d acciden tal l ykil l theirs tories . In arecen t
m agazin e articl e itw as expl ain ed thatthe ev en tu al s ol u tion
w as tochan ge the program s othattokil l the s toryyou had
tohitthe kil l bu tton tw ice. T om e this s eem s l ike abeau tif u l
exam pl e of w hathappen s w hen you l etin s u l ated techn ical
peopl e des ign the s ys tem f oryou :a bu tton on the
keyboard is abou tas in tel l igen tas in s tal l in g kn iv es on the
das hboard of acar, poin tin g atthe pas s en ger.
T here is an otherpoorten den cy. When com pu ter
program m ers orothertechn ical peopl e des ign particu l ar
s ys tem s w ithou tthin kin g m ore gen eral l y, thin gs are n ot
l ikel ytobe eithers im pl e orcom bin abl e. Whatm ayres u l tare
in tricate u s er-l ev el con trol s f oron e particu l arf u n ction ,
con trol s thatare dif f eren tl yu s ed f oran otherparticu l ar
f u n ction , m akin g the tw of u n ction s n otcom bin abl e.
or P P 0 1 -0 s ew ; I-El m 0ea 1 ~o: 2 1. c0|T |pU te|'
/ Dream Machin es
Whatm akes f orthe bes tcon trol s tru ctu res , then ?T here is T he s am e appl ies tothe T h3 s ys tem , w hichis des ign ed to
n os n n j he an s w erXw m kks -at~ n :a<; \\\s . am m x kaeqkan s exc\e5a:1 v .\' xc\<kek as ide. com oares thin gs in m u l tipl e
of u n if ied an d con s picu ou s con s tru cts in the m en tal v iew of the dim en s ion s . T he m echan is m s atthe com pu ter)ev e\m u s t):> e
dom ain tobe con trol l ed, corres pon din g toaw el l hidden tom ake this w ork.
dis tin gu is hed an d cl earl y-in terrel ated s etof con trol l in g
m echan is m s . Bu tthatis hardl ythe l as tw ord on the s u bj ect. F al ' l t' l C SP EICE
P u dov kin an d Eis en s tein , greatR u s s ian m ov ie-m akers of the
T he Organ ization Of Whol en es s tw en ties , tal ked abou tf il m ic s pace the im agin arys pace
Its hou l d be pl ain thatin res pon din g s creen -s ys tem s , w hatthatthe action s eem s tobe in .
happen s on the s creen an d how the con trol s res pon d are T his con ceptexten ds its el f n atu ral l ytof an tic s pace, the
n otreal l ydis tin gu is habl e. T he s creen ev en ts are partof the s pace an d rel ation s hips s en s ed byav iew erof an ym ediu m , or
w aythe con trol s res pon d. T he s creen f u n ction s an d con trol au s erin an ypres en tin g orres pon din g en v iron m en t. T he
f u n ction s m erge ps ychol ogical l y. des ign of com pu terdis pl ays ys tem s , then , is real l ythe artf u l
N ow , there is atraphere. Ju s tas the gas pedal , cl u tch, craf tin g of f an tic s pace T echn ical ities are s u bs erv ien tto
gears hif tan d brake m erge ps ychol ogical l y, an ycon trol ef f ects . ( In deed, Ithin k com pu tergraphics is real l yabran ch
s tru ctu re can m erge ps ychol ogical l y. Cl u tchan d gears hif tdo of m ov ie-m akin g.)
n othav e, f orm os tof u s , cl earps ychol ogical rel ev an ce tothe
probl em of con trol l ed f orw ard m otion . Y etw e ps ycho- F an tic Stl ' U Ctl .l I'
l ogical l yin tegrate the u s e of thes e m echan is m s as au n if ied T he f an tic s tru ctu re of an ythin g, then , con s is ts of its
m ean s f orcon trol l in g f orw ard m otion ( or, l ike the au thor, getn oticeabl e parts , in tercon n ection s , con ten ts an d ef f ects .
an Au tom atic). In m u chthe s am e w ay, an ys ys tem of con trol s Icl aim thatitis the f an tic u n ity the con ceptu al an d
can gradu al l ycom e throu ghu s e tohav e aps ychol ogical pres en tation al cl arityof thes e thin gs thatm akes f an tic
organ ization , ev en s pu riou s l y. T he trapis thatw e s oeas il y s ys tem s pres en tation al s ys tem s an d m aterial cl earan d
l os e s ightof arbitrarin es s an d ev en s tu pidityof des ign , an d hel pf u l , orn ot.
l iv e w ithitw hen itcou l d be s om u chbetter, becau s e of this Letu s take an in teres tin g exam pl e f rom as ys tem f or
ps ychol ogical m el din g. com pu ter-as s is ted in s tru ction n ow u n derim pl em en tation . I
Bu tu s ef u l w hol en es s can be hel ped al on g. Ju s tas w hatI w il l n otiden tif yorcom m en ton the s ys tem becau s e perhaps
hav e cal l ed the accordan ce-s tru ctu re of w ritin g m ov es itIdon otu n ders tan d its u f f icien tl y. An yw ay, theyhav e an
al on g s m oothl y, f an tic des ign thatbu il ds f rom aw el l - arrayof s tu den tcon trol -bu tton s thatl ook l ike this :
organ ized in tern al dyn am ic s hou l d con f eron af an tic s ys tem
the s am e m om en tu m an d cl aritythatcaref u l l y-organ ized ' _
w ritin g has .
T his con tribu tion of w hol en es s can on l yoccu r, how ev er, if 0B-T HELP MV
the u n der-l ev el com pl ication s of as ys tem hav e been caref u l l y [ 0L~e ~,y\Q
s tream l in ed an d s m oothed back atl eas tas theyaf f ectthe I
u s er. Con s iderthe des ign of the JOT texteditin g s ys tem ( p.
332 ):w hil e itis s im pl e tothe u s er, com pu terpeopl e of ten A Ebe K
reacttoitw ithin dign ation an d an gerbecau s e ithides w hat F IR K
are tothem the s ign if ican tf eatu res of com pu tertext
editin g expl icitpreoccu pation w iths torage, es pecial l ythe
cal l in g an d rev is ion of bl ocks . N ev erthel es s , Is ayitis the GAMP T
detail s atthis l ev el w hichm u s tbe s m oothed back if w e are to Q xaM eJ Y a( |cQ
m ake s ys tem s f orregu l arpeopl e. [ ' rl T ]
2 1. Com pu terLib
/ Dream Machin es
T he gen eral thin kin g in this s ys tem s eem s tobe thatthe
s tu den tm aygetan ov eral l organ izin g v iew of w hathe is
s u ppos ed tobe l earn in g ( MAP ); in f orm ation on w hathe is
cu rren tl ys u ppos ed tobe abou t( OBJ); can n ed s u gges tion s
bas ed on w hathe' s recen tl ydon e ( ADVICE). Moreov er, he
can getthe s ys tem topres en taru l e abou tthe s u bj ectorgiv e
him practice; an d f oreitherof thes e he m ayrequ es teas ier
ru l es orpractice, orharderru l es ( i.e., m ore abs tru s e
gen eral ities )orharderpractice.
F orthe l atter, the s tu den tis s u ppos ed tohitR U LEor
P R ACT f ol l ow ed byHELP , HAR DER orEASIER , v iz.:
05)HELP A_|)\n ( e
l g WW1' EAWK
EU LEEXMW F KMZT
N ow regardl es s of w hetherthis is aw el l -thou ght-ou tw ay
todiv ide u pas u bj ect I' Il be in teres ted tos ee how itw orks
ou t thes e con trol s don ots eem tobe w el l -arran ged f or
con ceptu al cl arity. Its eem s tobe the ol d row s -of -bu tton s
approach.
Ihav e n odou btthatthe peopl e w orkin g on this s ys tem are
certain this is the on l ypos s ibl e l ayou t. Bu tcon s iderthatthe
s tu den t' s option s m ightbe cl earertohim , f orin s tan ce, if w e
s etitu pas f ol l ow s :
Ge -\e.ra\\T \.< f f f v kd Kg!
Q 53" ADV ICE
MM n ew aw
Iil ite m om
Ew t
WV
II
theN EWMEDIAR EADER
Orl ike this :
orithl el w -\ g g j g g g
j gu u -_j exam ?j rn m l aw ait;
Im s raj u ioaj u av j @ ..\.2 .a1..,,
7 ' I7 ' "7 T 1 g|_4|7 _
WhatIam tryin g tos how here is thatm erel ythe
arran gem en tof bu tton s creates dif f eren tf an tic con s tru cts . If
you s ee this , you w il l recogn ize thatcon s iderin g al l the other
option s w e hav e, des ign in g n ew m ediais n os m al l m atter.
T he con trol s tru ctu res m erge m en tal l yw iththe
pres en tation al s tru ctu res . T he tem ptation tos ettl e on s hort-
s ighted des ign s hav in g s hal l ow u n ityis al l toogreat.
F an tic Des ign
F an tic des ign is bas ical l ythe pl an n in g an d s el ection of ef f ects .
( We cou l d al s ocal l thes e perf on n an ce v al u es " cf .
produ ction v al u es in m ov ies .)
Som e of thes e in ten ded ef f ects are s im pl ythe
com m u n ication of in f orm ation orcogn itiv e s tru ctu re
in f orm ation tran s f er,"tou s e on e of the m ore obtu s e phras es
cu rren t. Otherdes irabl e ef f ects in cl u de orien tin g the u s er
an d of ten m ov in g him em otion al l y, in cl u din g s om etim es
ov erw hel m in g oren tran cin g him .
In the des ign of f an tic s ys tem s in v ol v in g au tom atic
res pon s e, w e hav e av as tchoice am on g types of
pres en tation al techn iqu es , tricks thatare j u s tn ow becom in g
u n ders tood N otj u s ts creen techn iqu es an d f u n ction s , bu t
al s ores pon s e techn iqu es an d f u n ction s .
( If "f eeIie s ys tem s are ev erperf ected, as in Hu xl eys Brav e
N ew Worl d it' s s til l the s am e in prin cipl e.)
In bothgen eral areas , thou gh w ithin m edia, an d des ign in g
m ecIia its eem s tom e thatthe creation of organ izin g
con s tru cts is the m os tprof ou n d probl em . In particu l ar, the
organ izin g con s tru cts m u s tn otdis tract, ortearu pcon ten ts
An an al ogy:in w ritin g, the in v en tion s of the paragraph,
chapteran d f ootn ote w ere in v en tion s in w ritin g techn iqu e
thathel ped cl arif yw hatw as bein g expres s ed. Whatw e n eed
in com pu ter-bas ed f an tic des ign is in v en tion s w hichdon ot
artif icial l ychopu p, con s train , orin terf ere w iththe s u bj ectl
( s ee box, P rocru s tes , p. 32 8).
O ~* I ~~= * 0* ~<w * <0 ~ 0 ~ On es " ~~O R
P 14
Idon otf eel thes e prin cipl es are ev eryw here s u f f icien tl y
appreciated. F orin s tan ce, the bu il t-in s tru ctu res of P LAT O
dis tu rbs m e s om ew hatin its arbitrarin es s an d the w ayits
con trol keys are s cattered arou n d.
Bu tthere is al w ays s om ethin g artif icial thatis , s om e
f orm of artif ice in pres en tation . Sothe probl em is to
dev is e techn iqu es w hichhav e el u cidatin g v al u e bu tdon ot
cu tcon n ection s orties orotherrel ation s hips you w an tto
s av e. ( F orthis reas on Is u gges tthe readercon s ider
Stretchtext,"p. 315), col l ateral l in kage ( p. 330), an d the
v ariou s hypergram s ( p. 314-16 ). T hes e. s tru ctu res , w hil e
s om ew hatarbitraryan d artif icial , n ev erthel es s can be u s ed
tohan dl e as u bj ectgen tl y.)
An im portan tkin d of organ izin g con s tru ctis
the m aporov eral l orien tin g diagram . T his , too, ' l _; _4 ..; ; ,_-; ~,_~..,.,_~_<
. u Jr u . n i.T .' ::' _T I?;
is of ten partl yexactan d partl yartif ice : Ll .~_.-_; .-... 1:; ; j } _.,, +r,; : ".~; ":.-~<:-;
certain as pects of the diagram m ayhav e u n cl ear
im portbu tcl earan d hel pf u l con n otation . It
R es pon din g s ys tem s n ow m ake itpos s ibl e f or _:f ' _f -Q 53
s u chorien tin g s tru ctu res tobe :53?
m u l tidim en s ion al an d res pon din g.
_-_:::= -~: ~. ___-' _____g__. ______
F an tic des ign , then , is the creation eitherof 7 :=
thin gs tobe s how n ( w ritin g, m ov ie-m akin g,
etc.)atthe l ow eren d, orm ediatos how thin gs
in , oren v iron m en ts . 7 "" LI.
1. T he des ign of thin gs tobe s how n w hetherw ritin g,
m ov ie-m akin g, orw hatev er is n earl yal w ays acom bin ation
of s om e kin d of expl icits tru ctu re -an expl an ation or
pl an n ed l es s on , orpl otof an ov el an d af eel in g thatthe
au thorcan con trol in v aryin g degrees . T he tw oare deepl y
in tertw in ed, how ev er.
T he au thor( des ign er, director, etc.)m u s tthin k caref u l l y
abou thow togiv e organ ization tow hatis bein g pres en ted.
T his , too, has bothas pects , cogn ition an d f eel in gs .
Atthe cogn itiv e en d, the au thorm u s tcon cern him s el f
w ithdetail ed expos ition orargu m en t, or, in f iction , pl ot. Bu t
s im pl ypu ttin g appropriate parts togetheris n oten ou gh:the
au thorm u s tu s e organ izin g con s tru cts tocon tin u al l yorien t
the reader' s ( orv iew ers )m in d. R epeated ref eren ce tom ain
con cepts , repeated s hots ( in am ov ie)of particu l arl ocation s ,
s erv e this f u n ction ; bu teachm ediu m pres en ts its ow n
pos s ibl e dev ices f orthis pu rpos e.
2 1. Com pu terLib
/ Dream Machin es
T he organ ization of the f eel in gs of the w ork cris s -cros s es
the cogn itiv e; bu tw e can ' tgetin toithere.
Sel ection of poin ts an d parts con tribu tes tobothas pects .
If you are tryin g tokeepthe f eel in g of athin g f rom bein g
pon derou s , you can n ev erin cl u de ev erythin g you w an ted, bu t
m u s ts el ectf rom am on g the expl icitpoin ts an d f eel in g-
gen erators thatyou hav e thou ghtof .
2 . T he des ign of m ediathem s el v es , orof m edias u bs ys tem s , is
n otu s u al l yam atterof option . Books , m ov ies , radioan d T V
are giv en . Bu ton occas ion , as f orw orl ds f airs orv ery
pers on al proj ects , w e hav e acertain option . Whichal l ow s
thin g l ike:
- Sm el l av is ion orw hatev ertheycal l ed it:
m ov ies w ithas m el l -track, w hichw en tou t
in tothe theaterthrou ghodorgen erators .
- Bran chin g m ov ies .
- Mu l ti-m edia ( Mu l tipl e au diotracks an d
s im u l tan eou s s l ide proj ection s on dif f eren t
s creen s ).
- Stereom ov ies .
An d s oon . T he thin g abou tthe on es
m en tion ed is thattheyare n otv iabl e as
con tin u in g s etu ps f orrepeated produ ction s .
T heydon otof f eraperm an en tw ide m arket;
theyare n ots tabl e; theydon otcatchon . Whichis in aw ay,
of cou rs e, toobad.
Bu tthe greatchan ge is j u s tabou tn ow . Cu rren t
techn ical ities al l ow bran chin g m edia es pecial l ythos e
as s ociated w ithcom pu ters creen s . An d itis u ptou s n ow to
des ign them .
3. MEN T ALEN VIR ON MEN T S are w orkin g pl aces f or
s tru ctu red activ ity. T he s am e prin cipl es of s how m an s hip
appl ytoaw orkin g en v iron m en tas toboththe con ten ts of
m ediaan d the des ign of m edia. If m ediaare en v iron m en ts
in tow hichpackaged m aterial s are brou ght, s tru ctu red
en v iron m en ts are bas ical l yen v iron m en ts w here you u s e n on -
packaged m aterial , orcreate thin gs you rs el f . T heym ightal s o
be cal l ed con ten tl es s m edia."T he prin cipl es of w hol en es s in
s tru ctu red en v iron m en ts are the s am e as f orthe others , an d
m an yof ou rexam pl es ref ertothem .
2 1. Com pu terLib
/ Dream Machin es
T he bran chin g com pu ters creen , togetherw iththe
s el f s am e com pu ters abil itytotu rn an ythin g el s e on an d of f
as s el ected bythe u s er, an d tof etchu pin f orm ation , yiel ds a
real m of option in the des ign of m ediaan d en v iron m en tthat
has n ev erexis ted bef ore. Mediaw e des ign f ors creen -bas ed
com pu ters ys tem s are goin g tocatchon w idel y, s ow e m u s t
be f arm ore atten tiv e tothe option s thatexis tin orderto
com m it n ation al l y, perhaps tothe bes t.
In tom orrow s s ys tem s , properl yu n if ied con trol s can giv e
u s n ew f l exibil ities . If deepl yw el l ~des ign ed, thes e prom is e
m agn if icen tn ew capabil ities . F orin s tan ce, w e cou l d al l ow a
m u s ician to"con du ct"the perf orm an ce of his w ork bya
com pu ter-bas ed m u s ic s yn thes is s ys tem , perhaps con trol l in g
the m an yqu al ities of the perf orm an ce on as creen as he goes ,
bym ean s of s u chtechn iqu es as dim en s ion al f l ip. ( T he
tradition of cu m u l ativ e au dios yn thes is , as practiced in the
f if ties byLes P au l an d MaryF ord, an d m ore recen tl yby
Wal terCarl os an d Mike Ol df iel d, w il l take on an ew f il l ipas
m u l tidim en s ion al con trol techn iqu es becom e com m on .)
On e of the in ten ts of this book has been toorien tyou to
s om e of the pos s ibil ities an d s om e of the option s , con s idered
gen eral l y. T here is n otroom , u n f ortu n atel y, todis cu s s m ore
than on e ortw oov eral l pos s ibil ities in detail . T he m os t
s u cces s f u l s u chs ys tem s of arhas been P LAT O; others
# -J4MT La. 7 1512 4 f oyl icrr
Of s j -SQ :
N ew MediatoLas t
Whats w ors e, w e are con f ron ted n otm erel yw iththe j ob of
u s in g com pu ters topres en ts pecif ic thin gs . T he greatertas k
is todes ign ov eral l com pu term ediathatw il l l as tu s in toa
m ore in tel l igen tf u tu re. Adrif tin as eaof ign oran ce an d
con f u s ion , itis n ev erthel es s ou rdu tytotrytocreate aw hol e
tran s portation s ys tem thatev erybodycan cl im b aboard. F or
the l on g ru n , f an tic s ys tem s m u s tbe treated n otas cu s tom
s ys tem s f orexpl icitpu rpos es , bu tas OVER ALLGEN ER AL
DESIGN S WHICH IN ILLHAVET O T IET OGET HER AN D
CAT CH ON , otherw is e col l aps e an d peris h.
theN EWMEDIAR EADER
F in al Con s equ en ces
Its eem s tom e certain thatw e are m ov in g tow ard a
gen eral ized an d u n iv ers al F an tic s ys tem ; peopl e can an d
s hou l d dem an d it. P erhaps there w il l be s ev eral ; bu tif s o,
bein g abl e totie them togetherf ors m oothtran s m is s ion is
es s en tial . ( T hin k of w hatitw ou l d be l ike if there w ere tw o
kin ds of tel ephon e?)T his then is agreats earchan d cru s ade;
topu ttogethertru l ygen eral m ediaf orthe f u tu re, s ys tem s at
w hichw e can read, w rite, l earn an d v is u al ize, yearaf teryear
af teryear: T he in itiativ es are n otl ikel ytocom e f rom the
m ore con v en tion al com pu terpeopl e; s om e of them are part
of the probl em . ( Be prepared f orev erypos s ibl e f orm of
aggres s iv e def en s iv en es s f rom program m ers , es pecial l y:Why
w ou l d you w an tthat? T he correctan s w eris BECAU SE,
dam n it!)
Bu tal l this m ean s thatin teriorcom pu tertechn ical ities
hav e tobe SU BSER VIEN T , an d the program m ers can n otbe
al l ow ed todictate how itis tobehav e on the bas is of the
u n derl ev el s tru ctu res thatare con v en ien ttothem . Q u ite the
con trary:f rom the f u l l es tcon s ideration of the riches tu pper-
l ev el s tru ctu res w e w an t, w e the u s ers -to be m u s tdictate
w hatl ow er l ev el s tru ctu res are tobe prepared w ithin .
Bu tthis m ean s you , dearreader, m u s tdev el opthe f an tic
im agin ation . Y ou m u s tl earn tov is u al ize pos s ibl e u s es of
com pu ters creen s , s oyou can geton dow n tothe deeperl ev el
of how w e are goin g totie thes e thin gs together.
T he des ign erof res pon din g com pu ters ys tem s is creatin g
u n if ied s etu ps f orv iew in g an d m an ipu l atin g thin gs an d
the f eel in gs , im pres s ion s an d s en s e of thin gs thatgow ith
them . Ou rgoal s hou l d be n othin g l es s than R EP R ESEN T IN G
T HET R U ECON T EN T AN DST R U CT U R EOF HU MAN
T HOU GHT . ( Y es , Dream Machin es in deed.)Bu tits hou l d be
s om ethin g m ore:en abl in g the m in d tow eigh, pu rs u e,
s yn thes ize an d ev al u ate ideas f orabettertom orrow . Orf or
an yatal l .
Bibl iography
T heodorH. N el s on , ACon ceptu al F ram ew ork f orMan -Machin e
Ev erythin g."P roc. N CC 7 3.
__, Com pu topiaan d Cybercru d."In Lev ien ( ed.), Com pu ters in
In s tru ction , T he R an d Corporation , 19 7 1.
a- . 2 1. Com pu terLib
T itN ktkin e u ei"
---P A- on e-l m m f l l s ij l f am
T ia? n czear-o' !hcan / em -i
[ Serv e l av ef tv N you Aou r-l ev r,
I-I' l M 9 f 1- re@ l T l \"\J-]
An otherappl ication of the pres en tin v en tion is al s oin the
areaof pictorial dis pl ay, bu tof f ers agreat
v arietyof poten tial u s erchoices in as im pl e -
circu m s tan ce. Ical l this the w al kin g n et s ys tem
becau s e con trol is ef f ected throu ghachan gin g if ' -* 5-.,:?; 3; ; _.
___
n etw ork of choices w hichs tep, or arou n d _- ; --_- ' 4'
the s creen . ' . ...._~l ~' -II;
/ Dream Machin es
progres s iv e dev el opm en ts in the pictu re, m ov in g it
backw ard cau s es arev ers al of an im ation s an d other
prev iou s dev el opm en ts .
When the pipreaches the choice poin tin the f orw ard
direction , the u s erm aydrag it( throu ghthe u s u al Iightpen
techn iqu es )al on g eitherof the beckon in g al tern ativ es . T his
then cau s es f u rtherdev el opm en ts in the pres en tation
con s on an tw iththe l in e s el ected.
Dev el opm en ts of the pictu re here in cl u de expan s ion ,
con traction , s l idin g m ov em en ts an d f ram e-by-
f ram e an im ation .
( T hes e m aterial s w il l hav e been , of cou rs e,
IW expl icitl yin pu tbyau thors an d artis ts .)
In as am pl e em pl oym en t, con s idera
pres en tation on the s u bj ectof v ol can oes . Let
T he probl em of in tricate com pu tergraphics .-.1~; ; .f i-.' _ ' ; :55-_> : T the f irs ts han k of the con trol n etcon trol the
m aybe phras ed as f ol l ow s :giv en thatadigital I L" i:.5 ' - .,_<_-.; L_a_-5;
s ys tem can hol d al w ide v arietyof graphical C; 1; ; ' _' f I~-. If f _:
m aterial s readytopres en t, how m aythe u s er ' T .g
m os ts im pl yan d con v en ien tl ychoos e them ? ' ._g 1' -L3; Q
In deed, how m aythe u s erkeeptrack of w hatis __- E~ _1
happen in g, w here he is an d w here he has been ? @ - r
T he extern al m echan is m Ihav e s el ected f or
this f acil ityparadoxical l ycom bin es greatv ers atil ityf or
s ophis ticated pres en tation s w ithgreats im pl icitybef ore the
n aiv e u s er. T he ideais this : the u s erm aycom m an d a
con tin u in g s u cces s ion of chan gin g pres en tation s , m akin g
on l yon e s im pl e choice atatim e, yetreceiv in g in tricate an d
richan im ation s w ithextrem el ycl earcon tin u ityon the
s creen .
T he exteriorm echan is m is this :al on g w ithan arbitrary
graphic pres en tation on the s creen , the u s eris con ti-
n u ou s l ypres en ted w iththe im age of af orkin g s etof
I b Id . .: ae e arrow s , 8 8 e .a2 i_= u m r.; ..,,.4_MR m m ,
T he pipIS acon v en tion al
right-pen cu rs or. T he '
cu rren ts han k is al in e T ? IN P m ior!
w hos e im pl icitgradation s m m
s hoal
con trol dev el opm en ts in the
pictu re; an d the choice of arrow s atthe en d of the cu rren t
s han k determ in e adis crete choice betw een al tern ativ es that
are totran s pire.
T he u s er, s eizin g the pipw iththe Iightpen , m ov es it
( throu ghthe u s u al Iightpen techn iqu es )s idew ays al on g the
cu rren ts han k. Mov in g itin the f orw ard direction cau s es
ris e of av ol can of rom the s ea an
u n du l atin g ocean s u rf ace pierced f irs tbya
' w is pof s m oke, then agrow in g peak, w ith
riv u l ets of l av as een toru n dow n its s ides an d
darken as theycon tribu te toits grow th.
Atthe en d of the f irs ts han k, the u s erm ay
bran chtotw oarrow s , l abel ed res pectiv el y
WOR D OR IGIN an d IN T ER IOR . Eitheroption con tin u es the
pres en tation w ithou tabreak, retain in g m u chof the pictu re
I; = ~l ~@ ~~
( -"H-v ) ( n v dl gl ; 4? L-3
.v w -. 1- Jar,
L.d".+"ieL2 ~il gr"._' l 111+ L_. am "T
on the s creen . Sel ection of WOR D OR IGIN cau s es the w ord
VOLCAN O tochan ge toVU LCAN , an d apictu re of the god
Vu l can is s een tos eize al ightn in g bol tris in g f rom the crater;
textappears toexpl ain this . Al tern ativ el y, if the u s erchoos es
IN T ER IOR , the tu bes an d du cts w ithin the v ol can oappear,
an d expl an atorytextas o.
H v u tc
Vv i-Cl iu o / I- E; S101
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2 1. Com pu terLib
/ Dream Machin es
( T he pathu n chos en f ades f rom the s creen , as does the
prev iou s s han k.)
Eitherof thes e al tern ativ es m aycon tin u e w ithits ow n
dev el opm en ts an d an im ation s u n derthe con trol of its ow n
s han k.
Sev eral f eatu res of this con trol appl ication are of s pecial
in teres t. On e is thatthe pres en tation m aybe con tin u ou s in
al l direction s , aidin g in con tin u ou s u s erorien tation . An other
is thatpres en tation s are rev ers ibl e in v ariou s w ays , an aid
bothin u s erorien tation an d s el f -s tu dy. ( N oton l yis adem on -
s tration rev ers ibl e w ithin agiv en s han k, bu tthe u s erm ay
back the pipthrou ghan in ters ection in tothe an teceden t
s han k w hichreappears atthe j u n ctu re as the Iightpen
backs u p an d the u s erm aycon tin u e torev ers e the
pres en tation throu ghthatprecedin g s han k, ortore-en terthe
in ters ection an d m ake an otherchoice, the pathn ottaken ")
T hes e f eatu res al l ow the u s ercl earl ytorepeatdem on -
s tration s as of ten as he Iikes an d toexpl ore n u m erou s
al tern ativ es .
T he dis pl ayed con trol n etis thu s tobe u n ders tood as a
l arge n etw ork of choices , m os tl yu n s een , w hos e cu rren tl y
v is ibl e portion w al ks arou n d the s creen as u s e progres s es .
Within this s ys tem , then , n u m erou s v arian ts are pos s ibl e. Eor
in s tan ce, the cu rren tl yv is ibl e portion of the n etm ayits el f be
w him s ical l yin corporated in apictu re, v iz.:
( T l
5l N I
I) VIILT U E l w l il s r
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rroew s res T N e orMIT
T he Greeks tol d of agian tn am ed P rocru s tes ( rhym es w ith
R u s tys )w how as v eryhos pitabl e topas s in g trav el ers . He
w ou l d in v ite, in deed com pel them , tos l eepin his bed.
U n f ortu n atel y, becau s e itw as av eryodd bed, he had tocu t
them u pf irs t. . .
P rocru s tes has hau n ted con v ers ation s ev ers in ce; an d an y
tim e w e are f orced tou s e categories thatdon ' tproperl yf ita
s u bj ect, its eem s l ike an in v itation tothe P rocru s tean bed.
theN EWMEDIAR EADER
Hypertexts ys tem s atl as tof f ertotal f reedom f rom
arbitrarycategorizin g an d choppin g; bu tin s om e s ys tem s f or
s torin g an d pres en tin g in f orm ation , Ican ' thel phearin g the
w his k of P rocru s tes s kn if e
"T ake n ew T ap-A-T oe Eu tu roidic Eootl es s De-
Cl u tchin g. In s tead of ol d-f as hion ed gas , brake an d
cl u tchpedal s thatkeptyou rf eetbu s ierthan adan ce
m arathon , T ap-A-T oe Eu tu roidic Eootl es s De-
Cl u tchin g of f ers the con v en ien ce of Sin gl e P edal
P ow erCon troI com bin es al l f ootf u n ction s in on e
s in gl e pedal ! .
T hin k of it:on e tap you go, m ov in g of f f as terthan
abarf l yaf terR epeal .
"T w otaps you chan ge gears , as s m oothan d
au tom atic as am ortgage f orecl os u re.
T hree taps you s topqu ickerthan the U .S. econ om y.
An d thats al l there is toit. T ap-A-T oe Eu tu roidic
F ootl es s De-Cl u tchin g w ithSin gl e P edal Con trol is as
eas yan d ef f ortl es s as the Japm archon Man chu ria!"
Bru ce McCal l ,
"19 34Bu l gem obil e Brochu re,
N ation al Lam poon , May7 4, 7 6 -7 .
S1LLl W\s Io' ~l
An ice exam pl e of au n if ied pres en tation al s ys tem w ou l d
al l ow you af eeIie"gl ov e al on g w ithyou rcom pu terdis pIay
the s ortof thin g Mike N ol l has been doin g atBel l Labs .
N ow , s u ppos e you are pl ayin g w ithadiagram of as taron a
com pu terdis pl ays creen . Its al l v eryw el l tos ee its l ayers ,
f l ow in g arrow s repres en tin g con v ection cu rren ts ,
prom on tories an d s oon bu ts om e thin gs you ou ghttobe
abl e tof eel . F orexam pl e, the m echan ical res on an ce-properties
of s tars . Itw ou l d be n ice tobe abl e toreachan d gras pthe
s tar, tos qu eeze itan d f eel its pu l s ation s as itregain s its s hape.
T his cou l d be don e in the gl ov e atthe s am e tim e the im age
of the gl ov e gras ps the s taron the s creen , an d the s taris
s qu is hed.
Of cou rs e, tobu il d s u chares pon din g gl ov e, particu l arl y
on e thatgav e you s u btl e f eel in gs back in you rf in gers , w ou l d
probabl ybe v eryexpen s iv e. Bu tits the kin d of pos s ibil ity
peopl e s hou l d s tartcon s iderin g.
G ~~* 1_. a~<; _~ ~1~~ e~<:> ~~ > 4 om l igm o> s ~ A 2 1. Com pu ter
_ 1,w \ l 1 km : 7 |
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m om m aSH IP N OGOGY ?
IN T LLf CT R om a?[ - P ~= -~1
T l -1006 1-Itom i-n an ?
Mal i; -T f tbhl l cs ?
Aew i; w e T eam
F w ocs .
F irs tof al l , If eel thatv eryf ew peopl e u n ders tan d w hat
in teractiv e com pu ters ys tem s are abou t. It' s l ike the s toryof
the bl in d m an an d the el ephan t eachthin ks its adif f eren t
thin g ( bas ed, u s u al l y, on his ow n techn ical s pecial ty).
Bu tIthin k its al l s how bu s in es s . P EN N Y AR CADES are
the m odel f orin teractiv e com pu ters ys tem s , n otcl as s room s
orl ibraries orim agin aryrobotpl aym ates . An d com pu ter
graphics is an in tricate bran chof m ov ie-m akin g.
Okay, s oIw an ted aterm thatw ou l d con n ote, in the m os t
gen eral s en s e, the s how m an s hipof ideas an d f eel in gs
w hetherorn othan dl ed bym achin e.
Ideriv e f an tics f rom the Greek w ords phain ein ( s how )
an d its deriv ativ e phan tas tein ( pres en ttothe eye orm in d)
Y ou w il l of cou rs e recogn ize its cou s in s f an tas tic, f an tas y,
phan tom . ( P han tom m ean s w hatis s how n ; in m edical
il l u s tration itref ers toan opaqu e obj ectdraw n as
tran s paren t; aphan tom l im b is an am pu tees tem porary
f eel in g thatthe s ev ered l im b has been res tored.)An d a
f an tas tis adream er.
T he w ord f an tics w ou l d thu s in cl u de the s how in g of
an ythin g ( an d thu s w ritin g an d theater), w hichis m ore or
l es s w hatIin ten ded. T he term is al s oin ten ded tocov erthe
tactics of con v eyin g ideas an d im pres s ion s , es pecial l yw ith
s how m an s hipan d pres en tation al techn iqu es , organ izin g
con s tru cts , an d f u n dam en tal s tru ctu res u n derl yin g
pres en tation al s ys tem s .
T hu s En gel barts datahierarchy, SKET CI-IP ADs
Con s train ts , an d P LAT O' s f an tic s paces are f an tic
con s tru ction s thatn eed tobe u n ders tood if w e are to
u n ders tan d thes e s ys tem s an d theirpoten tial u s ages .
/ Dream Machin es
Liv erm ore Labs , thos e hydrogen bom b des ign peopl e,
w il l hav e aLaboratoryf orDataAn al ys is , an opu l en t
f acil ityf orexperim en tin g w ithm u l tidim en s ion al
v is u al ization .
On e of you rj ol l yiron ies . Ihav e s een pictu res of
beau tif u l m u l tibu tton con trol han dl es w hichw ere
des ign ed f orproj ectSMASH, w ou l d you bel iev e
Sou theas t[ As ia] Mu l tis en s oryArm am en tSys tem f or
Hel icopters . Aargh.
T he bes tw iththe w ors t.
Ev erythin g is deepl yin tertw in gl ed.
Des ign in g s creen s ys tem s thatf ocu s the u s er' s thou ghton
his w ork, w ithhel pf u l v is u al ization s an d n odis traction s , is
the greattas k of f an tic des ign .
In as ys tem Ides ign ed f orCR T m otion -pictu re editin g, the
u s ercou l d m an ipu l ate w ritten des cription s on the s creen
( corres pon din g tothe u s u al yel l ow pad n otes ). T os ee the
con s equ en ces of aparticu l ars pl ice, f orin s tan ce, the editor
w ou l d on l yhav e todraw al in e betw een tw oan n otated l in es
repres en tin g s hots . T rim v ariation s cou l d be s een bym ov in g
this cu t-l in e ( il l u s trated).
1 # 1 1 ~ "7 Y "7 ' __
H n T 41w \~ Show F an y
MON ST ER i\P P n b/ m u cg, \
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N otl on g af ter, CBS an d Mem orexdid in trodu ce as ys tem
f orm ov ie editin g byCR T bu tI' v e heard thatin their
s ys tem the u s erhas toactu al l ydeal w ithn u m bers . If s o, this
is m is s in g the w hol e poin t.
2 1. Com pu terLib
/ Dream Machin es
* ' l ?\l N K6 U o?S* -
Ou rgreates tprobl em s in v ol v e thin kin g an d the v is u al ization
of com pl exity.
ByT hin kertoy Im ean , f irs tof al l , as ys tem tohel ppeopl e
thin k. ( ' T oy' m ean s its hou l d be eas yan d f u n tou s e.)T his is
the s am e gen eral ideaf orw hichEn gel bart, f orin s tan ce, u s es
the term au gm en tation of in tel l ect."
Bu taT hin kertoyis s om ethin g qu ite s pecif ic: Idef in e itas
acom pu terdis pl ays ys tem thathel ps you en v is ion com pl ex
al tern ativ es .
T he proces s of en v is ion in g com pl exal tern ativ es is byn o
m ean s the on l yim portan tf orm of hu m an thou ght; bu titis
es s en tial tom akin g decis ion s , des ign in g, pl an n in g, w ritin g,
w eighin g al tern ate theories , con s iderin g al tern ate f orm s of
l egis l ation , doin g s chol arl yres earch, an d s oon . Itis al s o
com pl icated en ou ghthat, in s ol v in g it, w e m ays ol v e s im pl er
probl em s as w el l .
We w il l s tres s here s om e of the u s es of thes e s ys tem s f or
han dl in g text, partl ybecau s e Ithin k thes e are rather
in teres tin g, an d partl ybecau s e the com pl exityan d s u btl ety
of this probl em has gottobe betteru n ders tood:the w ritten
w ord is n othin g l es s than the tracks l ef tbythe m in d, an d s o
w e are real l ytal kin g abou ts creen s ys tem s f orhan dl in g ideas ,
in al l theircom pl exity.
N u m erou s types of com pl exthin gs hav e tobe in ter-
theN EWMEDIAR EADER
P airs of thin gs w hichhav e s om e parts the
s am e, s om e parts dif f eren t( con tracts , hol ybooks ,
s tatu tes of dif f eren ts tates , draf tv ers ion s of
l egis l ation ...) '
~a
Dif f eren ttheories an d theirties topartie
cu l arexam pl es an d ev iden ces .
v L
I tru w il
U n derexam in ation thes e dif f eren ttypes of in ter-
ii
com paris on s eem tobe ratherdif f eren t. N ow , on e approach
w ou l d be tocreate adif f eren tdatas tru ctu re an d v iew in g
techn iqu e f oreachdif f eren ttype of com pl ex. T here m aybe
reas on s f ordoin g thatin the
W__, ,__.__,_..___f u tu re.
-1im l KEQ o?$- .--:- V 1
~~_-_; __' F orthe pres en t, how ev er,
I; -i_+if i-"' ? . itm akes s en s e totrytof in d
_P -3-' the m os tgen eral pos s ibl e
' ,__v iew in g techn iqu e:on e that
- I""5"; ' 2 ' w il l al l ow com pl ex
* I ' iiin tercom paris on s of al l the
__v ,,_j types m en tion ed, an d an y
_Y --55 others w e m ightru n acros s .
On e s u chtechn iqu e is
,.-; ..r...-,.~.-.~.~~ ' - w hatIn ow cal l col l ateration ,
orthe l in kin g of m aterial s
in tocol l ateral s tru ctu res , as w il l be expl ain ed. T his is f airl y
com pared, an d theirrel ation s in ter-com prehen ded. Here are a s traightf orw ard if you thin k en ou ghabou tthe probl em ;
f ew of the m an ytypes :
Al tern ativ e des ign s .
A
-.-....i_..
-_
I
i
Dis crepan cies am on g the tes tim on yof w itn es s es
Su cces s iv e draf ts of the s am e docu m en t.
En gel bartdis cov ered itin depen den tl y.
Letu s cal l tw os tru ctu res col l ateral if there are l in ks
betw een them , con n ectin g as el ected partof on e w itha
s el ected partof the other. T he s equ en ces of the con n ected
parts m aybe dif f eren t. F ors im pl icitys s ake, s u ppos e each
on e is as hortpiece of w ritin g. ( We w il l al s oas s u m e that
there is s om e con v en ien tf orm of rapid v iew in g an d
f ol l ow in g betw een on e en d of al in k an d an other.)
$5C"\D
.DOGv l \v q-
bk Sw v cu cw it
U Q Q P ~
19 7 4
s o -_. as 2 1. Com pu terLl b r ~ ~0~~ ear ~~~O,~~
N ow , itw il l be n oted f irs tof f thatthis is an extrem el y
gen eral m ethod. Bycol l ateral s tru ctu rin g w e can eas il y
han dl e the equ iv al en ts of :tabl es of con ten ts ; in dexes ;
com m en ts an d m argin al ia; expl an ation s , exeges is ,
expl ication ; l abel in g; headin gs ; f ootn otes ; n otes bythe
w ritertohim s el f ; com m en ts an d qu es tion s bythe reader
f orl aterref eren ce; an d addition al detail s ou tof s equ en ce.
Col l ateration , then , is the creation of s u chm u l tipl e an d
v iew abl e l in ks BET WEEN AN Y T WODAT AST R U CT U R ES,
in prin cipl e. Itis gen eral an d pow erf u l en ou ghtohan dl e a
greatv arietyof pos s ibl e u s es in hu m an in tel l ectu al en deav or,
an d des erv es con s iderabl e atten tion f rom res earchers of
ev erys tripe."
T he probl em then , is how tohan dl e this f orrapid an d
con v en ien tv iew in g an d w hatev erotherw ork the u s er
w an ts todo w ritin g an d s pl icin g, in ter com parin g,
an n otatin g an d s oon . T w os ol u tion s appearon this s pread:
T he P aral l el T extf ace", des ign ed as as em in al partof the
Xan adu s ys tem ( s ee p. 335), w hichIhope w il l be m arketed
w iththats ys tem in the n earf u tu re, an d am ore recen t
des ign w hichI' v e w orked on atthe U n iv ers ityof Il l in ois ,
the 3DT hin kertoyorT h3.
Cl arityan d P ow er
We s tres s ed on the others ide of the book thatcom pu ter
s ys tem s m u s tbe cl ear, s im pl e an d eas ytou s e. Where thin gs
l ike bu s in es s u s es of com pu ters are con cern ed, w hichare
in trin s ical l ys os im pl e in prin cipl e, s om e of the com pl ication s
thatpeopl e hav e been f orced todeal w ithin il l -des ign ed
com pu ters ys tem s v erge on the crim in al . ( Bu ts om e com pu ter
peopl e w an tothers tothin k that' s the w ayithas tobe. Y ou r
f irs tdu tyis tokeepyou rj ob, right?"on e com pu terpers on
s aid tom e recen tl y. Itw ou l dn ' tdotos etu ps ys tem s s oeas y
tou s e thatthe com pan yw ou l dn ' tn eed you an ym ore)
Bu tif itis des irabl e thatcom pu ters ys tem s f ors im pl e-
m in cl ed pu rpos es be eas ytou s e, itis abs ol u tel yn eces s arythat
com pu ters ys tem s f orcom pl icated pu rpos es be s im pl e tou s e.
If you are w ran gl in g ov ercom pl exal tern ativ es s ay, in ches s
orin apol itical s im u l ation gam e, orin the throes of tryin g to
w rite an ov el , the l as tthin g you w il l tol erate is f oryou r
com pu ters creen toin trodu ce com pl ication s of its ow n . If a
s ys tem f orthin kin g does n tm ake thin kin g s im pl er
al l ow in g you tos ee f artheran d m ore deepl y itis u s el es s , to
u s e on l ythe pol ite term .
/ Dream Machin es
Bu ts ys tem s can be bothpow erf u l an d s im pl e atthe s am e
tim e. T he m yththatthin gs hav e tobe com pl icated todo
an ythin g f oryou is pern iciou s ru bbis h. Wel l -des ign ed
s ys tem s can m ake ou rm en tal tas ks l ighteran d ou r
achiev em en ts com e f as ter.
Itis f orthis reas on thatIcom m en d tothe readerthes e
tw odes ign s of m in e:as exam pl es of u s er-l ev el con trol an d
v iew in g des ign s f an tic en v iron m en ts , if you w il l ( s ee p.
31' 7 ) thatare pru n ed an d tu n ed togiv e the u s ergreat
con trol ov erthe v iew in g an d cros s con s ideration of in tricate
al tern ativ es , w ithou tcom pl ication . Il ike tobel iev e thatboth
of thes e, in deed, are ten m in u te s ys tem s thatis w hen w e get
them ru n n in g, the ran ge of u s es s how n here can be tau ghtto
n aiv e u s ers , in ten m in u tes orl es s .
Itis becau s e of m yheartf el tbel ief in this kin d of s im pl icity
thatIs tres s the creation of pref abricated en v iron m en ts ,
caref u l l ytu n ed f oreas yu s e, ratherthan the creation of
com pu terl an gu ages w hichm u s tbe l earn tbythe u s er, as do
s u chpeopl e as En gel bartan d DeF an ti.
N ow , theirapproachobv iou s l yhas con s iderabl e m eritf or
s ophis ticated u s ers w how an ttotin kerrepeatedl yw ith
v arian tapproaches . F orpeopl e w how an ttow ork in ces s an tl y
in an en v iron m en t, an d on otherthin gs - s ayw riters an d
are abs en t-m in ded an d cl u m s yan d n erv ou s an d f orgetf u l
( l ike the pres en tau thor), then the s af e, pref abricated
en v iron m en t, w iththorou ghl yf ail s af e f u n ction s an d u tterl y
m em orabl e s tru ctu ral an d con trol in terrel ation s hips , is the
on l yapproach.
* In m y19 6 5paper( s ee bibl iography)Ical l ed col l ateral s tru ctu res
zippered l is ts . [ in cl u ded in this v ol u m e ( O11)
* * Agrou patBrow n U n iv ers ityhas reportedl yw orked al on g thes e
l in es s in ce Iw orked w iththem , bu tdu e tocertain pers on al
an im os ities Ihav e n otkeptu pw iththeirdev el opm en ts . Itw il l be
in teres tin g tos ee w hatkin d of res pon s e theycan getou tof the
IBM s ys tem s theyare u s in g.
Bibl iography
T heodorH. N el s on , "AF il e Stru ctu re f orthe Com pl ex, the Chan gin g
an d the In determ in ate. P roc. ACM 6 5, 84-100.
, "Sim pl icityVers u s P ow erin U s erSys tem s . U n pu bl is hed.
2 1. Com pu terLib
/ Dream Machin es
Decis ion / Creativ itySys tem s [ T hin kertoys ]
T heodorH. N el s on
19 Ju l y19 7 0
Ithas been recogn ized f rom the daw n of com pu terdis pl ay
thatthe gran des tan d m os tim portan tu s e of the com pu ter
dis pl ays hou l d be toaid decis ion s an d creativ e thou ght. T he
w ork of Iv an Su therl an d ( SKET CHP AD)an d Dou gl as
En gel barthav e real l ys how n how w e, m ayu s e the dis pl ayto
v is u al ize an d ef f ectou tcreativ e decis ion s s w if tl yan d v iv idl y.
F ors om e reas on , how ev er, the m os tim portan tas pectof
s u chs ys tem s has been n egl ected. We don otm ake im portan t
decis ion s , w e s hou l d n otm ake del icate decis ion s , s erial l yan d
irrev ers ibl y. R ather, the pow erof the com pu terdis pl ay( an d
its com pu tin g an d f il in g s u pport)m u s tbe s ocraf ted thatw e
m aydev el opal tern ativ es , s pin ou ttheircom pl ication s an d
in terrel ation s hips , an d v is u al ize thes e u pon as creen .
N os ys tem cou l d dothis f oru s au tom atical l y. Whatdes ign
an d program m in g can create, how ev er, is af acil itythatw il l
al l ow u s tol is t, s ketch, l in k an d an n otate the com pl exities w e
s eek tou n ders tan d, then pres en tv iew s of the com pl exities
in m an ydif f eren tf orm s . Stu dyin g thes e v iew s , an n otatin g
an d ref in in g, w e can reachthe f in al des ign s an d decis ion s
w ithm u .chm ore in m in d than w e cou l d otherw is e hol d
togetherin the im agin ation .
@
dbl ?kl v gj gl erQ .
1:heN EWMEDIAR EADER
Som e of the f acil ities thats u chs ys tem s m u s thav e in cl u de
the f ol l ow in g:
An n otation s toan ythin g, toan yrem ov e.
Al tern ativ es of decis ion , des ign , w ritin g, theory.
U n l in ked orirregu l arpieces , han g-in g as the u s erw is hes .
Mu l ticou pl in g, orcom pl exl in kage, betw een
al tern ativ es , an n otation s orw hatev er.
His torical f il in g of the u s er' s action s , in cl u din g each
addition an d m odif ication , an d pos s ibl ythe v iew in g
action s thatpreceded them .
F rozen m om en ts an d v ers ion s , w hichthe u s erm ayhol d
as m em orabl e f orhis thin kin g.
Ev ol u tion arycou pl in g, w here the corres pon den ces
betw een ev ol v in g v ers ion s are au tom atical l y
m ain tain ed, an d theirdif f eren ces orrel ation s eas il y
an n otated.
In addition , des ign s f ors creen v iew s , the m otion ,
appearan ce an d dis appearan ce of el em en ts , requ ire
con s iderabl e thou ghtan d im agin ation .
. F ro-~ AHu n :-\\-t30-~31: Iiim el u eiw hT I l ke JOT 5-1s T 1v ~. 117 1 T il l !-l u v
Here' s how s im pl e itis tocreate an d edittextw iththe JOT s ys tem . Sin ce you rtypew riteris n ow aJOT m achin e, n otev erykeydoes w hatit
u s ed to. [ When N el s on w rote m u ch"w ord proces s in g"w as throu ghm odif ied typew riters , w ihtou tgraphic dis pl ays eds .]
CR EAT IN G T EXT :j u s ttype itin .
Y ou type: T he qu ick brow n f oxj u m ps ov erthe l azydog.
Ittypes : T he qu ick brow n f oxj u m ps ov erthe l azydog.
R EVIEWIN G ASEN T EN CEY OU JU ST T Y P ED: the back-arrow takes you back, the s pace bars teps you throu gh.
Y ou type: < s p s p s p s p
Ittypes : ( bel l ) T he qu ick brow n f ox
DELET ION S AN D IN SER T ION S: the R U BOU T keyrej ects w ords you don ' tw an t. T oin s ert, m erel ytype.
Y ou type: < s p s p R U BOU T l ithe s p s p s p s p s p s p
Ittypes : ( bel l ) T he qu ick / brow n / l ithe f ox j u m ps ov er the l azy dog.
R EAR R AN GIN G T EXT : f irs tw e m ake three Cu ts in the text, s ign al ed byf ree-s tan din g excl am ation poin ts .
Y ou type: s p I s p ! s p ! f ox
Ittypes : T he I qu ick ! l ithe ! f ox
T 0R EAR R R AN GEIT , Y OU T Y P E: LIN EF EED key. T his exchan ges the tw opieces betw een the cu ts .
CHECKT HER ESU LT S:
< s p s p s p s p
( bel l ) T he l ithe qu ick f ox
w e .19 7 4;--1 2 1. Com pu terLib
/ Dream Machin es
T heobj ectis n ottobu rden w e m ightal s othin k 0? them as s ys tem s ~f or v eryu n u s u al kin ds of s creen
the u s er, orm ake him aw are W orWMS. an im ation an d f il e retriev al . Bu t
of com pl exities in w hichhe
has n oin teres t. Bu tal m os tev eryon e in in tel l ectu al an d
decis ion pu rs u its has ats om e tim e an im pl icitn eed f ors om e
of thes e f acil ities . If peopl e kn ew theyw ere pos s ibl e, they
w ou l d dem an d them . Itis tim e f ortheircreation .
Af u l l -f l edged decis ion / creativ itys ys tem , em bracin g both
textan d graphics , is on e of the u l tim ate des ign goal s of
P roj ectXAN ADU .
l l \e.l > % l l Ll EXT F hC
( Q
T his u s er-l ev el s ys tem is in ten ded toaid in al l f orm s of
w ritin g an d s chol ars hip, as w el l as an yw here el s e thatw e
n eed tou n ders tan d an d m an ipu l ate com pl ex
cl u s terin gs of text( i.e., thou ght). Itw il l al s o
w ork w ithcertain an im ated graphics .
T he paral l el T extf ace, as des cribed here,
f u rn is hed the in itial im petu s f orthe
dev el opm en tof the Xan adu "s ys tem ( s ee p.
335). Xan adu w as dev el oped, in deed,
origin al l yf orthe pu rpos e of im pl em en tin g
s om e of thes e f u n ction s , bu tthe tw os pl it
apart. Ittu rn ed ou tthatthe P aral l el T extf ace
requ ired an extrem el yu n u s u al datas tru ctu re
an d program techn iqu es ; thes e then becam e
the Xan adu s ys tem . As dev el oped in the f in al
Xan adu des ign , theytu rn ou ttohan dl e s om e
rcm rtm m a 1' :
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this grew ou tof s tru ctu rin g a
s ys tem tohan dl e the f u n ction s des cribed here.
T hu s the P aral l el T extf ace bas ical l yrequ ires aXan adu
s ys tem .
Itis hoped thatthis s ys tem can be s ol d com pl ete
( in cl u din g am in icom pu terorm icroproces s or n o
con n ection toal arge com pu teris requ ired)f oraf ew
thou s an d dol l ars by19 7 6 or19 7 7 . ( Sin ce bu s in es s peopl e
are extrem el ys keptical as tow hetheran ybodyw ou l d w an t
s u chathin g, Iw ou l d be in teres ted in hearin g expres s ion s of
in teres t, if an y.)
As s how n here, the s creen pres en ts tw opan el s of text;
m ore are al l ow ed. Eachcon tain s as egm en tof al on ger
docu m en t. ( P age w ou l d be an im properterm , s in ce the
bou n daryof the textv iew ed m aybe chan ged in s tan tl y.)
T he otherodds an d en ds on the s creen are
hidden keys tocon trol el em en ts w hichhav e
,._.
-T " : - . been m ade tof ade ( in this il l u s tration ), j u s tto
l es s en the dis traction .
5:.- ' __. ; -_; 12 * _.; "_; ~ 5; .' ."
-~~. .. . xv * 2 -_.._.._...
P an el bou n daries an d con trol graphics m ay
be m ade toappearbytou chin g them w iththe
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@ 417 ; T . N l ' .LSo\.
R ov in g F u n ction s
T he textm ov es on the s creen ! ( Es s en tial .)T he l ow erright
han d corn erof eachtextpan el con tain s an in con s picu ou s
con trol diagram . T he s l ighthorizon tal exten s ion is am ov abl e
con trol pip. T he u s er, w ithhis l ightpen , m aym ov e the pipu p
ordow n . U p cau s es the texttom ov e s m oothl yu pw ard
( f orw ard in the m aterial ), atarate proportion al tohow f ar
you pu s hthe pip; dow n cau s es ittom ov e back. ( N ote that
w e don otref erhere toj erkyl in e-by-l in e j u m ps , bu tto
s m ooths creen m otion , w hichis es s en tial in ahigh-
perf orm an ce s ys tem . If the textdoes n otm ov e, you can ttel l
w here itcam e f rom .)
2 1. Com pu terLib
/ Dream Machin es
T L.
' 7 __....~.-.___
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1112 T - l ice:-m l
l n kcren if l irf zif J f !hdev il ' ' l l )
DER IVAT IVEMOT ION :w hen l in ks ru n s equ en tial l y,
con n ectin g on e-af ter-the otheron boths ides , the con ten ts of
the s econ d pan el are pu l l ed al on g directl y:the s m ooth
m otion in on e pan el is m atched in the other. T his m aybe
cal l ed deriv ativ e m otion , betw een in depen den ttext( bein g
han dl ed directl yw iththe l ightpen )an d depen den ttext
( bein g pu l l ed al on g). T he rel ation s hipm aybe rev ers ed
im m ediatel y, how ev er, s im pl ybym ov in g the Iightpen tothe
con trol pipof the otherpan el , w hos e con ten ts then becom e
the in depen den ttext.
Irregu l arities in the l in ks w il l cau s e the in depen den ttext
tom ov e atv aryin g s peeds orj u m p, accordin g toan av erage
of the l in ks con n ectiv ity.
-I-u -n u -i1.,,,,..|u - Ihu I ---|-I-9
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[ 5 -_* j ,j ? ' _; Y f 4 ._p 4~r-4 ? f u t
l * "' ---- ---T M1. -r.n er; = u ,
m dopl m it.,:l '
If n ol in ks are s how n , the depen den ttextj u s ts tops ..
atiqn -s -Q .-n -xn --\
-v ___
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4
1112 . 1' . m es s es
Col l ateral l in ks betw een m aterial s in the tw opan el s are
dis pl ayed as m ov abl e l in es betw een the pan el s . ( T extom itted
in this diagram ; pan el bou n daryhas been m ade toappear.)
theN EWMEDIAR EADER
Som e l in ks m ayn othav e boththeiren dpoin ts dis pl ayed at
on ce. In this cas e w e s how the in com pl ete l in k as abroken
arrow , poin tin g in the direction of the l in ks com pl etion .
5
I ,,..-_-_.__
4---_-___
---___,
iu l u au g-u y"\
1-_.__,
_?-""' " @ -Q -aw n ,
.:.- --5' " / F -T :
= - ._.. ' ; ::
Q .-g-I--I-*
_"" * - I453
_-i_.i_--
ii--___
h__________._' -= :_-- l L...._,,.,..___' |
\
117 2 r. actA
T he broken arrow s erv es n otm erel yas av is u al poin ter,
bu tas aj u m p-m arkerl eadin g tothe l in ked m aterial . By
zappin g the broken arrow w iththe Iightpen , the u s er
s u m m on s the l in ked m aterial as s how n bythe com pl etion
of the l in k tothe otherpan el . ( Sin ce there has been aj u m pin
the s econ d pan el , w e s ee thatin this cas e the otherl in k has
been broken .)
L...
l l l is t. n _v
@ W12 . 1. H-ELSoN
When s u chl in ks l ead todif f eren tpl aces , bothof thes e
des tin ation s m ayn ev erthel es s be s een aton ce. T his is don e
bypoin tin g atbothbroken l in ks in s u cces s ion ; the s ys tem
then al l ow s bothl in ks tobe com pl eted, breakin g the s econ d
pan el betw een the tw odes tin ation s ( as s how n bydotted l in e
acros s pan el ).
* Oddl y,this has the s am e l ogical s tru ctu re as tim e-trav el
in s cien ce- ction .
T here are bas ical l ythree al tern ativ e prem is es of tim e-
trav el : 1)thatthe pas tcan n otbe chan ged, al l ev en ts
hav in g preceded the backs tep; 2 )thatthe pas tcan be
chan ged; an d 3)thatw hil e tim e-trav el ers m aybe del u ded
in tothin kin g ( 2 ), that( 1)is real l ythe cas e l eadin g to
v ariou s appoin tm en t-in -Sam arrapl ots .
On l ypos s ibil ity( 2 )is of in teres there, bu tthere are
I v ariou s al tern ativ e l ogics of m u tabil ityan d tim e-l in e
s teppin g. On e of the bes tIhav e s een is in T he Man Who
Y F ol ded Him s el f byDav id Gerrol d ( P opu l arLibrary, 19 7 3):
l ogic expou n ded pp. 6 4-8. Iam bem u s ed bythe paral l el
betw een Gerrol d' s tim e-con trol s an d thes e, w orked ou t
in depen den tl y.
Q - .1 .. _.._. _-9 - e * -t~ O ' 19 tl } ~~ * 4 - e 2 1. Com pu terLib
/ Dream Machin es
P AR ALLELT EXT F ACE( 19 11) O
In depen den ttextpu l l s
depen den ttextal on g.
P ain ted s treaks s im u l ate
m otion , n oticicl es . T w o pan el s are abou t
rightf ora10x10
s creen .
R eal pers on Sits atN ice keyboard. - Bu t
I hth d t
cardboard Xan adu m ocku p. ; O:rt; gs ?Eter$
r
In an egregiou s tou chof n arcis s is tic hu m or, w e u s e the
\\/ / 3' " v erytradem ark on the s creen as acon trol dev ice ( expan ded
_ f rom the s how n in the f irs tpan el ).
I n _ Actu al l ythe X in Xan adu "",ias itappears on the s creen , is
. an hou rgl as s , w ithas of tl yf al l in g trickl e of an im ated dots in
@ l I' iZ rirl cts cre
the l ow erhal f , an d San ds of T im e s een as heaps abov e an d
bel ow . T hes e hav e acon trol , as w el l as arepres en tativ e,
f u n ction .
F ail -Saf e an d His torical F eatu res j
In s ys tem s f orn aiv e u s ers , itis es s en tial tos af egu ard _
T O U N DO SOMET HIN G, Y OU IVIER ELY
ST EP BACKWAR DIN T IME"bydaggin g the
u pperpartof the hou rgl as s w iththe Iightpen . the u s erf rom his ow n m is takes . T hu s in texts ys tem s , A .
com m an ds giv en in errorm u s tbe rev ers ibl e. F or \ . _~ .- On e poke, on e editin g operation u n don e.
in s tan ce, Carm odys s ys tem requ ires con f irm ation of ~ I if Itj - ' T w opokes , tw ooperation s .
del etion s . U
An otherhighl ydes irabl e f eatu re w ou l d al l ow the __
u s ertov iew prev iou s v ers ion s , tos ee them col l ateral l y" + _
Y ou m aythen con tin u e tov iew an d m ake
chan ges as if the l as ttw ooperation s had
n ev ertaken pl ace. T his ef f ectiv el ycreates an
w iththe corres pon din g parts of cu rren tv ers ion s , an d ' al tern ativ e tim e l in e.* How ev er, if you decide
ev en goback tothe w ayparticu l arthin gs w ere an d ~ thataprev iou s l yu n don e editoperation
res u m e w ork f rom the prev iou s v ers ion . s hou l d be keptaf teral l , you m ays tep
In the P aral l el T extf ace this is al l com pris ed in the s am e f orw ard s teppin g on tothe prev iou s tim e l in e byu s in g
extrem el ys im pl e f acil ity. ( Extrem el ys im pl e f rom the u s er' s the l ow erhal f of the hou rgl as s .
poin tof v iew , thatis . In s ide itis , of cou rs e, hairy.)
__..____.__._.___.__._________._; |<
I-_
j brtg {1' l |_- _, -.- -
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X .
1 II
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\ET \' iOU r)\ "l 3&u 1 Etqis w yk "rrec-
\ @ 117 1 T u Il m v xl 117 1 r. rl ecm g
2 1. Com pu terLib
/ Dream Machin es
We s ee this cl arif ied in am as tertim e diagram orR ev is ion
T ree w hichm aybe s u m m on ed tothe s creen , n ev erm in d
how . In this exam pl e w e s ee thatthree v ers ion s are s til l
cu rren t, v ariou s others tarts an d v ariation s hav in g been
aban don ed. ( T he s haggyf ron ds corres pon d tos hort-l iv ed
v ariation s , res u l tin g f rom operation s w hichw ere then
rev ers ed. In otherw ords , excis ed tim e-l in es , tou s e Gerrol ds
term s ee f ootn ote.)
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cigars .-
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3 dl m a
. ( rv o ap)
tv m n raol I " A7 :
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T he u s er l et' s s ayhe is athou ghtf u l w riter m aydef in e
v ariou s Vers ion s orDraf ts , here m arked on the R ev is ion T ree.
/
m i
/ _\
theN EWMEDIAR EADER
. . . an d s ee them dis pl ayed col l ateral l y; an d rev is e them
f u rther.
ECU Dhf w ,
N P al tar? r_.--
L_n _ . - .._~~-:-
__. I' 7 - 1 _-~....l _-__
1:.-. . . . ., _, I ,_,- 4-"""'
ig --.-_i
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u -1 _' . v ' v ' _
-.. ___.
7
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c."' --_-- --_~-.
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c:.._,,____,__
@ 111 7 -v T KIL._)ohI
Material s m aybe copied betw een v ers ion s . ( N ote thatin
the copyin g operation of the P aral l el T extf ace, you actu al l y
s ee the m ov ed textm ov ed hodil yas abl ock.)
9 1 -
II !' 4} ___ ___. I l l F 5__, F _"9 '
C L1 - ; ' - ' ' l 1.1} - '
; .l ...~' _,, N tee e W__7 _.l r..r.... ,- \- tr- -rif f , e -r :~L~ ~ " Wr e 2 I ' -_\"z 2 . .:u ~
l .____..
I] Ll ___
U
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_ T ~ __~ _' T he u s erm ayhav e an u m berof s tan dbyl ayou ts , w ith
@ 13, \- Mel -,$ 1
He m ay, in deed, def in e col l ateral l in kages betw een
dif f eren tv ers ion s def in ed atv ariou s T im es in the T ree . . .
BQ AF T 1.
N 0-F Y | .
. T m -
__I
117 1, r. HCLCOK
dif f eren tn u m bers of pan el s , an d j u m pam on g them bys tabs
of the Iightpen .
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o e ore an e 0 0 0' 19 o 2 1. COIT IP U IIGT I.' l b
/ Dream Machin es
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2 1. Com pu terLib
/ Dream Machin es
In otherw ords , in this approachw e an n otate an d l abel
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cou l d be al l -too eas il yl os tin s ys tem s w hichw ere
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T he f u n dam en tal s tren gthof col l ateration , s een here, is of
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u s ed as atabl e of con ten ts oran ou tl in e, takin g the u s er
in s tan tl ytoparts w hichare of in teres tin s om e n ew con text.
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theN EWMEDIAR EADE
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I39 14
o 0 e+. race ~~ ere o e
2 2 . [ In trodu ction ]
F rom T heatre of the Oppres s ed
U n l ike otherau thors w hos e w ork is con tain ed in this v ol u m e, Au gu s toBoal has been toj ail f or
practicin g his in teractiv e techn iqu es .
Boal w orks in in teractiv e perf orm an ce, creatin g opportu n ities f orin teraction arou n d the
probl em s thatcon f ron tordin arypeopl e. He has w orked w iths om e of the m os toppres s ed peopl e of
Sou thAm erica, u s in g techn iqu es des cribed in the f ol l ow in g s el ection an d kn ow n as T heatre of the
Oppres s ed Boal w as in itial l ybas ed in Brazil u n til the m il itarygov ern m en tm u rdered his
col l eagu es , j ail ed an d tortu red him f orthree m on ths , an d w arn ed him he w ou l d n otbe s af e af terhis
rel eas e. He f l ed toArgen tin a, w orked there an d in Chil e, an d w as l aterf orced in toexil e in Eu rope. It
w as there he appl ied his techn iqu es toan ew type of oppres s ion , takin g on n oton l ythe copon the
s treet,"bu tal s othe copin the head. T he appl ication s of Boal s techn iqu es tow ard therapeu tic aim s ,
dev el oped du rin g this period, are cal l ed T he R ain bow of Des ire. In the m id-19 80s itbecam e s af e f or
Boal toretu rn toBrazil . In 19 9 2 he ran f orpol itical of f ice as an actof theatre, an d, tothe s u rpris e
of al l , w as el ected. He brou ghthis theatre trou pe w ithhim as his s u pports taf f . an d began tou s e his
perf orm an ce techn iqu es f ordev el opin g l egis l ativ e propos al s w iththos e w hon orm al l yl ack a
l egis l ativ e v oice. T his w ork is docu m en ted in Legis l ativ e T heatre. Boal w as an ef f ectiv e pol itician ,
l eadin g the pol itical rightin Brazil toharas s him w ithl aw s u its an d tou s e theirres ou rces toen s u re
he w ou l d n otbe reel ected. V
When con s iderin g Boal f rom an ew m ediapers pectiv e, itis im portan tn ottol os e s ightof how
m u chhis in teractiv e techn iqu es em phas ize em bodim en t. Boal m akes Kn ow in g the Body the f irs t'
s tage in his proces s aproces s thatcu l m in ates in directbodil yin v ol v em en tin theatrical action v ia
F oru m T heatre, an d thatcan ev en proceed in toem bodied perf orm ativ e action in the day-to day
w orl d ( w ithou tthe theatrical m arkin gs of gu erril l atheatre)v iaIn v is ibl e T heatre
N . Katherin e Hayl es is on e of n ew m edia' s m os tim portan tcom m en tators on is s u es of
em bodim en t. In How We Becam e P os thu m an s he dis cu s s es how in f orm ation becam e dis em bodied in
f irs t-w av e cybern etics an d in the f iel ds in s pired byit. How ev er, s in ce thatperiod w e hav e s een a
dram atic retu rn tocon cern w ithem bodim en t bothin cu l tu ral critiqu e ( e.g., Hayl es hers el f ,
Don n aHaraw ays cyborg ( O35), R ol an d Barthes s Whatdoes m ybodykn ow of photography?)an d
in the techn ol ogies of n ew m edia. T hrou ghcon cepts s u chas u biqu itou s com pu tin g an d
m u l tim odal in teraction , the s pace of n ew m ediahas cros s ed ov erw orks tation bou n daries an d in to
the s pace of ou rbodies .
T he qu es tion of em bodim en thas gon e u n s poken in this v ol u m es prev iou s dis cu s s ion of
in teractiv ity thou ghitis cl earl yas u btextin perf orm an ce-rel ated s el ection s , s u chas thos e of
Al l an Kaprow ( O06 )an d E.A.T . ( O14). Itis al s ocen tral tothe exam pl es u s ed byJean Bau dril l ard
( O19 )tos eparate his thou ghtf rom Han s Magn u s En zen s bergers ( O18), exam pl es thatran ge f rom
the s treet"( w ithits com m u n ication throu ghthe body)tograf f itithatv iol ates the phys ical s pace
of the code. In the exam pl e of the m ov em en toppos in g the Worl d T rade Organ ization , dis cu s s ed in
in trodu cin g the En zen s bergeran d Bau dril l ard s el ection s , av ital com pon en tof its s u cces s m aybe
thatn etw ork m ediais there u s ed in s u pportof em bodied, w orl dw ide protes ts .
T oretu rn toBoal s techn iqu es , theyare u n dou btedl yef f ectiv e in m an ys itu ation s f orcreatin g
em bodied in teraction . F orthis reas on , theyare n ow practiced bygrou ps arou n d the w orl d. T he
qu es tion n ow bein g in v es tigates is w hetherBoal s techn iqu es f orov ercom in g the s pectator/ actor
div ide can be u s ed in n ew m ediacon texts , perhaps creatin g am ediathatm ayov ercom e
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2 2 . T heatre of the theN EWMEDIAR EADER
Oppres s ed
Bau dril l ard' s en coder/ decoderdiv ide. Gon zal oF ras cas pecu l ates thatBoal ' s poetics m ightbe u s ed to
create T he Sim s of the Oppres s ed" en abl in g u s ers toexpl ore characters an d theirs itu ation s m ore
I deepl ythan cu rren tv ideogam es can . On e can al s oim agin e adirecton l in e an al og of the T heatre of
the Oppres s ed bein g acted ou tin the s orts of on l in e s paces thathav e des cen ded f rom Habitat
( O46 ). Cou l d cybers paces in w hichu s ers hav e s im u l ated bodies hav e an yof the qu al ities of
_en gagem en tthatcharacterize theirem bodied cou n terparts ?
Boal s techn iqu es of In v is ibl e T heatre hav e al s obeen in v oked in dis cu s s ion s of f orm s of n ew
m ediaartthatoperate ou ts ide the tradition al artcon text, orw ithou tm arkin g the in f orm ation
i dis tribu ted as art. Ahigh-prof il e exam pl e is the m ark grou p, w hichu s es the protection s itgain s
A as al im ited l iabi]itycorporation tos u pportthe s abotage ( in f orm ativ e al teration )of corporate
' produ cts , f rom dol l s an d chil dren ' s l earn in g tool s toel ectron ic action gam es "of ten in s u chaw ay
thatthos e f irs ten cou n terin g the produ cts are n otaw are of the al teration .
Itrem ain s tobe s een if Boal s n on Aris tol el ian poetics can be com pel l in gl yappl ied ton ew m edia
des ign in gen eral , in an appl ication of dram atic prin cipl es of the s ortthatBren daLau rel ( O38)
m ade f rom the real m of Aris totl es poetics , bu tthe pos s ibil ityis certain l yin trigu in g. T he excerpt
f rom Boal s w ritin g pres en ted here begin s hal f w aythrou ghhis pres en tation of the f ou r s tage
' proces s f ortran s f orm in g the s pectatorin toas pectactor" af terKn ow in g the Body an d Makin g
the BodyExpres s iv e, bu tw iththe dis cu s s ion s of techn iqu es s u chas f oru m theatre an d in v is ibl e
theatre s til l tocom e.
N WF
= 1 -0 -. K a. ._. I39 s o a ~., 2 2 . T heatre of the
Origin al P u bl ication
T heatre of the Oppres s ed, 132 -156 . T ran s . Charl es McBn ' de an d
Man a-Odil iaLeal McBride. N ew Y ork: T heatre Com m u n ication s
Grou p, 19 85. R eprin t: N ew Y ork: U rizen Books , 19 7 9 .
F rom the P ortu ges e T eatrodooprim ido, 19 7 4.
F rom T heaterof
the Oppres s ed
Au gu s toBoal
T hird Stage: T he T heateras Lan gu age
T his s tage is div ided in tothree parts , eachon e repres en tin g
adif f eren tdegree of directparticipation of the s pectatorin
the perf orm an ce. T he s pectatoris en cou raged toin terv en e
in the action , aban don in g his con dition of obj ectan d
as s u m in g f u l l ythe rol e of s u bj ect. T he tw oprecedin g s tages
are preparatory, cen terin g arou n d the w ork of the
participan ts w iththeirow n bodies . N ow this s tage f ocu s es
on the them e tobe dis cu s s ed an d f u rthers the tran s ition
f rom pas s iv itytoaction .
F irs tDegree: Sim u l tan eou s Dram atu rgy
T his is the f irs tin v itation m ade tothe s pectatortoin terv en e
w ithou tn eces s itatin g his phys ical pres en ce on the s tage.
Here itis aqu es tion of perf orm in g as horts cen e, of ten to
tw en tym in u tes , propos ed byal ocal res iden t, on e w hol iv es
in the barrio. T he actors m ayim prov is e w iththe aid of a
s criptprepared bef orehan d, as theym ayal s ocom pos e the
s cen e directl y. In an ycas e, the perf orm an ce gain s in
theatrical ityif the pers on w hopropos ed the them e is pres en t
in the au dien ce. Hav in g begu n the s cen e, the actors dev el opit
tothe poin tatw hichthe m ain probl em reaches acris is an d
n eeds as ol u tion . T hen the actors s topthe perf orm an ce an d
as k the au dien ce toof f ers ol u tion s . T heyim prov is e
im m ediatel yal l the s u gges ted s ol u tion s , an d the au dien ce has
the righttoin terv en e, tocorrectthe action s orw ords of the
actors , w hoare obl igated tocom pl ys trictl yw iththes e
in s tru ction s f rom the au dien ce. T hu s , w hil e the au dien ce
w rites the w ork the actors perf orm its im u l tan eou s l y. T he
s pectators thou ghts are dis cu s s ed theatrical l yon s tage w ith
the hel pof the actors . Al l the s ol u tion s , s u gges tion s , an d
opin ion s are rev eal ed in theatrical f orm . T he dis cu s s ion its el f
n eed n ots im pl ytake the f orm of w ords , bu trathers hou l d be
Oppres s ed
ef f ected throu ghal l the otherel em en ts of theatrical
expres s ion as w el l .
Here' s an exam pl e of how s im u l tan eou s dram atu rgy
w orks . In abarrioof San I-Iil arion , in Lim a, aw om an
propos ed acon trov ers ial them e. Herhu s ban d, s om e years
bef ore, had tol d hertokeeps om e docu m en ts w hich,
accordin g tohim , w ere extrem el yim portan t. T he w om an
w hohappen ed tobe il l .iterate pu tthem aw ayw ithou t
s u s picion . On e daytheyhad af ightf oron e reas on or
an otheran d, rem em berin g the docu m en ts , the w om an
decided tof in d ou tw hattheyw ere al l abou t, s in ce s he w as
af raid theyhad s om ethin g todow iththe ow n ers hipof their
s m al l hou s e. F ru s trated in herin abil itytoread, s he as ked a
n eighbortoread the docu m en ts toher. T he l adyn extdoor
kin dl ym ade has te toread the docu m en ts , w hichtothe
s u rpris e an d am u s em en tof the w hol e barrio, w ere n ot
docu m en ts atal l , bu tratherl ov e l etters w ritten bythe
m is tres s of the poorw om an s hu s ban d. N ow this betrayed
an d il l iterate w om an w an ted rev en ge. T he actors im prov is ed
the s cen es u n til the m om en tw hen the hu s ban d retu rn s
hom e atn ight, af terhis w if e has u n cov ered the m ys teryof
the l etters . T he w om an w an ts rev en ge:how is s he togetit?
Here the action is in terru pted an d the participan tw how as
in terpretin g the w om an as ked the others w hats hou l d be her
attitu de in rel ation toherhu s ban d.
Al l the w om en of the au dien ce en tered in toal iv el y
exchan ge of v iew s . T he actors l is ten ed tothe dif f eren t
s u gges tion s an d acted them ou taccordin g toin s tru ction s
giv en bythe au dien ce. Al l the pos s ibil ities w ere tried. I-Iere
are s om e of the s u gges ted s ol u tion s in this particu l arcas e:
1)T ocryal otin ordertom ake him f eel gu il ty. On e you n g
w om an s u gges ted thatthe betrayed w om an s tarttocryal ot
s othatthe hu s ban d m ightf eel bad abou this ow n behav ior.
T he actres s carried ou tthis s u gges tion :s he cried al ot, the
hu s ban d con s ol ed her, an d w hen the cryin g w as ov erhe
as ked hertos erv e his din n er; an d ev erythin g rem ain ed as it
w as bef ore. T he hu s ban d as s u red herthathe had al ready
f orgotten the m is tres s , thathe l ov ed on l yhis w if e, etc., etc.
T he au dien ce did n otacceptthis s ol u tion .
2 )T oaban don the hou s e, l eav in g herhu s ban d al on e as a
pu n is hm en t. T he actres s carried ou tthis s u gges tion an d,
af terreproachin g herhu s ban d f orhis w icked behav ior,
grabbed herthin gs , pu tthem in abag, an d l ef thim al on e,
v eryl on el y, s othathe w ou l d l earn al es s on . Bu tu pon l eav in g
_
2 2 . T heatre of the
Oppres s ed
the hou s e ( thatis , herow n hou s e), s he as ked the pu bl ic
abou tw hats he s hou l d don ext. In pu n is hin g herhu s ban d
s he en ded u ppu n is hin g hers el f . Where w ou l d s he gon ow ?
Where cou l d s he l iv e?T his pu n is hm en tpos itiv el yw as n ot
good s in ce ittu rn ed again s tthe pu n is her, hers el f .
3)T ol ock the hou s e s othatthe hu s ban d w ou l d hav e togo
aw ay. T his v ariation w as al s orehears ed. T he hu s ban d
repeatedl ybegs tobe l etin , bu tthe w if e s teadf as tl yref u s ed.
Af terin s is tin g s ev eral tim es , the hu s ban d com m en ted:
Veryw el l , I' l l goaw ay. T heypaid m e m ys al arytoday, s oI' l l
take the m on eyan d gol iv e w ithm ym is tres s an d you can
j u s tgetbythe bes tw ayyou can . An d he l ef t. T he actres s
com m en ted thats he did n otl ike this s ol u tion , s in ce the
hu s ban d w en ttol iv e w iththe otherw om an , an d w hatabou t
the w if e?How is s he goin g tol iv e n ow ?T he poorw om an
does n otm ake en ou ghm on eytos u pporthers el f an d can n ot
getal on g w ithou therhu s ban d.
4)T he l as ts ol u tion w as pres en ted byal arge, exu beran t
w om an ; itw as the s ol u tion accepted u n an im ou s l ybythe
en tire au dien ce, m en an d w om en . She s aid:Doitl ike this :l et
him com e in , getareal l ybig s tick, an d hithim w ithal l you r
m ight giv e him agood beatin g. Af teryou ' v e beathim
en ou ghf orhim tof eel repen tan t, pu tthe s tick aw ay, s erv e
him his din n erw ithaf f ection , an d f orgiv e him . . .
T he actres s perf orm ed this v ers ion , af terov ercom in g the
n atu ral res is ten ce of the actorw how as pl ayin g the hu s ban d,
an d af terabarrage of bl ow s tothe am u s em en tof the
au dien ce the tw oof them s atatthe tabl e, ate, an d
dis cu s s ed the l ates tm eas u res taken bythe gov ern m en t,
w hichhappen ed tobe the n ation al ization of Am erican
com pan ies .
T his f orm of theatercreates greatexcitem en tam on g the
participan ts an d s tarts todem ol is hthe w al l thats eparates
actors f rom s pectators . Som e w rite an d others actal m os t
s im u l tan eou s l y. T he s pectators f eel thattheycan in terv en e
in the action . T he action ceas es tobe pres en ted in a
determ in is tic m an n er, as s om ethin g in ev itabl e, as P ate. Man
is Man l s f ate. T hu s Man -the-s pectatoris the createrof Man -
the-character. Ev erythin g is s u bj ecttocriticis m , to
rectif ication . Al l can be chan ged, an d atam om en ts n otice:
the actors m u s tal w ays be readytoaccept, w ithou tprotes t,
an ypropos ed action ; theym u s ts im pl yactitou t, togiv e a
l iv e v iew of its con s equ en ces an d draw backs . An ys pectator,
byv irtu e of bein g as pectator, has the righttotryhis
v ers ion w ithou tcen s ors hip. T he actordoes n otchan ge his
theN EWMEDIAR EADER
m ain f u n ction :he goes on bein g the in terpreter. What
chan ges is the obj ectof his in terpretation . If f orm erl yhe
in terpreted the s ol itaryau thorl ocked in his s tu dy, tow hom
div in e in s piration dictated af in is hed text, here on the
con trary, he m u s tin terpretthe m as s au dien ce, as s em bl ed in
theirl ocal com m ittees , s ocieties of f rien ds of the barrio,"
grou ps of n eighbors , s chool s , u n ion s , peas an tl eagu es , or
w hatev er; he m u s tgiv e expres s ion tothe col l ectiv e thou ght
of m en an d w om en . T he actorceas es toin terpretthe
in div idu al an d s tarts toin terpretthe grou p, w hichis m u ch
m ore dif f icu l tan d atthe s am e tim e m u chm ore creativ e.
Secon d Degree: Im age T heater
Here the s pectatorhas toparticipate m ore directl y. He is
as ked toexpres s his v iew s on acertain them e of com m on
in teres tthatthe participan ts w is htodis cu s s . T he them e can
be f ar-reachin g, abs tract as , f orexam pl e, im perial is m orit
can be al ocal probl em s u chas the l ack of w ater, acom m on
occu rren ce in al m os tal l the barrios . T he participan tis as ked
toexpres s his opin ion , bu tw ithou ts peakin g, u s in g on l ythe
bodies of the otherparticipan ts an d s cu l ptin g w iththem a
grou pof s tatu es , in s u chaw aythathis opin ion s an d f eel in gs
becom e ev iden t. T he participan tis tou s e the bodies of the
others as if he w ere as cu l ptoran d the others w ere m ade of
cl ay:he m u s tdeterm in e the pos ition of eachbodydow n to
the m os tm in u te detail s of theirf acial expres s ion s . He is n ot
al l ow ed tos peak u n deran ycircu m s tan ces . T he m os tthatis
perm itted tohim is tos how w ithhis ow n f acial expres s ion s
w hathe w an ts the s tatu e-s pectatortodo. Af terorgan izin g
this grou pof s tatu es he is al l ow ed toen terin toadis cu s s ion
w iththe otherparticipan ts in ordertodeterm in e if al l agree
w ithhis s cu l pted opin ion . Modif ication s can be rehears ed
the s pectatorhas the righttom odif ythe s tatu es in their
total ityorin s om e detail . When f in al l yan im age is arriv ed at
thatis the m os tacceptabl e toal l , then the s pectator-s cu l ptor
is as ked tos how the w ayhe w ou l d l ike the giv en them e tobe;
thatis , in the f irs tgrou pin g the actu al im age is s how n , in the
s econ d the ideal im age F in al l yhe is as ked tos how a
tran s ition al im age tos how how itw ou l d be pos s ibl e topas s
f rom on e real itytothe other. In otherw ords , how tocarry
ou tthe chan ge, the tran s f orm ation , the rev ol u tion , or
w hatev erterm on e w is hes tou s e. T hu s , s tartin g w itha
grou pin g of s tatu es accepted byal l as repres en tativ e of areal
s itu ation , eachon e is as ked topropos e w ays of chan gin g it.
On ce again , acon crete exam pl e can bes tcl arif ythe m atter.
Ayou n g w om an , al iteracyagen tw hol iv ed in the v il l age of
o~ I ea ~ ZZ. l n eatre Q T the
Otu zco, w as as ked toexpl ain , throu ghagrou pin g of l iv e
im ages , w hatherhom e tow n w as l ike. In Otu zco, bef ore the
pres en tR ev ol u tion aryGov ern m en t} there w as apeas an t
rebel l ion ; the l an dl ords ( thatn ol on gerexis tin P eru ),
im pris on ed the l eaderof the rebel l ion , took him tothe m ain
s qu are, an d, in f ron tof ev eryon e, cas trated him . T he you n g
w om an f rom Otu zcocom pos ed the im age of the cas tration ,
pl acin g on e of the participan ts on the grou n d w hil e an other
preten ded tobe cas tratin g him an d s til l an otherhel d him
f rom behin d. T hen aton e s ide s he pl aced aw om an prayin g,
on herkn ees , an d atthe others ide agrou pof f iv e m en an d
w om en , al s oon theirkn ees , w ithhan ds tied behin d their
backs . Behin d the m an bein g cas trated, the you n g w om an
pl aced an otherparticipan tin apos ition obv iou s l ys u gges tiv e
of pow eran d v iol en ce an d behin d him , tw oarm ed m en
poin tin g theirgu n s atthe pris on er.
T his w as the im age thatpers on had of herv il l age. A
terribl e, pes s im is tic, def eatis tim age, bu tal s oatru e ref l ection
of s om ethin g thathad actu al l ytaken pl ace. T hen the you n g
w om an w as as ked tos how w hats he w ou l d w an therv il l age
tobe l ike. She m odif ied com pl etel ythe "s tatu es of the grou p
an d regrou ped them as peopl e w how orked in peace an d
l ov ed eachother in s hort, ahappyan d con ten ted, ideal
Otu zco. T hen cam e the third, an d m os tim portan tpart, of
this f orm of theater:how can on e, s tartin g w iththe actu al
im age, arriv e atthe ideal im age?How tobrin g abou tthe
chan ge, the tran s f orm ation , the rev ol u tion ?
Here itw as aqu es tion of giv in g an opin ion , bu tw ithou t
w ords . Eachparticipan thad the righttoactas as cu l ptor
an d tos how how the grou pin g, ororgan ization , cou l d be
m odif ied throu ghareorgan ization of f orces f orthe pu rpos e
of arriv in g atan ideal im age. Eachon e expres s ed his opin ion
throu ghim agery. Liv el ydis cu s s ion s aros e, bu tw ithou t
w ords . When on e w ou l d excl aim , It' s n otpos s ibl e l ike this ; I
thin k that. . . he w as im m ediatel yin terru pted:"Don ' ts ay
w hatyou thin k; com e an d s how ittou s . T he participan t
w ou l d goan d dem on s trate phys ical l y, v is u al l y, his thou ght,
an d the dis cu s s ion w ou l d con tin u e. In this particu l arcas e the
f ol l ow in g v ariation s w ere obs erv ed:
1)When ayou n g w om an f rom the in teriorw as as ked to
f orm the im age of chan ge, s he w ou l d n ev erchan ge the im age
of the kn eel in g w om an , s ign if yin g cl earl ythats he did n ots ee
in thatw om an apoten tial f orce f orrev ol u tion arychan ge.
N atu ral l ythe you n g w om en iden tif ied them s el v es w iththat
f em in in e f igu re an d, s in ce theycou l d n otperceiv e them s el v es
L
Oppres s ed
as pos s ibl e protagon is ts of the rev ol u tion , theyl ef t
u n m odif ied the im age of the kn eel in g w om an . On the other
han d, w hen the s am e thin g w as as ked of agirl f rom Lim a,
s he, bein g m ore l iberated, w ou l d s tartof f bychan gin g
precis el ythatim age w ithw hichs he iden tif ied hers el f . T his
experim en tw as repeated m an ytim es an d al w ays produ ced
the s am e res u l ts , w ithou tv ariation . U n dou btedl ythe
dif f eren tpattern s of action repres en tn otchan ce occu rren ce
bu tthe s in cere, v is u al expres s ion of the ideol ogyan d
ps ychol ogyof the participan ts . T he you n g w om en f rom Lim a
al w ays m odif ied the im age:s om e w ou l d m ake the w om an
cl as pthe f igu re of the cas trated m an , others w ou l d prom pt
the w om an tof ightagain s tthe cas trator, etc. T hos e f rom the
in teriordid l ittl e m ore than al l ow the w om an tol if ther
han ds in prayer. _
2 )Al l the participan ts w hobel iev ed in the R ev ol u tion ary
Gov ern m en tw ou l d s tartbym odif yin g the arm ed f igu res in
the backgrou n d:theychan ged the tw om en w how ereaim in g
theirgu n s atthe v ictim s othattheyw ou l d then aim atthe
pow erf u l f igu re in the cen teroratthe cas trators them s el v es .
On the otherhan d, w hen aparticipan tdid n othav e the s am e
f aithin his gov ern m en t, he w ou l d al teral l f igu res exceptthe
arm ed on es .
3)T he peopl e w hobel iev ed in m agical s ol u tion s orin a
chan ge of con s cien ce"on the partof the expl oitin g cl as s es ,
w ou l d s tartbym odif yin g the cas trators v iew in g them in
ef f ectas chan gin g of theirow n v ol ition as w el l as the
pow erf u l f igu re in the cen ter, w how ou l d becom e
regen erated. Bycon tras t, thos e w hodid n otbel iev e in this
f orm of s ocial chan ge w ou l d f irs tal terthe kn eel in g m en ,
m akin g them as s u m e af ightin g pos tu re, attackin g the
oppres s ors .
4)On e of the you n g w om en , bes ides s how in g the tran s f orm -
ation s tobe the w ork of the kn eel in g m en w how ou l d f ree
them s el v es , attack theirtortu rers an d im pris on them al s o
had on e of the f igu res repres en tin g the peopl e addres s the
otherparticipan ts , cl earl yexpres s in g heropin ion thats ocial
chan ges are m ade bythe peopl e as aw hol e an d n oton l yby
theirv an gu ard.
5)An otheryou n g w om an m ade al l kin ds of chan ges , l eav in g
u n tou ched on l ythe v e pers on s w iththeirhan ds tied. T his
girl bel on ged tothe u pperm iddl e cl as s . When s he s how ed
s ign s of n erv ou s n es s f orn otbein g abl e toim agin e an y
f u rtherchan ges , s om eon e s u gges ted toherthe pos s ibil ityof
chan gin g the grou pof tied f igu res ; the girl l ooked atthem in
2 2 . T heatre of the
Oppres s ed
s u rpris e an d excl aim ed: T he tru this thatthos e peopl e didn ' t
f itin ! . . Itw as the tru th. T he peopl e did n otf itin toher
v iew of the s chem e of thin gs , an d s he had n ev erbef ore been
abl e tos ee it.
T his f orm of im age theateris w ithou tdou bton e of the
m os ts tim u l atin g, becau s e itis s oeas ytopractice an d
becau s e of its extraordin arycapacityf orm akin g thou ght
v is ibl e. T his happen s becau s e u s e of the l an gu age idiom is
av oided. Eachw ord has aden otation thatis the s am e f oral l ,
bu tital s ohas acon n otation thatis u n iqu e f oreach
I
N 11
in div idu al . If Iu tterthe w ord rev ol u tion , obv iou s l y
ev eryon e w il l real ize thatIam tal kin g abou taradical chan ge,
bu tatthe s am e tim e eachpers on w il l thin k of his orher
ow n rev ol u tion , apers on al con ception of rev ol u tion . Bu tif I
hav e toarran ge agrou pof s tatu es thatw il l s ign if ym y
rev ol u tion ,"here there w il l be n oden otation con n otation
dichotom y. T he im age s yn thes izes the in div idu al
con n otation an d the col l ectiv e den otation . In m y
arran gem en ts ign if yin g rev ol u tion , w hatare the s tatu es
doin g?Dotheyhav e w eapon s in theirhan ds ordotheyhav e
bal l ots ?Are the f igu res of the peopl e u n ited in af ightin g
pos tu re again s tthe f igu res repres en tin g the com m on
en em ies ; orare the f igu res of the peopl e dis pers ed, or
s how in g dis agreem en tam on g them s el v es ?Mycon ception of
rev ol u tion w il l becom e cl earif , in s tead of s peakin g, Is how
w ithim ages w hatIthin k.
Irem em berthatin as es s ion of ps ychodram aagirl s poke
repeatedl yof the probl em s s he had w ithherboyf rien d, an d
s he al w ays s tarted w ithm ore orl es s the s am e phras e: He
cam e in , em braced m e, an d then . . . Eachtim e w e heard this
open in g phras e w e u n ders tood thattheydid in f actem brace;
thatis , w e u n ders tood w hatthe w ord em brace den otes . T hen
on e days he s how ed byactin g how theirm eetin gs w ere:he
approached, s he cros s ed herarm s ov erherbreas ts as if
protectin g hers el f , he took hol d of heran d hu gged hertightl y,
w hil e s he con tin u ed tokeepherhan ds cl os ed, def en din g
hers el f . T hatw as cl earl yaparticu l arcon n otation f orthe
w ord em brace. When w e u n ders tood herem brace w e w ere
f in al l yabl e tou n ders tan d herprobl em s w ithherboyf rien d.
In im age theaterothertechn iqu es can be u s ed:
1)Eachparticipan ttran s f orm ed in toas tatu e is al l ow ed on e
m ov em en torges tu re, an d on l yon e, eachtim e as ign al ( l ike a
cl apof han ds )is giv en . In this cas e the arran gem en tof
im ages w il l chan ge accordin g tothe in div idu al des ire of each
participan t.
theN EWMEDIAR EADER
2 )T he participan ts are f irs tas ked tom em orize the ideal
im age, then toretu rn tothe origin al , actu al im age, an d f in al l y
tom ake the m ov em en ts n eces s arytoarriv e again atthe ideal
im age thu s s how in g the grou pof im ages in m otion an d
al l ow in g the an al ys is of the f eas ibil ityof the propos ed
tran s ition s . On e w il l then be abl e tos ee if chan ge occu rs by
the grace of God orif itis brou ghtabou tbythe oppos in g
f orces operatin g w ithin the v erycore of the grou p.
3)T he s cu l ptor-participan t, on ce his w ork is f in is hed, is
as ked totrytopl ace him s el f in the grou phe has created T his
s om etim es hel ps the pers on toreal ize thathis ow n v is ion of
real ityis acos m ic on e, as if he w ere apartof thatreal ity.
T he gam e of im ages of f ers m an yotherpos s ibil ities . T he
im portan tthin g is al w ays toan al yze the f eas ibil ityof the
chan ge.
T hird Degree: F oru m T heater
T his is the l as tdegree an d here the participan thas to
in terv en e decis iv el yin the dram atic action an d chan ge it. T he
procedu re is as f ol l ow s :F irs t, the participan ts are as ked totel
as torycon tain in g apol itical ors ocial probl em of dif f icu l t
s ol u tion . T hen aten - orf if teen -m in u te s kitportrayin g that
probl em an d the s ol u tion in ten ded f ordis cu s s ion is
im prov is ed orrehears ed, an d s u bs equ en tl ypres en ted. When
the s kitis ov er, the participan ts are as ked if theyagree w ith
the s ol u tion pres en ted. Atl eas ts om e w il l s ayn o. Atthis
poin titis expl ain ed thatthe s cen e w il l be perf orm ed on ce
m ore, exactl yas itw as the f irs ttim e. Bu tn ow an y
participan tin the au dien ce has the righttorepl ace an yactor
an d l ead the action in the direction thats eem s tohim m os t
appropriate. T he dis pl aced actors teps as ide, bu trem ain s
readytores u m e action the m om en tthe participan tcon s ider!
his ow n in terv en tion tobe term in ated. T he otheractors hav e
tof ace the n ew l ycreated s itu ation , res pon din g in s tan tl yto
al l the pos s ibil ities thatitm aypres en t.
T he participan ts w hochoos e toin terv en e m u s tcon tin u e
the phys ical action s of the repl aced actors ; theyare n ot
al l ow ed tocom e on the s tage an d tal k, tal k, tal k:theym u s t
carryou tthe s am e type of w ork oractiv ities perf orm ed by
the actors w how ere in theirpl ace. T he theatrical activ ity
m u s tgoon in the s am e w ay, on the s tage. An yon e m ay
propos e an ys ol u tion , bu titm u s tbe don e on the s tage,
w orkin g, actin g, doin g thin gs , an d n otf rom the com f ortof
his s eat. Of ten apers on is v eryrev ol u tion aryw hen in a
pu bl ic f oru m he en v is ages an d adv ocates rev ol u tion aryan d
heroic acts ; on the otherhan d, he of ten real izes thatthin gs
l
a ~ 19 7 4a 2 2 . T heatre of the
aien ots oeas yw hen he him s el f has topractice w hathe
s u gges ts .
An exam pl e:An eighteen -year-ol d m an w orked in the city
ol Cbim bote, on e of the w orl d' s m os tim portan tf is hin g
ports . T here are in thatcityagreatn u m berof f actories of
f is hm eal , aprin cipal exportprodu ctof P eru . Som e f actories
n ev eryl arge, w hil e others hav e on l yeightorn in e
em pl oyees . Ou ryou n g m an w orked f oron e of the l atter. T he
bos s w as aru thl es s expl oiteran d f orced his em pl oyees to
l rorl tf rom eighto' cl ock in the m orn in g toeightatn ight, or
v ice v ers a tw el v e con s ecu tiv e hou rs of w ork. T hu s the
probl em w as how tocom batthis in hu m an expl oitation . Each
participan thad apropos al :on e of them w as , f orexam pl e,
' operation tu rtl e,"w hichcon s is ts in w orkin g v erys l ow l y,
es pecial l yw hen the bos s is n otl ookin g. Ou ryou n g m an had
tbril l ian tidea: tow ork f as teran d f il l the m achin e w iths o
m u chf is hthatitw ou l d break w iththe exces s iv e w eight,
requ irin g tw oorthree hou rs tof ixit. Du rin g this tim e the
w orkers cou l d res t. T here w as the probl em , the em pl oyer' s
expl oitation ; an d there w as on e s ol u tion , in v en ted byn ativ e
iigen u ity. Bu tw ou l d thatbe the bes ts ol u tion ?
T he s cen e w as perf orm ed in the pres en ce of al l the
participan ts . Som e actors repres en ted the w orkers , an other
repres en ted the bos s , an otherthe f orem an , an othera"s tool
pigeon ."T he s tage w as con v erted in toaf is hm eal f actory:on e
w orkeru n l oadin g the f is h, an otherw eighin g the bags of f is h,
m othercarryin g the bags tothe m achin es , an otherten din g
tl tcm achin e, w hil e s til l others perf orm ed otherpertin en t
tas ks . Whil e theyw orked, theykeptu padial ogu e, propos in g
s ol u tion s an d dis cu s s in g them u n til theycam e toacceptthe
s ol u tion propos ed bythe you n g m an an d broke the m achin e;
the bos s cam e an d the w orkers res ted w hil e the en gin eer
repaired the m achin e. When the repairw as don e, theyw en t
back tow ork.
T he s cen e w as s taged f orthe f irs ttim e an d the qu es tion
w as rais ed:Were al l in agreem en t?N o, def in itel yn ot. On the
con trary, theydis agreed. Eachon e had adif f eren tpropos al : to
s tartas trike, throw abom b atthe m achin e, s tartau n ion , etc.
T hen the techn iqu e of f oru m theaterw as appl ied: the
s cen e w ou l d be s taged exactl yas ithad been the f irs ttim e,
bu tn ow eachs pectator-participan tw ou l d hav e the rightto
iiterv en e an d chan ge the action , tryin g ou this propos al . T he
f irs ttoin terv en e w as the on e w hos u gges ted the u s e of a
bom b. He gotu p, repl aced the actorw how as portrayin g the
you n g m an , an d m ade his bom b-throw in g propos al . Of
L
Oppres s ed
cou rs e al l the otheractors argu ed again s tits in ce thatw ou l d
m ean the des tru ction of the f actory, an d theref ore the s ou rce
of w ork. Whatw ou l d becom e of s om an yw orkers if the
f actorycl os ed u p?Dis agreein g, the m an decided tothrow the
bom b him s el f , bu ts oon real ized thathe did n otkn ow how to
m an u f actu re abom b n orev en how tothrow it. Man ypeopl e
w hoin theoretical dis cu s s ion s adv ocate throw in g bom bs
w ou l d n otkn ow w hattodoin real ity, an d w ou l d probabl ybe
the f irs ttoperis hin the expl os ion . Af tertryin g his bom b-
s ol u tion , the m an retu rn ed tohis pl ace an d the actor
repl aced him u n til as econ d pers on cam e totryhis s ol u tion ,
the s trike. Af term u chargu m en tw iththe others he m an aged
tocon v in ce them tos topw orkin g an d w al k ou t, l eav in g the
f actoryaban don ed. In this cas e, the ow n er, the f orem an , an d
the "s tool pigeon ,"w hohad rem ain ed in the f actory, w en tto
the tow n s qu are ( am on g the au dien ce)tol ook f orother
w orkers w how ou l d repl ace the s trikers ( there is m as s
u n em pl oym en tin Chim bote). T his s pectator participan t
tried his s ol u tion , the s trike, an d real ized its im practicabil ity;
w iths om u chu n em pl oym en tthe bos s es w ou l d al w ays be
abl e tof in d w orkers hu n gryen ou ghan d w ithl ittl e en ou gh
pol itical con s ciou s n es s torepl ace the s trikers .
T he third attem ptw as tof orm as m al l u n ion f orthe
pu rpos e of n egotiatin g the w orkers dem an ds , pol iticizin g the
em pl oyed w orkers , as w el l as the u n em pl oyed, s ettin g u p
m u tu al f u n ds , etc. In this particu l ars es s ion of f oru m theater,
this w as the s ol u tion j u dged tobe the bes tbythe partici-
pan ts . In the f oru m theatern oideais im pos ed:the au dien ce,
the peopl e, hav e the opportu n itytotryou tal l theirideas , to
rehears e al l the pos s ibil ities , an d tov erif ythem in practice,
thatis , in theatrical practice. If the au dien ce had com e tothe
con cl u s ion thatitw as n eces s arytodyn am ite al l the f is hm eal
f actories in Chim bote, this w ou l d al s obe rightf rom their
poin tof v iew . Itis n otthe pl ace. of the theatertos how the
correctpath, bu ton l ytoof f erthe m ean s byw hichal l
pos s ibl e paths m aybe exam in ed.
Maybe the theaterin its el f is n otrev ol u tion ary, bu tthes e
theatrical f orm s are w ithou tadou btarehears al of rev ol u tion .
T he tru thof the m atteris thatthe s pectator-actorpractices
areal actev en thou ghhe does itin af iction al m an n er.
Whil e he rehears es throw in g abom b on s tage, he is
con cretel yrehears in g the w ayabom b is throw n ; actin g ou t
his attem pttoorgan ize as trike, he is con cretel yorgan izin g
as trike. Within its f ictitiou s l im its , the experien ce is a
con crete on e. '
2 2 . T heatre of the
Oppres s ed
Here the cathartical ef f ectis en tirel yav oided. We are u s ed
topl ays in w hichthe characters m ake the rev ol u tion on s tage
an d the s pectators in theirs eats f eel them s el v es tobe
triu m phan trev ol u tion aries . Whym ake arev ol u tion in real ity
if w e hav e al readym ade itin the theater?Bu tthatdoes n ot
happen here:the rehears al s tim u l ates the practice of the act
in real ity. F oru m theater, as w el l as thes e otherf orm s of a
peopl e' s theater, in s tead of takin g s om ethin g aw ayf rom the
s pectator, ev oke in him ades ire topractice in real itythe act
he has rehears ed in the theater. T he practice of thes e
theatrical f orm s creates as ortof u n eas ys en s e of
in com pl eten es s thats eeks f u l f il l m en tthrou ghreal action .
F ou rthStage: T he T heateras Dis cou rs e
George Ikis haw au s ed tos aythatthe bou rgeois theateris the
f in is hed theater. T he bou rgeois ie al readykn ow s w hatthe
w orl d is l ike, theirw orl d, an d is abl e topres en tim ages of this
com pl ete, f in is hed w orl d. T he bou rgeois ie pres en ts the
s pectacl e. On the otherhan d, the prol etariatan d the
oppres s ed cl as s es don otkn ow yetw hattheirw orl d w il l be
l ike; con s equ en tl ytheirtheaterw il l be the rehears al , n otthe
f in is hed s pectacl e. T his is qu ite tru e, thou ghitis equ al l ytru e
thatthe theatercan pres en tim ages of tran s ition .
Ihav e been abl e toobs erv e the tru thof this v iew du rin g al l
m yactiv ities in the peopl e' s theaterof s om an yan d s u ch
dif f eren tcou n tries of Latin Am erica. P opu l arau dien ces are
in teres ted in experim en tin g, in rehears in g, an d theyabhor
the "cl os ed"s pectacl es . In thos e cas es theytrytoen terin toa
dial ogu e w iththe actors , toin terru ptthe action , toas k f or
expl an ation s w ithou tw aitin g pol itel yf orthe en d of the pl ay.
Con trarytothe bou rgeois code of m an n ers , the peopl e' s code
al l ow s an d en cou rages the s pectatortoas k qu es tion s , to
dial ogu e, toparticipate. .
Al l the m ethods thatIhav e dis cu s s ed are f orm s of a
rehears al -theater, an d n otas pectacl e-theater. On e kn ow s
how thes e experim en ts w il l begin bu tn othow theyw il l en d,
becau s e the s pectatoris f reed f rom his chain s , f in al l yacts ,
an d becom es aprotagon is t. Becau s e theyres pon d tothe real
n eeds of apopu l arau dien ce theyare practiced w iths u cces s
an d j oy.
Bu tn othin g in this prohibits apopu l arau dien ce f rom
practicin g al s om ore "f in is hed"f orm s of theater. In P eru
m an yf orm s prev iou s l ydev el oped in othercou n tries ,
es pecial l yBrazil an d Argen tin a, w ere al s ou til ized an d w ith
greats u cces s . Som e of thes e f orm s w ere:
theN EWMEDIAR EADER
1)N ew s paperT heater
Itw as in itial l ydev el oped bythe N u cl eu s Grou pof the Aren a
T heaterof Saoij au l o, of w hichIw as the artis tic directoru n til
f orced tol eav e Brazil ?Itcon s is ts of s ev eral s im pl e techn iqu es
f ortran s f orm in g dail yn ew s item s , oran yothern on -
dram atic m aterial , in totheatrical perf orm an ces .
a)Sim pl e readin g:the n ew s item is read detachin g itf rom the
con textof the n ew s paper, f rom the f orm atw hichm akes it
f al s e orten den tiou s .
Cros s ed readin g:tw on ew s item s are read in cros s ed
( al tern atin g)f orm , on e throw in g l ighton the other,
expl ain in g it, giv in g itan ew dim en s ion .
c)Com pl em en taryreadin g:dataan d in f orm ation gen eral l y
om itted bythe n ew s papers of the ru l in g cl as s es are added to
the n ew s .
d)R bytl rm ical readin g:as am u s ical com m en tary, the n ew s is
read tothe rhythm of the s am ba, tan go, Gregorian chan t,
etc., s othatthe rhythm f u n ction s as acritical f il ter of the
n ew s , rev eal in g its tru e con ten t, w hichis obs cu red in the
n ew s paper.
e)P aral l el action :the actors m im e paral l el action s w hil e the
n ew s is read, s how in g the con textin w hichthe reported
ev en treal l yoccu rred; on e hears the n ew s an d s ees s om ethin g
el s e thatcom pl em en ts itv is u al l y.
f )Im prov is ation :the n ew s is im prov is ed on s tage toexpl oital l
its v arian ts an d pos s ibil ities .
g)His torical :dataors cen es s how in g the s am e ev en tin other
his torical m om en ts , in othercou n tries , orin others ocial
s ys tem s . are added tothe n ew s .
h)R ein f orcem en t:the n ew s is read ors u n g w iththe aid or
accom pan im en tof s l ides , j in gl es , s on gs , orpu bl icity
m aterial s .
i)Con cretion of the abs tract:thatw hichthe n ew s of ten hides
in its pu rel yabs tractin f orm ation is m ade con crete on the
s tage:tortu re, hu n ger, u n em pl oym en t, etc., are s how n
con cretel y, u s in g graphic im ages , real ors ym bol ic.
j )T extou tof con text:the n ew s is pres en ted ou tof the con text
in w hichitw as pu bl is hed; f orexam pl e, an actorgiv es the
s peechabou tau s terityprev iou s l ydel iv ered bythe Min is ter
of Econ om ics w hil e he dev ou rs an en orm ou s din n er:the real
tru thbehin d the m in is ters w ords becom es dem ys tif ied he
w an ts au s terityf orthe peopl e bu tn otf orhim s el f .
I
Q . ___44
0- - -1 ~--o- ~ - -0---~ ~~~---0 0
f l )In v is ibl e T heater
5-l tcon s is ts of the pres en tation of as cen e in an en v iron m en t
than the theater, bef ore peopl e w hoare n ots pectators .
l l m pl ace can be ares tau ran t, as idew al k, am arket, atrain , a
Mcof peopl e, etc. T he peopl e w how itn es s the s cen e are
l l l os c w hoare there bychan ce. Du rin g the s pectacl e, thes e
peopl e m u s tn othav e the s l ightes tideathatitis a"s pectacl e,"
f orthis w ou l d m ake them "s pectators ."
T he in v is ibl e theatercal l s f orthe detail ed preparation of a
s l dtw ithacom pl ete textoras im pl e s cript; bu titis n eces s ary
torehears e the s cen e s u f f icien tl ys othatthe actors are abl e to
in corporate in totheiractin g an d theiraction s the
in terv en tion of the s pectators . Du rin g the rehears al itis al s o
n eces s arytoin cl u de ev eryim agin abl e in terv en tion f rom the
s pectators ; thes e pos s ibil ities w il l f orm akin d of option al text.
T he in v is ibl e theatereru pts in al ocation chos en as apl ace
w here the pu bl ic con gregates . Al l the peopl e w hoare n ear
becom e in v ol v ed in the eru ption an d the ef f ects of itl as t
l on gaf terthe s kitis en ded.
As m al l exam pl e s how s how the in v is ibl e theaterw orks . In
l been orm ou s res tau ran tof ahotel in Chicl ayo, w here the
l iteracyagen ts of ALF IN w ere s tayin g, togetherw ith4-00
otherpeopl e, the "actors "s itats eparate tabl es . T he w aiters
s tarttos erv e. T he "protagon is t"in am ore orl es s l ou d v oice
( toattractthe atten tion of otherdin ers , bu tn otin atoo
obv iou s w ay)in f orm s the w aiterthathe can n otgoon eatin g
tl ief ood s erv ed in thathotel , becau s e in his opin ion itis too
bad T he w aiterdoes n otl ike the rem ark bu ttel l s the
cu s tom erthathe can choos e s om ethin g al acarte, w hichhe
m ayl ike better. T he actorchoos es adis hcal l ed "Barbecu e al a
pau per."T he w aiterpoin ts ou tthatitw il l cos thim 7 0s ol es ,
tow hichthe actoran s w ers , al w ays in areas on abl yl ou d v oice,
thatthere is n oprobl em . Min u tes l aterthe w aiterbrin gs him
l hebarbecu e, the protagon is teats itrapidl yan d gets readyto
getu pan d l eav e the res tau ran t, w hen the w aiterbrin gs the
bil l T he actors how s aw orried expres s ion an d tel l s the
peopl e atthe n exttabl e thathis barbecu e w as m u chbetter
than the f ood theyare eatin g, bu tthe pityis thaton e has to
payf orit. . . .
' l ' m goin g topayf orit; don ' thav e an ydou bts . Iate the
barbecu e al apau per' an d I' m goin g topayf orit. Bu tthere is
zprobl em : I' m broke."
' An d how are you goin g topay?,"as ks the in dign an t
w aiter.""Y ou kn ew the price bef ore orderin g the barbecu e.
An d n ow , how are you goin g topayf orit?"
he
I39 ata 2 2 . T heatre of the
Oppres s ed
T he din ers n earbyare, of cou rs e, cl os el yf ol l ow in g the
dial ogu e m u chm ore atten tiv el ythan theyw ou l d if they
w ere w itn es s in g the s cen e on as tage. T he actorcon tin u es :
"Don ' tw orry, becau s e Iam goin g topayyou . Bu ts in ce I' m
broke Iw il l payyou w ithl abor-pow er."
Withw hat?,"as ks the w aiter, as ton is hed. Whatkin d of
pow er?
Withl abor-pow er, j u s tas Is aid. Iam broke bu tIcan ren t
you m yl abor-pow er. SoI' l l w ork doin g s om ethin g f oras l on g
as it' s n eces s arytopayf orm ybarbecu e al apau per,w hich,
totel l the tru th, w as real l ydel iciou s - m u chbetterthan the
f ood you s erv e tothos e poors ou l s . . .
Bythis tim e s om e of the cu s tom ers in terv en e an d m ake
rem arks am on g them s el v es attheirtabl es , abou tthe price of
f ood, the qu al ityof the s erv ice in the hotel , etc. T he w aiter
cal l s the headw aitertodecide the m atter. T he actorexpl ain s
again tothe l atterthe bu s in es s of ren tin g his l abor-pow er
an d adds :
An d bes ides , there is an otherprobl em :I' l l ren tm yl abor-
pow erbu tthe tru this thatIdon ' tkn ow how todoan ythin g,
orv eryl ittl e. Y ou w il l hav e togiv e m e av erys im pl e j ob todo.
F orexam pl e, Ican take ou tthe hotel ' s garbage. What' s the
s al aryof the garbage m an w how orks f oryou ?"
T he headw aiterdoes n otw an ttogiv e an yin f orm ation
abou ts al aries , bu tas econ d actoratan othertabl e is al ready
prepared an d expl ain s thathe an d the garbage m an hav e
gotten tobe f rien ds an d thatthe l atterhas tol d him his
s al ary:s ev en s ol es perhou r. T he tw oactors m ake s om e
cal cu l ation s an d the "protagon is t"excl aim s :
"How is this pos s ibl e! If Iw ork as agarbage m an I' l l hav e to
w ork ten hou rs topayf orthis barbecu e thatittook m e ten
m in u tes toeat?Itcan ' tbe! Eitheryou in creas e the s al aryof
the garbage m an orredu ce the price of the barbecu e! . . . Bu tI
can dos om ethin g m ore s pecial ized; f orexam pl e, Ican take
care of the hotel garden s , w hichare s obeau tif u l , s ow el l cared
f or. On e can s ee thatav erytal en ted pers on is in charge of
the garden s . How m u chdoes the garden erof this hotel
m ake?I' l l w ork as agarden er! How m an yhou rs w ork in the
garden are n eces s arytopayf orthe barbecu e al apau per?"
Athird actor, atan othertabl e, expl ain s his f rien ds hipw ith
the garden er, w hois an im m igran tf rom the s am e v il l age as
he; f orthis reas on he kn ow s thatthe garden erm akes ten
s ol es perhou r. Again the "protagon is t"becom es in dign an t:
"How is this pos s ibl e?Sothe m an w hotakes care of thes e
beau tif u l garden s , w hos pen ds his days ou tthere expos ed to

2 2 . T heatre of the
Oppres s ed
the w in d, the rain , an d the s u n , has tow ork s ev en l on g hou rs
tobe abl e toeatthe barbecu e in ten m in u tes ?I-Iow can this
be, Mr. Headw aiter?Expl ain ittom e!"
T he headw aiteris al readyin des pair; he das hes back an d
f orth, giv es orders tothe w aiters in al ou d v oice todiv ertthe
atten tion of the othercu s tom ers , al tern atel yl au ghs an d
becom es s eriou s , w hil e the res tau ran tis tran s f orm ed in toa
pu bl ic f oru m . "T he "protagon is t"as ks the w aiterhow m u ch
he is paid tos erv e the barbecu e an d of f ers torepl ace him f or
the n eces s aryn u m berof hou rs . An otheractor, origin al l y
f rom as m al l v il l age in the in terior, gets u pan d decl ares that
n obodyin his v il l age m akes 7 0s ol es perday; theref ore
n obodyin his v il l age can eatthe "barbecu e al apau per."( T he
s in cerityof this actor, w how as , bes ides , tel l in g the tru th,
m ov ed thos e w how ere n earhis tabl e.)
F in al l y, tocon cl u de the s cen e, an otheractorin terv en es
w iththe f ol l ow in g propos ition :
"F rien ds , itl ooks as if w e are again s tthe w aiteran d the
headw aiteran d this does n otm ake s en s e. T heyare ou r
brothers . T heyw ork l ike u s , an d theyare n ottobl am e f orthe
prices charged here. Is u gges tw e take u pacol l ection . We at
this tabl e are goin g toas k you tocon tribu te w hatev eryou
can , on e s ol tw os ol es , f iv e s ol es , w hatev eryou can af f ord. An d
w iththatm on eyw e are goin g topayf orthe barbecu e. An d
be gen erou s , becau s e w hatis l ef tov erw il l goas atipf orthe
w aiter, w hois ou rbrotheran d aw orkin g m an ."
Im m ediatel ythos e w hoare w ithhim atthe tabl e s tart
col l ectin g m on eytopaythe bil l . Som e cu s tom ers w il l in gl y
giv e on e ortw os ol es . Others f u riou s l ycom m en t:
"He s ays thatthe f ood w e' re eatin g is j u n k, an d n ow he
w an ts u s topayf orhis barbecu e! . . . An d am Igoin g toeat
this j u n k?I-Iel l n o?Iw ou l dn ' tgiv e him apean u t, s ohe' l l l earn
al es s on ! Lethim w as hdis hes . . .
T he col l ection reached 100s ol es an d the dis cu s s ion w en t
on throu ghthe n ight. Itis al w ays v eryim portan tthatthe
actors don otrev eal them s el v es tobe actors ! On this res ts the
in v is ibl e n atu re of this f orm of theater. An d itis precis el ythis
in v is ibl e qu al itythatw il l m ake the s pectatoractf reel yan d
f u l l y, as if he w ere l iv in g areal s itu ation - an d. af teral l , itis a
real s itu ation !
Itis n eces s arytoem phas ize thatthe in v is ibl e theateris
n otthe s am e thin g as a"happen in g"orthe s o-cal l ed "gu erril l a
theater."In the l atterw e are cl earl ytal kin g abou t"theater," "
an d theref ore the w al l thats eparates actors f rom s pectators
im m ediatel yaris es , redu cin g the s pectatortoim poten ce:a
theN EWMEDIAR EADER
s pectatoris al w ays l es s than am an ! In the in v is ibl e theater
the theatrical ritu al s are abol is hed; on l ythe theaterexis ts ,
w ithou tits ol d, w orn -ou tpattern s . T he theatrical en ergyis
com pl etel yl iberated. an d the im pactprodu ced bythis f ree
theateris m u chm ore pow erf u l an d l on gerl as tin g.
Sev eral pres en tation s of in v is ibl e theaterw ere m ade in
dif f eren tl ocation s in P eru . P articu l arl yin teres tin g is w hat
happen ed atthe Carm en Market, in the barrioof Com as ,
s om e 14kil om eters aw ayf rom dow n tow n Lim a. T w o
actres s es w ere protagon is ts in as cen e en acted atav egetabl e
s tan d. On e of them , w how as preten din g tobe il l iterate,
in s is ted thatthe v en dorw as cheatin g her, takin g adv an tage
of the f actthats he did n otkn ow how toread; the other
actres s checked the f igu res , f in din g them tobe correct, an d
adv is ed the "il l iterate"on e toregis terin on e of ALF IN ' s
l iteracycou rs es . Af ters om e dis cu s s ion abou tthe bes tage to
s tarton e' s s tu dies , abou tw hattos tu dyan d w ithw hom , the
f irs tactres s kepton in s is tin g thats he w as toool d f orthos e
thin gs . Itw as then thatal ittl e ol d w om an , l ean in g on her
can e, v eryin dign an tl ys hou ted:
"Mydears , that' s n ottru e?F orl earn in g an d m akin g l ov e
on e is n ev ertoool d!"
Ev eryon e w itn es s in g the s cen e broke in tol au ghteratthe
ol d w om an ' s am orou s ou tbu rs t, an d the actres s es w ere
u n abl e tocon tin u e the s cen e.
3)P hoto-R om an ce
In m an yLatin -Am erican cou n tries there is agen u in e
epidem ic of photo-rom an ces , s u b-l iteratu re on the l ow es t
im agin abl e l ev el , w hichf u rtherm ore al w ays s erv es as a
v ehicl e f orthe ru l in g cl as s es ' ideol ogy. T he techn iqu e here
con s is ts in readin g tothe participan ts the gen eral l in es in the
pl otof aphoto-rom an ce w ithou ttel l in g them the s ou rce of
this pl ot. T he participan ts are as ked toactou tthe s tory
F in al l y, the acted-ou ts toryis com pared tothe s toryas itis
tol d in the photo-rom an ce, an d the dif f eren ces are dis cu s s ed
F orexam pl e:arathers tu pid s torytaken f rom Corin
T el l ado, the w ors tau thorof this bru tal izin g gen re, s tarted
l ike this :
Aw om an is w aitin g f orherhu s ban d in the com pan yof
an otherw om an w hois hel pin g herw iththe hou s ew ork. . ..
T he participan ts acted accordin g totheircu s tom s :a
w om an athom e expectin g herhu s ban d w il l n atu ral l ybe
preparin g the m eal ; the on e hel pin g heris an eighbor, w ho
com es tochatabou tv ariou s thin gs ; the hu s ban d com es
hom e tired af teral on g day' s w ork; the hou s e is aon e-room
tr- - -0- - -0- - - I $9 -"""~o--~ 0 2 2 . T heatre of the
s hack, etc., etc. In Corin T el l ado, on the con trary, the w om an
is dres s ed in al on g ev en in g gow n , w ithpearl n eckl aces , etc.;
the w om an w hois hel pin g heris abl ack m aid w hos ays n o
m ore than "Y es , m a"am "; "T he din n eris s erv ed, m a' am "; "Very
w el l , m a' am "; "Here com es Mr. X, m a' am "; an d n othin g el s e.
T he hou s e is am arbl e pal ace; the hu s ban d com es hom e af ter
aday' s w ork in his f actory, w here he had an argu m en tw ith
the w orkers becau s e they, "n otu n ders tan din g the cris is w e
are al l l iv in g throu gh, w an ted an in creas e in s al aries . . . an d
con tin u in g in this v ein .
T his particu l ars toryw as s heertras h, bu tatthe s am e tim e
its erv ed as m agn if icen texam pl e of ideol ogical in s ight. T he
w el l -dres s ed w om an receiv ed al etterf rom an u n kn ow n
w om an , w en ttov is ither, an d dis cov ered hertobe af orm er
m is tres s of herhu s ban d; the m is tres s s tated thatthe
hu s ban d had l ef therbecau s e he w an ted tom arrythe f actory
ow n er' s dau ghter, thatis , the w el l -dres s ed w om an . T otopit
al l , the m is tres s excl aim ed:
"Y es , he betrayed m e, deceiv ed m e. Bu tIf orgiv e him
becau s e, af teral l , he has al w ays been v eryam bitiou s , an d he
kn ew v eryw el l thatw ithm e he cou l d n otcl im b v eryhigh.
On the otherhan d, w ithyou he can gov eryf arin deed!"
T hatis tos ay, the f orm erm is tres s f orgav e herl ov er
becau s e he had in the highes tdegree thatcapital is tic
eagern es s topos s es s ev erythin g. T he des ire tobe af actory
ow n eris pres en ted as s om ethin g s on obl e thatev en af ew
betrayal s on the w ayu pare tobe f orgiv en . . ..
An d the you n g w if e, n ottobe ou tdon e, preten ds tobe il l
s othathe w il l hav e torem ain athers ide, an d s othat, as a
res u l tof this trick, he w il l f in al l yf al l in l ov e w ithher. What
an ideol ogy! T his l ov e s toryis crow n ed w ithahappyen din g
rotten tothe core. Of cou rs e the s tory, w hen tol d w ithou tthe
dial ogu es an d acted ou tbypeas an ts , takes on an en tirel y
dif f eren tm ean in g. When atthe en d of the perf orm an ce, the
participan ts are tol d the origin of the pl ottheyhav e j u s t
acted ou t, theyexperien ce as hock. An d this m u s tbe
u n ders tood:w hen theyread Corin T el l adotheyim m ediatel y
as s u m e the pas s iv e rol e of "s pectators "; bu tif theyf irs tof al l
hav e toactou tas torythem s el v es , af terw ards , w hen theydo
read Corin T el l ados v ers ion , theyw il l n ol on geras s u m e a
pas s iv e, expectan tattitu de, bu tin s tead acritical , com parativ e
on e. T heyw il l l ook atthe l ady' s hou s e, an d com pare itto
theirow n , atthe hu s ban d' s orw if e' s attitu des an d com pare
them w iththos e of theirow n s pou s es , etc. An d theyw il l be
prepared todetectthe pois on in f il tratin g the pages of thos e
Oppres s ed
photo-s tories , orthe com ics an d otherf orm s of cu l tu ral an d
ideol ogical dom in ation .
Iw as ov erj oyed w hen , m on ths af terthe experim en ts w ith
the edu cators , back in Lim a, Iw as in f orm ed thatthe
res iden ts of s ev eral barrios w ere u s in g thats am e techn iqu e to
an al yze tel ev is ion program s , an en dl es s s ou rce of pois on
directed again s tthe peopl e.
4)Breakin g of R epres s ion
T he dom in an tcl as s es cru s hthe dom in ated on es throu gh
repres s ion ; the ol d cru s hthe you n g throu ghrepres s ion ;
certain races s u bj u gate certain others throu ghrepres s ion .
N ev erthrou ghacordial u n ders tan din g, throu ghan hon es t
in terchan ge of ideas , throu ghcriticis m an d au tocriticis m . N o.
T he ru l in g cl as s es , the ol d, the "s u perior"races , orthe
m as cu l in e s ex, hav e theirs ets of v al u es an d im pos e them by
f orce, byu n il ateral v iol en ce, u pon the oppres s ed cl as s es , the
you n g, the races theycon s iderin f erior, orw om en .
T he capital is tdoes n otas k the w orkin g m an if he agrees
thatthe capital s hou l d bel on g toon e an d the l aborto
an other; he s im pl ypl aces an arm ed pol icem an atthe f actory
dooran d thatis that priv ate propertyis decreed.
T he dom in ated cl as s , race, s ex, orage grou ps u f f ers the
m os tcon s tan t, dail y, an d om n ipres en trepres s ion . T he
ideol ogybecom es con crete in the f igu re of the dom in ated
pers on . T he prol etariatis expl oited throu ghthe dom in ation
thatis exerted on al l prol etarian s . Sociol ogybecom es
ps ychol ogy. T here is n otan oppres s ion bythe m as cu l in e s ex
in gen eral of the f em in in e s exin gen eral :w hatexis ts is the
con crete oppres s ion thatm en ( in div idu al s )directagain s t
w om en ( in div idu al s ).
T he techn iqu e of breakin g repres s ion con s is ts in as kin g a
participan ttorem em beraparticu l arm om en tw hen he f el t
es pecial l yrepres s ed, accepted thatrepres s ion , an d began to
actin am an n ercon trarytohis ow n des ires . T hatm om en t
m u s thav e adeeppers on al m ean in g:I, aprol etarian , am
oppres s ed; w e prol etarian s are oppres s ed; theref ore the
prol etariatis oppres s ed. Itis n eces s arytopas s f rom the
particu l artothe gen eral , n otv ice v ers a, an d todeal w ith
s om ethin g thathas happen ed tos om eon e in particu l ar, bu t
w hichatthe s am e tim e is typical of w hathappen s toothers .
T he pers on w hotel l s the s toryal s ochoos es f rom am on g
the res tof the participan ts al l the othercharacters w how il l
participate in the recon s tru ction of the in ciden t. T hen , af ter
receiv in g the in f orm ation an d direction s prov ided bythe pro-
tagon is t, the participan ts an d the protagon is tactou tthe
2 2 . T heatre of the
Oppres s ed
in ciden tj u s tas ithappen ed in real ity recreatin g the s am e
s cen e, the s am e circu m s tan ces , an d the s am e origin al f eel in gs .
On ce the reprodu ction of the actu al ev en tis ov er, the
protagon is tis as ked torepeatthe s cen e, bu tthis tim e
w ithou tacceptin g the repres s ion , f ightin g toim pos e his w il l ,
his ideas , his w is hes . T he otherparticipan ts are u rged to
m ain tain the repres s ion as in the f irs tperf orm an ce. T he
cl as hthatres u l ts hel ps tom eas u re the pos s ibil ityon e of ten
has tores is tan d yetf ail s todos o; ithel ps tom eas u re the
tru e s tren gthof the en em y. Ital s ogiv es the protagon is tthe
opportu n ityof tryin g on ce m ore an d carryin g ou t, in f iction ,
w hathe had n otbeen abl e todoin real ity. Bu tw e hav e
al readys een thatthis is n otcathartic:the f actof hav in g
rehears ed ares is tan ce tooppres s ion w il l prepare him to
res is tef f ectiv el yin af u tu re real ity, w hen the occas ion
pres en ts its el f on ce m ore.
On the otherhan d, itis n eces s arytotake care thatthe
gen eric n atu re of the particu l arcas e u n ders tu dybe
u n ders tood. In this type of theatrical experim en tthe
particu l arin s tan ce m u s ts erv e as the poin tof departu re, bu t
itis in dis pen s abl e toreachthe gen eral . T he proces s tobe real -
ized, du rin g the actu al perf orm an ce oraf terw ard du rin g the
dis cu s s ion , is on e thatas cen ds f rom the phen om en on tow ard
the l aw ; f rom the phen om en apres en ted in the pl ottow ard
the s ocial l aw s thatgov ern thos e phen om en a. T he s pectator-
participan ts m u s tcom e ou tof this experien ce en riched w ith
the kn ow l edge of thos e l aw s , obtain ed throu ghan al ys is of
the phen om en a.
5)MythT heater
Itis s im pl yaqu es tion of dis cov erin g the obv iou s behin d the
m yth:tol ogical l ytel l as tory, rev eal in g its ev iden ttru ths .
In apl ace cal l ed Motu pe there w as ahil l , al m os ta
m ou n tain , w ithan arrow road thatl ed throu ghthe trees to
the top; hal f w aytothe tops tood acros s . On e cou l d goas f ar
as thatcros s :togobeyon d itw as dan gerou s ; itin s pired f ear,
an d the f ew w hohad tried had n ev erretu rn ed. Itw as
bel iev ed thats om e s an gu in aryghos ts in habited the topof
the m ou n tain . Bu tthe s toryis al s otol d of abrav e you n g m an
w hoarm ed him s el f an d cl im bed tothe top, w here he f ou n d
the ghos ts . T heyw ere in real itys om e Am erican s w ho
ow n ed agol d m in e l ocated precis el yon the topof that
m ou n tain .
An otherl egen d is thatof the l agoon of Cheken . Itis s aid
thatthere w as n ow aterthere an d thatal l the peas an ts ,
hav in g totrav el f ors ev eral kil om eters togetagl as s of w ater,
theN EWMEDIAR EADER
w ere dyin g of thirs t. T odayal agoon exis ts there, the
propertyof al ocal l an dow n er. How did thatl agoon s prin g
u pan d how did itbecom e the propertyof on e m an ?T he
l egen d expl ain s it. When there w as s til l n ow ater, on adayof
in ten s e heatal l the v il l agers w ere l am en tin g an d prayin g to
God togran tthem ev en atin ys tream of w ater. Bu tGod did
n othav e pityon thatarid v il l age. Atm idn ightof the s am e
day, how ev er, am an dres s ed in al on g bl ack pon choan d
ridin g abl ack hors e arriv ed an d addres s ed the l an dow n er,
w how as then on l yapoorpeas an tl ike the others :
Iw il l giv e al agoon f oral l of you , bu tyou , f rien d, m u s tgiv e
m e you rm os tpreciou s pos s es s ion ."
T he poorm an , v erydis tres s ed, m oan ed:
Bu tIhav e n othin g; Iam v erypoor. We al l here s u f f erf rom
the l ack of w ater, l iv e in m is erabl e s hacks , s u f f erf rom the
m os tterribl e hu n ger. We hav e n othin g preciou s , n otev en ou r
l iv es . An d m ys el f in particu l ar, m yon l ypreciou s pos s es s ion is
m ythree dau ghters , n othin g el s e."
An d of the three,"res pon ded the s tran ger, the ol des tis
the m os tbeau tif u l . Iw il l giv e you al agoon f il l ed w iththe
f res hes tw aterof al l P eru ; bu tin exchan ge you w il l giv e m e
you rol des tdau ghters othatIm aym arryher."
T he f u tu re l an dl ord thou ghtf oral on g w hil e, cried al ot,
an d as ked his f righten ed el des tdau ghterif s he w ou l d accept
s u chan u n u s u al m arriage propos al . T he obedien tdau ghter
expres s ed hers el f in this w ay:
If itis f orthe s al v ation of al l , s othatthe thirs tan d hu n ger
of al l the peas an ts w il l com e toan en d, if itis s othatyou
m ayhav e al agoon w iththe f res hes tw aterof al l P eru , if itis
s othatthatl agoon w il l bel on g toyou al on e an d brin g you
pers on al pros perityan d riches f oryou w il l be abl e tos el l
this w on derf u l w atertothe peas an ts , w how il l f in d it
cheapertobu yf rom you than totrav el s om an y
kil om eters if itis f oral l this , tel l the gen tl em an in the bl ack
pon cho, as tride his bl ack hors e, thatIw il l gow ithhim , ev en
if in m yheartIam s u s piciou s of his tru e iden tityan d of the
pl aces he w il l take m e.
Happyan d con ten ted, an d of cou rs e s om ew hattearf u l , the
kin d f atherw en ttoin f orm the m an in bl ack of the decis ion ,
m ean w hil e as kin g the dau ghtertom ake s om e l ittl e s ign s
s how in g the price of al iterof w ater, in ordertoexpedite the
w ork. T he m an in bl ack u n dres s ed the girl , f orhe did n ot
w an ttotake an ythin g f rom thathou s e bes ides the girl
hers el f , an d pl aced heron his hors e, w hichs etof f atagal l op
tow ard agreatdepres s ion in the pl ain s . T hen an en orm ou s
- 2 2 . T heatre of the Q Q ~--~- 1; . ~ ' 1 H . Q 1 -O
s s ion w as heard, an d al arge cl ou d of s m oke rem ain ed in
ev erypl ace w here the hors e, hors em an , an d n aked girl had
appeared. F rom the hu ge hol e thathad been m ade in the
n u n d, as prin g s tarted tof l ow an d f orm ed the l agoon w ith
l f res hes tw aterof al l P eru .
T his m ythn odou bthides atru th:the l an dl ord took
n s s es s ion of w hatdid n otbel on g tohim . If f orm erl ythe
ol il em en attribu ted toGod the gran tin g of theirproperty
m if gl its , todayexpl an ation s n ol es s m agical are s til l u s ed.
n tl iis cas e, the propertyof the l agoon w as expl ain ed bythe
u s s of the el des tdau ghter, the l an dl ords m os tpreciou s
_ios s es s i0n atran s action took pl ace! An d s erv in g as a
m in derof that, the l egen d s aid thaton the n ights of the
l ew m oon on e cou l d hearthe girl s in gin g atthe bottom of
s til l n aked an d com bin g herl on g hairw itha
ieau tif u l gol den com b. . . . Y es , the tru this thatf orthe
hn cl orcl the l agoon w as l ike gol d.
T he m yths tol d bythe peopl e s hou l d be s tu died an d
an d theirhidden tru ths rev eal ed. In this tas k the
gheatercan be extraordin aril yu s ef u l .
3)An al ytical T heater
is toryis tol d byon e of the participan ts an d im m ediatel y
il l cactors im prov is e it. Af terw ard eachcharacteris broken
hw n in toal l his s ocial rol es an d the participan ts are as ked
l n choos e aphys ical obj ecttos ym bol ize eachrol e. F or
exam pl e, apol icem an kil l ed achicken thief . T he pol icem an is
m al yzecl
aihe is aw orkerbecau s e he ren ts his l abor-pow er; s ym bol :a
pairof ov eral l s ;
Il eis abou reois becau s e he rotects riv ate roertan d
g P P P P Y
v al u es itm ore than hu m an l if e; s ym bol :an ecktie, oratop
|n t,etc.;
rl heis arepres s iv e agen tbecau s e he is apol icem an ; s ym bol :
arcv ol v er.
T his is con tin u ed u n til the participan ts hav e an al yzed al l
iis rol es :head of af am il y( s ym bol :the w al l et, f orexam pl e),
m em berof af ratern al order, etc., etc. Itis im portan tthatthe
i} ' l 1l )0l S be chos en bythe participan ts pres en tan d thatthey
iotbeim pos ed f rom abov e."F oraparticu l arcom m u n itythe
iym bol f orthe head of the f am il ym ightbe aw al l et, becau s e
1:is the pers on w hocon trol s the hou s ehol d f in an ces , an d in
his w aycon trol s the f am il y. F oran othercom m u n itythis
ym bol m ayn otcom m u n icate an ythin g, thatis , itm ayn ot
l tas ym bol ; then an arm chairm aybe chos en . . . .
_~.
Oppres s ed
Hav in g an al yzed the character, orcharacters ( itis adv is abl e
tol im itthis operation tothe cen tral characters on l y, f orthe
s ake of s im pl icityan d cl arity), af res hattem pttotel l the
s toryis m ade, bu ttakin g aw ays om e of the s ym bol s f rom
eachcharacter, an d con s equ en tl ys om e s ocial rol es as w el l .
Wou l d the s torybe exactl ythe s am e if :
a)the pol icem an did n othav e the tophatorthe n ecktie?
b)the robberhad atophatorn ecktie?
c)the robberhad arev ol v er?
d)the pol icem an an d the robberbothhad the s am e s ym bol
f orthe f ratern al order?
T he participan ts are as ked tom ake v aryin g com bin ation s
an d the propos ed com bin ation s m u s tbe perf orm ed bythe
ac-tors an d criticized byal l thos e pres en t. In this w aytheyw il l
real ize thathu m an action s are n otthe excl u s iv e an d
prim ordial res u l tof in div idu al ps ychol ogy:al m os tal w ays ,
throu ghthe in div idu al s peaks his cl as s !
7 )R itu al s an d Mas ks
T he rel ation s of produ ction ( in f ras tru ctu re)determ in e the
cu l tu re of as ociety( s u pers tru ctu re).
Som etim es the in f ras tru ctu re chan ges bu tthe
s u pers tru ctu re f oraw hil e rem ain s the s am e. In Brazil the
l an dl ords w ou l d n otal l ow the peas an ts tol ook them in the
f ace w hil e tal kin g w iththem :this w ou l d m ean l ack of
res pect. T he peas an ts w ere accu s tom ed total kin g w iththe
l an dl ords on l yw hil e s tarin g atthe grou n d an d m u rm u rin g:
yes , s ir; yes , s ir; yes , s ir. When the gov ern m en tdecreed an
agrarian ref orm ( bef ore 19 6 4, date of the f acis tcou pdetat)
its em is s aries w en ttothe f iel ds totel l the peas an ts thatn ow
theycou l d becom e l an dow n ers . T he peas an ts , s tarin g atthe
grou n d, m u rm u red:yes , f rien d; yes , f rien d; yes , f rien d. A
f eu dal is tic cu l tu re had total l yperm eated theirl iv es . T he
rel ation s hips of the peas an tw iththe l an dl ord w ere en tirel y
dif f eren tf rom thos e w iththe agen tof the In s titu te of
Agrarian R ef orm , bu tthe ritu al rem ain ed u n chan ged.
T his particu l artechn iqu e of apeopl es theater( R itu al s
an d m as ks )con s is ts precis el yin rev eal in g the
s u pers tru ctu res , the ritu al s w hichreif yal l hu m an
rel ation s hips , an d the m as ks of behav iorthatthos e ritu al s
im pos e on eachpers on accordin g tothe rol es he pl ays in
s ocietyan d the ritu al s he m u s tperf orm .
Av erys im pl e exam pl e:am an goes toapries ttocon f es s
his s in s . How w il l he doit?Of cou rs e, he w il l kn eel , con f es s
his s in s , hearthe pen iten ce, cros s him s el f , an d l eav e. Bu tdo
~ - -_-.i
2 2 . T heatre of the
Oppres s ed
al l m en con f es s al w ays in the s am e w aybef ore al l pries ts ?
Whois the m an , an d w hois the pries t?
In this cas e w e n eed tw ov ers atil e actors tos tage the s am e
con f es s ion f ou rtim es :
F irs ts cen e:the pries tan d the paris hion erare l an dl ords ;
Secon d s cen e: the pries tis al an dl ord an d the paris hion eris a
peas an t;
T hird s cen e: the pries tis apeas an tan d the paris hion eris a
l an dl ord;
F ou rths cen e:the pries tan d the paris hion erare peas an ts .
T he ritu al is the s am e in eachin s tan ce, bu tthe dif f eren t
s ocial m as ks w il l cau s e the f ou rs cen es tobe dif f eren tal s o.
T his is an extraordin aril yrichtechn iqu e w hichhas
cou n tl es s v arian ts :the s am e ritu al chan gin g m as ks ; the s am e
ritu al perf orm ed bypeopl e of on e s ocial cl as s , an d l aterby
peopl e of an othercl as s ; exchan ge of m as ks w ithin the s am e
ritu al ; etc., etc.
Con cl u s ion : Spectator, aBad Word!
Y es , this is w ithou tadou btthe con cl u s ion ; pectator is a
bad w ord! T he s pectatoris l es s than am an an d itis
n eces s arytohu m an ize him , tores tore tohim his capacityof
action in al l its f u l l n es s . He toom u s tbe as u bj ect, an actoron
an equ al pl an e w iththos e gen eral l yaccepted as actors , w ho
m u s tal s obe s pectators . Al l thes e experim en ts of apeopl e' s
theaterhav e the s am e obj ectiv e the l iberation of the
s pectator, on w hom the theaterhas im pos ed f in is hed v is ion s
of the w orl d. An d s in ce thos e res pon s ibl e f ortheatrical
perf orm an ces are in gen eral peopl e w hobel on g directl yor
in directl ytothe ru l in g cl as s es , obv iou s l ytheirf in is hed
im ages w il l be ref l ection s of them s el v es . T he s pectators in
the peopl e' s theater( i.e., the peopl e them s el v es )can n otgoon
bein g the pas s iv e v ictim s of thos e im ages .
As w e hav e s een in the f irs tes s ayof this book, the poetics
of Aris totl e is the poetics of oppres s ion :the w orl d is kn ow n ,
perf ectorabou ttobe perf ected, an d al l its v al u es are
i
theN EWMEDIAR EADER
im pos ed on the s pectators , w hopas s iv el ydel egate pow erto
the characters toactan d thin k in theirpl ace. In s odoin g the
s pectators pu rge them s el v es of theirtragic f l aw thatis , of
s om ethin g capabl e of chan gin g s ociety. Acathars is of the
rev ol u tion aryim petu s is produ ced! Dram atic action
s u bs titu tes f orreal action .
Brechts poetics is thatof the en l ighten ed v an gu ard:the
w orl d is rev eal ed as s u bj ecttochan ge, an d the chan ge s tarts
in the theaterits el f , f orthe s pectatordoes n otdel egate
pow ertothe characters tothin k in his pl ace, al thou ghhe
con tin u es todel egate pow ertothem toactin his pl ace. T he
experien ce is rev eal in g on the l ev el of con s ciou s n es s , bu tn ot
gl obal l yon the l ev el of the action . Dram atic action throw s
l ightu pon real action . T he s pectacl e is apreparation f or
action .
T he poetics of the oppres s ed is es s en tial l ythe poetics of
l iberation :the s pectatorn ol on gerdel egates pow ertothe
characters eithertothin k ortoactin his pl ace. T he s pectator
f rees him s el f ; he thin ks an d acts f orhim s el f ! T heateris
action !
P erhaps the theateris n otrev ol u tion aryin its el f ; bu thav e
n odou bts , itis arehears al of rev ol u tion !
N otes
1. T he gov ern m en tes tabl is hed af terthe October19 6 8 rev ol u tion
an d headed byP res iden tJu an Vel as coAl v arado( repl aced in Au gu s t
19 7 5byF ran cis coMoral es Berm u dez). ( T ran s l ators ' n ote.)
2 . U n derthe au thor' s l eaders hipthe Aren aT heaterdev el oped in to
on e of Brazil ' s in deed, on e of Latin Am erica' s m os tou ts tan din g
theaters . Af ter19 6 4, w hen m il itaryru l e w as es tabl is hed in that
cou n try, Boal ' s w ork con tin u ed, thou ghham pered bycen s ors hip
an d otherres triction s im pos ed bythe gov ern m en t. His ou ts poken
pos ition again s tthe au thoritarian regim e l ed tohis im pris on m en t
an d tortu re in 19 7 1. R el eas ed af terthree m on ths an d acqu itted of
al l charges , he w as n ev erthel es s com pel l ed tol eav e Brazil in order
toin s u re the s af etyof him s el f an d his f am il y. Af terpol itical
circu m s tan ces al s of orced him tol eav e Bu en os -Aires , Argen tin a, he
took u pres iden ce in P ortu gal .
O-~ -$_, , ._Q _119 15 C, 2 3. Sof tArchitectu re
Machin es
2 3. [ In trodu ction ]
I-rom Sof tArchitectu re Machin es
T he des ign of s tru ctu res f orhu m an activ ityis the bas is of botharchitectu re an d hu m an -com pu ter
in teraction atl eas t, if tw os en s es of the w ord s tru ctu res are con s idered. Con ceptu al izin g a
n etw orked ors of tw are s ys tem as s patial m akes con n ection betw een the tw of iel ds ev en m ore
ev iden t. T his rel ation s hipis in f actborn e ou tbythe greatcon tribu tion s architects hav e m ade ton ew
m edia. On e of the m os tim m ediatel yobv iou s appl ication s of v irtu al real ityw as in architectu re, w here
techn ol ogyal l ow ed f orthe f irs t-pers on v is u al ization of apl an n ed phys ical bu il din g. T he greatcos tof
adv an ced graphics techn ol ogyw as j u s tif ied bythe m u chgreatercos tof con s tru ction an d the n eed to
getthin gs rightbef orehan d. T his w as on e of the f irs tadv an ced appl ication s of the com pu terto
des ign , an d itl ayou ts ide the m os ttypical f iel ds in w hichearl ycom pu tin g f ou n d appl ication :
accou n tin g, the hard s cien ces , an d en gin eerin g. _ .; ' _~_. ; _- M . _.-.
Man yn ew m ediain s ights of f ered byarchitects hav e com e as in n ov ativ e appl ication s of :' i_~:~
architectu ral kn ow l edge abou ts pace, orabou tdes ign . T he m os tin f l u en tial architects w orkin g w ith ' 1 - ~We_l e".ql $:
com pu ters -in cl u din g Michael Ben edikt, Marcos N ov ak, Wil l iam Mitchel l , an d N ichol as
N egropon te hav e dev el oped n ew prin cipl es an d theories f orthe digital real m , boths pecif ical l yw ith_" 5e- am ie; 5]; ,g> im 7 -_
regard tothe cybers pace con ceptan d acros s n ew m ediain otherw ays . T he ideathatthe u s ers hou l d 7 , L
be em pow ered bycom pu ters , ratherthan brow beaten in tocom pl yin g w itham achin e expert, is on e I ; _Medi:a7 ,' La~b,.Iw here_' ,P a_perj t_?; _l ed-.
particu l arl yim portan tideathathas been f u rthered byN egropon te. > 1 [ l _.' 9 59 .i{ !-1 5
In 19 6 7 N egropon te f ou n ded the Architectu re Machin e Grou patMIT . Itw as in the con textof ' j ..i:"_ef ef ,l !l _( ~-_","
w orkin g in this grou pthatSof tArchitectu re Machin es an d his earl ierT he Architectu re Machin e w ere l l . __ T . 2 .).)-i
w ritten . In this grou p, N egropon te an d his col l aborators dev el oped m ethods of m an agin g data ' ' ' ' -3 7 I ~ -' * * 3" * ' ' " ..
s patial l y, ratherthan in the f orm of n u m eric ortextu al l is ts . T he ideas l aid ou tin the f ol l ow in g tw o .' _- -j ~ _
s el ection s w ere, an d rem ain , of greatim portan ce tothe des ign of s of tw are. In In ten tion al ities , . ."R l c~_!iaf d,* 9 ?l l ' $"EaP er"( Q 2 g' ) "
_ dis ggu s s es -a,_proJect,.ol E"the-' '
N egropon te des cribes three l ev el s of aw aren es s thatacom pu ters ys tem s hou l d attem pt, s oas tobe . _.Ar h' i"tectm ; ' Ma_d, ge_' GT 6 u p~ j _
as res pon s iv e as pos s ibl e. Ev en the m os tbas ic of thes e, hav in g am odel of the u s er, is abs en tf rom _' : ea' ]; f w j t -s patial ,--_" . E
m an yil l -des ign ed pieces of s of tw are today. ( Con s iderhow Micros of tWin dow s tu rn s on the s creen _d_ata_r_n a_rragem en t,' -,.a-,cori@ ' pt 3
s av erf iv e m in u tes in tos how in g am ov ie on DVD; ev en aprim itiv e m odel of the u s erthatkn ow s _f i:P !-O1{i1v T _-? is
abou tan activ itys u chas v iew in g m ov ie is abs en t.)In the f ol l ow in g s el ection , N egropon te argu es pin J
again s tthe cl as s ical con ceptof the com pu teras an expertw iths pecial kn ow l edge. Y etu s ers l ie
. . . . . . arigexhibitto, Sof tw are ( 012 ). ~,
carryin g ou ttas ks w ithcom pu ters todays til l of ten f in d them s el v es f ol l ow in g al on g as s of tw are __-~_, .- _; -. _-' -__
w izards directu s eractiv ityin toon e of af ew pre-def in ed chan n el s , in w hatis con s idered as a T " l if 1 T 1' ' "T " l "
recen tadv an ce toim prov e produ ctiv ity. Des pite the pow erof N egropon tes ideas , m an ythathav e j ; ._.._. " ~ ; _~ ' ; = ~ '
prov ed them s el v es u s ef u l rem ain ov erl ooked bys of tw are creators . ,1,; ' ij .1R __-?"?if
. . . . . 2 0_thL-"erj :.tu ry.r2 by~~Gl -0l _1.3!' l -I18 -
Withthe s u pportof MIT P res iden tJerom e Weis n er, N egropon te con tin u ed an d expan ded his J D~a,v - rit_an dq_Ml ,cha- l p .- _
w ork byopen in g the MIT MediaLab in 19 85, f ou n din g au n iqu e in s titu tion . Spon s ored by El
com pan ies w hogetin -pers on acces s tos tu den ts an d f acu l tym em bers , the MediaLab con du cts 1 y; __d _ ; , u i; i ,5rary,
res earchin tof u tu re appl ication s of techn ol ogies acros s m an ydif f eren tacadem ic dis cipl in es , ,,1' w e s _n er. an d-an e r' am pl e_of -
artis tic m edia, an d s l ices of l if e. N eitheracorporate res earchl ab n oratypical academ ic VY b_T !<j ' 0
departm en t, the MediaLab carries on the w ork of the Architectu re Machin e Grou p es pecial l y '7
the approachof w orkin g w ithtechn ol ogies m ore adv an ced than bu s in es s es w il l con s ider, an d ' ~ T = ; , .-._- - ~ ~~
m ore u n u s u al an d yetm ore rel ev an ttoev erydayl if e than the typical academ ic l ab w il l .
N egropon tes in f l u en ce has al s obeen f u rthered throu ghthe m agazin e he co-f ou n ded, Wired, w hich
s ou ghttochron icl e the digital rev ol u tion an d prom ote itas acon cept. His back-page es s ays f rom
thatm agazin e are col l ected in Bein g Digital .
- N M
E
. ,
2 3. Sof tArchitectu re theN EWMEDIAR EADER
Machin es
_ ~ . ."v 0 ~ - _ _,
, . . . I ' - l - ' t ._____. __
. _, ~ . ' _.
a .. . -v ' . . ,
( h _ , . . .. 1 x ,,
, raagrracrryM_iciiael .Behedi.kt, "_cyber; rl > ace; is om e g
_' - P ropos a1S/ i_1i19 i2 2 4{ iid_Marcos ' N ov al i; ?' @ Liqi; iidf Arc|1itectu res ~in .Cy.bers paoe,' 12 2 5:-2 54; ' ,* ' f . 1 j 7 I ' - _ _I .
1 I A if H IQ I if if
' c ; ?riit hel Lv ritiiam -.-1City.pf :l Bits ; ; Spacf e, f l ace; ~ af m _ii~-the; in f abahri...cam ~briidge; 7 ~MI:T P ' res s ' ,,_' ,1,9 9 ' 5; _,
' .5-; N e.grdpon te; JN ichof l as f _T !3 ?.Architectu r & Machin e; -Cam biri_dgeii; MIrif res s ., _; 4' :' y
. ru eriapr,rees .. I
; ~ _ .. ._. . . . .. - _.; , ,' . 1 . _~4 a
Origin al P u bl ication
"In ten tion al ities "6 0-6 3 an d Com pu ter-Aided P articipatory
Des ign ," 102 -12 3, Sof tArchitectu re Machin es . Cam bridge: MIT
P res s , 19 7 5.
F rom
Sof tArchitectu re
Machin es
N ichol as N egropon te
In ten tion al ities i
Ipropos e thatacom m on ov ers ightin the com pu ter
recogn ition an d gen eration of v is u al m aterial is the dis regard
f orthe in ten tion s of the im age. WhatIm ean tos ayis m ore
im portan tthan w hatIactu al l ys ay. T he in tim acyof a
dial ogu e can be in s om e s en s e m eas u red bythe abil ityof
eachpers on torecogn ize the in ten tion s of the other. F or
exam pl e, in cas es w here peopl e are n otw el l acqu ain ted an d
f rom dif f eren tcu l tu res , s peakin g toeachothercan becom e a
prof es s ion ( dipl om acy)w here itis v eryn eces s arytos ay
exactl yw hatis m ean tan d tobe w el l train ed at
u n ders tan din g w hatis m ean t.
Withtw ogood f rien ds , codes ign ers , hu s ban d an d w if e,
this is n ottru e. Aw el l dev el oped w orkin g rel ation s hipis in
f actcharacterized byon e party' s l eav in g agreatdeal of
in f orm ation f orthe otherpartytoin f eran d as s u m in g itw il l
be in f erred correctl y. As Ol iv erSel f ridge pu ts it, an in tim ate,
in teractiv e con v ers ation is , in s om e s en s e, the l ack of it.
U n f ortu n atel y, in ten tion s can on l ybe recogn ized in
con text, thatev as iv e an d om n ipres en tcon dition . Bu t, in
m an ycas es , ev en the cru des tdef in ition of con text( l ike
n ow w e are goin g total k abou ts tru ctu res in architectu re)
can hel pw hatKan ef f ( 19 7 0)has titl ed T he P ictu re
, ,.__.c.~ I _ ,-
Lan gu age Machin e. If you are s ketchin g apl an an d Ikn ow
you are s ketchin g apl an , ev en thou ghs om e l in es m ight
repl icate the s chem atic cat, Iw il l dom ybes ttoas s ign tothe
l in es aproj ectiv e geom etryordiagram m atic m ean in g as s oci-
ated w iththe bu il ten v iron m en t. How ev er, if Ikn ow you are
al ov erof cats , there m ightbe room ( ats om e poin t)f or
equ iv ocation , tothe exten tthatIm ighthav e toas k, Doyou
m ean . . .? T here is n othin g w ron g w ithas kin g, bu tn ote
thatthe n eed f oras kin g is n otn eces s aril yares u l tof the
l ev el of detail , abs traction , ordiagram m atic s cribbl in g. T he
f actthatm os treal is tic ren derin g dem an ds the s am e
in f eren ce m akin g an d cau s es the s am e am bigu ities is s how n
bytrom pe l oeil pain tin g an d Am es experim en ts in the
ps ychol ogyof perception .
tr
ca9
F igu re 2 3.1. Exam pl es of draw in gs l m ade on the Architectu re Machin e
as partof the s o-cal l ed Cav an au ghexperim en t, des ign ed todeterm in e
pers on al ized draw in g habits . Eachf igu re is acom pu terdis pl ayof
ev eryten thpoin trecorded bythe datatabl et.
F igu re 2 3.2 . T he Syl v an iadatatabl et.
0* T o 4, -o <4: E7 50 . ~13 2 3. Sof tArchitectu re
T om ake in f eren ces abou tas tatem en trequ ires a
kn ow l edge of the w orl d. T om ake an in f eren ce abou tthe
in ten tion of as tatem en trequ ires s om e kn ow l edge of the
pers on m akin g it. F orm e tobegin tom ake in f eren ces abou t
you rin ten tion al ities , exceptatthe v erycru des tl ev el ( of
con tradiction s , s l ips of the ton gu e, m is pron u n ciation s , etc.),
requ ires thatIkn ow you ( ev en as s l ightl yas kn ow in g that
you are Am erican ). T hatis , In eed am odel of you . F ol l ow in g
s om e w ork w ithGordon P as k, w e propos ed in HU N CH-
An Experim en tin SketchR ecogn ition "( N egropon te,
Grois s er, an d T aggart, 19 7 2 )thatm an -com pu terin teraction s
s hou l d be s u pported bythree l ev el s of m odel . F rom the
com pu ter' s poin tof v iew , thes e in cl u de: ( 1)its m odel of you ,
( 2 )its m odel of you rm odel of it, an d ( 3)its m odel of you r
m odel of its m odel of you .
T he f irs tl ev el is as traightf orw ard m odel of the u s er,
ran gin g f rom his habits an d m an n eris m s in s ketchin g, f or
exam pl e, tohis attitu des tow ard architectu re. T his m odel is
con tin u al l yexercis ed as aprediction dev ice an d s u ppl ierof
m is s in g in f orm ation . Its v al idityis eas il ym eas u red an d
tes ted in term s of the cl os en es s of f itbetw een the
an ticipated an d the actu al in ten tion as m an if es tats om e
in crem en tof tim e l ater( am il l is econ d, an hou r, ayear).
N otice thatin n os en s e can s u cham odel be f ail -s af e; in f act,
the v eryideaof f ail s af en es s its el f is the w ron g attitu de
tow ard the probl em . In term s of im pl em en tation this m odel
w ou l d be pas s iv e ( an d hen ce exhibitn oin eptbehav ior)at
the begin n in g. Af ters om e period of tim e ( w ithpeopl e this
v aries f rom pers on al itytopers on al ity), this m odel is
depl oyed tov en tu re gu es s es an d w ou l d in ev itabl ym ake
errors . Con s iderthe proces s w e gothrou ghin gettin g to
kn ow s om ebody. Y ou w il l rem em bers tages of attem ptin g
tom ake n oprediction s , tim es of w ron g s econ d-gu es s in g, an d
l aterperiods of kn ow in g him orher. T his is dram atical l y
am pl if ied if the otherpers on is f rom an othercu l tu re, il l -
v ers ed in you rl an gu age.
T he n extl ev el of m odel is the com pu ters m odel of you rm odel
of it. T his is critical toin f eren ce m akin g becau s e on e ten ds to
l eav e im pl iciton l ythos e is s u es thaton e as s u m es the other
partyw il l u n ders tan d ( im pl icitl y). T his m odel grow s ou tof a
f el icityof m atches betw een the in f erred in f orm ation an d the
in ten ded in f orm ation . If , f orexam pl e, the com pu tercorrectl y
as s u m es thatyou m ean tdoorw ithin the w al l ,"itcan draw
the added in f eren ce thatyou as s u m ed itw ou l d. N ote thatthis
m odel can on l ygrow ou tof correctm atches .
Machin es
T he l as tl ev el of m odel m ayappearov erl ycircu itou s an d
s om ew hatf ickl e; how ev er, ithas u n expl ored ( tom y
kn ow l edge)im pl ication s f orl earn in g. Itis the com pu ters
m odel of the u s er' s m odel of its m odel of him . In hu m an
rel ation s , w hatIthin k you thin k thatIthin k of you is as
im portan tas ( an d can be m ore im portan tthan )w hatI
real l ythin k of you . Is u s pectthatf orthcom in g res earchw il l
rev eal thatthis m odel is cru cial tol earn in g abou tpeopl e on
apers on -to-pers on l ev el . T his is becau s e adeep
acqu ain tan ce can be des cribed as as tate of con v ergen ce
betw een this third l ev el of m odel an d the f irs t. When you r
m odel of m ym odel of you rm odel of m e is al m os tarepl ica
of you rm odel of m e, w e can s aythatyou kn ow m e; in term s
of ahu m an rel ation s hip, thatw e hav e reached al ev el of
con f iden ce an d tru s t.
Com pu ter-Aided
P articipatoryDes ign
U s erP articipation in Des ign
T he ideaof an d n eed f oru s erparticipation in des ign hav e
s u rf aced in the pas tf iv e years as am aj or( an d f as hion abl e)
el em en tin bothdes ign edu cation an d prof es s ion al practice. A
recen ts yn ops is can be f ou n d in N igel Cros s s ( 19 7 2 )Des ign
P articipation . T his in teres tin participation f ol l ow s f rom a
gen eral f eel in g thatarchitectu re, particu l arl yhou s in g, has
been in adequ ate an d u n res pon s iv e tothe n eeds an d des ires
of its u s ers . On e cau s e f orthis s eem s tobe thatthe des ign of
hou s in g is in the w ron g han ds , thatis , in the han ds of an
ou ts ide prof es s ion al , ratherthan of the res iden t. T he
qu es tion is : Can the res iden tparticipate in orcon trol the
des ign of his ow n hou s e?
T he con ceptof u s erparticipation can be traced back
cen tu ries in in digen ou s architectu re. In con tem porary
architectu re an d pl an n in g itis gen eral l ycredited toP au l
Dav idof f s Adv ocacyan d P l u ral is m in P l an n in g"( 19 6 5).
Som e architects v iew participation as af orm of giv in g u p,
capitu l atin g tothe in div idu al w hokn ow s l es s than the
expertbu tis w il l in g tol iv e in his ow n m es s . Others s ee itas
the m os tprom is in g an d s en s ibl e, if n otthe on l y, approachto
en s u rin g res pon s iv e phys ical en v iron m en ts . T he s u bj ectis , to
s aythe l eas t, con trov ers ial . Iron ical l yitis gen eral l ys tu died
an d pu rs u ed bydes ign ers w hov iew com pu ter-aided des ign
2 3. Sof tArchitectu re
Machin es
as an an tipodal ef f ort, as atool f orthe m il itary~in du s trial
com pl exon l y.
T he u n derl yin g as s u m ption of u s erparticipation is that
in div idu al s an d s m al l grou ps ( af am il y, an eighborhood)
theN EWMEDIAR EADER
Cl othes in s om e res pectare atthe otheren d of the
s pectru m in as m u chas Iam con f iden tthatyou an d Ican
des ign an d m ake ou row n cl othes if w e hav e toorw an tto.
Bu tcl othes , u n l ike cars , requ ire s im pl e tool s an d in v ol v e
kn ow w hattheyw an tor, atl eas t, can l earn w hattheyw an t. m aterial s thatare gen eral l yeas ytom an ipu l ate. Atthe s am e
T he con ceptf u rtheras s u m es thattheycan appl ythis
u n ders tan din g in con certw ithacom peten ce toreal ize
des ign s f orthe bu il ten v iron m en t. T he res u l ts are an
apparen t( thou ghn otn eces s aril yreal )dem ocracyin
decis ion m akin g, the con s equ en ce of w hichis ideal l ya
res pon s iv en es s in architectu re. T his approachs hortcircu its
m an yof the tradition al rol es of the prof es s ion al pl an n er
an d architectregardl es s of w hetherhe v iew s him s el f as
w hatHors tR ittel ( 19 7 2 )cal l s the doctorpl an n er, the
egal itarian pl an n er, the n eeds pl an n er, orthe decis ion s
pl an n er.
Con s idertw ootherexam pl es of w hatcan be v iew ed as
the des ign of s hel ter:the des ign of au tom obil es an d the
des ign of cl othes . In the cas e of the au tom obil e m os tof u s
w il l agree thatw e pers on al l ydon otkn ow en ou ghabou t
com bu s tion an d m echan ics todes ign ou row n cars . Whil e
exception s l ike the Su n daym echan ic an d am ateu rcarracer
exis t, m os tof u s are s atis f ied w iththe exis tin g s el ection of
f oreign an d dom es tic cars , w hetherw e v iew the au tom obil e
as am ean s togetu s f rom here tothere, as as tatu s s ym bol ,
oras an extrav agan ce. T heref ore ou rparticipation in des ign
is l im ited tos u pportin g pol itical l obbies tof orce Detroitto
m ake cars s af er.
tim e, the l ow capital in v es tm en tin m aterial s an d the high
v ol u m e of the m arketal l ow f ors om an ydif f eren tkin ds of
cl othin g thatan yon e can f in d articl es boththathe l ikes an d
thatare rel ativ el yu n iqu e w ithin his circl e of acqu ain tan ces .
N ote thatou rcon ceptof f it is n otdem an din g ( m os t
w om en ' s dres s es com e in on l ys ixteen bas ic s izes ). When w e
are f u s s yw e can em pl oyatail ortom ake ou rcl othes f it
betterthou ghn otn eces s aril ytobe betterdes ign ed
Hou s es are s om ew here betw een cl othes an d cars . T heyare
n otas expen dabl e as s hirts bu tare m ore m an ipu l abl e than
cars . T here is agreaterv arietyof kin ds of hou s es than of
cars , bu tan ycityof f ers l es s v arietythan the m os tm eager
haberdas her.
T he qu es tion s of this chapterf ocu s on hou s in g ( w hich
repres en ts 85percen tof the bu il ten v iron m en t). T he gen eral
thes is is thateachin div idu al can he his ow n architect. T he
participation is achiev ed in as s ociation w ithav erypers on al
com pu tin g m achin e. Som ew hatin con tras ttoY on a
F riedm an , Ibel iev e thatal earn in g period w iths u cha
m achin e w ou l d be n eces s ary, du rin g w hichthe m achin e
w ou l d n otm ake j u dgm en ts an d decis ion s bu tw ou l d as k
tel l in g an d rev eal in g qu es tion s an d attem pttou n ders tan d
w hatyou m ean .
o - o' > 19 7 5o.~ w e 2 3. Sof tArchitectu re
T hree Attitu des tow ard P articipation
T here exis tthree qu ite dif f eren tperception s of w hatu s er
participation real l ym ean s in architectu re ortoarchitects . I
w il l l is tthe v iew s in an orderthatm ov es progres s iv el y
f u rtheraw ayf rom the n otion of atrain ed architectas
expert.
T he f irs tattitu de is epitom ized bythe of ten heard
com m en t:We n eed m ore in f orm ation . T his is u s u al l y
characterized byaprogram tos ol icitm ore com pl ete
in f orm ation abou tw hatf u tu re u s ers w il l n eed an d w an tan d
w hattheyhav e as pres en tattitu des tow ard theirres iden tial
en v iron m en t( San of f an d Saw hn ey, 19 7 2 ). T he attain m en t
of s u chin f orm ation is u s u al l yf ol l ow ed by"s cien tif ic"
m ethodol ogies f orm an ipu l atin g an d ov ers eein g the n ew
w eal thof in f orm ation in am an n erthatm os tef f ectiv el y
rev eal s kern el s of tru th, gen eral ization s , an d in v arian ts .
Con cl u s ion s are ev al u ated in term s of the probabil ityof
s u cces s an d are exercis ed w ith, f orexam pl e, com pu ters im u l a-
tion s an d en han ced decis ion m akin g techn iqu es . T he
architect, byreas on of his train in g, is s til l the f in al j u dge of
des ign al tern ativ es . T here are betteran d w ors e w ays to
pu rs u e des ign obj ectiv es . As prof es s ion al s w e are s u ppos ed to
be experts in des ign . Otherw is e w e are n othin g ( R u bin ger,
19 7 1). Or:Iw ou l d s u gges tthatthe m os tim portan tareais
thatof s ocial des ign ; i.e.: the des ign of in s titu tion s an d the
del iberate con trol of l if e s tyl e, w hichs of ars eem s tohav e
been in herited . . ( Jon es , 19 7 1).
As econ d attitu de tow ard participation , al m os tequ al l ypro
tectiv e of prof es s ion al is m , is f ocu s ed u pon f is cal an d pol itical
m obil ity; itis of ten cal l ed adv ocacypl an n in g. Myin terpreta
tion of adv ocacypl an n in g in cl u des gen eratin g en ou gh
l ev erage f orthe n eighborhood grou p, f orexam pl e, tobe
heard an d s eriou s l ycon s idered bypl an n ers an d architects in
orderthattheirn eeds w il l be ref l ected in pl an s f orren ew al
an d dev el opm en t. T his is u s u al l yim pl em en ted in the f orm of
aprof es s ion al pers on orpers on s u rgin g abodyof "decis ion
m akers on the behal f of acertain l argergrou p; itis rarel ythe
cas e thatthe in div idu al citizen gets m ore than the m os t
in directpoke atapl an . He is u s u al l yappeas ed w ithm in or
f orm s of s el f gov ern m en t:operatin g the l ocal w el f are
es tabl is hm en toratten din g aP T Am eetin g. Or, in the con text
of bu il din g, he an d his kids m ighthav e the opportu n ityto
participate in the bu il din g of apl aygrou n d.
T he third approach, the Y on aF riedm an paradigm , is togo
al l the w ay, rem ov in g the architectas tran s l atoran d giv in g
Machin es
the in habitan tw hatWel l es l ey-Mil l er( 19 7 2 )rightl ycal l s
con trol . In s hort, eachpers on becom es his ow n architect. He
is f orced tobecom e in tim atel yin v ol v ed w ithv iew in g the
con s equ en ce of on e al tern ativ e v ers u s an other. T he an al ogy
pu tf orthbyY on aF riedm an ( 19 7 2 b)is il l u m in atin g:
Con s ideran il l iterate s ocietythathad on l yaf ew pu bl ic
w riters w ho, perf orce, w ou l d be requ ired toem pl oyprin ted
s tan dards w hen w ritin g pers on al l etters f oral l the in div idu al
cl ien ts . In con tras t, the pu bl ic w ritercou l d be el im in ated by
pu bl ic edu cation .
Ipropos e tos etas ide the f irs ttw oapproaches ; Idon ot
con s iderthem s eriou s f orm s of participation . T heyare tim id
en deav ors of deprof es s ion al ization , an d theyhav e in
com m on the reten tion of an ew kin d ( perhaps )of expertor,
tou s e Goodm an ' s ( 19 7 2 )term , a"s of tcop. T he third
approach, on the otherhan d, is ado it-you rs el f is m that
com pl etel yrem ov es the architectan d his prev iou s experien ce
as in term ediaries betw een m yn eeds ( pragm atic, em otion al ,
w him s ical , etc.)an d m yhou s e.
Its hou l d be n oted thatthis third approachcan n otbe
eas il yexam in ed in the con textof todays u rban l an ds cape.
We hav e v eryl ittl e preceden t, f orexam pl e, of phys ical s hif ts
takin g pl ace con tin u al l y, on aday to dayorw eek to~w eek
bas is , in the w aythis approachm ightaf f ord. Atthe s am e
tim e, itrais es s om e v erys eriou s is s u es l ike:Wou l d peopl e
real l yw an ttodes ign theirow n hom es ?Whatare the
adv an tages of des ign in g v ers u s choos in g?Are w e l os in g
pos itiv e in pu ts byrem ov in g the pers on al prev iou s experien -
ces of the hu m an architect?How dos u chexperien ces dif f er
f rom con ceiv abl e m achin e experien ces ?Is this real l yan
architectu re w ithou tarchitects , orare w e real l yim pl yin g a
n ew breed of s u rrogate architects ?
P atern al is m , Middl em en , an d R is kl es s n es s
When Igradu ated f rom architectu re s chool Is in cerel y
thou ghtthatIkn ew betterhow others ou ghttol iv e; Ikn ew
this as ares u l tof m yf iv e years of train in g. Af teral l , in s chool
w e s tu died m ethods f ors u pportin g l if e s tyl es ,"articu l atin g
pattern s of l iv in g, an d edu catin g the u n aw are citizen . Itdid
n otoccu rtom e thatu pon en terin g practice an d in the gu is e
of peddl in g an expertis e, Iw ou l d in f actbe f ois tin g m yv al u es
u pon others . Itw ou l d n otbe acas e of reckl es s au tocracy;
rather, itw ou l d be aperv as iv e an d ev as iv e s etof res triction s
thatw ou l d res u l tf rom the good in ten tion s of bein g
com prehen s iv e, orderl y, an d em pirical l ycorrect.
2 3. Sof tArchitectu re theN EWMEDIAR EADER
Machin es
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F igu re 2 3.3. F igu re 2 3.4.
T he s toryof Mr. T he s toryof Mr.
Sm ith: Wright:
Ihad an ideaabou tIhad an ideaabou t
m yhou s e. m yhou s e, an d I
expl ain ed ittothe
Itran s l ated m yidea bu il der.-
in tobricks .
T he bu il der
T his is m yhou s e, the m is u n ders tood m e.
res u l tof m y T he res u l tis thatm y
"tran s l ation ." hou s e has n odoorto
the garden .
Im ade am is take in
tran s l atin g, w hichI Ev erytim e Iw an tto
did n otdis cov eru n til u s e the garden , I
Iu s ed m yhou s e. hav e togetthere
throu ghthe w in dow .
Mym is take w as in
n otexpl ain in g m ore
expl icitl ytothe
bu il derw hatI
w an ted him tobu il d
f orm e.
J- n \_.' , Q I7 .
F igu re 2 3.5.
T he s toryof a
n eighborhood:
Eachof u s had an
ideaabou this hou s e.
We tried toexpl ain
ou rideas toan
architect, bu tthere
w ere s om an yof u s
thatthere w as n ot
en ou ghtim e to
expl ain ou rideas
s u f f icien tl y.
T he architect
tran s l ated ou rideas
in toan ideaof his
ow n .
He l iked his ideabu t
w e did n otl ike it.
An d itis w e w hohav e
tou s e thes e hou s es ,
n otthe architect!
J; .. 7 "' 7 ' _l _pg _n
F igu re 2 3.6 .
T he s toryof an other
n eighborhood:
Eachof u s had his
ow n ideaabou thow
tol iv e.
Ou rarchitectdid n ot
l is ten tou s : he kn ew
ev erythin g abou tthe
"av erage m an ."
T he apartm en ts he
bu il tw ere des ign ed
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-
F igu re 2 3.7 . F igu re 2 3.8.
Adif f eren tkin d of Eachof u s can l :|' I.Is
s tory: pl an the hom e Iiihis
choice, bas ed an his -
Eachof u s has his ow n idea.
ow n ideaabou this
hou s e. In ordertobu il d ou r
hom es , w e each
F ortu n atel y, there is a al ot, an acces s
repertoire of al l aw aterm ain , a
pos s ibl e hou s es . l in e, an d
F ortu n atel yal s o, there is the in f ras tru ctu re
s oon . l his
are in s tru ction s abou tthats u pport:each
w hattoexpectf rom hou s e.
eachkin d of hou s e.
f orthe "av erage m an ." John w an ted tol il i
Eachof u s can m ake on l ot1.
Bu tw e are real his ow n choice, u s in g
peopl e, n otav erage atthe repertoire an d the T he others agrl td l l
al l . We are n otin s tru ction s .
com f ortabl e l iv in g the . . . Af term akin g
w ayou rarchitectl ikes that.]ohn s choice
tol iv e. l ocation did n ot
dis adv an tages f or
them .
Here the s tories
a 49 7 5 * & at- 2 3. Sof tArchitectu re or-ea = :~-; o~~ aw -~ -F -oe-
rem em beron e prof es s ortel l in g m e thatarchitectu re is a
A of s ocial s tatem en t, thatan ybu il din g Iev erdes ign ed
ittobe the m an if es tation of prof ou n d s ym bol ic
"tIs n ' tthatbothpres u m ptu ou s an d irres pon s ibl e,
tos aythe l eas t, patern al is tic?Whil e s u chattitu des m ay
in as pecial con textof bu il din g, Ipropos e that
are gen eral l yin appropriate an d af requ en tcau s e of
architectu re. T he probl em can be phras ed in a
qu es tion :Can an experthav e expertis e in goal s an d
oris expertis e pers e l im ited tom ean s ?
F atherkn ow s bes tf oral on g tim e. How ev er, af teraw hil e
begin s tol os e credibil ityrapidl y. In con s is ten cies an d
m u s ts "m ake the origin al in s titu tion of
m ore an d m ore s u s pecttoachil d; the dou bt
s tarts as earl yas age on e ortw o. N on ethel es s , f ora
tim e the is s u e of F ather' s rightn es s is l es s im portan t
the com f ortof kn ow in g he is arou n d. In this s en s e, itis
toqu es tion the rol e of the architectin term s of
an d con f iden ce; can itbe em braced in am achin e an d
av oid the poten tial orphan age of participation ?
An otherqu es tion :If the architectas m iddl em an is
you rn eeds in abu il ten v iron m en tv ia
procedu res s eas on ed byw is dom an d his
topre-experien ce, w hats ide ef f ects an d dis tortion s
pl ace in the proces s of this in terpretation ?I-Iow m u chof
def orm ityis pos itiv e in , f orexam pl e, gen eratin g goal s
gl l atyou w ou l d n ev erhav e thou ghtof you rs el f ?Whatdow e
l bs :w hen he goes aw ay?Can acom pu terprov ide it?
As al as tqu es tion , con s iderthe is s u e of ris k. Can you
s eriou s l ytru s tthats om eon e w hohas n ou l tim ate pers on al
s tzl cein the bu il tartif actw il l dohis u tm os ttoachiev e you r
pers on al an d com pl exgoal s ?An im pel l in g m otiv ation in
n es tl abors is in the con s equ en ce of doin g abad j ob. In
con tras t, the architectis rel eas ed f rom al l ris k af terhis
"particu l archu n k of the bu il ten v iron m en tis bu il t. T he
hazard tohis repu tation is s l ight, f orhe w il l be j u dged by
ool eagu es an d obs erv ers w hodon othav e tol iv e in w hathe
l ias bu il tan d w how il l u s e extran eou s criteriaas the bas is f or
criticis m . In otherw ords , the architectgets of f s cot-f ree, as
in n ocen tas the au thorof abad n ov el .
I-
Machin es
In digen ou s Architectu re as aModel
P os itan o, Mykon os , Gas in , an d Moj acarare typical s ites of an
in digen ou s architectu re thathas f as cin ated an d hel d the
adm iration of architects . R u dof s ky( 19 6 4)prov ides aw ide-
ran gin g s etof il l u s tration s thatdram atical l ydis pl ayan excit-
in g architectu re, w hichis s pecif ical l ythe res u l tof citizen s
des ign in g an d bu il din g theirow n hom es . T his has been
achiev ed w ithou tthe hel pof architects , expl icitm as terpl an s ,
orexpl icitzon in g ( orcom pu ters ). How did ithappen ?
Atf irs tgl an ce, m os tin digen ou s architectu re appears tobe
the res u l tof pu rel yl ocal activ ities :ahou s e added here, a
pathexten ded there, an d s oon . I-Iow ev er, u pon exam in ation
on e f in ds gl obal f orces , w hichactin av eryreal s en s e as
el em en ts of tow n pl an n in g an d w hichen s u re an ov eral l
u n ity. T ypical l ythes e are f ou n d in the av ail abil ityof bu il din g
m aterial s ; f orexam pl e, al ocal itythatl acks tim berachiev es
s pan n in g bym ean s of m as on rydom es , oron e thatl acks
s ton e l im its its s tru ctu res toon e ortw os to.ries . In other
in s tan ces , thes e f orces are f ou n d in cl im atic con dition s ,
m an if es tm os tobv iou s l yin the w hiten es s of hou s es to
ref l ectthe heat, l es s obv iou s l yin the pu rpos ef u l crookedn es s
of s treets tobreak the w in d. In s til l othercas es , the u n if yin g
f orces are com pel l in g tradition s , w hichof ten s u pport
bu il din g con v en tion s thathad prev iou s ( bu tn ow def u n ct)_
en v iron m en tal cau s es . ~
F orces s u chas thes e are the bas is of av ern acu l ar. T hey
prov ide au n if yin g pal l etof m aterial s an d des ign
con v en tion s , w hatF riedm an cal l s the al phabet of the
l an gu age. T heyactm u chin the s am e w ayas the propos ed
in f orm ation proces s of F riedm an ( 19 7 1):
Withthe el im in ation of the des ign er( the prof es s ion al
on e)f rom the des ign proces s byv u l garizin g the obj ectiv e
el em en ts in the proces s , an d byin trodu cin g as im pl y
u n ders tood f eedback con cern in g poten tial con s equ en ces of
in div idu al decis ion s on the w hol e the patern al is tic
characterof the tradition al des ign proces s w il l dis appear. T he
en orm ou s v arietyof em otion al ( in tu itiv e)s ol u tion s w hich
can be in v en ted byal arge n u m berof f u tu re u s ers m ightgiv e
an in credibl e richn es s tothis n ew redes ign eddes ign proces s .
How can w e s im u l ate ( if w e w an tto)thes e con dition s in
an in du s trial ized s ociety?Strictzon in g, m ore s ev ere bu il din g
codes , on e bu il din g s ys tem ( im pos ed byl aw ), oraregu l ation
thatyou m u s tu s e brick are certain l yn otthe appropriate
m eas u res ; theyl ack the s u btl etyof n atu ral f orces w ithin
w hicharichn es s is con ceiv abl e. T he an s w erm u s tl ie in the
2 3. Sof tArchitectu re
Machin es
s o-cal l ed in f ras tru ctu re, am ixtu re of con ceptu al an d
phys ical s tru ctu res f orw hichw e al l hav e adif f eren t
def in ition orin terpretation . Iref erthe readertoY on a
F riedm an s tw om os trecen tbooks :R eal izabl e U topias ( 19 7 3)
an d Society= En i/ iron m en t( 19 7 2 ). An d w hil e Iam con tin u al l y
al erttothe n eed f ors u chs u btl e bu tprepon deran tf orces , f or
m ypu rpos es here Iw ou l d l ike toas s u m e an in f ras tru ctu re
com pos ed of ares il ien tbu il din g an d in f orm ation techn ol ogy
an d as k w hatrol e there m ightbe f oram achin e in tel l igen ce
actin g as apers on al in terf ace ( n ottran s l ator)betw een this
in f ras tru ctu re an d m yev erchan gin g n eeds . Irecogn ize itis a
big as s u m ption .
Bef ore v en tu rin g am achin e in tel l igen ce pos ition , Iw ou l d
l ike toexam in e the in digen ou s architectas an archetype an d
tos cru tin ize his behav iorbeyon d com m en din g his
pictu res qu e res u l ts . He did n otn eed an architectu re
m achin e; his en v iron m en tw as s im pl e an d com prehen s ibl e,
pu n ctu ated w ithl im ited choices an d decis ion s . He n om ore
n eeded aprof es s ion al architectthan he n eeded a
ps ychol ogis torl egal cou n s el or. T ou n ders tan d him , l etu s
con s iderthree repres en tativ e ( bu tn otcategorical )f eatu res
of in digen ou s architectu re. - I
T he f irs tis the n am in g of s paces . In this s ortof architec-
tu re, the room s ten d tobe abou tthe s am e s ize, of ten as l arge
as the techn ol ogyortim bers w il l perm it, an d theyrarel y
hav e n am es . Apl ace toeatis of ten s om ebodys pl ace tos l eep,
an d cookin g is f requ en tl ydon e in m ore than on e room . T his
im pl ies thatam u l tipl icityof activ ities can be con v en ien tl y
hou s ed in s im il ars paces , an d there is v eryl ittl e gen eric
m ean in g tobedroom orl iv in g room . T he gen erics s eem to
res ide in s l eepin g an d eatin g an d cookin g, an d w e can
extrapol ate ( ten u ou s l yperhaps )thattheyhav e al arge
com m on in ters ection , l argerthan w e ten d tobel iev e.
As econ d f eatu re thatdes erv es com m en tis the apparen t
ad hoc grow thof the dw el l in g u n it. U s u al l yadw el l in g u n itis
l im ited toas m al l n u m berof room s an d m ightbe added toin
the ev en tof of f s prin g. In Greek is l an d s ocieties the dw el l in g
is pas s ed dow n as dow ry; al argerhou s e is of ten div ided in
tw oan d the bou n daryal l ow ed toos cil l ate betw een the
s hrin kin g of on e gen eration an d the grow in g of an other.
R oom s are f requ en tl ypas s ed toacon tigu ou s hou s e,
en tran ces s eal ed an d open ed as requ ired. T hes e l ocal
expan s ion s an d con traction s res u l tf rom aperm an en cyof
hom e w ithw hichm os tAm erican s are u n f am il iar. In an
in du s trial ized s ociety, the pattern is tos el l you rhou s e an d
theN EWMEDIAR EADER
bu yabiggeron e, then l ater, as m al l eron e. Ican rem em ber
( bu tn otref eren ce)the s tatis tic thatthe av erage Am erican
f am il ym ov es ev erythree years . I
T he third obs erv ation , perhaps the m os tim portan t,
com es f rom m ypers on al experien ces of l iv in g on an Aegean
is l an d. Itappears tobe tru e thatthe l ocal res iden ts of an
in digen ou s en v iron m en tare u n an im ou s l ydis s atis f ied w ith
theirarchitectu re. Gl as s s l abs are theirm etaphoric goal s as
m u chas , if n otm ore than , the l ittl e w hite s tu ccohou s e is
m in e. Myel ectric typew riterhas as m u chm ean in g as a
Byzan tin e icon . P erhaps this can be expl ain ed in term s of
com m u n ication techn ol ogies , byargu in g thatthe l ocal
res iden tw ou l d be con ten t, atal ev el tow hichw e as pire, if he
had n otw itn es s ed the el ectric toys of ou rtim es throu gh
m agazin es , tel ev is ion , an d the pas s in g richtou ris t. How ev er,
am ore deep-s eated is s u e is the breadthof experien ce s hared
am on g thes e peopl e. Itis the cas e thattheyhav e in f acthad
v erys im il arexperien ces am on g them s el v es an d
con s equ en tl ycarryn earl ys im il arm etaphors an d s hare
pers on al con texts . Iam n ots ayin g thatin div idu al ityhas
been s qu el ched; Ipropos e thatthe s pectru m of experien ces
is s m al l an d m aybe accou n tabl e, in part, f orthis dram atic
l ev el of participation , s of arn otachiev ed in in du s trial ized
s ocieties . Itis qu ite cl earthatin f as ter m ov in g s ocieties ou r
pers on al experien ces are phen om en al l yv aried. T his is w hy
w e hav e aharder( if n otim pos s ibl e)probl em . T his is w hyw e
n eed tocon s ideras pecial type of architectu re m achin e, on e
Iw il l cal l ades ign am pl if ier.
Des ign Am pl if iers
Bef ore Ibegin If eel obl iged totel l you thatT he Architectu re
Machin e Grou phas w orked v erys poradical l yan d w ithou t
m u chs u cces s on this probl em . T he n otion of ades ign
am pl if ier is n ew an d m ightprov ide an in terim s tepbetw een
the pres en tan d the w izard m achin e, the s u rrogate hu m an . I
u s e the term am pl if ier adv is edl y; m ypu rpos e is n otto
repl icate the hu m an architect, as itm ayhav e been f iv e years
ago, bu ttom ake as u rrogate you thatcan el aborate u pon an d
con tribu te techn ical expertis e toyou rdes ign in ten tion s . T his
al l ow s u s tocon s ideran d pos s ibl ys ee in the n earf u tu re an
option f orcom pu ter-aided des ign thatpres u m es in f orm ed
m achin es , thou ghn otn eces s aril yam achin e in tel l igen ce.
T here is an in heren tparadoxhere. Ades ign am pl if ierw il l
hav e n os take in the ou tcom es of j oin tv en tu res ; hen ce it
m u s tacttru l yas an exten s ion of the f u tu re u s er. Does this
O 4' - ~--Q _----------- a ,3 e H i ~19 l 5 Cr--~ ~ -- 2 30 hitectu re
J
Hgu T e 2 3.9 . Hou s e pl an s ketched byn ov ice. F igu re 2 3.10. Mappin g of precedin g hou s e pl an F igu re 2 3.11. Ahexagon al res ol u tion of the
in topl an argraph. graph.
in tu rn m ean thatthe m achin e in tel l igen ce n eces s aryto expl orerof this kn ow l edge throu ghaw in dow of his n eeds
s u pportrichn es s of dial ogu e w il l in f actbe cou n terprodu ctiv e an d the m ediu m of s om e s ophis ticated m an -m achin e
tothe participation becau s e this s am e in tel l igen ce, l ike thatin terf ace. An exam pl e of this is f ou n d in m os tcom pu ter-
of the hu m an architect, w ou l d f al l preytothe il l s of aided in s tru ction s ys tem s w here, f orexam pl e, the m achin e
t1an s l ation ,as c1' ibin g m ean in gs of its ow n ?In otherw ords , kn ow s arithm etic an d the chil d m an ipu l ates the m achin e in a
does the in tel l igen ce requ ired tocom m u n icate con tradictthe m ore orl es s prearran ged expl oration , w itn es s in g yes es , n os ,
n otion of in f orm ed am pl if ication ?Iw ou l d draw you r dos , an d ciorf ts .
atten tion tothe an al ogyof agood teacherw hof os ters an Am ore excitin g approachappl icabl e toades ign am pl if ier
in tel l ectu al en v iron m en tin w hichyou dis cov erf oryou rs el f can be f ou n d in the recen tw ork of Seym ou rP apert( 19 7 1a,
in com paris on tothe on e w hodril l s f acts an d procl aim s b, c)an d his col l eagu es . In brief , theirtheoryis that
prin cipl es . As s u ch, l etu s con s ideras pects of ades ign com pu ter-aided in s tru ction s hou l d be treated as the
am pl if ierin term s of as om ew hatdu al exis ten ce:the am pl if ication an d en l ighten in g of the proces s es of l earn in g
ben ev ol en tedu catoran d the thirs tin g s tu den t, al l in on e. an d thin kin g them s el v es , ratherthan m erel ypres en tin g an d
T here are tw ocategories tocon s ider:( 1)Whatdoes the dril l in g s pecif ic s u bj ectm atter. T oachiev e this , the com pu ter
m achin e kn ow ?( 2 )How does the u s erdeal w ithw hatitis treated, in s om e s en s e, as an au tom atic s tu den tbythe chil d
kn ow s ?T hes e qu es tion s are particu l arl yin teres tin g becau s e ( s ee al s oAckof f an d Em ery, 19 7 2 ). In the P apert
the m os tobv iou s paradigm is in f actthe l eas trew ardin g. T he experim en ts , the s ixors ev en year-ol d you n gs terhas the
Machin es
m os tobv iou s m ethod w ou l d be tocon s tru ctam achin e w ith opportu n itytogiv e abehav ior tothe com pu terv iaas im pl e
av as tkn ow l edge of architectu re an d tov iew the u s eras an bu tpow erf u l program m in g l an gu age cal l ed LOGO. Whether
I
iigiire 2 3.12 . Hou s e pl an gen erated f rom 11. F igu re 2 3.13. An otheral tern ate graph. F igu re 2 3.14. Hou s e pl an gen erated f rom 13.
L
2 3. Sof tArchitectu re
Machin es
the behav ioris tobe m an if es tin rev ers in g as trin g of
characters orhav in g atu rtl e draw apol ygon , its m is behav ior
rev eal s bu gs an d, m os tim portan tl y, con tain s cu es f or
am el ioratin g the s ys tem . T he chil d obs erv es the proces s by
w hichhe l earn s , an d the n otion of debu ggin g is s u dden l ypu t
in con tras tw iththe pen al ties of errorm a/ ( in g. F u rtherm ore,
the chil d is l earn in g bydoin g ( bypl ayin g). Y ou can take a
chil d toEu cl id bu tyou can ' tm ake him thin k ( P apert, 19 7 2 ).
If you are an architect, how m an ytim es hav e you heard,
OhIw an ted tobe an architectbu tw as n ogood atdraw in g
orIw an ted tobe an architectbu tw as terribl e at
m athem atics ?If you are n otan architect, hav e you ev ers aid
s om ethin g l ike that?In the s am e w aythatyou rs ayin g Iam
n ogood atl an gu ages is con tradicted byyou rl iv in g in F ran ce
an d l earn in g F ren ch( orin the cas e of m ath, hav in g P apertl s
m athl an d), on e can con s iderades ign l an d w here on e l earn s
abou tdes ign bypl ayin g w ithit. T he u n derl yin g as s u m ption
is that, w hil e you m ayn otbe abl e todes ign an ef f icien t
hos pital orw orkabl e airport, you can des ign you row n hom e,
betterthan an yotherpers on .
Y ou al readychoos e f u rn itu re, pain tw al l s , an d s el ectdecors
f oryou rhou s e. If the bu il din g techn ol ogies s u pported the
n otion , w hatkn ow l edge w ou l d you l ack in ordertom ov e u p
as cal e toal l ocate s pace an d decide bou n daries betw een
in doors an d ou tdoors ?Or, topos e al m os tthe s am e qu es tion
an otherw ay, Whatdoes an architectkn ow thatacon tractor
does n ' t?T he an s w erm aybe f ou n d bybrief l ypartition in g
the des ign proces s , s eparatin g w hatyou m ightcal l tal en t
f rom com peten ce ( an apprehen s iv e bu ttel l in g dis j u n ction ).
T he en s u in g argu m en tis bas ed u pon the as s u m ption that
the s ym bios is betw een f u tu re u s eran d m achin e is s os tron g
thattal en t is in the eyes of the res iden tan d com peten ce in
the han ds of the des ign am pl if ier. T his is in dram atic
con tras ttoprev iou s l ys tated ( bym e)pos ition s !
N ote thatcom f ortan d con f iden ce ( an d credibil ity)
em brace arecogn izabl e com peten ce. As ide f rom aprof ou n d
kn ow in g of the u s er, there are certain operation al
expertis es thatcan ov ers ee in terrel ation s hips m eas u red in
s u chterm s as Britis hT herm al U n its , kips , orf eetpers econ d.
In av eryreal s en s e, thes e are s im pl e com pu tin g tas ks an d,
beyon d correctn es s ( w hichis s im pl e), the checkin g m u s t
ref l ecton l ytim el in es s ( w hichis n ots os im pl e). T he cl os es tI
can com e toades ign am pl if ieris U R BAN 5, w hichdid hav e
com peten ces an d did trytoef f ectatim el in es s in the
s u rf acin g of w hatw e cal l ed con f l icts an d in com patibil ities
theN EWMEDIAR EADER
( N egropon te an d Grois s er, 19 6 7 aan d b; 19 7 0). How ev er, it
s hou l d be recogn ized thatU R BAN 5w as the u l tim ate
patern al is t; its u f f ered f rom ( am on g otherthin gs )bein g
directed tos erv in g the architect, n otthe res iden t.
T w oLoops
F ol l ow in g F riedm an ' s s im pl e m odel of tw ol oops , on e w ith
m e an d on e w ithm yn eighborhood, l et' s exam in e s om e
as pects of eachin term s of au tom ation . T he readers hou l d
ref ertothe exten s iv e w orks of F riedm an , f ou n d in the
bibl iography, bu ts hou l d be cau tion ed abou tthe particu l arl y
F ren chn otion of aban qu e al e don n es orw hathe cal l s a
repertoire. Itis s om ew hatm is l eadin g taken atf ace v al u e
becau s e itas s u m es am en u -pickin g activ ityratherthan a
des ign activ ity. T he of f erin gs of am en u of s ol u tion s
obv iou s l ycan n otexceed the com bin atorial produ ctof the
parts ( w hichm aybe en orm ou s ). F riedm an , u n l ike m an y
res earchers in F ran ce, es capes this particu l arcon s train tby
m akin g his repertoire ( ban qu e al e dorm es )con tain topol ogies
thatdon othav e am etric. Itis the u s er' s addin g of this
m etric thataf f ords the l im itl es s v ariety.
T he f irs tl oopis priv ate. Itm u s tbe s el f -s u s tain in g in its
pow ers tom ain tain the u s er' s atten tion , as k in tel l igen t
qu es tion s , an d prov ide broad com m en tary. Itm u s ttread the
thin l in e of dis tin ction betw een m akin g s u gges tion s an d
bein g abu l l y, betw een criticizin g an d in s u l tin g, betw een
n av igatin g as earchan d directin g it. F riedm an ( in pers on al
con v ers ation )m akes adis tin ction bycal l in g the com pu tin g
organ is m acon s u l tan t, im pl yin g akn ow ei/ atyou rbeck
an d cal l , paid tohel pev en if he m ayn otagree w ithyou r
pers on al prem is e. T he con n otation s of con s u l tare
il l u m in atin g in the s en s e thatthe u n derl yin g s kil l is
u n cl u ttered bym etaphorical dis tin ction s , bu titis al s o
dis tu rbin g in as m u chas on e m u s ts eriou s l yqu es tion w hether
prof icien cycan be s hared w ithou tdial ogu e requ irin g
m etaphor.
T he cl os es texam pl e of the f irs tl oopim pl em en ted in a
com pu terprogram is AR CHIT ( R orick, 19 7 1). T he f ol l ow in g
is an excerptf rom on e con v ers ation .
Com pu ter:Shal l w e dis cu s s the din in g areas ?
U s er:Y es .
Com pu ter:Whodoes m os tof the cookin g in you r
f am il y?
_-.-.a, 4 _o|9 7 5o - 2 3. Sof tArchitectu re
Machin es
U s er:Carol .
Com pu ter:Iw ou l d s u gges tthatthe din in g areaf or
you rev erydaym eal s be in the s am e room as the
cookin g areas othatev eryon e can s ocial ize w hil e
m eal s are bein g prepared an d Carol w on tbe is ol ated
in the kitchen . Don tyou agree?
U s er:Y es .
Com pu ter:How of ten doyou w an tthes e occas ion s to
be f orm al ( thatis , otherthan cas u al l yj oin in g you f or
din n er)in tim es peryear?
U s er: 12 .
Com pu ter: Keepin g thes e an s w ers in m in d, doyou f eel
thatyou n eed as eparate din in g areaf orm ore f orm al
occas ion s ?
U s er: N o.
Com pu ter:How m an ypeopl e doyou w an tthe
ev erydaydin in g areatoaccom m odate in cl u din g
com pan y?
U s er:8.
Atthis poin tthe readers hou l d be appal l ed. T he com pu ter
program has brow beaten the u s erin ton otw an tin g adin in g
room an d s hort-circu ited the deeperpattern s of l iv in g that
m aykeepCarol in the kitchen qu ite happil yaw ayf rom ev ery-
body. T he program has exhibited an il l u s ion of in tel l igen ce
an d kn ow in gn es s an d, in this exam pl e, don e al l the tal kin g!
U n f ortu n atel y, Idon othav e am ore pos itiv e exam pl e toof f er
( bu tam w orkin g on it). Abl atan tf l aw in AR CHIT -l ike
program s is the des ire torapidl ypin poin tan architectu ral
program v iadirectyes / n o, on e/ tw oqu es tion s . In f eren ce
m akin g an d in direct. procedu res s hou l d be u s ed, n otf orthe
pu rpos e of m akin g l if e dif f icu l t( f orthe com pu ter), bu tf or
the pu rpos e of s ol icitin g m ore com pl exan d rev eal in g
pattern s of l iv in g. We m u s tav oid in itiatin g dial ogu e by
as kin g qu es tion s becau s e the qu es tion s perf orce f l av orthe
an s w er. T he n exts ection des cribes as im pl e experim en tin
in f eren ce m akin g, on e thatav oids as kin g qu es tion s .
In con tras ttothe in n er l oop, the ou ter l oopis agreat
deal eas iertocon ceiv e. Its pu rpos e is tof l ag l ocal
pertu rbation s w hen ades ire of m in e con f l icts w ithan
am en ityof you rs orof the grou patl arge. As im pl e exam pl e
w ou l d be acon s tru ction of m in e bl ockin g l ightorv iew f rom
aportion of you rhou s e. Su chf u n ction s as s u m e thatthe
m achin e is al l -kn ow in g abou tgeom etry, particu l ardes ires ,
an d com pl icated ru l es ( w hichis rel ativ el yeas y). Ital s o
as s u m es , l ike an yl aw -arbitratin g s ys tem , the abil ityto
exercis e ru l es in con text( w hichis n ots oeas y). In m an agin g
u rban s paces w e al readyhav e the exam pl e of zon in g
ordin an ces an d the v icis s itu des of s eekin g v arian ces .
T he gen eral s chem e w ou l d be an etw ork of m an y( on e per
pers on )des ign am pl if iers w orkin g in con certw ithav ariety
of l argerhos t m achin es , m achin es thatcou l d direct
qu es tion s tootheram pl if iers orcou l d an s w erthos e rel ated
tom ore gl obal m atters . An adv an tage of this l ayou tis the
opportu n ity, hithertoim pos s ibl e, f orpers on al n egotiation s
w ithin aregu l atoryf ram ew ork thatcou l d capital ize u pon the
s pecial -cas e am en ities thatare im portan ttom e an d are
av ail abl e f orn egotiation . F orexam pl e, m yroof s u rf ace cou l d
s erv e as you rterrace w ithou tin con v en ien ce tom e becau s e it
happen s tobe abov e s erv ices an d f u n ction s thatw ou l d be
dis tu rbed byn ois e. Or, Im ightn otm in d you rcan til ev erin g
ov erm yen tran ce, as the redu ction in l ightw ou l d be m ore
than com pen s ated bythe addition al s hel terIhappen ed to
w an t. Whil e thes e are s im pl em in ded exam pl es , theyref l ecta
kin d of exchan ge ( ev en bargain in g)thatis n otpos s ibl e in
pres en tcon texts . T heyas s u m e tw oparties , bu tthis cou l d be
exten ded tocom pl exan d circu itou s tradeof f s :if A-> B, B > C,
C > D, . . . , . > n , n > A. We begin tos ee the opportu n ityf or
appl yin g three-dim en s ion al zon in g s tan dards an d
perf orm an ce s tan dards in con text, af eatthatIpropos e is
m an ageabl e on l yw ithal arge popu l ation of des ign am pl if iers
thatcou l d tal k toeachotheran d tohos tm achin es .
P l an R ecogn ition
Atypical exercis e in com pu ter-aided des ign is the gen eration
of tw o- an d three-dim en s ion al l ayou ts f rom as etof w el l -_
s pecif ied con s train ts an d criteria. T he cl as s ical an d m os t
recen texperim en ts can be f ou n d in Bern hol tz ( 19 6 9 ),
Eas tm an ( 19 7 2 ), T . John s on etal . ( 19 7 0), Liggett( 19 7 2 ),
Mitchel l ( 19 7 2 b),Mohr( 19 7 2 ), Q u in tran d ( 19 7 1), Steadm an
( 19 7 1), T eagu e. ( 19 7 0), Wein zapf el ( 19 7 3), an d Y es s ios
( 19 7 2 ). T he u n derl yin g an d com m on thread of al l thes e
w orks is the f ram ew ork:in pu tof probl em s pecif ication an d
ou tpu tof phys ical des cription . T his s ection con s iders an
experim en tthats eeks todothe rev ers e:in pu tof aphys ical
des cription ( throu ghrecogn ition ratherthan s pecif ication )
an d ou tpu tof probl em s pecif ication . T he goal is torecogn ize
as tru ctu re of rel ation s hips an d attribu tes in con tras tto
as kin g f orades cription .
2 3. Sof tArchitectu re
Machin es
In the con textof participation , the pu rpos e of this
experim en tis toin itiate adial ogu e byrais in g is s u es ( n ot
n eces s aril yqu es tion s )draw n f rom in f eren ces deriv ed f rom a
pl an of the u s er' s pres en thou s e. P recedin g s ection s an d
prev iou s chapters s u gges taprof ou n d m an -m achin e
acqu ain tan ce, on e thatw ou l d take al on g tim e toachiev e,
perhaps years , an d on e thatw ou l d hav e certain l yam u ch
w iderappl ication than as s is tin g you tobe you row n
architect. In the s am e w ayas the m achin e in tel l igen ce
paradigm is s el f -def eatin g, the acqu ain tan ces hipapproachto
dial ogu e al s ocou l d s tym ie progres s an d im pede in itiativ e in
thatitis dif f icu l t, if n otim pos s ibl e, tos eriou s l ycon s idera
m odes texperim en tw ithou ten din g u pw ithgoal s tom atch
hu m an dial ogu e an d f rien ds hip. T he f ol l ow in g experim en tis
as am pl e poin tof departu re an d, as s u ch, its hou l d be v iew ed
on l yas am echan is m thatw il l l ead tocon v ers ation , n otas a
m ean s of gen eratin g hou s e pl an s . T he prim e f eatu re of this
approachis thatitcan rem ain s il en tan d atten tiv e atf irs t
( w ithou ttel l m e this , an s w erthat, s aythis , etc.), can
tim idl yv en tu re com m en t, an d then can v igorou s l yin teract
( if al l goes w el l ). T his is in con tras ttothe otherw is e
n eces s arytediu m of qu es tion s an d an s w ers thatm u s tbe
em pl oyed toim m ers e the u s eran d toin trodu ce the
m achin e.
In this experim en tthe u s eris s im pl yin v ited todraw a
pl an of his hou s e. He does this w ithbal l poin tpen an d
regu l arpaperw ithou tthe bu rden s om e paraphern al iaof
m os tcom pu tergraphics ( the hardw are is des cribed at
s om ew hatgreaterl en gthin Appen dix1). Itcan be arran ged
thatthe u s erbe com pl etel yu n aw are of the atten tion or
obs erv ation of the m achin e. R em em berthatthe u s eris n ot
an architectan d probabl ydraw s v erybadl y; he m ayv ery
w el l hav e n ev erdraw n apl an of his hou s e bef ore. Itis
in teres tin g ton ote, how ev er, thatthe m os tin experien ced
s ketchers u f f ers f rom the l ack of tw os kil l s , n eitherof w hich
real l ym atters ( atf irs t):( 1)He is bad atm ain tain in g
con s tan tproportion an d s cal e, as exhibited byhis in ev itabl y
ru n n in g of f the s ide of the paper. ( 2 )He is n ots u re-han ded
en ou ghtodraw s traightan d f orcef u l l in es . How ev er, he is ,
cu riou s l yen ou gh, extrem el yadeptatdes cribin g phys ical
rel ation s an d j u xtapos ition s , f rom w hichw e can extract
adj acen cies an d l in kages an d can con s tru ct, f orexam pl e,
graphrepres en tation s l ike the pl an n ergraphgram m aru s ed
byGras on ( 19 7 1).
theN EWMEDIAR EADER
T he in itiation of the dial ogu e is achiev ed bym appin g the
phys ical pl an in toarel ation al s tru ctu re ( l ike the adj acen t
graphin f igu re 2 3.10)thatdoes n othav e am etric ( hen ce
the in itial u n im portan ce of s cal e). T he s tru ctu re then is u s ed
togen erate others ol u tion s , as s u m in g thatthe s tru ctu re is
u n dercon s train ed as ares u l tof recogn izin g on l yas u bs etof
the rel ation s . Itis m u chl ike on l yhal f -l is ten in g toas tory,
extractin g an in com pl ete them e, an d dev el opin g an ew
n arrativ e ( w iths im il ars tru ctu re). T he otherpl an s ( thatis ,
the m achin e' s s tory)rev eal phys ical arran gem en ts thathav e
en ou ghcom m on al ityf orthe u s ertom ake in teres ted
com m en ts an d f orthe m achin e topos e in teres tin g
qu es tion s . In teres tin g is def in ed here as l eadin g toan
in creas e in the u s er' s real izin g an d u n ders tan din g
architectu ral im pl ication s an d an in creas e in the m achin e' s
apprehen s ion of the particu l arn eeds an d pattern s as
m an if es tbyw hatthe u s erhas n ow .
T he pl an recogn ition program , SQ U IN T , em pl oys the
s erv ices of HU N CH. In particu l ar, itexercis es the f eatu re of
zoom in g in an d ou tof the pos ition al data, trav el in g w ithin
the s pectru m of v eryl ow an d v eryhighres ol u tion s . T he
precedin g chapteril l u s trates the s ortof ran ge; the grain
v aries f rom 1,02 4ras ters pergrain toaon e-toeon e
corres pon den ce. An d, atan ygrain exceptthe f in es t, the
percen tage of hits can be v iew ed as agrayton e.
As happen s w ithHU N CH, the n obl e in ten tion s of
SQ U IN T becom e redu ced tov erys traightf orw ard operation s .
Sim pl e properties are recogn ized f rom the l im itin g
bou n daries of s paces an d the pen etration s of the bou n daries .
T he f irs ts tepis tol ook f orthe total n u m berof bodies in the
s ketch. Whil e there is u s u al l yon e, this in itial obs erv ation is
n eces s ary, if f orn othin g el s e than tos av e m em oryby
com pres s in g the pos ition al datatoexcl u de the w hite of
paper thatl ies ou ts ide the s ketched pl an . T he recogn ition of
dis crete bodies is achiev ed byaf l oodin g proces s thatcreeps
in f rom the s ides of the paper, f l ow in g arou n d obs tru ctin g
l in es atagrain appropriate toen s u re thatitdoes n ots eep
throu ghdoors an d w in dow s . Su bs equ en ttof l aggin g al l
f l ooded bits , the rem ain derare accou n ted f orin as im il ar
f l oodin g techn iqu e, s tartin g atan ypoin t. If al l poin ts are n ot
accou n ted f orbythe f irs ttw of l oods , then there m u s tbe
m ore than on e body, an d the procedu re n eeds tobe repeated
u n til al l poin ts are tagged. Itis the res pon s ibil ityof l ater
rou tin es todecide w hetherthe m u l tipl e el em en ts in f act
atF -- .... Q ' 19 7 5. .> a--. 2 3. Sof tArchitectu re
Machin es
repres en ttw oau ton om ou s dis con n ected s ection s of ahou s e,
f l orexain pl e, orw hetherin real itythe addition al f igu res are
higian iin atic el em en ts :n ortharrow s , l etterin g, doodl es , or
tof f ee s tain s .
F ol l ow in g the l ocation of the s il hou ette( s )of the pl an ,
rathers im il arprocedu res w an derthrou ghin tern al
tu l idiv is ion s f rom on e s pace toan other, aton e grain or
an other, al ittl e bitl ike an expan dabl e/ s hrin kabl e m ou s e
m ean derin g throu gham aze. Mos ts ketchin g techn iqu es w il l
al l ow f orin tem al s paces tobe attain ed atthe f in es t
res ol u tion . How ev er, s om e s ketchin g techn iqu es in cl u de the
dem arcation of doorradiian d s teps , w hichw ou l d im pede
pas s age of ou rm ou s e if the l in es w ere con s idered
il ou n daries ( w hichtheyare n ot). T hes e are the in teres tin g
cas es ; on e m u s tl ook f orcu es an d dev el opev iden ce that, f or
exam pl e, s u ch-an d-s u chis probabl yatread an d n ota
chim n eyf l u e orthis is probabl yaj am b an d n otas il l . Som e
of thes e s itu ation s are particu l arl ydif f icu l ttodeal w ith,
w here, f orexam pl e, in on e cas e the m is in terpretation of a
on e-s tepl ev el chan ge res u l ted in gu es s in g thatthe en tire
circu l ation of the hou s e pas s ed throu ghthe gu es tcl os et. T his
extrem e exam pl e m ayappeartobe av iol en tprogram m in g
ov ers ight. Im u s trepeat, how ev er, thatthere w il l al w ays be
con dition s of s u cham biqu itythatw il l requ ire ev en the
on l ookin g hu m an toas k. If u rtherin s is tthere is n othin g
w ron g w ithas kin g!
Irres pectiv e of w hetherthe u s erhas as cribed n am es to
s paces , the program w il l giv e its ow n n am es in ordertohav e
an in tern al n om en cl atu re of n odes an d l in ks . T he l abel s can
appl ytotradition al n am es ( if you in s is t)l ike bathroom an d
l iedroom ; toorien tation s l ike n orth, w in dw ard, orv iew -
orien ted; orcon s is tof s chem atic titl es l ike s pace A, B2 , or
7 32 . T he l abel ed n odes of the s tru ctu re are l in ked w itheither
categorical yes / n os orgraded v al u es of an attribu te l ike
acces s / circu l atory, v is u al , acou s tical .
T he s u bs equ en tm appin g in toan al tern ate f l oorpl an has
been don e byStev e Han del an d Hu ck R orick. R orick' s
experim en tappen ds the s om ew hatextran eou s bu t
in teres tin g f eatu re of addin g heu ris tics thatrepres en this
v iew of w hatan otherarchitectm ighthav e don e. In the
s peci c cas e il l u s trated he has dev el oped heu ris tics f or
ov erl ayin g athird dim en s ion u pon the pl an f ol l ow in g the
v ern acu l arof F ran k Ll oyd Wright, gen eratin g av arietyof
Wrightian roof f orm s . T hou ghthis is con tradictorytothe
L.
f u l l l ev el of participation s u gges ted byF riedm an , itis f u n to
s pecu l ate thatarepres en tation of adeepers tru ctu re of m y
n eeds cou l d be m an ipu l ated an d dis pl ayed in the f orm al
j argon s of v ariou s f am ou s architects , perhaps ev en Vitru v iu s
orViol l et-l e-Du c.
We s hou l d n otf orgetthatthe u s erof com pu ter-aided
participatory. . is n otan architect. P l an recogn ition m ight
im pl ytos om e am ore f orm al approachthan is in ten ded. T he
readers hou l d be ref erred, if he is in teres ted in the
m orphol ogies of f l oorpl an s , tothe origin al w orks of Lev in
( 19 6 4), Whitehead an d El dars ( 19 6 4), Cas al ain aan d R ittel
( 19 6 7 ), an d the m os trecen tw ork of Wein zapf el ( 19 7 3).
How ev er, rem em berthatthes e s ys tem s as s u m e the driv erto
be an architect.
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the Con f eren ce on Com pu ter-Aided Bu il din g Des ign , 19 6 7 .
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Con ceptof an Apartm en tF l oorpl an toSol v e Layou tP robl em s .
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theN EWMEDIAR EADER
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( editor). P roceedin gs of the EDR A3/ arCon f eren ce, U n iv ers ityof
Cal if orn iaatLos An gel es , 2 3.9 , 19 7 2 b Jan u aiy.
Wel l es l ey-Mil l er, Sean . Sel f -organ izin g En v iron m en ts . Des ign
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58-6 2 , 19 7 2 .
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137 1-1380, 19 6 4Ju n e 17 .
a~ 119 7 2 .. a 2 4. Com pu terP ow er
an d Hu m an R eas on
Z4. [ In trodu ction ]
F rom Com pu terP ow eran d Hu m an R eas on
F rom Ju dgm en ttoCal cu l ation
T echn ol ogyAs s ail ed byAn gryHu m an is t w ou l d be an aptheadl in e in T he On ion , the s atirical w eekl y
n ew s paperkn ow n tom os tof its readers throu ghthe Web. Dire w arn in gs abou tcom pu ters hav e
f requ en tl yis s u ed f rom n on -com pu ter-u s in g au thors w hohav e on l ys u perf icial l ycon s idered, orev en
experien ced, n ew m edia. T here is s om e hu m an is tic com m en taryon techn ol ogy, s u chas thatof
Lan gdon Win n er( 040), thatis m ore in f orm ed T he dis cu s s ion of n ew m ediapitf al l s of f ered byJos eph
Weizen bau m com es f rom s om eon e w ithadif f eren ts ortof backgrou n d, how ev er. Weizen bau m did n ot
w rite as an obs erv eran d com m en tatorou ts ide of com pu tin g. He program m ed the m os tf am ou s
chatterbotin the his toryof com pu tin g an d then perceiv ed dan gerou s u s es of the s ys tem he him s el f
en gin eered. He f ol l ow ed N orbertWien er( 004), an otherMIT prof es s or, in dem an din g thats cien tis ts
an d techn ol ogis ts take res pon s ibil ityf orthe u s e of thatw hichtheydis cov eran d dev el op.
Hu m an l an gu ages did n otm ake m u chof apl ace f orthem s el v es in com pu tin g du rin g the 19 50s . It
w as n tu n til the earl y19 6 0thatw ord proces s in g began totake s hape; in 19 6 3, f orin s tan ce, an earl y
progam f orw ritin g on the com pu terw as dev el oped byhackers atMIT . Al thou ghs om e qu es tion -
an s w erin g s ys tem s had been program m ed earl ier, as Weizen bau m docu m en ts in his book, the f irs t
m ore gen eral con v ers ation al com pu terprogram of the s ortthatAl an T u rin g en v is ion ed ( 003)w as
the on e Weizen bau m created f rom 19 6 4to19 6 6 . T his s ys tem , cal l ed El iza, ran as etof s cripts cal l ed -f .f _""= _~' ?1?
w ou l d as k the u s ertoref l ecton w hatev ercom m en ts w ere of f ered. Whil e T u rin g' s gu es s thata .
thin kin g m achin e w ou l d be arou n d in 2 000m ayn othav e been righton target, w ithin m ore l im ited
con texts , T u rin g' s prediction thatcom pu ters w ou l d pl au s ibl yin teractw ithpeopl e u s in g l an gu age as an
in terf ace w as born e ou tl on g ago, byWeizen bau m s w ork in the 19 6 0s .
T he con cern thatm achin es w il l take ov ern otj u s tthe j obs thatprov ide u s in com e, bu tal s othos e
cogn itiv e an d em otion al f u n ction s w e cl os el yas s ociate w ithhu m an ity, is aparticu l arw orryof the com -
pu terera on e thatw as highl ighted f orWeizen bau m bythe w ays om e s u gges ted thatDoctors hou l d be
em pl oyed as an actu al therapis t. N eil P os tm an expl ores w hatWeizen bau m cal l s the ev erm ore
m echan is tic im age of hu m an ityin his book T echn opol y, in w hichhe n otes thatthe in f l u en ce of
com pu tin g is s een n oton l yin exam in in g s pecif ic hardw are an d s of tw are techn ol ogies bu tin the w ay
w e em pl oyl an gu age thathas been appropriated f oru s e in com pu tin g. Ev en as theybrin g m aterial
ben ef its , n ew m ediaan d othercom pu tin g in n ov ation s s hif tcon cepts l ike bel ief an d v iru s s othat
theyare m ore as s ociated w ithdigital com pu tin g an d l es s con n ected totheirorigin al hu m an is tic or
biol ogical m ean in gs . Weizen bau m s s pecif ic con cern is thatpeopl e w hos ee the com pu teras abl e to
as s u m e the in tim ate an d hu m an rol e of the ps ychotherapis tare u n abl e todraw the bou n daries
betw een the properu s e of com pu tertechn ol ogyan d com pu terappl ication s thateitherou ghtn ottobe
u n dertaken atal l , or, if theyare con tem pl ated, s hou l d be approached w iththe u tm os tcau tion "( 2 6 8).
SherryT u rkl e ( 034)giv es aps ychoan al ytic pers pectiv e on El izain herLif e on the Screen , reachin g a
dif f eren tcon cl u s ion . Ken n ethCol by' s v iew thatcom pu tertherapycou l d be u s ef u l , af teral l , w as n ota
s n apj u dgm en t. Col byw as acom pu ters cien tis tan d ps ychiatris t; he l ateru s ed El izatocreate a
s im u l ated s chizophren ic, P erry, toaid in ps ychiatric s tu dy, an d created atherapeu tic con v ers ation al
s ys tem Depres s ion 2 .0, rel eas ed in 19 9 2 . Al thou ghthis is n otm en tion ed in Com pu terP ow eran d Hu m an
R eas on , T u rkl e n otes thatCol byw as Weizen bau m ' s origin al col l aboratoron El iza( 106 ). T u rkl e f ou n d
Doctoran d im pers on ated aps ychotherapis t, becom in g n otoriou s an d l eadin g Weizen bau m to Rm G
prof ou n dl yreas s es s his ideas abou tcom pu tin g. Doctorw as n tf ool proof , bu tthats etof m s tru ctl on s Q "_
al l ow ed El izatopl au s ibl ycarryon s om e con v ers ation s , pos in g as an on com m ittal R ogerian w ho \
2 4. Com pu terP ow er
an d Hu m an R eas on
theN EWMEDIAR EADER
in herres earchthatpeopl e w hoappreciated El izacon s idered itas akin d of diaryorm irror ( 108)an d did n oten d u pw ith
the dis torted v iew of hu m an itythatWeizen bau m f eared bu tin herbook, s he al s ocon s iders how hu m an -com pu ter
in teraction does chan ge ou rcon cepts of w hatis al iv e, w hatis hu m an , an d w hatw e ou rs el v es are. Jan etMu rrayis reev al u ation
of El iza/ Doctoras l iteraryartof f ers an otherw aythatWeizen bau m s accom pl is hm en tcan be recogn ized as open in g u p
pos s ibil ities f orcreativ e expres s ion ratherthan as dis ru ptin g ou rn otion s of hu m an ity.
N M
.. . . on 1 -."-. . . . ' * '
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. , ____,- -_r . . .~ . \ ~ . . . \ '
A 1rs eth,i.l E"-Sil iein l c s ags ; iL; iu l = "r; ii ~m r' a; r.a; ; ; ; ae aaL; ; > @ ,a@ aaa; iraaeapa' on .iErgodiciLiteratu re,t2 9 ; il ii,F Bal t; irho' rei,
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f f an ..reu a= Marr:.Aaaa1m an iitw as s au n as ; ~ra iaa* paeaa.1i.~ w ; w ai; ; .aa.n aibj res s , 19 1.5, : .; * ; ; ; t.; , i"
3~Mu iray; +aa~ a@ al l a.riaa, an atu a~w iau .; l ,au aara; ,ira,atN e N .
.1-.' ."E* 0. tm ' = 1m -..N i1~?* f T h Id l oqv of rtrl a- h.i.~ies :~~Com u Jf erT eHn ol 9 yJ"* .T ecl in 0p5l r?1T he$u ren d@ riv f @ l f I@ f r T eth v l eai/ } 1N ew ,6 rk= _' l <n i P f .19 9 -2 }
.5T !tkl ,,' iSh r1y -iil el cin g .rh; aa~aIn ter,f al c,e' ~\1aiu .' ":' l iI:f g' :.:1f rl l "l .l I!Q j _f Sc":e' "m iqi; ; 1,z4; iu e v a r; iig:aaq f a. $c-Iiu s ter,I__"
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. - _. _- __J _, . , . . ,.~ . . . 4 .. ->
Origin al P u bl ication
In trodu ction . Com pu terP ow eran d Hu m an R eas on : F rom Ju dgm en t
toCal cu l ation , 1-16 . San F ran cis co: W.H. F reem an an d Com pan y,
19 7 6 .
, , _, _.. _. H; ~, ~ - _ ._.. . .. . r
,- ., . -.-. . , , . . . . ,. , - V ~r . . . __. . __. -
< a.-.,\., . .. . , -- \ . ' ,- , . .- ~ . - - - _
\ .~ -. _- - n r, v , ' - \ -0' . ' . w . __
.... - - _. ~ . ._c . .u -. . . _
.~ . . , .. / .' ' . ..- 1 ~ _' ___-- - - ' _
, ,. -. IV ~__- ~.|~ . -. -- . .. ~ ~ .- ~ v . _\__
. . - - . , . . . !\' . . .. . \ ~ .--n . - . 1 - ' ' -
Idon tkn ow how m u chtim e P ol an yithou ghthe w ou l d
dev ote todev el opin g an argu m en tf oracon trarycon ceptof
m an an d his tory. His v erys hock tes tif ies tothe f actthathe
w as in prof ou n d dis agreem en tw ithBu kharin , theref ore that
he al readycon ceiv ed of m an dif f eren tl y, ev en if he cou l d n ot
P then giv e expl icitf orm tohis con cept. Itm aybe thathe
an d Hu m an R eas on
F rom Ju dgm en ttoCal cu l ation
Jos ephWeizen bau m
In 19 35, Michael P ol an yi, then hol derof the Chairof
P hys ical Chem is tryatthe VictoriaU n iv ers ityof Man ches ter,
En gl an d, w as s u dden l ys hocked in toacon f ron tation w ith
phil os ophical qu es tion s thathav e ev ers in ce dom in ated his
l if e. T he s hock w as adm in is tered byN icol aiBu kharin , on e of
the l eadin g theoretician s of the R u s s ian Com m u n is tparty,
w hotol d P ol an yithatu n ders ocial is m the con ception of
s cien ce pu rs u ed f orits ow n s ake w ou l d dis appear, f orthe
in teres ts of s cien tis ts w ou l d s pon tan eou s l ytu rn tothe
probl em s of the cu rren tF iv e Y earP l an . P ol an yis en s ed then
thatthe s cien tif ic ou tl ook appeared tohav e produ ced a
m echan ical con ception of m an an d his toryin w hichthere
w as n opl ace f ors cien ce its el f ."An d f u rtherthatthis
con ception den ied al togetheran yin trin s ic pow ertothou ght
an d thu s den ied an ygrou n ds f orcl aim in g f reedom of
thou ght.
determ in ed tow rite acou n terargu m en ttoBu kharin s
pos ition , draw in g on l yon his ow n experien ce as as cien tis t,
an d tohav e don e w ithitin s hortorder. As ittu rn ed ou t,
how ev er, the con f ron tation w ithphil os ophytriggered by
Bu kharin s rev el ation w as todem an d P ol an yis en tire
atten tion f rom then tothe pres en tday.
Irecite this bitof his toryf ortw oreas on s . T he f irs tis to
il l u s trate thatideas w hichs eem atf irs tgl an ce tobe obv iou s
an d s im pl e, an d w hichou ghttheref ore tobe u n iv ers al l y
credibl e on ce theyhav e been articu l ated, are s om etim es
bu oys m arkin g ou ts torm ychan n el s in deepin tel l ectu al
s eas . T hats cien ce is creativ e, thatthe creativ e actin s cien ce
is equ iv al en ttothe creativ e actin art, thatcreation s prin gs
on l yf rom au ton om ou s in div idu al s , is s u chas im pl e an d, on e
m ightthin k, obv iou s idea. Y etP ol an yihas , as hav e m an y
others , s pen tn earl yal if etim e expl orin g the grou n d in
w hichitis an chored an d the tu rbu l en ts eaof im pl ication s
w hichs u rrou n ds it.
T he s econ d reas on Irecite this his toryis thatIf eel m ys el f
tobe rel iv in g partof it. Myow n s hock w as adm in is tered n ot
byan yim portan tpol itical f igu re es pou s in g his phil os ophyof
s cien ce, bu tbys om e peopl e w hoin s is ted on m is in terpretin g
apiece of w ork Ihad don e. Iw rite this w ithou tbittern es s
IIWVF U IU } g i
a. ....... .. .l 19 7 , rel c 2 4. Com pu terP ow er
an d Hu m an R eas on
an d certain l yn otin adef en s iv e m ood. In deed, the
in terpretation s Ihav e in m in d ten ded, if an ythin g, to
ov errate w hatl ittl e Ihad accom pl is hed an d certain l yits
im portan ce. N o, Irecal l thatpiece of w ork n ow on l ybecau s e
its eem s tom e toprov ide the m os tpars im on iou s w ayof
iden tif yin g the is s u es Im ean todis cu s s .
T he w ork w as don e in the period 19 6 4-19 6 6 , an d w as
reported in the com pu ter-s cien ce l iteratu re in Jan u ary19 6 6
an d Au gu s t19 6 7 . T os u m m arize itbrief l y, Icom pos ed a
com pu terprogram w ithw hichon e cou l d con v ers e in
En gl is h. T he hu m an con v ers ation al is tpartn erw ou l d type his
portion of the con v ers ation on atypew ritercon n ected toa
com pu ter, an d the com pu ter, u n dercon trol of m yprogram ,
w ou l d an al yze the m es s age thathad s obeen tran s m itted to
it, com pos e ares pon s e toitin En gl is h, an d cau s e the
res pon s e tobe typed on the com pu ters typew riter.
Ichos e the n am e ELIZAf orthe l an gu age an al ys is program
becau s e, l ike the El izaof P ygm al ion f am e, itcou l d be tau ght
tos peak in creas in gl yw el l . Becau s e con v ers ation s m u s tbe
abou ts om ethin g, thatis , becau s e theym u s ttake pl ace
w ithin s om e con text, the program w as con s tru cted in atw o-
tierarran gem en t, the f irs ttiercon s is tin g of the l an gu age
an al yzeran d the s econ d of as cript. T he s criptis as etof ru l es
ratherl ike thos e thatm ightbe giv en toan actorw hois to
u s e them toim prov is e arou n d acertain them e. T hu s ELIZA
cou l d be giv en as cripttoen abl e ittom ain tain a
con v ers ation abou tcookin g eggs orabou tm an agin g aban k
checkin g accou n t, an d s oon . Eachs pecif ic s criptthu s en abl ed
ELIZAtopl ayas pecif ic con v ers ation al rol e.
F orm yf irs texperim en t, Igav e ELIZAas criptdes ign ed to
perm itittopl ay( Is hou l d real l ys ayparody)the rol e of a
R ogerian ps ychotherapis ten gaged in an in itial in terv iew
w ithapatien t. T he R ogerian ps ychotherapis tis rel ativ el y
eas ytoim itate becau s e m u chof his techn iqu e con s is ts of
draw in g his patien tou tbyref l ectin g the patien ts s tatem en ts
back tohim . T he f ol l ow in g con v ers ation betw een ayou n g
l adyan d ELIZApl ayin g doctoril l u s trates boththe R ogerian
techn iqu e of en cou ragin g apatien ttokeeptal kin g an d the
operation of the com pu terprogram ELIZA. T he f irs tto
s peak is the you n g l ady. T he com pu ters res pon s es are
prin ted en tirel yin capital s ?
Men are al l al ike.
IN I/ VI-LAT WAY
T hey' re al w ays bu ggin g u s abou ts om ethin g orother.
CAN Y OU T HIN KOEASP ECIF IC EXAMP LE
Wel l , m yboyf rien d m ade m e com e here. _
Y OU R BOY F R IEN D MADEY OU COMEHER E
He s ays I' m depres s ed m u chof the tim e.
IAM SOR R Y T O HEAR Y OU AR EDEP R ESSED
Its tru e. Iam u n happy.
DOY OU T HIN KCOMIN G HER EWILLHELP Y OU
N OT T O BEU N I-IAP P Y
In eed s om e hel p, thatm u chs eem s certain .
WHAT WOU LD IT MEAN T OY OU IF Y OU GOT
SOMEHELP ~
P erhaps Icou l d l earn togetal on g w ithm ym other.
T ELLMEMOR EABOU T Y OU R F AMILY
Mym othertakes care of m e.
WHO ELSEIN Y OU R F AMILY T AKES CAR EOF Y OU
Myf ather.
Y OU R F AT HER
Y ou are l ike m yf atherin s om e w ays .
I/ VI-IAT R ESEMBLAN CEDOY OU SEE
Y ou are n otv eryaggres s iv e bu tIthin k you don ' tw an t
m e ton otice that.
I/ VHAT MAKEY OU T HIN KIAM N OT VER Y
AGGR ESSIVE
Y ou don ' targu e w ithm e.
WHY DOY OU T HIN KIDON ' T AR GU EWIT H Y OU
Y ou are af raid of m e.
DOES IT P LEASEY OU T O BELIEVEIAM AF R AID
OF Y OU
Myf atheris af raid of ev erybody.
WHAT ELSECOMES T OMIN DWHEN Y OU T HIN K
OF Y OU R F AT HER
Bu l l ies .
DOES T HAT HAVEAN Y T HIN G T O DOWIT H T HE
F ACT T HAT Y OU R BOY F R IEN D MADEY OU COME
HER E
2 4., Com pu terP ow er
an d Hu m an R eas on
DOCT OR , as ELIZApl ayin g ps ychiatris tcam e tobe kn ow n ,
s oon becam e f am ou s arou n d the Mas s achu s etts In s titu te of
T echn ol ogy, w here itf irs tcam e in toexis ten ce, m ain l y
becau s e itw as an eas yprogram todem on s trate. Mos tother
program s cou l d n otv iv idl ydem on s trate the in f orm ation -
proces s in g pow erof acom pu tertov is itors w hodid n ot
al readyhav e s om e s pecial ized kn ow l edge, s ay, of s om e bran ch
of m athem atics . DOCT OR , on the other-han d, cou l d be
appreciated on s om e l ev el byan yon e. Its pow eras a
dem on s tration v ehicl e w as f u rtheren han ced bythe f actthat
the v is itorcou l d actu al l yparticipate in its operation . Soon
copies of DOCT OR , con s tru cted on the bas is of m ypu bl is hed
des cription of it, began appearin g atotherin s titu tion s in the
U n ited States . T he program becam e n ation al l ykn ow n an d
ev en , in certain circl es , an ation al pl aythin g.
T he s hocks Iexperien ced as DOCT OR becam e w idel y
kn ow n an d pl ayed w ere du e prin cipal l ytothree dis tin ct
ev en ts .
1. An u m berof practicin g ps ychiatris ts s eriou s l ybel iev ed the
DOCT OR com pu terprogram cou l d grow in toan earl y
com pl etel yau tom atic f orm of ps ychotherapy. Col byetal
w rite, f orexam pl e, '
F u rtherw ork m u s tbe don e bef ore the program w il l
be readyf orcl in ical u s e. If the m ethod prov es
ben ef icial , then itw ou l d prov ide atherapeu tic tool
w hichcan be m ade w idel yav ail abl e tom en tal
hos pital s an d ps ychiatric cen ters s u f f erin g as hortage
of therapis ts . Becau s e of the tim e-s harin g capabil ities
of m odern an d f u tu re com pu ters , s ev eral hu n dred
patien ts an hou rcou l d be han dl ed byacoin pu ter
s ys tem des ign ed f orthis pu rpos e. T he hu m an
therapis t, in v ol v ed in the des ign an d operation of this
s ys tem , w ou l d n otbe repl aced, bu tw ou l d becom e a
m u chm ore ef f icien tm an s in ce his ef f orts w ou l d n o
l on gerbe l im ited tothe on e to-on e patien t-therapis t
ratioas n ow exis ts .
Ihad thou ghtites s en tial , as aprerequ is ite tothe v ery
pos s ibil itythaton e pers on m ighthel pan otherl earn tocope
w ithhis em otion al probl em s , thatthe hel perhim s el f
participate in the others experien ce of thos e probl em s an d,
in l arge partbyw ayof his ow n em pathic recogn ition of
them , him s el f com e tou n ders tan d them . T here are
u n dou btedl ym an ytechn iqu es tof acil itate the therapis ts
im agin ativ e proj ection in tothe patien ts in n erl if e. Bu tthatit
w as pos s ibl e f orev en on e practicin g ps ychiatris ttoadv ocate
theN EWMEDIAR EADER
thatthis cru cial com pon en tof the therapeu tic proces s be
en tirel ys u ppl an ted bypu re techn iqu e thatIhad n ot
im agin ed! Whatm u s taps ychiatris tw hom akes s u cha
s u gges tion thin k he is doin g w hil e treatin g apatien t, thathe
can v iew the s im pl es tm echan ical parodyof as in gl e
in terv iew in g techn iqu e as hav in g captu red an ythin g of the
es s en ce of ahu m an en cou n ter?P erhaps Col byetal giv e u s
the requ ired cl u e w hen theyw rite:
Ahu m an therapis tcan be v iew ed as an in f orm ation
proces s oran d decis ion m akerw ithas etof decis ion
ru l es w hichare cl os el yl in ked tos hort-ran ge an d l on g-
ran ge goal s , . . . He is gu ided in thes e decis ion s by
rou ghem piric ru l es tel l in g him w hatis appropriate to
s ayan d riottos ayin certain con texts . T oin corporate
thes e proces s es , tothe degree pos s es s ed byahu m an
therapis t, in the program w ou l d be acon s iderabl e
u n dertakin g, bu tw e are attem ptin g tom ov e in this
d.irection .4
Whatcan the ps ychiatris ts im age of his patien tbe w hen
he s ees him s el f , as therapis t, n otas an en gaged hu m an bein g
actin g as aheal er, bu tas an in f orm ation proces s orf ol l ow in g
ru l es , etc? V
Su chqu es tion s w ere m yaw aken in g tow hatP ol an yihad
earl iercal l ed as cien tif ic ou tl ook thatappeared tohav e
produ ced am echan ical con ception of m an .
2 . Iw as s tartl ed tos ee how qu ickl yan d how v erydeepl y
peopl e con v ers in g w ithDOCT OR becam e em otion al l y
in v ol v ed w iththe com pu teran d how u n equ iv ocal l ythey
an thropom orphized it. On ce m ys ecretary, w hohad w atched
m e w ork on the program f orm an ym on ths an d theref ore
s u rel ykn ew ittobe m erel yacom pu terprogram , s tarted
con v ers in g w ithit. Af teron l yaf ew in terchan ges w ithit, s he
as ked m e tol eav e the room . An othertim e, Is u gges ted I
4
19 7 6
ea or .a_~~ W. 04 a a as 2 4. Com pu terP ow er
m ightrig the s ys tem s othatIcou l d exam in e al l
con v ers ation s an yon e had had w ithit, s ay, ov ern ight. Iw as
prom ptl ybom barded w ithaccu s ation s thatw hatIpropos ed
am ou n ted tos pyin g on peopl es m os tin tim ate thou ghts ;
cl earev iden ce thatpeopl e w ere con v ers in g w iththe
com pu teras if itw ere apers on w hocou l d be appropriatel y
an d u s ef u l l yaddres s ed in in tim ate term s . Ikn ew of cou rs e
thatpeopl e f orm al l s orts of em otion al bon ds tom achin es ,
f orexam pl e, tom u s ical in s tru m en ts , m otorcycl es , an d cars .
An d Ikn ew f rom l on g experien ce thatthe s tron g em otion al
ties m an yprogram m ers hav e totheircom pu ters are of ten
f orm ed af teron l ys hortexpos u res totheirm achin es . WhatI
had n otreal ized is thatextrem el ys hortexpos u res toa
rel ativ el ys im pl e com pu terprogram cou l d in du ce pow erf u l
del u s ion al thin kin g in qu ite n orm al peopl e. T his in s ightl ed
m e toattachn ew im portan ce toqu es tion s of the
rel ation s hipbetw een the in div idu al an d the com pu ter, an d
hen ce tores ol v e tothin k abou tthem .
3. An otherw ides pread, an d tom e s u rpris in g, reaction tothe
ELIZAprogram w as the s pread of abel ief thatit
dem on s trated agen eral s ol u tion tothe probl em of com pu ter
u n ders tan din g of n atu ral l an gu age. In m ypaper, Ihad tried
tos aythatn ogen eral s ol u tion tothatprobl em w as pos s ibl e,
i.e., thatl an gu age is u n ders tood on l yin con textu al
f ram ew orks , thatev en thes e can be s hared bypeopl e toon l y
al im ited exten t, an d thatcon s equ en tl yev en peopl e are n ot
em bodim en ts of an ys u chgen eral s ol u tion . Bu tthes e
con cl u s ion s w ere of ten ign ored. In an ycas e, ELIZAw as s u ch
as m al l an d s im pl e s tep. Its con tribu tion w as , if an yatal l ,
on l ytov iv idl yu n derl in e w hatm an yothers had l on g ago
dis cov ered, n am el y, the im portan ce of con texttol an gu age
u n ders tan din g. T he s u bs equ en t, m u chm ore el egan t, an d
s u rel ym ore im portan tw ork of Win ograds in com pu ter
com prehen s ion of En gl is his cu rren tl ybein g m is in terpreted
j u s tas ELIZAw as . T his reaction toELIZAs how ed m e m ore
v iv idl ythan an ythin g Ihad s een hithertothe en orm ou s l y
exaggerated attribu tion s an ev en w el l -edu cated au dien ce is
capabl e of m akin g, ev en s triv es tom ake, toatechn ol ogyit
an d Hu m an R eas on
m is gu ided an d of ten w ron g. Dif f icu l tqu es tion s aris e ou tof
thes e obs erv ation s ; w hat, f orexam pl e, are the s cien tis ts
res pon s ibil ities w ithres pecttom akin g his w ork pu bl ic?An d
tow hom ( orw hat)is the s cien tis tres pon s ibl e?
As perception s of thes e kin ds began torev erberate in m e, I
thou ght, as perhaps P ol an yidid af terhis en cou n terw ith
Bu kharin , thatthe qu es tion s an d m is giv in gs thathad s o
f orcef u l l ypres en ted them s el v es tom e cou l d be dis pos ed of
qu ickl y, perhaps in as hort, s eriou s articl e. Idid in f actw rite a
papertou chin g on m an ypoin ts m en tion ed here.6 Bu t
gradu al l yIbegan tos ee thatcertain qu ite f u n dam en tal
qu es tion s .had in f ected m e m ore chron ical l ythan Ihad f irs t
perceiv ed. Is hal l probabl yn ev erbe rid of them .
T here are as m an yw ays tos tate thes e bas ic qu es tion s as
there are s tartin g poin ts f orcopin g w iththem . Atbottom
theyare abou tn othin g l es s than m an s pl ace in the u n iv ers e.
Bu tIam prof es s ion al l ytrain ed on l yin com pu ters cien ce,
w hichis tos ay( in al l s eriou s n es s )thatIam extrem el y
poorl yedu cated; Ican m ou n tn eitherthe com peten ce, n or
the cou rage, n otev en the chu tzpah, tow rite on the gran d
s cal e actu al l ydem an ded. Itheref ore grappl e w ithqu es tion s
thatcou pl e m ore directl ytothe con cern s Ihav e expres s ed,
an d hope thattheirl argerim pl ication s w il l em erge
s pon tan eou s l y. I
Is hal l thu s hav e tocon cern m ys el f w iththe f ol l ow in g
kin ds of qu es tion s :
1. Whatis itabou tthe com pu terthathas brou ghtthe
v iew of m an as am achin e toan ew l ev el of
pl au s ibil ity?Cl earl ythere hav e been otherm achin es
thatim itated m an in v ariou s w ays , e.g., s team s hov el s .
Bu tn otu n til the in v en tion of the digital com pu ter
hav e there been m achin es thatcou l d perf orm
in tel l ectu al f u n ction s of ev en m odes ts cope; i.e.,
m achin es thatcou l d in an ys en s e be s aid tobe
in tel l igen t. N ow artif icial in tel l igen ce ( AI)is as u bdis
cipl in e of com pu ters cien ce. T his n ew f iel d w il l hav e to
be dis cu s s ed. U l tim atel yal in e div idin g hu m an an d
m achin e in tel l igen ce m u s tbe draw n . If there is n o
s u chl in e, then adv ocates of com pu terized ps ychother-
a m abe m erel heral ds of an ae in w hichm an has
does n otu n ders tan d. Su rel y, Ithou ght, decis ion s m ade bythe P 7 Y Y 8
gen eral pu bl ic abou tem ergen ttechn ol ogies depen d m u ch
m ore on w hatthatpu bl ic attribu tes tos u chtechn ol ogies
than on w hattheyactu al l yare orcan an d can n otdo. If , as
appeared tobe the cas e, the pu bl ics attribu tion s are w il dl y
m is con ceiv ed, then pu bl ic decis ion s are bou n d tobe
f in al l ybeen recogn ized as n othin g bu tacl ock-w ork.
T hen the con s equ en ces of s u chareal ityw ou l d n eed
u rgen tl ytobe div in ed an d con tem pl ated.
2 . T he f actthatin div idu al s bin d them s el v es w ith
s tron g em otion al ties tom achin es ou ghtn otin its el f
2 4 Com pu terP ow er
an d Hu m an R eas on
tobe s u rpris in g T he in s tru m en ts m an u s es becom e,
af teral l , exten s ion s of his body. Mos tim portan tl y,
m an m u s t, in ordertooperate his in s tru m en ts
s kil l f u l l y, in tern al ize as pects of them in the f orm of
kin es thetic an d perceptu al habits . In thats en s e at
l eas t, his in s tru m en ts becom e l iteral l ypartof him an d
m odif yhim , an d thu s al terthe bas is of his af f ectiv e
rel ation s hiptohim s el f . On e w ou l d expectm an to
cathectm ore in ten s el ytoin s tru m en ts thatcou pl e
directl ytohis ow n in tel l ectu al , cogn itiv e, an d em otiv e
f u n ction s than tom achin es thatm erel yexten d the
pow ero.f his m u s cl es . Wes tern m an s en tire m il ieu is
n ow perv aded bycom pl extechn ol ogical exten s ion s of
his ev eryf u n ction al capacity. Bein g the en orm ou s l y
adaptiv e an im al he is , m an has been abl e toacceptas
au then tical l yn atu ral ( thatis , as giv en byn atu re)s u ch
techn ol ogical bas es f orhis rel ation s hiptohim s el f , f or
his iden tity. P erhaps this hel ps toexpl ain w hyhe does
n otqu es tion the appropriaten es s of in v es tin g his
m os tpriv ate f eel in gs in acom pu ter. Bu tthen , s u chan
expl an ation w ou l d al s os u gges tthatthe com pu tin g
m achin e repres en ts m erel yan extrem e extrapol ation
of am u chm ore gen eral techn ol ogical u s u rpation of
m an s capacitytoactas an au ton om ou s agen tin
giv in g m ean in g tohis w orl d. Itis theref ore im portan t
toin qu ire in tothe w iders en s es in w hichm an has
com e toyiel d his ow n au ton om ytoaw orl d v iew ed as
m achin e.
3. Itis perhaps paradoxical thatj u s t, w hen in the
deepes ts en s e m an has ceas ed tobel iev e in l etal on e
totru s t his ow n au ton om y, he has begu n torel yon
au ton om ou s m achin es , thatis , on m achin es that
operate f orl on g periods of tim e en tirel yon the bas is
of theirow n in tern al real ities . If his rel ian ce on s u ch
m achin es is tobe bas ed on s om ethin g otherthan
u n m itigated des pairorbl in d f aith, he m u s texpl ain to
him s el f w hatthes e m achin es doan d ev en how they
dow hattheydo. T his requ ires him tobu il d s om e
con ception of theirin tern al real ities . Y etm os tm en
don ' tu n ders tan d com pu ters toev en the s l ightes t
degree. So, u n l es s theyare capabl e of v erygreat
s kepticis m ( the kin d w e brin g tobearw hil e w atchin g
as tage m agician ), theycan expl ain the com pu ters
in tel l ectu al f eats on l ybybrin gin g tobearthe s in gl e
an al ogyav ail abl e tothem , thatis , theirm odel of their
ow n capacitytothin k. N ow on der, then , thatthey
ov ers hootthe m ark; itis tru l yim pos s ibl e toim agin e a
hu m an w hocou l d im itate ELIZA, f orexam pl e, bu tf or
w hom ELIZA' S l an gu age abil ities w ere his l im it. Again ,
the com pu tin g m achin e is m erel yan extrem e exam pl e
theN EWMEDIAR EADER
of am u chm ore gen eral phen om en on . Ev en the
breadthof con n otation in ten ded in the ordin ary
u s age of the w ord m achin e, l arge as itis , is
in s u f f icien ttos u gges tits tru e gen eral ity. F ortoday
w hen w e s peak of , f orexam pl e, bu reau cracy, orthe
u n iv ers ity, oral m os tan ys ocial orpol itical con s tru ct,
the im age w e gen erate is al l tooof ten thatof an
au ton om ou s m achin e-l ike proces s .
T hes e, then , are the thou ghts an d qu es tion s w hichhav e
ref u s ed tol eav e m e s in ce the deepers ign if ican ces of the
reaction s toELIZAIhav e des cribed began tobecom e cl earto
m e. Y etIdou btthattheycou l d hav e im pres s ed them s el v es
on m e as theydid w ere itn otthatIw as ( an d am s til l )deepl y
in v ol v ed in acon cen trate of techn ol ogical s ocietyas ateacher
in the tem pl e of techn ol ogythatis the Mas s achu s etts
In s titu te of T echn ol ogy, an in s titu tion thatprou dl yboas ts of
bein g pol arized arou n d s cien ce an d techn ol ogy. T here Il iv e
an d w ork w ithcol l eagu es , m an yof w hom tru s ton l ym odern
s cien ce todel iv errel iabl e kn ow l edge of the w orl d. Icon f er
w iththem on res earchpropos al s tobe m ade togov ern m en t
agen cies , es pecial l ytothe Departm en tof Def en s e.
Som etim es Ibecom e m ore than al ittl e f righten ed as I
con tem pl ate w hatw e l ead ou rs el v es topropos e, as w el l as the
n atu re of the argu m en ts w e con s tru cttos u pportou rpropos -
al s . T hen , too, Iam con s tan tl ycon f ron ted bys tu den ts , s om e
of w hom hav e al readyrej ected al l w ays bu tthe s cien tif ic to
com e tokn ow the w orl d, an d w hos eek on l yadeeper, m ore
dogm atic in doctrin ation in thatf aith( al thou ghthatw ord is
n ol on gerin theirv ocabu l ary). Others tu den ts s u s pectthat
n otev en the en tire col l ection of m achin es an d in s tru m en ts
atM.I.T . can s ign if ican tl yhel pgiv e m ean in g totheirl iv es .
T heys en s e the pres en ce of adil em m ain an edu cation
pol arized arou n d s cien ce an d techn ol ogy, an edu cation that
im pl icitl ycl aim s toopen apriv il eged acces s ~pathtof act, bu t
thatcan n ottel l them how todecide w hatis tocou n tas f act.
Ev en w hil e theyrecogn ize the gen u in e im portan ce of
l earn in g theircraf t, theyrebel atw orkin g on proj ects that
appeartoaddres s them s el v es n eithertoan s w erin g
in teres tin g qu es tion s of f actn ortos ol v in g probl em s in
theory.
Su chcon f ron tation s w ithm yow n day to~days ocial real ity
hav e gradu al l ycon v in ced m e thatm yexperien ce w ithELIZA
w as s ym ptom atic of deeperprobl em s . T he tim e w ou l d com e,
Iw as s u re, w hen Iw ou l d n ol on gerbe abl e toparticipate in
res earchpropos al con f eren ces , orhon es tl yres pon d tom y
s tu den ts n eed f ortherapy( yes , thatis the correctw ord),
0- 1.: a 1 -0 = 0 -I19 7 ? 0 2 4. Com pu terP ow er
w ithou tf irs tattem ptin g tom ake s en s e of the pictu re m y
ow n experien ce w ithcom pu ters had s os harpl ydraw n f orm e.
Of cou rs e, the in trodu ction of com pu ters in toou ral ready
highl ytechn ol ogical s ocietyhas , as Iw il l trytos how , m erel y
rein f orced an d am pl if ied thos e an teceden tpres s u res that
hav e driv en m an toan ev erm ore highl yration al is tic v iew of
his s ocietyan d an ev erm ore m echan is tic im age of him s el f . It
is theref ore im portan tthatIcon s tru ctm ydis cu s s ion of the
im pactof the com pu teron m an an d his s ocietys othatit
can be s een as aparticu l arkin d of en codin g of am u chl arger
im pact, n am el y, thaton m an s rol e in the f ace of techn ol ogies
an d techn iqu es he m ayn otbe abl e tou n ders tan d an d
con trol . Con v ers ation s arou n d thatthem e hav e been goin g
on f oral on g tim e. An d theyhav e in ten s if ied in the l as tf ew
years .
Certain in div idu al s of qu ite dif f erin g m in ds , tem peram en ts ,
in teres ts , an d train in g hav e how ev erm u chtheydif f er
am on g them s el v es an d ev en dis agree on m an yv ital
qu es tion s - ov erthe years expres s ed grav e con cern abou tthe
con dition s created bythe u n f ettered m archof s cien ce an d
techn ol ogy; am on g them are Mu m f ord, Aren dt, El l u l , R os zak,
Com f ort, an d Bou l din g. T he com pu terbegan tobe m en tion ed
in s u chdis cu s s ion s on l yrecen tl y. N ow there are s ign s thata
f u l l -s cal e debate abou tthe com pu teris dev el opin g. T he
con tes tan ts on on e s ide are thos e w ho, brief l ys tated, bel iev e
com pu ters can , s hou l d, an d w il l doev erythin g, an d on the
others ide thos e w ho, l ike m ys el f , bel iev e there are l im its to
w hatcom pu ters ou ghttobe pu ttodo.
Itm ayappearatf irs tgl an ce thatthis is an in hou s e debate
of l ittl e con s equ en ce excepttoas m al l grou pof com pu ter
techn ician s . Bu tatbottom , n om atterhow itm aybe
dis gu is ed bytechn ol ogical j argon , the qu es tion is w hetheror
n otev eryas pectof hu m an thou ghtis redu cibl e toal ogical
f orm al is m , or, topu titin tothe m odern idiom , w hetheror
n othu m an thou ghtis en tirel ycom pu tabl e. T hatqu es tion
has , in on e f orm oran other, en gaged thin kers in al l ages .
Man has al w ays s triv en f orprin cipl es thatcou l d organ ize
an d giv e s en s e an d m ean in g tohis exis ten ce. Bu tbef ore
m odern s cien ce f athered the techn ol ogies thatreif ied an d
con cretized its otherw is e abs tracts ys tem s , the s ys tem s of
thou ghtthatdef in ed m an s pl ace in the u n iv ers e w ere
f u n dam en tal l yj u ridicial . T heys erv ed todef in e m an s
obl igation s tohis f el l ow m en an d ton atu re. T he Ju daic
tradition , f orexam pl e, res ts on the ideaof acon tractu al
rel ation s hipbetw een God an d m an . T his rel ation s hipm u s t
an d Hu m an R eas on
an d does l eav e room f orau ton om yf orbothGod an d m an ,
f oracon tractis an agreem en tw il l in gl yen tered in toby
parties w hoare f ree n ottoagree. Man s au ton om yan d his
corres pon din g res pon s ibil ityis acen tral is s u e of al l rel igiou s
s ys tem s . T he s piritu al cos m ol ogies en gen dered bym odern
s cien ce, on the otherhan d, are in f ected w iththe germ of
l ogical n eces s ity. T hey, exceptin the han ds of the w is es t
s cien tis ts an d phil os ophers , n ol on gercon ten tthem s el v es
w ithexpl an ation s of appearan ces , bu tcl aim tos ayhow
thin gs actu al l yare an d m u s tn eces s aril ybe. In s hort, they
con v erttru thtoprov abil ity. .
As on e con s equ en ce of this driv e of m odern s cien ce, the
qu es tion , Whatas pects of l if e are f orm al izabl e? has been
tran s f orm ed f rom the m oral qu es tion , How an d in w hat
f orm m aym an s obl igation s an d res pon s ibil ities be kn ow n ?
tothe qu es tion , Of w hattechn ol ogical gen u s is m an a
s pecies ? Ev en s om e phil os ophers w hos e ev eryin s tin ctrebel s
again s tthe ideathatm an is en tirel ycom prehen s ibl e as a
m achin e hav e s u ccu m bed tothis s piritof the tim es . Hu bert
Dreyf u s , f orexam pl e, train s the heav ygu n s of
phen om en ol ogyon the com pu term odel of m an .7 Bu the
l im its his argu m en ttothe techn ical qu es tion of w hat
com pu ters can an d can n otdo. Iw ou l d argu e thatif
com pu ters cou l d im itate m an in ev eryres pect w hichin f act
theycan n ot- ev en then itw ou l d be appropriate, n ay, u rgen t,
toexam in e the com pu terin the l ightof m an s peren n ial n eed
tof in d his pl ace in the w orl d. T he ou tcom es of practical
m atters thatare of v ital im portan ce toev eryon e hin ge on
how an d in w hatterm s the dis cu s s ion is carried ou t.
On e pos ition Im ean toargu e appears deceptiv el yobv iou s :
itis s im pl ythatthere are im portan tdif f eren ces betw een
m en an d m achin es as thin kers . Iw ou l d argu e that, how ev er
in tel l igen tm achin es m aybe m ade tobe, there are s om e acts
of thou ghtthatou ghttobe attem pted on l ybyhu m an s . On e
s ocial l ys ign if ican tqu es tion Ithu s in ten d torais e is ov erthe
properpl ace of com pu ters in the s ocial order. Bu t, as w e s hal l
s ee, the is s u e tran s cen ds com pu ters in thatitm u s tu l tim atel y
deal w ithl ogical ityits el f - qu ite apartf rom w hether
l ogical ityis en coded in com pu terprogram s orn ot.
T he l ayreaderm aybe f orgiv en f orbein g m ore than
s l ightl yin credu l ou s thatan yon e s hou l d m ain tain that
hu m an thou ghtis en tirel ycom pu tabl e. Bu this v ery
in credu l itym ayits el f be as ign of how m arv el ou s l ys u btl y
an d s edu ctiv el ym odern s cien ce has com e toin f l u en ce m an s
im agin ativ e con s tru ction of real ity. .
2 4. Com pu terP ow er
an d Hu m an R eas on
Su rel y, m u chof w hatw e todayregard as good an d u s ef u l ,
as w el l as m u chof w hatw e w ou l d cal l kn ow l edge an d
w is dom , w e ow e tos cien ce. Bu ts cien ce m ayal s obe s een as
an addictiv e dru g. N oton l yhas ou ru n bou n ded f eedin g on
s cien ce cau s ed u s tobecom e depen den ton it, bu t, as happen s
w ithm an yotherdru gs taken in in creas in g dos ages , s cien ce
has been gradu al l ycon v erted in toas l ow -actin g pois on .
Begin n in g perhaps w ithF ran cis Bacon s m is readin g of the
gen u in e prom is e of s cien ce, m an has been s edu ced in to
w is hin g an d w orkin g f orthe es tabl is hm en tof an age of
ration al ity, bu tw ithhis v is ion of ration al itytragical l y
tw is ted s oas toequ ate itw ithl ogical ity. T hu s hav e w e v ery
n earl ycom e tothe poin tw here al m os tev erygen u in e hu m an
dil em m ais s een as am ere paradox, as am erel yapparen t
con tradiction thatcou l d be u n tan gl ed byj u diciou s
appl ication s of col d l ogic deriv ed f rom ahighers tan dpoin t.
Ev en m u rderou s w ars hav e com e tobe perceiv ed as m ere
probl em s tobe s ol v ed byhordes of prof es s ion al
probl em s ol v ers . As Han n ahAren dts aid abou trecen tm akers
an d execu tors of pol icyin the P en tagon :
T heyw ere n otj u s tin tel l igen t, bu tprided them s el v es
on bein g ration al . . . . T heyw ere eagertof in d
f orm u l as , pref erabl yexpres s ed in aps eu do-m athem at-
ical l an gu age, thatw ou l d u n if ythe m os tdis parate
phen om en aw ithw hichreal itypres en ted them ; that
is , theyw ere eagertodis cov erl aw s byw hichto
expl ain an d predictpol itical an d his torical f acts as
thou ghtheyw ere as n eces s ary, an d thu s as rel iabl e, as
the phys icis ts on ce bel iev ed n atu ral phen om en ato
be . . . [ T hey] did n otj u dge; theycal cu l ated. . . . an
u tterl yirration al con f iden ce in the cal cu l abil ityof
real ity[ becam e] the l eitm otif of the decis ion m akin g.8
An d s otoohav e n earl yal l pol itical con f ron tation s , s u chas
thos e betw een races an d thos e betw een the gov ern ed an d
theirgov ern ors , com e tobe perceiv ed as m ere f ail u res of
com m u n ication . Su chrips in the s ocial f abric can then be
s ys tem atical l yrepaired bythe expertappl ication of the
l ates tin f orm ation -han dl in g techn iqu es atl eas ts oitis
bel iev ed. An d s othe ration al ity-is l ogical ityequ ation , w hich
the v erys u cces s of s cien ce has dru gged u s in toadoptin g as
v irtu al l yan axiom , has l ed u s toden ythe v eryexis ten ce of
hu m an con f l ict, hen ce the v erypos s ibil ityof the col l is ion of
gen u in el yin com m en s u rabl e hu m an in teres ts an d of
dis parate hu m an v al u es , hen ce the exis ten ce of hu m an
v al u es them s el v es .
theN EWMEDIAR EADER
Itm aybe thathu m an v al u es are il l u s ory, as in deed
B. F . Skin n erargu es . If theyare, then itis pres u m abl yu pto
s cien ce todem on s trate thatf act, as in deed Skin n er( as
s cien tis t)attem pts todo. Bu tthen s cien ce m u s tits el f be an
il l u s orys ys tem . F orthe on l ycertain kn ow l edge s cien ce can
giv e u s is kn ow l edge of the behav iorof f orm al s ys tem s , that
is , s ys tem s thatare gam es in v en ted bym an him s el f an d in
w hichtoas s erttru this n othin g m ore orl es s than toas s ert
that, as in aches s gam e, aparticu l arboard pos ition w as
arriv ed atbyas equ en ce of l egal m ov es . When s cien ce
pu rports tom ake s tatem en ts abou tm an s experien ces , it
bas es them on iden tif ication s betw een the prim itiv e ( thatis ,
u n def in ed)obj ects of on e of its f orm al is m s , the pieces of
on e of its gam es , an d s om e s etof hu m an obs erv ation s . N o
s u chs ets of corres pon den ces can ev erbe prov ed tobe
correct. Atbes t, theycan be f al s if ied, in the s en s e that
f orm al m an ipu l ation s of as ys tem s s ym bol s m ayl ead to
s ym bol ic con f igu ration s w hich, w hen read in the l ightof the
s etof corres pon den ces in qu es tion , yiel d in terpretation s
con trarytoem pirical l yobs erv ed phen om en a. Hen ce al l
em pirical s cien ce is an el aborate s tru ctu re bu il ton pil es that
are an chored, n oton bedrock as is com m on l ys u ppos ed, bu t
on the s hif tin g s an d of f al l ibl e hu m an j u dgm en t, con j ectu re,
an d in tu ition . Itis n otev en tru e, again con trarytocom m on
bel ief , thatas in gl e pu rported cou n ter-in s tan ce that, if
accepted as gen u in e w ou l d certain l yf al s if yas pecif ic
s cien tif ic theory, gen eral l yl eads tothe im m ediate
aban don m en tof thattheory. P robabl yal l s cien tif ic theories
cu rren tl yaccepted bys cien tis ts them s el v es ( exceptin g on l y
thos e pu rel yf orm al theories cl aim in g n orel ation tothe
em pirical w orl d)are todaycon f ron ted w ithcon tradictin g
ev iden ce of m ore than n egl igibl e w eightthat, again if f u l l y
credited, w ou l d l ogical l yin v al idate them . Su chev iden ce is
of ten expl ain ed ( thatis , expl ain ed aw ay)byas cribin g itto
errorof s om e kin d, s ay, obs erv ation al error, orby
characterizin g itas in es s en tial , orbythe as s u m ption ( that
is , the f aith)thats om e yet-to-be-dis cov ered w ayof deal in g
w ithitw il l s om e dayperm itittobe ackn ow l edged bu t
n ev erthel es s in corporated in tothe s cien tif ic theories itw as
origin al l ythou ghttocon tradict. In this w ays cien tis ts
con tin u e torel yon al readyim paired theories an d toin f er
s cien tif ic f act f rom them .
T he m an in the s treets u rel ybel iev es s u chs cien tif ic f acts
tobe as w el l -es tabl is hed, as w el l -prov en , as his ow n exis ten ce.
His certitu de is an il l u s ion . N oris the s cien tis thim s el f
19 7 6
~ P o We-1. 9 4> ~ are |' o~~ -~ o--if 1 a A--P ee a* 1> ~~- > l
im m u n e tothe s am e il l u s ion . In his praxis , he m u s t, af teral l ,
s u s pen d dis bel ief in ordertodoorthin k an ythin g atal l . He is
ratherl ike atheatergoer, w ho, in ordertoparticipate in an d
u n ders tan d w hatis happen in g on the s tage, m u s tf oratim e
preten d tohim s el f thathe is w itn es s in g real ev en ts . T he
s cien tis tm u s tbel iev e his w orkin g hypothes is , togetherw ith
its v as tu n derl yin g s tru ctu re of theories an d as s u m ption s ,
ev en if on l yf orthe s ake of the argu m en t. Of ten the
"argu m en t"exten ds ov erhis en tire l if etim e. Gradu al l yhe
becom es w hathe atf irs tm erel ypreten ded tobe: atru e
bel iev er. Ichoos e the w ord "argu m en t"thou ghtf u l l y, f or
s cien tif ic dem on s tration s , ev en m athem atical proof s , are
f u n dam en tal l yacts of pers u as ion .
Scien tif ic s tatem en ts can n ev erbe certain ; theycan be on l y
m ore orl es s credibl e. An d credibil ityis aterm in in div idu al
ps ychol ogy, i.e., aterm thathas m ean in g on l yw ithres pectto
an in div idu al obs erv er. T os aythats om e propos ition is
credibl e is , af teral l , tos aythatitis bel iev ed byan agen tw hois
f ree n ottobel iev e it, thatis , byan obs erv erw ho, af ter
exercis in g j u dgm en tan d ( pos s ibl y)in tu ition , choos es to
acceptthe propos ition as w orthyof his bel iev in g it. How then
can s cien ce, w hichits el f s u rel yan d u l tim atel yres ts on v as t
arrays of hu m an v al u e j u dgm en ts , dem on s trate thathu m an
v al u e j u dgm en ts are il l u s ory?Itcan n otdos ow ithou t
f orf eitin g its ow n s tatu s as the s in gl e l egitim ate pathto
u n ders tan din g m an an d his w orl d.
Bu tn om erel yl ogical argu m en t, n om atterhow cogen tor
el oqu en t, can u n dothis real ity:thats cien ce has becom e the
s ol e l egitim ate f orm of u n ders tan din g in the com m on
w is dom . Vif hen Is aythats cien ce has been gradu al l y
con v erted in toas l ow -actin g pois on , Im ean thatthe
attribu tion of certain tytos cien tif ic kn ow l edge bythe
com m on w is dom , an attribu tion n ow m ade s on earl y
u n iv ers al l ythatithas becom e acom m on s en s e dogm a, has
v irtu al l ydel egitim atized al l otherw ays of u n ders tan din g.
P eopl e v iew ed the arts , es pecial l yl iteratu re, as s ou rces of
in tel l ectu al n ou ris hm en tan d u n ders tan din g, bu ttodaythe
arts are perceiv ed l argel yas en tertain m en ts . T he an cien t
Greek an d Orien tal theaters , the Shakes pearian s tage, the
s tages peopl ed bythe Ibs en s an d Chekhov s n earertoou r
day thes e w ere s chool s . T he cu rricu l atheytau ghtw ere
v ehicl es f oru n ders tan din g the s ocieties theyrepres en ted.
T oday, al thou ghan occas ion al
Arthu rMil l erorEdw ard
Al bee s u rv iv es an d is
perm itted toteachon the
N ew Y ork orLon don s tage,
the peopl e hu n geron l yf or
w hatis repres en ted tothem
tobe s cien tif ical l yv al idated
kn ow l edge. T heys eek to
s atiate them s el v es ats u ch
s cien tif ic caf eterias as
P s ychol ogyT oday, oron
popu l arized v ers ion s of the
w orks of Mas ters a.n d
John s on , oron s cien tol ogyas 5
rev eal ed byL. R on Hu bbard.
Bel ief in the ration al ity-
l ogical ityequ ation has
corroded the prophetic pow er I
of l an gu age its el f . We can
P
1, s
2 4. Com pu terP ow er
an d Hu m an R eas on
I I S .
I. r~
the , F 1
;
.
1tn ei' ratti-Ettiat "* tl n a.1; eal ites : .- -
1Ii1s al s f i n s teaiiif of .iIl s a ,tI1ei
-1.... - . - -~ , I ,. . .
-
s i; rs -n @ ; c1en * n 1 tl r; ' -
.-.
. P
.
p
~
1
cou n t, bu tw e are rapidl yf orgettin g how tos ayw hatis
w orthcou n tin g an d w hy.
N otes
1. M. P ol an yi, T he T acitDim en s ion ( N ew Y ork: Dou bl eday, An chor
ed., 19 6 7 ), pp. 3-4.
2 . T his "con v ers ation "is extracted f rom J. Weizen bau m ,
"ELIZA -ACom pu terP rogram F orthe Stu dyof N atu ral Lan gu age
Com m u n ication Betw een Man an d Machin e,"Com m u n ication s of the
As s ociation f orCom pu tin g Machin ery, v ol . 9 , n o. 1 ( Jan u ary19 6 5),
pp. 36 -45. ,
3. K. M. Col by, J. B. Watt, an d J. P . Gil bert, ACom pu terMethod
of P s ychotherapy: P rel im in aryCom m u n ication ," T he Jou rn al of
N erv ou s an d Men tal Dis eas e, v ol . 142 , n o. 2 ( 19 6 6 ), pp. 148-152 .
4. Ibid.
5. T . Win ograd, P rocedu res as aR epres en tation f orDatain a
Com pu terP rogram f orU n ders tan din g N atu ral Lan gu age." P h.D.
dis s ertation s u bm itted tothe Dept. of Mathem atics ( M.I.T .),
Au gu s t2 4, 19 7 0.
6 . J. Weizen bau m , 19 7 2 .
7 . Hu bertL. Dreyf u s , WhatCom pu ters Can ' tD0( Harperan d R ow , 19 7 2 ).
8. Han n ahAren dt, Cris es of the R epu bl ic ( Harcou rtBrace
Jov an ov ich, Harv es tedition , 19 7 2 ), pp. 11 ets eq.
' 3 ' 1M ' Il F II-1W,_Q .I\I_qg; g_-1
I1
D
0I .|19 l ,7 - . 2 5. R es pon s iv e
En v iron m en ts
2 5. [ In trodu ction ]
R es pon s iv e En v iron m en ts
T hos e w hof orged n ew m ediahav e of ten s een them s el v es as s im u l tan eou s l ypu rs u in g artis tic an d
techn ol ogical goal s . T ed N el s on an d N ichol as N egropon te, f orin s tan ce, gain ed deeptechn ol ogical
in s ights f rom con s iderin g, res pectiv el y, the l iteraryarts an d architectu re, an d bothpres en ted w ork at
the 19 7 0Sof tw are exhibition ( 017 ). U n f ortu n atel y, the w ork of s u chin div idu al s has of ten been
accepted byon l yon e real m . In s om e cas es the u n ackn ow l edged s pl ithas on l ybeen rectif ied af terthe
rej ectin g cam phas re-in v en ted the others w heel in its ow n term s . Q
Myron Kru egerw as rej ected by, then recl aim ed by, the artcom m u n ityin this w ay. He has w orked "T f ; j ; .; o__; ; ,~; 1; ; , ; i ; ; ; ; ~f ,; __; _i; ; ,. ii; ~; ; ; @ , If "
an d w ritten prim aril yin areas cal l ed res pon s iv e en v iron m en ts an d artif icial real ity,"w hichin cl u de i.ij Ii2 11
( f rom Kru egers poin tof v iew )the v ariou s in v en tion s cal l ed v irtu al real ity. T he im portan ce of his -
techn ol ogical w ork has been appreciated f or30years w ithin com pu ters cien ce, w here he is of ten E I% _
cal l ed the f atherof v irtu al real ity."How ev er, his aes thetic con cern s an d his as s ertion that .f f ,
"R es pon s e is the m ediu m !" hav e n otf ou n d as com f ortabl e ahom e w ithin com pu ters cien ce. I;
F u rther, as Kris tin e Stil es w rites , as of 19 7 1 n oartdepartm en thad its ow n com pu ter, an d j j
com pu ters cien tis t-artis ts l ike Myron W. Kru eger. . . w ere al l bu tign ored in the v is u al arts ( 39 4).
Whil e s om e m ightargu e thatthis l ack of artw orl d atten tion w as rel ated toKru egers f ocu s on .
res pon s e ratherthan s al eabl e obj ects , itis cl earf rom others el ection s in this v ol u m e ( e.g., Al l an
Kaprow , 006 )thatthe artw orl d w as readytoem brace w ork thatf ocu s ed on res pon s e ratherthan I
the creation of appeal in g phys ical it.em s atl eas t, as l on g as itorigin ated w ithon e of theirow n . 1' -r
Com pu ters cien tis ts , in tu rn , hav e n otal w ays ackn ow l edged the im portan ce of artis tic con cern s in I. ; ~i?' i' l t' .l . l ' -_' ~.' <.I' -' l .I: 45; it
Kru egers w ork, orin otherw ork im portan ttohis area. In Artif icial R eal ityIIKru egerpoin ts ou tthat
bef ore the head-m ou n ted dis pl ay( in v en ted byIv an Su therl an d in 19 6 8)artif icial real ityw as bein g
expl ored in the con textof n ext gen eration f il m experim en ts s u chas Morton Heil igs Sen s oram a. In
19 7 6 , an ew in terf ace, the f irs tgl ov e tom on itorhan d m ov em en ts , w as dev el oped atthe El ectron ic
Vis u al ization Laboratory( EVL)atthe U n iv ers ityof Il l in ois atChicago( acol l aboration betw een the
Col l ege of En gin eerin g an d the School of Artan d Des ign ), w ithf u n din g f rom the N ation al
En dow m en tf orthe Arts . Bu tw hen 19 80s datagl ov e hype w as atits height, this f ou n din g w ork w as
l ittl e dis cu s s ed.
Kru egers as s ertion thatres pon s e is the m ediu m m ayal s obrin g tom in d otherw ritin gs abou tart
an d techn ol ogy, particu l arl ys u rrou n din g qu es tion s of in teractiv ityan d the f orm / con ten tdiv ide.
Kru egerreports bein g as ked of his w ork, Whatdoes itm ean ? On e is tem pted toin s ertR oyAs cotts
res pon s e toas im il arqu es tion abou ttel em atic art( f rom Is T here Lov e in the T el em atic Em brace?):
010
In atel em atic art, m ean in g is n otcreated bythe artis t, dis tribu ted throu ghthe n etw ork, an d
receiv ed bythe obs erv er. Mean in g is the produ ctof in teraction betw een the obs erv eran d the
s ys tem , the con ten tof w hichis in as tate of f l u x, of en dl es s chan ge an d tran s f orm ation . In this
con dition of u n certain tyan d in s tabil ity, n ots im pl ybecau s e of the cris s cros s in g in teraction s of
u s ers of the n etw ork bu tbecau s e con ten tis em bodied in datathatis its el f im m aterial , itis pu re
el ectron ic dif f eren ce, u n til ithas been recon s titu ted atthe in terf ace as im age, text, ors ou n d. T he
s en s oryou tpu tm aybe dif f eren tiated f u rtheras exis tin g on s creen , as articu l ated s tru ctu re or
m aterial , as architectu re, as en v iron m en t, orin v irtu al s pace.
' ,__' ._-D.-_< ~..* ._; ; ,-,> _a . ._ :_.; ' 1 _
.~ . -.-~-.-m y-.--...-_,~_\. -r - v ' ..
- "3. 1, .-; . ' __
.
. . . . . .
Kru egerw rote al on g s im il arl in es 1n his es s aybel ow : 1 ;
- .' _.; ,_' _,,, _; -
F orthe artis tthe en v iron m en tau gu rs n ew rel ation s hips w ithhis au dien ce an d his art. He operates ' 1 ' _.
atam etal ev el . T he participan tprov ides the directperf orm an ce of the experien ce. T he I.2 I I. .. -.7 , ,} -_ -'
2 5R es pon s iv e theN EWMEDIAR EADER
En v iron m en ts
en v iron m en tal hardw are is the in s tru m en t. T he com pu teracts m u chas an orches tracon du ctor
_con trol l in g the broad rel ation s hips w hil e the artis tprov ides the s core. . . .
On e pers pectiv e in Kru egers es s ayw as u n l ikel ytobe athom e in eitherthe artw orl d orthe
com pu ters cien ce w orl d of the 19 7 0s on e thatdem on s trates thathis res is tan ce totradition al
n otion s of con ten t did n otcom e f rom n ihil is m , l ack of ideas , orl ack of des ire toim pactthe cu l tu re
T he f in al paragraphs of his es s ayechothe cal l s f orl ayu n ders tan din g of techn ol ogyan d res is tan ce to
techn ol ogical determ in is m thatu n derl ie the 19 7 0s w ritin gs of R aym on d Wil l iam s ( 02 0). Kru eger
how ev er, pos es the s itu ation in al es s expl icitl ypol itical f as hion :
We are in credibl yattu n ed tothe ideathatthe s ol e pu rpos e of ou rtechn ol ogyis tos ol v e probl em s .
Ital s ocreates con cepts an d phil os ophy. We m u s tm ore f u l l yexpl ore thes e as pects of ou r
in v en tion s , becau s e the n extgen eration of techn ol ogyw il l s peak tou s . u n ders tan d u s , an d
perceiv e ou rbehav ior. Itw il l en terev eryhom e an d of f ice an d in tercede betw een u s an d m u chof
the in f orm ation an d experien ce w e receiv e. T he des ign of s u chin tim ate techn ol ogyis an aes thetic
is s u e as m u chas an en gin eerin g on e. We m u s trecogn ize this if w e are tou n ders tan d an d choos e
w hatw e becom e as ares u l tof w hatw e hav e m ade.
Whil e attim es as techn ophil ic as are thos e s tatem en ts criticized byLan gdon Win n er( 040),
Kru egers w ritin g s til l prov ides s om e good adv ice today. Y etitis n otadv ice of ten f ol l ow ed. It
con tin u es tobe v eryrare, bothin academ ic an d com m ercial s ettin gs , f orcom pu ters cien tis ts , artis ts ,
an d thos e w hos tu dycu l tu re toin teractm ean in gf u l l y. T he des ign of ou rtechn ol ogies is n ot
s im u l tan eou s l yapproached as aes thetics an d en gin eerin g. Acu rren ts tepin this direction is the
bu il din g dis cu s s ion arou n d critical techn ical practices ( CT P ). T his term w as coin ed byP hil Agre, on e of
the pion eers of reactiv e artif icial in tel l igen ce atMIT . ( An articl e byAgre on adif f eren ttopic appears
in this book ( 051)). CT P des cribes apractice thatm akes techn ol ogical artif acts ( com pu ters cien ce
an d en gin eerin g), bu tthatal s ow orks w ithin tradition s of the arts an d s tu dies of cu l tu re. T hes e
l atterpractices of f eras el f -ref l exiv e v iew totechn ol ogical produ ction on e thatcan hel pov ercom e
dev el opm en troadbl ocks thatare created byin v is ibl e an d poten tial l yu n hel pf u l as s u m ption s abou t
the n atu re of real ity as w el l as prov ide gu idan ce f orprodu cin g w ork thattakes ades ired pl ace
w ithin the l argercu l tu re, orev en prov ides s pecif ic m ean s f orin terv en tion w ithin the cu l tu re. T he
CT P dis cu s s ion has been grow in g, particu l arl yam on g you n gercom pu ters cien tis ts s u chas P hoebe
Sen gers , Michael Mateas , an d Warren Sack. Bu titcan al s obe s een as an u m brel l au n derw hichto
v iew des ign -orien ted w ork s u chas P el l e Ehn s ( 045)an d T erryWin ograds ( 037 ), the n ew s cien tis t
s ou ghtbyN orbertWien er( 004), an d ev en the w ork of artis ts s u chas Sim on P en n y. As CT P gain s
m om en tu m , perhaps an areaof n ew m ediaw il l be def in ed w hichin cl u des al l the el em en ts of
Kru egers w ork.
- N WF
_; i ___-4
19 7 .
0- . - al l ... 2 5, R e$p( )n 51\/ Q
Origin al P u bl ication
F rom AF IP S 46 N ation al Com pu terCon f eren ce P roceedin gs , 42 3-33.
Iiu n tv al e, N .3.' . AF IP S P res s , 19 7 7
R es pon s iv e
En v iron m en ts
Myron W. Kru eger
In trodu ction
Man -m achin e in teraction is u s u al l yl im ited toas eated m an
pokin g atam achin e w ithhis f in gers orperhaps w av in g a
w an d ov eradatatabl et. Sev en years ago, Iw as dis s atis f ied
w iths u chares tricted dial ogu e an d em barked on res earch
expl orin g m ore in teres tin g w ays f orm en an d m achin es to
rel ate. T he res u l tw as the con ceptof ares pon s iv e
en v iron m en tin w hichacom pu terperceiv es the action s of
thos e w hoen teran d res pon ds in tel l igen tl ythrou ghcom pl ex
v is u al an d au ditorydis pl ays .
Ov eraperiod of tim e the com pu ter' s dis pl ays es tabl is ha
con textw ithin w hichthe in teraction occu rs . Itis w ithin this
con textthatthe participan tchoos es his n extaction an d
an ticipates the en v iron m en ts res pon s e. l f the res pon s e is
u n expected, the en v iron m en thas chan ged the con textan d
the participan tm u s treexam in e his expectation s . T he
experien ce is con trol l ed byacom pos ition w hichan ticipates
the participan ts action s an d f l irts w ithhis expectation s .
T his paperdes cribes the ev ol u tion of thes e con cepts f rom
theirprim itiv e begin n in gs tom ycu rren tproj ect,
VIDEOP LACE, w hichprov ides agen eral tool f ordev is in g
m an yin teraction s . Bas ed on thes e exam pl es an in teractiv e
artf orm is def in ed an d its prom is e iden tif ied. Whil e the en v i-
ron m en ts des cribed w ere pres en ted w ithaes thetic in ten t,
theirim pl ication s gobeyon d art. In the f in al s ection ,
appl ication s in edu cation , ps ychol ogyan d ps ychotherapyare
s u gges ted.
GLOWF LOW
In 19 6 9 , Ibecam e in v ol v ed in the dev el opm en tof
GLOWF LOW, acom pu terartproj ectcon ceiv ed byDan
San din , JerryErdm an an d R ichard Ven ezs kyatthe
U n iv ers ityof Wis con s in . Itw as des ign ed in an atm os phere of
en cou n terbetw een artan d techn ol ogy. T he v iew eren tered a
En v iron m en ts
iT "T
___' "' ""j l : iI ,
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. ei:iT T i -:3. 1% .
iR
atI I
4 J-
l
gu re 7 .5.\. ( > \o\n t\o\n tu n es on qatkerv w att.
darken ed room in w hichgl ow in g l in es of l ightdef in ed an
il l u s orys pace ( F igu re 2 5.1). T he dis pl ayw as accom pl is hed by
pu m pin g phos phores cen tparticl es throu ghtran s paren t
tu bes attached tothe gal l eryw al l s . T hes e tu bes pas s ed,
throu ghopaqu e col u m n s con ceal in g l ights w hichexcited the
phos phors . Apres s u re s en s itiv e pad in f ron tof eachof the
s ixcol u m n s en abl ed the com pu tertores pon d tof oots teps by
l ightin g dif f eren ttu bes orchan gin g the s ou n ds gen erated by
aMoog s yn thes izerorthe origin of thes e s ou n ds . How ev er,
the artis ts attitu de tow ard the capacityf orres pon s e w as
am biv al en t. T heyf el tthatitw as im portan tthatthe
en v iron m en tres pon d, bu tn otthatthe au dien ce be aw are of
it. Del ays w ere in trodu ced betw een the detection of a
participan tan d the com pu ter' s res pon s e s othatthe
con tem pl ativ e m ood of the en v iron m en tw ou l d n otbe
des troyed byf ran tic attem pts toel icitm ore res pon s es .
Whil e GLOVVF LOWw as qu ite s u cces s f u l v is u al l y, it
s u cceeded m ore as akin etic s cu l ptu re than as ares pon s iv e
en v iron m en t. How ev er, the GLOWF LOWexperien ce l ed m e
toan u m berof decis ion s :
1. In teractiv e artis poten tial l yarichl ycom pos abl e
m ediu m qu ite dis tin ctf rom the con cern s of s cu l ptu re,
graphic artorm u s ic.
2 . In ordertores pon d in tel l igen tl ythe com pu ter
s hou l d perceiv e as m u chas pos s ibl e abou tthe
participan ts behav ior.
3. In ordertof ocu s on the rel ation s hips betw een the
en v iron m en tan d the participan ts , ratherthan am on g
participan ts , on l yas m al l n u m berof peopl e s hou l d be
in v ol v ed atatim e.
2 5. R es pon s iv e theN EWMEDIAR EADER
En v iron m en ts
4. T he participan ts s hou l d be aw are of how the
en v iron m en tis res pon din g tothem .
5. T he choice of s ou n d an d v is u al res pon s e s ys tem s
s hou l d be dictated bytheirabil itytocon v eyaw ide
v arietyof con ceptu al rel ation s hips .
6 . T he v is u al res pon s es s hou l d n otbe j u dged as art
n orthe s ou n ds as m u s ic. T he on l yaes thetic con cern
is the qu al ityof the in teraction . '
M ET AP LAY
F ol l ow in g the GLOWF LOWexperien ce, Icon ceiv ed an d
directed MET AP LAY w hichw as exhibited in the Mem orial
U n ion Gal l eryof the U n iv ers ityof Wis con s in f oram on thin
19 7 0. Itw as s u pported bythe N ation al Scien ce F ou n dation ,
the Com pu terScien ce Departm en t, the Gradu ate School an d
the l oan of aP DP 12 byDigital Equ ipm en tCorporation .
MET AP LAY S f ocu s ref l ected m yreaction s toGLOW-
of s im pl e draw in gs , the im age cou l d be m ov ed arou n d the
s creen , im age s ize cou l d be con trol l ed an d the pictu re cou l d
be repeated u ptoten tim es on the s creen dis pl aced by
v ariabl e X, Y an d s ize in crem en ts . Atail of af ixed n u m berof
l in e s egm en ts cou l d be draw n al l ow in g the rem ov al of a
s egm en taton e en d w hil e an otherw as added atthe oppos ite
en d. An im age cou l d be rotated in 3-s pace u n dercon trol of
the pen . Al thou ghthis w as n ottru e rotation , the v is u al ef f ect
w as s im il ar. As im pl e s etof tran s f orm ation s u n der
poten tiom eteran d tabl etcon trol yiel ded apparen tan im ation
of peopl e' s ou tl in es . F in al l y, prev iou s l ydef in ed im ages cou l d
be recal l ed orexpl oded Whil e itm ights eem thatthe
draw in g cou l d be don e w ithou tacom pu ter, the abil ityto
rapidl yeras e, recal l an d tran s f orm im ages requ ired
con s iderabl e proces s in g an d created af arm ore pow erf u l
m ean s of expres s ion than pen cil an d papercou l d prov ide.
In teraction
F LOW. In teraction betw een the participan ts an d the en v iron - T hes e f acil ities prov ided arichrepertoire f oran u n u s u al
m en tw as em phas ized; the com pu terw as u s ed tof acil itate a dial ogu e. T he artis tcou l d draw pictu res on the participan ts
u n iqu e real tim e rel ation s hipbetw een the artis tan d the
participan t. An 8' by10' rear proj ection v ideos creen
dom in ated the gal l ery. T he l iv e v ideoim age of the v iew eran d
acom pu tergraphic im age draw n byan artis t, w how as in
an otherbu il din g, w ere s u perim pos ed on this s creen . Boththe
v iew eran d the artis tcou l d res pon d tothe res u l tin g im age.
Hardw are
T he im age com m u n ication s ( F igu re 2 5.2 )s tarted w ithan
an al ogu e datatabl etw hichen abl ed the artis ttodraw or
w rite on the com pu ters creen . T he pers on doin g the draw in g
did n othav e tobe an artis t, bu tthe term is u s ed f or
con v en ien ce. On e v ideocam era, in the Com pu terCen ter, w as
aim ed atthe dis pl ays creen of the Adage Graphic Dis pl ay
Com pu ter. As econ d cam era, am il e aw ayin the gal l ery, picked
u pthe l iv e im age of peopl e in the room . Atel ev is ion cabl e
tran s m itted the v ideocom pu terim age f rom the Com pu ter
Cen tertothe gal l eryan d the tw os ign al s w ere m ixed s othatI5" 3 ie T _cl ~ * *
the com pu terim age ov erl ayed the l iv e im age. T he com pos ite
im age w as proj ected on the 8' X 10' s creen in the gal l eryan d
w as s im u l tan eou s l ytran s m itted back tothe Com pu ter
Cen terw here itw as dis pl ayed on av ideom on itorprov idin g
f eedback f orthe artis t.
T he artis tcou l d draw on the Adage s creen u s in g adata
tabl et. Byu s in g f u n ction s w itches , poten tiom eters an d the
tel etype keyboard the pictu res cou l d be rapidl ym odif ied or
the m ode of draw in g its el f al tered. In addition tothe ef f ects
j ?
gpil
V
En tran ce.
LM' * < "r
_- ' Y * r* * * " Q l r
Mixer I ca '
: .P au -kci9 w -<l s
.
V .
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Gal l l u y
A ' D( Si' G 4cn _= \.,.~L,Q 4
l iii
Y I= w ~u l ' \0~\
Q m w n rn K
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l .
t.___.__.. . ._.
F igu re 2 5.2 . Metapl aycom m u n ication s .
\
Ac....,....+~
Iii-u s
it- .0. I19 ? 2 5. R es pon s iv e
En v iron m en ts
im ages orcom m u n icate directl ybyw ritin g w ords on the
s creen ( F igu re 2 5.3). He cou l d in du ce peopl e topl ayagam e
l ike T ic-T ac-T oe orpl ayw iththe actof draw in g, s tartin g to
draw on e kin d of pictu re on l ytohav e ittran s f orm ed in to
an otherbyin terpol ation .
Liv e Graf f iti
On e in teraction deriv ed f rom the artis ts abil itytodraw on
the im age of the au dien ce. He cou l d add graf f iti-l ike f eatu res
oran im ate adraw n ou tl in e of apers on s othatitappeared to
dan ce tothe m u s ic in the gal l ery. T he artis ttried v ariou s
approaches toin v ol v e peopl e in the in teraction . F ail in g to
en gage on e pers on , he w ou l d s eek s om eon e m ore res pon s iv e.
Itw as im portan ttoin v ol v e the participan ts in the actof
draw in g. How ev er, the el ectron ic w an d des ign ed f orthis
pu rpos e did n otw ork rel iabl y. Whatev ol v ed w as a
s eren dipitou s s ol u tion . On e dayas Iw as tryin g todraw on a
s tu den t' s han d, he becam e con f u s ed an d m ov ed it. When I
eras ed m ys cribbl in gs an d s tarted ov er, he m ov ed his han d
again . He did this repeatedl yu n til itbecam e agam e. F in al l y,
itdegen erated tothe poin tw here Iw as s im pl ytrackin g the
im age of his han d w iththe com pu terl in e. In ef f ect, by
m ov in g his han d he cou l d draw on the s creen bef ore him .
T he rel ation s hipes tabl is hed w iththis participan t. w as
dev el oped as on e of the m aj orthem es of MET AP LAY . Itw as
repeated an d v aried u n til itbecam e an aes thetic m ediu m in
ites l f . Witheachpers on w e in v ol v ed in this w ay, w e tried to
pres erv e the pl eas u re of the origin al dis cov ery. Af terpl ayin g
s om e graf f itigam es w itheachgrou pthaten tered, w e w ou l d
f ocu s on as in gl e in div idu al an d draw arou n d the im age of his
han d. Af teran in itial reaction of bl an k bew il derm en t, the
s el f -con s ciou s pers on w ou l d m ake an erv ou s ges tu re. T he
com pu terl in e traced the ges tu re. As econ d ges tu re, f ol l ow ed
bythe l in e w as the keytodis cov ery. On e cou l d draw on the
v ideos creen w ithhis f in ger! Others in the grou p, obs erv in g
this phen om en on , w ou l d w an ttotryittoo. T he l in e cou l d be
pas s ed f rom on e pers on ' s f in gertoan others . Literal l y
hu n dreds of in teractiv e v ign ettes dev el oped w ithin this
s im pl e com m u n ication chan n el .
Draw in g bythis m ethod w as arou ghproces s . P ictu res of
an ybu tthe s im pl es ts hapes w ere u n attain abl e. T his w as
m ain l ybecau s e of the dif f icu l tyof trackin g apers on ' s f in ger.
Happil y, n eitherthe artis tn orthe au dien ce w ere con cern ed
abou tthe qu al ityof the draw in gs . Whatw as excitin g w as
in teractin g in this n ov el w aythrou gham an -com pu ter-v ideo
l in k s pan n in g am il e.
/
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g
as iv .
at. ' ' ' ' " __,,,_, __. __tr,
F igu re 2 5.3. Metapl aydraw in g.
P SY CHIC SP ACE
T he n exts tepin the ev ol u tion of the res pon s iv e
en v iron m en tw as P SY CHIC SP ACE, w hichIdes ign ed an d
exhibited in the Mem orial U n ion Gal l erydu rin g Mayan d
Ju n e of 19 7 1. Itw as im pl em en ted w iththe hel pof m y
s tu den ts , the Com pu terScien ce Departm en tan d aN ation al
Scien ce F ou n dation gran tin Com pl exIn f orm ation
P roces s in g.
P SY CHIC SP ACEw as bothan in s tru m en tf orm u s ical
expres s ion an d arichl ycom pos ed, in teractiv e, v is u al
experien ce. P articipan ts cou l d becom e in v ol v ed in as of ts hoe
du etw iththe en v iron m en t, ortheycou l d attem pttom atch
w its w iththe com pu terbyw al kin g an u n predictabl e m aze
proj ected on an 8' X 10' v ideos creen .
Hardw are
AP DP -11 had directcon trol of al l s en s in g an d s ou n d in the
gal l ery. In addition , itcom m u n icated w iththe Adage AGT -10
Graphic Dis pl ayCom pu teratthe Com pu terCen ter( F igu re
2 5.4). T he Adage im age w as tran s m itted ov erv ideocabl e to
the gal l eryw here itw as rear-proj ected on the 8' > < 10' s creen .
T he participan ts pos ition on the f l oorw as the bas is f oreach
2 5. R es pon s iv e
En v iron m en ts
Exit
+
I .
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5 I C T I
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re F or n . e~ ~+~
l l ____.______,T l .i~______' % ___l ____, * 7
I5 i"""."' h1~.* :' 5<v -\, l ; ,1_l _-,. g .
A Di\i' .Q
Sign l -Q of
F ri-i" H-I
F -' 1.,. " , -- i""__
I Iaos ii-io-in I
\"\ 9 :Q
ii-Mi. 1 Q -J.-atHam l
j 5 -s w w a
\ - < ' ?i3q" ____4. _Co-v ~n .| 0-
r \ ;
1...__--. .. - , , __,_, __;
F igu re 2 5.4. Dataan d v ideocom m u n ication f orps ychic s pace.
of the in teraction s . T he s en s in g w as don e bya16 ' X 2 4' grid
of pres s u re s w itches , con s tru cted in 2 ' X 4' m odu l es , each
con tain in g eights w itches ( F igu re 2 5.5). Sin ce theyw ere
el ectron ical l yin depen den t, the s ys tem w as abl e to
dis crim in ate am on g in div idu al s if s ev eral w ere pres en t. T his
in depen den ce m ade iteas yf orthe program m in g toign ore a
f au l tys w itchu n til its m odu l e w as repl aced orrepaired. Sin ce
there w ere 16 bits in the in pu tw ords of the P DP -11, itw as
n atu ral toread the 16 s w itches in eachrow acros s the room
in paral l el ( F igu re 2 5.6 ). Digital circu itryw as then u s ed to
s can the 2 4row s u n dercom pu tercon trol .
In pu tan d In teraction
Sin ce the goal w as toen cou rage the participan ts toexpres s
them s el v es throu ghthe en v iron m en t, the program
au tom atical l yres pon ded tothe f oots teps of peopl e en terin g
the room w ithel ectron ic s ou n d. We experim en ted w itha
n u m berof dif f eren ts chem es f oractu al l ygen eratin g the
s ou n ds bas ed on an an al ys is of peopl es f oots teps . In
s am pl in g the f l oor6 0tim es pers econ d w e dis cov ered thata
s in gl e f oots tepcon s is ted of as m an yas f ou rdis crete ev en ts :
l if tin g the heel , l if tin g the toe, pu ttin g the heel dow n an d
pu ttin g the bal l of the f ootdow n . T he f irs ttw ow ere du bbed
the u n f oots tep. We cou l d res pon d toeachf oots tepor
u n f oots tepas itoccu rred, orw e cou l d res pon d tothe pers on s
av erage pos ition . An u m berof res pon s e s chem es w ere tried,
theN EWMEDIAR EADER
bu tthe m os tpl eas in g w as tos tarteachton e on l yw hen a
n ew s w itchw as s tepped on an d then toterm in ate iton the
n extu n f oots tep. T hu s itw as pos s ibl e togets il en ce by
j u m pin g, orbyl if tin g on e f oot, orbypu ttin g bothf eeton the
s am e s w itch.
T ypical reaction tothe s ou n ds w as in s tan tu n ders tan din g,
f ol l ow ed byarapid-f ire s equ en ce of s teps , j u m ps an d rol l s .
T his phas e w as f ol l ow ed byas l ow erm ore thou ghtf u l
expl oration of the en v iron m en tin w hichm ore s u btl e an d
in teres tin g rel ation s hips cou l d be dev el oped. In the s econ d
phas e, the participan tw ou l d dis cov erthatthe room w as
organ ized w ithhighn otes aton e en d an d l ow n otes atthe
other. Af teraw hil e, the keyboard w as abru ptl yrotated by
9 0degrees .
Af teral on gerperiod of tim e an addition al f eatu re cam e
in topl ay. If the com pu terdis cov ered thatapers on ' s behav ior
w as characterized byas horts eries of s teps pu n ctu ated by
rel ativ el yl on g pau s es , itw ou l d u s e the pau s e toes tabl is ha
n ew kin d of rel ation s hip. T he s equ en ce of s teps w as
res pon ded tow ithas eries of n otes as bef ore; how ev er,
du rin g the pau s e the com pu terw ou l d repeatthes e n otes
again . If the pers on rem ain ed s til l du rin g the pau s e, the
com pu teras s u m ed thatthe rel ation s hipw as u n ders tood.
T he n exts equ en ce of s teps w as echoed atan oticeabl yhigher
pitch. Su bs equ en ts equ en ces w ere repeated s ev eral tim es
w ithv ariation s eachtim e. T his in teraction w as experim en tal
an d extrem el ydif f icu l t. toin trodu ce cl earl yw ithf eedback
al on e, i.e., w ithou texpl icitin s tru ction s . T he des ire w as f ora
m an -m achin e dial ogu e res em bl in g the gu itardu el in the f il m
Del iv eran ce
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F igu re 2 5.5. F l oorin g s en s in g m odu l es in ps ychic s pace.
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F igu re 2 5.6 . P articipan ts f eetare s een bythe com pu teras on es
in a el d of zeroes .
Maze ACom pos ed En v iron m en t
T he m aze program f ocu s ed on the in teraction betw een on e
in div idu al an d the en v iron m en t. T he participan tw as l u red
in toattem ptin g ton av igate aproj ected m aze. T he in trigu e
deriv ed f rom the m azes res pon s es , acaref u l l ycom pos ed
s equ en ce of rel ation s des ign ed tocon s titu te au n iqu e an d
coheren texperien ce.
Hardw are
T he m aze its el f w as n otprogram m ed on the P DP -11, bu ton
the Adage l ocated am il e aw ayin the Com pu terCen ter. T he
P DP -11 tran s m itted the participan ts f l oorcoordin ates acros s
an au diocabl e tothe Adage. T he dataw as tran s m itted
as yn chron ou s l yas as erial bits tream of v aryin g pu l s e w idths .
T he Adage gen erated the m aze im age w hichw as picked u p
byaT V cam eraan d tran s m itted v iaav ideocabl e back tothe
U n ion w here itw as rear-s creen proj ected toas ize of 8' X 10' .
In teraction
T he f irs tprobl em w as s im pl ytoedu cate the pers on tothe
rel ation s hips betw een the f l ooran d the s creen . In itial l y, a
diam on d w ithacros s in itrepres en tin g the pers on ' s pos ition
appeared on the s creen . P hys ical m ov em en tin the room
cau s ed the s ym bol tom ov e corres pon din gl yon the s creen . As
the participan tapproached the s creen , the s ym bol m ov ed u p.
En v iron m en ts
As he m ov ed aw ay, itm ov ed dow n . T he n exts tepw as to
in du ce the pers on tom ov e tothe s tartin g poin tof the m aze,
w hichhad n otyetappeared on the s creen ( F igu re 2 5.7 ). T o
this en d, an otherobj ectw as pl aced on the s creen atthe
pos ition w hichw ou l d be the s tartin g poin tof the m aze. T he
v iew eru n av oidabl yw on dered w hatw ou l d happen if he
w al ked his s ym bol tothe obj ect. T he arriv al of his s ym bol at
the s tartin g poin tcau s ed the obj ecttov an is han d the m aze
toappear. T hu s con f ron ted w iththe m aze, n oon e
qu es tion ed the in ev itabil ityof w al kin g it.
Sof tw are Bou n daries
Sin ce there w as n ophys ical con s train ts in the gal l ery, the
bou n daries of the m aze had tobe en f orced bythe com pu ter.
Eachattem pttov iol ate abou n daryw as f oil ed byon e of
m an yres pon s es in the com pu ter' s repertoire. T he com pu ter
cou l d m ov e the l in e, s tretchitel as tical l y, orm ov e the w hol e
m aze. T he l in e cou l d dis appear, s eem in gl yrem ov in g the
barrier, exceptthatthe res tof the m aze w ou l d chan ge
s im u l tan eou s l ys on oadv an tage w as gain ed. In addition , the
s ym bol repres en tin g the pers on cou l d s pl itin hal f atthe
v iol ated bou n dary, w ithon e hal f hel d s tation aryw hil e the
otherhal f , the al terego, con tin u ed totrack m ov em en t.
How ev er, n oprogres s cou l d be m ade u n til the hal v es of the
s ym bol w ere reu n ited atthe v iol ated bou n dary.
Ev en w hen the participan tw as m ov in g l egal l y, there w ere
chan ges in the program cpn tin gen tu pon his pos ition . Sev eral
tim es , as the goal w as approached, the m aze chan ged to
thw artim m ediate s u cces s . Or, the rel ation s hipbetw een the
f l ooran d the m aze w as al tered s othatm ov em en ts thaton ce
res u l ted in v ertical m otion , n ow res u l ted in horizon tal
m otion . Al tern ativ el y, the s ym bol repres en tin g the
participan tcou l d rem ain s tation aryw hil e the m aze m ov ed.
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F igu re 2 5.7 . Com pos ed en v iron m en t-m aze.
2 5. R es pon s iv e
En v iron m en ts
U l tim atel y, s u cces s w as n otal l ow ed. When reachin g the
goal s eem ed im m in en t, addition al bou n daries appeared in
f ron tof an d behin d the s ym bol , boxin g itin . Atthis poin t,
the m aze s l ow l ys hran k ton othin g. Whil e the goal cou l d n ot
be reached, the com pos ed f ru s tration m ade the rou te
in teres tin g.
Experien ce
T he m aze experien ce con v eyed au n iqu e s etof f eel in gs . T he
v ideodis pl ays pace created as en s e of detachm en ten han ced
bythe dis pl aced f eedback; m ov em en ton the horizon tal pl an e
of the f l oortran s l ated on tothe v ertical pl an e of the s creen .
T he popu l ars tereotype of dehu m an izin g techn ol ogys eem ed
f u l f il l ed. How ev er, the m aze ideaw as en gagin g an d peopl e
becam e in v ol v ed w il l in gl y. T he l ack of an yothers en s ation
f ocu s ed atten tion com pl etel yon this in teraction . As the
experien ce progres s ed, theirperception of the m aze chan ged.
F rom the in itial im pres s ion thatitw as aprobl em tos ol v e,
theym ov ed tothe real ization thatthe m aze w as av ehicl e f or
w him s y, pl ayin g w iththe con ceptof am aze an d pokin g f u n
attheircom pu l s ion tow al k it.
VIDEOP LACE -
F orthe pas ttw oyears Ihav e been w orkin g on aproj ect
cal l ed VIDEOP LACE, u n derthe aegis of the Space Scien ce
an d En gin eerin g Cen terof the U n iv ers ityof Wis con s in .
T his w ork is f u n ded bythe N ation al En dow m en tf orthe
Arts an d the Wis con s in Arts Board. Aprel im in aryv ers ion
w as exhibited atthe Mil w au kee ArtCen terf ors ixw eeks
begin n in g in October19 7 5. T he dev el opm en tof VIDEO-
P LACEis s til l u n derw ayan d s ev eral m ore years w il l be
requ ired bef ore its poten tial is f u l l yreal ized bothin term s
of im pl em en tin g the en abl in g hardw are an d expl orin g its
com pos ition al pos s ibil ities .
VIDEOP LACEis acon ceptu al en v iron m en tw ithn o
phys ical exis ten ce. Itu n ites peopl e in s eparate l ocation s in a
com m on v is u al experien ce, al l ow in g them toin teractin
u n expected w ays throu ghthe v ideom ediu m . T he term
VIDEOP LACEis bas ed on the prem is e thatthe actof
com m u n ication creates apl ace thatcon s is ts of al l the
in f orm ation thatthe participan ts s hare atthatm om en t.
When peopl e are in the s am e room , the phys ical an d
com m u n ication pl aces are the s am e. When the
com m u n ican ts are s eparated bydis tan ce, as in atel ephon e
con v ers ation , there is s til l as en s e of bein g togetheral thou gh
theN EWMEDIAR EADER
s ightan d tou chare n otpos s ibl e. Byu s in g tel ev is ion in s tead
of tel ephon e, VIDEOP LACEs eeks toau gm en tthis s en s e of
pl ace byin cl u din g v is ion , phys ical dim en s ion an d an ew
in terpretation of tou ch.
VIDEOP LACEcon s is ts of tw oorm ore iden tical
en v iron m en ts w hichcan be adj acen torhu n dreds of m il es
apart. In eachen v iron m en t, as in gl e pers on w al ks in toa
darken ed room w here he f in ds him s el f con f ron ted byan 8' X
10' rear v iew proj ection s creen . On the s creen he s ees his
ow n l if e s ize im age an d the im age of on e orm ore other
peopl e. T his is s u rpris in g in its el f , s in ce he is al on e in the
room ( F igu re 2 5.8). T he otherim ages are of peopl e in the
otheren v iron m en ts . T heys ee the s am e com pos ite im age on
theirs creen s . T he v is u al ef f ectis of s ev eral peopl e in the
s am e room . m ov in g arou n d theirres pectiv e room s , thu s
m ov in g theirim ages , the participan ts can in teractw ithin the
l im itation s of the v ideom ediu m .
Itis thes e apparen tl im itation s thatl am cu rren tl y
w orkin g toov ercom e. When peopl e are phys ical l ytogether,
theycan tal k, m ov e arou n d the s am e s pace, m an ipu l ate the
s am e obj ects an d tou cheachother. Al l of thes e action s w ou l d
appeartobe im pos s ibl e w ithin the VIDEOP LACE. How ev er,
the oppos ite is tru e. T he v ideom ediu m has the poten tial of
bein g m ore richan d v ariabl e in s om e w ays , than real ityits el f .
Itw ou l d be eas ytoal l ow the participan ts total k, al thou gh
Iu s u al l yprecl u de this , tof orce peopl e tof ocu s on the l es s
f am il iarkin ds of in teraction thatthe v ideom ediu m prov ides .
As en s e of dim en s ion can be created w iththe hel pof
com pu tergraphics , w hichcan def in e aroom oran other
s patial con textw ithin w hichthe participan ts appeartom ov e
arou n d. Graphics can al s of u rn is hthis s pace w ithartif icial
obj ects an d in habititw ithim agin aryorgan is m s . T he s en s e
of tou chw ou l d s eem tobe im pos s ibl e todu pl icate. How ev er,
s in ce the cam eras s ee eachpers on s im age in con tras ttoa
n eu tral backgrou n d, itis eas ytodigitize the ou tl in e an d to
determ in e its orien tation on the s creen ( F igu re 2 5.9 ). Itis
al s oeas ytotel l if on e pers on s im age tou ches an others , orif
s om eon e tou ches acom pu tergraphic obj ect. Giv en this
in f orm ation the com pu tercan m ake the s en s e of tou ch
ef f ectiv e. Itcan cu rren tl yres pon d w iths ou n ds w hen tw o
im ages tou chan d w il l u l tim atel yal l ow apers on s im age to
pick u pagraphic obj ectan d m ov e itabou tthe s creen .
Whil e the participan ts bodies are bou n d byphys ical l aw s
s u chas grav ity, theirim ages cou l d be m ov ed arou n d the
.- 1 7 *
/ /
F igu re 2 5.8. Videopl ace.
s creen , s hru n k, rotated, col orized an d keyed togetherin
arbitraryw ays . T hu s , the f u l l pow erof v ideoproces s in g
cou l d be u s ed tom ediate the in teraction an d the u s u al l aw s
of cau s e an d ef f ectrepl aced w ithal tern ativ es com pos ed by
the artis t.
T he im pactof the experien ce w il l deriv e f rom the f actthat
eachpers on has av eryproprietaryf eel in g tow ards his ow n
im age. Whathappen s tohis im age happen s tohim . In f act,
w hen on e pers on s im age ov erl aps an others , there is a
ps ychol ogical s en s ation akin totou ch. In VIDEOP LACE, this
s en s ation can be en han ced in an u m berof w ays . On e im age can
occl u de the other. Bothim ages can dis appearw here they
in ters ect. Bothim ages can dis appearexceptw here they
in ters ect. T he in ters ection of tw oim ages can be u s ed tof orm a
w in dow in toan others cen e s otw oparticipan ts hav e to
cooperate tos ee athird.
VIDEOP LACEn eed n otin v ol v e m ore than on e participan t.
Itis qu ite pos s ibl e tocreate acom pel l in g experien ce f oron e
pers on byproj ectin g him in tothis im agin arydom ain al on e.
In f actthe hardw are/ s of tw are s ys tem u n derl yin g
VIDEOP LACEis n otcon ceiv ed as as in gl e w ork bu tas a
gen eral f acil ityf orexpl orin g al l the pos s ibil ities of the
m ediu m tobe des cribed n ext.
,,____a___.._ ,_....---_,,-.-- _O 2 5, R es pon giv e
En v iron m en ts
~ I pm -= ' ' * I
F igu re 2 5.9 . T he v ideoou tl in e s en s or.
R es pon s e Is "the Mediu m
T he en v iron m en ts des cribed s u gges tan ew artm ediu m
bas ed on acom m itm en ttoreal -tim e in teraction betw een
m en an d m achin es . T he m ediu m is com pris ed of s en s in g,
dis pl ayan d con trol s ys tem s . Itaccepts in pu ts f rom orabou t
the participan tan d then ou tpu ts in aw ayhe can recogn ize
as corres pon din g tohis behav ior. T he rel ation s hipbetw een
in pu ts an d ou tpu ts is arbitraryan d v ariabl e, al l ow in g the
artis ttoin terv en e betw een the participan ts action an d the
res u l ts perceiv ed. T hu s , f orexam pl e, the participan ts phys ical
m ov em en tcan cau s e s ou n ds orhis v oice can be u s ed to
n av igate acom pu terdef in ed v is u al s pace. Itis the
com pos ition of thes e rel ation s hips betw een action an d
res pon s e thatis im portan t. T he beau tyof the v is u al an d
au ral res pon s e is s econ dary. R es pon s e is the m ediu m !
T he dis tin gu is hin g as pectof the m ediu m is , of cou rs e, the
f actthatitres pon ds tothe v iew erin an in teres tin g w ay. In
ordertodothis , itm u s tkn ow as m u chas pos s ibl e abou t
w hatthe participan tis doin g. Itcan n otres pon d in tel l igen tl y
if itis u n abl e todis tin gu is hv ariou s kin ds of behav ioras
theyoccu r.
T he en v iron m en tm ightbe abl e tores pon d tothe
participan ts pos ition , v oice v ol u m e orpitch, pos ition rel ativ e
2 5. R es pon s iv e
En v iron m en ts
topriorpos ition orthe tim e el aps ed s in ce the l as t
m ov em en t. Itcou l d al s ores pon d toev erythird m ov em en t,
the rate of m ov em en t, pos tu re, height, col ors of cl othin g or
tim e el aps ed s in ce the pers on en tered the room . If there w ere
s ev eral peopl e in the room , itm ightres pon d tothe dis tan ce
s eparatin g them , the av erage of theirpos ition s orthe
com pu ters abil itytores ol v e them , i.e., res pon d dif f eren tl y
w hen theyare v erycl os e together. i
In m ore com pl exin teraction s l ike the m aze, the com pu ter
can create acon textw ithin w hichthe in teraction occu rs .
T his con textis an artif icial real ityw ithin w hichthe artis thas
com pl ete con trol of the l aw s of cau s e an d ef f ect. T hu s the
action s perceiv ed bythe hardw are s en s ors are tes ted f or
s ign if ican ce w ithin the cu rren tcon text. T he com pu teras ks if
the pers on has cros s ed the bou n daryin the m aze orhas
tou ched the im age of aparticu l arobj ect. Atahigherl ev el the
m achin e can l earn abou tthe in div idu al an d j u dge f rom its
pas texperien ce w iths im il arin div idu al s j u s tw hichres pon s es
w ou l d be m os tef f ectiv e.
Cu rren tl y, thes e s ys tem s are con s train ed bythe total
in abil ityof the com pu tertom ake certain v eryu s ef u l an d f or
the hu m an , v erys im pl e perceptu al j u dgm en ts , s u chas
w hetheragiv en in div idu al is am an oraw om an oris you n g
orol d T he perceptu al s ys tem w il l def in e the l im its of
m ean in gf u l in teraction , f orthe en v iron m en tcan n otres pon d
tow hatitcan n otperceiv e. T odate the s en s in g s ys tem s hav e
in cl u ded pres s u re pads , u l tras on ics an d v ideodigitizin g.
As m en tion ed bef ore, the actu al m ean s of ou tpu tare n ot
as im portan tin this m ediu m as theyw ou l d be if the f orm
w ere con ceiv ed as s ol el yv is u al orau ditory. In f act, itm aybe
des irabl e thatthe ou tpu tn otqu al if yas beau tif u l in an y
s en s e, f orthatw ou l d dis tractf rom the cen tral them e:the
rel ation s hipes tabl is hed betw een the obs erv eran d the
en v iron m en t. Artis ts are f u l l ycapabl e of produ cin g ef f ectiv e
dis pl ays in an u m berof m edia. T his f actis w el l kn ow n an d to
du pl icate itprodu ces n othin g n ew . Whatis n otkn ow n an d
rem ain s tobe tes ted is the v al idityof ares pon s iv e aes thetic.
Itis n eces s arythatthe ou tpu tm ediabe capabl e of
dis pl ayin g in tel l igen t, oratl eas tcom pos ed reaction s , s othat
the participan tkn ow s w hichof his action s prov oked itan d
w hatthe rel ation s hipof the res pon s e is tohis action . T he
pu rpos e of the dis pl ays is tocom m u n icate the rel ation s hips
thatthe en v iron m en tis tryin g toes tabl is h. T heym u s tbe
capabl e of greatv ariation an d f in e con trol . T he res pon s e can
be expres s ed in l ight, s ou n d m echan ical m ov em en t, or
theN EWMEDIAR EADER
throu ghan ym ean s thatcan be perceiv ed. Sof arcom pu ter
graphics , v ideogen erators , l ightarrays an d s ou n d
s yn thes izers hav e been u s ed.
Con trol an d Com pos ition
T he con trol s ys tem in cl u des hardw are an d s of tw are con trol
of al l in pu ts an d ou tpu ts as w el l as proces s in g f ordecis ion s
thatare program m ed bythe artis t. He m u s tbal an ce his
des ire f orin teres tin g rel ation s hips again s tthe com m itm en t
tores pon d in real tim e. T he s im pl es tres pon s es are l ittl e
m ore than directf eedback of the participan ts behav ior,
al l ow in g the en v iron m en ttos how of f its perceptu al s ys tem .
Bu tf arm ore s ophis ticated res u l ts are pos s ibl e. In f act, a
giv en aggregation of hardw are s en s ors , dis pl ays an d
proces s ors can be v iew ed as an in s tru m en tw hichcan be
program m ed byartis ts w ithdif f erin g s en s itiv ities tocreate
com pl etel ydif f eren texperien ces . T he en v iron m en tcan be
thou ghtof in the f ol l ow in g w ays :
1. An en tityw hichen gages the participan tin a
dial ogu e. T he en v iron m en texpres s es its el f throu gh
l ightan d s ou n d w hil e the participan tcom m u n icates
w ithphys ical m otion . Sin ce the experien ce is an
en cou n terbetw een in div idu al s , itm ightl egitim atel y
in cl u de greetin gs , in trodu ction s an d f arew el l s al l in
an abs tractratherthan l iteral w ay. T he probl em is to
prov ide an in teres tin g pers on al ityf orthe
en v iron m en t.
2 . Apers on al am pl if ier. On e in div idu al u s es the
en v iron m en ttoen han ce his abil itytoin teractw ith
thos e w ithin it. T othe participan ts the in teraction
m ightappears im il artothatdes cribed abov e. T he
res u l tw ou l d be l im ited bythe s peed of the artis ts
res pon s e bu tim prov ed byhis s en s itiv itytothe
participan ts m oods . T he l iv e draw in g in teraction in
MET AP LAY cou l d be con s idered an exam pl e of this
approach.
3. An en v iron m en tw hichhas s u b-en v iron m en ts w ith
dif f eren tres pon s e rel ation s hips . T his s pace cou l d be
in habited byartif icial organ is m s def in ed either
v is u al l yorw iths ou n d. T hes e creatu res can in teract
w iththe participan ts as theym ov e abou tthe room .
4An am pl if ierof phys ical pos ition in areal or
artif icial l ygen erated s pace. Mov em en ts arou n d the
en v iron m en tw ou l d res u l tin m u chl argerapparen t
m ov em en ts in the v is u al l yrepres en ted s pace. A
graphic dis pl aycom pu tercan be u s ed togen erate a
0.- -1- - ~o -- a |19 L7 + 2 5. R es pon s iv e
En v iron m en ts
pers pectiv e v iew of am odel l ed s pace as itw ou l d
appearif the participan tw ere w ithin it. Mov em en ts in
the room w ou l d res u l tin chan ges in the dis pl ay, s o
thatbym ov in g on l yf iv e f eetw ithin the en v iron m en t,
the participan tw ou l d appeartohav e m ov ed f if tyf eet
in the dis pl ay. T he ru l es of the m odel l ed s pace can be
total l yarbitraryan d phys ical l yim pos s ibl e, e.g; as pace
w here obj ects recede w hen you approachthem .
5. An in s tru m en tw hichthe participan ts pl ayby
m ov in g abou tthe s pace. In P SY CHIC SP ACEthe f l oor
w as u s ed as akeyboard f oras im pl e m u s ical
in s tru m en t.
6 . Am ean s of tu rn in g the participan ts bodyin toan
in s tru m en t. His phys ical pos tu re w ou l d be determ in ed
f rom adigitized v ideoim age an d the orien tation of
the l im bs w ou l d be u s ed tocon trol l ights an d s ou n ds .
7 . Agam e betw een the com pu teran d the participan t.
T his v ariation is real l yaf arm ore in v ol v in g exten s ion
of the pin bal l m achin e, al readythe m os tcom m ercial l y
s u cces s f u l in teractiv e en v iron m en t.
8. An experim en tal parabl e w here the them e is
il l u s trated bythe thin gs thathappen tothe
protagon is t the participan t. View ed f rom this
pers pectiv e, the m aze in P SY CHIC SP ACEbecom es
pregn an tw ithm ean in g. Itw as im pos s ibl e tos u cceed,
tos ol v e the m aze. T his cou l d be af ru s tratin g
experien ce if on e w ere tryin g toreachthe goal . If , on
the otherhan d, the participan tm ain tain ed an activ e
cu rios ityabou thow the m aze w ou l d thw arthim n ext,
the experien ce w as en tertain in g. Su chpoetic
com pos ition of experien ce is on e of the m os t
prom is in g l in es of dev el opm en ttobe pu rs u ed w iththe
en v iron m en ts .
Im pl ication s of the ArtF orm
F orthe artis tthe en v iron m en tau gu rs n ew rel ation s hips w ith
his au dien ce an d his art. He operates atam etal ev el . T he
participan tprov ides the directperf orm an ce of the experien ce.
T he en v iron m en tal hardw are is the in s tru m en t. T he
com pu teracts m u chas an orches tracon du ctorcon trol l in g the
broad rel ation s hips w hil e the artis tprov ides the s core to
w hichbothperf orm eran d con du ctorare bou n d. T his
rel ation s hipm aybe af am il iaron e f orthe m u s ical com pos er,
al thou ghev en he is accu s tom ed tobein g abl e torecogn ize on e
of his pieces , n om atterw hois in terpretin g it. Bu tthe artis ts
res pon s ibil ities here becom e ev en broaderthan thos e of a
com pos erw hotypical l ydef in es adetail ed s equ en ce of ev en ts .
He is com pos in g as equ en ce of pos s ibil ities , m an yof w hich
w il l n otbe real ized f oran ygiv en participan tw hof ail s totake
the particu l arpathal on g w hichtheyl ie.
Sin ce the artis tis n otdedicated tothe ideathathis en tire
piece be experien ced he can deal w ithcon tin gen cies . He can
trydif f eren tapproaches , dif f eren tw ays of tryin g toel icit
participation . He can take in toaccou n tthe dif f eren ces am on g
peopl e. In the pas t, arthas of ten been aon e-s hot, hit or-m is s
propos ition . Apain tin g cou l d acceptan yatten tion paid it, bu t
cou l d dol ittl e tom ain tain in teres ton ce ithad s tarted to
w an e. In an en v iron m en tthe l os s of atten tion can be s en s ed
as apers on w al ks aw ay. T he m ediu m can trytoregain
atten tion an d u pon f ail u re, tryagain . T he piece has as econ d
s trike capabil ity. In f actitcan l earn toim prov e its
perf orm an ce, res pon din g n oton l ytothe m om en tbu tal s oto
the en tire his toryof its experien ce.
In the en v iron m en t, the participan tis con f ron ted w itha
com pl etel yn ew kin d of experien ce. He is s tripped of his
in f orm ed expectation s an d f orced todeal w iththe m om en tin
its ow n term s . He is activ el yin v ol v ed, dis cov erin g thathis
l im bs hav e been giv en n ew m ean in g an d thathe can expres s
him s el f in n ew w ays . He does n ots im pl yadm ire the w ork of
the artis t; he s hares in its creation . T he experien ce he achiev es
w il l be u n iqu e tohis m ov em en ts an d m aygobeyon d the
in ten tion s of the artis torhis u n ders tan din g of the
pos s ibil ities of the piece.
F in al l y, in an excitin g an d f righten in g w ay, the
en v iron m en ts dram atize the exten ttow hichw e are s av ages
in aw orl d of ou row n creation . T he l aym an has extrem el y
l ittl e abil itytodef in e the l im its of w hatis pos s ibl e w ith
cu rren ttechn ol ogyan d s ow il l acceptal l s orts of cu es as
repres en tin g rel ation s hips w hichin f actdon otexis t. T he
con s tan tbirthof s u chs u pers tition s in dicates how m u chw e
hav e al readyaccom pl is hed in m as terin g ou rn atu ral
en v iron m en tan d how dif f icu l tthe in itial dis cov eries m u s t
hav e been . ~
Appl ication s
T he res pon s iv e en v iron m en tis n otl im ited toaes thetic
expres s ion . Itis apoten ttool w ithappl ication s in m an yf iel ds .
VIDEOP LACEcl earl ygen eral izes the actof tel ecom m u n ica-
tion . Itcreates af orm of com m u n ication s opow erf u l thattw o
peopl e m ightchoos e tom eetv is u al l y, ev en if itw ere pos s ibl e
f orthem tom eetphys ical l y. Whil e itis n otim m ediatel y
obv iou s thatVIDEOP LACEis the optim u m m ean s of
88
2 5. R es pon s iv e
En v iron m en ts
tel ecom m u n ication , itis reas on abl yf airtos aythatitprov ides
an in f in itel yricherin teraction than P ictu rephon e al l ow s . It
broaden s the ran ge of pos s ibil ities beyon d cu rren tef f orts at
tel econ f eren cin g. Ev en in its f etal s tage, VIDEOP LACEis f ar
m ore f l exibl e than the tel ephon e is af teron e hu n dred years of
dev el opm en t. Atatim e w hen the cos tof tran s portation is
in creas in g an d f iberoptics prom is e toredu ce the cos tof
com m u n ication , its eem s appropriate tores earchthe actof
com m u n ication in an in tu itiv e s en s e as w el l as in the s trictl y
s cien tif ic an d probl em -s ol v in g approaches thatprev ail today.
Edu cation
R es pon s iv e en v iron m en ts hav e trem en dou s poten tial f or
edu cation . Ou ren tire edu cation al s ys tem is bas ed on the
as s w n ption thatthirtychil dren w il l s its til l in the s am e room
f ors ixhou rs adayan d l earn . T his phen om en on has n ev er
been obs erv ed in n atu re an d its the exception in the
cl as s room w here teachers are pitted again s tchil dren s n atu ral
des ire tobe activ e. T he res pon s iv e en v iron m en ts of f era
l earn in g s itu ation in w hichphys ical activ ityis en cou raged. It
is partof the proces s . An en v iron m en tl ike VIDEOP LACEhas
an addition al adv an tage. Itgiv es the chil dal if e-s ize phys ical l y
iden tical al teregow hotakes partin com pos ed l earn in g
adv en tu res on the v ideos creen . In af u l l ydev el oped
VIDEOP LACEthe s ize an d pos ition of the chil ds im age on
the s creen w ou l d be in depen den tof actu al l ocation in the
room . In an in teractiv e Ses am e Streetachil d w ou l d be
m es m erized as his ow n m in iatu rized im age w as picked u pby
agian tBig Bird ( F igu re 2 5.10). Con v ers el yhe w ou l d be
del ighted if the s cal es w ere rev ers ed an d he w ere abl e topick
u pthe im age of atin yadu l tteacherw hos poke tohim f rom
his han d. T he m os tov erw orked edu cation al cl iche,
experien ce is the bes tteacher,"w ou l d hav e n ew m ean in g in
this con text. T he en v iron m en ts prov ide an experien ce w hich
can be com pos ed an d con den s ed todem on s trate an
edu cation al poin t.
Whil e itis eas ytogen erate exam pl es of how the
en v iron m en ts can be u s ed toteachtradition al s u bj ects , their
s ign if ican ce does n otl ie on l yin theirabil itytoau tom ate
tradition al teachin g. More im portan t, theym ayrev ol u tion ize
w hatw e teachas w el l as how w e teach. Sin ce the
en v iron m en ts can def in e in teres tin g rel ation s hips an d
chan ge them in com pl exw ays , its hou l d be pos s ibl e tocreate
in teraction s w hichen richthe chil ds con ceptu al experien ce.
theN EWMEDIAR EADER
I T i" iT i
l r
p l if t
I W.
pl / u
F igu re 2 5.10. In teractiv e Ses am e Street.
T his w ou l d prov ide the chil d w ithm ore pow erf u l in tel l ectu al
s tru ctu res w ithin w hichtoorgan ize the s pecif ic in f orm ation
he w il l acqu ire l ater. T he goal w ou l d be tos ophis ticate the
chil d, n ottof eed him f acts .
P s ychol ogy
Sin ce the en v iron m en ts can m on itorthe participan ts action s
an d res pon d w ithv is u al an d au ditoryf eedback, itis n atu ral to
con s idertheirappl ication tothe s tu dyof hu m an behav ior.
T he u s e of the com pu teral l ow s an experim en tertogen erate
pattern s an d rhythm s of s tim u l ian d rein f orcers . In addition ,
the abil itytodeal w ithgros s phys ical behav iorw ou l d s u gges t
n ew experim en tal direction s . F orin s tan ce, perception cou l d
be s tu died as partof phys ical behav ioran d n otas as eden tary
activ itydis tin ctf rom it. Al s o, an en v iron m en tl ike
VIDEOP LACEis v erygen eral . T he s am e aggregate of
hardw are an d s of tw are cou l d be program m ed tocon trol a
broad ran ge of experim en ts . T he s chedu l in g of dif f eren t
experim en ts cou l d be in ters pers ed becau s e on l ythe s of tw are
w ou l d hav e tobe chan ged.
Sin ce the u n iv ers itys tu den ts u s ed as s u bj ects in m an y
experim en ts are qu ite s ophis ticated abou tthe con cern s of
ps ychol ogis ts , w hatis of ten bein g s tu died is the s el f -
con s ciou s behav iorof peopl e w hokn ow theyare in an
experim en tan d are tryin g tos econ d-gu es s it. On the other
han d, en v iron m en ts open tothe pu bl ic of f eras ou rce of
s pon tan eou s behav ior. Itis qu ite eas yf orthe com pu terto
19 7 7
ore. c Moe o = w as rl o~~ <~ oer ~ 2 5. R e5pOn SiVe
take s tatis tics w ithou tin terf erin g w iththe experien ce. Or,
in teraction s can be com pos ed totes ts pecif ic experim en tal
hypothes es .
P s ychotherapy
Itis al s ow orthcon s iderin g the appl ication of res pon s iv e
en v iron m en ts tops ychotherapy. P erhaps m os tim portan tf or
aps ychotherapis tis the abil ityof the en v iron m en ttoev oke
an d expan d behav ior. We hav e f ou n d in the pas tthatpeopl e
al on e in adark room of ten becom e v erypl ayf u l an d
f l am boyan t f arm ore s othan theyare in al m os tan yother
s itu ation . Sin ce the en v iron m en tis keptdark, the patien thas
as en s e of an on ym ity; he can dothin gs thathe m ightn otdo
otherw is e. T he f actthathe is al on e in the dark s erv es to
protecthim bothf rom his im age of him s el f an d f rom his f ear
of otherpeopl e. T he darkn es s al s ois af orm of s en s ory
depriv ation w hichm ightprev en tapatien tf rom
w ithdraw in g. If he is toreceiv e an ys tim u l ation atal l , itm u s t
be f rom actin g w ithin the en v iron m en t. On ce he acts , he can
be rein f orced f orcon tin u in g toact.
In the ev en tthatthe s u bj ectref u s es toact, the
en v iron m en tcan f ocu s on m otion s s os m al l as tobe
u n av oidabl e an d res pon d tothes e an d as tim e goes by
en cou rage them , s l ow l yexpan din g them in tol argerbehav ior,
u l tim atel yl eadin g the patien ttoextrem e orcathartic action .
In certain s itu ation s the therapis tes s en tial l yprogram s
him s el f tobecom e m echan ical an d predictabl e, prov idin g a
s tru ctu re thatthe patien tcan acceptw hichcan be expan ded
s l ow l ybeyon d the origin al con tract. Itis pos s ibl e thatit
w ou l d be eas iertogetapatien ttotru s tam echan ical
en v iron m en tan d com pl etel ym echan ized therapy. On ce the
patien tw as actin g an d tru s tin g w ithin the en v iron m en t, it
w ou l d be pos s ibl e tos l ow l yphas e in s om e el em en ts of
chan ge, togen eral ize his con f iden ce. As tim e w en tby, hu m an
im ages an d f in al l yhu m an bein gs m ightbe added. Atthis
poin t, the patien tcou l d v en tu re f rom his res pon s iv e w om b,
retu rn in g toitas of ten as n eeded.
En v iron m en ts
Con cl u s ion
T he res pon s iv e en v iron m en thas been pres en ted as the bas is
f oran ew aes thetic m ediu m bas ed on real tim e in teraction
betw een m en an d m achin es . In the l on g ran ge itau gu rs a
n ew real m of hu m an experien ce, artif icial real ities w hichs eek
n ottos im u l ate the phys ical w orl d bu ttodef in e arbitrary,
abs tractan d otherw is e im pos s ibl e rel ation s hips betw een
action an d res u l t. In addition , ithas been s u gges ted thatthe
con cepts an d tool s of the res pon s iv e en v iron m en ts can be
f ru itf u l l yappl ied in an u m berof f iel ds .
Whatperhaps has been obs cu red is thatthes e con cepts are
the res u l tof apers on al n eed tou n ders tan d an d expres s the
es s en ce of the com pu terin hu m an is tic term s . An earl ier
proj ecttoteachpeopl e how tou s e the com pu terw as
aban don ed in f av orof exhibits w hichtau ghtpeopl e abou t
the com pu terbyl ettin g them experien ce it. MET AP LAY ,
P SY CHIC SP ACEan d VIDEOP LACEw ere des ign ed to
com m u n icate an af f irm ativ e v is ion of techn ol ogytothe l ay
pu bl ic. T his l ev el of edu cation is im portan t, f orou rcu l tu re
can n otcon tin u e if al arge proportion of ou rpopu l ation is
hos til e tothe tool s thatdef in e it.
We are in credibl yattu n ed tothe ideathatthe s ol e pu rpos e
of ou rtechn ol ogyis tos ol v e probl em s . Ital s ocreates
con cepts an d phil os ophy. We m u s tm ore f u l l yexpl ore thes e
as pects of ou rin v en tion s , becau s e the n extgen eration of
techn ol ogyw il l s peak tou s , u n ders tan d u s , an d perceiv e ou r
behav ior. Itw il l en terev eryhom e an d of f ice an d in tercede
betw een u s an d m u chof the in f orm ation an d experien ce w e
receiv e. T he des ign of s u chin tim ate techn ol ogyis an
aes thetic is s u e as m u chas an en gin eerin g on e. We m u s t
recogn ize this if w e are tou n ders tan d an d choos e. w hatw e
becom e as ares u l tof w hatw e hav e m ade.
+i"9 Z,7 ._. . 2 6 . P ers on al
Dyn am ic Media
oe A e ca1 A ~-e of -~
2 6 . [ In trodu ction ]
P ers on al Dyn am ic Media
T he im agin ation an d bol dn es s of the m id-19 7 0s Dyn abook v is ion . an d the accu racyw ithw hich
Al an Kayan d Adel e Gol dberg f oretol d, in the f ol l ow in g es s ay, w hatn otebook com pu tin g has
becom e is s trikin g. T his in trodu ction w as com pos ed, af teral l , atacaf , on acom pu terthatf its in an
ov ercoatpocket. Bef ore Kayan d Gol dberg began toou tl in e the v is ion s in this paper, s u chapos s ibil ity
w as s el dom im agin ed, ev en in v agu e term s , bycom pu tin g res earchers . T he pres cien ce of Kayan d
Gol dbergs v is ion w as s u chthatal m os tal l the s pecif ic ideas f orthe u s es of n otebook com pu tin g
dev el oped in the grou pthatKaydirected atXeroxP al oAl toR es earchCen ter( P AR C)prov ed tobe .
w orthw hil e. T he broaderidea thatthe n otebook com pu terw ou l d be agen eral -pu rpos e dev ice, w ith
edu cators an d bu s in es s peopl e. an d poets al l u s in g the s am e type of Dyn abook- has al s ohel d tru e.
T he Dyn abook v is ion cam e abou tbecau s e Kay, Gol dberg, an d others in theirLearn in g R es earch
Grou patXeroxP AR C con s idered the com pu terf rom aradical l ydif f eren tpers pectiv e. ( T his approach
m aybe the cen tral m an eu v erin n ew m edias otherw is e v aried m ethodol ogy.)Whil e m os ts aw the
com pu teras atool f oren gin eers or, atm os t, bu s in es s peopl e, Kaythou ghtcom pu ters cou l d be u s ed
ev en bychil dren , an d cou l d be u s ed creativ el y. Kayan d Gol dberg al s ou ps etthe ideathattim e-s harin g
com pu tin g is l iberatin g f oru s ers , as J. C. R . Lickl ider( O05)had m ore appropriatel ythou ghtdu rin g
the batchcom pu tin g era. In s tead, theybel iev ed thatin the m id-19 7 05prov idin g pow erf u l , dedicated
com pu ters toin div idu al s w as as u periorapproach. T heirgrou patXeroxP AR C dev el oped n oton l ythe
n otebook com pu ter, bu tthe es s en ce of the pers on al des ktopcom pu teras w el l , w hichcam e tobe
em bodied in Xerox' s Al to. T he des ktopcom pu terrev ol u tion w ou l d take hol d bef ore n otebooks
becam e w ides pread, of cou rs e. Itw as in the 19 80s thathom e com pu ters brou ghtan ew con textto
com pu tin g an d rev eal ed ahos tof n ew pos s ibl e digital activ ities .
T he dev el opm en tof the Dyn abook v is ion an d the pow erf u l Al topers on al com pu tercreated the
el em en ts thatw ere u s ed toprodu ce the Starcom pu terbythe XeroxSys tem s Dev el opm en tDiv is ion ,
headed byDav id Liddl e ( f orm erl yof P AR C). T he Stars ys tem s ported agraphical u s erin terf ace, w hich
becam e partof popu l arpers on al com pu tin g v iaAppl es Macin tos h. ( Kay' s f am e is partial l ybas ed on
his in v en tion of ov erl appin g w in dow s .)T he Stars ys tem al s ohel ped tom ake Ethern et, the m ou s e, the
l as erprin ter, an d WY IVVY G prin tin g apartof today' s ev erydaycom pu teren v iron m en t. As w iththe
m ov em en tof el em en ts s u chas the m ou s e f rom En gel bartis AR C ( Q 16 )toKays grou patP AR C,
s ign if ican tchan ges in f ocu s took pl ace in the m ov e f rom the Al totothe Star. T he v irtu al paper
an d des ktopm etaphors becam e f u rtheren tren ched, w hil e f l exibl e kn ow l edge s paces an d u s er- - 1-at-p_.
created tool s receiv ed l es s em phas is . Appl e m ade chan ges of its ow n . On e w as in the m ean in g of
Stars icon s , w hichw ere origin al l yon l ytorepres en tdocu m en ts , n ev erappl ication s . Appl es m odel -1 .-
w as l ateradopted n earl yw hol es al e byMicros of t( the exception s w ere certain tou ches f rom 1:
s s tem s s u chas Motif an d N eXT , orf rom w ithin Micros of t)an d m ade in tothe dom in an t I
Y ' ' = . ._,. _:. ,' .' -' :"_"
com pu tin g pl atf orm in the w orl d, Withtoday' s ris e in han dhel d com pu tin g the des ktopan d v irtu al 1,.
paperm etaphors are m eetin g as ign if ican tchal l en ge, an d m aythem s el v es f ade. Stil l , the im portan t -~
Q 1 i~- 1
origin al ideaof open in g tool creation toev eryu s er ev en chil dren has n otretu rn ed to i1g3; )5_._, 1 1-_' _T in - __
prom in en ce. Kay, how ev er, con tin u es topu rs u e this v is ion throu ghhis Squ eak proj ect. , 7 z Z P
Certain as pects of n otebook com pu tin g w eren tf oretol d in the es s aythatf ol l ow s - ev en thou gh
the Dyn abook ideais am on g the m os tin f l u en tial an d pres cien tof the pas tthirtyyears . Whil e Kay
an d Gol dberg predicted thatbu s in es s peopl e cou l d carryal on g the l as ts ev eral w eeks of
corres pon den ce in as tru ctu red cros s in dexed f orm an d w irel es s com m u n ication s capabil ityw as an
es s en tial partof the Dyn abook con cept, theydidn ' tem phas ize how n otebook com pu ters ( an d other
pers on al com pu ters )w ou l d f in d s om u chu s e as n etw orked com m u n ication dev ices . T heyhighl ighted
I i
W-=
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2 6 . P ers on al
Dyn am ic Media
E
theN EWMEDIAR EADER
the poten tial creativ e u s es of the com pu ter, bu tdid n ots u gges tthe w ays in w hichn otebook
com pu ters are n ow u s ed as m ediapl ayers , pl ayin g DVDs in coachcl as s on airpl an es ors en din g s ou n d
f rom MP 3s throu ghearphon es tos tu den ts as theytoil ov ertextbooks in l ibraries . Ev en w ithin the
Dyn abook proj ect, s oextraordin aryin creatin g n otebook com pu tin g an d chartin g acou rs e f orit, the
qu arter cen tu ryof com pu terev ol u tion thatw ou l d f ol l ow w as n otcom pl etel ypref igu red.
N M & N IN E
1 ~ ~ ~~4t:e ~ A --~0~; -# 119 7 07 = a-~o-~ ~ 2 6 .
Origin al P u bl ication
f om pu ter10( 3):31 41. March19 7 7 .
P ers on al
Dyn am ic Media
Al an Kayan d Adel e Gol dberg
In trodu ction
T he Learn in g R es earchGrou patXeroxP al oAl toR es earch
Cen teris con cern ed w ithal l as pects of the com m u n ication
an d m an ipu l ation of kn ow l edge. We des ign , bu il d, an d u s e
dyn am ic m ediaw hichcan be u s ed byhu m an bein gs of al l
ages . Sev eral years ago, w e crys tal l ized ou rdream s in toa
des ign ideaf orapers on al dyn am ic m ediu m the s ize of a
n otebook ( the Dyn abook)w hichcou l d be ow n ed byev eryon e
an d cou l d hav e the pow ertohan dl e v irtu al l yal l of its ow n ers
in f orm ation -rel ated n eeds . T ow ards this goal w e hav e
des ign ed an d bu il tacom m u n ication s s ys tem :the Sm al l tal k
l an gu age, im pl em en ted on s m al l com pu ters w e ref ertoas
in terim Dyn abooks ."We are expl orin g the u s e of this s ys tem
as aprogram m in g an d probl em s ol v in g tool ; as an in teractiv e
m em oryf orthe s torage an d m an ipu l ation of data; as atext
editor; an d as am ediu m f orexpres s ion throu ghdraw in g,
pain tin g, an im atin g pictu res , an d com pos in g an d gen eratin g
m u s ic. ( F igu re 2 6 .1 is av iew of this in terim Dyn abook.)
We of f erthis paperas apers pectiv e on ou rgoal s an d
activ ities du rin g the pas tyears . In it, w e expl ain the
Dyn abook idea, an d des cribe av arietyof s ys tem s w e hav e
al readyw ritten in the Sm al l tal k l an gu age in ordertogiv e
broad im ages of the kin ds of in f orm ation -rel ated tool s that
m ightrepres en tthe kern el of apers on al com pu tin g m ediu m .
Backgrou n d
Hu m an s an d Media
Dev ices w hichv ariou s l ys tore, retriev e, orm an ipu l ate
in f orm ation in the f orm of m es s ages em bedded in am ediu m
hav e been in exis ten ce f orthou s an ds of years . P eopl e u s e
them tocom m u n icate ideas an d f eel in gs bothtoothers an d
back tothem s el v es . Al thou ghthin kin g goes on in on es head,
extern al m edias erv e tom aterial ize thou ghts an d, throu gh
f eedback, toau gm en tthe actu al paths the thin kin g f ol l ow s .
Methods dis cov ered in on e m ediu m prov ide m etaphors w hich
con tribu te n ew w ays tothin k abou tn otion s in otherm edia.
Dyn am ic Media
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F igu re 2 6 .1. Kids l earn in g tou s e the in terim Dyn abook.
F orm os tof recorded his tory, the in teraction s of hu m an s
w iththeirm ediahav e been prim aril yn on con v ers ation al an d
pas s iv e in the s en s e thatm arks on paper, pain ton w al l s , ev en
m otion pictu res an d tel ev is ion , don otchan ge in res pon s e
tothe v iew ers w is hes . Am athem atical f orm u l ation ~ w hich
m ays ym bol ize the es s en ce of an en tire u n iv ers e on ce pu t
dow n on paper, rem ain s s tatic an d requ ires the readerto
expan d its pos s ibil ities .
Ev erym es s age is , in on e s en s e oran other, as im u l ation of
s om e idea. Itm aybe repres en tation al orabs tract. T he
es s en ce of am ediu m is v erym u chdepen den ton the w ay
m es s ages are em bedded, chan ged, an d v iew ed. Al thou gh
digital com pu ters w ere origin al l ydes ign ed todoarithm etic
com pu tation , the abil itytos im u l ate the detail s of an y
des criptiv e m odel m ean s thatthe com pu ter, v iew ed as a
m ediu m its el f , can be al l otherm ediaif the em beddin g an d
2 6 . P ers on al
Dyn am ic Media
v iew in g m ethods are s u f f icien tl yw el l prov ided. Moreov er,
this n ew m etam ediu m is activ e itcan res pon d to
qu eries an d experim en ts s othatthe m es s ages m ay
in v ol v e the l earn erin atw o-w aycon v ers ation . T his
propertyhas n ev erbeen av ail abl e bef ore exceptthrou gh
the m ediu m of an in div idu al teacher. We thin k the
im pl ication s are v as tan d com pel l in g.
ADyn am ic Mediu m f orCreativ e T hou ght:
T he Dyn abook
Im agin e hav in g you row n s el f -con tain ed kn ow l edge
m an ipu l atorin aportabl e package the s ize an d s hape of an
ordin aryn otebook. Su ppos e ithad en ou ghpow erto
ou trace you rs en s es of s ightan d hearin g, en ou ghcapacity
tos tore f orl aterretriev al thou s an ds of page equ iv al en ts of
ref eren ce m aterial s , poem s , l etters , recipes , records ,
draw in gs , an im ation s , m u s ical s cores , w av ef orm s , dyn am ic
s im u l ation s , an d an ythin g el s e you w ou l d l ike torem em ber
an d chan ge.
We en v is ion adev ice as s m al l an d portabl e as pos s ibl e
w hichcou l d bothtake in an d giv e ou tin f orm ation in qu an ti-
ties approachin g thatof hu m an s en s orys ys tem s ( F igu re
2 6 .2 ). Vis u al ou tpu ts hou l d be, atthe l eas t, of higherqu al ity
than w hatcan be obtain ed f rom n ew s prin t. Au dioou tpu t
s hou l d adhere tos im il arhigh-f idel itys tan dards .
T here s hou l d be n odis cern ibl e pau s e betw een cau s e an d
ef f ect. On e of the m etaphors w e u s ed w hen des ign in g s u cha
s ys tem w as thatof am u s ical in s tru m en t, s u chas af l u te,
w hichis ow n ed byits u s eran d res pon ds in s tan tl yan d
con s is ten tl ytoits ow n ers w is hes . Im agin e the abs u rdityof a
on e-s econ d del aybetw een bl ow in g an ote an d hearin g it!
T hes e civ il ized des ires f orf l exibil ity, res ol u tion , an d
res pon s e l ead tothe con cl u s ion thatau s erof adyn am ic
pers on al m ediu m n eeds s ev eral hu n dred tim es as m u ch
pow eras the av erage adu l tn ow typical l yen j oys f rom
tim es hared com pu tin g. T his m ean s thatw e s hou l d either
bu il d an ew res ou rce s ev eral hu n dred tim es the capacityof
cu rren tm achin es an d s hare it( v erydif f icu l tan d expen s iv e),
orw e s hou l d in v es tigate the pos s ibil ityof giv in g eachpers on
his ow n pow erf u l m achin e. We chos e the s econ d approach.
Des ign Backgrou n d
T he f irs tattem ptatdes ign in g this m etam ediu m ( the F LEX
m achin e)occu rred in 19 6 7 -6 9 . Mu chof the hardw are an d
s of tw are w as s u cces s f u l f rom the s tan dpoin tof com pu ter
s cien ce s tate-of the~artres earch, bu tl acked s u f f icien t
._-
theN EWMEDIAR EADER
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F igu re 2 6 .2 . Mock-u pof af u tu re Dyn abook.
expres s iv e pow ertobe u s ef u l toan ordin aryu s er. Atthat
tim e w e becam e in teres ted in f ocu s in g on chil dren as ou r
u s ercom m u n ity. We w ere greatl yen cou raged bythe Bol t
Beran ek an d N ew m an / MIT Logow ork thatu s es arobot
tu rtl e thatdraw s on paper, aCR T v ers ion of the tu rtl e, an d a
s in gl e m u s ic gen eratortogetkids toprogram .
Con s iderin g chil dren as the u s ers radiates acom pel l in g
excitem en tw hen v iew ed f rom an u m berof dif f eren t
pers pectiv es . F irs t, the chil dren real l ycan w rite program s
thatdos eriou s thin gs . T heirprogram s u s e s ym bol s tos tan d
f orobj ects , con tain l oops an d recu rs ion s , requ ire af air
am ou n tof v is u al ization of al tern ativ e s trategies bef ore a
tactic is chos en , an d in v ol v e in teractiv e dis cov eryan d
rem ov al of bu gs in theirideas .
Secon d the kids l ov e it! T he in teractiv e n atu re of the
dial ogu e, the f actthattheyare in con trol , the f eel in g that
theyare doin g real thin gs ratherthan pl ayin g w ithtoys or
w orkin g ou tas s ign ed probl em s , the pictori.al an d au ditory
n atu re of theirres u l ts , al l con tribu te toatrem en dou s s en s e
of accom pl is hm en ttotheirexperien ce. T heiratten tion
s pan s are m eas u red in hou rs ratherthan m in u tes .
An otherin teres tin g n u ggetw as thatchil dren real l y
n eeded as m u chorm ore com pu tin g pow erthan adu l ts w ere
w il l in g tos ettl e f orw hen u s in g atim es harin g s ys tem . T he
bes tthattim es harin g has toof f eris s l ow con trol of cru de
w ire-f ram e green tin ted graphics an d s qu are-w av e m u s ical
ton es . T he kids , on the otherhan d, are u s ed tof in ger-pain ts ,
w atercol ors , col ortel ev is ion , real m u s ical in s tru m en ts , an d
records . If the m ediu m is the m es s age, then the m es s age of
l ow -ban dw idthtim es harin g is bl ah.
- 119 1; 2 6 . P ers on al
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F igu re 2 6 .3. T he in terim Dyn abook s ys tem con s is ts of proces s or,
dis k driv e, dis pl ay, keyboard, an d poin tin g dev ices .
An In terim Dyn abook
VVc~ I' 1.1v ' -- I' l ( !' ii,' .l "l \"l ,l ; n ~| l \n |_--rl rn v s -n ".-.4.-.n \< l I I' n .- I_)_y|' -.-In > 1 bk. u bi!
w hichs ev eral in teres tin g s ys tein s hav e been w ritten in an ew
m ediu m f orcom m u n ication , the Sm al l tal k program m in g
l an gu age?We hav e expl ored the u s ef u l n es s of the s ys tem s
w ithm ore than 2 00u s ers , m os tn otabl ys ettin g u pa
l earn in g res ou rce cen terin al ocal j u n iorSChOOl .
T he in terim Dyn abook, s how n in F igu re 2 6 .3, is a
com pl etel ys el f -con tain ed s ys tem . T othe u s er, itappears as a
s m al l box in w hichadis k m em orycan be in s erted; eachdis k
con tain s abou t1500page-equ iv al en ts of m an ipu l abl e
s torage. T he boxis con n ected toav erycris phigh-res ol u tion
bl ack an d w hite CR T oral ow er-res ol u tion high qu al itycol or
dis pl ay. Otherin pu tdev ices in cl u de atypew riterkeyboard, a
chord keyboard, apoin tin g dev ice cal l ed am ou s e w hich
in pu ts pos ition as itis m ov ed abou ton the tabl e, an d a
v arietyof organ l ike keyboards f orpl ayin g m u s ic. N ew in pu t
dev ices s u chas thes e m aybe eas il yattached, u s u al l yw ithou t
bu il din g ahardw are in terf ace f orthem . Vis u al ou tpu tis
throu ghthe dis pl ay, au ditoryou tpu tis obtain ed f rom abu il t-
in digital to an al og con v ertercon n ected toas tan dard hi~f i
am pl if ieran d s peakers .
We w il l attem pttos how s om e of the kin ds of thin gs that
can be don e w ithaDyn abook; an u m berof s ys tem s
dev el oped byv ariou s u s ers w il l be brief l yil l u s trated. Al l
photographs of com pu terou tpu tin this paperare taken
f rom the dis pl ays creen of the in terim s ys tem .
Dyn am ic Media
R em em berin g, Seein g an d Hearin g
T he Dyn abook can be u s ed as an in teractiv e m em oryorf il e
cabin et. T he ow n ers con textcan be en tered throu gha
keyboard an d activ e editor, retain ed an d m odif ied
in def in itel y, an d dis pl ayed on dem an d in af on tof
pu bl is hin g qu al ity.
Draw in g an d pain tin g can al s obe don e u s in g apoin tin g
dev ice an d an icon ic editorw hichal l ow s eas ym odif ication of
pictu res . Apictu re is thu s am an ipu l abl e obj ectan d can be
an im ated dyn am ical l ybythe Dyn abooks ow n er.
Abook can be read throu ghthe Dyn abook:the m em ory
can be in s erted as s how n in F igu re 2 6 .4. Itn eed n otbe
treated as as im u l ated paperbook s in ce this is an ew m ediu m
w ithn ew properties . Adyn am ic s earchm aybe m ade f ora
particu l arcon text. T he n on s e.qu en tial n atu re of the f il e
m ediu m an d the u s e of dyn am ic m an ipu l ation al l ow s as tory
tohav e m an yacces s ibl e poin ts of v iew ; Diu rrel l s Al exan dria
Q u artet, f orin s tan ce, cou l d be on e book in w hichthe reader
l .
F igu re 2 6 .4. In s ertin g the dis k pack in the Dyn abook.
Dif f eren tF on ts f orDif f eren tEf f ects
On e of the goal s of the Dyn abooks des ign is n ottobe w ors e
than paperin an yim portan tw ayCom pu terdis pl ays of the
pas thav e been s u periorin m atters of dyn am ic w ritin g an d
eras u re, bu thav e f ail ed in con tras t, res ol u tion , oreas e of
v iew in g. T here is m ore tothe probl em than j u s tthe dis pl ay
of textin ahigh qu al ityf on t. Dif f eren tf on ts create dif f eren t
m oods an d cas tan au rathatin f l u en ces the s u bj ectiv e s tyl e
of bothw ritin g an d readin g. T he Dyn abook is s u ppl ied w ith
an u m berof f on ts w hichare con tain ed on the f il e s torage.
F igu res 2 6 .5an d 2 6 .6 s how s am pl es of thes e f on ts .
2 6 . P ers on al
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; ' l il io"; :i' ril .e:Il .l -' of paperis l odes cribe on u m ber of m n i
h,av e' _<_:on du cted on l l _i_.o u s e of apers on al com :-u tl n z v s tatikgiu q5; " '
Which-Was -._l ocate<iin apu bl ic j u n ir-' rhighs chool in P eIl o"Al t<-
Cal if orn ial ogen eral . l he f ".l r|.ICP IP .? c-I l h-w e tl u di -, Mr, baa g,; ,: ,,_,,{
-w l ou rI-1-= 1 on the -l ei-v n <.-1' 4""rm l l ~' l l -v rrl r-i|".r~-1 eri' v iI".Iim \' m 1 l c-r
s l -rl il l l . v iew in g. JIM -l l -iri; ' in y__iu |~rm .qi; ,,-|, in 1h.. ggf m ,:_f hn u _
1.-l cl u m -. an d -.c-u n -:1 In i-artyu l ar. w e l iiv Y - -an 1...-4,11,, ,1 |} ,,. p,_1.:_.i,;
:rif orn iaiic~n ~ r-l at-Ariw l l i~<.I- iii.-4.! l l "' = l l ' l M l l l l _l T l ' .' -l ); l _-, |3ig; !3 ; ]5' L45H,
the u w ; of ._-,i1r"hIY -l -Iii. f u irl atiii"l l -rm .,.i1} ". ,,-...; ; ' M,; ._.|-h__._, H,
; :~; cs ",l 3 l l i ie n l l l l -"kl ?-. l h r-~ w il l 11!!-iv -Il l -T "' -l l yI. u m n . of A
pets -n o! -' ; <' -In ].-u ted V-l a-iw il l w iril 1- -l -~ ..-.' -n i.-i,hi; ,,_r "H; ' ,-an M, Lu
n ot4l t~!.n ' l y' -l u n e.-; Wv l u v : ' al ' ,-- l "!| iiirl yj m im . .; i,.V_..r__"H"du n ,"
thqu s erI-. bu l l -IIii-> L-WU l .,<-l ' -. l l m l ii_I-I ' u |il -- ri; .|r; ,|; |.,; p___g' ,._u ._~
We hav e a-im pl ied the"v i~w ; ~im il rai.-.,. 1, L,-..,-; ,1, ._., ,r.._,m ,,, m g h,,,.,_,
approached ou r ii-..er s l u riim w iih rm "|l i|,> l |* 8-l \ U " pi.-v idiu ;
i' |it_if odu r:l o' ry' m el erl al .s f orI."~Q f \at-"l l l l w r iil . l ~_* Vn ]i-; ,-,1" ,.,; ,,.m ._f ; ,"
iii-itl al l ocu s has been -in ~."l _l l C; = |l l ~f |-l l . ppl i- ; i_i._-1,-. in w ig.-1, y. ,,,,-,t
Chil dren are l au gh! how : toprv -grarrian dl ~- ii-.e ; ~.1:ri-rrral is al il w w al i
m iid il el bpl n g ideas in an an d Il l l l -l ' -. 3' 2 . w al l d\in ~.<_i( rj ra
-rn _e_l l _roru u i_cs . _- - - V. : -
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7 . > ,_- ' -- "' __ __, . ...v -,1 .~ ' . .
F igu re 2 6 .5. F irs tpage of this paperas photographed f rom the
dis pl ays creen .
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oak
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of tl il .p por' l s :todes criheran u m berof iis l u dioel u igi, Q ;
._l il \( q .l he' u s e of apers on al con ipu t-in g' gyg1 "; bf "bf ,
w as l ocated in a-pu bl ic iu n icirf hi-355<; r,.; .i; ,i' . in pa; g,; Am .
0l l _l f Ol ' l l . l f l Q 0 f &| [ he pu rpos e Of l hegr, g( u .1; .3; , has bggr; yd
C19 35.011 th div -il ij 0.; if - 3 r_ 3g; \p4"; .1-.haG,1_, ._,n Vi' ,; l "m _n '
s torin g. v iew in g. _an d -:han ~.; m q- l l ' .1Il iI_\' I~_\I] in m i. y.; ,,,-p,, M N i,
pictu res . an d s ou n d. l riparl i-; u l ~ar, u m m ~w _- I-m m It-.il -u s -1 av tn I-c]",|\~f
l _l ' l ( IT "_l J* ' )H"f ' Q |Q l "d ' l +.' "\rl dS. l hil ' ; l " "J' l " Lu |LQ g_U ::1 |_,..l &' ' Q y1; l 1:,L"_
th.. U 5 bl s u d 3 "Y ' 3!""\. -Irv ! atthe If -rm -"-1 F ri u s -.-r:irt\i-it.-5"-' :rr' ; i' ~
acces s in g thos e l ' Il ' !l v ?-I' l l . l h -i-; - w il l iu i !.iu 1,y...; iyLL. u _,g,,_; _' ,~
pers on al com pu terw l i-7 1 w il l w an tl 4. .1.) .A,m _,_"m n th., Wm t-.!p.h"
-n otal readydon e; s -:- raw m -.1 ,,|; ,_. 1 .; .._.; -. _qi,.1\,m ._; ,,,,_",,_,,,; m a, ' 3, 4' _
.1; -,0u s ertobu il d his ow n t-:~:-I-; ., rm ! I; -, l -- Wil l i: .; ._,m ; .\,,.,, l ,,,_. ,,_5,,,_
' hIY Q _@ .' ,C' f -' ted4"' \' 3 Vi/ VIT -~' 1~iY il N b-T N . ~ P ru ( if j g 3 } ,; ; n ,_.,,; ,!._j 9 ,3. g..-
ou r U 501 . zl u di-= 5. w ith an "' I0ih; gi<_|-__,__n H ,' ,_ ,' f -; ~
-_h' l f OU U ' _Cl 0' Y U ' 3T Q T l -il l S Ii; -ru s e!S -al l dil f w oril l -w _-l y. L-.l ' .~,.,p,; ,,h.._( __i,4,
in itial f ocu s has been on edu ga ohol y6 l "P l l ' 33|U \I ri_, 5,, ,,yj ,,' ,, .' . ._,' _:
.. " ' ,.
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1 * .. ._., . . - . .-. . - -- - ' -' _, _.. . .
F igu re 2 6 .6 . An otherv iew of the f irs tpage of the paperu s in g
dif f eren tf on ts .
theN EWMEDIAR EADER
T he Dyn abook as apers on al m ediu m is f l exibl e tothe
poin tof al l ow in g an ow n ertochoos e his ow n w ays tov iew
in f orm ation . An ycharacterf on tcan be des cribed as am atrix
of bl ack an d w hite dots . T he ow n ercan draw in acharacter
f on tof his ow n choos in g. He can then im m ediatel yv iew
f on tchan ges w ithin the con textof textdis pl ayed in a
w in dow . Withthe Dyn abooks f in e grain of dis pl ay, the
rou ghedges dis appearatn orm al v iew in g dis tan ce to
produ ce high-qu al itycharacters .
T he m al l eabil ityof this approachis il l u s trated in F igu re
2 6 .7 :this ow n erhas decided toem bel l is hs om e f av orite
n ou n s w iththeiricon ic ref eren t. Su chaf acil ityw ou l d be
u s ef u l in en han cin g an earl yreadin g cu rricu l u m .
Editin g
Ev erydes cription orobj ectin the Dyn abook can be
dis pl ayed an d edited. T ext, boths equ en tial an d s tru ctu red,
can eas il ybe m an ipu l ated bycom bin in g poin tin g an d a
s im pl e m en u f orcom m an ds , thu s al l ow in g del etion ,
tran s pos ition , an d s tru ctu rin g. Mu l tipl e w in dow s , as s how n
in F igu re 2 6 .8, al l ow adocu m en t( com pos ed of text, pictu res ,
m u s ical n otation )tobe created an d v iew ed s im u l tan eou s l y
ats ev eral l ev el s of ref in em en t. Editin g operation s on other
v iew abl e obj ects ( s u chas pictu res an d f on ts )are han dl ed in
an al ogou s w ays .
F il in g
T he m u l tipl e-w in dow dis pl aycapabil ityof Sm al l tal k has
in s pired the n otion of adyn am ic docu m en t. Adocu m en tis a
col l ection of obj ects thathav e as en s orydis pl ayan d hav e
s om ethin g todow itheachother; itis aw aytos tore an d
retriev e rel ated in f orm ation . Eachs u bpartof the docu m en t,
orf ram e, has its ow n editorw hichis au tom atical l yin v oked
w hen poin ted atbythe m ou s e. T hes e f ram es m aybe rel ated
s equ en tial l y, as w ithordin arypaperu s age, orin v erted w ith
res pecttoproperties , as in cros s -in dexed f il e s ys tem s . Sets
w hichcan au tom atical l ym aptheircon ten ts tos econ dary
s torage w iththe abil itytof orm u n ion s , n egation s , an d
in ters ection s are partof this s ys tem , as is am odel es s text
editorw ithau tom atic rightj u s tif ication .
T he cu rren tv ers ion of the s ys tem is abl e toau tom atical l y
cros s f il e s ev eral thou s an d m u l tif iel d records ( w ithf orm ats
chos en bythe u s er), w hichin cl u de ordin arytextu al
docu m en ts in dexed bycon ten t, the Sm al l tal k s ys tem ,
pers on al f il es , diagram s , an d s oon . ( See F igu res 2 6 9 -12 .)
G 0 W 0 O e 4) r O 0 0
19 7 7
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l hu hdn iIn n -in ttm qooa
HI pn @ l .1yu \in qt.l ' n Q can n Q :
n ap. @ ; h,In d\In Q . T ho
Draw in g/ P ain tin g
T he m an ys m al l dots requ ired todis pl ayhigh-qu al ity
characters ( abou t500,000f oran 8 1/ 2 X 11 s ized dis pl ay)
al s oal l ow s ketchin gqu al itydraw in g, hal f ton e pain tin g, an d
an im ation . T he s u bj ectiv e ef f ectof grays cal e is cau s ed bythe
eye f u s in g an areacon tain in g am ixtu re of s m al l bl ack an d
w hite dots . T he pictu res in F igu res 2 6 .13 an d 2 6 .14s how a
pal ette of ton ed pattern s w iths om e bru s hes . Abru s hcan be
grabbed w iththe m ou s e, dipped in toapain tpot, an d then
the hal f ton e can be s w abbed on as af u n ction of the s ize,
s hape, an d v el ocityof the bru s h. T he l as tpairof pictu res
s how s aheart/ peace s ym bol s haped bru s hu s ed togiv e the
ef f ectof pain tin g w al l paper.
Cu rv es are draw n byapen on the dis pl ays creen . ( Straight
l in es are cu rv es w ithzerocu rv atu re.)In the Dyn abook, pen s
l l l l gdl l l l
l l l l u m :1
F igu re 2 6 .7 . F on ts f orabear, af l ow er, an d abee u s ed totel l a
In d T _l orry-If oripl Iyl ol l . Cl w o
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are m em bers of acl as s thatcan s el ectiv el ydraw w ithbl ack
orw hite ( orcol ored)in k an d chan ge the thickn es s of the
trace. Eachpen l iv es in its ow n w in dow , caref u l n otto
trav ers e its w in dow bou n daries bu ttoadj u s tas its w in dow
chan ges s ize an d pos ition . T his w in dow ideais il l u s trated in
F igu re 2 6 .15; an u m berof s im pl e an d el egan texam pl es are
s toryw ithpictu res .
l hn til l u in n cl 59 ; ",
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F igu re 2 6 .8. Mu l tipl e w in dow s al l ow docu m en ts con tain in g textan d
_j .. . . - - . v .
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pictu res tobe created an d v iew ed.
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dis pl ayed in the w in dow s . j
An im ation an d Mu s ic
An im ation , m u s ic, an d program m in g can be thou ghtof as
dif f eren ts en s oryv iew s of dyn am ic proces s es . T he s tru ctu ral
s im il arities am on g them are apparen tin Sm al l tal k, w hich
prov ides acom m on f ram ew ork f orexpres s in g thos e ideas .
Al l of the s ys tem s are equ al l ycon trol l abl e byhan d orby
program . T hu s , draw in g an d pain tin g can be don e u s in g a
poin tin g dev ice orin con j u n ction w ithprogram s w hichdraw
cu rv es , f il l in areas w ithton e, s how pers pectiv es of three-
dim en s ion al m odel s ( s ee F igu re 2 6 .16 ), an d s oon . An y
graphic expres s ion can be an im ated, eitherbyref l ectin g a
s im u l ation orbyexam pl e ( giv in g an an im ator program a
s am pl e trace orarou te tof ol l ow ).
Mu s ic is con trol l ed in acom pl etel yan al ogou s m an n er. T he
Dyn abook can actas as u pers yn thes izer gettin g direction
eitherf rom akeyboard orf rom as core. T he keys trokes can
be captu red, edited, an d pl ayed back. T im bres , the f on ts of
m u s ical expres s ion , con tain the qu al ityan d m ood w hich
dif f eren tin s tru m en ts brin g toan orches tration . T heym aybe
captu red, edited, an d u s ed dyn am ical l y.
2 6 . P ers on al
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this f il in g tool is carried D -
ou tbypoin tin g tothe _ -
com m an d in the .~ .
docu m en ts m en u . T he m l ? - "
s ys tem w il l f in d ev ery iiI _" __" g ; l
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docu m en tthatrepres en ts a
des cription of aSm al l tal k cl as s
def in ition .
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F igu re 2 6 .11. T his is ado.cu m en tf rom an an n otated bibl iography
f orteacers . Detail s are s u ppres s ed bu tcan be expan ded bypoin tin g
ton am es in the bl ack f iel ds . Docu m en ts can al s ocon tain diagram s .
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F igu re 2 6 .12 . T his retriev al requ es tcom bin es in com pl ete cal l
n u m bers w ithdate ran ges . T he exam pl e is taken f rom an
experim en tal l ibrarys ys tem .
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F igu re 2 6 .13. As ketchof P egas u s is s how n bein g draw n w itha
Sm al l tal k draw in g tool . T he f irs ttw opictu res in the s equ en ce s how
hal f ton e "pain t bein g s cru bbed on .
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F igu re 2 6 .14. As ketchof aheart/ peace s ym bol is created an d
u s ed as apain tbru s h.
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F igu re 2 6 .15. Cu rv es can be draw n u s in g Sm al l tal k l in e-draw in g
com m an ds . T hes e cu rv es are con s train ed tos how in dis pl ay
w in dow s . Bl ack an d w hite can be rev ers ed f orin teres tin g ef f ects .
Sim u l ation
In av eryreal s en s e, s im u l ation is the cen tral n otion of the
Dyn abook. Eachof the prev iou s exam pl es has s how n a
s im u l ation of v is u al orau ditorym edia. Here are an u m ber
of exam pl es of in teres tin g s im u l ation s don e byav ariety
of u s ers .
An An im ation Sys tem P rogram m ed byAn im ators
Sev eral prof es s ion al an im ators w an ted tobe abl e todraw an d
pain tpictu res w hichcou l d then be an im ated in real tim e by
s im pl ys how in g the s ys tem rou ghl yw hatw as w an ted.
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grn l u in m as tm c -- s w qn on t. f rom aw ire l
c an d dcou l w ithzipper. "1
Q "byT ed Sn ook -- Sr-pl . 8, 19 7 0' l j
. xpl ot' pic2 .:p1o1.' big. A;
I _.__... or -_. ..l r_._____.__.___..____....._..
F igu re 2 6 .16 . Am odel of three-dim en s ion al graphics as
im pl em en ted in Sm al l tal k.
L
Des ired chan ges w ou l d be m ade byicon ical l yeditin g the
an im ation s equ en ces .
Mu chof the des ign of SHAZAM, theiran im ation tool , is
an au tom ation of the m ediaw ithw hichan im ators are
f am il iar:m ov ies con s is tin g of s equ en ces of f ram es w hichare a
com pos ition of tran s paren tcel s con tain in g f oregrou n d an d
backgrou n d draw in gs . Bes ides retain in g thes e bas ic con cepts
of con v en tion al an im ation , SHAZAM in corporates s om e
creativ e s u ppl em en tarycapabil ities .
An im ators kn ow thatthe m ain action of an im ation is du e
n ottoan in div idu al f ram e, bu ttothe chan ge f rom on e f ram e
tothe n ext. Itis theref ore m u cheas iertopl an an an im ation
if itcan be s een m ov in g as itis bein g created SHAZAM
al l ow s an ycel of an yf ram e in an an im ation tobe edited
w hil e the an im ation is in progres s . Al ibraryof al ready-
created cel s is m ain tain ed. T he an im ation can be s in gl e-
s tepped; in div idu al cel s can be repos ition ed, ref ram ed, an d
redraw n ; n ew f ram es can be in s erted; an d af ram e s equ en ce
can be created atan ytim e byattachin g the cel tothe
poin tin g dev ice, then s how in g the s ys tem w hatkin d of
m ov em en tis des ired. T he cel s can be s tacked f orbackgrou n d
paral l ax; hol es an d w in dow s are m ade w ithtran s paren tpain t.
An im ation obj ects can be pain ted byprogram s as w el l as by
han d. T he con trol of the an im ation can al s obe eas il ydon e
f rom aSm al l tal k s im u l ation . F orexam pl e, an an im ation of
obj ects bou n cin g in aroom is m os teas il yaccom pl is hed bya
f ew l in es of Sm al l tal k thatexpres s the cl as s of bou n cin g
obj ects in phys ical term s . F igu res 2 6 .17 , 18, an d 19 s how
s om e an im ation s created byyou n g chil dren .
ADraw in g an d P ain tin g Sys tem
P rogram m ed byaChil d
On e you n g girl , w hohad n ev erprogram m ed bef ore, decided
thatapoin tin g dev ice ou ghttol etherdraw on the s creen .
She then bu il tas ketchin g tool w ithou tev ers eein g ou rs
( dis pl ayed in F igu re 2 6 .2 0). She con s tan tl yem bel l is hed it
w ithn ew f eatu res in cl u din g am en u f orbru s hes s el ected by
poin tin g. She l aterw rote aprogram f orbu il din g tan gram
des ign s ( F igu re 2 6 .2 1).
T his girl has tau ghtherow n Sm al l tal k cl as s ; hers tu den ts
w ere s ev en th-graders f rom herj u n iorhighs chool . On e of
them des ign ed an ev en m ore el aborate s ys tem in w hich
pictu res are con s tru cted ou tof geom etric s hapes created by
poin tin g toam en u of com m an ds f orcreatin g regu l ar
2 6 . P ers on al
Dyn am ic Media
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F igu re 2 6 ..17 . An an im ation
of adropof w ater.
Q 6 F igu re 2 6 .18. An an im ation
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of agal l opin g hors e, w ith
an d w ithou tarider.
F igu re 2 6 .19 . An an im ation
of af rog catchin g af l y.
pol ygon s ( F igu re 2 6 .2 2 ). T he pol ygon s can then be rel ocated,
s cal ed, an d copied; theircol oran d l in e w idthcan chan ge.
AHos pital Sim u l ation
P rogram m ed byaDecis ion -T heoris t
T he s im u l ation s how n in F igu re 2 6 .2 3 repres en ts ahos pital
in w hichev erydepartm en thas res ou rces w hichare u s ed by
patien ts f ors om e du ration of tim e. Eachpatien thas as chedu l e
of departm en ts tov is it; if there are n ores ou rces av ail abl e
( doctors , beds ), the patien tm u s tw aitin l in e f ors erv ice. T he
Sm al l tal k des cription of this s itu ation in v ol v es the cl as s of
patien ts an d the cl as s of departm en ts . T he gen eral ization to
an yhos pital con f igu ration w ithan yn u m berof patien ts is
partof the s im u l ation . T he particu l arexam pl e captu red in
the pictu res s how s patien ts l in in g u pf ors erv ice in em ergen cy.
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F igu re 2 6 .2 0. On e of the rs t
pain tin g tool s des ign ed an d
im pl em en ted in Sm al l tal k by
atw el v e year-ol d girl .
F igu re 2 6 .2 1. T an gram
des ign s are created by
s el ectin g s hapes f rom a
"m en u "dis pl ayed atthe top
of the s creen . T his s ys tem
w as im pl em en ted in Sm al l tal k
byaf ou rteen -year-ol d girl .
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r.R S\1L"( -I] 4. Iopizl iu p1 pain tIf -l l 1' ( 1 Il l l l Sw il l ;
T ; prin tin the t<l <- <1 hu s hm m ! an d u w u u l l u w
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F igu re 2 6 .2 3. Av iew of as im u l ation of ahos pital . T he
rectan gl es repres en tdepartm en ts in w hichs taf f m em bers ( X' s )
treatpatien ts ( n u m bers ).
An Au dioAn im ation Sys tem
P rogram m ed byMu s ician s
An im ation can be con s idered tobe the coordin ated paral l el
con trol throu ghtim e of im ages con ceiv ed byan an im ator.
Likew is e, as ys tem f orrepres en tin g an d con trol l in g m u s ical
im ages can be im agin ed w hichhas v erys tron g an al ogies to
the v is u al w orl d. Mu s ic is the des ign an d con trol of im ages
( pitchan d du ration chan ges )w hichcan be pain ted dif f eren t
col ors ( tim bre choices ); ithas s yn chron ization an d
Dyn am ic Media
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F igu re 2 6 .2 4. T hes e tw opictu res s how am u s ical s core bein g
edited. An ote is s el ected in ordertochan ge its pitch. N ext, the
s core is s tretched, thatis , the n otes atthe s el ected pos ition w il l
be hel d f oral on gerdu ration .
coordin ation , an d av erycl os e rel ation s hipbetw een au dio
an d s patial v is u al ization .
T he Sm al l tal k m odel created bys ev eral m u s ician s , cal l ed
T WAN G, has the n otion of achoru s w hichcon tain s the m ain
con trol direction s f oran ov eral l piece. Achoru s is akin d of
ru g w ithaw arpof paral l el s equ en ces of pitch, du ration , an d
articu l ation "com m an ds , an d aw oof of s yn chron ization s an d
gl obal directiv es . T he con trol an d the pl ayerare s eparate:in
SHAZAM, agiv en m ov ie s equ en ce can an im ate m an y
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Ml is <l l r' |
F igu re 2 6 .2 6 . T im bre editin g: am u s ical in s tru m en tis created by
s pecif yin g the f reql u iicy, am pl itu de, an d s pectru m of its s ou n d
du rin g aperiod of af ew s econ ds . T he s ol id l in e in the f irs t
pictu re repres en ts v ol u m e. T he f irs ts egm en tof the graph
repres en ts the in itial attack of eachn ote, the partbetw een
v ertical bars w il l be repeated as l on g as the n ote is hel d, an d the
rem ain derw il l be heard as the decay.
theN EWMEDIAR EADER
draw in gs ; in T WAN G, agiv en choru s can tel l m an ydif f eren t
kin ds of in s tru m en tal is ts w hats hou l d be pl ayed. T hes e v oices
can be s yn thetic tim bres ortim bres captu red f rom real
in s tru m en ts . Mu s ical ef f ects s u chas v ibrato, portam en to,
an d dim in u ation are al s oav ail abl e. .
Achoru s can be draw n u s in g the poin tin g dev ice, oritcan
be captu red bypl ayin g iton akeyboard. Itcan be pl ayed back
in real tim e an d dyn am ical l yedited in am an n erv erys im il ar
tothe an im ation s ys tem . T he accom pan yin g s etof pictu res
in F igu re 2 6 .2 4are excerpts f rom as equ en ce in w hichau s er
pl ays , edits , an d repl ays apiece.
We u s e tw om ethods f orreal etim e produ ction of high-
qu al itytim bres ; bothal l ow arbitrarytran s ien ts an d m an y
in depen den tparal l el v oices , an d are com pl etel yprodu ced by
program s . On e of thes e al l ow s in depen den tdyn am ic con trol
of the s pectru m , the f requ en cy, the am pl itu de, an d the partic-
u l arcol l ection of partial s w hichw il l be heard ( il l u s trated in
F igu re 2 6 .2 5).
F orchil dren , this f acil ityhas an u m berof ben ef its :the
s tron g s im il arities betw een the au dioan d v is u al w orl ds are
em phas ized becau s e as in gl e v ern acu l arw hichactu al l yw orks
in bothw orl ds is u s ed f ordes cription ; an d s econ d, the arts
an d s kil l s of com pos in g can be l earn ed atthe s am e tim e s in ce
tu n es m aybe draw n in byhan d an d pl ayed bythe s ys tem . A
l in e of m u s ic m aybe copied. s tretched, an d s hif ted in tim e
an d pitch; in div idu al n otes m aybe edited. im itativ e cou n ter-
poin tis thu s eas il ycreated bythe f l edgl in g com pos er.
AMu s ical Score Captu re Sys tem
P rogram m ed byaMu s ician
OP U S is am u s ical s core captu re s ys tem thatprodu ces a
dis pl ayof acon v en tion al m u s ical s core f rom dataobtain ed
bypl ayin g am u s ical keyboard OP U S is des ign ed toal l ow
in crem en tal in pu tof an arbitraril ycom pl icated s core ( f u l l
orches traw ithchoru s , f orexam pl e), editin g pages of the
s core, an d hard copyof the f in al res u l tw iths eparate parts
f orin div idu al in s tru m en ts . T he pictu re in F igu re 2 6 .2 6
s how s as core captu red w iththe OP U S s ys tem .
El ectron ic Circu itDes ign
byaHighSchool Stu den t
U s in g s ev eral kin ds of icon ic m en u s , this s tu den ts ys tem l ets
the u s erl ayou tas ophis ticated el ectron ic circu it, com pl ete
w ithl abel s ( F igu re 2 6 .2 7 ).
19 7 7
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F igu re 2 6 .2 6 . Dataf orthis s core w as captu red bypl ayin g on a
m u s ical keyboard. Aprogram then con v erts the datatos tan dard
m u s ical n otation .
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F igu re 2 6 .2 7 . An el ectron ic circu itl ayou ts ys tem program m ed by
a15-year-ol d s tu den t. Circu itcom pon en ts s el ected f rom am en u
are m ov ed in topos ition w iththe m ou s e, con n ected toother
com pon en ts w ithl in es , an d l abel ed w ithtext. T he rectan gl e in
the cen terof the l ayou tis an icon ic m en u f rom w hichl in e w idths
an d con n ectors ( s ol id an d open )m aybe chos en .
Con cl u s ion
Whatw ou l d happen in aw orl d in w hichev eryon e had a
Dyn abook?If s u cham achin e w ere des ign ed in aw aythat
an yow n ercou l d m ol d an d chan n el its pow ertohis ow n
n eeds , then an ew kin d of m ediu m w ou l d hav e been created:
am etam ediu m , w hos e con ten tw ou l d be aw ide ran ge of
al ready-exis tin g an d n ot-yet-in v en ted m edia.
An architectm ightw is htos im u l ate three-dim en s ion al
s pace in ordertoperu s e an d edithis cu rren tdes ign s , w hich
cou l d be con v en ien tl ys tored an d cros s -ref eren ced.
Adoctorcou l d hav e on f il e al l of his patien ts , his bu s in es s
records , adru g reaction s ys tem , an d s oon , al l of w hichcou l d
trav el w ithhim w herev erhe w en t.
Acom pos ercou l d hearhis com pos ition w hil e itw as in
progres s , particu l arl yif itw ere m ore com pl exthan he w as
abl e topl ay. He cou l d al s obypas s the in credibl ytediou s chore.
of redoin g the s core an d produ cin g the parts byhan d.
Learn in g topl aym u s ic cou l d be aided bybein g abl e to
captu re an d hearon e' s ow n attem pts an d com pare them
again s texpertren dition s . T he abil itytoexpres s m u s ic in
v is u al term s w hichcou l d be f il ed an d pl ayed m ean s thatthe
acts of com pos ition an d s el f -ev al u ation cou l d be l earn ed
w ithou thav in g tow aitf ortechn ical s kil l in pl ayin g.
Hom e records , accou n ts , bu dgets , recipes , rem in ders , an d
s of orth, cou l d be eas il ycaptu red an d m an ipu l ated.
T hos e in bu s in es s cou l d hav e an activ e brief cas e w hich
trav el l ed w iththem , con tain in g aw orkin g s im u l ation of their
com pan y, the l as ts ev eral w eeks of corres pon den ce in a
s tru ctu red cros s -in dexed f orm aw aytoin s tan tl ycal cu l ate
prof il es f ortheirf u tu res an d hel pm ake decis ion s .
F oredu cators , the Dyn abook cou l d be an ew w orl d l im ited
on l ybytheirim agin ation an d in gen u ity. T heycou l d u s e itto
s how com pl exhis torical in ter-rel ation s hips in w ays n ot
pos s ibl e w iths tatic l in earbooks . Mathem atics cou l d becom e
al iv in g l an gu age in w hichchil dren cou l d cau s e excitin g
thin gs tohappen . Laboratoryexperim en ts an d s im u l ation s
tooexpen s iv e ordif f icu l ttoprepare cou l d eas il ybe
dem on s trated. T he produ ction of s tyl is hpros e an d poetry
cou l d be greatl yaided bybein g abl e toeas il yeditan d f il e
on e.' s ow n com pos ition s .
T hes e are j u s taf ew w ays in w hichw e en v is ion u s in g a
Dyn abook. Bu tif the proj ected au dien ce is tobe ev eryon e, is
itpos s ibl e tom ake the Dyn abook gen eral l yu s ef u l , orw il l it
col l aps e u n derthe w eightof tryin g tobe toom an ydif f eren t
2 6 . P ers on al
Dyn am ic Media
tool s f ortoom an ypeopl e?T he total ran ge of pos s ibl e u s ers
is s ogreatthatan yattem pttos pecif ical l yan ticipate their
n eeds in the des ign of the Dyn abook w ou l d en d in a
dis as trou s f eatu re-l aden hodgepodge w hichw ou l d n otbe
real l ys u itabl e f oran yon e.
Som e m as s item s , s u chas cars an d tel ev is ion s ets , attem pt
toan ticipate an d prov ide f orav arietyof appl ication s in a
f airl yin f l exibl e w ay; thos e w how is htodos om ethin g
dif f eren tw il l hav e topu tin con s iderabl e ef f ort. Otheritem s ,
s u chas paperan d cl ay, of f erm an ydim en s ion s of pos s ibil ity
an d highres ol u tion ; thes e can be u s ed in an u n an ticipated
w aybym an y, thou ghtool s n eed tobe m ade orobtain ed to
s tirs om e of the m ediu m s pos s ibil ities w hil e con s train in g
others .
We w ou l d l ike the Dyn abook tohav e the f l exibil ityan d
gen eral ityof this s econ d kin d of item , com bin ed w ithtool s
w hichhav e the pow erof the f irs tkin d. T hu s agreatdeal of
ef f orthas been pu tin toprov idin g bothen dl es s pos s ibil ities
an d eas ytool ~m al ( in g throu ghthe Sm al l tal k program m in g
l an gu age.
Ou rdes ign s trategy, then , div ides the probl em . T he bu rden
of s ys tem des ign an d s pecif ication is tran s f erred tothe u s er.
T his approachw il l on l yw ork if w e doav erycaref u l an d
com prehen s iv e j ob of prov idin g agen eral m ediu m of com m u -
n ication w hichw il l al l ow ordin aryu s ers tocas u al l yan d
eas il ydes cribe theirdes ires f oras pecif ic tool . We m u s tal s o
prov ide en ou ghal ready w ritten gen eral tool s s othatau s er
n eed n ots tartf rom s cratchf orm os tthin gs s he orhe m ay
w is htodo.
We hav e s tated s ev eral s pecif ic goal s . In s u m m ary, theyare:
toprov ide coheren t, pow erf u l exam pl es of the u s e of the
Dyn abook in an d acros s s u bj ectareas ;
tos tu dyhow the Dyn abook can be u s ed tohel pexpan d a
pers on ' s v is u al an d au ditorys kil l s ;
Q prov ide exception al f reedom of acces s s okids can s pen d al ot
of tim e probin g f ordetail s , s earchin g f orapers on al keyto
u n ders tan din g proces s es theyu s e dail y; an d
tos tu dythe u n an ticipated u s e of the Dyn abook an d
Sm al l tal k bychil dren in al l age grou ps .
theN EWMEDIAR EADER
N ote
An expan ded v ers ion of this paperw as produ ced as XeroxP AR C
T echn ical R eportSSL-7 6 -1, March, 19 7 6 .5
R ef eren ces an d Bibl iography
T he f ol l ow in g is al is tof ref eren ces thatprov ides f u rtherdetail s on
s om e of the dif f eren ts ys tem s des cribed in this report.
1. Baeker, R on al d, ACon v ers ation al Exten s ibl e Sys tem f orthe
An im ation of Shaded Im ages ,"P roc. ACM SIGGR AP H Sym pos iu m ,
P hil adel phia, P en n s yl v an ia, Ju n e 19 7 6 .
2 . Gol dberg, Adel e an d Al an Kay( Eds .), Sm al l tal k-7 2 In s tru ction
Man u al , XeroxP al oAl toR es earchCen ter, T echn ical R eportN o. SSL
7 6 -6 , March19 7 6 .
3. Gol deen , Marian , "Learn in g Abou tSm al l tal k, Creativ e
Com pu tin g, Septem ber-October19 7 5.
4. Kay, Al an , T he R eactiv e En gin e, Doctoral dis s ertation , U n iv ers ity
of U tah, Septem ber19 6 9 .
5. Learn in g R es earchGrou p, P ers on al Dyn am ic Media, XeroxP al o
Al toR es earchCen ter, T echn ical R eportN o. SSL7 6 -1, March19 7 6 .
6 . Sau n ders , S., "Im prov ed F M Au dioSyn thes is Methods f or
R eal tim e Digital Mu s ic Gen eration ,"P roc., ACM Com pu terScien ce
Con f eren ce, Was hin gton , D.C., F ebru ary19 7 5.
7 . Sm ith, Dav id C., P Y GMALION : ACreativ e P rogram m in g
En v iron m en t, Doctoral dis s ertation , Stan f ord U n iv ers ityCom pu ter
Scien ce Departm en t, Ju n e 19 7 5.
8. Sn ook, T od, T hree-dim en s ion al Geom etric Model l in g, Mas ters
thes is , U n iv ers ityof Cal if orn ia, Berkel ey, Septem ber19 7 6 .
__
or . 4, _. O . or to _. 9 8. -,, _. , 2 7 .AT hou s an d P l ateau s
2 7 . [ In trodu ction ]
F rom AT hou s an d P l ateau s
N otal l l iterarym achin es are the s am e. Ital oCal v in ds ( 012 )is n otT ed N el s on ' s ( 030), w hichis n otthat
of Gil l es Del eu ze an d F l ixGu attari. T here is n ev erthel es s reas on todis cu s s the Ou l ipo' s poten tial
l iteratu re, T ed N el s on ' s des cription of the Xan adu proj ect, an d Del eu ze an d Gu attari' s ev ocation of
N eoF reu diMarxiP os tru ctu ral is tw ritin g produ ction u s in g the s am e phras e. T he coin ciden ce of n am e
s u gges ts in teres tin g direction s , particu l arl yw hen con s iderin g w hatitm ightbe l ike totrytograf ton e
m ean in g in toan others con text. An d w e w ou l d certain l yn otbe the f irs ttou n dertake s u chgraf tin g.
Of the w ritin g on cu l tu re in the l as t30years , thatof Gil l es Del eu ze an d F el ixGu attariis am on g
the m os tin f l u en tial , the m os tf u n , an d m os tcu riou s l yappl ied. In n ew m ediathis pl ays its el f ou tin
v eryin teres tin g es s ays s eem in gl yw ritten f rom the pers pectiv e of if l w ere u s in g thes e term s , this is
w hatIw ou l d m ean . U n f ortu n atel y, w hatthe au thorw ou l d pref erthes e term s tom ean is attim es
con f l ated w ithw hatDel eu ze an d Gu attariare s u ppos ed tohav e m ean t. P erhaps this is becau s e
Del eu ze an d Gu attari' s AT hou s an d P l ateau s is m ore com m on l yread than theirAn ti-Oedipu s , w hil e
m an yof the term s u s ed in AT hou s an d P l ateau s are in trodu ced atf argreaterl en gthin An ti-Oedipu s .
T his is n ottos aythatDel eu ze an d Gu attaris term s m ayn otbe u s ef u l l yappropriated f orother
pu rpos es . Su chappropriation has , in f act, been f ru itf u l in m an ycas es . Bu tn otreal izin g an d
in dicatin g thatan appropriation is bein g perpetrated cl os es the av en u es thatm aybe expl ored w hen
en cou n terin g the con cepts as Del eu ze an d Gu attaripres en tthem .
T ake, f orexam pl e, the ideaof rhizom atic w ritin g s ketched bel ow Som e hav e u s ed rhizom atic
w ritin g todes cribe hypertext, orthe properties of on e hypertexts ys tem as oppos ed toan other. Bu t,
atten din g toDel eu ze an d Gu attarf s textf oram om en t:In tru th, itis n oten ou ghtos ay, Lon g l iv e
the m u l tipl e,dif f icu l tas itis torais e thatcry. N otypographical , l exical , orev en s yn tactical cl ev ern es s
is en ou ghtom ake itheard. T he m u l tipl e m u s tbe m ade. . Later, theycharacterize theirbook, w hichis
av erytradition al codexin f orm , as rhizom atic. Cl earl y, in its origin al con text, bein g rhizom atic is a
n otaf eatu re of am ediu m , orev en of as tyl e. T here are n orhizom atic w ritin g tool s , on l yrhizom atic
texts . Lis ten in g tothis origin al con textopen s toau thors the pos s ibil ityof pl ayin g w ithrhizom atic
con cepts in theirw ritin g, ratherthan l im itin g the dis cu s s ion totheirchoice of s of tw are f orw ritin g.
How ev er, w ithou tbein g an expertin Del eu ze an d Gu attari' s w ritin gs ( an d this v ol u m es editors do
n otpreten d tos u chas tatu s )itis s til l pos s ibl e tos ee thatthis es s aychal l en ges the readerto
recon s iderdu al is m s , ev en the du al is m s of rhizom e an d an ti-rhizom e, rhizom e an d tree, correctan d
in correctu s es of atext.
Ev eryrhizom e con tain s l in es of s egrn en tarityaccordin g tow hichitis s tratif ied, territorial ized,
organ ized, s ign if ied, attribu ted, etc., as w el l as l in es of deterritorial ization dow n w hichit
con s tan tl yf l ees . T here is aru ptu re in the rhizom e w hen ev ers egm en taryl in es expl ode in toal in e
of f l ight, bu tthe l in e of f l ightis partof the rhizom e. T hes e l in es al w ays tie back toon e an other.
T hatis w hyon e can n ev erpos itadu al is m oradichotom y, ev en in the ru dim en taryf orm of the
good an d the bad. Y ou m aym ake aru ptu re, draw al in e of f l ight, yetthere is s til l adan gerthatyou
w il l reen cou n terorgan ization s thatres tratif yev erythin g, f orm ation s thatres tore pow ertoa
s ign if ier, attribu tion s thatrecon s titu te as u bj ect an ythin g you l ike, f rom Oedipal res u rgen ces to
f as cis tcon cretion s . Grou ps an d in div idu al s con tain m icrof as cis m s j u s tw aitin g tocrys tal l ize. Y es ,
cou chgras s is al s oarhizom e. Good an d bad are on l ythe produ cts of an activ e an d tem porary
s el ection , w hichm u s tbe ren ew ed.
Here Del eu ze an d Gu attari' s 1000pl ateau s m ayrem in d on e of EiheiDogen s 10,000dharm as
f rom Gen j okoan , af ou n din g docu m en tof SotoZen - in w hichw eeds ris e w ithou rav ers ion , an d
2 7 . AT hou s an d P l ateau s theN EWMEDIAR EADER
f l ow ers f al l w ithou rattachm en t. T hatis tos ay, the chal l en ge Del eu ze an d Gu attaris w ritin g of f ers
toWes tern thou ghtis prof ou n d, es pecial l yw hen on e con s iders thatthe au thors w ere activ el y
en gaged in pol itical action , ratherthan s tan din g apartf rom it. F ou cau l t, in his pref ace toAn ti-
Oedipu s , cal l s itan in trodu ction tothe n on -f as cis tl if e- acal l tobe radical w ithou tbein g s ad. T o
an s w er, w e m u s tf in d aw aytow rite, toact, tobe en gaged in l if e w ithou tbel iev in g in the s el f s im il ar
s el f , w ithou tbel iev in g in eas ydu al is m s w hil e kn ow in g theyw il l al w ays cropu pagain .
N WF
o are w e s o w as s o as 0,9 , s ee
Origin al P u bl ication
Excerpts f rom In trodu ction : R hizom e."AT hou s an d P l ateau s :
Capital is m an d Schizophren iaP artII, 3-7 , 2 1. tran s . Brian Mas s u m i.
Min n eapol is : U n iv ers ityof Min n es otaP res s , 19 87 .
F rom the F ren chCapital is m e etSchizophr n ie, tom e 2 : Mil l e
P l ateau x. P aris : Les Edition s de Min u it, 19 80.
F rom
AT hou s an d P l ateau s
\
A
Gil l es Del eu ze an d
F l ixGu attari
In trodu ction : R hizom e j
T he tw oof u s w rote An ti-Oedipu s together. Sin ce eachof u s
w as s ev eral , there w as al readyqu ite acrow d. Here w e hav e
m ade u s e of ev erythin g thatcam e w ithin ran ge, w hatw as
cl os es tas w el l as f arthes taw ay. We hav e as s ign ed cl ev er
ps eu don ym s toprev en trecogn ition . Whyhav e w e keptou r
ow n n am es ?Ou tof habit, pu rel you tof habit. T om ake
ou rs el v es u n recogn izabl e in tu rn . T oren derim perceptibl e,
n otou rs el v es , bu tw hatm akes u s act, f eel , an d thin k. Al s o
becau s e it' s n ice total k l ike ev erybodyel s e, tos aythe s u n
ris es , w hen ev erybodykn ow s it' s on l yam an n erof s peakin g.
T oreach, n otthe poin tw here on e n ol on gers ays I, bu tthe
poin tw here itis n ol on gerof an yim portan ce w hetheron e
s ays I. We are n ol on gerou rs el v es . Each kn ow his ow n .
We hav e been aided, in s pired, m u l tipl ied. ,
Abook has n eitherobj ectn ors u bj ect; itis m ade of
v ariou s l yf orm ed m atters , an d v erydif f eren tdates an d
s peeds . T oattribu te the book toas u bj ectis toov erl ook this
w orkin g of m atters , an d the exteriorityof theirrel ation s . Itis
tof abricate aben ef icen tGod toexpl ain geol ogical
m ov em en ts . In abook, as in al l thin gs , there are l in es of
articu l ation ors egm en tarity, s trataan d territories ; bu tal s o
l in es of f l ight, m ov em en ts of deterritorial ization an d
des tratif ication . Com parativ e rates of f l ow on thes e l in es
produ ce phen om en aof rel ativ e s l ow n es s an d v is cos ity, or, on
the con trary, of accel eration an d ru ptu re. Al l this , l in es an d
m eas u rabl e s peeds , con s titu tes an as s em bl age book is an
as s em bl age of this kin d, an d as s u chis u n attribu tabl e. Itis a
I19 2 7 . AT hou s an d P l ateau s
m u l tipl icity _ bu tw e don ' tkn ow yetw hatthe m u l tipl e
en tail s w hen itis n ol on gerattribu ted, thatis , af terithas
been el ev ated tothe s tatu s of as u bs tan tiv e. On e s ide of a
.._,_
m achin ic as s em bl age f aces the s trata, w hichdou btl es s m ake
itakin d,of organ is m , ors ign if yin g total ity, ordeterm in ation
attribu tabl e toas u bj ect; ital s ohas as ide f acin g abody
w ithou torgan s , w hichis con tin u al l ydis m an tl in g the
organ is m , cau s in g as ign if yin g particl es orpu re in ten s ities to
pas s orcircu l ate, an d attribu tin g toits el f s u bj ects thatit
l eav es w ithn othin g m ore than an am e as the trace of an
in ten s ity. Whatis the bodyw ithou torgan s of abook?T here
are s ev eral , depen din g on the n atu re. of the l in es con s idered,
theirparticu l argrade orden s ity, an d the pos s ibil ityof their
con v ergin g on aT pl an e of con s is ten cy as s u rin g their
s el ection . Here, as el s ew here, the u n its of m eas u re are w hatis
es s en tial :qu an tif yu iritihg T here is n odif f eren ce betw een
w hatabook tal ks abou tan d how itis m ade. T heref ore a
book al s ohas n oobj ect. As an as s em bl age, abook has on l y
its el f , in con n ection otheras s em bl ages an d in rel ation
tootherbodies w ithou torgan s . We w il l n ev eras k w hata
book m ean s , as s ign if ied ors ign if ier; w e w il l n otl ook f or
an ythin g tou n ders tan d in it. We w il l as k w hatitf u n ttion s
w ith, in con n ection w ith.w hatotherthin gs iitdoes ordoes
n ottran s m itin ten s ities , in w hichotherm u l tipl icities its ow n
are in s erted an d m etam orphos ed, an d w ithw hatbodies
w ithou torgan s itm akes its ow n con v erge. Abook exis ts on l y
throu ghthe ou ts ide an d on the ou ts ide. Abook its el f is a
l ittl e m achin e; w hatis the rel ation ( al s om eas u rabl e)of this
l iterarym achin e toaw arm achin e, l ov e m achin e,
rev ol u tion arym achin e, e.t' c. -an d an abs tractm achin e that
s w eeps them al on g?We hav e been criticized f orov erqu otin g
l iteraryau thors . Bu tw hen on e w rites , the on l yqu es tion is
w hichotherm achin e the l iterarym achin e can be pl u gged
in to, m u s tbe pl u gged in toin ordertow ork. Kl eis tan d am ad
w arm achin e, Kaf kaan d am os textraordin arybu reau cratic
m achin e. . . . ( Whatif on e becam e an im al orpl an tthrou gh
l iteratu re, w hichcertain l ydoes n otm ean l iteraril y?l s itn ot
f irs tthrou ghthe v oice thaton e becom es an im al ?)Literatu re
is an as s em bl age. Ithas n othin g todow ithideol ogy. T here is
n oideol ogyan d n ev erhas been .
Al l w e tal k abou tare m u l tipl icities , l in es , s trataan d
s egm en tarities , l in es of f l ightan d in ten s ities , m achin ic
as s em bl ages an d theirv ariou s types , bodies w ithou torgan s
an d theircon s tru ction an d s el ection , the pl an e of
2 7 . AT hou s an d P l ateau s
con s is ten cy, an d in eachcas e the u n its of m eas u re.
Stratom eters , del eom eters , Bw Ou n its of den s il y, Bu / Ou n its of
con v ergen ce: N oton l ydothes e con s titu te aqu an tif ication of
w ritin g, bu ttheydef in e w ritin g as al w ays the m eas u re of
s om ethin g el s e. Writin g has n othin g todow iths ign if yin g. It
has todow iths u rv eyin g, m appin g, ev en real m s thatare yet
tocom e.
Af irs ttype of book is the root-book. T he tree is al ready
the im age of the w orl d, orthe rootthe im age of the w orl d-
tree. T his is the cl as s ical book, as n obl e, s ign if yin g, an d
s u bj ectiv e organ ic in teriority( the s trataof the book). T he
book im itates the w orl d, as artim itates n atu re:by
procedu res s pecif ic toitthataccom pl is hw hatn atu re
can n otorcan n ol on gerdo. T he l aw of the book is the l aw
of ref l ection , the On e thatbecom es tw o. How cou l d the l aw
of the book res ide in n atu re, w hen itis w hatpres ides ov er
the v erydiv is ion betw een w orl d an d book, n atu re an d art?
On e becom es tw o:w hen ev erw e en cou n terthis f orm u l a,
ev en s tated s trategical l ybyMaooru n ders tood in the m os t
dial ectical w aypos s ibl e, w hatw e hav e bef ore u s is the
m os tcl as s ical an d w el l ref l ected, ol des t, an d w earies tkin d
of thou ght. N atu re does n ' tw ork thatw ay:in n atu re, roots
are taproots w itham ore m u l tipl e, l ateral , an d circu l ar
s ys tem of ram if ication , ratherthan adichotom ou s on e.
T hou ghtl ags behin d n atu re. Ev en the book as an atu ral
real ityis ataproot, w ithits piv otal s pin e an d s u rrou n din g
l eav es . Bu tthe book as as piritu al real ity, the T ree orR ootas
an im age, en dl es s l ydev el ops the l aw of the On e that
becom es tw o, then of the tw othatbecom e f ou r. . . . Bin ary
l ogic is the s piritu al real ityof the root-tree. Ev en adis cipl in e
as adv an ced as l in gu is tics retain s the root tree as its
f u n dam en tal im age, an d thu s rem ain s w edded tocl as s ical
ref l ection ( f orexam pl e, Chom s kyan d his gram m atical
trees , w hichbegin atapoin tS an d proceed bydichotom y).
T his is as m u chas tos aythatthis s ys tem of thou ghthas
n ev erreached an u n ders tan din g of m u l tipl icity:in orderto
arriv e attw of ol l ow in g as piritu al m ethod itm u s tas s u m e a
s tron g prin cipal u n ity. On the s ide of the obj ect, itis n o
dou btpos s ibl e, f ol l ow in g the n atu ral m ethod, togodirectl y
f rom On e tothree, f ou r, orf iv e, bu ton l yif there is as tron g
prin cipal u n ityav ail abl e, thatof the piv otal taproot
s u pportin g the s econ daryroots . T hatdoes n ' tgetu s v ery
f ar. T he bin aryl ogic of dichotom yhas s im pl ybeen repl aced
bybiu n iv ocal rel ation s hips betw een s u cces s iv e circl es . T he
piv otal taprootprov ides n obetteru n ders tan din g of
theN EWMEDIAR EADER
m u l tipl icitythan the dichotom ou s root. On e operates in the
obj ect, the otherin the s u bj ect. Bin aryl ogic an d biu n iv ocal
rel ation s hips s til l dom in ate ps ychoan al ys is ( the tree of
del u s ion in the F reu dian in terpretation of Schrebers cas e),
l in gu is tics , s tru ctu ral is m , an d ev en in f orm ation s cien ce.
T he radicl e-s ys tem , orf as cicu l arroot, is the s econ d f igu re
of the book, tow hichou rm odern itypays w il l in g al l egian ce.
T his tim e, the prin cipal roothas aborted, orits tiphas been
des troyed; an im m ediate, in def in ite m u l tipl icityof s econ dary
roots graf ts on toitan d u n dergoes af l ou ris hin g
dev el opm en t. T his tim e, n atu ral real ityis w hataborts the
prin cipal root, bu tthe root' s u n itys u bs is ts , as pas toryetto
com e, as pos s ibl e. We m u s tas k if ref l exiv e, s piritu al real ity
does n otcom pen s ate f orthis s tate of thin gs bydem an din g
an ev en m ore com prehen s iv e s ecretu n ity, oram ore
exten s iv e total ity. T ake Wil l iam Bu rrou ghs s cu t-u pm ethod:
the f ol din g of on e texton toan other, w hichcon s titu tes ,
m u l tipl e an d ev en adv en titiou s roots ( l ike acu ttin g), im pl ies
as u ppl em en tarydim en s ion tothatof the texts u n der
con s ideration . In this s u ppl em en tarydim en s ion of f ol din g,
u n itycon tin u es its s piritu al l abor. T hatis w hythe m os t
res ol u tel yf ragm en ted w ork can al s obe pres en ted as the
T otal Work orMagn u m Opu s . Mos tm odern m ethods f or
m akin g s eries prol if erate oram u l tipl icitygrow are perf ectl y
v al id in on e direction , f orexam pl e, al in eardirection ,
w hereas au n ityof total ization as s erts its el f ev en m ore
f irm l yin an other, circu l arorcycl ic, dim en s ion . When ev era
m u l tipl icityis taken u pin as tru ctu re, its grow this of f s etby
aredu ction in its l aw s of com bin ation . T he abortion is ts of
u n ityare in deed an gel m akers , doctores an gel ici, becau s e they
af f irm aproperl yan gel ic an d s u perioru n ity. Joyce' s w ords ,
accu ratel ydes cribed as hav in g m u l tipl e roots , s hatterthe
l in earu n ityof the w ord, ev en of l an gu age, on l ytopos ita
cycl ic u n ityof the s en ten ce, text, orkn ow l edge. N ietzs che' s
aphoris m s s hatterthe l in earu n ityof kn ow l edge, on l yto
in v oke the cycl ic u n ityof the etern al retu rn , pres en tas the
n on kn ow n in thou ght. T his is as m u chas tos aythatthe
f as cicu l ars ys tem does n otreal l ybreak w ithdu al is m , w ith
the com pl em en taritybetw een as u bj ectan d an obj ect, a
n atu ral real ityan d as piritu al real ity:u n ityis con s is ten tl y
thw arted an d obs tru cted in the obj ect, w hil e an ew type of
u n itytriu m phs in the s u bj ect. T he w orl d has l os tits piv ot;
the s u bj ectcan n ol on gerev en dichotom ize, bu taccedes toa
higheru n ity, of am biv al en ce orov erdeterm in ation , in an
al w ays s u ppl em en tarydim en s ion tothatof its obj ect. T he
l 9 8., . 2 7 . AT hou s an d P l ateau s
0.. . i __:Q ____.gig. ___.__L_3... ___. a __
w orl d has becom e chaos , bu tthe book rem ain s the im age of
the w orl d:radicl e-chaos m os ratherthan root-cos m os . A
s tran ge m ys tif ication :abook al l the m ore total f orbein g f rag-
m en ted. Atan yrate, w hatav apid idea, the book as the im age
of the w orl d. In tru th, itis n oten ou ghtos ay, Lon g l iv e the
m u l tipl e, dif f icu l tas itis torais e thatcry. N otypographical ,
l exical , orev en s yn tactical cl ev ern es s is en ou ghtom ake it
heard. T he m u l tipl e m u s tbe m ade, n otbyal w ays addin g a
higherdim en s ion , bu tratherin the s im pl es tof w ays , bydin t
of s obriety, w iththe n u m berof dim en s ion s on e al readyhas
av ail abl e al w ays n - 1 ( the on l yw aythe on e bel on gs tothe
m u l tipl e:al w ays s u btracted). Su btractthe u n iqu e f rom the
m u l tipl icitytobe con s titu ted; w rite atn - 1 dim en s ion s . A
s ys tem of this kin d cou l d be cal l ed arhizo1n e.Arhizom e as
s u bterran ean s tem is abs ol u tel ydif f eren tf rom roots an d
radicl es . Bu l bs an d tu bers are rhizom es . P l an ts w ithroots or
radicl es m aybe rhizom orphic in otherres pects al together:
the qu es tion is w hetherpl an tl if e in its s pecif icityis n ot
en tirel yrhizom atic. Ev en s om e an im al s are, in theirpack
f orm . R ats are rhizom es . Bu rrow s are too, in al l of their
f u n ction s of s hel ter, s u ppl y, m ov em en t, ev as ion , an d
breakou t. T he rhizom e its el f as s u m es v erydiv ers e f orm s ,
f rom ram if ied s u rf ace exten s ion in al l direction s to
con cretion in tobu l bs an d tu bers . When rats s w arm ov er
eachother. T he rhizom e in cl u des the bes tan d the w ors t:
potatoan d cou chgras s , orthe w eed. An im al an d pl an t,
cou chgras s is crabgras s . We getthe dis tin ctf eel in g thatw e
w il l con v in ce n oon e u n l es s w e en u m erate certain
approxim ate characteris tics of the rhizom e.
Letu s s u m m arize the prin cipal characteris tics of arhizom e:
u n l ike trees ortheirroots , the rhizom e con n ects an ypoin tto
an yotherpoin t, an d its traits are n otn eces s aril yl in ked to
traits of the s am e n atu re; itbrin gs in topl ayv erydif f eren t
regim es of s ign s , an d ev en n on s ign s tates . T he rhizom e is
redu cibl e n eithertothe On e n orthe m u l tipl e. Itis n otthe
On e thatbecom es T w oorev en directl ythree, f ou r, f iv e, etc.
Itis n otam u l tipl e deriv ed f rom the On e, ortow hichOn e is
added ( n + 1). Itis com pos ed n otof u n its bu tof dim en s ion s ,
orratherdirection s in m otion . Ithas n eitherbegin n in g n or
en d, bu tal w ays am iddl e ( m il ieu )f rom w hichitgrow s an d
w hichitov ers pil l s . Itcon s titu tes l in earm u l tipl icities w ithn
dim en s ion s hav in g n eithers u bj ectn orobj ect, w hichcan be
l aid ou ton apl an e of con s is ten cy, an d f rom w hichthe On e is
al w ays s u btracted ( n - 1). When am u l tipl icityof this kin d
chan ges dim en s ion , itn eces s aril ychan ges in n atu re as w el l ,
u n dergoes am etam orphos is . U n l ike as tru ctu re, w hichis
def in ed byas etof poin ts an d pos ition s , w ithbin ary
rel ation s betw een the poin ts an dbiu n iv ocal rel ation s hips
betw een the pos ition s , the rhizom e is m ade on l yof l in es :
l in es of s egm en tarityan d s tratif ication as its dim en s ion s ,
an d the l in e of f l ightordeterritorial ization as the m axim u m
dim en s ion af terw hichthe m u l tipl icityu n dergoes
m etam orphos is , chan ges in n atu re. T hes e l in es , or
l in eam en ts , s hou l d n otbe con f u s ed w ithl in eages of the
arbores cen ttype, w hichare m erel yl ocal izabl e l in kages
betw een poin ts an d pos ition s . U n l ike the tree, the rhizom e is
n otthe obj ectof reprodu ction :n eitherextern al reprodu ction
as im age-tree n orin tern al reprodu ction as tree s tru ctu re.
T he rhizom e is an an tigen eal ogy. Itis as hort-term m em ory,
oran tim em ory. T he rhizom e operates byv ariation ,
expan s ion , con qu es t, captu re, of f s hoots . U n l ike the graphic
arts , draw in g, orphotography, u n l ike tracin gs , the rhizom e
pertain s toam apthatm u s tbe produ ced, con s tru cted, am ap
thatis al w ays detachabl e, con n ectabl e, rev ers ibl e, m odif iabl e,
an d has m u l tipl e en tryw ays an d exits an d its ow n l in es of
f l ight. Itis tracin gs thatm u s tbe pu ton the m ap, n otthe
oppos ite. In con tras ttocen tered ( ev en pol ycen tric)s ys tem s
w ithhierarchical m odes of com m u n ication an d
prees tabl is hed paths , the rhizom e is an acen tered,
n on hierarchical , n on s ign if yin g s ys tem w ithou taGen eral an d
w ithou tan organ izin g m em oryorcen tral au tom aton ,
def in ed s ol el ybyacircu l ation of s tates . Whatis atqu es tion
in the rhizom e is -arel ation tos exu al ity bu tal s otothe
an im al , the v egetal , the w orl d, pol itics , the book, thin gs
n atu ral an d artif icial thatis total l ydif f eren tf rom the
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F rom Min ds torm s
Seym ou rP apert, 19 80 l
P u t-T hat T here:Voice an d Ges tu re atthe Graphics In terf ace
R ichard A. Bol t, 19 80
P ropos al f oraU n iv ers al El ectron ic P u bl is hin g Sys tem an d Archiv e
( f rom LiteraryMachin es )T hOCl O1e l ' l . N el s on , 19 81
Wil l T here Be Con dom in iu m s in DataSpace?
Bil l Viol a, 19 82
T he En dl es s Chain ( f rom T he MediaMon opol y)
Ben Bagdikian , 19 83
DirectMan ipu l ation :AStepBeyon d P rogram m in g Lan gu ages
Ben Shn eiderm an , 19 83
VideoGam es an d Com pu terHol din g P ow er( f rom T he Secon d Sel f )
SherryT u rkl e, 19 84
ACyborg Man if es to
Don n aHaraw ay, 19 85
T he GN U Man if es to
R ichard Stal l m an , 19 85
U s in g Com pu ters :ADirection f orDes ign ( f rom U n ders tan din g Com pu ters an d Cogn ition )
T erryWin ograd an d F ern an doF l ores , 19 86
T w oSel ection s byBren daLau rel _
T he SixEl em en ts an d the Cau s al R el ation s Am on g T hem ( f rom Com pu ters as T heater), 19 9 1
StarR aiders : Dram atic In teraction in aSm al l Worl d, 19 86
T ow ards aN ew Cl as s if ication of T el e-In f orm ation Serv ices
Jan L. Bordew ij k an d Ben v an Kaam , 19 86
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2 8. [ In trodu ction ]
I-rom Min ds torm s
Chil dren , Com pu ters , an d P ow erf u l Ideas
Whil e m ain f ram e com pu ters w ere hidden aw ayan d atten ded byapries tl ycl as s of experts , m ore
popu l is tideas of the com pu terw ere al s obein g hatched. T hes e en tered the m ain s tream in w hat
becam e, in the 19 80s , the hom e com pu terera -an eran oton l yheral ded bu tn egotiated bythe
acceptan ce, m ain l ybychil dren , of com pu ter-driv en hom e v ideogam e con s ol es . Bu tbef ore that, a
f ew had s een the com pu tern otj u s tas acom m ercial appl ian ce thatcou l d f in d aw ide m arketf or
gam in g an d produ ctiv itypu rpos es bu tal s oas am ean s of l earn in g. Whil e com pu teroperators w ere
s til l s ol em n l yreceiv in g pu n ched cards , af ew m os tprom in en tam on g them , Seym ou rP apert
w ere w orkin g toprov ide en v iron m en ts in w hichchil dren cou l d l earn throu ghthe proces s of
program m in g thatm os tes oteric dev ice. *
P apert, as tu den tof Jean P iaget' s in the earl y19 6 0s , dev el oped aphil os ophyof edu cation bas ed
on P iaget' s w ork an d cal l ed con s tru ction is m . Itdif f ers f rom con s tru ctiv is m ( an otheredu cation al
phil os ophybas ed on P iaget)in thatitl ooks m ore cl os el y. . . atthe ideaof m en tal con s tru ction , as
P apertw rites in T he Chil dren s Machin e ( 143). T he com pu teris s een byP apertas apow erf u l tool f or
s u pportin g chil dren s l earn in g f orl earn in g in as el f directed, s el f -m otiv ated w ay, in the cou rs e of
program m in g. R atherthan s eein g the com pu teras am echan is m f orin s til l in g kn ow l edge an d s kil l s
v iaw orkbook-l ike exercis es , P apert' s program m in g l an gu age, LOGO, al l ow s chil dren totake con trol
of the com pu ter, l earn in g abou tm athem atics throu ghthe experien ce of m athem atical con cepts .
Work on dev el opin g LOGObegan in 19 6 7 in the s am e bu il din g thathou s ed MIT ' s Artif icial
In tel l igen ce Laboratoryan d P roj ectMAC, w hichw ou l d becom e the Laboratoryf orCom pu ter
Scien ce.
Whil e P apertcl earl ybel iev es in the pow erof the com pu tertof acil itate con s tru ction is t,
edu cation al experien ces , com pu tin g is am ean s toan en d f orhim an d othercon s tru ction is t
edu cators . Con s tru ction is tedu cation has certain l ybeen an in f l u en ce on n ew m edia, an in f l u en ce
thatcan be s een m os tdirectl yon Web s ites l ike Mal l / IaMedia( f ou n ded byon e of P apert' s s tu den ts ) .
an d on toys tore s hel v es ( the LegoMin ds torm s robotkits , bas ed on dev el opm en tdon e atMIT , are
n am ed af terP aperf s book), P apertw as abs ol u tel ycorrectin his prediction in the f ol l ow in g s el ection
thatbef ore the en d of the cen tu ry, peopl e w il l bu ychil dren toys w ithas m u chcom pu terpow eras
the greatIBM com pu ters cu rren tl ys el l in g f orm il l ion s of dol l ars . Acom pu teris n otrequ ired to
al l ow chil dren tol earn in acon s tru ction is tw ay, how ev er j u s tas s of tw are al on e w il l n otbrin g
con s tru ction is tedu cation toatradition al cl as s room . Con s tru ction is m , as poten tial l yrev ol u tion ary
toedu cation al phil os ophyas the com pu terchipis toin f orm ation techn ol ogy, does n otcom e
packaged w ithcom pu tin g. As yet, ithas n otu ps ettradition al edu cation tothe exten tthat
com pu tin g has in f l u en ced dail yl if e. I
Whatf ol l ow s is ahypothetical con v ers ation betw een tw ochil dren w hoare w orkin g an d pl ayin g
w iththe com pu ter,"P apertw rote in in trodu cin g the il l u s trated s ection of Min ds torm s thatis
reprodu ced here, on e w hichs u ccin ctl yrev eal s the approachof con s tru ction is m . T hes e an d other l
experim en ts can happen ev eryday - an d theydo. Withcon tin u ed dev el opm en tof program m in g
l an gu ages an d l earn in g en v iron m en ts f orchil dren ( n ow am aj orpartof the MIT MediaLab, the
U n iv ers ityof Maryl an d' s Hu m an -Com pu terIn teraction Lab, an d an u m berof otherl eadin g res earch
cen ters ), thes e s orts of con v ers ation s con tin u e tohappen today, in agrow in g n u m berof con texts .
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Origin al P u bl ication "
Com pu ters an d Com pu terCu l tu res ,"19 -37 an d T u rtl e Geom etry:
AMathem atics Made f orLearn in g, 7 8-9 3. Min ds torm s , N ew Y ork:
Bas ic Books , 19 80.
F rom Min ds torm s
Chil dren , Com pu ters ,
an d P ow erf u l Ideas
Seym ou rP apert
Com pu ters an d Com pu terCu l tu res
In m os tcon tem poraryedu cation al s itu ation s w here chil dren
com e in tocon tactw ithcom pu ters the com pu teris u s ed to
pu tchil dren throu ghtheirpaces , toprov ide exercis es of an
appropriate l ev el of dif f icu l ty, toprov ide f eedback, an d todis -
pen s e in f orm ation . T he com pu terprogram m in g the chil d. In
the LOGO en v iron m en tthe rel ation s hipis rev ers ed:T he
chil d, ev en atpres chool ages , is in con trol :T he chil d
program s the com pu ter. An d in teachin g the com pu terhow
tothin k, chil dren em bark on an expl oration abou thow they
them s el v es thin k. T he experien ce can be heady:T hin kin g
abou tthin kin g tu rn s the chil d in toan epis tem ol ogis t, an
experien ce n otev en s hared bym os tadu l ts .
T his pow erf u l im age of chil d as epis tem ol ogis tcau ghtm y
im agin ation w hil e Iw as w orkin g w ithP iaget. In 19 6 4, af ter
f iv e years atP iagets Cen terf orGen etic Epis tem ol ogyin
Gen ev a, Icam e aw ayim pres s ed byhis w ayof l ookin g at
chil dren as the activ e bu il ders of theirow n in tel l ectu al
s tru ctu res . Bu ttos aythatin tel l ectu al s tru ctu res are bu il tby
the l earn erratherthan tau ghtbyateacherdoes n otm ean
thattheyare bu il tf rom n othin g. On the con trary:Like other
bu il ders , chil dren appropriate totheirow n u s e m aterial s
theyf in d abou tthem , m os ts al ien tl ythe m odel s an d
m etaphors s u gges ted bythe s u rrou n din g cu l tu re.
P iagetw rites abou tthe orderin w hichthe chil d dev el ops
dif f eren tin tel l ectu al abil ities . Igiv e m ore w eightthan he
does tothe in f l u en ce of the m aterial s aparticu l arcu l tu re
prov ides in determ in in g thatorder. F orexam pl e, ou rcu l tu re
is v eryrichin m aterial s u s ef u l f orthe chil d' s con s tru ction of
certain com pon en ts of n u m erical an d l ogical thin kin g.
Chil dren l earn tocou n t; theyl earn thatthe res u l tof
cou n tin g is in depen den tof orderan d s pecial arran gem en t;
theyexten d this con s erv ation tothin kin g abou tthe proper-
ties of l iqu ids as theyare pou red an d of s ol ids w hichchan ge
theirs hape. Chil dren dev el opthes e com pon en ts of thin kin g
precon s ciou s l yan d s pon tan eou s l y, thatis tos ayw ithou t
del iberate teachin g. Othercom pon en ts of kn ow l edge, s u chas
the s kil l s in v ol v ed in doin g perm u tation s an d com bin ation s ,
dev el opm ore s l ow l y, ordon otdev el opatal l w ithou tf orm al
s chool in g. T aken as aw hol e this book is an argu m en tthatin
m an yim portan tcas es this dev el opm en tal dif f eren ce can be
attribu ted toou rcu l tu re' s rel ativ e pov ertyin m aterial s f rom
w hichthe apparen tl ym ore adv an ced"in tel l ectu al s tru ctu res
can be bu il t. T his argu m en tw il l be v erydif f eren tf rom
cu l tu ral in terpretation s of P iagetthatl ook f ordif f eren ces
betw een citychil dren in Eu rope orthe U n ited States an d
tribal chil dren in Af rican j u n gl es . When Is peak here of ou r
cu l tu re Im ean s om ethin g l es s parochial . Iam n ottryin g to
con tras tN ew Y ork w ithChad Iam in teres ted in the
dif f eren ce betw een precom pu tercu l tu res ( w hetherin
Am erican cities orAf rican tribes )an d the com pu ter
cu l tu res thatm aydev el opev eryw here in the n extdecades .
Ihav e al readyin dicated on e reas on f orm ybel ief thatthe
com pu terpres en ce m ighthav e m ore f u n dam en tal ef f ects on
in tel l ectu al dev el opm en tthan did othern ew techn ol ogies ,
in cl u din g tel ev is ion an d ev en prin tin g. T he m etaphorof
com pu teras m athem atics -s peakin g en titypu ts the l earn erin
aqu al itativ el yn ew kin d of rel ation s hiptoan im portan t
dom ain of kn ow l edge. Ev en the bes tof edu cation al tel ev is ion
is l im ited toof f erin g qu an titativ e im prov em en ts in the kin ds
of l earn in g thatexis ted w ithou tit. Ses am e Street m ight
0* ~~oP -~~0~~ 4-~~e o l l gs or~~o 2 8. M' i|' l d$tOI' l ' |1$
of f erbetteran d m ore en gagin g expl an ation s than achil d can
getf rom s om e paren ts orn u rs erys chool teachers , bu tthe
chil d is s til l in the pos ition of l is ten in g toexpl an ation s . By
con tras t, w hen achil d l earn s toprogram , the proces s of
l earn in g is tran s f orm ed. Itbecom es m ore activ e an d s el f -
directed. In particu l ar, the kn ow l edge is acqu ired f ora
recogn izabl e-pers on al pu rpos e. T he chil d does s om ethin g
w ithit. T he n ew kn ow l edge is as ou rce of pow eran d is
experien ced as s u chf rom the m om en titbegin s tof orm in
the chil ds m in d.
Ihav e s poken of m athem atics bein g l earn ed in an ew w ay.
Bu tm u chm ore is af f ected than m athem atics . On e can getan
ideaof the exten tof w hatis chan ged byexam in in g an other
of P iaget' s ideas . P iagetdis tin gu is hes betw een con crete
thin kin g an d f orm al thin kin g. Con crete thin kin g is al ready
w el l on its w aybythe tim e the chil d en ters the f irs tgrade at
age 6 an d is con s ol idated in the f ol l ow in g s ev eral years .
F orm al thin kin g does n otdev el opu n til the chil d is al m os t
tw ice as ol d, thatis tos ayatage 12 , giv e ortake ayearor
tw o, an d s om e res earchers hav e ev en s u gges ted thatm an y
peopl e n ev erachiev e f u l l yf orm al thin kin g. Idon otf u l l y
acceptP iagets dis tin ction , bu tIam s u re thatitis cl os e
en ou ghtoreal itytohel pu s m ake s en s e of the ideathatthe
con s equ en ces f orin tel l ectu al dev el opm en tof on e in n ov ation
cou l d be qu al itativ el ygreaterthan the cu m u l ativ e
qu an titativ e ef f ects of athou s an d others . Stated m os ts im pl y,
m ycon j ectu re is thatthe com pu tercan con cretize ( an d
pers on al ize)the f orm al . Seen in this l ight, itis n otj u s t
an otherpow erf u l edu cation al tool . Itis u n iqu e in prov idin g
u s w iththe m ean s f oraddres s in g w hatP iagetan d m an y
others s ee as the obs tacl e w hichis ov ercom e in the pas s age
f rom chil d toadu l tthin kin g. Ibel iev e thatitcan al l ow u s to
s hif tthe bou n darys eparatin g con crete an d f orm al .
Kn ow l edge thatw as acces s ibl e on l ythrou ghf orm al proces s es
can n ow be approached con cretel y. An d the real m agic com es
f rom the f actthatthis kn ow l edge in cl u des thos e el em en ts
on e n eeds tobecom e af orm al thin ker.
T his des cription of the rol e of the com pu teris rather
abs tract. Is hal l con cretize it, an ticipatin g dis cu s s ion s w hich
occu rin l aterchapters of this book [ Min ds torm s ], byl ookin g
atthe ef f ectof w orkin g w ithcom pu ters on tw okin ds of
thin kin g P iagetas s ociates w iththe f orm al s tage of
in tel l ectu al dev el opm en t:com bin atorial thin kin g, w here on e
has toreas on in term s of the s etof al l pos s ibl e s tates of a
s ys tem , an d s el f -ref eren tial thin kin g abou tthin kin g its el f .
In atypical experim en tin com bin atorial thin kin g, chil dren
are as ked tof orm al l the pos s ibl e com bin ation s ( orf am il ies ")
of beads of as s orted col ors . Itreal l yis qu ite rem arkabl e that
I _ -
m os tchil dren are u n abl e todothis s ys tem atical l yan d
accu ratel yu n til theyare in the f thors ixthgrades . Why
s hou l d this Whydoes this tas k s eem tobe s om u chm ore
dif f icu l tthan the in tel l ectu al f eats -accom pl is hed bys ev en an d
eightyearol d chil dren ?Is its l ogical s tru ctu re es s en tial l ym ore
com pl ex?Can itpos s ibl yrequ ire an eu rol ogical m echan is m
thatdoes n otm atu re u n til the approachof pu berty?Ithin k
thatam ore l ikel yexpl an ation is prov ided byl ookin g atthe
n atu re of the cu l tu re. T he tas k of m akin g the f am il ies of beads
can be l ooked atas con s tru ctin g an d execu tin g aprogram , a
v erycom m on s ortof program , in w hichtw ol oops are n es ted:
F ixaf irs tcol oran d ru n throu ghal l the pos s ibl e s econ d col ors ,
then repeatu n til al l pos s ibl e f irs tcol ors hav e been ru n
throu gh. F ors om eon e w hois thorou ghl yu s ed tocom pu ters
an d program m in g there is n othin g f orm al orabs tractabou t
this tas k. F orachil d in acom pu tercu l tu re itw ou l d be as
con crete as m atchin g u pkn iv es an d f orks atthe din n ertabl e.
Ev en the com m on bu g of in cl u din g s om e f am il ies tw ice ( f or
exam pl e, red-bl u e an d bl u e-red)w ou l d be w el l -kn ow n . Ou r
cu l tu re is richin pairs , cou pl es , an d on e-to-on e"
corres pon den ces of al l s orts , an d it__is richin l an gu age f or
tal kin g abou ts u chthin gs . T his richn es s prov ides boththe
in cen tiv e an d as u ppl yof m odel s an d tool s f orchil dren to
bu il d w ays tothin k abou ts u chis s u es as w hetherthree l arge
pieces of can dyare m ore orl es s than f ou rm u chs m al l er
pieces F ors u chprobl em s ou rchil dren acqu ire an excel l en t
in tu itiv e s en s e of qu an tity. Bu tou rcu l tu re is rel ativ el ypoorin
m odel s of s ys tem atic procedu res . U n til recen tl ythere w as n ot
ev en an am e in popu l arl an gu age f orprogram m in g, l etal on e
f orthe ideas n eeded todos os u cces s f u l l y. T here is n ow ord f or
n es ted l oops an d n ow ord f orthe dou bl e-cou n tin gbu g.
In deed, there are n ow ords f orthe pow erf u l ideas ,|
com pu teris ts ref ertoas bu g an d debu ggin g.
Withou tthe in cen tiv e orthe m aterial s tobu il d pow erf u l ,
con crete w ays tothin k abou tprobl em s in v ol v in g
s ys tem atieity, chil dren are f orced toapproachs u chprobl em s
in agropin g, abs tract. f as hion . T hu s cu l tu ral f actors thatare
com m on tol boththe Am erican cityan d the Af rican v il l age
.
can expl ain the dif f eren ce in age atw hich chil dren bu il d their
in tu itiv e kn ow l edge of qu an tityan d of s ys tem aticity.
Whil e s til l w orkin g in Gen ev aIhad becom e s en s itiv e to
the w ayin w hichm aterial s f rom the then v eryyou n g
2 8. Min ds torm s
com pu tercu l tu res w ere al l ow in g ps ychol ogis ts todev el op
n ew w ays tothin k abou tthin kin g. In f act, m yen tryin tothe
w orl d of com pu ters w as m otiv ated l argel ybythe ideathat
chil dren cou l d al s oben ef it, perhaps ev en m ore than the
ps ychol ogis ts , f rom the w ayin w hichcom pu term odel s
s eem ed abl e togiv e con crete f orm toareas of kn ow l edge
thathad prev iou s l yappeared s oin tan gibl e an d abs tract.
Ibegan tos ee how chil dren w hohad l earn ed toprogram
com pu ters cou l d u s e v erycon crete com pu term odel s to
thin k abou tthin kin g an d tol earn abou tl earn in g an d in
doin g s o, en han ce theirpow ers as ps ychol ogis ts an d as
epis tem ol ogis ts . F orexam pl e, m an ychil dren are hel d back in
theirl earn in g becau s e theyhav e am odel of l earn in g in
w hichyou hav e eithergotit orgotitw ron g. Bu tw hen
you l earn toprogram acom pu terf you al m os tn ev ergetit
rightthe f irs ttim e. Learn in g tobe am as terprogram m eris
l earn in g tobecom e highl ys kil l ed atis ol atin g an d correctin g
bu gs , the parts thatkeepthe program f rom w orkin g. T he
qu es tion toas k abou tthe program is n otw hetheritis right
orw ron g, bu tif itis f ixabl e. If this w ayof l ookin g at
in tel l ectu al produ cts w ere gen eral ized tohow the l arger
cu l tu re thin ks abou tkn ow l edge an d its acqu is ition , w e al l
m ightbe l es s in tim idated byou rf ears of bein g w ron g. T his
poten tial in f l u en ce of the com pu teron chan gin g ou rn otion
of abl ack an d w hite v ers ion of ou rs u cces s es an d f ail u res is
an exam pl e of u s in g the com pu teras an obj ect to-thin k-
w ith. Itis obv iou s l yn otn eces s arytow ork w ithcom pu ters
in ordertoacqu ire good s trategies f orl earn in g. Su rel y
debu ggin g s trategies w ere dev el oped bys u cces s f u l l earn ers
l on g bef ore com pu ters exis ted. Bu tthin kin g abou tl earn in g
byan al ogyw ithdev el opin g aprogram is apow erf u l an d
acces s ibl e w aytogets tarted on becom in g m ore articu l ate
abou ton e' s debu ggin g s trategies an d m ore del iberate abou t
im prov in g them .
Mydis cu s s ion of acom pu tercu l tu re an d its im pacton
thin kin g pres u ppos es am as s iv e pen etration of pow erf u l
com pu ters in topeopl es l iv es . T hatthis w il l happen there can
be n odou bt. T he cal cu l ator, the el ectron ic gam e, an d the
digital w atchw ere brou ghttou s byatechn ical rev ol u tion
thatrapidl yl ow ered prices f orel ectron ics in aperiod w hen
al l others w ere ris in g w ithin f l ation . T hats am e techn ol ogical
rev ol u tion , brou ghtabou tbythe in tegrated circu it, is n ow
brin gin g u s the pers on al com pu ter. Large com pu ters u s ed to
cos tm il l ion s of dol l ars becau s e theyw ere as s em bl ed ou tof
m il l ion s of phys ical l ydis tin ctparts . In the n ew techn ol ogya
theN EWMEDIAR EADER
com pl excircu itis n otas s em bl ed bu tm ade as aw hol e, s ol id
en tity- hen ce the term in tegrated circu it. T he ef f ectof
in tegrated circu ittechn ol ogyon cos tcan be u n ders tood by
com parin g ittoprin tin g. T he m ain expen ditu re in m akin g a
book occu rs l on g bef ore the pres s begin s torol l . Itgoes in to
w ritin g, editin g, an d types ettin g. Othercos ts occu raf terthe
prin tin g:bin din g, dis tribu tin g, an d m arketin g. T he actu al
cos tpercopyf orprin tin g its el f is n egl igibl e. An d the s am e is
tru e f orapow erf u l as f oratriv ial book. So, too, m os tof the
cos tof an in tegrated circu itgoes in toapreparatoryproces s ;
the actu al cos tof m akin g an in div idu al circu itbecom es
n egl igibl e, prov ided en ou ghare s ol d tos pread the cos ts of
dev el opm en t. T he con s equ en ces of this techn ol ogyf orthe
cos tof com pu tation are dram atic. Com pu ters thatw ou l d
hav e cos thu n dreds of thou s an ds in the 19 6 0s an d ten s of
thou s an ds in the earl y19 7 0s can n ow be m ade f orl es s than
adol l ar. T he on l yl im itin g f actoris w hetherthe particu l ar
circu itcan f iton tow hatcorres pon ds toapage thatis to
s aythe s il icon chips on w hichthe circu its are etched.
Bu teachyearin aregu l aran d predictabl e f as hion the art
of etchin g circu its on s il icon chips is becom in g m ore ref in ed
More an d m ore com pl excircu itrycan be s qu eezed on toa
chip, an d the com pu terpow erthatcan be produ ced f orl es s
than adol l arin creas es . Ipredictthatl on g bef ore the en d of
the cen tu ry, peopl e w il l bu ychil dren toys w ithas m u ch
com pu terpow eras the greatIBM com pu ters cu rren tl y
s el l in g f orm il l ion s of dol l ars . An d as f orcom pu ters tobe
u s ed as s u ch, the m ain cos tof thes e m achin es w il l be the
peripheral dev ices , s u chas the keyboard. Ev en if thes e do
n otf al l in price, itis l ikel ythatas u percom pu terw il l be
equ iv al en tin price toatypew riteran d atel ev is ion s et.
T here real l yis n odis agreem en tam on g experts thatthe
cos tof com pu ters w il l f al l toal ev el w here theyw il l en ter
ev erydayl if e in v as tn u m bers . Som e w il l be there as
com pu ters proper, thatis tos ay, program m abl e m achin es .
Others m ightappearas gam es of ev er-in creas in g com pl exity
an d in au tom ated s u perm arkets w here the s hel v es , m aybe
ev en the can s , w il l tal k. On e real l ycan af f ord tol eton e' s
im agin ation ru n w il d. T here is n odou btthatthe m aterial
s u rf ace of l if e w il l becom e v erydif f eren tf orev eryon e,
perhaps m os tof al l f orchil dren . Bu tthere has been
s ign if ican tdif f eren ce of opin ion abou tthe ef f ects this
com pu terpres en ce w il l produ ce. Iw ou l d dis tin gu is hm y
thin kin g f rom tw otren ds of thin kin g w hichIref ertohere as
the s keptical an d the critical .
or. . 0 ~e~-' ~19 80w - 2 8. Min ds torm s
Skeptics don otexpectthe com pu terpres en ce tom ake
m u chdif f eren ce in how peopl e l earn an d thin k. Ihav e
f orm u l ated an u m berof pos s ibl e expl an ation s f orw hythey
thin k as theydo. In s om e cas es Ithin k the s keptics m ight
con ceiv e of edu cation an d the ef f ectof com pu ters on ittoo
n arrow l y. In s tead of con s iderin g gen eral cu l tu ral ef f ects , they
f ocu s atten tion on the u s e of the com pu teras adev ice f or
program m ed in s tru ction . Skeptics then con cl u de thatw hil e
the com pu term ightprodu ce s om e im prov em en ts in s chool
l earn in g, itis n otl ikel ytol ead tof u n dam en tal chan ge. In a
s en s e, too, Ithin k the s keptical v iew deriv es f rom af ail u re to
appreciate j u s thow m u chP iagetian l earn in g takes pl ace as a
chil d grow s u p. If apers on con ceiv es of chil dren ' s in tel l ectu al
dev el opm en t( or, f orthatm atter, m oral ors ocial dev el op-
m en t)as deriv in g chief l yf rom del iberate teachin g, then s u ch
apers on w ou l d be l ikel ytou n deres tim ate the poten tial ef f ect
thatam as s iv e pres en ce of com pu ters an d otherin teractiv e
obj ects m ighthav e on chil dren .
T he critics ?on the otherhan d, dothin k thatthe com pu ter
pres en ce w il l m ake adif f eren ce an d are apprehen s iv e. F or
exam pl e, theyf earthatm ore com m u n ication v iacom pu ters
m ightl ead tol es s hu m an as s ociation an d res u l tin s ocial f rag-
m en tation . As kn ow in g how tou s e acom pu terbecom es
in creas in gl yn eces s arytoef f ectiv e s ocial an d econ om ic
participation , the pos ition of the u n derpriv il eged cou l d
w ors en , an d the com pu tercou l d exacerbate exis tin g cl as s
dis tin ction s . As tothe pol itical ef f ectcom pu ters w il l hav e, the
critics con cern s res on ate w ithOrw el l ian im ages of a19 84
w here hom e com pu ters w il l f orm partof acom pl exs ys tem
of s u rv eil l an ce an d thou ghtcon trol . Critics al s odraw
atten tion topoten tial m en tal heal thhazards of com pu ter
pen etration . Som e of thes e hazards are m agn if ied f orm s of
probl em s al readyw orryin g m an yobs erv ers of con tem porary
l if e; others are probl em s of an es s en tial l yn ew kin d. Atypical
exam pl e of the f orm erkin d is thatou rgrav e ign oran ce of the
ps ychol ogical im pactof tel ev is ion becom es ev en m ore s eriou s
w hen w e con tem pl ate an epochof s u perT V T he hol din g
pow eran d the ps ychol ogical im pactof the tel ev is ion s how
cou l d be in creas ed bythe com pu terin atl eas ttw ow ays . T he
con ten tm ightbe v aried tos u itthe tas tes of eachin div idu al
v iew er, an d the s how m ightbecom e in teractiv e, draw in g the
v iew er in tothe action . Su chthin gs bel on g tothe f u tu re, bu t
peopl e w hoare w orried abou tthe im pactof the com pu teron
peopl e al readycite cas es of s tu den ts s pen din g s l eepl es s
n ights riv eted tothe com pu terterm in al , com in g ton egl ect
boths tu dies an d s ocial con tact. Som e paren ts hav e been
rem in ded of thes e s tories w hen theyobs erv e as pecial qu al ity
of f as cin ation in theirow n chil dren s reaction topl ayin g w ith
the s til l ru dim en taryel ectron ic gam es .
In the categoryof probl em s thatare n ew ratherthan
aggrav ated v ers ion s of ol d on es , critics hav e poin ted tothe
in f l u en ce of the al l egedl ym echan ized thou ghtproces s es of
com pu ters on how peopl e thin k. Mars hal l McLu han s dictu m
thatthe m ediu m is the m es s age m ightappl yhere:If the
m ediu m is an in teractiv e s ys tem thattakes in w ords an d
s peaks back l ike apers on , itis eas ytogetthe m es s age that
m achin es are l ike peopl e an d thatpeopl e are l ike m achin es .
Whatthis m ightdotothe dev el opm en tof v al u es an d s el f -
im age in grow in g chil dren is hard toas s es s . Bu titis n othard
tos ee reas on s f orw orry.
Des pite thes e con cern s Iam es s en tial l yoptim is tic s om e
m ights ayu topian abou t the ef f ectof com pu ters on
s ociety. Idon otdis m is s the argu m en ts of the critics . On the
con trary, Itoos ee the com pu terpres en ce as apoten t
in f l u en ce on the hu m an m in d. Iam v erym u chaw are of the
hol din g pow erof an in teractiv e com pu teran d of how takin g
the com pu teras am odel can in f l u en ce the w ayw e thin k
abou tou rs el v es . In f actthe w ork on LOGO tow hichIhav e
dev oted m u chof the pas tten years con s is ts precis el yof
dev el opin g s u chf orces in pos itiv e direction s . F orexam pl e, the
critic is horrif ied atthe thou ghtof achil d hypn otical l yhel d
byaf u tu ris tic, com pu terized s u per-pin bal l m achin e. In the
LOGOw ork w e hav e in v en ted v ers ion s of s u chm achin es in
w hichpow erf u l ideas f rom phys ics orm athem atics or
l in gu is tics are em bedded in aw aythatperm its the pl ayerto
l earn them in an atu ral f as hion , an al ogou s tohow achil d
l earn s tos peak. T he com pu ter' s hol din g pow er, s of eared by
critics , becom es au s ef u l edu cation al tool . Ortake an other,
m ore prof ou n d exam pl e. T he critic is af raid thatchil dren w il l
adoptthe com pu teras m odel an d ev en tu al l ycom e tothin k
m echan ical l y them s el v es . F ol l ow in g the oppos ite tack, Ihav e
in v en ted w ays totake edu cation al adv an tage of the
opportu n ities tom as terthe artof del iberatel ythin kin g l ike a
com pu ter, accordin g, f orexam pl e, tothe s tereotype of a
com pu terprogram thatproceeds in as tep-by-s tep, l .iteral ,
m echan ical f as hion . T here are s itu ation s w here this s tyl e of
thin kin g is appropriate an d u s ef u l . Som e chil dren s
dif f icu l ties in l earn in g f orm al s u bj ects s u chas gram m aror
m athem atics deriv e f rom theirin abil itytos ee the poin tof
s u chas tyl e.
2 8. Min ds torm s
As econ d edu cation al adv an tage is in directbu tu l tim atel y
m ore im portan t. Bydel iberatel yl earn in g toim itate
m echan ical thin kin g, the l earn erbecom es abl e toarticu l ate
w hatm echan ical thin kin g is an d w hatitis n ot. T he exercis e
can l ead togreatercon f iden ce abou tthe abil itytochoos e a
cogn itiv e s tyl e thats u its the probl em . An al ys is of
m echan ical thin kin g an d how itis dif f eren tf rom other
kin ds an d practice w ithprobl em an al ys is can res u l tin an ew
degree of in tel l ectu al s ophis tication . Byprov idin g av ery
con crete, dow n -to earthm odel of aparticu l ars tyl e of
thin kin g, w ork w iththe com pu tercan m ake iteas ierto
u n ders tan d thatthere is s u chathin g as as tyl e of thin kin g.
An d giv in g chil dren the opportu n itytochoos e on e s tyl e or
an otherprov ides an opportu n itytodev el opthe s kil l
n eces s arytochoos e betw een s tyl es . T hu s in s tead of in du cin g
m echan ical thin kin g, con tactw ithcom pu ters cou l d tu rn ou t
tobe the bes tcon ceiv abl e an tidote toit. An d f orm e w hatis
m os tim portan tin this is thatthrou ghthes e experien ces
thes e chil dren w ou l d be s erv in g theirappren tices hips as
epis tem ol ogis ts , thatis tos ayl earn in g tothin k articu l atel y
abou tthin kin g.
T he in tel l ectu al en v iron m en ts of f ered tochil dren by
today' s cu l tu res are poorin opportu n ities tobrin g their
thin kin g abou tthin kin g in tothe open , tol earn total k abou t
itan d totes ttheirideas byextern al izin g them . Acces s to
com pu ters can dram atical l ychan ge this s itu ation . Ev en the
s im pl es tT u rtl e w ork can open n ew opportu n ities f or
s harpen in g on es thin kin g abou tthin kin g:P rogram m in g the
T u rtl e s tarts bym akin g on e ref l ecton how on e does on es el f
w haton e w ou l d l ike the T u rtl e todo. T hu s teachin g the
T u rtl e toactortothin k can l ead on e toref l ecton on es
OW' I1 action s an d thin kin g. An d as chil dren m ov e on , they
program the com pu tertom ake m ore com pl exdecis ion s an d
f in d them s el v es en gaged in ref l ectin g on m ore com pl ex
as pects of theirow n thin kin g.
In s hort, w hil e the critic an d Is hare the bel ief thatw ork-
in g w ithcom pu ters can hav e apow erf u l in f l u en ce on how
peopl e thin k, Ihav e tu rn ed m yatten tion toexpl orin g how
this in f l u en ce cou l d be tu rn ed in pos itiv e direction s .
Is ee tw okin ds of cou n terargu m en ts tom yargu m en ts
again s tthe critics . T he f irs tkin d chal l en ges m ybel ief thatit
is agood thin g f orchil dren tobe epis tem ol ogis ts . Man y
peopl e w il l argu e thatov erl yan al ytic, v erbal ized thin kin g is
cou n terprodu ctiv e ev en if itis del iberatel ychos en . T he
s econ d kin d of obj ection chal l en ges m ys u gges tion thatcom -
theN EWMEDIAR EADER
pu ters are l ikel ytol ead tom ore ref l ectiv e s el f -con s ciou s
thin kin g. Man ypeopl e w il l argu e thatw ork w ithcom pu ters
u s u al l yhas the oppos ite ef f ect. T hes e tw okin ds of -
obj ection s cal l f ordif f eren tkin ds of an al ys is an d can n otbe
dis cu s s ed s im u l tan eou s l y. T he f irs tkin d rais es techn ical
qu es tion s abou tthe ps ychol ogyof l earn in g. T he s econ d kin d
of obj ection is m os tdirectl yan s w ered bys ayin g thatthere is
abs ol u tel yn oin ev itabil itythatcom pu ters w il l hav e the
ef f ects Ihope tos ee. N otal l com pu ters ys tem s do. Mos tin
u s e todaydon ot. In LOGOen v iron m en ts Ihav e s een
chil dren en gaged in an im ated con v ers ation s abou ttheirow n
pers on al kn ow l edge as theytrytocaptu re itin aprogram to
m ake aT u rtl e carryou tan action thattheythem s el v es
kn ow v eryw el l how todo. Bu tof cou rs e the phys ical
pres en ce of acom pu teris n oten ou ghtoin s u re thats u ch
con v ers ation s w il l com e abou t. Earf rom it. In thou s an ds of
s chool s an d in ten s of thou s an ds of priv ate hom es chil dren
are rightn ow l iv in g throu ghv erydif f eren tcom pu ter
experien ces . In m os tcas es the com pu teris bein g u s ed either
as av ers atil e v ideogam e oras ateachin g m achin e
program m ed topu tchil dren throu ghtheirpaces in
arithm etic ors pel l in g. An d ev en w hen chil dren are tau ghtby
aparen t, apeer, oraprof es s ion al teachertow rite s im pl e
program s in al an gu age l ike BASIC, this activ ityis n ot
accom pan ied atal l bythe kin d of epis tem ol ogical ref l ection
thatw e s ee in the LOGO en v iron m en ts . SoIs hare a'
s kepticis m w iththe critics abou tw hatis bein g don e w ith
com pu tation n ow . Bu tIam in teres ted in s tim u l atin g a
m aj orchan ge in how thin gs can be. T he bottom l in e f or
s u chchan ges is pol itical . Whatis happen in g n ow is an
em pirical qu es tion . Whatcan happen is atechn ical qu es tion .
Bu tw hatw il l happen is apol itical qu es tion , depen din g on
s ocial choices .
T he cen tral open qu es tion s abou tthe ef f ectof com pu ters
on chil dren in the 19 80s are thes e:Whichpeopl e w il l be
attracted tothe w orl d of com pu ters , w hattal en ts w il l they
brin g, an d w hattas tes an d ideol ogies w il l theyim pos e on the
grow in g com pu tercu l tu re?Ihav e des cribed chil dren in
LOGO en v iron m en ts en gaged in s el f ref eren tial dis cu s s ion s
abou ttheirow n thin kin g. T his cou l d happen becau s e the
LOGOl an gu age an d the T u rtl e w ere des ign ed bypeopl e w ho
en j oys u chdis cu s s ion an d w orked hard todes ign am ediu m
thatw ou l d en cou rage it. Otherdes ign ers of com pu ter
s ys tem s hav e dif f eren ttas tes an d dif f eren tideas abou tw hat
kin ds of activ ities are s u itabl e f orchil dren . Whichdes ign w il l
0~ Q ~ ~ ~ ea: * * -a
prev ail , an d in w hats u b cu l tu re, w il l n otbe decided bya
s im pl e bu reau cratic decis ion m ade, f orexam pl e, in a
gov ern m en tDepartm en tof Edu cation orbyacom m ittee of
experts . T ren ds in com pu ters tyl e w il l em erge f rom a
com pl exw eb of decis ion s byF ou n dation s w ithres ou rces to
s u pporton e oran otherdes ign , bycorporation s w hom ays ee
am arket, bys chool s , byin div idu al s w how il l decide tom ake
theircareerin the n ew f iel d of activ ity, an d bychil dren w ho
w il l hav e theirow n s ayin w hattheypick u pan d w hatthey
m ake of it. P eopl e of ten as k w hetherin the f u tu re chil dren
w il l program com pu ters orbecom e abs orbed in pre-
program m ed activ ities . T he an s w erm u s tbe thats om e
chil dren w il l dothe on e, s om e the other, s om e bothan d
s om e n either. Bu tw hichchil dren , an d m os tim portan tl y,
w hichs ocial cl as s es of chil dren , w il l f al l in toeachcategory
w il l be in f l u en ced bythe kin d of com pu teractiv ities an d the
kin d of en v iron m en ts created arou n d them .
As an exam pl e, w e con s ideran activ ityw hichm ayn ot
occu rtom os tpeopl e w hen theythin k of com pu ters an d
chil dren :the u s e of acom pu teras aw ritin g in s tru m en t. F or
m e, w ritin g m ean s m akin g arou ghdraf tan d ref in in g itov er
acon s iderabl e period of tim e. Myim age of m ys el f as aw riter
in cl u des the expectation of an u n acceptabl e f irs tdraf tthat
w il l dev el opw iths u cces s iv e editin g in topres en tabl e f orm .
Bu tIw ou l d n otbe abl e toaf f ord this im age if Iw ere athird
grader. T he phys ical actof w ritin g w ou l d be s l ow an d
l aboriou s . Iw ou l d hav e n os ecretary. F orm os tchil dren
rew ritin g atextis s ol aboriou s thatthe f irs tdraf tis the f in al
copy, an d the s kil l of rereadin g w ithacritical eye is n ev er
acqu ired. T his chan ges dram atical l yw hen chil dren hav e
acces s tocom pu ters capabl e of m an ipu l atin g text. T he f irs t
draf tis com pos ed atthe keyboard. Correction s are m ade
eas il y. T he cu rren tcopyis al w ays n eatan d tidy. Ihav e s een a
chil d m ov e f rom total rej ection of w ritin g toan in ten s e
in v ol v em en t( accom pan ied byrapid im prov em en tof qu al ity)
w ithin af ew w eeks of begin n in g tow rite w ithacom pu ter.
Ev en m ore dram atic chan ges are s een w hen the chil d has
phys ical han dicaps thatm ake w ritin g byhan d m ore than
u s u al l ydif f icu l torev en im pos s ibl e.
T his u s e of com pu ters is rapidl ybecom in g adopted
w herev eradu l ts w rite f oral iv in g. Mos tn ew s papers n ow
prov ide theirs taf f w ithw ord proces s in g com pu ters ys tem s .
Man yw riters w how ork athom e are acqu irin g theirow n
com pu ters , an d the com pu terterm in al is s teadil ydis pl acin g
the typew riteras the s ecretarys bas ic tool . T he im age of
|39 8.... _. . 2 8. Min ds torm s
chil dren u s in g the com pu teras aw ritin g in s tru m en tis a
particu l arl ygood exam pl e of m ygen eral thes is thatw hatis
good f orprof es s ion al s is good f orchil dren . Bu tthis im age of
how the com pu term ightcon tribu te tochil dren s m as teryof
l an gu age is dram atical l yoppos ed tothe on e thatis takin g
rootin m os tel em en tarys chool s . T here the com pu teris s een
as ateachin g in s tru m en t. Itgiv es chil dren practice in
dis tin gu is hin g betw een v erbs an d n ou n s , in s pel l in g, an d in
an s w erin g m u l tipl e-choice qu es tion s abou tthe m ean in g of
pieces of text. As Is ee it, this dif f eren ce is n otam atterof a
s m al l an d techn ical choice betw een tw oteachin g s trategies .
Itref l ects af u n dam en tal dif f eren ce in edu cation al
phil os ophies . More tothe poin t, itref l ects adif f eren ce in
v iew s on the n atu re of chil dhood. Ibel iev e thatthe com pu ter
as w ritin g in s tru m en tof f ers chil dren an opportu n ityto
becom e m ore l ike adu l ts , in deed l ike adv an ced prof es s ion al s ,
in theirrel ation s hiptotheirin tel l ectu al produ cts an d to
them s el v es . In doin g s o, itcom es in tohead on col l is ion w ith
the m an yas pects of s chool w hos e ef f ect, if n otw hos e
in ten tion , is toin f an til ize the chil d.
Word proces s ors can m ake achil ds experien ce of w ritin g
m ore l ike thatof areal w riter. Bu tthis can be u n derm in ed if
the adu l ts s u rrou n din g thatchil d f ail toappreciate w hatitis
l ike tobe aw riter. F orexam pl e, itis on l ytooeas ytoim agin e
adu l ts , in cl u din g teachers , expres s in g the v iew thateditin g
an d re editin g atextis aw as te of tim e ( Whydon tyou get
on tos om ethin g n ew ? orY ou aren ' tm akin g itan ybetter,
w hydon ' tyou f ixyou rs pel l in g?).
As w ithw ritin g, s ow ithm u s ic-m akin g, gam es of s kil l ,
com pl exgraphics , w hatev er:T he com pu teris n otacu l tu re
u n toits el f bu titca.n s erv e toadv an ce v erydif f eren tcu l tu ral
an d phil os ophical ou tl ooks . F orexam pl e, on e cou l d thin k of
the T u rtl e as adev ice toteachel em en ts of the tradition al
cu rricu l u m , s u chas n otion s of an gl e, s hape, an d coordin ate
s ys tem s . An d in f act, m os tteachers w hocon s u l tm e abou t
its u s e are, qu ite -u n ders tan dabl y, tryin g tou s e itin this w ay.
T heirqu es tion s are abou tcl as s room organ ization ,
s chedu l in g probl em s , pedagogical is s u es rais ed bythe
T u rtl es in trodu ction , an d es pecial l y, abou thow itrel ates
con ceptu al l ytothe res tof the cu rricu l u m . Of cou rs e the
T u rtl e can hel pin the teachin g of tradition al cu rricu l u m , bu t
Ihav e thou ghtof itas av ehicl e f orP iagetian l earn in g, w hich
tom e is l earn in g w ithou tcu rricu l u m .
T here are thos e w hothin k abou tcreatin g aP iagetian
cu rricu l u m orP iagetian teachin g m ethods . Bu ttom y
._ .__4 ,.@ ~___.__- __
4
>
l a
2 8. Min ds torm s
m in d thes e phras es an d the activ ities theyrepres en tare
con tradiction s in term s . Is ee P iagetas the theoris tof
l earn in g w ithou tcu rricu l u m an d the theoris tof the kin d of
l earn in g thathappen s w ithou tdel iberate teachin g. T otu rn
him in tothe theoris tof an ew cu rricu l u m is tos tan d him
on his head.
Bu tteachin g w ithou tcu rricu l u m does n otm ean
s pon tan eou s , f ree-f orm cl as s room s ors im pl yl eav in g the
chil d al on e. Itm ean s s u pportin g chil dren as theybu il d their
ow n in tel l ectu al s tru ctu res w ithm aterial s draw n f rom the
s u rrou n din g cu l tu re. In this m odel , edu cation al in terv en tion
m ean s chan gin g the cu l tu re, pl an tin g n ew con s tru ctiv e
el em en ts in itan d el im in atin g n oxiou s on es . T his is am ore
am bitiou s u n dertakin g than in trodu cin g acu rricu l u m chan ge,
bu ton e w hichis f eas ibl e u n dercon dition s n ow em ergin g.
Su ppos e thatthirtyyears agoan edu catorhad decided that
the w aytos ol v e the probl em of m athem atics edu cation w as
toarran ge f oras ign if ican tf raction of the popu l ation to
becom e f l u en tin ( an d en thu s ias tic abou t)an ew
m athem atical l an gu age. T he ideam ighthav e been good in
prin cipl e, bu tin practice itw ou l d hav e been abs u rd. N oon e
had the pow ertoim pl em en tit. N ow thin gs are dif f eren t.
Man ym il l ion s of peopl e are l earn in g program m in g l an gu ages
f orreas on s thathav e n othin g todow iththe edu cation of
chil dren . T heref ore, itbecom es apractical propos ition to
in f l u en ce the f orm of the l an gu ages theyl earn an d the
l ikel ihood thattheirchil dren w il l pick u pthes e l an gu ages .
T he edu catorm u s tbe an an thropol ogis t. T he edu catoras
an thropol ogis tm u s tw ork tou n ders tan d w hichcu l tu ral
m aterial s are rel ev an ttoin tel l ectu al dev el opm en t. T hen , he
ors he n eeds tou n ders tan d w hichtren ds are takin g pl ace in
the cu l tu re. Mean in gf u l in terv en tion m u s ttake the f orm of
w orkin g w iththes e tren ds . In m yrol e of edu catoras
an thropol ogis tIs ee n ew n eeds bein g gen erated bythe
pen etration of the com pu terin topers on al l iv es . P eopl e w ho
hav e com pu ters athom e orw hou s e them atw ork w il l w an t
tobe abl e total k abou tthem totheirchil dren . T heyw il l
w an ttobe abl e toteachtheirchil dren tou s e the m achin es .
T hu s there cou l d be acu l tu ral dem an d f ors om ethin g l ike
T u rtl e graphics in aw aythere n ev erw as , an d perhaps n ev er
cou l d be, acu l tu ral dem an d f orthe N ew Math.
T hrou ghou tthe cou rs e of this chapterIhav e been tal kin g
abou tthe w ays in w hichchoices m ade byedu cators ,
f ou n dation s , gov ern m en ts , an d priv ate in div idu al s can af f ect
the poten tial l yrev ol u tion arychan ges in how chil dren l earn .
theN EWMEDIAR EADER
Bu tm akin g good choices is n otal w ays eas y, in partbecau s e
pas tchoices can of ten hau n tu s . T here is aten den cyf orthe
f irs tu s abl e, bu ts til l prim itiv e, produ ctof an ew techn ol ogy
todig its el f in . Ihav e cal l ed this phen om en on the Q WER T Y
phen om en on .
T he toprow of al phabetic keys of the s tan dard typew riter
reads Q WER T Y . F orm e this s ym bol izes the w ayin w hich
techn ol ogycan al l tooof ten s erv e n otas af orce f orprogres s
bu tf orkeepin g thin gs s tu ck. T he Q WER T Y arran gem en thas
n oration al expl an ation , on l yahis torical on e. Itw as
in trodu ced in res pon s e toaprobl em in the earl ydays of the
typew riter:T he keys u s ed toj am . T he ideaw as tom in im ize
the col l is ion probl em bys eparatin g thos e keys thatf ol l ow ed
on e an otherf requ en tl y. Ju s taf ew years l ater, gen eral
im prov em en ts in the techn ol ogyrem ov ed the j am m in g
probl em , bu tQ WER T Y s tu ck. On ce adopted, itres u l ted in
m an ym il l ion s of typew riters an d am ethod ( in deed af u l l -
bl ow n cu rricu l u m )f orl earn in g typin g. T he s ocial cos tof
chan ge ( f orexam pl e, pu ttin g the m os tu s ed keys togetheron
the keyboard)m ou n ted w iththe v es ted in teres tcreated by
the f actthats om an yf in gers n ow kn ew how tof ol l ow the
Q WER T Y keyboard. Q WER T Y has s tayed on des pite the exis -
ten ce of other, m ore ration al s ys tem s . On the otherhan d, if
you tal k topeopl e abou tthe Q WER T Y arran gem en ttheyw il l
j u s tif yitbyobj ectiv e criteria. T heyw il l tel l you thatit
optim izes this oritm in im izes that. Al thou ghthes e
j u s tif ication s hav e n oration al f ou n dation , theyil l u s trate a
proces s , as ocial proces s , of m ythcon s tru ction thatal l ow s u s
tobu il d aj u s tif ication f orprim itiv ityin toan ys ys tem . An d I
thin k thatw e are w el l on the road todoin g exactl ythe s am e
thin g w iththe com pu ter. We are in the proces s of diggin g
ou rs el v es in toan an achron is m bypres erv in g practices that
hav e n oration al bas is beyon d theirhis torical roots in an
earl ierperiod of techn ol ogical an d theoretical dev el opm en t.
T he u s e of com pu ters f ordril l an d practice is on l yon e
exam pl e of the Q WER T Y phen om en on in the com pu ter
dom ain . An otherexam pl e occu rs ev en w hen attem pts are
m ade toal l ow s tu den ts tol earn toprogram the com pu ter.
As w e s hal l s ee in l aterchapters , l earn in g toprogram a
com pu terin v ol v es l earn in g aprogram m in g l an gu age.
T here are m an ys u chl an gu ages f orexam pl e, F OR T R AN ,
P ASCAL, BASIC, SMALLT ALK, an d LISP , an d the l es s er
kn ow n l an gu age LOGO, w hichou rgrou phas u s ed in m os t
of ou rexperim en ts w ithcom pu ters an d chil dren . A
pow erf u l Q WER T Y phen om en on is tobe expected w hen w e
19 80
0 .. a ax I 2 8. Min ds torm s
choos e the l an gu age in w hichchil dren are tol earn to
program com pu ters . Is hal l argu e in detail thatthe is s u e is
con s equ en tial . Aprogram m in g l an gu age is l ike an atu ral ,
hu m an l an gu age in thatitf av ors certain m etaphors , im ages ,
an d w ays of thin kin g. T he l an gu age u s ed s tron gl ycol ors the
com pu tercu l tu re. Itw ou l d s eem tof ol l ow thatedu cators
in teres ted in u s in g com pu ters an d s en s itiv e tocu l tu ral
in f l u en ces w ou l d payparticu l aratten tion tothe choice of
l an gu age. Bu tn othin g of the s orthas happen ed. On the
con trary, edu cators , tootim id in techn ol ogical m atters or
tooign oran ttoattem pttoin f l u en ce the l an gu ages of f ered
bycom pu term an u f actu rers , hav e accepted certain
program m in g l an gu ages in m u chthe s am e w ayas they
accepted the Q WER T Y keyboard. An in f orm ativ e exam pl e is
the w ayin w hichthe program m in g l an gu age BASIC?has
es tabl is hed its el f as the obv iou s l an gu age tou s e in teachin g
Am erican chil dren how toprogram com pu ters . T he rel ev an t
techn ical in f orm ation is this :Av erys m al l com pu tercan be
m ade tou n ders tan d BASIC, w hil e otherl an gu ages dem an d
m ore f rom the com pu ter. T hu s , in the earl ydays w hen
com pu terpow erw as extrem el yexpen s iv e, there w as a
gen u in e techn ical reas on f orthe u s e of BASIC, particu l arl y
in s chool s w here bu dgets w ere al w ays tight. T oday, an d in
f actf ors ev eral years n ow , the cos tof com pu term em oryhas
f al l en tothe poin tw here an yrem ain in g econ om ic
adv an tages of u s in g BASIC are in s ign if ican t. Y etin m os t
highs chool s , the l an gu age rem ain s al m os ts yn on ym ou s
w ithprogram m in g, des pite the exis ten ce of othercom pu ter
l an gu ages thatare dem on s trabl yeas iertol earn an d are
richerin the in tel l ectu al ben ef its thatcan com e f rom
l earn in g them . T he s itu ation is paradoxical . T he com pu ter
rev ol u tion has s carcel ybegu n , bu tis al readybreedin g its
ow n con s erv atis m . Lookin g m ore cl os el yatBASIC prov ides
aw in dow on how acon s erv ativ e s ocial s ys tem appropriates
an d tries ton eu tral ize apoten tial l yrev ol u tion ary
in s tru m en t.
BASIC is tocom pu tation w hatQ WER T Y is totypin g.
Man yteachers hav e l earn ed BASIC, m an ybooks hav e been
w ritten abou tit, m an ycom pu ters hav e been bu il tin s u cha
w aythatBASIC is hardw ired in tothem . In the cas e of the
typew riter, w e n oted how peopl e in v en tration al ization s to
j u s tif ythe s tatu s qu o. In the cas e of BASIC, the phen om en on
has gon e m u chf u rther, tothe poin tw here itres em bl es
ideol ogyf orm ation . Com pl exargu m en ts are in v en ted to
j u s tif yf eatu res of BASIC thatw ere origin al l yin cl u ded
becau s e the prim itiv e techn ol ogydem an ded them orbecau s e
al tern ativ es w ere n otw el l en ou ghkn ow n atthe tim e the
l an gu age w as des ign ed.
An exam pl e of BASIC ideol ogyis the argu m en tthat
BASIC is eas ytol earn becau s e ithas av erys m al l v ocabu l ary.
T he s u rf ace v al idityof the argu m en tis im m ediatel ycal l ed
in toqu es tion if w e appl yittothe con textof how chil dren
l earn n atu ral l an gu ages . Im agin e as u gges tion thatw e in v en t
as pecial l an gu age tohel pchil dren l earn tos peak. T his
l an gu age w ou l d hav e as m al l v ocabu l aryof j u s tf if tyw ords ,
bu tf if tyw ords s ow el l chos en thatal l ideas cou l d be
expres s ed u s in g them . Wou l d this l an gu age be eas ierto
l earn ?P erhaps the v ocabu l arym ightbe eas ytol earn , bu t
the u s e of the v ocabu l arytoexpres s w haton e w an ted tos ay
w ou l d be s ocon torted thaton l ythe m os tm otiv ated an d
bril l ian tchil dren w ou l d l earn tos aym ore than hi. T his is
cl os e tothe s itu ation w ithBASIC. Its s m al l v ocabu l arycan
be l earn ed qu ickl yen ou gh. Bu tu s in g itis adif f eren t
m atter. P rogram s in BASIC acqu ire s ol abyrin thin e a
s tru ctu re thatin f acton l ythe m os tm otiv ated an d bril l ian t
( m athem atical )chil dren dol earn tou s e itf orm ore than
triv ial en ds . '
On e m ightas k w hythe teachers don otn otice the
dif f icu l tychil dren hav e in l earn in g BASIC. T he an s w eris
s im pl e:Mos tteachers don otexpecthighperf orm an ce f rom
m os ts tu den ts , es pecial l yin adom ain of w ork thatappears to
be as m athem atical an d f orm al as program m in g. T hu s the
cu l tu res gen eral perception of m athem atics as in acces s ibl e
bol s ters the m ain ten an ce of BASIC, w hichin tu rn con f irm s
thes e perception s . Moreov er, the teachers are n otthe on l y
peopl e w ho-s e as s u m ption s an d prej u dices f eed in tothe
circu itthatperpetu ates BASIC. T here are al s othe
com pu teris ts , the peopl e in the com pu terw orl d w hom ake
decis ion s abou tw hatl an gu ages theircom pu ters w il l s peak
T hes e peopl e, gen eral l yen gin eers , f in d BASIC qu ite eas yto
l earn , partl ybecau s e theyare accu s tom ed tol earn in g s u ch
v erytechn ical s ys tem s an d partl ybecau s e BASICs s ortof
s im pl icityappeal s totheirs ys tem of v al u es . T hu s , a
particu l ars u bcu l tu re, on e dom in ated bycom pu teren gin eers ,
is in f l u en cin g the w orl d of edu cation tof av orthos e s chool
s tu den ts w hoare m os tl ike thats u bcu l tu re. T he proces s is
tacit, u n in ten tion al :Ithas n ev erbeen pu bl icl yarticu l ated, l et
al on e ev al u ated. In al l of thes e w ays , the s ocial em beddin g of
BASIC has f arm ore s eriou s con s equ en ces than the diggin g
in of Q WER T Y .
2 8. Min ds torm s
T here are m an yotherw ays in w hichthe attribu tes of the
s u bcu l tu res in v ol v ed w ithcom pu ters are bein g proj ected
on tothe w orl d of edu cation . F orexam pl e, the ideaof the
com pu teras an in s tru m en tf ordril l an d practice that
appeal s toteachers becau s e itres em bl es tradition al
teachin g m ethods al s oappeal s tothe en gin eers w hodes ign
com pu ters ys tem s : Dril l an d practice appl ication s are
predictabl e, s im pl e todes cribe, ef f icien tin u s e of the
m achin es res ou rces . Sothe bes ten gin eerin g tal en tgoes
in tothe dev el opm en tof com pu ters ys tem s thatare bias ed
tof av orthis kin d of appl ication . T he bias operates s u btl y.
T he m achin e des ign ers don otactu al l ydecide w hatw il l be
don e in the cl as s room s . T hatis don e byteachers an d
occas ion al l yev en bycaref u l l ycon trol l ed com parativ e
res earchexperim en ts . Bu tthere is an iron yin thes e
con trol l ed experim en ts . T heyare v erygood attel l in g
w hetherthe s m al l ef f ects s een in bes ts cores are real ordu e
tochan ce. Bu ttheyhav e n ow aytom eas u re the
u n dou btedl yreal ( an d probabl ym ore m as s iv e)ef f ects of
the bias es bu il tin tothe m achin es .
We hav e al readyn oted thatthe con s erv ativ e bias bein g
bu il tin tothe u s e of com pu ters in edu cation has al s obeen
bu il tin toothern ew techn ol ogies . T he f irs tu s e of the n ew
techn ol ogyis qu ite n atu ral l ytodoin as l ightl ydif f eren t
w ayw hathad been don e bef ore w ithou tit. Ittook years
bef ore des ign ers of au tom obil es accepted the ideathatthey
w ere cars , n othors el es s carriages , an d the precu rs ors of
m odern m otion pictu res w ere pl ays acted as if bef ore al iv e
au dien ce bu tactu al l yin f ron tof acam era. Aw hol e
gen eration w as n eeded f orthe n ew artof m otion pictu res
toem erge as s om ethin g qu ite dif f eren tf rom al in earm ixof
theaterpl u s photography. Mos tof w hathas been don e u p
ton ow u n derthe n am e of edu cation al techn ol ogy or
com pu ters in edu cation is s til l atthe s tage of the l in ear
m ixof ol d in s tru ction al m ethods w ithn ew techn ol ogies .
T he topics Is hal l be dis cu s s in g are s om e of the f irs t
probin gs tow ard am ore organ ic in teraction of f u n dam en tal
edu cation al prin cipl es an d n ew m ethods f ortran s l atin g
them in toreal ity.
theN EWMEDIAR EADER
We are atapoin tin the his toryof edu cation w hen radical
chan ge is pos s ibl e, an d the pos s ibil ityf orthatchan ge is
directl ytied tothe im pactof the com pu ter. T odayw hat-is
of f ered in the edu cation m arket is l argel ydeterm in ed by
w hatis acceptabl e toas l u ggis han d con s erv ativ e s ys tem .
Bu tthis is w here the com pu terpres en ce is in the proces s of
creatin g an en v iron m en tf orchan ge. Con s iderthe
con dition s u n derw hichan ew edu cation al ideacan be pu t
in topractice todayan d in the n earf u tu re. Letu s s u ppos e
thattodayIhav e an ideaabou thow chil dren cou l d l earn
m athem atics m ore ef f ectiv el yan d m ore hu m an el y. An d l et
u s s u ppos e thatIhav e been abl e topers u ade am il l ion
peopl e thatthe ideais agood on e. F orm an yprodu cts s u ch
apoten tial m arketw ou l d gu aran tee s u cces s . Y etin the
w orl d of edu cation todaythis w ou l d hav e l ittl e cl ou t:A
m il l ion peopl e acros s the n ation w ou l d s til l m ean a
m in orityin ev erytow n s s chool s ys tem , s othere m ightbe
n oef f ectiv e chan n el f orthe m il l ion v oices tobe expres s ed.
T hu s , n oton l ydogood edu cation al ideas s iton the s hel v es ,
bu tthe proces s of in v en tion is its el f s tym ied. T his
in hibition of in v en tion in tu rn in f l u en ces the s el ection of
peopl e w hogetin v ol v ed in edu cation . Veryf ew w iththe
im agin ation , creativ ity, an d driv e tom ake greatn ew
in v en tion s en terthe f iel d. Mos tof thos e w hodoare s oon
driv en ou tin f ru s tration . Con s erv atis m in the w orl d of
edu cation has becom e as el f -perpetu atin g s ocial
phen om en on .
F ortu n atel y, there is aw eak l in k in the v iciou s circl e.
In creas in gl y, the com pu ters of the v eryn earf u tu re w il l be
the priv ate propertyof in div idu al s , an d this w il l gradu al l y
retu rn tothe in div idu al the pow ertodeterm in e pattern s of
edu cation . Edu cation w il l becom e m ore of apriv ate act, an d
peopl e w ithgood ideas , dif f eren tideas , excitin g ideas w il l n o
l on gerbe f aced w ithadil em m aw here theyeitherhav e to
s el l theirideas toacon s erv ativ e bu reau cracyors hel v e
them . T heyw il l be abl e toof f erthem in an open
m arketpl ace directl ytocon s u m ers . T here w il l be n ew
opportu n ities f orim agin ation an d origin al ity. T here m ight
be aren ais s an ce of thin kin g abou tedu cation .
0. ~ . A 4 l l ggoaa~-an ~ 2 8. Min ds torm s
N otes
1. T he program F OLLOW* is av erys im pl e exam pl e of how a
pow erf u l cybern etic idea( con trol byn egativ e f eedback)can be
u s ed toel u cidate abiol ogical orps ychol ogical phen om en on .
Sim pl e as itis , the exam pl e hel ps bridge the gapbetw een phys ical
m odel s of "cau s al m echan is m "an d ps ychol ogical phen om en on
s u chas "pu rpos e."
T heoretical ps ychol ogis ts hav e u s ed m ore com pl exprogram s in the
s am e s pirittocon s tru ctm odel s of practical l yev erykn ow n
ps ychol ogical phen om en on . Abol d f orm u l ation of the s piritof
s u chin qu iryis f ou n d in HerbertA. Sim on , Scien ces of the Arti cial
( Cam bridge: MIT P res s , 19 6 9 ).
2 . T he critics an d s keptics ref erred tohere are dis til l ation s f rom
years of pu bl ic an d priv ate debates . T hes e attitu des are w idel y
hel d, bu t, u n f ortu n atel y, s el dom pu bl is hed an d theref ore s el dom
dis cu s s ed w ithan ys em bl an ce of rigor. On e critic w hohas s eta
good exam pl e bypu bl is hin g his v iew s is Jos ephWeizen bau m in
Com pu terP ow eran d Hu m an R eas on : F rom Ju dgem en ttoCal cu l ation
( San F ran cis co: W.H. F reem an , 19 7 6 ).
U n f ortu n atel yWeizen bau m ' s book dis cu s s es tw os eparate ( thou gh
rel ated)qu es tion s : w hethercom pu ters harm the w aypeopl e thin k
an d w hethercom pu ters them s el v es can thin k. Mos tcritical rev iew s
of Weizen bau m hav e f ocu s ed on the l atterqu es tion , on w hichhe
j oin s com pan yw ithHu bertL. Dref u s , WhatCom pu ters Can ' tDo: A
Cn tiqu e of Arti cial R eas on ( N ew Y ork: Harper& R ow , 19 7 2 ).
Al iv el ydes cription of s om e of the prin cipal participan ts in the
debate abou tw hethercom pu ters can orcan n otthin k is f ou n d in
P am el aMcCordu ck, Machin es WhoT hin k ( San F ran cis co: W.H.
F reem an , 19 7 9 ).
T here is l ittl e pu bl is hed dataon w hethercom pu ters actu al l yaf f ect
how peopl e thin k. T his qu es tion is bein g s tu died pres en tl ybyS.
T u rkl e.
3. Man yv ers ion s of BASIC w ou l d al l ow aprogram toprodu ce a
s hape l ike thatm ade bythe LOGO program HOU SE. T he s im pl es t
exam p.e w ou l d l ook s om ethin g l ike this :
10P LOT ( 0,0)
2 0P LOT ( 100,0)
30P LOT 100,100)
40P LOT 15,150)
s oP LOT 0,100)
00P LOT 0,0)
7 0EN D
Writin g s u chaprogram f al l s s hortof the LOGO program as a
begin n in g program m in g experien ce in m an yw ays . Itdem an ds
kn ow l edge of cartes ian coordin ates . T his dem an d w ou l d be l es s
s eriou s if the program , on ce w ritten , cou l d becom e apow erf u l
tool f orotherproj ects . T he LOGO program s SQ , T R I, an d HOU SE
can be u s ed todraw s qu ares , trian gl es , an d hou s es in an ypos ition
an d orien tation on the s creen . T he BASIC program al l ow s on ce
,~ \,-\/ -3,-3
particu l arhou s e tobe draw n in on e pos ition . In ordertom ake a
BASIC program thatw il l draw hou s es in m an ypos ition s , itis
n eces s arytou s e al gebraic v ariabl es as in P LOT ( x, y), P LOT ( x+
100, y), an d s oon . As f orde n in g n ew com m an ds , s u chas SQ ,
T R I, an d HOU SE, the com m on l yu s ed v ers ion s of BASIC eitherdo
n otal l ow this atal l or, atbes t, al l ow s om ethin g akin toittobe
achiev ed throu ghthe u s e of adv an ced techn ical program m in g
m ethods . Adv ocates of BASIC m ightrepl ythat: ( 1)thes e
obj ection s ref eron l ytoabegin n ers experien ce an d ( 2 )thes e
de cien cies of BASIC cou l d be f ixed. T he f irs targu m en tis s im pl y
n ottru e: T he in tel l ectu al an d practical prim itiv ityof BASIC
exten ds al l al on g the l in e u ptothe m os tadv an ced program m in g.
T he s econ d m is s es the poin tof m ycom pl ain t. Of cou rs e on e cou l d
tu rn BASIC in toLOGO orSMALLT ALKoran ythin g el s e an d s til l cal l
it"BASIC."Mycom pl ain tis thatw hatis bein g f ois ted on the
edu cation w orl d has n otbeen s o"f ixed."Moreov er, doin g s o
w ou l d be al ittl e l ike "rem odel l in g"aw ooden hou s e tobecom e a
s kys craper.
* T ou chSen s orT u rtl e. T he s im pl es ttou chs en s orprogram in LOGO
is as f ol l ow s :
T O BOU N CE Com m en ts
R EP EAT ' T his m ean s repeatal l the in idiv idu al s teps
F OR WAR D 1 T he tu rtl e keeps m ov in g
T EST F R ON T .T OU CH Itchecks w hetherithas ru n in tos om ethin g
IF T R U ER IGHT 180If s o, itdoes an abou ttu rn
EN D
T his w il l m ake the T u rtl e tu rn abou tw hen iten cou n ters an obj ect.
Am ore s u btl e an d m ore in s tru ctiv e program u s in g the T ou ch
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IF T R U ER IGHT 1 Itthin ks it' s toocl os e an d tu rn s aw ay
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EN D l os e the obj ects oittu rn s tow ard
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actin g ou thow theythin k theyw ou l d u s e tou chtogetarou n d an
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2 9 . [ In trodu ction ]
"P u t-T hat-T here
Voice an d Ges tu re atthe Graphics In terf ace
Mu l tim odal in terf aces , com bin in g s peechan d ges tu re in pu t, are the m os tobv iou s des cen dan ts of the
s ys tem des cribed in the f ol l ow in g es s ay. T heyaren ' tthe on l yon es , thou gh:im portan tcon cepts of
em bedded com pu tin g, an d of acom pu terin terf ace thatis m ore l ike s poken con v ers ation ( ev en if n ot
au gm en ted byges tu re), w ere al s oadv an ced byBol ts P u t-T hat-T here .
Datais repres en ted s patial l yon al l graphical com pu ters today, bu titis al m os tal w ays repres en ted
in tw o-dim en s ion al s pace. T he MediaR oom s etu pbyN ichol as N egropon te atMIT ' s Architectu re
Machin e Grou p, an d des cribed in Bol ts es s ay, w as s patial in atl eas ttw ow ays . Itu s ed tw o-
dim en s ion al s creen s toprov ide av iew in toas im u l ated three-dim en s ion al s pace. Ital s oem pl oyed an
arran gem en tof s creen s an d s peakers s itu ated in the architectu ral s pace of the room . Bycreatin g an
extrav agan tcom pu tin g en v iron m en t, ratherthan doin g m ore f ocu s ed s tu dyof s pecif ic
com m u n ication s m odal ities con s idered s eparatel y, res earchers in the Architectu re Machin e Grou p
w ere abl e toarriv e atas u rpris in gl ydif f eren t, an d extrem el yu s ef u l , con ceptof hu m an -com pu ter
in teraction , in w hichthes e tw otypes of s pace are experien ced bythe u s eras on e.
Mu l tim odal in terf aces al l ow apers on tocom m u n icate w ithacom pu terbys im u l tan eou s l yu s in g
chan n el s s u chas s peech, ges tu re, gaze ( w hichcan be detected u s in g eye-trackin g equ ipm en t), an d
f acial expres s ion . In certain s ys tem s , the com pu terrepl ies bym ean s of an em bodied repres en tation
thatcan al s ou s e hu m an -l ike m odal ities . T hes e s ys tem s rel y, f orthe m os tpart, on u n ders tan din g the
ordin arycom m u n icativ e behav iors of apers on an d gen eratin g repl ies of the s ortahu m an w ou l d.
T orequ ire peopl e tol earn as pecial ges tu ral l an gu age ors eries of codes w ou l d. af teral l , w ork again s t
the goal s of eas e an d f l u en cythatm otiv ate the creation of m u l tim odal en v iron m en ts .
T he in terf ace ideabehin d P u t-T hat-T here in v ol v es n otj u s tthe com bin ation of s peechan d ges tu re
bu tapref eren ce ( w ithin the categoryof appl ication s bein g con s idered)f ors peechov ertypin g. In
certain w ays , this n otion is actu al l ythe m os tradical , con s iderin g thatthe com m on his toryof n ew
m ediais of ten f ocu s ed on how the n u m ber-cen tered com pu tercan be em pl oyed f orradical l ydif f eren t
textu al pu rpos es . Voice recogn ition is n ow s een as an aid toacces s ibil ityan d al es s pain f u l w ayf orthe
w ris t-w earytoen tertextu al datain tothe com pu ter, bu tithas n otyetbecom e aprim arycom pu ter
in terf ace exceptin u n u s u al n iches . If the av erage com pu terin terf ace w as tobecom e bas ed on oral ity
ratherthan l iteracy, the u ps etcou l d be al m os tas prof ou n d as the s hif tf rom s eein g the com pu teras a
n u m ber-cru n chertos eein g itas am an ipu l atorof w ritten l an gu age.
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Origin al P u bl ication :
Com pu terGraphics 4( 3):2 6 2 2 7 0. Ju l y19 80.
P u t-T hat-T here"
Voice an d Ges tu re at
the Graphics In terf ace
R ichard A. Bol t
In trodu ction , t
R ecen tl y, the Architectu re Machin e Grou patthe
Mas s achu s etts In s titu te of T echn ol ogyhas been
experim en tin g w iththe con j oin tu s e of v oice-in pu tan d
ges tu re-recogn ition tocom m an d ev en ts on al arge f orm at
ras ter-s can graphics dis pl ay.
Of cen tral in teres tis how v oice an d ges tu re can be m ade to
in ter orcl ' 1es trate, action s in on e m odal ityam pl if yin g,
m odif yin g, dis am bigu atin g, action s in the other. T he
approachin v ol v es the s ign if ican tu s e of pron ou n s , ef f ectiv el y
as tem poraryv ariabl es toref eren ce item s on the dis pl ay.
T he in teraction s tobe des cribed are s taged in the MIT
Architectu re Machin e Grou p' s MediaR oom , aphys ical
f acil ityw here the u s er' s term in al is l iteral l yaroom in to
w hichon e s teps , ratherthan ades k-topCR T bef ore w hich
on e is perched. '
T he MediaR oom s ketched in F igu re 2 9 .1 is the s ize of a
pers on al of f ice:abou ts ixteen f eetl on g el ev en f eetw ide, an d
abou teightf eetf rom f l oortoceil in g. T he f l ooris rais ed to
accom m odate cabl in g f rom an en s em bl e of m in i-com pu ters
w hichdriv es dis pl ays an d dev ices res iden tin the Media
R oom . T he w al l s , f in is hed in dark brow n pil e f abric, hou s e
ban ks of l ou ds peakers on eithers ide of aw al l s ized, f ros ted-
gl as s proj ection s creen , an d on eithers ide an d abittothe
rearof the u s erl s chair.
T he u s er' s -chairis av in yl -cov ered Eam es type chair,
exactl yas com es f rom the f u rn itu re s tore, exceptf ortw o
types of in s tu m en tation bas ed in its arm s . Eitherarm bears
as m al l , on e in chhighj oys tick, of the n on -dis pl acin g v ariety,
s en s itiv e topres s u re an d direction . N earbyeachj oys tick is a
tw o-in chon edge, s qu are-s haped tou chs en s itiv e pad.
T he w al l -s ized s creen , abou teightf eettothe u s er' s f ron t,
is s erv ed byback proj ectl on f rom acol orT V l ight-v al v e
theN EWMEDIAR EADER
proj ectors itu ated in an adj oin in g room . Col orT V m on itors
are s itu ated on eithers ide of the u s er' s chair, eachw ithits
tu be f ace ov erl ain w ithatran s paren t, tou ch-s en s itiv e pad.
Apartf rom its rol e as an em bodim en tof the u s erterm in al
as an in f orm ation al s u rrou n d [ 1] the MediaR oom w ithits
u s erchairhas pl ayed akeyrol e in ou rres earches in toa
Spatial Data-Man agem en tSys tem , orSDMS [ 2 ]."
T he s pecif ic ration al e f ors patial l yin dexin g dataderiv es
f rom ou rev erydayexperien ce of retriev in g item s , s ay, f rom
ou rdes ktopzthe phon e tothe rightan d abov e the bl otter;
the appoin tm en tcal en darin the l ow erright; the in ~box"
n earbythe as htrayatthe l ow erl ef t, an d s of orth. R etriev al is
n atu ral an d au tom atic f orthes e item s , w ithev en an
apparen tl ym es s y des k hav in g as patial l ogic w el l -kn ow n to
its creatoran d u s er, the kn ow l edge of w here this an d that
item are l ocated bein g en coded con j oin tl yin m en tal an d
m otorm odel s of the l ayou tof the des ktop.
T he u s erof SDM-S retriev es in f orm ation n otbytypin g
n am es , i.e., al phan u m eric s trin gs on akeyboard term in al , bu t
in s tead u s es j oys tick an d, occas ion al l y, tou chcon trol s to
n av igate abou tin ahel icopter-l ike m an n ertow here s peci c
caches of in f orm ation res ide in arichgraphics w orl d of col or
an d s ou n d.
T he w orl d of in f orm ation in SDMS, du bbed Datal an d,"
appears in its en tiretyu pon on e of the col orT V m on itors
n ear-bythe u s erchair. As m al l tran s paren trectan gu l ar
ov erl ay, ayou -are-here"m arker, can be m ov ed an d
pos ition ed abou tDatal an d bythe u s ers m an agin g of the
chairs right han d j oys tick ( orbydirecttou chon the T V
s creen , if des ired). T hats u b-portion of the Datal an d s u rf ace
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F igu re 2 9 .1. Sketchof MediaR oom .
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1 0-. _+_ 4) _= u A ~ & N c
in dicated bythe you -are-here rectan gl e is portrayed w ith
in creas ed detail on the l arge s creen , ef f ectiv el yam agn if yin g
w in dow on toDatal an d. T he l ef t-han d j oys tick on the u s er
chairen abl es the u s ertozoom in u pon in f orm ation togeta
cl os erl ook atan yof an u m berof m u l ti-m ediadata types
( e.g., m aps , el ectron ic books , v ideodis c epis odes ), an d
perhaps toperu s e them w iththe aid of an as s ociated tou ch-
s en s itiv e Key-m ap w hichcom es u pon the otherT V
m on itorbythe u s erchair.
T he MediaR oom s ettin g, in addition toits pow erto
gen erate acon v in cin g im pres s ion of in teractin g w ithan
im pl icit, v irtu al w orl d of databehin d the f ram e of the
phys ical in terf ace, im pl ies yetan otherreal m ororderof s pace
rif e w ithpos s ibil ities f orin teraction :the actu al s pace of the
MediaR oom its el f .
T he s heerexten tof the MediaR oom s phys ical in terf ace
creates areal -s pace en v iron m en t. T he u s ers f ocal s itu ation
am ids tan en s em bl e of s ev eral s creen s of v ariou s s izes creates
as etof geom etrical rel ation s hips qu ite apartf rom an ypu rel y
l ogical rel ation s hipbetw een an yon e s creen s con ten tan d
thatof an yother.
P roperl yorches trated, the tw os patial orders , v irtu al
graphical s pace, an d the u s ers im m ediate real s pace in the
MediaR oom , can con v erge tobecom e ef f ectiv el yon e
con tin u ou s in teractiv e s pace.
U s eraw aren es s of this com m on s pace is im pl icit:the u s er
poin ts , ges tu res , ref eren ces u p, dow n , . . tothe l ef tof . . .
an d s oon , f reel yan d n atu ral l y, precis el ybecau s e the u s eris
s itu ated in areal s pace. T appin g this in teractiv e poten tial is
rooted in tw on ew techn ical of f erin gs in the areas of : 1)
con n ected s peechrecogn ition ; 2 )pos ition s en s in g in s pace.
Speechan d Space: T he T echn ol ogies
T w obroad categories of cu rren tl ycom m ercial l yav ail abl e
s peechrecogn izers m aybe dis tin gu is hed:thos e w hich
recogn ize dis crete oris ol ated u tteran ces , an d thos e w hich
recogn ize con n ected s peech.
Withthos e s peechrecogn ition s ys tem s res tricted to
dis crete u tteran ces , pars in g of the s peechs ign al in tow ord-
by-w ord token s , is n otdon e. T he hu m an s peakerm u s ttal k
tothe s ys tem in acl ipped orw ord-by w ord s tyl e.
T he recogn ition of con n ected s peechhas been acl as s ic
chal l en ge in the f iel d of s peechrecogn ition gen eral l y[ 3]. T he
DP -100Con n ected SpeechR ecogn ition Sys tem ( CSR S)by
N EC ( N ippon El ectric Com pan y)Am erica, In c. is capabl e of a
|18.- - 2 9 . P u t-T hat-T here"
l im ited am ou n tof recogn ition of con n ected s peech[ 4]. N o
pau s e betw een w ords is n eces s ary, an d u ptof iv e w ords or
u tteran ces are perm itted pers poken s en ten ce.
T he recogn ition res pon s e tim e atthe en d of eachs en ten ce
is abou t300m il l is econ ds . Ou tpu tis adis pl ayof the textof
the u tteran ce on an al phan u m eric v is u al dis pl ay, an d/ oras et
of ASCIIcodes ( n u m bers orl etters )tobe receiv ed bya
proces s orin terf aced w iththe N EC s ys tem .
T he dev ices v ocabu l ary, hel d in the recogn izers activ e
m em oryas as etof w ord ref eren ce pattern s , is am axim u m of
12 0w ords . Withan option al dis crete u tteran ce m ode, the
s ize of the activ e v ocabu l aryin the s ys tem s m em orym aybe
l arger, abou t1000w ords . Exceptf orthe digits on e toten ,
w hichm u s tbe s poken tw ice bythe u s erw hen train in g the
m achin e, eachw ord in train in g m ode n eed be s poken on l y
on ce. T he s tan dard s ys tem com es w ithal ightw eight, head~
m ou n ted m icrophon e. We l ook f orw ard toev en tu al u s e of a
s hotgu n m icrophon e in the MediaR oom , rem ote f rom bu t
aim ed atthe s peaker.
As pace pos ition an d orien tation s en s in g techn ol ogy
s u itabl e f orou rin ten tion s w as f ou n d tobe m ade by
P ol hem u s N av igation Scien ce, In c., of Es s ex, Verm on t. T his
s ys tem , cal l ed R OP AMS ( R em ote Obj ectP os ition Attitu de
Meas u rem en tSys tem )is bas ed on m eas u rem en ts m ade of a
n u tatin g m agn etic f iel d. Es s en tial s of the s ys tem are as
f ol l ow s .
T hree coil s are epoxied in toapl as tic cu be, theirm ou n tin gs
m u tu al l yorthogon al tocorres pon d tox, y, an d z s patial axes .
T w os u chcu bes are in v ol v ed:on e, abou t1.5in ches on edge
w hichacts as atran s m itter, an d an other, 0.7 5in ches on edge,
w hichf u n ction s as as en s or. T he arran gem en tof coil s in
eithercu be es s en tial l ycreates an an ten n athatis s en s itiv e in
al l three orien tation s .
T he tran s m ittercu be radiates an u tatin g dipol e f iel d
poin ted atthe s en s orcu be. When the poin tin g v ectoris
correct, the f iel d s tren gthreceiv ed w il l be con s tan t. When it
is n ot. there w il l be an errors ign al con s is tin g of the n u tation
f requ en cy. T his erroris u s ed togen erate the ou tpu tpoin tin g
an gl es , an d tore-aim the tran s m itter.
T he orien tation in s pace of the s en s orcu be is determ in ed
bytran s f orm in g the dif f eren tial s ign al s f rom the three
in div idu al orthogon al coil s in the s en s orcu be. T he s en s or
cu bes dis tan ce f rom the tran s m ittercu be is com pu ted bythe
1/ R 3 f al l -of f of s ign al s tren gthf rom the radiatin g dipol e, or
bytrian gu l ation w ithan addition al radiator.
I
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___ -
2 9 . "P u t-T hat-T here"
T he s en s orcu be is v eryl ightw eight, an d al thou ghithas a
s m al l cord ru n n in g ou tof it, itis n otan es pecial l y
trou bl es om e item tohan dl e. Su chs en s ors can readil ybe
w ris t m ou n ted, w orn as f in gerrin gs , m ou n ted on the v is or
of bas ebal l caps , orpu ton as ortof l ab j acket in l ieu of cu f f
an d col l arbu tton s orepau l ets .
Com m an ds .
Su ppos e the u s ers eated bef ore the MediaR oom s l arge
s creen , w ithas pace-s en s in g cu be attached toaw atchban d
on his w ris t, an d thatthe s ys tem s m icrophon e is readyan d
l is ten in g. Som e com m an ds f rom the s ys tem s cu rren t
repertoire il l u s trativ e of v oice an d poin tin g in con certare the
f ol l ow in g:
Create . . ."
In ou rdem on s tration s ys tem , the l arge s creen is in itial l y
eithercl ear, orbears s om e s im pl e backdrops u chas am ap.
Again s tthis backgrou n d, s im pl e item s are cal l ed in to
exis ten ce, m ov ed abou t, repl icated, theirattribu tes al tered,
an d then m aybe ordered tov an is h.
T he item s u s ed are bas ic s hapes : circl es , s qu ares , diam on ds .
T heyare n on repres en tation al in thatthe thin g is the s hape.
Variabl e attribu tes are: col or( red, yel l ow , oran ge, green ,
bl u e . . an d s ize ( l arge, m ediu m , s m al l ). F orexam pl e, the
u s erpoin ts tos om e s poton the l arge s creen . As m al l , w hite
x cu rs oron the s creen prov ides ru n n in g v is u al f eedback f or
poin tin g. T he u s erthen s ays :
Create abl u e s qu are there.
T he s ize of the s qu are is n otgiv en expl icitl yin this
exam pl e com m an d; the def au l ts ize, m ediu m , is u s ed. Abl u e
s qu are appears on the s potw here the u s eris poin tin g. T here
is n odef au l tcol or; s om e col orf rom the preprogram m ed
paren ten s em bl e of col orn am es m u s tbe giv en . T he s am e is
tru e f ors hape.
Where the f eed-back cu rs oris res idin g on the s creen atthe
tim e the s poken there occu rs becom es the s potw here the
to be-created item is pl aced. T he occu rren ce of the s poken
there is thu s f u n ction al l yaw hen ; thatis , its erv es as a
v oice bu tton f orthe x, ycu rs oraction of the poin tin g
ges tu re.
Accordin gl y, acon s iderabl e pau s e bef ore the occu rren ce of
the there is perm is s ibl e, i.e.:
Create abl u e s qu are . . . there.
the-N EWMEDIAR EADER
T he com pl ete u tteran ce in ef f ectis acal l toaCreate
rou tin e, w hichrou tin e expects certain param eters tobe
s u ppl ied. Bef ore the u s errecites the.re, the rou tin e is
param eterhu n g. T he aw aited param eteris in pu t, com pl etin g
the con j u n ction of x, ypoin tin g in pu tf rom the w ris t-born e
s pace s en s orw iththe u tteran ce there.
F igu re 2 s how s the u s erhav in g created an u m berof item s
on the s creen bef ore him .
Mov e . . ."
T he u s ercan readil ym ov e item s abou tthe s creen , an d has
av ail abl e av arietyof w ays in w hichtoexpres s the com pl ete
m ov e com m an d.
F igu re 2 9 .2 . T al kin g an d poin tin g toitem s on the MediaR 0om ' s
l arge s creen . Here, the item s are circl e an d diam on d s hapes bein g
m ov ed abou tagain s tabackdropof aCaribbean m ap. Adou bl e
expos u re ef f ectcatches tw oim ages of the u s ers rightarm ,
s trapped tow hichis the s m al l erof the pairof s pace-s en s in g
cu bes ( cov ered bythe u s er' s cu f f ). On apedes tal tothe rightof
the u s erchairis al u cite bl ock, an d tothe topof this bl ock is
attached the l argertran s m ittercu be.
Con s iderthe u s ercom m an d:
Mov e the bl u e trian gl e tothe rightof the green
s qu are.
T his exam pl e com m an d rel ies on v oice m ode on l y. Shou l d,
f orexam pl e, there exis ton l yon e trian gl e on the s creen atthe
tim e the com m an d is giv en , the adj ectiv e bl u e bears n o
in f orm ation , an d cou l d be om itted; the s am e l ogic appl ies f or
the qu al if iergreen in green s qu are.
0a ~= o= A 0~ as 0 00 ' ' * " T |19 8o" ~ 00- I 2 9 . P U t"T hat-T here
We n ote in pas s in g thatin the phras e . . the green
s qu are, the attribu te green as v oiced is treated s im pl yas
partof the n am e of the item as origin al l ycreated. T hatis , the
col orn am e is u s ed in an om in al s en s e, as in Mos cow s R ed
Squ are, w here R ed is f u n ction al l ypartof apropern am e,
n otas ign al thatw e s hou l d expectacitys qu are tobe pain ted
al l in red.
Apropos of col or, am ore am bitiou s in terpretiv e approach
m ightbe tom apthe u tteran ce green topixel v al u es , the
m atchin g m ediated throu ghthe cl as s ical CIEcol ors pace,
partition ed in toan u m berof ref eren ceabl e region s . T he
partition in g of the CIEcol ors pace on the bas is of an
en s em bl e of col orn am es cou l d be program m erdeterm in ed
on an ad hoc bas is , orthe partition in g m ightin v ol v e aqu ite
s ophis ticated cal ibration on the bas is of hav in g s u bj ect
obs erv ers n am e orcl as s if ydis pl ayed col ors . T he es s en tial
poin tis thatthe m appin g f rom attribu te-n am e toitem -
attribu te can be w el l def in ed, ev en thou ghitm aybe as
com pl exas on e cares toattem pt.
In an yev en t, the res u l tof the abov e com m an d is thatthe
bl u e trian gl e u pon hearin g its n am e, de~s atu rates as
im m ediate f eedback thatithas been addres s ed, dis appears
f rom its pres en ts ite tore-appearcen tered in as pottothe
rightof the green s qu are.
T he exactpos ition in g tothe right is program m er
determ in ed in ou rv ers ion ; s om e reas on abl e pl acem en tis
execu ted. T he m ean in g, in ten tan d in terpretation of
rel ation al expres s ion s in graphic s pace is acom pl exis s u e [ 5,
6 ]; the im portan tthin g is thatthe item is n ow w here the
u s erhas ordered ittobe, an d he can m ake m in or
m odif ication s in pos ition l ater.
N ow , in ou rexam pl e action , the u s erm ightequ al l yw el l
hav e s aid:
Mov e thattothe rightof the green s qu are.
In this option , the u s erem pl oys the pron ou n that,
s im u l tan eou s l ypoin tin g tow hatis in ten ded, the poin tin g act
bein g am otoran al ogu e tothe s peechs trin g: . . the bl u e
trian gl e. .
N otice thatin this m ode of giv in g the com m an d, the u s er
m ayn oton l yom itthe w ords bl u e an d trian gl e, he n eed
n otev en kn ow w hatthe thin g is , orw hatitis cal l ed In ou r
s im pl e graphics w orl d, w hatan ythin g is , is in as u btl e an d
in teres tin g s en s e, w here itis .
T hat is thu s def in ed as w hatev eris poin ted ou t;
ef f ectiv el y, itis os ten s iv el ydef in ed [ 7 ]. F orthe n am er, at
l eas t, the proces s is n otu n l ike thatof tel l in g as m al l chil d
w hatthin gs are:f orexam pl e, poin tin g atacat, an d s ayin g
cat orkitty. T he m ean in g of the w ord is giv en by
in dicatin g w hatis the in ten ded ref eren tin the con textof
al tern ativ es , n am el y, w hatev erel s e is in the s cen e.
T his proces s of pron om ial ization can readil ybe exten ded
in ou rs im pl e graphical exam pl e. T he in ten ded targets potto
w hichthe item is tobe m ov ed can be ren dered as
P u tthatthere
w here there, n ow in dicated byges tu re, s erv es in l ieu of the
en tire phras e . . tothe rightof the green s qu are. T he pow er
of this f u n ction is ev en m ore gen eral . T he pl ace des cription
. . tothe rightof the green s qu are pres u ppos es an item in
the v icin ityf orref eren ce:n am el y, the green s qu are. T here
m aybe n opl au s ibl e ref eren ce f ram e in term s of al ready
extan titem s f oraw ord des cription of w here the m ov ed item
is togo. T he in ten ded s pot, how ev er, m ayreadil ybe in dicated
byv oice-an d-poin tin g:there. In this f u n ction , as w el l as
others , s om e v ariation in expres s ion is u n ders tan dabl ya
v al u abl e option ; thu s , am in i-thes au ru s of com m on
s yn on ym s , s u chas m ov e, pu t, "pl ace,"etc., is bu il tin tothe
v ocabu l ary.
Copy. . as acom m an d is s im pl yav arian tof the m ov e
action , exceptthatthe im age of the item tobe m ov ed al s o
rem ain s in pl ace atthe origin al s pot. _
Make that. .
T he attribu tes of an yitem in this graphic m in i-u n iv ers e that
the u s erhas cal l ed in toexis ten ce byv oice an d ges tu re can be
m odif ied. Here, the attribu tes are thos e of col oran d s ize.
F orexam pl e, the u tteran ce:
Make the bl u e trian gl e s m al l er
cau s es the ref eren ced item tobecom e redu ced in s ize. T he
m ode of ref eren ce in this in s tan ce is v iav oice al on e, bu tthe
u s ercou l d as w el l hav e s aid, poin tin g tothe des ired item :
Make thats m al l er. .
T he com m an d:
Make thatal arge bl u e diam on d
u ttered w hil e the u s erpoin ts atas m al l yel l ow circl e cau s es
the in dicated tran s f orm ation .
l
2 9 . P u t-T hat-T here"
Extrapol ation s readil ys u gges tthem s el v es , e.g., the
com m an d l in e:
Make that( in dicatin g s om e item )l ike that
( in dicatin g s om e otheritem ).
T he s econ d that is , f u n ction al l y, aw hen toread the x, y
coordin ate of poin tin g. T he item in dicated w hen the s econ d
that is u ttered becom es the m Odel f orchan ge, an d
in tern al l y, the action is an expu n gin g of the f irs tref eren ced
item , tobe repl aced in acopy-l ike f as hion bythe s econ d
ref eren ced item .
Del ete . . ."
T he del ete com m an d ( s yn on ym s :eras e; expu n ge; take ou t
. . . etc.)al l ow s the u s ertodrops el ected item s f rom dis pl ay.
As bef ore, the operan d of the com m an d can be:
. . the l arge bl u e circl e
or
. . that ( poin tin g tos om e item ).
Again , v ariation s an d extrapol ation s of the bas ic n otion
s u gges tthem s el v es :gl obal expu n gin g, cl ear ordel ete
ev erythin g, in ordertow ipe the graphical s l ate cl ean ; or
Del ete ev erythin g tothe l ef tof this ( draw in g al in e v ertical l y
dow n the f ace of the s creen )
N am in g
Con s iderabl u e s qu are thatis pres en tu pon the s creen . T he
u s erpoin ts toit, s ayin g:
Cal l that. . . the cal en dar
w iththe in ten tion of l aters om ehow el aboratin g the bl u e
s qu are atthatn ode in toagraphical appoin tm en tbook.
T he in itial portion of this u tteran ce, Cal l that. . . w hen
proces s ed bythe recogn izeru n itres u l ts in codes bein g s en t
ov ertothe hos ts ys tem s ign al l in g thatan am in g com m an d
has been is s u ed. T he x, ycoordin ates of w hatitem is s in gl ed
ou tbypoin tin g are n oted bythe hos ts ys tem .
T he hos ts ys tem then im m ediatel ydirects the s peech
recogn ition u n ittos w itchf rom recogn ition m ode to
train in g m ode s othatthe recogn izerw il l add the l atterpart
of the u tteran ce, . . the cal en dar, as an ew en tryin its f il e of
w ord ref eren ce pattern s . U pon com pl etion of this action , the
recogn izeris directed togoback in torecogn ition m ode, tobe
readyf orthe n extv erbal in pu t.
theN EWMEDIAR EADER
As the com m u n ication s f ors w itchin g the recogn izeru n der
hos t-s ys tem con trol betw een recogn ition an d train in g m odes
cu rren tl ytakes af in ite am ou n tof real -tim e, abrief pau s e
( in dicated in the com m an d abov e bythree dots )m u s toccu r
in the s poken com m an d l in e toaccom m odate the tim e taken
f orthe m ode s hif t. How ev er, the u s erten ds topau s e at
precis el ythatpoin tin the com m an d l in e an yw ay, w aitin g f or
m om en tarydes atu ration of the bl u e s qu are. T his qu ick
des atu ration of an addres s ed item w as n oted earl ierin this
paperas bein g the s ys tem s w ayof giv in g v is u al f eedback that
the u s erhas in deed con tacted the item .
T his s pon tan eou s pau s e f orf eedback f ortu n atel yoperates
in this con texttom as k f orthe u s erthe s ys tem s n eed f ora
pau s e in in pu t. How ev er, the obl igation topau s e repres en ts to
the s ys tem des ign ers om ethin g of abreakdow n in the gen eral
con v en ien ce of con tin u ou s v s dis crete s peechin pu t. An
ev en tu al s trategyf orrel iev in g the n eces s ityf orau s erpau s e
in s peechis the au gm en tation of the in tel l igen ce res iden tin
as peechrecogn izeru n its othatittos om e exten tin terprets
as w el l as recogn izes .
F orexam pl e, u pon the recogn ition of certain key w ords
orphras es w ithin the in pu tu tteran ce, the recogn izerits el f
s w itches directl yf rom recogn ition totrain in g m ode s othat
s u b-portion s of the in pu tu tteran ce are han dl ed
appropriatel y.
In the cas e of the Cal l that. . orn am in g com m an d, the
action of the n ow in tel l igen t recogn izerw ou l d be in ef f ect
totru n cate-of f f rom the f ron t-en d of the origin al in pu t
s peechs ign al thats pan of s ign al corres pon din g to
s u cces s iv e recogn ized w ords of the com m an d, the n on -
recogn ized res idu e of the s peechl in e tobe then as s u m ed as
the n ew n am e tobe as s im il ated bythe recogn izertoits
in tern al ref eren ce pattern l exicon . In ordertom ain tain
ov eral l coordin ation w iththe hos ts ys tem , the recogn izer
w ou l d of cou rs e s im u l tan eou s l ytran s m itASCIIcodes f or
recogn ized orl earn ed w ords , togetherw ithan yrel ev an t
con trol codes .
Whil e s u chas trategym ayel im in ate the n eed f oraw ithin -
s en ten ce s peakerpau s e, the gen eral probl em of
coarticu l ation rem ain s :the phon em ic properties of the
s peechs ign al f oran yw ord are in f l u en ced byw hatw ords are
s poken w ithit, w hatparticu l arw ords precede orf ol l ow the
w ord in qu es tion ( Cf . ref eren ce 3, p. 518). T hu s , w hil e n ot
requ ired topau s e, the s peakeryetm u s ten u n ciate v erycl earl y,
particu l arl yw hen abou ttou tterthe n ew n am e tobe added
w as ~ao~~~ 1 -w e 0- -~-is l l gs os ---s o 2 9 . "P u t-T hat-T here
Su m m ary
T he f oregoin g ru dim en tarys etof com m an ds , con cern in g
them s el v es w iththe s im pl e m an agem en tof al im ited
en s em bl e of n on -repres en tativ e obj ects , is in ten ded to
s u gges tthe v ers atil ityan d eas e of u s e thatcan en teru pon
the m an agem en tof graphic s pace w ithv oice an d ges tu re.
More real -l if e exam pl es of com m an din g abou tthin gs in a
m ore m ean in gf u l s pace com e readil ytom in d:m ov in g s hips
abou taharborm apin pl an n in g aharborf acil ity; m ov in g
battal ion f orm ation s abou tas ov erl ays on aterrain m ap;
f acil ities pl an n in g, w here room s an d hal l w ays as rectan gl es
are tried ou there an d there.
T he pow erof the des cribed techn iqu e is thatin dication s of
w hatis tobe don e w iththes e v is ibl e, ou t-there-on -v iew
item s can be expres s ed s pon tan eou s l yan d n atu ral l yin w ays
w hichare com patibl e w iththe s piritan d n al u re of the
dis pl ay: on e is poin tin g tothem , addres s in g them in s poken
w ords , n ottyped s ym bol s .
F u rther, the pron ou n as v erbal tag achiev es in the graphical
w orl d the s am e highu s ef u l n es s ithas in ordin arydis cou rs e
bybein g pron ou n ced in the pres en ce of apoin ted to, v is ibl e
graphic w hichf u n ction al l ydef in es its m ean in g.
Ackn ow l edgem en ts
T he program m in g an d s ys tem s expertis e of Chris Schm an dtan d Eric
Hu l teen u n derl aythe im pl em en tation an d dev el opm en tof the
con cepts des cribed in this paper. T heiref f orts are du l yappreciated.
T he w ork reported herin has been s u pported bythe Cybern etics
T echn ol ogyDiv is ion of the Def en s e Adv an ced R es earchP roj ects
Agen cy, u n derCon tractN o. MDA-9 03-7 7 -C-0037 .
R ef eren ces
- ~
1. N egropon te, N . T he MediaR oom . R eportf orON R an d DAR P A.
MIT , Architectu re Machin e Grou p, Cam bridge, MA, Decem ber19 7 8.
2 . Bol t, R LA. Spatial Data-Man agem en t. DAR P AR eport. MIT ,
Architectu re Machin e Grou p, Cam bridge, MA, March19 7 9 .
' 1'
3. R eddy, D.R . "Speechrecogn ition bym achin e: arev iew ."
P roceedin g of the IEEE, 6 4, 4( April 19 7 6 ), 501-531.
4. R obin s on , A.L. More peopl e are tal kin g tocom pu ters as s peech
recogn ition en ters the real w orl d. ( R es earchN ew s )( F irs tof tw o
articl es )Scien ce, 2 03, ( 16 F ebru ary19 7 9 ), 6 34-6 38.
5. Son deheim er, N .K. Spatial ref eren ce an d n atu ral -l an gu age
m achin e con trol ."In tern ation al Jou rn al of Man -Machin e Stu dies , 8,
( 19 7 6 ), 32 9 -336 .
6 . Win s ton , P . Learn in g s tru ctu ral des cription s f rom exam pl es . MIT
P roj ectMAC, T R -7 6 , 19 7 0.
7 . Ol s on , D.R . "Lan gu age an d thou ght: As pects of acogn itiv e
theoryof s em an tics . P s ychol ogical R ev iew , 7 7 , ( 19 7 0), 2 57 -2 7 3.
h-_
19 31
" :iiiiiitF I 11 30. LiteraryMachin es
30. [ In trodu ction ]
F rom LiteraryMachin es
P ropos al f oraU n iv ers al El ectron ic
P u bl is hin g Sys tem an d Archiv e
Xan adu is the archetypal dream of ahyperm edian etw ork arev erie rel ated tothatof Van n ev ar
Bu s hs m em ex, an d s til l dream ed in cu rren tim agin ation s of the In tern et. T he f ol l ow in g excerptis
f rom LiteraryMachin es , T ed N el s on s m os tcom pl ete ou tl in e of his Xan adu proj ectan d the con cepts
behin d it.
In this v is ion , in an ot-s o-dis tan tf u tu re, w e w il l read an d w rite ( v iew an d draw , hearan d
com pos e)al m os tev erythin g f rom an d toaw orl d s pan n in g com pu tern etw ork. Ev eryon e w il l hav e
the abil itytoprodu ce theirow n docu m en ts an d con n ectthem toan yotherpu bl ic docu m en ts . T he
au thorm aycon s tan tl ycreate n ew v ers ion s of herow n docu m en ts , an d in div idu al s m aycreate their
ow n v ers ion s of an ypu bl ic docu m en t, in cl u din g the creation of n ew docu m en ts thatin cl u de by
ref eren ce el em en ts of m an ydocu m en ts bym an yau thors ; pu bl ic con n ection s m ade betw een on e
v ers ion of on e docu m en tan d an otherv ers ion of an otherw il l u s u al l yau tom atical l ypl ace
them s el v es in al l the extan tv ers ion s . His torical backtrack an d degradation -proof s torage w il l al l ow
u s tov is itan yv ers ion , an ym om en tin the n etw orks his tory. Xan adu is the u l tim ate archiv e w ith
eachel em en tof this archiv e, how ev er, con s tan tl yin proces s ; v iew ed in hierarchies , an d yetw ith
al tern ativ e hierarchies al w ays av ail abl e; w iththe back en d ( kn ow l edge s tru ctu re)an d f ron ten d
( depiction f orthe cu rren tdis pl aydev ice)abs tracted an d s pl itapart. s othateachu s erm ayhav e her
pref erred v iew of the in f orm ation . Xan adu com bin es the ben ef its of an archyw ithas tren gth
deriv ed f rom an in itial , pow erf u l cen tral des ign ; the aim w as tobe gen eral en ou ghtos u pportn earl y
an yim agin abl e m ediaev en tu al ity.
T he Web of f ers as l ice of this v is ion the an archyhal f . An archyal on e has tu rn ed ou ttobe rich
an d excitin g. Es pecial l ys in ce the m os trecen tdot-com cras h, its eem s thatthos e on the Web are
retu rn in g tothe em phas is thatl ed tothe in itial Web expl os ion :av as tf ree s harin g of in f orm ation .
T his v iew of the Web is of adigital l ibrary, oran ew pu bl ic com m on s . F u rther, reports s eem to
in dicate that, in the U .S. atan yrate, the digital div ide is atl as ts hrin kin g, w ithm ore of the
popu l ation atal l l ev el s of w eal thabl e toacces s this com m on s . An in f ectiou s optim is m ( perhaps
bettergrou n ded than earl iergiddin es s abou tthe In tern et)has f ou n d its w ayback in tom an yw ho
hav e been u s in g the Web s in ce the earl yorm id 19 9 05. ( T hou gh, as Law ren ce Les s ig argu es in T he
F u tu re of l al eas , recen tchan ges in the In tern ets l egal an d techn ical in f ras tru ctu re hav e been des ign ed
tou n dercu tthe pos s ibil ityof s u chopen n es s .) -
N ow an u m berof grou ps an d in div idu al s are tryin g toprov ide the otherhal f of the hyperm edia
dream , in am an n ercom patibl e w iththe Webs ev ol u tion . T he Worl d Wide Web Con s ortiu m ( W3C),
f orexam pl e, is des ign in g m ore pow erf u l s tan dards f ors of tw are thatw il l begin toim pl em en ts om e
of the f eatu res f ou n d in s ys tem s s u chas Xan adu :l in ks of m u l tipl e types , in tos pecif ic docu m en t
l ocation s thatn eed n otbe pre-m arked w ithan chors ; the abil itytof in d res ou rces byn am e, rather
than U R L; an d f u rthers eparation of f ron ten d an d back en d f u n ction s .
Mean w hil e, N el s on has open ed the s ou rce code f ortw oof the n ev er-rel eas ed v ers ion s of Xan adu ,
dem on s tratin g thatm an yof the in n ov ation s he dis cu s s ed had in f actal readybeen im pl em en ted
an d rem ov in g the s ecrecyarou n d the s pecif ics of Xan adu techn ol ogies s u chas its u n iqu e f il e an d
addres s s ys tem s . He is n ow w orkin g to, as he has s aid, tu rn Xan adu in s ide ou t in ordertom ake
m an yof the capabil ities des cribed in the pages bel ow av ail abl e tothe av erage Web u s er.
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30. LiteraryMachin es
theN EWMEDIAR EADER
If thes e ef f orts are s u cces s f u l , on e m aj ordif f eren ce rem ain in g w il l be thatthe origin al Xan adu
v is ion al s oin cl u ded acom pan ythatw as tooperate the n etw ork. N el s on en v is ion ed an d
characterized this com pan yas an otheru til ity:the com pan ythatm akes s u re in f orm ation com es
ou tw hen you tu rn on the f au cet. Ev en bef ore Cal if orn iaw as hel d hos tage byu til itycom pan ies ,
an d bef ore the En ron s can dal s , this partof the v is ion w as dis tu rbin g tom an y f ortw oreas on s .
F irs t, in f orm ation is m u chm ore s en s itiv e than ou rw ater, v u l n erabl e toim m oral m on itorin g an d
il l egal m is u s e, an d eas iertoadu l terate w ithou tattractin g n otice. Acom pan ycreated w iththe bes t
in ten tion s m ightbe taken ov erbyl es s s cru pu l ou s in div idu al s , an d certain l y, m an yn ew m edia
com pan ies hav e been taken ov erbyin div idu al s w ithradical l ydif f eren tv al u es f rom theirf ou n ders .
Secon d, w hil e the excitem en tprodu ced bythe Xan adu v is ion an d the Webs real ityis con n ected to
the ideal s of the l ibraryan d the pu bl ic s qu are, 30years ago( w hen com pu ters w ere m ore expen s iv e
an d l es s com m on )N el s on had toim agin e aw aytom ake his v is ion v iabl e as acom pu tern etw ork
an d pu bl is hin g m ediu m . His s ol u tion w as tocharge thos e w hoparticipated in the n etw ork as m al l
am ou n tf oreachpiece of in f orm ation theyacces s ed, j u s tas au til itycharges f oreacham ou n tof
w aterorel ectricityu s ed, bu tin this cas e w ithm os tof the paym en tretu rn in g tothe ow n ers of the
v iew ed m aterial s copyright, an d the rem ain dergoin g tow ard con tin u ed s u pportof the n etw ork.
Micropaym en t is s til l pu rs u ed as am odel bys om e, bu tas the n etw ork has in creas in gl ybecom e a
cen tral pl ace f orou rreadin g an d w ritin g, an ew is s u e has com e tothe f ore. T he s ocietal v is ion w e
hav e em bodied in pu bl ic l ibraries an d pu bl ic s chool s is thatev eryon e s hou l d be abl e toread an d
w rite ( produ ce an d con s u m e in f orm ation )regardl es s of theirl ev el of in com e. T he con ceptof
m icropaym en tn ow threaten s tom ov e ou rf u tu re in f orm ation l if e tow ard the m odel of pay-per-
v iew cabl e an d aw ayf rom thatof the l ibrary. Hopef u l l you rcu l tu res attachm en ttothe prom is e of
l ibraries is toogreattoal l ow this tohappen apros pectf orw hichthe s u cces s of the Web hol ds
ou thope:In aw ay, this is w hatthe his toryof the Web has dem on s trated m ore than an ythin g
el s e thatthe w orl d des ires an on l in e hypertext-en abl ed l ibrary, how ev eran archic, u n s tabl e, an d
l im ited byits des ign itm aybe.
N WF
1111_111_1 , 1111 _1 1 1 _ . 1 1
ol 19 81 .
0 -0- -- -0 L.-teraryMachin es
Origin al P u bl ication
Excerpts f rom chapter2 of LiteraryMachin es . Sau s al ito, Cal if .: Min df u l P res s , 19 81.
F rom LiteraryMachin es
P ropos al f oraU n iv ers al El ectron ic
P u bl is hin g Sys tem an d Archiv e
T heodorH. N el s on
We are al l agreed thatyou rtheoryis crazy. T he qu es tion w hichdiv ides u s is w hetheritis crazy
en ou ghtohav e achan ce of bein g correct. Myow n f eel in g is thatitis n otcrazyen ou gh.
N iel s Bohr. qu oted in Ken n ethBrow er, T he Stars hipan d the Can oe, 46
1 An El ectron ic LiterarySys tem
2 Whatis Literatu re? '
3 AT ru e Storage Sys tem f orT extan d OtherEv ol v in g Stru ctu res
4ALin kin g Sys tem f orT extan d OtherData
5T he Docu m en tCon v en tion
6 Com pou n d Docu m en ts
7 El ectron ic P u bl is hin g:
Makin g the LiterarySys tem U n iv ers al
8 Dis tribu tion an d N etw orkin g
9 Vital Is s u es
P l an of T his Chapter
T his chapteris in n in e s ection s , w hichin trodu ce an d el aborate on av eryparticu l aran d precis e des ign
an d pl an . T his chapter, des ign an d pl an are the heartof this book, acros s road throu ghw hichyou are
as ked topas s repeatedl y.
Som e readers , es pecial l ythos e w hom ayn othav e giv en thes e m atters an ythou ght, m ayf in d this
m aterial tou ghs l eddin g the f irs ttim e throu gh. T heref ore as u m m aryl ev el has been prov ided. ( T he
biggertype.)Stick tothatthe f irs ttim e throu gh, orif you ' re in ahu rryl ateron .
If this chapteris l on g an d tediou s toread, thatis on l ybecau s e its triv es f orcom pl eten es s . Iam s u re
thataf ew years f rom n ow ev erythin g in itw il l be qu ickl ydiv in ed bys m al l chil dren s ittin g ata
con s ol e w hichen acts thes e prin cipl es .
I Li
_ _.___.i
30. LiteraryMachin es
1
Whatw il l be des cribed here is the w ayw e thin k in f orm ation
s hou l d be han dl ed. In the l aters ection s of the chapterw e
w il l be des cribin g the detail ed ideaof it, the con ceptu al s tru c-
tu re orv irtu al ity. T his chapteris on l yabou tthis idea,
w ithou ttechn ical ities . ( T he f ew com pu tertechn ical ities are
in f ootn otes .)
We al s obel iev e thatw e hav e carried ou tthis des ign in a
practical f orm , an d thatitw il l s hortl yexis tas af u n ction in g
com pu terprogram w ithm an yu s es . T his bel ief w il l be
prov en ordis prov en in the f u l l n es s of tim e. Mean w hil e, w hat
is real l ybein g des cribed is w hatw e thin k w e hav e created.
Bel iev in g thatthis is the rightv irtu al ity, itis w hatw e hav e
im pl em en ted.
T he f ootn otes con tain af ew kibitzin g rem arks tothos e
in teres ted in how w e hav e don e it. '
T he Des ign
Itis dif f icu l ttodes cribe an in teractiv e com pu ters ys tem s o
peopl e can v is u al ize it. Mos tpeopl e hav e n othad practice in
v is u al izin g j u m pin g an d res pon din g obj ects on the bas is of
abs tractdes cription s . _
When w e s ayal s othatw e thin k this des ign is s im pl e an d
bas ic, l ike the tel ephon e, thatm aybe hard f ors om e readers
tobel iev e, con s iderin g thatittakes s om an yw ords to
des cribe it. Y etw e thin k this des ign , on ce u n ders tood, is
s pare, pars im on iou s an d cl ear. ( An d thataf ew years f rom
n ow , s m al l chil dren w il l u n ders tan d itim m ediatel yw hen
theygetachan ce topl ayw ithit.)
T he s tru ctu re of docu m en ts an d l in ks tobe des cribed here
is , f oracom pu ters ys tem , u n u s u al l ys im pl e. T his is al l there
is ; w e w il l des cribe itcom pl etel y. We regard the s im pl icityof
this des ign as its greates tv irtu e. T he u s erhas n odirect
con tactw ithtechn ical ities . T he techn ical ities u n dern eath
are s im pl ythe m ean s w herebycertain exactan d s im pl e
s erv ices are rapidl yperf orm ed.
theN EWMEDIAR EADER
T he In trin s ic Stru ctu re Is WhatY ou Shou l d See
T he s tru ctu re au s ers ees s hou l d be the in trin s ic s tru ctu re of
his m aterial , an d n ot( as in m an yw ord proces s in g s ys tem s )
s om e am al gam com bin in g the m aterial its el f w iths om e s et
of obtru s iv e con v en tion s u n derw hichitis s tored.
Whatthe thin g is its n atu ral s tru ctu re tothe u s er is
w hathe s hou l d s ee an d w ork on :n othin g el s e. Itis theref ore
the repres en tation of this s tru ctu re - of w hatev ers tru ctu re
the u s erm aybe con cern ed w ith thats hou l d con cern u s .
How ev er, the com pl exities of w hatm aybe w an ted can be
s taggerin g. Sothe probl em is tocreate agen eral
repres en tation an d s torage s ys tem thatw il l perm it
au tom atic s torage of al l s tru ctu res au s erm ightw an tto
w ork on , an d the f aithf u l accou n tin g of theirdev el opm en t.
Worl d an d View pan e: Back an d F ron tEn ds
Whil e com pu terdis pl ays creen s are tobe the f ociof ou r
com in g s ociety, w hatthe w orl d is thatw il l s how on the
s creen s is perhaps of greatercon cern .
T he qu es tion in com pu terizin g an ythin g, then , s hou l d be
w hatis the tru e s tru ctu re?Hav in g an s w ered that, you des ign a
s ys tem thats tores an d s how s thattru e s tru ctu re.
Storage is f u n dam en tal . Whatyou s tore s hou l d be the
bas ic s tru ctu re of the in f orm ation you are deal in g w ith
n ots om e trickyarran gem en tthatis caref u l l ym atched to
s om e s etof program s orhardw are. ( How you w il l l ook at
this w orl d w hen itis s preadeagl ed on you rs creen is you r
ow n bu s in es s :you con trol itbyyou rchoice of s creen
hardw are, byyou rchoice of v iew in g program , byw hatyou
doas you w atch. Bu tthe s tru ctu re of thatw orl d is the s am e
f rom s creen tos creen .)
Vl l hatw e w il l dis cu s s here is repres en tation of the tru e
s tru ctu re of acertain kin d of in f orm ation , n ow how tos how
it. We bel iev e thatan orderl yov eral l s ys tem can be
dev el oped f orm os ttypes of w ritten an d graphical
in f orm ation an d its in s tan tan eou s del iv ery.
19 81
O I Q O O I Q I I
T hatIS the s torage s ys tem w e w il l be dis cu s s in g here
T hin k of itas aback en d s erv ice thatcan s u ppl yyou r
s ys tem Atthe s creen of you rcom pu teryou expl ore w hatIS
s tored chan ge itadd toitT he s erv ice w e propos e takes care
of pu ttin g itaw ayan d s en din g you w hatev erpartyou as k
f oras f as tas pos s ibl e T hat1S the back en d Whatcom pu ter
you w atch1tthrou ghan d how thatm achin e IS program m ed
1S you rf ron ten d as eparate probl em
m u w p
S l l rqg ggr rw a
-@ 111-I
Vb
n d V16 -g0
T his 1s aVIR T U ALIT Y On e of the prin cipl es of des ign in g
v irtu al ityIS thatthere are m an ypos s ibl e ov eral l
organ ization s thatm aybe v erys im il aiT he probl em of
choos in g am on g them IS n ots im pl e T he tiickyw ords that
f ol l ow tru e s tru ctu re s u gges tu tteru n iqu en es s Bu tthis IS
n otthe on l ytru e des ign ItIS the des ign s u gges ted bythe
on e w orkin g preceden tthatw e kn ow of l iteratu re
WhetheritIS agood an d rightdes ign IS the cen tral
qu es tion f orthe readertoj u dge Whatw e des cribe can be
don e if n otbyu s , then bys om ebodys om etim e Bu t1f 1tIS
T he LiteraryP aradigm
Apiece of w ritin g- s ay. as heetof typed paperon the
tabl e l ooks al on e an d in depen den t. T his is qu ite
m is l eadin g. Sol itaryitm aybe, bu titis probabl yal s opartof
al iteratu re.
Byal iteratu re w e don otm ean an ythin g n eces s aril yto
dow ithbel l es -l ettres orl eather-bou n d books . We m ean itin
the s am e broad s en s e of the s cien tif ic l iteratu re, orthat
gradu ate-s chool qu es tion , Hav e you l ooked atthe
l iteratu re?
Al iteratu re is as ys tem of in tercon n ected w ritin gs . We don ot
of f erthis as ou rdef in ition , bu tas adis cov ered f act. An d
al m os tal l w ritin g is partof s om e l iteratu re.
T he w aypeopl e w rite is bas ed in l arge parton thes e
in tercon n ection s .
Apers on reads an articl e. He s ays tohim s el f , Where hav e
Is een s om ethin g l ike thatbef ore?Ohyes an d the
prev iou s con n ection is brou ghtm en tal l yin topl ay.
b~f k\$l ' If 1-
.-<1-> ( rat
-~ ou r-~10
rj j i
n otthe rights ys tem then itIS on the readers s hou l ders to Con s iderhow itw orks in s cien ce. Agen etic theoris t, s ay,
com e u pw ithabetteron e reads cu rren tw ritin gs in the j ou rn al s . T hes e ref erback,
Su gges tion s are w el com e iyou al e s u re you u n ders tan d expl icitl y, tootherw ritin gs ; if he choos es toqu es tion the
this des ign f irs t s ou rces , orrev iew theirm ean in g, he is f ol l ow in g l in ks as he
<1 --e 30. LiteraryMachin es
30. LiteraryMachin es
gets the books an d j ou rn al s an d ref ers tothem . He m ay
corres pon d w ithcol l eagu es , m en tion in g in his l etters w hat
he has read, an d receiv in g repl ies s u gges tin g thathe read
otherthin gs . ( Again , the l etters are im pl icitl ycon n ected to
thes e otherw ritin gs byim pl icitl in ks .)Seekin g toref res hhis
ideas , he goes back toDarw in , an d al s oderiv es in s piration
f rom otherthin gs he reads the Bibl e, s cien ce ction . T hes e
are l in ked tohis w ork in his m in d.
In his ow n w ritin g he qu otes an d cites the thin gs he has
read. ( Again , expl icitl in ks are bein g m ade.)Otherreaders ,
takin g in teres tin his s ou rces , read them ( f ol l ow in g his l in ks ).
In ou rWes tern cu l tu ral tradition , w ritin gs in prin cipl e
rem ain con tin u ou s l yav ail abl e bothas recen tl yqu oted
an d in theirorigin al in v iol abl e in carn ation s in agreat
proces s ion .
Sof arw e hav e s tres s ed s om e of the proces s es of ref erral
an d l in kage. Bu tal s oof greatim portan ce are con trov ers y
an d dis agreem en tan d reev al u ation .
Ev eryon e argu es ov erthe in terpretation of f orm er
w ritin gs , ev en ou rgen eticis ts . On e au thorw il l cite ( orl in k
to)apas s age in Darw in toprov e Darw in thou ghton e thin g,
an otherw il l f in d an otherpas s age totrytoprov e he thou ght
an other.
An d v iew s of af iel d, an d the w ayaf iel d' s ow n pas tis
v iew ed w ithin it, chan ge. Af orm erl yf orgotten res earcher
m aycom e tol ight( l ike Men del ), orahighl yres pected
res earcherm aybe dis credited ( Cyril Bu rt). An d s oitgoes , on
an d on . T he pas tis con tin u al l ychan gin g oratl eas ts eem s
tobe, as w e v iew it.
T here is n opredictin g the u s e f u tu re peopl e w il l m ake of
w hatis w ritten . An ys u m m ary, an yparticu l arv iew , is exactl y
that:the pers pectiv e of aparticu l arin div idu al ( ors chool of
thou ght)ataparticu l artim e. We can n otkn ow how thin gs
w il l be s een in the f u tu re. We can as s u m e there w il l n ev erbe
af in al an d def in itiv e v iew of an ythin g.
t|1eN EWMEDIAR EADER
An d yetthis s ys tem f u n ction s .
Literatu re Is Debu gged.
In otherw ords , ev en thou ghin ev eryf iel d there is an ev er-
chan gin g f l u xof em phas is an d pers pectiv e an d dis tortion ,
an d an ev er-chan gin g f as hion in con ten tan d approach, the
on goin g m echan is m of w ritten an d pu bl is hed textf u rn is hes
af l exibl e v ehicl e f orthis chan ge, con tin u al l yadaptin g.
Lin kage s tru ctu re betw een docu m en ts f orm s af l u xof
in v is ibl e threads an d ru bberban ds thathol d the thou ghts
together.
Lin kage s tru ctu re an d its ram if ication s are s u rpris in gl y
s im il arin the w orl d of bu s in es s .
Abu s in es s l etterw il l s ay, In repl ytoyou rl etterof the
13th. . Orabu s in es s f orm , an otherkeycom m u n ication ,
m ays ayin ef f ect, In res pon s e toyou rorderof the 2 4thof
l as tm on th, w e can s u ppl yon l yhal f of w hatyou hav e as ked
f or, bu tcan f il l the res tof the orderw iths u ch-an d-s u chitem
f rom ou rcatal og."Al l of thes e citation s m aybe thou ghtof as
cros s -l in kages am on g docu m en ts .
T he poin tis cl ear, w hetherin s cien ce orbu s in es s orbel l es
l ettres . Within bodies of w ritin g, ev eryw here, there are
l in kages w e ten d n ottos ee. T he in div idu al docu m en t, at
han d, is w hatw e deal w ith; w e don ots ee the total l in ked
col l ection of them al l aton ce. Bu ttheyare there, the
docu m en ts n otpres en tas w el l as thos e thatare, an d the
gran d cats -cradl e am on g them al l .
F rom this f u n dam en tal in s ight, w e hav e en deav ored to
create as ys tem f ortexteditin g an d retriev al thatw il l
receiv e, an d han dl e, an d pres en t, docu m en ts w ithl in ks
betw een them . We bel iev e there is s om ethin g v eryright
abou tthe exis tin g s ys tem of l iteratu re; in deed w e s u s pect
thatthere are thin gs rightabou titthatw e don tev en
kn ow , as w ithN atu re. An d s ow e hav e tried tom irror, an d
repl icate, an d exten d, exis tin g l iterarys tru ctu re as w e hav e
here des cribed it.
0e ~ o~ O ~o~~ ~ 1~eo~-~~~e~~a~~~ ~ . ~ 0.- ~
119 81
3 ..
P rol ogu e: Makin g ExtraCopies Al l the T im e
In m os tcom pu terappl ication s ( s u chas the l aym an ' s n ew es t
gam e, w ord proces s in g), itis of ten n eces s arytokeep
repeated copies . T his f requ en tan d dis agreeabl e probl em has
s ev eral pu rpos es .
T he obv iou s pu rpos e, of ten thw arted, is toas s u re the
s af etyof recen tw ork again s tv ariou s kin ds of acciden t. Bu t
thatcan be gradu al l yru l ed ou t:m an ys ys tem s are com in g to
m ake rel iabl e s af etycopies au tom atical l y.
Am ore f u n dam en tal u s e is tokeeptrack of f orm ers tates
of the w ork, in cas e m is takes orw ron g decis ion s n eed tobe
u n don e. T his n eed, backtrack, is s eriou s an d im portan t. We
don otn eed togoback throu ghprev iou s m aterial of ten , bu t
if w e n eed todoitatal l w e ou ghttobe abl e todoitright.
Here is w hatdoin g itrighten tail s }
Departm en tof R edu n dan cyDepartm en t
N ote, how ev er, thatthe con v en tion al m ean s of s torage is
rathers il l y. Itin v ol v es m akin g acom pl ete copyof ev erythin g
you ' v e don e s of ar. If w hatyou ' re doin g is m akin g repeated
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30. LiteraryMachin es
s m al l chan ges an d addition s , then you are repeatedl ys torin g
the s am e m aterial , redu n dan tl y.
Virtu al l yal l of com pu terdom is bu il tarou n d this cu riou s
con v en tion .* Mos tcom pu terpeopl e w il l tel l you thatis the
w ayGod in ten ded com pu ters tobe u s ed.
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How ev er, w e can program com pu ters an yw ayw e l ike, if
w e throw ou tthe s ys tem s of tw are, an d w hatw e are tal kin g
abou tis creatin g n ew w ays of doin g thin gs .
T he Al tern ativ e "
Su ppos e w e create in s tead an au tom atic s torage s ys tem that
takes care of al l chan ges an d backtrack au tom atical l y. As a
u s erm akes chan ges , the chan ges godirectl yin tothe s torage
s ys tem ; f il ed, as itw ere, chron ol ogical l y. N ow w iththe
propers ortof in dexin g s chem e, the s torage f acil ityw e' v e
m en tion ed ou ghtal s otobe abl e todeal w iththe probl em of
his torical backtrack.
T hin k of itthis w ay. An ev ol v in g docu m en tis real l yn ot
j u s tabl ock of textcharacters , Scrabbl em til es al l in arow ; it
is an on goin g chan gin g f l u x. T hin k of its progres s throu gh
tim e as .as ortof braid orv ortex.
30. LiteraryMachin es
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T hin k of the proces s of m akin g editorial chan ges as re-
tw is tin g this braid w hen its parts are rearran ged, added or
s u btracted,
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an d thin k then of s u cces s iv e v ers ion s of the docu m en t, at
s u cces s iv e in s tan ts of tim e, as s l ices in this s pace-tim e v ortex.
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VeryWel l : the f il e m an agem en ts ys tem We are tal kin g
abou tau tom atical l ykeeps track of the chan ges an d the
pieces , s othatw hen you as k f oragiv en partof agiv en
v ers ion atagiv en tim e, itcom es toyou rs creen .
T he u s erm aythen ref ern otm erel ytothe pres en tv ers ion
of the docu m en t; he ors he m aygoback in tim e toan y
prev iou s v ers ion . T he u s erm u s tal s obe abl e tof ol l ow a
s pecif ic s ection back throu ghtim e, an d s tu dyits prev iou s
s tates .
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P rqy
P art-P ou n ce
T his s ys tem is bu il tarou n d the as s u m ption thatyou are
readin g f rom as creen , n otf rom paper. When you gotoa
certain part of adocu m en t, thatw hol e docu m en tis n ot
readytos how ; yetthe s ys tem giv es you thatpartin s tan tl y,
as s em bl in g iton the ru n f rom the m an yf ragm en ts of its
actu al s torage. I
We cal l this pou n ce. Y ou pou n ce l ike acaton agiv en thin g,
an d its eem s tobe there, hav in g been con s tru cted w hil e you
are, as itw ere, in m idair. U n l ike thin gs w hichcl em aterial ize
w hen you pou n ce on them , l ike cotton can dy, this
m aterial izes w hen you pou n ce on it. Ican thin k of n oother
exam pl e, exceptperhaps P otem kin v il l ages .
Y ou getthe partyou w an tn ext; the m is take of the
con v en tion al com pu terf iel d has been toas s u m e thatthe
w hol e docu m en thad tobe f orm ed an d ready.
ron v arora am .
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19 81
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An otherVis u al ization
T he can on ical docu m en ts in this s ys tem can s tore the s am e
m aterial in n u m erou s dif f eren t
v ers ion s as , f orexam pl e, in the
s u cces s iv e draf ts of an ov el .
Whil e the u s erof acu s tom ary
editin g orw ord proces s in g s ys tem m ay
s crol l throu ghan in div idu al docu m en t, the u s erof this
s ys tem m ays crol l in tim e as w el l as s pace, w atchin g the
chan ges in agiv en pas s age as the s ys tem en acts its
s u cces s iv e m odif ication s .
T his m etl 1od?_~$il iF l .T e.$l "-iil i a &u m e' n r an ahikal 1y~-is
an d _att rn ativ e~. v ers ion s , -in s tan tl y.con s tru cteaf as n eeded ' F _rbT m _.1; h f ,
s tored agm en rs . .p.-m eis an d iis s pr. <= 11r; w i~is v al idat a..,s trd w r <T hu s iii,
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Vers ion s of adocu m en ts etapartf orotherreas 0n s ~
al tern ativ e v ers ion s m ayl ikew is e be f l ipped throu ghor
ef f icien tl ycom pared s ide bys ide.
We cal l this s ys tem of s torage P ris m atic becau s e w e m ay
thin k of agiv en part, ors ection , as bein g pris m atical l y
ref racted w hen w e pas s f rom on e v ers ion toan other. We
bel iev e ou rP ris m atic s torage can s u pportv irtu al l y
in s tan tan eou s retriev al of an yportion of an yv ers ion
( his torical oral tern ativ e).
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s pecial l in kages . In otl 1er.w o_rds ; "o' u r_s ys territreats ,-al l v ers ion s -iof ._a._:' y
f dw m ht. as v i w s @ <i* e ted.' s m . .m ei-We* aggregated-rl s bi s iril iw
be, readi_l y- apparen tthat; the on -l y. w ayto' do this f is ..".eF F ectiv l y ; ' t,_op' l i1.i3Iv ,<-:7 .
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30. LiteraryMachin es
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Al tern ativ e Vers ion s
T his s am e s chem e can be expan ded toal l ow al tern ativ e
v ers ion s m ore than on e arran gem en tof the s am e
m aterial s , af acil itythatw riters an d program m ers w ou l d
certain l yu s e if itw ere readil yav ail abl e. Al tern ativ e v ers ion s
( orAl ts )are al s oim portan tin m an yboil erpl ate appl ication s ,
s u chas l aw an d pu bl ic rel ation s , w here the s am e m aterial s
are chu rn ed ou trepeatedl yin dif f eren tarran gem en ts an d
v ariation s . Am as terin dexin g s chem e cou l d greatl yredu ce
s torage requ irem en ts in thes e appl ication s , as w el l as m ake
the rel ation s am on g the Al ts m u chcl earer.
V1
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ALT ER N AT IVEVER SION S
Actu al l y, w e m aybes tv is u al ize thes e al tern ativ e v ers ion s
as atree in the on goin g braid, af orkin g arran gem en t
w herebyon e docu m en tbecom es tw o, eachof thes e dau ghter
docu m en ts m ayin tu rn becom e others , etc.
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in * its el f ?is ; f ~n btg1v e; y% iiin pn an t1 c , ,1, .
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Sam en es s an d Dif f eren ce Dis pl ay
Of cou rs e, af acil itythathol ds m u l tipl e v ers ion s of the s am e
m aterial , an d al l ow s his torical backtrack, is n otterribl y
u s ef u l u n l es s itcan hel pyou in tercom pare them in detail -
u n l es s itcan s how you , w ord f orw ord, w hatparts of tw o
v ers ion s are the s am e.
Law yers n eed this tocom pare w ordin gs . Con gres s m en
n eed this tocom pare dif f eren tdraf tv ers ion s of bil l s .
Au thors n eed ittos ee w hathas happen ed tos pecif ic
pas s ages in theirw ritin gs betw een draf ts . Biol ogis ts an d
an atom is ts n eed ittocom pare corres pon din g parts of
an im al s ( as s u m in g agraphical databas e of phys iol ogythat
s how s ev ol v in g s tru ctu re).
V .. _ .._... __.._, _. A . .. , _' .- ,, ._I ._.. ..
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An yF orm s of Data
T his s torage an d in dexin g bypieces an d chan ges w orks n ot
m erel yf ortext; itcan be u s ed f oran yf orm s of datas tru ctu re.
gu s tot\ -k' - :: ' A $_m .% _
l l
T hu s if you are des ign in g abu il din g on acom pu ters creen ,
as architects n ow do, you m aybrow s e throu ghthe chan gin g
des ign in the s equ en ce you m odif ied itov ertim e, an d create
al tern ativ e v ers ion s as you l ike w hichs hare the com m on
m aterial .
Exam pl e An excel l en tairpl an e, the Boein g 7 47 , n ow exis ts
in adozen orm ore v ers ion s thatyou m ayorderf rom the
f actory. Com pl exbl u eprin ts exis tf oreachof thes e v ers ion s ,
as w el l as l is ts of parts , etc. ( Mu chof this is kepton
com pu ters as 3Ddatas tru ctu res atBoein g, an d perhaps
qu ite w el l ; this is s im pl yacon v en ien texam pl e, an d n o
criticis m is in ten ded.)
U s in g the datas tru ctu res an d program s w e hav e
des cribed, itis pos s ibl e tos tore al l the 7 47 des ign s as on e
u n if ied datapool w iththe f orkin g-v ers ion f acil ityreadin g the
v arian tdes ign s directl you tof this s in gl e s tru ctu re.
Sim pl icityOn e
Bycreatin g s u chacapabl e s torage s ys tem , w e hav e greatl y
s im pl if ied the l if e of the textu s er. T he n u is an ce of backu p
( an d the s pu riou s n on s en s e-tal k of n din g n am es f orbacku p
f il es )are el im in ated. Bu tm ore im portan t, w e hav e u n if ied al l
v ers ion s ( prev iou s an d al tern ativ e)in au n if ied s tru ctu re, the
docu pl ex, perm ittin g part-pou n ce on pres en t, pas tan d
v arian ts tru ctu res . T he u s erm ays crol l throu ghan ytw o
v ers ion s tos ee corres pon din g parts ; an d m u chm ore.
Stage On e Al l T ogether
Ihav e s of arpres en ted s ev eral n ew capabil ities thatIthin k
are im portan t:al tern ativ e v ers ion s an d his torical backtrack,
bothw iths am en es s dis pl ay; an d l in ks .
T hes e w ork together, theyhav e to. T he l in ks al l ow the
creation of n on -s equ en tial w ritin gs , bookm arks an d j u m p-
s tru ctu red graphics of m an ykin ds . Bu tif you are goin g to
hav e l in ks you real l yn eed his torical backtrack an d
al tern ativ e v ers ion s .
Why?Becau s e if you m ake s om e l in ks on Mon dayan d go
on m akin g chan ges , perhaps on Wedn es dayyou ' d l ike to
f ol l ow thes e l in ks in tothe pres en tv ers ion . T hey' d betters til l
be attached tothe rightparts , ev en thou gh.the parts m ay
hav e m ov ed. An d the s am en es s -dis pl ayal l ow s com pl ex
l in ked al tern ativ es tobe s tu died an d in tercom pared in
depth.
Sol etu s cal l this Stage On e:as ys tem of com pu ters torage
thathol ds pieces of athin g, n otbig bl ocks , an d as s em bl es
them in s tan tl yin tow hatev erpartof w hatev erv ers ion you
as k f or; thatal l ow s you tocreate l in ks of an ykin d you w an t
betw een an ythin gs you w an t; an d s how s you w hichparts
are the s am e betw een rel ated v ers ion s .
Letu s cal l s u chas torage s ys tem ahyperf il e.
Y ou don ' thav e tou s e thes e f acil ities . Y ou can s tore textin
l on g bl ocks if you w is h. Bu tif the f acil ityis there, then the
peopl e w hon eed itcan u s e it.
P erhaps m os tim portan t, thes e f acil ities prov ide a
bu il din g-bl ock f orw hatis tobe des cribed in w hatf ol l ow s .
30. LiteraryMachin es
4
Lin ks Are P artof the Writin g D
Al in k is s im pl yacon n ection betw een parts of textorother
m aterial . Itis pu tin byahu m an . Lin ks are m ade by
in div idu al s as pathw ays f orthe readers expl oration ; thu s
theyare parts of the actu al docu m en t, partof the w ritin g.
As perhaps the s im pl es ttype of l in k, au s erm aycreate book-
m arks pl aces he m ayw an ttore-en tertextretu rn in g toit.
J u m p-Lin k
As an others im pl e f irs texam pl e, l etu s s im pl ythin k of al in k
as s om e s ortof aj u m popportu n ity, l ike acon v en tion al
f ootn ote. An as teris k, s ay, s ign al s thatthere' s s om ethin g to
j u m ptof rom here. If you poin tatitw ithyou rl ightpen ( or
m ou s e orw hatev er), Bin go! -you ' re n ow atthe f ootn ote, or
w hatev erel s e the au thortook you to. If you don ' tl ike it
there, hits om e s ortof aR etu rn Bu tton an d itpops you r
prev iou s addres s f rom as tack, s ohere you are back w here
you w ere an d n oharm has been don e.
Margin al N otes , Side-By-Side Writin g
Margin al n otes are an others im pl e an d im portan ttype of
l in k. ( Where the m argin of the s creen is thatis , how to
s how them is am atterparticu l artoyou row n s creen
s etu p.)
JU MP IN G ON ALIN K
Hel d cl ap -
l in k gather L' ""'
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theN EWMEDIAR EADER
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Au s erm ayal s om ake s ide by s ide con n ection s of other
types . On con tem pl atin g an ytw opieces of text, he m ay
m ake al in k betw een them . T hereaf ter, w hen he dis pl ays
eitherpiece of text, an d as ks tos ee the l in ks , al in k s ym bol is
dis pl ayed, an d the otherattached text if he w is hes tos ee it.
P AR ALLELLIN KEDT EXT
l
N atu ral l y, m akin g am argin al n ote con s is ts of w ritin g the
n ote an d hookin g the l in k.
Hypertext
T he l in k f acil itygiv en u s m u chm ore than the attachm en tof
m ere odds an d en ds . Itperm its f u l l yn on -s equ en tial w ritin g,
orhypertext.
R eaderretu rn s
an d con tin u es
R
u m | u l n yl l qm
pm n l l l 1 chm
:' im il l l |l ' ; n l l u
yn l l rm k l ' l l l l ( In rl m i
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l l n l yl l n l u gyu m l l n
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30. LiteraryMachin es
T his s im pl e f acil ity- the j u m p-l in k capabil ity l eads to-s pan , an d s pan to-s pan , hav in g an ys eparate n am es an d
im m ediatel ytoal l s orts of n ew textf orm s :f ors chol ars hip, f u n ction s des ired. We al s oal l ow l in ks w ithm u l tipl e
f orteachin g, f orf iction , f orhyper poetry. T his m akes en dpoin ts .
pos s ibl e acertain f ree-f orm s eren dipitou s brow s in g. Kl L|.
-"' F al l on )1
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w l l erev erj l . %
An yT ypes Of |.il 1l <S Lin ks m ayattachtootherl in ks . T hu s w e hav e the con ceptof
Apropers ys tem s hou l d al l ow an ytypes of l in k w hatev er, an en d-s et, the s ev eral types of obj ectthatagiv en l in k m ay
an d there are m yriads of types . attachto.
En d-Sets
@ '
In prin cipl e w e al l ow an ytypes of l in k tobe def in ed bythe Con s ider, f orexam pl e, an arbitrarytype of l in k w hichw e
s ophis ticated u s er. T hes e in cl u de poin t-to poin tl in ks , poin t- m aycal l aw u f f l e. Aw u f f l e, l etu s s ay, con n ects as pan of
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backaoard oeraoiu ;
al s os idew ays toal tern ativ e u n ion ,
"is . w ( IE)?|/ P k/ '
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30. L-iteraf yMachin es
text, apictu re, an d af ootn ote. T hes e are the en cl parts ; Lin kin g Am on gs tAl l DataT ypes
togethertheycon s titu te aw u f f l es en d-s et.
il l , Lm yac Man n ie;
1&2 :
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rid Wk l l l WL
l iq:-4' 3 * l l \L'
Direction al itif an is ' v en in the l in k e def in ition "Il
Y Y s 1 -WP - \V
N ote thaten d parts m ayn othan g togetheras theyev ol v e
( e.g. texts ection s ):
,.m , ~51-5. Itis v ital thatagen eral s ys tem n othav e res triction s F or
ag , -__' :_F ; _l ' ?___ --"_ in s tan ce, w hys hou l d you j u s thav e l in ks on text?We bel iev e
-:- ":: you s hou l d be abl e topu tf ootn otes an d m argin al n otes on
pictu res , on m u s ic on an yf orm s of data.
i
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s yl l i) _-_-5: l /
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l .' l l 1|( S an d F ron tEn ds
I-l ow tos how l in ks is aF ron t En d F u n ction . Sois the probl em
of keepin g track of w here you hav e been as you brow s ed; the h
f ron ten d m u s tm an age you rs tacks f oryou .
kg \|MJ Kl U \R \:/
P l at
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7 06 41' m eg
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19 81
AA rAA e Ao 0A A A A AA e AA- 30. Litef af yMachin es
j 6
On ce you hav e the package, the docu pl exthatal l ow s l in kage
an d backtrack, w hyn otexten d it?
: Whyn otal l ow an yon e tocreate l in ks betw een docu m en ts ,
~ al l ow in g you toj u m ps traightf rom on e toan other?
Giv en the exactdocu m en tbou n daries an d ow n ers hip
al readym en tion ed, w e can n ow create an orderl y
1
arran gem en tperm ittin g f arm ore com pl exdocu m en ts tobe
, s tored. We al s oprov ide an arran gem en tal l ow in g other
. in div idu al s f reel ytom ake theirow n m odif ication s on the
s tored docu m en ts . T his w e dobyal l ow in g -s o-cal l ed
com pou n d docu m en ts .
T he l ogic of thes e com pou n d docu m en ts is s im pl e an d
deriv es f rom the con ceptof docu m en tow n ers hip. T he
' in tegrityof this docu m en tis m ain tain ed; n oon e m ay
I chan ge itbu tthe ow n er.
Bu ts om eon e el s e m aycreate adocu m en tw hichqu otes it
A as m u chas des ired. T his m echan is m w e cal l the qu ote-
w in dow orqu ote-l in k. T hrou ghaw in dow in the n ew
- docu m en tw e s ee aportion of the ol d
l \l ' l l W~l 3 .5
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30. LiteraryMachin es
L l A
,. .. , . ..,. ._.4 . . . .. . ....._...~.__' __,= ,_-_.; . .. v
. _ _
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T hu s an ew docu m en tm aycon s is tof the qu ote-l in ks an d
n ew m aterial , if an y. V
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T hrou ghthe s am e docu m en tcon v en tion s , the com pou n d
s tru ctu res m en tion ed earl ierm ain tain the s am e con v en tion s
of in tegrityan d ow n ers hip.
T he s econ darydocu m en t, too, has its ow n in tegrity,
thou ghthe w in dow ed m aterial s are s til l partof the origin al
docu m en t.
Adocu m en tm ayhav e aw in dow toan otherdocu m en t,
an d thaton e toyetan other, in def in itel y. T hu s Acon tain s
partof B, an d s oon . On e docu m en tcan be bu il tu pon
an other, an d yetan otherdocu m en tcan be bu il tu pon that
on e, in def in itel y:eachhav in g l in ks tow hatw as al readyin
pl ace. -
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An ythin g s tored byon e u s eron the s ys tem m aybe
qu oted adopted in toadocu m en t byan otherpers on
w ritin g on the s ys tem ( prov ided the s econ d u s erhas
l egitim ate acces s ). T his f reedom of w in dow in g appl ies , of
theN EWMEDIAR EADER
. ._._ ___, _. , .
M __ ev en C I
A .
. . _ - . - . \ _
cou rs e, toal l f orm s of data, in cl u din g pictu res , m u s ical
n otation , etc.
Hw y
T hin k of the pres en tdocu m en tas as heetof gl as s . Itm ay
hav e w ritin g pain ted on itbythe pres en tau thor; itm ayhav e
w in dow s tos om ethin g el s e, in tu rn m ade of m ore l ayers of
pain ted gl as s , w ithw ritin g on each.
Expl ore the
topdocu m en t,
Q u a
s tepthrou gh
tootherdocu m erm
W146 -tpl ore them .
Areaderm ayeitherexpl ore the im m ediate docu m en t, or
s tepthou ghthe w in dow toexpl ore the n extdocu m en t, or
the on e beyon d. Af terexpl orin g af u rtherdocu m en t, the
readerm ayretu rn tothe on e thats how ed him in toit, or
proceed on tan gen ts thatbecom e av ail abl e.
Bythis s im pl e, s w eepin g m echan is m , al l m an n erof
dif f eren trequ irem en ts an d s pecial ized u s es are redu ced toa
s in gl e s tru ctu re. Eachl ayerof Win dow s m ayhav e, as itw ere,
col ored cel l ophan e oropaqu in g on it. On l yw hen you s tep
throu ghthe w in dow w hichyou al w ays m ayatan ytim e
doyou reachthe origin al . Bu ts teppin g throu ghthe w in dow
_-___p, _. _
m _as . e AA 7 7 9 e o 7 1 s e: H 11)
o' 19 81
m ean s tu rn in g on e gl as s page an d goin g on in the n ext. N ow
you are in an otherw ork.
Exam pl e T he an n u al reportof acorporation has abrief
paragraphon ev erydiv is ion of the com pan y, w iths u m m ary
operatin g f igu res f orthe year. T hes e paragraphs an d f igu res
are qu oted f rom otherdocu m en ts w hichexpl ain the m atters
m ore f u l l y; the readerm ayeas il ys tepthrou ghtos tu dythem
f u rther.
Exam pl e Achil dren s s toryis il l u s trated w ithpictu res . If
the chil d w an ts toreachthrou ghthe w in dow , eachpictu re
is f ou n d tobe partof al argerpictu re, w ithan others tory
attached.
T he w in dow s of aw in dow in g docu m en tare them s el v es
actu al l yparticu l arl in ks betw een docu m en ts . N ocopyis
m ade of the qu oted m aterial ; rather, aqu ote-l in k s ym bol ( or
its es s en tial equ iv al en t)is pl aced in the s tored s ym bol -train
of the qu otin g docu m en t, s in ce n ocopyis m ade. N ordoes it
af f ectthe ow n ers hip.
( N ote thatthes e m ethods of s torage s av e agreatdeal of
s pace, if the s am e m aterial is u s ed in n u m erou s docu m en ts .)
T he u s e of the s pecial l in ks dram atical l ys im pl if ies ahos t
of probl em s .
throu ghou tthe s ys tem , an d thu s the probl em s of dis tribu ted
N ocopyin g operation s are requ ired am on g the docu m en ts
u pdate, s of am il iarthrou ghou tthe com pu terw orl d, are
obv iated. ( Bu ttheydoreappearon al aterl ev el .)
Sin ce qu oted m aterial on l yhas tores ide in its pl ace of
origin , an d n otin the otherdocu m en ts thatqu ote it, other
docu m en ts thatqu ote itm aybe au tom atical l yu pdated
w hen its ow n erchan ges it.
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N ote al s o, how ev er, thataw in dow m aybe f ixed toa
docu m en tatacertain poin tin tim e, in w hichcas e rev is ion s
LAY ER S orw m oow m oT EXT . Eachhorizon tal l in e is adocu m en t.
l aal ibrary: A In ahu n in eoas ys tem :
r d ear - ' al
..u n m oil n u / l ei' A::::; ...' ::::
rev is ed \' f 8iu n $.
ii- W
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cu m rn em e ries . l --
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qu otation s .
origin al s .
R OVEOP T ION S
.. ' 1 ' . ' / -'
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ii: 1
l m pom s u brepom .
I hol din g .
chageabl e data,
_.. '
el d docu m en ts .
l l an d
accou n ts
Q
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.1
if s
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0 bi br
' . repl acem en t rearran gem en t
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30. LiteraryMachin es
30. LiteraryMachin es
are s een bythe u s eron l yw hen he as ks , Whathas this
pas s age becom e?
Deriv ativ e Docu m en ts
T he in tegrityof eachdocu m en tis m ain tain ed bythes e
s eparation s :deriv ativ e docu m en ts are perm an en tl ydef in ed
in term s of the origin al s an d the chan ges . ( An d s tored on
thatbas is .) A
Adocu m en tm aycon s is tm erel yof chan ges toan other
docu m en t. T hu s the m odif ied Gettys bu rg Addres s pu bl is hed
in MADbyDoodl es Weav erm aybe thou ghtof as tw o
docu m en ts :the origin al , an d the chan ges .
Al tern ativ e Vers ion s byN on -Ow n ers
Adocu m en tow n erm aycreate al tern ativ e arran gem en ts of
the s am e m aterial , al l w ithin the s am e docu m en t.
An otheru s er, how ev er, is f ree tocreate his ow n al tern ativ e
v ers ion of the docu m en the does n otow n . T his , then ,
becom es aw in dow in g docu m en tu s in g the s am e m aterial s .
OQ R EQ 5Q ' f .F EQ U & v rreyrgeags
theN EWMEDIAR EADER
Su chdocu m en ts m aybe eas il ycreated, s ay, topoin tou t
rel ation s betw een the Bibl e an d the Dead SeaScrol l s .
Com pou n din g of OtherLin k T ypes
An yotherl in k type ( bes ide w in dow s )m ayl ikew is e gof rom
on e docu m en ttoan other, an d in terw eav e w ithqu ote-l in ks .
N ote thatl in ks , l ike textan d pictu res , m aybe qu oted
T hes e s tru ctu res m ayof cou rs e n es t. T his m akes pos s ibl e
com pou n d docu m en ts toan yrem ov e, w here on e docu m en t
l in ks toan other, an d s oon . On e docu m en t, em bracin g
an other, takes itin toits el f . _
Hil l
1
n v v w
:1:
~/ -v v l
h' l .
} _Z l H T 0AN Y T teu j ov l
I An d this creates abas is f oral l kin ds of hypertext l in ked,
m l -~~@ l 1!
5-crs m rqeroe v c ( rw v
EhB
In tercom paris on Docu m en ts I
Adocu m en tthatpoin ts ou trel ation s betw een other
docu m en ts w e m aycal l an in tercom paris on docu m en t."
paral l el , w in dow in g.
03' ( ' --* 7 0 I
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COMP OU N D N EST EDLIN KS
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An In teres tin g Worl d
Itw il l be n otes thatw e hav e here def in ed an in teres tin g an d
richs ortof w orl d aw orl d in w hichw e are rel iev ed of
com pl ication s f rom con v en tion al com pu ter l in g; yetw e
hav e greatl yen han ced abil ities tos pecif yan d expres s
com pou n d rel ation s of ev erys ort.
A w orm or _.1
|tl re: _' T [ * "* * ' -9 ' ? I \
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COM P 00"9 Deco!-08) I
. . . Bu taSim pl e On e
T his w orl d n ev erthel es s rem ain s s im pl e in des ign . T he
v irtu al ityis s im pl e in s tru ctu re an d repeats in l ayers .
Do U l \U ' r .O"\?Lxn -1,
A003 Miw u a
l "~I!-1m w m w u eow caxiip
19 81
7
Show in g an d Siev in g In -Lin ks
T he readers hou l d be abl e toas k, f oragiv en docu m en tor
pl ace in the docu m en t, Whatcon n ects here f rom other
docu m en ts ?"- an d be s how n al l thes e ou ts ide con n ection s
w ithou tappreciabl e del ay. '
Au . u m / it
2 ) --_____
4
f '
I
Bu tthere m aybe toom an y. In deed, f orAl ice in 45
Won derl an d"orthe U .S. Con s titu tion , the n u m bercou l d be
in the s qu il l ion s .
T hu s itbecom es n eces s arytoappl ys om e kin d of f il ter,
s ayin g, Whatl in ks com e in f rom Spain ?F rom l as tw eek?
F rom l as tyearin Marien bad?" an d s ee the n u m berof s u ch
l in ks are on ce, f ol l ow ed bythe l in ked docu m en ts them s el v es
if des ired.
T his m u s tal l be f as ten ou ghtopl eas e the im patien ton -
l in e u s er. An d w e bel iev e itcan be don e. T his f il terin g by
dif f eren tattribu tes w e cal l s iev in g; an d itcan on l ybe s etu p
f oracom parativ el ys m al l n u m berof traits s ay, l ocation
an d au thoran d tim e.
Directories an d Categories
T w os ys tem directories , m ain tain ed bythe s ys tem its el f , are
an ticipated:au thoran d titl e, n om ore.
30. LiteraryMachin es
Otherdirectories w ou l d es s en tial l yin v ol v e categorization ,
l ike the Dew eyDecim al an d Libraryof Con gres s catal og
s ys tem s , orthe Y el l ow P ages of the phon e book.
T here is n othin g w ron g w ithcategorization . Itis , how ev er,
byits n atu re tran s ien t:categorys ys tem s hav e ahal f -l if e, an d
categorization s begin tol ook f airl ys tu pid af teraf ew years .
( In deed, s im pl e categorization s of com pu terarticl es in
com pu terbibl iographies of ten years agohav e al readybegu n
tol ook s tu pid.)T he arm ydes ign ation of P on g Bal l s , P in g
has acertain u n iv ers al charactertoit.
Al l category-s ys tem s m ake s om e s en s e, f ew s taygood f or
l on g. ( How ev er, the Y el l ow P ages categories are an
in teres tin g exception , bein g dreadf u l tobegin w ith, an d,
thou ghs u ppos edl yu pdated f rom tim e totim e, don ots eem
toim prov e. T rytof in d f rom them the n eares tpl ace tom ake
papercopies .)
Whatis the s ol u tion f orou rs ys tem ?Keepcategorizin g
directories ou tof the s ys tem l ev el T his is u s erbu s in es s ; l et
them han dl e itan d col l ectroyal ties .
P rov is ion w il l exis tf oran yon e topu bl is hhis ow n
docu m en tl is ts , categorized in an yw ayhe im agin es , an d
hav e u s ers bou n ce throu ghthem in s earchof w hatev erthey
thin k theym ayf in d.
theN EWMEDIAR EADER
Videodis c Con n ection s
T here has been agreatdeal of w hoop-te dorecen tl yabou t
v ideodis cs , the s torage dev ices thathol d on e orm ore hou rs
of T V on apl atter. Sev eral of thes e are n ow av ail abl e an d
in com patibl e. Som e of them of f erf reeze f ram e an d ran dom
f ram e addres s abil ity. Veryw el l :theyare af as tim age pl ayou t
thatcan be hooked u ptoou rin dexin g f orcom pl expu rpos es .
( T he w idel y tou ted n otion thatv ideodis cs w il l be u s ef u l
f ortextl ibraries s eem s al ittl e s il l y, s in ce theym ake it
pos s ibl e toacces s on l yw hatyou actu al l yhav e rightthere,
w hil e ahypertextn etw ork cou l d al l ow im m ediate acces s to
ev erythin g on it; av as tdif f eren ce.)
( ( An otheru s e of the term v ideodis c, cau s in g total
con f u s ion , is its u s e toref ertocertain high den s ityw rite-
on ce digital dis ks u n derdev el opm en tbyP hil ips . We are of ten
as ked w hetherthes e v ideod.is cs "w il l be u s ef u l f orou r
s ys tem , an d the an s w eris yes , bu ttheyaren ' tv ideodis cs .))
. . . . .._. . . ,_|181 . _
Eri l l aLP -* 5V' $IOAl
9
U s erP riv acy: AVital Is s u e
T he n etw ork w il l n ot, m ayn otm on itorw horeads w hator
w how rites w hatin priv ate docu m en ts . T his is v ital . Itis n ot
eas ytogu aran tee an d im pos s ibl e tom ake f u l l yau tom atic.
AP rin tin g P res s P
We con s iderthatthis s ys tem m aybes tbe con s idered as a
prin tin g pres s "of the f u tu re.
F reedom of the P res s
If this s ys tem is aprin tin g pres s , w e can brook n ogreater
res triction on its f u n ction s than on con v en tion al prin tin g.
F reedom of the pres s has been chal l en ged bytyran ts an d
s cou n drel s s in ce Gu ten berg. Itw il l happen again , an d w ors e,
30. LiteraryMachin es
on this n ew pl ayin g-f iel d. We m u s tbe ready. 4 1
Legal Good Behav ior
P l ain l y, the s ys tem m u s tl iv e w ithin the l aw . How ev er, w hat
the l aw is m ayof ten n otbe cl ear. Greyareas ( f orthe U SA)
in v ol v e porn ography, l ibel , an d n ation al s ecu rity"( of ten
m ean in g m atters em barras s in g toapol itical adm in is tration )
T here is n othin kin g ou tal l thes e ev en tu al ities . Bu tthis is
al ibertarian s ys tem :res trictit, an d al l w il l l os e.
Etern al R ev is ion
T here is n oF in al Word. T here is al w ays an ew v iew , an ew
idea, arein terpretation . Win dow in g hypertextof f ers the
pos s ibil itythatal l w ritin gs ( n ev erm in d the w ord
kn ow l edge)m aybe f orev errev is ed an d rein terpreted by
n ew s chol ars , s u m m arizers , popu l arizers , an thol ogizers .
,, . O _..- I19 ? - 0- ___31. Con dom in iu m s
31. [ In trodu ction ]
Wil l T here Be
Con dom in iu m s in DataSpace?
Videoartis ts , an d particu l arl yin teractiv e v ideoartis ts , hav e dev el oped approaches thatcan hel pu s
thin k abou tn ew m ediam ore broadl y. F orexam pl e, in the 19 6 0s , w hen v ideos eem ed tobe on l yl es s er
f il m f orm an ypeopl e ( l es s bothin cos tan d v al u e), artis ts began toexpl ore the dis tin ctiv e f eatu res of
the v ideom ediu m . T heyhav e con tin u ed theirexpl oration s as the techn ol ogies in v ol v ed cam eras , .
editin g s ys tem s , im age s yn thes is equ ipm en t, s creen s an d proj ectors hav e ev ol v ed. Han s -P eter
Schw arz n otes , in his MediaVis ion s es s ay, thatthe earl yres u l ts began tocal l in toqu es tion the
s acros an cts tatu s of m on tage, w hichhad been cen tral tof il m f rom the tim e of Eis en s tein an d
P odov kin , in am an n erev en m ore f u n dam en tal than w hatexperim en tal f il m had accom pl is hed u pto
thattim e. P artof this w as throu ghexpl oration of im m ediacy exam pl es of w hichin cl u de N am Ju n e
P aiks im m ediatel ys creen ed v ideoof the P opes v is it( Q 15), Les Lev in es s el f -s u rv eil l an ce in s tal l ation s at
Sof tw are ( O17 ), an d v ideoen v iron m en ts in w hichartis ts pres en ted im ages of the au dien ce its el f u s in g
dif f eren ts orts of dis pl acem en ts in tim e an d s pace:w ithaf ew s econ ds del ay, in an arrow corridor,
w hil e trav ers in g am aze. T hou ghtel ev is ion produ ction had u s ed the techn ol ogies of v ideof ors om e
tim e, artis ts ' v ideorecon f igu redpu bl ic an d in du s trial con ception s of the v ideoim age v iam ean s
ran gin g f rom s ite-s pecif ic in s tal l ation s tothe m u s ic v ideo f orm .
Bil l Viol ahas been on e of the highes t prof il e of v ideoartis ts , al l ow in g him tocreate, i-n recen tyears ,
w hats om e hav e cal l ed ' 7 0m il l im eter"v ideoart w ork in w hichv ideos l ow ercos tis n otaprim ary
attraction f orthe artis t, an d the tradition al l yrou ghprodu ction v al u es of v ideoartare n otpres en t.
How ev er, w hathas rem ain ed con s is ten tf rom Viol as grittierearl yw ork tohis m as s iv e l ate-19 9 0s
retros pectiv e atthe Whitn eyMu s eu m is apoetic approachtoexpl orin g the v ideom ediu m . As Michael
R u s hw rote in his N ew Mediain ~Late 2 0thCen tu ryArt, Bil l Viol as w ork, perhaps m ore than an yother,
repres en ts the ten den cytow ard the l yrical in art ( 140).
T his v iew of Viol as w ork is perhaps in s tru ctiv e w hen con s iderin g the es s ayreprin ted here-f or
exam pl e, du rin g his dis cu s s ion of the MIT MediaLabs f am ou s As pen Mov ie-Map. T he proj ectw as
bril l ian t, bu tl im ited bythe f actthatitw as s tru ctu red arou n d av ideohardw are hack ( as dis cu s s ed in
An drew Lippm an s paperf rom SIGGR AP H 19 80)w hichw as m apped on toan av igation s ys tem m ean t
tobe as f am il iaras pos s ibl e, s oas tobrin g s om ethin g al readyim agin ed tol if e. Itrem ain ed f orartis ts to
s eek, in s tead, s u rpris e, an d tocreate def am il iarizin g f orm s of in teraction thatw ou l d al l ow the
techn ol ogytobe en v is ion ed an ew , in s tead of as as teptow ard m akin g real w hatw e al readyexpected.
T he w ork of Lyn n Hers hm an ( O44)an d Graham e Wein bren in cl u des im portan tartis t-l ed
expl oration s of in teractiv e techn iqu es an d s tru ctu res that, as Viol adis cu s s es , gobeyon d the bas ic
bran chin g f l ow chart, as tru ctu re thathad been appl ied ton arrativ e tw odecades bef ore byR aym on d
Q u en eau ( O12 ).
Hers hm an an d Wein bren s w ork, as w el l as Viol as ow n , rel ates tothe As pen proj ectorcom m ercial
in teractiv e v ideoas poetryrel ates toan in s tru ction m an u al orbrochu re. An in s tru ction m an u al that
m akes u s con s iderl an gu age an ew is u s u al l yaf ail u re s u chadocu m en tm u s tbe tran s paren tin order
tobe ef f ectiv e. Of cou rs e, the creation of ef f ectiv e s tru ctu res f ors u chm an u al s is af orm idabl e
chal l en ge, an d s u chdocu m en ts are es s en tial . Bu tf ew w ou l d w is htol iv e in acu l tu re in w hichou r
abil itytou n ders tan d an d u s e l an gu age w as l im ited tow hatis ev oked bys u chdocu m en ts .
N WF
' Wil e-c
= M
-"
in DataSpace?
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31. Con dom in iu m s theN EWMEDIAR EADER
in DataSpace?
,4 _, ... ' __, . __.. . ), _ . I ,. ~ _
\~\" . . - ' , ,.~~ .. - ' * ' _._- -_ _1
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,i.Li' pp~m an .. An ' e1ie t; .' ."Mo_i/ is ,n a-; i i_Aa_"A' ppn a,em ; ~. ' r.<.ih _ opiate; -1y5aei3' ,"n is g* acs .,m ; iiu r j r.oap; hi ; ; ' j _1; baqpu t icream -3 14( 3), m o. = '
. .' _ __ . , y V.
' .R ' u s l h,,' Michael ; 1iVew .MMoi; 1_1,_otel 2 0th-Cen tv w iei..i.; , ; ,r..r.~rr@ ..ag; ,ia; i.. ; ,.,aas , {II-,; .' ,7 " 1.5; . :_:; i, . " I ,, " .
Sc_l n v a rz_5.' H_al n S.-|?etl er,' _ed. tf l dio-' Art= His tory:} -MepiidiMu s eu m ; Zzin -ecem eri-,* or,A.rr; Izi~d i?iedio._I?ail s ' _iu h' e., N ev rY ork: P raiaP u bl is hin g, 19 9 1.
1 4 \ . , 4 '
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Origin al P u bl ication
Video80( 5):36 -41. 19 82 . T his textf rom Bil l Viol a, R eos on s f or
Kn ockin g atan Em ptyHou s e, 12 1-135. Ed. R obertViol ette.
Cam bridge: MIT P res s , 19 9 5.
Wil l T here Be
Con dom in iu m s
in DataSpace?
Bil l Viol a
P os s ibl ythe m os ts tartl in g thin g abou tou rin div idu al
exis ten ce is thatitis con tin u ou s . Itis an u n broken thread
w e hav e been l iv in g this s am e m om en tev ers in ce w e w ere
con ceiv ed. Itis m em ory, an d tos om e exten ts l eep, thatgiv es u s
the im pres s ion of al if e of dis crete parts , periods , ors ection s , of
certain tim es orhighl ights . Hol l yw ood m ov ies an d the m edia,
of cou rs e, rein f orce this perception .
If thin gs are perceiv ed as dis crete parts orel em en ts , theycan
be rearran ged. Gaps becom e m os tin teres tin g as pl aces of
s hadow , open toproj ection . Mem orycan be regarded as af il ter
( as are the f iv e s en s es )~ itis adev ice im pl an ted f orou r
s u rv iv al . T he cu rs e of the m n em on is tis the f l ood of im ages
thatare con s tan tl yrepl ayin g in his brain . He m aybe abl e to
dem on s trate extraordin aryf eats of recal l , bu tthe res tof the
ban al an d the m u n dan e is pl ayin g back in there too, en dl es s l y.
T he res u l tcan be l ack of s l eep, ps ychos is , an d ev en w il l f u l
death, driv in g s om e tos eek prof es s ion al ps ychiatric hel p( an d
thu s becom ehis toryon the pages of m edical j ou rn al s an d
books )?T his rein carn ates on e of the cu rs es of earl yv ideo
art recorcl ev erythin g,"the s atu ration -bom bin g approachto
l if e w hichm ade s om an yearl yv ideos how s s oborin g an d
im pos s ibl e tos itthrou gh. Lif e w ithou teditin g, its eem s , is j u s t
n otthatin teres tin g.
Itis on l yv eryrecen tl ythatthe abil itytof orgethas becom e
aprized s kil l . In the age of in f orm ation ov erl oad, w e hav e
~ o . \ .\ _. - ' . __ - -
_. ., _\,. _ .. .
. .. ~- 1 .. ~ . '
.~ . a " . I , .
1 -' ' . ' . ' ~' \ ' -- , '
reached acritical m as s thathas accel erated the perf ection of
recordin g techn ol ogies , an ev ol u tion thatl eads back toan cien t
tim es . Artif icial m em orys ys tem s hav e been arou n d f or
cen tu ries . T he earl yGreeks had theirw al ks throu ghtem pl e,
an d s u cces s iv e cu l tu res hav e ref in ed an d dev el oped s o~cal l ed
m n em o-techn ics T hom as Aqu in as des cribed an el aborate
m em orys chem e of proj ectin g im ages an d ideas on pl aces ( f ig.
31.2 ); in 1482 Jacobu s P u bl iciu s w rote of u s in g the s pheres of
the u n iv ers e as am em orys ys tem ( f ig. 31.2 ); Giu l ioCam il l o
created aMem oryT heater"in Ital yin the earl y1500s ; an d
Giordan oBru n odiagram m ed his s ys tem of artif icial m em ory
in his w ork Shadow s , pu bl is hed in 1582 . F ran ces Y ates des cribes
i
this en tire rem arkabl e areain herbril l ian tbook T he Artof j
Mem ory( U n iv ers ityof ChicagoP res s , 19 6 6 ).
When Iw as in Japan in 19 81, Iv is ited af es tiv al of the dead
aton e of the m os ts acred pl aces in the cou n try, Os ores an
Mou n tain . T here Is aw bl in d f em al e s ham en cal l ed ital <0cal l in g
back the s pirits of the dead f orin qu irin g rel ativ es , acen tu ries -
ol d practice. U n til thattim e Ihad f el tthatthe l arge Japan es e
el ectron ics com pan ies w ere w ayahead in the dev el opm en tof
com m u n ication s techn ol ogy. Af terw itn es s in g the ital <o,
how ev er, Ireal ized theyw ere w aybehin d. R ightin theirow n
backyard w ere peopl e w ho, w ithou tthe aid of w ires or
hardw are of an ys ort, hav e been f orages regu l arl y
com m u n icatin g throu ghtim e an d s pace w ithan ces tors l on g
L-
\
._. ~
j u g, T
_; .' -s -' 1 "I _
."~' ~\' .~i' ."~"l Y ' '
~.~ ' 0- I
l .._-M\__| D _-
\..4
F igu re 31.1. T ibetan Bu ddhis tm on ks f rom Ladakhm akin g as an d m an dal a.
19 32
w ee. * +~ A oe ~ 4.? s o-~ .o~* ~~~o
gon e. An in teres tin g pl ace atthe tem pl e s ite ( w hichw as
perched in the s u rreal l an ds cape of an extin ctv ol can ic crater)
w as as pecial w al k f orthe v is itin g pil grim s totake al on g a
pres cribed trail . T he w ayl ed f rom the tem pl e throu gha
v ol can ic w as tel an d of rockpil es an d s m okin g f is s u res tothe
s hores of acraterl ake. Itw as cal l ed the w al k throu ghHel l ."
T he paththrou ghthe l an ds cape an d the poin ts al on g ital l
had s pecial s ign if ican ce. T he itako, tocal l u pthe dead, took
this w al k throu ghHel l in theirm in ds , brin gin g the s pirits
in al on g the f am il iarpath, an d w hen theyw ere throu gh, s en t
them back the s am e w ay.
T he in teres tin g thin g abou tideas paces an d m em orys ys tem s
is thattheypres u ppos e the exis ten ce of s om e s ortof pl ace,
eitherreal orgraphic, w hichhas its ow n s tru ctu re an d
architectu re. T here is al w ays aw hol e s pace, w hichal ready
exis ts in its en tirety, on tow hichideas an d im ages can be
m apped, u s in g on l ythatportion of the s pace n eeded.
In addition tothe f am il iarm odel of pre recorded tim e
u n f ol din g al on g al in earpath( as ev iden ced bym an ythin gs
f rom ou rw ritin g s ys tem tothe thread of m agn etic tape
pl ayin g in av ideotape recorder), there is an otherparal l el to
be l in ked w ithm odern techn ol ogy. Datas pace"is aterm w e
hearin con n ection w ithcom pu ters . In f orm ation m u s tbe
en tered in toacom pu ters m em orytocreate as etof
param eters , def in in g s om e s ortof grou n d, orf iel d, w here
f u tu re cal cu l ation s an d bin aryev en ts w il l occu r. In three-
dim en s ion al com pu tergraphics , this f iel d exis ts as an
im agin arybu treal chu n k of s pace, acon ceptu al geom etry,
theoretical l yin f in ite, w ithin w hichv ariou s f orm s m aybe
created, m an ipu l ated, exten ded, an d des troyed. T he graphics
dis pl ays creen becom es thatm ys teriou s third poin tof v iew
l ookin g in on this s pace ( w e of ten cal l itou rm in ds eye"),
w hichcan be m ov ed abou tan d rel ocated f rom an yan gl e at
w il l . T he catchis thatthe s pace m u s texis tin the com pu ter
f irs t, s othatthere is aref eren ce s ys tem w ithin w hichto
l ocate the v ariou s coordin ates of poin ts an d l in es cal l ed in to
bein g bythe operator. In ou rbrain , con s tan tl yf l ickerin g
pu l s es of n eu ron f irin gs create as teady-s tate f iel d on to
w hichdis tu rban ces an d pertu rbation s are regis tered as
percepts an d thou ghtf orm s . T his is the n otion that
s om ethin g is al readyon bef ore you approachit, l ike the
u n iv ers e, orl ike av ideocam eraw hichal w ays n eeds tobe
"v ideo-in g"ev en if there is on l yabl an k ras ter( n othin g)to
s ee. T u rn itof f , an d its n otv ideoan ym ore.
0 as .-. _31. Con dom in iu m s
in DataSpace?
" : 1"
,"" -u Lu ' w r.- B rl I if 1
0 38* l u n ar. , ' ._' _ % A ,.\.
I ' 2 5 ' :~. I: -, "" ; - -L
. E ' .-: 3:! Q ,1! 2 : - i
--. ' ._, -I" [ 5. 3. ,_I_' " ._
- . , _... 3 n ew 1
M ~ * ." -N " I-In an -T j
T
-... - "7 Q
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IQ BQ 1. .-1'
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IF ; P ar! -rb r - * i % .,< ED"
\ 17
:>
Q <9 ,u K?
1 "_ ' . _... - e \' ' T _I7 1 I
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... < ' "" ' :" 4A ___. 1' .
.__J\' -I:-.~; :' ..' ( T il . l ' T . I- - ' . aw . I ' / 1: I
1 n ~rr|r' tI<?<__. "_- ' , ' _ ; \\" ' :\
- -~ = * ~> ~ n e =
\ 05 . ' ' - _
Q 3 . ___-1&3 4 n rn rn
- _' ~"; :-f..".:rs ?* ~ .- A -
' ~ "" _\' / Ls T -; ; Q _A)
I 1' ~' _"\_1J, g W J-; _-' :,: __ ---
t. im z... . l ~ .. ..
:1 , ~ 3
0 | .2
.._F ; - n Ii. L i, .
F igu re 31.2 . Lef tan d m iddl e: Abbeym em orys ys tem , an d im ages
tobe u s ed in the Abbeym em orys ys tem . F rom Jahan n es
R om bach, Con ges toriu m Arti cios e Mem orie, Ven ice, 1533. R ight:
T he Spheres of the U n iv ers e as aMem orySys tem , f rom Jacobu s
P u bl icu s , Oratoriae artis epitom e, 1482 .
Vl l hen Ihad m yf irs texperien ce w ithcom pu terv ideotape
editin g in 19 7 6 , on e dem an d this n ew w ayof w orkin g
im pres s ed u pon m e has rem ain ed s ign if ican t. Itis the ideaof
hol is m . Is aw then thatm ypiece w as actu al l yf in is hed an d in
exis ten ce bef ore itw as execu ted on the VT R s . Digital
com pu ters an d s of tw are techn ol ogies are hol is tic; theythin k
in term s of w hol e s tru ctu res . Wordproces s ors al l ow on e to
w rite ou t, correct, an d rearran ge the w hol e l etterbef ore
typin g it. Datas pace is f l u id an d tem poral , hardcopyis f or
real an obj ectis born an d becom es f ixed in tim e. Chis el in g
in s ton e m aybe the u l tim ate hard copy.
When Iedited atape w iththe com pu ter, f orthe f irs ttim e
in m yl if e Is aw thatm yv ideopiece had as core, as tru ctu re,
apattern thatcou l d be w ritten ou ton paper. We v iew v ideo
an d f il m in the pres en tten s e w e s ee on e f ram e atatim e
pas s in g bef ore u s in this m om en t. We don ' ts ee w hatis
bef ore itan d w hatis af terit w e on l ys ee the n arrow s l itof
n ow . Later, w hen the l ights com e on , its gon e. T he pattern
does exis t, of cou rs e, bu ton l yin ou rm em ory. N otation
s ys tem s hav e been arou n d s in ce the begin n in g of his tory,
s in ce w hatw e cal l his toryis n otation of ev en ts in tim e, i.e.,
his torical records . Withs peechw e hav e graphic w ritin g
s ys tem s ; w ithm u s ic w e hav e the s core. T heyare both
s ym bol ic coded s ys tem s f orthe recordin g an d l aterpl ayback
of in f orm ation ev en ts in tim e. P oetryhas al w ays had al ev el
thatv ideoorf il m can n otapproach( atl eas tn otyet):the
exis ten ce of the w ords on paper( how the poem l ooks , how
the w ords are pl aced on the page, the gaps , the s pacin g, etc.).
T he w hol e poem is there bef ore u s , an d, s tartin g atthe topof
the page, w e can s ee the en d bef ore w e actu al l ygetthere.
Ou rcu l tu ral con ceptof edu cation an d kn ow l edge is
bas ed u pon the ideaof bu il din g s om ethin g u pf rom a
31. Con dom in iu m s
in DataSpace?
grou n d, f rom zero, an d s tartin g piece bypiece topu tthin gs
together, tocon s tru ctedif ices . Itis additiv e. If w e approach
this proces s f rom the otherdirection , con s iderin g ittobe
backw ards , ors u btractiv e, al l s orts of thin gs s tartto
happen . Scien tis ts al w ays m arv el atn atu re, athow its eem s
tobe s om e gran d code, w ithabu il t-in s en s e of pu rpos e.
Dis cov eries are m ade w hichrev eal thatm ore an d m ore
thin gs are rel ated, con n ected. Ev erythin g appears tobe
aw are of its el f an d ev erythin g el s e, al l f ittin g in toan
in terl ockin g w hol e. We qu ite l iteral l ycarv e ou tol irow n
real ities . If you w an ttom ake aj igs aw pu zzl e, you m u s tf irs t
s tartw iththe w hol e im age, an d then cu titu p. T he
I
obs erv er, w orkin g backw ards in tothe s ys tem , has the poin t
of v iew thathe ors he is bu il din g thin gs u p, pu ttin g it
togetherpiece bypiece. T he prophetMoham ed has s aid, Al l
kn ow l edge is bu tas in gl e poin t itis the ign oran tw ho
hav e m u l tipl ied it." '
T he Whol e Is the Su m of Its P arts
Af rien d of m in e is an ethn om u s icol ogis tw hos pen t
s ev eral years s tu dyin g the gam el an m u s ic of Cen tral
Jav a. He w as train ed in Wes tern m u s ic in the States ,
an d s pen tm an yyears w orkin g on his ow n
com pos ition s an d perf orm in g w ithotherm u s ician s .
On e of the m os tf ru s tratin g thin gs aboiithis s tu dies
in Jav a, he tol d m e, w as tryin g tow ork on s pecif l c
parts of s on gs w iththe gam el an m u s ician s . On ce
theyw ere atarehears al , an d af terru n n in g throu gha
piece, he as ked them topl ayon l yas ection f rom the
m iddl e s othathe cou l d m ake s u re he gotal l the
n otes right. T his prov ed tobe an im pos s ibl e requ es t.
Af teral otof hem m in g an d haw in g, excu s es , an d
s ev eral f al s e s tarts , he real ized thatthe grou pj u s t
cou l d n otdoit. T heyin s is ted on pl ayin g the en tire
piece ov eragain , f rom begin n in g toen d. In Jav a, the
m u s ic w as l earn ed byrote, f rom m an yyears of
obs erv ation an d im itation , n otf rom w ritten
n otation . T he ideaof takin g as m al l partou tof
con text, orpl ayin g j u s taf ew bars , s im pl ydid n ot
exis t. T he m u s ic w as l earn ed an d con ceiv ed as a
w hol e in the m in ds of the m u s ician s .
Giu l ioP aol in i, the con tem poraryItal ian artis t, m ade al ittl e-
kn ow n bu tf ar-reachin g v ideotape in the m id-s ev en ties . It
w as his f irs tan d on l ytape. Workin g atan experim en tal
v ideos tu dioin F l oren ce in the cradl e of Wes tern art, he, l ike
m an yotherEu ropean artis ts w hov is ited the art/ tapes / 2 2
s tu dio, had his f irs ten cou n terw ithv ideo. In s tead of s im pl y
theN EWMEDIAR EADER
re-tran s l atin g in tov ideow hathe had al readybeen doin g
bef ore, as m os totherartis ts had don e, P aol in iin tu itiv el y
recogn ized the greatpow eru n derl yin g the recordin g m edia.
He took the s l ides of al l his w ork, m os tof the pieces he had
ev erm ade, an d recorded them on e atatim e on eachf ram e of
v ideo. P l ayin g back this tape, the v iew ers ees 15years of
P aol in is art, his l if es w ork, gobyin l es s than am in u te. P oof !
Its gon e.
Itis s l ow l ybecom in g cl earthats tru ctu ral is m , cu rren tl y
ou tof f as hion in the f as hion -con s ciou s , ev ers hif tin g
s potl ightof the artw orl d, m u s tbe recon s idered Itis v ital .
How ev er, this n ew s tru ctu ral is m is n otthe s am e as the of ten
ov er-in tel l ectu al ized, didactic, s tru ctu ral is m -f or-
s tru ctu ral is m s -s ake thattook cen ters tage in the arts cen e
ov eradecade ago( m os tv is ibl ythrou ghthe w ork of
experim en tal f il m m akers ). In retros pect, how ev er, the core
ideas bein g expres s ed then certain l yrem ain im portan t, an d
perhaps cou l d on l yhav e em erged in the w aytheydid giv en
thatparticu l arpl ace an d m om en tin cu l tu ral tim e.
F u rther-m ore, the an ti-con ten tm es s ages thathav e been
es pou s ed in v ariou s f iel ds of artin the tw en tiethcen tu ry
al s ocon tin u e tom eritatten tion . We hav e al l been m ade
aw are that, s in ce the R en ais s an ce, Wes tern eyes hav e been
draw n tothe v is u al , tothe s u rf ace appearan ce of the w orl d
R eal is m cam e tom ean how s om ethin g appeared tothe eye
al on e. Lookin g atthe Gothic artbef ore it, al on g w ithAs ian
an d s o-cal l ed P rim itiv e orT ribal Art, itis cl earthat
s om ethin g f u n dam en tal is m is s in g How ev er, f rom ou r
v iew poin ttoday, itis al s ocl earthatpu re s tru ctu ral is m al on e
is n oan s w ereither.
Decaden tartis s im pl yan artw hichis n ol on gerf el t
oren ergized, bu tm erel yden otes , in w hichthere exis ts
n ol on geran yreal corres pon den ce betw een the
f orm al an d pictorial el em en ts , its m ean in g, as itw ere,
n egated bythe w eakn es s orin con gru ityof the
pictorial el em en t; bu titis of ten . . . f arl es s
con v en tion al than are the prim itiv e orcl as s ic s tages
of the s am e s equ en ce. T ru e art, pu re art, n ev eren ters
in tocom petition w iththe u n attain abl e perf ection of
the w orl d.3
A.K. Coom aras w am y
Stru ctu re, orf orm , has al w ays been the bas is of the
origin al pictorial artof bothEu rope an d the Eas t, bu tthe
Middl e Ages w ere the l as ttim e w hen bothEu rope an d As ia
m eton com m on artis tic grou n d.
0 ago? go.-We o s o~~~e
In Wes tern art, the pictu re is gen eral l ycon ceiv ed as
s een in af ram e orthrou ghaw in dow , an d s obrou ght
tow ards the s pectator; bu tthe Orien tal im age real l y
exis ts on l yin ou rm in d an d heartan d then ce is
proj ected orref l ected in tos pace.
T he In dian , orF arEas tern icon , carv ed orpain ted, is
n eitheram em oryim age n oran ideal ization , bu ta
v is u al s ym bol is m , ideal in the m athem atical s en s e. . . .
Where Eu ropean artn atu ral l ydepicts am om en tof
tim e, an arres ted action , oran ef f ectof l ight, Orien tal
artrepres en ts acon tin u ou s con dition . In tradition al
Eu ropean term s , w e s hou l d expres s this bys ayin g that
m odern Eu ropean arten deav ors torepres en tthin gs
as theyare in them s el v es , As iatic an d Chris tian artto
repres en tthin gs m ore n earl yas theyare in God, or
n earertheirs ou rce.
A.K. Coom aras w am y
T he ideaof artas akin d of diagram has f orthe m os tpart
n otm ade itdow n f rom the Middl e Ages in tom odern
Eu ropean con s ciou s n es s . T he R en ais s an ce w as the tu rn in g
poin t, an d the s u bs equ en this toryof Wes tern artcan be
v iew ed as the progres s iv e dis tan cin g of the arts aw ayf rom
the s acred an d tow ards the prof an e. T he origin al s tru ctu ral
as pectof art, an d the ideaof adatas pace"w as pres erv ed
throu ghthe R en ais s an ce, how ev er, in the con tin u ed rel ation
betw een the im age an d architectu re. P ain tin g becam e an
architectu ral , s patial f orm , w hichthe v iew erexperien ced by
phys ical l yw al kin g throu ghit. T he ol dercon ceptof an idea
an d an im age architectu re, am em orypl ace l ike the
m n em on ic tem pl es of the Greeks , is carried throu ghin the
greatEu ropean cathedral s an d pal aces , as is the rel ation
betw een m em ory, s patial m ov em en t, an d the s torage
( recordin g)of ideas .
Som ethin g extraordin aryis occu rrin g today, in the 19 80s ,
w hichties togetheral l thes e threads . T he com pu teris
m ergin g w ithv ideo. T he poten tial of f s prin g of this
m arriage is on l ybegin n in g tobe real ized. Leapin g directl y
in tothe f artherf u tu re f oram om en t, w e can s ee the s eeds
of w hats om e hav e des cribed as the u l tim ate recordin g
techn ol ogy: total s patial s torage, w iththe v iew erw an derin g
dirou ghs om e three-dim en s ion al , pos s ibl yl if e-s ized f iel d of
prerecorded ors im u l ated s cen es an d ev en ts ev ol v in g in
tim e. Atpres en t, the in teractiv e v ideodis cs cu rren tl yon the
m arkethav e al readybegu n toaddres s s om e of thes e
pos s ibil ities . Makin g aprogram f orin teractiv e v ideodis c
oI19 i2 s o 31. Con dom in iu m s
in DataSpace?
in v ol v es the orderin g an d s tru ctu rin g ( i.e., editin g)of m u ch
m ore in f orm ation than w il l actu al l ybe s een byan
in div idu al w hen he ors he s its dow n topl aythe program . Al l
pos s ibl e pathw ays , orbran ches , thatav iew er( participan t
is abetterw ord)m aytake throu ghthe m aterial m u s t
al readyexis tats om e pl ace on the dis c. En tire prerecorded
s ection s of v ideom ayn ev erbe en cou n tered byagiv en
obs erv er.
Soon , the w ayw e approachm akin g f il m s an d v ideotapes
w il l dras tical l ychan ge. T he n otion of am as ter editan d
origin al f ootage w il l dis appear. Editin g w il l becom e the
w ritin g of as of tw are program thatw il l tel l the com pu ter
how toarran ge ( i.e., s hotorder, cu ts , dis s ol v es , w ipes , etc.)the
in f orm ation on the dis c, pl ayin g itback in the s pecif ied
s equ en ce in real tim e oral l ow in g the v iew ertoin terv en e.
N othin g n eeds tobe phys ical l ycu t orre-recorded atal l .
P l ayback s peed, the cardin al 30f ram es as econ d, w il l becom e
in tel l igen tl yv ariabl e an d thu s m al l eabl e, becom in g, as in
el ectron ic m u s ic practice, m erel yon e f u n dam en tal f requ en cy
am on g m an yw hichcan be m odu l ated, s hif ted u pordow n ,
s u perim pos ed, orin terru pted accordin g tothe param eters of
el ectron ic w av e theory. Dif f eren ts ection s can be as s ign ed to
pl ayback ats pecif ic s peeds orrev ers ed; an d in div idu al f ram es
can be hel d s til l on the s creen f orpredeterm in ed du ration s .
Others ection s can be repeated ov eran d ov er. Dif f eren t
priorities ru l e how an d in w hatorderon e l ays m aterial dow n
on the m as ter ( dis c). N ew tal en ts an d s kil l s are n eeded in
m akin g program s ~this is n oteditin g as w e kn ow it. Itw as
N ikol aT es l a, the origin al u n credited in v en torof the radio,
w hocal l ed ittran s m is s ion of in tel l igen ce. He s aw
s om ethin g there thatothers didn ' t. Af teral l thes e years ,
v ideois f in al l ygettin g in tel l igen ce, the eye is bein g
reattached tothe brain . As w ithev erythin g el s e, how ev er, w e
w il l f in d thatthe l im itation s em ergin g l ie m ore w iththe
abil ities an d im agin ation s of the produ cers an d u s ers , rather
than in the tool s them s el v es .
As in the f igu re/ grou n d s hif ts des cribed in Ges tal t
ps ychol ogy, w e are in the proces s of as hif taw ayf rom the
tem poral , piece by piece approachof con s tru ctin g aprogram
( s ym bol ized bythe cam eraan d its m on ocu l ar, n arrow ,
tu n n el -of -v is ion , s in gl e poin tof v iew ), an d tow ards as patial ,
total f iel d approachof carv in g ou tpoten tial l ym u l tipl e
program s ( s ym bol ized bythe com pu teran d its hol is tic
s of tw are m odel s , datas paces , an d in f in ite poin ts of v iew ).
We are proceedin g f rom m odel s of the eye an d eartom odel s
31. Con dom in iu m s
in DataSpace?
of thou ghtproces s es an d con ceptu al s tru ctu res in the brain .
Con ceptu al Art w il l take on an ew m ean in g.
As w e take the f irs ts teps in todatas pace, w e dis cov erthat
there hav e been m an yprev iou s occu pan ts . Artis ts hav e been
there bef ore. Giu l ioCam il l os Mem oryT heater( w hichhe
actu al l ycon s tru cted in w ood cal l in g itacon s tru cted body
an d s ou l )is on e exam pl e. Dan tes Div in e Com edyis an other.
F as cin atin g rel ation s hips betw een an cien tan d m odern
techn ol ogies becom e ev iden t. As im pl e exam pl e can be f ou n d
in the In dian T an tric doctrin e of the three tradition al
expres s ion s of the deity:the an thropom orphic, orv is u al ,
im age; the yan tra, orgeom etric en ergy diagram ( f ig. 31.3);
an d the m an tra, ors on ic repres en tation throu ghchan tin g
an d m u s ic. Itis in teres tin g ton ote thatthes e are al l
con s idered tobe equ al s im pl you tw ard expres s ion s of the
s am e u n derl yin g thin g. In f orm , this is n otu n l ike the n atu re
of el ectron ic s ys tem s :the s am e el ectron ic s ign al can be an
im age if f ed in toav ideom on itor, an en ergydiagram if f ed
in toan os cil l os cope, an d as equ en ce of s ou n ds if f ed in toan
au dios ys tem .
T oday, there are v is u al diagram s of datas tru ctu res al ready
bein g u s ed todes cribe the pattern s of in f orm ation on the
com pu terv ideodis c. T he m os tcom m on on e is cal l ed
bran chin g, aterm borrow ed f rom com pu ters cien ce ( f ig.
31.4). In this s ys tem , the v iew erproceeds f rom toptobottom
in tim e, an d m ayeitherpl aythe dis c u n in terrru pted ( arrow ),
ors topatpredeterm in ed bran chin g poin ts al on g the w ay
an d goof f in torel ated m aterial atotherareas on the dis c f or
f u rthers tu dy( l ike af orm of v is u al f ootn otin g")Exam pl es
of this s ys tem gos om ethin g l ike in aprogram on the
des ert, the v iew ercan s topatapoin tw here pl an ts are
m en tion ed, an d bran chof f tom ore detail ed m aterial on the
l
4
F igu re 31.3. Lef t: T w odeities an d yan tradiagram s of the s am e tw o
deities . F rom aN epal es e il l u s trated m an u s cript, c.17 6 0.
R ight: Grou n d pl an of atem pl e.
theN EWMEDIAR EADER
v ariou s f l oraof the v al l eyf l oor, etc. Al thou ghitis cl earhow
this can en han ce ou rcu rren tedu cation al s ys tem , f reein g
s tu den ts f rom borin g an d in com peten tteachers s otheycan
proceed attheirow n pace throu ghin f orm ation w hichn ow
con tain s m ov em en t, dyn am ic action , an d s ou n d in addition
tow ritten w ords , artis ts kn ow thatthere m u s tbe m ore ou t
there than this . Ev en thou ghthe techn ol ogyis in teractiv e,
this is s til l the s am e ol d l in earl ogic s ys tem in an ew bottl e.
As as tart, w e can propos e n ew diagram s , s u chas the
m atrix s tru ctu re ( f ig. 31.4). T his w ou l d be an on ~l in eararray
of in f orm ation . T he v iew ercou l d en teratan ypoin t, m ov e in
an ydirection , atan ys peed, popin an d ou tatan ypl ace. Al l
direction s are equ al . View in g becom es expl orin g aterritory,
trav el in g throu ghadatas pace. Of cou rs e, itw ou l d n otbe the
obv iou s l yl iteral on e l ike the As pen proj ect."We are m ov in g
in toideas pace here, in tothe w orl d of thou ghts an d im ages as
theyexis tin the brain , n oton s om e citypl an n ers draw in g
board. Withthe in tegration of im ages an d v ideoin tothe
dom ain of com pu terl ogic, w e are begin n in g the tas k of
m appin g the con ceptu al s tru ctu res of ou rbrain on tothe
techn ol ogy. Af terthe f irs tT V cam eraw ithVT R gav e u s an
eye con n ected toagros s f orm of n on -s el ectiv e m em ory, w e
are n ow atthe n extev ol u tion arys tep the areaof in tel l igen t
perception an d thou ghts tru ctu res , al beitartif icial .
F in al l y, w e can en v is ion otherdiagram s / m odel s em ergin g
as artis ts godeeperin tothe ps ychol ogical an d n eu rol ogical
depths in s earchof expres s ion s f orv ariou s thou ghtproces s es
an d m an if es tation s of con s ciou s n es s . Ev en tu al l y, certain
f orm s of n eu ros is , s ol on g the creativ e f u el of the torm en ted
artis tin the Wes t, m aybe m apped in tothe com pu terdis c.
We m ayen d u pw iththe s chizo"ors paghetti m odel , in
w hichn oton l yare al l direction s equ al , bu tal l are n otequ al
( f ig. 31.4). Ev erythin g is irrel ev an tan d s ign if ican tatthe
s am e tim e. View ers m aybecom e l os tin this s tru ctu re an d
n ev erf in d theirw ayou t.
Worl ds are w aitin g tobe expl ored. Itis tobe hoped that
artis ts w il l be giv en theirs hare of acces s toexperim en tw ith
this excitin g n ew techn ol ogy. Irecen tl yhad agl im ps e of
s om e of the pos s ibil ities f orartw hen Im etades ign erw ho
had f irs ten cou n tered com pu ters w hil e w orkin g atal arge
F ren chf as hion des ign f irm in N ew Y ork. T here, the graphics
artis tw orked atcom pu terterm in al s . Withal ight-pen , he
cou l d draw v ariou s des ign s , w orkin g w ithf u n ction s of
com pu term em oryan d datam an ipu l ation . F u rtherm ore, his
<
19 82
Q F r 0; ; oak s o of # 4 ~o as o O
term in al w as l in ked toal arge databan k of f abric des ign s an d
im ages f rom arou n d the w orl d an d throu ghou this tory. Af ter
com pl etin g as ketch, f orexam pl e, he cou l d cal l u pa
s ev en teen th-cen tu ryJapan es e kim on odes ign , l ook atitor
s u perim pos e itw ithhis ow n idea. T hen he cou l d cal l u pa
tu rn -of -the-cen tu ryEu ropean dres s pattern , com bin e that
w ithhis des ign orin tegrate itw iththe kim on o, al l the w hil e
s torin g the v ariou s s tages in m em ory. When al l of this w as
com pl eted an d the f in al des ign chos en , he cou l d then tie in to
otherof f ices in Eu rope an d the Orien trighton the s am e
s creen . Des ign ers cou l d com pare n otes , getav ail abil itydata
on his f abric f rom the m il l s ( i.e., w here is the bes ts il k, w ho
has s tock, w hatis the ordertim e, etc.). Al l phas es of his w ork
cou l d occu ron the s am e s creen as digital in f orm ation . He
cou l d trav el in s pace ( Eu rope, the F arEas t), as w el l as in tim e
( arthis tory), al l in an in s tan tan d av ail abl e eitheras w ritten
textorv is u al im ages .
Des pite the an ti-techn ol ogyattitu des w hichs til l pers is t
( s om e, its hou l d be added, f orv erygood reas on s ), the pres en t
gen eration of artis ts , f il m m akers , an d v ideo-m akers cu rren tl y
in s chool , an d theirin s tru ctors , w hocon tin u e toign ore
com pu teran d v ideotechn ol ogy, w il l in the n earf u tu re f in d
thattheyhav e bypas s ed the prim arym ediu m , n oton l yof
theirow n f iel ds , bu tof the en tire cu l tu re as w el l . Itis
im perativ e thatcreativ e artis ts hav e ahan d in the
dev el opm en ts cu rren tl yu n derw ay. Com pu terv ideodis cs are
bein g m arketed as agreatn ew tool in train in g an d edu cation .
Atthis m om en t, there are creativ e peopl e experim en tin g
w iththe techn ol ogy, en s u rin g thatin n ov ativ e an d u n iqu e
appl ication s w il l em erge; bu tf orn ow , m an yof the exam pl es
retu rn tothe borin g dom ain of l in earl ogic in the s chool
cl as s room . T he As pen citym approj ectis perhaps on e of the
m ore in teres tin g exam pl es of n ew program f orm ats . We are
atthe begin n in g, bu tev en s o, f orthe artis t, s tan dard
edu cation al l ogic s tru ctu res are j u s tn otthatin teres tin g.
Artis ts hav e been todif f eren tparts of the brain , an d kn ow
/ i' <.. I
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i
F igu re 31.4. Bran chin g Stru ctu re, MatrixStru ctu re, Schizo
Stru ctu re.
qu ite w el l thatthin gs don ' tal w ays w ork l ike theytol d you in
s chool .
Itis of param ou n tim portan ce n ow , as w e w atchthe s am e
edu cation s ys tem thatbrou ghtu s throu ghs chool ( an d the
s am e com m u n ication s s ys tem thatgav e u s the w on derf u l
w orl d of com m ercial T V an d AM radio)bein g m apped on to
thes e n ew techn ol ogies , thatw e goback an d take adeeper
l ook ats om e of the ol ders ys tem s des cribed in thes e pages .
Artis ts n ots hackl ed tothe f ad an d f as hion treadm il l of the
artw orl d, es pecial l ythe artw orl d of the pas tf ew years , w il l
begin tos ee the n ew m ean in g thatarthis toryis takin g on .
As Ihav e begu n toou tl in e in this articl e, the rel ation
betw een the im age an d architectu re ( as in R en ais s an ce art),
the s tru ctu ral is m of s acred art( Orien tal , Earl yChris tian , an d
T ribal art, w iththeirm an dal as , diagram s , icon s , an d other
s ym bol ic repres en tation s , in cl u din g s on g, dan ce, poetry), an d
artif icial m em orys ys tem s ( the f irs trecordin g techn ol ogies
f rom the tim e of the Greeks throu ghthe Middl e Ages ), are al l
areas thatrequ ire f u rtherin v es tigation .
As w e con tin u e todoou rdan ce w ithtechn ol ogy, s om e of u s
m ore w il l in gl ythan others , the im portan ce of tu rn in g back
tow ards ou rs el v es , the prim e m ov erof this techn ol ogy, grow s
greaterthan the im portan ce of an yLSIcircu it. T he s acred art
of the pas thas u n if ied f orm , f u n ction , an d aes thetics arou n d
this s in gl e u l tim ate aim . T oday, dev el opm en tof s el f m u s t
precede dev el opm en tof the techn ol ogyorw e w il l go
n ow here there w il l be con dom in iu m s in datas pace ( ithas
al readybegu n w ithcabl e T V). Appl ication s of tool s are on l y
ref l ection s of the u s ers - chops ticks m aybe as im pl e eatin g
u ten s il oraw eapon , depen din g on w hou s es them .
T he P orcu pin e an d the Car
Late on e n ightw hil e driv in g dow n an arrow
m ou n tain highw ay, Icam e acros s al arge porcu pin e
cros s in g the road u pahead. F ortu n atel y, Is potted him
in tim e tobrin g the cartoas topas hortdis tan ce
f rom w here he w as s tan din g. Iw atched him in the
brightheadl ights , s tan din g m otion l es s , petrif ied at
this cl os e en cou n terof the third kin d."T hen , af tera
f ew s il en tm om en ts , he s tarted todoas tran ge thin g.
Stayin g in his pl ace, he began tom ov e arou n d in a
circl e, em ittin g aras pyhis s in g s ou n d, w iththe qu il l s
ris in g u pof f his body. He didn ' tru n aw ay. Ireal ized
thatthis dan ce w as actu al l yam ov e of s el f -def en ce. I
cu tthe carheadl ights ton orm al beam s , bu the s til l
31. Con dom in iu m s
in DataSpace?
31. Con dom in iu m s theN EWMEDIAR EADER
in DataSpace?
con tin u ed tom ov e arou n d, ev en m ore f u riou s l y,
cas tin g w eird s hadow s on the trees behin d. F in al l y, to
av oid giv in g him aheartattack, an d togethom e, Icu t
the l ights com pl etel yan d tu rn ed of f the en gin e. I
w atched him in the dim m oon l ightas he s topped his
dan ce an d m ov ed of f the road. Later, w hil e driv in g of f ,
Ireal ized thathe w as probabl yw al kin g prou dl yaw ay,
gl oatin g ov erhow he real l ygav e ittothatbig bl in din g
n ois ythin g thatru s hed tow ard him ou tof the n ight.
I' m s u re he w as f il l ed w ithcon f iden ce, s opl eas ed w ith
him s el f thathe had w on , his porcu pin e w orl d v iew
gros s l yin f l ated as he headed hom e in the darkn es s .
N otes
1. A.R . Lu ria, T he Min d of the Mn em on is t( N ew Y ork: Bas ic Books ,
19 6 8)
2 . T he Greeks perf ected as ys tem of m em orythatu s ed the m en tal
im prin tin g of an yobj ects orkeypoin ts tobe rem em bered on to
s pecif ic l ocation s al on g apathw ayprev iou s l ym em orized f rom an
actu al tem pl e. T orecal l the poin ts in theirproperorder, on e s im pl y
had totake the w al k throu ghthe tem pl e in on es m in d, obs erv in g
the con ten ts l ef tateachl ocation al on g the w ay.
3. A.K. Coom aras w am y, T he T ran s f orm ation of N atu re in Art( N ew
Y ork: Dov erP u bl ication s , 19 56 ). ( R eprin tof the origin al Harv ard
U n iv ers ityP res s edition , Bos ton , 19 34.) -
4. Al an dm ark in teractiv e l as erdis c proj ectbyMIT MediaLab, in the
l ate 19 7 05, thatm apped the cityof As pen , s treetbys treet, w ith
m ov in g cam eras s othatthe v iew ercou l d take a"ride"throu ghthe
city, goin g an yw here atw il l on e of the rs tv is u al -m appin g
databas e m ov in g-im age proj ects rel ated todatas pace ideas an d
today' s v irtu al real itytechn ol ogy.
Q ... .6 1 -0- _..- <,|1?f 3 .,-- - 32 . T he En dl es s Chain
32 a[ In trodu ction ]
T he En dl es s Chain .
T he em ergin g dom in an ce of n ew m ediaov erol d is acom m on them e in pres s accou n ts :v ideogam es
are abiggerbu s in es s than the m ov ies , the Web is draw in g v iew ers aw ayf rom tel ev is ion orreaders
aw ayf rom books , AOLhas acqu ired T im e Warn er.
If thos e w hocel ebrate n ew m ediaas in heren tl yl iberatin g ( as in the hyperbol ic qu otation s
in cl u ded in Lan gdon Win n ers es s ay( 040))are correct, w e s hou l d be en terin g an eraof dis s ol v in g
hierarchies an d em pow ered in div idu al s . Y etthere is l ittl e reas on tov iew Web s ites l ike ESP N on l in e
an d MSN BC as in heren tl yl iberatin g cu l tu ral f orces . Whatthes e pres s accou n ts rev eal in s tead is that
ol d an d n ew m ediaare becom in g in creas in gl ycom patibl e an d com parabl e. Ol d an d n ew s eem tobe
in tegratin g them s el v es in toas in gl e s ys tem . R adioan d tel ev is ion took theirpl aces the m edias ys tem
n ots ol on g ago. N ew m ediais n ow al s obecom in g big bu s in es s , n ol on geram argin al phen om en on .
T heref ore, u n ders tan din g n ew m ediarequ ires s om e u n ders tan din g of the tradition al m edia
bu s in es s w ithw hichitis col l idin g an d con v ergin g. P erhaps the cl eares tw aytou n ders tan d the
m om en tu m of tradition al m ediais totrace the chan ges ov erthe n earl y2 0years du rin g w hichBen
Bagdikian has rel eas ed 6 edition s of T he MediaMon opol y. Bagdikian s book, in itial l yrel eas ed in 19 83,
w as cal l ed al arm is t, atf irs t, f orits prediction s of in creas in g m ediacon cen tration an d n arrow n es s .
N ow itis cal l ed pres cien t. As Bagdikian w rote in his pref ace tothe 6 th( 2 000)edition :
When the f irs tedition of this book w as pu bl is hed in 19 83, f if tycorporation s dom in ated m os tof
ev erym as s m ediu m an d the bigges tm ediam ergerin his toryw as a$340m il l ion deal . Atthattim e,
the s trategyof m os tof the f if tybigges tf irm s w as togain m arketdom in ation in on e m ediu m to
hav e the l arges tm arkets hare s ol el yin n ew s papers , f orexam pl e, orin m agazin es ; orbroadcas tin g,
orbooks , orm ov ies , bu tn otal l of them . Bythe tim e the s econ d edition w as pu bl is hed in 19 87 , the
f if tycom pan ies had s hru n k totw en ty-three, bythe f ou rthedition tof ou rteen . Bythe f if thedition
in 19 9 7 , the bigges tf irm s n u m bered ten an d in v ol v ed the $19 bil l ion Dis n ey-ABC d_eal , atthe tim e
the bigges tm ediam ergerev er. Bu tthe bigges t of 19 83, w orth$340m il l ion , w ou l d giv e w ay
s ev en teen years l atertoAOLT im e Warn ers $350bil l ion m erged corporation , m ore than 1,000
tim es l arger.
T here w as reas on en ou gh, ev en then , f orcon cern thats os m al l an u m berof dom in an tf irm s had
s u chadis proportion ate in f l u en ce on Am erican cu l tu re, com m erce, an d pol itical pow er. ( xx xxi)
As Bagdikian reported in his 2 000pref ace, s ixf irm s n ow dom in ate al l U .S. m as s m edial : T he top
s ixf irm s , ordered s ol el yon theiran n u al m ediarev en u es , are [ AOL] T im e Warn er, Dis n ey, Viacom ( an I %
' ' -Z' .".- "' ' ".:.-' ' if . "' I ' "I F T -
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am al gam of CBS an d Wes tin ghou s e), N ew s Corp, Bertel s m an n , an d Gen eral El ectric. T hes e s ixhav e
m ore an n u al m ediarev en u es than the n exttw en tyf irm s com bin ed ( x).
Whil e el s ew here in the 6 thedition pref ace Bagdikian s how s an u n ders tan din g of n ew m edia
techn ol ogythatis im perf ect( as w el l as the rhetorical m arkin gs of hav in g w ritten du rin g adot-com
boom )his u n ders tan din g of tradition al m edia, an d of the bu s in es s of m edia, is as tu te. In w hatw ays
w il l n ew m ediabecom e partof the m ediabu s in es s Bagdikian des cribed in the f ol l ow in g s el ection ,
f rom the books 19 83 edition , an d f orw hatreas on s ?Aton e poin t, the ( s om ew hat)peer-to-peer
m u s ic s erv ice N aps ters eem ed the an tithes is of the m ediabu s in es s , thu m bin g its n os e atrecordin g
in du s tryn otion s of copyright. Bu tas N aps terbecam e m ain s tream , ev en thou ghs om e argu ed it
actu al l yw as in creas in g tradition al record s al es , itw as in tegrated in tothe m ediabu s in es s v ial egal
pres s u re an d f orced tof u n dam en tal l yal terits operation s , l eadin g toban kru ptcyan d acqu is ition by
; <
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Bertel s m an n . When the pol itical s takes of m ediacon trol are as highas Bagdikian des cribes , an d w ith 1; -?; .' ~; @ ' .~ * =
.. .. . . . .
adv ertis in g al on e w orth$80bil l ion ayear,w 1l l this pattern of 1n tegrat1on -f orced orthrou gh = ' ; ; _; :1?
cooption be in ev itabl yrepeated?Orw il l the abil itytotran s m it, as w el l as receiv e, be pres erv ed as ' .5. .: I I T .
_
0
v
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32 . T he En dl es s Chain
__,. .- <4 ., 9 .' 2 12 -" . ,. ,...
4
theN EWMEDIAR EADER
B ' " the In tern etdev el ops , prov idin g the opportu n ityf oral tern ativ es s u chas thos e ev oked in es s ays
r t1' . ~
if ' f l iia
I -' * Be".l daw :; -betw e ; n -1the f rran r l 1
byHan s l \/ l agn u s En zen s berger( O18)an d Jean Bau dril l ard ( O19 )?
' H ' Atf irs tthe s ym m etric as pectof the In tern et equ al ban dw idthf ortran s m is s ion an d
reception s eem ed v eryn atu ral . N ow , l ike m an yn atu ral thin gs , itis en dan gered. Mos t
. . . com pan ies of f erin g high-s peed con n ection s hav e con gu red them s othatthe ordin aryu s er' s
" dl ~5:-w l s s l l l gii' "eW?m dl l * "El bl l tA ' 5 com pu tercan receiv e m u chm ore than itcan tran s m it, an d theyof ten al s oprohibitu s ers f rom
- r ru n n in g pu bl ic s erv ers . T his m akes itim pos s ibl e f orthes e u s ers toprov ide eachotherw iththe
IA

.
.. . .- _. ..-~ - ; .__. -
P .P ' ~* i l ?= .; l i<?$i?til i1iii -. "A I1? N WF
:? "= i@ i?il + F s l l 1 c <
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; thi = 6 i1tl iiti; ' i$.rem 0v ed.r~.3tT A at~
T i
l "19 .9 ' _5I.' _. _' 5 ~
V :~" . richm ediathattheyare capabl e of dow n l oadin g, thatm ediacom pan ies are abl e tos u ppl yf rom
1 . 5 k} y~e' .gd_i" f u n : ti5; n .:gr gf hgs ei. cen tral s erv ers . Mos tof the com pan ies of f erin g thes e n ew In tern etcon n ection s are
I ' in tercon n ected w ith, oriden tical w ith, m ediacom pan ies . T he is s u e is s el dom dis cu s s ed in the
m ain s tream m edia; this is n os u rpris e tothos e w hohav e read Bagdikian ' s w ork.
4 ' ' \ ~ . .. * . -\ -I 1
. . 1 ' .- - -' . . . ~ 1
,- .. ~ ._.. . , . __ . . \_I "_\. ,~ _. _,_., ,_.' _._.
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H" l > ' ?!t@ F Y t# ' i".T ?l ?\* l $' i* Il ' - l 5l 1_i.@ ' @ > <.eT <.5_$= ' , pgq.j l l l 1j q-f l en f tage; -aas ro -iiB, a~ :q- P res s ,
' ~ " - I .. ~ ~ ~' .' .--, ' ' ~ r. i
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-_; -.. ._- ' --~_. ~A ._,.-, ' 3.
Origin al P u bl ication
T he MediaMon opol y. Bos ton : Beacon P res s , 19 83.
U pdated in f orm ation f rom 6 thedition , 2 000.
T he En dl es s Chain
Ben Bagdikian
F orw here you rtreas u re is , there w il l be you rheartal s o.
l \/ l att. 6 :2 2
T he Headl in e in the f irs tedition read:
F OR SAM SMIT H, HOSP IT ALOR DER LY
ABAT T LEWHOSET IMEHAS COME
Bu tin the n extedition an d ev eryedition thereaf ter, Sam
Sm ithan d his battl e dis appeared, repl aced byan in n ocu ou s
s yn dicated s toryf rom the As s ociated P res s . Ithappen ed in the
P ers pectiv es Section of ares pected Am erican dail y, the
Bal tim ore Su n , on Decem ber7 , 19 6 9 . T he ghos titem had
pas s ed editorial s cru tin yf oraccu racyan d rel ev an ce bu t
s om eon e, s eein g itin the f irs tedition , ordered itkil l ed.
T he s torydes cribed im m in en tl aborn egotiation s betw een
hos pital w orkers , w horeceiv ed payn earthe pov ertyl ev el , an d
the m an agem en tof John s Hopkin s Hos pital in Bal tim ore.
,4 -_~ ., . _~' . ~V "_. ., ~' .": 3' _. ..' , L N .- .
.___v 1 _.. _, H._, , F . _- . . _. -_- -
. a. ., .. , , _ -
R eporters on the Su n , n otin g the s tory' s s tran ge dis appearan ce,
rem em bered thatadirectorof theirn ew s paper, J. Cros s on
Cooper, Jr., w as al s oadirectorof John s Hopkin s Hos pital .
Equ al l yin teres tin g w as the f actthatCooperw as al s oadirector
of Mercan til e Saf e Depos it&T ru s tCom pan y, the m os t
prom in en tban k in Bal tim ore, w hich, accordin g toa
con gres s ion al s tu dy, hel d 6 1.3 percen tof the s hares in the
n ew s papercom pan y.
T he Col u m biaJou rn al is m R ev iew com m en ted:
. . . its eem ed ev iden tthatif Cooperoran as s ociate in
the ow n ers hipechel on had n otordered the s torykil l ed,
atopeditor, af raid thatitm ightdis pl eas e the ow n ers ,
had don e s o. Eitherw ay, j ou rn al is tic m oral itys u f f ered
an u n happybl ow in Bal tim ore. An d on e reas on f or
grow in g con cern ov ercon gl om erate ow n ers hipof n ew s
m ediaw as u n derl in ed.
T hatw as in 19 6 9 . T he accel erated con cen tration of con trol
of al l Am erican m as s m ediahad j u s tbegu n . Bythe begin n in g
of the 19 80s m os tm aj orAm erican m edia n ew s papers ,
m agazin es , radio, tel ev is ion , books , an d m ov ies w ere
con trol l ed byf if tycorporation s . T hes e f if tycorporation s , l ike
the Bal tim ore Su n , w ere in tu rn in terl ocked w ithotherm as s iv e
in du s tries an d af ew m u l tin ation al ban ks . T he poten tial f or
s ociety-w ide Sam Sm ithdis appearan ces had becom e epidem ic.
or is o~ee w ~--~-o-~~eeeaA A ~ Mo
T w en tycorporation s con trol m ore than hal f the 6 1 m il l ion
dail yn ew s papers s ol d ev eryday; tw en tycorporation s con trol
m ore than hal f the rev en u es of the cou n try' s 11,000m aga-
zin es ; three corporation s con trol m os tof the rev en u es an d
au dien ce in tel ev is ion ; ten corporation s in radio; el ev en
corporation s in al l kin ds of books ; an d f ou rcorporation s in
m otion pictu res .
T his is m ore than an in du s trial s tatis tic. Itgoes tothe
heartof Am erican dem ocracy. As the w orl d becom es m ore
v ol atil e, as chan ges accel erate an d create n ew probl em s that
dem an d n ew s ol u tion s , there is an u rgen tn eed f orbroader
an d m ore div ers e s ou rces of pu bl ic in f orm ation . Bu tthe
rev ers e is happen in g.
T odaythere is hardl yan Am erican in du s trythatdoes n ot
ow n am aj orm ediaou tl et, oram aj orm ediaou tl etgrow n s o
l arge thatitdoes n otow n af irm in am aj orin du s try. T hes e
m ediareportthe n ew s of in du s tries in w hichtheyeitherare
ow n ers ors hare directors an d pol icies .
T he f if tycon trol l ers of m os tof Am ericas n ew s an d v iew s
are partn ers in in du s tries s u chas agribu s in es s , airl in es , coal
an d oil , tim ber, ban kin g, the l oan bu s in es s , in s u ran ce, v ideo
gam es , el ectron ics m an u f actu rin g, el ectron ic equ ipm en t
s al es , au tom obil e ren tal s , au tom obil e s al es , tel ephon e
s ys tem s , w eapon s produ ction , f rozen f oods , hom e
f u rn is hin gs , adv ertis in g, bil l boards , rel igiou s in s tru ction ,
u til ities , pipel in es , au toparts , con s tru ction equ ipm en t, s u gar,
beef , tobacco, can dy, com pu ters , j eten gin es , trav el agen cies ,
rocketen gin eerin g, pl as tics , m icroproces s in g, chem ical s , an d
s pace f l ighten gin eerin g.
Legis l ation , regu l ation s , taxes , an d s al es thataf f ect
in du s tries l ike thes e are in f l u en ced bypu bl ic opin ion an d
gov ern m en tpol icy, bothcon dition ed bythe n ew s . More an d
m ore, boththe n ew s an d the in du s tries bel on g tothe s am e
paren tcorporation . Itis n otan en cou ragin g bas is f or
u n bias ed s el ection of pu bl ic in f orm ation .
Mos tof the f if tybigges tf irm s hav e adirects take in
f oreign in v es tm en ts an d, theref ore, in f oreign pol icyof the
U n ited States . T here is al m os tn ocou n tryin the w orl d in
w hichas u bs idiaryof the f if tym ediacom pan ies does n ot
hav e as ign if ican tin v es tm en t. On e m aj orm ediacom pan y
al on e, CBS, has f oreign s u bs idiaries headqu artered in thirty-
f ou rcou n tries , ran gin g f rom Argen tin atoSou thAf rica.
Con f l icts of in teres t, real an d poten tial , are in f in itel y
greaterbecau s e the l arge m ediacom pan ies exchan ge
directors , an d theref ore hav e com m on pol icyv iew s , w ith
aI9 . 3 32 . T he En dl es s Chain
n on m ediacorporation s . P oten tial con f l icts are f u rther
in ten s if ied bycon n ection s l ike the Bal tim ore Su n s w iththe
Mercan til e Ban k. Adozen of the cou n trys l arges t
m u l tin ation al ban ks hol d s ign if ican tv otin g s hares in m an y
of the f if tyl arges tm ediacom pan ies , con trol theirdebts , or
exchan ge directors w iththem .
Som e corporate ow n ers in terv en e directl ytocon trol w hat
theirm ediacom pan ies produ ce; attim es this in terv en tion is
bru tal , as this book w il l s how Mos tdon otin terv en e directl y.
Bu ttheyal l hire an d f ire the peopl e w hocon trol the n ew s
an d otherpu bl ic in f orm ation . i
Corporate ow n ers of the m ediaare n otn eces s aril y
cyn ical . T heybel iev e, as m os thu m an bein gs do, in thos e
f orces thatm ake them happy. Bu tw hats atis f ies a
m u l tin ation al corporation is n otn eces s aril yw hatw il l
s atis f ys ocietyas aw hol e.
T he f if tycorporation s don othav e total con trol of
n ation al n ew s an d v iew s . In ev erym ediu m there rem ain
s m al l ercom petitors . Sm al l v oices hav e al w ays been
im portan t, bu ttheirchief im portan ce has been eitherto
in trodu ce n ew ideas ortoperm its ocietytol ook backw ard
atpas tm is takes l l n the 19 805the im bal an ce betw een the
greatv oices of the m as s m ediaan d the s m al l v oices of
in div idu al en terpris es is s ov as tthatitis m ore dif f icu l tthan
ev erf ors ocietytohearm in orityv oices in the m aj ority
thu n der. An d the l as tqu arterof the tw en tiethcen tu ry
con f ron ts poten tial errors of s u chcatas trophic m agn itu de
thatam is l ed civ il ization con ceiv abl yw il l n othav e the
l u xu ryof l ookin g back.
In s om e of the m ediaow n ed bybig bu s in es s there are
partial protection s again s tdirectm an ipu l ation . In
n ew s papers , f orexam pl e, prof es s ion al con v en tion s
dis cou rage tam perin g f rom abov e. Bu tthes e con v en tion s
can n ots topan ow n erw how is hes tocon trol the con ten tof
his orherproperty, as the reporters atthe Bal tim ore Su n
dis cov ered. N oris there an yw aytom eas u re orcon trol the
capacityof editors an d produ cers tom ake decis ion s thatthey
kn ow w il l s itw el l w iththe ow n ers , w ithou tw aitin g f or
directorders f rom abov e.
Som e of the f if tycorporation s are hou s ehol d w ords , l ike
CBS an d Wes tin ghou s e. Others hav e corporate paren ttitl es
thatare l es s f am il iarthan theirm edias u bs idiaries S. I.
N ew hou s e 8:Son s , f orexam pl e, ow n s n ew s papers , Con d
N as tan d P arade m agazin es , an d R an dom Hou s e book
pu bl is hers . T he titl es of s om e paren tf irm s hav e l ittl e
32 . T he En dl es s Chain
/ 1
m ean in g f orthe gen eral pu bl ic, thou ghthe
pers on al ororgan ization al con n ection s are
betterkn ow n :N ew s Am ericaP u bl is hin g
an d N ew s Grou pow n s the N ew Y ork P os t,
Vil l age Voice, N ew Y ork Magazin e, the San
An ton ioP res s , the San An ton ioN ew s , an d
the n ation al m agazin e Star, al l of w hichare
con trol l ed bythe Au s tral ian en trepren eu r
R u pertMu rdoch; Bon n ev il l e In tern ation al ,
w ithits Des eretMan agem en tGrou p, is the
com m u n ication s arm of the Chu rchof
Jes u s Chris tof Latter-DaySain ts , the
Morm on Chu rch.
T he iden tityof the f if tycorporation s
s hif ts f rom tim e totim e as com pan ies bu y
an d s el l properties an d af ew en teran d a
f ew l eav e the l is tof f irm s thatcon trol 50
percen torm ore of theirm ediu m iIn 19 80,
f orexam pl e, CharterOil , on e of the f if ty
corporation s w ithexten s iv e m agazin e
hol din gs , gotrid of its com m u n ication s
properties w hen iten cou n tered trou bl e in
its petrol eu m bu s in es s . Itkil l ed its
n ew s paper, the P hil adel phiaEv en in g
Bu l l etin , an d s ol d R ea' l 2 ool < m agazin e to
Hears tan d the Ladies Hom e Jou rn al to
P eters en P u bl is hin g, thu s en l argin g the
hol din gs of tw ocorporation s al ready
am on g the topf if ty. Bythe tim e this book
is pu bl is hed, the n u m berof corporation s
thatcon trol hal f orm ore of al l the m aj or
m ediain the cou n tryl ikel yw il l be l es s
than f if ty. I '
T he l is tof f if tycorporation s pres en ted
here w as com pil ed f rom 19 080to19 81
w ithoccas ion al rev is ion s f orpartof 19 82
becau s e the in du s tries dif f erin the s peed
of theiran n u al s u m m aries . T he al pha-
betical l is tin g bel ow has an occas ion al
paren thetical addition f orcom pan yn am es
n otm en tion ed in m ore detail l ater; a
corporation s better-kn ow n m edia
propertyis s om etim es giv en tohel p
iden tif yit.
F rom 1s tedition ( 19 83)
Am erican Broadcas tin g Co.
Bon n ev il l e In tern ation al
CBS, In c.
Capital Cities Com m u n ication s
Cen tral N ew s papers
( Arizon aR epu bl ic,
In dian apol is N ew s )
Copl eyN ew s papers
( San DiegoU n ion )
Cow l es MediaCo.
CoxCom m u n ication s
Dou bl eday& Co.
Dow Jon es & Co.
( Wal l StreetJou rn al )
En cycl opaediaBritan n ica
Ev en in g N ew s As s ociation
( DetroitN ew s )
F reedom N ew s papers
Gan n ettCo.
Gen eral T ire & R u bberCo. ( R KO)
Grol ier
Gu l f + Wes tern
Harcou rtBrace Jov an ov ich
Harte-Han ks Com m u n ication s
Hears tCorp.
Kn ight-R idderN ew s papers
( P hil adel phiaIn qu irei:
Miam iHeral d)
McCal l P u bis hin g Co.
McGraw -Hil l
MeredithCorp.
Metrom edia, In c.
N ation al En qu irer
N ation al Geographic Society
N ew Y ork T im es Co.
S. I. N ew hou s e & Son s
N ew s Am ericaP u bl is hin g Grou p
P en thou s e In tern ation al
P eters en P u bl is hin g C0.
P l ayboyEn terpris es
R CACorp. ( N BC)
R eader' s Diges tAs s ociation
Scottan d F etzerWorl d Book
E. W. Scrj pps Co. ( Scripps -How ard)
SF N Co./ Scott, F ores m an
T hom s on N ew s papers , Ltd.
T im e, In c.
T im es MirrorCo.
( Los An gel es T im es )
T rian gl e P u bl ication s
T ribu n e Com pan y
( ChicagoT ribu n e,
N ew Y ork Dail yN ew s )
2 _0thCen tu ry-f ox
U .S. N ew s & Worl d R eport
U n iv ers al -MCA
Warn erCom m u n ication s
Was hin gton P os tCo.
Wes tin ghou s e El ectric Co.
Zif f -Dav is Corporation
* .F ioia-:itb . F r@ f riE rte, il ie 56 f l i?1edi @ n @ 000)
1 .
theN EWMEDIAR EADER
-.--. .. -- ~ , . ~
. ~ ., . ,,- -. ,
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v . y v ... .. i . ' _. .
A"i ' il ?1"' i !.i$ .!" dia--
,Eaeh:; is ; aj ; s u ~tis idif ary; of :aal aiigerparen t rm ,
Som i ief i?5iI= l a[ l .:i0P 3ii"9 5"Other
iriel u $tries .i1 ,T } he_is ix pairen tf ii tn is hie"-Gen eral
T im e
W3iP 1r. d? ; l l l ?' P hi5i~~= -; 1= i; <i > rr> ; 13' "tl $m a""
= i$:2 "l iJ} i' s e' Gl @ i: iii-= Germ an yan .d"N ew s ' Corp; f in 1 ~
l tl l l ' Lii> l iii.?31l 5i' iaf :ir' i ien ther:f ou r5in _- itl ie; U n ited States .
; ~af % e .Ei t d: ir orw n e .
l l ?if 3 i8..2 iiIri ' % $7 41I9 f 9 ; 9 :Gl Q ba l ' .,500Of ; th,e' l * l ar' ges t
iQ ther_' giam rm s in
othil il -ii dn s iiiies r 8 rl rf W? f ' i1th ' P row l f or
f iii:e' _, ' l } i,a' ~,_i_.I 1_7 ' i_t' > ; r_( iie.i ; ' to"j oin the, Big Six-
l il < i= $ 1" iei% i3eP ' ? $@ ' .h" rdW@ .r 1~. f i ; ' $eas ram -
af i1' Ca_n adia; n i% ' l iq1l 0f T rm .:_af 1f 1d~"AT &T .,"a, tel ephon e
Aitem iiiiaiiitraf iition al l iribVidi.n ,g roj n e' _to-o.n e
Cl iiel iil iil i is iirehi i is eiw e" I T 157 '
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s ( an ,Y ian ars im ipres s arid)I
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i6 e} ij era[ .1El e t f ie,. iT hes e_2 l iiav j eg; griar an n u al
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i ' l r\l l l . tP 19 1-W9 l l d' $= . tBT 9 $tiIn l l ?"~
tom l iiahy; -Iin 1i@ ?i; Warn er; i.1t' i.T orin 1A0L= T im er I
1Waiaer,% ; In t.~,* ,gqs a5eqqe; n s 1y; :1' l l l l ?l l ' ; ixi". rm s s til l .
} l ?f 9 $tof thos e
l \./ al qed at$350
l ?iil l l 1i? ? 1 * iil U td7 ib ?l ?l 5t F Y l l rees tf m ergerin
1Ji ~.ie diitiQ ri1; v v % i?r&s n f etirris ef -1 A __.. ., . _ __ _
.T h # .i:; ie; ris i .Id3ii riii h il e.* -rn bie:iith. .n -_10:0I
1 -m il l ion ' % gl iba.l Zl :l :,m 5i l l ion ' .cabl e
j l ' ."2 ."1; $z ? l Lif 13l i i3i5$.~iQ @ l T l "!- l W5' " C$13 .
if i&Q 8l i~i.!1, aI1 l i7 ?j _Hiil l idD .-he i1.1_e_-s 1 that. receiv e
the .1caiiil e; .1 ietr{ > j rk ' N il l ; .~.T S; - an ; 1eru i.* . x T .
P il 1i<> "-s
= {' "1 m edia:
rn ; i raiaaq* eits zea,"w hi= it 1a_~5reader. IT V - ~ -
er.; Ii' 1tej in et' _v r., w ou l d be
_' 7 0! if ' U * "i tion s ; ~cartel of
af -n ia"gii tn d .:.aif gdpow er"t|1e; :.w orl d.has .-n ev er'
.
_-_ ; ' _-; _:_---_:.~ ~.1. .> _- _ . ;
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' i' # i1?iP 6 i $.i r9 i-i"i d?f $8t l <1P A< l 4I?P "9 1339 ' -
as ; -,i i:; ; .= " T heyare= iiiteitw i-n edf .} t|1ey"-ow n -s tock
m edia
Iim idi; am "oii9 * f ; th 1Sl Y SY s theydiv ide
View
iif as ten s ; 1in ; @ r rLeY i is iii-is s ~ca; bl ; = -= ' ai dl s r ri? -or c
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0 1. Acre w e P ro? 1:. u s e I ~ o~~ l 1g 83~~ o ~~ 3 2 . T he E|' |d|.eSS Chain
T he degree of dom in ation bythe gian ts in creas es w ithtim e.
T here are 1,7 30dail yn ew s papers , f orexam pl e, w ithatotal
dail ycircu l ation of 6 1 m il l ion . T w en tyn ew s papercom pan ies
con trol m ore than hal f the dail ys al es . T he dis parityof
in f orm ation pow erin n ew s papers is typical f oral l the m aj or
m edia: 1 percen tof ow n ers ow n 34percen tof al l papers s ol d
dail y. In 19 00there w ere 2 ,042 dail ypapers an d 2 ,02 3
ow n ers . By19 80there w ere 1,7 30dail ies an d 7 6 0ow n ers . In
19 00there w as an av erage of on e n ew s paperow n erf orev ery
38,000citizen s ; in 19 80the av erage n ew s paperow n er
prov ided cu rren ts ocial an d pol itical n ew s f or300,000
citizen s . T he av erage popu l ation s erv ed byeachof the
tw en tyl arges tn ew s paperow n ers is 3.7 m il l ion .
T he tw en tycorporation s thatcon trol m ore than hal f of al l
dail yn ew s papers al es are the f ol l ow in g:
1. Gan n ettN ew s papers
2 . Kn ight-R idderN ew s papers
3. N ew hou s e N ew s papers
4. T ribu n e Com pan y
5. Dow Jon es 8 Co.
6 . T im es MirrorCo.
7 . Scripps -How ard N ew s papers
8. Hears tN ew s papers
9 . T hom s on N ew s papers
10. CoxN ew s papers
11. N ew Y ork T im es Co.
12 . Cow l es N ew s papers
13. N ew s Am ericaP u bl is hin g
Corporation ( Mu rdoch)
14. Capital Cities
Com m u n ication s
15. F reedom N ew s papers
16 . Cen tral N ew s papers
17 . Was hin gton P os tCo.
18. Ev en in g N ew s As s ociation
19 . Copl eyN ew s papers
2 0. Harte-Han ks N ew s papers
T here are otherkin ds of n ew s papers - w eekl ies , biw eekl ies ,
Dail y
circu l ation
3,7 50,9 00
3,46 4,300
3,133,500
2 ,806 ,6 00
2 ,433,400
2 ,315,500
1,518,7 00
1,36 2 ,300
1,2 19 ,6 00
1,16 5,100
1,137 ,000
9 53,9 00
9 17 ,6 00
7 7 4,100
7 9 8,400
7 7 4,6 00
6 9 6 ,2 00
6 7 8,9 00
6 35,000
584,2 00
N u m berof
dail ies
88
34
2 8
8
2 1
8
16
15
7 7
18
12
10
3
7
31
7
2
5
6
2 8
triw eekl ies , adv ertis in g s heets , an d f ree-circu l ation papers
des ign ed f ors atu ration adv ertis in g. T heyare s om etim es
s ocial l yan d j ou rn al is tical l yim portan ttotheircom m u n ities 2 ' T rian gl e P bHcatI"5' T V Gu ides ev en teen
bu tas acl as s theyare ephem eral an d cov erSu chaWide 3. Hears tCorp., Col on ial Hom es , Cos m opol itan , Cou n tryLiv in g,
v arietyof con ten tan d f u n ction thattheycan n otbe m eas u red
accu ratel yas s ys tem atic pu rv eyors of n ew s . Itis the prin ted
dail yn ew s thatprov ides the cou n try' s databas e f orcu rren t
ev en ts f orotherm edial ike w eekl ies , radio, tel ev is ion ,
m agazin es , books , an d ev en m ov ies . T he gian tn ew s paper
chain s are n ow activ el ypu rchas in g the w eekl yn ew s papers
an d l ocal adv ertis in g s heets toachiev e ev en greatercon trol
ov erbothn ew s an d adv ertis in g.
Con trol of otherm ediais , if an ythin g, tighterthan am on g
the 1,7 30n ew s papers . T here are atl eas t10,830m agazin es in
the U n ited States . T heycov eran extraordin aryv arietyof
s u bj ectm atteran d qu al ity. Meas u rin g ow n ers hipcon trol of
the total au dien ce is m ore dif f icu l tthan f orn ew s papers
becau s e s om e m agazin es are is s u ed w eekl y, s om e biw eekl y,
s om e m on thl y, s om e bim on thl y, an d s om e qu arterl y. T he
m os trel iabl e m eas u re is the proportion of s al es con trol l ed by
eachow n er. Am on g the 10,830m agazin es , tw en ty
corporation s hav e j u s tov er50percen tof the an n u al s al es of
total in du s tryrev en u es of $12 bil l ion . F or19 81, thes e tw en ty
corporation s an d theirm aj orm agazin es w ere, in orderof
theirdom in an ce:
1. T im e, In c., T im e, Lif e, Sports Il l u s trated, P eopl e, Mon ey, Dis cov er
32 . T he En dl es s Chain
El ectron ic P rodu cts , Good Hou s ekeepin g, Harper' s Bazaar, Hou s e
Beau tif u l , Motor, MotorBoatin g 8 Sail in g, P opu l arMechan ics ,
R edbook, Sports Af iel d, T ow n 8 Cou n try
4. CBS, In c., Am erican P hotographer, Au dio, Cycl e Worl d, F am il y
Weekl y, F iel d 8 Stream , Mechan ixIl l u s trated, R oad 8 T rack, P icku p,
Van an d 4WD, Wom an ' s Day, Worl d T en n is
5. McGraw -Hil l , Am erican Machin is t, Architectu ral R ecord, Av iation
Week 8 Space T echn ol ogy, Bu s in es s Week, Byte, Chem ical
En gin eerin g, Chem ical Week, Coal Age, El ectric Worl d, El ectrical
Con s tru ction 8 Main ten an ce, El ectron ics , En gin eerin g 8 Min in g
Jou rn al , En gin een n g N ew s R ecord, F l eetOw n er, Modern P l as tics ,
P os tgradu ate Medicin e, P ow er
6 . S. I. N ew hou s e 8- Son s ( Con d N as t-P arade), Bride' s Magazin e,
Gl am ou r, G0, Hou s e 8 Garden , Madem ois el l e, Sel f , Van ityF air,
P arade, Vogu e
7 . Was hin gton P os tCo., N ew s w eek, Was hin gton P os tMagazin e,
In s ide Sports
8. N ew Y ork T im es Co., F am il yCircl e, N ew Y ork T im es Magazin e,
Gol f Diges t, T en n is
9 . R eaders Diges tAs s ociation , R eader' s Diges t
10. P l ayboyEn terpris es , Gam es , P l ayboy
11. MeredithCorp., BetterHom es 8 Garden s , Metropol itan Hom e,
Sail , Su cces s f u l F arm in g
12 . P en thou s e In tern ation al , F oru m , Om n i, P en thou s e
13. Zif f -Dav is , Boatin g, Bu s in es s 8 Com m ercial Av iation , Car8
Driv er, Cycl e, F l yin g, Meetin gs 8 Con v en tion s , Modern Bride, P an Am
Cl ipper, P opu l arEl ectron ics , P s ychol ogyT oday, Skiin g, StereoR ev iew ,
Y achtin g
14. N ation al Geographic Society, N ation al Geographic, N ation al
Geographic Worl d
15. McCal l s P u bl is hin g Co., McCal l ' s , Workin g Mother
16 . U .S. N ew s 8 Worl d R eport, U .S. N ew s 8 Worl d R eport
17 . N ation al En qu irer, N ation al En qu irer
18. N ew s Am ericaP u bl is hin g ( Mu rdoch), N ew Y ork Magazin e, Star
19 . T im es MirrorCo., Cros s Cou n trySki, Gol f , Hom eow n ers How -T o,
Ou tdoorLif e, P opu l arScien ce, Ski, SkiBu s in es s , Sportin g N ew s
2 0. P eters en P u bl is hin g Co., CarCraf t, Gu n s 8 Am m o, HotR od,
Ladies Hom e Jou rn al , Lakel an d Boatin g, MotorT ren d, Motorcycl is t,
P eters en ' s 4Wheel 8 O R oad, P eters en ' s Hu n tin g, P eters en ' s
P hotographic, P ick U p, R u dder, Sea8 P ac c SkipperSkin Div er,
T een , Van 8 4WD
T hes e tw en tycom pan ies hav e 50.7 percen tof al l m agazin e
rev en u es . T hu s , 1 percen tof m agazin e ow n ers hav e m ore
than hal f the rev en u es of al l 10,830m agazin es pu bl is hed
regu l arl y.
T here are 1,000tel ev is ion an d 9 ,000radios tation s on the
air. Au dien ce s ize v aries f rom hou rtohou ran d w eek tow eek.
In tel ev is ion the three n etw orks cl earl ydom in ate the
Am erican tel ev is ion au dien ce, w hichcon s is ts of 9 8 percen tof
theN EWMEDIAR EADER
al l hou s ehol ds in the cou n tryan d in w hichthe av erage T V
s etis in u s e s ixan d ahal f hou rs aday.
T he three n etw orks ABC, CBS, an d N BC dom in ate n ot
on l yacces s tothe tel ev is ion au dien ce bu t, togetherw iththeir
ow n ed an d operated tel ev is ion s tation s in the m aj orm arkets ,
receiv ed m ore than hal f of the $8.8 bil l ion of tel ev is ion
rev en u es in 19 80. ( Som e of thes e rev en u es l aterf in d their
w aytoaf f il iated s tation s , bu tn etw orks con trol n etw ork
program m in g an d m os tof the adv ertis in g rev en u es . T his ,
pl u s theirdirectcon trol of au dien ce s hares , giv es three
corporation s dom in ation ov erthe m os tpow erf u l com m u n i-
cation s in s tru m en tin his tory.)
Dom in ation of the radioau dien ce is l es s precis el y
m eas u red than f orn ew s papers an d tel ev is ion . Of the 9 ,000
radios tation s in the cou n try, 8,000are com m ercial l y
operated. T heirs ou n ds goto9 9 .9 percen tof Am erican
hom es equ ipped w ithradioan d tom os tcars . Becau s e s o
m an yl eadin g radios tation ow n ers are al s oin other
in du s tries an d don otpu bl is hs eparate rev en u es of their
radiooperation s , eachow n ers s hare of the in du s tryis
es tim ated. Eachow n ers s hare of au dien ce in eachm arketis
m eas u red byratin g s erv ices , an d thes e m eas u rem en ts of
l is ten ers perw eek, com bin ed w iththe es tim ates of Wal l
Streetf irm s thats pecial ize in radiof in an ces , in dicate thatten
corporation s hav e w el l ov erhal f the au dien ce f orAM an d F M
com m ercial radio. T hos e ten are Am erican Broadcas tin g
Com pan y, Col u m biaBroadcas tin g Sys tem , Wes tin ghou s e,
Metrom edia, R KO, N ation al Broadcas tin g Com pan y, Capital
Cities , Bon n ev il l e, Cox, an d Gan n ett.
Com m u n ication s l aw s in ef f ectin 19 82 l im itow n ers hipof
radios tation s tos ev en percorporation , bu tbypu rchas in g
s tation s in the l arges tm arkets thes e corporation s can obtain
0 . ~ -0* A, ,1, .l 19 .8?' s 32 . T he En dl es s Chain
acces s tof arm ore than the av erage au dien ce f orthe 8,000
com m ercial s tation s .
On the s u rf ace the book in du s try, l ike radio, s eem s to
pres en tapictu re of div ers ity. T here are 2 ,500in div idu al
com pan ies pu bl is hin g books , an d togethertheyprodu ce
34,000n ew titl es ayear. Bu tm os tof the 2 ,500book
pu bl is hers is s u e on l yf rom on e tof iv e books peryear. Ov eral l ,
el ev en corporation s receiv ed m ore than hal f the $7 bil l ion in
book s al es f or19 80:T im e, In c.; McGraw -Hil l ; R eaders Diges t;
CBS; Dou bl eday; Grol ier; Harcou rtBrace Jov an ov ich;
En cycl opaediaBritan n ica; Scottan d F etzerWorl d Book; SF N
Co. ( Scott, F ores m an ); an d T im es Mirror.
T hes e corporation s pu bl is hu n derm an yim prin ts or
s pecial s u bcom pan ytitl es . Som e of the im prin ts theyow n
are the f ol l ow in g:
T im e-Lif e Books
T im e-Lif e Books ; Littl e, Brow n an d Co.; Book-of -the-Mon thCl u b
an d n u m erou s s pecial tybook cl u bs ; Ll oyd Hol l is ter, In c.; P ion eer
P u bl is hin g Co.; P acif icaLtd. ( Japan ); N ew Y ork Graphic Society
McGraw -Hil l
Shepard' s ; Schau m ( paperback); Os born e; Stan dard 8 P oor' s ;
McGraw -Hil l ; Gregg P u bl is hin g Co.; Webs terP u bl is hin g Co.; Herder
an d Herder; Sw eet' s Han dbook
R eade/ s Diges t
R eader' s Diges tCon den s ed Books ; Q SP , In c.
CBS
Hol t, R in ehartan d Win s ton ; P raegerP u bl is hers ; W. B. Sau n ders ;
Dryden P res s ; F aw cettServ ice Grou p Gol d Medal , P rem ier, P opu l ar
Library, Cres t; Cu rtis Books ; Edition s Doin ( F ren ch); N EISA
( Span is h); Mov ie Book Cl u b
Dou bl eday
Del l ; Del acorte P res s ; Dial P res s ; Laidl aw Brothers ; J. G. F ergu s on ;
An chor; F ef f eran d Sim on s , In c.; Al du s Books ; R athbon e Books ;
LiteraryGu il d; Dou bl edayBook Cl u b; Wes tern Writers Cl u b; Mil itary
Book Cl u b; Dou bl edayR om an tic Library
Grol ier, In c.
"he N ew Book of Kn ow l edge; En cycl opediaAm erican a; En cycl opedia
In tern ation al ; F ran kl in Watts , In c.; Scarecrow P res s ; Marcu s -
Cam pbel l Co.; ref eren ce s ets T he N ew Book of P opu l arScien ce,
_an ds an d P eopl es ; T he Book of Art; Dis n ey' s Won derf u l Worl d of
Kn ow l edge; Dis n ey' s Won derf u l Worl d of R eadin g; Val u e T al es ; T he
Ocean Worl d of Jacqu es Cou s teau ; Dr. Seu s s Begin n in g R eader' s
P rogram ; in tern ation al en cycl opedias N u ev oEn cicl opedia
' em atica; En cicl opediaIl l u s tradaCu m bre an d El N u ev oT es oroDe La
Ju v en tu e; LaLiv re des Con n ais s an ces an d P ays etN ation s ; N u ov a
En cicl opediaIn tern azion al e
Harcou rtBrace Jov an ov ich
Academ ic P res s , In c.; Gru n e an d Stratton ; John s on R eprin tCorp.;
HBJ Legal an d P rof es s ion al P u bl ica( Gil bertl aw s u m m aries );
Coron adoP u bl ication ( s u bs u m ed Ben ef ic P res s ); Harv es t; Voyager;
HBJ P res s ; Dan s v il l e P res s ; Jov e; In s tru ctorP u bl ication s ; Weber
Cotel l o; Law an d Bu s in es s , In c.; MediaSys tem s Col l ege
P u bl ication s ; His toryBook Cl u b; In s tru ctors Book Cl u b; Y ou n g
P aren ts ; Academ ic P res s an d P rof es s ion al P u bl ication s ( Can ada,
Au s tral ia, Lon don , Brazil , an d Japan )
En cycl opaediaBn tan n ica
G. 8 C. Merriam ; F . E. Com pton Co.; GreatBooks of the Wes tern
Worl d; LibraryR es ou rces , In c.
Scottan d F etzerWorl d Book
Worl d Book Chil dcraf tIn tern ation al ; Scien ce Y ear; Worl d Book
F in an ce, In c.; direct-s al e book cl u b, w ithBertel s m an n AG on j oin t
v en tu re '
SF N Co. ( Scott, F ores m an )
U n iv ers ityP ark P res s ; Sou thw es tern P u bl is hin g; Sil v erBu rdett( Dal e
Seym ou rP u bl ication s ); F l em in g H. R ev el l ; Lothrop, Lee an d
Shepard Co. u n derMorrow , s ol d toHears tin 19 81; Scien ce Y ear
T im es Mirror
Sign et; Sign etCl as s ics ; Men tor; Meridian ; Abram s ArtBooks ;
Mathew Ben derl aw books ; N ew Am erican Library; Y earbook Medical
Books ; Sou thw es tern ( hom e ref eren ce books , j ou rn al s , an d col l ege
texts ); N ew En gl is hLibrary( Britis hpaperbacks ); Den oyer-Geppert
Co.; P opu l arScien ce P u bl ication s
T rade books pu bl is hed f orthe gen eral pu bl ic, w hil e n ot
al w ays am on g the topm on eym akers , are the m os ts ocial l y
in f l u en tial . T rade book pu bl is hin g is con trol l ed byan u m ber
of corporation s w hos e m ain in teres tis in otherin du s tries .
Accordin g toKn ow l edge In du s tries , in 19 80the l eadin g
ow n ers of trade book com pan ies bys al es w ere the f ol l ow in g
1. N ew hou s e P u bl ication s : R an dom Hou s e
2 . Gu l f + Wes tern : Sim on 8 Schu s ter
3. Harper8 R ow
4. Dou bl eday
5. Crow n / Ou tl et
6 . T im e, In c.; Littl e, Brow n
7 . MCA: P u tn am ' s
8. Hears t: Wil l iam Morrow
9 . Hou ghton Mif f l in
10. F il m w ays : Gros s et8- Du n l ap
Mas s paperbacks s el l in f arl argern u m bers than an yother
type of book. T heyare s ol d in dru gs tores , s u perm arkets , an d
airterm in al s , an d theirdel iv eries are regu l ated bycom pu ters
thatrem ov e books thatf ail tos el l qu ickl y. T he l eadin g
ow n ers of paperback s al es are:
1. Bertel s m an n AG: Ban tam
2 . Gu l f + Wes tern : P ocketBooks
32 . T he En dl es s Chain theN EWMEDIAR EADER
3. Harl equ in of Can ada: Harl equ in
4. T im es MirrorCo.: N ew Am erican Library
5. Dou bl eday: Del l
6 . CBS: F aw cettBooks
7 . Hears t: Av on
8. N ew hou s e P u bl ication s : Bal l an tin e
9 . MCA, In c.: Berkl ey/ Jov e
10. Warn erCom m u n ication s : Warn er .
F iv e com pan ies hav e hal f of al l paperback s al es an d the top
ten hav e 86 percen tof the m arket.
T extbooks repres en tan otherm aj orportion of the book
pu bl is hin g in du s try. Leadin g con trol l ers of thatin f l u en tial
m arketare SF N ( f orm erl yScott, F ores m an ), Harcou rtBrace
Jov an ov ich, CBS, McGraw -Hil l , Hou ghton Mif f l in , Xerox
( Gin n &Co.), Macm il l an , P ren tice Hal l , Addis on Wes l ey,
Dou bl eday, IBM/ Scien ce R es earchAs s ociates , En cycl opaedia
Britan n ica, Es qu ire Edu cation al Grou p, an d Dow Jon es
( R ichard Irw in ).
T he bes tes tim ates f rom Wal l Streetan al ys ts are thateight
corporation s hav e m os tof the adu l ttrade book bu s in es s ,
f ou rhav e m os tof the m as s paperback s al es , an d f ou ra
m aj orityof the textbook bu s in es s . -
Begin n in g in the 19 6 0s el ectron ics com pan ies , s en s in g a
tren d tocom pu terized l earn in g, bou ghtbook com pan ies to
con trol con ten tas w el l as hardw are. In arel ativ el ys hort
period book pu bl is hin g s u bs idiaries had been bou ghtbyIBM,
IT T , Litton , R CA, CBS, R aytheon , Xerox, Gen eral El ectric,
Wes tin ghou s e, an d Gen eral T el ephon e an d El ectron ics .
Bu tev en l arge, s ophis ticated f irm s f ail ed tou n ders tan d
f u n dam en tal characteris tics of the book bu s in es s . T he u s u al
bu s in es s techn iqu es of in creas in g the v ol u m e of produ ction ,
s el l in g bym as s iv e prom otion an d adv ertis in g, an d bu il din g
bran d l oyal tybyem otion al as s ociation , thu s s w am pin g
com petition , did n otw ork w el l w ithbook pu bl is hin g. T he
con gl om erates f ail ed tou n ders tan d thatbooks cou l d n otbe
s ol d l ike s oap. Ev en if af ew of the 34,000n ew titl es each
yearare s ol d in the m il l ion s byhigh pres s u re prom otion ,
s u chs al es don otcarryov ertothe n extyear, an d there is
al m os tn obran d l oyal tytobook com pan ies am on g
con s u m ers .
As qu ick in v es tm en ts , books don otres pon d ideal l yf or
Wal l Streetin v es tors orotheren trepren eu rs . In thirty f iv e
T he care w ithw hichbooks gen eral l yhav e been produ ced
has been dil u ted as editors hav e s u f f ered l ow ered s tatu s in
f av orof packagers an d prom oters . In con gl om erate-ow n ed
years , f orexam pl e, Ban tam Books has had f iv e ow n ers : pu bl is hin g hou s es , the proces s is gov ern ed as m u chbythe
Gros s et&Du n l ap, N ation al Gen eral , Am erican F in an cial , IP I v agaries of the s tock m arketas bythos e of the book m arket.
In tern ation al ( Ital ian ), an d Bertel s m an n ( Germ an ). R an dom Hou s e l is ted its s tock on Wal l Streetin 19 59 af ter
>
0.. I13 ea 32 . T he En dl es s Chain 0 ~ ~~a_* A ~ 05> A 1 A ~ ~ @ _e ~9 1 ~_~~ ~ ~0 A
w hich, accordin g toBen n ettCerf , head of R an dom Hou s e at
the tim e, w e w ere pu bl is hin g w ithon e eye an d w atchin g ou r
s tock w iththe other."
In the m ov ie in du s try, al l m ov ies are m ade byeightorn in e
s tu dios , n u m bers thatchan ge qu ickl yin the s hadow yw orl d of
Hol l yw ood f in an ce. Bu tif f il m rev en u es f rom 19 7 5throu gh
19 7 9 are av eraged, f ou rs tu dios , in this order, dom in ated their
in du s tryw ithm ore than hal f the bu s in es s :U n iv ers al -MCA,
Warn erCom m u n ication s ( Warn erBrothers ), 2 0th
Cen tu ry F ox, an d Gu l f + Wes tern ( P aram ou n t).
T he total n u m berof corporation s thats hare hal f orm ore
of the au dien ce in eachm aj orm ediu m is s ixty eight. Bu t
s om e con trol au dien ces in m ore than on e m ediu m . In 19 80,
f orexam pl e, CBS w as am on g the dom in an tcom pan ies in
tel ev is ion , radio, m agazin es , an d books ; Capital Cities in
n ew s papers an d radio; Hears t, Was hin gton P os t, N ew Y ork
T im es , an d N ew hou s e in n ew s papers an d m agazin es ; ABC
an d N BC in tel ev is ion an d radio; Coxan d Gan n ettin
n ew s papers an d radio; T im e, In c., McGraw -Hil l , an d R eader' s
Diges tin m agazin es an d books ; an d T im es Mirrorin
n ew s papers , books , an d m agazin es . T he n etres u l tf if ty
corporation s thats hare hal f orm ore of the au dien ce in the
com bin ed m aj orm edia.
Man yof thes e s am e f irm s hav e addition al hol din gs in
otherm edia, ev en if theydon ots hare in hal f the s al es in
thos e m edia. T im e, In c., f orexam pl e, al s oprodu ces f il m s ,
in cl u din g tel ev is ion m ov ies , an d Hears tan d the Was hin gton
P os tare activ e in broadcas tin g. In 19 80, three f irm s
U n iv ers al -MCA, Col u m bia, an d Gu l f + Wes tern m ade hal f
of al l prim e-tim e tel ev is ion s how s . In the record an d tape
in du s try, n otcou n ted here as am aj orin f orm ation al
m ediu m , s om e of the s am e n am es appear. More than 80
percen tof al l records an d tapes are m ade byWarn er
Com m u n ication s , MCA, CBS, R CA, an d P ol ygram . Som e of
the f if tycorp-oration s appearin n ew cabl e reIated m edia,
w hos e im pactis s til l u n cl ear.
Itis dan gerou s en ou ghthatin adem ocracyf if tycorporate
chief s hav e s om u chpow erov erthe n ation al con s ciou s n es s
an d thatthis pow ercan be exercis ed in w ays thats erv e other
in teres ts . Bu tev en thatis u n ders tated.
T here are 36 0,000in du s trial corporation s , the n om in al
bas e of w hatis s om etim es ref erred toas corporate pow er"in
the U n ited States . Bu tin term s of theirs hare of the
in du s trial econ om y, the v as tm aj orityhav e al m os tn opow er.
T he 500l arges tof thes e, l es s than 1 percen tof al l
corporation s , hav e 87 percen tof al l s al es . T heyare the
aris tocrats of the Am erican in du s trial econ om y; the
rem ain in g 359 ,500, in term s of theirn ation al pow er, are the
peas an try. '
T he l arges tm as s m ediacorporation s are n ow partof this
Am erican econ om ic aris tocracy, acqu ired in m organ atic
m ergers in the m an n erof f ou rteen th-cen tu rym on archs w ho
gain ed v al u abl e territorybym arryin g heirs todis tan t
du chies . Am on g thes e 500l arges tcorporation s are 2 1 of the
50l arges tm ediacom pan ies ( Wes tin ghou s e; R CA; Gu l f +
Wes tern ; CharterOil ; CBS; T im e, In c.; ABC; Warn er
Com m u n ication s ; T im es Mirror; MCA; Gan n ett; Kn ight-
R idder; McGraw -Hil l ; 2 0thCen tu ry F ox; N ew Y ork T im es ;
Was hin gton P os t; Scottan d F etzer; Dow Jon es ; Harcou rt
Brace Jov an ov ich; Capital Cities ; an d Metrom edia). T w en ty
years agoon l y9 m ediacom pan ies w ere in the F ortu n e 500
( R CA; T im e, In c.; Hears t; McGraw -Hil l ; N ew Y ork T im es ;
T im es Mirror; McCal l ; an d Grol ier).
As w e s hal l s ee, the degree tow hichthe paren tcorporation
con trol s the con ten tof its m edias u bs idiaryv aries . T he m os t
pow erf u l in f l u en ce, pos s es s ed byal l , is the pow ertoappoin t
m edial eaders . Itis arare corporation thatappoin ts al eader
con s idered u n s ym pathetic tothe des ires of the corporation .
An d w hen itf eel s threaten ed byl aw , pu bl ic opin ion , orthe
m arketpl ace, n ocorporation w il l perm itas u bs idiarytoharm
the paren t. R eal in depen den ce f oram edias u bs idiaryis , at
bes t, adis pos abl e l u xu ry. l -
Medias u bs idiaries ow n ed bythes e ru l in g Am erican
in du s trial corporation s in cl u de s ev en of the tw en tyl arges t
n ew s paperchain s , eightof the l eadin g tw en tym agazin e
com pan ies , s ev en of the ten l arges tradiooperators , al l three
dom in an ttel ev is ion n etw orks , s ev en of the el ev en l eadin g
book pu bl is hers , an d three of the f ou rl eadin g m ov ie s tu dios .
Dom in an tm ediacom pan ies are f u rtherin tegrated in to
the ru l in g f orces of the econ om y. T hrou ghin terl ockin g
directorates s harin g m em bers on boards of directors the
cou n try' s n ew s papers , m agazin es , radioan d tel ev is ion
com pan ies , book pu bl is hers , an d m ov iem akers are n ow
directl yin f l u en ced bys til l otherpow erf u l in du s tries . T he
s am e m ediaf irm s are partof the gl obal ban kin g an d
in v es tm en tcom m u n itythrou ghtheirl oan s an d l in es of
credit; theys hare directors f rom the topm u l tin ation al ban ks
an d in v es tm en thou s es . V I
U n derl aw ( an d bu s in es s ethics )the directorof af irm is
obl iged toactin the bes tin teres ts of thatcom pan y. U n der
32 . T he En dl es s Chain
s om e circu m s tan ces itis af ederal crim e todootherw is e. T his
creates adil em m ain the pres en tpattern of corporate boards ,
adil em m al argel yign ored bu ton e thatn ow des cen ds on the
gov ern an ce of the n ew s m edia:Whathappen s if the s am e
pers on s its on the boards of tw odif f eren tcorporation s an d
itis in the bes tin teres ts of on e of the corporation s todo
s om ethin g thatw il l dam age the othercorporation ?
T he en ergycris is of the l as tpartof the tw en tiethcen tu ry
f orexam pl e, is on e of the m os tcon ten tiou s is s u es f acin g
Am erican s ociety. T he in f orm ation pres en ted as n ew s , ~
backgrou n d an d an al ys is abou tthe oil in du s tryin
n ew s papers , m agazin es an d tel ev is ion is cru cial tothe
Am erican pu bl ic. Whathappen s if the oil in du s tryhas deep
in f l u en ce in the gov ern in g of the n ew s m edia?T his is n otan
academ ic qu es tion :Oil repres en tativ es s iton the boards of
the m os tpow erf u l n ew s m edia. In 19 7 9 , s ittin g on the board
of directors of R CA, ow n erof N BC w ere peopl e w ho
s im u l tan eou s l yw ere directors of Cities Serv ice Atl an tic
R ichf iel d, an d the Am erican P etrol eu m In s titu te ( the l eadin g
oil an d gas l obby). Legal l y, eachof thes e directors is bou n d to
actin the bes tin teres ts of eachcorporation on w hos e board
he ors he s its . Bu tw hathappen s if itappears toN BC tobe in
the bes tin teres ts of the pu bl ic todoacritical docu m en tary
thatw il l dam age the pu bl ic im age of the oil in du s try?Which
w ayw il l the com m on oil / R CAdirectorv ote in the bes t
in teres ts of con f l ictin g corporation s ?
Lou is Bran deis , bef ore j oin in g the Su prem e Cou rt, w rote
T he practice of in terl ockin g directorates is the rootof
m an yev il s . Itof f en ds l aw s hu m an an d div in e. . . . It
ten ds todis l oyal tyan d v iol ation of the f u n dam en tal
l aw thatn om an can s erv e tw om as ters . . . . Itis
/
u n dem ocratic, f oritrej ects the pl atf orm :Af airf iel d
an d n of av ors ."
Mem bers of corporate boards hav e im pres s iv e pow erov er
theircorporation s . T heyhire an d f ire the corporate
l eaders . T heys etcorporate pol icy. T heydecide if the
corporation w il l borrow m on ey( orl en d it)an d f orw hat
pu rpos e.' T heydecide how the corporation w il l deal w iththe
pu bl ic an d w iththe gov ern m en t.
When in div idu al s s iton m ore than on e board theyhav e
pow ers thatcan af f ectal l the corporation s theygov ern . T hey
can prov ide im pl icitcooperation thatw il l perm ittw oor
m ore corporation s tobehav e in as yn chron ization that
w ou l d be il l egal oru n w is e if don e expl icitl y. T his is m os t
obv iou s if directors s iton boards of corporation s thatare
theN EWMEDIAR EADER
os ten s ibl e com petitors . Atl eas ton e in eightin terl ocks of
l arge Am erican corporation s is betw een com petitors .
In 19 7 8 w hen the Departm en tof Ju s tice w an ted tou s e its
com pu tertos how the exten tof in terl ocks am on g m aj or
Am erican corporation s , bu s in es s l eaders w ere pow erf u l
en ou ghtoprev en tit. T hrou ghm ore tediou s m ethods the
departm en tf ou n d thatin 19 7 6 , of 130m aj orcom pan ies , the
l arges tin terl ocked throu ghtheirdirectors w ith7 0percen tof
the others . Exxon , f orexam pl e, in terl ocked w ithits l eadin g
com petitors , Atl an tic R ichf iel d, Mobil , Stan dard Oil of
Cal if orn ia, Stan dard Oil of In dian a, an d T exaco.
Bran deis cal l ed this the en dl es s chain ."T he corporation s
f rom w hichAm erican s getm os tof theirn ew s an d ideas hav e
n ow en tered the en dl es s chain .
F orexam pl e, Exxon , the w orl d' s l arges tcorporation , has
tw odirectors on the board of Citiban k, al on gs ide directors of
Mobil an d Stan dard Oil of Cal if orn ia, Gen eral El ectric,
Wes tin ghou s e, Gen eral Motors , F ord MotorCom pan y, Du
P on t,; AT &T , IBM, an d R CA. R CAan d Wes tin ghou s e, tw o
m aj orm ediacom pan ies , are in terl ocked com petitors an d
bothare in terl ocked w ithcorporation s , l ike Exxon , w hos e
n ew s theyreport.
T odaythe cou n tryl s m aj ororgan s of pu bl ic in f orm ation
are n ol on gerl ocal . Con s equ en tl y, an ycon f l ictof in teres tis
on an ation al orgl obal s cal e, as are the con s equ en ces .
A19 7 9 s tu dybyP eterDreiran d Stev en Wein berg f ou n d
in terl ocked directorates in m aj orn ew s paperchain s . Gan n ett,
the l arges ts el l erof n ew s papers in the cou n try, s hared
directors w ithMerril l Lyn ch( s tockbrokers ), Stan dard Oil of
Ohio, 2 0thCen tu ry F ox, Kerr McGee ( oil , gas , n u cl earpow er, j r
aeros pace), McDon n el l Dou gl as Aircraf t, McGraw -Hil l ,
Eas tern Airl in es , P hil l ips P etrol eu m , Kel l ogg Com pan y, N ew
Y ork T el ephon e Com pan y.
Kn ight-R idder, the s econ d l arges tpu rv eyorof dail y
n ew s papers , had in terl ocks w ithban kin g, otherm edia
f irm s , the au tom otiv e in du s try, oil an d gas , pu bl ic u til ities ,
an d tire m an u f actu rin g.
T he T ribu n e Com pan yof Chicago, an otherm aj or
n ew s paperchain an d pu bl is herof the l eadin g paperin
Chicago, has on its board execu tiv es ordirectors f rom
Com m on w eal thEdis on , G. D. Searl e, Zen ithR adio,
Con tin en tal Il l in ois , Gen eral Dyn arn ics , an d U .S. Gyps u m .
( Al s oon the T ribu n e board is adirectorf rom Sears , R oebu ck.
When Sears w as accu s ed bythe F ederal T rade Com m is s ion of
0112 83 32 . T he En dl es s Chain
dis hon es tadv ertis in g an d s al es prom otion , the T ribu n e w as
on e of the m aj orpapers thatf ail ed tocarryaw ord of it,
al thou ghSears s n ation al headqu arters are in Chicago. Ev en
Sears s n ation al n ew s director, Ern es tArm s , com m en ted, I
w as real l ys u rpris ed atthe l ack of cov erage)
T im es Mirrorof Los An gel es has on its board directors f rom
Ban k of Am erica, N orton Sim on ,T R W, R ohrCorporation ,
Kais erSteel , F ord MotorCom pan y, Am erican Airl in es , Col gate-
P al m ol iv e, an d CarterHaw l eyHal e Stores ( am aj oradv ertis er
in the paperan d ow n erof Wal den books , s econ d-l arges t
books el l erin the cou n try, w hichs el l s books pu bl is hed by
T im es Mirror.)
T he m os tin f l u en tial paperin Am erica, the N ew Y ork T im es ,
in terl ocks w ithMerck, Morgan Gu aran tyT ru s t, Bris tol
Myers , CharterOil , John s Man v il l e, Am erican Expres s ,
Bethl ehem Steel , IBM, ScottP aper, Su n Oil , an d F irs tBos ton
Corporation . ( Ital s oin terl ocks w iththe F ord Motor
Com pan y. In 19 7 4the pu bl is herof the T im es , Arthu rOchs
Su l zberger, w as tol d byHen ryF ord IIthatf ederal s af etyan d
pol l u tion s tan dards w ou l d in creas e carprices . Accordin g to
Su l zberger, Is aid itcertain l yw ou l d af f ectthe adv ertis in g
com in g in toou rn ew s papers . Is aid Iw ou l d s etu paf oru m ."
Su l zbergers en tal ettertom aj orn ew s paperpu bl is hers
an n ou n cin g am eetin g w ithF ord of f icial s , addin g, Iw ou l d
s tron gl yu rge you tobrin g w ithyou you reditorial page editor
an d you rbu s in es s an d f in an cial editor, f orthe s torythat
Mes s rs . F ord an d Iacoccaw is htotel l goes f arbeyon d the
s cope of an au tom otiv es tory. As ares u l tthe As s ociated
P res s , U n ited P res s In tern ation al , Dow Jon es , R eu ters , an d
the Was hin gton P os t Los An gel es T im es w ires carried F ord
an d Iacoccas pres en tation argu in g again s tthe f ederal s af ety
an d pol l u tion con trol s . Mos tpapers w hos e reporters
atten ded the m eetin g pu tthe s toryon page 1, in cl u din g the
N ew Y ork T im es , w hichran itatthe topof page 1 w ithatw o-
col u m n pictu re of F ord.)
T he s econ d m os tin f l u en tial paperin the cou n try, the
Was hin gton P os t, in terl ocks w ithCBS, Al l ied Chem ical , Bl u e
ChipStam ps ( w hichcon trol s Berks hire Hathaw aytextil es ,
Bu f f al oEv en in g N ew s , P in kerton s , an d Mu n s in gw ear), IBM,
F ord MotorCom pan y, Lev i-Strau s s , T WA, U tah
In tern ation al , an d Wel l s F argoBan k.
An others tu dyof in terl ockin g directorates , bythis au thor,
f ou n d thatan ev en greatercon cen tration of in tern ation al
in du s trial an d f in an cial f igu res dom in ates otherm aj or
m edia. Am erican Broadcas tin g Co., f orexam pl e, has on its
board execu tiv es f rom the oil an d gas in du s tries , m aj or
ban ks , in s u ran ce com pan ies , IBM, Gen eral Motors , an d
Gen eral Dyn am ics . CBS s hares directors w ithm aj or
in tern ation al ban ks , Aeros pace Corporation , In s titu te f or
Def en s e An al ys is , Eas tern Airl in es , Gan n ettCo., T ril ateral
Com m is s ion , Mem orex, Al u m in u m Com pan yof Am erica,
P an Am erican Airw ays , an d the As iaSociety.
T im e, In c. has s om an yin terl ocks theyal m os tcon s titu te
the l eaders hipof Am erican bu s in es s an d f in an ce. As m al l
s el ection of its in terl ockin g directorates in cl u de the
chairm an , chief execu tiv e of f icer, an d chairm an of the
execu tiv e com m ittees of Mobil Oil an d directors of Am erican
P etrol eu m In s titu te, AT &T , Am erican Expres s , T em pl e-Eas tex
( aT exas w ood produ cts f irm thatcon trol s T im e, In c.),
Am erican P aperIn s titu te, AbbottLaboratories , F ires ton e T ire
& R u bberCom pan y, Mel l on N ation al Corporation , Borg-
Warn er, Atl an tic R ichf iel d, Xerox, P an Am erican Airw ays ,
Vol v o, Col gate P al m ol iv e, Gen eral Dyn am ics , an d m os tof the
m aj orin tern ation al ban ks .
Gu l f + Wes tern is in terl ocked w ithF reedom s F ou n dation ,
Hou s ton N atu ral Gas , SocietaGen eral e Im m obil are ( an
in tern ation al f in an cin g corporation ), R oos ev el tR acew ay,
Madis on Squ are Garden , Win n Dixie Stores , an d F l yin g
Diam on d Oil . _
Al m os tev erym aj orin du s tryw hos e activ ities dom in ate
the n ew s of the 19 80s the l eadin g def en s e con tractors an d
oil co1n pan ies s iton con trol l in g boards of the l eadin g
m ediaof the cou n try.
T here is hardl yam aj orin tern ation al ban k orin s u ran ce or
in v es tm en tcom pan ythatis n otrepres en ted on boards of
directors of the m aj orm ediathatcon trol m os tof w hat
Am erican s l earn abou tthe econ om y. In cru cial tim es
decis ion s of directors an d ban ks can s pel l l if e ordeathf ora
com pan y' s in depen den ce. When Am erican Expres s al m os t
captu red McGraw -Hil l , itw as abl e tom ake the attem pt
becau s e McGraw -Hil l s ban ker w hohad in n erm os t
kn ow l edge of McGraw -Hil l ' s f in an ces ~an d aMcGraw -Hil l
directorf rom Am erican Expres s s w itched s ides , an d s ocou l d
u s e theirin s ide kn ow l edge of McGraw -Hil l toaid Am erican
Expres s again s tMcGraw -Hil l .
In aw artotake ov erCon ocoOil in 19 81, the Wal l Street
Jou rn al n oted thataf ew cru cial ban ks , in s u ran ce
com pan ies , an d big in v es tm en tf irm s hel d in f l u en ce am on g
al l the bidders . Ares earchcon cern , Corporate Data
Exchan ge, s aid, In ef f ect, the s am e s harehol ders w il l be
32 . T he En dl es s Chain
decidin g the f ate of this m ergeron boths ides of the
tran s action .
Ban ks , in s u ran ce com pan ies , an d in v es tm en tcom pan ies
v ote w hatev ers tock theyhol d. Bu ttheyal s ov ote s hares
bou ghtw ithm on eypu tin theirtru s t, in cl u din g u n ion an d
in du s trial pen s ion f u n ds , on e of the l arges ts in gl e f orces in
the s tock m arket.
Itis n otal w ays eas ytodis cov erw ho, in real ity, hol ds an d
v otes on s tock in m ediacorporation s . T he l aw perm its s om e
s hares tobe hel d bys treetn am e f irm s w hos e real
ben ef iciaries rem ain s ecret, an in v is ibl e han d w iths pecial
s ign if ican ce w hen ithas in f l u en ce ov erthe m as s m edia.
In 19 6 8 R epres en tativ e WrightP atm an is s u ed am aj or
s tu dyattem ptin g tos how the exten ttow hichban ks con trol
Am erican in du s try, in cl u din g m aj orm edia. He f ou n d thatthe
Mercan til e Ban k in Bal tim ore had 6 1.3 percen tof the
com m on s tock an d con trol l in g v otes in the Bal tim ore Su n
n ew s papers . T he F irs tN ation al Ban k in Chicagohad a
directorin Scott, F ores m an , al eadin g book pu bl is her, an d
hel d 8.9 percen tof its s tock. Ithel d 32 percen tof s tock in
an otherbook hou s e, Dav id McKay, 100percen tof the s tock
of Copl eyN ew s papers , acon trol l in g s hare in Hol t, R in ehart
an d Win s ton book pu bl is hers , an d had adirectoron the
board of T im e, In c. Bu tthe s am e ban k hel d s tock in an d had
directors on the boards of f irm s w ithan in teres tin the
n ew s Sears , Chrys l er, Gen eral F oods , Shel l Oil , an d
Stan dard Oil of In dian a. _
T he con cen tration of gian tm ediaf irm s thatcon trol
Am erican pu bl ic in f orm ation is trou bl es om e byits el f . T he
in terl ockin g directorates w itheachotheran d w ithm aj or
in du s tries an d ban ks , in s u ran ce com pan ies , an d in v es tm en t
f irm s m ake itm ore trou bl es om e s til l . T he rel ation s hipof the
n ew s m ediaan d l eadin g w orl d ban kers is corporate in ces t
w ithin corporate in ces t:T he con trol l ers con trol eachother.
P atm an an d others hav e f ou n d thatacl u s terof N ew Y ork
ban ks an d l if e in s u ran ce com pan ies hel d con trol l in g s hares in
the N ew Y ork T im es Co.; N ew s day; McGraw -I-Iil l ; Dow Jon es ;
T im e, In c.; IT T ; CBS; ABC; P ren tice-Hal l ; Harcou rtBrace
Jov an ov ich; ABC; Dou bl eday; R idderP u bl ication s ( n ow
theN EWMEDIAR EADER
Kn ight-R idder); R CA; T hom s on N ew s papers ; Wes tin ghou s e
Cox; R eaders Diges t; Harper8:R ow ; the Was hin gton P os tCo
Xerox; an d the T ribu n e Com pan y.
A19 7 8 s tu dybythe Sen ate Com m ittee on Gov ern m en tal
Af f airs is s u ed areportw ithal acon ic paragraph:
T he prin cipal s tockv oters in l arge ban ks are l arge
ban ks . Morgan Gu aran tyis Stockv oterN u m ber1 in
f ou rof its N ew Y ork s is terban ks -Citicorp,
Man u f actu rers Han ov erCorp., Chem ical N ew Y ork
Corp. an d Ban kers T ru s tN ew Y ork Corp. as w el l as
Ban kam ericaCorp. In tu rn , Citicorpis Stockv oterN o.
1 in Morgan Gu aran ty' s paren thol din g com pan y, J. P
Morgan 8:Co. Stockv oterN o. 2 in J. P Morgan 8:Co.
is Chas e Man hattan . Stockv oters N o. 3 an d 4in J. P
Morgan 8:Co. are Man u f actu rers Han ov eran d
Ban kers T ru s t, in w hos e paren thol din g com pan y' s
Morgan Gu aran tyT ru s tis Stockv oterN o. 1.
An otherreportof the Sen ate Com m ittee on
Gov ern m en tal Af f airs s tated:
the boardroom s of f ou rof the l arges tban kin g
com pan ies ( Citicorp, Chas e Man hattan ,
Man u f actu rers Han ov erT ru s t, an d J. P Morgan ), tw o
of the l arges tin s u ran ce com pan ies ( P ru den tial an d
Metropol itan Lif e)an d three of the l arges t
n on f in an cial com pan ies ( AT &T , Exxon an d Gen eral
Motors )l ooked l ike v irtu al s u m m its of Am erican
bu s in es s . . . . "
Al l f ou rbroadcas tin g organ ization s ( ABC, CBS, N BC
an d Wes tin ghou s e)w ere repres en ted on the board of
the cou n trys l arges tin tern ation al ban ker, Citicorp,
an d the n etw ork com pan ies l in ked w itheachotheron
the boards of otherf in an cial com pan ies an d
in du s trial s . T hes e f acts rais e f u n dam en tal is s u es . . . .
T heycan bearon s ocial is s u es an d pos s ibl ycon trol
the s hape an d direction of the n ation s econ om y.
T he reportw as con s erv ativ e. T he s u m m its of Am erican
bu s in es s n ow con trol orpow erf u l l yin f l u en ce the m aj or
m ediathatcreate Am erican pu bl ic opin ion .
@ e I; g~~~~~Q e T ~g ~ I-is $7 Q V .eQ ' e ._
N otes
47 2 . . its eem ed ev iden t. Col u m biaJou rn al is m R ev iew , Sprin g
19 7 0,5.
47 5T here are 1,7 30dail yn ew s papers . F rom U .S. Sen ate, Hean ' n gs
of the Su bcom m ittee on An titru s tan d Mon opol y, 8 v ol s .,
19 6 7 -19 6 9 ; an n u al edition s of Editor& P u bl is herY earbook.
47 5T he tw en tycorporation s thatcon trol . John Morton N ew s paper
R es earchN ew s l etter, 2 April 19 82 . T his l is tv aries in circu l ation an d
ran kin g f rom tim e totim e becau s e l arge chain s con tin u e tobu y
rem ain in g in depen den tcom pan ies an d s m al l erchain s .
47 5F or19 81, thes e tw en tycorporation s . F OLIO: 400, Septem ber
19 81, 356 .
47 6 Dom in ation of the radioau dien ce. 19 81 Arbitron ratin gs of
cu m u l ativ e circu l ation s f orthe topradiogrou ps pl u s es tim ates
f rom s u rv eyof s ecu rityan al ys ts s pecial izin g in broadcas t
in v es tm en ts .
47 7 Ov eral l , el ev en corporation s receiv ed. F rom BP R eportan d
records of Kn ow l edge In du s tryP u bl ication s , In c., White P l ain s , N .Y .
47 7 T rade books pu bl is hed. F rom Departm en tof Com m erce Cen s u s
of Man u f actu rers an d pers on al com m u n ication w ithJ. Ken drick
N obl e, Jr.
47 9 "We w ere pu bl is hin g. Ben n ettCerf , AtR an dom : T he
R em in is cen ces of Ben n ettCerf ( N ew Y ork: R an dom Hou s e, 19 7 7 ),
2 7 8.
47 9 In the m ov ie in du s try. Ben j am in M. Com pain e, ed., WhoOw n s
the Media? ( White P l ain s , N .Y .: Kn ow l edge In du s tryP u bl ication s ,
19 7 9 ), 2 2 3.
47 9 T here are 36 0,000in du s trial corporation s . 19 81 F ortu n e Dou bl e
500Directory( T ren ton , N .J.: T im e, In c., 19 81).
47 9 T hes e 500l arges tcorporation s . F rom Moody' s In du s trial Man u al
an d 10-Kreports an d an n u al reports of the f irm s .
480T he practice of in terl ockin g directorates ."Lou is D. Bran deis ,
"T he En dl es s Chain ,"Harper' s Weekl y, 6 Decem ber19 13, 13.
480A19 7 9 s tu dy. P eterDreiran d Stev en Wein berg, "In terl ockin g
Directorates ,"Col u m biaJou rn al is m R ev iew , N ov em ber/ Decem ber
19 7 9 , 51-6 8.
0113.83 - 0.. A 32 . T he En dl es s Chain
481 When Sears w as accu s ed. Michael Hirs h, "T he Sin s of Sears Are
N otN ew s in Chicago,"Col u m biaJou rn al is m R ev iew , Ju l y/ Au gu s t
19 7 6 , 2 9 .
481 ( Ital s oin terl ocks .)Jan e Shoem aker, "Su l zbergerHas aBetter
Idea,"MOR E, F ebru ary19 7 5. T he in terl ock betw een the N ew Y ork
T im es an d the F ord MotorCom pan ym ights hed l ighton acu riou s
coin ciden ce. On Decem ber2 0, 19 80, an u m berof n ew s papers
carried as torythatthe U .S. Departm en tof T ran s portation had
decided n ottorecal l 2 6 m il l ion F ord cars f oras eriou s tran s m is s ion
def ect. T he def ecthad been as s ociated w ith6 ,000acciden ts , 1,17 0
in j u ries , an d 9 8 deaths . T he recal l w as rej ected becau s e itw ou l d
hav e en tail ed toom u chexpen s e f orthe F ord MotorCom pan y. T he
s am e day, m an yof the papers thatcarried the recal l s torycarried
an otheritem abou tF ord. T heyreported thatF ord had f l ow n a
com pan yen gin eertoN ew Y ork Citytorepairthe ben tl icen s e pl ate
on on e of its 19 81 F ord Cou gars . T he cu s tom erw iththe ben t
l icen s e pl ate pres u m abl ycou l d hav e had its traighten ed byhergas
s tation atten dan t, bu ts he had the ben ef itof aF ord en gin eer. She
w as Marian Su l zbergerHeis kel l , on e of the f am il yow n ers of the
N ew Y ork T im es , am em berof the T im es board of directors , an d in
addition , am em berof the board of directors of the F ord Motor
Com pan y. Heis kel l , gran ddau ghterof the f ou n derof the m odern
T im es , Adol phOchs , an d the w idow of On / il Dryf oos , f orm er
pu bl is herof the T im es , is m arried toAn drew Heis kel l , f orm er
chairm an of the board of T im e, In c., thu s com bin in g tw oof the
greatm ediaem pires of the U n ited States . ( As s ociated P res s , San
F ran cis coChron icl e, 30Decem ber19 80, 11, 44.)
482 In aw artotake ov er. Wal l StreetJou rn al , 2 4Ju l y19 81, 2 3.
482 In 19 6 8 R epres en tativ e WrightP atm an . Hou s e Com m ittee on
Ban kin g an d Cu rren cy, Com m ercial Ban ks an d T heirT ru s tActiv ities :
Em ergin g In f l u en ce on the Am erican Econ om y, 2 v ol s ., 9 0thCon g.,
8 Ju l y19 6 8.
482 T here is hardl y. San F ran cis coExam in er, 16 Jan u ary19 7 9 , 43.
482 "T he prin cipal s tockv oters . Sen ate Com m ittee on
Gov ern m en tal Af f airs , Votin g R ights of Maj orCorporation s ,
Jan u ary19 7 8:3.
482 "T he boardroom s of f ou r."Sen ate Com m ittee on Gov ern m en tal
Af f airs , In terl ockin g Directorates Am on g Maj orU .S. Corporation s ,
Ju n e 19 7 8:2 80.
O . ,, i ""46 l .?83,, - 33. DirectMan ipu l ation
33. [ In trodu ction ]
DirectMan ipu l ation
AStepBeyon d P rogram m in g Lan gu ages
Jon athan Sw if tdes cribes aproj ectatthe s chool of l an gu ages in the gran d academ yof Lagado, a
proj ecttoel im in ate w ords f rom l an gu age:s in ce w ords are on l yn am es f orthin gs , itw ou l d be m ore
con v en ien tf oral l m en tocarryabou tthem s u chthin gs as w ere n eces s arytoexpres s aparticu l ar
bu s in es s theyare todis cou rs e on ."
T he ideaof directm an ipu l ation , thou ghl es s f ool is h, is an an al ogou s on e:in s tead of em pl oyin g a
._.
com m an d l an gu age toin s tru ctthe com pu ter, the databein g proces s ed is expos ed an d acces s ed in a
m ore graphical l yrepres en tation al w ay, an d im m ediate v is u al f eedback is prov ided af terev eryaction . f 7
T his ideain f orm s n oton l ythe s ys tem s Shn eiderm an dis cu s s es in his 19 83 es s ay, bu tal s othe
graphical u s erin terf ace ( the Appl e Lis ais m en tion ed in this articl e; the Macin tos hw as rel eas ed the
yearaf terthis articl e appeared), v is u al program m in g en v iron m en ts , an d m an yothers ys tem s an d ii
in terf aces . Arcade gam es w ere n earin g apeak in rev en u e an d cu l tu ral prom in en ce w hen T 5,-3*
Shn eiderm an s es s ayw as pu bl is hed, an d Shn eiderm an poin ted ou thow theirin terf ace prin cipl es
cou l d be appl ied toothers ys tem s , ev en if the others ys tem didn ' tpitthe u s eragain s tthe com pu ter
in agam e. 5
Adirectm an ipu l ation s ys tem thats eeks toim itate s om ethin g in the ou ts ide w orl d v iaan in terf ace
m etaphoris n otactu al l ydirect, n oris itm an ipu l ation ( the w orkin g of s om ethin g w iththe han ds );
bu titrel ates the com pu teractiv itytoan ordin aryaction , ratherthan requ irin g u s e of an s pecial L1
pu rpos e com m an d l an gu age. T he v eryu s ef u l n es s of s u chs ys tem s , an d theirf ail in gs , com e f rom the
w ays in w hichtheirin terf aces are s l ightl yin directorobl iqu e; theyabs tractratherthan directl y
s im u l ate. T heyrepres en tdatan ot, s trictl ys peakin g, directl y, bu tratherin term s of s om ethin g thatis '
habitu al l yorm ore eas il yu n ders tood as w hen al is tof addres s an d phon e n u m berin f orm ation can
be m an ipu l ated v iathe in term ediate f orm of as tack of in dexcards , repres en ted abs tractl yon -s creen .
T he adv an tages of directm an ipu l ation hav e becom e ev en m ore ev iden tas graphical appl ication s l l
( s u chas P hotos hop)hav e becom e w ides pread. Su chappl ication s hav e al s ocon f irm ed, as {E
Shn eiderm an w rote, thatitcan take greatef f orttol earn certain s pecial ized directm an ipu l ation ,5
in terf aces , j u s tas itcan take tim e tol earn acom m an d l an gu age. In an ef f orttocon cretize the data
bein g w orked u pon an d the s of tw are en v iron m en tof an appl ication , s om e hav e en ded u pw ithdirect
m an ipu l ation s ys tem s thatrecal l certain earl yhors el es s carriages , thos e au tom obil es thatbore f al s e j __l ; , ,__; _. , -. 31.,-; :_-1
hors es heads s oas n ottos tartl e pas s ers by. T he MP 3 pl ayerw iththe f acade of aphys ical CD pl ayer - if " A ~' T
con s ol e is on e exam pl e of this s ortof con s tru ction ; Micros of tBob' s repres en tation of aroom an d
of f ice s u ppl ies is an other. T he bes tdirectm an ipu l ation in terf aces , l ike good m etaphors , brin g acros s
on l ythe es s en tial as pects of the al ready-u n ders tood s ys tem . "
Whil e directm an ipu l ation ideas hav e prov en es s en tial toin terf ace des ign , others orts of in terf aces
are s til l f requ en tl yem pl oyed an d rem ain im portan tas w el l . Appl e' s OS X recen tl ym ade the com m an d
l in e s tan dard on the Macin tos hoperatin g s ys tem f orthe f irs ttim e. Searchen gin es , the m ain rou te to
the res ou rces of the Web, rel yon textin pu t( an d, in s om e adv an ced u s age, acom m an d s yn tax)rather
than s om e m an ipu l ation of agraphical ortan gibl e repres en tation of the Web. Whil e direct
m an ipu l ation is an im portan tel em en tof todays com pu tin g experien ce, its til l exis ts in harm on y
w ithotherin terf ace con cepts .
N M
ir
l |
33. DirectMan ipu l ation theN EWMEDIAR EADER
Origin al P u bl ication '
IEEECom pu ter16 ( 8): 57 -6 9 . Au gu s t19 83.
DirectMan ipu l ation
AStepBeyon d
P rogram m in g Lan gu ages
Ben Shn eiderm an
Leibn iz s ou ghttom ake the f orm of as ym bol re ectits
con ten t. In s ign s ,"he w rote, on e s ees an adv an tage f or
dis cov erythatis greates tw hen theyexpres s the exact
n atu re of athin g brief l yan d, as itw ere, pictu re it; then ,
in deed, the l aborof thou ghtis w on derf u l l ydim in is hed"
F rederick Kreil in g, Leibn iz,
Scien tif ic Am erican , May19 6 8
Certain in teractiv e s ys tem s gen erate gl ow in g en thu s ias m
am on g u s ers in m arked con tras tw iththe m ore com m on
reaction of gru dgin g acceptan ce orou trighthos til ity. T he
en thu s ias tic u s ers reports are f il l ed w ithpos itiv e f eel in gs
regardin g
~ m as teryof the s ys tem ,
- com peten ce in the perf orm an ce of theirtas k,
- eas e in l earn in g the s ys tem origin al l yan d in as s im il atin g
adv an ced f eatu res ,
- con f iden ce in theircapacitytoretain m as teryov ertim e,
- en j oym en tin u s in g the s ys tem ,
- eagern es s tos how itof f ton ov ices , an d
- des ire toexpl ore m ore pow erf u l as pects of the s ys tem .
T hes e f eel in gs are n ot, of cou rs e, u n iv ers al , bu tthe am al gam
does con v eyan im age of the tru l ypl eas ed u s er. As Ital ked
w iththes e en thu s ias ts an d exam in ed the s ys tem s theyu s ed, I
began todev el opam odel of the f eatu res thatprodu ced s u ch
del ight. T he cen tral ideas s eem ed tobe v is ibil ityof the obj ect
of in teres t; rapid, rev ers ibl e, in crem en tal action s ; an d
repl acem en tof com pl excom m an d l an gu age s yn taxbydirect
m an ipu l ation of the obj ectof in teres t hen ce the term "direct
m an ipu l ation .
Exam pl es of DirectMan ipu l ation Sys tem s
N os in gl e s ys tem has al l the attribu tes ordes ign f eatu res thatl
adm ire thatm aybe im pos s ibl e bu tthos e des cribed bel ow
hav e en ou ghtow in the en thu s ias tic s u pportof m an yu s ers .
Dis pl ayEditors
On ce you ' v e u s ed adis pl ayeditor, you ' l l n ev erw an ttogoback
toal in e editor. Y ou ' l l be s poil ed. T his reaction is typical of
thos e w hou s e f u l l -page dis pl ayeditors , w hoare great
adv ocates of theirs ys tem s ov erl in e orien ted texteditors . I
heard s im il arcom m en ts f rom u s ers of s tan d-al on e w ord
proces s ors s u chas the Wan g s ys tem an d f rom u s ers of dis pl ay
editors s u chas EMACS on the MIT / Hon eyw el l Mu l tics
s ys tem or ( f orv is u al editor)on the U n ixs ys tem . A
beam in g adv ocate cal l ed EMACS the on e tru e editor."
R oberts f ou n d thatthe ov eral l perf orm an ce tim e of dis pl ay
editors is on l yhal f thatof l in e orien ted editors , an d s in ce
dis pl ayeditors al s oredu ce train in g tim e, the ev iden ce
s u pports the en thu s ias m of dis pl ayeditordev otees .
F u rtherm ore, of f ice au tom ation ev al u ation s con s is ten tl yf av or
f u l l page dis pl ayeditors f ors ecretarial an d execu tiv e u s e.
T he adv an tages of dis pl ayeditors in cl u de
Dis pl ayof aF u l l 2 4to6 6 Lin es of T ext
T his f u l l dis pl ayen abl es v iew in g eachs en ten ce in con textan d
s im pl if ies readin g an d s can n in g the docu m en t. Bycon tras t,
the 0n e l in e-at a tim e v iew of f ered byl in e editors is l ike s eein g
the w orl d throu ghan arrow cardboard tu be.
Dis pl ayof the Docu m en tin Its F in al F orm
El im in atin g the cl u tterof f orm attin g com m an ds al s o
s im pl if ies readin g an d s can n in g the docu m en t. T abl es , l is ts ,
page breaks , s kipped l in es , s ection headin gs , cen tered text, an d
f igu res can be v iew ed in the f orm thatw il l be prin ted T he
an n oyan ce an d del ayof debu ggin g the f orm atcom m an ds is
el im in ated becau s e the errors are im m ediatel yapparen t.
19 83
--. as e --~o ~~------ o -~- - 33. DirectMan ipu l ation
Cu rs orAction T hatIs Vis ibl e tothe U s er
Seein g an arrow , u n ders core, orbl in kin g boxon the s creen
giv es the operatoracl ears en s e of w here tof ocu s atten tion
an d appl yaction .
Cu rs orMotion throu ghP hys ical l yObv iou s an d
In tu itiv el yN atu ral Mean s
Arrow keys ordev ices s u chas am ou s e, j oys tick, orgraphics
tabl etprov ide n atu ral phys ical m echan is m s f orm ov in g the
cu rs or. T his is in m arked con tras tw ithcom m an ds s u chas U P
6 , w hichrequ ire an operatortocon v ertthe phys ical action in to
corrects yn tactic f orm an d w hichm aybe dif f icu l ttol earn ,
hard torecal l , an d as ou rce of f ru s tratin g errors .
Label ed Bu tton s f orAction
Man ydis pl ayeditors hav e bu tton s etched w ithcom m an ds
s u chas IN SER T , DELET E, CEN T ER , U N DER LIN E,
SU P ER SCR IP T , BOLD, orLOCAT E. T heyactas aperm an en t
m en u s el ection dis pl ay, rem in din g the operatorof the f eatu res
an d obv iatin g m em orization of acom pl excom m an del an gu age
s yn tax. Som e editors prov ide bas ic f u n ction al ityw ithon l y10
or15l abel ed bu tton s , an d as pecial l ym arked bu tton m aybe
the gatew aytoadv an ced orin f requ en tl yu s ed f eatu res of f ered
on the s creen in m en u f orm .
Im m ediate Dis pl ayof the R es u l ts of an Action
When abu tton is pres s ed tom ov e the cu rs ororcen terthe
text, the res u l ts appearon the s creen im m ediatel y. Del etion s
are apparen taton ce, s in ce the character, w ord orl in e is eras ed
an d the rem ain in g textrearran ged. Sim il arl y, in s ertion s ortext
m ov em en ts are s how n af tereachkeys troke orf u n ction bu tton
pres s . Lin e editors , on the otherhan d, requ ire aprin tordis pl ay
com m an d bef ore the res u l ts of achan ge can be s een .
R apid Action an d Dis pl ay
Mos tdis pl ayeditors are des ign ed tooperate athighs peeds :
12 0characters pers econ d ( 12 00bau d), af u l l page in as econ d
( 9 6 00bau d), orev en f as ter. T his highdis pl ayrate cou pl ed
w iths hortres pon s e tim e produ ces athril l in g s en s e of pow er
an d s peed. Cu rs ors can be m ov ed qu icl dyl arge am ou n ts of
textcan be s can n ed rapidl y, an d the res u l ts of com m an ds can
be s how n al m os tin s tan tan eou s l y. R apid action al s oredu ces
the n eed f oraddition al com m an ds , therebys im pl if yin g
produ ctdes ign an d decreas in g l earn in g tim e. Lin e editors
operatin g at30characters pers econ d w iththree- toeight-
s econ d res pon s e tim es s eem s l u ggis hin com paris on . Speedin g
u pl in e editors adds totheirattractiv en es s , bu ttheys til l l ack
f eatu res s u chas directov ertypin g, del etion , an d in s ertion .
Eas il yR ev ers ibl e Com m an ds
Mis takes in en terin g textcan be eas il ycorrected by
backs pacin g an d ov ers trikin g. Sim pl e chan ges can be m ade
bym ov in g the cu rs ortothe probl em areaan d ov ers trikin g,
in s ertin g, ordel etin g characters , w ords , orl in es . Au s ef u l
des ign s trategyis toin cl u de n atu ral in v ers e operation s f or
eachoperation . Carrol l 2 has s how n thatcon gru en tpairs of
operation s are eas ytol earn . As an al tern ativ e, m an ydis pl ay
editors of f eras im pl e U N DO com m an d thatcan cel s the
prev iou s com m an d orcom m an d s equ en ce an d retu rn s the
texttoits prev iou s s tate. T his eas yrev ers ibil ityredu ces u s er
an xietyabou t. m akin g m is takes ordes troyin g af il e.
T he l arge m arketf ordis pl ayeditors gen erates activ e
com petition , w hichaccel erates ev ol u tion arydes ign
ref in em en ts . F igu re 33.1 il l u s trates the cu rren tcapabil ities of
an IBM dis pl ayeditor. .
Vis iCal c
Vis icorp' s in n ov ativ e f in an cial f orecas tin g program , cal l ed
Vis iCal c, w as the produ ctof aHarv ard MBAs tu den t, w ho
w as f ru s trated bythe tim e n eeded tocarryou tm u l tipl e
cal cu l ation s in agradu ate bu s in es s cou rs e. Des cribed as an
in s tan tl ycal cu l atin g el ectron ic w orks heet in the u s er' s
m an u al , itperm its com pu tation an d dis pl ayof res u l ts acros s
2 54row s an d 6 3 col u m n s an d is program m ed w ithou ta
tradition al procedu ral con trol s tru ctu re. F orexam pl e,
pos ition al decl aration s can pres cribe thatcol u m n 4dis pl ays
the s u m of col u m n s 1 throu gh3; then ev erytim e av al u e in
the f irs tthree col u m n s chan ges , the f ou rthcol u m n chan ges
as w el l . Com pl exdepen den cies am on g m an u f actu rin g cos ts ,
dis tribu tion cos ts , s al es rev en u e, com m is s ion s , an d prof its
can be s tored f ors ev eral s al es dis tricts an d m on ths s othat
the im pactof chan ges on prof its is im m ediatel yapparen t.
Sin ce Vis iCal c s im u l ates an accou n tan ts w orks heet, itis
eas yf orn ov ices tocom prehen d. T he dis pl ayof 2 0row s an d
u pton in e col u m n s , w iththe prov is ion f orm u l tipl e
w in dow s , giv es the u s ers u f f icien tv is ibil itytoeas il ys can
in f orm ation an d expl ore rel ation s hips am on g en tries ( s ee
F igu re 33.2 ). T he com m an d l an gu age f ors ettin g u pthe
w orks heetcan be trickyf orn ov ices tol earn an d f or
in f requ en tu s ers torem em ber, bu tm os tu s ers n eed l earn
on l ythe bas ic com m an ds . Accordin g toVis iCal cs
dis tribu tor, Itj u m ps , an d the u s ers del ightin w atchin g
this propagation of chan ges cros s the s creen hel ps expl ain
its appeal . l
488
33. DirectMan ipu l ation theN EWMEDIAR EADER
Spatial Data
Man agem en t
T he dev el opers of the
prototype s patial data
m an agem en ts ys ~tem 3
attribu te the bas ic ideato
N ichol as N egropon te of
MIT .
In on e s cen ario, au s er
s eated bef ore acol or
graphics dis pl ayof the
w orl d zoom s in on the
P acif ic tos ee m arkers f or
m il itarys hipcon v oys .
Mov in g aj oys tick f il l s the
s creen w iths il hou ettes of
in div idu al s hips , w hichcan
be zoom ed in on todis pl ay
s tru ctu ral detail s or,
u l tim atel y, af u l l col or
pictu re of the captain . ( See
F igu re 33.3.)
In an others cen ario,
icon s repres en tin g
dif f eren tas pects of a
corporation , s u chas
pers on n el , organ ization ,
trav el , produ ction , or
s chedu l es , are s how n on a
s creen . Mov in g the
j oys tick an d zoom in g in
on obj ects takes u s ers
throu ghcom pl ex A
in f orm ation s paces "orI-
s paces "tol ocate the item
IV
I
' Ii!!!
000100
0002 00
" 000300
T 000000
- ~ 000500
.- 000000
l 0007 00
I3
0009 00
001000
-.._-_w -m il -
r
EDIT * "5P F DEH0.HY LIB-P LIICDIN SI - 01.0 ----------------- - COLU MN S 001 07 2
l COMMAN D IN P U T := = > 5cpQ LL:= :> HALF
u eau v n u n xixu u n u xaxin n u u n v n l T OP OF DAT AxIn u n n u n u n in n n n u u n n w u n iiian u n n u i
COIN S:
F R OCEDU P EOP T ION S IHAIN IF
DECLAR E
COU N T F IXED BIN AR Y ( 31)AU T OMAT IC IN IT I11
HALVES F IXED BIN AR Y I311
GU AR T EP S F IXED BIN AR Y ( 31):
DIN ES F IXED BIN AR Y I31):
N ICKEL5F IXED BIN AR Y I311
SY SF R IN T F ILEST R EAM OU T P U T P R IN T }
DO HALVES = 100T O 0BY -505
l
\
l
l
l
r.
l
.
r' j .* "
.41
hu n k p 001100
' ,{ 0012 00
f l 001300
Di"-
, 001500
, r 001000
, 00r7 00
* 5 001000
" 0019 00
,.
l
.l
.r
- r
DO GU AQ T ER S = ( 100~ HALVESI T O 0BY -2 5; ' --
El
DO DIHES = ( I100 HALVES - GU AR T ER S)/ 1OI10T O 0BY -10$ ' J
E
4
HICKELS = 100 HALVES Q U AR T ER S - DIHESI Is
P U T F ILE( SY SF P IN T l OAT AICOU N T IHALVESIQ U AR T ER SIOIHESDHICKELSF ; r
COU N T = COU N T + 1i
N D;
IO;
EN D;
EN D COIN S;
u n n n w u Mon yx:u u xiu n n u au u n xxxxs n u xx507 19 " Q F Q AT AIl Il !I&IKIl Il l l Il l Il l l I ,
I T V I iii
\-
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EDIT ~-- 5P F DEHO.HY LIB.P LIl COIN SI 0I.04----------------- COLU HN S 001 07 2 l
COMMAN D IN P U T = = = > SCR OLL= = = > HALF 3
Idav qu
000100
0002 00
000300
000000
000500
0006 00
0007 00
00089 0
IIIIII
Il tl iu
0000)!
0009 00
001000
00I100
0012 00
001300
001500
0016 00
0017 00
0016 00
0019 00
n !!!
- - ii' ' ' " 7 "" 7 ' "T 7 7 ' _. 4 - W T * 7 7 ' 7 5 v _' _-":1" ' -' i
y .9
r_._
l ' , - .-" , . '
1" 1
!4&Il Iqiu n l l u w u u u u u u iiu iT OP OF DAT AIVIKXIIKl l l l il l iil il i iil l iii l l
COIN S:
P R OCEDU R EOP T ION S ( MAIN );
DECLAR E
COU N T F IXED BIN AR Y I31)AU T OMAT IC IN IT l l )
HALVES F IXED BIN AR Y 131)
Q U AR T ER S F IXED BIN AR Y I31)
DIHES F IXED BIN AR Y I31)
N ICKELS F IXED BIN AR Y I31),
SY SF R IHT F ILEST R EAM OU T P U T P R IN T ;
00HALVES = 100T 00BY -50?
DO GU AR T ER S = ( 100- HALVESI T 00BY -2 5;
D0DIHES = ( ( 100- HALVES - GU AR T ER S)/ 101510T O 0BY -10;
N ICKELS = 100- HALVES - GU AR T ER S 0IHE5i
COU N T = COU N T 4 Ii
EN D;
EN D;
EN D}
EN D COIN S;
w in u iiu iv an iu l iu iu u ail n iiBOT T OM Q F Q AT AIiiIl il l il il l l il l l l il l l l l l l
F igu re 33.1. T his exam pl e f rom the IBM SP F dis pl ayeditors how s 19 l in es of aP L/ l program . T he com m an ds
toin s ertthree l in es ( I3)an d todel ete on e l in e ( D orD1)are typed on the appropriate l in es in the f irs t
s creen dis pl ay. P res s in g EN T ER cau s es com m an ds tobe execu ted an d the cu rs ortobe pl aced atthe
begin n in g of the in s erted l in e. N ew program s tatem en ts can be typed directl yin theirrequ ired pos ition s .
Con trol keys m ov e the cu rs orarou n d the texttopos ition s w here chan ges are m ade byov ers trikin g, Adel ete
keycau s es the characteru n derthe cu rs ortobe del eted an d the texttothe l ef ttobe s hif ted ov er. Af ter
pres s in g an in s ertkey, the u s ercan type textin pl ace. P rogram m ed f u n ction keys al l ow m ov em en tof the
w in dow f orw ards , backw ards , l ef t, an d rightov erthe text. ( Exam pl es cou rtes yof IBM.)
of in teres t. F orexam pl e, w hen theys el ectadepartm en tf rom
abu il din g f l oorpl an , in div idu al of f ices becom e v is ibl e.
Mov in g the cu rs orin toaroom brin gs the room s detail s on to
the s creen . If theychoos e the w ron g room , theym erel yback
ou tan d tryan other. T he l os tef f ortis m in im al , an d n o
s tigm ais attached tothe error.
T he s u cces s of as patial datam an agem en ts ys tem depen ds
on the des ign ers s kil l in choos in g icon s , graphical
repres en tation s , an d datal ayou ts thatare n atu ral an d eas il y
u n ders tood. Ev en an xiou s u s ers en j oyzoom in g in an d ou tor
gl idin g ov erdataw ithaj oys tick, an d theyqu ickl ydem an d
addition al pow eran d data.
VideoGam es
P erhaps the m os texcitin g, w el l en gin eered certain l y, the
m os ts u cces s f u l appl ication of directm an ipu l ation is in the
w orl d of v ideogam es . An earl y, bu ts im pl e an d popu l ar, gam e
cal l ed P on g requ ired the u s ertorotate akn ob, w hichm ov eda
w hite rectan gl e on the s creen . Aw hite s potacted as aP in g-
P on g bal l , w hichricocheted of f the w al l an d had tobe hitback
bythe m ov abl e w hite rectan gl e. T he u s erdev el oped s kil l
Q -~ ---~- * - o -_. - a a. . e o 19 83 0 _33. DirectMan ipu l ation
' . , - ' ' ___ . ' _ j - - . , . . . - _ . . _- . ' ___
__ . . . . __. . . _ . . . _ r ~ - _ _
. I - j , ~ . ~ ~ _, _. ~ . _, 1 , . -
~ - ~ ~ + ~ - ~ a . H . - I . . , ~ _ . I
- _ , - . '
, 0- .
' .. - - .
. _. .
' ,, . . .
r < _."' .
<1 . ' . ; - ' _
.. 1
r .' _ _,...
l l .14 . l l I. I' I .
I _-_.' v w . l
. I t' ~ l
I _\44
l l Jl aa ' '
I s . -.~-' " ,-
_' I , ; _<
. -\...' ~ ' . ..-1 t " -- ~~. _or _ . ., _ _. ___. ~\- . . .~- .. , . ..
F igu re 33.2 . T his s im pl e Vis iCal c program dis pl ay( top)s how s f ou rcol u m n s an d 2 0row s of hom e bu dgetin f orm ation . T he cu rs or, an
in v ers e v ideol ightbarcon trol l ed bykeypres s es , is in pos ition C2 . T he topcom m an d l in e s how s thatC2 is av al u e ( as oppos ed toatext
s trin g)thathas been s etu ptohav e the s am e v al u e as pos ition B2 . T he s econ d dis pl ay( abov e)s how s tw ow in dow s ov erthe hom e
bu dgetdataw ithrow s u m s tothe right. T he l as trow s how s l eis u re dol l aram ou n ts , w hichare es tabl is hed bythe topcom m an d l in e
f orm u l aas the in com e m in u s the s u m of expen s es . Achan ge tothe in com e orexpen s e v al u es w ou l d im m ediatel ypropagate toal l af f ected
v al u es . ( Dis pl ays reprodu ced byperm is s ion of Vis icorp.)
in v ol v in g s peed an d accu racyin pl acem en tof the paddl e to m an yin trigu in g l es s on s in the hu m an f actors of in terf ace
keepthe in creas in gl ys peedybal l f rom gettin g by, w hil e the des ign s om ehow theyhav e f ou n d aw aytogetpeopl e to
s peakerem itted apon gin g s ou n d w hen the bal l bou n ced. pu tcoin s in tothe s ides of com pu ters . T he s tron g attraction
Watchin g s om eon e el s e pl ayf or30s econ ds w as al l the train in g of thes e gam es con tras ts m arkedl yw iththe an xietyan d
n eeded tobecom e acom peten tn ov ice, bu tm an yhou rs of res is tan ce m an yu s ers experien ce tow ard of f ice au tom ation
practice w ere requ ired tobecom e as kil l ed expert. equ ipm en t.
Con tem porarygam es s u chas Mis s il e Com m an d Don key Becau s e theirf iel ds of action are abs traction s of real ity,
Kon g, P ac Man , T em pes t, T ron , Cen tipede, orSpace In v aders are thes e gam es are eas il yu n ders tood l earn in g is byan al ogy.
f arm ore s ophis ticated in theirru l es , col orgraphics , an d Agen eral ideaof the gam e can be gain ed byw atchin g the on ~
s ou n d ef f ects ( s ee s idebarbel ow an d on f acin g page). T he l in e au tom atic dem on s tration thatru n s con tin u ou s l yon the
des ign ers of thes e gam es hav e prov ided s tim u l atin g s creen , an d the bas ic prin cipl es can be l eam ed in af ew
en tertain m en t, achal l en ge f orn ov ices an d experts , an d m in u tes byw atchin g akn ow l edgeabl e pl ayer. Bu tthere are
F igu re 33.3. As patial datam an agem en ts ys tem has been in s tal l ed on the aircraf tcarrierU SS Carl Vin s on . In the photoattopl ef t, the operatorhas a
w orl d m apon the l ef ts creen an d av ideodis c m apof s el ected areas on the cen ters creen . Af ters om e com m an d s el ection s w iththe datatabl etan d
pu ck, the operatorcan zoom in on s peci c datas u chas the s etof s hips s how n in the s econ d photo. Withf u rthers el ection s the operatorcan get
detail ed in f orm ation abou teachs hip, s u chas the l en gth, s peed, an d f u el . ( P hotos cou rtes yof Com pu terCorporation of Am erica.)
33. DirectMan ipu l ation theN EWMEDIAR EADER
In il i_50U t1 t_h"_el 10n _l y~ peopl e; pl ayi,n g' <-v ideo.g_air; :es = w ere~,s tu de_n ts in c0n 1pu ter.Is cien ce~-l aboratories . By19 7 3,. how ev er. m il l ion s of peopl e
w ere f am il iar" on e v ideo-T g1am ' e _= P an gj _( abov e l e' f t)_.,A~j f ew ' years -:l at' er' cam e._Breakou t( abov e, cen terl ef t), w hich,,a' ccordin ' g to
m an y' des ign e.rs , w ; as 1 the' - rs ttr,u e_~v ideo. g' an i.e; an d:1th' e"bes ton e ' e_v ,er; if n ' v en tj ed.i. P on g an d other. earl ygam es im itated real l if e, bu tBreakou t.
m ade_.' a_br' ick; v an ' is h' .,an d-; chan ged.the' ; bal l s _= s peed."' __-f f ' 4. . - f
"C9 010- bt' .h:av e ,iI1-; _8l I' l } l l 1T ediu m _"0ther~th_an .v ideo.In --the-1ga.m e' ,-.a"s in gl e p_add-l ef directed. a_bal l tow ard aw al l of col or_' bricks ; con tact
_ _' ' . 0 . ' | \ . _'
r . a - \ ' _ 9 '
. ; - . ' 1' ' . , .' _. , _. , I
. Dohkeyf kon giSpace:-In v aders , a-' n d~ ~T _ron . ( ab0v e- en rei,.-gen re: right, iaf n dright)-~exem pl if ythe -l iv el yv areityof v ideogam es n ow in v itin g the
am pl e com pl exities toen tice m an yhou rs an d qu arters f rom
experts . T he ran ge of s kil l accom m odated is adm irabl e.
T he com m an ds are phys ical action s , s u chas bu tton pres s es ,
j oys tick m otion s , orkn ob rotation s , w hos e res u l ts appear
im m ediatel yon the s creen . Sin ce there is n os yn tax, there are
n os yn taxerrorm es s ages . If u s ers m ov e theirs paces hips too
f arl ef t, then theym erel yu s e the n atu ral in v ers e operation of
m ov in g back tothe right. Errorm es s ages are u n n eces s ary
becau s e the res u l ts of action s are s oobv iou s an d eas il y
rev ers ed T hes e prin cipl es can be appl ied toof f ice au tom ation ,
pers on al com pu tin g, an d otherin teractiv e en v iron m en ts .
Ev erygam e thatIhav e s een keeps acon tin u ou s s core s o
thatu s ers can m eas u re theirprogres s an d com pete w iththeir
prev iou s perf orm an ce, w ithf rien ds , orw iththe highes t
s corers . T ypical l y, the 10highes ts corers gettos tore their
in itial s in the gam e f orregu l ardis pl ay, af orm of pos itiv e
rein f orcem en tthaten cou rages m as tery. Mal on e' s an d ou r
ow n s tu dies w ithel em en tarys chool chil dren hav e s how n that
con tin u ou s dis pl ayof s cores is extrem el yv al u abl e. Machin e-
_,pu bl ic' $~f l oos ef hairige; iAs f of -f j m Iid# ' 19 B1,' accordin g to. Stev e Bl oon i, "au ; th0r.-of ' In v aders ; ,' ~1n ore than f ou r-bil l ion qu arters had been
~,droppe d.in it7 oSpacej l riv iaders gam es -arou n d j the,; w _orl d_ ; ?that' s ' rou .g; hl y,-0n e' gam e,-per' e_a-rth' l _in _g."* _* . 1 _. ' L 3 ' "
gen erated v al u e j u dgm en ts Verygood orY ou re doin g
great! are n otas ef f ectiv e, s in ce the s am e s core m ean s dif f er-
en tthin gs todif f eren tpeopl e. U s ers pref ertom ake theirow n
s u bj ectiv e j u dgm en ts an d m ayperceiv e m achin e-gen erated
m es s ages as an an n oyan ce an d adeception .
Carrol l an d T hom as s draw produ ctiv e an al ogies betw een
gam e-pl ayin g en v iron m en ts an d appl ication s ys tem s . How ev er,
gam e pl ayers s eek en tertain m en tan d the chal l en ge of m as tery,
w hil e appl ication -s ys tem u s ers f ocu s on the tas k an d m ay
res en tf orced l earn in g of s ys tem con s train ts . T he ran dom
ev en ts thatoccu rin m os tgam es are m ean ttochal l en ge the
u s er, bu tpredictabl e s ys tem behav ioris pref erabl e in n on gam e
des ign s . Gam e pl ayers com pete w iththe s ys tem , bu t
appl ication -s ys tem u s ers apparen tl ypref eras tron g in tern al
l ocu s of con trol , w hichgiv es them the s en s e of bein g in charge.
Com pu ter-Aided Des ign / Man u f actu rin g
Man ycom pu ter-aided des ign s ys tem s f orau tom obil es ,
el ectron ic circu itry, architectu re, aircraf t, orn ew s paperl ayou t
u s e directm an ipu l ation prin cipl es . T he operatorm ays ee a
When the r$l ' v .aiicade' v ideoiga-n j 1e.~. C0m pu ; te' r' Space; -. ' w I1t' 0n _:_l 0cati-on ' .i_-n -aSears ,s t_' ore; Iits j oys -t' _ick_,' v ' v as t0m ' -of f bef ore the en d of the rs t,
ay; AS l arres u l tggam e ' f d"es ign e' r_s il j aiie s ou ghtc0n tr_0l Stha~t.b0' tl i1 e SyT tof iu ' s e an d hard _t0' des troy. Cen tipede. ( bel ow l ef t)u s es s im pl e
A qn u 0i; +5a.j rtrad; bal l "ai1d on e1_b,ii?c; ton _-.-On I110 other Df ef i1deri( bel 0w ,right)' -has v e; -b.u tto.n s an d-aj oys tick; n ov ice pl ayers "are
" con f _u _s _ed.by_t-hes e .rel ativ el y' c' o' n p' l e' x* coritrol s arid u s u al l ygiiie u paf tera' f ew ' -s ec0n ds .- ~ ' . .- ' . -' .' _~ _" . _
I4 at
_ - - _ '
. ; ' . .. ..1 ' ' _
19 83
. _.._.-- I. ~ 33. DirectMan ipu l ation
s chem atic on the s creen an d w iththe tou chof al ightpen can
m ov e res is tors orcapacitors in toorou tof the propos ed circu it.
When the des ign is com pl ete, the com pu tercan prov ide
in f orm ation abou tcu rren t, v ol tage drops , f abrication cos ts ,
an d w arn in gs abou tin con s is ten cies orm an u f actu rin g
probl em s . Sim il arl y, n ew s paperl ayou tartis ts orau tom obil e
bodydes ign ers can trym u l tipl e des ign s in m in u tes an d record
prom is in g approaches u n til abetteron e is f ou n d
T he pl eas u re in u s in g thes e s ys tem s s tem s f rom the capacityto
m an ipu l ate the obj ectof in teres tdirectl yan d togen erate
m u l tipl e al tern ativ es rapidl y. Som e s ys tem s hav e com pl ex
com m an d l an gu ages , bu tothers hav e m ov ed tocu rs oraction
an d graphics orien ted com m an ds .
An other, rel ated appl ication is in com pu ter-aided
m an u f actu rin g an d proces s con trol . Hon eyw el l ' s proces s
con trol s ys tem prov ides an oil re n ery, paperm il l , orpow er
u til itypl an tm an agerw ithacol ored s chem atic v iew of the
pl an t. T he s chem atic m aybe on eightdis pl ays , w ithred l in es
in dicatin g as en s orv al u e thatis ou tof n orm al ran ge. By
pres s in g as in gl e n u m bered bu tton ( there are n ocom m an ds to
l earn orrem em ber), the operatorcan getam ore detail ed v iew
of the trou bl es om e com pon en tan d, w ithas econ d pres s , m ov e
the tree s tru ctu re dow n toexam in e in div idu al s en s ors orto
res etv al v es an d circu its .
T he des ign s bas ic s trategyprecl u des the n eces s ityof
recal l in g com pl excom m an ds in on ce-a yearem ergen cy
con dition s . T he pl an ts chem atic f acil itates probl em s ol v in g by
an al ogy, s in ce the l in k betw een real -w orl d hightem peratu res
orl ow pres s u res an d s creen repres en tation s is s ocl os e.
F u rtherExam pl es
Driv in g an au tom obil e is m yf av orite exam pl e of direct
m an ipu l ation . T he s cen e is directl yv is ibl e throu ghthe
w in ds hiel d, an d action s s u chas brakin g ors teerin g hav e
becom e com m on s kil l s in ou rcu l tu re. T otu rn tothe l ef t,
s im pl yrotate the s teerin g w heel tothe l ef t. T he res pon s e is
im m ediate, an d the chan gin g s cen e prov ides f eedback to
ref in e the tu rn . Im agin e tryin g totu rn byis s u in g aLEF T
30DEGR EES com m an d an d then is s u in g an othercom m an d
tocheck you rpos ition , bu tthis is the operation al l ev el of
m an yof f ice au tom ation tool s today
T he term directm an ipu l ation accu ratel ydes cribes the
program m in g of s om e in du s trial robots . Here, the operator
hol ds the robots han d an d gu ides itthrou ghas praypain tin g
orw el din g tas k w hil e the con trol l in g com pu terrecords ev ery
action . T he con trol com pu terthen repeats the action to
operate the robotau tom atical l y.
Al arge partof the s u cces s an d appeal of the Q u ery by
Exam pl es approachtodatam an ipu l ation is du e toits direct
repres en tation of rel ation s on the s creen . T he u s erm ov es a
cu rs orthrou ghthe col u m n s of the rel ation al tabl e an d en ters
exam pl es of w hatthe res u l ts hou l d l ook l ike. Ju s taf ew s in gl e-
l etterkeyw ords s u ppl em en tthis directm an ipu l ation s tyl e. Of
cou rs e, com pl exBool ean s orm athem atical operation s requ ire
kn ow l edge of s yn tactic f orm s . Stil l , the bas ic ideas an d
l an gu age f acil ities can be l earn ed w ithin ahal f hou rbym an y
n on program m ers . Q u ery-by-Exam pl e s u cceeds becau s e n ov ices
can begin w ork w ithj u s tal ittl e train in g, yetthere is am pl e
pow erf orthe expert. Directl ym an ipu l atin g the cu rs oracros s
the rel ation s kel eton is as im pl e tas k, an d how toprov ide an
exam pl e thats how s the l in kin g v ariabl e is in tu itiv el ycl earto
s om eon e w hou n ders tan ds tabu l ardata. Zl ooF recen tl y
expan ded his ideas in toOf f ice-by Exam pl e, w hichel egan tl y
in tegrates databas e s earchw ithw ord proces s in g, el ectron ic
m ail , bu s in es s graphics , an d m en u creation .
Des ign ers of adv an ced of f ice au tom ation s ys tem s hav e u s ed
directm an ipu l ation prin cipl es . T he XeroxStar of f ers
s ophis ticated textf orm attin g option s , graphics , m u l tipl e f on ts ,
an d arapid, high-res ol u tion , cu rs or-bas ed u s erin terf ace. U s ers
can drag adocu m en ticon an d dropitin toaprin tericon to
gen erate ahardcopyprin tou t. Appl e' s recen tl yan n ou n ced Lis a
s ys tem el egan tl yappl ies m an yof the prin cipl es of direct
m an ipu l ation .
R es earchers atIBM' s Y orktow n Heights f acil ityhav e
propos ed af u tu re of f ice s ys tem , cal l ed P ictu rew orl d, in w hich
graphic icon s repres en tf il e cabin ets , m ail boxes , n otebooks ,
phon e m es s ages , etc. T he u s ercou l d com pos e am em oon a
dis pl ayeditoran d then in dicate dis tribu tion an d f il in g
operation s bys el ectin g f rom the m en u of icon s . In an other
proj ect, Y edw ab etal .?hav e des cribed agen eral ized of f ice
s ys tem , w hichtheycal l the au tom ated des k."
Directm an ipu l ation can be appl ied torepl ace tradition al
qu es tion -an d-an s w ercom pu ter-as s is ted in s tru ction w ithm ore
attractiv e al tern ativ es . Sev eral CDC P l atol es s on s em pl oydirect
m an ipu l ation con cepts , en abl in g s tu den ts totrace in herited
characteris tics bybreedin g dros ophil l a, perf orm m edical
procedu res tos av e an em ergen cyroom patien t, draw an d
m ov e s hapes byf in gertou ches , dochem is tryl ab proj ects ( s ee
F igu re 33.4), orpl aygam es .
33. DirectMan ipu l ation
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F igu re 33.4. Com pu ter-as s is ted in s tru ction can becom e m ore appeal in g w ithdirectm an ipu l ation , ratherthan s im pl e qu es tion an d an s w er
s cen arios . T his CDC P l atol es s on w ritten byStan l eySm ithof the Departm en tof Chem is tryatthe U n iv ers ityof Il l in ois al l ow s s tu den ts to
con s tru ctadis til l ation apparatu s byproper n geraction s on atou ch-s en s itiv e s creen ( gu re atl ef t). On ce the s tu den thas as s em bl ed the
apparatu s an d begu n the experim en t, the real -tim e dis pl aygiv es areal is tic v iew of the proces s w iththe graphof dis til l ation tem peratu re
v s . v ol u m e. T he s tu den tcon trol s the experim en tbytou chin g l ightbu tton s . T he gu re atrights how s thatthe s tu den texperim en terhas
gotten in totrou bl e.
Expl an ation s of DirectMan ipu l ation
Sev eral peopl e hav e attem pted todes cribe the com pon en t
prin cipl es of directm an ipu l ation . _Whatyou s ee is w hatyou
get,"is aphras e u s ed byDon Hat el d of IBM an d others to
des cribe the gen eral approach. Hatf iel d is appl yin g m an y
directm an ipu l ation prin cipl es in his w ork on an adv an ced
of f ice au tom ation s ys tem . Expan din g Hatf iel ds prem is e,
Harol d T him bl ebyof the U n iv ers ityof Y ork, En gl an d,
s u gges ts , "Whatyou s ee is w hatyou hav e got."T he dis pl ay
s hou l d in dicate acom pl ete im age of w hatthe cu rren ts tatu s
is , w haterrors hav e occu rred, an d w hataction s are
appropriate, accordin g toT him bl eby.
An otherim agin ativ e obs erv erof in teractiv e s ys tem des ign s ,
T ed N el s on , has n oticed u s erexcitem en tov erin terf aces
con s tru cted byw hathe cal l s the prin cipl e of v irtu al ity a
repres en tation of real itythatcan be m an ipu l ated R u tkow s ki
con v eys as im il arcon ceptin his prin cipl e of tran s paren cy:T he
u s eris abl e toappl yin tel l ectdirectl ytothe tas k; the tool its el f
s eem s todis appear. MacDon al d propos es v is u al
program m in g"as as ol u tion tothe s hortage of appl ication
program m ers . He f eel s thatv is u al program m in g s peeds s ys tem
con s tru ction an d al l ow s en d u s ers togen erate orm odif y
appl ication s s ys tem s tos u ittheirn eeds .
Eachof thes e w riters has hel ped in creas e aw aren es s of the
n ew f orm thatis em ergin g f orin teractiv e s ys tem s . Mu chcredit
al s ogoes toin div idu al des ign ers w hohav e created s ys tem s
exem pl if yin g as pects of directm an ipu l ation .
P robl em -Sol v in g an d Learn in g R es earch
An otherpers pectiv e on directm an ipu l ation com es f rom
ps ychol ogyl iteratu re on probl em s ol v in g. Its how s that
s u itabl e repres en tation s of probl em s are cru cial tos ol u tion
n din g an d tol earn in g.
P ol ya s u gges ts draw in g apictu re torepres en t
m athem atical probl em s . T his approachis in harm on yw ith
Marial \/ l on tes s oris teachin g m ethods f orchil dren . She
propos ed u s e of phys ical obj ects s u chas beads orw ooden
s ticks tocon v eym athem atical prin cipl es s u chas addition ,
m u l tipl ication , ors ize com paris on . Bru n er exten ds the
phys ical repres en tation ideatocov erpol yn om ial f actorin g an d
otherm athem atical prin cipl es . In arecen texperim en t, Carrol l ,
T hom as , an d Mal hotral f ou n d thats u bj ects giv en as patial
repres en tation s ol v ed probl em s m ore rapidl yan d s u cces s f u l l y
0 3383 33. DirectMan ipu l ation 0.--. o o o o ~-4-.
than s u bj ects giv en an is om orphic probl em w ithtem poral
repres en tation . ( Deeperu n ders tan din g of v is u al perception
can be obtain ed f rom Arn heim "an d McKim .* )
P hys ical , s patial , orv is u al repres en tation s are al s oeas ierto
retain an d m an ipu l ate. Wertheim erl g f ou n d thats u bj ects w ho
m em orized the f orm u l af orthe areaof aparal l el ogram , A= hX
I2 , m as tered s u chcal cu l ation s rapidl y. On the otherhan d,
s u bj ects w how ere giv en as tru ctu ral expl an ation ( cu ta
trian gl e f rom on e en d an d pl ace iton the other)retain ed the
kn ow l edge an d appl ied itin s im il arcircu m s tan ces m ore
ef f ectiv el y. In pl an e geom etrytheorem prov in g, as patial
repres en tation f acil itates dis cov eryof proof procedu res m ore
than an axiom atic repres en tation . T he diagram prov ides
heu ris tics thatare dif f icu l ttoextractf rom the axiom s .
Sim il arl y, s tu den ts of al gebraare of ten en cou raged todraw a
pictu re torepres en taw ord probl em .
P apert' s Logol an gu age creates am athem atical
m icrow orl d in w hichthe prin cipl es of geom etryare v is ibl e.
In f l u en ced bythe Sw is s ps ychol ogis tJean P iaget' s theoryof
chil d dev el opm en t, Logoof f ers s tu den ts the opportu n ityto
create l in e draw in gs w ithan el ectron ic tu rtl e dis pl ayed on a
s creen . In this en v iron m en t, u s ers can receiv e rapid f eedback
abou ttheirprogram s , can eas il ydeterm in e w hathas
happen ed, can qu ickl ys potan d repairerrors , an d can
experien ce creativ e s atis f action .
P robl em s w ithDirectMan ipu l ation
Som e prof es s ion al program m in g tas ks can be aided bythe u s e
of graphic repres en tation s s u chas high-l ev el f l ow charts , record
s tru ctu res , ordatabas e s chem adiagram s , bu taddition al ef f ort
m aybe requ ired toabs orb the ru l es of the repres en tation .
Graphic repres en tation s can be es pecial l yhel pf u l w hen there
are m u l tipl e rel ation s hips am on g obj ects an d w hen the
repres en tation is m ore com pactthan the detail ed obj ect. In
thes e cas es , s el ectiv el ys creen in g ou tdetail an d pres en tin g a
s u itabl e abs traction can f acil itate perf orm an ce.
How ev er, u s in g s patial orgraphic repres en tation s of the
probl em does n otn eces s aril yim prov e perf orm an ce. In as eries
of s tu dies , s u bj ects giv en adetail ed f l ow chartdid n obetterin
com prehen s ion , debu ggin g, orm odif ication than thos e giv en
the code on l y. In aprogram com prehen s ion tas k, s u bj ects
giv en agraphic repres en tation of con trol f l ow ordata
s tru ctu re did n obetterthan thos e giv en atextu al des cription .
On the otherhan d, s u bj ects giv en the datas tru ctu re docu m en -
tation con s is ten tl ydid betterthan s u bj ects giv en the con trol
f l ow docu m en tation . T his s tu dys u gges ts thatthe con ten tof
graphic repres en tation s is acritical determ in an tof theiru til ity.
T he w ron g in f orm ation , oracl u ttered pres en tation , can l ead
togreatercon f u s ion .
As econ d probl em is thatu s ers m u s tl earn the m ean in g of
the com pon en ts of the graphic repres en tation . Agraphic icon ,
al thou ghm ean in gf u l tothe des ign er, m ayrequ ire as m u ch
orm ore l earn in g tim e as aw ord Som e airports s erv in g
m u l til in gu al com m u n ities u s e graphic icon s exten s iv el y, bu t
theirm ean in g m ayn otbe obv iou s . Sim il arl y, s om e com pu ter
term in al s des ign ed f orin tern ation al u s e hav e icon s in pl ace of
n am es , bu tthe m ean in g is n otal w ays cl ear.
Athird probl em is thatthe graphic repres en tation m aybe
m is l eadin g. T he u s erm ayrapidl ygras pthe an al ogical
repres en tation , bu tthen m ake in correctcon cl u s ion s abou t
perm is s ibl e operation s . Des ign ers m u s tbe cau tiou s in s el ectin g
the dis pl ayed repres en tation an d the operation s . Am pl e tes tin g
m u s tbe carried ou ttoref in e the repres en tation an d m in im ize
n egativ e s ide ef f ects .
Af ou rthprobl em is thatgraphic repres en tation s m aytake
exces s iv e s creen dis pl ays pace. F orexperien ced u s ers , atabu l ar
textu al dis pl ayof SO docu m en tn am es is f arm ore appeal in g
than on l y10docu m en tgraphic icon s w iththe n am es
abbrev iated tof itthe icon s ize. Icon s s hou l d be ev al u ated f irs t
f ortheirpow erin dis pl ayin g s tatic in f orm ation abou tobj ects
an d theirrel ation s hip, an d s econ d f ortheiru til ityin the
dyn am ic proces s es of s el ection , m ov em en t, an d del etion .
Choos in g the rightrepres en tation s an d operation s is n ot
eas y. Sim pl e m etaphors , an al ogies , orm odel s w itham in im al
s etof con cepts s eem m os tappropriate. Mixin g m etaphors
f rom tw os ou rces adds com pl exity, w hichcon tribu tes tocon f u -
s ion . T he em otion al ton e of the m etaphors hou l d be in v itin g
ratherthan dis tas tef u l orin appropriate16 s ew age dis pos al
s ys tem s are an in appropriate m etaphorf orel ectron ic m es s age
s ys tem s . Sin ce u s ers m ayn ots hare the des ign ers m etaphor,
an al ogy, orcon ceptu al m odel , am pl e tes tin g is requ ired
T he Syn tactic/ Sem an tic Model
T he attraction of s ys tem s thatu s e prin cipl es of direct
m an ipu l ation is con f irm ed bythe en thu s ias m of their
u s ers . T he des ign ers of the exam pl es giv en had an
in n ov ativ e in s piration an d an in tu itiv e gras pof w hatu s ers
w an ted. Eachexam pl e has f eatu res thatcou l d be criticized,
bu tits eem s m ore produ ctiv e tocon s tru ctan in tegrated
portraitof directm an ipu l ation :
33. DirectMan ipu l ation
- Con tin u ou s repres en tation of the obj ectof in teres t.
- P hys ical action s ( m ov em en tan d s el ection bym ou s e. j oys tick,
tou chs creen , etc.)orl abel ed bu tton pres s es in s tead of com pl ex
s yn tax.
- R apid in crem en tal , rev ers ibl e operation s w hos e im pacton the
obj ectof in teres tis im m ediatel yv is ibl e.
- Layered ors piral approachtol earn in g thatperm its u s age w ith
m in im al kn ow l edge. N ov ices can l earn am odes tan d u s ef u l s et
of com m an ds , w hichtheycan exercis e til l theybecom e an
"expert"atl ev el 1 of the s ys tem . Af terobtain in g rein f orcin g
f eedback f rom s u cces s f u l operation , u s ers can gracef u l l y
expan d theirkn ow l edge of f eatu res an d gain f l u en cy.
Byu s in g thes e f ou rprin cipl es , itis pos s ibl e todes ign
s ys tem s thathav e thes e ben ef icial attribu tes :
- N ov ices can l earn bas ic f u n ction al ityqu ickl y, u s u al l ythrou gha
dem on s tration byam ore experien ced u s er.
- Experts can w ork extrem el yrapidl ytocarryou taw ide ran ge
of tas ks , ev en def in in g n ew f u n ction s an d f eatu res .
- Kn ow l edgeabl e in term itten tu s ers can retain operation al
con cepts .
- Errorm es s ages are rarel yn eeded
- U s ers can im m ediatel ys ee if theiraction s are f u rtherin g their
goal s , an d if n ot, theycan s im pl ychan ge the direction of their
activ ity.
- U s ers experien ce l es s an xietybecau s e the s ys tem is
com prehen s ibl e an d becau s e action s are s oeas il yrev ers ibl e.
- U s ers gain con f iden ce an d m as terybecau s e theyin itiate an
action , f eel in con trol , an d can predicts ys tem res pon s es .
Myow n u n ders tan din g of directm an ipu l ation w as
f acil itated bycon s iderin g the s yn tactic/ s em an tic m odel of
u s erbehav ior. T he cogn itiv e m odel w as f irs tdev el oped in the
con textof program m in gl an gu age experim en tation m s an d
has been appl ied todatabas e qu eryl an gu age qu es tion s .
T he bas ic ideais thatthere are tw okin ds of kn ow l edge in
l on g-term m em ory:s yn tactic an d s em an tic ( s ee F igu re 33.5).
Syn tactic Kn ow l edge
In atexteditor, s yn tactic kn o_w l edge the detail s of
com m an d s yn tax in cl u de perm is s ibl e item del im iters
( s pace, com m a, s l as h, orcol on ), in s ertion of an ew l in e af ter
the third l in e ( I3, I3, or31), orthe keys troke n eces s aryf or
eras in g acharacter( del ete k.ey, CON T R OL-H, orESCAP E).
T his kn ow l edge is arbitraryan d theref ore acqu ired byrote
m em orization . Syn tactic kn ow l edge is v ol atil e in m em ory
an d eas il yf orgotten u n l es s f requ en tl yu s ed. T his kn ow l edge
theN EWMEDIAR EADER
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P rogram Dom ain
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Sem an tic Kn ow l edge Syn tactic Kn ow l edge
I Lon g-T erm Kn ow l edge V;
. _g_____________g_______i__|
F igu re 33.5. T he s em an tic kn ow l edge in l on g-term m em orygoes
f rom high-l ev el probl em dom ain con cepts dow n ton u m erou s l ow -
l ev el program dom ain detail s . Sem an tic kn ow l edge is w el l -
s tru ctu red, rel ativ el ys tabl e, an d m ean in gf u l l yacqu ired. Syn tactic
kn ow l edge is arbitrary, rel ativ el yv ol atil e u n l es s f requ en tl y
rehears ed, an d acqu ired byrote m em orization . T here is u s u al l y
l ittl e ov erl apbetw een the s yn taxof dif f eren ttexteditors , bu t
theyof ten s hare s em an tic con cepts abou tin s ertin g, del etin g, an d
chan gin g l in es of text.
is s ys tem depen den tw iths om e pos s ibl e ov erl apam on g
s ys tem s .
Sem an tic Kn ow l edge
T he con cepts orf u n ction al ity -s em an tic kn ow l edge are
hierarchical l ys tru ctu red f rom l ow -l ev el f u n ction s tohigher
l ev el con cepts . In texteditors , l ow erl ev el f u n ction s m ightbe
cu rs orm ov em en t, in s ertion , del etion , chan ges , textcopyin g
cen terin g an d in den tation . T hes e l ow erl ev el con cepts are
cl os e tothe s yn taxof the com m an d l an gu age. Am iddl e-l ev el
s em an tic con ceptf ortexteditin g m ightbe the proces s f or
correctin g am is s pel l in g:produ ce adis pl ayof the m is s pel l ed
w ord m ov e the cu rs ortothe appropriate s pot, an d is s u e the
chan ge com m an d orkeyin the correctcharacters . Ahigher
l ev el con ceptm ightbe the proces s f orm ov in g as en ten ce f rom
on e paragraphtoan other:m ov e the cu rs ortothe begin n in g of
the s en ten ce, m ark this pos ition , m ov e the cu rs ortothe en d of
the s en ten ce, m ark tl u ' s s econ d pos ition , copythe s en ten ce toa
bu f f erarea, cl ean u pthe s ou rce paragraph. m ov e the cu rs orto
the targetl ocation , copyf rom the bu f f er, check thatthe target
paragraphis s atis f actory, an d cl earthe bu f f erarea.
T he higherl ev el con cepts in the probl em dom ain ( m ov in g
as en ten ce)are decom pos ed, bythe expertu s er, top dow n
19 83
0. r.....-. 33. DirectMan ipu l ation
in tom u l tipl e, l ow erl ev el con cepts ( m ov e cu rs or, copyf rom
bu f f er, etc.)cl os ertothe program ors yn taxdom ain .
Sem an tic kn ow l edge is l argel ys ys tem in depen den t; text
editin g f u n ction s ( in s ertin g/ del etin g l in es , m ov in g s en ten ces ,
cen terin g, in den tin g, etc.)are gen eral l yav ail abl e in text
editors , al thou ghthe s yn taxv aries . Sem an tic kn ow l edge,
w hichis acqu ired throu ghgen eral expl an ation , an al ogy, an d
exam pl e, is eas il yan chored tof am il iarcon cepts an d is
theref ore s tabl e in m em ory.
T he com m an d f orm u l ation proces s in the s yn tactic/
s em an tic m odel proceeds f rom the u s er' s perception of the
tas k in the high-l ev el probl em dom ain tothe decom pos ition
in tom u l tipl e, l ow erl ev el s em an tic operation s an d the
con v ers ion in toas etof com m an ds . T he s yn taxof texteditors
m ayv ary, bu tthe decom pos ition f rom probl em dom ain in to
l ow -l ev el s em an tics is l argel ythe s am e. Atthe s yn taxl ev el the
u s erm u s trecal l w hethers paces are perm itted w hether
program f u n ction keys are av ail abl e, orw hethercom m an d
abbrev iation s are perm itted.
As au s erof ahal f -dozen texteditors du rin g aw eek, Iam
v eryaw are of the com m on al ityof m ythou ghtproces s es in
probl em s ol v in g an d the div ers ityof s yn tactic f orm s w ith
w hichIm u s tcope. Es pecial l yan n oyin g are s yn tactic cl as hes
s u chas the dif f eren tpl acem en tof s pecial characters on
keyboards , the m u l tipl e approaches tobacks pacin g ( backs pace
key, cu rs orcon trol key, oram ou s e), an d the f actthaton e text
editoru s es K f orkeepin g af il e w hil e an otheru s es f or
kil l in g af il e.
Im pl ication s of the Syn tacticl Sem an tic Model
N ov ices begin w ithacl os e l in k betw een s yn taxan d s em an tics ;
theiratten tion f ocu s es on the com m an d s yn taxas theys eek to
rem em berthe com m an d f u n ction s an d s yn tax. In f act, f or
n ov ice u s ers , the s yn taxof aprecis e, con cis e com m an d
l an gu age prov ides the cu es f orrecal l in g the s em an tics . N ov ices
rev iew the com m an d n am es , in theirm em oryorin am an u al ,
w hichactas the s tim u l if orrecal l in g the rel ated s em an tics .
Eachcom m an d is then ev al u ated f orits appl icabil itytothe
probl em . N ov ices m ayhav e ahard tim e f igu rin g ou thow to
m ov e as en ten ce of text, ev en if theyu n ders tan d eachof the
com m an ds . N ov ices u s in g editors thathav e aCHAN GE/ ol d
s trin g/ n ew s trin g/ ' com m an d m u s ts til l be tau ghthow tou s e
this com m an d todel ete aw ord orin s ertaw ord in toal in e.
As u s ers gain experien ce, theyin creas in gl ythin k in higher
l ev el s em an tic term s , w hichare f reerf rom the s yn tactic detail
an d m ore s ys tem in depen den t. In addition tof acil itatin g l earn -
in g, directm an ipu l ation of av is u al repres en tation m ayaid
reten tion .
T he s yn tactic/ s em an tic m odel s u gges ts thattrain in g
m an u al s s hou l d be w ritten f rom the m ore f am il iar, high-l ev el ,
probl em dom ain v iew poin t. T he titl es of s ection s s hou l d
des cribe probl em dom ain operation s thatthe u s erdeal s w ith
regu l arl yT hen the detail s of the com m an ds u s ed to
accom pl is hthe tas k can be pres en ted, an d f in al l y, the actu al
s yn taxcan be s how n . Man u al s thathav e al phabetical l y
arran ged s ection s dev oted toeachcom m an d are v erydif f icu l t
f orthe n ov ice tol earn f rom , becau s e itis dif f icu l ttoan chor
the m aterial tof am il iarcon cepts .
T he s u cces s of directm an ipu l ation is u n ders tan dabl e in the
con textof the s yn tactic/ s em an tic m odel ; T he obj ectof in teres t
is dis pl ayed s othataction s are directl yin the high-l ev el
probl em dom ain . T here is l ittl e n eed f ordecom pos ition in to
m u l tipl e com m an ds w ith-acom pl exs yn tactic f orm . On the
con trary, eachcom m an d produ ces acom prehen s ibl e action in
the probl em dom ain thatis im m ediatel yv is ibl e. T he cl os en es s
of the probl em dom ain tothe com m an d action redu ces
operatorprobl em -s ol v in g l oad an d s tres s .
Deal in g w ithrepres en tation s of obj ects m aybe m ore
n atu ral an d cl os ertoin n ate hu m an capabil ities :action an d
v is u al s kil l s em erged w el l bef ore l an gu age in hu m an ev ol u tion .
P s ychol ogis ts hav e l on g kn ow n thats patial rel ation s hips an d
action s are m ore qu ickl ygras ped w ithv is u al ratherthan
l in gu is tic repres en tation s . F u rtherm ore, in tu ition an d
dis cov eryare of ten prom oted bys u itabl e v is u al
repres en tation s of f orm al m athem atical s ys tem s .
P iagetdes cribed f ou rs tages of grow th:s en s orim otor( f rom
birthtoapproxim atel y2 years ), preoperation al ( 2 to' 7 years ),
con crete operation al ( 7 to11 years ), an d f orm al operation s
( begin n in g atapproxim atel y11 years ) P hys ical action s on an
obj ectare com prehen s ibl e du rin g the con crete operation al
s tage, an d chil dren acqu ire the con ceptof con s erv ation or
in v arian ce. Atarou n d age 11, chil dren en terthe f orm al opera-
tion s s tage of s ym bol m an ipu l ation torepres en taction s on
obj ects . Sin ce m athem atics an d program m in g requ ire abs tract
thin kin g, theyare dif f icu l tf orchil dren , an d agreateref f ort
m u s tbe m ade tol in k the s ym bol ic repres en tation tothe actu al
obj ect. Directm an ipu l ation is an attem pttobrin g activ ityto
the con crete operation al s tage orev en tothe preoperation al
s tage, thu s m akin g s om e tas ks eas ierf orchil dren an d adu l ts .
Itis eas ytoen v is ion directm an ipu l ation in cas es w here
the phys ical action is con f in ed toas m al l n u m berof obj ects
33. DirectMan ipu l ation
F igu re 33.6 . T his el ectron ic R ol odexorphon e-n u m bercard f il e
giv es u s ers rapid con trol ov erthe card m otion byaf orw ard or
backw ard j oys tick pres s . Dif f eren tcom m an ds can be dis pl ayed by
m ov in g the j oys tick l ef torright. T he l iv el ym otion of the cards
an d the n atu ral com m an ds appeal tom an yu s ers . Im pl em en ted by
GaryP atters on in Bas ic on an Appl e II, this s ys tem w as partof a
cou rs e proj ectatthe U n iv ers ityof Maryl an d.
P ou tIS Sys v
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s ys tem )
F igu re 33.7 . T he Dirtree ( f ordirectorytree)program on the P erq
com pu terof T hree R iv ers Com pu terCorporation is bu il tf rom l ef tto
rightbypu ck s el ection s . T he detail s of l ow erl ev el directories appear,
an d the item s can then be s el ected bym ov in g acu rs oron tothe item .
In this f igu re, the cu rren titem is AU , s how n in in v ers e v ideo, bu tthe
u s erhas m ov ed the cu rs ortoBoot, w hichis s how n w ithaboxarou n d
it. If the bu tton on the pu ck is pres s ed, Bootw ou l d becom e the
cu rren titem . ( F igu re cou rtes yof T hree R iv ers Com pu terCorporation .)
theN EWMEDIAR EADER
an d s im pl e com m an ds , bu tthe approachm aybe u n s u itabl e
f ors om e com pl exappl ication s . On the otherhan d, dis pl ay
editors prov ide im pres s iv e f u n ction al ityin an atu ral w ay.
T he l im its of directm an ipu l ation w il l be determ in ed by
the im agin ation an d s kil l of the des ign er. Withm ore
exam pl es an d experien ce, res earchers s hou l d be abl e to
tes tcom petin g theories abou tthe m os tef f ectiv e m etaphors
oran al ogies . F am il iarv is u al an al ogies m aybe m ore
appeal in g in the earl ys tages of l earn in g the s ys tem , w hil e
m ore s pecif ic abs tractm odel s m aybe m ore u s ef u l du rin g
regu l aru s e.
T he s yn tactic/ s em an tic m odel prov ides as im pl e m odel of
hu m an cogn itiv e activ ity. Itm u s tbe ref in ed an d exten ded to
en han ce its expl an atoryan d predictiv e pow er. Em pirical
tes ts an d caref u l m eas u rem en ts of hu m an perf orm an ce
w ithav arietyof s ys tem s are n eeded tov al idate the
im prov ed m odel . Cogn itiv e m odel s of u s erbehav ioran d
m en tal m odel s ors ys tem im ages of com pu ter-s u ppl ied
f u n ction s are rapidl yexpan din g areas of res earchin
com pu ters cien ce an d ps ychol ogy.
P oten tial Appl ication s of
DirectMan ipu l ation
T he trick in creatin g adirectm an ipu l ation s ys tem is tocom e
u pw ithan appropriate repres en tation orm odel of real ity. I
f ou n d itdif f icu l ttothin k abou tin f orm ation probl em s in a
v is u al f orm , bu tw ithpractice itbecam e m ore n atu ral . With
m an yappl ication s , the j u m ptoav is u al l an gu age w as in itial l y
as tru ggl e, bu tl aterIcou l d hardl yim agin e w hyan yon e
w ou l d w an ttou s e acom pl exs yn tactic n otation todes cribe
an es s en tial l yv is u al proces s .
On e appl ication thatw e expl ored w as apers on al addres s l is t
program thatdis pl ays aR ol odex-l ike dev ice ( s ee F igu re 33.6 ).
T he m os trecen tl yretriev ed addres s card appears on the
s creen , an d the topl in e of the n exttw oappearbehin d,
f ol l ow ed bythe im age of apack of rem ain in g cards . As the
j oys tick is pu s hed f orw ard, the R ol odexappears torotate an d
s u cces s iv e cards appearin f ron t. As the j oys tick is pu s hed
f u rther, the cards pas s bym ore qu ickl y; as the j oys tick is
rev ers ed the direction of m ov em en trev ers es . T ochan ge an
en try, u s ers m erel ym ov e the cu rs orov erthe f iel d tobe
u pdated an d type the correction . T odel ete an en try, u s ers
m erel ybl an k ou tthe f iel ds . Bl an k cards m ightbe l ef tatthe top
of the f il e, bu tw hen the f iel ds are f il l ed in , properal phabetic
pl acem en tis prov ided. T of in d al l en tries w ithas pecif ic zip
O . T 333 33. DirectMan ipu l ation
code, u s ers m erel ytype the zipcode in the properf iel d an d
en teraqu es tion m ark.
Checkbook m ain ten an ce an d s earchin g m ightbe don e in a
s im il arf as hion , bydis pl ayin g acheckbook regis terw ithl abel ed
col u m n s f orcheck n u m ber, date, payee, an d am ou n t. T he
j oys tick m ightbe u s ed tos can earl ieren tries . Chan ges cou l d be
m ade in pl ace, n ew en tries cou l d be m ade atthe f irs tbl an k
l in e, an d acheck m ark cou l d be m ade toin dicate v erif ication
again s tam on thl yreport. Searches f oraparticu l arpayee cou l d
be m ade by l l in g in abl an k payee f iel d an d then typin g a
qu es tion m ark.
Bibl iographic s earchin g has m ore el aborate requ irem en ts ,
bu tabas ic s ys tem cou l d be bu il tbyf irs ts how in g the u s era
w al l of l abel ed catal og in dexdraw ers . Acu rs orin the s hape of a
hu m an han d m ightbe m ov ed ov ertothe s ection l abel ed
Au thorIn dex an d tothe draw erl abel ed P L."Depres s in g the
bu tton on the j oys tick orm ou s e w ou l d cau s e the draw erto
open u pan d rev eal an arrayof in dexcards w ithtabs of f erin g a
f in erin dex. Mov in g the cu rs or-f in geran d depres s in g the
s el ection bu tton w ou l d cau s e the actu al in dexcards toappear.
Depres s in g the bu tton w hil e hol din g acard w ou l d cau s e
copyin g of the card in tothe u s ers n otebook, al s orepres en ted
on the s creen . En tries in the n otebook m ightbe edited to
create aprin ted bibl iographyorcom bin ed w ithotheren tries
toperf orm s etin ters ection s oru n ion s . Copies of en tries cou l d
be s tored on u s erf il es ortran s m itted tocol l eagu es by
el ectron ic m ail . Itis eas ytov is u al ize m an yal tern ate
approaches , s ocaref u l des ign an d experim en tal tes tin g w il l be
n eces s arytos ortou tthe s u cces s f u l , com prehen s ibl e
approaches f rom the idios yn cratic on es .
Itis pos s ibl e toappl ydirectm an ipu l ation toen v iron m en ts
f orw hichthere is n oobv iou s phys ical paral l el . Im agin e aj ob
con trol l an gu age thats how s the f il e directorycon tin u ou s l y,
al on g w ithrepres en tation s of com pu tercom pon en ts . An ew
f il e is created bytypin g its n am e in tothe f irs tf ree. s potin the
directoryl is tin g. Af il e n am e is del eted bybl an kin g itou t.
Copies are m ade byl ockin g acu rs oron toaf il e n am e an d
draggin g ittoapictu re of atape driv e oraprin ter. F ora
hierarchical directory, the roots are dis pl ayed u n til azoom
com m an d cau s es the n extl ev el of the tree toappear. With
s ev eral pres s es of the bu tton l abel ed ZOOM au s ers hou l d be
abl e tof in d the rightitem in the directory, bu tif he goes
dow n the w ron g path, the U N ZOOM bu tton w il l retu rn the
prev iou s l ev el ( See F igu re 33.7 f oradif f eren tapproachto
hierarchical directories .)
Whyn otm ake airl in e res erv ation s bys how in g the u s era
m apan d prom ptin g f orcu rs orm otion tothe departin g an d
arriv in g cities ?T hen u s e acal en dartos el ectthe date, acl ock
toin dicate the tim e, an d the pl an es s eatin g pl an ( w ith
diagon al l in es acros s al readyres erv ed s eats )tos el ectas eat.
Whyn ottake in v en torybys how in g the ais l es of the
w arehou s e w iththe appropriate n u m berof boxes on each
s hel f ?McDon al d has com bin ed v ideodis c an d com pu ter
graphics techn ol ogyin am edical s u ppl yin v en toryw itha
v is u al w arehou s e dis pl ay.
Whyn otteachs tu den ts abou tpol yn om ial equ ation s by
l ettin g them ben d the cu rv es an d w atchhow the coef f icien ts
chan ge, w here the x~axis in ters ects , an d how the deriv ativ e
equ ation reacts ?
T hes e ideas are s ketches f orreal s ys tem s . Com peten t
des ign ers an d im pl em en ters m u s tcom pl ete the s ketches an d
f il l in the detail s . Directm an ipu l ation has the pow ertoattract
u s ers becau s e itis com prehen s ibl e, n atu ral , rapid, an d ev en
en j oyabl e. If action s are s im pl e, rev ers ibil ityen s u red, an d reten -
tion eas y, then an xietyrecedes an d s atis f action f l ow s in .
T he trem en dou s grow thof in teres tin in teractiv e s ys tem
des ign is s u es in the res earchcom m u n ityis en cou ragin g.
Sim il arl y, the in creas ed con cern f orim prov ed hu m an
en gin eerin g in com m ercial produ cts is aprom is in g
Academ ic an d in du s trial res earchers are appl yin g con trol l ed,
ps ychol ogical l yorien ted experim en tation 2 5todev el opaf in er
u n ders tan din g of hu m an perf orm an ce an d togen erate as etof
practical gu idel in es . Com m ercial des ign ers an d im pl em en ters
are eagerl yaw aitin g im prov ed gu idel in es an d in creas in gl y
u s in g pil ots tu dies an d acceptan ce tes ts toref in e theirdes ign s .
In teractiv e s ys tem s thatdis pl ayarepres en tation of the
obj ectof in teres tan d perm itrapid, in crem en tal , rev ers ibl e
operation s throu ghphys ical action s ratherthan com m an d
s yn taxare attractin g en thu s ias tic u s ers . Im m ediate v is ibil ityof
the res u l ts of operation s an d al ayered ors piral approachto
l earn in g con tribu te tothe attraction . Eachof thes e f eatu res
n eeds res earchtoref in e ou ru n ders tan din g of its con tribu tion s
an d l im itation s . Bu tev en w hil e s u chres earchis in progres s ,
as tu te des ign ers can expl ore this approach.
T he f u tu re of directm an ipu l ation is prom is in g. T as ks that
cou l d hav e been perf orm ed on l yw ithtediou s com m an d or
program m in g l an gu ages m ays oon be acces s ibl e throu ghl iv el y,
en j oyabl e in teractiv e s ys tem s thatredu ce l earn in g tim e, s peed
perf orm an ce, an d in creas e s atis f action .
33. DirectMan ipu l ation
Ackn ow l edgm en ts
Iam gratef u l tothe Con trol DataCorporation f orpartial s u pport( gran t
80M15)of m yw ork an d tothe U n iv ers ityof Maryl an d Com pu terScien ce
Cen terf orcom pu terres ou rces toprepare this report. Ithan k Gordon
s Brau daw ay, Jim F ol ey, John Gan n on , R ogerKn ights , John Lov gren ,
Harl an Mil l s , P hyl l is R eis n er, SherryWein berg, an d Mark Weis erf ortheir
con s tru ctiv e an d s u pportiv e com m en ts on ( draf tv ers ion s . Gio
Wiederhol d, Stephen Y au , an d the rev iew ers prov ided u s ef u l gu idan ce in
s hapin g the n al articl e.
R ef eren ces
1. T eres aL. R oberts , Ev al u ation of Com pu terT extEditors ,"P hD
dis s ertation , Stan f ord U n iv ers ity, 19 80. Av ail abl e f rom U n iv ers ity
Micro l m s , An n Arbor, Michigan , ordern u m berAAD 80-116 9 9 .
2 . John M. Carrol l , "Learn in g, U s in g an d Des ign in g Com m an d
P aradigm s ,"Hu m an Learn in g, Vol . 1, N o. 1, 19 82 , pp. 31-6 2 .
3. Chris topherF . Herot, "Spatial Man agem en tof Data,"ACM T ran s .
Databas e Sys tem s , Vol . 5, N o. 4, Dec. 19 80, pp. 49 3-513.
4. T hom as W. Mal on e, "WhatMakes Com pu terGam es F u n ?"Byte, Vol .
6 , N o. 12 , Dec. 19 81, pp. 2 58-2 7 7 .
5.John M. Carrol l an d John C. T hom as , Metaphoran d the Cogn itiv e
R epres en tation of Com pu tin g Sys tem s , IEEET ran s . Sys tem s , Man , an d
Cybern etics , Vol . SMC-12 , N o. 2 , Mar./ Apr. 19 82 , pp. 107 -116 .
6 . Mos he M. Zl oof , "Q u ery-by-Exam pl e,"AF IP S Con f . P roc., Vol . 44,
19 7 5N CC, AF IP S P res s , Mon tv al e, N .J. 19 7 5.
7 . Mos he M. Zl oof , "Of ce-by-Exam pl e: ABu s in es s Lan gu age that
U n if ies Dataan d Word P roces s in g an d El ectron ic Mail ,"IBM Sys . J.,
Vol . 2 1, N o. 3, 19 82 , pp. 2 7 2 -304.
8. Cran el d Sm ithetal ., Des ign in g the StarU s erIn terf ace,"Byte,
Vol . 7 , N o. 4, Apr. 19 82 , pp. 2 42 -2 82 .
9 . Lau raY edw ab, Chris topherF . Herot, an d R on n iL. R os en berg, "T he
Au tom ated Des k,"Sigs m al l N ew s l etter, Vol . 7 , N o. 2 , Oct. 19 81, pp.
102 -108.
10. T ed N el s on , In teractiv e Sys tem s an d the Des ign of Virtu al ity,"
Creativ e Com pu tin g, Vol . 6 , N o. 11, N ov . 19 80, pp. 56 f f ., an d Vol . 6 ,
N o. 12 , Dec. 19 80, DD. 9 4f f .
11. Chris R u tkow s ki, An In trodu ction tothe Hu m an Appl ication s
Stan dard Com pu terIn terf ace, P art1: T heoiyan d P rin cipl es ,"Byte, Vol .
7 , N o. 11, Oct. 19 82 , pp. 2 9 1-310.
12 . Al an MacDon al d, Vis u al P rogram m in g,"Datam ation , Vol . 2 8, N o.
11, Oct. 19 82 , pp. 132 -140.
13. George P ol ya, How toSol v e It, Dou bl eday, N ew Y ork, 19 57 .
14. MariaMon tes s ori, T he Mon tes s oriMethod, Schocken , N ew Y ork,
19 6 4.
theN EWMEDIAR EADER
15. Jam es Bru n er, T ow ard u T heoryof In s tru ction , Han / ard U n iv ers ity
P res s , Cam bridge, Mas s ., 19 6 6 .
16 . John M. Carrol l , J. C. T hom as , an d A. Mal hotra, "P res en tation an d
R epres en tation in Des ign P robl em -Sol v in g,"Britis hJ. P s ych., Vol . 7 1,
19 80, DP . 143-153.
17 . R u dol f Arn heim , Vis u al T hin kin g, U n iv ers ityof Cal if orn iaP res s ,
Berkel ey, Cal if ., 19 7 2 .
18. R obertH. McKim , Experien ces in Vis u al T hin kin g, Brooks / Col e
P u bl is hin g Co., Mon terey, Cal if ., 19 7 2 .
19 . MaxWertheim er, P rodu ctiv e T hin kin g, Harperan d R ow , N ew Y ork,
19 59 .
2 0. Seym ou rP apert, Min ds torm s : Chil dren , Com pu ters , an d P ow erf u l
Ideas , Bas ic Books , In c., N ew Y ork, 19 80.
2 1. Ben Shn eiderm an , R . Mayer, D. McKay, an d P . Hel l er, "Experim en tal
In v es tigation s of the U til ityof Detail ed F l ow charts in P rogram m in g,"
Com m . ACM, Vol . 2 0, N o. 6 , Ju n e 19 7 7 , pp. 37 3-381.
2 2 . Ben Shn eiderm an , "Con trol F l ow an d DataStru ctu re Docu m en tation :
T w oExperim en ts ,"Com m . ACM, Vol . 2 5, N o. 1, Jan . 19 82 , pp. 55-6 3.
2 3. Michael L. Schn eider, "Model s f orthe Des ign of Static Sof tw are U s er
As s is tan ce,"Direction s in Hu m an -Com pu terIn teraction , Al bertBadre
an d Ben Shn eiderm an , eds ., Abl exP u bl is hin g Co., N orw ood, N .J., 19 82 .
2 4. Ben Shn eiderm an an d R ichard Mayer, "Syn tactic/ Sem an tic
In teraction s in P rogram m erBehav ior: AModel an d Experim en tal
R es u l ts ,"In t' l J. Com pu teran d In f orm ation Scien ces , Vol . 8, N o. 3,
19 7 9 , pp. 2 19 -2 39 .
2 5. Ben Shn eiderm an , Sof tw are P s ychol ogy: Hu m an F actors in
Com pu teran d In f orm ation Sys tem s , Littl e, Brow n an d Co., Bos ton ,
Mas s ., 19 80.
2 6 . Ben Shn eiderm an , "AN ote on Hu m an F actors Is s u es of N atu ral
Lan gu age In teraction w ithDatabas e Sys tem s ,"In f orm ation Sys tem s ,
Vol . 6 , N o. 2 , F eb. 19 81, pp. 12 5-12 9 .
2 7 . D. P . Au s u bel , Edu cation al P s ychol ogy: ACogn itiv e Approach,
Hol t, R in ehartan d Win s ton , N ew Y ork, 19 6 8.
2 8. R ichard W. Copel an d, How Chil dren Learn Mathem atics , third ed.,
MacMil l an , N ew Y ork, 19 7 9 .
2 9 . N an cyMcDon al d, Mu l ti-m ediaApproachtoU s erIn terf ace, Hu m an
F actors in In teractiv e Com pu terSys tem s , Y an n is Vas s il iou , ed., Abl ex
P u bl is hin g Co., N OI' WOOd, N .J., toappearin 19 83.
30. Ben Shn eiderm an , ACom pu terGraphics Sys tem f orP ol yn om ial s ,"
T he Mathem atics T eacher, Vol . 6 7 , N o. 2 , F eb. 19 7 4, pp. 111-113.
Aportion of this articl e w as deriv ed f rom the au thof s keyn ote addres s
atthe N Y U Sym pos iu m on U s erIn terf aces , "T he F u tu re of In teractiv e
Sys tem s an d the Em ergen ce of DirectMan ipu l ation ,"pu bl is hed in
Hu m an F actors in In teractiv e Com pu terSys tem s , Y . Vas s il iou , ed.,
Abl exP u bl is hin g Co., N orw ood, N .J., 19 83.
O . O . I19 8 O 34 VideoGam es
34. [ In trodu ction ]
VideoGam es an d
Com pu terHol din g P ow er
When v ideogam es becam e am aj orf orce in popu l arcu l tu re, in the earl y19 805, ev eryon e n oticed.
WhatSherryT u rkl e n oticed an d el u cidated, how ev er, w en tas tepbeyon d the popu l arthin kin g. In
herin f l u en tial f irs tbook on n ew m edia, T he Secon d Sel s he expl ored al on gs ide caref u l
con s ideration of otheras pects of popu l ar, prof es s ion al , an d academ ic com pu tin g cu l tu re how v ideo
gam es w ere atel l in g w ayin w hichchil dren , teen agers , an d adu l ts en cou n tered the com pu ter.
T u rkl e, approachin g com pu tin g f rom the dis cipl in e of ps ychoan al ys is , con s idered how the com pu ter
en abl es peopl e toen actpers on ae thatare dif f eren tf rom the on es theyu s e in n on -com pu tin g
s itu ation s . Whil e others con cern ed w iththe s ocial w orl d w ere decryin g v ideogam es as an ev il
in f l u en ce, T u rkl e as ked pl ayers abou ttheirexperien ces todeterm in e w hytheypl ayed v ideogam es .
She dis cov ered thatthes e gam es pl ayas ocial an d ps ychol ogical rol e an d, m ore precis el y, thatgam es
prov ide aw ayin w hichchil dren as w el l as adu l ts can take on dif f eren trol es thatare im portan tto
them ps ychol ogical l y. T he com pu teris n otm erel yatool u s ed toaccom pl is htas ks , T u rkl e expl ain ed,
bu tan obj ectthaten ters ou rin div idu al an d s ocial l iv es ; how w e in teractw ithcom pu ters in f l u en ces
ou rou tl ook on the w orl d an d ou rpers pectiv e on ou rs el v es . T his ideais expl ored in T u rkl e' s book Lif e
on the Screen in adif f eren tw ay, in the con textof in tern etw orked com pu tin g. Chapter7 of thatbook,
in particu l ar, con s iders how expl icitrol e-pl ayin g on MU Ds al l ow s pl ayw ithas pects of the s el f .
In the s el ection thatf ol l ow s , T u rkl e al s ocl os el ycon s iders the n atu re of gam es them s el v es n otin g
s ev eral f eatu res thatdis tin gu is hv ideogam es f rom s ports an d ev en f rom the prev iou s dom in an t
arcade am u s em en t, pin bal l . She al s ocon s iders , as Bren daLau rel has , the f an tas ygam e Du n geon s an d
Dragon s , an im portan tan d l ittl e s tu died an teceden ttothe com pu teradv en tu re gam e thatcreated a
ru l e bas ed w orl d in w hichpl aytook pl ace.
Whil e adv en tu re gam es w hichin tegral l yin v ol v e s tories are an in teres tin g category, T u rkl e reported
thatadu l ts f ou n d the s tories as s ociated w itharcade v ideogam es tobe cu te orf u n n ybu tbas ical l y
irrel ev an ttotheirpl ay."F u rther, w hil e chil dren proj ectthem s el v es in tothe rol es of theircharacters
m ore s tron gl y, the s tory as pects m ayhav e had l ittl e in f l u en ce beyon d that. Y etv ideogam e m akers
of the l as tf ew years , des peratel ycal l in g f orm ore in tegration of s tories , hav e n otl ean tan earto
gam e pl ayers as T u rkl e did. Des ign ers hol d ou thope, in s tead, thataction orien ted gam es , w hich
peopl e cl earl ydon otpl ayf orn arrativ e reas on s , can be en han ced w ithgood s tories - as if s tory
m ightbe the deu s exm achin athatcou l d arriv e tos av e an otherw is e in com pl ete gam in g experien ce.
-N IVI
34. VideoGam es
Origin al P u bl ication
T he Secon d Sel f : Com pu ters an d the Hu m an Spirit, 6 4-9 2 . N ew Y ork:
Sim on & Schu s ter, 19 84.
VideoGam es an d
Com pu ter
Hol din g P ow er
SherryT u rkl e
Iw atchathirteen -year-ol d girl in as m al l f am il ycaf in N ew
Y ork Citys Littl e Ital y. F ou rel ectron ic gam es l in ed u pn earthe
doorcl as hw iththe m u ral s of Ital ian s eacoas ts . T he chil d too
s eem s ou tof pl ace. She is an gryan d abu s iv e tothe caf e ow n er
w hen he as ks herif s he w ou l d l ike s om ethin g toeat. Getthe
f u ck aw ayf rom m e. I' m f u ckin g pl ayin g you rf u ckin g gam es .
T he m an s hru gs , apparen tl yu s ed tothe abu s e of thirteen -
year ol ds .
T he girl is pl ayin g As teroids . As paces hipu n derhercon trol
is bein g bom barded byan as teroids s how er. T here are
s eparate con trol bu tton s f ors teerin g, accel eratin g, an d
decel eratin g the s paces hipan d f orf irin g its rocketgu n s
again s tthreaten in g as teroids an d en em ys hips . T he pl ayer
m u s tkeepu pas teadys tream of m is s il es as s he m an eu v ers
the s hip. T he f in geron the F ire bu tton m u s tm ain tain a
rapid s taccato, an action thatis ten s e an d tirin g.
T he girl is hu n ched ov erthe con s ol e. When the ten s ion
m om en taril yl ets u p, s he l ooks u pan d s ays , Ihate this gam e."
An d w hen the gam e is ov ers he w rin gs herhan ds ,
com pl ain in g thatherf in gers hu rt. F oral l of this , s he pl ays
ev erydaytokeepu pm ys tren gth."She n eithercl aim s n or
m an if es ts en j oym en tin an ys im pl e s en s e. On e is in cl in ed to
s ays he is m ore pos s es s ed bythe gam e than pl ayin g it.
T he chil dren pl ayin g w ithMerl in , Sim on , Big T rak, an d
Speak an d Spel l atthe s hore -dis cu s s in g w hethertheir
com pu tergam es cou l d real l ycheat w ere dis pl ayin g that
com bin ation of in n ocen ce an d prof u n dityw hichl eads m an y
of u s tobel iev e in P iagets m odel of the chil d as phil os opher.
T he s cen e on the beachhad an au raof charm in g s ol em n ity.
T he s cen e in the caf , l ike thatin thou s an ds of arcades an d in
m il l ion s of hom es , is m ore v iol en t. Som ew hatol der
chil dren f rom arou n d n in e orten on are in arel ation s hip
theN EWMEDIAR EADER
tothe m achin e thats eem s driv en , al m os tev okin g an im age of
addiction . Chil dren m u s in g abou tobj ects an d theirn atu re has
giv en w aytochil dren in con tes t. R ef l ection has giv en w ayto
dom in ation , ran kin g, tes tin g, prov in g on es el f . Metaphys ics
has giv en w aytom as tery.
F orthe girl in the caf , m as teryof hergam e w as u rgen tan d
ten s e. T here is the s en s e of af orce atw ork, ahol din g pow er
w hos e roots are aggres s iv e, pas s ion ate, an d eroticizecl
T here has been con trov ers yabou tv ideogam es f rom the
days of Space In v aders an d As teroids , f rom the tim e thatthe
gam es hol din g pow erprov oked peopl e w hos aw itas as ign of
addiction tobecom e al arm ed. T he con trov ers yin ten s if ied as
itbecam e cl earthatm ore than agam es craze w as in v ol v ed
T his w as n otthe I-Iu l a-Hoopof the 19 80s . By19 82 peopl e
s pen tm ore m on ey, qu arterbyqu arter, on v ideogam es than
theys pen ton m ov ies an d records com bin ed. An d al thou gh
the peak of excitem en tabou tthe gam es m ayhav e pas s ed
w iththeirn ov el ty, v ideogam es hav e becom e partof the
cu l tu ral l an ds cape.
N otal l of the argu m en ts again s tv ideogam es can be taken
atf ace v al u e, f orthe debate is charged w ithf eel in gs abou ta
l otm ore than the gam es them s el v es . P rotes tagain s tv ideo
gam es carries am es s age abou thow peopl e f eel abou t
com pu ters in gen eral . In the pas tdecade, an d w ithou tpeopl e
hav in g had an ythin g todoors ayabou tit, com pu ters hav e
en tered al m os tev eryas pectof dail yl if e. By19 83 the
com pu terhad becom e s om u chan d s oactiv e apartof the
ev erydaythatT im e m agazin e chos e ittof il l the rol e u s u al l y
giv en toaMan orWom an of the Y ear. On l yon e othergif tof
s cien ce has been s ou n iv ers al l yrecogn ized as m arkin g an ew
eraof hu m an l if e. T hatw as atom ic en ergy.
Itis an u n ders tatem en ttos aythatpeopl e are am biv al en t
abou tthe grow in g com pu terpres en ce:w e l ike n ew
con v en ien ces ( au tom ated ban k tel l ers , f as ters u perm arket
l in es ), bu ton the ev e of an ew eraw e, bydef in ition , don ot
kn ow w here w e are. T he chan ges hav e been rapid an d
dis qu ietin g. We are il l ateas e ev en w ithou rchil dren , w hoare
s om u chateas e w ithatechn ol ogythatm an yof u s approach
atarm ' s l en gth. T heytake itf orgran ted. T othem itis n ota
n ew techn ol ogybu taf actof l if e. T heycom e hom e f rom
s chool an d cas u al l yreportthattheyare l earn in g
program m in g. T he com m en tev okes m ixed f eel in gs . P aren ts
w an ttheirchil dren tohav e ev eryadv an tage, bu tthis n ew
expertis e es tran ges them . Its eem s tothreaten an ew kin d of
gen eration gapthatf eel s deepan d dif f icu l ttobridge. An d s o,
__\\_
hm
v Iri,,v :_II_q.IQ ?W v i
o -----0 1 A -0-: ol ~19 84ao 34. VideoGam es
f orm an ypeopl e, the v ideogam e debate is apl ace toexpres s a
m ore gen eral am biv al en ce:the f irs ttim e an ybodyas ked their
opin ion abou tcom pu ters w as w hen an ew gam es arcade
appl ied f oral icen s e in theircom m u n ityorw hen the ow n er
of as m al l n eighborhood bu s in es s w an ted topu tagam e or
tw oin toas tore. Itis achan ce tos ay, N o, l ets w ait. Let' s l ook
atthis w hol e thin g m ore cl os el y. Itf eel s l ike achan ce tobu y
tim e again s tm ore than av ideogam e. Itf eel s l ike achan ce to
bu ytim e again s tan ew w ayof l if e.
Videogam es are aw in dow on toan ew kin d of in tim acy
w ithm achin es thatis characteris tic of the n as cen tcom pu ter
cu l tu re. T he s pecial rel ation s hipthatpl ayers f orm w ithv ideo
gam es has el em en ts thatare com m on toin teraction s w ith
otherkin ds of com pu ters . T he hol din g pow erof v ideogam es ,
theiral m os thypn otic f as cin ation , is com pu terhol din g pow er.
T he experien ces of v ideogam e pl ayers hel pu s tou n ders tan d
this hol din g pow eran d s om ethin g el s e as w el l . Atthe heartof
the com pu tercu l tu re is the ideaof con s tru cted, ru l e-
gov ern ed"w orl ds . Iu s e the v ideogam e tobegin adis cu s s ion
of the com pu tercu l tu re as acu l tu re of ru l es an d s im u l ation .
T he Mythof "Min dl es s "Addiction
T hos e w hof earthe gam es of ten com pare them totel ev is ion .
Gam e pl ayers al m os tn ev erm ake this an al ogy. I/ Vhen they
trytodes cribe the gam es in term s of otherthin gs , the
com paris on is m ore l ikel ytobe w iths ports , s ex, or
m editation . T el ev is ion is s om ethin g you w atch. Videogam es
are s om ethin g you do, s om ethin g you dotoyou rhead, a
w orl d thatyou en ter, an d, toacertain exten t, theyare
s om ethin g you becom e. T he w ides pread an al ogyw ith
tel ev is ion is u n ders tan dabl e. Bu tan al ogies betw een the tw o
s creen s ign ore the m os tim portan tel em en tbehin d the
gam es s edu ction :v ideogam es are in teractiv e com pu ter
m icrow orl ds .
U s in g an al ogies w ithtel ev is ion orw ithdru gs , the popu l ar
debate abou tv ideogam es is f il l ed w ithim ages of gam e
pl ayers cau ghtin am in dl es s addiction . I-Ial f of this
des cription is certain l yw ron g. T here is n othin g m in dl es s
I .
.~
, Jr4
'
" 1 "
I
~_1 . ". - . - ' - ' - .j .. _---_- . , ._.
abou tm as terin g av ideogam e. T he gam es dem an d s kil l s that
are com pl exan d dif f eren tiated. Som e of them begin to
con s titu te as ocial ization in tothe com pu tercu l tu re:you
in teractw ithaprogram , you l earn how tol earn w hatitcan
do, you getu s ed toas s im il atin g l arge am ou n ts of in f orm ation
abou ts tru ctu re. an d s trategybyin teractin g w ithadyn am ic
s creen dis pl ay. An d w hen on e gam e is m as tered, there is
thin kin g abou thow togen eral ize s trategies toothergam es .
T here is l earn in g how tol earn .
Con s iderP ac-Man , the f irs tgam e tobe ackn ow l edged as
partof the n ation al cu l tu re. On the s creen there is am aze
thatcon tain s f ou rm on s ters an d the f am il iaryel l ow P ac-Man
f igu re. Al s os cattered in the m aze are pel l ets of f ood,
repres en ted as l ittl e dots . T he pl ayercon trol s P ac-Man , or, as
chil dren u s u al l yexpres s it, Y ou are P ac-Man . Y ou rj ob is to
eatthe f ood an d av oid bein g eaten bythe m on s ters . Doin g s o
in v ol v es qu ick tu rn s an d good coordin ation . Bu tev en m ore
im portan tis s trategy, f igu rin g ou tthe ru l es thatgov ern the
behav iorof P ac-Man an d his pu rs u in g m on s ters .
P ac-Man n eeds tom ake qu ick decis ion s :eatthis dotorf l ee
thatm on s ter. His decis ion s are m ade m ore com pl icated by
an otherf actor:in the m aze are f ou ren ergycookies . F ora
s hortperiod af tereatin g acookie, P ac-Man can tu rn the
tabl es on the m on s ters an d eatthem . Am as terpl ayers hif ts
con s tan tl ybetw een of f en s iv e an d def en s iv e s trategies :w hen
togof oradotoracookie an d w hen s im pl ytos tayou tof the
m on s ters w ay. In addition , there are el em en ts of bl u f f an d
trickery. Eachm on s terhas adif f eren tpers on al ityan d can be
m ore orl es s eas il ythrow n of f the trail bys u dden rev ers al s of
direction .
P ac-Man s hares w ithches s s trategies thatdepen d on
execu tin g s tan dard s equ en ces of m ov es . Aw el l -in f orm ed P ac-
Man pl ayerhas arepertoire of thes e pattern s , picked u p
f rom otherpl ayers , f rom books , an d f rom pers on al dis cov ery.
Bu tj u s tas you can ' tpl ayches s byrote, the s am e is tru e of a
v ideogam e l ike P ac Man , in w hichbein g of f byas pl its econ d
can throw you ou ts ide you rpattern . T hen you hav e to
im prov is e, rel yin g on you rcoordin ation an d u n ders tan din g of
gen eral prin cipl es of the gam e f orexam pl e, the dif f eren ces
in the m on s ters behav ioran d the s af e pl aces tohide ou tin
the m aze. Bu tyou al w ays hav e tothin k f as terthan the
m on s ters m ov e, an d this m ean s that, in orderf oryou topl ay
s u cces s f u l l y, the gen eral prin cipl es , l ike the pattern s , hav e to
be m ore than m em orized. It' s m ore than thin kin g in aw ay
itis beyon d thin kin g. T he han d l earn s w hattodoan d does it
34. VideoGam es
au tom atical l y, j u s tas the han d kn ow s af terpl ayin g chord X
on the pian otogodirectl yan d in exorabl ytochord Y .
P eopl e w hohav e n ev erpl ayed v ideogam es of ten thin k that
s u cces s atthem is l ike w in n in g ataLas Vegas s tyl e on e-arm
ban dit; peopl e w hohav e pl ayed on e gam e an d giv en u p
ackn ow l edge thattheyrequ ire han d-eye coordin ation , of ten
addin g thatthis is s om ethin g thatchil dren , bu tn otthey,
pos s es s . Bu ts u cces s atv ideogam es in v ol v es m u chm ore.
Workin g ou tyou rgam e s trategyin v ol v es aproces s of
decipherin g the l ogic of the gam e, of u n ders tan din g the in ten t
of the gam es des ign er, of achiev in g am eetin g of the m in ds "
w iththe program . T he v ideogam es ref l ectthe com pu ter
w ithin in theiran im ated graphics , in the rhythm they
im pos e, in the kin d of s trategic thin kin g thattheyrequ ire.
T his com pu tation al s pecif icity becom es cl earw hen you
con tras tthe gam es w iththeirgran dparen t, pin bal l .
Com pu tation al Speci city
In s om e w ays v ideogam es are rem in is cen tof pin bal l . Y ou
s tan d atthem , reactin g toam ov in g obj ectbym an ipu l atin g
bu tton s an d l ev ers . Scores pil e u p. Y ou trytodobetter. Bu t
there are im portan tdif f eren ces , dif f eren ces thatgoback to
how the gam es are m ade.
Makin g an ew pin bal l gam e requ ired des ign in g an d
con s tru ctin g n ew phys ical dev ices , aproces s thattook tim e,
tool s , an d m echan ics . T he v ideogam e the characters on its
s creen , theirbehav ior, the w aytheyres pon d toapl ayers
action s is m ade of l ogic; thatis , of aprogram of ten s of
thou s an ds of com pu terin s tru ction s . T he n ew l ogic
techn ol ogy has m ade pos s ibl e an expl os ion in the f reedom of
gam e des ign ers tos earchf orw ays tocaptu re the atten tion ,
the im agin ation , an d the coin s of pl ayers . If ades ign erw an ts
tochan ge the gam e, f orexam pl e, topu tan ew m on s teron the
s creen , he ors he does n thav e tom ake am on s ter, bu ts im pl y
has tow rite aprogram thatw il l trace ou tthe m on s ters s hape.
T ohav e the n ew m on s teren gage in achas e requ ires an other
program . P in bal l gam es w ere con s train ed bym echan ical
l im itation s , u l tim atel ybythe phys ical l aw s thatgov ern the
m otion of as m al l m etal bal l . T he v ideow orl d kn ow s n os u ch
bou n ds . Obj ects f l y, s pin , accel erate, chan ge s hape an d col or,
dis appearan d reappear. T heirbehav ior, l ike the behav iorof
an ythin g created byacom pu terprogram , is l im ited on l yby
the program m ers im agin ation . T he obj ects in av ideogam e
are repres en tation s of obj ects . An d arepres en tation of abal l ,
theN EWMEDIAR EADER
u n l ike areal on e, n ev ern eed obeythe l aw s of grav ityu n l es s
its program m erw an ts itto.
T he l iberation of the v ideogam e f rom the real w orl d
al l ow s m ore than f reedom f orthe des ign ers im agin ation . It
al l ow s the gam es tobecom e am ore perf ectexpres s ion of the
pl ayers action s . Apin bal l m achin e has l ev ers thatcan ru s t. It
is til ted toaparticu l ars l an ton aparticu l arf l oor. Itis a
m echan is m , w ithaw eight, acertain bal an ce. Itv ibrates
dif f eren tl ydepen din g on the n ois e l ev el arou n d it. T he v ideo
gam e has n om ov in g parts . Its graphics dis pl ayis el ectron ic,
im perv iou s toits s u rrou n d. Itis al w ays the s am e, reactin g
al m os tin s tan tan eou s l y.
Watchpin bal l pl ayers attheirgam e:theykick, theys hake
an d thru s ttheirhips , gen tl yatf irs t, then v iol en tl yu rge the
m achin e toon e s ide oran other. Con trol l in g the tw obottom
f l ippers bym ean s of tw obu tton s is the on l ym ov em en tin the
gam e thatf eel s dis crete orprecis e. T he res tis m ore l ike a
dan ce. Y ou hav e tof eel how f aryou can gow ithou ttil tin g the
m achin e. T here is n oin dicator, n otil tgau ge tos how you the
s tate of thin gs thatis , n othin g u n til itis tool ate. T he
phys ical pin bal l m achin e -the l egs its tan ds on as w el l as its
pos ts an d f l ippers are partof the gam e. T he v ideogam e is
dif f eren t:here al l of the action is in aprogram m ed w orl d, an
abs tracts pace. In an im portan ts en s e, itis as pace w here the
phys ical m achin e an d the phys ical pl ayerdon otexis t. Itis n ot
eas yf orpin bal l pl ayers todes cribe theirf eel in gs of w hat
m akes the gam e res pon d. Som e des cribe itas acon v ers ation :
there is as en s e of giv e an d take. Bu tal thou ghithas becom e
cl ich tos peak of the v ideogam e as in teractiv e, pl ayers
des cribe the experien ce of bein g w ithon e as l es s l ike tal kin g
w ithapers on an d m ore l ike in habitin g s om eon e el s es m in d
Con v ers ation giv es w aytof u s ion . In pin bal l you acton the
bal l . In P ac-Man you are the m ou th.
Jaris han d the Com pu terw ithin the Gam e
Bythe tim e Jaris hw as f iv e he al readythou ghtof him s el f as
s m al l f orhis age, s m al l an d v eryn ears ighted an d v ery
dif f eren t. In certain w ays he l ikes bein g dif f eren t:Like m y
n am e, its s pecial , m yparen ts j u s tm ade itu p. Othern am es
com e f rom s om ethin g. . . m yn am e does n ' tcom e f rom
an ythin g. Bu tbein g dif f eren tal s ohad its price; dif f eren t
didn tal w ays f eel better. Gam es becam e aw aytom ark
dif f eren tas better; pin bal l becam e af av orite an d s om ethin g at
w hichhe cou l d be bes t.
1
ce-- A ca: -1 o-- --e -4A I-19 84 m a. --- 34. VideoGam es
N ow Jaris his tw el v e, an d tw oyears agopin bal l gav e w ayto
v ideogam es . His in itial s are u pon al m os tal l of the m achin es
in the arcade cl os es ttohis hom e. He w orks atagam e u n til he
gets the highes ts core of an ybodyarou n d, of ten hav in g to
s tan d on as tool topl ay. Y ou kn ow , Jaris hrem arks , they
real l ys hou l d pu tl ittl e s teps on the gam es . Gettin g tos ee the
s creen can real l ybe aprobl em .
T he ol d-f as hion ed pin bal l m achin es hav e n om em ory.
How ev erhighyou rs core on e day, the m achin e treats you
n exttim e w iththe s am e n eu tral in dif f eren ce itgiv es the
cl u m s ies tof begin n ers . An d itcertain l ydoes n otin f orm
an yon e el s e how w el l you did. Arcade-gam e m an u f actu rers
w ere qu ick tos ee the adv an tage of u s in g the com pu ters
w ithin the gam es torem em berthe n am es - oratl eas tthe
in itial s - of the toppl ayers w hohav e u s ed its in ce its
m em oryw as l as tcl eared. T he pl ayers w hos e n am es are u p
on the s creen s of agam e in their arcade f orm acom petitiv e
com m u n ity, an d on e of m u tu al recogn ition . Jaris his
pl eas ed: Ev eryon e kn ow s m yin itial s .
T he am n es iaof the pin bal l m achin e m ean tm ore than an
in abil itytol etpl ayers l eav e atrace of theirprow es s . N 0
m atterhow highyou rs core, you pl ayyou rn extbal l on the
s am e gam e. T he v ideogam es com pu terpow erm akes it
pos s ibl e f orthe gam e tores pon d tothe l ev el of the pl ayers
s kil l . When you f in is hon e rou n d, an otherrou n d, f as teran d
m ore com pl ex, aw aits you .
Jaris hw as im m ediatel yim pres s ed bythis dif f eren ce,
en thu s ias tic abou tthe in creas in g v iol en ce of the tes ts on
s u cces s iv e rou n ds ( in v ideotal k kn ow n as s creen s becau s e
w hen you f in is harou n d the s creen u s u al l ychan ges ,
pres en tin g toyou an in creas in gl yw orthyoppon en t). Its
great, the pace s peeds u p, the m on s ters u s u al l ygets m arteror
w hatev er, chas in g you . U s u al l y, theys tartchas in g you cl os er.
Bycom paris on , pin bal l is f u n bu titbel on gs tothe real w orl d
.. . its al w ays the s am e. Jaris hdes cribes his f av orite v ideo
gam es as crazyan d w eird, n otof the real w orl d.
Ihav e af av orite w here theres this l ittl e rockets hip
an d dif f eren tcol ors an d there is this dark l ayou t. An d
you hav e this v iol etray, s othatyou an d al l you r
cl othes are chan ged pu rpl e an d v iol et, thats s on eat,
I an d you goarou n d des troyin g the birds of the s on of
Satan an d then there are w hol e packs of hou n ds an d
s tu f f , an d you hav e togoarou n d des troyin g them . An d
af terev erycou pl e of s creen s , you m eetthe dev il
him s el f an d you hav e togoan d s hoothim w ithyou r
l as er. If you don ' thitthe dev il af teral ittl e w hil e he
s tarts s pou tin g f ire, an d then he gets biggeran d bigger
an d his f ace takes u pthe w hol e s creen , an d then
theres this l ittl e m is s il e bas e, thatis you , tryin g to
des troyhim , an d this big f ace is com in g atyou ,
grow in g s tartin g tof il l u pthe w hol e s creen . Its
hil ariou s .
Jaris hdream s abou tdes ign in g his ow n v ideogam es . He
kn ow s thatthis m ediu m can s atis f yhis tas te f orexcitem en t.
Shif tf rom on e m em orys egm en ttoan other, an d the w hol e
w orl d can chan ge.
Like if you are bein g chas ed byal ittl e dog, thatw ou l d
s tarttogetborin g af teraw hil e, bu tif l ike itchan ges
s creen s an d then you hav e you rarm yof cats , l ets s ay
[ here Jaris hl au ghs , real l yen j oyin g him s el f ], an d the
dog is chas in g the cats , you can s hootthe dog or
s om ethin g an d itcou l d chan ge in tos om ethin g el s e. It
n ev erhas tobe the s am e. thin g al l the tim e.
Mos tadu l ts des cribe the s tories of v ideogam es as cu te or
f u n n ybu tbas ical l yirrel ev an ttotheirpl ay, s ayin g thatthey
l ike topl ayaparticu l argam e tow ork on as pecif ic s kil l .
Chil dren iden tif ym ore directl yw iththe gam es characters as
theyare chas ed, bes ieged, or, as in the cas e of Jaris hs f av orite
gam e, R ohotron , s av in g the l as tf am il yon earth. T his gam e
as s u m es that19 84has pas s ed u n ev en tf u l l ybu tthaton e
hu n dred years l ater, in 2 084, s cien ce has al m os tdes troyed
hu m an kin d. Jaris hexpl ain s how :T he s cien tis ts hav e
perf ected the robotron , w hichare thes e in gen iou s robots w ho
goarou n d, theyre s u ppos ed tobe hel pin g hu m an ity, bu tthey
hav e as hortcircu itan d theygoarou n d tryin g todes troythe
l as tf am il yon earth, an d you hav e this l as eran d you hav e to
goan d des troythe robots an d s av e the l as tf am il y. Jaris h
f eel s him s el f com pl etel yin the gam e:Y eah, s om etim es Ithin k
of m ys el f as the kid of the f am il y. Ireal l ycare.
T he in ten s ityof Jaris hs in v ol v em en thas aprice. Ou ts ide
the w orl d of the gam es he s ays you f eel s ortof cu t. of f . When
Ipl aythe gam e, Is tartgettin g in toit, an d you s tarttakin g the
rol e of the pers on . . . an d then the gam e en ds . An d you hav e
j u s tpu tal l of you ren ergyin toit. Itdoes n tm ake m e an gry,
m ore l ike depres s ed._Y ou w al k ou tof the arcade an d its a
dif f eren tw orl d. N othin g thatyou can con trol .
T al kin g abou tR obotron ev okes Jaris hs ow n f eel in gs abou t
bein g ou tof con trol . Al otof the kids hav e girl f rien ds . If eel
34. VideoGam es
l ef tou t. Idon thav e an ybes tf rien ds . Its n otm yf au l t. Its m y
s ize. Ev erybodythin ks of m e as al ittl e kid. Jaris hal s of eel s
l ittl e pow erin his f am il y. His paren ts w ere div orced, his f ather
rem arried an d then div orced again . N ow he is w iths om eon e
n ew . As w hen the gam e en ds , as w hen you w al k ou tof the
arcade, there is af eel in g of bein g cu tof f . Eachchan ge in his
f am il ym ean s the s tartof s om ethin g n ew w here ol d
in v es tm en ts s eem l os t. Jaris hs ays thatw hen he f eel s an gry
he pl ays R ohotron . T here he can real l ycon cen trate, f eel in
charge.
When Jaris hgoes in toan arcade he l ooks f orthe crazies t,
m os tou t-of ~con trol gam e he can f in d, l ets s ayam il l ion l ittl e
birds com in g dow n an d you hav e tof ire you rl as eral l ov erthe
pl ace an d in crazydif f eren ts cen es , an d then he s ets ou tto
dis cov erits s trategies , its s ecrets , tof in d aw ayof brin gin g it
u n dercon trol . F orJaris hkn ow s thatdes pite the com pl exity
of the gam es , there is program behin d, there are ru l es . T here is
the com pu terthatJaris hm ythol ogizes as the dream m achin e
thatcan m ake an ythin g pos s ibl e an d as the ru l e m achin e that
m akes ev erythin g thatis crazyu l tim atel ycon trol l abl e.
F orJaris h, the f actthatav ideogam e has acom pu ter
in s ide is of greatim portan ce. He f eel s him s el f tobe achil d of
the com pu tergen eration . StarWars w as the hitm ov ie of his
eighthyear; com pu ters pecial ef f ects w ere s om ethin g he
thou ghtabou tbef ore he ev ers aw acom pu ter. Com ic s trip
does n otm ean Su perm an , bu ttal es of an droids an d robot
brain s , al l of w hichas s u m e, as he does , thatartif icial
in tel l igen ce w il l becom e af actof l if e. Jaris hbel iev es that
s cien tis ts can doan ythin g, bu tif you can doan ythin g,
s om ethin g can al w ays gow ron g. He s ees n othin g im probabl e
abou tthe com pu ter ou t of -con trol R obotron s cen ario. In his
im age of his ow n f u tu re he toow il l becom e apow erf u l pers on
capabl e of an ythin g bym as terin g the com pu ter. In deed, j u s t
as pin bal l gav e w aytov ideogam es f orJaris h, v ideogam es are
s tartin g togiv e w aytothe com pu ter. His in teres tin
com pu ters s tarted w hen he began tothin k abou tw ays to
chan ge v ideogam es , m os tl ytom ake them m ore com pl icated.
Iw ou l d l ike tochan ge gam es tom ake them crazier, l ike
if you w ere in atw o-pl ayergam e, s hootin g an other
gu y. I' d m ake its ol ike you ' d f ire thes e l ittl e w eird
rockets an d then you rf rien d cou l d, l ets s ay, pres s a
bu tton , an d the rocketw ou l d tu rn in toabu n chof , l ets
s ay, an ts , an d they' d f al l arou n d ev erythin g an d you d
hav e l ittl e craterhol es an d m is s il e s il os com in g ou tof
the grou n d.
theN EWMEDIAR EADER
In s cien ce cl as s Jaris hdream s abou thow tou s e the borin g
thin gs w e are l earn in g as m aterial s f orthe v ideogam es he
dream s of s om edaybein g abl e tom ake. Like w hyabal l w ou l d
m ov e an d w hyitgoes f as ter. Y ou m ightn eed tou s e this s tu f f
tom ake av ideogam e . . . thatcom es in tom ym in d v ery
of ten . Bu tbetw een kn ow in g the phys ics an d u s in g itf ora
gam e there is , of cou rs e, am aj ors tep:program m in g.
P rogram m in g is w hatIn eed tokn ow , s ays Jaris h. Its how
you gettothe real s ecrets .
Af terhe becam e in v ol v ed w ithv ideogam es Jaris hs av ed his
m on eyan d bou ghtas m al l pers on al com pu terthathe u s es to
pl aygam es athom e an d toexperim en tw ithprogram m in g.
Bu tJaris hdream s of biggerthin gs .
Mybigges tin teres tw ou l d be hav in g aterm in al . Like
on e thatyou can con n ecttoan ycom pu ter. T hatw ou l d
be in credibl e. Myf rien d has an Appl e. She can attachit
toagian tcom pu ter. Itcos tabou tam il l ion dol l ars . If
you can getin todif f eren tcom pu ters you cou l d getthe
dif f eren tcodes abou tthe com pu ters an d dif f eren t
l an gu ages an d thin gs abou tit, an d take gam es f rom
them you kn ow , l ike gam es thatyou cou l dn ' tf in d
an yw here el s e- an d tran s f erthem toyou row n
com pu ter, an d chan ge the gam es in toan ythin g you
l ike. T hatw ou l d be real l yterrif ic. T hats the s tu f f Id
l ike todo.
F orn ow , Jaris hf in ds gam es program s in com pu ter
m agazin es an d types them in tothe com pu ter, m akin g s m al l
chan ges in the gam es , s om etim es on pu rpos e tos u ithis tas te,
m ore of ten byacciden tw hen he m akes atypo. An obj ectof
cu rren tdel ightis achas e gam e thathe m odif ied tom ake a
cu s tom f itf orhis you n gerbrother. T he program u s ed tohav e
Martian s chas in g the character, bu taf term ybrotherheard
the s on g Val l eyGirl s on the radioIchan ged the Martian s to
Val l eyGirl s . Bu tw hen he m ade this chan ge, s om ethin g
u n expected happen ed:
. . . the s creen chan ged tof if tym il l ion dif f eren tthin gs .
Itw as f an tas tic. An d itm ade this s n ow ef f ectthats
com in g dow n al l ov erthe pl ace. An d If igu red ou thow
tochan ge on e of the s creen s tom ake itdodif f eren t
thin gs w hen you eatthe treas u res . When you eatthe
treas u re you l eav e this trail , an d u s u al l yin this gam e
the trail is j u s tdots , bu tIeras ed this on e l in e in the
program s on ow itm akes thes e crazythin gs .
Jaris hf eel s cheated w hen m an u f actu rers pu tthe gam es in
cartridges s othathe has n oacces s tothe u n derl yin g
' 1
L-Q
__-J f f ~_ _4
o~-l -19 -8 .4 34. Video"Gam es Q ~ --1 s o -~ _F r) F ez --0- 9 - -- ~Q --- ' $>
program . He can tchan ge them the w ayhe can w hen he f in ds
agam e program in am agazin e an d types itin tohis ow n
com pu ter.
T here are s om an ygreatgam es an d theyre real l y
protected. T hey' re tryin g ton otl etpeopl e copythem .
Its real l yf ru s tratin g, becau s e there are s om an y
excitin g thin gs you can dow ithagam e. Ithas n othin g
todow ith Im ean f orgetthe m on eym akin g part
[ here Jaris his ref errin g toan earl ierpartof ou r
con v ers ation in w hichhe f an tas ized abou tchan gin g
P ac-Man an d m akin g itbetteran d m akin g am il l ion
dol l ars ], its f orj u s thav in g f u n .
Jaris hdoes n tyetkn ow en ou ghabou tprogram m in g to
real l ym ake his ow n gam e, bu the is in the proces s of
teachin g him s el f an d is en cou raged byev en ts l ike his
acciden tal s n ow ef f ect. T he pos s ibil ities s eem l im itl es s if
s u chm arv el ou s thin gs can happen bychan ce. In com pu ters
there is al w ays thatran dom thin g, thatn eatthin g thatyou
are goin g tof in d ou t. An d you keepatit, tryin g tof in d thes e
n eatthin gs . Videogam es s how ed m e w hatyou cou l d do
w ithcom pu ters , w hatyou cou l d program . T heys how you
w hatyou can do. Its real l yw on derf u l .
T oJou s tan d Beyon d
In s ports the pl ayeris hel d bythe pow erof total con cen tra-
tion on action , the s en s e of m el din g bodyan d m in d. T he
tel ev is ion s pectators bodyis ou tof the pictu re. Here the
s en s e of im m ers ion is throu ghim agin ation an d
iden tif ication .
T he en tertain m en tin du s tryhas l on g bel iev ed thatthe
highes tpayof f s w ou l d com e f rom of f erin g the pu bl ic m edia
thatcom bin e action an d im agin ativ e iden tif ication . T he
m an u f actu rers of pin bal l m achin es trytoin trodu ce am is s in g
im agin ativ e com pon en tbyn am in g gam es tos u gges texcitin g
s tories ( you are con trol l in g apin bal l , bu tyou are the Bl ack
Kn ight)an d bythe equ al l yl im ited con ceitof pain ted f l as hy
pictu res of m on s ters , pirates , an d s exyl adies on the
m achin es s u rf aces .
F in al l y, how ev er, the on l yobj ects toiden tif yw ithin the
pin bal l gam e are the s hin ys teel bal l an d apairof f l ippers . A
Dis n eyl an d ride tries toin trodu ce the f eel in g of action :
w atchin g as pace l if t-of f on tel ev is ion , you are en tirel yon the
ou ts ide. In aDis n eys paces hipride you are u s hered in toa
s im u l ated s pace cabin , you hearthe rockets roar, you f eel
v ibration in the s eat. Bu t, f oral l of this , there is n othin g f or
you todoexceptu s e you rim agin ation . In the en d, the Dis n ey
ride is m ore pas s iv e than participatorydram a. On ce again ,
des ign ers try, bu tthe m ediares is ts .
Bu tJaris hw as abl e toen terthe v ideogam e m icrow orl d
throu ghbothdoors . T he pol arization betw een action an d
im agin ativ e iden tif ication breaks dow n in the pres en ce of the
com pu ter:w iththe com pu terbehin d them the v ideogam es
prov ide im agin ativ e w orl ds in tow hichpeopl e en teras
participan ts . Otherkin ds of m icrow orl ds tel ev is ion , s ports ,
Dis n eyrides , pin bal l m ightof f erthe hol din g pow erof
action , of im agin ativ e iden tif ication , of l os in g on es el f in a
w orl d ou ts ide of the habitu al . Y ou can f in d el em en ts of w hat
m akes acom pu term icrow orl d pow erf u l in otherthin gs . Bu t
the com pu tercan brin g ittogether, an d v ideogam es w ere the
f irs tpl ace w here the cu l tu re as aw hol e, ratherthan j u s tthe
cu l tu re of com pu terprogram m ers , gottoexperien ce how
pow erf u l this is .
Videogam es began in the com pu tercu l tu re, aton e of the
pl aces , in f act, w here the com pu tercu l tu re its el f gots tarted.
T he f irs tv ideogam e w as Space War, bu il tatMIT in the earl y
19 6 0s . T he s creen s how s tw os paces hips , eachu n derthe
con trol of on e of tw opl ayers . T he s hips can be m an eu v ered
an d can f ire m is s il es ateachother. When Space Warw as f irs t
bu il t, v is itin g com pu ters cien tis ts w ere am azed byits
dyn am ic, in teractiv e. s creen graphics the kin d of graphics
dis pl aythattw en tyyears l aterw ou l d be com m on pl ace in
s hoppin g m al l s . Atthattim e, how ev er, the cos tan d s ize of the
com pu terrequ ired f orSpace Warm ade itim pos s ibl e tom ov e
itbeyon d the res earchen v iron m en ts of s u chpl aces as MIT .
T en years l ater, m icrotechn ol ogyal l ow ed N ol an Bu s hn el l ,
w hohad him s el f been an MIT u n dergradu ate an d aSpace War
en thu s ias t, tos u rpris e the w orl d w ithP on g. Com pared w ith
Space Warits action w as extrem el yl im ited:abl ip as qu are
bal l ( eas iertom ake than arou n d on e) bou n ced backw ard
an d f orw ard acros s the s creen in acru del ys im u l ated P in g-
P on g. Bu t, u n l ike Space War, w hichyou cou l d pl ayon l yby
hav in g acces s toal arge com pu terf acil ity, P on g cou l d be m ade
gen eral l yav ail abl e. Bu s hn el l f ou n ded acom pan yhe cal l ed
Atari, w hichm an u f actu red P on g in aboxs m al l erthan a
pin bal l m achin e. Soon itw as ev eryw here. Y ou cou l d pl ayitin
m ov ie theaters an d bars . Y ou cou l d bu yav ers ion of ittopl ay
on you rtel ev is ion s et. P on g w as an ov el ty, bu tits etthe s tage
f orthe arriv al of an othergam e, on e thathad al readytaken
Japan bys torm . T his w as Space In v aders , the gam e that
l au n ched the v ideogam e cu l tu re.
34. VideoGam es
Ittook an otherten years f orv ideogam es tocatchu pw ith
the com pl exityof the origin al Space War. Agam e l ike Jou s t, a
f av orite of Jaris hs , is of agen eration of gam es thathas begu n
tom ov e beyon d Space Warhad arecogn izabl e gen eric
s paces hip, bu t, w ithn eithercol orn ordetail , itw as l es s a
s paces hipthan as paces hipideogram . Ju s tl ike the s qu are bal l
in P on g, the s paces hipw as there tos erv e as am arker. In
Jou s t, kn ights du el on f l yin g os triches , u s in g m ediev al l an ces .
T he pl ayercon trol s his orheros trichw ithaj oys tick. Atu g on
the s tick cau s es an os trichl thathas been trottin g al on g the
l an d tobegin tof l y, m ov em en ts of the s tick tol ef torright
cau s e the os trichtotrav el in eitherdirection ortorev ers e
direction in m idair, diggin g its heel s in tothe grou n d bef ore
trottin g of f the otherw ay.
T echn ol ogical adv an ces hav e en abl ed des ign ers tocreate
gam es thatprov ide v is u al l yappeal in g s itu ation s an d
dem an d adiv ers e an d chal l en gin g s etof s kil l s . Bu tthe
am bition is tohav e the appeal of Dis n eyl an d, pin bal l , an d a
T ol kien n ov el al l aton ce. Gam es l ike Jou s tdon otof f erthe
im agin ativ e iden tif ication w ithacharacteran d as itu ation
thatl iteratu re does . T he kn ights in Jou s tow e theirappeal to
as s ociation s the pl ayerm akes w ithf an tas ies abou tm ediev al
com batthathav e been s parked throu ghotherm edia. An d
ev en the graphical l yadv an ced Jou s tl acks the degree of
in div idu al characterization on e has com e toexpectin
an im ated cartoon s . .
Des ign ers are s tartin g tobreak ou tof thes e l im itation s .
N ew gen eration s of com pu tergraphics w il l al l ow gam e
characters tohav e m orereal is tic ges tu res an d f acial
expres s ion s . N ew program m in g techn iqu es of f erthe hope
of creatin g characters w hohav e m ore s pecif ic an d
in teres tin g pers on al ities than the m on s ters in P ac-Man s o
thatpl ayers in teraction s w iththem m ayf eel m ore l ike a
s ocial en cou n teran d l es s l ike con trol l in g apin bal l . A
com pu terized gam e of poker, f orexam pl e, cou l d create
pl ayers w hoare in div idu al an d idios yn cratic. Som e m ight
eas il yf al l f orbl u f f s , others cou l d trytobl u f f bu tbetray
them s el v es byf acial expres s ion , yetothers al l ow them s el v es
tobe charm ed byattractiv e oppon en ts .
In the l ate 19 7 0s WoodyAl l en w rote acl as s ic s horts tory
abou tKu gel m as s , as hym iddl e-aged prof es s orw hol on gs f or
rom an ce. Agreatm agician com es tohis aid. T he m agician
has aboxin w hichyou pl ace you rs el f an d abook, open toan y
page. Witham agic in can tation you are in s tan tl ytran s ported
in tothatbook. Ku gel m as s choos es Madam e Bov aryan d has an
theN EWMEDIAR EADER
af f airw ithEm m ain the rel ativ e s af etyof the pages bef ore s he
m eets R odol phe an d the com petition gets toorou gh.
WoodyAl l en f an tas ized the in teractiv e n ov el . Videogam e
des ign ers pl an toim pl em en tit, perhaps l es s v ol u ptu ou s l y, by
pu ttin g the pl ayerin con trol of acharacterw hol iv es n otin a
m aze bu tin apiece of l iteratu re. Al readythere is agam e in
w hichthe pl ayertakes the rol e of acharacter, Jen , w hois al s o
the heroof the m ov ie T he Dark Crys tal T he Jen of the gam e
f aces the s am e s itu ation as the Jen of the m ov ie. T he w orl d is
in peril ; he m u s tf in d the m agic crys tal thatw il l s av e it. T he
Jen of the gam e w il l w an derthrou ghal an ds cape iden tical in
its topographyan d in habitan ts tothatof the m ov ie. Bu tthe
pl ayerbehin d the gam e Jen has achoice of how toproceed
Y ou can f ol l ow in the f oots teps of the m ov ie character, oryou
can take an al togetherdif f eren trou te, m eetin g dif f eren t
characters , dif f eren tdan gers , dif f eren tchal l en ges .
Certain l y, pl ayin g T he Dark Crys tal is s til l al otm ore l ike
agam e of P on g than acol l aboration w ithEl au bert. Bu t
prim itiv e thou ghitis , itprov ides an im age of on e direction
in w hichgam es m icrow orl ds cou l d go. Itis adirection that
m akes u s as k w hetheritis accu rate tocal l s u chthin gs
gam es atal l .
As this book is pu bl is hed, tradition al f il m im ages , s tored on
v ideodis ks , are repl acin g an im ated com pu tergraphics . With
s u chs ys tem s , eas il yin dexed bycom pu ter, agiv en
com m an d f orexam pl e, En terthis room in res pon s e tothe
s creen im age of aroom can in v oke the f il m im age of w hatis
in it. T here are tou rs of cities w here you are in the pictu re,
driv in g you rcarthrou ghthe s treets , decidin g w hatbu il din gs
toen ter. Where thin gs w il l gois hard toim agin e:m ov ies an d
tal kies w ere, too. Bu ton ce you l etyou rim agin ation w ork
an d then l etitru n al ittl e w il d ( as w il d f orexam pl e, as the
program m ers w hom ade the f irs tSpace War)the pos s ibil ities
are in trigu in g. Y ou are Scarl ettO' Hara, open in g the doorto
T ara. Y ou are R hettBu tl er, decidin g tos tayratherthan l eav e.
In circl es w here peopl e are tryin g toin v en tthe f u tu re of
in teractiv e m ediathere s eem s tobe agreatdiv ide. Wil l the
pl ayerof the gam es of the f u tu re be in am ore com pl exw orl d
than is of f ered bytodays gam es , bu ts til l in aw orl d thatis
created bys om eon e el s e?Orw il l the pl ayerbe the des ign erof
his orherow n gam e?In otherw ords , w il l pl ayers con tin u e to
be u s ers of s om eon e el s es program orw il l theybe
program m ers in theirow n right?Wil l theybe abl e tocreate
n ew characters an d chan ge the ru l es of the gam e?Both
s trategies are bein g pu rs u ed, an d s u rel ybothw il l bearf ru it.
o --0' 39 s -0-~ a 34. VideoGam es
On e l eads toan im age of an in teractiv e Gon e Withthe Win d
the othertochil dren bu il din g com pu terw orl ds as todays
chil dren bu il d f erris w heel s w ithT in kertoys .
When Jaris hbegan total k abou this n ew en thu s ias m f or
the com pu terhe of f ered atou chin g s tatem en tof his l oyal ty
tov ideogam es ev en as he s en s ed itbein g threaten ed:Il ov e
the com pu ter, bu tIl ov e v ideogam es , an d w hatev er
happen s Iw il l al w ays l ov e them . U n l ike pin bal l , prom is ed
Jaris h, thes e w ou l d n ev erbe aban don ed. T he breathy
com m itm en tw as s in cere, bu ts hou l d w e take Jaris hathis
ow n w ord?Itis dif f icu l ttoim agin e him pl ayin g an ythin g
l ike P ac-Man orJou s tw hen he is thirty. Whatis pos s ibl e is
thathe m ightbe expl orin g in teractiv e com pu ter
m icrow orl ds thateras e the l in e betw een pl ayin g agam e an d
w ritin g aprogram , m u chas theyeras e the l in e betw een
pl ayin g agam e an d m akin g am ov ie.
Gam es , Gn om es , an d Com pu terCu l tu re
When todays chil d s tan ds in f ron tof av ideogam e, there is
con tactbetw een the phys ical chil d an d the phys ical m achin e.
Bu tthere is an othercon tactas w el l :betw een the chil ds
cu l tu re an d acu l tu re of s im u l ation . U n l ike the w orl ds of
pin bal l m achin es ors ports orl iteratu re, the com pu ters w ithin
them m ake v ideogam es ru l e-driv en . T his w as certain l yabig
partof w hatappeal ed toJaris h, w hokn ew thatbehin d each
gam e there w as aprogram thathel d the keytow hathe cal l ed
the s ecrets . Videogam es of f erachan ce tol iv e in s im u l ated,
ru l e-gov ern ed w orl ds . T heybrin g this kin d of experien ce in to
the chil ds cu l tu re an d s erv e as abridge tothe l argercom pu ter
cu l tu re beyon d. T heyare n otthe on l yagen ttodos o.
R ein f orcem en ts com e f rom s u rpris in g qu arters . Chil dren
com e tothe v ideogam es f rom acu l tu re in creas in gl ym arked
bythe l ogic of s im u l ation .
R ecal l the dogs an d cats of Jaris hs im agin arycom pu ter
gam e. An im al s are u n u s u al im ages f orhim . More typical l y, his
f an tas ies are popu l ated bygn om es , w izards , an d m agic-u s ers .
When Iw as achil d Ikn ew abou tgn om es an d w izards an d
s pel l s f rom readin g s tories . Jaris hkn ow s abou ts u chthin gs in
adif f eren tw ay he l iv es them . Mos tw eeks are pu n ctu ated
w ithm arathon s es s ion s of Dtm geon s an d Dragon s , af an tas y
gam e w here you create acharacterf rom m ediev al l ore by
rol l in g dice todeterm in e its properties ; am on g thes e are its
l ev el of charis m a, its abil itytou s e m agic, its s tren gthan d
dexterity. T hes e qu al ities w il l be tes ted as you u s e you r
charactertoexpl ore an in tricate u n iv ers e w here there are
m on s ters , adv en tu res , w ars , treas u res , an d al otof han d-to-
han d com bat. U n l ike the real w orl d the gam e u n iv ers e al w ays
con f orm s toru l es . T here is v iol en ce, m u rder, an d thef t, bu t
the ru l es f orw hatcan happen an d how tohan dl e itare
precis e. T he charts an d tabl es thatal l ow you todes ign w orl ds
an d pl aycharacters f orm as m al l l ibrary:F orakid today, s ays
Jaris h, its v eryhard. Y ou hav e togetthe m on eytogetherf or
f ou rorf iv e ors ev en books . Verythick books . Like abou t
f if teen dol l ars each. Jaris hboas ts of hav in g read them al l . He
has becom e am as terof this l ore, an expertatm an ipu l atin g
the ru l es . -
T here are n ocom pu ters in the du n geon s . Bu tthes e
con s tru cted w orl ds are perm eated w iththe s piritof a
com pu terprogram . T heircon s train ts are thos e im pos ed by
ru l e s ys tem s , n otbyphys ical real ityorm oral con s ideration s .
T im e m ightgobackw ard,_peopl e m ighthav e s u perhu m an
pow ers , ev erythin g is pos s ibl e. Whatis requ ired is con s is ten cy.
In the earl y19 ' / Os , f an tas ygam in g grew f rom cu l tto
cu l tu re in the w orl ds arou n d com pu terprogram m ers . T hey
f ou n d an af f in itybetw een the aes thetic of bu il din g al arge
com pl exprogram , w ithits treel ike s tru ctu re, its s u bprogram s
an d s u b s u bprogram s , an d w orkin g on es w aythrou gha
highl ys tru ctu red, con s tru cted w orl d of m azes an d m agic an d
s ecret, hidden room s ?T heypl ayed the f an tas ygam es , u s ed
theircon s iderabl e tal en ts tobu il d ev erm ore com pl ex
du n geon s , an d began totran s l ate the ideain totheirow n
m ediu m . Soon f an tas ygam es w ithcom pl exu n dergrou n d
u n iv ers es began toappearon l arge com pu ters ys tem s .
Adv en tu re w as the f irs tof thes e gam e program s . In itpl ayers
expl ore the l abyrin thof Col os s al Cav e, f ightin g m on s ters ,
hoardin g treas u re, pickin g u pan d dis cardin g tool s , f ood, s pel l s ,
an d others u ppl ies as theygo.
Othergam es f ol l ow ed, an d as pers on al com pu ters becam e
m ore pow erf u l , w ithm em ories thatcou l d hol d the l arge data
bas es the gam es requ ired, f an tas ygam es s pread tohom e
s ys tem s . Bythe l ate 19 7 0s , Adv en tu re-l ike gam es w ere as tapl e
item in the program l ibraries of m os thom e com pu terow n ers ,
an d the Du n geon gam es pl ayed l iv e had s pread f rom the
com pu tercu l tu re tothe cu l tu re atl arge. Col l ege s tu den ts al l
ov erthe cou n tryw ere abs orbed in rol e-pl ayin g f an tas ygam es
an d s oon theiryou n gerbrothers an d s is ters cau ghton .
Du n geon s an d Dragon s , agam e thatm os tadu l ts f in d too
com pl icated tocon tem pl ate, w ithits ru l e books , con tin gen cy
tabl es , an d m athem atical f orm u l as , becam e abes t-s el l er
am on g s ixthan d s ev en thgraders .
34. VideoGam es
Jaris hcom pares Du n geon s an d Dragon s , D an d D, to
regu l ar f an tas y, the kin d w here you s ay, Y ou be N an cyDrew
an d I' l l be aHardyBoyan d l et' s goof f an d s ol v e am ys tery.
F orhim the big dif f eren ce is in the greaterreal ity of the D
an d D s im u l ation .
In Dan d Dthere is s om u chin the w orl d. It' s s obig.
T here is an in credibl e am ou n tof data. If you , s ay,
you ' re pl ayin g HardyBoys , there is on l yacertain l ev el
thatyou can goto l ike you can ' treal l ygou pto
s om ebodyan d, you kn ow , in terrogate them , ors ay
thatyou ' re w iththe SecretServ ice an d tel l them that
theyhav e togiv e you in f orm ation . Im ean , they
w ou l dn ' tev en hav e the in f orm ation . Y ou can ' tgothat
f arw ithit. Y ou kn ow you hav e tos topatacertain
poin t, w hereas in D an d Dyou can j u s tgoon , an d you
can bypas s thos e l im its . T he gam e is j u s tin you rhead,
bu tf rom thatital m os ttran s f ers tobe real . Sothatyou
can goan d real l yim agin e, pictu re you rs el f goin g
throu ghthis cav e, an d then , al l of as u dden , this thin g,
gl orpin g al l ov erthe w al l an d droppin g dow n on you ,
an d you can throw as pel l atitors om ethin g. Y ou cou l d
al m os tim agin e that.
Jaris his s u re thatD an d Dhas m ore- detail , is m ore
com pl ete, than HardyBoys orpirates orcow boys . Beyon d
that, he is u n certain w hetherD an d D is m ore real than
real ity. He hedges the qu es tion . In D an d D there' s al w ays a
s toppin g poin t, in real ityIgu es s its ortof happen ed."Bu the is
n otreal l ys u re. Af terreadin g s ev en D an d D books abou t
tw en tytim es each"he certain l ykn ow s m ore abou tthe
s tru ctu re of du n geon u n iv ers es than he does abou tan y
m om en tin his tory. He kn ow s m ore abou tthe behav iorof
m agic u s ers than abou tan ypers on w hoev erl iv ed- Whathe
l earn s in s ocial -s tu dies cl as s abou treal his toryis pal e in
con tras ttow hathe experien ces in D an d D. Im ean ,"s ays
Jaris h, in D an d D there is . s om u chdata.
Jaris hdes ign s m ediev al du n geon s an d he dev ou rs s cien ce
f iction . His du n geon w orl ds are m eticu l ou s l ydraw n ou ton
graphpapertos cal e w ithpredeterm in ed decis ion ru l es on
how tores pon d toan ypl ayer' s action s . F orhim s cien ce-f iction
w orl ds are of the s am e breed:the au thoris des ign in g af u tu re
as Jaris hdes ign s adu n geon .
T he com pu terprogram m ers w hof el ts u chaf f in ityf orru l e-
driv en f an tas ygam es w ere as taken w iths cien ce f iction as is
Jaris h, an d s om ehow ital l s eem ed togotogether. As cien ce-
f iction w riteris al l ow ed topos tu l ate tim e m achin es ,
in tergal actic trav el , orm en tal tel epathy, bu tcan n otdoit
theN EWMEDIAR EADER
arbitraril y. Apl an etcan hav e an yatm os phere, bu tits
in habitan ts m u s tbe adapted toit. T he au thorm u s tm ake
ev eryattem pttoackn ow l edge the pl an et' s atm os pheric-
pecu l iarities w hen he ors he des ign s the pl an et' s l if e f orm s .
Y ou can pos tu l ate an ythin g, bu ton ce the ru l es of the s ys tem
hav e been def in ed theym u s tbe adhered tos cru pu l ou s l y. Su ch
are the ru l es f orcreatin g ru l e-gov ern ed w orl ds ."T heyare
kn ow n toev erycom pu terprogram m eran d are n ow bein g
pas s ed on as cu l tu ral kn ow l edge toagen eration of chil dren .
T he aes thetic of ru l e-gov ern ed w orl ds is pas s ed on throu gh
Du n geon s an d Dragon s an d s cien ce f iction bef ore m os t
chil dren ev erm eetacom pu ter.
T his is the cu l tu re thatJaris han d his peers brin g totheir
f irs ten cou n terw ithav ideogam e. Itis n otj u s tthe gam es T V
s creen s thatm ake them s eem l ike ol d f rien ds . Here is an other
w orl d w here ev erythin g is pos s ibl e bu tw here n othin g is
arbitrary. U l tim atel ythere are program s thats tan d behin d
the action . T heycan be deciphered; chil dren s peak of l earn in g
theirs ecrets , recogn izin g them as w orl ds of com pl exbehav ior
thatin the en d are ru l e-driv en l ike s cien ce f iction , l ike D
an d D, an d, as theyare s tartin g tol earn , l ike com pu ters .
Los in g On es el f in aSim u l ated Worl d
If there is adan gerhere, itis n otthe dan gerof m in dl es s pl ay
bu tof in f atu ation w iththe chal l en ge of s im u l ated w orl ds . In
the rightcircu m s tan ces , s om e peopl e com e topref erthem to
the real . T his dan geris n ots pecif ic togam es ; itref l ects on e of
the w ays in w hichthe gam es are am icrocos m of com pu tation .
Com pu ters of f erthe pos s ibil ityof creatin g an d w orkin g
w ithin artif icial w orl ds , w hethertos im u l ate the behav iorof
econ om ies , pol itical s ys tem s , orim agin arys u batom ic
particl es . Like N arcis s u s an d his ref l ection , peopl e w how ork
w ithcom pu ters can eas il yf al l in l ov e w iththe w orl ds they
hav e con s tru cted orw iththeirperf orm an ces in the w orl ds
created f orthem byothers . In v ol v em en tw iths im u l ated
w orl ds af f ects rel ation s hips w iththe real on e.
F orJaris h, Du n geon s an d Dragon s is cl earl ys u periorto
gam es w here you take rol es orm ake u pas toryf reel yas you
goal on g. As he s ees it, Du n geon s an d Dragon s has m ore data
an d f eel s m ore real . Bu the has l os ts om ethin g in his
s tru ctu red, data-richgam es , bothin v ideogam es an d in rol e-
pl ayin g f an tas ygam es l ike Du n geon s an d Dragon s .
Videogam es en cou rage iden tif ication w ithcharacters -
f rom s cien ce f iction , ors ports , orw ars tories bu tl eav e l ittl e
room f orpl ayin g theirrol es . F orexam pl e, the s creen that
iii: in n in g it \4' .
0 eas e - as o~ ~~ as ~~~~4> ~ Mao 0
chil dren f ace w hen theypl ayAs teroids does n otl ook v ery
dif f eren tf rom thatw hichcon f ron ted Han Sol oin T he Em pire
Strikes Back as he rode throu ghthe m eteors how erw iththe
pan ache thatm arked him as the greates ts pace pil otin the
gal axy. T his al l ow s av eryim m ediate kin d of iden tif ication
w ithSol o the v ideos im u l ation s pu tyou in the pl ace of the
s paces hippil otorthe m is s il e com m an derorthe adv en tu rerin
the T ol kien w orl d. Bu tyou are n otal l ow ed topl aythe part.
Du n geon s an d Dragon s al l ow s m u chm ore of the pers on al
rol e-pl ayin g thatis m is s in g f rom the v ideogam e. Y etit
prov ides itin aw aythatis cu s tom m ade f orthe com pu ter
gen eration :you iden tif yw ithan al teregoas you pl ayyou r
rol e in the du n geon , bu tthe proces s of pl ayis m athem atical
an d procedu ral . Beyon d the f an tas y, there are al w ays the ru l es .
In al l of this , s om ethin g is m is s in g, s om ethin g thatis
abu n dan tl ypres en tin the open -en ded rol e pl ayin g that
chil dren of f ereachotherw hen on e s ays Y ou be the Mom m y
an d I' l l be the Daddy."T he v ariation s on this gam e are en dl es s ,
the characters chan ge w iththe is s u es on the chil dren s m in ds
an d w iththe heroes an d heroin es of theircu l tu re:Y ou be
An n ie Oakl eyan d I' l l be Bu f f al oBil l ."Y ou be R oyR ogers an d
I' l l be Dal e Ev an s . Y ou be Su perm an an d Il l be Lois Lan e. In
this kin d of pl aychil dren hav e tol earn topu tthem s el v es in
the pl ace of an otherpers on , toim agin e w hatis goin g on
in s ide s om eon e el s es head. T here are n oru l es , there is
em pathy. T here are n odice torol l , there is u n ders tan din g,
recogn ition , n egotiation , an d con f ron tation w ithothers .
Chil dren don otf ace an either/ orchoice. Achil d can pl ay
v ideogam es an d Du n geon s an d Dragon s an d HardyBoys . Bu t
in real itythere is on l ys om u chtim e. Doin g s om e thin gs
precl u des others . An d, ev en m ore im portan t, an in div idu al
dev el ops as tyl e. In this cas e, there is good reas on tothin k that
agen eration dev el ops as tyl e.
In Jaris hw e s ee s u chas tyl is tic pref eren ce. T he Du n geon s
an d Dragon s w ayof thin kin g, w ithits thick books of ru l es ,
s eem s m ore excitin g an d m ore chal l en gin g than his toryor
real l if e orf an tas ypl ayw here the ru l es are l es s cl ear.
Al tered States
When you pl ayav ideogam e you en terin tothe w orl d of the
program m ers w hom ade it. Y ou hav e todom ore than
iden tif yw ithaicharacteron the s creen . Y ou m u s tactf orit.
Iden tif ication throu ghaction has as pecial kin d of hol d. Like
pl ayin g as port, itpu ts peopl e in toahighl yf ocu s ed, an d
highl ycharged s tate of m in ( l .3 F orm an ypeopl e, w hatis
W I39 ~ 34. VideoGam es
bein g pu rs u ed in the v ideogam e is n otj u s tas core, bu tan
al tered s tate.
T he pil otof arace cardoes n otdare totake his atten tion
of f the road. T he im perativ e of total con cen tration is partof
the high. Videogam es dem an d this s am e l ev el of atten tion .
T heycan giv e peopl e the f eel in g of bein g cl os e tothe edge
becau s e, as in adan gerou s s itu ation , there is n otim e f orres t
an d the con s equ en ces of w an derin g atten tion f eel dire. With
pin bal l , af al s e m ov e can be recu perated. T he m achin e can be
s haken , the bal l repos ition ed. In av ideogam e, the program
has n otol eran ce f orerror, n om argin of s af ety. P l ayers
experien ce theirev erym ov em en tas in s tan tl ytran s l ated in to
gam e action . T he gam e is rel en tl es s in its dem an d thatal l
othertim e s topan d in its dem an d thatthe pl ayertake f u l l
res pon s ibil ityf orev eryact, apoin tthatpl ayers of ten s u m u p
bythe phras e On e f al s e m ov e an d you ' re dead."
Execu tiv es , accou n tan ts , an d s u rgeon s s tan d behin d the
j u n ior-high-s chool ers in gam es arcades . F orpeopl e u n der
pres s u re total con cen tration is af orm of rel axation .
Martyis atw en ty-n in e-year-ol d econ om is tw how orks f ora
l arge Man hattan ban k. He is an erv ou s , w ou n d u pm an . I' m a
real w orrier. Areal "type Apers on .' T hat' s m e."He s ays he pl ays
the gam e becau s e he n eeds tohav e s om ethin g todow hichis
s ohard thatIcan tthin k of an ythin g el s e. T he gam es f orce
him in toan otherm en tal s pace w here the thou ghts an d the
cares of his daycan n otin tru de. F orm an yyears , Martyu s ed
tran s cen den tal m editation torel ax. N ow he u s es v ideogam es .
F orm e this is the s am e thin g. Itf il l s you rm in d. Ican be
peacef u l . N odecis ion s . Iw as n ' tthatgood atkeepin g u p
the con cen tration f orthe T M. T hou ghts keptbreakin g
in . T his is better. T here is n ow aytothin k abou t
an ythin g bu tthe gam e orits al l ov er. On e f al s e m ov e or
on e f al s e thou ghtan d you ' re dead. Itm akes m yw if e
n erv ou s tow atchm e pl ay. She s ays Il ook s oin ten s e.
Shes af raid Il l hav e aheartattack. Bu tw hen Ipl ay,
in s ide Iam cool Y ou hav e tobe. Y ou hav e tothin k
abou tthe pattem s , the s trategy. Y ou w al l the w orl d ou t.
Martyu s ed topl aypin bal l , bu t, l ike T M, itw as n ot
s u f f icien tl ycoerciv e. In pin bal l , you can res tbetw een s ets ,
you can choos e w hen torel eas e you rn extbal l . In As teroids ,
the f irs tgam e thatMartygothooked on , the pace is n ev er
you rs . T he rhythm of the gam e bel on gs tothe m achin e, the
program decides . When the pl aypicks u p, As teroids pou n ds
ou tabeatthats tan ds betw een apu l s e an d adru m . It' s its
heartbeat, s ays the tw el v e year-ol d pl ayers tan din g n extto
34. VideoGam es
Martyin the arcade. It' s w hatyou hav e topl ayto."T here is
n otim e f orpau s e. Y ou pl aytothe rel en tl es s pu l s e of a
m achin e heart.
Videogam es al l ow Martytof eel s w eptaw ayan d in con trol ,
tohav e com pl ete pow eran d yetl os e him s el f in s om ethin g
ou ts ide. T he gam es com bin e af eel in g of om n ipoten ce an d
pos s es s ion theyare apl ace f orm an ipu l ation an d s u rren der.
When Martypracticed T M, he f el titas "tim e ou t. As teroids
gav e him m ore of as en s e of achiev em en t. Itis aw orl d w here
you are l os t, yetyou hav e cl eargoal s . U n l ike in the
m editation , w hen Ipl aygam es If eel thatI' v e achiev ed
s om ethin g. Iam gettin g good ats om ethin g in f act, Iam
al w ays gettin g better. Il ov e w atchin g thats core gou p.
T he gam es requ ire total con cen tration - tow hichhe
attribu tes theirm editativ e qu al ities atthe s am e tim e as
theyprov ide as tage f orexcel l en ce. Y ou gettodow hat
achiev em en t-orien ted peopl e l ike todo:getbetter. An d yet, in
theirow n w ay, theyare al s otim e ou t."Martycal l s it
m editation w ithm acho:It' s the rel axation of f orcin g you to
w ithdraw f rom the ratrace, yettheygiv e you as core that
reas s u res you thatyou are aw in n er.
R ogeris af if ty-year ol d bu s in es s m an w hos eeks ou tv ideo
gam es toachiev e the s tate of m in d thathe gets in tow hen he
s kis . He pl ays agam e u n til thatpoin tw here the s trategies are
partof you ,"w here he f eel s l ike an exten s ion of the gam e or
the gam e is an exten s ion of him . R ogercom pares the f eel in g
tobein g in tou chw ithan u n con s ciou s s el f :When Ipl aythe
gam es Idon ' tthin k. Myf in gers thin k. As in s kiin g, you kn ow
the terrain , you f eel the terrain . Mym in d is cl ear. T hin gs pas s
throu ghit. Im ake con n ection s . T heys ayits m in dl es s , bu tf or
m e it' s l iberatin g. Iam in con trol of the gam e, bu tm ym in d is
f ree. T he w ayIs ee it, I' m n otw as tin g m yqu arters . It' s cheaper
than ps ychoan al ys is . i
T om as terav ideogam e, con s ciou s pl ayin g is n oten ou gh.
Y ou hav e tothin k w ithyou rf in gers . As in s ports , m en tal
an d phys ical action hav e tocom e together. An athl ete thin ks
w iththe body. Y ou f eel the s kis as partof you , you kn ow
theirrel ation s hiptos u rrou n din g s pace, obj ects , an d
obs tacl es in the directw aythatyou f eel you rbodyin s pace.
Cal l itm u s cl e m em ory, cal l itf l ow , cal l ittru s tin g you r
in s tin cts the experien ce of f eel in g acon tin u itybetw een
m in d an d bodyis partof the in n ergam e of an yw el l -pl ayed
s port. Skil l ed v ideogam e pl ayers experien ce this im m ediacy
of kn ow in g theirgam e w ithm ore than theirhead, an d the
experien ce is exhil aratin g.
theN EWMEDIAR EADER
Dav id is al aw yerin his m idthirties . When he w atches
tel ev is ion , he s ays he is rel axed, l os tin s om eon e el s es w orl d.
When he pl ays v ideogam es , he experien ces an otherkin d of
rel axation , the rel axation of bein g on the l in e. He f eel s total l y
f ocu s ed, total l ycon cen trated. An d yetDav id, l ike Martyan d
R oger, in deed l ike al l s u cces s f u l pl ayers of v ideogam es ,
des cribes the s en s e in w hichthe highes tdegree of f ocu s an d
con cen tration com es f rom al ettin g goof both. Dav id tal ks
abou tpl ayin g bes tw hen he is n otdirected.
Wel l , it' s al m os t, atthe ris k of s ou n din g, u h, ridicu l ou s ,
if you w il l , it' s al m os taZen type of thin g . . . w here I
can directm ys el f total l ybu tn otf eel directed atal l .
Y ou ' re total l yabs orbed an d itis al l happen in g there.
Y ou kn ow w hatyou are s u ppos ed todo. T here' s n o
extern al con f u s ion , theres n ocon f l ictin g goal s , theres
n on e of the com pl exities thatthe res tof the w orl d is
f il l ed w ith. It' s s os im pl e. Y ou eithergetthrou ghthis
l ittl e m aze s othatthe creatu re does n ' ts w al l ow you u p
oryou don ' t. An d if you can f ocu s you ratten tion on
that, an d if you can real l yl earn w hatyou ' re s u ppos ed
todo, then you real l yare in rel ation s hipw iththe
gam e.
Bein g in rel ation s hipw iththe gam e m ean s gettin g
recen tered on you rs el f . Ev erydaybef ore goin g hom e Dav id
s tops of f athis f av orite arcade an d pl ays f oran hou rortw o.
Atf irs the s ays thathe does ittou n w in d. bu tthen he decides
thatu n w in d is the w ron g w ord.
It' s n ots om u chu n w in d as itis thatIcan s ortof
cl ean s e m ys el f in as en s e, in av erys tran ge s en s e. N ow
F m don e w iththe day, an d Igothere, an d Ipl aythes e
gam es , an d I' v e f ou n d m ys el f again . An d then Ican
s tarton Som ethin g n ew . Becau s e if Igorighthom e, I
w on ' tbe prepared total k tom yw if e. Al l dayIgiv e
peopl e adv ice abou ttheirl iv es , abou ttheirdiv orces ,
j u s tl ittl e pieces of adv ice. Its v eryf ragm en ted. It' s l ike
bein g aps ychol ogis t, bu tIdon tgettohearitin the
f u l l w aythataps ychol ogis tw ou l d. Ju s tl ittl e
f ragm en ts . Al otis goin g on f orm yw if e n ow . She is
expectin g this babyan d s he n eeds total k. In eed tobe
abl e tocom m u n icate w ithher. An d af terIpl aythe
gam es I' m prepared toreal ize thatIm in the m iddl e of
the w hol e pictu re in s tead of j u s tbein g on the ou ts ide
l ookin g in . OK, becau s e w hen Ipl ayitis m ypictu re.
When Im atw ork its n otreal l ym ypictu re. When Iget
hom e itis m ypictu re again . An d af terIpl ayIcan go
back an d s hare m e. So, s om etim es the gam es are a
preparation f orgettin g ou tan d bein g aggres s iv e in the
0~ s 3-" -._. .19 85 o--- ~ 34. VideoGam es
res tof m yl if e, an d s om etim es theyare there f or, u m ,
gettin g back in tom yow n v ideogam e.
Metaphys ical Machin es
T he em otion al pow erof v ideogam es draw s heav il yon the
com pu terpow erw ithin thats u pports as im u l ated w orl d an d
am editativ e en v iron m en t, w hatDav id cal l ed apl ace f or
recen terin g. Bu tthe pow erof the gam es draw s on other
as pects of the com pu teras w el l , s om e of them res on an tw ith
chil dren ' s f as cin ation w ithcom pu tertoys as m etaphys ical
m achin es . As acom pu tation al obj ect, the v ideogam e hol ds
ou ttw oprom is es . T he f irs tis atou chof in f in ity the
prom is e of agam e thatn ev ers tops .
Mos tv ideogam es giv e you three chan ces : three m en ,
three s hips , three m is s il es . N ov ice pl ayers getw iped ou tin
s econ ds . An d three chan ces topl ayf ors ev eral s econ ds does n t
add u ptov erym u chtim e. T he n ew pl ayerdream s of actu al l y
bein g abl e tos hootthe in v aderorcaptu re the m on s teror
s teerthe s hip. T he n ew pl ayerdream s of ares pectabl e s core,
an d im agin es thatthis w il l f eel l ike w in n in g. Bu tw hen the
gam e s kil l becom es s econ d n atu re, w hen the s cores reachthe
hu n dreds of thou s an ds , then itbecom es cl earthatin av ideo
gam e there is n othin g exceptgain in g m ore tim e, an d, f or
s om e pl ayers , the ideathatbu tf ortheirgrow in g f atigu e, their
hu m an l im itation s , the gam e cou l d goon f orev er.
When you f ace agam e of pin bal l , there is acl earl y
dem arcated poin tw hen the gam e is ov er. Y ou m ayhav e
achiev ed ahighs core, you m ayw in af ree gam e. Av ideogam e
pres en ts n os u chm om en t. Mas teryof on e l ev el of the gam e,
on e s creen , pres en ts an others creen , m ore dif f icu l tin its
pattern s orw iththe s am e tas k todobu tataf as terrate. Som e
gam es giv e you an extram an , an extracharactertopl ayas a
bon u s if you s u cceed w ithaparticu l arl ydif f icu l tm ov e, bu t
an othercharactercom es tothe s am e thin g:m ore tim e. T he
gam e w il l goon as l on g as you hav e acharactertopl ay.
Ev eryon e kn ow s thatthe gam e is goin g toen d s om etim e,
bu ts om etim e is poten tial l yin f in ite.
R ecal l Matthew , the f iv e-year-ol d w how as f righten ed by
the ideathatacom pu terprogram cou l d goon _f orev er
f righten ed an d al s of as cin ated. T hin gs thatgiv e as en s e of
con tactw iththe in f in ite are hel d apartas priv il eged. T hey
becom e charged w ithem otion . T heyare of ten im bu ed w ith
rel igiou s f eel in g. T he f eel in g can be ev oked byas u n s et, a
m ou n tain , the s ea. Itcan be ev oked bym athem atical
experien ces , the ideaof the in f in ite s equ en ce of decim al s of pi,
the s ightof tw om irrors ref l ectin g eachother. An d thes e
f eel in gs are ev oked bythe com pu teran d bythe experien ce of
agam e thatn eed n ev ers top.
T he gam es hol d ou tarel ated prom is e, al s otied tothe
com pu ter' s pres en ce w ithin them . T his is the prom is e of
perf ection .
P erf ectMirrors
Jim m yis f ou rteen years ol d, an d he has m ade his pl ayin to
an in ten s el ypriv ate ritu al . He pl ays athom e, al on e, an d on l y
on e gam e, an ol d gam e, Space In v aders . His m an n erof
pl ayin g is dis cipl in ed an d m ethodical . Ihav e m ys trategy
an d that' s that. On ce you hav e you rs trategy, then you j u s t
hav e tobe perf ectin doin g it. Jim m ydoes n tthin k of the
gam e in term s of l os in g orw in n in g. F orm e the gam e is to
s ee how l on gl can be perf ect. Ev erydayItrytobe perf ect
f orten m in u tes l on ger. l
Ou ts ide of the Space In v aders w orl d, Jim m yis n otperf ect.
Jim m yhas abirthdef ectthathas l ef thim w ithan aw kw ard
gaitan d s l ightl ys l u rred s peech. He does n otl ike the w ayhe
s ou n ds . He has n otm ade peace w ithhis body. He f ears that
peopl e are n oticin g him , thin kin g thatIam u gl y. Ies pecial l y
hate bein g arou n d girl s . An d he f eel s atw arw ithhis m in d.
I' m u s u al l ythin kin g crazythin gs , l ike Idon ' tev en w an tto
tel l you w hatI' m thin kin g. Let' s j u s ts ayits crazy. Bu tSpace
In v aders pu ts him in an al tered s tate. T he gam e is its el f
perf ectin its con s is ten tres pon s e. Itw il l del iv erthis
perf ection tothe des erv in g pl ayer, tothe pl ayerw hois
u n com prom is in g in his orhercon cen tration on the gam e.
When Jim m ypl ays he f eel s him s el f becom in g perf ect an d
cal m . Idon t, can tthin k of m ycrazythin gs . It' s m y
dis cipl in e. Igu es s you m ights ayIm obs es s ed.
Jim m ys phys ical dis abil ities m ake his cas e dram atic, bu t
w hats tan ds ou tin his rel ation s hipw ithSpace In v aders
doin g s om ethin g thats erv es as am eas u rin g s tick f or
perf ection is n otu n iqu e tohim ortov ideogam es .
Dif f eren tpeopl e u s e dif f eren tyards ticks . Som e u s e their
bodies as am aterial m u chas Jim m yu s es his gam e, pl ayin g
w ith theirappearan ce, theirdres s , an d theirw eight. Cara, f or
exam pl e, is as l ightl yov erw eightf ou rteen -year-ol d girl w ho
def in es herdis cipl in e as eatin g ten f ew ercal ories ev eryday,
w ithm an yof the s am e f eel in gs abou titas Jim m yhas abou t
dem an din g ten m ore m in u tes eachdayf rom Space In v aders .
T here is the s am e des ire tocon trol the in s ide throu ghaction
on the ou ts ide. Su chef f orts in con trol hav e apos itiv e s ide.
34. VideoGam es
Withthem can com e an en han ced s en s e of au ton om y, s el f -
es teem , as en s e of bein g the actor in on es l if e. Bu tw ithev ery
pow erf u l an d m an ipu l abl e m ediu m thatw e u s e tof eel m ore
in con trol ou rbodies , ou rm on ey, ou rgam es the m ediu m
can getou tof con trol .
Mos tpeopl e don ' tbecom e addicted tov ideogam es j u s tas
m os tpeopl e w hodietdon tbecom e an orexic. Bu tw hen they
u s e thes e pow erf u l m aterial s tom eas u re them s el v es , theyare
atris k. An d, of cou rs e, s om e peopl e com e tothe m aterial m ore
v u l n erabl e than others . T he greaterthe an xietyabou tbein g
ou tof con trol , the greaterthe s edu ction of am aterial that
of f ers the prom is e of perf ectres pon s e. T he bodyof f ers this
kin d of prom is e. Som an yf ew ercal ories w il l cau s e s om an y
pou n ds todrop. P artof the hol din g pow er of an ydietis the
s en s e of in v ol v em en tw iththe proces s its el f . P eopl e goon
diets toim prov e theirappearan ce. T heybegin regim en s of
exercis e f orthe s am e reas on . Bu tthe experien ce of m ol din g
the body, the experien ce of its res pon s e, its m al l eabil ity, can
take ov er. Sim il arl y, the experien ce of agam e thatm akes an
in s tan tan eou s an d exactres pon s e toyou rtou ch, orof a
com pu terthatis its el f al w ays con s is ten tin its res pon s e, can
take ov er. Itbecom es grippin g in depen den tof an ythin g that
you are tryin g todo w ithitin an in s tru m en tal s en s e.
Its el f s eem in gl yperf ect, the com pu terev okes an xiety
abou ton es ow n perf ectibil ity. T here is pres s u re f rom a
m achin e thatl eav es n oon e an d n ootherthin g tobl am e. It
is hard tow al k aw ayf rom the perf ectm irror, f rom the
perf ecttes t. Itis hard tow al k aw ayf rom av ideogam e on
w hichyou cou l d dobettern exttim e, itis hard tow al k aw ay
f rom acom pu terprogram w ithan u n dis cov ered bu g, itis
hard tow al k aw ayf rom an u n proof read texton the s creen
of aWord proces s or. An ycom pu terprom is es you thatif you
doitright, itw il l doitrightan d rightaw ay.
P eopl e w hotryou tv ideogam es an d s aytheyhate them ,
orw hoactiv el ydis l ike theirf irs texperien ce w ithcom pu ter
program m in g, are of ten res pon din g tothis s am e prom is e.
N otev eryon e w an ts tobe arou n d the perf ectm irror. Som e
peopl e dis l ike w hattheyexperien ce as the precis ion , the
u n f orgiv in gn es s of m athem atics . In s tead of bein g in trigu ed
orreas s u red bythe ideaof there bein g arightan s w er in
theirf irs tarithm etic cl as s , theyf ou n d itin tol erabl e. Itw as
f el tas apres s u re, as atau n t, as apu t-dow n . Mechan ical
obj ects ( theyw ork if you han dl e them right, theydon ' tw ork
if you han dl e them w ron g)ev oke the s am e an xieties . An d
w hen thes e peopl e ( in ou rcu l tu re, of ten w om en )m eetthe
theN EWMEDIAR EADER
com pu terthe probl em is taken toahigherorder. Here is a
m achin e thatgoes beyon d al l others in its prom is e toref l ect
hu m an com peten ce. Itis n otal w ays w el com e. F ors om e, its
chal l en ge m aybe f el tas an al ien con tes t. F orothers as a
l on g aw aited chan ce tof in al l ytes ton es w orth.
P erf ectCon tes ts
Dav id, the l aw yerw hou s ed the gam es torecen ter, w hos aw
them as akin d of Zen , kn ow s thathe l ooks s u cces s f u l in the
eyes of the w orl d bu the f eel s u n s atis f ied, atw arw ithhis
w ork. He w ou l d l ike tobe in con trol of thin gs an d f an tas izes
him s el f aw arrior, ahero, an expl orer. He w ou l d l ike totes t
him s el f again s tdan ger, again s tthe el em en ts , again s tan
u n expl ored terrain . He chos e l aw as acareeran d s pecial ized in
l itigation , hopin g thatthe adv ers aryw orl d of the cou rtroom
w ou l d prov ide the thril l of han d-to-han d com bat. Bu tthe
real ityof his j ob is v erydif f eren t.
T here is n ow ayIcan chal l en ge an ybodyin apu re
m en tal chal l en ge. Where you can real l ys ay, T his is it.
T his is m e an d this is you ."Ican goin tocou rtan d I
can thin k of m ys el f as f ightin g l ike that, on e on on e,
bu tthere is al w ays s om e otherf actor. Hes goton e s et
of f acts an d I' v e gotan others etof f acts . I' m al w ays
con s train ed bythos e thin gs .
In av ideogam e there is n opl ace tohide, n oexcu s es of
chan ce oracciden t. F ors om eon e l ike Dav id, s earchin g f orthe
s en s e of u rgen cythatcom es f rom real dan ger, this is cru cial to
the gam es s edu ction . Itis apl ace w here there is pu re you .
Dav ids hou rs in the arcade are partof his s earchf orthe
perf ectcon tes t. Itis apl ace in w hichtos tan d al on e, Its you
again s tit. Bu titis af ixed en tity. Sou l tim atel y, s ays Dav id,
its you again s tyou . Myl if e is bou n d u pin extern al
con s train ts . Withthe gam es If ace on l ym ys el f . If Idow el l , itis
pu re m e. If l dopoorl y. . . theres n othin g el s e Ican bl am e f ora
f ail u re oran u n s atis f yin g experien ce w ithav ideogam e.
T here' s n ol ittl e pers on chan gin g it. P l ayin g the gam e is an
as s ertion , com pl etel ypu re in div idu al com petition .
His m ediu m of f ers apu re tes t. U n l ike boxin g, orgol f , or
ten n is , there w il l be n ochan ge of partn ers , n on ew ref eree.
Dav id does n ' tl ike the real m of -in f in ite-pos s ibil ities kin d of
gam e. He des cribes ches s n egativ el yas the kin d of gam e
w here you m ake am ov e an d the otherpers on res pon ds , an d
the otherpers on can res pon d in an yon e of , w el l , in an yon e of
athou s an d w ays . Dav id w an ts adif f eren tkin d of gam e, a
gam e w here the s etof circu m s tan ces is goin g tobe the s am e
ev erytim e. T he v ideogam es w iththeirprogram m ed
res pon s es are m ade tom eas u re. Shootthe oppon en tf rom a
certain dis tan ce an d you gets om an ypoin ts . Mov e al ittl e
cl os eran d you expl ode. Withpractice, the perf orm an ce ru l es
becom e tran s paren t. Dav id l ikes v ideogam es w hen theycan
s erv e as the perf ectm irror, the perf ectm eas u re of w hohe is .
Iw an tthe gam e as s im pl e as itcan be . . . n otreal l ys im pl e,
bu tf ixed Like how m an ytim es can Ibou n ce the bal l again s t
the w al l w ithin the n exttw en tys econ ds ?When Is ays im pl e,
w hatIm ean is f ixed, in v arian t. Atru e tes tin thatres pect.
He does n tl ike itw hen ran dom el em en ts are program m ed
in tov ideogam es . F orhe rel ies on the gam es in v arian t
n atu re togiv e him am eas u re of his s tate of m in d. If hes
cal m an d cen tered hel l dow el l . If he is ten s e, dif f u s ed,
an xiou s , he' l l dopoorl y. T he betterIdoatagam e, the better
If eel n otbecau s e If eel good f orw in n in g, bu tbecau s e I
kn ow thatIam in agood s tate. Its n otj u s tw hatthe gam es
dof orm e, its w hattheys how m e abou tw hatw as there to
begin w ith. Beyon d this , theyare apreparation f orl if e. It
has todow ithtes tin g you rs el f ; ithas todow iththe idea
thatbas ic train in g w il l m ake am an ou tof you , w iththe idea
thatyou hav e n ev erl iv ed u n l es s you v e l iv ed cl os e tothe
edge. T he gam es are thats im pl e, cl os e tothe edge, bu tthey
are n otthreaten in g. Doyou u n ders tan d?Its apecu l iars ort
of f eel in g.
Dav id f ears thatal l his l if e he has s hied aw ayf rom tes tin g
how hard an d f arhe cou l d pu s hhim s el f . Its the thin g of
the m om en tthats u its m e f orrightn ow . . . . I' m grow in g u p.
I' v e been m arried ayearan d n ow w e' re expectin g ababy.
He w an ts reas s u ran ce thathe can han dl e thin gs . T he gam es
are his tes t.
Dav id is deepl yin v ol v ed w ithv ideogam es . He has w ov en
them in tohis m os tpers on al con cern s . Bu titis n otam on g
adu l ts thatthe w eav e is m os tden s e. Al thou ghtheypl ayv ideo
gam es an d w ork w iththe com pu ter, theygrew u pin acu l tu re
bu il tw ithou tthes e m achin es . Y ou n g peopl e are bu il din g their
gen eration s cu l tu re n ow ; v ideogam es an d com pu ters are
am on g theirm aterial s . Grow in g u pw ithatechn ol ogyis a
s pecial kin d of experien ce. Al thou ghm as terin g n ew thin gs is
im portan tthrou ghou tl if e, there is atim e in grow in g u pw hen
iden titybecom es al m os ts yn on ym ou s w ithit. T odays you n g
o s o- ~+~. w ere ~ a> ~a. -n o ---1-19 8-4 o~--- 34. V' l dGO GHIT IGS
peopl e m eetthe gam es atthattim e. T he gam es are n ota
rem in derof af eel in g of con trol ov erchal l en ge. T heyare a
prim arys ou rce f ordev el opin g it.
In the n extchapters [ of T he Secon d Sel f ] Itu rn tochil dren
w hoare doin g m ore w ithcom pu ters than u s in g them f or
gam es . T hes e chil dren are w orkin g w ithcom pu ters ys tem s
thattu rn the m achin es in toam ediu m f ors el f expres s ion . We
s hal l s ee achil d program m in g an an im ated s cen e of as pace
s hu ttl e thatis in n os en s e as im u l ation . T he excitem en there
is n otin the proces s of decipherin g the program , bu tof
m akin g itin ahighl ypers on al ized w ay.
Iin trodu ced this chapterbys peakin g of the gam es as a
w in dow on tothe cu l tu re of com pu tation . Bu tw hen you pl ay
av ideogam e you are apl ayerin agam e program m ed by
s om eon e el s e. When chil dren begin todotheirow n
program m in g, theyare n otdecipherin g s om ebodyel s es
m ys tery. T heybecom e pl ayers in theirow n gam e, m akers of
theirow n m ys teries , an d en terin toan ew rel ation s hipw ith
the com pu ter, on e in w hichtheybegin toexperien ce itas a
kin d of s econ d s el f .
N otes -
1. WoodyAl l en , T he Ku gel m as s Epis ode," T he N ew Y orker, May2 ,
19 7 7 .
2 . P n n cipl es of Com pil erDes ign , bycom pu ters cien tis ts Al f red V.
Ahoan d Jef f reyU l l m an ( R eadin g, Mas s .: Addis on Wes l ey, 19 7 7 ),
has the f ol l ow in g il l u s tration on its cov er: akn ight( n am ed Syn tax
Directed T ran s l ation )on as teed ( n am ed DataF l ow An al ys is ) ghts
adragon ( n am ed Com pl exityof Com pil erDes ign ). T he kn ight' s
w eapon is al an ce cal l ed LALR P ars erGen erator. Is how this cov er
il l u s tration tom ys tu den ts m aj orin g in com pu ters cien ce. T heir
com m en t: "Oh, s u re, al otof com pil erpeopl e are in toD an d D."
3. P s ychol ogis tMihal yCs iks zen tm ihal yis tu died peopl e' s in n er
s tates w hil e pu rs u in g activ ities thatappeartocon tain rew ards in
them s el v es ches s , rock cl im bin g, dan ce, s ports , s u rgery. He
dis cov ered thatcen tral toal l of them is an experien ce w hichhe
cal l s f l ow . Its m os tm arked characteris tic is the "m ergin g of
action an d aw aren es s ."Cs iks zen tm ihal yi' s an al ys is of f l ow
experien ce cl os el yparal l el s m an yis s u es If ou n d atthe heartof the
hol din g pow er"of bothv ideogam es an d com pu terprogram m in g.
See Mihal yCs iks zen tm ihal yi, Beyon d Boredom an d An xiety( San
F ran cis co, Jos eyBas s , 19 7 5). F oracogn itiv e pers pectiv e on the
ps ychol ogyof gam e u s e, s ee al s oT hom as W. Mal on e, WhatMakes
T hin gs F u n toLearn ? AStu dyof In trin s ical l yMotiv atin g Com pu ter
Gam es , XeroxP al oAl toR es earchCen ter, Cogn itiv e an d
In s tru ction al Scien ces Series ( Au gu s t19 80).
o~ 0 l m s a. 35. ACyborg Man if es to
35. [ In trodu ction ]
ACyborg Man if es to
Scien ce, T echn ol ogy, an d Social is t-F em in is m
in the Late T w en tiethCen tu ry
T he m os tf am ou s l in e f rom this es s ayis the l as t:T hou ghbothare bou n d in the s piral dan ce, Iw ou l d ratherbe
acyborg than agoddes s . Haraw ays cyborg pref eren ce has l ead s om e readers in tou n in teres tin g in terpretation s ,
in w hichitis as s u m ed thatHaraw ays proj ectis an attack on radical f em in is ts s u chas MaryDal y. How ev er, .
readin g Haraw ays textas an in terv en tion atthe l ev el of m ythol ogy, of the im agin ed iden tities an d pos ition s
f rom w hichaction can proceed is m ore in teres tin g. Haraw ays cyborg is as ocial is t-f em in is tm ythol ogythatis
n otf ou n ded on bel ief in an idyl l ic pas torov erarchin g u n ity. F em in is ts hav e n otal w ays en gaged w iththe
m ythol ogyof the goddes s in s u chaw ay. T he goddes s has attim es been s een as the f igu re of al os t, m atriarchal
u topia; the cyborg, in con tras t, does n otl ook back. T he cyborg en gages the here an d n ow .
Whichhere an d n ow ?T hatin w hichtradition al bou n daries are l eakin g thos e betw een hu m an an d an im al ,
organ is m s ( hu m an / an im al )an d m achin es , the phys ical an d v irtu al . R atherthan def en d thes e bou n daries ,
ratherthan attem pttow ork back toan im agin ed pu rity, orappeal toatotal izin g con s tru cts u chas w om en s
experien ce, Haraw aym akes an argu m en tf orpl eas u re in the con f u s ion of bou n daries an d f orres pon s ibil ityin
theircon s tru ction . -She adm its thatthis w il l pu theratodds w ithotherprogres s iv es , w hohav e of ten argu ed
precis el yf orthe du al is m s thattohercyborg are Lu iten abl e. Whil e s he s ees the n eed f orw orkin g together, s he
bel iev es as l ightl yperv ers e s hif tof pers pectiv e m ightbetteren abl e u s tocon tes tf orm ean in gs , as w el l as f or
otherf orm s of pow eran d pl eas u re in techn ol ogical l ym ediated s ocieties .
Herargu m en thas had en orm ou s in f l u en ce - an d m ayin deed be the s tartin g poin tf orcu rren tprogres s iv e
s chol ars hipon s cien ce an d techn ol ogy, as w el l as an im portan tel em en tin pop-cu l tu re phen om en aof the
cyborg Ithas of f ered am odel of cu l tu ral an d pol itical en gagem en tthatis n otbas ed on the l iberal hu m an is t
s u bj ect, thatis m ore acces s ibl e tom an yin the U .S. than thatpos ited byGil l es Del eu ze an d F l ixGu attari( Q 2 7 )
an d thatin corporates f rom the ou ts et( ratherthan as an af terthou ght)the cybern etic. w orl d, as dis cu s s ed by
N orbertWien er( O04)an d Bil l N ichol s ( 043). Haraw aytraces the cyborg throu ghan u m berof v ein s an d w ires ,
in cl u din g thos e of s cien ce f iction . Areadin g of m ediain this m ode is particu l arl y ttin g f orexam in ation by
s chol ars of n ew m edia.
In the en d, ev en critics w ithm u chm ore con v en tion al s tyl es an d approaches hav e com e tov iew Haraw ays
es s ayas f ou n dation al F orexam pl e, Michael Men s eran d Stan l eyAron ow itz hav e w ritten that, in the f ace of
dis cipl in aryan d cu l tu ral res is tan ce togiv in g u pol d du al is m s , Don n aHaraw ay, as tu te cu l tu ral critic thats he is ,
m ou n ts adif f eren tapproachOn e m ightcal l itabackdooras s au l t, begin n in g w iththe appropriation of a
s om ew hatm argin al ( ction al )con cept, the cyborg, w hicham ou n ts tothe u til ization of al iteraryan d cin em atic
n arrativ e dev ice real ized as acon ceptf oran on tol ogical an d phen om en ol ogical treatis e depl oyed in the f orm of
am an if es to. How ev er, Haraw ays p0s iti0n bu tn otherapproach on techn ol ogy, s cien ce, -an d cu l tu re is on e
w hichw e l argel ys hare ( 10).
Iw ou l d ratherbe acyborg than as ad rev ol u tion ary.
N WF
35. ACyborg Man if es to
Origin al P u bl ication
F irs tpu bl is hed in Social is tR ev iew 80:6 5 108. 19 85. T his textf rom
Sim ian s , Cyborgs , Wom en : T he R ein v en tion of N atu re ( N ew Y ork:
R ou tl edge, 19 9 1), 149 -181.
ACyborg Man if es to
Scien ce, T echn ol ogy, an d
Social is t-F em in is m in the
Late T w en tiethCen tu ryl
Don n aHaraw ay
An Iron ic Dream of aCom m on Lan gu age
f orWom en in the In tegrated Circu it
T his chapteris an ef f orttobu il d an iron ic pol itical m yth
f aithf u l tof em in is m , s ocial is m , an d m aterial is m . P erhaps
m ore f aithf u l as bl as phem yis f aithf u l , than as rev eren t
w ors hipan d iden tif ication . Bl as phem yhas al w ays s eem ed to
requ ire takin g thin gs v erys eriou s l y. Ikn ow n obetters tan ce
toadoptf rom w ithin the s ecu l ar rel igiou s , ev an gel ical
tradition s of U n ited States pol itics , in cl u din g the pol itics of
s ocial is tf em in is m . Bl as phem yprotects on e f rom the m oral
m aj orityw ithin , w hil e s til l in s is tin g on the n eed f or
com m u n ity. Bl as phem yis n otapos tas y. Iron yis abou t
con tra.diction s thatdon otres ol v e in tol argerw hol es , ev en
dial ectical l y, abou tthe ten s ion of hol din g in com patibl e
thin gs togetherbecau s e bothoral l are n eces s aryan d tru e.
Iron yis abou thu m ou ran d s eriou s pl ay. Itis al s oarhetorical
s trategyan d apol itical m ethod, on e Iw ou l d l ike tos ee m ore
hon ou red w ithin s ocial is t-f em in is m . Atthe cen tre of m y
iron ic f aith, m ybl as phem y, is the im age of the cyborg.
Acyborg is acybern etic organ is m , ahybrid of m achin e an d
organ is m , acreatu re of s ocial real ityas w el l as acreatu re of
f iction . Social real ityis l iv ed s ocial rel ation s , ou rm os t
im portan tpol itical con s tru ction , aw orl d-chan gin g f iction .
T he in tern ation al w om en s m ov em en ts hav e con s tru cted
w om en s experien ce, as w el l as u n cov ered ordis cov ered this
cru cial col l ectiv e obj ect. T his experien ce is af iction an d f act
of the m os tcru cial , pol itical kin d. Liberation res ts on the
con s tru ction of the con s ciou s n es s , the im agin ativ e
apprehen s ion , of oppres s ion , an d s oof pos s ibil ity. T he cyborg
is am atterof f iction an d l iv ed experien ce thatchan ges w hat
theN EWMEDIAR EADER
cou n ts as w om en s experien ce in the l ate tw en tiethcen tu ry.
T his is as tru ggl e ov erl if e an d death, bu tthe bou n dary
betw een s cien ce f iction an d s ocial real ityis an optical
il l u s ion .
Con tem porarys cien ce f iction is f u l l of cyborgs creatu res
s im u l tan eou s l yan im al an d m achin e, w hopopu l ate w orl ds
am bigu ou s l yn atu ral an d craf ted. Modern m edicin e is al s o
f u l l of cyborgs . of cou pl in gs betw een organ is m an d m achin e,
eachcon ceiv ed as coded dev ices , in an in tim acyan d w itha
pow erthatw as n otgen erated in the his toryof s exu al ity.
Cyborg s ex res tores s om e of the l ov el yrepl icativ e baroqu e
of f ern s an d in v ertebrates ( s u chn ice organ ic prophyl actics
again s theteros exis m ). Cyborg repl ication is u n cou pl ed f rom
organ ic reprodu ction . Modern produ ction s eem s l ike adream
of cyborg col on ization w ork, adream thatm akes the
n ightm are of T ayl oris m s eem idyl l ic. An d m odern w aris a
cyborg orgy, coded byC3I, com m a.n d-con trol -com m u n ication -
in tel l igen ce, an $84bil l ion item in 19 84s U S def en ce bu dget.
Iam m akin g an argu m en tf orthe cyborg as af iction
m appin g ou rs ocial an d bodil yreal ityan d as an im agin ativ e
res ou rce s u gges tin g s om e v eryf ru itf u l cou pl in gs . Michael
F ou cau l ts biopol itics is af l accid prem on ition of cyborg
pol itics , av eryopen f iel d.
Bythe l ate tw en tiethcen tu ry, ou rtim e, am ythic tim e, w e
are al l chim eras , theorized an d f abricated hybrids of m achin e
an d organ is m ; in s hort, w e are cyborgs . T he cyborg is ou r
on tol ogy; itgiv es u s ou rpol itics . T he cyborg is acon den s ed
im age of bothim agin ation an d m aterial real ity, the tw o
j oin ed cen tres s tru ctu rin g an ypos s ibil ityof his torical
tran s f orm ation . In the tradition s of Wes tern s cien ce an d
pol itics the tradition of racis t, m al e-dom in an tcapital is m ;
the tradition of progres s ; the tradition of the appropriation
of n atu re as res ou rce f orthe produ ction s of cu l tu re; the tradi-
tion of reprodu ction of the s el f f rom the ref l ection s of the
other the rel ation betw een organ is m an d m achin e has
been aborderw ar. T he s ta.kes in the borderw arhav e been
the territories of produ ction , reprodu ction , an d im agin ation .
T his chapteris an argu m en tf orpl eas u re in the con f u s ion of
bou n daries an d f orres pon s ibil ityin theircon s tru ction . Itis
al s oan ef f orttocon tribu te tos ocial is t-f em in is tcu l tu re an d
theoryin apos tm odern is t, n on n atu ral is tm ode an d in the
u topian tradition of im agin in g aw orl d w ithou tgen der,
w hichis perhaps aw orl d w ithou tgen es is , bu tm aybe al s oa
w orl d w ithou ten d. T he cyborg in carn ation is ou ts ide
s al v ation his tory. N ordoes itm ark tim e on an oedipal
o~~~ ~ ~1~~~~s ~> _.~~ 9 0
cal en dar, attem ptin g toheal the terribl e cl eav ages of gen der
in an oral s ym biotic u topiaorpos t-oedipal apocal yps e. As
Zoe Sof ou l is argu es in heru n pu bl is hed m an u s cripton
Jacqu es Lacan , Mel an ie Kl ein , an d n u cl earcu l tu re, Lackl ein ,
the m os tterribl e an d perhaps the m os tprom is in g m on s ters
in cyborg w orl ds are em bodied in n on oedipal n arrativ es
w ithadif f eren tl ogic of repres s ion , w hichw e n eed to
u n ders tan d f orou rs u rv iv al .
T he cyborg is acreatu re in apos t gen derw orl d; ithas n o
tru ck w ithbis exu al ity, pre-oedipal s ym bios is , u n al ien ated
l abou r, orothers edu ction s toorgan ic w hol en es s throu gha
f in al appropriation of al l the pow ers of the parts in toa
higheru n ity. In as en s e, the cyborg has n oorigin s toryin the
Wes tern s en s e af in al iron ys in ce the cyborg is al s othe
aw f u l apocal yptic tel os of the Wes ts es cal atin g dom in ation s
of abs tractin div idu ation , an u l tim ate s el f u n tied atl as tf rom
al l depen den cy, am an in s pace. An origin s toryin the
Wes tern , hu m an is ts en s e depen ds on the m ythof origin al
u n ity, f u l l n es s , bl is s an d terror, repres en ted bythe phal l ic
m otherf rom w hom al l hu m an s m u s ts eparate, the tas k of
in div idu al dev el opm en tan d of his tory, the tw in poten t
m yths in s cribed m os tpow erf u l l yf oru s in ps ychoan al ys is
an d Marxis m . Hil aryKl ein has argu ed thatbothMarxis m
an d ps ychoan al ys is , in theircon cepts of l abou ran d of
in div idu ation an d gen derf orm ation , depen d on the pl otof
origin al u n ityou tof w hichdif f eren ce m u s tbe produ ced an d
en l is ted in adram aof es cal atin g dom in ation of
w om an f n atu re. T he cyborg s kips the s tepof origin al u n ity,
of iden tif ication w ithn atu re in the Wes tern s en s e. T his is its
il l egitim ate prom is e thatm ightl ead tos u bv ers ion of its
tel eol ogyas s tarw ars .
T he cyborg is res ol u tel ycom m itted topartial ity, iron y, in ti-
m acy, an d perv ers ity. Itis oppos ition al , u topian , an d
com pl etel yw ithou t. in n ocen ce. N ol on gers tru ctu red bythe
pol arityof pu bl ic an d priv ate, the cyborg def in es a
techn ol ogical pol is bas ed partl yon arev ol u tion of s ocial
rel ation s in the oikos , the hou s ehol d. N atu re an d cu l tu re are
rew orked; the on e can n ol on gerbe the res ou rce f orappropri-
ation orin corporation bythe other. T he rel ation s hips f or
f orm in g w hol es f rom parts , in cl u din g thos e. of pol arityan d
hierarchical dom in ation , are atis s u e in the cyborg w orl d.
U n l ike the hopes of F ran ken s tein s m on s ter, the cyborg does
n otexpectits f athertos av e itthrou ghares toration of the
garden ; thatis , throu ghthe f abrication of aheteros exu al
F 9 850 as 35. ACyborg Man if es to
m ate, throu ghits com pl etion in af in is hed w hol e, acityan d
cos m os . T he cyborg does n otdream of com m u n ityon the
m odel of the organ ic f am il y, this tim e w ithou tthe oedipal
proj ect. T he cyborg w ou l d n otrecogn ize the Garden of Eden ;
itis n otm ade of m u d an d can n otdream of retu rn in g to
du s t. P erhaps thatis w hyIw an ttos ee if cyborgs can s u bv ert
the apocal yps e of retu rn in g ton u cl eardu s tin the m an ic
com pu l s ion ton am e the En em y. Cyborgs are n otrev eren t;
theydon otre-m em berthe cos m os . T heyare w aryof hol is m ,
bu tn eedyf orcon n e.ction theys eem tohav e an atu ral f eel
f oru n ited f ron tpol itics , bu tw ithou tthe v an gu ard party. T he
m ain trou bl e w ithcyborgs , of cou rs e, is thattheyare the
il l egitim ate of f s prin g of m il itaris m an d patriarchal capital -
is m , n ottom en tion s tate s ocial is m . Bu til l egitim ate of f s prin g
are of ten exceedin gl yu n f aithf u l totheirorigin s . T heir
f athers , af teral l , are in es s en tial .
Iw il l retu rn tothe s cien ce f iction of cyborgs atthe en d of
this chapter, bu tn ow Iw an ttos ign al three cru cial bou n dary
breakdow n s thatm ake the f ol l ow in g pol itical -f iction al
( pol itical -s cien tif ic)an al ys is pos s ibl e. Bythe l ate tw en tieth
cen tu ryin U n ited States s cien tif ic cu l tu re, the bou n dary
betw een hu m an an d an im al is thorou ghl ybreached. T he l as t
beachheads of u n iqu en es s hav e been pol l u ted if n ottu rn ed
in toam u s em en tparks l an gu age, tool u s e, s ocial behav iou r,
m en tal ev en ts , n othin g real l ycon v in cin gl ys ettl es the
s eparation of hu m an an d an im al . An d m an ypeopl e n o
l on gerf eel the n eed f ors u chas eparation ; in deed, m an y
bran ches of f em in is tcu l tu re af f irm the pl eas u re of
con n ection of hu m an an d otherl iv in g creatu res . Mov em en ts
f oran im al rights are n otirration al den ial s of hu m an
u n iqu en es s ; theyare acl ear-s ighted recogn ition of
con n ection acros s the dis credited breachof n atu re an d
cu l tu re. Biol ogyan d ev ol u tion arytheoryov erthe l as ttw o
cen tu ries hav e s im u l tan eou s l yprodu ced m odern organ is m s
as obj ects of kn ow l edge an d redu ced the l in e betw een
hu m an s an d an im al s toaf ain ttrace re-etched in ideol ogical
s tru ggl e orprof es s ion al dis pu tes betw een l if e an d s ocial
s cien ce. Within this f ram ew ork, teachin g m odern Chris tian
creation is m s hou l d be f ou ghtas af orm of chil d abu s e.
Biol ogical -determ in is tideol ogyis on l yon e pos ition
open ed u pin s cien tif ic cu l tu re f orargu in g the m ean in gs of
hu m an an im al ity. T here is m u chroom f orradical pol itical
peopl e tocon tes tthe m ean in gs of the breached bou n dary?
T he cyborg appears in m ythprecis el yw here the bou n dary
35. ACyborg Man if es to
betw een hu m an an d an im al is tran s gres s ed. Earf rom
s ign al l in g aw al l in g of f of peopl e f rom otherl .iv in g bein gs ,
cyborgs s ign al dis tu rbin gl yan d pl eas u rabl ytightcou pl in g.
Bes tial ityhas an ew s tatu s in this cycl e of m arriage exchan ge.
T he s econ d l eakydis tin ction is betw een an im al -hu m an
( organ is m )an d m achin e. P re cybern etic m achin es cou l d be
hau n ted; there w as al w ays the s pectre of the ghos tin the
m achin e. T his du al is m s tru ctu red the dial ogu e betw een
m aterial is m an d ideal is m thatw as s ettl ed byadial ectical
progen y, cal l ed s piritorhis tory, accordin g totas te. Bu t
bas ical l ym achin es w ere n ots el f -m ov in g, s el f -des ign in g,
au ton om ou s . T heycou l d n otachiev e m an s dream , on l ym ock
it. T heyw ere n otm an , an au thortohim s el f , bu ton l ya
caricatu re of thatm as cu l in is treprodu ctiv e dream . T othin k
theyw ere otherw is e w as paran oid. N ow w e are n ots os u re.
Late tw en tieth-cen tu rym achin es hav e m ade thorou ghl y
am bigu ou s the dif f eren ce betw een n atu ral an d artif icial ,
m in d an d body, s el f dev el opin g an d extern al l ydes ign ed, an d
m an yotherdis tin ction s thatu s ed toappl ytoorgan is m s an d
m achin es . Ou rm achin es are dis tu rbin gl yl iv el y, an d w e
ou rs el v es f righten in gl yin ert.
T echn ol ogical determ in ation is on l yon e.ideol ogical s pace
open ed u pbythe recon ception s of m achin e an d organ is m as
coded texts throu ghw hichw e en gage in the pl ayof w ritin g
an d readin g the w orl d.3 T extu al ization of ev erythin g in
pos ts tru ctu ral is t, pos tm odern is ttheoryhas been dam n ed by
Marxis ts an d s ocial is tf em in is ts f orits u topian dis regard f or
the l .iv ed rel ation s of dom in ation thatgrou n d the pl ay of
arbitraryreadin g. Itis certain l ytru e thatpos tm odern is t
s trategies , l ike m ycyborg m yth, s u bv ertm yriad organ ic
w hol es ( f orexam pl e, the poem , the prim itiv e cu l tu re, the
biol ogical organ is m ). In s hort, the certain tyof w hatcou n ts
as n atu re as ou rce of in s ightan d prom is e of in n ocen ce is
u n derm in ed, probabl yf atal l y. T he tran s cen den t
au thorization of in terpretation is l os t, an d w ithitthe
on tol ogygrou n din g Wes tern epis tem ol ogy. Bu tthe
al tern ativ e is n otcyn icis m orf aithl es s n es s , thatis , s om e
v ers ion of abs tractexis ten ce, l ike the accou n ts of
techn ol ogical determ in is m des troyin g m an bythe
m achin e orm ean in gf u l pol itical action bythe text. Who
cyborgs w il l be is aradical qu es tion ; the an s w ers are am atter
of s u rv iv al . Bothchim pan zees an d artef acts hav e pol itics , s o
w hys hou l dn ' tw e ( de Waal , 19 82 ; Win n er, 19 80)?
T he third dis tin ction is as u bs etof the s econ d:the
bou n darybetw een phys ical an d n on -phys ical is v ery
theN EWMEDIAR EADER
im precis e f oru s . P opphys ics books on the con s equ en ces of
qu an tu m theoryan d the in determ in acyprin cipl e are akin d
of popu l ars cien tif ic equ iv al en ttoHarl equ in rom an ces as a
m arkerof radical chan ge in Am erican w hite heteros exu al ity:
theygetitw ron g, bu ttheyare on the rights u bj ect. Modern
m achin es are qu in tes s en tial l ym icroel ectron ic dev ices :they
are ev eryw here an d theyare in v is ibl e. Modern m achin eryis
an irrev eren tu ps tartgod, m ockin g the F athers u biqu ityan d
s piritu al ity. T he s il icon chipis as u rf ace f orw ritin g; itis
etched in m ol ecu l ars cal es dis tu rbed on l ybyatom ic n ois e,
the u l tim ate in terf eren ce f orn u cl ears cores . Writin g, pow er,
an d techn ol ogyare ol d partn ers in Wes tern s tories of the
origin of civ il ization , bu tm in iatu rization has chan ged ou r
experien ce of m echan is m . Min iatu rization has tu rn ed ou tto
be abou tpow er; s m al l is n ots om u chbeau tif u l as pre-
em in en tl ydan gerou s , as in cru is e m is s il es . Con tras tthe T V
s ets of the 19 50s orthe n ew s cam eras of the 19 7 0s w iththe
T V w ris tban ds orhan d s ized v ideocam eras n ow adv ertis ed.
Ou rbes tm achin es are m ade of s u n s hin e; theyare al l l ight
an d cl ean becau s e theyare n othin g bu ts ign al s , el ectro-
m agn etic w av es , as ection of as pectru m , an d thes e m achin es
are em in en tl yportabl e, m obil e am atterof im m en s e
hu m an pain in Detroitan d Sin gapore. P eopl e are n ow here
n ears of l u id, bein g bothm aterial an d opaqu e. Cyborgs are
ether, qu in tes s en ce.
T he u biqu ityan d in v is ibil ityof cyborgs is precis el yw hy
thes e s u n s hin e-bel tm achin es are s odeadl y. T heyare as hard
tos ee pol itical l yas m aterial l y. T heyare abou t
con s ciou s n es s orits s im u l ation s T heyare f l oatin g
s ign if iers m ov in g in picku ptru cks acros s Eu rope, bl ocked
m ore ef f ectiv el ybythe w itch-w eav in gs of the dis pl aced an d
s ou n n atu ral Green ham w om en , w horead the cyborg w ebs
of pow ers ov eryw el l , than bythe m il itan tl abou rof ol der
m as cu l in is tpol itics , w hos e n atu ral con s titu en cyn eeds
def en ce j obs . U l tim atel ythe hardes t s cien ce is abou tthe
real m of greates tbou n darycon f u s ion , the real m of pu re
n u m ber, pu re s pirit, C31, cryptography, an d the pres erv ation
of poten ts ecrets . T he n ew m achin es are s ocl ean an d l ight.
T heiren gin eers are s u n -w ors hippers m ediatin g an ew
s cien tif ic rev ol u tion as s ociated w iththe n ightdream of pos t-
in du s trial s ociety. T he dis eas es ev oked bythes e cl ean
m achin es are n om ore than the m in u s cu l e codin g chan ges
of an an tigen in the im m u n e s ys tem , n om ore"than the
~13 .._~_Y , _ -iy~_~7 1 . 1,-_,; ~_' "' P - ,--, -~~<r. 5 _~ 3. <, ; g - ~_y -. -' -.-_--_.-|_--.-( -' - _~_( Y 4 - ? w
". ' ~"= ' "* 1-"iF l "' ~l ' I* ' -."l ..' ' * 1--"= 1-\"" 1"""' e"|,-B3- "-S . ?~-' 3 2 -.~. -2 v ' .' "l Y ."' -Y . Y KY 1. ..* -7 :: :_- . ._.' - e . __= __-__> , 0_:_, \i_._, , . ,~ - ~ - g: _. 1 . ~-' __w gdt
~~' Q -: : -1 i ' ' = I = . . _- Q m l .-?:11-* 3 J. .7 -> ' 11; . ' _-"-_
\ Y
~.,..,_.-.~..; ,, . . _.._, av " -, ~,~. .-, .4,.~..--., V, -..-V. ~., 1 VI I
R 4 3 . T " > 2 2 -r-,..r' ; . :1? ' ~; ; ~4"o-.7 ~.<l -,' .-,I' .' g' Q \..o f -. ,1 i-f <.. ~., r' .~ _- - <.> _ _~ I,ei> .11
' ~ * l ' 1* "r~ f "- ' > ' a33~T ' .* - L"~"; ' ' -; :' --".)..".~V* J__...::' -- ' .' ~f 6 _' ... 1* > ' ~ ; ' ( ' 1; i-. :50.:1"!"-7 -___,
O O- - < = -~-----~- o - --o ~-~ -l l ?-8~ o~ 5-M 35. ACyborg Man if es to
experien ce of s tres s . T he n im bl e f in gers of Orien tal
w om en , the ol d f as cin ation of l ittl e An gl o-Saxon Victorian
girl s w ithdol l s hou s es , w om en s en f orced atten tion tothe
s m al l take on qu ite n ew dim en s ion s in this w orl d. T here
m ightbe acyborg Al ice takin g accou n tof thes e n ew
dim en s ion s . Iron ical l y, itm ightbe the u n n atu ral cyborg
w om en m akin g chips in As iaan d s piral dan cin g in San ta
R itaj ail w hos e con s tru cted u n ities w il l gu ide ef f ectiv e
oppos ition al s trategies .
Som ycyborg m ythis abou ttran s gres s ed bou n daries ,
poten tf u s ion s , an d dan gerou s pos s ibil ities w hichprogres s iv e
peopl e m ightexpl ore as on e partof n eeded pol itical w ork.
On e of m yprem is es is thatm os tAm erican s ocial is ts an d
f em in is ts s ee deepen ed du al is m s of m in d an d body, an im al
an d m achin e, ideal is m an d m aterial is m in the s ocial practices ,
s ym bol ic f orm u l ation s , an d phys ical artef acts as s ociated w ith
hightechn ol ogy an d s cien tif ic cu l tu re. F rom On e-
Dim en s ion al Man ( Marcu s e, 19 6 4)toT he Deathof N atu re
( Merchan t, 19 80), the an al ytic res ou rces dev el oped by
progres s iv es hav e in s is ted on the n eces s arydom in ation of
techn ics an d recal l ed u s toan im agin ed organ ic bodyto
in tegrate ou rres is tan ce. An otherof m yprem is es is thatthe
n eed f oru n ityof peopl e tryin g tores is tw orl d w ide
in ten s if ication of dom in ation has n ev erbeen m ore acu te. Bu t
as l ightl yperv ers e s hif tof pers pectiv e m ightbetteren abl e u s
tocon tes tf orm ean in gs , as w el l as f orotherf orm s of pow er
an d pl eas u re in techn ol ogical l ym ediated s ocieties .
F rom on e pers pectiv e, acyborg w orl d is abou tthe f in al
im pos ition of agrid of con trol on the pl an et, abou tthe f in al
abs traction em bodied in aStarWars apocal yps e w aged in the
n am e of def en ce, abou tthe f in al appropriation of w om en s
bodies in am as cu l in is torgyof w ar( Sof ia, 19 84). F rom
an otherpers pectiv e, acyborg w orl d m ightbe abou tl iv ed
s ocial an d bodil yreal ities in w hichpeopl e are n otaf raid of
theirj oin tkin s hipw ithan im al s an d m achin es , n otaf raid of
perm an en tl ypartial iden tities an d con tradictory
s tan dpoin ts . T he pol itical s tru ggl e is tos ee f rom both
pers pectiv es aton ce becau s e eachrev eal s bothdom in ation s
an d pos s ibil ities u n im agin abl e f rom the otherv an tage poin t.
Sin gl e v is ion produ ces w ors e il l u s ion s than dou bl e v is ion or
m an yeheaded m on s ters . Cyborg u n ities are m on s trou s an d
f rpractice. ,-irf oiice a_n i; i' .; i > iii-i; % ,ai"4:g1 _i_; ii' ; i 1
gu ards * 8_f 1d; _' a|' rQ S d~ aiiti-n u -tl ear_tl j e-m qn s trat_ors ; .; in f theatam eda. _g H.
Cou n ty' j a~i_l f ' in _C_a1if o.rn ia; in f the,* earl y; ' 1,9 80s { l ~_~' P ;
, . ~_. I " ' .. 4,11 .-~" ~"* ' - __.
- . -. ~ -. . . ~.. -._. - ~
il l egitim ate; in ou rpres en tpol itical circu m s tan ces , w e cou l d
hardl yhope f orm ore poten tm yths f orres is tan ce an d
recou pl in g. Il ike toim agin e LAG, the Liv erm ore Action
Grou p, as akin d of cyborg s ociety, dedicated toreal is tical l y
con v ertin g the l aboratories thatm os tf iercel yem bodyan d
s pew ou tthe tool s of techn ol ogical apocal yps e, an d
com m itted tobu il din g apol itical f orm thatacu tal l ym an ages
tohol d togetherw itches , en gin eers , el ders , perv erts ,
Chris tian s , m others , an d Len in is ts l on g en ou ghtodis arm the
s tate. F is s ion Im pos s ibl e is the n am e of the af f in itygrou pin
m ytow n . ( Af f in ity:rel ated n otbybl ood bu tbychoice, the
appeal of on e chem ical n u cl eargrou pf oran other, av idity.)6
F ractu red Iden tities
Ithas becom e dif f icu l tton am e on es f em in is m byas in gl e
adj ectiv e orev en toin s is tin ev erycircu m s tan ce u pon the
n ou n . Con s ciou s n es s of excl u s ion throu ghn am in g is acu te.
Iden tities s eem con tradictory, partial , an d s trategic. Withthe
hard-w on recogn ition of theirs ocial an d his torical
con s titu tion , gen der, race, an d cl as s can n otprov ide the bas is
f orbel ief in es s en tial u n ity. T here is n othin g abou tbein g
f em al e thatn atu ral l ybin ds w om en . T here is n otev en s u ch
as tate as bein g f em al e, its el f ahighl ycom pl excategory
con s tru cted in con tes ted s exu al s cien tif ic dis cou rs es an d
others ocial practices . Gen der, race, orcl as s con s ciou s n es s is
an achiev em en tf orced on u s bythe terribl e his torical
experien ce of the con tradictorys ocial real ities of patriarchy,
col on ial is m , an d capital is m . An d w hocou n ts as u s in m y
ow n rhetoric?Whichiden tities are av ail abl e togrou n d s u cha
poten tpol itical m ythcal l ed u s , an d w hatcou l d m otiv ate
en l is tm en tin this col l ectiv ity?P ain f u l f ragm en tation am on g
f em in is ts ( n ottom en tion am on g w om en )al on g ev ery
pos s ibl e f au l tl in e has m ade the con ceptof w om an el u s iv e, an
excu s e f orthe m atrixof w om en s dom in ation s of eachother.
F orm e an d f orm an yw hos hare as im il arhis torical
l ocation in w hite, -prof es s ion al m iddl e-cl as s , f em al e, radical ,
N orthAm erican , m id-adu l tbodies the s ou rces of acris is in
pol itical iden tityare l egion . T he recen this toryf orm u chof
the U S l ef tan d U S f em in is m has been ares pon s e tothis kin d
of cris is byen dl es s s pl ittin g an d s earches f oran ew es s en tial
u n ity. Bu tthere has al s obeen agrow in g recogn ition of
7
an otherres pon s e throu ghcoal ition af f in ity, n otiden tity.
Chel aSan dov al ( n .d., 19 84), f rom acon s ideration of
s pecif ic his torical m om en ts in the f orm ation of the n ew
pol itical v oice cal l ed w om en of col ou r, has theorized a
35. ACyborg Man if es to
hopef u l m odel of pol itical iden titycal l ed oppos ition al
con s ciou s n es s , born of the s kil l s f orreadin g w ebs of pow er
bythos e ref u s ed s tabl e m em bers hipin the s ocial categories
of race, s ex, orcl as s . Wom en of col or,"an am e con tes ted at
its origin s bythos e w hom itw ou l d in corporate, as w el l as a
his torical con s ciou s n es s m arkin g s ys tem atic breakdow n of al l
the s ign s of Man in Wes tern tradition s , con s tru cts akin d of
pos tm odern is tiden tityou tof othern es s ,dif f eren ce, an d
s pecif icity. T his pos tm odern is tiden tityis f u l l ypol itical ,
w hatev erm ightbe s aid abou totherpos s ibl e pos tm odern -
is m s . San dov al s oppos ition al con s ciou s n es s is abou t
con tradictoryl ocation s an d heterochron ic cal en dars , n ot
abou trel ativ is m s an d pl u ral is m s .
San dov al em phas izes the l ack of an yes s en tial criterion
f oriden tif yin g w hois aw om an of col ou r. She n otes that
the def in ition of the grou phas been bycon s ciou s
appropriation of n egation . F orexam pl e, aChican aorU S
bl ack w om an has n otbeen abl e tos peak as aw om an oras a
bl ack pers on oras aChican o. T hu s , s he w as atthe bottom
of acas cade of n egativ e iden tities , l ef tou tof ev en the
priv il eged oppres s ed au thorial categories cal l ed w om en
an d bl acks , w hocl aim ed tom ake the im portan t
rev ol u tion s . T he categoryw om an n egated al l n on -w hite
w om en ; bl ack n egated al l n on ~bl ack peopl e, as w el l as al l
bl ack w om en . Bu tthere w as al s on os he, n os in gu l arity,
bu tas eaof dif f eren ces am on g U S w om en w hohav e
af f irm ed theirhis torical iden tityas U S w om en of col ou r.
T his iden titym arks ou tas el f -con s ciou s l ycon s tru cted
s pace thatcan n otaf f irm the capacitytoacton the bas is of
n atu ral iden tif ication , bu ton l yon the bas is of con s ciou s
coal ition , of af f in ity, of pol itical kin s hip?U n l ike the
w om an of s om e s tream s of the w hite w om en s m ov em en t
in the U n ited States , there is n on atu ral ization of the
m atrix, oratl eas tthis is w hatSan dov al argu es is u n iqu el y
av ail abl e throu ghthe pow erof oppos ition al con s ciou s n es s .
San dov al s argu m en thas tobe s een as on e poten t
f orm u l ation f orf em in is ts ou tof the w orl d-w ide dev el opm en t
of an ti col on ial is tdis cou rs e; thatis tos ay, dis cou rs e
dis s ol v in g the Wes t an d its highes tprodu ct the on e w ho
is n otan im al , barbarian , orw om an ; m an , thatis , the au thor
of acos m os cal l ed his tory. As orien tal is m is decon s tru cted
pol itical l yan d s em iotical l y, the iden tities of the occiden t
des tabil ize, in cl u din g thos e of f em in is ts ?San dov al argu es
thatw om en of col ou r hav e achan ce tobu il d an ef f ectiv e
u n itythatdoes n otrepl icate the im perial izin g, total izin g
theN EWMEDIAR EADER
rev ol u tion arys u bj ects of prev iou s Marxis m s an d f em in is m s
w hichhad n otf aced the con s equ en ces of the dis orderl y
pol yphon yem ergin g f rom decol on ization . .
Katie Kin g has em phas ized the l im its of iden tif ication an d
the pol itical f poetic m echan ics of iden tif ication bu il tin to
readin g the poem , thatgen erativ e core of cu l tu ral f em in is m .
Kin g criticizes the pers is ten tten den cyam on g con tem porary
f em in is ts f rom dif f eren tm om en ts orcon v ers ation s in
f em in is tpractice totaxon om ize the w om en s m ov em en tto
m ake on es ow n pol itical ten den cies appeartobe the tel os of
the w hol e. T hes e taxon om ies ten d torem ake f em in is t
his torys othatitappears tobe an ideol ogical s tru ggl e am on g
coheren ttypes pers is tin g ov ertim e, es pecial l ythos e typical
u n its cal l ed radical , l iberal , an d s ocial is t-f em in is m . Literal l y, al l
otherf em in is m s are eitherin corporated orm argin al ized,
u s u al l ybybu il din g an expl iciton tol ogyan d epis tem ol ogy.1
T axon om ies of f em in is m produ ce epis tem ol ogies topol ice
dev iation f rom of f icial w om en s experien ce. An d of cou rs e,
w om en s cu l tu re, l ike w om en of col ou r, is con s ciou s l y
created bym echan is m s in du cin g af f in ity. T he ritu al s of
poetry, m u s ic, an d certain f orm s of academ ic practice hav e
been pre-em in en t. T he pol itics of race an d cu l tu re in the U S
w om en s m ov em en ts are in tim atel yin terw ov en . T he
com m on achiev em en tof Kin g an d San dov al is l earn in g how
tocraf tapoetic/ pol itical u n ityw ithou trel yin g on al ogic of
appropriation , in corporation , an d taxon om ic iden tif ication .
T he theoretical an d practical s tru ggl e again s tu n ity-
throu gh-dom in ation oru n ity-throu gh-in corporation
iron ical l yn oton l yu n derm in es the j u s tif ication s f or
patriarchy, col on ial is m , hu m an is m , pos itiv is m , es s en tial is m ,
s cien tis m , an d otheru n l am en ted -is m s , bu tal l cl aim s f oran
organ ic orn atu ral s tan dpoin t. Ithin k thatradical an d
s ocial is t/ Marxis t-f em in is m s hav e al s ou n derm in ed their/ ou r
ow n epis tem ol ogical s trategies an d thatthis is acru cial l yv al u -
abl e s tepin im agin in g pos s ibl e u n ities . Itrem ain s tobe s een
w hetheral l "epis tem ol ogies "as Wes tern pol itical peopl e hav e
kn ow n them f ail u s in the tas k tobu il d ef f ectiv e af f in ities .
Itis im portan tton ote thatthe ef f orttocon s tru ct
rev ol u tion arys tan dpoin ts , epis tem ol ogies as achiev em en ts
of peopl e com m itted tochan gin g the w orl d, has been partof
the proces s s how in g the l im its of iden tif ication . T he acid
tool s of pos tm odern is ttheoryan d the con s tru ctiv e tool s of
on tol ogical dis cou rs e abou trev ol u tion arys u bj ects m ightbe
s een as iron ic al l ies in dis s ol v in g Wes tern s el v es in the
in teres ts of s u rv iv al . We are excru ciatin gl ycon s ciou s of w hat
0U 19 85.-.> . A A 35. ACyborg Man if es to 0. - ---1 a 3 1
itm ean s tohav e ahis torical l ycon s titu ted body. Bu tw iththe
l os s of in n ocen ce in ou rorigin , there is n oexpu l s ion f rom the
Garden either. Ou rpol itics l os e the in du l gen ce of gu il tw ith
the n aiv et of in n ocen ce. Bu tw hatw ou l d an otherpol itical
m ythf ors ocial is t-f em in is m l ook l ike?Whatkin d of pol itics
cou l d em brace partial , con tradictory, perm an en tl yu n cl os ed
con s tru ction s of pers on al an d col l ectiv e s el v es an d s til l be
f aithf u l , ef f ectiv e an d, iron ical l y, s ocial is t-f em in is t?
Idon otkn ow of an yothertim e in his toryw hen there
w as greatern eed f orpol itical u n itytocon f ron tef f ectiv el y
the dom in ation s of race, gen der, s exu al ity, an d cl as s . I
al s odon otkn ow of an yothertim e w hen the kin d of u n ity
w e m ighthel pbu il d cou l d hav e been pos s ibl e. N on e of u s
hav e an yl on gerthe s ym bol ic orm aterial capabil ityof
dictatin g the s hape of real itytoan yof them . Oratl eas t
w e can n otcl aim in n ocen ce f rom practis in g s u ch
dom in ation s . White w om en , in cl u din g s ocial is tf em in is ts ,
dis cov ered ( thatis , w ere f orced kickin g an d s cream in g to
n otice)the n on -in n ocen ce of the categoryw om an . T hat
con s ciou s n es s chan ges the geographyof al l prev iou s
categories ; itden atu res them as heatden atu res af ragil e
protein . Cyborg f em in is ts hav e toargu e thatw e don ot
w an tan ym ore n atu ral m atrixof u n ityan d thatn o
con s tru ction is w hol e. In n ocen ce, an d the corol l ary
in s is ten ce on v ictim hood as the on l ygrou n d f orin s ight, has
don e en ou ghdam age. Bu tthe con s tru cted rev ol u tion ary
s u bj ectm u s tgiv e l ate-tw en tieth-cen tu rypeopl e pau s e as
w el l . In the f rayin g of iden tities an d in the ref l exiv e
s trategies f orcon s tru ctin g them , the pos s ibil ityopen s u pf or
w eav in g s om ethin g otherthan as hrou d f orthe dayaf terthe
apocal yps e thats oprophetical l yen ds s al v ation his tory.
BothMarxis t/ s ocial is t-f em in is m s an d radical f em in is m s
hav e s im u l tan eou s l yn atu ral ized an d den atu red the category
w om an an d con s ciou s n es s of the s ocial l iv es of w om en .
P erhaps as chem atic caricatu re can highl ightbothkin ds of
m ov es . Marxian s ocial is m is rooted in an an al ys is of w age
l abou rw hichrev eal s cl as s s tru ctu re. T he con s equ en ce of the
w age rel ation s hipis s ys tem atic al ien ation , as the w orkeris
dis s ociated f rom his ( s ic)produ ct. Abs traction an d il l u s ion
ru l e in kn ow l edge, dom in ation ru l es in practice. Labou ris the
pre-em in en tl ypriv il eged categoryen abl in g the Marxis tto
ov ercom e il l u s ion an d f in d thatpoin tof v iew w hichis
n eces s aryf orchan gin g the w orl d. Labou ris the hu m an izin g
activ itythatm akes m an ; l abou ris an on tol ogical category
perm ittin g the kn ow l edge of as u bj ect, an d s othe kn ow l edge
of s u bj u gation an d al ien ation .
In f aithf u l f il iation , s ocial is t-f em in is m adv an ced byal l yin g
its el f w iththe bas ic an al ytic s trategies of Marxis m . T he
m ain achiev em en tof bothMarxis tf em in is ts an d s ocial is t
f em in is ts w as toexpan d the categoryof l abou rtoaccom m o-
date w hat( s om e)w om en did, ev en w hen the w age rel ation
w as s u bordin ated toam ore com prehen s iv e v iew of l abou r
u n dercapital is tpatriarchy. In particu l ar, w om en s l abou rin
the hou s ehol d an d w om en s activ ityas m others gen eral l y
( thatis , reprodu ction in the s ocial is t-f em in is ts en s e),
en tered theoryon the au thorityof an al ogytothe Marxian
con ceptof l abou r. T he u n ityof w om en here res ts on an
epis tem ol ogybas ed on the on tol ogical s tru ctu re of l abou r.
Marxis t/ s ocial is t-f em in is m does n otn atu ral ize u n ity; itis
apos s ibl e achiev em en tbas ed on apos s ibl e s tan dpoin t
rooted in s ocial rel ation s . T he es s en tial izin g m ov e is in the
on tol ogical s tru ctu re of l abou rorof its an al ogu e, w om en s
activ ity. T he in heritan ce of Marxian hu m an is m , w ithits
pre-em in en tl yWes tern s el f , is the dif f icu l tyf orm e. T he
con tribu tion f rom _thes e f orm u l ation s has been the
em phas is on the dail yres pon s ibil ityof real w om en tobu il d
u n ities , ratherthan ton atu ral ize them .
Catherin e MacKin n on s ( 19 82 , 19 87 )v ers ion of radical
f em in is m is its el f acaricatu re of the appropriatin g,
in corporatin g, total izin g ten den cies of Wes tern theories of
iden titygrou n din g action . Itis f actu al l yan d pol itical l y
w ron g toas s im il ate al l of the div ers e m om en ts or
con v ers ation s in recen tw om en s pol itics n am ed radical
f em in is m toMacKin n on s v ers ion . Bu tthe tel eol ogical l ogic
of hertheorys how s how an epis tem ol ogyan d on tol ogy
in cl u din g theirn egation s eras e orpol ice dif f eren ce. On l y
on e of the ef f ects of MacKin n on s theoryis the rew ritin g of
the his toryof the pol ym orphou s f iel d cal l ed radical
f em in is m . T he m aj oref f ectis the produ ction of atheoryof
experien ce, of w om en s iden tity, thatis akin d of apocal yps e
f oral l rev ol u tion arys tan dpoin ts . T hatis , the total ization
bu il tin tothis tal e of radical f em in is m achiev es its en d the
u n ityof w om en byen f orcin g the experien ce of an d
tes tim on ytoradical n on -bein g. As f orthe Marxis t/ s ocial is t
f em in is t, con s ciou s n es s is an achiev em en t, n otan atu ral f act.
An d MacKin n on s theoryel im in ates s om e of the dif f icu l ties
bu il tin tohu m an is trev ol u tion arys u bj ects , bu tatthe cos tof
radical redu ction is m .
35. ACyborg Man if es to -
MacKin n on argu es thatf em in is m n eces s aril yadopted a
dif f eren tan al ytical s trategyf rom Marxis m , l ookin g f irs tn ot
atthe s tru ctu re of cl as s , bu tatthe s tru ctu re of s ex/ gen der
an d its gen erativ e rel ation s hip, m en s con s titu tion an d
appropriation of w om en s exu al l y. Iron ical l y, MacKin n on s
on tol ogy con s tru cts an on -s u bj ect, an on -bein g. An others
des ire, n otthe s el f s l abou r, is the origin of w om an . She
theref ore dev el ops atheoryof con s ciou s n es s thaten f orces
w hatcan cou n tas w om en s experien ce an ythin g that
n am es s exu al v iol ation , in deed, s exits el f as f aras w om en
can be con cern ed. F em in is tpractice is the con s tru ction of
this f orm of con s ciou s n es s ; thatis , the s el f kn ow l edge of a
s el f -w ho-is -n ot.
P erv ers el y, s exu al appropriation in this f em in is m s til l has
the epis tem ol ogical s tatu s of l abou r; thatis tos ay, the poin t
f rom w hichan an al ys is abl e tocon tribu te tochan gin g the
w orl d m u s tf l ow . Bu ts exu al obj ectif ication , n otal ien ation , is
the con s equ en ce of the s tru ctu re of s eX/ gen der. In the real m
of kn ow l edge, the res u l tof s exu al obj ectif ication is il l u s ion
an d abs traction . How ev er, aw om an is n ots im pl yal ien ated
f rom herprodu ct, bu tin adeeps en s e does n otexis tas a
s u bj ect, orev en poten tial s u bj ect, s in ce s he ow es herexis ten ce
as aw om an tos exu al appropriation . T obe con s titu ted by
an others des ire is n otthe s am e thin g as tobe al ien ated in the
v iol en ts eparation of the l abou rerf rom his produ ct.
MacKin n on s radical theoryof experien ce is total izin g in
the extrem e; itdoes n ots om u chm argin al ize as obl iterate
the au thorityof an yotherw om en s pol itical s peechan d
action . Itis atotal ization produ cin g w hatWes tern patriarchy
its el f n ev ers u cceeded in doin g f em in is ts con s ciou s n es s of
the n on -exis ten ce of w om en , exceptas produ cts of m en s
des ire. Ithin k MacKin n on correctl yargu es thatn oMarxian
v ers ion of iden titycan f irm l ygrou n d w om en s u n ity. Bu tin
s ol v in g the probl em of the con tradiction s of an yWes tern
rev ol u tion arys u bj ectf orf em in is tpu rpos es , s he dev el ops an
ev en m ore au thoritarian doctrin e of experien ce. If m y
com pl ain tabou ts ocial is t/ Marxian s tan dpoin ts is their
u n in ten ded eras u re of pol yv ocal , u n as s im il abl e, radical
dif f eren ce m ade v is ibl e in an ti-col on ial dis cou rs e an d
practice, MacKin n on s in ten tion al eras u re of al l dif f eren ce
throu ghthe dev ice of the es s en tial n on -exis ten ce of w om en
is n otreas s u rin g.
In m ytaxon om y, w hichl ike an yothertaxon om yis are-
in s cription of his tory, radical f em in is m can accom m odate al l
the activ ities of w om en n am ed bys ocial is tf em in is ts as
theN EWMEDIAR EADER
f orm s of l abou ron l yif the activ itycan s om ehow be
s exu al ized. R eprodu ction had dif f eren tton es of m ean in gs f or
the tw oten den cies , on e rooted in l abou r, on e in s ex, both
cal l in g the con s equ en ces of dom in ation an d ign oran ce of
s ocial an d pers on al real ityf al s e con s ciou s n es s .
Beyon d eitherthe dif f icu l ties orthe con tribu tion s in the
argu m en tof an yon e au thor, n eitherMarxis tn orradical
f em in is tpoin ts of v iew hav e ten ded toem brace the s tatu s of
apartial expl an ation ; bothw ere regu l arl ycon s titu ted as
total ities . Wes tern expl an ation has dem an ded as m u ch; how
el s e cou l d the Wes tern au thorin corporate its others ?Each
tried toan n exotherf orm s of dom in ation byexpan din g its
bas ic categories throu ghan al ogy, s im pl e l is tin g, oraddition .
Em barras s ed s il en ce abou trace am on g w hite radical an d
s ocial is tf em in is ts w as on e m aj or, dev as tatin g pol itical
con s equ en ce. His toryan d pol yv ocal itydis appearin to
pol itical taxon om ies thattrytoes tabl is hgen eal ogies . T here
w as n os tru ctu ral room f orrace ( orf orm u chel s e)in theory
cl aim in g torev eal the con s tru ction of the categoryw om an
an d s ocial grou pw om en as au n if ied ortotal izabl e w hol e.
T he s tru ctu re of m ycaricatu re l ooks l ike this :
Social is tf em in is m
s tru ctu re of cl as s / / w age l abou r/ / al ien ation
l abou r, byan al ogyreprodu ction , byexten s ion s ex, by
addition race
radical f em in is m -
s tru ctu re of gen der/ / s exu al appropriation / / obj ectif ication
s ex, byan al ogyl abou r, byexten s ion reprodu ction , by
addition race
In an othercon text, the F ren chtheoris t, Ju l iaKris tev a,
cl aim ed w om en appeared as ahis torical grou paf terthe
Secon d Worl d War, al on g w ithgrou ps l ike you th. Herdates
are dou btf u l ; bu tw e are n ow accu s tom ed torem em berin g
thatas obj ects of kn ow l edge an d as his torical actors , race
did n otal w ays exis t, cl as s has ahis torical gen es is , an d
hom os exu al s are qu ite j u n ior. Itis n oacciden tthatthe
s ym bol ic s ys tem of the f am il yof m an an d s othe es s en ce of
w om an breaI<s u patthe s am e m om en tthatn etw orks of
con n ection am on g peopl e on the pl an etare u n preceden tecl l y
m u l tipl e, pregn an t, an d com pl ex. Adv an ced capital is m is
in adequ ate tocon v eythe s tru ctu re of this his torical m om en t.
In the Wes tern s en s e, the en d of m an is ats take. Itis n o
acciden tthatw om an dis in tegrates in tow om en in ou rtim e.
P erhaps s ocial is tf em in is ts w ere n ots u bs tan tial l ygu il tyof
produ cin g es s en tial is ttheorythats u ppres s ed w om en s
19 85a _35. ACyborg Man if es to er * 4 r~--o ~-- ---oa-We
particu l arityan d con tradictoryin teres ts . Ithin k w e hav e
been , atl eas tthrou ghu n ref l ectiv e participation in the l ogics ,
l an gu ages , an d practices of w hite hu m an is m an d throu gh
s earchin g f oras in gl e grou n d of dom in ation tos ecu re ou r
rev ol u tion aryv oice. N ow w e hav e l es s excu s e. Bu tin the
con s ciou s n es s of ou rf ail u res , w e ris k l aps in g in tobou n dl es s
dif f eren ce an d giv in g u pon the con f u s in g tas k of m akin g
partial , real con n ection . Som e dif f eren ces are pl ayf u l ; s om e
are pol es of w orl d his torical s ys tem s of dom in ation .
Epis tem ol ogy is abou tkn ow in g the dif f eren ce.
T he In f orm atics of Dom in ation
In this attem ptatan epis tem ol ogical an d pol itical pos ition , I
w ou l d l ike tos ketchapictu re of pos s ibl e u n ity, apictu re
in debted tos ocial is tan d f em in is tprin cipl es of des ign . T he
f ram e f orm ys ketchis s etbythe exten tan d im portan ce of
rearran gem en ts in w orl d-w ide s ocial rel ation s tied tos cien ce
an d techn ol ogy. Iargu e f orapol itics rooted in cl aim s abou t
f u n dam en tal chan ges in the n atu re of cl as s , race, an d gen der
in an em ergin g s ys tem of w orl d orderan al ogou s in its
n ov el tyan d s cope tothatcreated byin du s trial capital is m ; w e
are l iv in g throu gham ov em en tf rom an organ ic, in du s trial
s ocietytoapol ym orphou s , in f orm ation s ys tem f rom al l
w ork toal l pl ay, adeadl ygam e. Sim u l tan eou s l ym aterial an d
ideol ogical , the dichotom ies m aybe expres s ed in the
f ol l ow in g chartof tran s ition s f rom the com f ortabl e ol d
hierarchical dom in ation s tothe s caryn ew n etw orks Ihav e
cal l ed the in f orm atics of dom in ation ( T abl e 35.1).
T his l is ts u gges ts s ev eral in teres tin g thin gs . F irs t, the
obj ects on the right-han d s ide can n otbe coded as n atu ral , a
real ization thats u bv erts n atu ral is tic codin g f orthe l ef t-han d
s ide as w el l . We can n otgoback ideol ogical l yorm aterial l y. Its
n otj u s tthatgod is dead; s ois the goddes s . Orbothare
rev iv if ied in the w orl ds charged w ithm icroel ectron ic an d
biotechn ol ogical pol itics . In rel ation toobj ects l ike biotic
com pon en ts , on e m u s tthin k n otin term s of es s en tial
properties , bu tin term s of des ign , bou n darycon s train ts ,
rates of f l ow s , s ys tem s l ogics , cos ts of l ow erin g con s train ts .
Sexu al reprodu ction is on e kin d of reprodu ctiv e s trategy
am on g m an y, w ithcos ts an d ben ef its as af u n ction of the
s ys tem en v iron m en t. Ideol ogies of s exu al reprodu ction can
n ol on gerreas on abl ycal l on n otion s of s exan d s exrol e as
organ ic as pects in n atu ral obj ects l ike organ is m s an d f am il ies
Su chreas on in g w il l be u n m as ked as irration al , an d iron ical l y
corporate execu tiv es readin g P l ayboyan d an ti-porn radical
0
f em in is ts w il l m ake s tran ge bedf el l ow s in j oin tl yu n m as kin g
the irration al is m .
Likew is e f orrace, ideol ogies abou thu m an div ers ityhav e to
be f orm u l ated in term s of f requ en cies of param eters , l ike
bl ood grou ps orin tel l igen ce s cores . Itis irration al toin v oke
con cepts l ike prim itiv e an d civ il ized. F orl iberal s an d radical s ,
the s earchf orin tegrated s ocial s ys tem s giv es w aytoan ew
practice cal l ed experim en tal ethn ography in w hichan
organ ic obj ectdis s ipates in atten tion tothe pl ayof w ritin g.
Atthe l ev el of ideol ogy, w e s ee tran s l ation s of racis m an d
col on ial is m in tol an gu ages of dev el opm en tan d u n der-
dev el opm en t, rates an d con s train ts of m odern ization . An y
In f orm atics of Dom in ation :
R epres en tation
Bou rgeois n ov el , real is m
Organ is m
Depth, in tegrity
Heat
Biol ogyas cl in ical practice
P hys iol ogy
Sm al l grou p
P erf ection
Eu gen ics
Decaden ce, Magic Mou n tain
Hygien e
Microbiol ogy, tu bercu l os is
Organ ic div is ion of l abou r
F u n ction al s pecial ization
R eprodu ction
Organ ic s exrol e s pecial ization
Biol ogical determ in is m
Com m u n ityecol ogy
R acial chain of bein g
Scien ti c m an agem en tin
hom e/ f actory
F am il y/ Market/ F actory
F am il yw age
P u bl ic/ P riv ate
N atu re/ Cu l tu re
Co-operation
F reu d
Sex
Labou r
Min d
Secon d Worl d War
White Capital is tP atriarchy
T abl e 35.1
Sim u l ation
Scien ce f iction , pos tm odern is m
Biotic com pon en t
Su rf ace, bou n dary
N ois e
Biol ogyas in s cription
Com m u n ication s en gin eerin g
Su bs ys tem
Optim ization
P opu l ation Con trol
Obs ol es cen ce, F u tu re Shock
Stres s Man agem en t
Im m u n ol ogy, AIDS
Ergon om ics / cybern etics of
l abou r
Modu l arcon s tru ction
R epl ication
Optim al gen etic s trategies
Ev ol u tion aryin ertia,
con s train ts
Ecos ys tem
N eo-im perial is m , U n ited N ation s
hu m an is m
Gl obal f actory/ El ectron ic
cottage
Wom en in the In tegrated
Circu it
Com parabl e w orth
Cyborg citizen s hip
F iel ds of dif f eren ce
Com m u n ication s en han cem en t
_acan
Gen etic en gin eerin g
R obotics
Artif icial In tel l igen ce
StarWars
In f orm atics of Dom in ation
35. ACyborg Man if es to
obj ects orpers on s can be reas on abl ythou ghtof in term s of
dis as s em bl yan d reas s em bl y; n on atu ral architectu res
con s train s ys tem des ign . T he f in an cial dis tricts in al l the
w orl ds cities , as w el l as the export-proces s in g an d f ree-trade
zon es , procl aim this el em en taryf actof l ate capital is m . T he
en tire u n iv ers e of obj ects thatcan be kn ow n s cien tif ical l y
m u s tbe f orm u l ated as probl em s in com m u n ication s
en gin eerin g ( f orthe m an agers )ortheories of the text( f or
thos e w how ou l d res is t). Bothare cyborg s em iol ogies .
On e s hou l d expectcon trol s trategies tocon cen trate on
bou n darycon dition s an d in terf aces , on rates of f l ow acros s
bou n daries an d n oton the in tegrityof n atu ral obj ects .
In tegrity ors in cerity of the Wes tern s el f giv es w ayto
decis ion procedu res an d experts ys tem s . F orexam pl e,
con trol s trategies appl ied tow om en s capacities togiv e birth
ton ew hu m an bein gs w il l be dev el oped in the l an gu ages of
popu l ation con trol an d m axim ization of goal achiev em en t
f orin div idu al decis ion -m akers . Con trol s trategies w il l be
f orm u l ated in term s of rates , cos ts of con s train ts , degrees of
f reedom . Hu m an bein gs , l ike an yothercom pon en tor
s u bs ys tem , m u s tbe l ocal ized in as ys tem architectu re w hos e
bas ic m odes of operation are probabil is tic, s tatis tical . N o
obj ects , s paces , orbodies are s acred in them s el v es ; an y
com pon en tcan be in terf aced w ithan yotherif the proper
s tan dard, the propercode, can be con s tru cted f orproces s in g
s ign al s in acom m on l an gu age. Exchan ge in this w orl d
tran s cen ds the u n iv ers al tran s l ation ef f ected bycapital is t
m arkets thatMarxan al ys ed s ow el l . T he priv il eged
pathol ogyaf f ectin g al l kin ds of com pon en ts in this u n iv ers e
is s tres s com m u n ication s breakdow n ( Hogn es s , 19 83).
T he cyborg is n ots u bj ecttoF ou cau l ts biopol itics ; the
cyborg s im u l ates pol itics , am u chm ore poten t el d of
operation s .
T his kin d of an al ys is of s cien tif ic an d cu l tu ral obj ects of
kn ow l edge w hichhav e appeared his torical l ys in ce the Secon d
Worl d Warprepares u s ton otice s om e im portan t
in adequ acies in f em in is tan al ys is w hichhas proceeded as if
the organ ic, hierarchical du al is m s orderin g dis cou rs e in the
Wes t s in ce Aris totl e s til l ru l ed. T heyhav e been can n ibal ized,
oras Zoe Sof ia( Sof ou l is )m ightpu tit, theyhav e been
techn o-diges ted. T he dichotom ies betw een m in d an d body,
an im al an d hu m an , organ is m an d m achin e, pu bl ic an d
priv ate, n atu re an d cu l tu re, m en an d w om en , prim itiv e an d
civ il ized are al l in qu es tion ideol ogical l y. T he actu al s itu ation
of w om en is theirin tegration / expl oitation in toaw orl d
theN EWMEDIAR EADER
s ys tem of produ ction / reprodu ction an d com m u n ication
cal l ed the in f orm atics of dom in ation . T he hom e, w orkpl ace,
m arket, pu bl ic aren a, the bodyits el f al l can be dis pers ed
an d in terf aced in n earl yin f in ite, pol ym orphou s w ays , w ith
l arge con s equ en ces f orw om en an d others con s equ en ces
thatthem s el v es are v erydif f eren tf ordif f eren tpeopl e an d
w hichm ake poten toppos ition al in tern ation al m ov em en ts
dif f icu l ttoim agin e an d es s en tial f ors u rv iv al . On e im portan t
rou te f orrecon s tru ctin g s ocial is t-f em in is tpol itics is throu gh
theoryan d practice addres s ed tothe s ocial rel ation s of
s cien ce an d techn ol ogy, in cl u din g cru cial l ythe s ys tem s of
m ythan d m ean in gs s tru ctu rin g ou rim agin ation s . T he
cyborg is akin d of dis as s em bl ed an d reas s em bl ed, pos t-
m odern col l ectiv e an d pers on al s el f . T his is the s el f f em in is ts
m u s tcode.
Com m u n ication s techn ol ogies an d biotechn ol ogies are
the cru cial tool s recraf tin g ou rbodies . T hes e tool s em body
an d en f orce n ew s ocial rel ation s f orw om en w orl d-w ide.
T echn ol ogies an d s cien tif ic dis cou rs es can be partial l y
u n ders tood as f orm al ization s , i.e., as f rozen m om en ts , of
the f l u id s ocial in teraction s con s titu tin g them , bu tthey
s hou l d al s obe v iew ed as in s tru m en ts f oren f orcin g
m ean in gs . T he bou n daryis perm eabl e betw een tool an d
m yth, in s tru m en tan d con cept, his torical s ys tem s of s ocial
rel ation s an d his torical an atom ies of pos s ibl e bodies ,
in cl u din g obj ects of kn ow l edge. In deed, m ythan d tool
m u tu al l ycon s titu te eachother.
F u rtherm ore, com m u n ication s s cien ces an d m odern
biol ogies are con s tru cted byacom m on m ov e tl 1e
tran s l ation of the w orl d in toaprobl em of codin g, as earchf ora
com m on l an gu age in w hichal l res is tan ce toin s tru m en tal
con trol dis appears an d al l heterogen eitycan be s u bm itted to
dis as s em bl y, reas s em bl y, in v es tm en t, an d exchan ge.
In com m u n ication s s cien ces , the tran s l ation of the w orl d
in toaprobl em in codin g can be il l u s trated byl ookin g at
cybern etic ( f eedback-con trol l ed)s ys tem s theories appl ied to
tel ephon e techn ol ogy, com pu terdes ign , w eapon s
depl oym en t, ordatabas e con s tru ction an d m ain ten an ce. In
eachcas e, s ol u tion tothe keyqu es tion s res ts on atheoryof
l an gu age an d con trol ; the keyoperation is determ in in g the
rates , direction s , an d probabil ities of f l ow of aqu an titycal l ed
in f orm ation . T he w orl d is s u bdiv ided bybou n daries
dif f eren tial l yperm eabl e toin f orm ation . In f orm ation is j u s t
thatkin d of qu an tif iabl e el em en t( u n it, bas is of u n ity)w hich
al l ow s u n iv ers al tran s l ation , an d s ou n hin dered in s tru m en tal
0. .-a._.- ~-0 . . ~---rL= ~ @ -~ -~--O- ' 19 -is -- 35. ACyborg Man if es to
pow er( cal l ed ef f ectiv e com m u n ication ). T he bigges tthreat
tos u chpow eris in terru ption of com m u n ication . An ys ys tem
breakdow n is af u n ction of s tres s . T he f u n dam en tal s of this
techn ol ogycan be con den s ed in tothe m etaphorC31,
com m an d-con trol com m u n ication -in tel l igen ce, the m il itarys
s ym bol f orits operation s theory.
In m odern biol ogies , the tran s l ation of the w orl d in toa
probl em in codin g can be il l u s trated bym ol ecu l argen etics ,
ecol ogy, s ociobiol ogical ev ol u tion arytheory, an d
im m u n obiol ogy. T he organ is m has been tran s l ated in to
probl em s of gen etic codin g an d read-ou t. Biotechn ol ogy, a
w ritin g techn ol ogy, in f orm s res earchbroadl y. In as en s e,
organ is m s hav e ceas ed toexis tas obj ects of kn ow l edge,
giv in g w aytobiotic com pon en ts , i.e., s pecial kin ds of
in f orm ation -proces s in g dev ices . T he an al ogou s m ov es in
ecol ogycou l d be exam in ed byprobin g the his toryan d u til ity
of the con ceptof the ecos ys tem . Im m u n obiol ogyan d
as s ociated m edical practices are richexem pl ars of the
priv il ege of codin g an d recogn ition s ys tem s as obj ects of
kn ow l edge, as con s tru ction s of bodil yreal ityf oru s . Biol ogy
here is akin d of cryptography. R es earchis n eces s aril yakin d
of in tel l igen ce activ ity. Iron ies abou n d. As tres s ed s ys tem
goes aw ry; its com m u n ication proces s es break dow n ; itf ail s
torecogn ize the dif f eren ce betw een s el f an d other. Hu m an
babies w ithbaboon hearts ev oke n ation al ethical
perpl exity f oran im al rights activ is ts atl eas tas m u chas f or
the gu ardian s of hu m an pu rity. In the U S gaym en an d
in trav en ou s dru g u s ers are the priv il eged v ictim s of an
aw f u l im m u n e s ys tem dis eas e thatm arks ( in s cribes on the
body)con f u s ion of bou n daries an d m oral pol l u tion
( T reich.l er, 19 87 ).
Bu tthes e excu rs ion s in tocom m u n ication s s cien ces an d
biol ogyhav e been atararef ied l ev el ; there is am u n dan e,
l argel yecon om ic real itytos u pportm ycl aim thatthes e
s cien ces an d techn ol ogies in dicate f u n dam en tal
tran s f orm ation s in the s tru ctu re of the w orl d f oru s .
Com m u n ication s techn ol ogies depen d on el ectron ics .
Modern s tates , m u l tin ation al corporation s , m il itarypow er,
w el f are s tate apparatu s es , s atel l ite s ys tem s , pol itical
proces s es , f abrication of ou rim agin ation s , l abou r-con trol
s ys tem s , m edical con s tru ction s of ou rbodies , com m ercial
porn ography, the in tern ation al div is ion of l abou r, an d
rel igiou s ev an gel is m depen d in tim atel yu pon el ectron ics .
Microel ectron ics is the techn ical bas is of s im u l acra; thatis , of
copies w ithou torigin al s .
Microel ectron ics m ediates the tran s l ation s of l abou rin to
robotics an d w ord proces s in g, s exin togen etic en gin eerin g
an d reprodu ctiv e techn ol ogies , an d m in d in toartif icial
in tel l igen ce an d decis ion procedu res . T he n ew biotechn ol ogies
con cern m ore than hu m an reprodu ction . Biol ogyas a
pow erf u l en gin eerin g s cien ce f orredes ign in g m aterial s an d
proces s es has rev ol u tion aryim pl ication s f orin du s try,
perhaps m os tobv iou s todayin areas of f erm en tation ,
agricu l tu re, an d en ergy. Com m u n ication s s cien ces an d
biol ogyare con s tru ction s of n atu ral -techn ical obj ects of
kn ow l edge in w hichthe dif f eren ce betw een m achin e an d
organ is m is thorou ghl ybl u rred; m in d, body, an d tool are on
v eryin tim ate term s . T he m u l tin ation al m aterial
organ ization of the produ ction an d reprodu ction of dail yl if e
an d the s ym bol ic organ ization of the produ ction an d
reprodu ction of cu l tu re an d im agin ation s eem equ al l y
im pl icated. T he bou n dary-m ain tain in g im ages of bas e an d
s u pers tru ctu re, pu bl ic an d priv ate, orm aterial an d ideal
n ev ers eem ed m ore f eebl e.
Ihav e u s ed R achel Gros s m an s ( 19 80)im age of w om en in
the in tegrated circu itton am e the s itu ation of w om en in a
w orl d s oin tim atel yres tru ctu red throu ghthe s ocial
rel ation s of s cien ce an d techn ol ogy. Iu s ed the odd
circu m l ocu tion , the s ocial rel ation s of s cien ce an d
techn ol ogy, toin dicate. thatw e are n otdeal in g w itha
techn ol ogical determ in is m , bu tw ithahis torical s ys tem
depen din g u pon s tru ctu red rel ation s am on g peopl e. Bu tthe
phras e s hou l d al s oin dicate thats cien ce an d techn ol ogy
prov ide f res hs ou rces of pow er, thatw e n eed f res hs ou rces
of an al ys is an d pol itical action ( Latou r, 19 84). Som e of the
rearran gem en ts of race, s ex, an d cl as s rooted in high-tech-
f acil itated s ocial rel ation s can m ake s ocial is t-f em in is m m ore
rel ev an ttoef f ectiv e progres s iv e pol itics .
T he Hom ew ork Econ om y
ou ts ide "T he Hom e
T he N ew In du s trial R ev ol u tion is produ cin g an ew w orl d-
w ide w orkin g cl as s , as w el l as n ew s exu al ities an d ethn icities .
T he extrem e m obil ityof capital an d the em ergin g
in tern ation al div is ion of l abou rare in tertw in ed w iththe
em ergen ce of n ew col l ectiv ities , an d the w eaken in g of
f am il iargrou pin gs . T hes e dev el opm en ts are n eithergen der-
n orrace-n eu tral . White m en in adv an ced in du s trial s ocieties
hav e becom e n ew l yv u l n erabl e toperm an en tj ob l os s , an d
w om en are n otdis appearin g f rom the j ob rol l s atthe s am e
35. ACyborg Man if es to
rates as m en . Itis n ots im pl ythatw om en in T hird Worl d
cou n tries are the pref erred l abou rf orce f orthe s cien ce-bas ed
m u l tin ation al s in the export-proces s in g s ectors , particu l arl y
in el ectron ics . T he pictu re is m ore s ys tem atic an d in v ol v es
reprodu ction , s exu al ity, cu l tu re, con s u m ption , an d
produ ction . In the prototypical Sil icon Val l ey, m an yw om en s
l iv es hav e been s tru ctu red arou n d em pl oym en tin
el ectron ics depen den tj obs , an d theirin tim ate real ities
in cl u de s erial heteros exu al m on ogam y, n egotiatin g chil dcare,
dis tan ce f rom exten ded kin orm os totherf orm s of
tradition al com m u n ity, ahighl ik.el ihood of l on el in es s an d
extrem e econ om ic v u l n erabil ityas theyage. T he ethn ic an d
racial div ers ityof w om en in Sil icon Val l eys tru ctu res a
m icrocos m of con f l ictin g dif f eren ces in cu l tu re, f am il y,
rel igion , edu cation , an d l an gu age.
R ichard Gordon has cal l ed this n ew s itu ation the
hom ew ork econ om y.6 Al thou ghhe in cl u des the
phen om en on of l iteral hom ew ork em ergin g in con n ection
w ithel ectron ics as s em bl y, Gordon in ten ds hom ew ork
econ om y ton am e ares tru ctu rin g of w ork thatbroadl yhas
the characteris tics f orm erl yas cribed tof em al e j obs , j obs
l iteral l ydon e on l ybyw om en . Work is bein g redef in ed as
bothl iteral l yf em al e an d f em in ized, w hetherperf orm ed by
m en orw om en . T obe f em in ized m ean s tobe m ade extrem el y
v u l n erabl e; abl e tobe dis as s em bl ed, reas s em bl ed, expl oited as
ares erv e l abou rf orce; s een l es s as w orkers than as s erv ers ;
s u bj ected totim e arran gem en ts on an d of f the paid j ob that
m ake am ockeryof al im ited w ork day; l eadin g an exis ten ce
thatal w ays borders on bein g obs cen e, ou tof pl ace, an d
redu cibl e tos ex. Des kil l in g is an ol d s trategyn ew l yappl icabl e
tof orm erl ypriv il eged w orkers . How ev er, the hom ew ork
econ om ydoes n otref eron l ytol arge-s cal e des kil l in g, n or
does itden ythatn ew areas of highs kil l are em ergin g, ev en
f orw om en an d m en prev iou s l yexcl u ded f rom s kil l ed
em pl oym en t. R ather, the con ceptin dicates thatf actory,
hom e, an d m arketare in tegrated on an ew s cal e an d thatthe
pl aces of w om en are cru cial an d n eed tobe an al ys ed f or
dif f eren ces am on g w om en an d f orm ean in gs f orrel ation s
betw een m en an d w om en in v ariou s s itu ation s .
T he hom ew ork econ om yas aw orl d capital is torgan ization al
s tru ctu re is m ade pos s ibl e by( n otcau s ed by)the n ew
techn ol ogies . T he s u cces s of the attack on rel ativ el ypriv il eged,
m os tl yw hite, m en s u n ion ized j obs is tied tothe pow erof the
n ew com m u n ication s techn ol ogies toin tegrate an d con trol
l abou rdes pite exten s iv e dis pers ion an d decen tral ization . T he
theN EWMEDIAR EADER
con s equ en ces of the n ew techn ol ogies are f el tbyw om en
bothin the l os s of the f am il y( m al e)w age ( if theyev erhad
acces s tothis w hite priv il ege)an d in the characterof their
ow n j obs , w hichare becom in g capital -in ten s iv e; f orexam pl e,
of f ice w ork an d n u rs in g.
T he n ew econ om ic an d techn ol ogical arran gem en ts are
al s orel ated tothe col l aps in g w el f are s tate an d the en s u in g
in ten s if ication of dem an ds on w om en tos u s tain dail yl if e f or
them s el v es as w el l as f orm en , chil dren , an d ol d peopl e. T he
f em in ization of pov erty gen erated bydis m an tl in g the
w el f are s tate, bythe hom ew ork econ om yw here s tabl e j obs
becom e the exception , an d s u s tain ed bythe expectation that
w om en s w ages w il l n otbe m atched byam al e in com e f orthe
s u pportof chil dren has becom e an u rgen tf ocu s . T he
cau s es of v ariou s w om en headed hou s ehol ds are af u n ction
of race, cl as s , ors exu al ity; bu ttheirin creas in g gen eral ityis a
grou n d f orcoal ition s of w om en on m an yis s u es . T hatw om en
regu l arl ys u s tain dail yl if e partl yas af u n ction of their
en f orced s tatu s as m others is hardl yn ew ; the kin d of
in tegration w iththe ov eral l capital is tan d progres s iv el yw ar-
bas ed econ om yis n ew . T he particu l arpres s u re, f orexam pl e,
on U S bl ack w om en , w hohav e achiev ed an es cape f rom
( barel y)paid dom es tic s erv ice an d w hon ow hol d cl erical an d
s im il arj obs in l arge n u m bers , has l arge im pl ication s f or
con tin u ed en f orced bl ack pov ertyw ithem pl oym en t. T een age
w om en in in du s trial izin g areas of the T hird Worl d
in creas in gl yf in d them s el v es the s ol e orm aj ors ou rce of a
cas hw age f ortheirf am il ies , w hil e acces s tol an d is ev er
m ore probl em atic. T hes e dev el opm en ts m u s thav e m aj or
con s equ en ces in the ps ychodyn am ics an d pol itics of gen der
an d race.
Within the f ram ew ork of three m aj ors tages of capital is m
( com m ercial / earl yin du s trial , m on opol y, m u l tin ation al )
tied ton ation al is m , im perial is m , an d m u l tin ation al is m , an d
rel ated toJam es on s three dom in an taes thetic periods of
real is m , m odern is m , an d pos tm odern is m Iw ou l d argu e
thats pecif ic f orm s of f am il ies dial ectical l yrel ate tof orm s of
capital an d toits pol itical an d cu l tu ral con com itan ts .
Al thou ghl iv ed probl em atical l yan d u n equ al l y, ideal f orm s of
thes e f am il ies m ightbe s chem atized as ( 1)the patriarchal
n u cl earf am il y, s tru ctu red bythe dichotom ybetw een pu bl ic
an d priv ate an d accom pan ied bythe w hite bou rgeois
ideol ogyof s eparate s pheres an d n in eteen th-cen tu ryAn gl o-
Am erican bou rgeois f em in is m ; ( 2 )the m odern f am il y
m ediated ( oren f orced)bythe w el f are s tate an d in s titu tion s
Q M --0W - rz-_~m _-0~- - 4 -Wm yQ - u p-_.__.
l ike the f am il yw age, w ithaf l ow erin g of a-f em in is t
heteros exu al ideol ogies , in cl u din g theirradical v ers ion s
repres en ted in Green w ichVil l age arou n d the F irs tWorl d
War; an d ( 3)the f am il y of the hom ew ork econ om yw ithits
oxym oron ic s tru ctu re of w om en -headed hou s ehol ds an d its
expl os ion of f em in is m s an d the paradoxical in ten s if ication
an d eros ion of gen derits el f . T his is the con textin w hichthe
proj ection s f orw orl d-w ide s tru ctu ral u n em pl oym en t
s tem m in g f rom the n ew techn ol ogies are partof the pictu re
of the hom ew ork econ om y. As robotics an d rel ated
techn ol ogies pu tm en ou tof w ork in dev el oped cou n tries
an d exacerbate f ail u re togen erate m al e j obs in T hird Worl d
dev el opm en t, an d as the au tom ated of f ice becom es the ru l e
ev en in l abou r s u rpl u s cou n tries , the f em in ization of w ork
in ten s if ies . Bl ack w om en in the U n ited States hav e l on g
kn ow n w hatitl ooks l ike tof ace the s tru ctu ral u n der-
em pl oym en t( f em in ization )of bl ack m en , as w el l as their
ow n highl yv u l n erabl e pos ition in the w age econ om y. Itis n o
l on geras ecretthats exu al ity, reprodu ction , f am il y, an d
com m u n ityl if e are in terw ov en w iththis econ om ic s tru ctu re
in m yriad w ays w hichhav e al s odif f eren tiated the s itu ation s
of w hite an d bl ack w om en . Man ym ore w om en an d m en w il l
con ten d w iths im il ars itu ation s , w hichw il l m ake cros s -
gen deran d race al l ian ces on is s u es of bas ic l if e s u pport( w ith
orw ithou tj obs )n eces s ary, n otj u s tn ice.
T he n ew techn ol ogies al s ohav e aprof ou n d ef f ecton
hu n geran d on f ood produ ction f ors u bs is ten ce w orl d-w ide.
R ae Les s orBl u m berg ( 19 83)es tim ates thatw om en produ ce
abou tSO percen tof the w orl ds s u bs is ten ce f ood. Wom en
are excl u ded gen eral l yf rom ben ef itin g f rom the in creas ed
high-techcom m odif ication of f ood an d en ergycrops , their
days are m ade m ore ardu ou s becau s e theirres pon s ibil ities to
prov ide f ood don otdim in is h, an d theirreprodu ctiv e
s itu ation s are m ade m ore com pl ex. Green R ev ol u tion
techn ol ogies in teractw ithotherhigh-techin du s trial
produ ction toal tergen derdiv is ion s of l abou ran d
dif f eren tial gen derm igration pattern s .
T he n ew techn ol ogies s eem deepl yin v ol v ed in the f orm s
of priv atization thatR os P etches ky( 19 81)has an al ys ed, in
w hichm il itarization , right-w in g f am il yideol ogies an d
pol icies , an d in ten s if ied def in ition s of corporate ( an d s tate)
propertyas priv ate s yn ergis tical l yin teract. T he n ew
com m u n ication s techn ol ogies are f u n dam en tal tothe
eradication of pu bl ic l if e f orev eryon e. T his f acil itates the
m u s hroom in g of aperm an en thigh-techm il itaryes tabl is h-
0- 19 85s . as 35. ACyborg Man if es to
m en tatthe cu l tu ral an d econ om ic expen s e of m os tpeopl e,
bu tes pecial l yof w om en . T echn ol ogies l ike v ideogam es an d
highl ym in iatu rized tel ev is ion s s eem cru cial toprodu ction of
m odern f orm s of priv ate l if e. T he cu l tu re of v ideogam es is
heav il yorien tated toin div idu al com petition an d
extraterres trial w arf are. High-tech, gen dered im agin ation s
are produ ced here, im agin ation s thatcan con tem pl ate
des tru ction of the pl an etan d as ci-f ies cape f rom its
con s equ en ces . More than ou rim agin ation s is m il itarized; an d
the otherreal ities of el ectron ic an d n u cl earw arf are are
in es capabl e. T hes e are the techn ol ogies thatprom is e u l tim ate
m obil ityan d perf ectexchan ge an d in ciden tal l yen abl e
tou ris m , thatperf ectpractice of m obil ityan d exchan ge, to
em erge as on e of the w orl ds l arges ts in gl e in du s tries .
T he n ew techn ol ogies af f ectthe s ocial rel ation s of both
s exu al ityan d of reprodu ction , an d n otal w ays in the s am e
w ays . T he cl os e ties of s exu al ityan d in s tru m en tal ity, of
v iew s of the bodyas akin d of priv ate s atis f action - an d
u til ity-m axim izin g m achin e, are des cribed n icel yin
s ociobiol ogical origin s tories thats tres s agen etic cal cu l u s
an d expl ain the in ev itabl e dial ectic of dom in ation of m al e
an d f em al e gen derrol es . T hes e s ociobiol ogical s tories
depen d on ahigh-techv iew of the bodyas abiotic
com pon en torcybern etic com m u n ication s s ys tem . Am on g
the m an ytran s f orm ation s of reprodu ctiv e s itu ation s is the
m edical on e, w here w om en s bodies hav e bou n daries n ew l y
perm eabl e. tobothv is u al ization an d in terv e.n tion . Of
cou rs e, w hocon trol s the in terpretation of bodil ybou n daries
in m edical herm en eu tics is am aj orf em in is tis s u e. T he
s pecu l u m s erv ed as an icon of w om en s cl aim in g theirbodies
in the 19 7 0s ; thathan dcraf ttool is in adequ ate toexpres s ou r
n eeded bodypol itics in the n egotiation of real ityin the
practices of cyborg reprodu ction . Sel f -hel pis n oten ou gh. T he
techn ol ogies of v is u al ization recal l the im portan tcu l tu ral
practice of hu n tin g w iththe cam eraan d the deepl y
predatoryn atu re of aphotographic con s ciou s n es s . Sex,
s exu al ity, an d reprodu ction are cen tral actors in high-tech
m yths ys tem s s tru ctu rin g ou rim agin ation s of pers on al an d
s ocial pos s ibil ity.
An othercritical as pectof the s ocial rel ation s of the n ew
techn ol ogies is the ref orm u l ation of expectation s , cu l tu re,
w ork, an d reprodu ction f orthe l arge s cien tif ic an d techn ical
w ork-f orce. Am aj ors ocial an d pol itical dan geris the
f orm ation of as tron gl ybim odal s ocial s tru ctu re, w iththe
m as s es of w om en an d m en of al l ethn ic grou ps , bu tes pecial l y
35. ACyborg Man if es to
peopl e of col ou r, con f in ed toahom ew ork econ om y, il l iteracy
of s ev eral v arieties , an d gen eral redu n dan cyan d im poten ce,
con trol l ed byhigh-techrepres s iv e apparatu s es ran gin g f rom
en tertain m en ttos u rv eil l an ce an d dis appearan ce. An
adequ ate s ocial is t-f em in is tpol itics s hou l d addres s w om en in
the priv il eged occu pation al categories , an d particu l arl yin the
produ ction of s cien ce an d techn ol ogythatcon s tru cts
s cien tif ic techn ical dis cou rs es , proces s es , an d obj ects .
T his is s u e is on l yon e as pectof en qu iryin tothe pos s ibil ity
of af em in is ts cien ce, bu titis im portan t. Whatkin d of
con s titu tiv e rol e in the produ ction of kn ow l edge,
im agin ation , an d practice can n ew grou ps doin g s cien ce
hav e?How can thes e grou ps be al l ied w ithprogres s iv e s ocial
an d pol itical m ov em en ts ?Whatkin d of pol itical
accou n tabil itycan be con s tru cted totie w om en together
acros s the s cien tif ic techn ical hierarchies s eparatin g u s ?
Mightthere be w ays of dev el opin g f em in is ts cien ce/
techn ol ogypol itics in al l ian ce w ithan ti-m il itarys cien ce
f acil itycon v ers ion action grou ps ?Man ys cien tif ic an d techn i-
cal w orkers in Sil icon Val l ey, the high-techcow boys in cl u ded,
don otw an ttow ork on m il itarys cien ce. Can thes e pers on al
pref eren ces an d cu l tu ral ten den cies be w el ded in to
progres s iv e pol itics am on g this prof es s ion al m iddl e cl as s in
w hichw om en , in cl u din g w om en of col ou r, are com in g tobe
f airl yn u m erou s ?
Wom en in the In tegrated Circu it
Letm e s u m m arize the pictu re of w om en s his torical l ocation s
in adv an ced in du s trial s ocieties , as thes e pos ition s hav e been
res tru ctu red partl ythrou ghthe s ocial rel ation s of s cien ce
an d techn ol ogy. If itw as ev erpos s ibl e ideol ogical l yto
characterize w om en s l iv es bythe dis tin ction of pu bl ic an d
priv ate dom ain s ~s u gges ted byim ages of the div is ion of
w orkin g-cl as s l if e in tof actoryan d hom e, of bou rgeois l if e
in tom arketan d hom e, an d of gen derexis ten ce in topers on al
an d pol itical real m s -itis n ow atotal l ym is l eadin g ideol ogy,
ev en tos how how bothterm s of thes e dichotom ies con s tru ct
eachotherin practice an d in theory. Ipref eran etw ork
ideol ogical im age, s u gges tin g the prof u s ion of s paces an d
iden tities an d the perm eabil ityof bou n daries in the pers on al
bodyan d in the bodypol itic. N etw orkin g is bothaf em in is t
practice an d am u l tin ation al corporate s trategy w eav in g is
f oroppos ition al cyborgs .
Sol etm e retu rn tothe earl ierim age of the in f orm atics of
dom in ation an d trace on e v is ion of w om en s pl ace in the
theN EWMEDIAR EADER
in tegrated circu it, tou chin g on l yaf ew ideal ized s ocial
l ocation s s een prim aril yf rom the poin tof v iew of adv an ced
capital is ts ocieties :Hom e, Market, P aid Work P l ace, State,
School , Cl in ic-Hos pital , an d Chu rch. Eachof thes e ideal ized
s paces is l ogical l yan d practical l yim pl ied in ev eryotherl ocu s ,
perhaps an al ogou s toahol ographic photograph. Iw an tto
s u gges tthe im pactof the s ocial rel ation s m ediated an d
en f orced bythe n ew techn ol ogies in ordertohel pf orm u l ate
n eeded an al ys is an d practical w ork. How ev er, there is n o
pl ace f orw om en in thes e n etw orks , on l ygeom etrics of
dif f eren ce an d con tradiction cru cial tow om en s cyborg
iden tities . If w e l earn how toread thes e w ebs of pow eran d
s ocial l if e, w e m ightl earn n ew cou pl in gs , n ew coal ition s .
T here is n ow aytoread the f ol l ow in g l is tf rom as tan dpoin t
of iden tif ication , of au n itarys el f . T he is s u e is dis pers ion .
T he tas k is tos u rv iv e in the dias pora.
Hom e:Wom en -headed hou s ehol ds , s erial m on ogam y,
f l ightof m en , ol d w om en al on e, techn ol ogyof
dom es tic w ork, paid hom ew ork, re-em ergen ce of
hom e s w eat s hops , hom e-bas ed bu s in es s es an d
tel ecom m u tin g, el ectron ic cottage, u rban hom el es s -
n es s , m igration , m odu l e architectu re, rein f orced
( s im u l ated)n u cl earf am il y, in ten s e dom es tic v iol en ce.
Market:Wom en s con tin u in g con s u m ption w ork,
n ew l ytargeted tobu ythe prof u s ion of n ew
produ ction f rom the n ew techn ol ogies ( es pecial l yas
the com petitiv e race am on g in du s trial ized an d
in du s trial izin g n ation s toav oid dan gerou s m as s
u n em pl oym en tn eces s itates f in din g ev erbiggern ew
m arkets f orev erl es s cl earl yn eeded com m odities );
bim odal bu yin g pow er, cou pl ed w ithadv ertis in g
targetin g of the n u m erou s af f l u en tgrou ps an d
n egl ectof the prev iou s m as s m arkets ; grow in g
im portan ce of in f orm al m arkets in l abou ran d
com m odities paral l el tohigh-tech, af f l u en tm arket
s tru ctu res ; s u rv eil l an ce s ys tem s throu ghel ectron ic
f u n ds tran s f er; in ten s if ied m arketabs traction
( com m odif ication )of experien ce, res u l tin g in
in ef f ectiv e u topian orequ iv al en tcyn ical theories of
com m u n ity; extrem e m obil ity( abs traction )of
m arketin g/ f in an cin g s ys tem s ; in terpen etration of
s exu al an d l abou rm arkets ; in ten s if ied s exu al ization
of abs tracted an d al ien ated con s u m ption .
P aid Work P l ace:Con tin u ed in ten s e s exu al an d racial
div is ion of l abou r, bu tcon s iderabl e grow thof
m em bers hipin priv il eged occu pation al categories f or
m an yw hite w om en an d peopl e of col ou r; im pactof
w ---- ~-o~ -~<r-------o ---4-o-~-~ ---o---- -+4 ow 19 850----- 35. ACyborg Mal T If Q $tO
n ew techn ol ogies on w om en s w ork in cl erical , s erv ice,
m an u f actu rin g ( es pecial l ytextil es ), agricu l tu re,
el ectron ics ; in tern ation al res tru ctu rin g of the w orkin g
cl as s es ; dev el opm en tof n ew tim e arran gem en ts to
f acil itate the hom ew ork econ om y( f l extim e, part
tim e, ov ertim e, n otim e); hom ew ork an d ou tw ork;
in creas ed pres s u res f ortw o-tiered w age s tru ctu res ;
s ign if ican tn u m bers of peopl e in cas h-depen den t
popu l ation s w orl d-w ide w ithn oexperien ce orn o
f u rtherhope of s tabl e em pl oym en t; m os tl abou r
m argin al orf em in ized.
State:Con tin u ed eros ion of the w el f are s tate;
decen tral ization s w ithin creas ed s u rv eil l an ce an d
con trol ; citizen s hipbytel em atics ; im perial is m an d
pol itical pow erbroadl yin the f orm of in f orm ation
rich/ in f orm ation poordif f eren tiation ; in creas ed high-
techm il itarization in creas in gl yoppos ed bym an y
s ocial grou ps ; redu ction of civ il s erv ice j obs as ares u l t
of the grow in g capital in ten s if ication of of f ice w ork,
w ithim pl ication s f oroccu pation al m obil ityf or
w om en of col ou r; grow in g priv atization of m aterial
an d ideol ogical l if e an d cu l tu re; cl os e in tegration of
priv atization an d m il itarization , the high-techf orm s
of bou rgeois capital is tpers on al an d pu bl ic l if e;
in v is ibil ityof dif f eren ts ocial grou ps toeachother,
l in ked tops ychol ogical m echan is m s of bel ief in
abs tracten em ies .
School :Deepen in g cou pl in g of high-techcapital n eeds
an d pu bl ic edu cation atal l l ev el s , dif f eren tiated by
race, cl as s , an d gen der; m an agerial cl as s es in v ol v ed in
edu cation al ref orm an d ref u n din g atthe cos tof
rem ain in g progres s iv e edu cation al dem ocratic
s tru ctu res f orchil dren an d teachers ; edu cation f or
m as s ign oran ce an d repres s ion in techn ocratic an d
m il itarized cu l tu re; grow in g an ti-s cien ce m ys terycu l ts
in dis s en tin g an d radical pol itical m ov em en ts ;
con tin u ed rel ativ e s cien tif ic il l iteracyam on g w hite
w om en an d peopl e of col ou r; grow in g in du s trial
direction of edu cation ( es pecial l yhigheredu cation )by
s cien ce-bas ed m u l tin ation al s ( particu l arl yin
el ectron ics - an d biotechn ol ogy-depen den t
com pan ies ); highl yedu cated, n u m erou s l ites in a
progres s iv el ybim odal s ociety.
Cl in ic-Hos pital :In ten s if ied m achin e bodyrel ation s ;
ren egotiation s of pu bl ic m etaphors w hichchan n el
pers on al experien ce of the body, particu l arl yin
rel ation toreprodu ction , im m u n e s ys tem f u n ction s ,
an d s tres s phen om en a; in ten s if ication of repro-
du ctiv e pol itics in res pon s e tow orl d his torical
im pl ication s of w om en s u n real ized, poten tial con trol
of theirrel ation toreprodu ction ; em ergen ce of n ew ,
his torical l ys pecif ic dis eas es ; s tru ggl es ov erm ean in gs
an d m ean s of heal thin en v iron m en ts perv aded by
hightechn ol ogyprodu cts an d proces s es ; con tin u in g
f em in ization of heal thw ork; in ten s if ied s tru ggl e ov er
s tate res pon s ibil ityf orheal th; con tin u ed ideol ogical
rol e of popu l arheal thm ov em en ts as am aj orf orm of
Am erican pol itics .
Chu rch:El ectron ic f u n dam en tal is ts u per-s av er
preachers s ol em n izin g the u n ion of el ectron ic capital
an d au tom ated f etis hgods ; in ten s if ied im portan ce of
chu rches in res is tin g the m il itarized s tate; cen tral
s tru ggl e ov erw om en s m ean in gs an d au thorityin
rel igion ; con tin u ed rel ev an ce of s piritu al ity,
in tertw in ed w iths exan d heal th, in pol itical s tru ggl e.
T he on l yw aytocharacterize the in f orm atics of
dom in ation is as am as s iv e in ten s if ication of in s ecu rityan d
cu l tu ral im pov eris hm en t, w ithcom m on f ail u re of
s u bs is ten ce n etw orks f orthe m os tv u l n erabl e. Sin ce m u chof
this pictu re in terw eav es w iththe s ocial rel ation s of s cien ce
an d techn ol ogy, the u rgen cyof as ocial is t-f em in is tpol itics
addres s ed tos cien ce an d techn ol ogyis pl ain . T here is m u ch
n ow bein g don e, an d the grou n ds f orpol itical w ork are rich.
F orexam pl e, the ef f orts todev el opf orm s of col l ectiv e
s tru ggl e f orw om en in paid w ork, l ike SEl U s Dis trict9 2 5,
s hou l d be ahighpriorityf oral l of u s . T hes e ef f orts are
prof ou n dl ytied totechn ical res tru ctu rin g of l abou rproces s es
an d ref orm ation s of w orkin g cl as s es . T hes e ef f orts al s oare
prov idin g u n ders tan din g of am ore com prehen s iv e kin d of
l abou rorgan ization , in v ol v in g com m u n ity, s exu al ity, an d
f am il yis s u es n ev erpriv il eged in the l argel yw hite m al e
in du s trial u n ion s .
T he s tru ctu ral rearran gem en ts rel ated tothe s ocial
rel ation s of s cien ce an d techn ol ogyev oke s tron g
am biv al en ce. Bu titis n otn eces s arytobe u l tim atel y
depres s ed bythe im pl ication s of l ate tw en tieth-cen tu ry
w om en s rel ation toal l as pects of w ork, cu l tu re, produ ction
of kn ow l edge, s exu al ity, an d reprodu ction . F orexcel l en t
reas on s , m os tMarxis m s s ee dom in ation bes tan d hav e
trou bl e u n ders tan din g w hatcan on l yl ook l ike f al s e
con s ciou s n es s an d peopl es com pl icityin theirow n
dom in ation in l ate capital is m . Itis cru cial torem em berthat
if ? in
1-iergaf il ti rithe-1U $4* . R : 1 T 141 I I ~ _. ~. ' ,., . - -- - ,. .. v
_ _< .. . .... .-'
.. . . . . ..
3 5. ACyborg Man if es to
w hatis l os t, perhaps es pecial l yf rom w om en s poin ts of v iew ,
is of ten v iru l en tf orm s of oppres s ion , n os tal gical l yn atu ral ized
in the f ace of cu rren tv iol ation . Am biv al en ce tow ards the
dis ru pted u n ities m ediated byhigh-techcu l tu re requ ires n ot
s ortin g con s ciou s n es s in tocategories of cl ear-s ighted critiqu e
grou n din g as ol id pol itical epis tem ol ogy v ers u s m an ipu l ated
f al s e con s ciou s n es s , bu ts u btl e u n ders tan din g of em ergin g
pl eas u res , experien ces , an d pow ers w iths eriou s poten tial f or
chan gin g the ru l es of the gam e.
T here are grou n ds f orhope in the em ergin g bas es f orn ew
kin ds of u n ityacros s race, gen der, an d cl as s , as thes e
el em en taryu n its of s ocial is t-f em in is tan al ys is them s el v es
s u f f erprotean tran s f orm ation s . In ten s if ication s of hards hip
experien ced w orl d-w ide in con n ection w iththe s ocial
rel ation s of s cien ce an d techn ol ogyare s ev ere. Bu tw hat
peopl e are experien cin g is n ottran s paren tl ycl ear, an d w e
l ack s u f f icien tl ys u btl e con n ection s f orcol l ectiv el ybu il din g
ef f ectiv e theories of experien ce. P res en tef f orts Marxis t,
ps ychoan al ytic, f em in is t, an thropol ogical tocl arif yev en
ou r experien ce are ru dim en tary.
Iam con s ciou s of the odd pers pectiv e prov ided bym y
his torical pos ition aP hD in biol ogyf oran Iris hCathol ic
girl w as m ade pos s ibl e bySpu tn iks im pacton U S n ation al
s cien ce-edu cation pol icy. Ihav e abodyan d m in d as m u ch
con s tru cted bythe pos t-Secon d Worl d Wararm s race an d
col d w aras bythe w om en s m ov em en ts . T here are m ore
grou n ds f orhope in f ocu s in g on the con tradictoryef f ects of
pol itics des ign ed toprodu ce l oyal Am erican techn ocrats ,
w hichal s oprodu ced l arge n u m bers of dis s iden ts , than in
f ocu s in g on the pres en tdef eats .
T he perm an en tpartial ityof f em in is tpoin ts of v iew has
con s equ en ces f orou rexpectation s of f orm s of pol itical
organ ization an d participation . We don otn eed atotal ityin
ordertow ork w el l . T he f em in is tdream of acom m on
l an gu age, l ike al l dream s f oraperf ectl ytru e l an gu age, of
perf ectl yf aithf u l n am in g of experien ce, is atotal izin g an d
im perial is ton e. In thats en s e, dial ectics toois adream
l an gu age, l on gin g tores ol v e con tradiction . P erhaps ,
iron ical l y, w e can l earn f rom ou rf u s ion s w ithan im al s an d
m achin es how n ottobe Man , the em bodim en tof Wes tern
l ogos . F rom the poin tof v iew of pl eas u re in thes e poten t
an d taboof u s ion s , m ade in ev itabl e bythe s ocial rel ation s of
s cien ce an d techn ol ogy, there m ightin deed be af em in is t
s cien ce.
theN EWMEDIAR EADER
Cyborgs : AMythof P ol itical Iden tity
Iw an ttocon cl u de w itham ythabou tiden tityan d
bou n daries w hichm ightin f orm l ate tw en tieth-cen tu ry
pol itical im agin ation s . Iam in debted in this s torytow riters
l ike Joan n aR u s s , Sam u el R . Del an y, John Varl ey, Jam es
T iptree, Jr, Octav iaBu tl er, Mon iqu e Wittig, an d Von da
McIn tyre. T hes e are ou rs tory-tel l ers expl orin g w hatit
m ean s tobe em bodied in high-techw orl ds . T heyare
theoris ts f orcyborgs . Expl orin g con ception s of bodil y
bou n daries an d s ocial order, the an thropol ogis tMary
Dou gl as ( 19 6 6 , 19 7 0)s hou l d be credited w ithhel pin g u s to
con s ciou s n es s abou thow f u n dam en tal bodyim ageryis to
w orl d v iew , an d s otopol itical l an gu age. F ren chf em in is ts l ike
Lu ce l rigarayan d Mon iqu e Wittig, f oral l theirdif f eren ces ,
kn ow how tow rite the body; how tow eav e eroticis m ,
cos m ol ogy, an d pol itics f rom im ageryof em bodim en t, an d
es pecial l yf orWittig, f rom im ageryof f ragm en tation an d
recon s titu tion of bodies .-
Am erican radical f em in is ts l ike Su s an Grif f in , Au dre
Lorde, an d Adrien n e R ichhav e prof ou n dl yaf f ected ou r
pol itical im agin ation s an d perhaps res tricted toom u ch
w hatw e al l ow as af rien dl ybodyan d pol itical l an gu age.
T heyin s is ton the organ ic, oppos in g ittothe techn ol ogical .
Bu ttheirs ym bol ic s ys tem s an d the rel ated pos ition s of
ecof em in is m an d f em in is tpagan is m , repl ete w ith
organ icis m s , can on l ybe u n ders tood in San dov al s term s as
oppos ition al ideol ogies f ittin g the l ate tw en tiethcen tu ry.
T heyw ou l d s im pl ybew il deran yon e n otpreoccu pied w ith
the m achin es an d con s ciou s n es s of l ate capital is m . In that
s en s e theyare partof the cyborg w orl d. Bu tthere are al s o
greatriches f orf em in is ts in expl icitl yem bracin g the pos s ibil -
ities in heren tin the breakdow n of cl ean dis tin ction s
betw een organ is m an d m achin e an d s im il ardis tin ction s
s tru ctu rin g the Wes tern s el f . Itis the s im u l tan eityof
breakdow n s thatcracks the m atrices of dom in ation an d
open s geom etric pos s ibil ities . Whatm ightbe l earn ed f rom
pers on al an d pol itical techn ol ogical pol l u tion ?Il ook
brief l yattw oov erl appin g grou ps of texts f ortheirin s ight
in tothe con s tru ction of apoten tial l yhel pf u l cyborg m yth:
con s tru ction s of w om en of col ou ran d m on s trou s s el v es in
f em in is ts cien ce f iction .
Earl ierIs u gges ted thatw om en of col ou r m ightbe
u n ders tood as acyborg iden tity, apoten ts u bj ectiv ity
s yn thes ized f rom f u s ion s of ou ts ideriden tities an d in the
com pl expol itical -his torical l ayerin gs of herbiom ythography,
. . o Im s a 35.ACyborg Man if es to
Zam i( Lorde, 19 82 ; Kin g, 19 87 a, 19 87 b). T here are m aterial
an d cu l tu ral grids m appin g this poten tial , Au dre Lorde
( 19 84)captu res the ton e in the titl e of herSis terOu ts ider. In
m ypol itical m yth, Sis terOu ts ideris the of f s hore w om an ,
w hom U S w orkers , f em al e an d f em in ized are s u ppos ed to
regard as the en em yprev en tin g theirs ol idarity, threaten in g
theirs ecu rity. On s hore, in s ide the bou n daryof the U n ited
States , Sis terOu ts ideris apoten tial am ids tthe races an d
ethn ic iden tities of w om en m an ipu l ated f ordiv is ion ,
com petition , an d expl oitation in the s am e in du s tries .
Wom en of col ou r are the pref erred l abou rf orce f orthe
s cien ce-bas ed in du s tries , the real w om en f orw hom the
w orl d-w ide s exu al m arket, l abou rm arket, an d pol itics of
reprodu ction kal eidos cope in todail yl if e. Y ou n g Korean
w om en hired in the s exin du s tryan d in el ectron ics as s em bl y
are recru ited f rom highs chool s , edu cated f orthe in tegrated
circu it. Literacy, es pecial l yin En gl is h, dis tin gu is hes the
cheap f em al e l abou rs oattractiv e tothe m u l tin ation al s .
Con trarytoorien tal is ts tereotypes of the oral prim itiv e,
l iteracyis as pecial m ark of w om en of col ou r, acqu ired byU S
bl ack w om en as w el l as m en throu ghahis toryof ris kin g
deathtol earn an d toteachreadin g an d w ritin g. Writin g has
as pecial s ign i can ce f oral l col on ized grou ps . Writin g has
been cru cial tothe Wes tern m ythof the dis tin ction betw een
oral an d w ritten cu l tu res , prim itiv e an d civ il ized m en tal ities ,
an d m ore recen tl ytothe eros ion of thatdis tin ction in
pos tm odern is t theories attackin g the phal l ogocen tris m of
the Wes t, w ithits w ors hipof the m on otheis tic, phal l ic,
au thoritativ e, an d s in gu l arw ork, the u n iqu e an d perf ect
n am e. Con tes ts f orthe m ean in gs of w ritin g are am aj or
f orm of con tem porarypol itical s tru ggl e. R el eas in g the pl ayof
w ritin g is deadl ys eriou s . T he poetryan d s tories of U S
w om en of col ou rare repeatedl yabou tw ritin g, abou tacces s
tothe pow ertos ign if y; bu tthis tim e thatpow erm u s tbe
n eitherphal l ic n orin n ocen t. Cyborg w ritin g m u s tn otbe
abou tthe F al l , the im agin ation of aon ce-u pon -a-tim e
w hol en es s bef ore l an gu age, bef ore w ritin g, bef ore Man .
Cyborg w ritin g is abou tthe pow ertos u rv iv e, n oton the
bas is of origin al in n ocen ce, bu ton the bas is of s eizin g the
tool s tom ark the w orl d thatm arked them as other.
T he tool s are of ten s tories , retol d s tories , v ers ion s that
rev ers e an d dis pl ace the hierarchical du al is m s of n atu ral ized
iden tities . In retel l in g origin s tories , cyborg au thors s u bv ert
the cen tral m yths of origin of Wes tern cu l tu re. We hav e al l
been col on ized bythos e origin m yths , w iththeirl on gin g f or
f u l f il m en tin apocal yps e. T he phal l ogocen tric origin s tories
m os tcru cial f orf em in is tcyborgs are bu il tin tothe l iteral
techn ol ogies techn ol ogies thatw rite the w orl d,
biotechn ol ogyan d m icroel ectron ics - thathav e recen tl y
textu al ized ou rbodies as code probl em s on the grid of C31.
F em in is tcyborg s tories hav e the tas k of recodin g
com m u n ication an d in tel l igen ce tos u bv ertcom m an d an d
con trol . _
F igu rativ el yan d l iteral l y, l an gu age pol itics perv ade the
s tru ggl es of w om en of col ou r; an d s tories abou tl an gu age
hav e as pecial pow erin the richcon tem poraryw ritin g byU S
w om en of col ou r. F orexam pl e, retel l in gs of the s toryof the
in digen ou s w om an Mal in che, m otherof the m es tizo
bas tard race of the n ew w orl d, m as terof l an gu ages , an d
m is tres s of Cort s , carrys pecial m ean in g f orChican a
con s tru ction s of iden tity. Cherrie Moraga( 19 83)in Lov in g in
the WarY ears expl ores the them es of iden tityw hen on e
n ev erpos s es s ed the origin al l an gu age, n ev ertol d the origin al
s tory, n ev erres ided in the harm on yof l egitim ate
heteros exu al ityin the garden of cu l tu re, an d s ocan n otbas e
iden tityon am ythoraf al l f rom in n ocen ce an d rightto
n atu ral n am es , m others orf athers . Moragas w ritin g, her
s u perb l iteracy, is pres en ted in herpoetryas the s am e kin d of
v iol ation as Mal in ches m as teryof the con qu erors
l an gu age av iol ation , an il l egitim ate produ ction , thatal l ow s
s u rv iv al . Moragas l an gu age is n otw hol e; itis s el f -
con s ciou s l ys pl iced, achim eraof En gl is han d Span is h, both
con qu erors l an gu ages . Bu titis this chim eric m on s ter,
w ithou tcl aim toan origin al l an gu age bef ore v iol ation , that
craf ts the erotic, com peten t, poten tiden tities of w om en of
col ou r. Sis terOu ts iderhin ts atthe pos s ibil ityof w orl d
s u rv iv al n otbecau s e of herin n ocen ce, bu tbecau s e of her
abil itytol iv e on the bou n daries , tow rite w ithou tthe
f ou n din g m ythof origin al w hol en es s , w ithits in es capabl e
apocal yps e of f in al retu rn toadeathl yon en es s thatMan has
im agin ed tobe the-in n ocen tan d al l -pow erf u l Mother, f reed
atthe En d f rom an others piral of appropriation byhers on .
Writin g m arks Moragas body, af rm s itas the bodyof a
w om an of col ou r, again s tthe pos s ibil ityof pas s in g in tothe
u n m arked categoryof the An gl of atherorin tothe orien tal is t
m ythof origin al il l iteracy of am otherthatn ev erw as .
Mal in che w as m otherhere, n otEv e bef ore eatin g the
f orbidden f ru it. Writin g af rm s Sis terOu ts ider, n otthe
Wom an -bef ore-the-F al l in to-Writin g n eeded bythe
phal l ogocen tric F am il yof Man .
35. ACyborg Man if es to
Writin g is pre-em in en tl ythe techn ol ogyof cyborgs , etched
s u rf aces of the l ate tw en tiethcen tu ry. Cyborg pol itics is the
s tru ggl e f orl an gu age an d the s tru ggl e again s tperf ect
com m u n ication , again s tthe on e code thattran s l ates al l
m ean in g perf ectl y, the cen tral dogm aof phal l ogocen tris m .
T hatis w hycyborg pol itics in s is ton n ois e an d adv ocate
pol l u tion , rej oicin g in the il l egitim ate f u s ion s of an im al an d
m achin e. T hes e are the cou pl in gs w hichm ake Man an d
Wom an s oprobl em atic, s u bv ertin g the s tru ctu re of des ire,
the f orce im agin ed togen erate l an gu age an d gen der, an d s o
s u bv ertin g the s tru ctu re an d m odes of reprodu ction of
Wes tern iden tity, of n atu re an d cu l tu re, of m irroran d eye,
s l av e an d m as ter, bodyan d m in d We did n otorigin al l y
choos e tobe cyborgs , bu tchoice grou n ds al iberal pol itics an d
epis tem ol ogythatim agin es the reprodu ction of in div idu al s
bef ore the w iderrepl ication s of texts .
F rom the pers pectiv e of cyborgs , f reed of the n eed to
grou n d pol itics in ou r priv il eged pos ition of the oppres s ion
thatin corporates al l otherdom in ation s , the in n ocen ce of the
m erel yv iol ated, the grou n d of thos e cl os erton atu re, w e can
s ee pow erf u l pos s ibil ities . F em in is m s an d_l \/ Iarxis m s hav e ru n
agrou n d on Wes tern epis tem ol ogical im perativ es to
con s tru ctarev ol u tion arys u bj ectf rom the pers pectiv e of a
hierarchyof oppres s ion s an d/ oral aten tpos ition of m oral
s u periority, in n ocen ce, an d greatercl os en es s ton atu re. With
n oav ail abl e origin al dream of acom m on l an gu age ororigin al
s ym bios is prom is in g protection f rom hos til e m as cu l in e
s eparation , bu tw ritten in tothe pl ayof atextthathas n o
f in al l ypriv il eged readin g ors al v ation his tory, torecogn ize
on es el f as f u l l yim pl icated in the w orl d, f rees u s of the n eed
torootpol itics in iden tif ication , v an gu ard parties , pu rity, an d
m otherin g. Stripped of iden tity, thebas tard race teaches
abou tthe pow erof the m argin s an d the im portan ce of a
m otherl ike Mal in che. Wom en of col ou rhav e tran s f orm ed
herf rom the ev il m otherof m as cu l in is tf earin tothe
origin al l yl iterate m otherw hoteaches s u rv iv al .
T his is n otj u s tl iterarydecon s tru ction , bu tl im in al
tran s f orm ation . Ev erys torythatbegin s w ithorigin al
in n ocen ce an d priv il eges the retu rn tow hol en es s im agin es
the dram aof l if e tobe in div idu ation , s eparation , the birthof
the s el f , the tragedyof au ton om y, the f al l in tow ritin g,
al ien ation ; thatis , w ar, tem pered byim agin aryres pite in the
bos om of the Other. T hes e pl ots are ru l ed byareprodu ctiv e
pol itics rebirthw ithou tf l aw , perf ection , abs traction . In
theN EWMEDIAR EADER
this pl otw om en are im agin ed eitherbetterorw ors e of f , bu t
al l agree theyhav e l es s s el f hood, w eakerin div idu ation , m ore
f u s ion tothe oral , toMother, l es s ats take in m as cu l in e
au ton om y. Bu tthere is an otherrou te tohav in g l es s ats take
in m as cu l in e au ton om y, arou te thatdoes n otpas s throu gh
Wom an , P rim itiv e, Zero, the MirrorStage an d its im agin ary.
Itpas s es throu ghw om en an d otherpres en t ten s e,
il l egitim ate cyborgs , n otof Wom an born , w horef u s e the
ideol ogical res ou rces of v ictim ization s oas tohav e areal l if e.
T hes e cyborgs are the peopl e w horef u s e todis appearon
cu e, n om atterhow m an ytim es aWes tern com m en tator
rem arks on the s ad pas s in g of an otherprim itiv e, an other
organ ic grou pdon e in byWes tern techn ol ogy, byw ritin g
T hes e real l if e cyborgs ( f orexam pl e, the Sou theas tAs ian
v il l age w om en w orkers in Japan es e an d U S el ectron ics f irm s
des cribed byAihw aOn g)are activ el yrew ritin g the texts of
theirbodies an d s ocieties . Su rv iv al is the s takes in this pl ay
of readin gs .
T orecapitu l ate, certain du al is m s hav e been pers is ten tin
Wes tern tradition s ; theyhav e al l been s ys tem ic tothe l ogics
an d practices of dom in ation of w om en , peopl e of col ou r,
n atu re, w orkers , an im al s in s hort, dom in ation of al l
con s titu ted as others , w hos e tas k is tom irrorthe s el f . Chief
am on g thes e trou bl in g du al is m s are s el f / other, m in d/ body,
cu l tu re/ n atu re, m al e/ f em al e, civ il ized/ prim itiv e,
real ity/ appearan ce, w hol e/ part, agen t/ res ou rce, m aker/ m ade,
activ e/ pas s iv e, right/ w ron g, tru th/ il l u s ion , total / partial ,
God/ m an . T he s el f is the On e w hois n otdom in ated, w ho
kn ow s thatbythe s erv ice of the other, the otheris the on e
w hohol ds the f u tu re, w hokn ow s thatbythe experien ce of
dom in ation , w hichgiv es the l ie tothe au ton om yof the s el f .
T obe On e is tobe au ton om ou s , tobe pow erf u l , tobe God;
bu ttobe On e is tobe an il l u s ion , an d s otobe in v ol v ed in a
dial ectic of apocal yps e w iththe other. Y ettobe otheris tobe
m u l tipl e, w ithou tcl earbou n dary, f rayed, in s u bs tan tial . On e
is toof ew , bu ttw oare toom an y.
High-techcu l tu re chal l en ges thes e du al is m s in in trigu in g
w ays . Itis n otcl earw hom akes an d w hois m ade in the
rel ation betw een hu m an an d m achin e. Itis n otcl earw hatis
m in d an d w hatbodyin m achin es thatres ol v e in tocodin g
practices . In s of aras w e kn ow ou rs el v es in bothf orm al
dis cou rs e ( f orexam pl e, biol ogy)an d in dail ypractice ( f or
exam pl e, the hom ew ork econ om yin the in tegrated circu it), j
w e f in d ou rs el v es tobe cyborgs , hybrids , m os aics , chim eras .
Biol ogical organ is m s hav e becom e biotic s ys tem s , com m u n i-
0 . . e -._- al 19 85a 35. ACyborg Man if es to
cation s dev ices l ike others . T here is n of u n dam en tal , on to-
l ogical s eparation in ou rf orm al kn ow l edge of m achin e an d
organ is m , of techn ical an d organ ic. T he repl ican tR achel in
the R idl eyScottf il m Bl ade R u n n ers tan ds as the im age of a
cyborg cu l tu res f ear, l ov e, an d con f u s ion .
On e con s equ en ce is thatou rs en s e of con n ection toou r
tool s is heighten ed. T he tran ce s tate experien ced bym an y
com pu teru s ers has becom e as tapl e of s cien ce-f iction f il m
an d cu l tu ral j okes . P erhaps parapl egics an d others ev erel y
han dicapped peopl e can ( an d s om etim es do)hav e the m os t
in ten s e experien ces of com pl exhybridization w ithother
com m u n ication dev ices . An n e McCaf f reys pre-f em in is tT he
ShipWhoSan g ( 19 6 9 )expl ored the con s ciou s n es s of a
cyborg, hybrid of girl s brain an d com pl exm achin ery, f orm ed
af terthe birthof as ev erel yhan dicapped chil d. Gen der,
s exu al ity, em bodim en t, s kil l :al l w ere recon s titu ted in the
s tory. Whys hou l d ou rbodies en d atthe s kin , orin cl u de at
bes totherbein gs en caps u l ated bys kin ?F rom the
s ev en teen thcen tu rytil l n ow , m achin es cou l d be an im ated -
giv en ghos tl ys ou l s tom ake them s peak orm ov e orto
accou n tf ortheirorderl ydev el opm en tan d m en tal capacities .
Ororgan is m s cou l d be m echan ized redu ced tobody
u n ders tood as res ou rce of m in d. T hes e m achin e/ organ is m
rel ation s hips are obs ol ete, u n n eces s ary. F oru s , in
im agin ation an d in otherpractice, m achin es can be
pros thetic dev ices , in tim ate com pon en ts , f rien dl ys el v es . We
don ' tn eed organ ic hol is m togiv e im perm eabl e w hol en es s ,
the total w om an an d herf em in is tv arian ts ( m u tan ts ?). Let
m e con cl u de this poin tbyav erypartial readin g of the l ogic
of the cyborg m on s ters of m ys econ d grou pof texts , f em in is t
s cien ce ction .
T he cyborgs popu l atin g f em in is ts cien ce f iction m ake v ery
probl em atic the s tatu s es of m an orw om an , hu m an , artef act,
m em berof arace, in div idu al en tity, orbody. Katie Kin g
cl arif ies how pl eas u re in readin g thes e f iction s is n otl argel y
bas ed on iden ti cation . Stu den ts f acin g Joan n aR u s s f orthe
rs ttim e, s tu den ts w hohav e l earn ed totake m odern is t
w riters l ike Jam es Joyce orVirgin iaWool f w ithou tf l in chin g,
don otkn ow w hattom ake of T he Adv en tu res of Al yxorT he
F em al e Man , w here characters ref u s e the readers s earchf or
in n ocen tw hol en es s w hil e gran tin g the w is hf orheroic
qu es ts , exu beran teroticis m , an d s eriou s pol itics . T he F em al e
Man is the s toryof f ou rv ers ion s of on e gen otype, al l of
w hom m eet, bu tev en taken togetherdon otm ake aw hol e,
res ol v e the dil em m as of v iol en tm oral action , orrem ov e the
grow in g s can dal of gen der. T he f em in is ts cien ce f iction of
Sam u el R . Del an y, es pecial l yT al es 0f l \l ev e' ryon , m ocks s tories
of origin byredoin g the n eol ithic rev ol u tion , repl ayin g the
f ou n din g m ov es of Wes tern civ il ization tos u bv erttheir
pl au s ibil ity. Jam es T iptree, Jr, an au thorw hos e f iction w as
regarded as particu l arl ym an l yu n til hertru e gen derw as
rev eal ed, tel l s tal es of reprodu ction bas ed on n on -
m am m al ian techn ol ogies l ike al tern ation of gen eration s of
m al e brood pou ches an d m al e n u rtu rin g. John Varl ey
con s tru cts as u prem e cyborg in his arch-f em in is texpl oration
of Gaea, am ad goddes s -pl an et-tricks ter-ol d w om an -
techn ol ogical dev ice on w hos e s u rf ace an extraordin ary
arrayof pos t-cyborg s yrn bios es are s paw n ed. Octav iaBu tl er
w rites of an Af rican s orceres s pittin g herpow ers of
tran s f orm ation again s t"the gen etic m an ipu l ation s of her
riv al ( Wil d Seed), of tim e w arps thatbrin g am odern U S bl ack
w om an in tos l av eryw here heraction s in rel ation toher
w hite m as ter-an ces tordeterm in e the pos s ibil ityof herow n
birth( Kin dred), an d of the il l egitim ate in s ights in toiden tity
an d com m u n ityof an adopted cros s -s pecies chil d w hocam e
tokn ow the en em yas s el f ( Su rv iv or). In Daw n ( 19 87 ), the
f irs tin s tal m en tof as eries cal l ed Xen ogen es is , Bu tl ertel l s the
s toryof Lil ithIyapo, w hos e pers on al n am e recal l s Adam s
f irs tan d repu diated w if e an d w hos e f am il yn am e m arks her
s tatu s as the w idow of the s on of N igerian im m igran ts to
the U S. Abl ack w om an an d am otherw hos e chil d is dead,
Lil ithm ediates the tran s f orm ation of hu m an itythrou gh
gen etic exchan ge w ithextra-terres trial l ov ers / res cu ers /
des troyers / gen etic en gin eers , w horef orm earths habitats
af terthe n u cl earhol ocau s tan d coerce s u rv iv in g hu m an s
in toin tim ate f u s ion w iththem . Itis an ov el thatin terro-
gates reprodu ctiv e, l in gu is tic, an d n u cl earpol itics in am ythic
f iel d s tru ctu red byl ate tw en tieth-cen tu ryrace an d gen der.
Becau s e itis particu l arl yrichin bou n darytran s gres s ion s ,
Von daMcl n tyres Su perl u m in al can cl os e this tru n cated
catal ogu e of prom is in g an d dan gerou s m on s ters w hohel p
redef in e the pl eas u res an d pol itics of em bodim en tan d
f em in is tw ritin g. In a ction w here n ocharacteris s im pl y
hu m an , hu m an s tatu s is highl yprobl em atic. Orca, a
gen etical l yal tered div er, can s peak w ithkil l erw hal es an d
s u rv iv e deepocean con dition s , bu ts he l on gs toexpl ore s pace
as apil ot, n eces s itatin g bion ic im pl an ts j eopardizin g her
kin s hipw iththe div ers an d cetacean s . T ran s f orm ation s are
ef f ected byv iru s v ectors carryin g an ew dev el opm en tal code,
bytran s pl an ts u rgery, byim pl an ts of m icroel ectron ic dev ices ,
35. ACyborg Man if es to
byan al ogu e dou bl es , an d otherm ean s . Laen eabecom es a
pil otbyacceptin g aheartim pl an tan d ahos tof other
al teration s al l ow in g s u rv iv al in tran s itats peeds exceedin g
thatof l ight. R adu Dracu l s u rv iv es av iru s cau s ed pl agu e in
his ou terw orl d pl an ettof in d him s el f w ithatim e s en s e that
chan ges the bou n daries of s patial perception f orthe w hol e
s pecies . Al l the characters expl ore the l im its of l an gu age; the
dream of com m u n icatin g experien ce; an d the n eces s ityof
l im itation , partial ity, an d in tim acyev en in this w orl d of
protean tran s f orm ation an d con n ection . Su perl u m in al s tan ds
al s of orthe def in in g con tradiction s of acyborg w orl d in
an others en s e; item bodies textu al l ythe in ters ection of
f em in is ttheoryan d col on ial dis cou rs e in the s cien ce f iction I
hav e al l u ded toin this chapter. T his is acon j u n ction w itha
l on g his torythatm an yF irs tWorl d f em in is ts hav e tried to
repres s , in cl u din g m ys el f in m yreadin gs of Su perl u m in al
bef ore bein g cal l ed toaccou n tbyZoe Sof ou l is , w hos e
dif f eren tl ocation in the w orl d s ys tem s in f orm atics of
dom in ation m ade heracu tel yal erttothe im perial is t
m om en tof al l s cien ce f iction cu l tu res , in cl u din g w om en s
s cien ce f iction . F rom an Au s tral ian f em in is ts en s itiv ity,
Sof ou l is rem em bered m ore readil yMcl n tyres rol e as w riter
of the adv en tu res of Captain Kirk an d Spock in T Vs StarT rel <
s eries than herrew ritin g the rom an ce in Su perl u m in al
Mon s ters hav e al w ays de n ed the l im its of com m u n ityin
Wes tern im agin ation s . T he Cen tau rs an d Am azon s of
an cien tGreece es tabl is hed the l im its of the cen tred pol is of
the Greek m al e hu m an bytheirdis ru ption of m arriage an d
bou n darypol l u tion s of the w arriorw ithan im al ityan d
w om an . U n s eparated tw in s an d herm aphrodites w ere the
con f u s ed hu m an m aterial in earl ym odern F ran ce w ho
grou n ded dis cou rs e on the n atu ral an d s u pern atu ral , m edical
an d l egal , porten ts an d dis eas es al l cru cial toes tabl is hin g
m odern iden tity. T he ev ol u tion aryan d behav iou ral s cien ces
of m on keys an d apes hav e m arked the m u l tipl e bou n daries
of l ate tw en tieth-cen tu ryin du s trial iden tities . Cyborg
m on s ters in f em in is ts cien ce f iction def in e qu ite dif f eren t
pol itical pos s ibil ities an d l im its f rom thos e propos ed bythe
m u n dan e f iction of Man an d Wom an .
T here are s ev eral con s equ en ces totakin g s eriou s l ythe
im ageryof cyborgs as otherthan ou ren em ies . Ou rbodies ,
ou rs el v es ; bodies are m aps of pow eran d iden tity. Cyborgs are
n oexception . Acyborg bodyis n otin n ocen t; itw as n otborn
in agarden ; itdoes n ots eek u n itaryiden tityan d s ogen erate
an tagon is tic du al is m s w ithou ten d ( oru n til the w orl d en ds );
theN EWMEDIAR EADER
ittakes iron yf orgran ted. On e is toof ew , an d tw ois on l yon e
pos s ibil ity. In ten s e pl eas u re in s kil l , m achin e s kil l , ceas es tobe
as in , bu tan as pectof em bodim en t. T he m achin e is n otan it
tobe an im ated, w ors hipped, an d dom in ated T he m achin e is
u s , ou rproces s es , an as pectof ou rem bodim en t. We can be
res pon s ibl e f orm achin es ; theydon otdom in ate orthreaten
u s . We are res pon s ibl e f orbou n daries ; w e are they. U ptil l
n ow ( on ce u pon atim e), f em al e em bodim en ts eem ed tobe
giv en , organ ic, n eces s ary; an d f em al e em bodim en ts eem ed to
m ean s kil l in m otherin g an d its m etaphoric exten s ion s . On l y
bybein g ou tof pl ace cou l d w e take in ten s e pl eas u re in
m achin es , an d then w ithexcu s es thatthis w as organ ic
activ ityaf teral l , appropriate tof em al es . Cyborgs m ight
con s iderm ore s eriou s l ythe partial , f l u id, s om etim es as pect
of s exan d s exu al em bodim en t. Gen derm ightn otbe gl obal
iden tityaf teral l , ev en if ithas prof ou n d his torical breadth
an d depth.
T he ideol ogical l ycharged qu es tion of w hatcou n ts as dail y
activ ity, as experien ce, can be approached byexpl oitin g the
cyborg im age. F em in is ts hav e recen tl ycl aim ed thatw om en
are giv en todail in es s , thatw om en m ore than m en s om ehow
s u s tain dail yl if e, an d s ohav e apriv il eged epis tem ol ogical
pos ition poten tial l y. T here is acom pel l in g as pecttothis
cl aim , on e thatm akes v is ibl e u n v al u ed f em al e activ ityan d
n am es itas the grou n d of l if e. Bu tthe grou n d of l if e?What
abou tal l the ign oran ce of w om en , al l the excl u s ion s an d
f ail u res of kn ow l edge an d s kil l ?Whatabou tm en s acces s to
dail ycom peten ce, tokn ow in g how tobu il d thin gs , totake
them apart, topl ay?Whatabou totherem bodim en ts ?
Cyborg gen deris al ocal pos s ibil itytakin g agl obal v en gean ce.
R ace, gen der, an d capital requ ire acyborg theoryof w hol es
an d parts . T here is n odriv e in cyborgs toprodu ce total
theory, bu tthere is an in tim ate experien ce of bou n daries ,
theircon s tru ction an d decon s tru ction . T here is am yth
s ys tem w aitin g tobecom e apol itical l an gu age togrou n d on e
w ayof l ookin g ats cien ce an d techn ol ogyan d chal l en gin g the
in f orm atics of dom in ation in ordertoactpoten tl y.
On e l as tim age:organ is m s an d organ is m ic, hol is tic pol itics
depen d on m etaphors of rebirthan d in v ariabl ycal l on the
res ou rces of reprodu ctiv e s ex. Iw ou l d s u gges tthatcyborgs
hav e m ore todow ithregen eration an d are s u s piciou s of the
reprodu ctiv e m atrixan d of m os tbirthin g. F ors al am an ders ,
regen eration af terin j u ry, s u chas the l os s of al im b, in v ol v es
regrow thof s tru ctu re an d res toration of f u n ction w iththe
con s tan tpos s ibil ityof tw in n in g orotherodd topographical
ck; ___$:~.. __-._.O__....T __Q 5 -___,__Q .___._,..,_,_q9 _..._......._.._..{j _......-..-r _--.- .-- .; ,Q -.- . 47 ' . __Q _- - -._.
produ ction s atthe s ite of f orm erin j u ry. T he regrow n l im b
can be m on s trou s , du pl icated, poten t. We hav e al l been
in j u red, prof ou n dl y. We requ ire regen eration , n otrebirth, an d
the pos s ibil ities f orou rrecon s titu tion in cl u de. the u topian
dream of the hope f oram on s trou s w orl d w ithou tgen der.
Cyborg im agerycan hel pexpres s tw ocru cial argu m en ts in
this es s ay: f irs t, the produ ction of u n iv ers al , total izin g theory
is am aj orm is take thatm is s es m os tof real ity, probabl y
al w ays , bu tcertain l yn ow ; an d s econ d, takin g res pon s ibil ity
f orthe s ocial rel ation s of s cien ce an d techn ol ogym ean s
ref u s in g an an ti-s cien ce m etaphys ics , adem on ol ogyof
techn ol ogy, an d s om ean s em bracin g the s kil f u l tas k of recon -
s tru ctin g the bou n daries of dail yl if e, in partial con n ection
w ithothers , in com m u n ication w ithal l of ou rparts . Itis n ot
j u s tthats cien ce an d techn ol ogyare pos s ibl e m ean s of great
hu m an s atis f action , as w el l as am atrixof com pl ex
dom in ation s . Cyborg im agerycan s u gges taw ayou tof the
m aze of du al is m s in w hichw e hav e expl ain ed ou rbodies an d
ou rtool s toou rs el v es . T his is adream n otof acom m on
l an gu age, bu tof apow erf u l in f idel heterogl os s ia. Itis an
im agin ation of af em in is ts peakin g in ton gu es tos trike f ear
in tothe circu its of the s u per-s av ers of the n ew right. It
m ean s bothbu il din g an d des troyin g m achin es , iden tities ,
categories , rel ation s hips , s pace s tories . T hou ghbothare
bou n d in the s piral dan ce, Iw ou l d ratherbe acyborg than a
goddes s .
N otes
1. R es earchw as f u n ded byan Academ ic Sen ate F acu l tyR es earch
Gran tf rom the U n iv ers ityof Cal if orn ia, San taCru z. An earl ier
v ers ion of the paperon gen etic en gin eerin g appeared as Lieber
Kyborg al s Gottin : f u rein e s oziaLis tis ch-f em in is tis che
U n terw an deru n g derGen techn ol ogie, in Bern d-P eterLan ge an d
An n aMarie Stu by, eds , Berl in : Argu m en t-Son derban d 105, 19 84, pp
6 6 -84. T he cyborg m an if es togrew f rom m yN ew m achin es , n ew
bodies , n ew com m u n ities : pol itical dil em m as of acyborg f em in is t,"
T he Schol aran d the F em in is tX: T he Q u es tion of T echn ol ogy,"
Con f eren ce, Barn ard Col l ege, April 19 83.
T he peopl e as s ociated w iththe His toryof Con s ciou s n es s Board of
U CSC hav e had an en orm ou s in f l u en ce on this paper, s othatit
f eel s col l ectiv el yau thored m ore than m os t, al thou ghthos e Icite
m ayn otrecogn ize theirideas . In particu l ar, m em bers of gradu ate
an d u n dergradu ate f em in is ttheory, s cien ce, an d pol itics , an d
theoryan d m ethods cou rs es con tribu ted tothe cyborg m an if es to.
P articu l ardebts here are du e Hil aryKl ein ( 19 89 ), P au l Edw ards
( 19 85), Lis aLow e ( 19 86 ), an d Jam es Cl if f ord ( 19 85).
P arts of the paperw ere m ycon tribu tion toacol l ectiv el ydev el oped
s es s ion , "P oetic T ool s an d P ol itical Bodies : F em in is tApproaches to
HighT echn ol ogyCu l tu re,"19 84Cal if orn iaAm erican Stu dies
19 85 35. ACyborg Man if es to
As s ociation , w ithHis toryof Con s ciou s n es s gradu ate s tu den ts Zoe
Sof ou l is , "Ju piters pace"; Katie Kin g, "T he pl eas u res of repetition
an d the l im its of iden tif ication in f em in is ts cien ce f iction :
reim agin ation s of the bodyaf terthe cyborg"; an d Chel aSan dov al ,
"T he con s tru ction of s u bj ectiv ityan d oppos ition al con s ciou s n es s in
f em in is tf il m an d v ideo."San dov al ' s ( n .d.)theoryof oppos ition al
con s ciou s n es s w as pu bl is hed as "Wom en res pon d toracis m : A
R eporton the N ation al f Wom en ' s Stu dies As s ociation Con f eren ce."
F orSof ou l is ' s s em iotic-ps ychoan al ytic readin gs of n u cl earcu l tu re,
s ee Sof ia( 19 84). Kin g' s u n pu bl is hed papers ( "Q u es tion in g
tradition : can on f orm ation an d the v eil in g of pow er"; "Gen deran d
gen re: readin g the s cien ce f iction of Joan n aR u s s ; Varl ey' s T itan
an d Wizard: f em in is tparodies of n atu re, cu l tu re, an d hardw are")
deepl yin f orm ed the cyborg m an if es to.
BarbaraEps tein , Jef f Es cof er, R u s ten Hogn es s , an d Jaye Mil er
gav e exten s iv e dis cu s s ion an d editorial hel p. Mem bers of the
Sil icon Val l eyR es earchP roj ectof U CSC an d participan ts in SVR P
con f eren ces an d w orks hops w ere v eryim portan t, es pecial l yR ick
Gordon , Lin daKim bal l , N an cySn yder, Lan gdon Win n er, Ju dith
Stacey, Lin daLim , P atriciaF ern an dez-Kel l y, an d Ju dithGregory.
F in al l y, Iw an ttothan k N an cyHarts ock f oryears of f rien ds hipan d
dis cu s s ion on f em in is ttheoryan d f em in s ts cien ce f iction . Ial s o
than k El izabethBird f orm yf av ou rite pol itical bu tton : "Cyborgs f or
Earthl ySu rv iv al ."
2 . U s ef u l ref eren ces tol ef tan d/ orf em in is tradical s cien ce
m ov em en ts an d theoryan d tobiol ogical / biotechn ical is s u es
in cl u de: Bl eier( 19 84, 19 86 ), Hardin g ( 19 86 ), F au s to-Sterl in g
( 19 85), Gou l d ( 19 81), Hu bbard etal . ( 19 82 ), Kel l er( 19 85),
Lew on tin etal . ( 19 84), R adical Scien ce Jou rn al ( becam e Scien ce as
Cu l tu re in 19 87 ), 2 6 F reegrov e R oad, Lon don N 7 9 R 0; Scien ce f or
the P eopl e, 89 7 Main St, Cam bridge, MA02 139 .
3. Startin g poin ts f orl ef tan d/ orf em in is tapproaches to
techn ol ogyan d pol itics in cl u de: Cow an ( 19 83), R oths chil d ( 19 83),
T raw eek ( 19 88), Y ou n g an d Lev idow ( 19 81, 19 85), Weizen bau m
( 19 7 6 ), Win n er( 19 7 7 , 19 86 ), Zim m erm an ( 19 83), Athan as iou
( 19 87 ), Cohn ( 19 87 a, 19 87 b). Win ograd an d F l ores ( 19 86 ),
Edw ards ( 19 85). Gl obal El ectron ics N ew s l etter, 86 7 Wes tDan aSt,
# 2 04, Mou n tain View , CA9 4041; P roces s ed Worl d, 55Su tterSt, San
F ran cis co, CA9 4104; ISIS, Wom en ' s In tern ation al In f orm ation an d
Com m u n ication Serv ice, P 0Box50( Corn av in ), 12 11 Gen ev a2 ,
Sw itzerl an d, an d ViaSan taMariaDel l ' An im a30, 00186 R om e, Ital y.
F u n dam en tal approaches tom odern s ocial s tu dies of s cien ce that
don otcon tin u e the l iberal m ys tif ication thatital l s tarted w ith
T hom as Ku hn , in cl u de: Kn orr-Cetin a( 19 81), Kn orr-Cetin aan d
Mu l kay( 19 83), Latou ran d Wool gar( 19 7 9 ), Y ou n g ( 19 7 9 ). T he
19 84Directoryof the N etw ork f orthe Ethn ographic Stu dyof
Scien ce, T echn ol ogy, an d Organ ization s l is ts aw ide ran ge of peopl e
an d proj ects cru cial tobetterradical an al ys is ; av ail abl e f rom
N ESST O, P 0Box11442 , Stan f ord, CA9 4305.
4. Aprov ocativ e, com prehen s iv e argu m en tabou tthe pol itics an d
theories of "pos tm odern is m "is m ade byF redric Jam es on ( 19 84),
w hoargu es thatpos tm odern is m is n otan option , as tyl e am on g
others , bu tacu l tu ral dom in an trequ irin g radical rein v en tion of l ef t
pol itics f rom w ithin ; there is n ol on geran ypl ace f rom w ithou tthat
giv es m ean in g tothe com f ortin g f iction of critical dis tan ce.
35. ACyborg Man if es to
Jam es on al s om akes cl earw hyon e can n otbe f ororagain s t
pos tm odern is m , an es s en tial l ym oral is tm ov e. Mypos ition is that
f em in is ts ( an d others )n eed con tin u ou s cu l tu ral rein v en tion ,
pos tm odern is tcritiqu e, an d his torical m aterial is m ; on l yacyborg
w ou l d hav e achan ce. T he ol d dom in ation s of w hite capital is t
patriarchys eem n os tal gical l yin n ocen tn ow : theyn orm al ized
heterogen eity, in tom an an d w om an , w hite an d bl ack, f orexam pl e.
"Adv an ced capital is m "an d pos tm odern is m rel eas e heterogen eity
w ithou tan orm , an d w e are f l atten ed, w ithou ts u bj ectiv ity, w hich
requ ires depth, ev en u n f rien dl yan d drow n in g depths . Itis tim e to
w rite T he Deathof the Cl in ic. T he cl in ic' s m ethods requ ired bodies
an d w orks ; w e hav e texts an d s u rf aces . Ou rdom in ation s don ' tw ork
bym edical ization an d n orm al ization an ym ore; theyw ork by
n etw orkin g, com m u n ication s redes ign , s tres s m an agem en t.
N orm al ization giv es w aytoau tom ation , u tterredu n dan cy. Michel
F ou cau l t' s Birthof the Cl in ic ( 19 6 3), His toryof Sexu al ity( 19 7 6 ),
an d Dis cipl in e an d P u n is h( 19 7 5)n am e af orm of pow eratits
m om en tof im pl os ion . T he dis cou rs e of biopol itics giv es w ayto
techn obabbl e, the l an gu age of the s pl iced s u bs tan tiv e; n on ou n is
l ef tw hol e bythe m u l tin ation al s . T hes e are theirn am es , l is ted f rom
on e is s u e of Scien ce: T ech-Kn ow l edge, Gen en tech, Al l ergen ,
Hybritech, Com pu pro, Gen en -cor, Syn tex, Al l el ix, Agrigen etics
Corp., Syn tro, Codon , R epl igen , MicroAn gel of rom Scion Corp.,
P ercom Data, In terSys tem s , Cyborg Corp., Statcom Corp., In tertec.
If w e are im pris on ed byl an gu age, then es cape f rom thatpris on -
hou s e requ ires l an gu age poets , akin d of cu l tu ral res triction en zym e
tocu tthe code; cyborg heterogl os s iais on e f orm of radical cu l tu ral
pol itics . F orcyborg poetry, s ee P erl of f ( 19 84)f F ras er( 19 84). F or
f em in is tm odern is t/ pos tm odern is t"cyborg"w ritin g, s ee HOW( ev er),
87 1 CorbettAv e, San F ran cis co, CA9 4131.
5. Bau dril l ard ( 19 83). Jam es on ( 19 84, p. 6 6 )poin ts ou tthat
P l ato' s def in ition of the s im u l acru m is the copyf orw hichthere is
n oorigin al , i.e., the w orl d of adv an ced capital is m , of pu re
exchan ge. See Dis cou rs e 9 ( Sprin g/ Su m m er19 87 )f oras pecial is s u e
on techn ol ogy( cybern etics , ecol ogy, an d the pos tm odern
im agin ation ).
6 . F orethn ographic accou n ts an d pol itical ev al u ation s , s ee
Eps tein ( f orthcom in g), Stu rgeon ( 19 86 ). Withou texpl icitiron y,
adoptin g the s paces hipearth/ w hol e earthl ogoof the pl an et
photographed f rom s pace, s etof f bythe s l ogan "Lov e Y ou r
Mother,"the May19 87 Mothers an d Others Dayaction atthe
n u cl earw eapon s tes tin g f acil ityin N ev adan on e the l es s took
accou n tof the tragic con tradiction s of v iew s of the earth.
Dem on s trators appl ied f orof f icial perm its tobe on the l an d f rom
of f icers of the Wes tern Shos hon e tribe, w hos e territoryw as in v aded
bythe U S gov ern m en tw hen itbu il tthe n u cl earw eapon s tes t
grou n d in the 19 50s . Arres ted f ortres pas s in g, the dem on s trators
argu ed thatthe pol ice an d w eapon s f acil itypers on n el , w ithou t
au thorization f rom the properof f icial s , w ere the tres pas s ers . On e
af f in itygrou patthe w om en ' s action cal l ed them s el v es the
Su rrogate Others ; an d in s ol idarityw iththe creatu res f orced to
tu n n el in the s am e grou n d w iththe bom b, theyen acted a
cyborgian em ergen ce f rom the con s tru cted bodyof al arge, n on -
heteros exu al des ertw orm . l
7 . P ow erf u l dev el opm en ts of coal ition pol itics em erge f rom T hird
Worl d"s peakers , s peakin g f rom n ow here, the dis pl aced cen tre of
theN EWMEDIAR EADER
the u n iv ers e, earth: We l iv e on the third pl an etf rom the s u n -
Su n P oem byJam aican w riter, Edw ard Kam au Braithw aite, rev iew by
Mackey( 19 84). Con tribu tors toSm ith( 19 83)iron ical l ys u bv ert
n atu ral ized iden tities precis el yw hil e con s tru ctin g apl ace f rom
w hichtos peak cal l ed hom e. See es pecial l yR eagon ( in Sm ith,
19 83. pp. as s -88). T rin hT . Min h-ha( 19 86 -87 ).
8. hooks ( 19 81, 19 84); Hu l l etal . ( 19 82 ). Bam bara( 19 81)w rote
an extraordin aryn ov el in w hichthe w om en of col ou rtheatre
grou p, T he Sev en Sis ters , expl ores af orm of u n ity. See an al ys is by
Bu tl er-Ev an s ( 19 87 ).
9 . On orien tal is m in f em in is tw orks an d el s ew here, s ee Low e
( 19 86 ); Said ( 19 7 8); Mohan ty( 19 84); Man yVoices , On e Chan t:
Bl ack F em in is tP ers pectiv es ( 19 84).
10. Katie Kin g ( 19 86 , 19 87 a)has dev el oped atheoretical l y
s en s itiv e treatm en tof the w orkin gs of f em in is ttaxon om ies as
gen eal ogies of pow erin f em in is tideol ogyan d pol em ic. Kin g
exam in es Jaggar' s ( 19 83)probl em atic exam pl e of taxon om izin g
f em in is m s tom ake al ittl e m achin e produ cin g the des ired f in al
pos ition . Mycaricatu re here of s ocial is tan d radical f em in is m is
al s oan exam pl e.
11. T he cen tral rol e of obj ectrel ation s v ers ion s of ps ychoan al ys is
an d rel ated s tron g u n iv ers al izin g m ov es in dis cu s s in g reprodu ction ,
carin g w ork, an d m otherin g in m an yapproaches toepis tem ol ogy
u n derl in e theirau thors res is tan ce tow hatIam cal l in g
pos tm odern is m . F orm e, boththe u n iv ers al izin g m ov es an d thes e
v ers ion s of ps ychoan al ys is m ake an al ys is of "w om en ' s pl ace in the
in tegrated circu it dif f icu l tan d l ead tos ys tem atic dif f icu l ties in
accou n tin g f ororev en s eein g m aj oras pects of the con s tru ction of
gen deran d gen dered s ocial l if e. T he f em in is ts tan dpoin targu m en t
has been dev el oped by: F l ax( 19 83), Hardin g ( 19 86 ), Hardin g an d
Hin tikka( 19 83), Harts ock ( 19 838, b), O' Brien ( 19 81), R os e ( 19 83),
Sm ith( 19 7 4, 19 7 9 ). F orrethin kin g theories of f em in is tm aterial is m
an d f em in is ts tan dpoin ts in res pon s e tocriticis m , s ee Hardin g
( 19 86 , pp. 16 3-9 6 ), Harts ock ( 19 87 ), an d H. R os e ( 19 86 ).
12 . Im ake an argu m en tativ e categoryerrorin "m odif yin g"
MacKin n on ' s pos ition s w iththe qu al i er"radical ,"thereby
gen eratin g m yow n redu ctiv e critiqu e of extrem el yheterogen eou s
w ritin g, w hichdoes expl icitl yu s e thatl abel , bym ytaxon om ical l y
in teres ted argu m en tabou tw ritin g, w hichdoes n otu s e the
m odif ieran d w hichbrooks n ol im its an d therebyadds tothe
v ariou s dream s of acom m on , in the s en s e of u n iv ocal , l an gu age f or
f em in is m . Mycategoryerrorw as occas ion ed byan as s ign m en tto
w rite f rom aparticu l artaxon om ic pos ition w hichits el f has a
heterogen eou s his tory, s ocial is t-f em in is m , f orSocial is tR ev iew . A
critiqu e in debted toMacKin n on , bu tw ithou tthe redu ction is m an d
w ithan el egan tf em in is taccou n tof F ou cau l t' s paradoxical
con s erv atis m on s exu al v iol en ce ( rape), is de Lau retis ( 19 85; s ee
al s o19 86 , pp. 1-19 ). Atheoretical l yel egan tf em in is ts ocial -
his torical exam in ation of f am il yv iol en ce, thatin s is ts on w om en ' s ,
m en ' s , an d chil dren ' s com pl exagen cyw ithou tl os in g s ightof the
m aterial s tru ctu res of m al e dom in ation , race, an d cl as s , is Gordon
( 19 88).
13. T his chartw as pu bl is hed in 19 85. Myprev iou s ef f orts to
u n ders tan d biol ogyas acybern etic com m an d-con trol dis cou rs e an d
organ is m s as n atu ral -techn ical obj ects of kn ow l edge"w ere
e.._ _.s _. ..... ....-._|-19 851:: .....___35. ACyborg Man if es to
Haraw ay( 19 7 9 , 19 83, 19 84). T he 19 7 9 v ers ion of this dichotom ou s
chartappears in this v ol ., ch. 3; f ora19 89 v ers ion , s ee ch. 10.
T he dif f eren ces in dicate s hif ts in argu m en t.
14. F orprogres s iv e an al ys es an d action on the biotechn ol ogy
debates : 6 en eWatch, aBu l l etin of the Com m ittee f orR es pon s ibl e
Gen etics , 5Doan e St, 4thF l oor, Bos ton , MA02 109 ; Gen etic
Screen in g Stu dyGrou p( f orm erl ythe Sociobiol ogyStu dyGrou pof
Scien ce f orthe P eopl e), Cam bridge, MA; Wright( 19 82 , 19 86 );
Y oxen ( 19 83).
15. Startin g ref eren ces f or"w om en in the in tegrated circu it":
D' On of rio-F l ores an d P f af f l in ( 19 82 ), F ern an dez-Kel l y( 19 83),
F u en tes an d Ehren reich( 19 83), Gros s m an ( 19 80), N as han d
F ern an dez-Kel l y( 19 83), On g ( 19 87 ), Scien ce P ol icyR es earchU n it
( 19 82 ).
16 . F orthe hom ew ork econ om you ts ide the hom e"an d rel ated
argu m en ts : Gordon ( 19 83); Gordon an d Kim bal l ( 19 85); Stacey
( 19 87 ); R es kin an d Hartm an n ( 19 86 ); Wom en an d P ov erty( 19 84);
S. R os e ( 19 86 ); Col l in s ( 19 82 ); Bu rr( 19 82 ); Gregoryan d N u s s bau m
( 19 82 ); P iv en an d Cow ard ( 19 82 ); Microel ectron ics Grou p( 19 80);
Stal l ard etal . ( 19 83)w hichin cl u des au s ef u l organ ization an d
res ou rce l is t.
17 . T he con j u n ction of the Green R ev ol u tion ' s s ocial rel ation s w ith
biotechn ol ogies l ike pl an tgen etic en gin eerin g m akes the pres s u res
on l an d in the T hird Worl d in creas in gl yin ten s e. AID' s es tim ates
( N ew Y ork T im es , 14October19 84)u s ed atthe 19 84Worl d F ood
Dayare thatin Af rica, w om en produ ce abou t9 0percen tof ru ral
f ood s u ppl ies , abou t6 0-80percen tin As ia, an d prov ide 40per
cen tof agricu l tu ral l abou rin the N earEas tan d Latin Am erica.
Bl u m berg charges thatw orl d organ ization s agricu l tu ral pol itics , as
w el l as thos e of m u l tin ation al s an d n ation al gov ern m en ts in the
T hird Worl d, gen eral l yign ore f u n dam en tal is s u es in the s exu al
div is ion of l abou r. T he pres en ttragedyof f am in e in Af ricam ight
ow e as m u chtom al e s u prem acyas tocapital is m , col on ial is m , an d
rain pattern s . More accu ratel y, capital is m an d racis m are u s u al l y
s tru ctu ral l ym al e dom in an t. See al s oBl u m berg ( 19 81); Hacker
( 19 84); Hackeran d Bov it( 19 81); Bu s chan d Lacy( 19 83); Wil f red
( 19 82 ); Sachs ( 19 83); In tern ation al F u n d f orAgricu l tu ral
Dev el opm en t( 19 85); Bird ( 19 84).
18. See al s oEn l oe ( 19 83a, b).
19 . F oraf em in is tv ers ion of this l ogic, s ee Hrdy( 19 81). F oran
an al ys is of s cien tif ic w om en ' s s tory-tel l in g practices , es pecial l yin
rel ation tos ociobiol ogyin ev ol u tion arydebates arou n d chil d abu s e
an d in f an ticide, s ee this v ol ., ch. 5.
2 0. F orthe m om en tof tran s ition of hu n tin g w ithgu n s tohu n tin g
w ithcam eras in the con s tru ction of popu l arm ean in gs of n atu re f or
an Am erican u rban im m igran tpu bl ic, s ee Haraw ay( 19 84 5,
19 89 b), N as h( 19 7 9 ), Son tag ( 19 7 7 ), P res ton ( 19 84).
2 1. F orgu idan ce f orthin kin g abou tthe pol itical / cu l tu ral / racial
im pl ication s of the his toryof w om en doin g s cien ce in the U n ited
States s ee: Haas an d P eru cci( 19 84); Hacker( 19 81); Kel l er( 19 83);
N ation al Scien ce F ou n dation ( 19 88); R os s iter( 19 82 ); Schiebin ger
( 19 87 ); Haraw ay( 19 89 b).
2 2 . Markof f an d Siegel ( 19 83). HighT echn ol ogyP rof es s ion al s f or
P eace an d Com pu terP rof es s ion al s f orSocial R es pon s ibil ityare
prom is in g organ ization s .
2 3. Kin g ( 19 84). An abbrev iated l is t. of f em in is ts cien ce ction
u n derl yin g them es of this es s ay: Octav iaBu tl er, Wil d Seed, Min d of
MyMin d, Kin dred, Su rv iv or; Su zyMcKee Charn as , Motherl in es s ;
Sam u el R . Del an y, the N ev eryon s eries ; An n e McCaf f ery, T he Ship
WhoSan g, Din os au rP l an et; Von daMcIn tyre, Su perl u m in al ,
Dream s n ake; Joan n aR u s s , Adv en tu res of Al ix, T he F em al e Man ;
Jam es T iptree, Jr, StarSon gs of an Ol d P n m ate, U pthe Wal l s of the
Worl d; John Varl ey, T itan , Wizard, Dem on .
2 4. F ren chf em in is m s con tribu te tocyborg heterogl os s ia. Bu rke
( 19 81); Irigaray( 19 7 7 , 19 7 9 ); Marks an d de Cou rtiv ron ( 19 80);
Sign s ( Au tu m n 19 81); Wittig ( 19 7 3); Du chen ( 19 86 ). F orEn gl is h
tran s l ation of s om e cu rren ts of f ran cophon e f em in is m s ee F em in is t
Is s u es : AJou rn al of F em in is tSocial an d P ol itical T heory, 19 80.
2 5. Bu tal l thes e poets are v erycom pl ex, n otl eas tin their
treatm en tof them es of l yin g an d erotic, decen tred col l ectiv e an d
pers on al iden tities . Grif f in ( 19 7 8), Lorde ( 19 84), R ich( 19 7 8).
2 6 . Derrida( 19 7 6 , es pecial l ypart. II); L v i-Strau s s ( 19 6 1,
es pecial l y"T he Writin g Les s on "); Gates ( 19 85); Kahn an d N eu m aier
( 19 85); On g ( 19 82 ); Kram arae an d T reichl er( 19 85).
2 7 . T he s harprel ation of w om en of col ou rtow ritin g as them e an d
pol itics can be approached throu gh: P rogram f or"T he Bl ack Wom an
an d the Dias pora: Hidden Con n ection s an d Exten ded
Ackn ow l edgm en ts ,"An In tern ation al LiteraryCon f eren ce, Michigan
State U n iv ers ity, October19 85; Ev an s ( 19 84); Chris tian ( 19 85);
Carby( 19 87 ); F is her( 19 80); F ron tiers ( 19 80, 19 83); Kin gs ton
( 19 7 7 ); Lern er( 19 7 3); Giddin gs ( 19 85); Moragaan d An zal du a
( 19 81); Morgan ( 19 84). An gl ophon e Eu ropean an d Eu ro-Am erican
w om en hav e al s ocraf ted s pecial rel ation s totheirw ritin g as a
poten ts ign : Gil bertan d Gu bar( 19 7 9 ), R u s s ( 19 83).
2 8. T he con v en tion of ideol ogical l ytam in g m il itarized high
techn ol ogybypu bl icizin g its appl ication s tos peechan d m otion
probl em s of the dis abl ed/ dif f eren tl yabl ed takes on as pecial iron y
in m on otheis tic, patriarchal , an d f requ en tl yan ti-s em itic cu l tu re
w hen com pu ter-gen erated s peechal l ow s aboyw ithn ov oice to
chan tthe Haf torahathis barm itzv ah. See Su s s m an ( 19 86 ). Makin g
the al w ays con text-rel ativ e s ocial def in ition s of abl en es s "
particu l arl ycl ear, m il itaryhigh-techhas aw ayof m akin g hu m an
bein gs dis abl ed bydef in ition , aperv ers e as pectof m u chau tom ated
battl ef iel d an d StarWars R &D. See Wel f ord ( 1 Ju l y19 86 ).
2 9 . Jam es Cl if f ord ( 19 85, 19 88)argu es pers u as iv el yf orrecogn ition
of con tin u ou s cu l tu ral rein v en tion , the s tu bborn n on -dis appearan ce
of thos e "m arked"byWes tern im perial izin g practices .
30. Du Bois ( 19 82 ), Das ton an d P ark ( n .d.), P ark an d Das ton
( 19 81). T he n ou n m on s ters hares its rootw iththe v erb to
dem on s trate.
Bibl iography
Athan as iou , T om ( 19 87 )High-techpol itics : the cas e of artif icial
in tel l igen ce."Social is tR ev iew 9 2 : 7 -35.
Bam bara, T on iCade ( 19 81)T he Sal tEaters . N ew Y ork:
Vin tage/ R an dom Hou s e.
Bau dril l ard, Jean ( 19 83)Sim u l ation s , P . F os s , P . P atton , P .
35. ACyborg Man if es to
Beitchm an , tran s . N ew Y ork: Sem itext[ e].
Bird, El izabeth( 19 84)"Green R ev ol u tion im perial is m , I& II,"
papers del iv ered atthe U n iv ers ityof Cal if orn ia, San taCru z.
Bl eier, R u th( 19 84)Scien ce an d Gen der: ACn ' tiqu e of Biol ogyan d its
T hem es on Wom en . N ew Y ork: P ergam on .
- , ed. ( 19 86 )F em in is tApproaches toScien ce. N ew Y ork:
P ergam on .
Bl u m berg, R ae Les s or( 19 81)Stratif ication : Socioecon om ic an d
Sexu al In equ al ity. Bos ton : Brow n . .
i( 19 83)"Agen eral theoryof s exs tratif ication an d its
appl ication tothe pos ition s of w om en in today' s w orl d econ om y,"
paperdel iv ered toSociol ogyBoard, U n iv ers ityof Cal if orn iaat
San taCru z.
Bu rke, Carol yn ( 19 81)"Irigaraythrou ghthe l ookin g gl as s ,"
F em in is tStu dies 7 ( 2 ): 2 88-306 .
Bu rr, SaraG. ( 19 82 )"Wom en an d Work,"in BarbaraK. Haber, ed.
T he Wom en ' s An n u al , 19 81. Bos ton : G.K. Hal l .
Bu s ch, Law ren ce an d Lacy, Wil l l iam ( 19 83)Scien ce, Agricu l tu re, an d
the P ol itics of R es earch. Bou l der, C0: Wes tv iew .
Bu tl er, Octav ia( 19 87 )Daw n . N ew Y ork: Warn er.
Bu tl er-Ev an s , El l iot( 19 87 )R ace, gen der, an d des ire: n arrativ e
s trategies an d the produ ction of ideol ogyin the ction of T on i
Cade Bam bara, T on iMorris on an d Al ice Wal ker,"U n iv ers ityof
Cal if orn iaatSan taCru z, P hD thes is .
Carby, Hazel ( 19 87 )R econ s tru ctin g Wom an hood: T he Em ergen ce of
the Af ro-Am erican Wom an N ov el is t. N ew Y ork: Oxf ord U n iv ers ity
P res s .
Chris tian , Barbara( 19 85)Bl ack F em in is tCriticis m : P ers pectiv es on
P l ack Wom en Writers . N ew Y ork: P ergam on .
Cl if f ord, Jam es ( 19 85)On ethn ographic al l egory,"in Jam es Cl if f ord
an d George Marcu s , eds Writin g Cu l tu re: T he P oetics an d P ol itics of
Ethn ography. Berkel ey: U n iv ers ityof Cal if orn iaP res s .
2 -( 19 88)T he P redicam en tof Cu l tu re: T w en tieth-Cen tu ry
Ethn ography, Literatu re, an d Art. Cam bridge, MA: Harv ard U n iv ers ity
P res s .
Cohn , Carol ( 19 87 a)"N u cl earl an gu age an d how w e l earn ed topat
the bom b,"Bu l l etin of Atom ic Scien tis ts , pp. 17 -2 4.
- ( 19 87 b)Sexan d deathin the ration al w orl d of def en s e
in tel l ectu al s ,"Sign s 12 ( 4):6 87 -7 18.
Col l in s , P atriciaHil l ( 19 82 )T hird Worl d w om en in Am erica,"in
BarbaraK. Haber, ed. T he Wom en ' s An n u al , 19 81. Bos ton : G.K. Hal l .
Cow an , R u thSchw artz ( 19 83)More Work f orMother: T he Iron ies of
Hou s ehol d T echn ol ogyf rom the Open Hearthtothe Microw av e. N ew
Y ork: Bas ic.
Das ton , Lorrain e an d P ark, Katherin e ( n .d.)Herm aphrodites in
R en ais s an ce F ran ce,"u n pu bl is hed paper.
de Lau retis , T eres a( 19 85)"T he v iol en ce of rhetoric: con s ideration s
on repres en tation an d gen der,"Sem iotica54:11-31.
i -, ed. ( 19 86 )F em in is tStu dies / Cn tical Stu dies . Bl oom in gton :
In dian aU n iv ers ityP res s .
theN EWMEDIAR EADER
de Waal , F ran s ( 19 82 )Chim pan zee P ol itics : P ow eran d Sexam on g
the Apes . N ew Y ork: Harper& R ow .
Derrida, Jaqu es ( 19 7 6 )Of Gram m atol ogy, G.C. Spiv ak, tran s . an d
in trod. Bal tim ore: John s Hopkin s U n iv ers ityP res s . -
D' 0n of rio-F l ores , P am el aan d P f af f l in , Shel iaM. eds ( 19 82 )
Scien tif ic-T echn ol ogical Chan ge an d the R ol e of Wom en in
Dev el opm en t. Bou l der: Wes tv iew .
Dou gl as , Mary( 19 6 6 )P u rityan d Dan ger. Lon don : R ou tl edge 84
Kegan P au l
i( 19 7 0)N atu ral Sym bol s . Lon don : Cres s etP res s .
Du Bois , P age ( 19 82 )Cen tau rs an d Am azon s . An n Arbor: U n iv ers ity
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36 . [ In trodu ction ]
T he GN U Man if es to
Its s om etim es hard torem em eber, as IBM in v es ts abil l ion dol l ars in Lin u x-rel ated proj ects , that
the phil os ophyof f ree s of tw are is radical l yoppos ed tobu s in es s as u s u al , s eekin g toem pow er
com pu terprogram m ers an d u s ers ratherthan the ow n ers of in tel l ectu al property.
T he s toryof f ree s of tw are begin s w iththe abil ity, orl ack thereof , f oru s ers tof as hion an d
f u l l yem pl oytheirow n s of tw are tool s . R ichard Stal l m an had the techn ical s kil l , certain l y, to
dev el ops u chs of tw are tool s , bein g partof al egen darygrou pof hackers atthe MIT Artif icial
In tel l igen ce Lab. T heirm ain com pu ters ys tem ran an operatin g s ys tem theyhad w ritten , an d
theyem pl oyed tool s theyan d others had created. Ev eryon e had acces s tothe s ou rce code f or
thes e program s , an d s hared theirim prov em en ts an d w hatn ew program s theyw rote w ith
the com m u n ityas aw hol e, f ol l ow in g the v is ion of MIT ' s J. C. R . Lickl ider( O05).
Bu tthen , arou n d 19 84, thin gs began tochan ge. T he com pan ythatprov ided the Lab' s prin ter
decided tocl os e the s ou rce code f ortheiru pdated driv ers of tw are m akin g itim pos s ibl e to
add back cu s tom ization s the Lab had prev iou s l yu s ed f ortheirw ork. An ew com pu terw as _
in s tal l ed, an d itran the m an u f actu rin g com pan y' s proprietaryoperatin g s ys tem in s tead of an
u pdated v ers ion of the Lab' s ow n . AT &T an n ou n ced thatU n ixw ou l d n ol on gerbe f ree,
s hockin g m an yin the com pu terw orl d ( es pecial l ythos e f rom ou ts ide AT &T w hohad
con tribu ted toU n ix). Su dden l y, thos e atthe Lab, an d m an yothercom pu teru s ers , w ere
w orkin g in am u chl es s f ree en v iron m en t. T his w as the s itu ation tow ard w hichthe s of tw are
w orl d as aw hol e s eem ed tobe headin g:u s ers u n abl e toactu al l yw ork w iththeirow n tool s
f u l l y u n abl e toim prov e orm odif ythem , f orced tobeg com pan ies toadd the f u n ction al ity
n eeded f orthem todotheirw ork, w hatev ertheirow n l ev el of s kil l . An d u s ers w ou l d be f u rther
res tricted byproprietaryl icen s in g-res triction s , w hichl ef tthem u n abl e tos hare theirtool s w ith
others . Shrin k-w rap"an d cl ick-throu gh agreem en ts w ere attem ptin g tom ake u s ers u n w il l in g
parties toaradical exten s ion of copyrightl aw , orits ou trightrepl acem en tw ithcon tractl aw .
T he em ergin g s of tw are w orl d didn ' ts eem ahappyon e toStal l m an , an d w as n ' ton e he
w an ted tobe partof . Join in g acom pan ythatm ade proprietarys of tw are s eem ed u n ethical an d
u n s atis f yin g. Leav in g com pu terw ork al togethers eem ed l ike aw as te of his s kil l , an d al s oa
dis appoin tm en tgiv en the pers on al l yen j oyabl e experien ces he' d had program m in g. Sohe
decided toqu ithis j ob an d trytobu il d an ew s etof f ree s of tw are, arou n d w hichcou l d dev el op
an ew f ree com m u n ity. T he MIT Al Lab al l ow ed him tocon tin u e u s in g theirequ ipm en t. He
began his proj ect, cal l ed GN U ( arecu rs iv e acron ym f orGN U s N otU n ix"), an d prepared the
m an if es toreprin ted here.
Som e of the argu m en ts ou tl in ed in the m an if es toare w el l s ettl ed atthis poin t; others s til l
rage. It' s been f ou n d thatf ree s of tw are can s u cceed; tw om aj orf ree operatin g s ys tem s thatare
n ow av ail abl e dem on s trate this , as does the f ree Apache, cu rren tl ythe m os tpopu l arWeb
s erv ers of tw are. T he m ain con trov ers ythatrem ain s is n odou btov erin tel l ectu al property
is s u es . Stal l m an an d his F ree Sof tw are F ou n dation ( F SF )hav e been the prim arypropon en ts of
as ys tem cal l ed copyl ef tw hichcov ers m os tof the s of tw are dev el oped bythe GN U proj ectan d
thos e s ym pathetic w ithits goal s . Copyl ef tis em bodied in the GN U Gen eral P u bl ic Licen s e
( GP L). T he GP Lis in ten ded toen s u re thats of tw are thatis created tobe f ree rem ain s f ree
ratherthan bein g in cl u ded an d dis tribu ted as partof proprietarys of tw are, w hichm ightdef eat
the pu rpos e f orw hichitw as w ritten . In ordertocopyl ef t, the au thorf irs tcopyrights aw ork,
an d then as s tated on the F SF ' s Whatis Copyl ef t?"page w e add dis tribu tion term s , w hich
are al egal in s tru m en tthatgiv es ev eryon e the rights tou s e, m odif y, an d redis tribu te the
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program ' s code oran yprogram deriv ed f rom itbu ton l yif the dis tribu tion term s are u n chan ged.
T hu s , the code an d the f reedom s becom e l egal l yin s eparabl e. P roprietarys of tw are dev el opers u s e
copyrighttotake aw aythe u s ers f reedom ; w e u s e copyrighttogu aran tee theirf reedom . T hats
w hyw e rev ers e the n am e, chan gin g copyrightin to' copyl ef t.'
Stal l m an has al s obecom e on e of the m os tou ts poken critics of recen tattem pts toredef in e
copyrightas apriv ate good ( an in div idu al orcorporate right), ratherthan apu bl ic good
( s om ethin g the s ocietyperm its au thors u n derl im ited circu m s tan ces in ordertoben e ts ocietyas
aw hol e). In an es s ayin Com m u n ication s 0f theACM, he u s ed as pecu l ativ e f iction s tyl e, m u chas
En gel bartdid in his 19 6 2 report( O08), toprov ide an extrapol ation f rom cu rren tpropos al s an d
pol icies . In this piece, T he R ighttoR ead, he tel l s of the ethical dil em m af acin g acol l ege s tu den t
n am ed Dan :w hethertoru n the ris k of l en din g his com pu tertoacl as s m ate, w hom ightu s e the
com pu tertoread his books w ithou tpayin g the l icen s in g f ees ( w hichs he cou l d n otaf f ord topay
hers el f ), pu ttin g them bothatris k of goin g toj ail . T his s pecu l ation is n ots of an tas tic, in the eraof
the Digital Mil l en n iu m CopyrightActan d CopyrightT erm Exten s ion Act( a.k.a. the Son n yBon o
MickeyMou s e Exten s ion Act). T hes e dom es tic l aw s an d the paral l el in tern ation al agreem en ts are
ev is ceratin g tradition al f reedom s s u chas f airu s e, as w el l as the con ceptof the pu bl ic dom ain .
P erhaps particu l arl yrem arkabl e in acou n trythatprizes priv ate propertyis the f actthatthe
DMCA' s prov is ion s crim in al ize the m odif ication of am achin e on e ow n s , f orpers on al u s e in a
m an n erw hichharm s n oon e:Chan gin g you rU S -pu rchas ed DVDpl ayertoal l ow itpl ayEu ropean
DVDs is pu n is habl e bya$2 500f in e. T he chan ges in copyrightl aw thatHol l yw ood has recen tl y
pu rchas ed are rem ote f rom the pu bl ic good of prom otin g the progres s of s cien ce an d the u s ef u l
arts -rather, theyrecal l Sov ietres triction s on the ow n ers hipof photocopiers .
T he f actthatthe ris e of f ree s of tw are an d the dem is e of f ree in f orm ation s eem tobe paral l el in g
eachotherm aygiv e an in dication of ou rcu l tu res deepam biv al en ce in the f ace of n etw orked n ew
m edia. Atthis j u n ctu re, R ichard Stal l m an has becom e on e of ou rm os tim portan tcu l tu ral
critics acritic w hotakes action toal terthe s itu ation s on w hichhe com m en ts , an d w hohel ps
prov ide af ram ew ork w ithin w hichothers can acton theirbel ief s .
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S,tal l m _ain ,f 1R i_chard.~l .; Ihe, GN U Q tier_a' tiiig' ?' Sys teh1, T al iitl ithe T EF Q Q J Sof tw are ' ,Mo' v rri' ept,?j ' -._an ' tl _ es s ays . bygoth rs ,in ]0; ieri' _$o' u _rces -:
Gperr1Sou rce.' ~R ev ol u -hon ; ' edited. by-; Ch,ri; s [ _)iB_oha,. $aq1:' ,0c' kriaan ,_; an d, M_ark_$to, Q gm epas topol ,--,al if .:' I_)' -R _e,i; l l y' 8:; "' As s oc1i; rt; -5, . 119 _.9 .9 __,,~ -' 1 " p_j * f -7 - ~__-' ; '
.<http:/ / w w w .oreitl ycom / datal og/ open s ou rces / book/ s tatf n iaii.htm b-. . , ~ ~-
s rau m an . R ichard.-_"T he R i9 h .. 0l iead,.' f 1Cdrn ,m ir' riicgtidn ,of ,_t/ 1eiei( ,' l l f f 2 ri1_l ' i,~8 j l ' i' * f F ebiriiai|y_* l 9 e,7 ; ij "T ii A' A i' * "T .... .,
hr-m ed: f
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Origin al P u bl ication
Dr. Dobbs Jou rn al . 10( 3):30+. March19 85. F ootn otes added in
19 9 3. T his textf rom the F ree Sof tw are F ou n dation Web s ite:
"P erm is s ion is gran ted toan yon e tom ake ordis tribu te v erbatim
copies of this docu m en t, in an ym ediu m , prov ided thatthe
copyrightn otice an d perm is s ion n otice are pres erv ed, an d thatthe
dis tribu torgran ts the recipien tperm is s ion f orf u rther
redis tribu tion as perm itted bythis n otice. Modi ed v ers ion s m ay
n otbe m ade.
T he GN U Man if es to
R ichard Stal l m an
T he GN U Man if es to( w hichappears bel ow )w as
w ritten byR ichard Stal l m an atthe begin n in g of the
GN U P roj ect, toas k f orparticipation an d s u pport.
F orthe f irs tf ew years , itw as u pdated in m in orw ays
toaccou n tf ordev el opm en ts , bu tn ow its eem s bes t
tol eav e itu n chan ged as m os tpeopl e hav e s een it.
Sin ce thattim e, w e hav e l earn ed abou tcertain
com m on m is u n ders tan din gs thatdif f eren tw ordin g
cou l d hel pav oid. F ootn otes added in 19 9 3 hel pcl arif y
thes e poin ts .
F oru p-to-date in f orm ation abou tthe av ail abl e GN U
s of tw are, pl eas e s ee the in f orm ation av ail abl e on ou r
w eb s erv er, in particu l arou rl is tof s of tw are.
What' s GN U ? Gn u ' s N otU n ix!
GN U , w hichs tan ds f orGn u s N otU n ix, is the n am e f orthe
com pl ete U n i_x com patibl e s of tw are s ys tem w hichIam
w ritin g s othatIcan giv e itaw ayf ree toev eryon e w hocan
u s e it.1 Sev eral otherv ol u n teers are hel pin g m e.
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1 - ' _. .. . 11 ~ _.1.
Con tribu tion s of tim e, m on ey, program s an d equ ipm en tare
greatl yn eeded.
Sof arw e hav e an Em acs texteditorw ithLis pf orw ritin g
editorcom m an ds , as ou rce l ev el debu gger, ayacocom patibl e
pars ergen erator, al in ker, an d arou n d 35u til ities . As hel l
( com m an d in terpreter)is n earl ycom pl eted. An ew portabl e
optim izin g C com pil erhas com pil ed its el f an d m aybe
rel eas ed this year. An in itial kern el exis ts bu tm an ym ore
f eatu res are n eeded toem u l ate U n ix. When the kern el an d
com pil erare f in is hed, itw il l be pos s ibl e todis tribu te aGN U
s ys tem s u itabl e f orprogram dev el opm en t. We w il l u s e T eX as
ou rtextf orm atter, bu tan n rof f is bein g w orked on . We w il l
u s e the f ree, portabl e X w in dow s ys tem as w el l . Af terthis w e
w il l add aportabl e Com m on Lis p, an Em pire gam e, a
s preads heet, an d hu n dreds of otherthin gs , pl u s on l in e
docu m en tation . We hope tos u ppl y, ev en tu al l y, ev erythin g
u s ef u l thatn orm al l ycom es w ithaU n ixs ys tem , an d m ore.
GN U w il l be abl e toru n U n ixprogram s , bu tw il l n otbe
iden tical toU n ix. We w il l m ake al l im prov em en ts thatare
con v en ien t, bas ed on ou rexperien ce w ithotheroperatin g
s ys tem s . In particu l ar, w e pl an tohav e l on gerf il e n am es , f il e
v ers ion n u m bers , acras hproof f il e s ys tem , f il e n am e
com pl etion perhaps , term in al -in depen den tdis pl ays u pport,
an d perhaps ev en tu al l yaLis p-bas ed w in dow s ys tem throu gh
w hichs ev eral Lis pprogram s an d ordin aryU n ixprogram s
can s hare as creen . BothC an d Lis pw il l be av ail abl e as
s ys tem program m in g l an gu ages . We w il l trytos u pport
U U CP MIT Chaos n et, an d In tern etprotocol s f or
com m u n ication .
GN U is aim ed in itial l yatm achin es in the 6 8000/ 16 000
cl as s w ithv irtu al m em ory, becau s e theyare the eas ies t
1
36 . T he GN U Man if es to
m achin es tom ake itru n on . T he extraef f orttom ake itru n
on s m al l erm achin es w il l be l ef ttos om eon e w how an ts to
u s e iton them .
T oav oid horribl e con f u s ion , pl eas e pron ou n ce the Gin
the w ord GN U w hen itis the n am e of this proj ect.
WhyIMu s tWrite GN U
Icon s iderthatthe gol den ru l e requ ires thatif Il ike a
program Im u s ts hare itw ithotherpeopl e w hol ike it.
Sof tw are s el l ers w an ttodiv ide the u s ers an d con qu erthem ,
m akin g eachu s eragree n ottos hare w ithothers . Iref u s e to
break s ol idarityw ithotheru s ers in this w ay. Ican n otin good
con s cien ce s ign an on dis cl os u re agreem en toras of tw are
l icen s e agreem en t. F oryears Iw orked w ithin the Artif icial
In tel l igen ce Lab tores is ts u chten den cies an d other
in hos pital ities , bu tev en tu al l ytheyhad gon e toof ar:Icou l d
n otrem ain in an in s titu tion w here s u chthin gs are don e f or
m e again s tm yw il l .
SothatIcan con tin u e tou s e com pu ters w ithou tdis hon or,
Ihav e decided topu ttogetheras u f f icien tbodyof f ree
s of tw are s othatIw il l be abl e togetal on g w ithou tan y
s of tw are thatis n otf ree. Ihav e res ign ed f rom the AILab to
den yMIT an yl egal excu s e toprev en tm e f rom giv in g GN U
aw ay.
WhyGN U Wil l Be Com patibl e w ithU n ix
U n ixis n otm yideal s ys tem , bu titis n ottoobad. T he
es s en tial f eatu res of U n ixs eem tobe good on es , an d Ithin k I
can f il l in w hatU n ixl acks w ithou ts poil in g them . An d a
s ys tem com patibl e w ithU n ixw ou l d be con v en ien tf orm an y
otherpeopl e toadopt.
How GN U Wil l Be Av ail abl e
GN U is n otin the pu bl ic dom ain . Ev eryon e w il l be perm itted
tom odif yan d redis tribu te GN U , bu tn odis tribu torw il l be
al l ow ed tores trictits f u rtherredis tribu tion . T hatis tos ay,
proprietarym odif ication s w il l n otbe al l ow ed. Iw an ttom ake
s u re thatal l v ers ion s of GN U rem ain f ree.
WhyMan yOtherP rogram m ers Wan ttoHel p
Ihav e f ou n d m an yotherprogram m ers w hoare excited abou t
GN U an d w an ttohel p.
Man yprogram m ers are u n happyabou tthe com m ercial -
ization of s ys tem s of tw are. Itm ayen abl e them tom ake m ore
m on ey, bu titrequ ires them tof eel in con f l ictw ithother
theN EWMEDIAR EADER
program m ers in gen eral ratherthan f eel as com rades . T he
f u n dam en tal actof f rien ds hipam on g program m ers is the
s harin g of program s ; m arketin g arran gem en ts n ow typical l y
u s ed es s en tial l yf orbid program m ers totreatothers as
f rien ds . T he pu rchas erof s of tw are m u s tchoos e betw een
f rien ds hipan d obeyin g the l aw . N atu ral l y, m an ydecide that
f rien ds hipis m ore im portan t. Bu tthos e w hobel iev e in l aw
of ten don otf eel ateas e w itheitherchoice. T heybecom e
cyn ical an d thin k thatprogram m in g is j u s taw ayof m akin g
m on ey.
Byw orkin g on an d u s in g GN U ratherthan proprietary
program s , w e can be hos pitabl e toev eryon e an d obeythe l aw .
In addition , GN U s erv es as an exam pl e toin s pire an d a
ban n ertoral l yothers toj oin u s in s harin g. T his can giv e u s a
f eel in g of harm on yw hichis im pos s ibl e if w e u s e s of tw are
thatis n otf ree. F orabou thal f the program m ers Ital k to, this
is an im ortan tha in es s thatm on e can n otre l ace.
P P P Y P
How Y ou Can Con tribu te
Iam as kin g com pu term an u f actu rers f ordon ation s of
m achin es an d m on ey. I' m as kin g in div idu al s f ordon ation s of
program s an d w ork.
On e con s equ en ce you can expectif you don ate m achin es
is thatGN U w il l ru n on them atan earl ydate. T he m achin es
s hou l d be com pl ete, readytou s e s ys tem s , approv ed f oru s e
in ares iden tial area, an d n otin n eed of s ophis ticated cool in g
orpow er. .
Ihav e f ou n d v erym an yprogram m ers eagertocon tribu te
part-tim e w ork f orGN U . F orm os tproj ects , s u chpart~tim e
dis tribu ted w ork w ou l d be v eryhard tocoordin ate; the
in depen den tl y w ritten parts w ou l d n otw ork together. Bu t
f orthe particu l artas k of repl acin g U n ix, this probl em is
abs en t. Acom pl ete U n ixs ys tem con tain s hu n dreds of u til ity
program s , eachof w hichis docu m en ted s eparatel y. Mos t
in terf ace s pecif ication s are f ixed byU n ixcom patibil ity. If
eachcon tribu torcan w rite acom patibl e repl acem en tf ora
s in gl e U n ixu til ity, an d m ake itw ork properl yin pl ace of the
origin al on aU n ixs ys tem , then ithes e u til ities w il l w orkright
w hen pu ttogether. Ev en al l ow in g f orMu rphytocreate af ew
u n expected probl em s , as s ern bl in g f hes e, com pon en ts w il l be a
f eas ibl e tas k. ( T he kern el requ ire cl os ercom m u n ication
an d w il l be w orked on byas m al l , tightgrou p.)
If Igetdon ation s of m on ey, Im aybe abl e tohire af ew
peopl e f u l l orparttim e. T he s al aryw opitbe highby
program m ers s tan dards , bu tI' m l ookin g f o' rpeopl e f or
0 0-- -.-. . -.. _1. l m s 36 . T he GN U Man if es to
w hom bu il din g com m u n itys piritis as im portan tas m akin g
m on ey. Iv iew this as aw ayof en abl in g dedicated peopl e to
dev ote theirf u l l en ergies tow orkin g on GN U bys parin g
them the n eed tom ake al iv in g in an otherw ay.
WhyAl l Com pu terU s ers Wil l Ben ef it
On ce GN U is w ritten , ev eryon e w il l be abl e toobtain good
s ys tem s of tw are f ree, j u s tl ike air?
T his m ean s m u chm ore than j u s ts av in g ev eryon e the price
of aU n ixl icen s e. Itm ean s thatm u chw as tef u l du pl ication of
s ys tem program m in g ef f ortw il l be av oided. T his ef f ortcan
goin s tead in toadv an cin g the s tate of the art.
Com pl ete s ys tem s ou rces w il l be av ail abl e toev eryon e. As a
res u l t, au s erw hon eeds chan ges in the s ys tem w il l al w ays be
f ree tom ake them him s el f , orhire an yav ail abl e program m er
orcom pan ytom ake them f orhim . U s ers w il l n ol on gerbe at
the m ercyof on e program m erorcom pan yw hichow n s the
s ou rces an d is in s ol e pos ition tom ake chan ges .
School s w il l be abl e toprov ide am u chm ore edu cation al
en v iron m en tbyen cou ragin g al l s tu den ts tos tu dyan d
im prov e the s ys tem code. I-Iarv ards com pu terl ab u s ed to
hav e the pol icythatn oprogram cou l d be in s tal l ed on the
s ys tem if its s ou rces w ere n oton pu bl ic dis pl ay, an d u phel d it
byactu al l yref u s in g toin s tal l certain program s . Iw as v ery
m u chin s pired bythis .
F in al l y, the ov erhead of con s iderin g w hoow n s the s ys tem
s of tw are an d w haton e is oris n oten titl ed todow ithitw il l
be l if ted
Arran gem en ts tom ake peopl e payf oru s in g aprogram ,
in cl u din g l icen s in g of copies , al w ays in cu ratrem en dou s cos t
tos ocietythrou ghthe cu m bers om e m echan is m s n eces s ary
tof igu re ou thow m u ch( thatis , w hichprogram s )apers on
m u s tpayf or. An d on l yapol ice s tate can f orce ev eryon e to
obeythem . Con s ideras pace s tation w here airm u s tbe
m an u f actu red atgreatcos t:chargin g eachbreatherperl iter
of airm aybe f air, bu tw earin g the m etered gas m as k al l day
an d al l n ightis in tol erabl e ev en if ev eryon e can af f ord topay
the airbil l . An d the T V cam eras ev eryw here tos ee if you ev er
take the m as k of f are ou trageou s . Its bettertos u pportthe air
pl an tw ithahead taxan d chu ck the m as ks .
Copyin g al l orparts of aprogram is as n atu ral toa
program m eras breathin g, an d as produ ctiv e. Itou ghttobe
as f ree.
Som e Eas il yR ebu tted Obj ection s
toGN U ' s Goal s
N obodyw il l u s e itif itis f ree, becau s e that
m ean s theycan ' trel yon an ys u pport.
Y ou hav e tocharge f orthe program topayf or
prov idin g the s u pport."
If peopl e w ou l d ratherpayf orGN U pl u s s erv ice than get
GN U f ree w ithou ts erv ice, acom pan ytoprov ide j u s ts erv ice
topeopl e w hohav e obtain ed GN U f ree ou ghttobe
prof itabl e?
We m u s tdis tin gu is hbetw een s u pportin the f orm of real
program m in g w ork an d m ere han dhol din g. T he f orm eris
s om ethin g on e can n otrel yon f rom as of tw are v en dor. If
you rprobl em is n ots hared byen ou ghpeopl e, the v en dorw il l
tel l you togetl os t. _
If you rbu s in es s n eeds tobe abl e torel yon s u pport, the
on l yw ayis tohav e al l the n eces s arys ou rces an d tool s . T hen
you can hire an yav ail abl e pers on tof ixyou rprobl em ; you are
n otatthe m ercyof an yin div idu al . WithU n ix, the price of
s ou rces pu ts this ou tof con s ideration f orm os tbu s in es s es .
WithGN U this w il l be eas y. Itis s til l pos s ibl e f orthere tobe
n oav ail abl e com peten tpers on , bu tthis probl em can n otbe
bl am ed on dis tribu tion arran gem en ts . GN U does n ot
el im in ate al l the w orl d' s probl em s , on l ys om e of them .
Mean w hil e, the u s ers w hokn ow n othin g abou tcom pu ters
n eed han dhol din g:doin g thin gs f orthem w hichtheycou l d
eas il ydothem s el v es bu tdon ' tkn ow how . -
Su chs erv ices cou l d be prov ided bycom pan ies thats el l j u s t
han d-hol din g an d repairs erv ice. If itis tru e thatu s ers w ou l d
rathers pen d m on eyan d getaprodu ctw iths erv ice, theyw il l
al s obe w il l in g tobu ythe s erv ice hav in g gotthe produ ctf ree.
T he s erv ice com pan ies w il l com pete in qu al ityan d price;
u s ers w il l n otbe tied toan yparticu l aron e. Mean w hil e, thos e
of u s w hodon tn eed the s erv ice s hou l d be abl e tou s e the
program w ithou tpayin g f orthe s erv ice. I
Y ou can n otreachm an ypeopl e w ithou t
adv ertis in g, an d you m u s tcharge f or
the program tos u pportthat."
It' s n ou s e adv ertis in g aprogram peopl e
can getf ree.
T here are v ariou s f orm s of f ree orv erycheappu bl icitythat
can be u s ed toin f orm n u m bers of com pu teru s ers abou t
s om ethin g l ike GN U . Bu titm aybe tru e thaton e can reach
m ore m icrocom pu teru s ers w ithadv ertis in g. If this is real l y
36 . T he GN U Man if es to
s o, abu s in es s w hichadv ertis es the s erv ice of copyin g an d
m ail in g GN U f oraf ee ou ghttobe s u cces s f u l en ou ghtopay
f orits adv ertis in g an d m ore. T his w ay, on l ythe u s ers w ho
ben ef itf rom the adv ertis in g payf orit.
On the otherhan d, if m an ypeopl e getGN U f rom their
f rien ds , an d s u chcom pan ies don ' ts u cceed, this w il l s how
thatadv ertis in g w as n otreal l yn eces s arytos pread GN U .
Whyis itthatf ree m arketadv ocates don tw an ttol etthe
f ree m arketdecide this ?
Mycom pan yn eeds aproprietaryoperatin g
s ys tem togetacom petitiv e edge.
GN U w il l rem ov e operatin g s ys tem s of tw are f rom the real m
of com petition . Y ou w il l n otbe abl e togetan edge in this
area, bu tn eitherw il l you rcom petitors be abl e togetan edge
ov eryou . Y ou an d theyw il l com pete in otherareas , w hil e
ben ef itin g m u tu al l yin this on e. If you rbu s in es s is s el l in g an
operatin g s ys tem , you w il l n otl ike GN U , bu tthat' s tou ghon
you . If you rbu s in es s is s om ethin g el s e, GN U can s av e you
f rom bein g pu s hed in tothe expen s iv e bu s in es s of s el l in g
operatin g s ys tem s .
Iw ou l d l ike tos ee GN U dev el opm en ts u pported bygif ts
f rom m an ym an u f actu rers an d u s ers , redu cin g the cos tto
each?
Don ' tprogram m ers des erv e arew ard
f ortheircreativ ity?"
If an ythin g des erv es arew ard, itis s ocial con tribu tion .
Creativ itycan be as ocial con tribu tion , bu ton l yin s of aras
s ocietyis f ree tou s e the res u l ts . If program m ers des erv e to
be rew arded f orcreatin g in n ov ativ e program s , bythe s am e
token theydes erv e tobe pu n is hed if theyres trictthe u s e of
thes e program s .
"Shou l dn ' taprogram m erbe abl e toas k
f orarew ard f orhis creativ ity?"
T here is n othin g w ron g w ithw an tin g payf orw ork, or
s eekin g tom axim ize on e' s in com e, as l on g as on e does n ot
u s e m ean s thatare des tru ctiv e. Bu tthe m ean s cu s tom aryin
the f iel d of s of tw are todayare bas ed on des tru ction .
Extractin g m on eyf rom u s ers of aprogram byres trictin g
theiru s e of itis des tru ctiv e becau s e the res triction s redu ce
the am ou n tan d the w ays thatthe program can be u s ed. T his
redu ces the am ou n tof w eal ththathu m an ityderiv es f rom
the program . When there is adel iberate choice tores trict, the
harm f u l con s equ en ces are del iberate des tru ction .
T he reas on agood citizen does n otu s e s u chdes tru ctiv e
m ean s tobecom e w eal thieris that, if ev eryon e did s o, w e
theN EWMEDIAR EADER
w ou l d al l becom e poorerf rom the m u tu al des tru ctiv en es s .
T his is Kan tian ethics ; or, the Gol den R u l e. Sin ce Idon otl ike
the con s equ en ces thatres u l tif ev eryon e hoards in f orm ation ,
Iam requ ired tocon s ideritw ron g f oron e todos o. Specif ic-
al l y, the des ire tobe rew arded f oron es creativ itydoes n ot
j u s tif ydepriv in g the w orl d in gen eral of al l orpartof that
creativ ity.
"Won ' tprogram m ers s tarv e?"
Icou l d an s w erthatn obodyis f orced tobe aprogram m er.
Mos tof u s can n otm an age togetan ym on eyf ors tan din g on
the s treetan d m akin g f aces . Bu tw e are n ot, as ares u l t,
con dem n ed tos pen d ou rl iv es s tan din g on the s treetm akin g
f aces , an d s tarv in g. We dos om ethin g el s e.
Bu tthatis the w ron g an s w erbecau s e itaccepts the
qu es tion er' s im pl icitas s u m ption :thatw ithou tow n ers hipof
s of tw are, program m ers can n otpos s ibl ybe paid acen t.
Su ppos edl yitis al l orn othin g.
T he real reas on program m ers w il l n ots tarv e is thatitw il l
s til l be pos s ibl e f orthem togetpaid f orprogram m in g; j u s t
n otpaid as m u chas n ow .
R es trictin g copyin g is n otthe on l ybas is f orbu s in es s in
s of tw are. Itis the m os tcom m on bas is becau s e itbrin gs in
the m os tm on ey. If itw ere prohibited, orrej ected bythe
cu s tom er, s of tw are bu s in es s w ou l d m ov e tootherbas es of
organ ization w hichare n ow u s ed l es s of ten . T here are al w ays
n u m erou s w ays toorgan ize an ykin d of bu s in es s .
P robabl yprogram m in g w il l n otbe as l u crativ e on the n ew
bas is as itis n ow . Bu tthatis n otan argu m en tagain s tthe
chan ge. Itis n otcon s idered an in j u s tice thats al es cl erks
m ake the s al aries thattheyn ow do. If program m ers m ade
the s am e, thatw ou l d n otbe an in j u s tice either. ( In practice
theyw ou l d s til l m ake con s iderabl ym ore than that.)
"Don ' tpeopl e hav e arighttocon trol
how theircreativ ityis u s ed?"
Con trol ov erthe u s e of on e' s ideas real l ycon s titu tes con trol
ov erotherpeopl es l iv es ; an d itis u s u al l yu s ed tom ake their
l iv es m ore dif f icu l t.
P eopl e w hohav e s tu died the is s u e of in tel l ectu al property
rights caref u l l y( s u chas l aw yers )s aythatthere is n o
in trin s ic righttoin tel l ectu al property. T he kin ds of
s u ppos ed in tel l ectu al propertyrights thatthe gov ern m en t
recogn izes w ere created bys pecif ic acts of l egis l ation f or
s pecif ic pu rpos es .
F orexam pl e, the paten ts ys tem w as es tabl is hed to
en cou rage in v en tors todis cl os e the detail s of their
o_~~~ o
in v en tion s . Its pu rpos e w as tohel ps ocietyratherthan to
hel pin v en tors . Atthe tim e, the l if e s pan of 1' 7 years f ora
paten tw as s hortcom pared w iththe rate of adv an ce of the
s tate of the art. Sin ce paten ts are an is s u e on l yam on g
m an u f actu rers , f orw hom the cos tan d ef f ortof al icen s e
agreem en tare s m al l com pared w iths ettin g u pprodu ction ,
the paten ts of ten don otdom u chharm . T heydon ot
obs tru ctm os tin div idu al s w hou s e paten ted produ cts .
T he ideaof copyrightdid n otexis tin an cien ttim es , w hen
au thors f requ en tl ycopied otherau thors atl en gthin w orks
of n on -f iction . T his practice w as u s ef u l , an d is the on l yw ay
m an yau thors w orks hav e s u rv iv ed ev en in part. T he
copyrights ys tem w as created expres s l yf orthe pu rpos e of
en cou ragin g au thors hip. In the dom ain f orw hichitw as
in v en ted books , w hichcou l d be copied econ om ical l yon l y
on aprin tin g pres s itdid l ittl e harm , an d did n otobs tru ct
m os tof the in div idu al s w horead the books .
Al l in tel l ectu al propertyrights are j u s tl icen s es gran ted by
s ocietybecau s e itw as thou ght, rightl yorw ron gl y, that
s ocietyas aw hol e w ou l d ben ef itbygran tin g them . Bu tin
an yparticu l ars itu ation , w e hav e toas k: are w e real l ybetter
of f gran tin g s u chl icen s e?Whatkin d of actare w e l icen s in g a
pers on todo?
T he cas e of program s todayis v erydif f eren tf rom thatof
books ahu n dred years ago. T he f actthatthe eas ies tw ayto
copyaprogram is f rom on e n eighbortoan other, the f actthat
aprogram has boths ou rce code an d obj ectcode w hichare
dis tin ct, an d the f actthataprogram is u s ed ratherthan read
an d en j oyed, com bin e tocreate as itu ation in w hichapers on
w hoen f orces acopyrightis harm in g s ocietyas aw hol e both
m aterial l yan d s piritu al l y; in w hichapers on s hou l d n otdos o
regardl es s of w hetherthe l aw en abl es him to.
Com petition m akes thin gs
getdon e better.
T he paradigm of com petition is arace:byrew ardin g the
w in n er, w e en cou rage ev eryon e toru n f as ter. When
capital is m real l yw orks this w ay, itdoes agood j ob; bu tits
def en ders are w ron g in as s u m in g ital w ays w orks this w ay. If
the ru n n ers f orgetw hythe rew ard is of f ered an d becom e
in ten ton w in n in g, n om atterhow , theym ayf in d other
s trategies s u chas , attackin g otherru n n ers . If the ru n n ers
getin toaf is tf ight, theyw il l al l f in is hl ate.
P roprietaryan d s ecrets of tw are is the m oral equ iv al en tof
ru n n ers in af is t. f ight. Sad tos ay, the on l yref eree w e' v e got
does n ots eem toobj ecttof ights ; he j u s tregu l ates them ( F or
' 19 85o 36 . T he GN U Man if es to
ev eryten yards you ru n , you can f ire on e s hot). He real l y
ou ghttobreak them u p, an d pen al ize ru n n ers f orev en tryin g
tof ight.
"Won ' tev eryon e s topprogram m in g
w ithou tam on etaryin cen tiv e?"
Actu al l y, m an ypeopl e w il l program w ithabs ol u tel yn om on e-
taryin cen tiv e. P rogram m in g has an irres is tibl e f as cin ation
f ors om e peopl e, u s u al l ythe peopl e w hoare bes tatit. T here
is n os hortage of prof es s ion al m u s ician s w hokeepatitev en
thou ghtheyhav e n ohope of m akin g al iv in g thatw ay.
Bu treal l ythis qu es tion , thou ghcom m on l yas ked, is n ot
appropriate tothe s itu ation . P ayf orprogram m ers w il l n ot
dis appear, on l ybecom e l es s . Sothe rightqu es tion is , w il l
an yon e program w itharedu ced m on etaryin cen tiv e?My
experien ce s how s thattheyw il l .
F orm ore than ten years , m an yof the w orl d' s bes t
program m ers w orked atthe Artif icial In tel l igen ce Lab f orf ar
l es s m on eythan theycou l d hav e had an yw here el s e. T hey
gotm an ykin ds of n on -m on etaryrew ards :f am e an d
appreciation , f orexam pl e. An d creativ ityis al s of u n , a
rew ard in its el f .
T hen m os tof them l ef tw hen of f ered achan ce todothe
s am e in teres tin g w ork f oral otof m on ey.
Whatthe f acts s how is thatpeopl e w il l program f or
reas on s otherthan riches ; bu tif giv en achan ce tom ake al ot
of m on eyas w el l , theyw il l com e toexpectan d dem an d it.
Low -payin g organ ization s dopoorl yin com petition w ith
high-payin g on es , bu ttheydon othav e todobadl yif the
high-payin g on es are ban n ed.
"We n eed the program m ers des peratel y.
If theydem an d thatw e s tophel pin g
ou rn eighbors , w e hav e toobey."
Y ou ' re n ev ers odes perate thatyou hav e toobeythis s ortof
dem an d. R em em ber: m il l ion s f ordef en s e, bu tn otacen tf or
tribu te!
"P rogram m ers ( n eed tom ake al iv in g s om ehow ."
In the s hortru n , this is tru e. How ev er, there are pl en tyof
w ays thatprogram m ers cou l d m ake al iv in g w ithou ts el l in g
the righttou s e aprogram . T his w ayis cu s tom aryn ow
becau s e itbrin gs program m ers an d bu s in es s m en the m os t
m on ey, n otbecau s e itis the on l yw aytom ake al iv in g. Itis
eas ytof in d otherw ays if you w an ttof in d them . Here are a
n u m berof exam pl es .
Am an u f actu rerin trodu cin g an ew com pu terw il l payf or
the portin g of operatin g s ys tem s on tothe n ew hardw are.
36 . T he GN U Man if es to
T he s al e of teachin g, han d-hol din g an d m ain ten an ce
s erv ices cou l d al s oem pl oyprogram m ers .
P eopl e w ithn ew ideas cou l d dis tribu te program s as
f reew are, as kin g f ordon ation s f rom s atis f ied u s ers , ors el l in g
han d-hol din g s erv ices . Ihav e m etpeopl e w hoare al ready
w orkin g this w ays u cces s f u l l y.
U s ers w ithrel ated n eeds can f orm u s ers grou ps , an d pay
du es . Agrou pw ou l d con tractw ithprogram m in g com pan ies
tow rite program s thatthe grou p' s m em bers w ou l d l ike tou s e
Su ppos e ev eryon e w hobu ys acom pu terhas topayx
percen tof the price as as of tw are tax. T he gov ern m en tgiv es
this toan agen cyl .ike the N SF tos pen d on s of tw are
dev el opm en t.
Bu tif the com pu terbu yerm akes adon ation tos of tw are
dev el opm en thim s el f , he can take acreditagain s tthe tax. He
can don ate tothe proj ectof his ow n choos in g of ten ,
chos en becau s e he hopes tou s e the res u l ts w hen itis don e.
He can take acreditf oran yam ou n tof don ation u ptothe
total taxhe had topay.
T he total taxrate cou l d be decided byav ote of the payers
of the tax, w eighted accordin g tothe am ou n ttheyw il l be
taxed on .
T he con s equ en ces :
T he com pu ter-u s in g com m u n itys u pports s of tw are
dev el opm en t.
T his com m u n itydecides w hatl ev el of s u pportis
n eeded.
U s ers w hocare w hichproj ects theirs hare is s pen ton
can choos e this f orthem s el v es .
In the l on g ru n , m akin g program s f ree is as teptow ard the
pos t-s carcityw orl d, w here n obodyw il l hav e tow ork v ery
hard j u s ttom ake al iv in g. P eopl e w il l be f ree todev ote
them s el v es toactiv ities thatare f u n , s u chas program m in g,
af ters pen din g the n eces s aryten hou rs aw eek on requ ired
tas ks s u chas l egis l ation , f am il ycou n s el in g, robotrepairan d
as teroid pros pectin g. T here w il l be n on eed tobe abl e to
m ake al iv in g f rom program m in g.
Al l s orts of dev el opm en tcan be f u n ded w ithaSof tw are T ax:
theN EWMEDIAR EADER
We hav e al readygreatl yredu ced the am ou n tof w ork that
the w hol e s ocietym u s tdof orits actu al produ ctiv ity, bu t
on l yal ittl e of this has tran s l ated its el f in tol eis u re f or '
w orkers becau s e m u chn on produ ctiv e activ ityis requ ired to
accom pan yprodu ctiv e activ ity. T he m ain cau s es of this are
bu reau cracyan d is om etric s tru ggl es again s tcom petition .
F ree s of tw are w il l greatl yredu ce thes e drain s in the areaof
s of tw are produ ction . We m u s tdothis , in orderf ortechn ical
gain s in produ ctiv itytotran s l ate in tol es s w ork f oru s .
N otes
1. T he w ordin g here w as carel es s . T he in ten tion w as thatn obody
w ou l d hav e topayf orperm is s ion tou s e the GN U s ys tem . Bu tthe
w ords don ' tm ake this cl ear, an d peopl e of ten in terpretthem as
s ayin g thatcopies of GN U s hou l d al w ays be dis tribu ted atl ittl e or
n ocharge. T hatw as n ev erthe in ten t; l ateron , the m an if es to
m en tion s the pos s ibil ityof com pan ies prov idin g the s erv ice of
dis tribu tion f oraprof it. Su bs equ en tl yIhav e l earn ed todis tin gu is h
caref u l l ybetw een "f ree"in the s en s e of f reedom an d "f ree"in the
s en s e of price. F ree s of tw are is s of tw are thatu s ers hav e the
f reedom todis tribu te an d chan ge. Som e u s ers m ayobtain copies at
n ocharge, w hil e others paytoobtain copies an d if the f u n ds
hel ps u pportim prov in g the s of tw are, s om u chthe better. T he
im portan tthin g is thatev eryon e w hohas acopyhas the f reedom
tocooperate w ithothers in u s in g it.
2 . T his is an otherpl ace If ail ed todis tin gu is hcaref u l l ybetw een
the tw odif f eren tm ean in gs of "f ree". T he s tatem en tas its tan ds is
n otf al s e you can getcopies of GN U s of tw are atn ocharge, f rom
you rf rien ds orov erthe n et. Bu titdoes s u gges tthe w ron g idea.
3. Sev eral s u chcom pan ies n ow exis t.
4. T he F ree Sof tw are F ou n dation rais es m os tof its f u n ds f rom a
dis tribu tion s erv ice, al thou ghitis acharityratherthan acom pan y.
If n oon e choos es toobtain copies byorderin g them f rom the F SF ,
itw il l be u n abl e todoits w ork. Bu tthis does n otm ean that
proprietaryres triction s are j u s ti ed tof orce ev eryu s ertopay. If a
s m al l f raction of al l the u s ers ordercopies f rom the F SF , thatis
s u f f icien ttokeepthe F SF af l oat. Sow e as k u s ers tochoos e to
s u pportu s in this w ay. Hav e you don e you rpart?
5. Agrou pof com pu tercom pan ies recen tl ypool ed f u n ds to
s u pportm ain ten an ce of the GN U C Com pil er.
,,-. .._, ,1 . .. ._.... i|19 .3?,,...- 37 . ADirection f orDes ign
37 1 [ In trodu ction ]
U s in g Com pu ters
ADirection f orDes ign
U n ders tan din g Com pu ters an d Cogn ition the book f rom w hichthis s el ection com es is of ten
des cribed as as tin gin g critiqu e of artif icial in tel l igen ce, an d particu l arl yof its approachton atu ral
l an gu age u n ders tan din g. T his des cription f ocu s es on on e thru s tof the book, in w hichWin ograd
an d F l ores u s e aHeideggerian approachtou n cov erarigidityw ithin an al ytic com pu tation al m odel s
that, com bin ed w ithin expres s ibl e s u btl eties in hu m an cogn ition , w il l n ev eral l ow com pu ters to i
attain hu m an -l ike in tel l igen ce. T heyargu e thatthe es s en ce of in tel l igen ce is toactappropriatel y
w hen there is n os im pl e pre~def in ition of the probl em orthe s pace of s tates in w hichtos earchf ora
s ol u tion ( 9 8) atas k f orw hichthe s tru ctu res dev el oped byartif icial in tel l igen ce res earchers an d
theoris ts w ere deepl yin appropriate.
Y etitis im portan ttorem em berthatWin ograd an d F l ores did n otargu e thatw e s hou l d aban don
w ork in n ew m edia, ors topu s in g com pu ters in com m u n icativ e con texts . R ather, theys u gges ted that
w e tu rn ou ratten tion tow ard des ign in g com pu ters as tool s ( as P el l e Ehn an d Morten Kyn g ( O45)did)
thatexpl oitas s tren gths precis el ythos e as pects of com pu tation al m odel s thatren derartif icial
in tel l igen ce im pos s ibl e. Hen ce the f ol l ow in g chapter, theirbooks l as t. Al thou ghitcon tain s u n gl os s ed
Heideggerian term s in trodu ced el s ew here an d m akes m u l tipl e ref eren ces tootherportion s of their
book, its prim arym es s age is s til l qu ite acces s ibl e. T he au thors f ocu s is on u s in g the kn ow l edge gain ed
throu ghcu l tu ral critiqu e toou tl in e apos itiv e direction f orn ew m ediatool des ign . Hav in g tu rn ed
aw ayf rom the goal of m achin e u n cl ers tan din g, theyhav e dev el oped am odel of hu m an s pecif ication
an d m achin e s u pport, in w hichthe rigid s tru ctu res dev el oped in artif icial in tel l igen ce res earchcan be
appropriatel yu s ed.
Atthe s am e tim e, Win ograd an d F l ores adv ocate ades ign s trategytheycal l on tol ogical des ign
w hichexam in es the f u n dam en tal hu m an com m u n ication s u n derw ayin as itu ation . U s in g this
s trategy, itis qu ite pos s ibl e todecide thats om e otherchan ge in proces s es is pref erabl e tothe
in trodu ction of n ew com pu tertool s . Bu tw hen com pu tertool s are appropriate, this approachw orks
toav oid the des tru ctiv e com pu terization thatf ru s trates precom pu tercopin g s trategies an d l eads to
an ov eral l dropin the qu al ityof ef f ectiv e com m u n ication ( an d, theref ore, in the qu al ityof w ork).
Win ograd an d F l ores n oton l ypos ition theiron tol ogical approachas the bes tw aytoaddres s a
pos s ibil ityf oraction in acom m u n icativ e con text, bu tal s oas apoten tial approachtoin terv en tion in
the techn ol ogy-determ in in g proces s es dis cu s s ed byau thors s u chas R aym on d Wil l iam s ( O2 0)an d
Lan gdon Win n er( O40). T hatis tos ay, theirapproachtocom bin in g cu l tu ral critiqu e w ithcom pu ter
s cien ce n oton l yaim s tores u l tin bettertool bu il din g, bu tal s oin am ean s f ors el f -con s ciou s cu l tu ral
in terv en tion . In f act, the tw oproces s es becom e on e. As P hoebe Sen gers poin ts ou t, there is agreat
poten tial in w ork s u chas this , w hichm ightbe real ized m ore f requ en tl yif the s cien ces an d cu l tu ral
s tu dies of s cien ce had n otin v es ted s om u chof theirrecen tcom m u n icativ e ef f orts in Scien ce Wars
w itheachother.
Win ograd con tin u es tobe acen tral f igu re in n ew m edia, adv ocatin g in terdis cipl in aryapproaches .
He cu rren tl yl eads the Hu m an -Com pu terIn teraction program atStan f ord U n iv ers ityan d is apas t
pres iden tof Com pu terP rof es s ion al s f orSocial R es pon s ibil ity. F orthe v ol u m e com m em oratin g the
ACMs 50than n iv ers aryWin ograd ou tl in ed the em ergin g dis cipl in e of In teraction Des ign w hich
brin gs m an yof the l arger-f ram e is s u es col l ected u n deron tol ogical des ign tothe creation of m odern
n ew m edia. He al s otakes the opportu n itytopoin tou tthat, w hil e critiqu es s u chas his w ere bru s hed
as ide bya19 805AIes tabl is hm en tcertain of its ow n as cen dan cy, Good Ol d F as hion ed AIhas ru n in to
of
5I
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37 ADirection f orDes ign theN EWMEDIAR EADER
trou bl e on precis el ythes e grou n ds :the f ou n dation s on w hichitcon ceiv ed of in tel l igen ce. Mean w hil e, hu m an com m u -
n ication , w here Win ograd an d F l ores s qu arel ypu ttheirf ocu s , has taken Al s pl ace on the cen ters tage of com pu tin g:
Withthe recen t an d qu ite s u dden em ergen ce of m as s appeal In tern et-cen tered appl ication s , ithas becom e
gl arin gl yobv iou s thatthe com pu teris n otam achin e w hos e m ain pu rpos e is togetacom pu tin g tas k don e. T he
com pu ter, w ithits atten dan tperipheral s an d n etw orks , is am achin e thatprov ides n ew w ays f orpeopl e to
com m u n icate w ithotherpeopl e. ( 16 1)
N WF
V. _.. .. I
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1. - -- ._1 . . _. ' ' '
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isiB eii iiT el iil ,ii= 5iii' f T ii il il 5rC ' l ' P i' "9 - I 7
r - -A * r I

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Origin al P u bl ication
U n ders tan din g Com pu ters an d Cogn ition : AN ew F ou n dation f or
Des ign . N orw ood, N .J.: Abl exP u bl is hin g, 19 86 , 16 3-17 9 .
U s in g Com pu ters
ADirection f orDes ign
T erryWin ograd an d
F ern an doF l ores
T his book [ U n ders tan din g Com pu ters an d Cogn ition ] is
con cern ed w iththe des ign of com pu ter-bas ed s ys tem s
tof acil itate hu m an w ork an d in teraction . In this f in al
chapterw e s u gges tdirection s f orthe f u tu re, draw in g
on the dis cou rs e dev el oped in P artItore-exam in e s om e
bas ic qu es tion s abou tw hatdes ign in g m ean s .
T he m os tim portan tdes ign in g is on tol ogical l It
con s titu tes an in terv en tion in the backgrou n d of ou r
heritage, grow in g ou tof ou ral ready exis ten tw ays of
bein g in the w orl d, an d deepl yaf f ectin g the kin ds of
bein gs thatw e are. In creatin g n ew artif acts , equ ipm en t,
bu il din gs , an d organ ization al s tru ctu res , itattem pts to
s pecif yin adv an ce how an d w here breakdow n s w il l
s how u pin ou rev erydaypractices an d in the tool s w e
u s e, open in g u pn ew s paces in w hichw e can w ork an d
pl ay. On tol ogical l yorien ted des ign is theref ore
n eces s aril ybothref l ectiv e an d pol itical , l ookin g
backw ards tothe tradition thathas f orm ed u s bu tal s o
f orw ards toas yet u n created tran s f orm ation s of ou r
l iv es together. T hrou ghthe em ergen ce of n ew tool s , w e
com e toachan gin g aw aren es s of hu m an n atu re an d
hu m an action , w hichin tu rn l eads ton ew techn ol ogical
dev el opm en t. T he des ign in g proces s is partof this
dan ce in w hichou rs tru ctu re of pos s ibil ities is
gen erated.
T he con cl u din g s ection s of this chapterw il l dis cu s s
the on tical -on tol ogical s ign if ican ce of des ign how ou r
tool s are partof the backgrou n d in w hichw e can as k
w hatitis tobe hu m an . F irs tw e con s iderthe direct
rel ev an ce of ou rtheoretical orien tation tothe des ign of
com pu ters ys tem s . We w il l u s e con v ers ation s ys tem s ,
l ike [ ou r] coordin ator, as ou rprim aryexam pl e. Bu tou r
in ten ded s cope is l arger, en com pas s in g othercom pu ter
s ys tem s an d u l tim atel yal l techn ol ogy.
1 ABackgrou n d f orCom pu terDes ign
In the popu l arl iteratu re on com pu ters , on e f requ en tl y
en cou n ters term s s u chas u s er-f rien dl y,"eas y-to-l earn ,
an d s el f -expl ain in g. T heyare v agu e an d perhaps
ov eru s ed, bu ttheyref l ectreal con cern s con cern s that
are n otadequ atel yu n ders tood w ithin the ration al is tic
tradition , an d tow hichphen om en ol ogical in s ights
abou treadin es s -to-han d, breakdow n , an d bl in dn es s are
rel ev an t.
R eadin es s -to-Han d
On e popu l arv is ion of the f u tu re is thatcom pu ters w il l
becom e eas iertou s e as theybecom e m ore l ike peopl e.
In w orkin g w ithpeopl e, w e es tabl is hdom ain s of
con v ers ation in w hichou rcom m on pre-u n ders tan din g
l ets u s com m u n icate w itham in im u m of w ords an d
or A We e~~~ 0e ~* ~ s - * -w e as as -or
con s ciou s ef f ort. We becom e expl icitl yaw are of the
s tru ctu re of con v ers ation on l yw hen there is s om e kin d of
breakdow n cal l in g f orcorrectiv e action . If m achin es cou l d
u n ders tan d in the s am e w aypeopl e do, in teraction s w ith
com pu ters w ou l d be equ al l ytran s paren t.
T his tran s paren cyof in teraction is of u tm os tim portan ce
in the des ign of tool s , in cl u din g com pu ters ys tem s , bu titis
n otbes tachiev ed byattem ptin g tom im ic hu m an f acu l ties . In
driv in g acar, the con trol in teraction is n orm al l ytran s paren t.
Y ou don otthin k How f ars hou l d Itu rn the s teerin g w heel
togoarou n d thatcu rv e?"In f act, you are n otev en aw are
( u n l es s s om ethin g in tru des )of u s in g as teerin g w heel .
P hen om en ol ogical l y, you are driv in g dow n the road, n ot
operatin g con trol s . T he l on g ev ol u tion of the des ign of
au tom obil es has l ed tothis readin es s -to han d. Itis n ot
achiev ed byhav in g acarcom m u n icate l ike apers on , bu tby
prov idin g the rightcou pl in g betw een the driv eran d action in
the rel ev an tdom ain ( m otion dow n the road).
In des ign in g com pu tertool s , the tas k is harderbu tthe
is s u es are the s am e. As u cces s f u l w ord proces s in g dev ice l ets a
pers on operate on the w ords an d paragraphs dis pl ayed on
the s creen , w ithou tbein g aw are of f orm u l atin g an d giv in g
com m an ds . Atthe s u perf icial l ev el of in terf ace des ign there
are m an ydif f eren tw ays toaid tran s paren cy, s u chas s pecial
f u n ction keys ( w hichperf orm am ean in gf u l action w itha I
s in gl e keys troke), poin tin g dev ices ( w hichm ake itpos s ibl e to
s el ectan obj ecton the s creen ), an d m en u s ( w hichof f era
choice am on g as m al l s etof rel ev an taction s ).
More im portan tis the des ign of the dom ain s in w hichthe
action s are gen erated an d in terpreted. Abad des ign f orces
the u s ertodeal w ithcom pl exities thatbel on g tothe w ron g
dom ain . F orexam pl e, con s iderthe u s erof an el ectron ic m ail
s ys tem w hotries tos en d am es s age an d is con f ron ted w ith
an errorm es s age s ayin g Mail boxs erv eris rel oadin g. T he
u s eroperates in adom ain con s titu ted of peopl e an d
m es s ages s en tam on g them . T his dom ain in cl u des action s
( s u chas s en din g am es s age an d exam in in g m ail )thatin tu rn
gen erate pos s ibl e breakdow n s ( s u chas the in abil itytos en d a
m es s age). Mail boxs erv ers , al thou ghtheym aybe acritical
partof the im pl em en tation , are an in tru s ion f rom an other
dom ain on e thatis the prov in ce of the s ys tem des ign ers
an d en gin eers . In this s im pl e exam pl e, w e cou l d produ ce a
dif f eren terrorm es s age, s u chas Can n ots en d m es s age to
thatu s er. P l eas e tryagain af terf iv e m in u tes . Su cces s f u l
s ys tem bu il ders l earn tocon s iderthe u s er' s dom ain of
.0 19 81 37 . ADirection f orDes ign
u n ders tan din g af ters eein g the f ru s tration s of peopl e w ho
u s e theirprogram s .
Bu tthere is am ore s ys tem atic prin cipl e ats take here. T he
program m erdes ign s the l an gu age thatcreates the w orl d in
w hichthe u s eroperates . T his l an gu age can be on tol ogical l y
cl ean oritcan be aj u m bl e of rel ated dom ain s . Acl earl yan d
con s ciou s l yorgan ized on tol ogyis the bas is f orthe kin d of
s im pl icitythatm akes s ys tem s u s abl e. When w e tryto
u n ders tan d the appeal of com pu ters l ike the Appl e
Macin tos h( an d its predeces s orthe XeroxStar), w e s ee
exactl ythe kin d of readin es s -to-han d an d on tol ogical
s im pl icityw e hav e des cribed. Within the dom ain s they
en com pas s textan d graphic m an ipu l ation the u s eris
driv in g, n otcom m an din g. T he chal l en ge f orthe n ext
gen eration of des ign is tom ov e this s am e ef f ectiv en es s
beyon d the s u perf icial s tru ctu res of w ords an d pictu res in to
the dom ain s gen erated byw hatpeopl e are doin g w hen they
m an ipu l ate thos e s tru ctu res .
An ticipation of Breakdow n
Ou rs tu dyof ( Heideggerrev eal ed. the cen tral rol e of
breakdow n in hu m an u n ders tan din g. Abreakdow n is n ota
n egativ e s itu ation tobe av oided, bu tas itu ation of n on -
obv iou s n es s , in w hichthe recogn ition thats om ethin g is
m is s in g l eads tou n con ceal in g ( gen eratin g throu ghou r
decl aration s )s om e as pectof the n etw ork of tool s thatw e are
en gaged in u s in g. Abreakdow n rev eal s the n exu s of rel ation s
n eces s aryf oru s toaccom pl is hou rtas k. T his creates acl ear
obj ectiv e f ordes ign toan ticipate the f orm s of breakdow n
an d prov ide as pace of pos s ibil ities f oraction w hen they
occu r. Itis im pos s ibl e tocom pl etel yav oid breakdow n s by
m ean s of des ign . Whatcan be des ign ed are aids f orthos e
w hol iv e in aparticu l ardom ain of breakdow n s . T hes e aids
in cl u de train in g, todev el opthe appropriate u n ders tan din g of
the dom ain in w hichthe breakdow n s occu ran d al s oto
dev el opthe s kil l s an d procedu res n eeded torecogn ize w hat
has broken dow n an d how tocope w iththe s itu ation .
Com pu tertool s can aid in the an ticipation an d correction
of breakdow n s thatare n otthem s el v es com pu ter
breakdow n s bu tare in the appl ication dom ain . T he
com m itm en tm on itorin g f acil ities in acoordin atorare an
exam pl e of s u chas ys tem , appl ied tothe dom ain of
con v ers ation s f oraction . In the des ign of decis ion s u pport
s ys tem s , aprim arycon s ideration is the an ticipation of
poten tial breakdow n s . An earl yexam pl e of s u chas ys tem
w as Cybers yn f w hichw as u s ed f orm on itorin g produ ction in
37 . ADirection f orDes ign
as ectorof the econ om yof Chil e. T his s ys tem en abl ed l ocal
grou ps todes cribe the ran ge of n orm al behav iorof econ om ic
v ariabl es ( s u chas the ou tpu tof aparticu l arf actory), an d to
be in f orm ed of s ign if ican tpattern s of v ariation thatcou l d
s ign al poten tial breakdow n .
Bu tm ore im portan tl y, breakdow n s pl ayaf u n dam en tal
rol e in des ign . As the l as ts ection poin ted ou t, the obj ects an d
properties thatcon s titu te the dom ain of action f orapers on
are thos e thatem erge in breakdow n . R etu rn in g toou rs im pl e
exam pl e of an el ectron ic m ail s ys tem , ou r l ef tapers on
w ithcertain cou rs es of action in f ace of the breakdow n . He
ors he can s im pl yf orgetabou ts en din g the m es s age orcan
w aitu n til l atertotrys en din g itagain . Bu titm aybe pos s ibl e
tos en d ittoadif f eren tm ail s erv er f ordel ayed f orw ardin g
an d del iv ery. If s o, itis n eces s arytocreate adom ain that
in cl u des the exis ten ce of m ail s erv ers an d theirproperties as
partof the rel ev an ts pace in w hichthe u s erexis ts .
In des ign in g com pu ters ys tem s an d the dom ain s they
gen erate, w e m u s tan ticipate the ran ge of occu rren ces thatgo
ou ts ide the n orm al f u n ction in g an d prov ide m ean s bothto
u n ders tan d them an d toact. T his is the bas is f oraheu ris tic
m ethodol ogythatis of ten f ol l ow ed bygood program m ers
( In w ritin g the program trytothin k of ev erythin g that
cou l d gow ron g), bu tagain itis m ore than av agu e aphoris m .
T he an al ys is of ahu m an con textof activ itycan begin w ith
an an al ys is of the dom ain s of breakdow n , an d thatcan in
tu rn be u s ed togen erate the obj ects , properties , an d action s
thatm ake u pthe dom ain .
T he Bl in dn es s Created byDes ign
An yopen in g of n ew pos s ibil ities cl os es others , an d this is
es pecial l ytru e of the in trodu ction of techn ol ogy. As an
exam pl e, con s iderthe pos s ibil ityof an el ectron ic l ibrary
in w hichon e can s earchf oritem s u s in g s ophis ticated
catal ogin g techn iqu es bas ed on pu bl ication in f orm ation
( s u chas au thor, pu bl is her, an d titl e)an d topic cl as s if ication s
( s u chas the Libraryof Con gres s categories an d the keyw ord
s ys tem s u s ed in m an yj ou rn al s ). If w e acceptthe dom ain
gen erated bythos e cl as s if ication s as the rel ev an ton e f or
f in din g books , the s ys tem is appropriate an d u s ef u l . How ev er,
this m ayn otbe the rightchoice. T he f acil itym aym ake it
eas ierf orareadertof in d abook on as pecif ic n arrow topic,
w hil e redu cin g the eas e of brow s in g throu ghs hel v es of
l oos el yrel ated m aterial . R ecogn izin g the im portan ce of
backgrou n d an d throw n n es s , itbecom es cl earthatthe
u n expected an d u n in ten ded en cou n ters on e has in brow s in g
theN EWMEDIAR EADER
can attim es be of m u chgreaterim portan ce than ef f icien t
precis e recal l . If the probl em is n arrow l ycon s tru ed as F in d a
book, giv en s pecif ic in f orm ation then the s ys tem m aybe
good. If w e pu titin toits l argercon textof F in d w ritin gs
rel ev an ttow hatyou w an ttodo"itm ayw el l n otbe, s in ce
rel ev an ce can n otbe f orm al ized s oeas il y. In prov idin g atool ,
w e w il l chan ge the n atu re of how peopl e u s e the l ibraryan d
the m aterial s w ithin it.
As w ithbreakdow n , bl in dn es s is n ots om ethin g thatcan
be av oided, bu titis s om ethin g of w hichw e can be aw are.
T he des ign eris en gaged in acon v ers ation f orpos s ibil ities .
Atten tion tothe pos s ibil ities bein g el im in ated m u s tbe in a
con s tan tin terpl ayw ithexpectation s f orthe n ew pos s ibil ities
bein g created.
2 ADes ign Exam pl e
We tu rn n ow toacon crete exam pl e of how ou rtheoretical
backgrou n d m ightgu ide the des ign of acom pu ter-bas ed.
s ys tem in apractical s ettin g. Itis n otacom pl ete an al ys is of
the s pecif ic cas e, bu tis av ehicl e f ors u gges tin g pos s ibil ities
an d cl arif yin g poin ts . We hav e chos en am u n dan e bu s in es s
exam pl e, bu tthe s am e prin cipl es hol d f orappl ication s of
com pu ters in al l kin ds of organ ization s .
T he s ettin g:Y ou hav e been operatin g as u cces s f u l dres s
s hopf ors ev eral years an d expan ded l as tyeartoa
chain of three s tores . Y ou hav e n otm ade an yu s e of
com pu ters , bu thav e recen tl ycom e tof eel theym ight
be of s om e hel p. P rof its aren ' tw hattheys hou l d be,
you are l os in g s om e cu s tom ers w hos eem dis s atis f ied
w iththe s erv ice theyget, an d the s taf f f eel s ov er-
w orked.
T here are n ocl earprobl em s tobe s ol v ed: Action
n eeds tobe taken in as itu ation of irres ol u tion .
T his is the typical cas e in w hichqu es tion s abou tw hattodo
aris e. T here is n ocl earprobl em tobe s ol v ed, bu tas en s e of
irres ol u tion thatopen s opportu n ities f oraction . Com pu ters
are n otthe s ol u tion , bu tm aybe u s ef u l in takin g action s
thatim prov e the s itu ation . On ce the m an agers en s es this ,
the typical n exts tepw ou l d be togotocom pu ters erv ice
v en dors tof in d ou tw hatkin ds of s ys tem s are av ail abl e an d
tos ee if theyare w orthgettin g. T he s pace of pos s ibil ities is
determ in ed bythe particu l arof f erin gs an d the f eatu res
theyexhibit. Bu tw e can begin w itham ore radical an al ys is of
w hatgoes on in the s tore an d w hatkin ds of tool s are
pos s ibl e.
s e. A * 0 37 . ADirection f orDes ign
19 86
Abu s in es s ( l ike an yorgan ization )is con s titu ted
as an etw ork of recu rren tcon v ers ation s .
As af irs ts tepw e l ook f orthe bas ic n etw orks of con v ers ation
thatcon s titu te the bu s in es s . We as k Whom akes requ es ts
an d prom is es tow hom , an d how are thos e con v ers ation s
carried tocom pl etion ? Ataf irs tl ev el w e treatthe com pan y
as au n ity, exam in in g its con v ers ation s w iththe ou ts ide
w orl d cu s tom ers , s u ppl iers , an d prov iders of s erv ices .
T here are s om e obv iou s cen tral con v ers ation s w ith
cu s tom ers an d s u ppl iers , open ed byarequ es tf or( orof f erof )
dres s es in exchan ge f orm on ey. Secon darycon v ers ation s deal
w ithcon dition s of s atis f action f orthe in itial on es :
con v ers ation s abou tal teration of dres s es , con v ers ation s
con cern in g paym en t( bil l in g, prepaym en t, credit, etc.), an d
con v ers ation s f orprev en tin g breakdow n in the phys ical
s ettin g ( j an itorial s erv ices , dis pl aypreparation , etc.).
T akin g the bu s in es s as acom pos ite, w e can f u rther
exam in e the con v ers ation al n etw orks am on g its
con s titu en ts :departm en ts an d in div idu al w orkers . T here are
con v ers ation s betw een cl erk an d s tockroom , cl erk an d
accou n tin g, s tockroom an d pu rchas in g, an d s of orth. Eachof
thes e con v ers ation types has its ow n recu rren ts tru ctu re, an d
pl ays s om e rol e in m ain tain in g the bas ic con v ers ation s of the
com pan y. As on e s im pl e exam pl e, con s iderthe con v ers ation
in w hichthe s tock cl erk requ es ts thatpu rchas e orders be
s en ttos u ppl iers . In s tan ces of this con v ers ation are either
triggered byacon v ers ation in w hichas al es pers on requ es ted
an item thatw as u n av ail abl e, orw hen the s tock cl erk
an ticipates the pos s ibil ityof s u chabreakdow n . Other
con v ers ation s are partof the u n derl yin g s tru ctu re that
m akes pos s ibl e the participation of in div idu al s in the
n etw ork ( payrol l , w ork s chedu l in g, perf orm an ce ev al u ation s ,
etc.). Eachcon v ers ation has its ow n s tru ctu re of com pl etion
an d s tates of in com pl etion w ithas s ociated tim e con s train ts .
Con v ers ation s are l in ked in regu l arpattern s of
triggerin g an d breakdow n .
T he goal in an al yzin g thes e con v ers ation s is ades cription in
w hichthe l in kages betw een the recu rren tcon v ers ation s are
m ade expl icit. T hes e l in ks in cl u de n orm al triggerin g ( e.g., a
cu s tom errequ es ttriggers as tock requ es t), an d others that
deal w ithbreakdow n ( e.g., if arequ es tf oral teration is n ot
m eton tim e itm aytriggerarequ es tbythe cu s tom ertos ee
the m an ager). Hav in g com pil ed this des cription , w e can s ee
pos s ibil ities f orres tru ctu rin g the n etw ork on the bas is of
w here con v ers ation s f ail tobe com pl eted s atis f actoril y. We
m ay, f orexam pl e, n ote thatcu s tom erdis s atis f action has
com e f rom al teration s n otbein g don e on tim e ( perhaps
becau s e al teration s are n ow bein g com bin ed f orthe three
s tores an d theref ore the tail ors aren ' tim m ediatel yav ail abl e).
Action s m ightin cl u de im pos in g arigid s chedu l e f or
al teration s ( e.g., n ev erprom is e an ythin g f orl es s than aw eek)
s othatcom m itm en ts w il l be m eton tim e, ev en if the tim es
thatcan be prom is ed are l es s f l exibl e. Oritm ightm ean
in trodu cin g bettertool s f orcoordin ation , s u chas a
com pu ter-bas ed s ys tem f orkeepin g track of al teration
requ es ts an d giv in g m ore u rgen ton es higherpriority.
In creatin g tool s w e are des ign in g n ew
con v ers ation s an d con n ection s .
When achan ge is m ade, the m os ts ign if ican tin n ov ation is
the m odif ication of the con v ers ation s tru ctu re, n otthe
m echan ical m ean s byw hichthe con v ers ation is carried ou t
( e.g., acom pu ters ys tem v ers u s am an u al on e bas ed on
f orm s ). In m akin g s u chchan ges w e al terthe ov eral l pattern
of con v ers ation , in trodu cin g n ew pos s ibil ities orbetter
an ticipatin g breakdow n s in the prev iou s l yexis tin g on es . T his
is of ten n otn oticed becau s e the chan ges of dev ices an d of
con v ers ation s tru ctu re gohan d in han d. Attim es the chan ges
can be ben ef icial , an d attim es detrim en tal . T here are m an y
cas es of s ys tem s f oractiv ities l ike j ob s chedu l in g thatw ere
in trodu ced tom ake thin gs m ore ef f icien t, bu tas ares u l tof
m odif yin g the con v ers ation s tru ctu re theyin f acthin dered
the w ork. Of ten this is the res u l tof takin g on e partof the
con v ers ation n etw ork ( the of f icial ors tan dard part)an d
em bodyin g itin the s tru ctu re of the com pu ters ys tem ,
therebym akin g im pos s ibl e otherl es s f requ en ttypes of
requ es ts an d prom is es thatare cru cial f oran ticipatin g an d
copin g w ithbreakdow n s . When w e are aw are of the real
im pactof des ign w e can m ore con s ciou s l ydes ign
con v ers ation s tru ctu res thatw ork.
As an exam pl e, there is apoten tial f orcoordin ation
s ys tem s toredu ce the n eed f orrigid w ork s chedu l es . Mu chof
the tem poral s tru ctu re of w hatgoes on in organ ization s is
driv en bythe n eed tobe abl e toan ticipate com pl etion . If the
m an agerkn ow s thatacertain tas k w il l be don e ev eryF riday,
then he ors he can m ake acom m itm en ttodos om ethin g
thatu s es its res u l ts on the f ol l ow in g Mon day. F orm an y
rou tin e tas ks , this is the bes tw aytogu aran tee ef f ectiv e
coordin ation . Bu titcan al s obe an in f l exibl e s traitj acketthat
redu ces the s pace of pos s ibil ities open tow orkers in
organ izin g theiractiv ities . If ef f ectiv e coordin ation on a
37 . ADirection f orDes ign
con v ers ation -by con v ers ation bas is cou l d be regu l arized, then
the rigiditycou l d be rel axed al terin g the con v ers ation
s tru ctu re tom ake the w orkers m ore produ ctiv e.
Des ign in cl u des the gen eration of n ew
pos s ibil ities .
N oan al ys is of exis tin g recu rren ts tru ctu res is af u l l accou n t
of the pos s ibil ities . T he exis tin g n etw orks repres en ta
particu l arpoin tof s tru ctu ral cou pl in g of the organ ization
tothe w orl d in w hichitexis ts . Action s m ayradical l yal ter
the s tru ctu re. In ou rexam pl e, the s tore m ights im pl ys top
doin g al teration s . Oritm ighthire m ore tail ors , orcon tract
ou tthe al teration s , orhire m an ym ore tail ors an d goin to
the con tractal teration bu s in es s as w el l . In s om e cas es , the
bu s in es s as aw hol e m ayhav e an ew in terpretation . T he
ow n erof as m al l can dys tore n otes the s u cces s of the v ideo
gam es in the back, an d m ayu l tim atel ydecide thatthe
bu s in es s is av ideogam e parl orw ithacan dycou n ter. N o
m ethodol ogycan gu aran tee thatal l s u chpos s ibil ities w il l be
f ou n d, bu tacaref u l an al ys is of the con v ers ation s tru ctu re
can hel prev eal con v ers ation s w ithapoten tial f or
expan s ion .
In des ign in g com pu ter-bas ed dev ices , w e are n otin the
pos ition of creatin g af orm al s ys tem thatcov ers the
f u n ction in g of the organ ization an d the peopl e w ithin it.
When this is attem pted, the res u l tin g s ys tem ( an d the s pace
of poten tial action f orthe peopl e w ithin it)is in f l exibl e an d
u n abl e tocope w ithn ew breakdow n s orpoten tial s . In s tead
w e des ign addition s an d chan ges tothe n etw ork of
equ ipm en t( s om e of itcom pu ter-bas ed)w ithin w hichpeopl e
w ork. T he com pu teris l ike atool , in thatitis brou ghtu pf or
u s e bypeopl e en gaged in s om e dom ain of action . T he u s e of
the tool s hapes the poten tial f orw hatthos e action s are an d
how theyare con du cted. T he com pu teris u n l ike com m on
tool s in its con n ectiv itytoal argern etw ork of equ ipm en t.
Its pow erdoes n otl ie in hav in g as in gl e pu rpos e, l ike a
carpen ter' s pl an e, bu tin its con n ection tothe l argern etw ork
of com m u n ication ( el ectron ic, tel ephon e, an d paper-bas ed)in
w hichorgan ization s operate.
Dom ain s are gen erated bythe s pace of poten tial
breakdow n of action .
If ou rdres s s hopow n erchoos es toin s tal l acom pu ter-bas ed
s ys tem deal in g w iths om e of the con v ers ation s , the an al ys is
proceeds byexam in in g ( an d gen eratin g)the appropriate I
dom ain s . Mu chcom pu terau tom ation deal s w iths tan dard
deriv ed dom ain s , s u chas payrol l accou n tin g, bil l in g, an d
theN EWMEDIAR EADER
em pl oyee s chedu l in g. Adom ain of rel ev an tobj ects ,
properties , an d action s has al readybeen gen erated throu gh
s tan dard practice, an d is en f orced bythe n eed tos atis f y
extern al con v ers ation s bas ed on it( s u chas thos e w iththe
In tern al R ev en u e Serv ice). Bu tev en in thes e s edim en ted
cas es , itis im portan ttorecogn ize thatu l tim atel ythe
pres en t at-han d w orl d of obj ects is al w ays bas ed on the
breakdow n of action .
As an obv iou s exam pl e, w e can as k w hatacu s tom ers
addres s is . T he im m ediate res pon s e is F orw hat?"( or,
Whatis the con v ers ation in w hichitdeterm in es acon dition
of s atis f action ?). T here are tw odis tin ctan s w ers . Som e
con v ers ation s w ithcu s tom ers in v ol v e requ es ts f orthe
phys ical tran s f erof goods w hil e others in v ol v e
corres pon den ce. Dif f eren tcon dition s of s atis f action requ ire
dif f eren tkin ds of addres s . T his is as tan dard cas e, an d m os t
bu s in es s f orm s an d com pu terdatabas es w il l dis tin gu is h
s hippin g addres s an d bil l in g addres s . Bu tw e m ayal s o
n eed an addres s w here the pers on can be f ou n d du rin g the
daytoperf orm f u rtherm eas u rem en ts . In ev erycas e, the
rel ev an tproperty tobe as s ociated w iththe pers on is
determ in ed bythe rol e itpl ays in an action . T his grou n din g
of des cription in action perv ades al l attem pts tof orm al ize
the w orl d in toal in gu is tic s tru ctu re of obj ects , properties ,
an d ev en ts .
T his al s ol eads u s tothe recogn ition thatthe dev el opm en t
of an ycom pu ter-bas ed s ys tem w il l hav e toproceed in acycl e
f rom des ign toexperien ce an d back again . Itis im pos s ibl e to
an ticipate al l of the rel ev an tbreakdow n s an d theirdom ain s .
T heyem erge gradu al l yin practice. Sys tem dev el opm en t
m ethodol ogies n eed totake this as af u n dam en tal con dition
of gen eratin g the rel ev an tdom ain s , an d tof acil itate it
throu ghtechn iqu es s u chas bu il din g prototypes earl yin the
des ign proces s an d appl yin g them in s itu ation s as cl os e as
pos s ibl e tothos e in w hichtheyw il l ev en tu al l ybe u s ed.
Breakdow n is an in terpretation ev erythin g exis ts
as in terpretation w ithin abackgrou n d.
As as om ew hatm ore in teres tin g exam pl e of how the w orl d is
gen erated byl an gu age, con s iderthe con dition s of
s atis f action as s ociated w ithf it. T he cu s tom eris on l y
s atis f ied byadres s thatf its , an d acom pl exl in gu is tic dom ain
( the dom ain of cl othin g s izes )has been gen erated toprov ide
am ean s of an ticipatin g an d prev en tin g breakdow n . Bu t
f ittin g can n otbe obj ectiv el ydef in ed. On e pers on m aybe
happyw ithan articl e thats om eon e el s e of the s am e ov eral l
of .- ~ 1 ow e1:~~~_s om a0~.~~~o.. .1 -
s hape an d s ize w ou l d rej ect. T he his toryof f as hion an d the
dif f eren ces betw een cu l tu res m ake itcl earthatf ittin g is an
in terpretation w ithin aparticu l arhorizon . Bu tatthe s am e
tim e itis n otpu rel yin div idu al . T he backgrou n d s hared bya
com m u n ityis w hatm akes in div idu al tas tes pos s ibl e.
U l tim atel y, then , s atis f action is determ in ed n otbythe
w orl d bu tbyadecl aration on the partof the requ es torthata
con dition is s atis f ied. T he cas e of f it m ays eem extrem e, bu t
ev erycon dition of s atis f action u l tim atel yres ts on a
decl aration byan in div idu al , w ithin the backgrou n d of a
com m u n ity. T he cas es thats eem obj ectiv e are thos e in
w hichthere is greatregu l arityan d f orw hichpos s ibl e
con v ers ation s abou ts atis f action hav e been regu l arized
( perhaps f orm al l yin the l egal s ys tem ). On e kin d of
in n ov ation l ies in gen eratin g n ew in terpretation s an d
corres pon din g n ew dom ain s f orcon dition s of s atis f action . In
f act, on e m ightv iew this as the prim aryen terpris e of the
f as hion in du s try( an d of ev eryen trepren eu r).
Dom ain s of an ticipation are in com pl ete.
T he dom ain of cl othin g s izes w as gen erated toan ticipate
breakdow n in the s atis f action of con v ers ation s in w hich
cl othin g is s ol d. Itis au s ef u l bu tin com pl ete attem pt. Giv en
the in terpretiv e n atu re of f it, n os ys tem of s izes can
gu aran tee s u cces s . On ce again , this is acl earl yv is ibl e exam pl e
of am ore u n iv ers al phen om en on . Ev eryattem ptto
an ticipate breakdow n ref l ects aparticu l ardom ain of
an ticipation . T his does n otm ake itu s el es s , bu tm ean s that
w e m u s tdes ign w iththe f l exibil itytoen cou n terother
( al w ays u n an ticipated)breakdow n s .
As an othercas e, con s iderin v en torycon trol . T he s tock
cl erk tries tom ain tain as u ppl yon han d thatw il l decreas e
the pos s ibil ityof ru n n in g ou t, w hil e keepin g the ov eral l
in v es tm en tin in v en toryas l ow as f eas ibl e ( thereby
an ticipatin g breakdow n s in cas hf l ow ). Orders are s en tf ar
en ou ghahead of tim e toan ticipate del iv eryl ags , an d cou n ts
of w hathas been s ol d are u s ed tokeeptrack of w hatis on
han d. Bu tof cou rs e there are breakdow n s in al l of this . A
s u ppl iercan s im pl yf ail todel iv eras prom is ed. An in v en tory
cou n tbas ed on prev iou s in v en toryan d on w hathas been
s ol d f ail s toaccou n tf orthe item s l os tthrou ghs hopl if tin g.
T his does n otm ean thatan ticipation is im pos s ibl e orthat
s ys tem s s hou l d n otbe bu il ttodoit. T he critical partis to
recogn ize cl earl yw hatthe real dom ain s are. An in v en tory
cou n tis n otas tatem en tof f act, bu tadecl aration of an
in terpretation . F orm an ypu rpos es this can be treated as
J19 86
.~~o~ a 37 . ADirection f orDes ign
thou ghitw ere the actu al n u m berof item s , bu tcon v ers a-
tion s thatdepen d on this as s u m ption w il l f ail todeal w ith
the u n expected cas es .
Com pu ters are atool f orcon du ctin g the n etw ork
of con v ers ation s .
Mos tof w hathas been s aid in this s ection is in depen den tof
com pu ters . Itappl ies tobu s in es s es an d organ ization s ,
w hethertheyoperate w iththe m os tm odern equ ipm en tor
w ithl edgerpads an d qu il l s . Itis al s on otapres cription f or
w hattheys hou l d do, bu tan an al ys is of w hattheyare
al readydoin g. If w e exam in e w hatcom pu ters are doin g n ow
in s ettin gs l ike ou rexam pl e, w e f in d them em bodyin g
pos s ibil ities f oraction w ithin as etof recu rren tcon v ers a-
tion s . Whetheritbe apayrol l s ys tem , abil l in g s ys tem , oran
in v en torycon trol s ys tem , the hardw are an d s of tw are are a
m ediu m in w hichrequ es ts an d prom is es are m ade an d
m on itored. T here is aw ide ran ge of pos s ibil ities , in cl u din g
the s tan dard packages n ow prom in en tin com m ercial
appl ication s , decis ion s u pports ys tem s an d coordin ators , an d
the expert s ys tem s bein g w idel yprom oted today. In each
cas e, the qu es tion tobe as ked is n otan abs tracton e of
Whatkin d of s ys tem is n eeded? bu tacon crete on e of how
dif f eren ttool s w il l l ead ton ew con v ers ation s an d in the en d
ton ew w ays of w orkin g an d Bein g. Com pu terization in its
pej orativ e s en s e occu rs w ithdev ices thatw ere des ign ed
w ithou tappropriate con s ideration of the con v ers ation al
s tru ctu res theyen gen der( an d thos e thattheycon s equ en tl y
precl u de).
In n ov ation s hav e theirow n dom ain s of breakdow n .
We hav e n ottried todeal in ou rdres s s hopexam pl e w ith
con crete qu es tion s of com pu terdev ices . In practice on e n eeds
tom ake m an ychoices bas ed on the av ail abil ity, u til ity, an d
cos tof dif f eren tkin ds of equ ipm en t com pu ters , s of tw are
packages , n etw orks , prin ters , an d s oon . In doin g s o, al l of the
s am e theoretical con s ideration s appl y. As com pu teru s ers
kn ow al l toow el l , breakdow n is af u n dam en tal con cern . Itis
im portan ttorecogn ize in this areathatbreakdow n s m u s tbe
u n ders tood w ithin al argern etw ork of con v ers ation as w el l .
T he is s u e is n otj u s tw hetherthe m achin e w il l s topw orkin g,
bu tw hetherthere is as u f f icien tn etw ork of au xil iary
con v ers ation s abou ts ys tem av ail abil ity, s u pport, train in g,
m odif ication , an d s oon . Mos tof the w el l -pu bl icized f ail u res
of l arge com pu ters ys tem s hav e n otbeen cau s ed bys im pl e
breakdow n s in theirf u n ction in g, bu tbybreakdow n s in this
l argerw eb of com pu tin g in w hichthe equ ipm en tres ides .
37 . ADirection f orDes ign
Des ign is al w ays al readyhappen in g.
Im agin e you rs el f in the s itu ation depicted atthe begin n in g
of the s ection . Y ou res ol v e totake action s thatw il l l ead to
acqu irin g an d in s tal l in g an ew com pu ters ys tem . Whatdoes
ou ran al ys is hav e toof f er?Aren ' tthe av ail abl e com pu ter
s ys tem s good en ou gh?Whatgu idan ce is there in
determ in in g w hattodoorbu y?
Ou rf irs tres pon s e is thatw e are n otpropos in g s om e n ew
an s w ertothe dataproces s in g probl em . Mu chof ou r
theoretical an al ys is appl ies toexis tin g s ys tem s , an d m an yof
thes e operate in w ays thatachiev e w hatw e propos e. T his is
n ots u rpris in g, s in ce as itu ation of n atu ral s el ection
appl ies - thos e s ys tem s thatw ork u l tim atel ys u rv iv e.
Bu tthis is n otthe w hol e pictu re. Itis n otn eces s aryto
bel aborw hatev eryon e kn ow s f rom experien ce com pu ter
s ys tem s are f ru s tratin g, don ' treal l yw ork right, an d can be as
m u chof ahin dran ce as ahel pin m an ys itu ation s . We don ' t
of f eram agic s ol u tion , bu tan orien tation thatl eads to
as kin g s ign if ican tqu es tion s . T he res u l tof an an al ys is l ike
the abov e m ightw el l be tol ead the s hopow n ertom ake
chan ges tothe con v ers ation s as theyn ow occu r( byv oice
an d w ritin g)w ithou tbu yin g acom pu teratal l . Oritm ight
s erv e as abackgrou n d f rom w hichtogen erate criteriaf or
decidin g am on g com petin g v en dors an d creatin g n ew
in terpretation s f orthe av ail abl e s ys tem s w ithin the
particu l ars itu ation . Oritm ightbe the bas is f orcom in g u p
w ithen tirel yn ew tool s thatopen n ew pos s ibil ities f or
action . Des ign al w ays proceeds , w ithorw ithou tan
articu l ated theory, bu tw e can w ork toim prov e its cou rs e
an d its res u l ts .
3 Sys tem atic Dom ain s
T he prev iou s s ection s poin tou tthe cen tral rol e pl ayed bythe
creation throu ghl an gu age of the dom ain s in w hichw e act.
Lan gu age is the creation of dis tin ction s :n ou n s dis tin gu is h
obj ects in togrou ps , v erbs dis tin gu is hkin ds of action s , etc.
T his is n ots om ethin g w e choos e todo, bu tis af u n dam en tal
con dition of u s in g l an gu age. F u rtherm ore, the w ords are
con s titu tiv e of the obj ects am on g w hichtheydis tin gu is h. As
w e s how ed, l an gu age does n otdes cribe apre-exis tin g w orl d,
bu tcreates the w orl d abou tw hichits peaks . T here are w hol e
dom ain s , s u chas thos e in f in an cial m arkets in v ol v in g
s hares , option s , an d f u tu res , w hos e exis ten ce is pu rel y
l in gu is tic bas ed on expres s ion s of com m itm en tf rom on e
in div idu al toan other.
theN EWMEDIAR EADER
T he u s e of adis tin ction is v erydif f eren tf rom its expl icit
f orm al articu l ation . T he f actthatw e com m on l yu s e aw ord
does n otm ean thatthere is an u n am bigu ou s f orm al w ayto
iden tif ythe thin gs itden otes ortodeterm in e their
properties . Bu tw hen ev erthere is arecu rren tpattern of
breakdow n , w ecan choos e toexpl icitl ys pecif yas ys tem atic
dom ain , f orw hichdef in ition s an d ru l es are articu l ated.
We hav e repeatedl ycon tras ted the com pu tation al
m an ipu l ation of f orm al repres en tation s w iththe bein g-in
the-w orl d of hu m an thou ghtan d u n ders tan din g. In eachcas e
w e hav e s how n how the proj ection of hu m an capacities on to
com pu tation al dev ices w as m is l eadin g. Bu tthere is apos itiv e
s ide tothis dif f eren ce. Com pu ters are w on derf u l dev ices f or
the ru l e-gov ern ed m an ipu l ation of f orm al repres en tation s ,
an d there are m an yareas of hu m an en deav orin w hichs u ch
m an ipu l ation s are cru cial . In appl yin g com pu ters appro-
priatel ytos ys tem atic dom ain s , w e dev el opef f ectiv e tool s .
T he dev el opm en tof s ys tem atic dom ain s is of cou rs e n ot
n ew . Mathem atics is aprototypical exam pl e of s u cha
dom ain , an d the dev el opm en tof acal cu l u s of l ogical f orm , as
begu n byphil os ophers s u chas F rege an d R u s s el l , m ade it
pos s ibl e toappl ym athem atical techn iqu es tom ore gen eral
repres en tation s of obj ects an d theirproperties . Work in
com pu ters cien ce has added an ew dim en s ion the des ign of
m echan is m s thatcan carryou tcom pl exs equ en ces of
s ym bol ic m an ipu l ation s au tom atical l y, accordin g toaf ixed
s etof ru l es .
T here are m an ydom ain s in w hichs u chm an ipu l ation s are
com m on pl ace. On e of the m os tobv iou s is the n u m bers
repres en tin g f in an cial en tities an d tran s action s . Ev ery '
accou n tin g program , payrol l program , an d bil l in g program
operates w ithin as ys tem atic dom ain of bookkeepin g thathas
ev ol v ed ov ercen tu ries of com m ercial experien ce. T he adv en t
of com pu ters has n otyethad am aj orim pacton the s tru ctu re
of thatdom ain , bu tithas m ade itpos s ibl e todoqu ickl yan d
ef f icien tl yw hatw as prev iou s l ytediou s an d cos tl y.
N obodyw ou l d argu e thatan accou n tin g program l ike
Vis iCal c thin ks abou tbu s in es s , bu titis av ital tool becau s e
of the cl earan d appropriate corres pon den ce betw een its
dom ain an d the activ ities thatgen erate the com m ercial
w orl d. An otherw ides pread exam pl e is w ord proces s in g, as
al readyil l u s trated. Its dom ain is the s u perf icial s tu f f of
l an gu age l etters an d pu n ctu ation m arks , w ords , s en ten ces ,
an d paragraphs . Aw ord proces s ordoes n otu n ders tan d
l an gu age, bu tcan be u s ed tom an ipu l ate texts tru ctu res that
"' 1
4
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1
o _-._. s o . _. or A - s o _or _-I19 8? _37 .ADirection f orDes ign
hav e m ean in g tothos e w hocreate an d read them . T he
im pactcom es n otbecau s e the program s are s m art bu t
becau s e theyl etpeopl e operate ef f ectiv el yin as ys tem atic
dom ain thatis rel ev an ttohu m an w ork.
We can bes tu n ders tan d the creation of experts ys tem s as
the creation of s ys tem atic dom ain s thatare rel ev an tan d
u s ef u l toaparticu l arprof es s ion . In dev el opin g s u cha
s ys tem , there is an in itial period of kn ow l edge acqu is ition ,
du rin g w hichprof es s ion al s in the dom ain w ork together
w ithkn ow l edge en gin eers toarticu l ate the s tru ctu re of the
rel ev an tcon tepts an d ru l es . T his is of ten des cribed as a
proces s of captu rin g the kn ow l edge thatthe experts
al readyhav e arid u s e. In f act, itis acreativ e des ign activ ityin
w hichas ys tem atic dom ain is created, cov erin g certain
as pects of the prof es s ion al s w ork. T he s u cces s f u l exam pl es
of experts ys tem s hav e al m os tal l been the res u l tof l on g an d
in ten s iv e-ef f ortbyaparticu l arl yqu al if ied practition er, an d
itcan w el l be argu ed thatthe dom ain s gen erated in
dev el opin g the s ys tem are them s el v es s ign if ican tres earch
con tribu tion s .
Su chprof es s ion -orien ted dom ain s can be the bas is f or
com pu tation al tool s thatdos om e tas ks prev iou s l ydon e by
prof es s ion al s . T heycan al s obe the bas is f ortool s thataid in
com m u n ication an d the cooperativ e accu m u l ation of
kn ow l edge. Aprof es s ion -orien ted dom ain m akes expl icit
as pects of the w ork thatare rel ev an ttocom pu ter-aided tool s
an d can be gen eral en ou ghtohan dl e aw ide ran ge of w hatis
don e w ithin aprof es s ion , in con tras ttothe v erys pecial ized
dom ain s gen erated in the des ign of aparticu l arcom pu ter
s ys tem . As ys tem atic dom ain is as tru ctu red f orm al
repres en tation thatdeal s w iththin gs the prof es s ion al
al readykn ow s how tow ork w ith, prov idin g f orprecis e an d
u n am bigu ou s des cription an d m an ipu l ation . T he critical
is s u e is its corres pon den ce toadom ain thatis ready-to han d
f orthos e w how il l u s e it.
Exam pl es of prof es s ion ~orien ted s ys tem atic dom ain s
al readyexis t. On e of the reas on s f orVis iCal cs greats u cces s is
thatitgiv es accou n tan ts tran s paren tacces s toas ys tem atic
dom ain w ithw hichtheyal readyhav e agreatdeal of
exp' erien ce the s preads heet. T heydon otn eed totran s l ate
theiraction s in toan u n f am il iardom ain s u chas the data
s tru ctu res an d al gorithm s of aprogram m in g l an gu age. In the
f u tu re w e w il l s ee the dev el opm en tof m an ydom ain s , each
s u ited tothe experien ce an d s kil l s of w orkers in aparticu l ar
area, s u chas typography, in s u ran ce, orciv il en gin eerin g.
T os om e exten t, the con ten tof eachprof es s ion -orien ted
dom ain w il l be u n iqu e. Bu tthere are com m on el em en ts that
cros s the bou n daries . On e of thes e the rol e of l an gu age in
coordin ated action -has al readybeen dis cu s s ed atl en gth.
T he com pu teris u l tim atel yas tru ctu red dyn am ic com m u n ica-
tion m ediu m thatis qu al itativ el ydif f eren tf rom earl ierm edia
s u chas prin tan d tel ephon es . Com m u n ication is n ota
proces s of tran s m ittin g in f orm ation ors ym bol s , bu ton e of
com m itm en tan d in terpretation . Ahu m an s ociety.operates
throu ghthe expres s ion of requ es ts an d prom is es am on g its
m em bers . T here is as ys tem atic dom ain rel ev an ttothe
s tru ctu re of this n etw ork of com m itm en ts , adom ain of
con v ers ation f oraction thatcan be repres en ted an d
m an ipu l ated in the com pu ter.
An otherw idel yappl icabl e dom ain is the s pecif ication of
m echan is m s l ike thos e in com pu terhardw are an d program s .
T hes e in v ol v e phys ical l yem bodied s ys tem s thatcan be
u n ders tood as carryin g ou tdis crete proces s es ( proces s es
thatproceed in iden tif iabl e in div idu al s teps ). T here are
kin ds of obj ects , properties , an d rel ation s thatare s u ited to
des cribin g them an d thatcan be em bodied in as ys tem atic
dom ain . P rogram m in g l an gu ages are on e approachto
f orm al izin g this dom ain , bu tin gen eral theyare n otw el l
s u ited tothe com m u n ication of in ten tan d con ceptu al
s tru ctu re. T heyare tooorien ted tothe s tru ctu re of the
m achin e, ratherthan tothe s tru ctu re of its behav ior. We are
begin n in g tos ee the dev el opm en tof s ys tem s pecif ication
l an gu ages thatdeal w iththe dom ain of com pu tation al
dev ices in am ore gen eral w ay.
In al l s itu ation s w here s ys tem atic dom ain s are appl icabl e, a
cen tral ( an d of ten dif f icu l t)tas k is tocharacterize the precis e
f orm an d rel ev an ce of the dom ain w ithin abroaderorien ta-
tion . In ou rexam pl e of coordin ators , w e f in d the em beddin g
of as ys tem atic dom ain ( con v ers ation s tru ctu re)w ithin the
l argerdom ain of l an gu age. T he m ean in g of an u tteran ce is
n otcaptu red byaf orm al s tru ctu re, bu tl ies in the activ e
l is ten in g of ahearerin acon text. Atthe s am e tim e, its rol e
w ithin aparticu l arn etw ork of requ es ts an d prom is es can be
iden tif ied an d repres en ted in as ys tem atic w ay. In as im il ar
v ein , the row s an d col u m n s of abookkeepin g program don ot
ref l ectthe m ean in g of the econ om ic s ys tem , bu tis ol ate on e
as pectthatis am en abl e tos ys tem atic treatm en t. T he l im ita-
tion s of this dom ain becom e obv iou s in attem pts toappl y
accou n tin g techn iqu es ton on -s ys tem atic areas , s u chas
m eas u rin g ov eral l produ ctiv ity orprov idin g acos t ben ef it
37 . ADirection f orDes ign
an al ys is of activ ities ( s u chas res earch)w hos e produ cts are
n oteas il ym eas u red.
Ev en w ithin areas s u chas l aw w here there is aprim ary
con cern w iththe s ocial an d ethical f abric w e f in d an
in teraction betw een the con textu al an d the s ys tem atic. T he
s tatu tes an d decis ion s prov ide as ys tem atic f ram ew ork that
is the bas is f orargu m en tation in cou rt. T here are cl ear
f orm al s tatem en ts , s u chas In ordertobe gu il tyof f irs t-
degree m u rder, there m u s tbe prem editation . Bu tof cou rs e
thes e res ton u n ders tan din gs of term s l ike prem editation ,
w hichcal l f orcon textu al in terpretation . Com pu terprogram s
can hel pal aw yerm an ipu l ate f orm al s tru ctu res an d the
dedu ction s thatcan be m ade f rom them , w hil e l eav in g the
hard qu es tion s open tohu m an in terpretation .
4T echn ol ogyan d T ran s f orm ation
Ou rbook has f ocu s s ed on the des ign in g of com pu ter-bas ed
tool s as partof al argerpers pectiv e of on tol ogical des ign . We
are con cern ed w ithw hathappen s w hen n ew dev ices are
created, an d w ithhow pos s ibil ities f orin n ov ation aris e.
T here is acircu l arityhere: the w orl d determ in es w hatw e can
doan d w hatw e dodeterm in es ou rw orl d. T he creation of a
n ew dev ice ors ys tem atic dom ain can hav e f ar-reachin g
s ign if ican ce itcan create n ew w ays of bein g thatprev iou s l y
did n otexis tan d af ram ew ork f oraction s thatw ou l d n ot
hav e prev iou s l ym ade s en s e. As an exam pl e, s ys tem atic
bookkeepin g techn iqu es did n otj u s tm ake iteas iertokeep
track of the f in an cial detail s of bu s in es s as itexis ted. N ew
w ays of doin g bu s in es s ( in f act, w hol e n ew bu s in es s es
deal in g w ithf in an cial tran s action s )becam e pos s ibl e, an d the
en tire f in an cial activ ityof s ocietyev ol v ed in accord w iththe
s tru ctu re of the n ew dom ain .
Herm en eu tic orien tation an d biol ogical theories giv e u s
in s ightin tothis proces s . In the actof des ign w e brin g f orth
the obj ects an d regu l arities in the w orl d of ou rcon cern . We
are en gaged in an activ ityof in terpretation thatcreates both
pos s ibil ities an d bl in dn es s . As w e w ork w ithin the dom ain
w e hav e def in ed, w e are bl in d tothe con textf rom w hichit
w as carv ed an d open tothe n ew pos s ibil ities itgen erates .
T hes e n ew pos s ibil ities create an ew open n es s f ordes ign , an d
the proces s repeats in an en dl es s circl e.
In [ Hu m berto] Matu ran as term s , the keytocogn ition is
the pl as ticityof the cogn itiv e s ys tem , giv in g itthe pow erof
s tru ctu ral cou pl in g. As the dom ain of in teraction s is
m odif ied, the s tru ctu re of the in teractin g s ys tem chan ges in
theN EWMEDIAR EADER
accord w ithit. We can n otdirectl yim pos e an ew s tru ctu re
on an yin div idu al , bu tw hen ev erw e des ign chan ges tothe
s pace of in teraction s , w e triggerchan ges in in div idu al
s tru ctu re chan ges tothe horizon thatis the precon dition
f oru n ders tan din g.
Com pu ters hav e aparticu l arl ypow erf u l im pact, becau s e
theyare m achin es f oractin g in l an gu age. In u s in g them w e
en gage in adis cou rs e gen erated w ithin the dis tin ction s s et
dow n bytheirprogram m ers . T he obj ects , properties , an d acts
w e can dis tin gu is han d perf orm are organ ized accordin g toa
particu l arbackgrou n d an d pre-u n ders tan din g. In m os tcas es
this pre u n ders tan din g ref l ects the ration al is tic tradition w e
hav e criticized throu ghou tthis book. Itin cl u des bias es abou t
obj ectiv ity, abou tthe n atu re of f acts ( ordata or
in f orm ation )an d theirorigin , an d abou tthe rol e of the
in div idu al in teractin g w iththe com pu ter.
We hav e argu ed thattool s bas ed on this pre u n ders tan din g
w il l l ead toim portan tkin ds of breakdow n in theiru s e. Bu t
there is al argerprobl em as w el l . As w e w ork w ithdev ices
w hos e dom ain s of "action are bas ed on an in terpretation of
data, goal s , operators , an d s of orth, w e dev el oppattern s
of l an gu age an d action thatref l ectthes e as s u m ption s . T hes e
carryov erin toou ru n ders tan din g of ou rs el v es an d the w ay
w e con du ctou rl iv es . Ou rcriticis m of des cription s of hu m an
thou ghtas decis ion m akin g an d l an gu age u n ders tan din g as
the m an ipu l ation of repres en tation s is n otj u s taprediction
thatcertain kin ds of com pu terprogram s w il l f ail . Itref l ects a
deepercon cern w iththe dis cou rs e an d action s thatare
gen erated byaration al is tic in terpretation of hu m an action .
Com pu ters ys tem s can eas il yrein f orce this in terpretation ,
an d w orkin g w iththem can rein f orce pattern s of actin g that
are con s is ten tw ithit.
On the otherhan d, w here there is adan gerthere is an
opportu n ity. We can create com pu ters ys tem s w hos e u s e
l eads tobetterdom ain s of in terpretation . T he m achin e can
con v eyakin d of coachin g in w hichn ew pos s ibil ities f or
in terpretation an d action em erge. F orexam pl e, coordin ator
s ys tem s grew ou tof res earchon how totrain peopl e to
im prov e theiref f ectiv en es s in w orkin g w ithothers . T his
train in g in com m u n ication f oraction 8 rev eal s f orpeopl e
how theirl an gu age acts participate in an etw ork of hu m an
com m itm en ts . T he train in g does n otin v ol v e com pu ters , bu t
res ts on the dev el opm en tof an ew l in gu is tic dom ain n ew
dis tin ction s an d des cription s thats erv e as abas is f oraction .
T he coordin atorcan hel pdev el opan d rein f orce this n ew
ii
19 86
0- _-.-. ea A _.. ea.--._.....~-~.-s t. - A 37 . ADirection f orDes ign
u n ders tan din g. Ev en atthe s im pl e l ev el of prov idin g the
in itial pos s ibil ities of m ake requ es t an d m ake prom is e
in s tead of s en d m es s age, itcon tin u al l yrem in ds on e of the
com m itm en tthatis the bas is f orl an gu age. As on e w orks
s u cces s f u l l yin this dom ain , the w orl d begin s tobe
u n ders tood in thes e term s , in s ettin gs f araw ayf rom the
com pu terdev ices .
T his is j u s ton e exam pl e of aphen om en on thatis on l y
begin n in g toem erge in des ign in g com pu ters the dom ain
created byades ign is adom ain in w hichpeopl e l iv e.
Com pu ters , l ike ev erytechn ol ogy, are av ehicl e f orthe
tran s f orm ation of tradition . We can n otchoos e w hetherto
ef f ectatran s f orm ation :as des ign ers an d u s ers of techn ol ogy
w e are al w ays al readyen gaged in thattran s f orn iation ,
in depen den tof ou rw il l . We can n otchoos e w hatthe
tran s f orm ation w il l be: in div idu al s can n otdeterm in e the
cou rs e of atradition . Ou raction s are the pertu rbation s that
triggerthe chan ges , bu tthe n atu re of thos e chan ges is n ot
open toou rprediction orcon trol . We can n otev en be f u l l y
aw are of the tran s f orm ation thatis takin g pl ace:as carriers
of atradition w e can n otbe obj ectiv e obs erv ers of it. Ou rcon -
tin u in g w ork tow ard rev eal in g itis atthe s am e tim e as ou rce
of con ceal m en t.
How ev er, w e can w ork tow ards u n con ceal m en t, an d w e
can l etou raw aren es s of the poten tial s f ortran s f orm ation
gu ide ou raction s in creatin g an d appl yin g techn ol ogy. In
on tol ogical des ign in g, w e are doin g m ore than as kin g w hat
can be bu il t. We are en gagin g in aphil os ophical dis cou rs e
abou tthe s el f abou tw hatw e can doan d w hatw e can be.
T ool s are f u n dam en tal toaction , an d throu ghou raction s w e
gen erate the w orl d. T he tran s f orm ation w e are con cern ed
w ithis n otatechn ical on e, bu tacon tin u in g ev ol u tion of
how w e u n ders tan d ou rs u rrou n din gs an d ou rs el v es of
how w e con tin u e becom in g the bein gs thatw e are.
N otes
1. We don otu s e des ign here in the n arrow s en s e of as pecif ic
m ethodol ogyf orcreatin g artif acts , bu tare con cern ed w ithabroad
theoryof des ign l ike thats ou ghtin the w ork of ref l ectiv e
architects s u chas Al exan der( N otes on the Syn thes is of F orm ,
19 6 4)
2 . Cybers yn is des cribed in Beer, P l atf orm f orChan ge ( 19 7 5).
3. T his term is f rom Kl in g an d Scacchi, "T he w eb of com pu tin g"
( 19 82 ), w hichis bas ed on em pirical s tu dies of experien ce w ith
l arge s cal e com pu ters ys tem s in as ocial con text.
4. Vis iCal c is am icrocom pu terprogram thatl ets apers on
m an ipu l ate an "el ectron ic s preads heet"w ithrow s an d col u m n s of
rel ated f igu res . Itis on e of the m os tcom m ercial l ys u cces s f u l pieces
of s of tw are ev ercreated, an d is credited w ithm otiv atin g the
pu rchas e of m ore s m al l hom e an d bu s in es s com pu ters than an y
others in gl e program .
5. See Win ograd, Beyon d program m in g l an gu ages ( 19 7 9 ).
6 . See Gardn er, An Artif icial In tel l igen ce ApproachtoLegal
R eas on in g ( in pres s ), f oran exam pl e an d agen eral dis cu s s ion of
the is s u es . _
7 . T his ef f ectis des cribed in T u rkl e, T he Secon d Sel f ( 19 84).
8. T he train in g w as dev el oped byF . F l ores in con j u n ction w ith
Herm en et, In c. of San F ran cis co.
Bibl iography
Al exan der, Chris topher, N otes on the Syn thes is of F orm , Cam bridge,
MA: Harv ard U n iv ers ityP res s , 19 6 4.
Beer, Staf f ord, P l atf orm f orChan ge, N ew Y ork: Wil ey, 19 7 5.
F l ores , C. F ern an do, Man agem en tan d com m u n ication in the o ice
of the f u tu re, R eportprin ted byHerm en etIn c., San F ran cis co,
19 82 .
Gardn er, An n e, An Arti cial In tel l igen ce ApproachtoLegal
R eas on in g, Cam bridge, MA: Bradf ord/ M.I.T . P res s , in pres s .
Heidegger, Martin , Bein g an d T im e ( tran s l ated byJohn Macqu arrie
an d Edw ard R obin s on ), N ew Y ork: Harper& R ow , 19 6 2 .
Heidegger, Martin , WhatIs Cal l ed T hin kin g? ( tran s l ated byF red D.
Wieck an d J. Gl en n Gray), N ew Y ork: Harper& R ow , 19 6 8.
Heidegger, Martin , On the WaytoLan gu age ( tran s l ated byP eter
Hertz), N ew Y ork: Harper& R ow , 19 7 1.
Heidegger, Martin , T he Q u es tion Con cern in g T echn ol ogy( tran s l ated
byWil l iam Lov itt), N ew Y ork: Harper& R ow , 19 7 7 .
Kl in g, R ob an d Wal tScacchi, T he w eb of com pu tin g: Com pu tin g
techn ol ogyas s ocial organ ization , in M. Y ov its ( Ed.), Adv an ces in
Com pu ters , Vol . 2 1, 19 82 , 1-9 0.
N orm an , Don al d, P ers pectiv es on Cogn itiv e Scien ce, N orw ood, N J:
Abl exan d Hil l s dal e, N J: Law ren ce Erl bau m As s ociates , 19 81.
T u rkl e, Sherry, T he Secon d Se Com pu ters an d the Hu m an Spirit,
N ew Y ork: Sim on an d Schu s ter, 19 84.
Win ograd, T erry, Beyon d program m in g l an gu ages , Com m u n ication s
of the ACM, 2 2 :7 ( Ju l y19 7 9 ), 39 1-401.
Win ograd, T erry, Whatdoes itm ean tou n ders tan d l an gu age?, in
N orm an ( 19 81), 2 31-2 6 4.
Win ograd, T erry, Mov in g the s em an tic f u l cru m . Lin gu is tics an d
P hil os ophy, 8:1 ( 19 85), 9 1-104.
.._. . ac- - .. O . ..-- - . "ail ,,l . 38. T w obyLau rel
38. [ In trodu ction ]
T w oSel ection s byBren daLau rel
T he SixEl em en ts an d StarR aiders :
the Cau s al R el ation s Dram atic In teraction
Am on g T hem in aSm al l Worl d
Bren daLau rel s approachtocom pu tin g is as hock tom an ybecau s e of how cl as s ical itis . Certain l y, it
s eem ed radical in 19 9 1 toen v is ion in teraction w ithcom pu ters in theatrical term s bu tw hat
Lau rel prof f ers as the keytou n ders tan din g com pu terin teraction is abook m ore than 2 300years ;
ol d:the P oetics .
Al thou ghLau rel s s pecif ic in s ights attain ed f rom Aris totl e are u s ef u l ( an d are il l u s trated v eryw el l
w ithregard toStarR aiders , in as ection of herP h.D. thes is thatw as n otadapted f orpu bl ication in I
Com pu ters as T heaterbu tis in cl u ded here), the m os tpow erf u l ideain v ol v ed in herapproachis that
the com pu tercan be s tu died f rom arigorou s hu m an is tic pers pectiv e, u s in g w el l -def in ed m odel s
es tabl is hed f orotherf orm s of art. As Don al d N orm an w rote in the f orew ord toCom pu ters as
T heaterthe book f rom w hichthe f irs ts el ection bel ow com es , Lau rel as s erts thattechn ol ogies of f er
n ew opportu n ities f orcreativ e, in teractiv e experien ces , an d in particu l ar, f orn ew f orm s of dram a.
Bu tthes e n ew opportu n ities w il l com e topas s on l yif con trol of the techn ol ogyis taken aw ayf rom L
the techn ol ogis tan d giv en tothos e w hou n ders tan d hu m an bein gs , hu m an in teraction , V
com m u n ication , pl eas u re, an d pain ( xi). R atherthan n am in g the con cl u s ion s Lau rel drew f rom her ,
an al ys is , the f ol l ow in g excerptgiv es in s ightin tohow the el em en ts of dram aw ere appl ied byherto
en han ce the u n ders tan din g of com pu terin teraction .
If com pu terin teraction is con s idered as dram atic- aheighten ed, extra-dail yexperien ce w hich
f ol l ow s the s hape of the experien ce of Attic dram a can ital s obe ordin aryan d ev eryday, f ittin g
s m oothl yin toou rl if e?On the rev ers e s ide of the m etaphorical coin there are certain f eatu res of a
pre-es tabl is hed f orm w hichw e m ayn otparticu l arl yw an ttoappl yton ew m edia. U s in g aw el l -
dev el oped s ys tem l ike Aris totl e' s in appl ication tocom pu terin teraction can highl ightu n des irabl e
f eatu res of in teraction , u n l es s the s ys tem w e u s e tobetteru n ders tan d com pu tin g is con s idered in A
com pl ete appreciation f orits origin al con textan d u s es . T his is partof the reas on thatLau rel
recom m en ds athorou ghu n ders tan din g of the prin cipl es bein g appropriated an d appl ied, an d
n am es the P oetics an es s en tial textf ors tu den ts of hu m an com pu terin teraction . r
N M
l g ________ __
hi
38. T w obyLau rel
Origin al P u bl ication
"T he SixEl em en ts an d the Cau s al R el ation s Am on g T hem "f rom
Com pu ters as T heater, 49 -6 5. 2 n d ed. R eadin g, Mas s .: Addis on -
Wes l ey, 19 9 3. ( F irs tedition , 19 9 1.)
"StarR aiders : Dram atic In teraction in aSm al l Worl d"f rom T ow ard
the Des ign of aCom pu ter-Bas ed In teractiv e F an tas ySys tem ,"
81-86 . P h.D. T hes is , OhioState U n iv ers ity, 19 86 .
T he SixEl em en ts an d
the Cau s al R el ation s
Am on g T hem
Bren daLau rel
On e of Aris totl e' s f u n dam en tal ideas abou tdram a( as w el l as
otherf orm s of l iteratu re)is thataf in is hed pl ayis an organ ic
w hol e He u s ed the term organ ic toev oke an an al ogyw ith
l iv in g thin gs . In s of aras aw hol e organ is m is m ore than the
s u m of its parts , al l of the parts are n eces s aryf orl if e, an d the
parts hav e certain n eces s aryrel ation s hips toon e an other. He
iden tif ied s ixqu al itativ e el em en ts of dram aan d s u gges ted
the rel ation s hips am on g them in term s of f orm al an d
m aterial cau s al ity.
Ipres en tAris totl e' s m odel here f ortw oreas on s . F irs t, I
am con tin u al l yam azed bythe el egan ce an d robu s tn es s of
the categories an d theircau s al rel ation s . F ol l ow in g the
cau s al rel ation s throu ghas on e creates oran al yzes adram a
s eem s toau tom agical l yrev eal the w ays in w hichthin gs
s hou l d w ork orexactl yhow theyhav e gon e aw ry. Secon d,
Aris totl e' s m odel creates adis cipl in ed w ayof thin kin g
abou tthe des ign of apl ayin bothcon s tru ctin g an d
debu ggin g activ ities . Becau s e of its f u n dam en tal
s im il arities todram a, hu m an -com pu teractiv itycan be
des cribed w ithas im il arm odel , w ithequ al u til ityin both
des ign an d an al ys is .
T abl e 38.1 l is ts the el em en ts of qu al itativ e s tru ctu re in
hierarchical order. Here is the trick tou n ders tan din g the
hierarchy:Eachel em en tis the f orm al cau s e of al l thos e bel ow
it, an d eachel em en tis the m aterial cau s e of al l thos e abov e
it. As you m ov e u pthe l is tof el em en ts f rom the bottom , you
can s ee how eachl ev el is as u cces s iv e ref in em en t a
s hapz' n g of the m aterial s of f ered bythe prev iou s l ev el . T he
theN EWMEDIAR EADER
f ol l ow in g s ection s expan d u pon the def in ition s of eachof
the el em en ts in as cen din g order.
En actm en t
Aris totl e des cribed the f u n dam en tal m aterial el em en tof
dram aas s pectacl e al l thatis s een . In the P oetics , he al s o
ref erred tothis el em en tas perf orm an ce, w hichprov ides
s om e bas is f orexpan din g the def in ition toin cl u de other
s en s es as w el l . Som e s chol ars pl ace the au ditorys en s e in the
s econ d l ev el becau s e of its as s ociation w ithm u s ic an d
m el ody, bu t, as w il l be s een in the n exts ection , itis m ore
l ikel ythatthe n otion of m el odypertain s tothe pattern in g of
s ou n d ratherthan tothe au ditorychan n el its el f .
On e dif f eren ce, probabl ytem porary, betw een dram aan d
hu m an -com pu teractiv ityis the s en s es thatare addres s ed in
ACCIOH ?; -
,~ .
~_:~
. ,.
~. _. _
Character
~" - ' g.1._.- ~ _, 1' ~ 5:.-' ~,.' .,.' L. I l ._._.- ~ v-."- ~- ' -< ' ; ' :' -4: .11"!
~ T hou ght
. . .
. I ,
Lan gu age
P attem
T L~ C l En actm en t
F igu re 38.1. Cau s al rel ation s am on g el em en ts of qu an titativ e
s tru ctu re.
the en actm en t?T radition al l y, pl ays are av ail abl e on l ytothe
eyes an d ears ; w e can n ottou ch, s m el l , ortas te them . T here
are in teres tin g exception s . In the 19 2 0s , f orin s tan ce, director
Dav id Bel as coexperim en ted w ithu s in g odors as partof the
perf orm an ce of real is tic pl ays ; itis s aid thathe aban don ed
this approachw hen he obs erv ed thatthe s m el l of bacon
f ryin g u tterl ydis tracted the au dien ce f rom the action on
s tage. In the m id-19 6 0s , Morton Heil ig in v en ted as tan d-
19 86
I
I9 1 38. T w obyLau rel
El em en t In Dram a
Action
Character
agen ts pattern s of choice.
T hou ght
cogn ition , em otion , an d reas on .
Lan gu age
l an gu age.
Mel ody( P attern ) Ev erythin g thatis heard, bu tes pecial l ythe m el ody
of s peech.
Spectacl e ( En actm en t) Ev erythin g thatis s een .
T he w hol e action bein g repres en ted. T he action is
theoretical l ythe s am e in ev eryperf orm an ce.
Bu n dl es of predis pos ition s an d traits , in f erred f rom
In f erred in tern al proces s es l eadin g tochoice:
In Hu m an -Com pu terActiv ity
T he w hol e action , as itis col l aborativ el ys haped by
s ys tem an d u s er. T he action m ayv aryin each
in teractiv e s es s ion .
T he s am e as in dram a, bu tin cl u din g agen ts of both
hu m an an d com pu terorigin .
T he s am e as in dram a, bu tin cl u din g proces s es of
bothhu m an an d com pu terorigin .
T he s el ection an d arran gem en tof w ords ; the u s e of T he s el ection an d arran gem en tof s ign s , in cl u din g
v erbal , v is u al , au ditory, an d othern on v erbal
phen om en aw hen u s ed s em iotical l y.
T he pl eas u rabl e perception of pattern in s en s ory
phen om en a. l
T he s en s orydim en s ion s of the action bein g
repres en ted: v is u al , au ditory, kin es thetic an d
tactil e, an d poten tial l yal l others .
T abl e 38.1. T he s ixqu al itativ e el em en ts of s tru ctu re in dram aan d in hu m an -com pu teractiv ity.
al on e arcade m achin e cal l ed Sen s oram a, w hichprov ided
s tereos copic f il m ic im ages , kin es thetic f eedback, an d
en v iron m en tal s m el l s f orexam pl e, on am otorcycl e ride
throu ghN ew Y ork City, the au dien ce cou l d s m el l carexhau s t
f u m es an d pizza. Sen s oram as probl em w as n otthatit
addres s ed the w ron g s en s es ; its im pl yhappen ed atatim e
w hen the bu s in es s com m u n itycou l dn ' tf igu re ou tw hattodo
w ithit pin bal l parl ors w ere m on ol ithic, an d itw ou l d be
s ev eral years bef ore P on g kicked of f the arcade gam e in du s try.
Atthe s am e tim e thatI-Ieil ig w as thin kin g abou t
m u l tis en s oryarcade gam es an d m ov ie theatres , the
dev el opm en tof n ew gen res of participatorytheatre
accel erated. Su chartis ts as Ju dithMel in aan d Ju l ian Beck of
the Liv in g T heatre, R obertWil s on , P eterBrook, Jerzy
Grotow s ki, an d John Cage experim en ted w ithperf orm an ces
thatbegan todis s ol v e the bou n daries betw een actors an d
au dien ce bypl acin g bothin the s am e s pace. Wil s on , Cage,
Jos ef Sv oboda, an d others produ ced w orks thatin tegrated
f il m ic an d photographic im ages , m u s ical in s tru m en ts , an d
m achin es in n ov el w ays .
In the 19 80s , thes e tren ds tow ard in creas in g the s en s ory
dim en s ion s of au dien ce participation gav e ris e tow orks
w here the au dien ce cou l d tou chthe actors an d s cen eryan d
m ov e abou tf reel yin the perf orm an ce s pace. F orexam pl e, in
T in aan d T on ys Weddin g, acon tem poraryin teractiv e pl ay,
the au dien ce is in v ited tof ol l ow the actors arou n d f rom
room toroom ( kin es thetic), totou chprops an d s iton the
f u rn itu re ( tactil e an d kin es thetic), an d tos hare in aw eddin g
ban qu et( tas te an d s m el l ). An othern otabl e exam pl e is Chris
I-Iardm an s An ten n aT heatre, w here au dien ce m em bers m ov e
arou n d as etprom pted bytaped dial ogu e an d n arration
heard throu ghpers on al headphon es . As pate of s ite-s pecif ic
in teractiv e pl ays an d m ys teryw eeken ds in the l ate 19 805
en j oyed af airam ou n tof com m ercial s u cces s . Con tem porary
perf orm an ce arts hares m an yof the s am e origin s .
Itis in teres tin g thatthe dev el opm en tof this theatrical
gen re has been con cu rren tw iththe bl os s om in g of com pu ter
gam es as apopu l arf orm of en tertain m en t, an d Is pecu l ate
thatcom pu tergam es hav e in s om e w ays s erv ed as am odel
f orit. In f act, itis in the areas thatdram atic en tertain m en t
an d hu m an -com pu teractiv ityare begin n in g tocon v erge that
pan -s en s oryrepres en tation is bein g m os tactiv el yexpl ored.
When w e exam in e thatcon v ergen ce, w e can s ee w ays in
w hichhu m an -com pu teractiv ityhas ev ol v ed, atl eas tin part,
38. T w obyLau rel
as dram as attem pttoin creas e its s en s oryban dw idth,
creatin g the techn ol ogical s ibl in gs of the kin d of
participatorytheatre des cribed abov e.
T he n otion of in teractiv e m ov ies , w hichhas gain ed
popu l arityin the l ate 19 80s , has its roots in bothcin em aan d
com pu tergam es , tw of orm s thatcom bin e theatre an d
techn ol ogy. Earl ierw orks w ere rel ativ el yis ol ated. T hes e
in cl u de the produ ction s of Lan tern aMagicain
Czechos l ov akiaan d an in teractiv e m ov ie"thatw as s how n in
the CzechP av il ion atthe 19 6 7 Worl d Expoin Mon treal ,
Can ada, in w hichthe au dien ce w as al l ow ed toin f l u en ce the
cou rs e of the action bys el ectin g f rom am on g s ev eral
al tern ativ es ataf ew keypoin ts in the f il m ( how ev er, itis
ru m ored thatal l roads l ed toR om e thatis , al l paths
throu ghthe m ov ie l ed tothe s am e en din g). T he ideaof
in teractiv e m ov ies has been rekin dl ed an d tran s f orm ed in toa
bon af ide tren d byadv an ces in m u l tim ediatechn ol ogy.
Likew is e, there w ere earl yexperim en ts in in teractiv e
tel ev is ion in the m id-19 7 0s ( s u chas the f ail ed Warn erQ U BE
s ys tem ). In teractiv e T V had toaw aits im il artechn ol ogical
adv an ces bef ore f in al l ybecom in g a19 9 0s bu zz-w ord.
In dram a, the u s e of techn ol ogytocreate repres en tation s
goes atl eas tas f arback as the m echan e of the an cien tGreeks .
Cin em aas adis tin ctf orm div erged f rom dram aas the res u l t
of the im pactof an ew perf orm an ce techn ol ogyon f orm ,
s tru ctu re, an d s tyl e. In com pl em en taryf as hion , com pu ter
gam es can be s een tohav e ev ol v ed f rom the im pactof
dram atic ideas on the techn ol ogyof in teractiv e com pu tin g
an d graphical dis pl ays . Com pu tergam es in corporate n otion s
abou tcharacteran d action , s u s pen s e an d em pathy, an d other
as pects of dram atic repres en tation ?Al m os tf rom the
begin n in g, theyhav e in v ol v ed the v is u al , au ditory, an d
kin es thetic s en s es ( you n eed on l yw atchagam e pl ayerw itha
j oys tick tos ee the exten ttow hichm ov em en tis in v ol v ed,
bothas acau s e an d ef f ectof the repres en tation ).
Atthe bl en din g poin tof cin em aan d com pu tergam es are
s u chn ew f orm s as s u per-arcade gam es l ike Battl e T echan d
s en s ory-richam u s em en tpark in s tal l ation s l ike StarT ou rs .
T hes e types of s ys tem s in v ol v e the tactil e an d kin es thetic
s en s es ; s om e are in v es tigatin g the in cl u s ion of the other
s en s es as w el l throu ghbothperf orm an ce techn ol ogyan d
directs tim u l ation tothe n erv ou s s ys tem [ R os en an d Gos s er,
19 87 ]. Virtu al real ity s ys tem s in creas e in ten s itythrou gh
techn iqu es des cribed as s en s oryim m ers ion - -in s tead of
l ookin g atas creen , f orin s tan ce, apers on is s u rrou n ded by
theN EWMEDIAR EADER
s tereos copic s ou n ds an d v is u al im ages del iv ered throu gh
earphon es an d eyephon es . T hrou ghthe u s e of s pecial in pu t
dev ices l ike s pecial l yin s tru m en ted gl ov es an d s u its , peopl e
m aym ov e abou tan d in teractdirectl yw ithobj ects in a
v irtu al w orl d. In teres tin gl y, the f irs tv irtu al real itys ys tem s
an d appl ication s w ere dev el oped f orn on en tertain m en t
pu rpos es l ike com pu ter-aided des ign , s cien tif ic v is u al ization ,
an d train in g. Hom e com pu ters an d hom e gam e s ys tem s are
n otf arbehin d thes e expen s iv e, s pecial -pu rpos e s ys tem s in
theirabil itytodel iv erm u l tis en s oryrepres en tation s .
T he el em en tof en actm en tis com pos ed of al l of the
s en s oryphen om en athatare partof the repres en tation .
Becau s e of the ev ol u tion aryproces s es des cribed abov e, it
s eem s appropriate tos aythaten actm en tcan poten tial l y
in v ol v e al l of the s en s es . T hes e s en s oryphen om en aare the
bas ic m aterial of bothdram aan d hu m an -com pu teractiv itj r,
theyare the cl aythatis progres s iv el ys haped bythe creator,
w hetherpl ayw rightordes ign er.
P attern
T he perception of pattern s in s en s oryphen om en ais as ou rce
of pl eas u re f orhu m an s . Aris totl e des cribed the s econ d
el em en tof dram aas m el ody, akin d of pattern in the real m
of s ou n d. In the P oetics he s ays thatm el odyis the greates tof
the pl eas u rabl e acces s ories of tragedy"[ P oetics 1450b, 15-17 ].
T he orthodoxv iew is that"s pectacl e"is the v is u al dim en s ion
an d "m el ody"is the au ditoryon e, bu tthis v iew is probl em atic
in the con textof f orm al an d m aterial cau s al ity. If the m aterial
cau s e of al l s ou n ds ( m u s ic)w ere thin gs thatcou l d be
perceiv ed bythe eye ( s pectacl e), then thin gs l ike the v ibration
of v ocal cords an d the m el odies of of f -s tage m u s ician s w ou l d
be excl u ded On the con trary, al l thatis s een in apl ayis n ot
s haped s ol el ybythe criterion of produ cin g s ou n ds orm u s ic
( al thou ghthis m ayhav e been m ore s trictl ytru e in the
perf orm an ce s tyl e of the an cien tGreeks than itis today). T he
f orm al -m aterial rel ation s hipdoes n otw ork w ithin the
con textof thes e n arrow def in ition s of m u s ic an d s pectacl e.
In the prev iou s s ection , w e hav e al readyexpan ded
s pectacl e in toal l s en s oryel em en ts of the en actm en t. T he
n otion of m el odyas the arran gem en tof s ou n ds in toa
pl eas in g pattern can be exten ded an al ogical l ytothe arran -
gem en tof v is u al im ages , tactil e orkin es thetic s en s ation s ,
an d probabl ys m el l s an d tas tes as w el l ( as agood chef can
dem on s trate). In f act, the ideathatapl eas u rabl e pattern can
be achiev ed throu ghthe arran gem en tof v is u al orother
s en s orym aterial s can be deriv ed f rom otheras pects of the
P oetics , s oits abs en ce here is s om ethin g of am ys tery.
Lookin g u p the hierarchy, itcou l d be thatAris totl e n ot
s ee the v is u al as apoten tial l ys em iotic orl in gu is tic m ediu m ,
an d hen ce n arrow ed the cau s al chan n el tol ead excl u s iv el yto
s poken l an gu age. Whatev erthe expl an ation , the orthodox
v iew of Aris totl es def in ition s of s pectacl e an d m el odyl eav es
ou ttoom u chm aterial . As s chol ars are w on ttodo, Iw il l
bl am e the v agaries of tran s l ation , f igu rativ e l an gu age, an d
m u tation s in trodu ced bycen tu ries of in terpretation f orthis
apparen tl aps e an d proceed toadv ocate m yow n v iew .
T he el em en tof pattern thu s ref ers topattern s in the
s en s oryphen om en aof the en actm en t. T hes e pattern s exert
af orm al in f l u en ce on the en actm en t, j u s tas s em iotic u s age
f orm al l yin f l u en ces pattern s . Akeypoin tthatAris totl e m ade
is thatpattern s are pl eas u rabl e toperceiv e in an d of
them s el v es , w hetherorn ottheyare f u rtherf orm u l ated in to
s em iotic dev ices orl an gu age; he s poke of them , n oton l yas
the m aterial f orl an gu age, bu tal s oas pl eas u rabl e
acces s ories . Hen ce the u s e of pattern as as ou rce of pl eas u re
is acharacteris tic of dram atic repres en tation s , an d on e w hich
can com f ortabl ybe exten ded tothe real m of hu m an -
com pu terexperien ce.
Lan gu age
T he el em en tof l an gu age ( u s u al l ytran s l ated as diction )in
dram ais def in ed byAris totl e as the expres s ion of their[ the
characters ] thou ghtin w ords [ P oetics 1450b, 12 -15]. Hen ce
the u s e of s poken l an gu age as as ys tem of s ign s is
dis tin gu is hed f rom othertheatrical s ign s l ike the u s e of
ges tu re, col or, s cen ic el em en ts , orparal in gu is tic el em en ts
( pattern s of in f l ection an d otherv ocal qu al ities ). In the
orthodoxv iew , diction ref ers on l ytow ords theirchoice
an d arran gem en t. T hatdef in ition pres en ts s om e in teres tin g
probl em s in the w orl d of hu m an -com pu teractiv ities , m an y
of w hichin v ol v e n ow ords atal l ( e.g., m os ts kil l ~an d-action
com pu tergam es , as w el l as graphical adv en tu re gam es an d
graphical s im u l ation s ). Are there el em en ts in s u chn on v erbal
w orks thatcan be def in ed as l an gu age?
When apl ayis perf orm ed f oradeaf au dien ce an d s ign in g
is u s ed, f ew w ou l d argu e thatthos e v is u al s ign s f u n ction as
l an gu age. T he el em en tof l an gu age in this cas e is expres s ed in
aw aythattakes in toaccou n tthe s en s orym odal ities
av ail abl e tothe au dien ce. Ades ign erm aychoos e, f or
w hatev erreas on , tobu il d ahu m an -com pu ters ys tem that
19 8 Q 1 38. T w obyLau rel
n eithers en s es n orres pon ds tow ords , an d w hichu s es n o
w ords in the repres en tation . Hardw are con f igu ration s
w ithou tkeyboards , s peechrecogn ition , ortextdis pl ay
capabil ities m aybe u n abl e tow ork w ithw ords .
In hu m an -com pu teractiv ities , graphical s ign s an d
s ym bol s , n on v erbal s ou n ds , oran im ation s equ en ces m aybe
u s ed in the pl ace of w ords as the m ean s f orexpl icit
com m u n ication betw een com pu ters an d peopl e. Su ch
n on v erbal s ign s m aybe s aid tof u n ction as l an gu age w hen
theyare the prin cipal m ediu m f orthe expres s ion of thou ght.
Accordin gl y, the s el ection an d arran gem en tof thos e s ign s
m aybe ev al u ated in term s of the s am e criteriaas Aris totl e
s pecif ied f ordiction f orexam pl e, the ef f ectiv e expres s ion
of thou ghtan d appropriaten es s tocharacter.
T hou ght_ j
T he el em en tof thou ghtin dram am aybe def in ed as the
proces s es l eadin g toacharacter' s choices an d action s f or
exam pl e, toem otion , cogn ition , reas on , an d in ten tion .
U n ders tood in this w ay, the el em en tof thou ghtres ides
w ithin characters , al thou ghitcan be des cribed an d an al yzed
in aggregate f orm ( the el em en tof thou ghtin agiv en pl aym ay
be des cribed as con cern ed w ithcertain s pecif ic ethical
qu es tion s , f orexam pl e). Al thou ghitm aybe expl icitl y
expres s ed in the f orm of dial ogu e, thou ghtis in f erred byboth
the au dien ce an d the othercharacters ( agen ts ), f rom a
characters choices an d action s . In his appl ication of a
theatrical an al ogytothe dom ain of artif icial in tel l igen ce,
Ju l ian Hil ton pu ts itthis w ay:Whatthe au dien ce does is
s u ppl ythe in f eren cin g en gin e w hichdriv es the pl ot, obeyin g
Shakes peares in j u n ction toeke ou tthe im perf ection s of the
pl ay( its in com pl eten es s )w ithits m in d. [ Hil ton , 19 9 1]
If w e exten d this def in ition of thou ghttoin cl u de hu m an -
com pu teractiv ities , itl eads toaf am il iarcon u n dru m :Can
com pu ters thin k?T here is an eas yan s w er. Com pu ter-bas ed
agen l s , l ike dram atic characters , don othav e tothin k ( in f act,
there are m an yw ays in w hichtheycan n ot); theys in ipl yhav e
toprov ide arepres en tation f rom w hichthou ghtm ayhe in f erred
When af ol deron m yMacin tos hdes ktopopen s to
div u l ge its con ten ts in res pon s e tom ydou bl e-cl ick, the
repres en tation s u cceeds in gettin g m e toin f erthatthats
exactl yw hathappen ed thatis , the s ys tem u n ders tood
m yin pu t, in f erred m ypu rpos e, an d did w hatIw an ted. Was
the s ys tem ( orthe f ol der)thin kin g abou tf hin gs this w ay?
T he an s w er, Ithin k, is thatitdoes n ' tm atter. T he real is s u e
38. T w obyLau rel
is thatthe repres en tation s u cceeded in gettin g m e tom ake
the rightin f eren ces abou tits thou ghts . Ital s os u cceeded
in repres en tin g tom e thatitm ade the rightin f eren ces
abou tm in e!
T hou ghtis the f orm al cau s e of l an gu age; its hapes w hat
an agen tcom m u n icates throu ghthe s el ection an d
arran gem en tof s ign s , an d thu s al s ohas af orm al in f l u en ce
on pattern an d en actm en t. T he tradition al expl an ation of
how l an gu age s erv es as m aterial f orthou ghtis bas ed on the
ov erl yl im itin g as s u m ption thatagen ts em pl oyl an gu age, or
the l an gu age-l ike m an ipu l ation of s ym bol s , in the proces s of
thin kin g. T his as s u m ption l eads tothe ideathatcharacters
in apl ayu s e the l an gu age of the pl ayqu ite l iteral l yas the
m aterial f ortheirthou ghts .
If av oras om ew hatbroaderin terpretation of m aterial
cau s al ity:T he thou ghtof apl aycan appropriatel ydeal on l yw ith
w hatis al readym an if es tatthe l ev el s of en actm en t, pattern , an d
l an gu age. Mos tof u s hav e s een pl ays in w hichcharacters get
ideas ou tof the bl u e s u dden l yrem em berin g the l ocation
of al on g-l os tw il l , f orin s tan ce, oru s in g af acttos ol v e a
m ys terythathas been w ithhel d f rom the au dien ce thu s f ar.
T he abov e theoryw ou l d s u gges tthatthe in terj ection of s u ch
thou ghts is u n s atis f yin g ( an d m ars the pl ay)becau s e they
are n otdraw n f rom the properm aterial . P l ays , l ike hu m an -
com pu teractiv ities , are cl os ed u n iv ers es in the s en s e that
theydel im itthe s etof poten tial action s . As w e w il l s ee in the
dis cu s s ion of action bel ow , itis keytothe s u cces s of a
dram atic repres en tation thatal l of the m aterial s thatare
f orm u l ated in toaction are draw n f rom the circu m s cribed
poten tial of the particu l ardram atic w orl d. When ev erthis
prin cipl e is v iol ated, the organ ic u n ityof the w ork is
dim in is hed, an d the s chem e of probabil itythathol ds the
w ork togetheris dis ru pted.
T his prin cipl e can be dem on s trated toappl ytothe real m
of hu m an com pu teractiv ityas w el l . On e exam pl e is the
cas e in w hichthe com pu ter( acom pu ter-bas ed agen t)
in trodu ces n ew m aterial s atthe l ev el of thou ght ou tof
the bl u e. Su ppos e an ew w ord proces s oris program m ed to
be con s tan tl ycheckin g f ors pel l in g errors an d to
au tom atical l ycorrectthem as s oon as theyare iden tif ied. If
the poten tial f orthis behav ioris n otrepres en ted toyou in
s om e w ay, itw il l be com pl etel ydis ru ptiv e w hen itoccu rs ,
an d itw il l probabl ycau s e you tom ake s eriou s l yerron eou s
in f eren ces , toperhaps thin k s om ethin g is w ron g w ithm y
f in gers , m ykeyboard, orm ycom pu ter. T he com pu ter
U T Q N EWMEDIAR EADER
kn ow s w hyitdid w hatitdid ( thou ght exis ts )bu tyou do
n ot; correctin f eren ces can n otbe m ade?Atextm es s age, f or
in s tan ce, oran an im ation of adiction aryw ithits pages
tu rn in g ( l an gu age), cou l d repres en tthe action as itis
occu rrin g.
Otherkin ds of f ail u res in hu m an -com pu teractiv itycan
al s obe s een as f ail u res on the l ev el of thou ght. On e of m y
f av orite exam pl es is apars eru s ed in s ev eral textadv en tu re
gam es . T his particu l arpars erdid n ot"kn ow "al l of the w ords
thatw ere u s ed in the textrepres en tation of the s tory. Soa
pers on m ightread the s en ten ce, Hargaxs l as hed the dragon
w ithhis broads w ord."T he pers on m ightthen type, take die
broads w ord, an d the gam e m ightres pon d, "IDON ' T KN OW
T HEWOR D BR OADSWOR D' ."T he in f eren ce thaton e w ou l d
m ake is thatthe gam e "agen t"is s ev erel ybrain dam aged,
s in ce the agen tthatprodu ces l an gu age an d the agen tthat
com prehen ds itare as s u m ed tobe on e in the s am e. T his is
the con v ers e of the probl em des cribed in the l as tparagraph;
ratherthan kn ow in g m ore than itrepres en ted, the agen t
repres en ted m ore than itkn ew . Bothkin ds of errors are
attribu tabl e toagl itchin the f orm al -m aterial rel ation s hip
betw een l an gu age an d thou ght.
Characteran d Agen cy
Aris totl e m ain tain ed thatthe obj ectof ( i.e., w hatis bein g
im itated by)adram ais action , n otpers on s : We m ain tain
thatT ragedyis prim aril yan im itation of action , an d thatitis
m ain l yf orthe s ake of the action thatitim itates the pers on al
agen ts ( P oetics , 1450b, 1 5). In dram a, characterm aybe
def in ed as bu n dl es of traits , predis pos ition s , an d choices that,
w hen taken together, f orm coheren ten tities . T hos e en tities
are the agen ts of the action repres en ted in the pl ot. T his
def in ition em phas izes the prim acyof action .
In ordertoappl ythe s am e def in ition tohu m an -com pu ter
activ ities , w e m u s tdem on s trate f irs tthatagen ts are in f act
partof s u chrepres en tation s , an d s econ d, thatthere are
f u n ction al an d s tru ctu ral s im il arities betw een s u chagen ts
an d dram atic characters .
In apu rel yAris totel ian s en s e, an agen tis on e w hotakes
action . In teres tin gl y, Aris totl e adm its of the pos s ibil ityof a
pl ayw ithou tcharacters , bu tapl ayw ithou taction can n ot
exis t[ P oetics 1450a, 2 2 -2 5]. T his s u gges ts thatagen cyas
partof arepres en tation n eed n otbe s trictl yem bodied in
characters as w e n orm al l ythin k of them thatis , as
repres en tation s of hu m an s . U s in g the broades tdef in ition , al l
com pu terprogram s thatperf orm action s thatare perceiv ed
bypeopl e can be s aid toexhibitagen cyin s om e f orm . T he
real argu m en tis w hetherthatagen cyis af ree-f l oatin g
as pectof w hatis goin g on , orw hetheritis captu red in
en tities coal es ced n otion s of the s ou rces of agen cy.
T he an s w er, Ibel iev e, is thatev en w hen repres en tation s do
n otexpl icitl yin cl u de s u chen tities , theirexis ten ce is im pl ied.
Atthe gros s es tl ev el , peopl e s im pl yattribu te agen cytothe
com pu terits el f ( Idid this , an d then the com pu terdid that).
T heyal s oattribu te agen cytoappl ication program s ( My
w ord proces s ortras hed m yf il e). T heyof ten dis tin gu is h
betw een the agen cyof s ys tem s of tw are an d appl ication s
( Mu l tif in dercras hed Excel ). T heyattribu te agen cyto
s m al l erprogram el em en ts an d/ ortheirrepres en tation s ( T he
s pel l in g checkerin m yw ord proces s orf ou n d an error).
In s ocial an d l egal term s , an agen tis on e w hois
em pow ered toacton behal f of an other. T his def in ition has
been u s ed as partof the def in ition of agen ts in the m im etic
w orl d. Itim pl ies that, beyon d s im pl yperf orm in g action s ,
com pu ter-bas ed agen ts perf orm as pecial kin d of action s
n am el y, action s u n dertaken on behal f of peopl e. Ittheref ore
al s oim pl ies thats om e s ortof im pl icitorexpl icitcom m u n i-
cation m u s toccu rbetw een pers on an d s ys tem in orderf or
the pers on s n eeds an d goal s tobe in f erred. Ithin k thatthis
def in ition is bothtoon arrow an d tooal tru is tic. T here m ay
be con texts in w hichitis u s ef u l tocreate acom pu ter-bas ed
agen tw hos e goal s are orthogon al orev en in im ical tothos e
of hu m an agen ts f orin s tan ce, in s im u l ation s of com bator
others itu ation s thatin v ol v e con f l ictin g f orces . Agen ts m ay
al s ow ork in an u tterl ys el f -directed m an n er, of f erin g the
res u l ts of theirw ork u ptopeopl e af terthe f act.
F orn ow , w e w il l u s e the broaderdef in ition of agen ts to
appl ytohu m an -com pu teractiv ity:en tities thatcan in itiate
an d perf orm action s . Like dram atic characters , theycon s is t
of bu n dl es of traits orpredis pos ition s toactin certain w ays .
T raits circu m s cribe the action s ( orkin ds of action s )that
an agen thas the capabil itytoperf orm , therebydef in in g the
agen t' s poten tial . T here are tw okin ds of traits :traits that
determ in e how an agen tcan act( in tern al traits )an d traits
thatrepres en tthos e in tern al predis pos ition s ( extern al
traits ). P eopl e m u s tbe giv en cu es bythe extern al repres en t-
ation of an agen tthatal l ow them toin f erits in tern al traits .
Why?Becau s e traits f u n ction as akin d of cogn itiv e s horthan d
thatal l ow s peopl e topredictan d com prehen d agen ts action s
[ s ee Lau rel , 19 9 0]. In f erred in tern al traits are acom pon en tof
19 86 9 1
bothdram atic probabil ity( an el em en tof pl ot)an d eas e of
u s e ( es pecial l yin term s of the m in im ization of hu m an
errors )in hu m an -com pu ters ys tem s . P artof the artof
creatin g bothdram atic characters an d com pu ter-bas ed
agen ts is the artof s el ectin g an d repres en tin g extern al traits
thataccu ratel yref l ectthe agen t' s poten tial f oraction .
Aris totl e ou tl in ed f ou rcriteriaf ordram atic characters
thatcan al s obe appl ied tocom pu ter-bas ed agen ts [ P oetics
1454a, 15 40]. T he f irs tcriterion is thatcharacters be
good ( s om etim es tran s l ated as v irtu ou s ). U s in g the
Aris totel ian def in ition of v irtu e, good characters are thos e
w hos u cces s -f u l l yf u l f il l theirf u n ction thatis , thos e w ho
s u cces s f u l l yf orm u l ate thou ghtin toaction . Good characters
do( action )w hattheyin ten d todo( thou ght). T heyal s odo
w hattheircreatorin ten ds them todoin the con textof the
w hol e action . T he s econ d criterion is thatcharacters be
appropriate tothe action s theyperf orm ; thatis , thatthere
is agood m atchbetw een acharacter' s traits an d w hatthey
do. T he third criterion is the ideathatcharacters be l ike
real ityin the s en s e thatthere are cau s al con n ection s
betw een theirthou ghts , traits , an d action s . T his criterion is
cl os el yrel ated todram atic probabil ity. T he f ou rthcriterion
is thatcharacters be con s is ten t throu ghou tthe w hol e
action ; thatis , thatacharacter' s traits s hou l d n otchan ge
arbitraril y. T he m appin g of thes e criteriatocom pu ter-bas ed
agen ts is qu ite s traightf orw ard.
F in al l y, w e n eed tos u m m arize the f orm al an d m aterial
rel ation s hips betw een characteran d the el em en ts abov e an d
bel ow itin the hierarchy. F orm al cau s al itys u gges ts thatitis
action , an d action al on e, thats hapes character; thatis , a
character' s traits are dictated bythe exigen cies of the pl ot. T o
in cl u de traits in the repres en tation thatare n otm an if es tin
action v iol ates this prin cipl e. Material cau s al itys u gges ts that
the s tu f f of w hichacharacteris m ade m u s tbe pres en ton the
l ev el of thou ghtan d, byim pl ication , l an gu age an d en actm en t
as w el l . Agood exam pl e is the in terf ace agen t, P hil , w ho
appears in an Appl e prom otion al v ideoen titl ed T he
Kn ow l edge N av igator ( 19 88 byAppl e Com pu ter, In c.). In
the origin al v ers ion , P hil w as portrayed byan actorin v ideo
f orm at. He appeared tobe hu m an , al iv e, an d res pon s iv e atal l
tim es . Bu tbecau s e he behav ed an d s poke qu ite s im pl yan d
perf orm ed rel ativ el ys im pl e tas ks , m an yv iew ers of the v ideo
com pl ain ed thathe w as as tu pid character. His phys ical traits
( high-res ol u tion , real -tim e hu m an portrayal )did n otm atch
his l an gu age capabil ities , his thou ghts , orhis action s ( s im pl e
38. T w obyLau rel
38. T w obyLau rel
tas ks perf orm ed in aratheru n im agin ativ e m an n er). In a
l aterv ers ion , P hil ' s repres en tation w as chan ged toas im pl e
l in e-draw n cartoon characterw ithv eryl im ited an im ation .
P eopl e s eem ed tof in d the n ew v ers ion of P hil m u chm ore
l ikabl e. T he s im pl ercharacterw as m ore con s is ten tan d m ore
appropriate tothe action .
T he Whol e Action c
R epres en tation s are n orm al l ythou ghtof as hav in g obj ects ,
ev en thou ghthos e obj ects n eed n otbe thin gs thatcan or
doexis tin the real w orl d. Likew is e, pl ays are of ten s aid to
repres en ttheircharacters ; thatis , Ham l etis a
repres en tation of the kin g of Den m ark, an d s oon . In the
Aris totel ian v iew , the obj ectof adram atic repres en tation is
n otcharacterbu taction ; Ham l etrepres en ts the action of a
m an attem ptin g todis cov eran d pu n is hhis f ather' s
m u rderer. T he characters are there becau s e theyare
requ ired in ordertorepres en tthe action , an d n otthe other
w ayarou n d. An action is m ade u pof in ciden ts thatare
cau s al l yan d s tru ctu ral l yrel ated toon e an other. T he
in div idu al in ciden ts thatm ake u pHam l 8.C Ham l etf ights
w ithLaertes , f orin s tan ce& are on l ym ean in gf u l in s of aras
theyare w ov en in tothe action of the m im etic w hol e. T he
f orm of apl ayis m an if es tin the pattern created bythe
arran gem en tof in ciden ts w ithin the w hol e action .
An otherdef in ition al propertyof pl otis thatthe w hol e
action m u s thav e abegin n in g, am iddl e, an d an en d. T he
v al u e of begin n in gs an d en din gs is m os tcl earl y
dem on s trated bythe l ack of them . T he f eel in g produ ced by
w al kin g in tothe m iddl e of apl ayorm ov ie orbein g f orced"to
l eav e the theatre bef ore the en d is gen eral l yu n pl eas an t.
View ers are rarel yhappyw hen , atthe en d of aparticu l arl y
s u s pen s ef u l tel ev is ion program , tobe con tin u ed appears on
the s creen . Myf av orite Macin tos hexam pl e is an error
m es s age thatIs om etim es en cou n terw hil e ru n n in g
Mu l tif in der:Excel ( ors om e otherappl ication )has
u n expectedl yqu it. Wel l , Iu s u al l yrepl y, the capriciou s l ittl e
bas tard!"P rov idin g gracef u l begin n in gs an d en din gs f or
hu m an -com pu teractiv ities is m os tof ten an on triv ial
probl em how toj u m p-s tart adatabas e en gin e, f or
exam pl e, orhow tocom pl ete an etw ork com m u n ication s
s es s ion . T w oru l es of thu m b f orgood begin n in gs is thatthe
poten tial f oraction in thatparticu l aru n iv ers e is ef f ectiv el y
l aid ou t, an d thatthe f irs tin ciden ts in the action s etu p
prom is in g l in es of probabil ityf orf u tu re action s . Agood
4
theN EWMEDIAR EADER
en din g prov ides n oton l ycom pl etion of the action bein g
repres en ted bu tal s othe kin d of em otion al cl os u re thatis
im pl ied bythe n otion of cathars is .
Af in al criterion thatAris totl e appl ied topl otis the n otion
of m agn itu de:
T obe beau tif u l , al iv in g creatu re, an d ev eryw hol e
m ade u pof parts , bu tal s obe of acertain def in ite
m agn itu de. Beau tyis am atterof s ize an d order. . . .
Ju s tin the s am e w ay, then , as abeau tif u l w hol e m ade
u pof parts , orabeau tif u l l iv in g creatu re, m u s tbe of
s om e s ize, bu tas ize tobe taken in bythe eye, s oa
s toryorP l otm u s tbe of s om e l en gth, bu tof al en gth
tobe taken in bythe m em ory[ P oetics 1450b,
34-40].
T he action m u s tn otbe s ol on g thatyou f orgetthe
begin n in g bef ore you gettothe en d, s in ce you m u s tbe abl e
toperceiv e itas aw hol e in ordertof u l l yen j oyit. T his
criterion is m os tim m ediatel yobs erv abl e in com pu tergam es ,
w hichm ayrequ ire you tobe hu n ched ov erakeyboard f or
days on en d if you are toperceiv e the w hol e aton e s ittin g, a
f eatof w hichon l yteen agers are capabl e. Sim il arerrors in
m agn itu gl e are l ikel ytooccu rin otherf orm s , s u chas v irtu al
real itys ys tem s , w here the raw capabil ities of as ys tem to
del iv erm aterial of s eem in gl yin f in ite du ration is n otyet
tem pered byas en s itiv itytothe l im its of hu m an m em ory
an d atten tion s pan , ortothe rel ation s hipof beau tyan d
pl eas u re todu ration in tim e-bas ed arts .
P robl em s in m agn itu de can al s opl agu e other, m ore
practical appl ication s as w el l . If achiev abl e action s w ith
dis tin ctbegin n in gs an d en ds can n otoccu rw ithin the l im its
of m em oryoratten tion , then the activ itybecom es an
en dl es s chore. On the con trary, if the gran u l arityof action s is
toos m al l an d thos e action s can n otbe grou ped in tom ore
m ean in gf u l , coheren tu n its ( s u chas aw ord proces s orthat
on l yl ets you type oras preads heetthaton l yl ets you add u p
col u m n s of n u m bers ), then the activ itybecom es an en dl es s
s tream of m ean in gl es s chores . T hes e probl em s are rel ated to
the s hape of the action as w el l as its m agn itu de.
T he n otion of beau tyf hatdriv es Aris totl e' s criterion of
m agn itu de is the ideg thatm ade thin gs , l ike pl ays , can be
organ ic w hol es thatthe beau tyof theirf orm an d s tru ctu re
can approachthatQ f n atu ral organ is m s in the w aythe parts
f itperf ectl ytogether. In this con text, he expres s es the
criterion f orin cl u s ion of an ygiv en in ciden tin the pl otor
w hol e action :
An im itation of an action m u s trepres en ton e action ,
acom pl ete w hol e, w ithits s ev eral in ciden ts s ocl os el y
con n ected thatthe tran s pos al orw ithdraw al of an y
on e of them w il l dis j oin an d dis l ocate the w hol e. F or
thatw hichm akes n operceptibl e dif f eren ce byits
pres en ce orabs en ce is n oreal partof the w hol e
[ P oetics 1451a, 30-35].
If w e aim todes ign hu m an -com pu teractiv ities thatare
dare w e s ay- beau tif u l this criterion m u s tbe u s ed in
decidin g, f orin s tan ce, w hatapers on s hou l d be requ ired to
do, orw hatacom pu ter-bas ed agen ts hou l d be repres en ted as
doin g, in the cou rs e of the action .
In this chapter, w e hav e des cribed the es s en tial cau s es of
hu m an -com pu teractiv ity thatis , the f orces thats hape it
an d its qu al itativ e el em en ts . In the n extchapter[ of
Com pu ters as T heatre], w e w il l con s iderthe orches tration of
action m ore cl os el y, bothin term s of its s tru ctu re an d its
pow ers toev oke em otion al an d in tel l ectu al res pon s e.
StarR aiders
Dram atic In teraction
in aSm al l Worl d
Bren daLau rel
StarR aiders is an an im ated action gam e dev el oped by
Dou gl as N eu bau erf orthe Ataricom pu terin 19 7 9 . Atthat
tim e, N eu bau erw as w orkin g as ahardw are en gin eeran d n ot
agam e des ign er, bu tf el tthatthere s hou l d be agood v ideo
gam e f orthe n ew hom e com pu ter. T he dozen s of aw ards
thatStarR aiders has w on ov erthe years , in cl u din g bes t
v ideogam e f orthree con s ecu tiv e years in apopu l ar
com pu tin g m agazin e, are ates tam en ttoN eu bau er' s s kil l an d
dram atic in s ight. l
T he gam e pl aces the u s erin con trol of as tars hip, w iththe
obj ectiv e of cl ean in g pu gn aciou s al ien s pacecraf tou tof
s ev eral con tigu ou s qu adran ts of the gal axy. T os u cceed
com pl etel y, the u s erm u s tbe abl e tom an eu v eran d f ight, gen -
erate s trategies f ordef en din g his s tarbas es , an d be abl e to
dock w ithas tarbas e w hen n eces s aryf orref u el in g an d
repairs . T he gam es prim aryv is u al m ode is acon v in cin g f irs t-
pers on v iew f rom the bridge of the s tars hipas the s hipraces
19 36 ' Q 1
throu ghthe s tarf iel d, dodges m eteors an d en em yf ire, an d
38. T w obyLau rel
f ires photon torpedoes atZyl on s hips . Bes ides f orw ard oraf t
v iew s f rom the bridge, the dis pl ayin cl u des s tatu s in dicators
f orthe s hip' s f u el an d v ariou s f u n ction s . T he com pu ter
keyboard, in the u s er' s v is u al f iel d directl ybel ow the dis pl ay,
becom es an exten s ion of the im agin arys hip' s con trol s .
Otherv is u al m odes in cl u de the gal actic chartan d the l on g
ran ge s ectors can . T he gal actic chartis adis pl aytow hichthe
u s erm aytoggl e atan ytim e tov iew the l ocation of f rien dl y
s tarbas es an d en em ys hips , an d tos ee the n u m berof s hips in
eachqu adran t. T he chartis u s ed f ors trategic pl an n in g an d
n av igation betw een qu adran ts . T he u s eren ters hyperw arp,
the m ean s of trav el f rom on e qu adran ttoan other, by
m ov in g the gam e cu rs ortohis des tin ation on the gal actic
chart. T he l on g ran ge s ectors can is av iew of the u s ers ow n
s hipf rom abov e its cu rren tl ocation ( an im pos s ibl e v iew
w hichis of ten em pl oyed in s cien ce f iction m ov ies -ev er
w on derhow theygetthos e cam eras han gin g ou tin s pace?),
an d s how s the l ocation of othertargets as w el l . Itis u s ed f or
n av igation w ithin qu adran ts .
T here are tw odis tin ctkin ds of action in the gam e:com bat,
w hichrequ ires m an eu v erin g s kil l an d eye-han d coordin ation ;
an d the pl an n in g an d execu tion of s trategies toprev en t
f rien dl ys tarbas es f rom bein g s u rrou n ded an d des troyed. T he
tw oactiv ities bl en d w el l in the ov eral l action , becau s e
f ightin g is partof the execu tion of s trategic pl an s , an d
becau s e the u s eris f ree totoggl e tothe gal actic chartan d
rev iew his pl an s atan ytim e. T he action is con tin u ou s regard-
l es s of v is u al m ode:Zyl on s are on the m ov e, an d the s hipis
al w ays ru n n in g, depl etin g its f u el s u ppl y.
StarR aiders , u n l ike Zork, is en acted w ithcom pu ter-
gen erated s pectacl e an d m u s ic. As in tradition al dram a,
en actm en tin StarR aiders en tail s the il l u s ion of real ,
con tin u ou s tim e. U n ityof action is prov ided bythe u s ers
ov eral l obj ectiv e, an d rein f orced byaratin g of the u s er' s
ov eral l perf orm an ce thatis dis pl ayed atthe en d of ev ery
gam e s es s ion . T he gam e' s in ciden ts are cau s al l yrel ated-the
orderin w hichv ariou s Zyl on -bearin g qu adran ts are attacked,
f orexam pl e, af f ects the en em y' s abil itytos u rrou n d a
s tarbas e, as w el l as the pl ayer' s f u el con s u m ption an d hen ce
the n eed todock f orref u el in g.
T he pl otof agam e s es s ion exhibits atradition al dram atic
s tru ctu re, w ithexpos ition ( in itial s can n in g of the gal actic
chart), ris in g action ( en cou n ters w ithZyl on s hips ), cris is
( threattos tarbas es pos ed byen em ys hips ), cl im ax( m om en t
38. T w obyLau rel
atw hichthe ou tcom e is determ in ed), f al l in g action or
den ou em en t( action f rom cl im axtothe m om en tof com pl ete
s u cces s , des tru ction , orru n n in g ou tof f u el ), an d con cl u s ion
( the s tarf l eetratin g m es s age). In teres tin gl y, the dram atic
s tru ctu re em erges m ore dis tin ctl yas the u s erbecom es
experien ced an d begin s togen erate l on g-term s trategies f or
pl ay. T he u s ers s trategic pl an an d its im pl em en tation is the
cen tral action of the pl ot, an d the betteritis f orm u l ated, the
m ore the w hol e behav es dram atical l y.
Like Zorl r, StarR aiders cas ts the u s eras the cen tral
character; how ev er, StarR aiders does s om ore com pl etel yan d
s u cces s f u l l y. T here is n oSys tem s I tom u ddythe is s u e of
w hothe cen tral agen tactu al l yis . Whil e the u s ers iden tityis
of ten l os tin af og of pron ou n s in Zorl r, the n otion of u s eras
characterin StarR aiders is ren dered com pl etel yu n am bigu ou s
bythe f irs t-pers on treatm en tof s pectacl e.
T he othercharacters in StarR aiders are repres en ted as the
Zyl on v es s el s an d f rien dl ys tarbas es , w iththeirgu idin g
in tel l igen ces as s u m ed T here are three types of Zyl on agen ts ,
dis tin gu is habl e bytheirgraphical im ages an d on e ortw o
behav ioral traits in battl e. Starbas es behav e iden tical l y, an d
hav e as m al l repertoire of characteris tic action s an d
com m u n ication protocol s . Al l characters , in cl u din g the u s er-
character, are extrem el ys im pl e du e tothe con s train ts of the
gam e w orl d:the kin ds of thin gs thatcan happen are f ew , an d
hen ce the agen ts of thos e f ew action s requ ire
corres pon din gl yf ew traits . Des pite the ou ters pace s ettin g,
StarR aiders takes pl ace in av erys m al l w orl d
Con tribu tion s of the u s eron the l ev el s of s pectacl e an d
m u s ic are m aterial l ycon s train ed bythe program s repertoire
of im ages , an im ation s equ en ces , an d s ou n d ef f ects - again ,
the pos s ibil ities are f ew w hen com pared totradition al dram a
Likew is e, the u s ers con tribu tion s on the l ev el of diction are
con s train ed bythe s etof com m an ds thatthe s ys tem can
recogn ize an d actu pon . T he gam e creates the il l u s ion of
res pon din g toarel ativ el ygreaterran ge of con tribu tion s on
the l ev el s of thou ghtan d characterbecau s e s u btl ydif f eren t
s trategies , as w el l as em otion s an d m otiv ation s ( I' m goin g to
kil l thos e Zyl on bas tards v s . Ikeepacl ean qu adran t)are
of ten n ottran s l ated bythe u s erin toobj ectif iabl e pl an s an d
s pecif ic action s . T he ef f ects of chan ce an d phys ical dexterity
ten d tobe in terpreted bythe u s eras the res u l ts of his
theN EWMEDIAR EADER
s trategies an d charactertraits . T he gam e is s u cces s f u l in
s u pportin g s u chf an tas ies becau s e the u s eris n otgen eral l y
aw are of the m aterial an d f orm al con s train ts on his action s .
U n l ike Zork ( in w hichthe s in gl e pl otis dis cov ered bythe
u s erin as eries of s es s ion s ), the pl otof StarR aiders is v ariabl e
an d col l aborativ el yf orm u l ated bythe s ys tem an d the u s er.
T here is n os in gl e ou tcom e thatm u s tbe attain ed in orderf or
the w hol e pl ottobe rev eal ed an d n os in gl e w aytoreachthat
en d. T he n u m berof pos s ibl e pl ots is con s train ed bythe
rel ativ el yf ew kin ds of action s thatcan occu r( am eas u re of
the poten tial of the dram atic w orl d). Becau s e the u s ers
s trategies an d action s in f l u en ce the orderan d in ciden ts an d
the ou tcom e of each( e.g., how m u chdam age is s u s tain ed in a
battl e), the pl otcan be s een tobe col l aborativ el yf orm u l ated.
T he s ys tem s f u n ction in g as prov iderof con s train ts ,
protocol s , an d af in ite s etof m aterial s is , in m an ygam e
program s an d tos om e degree in Zorl r, in tru s iv e an d
des tru ctiv e of the u s ers f an tas yexperien ce. In Zorl r, the u s ers
rel ation s hiptothe s ys tem , as repres en ted bythe Sys tem s I,
can be des cribed as as econ d pers on on e ( as dem on s trated
bythe s econ d-pers on pron ou n s in the dial ogu e betw een
them ), an d is qu ite dis tin ctf rom the f irs t-pers on experien ce
thatis des ired bythe u s eran d in ten ded bythe s ys tem s
des ign ers . T he Sys tem s I s tan ds ou ts ide the con textof the
f an tas y, w ithn odis tin ctcharacterorrol e in the action
w hatcom pu terf ol ks w ou l d cal l akl u dge. T he f u n ction in g
of the Sys tem s I is taken ov erbythe s hips com pu terin Star
R aiders , an d thu s cl ev erl yin tegrated in tothe f an tas yw orl d.
T he u s erem pl oys the s hips com pu teran d the v ariou s tool s
itof f ers him ( the gal actic chartan d attack com pu ter, f or
in s tan ce)qu ite n atu ral l yin af irs t-pers on m ode.
T his chapterhas em pl oyed dram atic theorytoel u cidate
the s tru ctu ral characteris tics of poetic in teractiv e w orks . In
creatin g atheoryof in teractiv e dram a, em phas is has been
pl aced on com prehen din g an d in tegratin g the con tribu tion s
of the u s er-characteras the co-creatorof an in teractiv e w ork.
T he f orm of s u chw orks is determ in ed bythe m an n erin
w hichthe s ys tem f orm u l ates m aterial s hu m an au thored,
com pu ter-gen erated, an d con tribu ted bythe u s er-
character in toadram atical l ys atis f yin g w hol e. T he f orm of
an in teractiv e dram am u s ten abl e the u s ertoparticipate in
the f an tas yw orl d as an activ e character adram atic agen t.
N otes - T he SixEl em en ts
1. T he expl icitn otion of the w orkin gs of f orm al an d m aterial
cau s al ityin the hierarchyof s tru ctu ral el em en ts is , al thou ghn ot
apocryphal , certain l yn eo-Aris totel ian . See Sm il ey[ 19 7 1].
2 . Aris totl e def in ed the en actm en tin term s of the au dien ce rather
than the actors . Al thou ghactors em pl oym ov em en t( kin es thetics )
in theirperf orm an ce of the characters , thatm ov em en tis perceiv ed
v is u al l y -the au dien ce has n odirectkin es thetic experien ce.
Likew is e, al thou ghthin gs m aym ov e abou ton acom pu ters creen , a
hu m an u s erm ayorm ayn otbe hav in g akin es thetic experien ce.
3. Within the artof com pu tergam es , there are v ariou s f orm s ,
in cl u din g action gam es , s trategygam es , adv en tu re gam es , an d s o
on .
4. Itis in teres tin g ton ote in this con textthatAm erican Sign
Lan gu age ( ASL)is in f acta"n atu ral l an gu age"in its ow n right,
an d n otadirectges tu ral m apof En gl is horan yothers poken
l an gu age. If al an gu age can be con s tru cted f rom ges tu re, then it
f ol l ow s thats poken w ords are n otes s en tial el em en ts of l an gu age.
5. In hu m an f actors dis cou rs e, this type of f ail u re is attribu ted to
af ail u re toes tabl is hthe correctcon ceptu al m odel of agiv en
s ys tem [ s ee R u bin s tein an d Hers h, 19 84, Chapter5]. T he dram atic .
pers pectiv e dif f ers s l ightl yf rom this v iew bys u gges tin g that
propertreatm en tof the el em en tof thou ghtcan prov ide agood
"con ceptu al m odel "f orthe en tire m ediu m . Ital s oav oids the
poten tial m is u s e of con ceptu al m odel s as pers on al con s tru cts that
"expl ain "w hatis "behin d"the repres en tation thatis , how the
com pu terorprogram actu al l y"w orks ."
N otes - StarR aiders
1. Atari' s pol icyw as n ev ertocon n ectthe n am es of au thors w ith
theirv ideogam es , thu s N eu bau eris kn ow n prim aril ythrou gh"in -
hou s e"l egen d. T he aw ards w on byhis gam e w ere accepted bya
s u cces s ion of m arketin g v ice-pres iden ts w hon ev erheard of him .
| 19 86 ' Q 1 38. T w obyLau rel
R ef eren ces - T he SixEl em en ts
Aris totl e, T he P oetics . T ran s l ated byIn gram Byw ater. In R hetoric
an d P oetics of Aris totl e. Edited byF riedrichSol m s en . N ew Y ork: T he
Modern Library, 19 54.
Hil ton , Ju l ian . "Som e Sem iotic R ef l ection s on the F u tu re of
Arti cial In tel l igen ce."In Artif icial In tel l igen ce: F u tu re, Im pacts ,
Chal l en ges , edited byR . T rappl . N ew Y ork: Hem is phere,
f orthcom in g.
Lau rel , Bren da. "In terf ace Agen ts : Metaphors w ithCharacters . In
T he Artof Hu m an -Com pu terIn terf ace Des ign , edited byBren da
Lau rel . R eadin g, Mas s .: Addis on -Wes l ey, 19 9 0.
R os en , Jos pehan d MortGos s er. "N erv e R epairatthe Axon Lev el -
AMergerof Micros u rgeryan d Microel ectron ics ."Arti cial Organ s ,
edited byJ. An drade. N ew Y ork: VtH' P u bl is hers , 19 87 : 583-59 4.
R u bin s tein , R ichard an d HarryHers h, 19 84. T he Hu m an F actor:
Des ign in g Com pu terSys tem s f orP eopl e. Digital P res s , 19 84.
Sm il ey, Sam . P l ayw ril in g: T he Stru ctu re of Action . En gl ew ood Cl if f s ,
N .J.: P ren tice-Hal l , 19 7 1.

,, - ... - ..-, -0._. ,, _.. .I19 8 , 39 . T el e-In f orm ation
[ In trodu ction ]
T ow ards aN ew Cl as s i cation of
T el e-In f orm ation Serv ices
Mars hal l McLu han s prov ocativ e expl oration s ( 9 13)s parked agreatexpan s ion of w ritin g abou t
m edia bu tthis has in cl u ded f ew attem pts torigorou s l ycl as s if ydigital com m u n ication s . Whil e
McLu han prov ided u s ef u l m etaphors grou n ded in the s en s es , the es s ayhere con s iders the s ocial rol e
of v ariou s digital m edia, s u rv eyin g n ew m ediaf rom af u n dam en tal l ydif f eren tpers pectiv e than the
in div idu al , s en s oryon e an d pl acin g thes e m ediaw ithin am ore tightl ydef in ed s chem a. "
Variou s n ew m ediacan be qu ickl ycategorized accordin g tothe typol ogypres en ted here:IR C, U n ixtal k,
proprietarychats ys tem s an d dis cu s s ion s on MU Ds f u n ction as con v ers ation , w hil e the Web u s u al l y
f u n ction s f orcon s u l tation u n l es s itis col l ectin g creditcard n u m bers orotherin f orm ation throu gh
f orm s . Likew is e, itis n otdif f icu l ttocategorize n etw ork s erv ices s u chas em ail , gopher, f in ger, w hois ,
pu s h-m ediaof the s ortl au n ched byP oin tcas tin the m id 19 9 0s , an d ev en graphical n etw ork en v iron -
m en ts an d gam es , aren a s tyl e orof the _Ev erQ u es tan d An archyOn l in e m as s iv el ym u l tipl ayers ort-.
Giv en the w aythatthe Web al readyhad, in the earl y19 9 0s , f u n ction ed in bothcon s u l tation an d
regis tration capacities , on e m ighthav e predicted thatem ail -ov er-Web s erv ices l ike Hotm ail an d Y ahoo!
Mail w ou l d be pl au s ibl e. T heirs u cces s poin ts ou ts om e addition al in teres tin g cas es , in w hichon e
In tem ets erv ice is perv ers el yu s ed, again s tthe s eem in g grain of the techn ol ogy. F orin s tan ce, chat
s ys tem s hav e been im pl em en ted ov erthe Web, s om e of them u n dergrou n d s u cces s es ( e.g., Bian ca' s
Sm u tShack, w hichran on HotWired s erv ers begin n in g in 19 9 5). R eal tim _e_chats ys tem s -( e.g., Y adda)
hav e al s obeen im pl em en ted byu s in g j u s tthe s u bj ectl in es of em ail s othatem pl oyers , on l y
n oticin g thatchatters had em ail w in dow s open , cou l d n ots ee thatem pl oyees w ere chattin g. T he
im portan tpoin tm ade bys u chexam pl es ( an d on e m ade in the f ol l ow in g ggs ay)is thatthe bas ic
techn ol ogyem pl oyed does n otdeterm in e the categoryof s erv ice atel ecom m u n ication s s ys tem
prov ides . '
Al thou ghEs pen Aars eth( O52 )has w ritten thatthe typol ogydes cribed here is "l es s directl y
rel ev an t"f ortextu al s ys tem s , an d he has of f ered am ore f ocu s ed an d v eryu s ef u l typol ogyof his ow n ,
on e can attem pttoexten d the typol ogyhere toappl ytos ys tem s s u chas thos e ru n n in g on s tan d-
al on e com pu ters , an d s u chexten s ion can l ead toin teres tin g in s ights . T oexten d the s ys tem f u rther
in this w ay, on e m ightcon ceptu al ize el em en ts of s of tw are as f u l f il l in g the rol e of the s erv ice cen ter
attim es an d attim es takin g the rol e of an otherin div idu al . T his w ou l d al l ow as ys tem l ike El iza/
Doctor( 02 4)tobe s een as con v ers ation al in the s en s e in ten ded byBordew ij k an d v an Kaam . A
s crol l in g textf il e can be s een as an exam pl e of al l ocu tion ; adatabas e, con s u l tation ; the program that
requ es ts you rn am e an d s of tw are s erial n u m berbef ore in s tal l in g s of tw are, regis tration . Bu ttom ake
this typol ogyau s ef u l on e, itis im portan ttodis tin gu is hhow thes e term s are tobe u s ed in the
s tan d-al on e com pu tin g con text, an d todes cribe w ithrigorw hen s of tw are s hou l d be con s idered as a
s erv ice cen teran d w hen if ev er -itis appropriate tocon s ideritas an otherin div idu al . P erhaps the
cl as s if ication s chem e here is s train ed bys om e an al ogies tos tan d-al on e com pu tin g. In this cas e, the
prin cipl es thatm otiv ated itcan be u s ed tos el ectorcon s tru ctan othercl as s if ication s chem e
appropriate tothe el em en ts of an d participan ts in the s ys tem s in v ol v ed.
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Serv ices
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39 . T el e-In f orm ation
Serv ices
Origin al P u bl ication
In term edio34( 1):16 -2 1. Jan u ary19 86 .
T ow ards aN ew
Cl as s if ication of
T el e-In f orm ation
Serv ices
Jan L. Bordew i]k an d
Ben v an Kaam
T el e-in f orm ation s ys tem s , bas ed on an al l ian ce of digital
tel ecom m u n ication an d com pu tertechn ol ogy, w il l pl ay
an in creas in gl yim portan trol e in in ter-hu m an
com m u n ication s . T heyare in f actreadytoen teral m os t
ev eryareaof hu m an com m u n ication activ ity.
As acon s equ en ee the s pread-of kn ow l edge, the
corn ers ton e of dem ocracy, s eem s tobe headed tow ards
atim e of f l ou ris hin g, bu tthis optim is tic expectation
ref l ects on l yon e s ide of the coin . T he rev ers e s ide tel l s
u s thatthe pen etration of techn ol ogyin hu m an
in f orm ation paths , on s u chal arge s cal e as w e w itn es s
today, can on l ys u cceed than ks toahu ge in f orm ation
s erv ices in du s try. Su chan in du s try, prov idin g
in f orm ation -orien ted produ cts as w el l as techn ical
f acil ities an d em pl oyin g m an y, m an ypeopl e, s addl es u s
w ithan ew con cern :its ow n pow er. In ordertoav oid
the ris k of an Orw el l ian s cen ario, s ocietys hou l d atl eas t
hav e atits dis pos al acl earan d s im pl e pictu re of w hat
the pow erpos ition s an d rel ation s are on the v u l n erabl e
terrain of hu m an com m u n ication . We n eed s om e s ort
of cl as s if ication of tel e in f orm ation s erv ices w ith
res pecttotheirs ocial rol e. T he of ten in tu itiv el yappl ied
cl as s if ication byref eren ce totheirtechn ical properties
is u n tru s tw orthyan d w il l cau s e m ore an d m ore
con f u s ion as m u l ti-f u n ction n etw orks an d term in al
equ ipm en trepl ace the pres en tdedicated s ys tem s .
T his cl as s if ication s hou l d be repl aced byon e bas ed
on s ocial pow errel ation s . Acl as s if ication in term s of
ideal is ed in f orm ation traf f ic pattern s prov ides al ogical
theN EWMEDIAR EADER
an d u n am bigu ou s al tern ativ e. Itprov ides as ol u tion
thatharks back tothe tim e w hen n otechn ical dev ices
w ere av ail abl e, s othatthere w as n odan gerof m is takin g
in ciden tal techn ical des ign s f orgu idel in es as tothe
characterof the com m u n ication . Itcan m oreov erbe
def in ed in depen den tl ybothof the f orm of pres en tation
an d of the in f orm ation con ten t.
We s tartw ithadetail ed des cription of the f ou rdef in -
abl e in f orm ation traf f ic pattern s . T here is acom pre-
hen s iv e in trodu ction tothe qu es tion s atis s u e in ou r
m on ograph, Meas u rin g the Degree of Dem ocracyof
In f orm ation Societies , ( av ail abl e f rom HetP ers in s titu u t,
pos tbox7 16 1, 107 5ABAm s terdam ).
K/ ,_-_i
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is ts ags f ri
, A T N
J--A I4A!... atl l al l
Al l ocu tion
Letu s f irs tl ook atthe s itu ation thatoccu rs w hen a
s in gl e hu m an bein g, cal l ed C ( cen tre), addres s es an other
pers on cal l ed i( in div idu al ).
in f orm ation E
F igu re 39 .1. Al l ocu tion : in f orm ation f l ow f rom s erv ice cen tre
( C)toin iv idu al con s u m er( i).
When the in f orm ation f l ow is al w ays in the s am e
direction , w e hav e toas s u m e thatC has athis orher
dis pos al an u n l im ited am ou n tof in f orm ation , pos s ibl y
of as pecial is tn atu re. We w il l cal l C the in f orm ation
s erv ices prov ider"an d ian in f orm ation s erv ices
con s u m er. T his f orm u l ation has the tw of ol d adv an tage
cre s _____<> __.l T ' i__39 . T el e-In f orm ation
of in cl u din g techn ical f acil ities an d l eav in g open the direction
of the in f orm ation f l ow .
T his s itu ation res em bl es thatof am as ter~s l av e
rel ation s hip, orgen eral -s ol dier, teacher-pu pil , etc. If w e
as s u m e thatthe m as terow n s m ore than on e s l av e, the
gen eral com m an ds m ore than on e s ol dieran d s oon , w e
obtain apattern in w hichC is the cen tral l eaderan d i, i1, i, etc
are the in div idu al f ol l ow ers .
!!
Ii
F igu re 39 .2 . Al l ocu tion , gen eral pattern .
In practical s itu ation s the f ol l ow ers w il l of ten be abl e to
prov ide acertain am ou n tof f eedback, be iton l ythe s hu f f l in g of
f eet, depen din g on the hars hn es s of the regim e. T he gu res
s how ideal is ed s itu ation s w ithou tan ys ign of f eedback We w il l
s aythattheyf ol l ow an ideal is ed in f orm ation traf f ic pattern .
1 T his pattern w il l be l abel l ed:al l ocu tion , f rom the Latin
w ord al l ocu tio ( the addres s of aR om an gen eral tohis troops ,
an d af terw ards as pecial addres s of the P ope tohis cardin al s ).
Al l ocu tion is m ore appropriate than the term f orm erl yu s ed,
dis tribu tion , becau s e, in teral ia, in f orm ation can n otbe cu t
in topieces "dis tribu ted am on g an u m berof con s u m ers . In f act
ev eryparticipatin g con s u m erreceiv es the s am e in f orm ation
an d the in f orm ation s tore atthe cen tre n ev erbecom es em pty!
If w e ref rain f rom aparticu l arpres en tation f orm ora
particu l arin f orm ation con ten t, the s econ d f igu re can be u s ed
as as tyl is ed repres en tation of m an yothers itu ation s . F or
exam pl e C m ightrepres en tabroadcas tin g organ is ation an d the
is the l is ten ers an d v iew ers . C can al s orepres en tas tage
perf orm an ce an d the is the pu bl ic. In an extrem e cas e C cou l d
ev en repres en tadrow n in g pers on an d the is the pas s ers by.
Characteris tic of the s ocial s tatu s of al l ocu tion is thatC is
the ow n erof the in f orm ation an d al on e decides w hatpartof
the in f orm ation s tock w il l be han ded ov er an d w hen . T he
des tin ation s receiv e the in f orm ation s im u l tan eou s l yata
Serv ices
n orm al hu m an perception rate. T he s im u l tan eou s -perception
ef f ectof ten pl ays an im portan trol e.
Al l the pow er is cl earl ycon cen trated in C. T he is hav e n on e
atal l . T he term pow er in this con n ection s hou l d n otbe taken
tool iteral l y. Its hou l d be u n ders tood as "bein g en titl ed tos om e
kin d of rem u n eration . T his can be of af in an cial n atu re, bu tcan
al s otake the f orm of obedien ce, res pect, care, hel petc. In m an y
cas es C w il l al s oprov ide techn ical f acil ities as partof the total
in f orm ation s erv ice.
Aprel im in arydef in ition of al l ocu tion thatcov ers boththe
s itu ation s des cribed abov e cou l d ru n :the is s u e of in f orm ation by
an in f orm ation s erv ice cen tre u n derprogram m atic con trol of the
cen tre its el f
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Con v ers ation I
If tw oterm in al s , bothrepres en tin g an av erage hu m an
in f orm ation s erv ices con s u m er, exchan ge in f orm ation , w e
obtain adif f eren tpictu re. We as s u m e thatthe ow n ers hipof the
in f orm ation as w el l as the in f orm ation han dl in g capacities are
div ided equ al l ybetw een the tw oterm in al s . We w il l n am e the
pattern obtain ed, in depen den tof the f orm of pres en tation an d
the in f orm ation con ten t, con v ers ation . In s tead of s peech, the
in f orm ation exchan ged cou l d j u s tas w el l be text, w ritten or
prin ted on as heetof paperoran yothercarrier, orm ov in g
pictu res , an d cou l d deal w ithan ys u bj ect.
I
F igu re 39 .3. Con v ers ation : in f orm ation f l ow betw een in div idu al
con s u m ers .
39 . T el e-In f orm ation
Serv ices
T he ideal is ed con v ers ation pattern s how s abal an ce of
pow er. In m an ypractical s itu ation s , how ev er, the
in f orm ation l ev el s of tw opartn ers w il l n otbe equ al . We
s hal l en cou n terappl ication s thatare com pl etel yas ym m etric.
T he n u m berof partn ers in acon v ers ation n eed n otbe
res tricted totw o, bu tabov e abou ts ixthe n eed f ora
chairm an is f el t. T he chairm an has tocoordin ate an d al l ocate
s peakin g tim e. On e arriv es m ore orl es s atas itu ation of
s equ en tial al l ocu tion . In acon v ers ation s itu ation peopl e do
n otn orm al l ypayon e an otherf orthe in f orm ation s u ppl ied.
T heyon l ypayf orthe u s e of the m ean s of tran s port
( tel ephon e bil l , pos tage, etc).
On e m ightw on derw hethercon v ers ation bytel ephon e,
w hichal l ow s al m os tin s tan tan eou s reaction , an d
con v ers ation bytel exorm ail s hou l d be cov ered bythe s am e
pattern . Ou rv iew is thattheybel on g togetherbecau s e the
prin cipal s ocial an d l egal des ideratacon n ected w ith
con v ers ation in adem ocracyhol d equ al l yf ortel ephon e an d
m ail s erv ices . N os tate in terf eren ce an d protection of
priv acyare the tw ocon dition s thatcon s u m ers w il l dem an d
f orboths erv ices . T he cl os e con n ection betw een the tw ocan
f u rtherbe il l u s trated byobs erv in g thatm odern hybrid
s erv ices s u chas v oicegram an d v oicem ail are bein g
in trodu ced, com bin in g the pres en tation f orm of tel ephon e
an d the res pon s e tim es of m ail .
T he con v ers ation pattern is characteris ed bythe property
thatthe ow n ers hipof the in f orm ation as w el l as the choice
of s u bj ectan d tim e of in f orm ation exchan ge res tin the
han ds of in f orm ation s erv ice con s u m ers i. T his in cl u des a
kin d of s el f -con v ers ation , in w hichon e cou l d in cl u de
m editation , bu tal s ocom m u n ication w ithapers on al
( el ectron ic)f il e, ie al l the in f orm ation s tored f orpers on al u s e.
If s u chpers on al u tteran ces are m ean ttobe m ade pu bl ic in
s om e w ayoran otherthe pers on , ( as peaker, an au thorora
com pos er)has chan ged rol e, is actin g as aC term in al
in v ol v ed in al l ocu tion orin apattern deal tw ithl ateru n der
the titl e of con s u l tation .
In am ore gen eral pictu re of the con v ers ation pattern , the
con n ection betw een ian d i1 pas s es an in f orm ation s erv ice
cen tre C.
In acl as s ic tel ephon e con n ection C repres en ts atechn ical
f acil ity:atel ephon e exchan ge oracas cade of tel ephon e
exchan ges n eeded f orthe rou tin g of the tel ephon e cal l an d
does n otparticipate as an in f orm ation term in al . In adirect
con v ers ation betw een tw opeopl e of dif f eren tton gu es , C
theN EWMEDIAR EADER
Q !
F igu re 39 .4. Con v ers ation v iacen tre C.
cou l d be an in terpreter, prov idin g con ten t orien ted s erv ices
al s o. In af u tu re w orl d tel ephon e s ys tem C cou l d be an
( au tom atic). tran s l ation orcorrection cen tre. F orpu rpos es of
datatran s m is s ion n ow adays C cou l d be apacket s w itchin g
tran s m is s ion s ys tem in w hichthe datatobe tran s ported
f rom dif f eren torigin s an d w ithdif f eren tdes tin ation s are
arran ged s othattran s portcos tis m in im is ed. T hes e l as t
exam pl es bel on g tothe cl as s es of v al u e added s erv ices or
n etw orks .
Gen eral l yC can han dl e m ore than on e con v ers ation -
con n ection , l eadin g toam ore gen eral con f igu ration .
F igu re 39 .5. Con v ers ation , gen eral pattern .
Aprel im in arydef in ition of con v ers ation cou l d ru n :the
is s u e of in f orm ation byin f orm ation s erv ices con s u m er( s )u n der
program m atic con trol of the con s u m er( s )them s el v es .
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Con s u l tation ,
If an in f orm ation s erv ice cen tre C on l ydel iv ers in f orm ation
u pon the requ es t( dotted l in e)of an in f cirm ation s erv ice
con s u m eri, there is am arkedl ydif f eren tpow errel ation s hip
r
"' 1
f rom thos e con s idered abov e. C is the ow n erof al arge
( ideal l yin n ite)am ou n tof in f orm ation , bu tthe i-term in al
decides atw hattim e an d on w hichs u bj ectin f orm ation
s hou l d be del iv ered.
in f orm ation ~
0000000000000000
rcqu cs l
F igu re 39 .6 . Con s u l tation .
In apractical approxim ation tothis ideal is ed s itu ation the
i-term in al cou l d be apers on w hocon s u l ts ahu m an m em ory
w hen phon in g adoctorors eein g al aw yer, bu titcou l d al s o
be apers on con s u l tin g an en cycl opedia, adiction aryoran
el ectron ic m em oryCon s u l tation requ ires m ore activ ityby
the con s u m erthan al l ocu tion , bu tal s ogran ts m u chm ore
f reedom in s el ectin g the in f orm ation requ ired.
R eadin g books , m agazin es orn ew s papers can n orm al l ybe
don e atatim e con v en ien ttothe con s u m er. An ew s papercan
be con s idered as acol l ection of item s thatcan be con s u m ed
accordin g toan in div idu al program m e, orin deed be m arked
as adataban k ref res hed dail y( ratherthan adyn am ic on e).
R eadin g is n otal w ays con s u l tativ e. Agood exam pl e of
al l ocu tiv e readin g can be f ou n d in tel ev is ion n ew s m agazin es
f orthe deaf , w ithpages broadcas tatas tan dard s peed.
Con s u l tation is n otres tricted tographic orpictorial
in f orm ation . Exam pl es of v oice con s u l tation are f ou n d in the
tel ephon e en qu irys ys tem s f ortim e, w eather, traf f ic
con dition s orm edical in f orm ation . T heyare al l exam pl es of
tel e-con s u l tation , l ike tel etextan d s om e v ideotexappl ication s .
T he obj ection is of ten m ade thattel etextis n ots u cha
good exam pl e becau s e the ( dotted)requ es tl in e is m is s in g. In
f act, itis pres en tbu tis v erys hort. T he trick w ithtel etextis
thatthe w hol e in f orm ation s tock of C is periodical l yof f ered
tothe receiv in g equ ipm en tof the con s u m er. In this w aythe
con s u m eridis pos es of av irtu al s erv ice cen tre C1 w ithin the
in f orm ation . .
in f orm ation
dow n l oad
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hom e term in al
F igu re 39 .7 . Virtu al con s u l tation cen tre C1 ( eg tel etextterm in al ).
0-. 119 81 A 39 . T el e-In f orm ation
Serv ices
term in al . ( In s om e con f igu ration s C, is hou s ed in the head-
en d of acabl e tel ev is ion s ys tem ).
In cas e the s torage capacityof C, is the s am e as thatof C, a
real is tic propos ition n ow adays , the w aitin g tim e w il l be
redu ced practical l ytozero. Acon s u l tation cen tre can
gen eral l ybe in terrogated bys ev eral con s u m ers , giv in g am ore
com pl excon f igu ration .
Aprel im in arydef in ition of con s u l tation cou l d ru n :the
is s u e of in f orm ation byan in f orm ation s erv ice prov ideru n der
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F igu re 39 .8. Con s u l tation , gen eral pattern .
program m atic con trol of an in f orm ation s erv ice con s u m erT his
def in ition al s oem braces the s pecial cas e in w hicha
con s u m errequ es ts in f orm ation tobe del iv ered toan other
con s u m erorcon s u m ers .
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R egis tration
If the in f orm ation f l ow direction s are rev ers ed, w e obtain a
pattern thatw e s hal l cal l regis tration . In this pattern the
cen tre n ol on gerhas the tas k of is s u in g in f orm ation , bu tof
39 . T el e-In f orm ation
Serv ices
col l ectin g it. Modern tel e-appl ication s s u chas tel e opin ion
pol l in g, tel e m eterin g, tel e al arm , earthobs erv ation f rom
s atel l ites an d s oon can be con ceiv ed, bu ts im pl e w el l kn ow n
s erv ices l ike civ il regis tration cen tres orn ew s agen cies f ol l ow
agood approxim ation of this pattern .
As econ d tas k of s u chacen tre can be toproces s the
in com in g in f orm ation ( rearran gin g, tran s l ation or
m athem atical operation ). T he pu rpos e of the proces s in g can
be toprepare apu bl ication al on g eitheran al l ocu tiv e ora
con s u l tativ e pattern . Bu tthen the cen tre is chan gin g its rol e.
R egis tration is characteris ed bythe f actthatthe
in f orm ation is ow n ed bythe in f orm ation s erv ice con s u m ers ,
l ocated atthe periphery, w hil e the program m e ( open in g
hou rs f oreachs u bj ect!)is con trol l ed byC, the prov iderof the
in f orm ation s erv ice. ( Itcou l d be s aid thatthe cen tre is
con s u l tin g the periphery, as oppos ed tothe s itu ation
des cribed abov e w here the peripherycon s u l ts the cen tre. In
ol derw orkz w e theref ore u s ed the s am e term con s u l tation
f orbothpattern s . In ordertoav oid con f u s ion w e n ow
propos e u s in g tw odif f eren tterm s ).
Som etim es peopl e rej ectaf ire al arm s erv ice as agood
exam pl e of the regis tration pattern , argu in g thatthe tim e the
f ire s ets in is n otdeterm in ed byC. Bu tthecharacteris ation
giv en does n otcl aim s o:the cen tre C determ in es on l yat
w hattim e( s )itw il l be in teres ted in w hichs u bj ect. Agood
f ire al arm s erv ice w il l be on the al ert2 4hou rs aday, ready
f orthe m es s age f ire as w el l as the m es s age n of ire."
Aprel im in arydef in ition of regis tration cou l d ru n :the is s u e
of in f orm ation byan in f orm ation s erv ice con s u m eru n derthe
program m atic con trol of an in f orm ation s erv ice cen tre.
We are n ow in apos ition tocom bin e the prel im in ary
def in ition s of the f ou rideal is ed in f orm ation traf f ic pattern s :
al l ocu tion , con v ers ation , con s u l tation an d regis tration , in toa
s in gl e m atrixdef in ition . In ordertoobtain this gen eral
m atrixdef in ition , w e on l yhav e tobearin m in d thatthe f ou r
prel im in arydef in ition s repres en texactl ythe f ou rdif f eren t
com bin ation s of an s w ers tothe f ol l ow in g tw oqu es tion s :
- is the ow n erof the in f orm ation is s u ed an in f orm ation
s erv ice prov idin g cen tre, oran in div idu al in f orm ation s erv ice
con s u m er?
- is the program m e of in f orm ation is s u e con trol l ed byan
in f orm ation s erv ice prov idin g cen tre C, orbyan in div idu al
in f orm ation s erv ice con s u m er?
theN EWMEDIAR EADER
P attern m atrix
In f orm ation is s u e
bycon s u m er
In f orm ation is s u e
bycen tre
P rogram m e con trol Al l ocu tion
bycen tre
P rogram m e con trol Con s u l tation
bycon s u m er
R egis tration
Con v ers ation
Eachel em en tof the m atrixcan com pris e agrou pof
dif f eren tin tercon n ection m odes . T he m em bers of s u cha
grou pof in tercon n ection m odes al l f ol l ow the s am e ideal is ed
in f orm ation traf f ic pattern . T his is m ore than af l ow
diagram . Itin f orm s u s n oton l yabou tthe rou tes an d
direction s of an in f orm ation f l ow , bu tal s oabou tthe
res pon s ibil ities of the in f orm ation term in al s in v ol v ed. T hat
is w hyw e hav e as l ightpref eren ce f orthe expres s ion traf f ic
pattern ov erf l ow pattern .
T he pattern m atrixcan s erv e as abas is in draw in g u pa
l egal f ram ew ork. Itdoes n otof cou rs e s ol v e the probl em of
w hether, how ortow hatexten tthe in teres ts of operators
an d cl ien ts of tel e-in f orm ation s ys tem s s hou l d be protected
byl aw . T hatis am atterf orpol itical dis cu s s ion an d decis ion .
Bu titm u s tbe expected thatf oral l s erv ices w hichf ol l ow on e
an d the s am e in f orm ation traf f ic pattern , s im il araction w il l
be con s idered rel ev an tbecau s e the f ou rpattern s ref ertof ou r
m u tu al l yexcl u s iv e s ocial pow errel ation s thatdif f erf rom on e
an otherin prin cipl e.
Its hou l d n otbe in f erred thatcertain pattern s m ayn ot
hav e s om e regu l atoryas pects in com m on . As Jen s Arn bakg
has poin ted ou t, w e m ayev en expectthatpos s ibl e l aw s
adopted f oron e pattern w il l ov erl apw iththos e f or
n eighbou rin g pattern s :
- copyrightis s u es are gen eral l ycon f in ed tothe l ef t han d
col u m n of the m atrix
- the protection of priv acyis rel ev an ttothe right han d
col u m n
- f orm al pu bl ic acces s an d con trol procedu res w il l u s u al l ybe
n eeded orappropriate in the u pperrow
- the f ree f l ow of in f orm ation is gen eral l ys erv ed by
m in im is in g s tate in terf eren ce in s erv ices bel on gin g in the
l ow errow .
In this w ayeachel em en tof the m atrixl ies atthe cros s in g
of tw ol in es of des iderata. T he s ys tem atic approachthu s
obtain ed im m ediatel ycl arif ies the s ocial an d l egal pos ition
0 0 e~~o_0W o~a O ~~~ o A- ~~
of ol d an d n ew in f orm ation s erv ices , w hichf ol l ow
s u f f icien tl ycl os el yon e of the f ou rideal is ed in f orm ation
traf f ic pattern s .
Man ypractical in f orm ation s erv ices , how ev er, don ot
f ol l ow as in gl e pattern tothe total excl u s ion of the others .
Moreov er, in dail yl if e m an ycen tres w il l operate
s im u l tan eou s l y, f u n ction in g an d com petin g w ithin acom pl ex
com m u n ication s tru ctu re w ithl ots of cros s -con n ection s , in
w hichthe ideal is ed in f orm ation traf f ic pattern s w il l on l y
pl aythe rol e of bu il din g bl ocks . T heref ore, in appl ication of
the f oregoin g theory, w e s hal l deal w iths om e m u l ti~pattern
s erv ices , the dev el opm en tof m u l ti-pattern n etw orks an d the
rel ation betw een the tw ophen om en a.
F rom thes e exam pl es itw il l , w e hope, becom e cl earhow
im portan titis tocl as s if yin f orm ation s erv ices as correctl yas
pos s ibl e accordin g totheirs ocial an d, f rom thats tan dpoin t,
theirl egal pos ition , an d n otaccordin g tothe in ciden tal
techn ol ogythattheyem pl oy, theirf orm of pres en tation or
theirin f orm ation con ten t.
Mu l ti-pattern Serv ices
T he m atrixdef in ition of f ers as harpdem arcation betw een
the f ou rareas of ideal is ed in f orm ation s erv ices . T he
borderl in es betw een actu al ( tel e~)in f orm ation s erv ices w il l
n otal w ays be s ocl earcu t. Som e in f orm ation s erv ices are
typical of am u l ti-pattern type, ie thats ev eral pattern s occu r
al m os ts im u l tan eou s l y. Som etim es an u m berof pattern s w il l
occu rin al tern ation . In others itu ation s the pres en ce of m ore
than on e prov idercen tre pl ays arol e.
Broadcas tin g pres en ts agood approxim ation toan
ideal is ed al l ocu tion pattern . Bu tf orthe v iew eritm akes al l
the dif f eren ce w hetherthere is al arge grou pof T V chan n el s
f rom dif f eren tcen tres w ithabroad ran ge of program m es , or
w hetherchoice is res tricted toon e ortw ochan n el s of s im il ar
qu al ity.
If , m oreov er, in the f irs tcas e s om e of the chan n el s carry
program m es thatare f requ en tl yrepeated, s othatthe
con s u m erhas acertain in f l u en ce on the tim e of
con s u m ption , w e can s aythatthe s erv ice s how s
con s u l tativ e f eatu res .
An otherexam pl e of adif f u s e pattern is en cou n tered w hen
atal en ted ( pol itical )oratorin adirectaddres s tran s f orm s his
al l ocu tion m ore orl es s in toregis tration byon l y
f orw ardin g rhetorical qu es tion s an d af tereachs en ten ce
w aitin g f orappl au s e.
al l gai_39 . T el e-In f orm ation
Serv ices
Con v ers el y, acon s u l tation s erv ice m aypos s es s s tron g
al l ocu tiv e f eatu res . An ew s paper, f orexam pl e, can be
con s idered as akin d of databan k thatis con s u l ted byeach
readeraccordin g toapers on al program m e. Bu tthe f actthat
s om an ypeopl e are con f ron ted w ithcen tral l ys el ected
headl in es redu ces the in f l u en ce. of the con s u m er
con s iderabl y.
An otherin s tru ctiv e exam pl e can be f ou n d in the tel ephon e
s erv ice. Al thou ghitof f ers an al m os tideal exam pl e of the
con v ers ation pattern , w e hav e toadm itthattw oother
pattern s al s opl ayarol e. Atel ephon e cal l is in itiated by
dial l in g an u m ber. T hatn u m berhas tobe f ou n d by
con s u l tation be itf rom adirectory, av oice-bas ed en qu iry
s erv ice oran el ectron ic directory. Atthe en d of the cal l , the
dis tan ce an d du ration hav e tobe regis tered in orderto
en abl e the tel ephon e s erv ice prov idertorecov ercharges .
As acon s equ en ce, atel ephon e s erv ice prov ideral s ohas to
payheed tocopyrightis s u es an d regis tration regu l ation s . If a
con n ection w itham obil e s tation has tobe bu il tu p, the
s erv ice prov ideris in v ol v ed in af u rtherpriv acyprobl em :the
approxim ate pos ition of the m obil e s tation has tobe kn ow n
tohim . -
In this cas e itis cl earthatcon v ers ation is the m ain or
prim arypattern an d thatcon s u l tation an d regis tration pl ay
as econ daryrol e. Bu ttel ephon e s ys tem s l en d them s el v es to
otherpattern s than con v ers ation al on e. T he techn ical
properties are n otv erypattern -s el ectiv e.
F in al l y, w e m ightref ertoan age-ol d in f orm ation s erv ice
thatis typical l ym u l ti-pattern in character:edu cation . A
teacherl ectu rin g is cl earl yoperatin g in al l ocu tion m ode. Bu t
pu pil s pu ttin g qu es tion s totheirteacherors tu dyin g books
are w orkin g in con s u l tation m ode. Ateachertryin g to
m eas u re the progres s of pu pil s bys u bj ectin g them to
exam in ation appl ies aregis tration m ode. An d pu pil s
dis cu s s in g the s u bj ectm atteram on g them s el v es f ol l ow a
con v ers ation m ode. T he f ou rm odes are rou ghl yof the s am e
w eight. T his im pl ies thatf oracom pl ete tel e edu cation
s ys tem am u l ti-pattern n etw ork is in ev itabl e, an d con tain s a
w arn in g f orthos e broadcas ters w hobel iev e thattel e-
edu cation is theirexcl u s iv e dom ain .
Mu l ti-pattern N etw orks
As l on g as the recogn is ed s pecial is ts in certain kin ds of tel e-
in f orm ation s erv ices operate theirow n s tron gl ydif f erin g
techn ical s ys tem s , there exis ts n ogreatn eed f oran ew
39 . T el e-In f orm ation
Sen / ices
cl as s if ication of tel e-in f orm ation s erv ices . An d thathas been
the s itu ation u ptothe pres en tday: tel ephon e an d
broadcas tin g u s e theirow n s erv ice-dedicated techn ical
s ol u tion s .
Bu ttodayas tron g tren d tow ards the s ettin g u pof m u l ti-
f u n ction al , orperhaps better, m u l ti pattern n etw orks is al s o
m akin g its el f f el t. Eu ropean tel ephon e adm in is tration s are
w orkin g han d in han d in ordertou n ite tel ephon e, tel exan d
datan etw orks in toon e s o-cal l ed in tegrated s erv ices digital
n etw ork ( ISDN ), tobe im pl em en ted in the com in g decade.
Sev eral s tu dies hav e been s tarted on the pos s ibl e cou pl in g of
l ocal w ideban d n etw orks ( cabl e T V, l ocal arean etw orks )w ith
the ISDN . Ev en s atel l ite com m u n ication w il l pl ayarol e in
this con text.
T his m ean s thatitw il l becom e in creas in gl ydif f icu l tto
characteris e atel e in f orm ation s erv ice on the bas is of the
techn ical appearan ce of the n etw ork orterm in al equ ipm en t
u s ed. We m ayexpectm ore an d m ore m u l ti pattern term in al
equ ipm en ttoappearon the m arket. Al readyexis tin g
n etw orks origin al l ydes ign ed f oron l yon e of the pattern s are
prov is ion al l yu s ed f orothers . T he s am e appl ies toterm in al
equ ipm en t. T el etextan d v ideotexare tw ow el l kn ow n
exam pl es of an al tern ativ e u s e of v ideoequ ipm en t, w hich
l eads tom is u n ders tan din g an d dis pu tes betw een
broadcas tin g an d P T T m on opol ies .
Here w e tou chu pon the v eryreas on torev iew ou r
cl as s if ication s ys tem . Withtel etextas w el l as w ithv ideotexw e
ru n the ris k thattechn ol ogypl ays the rol e of the T roj an hors e.
N eithercon s u l tation n orregis tration s erv ices n eed
techn ical tran s ports ys tem s an d term in al equ ipm en tof a
com pl etel yn ew character. T heydif f ers tron gl yf rom the
cl as s ic tel ephon e an d broadcas tin g s erv ices bu tl argel yin a
n on techn ical s en s e. Con s u l tation , f orexam pl e, is the bread
an d bu tterl in e f orpres s an d otherpu bl is hers w hodis cl os e
in f orm ation s tored on paperorotherartif icial m em ories . It
s eem s n otil l ogical thatthe l egis l ation in exis ten ce f orthes e
pu bl is hin g activ ities w il l al s obe appl icabl e totel e~
con s u l tation s erv ices . T os u bj ectthes e s erv ices totel ephon e
orbroadcas tin g regu l ation on the grou n d thattheym ake u s e
of s im il arn etw orks an d term in al equ ipm en tw ou l d be a
grav e m is take.
T he an al ys is pres en ted in this paperres ts on s ocial pow er
rel ation s bu tis in f actpol itical l yn eu tral . N opol itical
program m e of action can be deriv ed f rom the pattern theory.
Itim prov es in s ightan d f acil itates am ore s ys tem atic
theN EWMEDIAR EADER
approachtol egis l ation . Itcon tain s n opres cription s f or
s pecif ic l aw s .
Its hou l d be real is ed, how ev er, thatthe f actthatthe
cl as s if ication in traf f ic pattern s does n otdepen d on
techn ol ogical properties does n otim pl ythattechn ical
dev el opm en ts an d techn ical m an agem en tm ayn otexercis e a
certain in f l u en ce on the rel ativ e bal an ce of the f ou rdif f eren t
pattern s . T he his toryof the artof prin tin g prov es thats u ch
in f l u en ces can ev en be v erym arked. Gov ern m en ts can greatl y
in f l u en ce s pecif ic activ ities byprom otin g orretardin g certain
techn ical dev el opm en ts , as w ithcabl e tel ev is ion an d the
res triction s of ten pl aced on al tern ativ e u s e of thes e n etw orks .
T he pattern theoryprov ides the yards tick byw hichto
check w hethergov ern m en ts f ol l ow apattern -n eu tral cou rs e
orn ot. Itis obv iou s thatu n deradictatorial regim e s u cha
n eu tral cou rs e w il l n otbe f ou n d. Adol f Hitl er, f orexam pl e,
had an otoriou s dis l ike f orbooks , in f act, f orcon s u l tation . He
ev en m ade apol ogies f orw ritin g Mein Kam pf An d of cou rs e
he l ov ed al l ocu tion , be itbypers on al addres s , byradioorby
m ean s of the cin em a.
Bu tw e s hou l d n otcon cl u de this ref l ection on adow n beat.
F oreachexam pl e of abu s e of the pow erpos ition in ev itabl y
con n ected w ithacen tre of al l ocu tion w e can f in d n u m erou s
cas es in w hichal l ocu tion is pu tf orthas am ean s of reachin g
the m as s es w ithm es s ages of u n ders tan din g an d tol eran ce.
In tern ation al broadcas tin g in particu l arbears agreat
res pon s ibil ityin this res pectan d s hou l d be con s tan tl yon the
l ook-ou tf orpos itiv e opportu n ities . Y etthe m ain am bition of
broadcas ters s hou l d perhaps be tores is tan ytem ptation to
acqu ire s om e kin d of hegem on yov erthe otherpattern s .
R ef eren ces
1. J.L. Bordew ij k an d B. v an Kaam , Al l ocu tie, Bos chen Keu n in g,
Baarn , 19 82 , p. 104.
2 . J.L. Bordew ij k, T he com bin ed u s e of CAT V an d tel ephon e
n etw orks f orpu rpos es of edu cation an d con s u l tation ,"in T w o-Way
Cabl e T el ev is ion , edited byW. Kais eretal , Sprin ger, Heidel berg,
19 7 7 .
3. J.C. Arn bak, "P oten tial im pacts of m odern com m u n ication
techn ol ogyon dataprotection , Docu m en tCJ-P D( 85)4, Cou n cil of
Eu rope, Stras bou rg, 17 April 19 85.
IV
R ev ol u tion ,
R es is tan ce, an d
the Lau n chof the Web
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40 587 Mythin f orm ation .
Lan gdon Win n er, 19 86
41 59 9 P rom P l an s an d Situ ated Action s
Lu cyA. Su chm an , 19 87 '
42 6 13 Siren Shapes : Expl oratoryan d Con s tru ctiv e Hypertexts
Michael Joyce, 19 88
43 l 6 2 5T he Work of Cu l tu re in the Age of Cybern etic Sys tem s
Bil l N ichol s , 19 88
446 43 T he F an tas yBeyon d Con trol
Lyn n Hers hm an , 19 9 0
456 49 Cardboard Com pu ters
P el l e Ehn an d Morten Kyn g, 19 9 1
46 6 6 3 T he Les s on s of Lu cas f il m s Habitat
ChipMorn in gs taran d E. R an dal l F arm er, 19 9 1
47 6 7 9 Seein g an d Writin g ( f rom Writin g Space) '
J. Dav id Bol ter, 19 9 1
48 6 9 1 Y ou SayY ou Wan taR ev ol u tion ?Hypertextan d the Law s of Media
Stu artMou l throp, 19 9 1-3
49 7 05T he En d of Books
R obertCoov er, 19 9 2
507 1 1 T im e F ram es ( f rom U n ders tan din g Com ics )
ScottMcCl ou d, 19 9 3
51 7 37 Su rv eil l an ce an d Captu re:T w oModel s of P riv acy
P hil ipE. Agre, 19 9 4
52 A 7 6 1 N on l in earityan d LiteraryT heory
Es pen J. Aars eth, 19 9 4
53 l g 7 81 N om adic P ow eran d Cu l tu ral R es is tan ce
Critical ArtEn s em bl e, 19 9 4
547 9 1 T he Worl d Wide Web
T im Bern ers Lee, R obertCail l iau , AriLou ton en ,
Hen rik F rys tyk N iel s en , an d Arthu rSecret, 19 9 4
Q . .1. 4,. -. a, 119 82 __40.Mythin f orm ation
40. [ In trodu ction ]
Mythin f orm ation
P os itiv e s ocial chan ge w on ' tcom e abou tas an in ev itabl e res u l tof the in creas in g u s e of com pu ters .
How ev er, this has n tal w ays been cl eartothos e en am ored of this cen tu rys com pu terrev ol u tion s u ch
as thos e Lan gdon Win n ertakes totas k in the es s ayreprin ted here. F orpos itiv e s ocial chan ge totake
pl ace itw il l hav e tobe adv ocated an d f ou ghtf or. l n ordertof ightf oragoal , itis n eces s arytoarticu l ate it.
Win n erbegin s bytakin g the rhetoric of the com pu terrev ol u tion atf ace v al u e as kin g w hatthe s ocial
goal s of this rev ol u tion w il l be, an d w hetherregu l arel ection s w il l be hel d. He does this in ordertopoin t
ou tthe com pl ete l ack of acoheren ts ocial program on the partof s el f -s tyl ed com pu terrev ol u tion aries . In
the tim e s in ce his articl e w as w ritten , is s u es s u chas f ree an d open el ection s hav e becom e l iteral poin ts of
con f l ictin com pu tercircl es , as w ithICAN N . ( T his is dis cu s s ed f u rtherin this v ol u m es in trodu ction to
the es s aybyR aym on d Wil l iam s ( 9 2 0).)
Win n erl aterdem ol is hes the m ythol ogythat( 1)peopl e are beref tof in f orm ation ; ( 2 )in f orm ation is
kn ow l edge; ( 3)kn ow l edge is pow er; an d ( 4)in creas in g acces s toin f orm ation en han ces dem ocracyan d
equ al izes s ocial pow er. Win n erqu otes J. C. R . Lickl ideras l ookin g f orw ard toan in f orm ation _
en v iron m en tthatw ou l d giv e pol itics greaterdepthan d dim en s ion than itn ow has ."ICAN N s how s that
abodys teeped in the n ew techn ol ogies can s til l be prof ou n dl yu n dem ocratic. On the otherhan d, the
techn ol ogies of the In tern ethav e al s oprov ided the grou n d on w hichres is tan ce toICAN N has been
as s em bl ed An adv ocate of the com pu terrev ol u tion m ighttheref ore argu e thatin creas in g acces s to
in f orm ation has en han ced dem ocracyan d equ al ized s ocial pow er; ICAN N can ' tgetaw ayw iththe s ortof
crooked pol itics thatm ighthav e been in v is ibl e in an earl ierera. Cou n ter-argu m en ts tothis are cl os e at
han d, how ev er: the 2 000U .S. pres iden tial el ection , f orexam pl e, w as the f irs tin w hichthe In tern etw as
acces s ibl e tos u chl arge s ection s of the el ectorate, an d al s ow as the m os tcrooked in recen this tory.
In f orm ation abou tthe u n f airn es s of the el ection w as m ade av ail abl e on the In tern etbythe N AACP an d
others , bu tthis in f orm ation did n otm ake the ou tcom e an ym ore f air.
T he tran s ition s accom pan yin g com pu tertechn ol ogies m ayhav e s om e dem ocratizin g poten tial bu t
this poten tial m u s tbe iden tif ied an d w orked tow ard. Itw il l n otbe real ized au tom atical l y. Whil e Win n er' s
es s ayis of ten v iew ed as ahars hcritiqu e of the n ew m ediaf iel d, its eem s l ikel ythatn ew m ediapion eers
s u chas Dou g En gel bartan d T ed N el s on w ou l d agree w ithits bas ic argu m en t. En gel bartf el tthe s tan d
al on e w orks tation ( w ithou tcon n ection toan etw ork)w as precis el ythe w ron g direction f ortechn ol ogical
dev el opm en t, u n l ikel ytoem pow ergrou ps an d com m u n ities in an ys ign if ican tw ay ev en as the
com pu terpres s hyped its poten tial f orin div idu al em pow erm en t. N el s on ' s cybercru d"an ticipated m u ch
of Win n ers argu m en t if com pu tertechn ol ogies an d the com pan ies thatdev el opthem are s im pl y
al l ow ed toru n al on g in theirow n direction , the res u l tw il l n otbe em pow erm en tf orthe av erage
in div idu al , n orw il l itbe in creas ed dem ocracyf orou rcu l tu re. How ev er, becau s e bothEn gel bartan d
N el s on w rote s om u chabou thope f orthe f u tu re, itis of ten f orgotten thattheybel iev ed this hoped-f or
f u tu re w ou l d n otcom e abou ton its ow n . .
T he three con cern s ou tl in ed atthe cl os e of this paperrem ain am on g the m os t-dis cu s s ed n ew m edia
is s u es in recen tyears : the s u rv eil l an ce s tate an d accom pan yin g s el f -s u rv eil l an ce n ow of ten cal l ed
pan opticis m ( s ee the in trodu ction toP hil Agre' s ( 9 51)es s ayin this v ol u m e), the al teration of pattern s
An otherv iew of n ew
m ediatechn ol ogy; .
rel ation toou rs ocial -
s ys tem s an d bel ief s ~ .
throu ghthe l en s of .
"-rev ol u tion "l is . ..
pres en ted in Stu art.
Mou l ' tl 1rop' s .es s a_' y-in 4
this an thol ogy( 0/ :8).~
.| A
Arim ayby,1 ' - -
Lickl ide' r.-+n ot- m et
02 0
on e on ew in n er . "
qu otes , bu ton e that
deal s w iththe. ' -
com pu teras W
en han tin g hu m an .
tl 1ou g\l ' !tan d
col l aborativ e" - .
actii/ ity _-is in cl u ded
in this book ( _005).7 . .
rel
of hu m an s ociabil ity( w hichl argel ys til l l ack s eriou s s tu dy, des pite theircom m on m en tion ), an d the
r ~ 9 1
m obil ityan d u n l ocatabil ityof pow erthatis n ow of ten cal l ed rhizom atic ( s ee in trodu ction s toes s ays by
the Critical ArtEn s em bl e ( 9 53)an d byGil l es Del eu ze an d F l ixGu attari( 9 2 7 )). Giv en thatthis es s ayw as
w ritten w hen the Macin tos hw as n ew an d m os tof todays n ew m ediaw as m an ytechn ol ogic
gen eration s in the f u tu re, its eem s ev iden tthatthe cen tral is s u es , an d theref ore the goal s f orw hichw e
m ightf ight, are poten tial l yv is ibl e throu ghthe con tin u al s w irl of produ ctan n ou n cem en ts an d
in f orm ation -age hype. How ev er, on ce w e choos e tol ook atthes e is s u es , w aitin g w ithbou n dl es s f aithf or
the rev ol u tion m ayn ol on gers eem av iabl e option .
l \1WF
@ -
%
m i
Origin al P u bl ication
T he Whal e an d the R eactor: ASearchf orLim its in an Age of
HighT echn ol ogy, 9 8-117 . Chicago: U n iv ers ityof Chicago
P res s , 19 86 .
Mythin f orm ation
Lan gdon Win n er
Com pu terpow ertothe peopl e is es s en tial to
the real ization of af u tu re in w hichm os t
citizen s are in f orm ed abou t, an d in teres ted an d
in v ol v ed in , the proces s es of gov ern m en t.
J. C. R . Lickl ider
In n in eteen th-cen tu ryEu rope arecu rrin g cerem on ial
ges tu re s ign al ed the progres s of popu l aru pris in gs . At
the poin tatw hichits eem ed thatf orces of dis ru ption
in the s treets w ere s u f f icien tl ypow erf u l toov erthrow
m on archical au thority, aprom in en trebel l eaderw ou l d
gotothe parl iam en torcityhal l toprocl aim the
repu bl ic. T his w as an in dication tof rien d an d f oe al ike
thatarev ol u tion w as prepared totake its w ork
s eriou s l y, tos eize pow eran d begin gov ern in g in aw ay
thatgu aran teed pol itical repres en tation toal l the
peopl e. Su bs equ en tev en ts , of cou rs e, did n otal w ays
m atchthes e gran d hopes ; on occas ion the
rev ol u tion aries w ere thw arted in theiram bition s an d
reaction arygov ern m en ts regain ed con trol .
N ev erthel es s , w hatagl oriou s m om en tw hen the
repu bl ic w as decl ared! Here, if on l ybrief l y, w as the
prom is e of an ew order an age of equ al ity, j u s tice, an d
em an cipation of hu m an kin d.
As om ew hats im il arges tu re has becom e as tan dard
f eatu re in con tem poraryw ritin gs on com pu ters an d
s ociety. In cou n tl es s books , m agazin e articl es , an d
m edias pecial s s om e in trepid s ou l s teps f orthto
procl aim the rev ol u tion . Of ten itis cal l ed s im pl ythe
40. Mythin f orm ation theN EWMEDIAR EADER
com pu terrev ol u tion "; m ybrief in s pection of al ibrary
catal ogu e rev eal ed three books w ithexactl ythattitl e
pu bl is hed s in ce 19 6 2 .1 Otherpopu l arv arian ts in cl u de
the in f orm ation rev ol u tion , m icroel ectron ics
rev ol u tion , an d n etw ork rev ol u tion . Bu tw hatev erits
l abel , the m es s age is u s u al l ythe s am e. T he u s e of
com pu ters an d adv an ced com m u n ication s techn ol ogies
is produ cin g as w eepin g s etof tran s f orm ation s in ev ery
com erof s ocial l if e. An in f orm al con s en s u s am on g
com pu ters cien tis ts , s ocial s cien tis ts , an d j ou rn al is ts
af f irm s the term rev ol u tion as the con ceptbes ts u ited
todes cribe thes e ev en ts . We are al l v erypriv il eged,"a
n oted com pu ters cien tis tdecl ares , tobe in this great
In f orm ation R ev ol u tion in w hichthe com pu teris goin g
toaf f ectu s v eryprof ou n dl y, probabl ym ore s othan the
In du s trial R ev ol u tion . Aw el l -kn ow n s ociol ogis tw rites ,
T his rev ol u tion in the organ ization an d proces s in g of
in f orm ation an d kn ow l edge, in w hichthe com pu ter
pl ays acen tral rol e, has as its con textthe dev el opm en t
of w hatIhav e cal l ed the pos tin du s trial s ociety. At
f requ en tin terv al s du rin g the pas tdozen years , garis h
cov ers tories in T im e an d N ew s w eek hav e repeated this
s tory, cl im axed byT im es s el ection of the com pu teras
its Man of the Y ear"f or19 82 .
Of cou rs e, the s am e s ocietyn ow s aid tobe
u n dergoin g acom pu terrev ol u tion has l on g s in ce gotten
u s ed torev ol u tion s in l au n drydetergen ts , u n derarm
deodoran ts , f l oorw axes , an d othercon s u m erprodu cts .
Exhau s ted in Madis on Av en u e adv ertis in g s l ogan s , the
im age has l os tm u chof its pu n ch. T hos e w hoem pl oyit
total k abou tcom pu ters an d s ociety, how ev er, appearto
be m akin g m u chm ore s eriou s cl aim s . T heyof f era
pow erf u l m etaphor, on e thatin v ites u s tocom pare the
kin d of dis ru ption s s een in pol itical rev ol u tion s tothe
chan ges w e s ee happen in g arou n d com pu ter
in f orm ation s ys tem s . Letu s take thatin v itation
s eriou s l yan d s ee w here itl eads .
0 19 8$ 40. Mythin f orm ation 0 ieaoe ~ 0 A W~~
AMetaphorExpl ored
Su ppos e thatw e w ere l ookin g atarev ol u tion in aT hird
Worl d cou n try, the rev ol u tion of the San din is tas in
N icaragu a, f orexam pl e. We w ou l d w an ttobegin bys tu dyin g
the f u n dam en tal goal s of the rev ol u tion . Is this am ov em en t
tru l ycom m itted tos ocial j u s tice?Does its eek tou phol d a
v al id ideal of hu m an f reedom ?Does itas pire toas ys tem of
dem ocratic ru l e?An s w ers tothos e qu es tion s w ou l d hel pu s
decide w hetherorn otthis is arev ol u tion w orthyof ou r
en dors em en t. Bythe s am e token , w e w ou l d w an ttoas k
abou tthe m ean s the rev ol u tion aries had chos en topu rs u e
theirgoal s . Hav in g s u cceeded in arm ed s tru ggl e, how w il l
theym an age v iol en ce an d m il itaryf orce on ce theygain
con trol ?Areas on abl e pers on w ou l d al s ow an ttol earn
s om ethin g of the s tru ctu re of in s titu tion al au thoritythatthe
rev ol u tion w il l trytocreate. Wil l there be f requ en t, open
el ection s ?Whats ys tem s of decis ion m akin g, adm in is tration ,
an d l aw en f orcem en tw il l be pu ttow ork?Com in g toterm s
w ithits propos ed en ds an d m ean s , as ym pathetic obs erv er
cou l d then w atchthe rev ol u tion u n f ol d, n oticin g w hetheror
n otitrem ain ed tru e toits prof es s ed pu rpos es an d how w el l
its u cceeded in its ref orm s .
Mos tdedicated rev ol u tion aries of the m odern age hav e
been w il l in g tos u ppl ycoheren tpu bl ic an s w ers toqu es tion s
of this s ort. Itis n otu n reas on abl e toexpect, theref ore, that
s om ethin g l ike thes e is s u es m u s thav e en gaged thos e w hos o
eagerl yu s e the m etaphorrev ol u tion todes cribe an d
cel ebrate the adv en tof com pu terization . U n f ortu n atel y, this
is n otthe cas e. Books , articl es , an d m edias pecial s aim ed ata
popu l arau dien ce are u s u al l ycon ten ttodepictthe dazzl in g
m agn itu de of techn ical in n ov ation s an d s ocial ef f ects .
Written as if bys om e u n iv ers al l yaccepted f orm at, s u ch
accou n ts des cribe s cores of n ew com pu terprodu cts an d
proces s es , an n ou n ce the en orm ou s dol l arv al u e of the
grow in g com pu teran d com m u n ication s in du s try, s u rv eythe
expan din g u s es of com pu ters in of f ices , f actories , s chool s ,
an d hom es , an d of f ergood n ew s f rom res earchan d
dev el opm en tl aboratories abou tthe greatprom is e of the
n extgen eration of com pu tin g dev ices . Al on g w iththis on e
reads of the m an yim pacts thatcom pu terization is goin g to
hav e on ev erys phere of l if e. P rof es s ion al s in w idel ys eparate
f iel ds doctors , l aw yers , corporate m an agers , an d
s cien tis ts com m en ton the chan ges com pu ters hav e
brou ghttotheirw ork. Hom e con s u m ers giv e tes tim on ial s
expl ain in g how pers on al com pu ters are hel pin g edu cate their
chil dren , prepare theirin com e taxf orm s , an d f il e their
recipes . On occas ion , this gen eral l yhappys toryw il l in cl u de
reports on peopl e l ef tu n em pl oyed in occu pation s
u n derm in ed byau tom ation . Al m os tal w ays , f ol l ow in g this
f orm u l a, there w il l be an obl igatorys en ten ce ortw oof
criticis m of the com pu tercu l tu re s ol icited f rom atechn ical l y
qu al if ied s pokes m an , an attem pttoadd bal an ce toan
otherw is e total l ys an gu in e ou tl ook.
U n f ortu n atel y, the prev al en ce of s u chs u perf icial ,
u n ref l ectiv e des cription s an d f orecas ts abou t
com pu terization can n otbe attribu ted s ol el ytohas ty
j ou rn al is m . Som e of the m os tpres tigiou s j ou rn al s of the
s cien tif ic com m u n ityechothe cl aim thatarev ol u tion is in
the w orks . Aw el l -kn ow n com pu ters cien tis thas an n ou n ced
u n abas hedl ythatrev ol u tion , tran s f orm ation an d s al v ation
are al l tobe carried ou t.5Itis tru e thatm ore s eriou s
approaches tothe s tu dyof com pu ters an d s ocietycan be
f ou n d in s chol arl ypu bl ication s . An u m berof s ocial s cien tis ts ,
com pu ters cien tis ts , an d phil os ophers hav e begu n toexpl ore
im portan tis s u es abou thow com pu terization w orks an d
w hatdev el opm en ts , pos itiv e an d n egativ e, itis l ikel ytobrin g
tos ociety?Bu ts u chcaref u l , critical s tu dies are byn om ean s
the on es m os tin f l u en tial in s hapin g pu bl ic attitu des abou t
the w orl d of m icroel ectron ics . An editorataN ew Y ork
pu bl is hin g hou s e s tated the n orm , P eopl e w an ttokn ow
w hat' s n ew w ithcom pu tertechn ol ogy. T heydon ' tw an tto
kn ow w hatcou l d gow ron g.
Its eem s al l bu tim pos s ibl e f orcom pu teren thu s ias ts to
exam in e critical l ythe en ds thatm ightgu ide the w orl d-
s hakin g dev el opm en ts theyan ticipate. T heyem pl oythe
m etaphorof rev ol u tion f oron e pu rpos e on l y~ tos u gges ta
dras tic u pheav al , on e thatpeopl e ou ghttow el com e as good
n ew s . Itn ev eroccu rs tothem toin v es tigate the ideaorits
m ean in g an yf u rther.
On e m ights u ppos e, f orexam pl e, thatarev ol u tion of this
type w ou l d in v ol v e as ign if ican ts hif tin the l ocu s of pow er;
af teral l , thatis exactl yw haton e expects in rev ol u tion s of a
pol itical kin d Is s om ethin g s im il argoin g tohappen in this
in s tan ce?
On e. m ightal s oas k w hetherorn otthis rev ol u tion w il l be
s tron gl ycom m itted, as rev ol u tion s of ten are, toaparticu l ar
s etof s ocial ideal s . If s o, w hatare the ideal s thatm atter?
Where can w e s ee them argu ed?
T om en tion rev ol u tion al s obrin gs tom in d the
rel ation s hips of dif f eren ts ocial cl as s es . Wil l the com pu ter
40. Mythin f orm ation
rev ol u tion brin g abou tthe v ictoryof on e cl as s ov eran other?
Wil l itbe the occas ion f orareal ign m en tof cl as s l oyal ties ?
In the bu s yw orl d of com pu ters cien ce, com pu ter
en gin eerin g, an d com pu term arketin g s u chqu es tion s s el dom
com e u p. T hos e activ el yen gaged in prom otin g the
tran s f orm ation hardw are an d s of tw are en gin eers ,
m an agers of m icroel ectron ics f irm s , com pu ters al es m en , an d
the l ike are bu s ypu rs u in g theirow n en ds :prof its , m arket
s hare, han ds om e s al aries , the in trin s ic j oyof in v en tion , the
in tel l ectu al rew ards of program m in g, an d the pl eas u res of
ow n in g an d u s in g pow erf u l m achin es . Bu tthe s heer
dyn am is m of techn ical an d econ om ic activ ityin the
com pu terin du s tryev iden tl yl eav es its m em bers l ittl e tim e to
pon derthe his torical -s ign if ican ce of theirow n activ ity. T hey
m u s ts tru ggl e tokeepcu rren t, tobe on the cres tof the n ext
w av e as itbreaks . As on e m em berof DataGen eral s Eagl e
com pu terproj ectdes cribes it, the prev ail in g s piritres em bl es
agam e of pin bal l . Y ou w in on e gam e, you gettopl ay
an other. Y ou w in w iththis m achin e, you gettobu il d the
n ext."3 T he proces s has its ow n in ertia.
Hen ce, on e l ooks in v ain tothe m ov ers an d s hakers in
com pu terf iel ds f orthe qu al ities of s ocial an d pol itical in s ight
thatcharacterized rev ol u tion aries of the pas t. T oobu s y.
Crom w el l , Jef f ers on , R obes pierre, Len in , an d Maow ere abl e
toref l ectu pon the w orl d his torical ev en ts in w hichthey
pl ayed arol e. P u bl ic pron ou n cem en ts bythe l ikes of R obert
N oyce, Marv in Min s ky, Edw ard F eigen bau m , an d Stev en Jobs
s how n os im il arw is dom abou tthe tran s f orm ation s theys o
activ el yhel ptocreate. Byan d l arge the com pu terrev ol u tion
is con s picu ou s l ys il en tabou tits ow n en ds .
Good Con s ol e, Good N etw ork,
Good Com pu ter
Mycon cern f orthe pol itical m ean in g of rev ol u tion in this
s ettin g m ays eem s om ew hatm is l eadin g, ev en perv ers e. A
m u chbetterpoin tof ref eren ce m ightbe the techn ical
rev ol u tion s an d as s ociated s ocial u pheav al s of the pas t, the
in du s trial rev ol u tion in particu l ar. If the en thu s ias ts of
com pu terization had readil ytaken u pthis com paris on ,
s tu dyin g earl ierhis torical periods f ors im il arities an d
dif f eren ces in pattern s of techn ol ogical in n ov ation , capital
f orm ation , em pl oym en t, s ocial chan ge, an d the l ike, then it
w ou l d be cl earthatIhad chos en the w ron g appl ication of
this m etaphor. Bu t, in f act, n ow el l dev el oped com paris on s of
thatkin d are tobe f ou n d in the w ritin gs on the com pu ter
theN EWMEDIAR EADER
rev ol u tion . Acon s is ten tl yahis torical v iew poin tprev ail s .
Whaton e of ten f in ds em phas ized, how ev er, is av is ion of
dras tical l yal tered s ocial an d pol itical con dition s , af u tu re
u phel d as bothdes irabl e an d, in al l l ikel ihood, in ev itabl e.
P ol itics , in otherw ords , is n otas econ darycon cern f orm an y
com pu teren thu s ias ts ; itis acru cial , al beitthou ghtl es s , part
of theirm es s age.
We are, accordin g toaf airl ys tan dard accou n t, m ov in g in to
an age characterized bythe ov erw hel m in g dom in an ce of
el ectron ic in f orm ation s ys tem s in al l areas of hu m an practice.
In du s trial s ociety, w hichdepen ded u pon m aterial produ ction
f orits l iv el ihood, is rapidl ybein g s u ppl an ted byas ocietyof
in f orm ation s erv ices thatw il l en abl e peopl e tos atis f ytheir
econ om ic an d s ocial n eeds . Whatw ater- an d s team -pow ered
m achin es w ere tothe in du s trial age, the com pu terw il l be to
the eran ow daw n in g. Ev er-expan din g techn ical capacities in
com pu tation an d com m u n ication s w il l m ake pos s ibl e a
u n iv ers al , in s tan tan eou s acces s toen orm ou s qu an tities of
v al u abl e in f orm ation . As thes e techn ol ogies becom e l es s an d
l es s expen s iv e an d m ore an d m ore con v en ien t, al l the peopl e
of the w orl d, n otj u s tthe w eal thy, w il l be abl e tou s e the
w on derf u l s erv ices thatin f orm ation m achin es m ake
av ail abl e. Gradu al l y, exis tin g dif f eren ces betw een richan d
poor, adv an taged an d dis adv an taged, w il l begin toev aporate.
Wides pread acces s tocom pu ters w il l produ ce as ocietym ore
dem ocratic, egal itarian , an d richl ydiv ers e than an y
prev iou s l ykn ow n . Becau s e kn ow l edge is pow er, becau s e
el ectron ic in f orm ation w il l s pread kn ow l edge in toev ery
corn erof w orl d s ociety, pol itical in f l u en ce w il l be m u chm ore
w idel ys hared. Withthe pers on al com pu ters erv in g as the
greatequ al izer, ru l e bycen tral ized au thorityan d s ocial cl as s
dom in an ce w il l gradu al l yf ade aw ay. T he m arv el ou s prom is e
of agl obal v il l age"w il l be f u l f il l ed in aw orl dw ide bu rs tof
hu m an creativ ity.
As am pl in g f rom recen tw ritin gs on the in f orm ation
s ocietyil l u s trates thes e gran d expectation s .
T he w orl d is en terin g an ew period. T he w eal thof
n ation s , w hichdepen ded u pon l an d, l abor, an d capital
du rin g its agricu l tu ral an d in du s trial phas es
depen ded u pon n atu ral res ou rces , the accu m u l ation of
m on ey, an d ev en u pon w eapon ry w il l com e in the
f u tu re todepen d u pon in f orm ation , kn ow l edge an d
in tel l igen ceg
a. _. 9 :0; -.- oi... or ..-. -19 81 40.Mythin f orm ation
T he el ectron ic rev ol u tion w il l n otdoaw ayw ithw ork,
bu titdoes hol d ou ts om e prom is es :Mos tborin g j obs
can be don e bym achin es ; l en gthycom m u tin g can be
av oided; w e can hav e en ou ghl eis u re tof ol l ow in teres t-
in g pu rs u its ou ts ide ou rw ork; en v iron m en tal des tru c-
tion can be av oided; the opportu n ities f orpers on al
creativ ityw il l be u n l im ited.
Lon g l is ts of s pecif ic s erv ices s pel l ou tthe u topian prom is e
of this n ew age:in teractiv e tel ev is ion , el ectron ic f u n ds
tran s f er, com pu ter-aided in s tru ction , cu s tom ized n ew s
s erv ice, el ectron ic m agazin es , el ectron ic m ail , com pu ter
tel econ f eren cin g, on -l in e s tock m arketan d w eatherreports ,
com pu terized Y el l ow P ages , s hoppin g v iahom e com pu ter,
an d s of orth. Al l of itis s u ppos ed toadd u ptoacu l tu ral
ren ais s an ce.
Whatev erxthe l im its togrow thin otherf iel ds , there
are n ol im its n earin tel ecom m u n ication s an d
el ectron ic techn ol ogy. T here are n ol im its n earin the
con s u m ption of in f orm ation , the grow thof cu l tu re,
orthe dev el opm en tof the hu m an m in d.
Com pu ter-bas ed com m u n ication s can be u s ed to
m ake hu m an l iv es richeran d f reer, byen abl in g
pers on s tohav e acces s tov as ts tores of in f orm ation ,
otherhu m an res ou rces ,"an d opportu n ities f orw ork
an d s ocial izin g on am ore f l eidbl e, cheaperan d
con v en ien tbas is than ev erbef ore.
When s u chs ys tem s becom e w ides pread, poten tial l y
in ten s e com m u n ication s n etw orks am on g
geographical l ydis pers ed pers on s w il l becom e
actrial izecl We w il l becom e N etw ork N ation ,
e> rchan gin g v as tam ou n ts of in f orm ation an d s ocial
an d em otion al com m u n ication s w ithcol l eagu es ,
f rien ds an d "s tran gers "w hos hare s im il arin teres ts ,
w hoare s pread al l ov erthe n ation .
Arichdiv ers ityof s u bcu l tu res w il l be f os tered bycom -
pu ter-bas ed com m u n ication s s ys tem s . Social , pol itical ,
techn ical chan ges w il l produ ce con dition s l ikel yto
l ead tothe f orm ation of grou ps w iththeirow n
dis tin ctiv e s ets of v al u es , activ ities , l an gu age an d
dres s .
Accordin g tothis v iew , the corrl f iu terrev ol u tion w il l , byits
s heerm om en tu m , el im in ate m an yof the il l s thathav e v exed
pol itical s ocietys in ce the begin n in g of tim e. In equ al ities of
w eal than d priv il ege w il l gradu al l yf ade aw ay. On e w riter
predicts thatcom pu tern etw orks w il l of f erm aj or
opportu n ities todis adv an taged grou ps toacqu ire the s kil l s
an d s ocial ties theyn eed tobecom e f u l l m em bers of s ociety.
An otherl ooks f orw ard toarev ol u tion aryn etw ork w here
eachn ode is equ al in pow ertoal l others . In f orm ation w il l
becom e the dom in an tf orm of w eal th. Becau s e itcan f l ow s o
qu ickl y, s of reel ythrou ghcom pu tern etw orks , itw il l n ot, in
this in terpretation , cau s e the kin ds of s tratif ication
as s ociated w ithtradition al f orm s of property. Obn oxiou s
f orm s of s ocial organ ization w il l al s obe repl aced. T he
com pu terw il l s m as hthe pyram id, on e bes t s el l in g book
procl aim s . We created the hierarchical , pyram idal ,
m an agerial s ys tem becau s e w e n eeded ittokeeptrack of
peopl e an d thin gs peopl e did; w iththe com pu tertokeep
track, w e can res tru ctu re ou rin s titu tion s horizon tal l y.
T hu s , the prol if eration of el ectron ic in f orm ation w il l
gen erate al ev el in g ef f ecttos u rpas s the dream s of his tory' s
greats ocial ref orm ers .
T he s am e v iew poin thol ds thatthe pros pects f or
participatorydem ocracyhav e n ev erbeen brighter. Accordin g
toon e grou pof s ocial s cien tis ts , T he f orm of dem ocracy
f ou n d in the an cien tGreek city s tate, the Is rael ikibbu tz, an d
the N ew En gl an d tow n m eetin g, w hichgav e ev erycitizen the
opportu n itytodirectl yparticipate in the pol itical proces s ,
has becom e im practical in Am ericas m as s s ociety. Bu tthis
n eed n otbe-the cas e. T he techn ol ogical m ean s exis tthrou gh
w hichm il l ion s of peopl e can en terin todial ogu e w ithon e
an otheran d w iththeirrepres en tativ es , an d can f orm the
au then tic con s en s u s es s en tial f ordem ocracy.
Com pu ters cien tis tJ. C. R . Lickl iderof the Mas s achu s etts
In s titu te of T echn ol ogyis on e adv ocate es pecial l yhopef u l
abou tarev ital ization of the dem ocratic proces s . He l ooks
f orw ard toan in f orm ation en v iron m en tthatw ou l d giv e pol -
itics greaterdepthan d dim en s ion than itn ow has ."Hom e
com pu tercon s ol es an d tel ev is ion s ets w ou l d be l in ked
togetherin am as s iv e n etw ork. T he pol itical proces s w ou l d
es s en tial l ybe agian ttel econ f eren ce, an d acam paign w ou l d
be am on ths -l on g s eries of com m u n ication s am on g
can didates , propagan dis ts , com m en tators , pol itical action
grou ps an d v oters . An arran gem en tof this kin d w ou l d, in his
v iew , en cou rage am ore open , com prehen s iv e exam in ation of
bothis s u es an d can didates . T he in f orm ation rev ol u tion , he
excl aim s , is brin gin g w ithitakeythatm ayopen the doorto
40. Mythin f orm ation
an ew eraof in v ol v em en tan d participation . T he keyis the
s el f -m otiv atin g exhil aration thataccom pan ies tru l yef f ectiv e
in teraction w ithin f orm ation throu ghagood con s ol e
throu ghagood n etw ork toagood com pu ter. Itis , in s hort,
adem ocracyof m achin es .
T aken as aw hol e, bel ief s of this kin d con s titu te w hatI
w ou l d cal l m ythin f orm ation :the al m os trel igiou s con v iction
thataw ides pread adoption of com pu ters an d
com m u n ication s s ys tem s al on g w itheas yacces s to
el ectron ic in f orm ation w il l au tom atical l yprodu ce abetter
w orl d f orhu m an l iv in g. Itis apecu l iarf orm of en thu s ias m
thatcharacterizes s ocial f as hion s of the l atterdecades of the
tw en tiethcen tu ry. Man ypeopl e w hohav e grow n cyn ical or
dis cou raged abou totheras pects of s ocial l if e are com pl etel y
en thral l ed bythe s u ppos ed redem ptiv e qu al ities of
com pu ters an d tel ecom m u n ication s . Writin g of the f if th
gen eration "s u percom pu ters , Japan es e au thorY on ej i
Mas u darhaps odical l ypredicts f reedom f oreachof u s tos et
in div idu al goal s of s el f real ization an d then perhaps a
w orl dw ide rel igiou s ren ais s an ce, characterized n otbya
bel ief in as u pern atu ral god, bu tratherbyaw e an d hu m il ity
in the pres en ce of the col l ectiv e hu m an -s piritan d its
w is dom , hu m an ityl iv in g in as ym bol ic tran qu il ityw iththe
pl an etw e hav e f ou n d ou rs el v es u pon , regu l ated byan ew s et
of gl obal ethics .2
Itis n otu n com m on f orthe adv en tof an ew techn ol ogyto
prov ide an occas ion f orf l ights of u topian f an cy. Du rin g the
l as ttw ocen tu ries the f actorys ys tem , rail roads , tel ephon e,
el ectricity, au tom obil e, airpl an e, radio, tel ev is ion , an d n u cl ear
pow erhav e al l f igu red prom in en tl yin the bel ief thatan ew
an d gl oriou s age w as abou ttobegin . Bu tev en w ithin the
greattradition of optim is tic techn ophil ia, cu rren tdream s of
apcom pu terage s tan d ou tas exaggerated an d u n real is tic.
Becau s e theyhav e s u chabroad appeal , becau s e they
ov ers hadow otherw ays of l ookin g atthe m atter, thes e
n otion s des erv e cl os erin s pection .
T he GreatEqu al izer
As is gen eral l ytru e of am yth, the s torycon tain s el em en ts of
tru th. Whatw ere on ce in du s trial s ocieties are bein g
tran s f orm ed in tos erv ice econ om ies , atren d thatem erges as
m ore m aterial produ ction s hif ts todev el opin g cou n tries
w here l aborcos ts are l ow an d bu s in es s taxbreaks l u crativ e.
Atthe s am e tim e thatin du s trial ization takes hol d in l es s -
dev el oped n ation s of the w orl d, dein du s trial ization is
theN EWMEDIAR EADER
gradu al l yal terin g the econ om ies of N orthAm ericaan d
Eu rope. Som e of the s erv ice in du s tries cen tral tothis pattern
are on es thatdepen d u pon highl ys ophis ticated com pu ter
an d com m u n ication s s ys tem s . Bu tthis does n otm ean that
f u tu re em pl oym en tpos s ibil ities w il l f l ow l argel yf rom the
m icroel ectron ics in du s tryan d in f orm ation s erv ices . A
n u m berof s tu dies , in cl u din g thos e of the Bu reau of
LaborStatis tics , s u gges tthatthe v as tm aj orityof n ew j obs
w il l com e in m en ial s erv ice occu pation s payin g rel ativ el yl ow
w ages . As robots an d com pu ters of tw are abs orb an
in creas in g s hare of f actoryan d of f ice tas ks , the in f orm ation
s ociety w il l of f erpl en tyof opportu n ities f orj an itors ,
hos pital orderl ies , an d f as t-f ood w aiters .
T he com pu terrom an tics are al s ocorrectin n otin g that
com pu terization al ters rel ation s hips of s ocial pow eran d
con trol , al thou ghtheym is repres en tthe direction this
dev el opm en tis l ikel ytotake. T hos e w hos tan d toben ef it
m os tobv iou s l yare l arge tran s n ation al bu s in es s corporation s .
Whil e theirgl obal reach does n otaris e s ol el yf rom the
appl ication of in f orm ation techn ol ogies , s u chorgan ization s
are u n iqu el ys itu ated toexpl oitthe ef f icien cy, produ ctiv ity,
com m an d, an d con trol the n ew el ectron ics m ake av ail abl e.
Othern otabl e ben ef iciaries of the s ys tem atic u s e of v as t
am ou n ts of digitized in f orm ation are pu bl ic bu reau cracies ,
in tel l igen ce agen cies , an d an ev er-expan din g m il itary,
organ ization s thatw ou l d operate l es s ef f ectiv el yattheir
pres en ts cal e w ere itn otf orthe u s e of com pu terpow er.
Ordin arypeopl e are, of cou rs e, s tron gl yaf f ected bythe
w orkin gs of thes e organ ization s an d bythe rapid s pread of
n ew el ectron ic s ys tem s in ban kin g, in s u ran ce, taxation ,
f actoryan d of f ice w ork, hom e en tertain m en t, an d the l ike.
T heyare al s ocou n ted u pon tobe eagerbu yers of hardw are,
s of tw are, an d com m u n ication s s erv ices as com pu ter
produ cts reachthe con s u m erm arket.
Bu tw here in al l of this m otion dow e s ee in creas ed
dem ocratization ?Social equ al ity?T he daw n of acu l tu ral
ren ais s an ce?Cu rren tdev el opm en ts in the in f orm ation age
s u gges tan in creas e in pow erbythos e w hoal readyhad a
greatdeal of pow er, an en han ced cen tral ization of con trol by
thos e al readyprepared f orcon trol , an au gm en tation of
w eal thbythe al readyw eal thy. F arf rom dem on s tratin g a
rev ol u tion in pattern s of s ocial an d pol itical in f l u en ce,
em pirical s tu dies of com pu ters an d s ocial chan ge u s u al l y
s how pow erf u l grou ps adaptin g com pu terized m ethods to
retain con trol . T hatis n ots u rpris in g. T hos e bes ts itu ated to
<
o ... 119 81 ea 40. Mythin f orm ation
take adv an tage of the pow erof an ew techn ol ogyare of ten
thos e prev iou s l yw el l s itu ated bydin tof w eal th, s ocial
s tan din g, an d in s titu tion al pos ition . T hu s , if there is tobe a
com pu terrev ol u tion , the bes tgu es s is thatitw il l hav e a
dis tin ctl ycon s erv ativ e character.
Gran ted, s u chprom in en ttren ds cou l d be al tered. Itis
pos s ibl e thatas ocietys tron gl yrooted in com pu teran d
tel ecom m u n ication s s ys tem s cou l d be on e in w hich
participatorydem ocracy, decen tral ized pol itical con trol , an d
s ocial equ al ityare f u l l yreal ized. P rogres s of thatkin d w ou l d
hav e tooccu ras the res u l tof thats ociety' s con certed ef f orts
toov ercom e m an ydif f icu l tobs tacl es toachiev e thos e en ds .
Com pu teren thu s ias ts , how ev er, s el dom propos e del iberate
action . of thatkin d. In s tead, theys tron gl ys u gges tthatthe
good s ocietyw il l be real ized as as ide ef f ect, as pin -of f f rom
the v as tprol if eration of com pu tin g dev ices . T here is
ev iden tl yn on eed totrytos hape the in s titu tion s of the
in f orm ation age in w ays thatm axim ize hu m an f reedom
w hil e pl acin g l im its u pon con cen tration s of pow er.
F orthos e w il l in g tow aitpas s iv el yw hil e the com pu ter
rev ol u tion takes its cou rs e, techn ol ogical determ in is m ceas es
tobe m ere theoryan d becom es an ideal :ades ire toem brace
con dition s brou ghton bytechn ol ogical chan ge w ithou t
j u dgin g them in adv an ce. T here is n othin g n ew in this
dis pos ition . Com pu terrom an ticis m is m erel ythe l ates t
v ers ion of the n in eteen th- an d tw en tieth-cen tu ryf aithw e
n oted earl ier, on e thathas al w ays expected togen erate
f reedom , dem ocracy, an d j u s tice throu ghs heerm aterial
abu n dan ce. T hu s there is n on eed f ors eriou s in qu iryin tothe
appropriate des ign of n ew in s titu tion s orthe dis tribu tion of
rew ards an d bu rden s . As l on g as the econ om yis grow in g an d
the m achin eryin good w orkin g order, the res tw il l take care
of its el f . In prev iou s v ers ion s of this hom es pu n con v iction ,
theabu n dan t( an d theref ore dem ocratic)s ocietyw as
m an if es tbyal im itl es s s u ppl yof hou s es , appl ian ces , an d
con s u m ergoods . N ow acces s toin f orm ation an d acces s to
com pu ters hav e m ov ed tothe topof the l is t.
T he pol itical argu m en ts of com pu terrom an tics draw . u pon
an u m berof keyas s u m ption s :( 1)peopl e are beref tof
in f orm ation ; ( 2 )in f orm ation is kn ow l edge; ( 3)kn ow l edge is
pow er; an d ( 4)in creas in g acces s toin f orm ation en han ces
dem ocracyan d equ al izes s ocial pow er. T aken as s eparate.
as s ertion s an d in com bin ation , thes e bel ief s prov ide a
w oef u l l ydis torted pictu re of the rol e of el ectron ic s ys tem s in
s ocial l if e.
Is ittru e thatpeopl e f ace s eriou s s hortages of
in f orm ation ?T oread the l iterati-tl .l l e on the com pu ter
rev ol u tion on e w ou l d s u ppos e this tobe aprobl em on apar
w iththe en ergycris is of the 19 7 0s . T he pers u as iv en es s of
this n otion borrow s f rom ou rs en s e thatl iteracy, edu cation ,
kn ow l edge, w el l -in f orm ed m in ds , an d the w ides pread
av ail abil ityof tool s of in qu iryare u n qu es tion abl e s ocial
goods , an d that, in con tras t, il l iteracy, in adequ ate edu cation ,
ign oran ce, an d f orced res triction s u pon kn ow l edge are
am on g his torys w ors tev il s . T hu s , itappears s u perf icial l y.
pl au s ibl e thataw orl d rew ired tocon n ecthu m an bein gs to
v as tdataban ks an d com m u n ication s s ys tem s w ou l d be a
progres s iv e s tep. In f orm ation s hortage w ou l d be rem edied in
m u chthe s am e w aythatdev el opin g an ew f u el s u ppl ym ight
s ol v e an en ergycris is .
Al as , the ideais en tirel yf au l ty. Itm is takes s heers u ppl yof
in f orm ation w ithan edu cated abil itytogain kn ow l edge an d
actef f ectiv el ybas ed on thatkn ow l edge. In m an yparts of the
w orl d thatabil ityis s adl yl ackin g. Ev en s om e highl y
dev el oped s ocieties s til l con tain chron ic in equ al ities in the
dis tribu tion of good edu cation an d bas ic in tel l ectu al s kil l s .
T he U .S. Arm y, f or in s tan ce, m u s tn ow rej ectordis m is s a
f airl yhighpercen tage of the you n g m en an d w om en it
recru its becau s e theys im pl ycan n otread m il itarym an u al s . It
is n odou bttru e of thes e recru its thattheyhav e agreatdeal
of in f orm ation abou tthe w orl d in f orm ation f rom theirl if e
experien ces , s chool in g, the m as s m edia, an d s of orth. What
m akes them f u n ction al l yil l iterate is thattheyhav e n ot
l earn ed totran s l ate this in f orm ation in toam as teryof
practical s kil l s .
If the s ol u tion toprobl em s of il l iteracyan d pooredu cation
w ere aqu es tion of in f orm ation s u ppl yal on e, then the bes t
pol icym ightbe toin creas e the n u m berof w el l -s tocked
l ibraries , m akin g s u re theyw ere bu il tin pl aces w here l ibraries
don _otpres en tl yexis t. Of cou rs e, thatw ou l d dol ittl e good in
its el f u n l es s peopl e are s u f f icien tl yw el l edu cated tou s e thos e
l ibraries tobroaden theirkn ow l edge an d u n ders tan din g.
Com pu teren thu s ias ts how ev er, are n otn oted f ortheircal l s
toin creas e s u pportof pu bl ic l ibraries an d s chool s . Itis
el ectron ic in f orm ation carried byn etw orks theyu phol d as
cru cial . Here is acas e in w hichan obs es s ion w ithaparticu l ar
kin d of techn ol ogycau s es on e todis regard w hatare obv iou s
probl em s an d cl earrem edies . Whil e itis tru e thats ys tem s of
com pu tation an d com m u n ication s , in tel l igen tl ys tru ctu red
an d w is el yappl ied, m ighthel pas ocietyrais e its s tan dards of
40. Mythin f orm ation
l iteracy, edu cation , an d gen eral kn ow l edgeabil ity, tol ook to
thos e in s tru m en ts f irs tw hil e ign orin g how toen l ighten an d
in v igorate ahu m an m in d is pu re f ool is hn es s .
As ev erybodykn ow s , kn ow l edge is pow er.2 T his is an
attractiv e idea, bu thighl ym is l eadin g. Of cou rs e, kn ow l edge
em pl oyed in particu l arcircu m s tan ces can hel pon e act
ef f ectiv el yan d in thats en s e en han ce on es pow er. Acitru s
f arm ers kn ow l edge of f ros tcon dition s en abl es him / herto
take s teps toprev en tdam age tothe crop. Acan didates
kn ow l edge of pu bl ic opin ion can be apow erf u l aid in an
el ection cam paign . Bu ts u rel ythere is n oau tom atic, pos itiv e
l in k betw een kn ow l edge an d pow er, es pecial l yif thatm ean s
pow erin as ocial orpol itical s en s e. Attim es kn ow l edge
brin gs m erel yan en l ighten ed im poten ce orparal ys is . On e
m aykn ow exactl yw hattodobu tl ack the w herew ithal to
act. Of the m an ycon dition s thataf f ectthe phen om en on of
pow er, kn ow l edge is bu ton e an d byn om ean s the m os t
im portan t. T hu s , in the his toryof ideas , argu m en ts that
expertkn ow l edge ou ghttopl ayas pecial rol e in pol itics the
phil os opher-kin gs f orP l ato, the en gin eers f orVebl en hav e
al w ays been of f ered as s om ethin g con trarytoprev ail in g
w is dom . T oP l atoan d Vebl en itw as obv iou s thatkn ow l edge
w as n otpow er, as itu ation theyhoped torem edy.
An equ al l ys eriou s m is con ception am on g com pu ter
en thu s ias ts is the bel ief thatdem ocracyis f irs tan d f orem os ta
m atterof dis tribu tin g in f orm ation . As on e particu l arl y
f l am boyan tm an if es toexcl aim s :T here is an expl os ion of
in f orm ation dis pers al in the techn ol ogyan d w e thin k this
in f orm ation has tobe s hared. Al l greatthin kers abou t
dem ocracys aid thatthe keytodem ocracyis acces s to
in f orm ation . An d n ow w e hav e achan ce togetin f orm ation
in topeopl es han ds l ike n ev erbef ore.2 5On ce again s u ch
as s ertion s pl ayon ou rbel ief thatadem ocratic pu bl ic ou ghtto
be open -m in ded an d w el l in f orm ed On e of the greatev il s of
total itarian s ocieties is thattheydictate w hatpeopl e can kn ow
an d im pos e s ecrecytores trictf reedom . Bu tdem ocracyis n ot
f ou n ded s ol el y( orev en prim aril y)u pon con dition s thataf f ect
the av ail abil ityof in f orm ation . Whatdis tin gu is hes itf rom
otherpol itical f orm s is arecogn ition thatthe peopl e as aw hol e
are capabl e of s el f -gov ern m en tan d thattheyhav e arightf u l
cl aim toru l e. As acon s equ en ce, pol itical s ocietyou ghttobu il d
in s titu tion s thatal l ow orev en en cou rage agreatl atitu de of
dem ocratic participation . I-l ow f aras ocietym u s tgoin m akin g
pol itical au thorityan d pu bl ic rol es av ail abl e toordin arypeopl e
is am atterof dis pu te am on g pol itical theoris ts . Bu tn os eriou s
theN EWMEDIAR EADER
s tu den tof the qu es tion w ou l d giv e m u chcreden ce tothe idea
thatcreatin g au n iv ers al gridw ork tos pread el ectron ic
in f orm ation is , byits el f , adem ocratizin g s tep.
What, then , of the ideathatin teraction w ithin f orm ation
throu ghagood con s ol e, throu ghagood n etw ork toagood
com pu ter w il l prom ote aren ew ed s en s e of pol itical
in v ol v em en tan d participation ?R eaders w hobel iev e that
as s ertion s hou l d con tactm e abou ts om e parcel s of l an d m y
u n cl e has f ors al e in F l orida. R el ativ el yl ow l ev el s of citizen
participation prev ail in s om e m odern dem ocracies , the
U n ited States , f orexam pl e. T here are m an yreas on s f orthis ,
m an yw ays as ocietym ighttrytoim prov e thin gs . P erhaps
opportu n ities tos erv e in pu bl ic of f ice orin f l u en ce pu bl ic
pol icyare tool im ited; in thatcas e, broaden the opportu n ities .
Orperhaps choices pl aced bef ore citizen s are s opal l id that
boredom is av al id res pon s e; in thatin s tan ce, im prov e the
qu al ityof thos e choices . Bu titis s im pl yn otreas on abl e to
as s u m e thaten thu s ias m f orpol itical activ ityw il l be
s tim u l ated s ol el ybythe in trodu ction of s ophis ticated
in f orm ation m achin es .
T he rol e thattel ev is ion pl ays i.n m odern pol itics s hou l d
s u gges tw hythis is s o. P u bl ic participation in v otin g has
s teadil ydecl in ed as tel ev is ion repl aced the f ace to-f ace pol itics
of precin cts an d n eighborhoods . P as s iv e m on itorin g of
el ectron ic n ew s an d in f orm ation al l ow s citizen s tof eel
in v ol v ed w hil e dam pen in g the des ire totake an activ e part. If
peopl e begin torel yu pon com pu terized databas es an d
tel ecom m u n ication s as aprim arym ean s of exercis in g pow er,
itis con ceiv abl e thatgen u in e pol itical kn ow l edge bas ed in
f irs t-han d experien ce w ou l d v an is hal together. T he v ital ityof
dem ocratic pol itics depen ds u pon peopl es w il l in gn es s toact
togetherin pu rs u itof theircom m on en ds . Itrequ ires thaton
occas ion m em bers of acom m u n ityappearbef ore eachother
in pers on , s peak theirm in ds , del iberate on paths of action ,
an d decide w hattheyw il l do. T his is con s iderabl ydif f eren t
f rom the m odel n ow u phel d as abreakthrou ghf ordem ocracy:
l oggin g on toon es com pu ter, receiv in g the l ates tin f orm ation ,
an d s en din g back an in s tan tan eou s digitized res pon s e.
Achapterf rom recen tpol itical his toryil l u s trates the
s tren gthof directparticipation in con tas ttothe pol itics of
el ectron ic in f orm ation . In 19 81 an d 19 82 tw ogrou ps of
activ is ts s etabou ttodow hattheycou l d tos topthe
in tern ation al n u cl eararm s race. On e of the grou ps , Grou n d
Zero, chos e torel yal m os ts ol el yu pon m as s com m u n ication s
tocon v eyits m es s age tothe pu bl ic. Its l eaders appeared on
II
0 or -e of ~l 19 8( l >
m orn in g tal k s how s an d ev en in g n ew s program s on al l three
m aj ortel ev is ion n etw orks . T heyf ol l ow ed u pw itham as s m ail
s ol icitation u s in g addres s es f rom acom pu terized databas e.
Atthe s am e tim e an othergrou p, the N u cl earWeapon s F reeze
Cam paign , began bytakin g its propos al f orabil ateral n u cl ear
f reeze toN ew En gl an d tow n m eetin gs , pl aces w here activ e
citizen participation is al on g-s tan din g tradition . Win n in g the
en dors em en tof the ideaf rom agreatm an ytow n m eetin gs ,
the N u cl earF reeze. grou pexpan ded its driv e byl au n chin g a
s eries of s tate in itiativ es . On ce again the keyw as adirect
approachtopeopl e, this tim e throu ghthou s an ds of m eetin gs ,
din n ers , an d parties hel d in hom es acros s the cou n try
T he ef f ects of the tw om ov em en ts w ere s trikin gl ydif f eren t.
Af terits in itial pu bl icity, Grou n d Zerow as l argel yign ored. It
had been an ephem eral exercis e in m ediapos tu rin g. T he
N u cl earF reeze cam paign , how ev er, con tin u ed togain
in f l u en ce in the f orm of in creas in g pu bl ic s u pport, s u cces s f u l
bal l otm eas u res , an d an abil itytoappl ypres s u re u pon
pol itical of f icial s . Ev en tu al l y, the l attergrou pdid begin tou s e
com pu terized m ail in gs , tel ev is ion appearan ces , an d the l ike to
adv an ce its cau s e. Bu titn ev erf orgotthe origin al s ou rce of its
l ev erage:peopl e w orkin g togetherf ors hared en ds .
Of al l the com pu teren thu s ias ts pol itical ideas , there is
n on e m ore poign an tthan the f aiththatthe com pu teris
des tin ed tobecom e apoten tequ al izerin m odern s ociety.
Su pportf orthis bel ief is f ou n d in the f actthats m al l
pers on al com pu ters are becom in g m ore an d m ore pow erf u l ,
l es s an d l es s expen s iv e, an d ev erm ore s im pl e tou s e.
Obn oxiou s ten den cies as s ociated w iththe en orm ou s , cos tl y,
techn ical l yin acces s ibl e com pu ters of the recen tpas tare s oon
tobe ov ercom e. As on e w riterexpl ain s , T he greatf orces of
cen tral ization thatcharacterized m ain f ram e an d
m in icom pu terdes ign of thatperiod hav e n ow been rev ers ed.
T his m ean s thatthe pu n ydev ice thats its in n ocu ou s l yon
the des ktopw il l , in f act, w ithin af ew years , con tain en ou gh
com pu tin g pow ertobecom e an ef f ectiv e equ al izer.
P res u m abl y, ordin arycitizen s equ ipped w ithm icro-
com pu ters w il l be abl e tocou n terthe in f l u en ce of l arge,
com pu ter-bas ed organ ization s .
N otion s of this kin d echobel ief s of eighteen th- an d
n in eteen th-cen tu ryrev ol u tion aries thatpl acin g f ire arm s in
the han ds of the peopl e w as cru cial toov erthrow in g
en tren ched au thority. In the Am erican R ev ol u tion , F ren ch
R ev ol u tion , P aris Com m u n e, an d R u s s ian R ev ol u tion the rol e
of the peopl e arm ed w as cen tral tothe rev ol u tion ary
program . As the m il itarydef eatof the P aris Com m u n e m ade
cl ear, how ev er, the f actthatthe popu l arf orces hav e gu n s m ay
n otbe decis iv e. In acon tes tof f orce again s tf orce, the l arger,
m ore s ophis ticated, m ore ru thl es s , betterequ ipped
com petitorof ten has the u pperhan d. Hen ce, the av ail abil ity
of l ow cos tcom pu tin g pow erm aym ov e the bas el in e that
def in es el ectron ic dim en s ion s of s ocial in f l u en ce, bu titdoes
n otn eces s aril yal terthe rel ativ e bal an ce of pow er. U s in g a
pers on al com pu term akes on e n om ore pow erf u l v is -ci-v is , s ay,
the N ation al Secu rityAgen cythan f l yin g ahan g gl ider
es tabl is hes apers on as am atchf orthe U .S. AirF orce.
In s u m , the pol itical expectation s of com pu teren thu s ias ts
are s el dom m ore than idl e f an tas y. Bel ief s thatw ides pread
u s e of com pu ters w il l cau s e hierarchies tocru m bl e, in equ al ity
totu m bl e, participation tof l ou ris h, an d cen tral ized pow erto
dis s ol v e s im pl ydon otw iths tan d cl os e s cru tin y. T he f orm u l a
in f orm ation = kn ow l edge = pow er= dem ocracyl acks an yreal
s u bs tan ce. Ateachpoin tthe m is take com es in the con v iction
thatcom pu terization w il l in ev itabl ym ov e s ocietytow ard the
good l if e. An d n oon e w il l hav e torais e af in ger.
In f orm ation an d Ideol ogy
Des pite its s hortcom in gs as pol itical theory, m ythin f orm ation
is n otew orthyas an expres s iv e con tem poraryideol ogy. Iu s e
the term ideol ogy here in as en s e com m on in s ocial s cien ce:
as etof bel ief s thatexpres s es the n eeds an d as piration s of a
grou p, cl as s , cu l tu re, ors u bcu l tu re. In this in s tan ce the n eeds
an d as piration s thatm atterm os tare thos e thats tem f rom
operation al requ irem en ts of highl ycom pl exs ys tem s in an
adv an ced techn ol ogical s ociety; the grou ps m os tdirectl y
in v ol v ed are thos e w hobu il d, m ain tain , operate, im prov e, an d
m arketthes e s ys tem s . Atatim e in w hichal m os tal l m aj or
com pon en ts of ou rtechn ol ogical s ocietyhav e com e todepen d
u pon the appl ication of l arge an d s m al l com pu ters , itis n ot
s u rpris in g thatcom pu terization has ris en toideol ogical
prom in en ce, an expres s ion of gran d hopes an d ideal s .
Whatis the in f orm ation s ocru cial in this odd bel ief
s ys tem , the icon n ow s ogreatl ycheris hed?We hav e s een
en ou ghtoappreciate thatthe kin d of in f orm ation u phel d is
n otkn ow l edge in the ordin arys en s e of the term ; n oris it
u n ders tan din g, en l ighten m en t, critical thou ght, tim el es s
w is dom , orthe con ten tof aw el l -edu cated m in d. If on e l ooks
caref u l l yatthe w ritin gs of com pu teren thu s ias ts , on e f in ds
thatin f orm ation in aparticu l arf orm an d con textis of f ered
as aparadigm toin s pire em u l ation . En orm ou s qu an tities of
40. Mythin f orm ation
data, m an ipu l ated w ithin v ariou s kin ds of el ectron ic m edia
an d u s ed tof acil itate the tran s action s of today' s l arge,
com pl exorgan ization s is the m odel w e are u rged toem brace.
In this con textthe s heerqu an tityof in f orm ation pres en ts a
f orm idabl e chal l en ge. Modern organ ization s are con tin u al l y
f aced w ithov erl oad, af l ood of datathatthreaten s tobecom e
u n in tel l igibl e tothem . Com pu ters prov ide on e w ayto
con f ron tthatprobl em ; s peed con qu ers qu an tity. An equ al l y
s eriou s chal l en ge is created bythe f actthatthe v arieties of
in f orm ation m os tcru cial tom odern organ ization s are highl y
tim e s pecif ic. Dataon s tock m arketprices , airl in e traf f ic,
w eathercon dition s , in tern ation al econ om ic in dicators ,
m il itaryin tel l igen ce, pu bl ic opin ion pol l res u l ts , an d the l ike
are u s ef u l f orv erys hortperiods of tim e. Sys tem s thatgather,
organ ize, an al yze, an d u til ize el ectron ic datain thes e areas
m u s tbe cl os el ytu n ed tothe v eryl ates tdev el opm en ts . If on e
is tradin g on f as t-paced in tern ation al m arkets , in f orm ation
abou tprices an hou rol d orev en af ew s econ ds ol d m ayhav e
n ov al u e. In f orm ation is its el f aperis habl e com m odity.
T hu s , w hatl ooked s opu zzl in g in an othercon text the
u rgen tn eed f orin f orm ation in as ocial w orl d f il l ed w ith
m an ypres s in g hu m an n eeds n ow becom es tran s paren t. It
is , in the f irs tin s tan ce, the n eed of com pl exhu m an / m achin e
s ys tem s threaten ed w ithdebil itatin g u n certain ties orev en
breakdow n u n l es s con tin u al l yrepl en is hed w ithu p-to-the-
m in u te el ectron ic in f orm ation abou ttheirin tem al s tates an d
operatin g en v iron m en ts . R apid in f orm ation -proces s in g
capabil ities of m odern com pu ters an d com m u n ication s
dev ices are aperf ectm atchf ors u chn eeds , am arriage m ade
in techn ol ogical heav en .
Bu tis its en s ibl e totran s f erthis m odel , as m an yev iden tl y
w is h, toal l parts of hu m an l if e?Mu s tactiv ities , experien ces ,
ideas , an d w ays of kn ow in g-thattake al on gertim e tobear
f ru itadapttothe s peedyproces s es of digitized in f orm ation
proces s in g?Mu s tedu cation , the arts , pol itics , s ports , hom e
l if e, an d al l otherf orm s of s ocial practice be tran s f orm ed to
accom m odate it?As on e articl e on the com in g of the hom e
com pu tercon cl u des , ru n n in g ahou s ehol d is actu al l yl ike
ru n n in g as m al l bu s in es s . Y ou hav e tow orryabou t
in v en torycon trol of hou s ehol d s u ppl ies an d bu dgetin g
f ors chool tu ition , hou s ekeepers s al aries , an d al l the res t."2 8
T he w riterargu es thatthes e com pl ex, rapidl ychan gin g
operation s requ ire apow erf u l in f orm ation -proces s in g
capacitytokeepthem f u n ction in g s m oothl y. On e begin s to
w on derhow ev erydayactiv ities s u chas ru n n in g a
theN EWMEDIAR EADER
hou s ehol d w ere ev en pos s ibl e bef ore the adv en tof
m icroel ectron ics . T his is acas e in w hichthe com pu teris a
s ol u tion f ran tical l yin s earchof aprobl em . .
In the l as tan al ys is , the al m os ttotal s il en ce abou tthe en ds
of the com pu terrev ol u tion "is f il l ed byacon v iction that
in f orm ation proces s in g is s om ethin g v al u abl e in its ow n
right. F aced w ithan in f orm ation expl os ion thats train s the
capacities of tradition al in s titu tion s , s ocietyw il l ren ov ate its
s tru ctu re toaccom m odate com pu terized, au tom ated s ys tem s
in ev eryareaof con cern . T he ef f icien tm an agem en tof
in f orm ation is rev eal ed as the tel os of m odern s ociety, its
greates tm is s ion . Itis thatf acttow hichm ythin f orm ation
adds gl oryan d gl itter. P eopl e m u s tbe con v in ced thatthe
hu m an bu rden s of an in f orm ation age u n em pl oym en t, de-
s kil l in g the dis ru ption of m an ys ocial pattern s are w orth
bearin g. On ce again , thos e w hopu s hthe pl ow are tol d they
ride agol den chariot.
Ev eryw here an d N ow here
Hav in g criticized apoin tof v iew , itrem ain s f orm e tos u gges t
w hattopics as eriou s s tu dyof com pu ters an d pol itics s hou l d
pu rs u e. T he qu es tion is , of cou rs e, av eryl arge on e. If the l on g-
term con s equ en ces of com pu terization are an ythin g l ike the
on es com m on l ypredicted, theyw il l requ ire arethin kin g of
m an yf u n dam en tal con dition s in s ocial an d pol itical l if e. Iw il l
m en tion three areas of con cern .
As peopl e han dl e an in creas in g ran ge of theirdail yactiv ities
throu ghel ectron ic in s tru m en ts m ail , ban kin g s hoppin g,
en tertain m en t, trav el pl an s , an d s of orth itbecom es
techn ical l yf eas ibl e tom on itorthes e activ ities toadegree
heretof ore in con ceiv abl e. T he av ail abil ityof digitized
f ootprin ts of s ocial tran s action s af f ords opportu n ities that
con tain am en acin g as pect. Whil e there has been agreatdeal
w ritten abou tthis probl em , m os tof itdeal s w iththe threatto
priv acy, the pos s ibil itythats om eon e m ightgain acces s to
in f orm ation thatv iol ates the s an ctityof on e' s pers on al l if e. As
im portan tas thatis s u e certain l yis , itbyn om ean s exhau s ts
the poten tial ev il s created byel ectron ic databan ks an d
com pu term atchin g. T he dan gerexten ds beyon d the priv ate
s phere toaf f ectthe m os tbas ic of pu bl ic f reedom s . U n l es s s teps
are taken toprev en tit, w e m aydev el ops ys tem s capabl e of a
perpetu al , perv as iv e, apparen tl yben ign s u rv eil l an ce.
Con f ron ted w ithom n ipres en t, al l s eein g databan ks , the
popu l ace m ayf in d pas s iv ityan d com pl ian ce the s af es trou te,
av oidin g activ ities thaton ce repres en ted pol itical l iberty. As a
* \
Q ~ 0 :0 A 0 T 0A _1 ick t
badge of civ ic pride acitizen m ayan n ou n ce, I' m n otin v ol v ed
in an ythin g acom pu terw ou l d f in d the l eas tbitin teres tin g.
T he ev ol u tion of this u n happys tate of af f airs does n ot
n eces s aril ydepen d u pon the m is u s e of com pu ters ys tem s .
T he pros pectw e f ace is real l ym u chm ore in s idiou s . An age rich
in el ectron ic in f orm ation m ayachiev e w on derf u l s ocial
con v en ien ces atacos tof pl acin g f reedom , perhaps
in adv erten tl y, in adeepchil l
Athorou ghl ycom pu terized w orl d is al s oon e bou n d toal ter
con dition s of hu m an s ociabil ity. T he poin tof m an y
appl ication s of m icroel ectron ics , af teral l , is toel im in ate s ocial
l ayers thatw ere prev iou s l yn eeded togetthin gs don e.
Com pu terized ban k tel l ers , f orexam pl e, hav e l argel ydon e
aw ayw iths m al l , l ocal bran chban ks , w hichw ere n oton l yw ays
of doin g bu s in es s , bu tpl aces w here peopl e m et, tal ked, an d
s ocial ized. T he s o-cal l ed el ectron ic cottage in du s try, s im il arl y,
operates v eryw el l w ithou tthe kin ds of hu m an in teraction s
thaton ce characterized of f ice w ork. Des pite greateref f icien cy,
produ ctiv ity, an d con v en ien ce, in n ov ation s of this kin d do
aw ayw iththe reas on s peopl e f orm erl yhad f orbein g together,
w orkin g together, actin g together. Man ypractical activ ities
on ce cru cial toev en am in im al s en s e of com m u n ityl if e are ren -
dered obs ol ete. On e con s equ en ce of thes e dev el opm en ts is to
pare aw aythe kin ds of f ace to-f ace con tactthaton ce prov ided
im portan tbu f f ers betw een in div idu al s an d organ ized pow er.
T oan in creas in g exten t, peopl e w il l becom e ev en m ore
s u s ceptibl e tothe in f l u en ce of em pl oyers , n ew s m edia,
adv ertis ers , an d n ation al pol itical l eaders . Where w il l w e f in d
n ew in s titu tion s tobal an ce an d m ediate s u chpow er?
P erhaps the m os ts ign if ican tchal l en ge pos ed bythe l in kin g
of com pu ters an d tel ecom m u n ication s is the pros pectthatthe
bas ic s tru ctu res of pol itical orderw il l be recas t. Worl dw ide
com pu ter, s atel l ite, an d com m u n ication n etw orks f u l f il l , in
l arge part, the m odern dream of con qu erin g s pace an d tim e.
T hes e s ys tem s m ake pos s ibl e in s tan tan eou s action atan y
poin ton the gl obe w ithou tl im its im pos ed bythe s pecif ic
l ocation of the in itiatin g actor. Hu m an bein gs an d hu m an
s ocieties , how ev er, hav e tradition al l yf ou n d theiriden tities
w ithin s patial an d tem poral l im its . T heyhav e l iv ed, acted, an d
f ou n d m ean in g in aparticu l arpl ace ataparticu l artim e.
Dev el opm en ts in m icroel ectron ics ten d todis s ol v e thes e l im its ,
therebythreaten in g the in tegrityof s ocial an d pol itical f orm s
thatdepen d on them . Aris totl es obs erv ation thatm an is a
pol itical an im al m ean tin its m os tl iteral s en s e thatm an is a
pol is an im al , acreatu re n atu ral l ys u ited tol iv e in aparticu l ar
0* . Jigai- 40. Mythin f orm ation
kin d of com m u n ityw ithin as pecif ic geographical s ettin g, the
city-s tate. His torical experien ce s how s thatitis pos s ibl e f or
hu m an bein gs tof l ou ris hin pol itical u n its kin gdom s ,
em pires , n ation s tates l argerthan thos e the Greeks thou ght
n atu ral Bu tu n til recen tl ythe cru cial con dition s created by
s patial bou n daries of pol itical s ocieties w ere n ev erin qu es tion .
T hathas chan ged. Methods pion eered bytran s n ation al
corporation s n ow m ake itpos s ibl e f ororgan ization s of
en orm ou s s ize tom an age theiractiv ities ef f ectiv el yacros s the
s u rf ace of the pl an et. Bu s in es s u n its thatu s ed todepen d u pon
s patial proxim itycan n ow be in tegrated throu ghcom pl ex
el ectron ic s ign al s . If its eem s con v en ien ttos hif toperation s
f rom on e areaof the w orl d toan otherf ardis tan t, itcan be
accom pl is hed w ithaf l ick of as w itch. Cl os e an of f ice in
Su n n yv al e; open an of f ice in Sin gapore. In the recen tpas t
corporation s hav e had todem on s trate atl eas ts om e s em bl an ce
of com m itm en ttogeographical l ybas ed com m u n ities ; their
pu bl ic rel ation s of ten s tres s ed the f actthattheyw ere good
n eighbors . Bu tin an age in w hichorgan ization s are l ocated
ev eryw here an d n ow here, this com m itm en teas il yev aporates .
Atran s n ation al corporation can pl ayf as tan d l oos e w ith
ev eryon e, in cl u din g the cou n trythatis os ten s ibl yits hom e.
T ow n s , cities , region s , an d w hol e n ation s are f orced tos w al l ow
theirpride an d n egotiate f orf av ors . In thatproces s , pol itical
au thorityis gradu al l yredef in ed.
Com pu terization res em bl es otherv as t, bu tl argel y
u n con s ciou s experim en ts in m odern s ocial an d techn ol ogical
his tory, experim en ts of the kin d n oted in earl ierchapters .
F ol l ow in g as tep-by-s tepproces s of in s tru m en tal
im prov em en ts , s ocieties create n ew in s titu tion s , n ew pattern s
of behav ior, n ew s en s ibil ities , n ew con texts f orthe exercis e of
pow er. Cal l in g s u chchan ges rev ol u tion ary, w e tacitl y
ackn ow l edge thatthes e are m atters thatrequ ire ref l ection ,
pos s ibl yev en s tron g pu bl ic action toen s u re thatthe
ou tcom es are des irabl e. Bu tthe occas ion s f orref l ection ,
debate, an d pu bl ic choice are extrem el yrare in deed. T he
im portan tdecis ion s are l ef tin priv ate han ds in s pired by
n arrow l yf ocu s ed econ om ic m otiv es . Whil e m an yrecogn ize
thatthes e decis ion s hav e prof ou n d con s equ en ces f orou r
com m on l if e, f ew s eem prepared toow n u ptothatf act. Som e
obs erv ers f orecas tthatthe com pu terrev ol u tion w il l
ev en tu al l ybe gu ided byn ew w on ders in artif icial in tel l igen ce.
Its pres en tcou rs e is in f l u en ced bys om ethin g m u chm ore
f am il iar:the abs en tm in d.
i
40. Mythin f orm ation
N otes
1. See, f orexam pl e, Edw ard Berkel ey, T he Com pu terR ev ol u tion ( N ew
Y ork: Dou bl eday, 19 6 2 ); Edw ard T om es ki, T he Com pu terR ev ol u tion :
T he Execu tiv e an d the N ew In f orm ation T echn ol ogy( N ew Y ork:
Macm il l an , 19 7 0); an d N igel Haw kes , T he Com pu terR ev ol u tion ( N ew
Y ork: E. P . Du tton , 19 7 2 ). See al s oAaron Sl om an , T he Com pu ter
R ev ol u tion in P hil os ophy( Has s ocks , En gl an d: Harv es terP res s ,
19 7 8); Zen on P yl ys hyn , P ers pectiv es on the Com pu terR ev ol u tion
( En gl ew ood Cl if f s , N .J.: P ren tice-Hal l , 19 7 0); P au l Ston em an ,
T echn ol ogical Dr' )_' f u s i' on an d the Com pu terR ev ol u tion ( Cam bridge:
Cam bridge U n iv ers ityP res s , 19 7 6 ); an d Ern es tBrau n an d Stu art
MacDon al d, R ev ol u tion in Min iatu re: T he His toryan d Im pactof
Sem icon du ctorEl ectron ics ( Cam bridge: Cam bridge U n iv ers ityP res s ,
19 7 8)
2 . Michael L. Dertou zos in an in terv iew on "T he T odayShow ,"
N ation al Broadcas tin g Com pan y, Au gu s t8, 19 83.
3. Dan iel Bel l , "T he Social F ram ew ork of the In f orm ation Society,"
in T he Com pu terAge: AT w en tyY earView , Michael L. Dertou zos an d
Joel Mos es ( eds .)( Cam bridge: MIT P res s , 19 80), 16 3.
4. See, f orexam pl e, P hil ipH. Abel s on , "T he R ev ol u tion in
Com pu ters an d El ectron ics ,"Scien ce 2 15:7 51 7 53, 19 82 .
5. Edw ard A. F eigen bau m an d P am el aMcCordu ck, T he F if th
Gen eration : Art cial In tel l igen ce an d Japan ' s Com pu terChal l en ge to
the Worl d ( R eadin g, Mas s .: Addis on -Wes l ey, 19 83), 8.
6 . Am on g the im portan tw orks of this kin d are Dav id Bu rn ham , T he
R is e of the Com pu terState ( N ew Y ork: R an dom Hou s e, 19 83); Jam es
N . Dan zigeretal ., Com pu ters an d P ol itics : HighT echn ol ogyin
Am erican Local Gov ern m en ts ( N ew Y ork: Col u m biaU n iv ers ityP res s ,
19 82 ); Abbe Mos how itz, T he Con qu es tof Wil l : In f orm ation
P roces s in g in Hu m an Af f airs ( R eadin g, Mas s .: Addis on -Wes l ey,
19 7 6 ); Jam es R u l e etal ., T he P ol itics of P riv acy( N ew Y ork: N ew
Am erican Library, 19 80); an d Jos ephWeizen bau m , Com pu terP ow er
an d Hu m an R eas on : F rom Ju dgm en ttoCal cu l ation ( San F ran cis co:
W. H. F reem an , 19 7 6 ).
7 . Q u oted in Jacqu es Val l ee, T he N etw ork R ev ol u tion : Con f es s ion s of
aCom pu terScien tis t( Berkel ey: An d/ OrP res s , 19 82 ), 10.
8.T racyKidder, Sou l of aN ew Machin e ( N ew Y ork: Av on Books ,
19 82 ), 2 2 8. . '
9 . T he F if thGen eration , 14.
10. Jam es Martin , T el em atic Society: AChal l en ge f orT om orrow
( En gl ew ood Cl if f s , N .J.: P ren tice-Hal l , 19 81), 17 2 .
11. Ibid., 4.
12 . StarrR oxan n e Hil tz an d Mu rrayT u rof f , T he N etw ork N ation :
Hu m an Com m u n ication v iaCom pu ter( R eadin g, Mas s .: Addis on -
Wes l ey, 19 7 8), 489 .
theN EWMEDIAR EADER
13. Ibid., xxix.
14. Ibid., 484.
15. Ibid., xxix.
16 . T he N etw ork R ev ol u tion , 19 8.
17 . John N ais bitt, Megatren ds : T en N ew Direction s T ran s f orm in g Ou r
Liv es ( N ew Y ork: Warn erBooks , 19 84), 2 82 .
18. Am itaiEtzion i, Ken n ethLau don , an d SaraLips on ,
"P articipatin g T echn ol ogy: T he Min erv aCom m u n ication s T ree,"
Jou rn al of Com m u n ication s , 2 5:6 4, Sprin g 19 7 5.
19 . J. C. R . Lickl ider, "Com pu ters an d Gov ern m en t,"in Dertou zos
an d Mos es ( eds .), T he Com pu terAge, 114, 12 6 .
2 0. Q u oted in T he F if thGen eration , 2 40.
2 1. Occu pation al Ou tl ook Han dbook, 19 82 -19 83, U .S. Bu reau of
LaborStatis tics , Bu l l etin N o. 2 2 00, Su perin ten den tof Docu m en ts ,
U .S. Gov ern m en tP rin tin g Of f ice, Was hin gton , D.C. See al s oGen e I.
Maerof f , T he R eal Job Boom Is Likel ytobe Low -T ech,"N ew Y ork
T im es , Septem ber4, 19 83, 16 E.
2 2 . See, f orexam pl e, Jam es Dan zigeretal ., Com pu ters an d P ol itics .
2 3. F oras tu dyof the u topiaof con s u m erprodu cts in Am erican
dem ocracy, s ee Jef f reyL. Meikl e, T w en tiethCen tu ryLim ited:
In du s trial Des ign in Am erica, 19 2 5-19 39 ( P hil adel phia: T em pl e
U n iv ers ityP res s , 19 7 9 ). F orotheru topian dream s s ee Jos ephJ.
Corn , T he Win ged Gos pel : Am erica' s R om an ce w ithAv iation ,
19 00-19 50( Oxf ord: Oxf ord U n iv ers ityP res s , 19 83); Jos ephJ. Corn
an d Brian Horrigan , Y es terday' s T om orrow s : P as tVis ion s of Am erica' s
F u tu re ( N ew Y ork: Su m m itBooks , 19 84); an d Erik Barn ow , T he T u be
of P l en ty( Oxf ord: Oxf ord U n iv ers ityP res s , 19 7 5).
2 4. T he F if thGen eration , 8.
2 5. T he P hil os ophyof U S, f rom the of f icial program of T he U S
F es tiv al hel d in San Bern ardin o, Cal if orn ia, Septem ber4-7 , 19 82 .
T he ou tdoorrock f es tiv al , s pon s ored byStev en Wozn iak, co-
in v en torof the origin al Appl e Com pu ter, attracted an es tim ated
hal f m il l ion peopl e. Wozn iak regal ed the crow d w ithl arge-s creen
v ideopres en tation s of his m es s age, procl aim in g an ew age of
com m u n ityan d dem ocracygen erated bythe u s e of pers on al
com pu ters .
2 6 . "P ow ercorres pon ds tothe hu m an abil ityn otj u s ttoactbu tto
actin con cert. P ow eris n ev erthe propertyof an in div idu al ; it
bel on gs toagrou pan d rem ain s in exis ten ce on l ys ol on g as the
grou pkeeps together."Han n ahAren dt, On Viol en ce ( N ew Y ork:
Harcou rtBrace & Worl d, 19 6 9 ), 44.
2 7 . John Markof f , AView of the F u tu re: Micros Won ' tMatter,"
In f oWorl d, October31, 19 83, 6 9 .
2 8. Don al d H. Du n n , T he Man yU s es of the P ers on al Com pu ter,"
Bu s in es s Week, Ju n e 2 3, 19 80, 12 5-12 6 .
|19 87
Q . e :::_ .~ ~ _~._o~ - +> . > A1- . _._- av . ~o _. A ~
41. [ In trodu ction ] 3
F rom P l an s an d Situ ated Action s
Lu cySu chm an m ade af u n dam en tal critiqu e of practices w ithin artif icial in tel l igen ce an d pres en ted a
dif f eren tcon ceptof how peopl e s eek toaccom pl is hgoal s . T his l ed tos ign if ican tchan ges w ithin the
l an gu age of artif icial in tel l igen ce, al thou ghthe u s e of s im il arterm in ol ogies byAIres earchers is of ten
f ou n ded on am is u n ders tan din g of Su chm an s argu m en t.
Su chm an hel d thatthe el aborate pl an s an d s ym bol ic m an ipu l ation s thatcharacterized artif icial _
in tel l igen ces earl yattem pts tocreate in teractiv e dev ices w ere f u n dam en tal l ym is gu ided. Artif icial
in tel l igen ce practition ers had as s u m ed thatthes e l ogical m an ipu l ation s w ere m u chl ike the hu m an
pl an n in g proces s , an d thaton ce theyw ere s u f f icien tl yref in ed theyw ou l d, of cou rs e, s u cceed.
Su chm an argu es thats u chel aborate abs tractpl an s are n ev eractu al l ythe prim arybas is f orhu m an
action . T heyare betters een , s he s tates , as s tories thats om e of u s , in s om e cu l tu res , u s e toorgan ize
ou raction s . Man ypon derou s artif icial in tel l igen ce proj ects u n derw ayw hen Su chm an s book w as pu b-
l is hed w ou l d hav e had l ittl e j u s tif ication if this poin thad been con ceded.
Som e v iew ed Su chm an s obs erv ation s as apres cription f orthe dev el opm en tof n ew AIs trategies
thattook s itu ated action in toaccou n t. In this in terpretation , AIcou l d s til l m ake progres s w ithin
cu rren tin s titu tion al param eters ; s u chprogres s w ou l d com e bybu il din g s ys tem s thatim prov is ed
tow ard agoal bas ed on the cu rren ts itu ation , ratherthan f ol l ow in g am on ol ithic pl an . Som e, l ike
P hil ipAgre an d Dav id Chapm an , as expl ain ed in WhatAre P l an s F or?, expl ored this pos s ibil ityin a
m an n erthatw as com m en s u rate w ithSu chm an ' s critiqu e. In othercas es n ew l an gu age w as adopted
torepres en tthe s am e techn iqu es thatSu chm an argu ed again s t, perhaps bas ed on the in creas ed
m il itarycon cern w ithpl an -bas ed Al s in abil itytoaddres s the rapidl y-chan gin g, dif f icu l t-to-predict
s itu ation of the battl ef iel d. .
T w os el ection s f rom Su chm an s book appearbel ow . T he f irs t, the pref ace N av igation , m akes the
dis tin ction betw een the pl an n in g an d s itu ated action pers pectiv es . T he s econ d s el ection , the chapter
In teractiv e Artif acts , ou tl in es av iew of w hatin teractiv itym ean s , an d how the artif icial in tel l igen ce
v ers ion of itcan be s een in ahis torical con text. She w rites of Al ' s proj ect, In teraction betw een peopl e
an d m achin es im pl ies m u tu al in tel l igibil ity, ors hared u n ders tan din g, an d goes on todes cribe tw o
com m on s cen arios f orthis : f irs t, the s el f -expl an atorytool ; s econ d, the com pu teras an artif acthav in g
pu rpos es . Su chm an argu es thatbothrepres en tu n s ol v ed, perhaps irredu cibl e, probl em s as l on g as
thes e w ords are u s ed in the s en s e theyhav e been bytradition al AI. F rom Su chm an ' s pers pectiv e,
in tel l igibil ity an d u n ders tan din g an d theref ore in teraction betw een peopl e an d m achin es
m u s tbe s een as prof ou n dl ydif f eren tf rom thatbetw een pers on s .
Mu chof the w ork in this v ol u m e, m u chof the bes trecen tw ork in n ew m edia, recogn izes rather
than attem pts toeras e this dif f eren ce. Al argercl as s if ication of s u chw ork, m ade u pof f ou r
categories , w ou l d pl ace tradition al Al ' s tw os cen arios in on e of thes e l argercategories . In thes e f ou r
cas es , the prim aryin tel l igen ce thatis the con cern in dis cu s s in g s ys tem dev el opm en tm aybe: ( 1)the
u s er' s ow n , ( 2 )the des ign er' s , ( 3)the s ys tem ' s ( as in the tradition al AIs cen arios ), or( 4)thos e of
com m u n icatin g u s ers . Exam pl es of es s ays in this v ol u m e w hichf ocu s on eachof thes e are ( 1)
Seym ou rP apert( O2 8), ( 2 )Ben Shn eiderm an ( O33), ( 3)Al an T u rin g ( O03), an d ( 4)ChipMorn in gs tar
an d R . R an dal l F arm er( Q 46 ). Su chacl as s if ication m ayprov e tobe an in teres tin g w ayof con s iderin g
on e l ayerof in teraction , bu titcan be l im itin g in thatitcon s iders on l ythatl ayer. Itdoes n otrev eal
m u chabou tthe l ev el s atw hichin teraction is s een tooccu rin the w ritin gs of Au gu s toBoal ( O2 2 )an d
Jean Bau dril l ard ( O19 ), n ordoes itprov ide in s ightin tothe l argercon textin w hichthis in teraction
takes pl ace, as m ightbe f ou n d bycon s iderin g the argu m en ts of P hil Agre ( Q 51)orLan gdon Win n er
( O40). Y etpoten tial categories of in teraction can be dev is ed in otherw ays , e.g., bas ed on in teractiv e
r -1Irit riiretatio' rif ' f .~' f ,.:1
41. P l an s an d
Situ ated Action s
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41. P l an s an d theN EWMEDIAR EADER
Situ ated Action s
techn ol ogies ( CR T & m ou s e / han dhel d / m ov em en ttrackin g / v oice)oron the hu m an pu rpos e in in teractin g ( as dis cu s s ed in
the Aris totel ian theoryof Bren daLau rel ( 038)). Sel ectin g the s al ien tf eatu res f rom w hichtocon s tru ctatypol ogyis an al w ays
dif f icu l t, bu tpoten tial l yrev eal in g, en terpris e. Becom in g tooen am ored of s u chabs traction s , oriden tif yin g on e type as s om ehow
f u n dam en tal toin tel l igen ce, is al w ays dan gerou s .
~N WF
__- . .; - -, _- _,____ V- __. _.,____,- ,-_- ..._. I . .. .. _. __.. . .. . _ _._,. ___., ..
.~. . it
I i rr.l .* l i.i17 i1r1 :' -f -1.; -itan ds ,:B v iil il Cl 1 i|1rT il ' i ; - . ?"' .W:.hI5' l 1.:# :rB1 .P :l * 3n $rrrcrrr:.riarrn rm ,~arror n m s i49 n f .3 7 = T h.I@ rIil 5i* -iiiin n aP ractice f rom Bi' n in 9 r.* l 9 r.

.( ; ; is u h.m ah,f f iR _es pdn s e"to5l l ra- am t-Si.rn ; qn f s . Si% tu a1; etr{,Atria:n :; rrhairs f ,1.n s rriretaririri-If :.tagrrirrv e; ~ rir:l n re } 1,?; ( :' -1# % ~_> 9 3.):= 1?1:+I.:5_1
T he s u bj ectof this book [ P l an s an d Situ ated Action s ] is the
tw oal tern ativ e v iew s of hu m an in tel l igen ce an d directed
Origin al P u bl ication
"N av igation ,"v ii xan d "In teractiv e Artif acts ,"5-2 6 , P l an s an d
Situ ated Action s : T he P robl em of Hu m an -Machin e Com m u n ication .
Cam bridge: Cam bridge U n iv ers ityP res s , 19 87 . 2 n d ed. in
preparation .
F rom P l an s an d
Situ ated Action s
Lu cyA. Su chm an
action repres en ted here bythe T ru kes e an d the Eu ropean
n av igator. T he Eu ropean n av igatorexem pl if ies the prev ail in g
cogn itiv e s cien ce m odel of pu rpos ef u l action , f orreas on s that
are im pl icitin the f in al s en ten ce of the qu ote abov e. T hatis
tos ay, w hil e the T ru kes e n av igatoris hard pres s ed totel l u s
how he actu al l ys teers his cou rs e, the com parabl e accou n tf or
the Eu ropean s eem s tobe al readyin han d, in the f orm of the
v erypl an l thatis as s u m ed togu ide his action s . Whil e the
obj ectiv e of the T ru kes e n av igatoris cl earf rom the ou ts et,
- his actu al cou rs e is con tin gen ton u n iqu e circu m s tan ces that
N 0n he can n otan ticipate in adv an ce. T he pl an of the Eu ropean , in
con tras t, is deriv ed f rom u n iv ers al prin cipl es of n av igation ,
T hom as Gl adw in ( 19 6 4)has w ritten abril l ian tarticl e an d is es s en tial l yin depen den tof the exigen cies Of his
con tras tin g the m ethod byw hichthe T ru kes e
n av igate the open s ea, w iththatbyw hichEu ropean s
particu l ars itu ation .
Giv en thes e con tras tin g exem pl ars , there are atl eas tthree,
n av igate He poin ts ou tthatthe Eu ropean n av igator qu ite dif f eren tim pl ication s thatw e m ightdraw f orthe s tu dy
begin s w ithapl an acou rs e w hichhe has charted .
_ __ __ of pu rpos ef u l action :
accordin g tocertain u n iv ers al prin cipl es , an d he ___ _
. . . . F irs t, w e m ightin f erthatthere actu al l yare dif f eren tw ays
carries ou this v oyage byrel atin g his ev erym ov e to
thatpl an His ef f ortthrou ghou this Voyage is directed of actin g, f av ored dif f eren tl yacros s cu l tu res . How toact
torem ain in g on cou rs e. If u n expected ev en ts occu r, P u rpos e l u y15l earn ed an d Su bl ecttoCu l tu ral Van at1On -
he m u s tf irs tal terthe pl an , then res pon d accordin gl y.
T he T ru kes e n av igatorbegin s w ithan obj ectiv e rather
than apl an . He s ets of f tow ard the obj ectiv e an d
res pon ds tocon dition s as theyaris e in an ad hoc
f as hion . He u til izes in f orm ation prov ided bythe w in d,
the w av es , the tide an d cu rren t, the f au n a, the s tars ,
the cl ou ds , the s ou n d of the w ateron the s ide of the
boat, an d he s teers accordin gl y. His ef f ortis directed
todoin g w hatev eris n eces s arytoreachthe obj ectiv e.
If as ked, he can poin ttohis obj ectiv e atan ym om en t,
bu the can n otdes cribe his cou rs e.
( Berrem an 19 6 6 , p. 347 )
Eu ropean cu l tu re f av ors abs tract, an al ytic thin kin g, the ideal
bein g toreas on f rom gen eral prin cipl es toparticu l ar
in s tan ces . T he T ru kes e, in con tras t, hav in g n os u ch
ideol ogical com m itm en ts , l earn acu m u l ativ e ran ge of
con crete, em bodied res pon s es , gu ided bythe w is dom of
m em oryan d experien ce ov eryears of actu al v oyages . In the
pages thatf ol l ow , how ev er, Iw il l argu e thatal l activ ity, ev en
the m os tan al ytic, is f u n dam en tal l ycon crete an d em bodied.
Sow hil e there m u s tcertain l ybe an im portan trel ation s hip
betw een ideas abou taction an d w ays of actin g, this f irs t
in terpretation of the n av igation exam pl e s tan ds in dan gerof
con f u s in g theoryw ithpractice.
' - "Q " ' _a.....Q - ._.. ~ &, ~ ... , V; . W ,._..-._g-_.__... - > 0: e_,_' ....__q_ _
Al tern ativ el y, w e m ightpos itthatw hetherou raction s are
ad hoc orpl an n ed depen ds u pon the n atu re of the activ ity, or
ou rdegree of expertis e. Sow e m ightcon tras tin s tru m en tal ,
goal -directed activ ities w ithcreativ e orexpres s iv e activ ities ,
orcon tras tn ov ice w ithexpertbehav ior. Div idin g thin gs u p
al on g thes e l in es , how ev er, s eem s in s om e im portan tw ays to
v iol ate ou rn av igation exam pl e. Cl earl ythe T ru k is in v ol v ed
w ithin s tru m en tal action in gettin g f rom on e is l an d to
an other, an d j u s tas cl earl ythe Eu ropean n av igatorrel ies
u pon his chartregardl es s of his degree of expertis e.
F in al l y, the pos ition tobe taken an d the on e thatIw il l
adopthere cou l d be that, how ev erpl an n ed pu rpos ef u l
action s are in ev itabl ys itu ated action s . Bys itu ated action s I
m ean s im pl yaction s taken in the con textof particu l ar,
con crete circu m s tan ces . In this s en s e on e cou l d argu e thatw e
al l actl ike the T ru kes e, how ev erm u chs om e of u s m aytal k
l ike Eu ropean s . We m u s tactl ike the T ru kes e becau s e the
circu m s tan ces of ou raction s are n ev erf u l l yan ticipated an d
are con tin u ou s l ychan gin g arou n d u s . As acon s equ en ce ou r
action s , w hil e s ys tem atic, are n ev erpl an n ed in the s tron g
s en s e thatcogn itiv e s cien ce w ou l d hav e it. R ather, pl an s are
bes tv iew ed as aw eak res ou rce f orw hatis prim aril yad hoc
activ ity. Itis on l yw hen w e are pres s ed toaccou n tf orthe
ration al ityof ou raction s , giv en the bias es of Eu ropean
cu l tu re, thatw e in v oke the gu idan ce of apl an . Stated in
adv an ce, pl an s are n eces s aril yv agu e, in s of aras theym u s t
accom m odate the u n f ores eeabl e con tin gen cies of particu l ar
s itu ation s . R econ s tru cted in retros pect, pl an s s ys tem atical l y
f il terou tprecis el ythe particu l arityof detail that
characterizes s itu ated action s , in f av orof thos e as pects of the
action s thatcan be s een toaccord w iththe pl an .
T his third im pl ication , its eem s , is n otj u s tas ym m etric
al tern ativ e tothe othertw o, bu tis dif f eren tin kin d, an d
s om ew hatm ore s eriou s . T hatis , itcal l s in toqu es tion n ot
j u s tthe adequ acyof ou rdis tin ction s al on g the dim en s ion s of
cu l tu re, kin ds of activ ity, ordegrees of expertis e, bu tthe v ery
produ ctiv ityof ou rs tartin g prem is es thatrepres en tation s
of action s u chas pl an s cou l d be the bas is f oran accou n tof
action s in particu l ars itu ation s . Becau s e the third im pl ication
has todow ithf ou n dation s , an d n otbecau s e there is n o
tru thin the othertw o, Itake the ideathataction s are
prim aril ys itu ated, an d thats itu ated action s are es s en tial l y
ad hoc, as the s tartin g poin tf orm yin v es tigation s .
T he v iew of action exem pl if ied bythe Eu ropean n av igator
is n ow bein g reif ied in the des ign of in tel l igen tm achin es .
Q s o-~- ~ .- 41. P l an s an d
Situ ated Action s
Iexam in e on e s u chm achin e, as aw ayof u n cov erin g the
s tren gths an d l im itation s of the gen eral v iew thatits des ign
em bodies . T he v iew , thatpu rpos ef u l action is determ in ed by
pl an s , is deepl yrooted in the Wes tern hu m an s cien ces as the
correctm odel of the ration al actor. T he l ogical f orm of pl an s
m akes them attractiv e f orthe pu rpos e of con s tru ctin g a
com pu tation al m odel of action , tothe exten tthatf orthos e
f iel ds dev oted tow hatis n ow cal l ed cogn itiv e s cien ce, the
an al ys is an d s yn thes is of pl an s ef f ectiv el ycon s titu te the
s tu dyof action . Myow n con ten tion , how ev er, is thatas
s tu den ts of hu m an action w e ign ore the T ru kes e n av igator
atou rperil . Whil e an accou n tof how the Eu ropean
n av igates m aybe in han d, the es s en tial n atu re of action ,
how ev erpl an n ed oru n pl an n ed, is s itu ated. Itbehoov es u s ,
theref ore, tos tu dyan d tobegin tof in d w ays todes cribe the
T ru kes e s ys tem .
T here is an in j u n ction in s ocial s tu dies of s cien ce toes chew
in teres tin the v al idityof the produ cts of s cien ce, in f av orof
an in teres tin theirprodu ction . Whil e Igen eral l yagree w ith
this in j u n ction , m yin v es tigation of on e of the prev ail in g
m odel s of hu m an action in cogn itiv e s cien ce is adm ittedl y
an d u n abas hedl yin teres ted. T hatis tos ay, Itake itthatthere
is areal ityof hu m an action , beyon d eitherthe cogn itiv e
s cien tis t' s m odel s orm yow n accou n ts , tow hichbothare
tryin g todoj u s tice. In thats en s e, Iam n otj u s texam in in g
the cogn itiv e s cien ce m odel w iththe dis pas s ion of the
u n com m itted an thropol ogis tof s cien ce, Iam exam in in g itin
l ightof an al tern ativ e accou n tof hu m an action tow hichI
am com m itted, an d w hichIattem pttocl arif yin the proces s .
In teractiv e Artif acts
Margin al obj ects , obj ects w ithn ocl earpl ace, pl ay
im portan trol es . On the l in es betw een categories , they
draw atten tion tohow w e hav e draw n the l in es . -
Som etim es in doin g s otheyin cite u s toreaf f irm the
l in es , s om etim es tocal l them in toqu es tion ,
s tim u l atin g dif f eren tdis tin ction s .
( T u rkl e 19 84, p. 31)
In T he Secon d Sel f ( 19 84), SherryT u rkl e des cribes the
com pu teras an ev ocativ e obj ect,"on e thatrais es n ew
qu es tion s regardin g ou rcom m on s en s e of the dis tin ction
betw een artif acts an d in tel l igen tothers . I-Iers tu dies in cl u de
an exam in ation of the im pactof com pu ter-bas ed artif acts on
chil dren ' s con ception s of the dif f eren ce betw een categories
41. P l an s an d
Situ ated Action s
s u chas al iv e v ers u s n otal iv e, an d m achin e v ers u s
pers on . In deal in g w iththe qu es tion s thatcom pu ter-bas ed
obj ects ev oke, chil dren m ake cl earthatthe dif f eren tiation of
phys ical f rom ps ychol ogical en tities , w hichas adu l ts w e
l argel ytake f orgran ted, is the en d produ ctof aproces s of
es tabl is hin g the rel ation s hipbetw een the obs erv abl e
behav iorof athin g an d its u n derl yin g n atu re. Chil dren hav e
aten den cy, f orexam pl e, toattribu te l if e tophys ical obj ects
on the bas is of behav iors u chas au ton om ou s m otion , or
reactiv ity, thou ghtheyres erv e hu m an ityf oren tities
ev iden cin g s u chthin gs as em otion , s peech, an d apparen t
thou ghtorpu rpos ef u l n es s . T u rkl es obs erv ation w ithres pect
tocom pu tation al artif acts is thatchil dren as cribe tothem an
al m os tal iv en es s ,"an d aps ychol ogy, w hil e m ain tain in g their
dis tin ctn es s f rom hu m an bein gs :av iew that, as T u rkl e
poin ts ou t, is rem arkabl e am on g otherthin gs f orits
corres pon den ce tothe v iew s hel d bythos e w hoare the
artif acts des ign ers ?
Itake as apoin tof departu re aparticu l aras pectof the
phen om en on thatT u rkl e iden tif ies :n am el y, the apparen t
chal l en ge thatcom pu tation al artif acts pos e tothe
l on gs tan din g dis tin ction betw een the phys ical an d the
s ocial , in the s pecial s en s e of thos e thin gs thaton e des ign s ,
bu il ds , an d u s es , on the on e han d, an d thos e thin gs w ith
w hichon e com m u n icates , on the other. Whil e this
dis tin ction has been rel ativ el yn on -probl em atic todate, n ow
f orthe f irs ttim e the term in teraction " in as en s e
prev iou s l yres erv ed f ordes cribin g au n iqu el yin terpers on al
activ ity s eem s appropriatel ytocharacterize w hatgoes on
betw een peopl e an d certain m achin es as w el l ?In teraction
betw een peopl e an d m achin es im pl ies m u tu al in tel l igibil ity,
ors hared u n ders tan din g. Whatm otiv ates m yin qu iry,
theref ore, is n oton l ythe recen tqu es tion of how there cou l d
be m u tu al in tel l igibil itybetw een peopl e an d m achin es , bu t
the priorqu es tion of how w e accou n tf orthe s hared
u n ders tan din g, orm u tu al in tel l igibil ity, thatw e experien ce
as peopl e in ou rin teraction s w ithothers w hos e es s en tial
s am en es s is n otin qu es tion . An an s w ertothe m ore recen t
qu es tion , theor-etical l yatl eas t, pres u ppos es an an s w erto
the earl ieron e.
In this chapterIrel ate the ideaof hu m an -m achin e com m u -
n ication tos om e dis tin ctiv e properties of com pu tation al arti-
f acts , an d tothe em ergen ce of dis cipl in es dedicated to
m akin g thos e artif acts in tel l igen t. Ibegin w ithabrief
dis cu s s ion of cogn itiv e s cien ce, the in terdis cipl in aryf iel d
theN EWMEDIAR EADER
dev oted tom odel in g cogn itiv e proces s es , an d its rol e in the
proj ectof creatin g in tel l igen tartif acts . Al on g w itha
theoretical in teres tin in tel l igen tartif acts , the com pu ters
properties hav e in s pired apractical ef f ortaten gin eerin g
in teraction betw een peopl e an d m achin es . Iargu e thatthe
des cription of com pu tation al artif acts as in teractiv e is
s u pported bytheirreactiv e l in gu is tic, an d in tern al l yopaqu e
properties . Withthos e properties in m in d, Icon s iderthe
dou bl e s en s e in w hichres earchers are in teres ted in artif acts
thatexpl ain them s el v es :on the on e han d, as as ol u tion tothe
l on gs tan din g probl em of con v eyin g the artif acts in ten ded
pu rpos e tothe u s er, throu ghits des ign an d atten dan t
in s tru ction s an d, on the otherhan d, as am ean s of
es tabl is hin g the in tel l igen ce, orration al accou n tabil ity, of the
artif actits el f .
1 Au tom ataan d Cogn itiv e Scien ce
His torical l ythe ideaof au t0m ata the pos s ibil ityof
con s tru ctin g phys ical dev ices thatare s el f -regu l atin g in w ays
thatw e com m on l yas s ociate w ithl iv in g, an im ate bein gs
has been cl os el ytied tothe s im u l ation of an im al f orm s .
McCordu ck ( 19 7 9 )poin ts ou tthathu m an -l ike au tom ata
hav e been con s tru cted s in ce Hel l en ic tim es :s tatu es that
m ov ed, ges tu red, s poke, an d gen eral l yw ere im bu ed by
obs erv ers ev en thos e w el l aw are of the in tern al
m echan is m s thatpow ered them w ithev erythin g f rom
m in ds tos ou l s ?In the f ou rteen thcen tu ryin Wes tern
Eu rope, l earn ed m en w ere com m on l ybel iev ed tocon s tru ct
tal kin g heads m ade of bras s , con s idered as boththe s ou rce of
theircreators w is dom an d its m an if es tation . More
pros aical l y, Jacqu es de Vau can s on in the eighteen thcen tu ry
des ign ed as eries of ren ow n ed m echan ical s tatu es , the m os t
f am ou s bein g adu ck, the in n erw orkin gs of w hichprodu ced
av arietyof s im pl e ou tw ard behav iors .
Atthe s am e tim e, Ju l ien de l aMettrie pu bl is hed Man , A
Machin e in w hichhe argu ed thatthe v ital itycharacteris tic of
hu m an bein gs w as the res u l tof theirphys ical s tru ctu re rather
than eitherof s om ethin g im m an en tin theirm aterial
s u bs tan ce orof s om e im m aterial f orce. Cogn itiv e s cien tis ts
todaym ain tain the bas ic prem is e of de l aMettrie w ith
res pecttom in d, con ten din g thatm in d is bes tv iew ed as
n eithers u bs tan tial n orin s u bs tan tial , bu tas an abs tractabl e
s tru ctu re im pl em en tabl e in an yn u m berof pos s ibl e phys ical
s u bs trates . In tel l igen ce, in otherw ords , is on l yin ciden tal l y
em bodied in the n eu rophys iol ogyof the hu m an brain , an d
O~ A-1 0> = r"= 0 = Oc<~ I "O It41 P l .3l |S an d
Situ ated Action s
w hatis es s en tial abou tin tel l igen ce can be abs tracted f rom
thatparticu l ar, al beithighl ys u cces s f u l , s u bs trate an d
em bodied in an u n kn ow n ran ge of al tern ativ e f orm s . T his
v iew decou pl es reas on in g an d in tel l igen ce f rom thin gs
u n iqu el yhu m an , an d open s the w ayf orthe con s tru ction of
in tel l igen tartif acts ?
T he preoccu pation of cogn itiv e s cien ce w ithm in d in this
abs tracts en s e is in partacon cern tores tore m ean in g to
ps ychol ogical expl an ation ( s ee Stich19 83, ch. 1). Atthe tu rn
of this cen tu ry, the recogn ized m ethod f ors tu dyin g hu m an
m en tal l if e w as in tros pection an d, in s of aras in tros pection
w as n otam en abl e tothe em ergin g can on s of s cien tif ic
m ethod, the s tu dyof cogn ition s eem ed doom ed tobe
irrem ediabl yu n s cien tif ic. In reaction tothatpros pect, the
behav ioris ts pos ited thatal l hu m an action s hou l d be
u n ders tan dabl e in term s of pu bl icl yobs erv abl e,
m echan is tical l ydes cribabl e rel ation s betw een the organ is m
an d its en v iron m en t. In the n am e of tu rn in g cogn itiv e
s tu dies in toas cien ce, in otherw ords , the s tu dyof cogn ition
as the s tu dyof s om ethin g apartf rom ov ertbehav iorw as
ef f ectiv el yaban don ed in m ain s tream ps ychol ogy.
Cogn itiv e s cien ce, in this res pect, w as aproj ecttobrin g
thou ghtback in tothe s tu dyof hu m an action , w hil e
pres erv in g the com m itm en ttos cien tis m . Cogn itiv e s cien ce
recl aim s m en tal is tcon s tru cts s u chas bel ief s , des ires ,
in ten tion s , s ym bol s , ideas , s chem ata, pl an n in g, an d probl em -
s ol v in g. On ce again hu m an pu rpos es are the bas is f or
cogn itiv e ps ychol ogy, bu tthis tim e w ithou tthe
u n con s train ed s pecu l ation of the in tros pection is ts . T he
s tu dyof cogn ition is tobe em piricized n otbyas trict
adheren ce tobehav ioris m , bu tbythe u s e of an ew
techn ol ogy:n am el y, the com pu ter.
T he s u b~f iel d of cogn itiv e s cien ce m os tdedicated tothe
com pu teris artif icial in tel l igen ce. Artif icial in tel l igen ce aros e
as adv an ces in com pu tin g techn ol ogyw ere tied to
dev el opm en ts in n eu rophys iol ogical an d m athem atical
theories of in f orm ation . T he requ irem en tof com pu ter
m odel in g, of an in f orm ation proces s in g ps ychol ogy, s eem ed
bothtom ake theoretical s en s e an d toprov ide the
accou n tabil itythatw ou l d m ake itpos s ibl e topu rs u e a
s cien ce of otherw is e in acces s ibl e m en tal phen om en a. If a
theoryof u n derl yin g m en tal proces s es cou l d be m odel ed on
the com pu ters oas toprodu ce the rightou tw ard behav ior,
the theorycou l d be v iew ed as hav in g pas s ed atl eas ta
s u f f icien cytes tof its ps ychol ogical v al idity.
T he cogn itiv is ts trategyis toin terj ectam en tal operation
betw een en v iron m en tal s tim u l u s an d behav ioral res pon s e:
in es s en ce, torel ocate the cau s es of action f rom the
en v iron m en tthatim pin ges u pon the actortoproces s es ,
abs tractabl e as com pu tation , in the actor' s head. T he f irs t
prem is e of cogn itiv e s cien ce, theref ore, is thatpeopl e or
cogn izers of an ys ort acton the bas is of s ym bol ic
repres en tation s :akin d of cogn itiv e code, in s tan tiated
phys ical l yin the brain , on w hichoperation s are perf orm ed
toprodu ce m en tal s tates s u chas the bel ief thatp, w hichin
tu rn produ ce behav iorcon s is ten tw iththos e s tates . T he
rel ation of en v iron m en tal s tim u l itothos e m en tal s tates , on
the on e han d, an d of m en tal s tates tobehav ior, on the other,
rem ain s deepl yprobl em atic an d w idel ydebated w ithin the
f iel d ( s ee, f orexam pl e, F odor19 83; P yl ys hyn 19 7 4, 19 84;
Stich19 83). T he agreem en tam on g al l participan ts in
cogn itiv e s cien ce an d its af f il iated dis cipl in es , how ev er, is
thatcogn ition is n otj u s tpoten tial l yl ike com pu tation , it
l iteral l yis com pu tation al . T here is n oreas on , in prin cipl e,
w hythere s hou l d n otbe acom pu tation al accou n tof m in d,
theref ore, an d there is n oapriorireas on todraw a
prin cipl ed bou n darybetw een peopl e, taken as in f orm ation -
proces s ors "or"s ym bol m an ipu l ators "or, in George Mil l er' s
phras e, in f orm av ores ( P yl ys hyn 19 84, p. xi), an d certain
com pu tin g m achin es .
T he v iew thatin tel l igen ce is the m an ipu l ation of s ym bol s
f in ds practical im pl em en tation bothin s o-cal l ed expert
s ys tem s , w hichs tru ctu re an d proces s l arge am ou n ts of w el l -
f orm u l ated data, an d in du s trial robots thatperf orm rou tin e,
repetitiv e as s em bl yan d con trol tas ks . Experts ys tem s
es s en tial l ys ophis ticated program s thatm an ipu l ate data
s tru ctu res toaccord w ithru l es of in f eren ce thatexperts are
u n ders tood tou s e hav e m in im al s en s ory-m otor, or
peripheral , acces s tothe w orl d in w hichtheyare em bedded,
in pu tbein g m os tcom m on l ythrou ghakeyboard, byahu m an
operator. In du s trial robots highl ys pecial ized, com pu ter-
con trol l ed dev ices des ign ed toperf orm au ton om ou s l ya
s in gl e repetitiv e phys ical tas k- hav e rel ativ el ym ore
dev el oped s en s ory -m otorapparatu s than doexperts ys tem s ,
bu tthe s u cces s of robotics is s til l con f in ed tos pecial ized
activ ities , u n dercon trol l ed con dition s . In bothcas es , the
s ys tem s can han dl e l arge am ou n ts of en coded in f orm ation ,
an d s yn tactic rel ation s hips of greats ophis tication an d
com pl exity, in highl ycircu m s cribed dom ain s . Bu tw hen it
com es eithertodirectin teraction w iththe en v iron m en t, or
41. P l an s an d
Situ ated Action s
tothe exercis e of practical , ev erydayreas on in g abou tthe
s ign if ican ce of ev en ts in the w orl d, there is gen eral
agreem en tthatthe s tate-of -the-artin in tel l igen tm achin es
has yettoattain the bas ic cogn itiv e abil ities of the n orm al
f iv e-year-ol d chil d.
2 T he Ideaof
Hu m an -Com pu terIn teraction
In s pite of the cu rren tl im its on m achin e in tel l igen ce, the
u s e of an in ten tion al v ocabu l aryis al readyw el l es tabl is hed
in bothtechn ical an d popu l ardis cu s s ion of com pu ters . In
part, the attribu tion of pu rpos e tocom pu ter-bas ed artif acts
deriv es f rom the s im pl e f actthateachaction bythe u s er
ef f ects an im m ediate m achin e reaction ( s ee T u rkl e 19 84, ch.
8). T he techn ical def in ition of in teractiv e com pu tin g ( s ee,
f orexam pl e, Oberqu el l e, Ku pka, an d Maas s 19 83, p. 313)is
s im pl ythatreal tim e con trol ov erthe com pu tin g proces s is
pl aced in the han ds of the u s er, throu ghim m ediate
proces s in g an d throu ghthe av ail abil ityof in terru pt
f acil ities w herebythe u s ercan ov erride an d m odif ythe
operation s in progres s . T his def in ition con tras ts cu rren t
capabil ities w ithearl ierf orm s of com pu tin g, s pecif ical l y
batchproces s in g, w here u s ercom m an ds w ere qu eu ed an d
execu ted w ithou tan yin term ediate f eedback. T he greater
reactiv ityof cu rren tcom pu ters , com bin ed w iththe f act
that, l ike an ym achin e, the com pu ters reaction s are n ot
ran dom bu tbydes ign , s u gges tthe characterof the
com pu teras apu rpos ef u l , an d, byas s ociation , as as ocial
obj ect.
Am ore prof ou n d bas is f orthe rel ativ e s ociabil ityof
com pu ter-bas ed artif acts , how ev er, is the f actthatthe
m ean s f orcon trol l in g com pu tin g m achin es an d the behav ior
thatres u l ts are in creas in gl yl in gu is tic, ratherthan .
m echan is tic. T hatis tos ay, m achin e operation becom es l es s
am atterof pu s hin g bu tton s orpu l l in g l ev ers w iths om e
phys ical res u l t, an d m ore am atterof s pecif yin g operation s
an d as s es s in g theiref f ects throu ghthe u s e of acom m on
l an gu age?Withorw ithou tm achin e in tel l igen ce, this f act
has con tribu ted tothe ten den cyof des ign ers , in des cribin g
w hatgoes on betw een peopl e an d m achin es , toem pl oy
term s borrow ed f rom the des cription of hu m an
in teraction dial ogu e, con v ers ation , an d s of orth:term s
thatcarryal argel yu n articu l ated col l ection of in tu ition s
abou tproperties com m on tohu m an com m u n ication an d
the u s e of com pu ter-bas ed m achin es .
theN EWMEDIAR EADER
Whil e f orthe m os tpartthe v ocabu l aryof hu m an in ter-
action has been taken ov erbyres earchers in hu m an m achin e
com m u n ication w ithl ittl e del iberation , s ev eral res earchers
hav e attem pted tocl arif ys im il arities an d dif f eren ces
betw een com pu teru s e an d hu m an con v ers ation . P erhaps the
m os tthou ghtf u l an d com prehen s iv e of thes e is Hayes an d
R eddy( 19 83). T heyiden tif ythe cen tral dif f eren ce betw een
exis tin g in teractiv e com pu ters ys tem s an d hu m an
com m u n ication as aqu es tion of robu s tn es s , orthe abil ity
on the partof con v ers ation al participan ts tores pon d to
u n an ticipated circu m s tan ces , an d todetectan d rem edy
trou bl es in com m u n ication :
T he abil itytoin teractgracef u l l ydepen ds on a
n u m berof rel ativ el yin depen den ts kil l s :s kil l s in v ol v ed
in pars in g el l iptical , f ragm en ted, an d otherw is e
u n gram m atical in pu t; in en s u rin g that
com m tm ication is robu s t( en s u rin g thatthe in ten ded
m ean in g has been con v eyed); in expl ain in g abil ities
an d l im itation s , action s an d the m otiv es behin d them ;
in keepin g track of the f ocu s of atten tion of a
dial ogu e; in iden tif yin g thin gs f rom des cription s , ev en
if am bigu ou s oru n s atis f iabl e; an d in des cribin g thin gs
in term s appropriate f orthe con text. Whil e n on e of
thes e com pon en ts of gracef u l in teraction has been
en tirel yn egl ected in the l iteratu re, n os in gl e cu rren t
s ys tem com es cl os e tohav in g m os tof the abil ities an d
behav iou rs w e des cribe, an d m an yare n otpos s es s ed
byan ycu rren ts ys tem s . ( p. 2 32 )
Hayes an d R eddybel iev e, how ev er, that:
Ev en thou ghthere are cu rren tl yn otru l ygracef u l l y
in teractin g s ys tem s , n on e of ou rpropos ed
com pon en ts of gracef u l in teraction appears
in div idu al l ytobe m u chbeyon d the cu rren ts tate of
the art, atl eas tf ors u itabl yres tricted dom ain s of
dis cou rs e. ( p. 2 32 )
T heythen rev iew the s tate of the art, in cl u din g s ys tem s
l ike LIF ER ( Hen drix19 7 7 )an d SCHOLAR ( Carbon el l 19 7 1),
w hichdis pl ays en s itiv itytothe u s er' s expectation s regardin g
ackn ow l edgem en tof in pu t; s ys tem s thatres ol v e am bigu ity
in En gl is hin pu tf rom the u s erthrou ghqu es tion s ( Hayes
19 81); s ys tem s l ike the GU S s ys tem ( Bobrow etal 19 7 7 )
w hichrepres en tl im ited kn ow l edge of the dom ain thatthe
in teraction is abou t; w ork on the m ain ten an ce of acom m on
f ocu s ov erthe cou rs e of the in teraction ( Gros z 19 7 7 ; Sidn er
19 7 9 ); an d Hayes an d R eddys ow n w ork on an au tom ated
expl an ation f acil ityin as im pl e s erv ice dom ain ( 19 83).
* "_~Iv v ' I_v J' IV -
iqt Iv y; 1
Y ?
-V-1"- _v
4* \v w *
L_
o-~~4-~ o~~ o A A ~o~ o.~~~ Jl o A 41. P l .3l ' IS an d
T w ocav eats on Hayes an d R eddy' s pres cription f ora
gracef u l l yin teractin g s ys tem ( bothof w hich, totheircredit,
theyf reel yadm it)are w orthn otin g. F irs t, theyv iew the
abil ities cited as n eces s arybu tn ots u f f icien tf orhu m an
in teraction , theircl aim f orthe l is tbein g s im pl ythatit
prov ides agood w orkin g bas is f rom w hichtobu il d gracef u l l y
in teractin g s ys tem s ( 19 83, p. 2 33). An d, n ots u rpris in gl y, the
abil ities thattheycite con s titu te al is tof precis el ythos e
probl em s cu rren tl yu n dercon s ideration in res earchon
hu m an -m achin e com m u n ication . T here is , in otherw ords , n o
in depen den tas s es s m en tof how the probl em s on w hich
res earchers w ork rel ate tothe n atu re an d organ ization of
hu m an com m u n ication as s u ch. Secon dl y, res earchon thos e
probl em s thathav e been iden tif ied is con f in ed tohighl y
circu m s cribed dom ain s . T he con s equ en ce of w orkin g f rom an
adm ittedl ypartial an d ad hoc l is tof abil ities , in l im ited
dom ain s , is thatpractical in roads in hu m an -com pu ter
com m u n ication can be f u rthered, w hil e the bas ic qu es tion of
w hathu m an in teraction com pris es is def erred. Def erred as
w el l is the qu es tion of w hyitis , beyon d m ethodol ogical
con v en ien ce, thatres earchin hu m an -m achin e in teraction has
proceeded on l yin thos e l im ited dom ain s thatithas .
Moreov er, w hil e Hayes an d R eddytake the pos ition thatit
is v eryim portan tf oragracef u l l yin teractin g s ys tem to
con du ctadial ogu e in as hu m an -l ike aw ayas pos s ibl e ( ibid.,
p. 2 33), this as s ertion is apoin tof con trov ers yin the
res earchcom m u n ity. On the on e s ide, there is an argu m en t
tothe ef f ectthaton e s hou l d ackn ow l edge, an d ev en expl oit,
the f actthatpeopl e brin g tocom pu teru s e atrem en dou s
ran ge of s kil l s an d expectation s f rom hu m an in teraction .
Within res earchon hu m an -com pu terin teraction , f or
exam pl e, s om e progres s has been m ade tow ard al l ow in g
peopl e toen tercom m an ds in tocom pu ters u s in g n atu ral
l an gu age ( i.e. l an gu ages l ike En gl is h, in con tras tto
program m in g l an gu ages ). On the others ide, ev en Hayes an d
R eddyadm itthat:
the aim of bein g as hu m an -l ike as pos s ibl e m u s tbe
tem pered bythe l im ited poten tial f orcom prehen s ion
of an yf ores eeabl e com pu ters ys tem . U n til as ol u tion
is f ou n d tothe probl em s of organ izin g an d u s in g the
ran ge of w orl d kn ow l edge pos s es s ed byahu m an ,
practical s ys tem s w il l on l ybe abl e tocom prehen d a
s m al l am ou n tof in pu t, typical l yw ithin as pecif ic
dom ain of expertis e. Gracef u l in teraction m u s t,
theref ore, s u ppl em en tits s im u l ation of hu m an
Situ ated Action s
con v ers ation al abil ityw iths trategies todeal n atu ral l y
an d gracef u l l yw ithin pu tthatis n otf u l l yu n ders tood,
an d, if pos s ibl e, tos teeracon v ers ation back tothe
s ys tem s hom e grou n d. ( ibid., p. 2 33)
Whil e. Hayes an d R eddyw ou l d m ake thes e recov ery
s trategies in v is ibl e. tothe u s er, theyal s oackn ow l edge the
habitabil ity"probl em iden tif ied byWatt( 19 6 8)w ithres pect
tol an gu age:thatis , the ten den cyof hu m an u s ers toas s u m e
thatacom pu ters ys tem has s ophis ticated l in gu is tic abil ities
af terithas dis pl ayed el em en taryon es . T his ten den cyis n ot
s u rpris in g, giv en the f actthatou ron l ypreceden tf or
l an gu age-u s in g en tities todate has been otherhu m an bein gs .
As s oon as com pu tation al artif acts dem on s trate s om e
ev iden ce of recogn izabl yhu m an abil ities , w e are in cl in ed to
en dow them w iththe res t. T he m is con ception s thaten s u e,
how ev er, l ead s om e l ike F itter( 19 7 9 )toargu e thatEn gl is hor
othern atu ral l an gu ages are in f actn otn atu ral f orpu rpos es
of hu m an -com pu terin teraction :
f orthe pu rpos e of m an com pu tercom m u n ication , a
n atu ral l an gu age is on e thatm akes expl icitthe kn ow l edge
an d proces s es f orw hichthe m an an d com pu ters hare a
com m on u n ders tan din g. . . itbecom es the res pon s ibil ity
of the s ys tem s des ign ertoprov ide al an gu age
s tru ctu re w hichw il l m ake apparen ttothe u s erthe
procedu res on w hichitis bas ed an d w il l n otl ead him
toexpectf rom the com pu teru n real is tic pow ers of
in f eren ce. ( ibid., p. 340, origin al em phas is )
In v iew of ou rten den cytoas cribe f u l l in tel l igen ce on the
bas is of partial ev iden ce, the recom m en dation is that
des ign ers m ightdobes ttom ake av ail abl e tothe u s erthe
w ays in w hichthe s ys tem is n otl ike aparticipan tin
in teraction s In this s pirit, N ickers on ( 19 7 6 )argu es that:
T he m odel thats eem s appropriate f orthis v iew of
pers on com pu terin teraction is thatof an in div idu al
m akin g u s e of as ophis ticated tool an d n otthatof on e
pers on con v ers in g w ithan other. T he term u s er is , of
cou rs e, of ten u s ed toden ote the hu m an com pon en t
in apers on com pu terin teraction , as ithas been in
this paper. Itis , tom ytas te, pref erabl e tothe term
partn er, n oton l ybecau s e its eem s m ore des criptiv e
of the n atu re of the rel ation s hips thatexis tin g
s ys tem s perm it, an d thatf u tu re s ys tem s are l ikel yto,
bu tbecau s e itim pl ies an as ym m etryw ithres pectto
goal s an d obj ectiv es thatpartn er does n ot. "U s er"is
n otaterm thaton e w ou l d n orm al l yappl ytoapartici-
pan tin acon v ers ation . ( p. 111)
41. P l an s an d
Situ ated Action s
T he argu m en tthatcom pu tation al proces s es s hou l d be
rev eal ed tothe u s er, how ev er, is poten tial l ycou n tertothe
prom otion of an in ten tion al v ocabu l aryin s peakin g abou t
com pu ter-bas ed dev ices . As Den n ett( 19 7 8)poin ts ou t, itis
in partou rin abil itytos ee in s ide eachothers heads , orou r
m u tu al opacity, thatm akes in ten tion al expl an ation s s o
pow erf u l in the in terpretation of hu m an action . Soitis in
partthe in tern al com pl exityan d opacityof the com pu ter
thatin v ites an in ten tion al s tan ce. T his is the cas e n oton l y
becau s e u s ers l ack techn ical kn ow l edge of the com pu ters
in tern al w orkin gs bu tbecau s e, ev en f orthos e w hopos s es s
s u chkn ow l edge, there is an irredu cibil ity tothe com pu ter
as an obj ectthatis u n iqu e am on g hu m an artif acts ( T u rkl e
19 84, p. 2 7 2 ). T he ov eral l behav iorof the com pu teris n ot
des cribabl e, thatis tos ay, w ithref eren ce toan yof the s im pl e
l ocal ev en ts thatitcom pris es ; itis precis el ythe behav iorof a
m yriad of thos e ev en ts in com bin ation thatcon s titu tes the
ov eral l m achin e. T oref ertothe behav iorof the m achin e,
then , on e m u s ts peak of its f u n ction al ity. An d on ce reif ied
as an en tity, the in cl in ation toas cribe action s tothe en tity
ratherthan tothe parts is irres is tibl e.
In ten tion al expl an ation s rel iev e u s of the bu rden of
u n ders tan din g m echan is m , in s of aras on e n eed as s u m e on l y
thatthe des ign is ration al in ordertocal l u pon the f u l l pow er
of com m on -s en s e ps ychol ogyan d hav e, readyathan d, abas is
f oran ticipatin g an d con s tru in g an artif acts behav ior. Atthe
s am e tim e, precis el ybecau s e the -m echan is m is in f act
u n kn ow n , an d, in s of aras u n ders pecif ication is taken tobe
characteris tic of hu m an bein gs ( as ev iden ced bythe f actthat
w e are in cl in ed tov iew s om ethin g thatis f u l l ys pecif ied as
l es s than hu m an ), the pers on if ication of the m achin e is
rein f orced bythe w ays in w hichits in n erw orkin gs are a
m ys tery, an d its behav iorattim es s u rpris es u s . In s of aras the
m achin e is s om ew hatpredictabl e, in s u m , an d yetis al s o
bothin tern al l yopaqu e an d l iabl e tou n an ticipated behav ior,
w e are m ore l ikel ytov iew ou rs el v es as en gaged in in teraction
w ithitthan as j u s tperf orm in g operation s u pon it, oru s in g
itas atool toperf orm operation s u pon the w orl d ( s ee
MacKay19 6 2 ).
3 Sel f -Expl an atoryArtif acts
In the precedin g pages Ihav e propos ed thatthe reactiv e,
l in gu is tic, an d opaqu e properties of the com pu terl ead u s to
v iew itas in teractiv e, an d toappl yin ten tion al expl an ation s
toits behav ior. T his tie toin ten tion al ityhas boththeoretical
theN EWMEDIAR EADER
an d practical im pl ication s . P ractical l y, its u gges ts that, l ike a
hu m an actor, the com pu ters hou l d be abl e toexpl ain its el f , or
the in ten tbehin d its action s , tothe u s er. T heoretical l y, it
s u gges ts thatthe com pu teractu al l yhas in ten t, as
dem on s trated precis el yin this abil itytobehav e in an
accou n tabl yration al , in tel l igibl e w ay.
F orpractical pu rpos es , u s erin terf ace"des ign ers g hav e l on g
hel d the v iew thatm achin es ideal l ys hou l d be s el f -
expl an atory, in the broad s en s e thattheiroperation s hou l d
be dis cov erabl e w ithou texten s iv e train in g, f rom in f orm ation
prov ided on orthrou ghthe m achin e its el f . On this v iew , the
degree tow hichan artif actis s el f -expl an atoryis j u s tthe
exten ttow hichs om eon e exam in in g the artif actis abl e to
recon s tru ctthe des ign ers in ten tion s regardin g its u s e. T his
bas ic idea, thatas el f -expl an atoryartif actis on e w hos e
in ten ded pu rpos e is dis cov erabl e bythe u s er, is pres u m abl y
as ol d as the des ign an d u s e of tool s . Withres pectto
com pu ter~bas ed artif acts , how ev er, the n otion of as el f -
expl an atoryartif acthas taken on as econ d s en s e:n am el y, the
ideathatthe artif actm ightactu al l yexpl ain its el f in
s om ethin g m ore l ike the s en s e thatahu m an bein g does . In
this s econ d s en s e the goal is thatthe artif acts hou l d n oton l y
be in tel l igibl e tothe u s eras atool , bu tthatits hou l d be
in tel l igen t thatis , abl e tou n ders tan d the action s of the
u s er, an d toprov ide f orthe ration al ityof its ow n .
In the rem ain derof this chapter, Il ook atthes e tw os en s es
of as el f -expl an atorym achin e an d atthe rel ation betw een
them . T he f irs ts en s e thatatool s hou l d be decipherabl e by
its u s er ref l ects the f actthatartif acts are con s tru cted by
des ign ers , f orapu rpos e, an d thatthe u s erof atool n eeds to
kn ow s om ethin g of thatdes ign in ten t. Giv en their
in teraction al properties , com pu tation al tool s s eem toof f er
u n iqu e capabil ities f orthe prov is ion of in s tru ction totheir
u s ers . T he ideathatin s tru ction s cou l d be pres en ted m ore
ef f ectiv el yu s in g the pow erof com pu tation is n otf arf rom
the ideathatcom pu ter-bas ed artif acts cou l d actu al l yin s tru ct:
thatis , cou l d in teractw ithpeopl e in aw aythatapproxim ates
the behav iorof an in tel l igen thu m an expertorcoach. An d
this s econ d idea, thatthe artif actcou l d actu al l yin teract
in s tru ctiv el yw iththe u s er, ties the practical probl em of
in s tru ction tothe theoretical probl em of bu il din g an
in tel l igen t, in teractiv e m achin e.
oiWee ~ A ~ 4; ; - A A A As okaA l a -. AA Q
3.1 T he Com pu teras an Artif act
Des ign ed f oraP u rpos e
Atthe s am e tim e thatcom pu tation al artif acts in trodu ce n ew
com pl exityan d opacityin toou ren cou n ters w ithm achin es ,
ou rrel ian ce on com pu ter-bas ed techn ol ogyan d its
prol if eration throu ghou tthe s ocietyin creas es . On e res u l tis
the s om ew hatparadoxical obj ectiv e thatin creas in gl y
com pl extechn ol ogys hou l d be u s abl e w ithdecreas in g
am ou n ts of train in g. R atherthan rel yin g u pon the teachin gs
of an experien ced u s er, the u s e of com pu ters is tobe
con v eyed directl ythrou ghthe techn ol ogyits el f .
T he in heren tdif f icu l tyof con v eyin g the u s e of a
techn ol ogydirectl ythrou ghits des ign is w el l kn ow n to
archaeol ogis ts , w hohav e l earn ed thatw hil e the attribu tion
of des ign in ten tis arequ irem en tf oran artif acts
in tel l igibil ity, the artif acts des ign as s u chdoes n otcon v ey
u n equ iv ocal l yeitherits actu al orits in ten ded u s e. Whil e this
probl em in con s tru in g the pu rpos e of artif acts can be
al l ev iated, itcan n ev erf u l l ybe res ol v ed, an d itdef in es the
es s en tial probl em thatthe n ov ice u s erof the tool con f ron ts .
In s of aras the goal of atool s des ign is thatu s e of the tool
s hou l d be s el f -ev iden t, theref ore, the probl em of decipherin g
an artif actdef in es the probl em of the des ign eras w el l .
As w ithan ycom m u n ication , in s tru ction s f orthe u s e of a
tool are con s train ed bythe gen eral m axim thatu tteran ces
s hou l d be des ign ed f ortheirrecipien ts . T he exten ttow hich
the m axim is obs erv ed is l im ited in the f irs tin s tan ce bythe
res ou rces thatthe m ediu m of com m u n ication af f ords . F ace-
to-f ace hu m an in teraction is the paradigm cas e of as ys tem
f orcom m u n ication that, becau s e itis organ ized f or
m axim u m con text-s en s itiv ity, s u pports ares pon s e des ign ed
f orj u s tthes e recipien ts , on j u s tthis occas ion . P ace-to-f ace
in s tru ction brin gs thatcon text-s en s itiv itytobearon
probl em s of s kil l acqu is ition . T he gif ted coach, f orexam pl e,
draw s on pow ers of l an gu age an d obs erv ation , an d u s es the
s itu ation of in s tru ction , in ordertos pecial ize in s tru ction f or
the in div idu al s tu den t. Where w ritten in s tru ction rel ies u pon
gen eral ization s abou tits recipien tan d the occas ion of its u s e,
the coachdraw s pedagogical s tren gthf rom expl oitation of
the u n iqu e detail s of particu l ars itu ation s .
Acon s equ en ce of the hu m an coachs m ethod is thathis or
hers kil l s m u s tbe depl oyed an ew eachtim e. An in s tru ction
m an u al , in con tras t, has the adv an tage of bein g du rabl e, re-
u s abl e, an d repl icabl e. In part, the s tren gthof w ritten textis
that, in directcon tras ttothe poin ted com m en taryof the
a----4' 41. P l an s an d
Situ ated Action s
coach, textal l ow s the dis as s ociation of the occas ion of an
in s tru ction s produ ction f rom the occas ion of its u s e. F orthe
s am e reas on , how ev er, textaf f ords rel ativ el ypoorres ou rces
f orrecipien tdes ign . T he prom is e of in teractiv e com pu ter
s ys tem s , in thes e term s , is atechn ol ogythatcan m ov e
in s tru ction al des ign aw ayf rom the w ritten m an u al in the
direction of the hu m an coach, an d the res ou rces af f orded by
f ace-to-f ace in teraction .
Ef f orts atbu il din g s el f -expl icatin g m achin es in theirm ore
s ophis ticated f orm s n ow adoptthe m etaphorof the m achin e
as an expert, an d the u s eras an ov ice, ors tu den t. Am on g the
m os tin teres tin g attem pts todes ign s u chacom pu ter-bas ed
coach is as ys tem cal l ed WEST ( Bu rton an d Brow n 19 82 ).
T he des ign s trategyadopted in WEST is bas ed on the
obs erv ation thatthe s kil l of ahu m an coachl ies as m u chin
w hatis n ts aid as w hatis . Specif ical l y, the hu m an coachdoes
n otdis ru ptthe s tu den ts en gagem en tin an activ ityin order
toas k qu es tion s , bu tin s tead diagn os es as tu den ts s tren gths
an d w eakn es s es throu ghobs erv ation . An d on ce the diagn os is
is m ade, the coachin terj ects adv ice an d in s tru ction
s el ectiv el y, in w ays des ign ed tom axim ize l earn in g throu gh
dis cov eryan d experien ce. In thats pirit, the WEST s ys tem
attem pts toin f erthe s tu den ts kn ow l edge of the dom ain in
this cas e acom pu tergam e cal l ed How the Wes tWas Won ,
des ign ed toteachthe u s e of bas ic arithm etic e_xpr_es s ion s
byobs erv in g the s tu den ts behav ior.
Whil e the proj ectof iden tif yin g as tu den ts probl em s
directl yf rom his orherbehav iorprov ed con s iderabl ym ore
dif f icu l tthan expected, the obj ectiv es f orthe WEST coach
w ere accom pl is hed in the prototype. s ys tem toan im pres s iv e
degree. Becau s e in the cas e of l earn in g topl ayWEST the
s tu den ts action s take the f orm of in pu ttothe com pu ter
( en tries on akeyboard)an d theref ore l eav e an acces s ibl e
trace, an d becau s e acon textf orthos e action s ( the cu rren t
s tate of , an d his toryof con s ecu tiv e m ov es acros s , the
board)is def in ed bythe s ys tem , eachs tu den ttu rn can be
com pared again s tcal cu l ation s of the m ov e thata
hypothetical expertpl ayerw ou l d m ake giv en the s am e
con dition s . Eachexpertm ov e, in tu rn , requ ires as tipu l ated
s etof as s ociated s kil l s . Ev iden ce thataparticu l ars kil l is
l ackin g, accu m u l ated acros s s om e n u m berof m ov es ,
iden tif ies thats kil l as acan didate f orcoachin g. T he coach
then in terj ects of f ers of adv ice tothe s tu den tatopportu n e
m om en ts in the cou rs e of the pl ay, w here w hatcon s titu tes
an opportu n e m om en tf orin terj ection is determ in ed
41. P l an s an d
Situ ated Action s
accordin g toas etof ru l es of thu m b regardin g good tu torial
s trategy( f orexam pl e, al w ays coachbyof f erin g the s tu den t
an al tern ativ e m ov e thatbothdem on s trates the rel ev an ts kil l
an d accom pl is hes obv iou s l ys u periorres u l ts ; n ev ercoachon
tw otu rn s in arow , n om atterw hat, an d s of orth).
3.2 T he Com pu teras an Artif actHav in g P u rpos es
Whil e the com pu ter-bas ed coachcan be u n ders tood as a
l ogical dev el opm en tin the l on gs tan din g probl em of
in s tru ction , the requ irem en tthatitbe in teractiv e in trodu ces
as econ d s en s e of s el f expl an atorym achin e w hichis m ore
recen t, an d is u n iqu el ytied tothe adv en tof com pu tin g. T he
n ew ideais thatthe in tel l igibil ityof artif acts is n otj u s ta
m atterof the av ail abil itytothe u s erof the des ign ers
in ten tion s f orthe artif act, bu tof the in ten tion s of the
artif actits el f . T hatis tos ay, the des ign ers obj ectiv e n ow is to
im bu e the m achin e w iththe grou n ds f orbehav in g in w ays
thatare accou n tabl yration al :thatis , reas on abl e or
in tel l igibl e toothers , in cl u din g, in the cas e of in teraction ,
w ays thatare res pon s iv e tothe others action s .
In 19 50, A. M. T u rin g propos ed an ow -f am ou s , an d s til l
con trov ers ial , tes tf orm achin e in tel l igen ce bas ed on av iew of
in tel l igen ce as accou n tabl e ration al ity. T u rin g argu ed thatif a
m achin e cou l d be m ade tores pon d toqu es tion s in s u cha
w aythatapers on as kin g the qu es tion s cou l d n otdis tin gu is h
betw een the m achin e an d an otherhu m an bein g the
m achin e w ou l d hav e tobe des cribed as in tel l igen t. T o
im pl em en this tes t, T u rin g chos e agam e cal l ed the im itation
gam e. T he gam e w as in itial l ycon ceiv ed as ates tof the
abil ityof an in terrogatortodis tin gu is hw hichof tw o
res pon den ts w as am an an d w hichaw om an . T oel im in ate
the ev iden ce of phys ical em bodim en t, the in teraction w as to
be con du cted rem otel y, v iaatel eprin ter. T hu s T u rin gs n otion
thatthe gam e cou l d eas il ybe adapted toates tof m achin e
in tel l igen ce, bys u bs titu tin g the m achin e f oron e of the tw o
hu m an res pon den ts .
T u rin g expres s l ydis m is s ed as apos s ibl e obj ection tohis
propos ed tes tthe con ten tion that, al thou ghthe m achin e
m ights u cceed in the gam e, itcou l d s u cceed throu ghm ean s
thatbearn ores em bl an ce tohu m an thou ght. T u rin gs
con ten tion w as precis el ythats u cces s atperf orm in g the
gam e, regardl es s of m echan is m , is s u f f icien tev iden ce f or
in tel l igen ce ( T u rin g 19 50, p. 435). T he T u rin g tes tthereby
becam e the can on ical f orm of the argu m en tthatif tw o
in f orm ation -proces s ors , s u bj ecttothe s am e in pu ts tim u l i,
produ ce in dis tin gu is habl e ou tpu tbehav ior, then , regardl es s
theN EWMEDIAR EADER
of the iden tityof theirin tern al operation s , on e proces s oris
es s en tial l yequ iv al en ttothe other.
T he l in es of the con trov ers yrais ed bythe T u rin g tes tw ere
draw n ov eraf am il yof program s dev el oped byJos eph
Weizen bau m in the 19 6 0s u n derthe n am e ELIZA, des ign ed
tos u pportn atu ral l an gu age con v ers ation w ithacom pu ter
( Weizen bau m 19 83, p. 2 3). Of the n am e ELIZA,
Wiezen bau m w rites :
Its n am e w as chos en toem phas ize thatitm aybe
in crem en tal l yim prov ed byits u s ers , s in ce its l an gu age
abil ities m aybe con tin u al l yim prov ed bya"teacher."
Like the El izaof P ygm al ion f am e, itcan be m ade to
appearev en m ore civ il ized, the rel ation of appearan ce
toreal ity, how ev er, rem ain in g in the dom ain of the
pl ayw right. ( p. 2 3)
An ecdotal reports of occas ion s on w hichpeopl e
approached the tel etype toon e of the ELIZAprogram s an d,
bel iev in g ittobe con n ected toacol l eagu e, en gaged in s om e
am ou n tof in teraction w ithou tdetectin g the tru e n atu re of
theirres pon den t, l ed m an ytobel iev e thatWeizen bau m s
program had pas s ed as im pl e f orm of the T u rin g tes t.
N otw iths tan din g its apparen tin teraction al s u cces s , how ev er,
Weizen bau m him s el f den ied the in tel l igen ce of the program ,
on the bas is of the u n derl yin g m echan is m w hichhe
des cribed as am ere col l ection of procedu res ( p. 2 3):
T he gros s procedu re of the program is qu ite s im pl e;
the text[ w ritten bythe hu m an participan t] is read
an d in s pected f orthe pres en ce of akeyw ord If s u cha
w ord is f ou n d, the s en ten ce is tran s f orm ed accordin g
toaru l e as s ociated w iththe keyw ord, if n otacon ten t-
f ree rem ark or, u n dercertain con dition s , an earl ier
tran s f orm ation is retriev ed. T he texts ocom pu ted or
retriev ed is then prin ted ou t. ( p. 2 4, origin al
em phas is )
In s pite of Weizen bau m s dis cl aim ers w ithres pecttotheir
in tel l igen ce, the ELIZAprogram s are s til l cited as in s tan ces of
s u cces s f u l in teraction betw een hu m an an d m achin e. T he
grou n ds f ortheirs u cces s are cl eares tin DOCT OR , on e of the
ELIZAprogram s w hos e s criptequ ipped ittores pon d tothe
hu m an u s eras if the com pu terw ere aR ogerian therapis tan d
the u s erapatien t. T he DOCT OR program expl oited the
m axim thats hared prem is es can rem ain u n s poken :thatthe
l es s w e s ayin con v ers ation , the m ore w hatis s aid is as s u m ed
tobe s el f -ev iden tin its m ean in g an d im pl ication s ( s ee
Cou l ter19 7 9 , ch. 5). Con v ers el y, the v eryf actthata
. - 41. P l an s an d
com m en tis m ade w ithou tel aboration im pl ies thats u ch
s hared backgrou n d as s u m ption s exis t. T he m ore el aboration
orj u s tif ication is prov ided, the l es s the appearan ce of
tran s paren ce ors el f -ev iden ce. T he l es s el aboration there is ,
the m ore the recipien tw il l take itthatthe m ean in g of w hat
is prov ided s hou l d be obv iou s .
T he des ign of the DOCT OR program , in otherw ords ,
expl oited the n atu ral in cl in ation of peopl e todepl oyw hat
Karl Man n heim f irs tterm ed the docu m en tarym ethod of
in terpretation tof in d the s en s e of action s thatare as s u m ed to
be pu rpos ef u l orm ean in gf u l ( Garf in kel 19 6 7 , p. 7 8). Very
s im pl y, the docu m en tarym ethod ref ers tothe obs erv ation
thatpeopl e take appearan ces as ev iden ce f or, orthe
docu m en tof , an as cribed u n derl yin g real ity, w hil e takin g the
real itys oas cribed as ares ou rce f orthe in terpretation of the
appearan ce. In the cas e of DOCT OR , com pu ter-gen erated
res pon s es thatm ightotherw is e s eem odd w ere ration al ized
byu s ers on the grou n ds thatthere m u s tbe s om e ps ychiatric
in ten tbehin d them , n otim m ediatel yobv iou s tothe u s eras
patien t, bu ts en s ibl e n on ethel es s :
If , f orexam pl e, on e w ere totel l aps ychiatris tIw en t
f oral on g boatride an d he res pon ded T el l m e abou t
boats , on e w ou l d n otas s u m e thathe kn ew n othin g
abou tboats , bu tthathe had s om e pu rpos e in s o
directin g the s u bs equ en tcon v ers ation . Itis im portan t
ton ote thatthis as s u m ption is on e m ade bythe
s peaker. Whetheritis real is tic orn otis an al together
dif f eren tqu es tion . In an ycas e, ithas acru cial
ps ychol ogical u til ityin thatits erv es the s peakerto
m ain tain his s en s e of bein g heard an d u n ders tood. T he
s peakerf u rtherdef en ds his im pres s ion ( w hichev en in
real l if e m aybe il l u s ory)byattribu tin g tohis
con v ers ation al partn eral l s orts of backgrou n d
kn ow l edge, in s ights an d reas on in g abil ity. Bu tagain ,
thes e are the s peakers con tribu tion tothe
con v ers ation . T heym an if es tthem s el v es in f eren tial l y
in the in terpretation s he m akes of the of f ered res pon s e.
( Weizen bau m 19 83, p. 2 6 , origin al em phas is )
In expl icatin g the ELIZAprogram s , Weizen bau m w as
prim aril ycon cern ed w iththe in cl in ation of hu m an u s ers to
f in d s en s e in the com pu ters ou tpu t, an d toas cribe toitan
u n ders tan din g, an d theref ore an au thority, u n w arran ted by
the actu al m echan is m . Whil e u n m as kin g the in tel l igen ce of
his program , how ev er, Weizen bau m con tin u ed todes cribe it
as aprogram w hichm akes n atu ral l an gu age con v ers ation
w ithacom pu terpos s ibl e ( 19 83, p. 2 3). N ev erthel es s , as part
Situ ated Action s
of his dis cl aim erregardin g its in tel l igen ce, Weizen bau m
poin ts toacru cial s hortcom in g in the ELIZAs trategyw ith
res pecttocon v ers ation :
ELIZAin its u s e s of arhas had as on e of its prin cipal
obj ectiv es the con ceal m en tof its l ack of u n der-
s tan din g. Bu ttoen cou rage its con v ers ation al partn er
toof f erin pu ts f rom w hichitcan s el ectrem edial
in f orm ation , itm u s trev eal its m is u n ders tan din g. A
s w itchof obj ectiv es f rom the con ceal m en ttothe rev e-
l ation of m is u n ders tan din g is s een as aprecon dition
tom akin g an ELIZA-l ike program the bas is f oran
ef f ectiv e n atu ral l an gu age m an -m achin e com -
m u n ication s ys tem . ( p. 2 7 , origin al em phas is )
More recen tl y, the in ev itabil ityof trou bl es in
com m u n ication , an d the im portan ce of theirrem edytothe
accom pl is hm en tof gracef u l in teraction , has been re-
in trodu ced in tothe hu m an m achin e com m u n ication ef f ort
byHayes an d R eddy( 19 83). T heyobs erv e that:
Du rin g the cou rs e of acon v ers ation , itis n ot
u n com m on f orpeopl e tom is u n ders tan d orf ail to
u n ders tan d eachother. Su chf ail u res in com m u n i-
cation don ot- u s u al l ycau s e the con v ers ation tobreak
dow n ; rather, the participan ts are abl e tores ol v e the
dif f icu l ty, u s u al l ybyas hortcl arif yin g s u b-dial ogu e,
an d con tin u e w iththe con v ers ation f rom w here they
l ef tof f . Cu rren tcom pu ters ys tem s are u n abl e totake
partin s u chcl arif yin g dial ogu es , orres ol v e com m u n i-
cation dif f icu l ties in an yotherw ay. As ares u l t, w hen
s u chdif f icu l ties occu r, acom pu terdial ogu e s ys tem is
u n abl e tokeepu pits en d of the con v ers ation , an d a
com pl ete breakdow n is l ikel ytores u l t; this f ragil ity
l ies in s tark an d u n f av ou rabl e con tras ttothe
robu s tn es s of hu m an dial ogu e. ( p. 2 34)
Hayes an d R eddygoon torecom m en d s teps tow ard a
rem edyf orthe f ragil ityof hu m an -com pu terin teraction ,
bas ed on the in corporation , f rom hu m an com m u n ication , of
con v en tion s f orthe detection an d repairof m is u n der-
s tan din g. T heyackn ow l edge, how ev er, thattheirrecom e
m en dation s are u n l ikel ytobe s u f f icien tf ors u cces s f u l
com m u n ication in otherthan the s im pl es ten cou n ters , e.g.,
au tom ated directoryas s is tan ce, orres erv ation s ys tem s . T he
qu es tion of w hythis s hou l d be s o of the n atu re of the l im its
on hu m an -m achin e com m u n ication , an d the n atu re an d
exten tof robu s tn es s in hu m an in teraction is the s u bj ectof
the f ol l ow in g chapters [ of P l an s an d Situ ated Action s ].
41. P l an s an d
Situ ated Action s
N otes
1. T hou ghs ee Carey19 85, chapter1 f oracritiqu e of the
P iagetian n otion thatchil dren at rs thav e n ocon ceptf or
m echan ical cau s ation apartf rom in ten tion al cau s ation .
2 . See es pecial l ypp. 6 2 -3; T u rkl e n ds s om e cau s e f oral arm in
the f actthatf orchil dren the dis tin ction of m achin e an d pers on
s eem s totu rn cen tral l yon as eparation of thou ghtf rom f eel in g;
thatis , com pu ters exhibitthe f orm er, bu tl ack the l atter. T his v iew ,
s he argu es , in cl u des akin d of dis s ociation of in tel l ectan d
em otion , an d con s equ en ttriv ial ization of both, thatcharacterizes
the attitu des of m an yin the el d of Arti cial In tel l igen ce.
3. Actu al l y, the term "in teraction "has its origin s in the phys ical
s cien ces , todes cribe areciprocal action orin f l u en ce. Iu s e ithere
in the com m on s en s e as s ign ed toitbys ocial s cien ce: n am el y, to
m ean com m u n ication betw een pers on s . T he m igration of the term
f rom the phys ical s cien ces tothe s ocial , an d n ow back tos om e
grou n d thats tan ds betw een them , rel ates in in trigu in g w ays toa
gen eral bl u rrin g of the dis tin ction betw een phys ical an d s ocial in
m odern s cien ce, an d to\the gen eral qu es tion of w hetherm achin es
are actu al l ybecom in g m ore l ike peopl e orw hether, in f act, peopl e
are com in g tode n e them s el v es m ore as m achin es . T here is cl earl y
am u tu al in f l u en ce atw ork. F orm ore on this l as tpoin t, s ee
Dreyf u s 19 7 9 , ch. 9 .
4. F oran exten s iv e treatm en t, s ee Gardn er19 85.
5. See McCordu ck 19 7 9 , ch. 1; Chu rchl an d 19 84, ch. 6 . F ora
f u rtherhis toryof au tom ata, s ee Cohen 19 6 6 .
6 . See T u rkl e 19 84, ch. 7 ; an d McCordu ck 19 7 9 , ch. 5. T u rkl e' s
des cription of the pres en tacadem ic AIcu l tu re atMIT is
particu l arl yin s ightf u l .
7 . N otw iths tan din g the popu l arf an tas yof the tal kin g m achin e,
the cru cial el em en tthatin v ites av iew of com pu ters as in teractiv e
is l an gu age, n ots peech. Whil e s trictl ys peakin g bu tton s an d keys
rem ain the prin cipal in pu tdev ices in com pu tin g, this is rel ativ el y
triv ial . T he s yn thes is of s peechbycom pu ters m ayw el l add toou r
in cl in ation toas cribe u n ders tan din g tothem , bu tw il l n ot, in
its el f , con tribu te s u bs tan tiv el ytotheirs en s ibil ity. On the other
han d, s im u l ation of n atu ral l an gu age u n ders tan din g, ev en w hen the
l an gu age is w ritten ratherthan s poken , is prov in g tobe a
prof ou n dl ydif cu l tprobl em thatis in s eparabl e f rom the probl em
of s im u l atin g in tel l igen ce as s u ch.
8. In f act, N ickers on ( 19 7 6 )poin ts ou tthatthere are s om e w ays
in w hichacom pu teris n otl ike an otherpers on w hichl en d a
certain adv an tage tothe u s er, e.g. in terru ption s can be m ade
w ithou tcon cern abou tgiv in g of f en s e, res pon s es can be del ayed as
l on g as is n eces s ary.
9 . In des ign parl an ce, the term u s erin terf ace"ref ers bothtothe
phys ical pl ace atw hichthe u s eris s u es com m an ds toadev ice,
n ds reports of its s tate, orobtain s the produ cts of its operation ,
an d the procedu res byw hichthos e in teraction s occu r.
10. F ace to-f ace in teraction is in m os tcas es an eces s ary, bu tof
cou rs e n ev eras u f cien t, con dition f ors u cces s f u l hu m an coachin g.
Coom bs an d Al ty( 19 84)prov ide an in teres tin g dis cu s s ion of the
f ail in gs of in teraction s betw een hu m an adv is ors an d n ew com pu ter
theN EWMEDIAR EADER
u s ers . Atthe s am e tim e, theypoin tou tthatthe characteris tics of
the adv is orys es s ion s thatn ew u s ers f ou n d u n s atis f actorys how
m arked s im il arities tohu m an in teraction s w ithm os tru l e-bas ed
com pu terhel ps ys tem s , e.g. thatthe adv is ors prov ide on l ythe
recom m en ded s ol u tion s toreported probl em s , w hil e f ail in g either
toel icitthe v iew of the u s er, ortoarticu l ate an yof theirow n
ration al e. Satis f actorys es s ion s , in con tras t, w ere characterized by
w hatin itial l yappeared tobe l es s s tru ctu re an d l es s econ om y, bu t
w hichon f u rtherin v es tigation w as rev eal ed as w el l -m otiv ated
des pite s u rf ace appearan ces , the obj ectiv e n otbein g s trict
probl em -s ol v in g as w e had as s u m ed, bu tprobl em -s ol v in g throu gh
m u tu al u n ders tan din g. T his requ ired s en s itiv itytodif f eren t
s tru ctu ral f actors "( pp. 2 4-5).
11. T he s tu den tis pres en ted w ithagraphic dis pl ayof agam e
board m ade u pof 7 0s qu ares ( repres en tin g the Wes tern f ron tier), a
pairof icon s ( repres en tin g the tw opl ayers u s eran d com pu ter),
an d three s pin n ers . Apl ayef s tas k in eachtu rn is tocom bin e the
three n u m bers thatthe s pin n ers prov ide, u s in g the bas ic
operation s , toprodu ce av al u e thatbecom es the n u m berof s paces
the icon is m ov ed al on g the board. T oadd an el em en tof s trategy,
s qu ares on the board are m ore an d l es s des irabl e f orexam pl e,
"tow n s "occu rev eryten s paces , an d l an din g on on e adv an ces you
tothe n ext. T he obj ectis tobe the rs tpl ayertol an d on 7 0.
Earl yobs erv ation of s tu den ts pl ayin g the gam e rev eal ed thatthey
w ere n otgain in g the f u l l ben e tof the arithm etic practice, in that
theyten ded tos ettl e on am ethod f orcom bin in g n u m bers ( f or '
exam pl e, m u l tipl ythe rs ttw on u m bers an d add the third), an d to
repeatthats am e m ethods ateachtu rn . R ecogn izin g thatthis
m ightref l ecteitheraw eakn es s in the s tu den t' s pro cien cyat
con s tru ctin g expres s ion s , af ail u re togras pthe s trategyof the
gam e, orboth, Brow n an d Bu rton s aw the poten tial u s ef u l n es s of a
"coach"thatcou l d gu ide the s tu den ttoan expan ded repertoire of
s kil l s an d abetteru n ders tan din g of the dom ain . F orades cription
of as im il arl ym otiv ated "adv is ory"s ys tem f orthe program m in g
l an gu age P R OLOG, s ee Coom bs an d Al ty19 84. '
12 . In this regard itis in teres tin g ton ote thatagreatdebate
en s u ed s u rrou n din g the s tatu s of the DOCT OR program as a
ps ychotherapeu tic tool . T hatdebate took on ahu m orou s ton e
w hen Weizen bau m s u bm itted al ettertothe F oru m of the
As s ociation f orCom pu tin g Machin ery, an excerptf rom w hich
f ol l ow s :
Bel ow is al is tin g of apl / 1 program thatcau s es atypew riter
con s ol e toim itate the v erbal behav iorof an au tis tic patien t. T he
doctor types his in terrogatories on the con s ol e. Itres pon ds
exactl yas does an au tis tic patien t thatis , n otatal l . Ihav e
v al idated this m odel f ol l ow in g the procedu re rs tu s ed in
com m ercial adv ertis in g byCartef s Littl e Liv erP il l s ( Sev en N ew
Y ork doctors s ay. . .")an d l ateru s ed s obril l ian tl ybyDrK. M.
Col byin his s im u l ation of paran oia[ aref eren ce toCol by. K. M. et
al . 19 7 2 ]; Igav e_N ps ychiatris ts acces s tol m yprogram an d as ked
eachtos ayf rom w hatm en tal dis orderits u f f ered. M ps ychiatris ts
( M < N )s aid the ( expl etiv e del eted)program w as au tis tic. ( T he
m ethodol ogical as s u m ption here is thatif tw oproces s es hav e
iden tical in pu t/ ou tpu tbehav iors , then on e con s titu tes an
expl an ation of the other.)
0 . . {{{{ -4. A {{{{{{{4. 41. P l an s an d
T he program has the adv an tage thatitcan be im pl em en ted on a
pl ain typew ritern otcon n ected toacom pu teratal l . ( Weizen bau m
19 83,p.2 8)
R ef eren ces
Berrem an , G. 19 6 6 . An em ic an d em etic an al ys es in s ocial
an thropol ogy. Am erican An thropol ogis t6 8( 2 )1:346 -54.
Bobrow , D. 6 ., Kapl an , R . M., Kay, M., N orm an , D. A., T hom ps on ,
H., an d Win ograd, T . 19 7 7 . GU S: af ram e-driv en dial ogu e s ys tem .
Art cial In tel l igen ce 8:155-7 3.
Bu rton , R . an d Brow n , J. S. 19 82 . An in v es tigation of com pu ter
coachin g f orin f orm al l earn in g activ ities . In In tel l igen tT u torin g
Sys tem s , D. Sl eem an an d J. S. Brow n , eds . Lon don : Academ ic P res s .
Carbon el l , J. R . 19 7 1. Mixed-In itiativ e Man -Com pu terDial ogu es .
T echn ical R eport19 7 0, Bol tBeran ek an d N ew m an , In c., Cam bridge,
MA.
Carey, S. 19 85. Con ceptu al Chan ge in Chil dhood. Cam bridge, MA:
MIT P res s .
Chu rchl an d, P . 19 84. Matteran d Con s ciou s n es s . Cam bridge, MA: MIT
P res s .
Cohen , J. 19 6 6 . Hu m an R obots in Mythan d Scien ce. Lon don : Al l en
an d U n w in .
Col by, K. M. etal . 19 7 2 . T u rin g-l ike in dis tin gu is habil itytes ts f or
the v al idation of acom pu ters im u l ation of paran oid proces s es .
Arti cial In tel l igen ce 3:19 9 -2 2 1.
Coom bs , M. an d Al ty, J. 19 84. Experts ys tem s : an al tern ativ e
paradigm . In tern ation al Jou rn al of Man -Machin e Stu dies 2 0:2 1-43.
Cou l ter, J. 19 7 9 . T he Social Con s tru ction of Min d. T otow a, N J:
R ow m an an d Littl ef iel d.
. 19 83. R ethin kin g Cogn itiv e T heory. N ew Y ork, N Y : St.
Martin ' s P res s .
Den n ett, D. 19 7 8. Brain s torm s . Cam bridge, MA: MIT P res s .
Dreyf u s , H. 19 7 9 . WhatCom pu ters Can tDo: T he Lim its of Artif icial
In tel l igen ce, rev is ed edition . N ew Y ork, N Y : Harperan d R ow .
- , ed. 19 82 . Hu s s erl In ten tion al ityan d Cogn itiv e Scien ce.
Cam bridge, MA: MIT P res s .
F itter, M. 19 7 9 . T ow ards m ore n atu ral in teractiv e s ys tem s .
In tern ation al Jou rn al of Man -Machin e Stu dies 11:339 -49 .
F odor, J. 19 83. T he Modu l arityof Min d. Cam bridge, MA: MIT P res s .
Gardn er, H. 19 85. T he Min ds N ew Scien ce. N ew Y ork: Bas ic Books .
Garf in kel , H. 19 6 7 . Stu dies in Ethn om ethodol ogy. En gl ew ood Cl if f s ,
N J: P ren tice-Hal l .
Gl adw in , T . 19 6 4. Cu l tu re an d l ogical proces s . In Expl oration s in
Cu l tu ral An thropol ogy: Es s ays P res en ted toGeorge P eterMu rdock, W.
Gooden ou gh, ed. N ew Y ork, N Y : McGraw -Hil l .
Gros z, B. 19 81. F ocu s in g an d des cription in n atu ral l an gu age
dial ogu es . In El em en ts of Dis cou rs e U n ders tan din g, Jos hi, A.,
Webber, B., an d Sag, I., eds . Cam bridge U n iv ers ityP res s .
Situ ated Action s
Hayes , P . 19 81. Acon s tru ction -s pecif ic approachtof ocu s ed
in teraction in f l exibl e pars in g. P roceedin gs of N in eteen thAn n u al
Meetin g of the As s ociation f orCom pu tation al Lin gu is tics , pp.
149 -52 . Stan f ord, CA: Stan f ord U n iv ers ity.
Hayes , P . an d R eddy, D. R . 19 83. Steps tow ard gracef u l in teraction
in s poken an d w ritten m an -m achin e com m u n ication . In tern ation al
Jou rn al of Man Machin e Stu dies 19 :2 31-84.
Hen drix, G. G. 19 7 7 . Hu m an en gin eerin g f orappl ied n atu ral
l an gu age proces s in g. P roceedin gs of the F if thIn tern ation al Join t
Con f eren ce on Artif icial In tel l igen ce, pp. 183-9 1. Cam bridge MA:
MIT .
McCordu ck, P . 19 7 9 . Machin es WhoT hin k. San F ran cis co, CA: W. H.
F reem an .
MacKay, D. M. 19 6 2 . T he u s e of behav ioral l an gu age toref erto
m echan ical proces s es . Britis hJou rn al of P hil os ophical Scien ce,
13:89 103.
N ickers on , R . 19 7 6 . On con v ers ation al in teraction w ithcom pu ters .
In P roceedin gs of ACM/ SIGGR AP H w orks hop, October14-15, pp.
101-13. P itts bu rgh, P A. _
Oberqu el l e, H., Ku pka, I., an d Maas s , S. 19 83. Av iew of hu m an -
m achin e com m u n ication an d cooperation . In tern ation al Jou rn al of
Man -Machin e Stu dies 19 :309 -33.
P yl ys hyn , Z. 19 7 4. Min ds , m achin es an d phen om en ol ogy: s om e
ref l ection s on Dreyf u s WhatCom pu ters Can ' tDo. Cogn ition
3:57 -7 7 .
- -. 19 84. Com pu tation an d Cogn ition . Cam bridge, MA: MIT
P res s .
Sidn er, C. L. 19 7 9 . T ow ards acom pu tation al theoryof def in ite
an aphoracom prehen s ion in En gl is hdis cou rs e. T echn ical R eport
T R 537 , MIT AILaboratory. Cam bridge, MA.
Stich, S. 19 83. F rom F ol k P s ychol ogytoCogn itiv e Scien ce.
Cam bridge, MA: MIT P res s .
T u rin g, A. M. 19 50. Com pu tin g m achin eryan d in tel l igen ce. Min d
59 ( 2 36 ); 433-6 1.
T u rkl e, S. 19 84. T he Secon d Sel f . N ew Y ork, N Y : Sim on an d Schu s ter
T u rn er, R . 19 6 2 . Words , u tteran ces an d activ ities . In
Ethn om ethodol ogy: Sel ected readin gs , ed. T u rn er. Harm on ds w orth,
Middl es ex: P en gu in .
Watt, W. C. 19 6 8. Habitabil ity. Am erican Docu m en tation
19 ( 3y33s -51.
Weizen bau m , J. 19 83. ELIZA: acom pu terprogram f orthe s tu dyof
n atu ral l an gu age com m u n ication betw een m an an d m achin e.
Com m u n ication s of the ACM, 2 5thAn n iv ers aryIs s u e, 2 6 ( 1):2 3-7 .
( R eprin ted f rom Com m u n ication s of the ACM, 2 9 ( 1):36 -45, Jan u ary
19 6 6 )
. . kil l ? 42 Siren Shapes
42 . [ In trodu ction ]
Siren Shapes
Expl oratoryan d Con s tru ctiv e Hypertexts
T he hypertextof the Web is n otthe hypertextim agin ed byVan n ev arBu s h( O02 ), Dou g En gel bart
( 008, ( > 16 ), orT ed N el s on ( O11, ( > 2 1, ( > 30)- as readin g thes e au thors m akes cl ear, the Web edition 1s
m u chm ore l im ited. U n ders tan din g the l im itation s of the Web' s hypertextis n ots im pl yan occas ion
f orcom pl ain t, how ev er. Ithel ps rev eal the poten tial thats til l l ies w ithin the hypertextcon cept,
u n tapped bym ain s tream n ew m edia. In the f ol l ow in g es s ay, Michael Joyce gav e an am e toan .
im portan tdis tin ction betw een tw otypes of hypertexten v iron m en ts thos e thatare expl oratory
an d thos e thatare con s tru ctiv e. His dis tin ction m aps on tos ign if ican tdif f eren ces betw een the
en v iron m en tin w hichw e cu rren tl yexperien ce the Web an d the ideas of earl yhypertextcreators ,
w hil e al s ou s ef u l l ydes cribin g otherareas of n ew m edia, hel pin g rev eal bothl im itation s an d
opportu n ities .
Accordin g toJoyce, con s tru ctiv e hypertexts are thos e in the proces s of creation bythe u s er/ au thor.
T heyare f l exibl e repres en tation s of thou ghts , s tories , argu m en ts , an d ev erythin g el s e f orw hichw e
u s e m edia. Expl oratoryhypertexts are f orm ercon s tru ctiv e hypertexts , n ow bein g experien ced bya
u s er/ readerw hois n otan au thorof the w ork. In an en v iron m en ts u chas thos e des cribed byBu s h,
En gel bart, an d N el s on , au s ercan f reel ym ov e back an d f orthbetw een the rol es of au thoran d reader
betw een the experien ces of con s tru ction an d expl oration . Acon s tru ctiv e hypertexten v iron m en t
prov ides s om ethin g m ore than an el ectric textbook orw orkbook:itm akes al l expl oratoryhypertexts
in tom aterial thatthe u s er/ au thorcan pl ace w ithin the s pace of the con s tru ctiv e hypertexttheyare
al w ays al readycreatin g. T his proces s of creation , Joyce argu es , hol ds m u chm ore prom is e f or
tran s f orm in g edu cation than does s im pl e el ectric readin g w ithl in ks .
Con s tru ctiv e hypertexthas l argel yrem ain ed an excitin g activ ityon the peripheryof edu cation .
Bu tthe tool thatJoyce, J. Dav id Bol ter( Q 47 ), an d John B. Sm ithcreated toem bodytheirgoal s of
con s tru ctiv e, topographic. hypertextcreation has been v eryin f l u en tial in an otherarea:el ectron ic
l iteratu re. Storys pace, m arketed n ow byEas tgate Sys tem s , w as , bef ore the ris e of the Web, the
prim arycreativ e m ediu m f orhypertextl iteratu re, riv al ed on l ybyAppl e' s HyperCard.
T he Web has yettoin cl u de m an yof the f eatu res thatJoyce as s ociates w ithexpl oratoryhypertext
s u chas the abil ityf oru s ers tocreate an n otation s an d l in ks perhaps becau s e n oon e has dev el oped
arev en u e m odel tos u pportof f erin g s u chs erv ices ov eran d abov e the cu rren tWeb en v iron m en ts
bas ic f eatu res . IBM of f ered an earl ys erv ice toal l ow u s ers toadd an d s hare l in ks betw een Web s ites
T his s erv ice, Aqu i, has been dis con tin u ed. T hird Voice l aterof f ered am echan is m f orm akin g pu bl ic
an n otation s toWeb pages u n til the com pan yf ol ded Lin k s erv ers are n ow av ail abl e f rom Activ e
N av igation an d othercom pan ies , bu tas an in tern al s erv ice f ororgan ization s , n otapu bl ic f acil ity.
N om aj orWeb s of tw are ev en al l ow s the u s ertocreate priv ate l in ks an d an n otation s du rin g readin g
Su chf acil ities m ightbe added toabrow s ers u chas Mozil l a( perhaps al on g w ithal teration s toa
s erv ers u chas Apache)byen terpris in g in div idu al s . T he m ore es s en tial qu es tion is w hetheritw il l be
pos s ibl e tocreate con s tru ctiv e hypertextin the s pace of the Web, techn ical l yorl egal l y. T echn ical l y,
m os texis tin g Web pages are m on ol ithic con s tru ction s , an d f arf rom am en abl e tow hatT ed N el s on
cal l s tran s cl u s ion " w hichw ou l d be n eces s aryf orappropriatel yin cl u din g portion s of ol d s tyl e
Web pages in an ew l ycon s tru ctiv e Web. How ev er, the Worl d Wide Web con s ortiu m is atw ork on
s om e el egan ts ol u tion s f ordeepaddres s in g in m on ol ithic Web pages , N el s on is cu rren tl yexpl orin g
the tran s cl u s ion pos s ibil ities open ed bythes e n ew s tan dards an d otherapproaches , an d atthe v ery
42 . Siren Shapes
. N WF
Origin al P u bl ication _
Academ ic Com pu tin g 3:10-14, 37 -42 , 19 88. R eprin ted in Michael
Joyce, Of T w oMin ds : HypertextP edagogyan d P oetics . An n Arbor:
U n iv ers ityof Michigan P res s , 19 9 5. T he w orks cited s ection here is
f rom the reprin tin g.
Siren Shapes
Expl oratoryan d
Con s tru ctiv e Hypertexts
Michael Joyce
Hypertextan d hyperm ediaare in creas in gl yperceiv ed as
in s tan ces of acardin al techn ol ogy, i.e., tool s f orw orkin g at
tradition al tas ks w hichhav e the ef f ectof chan gin g the tas ks
them s el v es . Y et, af airl ycom m on reaction tohypertextan d
hyperm edias ys tem s in produ ctrev iew s , in techn ical
l iteratu re, an d am on g ev erydayu s ers of thes e tool s is the on e
theN EWMEDIAR EADER
l eas tm an yim ages are s tored in am an n erthatw ou l d al l ow them tobe eas il ytran s cl u ded. Giv en this ,
the n extm atters tocon s iderare l egal on es , w here the pictu re is n otros y. An u m berof l aw s u its hav e
al readybeen w aged toprev en tl in kin g to, an d con textu al izin g of , Web in f orm ation in aw aythatits
ow n ercon s idered in appropriate. As the Web con tin u es toin tegrate w iththe l argerm ediain du s try,
l egal territorial is m s eem s l ikel ytogrow on l ym ore v iciou s . Con s tru ctiv e hypertextm aybe s im pl ybe
in com patibl e w ithou rcu rren tcu l tu ral m om en t. Whil e s om e m ightexcl aim thatou rcu l tu re w il l hav e
tochan ge in the f ace of hypertexf s m an if es tdes tin ytow ard the con s tru ctiv e, ev iden ce f ors u ch
as s ertion s is l ackin g. R atherits eem s pos s ibl e thatcon s tru ctiv e is l an ds w il l hav e toexis ts eparatel y,
an d then export tothe Web or, if con s tru ctiv e hypertextis m ade partof the l iv e Web, that
' bu ddin g bu il ders w il l hav e tobe v erycaref u l of w hattheyin cl u de in theirreadin g/ w ritin g proces s .
: Mean w hil e, j u s tas Seym ou rP aperts con s tru ction is tedu cation al phil os ophies can be appl ied w ith
I pen cil an d paper, edu cators an d w riters are w orkin g toem pl oycon s tru ctiv e hypertextm odel s in the
barel y expl oratoryen v iron m en tof the Web; R obertKen dal l ' s Con n ection Mu s e is on e exam pl e.
expres s ed byJef f reyCon kl in in his s til l def in itiv e articl e:
On e m u s tw ork in cu rren thypertexten v iron m en ts f ora
w hil e f orthe col l ection of f eatu res tocoal es ce in toau s ef u l
tool . ( Con kl in , 19 87 ) F
T his is akin d w aytos aythatyou hav e tof igu re ou tw hat
todow iththes e thin gs . Ihav e s pen tm u chof the l as tf ou r
years f igu rin g ou texactl ythat. As aco-dev el oper( w ithJay
Bol teran d John B. Sm ith)of Storys pace, ahypertext
program f orthe Macin tos hcom pu tertobe pu bl is hed by
Broderbu n d Sof tw are this year* , Ihav e approached w hatto
dow iththes e thin gs as ades ign qu es tion . As af iction w riter
s eekin g tow ork in an ew m ediu m , Ihav e approached itas an
artis tic qu es tion ; an d as ateacher, apractical , pedagogic, an d
as om etim e pol itical on e.
O . ~._._. . 42 . Siren Shapes
Mycol l eagu es an d Ihav e had three years experien ce u s in g
hypertexttool s in av arietyof s ettin gs w ithin acom pre-
hen s iv e com m u n itycol l ege. Storys pace has been u s ed n ot
on l yas adaytodayw ritin g a.n d thin kin g tool , bu tal s oin
Chem is try, N u rs in g, T echn ical Writin g, Creativ e Writin g,
Literatu re, an d Dev el opm en tal R eadin g an d Writin g cou rs es .
U s ers in cl u de f acu l ty, com m u n ityprof es s ion al s , creativ e
w riters , an d aw ide ran ge of tradition al an d n on -tradition al
s tu den ts , f rom highs chool age tos en iorcitizen s .
Ou rexperien ce in u s in g Storys pace predates the rel eas e of
bothGu ide an d HyperCard an d began w ithf airl yu n s tabl e
dev el opm en tal v ers ion s an d con tin u es as Storys pace is
s haped f orcom m ercial rel eas e. Ithas hel ped u s tes tou r
n otion s abou tl earn in g an d in f orm ed ou rw ork in des ign in g
hypertextl earn in g tool s u s in g Stoiys pace an d HyperCard
both. T os om e exten t, then , giv en this kin d of appl ied des ign
an d tes tin g, Ihav e al s oapproached the qu es tion of w hatto
dow ithhypertexts as ares earchqu es tion .
Giv en al l thes e cl aim ed approaches , itw ou l d s eem Iou ght
tohav e gotten s om ew here. Iw il l trytos ayw here thatm ight
be, an d Iw il l ev en take the obl igatorys tab atexpl ain in g
w hathypertextis , as w el l as w hatitm ightbecom e.
( Hereaf ter, Iw il l u s e the term hypertextw here hyperm edia
w ou l d doas w el l , s in ce n earl yal l hypertexts ys tem s in v ol v e
otherm edia, an d Ikn ow of n ohyperm edias ys tem s w hich
u s e n otext.)Bef ore that, how ev er, Iw an ttodis cu s s -
brief l yan d, in the hypertexts pirit, idios yn cratical l y
s om e des ign is s u es , artis tic is s u es , an d u l tim atel ypractical ,
pedagogic, an d ev en pol itical is s u es w hichw e ign ore atou r
peril . In doin g s o, Iw an ttoof f eras om ew hatpol em ical ( an d,
f orahypertextdev el oper, argu abl ys el f -s erv in g)des cription
of as etof thes e peril s as w el l as as etof the prom is es w hich
accom pan ythem .
In deed, hypertexttool s of f erthe prom is e of adaptin g
them s el v es tof u n dam en tal cogn itiv e s kil l s w hichexperts
rou tin el y, s u btl y, an d s el f -con s ciou s l yappl yin accom pl is hin g
in tel l ectu al tas ks . Moreov er, hypertexttool s prom is e to
u n l ock thes e s kil l s f orn ov ice l earn ers an d toem pow eran d
en f ran chis e theirl earn in g. Iron ical l y, how ev er, ou rabil ityto
del iv eru pon thes e prom is es m aybe im peril ed in the s hort
ru n bym an yof the s am e f actors w hichm ake this tech-
n ol ogys oprom is in g.
F orin s tan ce, the readyadaptabil ityof thes e tool s tom ore
tradition al u s es is es pecial l ycom pel l in g giv en the tech-
n ol ogical f ros tin g theys oeas il ys pread u pon s tal e cake. T his
19 88
dis in cen tiv e tochan ge is in n ow ayn ov el , eitherin the l on g
his toryof cardin al techn ol ogies , or, es pecial l y, in the s hort
his toryof m icrocom pu ters in edu cation . T he adaptabil ityof
HyperCard, f orin s tan ce, m akes iteas ytoau thor
edu cation al s of tw are w hichm erel yredis tribu tes the
com m an d l in es of the w ors tkin ds of s u ppos edl yin teractiv e,
dril l s -an d s kil l s , CAIs of tw are in togail yem bos s ed bu tton s
an d peek a boocard f iel ds . Like the Appl es of tBASIC
rev ol u tion in edu cation al s of tw are. w hichpreceded itan d
w hichits ocl earl yres em bl es , the HyperCard rev ol u tion
requ ires u s torel yu pon s keptical eyes , keepas hrew d ear
open tow ord-of -m ou th( orw ord-of -n etw ork)adv ice, an d
exercis e acool han d ( an d f as tdel ete f in ger)in choos in g
am on g abu rgeon in g l is tof titl es .
Becau s e the price is right( again , l ike the Appl es of t
rev ol u tion , m u chof this s of tw are is s harew are orrel ativ el y
in expen s iv e), itis l ikel ythatthe poten tial ben ef its ou tw eigh
n earl yal l the s hortru n peril s s av e perhaps the m os tcru cial
on e. T he peril of ov er-prom is in g threaten s n otj u s ttos apthe
res il ien ce of edu cators w hom u s tw ade throu ghthe dros s an d
j u s tif ythe cos ts . Ital s othreaten s the credibil ityan d
creativ ityof in n ov ators w hof in d them s el v es hav in g to
dis af f il iate an d dif f eren tiate bef ore theycan dis cov er.
Av oidin g the peril of ov er-prom is in g, Iw il l argu e bel ow ,
depen ds u pon ou rabil itytodis tin gu is hbetw een w hatIcal l
Expl oratoryan d Con s tru ctiv e u s es of hypertextas al earn in g
tool an d ou rw il l in gn es s topu rs u e an d en cou rage the
dev el opm en tof both.
Byexpl oratoryu s e Im ean todes cribe the in creas in gl y
f am il iaru s e of hypertextas adel iv eryorpres en tation al
techn ol ogy, i.e., as Gu ide an d HyperCard are cu rren tl ym os t
of ten u s ed. Expl oratoryhypertexts en cou rage an d en abl e an
au dien ce ( u s ers orreaders are in adequ ate term s here)to
con trol the tran s f orm ation of abodyof in f orm ation tom eet
its n eeds an d in teres ts . T his tran s f orm ation s hou l d in cl u de a
capabil itytocreate, chan ge, an d recov erparticu l ar
en cou n ters w iththe bodyof kn ow l edge, m ain tain in g thes e
en cou n ters as v ers ion s of the m aterial , i.e., trail s , paths , w ebs ,
n otebooks , etc.
T he hypertextau dien ce s hou l d al s obe abl e toreadil y
u n ders tan d the el em en ts w hichm ake u paparticu l arbodyof
kn ow l edge, pl otthe progres s throu ghthes e el em en ts , an d
l ocate them atw il l . T hes e s o-cal l ed n av igation al capabil ities
s hou l d be pres en tbothw ithin the organ ization al s tru ctu re
of the hypertextan d f rom the pers pectiv e of the particu l ar
42 . Siren Shapes
v ers ion s of itw hichthe au dien ce creates . Atl eas tin the s hort
ru n , an d es pecial l yin edu cation al hypertexts , the au dien ce
s hou l d be abl e tov iew al tern ativ e v is u al repres en tation s of
the corpu s s s tru ctu re an d, in s om e s en s e, be abl e to
dif f eren tiate the u n iqu e organ ization al s chem es of hypertext
f rom the m ore con v en tion al organ ization s of prin tan d other
m edia. Ideal l y, an expl oratoryhypertexts hou l d en abl e its
au dien ce m em bers tov iew an d tes tal tern ativ e
organ ization al s tru ctu res of theirow n an d, perhaps , com pare
theirow n s tru ctu res of thou ghtw ithhypertextan d
tradition al on es .
Bycon s tru ctiv e u s e Im ean todes cribe am u chl es s f am il iar
u s e of hypertextas an in v en tion oran al ytic tool , i.e., the u s es
w e hav e des ign ed f oran d m ade of Storys pace. T hes e are al s o
the u s es tow hichou tl in e proces s ors an d theirof f s prin g,
P ers on al In f orm ation Man agers ( P l Ms )s u chas Agen daan d
Gran dv iew , hav e been pu t. F orthatm atter, thes e are al s othe
u s es w hichhav e s om etim es been f orced u pon w ord
proces s ors , s preads heets , an d databas es . Ju s tas expl oratory
hypertexts are des ign ed f orau dien ces , con s tru ctiv e
hypertexts are des ign ed f orw hatJan e Y el l ow l ees Dou gl as
has term ed s criptorl s l . ( Dou gl as , 19 87 )Scriptors u s e
con s tru ctiv e hypertexts todev el opabodyof in f orm ation
w hichtheym apaccordin g totheirn eeds , theirin teres ts , an d
the tran s f orm ation s theydis cov eras theyin v en t, gather, an d
actu pon thatin f orm ation . Mores othan w ithexpl oratory
hypertexts , con s tru ctiv e hypertexts requ ire acapabil ityto
act: tocreate, tochan ge, an d torecov erparticu l aren cou n ters
w ithin the dev el opin g bodyof kn ow l edge. T hes e en cou n ters ,
l ike thos e in expl oratoryhypertexts , are m ain tain ed as
v ers ion s , i.e., trail s , paths , w ebs , n otebooks , etc.; bu ttheyare
v ers ion s of w hattheyare becom in g, as tru ctu re f orw hat
does n otyetexis t. Con s tru ctiv e hypertexts , u n l ike
expl oratoryon es , requ ire v is u al repres en tation s of the
kn ow l edge theydev el op. T heyare, in JayBol ters phras e,
topographic w ritin g.
Like the au dien ce of expl oratoryhypertexts , s criptors
s hou l d be abl e toreadil yu n ders tan d the el em en ts w hich
m ake u padev el opin g bodyof kn ow l edge, pl ottheirprogres s
throu ghthes e el em en ts , chartn ew on es , an d l ocate them at
w il l . T hes e s o-cal l ed n av igation al capabil ities s hou l d be
pres en tw ithin boththe dev el opin g organ ization al s tru ctu re
of the hypertextan d w ithin the particu l arv ers ion s of it
w hichthe s criptordis cov ers . Scriptors m u s tbe abl e n ot
m erel ytov iew bu tal s otom an ipu l ate al tern ativ e v is u al
theN EWMEDIAR EADER
repres en tation s of the in v en ted s tru ctu re of the hypertext,
s w itchin g betw een them w itham in im u m of in tel l ectu al
ef f ort, orw hatCon kl in has term ed cogn itiv e ov erhead. T hey
m u s tbe abl e todif f eren tiate an d l abel u n iqu e organ ization al
s chem es of hypertext, pl ottin g them again s tm ore
con v en tion al organ ization s of prin tan d otherm edia, an d
gen eratin g eitherkin d of organ ization atw il l . Acon s tru ctiv e
hypertexts hou l d be atool f orin v en tin g, dis cov erin g,
v iew in g, an d tes tin g m u l tipl e, al tern ativ e, organ ization al
s tru ctu res , as w el l as atool f orcom parin g thes e s tru ctu res of
thou ghtw ithm ore tradition al on es , an d tran s f orm in g the
on e in tothe other.
T ran s f orm ation of kn ow l edge, Iw ou l d s u gges t, is the
l itm u s tes tw e s hou l d u s e in j u dgin g bothexpl oratoryan d
con s tru ctiv e hypertexts . Itis acritical tes tin j u dgin g
w hethercou rs ew are au thored w ithhypertexttool s en gages
l earn ers in l ookin g atm aterial in n ew w ays , orm erel yl ooks
l ike an ew w ayof l earn in g. In m an yw ays , of cou rs e, this kin d
of tes tis n otn ew tou s . U n ders tan din g, pl ottin g, n av igatin g,
an d recreatin g kn ow l edge s tru ctu res is the es s en ce of
l earn in g. As the cu rren tcritical thin kin g acros s the
cu rricu l u m craze attes ts ; how ev er, w e are l es s an d l es s certain
of ou rabil itytocon v eythes e s kil l s .
T his u n certain ty, cou pl ed w iththe n ov el tyan d eas e of
au thorin g w ithhypertexttool s , rais es the peril of ov er-
prom is in g. T ooof ten , des pite ou rin bred in tel l ectu al
s kepticis m an d kn ow l edge abou tf ree l u n ches , w e in
edu cation hav e approached techn ol ogyw ithw hatm ightbe
cal l ed ahu n gerf orau tom aticity. Bothw el l an d poorl y
des ign ed expl oratoryhypertexts f eed this hu n ger. Itis eas yto
thin k that, becau s e l earn ers can m ov e throu ghabodyof
kn ow l edge in n ew w ays , theykn ow w here theyare goin g.
We l on g f oral earn in g m achin e an d thin k thatthe com pu ter
w il l do, ev en as w e kn ow thatthe com pu terdid n otdothe
f irs ttim e arou n d ( an d the SR Acarrel w ithits program m ed
l earn in g"bu tton s did n otdobef ore it).
P oorl ydes ign ed expl oratoryhypertexts of ten in v ol v e a
s econ d orthird com in g of the l earn in g m achin e. T hey
as s u age the hu n gerf orau tom aticityw iththe f u l l -bel l ied
in ertiaof tradition . We kn ow the bu l k of this s tu f f ; w e hav e
chew ed itov erf oryears . Itis eas ytothin k that, becau s e
l earn ers can m ov e throu ghabodyof kn ow l edge in n ew w ays ,
w e kn ow w here theyare goin g.
Y et, n eitherw e n ortheykn ow as m u chabou tl earn in g as
eitherpartyw ou l d thin k. P aradoxical l y, w e kn ow toom u ch
1 9 88
@ _.,_.____an i___,__O ...~,., 0_, ., _..A -Q ....,.._Q ... -,- -, O -m -....._@ ....- - -Q ,.-_.-.._._-....
abou tl earn in g tom ake s u chcl aim s . Itis af airbettos aythat
ou rage is atl eas tas l ikel ytobe kn ow n in the f u tu re as the
Age of Learn in g as itis as bythe ordain ed cl iche, the
In f orm ation Age. T he bodyof kn ow l edge abou tl earn in g in
ps ychol ogy, cogn itiv e s cien ce, n eu rophys iol ogy, artif icial
in tel l igen ce, an d s oon , w ou l d its el f m ake arichexpl oratory
hypertext. T he in div idu al v ers ion s w e m ightcreate as w e
w en d ou rw aythrou ghthis corpu s w ou l d l ikel ys hare certain
s ets of con traryattribu tes . Learn in g is m u l tipl e yet
in tegrativ e, dif f icu l tyetu n iv ers al , n oteas il ys chem atized yet
apparen tl ys ys tem atic, in heren tl ypers on al an d yets ocial l y
m an if es ted, an d s oon .
T hes e con traries prov ide cau tion arym eas u res again s t
w hichtoj u dge expl oratoryhypertexts as l earn in g tool s . Al s o,
theyin trodu ce an d ou tl in e the prom is e of w hatIhav e
term ed con s tru ctiv e hypertexts . Ev eryw el l -des ign ed,
expl oratoryhypertextproceeds f rom acon s tru ctiv e
hypertextcreated byits au thororteam of au thors . T he
tran s f orm ation of kn ow l edge w hichan au dien ce w orks u pon
an expl oratoryhypertext, in s om e im portan ts en s e, paral l el s
an d rehears es the priorcon s tru ctiv e en cou n terof its au thors
as s ociativ e thou ghtproces s es . In this in s tan ce, how ev er, the
w ord paral l el is al m os tcertain l ym etaphoric l an gu age an d
in adequ ate atthatf oraproces s w hichis s om etim es
orthogon al , s om etim es con gru en t, s om etim es is om orphic,
bu tal w ays , in s om e im portan ts en s e, an ticipatory. T he
au thors an d au dien ce of hypertexts s hare atran s f orm in g
in terrel ation s hip. T heyare, tou s e an ov eru s ed term , co-
l earn ers . Ev en the m os ttran s paren texpl oratoryhypertexts
in v ol v e as hared proces s of m appin g this in terrel ation s hip,
w hil e con s tru ctiv e hypertexts m ake the tran s paren tm appin g
v is ibl e, activ e an d pers on al .
T he im portan ce of the proces s of as s ociativ e thin kin g is
s u gges ted in aprel im in aryev al u ation of the In term edia
proj ectatBrow n U n iv ers ity. Dis cu s s in g P rof es s orGeorge
Lan dow s grou n dbreakin g w ork in des ign in g the In term edia
En gl is h32 cou rs e, IR IS in v es tigators reported an
u n in ten ded con s equ en ce of [ their] res earch, dis cov ered
w hen P rof es s orLan dow w as f orced toteach. . . bef ore the
[ In term edia] w orks tation s . . . w ere ready. . . w as thathe
chan ged the w ayhe organ ized his cou rs e. As ares u l the f el t
thats tu den ts gras ped pl u ral is tic reas on in g s tyl es f arbetter
than in prev iou s years . ( Beem an etal ., 19 87 )T he au thors go
on ton ote thats tu den ts w ere al s of arm ore s atis f ied w ith
the cou rs e than in prev iou s years , an d pres en tdataw hich
42 . Siren Shapes
s how in teres tin g s hif ts in s tu den ts ev al u ation of boththe
am ou n tl earn ed in the cl as s an d theirov eral l ev al u ation of
the cou rs e.
Boths ets of ev al u ation s ros e s ign if ican tl yw hen the cou rs e
w as of f ered bef ore the w orks tation s an d expl oratory
hypertexts w ere readyf ors tu den ts . When the cou rs e w as
of f ered w iththe w orks tation s , boths ets l argel ym ain tain ed
gain s bu t, in teres tin gl y, f el l of f toprev iou s l ev el s ( orbeyon d)
am on g s tu den ts w horated theirl earn in g as l es s orthe
cl as s w ors e than othercl as s es atBrow n . Mean w hil e, high
en d ratin gs f el l of f en ou ghtom ake them of in teres t.
Atl eas ton e im pl ication of thes e s hif ts is w orthyof f u rther
res earchan d, m ore tothe poin t, s u gges ts the poten tial f or
con s tru ctiv e hypertexts as in s tru m en ts of l earn in g. Lan dow s
reorgan ization of his cou rs e m ightbe s aid tohav e m irrored
his as s ociativ e ( orpl u ral is tic)thou ghtproces s es in creatin g a
con s tru ctiv e hypertext, i.e., the des ign f orthe expl oratory
hypertext, En gl is h32 . As adis tin gu is hed s chol aran d critic,
he certain l ypos s es s ed thes e as s ociativ e, pl u ral is tic thou ght
proces s es w el l bef ore he s etou ttorepres en tthem in a
hypertext. Y et, the ben ef its of doin g s ow ere dram atical l y
perceptibl e tohis l s tu den ts . Itw ou l d s eem tof ol l ow that
thes e s am e ben ef its ou ghttobe exten ded tol earn ers
them s el v es , es pecial l yif f u rtherin v es tigation of s u ch
u n in ten ded con s equ en cel s l yiel ds ev iden ce thatexpl oratory
hypertexts yiel d ben ef its toin s tru ction w hichare s hort-l iv ed
or, atl eas t, s u bj ecttodegradation .
Itw ou l d on l ybe s tirrin g the hu n gerf orau tom aticityto
s u ppos e that, s im pl ybythe in s tru m en tof creatin g
con s tru ctiv e hypertexts , s tu den ts cou l d m atchthe prow es s of
apracticed s chol arin as s ociativ e thou ght. How ev er, itw ou l d
be equ al l yu n w is e, an d s om ethin g ov er-prom is in g, tos u gges t
thats tu den ts cou l d gain thatprow es s bys im pl yexpl orin g the
s chol ars repres en tation of it. T he In term ediaproj ect, tobe
s u re, does n otm ake eitherm is take; w hil e l argel yav ehicl e f or
expl oratoryhypertexts , itprov ides pow erf u l con s tru ctiv e
tool s f orl earn ers tou s e in tran s f orm in g bodies of kn ow l edge.
T he im portan ce of an an ticipatory, tran s f orm in g
in terrel ation s hipam on g co-l earn ers m ayperhaps n ot
repres en tan ov el con tribu tion toou ru n ders tan din g of
l earn in g; bu thypertext, as acardin al techn ol ogy, does of f era
n ov el en v iron m en tf oren abl in g an d expl oitin g that
in terrel ation s hip. Con s tru ctiv e hypertexts ren ew an an cien t
prom is e, on e w hichw ou l d m ake u s kn ow ou rs el v es an d
becom e au thors of ou rl earn in g.
42 . Siren Shapes
T his au thor' s rol e in this tran s f orm in g in terrel ation s hipis
l ike thatof Jan e Y el l ow l ees Dou gl as s s criptorf orthe
poten tial experien ces of . . . readers . Whil e Dou gl as con cern s
hers el f w ithhypertextin teractiv e f iction , herin s ights in to
the im portan ce of au thorial in ten tion hol d tru e f orm ore
expos itory, expl oratoryhypertexts in w hichs criptor-l earn ers
in ten tion al l ybecom e theirow n readers . T he yiel ds w e s el ect,
the def au l ts w e dis cov er, in f l u en ce ou ru n ders tan din g of the
con ten ts of the textw e read, s ays Dou gl as , in m os tcas es , w e
real ize thatw e hav e, s om ew hatu n w ittin gl y, m ade certain
in terpretiv e orn av igation al decis ion s bas ed u pon ou r
apprehen s ion of au thorial in ten tion . When the au thoris
on es el f , apprehen din g au thorial in ten tion becom es a
dis cov eryof on es ow n dis tin ctiv e s tru ctu res of thou ght.
Dou gl as f ocu s es u pon the l iterary-critical im pl ication s of
this apparen tan d aw kw ard res u rrection of au thorial
in ten tion as as u bj ect of l iterarytexts . Otherhypertext
theoris ts s u chas Dian e P el ku s Bal es tri, JayBol ter, an d F ran k
Hal as z addres s the rel ation s hipbetw een au thorial in ten tion
an d s tru ctu res of thou ghtm ore directl y. In the F ebru ary
19 88 is s u e of this m agazin e, Bal es tridis cu s s es the
con s tru ctabil ity of w h.ats he cal l s s of tcopy( echoin g aterm
w hich, T ed N el s on in f orm s m e, he coin ed in the m id-6 0s ). In
Bal es trf s u s age, s of tcopy, i.e., texton the s creen ratherthan in
prin t, l eads toan u n ders tan din g of textas hav in g pattern s ,
of ten m u l tipl e pattern s f oras in gl e text; [ an d] def in es
coheren ce in term s of l in kages am on g parts of atext.
Hypertext, s he s u gges ts l ater, u n l ike s of tcopy, chan ges the
rel ation s hipbetw een w riteran d reader. T he readerbecom es
acol l aborator, con s tru ctin g an d recon s tru ctin g the text,
choos in g his ow n paththrou ghit.
T he dif f eren ces Bal es tris ees here, betw een the coheren t
pattern s of l in ks am on g parts of atextan d the con s tru cted
pattern s w hichareaderm akes , m ightprov e l es s adis tin ction
betw een s of tcopyan d hypertextthan an otherdes cription of
the in terrel ation s hipbetw een s criptoran d au dien ce. In an y
cas e, Bal es tripoin ts tothe n eed f ortrain in g hypertext
au dien ces in the n ew habits of thou ghtn eces s arytoperceiv e
coheren ce in pattern s an d l in ks , an d togen erate coheren t
pattern s an d l in ks of theirow n .
T hes e con cern s are, as Ihav e n oted, n otm u chdif f eren t
f rom the con cern s w e bu n dl e u n derthe ru bric of critical
thin kin g, orthe gen eral categoryof l earn in g. Con s tru ctiv e
hypertexts addres s thes e con cern s in am ore con s ciou s w ay
than expl oratoryhypertexts . T heyen abl e au dien ces of expert
theN EWMEDIAR EADER
an d n ov ice readers al ike toactas s criptors an d f ocu s u pon
the dis cov eryof coheren ts tru ctu res an d l in kages ; an d, m os t
im portan tl y, tou s e af u l l ran ge of cogn itiv e s kil l s , es pecial l y
v is u al on es , todis cov ern ew s tru ctu res an d l in kages . Bal es tris
n otion of s of tcopyin v ites u s tocon s iderhow coheren ce can
be ( an d is )bothv is u al l yrepres en ted an d perceiv ed, an d to
con s iderhow w e can train l earn ers bothtorecogn ize an d to
gen erate v is u al repres en tation s of pattern s of s tru ctu re.
Mycol l aborator, JayBol ter, in his book Writin g Space
argu es thatthes e coheren tpattern s an d l in ks are el em en tal
as pects of the as s ociativ e n atu re of w ritin g:
. . . n otextis on l yahierarchyof el em en ts . Ahierarchy
is al w ays an attem pttoim pos e rigid orderu pon
v erbal ideas thatare al w ays pron e tos u bv ertthat
order. T he prin cipl e of hierarchyin w ritin g is al w ays
in con f l ictw iththe prin cipl e of as s ociation . On e w ord
echoes an other, on e s en ten ce orparagraphrecal l s
m an yothers earl ierin the textan d l ooks f orw ard to
s til l others . . . .As s ociativ e rel ation s hips def in e
al tern ativ e organ ization s thatl ie ben eaththe orderof
pages an d chapters . . . . P rev iou s techn ol ogies of
w ritin g, w hichcou l d n oteas il yaccom m odate s u ch
al tern ativ es , ten ded toign ore them . T he prin ted book
has m ade the bes tef f orttoaccom m odate both
hierarchyan d as s ociation . . . . T he tabl e of con ten ts ,
l is tin g chapters an d s om etim es s ection s , rev eal s the
hierarchyof atext, w hil e the in dices record as s ociativ e
l in es of thou ghtthatperm eate the text. . . .An in dex
def in es otherbooks thatcou l d be con s tru cted f rom
the origin al book . . . an d s oin v ites the readertoread
the book in al tern ativ e w ays .
Bol terpropos es thatel ectron ic w ritin g, s u chas hypertext,
is an in s tan ce of w hathe cal l s topographic w ritin g . . . botha
v is u al an d av erbal des cription . . . n otthe w ritin g of apl ace,
bu tratherw ritin g of orw ithpl aces , s patial l yreal ized topics .
T opographical w ritin g is as patial , v is u al m ediu m as w el l as a
v erbal on e. ( An otherreas on Ipref erthe term hypertextto
hyperm ediais precis el ybecau s e hypertexttreats ev erythin g
as topographical text; hypertextis the w ords rev en ge on T V.)
Al thou ghthe com pu teris n otn eces s aryf ortopographical
w ritin g, Bol tern otes , itis on l yin the com pu terthatthe
m ode becom es an atu ral an d, theref ore, al s oacon v en tion al ,
w aytow rite. F orthe com pu terprov ides aw ritin g s u rf ace
w ithan exten s ion an d s tru ctu re u n l ike prev iou s
techn ol ogies , on e in w hichtopics . . . hav e bothan in trin s ic
an d extrin s ic s ign if ican ce . . . theyhav e am ean in g thatm ay
O: 44- ~-om _.-+~- 0- --.0
be expl ain ed in w ords , an d theyhav e m ean in g as el em en ts in
al argers tru ctu re of v erbal ges tu res .
F ran k Hal as z f ocu s es u pon the dis tin ctiv e in ter-
rel ation s hipbetw een s cripted an d dis cov ered pattern s of
s tru ctu re. Hal as z n otes thathyperm edias ys tem s , of cou rs e,
requ ire the capabil itytos earchf ors pecif ic con ten t, i.e.,
w ords , keyw ords , an d s oon . How ev er, n otin g thatcon ten t
s earchbas ical l yign ores the s tru ctu re of ahyperm edia
n etw ork, he cal l s f orthe dev el opm en tof s tru ctu re s earches
in hyperm edias ys tem s . As Hal as z des cribes them , s tru ctu re
s earches are n otm erel yw ays of s eekin g pattern ed coheren ce,
bu tin f actw ays toiden tif yw hatBol tercal l s el em en ts in a
l argers tru ctu re of v erbal ges tu res . ( Hal as z, 19 87 )
As an exam pl e of acom pl icated s tru ctu re qu ery, in v ol v in g
an in def in ite s equ en ce of l in ks , Hal as z propos es a
f orm u l ation w hich, thou ghs om ew hatof atechn ical
s ou n din g riddl e, is n on ethel es s qu ite v is u al :acircu l ar
s tru ctu re con tain in g acard thatis l in ked toits el f v iaan
u n broken s equ en ce of s u pports l in ks . Withal ittl e s tu dy
this v erbal f orm u l ation dis cl os es the s tru ctu re of the riddl e.
T his qu ery, s ays Hal as z, cou l d be u s ed, f orexam pl e, tof in d
circu l arargu m en ts . More im portan tl y, as topographic
w ritin g in ahypertext, the v is u al riddl e m ightl ikel ybe s ol v ed
m ore eas il ythan the v erbal riddl e of the qu ery. In this cas e,
the au thorial in ten tion , orin atten tion , of as criptorw ou l d
dis cl os e its el f in acon s ciou s s earchf orpattern ed l in ks ; an d
s cripted l in ks w ou l d becom e dis cov ered l in ks .
As an otherof his s ev en is s u es , Hal as z propos es the n eed
f orv irtu al ordyn am ical l y-determ in ed s tru ctu res as aw ay
toel im in ate the s tatic n atu re of hyperm edian etw orks .
Again , the v erbal riddl e is m ore f orebodin g than the v is u al
on e here. Hyperm edian etw orks are s tatic becau s e theyon l y
con tain pattern s an d l in kages w hichyou , ors om eon e, pu t
there on pu rpos e; theyare w hatHal as z cal l s exten s ion al l y
def in ed becau s e the exactiden tityof theircom pon en ts are
s pecif ied. F orexam pl e, you m ightbu il d as tru ctu re of
ev erythin g you rs tu den t, Bets y, w rote toyou w hil e you w ere
aw ayatacon f eren ce, bu tthats tru ctu re is n ' tthere u n til you
decide topu titthere. Y ou can n ot, in f act, s ee it.
Adyn am ical l y-determ in ed s tru ctu re w ou l d j u s ts how u p
w hen ev eryou w an ted itto. Y ou w ou l d. in f act, hav e toqu ery
the hypertextatl eas ton ce, bu il din g w hatHal as z cal l s an
in ten s ion al l ydef in ed s tru ctu re. T oparaphras e Hal as zs
exam pl e, you w ou l d s pecif yas u b n etw ork con tain in g al l the
n odes created byBets yin the l as tw eek. How ev er, on ce that
o rigs _ 42 . Siren Shapes
s tru ctu re w as created, ev erytim e you l ooked atityou w ou l d
s ee w hatBets yw rote du rin g the l as tw eek. Whatyou l ook
f orw ou l d be there tos ee w hen you l ooked. ( T his n otion is
n otu n l ike w hatAl an Kay, the dis tin gu is hed Appl e F el l ow ,
has term ed as of tw are agen t)
Itis n ottoof ar-f etched, Ithin k, tos u gges tthatthe ideas of
Dou gl as , Bal es tri, Bol ter, an d Hal as z open the pos s ibil itythat
hypertextl earn in g tool s m ayres u l tin the dis cov eryof w hat
m ight, in abad pu n , be term ed m is s in g l in ks , i.e., n ov el
s tru ctu res of thou ghtan d n ew rhetorical f orm s . Whatm ay
s eem f ar-f etched n ow is , Ithin k, n otj u s tl ikel ybu tcertain .
T hes e n ew f orm s prom is e ( or, if you w il l , threaten )toriv al ,
orev en s u ppl an t, the s tru ctu res w e hav e com e tobel iev e are
m ore god-giv en than Gu ten bergian .
T his rais es an otherperil , on e perhaps m ore s eriou s than
ov er-prom is in g. Itdoes take s om e tim e togetu s ed toan d u s e
f rom , hypertexttool s , es pecial l yw hen you u s e them
con s tru ctiv el y. On ce you are u s ed tothem , theys eem to
adaptthem s el v es s oef f ortl es s l ytoqu ite f am il iar, al m os t
f l eetin g, an d s eem in gl yrou tin e habits of m in d thatyou are
hard pu ttocharacterize, l etal on e s chem atize, them . Becau s e
of theirf l eetin g qu al ity, itis tem ptin g totriv ial ize s u ch
habits of m in d; becau s e of the dif f icu l tyin s chem atizin g
them , itis tem ptin g topres u m e them in f eriortom ore
es tabl is hed habits an d s tru ctu res .
T othe exten tthathypertextchal l en ges tradition al
in tel l ectu al s tru ctu res , itm aybe thatthis cardin al techn ol ogy,
l ike others bef ore it, w il l threaten toom u chtou n hin ge u s . We
m ayperhaps , in the s hortterm atl eas t, l ack the v is ion to
appropriate thes e. tool s tothe n ew tas ks theys u gges t.
Atru e tes tof achal l en ge totradition al in tel l ectu al
s tru ctu res m ightbe w hetheritis em braced as com m on pl ace
bythos e w hodon otf eel heirs tothe tradition . F orthe pas t
f ew years , m ycol l eagu es CherryCon rad an d Mark Harris an d
Ihav e u s ed Storys pace as acon s tru ctiv e hypertexttool w ith
s tu den ts w hoareof ten f orgotten heirs of apas s in g tradition .
Dev el opm en tal readers an d w riters are s tu den ts as s es s ed as
n eedin g f u rtherw ork in w ritin g an d readin g com prehen s ion
in ordertos u cceed in col l ege w ork. U n l ike. the techn ical or
creativ e w ritin g s tu den ts w ithw hom w e hav e u s ed
Storys pace, thes e s tu den ts hav e v eryl ittl e experien ce w ith
com pu terprogram s , keyboardin g, orw ritin g en v iron m en ts ;
an d u s u al l ypos s es s l ittl e orn ocon s ciou s aw aren es s of
f orm al organ ization al s tru ctu res f orw ritin g. Com pared to
thes e others tu den ts , dev el opm en tal s tu den ts m ake m in im al
42 . Siren Shapes
u s e of the com pl exl in kin g an d on -s creen hypertext
capabil ities of ou rprogram .
N on ethel es s , Iw an ttocon cen trate on m yexperien ce w ith
dev el opm en tal s tu den ts in cl u din g the particu l arexperien ces
of on e s tu den t. Iof f erthis accou n tm erel yas w hatitis : n ot
qu al itativ e res earchorprotocol an al ys is , n otres earchor
an al ys is byan ym ean s , bu tratherthatm os tu n s tabl e
cu rren cy, the teachin g an ecdote. Bydoin g s o, Ihope to
s u gges tthatthe chal l en ge of hypertexttotradition al
s tru ctu res can take on com m on pl ace dim en s ion s ; an d that
dis en f ran chis ed s tu den ts , l i.ke expertl earn ers , can u s e s u ch
tool s toem pow erthem s el v es in tran s f orm in g kn ow l edge to
theirow n en ds .
T eachin g an ecdotes of this kin d ten d tobe m in i-Odys s eys ,
accou n ts of w here w e w en t, w hatw e s aw , an d, u l tim atel y,
how the w orl d had chan ged u pon ou rretu rn . T ohav e an y
s ortof m ythic pow er, how ev er, thes e accou n ts requ ire s om e
m eas u re of the gates throu ghw hichw e s ail ed, an d how w e
s aw the w orl d as w e l ef t. Iadm ittos teerin g acou rs e betw een
cau tion aryan d v is ion arypil l ars . Itis cau tion aryan d
im portan tin areal m of ov er-prom is e tokeepin m in d Gu ide
in v en torP . J. Brow n ' s in j u n ction thatthos e of u s w hoexpect
the w hol e w orl d torew rite its docu m en tation tof itthe
n eeds of ou rn ew hypertexts ys tem are u n l ikel ytohav e ou r
expectation s f u l f il l ed. ( Brow n , 19 87 )T his is tos aythatin
u s in g Storys pace w iththes e s tu den ts , as m u chas atan ytim e
Ihav e tau ghtdev el opm en tal w ritin g bef ore, Is ets ail
determ in ed, again qu otin g Brow n , tof itthe w orl d as itis ,
ratherthan the w orl d as w e w ou l d l ike ittobe. Dev el op-
m en tal s tu den ts dem an d as m u ch, al thou ghdoin g s oin the
m os tqu ietan d ef f ectiv e w aypos s ibl e, byign orin g w ithou t
in dication orcom pl ain tan ythin g w hichtheirv erypractical
experien ce tel l s them is bogu s .
On the otherhan d, as teacher, w riter, an d s of tw are
des ign er, Icou l d n otav oid n av igatin g bythe perhaps
v is ion arytru thof w hatMichael Heim cal l s n otatal l
extrav agan t as s u m ption s abou tthe f u tu re:Writin g w il l
in creas in gl ybe f reed f rom the con s train ts of paper~prin t
techn ol ogy. . . an d v as tam ou n ts of in f orm ation . . . w il l be
acces s ibl e im m ediatel ybel ow the el ectron ic s u rf ace of apiece
of w ritin g. ( Heim , 19 87 )
WhatIs aw in m ys tu den tLes w as an abil itytos ee him s el f
as f reed of thes e con s train ts ; con s train ts w hichhe an d his
f el l ow s tu den ts had, adm ittedl y, f reed them s el v es of l on g
bef ore eitherbyrej ectin g them ou tright, ors im pl yf ail in g to
theN EWMEDIAR EADER
l earn . Whathad chan ged in Les an d others tu den ts , how ev er,
w as theirabil itytoperceiv e an d expres s , as eas il yas Heim
does here, the exis ten ce of in f orm ation bel ow the s u rf ace of a
w ritin g, an d tou s e thataw aren es s of s tru ctu re in
com m on pl ace f as hion toem pow erthem s el v es .
T his is obv iou s l yal on g w aytos ail an d af an tas tical v is ion
tocl aim tohav e s een . Is hou l d s ayhow w e gotthere. Like
m an yothers , the Dev el opm en tal Edu cation Departm en tat
ou rcom m u n itycol l ege as s es s es en terin g s tu den ts s u chas
Les in the areas of w ritin g, readin g com prehen s ion , an d
m athem atics . T he w ritin g as s es s m en tis ahol is tical l y-s cored,
tim ed-w ritin g m eas u re in w hichs tu den ts w rite in res pon s e
toas tim u l u s . Like m os ts tu den ts Les ' s pl acem en tin En gl is h
101, In trodu ction toWritin g, w as bas ed prim aril yon his
dif f icu l ties w ithorgan izin g apiece of w ritin g an d
s u pportin g his ideas .
Stu den ts are as s es s ed again u pon com pl etion of the
dev el opm en tal w ritin g cou rs e, an d, ev en bef ore Ibegan u s in g
Storys pace w iththem , m ys tu den ts al readydem on s trated a
highdegree of s u cces s in pos tterm as s es s m en ts . Im en tion
this bothtoav oid an ys u gges tion of au tom aticityan d to
s u gges tan other, obv iou s cau tion aryn ote. T hatis , tothe
exten tthatthe des ign of ou rhypertextw ritin g tool w as
s haped bym yu n ders tan din g of the w ritin g proces s , m y
s tu den ts m ightbe expected tos u cceed in u s in g thattool .
Ev en s o, tocou n terpos e av is ion aryn ote, s u cces s , too, has
its v ariation s , f ew of w hichcan be expected orexpl ain ed as
adaptiv e behav ior. Les s u cceeded in u n expected an d v ery
s im pl e w ays , on es w hichIdid n otrecogn ize atf irs tan d can
on l yin com pl etel yrepres en tn ow . Q u ite u n s el f con s ciou s l y
an d rou tin el y, this eighteen yearol d, w ou l d-be au tom echan ic
gras ped w hatw as acces s ibl e u n derthe s u rf ace of an
el ectron ic ( or, f orthatm atter, tradition al )w ritin g an d m ade
ithis ow n . Moreov er, he did s oin aw ayIhad n ots een m y
s tu den ts dos obef ore, an d w hich, in s om e s en s e, m ade m e
f eel agen eration al al ien , an ou tdated u s erof atool Ihad
hel ped m ake.
Min e is w hatm ightbe cal l ed an eo-tradition al proces s
m odel f orteachin g w ritin g. T hatis , l ike m an yw ritin g
teachers Irej ectpre an d pos tw ritin g dis tin ction s in f av orof
w hatis in m ycas e arecu rs iv e three~s tage m odel of f orm -
f in din g, f ocu s in g, an d s hapin g. In the f orm -f in din g phas e, I
en cou rage s tu den ts todev el opan aw aren es s of im pu l s es
tow ard f orm ( pl an s )an d tran s itorys trategies f or
D ( I II
organ ization ( goal s ); u s in g in terru pted au tom atic w ritin gs
19 88
a-- -o--- o~- -4----r> - ~ -o -0 1' o-~ 42 . SIT E Shapes
toen cou rage aphys iol ogical aw aren es s of s hif ts in
in ten tion al ity( im pu l s es orpl an s )an d an abil itytov is u al ize
an d m apthem graphical l yon ahan dw ritten page.
Il ikew is e en cou rage m appin g of the con s equ en ts hif ts in
in ten tion al ityin toprov is ion al organ ization al s tru ctu res
( s trategies orgoal s ). Du rin g in itial w eeks Iu s e aprogres s -
iv el ydis cl os ed hierarchical s equ en ce of abs traction in
w hichs tu den ts are requ es ted tocon s iderobj ects , pers on s ,
an d ideas in thatorder- toin trodu ce the con ceptof
w ritin g tow ard, an in ten tion al l yf u zzys chem e of
organ ization al approxim ation .
Mys tu den ts are en cou raged tom apov erl appin g s trategies
( orgoal s )an d toiden tif ychan ges in im pu l s es ( orpl an s )at
theirin ters ection s bydraw in g boxes orf ram es on their
w ritin gs . T heyare l ikew is e en cou raged, Is hou l d n ote, tom ap
theirow n em ergin g u n ders tan din g of the w ritin g proces s
again s tm yl an gu age f orthis proces s , ev en the m os tj argon y
qu as i-cogn itiv e-s cien tif ic, w hichIu s e w iththem in the s am e
w ayIdohere.
On on e l ev el the l an gu age is ou rs hared j oke again s tthe
En gl is hteacherw orl d; on an other, itis as m ythic an d
em pow erin g as an yotherpartof this Odys s ey, as etof m ore
or l es s u n ders tood n am es f ors kil l s theypos s es s an d hav e
l earn ed torecogn ize. In an yev en t, this m ayexpl ain w hythey
are f airl yu n dau n ted w hen theycom e tou s e as om ew hat
com pl excom pu terw ritin g en v iron m en t -s om ethin g m os t
of m ycom pos ition col l eagu es are cu riou s , orev en s keptical ,
abou t. Mos tdev el opm en tal s tu den ts hav e l on g s u s pected
thats om ethin g f am il iarl ies behin d the codes u s ed again s t
them an d hav e dev el oped rem arkabl ycom pl excodes to
def en d them s el v es w ith. T hu s , theyin du l ge m e in m ycodes ,
es pecial l yw hen itcom es tocom pu ters , w hichtheyv iew ,
rightl y, as the u l tim ate code m achin es .
In the f ocu s in g phas e, s tu den ts u s e theircogn itiv e
m appin g s kil l s tohel piden tif yan etw ork of in tercon n ected,
thou ghn otn eces s aril ys equ en tial , pl an s w hichl ead tothe
dev el opm en tof the s equ en ce of goal s w hichw il l be
pres en ted tothe reader, thu s in trodu cin g arecu rs iv e n otion
of s hapin g. Stu den ts are en cou raged tocon tin u e f orm -
f in din g recu rs iv el yw hen ev ers equ en ces are n otcl eartothem ,
orm ightn otbe cl eartoan ev en tu al reader, thu s bu il din g a
m atchin g, recu rs iv e n otion of f orm -f in din g.
Bythe tim e Les cam e in tom ycou rs e, Ihad begu n
in trodu cin g Storys pace tom ys tu den ts m idw ayin the con s id-
eration of the s econ d s tage of the w ritin g proces s . Is how ed
Les an d his cl as s m ates how toport the w ritin gs theyhad
begu n du rin g the s em es teras w el l as theirm appin g s kil l s to
Storys pace. Ien cou raged them tou s e the program as af irs t
s tage of the s hapin g phas e, dev el opin g an exis tin g w ritin g f or
an au dien ce in this cas e in -cl as s w orks hops , an d then I,
m ore orl es s , l etthem be.
Bythe tim e Storys pace cam e toLes , ithad gain ed s om e
bu tn otal l of the f eatu res w hichitw il l hav e in rel eas e earl yin
the n ew year. As etof tool icon s is arrayed in the f am il iar
Macin tos hpal ette ( s ee F igu re 42 .1)tothe l ef tof as crol l abl e,
em ptyw in dow in w hichthe s tru ctu re of aw ritin g an d its
l in ks are ev en tu al l ycreated. T he f irs ts etof tool s l etyou add
an d del ete the f u n dam en tal bu il din g bl ocks of ou rprogram ,
w hatw e cal l pl aces , in the s tru ctu re w in dow . P l aces are
in div idu al , editabl e el em en ts w hichcan con tain w ritin g
( in cl u din g graphics ); theym aybe com bin ed in toareas w hich
in dicate in cl u s ion ors u bs u m ption . An areais apl ace w hich
con tain s otherpl aces . T he prim aryareais the docu m en t
_Q ,, ____,_____ : _______.
iF il e Editw rite F eatu res w in dow s
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F igu re 42 .1.
its el f , w hichm aybe thou ghtof as an earl yin f in ite s pace
w ithin w hichpl aces m aybe created, con n ected, ordered, an d
ref eren ced.
Othertool s in this f irs ts etl etyou create au tom atical l y
l in ked pl aces f orn otes ; s el ectthe poin terf orn av igation an d
otheroperation s ; u s e apow erf u l in teractiv e m in i-databas e to
gatheran d l in k pl aces in v ariou s docu m en ts ; l in k pl aces in to
paths acros s hierarchies in on e orm ore docu m en ts ; an d
choos e am on g w hatw e cal l Ou tl in e, Chart, orMapv iew s of
an em ergin g docu m en t.
As econ d s etof w in dow m an agem en ttool s l ets you cen ter
pl aces in aw in dow ; col l aps e, expan d, ororgan ize w in dow
42 . Siren Shapes
dis pl ays ; en l arge orredu ce w in dow s izes ; res tore the s tartu p
s ize w in dow ; an d create acopyof the cu rren tw in dow .
T he third an d m os tpow erf u l tool s l etyou u s e a
bl ockbu s ter f u n ction tocreate n ew pl aces f rom the textof
an yexis tin g pl ace; u s e abl ockrn aker f u n ction togather
texts f rom the v ariou s pl aces in toon e pl ace; u s e apl ace-
m arker f u n ction tocreate apathof the pl aces you w ork w ith
orread; n av igate throu ghthe dis pl ays an d texts f oryou r
docu m en ts in eitheran editabl e orread on l yf as hion ; get
in f orm ation abou tdocu m en ts , pl aces , ortext; an d l in k
w ides pread pl aces in topaths acros s on e orm ore docu m en ts .
F in al l y, v ariou s m en u com m an ds l etyou im portan d
exporttexts f rom w ord proces s ors orou tl in e proces s ors ;
dis tribu te s ection s of textam on g pl aces ; gen erate n ew
hierarchies f rom paths ; an d s oon . T hrou ghou tits in terf ace
Storys pace operates on s om ethin g of aprin cipl e of
redu n dan cytocou n teractcogn itiv e ov erhead. We hav e tried
todes ign an in ertial es s s tru ctu re editorin w hichcreatin g,
l in kin g, an d rearran gin g parts of adocu m en tcan be If
accom pl is hed in an u m berof w ays , accordin g toyou r
pref eren ce, an d al m os tal w ays v is u al l yrepres en ted.
P ow erf u l w ord proces s ors of ten al l ow you toadapt
com m an d keys an d m en u item s tos u ityou rpref eren ces , bu t
l argel yrequ ire you tow ork w ithin as tan dardized
en v iron m en t. Whil e Storys pace al l ow s agood deal of this
s ortof adaptation , ital s ol ets you tail orthe en v iron m en tyou
w ork in . T hu s , f orin s tan ce, the ou tl in e, chart, an d m apv iew s
of adocu m en tare m u chl es s s pecial ized en v iron m en ts f or
dif f eren tw ritin g pu rpos es than w ays of graphical l y
repres en tin g the prov is ion al n etw orks an d tran s itory
hierarchies w hichem erge an d dis appearas dif f eren t
pu rpos es are dis cov ered an d dev el oped. So, too, m u l tipl e n av i-
gation s chem es l etyou perf orm bothcon ten tan d s tru ctu re
s earches of docu m en ts ; s earchin g f ors pecif ic parts or
expl orin g atw il l accordin g tokeyw ords , pl ace n am es , paths ,
an d s oon . Searches are topographic in Bol ters s en s e,
accordin g tobothv is u al an d v erbal des cription s , an d
acces s ibl e throu ghbothv is u al an d v erbal brow s in g s chem es .
Les , l ike m os tof ou rdev el opm en tal s tu den ts , w orked
in itial l yin the m apv iew , the m os tv is u al an d topographic,
an d the on e m os ts u ited tocreatin g con s tru ctiv e hypertexts .
In the Mapv iew , you create an d n am e pl aces as in div idu al
boxes , eachof w hichcon tain s editabl e textan d graphics , each
of w hichcan be dragged an d rearran ged in cl u s ters on the
s creen . T his cl u s terin g abil ity, of cou rs e, of f ered an eas ytran s i-
theN EWMEDIAR EADER
tion f rom the cl as s room w ork w e had don e. Cl u s terin g, to
qu ote Michael Heim again , rem in ds the w riteran d thin kerof
the s en s e of ps ychic w hol en es s in the w orl d of in creas in gl y.
f ragm en ted texts an d au tom ated textm an ipu l ation .
Idon otw is htodis pu te Heim ' s con ten tion thatcl u s terin g
can n otproperl ybe don e in the com pu terin terf ace, es pecial l y
the kin d of cl u s terin g he recou n ts on a57 1/ 2 in chpiece of
con tin u ou s paper, an d es pecial l ys in ce his v iew echoes the
f erv en tcriticis m an d battl e cryof hyperm ediatheoris tan d
IR IS director, An dries v an Dam , i.e., More s creen real es tate!
Al l this n otw iths tan din g, ou rexperien ce does s u gges tthat
the m apv iew of f ers exactl ythe kin d of expan dabl e graphic
orm apof thou ghtdis cov eries Heim des cribes cl u s terin g as
bein g, an d f u rtherof f ers the s en s e of w ide open creativ e
f reedom com bin ed w ith. . . pecu l iarities of con n ection w hich
he s ays n os of tw are ou tl in ercou l d perm it.
Withal l this as prol ogu e, w hatStorys pace en abl ed Les to
s ee m ays eem m odes t, if n otil l u s ory, atf irs t. T his an ecdote,
w hen f in al l ytol d, m u s tbe tol d backw ards , s in ce Ihad l ittl e
s en s e of w hatLes had been doin g w ithStorys pace u n til he
did it, an d hav e n om em oryof giv in g him an ym ore
in s tru ction than the procedu ral hel pIgav e others as they
prepared theirw ritin g f orw orks hoppin g.
Les s f irs tpaperw as an u n com m on l ygood attem ptat
f airl ycom m on w ritin g, an au tobiographyin the f orm of an
accou n tof cars he had u s ed, ow n ed, been ticketed in , an d,
m os tl y, w recked in traf f ic acciden ts . Itbegan w ithhis f irs t
borrow in g of his f ather' s picku ptru ck an d con tin u ed
throu ghal in ks , an Es cort, an otherLyn x, an d en ded w ith
his bein g giv en the picku p.
As w e dis cu s s ed the prin ted paperdu rin g the l as tw eeks
of the cou rs e, in atradition al cl as s room f arf rom the
com pu ters , m an yof u s l iked on e particu l ars en ten ce tow ard
the en d of the paper: Boy, if he w ou l d hav e had giv en m e
thattru ck w hen Ihad as ked, this w ou l dn ' tof ev erhav e
happen ed. We al l agreed the s en ten ce m an aged tos ayal ot
abou tm atu rityan d des ire. How ev er, on e particu l ar
paragraph, ades cription of on e of thes e cars , trou bl ed u s .
We w ere n otcertain w hichof tw ocars in s u cces s ion it
ref erred to, an d w e pu zzl ed ov ers u gges tion s f orpl acin g it
w hil e Les l is ten ed in s il en ce, accordin g tothe cu s tom in m y
w orks hops . When itcam e his tu rn tores pon d toou r
s u gges tion s , he addres s ed this on e f irs t.
T he boxis in the w ron g pl ace, he s aid, Itw il l m ake s en s e
w hen Im ov e it.
0 - O-' W-<; 0 _ .-Q . _@ _-- _-k
N on e of u s kn ew w hattom ake of this , an d af ew s tu den ts
s n ickered qu ietl y. Les w as in s is ten tan d con f iden t, m ov in g on .
I' m gl ad you l iked the partabou tm yf athers pick-u p, he
s aid, Itw as the on l yarrow .
N eitherthe s en ten ce in qu es tion n orthe paperatl arge
s aid an ythin g abou tan arrow . T he s n ickerin g in creas ed, an d I
began tof eel the kin d of Lotu s -Eatergiddin es s w orks hops
s om etim es brin g as theyv eerou tof con trol . Som ethin g in
Les s in s is ten ce s teadied m e. He had l as hed him s el f toa
certain tyw e cou l d n ots ee.
T m s orry. . Is aid.
Aros y-f in gered daw n in g cam e ov erhim , an d he grin n ed.
Y ou don tkn ow w hatT m tal kin g abou t, doyou ? he as ked He
s cribbl ed qu ickl yin the m argin s on his copyof the paperan d
hel d itu p. He had draw n as eries of boxes in the l ef tm argin .
On the com pu ter, he s aid, T hats tu f f abou tthe car
bel on gs n exttothe Lyn x, an d Im ov ed the boxbu tf orgotto
pu titback. Itm akes s en s e in the rightpl ace.
Whathe w as s ayin g w as thatthe s tru ctu re of the w ritin g
exis ted el ectron ical l yin aw aythathe cou l d acces s itan d
m ake itcl eartou s , his as s em bl ed readers .
An d the arrow is apath, Is aid.
He w as pl eas ed thatIf in al l yu n ders tood, an d drew ittoo
in the m argin of the paper.
Y eah, he s aid,,the on l yon e. In oticed thatits tarts an d
en ds w ithm yf athers tru ck an d s oIpu tthats en ten ce in .
Whathe w as s ayin g w as thatthe v erbal f orm u l ation of the
paperl ed, topographical l y, f rom the v is u al repres en tation of
itO brav e n ew w orl d, he w as s ayin g.
Itis toyou , Ithou ght. Ihad m is s ed m yf irs tv is ion of it.
Itm aybe thatCon kl in s im pl icitqu es tion w hichIbegan
w ith, i.e., w hattodow ithhypertexttool s , is the w ron g
qu es tion . P erhaps the betterqu es tion is how tou s e thes e
thin gs todobetterw hatyou al readydow el l . Certain l ythe
earl ypropon en ts an d tru e v is ion aries of hypertextbel iev ed
as m u ch. T he hu m an m in d operates . . . byas s ociation ,
cl aim ed Van n ev arBu s hin des cribin g his Mem exin 19 45;
an d f rom Bu s hon w ard throu ghDou gl as En gel barts
Au gm en tan d ev en u n toT ed N el s on s Xan adu , the v is ion aries
hav e in s is ted thatthe s om etim es s l ipperyan d obs cu re trail s
of hypertextres tu pon an u n derl yin g bedrock of n atu ral
cogn ition . Withn othin g l es s than dem ocratic zeal , eachof
this T rin ity- -the citizen -s cien tis t, the en gin eer-ration al is t,
an d the prov ocateu r-hu m an is t bu il ds u pon a
con s titu tion al bel ief thathabits of m in d are n atu ral l y
"188 42 . Siren Shapes
as s ociativ e. T heys ee hypertexttrail s as l eadin g toakin d of
s hin in g el ectron ic v il l age u pon ahil l an in tegrated,
pers on al ized, m achin e.-en han ced, u n iv ers al l yacces s ibl e,
as s ociativ e, n ew , yetf am il iar, w orl d pl atted u pon the pattern s
of s yn aps es , deeded toeachaccordin g toherorhis n eeds .
Itis acom pel l in g an d, poten tial l y, an accu rate v is ion ; an d it
is av is ion Is hare. In the f ortythree years s in ce Bu s hs f irs t
expos ition of this v is ion , ithas attracted al itan yof
adheren ts . T he IR IS proj ects In term edia; Hal as z, Moran , an d
T riggs XeroxP AR C N oteCards ; P J. Brow n s Gu ide; Bil l
Atkin s on s HyperCard; an d in deed ou rStorys pace are each
predicated u pon equ al l ydem ocratic in tel l ectu al prin cipl es .
Iw on derif w e can hol d on tothem . U n til recen tl ythe
hypertextcom m u n ity, u n l ike the Artif icial In tel l igen ce ( AI)
com m u n ityf orin s tan ce, has been abl e tom ake its cas e
in crem en tal l yw ithou thav in g todel iv eru pon s triden t
cl aim s an d exces s iv e hype. T ed N el s on s w on derf u l books
an d bettertal ks aren ' ts triden t, theyre f erv en t( an d an yw ay
he baptized hypertext). Mym in i-Odys s eyan d gos s am er
an ecdote abov e borrow on this f erv en cy, as does m os t
an ythin g w ritten in this area.
Ev en Appl es m arketin g of HyperCard is l es s hype than an
exam pl e of acon v ers ion experien ce, as ortof corporate
s peakin g in ton gu es ; l argel ydem ocratic, al beitaccom pan ied
byf ou r-col ortabl oid tes tim on yan d Lu cas f il m l ayin g on of
han ds . Con v ers ion experien ces are com m on in the real m of
hypertext. In his tal ks , ev en as cau tiou s an d rigorou s an
in tel l ectu al his torian as Bob Jon es ( w hos e articl e appears
el s ew here in this is s u e)reports bein g f il l ed w ithw il d s u rm is e
on f irs tl ookin g in toIR ISs In term edia.
Iw on derw hatthes e con v ers ion s w il l cau s e u s toov erl ook.
Hypertext, u n l ike Al , has u n til recen tl yen j oyed the s af e
harborw hichrel ativ e obs cu ritybrin gs . Y et, edu cation an d
techn ol ogical chan ge boths tirw in ds acros s s af e harbors , an d
n ow Iw on derw hetherthe cl aim s w e m ayf in d ou rs el v es
m akin g abou texpl oratoryan d con s tru ctiv e hypertexts al ike
m ayn otpu tu s prem atu rel yin aw hirl w in d, n otu n l ike the
hu rrican e w hichaccom pan ied the AIboom l etof recen tyears .
Al readyapapers u gges ts dev el opin g apathan al ys is to
cl as s if yprom in en tpaths . . . l earn ers take throu gha
hypertext an d then perhaps u s in g experts ys tem s . . . tohel p
l earn ers acces s rel ativ e portion s ors equ en ces of hypertexts .
( Jon as s en , 19 88)
On ce Iu n ders tood w hatLes w as tryin g totel l m e, I
qu ickl ys ecu red his perm is s ion tol etm e in v es tigate his
42 . Siren Shapes
w orks pace; an d s tu dyan d reportw hatIf ou n d there. Whil e
m u chof w hathe had don e had dis appeared in the proces s of
his doin g it, If ou n d en ou ghtothin k thatw e real l you ghtto
s etu pou rw in d m achin es , in s tru m en tin g"an d j ou rn al in g
the kin ds of behav iorhe, in his ow n rel ativ e obs cu rity, had
m ade com m on pl ace.
Itw as in teres tin g, f orin s tan ce, tos ee thatthe
au tobiographical w ritin g had s pru n g f rom af u l l -f l edged
w ritin g en v iron m en t. Af irs tim pu l s e appears atthe en d of a
pl ace cal l ed P artyIn f o in adocu m en the n am ed F am il y.
T he tal e of his cars em erged f rom atypical accou n tof a
teen agers party, res u l tin g f rom s om ethin g of w hatHeim
cal l s the com pen s atorydis cipl in e of rel eas in g, bu tw hich
Don al d Mu rray, P eterEl bow , Ken Macrorie, an d m an yother
com pos ition theoris ts hav e l on g had othern am es f or.
Itw as ev en m ore in teres tin g ton ote thathe had ats om e -
poin tf ram ed ou tan organ ization al ou tl in e f orthe
au tobiography, deepw ithin am apof an otherpl ace, cal l ed
Chris tm as , w hichin cl u ded pl aces n am ed f oras equ en ce of
gif ts n ew toy, n ew bike, n ew car n on e of w hichhe
w rote abou tl ater.
T hes e u n in habited pl aces u pon am apof thou ght
dis cov eries s eem ed tocal l in toqu es tion the em ergin g bodyof
res earchw hichs u gges ts , as Chris tin aHaas does , thatw riters
[ pl an ] s ign if ican tl yl es s w hen they[ u s e] w ord proces s in g
an d thatthere w as l es s con ceptu al pl an n in g an d m ore
s equ en tial pl an n in g w ithw ord proces s in g. ( Haas , 19 88)An d
theybrin g tom in d En del T u .l v in g' s s pecu l ation s thatthe
kin d of l earn in g ref l ected in f ragm en tcom pl etion an d other
s im il artas ks m ightbe s u bs erv ed by. . . an u n kn ow n
[ m em ory] s ys tem . . . the Q M s ys tem ( Q M f orqu es tion
m ark) ( T u l v in g, 19 85)
Y et, Iw on derif al l m yan d others s pecu l ation w il l
ev en tu al l yhel ps tu den ts l ike Les l earn todobetterw hatthey
al readydow el l . An d Ican n ots hake the u n eas y, l iberatin g
f eel in g thatthe m os tdazzl in g an d rev ol u tion aryexpl oratory
hypertexts w il l be dev el oped on l yw hen w e com e, l ike Les , to
create con s tru ctiv e hypertexts w hichpl u m b the u n derl yin g
topographical depths bel ow as u rf ace of boxes , on e arrow ,
an d w hokn ow s w hatothers iren s hapes of thou ght.
theN EWMEDIAR EADER
Works Cited
Bal es tri, Dian e P el ku s , 19 88. Sof tcopyan d Hard: Wordproces s in g
an d Stu den tWritin g P roces s ."Academ ic Com pu tin g,2 , n o. 5
( F ebru ary19 88): 14-17 an d 41-44.
Beem an , Wil l iam 0., etal . 19 87 . Hypertextan d P l u ral is m : F rom
Lin eal toN on -Lin eal T hin kin g. P roceedin gs of Hypertext' 87 ,
As s ociation f orCom pu tin g Machin ery( ACM), Chapel Hil l .
Brow n , P .J. 19 87 . "T u rn in g Ideas in toP rodu cts : T he Gu ide Sys tem ."
P roceedin gs of Hypertext' 87 , As s ociation f orCom pu tin g Machin ery
( ACM), Chapel Hil l .
Bu s h, Van n ev ar. 19 45. As We MayT hin k."Atl an tic Mon thl y17 6 ,
Ju l y, 101-8.
Con kl in , Jef f rey. 19 87 . "Hypertext: An In trodu ction an d Su rv ey."
IEEECom pu ter2 0, n o. 9 ( Septem ber): 17 -41.
Dou gl as , Jan e Y el l ow l ees . 19 87 . "Beyon d Oral ityan d Literacy."
P aperpres en ted atthe an n u al m eetin g of the In tern ation al
As s ociation f orCom pu ters in Edu cation , N ew Orl ean s .
Haas , Chris tin a. 19 88. P l an n in g in Writin g: T he In f l u en ce of
Writin g T ool s ." P aperpres en ted atthe Con f eren ce of Col l ege
Com pos ition an d Com m u n ication ( CCCC), St. Lou is , March.
Hal as z, F ran k. 19 87 . "R ef l ection s on N otecards : Sev en Is s u es f or
the N extGen eration of Hyperm ediaSys tem s ."P roceedin gs of
Hypertext87 , As s ociation f orCom pu tin g Machin ery( ACM), Chapel
Hil l .
Heim , Michael . 19 87 . El ectron ic Writin g: AP hil os ophical Stu dyof
Word P roces s in g. N ew Hav en an d Lon don : Y al e U n iv ers ityP res s .
Jon as s en , Dav id H. 19 88. "Des ign in g Stru ctu red Hypertextan d
Stru ctu rin g Acces s toHypertext."P aperpres en ted atthe IBM ACIS
Con f eren ce. Dal ias , Ju n e.
T u l v in g, En del . 19 85. How Man yMem orySys tem s are T here?
Am erican P s ychol ogis t40, N o. 4( April ):385-9 8.
I19 88
m -M -4- ---is 4 o---~~~~= > -- ---ct~-- -
43. [ In trodu ction ]
T he Work of Cu l tu re in the Age of
Cybern etic Sys tem s
N ew m ediapracticion ers con tin u al l yborrow in s ights an d tropes f rom otherf orm s . Sim il arl y, the
s tu dyof n ew m ediais con tin u al l ygen eratin g its el f throu ghborrow in gs f rom aw ide v arietyof
dis cou rs es an d exam pl es . Bil l N ichol s giv es av irtu os odem on s tration of this approachin his es s ayi
bel ow , w hichdraw s on f em in is tf il m theory, F ran kf u rtSchool Marxis m , SherryT u rkl e ( O34), "
N orbertWien er( O04), GregoryBates on , in tel l ectu al propertyl aw , gen etics , s pace w eapon ry, an d
P ac-Man .
N ichol s ' s proj ect, in brief , is tou pdate Wal terBen j am in ' s f am ou s es s ayT he Work of Artin the
Age of Mechan ical R eprodu ction . Ben j am in s textw as pu bl is hed in 19 36 , w hen f il m w as you n g.
N ichol s ' s w as pu bl is hed in 19 88, w hen v ideogam es an d others im u l ation m ediaw ere you n g_( as ,
in deed, theys til l are). N ichol s dis cu s s es this s hif tin s ev eral w ays , ou tl in in g how itrepres en ts as hif t
f rom af etis hization of the obj ecttof etis hization of the proces s of in teraction , of s im u l ation .
In teraction of f ers the f eel in g of greaterf reedom , bu tthis f reedom is al w ays pl aced w ithin the
con f in es of the l argers im u l atin g s ys tem . N ichol s rel ates s im u l ation tov ideogam es an d gen etic
en gin eerin g- as eem in gl yhu ge l eap, bu tperhaps n otov ers u chadis tan ce af teral l . P opu l ar
in teractiv e experien ces s u chas P F Magic' s Babyz ( aproj ectl ed byAn drew Stern )an d _Maxis ' s T he
Sim s ( aproj ectl ed byWil l Wright)gobeyon d El iza/ Doctors s im u l ation of hu m an con v ers ation to
the s im u l ation of hu m an l ov e rel ation s an d chil d rearin g. T hes e s im u l ation s are m u chricherthan
the T am agotchif rom af ew years prior, an d theytread m u chm ore cl earl yin tothe territoryof ideol -
ogy. F orexam pl e, in T he Sim s f rien ds hipan d happin es s exis tin adirectrel ation s hiptoon es hou s e
an d pos s es s ion s . Babyz does n ' tof f eran yoption s bes ides s ittin g arou n d as tereotyped m iddl e-cl as s
hom e al l day, l ookin g af terthe kids .
Gam es thaten terthe territoryof T he Sim s m ayprodu ce apl eas u re dif f eren tf rom thatin other
s im u l ation s , as ideol ogybecom es m ore cl earl yas u bj ect. Whil e Sim Cil yen coded certain ideol ogies of
econ om ics an d u rban pl an n in g, thes e ideol ogies w ere m ore rem ote, an d pl ayers m ayhav e been m ore
con ten ttopl ayal on g w ithw hatw as of f ered WithT he Sim s , pl ayers s eem , an ecdotal l y, tom ore
f requ en tl ypu s hback again s tthe ideol ogyof the s ys tem . On l in e f am il yal bu m s are in m an ycas es
f ocu s ed on the f am il ygrou pin gs m os tdif f icu l ttoachiev e thatis , m os tdis cou raged bythe
u n derl yin g s ys tem oron tel l in g s tories u n rel ated tothe s im u l ation . Mean w hil e, Stern reports that
on e of the m os tcom m on qu es tion s u s ers as k w hen f irs tpres en ted w ithBabyz is w hetherthe
en dearin g an im ated characters can be m icrow av ed, def en es trated, orotherw is e treated in am an n er
thatrej ects the im pl icithou s ew if e rol e of the s im u l ation . P erhaps thes e reaction s are w hatWright
an d Stern in ten ded, an d perhaps this is al s othe reaction f orw hichN ichol s hopes in his es s ay, n otto
ov erthrow the prev ail in g cybern etic m odel bu ttotran s gres s its predef in ed in terdiction s an d l im its .
N ichol s ' s exam pl e of w aras s im u l ation m ayl ead u s tothe oppos ite con cl u s ion , how ev er. N ot
l on g af terBen j am in w rote, U .S. bom bs kil l ed hu n dreds of thou s an ds of civ il ian s in Dres den ,
Hiros him a, an d N agas aki. On the U .S. m ain l an d n ew s of the bom bin g w as reprodu ced m echan ical l y,
m eetin g w ithl ittl e protes t. An otherw ar, how ev er, in Vietn am , m etw ithres is tan ce f rom w ithin the
U .S. af teraw hil e ~an d itis con v en tion al w is dom thatthis occu rred in partbecau s e of the
im m ediacyw ithw hichitw as reported on tel ev is ion . More recen tl yU .S. f orces hav e attacked cities
an d kil l ed civ il ian s in Iraqan d the f orm erY u gos l av ia, an d m ediareports ( del iv ered byn on -
in teractiv e m ean s )hav e been the produ ctof s im u l ation , on as cal e w el l beyon d thatof N ichol s s
-

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43. T he Age of
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theN EWMEDIAR EADER
exam pl es of Gren adaan d Libya. T he U .S. popu l ation has n otres is ted this , in f acts u pportin g
thes e attacks . Com m en tators hav e characterized m is s il e cam im ages as res em bl in g a
v ideogam e, thou ghperhaps theym ore res em bl e the s pecial ef f ects of s u m m erbl ockbu s ters .
In thes e cas es , there s eem s n ocal l tores is t, totran s gres s the s im u l ation :it' s as if its s im pl y
tim e tos itback an d en j oy.
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Origin al P u bl ication
Screen 2 1( 1):2 2 -46 . Win ter19 88.
T he Work of Cu l tu re
in the Age of
Cybem etic Sys tem s
Bil l N ichol s
T he com pu teris m ore than an obj ect:itis al s oan icon an d a
m etaphorthats u gges ts n ew w ays of thin kin g abou t
ou rs el v es an d ou ren v iron m en t, n ew w ays of con s tru ctin g
im ages of w hatitm ean s tobe hu m an an d tol iv e in a
hu m an oid w orl d. Cybern etic s ys tem s in cl u de an en tire array
of m achin es an d apparatu s es thatexhibitcom pu tation al
pow er. Su chs ys tem s con tain adyn am ic, ev en if l im ited,
qu otien tof in tel l igen ce. T el ephon e n etw orks , com m u n ication
s atel l ites , radars ys tem s , program m abl e l as erv ideodis ks ,
robots , biogen etical l yen gin eered cel l s , rocketgu idan ce
s ys tem s , v ideotexn etw orks al l exhibitacapacitytoproces s
in f orm ation an d execu te action s . T heyare al l cybern etic in
thattheyare s el f -regu l atin g m echan is m s ors ys tem s w ithin
predef in ed l im its an d in rel ation topredef in ed tas ks . Ju s tas
the cam erahas com e tos ym bol ize the en tiretyof the
photographic an d cin em atic proces s es , the com pu terhas
com e tos ym bol ize the en tire s pectru m of n etw orks , s ys tem s ,
an d dev ices thatexem pl if ycybern etic orau tom ated bu t
in tel l igen t behav ior.
T his articl e trav ers es af iel d of in qu irythatWal ter
Ben j am in has cros s ed bef ore, m os tn otabl yin his 19 36 es s ay,
T he Work of Artin the Age of Mechan ical R eprodu ction .
Myin ten tion , in f act, is tocarryBen j am in ' s in qu iryf orw ard
an d toas k how cybern etic s ys tem s , s ym bol ized bythe
com pu ter, repres en tas etof tran s f orm ation s in ou r
con ception of an d rel ation tos el f an d real ityof am agn itu de
com m en s u rate w iththe tran s f orm ation s in the con ception
of an d rel ation tos el f an d real ityw rou ghtbym echan ical
reprodu ction an d s ym bol ized bythe cam era. T his in ten tion
n eces s aril yen cou n ters the dil em m aof aprof ou n d
am biv al en ce directed tow ard thatw hichcon s titu tes ou r
im agin ary. Other, in this cas e n otam otherin g paren tbu t
thos e s ys tem s of artif icial in tel l igen ce Ihav e s etou tto
-0- as 1188 - 43. T he Age of
Cybern etic Sys tem s
exam in e here. Su cham biv al en ce certain l yperm eates
Ben j am in s es s ayan d is atbes tdial ectical , an d atw ors t,
s im pl ycon tradictory. P u tm ore pos itiv el y, thos e s ys tem s
again s tw hichw e tes tan d m eas u re the bou n daries of ou r
ow n iden tityrequ ire s u bj ection toadou bl e herm en eu tic of
s u s picion an d rev el ation in w hichw e m u s tackn ow l edge the
n egativ e, cu rren tl ydom in an t, ten den cytow ard con trol , an d
the pos itiv e, m ore l aten tpoten tial tow ard col l ectiv ity?Itw il l
be in term s of l aw thatthe dom in an ce of con trol ov er
col l ectiv itycan be m os tv iv idl yan al yzed.
In s u m m ary, w hatIw an ttodois recal l af ew of the s al ien t
poin ts in Ben j am in ' s origin al es s ay, con tras tcharacteris tics of
cybern etic s ys tem s w iththos e of m echan ical reprodu ction ,
es tabl is hacen tral m etaphorw ithw hichtou n ders tan d thes e
cybern etic s ys tem s , an d then as k how this m etaphoracqu ires
the f orce of the real how dif f eren tin s titu tion s l egitim ate
theirpractices , recal ibrate theirration al e, an d m odu l ate their
im age in l ightof this m etaphor. In particu l ar, Iw an ttoas k
how the preoccu pation s of acybern etic im agin ation hav e
gain ed in s titu tion al l egitim acyin areas s u chas the l aw . In
this cas e, l ike others , aten s ion can be s een toexis tbetw een
the l iberatin g poten tial of the cybern etic im agin ation an d
the ideol ogical ten den cytopres erv e the exis tin g f orm of
s ocial rel ation s . Iw il l f ocu s on the w ork of cu l tu re its
proces s es , operation s , an d procedu res an d Iw il l as s u m e
thatcu l tu re is of the es s en ce: Iin cl u de w ithin ittextan d
practices , artan d action s thatgiv e con crete em bodim en tto
the rel ation w e hav e toexis tin g con dition s toadom in an t
m ode of produ ction , an d the v ariou s rel ation s of produ ction
its u s tain s . Lan gu age, dis cou rs e, an d m es s ages are cen tral .
T heirs tyl e an d rhetoric are bas ic. Arou n d eachf act an d
ev erydatu m , al l real ities an d ev iden ce, ev erythin g ou t
there, apers u as iv e, af f ectiv e tis s u e of dis cou rs e accru es . Itis
in an d throu ghthis s ign if yin g tis s u e, arran ged in dis cu rs iv e
f orm ation s an d in s titu tion al aren as , thats tru ggl e takes pl ace
an d s em ios is occu rs .
Mechan ical R eprodu ction an d F il m Cu l tu re
Ben j am in argu es f orcorres pon den ces am on g three types of
chan ges : in the econ om ic m ode of produ ction , in the n atu re
of art, an d in categories of perception . Atthe bas e of
in du s trial s ocietyl ies the as s em bl yl in e an d m as s produ ction .
T echn ol ogical in n ov ation al l ow s thes e proces s es toexten d
in tothe dom ain of art, s eparatin g of f f rom its tradition al
ritu al ( orcu l t)v al u e an ew an d dis tin ctm arket( or
43. T he Age of
Cybern etic Sys tem s
exhibition ")v al u e. T he tran s f orm ation al s os trips artof its
au ra byw hichBen j am in m ean s its au then ticity, its
attachm en ttothe dom ain of tradition :
T he au then ticityof athin g is the es s en ce of al l thatis
tran s m is s ibl e f rom its begin n in g, ran gin g f rom its
s u bs tan tiv e du ration toits tes tim on ytothe his tory
w hichithas experien ced?
T he au raof an obj ectcom pel s atten tion . Vl ihetheraw ork
of artorn atu ral l an ds cape, w e con f ron titin on e pl ace an d
on l yon e pl ace. We dis cov erits u s e v al u e in the exercis e of
ritu al , in thatpl ace, w iththatobj ect, orin the con tem pl ation
of the obj ectf orits u n iqu en es s . T he obj ectin pos s es s ion of
au ra, n atu ral orhis torical , in an im ate orhu m an , en gages u s as
if ithad the pow ertol ook back in retu rn .
On e thin g m echan ical reprodu ction can n ot, bydef in ition ,
reprodu ce is au then ticity. T his is atthe heartof the chan ge
itef f ects in the w ork of art. Mechan ical reprodu ction em an -
cipates the w ork of artf rom its paras itical depen den ce on
ritu al ( p. 2 2 4). T he f orm erbas is in ritu al yiel ds toan ew
bas is f orartin pol itics , particu l arl y, f orBen j am in , the
pol itics of the m as s es an d m as s m ov em en ts , w here f as cis m
repres en ts an ev er-pres en tdan ger. T he pos s ibil ities f or
thorou ghgoin g em an cipation are hel d in check bythe
econ om ic s ys tem s u rrou n din g the m ean s of m echan ical
reprodu ction , es pecial l yin f il m w here il l u s ion prom otin g
s pectacl es an d du biou s s pecu l ation s ( p. 2 32 )def l ectu s
f rom the cam eras abil itytoin trodu ce u s tou n con s ciou s
optics thatrev eal thos e f orm s of in teraction ou reyes
n egl ect:
T he actof reachin g f oral ighteroras poon is f am il iar
rou tin e, yetw e hardl ykn ow w hatgoes on betw een
han d an d m etal , n ottom en tion how this f l u ctu ates
w ithou rm oods . Herethe cam erain terv en es w iththe
res ou rces of its l ow erin gs an d l if tin gs , its
in terpretation s an d is ol ation s , its exten s ion s an d accel -
eration s , its en l argem en ts an d redu ction s . ( p. 2 37 )
Obj ects w ithou tau ras u bs titu te m ys tiqu e. In arem arkabl e,
pres cien tpas s age, rel egated toaf ootn ote, Ben j am in
el aborates how pol itical practice open s the w ayf oras tran ge
tran s f orm ation of the actorw hen dem ocracies en cou n terthe
cris is of f as cis m . Mechan ical reprodu ction al l ow s the actoran
u n l im ited pu bl ic ratherthan the del im ited on e of the s tage
or, f orthe pol itician , parl iam en t. T hou ghtheirtas ks m aybe
dif f eren t, the chan ge af f ects equ al l ythe actoran d the
ru l er. . . . T his res u l ts in an ew s el ection , as el ection bef ore the
theN EWMEDIAR EADER
equ ipm en t( of m echan ical reprodu ction )f rom w hichthe s tar
an d the dictatorem erge Victoriou s l y ( p. 2 47 ).
Al teration s l ike the repl acem en tof au raw ithm ys tiqu e
coin cide w iththe third m aj orchan ge pos ited byBen j am in ,
chan ge in categories of perception . T he qu es tion of w hether
f il m orphotographyis an artis here s econ darytothe
qu es tion of w hetherartits el f has n otbeen radical l y
tran s f orm ed in f orm an d f u n ction . Aradical chan ge in the
n atu re of artim pl ies thatou rv eryw ays of s eein g the w orl d
hav e al s ochan ged:Du rin g l on g periods of his tory, the m ode
of hu m an s en s e perception chan ges w ithhu m an itys en tire
m ode of exis ten ce ( p. 2 2 2 ).
Mechan ical reprodu ction m akes copies of v is ibl e obj ects ,
l ike pain tin gs , m ou n tain ran ges , ev en hu m an bein gs , w hich
u n til then had been thou ghtof as u n iqu e an d irrepl aceabl e. It
brin gs the u pheav al s of the in du s trial rev ol u tion toa
cu l m in ation . T he u biqu itou s copyal s os erv es as an
extern al ized m an if es tation of the w ork of in du s trial
capital is m its el f . Itpav es the w ayf ors eein g, an d recogn izin g,
the n atu re an d exten tof the v erychan ges m echan ical
reprodu ction its el f produ ces .
Whatel em en tof f il m m os ts tron gl ytes tif ies tothis n ew
f orm of m achin e-age perception ?F orBen j am in itis that
el em en tw hichbes tachiev es w hatDadais m h.as as pired to:
chan ges of pl ace an d f ocu s w hichperiodical l yas s ail the
s pectator. F il m achiev es thes e chan ges throu ghm on tage, or
editin g. Mon tage rips thin gs f rom theirorigin al pl ace in an
as s ign ed s equ en ce an d reas s em bl es them in ev erchan gin g
com bin ation s thatm ake the con tem pl ation in v ited bya
pain tin g im pos s ibl e. Mon tage m u l tipl ies the poten tial of
col l age tocou pl e tw oreal ities on as in gl e pl an e that
apparen tl ydoes n ots u itthem in tothe j u xtapos ition of an
in f in ite s eries of real ities . As George Batail l e procl aim ed,
T ran s gres s ion does n otn egate an in terdiction , ittran s cen ds
an d com pl etes it. In this s pirit, m on tage tran s cen ds an d
com pl etes the proj ectof the Dadais ts in theircon s ciou s
determ in ation tos tripau raf rom the w ork of artan d of the
earl yF ren chethn ographers w hodel ighted in the s tran ge
j u xtapos ition s of artif acts f rom dif f eren tcu l tu res .
Mon tage has al iberatin g poten tial , pryin g artaw ayf rom
ritu al an d tow ard the aren aof pol itical en gagem en t.
Mon tage giv es back tothe w orkerav iew of the w orl d as
m al l eabl e. Ben j am in w rites :
Man ' s n eed toexpos e him s el f tos hock ef f ects is his
adj u s tm en ttothe chan ges threaten in g him . T he f il m
0- o-- A ---1- ---0 e ---Mo 12 ----. --1 ... ' 12 i88 - 43. T he Age Of
corres pon ds toprof ou n d chan ges in the apperceptiv e
apparatu s chan ges thatare experien ced on an
in div idu al s cal e bythe m an in the s treetin big-city
traf f ic, on ahis torical s cal e byev erypres en t-day
citizen . ( p. 2 50)
Bycl os e-u ps of the thin gs arou n d u s , byf ocu s in g on
hidden detail s of f am il iarobj ects , byexpl orin g
com m on pl ace m il ieu s u n derthe in gen iou s gu idan ce of
the cam era, the f il m , on the on e han d, exten ds ou r
com prehen s ion of the n eces s ities w hichru l e ou rl iv es ;
on the otherhan d, itm an ages toas s u re u s of an
im m en s e an d u n expected f iel d of action . Ou rtav ern s
an d ou rm etropol itan s treets , ou rof f ices an d
f u rn is hed room s , ou rrail road s tation s an d ou r
f actories appeared tohav e u s l ocked u phopel es s l y.
T hen cam e the f il m an d bu rs tthis pris on -w orl d
as u n derbythe dyn am ite of the ten thof as econ d, s o
thatn ow , in the m ids tof its f ar-f l u n g ru in s an d debris ,
w e cal m l yan d adv en tu rou s l ygotrav el in g ( p. 2 36 ).
Mechan ical reprodu ction in v ol v es the appropriation of an
origin al , al thou ghw ithf il m ev en the n otion of an origin al
f ades : thatw hichis f il m ed has been organ ized in ordertobe
f il m ed. T his proces s of appropriation en gen ders a
v ocabu l ary:the take orcam eras hot u s ed tos hoot a
s cen e w here boths toppin g atake an d editin g are cal l ed a
cu t. T he v iol en treorderin g of the phys ical w orl d an d its
m ean in gs prov ides the s hock ef f ects Ben j am in f in ds
n eces s aryif w e are tocom e toterm s w iththe age of
m echan ical reprodu ction . T he expl os iv e, v iol en tpoten tial
des cribed byBen j am in an d cel ebrated byBrechtis w hatthe
dom in an tcin em am u s tm u f f l e, def u s e, an d con tain . An d
w hatexpl os iv e poten tial can be l ocated in the com pu teran d
its cybern etic s ys tem s f orthe el im in ation of dru dgeryan d
toil , f orthe prom otion of col l ectiv ityan d af f in ity, f or
in tercon n ectedn es s , s ys tem ic n etw orkin g an d s hared
decis ion -m akin g. this , too, m u s tbe def u s ed an d con tain ed by
the in du s tries of in f orm ation w hichl ocal ize, con den s e, an d
con s ol idate this poten tial dem ocratization of pow erin to
hierarchies of con trol .
Mon tage the con n ectin g of dis s im il ars tos hock an
au dien ce in toin s ight becom es f orBen j am in am aj or
prin cipl e toartis tic produ ction in atechn ol ogical age.
Dev el opin g n ew w ays of s eein g tothe poin tw here they
becom e habitu al is n otideol ogical f orBen j am in bu t
tran s f orm ativ e. T heyare n otthe habits of ol d w ays bu tn ew ;
theyare s kil l s w hichare dif f icu l ttoacqu ire precis el ybecau s e
Cybern etic Sys tem s
theyare in oppos ition toideol ogy. T he tas ks bef ore u s atthe
tu rn in g poin ts of his tory can n otbe m etbycon tem pl ation .
T heyare m as tered gradu al l ybyhabit, u n derthe gu idan ce of
tactil e appropriation ( p. 2 40). T he s hocks n eeded in orderto
adj u s ttothreaten in g chan ges m aybe coopted bythe
s pectacl es acu l tu re in du s tryprov ides . F orBen j am in the on l y
recou rs e is tou s e thos e s kil l s he him s el f adopted:the n ew
habits of as en s ibil itytrain ed todis as s em bl e an d recon s tru ct
real ity, of aw ritin g s tyl e in ten ded torel iev e idl ers of their
con v iction s , of aw orkin g cl as s train ed n oton l ytoprodu ce an d
reprodu ce the exis tin g rel ation s of produ ction bu tto
reprodu ce thos e v eryrel ation s in an ew , l iberatin g f orm . T o
s ee cu l tu re an d its n orm s -beau ty, tru th, real ity as artif icial
arran gem en ts , s u s ceptibl e todetached an al ys is an d
com paris on w ithotherpos s ibl e dis pos ition s becom es the
v an tage poin tn oton l yof the s u rreal is tbu tthe rev ol u tion arys
T he proces s of adoptin g n ew w ays of s eein g that
con s equ en tl ypropos e n ew f orm s of s ocial organ ization
becom es aparadoxical , ordial ectical , proces s w hen the
tran s f orm ation s thats paw n n ew habits , n ew v is ion , are
them s el v es en dan gered an d s u bs tan tial l yrecu perated bythe
exis tin g f orm of s ocial organ ization w hichtheycon tain the
poten tial toov ercom e. Bu tthe proces s goes f orw ard al l the
s am e. Itdoes s ol es s in term s of acu l tu re of m echan ical
reprodu ction , w hichhas reached apoin ts im il artothatof a
tradition rooted in Ben j am in ' s tim e, than in term s of a
cu l tu re of el ectron ic dis s em in ation an d com pu tation .
We m ightthen as k in w hatw ays is ou rs en s e of real ity
bein g adj u s ted byn ew m ean s of el ectron ic com pu tation an d
digital com m u n ication ?Dothes e techn ol ogical chan ges
in trodu ce n ew f orm s of cu l tu re in tothe rel ation s of
produ ction atthe s am e tim e as the s hock of the n ew hel ps
em an cipate u s f rom the acceptan ce of s ocial rel ation s an d
cu l tu ral f orm s as n atu ral , obv iou s , ortim el es s ?T he
dis tin ction betw een an in du s trial capital is m , ev en in its l ate
phas e of m on opol ycon cen tration , an d an in f orm ation W
s ocietythatdoes n otprodu ce s om u chas proces s its bas ic
f orm s of econ om ic res ou rce has becom e an in creas in gl y
f am il iardis tin ction f oru s . Hav e cybern etic s ys tem s brou ght
abou tchan ges in ou rperception of the w orl d thathol d
l iberatin g poten tial ?Is itcon ceiv abl e, f orexam pl e, that
con tem porarytran s f orm ation s in the econ om ic s tru ctu re of
capital is m , atten ded bytechn ol ogical chan ge, in s titu te al es s
in div idu ated, m ore com m u n al f orm of perception s im il arto
thatw hichw as atten dan tu pon f ace-to-f ace ritu al an d au ra
43. T he Age of
Cybern etic Sys tem s
En trepren eu rial capital is m Mon opol ycapital is m
s team an d l ocom otiv e pow er
propertyrights corporate rights
n atu re as 0ther/ con qu es tof n atu re
n ation al is m im perial is m
w orkin g-cl as s v an gu ard con s u m er-grou pv an gu ard
T u bercu l os is ; con tam in ation byn atu re
is ol ation of s el f f rom threaten in g
en v iron m en t
v u l n erabil itytoin v as iv e agen ts
heighten ed in div idu ation heighten ed s chizophren ia
real is m m odern is m
l m tel ev is ion
m echan ical reprodu ction in s tan tan eou s broadcas t
reprodu cibl e in s tan ces u biqu itou s occu rren ces
the copy the ev en t
s u btextof pos s es s ion s u btextof m ediation
im age an d repres en tation col l age an d j u xtapos ition
bu tw hichis n ow m ediated byan on ym ou s circu itryan d the
s im u l ation of directen cou n ter?Does m on tage n ow hav e its
equ iv al en tin in teractiv e s im u l ation s an d s im u l ated in ter-
action s experien ced accordin g topredef in ed con s train ts ?
Does the w ork of artin the age of pos tm odern is m l ead, at
l eas tpoten tial l y, toapperception s of the deeps tru ctu re"of
pos tin du s trial s ocietycom parabl e, tothe apperceptiv e
dis cov eries occas ion ed bym echan ical reprodu ction in the age
of in du s trial capital is m ?
Cybern etic Sys tem s an d El ectron ic Cu l tu re
We can pu tBen j am in ' s argu m en ts , s u m m arized cu rs oril y
here, in an otherpers pectiv e byhighl ightin g s om e of the
characteris tics as s ociated w ithearl y, en trepren eu rial
capital is m , m on opol ycapital is m , an d m u l tin ation al or
pos tin du s trial capital is m .
Sim u l acrain trodu ce the keyqu es tion of how the con trol of
in f orm ation m ov es tow ards con trol of s en s oryexperien ce,
in terpretation , in tel l igen ce, an d kn ow l edge. T he pow erof the
s im u l ation m ov es tothe heartof the cybern etic m atter. It
pos its the s im u l ation as an im agin aryOtherw hichs erv es as
the m eas u re of ou row n iden tityan d, in doin g s o, prom pts
the s am e f orm of in ten s e am biv al en ce thatthe m otherin g
paren ton ce did:agu aran tee of iden titybas ed on w hatcan
n ev erbe m ade partof on es el f . In earl ycapital is m , the hu m an
el ectricityan d petrochem ical pow er
al ien s as 0ther/ con qu es tof T hird Worl d
Can cer; con tam in ation byan aberran ts el f
is ol ation of aberran ttis s u e f rom s el f
v u l n erabil itytos el f -con s u m ption
theN EWMEDIAR EADER
Mu l tin ation al capital is m
m icroel ectron ics an d n u cl earen ergy
copyrightan d paten ts
kn ow l edge as 0ther/ con qu es tof in tel l igen ce
m u l tin ation al is m
af f in ity-grou pv an gu ard
AIDS; def icien cyof s el f ( col l aps e of s ys tem that
dis tin gu is hes s el f f rom en v iron m en t)
is ol ation of s el f byarti cial l if e s u pport
v u l n erabil itytos ys tem ic col l aps e
heighten ed s en s e of paran oia
pos tm odern is m
com pu ter
l ogico-icon ic s im u l ation s
proces s es of abs orption an d f eedback
the chip( an d VDT dis pl ay)
s u btextof con trol
s im u l acra
w as def in ed in rel ation toan an im al w orl d thatev oked
f as cin ation an d attraction , repu l s ion an d res en tm en t. T he
hu m an an im al w as s im il artobu tdif f eren tf rom al l other
an im al s . In m on opol ycapital is m , the hu m an w as def in ed in
rel ation toam achin e w orl d thatev oked its ow n dis tin ctiv e
bl en d of am biv al en ce. T he hu m an m achin e w as s im il artobu t
dif f eren tf rom al l otherm achin es . In pos tin du s trial
capital is m , the hu m an is def in ed in rel ation tocybern etic
s ys tem s com pu ters , biogen etical l yen gin eered organ is m s ,
ecos ys tem s , experts ys tem s , robots , an d_roids , an d cyborgs
al l of w hichev oke thos e f orm s of am biv al en ce res erv ed f or
the Otherthatis the m eas u re of ou rs el v es . T he hu m an
cyborg is s im il arbu tdif f eren tf rom al l othercyborgs .
T hrou ghthes e tran s f orm ation s qu es tion s of dif f eren ce
pers is t. Hu m an iden tityrem ain s ats take, s u bj ecttochan ge,
v u l n erabl e tochal l en ge an d m odif ication as the v ery
m etaphors prom pted bythe im agin aryOthers thatgiv e it
f orm them s el v es chan ge. T he m etaphorthat' s m ean t( that' s
taken as real )becom es the s im u l ation . T he s im u l ation
dis pl aces an yan teceden treal ity, an yau ra, an yref eren tto
his tory. F ram es col l aps e. Whathad been f ixed com es
u n hin ged. N ew iden tities , am biv al en tl yadopted, prev ail .
T he v erycon ceptof atext, w hetheru n iqu e oron e of
m yriad copies , f orexam pl e, u n derpin s al m os tal l dis cu s s ion
of cu l tu ral f orm s in cl u din g f il m , photography, an d their
G K---as _ao- or t} ~--- -~o-~ --- -as 43. T he Age Of
Cybern etic Sys tem s
an al ogu e in an age of el ectron ic com m u n ication , tel ev is ion
( w here the ideaof f l ow becom es an im portan t
am en dm en t). Bu tin cybern etic s ys tem s , the con ceptof text
its el f u n dergoes s u bs tan tial s l ippage. Al thou ghatextu al
el em en tcan s til l be is ol ated, com pu ter-bas ed s ys tem s are
prim aril yin teractiv e ratherthan on e w ay, open -en ded rather
than f ixed. Dial ogu e, regu l ated an d dis s em in ated bydigital
com pu tation , de-em phas izes au thors hipin f av orof
m es s ages -in circu it6 thattake f ixed bu tef f erv es cen t,
con tin u al l yv ariabl e f orm . T he l in k betw een m es s age an d
s u bs trate is l oos en ed:w ords on aprin ted page are irradicabl e;
texton av ideodis pl ayterm in al ( VDT )is readil yal tered. T he
textcon v eys the s en s e of bein g addres s ed tou s . T he
m es s age-in -circu itis bothaddres s ed toan d addres s abl e byu s ;
the m ode is f u n dam en tal l yin teractiv e, ordial ogic. T hat
w hichis m os ttextu al in n atu re- the f ixed, read-on l y-
m em ory( R OM), an d s of tw are program s ~n ol on ger
addres s es u s . Su chtexts are m achin e addres s abl e. T heydirect
thos e operation al procedu res thatu l tim atel ygiv e the
im pres s ion thatthe com pu terres pon ds pers on al l ytou s ,
s im u l atin g the proces s es of con v ers ation orof in teraction
w ithan otherin tel l igen ce toef f ectades ired ou tcom e. Like
f ace-to-f ace en cou n ter, cybern etic s ys tem s of f er( an d
dem an d)al m os tim m ediate res pon s e. T his is am aj orpartof
theirhazard in the w orkpl ace an d theirf as cin ation ou ts ide it.
T he tem poral f l ow an d on ce-on l yqu al ityof f ace-to-f ace
en cou n terbecom es em bedded Within as ys tem readyto
res tore, al ter, m odif yortran s f orm an ygiv en m om en ttou s
atan ytim e. Cybern etic in teraction s can becom e. in ten s el y
dem an din g, m ore s othan w e m ightim agin e f rom ou r
experien ce w ithtexts , ev en pow erf u l l yen gagin g on es .
R eaction s m u s tbe al m os tin s tan tan eou s , groov ed in toeye
an d f in gerref l exes u n til theyare au tom atic. T his is the ban e
of the au tom ated w orkpl ace an d the j oyof the v ideogam e.
Experien ced v ideo-gam e pl ayers des cribe theirpl ayas an
in teractiv e ritu al thatbecom es total l ys el f -abs orbin g. As
Dav id, al aw yerin his m id thirties in terv iew ed bySherry
T u rkl e, pu ts it,
Atthe ris k of s ou n din g, u h, ridicu l ou s , if you w il l , its
al m os taZen type of thin g. . . . When Ican direct
m ys el f total l ybu tn otf eel directed atal l . Y ou re total l y
abs orbed an d it' s al l happen in g there. . . . Y ou either
getthrou ghthis l ittl e m aze s othatthe creatu re
does n ts w al l ow you u poryou don ' t. An d if you can
f ocu s you ratten tion on that, an d if you can real l y
l earn w hatyou re s u ppos ed todo, then you real l yare
in rel ation s hipw iththe gam e?
T he en han ced abil itytotes tthe en v iron m en t, w hich
Ben j am in cel ebrated in f il m ( T he cam eradirectorin the
s tu diooccu pies apl ace iden tical w iththatof the exam in er
du rin g aptitu de tes ts , p. 2 46 )certain l ycon tin u es w ith
cybern etic com m u n ication s T he com pu ters dial ogic m ode
carries the artof the w hatif ev en f u rtherthan the cam era
eye has don e, exten din g beyon d the w hatif l cou l d s ee m ore
than the hu m an eye can s ee tow hatif l can ren derpal pabl e
thos e pos s ibl e tran s f orm ation s of exis tin g s tates thatthe
in div idu al m in d can s carcel ycon tem pl ate?
l f m echan ical reprodu ction cen ters on the qu es tion of
reprodu cibil ityan d ren ders au then ticityan d the origin al
probl em atic, cybern etic s im u l ation ren ders experien ce, an d
the real its el f , probl em atic. In s tead of reprodu cin g, an d
al terin g, ou rrel ation toan origin al w ork, cybern etic
com m u n ication s im u l ates , an d al ters , ou rrel ation toou r
en v iron m en tan d m in d. As Jean Bau dril l ard argu es , In s tead
of f acil itatin g com m u n ication , it( in f orm ation , the m es s age-
in -circu it)exhau s ts its el f in the s tagin g of
com m u n ication . this is the gigan tic s im u l ation proces s
w ithw hichw e are f am il iar.9
In s tead of arepres en tation of s ocial practices recoded in to
the con v en tion s an d s ign s of an otherl an gu age ors ign -
s ys tem , l ike the cin em a, w e en cou n ters im u l acrathat
repres en tan ew f orm of s ocial practice in theirow n right
an d repres en tn othin g. T he photographic im age, as R ol an d
Barthes propos ed, s u gges ts hav in g been there of w hatit
repres en ts , of w hatis pres en t-in -abs en tia. T he com pu ter
s im u l ation s u gges ts on l yabein g here an d hav in g com e
f rom n ow here of w hatitpres en ts , draw in g on thos e gen etic-
l ike al gorithm s thatal l ow ittobrin g its s im u l ation in to
exis ten ce, s u igen eris . Am on g otherthin gs , com pu ters ys tem s
s im u l ate the dial ogical an d otherqu al ities of l if e its el f . T he
in div idu al becom es n othin g bu tan ahis torical pos ition
w ithin achain of dis cou rs e m arked exhau s tiv el ybythos e
s hif ters thatpl ace him orherw ithin s peechacts here,
n ow , you , there, then ). In f ace-to-f ace en cou n terthis I
al l s peakers s hare can be in f l ected torepres en ts om e partof
the s el f n otcau ghtbyw ords . T ores pon d tothe qu ery, How
are you ? bys ayin g N ottoobad, ratherthan F in e, s u gges ts
s om ethin g abou taparticu l ars tate of m in d ors tyl e of
expres s ion an d open s on tothe dom ain s of f eel in g an d
em pathy. Whatcan n otbe repres en ted in l an gu age directl y
43. T he Age of
Cybern etic Sys tem s
( the bodil y, l iv in g m e thatw rites oru tters w ords )can
s ign if ican tl yin f l ects peech, an d dial ogu e, des pite its en f orced
excl u s ion f rom an yl iteral repres en tation .
In cybern etic s ys tem s , thou gh, I an d you are s trictl y
rel ation al propos ition s attached ton os u bs tan tiv e body, n o
l iv in g in div idu al ity. In pl ace of hu m an in ters u bj ectiv ityw e
dis cov eras ys tem s in terf ace, abou n darybetw een cyborgs
thats el ectiv el ypas s es in f orm ation bu tw ithou tin trodu cin g
qu es tion s of con s ciou s n es s orthe u n con s ciou s , des ire orw il l ,
em pathyorcon s cien ce, s av ed in s im u l ated f orm s .
Ev en exception s l ike ELIZA, aprogram des ign ed to
s im u l ate atherapeu tic en cou n ter, prov e the ru l e. l an d you
f u n ction as partn ers in therapyon l yas l on g as the
predef in ed bou n daries are obs erv ed. As SherryT u rkl e n otes ,
if you in trodu ce the w ord m other in toyou rexchan ge, an d
then s ay, Lets dis cu s s paths tow ard n u cl eardis arm am en t,
ELIZAm ightw el l of f erthe n on s en s e repl y, Whyare you
tel l in g m e thatyou rm otherm akes paths tow ard n u cl ear
dis arm am en t? Sim u l ation s l ike thes e m aybrin g w iththem
the s hock of recogn izin g the reif ication of af u n dam en tal
s ocial proces s , bu ttheyal s opos ition u s s qu arel yw ithin the
real m of com m u n ication an d exchan ge cl ean l yev acu ated of
the in ters u bj ectiv e com pl exities of directen cou n ter.
Cybern etic s ys tem s giv e f orm , extern al expres s ion , to
proces s es of the m in d ( throu ghm es s ages -in -circu it)s u ch
thatthe v erygrou n d of s ocial cohes ion an d con s ciou s n es s
becom es m ediated throu ghacom pu tation al apparatu s .
Cybern etic in teraction achiev es w ithan other( an in tel l igen t
apparatu s )the s im u l ation of s ocial proces s its el f .
Cybern etic dial ogu e m ayof f erf reedom f rom m an yof the
apparen tris ks in heren tin directen cou n ter; itof f ers the
il l u s ion of con trol . T his u s e of in tel l igen ce prov ides al u re
thats eem s tobe m u chm ore attractiv e tom en than w om en .
Atf irs tthere m ays eem tobe again , particu l arl yregardin g
the qu es tion of the l ook orgaze. Lookin g is an in ten s el y
charged act, on e s ign if ican tl yn egl ected byBen j am in , bu t
s tres s ed in recen tf em in is tcritiqu es of dom in an tHol l yw ood
cin em a. T here l ookin g is pos ed as aprim aril ym as cu l in e act
an d to be-l ooked-at-n es s af em in in e s tate, rein f orced, in the
cin em a, bythe cam eras ow n v oyeu ris tic gaze, editin g
pattern s thatprom ptiden tif ication w ithm as cu l in e activ is m
an d f em in in e pas s iv ity, an d as tars ys tem that
in s titu tion al izes thes e u s es of the l ook throu ghan
icon ographyof the phys ical body. T his en tire is s u e becom es
circu m v en ted in cybern etic s ys tem s thats im u l ate dial ogic
theN EWM EDIAR EADER
in teraction , orf ace-to-f ace en cou n ter, bu texcl u de n oton l y
the phys ical s el f orits v is u al repres en tation bu tal s othe
cin em atic apparatu s thatm aypl ace the repres en tation of
s exu al dif f eren ce w ithin am al e-dom in an thierarchy.
Correctin s of aras itgoes , the cas e f orthe circu m v en tion
of the s exis tcodin g of the gaze ov erl ooks an otherf orm of
hierarchical s exu al codin g thatrev ol v es arou n d the qu es tion
of w hetheraf as cin ation w ithcybern etic s ys tem s is n otits el f
agen der-rel ated ( i.e., aprim aril ym as cu l in e)phen om en on
( excl u din g f rom con s ideration an ev en m ore obv iou s gen der
codin g thatgiv es al m os tal l v ideogam es , f orexam pl e a
s tron g au raof aggres s iv e m il itaris tic activ ity). T he qu es tion s
thatw e pos e abou tthe s exis tn atu re of the gaze w ithin the
cin em atic textan d the im pl ication s this has f orthe pos ition
w e occu pyin rel ation tos u chtexts , m ayn otbe w hol l y
excl u ded s om u chas dis pl aced. A( predom in an tl ym as cu l in e)
f as cin ation w iththe con trol of s im u l ated in teraction s repl aces
a( predom in an tl ym as cu l in e)f as cin ation w iththe to-be-
l ool <ed at-n es s of aproj ected im age. Sim u l ated
in ters u bj ectiv ityas aprodu ctof au tom ated bu tin tel l igen t
s ys tem s in v okes its ow n pecu l iarps ycho-dyn am ic.
Mechan ical reprodu ction is s u es an in v itation tothe
f etis his t as pecial rel ation s hiptothe im ages of actors or
pol itician s in pl ace of an ym ore directas s ociation . T he f etis h
obj ect the im age of the otherthattakes the pl ace of the
other becom es the cen terof atten tion w hil e f etis his tic
v iew ers l ook on f rom theiran on ym ou s an d v oyeu ris tic,
s eein g-bu t-u n s een s an ctu aryin the au dien ce. Bu tthe ou tpu t
of com pu tation al s ys tem s s tres s es s im u l ation , in teraction ,
an d proces s its el f . En gagem en tw iththis proces s becom es the
obj ectof f etis hization ratherthan repres en tation s w hos e
ow n s tatu s as produ ced obj ects has been m as ked. Cybern etic
in teraction em phas izes the f etis his tratherthan the f etis h
obj ect: in s tead of ataxon om yof s tars w e f in d agal axyof
com pu terf reaks . T he con s equ en ce of s ys tem s w ithou tau ra,
s ys tem s thatrepl ace directen cou n teran d real ize otherw is e
in con ceiv abl e proj ection s an d pos s ibil ities , is af etis his m of
s u chs ys tem s an d proces s es of con trol them s el v es .
F as cin ation res ides in the s u bordin ation of hu m an v ol ition
tothe operatin g con s train ts of the l argers ys tem . We can tal k
toas ys tem w hos e res pon s iv en es s gran ts u s an aw es om e
f eel in g of pow er. Bu tas P au l Edw ards obs erv es , T hou gh
in div idu al s . . . certain l ym ake decis ion s an d s etgoal s , as l in ks
in the chain of com m an d theyare al l ow ed n ochoices
regardin g the u l tim ate pu rpos es an d v al u es of the s ys tem .
... Q - ._.. -. n 1? - 43. T he Age of
T heirchoices are . . . al w ays the perm u tation s an d
com bin ation s of apredef in ed s et.
T he des ire toexercis e as en s e of con trol ov eracom pl ex
bu tpredef in ed l ogical u n iv ers e repl aces the des ire tov iew
the im age of an otherov erw hichthe v iew ercan im agin e
him s el f tohav e am eas u re of con trol . T he expl os iv e pow erof
the dyn am ite of the ten thof as econ d extol l ed byBen j am in
is con tain ed w ithin the chan n el s of aps ychopathol ogythat
l eav es exem ptf rom apperception , orcon trol , the
m echan is m s thatpl ace u l tim ate con trol on the s ide of the
cin em atic apparatu s orcybern etic s ys tem . T hes e
m echan is m s the rel ayof gazes betw een the cam era,
characters an d v iew er, the abs orption in toas im u l acru m
w ithcom pl exprobl em s an d el oqu en ts ol u tion s are the
grou n d u pon w hichen gagem en toccu rs an d are n ot
addres s abl e w ithin the con s train ts of the s ys tem its el f . Itis
here, atthis poin t, thatdyn am ite m u s tbe appl ied.
T his is ev en m ore dif f icu l tw ithcom pu ters an d cybern etics
than w ithcam eras an d the cin em a. Ben j am in him s el f n oted
how s tren u ou s atas k itis in f il m tom as k the m ean s of
produ ction , tokeepthe cam eraan d its s u pportin g
paraphern al iaan d crew f rom in tru din g u pon the f iction .
Expos u re of this others cen e, the on e behin d the cam era, is a
con s tan thazard an d carries the ris k of s hatterin g the
s u s pen s ion of dis bel ief . On l ythos e al ign m en ts betw een
cam eraan d s pectatorthatpres erv e the il l u s ion of af iction al
w orl d w ithou tcam era, l ights , directors , s tu dios ets , an d s oon
are acceptabl e. Ben j am in com m en ts , perhaps w ithm ore of a
s u rreal is ts del ightin s tran ge j u xtapos ition s than aMarxis ts ,
T he equ ipm en t-f ree as pectof real ityhere ( in f il m s )has
becom e the heightof artif ice; the s ightof im m ediate real ity
has becom e an orchid in the l an d of techn ol ogy ( p. 2 33).
Withthe con tem porarypris on hou s e of l an gu age, in
F rederic Jam es on s aptphras e, the orchid of im m ediate
real ity, l ike the m echan ical bird s een atthe en d of Bl u e Vel v et,
appears tohav e been pl aced perm an en tl yu n dergl as s ; bu tf or
Ben j am in , n eitherthe proces s byw hichan il l u s ion is tic w orl d
is produ ced n orthe n arrativ e s trategies as s ociated w ithit
receiv e exten ded con s ideration . F orhim , the rem in ders of the
produ ctiv e proces s w ere readil yapparen t, n otl eas tthrou gh
the s tren u ou s ef f orts n eeded tom as k them . T he other
s cen e w here f an tas ies an d f iction s actu al l ybecom e
con ceptu al l yan d m echan ical l yprodu ced m aybe repres s ed
bu tis n otobl iterated. If n otim m ediatel yv is ibl e, itl u rks j u s t
ou tof s ightin the of f s creen s pace w here the exten s ion of a
Cybern etic Sys tem s
f iction al w orl d s om ew here col l ides w iththe w orl d of the
cam eraapparatu s in on e dim en s ion an d the w orl d of the
v iew erin an other. Itretain s the poten tial toin tru de atev ery
cu toredit; itthreaten s torev eal its el f in ev eryl u rchof
im pl au s ibil ityors l eightof han d w ithw hichan arrativ e
attem pts toachiev e the s en s e of an en din g.
Withcybern etic s ys tem s , this others cen e f rom w hich
com pl exru l e gov ern ed u n iv ers es actu al l ygetprodu ced
recedes f u rtherf rom s ight. T he gov ern in g procedu res n o
l on geraddres s u s in ordertoel icitas u s pen s ion of bel ief ; they
addres s the cybern etic s ys tem , the m icroproces s orof the
com pu ter, in ordertoabs orb u s in totheiroperation . T he
others cen e has v an is hed in tol ogic circu its an d m em ory
chips , in tom achin e l an gu age"an d in terf ace cards . T he chip
repl aces the copy. Ju s tas the m echan ical reprodu ction of
copies rev eal ed the pow erof in du s trial capital is m to
reorgan ize an d reas s em bl e the w orl d arou n d u s , ren derin g it
as com m odityart, the au tom ated in tel l igen ce of chips rev eal s
the pow erof pos tin du s trial capital is m tos im u l ate an d
repl ace the w orl d arou n d u s , ren derin g n oton l yits exterior
real m bu tal s oits in terioron es of con s ciou s n es s , in tel l igen ce,
thou ghtan d in ters u bj ectiv ityas com m odityexperien ce.
T he chipis pu re s u rf ace, pu re s im u l ation of thou ght. l ts
m aterial s u rf ace is its m ean in g w ithou this tory, w ithou t
depth, w ithou tau ra, af f ect, orf eel in g. T he copyreprodu ces
the w orl d, the chips im u l ates it. Itis the dif f eren ce betw een
bein g abl e torem ake the w orl d an d bein g abl e toef f ace it.
T he m icro-el ectron ic chipdraw s u s in toareal m , ades ign f or
l iv in g, thatf os ters af etis hized rel ation s hipw iththe
s im u l ation as an ew real ityal l its ow n bas ed on the capacity
tocon trol , w ithin the dom ain of the s im u l ation , w hathad
on ce el u ded con trol beyon d it. T he orchids of im m ediate
real itythatBen j am in w as w on ttoadm ire hav e becom e the
paperf l ow ers of the cybern etic s im u l ation .
El ectron ic s im u l ation in s tead of m echan ical reprodu ction .
F etis his tic addiction toaproces s of l ogical s im u l ation rather
than af as cin ation w ithaf etis hized obj ectof des ire. Des ire f or
the dial ogic orin teractiv e an d the il l u s ion of con trol v ers u s
des ire f orthe f ixed bu tu n attain abl e an d the il l u s ion of
pos s es s ion . N arrativ e an d real is m draw u s in torel ation s of
iden tif ication w iththe action s an d qu al ities of characters .
Em u l ation is pos s ibl e, as w el l as s el f -en han cem en t. Aes thetic
pl eas u re al l ow s f orarev is ion of the w orl d f rom w hichaw ork
of artaris es . R ein f orcin g w hatis orpropos in g w hatm ightbe,
the w ork of artrem ain s s u s ceptibl e toadou bl e herm en eu tic
43. T he Age of
Cybern etic Sys tem s
of s u s picion an d rev el ation . Mechan ical reprodu ction chan ges
the term s decidedl y, bu tthe m eton ym ic orin dexical
rel ation s hipbetw een repres en tation al artan d the s ocial
w orl d tow hichitref ers rem ain s af u n dam en tal con s ideration .
Bycon tras t, cybern etic s im u l ation s of f erthe pos s ibil ityof
com pl etel yrepl acin g an ydirectcon n ection w iththe
experien tial real m beyon d theirbou n ds . Like the cin em a, this
proj ect, too, has its origin s in the expan s ion of n in eteen th-
cen tu ryin du s trial is m . T he em bl em atic precu rs ors of the
cyborg the m achin e as s el f -regu l atin g s ys tem w ere thos e
an im ate, s el f -regu l atin g s ys tem s thatof f ered as ou rce of
en chan tm en tev en m u s eu m s cou l d n otequ al :thezooan d
the botan ical garden .
Atthe open in g of the f irs tl arge-s cal e f airorexhibition , the
GreatExhibition of 1851, Q u een Victorias poke of the
greates tdayin ou rhis tory[ w hen ] the w hol e w orl d of n atu re
an d artw as col l ected atthe cal l of the qu een of cities ."T hos e
perm an en texhibition s -the zooan d botan ical garden
in trodu ced an ew f orm of v icariou s experien ce qu ite dis tin ct
f rom the aes thetic experien ce of origin al artorm echan ical l y
reprodu ced copies . T he zoobrin gs back al iv e ev iden ce of a
w orl d w e cou l d n ototherw is e kn ow , n ow u n derapparen t
con trol . Itof f ers experien ce atarem ov e thatis
f u n dam en tal l ydif f eren tas ares u l tof hav in g been u prooted
f rom its origin al con text. T he in dif f eren t, u n threaten ed, an d
u n threaten in g gaze of captiv e an im al s prov ides el oqu en t
tes tim on ytothe dif f eren ce betw een the zooan d the n atu ral
habitattow hichitref ers . T he dif f eren ce in the s ign if ican ce
of w hatappears tobe the s am e thin g, the gaze, in dicates that
the chan ge in con texthas in trodu ced an ew s ys tem of
m ean in gs , an ew dis cou rs e orl an gu age.
In s tead of the s hocks of m on tage thatof f eratru e m ean s
of exercis e appropriate tothe prof ou n d chan ges in the
apperceptiv e apparatu s u n derin du s trial capital is m , the zoo
an d botan ical garden exhibitapredef in ed, s el f -regu l atin g
w orl d w ithn oreal ityou ts ide of its ow n bou n daries . T hes e
w orl ds m aythen becom e the l im itof ou ru n ders tan din g of
thos e w orl ds tow hichtheyref erbu tof w hichw e s el dom
hav e directkn ow l edge. "Wil dl if e"orthe Af rican s av an n ah"is
its s im u l ation in s ide the zooorgarden ordioram a.
Abs orption w iththes e s im u l acraan d the s en s e of con trol
theyaf f ord m aybe an al tern ativ e m ean s of exercis e
appropriate tothe apperceptiv e chan ges requ ired byas erv ice
an d in f orm ation econ om y.
theN EWMEDIAR EADER
Com pu ter-bas ed s ys tem s exten d the pos s ibil ities in heren t
in the zooan d garden m u chf u rther. T he ideal s im u l ation
w ou l d be aperf ectrepl ica, n ow con trol l ed byw hom ev er
con trol s the al gorithm s of s im u l ation as tate im agin ativ el y
ren dered in f il m s l ike T he Stepf ord Wiv es orBl ade R u n n eran d
apparen tl yal readyachiev ed in rel ation tocertain
biogen etical l yen gin eered m icro-organ is m s . Whodes ign s an d
con trol s thes e greaters ys tem s an d f orw hatpu rpos e
becom es aqu es tion of cen tral im portan ce.
T he Cybern etic Metaphor:
T ran s f orm ation s of Sel f an d R eal ity
T he probl em s of trackin g an tiaircraf tw eapon s again s t
extrem el yf as ttargets prom pted the res earchan d
dev el opm en tof in tel l igen tm echan is m s capabl e of
predictin g f u tu re s tates orpos ition s f arf as terthan the
hu m an brain cou l d do. T he m ain priorities w ere s peed,
ef f icien cyan d rel iabil ity; i.e., f as t actin g, error-f ree s ys tem s .
EN IAC ( El ectron ic N u m erical In tegratoran d Com pu ter), the
f irs thigh pow ered digital com pu ter, w as des ign ed toaddres s
precis el ythis probl em byperf orm in g bal l is tic com pu tation s
aten orm ou s s peed an d al l ow in g the ou tcom e tobe
tran s l ated in toadj u s tm en ts in the f irin g traj ectoryof
an tiaircraf tgu n s .
T he m en [ s ic] w hoas s em bl ed tos ol v e probl em s of this
orderan d w hof orm al ized theirapproachin tothe res earch
paradigm s of in f orm ation theoryan d cogn itiv e ps ychol ogy
throu ghthe MacyF ou n dation Con f eren ces , repres en ta
w ho' s w hoof cybern etics :John v on N eu m an n , Os w al d
Webl en , Van n ev arBu s h, N orbertWien er, Warren McCu l l och,
GregoryBates on an d Cl au de Shan n on , am on g others . Su ch
res earchu s hers in the cen tral m etaphors of the cybern etic
im agin ation :n oton l ythe hu m an as an au tom ated bu tin tel l i-
gen ts ys tem , bu tal s oau tom ated, in tel l igen ts ys tem s as
hu m an , n oton l ythe s im u l ation of real itybu tthe real ityof
the s im u l ation . T hes e m etaphors take f orm arou n d the
qu es tion , the s til l u n an s w ered qu es tion , pu tbyJohn Strou d
atthe SixthMacyCon f eren ce:
We kn ow as m u chas pos s ibl e abou thow the
as s ociated gearbrin gin g the in f orm ation tothe
tracker[ of an an ti-aircraf tgu n ] operates an d how al l
the gearf rom the trackertothe gu n operates . Sow e
hav e the hu m an operators u rrou n ded on boths ides
byv eryprecis el ykn ow n m echan is m s an d the
0- A age % = ~ * o ~~ O ~ oeee ~~~ 19 088 A 43. T he Age Of
Cybern etic Sys tem s
qu es tion com es u p, Whatkin d of m achin e hav e w e
pl aced in the m iddl e?
T his qu es tion of the m achin e in the m iddl e an d the
s im u l ation as real itydov etail s w ithJean Bau dril l ards recen t
s u gges tion thatthe s tagin g pow ers of s im u l ation es tabl is ha
hyperreal ityw e on l yhal f acceptbu ts el dom ref u te:
I-Iyperreal ityof com m u n ication of m ean in g:bydin tof bein g
m ore real than the real its el f , real ityis des troyed.
Su chm etaphors , then , becom e m ore than adis cov eryof
s im il arity, theyu l tim atel ypropos e an iden tity. N orbert
Wien er' s term cyborg ( cybern etic organ is m )en caps u l ates
the n ew iden tityw hich, in s tead of s eein g hu m an s redu ced to
au tom ata, s ees s im u l acraw hichen com pas s the hu m an
el ev ated tothe organ ic. Con s equ en tl y, the hu m an cogn itiv e
apparatu s ( its el f ahypothetical con s tru ctpattern ed af terthe
cybern etic m odel of au tom ated in tel l igen ce)is expected to
n egotiate the w orl d bym ean s of s im u l ation .
Ou rcogn itiv e apparatu s treats the real as thou ghit
con s is ted of thos e properties exhibited bys im u l acra. T he real
becom es s im u l ation . Sim u l acra, in tu rn , s erv e as the
m ythopoeic im petu s f orthats en s e of the real w e pos it
beyon d the s im u l ation . As oberin g exam pl e of w hatis at
s take f ol l ow s f rom the R eagon om ic con ceptu al ization of w ar.
T he Strategic Def en s e In itiativ e ( SDI)repres en ts av as t
Battl e of the Cyborgs v ideogam e w here pl ayers com pete to
s av e the w orl d f rom n u cl earhol ocau s t. R eagan s s im u l ated
w arf are w ou l d tu rn the el ectrom agn etic f orce f iel ds of f if ties
s cien ce-f iction f il m s thats hiel ded m on s ters an d creatu res
f rom the ars en al of hu m an des tru ctiv e pow erin to
pl ou ghs hares beyon d the ozon e. StarWars w ou l d be the s af e-
s exv ers ion of in tern ation al con f l ict:n oton e dropof ou r
en em y' s peril ou s bodil yf l u ids , n on e of theirn u cl ear
ej acu l ation s , w il l com e in tocon tactw iththe f ree w orl d.
R eagan ' s s im u l ation of w aras arepl acem en tf orthe real ity
of w ardoes n otdepen d en tirel yon SDI. We hav e al ready
s een itatw ork in the in v as ion of Gren adaan d the raid on
Libya. Eachtim e, w e hav e had the ev ocation of the real ityof
w ar:the icon ographyof heroic f ighters , em battl ed l eaders ,
brav e decis ion s , pow erf u l techn ol ogy, an d con certed ef f ort
rol l ed in tothe im age of m il itaryv ictory, an im age of qu ick,
decis iv e action thatdef in es the Am erican
T hes e s im u l acraof w ar, thou gh, are f ou ghtw ithan
im agin aryen em y, in the Lacan ian s en s e, an d in the
com m on s en s e m ean in g of an en em ypos ited w ithin thos e
perm u tation s al l ow ed byapredef in ed s etof as s u m ption s
an d f oreign -pol icyoption s :aGren adian orLibyan threat
appears on the v ideos creen s of Am ericas pol itical l eaders hip.
Lon g experien ce w iththe Com m u n is tm en ace l eads to
prom ptan d s u re recogn ition . R on n ypu l l s the trigger. T hes e
s im u l ation s l ack the f u l l -bl ow n , catas trophic con s equ en ces of
real w ar, bu tthis does n otdim in is hthe real ityof this
particu l ars im u l ation n orthe f orce w ithw hichitis m apped
on toahis torical real ity its im u l tan eou s l yef f aces .
In div idu al s f in d theirl iv es irrev ers ibl yal tered, peopl e are
w ou n ded. m an ydie. T hes e in del ibl e pu n ctu ation m arks
acros s the f ace of the real , how ev er, f al l in topl ace accordin g
toadis cou rs e em pow ered tom ake the m etaphoric real ityof
the s im u l ation abas ic f actof exis ten ce.
Am ore com pl exexam pl e of w hatitm ean s tol iv e n oton l y
in the s ocietyof the s pectacl e bu tal s oin the s ocietyof the
s im u l acru m in v ol v es the pres erv ation / s im u l ation of l if e v ia
artif icial l if e-s u pports ys tem s . In s u chan en v iron m en t, the
pres en ce of l if e hin ges on the pres en ce of v ital s ign s . T heir
m an if es tation s erv es as tes tim on ytothe otherw is e
in acces s ibl e pres en ce of l if e its el f , ev en thou ghl if e in this
s tate s tan ds in rel ation tothe im m ediate real ity"of l if e as
the zoos tan ds in rel ation ton atu re. T he im portan tis s u e
here is thatthe pow erof cybern etic s im u l ation s prom pts a
rede n ition of s u chf u n dam en tal term s as l if e an d real ity,
j u s tas , f orBen j am in , m echan ical reprodu ction al ters the v ery
con ception of artan d the s tan dards byw hichw e kn ow it.
Cas tin g the is s u e in term s of w hetherexis ten ce w ithin the
l im its of an artif icial l if e-s u pports ys tem s hou l d be
con s idered l if e obs cu res the is s u e in the s am e w aythat
as kin g w hetherf il m an d photographyare art' does . In each
cas e apres u m ption is m ade abou taf ixed, oron tol ogical l y
giv en , n atu re of l if e orart, ratherthan recogn izin g how that
v erypres u m ption has been radical l yov ertu rn ed.
An d f rom pres erv in g l if e artif icial l y, itis as m al l s tepto
creatin g l if e bythe s am e m ean s . T here is , f orexam pl e, the
cas e of BabyM. Su rrogate m otherin g, as aterm , al ready
dem on s trates the real ityof the s im u l ation :the actu al
m otherin g agen t -the w om an w hobears the chil d
becom es as u rrogate thou ghtof , n otas am other, bu tas an
in cu batororren ted u teru s ,"as on e of the trial s m edical
experts cal l ed MaryBethWhitehead. T he real s u rrogate
m other, the w om an w how il l as s u m e the rol e of m otherf ora
chil d n otborn e of herow n f l es h, becom es the real m other,
l egal l yan d f am il iarl y. T he l aw u phol ds the priorityof the
s im u l ation an d the pow erof thos e w hocan con trol this
43. T he Age of
Cybern etic Sys tem s
s ys tem of s u rrogacy~ -m eas u red bycl as s an d gen der, f oritis
cl earl yu pper-cl as s m .al es ( Ju dge Harv eySorkow an d the
f ather, Wil l iam Stem )w hom obil ized an d s an ction ed this
particu l arpiece of s im u l ation , l argel y, itw ou l d s eem , giv en
the al tern ativ e of adoption , topres erv e av eryreal , al beit
f an tas tic preoccu pation w ithapatriarchal bl ood l in e.
Here w e hav e the s im u l ation of an u cl earf am il y a
den u cl eated, artif icial s im u l ation m ade an d s an ction ed as
real , bon af ide. T he trial ev oked the real ityof the prototypical
bou rgeois f am il y:w el l -edu cated, s ocial l yres pon s ibl e,
em otion al l ys tabl e, an d econ om ical l ys ol v en t, in con tras tto
the l ow erm iddl e-cl as s I/ Vhitehead hou s ehol d. T he trial
j u dgm en tren ders as l egal v erdictthe s am e m oral l es s on that
Cecil .Hepw orth' s 19 05f il m , R es cu ed byR ov er, pres en ts as
artis tic them e:the proprietyof the dom in an tcl as s , the
m en ace of an u n prin cipl ed, j eal ou s an d pos s es s iv e l ow er
cl as s , the cru cial im portan ce of n arrativ e don ors l ike the
f aithf u l R ov eran d of s ocial agen ts l ike the patron izin g
Sorkow , an d the cen tral rol e of the hu s ban d as the patriarch
abl e topres ide ov erthe con s titu tion an d re-con s titu tion of
his f am il y. N ow repl ayed as s im u l ation , the m oral itypl ay
takes on areal ityof its ow n . P eopl e s u f f er, w ou n ds are
in f l icted. Liv es are irrev ers ibl yal tered, orev en created Baby
M is achil d con ceiv ed as aprodu cttobe s ol d tof il l apos ition
w ithin the s ign if yin g dis cou rs e of patriarchy.
T he rol e of the j u dge in this cas e w as , of cou rs e, cru cial to
its ou tcom e. His cen tral itys ign al s the im portan ce of the
m aterial , dis cu rs iv e s tru ggl es bein g w aged w ithin the real m
of the l aw . N icos P ou l an tzas argu es thatthe j u ridical -
pol itical is the dom in an torarticu l atin g region in ideol ogical
s tru ggl e today. Law es tabl is hes an d u phol ds the con ceptu al
f ram e in w hichs u bj ects , f ree an d equ al "w ithrights an d
du ties , en gage on apl ayin g f iel d m ade l ev el byl egal
recou rs e an d du e proces s . T hes e f u n dam en tal con cepts of
in div idu al s w iththe righttoen terin toan d w ithdraw f rom
rel ation s an d obl igation s toothers u n derpin , he argu es , the
w ork of otherideol ogical l yim portan tregion s in civ il
s ociety.
Whetherthe j u ridical -pol itical is tru l ythe f u l cru m of
ideol ogical con tes tation orn ot, itis cl earl yacen tral areaof
con f l ictan d on e in w hichs om e of the bas ic chan ges in ou r
con ception of the hu m an / com pu ter, real ity/ s im u l ation
m etaphors getf ou ghtou t. R econ ceptu al ization s of copyright
an d paten tl aw , brou ghton bycom pu terchipdes ign ,
com pu ters of tw are, an d biogen etic en gin eerin g, giv e ev iden ce
theN EWMEDIAR EADER
of the proces s byw hichadom in an tideol ogys eeks to
pres erv e its el f in the f ace of his torical chan ge.
Con ceptu al m etaphors take on tan gibl e em bodim en t-
throu ghdis cu rs iv e practices an d in s titu tion al apparatu s es .
Su chpractices giv e am etaphorhis torical w eightan d
ideol ogical pow er. T an gibl e em bodim en thas al w ays been a
con s ciou s goal of the cybern etic im agin ation w here abs tract
con cepts becom e em bedded in the l ogic an d circu itryof a
m aterial s u bs trate depl oyed toachiev e s pecif ic f orm s of
res u l ts u chas acom pu ter, an an tiaircraf ttracl dn g s ys tem or
an as s em bl y l in e robot. T hes e m aterial obj ects , en dow ed w ith
au tom ated bu tin tel l igen tcapacities , en terou rcu l tu re as ,
am on g otherthin gs , com m odities . As apecu l iarcategoryof
obj ectthes e cyborgs requ ire cl arif ication of theirl egal s tatu s .
Whatproprietaryrights pertain tothem ?Can theybe
copyrighted, paten ted, protected bytrade s ecrets acts ; can
theythem s el v es as au tom ated bu tin tel l igen ten tities , cl aim
l egal rights thathad prev iou s l ybeen res erv ed f orhu m an s or
otherl iv in g thin gs on am odel akin tothatw hichhas been
appl ied toan im al res earch?
T he an s w ers tos u chqu es tion s don otf al l f rom the s ky.
T heyare the res u l tof s tru ggl e, of acl as hof f orces , an d of the
ef f orts , f al terin g orel oqu en t, of thos e w hos e tas k itis to
m ake an d adj u dicate the l aw . N ew categories of obj ects do
n otn eces s aril ygain the protection of paten torcopyright
l aw . On e reas on f orthis is thatf ederal l aw in the U n ited
States ( w here m os tof m yres earchon this qu es tion took
pl ace)an d the Con s titu tion bothen s hrin e the rightof
in div idu al s topriv ate ow n ers hipof the m ean s of produ ction
w hil e al s oen j oin in g again s tu n du e f orm s of m on opol y
con trol . T he Con s titu tion s tates , T he Con gres s s hal l hav e
pow er. . . toprom ote the progres s of s cien ce an d u s ef u l arts ,
bys ecu rin g f orl im ited tim es toau thors an d in v en tors the
excl u s iv e righttotheirres pectiv e w ritin gs an d dis cov eries .
Hen ce the protection of in tel l ectu al property( copyrightan d
tradem ark regis tration )orin du s trial an d techn ol ogical
property( paten ts )carv es ou taproprietaryn iche w ithin the
broaderprin cipl e of af ree f l ow of ideas an d open acces s to
n atu ral s ou rces of w eal th.
T he cybern etic organ is m , of cou rs e, con f ou n ds the
dis tin ction betw een in tel l ectu al an d techn ol ogical property.
Bothacom pu teran d abiogen etical l ydes ign ed cel l m aybe
tem poraril yorperm an en tl yprogram m ed toperf orm m an y
dif f eren tu n rel ated tas ks . T he cybern etic m etaphor, of
cou rs e, al l ow s u s totreatthe cel l an d the com pu teras
A l as s 43. T he Age of
ox "._; 7 "----; * ' ".. .-----Q -.-------.-p Q l
0
s ou rces of the s am e probl em . As the au thorof on e l egal
articl e obs erv ed, Aribos om e, l ike acom pu ter, can carryou t
an ys equ en ce of as s em bl yin s tru ction s an d can as s em bl e
v irtu al l yu n l im ited n u m bers of dif f eren torgan ic
com pou n ds , in cl u din g thos e es s en tial tol if e, as w el l as
m aterial s thathav e n otyetbeen in v en ted. Whatl egal
debates hav e characterized the s tru ggl e f orproprietary
con trol of thes e cyborgs ?
R egardin g paten ts , on l ycl earl yorigin al , u n obv iou s ,
practical appl ication s of the l aw s of n atu re"are el igibl e f or
protection , aprin cipl e f irm l yes tabl is hed in the T el ephon e
Cas es of 1888 w here the Su prem e Cou rtdrew as harp
dis tin ction betw een el ectricityits el f as n on paten tabl e s in ce it
w as af orce of n atu re an d the tel ephon e w here el ectricity
w as f ou n d, An ew , s pecif ic con dition n otf ou n d in n atu re
an d s u ited tothe tran s m is s ion of v ocal orothers ou n ds .
R ecen tcas es hav e carried the is s u e f u rther, as kin g w hether
in tel l igen ts ys tem s "can be protected bypaten tan d, if s o,
w hats pecif ic el em en ts of s u chas ys tem are el igibl e f or
protection . Gen eral l y, an d perhaps iron ical l y, the U n ited
States Su prem e Cou rthas been m ore pron e togran t
protection f orthe f abrication of n ew l if e f orm s , v ia
recom bin an tDN Aexperim en ts , than f orthe dev el opm en tof
com pu ters of tw are. In Diam on d v . Chakral aatry( 19 80), the
Su prem e Cou rtru l ed in f av orof paten tprotection f or
Chakrabatryw hohad dev el oped an ew bacterial f orm
capabl e of degradin g petrol eu m com pou n ds f orproj ected u s e
in oil -s pil l cl ean -u ps . In other, earl iercas es , the Su prem e
Cou rtw ithhel d paten tprotection f orcom pu ters of tw are. In
Gotts chal k v . Ben s on ( 19 7 2 )an d in P arkerv . F l ook ( 19 7 9 ), the
Cou rthel d thatcom pu terprogram s w ere m erel yal gorithm s ,
i.e., s im pl e, s tep-by-s tepm athem atical procedu res , an d as
s u chw ere cl os ertobas ic prin cipl es orcon cepts than to
origin al an d u n obv iou s appl ication s . T hes e decis ion s hel ped
prom ptrecou rs e toal egis l ativ e rem edyf oran u n ten abl e
s itu ation ( f orthos e w ithav es ted in teres tin the
m arketabil ityof com pu terprogram s ); in 19 80Con gres s
pas s ed the Sof tw are Act, gran tin g s om e of the protection the
j u dicial bran chhad been rel u ctan ttoof f erbu ts til l l eav in g
m an yis s u es u n s ettl ed. ASem icon du ctorChipP rotection Act
f ol l ow ed in 19 84w ithan ew s u igen eris f orm of protection
f orchipm as ks ( the tem pl ates f rom w hichchips are m ade).
N eithercopyrightn orpaten t, this protection appl ies f orten
years ( l es s than copyright)an d dem an ds l es s origin al ityof
des ign than does paten tl aw . In this cas e, the l aw its el f
Cybern etic Sys tem s
repl icates the hav in g com e f rom n ow here qu al ityof the
s im u l ation . T he Min n es otaLaw R ev iew ' 7 0( Decem ber19 85)
is dev oted toas ym pos iu m on this n ew f orm of l egal
protection f orin tel l ectu al bu tal s oin du s trial property.
T he Sof tw are Actbegan the eros ion of abas ic dis tin ction
betw een copyrightan d paten tbys u gges tin g thatu s ef u l
obj ects w ere el igibl e f orcopyright. In j u dicial cas es s u chas
Diam on d v . Diehr( 19 81), the cou rthel d thatw hen acl aim
con tain in g am athem atical f orm u l aim pl em en ts orappl ies
thatf orm u l ain as tru ctu re orproces s w hich, w hen
con s idered as aw hol e, is perf orm in g af u n ction w hichthe
paten tl aw s w ere des ign ed toprotect( f orexam pl e,
tran s f orm in g orredu cin g an articl e toadif f eren ts tate of
thin gs ), then the cl aim s atis f ies the requ irem en ts of [ the
copyrightl aw ]
T his f in din g ran again s tthe grain of the l on g-s tan din g
Wl 1ite Sm ithMu s ic P u bl is hin g C0v . Apol l oC0decis ion of 19 08
w here the Su prem e Cou rtru l ed thatapl ayer-pian orol l w as
in el igibl e f orthe copyrightprotection accorded tothe s heet
m u s ic itdu pl icated. T he rol l w as con s idered partof a
m achin e ratherthan the expres s ion of an idea. T he
dis tin ction w as f orm u l ated accordin g tothe code of the
v is ibl e:acopyrightabl e textm u s tbe v is u al l yperceptibl e to
the hu m an eye an d m u s tgiv e toev erypers on s eein g itthe
ideacreated bythe origin al .
Copyrighthad the pu rpos e of prov idin g econ om ic
in cen tiv e tobrin g n ew ideas tothe m arketpl ace. Copyright
does n otprotectideas , proces s es , procedu res , s ys tem s or
m ethods , on l yas pecif ic em bodim en tof s u chthin gs . ( Abook
on em broiderycou l d receiv e copyrightbu tthe proces s of
em broideryits el f cou l d n ot.)Sim il arl y, copyrightcan n ot
protectu s ef u l obj ects orin v en tion s . If an obj ecthas an
in trin s ical l yu til itarian f u n ction , itcan n otreceiv e copyright.
U s ef u l obj ects can be paten ted if theyare origin al en ou gh, or
protected bytrade s ecrets acts . F orexam pl e, af abric des ign
cou l d receiv e copyrightas as pecif ic, con crete ren dition of
f orm . Itw ou l d be an origin al w ork of au thors hip f ixed in
the tan gibl e m ediu m of cl othan d the au thor w ou l d hav e
the righttodis pl ayitas an orn am en tal orartis tic obj ect
w ithou tf earof im itation . Bu tthe s am e f abric des ign , on ce
em bodied in adres s , can n ol on gerbe copyrighted s in ce itis
n ow prim aril yau til itarian obj ect. N eitherthe dres s , n oran y
partof it, can receiv e copyright. Others w ou l d be f ree to
im itate its appearan ce s in ce the bas ic goal ( accordin g toa
s om ew hatn on -f as hion -con s ciou s l aw )is toprodu ce a
43. T he Age of
Cybern etic Sys tem s
u til itarian obj ectm ean ttoprov ide protection f rom the
el em en ts an d adegree of priv acyf orthe bodyin s ide it.
Whatthen of av ideogam e?Is this an origin al w ork of
au thors hip?Is itu til itarian in es s en ce?An d if itis el igibl e f or
copyright, w hatel em en toras pectof it, exactl y, s hal l receiv e
this copyright?T he proces s of m echan ical reprodu ction had
as s u red thatthe copyrightregis tration of on e particu l arcopy
of aw ork w ou l d au tom atical l yin s u re protection f oral l its
du pl icates . Ev en tradition al gam es l ike Mon opol y, w hich
m ightprodu ce dif f eren tou tcom es ateachpl ayin g, w ere
iden tical toon e an otherin theirphys ical an d v is ibl e parts .
Bu tthe on l yv is ibl e partof av ideogam e is its v ideodis pl ay.
T he dis pl ayis highl yephem eral an d v aries in detail w itheach
pl ayof the gam e. F oragam e l ike P ac-Man , the n otion of
pu rs u itorpu rs u itthrou gham aze w ou l d be toogen eral . Like
the n otion of the w es tern orthe s oapopera, itis toobroad
f orcopyrightel igibil ity. In s tead the keyqu es tion is w hethera
gen eral idea, l ike pu rs u it, is giv en con crete, dis tin ctiv e,
expres s ion . T he w orkin g ou tof this dis tin ction , thou gh, l en ds
in s ightin tothe degree of dif f eren ce betw een m echan ical
reprodu ction an d cybern etic s ys tem s perceiv ed bythe U n ited
States j u dicial s ys tem . -
F orv ideogam es l ike P ac-Man , acopyrightprocedu re has
dev el oped thatgiv es protection tothe ou tw ard m an if es tation
of the u n derl yin g s of tw are program s . R egis tration of a
copyrightdoes n otin v ol v e depos itin g the al gorithm s
s tru ctu rin g the s of tw are of the R OM ( read-on l ym em ory)
chipin w hichitis s tored. In s tead, regis tration requ ires the
depos itof av ideotape of the gam e in the pl aym ode.
R ef errin g torequ irem en ts thatcopyrightis f ororigin al
w orks of au thors hipf ixed in an ytan gibl e m ediu m , F ederal
Dis trictCou rts hav e f ou n d thatcreativ itydirected tothe
en d of pres en tin g av ideodis pl aycon s titu tes recogn izabl e
au thors hipan d f ixation occu rs in the repetition of s pecif ic
as pects of the v is u al s cen es f rom on e pl ayin g of agam e to
the n ext. Bu tf ixin g precis el yw hatcon s titu tes repetition
w hen s u btl e v ariation s are al s oin pl ayis n otas im pl e
m atter. F orexam pl e, in Atariv . N orthAm erican P hil l ips
Con s u m erEl ectron ics Corp( 19 81), on e Dis trictCou rtden ied
in f rin gem en tof Ataris P ac-Man bythe def en dan ts K.C.
Mu n chkin . T he decis ion res ted on as eries of particu l ar
dif f eren ces betw een the gam es des pite ov eral l s im il arities .
In el aboration , the cou rtn oted thatthe Mu n chkin
character, u n l ike P ac-Man , in itial l yf aces the v iew errather
than s how in g aprof il e. K.C. Mu n chkin m ov es in prof il e bu t
theN EWMEDIAR EADER
w hen he s tops , he tu rn s arou n d tof ace the v iew erw ith
an others m il e. T hu s the cen tral characteris m ade tohav e a
pers on al ityw hichthe cen tral characterin P ac-Man does n ot
hav e. K.C. Mu n chkin has m u n chers w hichare s pookier
than the gobl in s in P ac-Man . T heirl egs are l on geran d m ov e
m ore dram atical l y, theireyes are v acan t al l f eatu res
abs en tf rom P ac-Man .
T his opin ion , how ev er, w as ov ertu rn ed in Atariv s N orth
Am erican P hil l ips ( 19 82 ). T he Sev en thCircu itCou rtf ou n d
P ac-Man s expres s iv e dis tin ctiv en es s tol ie in the articu l ation
of aparticu l arkin d of pu rs u itbym ean s of gobbl er an d
ghos t-f igu res , therebygran tin g broad protection tothe
gam e byl iken in g ittoaf il m gen re ors u bgen re. T he Circu it
Cou rtf ou n d the Mu n chkin s action s of gobbl in g an d
dis appearin g tobe bl atan tl ys im il ar, an d w en ton tocu t
throu ghtothe bas ic s ou rce of the gam es appeal an d
m arketabil ity:
Video-gam es , u n l ike an artis ts pain tin g orev en other
au diov is u al w orks , appeal toan au dien ce thatis f airl y
u n dis crim in atin g in s of aras theircon cern abou tm ore
s u btl e dif f eren ces in artis tic expres s ion . T he m ain
attraction of agam e s u chas P ac-Man l ies in the
s tim u l ation prov ided bythe in ten s ityof the
com petition . Apers on w hois en tran ced bythe pl ayof
the gam e, w ou l d be dis pos ed toov erl ook"m an yof
the m in ordif f eren ces in detail an d regard their
aes thetic appeal as the s am e.2 l
In this decis ion , the Cou rts tres s es the proces s of
abs orption an d f eedback s u s tain ed byan au tom ated bu t
in tel l igen ts ys tem thatcan s im u l ate the real ityof pu rs u it.
T he decis ion repres en ts qu ite arem arkabl e s etof
obs erv ation s . T he f etis hization of the im age as obj ectof
des ire tran s f orm s in toaf etis hization of aproces s as obj ect
of des ire. T his throw s as m u chem phas is on the m en tal s tate
of the participan tas on the exactv is u al qu al ities of the
repres en tation ( Apers on w hois en tran ced bythe pl ayof
the gam e).
In thes e cas es the cou rts hav e cl earl yrecogn ized the n eed
togu aran tee the excl u s iv e rights of au thors an d in v en tors
( an d of the corporation s thatem pl oythem )tothe f ru its of
theirdis cov eries . Sim u l tan eou s l y, this recogn ition has s erv ed
tol egitim ate the cybern etic m etaphoran d toren orm al ize
the pol itical l egal apparatu s in rel ation tothe qu es tion :w ho
s hal l hav e the righttocon trol the cybern etic s ys tem of w hich
w e are apart?On the w hol e, the decis ion s hav e f u n n el ed
Q , Q - 3- ~_g_7 7 9 ..-. A
thatcon trol back toadis crete proprietor, m akin g w hatis
poten tial l ydis ru ptiv e on ce again con s on an tw iththe s ocial
f orm ation itthreaten s todis ru pt.
Su chdecis ion s m ayrequ ire recas tin g the l egal f ram ew ork
its el f an d its l egitim izin g dis cou rs e. P au l aSam u el s on
iden tif ies the m agn itu de of the tran s f orm ation atw ork qu ite
tel l in gl y:It[ is ] n eces s arytorecon ceptu al ize copyrightan d
paten tin w ays thatw ou l d f ree the s ys tem s f rom the his torical
s u bj ects tow hichtheyhav e been appl ied. It[ is ] n eces s aryto
rethin k the l egal f orm s , pare them dow n toam ore es s en tial
bas e, an d adj u s ttheirru l es accordin gl y. It[ is ] n eces s aryto
recon ceiv e the s ocial bargain theyn ow ref l ect.
If ef f orts togain proprietarycon trol of com pu terchip
m as ks , s of tw are an d v ideogam es hav e prom pted l ittl e radical
chal l en ge f rom the l ef t, the s am e can n otbe s aid f orbacteria
an d babies , f or, thatis , the is s u es of proprietors hipthatare
rais ed byn ew f orm s of artif icial l if e an d artif icial procreation
w here the s ocial bargain w ov en in toou rdis cu rs iv e
f orm ation s u n dergoes m as s iv e tran s f orm ation .
T he hidden agen daof m as teryan d con trol , the m as cu l in is t
bias atw ork in v ideogam es , in StarWars , in the real ityof the
s im u l ation ( of in v as ion s , raids an d w ars ), in the m as cu l in e
n eed f orau ton om yan d con trol as itcorres pon ds tothe l ogic
of acapital is tm arketpl ace becom es dram atical l yobv iou s
w hen w e l ook atthe artif icial reprodu ction of hu m an l if e.
T he hu m an as am etaphorical , au tom ated, bu tin tel l igen t
s ys tem becom es qu ite l iteral w hen the hu m an organ is m is
its el f aprodu ctof pl an n ed en gin eerin g.
Gam etes , em bryos , an d f etu s es becom e, l ike otherf orm s of
en gin eered in tel l igen ce thathav e gain ed l egal s tatu s , babies -
to-be, s u bj ectn ow tothe ru l es an d procedu res of com m odity
exchan ge. Hu m an l if e, l ike BabyM hers el f , becom es in ev ery
s en s e acom m oditytobe con tracted f or, s u bj ecttothe
proprietarycon trol of thos e w horen tthe u teru s , orthe tes t
tu be, w here s u chen tities u n dergoges tation .
As on e expertin the en gin eerin g of hu m an prototypes pu t
it, reprodu ction in the l aboratoryis w il l ed, chos en , pu rpos ed,
an d con trol l ed, an d is , theref ore, m ore hu m an than coitu s
w ithal l its v agaries an d el em en ts of chan ce. Su ch
en gin eerin g af f irm s the con tractors rights totake pos itiv e
s teps toen han ce the pos s ibil itythatof f s prin g w il l hav e
des ired characteris tics , as w el l as the con v ers e righttoabort
orterm in ate of f s prin g w ithu n des ired oru n des irabl e
characteris tics . Bu tw hatis m os tf u n dam en tal l yats take
does n ots eem tobe pers on al choice, bu tpow eran d
19 88 43. T he Age of
Cybern etic Sys tem s
Q . - -4--..._
econ om ics . T hes e opportu n ities s hif treprodu ction f rom
f am il yl if e, priv ate s pace, an d dom es tic rel ation s tothe real m
of produ ction its el f bym ean s of the m edical expert, cl in ical
s pace, an d com m odityrel ation s . T he s hif tal l ow s m en w ho
prev iou s l yen j oyed the priv il ege of payin g f ortheirs exu al
pl eas u re w ithou tthe f earof con s equ en ce the added
opportu n ityof payin g f ortheirhereditarypref eren ces
w ithou tthe f earof s exu al pl eas u re.
Su chen gin eered f etu s es an d babies becom e s om u chl ike
real hu m an bein gs thattheirorigin as com m odities , bou ght
an d s ol d, m aybe readil yobs cu red. T heybecom e the perf ect
cyborg. As w ithotherin s tan ces in w hicham etaphor
becom es operativ e an d exten ds acros s the f ace of acu l tu re,
w e hav e toas k w hoben ef its an d w hos u f f ers ?We hav e toas k
w hatis ats take an d how m ights tru ggl e an d con tes tation
occu r?Whattool s are atou rdis pos al an d tow hatcon ception
of the hu m an dow e adhere thatcan cal l in toqu es tion the
reif ication , the com m odif ication , the pattern s of m as tery,
an d con trol thatthe hu m an as cyborg, the cyborg as hu m an ,
the s im u l ation of real ity, an d the real ityof the s im u l ation
m ake ev iden t?
Like the n orm al ization of the cybern etic m etaphoras
s cien tif ic paradigm orthe j u dicial l egitim ization of the
priv ate ow n ers hipof cybern etic s ys tem s ( ev en w hen their
s u bs trate happen s tobe al iv in g organ is m ), the j u s tif ication
f orhierarchical con trol of the cybern etic apparatu s takes a
rhetorical f orm becau s e itis , in es s en ce, an ideol ogical
argu m en t. Dis s en taris es l argel yf rom thos e w hoappear
des tin ed tobe con trol l ed bythe l iberatin g f orce of n ew
cybern etic techn ol ogies . Bu tin n oaren aw il l the
techn ol ogies them s el v es be determ in in g. In eachin s tan ce of
ideol ogical con tes tation , w hatw e dis cov eris thatthe
am biv al en ces regardin g cybern etic techn ol ogyrequ ire
res ol u tion on m ore f u n dam en tal grou n d:thatdom ain
dev oted toas ocial theoryof pow er.
.
P u rpos e, Sys tem , P ow er: T ran s f orm ativ e
P oten tial v ers u s Con s en / ativ e P ractice
Liberation f rom an yl iteral ref eren tbeyon d the s im u l ation ,
l ike l iberation f rom acu l tu ral tradition bou n d toau raan d
ritu al , brin gs the actu al proces s of con s tru ctin g m ean in g, an d
s ocial real ity, in tos harperf ocu s . T his l iberation al s o
u n dercu ts the R en ais s an ce con ceptof the in div idu al . Cl ear
an d dis tin ct peopl e m aybe aprerequ is ite f oran in du s trial
econ om ybas ed on the s al e of l aborpow er, bu tm u tu al l y
43. T he Age of
Cybern etic Sys tem s
depen den tcyborgs m aybe ahigherpriorityf ora
pos tin du s trial pos tm odern econ om y. In an age of cybern etic
s ys tem s , the v eryf ou n dation of w es tern cu l tu re an d the v ery
heartof its m etaphys ical tradition , the in div idu al , w ithhis or
herin heren tdil em m as of f ree w il l v ers u s determ in is m ,
au ton om yv ers u s depen den ce, an d s oon , m ayv eryw el l be
des tin ed tos tan d as av es tigial trace of con cepts an d
tradition s w hichare n ol on gerpertin en t. '
T he tes tin g Ben j am in f ou n d pos s ibl e w ithm echan ical
reprodu ction the abil itytotake thin gs apartan d
reas s em bl e them , u s in g, in f il m , m on tage, the dyn am ite of
the ten thof as econ d exten ds yetf u rtherw ithcybern etic
s ys tem s :w hathad been m ere pos s ibil ities orprobabil ities
m an if es tthem s el v es in the s im u l ation . T he dyn am ite of
n an os econ ds expl odes the l im its of ou row n m en tal
l an ds cape. Whatf al l s open toapperception is n otj u s tthe
rel ativ is m of s ocial orderan d how , throu ghrecom bin ation ,
l iberation f rom im pos ed orderis pos s ibl e, bu tal s othe s etof
s ys tem ic prin cipl es gov ern in g orderits el f , its depen den ce on
m es s ages -in -circu it, regu l ated athigherl ev el s tocon f orm to
predef in ed con s train ts . We dis cov erhow , byredef in in g thos e
con s train ts , l iberation f rom them is pos s ibl e. Cybern etic
s ys tem s an d the cyborg as hu m an m etaphorref u te aheritage
thatcel ebrates in div idu al f ree w il l an d s u bj ectiv ity.
If there is l iberatin g poten tial in this , itcl earl yis n otin
s eein g ou rs el v es as cogs in am achin e orel em en ts of av as t
s im u l ation , bu tratherin s eein g ou rs el v es as partof al arger
w hol e thatis s el f -regu l atin g an d capabl e of l on g-term s u rv iv al .
Atpres en tthis l argerw hol e rem ain s dom in ated byparts that
achiev e hegem on y. Bu tthe v eryapperception of the
cybern etic con n ection , w here s ys tem gov ern s parts , w here the
s ocial col l ectiv ityof m in d gov ern s the au ton om ou s egoof
in div idu al is m , m ayal s oprov ide the adaptiv e con cepts n eeded
todecen tercon trol an d ov ertu rn hierarchy. .
Con s ciou s pu rpos e gu ides the in v en tion an d l egitim ization
of cybern etic s ys tem s . F orthe m os tpart, this pu rpos e has
s erv ed the l ogic of capital is m , com m odityexchan ge, con trol
an d hierarchy. Des ire f ors hort-term gain orim m ediate res u l ts
giv es prioritytothe criteriaof predictabil ity, rel iabil ity, an d
qu an tif iabil ity. Iron ical l y, the s u rv iv al of the s ys tem as aw hol e
( the s u m total of s ys tem pl u s en v iron m en ton agl obal s cal e)
takes as u bordin ate pos ition tom ore im m ediate con cern s . We
rem ain l argel yu n con s ciou s of thattotal s ys tem that
theN EWMEDIAR EADER
con s ciou s pu rpos e obs cu res . Ou rcon s ciou s n es s of s om ethin g
in dicates the pres en ce of aprobl em in n eed of s ol u tion , an d
cybern etic s ys tem s theoryhas m ain l ys ol v ed the probl em of
capital is ts ys tem s thatexpl oitan d depl ete theirhu m an an d
n atu ral en v iron m en t, ratherthan con s erv in g boththem s el v es
an d theiren v iron m en t.
An thon yWil den m akes ahighl ygerm an e obs erv ation
abou tthe zero s u m gam e, Mon opol y. T he goal of the gam e is
tow in bycon trol l in g the rel ev an ten v iron m en t, the
properties , an d the capital theygen erate. Bu tMon opol yan d
its in ten s if ication of ration al , con s ciou s pu rpos e m as ks al ogic
in the f orm of bein g m erel yagam e thatis deadl yw hen
appl ied tothe open ecos ys tem . Wil den w rites , We u s u al l yf ail
tos ee thatMon opol ys u pports the ideol ogyof com petition
bybas in g its el f on al ogical an d ecol ogical abs u rdity. Itis
as s u m ed thatthe w in n in g pl ayer, hav in g con s u m ed al l the
res ou rces of al l the oppon en ts , can actu al l ys u rv iv e the en d of
the gam e. In f actthis is im pos s ibl e. . . . T he Mon opol yw in n er
[ m u s t] die becau s e in the con textof the res ou rces prov ided by
the gam e, the w in n erhas con s u m ed them al l , l eav i.n g n o
en v iron m en t( n ootherpl ayers )tof eed on .2 5
T here is the dis cov ery, GregoryBates on w rites in on e of
his m ore apocal yptic es s ays , thatm an is on l yapartof l arger
s ys tem s an d thatthe partcan n ev ercon trol the w hol e. T he
cybern etic m etaphorin v ites the tes tin g of the pu rpos e an d
l ogic of an ygiv en s ys tem again s tthe goal s of the l arger
ecos ys tem w here the u n itof s u rv iv al is the adaptiv e
organ is m -in -rel ation -to-its -en v iron m en t, n otthe m on adic
in div idu al oran yotherpartcon s tru in g its el f as au ton om ou s
orw hol e.2 "T ran s gres s ion does n otn egate an in terdiction ;
ittran s cen ds an d com pl etes it. T he tran s gres s iv e an d
l iberatin g poten tial w hichBatail l e f ou n d in the v iol ation of
taboos an d prohibition s , an d w hichBen j am in f ou n d in die
poten tial of m echan ical l yreprodu ced w orks of art, pers is ts in
yetan otherf orm . T he cybern etic m etaphorcon tain s the
germ of an en han ced f u tu re in s ide aprev ail in g m odel that
s u bs titu tes partf orw hol e, s im u l ation f orreal , cyborg f or
hu m an , con s ciou s pu rpos e f orthe decen tered goal s eekin g of
the total ity s ys tem pl u s en v iron m en t. T he tas k is n otto
ov erthrow the prev ail in g cybern etic m odel bu ttotran s gres s
its predef in ed in terdiction s an d l im its , u s in g the dyn am ite of
the apperceptiv e pow ers ithas its el f brou ghtin tobein g.
0-: 0- ~<> - E -~4> ---- ~--o--- ~~e----- ~3-- --r- 1| ~ 12 :88 - 43.
N otes
1. T he con ceptof the dou bl e herm en eu tic deriv es f rom F redric
Jam es on , T he P ol itical U n con s ciou s ( Ithaca: Corn el l U n iv ers ity
P res s , 19 81), es pecial l ythe n al chapter.
2 . Wal terBen j am in , T he Work of Artin the Age of Mechan ical
R eprodu ction "in Il l u m in ation s , byHarryZohn , tran s ., ( N ew Y ork:
Schocken Books , 19 6 9 ), p. 2 2 1. F u rtherpage ref eren ces f rom this
es s ayare giv en in the text.
3. Wal terBen j am in , Schn f ten , 2 v ol s . ( F ran kf u rt: Su hrkam pVerl ag,
19 55), I, p. 46 1. T ran s l ated in F redric Jam es on , Marxis m an d F orm
( P rin ceton : P rin ceton U n iv ers ityP res s , 19 7 1), p. 7 7 .
4. T erryEagl eton , Marxis m an d LiteraryCriticis m ( Berkel ey:
U n iv ers ityof Cal if orn iaP res s , 19 7 6 ), p. 6 3.
5. T his qu ote is f rom Jam es Cl if f ord, "On Ethn ographic Su rreal is m
Com parativ e Stu dies in Societyan d His tory, v ol . 2 3, 4( October
19 81): 559 -56 4, w here he of f ers an excel l en tdes cription of the
con f l u en ces betw een s u rreal is m an d certain ten den cies w ithin earl y
ethn ographyin 19 2 0s F ran ce.
6 . See, f orexam pl e, the es s ays in P artIII, F orm an d P athol ogy
in R el ation s hip"byGregoryBates on , Steps toan Ecol ogyof Min d
( N ew Y ork: Bal l an tin e Books , 19 7 2 ), w here this phras e is
in trodu ced an d appl ied tov ariou s s itu ation s .
7 . Q u oted in SherryT u rkl e, T he Secon d Sel f : Com pu teran d the
Hu m an Spirit( N ew Y ork: Sim on an d Schu s ter, 19 84), p. 86 .
8. Stev en J. Heim s , John v on N eu m an n an d N orbertWien er: F rom
Mathem atics tothe T echn ol ogies of l if e an d Death( Cam bridge, MA:
MIT P res s , 19 80), des cribes how res earchon an tiaircraf tgu idan ce
s ys tem s l ed Ju l ian Bigel ow an d N orbertWien ertodev el opa
m athem atical theoryf orpredictin g the f u tu re as bes ton e can on
the bas is of in com pl ete in f orm ation abou tthe pas t"( p. 183). F or
an ov erv iew of the his toryof cybern etic theoryan d cogn itiv e
ps ychol ogyin the con textof its m il itary-in du s trial origin s , s ee P au l
N . Edw ards , "F orm al ized Warf are, u n pu bl is hed m s . ( 19 84), His tory
of Con s ciou s n es s P rogram , U n iv ers ityof Cal if orn ia, San taCru z.
9 . Jean Bau dril l ard, "T he Im pl os ion of Mean in g in the Mediaan d
the Im pl os ion of the Social in the Mas s es "in Kathl een Woodw ard,
ed., T he Myths of In f orm ation , ( Madis on , CodaP res s , 19 80), p. 139 .
10. SherryT u rkl e, p. 2 6 4.
11. See Lau raMu l v ey, Vis u al P l eas u re an d N arrativ e Cin em a,"
Screen , v ol . 16 , 3 ( Au tu m n 19 7 5): 6 -18.
12 . P au l N . Edw ards , p. 59 .
13. See, f orexam pl e, P au l N . Edw ards , f oram ore detail ed accou n t
of this s yn ergis m betw een the dev el opm en tof cybern etics an d
m il itaryn eeds . F oracybern etic theoryof al cohol is m an d
s chizophren ia, s ee GregoryBates on , an d Watzl aw ick, Beav in an d
Jacks on ' s s tu dyof hu m an in teraction in as ys tem s f ram ew ork in
P ragm atics of Hu m an Com m u n ication .
Cybern etic Sys tem s
14. John Strou d, P s ychol ogical Mom en ts in P erception -
Dis cu s s ion s ,"in H. Van F oers ta, etal ., eds ., Cybern etics : Circu l ar
Cau s al an d F eedback Mechan is m s in Biol ogical an d Social Sys tem s ,
T ran s action s of the SixthMacyCon f eren ce ( N ew Y ork: Jos iahMacy
F ou n dation , 19 49 ), pp. 2 7 -2 8.
15. Jean Bau dril l ard, p. 139 .
16 . See N icos P ou l an tzas , P ol itical P ow eran d Social Cl as s ( Lon don :
N ew Lef tBooks , 19 7 5), pp. 2 11-2 14.
17 . Jam es J. Myrick an d Jam es A. Sprow l , "P aten tLaw f or
P rogram m ed Com pu ters an d P rogram m ed Lif e F orm s , Am erican Bar
As s ociation Jou rn al , n o. 6 8 ( Au gu s t19 8): 12 0.
18. Myrick an d Sprow l , p. 12 1. Som e otherrel ev an tarticl es in cl u de:
"Biotechn ol ogy: P aten tLaw Dev el opm en ts in GreatBritain an d the
U n ited States ,"Bos ton Col l ege In tern ation al an d Com parativ e Law
R ev iew , n o. 6 ( Sprin g 19 83): 56 3-59 0; Can aCom pu terbe an
Au thor? CopyrightAs pects of Arti cial In tel l igen ce,"
Com m u n ication En tertain m en tLaw Jou rn al , 4( Su m m er19 82 ):
7 07 -7 47 ; P eterAu f richtig, "CopyrightP rotection f orCom pu ter
P rogram s in R ead-On l yMem oryChips ," Hof s traLaw R ev iew , II
( F ebru ary19 82 ): 32 9 -37 0; "P aten ts on Al gorithm s , Dis cov eries an d
Scien tif ic P rin cipl es ,"Idea2 4( 19 83): 2 1-39 ; S. Hew itt,
"P rotection of Works Created byU s e of Com pu ters ,"N ew Law
Jou rn al , 133 ( March11, 19 83): 2 35-2 37 ; E.N . Kram s ky, "Video
Gam es : Ou rLegal Sys tem Grappl es w ithaSocial P hen om en on ,"
Jou rn al of the P aten tO f ice Society, 6 4( Ju n e 19 82 ): 335-351.
19 . T his cas e' s rel ev an ce f orcom pu ters of tw are l itigation is
dis cu s s ed in P eterAu f richtig' s "CopyrightP rotection f orCom pu ter
P rogram s in R ead On l yMem oryChips .": 32 9 -37 0.
2 0. E.N . Kram s ky, p. 342 . r
2 1. 2 14U S P o33t7 thCir, 19 82 , pp. 33, 42 , 43.
2 2 . P au l aSam u el s on , Creatin g aN ew Kin d of In tel l ectu al P roperty:
Appl yin g the Les s on s of the ChipLaw toCom pu terP rogram s ,"
Min n es otaLaw R ev iew , 7 0( Decem ber19 85): 502 .
2 3. Cited in Chris tin e Ov eral l , "P l u ck aF etu s f rom its w om b": A
Critiqu e of Cu rren tAttitu des T ow ard the Em bryo/ F etu s ,"U n iv ers ity
of Wes tern On tarioLaw R ev iew , v ol . 2 4, 1 ( 19 86 ): 6 -7 .
2 4. Ov eral l , p. 7 .
2 5. An thon yWil den , "Chan gin g F ram es of Order: Cybern etics an d
the Machin aMu n di in Kathl een Woodw ard, ed., T he Myths of
In f orm ation , p. 2 40.
2 6 . GregoryBates on , "Con s ciou s P u rpos e an d N atu re"in Steps to
an Ecol ogyof Min d, p. 437 .
2 7 . GregoryBates on , "Styl e, Grace an d In f orm ation in P rim itiv e
Art,"Steps toan Ecol ogyof Min d, p. 145.
19 9 0
9 8 O _
44. [ In trodu ction ]
T he F an tas yBeyon d Con trol
Lyn n Hers hm an ' s Lorn ais con s idered the f irs tin teractiv e v ideoartin s tal l ation ( 19 7 9 -83). Itw as
el egan tl ys im pl e:aw om an , Lorn a, s atathom e w atchin g hertel ev is ion , cl ickin g herrem ote. T he
v iew ers atan d w atched heron tel ev is ion , m akin g choices w ithas im il arrem ote. T he piece began w ith
am ock s u rv eyan d proceeded tos how the s pace of Lorn a' s apartm en t, w hichcon tain ed item s the
u s ercou l d s el ect. T hes e item s l ed tobran chin g n arrativ es w hichproceeded bas ed on f u rtheru s er
s el ection s . T he in teractin g v iew ers w ere repos ition ed rel ativ e totel ev is ion , iden tif yin g w iththe
characteran d the gaze in am an n erqu ite dif f eren tf rom f il m theory' s s u tu re. Hers hm an al s o A ~
an ticipated, byadecade, the n av igation al s tru ctu res pres en ted by19 9 0s bran chin g n arrativ e CD-
R OI\/ Is . Herv ideodis k des ign w as n otw ithou tpreceden t, how ev er. Its s tru ctu re w as s im il artothatof
w ritten , ratherthan v ideo, w orks s u chas R aym on d Q u en eau ' s Y ou rs f orthe T el l in g ( Q 12 ).
Hers hm an ' s w ork grew ou tof an in s tal l ation artan d perf orm an ce tradition . Graham e Wein bren s ,
on the otherhan d, grew ou tof an experim en tal cin em atradition , in f orm ed byhis w ork w ithcu ttin g-
edge com m ercial v ideos ys tem s . Af terLorn a, Wein bren s T he Erl Kin g ( 19 86 , acol l aboration w ith
R obertaF riedm an )an d Son ata( 19 9 1)took the in teractiv e v ideoin s tal l ation in ton ew territory.
In thes e pieces the l an gu age of cin em aw as rein v en ted f orthe con textof in teraction - w iththe
dev el opm en tof techn iqu es s u chas the v iew er-con trol l ed cu t-aw ayan d w ipe. Like Hers hm an ,
Wein bren chos e ps ychol ogical them es f orhis expl oration . Bu tratherthan the agoraphobic, m edia-
s atu rated characterw hos e s tu dyis cen tral toLorn a, oraf ocu s on as in gl e characterors itu ation of
an ys ort, Wein bren chos e atechn iqu e thatm ayrem in d on e of earl ycin em atic w ork s u chas Grif f iths
In tol eran ce:paral l el , m etaphorical l yrel ated s tories . In this con text, l in k-f ol l ow in g becom es a
poetical l y in terpreted activ ity. T he v iew ers don otm ake choices f orthe characters . His w ork
prov ides an in teractiv e rol e qu ite dif f eren tf rom thatof Lorn a, an d f rom bran chin g in teractiv e
m ov ies orv ideogam es .
Hers hm an s 19 89 -9 0DeepCon tact as pects of w hichare dis cu s s ed atthe en d of heres s ay
bel ow u s ed el em en ts s u chas the tou chs creen , w hichWein bren had u s ed tocon trol cin em atic
ef f ects , in an ew w ay. DeepCon tactf eatu red al eather-cl ad gu ide, an d the u s erw as in v ited totou ch
this w om an al l ov erherbodyas am ean s of n av igation . N eedl es s tos ay, this w as arem arkabl e
departu re f rom the ev erydayrem ote of Lorn a akin , perhaps , toY okoOn os em bodied, in teractiv e-
in v as iv e Cu tP iece ( des cribed in this v ol u m es in trodu ction toAl l an Kaprow ' s es s ay( 006 )). How ev er,
du rin g the DeepCon tactin teraction , as u rv eil l an ce cam eracou l d be triggered, repl acin g the im age
u n derthe v iew er' s gaze an d tou chw iththeirow n .
More recen tl y, in teractiv e v ideow ork has prov ided dyn am ical l yarran ged l in ks tov ideof ragm en ts ,
as w ithAR an dom Wal k T hrou ghthe 2 0thCen tu ryan d has exten ded hypertextcon cepts in tov ideo,
as w ithHypercaf e an d Jan etMu rray' s HotN orm an . As v ideocom pres s ion im prov es an d ban dw idth
in creas es , in teractiv e v ideow ork w il l con tin u e tobecom e botheas ierf orin div idu al s an d w iderin its
au dien ce, exis tin g in an etw orked con textan d m akin g u s e of the n etw ork as w iththe recen tw ork
of Chris Hal es .
N WF & N M
I E-1.E9 ' ; 9 .5-,r1-1n cl v * d $Y t1E+i' :
7 ' ~-
44. T he F an tas y
Beyon d Con trol
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n ru e aiw r: .

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44. T he F an tas y
Beyon d Con trol
Origin al P u bl ication
Il l u m in atin g Video: An Es s en tial Gu ide toVideoArt. 2 6 7 -2 7 3. N ew
Y ork: Apertu re/ BAVC, 19 9 0.
T he F an tas yBeyon d
Con trol
Lyn n Hers hm an
A( pre)con cl ition of av ideodial ogu e is thatitcl oes n ottal k
hack. R ather, itexis ts as am ov in g s tas is ; aon e-s ided
dis cou rs e; l ike atrick m irrorthatabs orbs in s tead of ref l ects .
P erhaps itw as n os tal giathatl ed m e tos earchf oran
in teractiv e v ideof an tas y acrav in g f orcon trol , al on gin g f or
l iv en es s , adriv e tow ard directaction . T his total , cu m u l ativ e,
an d chron ic con dition l s u f f ered f rom is repu tedl yas ide
ef f ect( orf orv ideoartis ts an occu pation al hazard)of
w atchin g tel ev is ion , am ediu m thatis byn atu re f ragm en tary
an d in com pl ete, dis tan ced an d u n s atis f yin g; l ike pl aton ic s ex.
Mypathtoin teractiv e w orks began cov ertl yn otw ith
v ideo, bu tin perf orm an ce w hen in 19 7 1 an al tern ativ e
iden tityn am ed R obertaBreitm ore w as created. She w as a
breathin g s im u l acru m , apers on a, pl ayed f irs tbym ys el f , an d
then byas eries of m u l tipl e in div idu al s . R obertaexis ted in
bothreal l if e an d real tim e an d du rin g the decade of her
activ ityen gaged in m an yadv en tu res thattypif ied the cu l tu re
in w hichs he participated. She had acheckin g accou n tan d a
driv er' s l icen s e an d s aw aps ychiatris t. T hats he exis ted w as
prov ed bythe trackin gs of herps ychiatric reports an d credit
ratin gs . Hercon s tru ction in cl u ded s pecif ic l an gu age an d
ges tu res as w el l as as tereotyped cos m etic am bien ce. By
accu m u l atin g artif acts f rom cu l tu re an d in teractin g directl y
w ithl if e, s he becam e atw o-w aym irrorthatref l ected s ocietal
bias es experien ced throu ghtim e. R obertaw as al w ays s een as
as u rv eil l an ce target. Herdecis ion s w ere ran dom , on l yv ery
rem otel ycon trol l ed. R obertas m an ipu l ated real ity, or
ben din g of tim e, becam e am odel f orapriv ate s ys tem of
in teractiv e perf orm an ce. In s tead of adis k orhardw are, her
records w ere s tored on photographs an d texts thatcou l d be
v iew ed w ithou tpredeterm in ed s equ en ces . T his al l ow ed
v iew ers tobecom e v oyeu rs in toR oberta' s his tory?T heir
in terpretation s s hif ted depen din g on the pers pectiv e an d
orderof the s equ en ces .
theN EWMEDIAR EADER
T w oyears af terR OBER T As tran s f orm ation ?Lorn a, the
f irs tin teractiv e artv ideodis k w as com pl eted. U n l ike
R oberta, w hos e adv en tu res took pl ace directl yin the
en v iron m en t, Lorn aw as am iddl e aged agoraphobic, f earf u l
of l eav in g hertin yapartm en t. T he prem is e w as thatthe
m ore s he s tayed hom e an d w atched tel ev is ion , the m ore
f earf u l s he becam e p1' im aril ybecau s e s he w as abs orbin g
the f righten in g m es s ages of adv ertis in g an d n ew s broadcas ts .
Becau s e s he n ev erl ef thom e, the obj ects in herroom took on
am agn if icen tproportion , theyw ere toherw hatMou n tSt.
Victoire w as toCezan n e. In the dis k, ev eryobj ectin herroom
is n u m bered an d becom es achapterin herl if e thatopen s
in tobran chin g s equ en ces . View er/ participan ts acces s
in f orm ation abou therpas t, f u tu re, an d pers on al con f l icts v ia
thes e artif acts . Man yim ages on the s creen are of the rem ote
con trol dev ice Lorn au s es tochan ge tel ev is ion chan n el s .
Becau s e v iew er/ participan ts u s e an earl yiden tical u n itto
directthe dis k action , am etaphoric l in k orpoin tof
iden tif ication is es tabl is hed betw een the v iew eran d ref eren t.
F igu re 44.1. Lyn n Hers hm an , R oberta' s BodyLan gu age Chart, 19 7 8.
.. 819 44. T he F an tas y 0A w e A w ~11 -~:~e
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F igu re 44.2 . Lyn n Hers hm an , Con s tru ctin g R obertaBreitm ore, 19 7 5.
T he v iew er/ participan tactiv ates the l iv e action an d m akes
s u rrogate decis ion s f orLorn a. Decis ion s are des ign ed in toa
bran chin g path. Al thou ghthere is on l ys ev en teen m in u tes of
m ov in g im age in the dis k, the thirty-s ixchapters cou l d be
s equ en ced dif f eren tl yf ors ev eral days . T here are three
s eparate en din gs tothe dis k, thou ghthe pl othas m u l tipl e
v ariation s thatin cl u de bein g cau ghtin repeatin g dream
s equ en ces , oru s in g m u l tipl e s ou n d tracks , an d can be s een
backw ard, f orw ard, atin creas ed ordecreas ed s peed, an d f rom
s ev eral poin ts of v iew , l ike an el ectron ic cu bis m . T he-re is n o
hierarchyin the orderin g of decis ion s . T hes e ideas are n ot
n ew . T heyw ere expl ored bys u chartis ts as St phan e
Mal l arm , John Cage, an d Marcel Du cham p particu l arl yin
Du cham p' s m u s ic. T heypion eered ideas abou tran dom
adv en tu res an d chan ce operation s f if tyyears bef ore
Beyon d Con trol
in v en tion of the techn ol ogythatw ou l d hav e m ore f u l l y
expl oited theircon cepts .
Lorn al iteral l yis captu red byam ediated l an ds cape. Her
pas s iv ity( pres u m abl ycau s ed bybein g con trol l ed bym edia)
is acou n terpoin ttothe directaction of the pl ayer. As the
bran chin g pathis decon s tru cted, the pl ayerbecom es aw are of
the s u btl e yetpow erf u l ef f ects of f earcau s ed bym ediaan d
becom es m ore em pow ered ( activ e)throu ghthis perception .
P l ayin g Lorn aw as des ign ed tohav e v iew er/ participan ts
tran s gres s in toan in v ers e l abyrin thof them s el v es .
Des pite s om e theories tothe con trary?the dom in an t
pres u m ption is thatm akin g artis activ e an d v iew in g itis
pas s iv e. R adical s hif ts in com m u n ication techn ol ogy, s u chas
the m arriage of im age, s ou n d, text, an d com pu ters , an d
con s u m m ation bythe pu bl ic of this con s ort, hav e chal l en ged
this as s u m ption . View er/ participan ts of Lorn areported that
theyhad the im pres s ion thattheyw ere em pow ered becau s e
theyhel d the option of m an ipu l atin g Lorn as l if e. R ather
than bein g rem otel ycon trol l ed, the decis ion u n itw as l iteral l y
pl aced in theirhan ds . T heyw ere n ots im pl yw atchin g a
n arrativ e w ithas tru ctu re predeterm in ed byan in v is ibl e
om n is cien t. Im pl ication s of the rel ation s hiprev ers al betw een
in div idu al s an d techn ol ogical m edias ys tem s are im m en s e.
T he m ediabathof tran s m itted pres tru ctu red an d pre-edited
in f orm ation thats u rrou n ds ( an d s om e s ayal ien ates )peopl e
is w as hed aw ay. Itis hos ed dow n byv iew erin pu t. Al teration
of the bas is f orexchan ge of in f orm ation is s u bv ers iv e in that
iten cou rages participation an d theref ore creates adif f eren t
au dien ce dyn am ic.
In teractiv e s ys tem s requ ire v iew ers toreact. T heirchoices
are f acil itated bym ean s of akeyboard, m ou s e, ortou ch-
s en s itiv e s creen . As techn ol ogyexpan ds , there w il l be m ore
perm u tation s av ail abl e, n oton l ybetw een the v iew eran d the
s ys tem , bu tbetw een el em en ts w ithin the s ys tem its el f . Som e
peopl e f eel thatcom pu ters ys tem s w il l ev en tu al l yref l ectthe
pers on al ityan d bias es of theiru s ers . Y etthes e s ys tem s on l y
appeartotal k back. T hattheyare al iv e orin depen den tis an -
il l u s ion . T heydepen d u pon the architectu ral s trategyof the
program . How ev er, there is as pace betw een the s ys tem an d
pl ayerin w hichal in k, f u s ion , ortran s pl an toccu rs . Con ten tis
codif ied. T ru than d f iction bl u r. Action becom es icon an d
rel ies on m ov em en tan d pl as ticityof tim e icon opl as tics an d
l ogom otion . Accordin g toF reu d, real itym aybe l im ited to
perception s thatcan be v erif ied throu ghw ords orv is u al
codes . T heref ore perception s are the driv e toaction that
44. T he F an tas y
Beyon d Con trol
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F igu re 44.3. Lyn n Hers hm an , Lorn a, VideoDis k Des ign ,
Garti/ Hers hm an , 19 84.
ham IL2 m Ar.4
in f l u en ces , if n otcon trol s , real ev en ts . P erception s theref ore
becom e the keytoreal ity.
El ectron ic m ediaare bas ed on the s peed of in f orm ation .
T he term in al , on ce as ign f orcl os u re, has becom e the m atrix
f orin f orm ation expan s ion . T he in trodu ction of n ew m as s
m ediain the l ate 19 40s created an u n paral l el ed opportu n ity
tocon trol m as s perception s . Im m ediate com m u n ication
ten ded toin creas e the im portan ce of m edia. Beam in g
pictu res in tom il l ion s of hom es ev eryn ighthad the ef f ectof
s peedin g u ptim e, of in creas in g the pace of l if e an d
des tabil izin g tradition al com m u n ities , repl acin g them w itha
dis tan ced gl obal v il l age. In div idu al s w ere l ef tpow erl es s to
af f ectw hatw as bein g im pos ed, otherthan s im pl ytu rn in g
of f theirs ets an d becom in g ev en m ore al ien ated. As im il ar
s en s e of cu l tu ral tim e dis pl acem en thad occu rred w iththe
in v en tion of the au tom obil e w hen tradition al s en s e of
dis tan ce s hif ted.
T here is adebate am on g s chol ars of m ediaabou tw hether
orn otitis pos s ibl e toobs erv e phen om en aw ithou t
in f l u en cin g them . In phys ics this can be equ ated to
Heis en bergs theory. T he v eryactof v iew in g acaptu red im age
creates adis tan ce f rom the origin al ev en t. T he captu red im age
theN EWMEDIAR EADER
becom es arel ic of the pas t. Lif e is am ov in g targetan d an y
obj ectthatis is ol ated becom es his tory. Mas s m ediaredes ign
in f orm ation byrepl acin g the v an tage poin tof the v iew er
w iththe f ram e prov ided byacam erapers on / j ou rn al is t
photographer. When in f orm ation is pres en ted beyon d
in div idu al con trol , v iew ers are s eparated f rom the ref eren t,
res u l tin g in adim in u tion of theiriden tity. P ers on al iden tity
is ten u ou s territory. Accordin g toR om an Jakobs on , pers on al
pron ou n s are the l as tel em en ts tobe acqu ired in the chil d' s
s peechan d the f irs ttobe l os tin aphas ia. When an areathat
w as in habited byav iew eris em ptied byadis pl aced iden tity,
itis repl aced byas en s e of abs en s e. T his l os s of an chorage
( perhaps heal ed byacon tem porarys ham an / an chorpers on ?)
res u l ts in as u s pen s ion , af l otation , af eel in g of dis com f ortor
al ow -l ev el cu l tu ral v iru s , perhaps the l ocu s of the n os tal gia
m en tion ed in the f irs ts en ten ce of this paper.
Lorn aw as dev el oped as ares earchan d dev el opm en tgu ide,
bu titis gen eral l yin acces s ibl e. Itw as pres s ed in al im ited
edition of tw en ty-f iv e, of w hichon l yf ou rteen n ow exis t. Itis
on l yoccas ion al l yin s tal l ed in gal l eries orm u s eu m s . Creatin g a
tru l yin teractiv e w ork dem an ds thatitexis ton am as s s cal e,
av ail abl e an d acces s ibl e tom an ypeopl e. T he HyperCard
program w orks on m os tMacin tos hcom pu ters an d can be
gen l ocked toadis k pl ayeroraCD\/ Iorbe u s ed al on e. Itcan
acces s m ov in g ors til l im ages an d has aw ide ran ge of s ou n d
capabil ities an d is rel ativ el yin expen s iv e. T he n exttw o
in teractiv e w orks in progres s , w hichIhope tocom pl ete in
19 89 , w il l u s e the HyperCard as abas e. T he m otiv es of thes e
tw ov erydif f eren tw orks are toexpl ore ideas of con tactan d
perception , n oton l ym etaphorical l ybu tactu al l ythrou ghthe
proces s of the pl ayin g.
T he tw oin -progres s w orks are, v erybrief l y, the f ol l ow in g:
1. DeepCon tact: T he In com pl ete Sexu al
F an tas yDl Sl <,5w hichis des ign ed arou n d his torical
icon s s u chas F reu d, Bach, Joan of Arc, an d av am pire.
T he pl ayerw il l be abl e tochan ge his orher
pers on al ityorapproachtothes e icon s orchan ge their
pers on al ity. An em otion al j oys tick w il l be u s ed in
con certw ithatou ch-s en s itiv e s creen . T his piece w il l
w ork w ithareal phon e m odem an d program m ed
s u rv eil l an ce cam eraal l ow in g the piece totran s gres s
the s creen ( ordis tan ced obs erv er)in toreal l y
con tactin g an d in teractin g w ithotherpl ayers as w el l
as others s eein g them s el v es as partof the
m an ipu l ation .
O~-- -- ~ c O -4 O . 0 0 . 19 9 44. T he F an tas y
F igu re 44.4. Lyn n Hers hm an , Lorn a, 19 83.
2 . P aths Of In n erACIIIOII6 in v ol v es apers on al
j ou rn eyin w hichthe v iew erin tegrates in tothe
s ys tem thathe ors he is l ookin g at. T he v iew erw il l be
gu ided byas hadow yf igu re that, l ike aZen m as ter,
w il l directthe pl ayers trail , as kin g qu es tion s abou t
the m ean in g of experien ce orhow the col orof al eaf ,
eightf ram es pas t, bal an ces w iththe textu ral
oppos ites of the bridge in the f u tu re. Bym akin g
s u rrogate decis ion s an d rou tin g theirow n paths , they
w il l be giv en opportu n ities tou n ders tan d perception s
abou tthe m edia, techn ol ogy, an d the in tegration of
bothw ithin div idu al pers on al ity. T rail s w il l be
des ign ed tobe recon f igu red, orrecon textu al ized,
giv in g an ev ol v in g an d es s en tial l yn ev er-en din g tim e
f ram e tothe piece?
Becau s e in teractiv e m ediatechn ol ogyis becom in g
in creas in gl yv is ibl e in al l areas of s ocieties ( particu l arl y
ou ts ide the artw orl d), the pol itical im pactis s pectacu l ar.
T radition al n arrativ es ( begin n in gs , m iddl es , an d en ds )are
bein g res tru ctu red as gen etic en gin eerin g adv an ces s im u l tan e-
ou s l yres hape the m ean in g of l if e. P articipatin g pers on al l yin
the dis cov eryof v al u es thataf f ectan d ordertheirl iv es , al l ow s
in div idu al s todis s ol v e the div is ion thats eparates them f rom
s u bv ers iv e con trol , an d repl aces s om e of the n os tal gic
l on gin gs w ithas en s e of iden tity, pu rpos e, an d hope.
Beyon d Con trol
N otes -
1. R OBER T An ev erw as exhibited w hil e s he w as in proces s . R ather
s he w as in v is ibl e u n til s he becam e his tory.
2 . R OBER T Aw as exorcis ed in 19 7 8 atLu cretiaBorgia' s cryptin
F errara, Ital y, w here herv ictim ization con v erted toem an cipation .
3. F orexam pl e, s om e ideas pres en ted byLeoStein berg.
4. See R om an Jakobs on , "Chil d Lan gu age, Aphas iaan d P hon ol ogica
U n iv ers al s , Jan u aLin gu aru rn 7 1 ( T he Hagu e: Mou ton , 19 6 8)an d
Stu dies on Chil d Lan gu age Aphas ia,"Jan u aLin gu aru m 114( T he
Hagu e: Mou ton , 19 7 1).
5. T his w as origin al l ycon ceiv ed as as hort-l iv ed col l aboration
am on g P au l aLev in e, StarrSu therl an d, Chris tin e T am bl yn , an d
m ys el f . .
6 . Mu chof this proj ectderiv es f rom acol l aboration w ithAn n Marie
Garti.
7 . Bothideas w ere com pl eted in the v ideodis k in s tal l ation Deep
Con tactcom pl eted in 19 9 0w hichprem iered atthe San F ran cis co
Mu s eu m of Modern Art.
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Som e s aid Sm al l tal k w en tas trayaf terSm al l tal k 80, w hen itbecam e m u chm ore dif f icu l tf or _-_
tw el v e-year-ol ds tou s e the program m in g l an gu age. T his com pl ain tref l ects the ideal that
ev erydayu s ers of n ew m edias hou l d be abl e todes ign an d create theirow n tool s , s pecif ical l yas I
em bodied bythe w ork of Al an Kayan d Adel e Gol dberg ( O2 6 ), bu tm ore gen eral l ys tretchin g back _' a_"_'
tothe abil ityof u s ers of Van n ev arBu s hs propos ed m em extocreate theirow n col l ection s of trail s igood.irqal f ram 1' w hi:e' ,"s om ; l ; j
throu ghin f orm ation . T odaythis ideal is n otm u chin ev iden ce. P 3"?l l ?{5H T ' ; l ; ~ I
When ordin aryu s ers can n otcreate theirow n tool s , of theirow n des ign , w hatoption s rem ain ? H;
U n f ortu n atel y, acom m on option 1s toem bark on aqu arterl y-prof 1t d.r1v en tool creation proces s ; iexten s rl o; n -of -ou r..bodie' s ,' f f ( _3Q 3' ) _.
thatl eav es des ign as the l as ts tep, an d s tretchapre-pain ted can v as ov erthe u n derl yin g f u n ction s a_' 5 , ' l F _ Y 9 ' m ' I3
- - - - n ew m e.d1a n ers pectiv e.1s ~tox. . . -
prev iou s l ychos en bym an agers an d im pl em en ted byprogram m ers . Sev eral es s ays in this book are = Mg, g gl L~ 4; Lu ha; j f $( f ( )} 3),con C P f ~
dedicated tos ketchin g ou tbetteral tern ativ es :thos e byT ed N el s on ( O2 1), N ichol as N egropon te. ii9 _; |1 dia* a.; 1.' f egt p5ipn :-at-m ia-n .f ' igh-
( O2 3), Bren daLau rel ( O38), an d T erryWin ograd an d F ern an doF l ores ( O37 )in particu l ar. Al l of 11
dif f eren tportion -of the-pol itical 3 ~
thes e argu e. f orbegin n in g w ithdes ign , an d v iew in g des ign as m ore than as u rf ace activ ity. . _,_.' _3.-_; 1--f l . $1
In creas in gl yitis bein g accepted thatdes ign can n otbe com pl eted byades ign ers ittin g al on e.
T he des ign proces s m u s tin cl u de u s ers .
T he s tan dard w ayof in v ol v in g u s ers 1S in ev al u ation : tim in g them atv ariou s tas ks , as kin g i
them toreacttov ariou s des ign s , an d giv in g them s u rv eys abou ttheirexperien ces tof il l ou t. _t$3- g -of Q
P el l e Ehn an d Morten Kyn g hav e been atthe f oref ron tof adif f eren tapproach, T heyare __.-Q ggol cl ; to.ds ..a ' f :ran Epl af en g; ' . _
- . - - - .-' -; = .-. :' y W. .1 iios i' .
perhaps . bes tkn ow n as l eaders of the U topiaproj ect( an acron ym , in the Scan din av ian l an gu ages , ..; kHa; if ,* f ,7 , n y,; Y b' ; ga,,S,a9 ,; a= ,y.,
f orT rain in g, T echn ol ogy, an d P rodu cts f rom the Q u al ityof Work P ers pectiv e ). U topia1S on e of ~' t-_q_-1' -,l _1"-Q idf qis _of j :au tl _1b_:rs _s u .cha
an u m berof proj ects thathav e taken the approachof w orkin g w ithu s ers , f rom the ou ts et, on the Im if il il \' .Y _ f Q I' _ . .f '
des in of n ew m ediatool s "bel l pBT tq5l im .l tal ~c__".l 5"7 |l :1.<-T = S; ' .$U C|\
g _ _' g _ ___ _ gas -_thef .on e___m ou n te,d l iy regory
U topiaw as carried ou tdu rin g atim e of tran s 1t1on 1n the earl y19 80s , bef ore graphic u s er ' _gym ?"u s in g; gh .gj |g n 13; ,5y; qdj _
in terf aces w ere w idel yav ail abl e. Scan din av ian n ew s papers w ere adoptin g com pu terpage m akeu pA' ~ 9 l P ?l 9 f = _F l EP ' t5= l 5 ' ' b. l _' Wl ; -
tool s dev el oped in the U .S., w hichdid n otal l ow the graphic w orkers tou s e the f u l l ran ge of s kil l s _' _i
theyhad dev el oped prev iou s l y. As ares u l t, the qu al ityof Scan din av ian n ew s paperdes ign ( w hich ' gh-
w as dif f eren tthan U .S. des ign in certain w ays )w as dim in is hin g, w orkers w ere l os in g theirj obs in _~
the w ake of au tom ation , an d the qu al ityof w ork l if e f orthos e graphic w orkers w horem ain ed > 1
w as deterioratin g. -qf 1..
T he u n ion s decided totrytakin g the of f en s iv e. In Scan din av iathere is ahis toryof w orkers "1 1<' > .Il ,\:l 3' ~._' .t; !,-1|-' .' l _* ' .' f ; 1Q $7 ' l l l l l 9 l $l ' i _ _' _;
b - - 1 d ~ h _h _ hd f 1 d h - U I1_l _l El pf U _l ' ,{ Cl ' ; l Q _0_S_S tO* .' 1T l bE_d1 "
grou ps ecom in g in v ov e in res earc . Su c grou ps a, orexam pe, create te irs tergon om ic ghis _M_th-ih h.h -f ,-O
gu idel in es f orcom pu terdis pl ayterm in al s . T his tim e, the s takes w ere rais ed as the graphic = tb[ ?pe} gp_' e ( ige= -
w orkers u n ion team ed u pw ithu n iv ers ityres earchers todev el optheirow n techn ol ogical _' . 1.
al tern ativ es in the f ou ryearU topiaproj ect. .,' 1 549
"com pu terart|l ' a* cts ~ as m teractw e ' !
T he U topiaproj ects ou tl ook w as thatn ew m ediatool s s hou l d be des ign ed f orthe qu al ityof p f g-b_n n 5' 5_._i$. :j at ,5egi-i ~,t,1by.' ; .; g_p_' 1 '
w ork theyprodu ce. As s een in this es s ay, Ehn an d Kyn g' s m odel u s eris as kil l ed w orker. T he j ' Sl l l 1 Q @ 9 9 1,U Ser' -&, tl B 5; l ""' 5, I,
ou tl ook is in s om e m an n ers rem arkabl ys im il artoDou g En gel barts ( O08). Ju s tas f rom 1
En gel barts pers pectiv e w e w ou l d n otexpectthe carpen tertou s e on l ytool s thatare u s er- _,i; rQ qj _| ' ; _j ga. _
f rien dl y, s oEhn an d Kyn g take the craf tdes ign proces s an d craf tu s e of tool s as m odel s of good ~} l .11a_l l ' T 1; ; t = ' d? l -Q l l riF 9 iF l ' il ? l ?1 "
Sof tw are des ign f Q l T ' _' _P l Ea$l L[ T 8l Jl .i-5 A .'
' J 5 ; if 11j t,' "l ' s "% ' th"; t' h' _,
T oday, m ethods s u chas thos e u s ed in U topiaare atthe cen terof the P articipatoryDes ign ( P D) ' ; j h' e _
m ov em en t, w hichhas s pread beyon d Scan din av iatothe U .S. an d otherparts of the w orl d, an d T ,bOtedQ m ' - f ; l 11a hin e; ; g
' .r- - ' ' _. . . 01 ~
. ... - __- _ . . I .1
- ' - -.' . - ___._., _.,
' I . - .~ ~.. ~ \v
J
GregoryU l m er, f rom ' - -
6 ram m atol og_yHyp_erm edr_a-".
. . . an experim en tl -
con du cted . . . pl aced the .
cu rren tdev el opm en ts in
Arti cial In tel l igen ce an d ~
hyperm ediaprogram s in the
con textof the con ceptof the.
"apparatu s ,"u s ed in cin em a
s tu dies tom ou n tacritiqu e of
cin em aas an in s titu tion , as a
s ocial "m achin e"thatis as
m u chideol ogical as itis
techn ol ogical . T he s am e. driv e
of real is m thatl ed in cin em a
tothe in v is ibl e s tyl e of
Hol l yw ood n arrativ e l m s ,
an d tothe occu l tation of the
produ ction proces s in f av orof
acon s u m ption of the produ ct
as if itw ere. "n atu ral ,"is at
w ork again in com pu tin g.
Articl es pu bl is hed in
com pu term agazin es decl are
thatthe u l tim ate goal of
com pu tertechn ol ogyis to
m ake the com pu terdis appear,
thatthe techn ol ogys hou l d be
s otran s paren t, s oin v is ibl e to
the u s er, thatf orpractical
pu rpos es the com pu ter.does
n otexis t. In its perf ect-f orm ,
the com pu teran d its
appl ication s tan d ou ts ide data
con ten ts othatthe u s erm ay
be com pl etel yabs orbed in the
s u bj ectm atter ital l ow s a
pers on toin teractw iththe
com pu t-erj u s tas if the _
com pu terw ere its el f hu m an
( Macu s er, March19 89 ). Itw as
cl earthat-the ef f orts of
critiqu e toexpos e the '
oppres s iv e ef f ects of "the
s u tu re"in cin em a( the "ef f ect
n
bin din g the s pectatortothe
il l u s ion of acom pl ete real ity)
had m ade n oim p-res s ion on
the com pu terin du s try, w hos e
prof es s ion al s ( in cl u din g m an y
academ ics )are in the proces s
of des ign in g "s eam l es s "
in f orm ation en v iron m en ts f or
hyperm ediaappl ication s . T he
tw in peaks "of Am erican
ideol ogy -real is m an d
in div idu al is m are bu il t-in to
the com pu tin g m achin e ( the
com pu teras in s titu tion ).
s ' .Zl iN EWMEDIAR EADER
has had aprof ou n d in f l u en ce on w iderdis cu s s ion s of u s abil ity. As this has taken pl ace, s im il ar
m ethods hav e begu n toappearin othercon texts s om e qu ite dif f eren tf rom thatof U topia. F or
exam pl e, atSIGGR AP H 9 9 on e des ign erpres en ted his res u l ts f rom w orkin g w ithf l oorbrokers at
Gol dm an Sachs todes ign han dhel d com pu tertool s m odel ed on theirtradition al s kil l s , an d
operatin g as U topia-s tyl e rem in ders of theirw ork m ethods dev el oped w ithpapertool s . T he
brokers w ere qu ite en thu s ias tic abou tthe res u l ts f ortheirw ork l if e s how in g it' s n otj u s tu n ion
w orkers w how ou l d ratherl iv e in U topia.
~N l / VF
F rom the P ar_ticipatory__' -Des ign Web page of CP $R ' _w ho,= al on g w ' ith..organ i' zation s s u chas -ACM SIGCHIan d
Xerox, hav e -s pon s ored recen tP D con f ererices :_" t' g ' ' ' - ' - _. _,
P articipatoryDes ign ' _( P D)is _' an approachtothe as s es s m en t, des ign , an d dev el opm en tof techn ol ogical an d
organ ization al s ys tem s . thatpl aces aprem iu m on _the activ e in v ol v em en tof w orkp_l ace-practition ers ( u s u al l y
poten tial orcu rren tu s ers of the s ys tem ")-in des ign an d decis ion m aki_n g proces s es . . -
Becau s e P D practition ers -are s odiv ers e in theirpers pectiv es , backgrou n ds , an d areas of con cern , there can
be n os in g-l e def in ition of P D.- How ev er,.w -e can f orm u l ate af ew ten ets s hared bym os tP D practition ers an d
adv ocates . - _- - r - ' ' - - - - - .
0R es pectthe u s ers of techn ol ogy,"regardl es s of theirs tatu s in the w orkpl ace, techn ical kn ow -how , or
acces s totheir.organ iz_at_ion f s pu rs e s trin gs . View ev eryparticipan tin aP D proj ectas an expertin
w hattheydo,_as as takehol derw hos e v oice n eeds -tobe heard. - - _
' R eco_gn ize thatw orkers are aprim e s ou rce of -in n ov ation , thatdes ign "ideas aris e i-n col l aboration w ith
participan ts f rom div ers e backgrou n ds , an d thattechn ol ogyis bu ton e option in addres s in g. em ergen t
-probl em s . ' . _' - _Y ' - " _' -
' View a"s ys tem "as m ore than _a_col l ection of s of tw are en cas ed in hardw are boxes . In P D, w e s ee
s ys tem s as n etw orks of peopl e, practices , an d techn ol ogyern beddedin particu l arorgan ization al
. 0 . -
con texts . " " . - - ~ - , "
' U n ders tan d the organ ization an d the rel ev an tw ork on its -ow n term s , in its ow n s ettin gs . T his is w hy
P D practition ers pref ertos pen d tim e w ithu s ers -in theirw orkpl aces ratherthan "tes t"them in "
-l aboratories . . ' - ' . . - ' ' ' '
- O Addres s probl em s thatexis tan d aris e the w orkpl ace, articu l ated byorin col l aboration w iththe .
af f ected parties , ratherthan attribu ted f rom the ou ts ide. - . ' __ _ "
' F in d con crete w ays toim prov e the w orkin gl iv es of co-.participan ts by, f orexam pl e, redu cin g the y
. tediu m as s ociated w ithw ork. tas ks ; co des ign in g n ew opportu n ities -f orexercis in g creativ ity; t -
in creas in g w orkercon trol ov erw o.rk' con te' n t,-m eas u rem en tan d reportin g; an d -hel pin g w orkers com m u -
n icate an d organ ize acros s hierarchical l in es w ithin the organ ization an d w ithpeers el s ew here. .
l oBe con s ciou s of on es ow n rol e in "P D proces s es rtrytobe a"ref l ectiv e praci.ition er."' '
F _u rther.R eadi-n g' _~ - _ -- "l .' '
.Bj erkn e-s , Gro, "P el l e -Ehn , an d Morten Kyn g eds . C0m pu _ters ' an d -Dem o_cracy )4Scan din av ian Chal l en ge.
A-l ders hot, En gl an d: Av ebu ry,"19 87 .. - . * ' - - 0 ' _l _ _ . ' .
Com pu terP rof es s ion al s f orSocial R es pon s ibil ityh( CP SR )<http:' / / w w w .cps ' r.org> . ty
Ehn , P el l e. Work-Orien ted Des ign of Com pu terAm )acts .:F al kopin g, Sw eden :Arbets l iv s cen tru m an d "Hil l s dal e,
Law ren ce Erl bau m As s ociates ,' 19 89 ._- _" ' " _ _' '
_F l oyd, Chris tian e, Wol f -Michael Ml ehl , F an n yj Michae_l aR eis in , Gerhard Schm idt,-an d GregorWol f . "Ou tof .
Scan din av ia: Al tern ativ e.Approaches toSof tw are Des ign an d Sys tem Dev el opm en t."Hu m an -Com pu ter -
In teraction 4( 4): 2 53-_3-50, ' 19 _89 . _. _. - . -
P al ey, W. Bradf ord. "Han dhel d In teraction s : T ail orin g In terf aces f orSin gl e-P u rpos e Dev ices . SIGGR AP H 9 9
Skel tches an d Appl r' catr' on s , N ew Y orkiACM P res -s ,_1-9 9 9 . l ' - -- - . _' '
U l m er, Gregory. "Gram in atol ogyHypern _iedia._' f _P os tm odern Cu l tu re 1( 2 ).-Jan u ary,"19 9 ,1. . - .
l 19 9 1
0 a o = ~ 4Wa <1
Origin al P u bl ication
Des ign atWork: Cooperativ e Des ign of Com pu terSys tem s . 16 9 -19 5.
Ed. Joan Green bau m an d Morten Kyn g. Hil l s dal e, N .J.: Law ren ce
Erl bau m As s ociates , 19 9 1.
Cardboard
Com pu ters
Mockin g-It-U por
Han ds -On the F u tu re
P el l e Ehn an d Morten Kyn g
F igu re 45.; T N iockin g-it-u p.
T his pictu re s how s s om e artif acts w e hav e u s ed in des ign in g
the f u tu re of com pu ter s u pported n ew s paperprodu ction in
the U topiaproj ect. T here are papers heets on the w al l , s l ide
proj ectors , s creen s , racks , chipboards , s om e chairs , an d a
cardboard box. How ev er, s om ethin g is m is s in g. N o, itis n ot
com pu ters , bu tthe em ptychairs certain l yhav e tobe
occu pied byf u tu re u s ers . In ou rv iew , artif acts , com pu ters as
w el l as othertool s , s hou l d be u n ders tood v iathe hu m an u s e
of them .
T he u s ers w how ou l d be en v is ion in g theirf u tu re w ork
s itu ation in the des ign gam e abov e are typographers an d
j ou rn al is ts w orkin g w itheditin g, l ayou t, an d page m ake u p.
T he rel ation s hipbetw een thes e tw ogrou ps has al w ays been
abitten s e. Jou rn al is ts ( as s is tan teditors w how ork w ith
editin g an d l ayou tof textan d pictu res are res pon s ibl e f orthe
qu al ityof the con ten tof the produ ct( the readabil ity);
typographers ( m ake u ps taf f )w how ork w ithpage m ake u p
are res pon s ibl e f orthe qu al ityof the f orm of the produ ct
( the l egibil ity). How ev er, the borderbetw een the tw o
res pon s ibil ities is f arf rom cl ear.
F igu re 45.2 . P age m ake u pw ork u s in g l ead techn ol ogy.
In the good ol d com pos in g days j ou rn al is ts w orked in the
n ew s room an d typographers w orked in the com pos in g room .
T he editors en tal ayou ts ketchtothe com pos in g room an d
the m ake u ps taf f retu rn ed aproof tothe n ew s room bef ore
s en din g the page tobe prin ted. N otaperf ectproces s , bu tit
w orked w el l . Withpaperpas te u ptechn ol ogyitbecam e m ore
dif f icu l ttom ake proof s . Itw as tooexpen s iv e an d took too
m u chtim e toru n aproof on the phototypes etter. Hen ce, the
as s is tan teditors began tohan g arou n d in the com pos in g
room con trol l in g the w ork of the m ake u ps taf f . N ot
s u rpris in gl y, the typographers w ere n ottoohappyabou tthis
arran gem en t.
Withthe in trodu ction of com pu ter-bas ed l ayou tan d page
m ake u pin the l ate 19 7 0s , the rel ation s betw een the
ru cks acks ( as the typographers cal l ed the j ou rn al is ts in the
com pos in g room )an d the m ake u ps taf f gotev en w ors e.
N ow the w ork w as l iteral l ytaken aw ayf rom m an y
typographers , s in ce the equ ipm en tw as pl aced in the
n ew s room an d w as operated bythe as s is tan teditors .
How ev er, as ide f rom the pers on al m is f ortu n es of in trodu cin g
this n ew techn ol ogy, the s ol u tion w as f arf rom optim al in
term s of typographic qu al ity.
T he des ign qu es tion w e w ere f acin g in the U topiaproj ect
w as the f ol l ow in g:Are there techn ical an d organ ization al
des ign al tern ativ es thats u pportpeacef u l an d creativ e
45. Cardboard Com pu ters
45. Cardboard Com pu ters
coexis ten ce betw een typographers an d j ou rn al is ts , w here
bothreadabil ityan d l egibil ityof the produ ctcou l d be
en han ced?
N ow take acl os erl ook atthe cardboard boxatthe rightin
the f irs tpictu re. On the f ron tis Written des ktopl as er
prin ter; "thatis al l there is . Itis am ock-u p. T he boxis em pty,
its f u n ction al ityis zero. Stil l , itw orks v eryw el l in the des ign
gam e of en v is ion in g the f u tu re w ork of as s is tan teditors an d
m ake u ps taf f . Itis as u gges tion tothe participatin g u s ers that
an in expen s iv e com pu ter-bas ed proof m achin e cou l d be part
of the s ol u tion . Withthe hel pof n ew techn ol ogy, the ol d
proof m achin e can be rein v en ted an d en han ced.
_' < " _, . -, . . __.-.cv ' Y 4_ . l
.r% ,; I
{Oil
I \{ I\
in l \\.i~r-.rre
. w ,-_r-
F igu re 45.3. Am ock-u pof al as erprin terrein v en tin g the ol d
proof m achin e.
T he j ou rn al is tm akes al ayou ts ketch, s en ds ittothe typo-
grapher, an d the typographerw orks on the page m ake u p.
When ev erhe is in dou btorhas s u gges tion s f oral tern ativ es ,
he s en ds aproof v iathe des ktopl as erprin tertothe
j ou rn al is t, w hom arks w ithaf ew pen s trokes how he w an ts
the page tol ook, an d s en ds the proof back tothe
typographer, w hocom pl etes the page. Bothcan con cen trate
on w hattheyare bes tat:theas s is tan teditoron j ou rn al is tic
qu al ityan d the m ake u ppers on on typographic qu al ity.
An d w hys hou l d theyn ots itin the s am e room an d tal k to
eachother?
T he m ock-u ps in the pictu res w ere m ade an d u s ed in 19 82 .
Atthattim e des ktopl as erprin ters on l yexis ted in the
adv an ced res earchl aboratories , an d certain l ytypographers
an d j ou rn al is ts had n ev erheard of them . T othem the ideaof
acheapl as erprin terw as u n real . Itw as ou rres pon s ibil ityas
prof es s ion al des ign ers tobe aw are of s u chf u tu re pos s ibil ities
an d tos u gges tthem tothe u s ers . Itw as al s oou rrol e to
s u gges tthis techn ical an d organ ization al s ol u tion in s u cha
w aythatthe u s ers cou l d experien ce an d en v is ion w hatit
w ou l d m ean in theirpractical w ork, bef ore toom u chtim e,
theN EWMEDIAR EADER
m on ey, an d dev el opm en tw ork w ere in v es ted. Hen ce, the
des ign gam e w iththe m ock-u pl as erprin ter.
In this chapterw e w il l s how s om e prototypical exam pl es
of m ock-u ps . We w il l dis cu s s how an d w hytheyare u s ef u l in
participatorydes ign . Ou rexam pl es w il l ran ge f rom
cardboard com pu ters tocom pu term ock-u ps hin tin g atthe
pros an d con s of l es s an d m ore adv an ced artif acts f or
en v is ion m en tof f u tu re u s e. F in al l y, the u s e of m ocl eu ps is
pu tin tothe pers pectiv e of otheractiv ities goin g on in
participatorydes ign .
WhyMock ItU p?
Whatw e s u gges tin this chapteris thatdes ign artif acts s u ch
as m ock-u ps can be m os tu s ef u l in earl ys tages of the des ign
proces s . T heyen cou rage activ e u s erin v ol v em en t, u n l ike
tradition al s pecif ication docu m en ts . F orbetterorw ors e, they
actu al l yhel pu s ers an d des ign ers tran s cen d the borders of
real ityan d im agin e the im pos s ibl e.
Bu tw hydom ock-u ps w ork des pite theirl ow f u n ction al ity
an d the f actthattheyon l yare akin d of s im u l acru m ?Som e of
the obv iou s an s w ers in cl u de:
- theyen cou rage han ds -on experien ce, hen ce u s erin v ol v em en t
beyon d the detached ref l ection thattradition al s ys tem s
des cription s al l ow ;
- theyare u n ders tan dabl e hen ce there is n ocon f u s ion betw een
the s im u l ation an d the "real thin g,"an d ev erybodyhas the
com peten ce tom odif ythem ;
- theyare cheap, hen ce m an yexperim en ts can be con du cted
w ithou tbig in v es tm en ts in equ ipm en t, com m itm en t, tim e,
an d otherres ou rces ; an d l as tbu tn otl eas t,
- theyare f u n tow ork w ith.
We Did N otMake ItU p
Certain l yw e did n otin v en tthe ideaof u s in g m ock-u ps . Kids
hav e al w ays been good atpl ayin g w ithm ock-u ps l ike dol l s ,
cars , etc. Itis hard toim agin e hu m an l if e w ithou tthes e
kin ds of gam es .
How ev er, the u s e of m ock-u ps can be m os ts edu ctiv e.
T hin k of com pu terexhibition s . Whatl ooks l ike aru n n in g
s ys tem is of ten n otthe f in al s ys tem , n orev en aprototype,
bu ts im pl yav ideotape oraprogram m ed s l ide s how . Good
en v is ion m en tof af u tu re produ ct; how ev er, m ore than on e
m an u f actu rerhas pas s ed the borderbetw een con cern ed m ar-
ketin g en v is ion m en tan d del iberate m an ipu l ation .
Ou rw ayof u s in g m ock-u ps has af am il yres em bl an ce to
bothchil dren s pl ayan d en v is ion m en tatexhibition s , bu tthe
19 9 1
o -~~ --0* ~-0 a o > - ~ o
m os tim portan tin s piration com es f rom in du s trial des ign ers .
T heyhav e been u s in g m ock-u ps prof es s ion al l yf ordecades . In
particu l ar, theyhav e been s u cces s f u l in u s in g m ock-u ps in
ergon om ic des ign .
_n \'
S
3-
F igu re 45.4. Mock-u porthe real s ys tem ? An adv ertis em en tf or
the T IP S page m ake u ps ys tem w hichw as bas ed on U topia
s pecif ication s . When the ad w as pu bl is hed n o"real "s ys tem
exis ted.
On e exam pl e is the u s e of ergon om ic rigs . T his is am ock-u p
en v iron m en tin w hichdes ign ers an d u s ers togethercan bu il d
m ock-u ps of , f orexam pl e, af u tu re w ork s tation . T ypical l y
there w il l be s u pportf orrapid an d cheapm ockin g-u pof
ergon om ic as pects of appropriate tabl es , chairs , m on itors , etc.
Sev eral al tern ativ es can be des ign ed an d the u s ers can get
han ds -on experien ce. Later, the des ign ers can el aborate the
m ock-u ps as in the f ol l ow in g pictu re, w here af u tu re
reception w orks tation has been en v is ion ed.
F igu re 45.5. In du s trial des ign m ock-u p.
4 45. Cardboard Com pu ters
Bu titis n otn eces s arytobe aprof es s ion al in du s trial
des ign ertom ake u s ef u l m ocl eu ps . T he n extpictu re is f rom a
n ew s l etterpu bl is hed byon e of the cl erical w orkeru n ion s in
Sw eden . Its how s am ock~u pof apropos al f oran ew
com pu ter-con trol l ed parcel s ortin g w orks tation . Origin al l y,
the l ocal u n ion w as pres en ted w ithon l ythe techn ical
s pecif ication s of the n ew propos al . How ev er, on the bas is of
the draw in gs , the w orkers w ere u n abl e toj u dge the qu al ityof
the propos al w ithres pecttothe ef f ectiv en es s of w ork
procedu res an d phys ical s train . T heythen s pen taf ew
thou s an d dol l ars tobu il d the f u l l s cal e m ock-u p. U s in g this
theyw ere abl e tos im u l ate the f u tu re w ork:the f l ow of
parcel s , the tas ks of eachoperator, in cl u din g w orkl oad, an d
the pos s ibil ityof s u pportin g eachotherw hen bottl en ecks
occu rred. T he s im u l ation s res u l ted in s ev eral im prov em en ts ,
in cl u din g s u gges tion s f orredu cin g phys ical s train an d n ew
w ays of cooperatin g.
S
-
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I
F igu re 45.6 . Sortm achin e m ock-u p. T he headl in e reads : "We did
n otu n ders tan d the bl u eprin ts , s ow e m ade ou row n m ock-u ps ."
T he u s e of m ock-u ps des cribed here res em bl es the w ay
in du s trial des ign ers u s e them . How ev er, ou rf ocu s is on
s ettin g u pdes ign gam es f oren v is ion m en tof the f u tu re w ork
proces s . In con tras ttoin du s trial des ign ers , w e f ocu s m ore on
the hardw are an d s of tw are f u n ction al ityof the f u tu re
artif acts an d l es s on the ergon om ic as pects . In du s trial
des ign ers of ten m ake. v eryel aborate aes thetic an d ergon om ic
des ign s of keyboards , bu tthe dis pl ayis bl ack, an d n o
45. Cardboard Com pu ters
f u n ction al ityis s im u l ated orm ocked u p. If thes e dif f eren t
capabil ities cou l d m eetin aparticipativ e des ign ef f ort, an
ev en m ore real is tic s im u l acru m cou l d be created. If the
f u tu re u s ers al s oactiv el yparticipate in the des ign , the m ock-
u ps m aybe tru l yu s ef u l an d aproperm ov e tow ard a
chan ged real ity. Bu tare m ock-u ps real l yprof es s ion al des ign
artif acts ?Y es , theyare. In argu in g this poin t, w e w il l geta
bitm ore phil os ophical , bu tw e w il l al s ol ook atthe theoryin
s om e practical exam pl es . '
Lan gu age Gam es
We are gu ided bythe con ceptof Whatapictu re des cribes is
determ in ed byits u s e. T his is s hockin g s tatem en tf orthos e
of u s w how ere brou ghtu pin an atu ral s cien ce tradition
w here as ys tem des cription n orm al l yis u n ders tood as akin d
of m irrorim age of real ity. N ev erthel es s , this is apos ition at
the heartof Lu dw ig Wittgen s tein s P hil os ophical In v es tigation s
( 19 53). Wittgen s tein w as aw are of this chal l en ge. As a
phil os opher, he w as f irs tkn ow n f orw ritin g adoctoral thes is
thats how ed how w ithan exactl an gu age w e can m apreal ity
( Wittgen s tein , 19 2 3). T hen he s pen tthe res tof his l if e tryin g
tocon v in ce u s thathe w as w ron g thatthere is m ore to
hu m an l an gu age an d in teraction than can be w ritten dow n ,
an d thatl an gu age is action . In s tead of f ocu s in g on m irror
im ages of real ityw e are adv is ed tothin k of the l an gu age
gam es peopl e pl ay how w e are abl e toparticipate in hu m an
activ ities becau s e w e hav e l earn ed toactaccordin g tothe
u n w ritten ru l es of thatactiv ity. _
F orexam pl e, if P el l e, ades ign er, poin ts atthe cardboard
boxw iththe s ign des ktopl as erprin ter, an d s ays toJon , a
typographer, Cou l d you take al ook atthe proof com in g ou t
f rom the des ktopl as erprin ter, Jon does n otan s w erT here
is n odes ktopl as erprin ter! Y ou are poin tin g atan em pty
cardboard box, s tu pid. R atherhe w ou l d gotothe cardboard
box, pick u pabl an k paperf rom apapers tack bes ide the box,
tu rn tow ard P el l e, l ook atthe paper, an d s ayWel l , here w e
hav e aprobl em . T here is toom u chtextf ora48 poin tthree
col u m n headl in e an d thatpictu re of the pres iden t. Ithin k w e
w il l hav e tocropthe pictu re, orthe headl in e has tobe
rew ritten .
Accordin g toP el l e, an d the otherparticipan ts , Jon m akes a
properm ov e in the des ign l an gu age gam e he is participatin g
in . On the otherhan d, if Jon had m ain tain ed thatthere is
on l yacardboard boxw ithas ign on its ayin g des ktopl as er
prin ter, he w ou l d hav e m ade an in correctm ov e in this
s pecif ic des ign l an gu age gam e. Des pite the f actthathe w ou l d
theN EWMEDIAR EADER
be right, he w ou l d n othav e u n ders tood how topl ay
accordin g tothe ru l es .
T he reas on thatJon , P el l e, an d the otherparticipan ts can
u s e the m ock-u pin aproperw ayis becau s e this des ign
l an gu age gam e has af am il yres em bl an ce w ithotherl an gu age
gam es theykn ow how topl ay. T he l an gu age gam e in w hich
the cardboard boxis u s ed has af am il yres em bl an ce w iththe
u s e of atradition al proof m achin e in the prof es s ion al
typographical l an gu age gam e w hichJon kn ew v eryw el l , as
w el l as w ithtechn ical dis cu s s ion s P el l e had participated in as
partof his prof es s ion . F u rtherm ore, theybothkn ow how to
pl aythis des ign l an gu age gam e u s in g the m ock-u p, becau s e it
res em bl es othergam es theyhav e pl ayed bef ore.
How ev er, cardboard boxes don otbecom e l as erprin ters by
them s el v es . In f act, on e of the hardes tchal l en ges f orthe
des ign ers eem s tobe tocreate ades ign l an gu age gam e that
m akes s en s e toal l participan ts ; the des ign erin the rol e of pl ay-
m aker. In this rol e the des ign ers ets the s tage byf in din g an d
s u pportin g w ays f oru s ef u l cooperation betw een prof es s ion al
des ign ers an d des ign in g u s ers . F u tu re w orks hops an d
m etaphorical des ign , as w el l as organ ization al des ign gam es ,
are exam pl es of w ays tos etthe s tage f ors u chs hared des ign
l an gu age gam es . Mock-u ps an d prototypes m aybe u s ef u l
properties in thes e gam es . Hen ce, m ock-u ps are on l y
ef f ectiv e in the des ign l an gu age gam es thatm ake s en s e tothe
participan ts . In thes e gam es m ock-u ps pl ayan im portan trol e
as s om ethin g tow hichon e m ayref erin dis cu s s ion s of the
des ign ; as arem in derpoin tin g back toexperien ce f rom u s in g
the m ock-u p. T hu s , in s tead of hav in g toprodu ce ration al
argu m en ts in s u pportof acertain poin tof v iew con cern in g a
breakdow n in the u s e of am ock-u p, itis pos s ibl e torepeat
the s equ en ce of operation s l eadin g tothe breakdow n . T hen
boththats itu ation an d the s teps produ cin g itm aybe
ev al u ated, al tern ativ es tried ou t, an d, if n eces s ary,
participan ts m aytrytogiv e ration al argu m en ts in f av orof
theirpoin tof v iew .
In s u m m ary, m ock-u ps becom e u s ef u l w hen theym ake
s en s e tothe participan ts in as pecif ic des ign l an gu age gam e,
n otbecau s e theym irrorreal thin gs , bu tbecau s e of the
in teraction an d ref l ection theys u pport( s ee Ehn , 19 89 ).
An ew rol e f orthe des ign eris tos etthe s tage an d m ake it
pos s ibl e f ordes ign ers an d u s ers todev el opan d u s e a
com m on s itu ated des ign l an gu age gam e. T his has tobe a
l an gu age gam e thathas af am il yres em bl an ce w iththe
ordin aryl an gu age gam es of boththe u s ers an d the des ign ers ;
a................ .... O . .4 .a__m .., ~o~~e~ ea, - .139 1 45.Cardboard Com pu ters
al an gu age gam e w hichis s ocial l ycon s tru cted bythe
participan ts .
Han ds -On Experien ces an d R eady-to-Han d U s e
T here are, how ev er, m ore tom ock-u ps an d the l an gu age
gam es in w hichtheyare u s ed than j u s tl an gu age. As oppos ed
tol in gu is tic artif acts , s u chas f l ow charts an d s ys tem
des cription docu m en ts , m ock-u ps m ake itpos s ibl e f orthe
u s ertogethan ds -on experien ce. T his is il l u s trated in the
pictu re bel ow . Whatyou s ee is the f irs tm ock-u pw e ev er
m ade in ades ign l an gu age gam e.
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F igu re 45.7 . F irs tm ock-u pof page m ake u pw ork s tation .
In the abov e pictu re there is ahighres ol u tion graphic dis pl ay,
acon trol dis pl ay, atabl etw ithatabl etm en u an d am ou s e.
F u n ction al ityof the s ys tem is s im u l ated bym akin g s u cces s iv e
draw in gs of the s creen . As s how n in the n extpictu re thes e
m aw in gs are s tored on the w al l , an d retriev ed, u pdated,
an d chan ged as the des ign gam e is pl ayed.

F igu re 45.8. T he w al l as s tore"f or"in teractiv e"dis pl ayim ages .

T his m ock-u pw as the creativ e res u l tof am aj orbreakdow n
in the U topiaproj ect, abreakdow n thatm ade u s dev el op
s om e n ew des ign artif acts an d tos hif tpers pectiv e f rom
s ys tem des cription s tos cripts f oraction in participatory
des ign . As des ign ers w e had been produ cin g an en dl es s
n u m berof detail ed an d m ethodol ogical l ycorrects ys tem
des cription s . T here w as j u s ton e probl em . T he u s ers cou l d
n otu n ders tan d ou rs ys tem des cription s . T he des cription s
did n otrem in d the u s ers of f am il iarw ork s itu ation s . T here
w as n om ean in gf u l rol e f orthem topl ayin the u s e of thes e
des ign artif acts . T he experien ce of u s in g thes e des cription s
did n otrel ate totheirw ork experien ces . T he m ock-u pabov e
chan ged the ru l es of the gam e; itm ade itpos s ibl e f orthe
u s ers toactiv el yparticipate in the des ign proces s .
F orexam pl e, Jon s im pl ys atdow n bythe m ock-u pan d
preten ded thathe w as doin g page m ake u pw ork. He u s ed
the m ou s e, the tabl et, dis pl ays an d m en u s tocropapictu re,
m ov e aheadl in e, chan ge af on t, etc. T his w as don e in aw ay
thathad af am il yres em bl an ce tohis tradition al w ayof
w orkin g. He u n ders tood the m ock-u pas he u n ders tood his
tradition al tool s .
We take as an im portan ts tartin g poin tin des ign the idea
thatin the begin n in g al l you can u n ders tan d is w hatyou
al readyhav e u n ders tood. In s tatin g this des ign paradoxw e
hav e been in s pired byMartin Heideggeran d exis ten tial
phen om en ol ogy( Heidegger, 19 6 2 , an d es pecial l yWin ograd
& F l ores , 19 86 , an d Dreyf u s & Dreyf u s , 19 86 ). T he poin tis
thatthe m ock-u pdid n otcreate abreakdow n in Jon s
u n ders tan din g. Itw as n otpres en tas an obj ectin its el f , bu t
zu han den ( ready-to han d)f orhim in his activ ity. Jon w as
prim aril yin v ol v ed in page m ake u pw ork, n otin detached
ref l ection s ov erthis activ ity. He w as n otreadin g ortal kin g
abou taf u tu re s ys tem , bu texperien cin g itas aZeu g ( dres s ,
tool , artif act)f orpage m ake u p he w as l iteral l yw el l -
equ ipped, ratherthan ov erl oaded w ithequ ipm en t.
How ev er, the m ock-u pis , obv iou s l y, n otthe s am e as his
tradition al typographical tool s ; hen ce, breakdow n s in his
readin es s to-han d u s e of the m ock-u poccu rred. T ypographic
tool s s u chas the kn if e becam e com pu terequ ipm en ts u chas
the m ou s e an d dis pl ay; the m ou s e becam e am atchbox, the
dis pl ayas heetof paper. When the s pel l of u n ham pered
in v ol v em en tis broken , the m ock-u pbecom es v orhan den
( pres en t at-han d)as acol l ection of thin gs orobj ects . T his is
n otan en tirel ys ad s tory. Af teral l , if the artif acts w e u s e w ere
al w ays ready-to han d f oru s , how cou l d w e then f in d n ew
w ays of u s in g them ?When thin gs don otw ork, w e s hif tto
detached ref l ection s of them . In the s itu ation n oted this
m ean tref l ection s s u chas : Is am ou s e/ dis pl ayrepl acem en tof
45. Cardboard Com pu ters
the typographical kn if e real l yagood des ign choice?"Is the
probl em ratherthatthe properties of the kn if e are too
res tricted, an d thatw e w ithcom pu ters u pportcan add s om e
n ew u s ef u l properties l ike ' u n docu tan d res ize' ? T hes e
kin ds of qu es tion s w ere partof the in teraction betw een the
typographeru s in g the m ock-u pan d ades ign ers ittin g byhis
s ide. T heycertain l yIed ton ew des ign ideas , as w el l as to
chan ges of the m ock-u p. F orexam pl e, the s econ d v ers ion of
the m ock-u pprov ided pos s ibil ities f oraw iderran ge of
han ds -on activ ities an d m ore el aborate des ign l an gu age
gam es . T here w ere m ore el aborated in teraction dev ices totry
ou tan d am ore dyn am ic in teraction w iththe m ock-u p.
As pects of the w ork en v iron m en tan d of w ork cooperation
cou l d be tried ou t.
In s u m m ary, han ds -on experien ce is n otas u bs titu te f or
detached ref l ection . How ev er, in participatorydes ign itis
n eces s aryan d m ore f u n dam en tal tos u pportthe u s ers ready-
to-han d u s e of theirf u tu re artif acts . Hen ce, an im portan t
as pectof am ock-u pis its u s ef u l n es s f orin v ol v ed activ ity
w here the u s ers aw aren es s is f ocu s ed on doin g the tas k,
ratherthan on an al yzin g obj ects an d rel ation s . Detached
ref l ection s on al tern ativ es becom e partof the proces s w hen
the f l u en tu s e of the typographical des ign tool s their
readin es s -to-han d breaks dow n . T hes e ref l ection s are then
grou n ded in apractical experien ce, an experien ce s hared by
u s ers an d des ign ers in ades ign -by-doin g l an gu age gam e.
Beyon d the Cardboard Com pu ter
-K-if l ..-
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F igu re 45.9 . As econ d gen eration "U topiam ock-u pw ithaback
s creen s l ide proj ector.
T he ideaof han ds on the f u tu re as oppos ed toeyes on a
s ys tem des cription w as ou rm ain f ocu s in the prev iou s
s ection . We hav e dis cu s s ed this in term s of m ock u ps bu il t
theN EWMEDIAR EADER
f rom the m os ts im pl e m aterial s , s u chas cardboard an d
paper, bu tthere are obv iou s l yotherpos s ibil ities f orgettin g
han ds on the f u tu re, m os tn otabl ycom pu ter-bas ed
prototypes . In this s ection w e dis cu s s s om e of the
pos s ibil ities in the borderl an d betw een the cardboard
com pu ters "an d the real prototypes .
Secon d Gen eration Mock-U ps
As af irs ts tepl etu s con s iders om e pos s ibil ities thatare m ore
com pl ex, al thou ghs til l n otcom pu terbas ed. Depen din g on
the av ail abil ityan d expertis e in the des ign grou p, s u ch
pos s ibil ities m ayin cl u de ov erhead an d s l ide proj ectors , tape
recorders , an d v ideo; T hes e artif acts are f am il iarin the s en s e
thatpeopl e eas il ydis tin gu is hm al f u n ction in the artif act
f rom m al f u n ction of the des ign . Atthe s am e tim e they
prov ide s om e u s ef u l f u n ction al itybeyon d thatw hichis
achiev ed w ithcardboard,an d theym ake pos s ibl e al ook an d
f eel "thatis m ore l ike the f u tu re produ ct.
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F igu re 45.10. Des ign ers an d poten tial f u tu re u s ers en v is ion in g the
f u tu re of page m ake u ppl ayin g w iththe U topiam ock-u p.
In ou rs econ d m ock-u pof the text- an d im age-proces s in g
w orks tation in the U topiaproj ectw e u s ed as l ide proj ector
an d as creen f orback s creen proj ection . T he f irs t
im pres s ion of this m ock-u pw as m u chcl os ertothe
im agin ed f in al produ ct:T he dis pl ayin teraction w as
s im u l ated bythe u s e of s l ide s how s an d the in pu tdev ices
had areal tou ch. T his qu al ityprov ed es pecial l yv al u abl e
w hen j u dged bypeopl e w hoon l ytried ou tthe m ock-u pf or
v erys hortperiods of tim e. Itw as f airl yeas yf orthem to
en v is ion the f u tu re artif actbyu s in g the m ock-u p. T his l as t
poin tis im portan t, an d in m an ycas es this al on e m ay
j u s tif ythe u s e of s l ide proj ectors orv ideoin am ock-u p. T he
trade-of f is thats u chm ock-u ps requ ire m ore expertis e an d
0- ~ ~ 4* . . A -W:-1 reef er).-. e era; --1; -~ - ---0
m ore res ou rces , bothin tim e an d in m on ey, an d theyare
m ore dif f icu l ttochan ge.
> 1, i
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F igu re 45.11. As am pl e of dif f eren tkeypad an d "m ice-l ike in pu t
dev ice m ock-u ps produ ced in the U topiaproj ectin an attem pt
n ottogets tu ck in the em ergin g s tan dard in terf ace.
Sim pl e Mock-U ps : Adv an tages an d Dis adv an tages
Bef ore w e tu rn ou ratten tion tothe u s e of com pu ters in
m ock-u ps , w e w il l brief l you tl in e s om e adv an tages an d
s hortcom in gs of s im pl erm aterial s togetabetter
u n ders tan din g of w hatm ightbe gain ed orl os tf rom the u s e
of com pu ters .
U n til n ow w e hav e l ooked athow todes ign w ithou t
com pu ters , n otbecau s e w e thin k thatpeopl e s hou l d av oid
com pu ters in gen eral , bu tbecau s e there are good reas on s to
thin k tw ice bef ore u s in g them , as w el l as good reas on s to
proceed ev en if com pu ters u pportis n otav ail abl e. F irs t, the
m ock-u ps dis cu s s ed s of arare bu il tw ithin expen s iv e
m aterial s . T obu yexpen s iv e hardw are an d bu il d adv an ced
s of tw are earl yin aproj ectm ay, in m os ts itu ation s , be directl y
cou n terprodu ctiv e, es pecial l ygiv en the pos s ibil ities of m ock-
u ps . In others itu ation s , how ev er, the in v es tm en ts in
hardw are an d s of tw are m ayn otbe aprobl em ~P Cs m ay
al readybe m as s iv el yu s ed in the organ ization . Stil l , the u s e of
m ock-u ps m aypayof f , becau s e itcan hel pgen erate n ew
v is ion s an d n ew option s f oru s e.
Secon d, the characteris tics of thes e s im pl e tool s an d
m aterial s are f am il iartoev erybodyin ou rcu l tu re. Withthis
type of m ock-u pn othin g m ys teriou s happen s in s ide abl ack
box."If apictu re taped tothe bl ackboard drops tothe f l oor
ev erybodykn ow s thatthis w as du e todif f icu l ties of tapin g
on adu s tybl ackboard, an d n otpartof the des ign . T here is
n ocon f u s ion betw een the s im u l ation an d the real thin g.
T hird, s u chm ock-u ps l en d them s el v es tocol l aborativ e
m odif ication s . T he pos s ibl e operation s on the m aterial
u s in g pen s an d s cis s ors , f orexam pl e, are w el l kn ow n toal l ,
an d w iths im pl e paper-an d-cardboard m ock-u ps peopl e of ten
m ake m odif ication s j oin tl yorbytakin g qu ick tu rn s . T he
it. al l ? 45. Cardboard Com pu ters
phys ical chan ges are v is ibl e, an d, w ithproperdis pl ay, v is ibl e
toal l the participan ts .
How ev er, as w ithan ytool ortechn iqu e, s im pl e m ock-u ps
hav e theirl im itation s . Chan ges toam ock-u pm aybe v ery
tim e-con s u m in g. If , f orexam pl e, adif f eren tw ayof "
pres en tin g m en u s is chos en , chan ges m ayhav e tobe d.on e to
dozen s of draw in gs , oraw hol e n ew s etof s l ides m ayhav e to
be m ade.
Whil e ital l ow s ades ign grou ptoexperim en tw ithou tthe
l im itation s of cu rren ttechn ol ogy, this f reedom is on l ya
partial bl es s in g. In the en d, good des ign res u l ts f rom
expl oitin g the techn ol ogical pos s ibil ities an d l im itation s
creativ el y, n otf rom ign orin g them . T hu s , as paradoxical as it
m ays ou n d, the dem an d f orcom pu terkn ow l edge in ades ign
grou pu s in g m ock-u ps is v eryhigh.
T he s im pl e m ock-u ps l ack f u n ction al ity:T heyrepres en t
phys ical cl u es w ithw hichon e m aycreate the il l u s ion of u s in g
af u tu re com pu terbas ed artif act, bu tthe u s ers dohav e tou s e
theirim agin ation s al on g w iththe m ock-u p.
Com pu ters in Mock-U ps :
Ov ercom in g the Dis adv an tages
N ow l et' s en terthe borderl an d betw een cardboard
com pu ters an d f u l l ycom pu terized prototypes . In this
borderl an d, dis tin ction s betw een the tw oare f u zzy. In f act,
w e don ots ee the m ain dif f eren ce betw een am ock-u pan d a
prototype as bein g aqu es tion of w hethercom pu ters are u s ed
orn ot. Withm ock u ps com pu ter~s u pp0rted orn ot the
f ocu s is on s u pportf orov eral l en v is ion m en t. In apow erf u l
an al ogytof il m produ ction , this kin d of en v is ion m en thas
been cal l ed s toryboard prototypin g ( An driol e, 19 89 ). Marty
Kl in e, the artis tw hodrew the s toryboard f orthe m ov ie I/ W10
f ram ed R ogerR abbit?, m akes the an al ogycl ear: Story-
boardin g is aw aytol ook atthe f il m w ithou ts pen din g al ot
of m on ey. . . . It' s n otthe u l tim ate f il m , bu titrepres en ts a
f irs tchan ce tol ook atit ( Braa& R u v ik, 19 89 ).
Mov in g f rom m ock-u ps an d s toryboard prototypes toreal
prototypes , the pos s ibil ities todem on s trate real com pu ter-
bas ed f u n ction al itycom e in tof ocu s . Com pu terized
prototypes dif f erf rom the u s e of com pu ters in m ock-u ps in
tw oim portan tw ays . We of ten u s e com pu ters in m ock-u ps
f orpu rpos es otherthan thos e in ten ded f orthe f u tu re
com pu ters ys tem . In the m ock-u pw e are typical l yin teres ted
in u s in g com pu ters f oren v is ion in g the s ys tem , n otto
prov ide the real f u n ction al ityof the s ys tem . Al s o, com pu ters
45. Cardboard Com pu ters
hav e n opriv il eged pos ition in rel ation tootherm aterial s
s u chas cardboard an d paper. T heyare al l u s ed on the bas is of
how w el l theycon tribu te tocreatin g the il l u s ion of u s in g the
f u tu re s ys tem . In ou rin v es tigation s of the borderl an d w e
n ow con s iderif an d how w e m ayu s e com pu ters toov ercom e
the dis adv an tages des cribed abov e, an d if w e m aydos o
w ithou ts acrif icin g the adv an tages . We l ook f irs tatthe u s e of
com pu ters as aw aytoim prov e ef f icien cyin bu il din g an d
chan gin g m ock-u ps . T hen w e l ook atw ays toexpl ore
techn ol ogical l im itation s bym ean s of com pu ters . F in al l yw e
dis cu s s the qu es tion of gettin g m ore f u n ction al ity.
Ef f ectiv e T ool s
T he n extpictu res are f rom arecen tproj ectin w hichw e are
dev el opin g an d u s in g acom pu ter-bas ed hyperm ediades ign
en v iron m en tthatw e cal l Des ign s u pport. T otes tan d dev el op
Des ign Su pportw e hav e u s ed itf ordes ign of abu dgets ys tem .
T he bu dgets ys tem w as in ten ded tos u pportou row n
res earchgrou pin dis cu s s ion s on how tos pen d ou rf u n ds .
Mos tof thes e f u n ction s w ere n otcov ered bys tan dard
bu dgetin g an d accou n tin g s ys tem s , theyw ere s u pported on l y
bym an u al procedu res u s in g pen an d paper, togetherw ithe-
m ail . T he pictu res are f rom an earl ym ock-u p/ s toryboard pro-
totype of the bu dgets ys tem an d s how as can n ed v ers ion of a
han dw ritten econ om ic ov erv iew , s om e l in ks added tothe
draw in g, an d acom pu terredraw n s creen im age bas ed on
the han dw ritten ov erv iew .
Af ters can n in g the econ om ic ov erv iew w e u s ed Des ign -
Su pporttocreate l in ked s creen im ages . T he com pu ter-bas ed
draw in g al l ow ed u s totake adv an tage of s im il arities betw een
the pictu res . F orexam pl e copyin g s hared icon s betw een
s creen im ages w as eas y, an d repeated chan ges toan im age
did n otredu ce its qu al ityas occu rs w hen u s in g paper.
F u rtherm ore, s ev eral s creen im ages cou l d s hare parts .
Modif ication s m ade toaparton on e s creen im age w as
au tom atical l ycas caded tothe otherim ages .
F in al l y, itis w orthm en tion in g thatin term ediate des ign s
w ere eas il ys av ed. T his en cou raged the expl oration of
al tern ativ e des ign s f ors creen im ages , s in ce backtrackin g to
earherv ers ion s w as al m os tin s tan tan eou s if the cu rren tl in e
of des ign prov ed tobe u n s atis f actory.
T he exam pl es of ef f icien cygain s dis cu s s ed here cov eron l y
as m al l s am pl e of the poten tial of exis tin g com pu ter-bas ed
tool s . Depen din g on the s ys tem bein g des ign ed, tool s s u chas
apres en tation m an ageroraw ord proces s orm ayhel p
im prov e the ef f icien cyin m akin g an d chan gin g am ock-u p.
theN EWMEDIAR EADER
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F igu re 45.12 . As can n ed v ers ion of ahan dw ritten econ om ic
ov erv iew . . .
l iIii.' ' _3 ie.rr?.; 7 ". r> > <..v .@ , _... .
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F igu re 45.13. . . . s om e l in ks added tothe draw in g . . .
,4 A -_.. 13103/ 1 9 9 9 F F iiiii*
; Ej g n l :6 :or .h T il radrghad v rs rw arrn ogaiv in ai-
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hv orm ed m an kin gaif : l ris v aren d t s gn / ia\ f f
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F igu re 45.14. . . . an d a"com pu terredraw n " s creen im age bas ed
on the han dw ritten ov en / iew . Al l the m aterial exis ts in the s am e
"hyperm edia."
19 9 1
3------is -----~--~0----- -----e. --~-~-----r&--------o--~------rJ--- --- O. . 1 J -- 45. Cardboard Com pu te rs
On e s hou l d rem em ber, how ev er, thatachiev in g this
ef f icien cygain u s u al l yrequ ires thatpeopl e in the des ign
grou pbe s kil l ed u s ers of the com pu ter-bas ed tool s , otherw is e
the tool s m aygetin the w ayof the j ob tobe don e, chan gin g
the f ocu s f rom the m ock-u ptothe l im itation s of the tool s .
Creatin g Su itabl e R eal Lim itation s
As n oted, the dem an ds on com pu terkn ow l edge in ades ign
grou pw orkin g w iths im pl e m ock-u ps are v eryhigh. When a
cardboard boxis u s ed in s tead of ades ktopl as erprin ter,
s om eon e in the grou pm u s tkn ow abou ts u chprin ters in
ordertogetthe gam e goin g u s in g the boxas al as erprin ter,
n otas abox. In cas es w here this kn ow l edge n eeds tobe
dev el oped, com pu ters m aybe u s ed toin v es tigate s pecif ic.
techn ol ogical pos s ibil ities an d l im itation s , as il l u s trated by
the f ol l ow in g exam pl e.
> 3.
4
7
4
rm "
~ ____
F igu re 45.15. In v es tigation s of res ol u tion an d res pon s e tim es
u s in g areal com pu ter. . .
Du rin g the period in the U topiaproj ectw hen w e u s ed s im pl e
m ock-u ps w e acqu ired af ew real com pu terw orks tation s
w ith15"bit-m apped s creen s . T he ideaw as tobu il d on e or
m ore prototypes of the em ergin g des ign . Bu tal thou ghthe
hardw are w as pow erf u l , the s of tw are w as poor, an d the
prototypin g cou l d n ev erkeepu pw iththe m ock-u pw ork.
How ev er, itw as u s ef u l tobe abl e toexperim en tw itha15"
s creen as on e of ou rm ock-u pcom pon en ts , es pecial l ybecau s e
the exis tin g kn ow l edge in the des ign grou pon bit-m apped
s creen s w as n otcom prehen s iv e. We began tol ook at
qu es tion s s u chas : how cou l d an ew s paperpage be
repres en ted w iththe av ail abl e res ol u tion an d s creen s ize?,
how abou tas pread, thatis , tw opages ?, how m an ypixel s
w ere n eeded tom ake af on treadabl e on the s creen ?,"an d
how abou tu s in g s haded boxes torepres en tw ords in s m al l
f on ts ?"Su chqu es tion s cou l d n oteas il ybe deal tw ithu s in g
the paperim ages an d s l ides of ou rf irs tan d s econ d
gen eration m ock-u ps , bu ttheycou l d be in v es tigated qu ite
eas il yu s in g the w orks tation s w iththeirgraphic s creen s .
Hav in g l earn ed abou tthe pos s ibil ities an d l im itation s of
ou r15"bit-m apped s creen s , w e retu rn ed toou rs im pl e paper-
bas ed m ock-u ptoexpl ore the pos s ibil ities of dif f eren ts creen
s izes , s u chas 15", 19 ", an d 2 4". We cu thol es of appropriate
s izes in l arge pieces of cardboard an d pl aced them on the w al l
in f ron tof ou rpictu res , m en u s etc.
F igu re 45.16 . . . . an d expan din g the s creen s ize w itham ock-u p.
More F u n ction al ity
As the third an d l as tof the dis adv an tages of m ock-u ps w e
w an ttoaddres s bym ean s of com pu ters , w e l ook atthe
qu es tion of f u n ction al ity. T his qu es tion takes u s v erycl os e to
the borders of real prototypes .
Con s ideron ce m ore the u s e of Des ign Su pportf orthe
creation of am ock-u pof the bu dgetin g s ys tem dis cu s s ed
prev iou s l y. T he s creen im ages cou l d hav e been prin ted ou t
an d u s ed in apaper-an d-cardboard m ock-u pl ike an yother
pictu re. Whatw e did, how ev er, w as tou s e the com pu terto
s how as equ en ce of im ages as as l ide proj ectordoes . _
T he n exts tepw e took w as tou s e the bu tton -capabil ities
of HyperCard tom ake itpos s ibl e f rom ev erys creen im age to
dyn am ical l ys el ectthe n extim age, in aw ays im u l atin g how
this cou l d be don e in the f in al s ys tem .
45. Cardboard Com pu ters
U s in g the bu tton capabil ities togetherw ithtextf iel ds in
con s tru ctin g the s creen im ages m ade itpos s ibl e tos im u l ate a
n u m berof dyn am ic chan ges : text en try, s el ection , etc.
Dyn am ic res pon s e f rom the bu dgetm ock-u p, s u chas
s how in g the m on eyav ail abl e f orin v itin g gu es ts f orthe res t
of the year, togetherw iththe es tim ated cos tof pl an n ed an d
con s idered v is its , w as han dl ed byahu m an operator
s im u l atin g parts of the s ys tem . Stil l otherkin ds of res pon s e,
s u chas s ortin g al is tof pos s ibl e con f eren ces toatten d, w ere
n othan dl ed dyn am ical l ybu tratherbys how in g al is t
prepared in adv an ce, as w e did w iththe paper-an d-cardboard
m ock-u p.
As the exam pl e s how s , there are dif f eren tw ays tos im u l ate
f u n ction al ity, an d there is al s othe qu es tion of w hat
f u n ction al itytos im u l ate in the f irs tpl ace. T here are n o
s im pl e an s w ers , bu tthe yards tick toappl yis how the
dif f eren tas pects con tribu te tothe creation of the u s e
s itu ation en v is ion m en t, how u s ef u l itm akes the m ock-u pin
the particu l ardes ign l an gu age gam e. Obv iou s l ythere is a
ten den cytoim pl em en tthos e as pects w hichf itthe com pu ter
bes t, bu tthe ten den cytoim pl em en tcom pu ter-bas ed
f u n ction al ity,"as oppos ed todif f eren tkin ds of s im u l ated
f u n ction al ity, is qu ite s tron g, too. In the bu dgets ys tem cas e
dis cu s s ed abov e, ou rprogram m erdis cov ered acl ev erw ayto
program Xerox-l ike s crol l boxes in ou rhyperm edias ys tem .
Su chboxes v aryin s ize toin dicate how m u chof adocu m en t
is s how n in aw in dow . View ed in is ol ation , this approachw as
s u periortothe exis tin g Mac-l ike s crol l boxes of f ixed s ize. Bu t
atthe tim e the qu es tion of the detail ed w orkin gs of the s crol l
bars w as u n im portan tin rel ation tothe creation of as u itabl e
u s e s itu ation en v is ion m en t.
In s u m m ary, com pu ters m aybe u s ed toov ercom e s ev ere
s hortcom in gs in the u s e of s im pl e m ock-u pm aterial s . Bu tas
w e s hal l s ee the cos ts m aybe high; f orexam pl e, in term s of
redu ced pos s ibil ities f oru s erparticipation . How ev er, there is
of ten n on eed togoal l the w ay:the bes tan d m os tcos t-
ef f ectiv e en v is ion m en tm ayw el l be obtain ed byam ock u p
f rom the borderl an d betw een cardboard an d com pu ters , as
il l u s trated bythe f ol l ow in g exam pl e.
Mixin g f oraBetterEn v is ion m en t
Ou rf irs tprototype of the des ign en v iron m en t
Des ign Su pportw as bu il tin HyperCard an d ran on Mac Hs
w ith2 1"s creen s . T he prototype w as bu il tov eraperiod of a
f ew m on ths , en din g u pw ithan al m os tf u l l yf u n ction al
prototype. HyperCard, how ev er, on l yal l ow ed on e 9 "w in dow
theN EWMEDIAR EADER
tobe open atatim e, ares triction thattu rn ed ou ttoredu ce
the u s ef u l n es s of the prototype dram atical l y. T he s ol u tion to
this probl em w as s traightf orw ard, bu tw e w ere s of as cin ated
bythe prototype thatittook s om e tim e tof in d it:T obe abl e
tos how s ev eral w in dow s in v aryin g s izes atthe s am e tim e,
w e s im pl ypl aced prin ted copies w here w e w an ted them on
the big 2 1"s creen s . T his w orked s ow el l thatMorten
im m ediatel ybegan tocl ick on them ; f orgettin g thatitw as a
m ock-u p. He w as gettin g an in v ol v ed experien ce of the f u tu re
u s e ev en if the f u n ction al ityw as m is s in g.
Q .
F igu re 45.17 . F rom w eak prototype tos tron g m ock-u pbyaddin g
paperw in dow s tothe prototype.
T his exam pl e il l u s trates an im portan tdif f eren ce betw een
im pl em en tin g af in al s ys tem orf u l l yf u n ction al prototype on
the on e han d an d bu il din g am ock-u poras toryboard
prototype on the other adif f eren ce thats eem s tobe
f orgotten eas il yon ce des ign ers s kil l ed in program m in g bu ry
them s el v es in the com pu ter. T he poin tis thatan ydes ign
en v iron m en t, com pu ter-bas ed orn ot, has l im itation s thatat
tim es pl ace s ev ere res triction s on the artif actbein g
con s tru cted. In the im pl em en tation of an ew com pu ter
s ys tem the han dl in g of this ten s ion is aprim arypartof the
com peten ce of the prof es s ion al des ign ers . How ev er, w hen
con s tru ctin g am ock-u p, itis n otn eces s arytores train on es el f
tothe pos s ibil ities of the com pu ter-bas ed as pectof the
en v iron m en t, u n l es s the in ten tion is toexpl ore exactl ythes e
pos s ibil ities ; f orexam pl e, w iththe in ten tion of im pl em en tin g
the f in al produ ctu s in g thaten v iron m en t.
We l aterim pl em en ted Des ign Su pportin an en v iron m en t
w ithm u l tipl e an d re-s izabl e w in dow s . T hatw as am aj or
im prov em en tof the s ys tem as s u ch, bu tou rcom pu ter
bl in dn es s f oral on g tim e prev en ted u s f rom hav in g thes e
properties in ou rm ock-u ps an d earl yprototypes .
.0- J19 45. Cardboard Com pu ters as * 4--H~eo--------- -~ o----- a
Com pu ters in Mock-U ps :
Los in g the Adv an tages ?
In the begin n in g of this chapterw e s u gges ted thatthe poin t
in u s in g n on -com pu ter-bas ed m ock~u ps w as thattheyare
cheap, u n ders tan dabl e, an d al l ow f orhan ds -on experien ce
an d pl eas u rabl e en gagem en t. Certain l y, com pu ter-bas ed
prototypes en cou rage han ds -on experien ce, an d in m an y
organ ization s hardw are an d s of tw are f orprototypin g al ready
exis ts , s ores ou rces m ayn otbe the bottl en eck. Whetheritis
m ore f u n tos itbyacom pu terortobu il d w ithcardboard, w e
can on l ygu es s . T he rem ain in g adv an tage prim aril ycon cern s
the u n ders tan dabil ityof the n on com pu term ock-u ptool s
an d m aterial s :How does the com pu terf are w iththis ?
U n f am il iarT ool s an d P roces s es
Con s iderthe f ol l ow in g s itu ation , in w hichcom pu ter
s cien tis ts f rom tw ogeographical l ys eparate grou ps got
togethertow ork on the des ign of as hared m aterial
s u pportin g j oin tw ork betw een theirtw os ettin gs . T hey
decided tou s e tw oLISP m achin es on an etw ork toqu ickl y
bu il d acom pu ter-bas ed s toryboard m ock-u p. T w oof the
com pu ters cien tis ts w ere LISP experts ; the others w ere l es s
f am il iarw iththe LISP en v iron m en t. Sin ce bu il din g an d
m odif yin g the m ock-u pw as am aj oran d in tegrated partof
tryin g itou tin this f irs ts es s ion , itw as the tw oLISP experts
w hooperated the m achin es . T hu s , tothe res tof the grou p
the in terf ace tothe em ergin g des ign con s is ted of the tw o
LISP experts . In v ol v em en tcon s is ted m ain l yof dis cu s s in g
ideas an d theirpos s ibl e em bodim en tin the LISP m achin es .
Sev eral of the action s carried ou tbythe tw ooperators
in v ol v ed program m in g f ortw oorthree m in u tes . Du rin g
thos e periods the res tof the grou pw as in activ e.
T he f irs tthin g ton ote is thatthe tool s an d m aterial s u s ed
in this s es s ion w ere n otf am il iartoal l participan ts . I\/ l os tof
them did n otkn ow w hatcou l d be m ocked u p, an d certain l y
theydid n otkn ow how todoit. In otherw ords theyhad
on l yv agu e ideas abou tthe pos s ibl e m ov es in this des ign
gam e, an d theycou l d perf orm j u s taf ew m ov es them s el v es .
Secon dl y, m os tof the con s tru ction w ork l ef tn ov is ibl e
cl u es ; thu s , the s tatu s of the m ock-u pw as n otcl eartom os t
of the participan ts . T he res u l tw as thataf teras hortw hil e
on l ythe tw oLISP experts operatin g the m achin es w ere abl e
m ake con s tru ctiv e m ov es . T he res tof the grou phad n ow here
topl ace theirhan ds .
T his cou l d al s obe v iew ed as an exam pl e of abadl ypl an n ed
proces s . T he m ain poin tin des ign -by-doin g u s in g m ock-u ps is
f orev eryon e togethan ds -on experien ce, tryin g s om ethin g
n ew . T his actin g in the f u tu re does n othappen byits el f .
Es pecial l yw ithm ock-u ps bu il tu s in g u n f am il iartool s an d
m aterial s , the s im u l ated f u tu re u s e s itu ation has tobe
caref u l l ypl an n ed an d en acted.
What' s the P u rpos e? p
As ou rl as tis s u e w e con s iderthe expectation s of peopl e
w orkin g w itham ock-u p, an d w hatthe pu rpos es of doin g it
are. Withcardboard m ock-u ps its s im pl e:the pu rpos e is
des ign , an d the m ock-u ps are u s ed toev al u ate ades ign , toget
ideas f orm odif ication s orm aybe ev en radical n ew des ign s ,
an d tohav e am ediu m f orcol l aborativ e chan ges . If
experim en ts w ithcom pu ter-bas ed m ock-u ps are s etu pin the
s am e w ayan d theirpu rpos e m ade cl ear, itcan be equ al l y
s im pl e. Bu tthe f u n ction al pos s ibil ities m aybe s edu ctiv e,
es pecial l yw hen w e approachthe borders of f u n ction al
prototypes . Of ten itis pos s ibl e tobu il d acom pu ter-bas ed
m ock u p/ prototype w hichhas the l ook an d f eel of 9 0% of the
real s ys tem , an d then the u s e of this m ock-u pis in terpreted
bythe u s ers , orm aybe ev en s etu pbythe des ign ers , in aw ay
thatpres u ppos es thatitis 9 0% as u s ef u l as the f in al , real
s ys tem . How ev er,-this is rarel ythe cas e. When this is real ized
bythe u s ers theirin teres tin u s in g the m ock-u p/ prototype
m ayeas il ydropordis appearcom pl etel y.
As m en tion ed earl ier, s u cces s f u l ev al u ation of am ock-u p
requ ires caref u l pl an n in g an d actin g, bu tin addition it
requ ires com m itm en tf rom the u s ers , res ou rces dedicated to
the pu rpos e of ev al u atin g the m ock-u p. Al m os tan ydev iation
f rom the f in al s ys tem in am ock-u prequ ires s om e activ e w ork
on behal f of the in v ol v ed ( f u tu re)u s ers . If the u s ers are n ot
prepared topaythis price, then u s in g the m ock-u pw il l f ail .
Mock-U ps : P rototype, "T he R eal T hin g orBothor?
On e of the reas on s f orthe ef f ectiv en es s of cardboard m ock-
u ps is thatn obodycon f u s es them w iththe produ ct, the
f u tu re com pu ters ys tem ; ev erybodykn ow s thattheydon ot
hav e the f u n ction al ityof acom pu ters ys tem . With
com pu ters in m ock-u ps its dif f eren t, es pecial l yw hen w e u s e
com pu ters togetm ore f u n ction al ity.
In thes e s itu ation s itm aybe dif f icu l tn ottom ixthe
appearan ce of the com pu terin am ock-u pan d in the
im agin ed f u tu re produ ct. T he cl os erthe tw orol es get, an d
the l es s f am il iarthe com pu teris , the m ore caref u l on e has to
be in av oidin g attribu tin g the w ron g as pects of the m ock-u p-
com pu tertothe f u tu re-produ ct-com pu ter.
45. Cardboard Com pu ters
Maj orP l ayers an d the R u l es of the Gam e
.t~.
' .: .' VF W
Q L
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\e 13' .-,"_ } % ; E
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F igu re 45.18. T ypographers , j ou rn al is ts , an d des ign ers in agam e
of s occer.
T he pictu re abov e en ds ou rs toryatthe s am e pl ace w ere it
s tarted w iththe peopl e m is s in g in the f irs tpictu re;
s how in g the rel ation s hipbetw een typographers an d
j ou rn al is ts . Here theyare, in agam e of s occer, an d there are
ev en s om e prof es s ion al des ign ers participatin g.
T his gam e took pl ace on an ice Mayaf tern oon in 19 84. It
w as on e of the activ ities thatf orm ed aw orks hopthatw as
partof the s ys tem s del iv ery"f rom the U topiaproj ect.
T ypographers , j ou rn al is ts , trade u n ion an d m an agem en t
repres en tativ es w ere in v ited toactiv el yparticipate in athree-
dayw orks hopon the des ign propos al f rom the proj ectgrou p.
Of cou rs e, m ock-u ps an d prototypes f rom the des ign w ork
w ere tried ou tin han ds -on s es s ion s , bu tthe s ys tem
requ irem en ts pecif ication "certain l yim pl ied an d in cl u ded
m ore than that. N oton l ythe artif acts tobe u s ed w ere at
s take; otheras pects rel ated toqu al ityof w ork an d produ ct
w ere al s opartof the propos al , es pecial l yqu es tion s of how
w ork s hou l d be organ ized u s in g thes e n ew tool s , an d w hat
train in g an d edu cation the dif f eren tgrou ps s hou l d hav e.
On the s occerf iel d typographers , j ou rn al is ts , an d des ign ers
had n oprobl em cooperatin g in m ixed team s . T his gam e w as
ev en m ore f u n than pl ayin g w ithm ock-u ps . T he n egotiation
gam e con cern in g the propos ed chan ges of w ork rol es an d
w ork practice w as an en tirel ydif f eren ts tory.
In f act, w e had dev el oped au s ef u l w ork organ ization
des ign kittobe u s ed bythe participan ts in this kin d of
n egotiation s itu ation s , bu tthatdid n otchan ge the hard f acts
of real ity:Som e pl ayers hav e m ore pow erthan others , an d
s om e are m ore v u l n erabl e than others . F oral l the f u n there is
in des ign as action an d in the u s e of m ock-u ps , im pl e
m en tation m aybe an en tirel ydif f eren tgam e in w hich
theN EWMEDIAR EADER
m an agem en tprerogativ es def in e the ru l es , an d
organ ization al con f l icts betw een typographers an d
j ou rn al is ts l im itf orcef u l cou n term ov es . In this gam e, of ten
ref erred toas cl as s s tru ggl e an d organ ization al con f l ict, there
is atem ptation f orthe des ign ers tothin k of them s el v es as
obs erv ers j u s tw atchin g the gam e. N othin g cou l d be m ore
w ron g in des ign as action , exceptperhaps the des ign ers
appoin tin g them s el v es as ref erees of the gam e:the gods that
m ake the otherpl ayers obeythe giv en ru l es .
In des ign as action , the ru l es are ats take. T his is
particu l arl ytru e w here the u s e of m ock-u ps is aw ayof
experien cin g the f u tu re. T his is s eriou s bu s in es s con cern in g
m aj orchan ges of the participan ts w orkin g l iv es . In u s in g
in expen s iv e m ock-u ptool s an d in es tabl is hin g the
pl eas u rabl e en gagem en tof han ds -on experien ce, the
des ign ers hav e tof in d theirow n rol e in the des ign gam e. T he
rol es of obs erv eran d ref eree are n otav ail abl e. Whatdef in es
the prof es s ion al des ign eris the com peten ce tof in d aproper
rol e in as pecif ic des ign gam e an d toexpan d the s pace f or
u s ers toparticipate in des ign as action .
R ef eren ces
An driol e, S. ( 19 89 ). Storyboard prototypin g An ew approachto
u s errequ irem en tan al ys is . Wel l es l ey, Mas s achu s etts : Q ED
In f orm ation Scien ces .
Braa, K. 8| R u v ik, E. ( 19 89 ). Edb-s to' tte til kreativ ts am arbeid i
l m produ ktion [ Com pu ter-Su pportf orCreativ e Cooperation in F il m
P rodu ction ]. Os l o: U n iv ers ityof Os l o, Departm en tof In f orm atics .
Dreyf u s , H. L. & Dreyf u s , S. D. ( 19 86 ). Min d ov erm achin e T he
pow erof hu m an in tu ition an d expertis e in the eraof the com pu ter.
Gl as gow : Bas il Bl ackw el l .
Ehn , P . ( 19 89 ). Work-orien ted des ign of com pu terartif acts .
F al ktipin g, Sw eden : Arbets l iv s cen tru m an d Hil l s dal e, N J: Law ren ce
Erl bau m As s ociates .
Heidegger, M. ( 19 6 2 ). Bein g an d tim e. N ew Y ork: Harper& R ow .
Kyn g, M. ( 19 88). Des ign in g f oradol l araday. Oj f ce: T echn ol ogy
an d P eopl e, 4: 157 -17 0.
Win ograd, T . & F l ores , F . ( 19 86 ). U n ders tan din g com pu ters an d
cogn i' tion An ew f ou n dation f ordes ign . N orw ood, N J: Abl ex.
Wittgen s tein , L. ( 19 2 3). T ractatu s l ogico-phil os ophicu s . Lon don :
Kegan P au l .
Wittgen s tein , L. ( 19 53). P hil os ophical in v es tigation s . Oxf ord: Bas il
Bl ackw el l .
0-. ( ..-- . 0..-- J19 ? 46 . Lu cas f il m ' s Habitat
4-6 .[ In trodu ction ]
T he Les s on s of Lu cas f il m s Habitat
When U l tim aOn l in e ( av eryl arge-s cal e, com m ercial , m an y u s er, graphical v irtu al en v iron m en tal s o
cal l ed aMas s iv el yMu l ipl ayerOn l in e R ol epl ayin g Gam e orMMOR P GA)w as rol l ed ou tin 19 9 7 ,
rapidl yacqu irin g m ore than 100,000u s ers , s tran ge thin gs began tohappen . P eopl e in cl u din g on e
w riterf orthe digital l y-s av v ym agazin e Wired w ere s hocked, s hocked tof in d thatpl ayers en j oyed
kil l in g eachotheron l in e. Can ' tw e al l j u s tgetal on g in cybers pace?theyw on dered.
Itis am is take toas s u m e thatthe u s ers w il l al l u n dertake the s orts of n obl e an d s u bl im e _
activ ities thatyou created the s ys tem toen abl e, ChipMorn in gs taran d F . R an dal l F arm errepl ied,
s ixyears bef ore the qu es tion w as pos ed. T heykn ew the an s w erahead of tim e becau s e theyhad
al readyim pl em en ted Habitat. Al m os tal l the m aj oris s u es rais ed byU l tim aOn l in e, an d l aterby
Son ys Ev erQ u es t, w ere expos ed in dev el opin g Habitats v irtu al w orl d, w hichpres en ted atw o-an d-a-
hal f -dim en s ion al v iew tou s ers u s in g m odem l in ked Com m odore 6 45. T his prim itiv e graphical
en v oiron m en tprov ided n u m erou s l es s on s in on l in e in teraction an d the s hared experien ce of a
s im u l ated w orl d.
T his dis cu s s ion of Habitatbears on gtw oapproaches ton ew m ediathatare repres en ted w el l in
otheran thol ogies :com pu ter-m ediated com m u n ication s an d v irtu al en v iron m en ts . Withregard to
the l atterpers pectiv e, of ten con s idered u s in g Wil l iam Gibs on s term cybers pace, itis Cybers pace,
F irs tSteps , f rom w hichthis articl e is taken , thatrem ain s the es s en tial res ou rce bothf or
u n ders tan din g thos e v irtu al en v iron m en ts w hichl ook l ike phys ical s paces an d f oru n ders tan din g the
on l in e experien ce throu ghthe m etaphorof s pace. T he com pu ter-m ediated com m u n ication s
pers pectiv e in cl u des rel ated s tu dies of the n etw orked com pu teras as ocial an d cu l tu ral en v iron m en t,
u n dertaken w ithin av arietyof n etw orked s ys tem s in cl u din g MOOs , graphical v irtu al w orl ds , an d
chats paces
Man yof the s el ection s here in T he N ew MediaR eadercon s iderthe com pu teras as tan d-al on e or
n etw orked s ys tem f oras yn chron ou s w ritin g an d readin g, orf ors om e s im il aractiv ity. T he u s u al .
qu es tion s abou ts in gl e pl ayer"n ew m ediaexperien ces of ten s til l appl ytoen v iron m en ts l ike Habitat;
itis in trigu in g j u s ttol ook atthe partial l is tof obj ects thatcon s titu te. the v irtu al w orl d, j u s tas itcan
be hel pf u l tocon s iderthe com pon en ts of aprogram m in g l an gu age, com pu tergam e, orel ectron ic
l iteratu re w ork. Bu tcon s iderin g thos e n etw orked s ys tem s thatprov ide areal ~tim e com m u n ication s
s ys tem , w ithagraphical repres en tation of eachu s erin as im u l ated s pace, brin gs dif f eren tdyn am ics
of u s eractiv ityan d in f orm ation exchan ge tothe f oref ron t highl ightin g, as Morn in gs taran d
F arm erexpl ain , the rol e of econ om ics , the f u til ityof n aiv e cen tral pl an n in g in s ys tem s w here m an y
u s ers hav e al arge rol e, an d the n eed f orextrem e robu s tn es s an d rel iabl e s tan dards , n eitherof w hich
is u s u al l yacon cern f orthe com pu tergam in g in du s ty. Whatis n ' tn eeded totackl e s u chis s u es is ev en
a1 GHZ chip: al ook back rev eal s that, f ors u chin v es tigation s , aCom m odore 6 4w il l don icel y.
N M
, ' . -\- _~~ ' .' \' ~- ~ . Y . ~ --- _., , -- ~ . , .1 - ,
' - ' ~ - . \. "~ . " .> -' .-- " "". .\ ' ' ..' _> ~.
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1
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II
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l aw s u if t' :iv as - ,
U I 5f !i l l * Q l 1il ?l ii5l 5.l 9 ?f 5Iaf l tI
1, , ;
_priin itiv e- ' u n de* rl / in l g; ; : ; "
, 16
__. .
46 . Lu cas f il m ' s Habitat
Origin al P u bl ication
F rom Cybers pace: F irs tSteps , 2 7 3-301. Ed. Michael Ben edikt.
Cam bridge: MIT P res s , 19 9 1.
T he Les s on s of
Lu cas f il m ' s Habitat
ChipMorn in gs taran d
F . R an dal l F arm er
In trodu ction
Lu cas f il m s Habitatproj ectw as on e of the f irs tattem pts to
create av eryl arge-s cal e, com m ercial , m an y u s er, graphical
v irtu al en v iron m en t. Af arcryf rom m an yl aboratory
res earchef f orts bas ed on s ophis ticated in terf ace hardw are
an d ten s of thou s an ds of dol l ars peru s erof dedicated
com pu tin g pow er, Habitatis bu il ton topof an ordin ary
com m ercial on -l in e s erv ice an d u s es an in expen s iv e s om e
w ou l d s aytoy" hom e com pu tertos u pportu s erin ter-
action . In s pite of thes e s om ew hatpl ebeian u n derpin n in gs ,
Habitatis am bitiou s in its s cope. T he s ys tem w e dev el oped
can s u pportapopu l ation of thou s an ds of u s ers in as in gl e
s hared cybers pace. Habitatpres en ts its u s ers w ithareal -tim e
an im ated v iew in toan on ~l in e s im u l ated w orl d in w hich
u s ers can com m u n icate, pl aygam es , goon adv en tu res , f al l in
l ov e, getm arried, getdiv orced, s tartbu s in es s es , f ou n d
rel igion s , w age w ars , protes tagain s tthem , an d experim en t
w iths el f -gov ern m en t.
T he Habitatproj ectprov edtobe arichs ou rce of in s ights
in tothe n itty-grittyreal ityof actu al l yim pl em en tin g a
s eriou s , com m ercial l yv iabl e cybers pace en v iron m en t. Ou r
experien ces dev el opin g the Habitats ys tem , an d m an agin g
the v irtu al w orl d thatres u l ted, of f eran u m berof in teres tin g
an d im portan tl es s on s f orpros pectiv e cybers pace architects .
T he pu rpos e of this chapteris todis cu s s s om e of thes e
l es s on s . Ou rhope is thatthe n extgen eration of bu il ders of
v irtu al w orl ds can ben ef itf rom ou rexperien ces an d
( es pecial l y)f rom ou rm is takes .
Du e tos pace l im itation s , w e w il l n otbe abl e togoin toas
m u chtechn ical detail as w e m ightl ike; this w il l hav e tobe
l ef ttoaf u tu re pu bl ication . Sim il arl y, w e w il l on l ybe abl e to
tou chbrief l yu pon s om e of the his toryof the proj ectas a
theN EWMEDIAR EADER
bu s in es s v en tu re, w hichis af as cin atin g s u bj ectof its ow n .
Al thou ghw e w il l con cl u de w ithabrief dis cu s s ion of s om e of
the f u tu re direction s f orthis techn ol ogy, am ore detail ed
expos ition on this topic w il l
al s ohav e tow aitf oraf u tu re
occas ion .
T he es s en tial l es s on that
w e hav e abs tracted f rom ou r
experien ces w ithHabitatis
.. -,-. .. as ~~<~. .~ . r
. x. < v . ' ~ -
_. . . -. --.. . .
Lu s f i' l in s H .3t -tat_w a.s .f .-.
c' r' e' aited:byLu cas l m ; Gari_1ies .-
a; j div is ioti.' _0f . l .U _.C.as ArtS -
Erii ' .r!1ai.n ' r @ H.f l ien P aw ; in
' as .s . iCi.a.1.ibi1' ; w ith-' IGu an tu m ~
ram part; -.s aia; ,1-1n ; ., 1 ~
thatacybers pace is def in ed . .
. , . ~ , 1 w ~ -
. ....v v . <_. .
m ore bythe in teraction s
am on g the actors w ithin itthan bythe techn ol ogyw ith
w hichitis im pl em en ted. Whil e w e f in d m u chof the w ork
pres en tl ybein g don e on el aborate in terf ace techn ol ogies ~
DataGl ov es , head-m ou n ted dis pl ays , s pecial -pu rpos e
ren derin g en gin es , an d s oon bothexcitin g an d prom is in g,
the al m os tm ys tical eu phoriathatcu rren tl ys eem s to
s u rrou n d al l this hardw are is , in ou ropin ion , bothexces s iv e
an d s om ew hatm is pl aced. We can thel phav in g an aggin g
s en s e thatit' s al l abitof adis traction f rom the real l ypres s in g
is s u es . Atthe core of ou rv is ion is the ideathatcybers pace is
n eces s aril yam an y-participan ten v iron m en t. Its eem s tou s that
the thin gs thatare im portan ttothe in habitan ts of s u chan
en v iron m en tare the capabil ities av ail abl e tothem , the
characteris tics of the otherpeopl e theyen cou n terthere, an d
the w ays thes e v ariou s participan ts can af f ecton e an other.
Beyon d af ou n dation s etof com m u n ication s capabil ities , the
detail s of the techn ol ogyu s ed topres en tthis en v iron m en tto
its participan ts , w hil e s exyan d in teres tin g, are of rel ativ el y
peripheral con cern .
WhatIs Habitat?
Habitatis am an y pl ayeron l in e v irtu al en v iron m en t ( its
pu rpos e is tobe an en tertain m en tm ediu m ; con s equ en tl y,
the u s ers are cal l ed pl ayers ). Eachpl ayeru s es his orher
hom e com pu teras af ron ten d, com m u n icatin g ov era
com m ercial packet-s w itchin g datan etw ork toacen tral ized
backen d s ys tem . T he f ron ten d prov ides the u s erin terf ace,
gen eratin g areal tim e an im ated dis pl ayof w hatis goin g on
an d tran s l atin g in pu tf rom the pl ayerin torequ es ts tothe
backen d. T he backen d m ain tain s the w orl d m odel , en f orcin g
the ru l es an d keepin g eachpl ayers f ron ten d in f orm ed abou t
the con s tan tl ychan gin g s tate of the u n iv ers e. T he backen d
en abl es the pl ayers toin teractn oton l yw iththe w orl d bu t
w itheachother.
o -A --0A-- 0 -- 4--0 ----1 + o a cs
Habitatw as in s pired byal on g tradition of com pu ter
hackers cien ce f iction , n otabl yVern orVin ges s tory, T ru e
N am es ( 19 81), as w el l as m an yf on d chil dhood m em ories of
gam es of m ake bel iev e, m ore recen tm em ories of rol e-pl ayin g
gam es an d the l ike, an d n u m erou s otherin f l u en ces too
thorou ghl ybl en ded topin poin t. T othis w e added adas hof
s il l in es s , atou chof cyberpu n k ( Gibs on 19 84, Sterl in g 19 86 ),
an d apredil ection f orobj ect-orien ted program m in g ( Abel s on
an d Su s s m an 19 85).
T he in itial in carn ation of Habitatu s es aCom m odore 6 4
f orthe f ron ten d. F igu re 46 .1 is atypical s creen f rom this
v ers ion of the s ys tem } T he l arges tpartof the s creen is
dev oted tothe graphics dis pl ay. T his is an an im ated v iew of
the pl ayers cu rren tl ocation in the Habitatw orl d. T he s cen e
con s is ts of v ariou s obj ects arrayed on the s creen , s u chas the
hou s es an d tree. T he pl ayers are repres en ted byan im ated
f igu res thatw e cal l Av atars . Av atars are u s u al l y, thou ghn ot
excl u s iv el y, hu m an oid in appearan ce. In F igu re 46 .1 you can
s ee tw oof them , carryin g on acon v ers ation .
Av atars can m ov e arou n d, pick u p, pu tdow n , an d
m an ipu l ate obj ects , tal k toeachother, an d ges tu re, each
u n derthe con trol of an in div idu al pl ayer. Con trol is throu gh
the j oys tick, w hichen abl es the pl ayertopoin tatthin gs an d
is s u e com m an ds . T al kin g is accom pl is hed bytypin g on the
keyboard. T he textthatapl ayertypes is dis pl ayed ov erhis
orherAv atars head in acartoon -s tyl e w ord bal l oon ."
AHabitatw orl d is m ade u pof al arge n u m berof dis crete
l ocation s thatw e cal l region s . In its prim e, the prototype
Habitatw orl d con s is ted of arou n d 2 0,000of them . Each
region can adj oin u ptof ou rotherregion s , w hichcan be
reached s im pl ybyw al kin g you rAv atartoon e oran other
edge of the s creen . Doorw ays an d otherpas s ages can
con n ecttoaddition al region s . Eachregion con tain s as etof
obj ects thatdef in e the thin gs thatan Av atarcan dothere
an d the s cen e thatthe pl ayers ees on the com pu ters creen .
Som e of the obj ects are s tru ctu ral , s u chas the grou n d or
the s ky. Man yare j u s ts cen ic, s u chas the tree orthe m ail box.
Mos tobj ects , how ev er, hav e s om e f u n ction thatthey
perf orm . F orexam pl e, doors tran s portAv atars f rom on e
region toan otheran d m aybe open ed, cl os ed, l ocked, an d
u n l ocked. AT Ms ( Au tom atic T oken Machin es )en abl e acces s
toan Av atars ban k accou n t.Ven din g m achin es dis pen s e
u s ef u l goods in exchan ge f orHabitatm on ey. Man yobj ects
are portabl e an d m aybe carried arou n d in an Av atars han ds
orpockets . T hes e in cl u de v ariou s kin ds of con tain ers , m on ey,
F igu re 46 .1. Atypical Habitats cen e
( @ 19 86 Lu cas Arts En tertain m en tCom pan y).
w eapon s , tool s , an d exotic m agical im pl em en ts . T abl e 46 .1
l is ts s om e of the m os tim portan ttypes of obj ects an d their
f u n ction s . T he com pl ete l is tof obj ecttypes n u m bers in the
hu n dreds .
Im pl em en tation
T he f ol l ow in g, al on g w iths ev eral program m er-years of
tediou s an d expen s iv e detail thatw e w on tcov erhere, is how
the s ys tem w orks :
Atthe heartof the Habitatim pl em en tation is an obj ect-
orien ted m odel of the u n iv ers e.
T he f ron ten d con s is ts of as ys tem kern el an d acol l ection
of obj ects . T he kern el han dl es m em orym an agem en t, dis pl ay
gen eration , dis k I/ O, tel ecom m u n ication s , an d other
operatin g s ys tem f u n ction s . T he obj ects im pl em en tthe
s em an tics of the w orl d its el f . Eachtype of Habitatobj ecthas
adef in ition con s is tin g of as etof res ou rces , in cl u din g
an im ation cel l s todriv e the dis pl ay, au diodata, an d
execu tabl e code. An obj ects execu tabl e code im pl em en ts a
s eries of s tan dard behav iors , eachof w hichis in v oked bya
dif f eren tpl ayercom m an d ors ys tem ev en t. T he m odel is
s im il artothatf ou n d in an obj ect-orien ted program m in g
s ys tem s u chas Sm al l tal k ( Gol dberg an d R obs on 19 83), w ith
its cl as s es , m ethods , an d m es s ages . T hes e res ou rces con s u m e
s ign if ican tam ou n ts of s carce f ron ten d m em ory, s ow e can t
keepthem al l in core atthe s am e tim e. F ortu n atel y, their
def in ition s are in v arian t, s ow e s im pl ys w apthem in f rom
dis k as w e n eed them , dis cardin g l es s recen tl yu s ed res ou rces
tom ake room .
When an obj ectis in s tan tiated, w e al l ocate abl ock of
m em orytocon tain the obj ects s tate. T he f irs ts ev eral bytes
- . J19 46 . Lu cas f il m ' s Habitat
46 . Lu cas f il m ' s Habitat
of an obj ects s tate in f orm ation take the s am e f orm in al l
obj ects , an d in cl u de s u chthin gs as the obj ects s creen l ocation
an d dis pl ayattribu tes . T his s tan dard in f orm ation is
in terpreted bythe s ys tem kern el as itgen erates the dis pl ay
an d m an ages the ru n -tim e en v iron m en t. T he rem ain derof
the s tate in f orm ation v aries w iththe obj ecttype an d is
acces s ed on l ybythe obj ects behav iorcode.-
Obj ectbehav iors are in v oked bythe kern el in res pon s e to
pl ayerin pu t. Eachobj ectres pon ds toas etof s tan dard v erbs
thatm apdirectl yon tothe com m an ds av ail abl e tothe pl ayer.
Eachbehav ioris s im pl yas u brou tin e thatexecu tes the
in dicated action ; todothis itm ayin v oke the behav iors of
otherobj ects ors en d requ es tm es s ages tothe backen d.
Bes ides the s tan dard v erb behav iors , obj ects m ayhav e
addition al behav iors thatare in v oked bym es s ages thatarriv e
as yn chron ou s l yf rom the backen d.
T he backen d al s om ain tain s an obj ect-
orien ted repres en tation of the w orl d. As
in the f ron ten d, obj ects on the backen d
pos s es s execu tabl e behav iors an d in -
m em orys tate in f orm ation . In addition ,
s in ce the backen d m ain tain s apers is ten t
gl obal s tate f orthe en tire Habitatw orl d,
the obj ects are al s orepres en ted by
databas e records thatm aybe s tored on
dis k w hen n otin u s e."Backen d obj ect
behav iors are in v oked bym es s ages f rom
the f ron ten d. Eachof thes e backen d
behav iors w orks in rou ghl ythe s am e w ay:
am es s age is receiv ed f rom apl ayers
f ron ten d requ es tin g s om e action ; the
action is taken an d s om e s tate_chan ges to
the w orl d res u l t; the backen d behav ior
s en ds ares pon s e m es s age back tothe
f ron ten d in f orm in g itof the res u l ts of its
requ es tan d n otif ication m es s ages tothe
f ron ten ds of an yotherpl ayers w hoare in
the s am e region , in f orm in g them of w hat
has taken pl ace.
theN EWMEDIAR EADER
T he Les s on s
In ordertos ayas m u chas w e can in al im ited s pace, w e w il l
des cribe w hatw e thin k w e l earn ed throu ghas eries of
prin cipl es oras s ertion s s u rrou n ded bys u pportin g reas on in g
an d il l u s trativ e an ecdotes . As cybers pace dev el ops , am ore
f orm al an d thorou ghexpos ition m aybe cal l ed f or.
We m en tion ed ou rprim aryprin cipl e earl ier:
T he ideaof am an y-u s eren v iron m en t
is cen tral tocybers pace.
Itis ou rdeepl yhel d con v iction thaton e of the def in in g
characteris tics of acybers pace s ys tem is thatitrepres en ts a
m an y-u s eren v iron m en t. T his s tem s f rom the f actthatw hat
( in ou ropin ion )peopl e s eek in av irtu al w orl d is richn es s ,
com pl exity, an d depth. Withou rbes ts cien ce an d
techn ol ogyw e don otpos s es s the abil itytoprodu ce an
T abl e 46 .1
Som e im portan tobj ects
Obj ectCl as s
AT M
Av atar
Bag, Box
Book
Bu reau crat-in -a-box
Chan ge-o-m atic
Ches t, Saf e
Cl u b, Gu n , Kn if e
Com pas s
Door
Dru gs
El ev ator
F l as hl ight
F ou n tain
Gam e piece
Garbage can
Gl u e
Grou n d, Sky
Head
Key
Kn ick-Kn ack
Magic Wan d
P l an t, R ock, T ree
R egion
Sen s or
Sign
Stu n Gu n
T el eportbooth
T oken s
Ven droid
F u n ction
Au tom atic T oken Machin e; Acces s toan Av atar' s Ban k Accou n t
R epres en ts the pl ayerin the Habitatw orl d
Con tain ers in w hichthin gs m aybe carried
Docu m en tf orAv atars toread ( e.g., the dail yn ew s paper)
Com m u n ication w iths ys tem operators
Dev ice tochan ge Av atargen der
Con tain ers in w hichthin gs m aybe s tored
Variou s w eapon s
P oin ts direction toWes tP ol e
P as s age f rom on e region toan other; can be l ocked
Variou s types ; chan ges Av atarbodys tate, e.g., cu re w ou n ds
T ran s portation f rom on e f l oorof atal l bu il din g toan other
P rov ides l ightin dark pl aces
Scen ic highl ight; prov ides com m u n ication tos ys tem des ign ers
En abl es v ariou s board gam es : backgam m on , checkers , ches s , etc.
Dis pos es of u n w an ted obj ects
Sys tem bu il din g tool ; attached obj ects together
T he u n derpin n in gs of the w orl d
An Av atar' s head; com es in m an ys tyl es ; f orcu s tom ization
U n l ocks doors an d othercon tain ers
Gen eric in ertobj ect; f ordecorativ e pu rpos es
Variou s types , can doal m os tan ythin g
Gen eric s cen ic obj ects
T he f ou n dation of real ity
Variou s types , detects otherw is e in v is ibl e con dition s in the w orl d
Al l ow s attachm en tof texttootherobj ects
N on l ethal w eapon s
Mean s of qu ick l on g-dis tan ce tran s port; an al ogou s tophon e booth
Habitatm on ey
Ven din g m achin e; s el l s thin gs
a -1-9 -9 -1 46 . Lu cas f il m ' s Habitat w as o~~e ~~~~oe A o
au tom aton thatev en approaches the com pl exityof areal
hu m an bein g, l etal on e as ociety. Ou rapproach, then , w as
an d is n otev en toattem ptthis , bu tin s tead tou s e the
com pu tation al m ediu m toau gm en tthe com m u n ication s
chan n el s betw een real peopl e.
If w hatw e are con s tru ctin g is am an y-u s eren v iron m en t, it
n atu ral l yf ol l ow s thats om e s ortof com m u n ication s
capabil itym u s tbe f u n dam en tal toou rs ys tem . How ev er, w e
m u s ttake in toaccou n tan obs erv ation thatis the s econ d of
ou rprin cipl es :
Com m u n ication s ban dw idthis as carce res ou rce.
T his poin tw as driv en hom e tou s byon e of Habitats n as tier,
extern al l yim pos ed, des ign con s train ts , n am el y, thatit
prov ide as atis f actoryexperien ce tothe pl ayerov era300-
bau d s erial tel ephon e con n ection ( on e rou ted, m oreov er,
throu ghcom m ercial packet s w itchin g n etw orks thatim pos e
an addition al , u n con trol l abl e l aten cyof 100to5000
m il l is econ ds on eachpackettran s m itted).
Ev en in am ore techn ical l yadv an ced n etw ork, how ev er,
ban dw idthrem ain s s carce in the s en s e thatecon om is ts u s e
the term :av ail abl e carryin g capacityis n otu n l im ited. T he
l aw of s u ppl yan d dem an d s u gges ts thatn om atterhow
m u chcapacityis av ail abl e, you al w ays w an tm ore. When
com m u n ication s techn ol ogyadv an ces tothe poin tw here w e
al l hav e m u l tigigabau d f iber~optic con n ection s in toou r
hom es , com pu tation al techn ol ogyw il l hav e adv an ced to
m atch. Ou rproces s ors expan din g appetite f ordataw il l
m ean thatthe s earchf orev erm ore s ophis ticated data
com pres s ion techn iqu es w il l s til l be ahotres earcharea
( thou ghw hatw e are com pres s in g m ayatthatpoin tbe high-
res ol u tion v ol u m etric tim e-s eries ors om ethin g ev en m ore
es oteric)( Drexl er19 86 ).
Com pu ters cien tis ts ten d tobe redu ction is ts w hol ike to
organ ize s ys tem s in term s of prim itiv e el em en ts thatcan be
eas il ym an ipu l ated w ithin the con textof as im pl e f orm al
m odel . T ypical l y, you adoptas m al l v arietyof v erys im pl e
prim itiv es , w hichare then u s ed in l arge n u m bers . F ora
graphics -orien ted cybers pace s ys tem , the tem ptation is to
bu il d u pon bit-m apped im ages orpol ygon s ors om e other
graphic prim itiv e. T hes e s orts of repres en tation s , how ev er,
are in v itation s todis as ter. T heyaris e f rom an in appropriate
f ixation on dis pl aytechn ol ogy, ratherthan on the u n derl yin g
pu rpos e of the s ys tem .
How ev er, the m os ts ign if ican tpartof w hatw e w is htobe
com m u n icatin g are hu m an behav iors . T hes e, f ortu n atel y, can
be repres en ted qu ite com pactl y, prov ided w e adopta
rel ativ el yabs tract, high-l ev el des cription thatdeal s w ith
behav ioral con cepts directl y. T his l eads toou rthird prin cipl e:
An obj ect-orien ted data
repres en tation is es s en tial .
T aken atits f ace v al u e, this as s ertion is u n l ikel ytobe
con trov ers ial , as obj ect-orien ted program m in g is cu rren tl y
the m ethodol ogyof choice am on g the s of tw are en gin eerin g
cogn os cen ti. How ev er, w hatw e m ean here is n oton l ythat
you s hou l d adoptan obj ect orien ted approach, bu tthatthe
bas ic obj ects f rom w hichyou bu il d the s ys tem s hou l d
corres pon d m ore orl es s tothe obj ects in the u s ers
con ceptu al m odel of the v irtu al w orl d, thatis , peopl e, pl aces ,
an d artif acts . Y ou cou l d, of cou rs e, u s e obj ect-orien ted
program m in g techn iqu es tobu il d as ys tem bas ed on , s ay,
pol ygon s , bu tthatw ou l d n othel ptocope w iththe
f u n dam en tal probl em .
T he goal is toen abl e the com m u n ication s betw een
m achin es totake pl ace prim aril yatthe behav ioral l ev el ( w hat
peopl e an d thin gs are doin g)ratherthan atthe pres en tation
l ev el ( how the s cen e is chan gin g). T he des cription of apl ace
in av irtu al w orl d s hou l d be in term s of w hatis there rather
than w hatitl ooks l ike. In teraction s betw een obj ects s hou l d
be des cribed byf u n ction al m odel s ratherthan byphys ical
on es . T he com pu tation n eces s arytotran s l ate betw een thes e
higher-l ev el repres en tation s an d the l ow er~l ev el
repres en tation s requ ired f ordirectu s erin teraction is an
es s en tial l yl ocal f u n ction . Atthe l ocal proces s or, dis pl ay-
ren derin g techn iqu es m aybe arbitraril yel aborate an d
phys ical m odel s arbitraril ys ophis ticated. T he datachan n el
capacities requ ired f ors u chcom pu tation s , how ev er, n eed n ot
an d s hou l d n otbe s qu eezed in tothe l im ited ban dw idth
av ail abl e betw een the l ocal proces s oran d rem ote on es .
Attem ptin g todos oj u s tl eads todis as ters s u chas N AP LP S
( AN SI19 83, Al ber19 85), w hichcou pl es dreadf u l
perf orm an ce w ithatdis pl aym odel f irm l yan chored in the
techn ol ogyof the 19 7 0s .
On ce w e began w orkin g atthe con ceptu al ratherthan the
pres en tation l ev el , w e w ere s tru ck bythe f ol l ow in g
obs erv ation :
T he im pl em en tation pl atf orm
is rel ativ el yu n im portan t.
T he pres en tation l ev el an d the con ceptu al l ev el can n ot( an d
s hou l d n ot)be total l yis ol ated f rom eachother. How ev er,
def in in g acybers pace in term s of the con f igu ration an d
46 . Lu cas f il m ' s Habitat
behav iorof obj ects , ratherthan theirpres en tation , en abl es u s
tos pan av as tran ge of com pu tation al an d dis pl aycapabil ities
am on g the participan ts in as ys tem . T his ran ge exten ds both
u pw ard an d dow n w ard. As an extrem e exam pl e, atypical
s cen ic obj ect, s u chas atree, can be repres en ted byahan df u l
of param eterv al u es . Atthe l ow es tcon ceiv abl e en d of thin gs
m ightbe an an cien tAl tair8800w itha300-bau d ASCII
du m b term in al , w here the in terf ace is redu ced tof ragm en ts
of textan d the u s ers ees the hu m bl e s trin g s of am il iartothe
pl ayers of textadv en tu re gam es :T here is atree here."Atthe
highen d, you m ighthav e apow erf u l proces s orthatgen erates
the im age of the tree bygrow in g af ractal m odel an d
ren derin g itthree dim en s ion s athighres ol u tion , the f in es t
detail s ray traced in real tim e, com pl ete w ithbran ches
w av in g in the breeze an d the s ou n d of w in d in the l eav es
com in g throu ghyou rheadphon es in high-f idel itydigital
s tereo. An d thes e tw ou s ers m ightbe l ookin g atthe s am e tree
in the s am e pl ace in the s am e w orl d an d tal kin g toeachother
as theydos o. Bothof thes e s cen arios are im pl au s ibl e atthe
m om en t, the f irs tbecau s e n obodyw ou l d s u f f erw iths u cha
cru de in terf ace w hen betteron es are s oreadil yav ail abl e, the
s econ d becau s e the com pu tation al hardw are does n otyet
exis t. T he poin t, how ev er, is thatthis approachcov ers the
grou n d betw een s ys tem s al readyobs ol ete an d on es thatare
as yetgl eam s in theirdes ign ers eyes . T w ocon s equ en ces of
this are s ign if ican t. T he f irs tis thatw e can bu il d ef f ectiv e
cybers pace s ys tem s today. Habitatexis ts as am pl e proof of
this prin cipl e. T he s econ d is thatitis con ceiv abl e thatw itha
m odicu m of cl ev ern es s an d f ores ightyou cou l d s tartbu il din g
as ys tem w ithtoday' s techn ol ogythatcou l d ev ol v e s m oothl y
as tom orrow s techn ol ogydev el ops . T he av ail abil ityof path-
w ays f orgrow this im portan tin the real w orl d, es pecial l yif
cybers pace is tobecom e as ign if ican tcom m u n ication s
m ediu m ( as w e obv iou s l ythin k its hou l d).
Giv en thatw e s ee cybers pace as f u n dam en tal l ya
com m u n ication s m ediu m ratherthan s im pl yau s erin terf ace
m odel , an d giv en the s tyl e of obj ect-orien ted approachthat
w e adv ocate, an otherpoin tbecom es cl ear:
Datacom m u n ication s s tan dards are v ital .
How ev er, ou rcon cern s abou tcybers pace data
com m u n ication s s tan dards cen terl es s u pon datatran s port
protocol s than u pon the def in ition of the databein g
tran s ported. T he m echan is m s requ ired f orrel iabl ygettin g
bits f rom poin tAtopoin tBare n otterribl yin teres tin g tou s .
T his is n otbecau s e thes e m echan is m s are n otes s en tial ( they
theN EWMEDIAR EADER
Lev el F u n ction
. l V .7 .7
' 1 \ Appl .1Cl l l 01' 1
i T T if i
6 P res en tation
___; ; ; ; ; _:,_::,:iT T ,T f L
5 Ses s ion
4 T ran s porr I
, i
3 3 N etw ork
2 1 m i-a<
1 5 ?% * ":* * ~
F igu re 46 .2 . T he 7 -l ayerISO ref eren ce m odel of open s ys tem
in tercon n ection .
obv iou s l yare)n orbecau s e theydon otpos e s ign if ican t
res earchan d en gin eerin g chal l en ges ( theycl earl ydo). Itis
becau s e w e w ere f ocu s ed on the u n iqu e com m u n ication s
n eeds of an obj ect~bas ed cybers pace. We w ere con cern ed
w iththe protocol s f ors en din g m es s ages betw een obj ects ,
thatis , f orcom m u n icatin g behav iorratherthan
pres en tation , an d f orcom m u n icatin g obj ectdef in ition s f rom
on e s ys tem toan other.
Com m u n icatin g obj ectdef in ition s s eem s tou s tobe an
es pecial l yim portan tprobl em , an d on e thatw e real l ydid n ot
hav e an opportu n itytoaddres s in Habitat. Itw il l be
n eces s arytoaddres s this probl em if w e are tohav e adyn am ic
s ys tem in the f u tu re. On ce the s ize of the s ys tem s u s erbas e
has grow n m odes tl yl arge, itbecom es im practical to
dis tribu te an ew rel eas e of the s ys tem s of tw are ev erytim e
on e w an ts toadd an ew cl as s of obj ect. How ev er, w e f eel the
abil itytoadd n ew cl as s es of obj ects ov ertim e is cru cial if the
s ys tem is tobe abl e toev ol v e.
Whil e w e are on the s u bj ectof com m u n ication s s tan dards ,
w e w ou l d l ike tom ake s om e rem arks abou tthe ISO
R ef eren ce Model of Open Sys tem In tercon n ection ( ISO
19 86 ). T his s ev en -l ayerm odel has becom e acen terpiece of
m os tdis cu s s ion s abou tdatacom m u n ication s s tan dards
today. Itis s of irm l yes tabl is hed in the datacom m u n ication s
s tan dards com m u n itythatitis v irtu al l yim pos s ibl e tof in d a
s eriou s con tem porarypu bl ication on the s u bj ectthatdoes
n otbegin w iths om e v ariation on F igu re 46 .2 . U n f ortu n atel y,
w hil e the bottom f ou rorf iv e l ayers of this m odel prov ide a
m ore orl es s s ou n d f ram ew ork f orcon s iderin g datatran s port
is s u es , w e bel iev e thatthe m odel ' s P res en tation an d
Appl ication l ayers are n otv eryhel pf u l w hen con s iderin g
cybers pace datacom m u n ication s .
We hav e tw om ain qu arrel s w iththe ISO m odel :f irs t, it
partition s the gen eral datacom m u n ication s probl em in a
a- ea 0 .19 9 7 46 . Lu cas f il m ' s Habitat
Lev el F u n ction
6 De n ition
5 Mes s age
4
i.
T ran s port
l
.1;
3 N etw ork
2 Lin k
1 I P hys ical
F igu re 46 .3. Apos s ibl e al tern ativ e protocol m odel .
w aythatis apoorm atchf orthe n eeds of acybers pace
s ys tem ; s econ d, an d m ore im portan t, w e thin k thatthe
m odel its el f is an activ e s ou rce of con f u s ion becau s e it
f ocu s es the atten tion of s ys tem des ign ers on the w ron g s et
of is s u es an d thu s l eads them tos pen d theirtim e s ol v in g the
w ron g s etof probl em s . We kn ow becau s e this happen ed to
u s . P res en tation an d Appl ication are s im pl ythe w ron g
abs traction s f orthe higherl ev el s of acybers pace
com m u n ication s protocol . AP res en tation protocol
pres u m es thatatl eas ts om e characteris tics of the dis pl ayare
em bedded in the protocol . T he dis cu s s ion s abov e s hou l d giv e
s om e in dication w hyw e thin k thats u chapres u m ption is
bothu n n eces s aryan d u n w is e. Certain l y, an Appl ication
protocol pres u m es adegree of f orekn ow l edge of the m es s age
en v iron m en tthatis in com patibl e w iththe s ortof
dyn am ical l yev ol v in g obj ects ys tem w e en v is ion .
Abetterm odel w ou l d be tos u bs titu te adif f eren tpairof
topl ayers ( F igu re 46 .3):aMes s age l ayer, w hichdef in es the
m ean s byw hichobj ects can addres s on e an otheran d
s tan dard m ethods of en caps u l atin g s tru ctu red dataan d
en codin g l ow -l ev el datatypes ( n u m bers ); an d aDef in ition
l ayerbu il ton topof the Mes s age l ayer, w hichdef in es a
s tan dard repres en tation f orobj ectdef in ition s s othatobj ect
cl as s es can m igrate f rom m achin e tom achin e. On e m ight
argu e thatthes e are s im pl yP res en tation an d Appl ication
w ithdif f eren tl abel s . How ev er, the dif f eren ces are s oeas il y
recon cil ed. In particu l ar, w e thin k the ISO m odel has ,
how ev eru n in ten tion al l y, s ys tem atical l ydef l ected w orkers
in the f iel d f rom con s iderin g m an yof the is s u es that
con cern u s .
Worl d Bu il din g
T here w ere tw os orts of im pl em en tation chal l en ges that
Habitatpos ed. T he f irs tw as the chal l en ge of creatin g a
w orkin g piece of techn ol ogy dev el opin g the an im ation
en gin e, the obj ect-orien ted v irtu al m em ory, the m es s age-
pas s in g ps eu dooperatin g s ys tem , an d s qu eezin g them al l
in tothe l u dicrou s Com m odore 6 4( the backen d s ys tem al s o
pos ed in teres tin g techn ical probl em s , bu tits con s train ts w ere
n otas v iciou s ). T he s econ d chal l en ge w as the creation an d
m an agem en tof the Habitatw orl d its el f . Itis the experien ces
f rom the l atterexercis e thatw e thin k w il l be m os trel ev an tto
f u tu re cybers pace des ign ers .
In itial l y, w e w ere ou row n w ors ten em ies in this
u n dertakin g, v ictim s of aw ayof thin kin g tow hichal l
en gin eers are dan gerou s l ys u s ceptibl e. T his w ayof thin kin g
is characterized bythe con ceitthatal l thin gs m aybe pl an n ed
in adv an ce an d then directl yim pl em en ted accordin g tothe
pl an s detail ed s pecif ication . F orpers on s s chool ed in the
des ign an d con s tru ction of s ys tem s bas ed on s im pl e, w el l -
def in ed, an d w el l -u n ders tood f ou n dation prin cipl es , this is a
n atu ral attitu de tohav e. Moreov er, itis en tirel yappropriate
w hen u n dertakin g m os ten gin eerin g proj ects . Itis af ram e of
m in d thatis an es s en tial partof agood en gin eers con ceptu al
tool kit. Al as , in keepin g w ithMas l ow s as s ertion thattothe
pers on w hohas on l yaham m er, al l the w orl d l ooks l ike a
n ail , itis af ram e of m in d thatis eas ytocarrybeyon d its
ran ge of appl icabil ity. T his happen s w hen as ys tem exceeds
the thres hol d of com pl exityabov e w hichthe hu m an m in d
l os es its abil itytom ain tain acom pl ete an d coheren tm odel .
On e gen eral l yhears abou ts ys tem s cros s in g the com pl exity
thres hol d w hen theybecom e v eryl arge. F orexam pl e, the
Space Shu ttl e an d the B-2 bom berare boths ys tem s abov e
this thres hol d, n eces s itatin g extraordin aril yin v ol v ed,
cu m bers om e, an d tim e-con s u m in g procedu res tokeepthe
des ign u n dercon trol - procedu res thatare aton ce v as tl y
expen s iv e an d on l ypartial l ys u cces s f u l . T oadegree, the
com pl exityof aprobl em can be dis s ol v ed bythrow in g
m on ey"atit:f as tercom pu ters , m ore m an agers , m ore
bu reau cratic procedu res , an d s oon . How ev er, s u chcapital
in ten s iv e m an agem en ttechn iqu es are al u xu ryn otav ail abl e
tom os tproj ects . F u rtherm ore, al thou ghthes e s ol u tion s to
the com pl exityprobl em m aybe ou tof reachof m os tproj ects ,
al as the com pl exitythres hol d its el f is n ot. Sm al l ers ys tem s
can s u f f erf rom the s am e s orts of probl em s . Itis pos s ibl e to
pu s hm u chs m al l eran d l es s el aborate s ys tem s ov erthe
com pl exitythres hol d s im pl ybyin trodu cin g chaotic el em en ts
thatare ou ts ide the des ign ers s phere of con trol or
u n ders tan din g. T he m os ts ign if ican tof s u chchaotic
46 . Lu cas f il m ' s Habitat
el em en ts are au ton om ou s com pu tation al agen ts ( other
com pu ters ). T his is w hy, f orexam pl e, debu ggin g ev en v ery
s im pl e com m u n ication s protocol s of ten prov es s u rpris in gl y
dif f icu l t. F u rtherm ore, as pecial circl e of l iv in g hel l aw aits the
im pl em en tors of s ys tem s in v ol v in g thatm os tim portan t
categoryof au ton om ou s com pu tation al agen ts of al l :grou ps
of in teractin g hu m an bein gs . T his l eads directl ytoou rn ext
( an d pos s ibl ym os tcon trov ers ial )as s ertion :
Detail ed cen tral pl an n in g is im pos s ibl e;
don ' tev en try.
T he con s tru ctiv is tprej u dice thatl eads en gin eers in tothe
kin ds of probl em s j u s tm en tion ed has receiv ed m ore s tu dy
f rom econ om is ts , phil os ophers , an d s ociol ogis ts ( P opper
19 6 2 , 19 7 2 ; Hayek 19 7 3, 19 7 8, 19 89 ; Sow el l 19 87 )than
f rom res earchers in the s of tw are en gin eerin g com m u n ity.
Gam e an d s im u l ation des ign ers are experien ced in creatin g
cl os ed v irtu al w orl ds f orin div idu al s an d s m al l grou ps .
How ev er, theyhav e had n oreas on tol earn todeal w ithl arge
popu l ation s of s im u l tan eou s u s ers . Eachu s erors m al l grou p
is u n rel ated tothe others , an d the s am e w orl d can be u s ed
ov eran d ov eragain . If you are pl ayin g an adv en tu re gam e,
the f actthatthou s an ds of otherpeopl e el s ew here in the
( real )w orl d are pl ayin g the s am e gam e has n oef f ecton you r
experien ce. Itis reas on abl e f orthe creatorof s u chaw orl d to
s pen d ten s orev en hu n dreds of hou rs craf tin g the
en v iron m en tf oreachhou rthatau s erw il l s pen d in teractin g
w ithit, s in ce thatu s ers hou rof experien ce w il l be du pl icated
ten s of thou s an ds of tim es byten s of thou s an ds of other
in div idu al u s ers .
Bu il ders of todays on -l in e s erv ices an d com m u n ication s
n etw orks are experien ced in deal in g w ithl arge u s er
popu l ation s , bu ttheydon ot, in gen eral , create el aborate
en v iron m en ts . F u rtherm ore, in as ys tem des ign ed todel iv er
in f orm ation orcom m u n ication s s erv ices , l arge n u m bers of
u s ers are s im pl yal oad probl em ratherthan acom pl exity
probl em . Al l u s ers getthe s am e in f orm ation ors erv ices ; the
com m en ts in the prev iou s paragraphregardin g du pl ication
of experien ce appl yhere as w el l . Itis n otn eces s arytom atch
the s ize an d com pl exityof the in f orm ation s pace tothe s ize
of the u s erpopu l ation . Whil e itm aytu rn ou tthatthe
qu an tityof in f orm ation av ail abl e on as erv ice is l argel ya
f u n ction of the s ize of the u s erpopu l ation its el f , this
in f orm ation can gen eral l ybe organ ized in toas ys tem atic
s tru ctu re thatcan s til l be m ain tain ed byaf ew peopl e. T he
bu l k of this in f orm ation is produ ced bythe u s ers them s el v es ,
theN EWMEDIAR EADER
ratherthan the s ys tem des ign ers . ( T his obs erv ation , in f act,
is the f irs tcl u e tothe s ol u tion toou rprobl em .)
Ou rorigin al , con tractu al s pecif ication f orHabitatcal l ed
f oru s tocreate aw orl d capabl e of s u pportin g apopu l ation of
2 0,000Av atars , w ithexpan s ion pl an s f oru pto50,000. By
an yreckon in g this w as al arge u n dertakin g an d com pl exity
probl em s w ou l d certain l ybe expected. How ev er, in practice
w e exceeded the com pl exitythres hol d v eryearl yin
dev el opm en t. Bythe tim e the popu l ation of ou ron -l in e
com m u n ityhad reached arou n d 50w e w ere in ov erou r
heads ( an d thes e 50w ere in s iders w how ere prepared tobe
tol eran tof hol es an d rou ghedges ).
Moreov er, av irtu al w orl d s u chas Habitatn eeds tos cal e
w ithits popu l ation . F or2 0,000Av atars w e n eeded 2 0,000
hou s es , organ ized in totow n s an d cities w ithas s ociated
traf f ic arteries an d s hoppin g an d recreation al areas . We
n eeded w il dern es s areas betw een the tow n s s othatev eryon e
w ou l d n otbe j am m ed togetherin tothe s am e pl ace. Mos tof
al l , w e n eeded thin gs f or2 0,000peopl e todo. T heyn eeded
in teres tin g pl aces tov is it an d s in ce theycan ital l be in the
s am e pl ace atthe s am e tim e, theyn eeded al otof in teres tin g
pl aces tov is it an d thin gs todoin thos e pl aces . Eachof
thos e hou s es , tow n s , roads , s hops , f ores ts , theaters , aren as ,
an d otherpl aces is adis tin cten titythats om eon e n eeds to
des ign an d create. Attem ptin g topl aythe rol e of om n is cien t
cen tral pl an n ers , w e w ere s w am ped.
Au tom ated tool s m aybe created toaid the gen eration of
areas thatn atu ral l ypos s es s ahighdegree of regu l arityan d
s tru ctu re, s u chas apartm en tbu il din gs an d road n etw orks .
We created an u m berof s u chtool s , w hos e s piritu al
des cen den ts w il l n odou btbe f ou n d in the s tan dard bag of
tricks of f u tu re cybers pace architects . How ev er, the v ery
properties thatm ake s om e parts of the w orl d am en abl e to
s u chtechn iqu es al s om ake thos e s am e parts of the w orl d
am on g the l eas tim portan t. Itis real l yn otaprobl em if ev ery
apartm en tbu il din g l ooks prettym u chl ike ev eryother. Itis a
big probl em if ev eryen chan ted f ores tl ooks the s am e. P l aces
w hos e v al u e l ies in theiru n iqu en es s , oratl eas tin theirdif f er-
en tiation f rom the pl aces arou n d them , n eed tobe craf ted by
han d. T his is an in credibl yl abor-in ten s iv e an d tim e-
con s u m in g proces s . F u rtherm ore, ev en v eryim agin ativ e
peopl e are l im ited in the ran ge of v ariation thattheycan
produ ce, es pecial l yif theyare w orkin g in av irgin
en v iron m en tu n in f l u en ced bythe w orks an d reaction s of
otherdes ign ers .
or1 0* 1 ; ----3 A A -~~~---ere A 0
R u n n in g the Worl d
T he w orl d des ign probl em m ights til l be tractabl e, how ev er, if
al l pl ayers had the s am e goal s , in teres ts , m otiv ation s , an d
types of behav ior. R eal peopl e, how ev er, are al l dif f eren t. F or
the des ign erof an ordin arygam e ors im u l ation , hu m an
div ers ityis n otam aj orprobl em , s in ce he ors he gets to
es tabl is hthe goal s an d m otiv ation s on the participan ts
behal f , an d tos pecif ythe activ ities av ail abl e tothem in order
tochan n el ev en ts in the pref erred direction . Habitat,
how ev er, w as del iberatel yopen -en ded an d pl u ral is tic. T he
ideabehin d ou rw orl d w as precis el ythatitdid n otcom e w ith
af ixed s etof obj ectiv es f orits in habitan ts , bu trather
prov ided abroad pal ette of pos s ibl e activ ities f rom w hichthe
pl ayers cou l d choos e, driv en bytheirow n in tern al
in cl in ation s . Itw as ou rin ten tion toprov ide av arietyof
pos s ibl e experien ces , ran gin g f rom ev en ts w ithes tabl is hed
ru l es an d goal s ( atreas u re hu n t, f orexam pl e)toactiv ities
propel l ed bythe pl ayers pers on al m otiv ation s ( s tartin g a
bu s in es s , ru n n in g the n ew s paper)tocom pl etel yf ree-f orm ,
pu rel yexis ten tial activ ities ( han gin g ou tw ithf rien ds an d
con v ers in g). Mos tactiv ities , how ev er, in v ol v ed s om e degree
of pl an n in g an d s etu pon ou rpart. We w ere tobe l ike the
cru is e directoron aocean v oyage, bu tittu rn ed ou tw e w ere
s til l thin kin g l ike gam e des ign ers .
T he f irs tgoal -directed ev en tpl an n ed f orHabitatw as a
ratherin v ol v ed treas u re hu n tcal l ed the Dn al s iIs l an d
Adv en tu re. Ittook u s hou rs todes ign , w eeks tobu il d
( in cl u din g a100-region is l an d), an d days tocoordin ate the
actors in v ol v ed. Itw as des ign ed m u chl ike the pu zzl es in an
adv en tu re gam e. We thou ghtitw ou l d occu pyou rpl ayers f or
days . In f act, the pu zzl e w as s ol v ed in abou t8 hou rs bya
pers on w hohad f igu red ou tthe critical cl u e in the f irs t
15m in u tes . Man yof the pl ayers hadn ' tev en had achan ce to
getin tothe gam e. T he res u l tw as thaton e pers on had had a
w on derf u l experien ce, dozen s of others w ere l ef tbew il dered,
an d ahu ge in v es tm en tin des ign an d s etu ptim e had been
con s u m ed in an eye bl in k. We expected thatthere w ou l d be a
w ide ran ge of adv en tu rin g s kil l s in the Habitatau dien ce.
Whatw as n its oobv iou s u n til af terw ard w as thatthis m ean t
thatm os tpeopl e didn ' thav e av erygood tim e, if f orn oother
reas on than thattheyn ev erreal l ygottoparticipate. Itw ou l d
cl earl ybe f ool is han d im practical f oru s todothin gs l ike this
on aregu l arbas is .
Again an d again w e f ou n d thatactiv ities bas ed on of ten
u n con s ciou s as s u m ption s abou tpl ayerbehav iorhad
._Q ............_~ Q 1-... g ~ ' _~
0119 33 46 . Lu cas f il m ' s Habitat
com pl etel yu n expected ou tcom es ( w hen theyw ere n ot
s im pl you trightf ail u res ). Itw as cl earthatw e w ere n otin
con trol . T he m ore peopl e w e in v ol v ed in s om ethin g, the l es s
in con trol w e w ere. We cou l d in f l u en ce thin gs , w e cou l d s et
u pin teres tin g s itu ation s , w e cou l d prov ide opportu n ities f or
thin gs tohappen , bu tw e cou l d n otpredictordictate the
ou tcom e. Social en gin eerin g is , atbes t, an in exacts cien ce,
ev en in protocybers paces . Or, as s om e w ag on ce s aid, In the
m os tcaref u l l ycon s tru cted experim en tu n derthe m os t
caref u l l ycon trol l ed con dition s , the organ is m w il l do
w hatev eritdam n w el l pl eas es .-
P ropel l ed bythes e experien ces , w e s hif ted in toas tyl e of
operation s in w hichw e l etthe pl ayers them s el v es driv e the
direction of the des ign . T his prov ed f arm ore ef f ectiv e. In s tead
of tryin g topu s hthe com m u n ityin the direction w e thou ght
its hou l d go, an exercis eratherl ike herdin g m ice, w e tried to
obs erv e w hatpeopl e w ere doin g an d aid them in it. We
becam e f acil itators as m u chas des ign ers an d im pl em en tors .
T his of ten m ean taddin g n ew f eatu res an d n ew region s tothe
s ys tem ataf ran tic pace, bu tal m os tal l of w hatw e added w as
u s ed an d appreciated, s in ce itw as w el l m atched topeopl es
n eeds an d des ires . As the experts on how the s ys tem w orked,
w e cou l d of ten s u gges tn ew activ ities f orpeopl e totryor
w ays of doin g thin gs thatpeopl e m ightn othav e thou ghtof .
In this w ayw e w ere abl e tohav e con s iderabl e in f l u en ce on the
s ys tem s dev el opm en tin s pite of the f actthatw e didn ' treal l y
hol d the s teerin g w heel m ore in f l u en ce, in f act, than w e had
had w hen w e w ere operatin g u n derthe del u s ion thatw e
con trol l ed ev erythin g.
In deed, the chal l en ges pos ed byl arge s ys tem s in gen eral
are prom ptin g s om e res earchers toqu es tion the cen tral ized,
pl an n in g dom in ated attitu de thatw e hav e criticized here,
an d topropos e al tern ativ e approaches bas ed on ev ol u tion ary
an d m arketprin cipl es ( Mil l eran d Drexl er19 88a, 19 88b;
Drexl eran d Mil l er19 88). T hes e prin cipl es appearappl icabl e
tocom pl exs ys tem s of al l types , n otm erel ythos e in v ol v in g
in teractin g hu m an bein gs .
T he GreatDebate
Am on g the obj ects w e m ade av ail abl e toAv atars in Habitat
w ere gu n s an d v ariou s others orts of w eapon s . We in cl u ded
thes e becau s e w e f el tthatpl ayers s hou l d be abl e to
m aterial l y ef f ecteachotherin w ays thatw en tbeyon d
s im pl ytal kin g, w ays thatrequ ired real m oral choices tobe
m ade bythe participan ts . We recogn ized the age-ol d
46 . Lu cas f il m ' s Habitat
s torytel l ers dictu m thatcon f l ictis the es s en ce of dram a.
Deathin Habitatw as , of cou rs e, n otl ike deathin the real
w orl d! When an Av ataris kil l ed, he ors he is tel eported back
hom e, head in han ds ( l iteral l y), pockets em pty, an d an y
obj ectin han d atthe tim e dropped on the grou n d atthe
s cen e of the crim e. An ypos s es s ion s carried atthe tim e are
l os t. Itw as m ore l ike as etback in agam e of Chu tes an d
Ladders than real m ortal ity. N ev erthel es s , the death
m etaphorhad aprof ou n d ef f ecton peopl es perception s . T his
poten tial f orm u rder, as s au l t, an d otherm ayhem in Habitat
w as , topu titm il dl y, con trov ers ial . T he con trov ers yw as
f u rtherf u el ed bythe poten tial f orl es s ercrim es . F orin s tan ce,
on e Av atarcou l d s teal s om ethin g f rom an otherAv atar
s im pl ybys n atchin g the obj ectou tits ow n ers han ds an d
ru n n in g of f w ithit.
We had im pos ed v eryf ew ru l es on the w orl d atthe s tart.
T here w as m u chdebate am on g the pl ayers as tothe f orm
thatHabitats ocietys hou l d take. Atthe core of m u chof the
debate w as an u n res ol v ed phil os ophical qu es tion :Is an
Av ataran exten s ion of ahu m an bein g ( thu s en titl ed tobe
treated as you w ou l d treatareal pers on )oraP ac-Man -l ike
critterdes tin ed todie athou s an d deaths ors om ethin g el s e
en tirel y?Is Habitatm u rderacrim e?Shou l d al l w eapon s be
ban n ed?Oris ital l j u s tagam e?T om ake apoin t, on e of
the pl ayers took toran dom l ys hootin g peopl e as theyroam ed
arou n d. T he debate w as s u f f icien tl yv igorou s thatw e took a
s ys tem atic pol l of the pl ayers . T he_res u l tw as am bigu ou s :50
percen ts aid thatHabitatm u rderw as acrim e an d s hou l dn t
be apartof the w orl d, w hil e the other50percen ts aid itw as
an im portan tpartof the f u n .
We com prom is ed bychan gin g the s ys tem toal l ow thiev ery
an d gu n pl ayon l you ts ide the cityl im its . T he w il dern es s
w ou l d be w il d an d dan gerou s w hil e civ il ization w ou l d be
orderl yan d s af e. T his did n otres ol v e the debate, how ev er.
On e of the ou ts tan din g propon en ts of the an tiv iol en ce poin t
of v iew w as m otiv ated toopen the f irs tHabitatchu rch, the
Orderof the Hol yWal n u t( in real l if e he w as aGreek
Orthodoxpries t). His can on s f orbid his dis cipl es tocarry
w eapon s , s teal , orparticipate in v iol en ce of an ykin d. His
chu rchbecam e qu ite popu l aran d he becam e av eryhighl y
res pected m em berof the Habitatcom m u n ity.
F u rtherm ore, w hil e w e had m ade directthef tim pos s ibl e,
on e cou l d s til l en gage in in directthef tbys teal in g thin gs s et
on the grou n d m om en taril yorotherw is e l ef tu n atten ded.
An d the v iol en ce s til l pos s ibl e in the ou tl an ds con tin u ed to
theN EWMEDIAR EADER
bothers om e pl ayers . Man ypeopl e thou ghtthats u chcrim es
ou ghttobe prev en ted oratl eas tpu n is hed s om ehow , bu t
theyhad n oideahow todos o. T heyw ere accu s tom ed toa
w orl d in w hichl aw an d j u s tice w ere al w ays prov ided by
s om ebodyel s e. Som ebodyev en tu al l ym ade the s u gges tion
thatthere ou ghttobe aSherif f . We qu ickl yf igu red ou thow
tocreate av otin g m echan is m an d rou n ded u ps om e
v ol u n teers tohol d an el ection . Apu bl ic debate in the tow n
m eetin g hal l w as heav il yatten ded, w iththe three Av atars
w hohad chos en toru n m akin g s tatem en ts an d f iel din g
qu es tion s . T he el ection w as hel d, an d the tow n of
P opu l opol is acqu ired aSherif f .-
F orw eeks the Sherif f w as n othin g bu taf igu rehead,
thou ghhe w as ares pected f igu re an d com m an ded acertain
am ou n tof m oral au thority. We w ere s tu m ped abou tw hat
pow ers togiv e him . Shou l d he hav e the righttos hootan yon e
an yw here?Giv e him am ore pow erf u l gu n ?Am agic w an d to
zappeopl e of f toj ail ?Whatabou tcou rts ?Law s ?Law yers ?
Again w e s u rv eyed the pl ayers , ev en tu al l ys ettl in g on as etof
qu es tion s thatcou l d be an s w ered v iaaref eren du m .
U n f ortu n atel y, w e w ere u n abl e toacton the res u l ts bef ore
the pil otoperation s en ded an d the v ers ion of the s ys tem in
w hichthes e ev en ts took pl ace w as s hu tdow n . Itw as cl ear,
how ev er, thatthere are tw obas ic cam ps :an archis ts an d
s tatis ts . T his div is ion of characters an d w orl d v iew s is an
is s u e thatw il l n eed tobe addres s ed byf u tu re cybers pace
architects . How ev er, ou rv iew rem ain s thatav irtu al w orl d
n eed n otbe s etu pw ithadef au l t gov ern m en tbu tcan
in s tead ev ol v e on e as n eeded.
AWarn in g
Giv en the abov e exhortation thatcon trol s hou l d be rel eas ed
tothe u s ers , w e n eed toin j ectan ote of cau tion an d pres en t
ou rn extas s ertion :
Y ou can ' ttru s tan yon e.
T his m ays eem l ike acon tradiction of m u chof the precedin g,
bu titreal l yis n ot. Des ign ers an d operators of acybers pace
s ys tem m u s tin habittw ol ev el s of v irtu al ity aton ce. T he
f irs tw e cal l the in f ras tru ctu re l ev el , the l ev el of .
im pl em en tation , w here the l aw s thatgov ern real ity hav e
theirgen es is . T he s econ d w e cal l the experien tial l ev el ,
w hichis w hatthe u s ers s ee an d in teractw ith. Itis im portan t
thatthere n otbe l eakage betw een thes e tw ol ev el s . T he
f irs tl ev el def in es the phys ics of the w orl d. If its in tegrityis
breached, the con s equ en ces can ran ge f rom aes thetic
0- -o---------4- ~ ~ 4 -----0--- ~-
u n pl eas an tn es s ( the au dien ce catches agl im ps e of the
s caf f ol din g behin d the f al s e f ron t)tops ychol ogical
dis ru ption ( s om ebodydoes s om ethin g im pos s ibl e, thereby
v iol atin g u s ers expectation s an d dam agin g theirf an tas y)to
catas trophic f ail u re ( s om ebodycras hes the s ys tem ). When
w e exhortcybers pace s ys tem des ign ers togiv e con trol . tothe
u s ers , w e m ean con trol atthe experien tial l ev el . When w e s ay
thatyou can ttru s tan yon e, w e m ean thatyou can ttru s t
them w ithacces s tothe in f ras tru ctu re l ev el . Som e s tories
f rom Habitatw il l il l u s trate this .
When des ign in g apiece of s of tw are, you gen eral l yas s u m e
thatthe s of tw are is the s ol e in term ediarybetw een the u s er
an d the u n derl yin g databein g m an ipu l ated ( pos s ibl ym u l tipl e
appl ication s w il l w iththe s am e data, bu tthe prin cipl e
rem ain s the s am e). In gen eral , the u s ern eed n otbe aw are of
how dataare en coded an d s tru ctu red in s ide the appl ication .
In deed, the v erypu rpos e of agood appl ication is tos hiel d the
u s erf rom the u gl ytechn ical detail s . Whil e itis con ceiv abl e
thatatechn ical l yas tu te pers on w hois w il l in g toin v es tthe
tim e an d ef f ortcou l d decipherthe in tern al s tru ctu re of
thin gs , this w ou l d be an u n u s u al thin g todoas there is rarel y
m u chadv an tage tobe gain ed. T he pu rpos e of the appl ication
its el f is , af teral l , tom ake acces s toan d m an ipu l ation of the
dataeas ierthan diggin g arou n d atthe l ev el of bits an d bytes .
T here are exception s tothis , how ev er. F orexam pl e, m os t
gam e program s del iberatel yim pos e obs tacl es on theirpl ayers
in orderf orpl aytobe chal l en gin g. Bytin kerin g arou n d w ith
the in s ides of s u chaprogram du m pin g the dataf il es an d
s tu dyin g them , dis as s em bl in g the program its el f an d pos s ibl y
m odif yin g it itm aybe pos s ibl e tocheat. How ev er, this
s ortof cheatin g has the f l av orof cheatin g ats ol itaire:the
con s equ en ces adhere tothe cheateral on e. T here is a
dif f eren ce, in thatdis as s em bl in g agam e program is apu zzl e-
s ol v in g exercis e in its ow n right, w hereas cheatin g ats ol itaire
is poin tl es s , bu tthe s atis f action s tobe gain ed f rom either, if
an y, are en tirel ypers on al .
If , how ev er, acom pu tergam e in v ol v es m u l tipl e pl ayers ,
then del v in g in tothe program s in tern al s can en abl e on e to
tru l ycheat, in the s en s e thaton e gain s an u n f airadv an tage
ov erthe otherpl ayers , an adv an tage m oreov erof w hichthey
m aybe u n aw are. Habitatis s u cham u l tipl ayergam e. When
w e w ere des ign in g the s of tw are, ou rprim e directiv e w as ,
T he backen d s hal l n otas s u m e the v al idityof an ythin g a
pl ayercom pu tertel l s it. T his is becau s e w e n eeded toprotect
ou rs el v es again s tthe pos s ibil itythatacl ev eru s erhad hacked
a---..-.-.._....-_-_..<_l 33* -33 46 . Lu cas f il m ' s Habitat
arou n d w ithhis copyof the f ron ten d program toadd
cu s tom f eatu res . F orexam pl e, w e cou l d n otim pl em en tan y
of the s ortof s kil l an d action el em en ts f ou n d in tradition al
v ideogam es w herein dexterityw iththe j oys tick determ in es
the ou tcom e of , s ay, arm ed com bat, becau s e w e cou l dn t
gu ard again s tu s ers m odif yin g theircopyof the program to
tel l the backen d thattheyhad hit, w hethertheyactu al l y
had orn ot. In deed, ou rpartn ers atQ u an tu m Lin k w arn ed u s
of this v eryev en tu al itybef ore w e ev en s tarted theyal ready
had u s ers w hodid this s ortof thin g w iththeirregu l ar
s ys tem . Wou l d an yon e actu al l ygotothe trou bl e of
dis as s em bl in g an d s tu dyin g 100Kors oof in credibl ytight
an d bizarrel ythreaded 6 502 m achin e code j u s ttotin ker?As
ittu rn s ou t, the an s w eris yes . P eopl e did. We w ere n ot100
percen trigorou s in f ol l ow in g ou row n ru l e. Ittu rn ed ou tthat
there w ere af ew f eatu res w hos e im pl em en tation w as greatl y
eas ed bybreakin g the ru l ein s itu ation s w here, in ou r
j u dgm en t, the con s equ en ces w ou l d n otbe m aterial if s om e
peopl e cheated byhackin g theirow n s ys tem s . Darn ed if
s om e peopl e didn thack theirs ys tem s tocheatin exactl y
thes e w ays .
Care m u s tbe taken in the des ign of the w orl d as w el l . On e
in ciden tthatoccu rred du rin g ou rpil ottes tin v ol v ed as m al l
grou pof pl ayers expl oitin g abu g in ou rw orl d databas e that
theyin terpreted as af eatu re. F irs t, s om e backgrou n d. Av atars
w ere hatched w ith2 000T oken s in theirban k accou n t, an d
eachdaythattheyl ogged in the receiv ed an other100T .
Av atars cou l d acqu ire addition al f u n ds byen gagin g in
bu s in es s , w in n in g con tes ts , f in din g bu ried treas u re, an d s o
on . T heycou l d s pen d theirT oken s on , am on g otherthin gs ,
v ariou s item s f ors al e in v en din g m achin es cal l ed Ven droids .
T here w ere al s oP aw n Machin es , w hichw ou l d bu yobj ects
back ( atadis cou n t, of cou rs e).
In ordertom ake this au tom ated econ om yal ittl e m ore
in teres tin g, eachVen droid had its ow n prices f orthe item s in
it. T his w as s othatw e cou l d hav e l ocal price v ariation ( a
w idgetw ou l d cos tal ittl e l es s if you bou ghtitatJacks P l ace
in s tead of T he Em poriu m ). Ittu rn ed ou tthatin tw o
Ven droids acros s tow n f rom eachotherw ere tw oitem s f or
s al e w hos e prices w e had in adv erten tl ys etl ow erthan w hata
P aw n Machin e w ou l d bu ythem back f or: Dol l s ( f ors al e at
7 5T , hock f or100T )an d Crys tal Bal l s ( f ors al e atl 8,000T ,
hock at30,000T l ). N atu ral l y, acou pl e of peopl e dis cov ered
this . On e n ighttheytook al l theirm on ey, w al ked tothe Dol l
Ven droid, bou ghtas m an yDol l s as theycou l d, then took
46 . Lu cas f il m ' s Habitat
them acros s tow n an d paw n ed them . Bys hu ttl in g back an d
f orthbetw een the Dol l Ven droid an d the P aw n Shopf or
hou rs , theyam as s ed s u f f icien tf u n ds tobu yaCrys tal Bal l ,
w hereu pon theycon tin u ed the proces s w ithCrys tal Bal l s
an d acou pl e orders of m agn itu de highercas hf l ow . T he f in al
res u l tw as atl eas tthree Av atars w ithhu n dreds of thou s an ds
of T oken s each. We on l ydis cov ered this the n extm orn in g
w hen ou rdail ydatabas e s tatu s reports aid thatthe m on ey
s u ppl yhad qu in tu pl ed ov ern ight.
We as s u m ed thatthe precipitou s in creas e in T 1 w as du e
tos om e s ortof bu g in the s of tw are. We w ere pu zzl ed thatn o
bu g reporthad been s u bm itted. Bypokin g arou n d abitw e
dis cov ered thataf ew peopl e had s u dden l yacqu ired
en orm ou s ban k bal an ces . We s en tHabitatm ail tothe tw o
riches t, in qu irin g as tow here theyhad gotten al l thatm on ey
ov ern ight. T heirrepl yw as , We gotitf airan d s qu are! An d
w ere n otgoin g totel l you how l Af term u chabj ectpl eadin g
on ou rparttheyev en tu al l ydid tel l u s , an d w e f ixed the
erron eou s pricin g. F ortu n atel y, the w hol e s cam tu rn ed ou t
w el l , as the n ou v eau riche Av atars u s ed theirbu l gin g
ban krol l s tou n derw rite as eries of treas u re hu n tgam es that
theycon du cted on theirow n in itiativ e, m u chtothe
en j oym en tof m an yotherpl ayers on the s ys tem .
Keepin g R eal ity Con s is ten t
T he u rge tobreachthe bou n darybetw een the in f ras tru ctu re
l ev el an d the experien tial l ev el is n otcon f in ed tothe pl ayers .
T he s ys tem operators are al s os u bj ecttothis tem ptation ,
thou ghtheirm otiv ation is expedien cyin accom pl is hin g their
l egitim ate pu rpos es ratherthan gain in g il l egitim ate
adv an tage. How ev er, tothe degree tow hichitis pos s ibl e, w e
v igorou s l yen dors e the f ol l ow in g prin cipl e:
Work w ithin the s ys tem .
Wherev erpos s ibl e, thin gs thatcan be don e w ithin the
f ram ew ork of the experien tial l ev el s hou l d be. T he res u l tw il l
be s m ootheroperation an d greaterharm on yam on g the u s er
com m u n ity. T his adm on ition appl ies toboththe techn ical
an d the s ociol ogical as pects of the s ys tem .
F orexam pl e, w iththe pl ayers in con trol , the Habitat
w orl d w ou l d hav e grow n m u chl argeran d m ore div ers e than
itdid had w e ou rs el v es n otbeen atechn ical bottl en eck. Al l
n ew region gen eration an d f eatu re im pl em en tation had to
gothrou ghu s , s in ce there w ere n om ean s f orpl ayers to
create n ew parts of the w orl d on theirow n . R egion creation
w as an es oteric techn ical s pecial ty, requ irin g apl ethoraof
theN EWMEDIAR EADER
obs cu re tool s an d agood w orkin g kn ow l edge of the
treacherou s m in ef iel d of l im itation s im pos ed bythe
Com m odore 6 4. Ital s orequ ired m u chbehin d-the-s cen es
activ ityof the s ortthatw ou l d probabl ys poil the il l u s ion f or
m an y. On e of the goal s of an extgen eration Habitat-l ike
s ys tem ou ghttobe toperm itf argreatercreativ e
in v ol v em en tbythe participan ts w ithou trequ irin g them to
as cen d tof u l l -f l edged gu ru hood todos o.
Af u rtherexam pl e of w orkin g w ithin the s ys tem , this tim e
in as ocial s en s e, is il l u s trated bythe f ol l ow in g experien ce:
On e of the m ore popu l arev en ts in Habitattook pl ace l ate
in the tes t, the brain chil d of on e of the m ore activ e pl ayers
w hohad recen tl ybecom e aQ u an tu m Lin k em pl oyee. Itw as
cal l ed the Du n geon of Death. F orw eeks , ads appeared in
Habitats n ew s paper, T he R an t, an n ou n cin g thatthe Du oof
Dread, DEAT H an d T HESHADOW, w ere chal l en gin g al l
com ers toen tertheirl air. Soon , on the ou ts kirts of tow n ,
the en tran ce toadu n geon appeared. Ou tf ron tw as as ign
readin g, Dan ger! En teratyou row n ris k! T w os ys tem
operators w ere l ogged in as DEAT H an d T HESHADOW,
arm ed w iths pecial l ycon cocted gu n s thatcou l d kil l in on e
s hot, ratherthan the u s u al tw el v e. T hes e tw ocharacters
roam ed the du n geon bl as tin g aw ayatan yon e they
en cou n tered. T heyw ere al s oequ ipped w iths pecial m agic
w an ds thatcu red an ydam age don e tothem byother
Av atars , s othattheyw ou l dn tthem s el v es be kil l ed. T om ake
thin gs w ors e, the pl ace w as l ittered w ithcu l -de-s acs ,
pathol ogical con n ection s betw een region s , an d v ariou s
othern as tyan d u s u al l yf atal f eatu res . Itw as cl earthatan y
expl orerhad betterbe prepared todie s ev eral tim es bef ore
m as terin g the du n geon . T he rew ards w ere prettygood:
1000T oken s m in im u m an d acces s toas pecial Ven droid
thats ol d m agic tel eportation w an ds . F u rtherm ore, giv en
cl earn otice, pl ayers took the precau tion of em ptyin g their
pockets bef ore en terin g, s othatthe actu al cos tof gettin g
kil l ed w as m in im al .
On e ev en in g, on e of u s w as giv en the chan ce topl aythe
rol e of DEAT H. When w e l ogged in , w e f ou n d him in on e of
the dead en ds w ithf ou rotherAv atars w how ere trapped
there. We s tarted s hootin g, as did they. How ev er, the l as t
operatortoru n DEAT H had n otbothered tou s e his s pecial
w an d toheal an yaccu m u l ated dam age, s othe characterof
DEAT H w as s u dden l yan d u n expectedl ykil l ed in the
en cou n ter. As w e m en tion ed earl ier, w hen an Av ataris kil l ed,
an yobj ectin his han ds is dropped on the grou n d. In this
0~ ~~-o- ~ ~o- 0 1------0
cas e, s aid obj ectw as the s pecial kil l -in -on e-s hotgu n , w hich
w as im m ediatel ypicked u pbyon e of the regu l arpl ayers w ho
then m ade of f w ithit. T his gu n w as n ots om ethin g that
regu l arpl ayers w ere s u ppos ed tohav e. Whats hou l d w e do?
Ittu rn ed ou tthatthis w as n otthe f irs ttim e this had
happen ed. Du rin g the prev iou s n ights m ayhem the s pecial
gu n w as s im il arl yabs con ded w ith. In this cas e, the pers on
pl ayin g DEAT H w as on e of the regu l ars ys tem operators ,
w ho, accu s tom ed tooperatin g the regu l arQ -Lin k s erv ice, had
s im pl yordered the pl ayertogiv e back the gu n . T he pl ayer
con s idered thathe had obtain ed the w eapon as partof the
n orm al cou rs e of the gam e an d bal ked atthis , w hereu pon the
operatorthreaten ed tocan cel the pl ayers accou n tan d kick
him of f the s ys tem if he did n otcom pl y. T he pl ayergav e the
gu n back, bu tw as qu ite u ps etabou tthe w hol e af f air, as w ere
m an yof his f rien ds an d as s ociates on the s ys tem . T heir
w orl d m odel had been pain f u l l yv iol ated.
When ithappen ed tou s , w e pl ayed the w hol e in ciden t
w ithin the rol e of DEAT H. We s en tam es s age tothe Av atar
w hohad the gu n , threaten in g tocom e an d kil l herif s he
didn tgiv e itback. She repl ied thatal l s he had todow as s tay
in tow n an d DEAT H cou l cl n ttou chher( w hichw as tru e, if
w e s tayed w ithin the s ys tem ). OK, w e f igu red, s hes s m art.
We n egotiated adeal w herebyDEAT H w ou l d ran s om the
gu n f or10,000T oken s . An el aborate arran gem en tw as m ade
tom eetin the cen terof tow n tom ake the exchan ge, w itha
n eu tral third Av ataractin g as an in term ediarytoen s u re that
n eitherpartycheated. Of cou rs e, w ord gotarou n d an d bythe
tim e of the exchan ge there w ere n u m erou s s pectators . We
pl ayed the rol e of DEAT H tothe hil t, w ithl ots of hokey
m el odram atic tou ches . T he ev en tw as as en s ation . Itw as
w ritten u pin the n ew s paperthe n extm orn in g an d w as the
tal k of the tow n f ordays . T he Av atarin v ol v ed w as l ef tw itha
w on derf u l s toryabou thav in g cheated DEAT H, w e gotthe
gu n back, an d ev erybodyw en taw ayhappy.
T hes e tw ov erydif f eren tres pon s es toan ordin ary
operation al probl em il l u s trate ou rpoin t. Operatin g w ithin
the participan ts w orl d m odel produ ced av erys atis f actory
res u l t. On the otherhan d takin g w hats eem ed l ike the
expedien tcou rs e, w hichin v ol v ed v iol atin g the w orl d m odel ,
prov oked u ps etan d dis m ay. Workin g w ithin the s ys tem w as
cl earl ythe pref erred cou rs e in this cas e.
a s l im46 . Lu cas f il m ' s Habitat
Cu rren tStatu s
As of this w ritin g, the N orthAm erican in carn ation of
Lu cas f il m s Habitat, Q u an tu m Lin k' s Cl u b Caribe, has been
operatin g f oral m os tthree years . Itu s es ou rorigin al
Com m odore 6 4f ron ten d an d as om ew hats tripped-dow n
v ers ion of ou rorigin al Stratu s backen d s of tw are. Cl u b Caribe
n ow s u s tain s apopu l ation of s om e 15,000participan ts .
Atechn ical l ym ore adv an ced v ers ion , cal l ed F u j its u
Habitat, has been operatin g f orov erayearin Japan ,
av ail abl e on N IF tyServ e. T he in itial f ron ten d f orthis v ers ion
is the n ew F u j its u F M T ow n s pers on al com pu ter, thou gh
ports tos ev eral otherpopu l arJapan es e m achin es are
pl an n ed. T his v ers ion of the s ys tem ben ef its f rom the
addition al com pu tation al pow eran d graphics capabil ities of
an ew erpl atf orm , as w el l as the T ow n s bu il t-in CD-R OM f or
obj ectim ageryan d s ou n ds . How ev er, the v irtu al ityof the
s ys tem is es s en tial l yu n chan ged an d F u j its u has n otm ade
s ign if ican tal teration s tothe u s erin terf ace ortoan yof the
u n derl yin g con cepts .
F u tu re Direction s
T here are s ev eral direction s in w hichthis w ork can be
exten ded. Mos tobv iou s is toim pl em en tthe s ys tem on
m ore adv an ced hardw are, en abl in g am ore s ophis ticated
dis pl ay. An u m berof exten s ion s tothe u s erin terf ace al s o
s u gges tthem s el v es . How ev er, the l in e of dev el opm en t
m os tin teres tin g tou s is toexpan d on the ideaof m akin g
the dev el opm en tan d expan s ion of the w orl d its el f partof
the u s ers s phere of con trol . T here are tw om aj orres earch
areas in this . U n f ortu n atel y, w e can on l ytou chon them
brief l yhere.
T he f irs tareatoin v es tigate in v ol v es the el im in ation of
the cen tral ized backen d. T he backen d is acom m u n ication s
an d proces s in g bottl en eck thatw il l n otw iths tan d grow th
abov e tool arge as ize. Whil e w e can s u pportten s of
thou s an ds of u s ers w iththis m odel , itis n otreal l yf eas ibl e
tos u pportm il l ion s . Makin g the s ys tem f u l l ydis tribu ted,
how ev er, requ ires s ol v in g an u m berof dif f icu l tprobl em s .
T he m os ts ign if ican tof thes e is the prev en tion of cheatin g.
Obv iou s l y, the ow n erof the n etw ork n ode thatim pl em en ts
s om e partof the w orl d has an in cen tiv e totil tthin gs in his
f av or. We thin k thatthis probl em can be addres s ed bys ecu re
operatin g s ys tem techn ol ogies bas ed on pu bl ic-key
cryptographic techn iqu es ( R iv es t, Sham ir, an d Adel m an
19 7 8; Mil l eretal . 19 87 ).
46 . Lu cas f il m ' s Habitat
T he s econ d f ertil e areaof in v es tigation in v ol v es u s er
con f igu ration of the w orl d its el f . T his requ ires f in din g
w ays torepres en tthe des ign an d creation of region s an d
obj ects as partof the u n derl yin g f an tas y. Doin g this w il l
requ ire chan ges toou rcon ception of the w orl d. In particu l ar,
w e don tthin k itw il l be pos s ibl e tocon ceal al l of the
u n derpin n in gs tothos e w how ork w iththem . How ev er, al l w e
real l yn eed todois tof in d abs traction s f orthos e
u n derpin n in gs thatf itin tothe f an tas yits el f . T hou gh
chal l en gin g, this is , in ou ropin ion , em in en tl yf eas ibl e.
Con cl u s ion
We f eel thatthe def in in g characteris tic of cybers pace is the
s haredn es s of the v irtu al en v iron m en t, an d n otthe dis pl ay
techn ol ogyu s ed totran s portu s ers in tothaten v iron m en t.
Su chacybers pace is f eas ibl e today, if you can l iv e w ithou t
head-m ou n ted dis pl ays an d otherexpen s iv e graphics
hardw are. Habitats erv es as an exis ten ce proof of this
con ten tion .
Its eem s cl eartou s thatan obj ect-orien ted w orl d m odel is
akeyin gredien tin an ycybers pace im pl em en tation . We f eel
thatw e hav e gain ed s om e in s ightin tothe data
repres en tation an d com m u n ication s n eeds of s u chas ys tem .
Whil e w e thin k thatitm aybe prem atu re tos tart
es tabl is hin g detail ed techn ical s tan dards f orthes e thin gs , itis
tim e tobegin the dis cu s s ion s thatw il l l ead tos u chs tan dards
in the f u tu re. .
F in al l y, w e hav e com e tobel iev e thatthe m os ts ign if ican t
chal l en ge f orcybers pace dev el opers is tocom e togrips w ith
the probl em s of w orl d creation an d m an agem en t. Whil e w e
hav e on l ym ade the f irs tin roads in tothes e probl em s , af ew
thin gs hav e becom e cl ear. T he m os tim portan tof thes e is
thatm an agin g acybers pace w orl d is n otl ike m an agin g the
w orl d in s ide as in gl e u s erappl ication orev en acon v en tion al
on l in e s erv ice. In s tead, itis m ore l ike gov ern in g an actu al
n ation . Cybers pace architects w il l ben ef itf rom s tu dyof the
prin cipl es of s ociol ogyan d econ om ics as m u chas f rom the
prin cipl es of com pu ters cien ce. We adv ocate an agoric,
ev ol u tion aryapproachtow orl d bu il din g ratherthan a
cen tral ized, s ocial is tic on e.
We w ou l d l ike tocon cl u de w ithaf in al , if iron ical ,
adm on ition , on e thatw e hope w il l n otbe s een as ov erl y
con ten tiou s :
theN EWMEDIAR EADER
Getreal .
In adis cu s s ion of cybers pace on U s en et, on e w orkerin the
f iel d dis m is s ed Cl u b Caribe ( Habitats cu rren tin carn ation )as
u n in teres tin g, w ithacom m en ttothe ef f ectthatm os tof the
activ itycon s is ted of in an e an d triv ial con v ers ation . In deed,
the obs erv ation w as l argel ycorrect. How ev er, w e hope s om e
of the an ecdotes recou n ted abov e w il l giv e s om e in dication
thatm ore is goin g on than thos e in an e an d triv ial
con v ers ation s m ightin dicate. F u rther, todis m is s the s ys tem
on this bas is is todis m is s the u s ers them s el v es . T heyare
payin g m on eyf orthis s erv ice. T heydon tv iew w hattheydo
as in an e an d triv ial , ortheyw ou l dn tdoit. T oin s is tthis
pres u m es thaton e kn ow s betterthan theyw hattheys hou l d
be doin g. Su chpres u m ption is an otherm an if es tation of the
om n is cien tcen tral pl an n erw hodictates al l thathappen s , a
rol e thatthis en tire chapteris tryin g todef l ectyou f rom
s eekin g. In areal s ys tem thatis goin g tobe u s ed byreal
peopl e, itis am is take toas s u m e thatthe u s ers w il l al l
u n dertake the s orts of n obl e an d s u bl im e activ ities thatyou
created the s ys tem toen abl e. Mos tof them w il l n ot.
Cybers pace m ayin deed chan ge hu m an ity, bu ton l yif it
begin s w ithhu m an ityas itreal l yis .
Ackn ow l edgm en ts
We w ou l d l ike toackn ow l edge the con tribu tion s of s om e of the
m an ypeopl e w hohel ped m ake Habitatpos s ibl e. AtLu cas l m , Aric
Wil m u n derw rote m u chof the Com m odore 6 4f ron ten d s of tw are;
R on Gil bert, Charl ie Kel n er, an d N oahF al s tein al s oprov ided
in v al u abl e program m in g an d des ign s u pport; GaryWin n ick an d Ken
Mackl in w ere res pon s ibl e f oral l the artw ork; Chris Grigg did the
s ou n d; Stev e Arn ol d prov ided ou ts tan din g m an agem en ts u pport;
an d George Lu cas gav e u s the f reedom tou n dertake aproj ectthat
f oral l he kn ew w as bothim pos s ibl e an d in s an e. AtQ u an tu m , Jan et
Hu n terw rote the gu ts of the backen d; Ken Hu n ts m an an d Mike
F iccoprov ided v al u abl e as s is tan ce w ithcom m u n ication s protocol s .
Kazu oF u ku daan d his crew atF u j its u hav e carried ou rv is ion of
HabitattoJapan an d m ade ittheirow n . P hil Sal in , ou rbos s at
AMIX, l etu s s teal the tim e tow rite this chapteran d ev en paid f or
u s toatten d the F irs tCon f eren ce on Cybers pace, ev en thou ghin
im m ediate rel ev an ce toou rpres en tbu s in es s m ayhav e s eem ed a
bitobs cu re atthe tim e. We' d al s ol ike tothan k Michael Ben edikt,
Don F u s s el l , an d theircohorts f ororgan izin g the con f eren ce an d
therebyprom ptin g u s tos tartpu ttin g ou rthou ghts an d
experien ces in tow ritin g.
""1
l
0- ... = > l 11 46 . Lu cas f il m s Habitat
N otes
1. On e of the qu es tion s w e are as ked m os tf requ en tl yis , Whythe
Com m odore 6 4?"Man ypeopl e s om ehow getthe im pres s ion that
this w as atechn ical decis ion , bu tthe real expl an ation has todo
w ithbu s in es s , n ottechn ol ogy. Habitatw as in itial l ydev el oped by
Lu cas f il m as acom m ercial produ ctf orQ u an tu m l in k, an on -l in e
s erv ice ( then )excl u s iv el yf orow n ers of the Com m odore 6 4. Atthe
tim e w e s tarted ( 19 85), the Com m odore 6 4w as the m ain s tayof
the recreation al com pu tin g m arket. Sin ce then ithas decl in ed
dram atical l yin bothits com m ercial an d techn ical s ign i can ce.
How ev er, w hen w e began the proj ect, w e didn ' tgetachoice of
pl atf orm s . T he n atu re of the deal w as s u chthatboththe
Com m odore 6 4f orthe f ron ten d an d the exis tin g Q u an tu m l in k hos t
s ys tem ( abrace of Stratu s f au l t-tol eran tm in icom pu ters )f orthe
backen d w ere giv en s .
2 . Habitatcon tain s its ow n f u l l y-f l edged econ om y, w ithm on ey,
ban ks , an d s oon . Habitat' s u n itof cu rren cyis the T oken , ref l ectin g
the f actthatitis atoken econ om yan d toackn ow l edge the l on g
an d hon orabl e as s ociation betw een token s an d v ideogam es .
In ciden tl y, the HabitatT oken is a2 3-s ided pl as tic coin s l ightl y
l argerthan an Am erican qu arter, w ithaportraitof Vern orVin ge
an d the m ottoF iatLu cre"on its f ace, an d the textGood f oron e
f are on the back; thes e detail s are dif f icu l ttom ake ou ton the
Com m odore 6 4s creen .
R ef eren ces
Abel s on , Harol d, an d Su s s m an , Geral d Jay, Stru ctu re an d
In terpretation of Com pu terP rogram s ( MIT P res s , Cam bridge,
Mas s achu s etts , 19 85).
Al ber, An ton e F ., Videotex/ T el etext: P rin cipl es an d P ractices
( McGraw -Hil l , N ew Y ork, 19 85).
Am erican N ation al Stan dards In s titu te, Videotex/ T el etext
P res en tation Lev el P rotocol Syn tax, N orthAm erican P LP S ( AN SI,
Decem ber19 83).
Drexl er, K. Eric, En gin es of Creation ( An chorP res s , Dou bl eday, N ew
Y ork, 19 86 ).
Drexl er, K. Eric, an d Mil l er, Mark S., "In cen tiv e En gin eerin g f or
Com pu tation al R es ou rce Man agem en t."In Hu berm an , B. A., ed.,
T he Ecol ogyof Com pu tation ( El s ev ierScien ce P u bl is hin g,
Am s terdam , 19 88).
Gibs on , Wil l iam , N eu rom an cer( Ace Books , N ew Y ork, 19 84).
Gol dberg, Adel e, an d R obs on , Dav id, Sm al l tal k-80: T he Lan gu age
an d Its Im pl em en tation ( Addis on -Wes l ey, R eadin g, Mas s achu s etts ,
19 83)
Hayek, F riedrichA., Law Legis l ation an d Liberty. Vol . 1, R u l es an d
Order( U n iv ers ityof ChicagoP res s , Chicago, 19 7 3).
Hayek, F riedrichA., N ew Stu dies in P hil os ophy, P ol itics , Econ om ics ,
an d the His toryof Ideas ( U n iv ers ityof ChicagoP res s , Chicago,
19 7 8).
Hayek, F riedrichA., T he F atal Con ceit( U n iv ers ityof ChicagoP res s ,
Chicago, 19 89 ).
In tern ation al Stan dards Organ ization , In f orm ation P roces s in g
Sys tem s Open Sys tem In tercon n ecti' on -T ran s portServ ice
Def in ition , In tern ation al Stan dard n u m ber807 2 , ( ISO, Sw itzerl an d,
Ju n e 19 86 ).
Mil l er, Mark S., Bobrow , Dan iel G., T ribbl e, Eric Dean , an d Lev y,
Dav id Jacob, Logical Secrets ." In Shapiro, Ehu d Y ., ed., Con cu rren t
P rol og: Col l ected P apers , 2 v ol s . ( MIT P res s , Cam bridge,
Mas s achu s etts 19 87 ).
Mil l er, Mark S., an d Drexl er, K. Eric, "Com parativ e Ecol ogy: A
Com pu tation al P ers pectiv e."In Hu berm an , B. A., ed., T he Ecol ogy
of Com pu tation ( El s ev ierScien ce P u bl is hin g, Am s terdam , 19 88a).
Mil l er, Mark S., an d Drexl er, K. Eric, Markets an d Com pu tation :
Agoric Open Sys tem s ,"In Hu berm an ,B. A., ed., T he Ecol ogyof
Com pu tation ( El s ev ierScien ce P u bl is hin g, Am s terdam , 19 88b).
P opper, Karl R ., T he Open Societyan d Its En em ies , 5thed.
( P rin ceton U n iv ers ityP res s , P rin ceton , N ew Jers ey, 19 6 2 ).
P opper, Karl R ., Obj ectiv e Kn ow l edge: An Ev ol u tion aryApproach
( Oxf ord U n iv ers ityP res s , Oxf ord, 19 7 2 ).
R iv es t, R ., Sham ir, A., an d Adel m an , L., "AMethod f orObtain in g
Digital Sign atu res an d P u bl ic-KeyCryptos ys tem s ."Com m u n ication s
of the ACM 2 1, n o. 2 ( F ebru ary19 7 8).
Sow el l , T hom as , ACon f l ictof Vis ion s ( Wil l iam Morrow , N ew Y ork,
19 87 )
Sterl in g, Bru ce, ed., Mirrors hades : T he Cyberpu n k An thol ogy( Arbor
Hou s e, N ew Y ork, 19 86 ).
Vin ge, Vern or, T ru e N am es ,"Bin aryStar# 5( Del l P u bl is hin g Co.,
N ew Y ork, 19 81).
0., ._., +> t_...._,,....____..<,c.__-..__,..., i.0e_,+.n ,,+,_4139 1 47 . Seein g an d Writin g
47 . [ In trodu ction ]
Seein g an d Writin g
Al thou ghw ritin g is v is u al , the appreciation of the v is u al as pects of itcom petes w ithu n ders tan din g
w hatis w ritten , as J. Dav id Bol terpoin ted ou tin the f ol l ow in g s el ection . T his com petition can be
heal thyordes tru ctiv e; Bol ter' s poin tis n otm erel ytos tate w hattypographers hav e kn ow n f or
cen tu ries . R ather, he des cribes how the his toryof typographyan d prin tin g rel ates tothe pres en t
m ov em en tof w ritin g on tothe com pu ters creen . Mars hal l McLu han s im il arl ycon s idered how the
prin trev ol u tion can in f orm an u n ders tan din g of con tem porarychan ges in el ectron ic m edia -
particu l arl yin T he Gu ten berg Gal axy( the l as tchapterof w hichappears in <> 13) bu tBol ters es s ay.
f u rtherexpl ores how chan ges in n ew m ediain f l u en ce ou rcon cepts of readin g an d w ritin g. Bol ter
has gon e on toexpl ore how this , in tu rn , in f l u en ces es tabl is hed m edia, in aproces s he an d R ichard
Gru s in hav e cal l ed rem ediation .
Certain el em en ts of com pu tertextare v erycl os el ybas ed on prin tf orebears , w hil e others hav e n o
bas is in earl iertechn ol ogies of w ritin g; Bol tern otes , f orin s tan ce, the abil itytores ize w in dow s an d
hav e the textre-f l ow in s tan tl ytof il l the n ew rectan gl e. An u n ders tan din g of n ew m ediacan on l y
com e w hen tru l yn ov el el em en ts can be div ided f rom thos e w hichare im itativ e, u s in g s cru tin yof
the s ortBol terappl ies . T he el ectron ic s preads heetis certain l yn ativ e tothe com pu ter, bu tas Bol ter
( al on g w ithBen Shn eiderm an O33)has poin ted ou t, itrel ates tos tru ctu res thatare ev iden tin
paperaccou n tin g practices as w el l as el em en ts of the prin ted book, s u chas diagram s . N u m bers an d
l etters are n otm eetin g f orthe f irs ttim e in el ectron ic w ritin g s pace; n eitherare textan d im age. T he
w aythes e el em en ts com e togetheron the com pu teris in f l u en ced bym ov ie titl es as w el l as the
practices of m ediev al m on ks , an d there are l es s on s abou tthe in tegration of thes e el em en ts thatare
tobe f ou n d in m an ycon texts in the pas t.
In the cu rren tm ediaecol ogy, the n etw ork of in f l u en ces betw een dif f eren tm edia, n ew an d ol d, is
den s e. ( T his is n otan en tirel yn ov el s itu ation ; m ediahav e in f l u en ced eachotherf oras l on g as they
hav e exis ted, an d as n ew m ediahav e been in trodu ced the rel ation s hiphas s el dom been as s im pl e as
the repl acem en tof the v an qu is hed m ediu m bythe v ictor.)Whil e as chol arcan hardl yhope tobe an
experton ev eryf orm of com m u n ication on ev eryexten s ion of m an , as McLu han w ou l d hav e
it thorou ghu n ders tan din g of aparticu l arm ediu m bein g u s ed f oraparticu l arpu rpos e can of ten
be accom pl is hed byu n ders tan din g thatm ediu m s cl os e rel ativ es , an d bycl os e s tu dyof s ev eral
rel ev an tw orks in thos e m edia. Bol ters con s ideration of the his toryof typography, toin f orm his
u n ders tan din g of w ritin g on the com pu ter, is cl earl yof ben ef ittothos e w ithas pecial in teres tin the
m ediu m of text( al on e orin com bin ation w ithotherm edia)an d the con ceptof readin g; itis al s oan
excel l en texam pl e of how , in gen eral , on e m ightapproachn ew m ediaf rom adj oin in g, better-
u n ders tood territory.
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47 . Seein g an d Writin g
Origin al P u bl ication
Writin g Space: T he Com pu ter, Hypertextan d the His toryof Wn tin g,
6 3-81. Hil l s dal e, N J: Law ren ce Erl bau m As s ociates , 19 9 1.
Seein g an d Writin g
J. Dav id Bol ter
Agen eration ago, the cl as s ical s chol arEric I-Iav el ock cou l d
s til l cl aim that [ the] v is u al dev el opm en tof the w ritten s ign s
has n othin g todow iththe pu rpos e of l an gu age, n am el y
in s tan tan eou s com m u n ication betw een m em bers of a
hu m an grou p ( Hav el ock, 19 82 , p. 53). T his attitu de w as
appropriate tothe age of prin tbecau s e prin tin g redu ced each
l etterin atexttoav is u al m in im u m . U n l ike the cal l igrapher,
the typographers artw as tom ake the l etteru n obtru s iv e, to
con v eythe v ariou s l etters hapes w ithou tdis tractin g the
reader. An d typographers hav e been s oef f ectiv e thatw e as
readers hardl yn otice the s u btl e dif f eren ces thatexis tam on g
the v ariou s typef aces u s ed in books today. As chil dren w e are
train ed toread s il en tl yan d qu ickl y, l ookin g throu ghthe
prin ted page ratherthan atit.
As w e n ow m ov e beyon d the techn ol ogyof prin tin g, itis
n ol on gerappropriate todis m is s the v is u al his toryof
w ritin g the chan ges in boththe w ritten s ign s them s el v es
an d theirdepl oym en ton the page ors creen . N ow ritin g
s ys tem is s tatic. Ev en the l etters of ou ral phabethav e
con tin u ed todev el ops in ce R om an tim es . In the Middl e Ages
there w as an el aborate an d ev er-chan gin g popu l ation of
s cripts throu ghou tWes tern Eu rope. T he age of prin thas
been u n u s u al l ycon s erv ativ e in character, bu tev en ithas n ot
been im m u n e tochan ge. An d the com pu tern ow prom is es to
accel erate the dev el opm en tagain , as itof f ers w riters the
opportu n itybothtocreate theirow n characterf on ts an d to
depl oypictorial el em en ts in n ew w ays .
T he l ayou tof the text( the s u rf ace of the rol l , the page of
the book)has al w ays dev el oped al on g w iththe in div idu al
el em en ts . When the w ritin g s pace becam e con ceptu al l y
n arrow erin the s hif tf rom pictu re w ritin g tophon etic
w ritin g, the l ayou tbecam e n arrow an d cram ped as w el l .
Earl yGreek w ritin g w as l in earin con ceptan d appearan ce,
w hil e al l the s u bs equ en tdev el opm en tin papyru s an d
parchm en tm an u s cripts an d in prin ted books has s erv ed to
rees tabl is hthe s econ d dim en s ion in the v is u al s tru ctu re of
theN EWMEDIAR EADER
the text. In l ateran tiqu ity, w riters regain ed theirin teres tin
the diagram oril l u s tration pl aced bes ide orin corporated in to
the s pace of the text. Sin ce thattim e ou rw ritin g s pace has
been ahybrid of v erbal an d pictorial el em en ts . Ev en the
con s erv ativ e techn ol ogyof prin thas perm itted pictu res an d
m ore recen tl ym athem atical graphs an d diagram s tof l ou ris h.
T he com pu tern ow adds the capabil ityof an im ation an d s o
com bin es pictorial , al phabetic, an d m athem atical w ritin g
in toon e dyn am ic w hol e.
Mechan ical Letters
Earl yprin ted books attem pted torepl icate m an u s cripts both
in l etterf orm an d in l ayou t. In cu ttin g his type, Gu ten berg
copied the Gothic s criptof his day, in cl u din g al l the l igatu res
an d abbrev iation s , al togetherabou t300dif f eren tel em en ts .
( See Stein berg, 19 59 , p. 31.)Ittook s ev eral decades f or
prin ters toreal ize thatthere w as n on eed tou s e
abbrev iation s an d l igatu res thatren dered the texteas ierto
w rite ( byhan d)bu thardertoread. Eachl etterof the s am e
type cou l d n ow be iden tical , gu aran teed bythe m ethod of
produ ction ( cas tin g l ead in copperm atrices ). T he precis ion of
the m achin e n ow repl aced the organ ic beau tyof the
han dw ritten page.
Mechan ization did n otel im in ate hu m an craf ts m an s hip
f rom the proces s of w ritin g. In s tead, itdef erred the
craf ts m an f rom the f in al produ ctof in k on paper. Letters
w ere s til l han dm ade:acraf ts m an f as hion ed as etof s teel
pu n ches thatem bodied the des ign f oratypef ace. T hes e
pu n ches w ere pres s ed in tom atrices tos erv e as m ol ds f orthe
l ead type its el f . Som e earl ypu n chcu tters actu al l ycu tm ore
than on e f orm of the s am e l etterin ordertoim itate the
v ariation of the s cribe, bu tthis practice w as cl earl ym is pl aced
in atechn ol ogyw hos e pu rpos e is iden tical reprodu ction .
Letterf orm s ev ol v ed m u chm ore s l ow l yin the age of prin t
than in the prev iou s age of m an u s cripts . T he gradu al tren d
w as topare dow n the v is u al f orm of the Ietters in ef f ectto
def in e the w ritin g s pace w ithprogres s iv el yl es s in k an d m ore
w hite s pace. Serif s becam e s traighteran d thin n er, an d there
w as greatercon tras tbetw een thick an d thin s trokes . T he
w hol e typef ace betrayed l es s an d l es s the han d of the
craf ts m an . T he tren d reached an extrem e in the l ate 18th
cen tu ryw iththe des ign s of Didotan d Bodon i.
In the 19 thcen tu ry, m echan ization in ten s if ied w iththe
dev el opm en tof s team -driv en prin tin g pres s es an d the
Lin otype. Y etin the des ign an d u s e of typef aces an d in the
19 9 1
i' J~-- ---- ~I ---- ~O~* * - * ~ * ' O .-_. -. -<0 a-_.. --- o-- ~ ~+ - <> 47 . Seein g an d Writin g
appearan ce of the prin ted page, the res u l tw as n otgreater
s tan dardization , bu tgreaterv ariety, as en s e of grow in g
f reedom in w hatcou l d be s how n . T he pan tographic pu n ch-
cu tterm ade itpos s ibl e tocu tan ew l etterin s teel s im pl yby
tracin g an en l arged pattern of the l etter( Lieberm an , 19 7 8,
pp. 54* 55). If in the 16 than d 17 thcen tu ries , m os tprin ters
w ere s atis f ied w iths om e f orm of Garam on d, prin ters in the
l ate 19 than d 2 0thcen tu ries cou l d choos e f rom hu n dreds or
thou s an ds of f aces . T heyexperim en ted w ithf orm s that
earl ierprin ters w ou l d hav e con s idered barbaric or
u n recogn izabl e ( bu tthatm ediev al il l u m in ators m ighthav e
appreciated). Othertypographers reacted tothis exces s by
creatin g f aces s u chas Hel v eticaan d Eu tu rathatw ere f ree of
al l u n n eces s arys trokes .
N ev ethel es s , the prin ted page has rem ain ed acon s erv ativ e
w ritin g s pace. T he thou s an ds of exotic, s o-cal l ed dis pl ay
f on ts appearin adv ertis in g, bu ts el dom in books . F orbook
produ ction , the typographerm ayn ow choos e f rom dozen s of
book f on ts ( w ithn am es thats ign if ybothtradition an d
in n ov ation , s u chas T im es R om an , Modern , Bas kerv il l e, an d
Garam on d N o. 3)w hichhis orhertrain ed eye can
dis tin gu is hf orreadabil ity, col or, an d ton e. Bu ts u ch
dis tin ction s are s os u btl e thatthe av erage readercan n ot
iden tif yan yof the com m on book f on ts . On the otherhan d,
if an yOF the thou s an ds of dis pl ayF ON T S w ere
u s ed in prin tin g books , the readercou l d tel l im m ediatel ythat
s om ethin g w as w ron g. P rin tin g is af rozen m ediu m in m ore
w ays than on e:its l etterf orm s s tabil ized betw een the 16 th
an d 18thcen tu ries an d hav e s in ce chan ged on l yal ittl e. An d
depen din g u pon its u s e as an au xil iarytoprin tin g oras an
al tern ativ e w ritin g s pace, the com pu tercan eitherrein f orce
this s tabil ityors w eepaw aythe w hol e tradition of
typography.
El ectron ic Letters
T he artof l etterdes ign w il l n otbe f u l l yu n ders tood
u n til itcan be expl ain ed toacom pu ter. . .
Don al d E. Kn u th, 19 82 , pp. 5 6
If the tren d in the age of prin thas been tom ake the v is u al
s ym bol s im pl e, u n orn am en ted, an d m athem atical l yprecis e, a
backl as hdev el oped in the 19 thcen tu ryl ed byWil l iam
Morris , w hodis tru s ted m echan ization in al m os tan yf orm . In
En gl an d as el s ew here, 19 th-cen tu ryprin ters had been aim in g
f orqu an tityratherthan qu al ity. T he dem an d f orin expen s iv e
n ew s papers an d books w as expl odin g, an d in v en tors w ere
tryin g tocl earthe bottl en ecks in produ ction bydev el opin g
m echan ical prin tin g pres s es , n ew f orm s of cheappaper, an d
m echan ical types ettin g. Bu tw hen Morris f ou n ded the
Kel m s cottpres s in 189 1, he w as n otin teres ted in m as s
produ ction . In s tead of in du s trial ized s im pl icity, he aim ed f or
orn am en tan d organ ic f orm , aretu rn tothe f irs tcen tu ryof
prin tin g ortoage of the m an u s cript. He m odel ed his Gol den
T ype on the w ork of the 15th-cen tu ryprin ter, N icol as
Jen s on . F orhis edition of Chau cer, he w en tf u rtheran d
des ign ed aN eogothic typef ace. I-Ie chos e ahan d pres s an d
han dm ade paper. T he res u l tin g books w ere beau tif u l , bu t
them s el v es exces s iv e, theirpages den s e w ithin k an d f u l l of
orn am en tation an d u tterl ydif f eren tin s piritf rom the
earl yprin tin g thatMorris m ean ttoim itate. ( See Stein berg,
19 59 , pp. 2 9 -30.)T he iron yis thatthes e n os tal gic books
cou l d on l yhav e been produ ced in the In du s trial Age: the
precis ion of his Chau cerw as greaterthan w as pos s ibl e in a
R en ais s an ce prin ted book oram ediev al m an u s cript. Itw as
the adv an ce of techn ol ogythatperm itted Morris togoback
in this characteris tical l yVictorian w ay: Morris took
photographic en l argem en ts of prin ted pages in orderto
s tu dyol d typef aces . ( See Morris , 19 82 , p. xxxiv .)Morris w ork
in prin tin g w as akin d of techn ol ogical n os tal giathat
cel ebrated the m odern techn ol ogyitappeared torej ect.
As im il arn os tal giahas been ev iden tin the f irs tdecade of
w ord proces s in g. T he w ord proces s oris an attem ptto
harn es s the com pu terin the s erv ice of the ol dertechn ol ogy
of prin t, an d the w ord proces s ors pres en tation of textis
n os tal gic, in thatitl ooks back tothe aes thetic criteriaof the
prin tin g pres s . T he el ectron ic m ediu m in f actal l ow s
com pl ete graphic f reedom :the w riterm ayu l tim atel ycon trol
eachpixel on the s creen in repres en tin g l etters , diagram s , or
im ages . When w riters are f irs tgiv en this f reedom , on
pers on al com pu ters l ike the Macin tos h, theyin du l ge in
greaterexces s es than Morris , decoratin g theirtexts w itha
v arietyof type s izes , s tyl es , an d f on ts . T heym ixel em en ts
f rom the w hol e his toryof typography, of ten w ithou tan y
s en s e of proprietyorproportion . P rof es s ion al graphic artis ts
can l odge as im il arcom pl ain t:bit m apped pers on al
com pu ters perm itu n train ed u s ers toin du l ge in ariotof
graphic des ign . Of ten itis graphic des ign appropriate tothe
prin ted brochu re orthe bil l board ratherthan the com pu ter
s creen .
T here is an in ev itabl e degen eration in the qu al ityof
typographyan d graphics in the n ew el ectron ic w ritin g s pace,
47 . Seein g an d Writin g
becau s e the com pu teren cou rages the dem ocratic f eel in g
am on g its u s ers thattheycan s erv e as theirow n des ign ers .
An yon e can experim en tw ithtype s ize ors tyl e w hen the
com pu terprov ides the f on ts an d drops them in topl ace at
the w riters requ es t. An yon e can create an d in s erthis orher
ow n il l u s tration s w iththe hel pof au tom ated draw in g
program s . T he n ew techn ol ogythu s m erges the rol e of
w riteran d typographerthathad been s eparate f rom the
ou ts etof the age of prin t. In the age of prin t, typographers
had acces s tos pecial tool s an d the s kil l tou s e them , an d
theym ade the decis ion s abou tpage l ayou t. P rin ters hav e
al w ays u n ders tood theirrol e as craf ts m en , an d theirgu il ds ,
w hichs erv ed toprotecttheiraes thetic as w el l as the
econ om ic prerogativ es , rem ain ed s tron g u n til the m iddl e of
the 2 0thcen tu ry. N ow the el ectron ic w riteran d des ign er
can ow n an d u s e prof es s ion al tool s w ithou tbotherin g to
dev el opprof es s ion al s kil l s .
How ev er, el ectron ic w riters are dabbl in g in the w ron g art,
if theyw orrytoom u chabou tthe typographyof theirtext.
T he pixel s of the el ectron ic m ediu m def in e as pace in heren tl y
dif f eren tf rom thatof in k on paper. Atpres en tthe el ectron ic
s pace is coars er:itis n otpos s ibl e tocreate s u btl ycu rv ed or
bracketed s erif s in l etterf orm s orf in el yorgan ic l in es in
draw in g. T he com pu ters creen w il l con tin u e toim prov e in
this res pect:pixel s w il l grow s m al l eran d create aden s er
s pace. Bu tthe dis crete characterof com pu tergraphics w il l
n otchan ge in the f ores eeabl e f u tu re an d m u s tal w ays rem ain
in ten s ion w iththe con tin u ou s characterof in k on paper,
parchm en t, orpapyru s . T he im perm an en ce of the el ectron ic
im age al s odis cou rages an atten tion tof in e v is u al detail .
El ectron ic w riters s en s e thattheirw ritin g an d theref ore their
typographyis al w ays s u bj ecttorecal l an d chan ge. T he
tradition al typographerhas exactl ythe oppos ite
im p1SSiOI1 V1yl etterm u s tbe in its pl ace, becau s e there
is n ow aytorecal l 1,500prin ted copies if an erroris
dis cov ered. In this s en s e, ev en the hu m bl e w ord proces s or
operates in av is u al s pace dif f eren tf rom thatof the prin tin g
pres s an d the typew riter. T ypographers an d graphic
des ign ers w hocom pl ain abou tthe m es s thatn aiv e u s ers
m ake on theirterm in al s creen s are them s el v es chil dren of a
dif f eren ttechn ol ogyan d are apttoj u dge the com pu ters
w ritin g an d draw in g s pace in the w ron g term s .
P rof es s ion al typographers al s ou s e the com pu ter. Ju s tas
the w ord proces s orhas repl aced the typew riter, s ocom pu ter
editin g an d photocom pos ition n ow dom in ate prof es s ion al
theN EWMEDIAR EADER
book produ ction . Mos tbooks todayare pu bl is hed by
el ectron ic photocom pos ition ; m etal type has al m os t
dis appeared, ev en f orf in e book produ ction . T he com pu ter
in trodu ces an ew degree of m athem atical rigorin the des ign
of l etterf orm s them s el v es . On e w aytoprodu ce el ectron ic
f on ts is totrace an d digitize en l arged photographs of the
l etters . T he other, m ore in trigu in g m ethod of com pu ter
des ign is n ottocopyol d l etterf orm s poin tbypoin t, bu t
rathertogen erate n ew l etters m athem atical l y. T he com pu ter
s cien tis tDon al d Kn u thhas u s ed param eterized equ ation s to
def in e the cu rv es of the l etters . T he com pu tergen erates the
poin ts byw orkin g ou tthe equ ation s . WhatKn u thhas don e
is tothrow the al phabetin tothe s pace of an al ytic geom etry.
T he ideaof geom etrical l ydef in ed l etters is an ol d on e: it
dates back toR en ais s an ce typographers , cal l igraphers , an d
artis ts , in cl u din g P aciol i, Al brechtDu rer, an d T ory
( Lieberm an , 19 7 8, p. 41). Bu tratherthan u s in g com pas s an d
s traightedge, the com pu ters pecial is tcreates l etterf orm s by
n u m erical an al ys is , precis el ythe tas k f orw hichthe el ectron ic
com pu terw as origin al l ydev el oped. Com pu tertypography
redu ces the w ritin g s pace toaCartes ian pl an e, in w hich
ev eryl etteris determ in ed byas etof n u m bered l in es or
poin ts . Itis the triu m phof the m athem atization of w ritin g
thatn ev erqu ite s u cceeded in the eraof m echan ical prin tin g.
On the otherhan d, the u s e of the com pu terto
m athem atize prin tin g is al s oan exam pl e of techn ol ogical
n os tal gia. Ittu rn s ou ratten tion back tothe m ediu m of prin t,
appl yin g m athem atical precis ion in ordertoperf ectthe
appearan ce of texton the page. P erf ection is s til l def in ed in
term s es tabl is hed byprin ters in the 15than d 16 th
cen tu ries as the cl ean , cris p, s tatic im age thatoccu pies the
m on u m en tal w ritin g s pace of in k on paper. Work on
com pu tertypographydirects ou ren ergies aw ayf rom
appreciatin g the el ectron ic s pace in its ow n right as pace in
w hichthe s u btl eties of type s ize an d s tyl e m ayn ol on gerbe
im portan ttothe w riters orthe readers v is ion of the text.
T he El ectron ic P age
T ypographyin prin tbegin s w iththe l etteran d n ev ergoes
m u chf u rther. Agl an ce atthe typographers han dbooks s how s
how m u chim portan ce is pl aced on the choice of the typef ace
its el f . In deed, on ce the typef aces an d s tyl es ( an d perhaps
col ors of in k)hav e been chos en f orabook, there are v eryf ew
decis ion s l ef ttobe m ade. Eachpage w il l be arectan gl e of text
w iths om e w hite s pace arou n d it. Il l u s tration s w il l occu py
o . ...a~..-_..-.e al l ? 47 . Seein g an d Writin g
bl ocks res erv ed f orthem w ithin the rectan gl e oron s eparate
pages al together, an d in an ycas e il l u s tration s are rel ativ el y
rare in s eriou s , dis cu rs iv e books . Adv ertis in g an d m agazin es
pres en tm an ym ore pos s ibil ities f orcreativ e des ign , bu tthe
l ayou tof abook is as con s erv ativ e as the choice of f on ts
appropriate tothe book. An d m an ytypographers w ou l d agree
thatthe decis ion s of l ayou tal l f l ow f rom the l etter. T he
prin tin g pres s is real l yal etterproces s or.
In s om e w ays the earl ierhan dw ritten page of f ered m ore
f reedom of des ign than the prin ted page. Al readyin the
Carol in gian period, s cribes u s ed adif f eren ts cript( u n cial )to
in dicate titl es an d dem arcate s ection s . T he w ord ru bric
com es f rom ru brication , the m ediev al techn iqu e of
begin n in g atextw ithal arge red capital , of ten el aboratel y
decorated. Bythe 13thcen tu rys cribes had dev el oped a
n u m berof v is u al cu es tohel pthe readerl ocate textan d keep
his orherorien tation . Dif f eren ts tyl es an d s izes of l etters ,
dif f eren tcol ors of in k, s ection n u m bers al l thes e dev ices
w ere pion eered in the Middl e Ages an d then s tan dardized in
the age of prin t. P robabl ythe m os tim portan tv is u al
s tru ctu re in the m ediev al codexw as the m argin al n ote.
Mediev al texts w ere of ten arran ged in totw oorm ore l ayers
on the page. T he cen terof the page con tain ed the m ore
an cien tan d v en erabl e text, w hil e the m argin s of f ered
expl an ation an d com m en taryadded byon e orm ore
s chol ars . T his s tru ctu re hel ped toorien tthe reader. Itw as
rel ativ el yeas ytom ov e back an d f orthbetw een textan d
n otes , certain l ym u cheas ierthan itw as f orthe readerin the
an cien tw orl d toj u ggl e s ev eral rol l s of papyru s . Margin al
n otes tol d readers w hattol ook f oran d prov ided con s tan t
s u pportin the tas k. Man yR en ais s an ce orl aterreaders
f ou n d thes e n otes tobe ahin dran ce, the w eightof cen tu ries
of m is readin g of the text, an d prin ters began tocl earthe
page of this in terpretiv e m aterial , al l ow in g the textto
occu pythe w hol e of the w ritin g s pace an d theref ore to
s peak f orits el f . N otes m ov ed tothe f ootof the page an d
ev en tu al l ytothe back of the book. Bu tin ban is hin g the
n otes m odern prin ters hav e s acrif iced boththe im m ediacy
of ref eren ce an d the s en s e of v is u al an d in tel l ectu al con text
thatm argin al n otes prov ided totheirm ediev al readers . ( Itis
on l yin el ectron ic textthatw e can recaptu re both
im m ediacyan d con text.)
In the m odern prin ted book, the s pace is s im pl e an d cl ean .
Dif f eren ttexts don otcom pete in adj acen ts paces f orthe
readers atten tion , as theys til l doin am agazin e or
n ew s paper. In am agazin e the textis div ided in tobl ocks of
v aryin g s hapes an d s izes , an d readers f in d them s el v es pu l l ed
back an d f ortham on g the bl ocks . T he page l ayou tref l ects
the topical n atu re of the m aterial acom bin ation of
adv ertis em en ts , n otices , an d l on g an d s hortarticl es . A
m agazin e orn ew s paperis in this res pectcl os erin s piritto
the topographic w ritin g s pace of the com pu ter, w here the
typography al s om irrors the topical n atu re of the text
its el f . Largeru n its of texttogetherw ithim ages can be
is ol ated on the com pu ters creen . T he s creen becom es a
m agazin e page in w hichu n its ev en rearran ge them s el v es to
m eetv ariou s n eeds . I
In the cu rren tgen eration of m achin es , f orexam pl e, the s o-
cal l ed w in dow is the def in in g f eatu re of com pu ter
typography. Acom pu terw in dow is af ram in g dev ice: itm arks
ou tas pace f oraparticu l aru n itof v erbal text, graphics , or
both, an d itf ram es the w riter/ readers v iew of thats pace,
w hichis an in def in ite tw o-dim en s ion al pl an e. T he w in dow
m ays how on l yaportion of the pl an e atatim e, bu tof ten the
v iew in the w in dow can be adj u s ted ors crol l ed torev eal
otherparts . In s om e com pu ters ys tem s w in dow s can be
til ed ~s ets ide bys ide s othatthe w riter/ readercan l ook
on totw oorm ore pl an es aton ce. In others ys tem s the
w in dow s can be s tacked, s othatthe pl an es of textan d
graphics pil e on topof eachother, again w ithou treal l y
tou chin g. T he w hol e el ectron ic w ritin g s pace becom es as tack
of tw o-dim en s ion al w ritin g s u rf aces . Of cou rs e, aprin ted
book is al s oas tack of tw o-dim en s ion al pl an es orpages , bu t
the greatdif f eren ce is thatprin ted pages s tayin on e order
an d, exceptin n ov el tybooks f orchil dren , eachpage
com pl etel yobs cu res al l the pages u n dern eathit. Workin g at
the com pu ter, the w riter/ readercan m ov e on e w in dow as ide
in ordertov iew parts of the w in dow s bel ow ; he ors he can
reorderthe s tack bypl u ckin g on e w in dow f rom bel ow an d
pl acin g iton top. If the w in dow s con tain dif f eren ttexts , s ay
tw ochapters in abook, the readercan m ov e back an d f orth
addin g toan d cu ttin g f rom each. T his n ew typographical
s pace is s om etim es s aid tohav e tw oan d ahal f dim en s ion s ,
becau s e the w riterl ooks s traightdow n on the s tack of
pl an es . T he w ritercan n otm ov e arou n d orbehin d the pl an es
in af u l l third dim en s ion , al thou ghthis m ayw el l be pos s ibl e
in the n extgen eration of com pu ters of tw are. ( See Lev y,
Brots ky, &Ol s on , 19 88, es pecial l ypp. 3f f .)
N oprev iou s w ritin g techn ol ogyhas of f ered an ythin g qu ite
l ike the w in dow ed typographyof the cu rren tm icrocom pu ter.
47 . Seein g an d Writin g
Sw itchin g betw een w in dow s is in s om e w ays l ike s hu f f l in g
papers in an otebook, bu tn othin g in prev iou s techn ol ogy
corres pon ds toen l argin g the s ize of the w in dow ( the text
im m ediatel yrearran ges its el f tof il l the gap)ors crol l in g
throu ghtextin aw in dow . T hes e operation s s how thatthe
textis n otpas ted tothe w in dow , as itis tothe prin ted page.
In f act, boththe w in dow an d the textm aychan ge atan ytim e.
T he w in dow m ayf l yl ike ahel icopterov erthe textu al pl an e,
orthe textm ayreal ign its el f tos u itthe dim en s ion s of the
w in dow Vis ibl e w in dow s orportion s of w in dow s com pete f or
the readers atten tion an d activ el ychan ge s hape an d s tatu s
w hen theys u cceed in attractin g atten tion . ( See F ig. 47 .1.)
If w e are v iew in g ahypertext, the w in dow s take on a
s tru ctu ral s ign if ican ce. In ahypertextthere are operation al
l in ks betw een u n its :textin on e w in dow can be l in ked totext
in an other. F ol l ow in g al in k can m ake w in dow s appear,
dis appear, orrearran ge them s el v es s othatthe des tin ation
textcom es tothe f ron tof the s creen an d captu res the
readers atten tion . T his an im ation becom es an el em en tof
el ectron ic typography. Itis as if in aprin ted book the pages
reordered them s el v es topu tthe n extin teres tin g paragraph
bef ore the readers eyes . _
l En ergetic l etters W MBCIIIIIN IM |.B| 18!!
Characters l n the com pu terare
ol at' l e T h dis f rom
F EODDEOF El SEWl ' l Bf ' Ej U IBQ CO0 w t-"[ 8"on the s om e page
9 ' 9 "be "Mil e i "" "' "" " appearexactl yal ike ev en tothe
' 1 """' c' 9 "\" u n aided eye. Varl atl on l s
"' l "5"' 9 ' 9 m ai ' ' u n av ol daol e ev en du rin g perl ods
' ""5' 5h' " 5" """ w hichs trl v e tos tan dardl ze. In
j P E' :"?l f ' 9 :1i' ::F ":E' ::_* U _7 1 the an cien tw orl d there w as
Varl atl on an d ev ol u tion ary E
V 1 ~ BU F ' F ' "" chan ge is acharacteris tic of al l
w e 9 ' "' 9 "' 9 ' """5 F w ritin g byhan d. N otw ol etters
L IIQ - on e n o
7 7 rl eEl } Bn ]El 555n -:7 : , T he El ectron ic P age
T ypographyIn orl n tbegin s w ithE
Itthe tren d in the age of prin t
has been tom ake the v is u al
s ym bol s im pl e, u n orn am en tea,
an d m athem atical l yprecis e, a
backl as hdev el oped in the
n in eteen thcen tu ryl ed by
Wil l iam Morris , w hodis tru s ted
m echan ization in al m os tan y
f orm . In En gl an d as el s ew here,
n Gn n On n n l l \-rn n ev n rie u rin al arrH014
the l etteran d n ev ergoes m u ch
f u rther. Agl an ce atthe
typographere han dbooks s how s
how m u chim portan ce is pl aced
an the choice of the typef ace
Its el f . In deed, on ce the
1' d tI ( d type aces an s yes an j *
perhaps col ors atl n k)hav e been
chos en f orabook, there are
__tn aryetl c l etter:
Characters In the com pu terare v ol an l e. {2 }
T Mechan ical l etter:
_1. .__7
B V5.. .. . .... .... a!l
m ch _El ectron ic Letters
C * T "
Q 1 tw f : .u - .||"||' | | g.
l "an n 1 7 T n egl l acl ran l cgrayaw _
h
_9 9 WT yoograahyl n prin tbegin s w iththe l el terE
9 ' " d v ar as m u chf u rtherA l a at V1 an n o go . yn co
N 1* ""l the typographers han dbooks s how s how
,, "II m u chim portan ce l apl aced on the chel ce
"IT of the tyaem e l ts el l . l n aaeo, on ce the
' "" l aces an ds as ( an d rn s cal ars tu m l u l or on
"Y of in k)hav e been chos en f orabook, there
9 ' are v eryl aw dacl s l on s l el ttobe m ade.
Eachpage w il l be arectan gl e attextw l th5}
s om e w n l te s pace arom al t. l l l u atratl on e F 3
l T
F igu re 47 .1. ( a)T il ed w in dow s s im pl ydiv ide the s creen in to
tw o, f ou r, orm ore rectan gl es ; al l are in the s am e pl an e. ( b)
Stacked w in dow s occu pydif f eren tpl an es orl ev el s cl os ertoor
f u rtherf rom the reader.
1:heN EWM EDIAR EADER
Ev en w ithin as in gl e w in dow , obj ects ( im ages an d v erbal
text)can be s tacked:textcan s l ide u n dern eathagraphic, or
the graphic its el f m aybe m ov ed torev eal an othergraphic.
T he l ayou tof the s creen m ayal w ays chan ge, an d the reader
m ayparticipate in thos e chan ges . Like the textits el f , the
typographyis n otdeterm in ed priortothe readin g, bu tis
in s tead am an if es tation of the actof readin g:itis on e as pect
of in teractiv e text. T he s creen en ters in toas eries of
con f igu ration s , an d thatev ol v in g s eries is the v is u al
expres s ion of aparticu l arreaders j ou rn eythrou ghatextu al
s tru ctu re. N oon e con f igu ration is l ikel ytobe as attractiv e as
apage thataprof es s ion al typographercan produ ce f orprin t.
Bu tn oon e con f igu ration l as ts v eryl on g, an d itis the
m ov em en tf rom on e con f igu ration tothe n extthatcarries
m u chof the m ean in g of an el ectron ic text. In acon v en tion al
prin ted textorm an u s cript, the readers eye m ov es al on g the
l etters , an d pos s ibl yback an d f ortham on g im ages , w hereas
the l etters an d im ages them s el v es are s tatic. In el ectron ic text
boththe readers eye an d the w ritin g s u rf ace are in m otion .
Com pu teran im ation can take av arietyof f orm s . Itis n ot
on l yam atterof program m ed m otion pictu res , s til l im ages
s how n on e af teran othertogiv e the il l u s ion of acon tin u ou s
s cen e. Com pu tertextan d graphics can be an im ate in the
s en s e of hav in g theirow n organ ic im pu l s e, of appearin g to
m ov e orchan ge accordin g totheirow n l ogic an d in their
ow n tim e. Ev en al phabetic texts can appearatv ariou s
l ocation s on the s creen an d chan ge ordis appearatin terv al s .
( See N is him u ra&Keiichi, 19 85.)Su chan im ation requ ires a
pecu l iarreadin g techn iqu e in w hichthe textm ov es u n derthe
eye ratherthan the rev ers e. Y etthis kin d of readin g is al ready
com m on in el ectric an d n ow el ectron ic bil l boards thatdel iv er
n ew s an d adv ertis in g. Au dien ces hav e been readin g u n s tabl e
textf ordecades in the f orm of the s u btitl es in m otion
pictu res . T he dif f eren ce is thatthe com pu teral l ow s an y
w ritertopl ayw iththe m ov em en tof textan d giv es the
w riteraf reers pace f ors u chexperim en tation .
R eadin g the com pl exel ectron ic page dem an ds an
atten tion totext, im age, an d theirrel ation s hips . R eaders
m u s tm ov e back an d f orthf rom the l in earpres en tation of
v erbal texttothe tw o-dim en s ion al f iel d of el ectron ic pictu re
w ritin g. T heycan read the al phabetic s ign s in the
con v en tion al w ay, bu ttheym u s tal s opars e diagram s ,
il l u s tration s , w in dow s , an d icon s . El ectron ic readers
theref ore s hu ttl e betw een tw om odes of readin g, orrather
theyl earn toread in aw aythatcom bin es v erbal an d pictu re
ow ~ 9 * c a eaoe * 1 W~ ~o o ~ ~~~
readin g. T heirreadin g in cl u des activ atin g s ign s bytypin g
an d m ov in g the cu rs oran d then m akin g s ym bol ic s en s e of
the m otion s thattheirm ov em en ts produ ce.
P ictu res in the T ext
Mov in g pictu res in tothe com pu ter' s w ritin g s pace is
rem arkabl yeas y. Bu tthe el ectron ic s pace dem an ds a
tran s l ation :the im age m u s tbe digitized, al l con tin u ou s l in es
an d s hadin gs m u s tbe tran s f orm ed in toabin arycodin g. Itis
pos s ibl e tof eed apictu re taken byav ideocam erain tothe
com pu ter tocaptu re aportion of the con tin u ou s s pectru m
of the v is ibl e l ight, tran s f orm thatportion in toas eries of
bits , an d s av e thos e bits as apictu re in the m achin es
m em ory. Agraphics program can then is ol ate aportion of
the pictu re, s hrin k oren l arge it, produ ce am irrorim age ora
n egativ e copy. Bu tthe program can w ork al l thes e f u rther
tran s f orm ation s on l ybecau s e the pictu re has been en coded.
An d in gen eral , the com pu tercan com bin e w ords an d
pictu res s oeas il ybecau s e bothare repres en ted in the s am e
bin arycode. T he digitization of im ages in ev itabl ys trips aw ay
theircon textan d al l ow s the m achin e, orratherits
program m er, todef in e n ew con texts . T he f u rthers tepis to
tu rn s om e pattern of bits in toan operation al s ym bol oricon .
An icon , w e recal l , is an im age thats tan ds f oradocu m en tor
aprogram in exactl ythe s am e w aythaton e pixel pattern
s tan ds f orthe l etter an otherf or an d s oon .
In el ectron ic w ritin g, then , pictu res an d v erbal textbel on g
tothe s am e s pace, an d pictu res m aycros s ov eran d becom e
textu al s ym bol s . T he u n if ied characterof the el ectron ic s pace
is u n u s u al , thou ghn otu n preceden ted in the his toryof
w ritin g. T he dev el opm en tof phon etic w ritin g, w hil e itdid
n otel im in ate pictu res al togetherf rom the w ritin g s pace, did
create adichotom ybetw een im age an d phon etic s ign .
P hon etic w ritin g pu l l s the w riteran d readertow ard the pu re
l in ears pace of s poken l an gu age, w hereas pictu res , diagram s ,
an d graphs pu l l them back tow ard apictorial s pace, w hichis
atl eas ttw o~cl im en s ion al an d w hos e m ean in g is n ots trictl y
codif ied. Dif f eren tw ritin g techn ol ogies hav e res pon ded to
this ten s ion in dif f eren tw ays .
In Egyptian w ritin g, f orexam pl e, there w as an in tim ate
rel ation s hipbetw een pictu res an d text, bothin w al l -
pain tin g an d on papyru s . Hierogl yphs w ere them s el v es l ittl e
pictu res , an d s obothv is u al l yan d con ceptu al l yEgyptian
w ritin g cou l d bl en d s m oothl yw ithil l u s tration . ( See
Weitzm an n , 19 7 0, pp. 57 -6 9 .)T he Greek an d R om an
O 119 9 147 . Seein g an d Wn ' tin g
w ritin g s pace w as n otas f rien dl ytopictu res . T he an cien ts
regarded w ritin g as an in s tru m en tf orhol din g s poken
w ords in af ixed f orm u n til theycou l d be rev iv ed bythe
v oice of the reader. Book decoration w as , theref ore, an
in s ign if ican tartin an tiqu ity. ( See N orden f al k, 19 51, pp.
9 - 2 0.)F rom the pu re al phabetic s pace of earl yGreek
in s cription s , ittook s ev eral hu n dred years f orthe Greeks to
readj u s tan d adm itpictu res an d diagram s f u l l yin tothe
w ritin g s pace. ( See Weitzm an n , 19 7 0, pp. 9 7 f f .)T he grow in g
im portan ce of pictu res in l ate an tiqu e books f orm ed al in k
w iththe Middl e Ages . Mediev al -m an u s cripts pres en ted a
com pl exs pace of w ords , pictu res , il l u s tration , an d
orn am en tation ~ the m os tcom pl expriortothe el ectron ic
m ediu m . In m ediev al books , pictu res w ere of ten s eparated
f rom the textan d giv en prom in en ce as f u l l -page m in iatu res .
Bu tthere w as al s oan ew im pu l s e todecorate the w ritin g
s pace tocreate the il l u m in ated l etters thatw ere u n iqu e to
the m ediev al w ritin g.
Like com pu tericon s , m ediev al il l u m in ated l etters
f u n ction ed s im u l tan eou s l yas textan d pictu re. In f act,
m ediev al il l u m in ation threaten ed totu rn l etters back in to
im ages orabs tract- des ign s an d s om etim es m ade the l etters
al l bu tim pos s ibl e toread. ( See Al exan der, T he Decorated
Letter19 7 8, p. 8.)P erhaps the bes t-kn ow n exam pl e is tobe
f ou n d in the Book of KeIl s , w here the Greek l etters chi-rho-
iota( s tan din g f orChris t in Matthew 1.18)occu pyaw hol e
page. T he des ign is s oin tricate thatthe s hapes of the l etters
are al m os tcom pl etel yobs cu red. Y etthes e il l u m in ated l etters
rem ain partof the v erbal text:theyhav e tobe in cl u ded in
ordertoread the v ers e. T heycon s titu te the perf ect
in terpen etration of pictu re an d w ord s pace. T he Book of Kel l s
is abs tractil l u m in ation , bu tm ediev al il l u m in ators cou l d al s o
tran s f orm an in div idu al l etterin toam in iatu re pictu re w ith
recogn izabl e hu m an oran im al s u bj ects . Som etim es the l etter
w as dis torted tocon tain its s u bj ect; s om etim es the hu m an s
oran im al s w ere el on gated ordis torted tof itin toorarou n d
the l etter. T he in itial l etterw as of ten ou tof proportion to
the res tof the textan d cou l d en com pas s al m os tan ythin g in
its l u xu rian tgrow th f an tas tic creatu res as w el l as el em en ts
of the n atu ral w orl d. Itis as if the il l u m in atorw ere tryin g to
abs orb the w hol e v is u al w orl d in tothe l etter, w hichits el f had
grow n en orm ou s l yl arge in ordertoreceiv e the w orl d.
Mediev al il l u m in ation em bodied adial ectic betw een w ritin g
an d the w orl d; itw as am ean s byw hichw ritin g cou l d
des cribe orcircu m s cribe the w orl d ~n ots ym bol ical l y
47 . Seein g an d Writin g
throu ghl an gu age, bu tv is u al l ythrou ghthe s hape of the
l etterits el f .
T he techn ol ogyof prin tf av ored as tricters eparation of
the v erbal an d pictorial w ritin g s paces . Diagram s an d
il l u s tration s w ere as popu l aras ev er. Bu tf ortechn ical
reas on s , thes e im ages w ere n otas w el l in tegrated w iththe
w ords , as theyhad been in the bes tm ediev al tradition s .
( See T u f te, 19 83, pp. 181-182 .)Woodcu til l u s tration s w ere
s egregated f rom the prin ted textas aprodu ct the w ood
betrayed m u chm ore the han d of the craf ts m an . Man y
prin ted books hav e con tain ed n oil l u s tration s atal l , j u s tas
m an ym ediev al m an u s cripts con tain ed n on e. T he ideal of the
prin ted book w as an d is as equ en ce of pages con tain in g
ordered l in es of al phabetic text. When the w oodcu tw as
repl aced bythe copperen grav in g, m ore el aborate an d f in el y
draw n im ages becam e partof the prin ted book. P rin ters an d
au thors becam e m ore in gen iou s in pu ttin g w ords an d im ages
together. T he 17 than d 18thcen tu ries w ere the age f or
al l egorical f ron tis pieces an d il l u s tration s . ( P erhaps the m os t
f am ou s exam pl e is the crow ded f ron tis piece in Vicos N ew
Scien ce w hichVicopatien tl yexpl ain s in his in trodu ction
em bodies poin tf orpoin tthe s u bs tan ce of his in terpretation
of his tory. See Vico, 19 48, pp. 2 -2 3.)T odayitis techn ical l y
pos s ibl e topl ace pictu res an d il l u s tration s in an d arou n d
text, an d ev en tos u perim pos e im ages u pon the text.
P hotol ithographyal l ow s an yim age tobe taken on tothe
page. Som e books ( es pecial l ythos e des ign ed f oryou n g
chil dren orf orcof f ee tabl es )are m os tl ypictu res . Y etthe
pictorial an d v erbal s paces are s til l n otas s u btl ycom bin ed as
theyw ere in m ediev al il l u m in ated m an u s cripts . Mos tbooks
f oradu l treaders s til l s egregate bl ocks of textf rom bl ocks of
pictu res , an d pictu res orpl ates are of ten gathered togetherin
the m iddl e of the book tol ow erprodu ction cos ts . On the
otherhan d m agazin es , n ew s papers , adv ertis in g tabl oids , an d
bil l boards al l ten d tos u bv ertthe prim acyof l in earv erbal text
in ou rcu l tu re. T heyw ork again s tthe ideal es tabl is hed bythe
prin ted book.
So, f rom the n adirof earl yGreek w ritin g, in w hichthere
w as n oroom f orpictu res , the w ritin g s pace of the papyru s
rol l , the codex, an d the prin ted book hav e perm itted a
v arietyof rel ation s hips betw een pictu re an d text:pictu res
hav e been decorativ e, expl an atory, al l egorical . T heyhav e
com m en ted on the text; the texthas com m en ted on them .
Bu ton l yin the m ediev al codexw ere w ords an d pictu res as
u n if ied as theyare on the com pu ters creen . On the s creen ,
theN EWMEDIAR EADER
as on m ediev al parchm en t, v erbal textan d im age in ter-
pen etrate tos u chadegree thatthe w riteran d readercan n o
l on gers ayw here the pictorial s pace en ds an d the v erbal
s pace begin s .
Diagram m atic Space
T he diagram is akin d of pictu re w ritin g thatcan on l yexis t
af terthe in v en tion of phon etic w ritin g. Itis acodif ied
pictu re, in w hicheachel em en thas aw el l def in ed ref eren ce:it
is v erbal w ritin g w ithpictu re el em en ts . Al l egorical pictu res
are cl iagram s , w hos e el em en ts are im ages thatrecal l the
w orl d. T heyn ow s eem qu ain tprecis el ybecau s e w e expect
diagram s tocon s is tof abs tractratherthan icon ographic
el em en ts . T here is in f actas u rpris in gl yl on g tradition of
abs tractdiagram s as aids toexpos ition . P l atou s ed al in e
diagram toexpl ain his epis tem ol ogyin the R epu bl ic. T he tree
diagram , s oim portan tf orcom pu ters tru ctu res , is v eryol d:
there s u rv iv e earl ym ediev al m an u s cripts thatdis pl ay
hierarchical in f orm ation as atree. ( F orexam pl e, there are
trees in the m an u s cripts of Cas s iodoru s ; s ee Myn ors , 19 37 ,
pp. xxiii~xxiv .)Becau s e of the tradition of il l u m in ation in
w hichw ritin g an d draw in g coexis tin the s am e w ritin g s pace,
m ediev al w ritin g w as receptiv e tobothal l egorical an d
abs tractdiagram s . Am on g the m os tf am ou s an d el aborate
diagram s w ere thos e of the 13th-cen tu rytheol ogian , R am on
Ll u l l . ( See, f orexam pl e, Ll u l l , 19 85, pp. 105-* 109 an d pl ates
12 13.)Diagram m atic repres en tation s of thou ghtcon tin u ed
in prin t, an d diagram s , l ike il l u s tration s in gen eral , f l ou ris hed
af terthe s hif tf rom w oodcu ts tocopperen grav in gs .
Giordan oBru n oan d otherR en ais s an ce m agi, in f l u en ced by
Ll u l l , produ ced books of the greates tv is u al in teres t, f il l ed
w ithabs tractan d al l egorical repres en tation s of thou ght. ( F or
adis cu s s ion of Giordan oBru n os w ork an d in f l u en ce, s ee
Y ates , 19 6 4.)More s oberw riters al s ou s ed diagram s . T ree
diagram s w ere particu l arl ypopu l arf ordis pl ayin g aram if ied
s u bj ectm atter.
Al l cl iagram s in m an u s cripts orin prin tare of cou rs e s tatic
repres en tation s . T he w riteran d the readerhav e toactiv ate
thes e diagram s m en tal l y, j u s tas theyactiv ate the v erbal text.
F orthe f irs ttim e in the his toryof w ritin g, el ectron ic
techn ol ogyn ow of f ers its w riters an d readers f l u id textan d
tru l yan im ated diagram s . T he an im ation is n om ere gim m ick.
Itrev eal s again the hypertextu al characterof el ectron ic
w ritin g in w hichdis tan tel em en ts can be l in ked togetheran d
thes e l in ks can be con ceptu al l yactiv e.
6 ~> e# ~ 4 c ~<1 e ~> a> o ~e* e@ 1.e~e a~ aw
T he popu l arcom pu ters preads heetis an exam pl e of an
activ e diagram an d in deed of ahypertext. T he s preads heet
en abl es the u s ertodis pl ayan d m odif yrel ation s hips am on g
n u m erical en tries , u s u al l ybu dgets oraccou n ts of s om e kin d.
T he u s ers ees agrid of cel l s on the s creen an d f il l s the row s
an d col u m n s of cel l s w ithappropriate n u m bers , j u s tas an
accou n tan tw ou l d dow ithpen cil an d paper. F orexam pl e, if
the s preads heetrepres en ts the in com e of as m al l bu s in es s ,
its col u m n s m ightbe m on ths of the year, an d its row s m ight
be s al es , taxes on s al es , an d s oon . ( See F ig. 47 .2 .)T he
el ectron ic s preads heetis f arm ore f l exibl e than as heetof
paper, m akin g iteas ytocopy, m odif y, an d rearran ge the
v al u es . An el ectron ic s preads heetis al s oatext, n ots im pl y
becau s e there m aybe v erbal l abel s f orthe col u m n s an d row s
bu tbecau s e its cel l s hol d the v al u es of in terrel ated v ariabl es .
T he s patial rel ation s hips of the cel l s def in e rel ation s hips
am on g the v ariabl es . T he diagram , l ike av erbal text, is a
a Hag Ju n e Ju l g El u u rter
Sal es H 2 2 2 .2 ,, pg y g $39 9 ' ,9 , g$,2 3g9 g
T axes W 350* $40 pg gig w $50g pg gg$I 0g
T u g] $1050 $840 H050 $2 9 40
b g Hag Ju n e W Ju l y Du u rter g
...........; 3.9 g............. .....-..... .H)g9 .......... ....$( )1)0
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n o__ re
F * r~= ' |<
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Sal es
40 $50 T axes
,
I3 4:
Dl .* iU l Q l O T om ] g 8:1 J $1050
F igu re 47 .2 . In this s preads heet, the rs tthree col u m n s each
record on e m on th' s activ ity. T he f ou rthcol u m n ( Q u arter)is
au tom atical l ykeyed tobe the s u m of the f irs tthree. T he rs t
row repres en ts s al es , the s econ d row ( T axes )is au tom atical l ys et
tobe 5% of the rs trow , an d the third row ( T otal )is the
au tom atic s u m of Sal es an d T axes . N ow if the u s erchan ges the
gu re f orSal es in Mayf rom $1000to$12 00, the chan ge
au tom atical l ypropagates torecom pu te the otheru n derl in ed
cel l s . Spreads heetabecom es s preads heetb. T he cel l s in this
s preads heetare thu s l in ked togethertof orm an u m erical
hypertext.
s ym bol ic s tru ctu re an d is open tos ym bol ic m an ipu l ation .
T hu s , acol u m n orrow of f igu res can be added au tom atical l y;
an en tire row can be redu ced byaf actorof three; tw o
col u m n s can be s w itched. In div idu al cel l s can al s obe l in ked
together. If the v al u e of cel l C is def in ed as the s u m of the
v al u es of Aan d B, then eachtim e the u s erchan ges AorB, C
w il l chan ge au tom atical l y. An accou n tan tcan l in k together
ol 19 9 1
407 ,,,_ ___.__
47 . Seein g an d Writin g
dozen s of cel l s w ithin tricate cal cu l ation s ; as he ors he al ters
f igu res , the chan ges propagate au tom atical l ythrou ghou tthe
grid. T he s peads heetbecom es adyn am ic tool f ors eein g the
ef f ectthaton e chan ge in abu dgetw il l hav e on otheritem s .
Its pow eris du e tothe f actthatitis hypertextu al :eachof
the cel l s is au n it, an d the cel l s are in tercon n ected in a
n etw ork of depen den cies . Bef ore the com pu ter, adiagram
thatw as in tercon n ected an d activ e in this s en s e exis ted on l y
in the im agin ation s of Ll u l l is ts an d Herm etis ts of the
R en ais s an ce.
N u m berin g Space '
As preads heetin f actl ies hal f w aybetw een av erbal textan d a
tru e m athem atical cl iagram orgraph. F orin agraphthe
w ritin g s pace its el f is n u m bered. T he graphhas l on g been an
im portan tf orm of pictu re w ritin g an d has gain ed s teadil yin
s tatu s s in ce the 18thcen tu ry, as ithas been appl ied todata
f rom experim en tal s cien ce. ( See Ben iger8:R obyn , 19 7 8, pp.
1 11.)Itcom es as n os u rpris e thatthe com pu teris the ideal
s pace f ordraw in g an d an al yzin g graphs .
Diagram s w ere im portan tev en in an cien tgeom etry:the
El em en ts of Eu cl id con tain ed proof af terproof des cribin g
how tocon s tru ctgeom etrical obj ects w iths traightedge an d
com pas s . Bu tthe w ritin g s pace of Eu cl idean geom etryw as a
s yn thetic s pace in w hichn u m bers them s el v es w ere con ceiv ed
in geom etrical term s . T he s itu ation chan ged w iththe
dev el opm en tof Cartes ian geom etryin the 17 than d 18th
cen tu ries . T he Cartes ian w ritin g s pace is n u m bered. T he
poin ts of al in e can be s etin tocorres pon den ce w ithreal
n u m bers , an d tw operpen dicu l ar, in ters ectin g l in es can m ark
ou tagrid s othatev erypoin tin theirpl an e has au n iqu e
n u m erical iden tity. T hes e l in es oraxes in dicate the s cal e by
w hichthe w ritin g its el f ( the datapoin ts )is m eas u red. T he
m odern graph, theref ore, bel on gs toas pace dif f eren tf rom
the v erbal s pace of aprin ted orhan dw ritten book. In the
v erbal s pace the row s of l etters m ark ou tahorizon tal s cal e,
bu ton l yav erycoars e on e. If on e l etteris abithigheror
l ow erthan the others in the s am e l in e, on l ythe
attractiv en es s of the l in e is af f ected; the m ean in g of the
s en ten ce does n otchan ge. Bu tin aCartes ian graph, arais ed
orl ow ered datapoin tm aychan ge the m ean in g of the w hol e
m athem atical text. Here s patial rel ation s hips are precis e an d
al w ays s ign if ican t, becau s e theyrepres en tn u m erical
rel ation s hips am on g the data. In f actin aCartes ian graph,
on l ythe s patial rel ation s hips betw een el em en ts hav e
47 . Seein g an d Writin g
m ean in g. T he el em en ts are poin ts thathav e n o
characteris tics otherthan pos ition on the pl an e.
As cien tif ic graphis an u tterl ys ys tem atic f orm of pictu re
w ritin g. T he s cien tis tm ays ee in the graphan organ izin g
prin cipl e thatw as n otapparen tin the col u m n of n u m bers
f rom w hichthe graphw as gen erated. Itm ays eem obv iou s
thatagraphic repres en tation reads m ore eas il ythan a
col u m n of n u m bers , bu texperim en tal s cien tis ts in the 17 th
an d 18thcen tu ries cam e tothis real ization m ore s l ow l ythan
Des cartes him s el f m ighthav e hoped. An u m berof
m echan ical dev ices w ere in v en ted w eathercl ocks ,
au tom atic barom eters , tide recorders thatprodu ced l in e
graphs as theym eas u red. Y ets cien tis ts of ten took thes e
graphs an d con v erted them back in ton u m erical tabl es f or
an al ys is . ( Ben iger& R obyn , 19 7 8, p. 2 )T he l ate 18than d the
19 thcen tu ries s aw the f irs ts ys tem atic u s e of graphs to
repres en tan d an al yze dataf rom the w orl d.
T odaythe graphic w ritin g s pace is f u l l yes tabl is hed:there
is of ten n oqu ickerorm ore rel iabl e w ayf oras cien tis tto
exam in e in tel l igen tl y( thatis , toread)the m as s iv e n u m ber
of m eas u rem en ts thathis orhercom pu ter-con trol l ed
in s tru m en ts can record. T he draw in g of thes e diagram s is
its el f au tom ated:com pu ters col l ectthe dataan d then pl ot
them accordin g tothe v iew ers requ irem en ts . In exam in in g
thes e graphs , s cien tif ic readers are l ookin g f orbothpattern s
an d exception s , an d the trick is tom ake bothv is u al l y
apparen t. T hu s com pu ters can be program m ed au tom atical l y
toredu ce n ois e ortoprodu ce m aps in exaggerated col ors to
giv e acl earers en s e of con tras ts .
Su chau tom ated graphs an d m aps in the com pu terhav e
readers , bu tn os in gl e, iden tif iabl e w riter. T he pl ottin g
program s are w ritten byhu m an bein gs , bu tthe dataare
s u ppl ied byin s tru m en ts w hos e f u n ction is torecord s u ch
n atu ral ev en ts as el ectrom agn etic radiation , s ou n d or
pres s u re w av es , an d tem peratu re. Of ten the in s tru m en ts are
attached directl ytocom pu ters thatrecord an d s tore the
m eas u rem en ts . N odou btm an ys cien tis ts bel iev e thattheir
graphs are n atu ral w ritin g orn atu rel s w ritin g thathu m an
bein gs are readin g w hatn atu re its el f has produ ced. Hu m an
s cien tis ts can read n atu re' s w ritin g becau s e theyhav e
m as tered the m athem atical l an gu age of n atu re. Withou tthe
n u m bered w ritin g s pace, this n atu ral w ritin g can n otbe
recorded oru n ders tood. Bu titis precis el ythatrequ irem en t
thatm akes the hu m an s cien tis tm ore than apas s iv e reader.
T he s cien tis tn oton l yreads the graphic res u l ts ; he ors he al s o
theN EWMEDIAR EADER
determ in es the v ariabl es torecord an d the w ayin w hich
thos e v ariabl es w il l param eterize the w ritin g s pace. Ev en in
the s im pl es tgraphthe s cien tis tdeterm in es w hatthe xan d y
axes w il l m ean an d w hats cal e eachw il l hav e.
Scien tif ic pictu re w ritin g is its el f aproces s of dis cov ery.
T he w riterdeterm in es the param eters of the s pace an d then
l ets the in s tru m en ts dothe w ritin g. An d ev en w iththe m os t
s ophis ticated program , s om e hu m an w riter, program m er, or
s cien tis tm u s ts til l decide how the w ritin g s pace w il l be
n u m bered. I-Ie ors he m ayren u m berthe s pace m an ytim es to
s ee the dataf rom dif f eren tpers pectiv es . Scien tis ts don otin
gen eral kn ow w hatpattern theirdataw il l produ ce, an d in
f acttheychan ge pers pectiv es in ordertos ee s om ethin g they
hav e n otan ticipated orcou l d n ots ee cl earl yf rom an other
v iew . T he com pu tercan be ef f ectiv e here precis el ybecau s e it
al l ow s rapid rew orkin g of the s pace. In s cien tif ic graphin g,
the w riteran d readerare of ten the s am e s cien tis torteam of
s cien tis ts , an d the iron yis thats u chw riters don otkn ow in
adv an ce w hattheyw il l be giv in g them s el v es toread. I-Iere
the s cien tif ic pictu re w riterres em bl es the v erbal w riter, w ho
m ayal s obe s u rpris ed bythe texthe ors he produ ces .
Scien tif ic graphic w ritin g, particu l arl yw iththe aid of the
com pu ter, dis tan ces w riters f rom theirw ritin g ( data)in s u ch
aw aythatthe w ritin g n ol on gers eem s tobel on g tothem at
al l . We m ightcom pare this s itu ation tothe au tom atic or
tran ce w ritin g practiced atv ariou s tim es in his tory, m os t
recen tl ybythe s u rreal is ts . Bu tin thos e cas es the goal w as to
l os e con trol , toan n ihil ate the con s ciou s cen s oran d al l ow
u n con s ciou s im ages an d ideas topou rf orth. In the au tom atic
w ritin g of s cien ce, al ayerof com pu terized con trol is im pos ed
betw een the w orl d an d w ritin g s pace. T he s pace its el f is dis ci~
pl in ed bythe n u m berin g s chem e im pos ed on it.
Graphic R hetoric
Al thou ghthe n u m bered graphw as an d is an al tern ativ e to
v erbal w ritin g, the barrierbetw een the graphan d the textu al
w ritin g s pace has n ev erbeen abs ol u te. Ev en apu re Cartes ian
graphhas its axes l abel ed w ithl etters of the al phabet. T he
his toryof graphic des ign an d typographys how s thatin the
bes tgraphs the n u m bered s pace an d the v erbal s pace n ot
on l ycoexis t, bu tal s oin terpen etrate. T he s tatis tical graphs of
the 18than d 19 thcen tu ries con tain ed af airam ou n tof
w ritin g, w hichs erv ed toan chorthe graphtothe v erbal
w ritin g s pace. Edw ard T u f te, acon tem poraryw riteron
graphics , s til l adv is es thatgraphs s hou l d be com bin ation s of
0 s - -0 . 1 s l u g 47 . Seein g an d Writin g
w ords , im ages , an d n u m bers an d adds thatl dl atagraphics
are paragraphs abou tdataan d s hou l d be treated as s u ch
( T u f te, 19 83, p. 181). He m ean s thatgraphs s hou l d be
in tegrated in tothe texts othatthe readers eye m ov es eas il y
f rom aparagraphof w ords tothe graphan d on tom ore
w ords . T he f ree com bin ation of w ords , n u m bers , an d im ages
thatis characteris tic of the el ectron ic w ritin g s pace did n ot
begin w iththe com pu ter; ithas been af eatu re of the bes t
graphics of the l as ttw ocen tu ries .
Scien tif ic graphs com bin e the ol des tan d the n ew es tof
l an gu ages pictu re w ritin g an d m odern m athem atics an d
the res u l tis arhetoric thatou rcu l tu re f in ds m os t
con v in cin g. T om ake m odern s cien ce pal atabl e toagen eral
au dien ce, its eem s thatm os tof the m athem atics m u s tbe
tran s l ated in tow ords orpictu res . On e prettyres u l tis the
m athem atical l ydef in ed ps eu dopictu re, in w hichequ ation s
ratherthan tan gibl e obj ects create the l in es an d s hadin gs .
T hu s , m athem atical obj ects cal l ed Man del brots ets can be
m ade in s u rreal l an ds capes am ou n tain l ake ors teepcl if f s
bes ide apl acid s ea. T he poin tis totrick the v iew erin to
pu ttin g the im age in the w ron g category, regardin g itas an
obj ectin pictorial s pace draw n af tern atu re, ratherthan as a
graph. P rogram m ers pl aythis gam e perhaps ou tof a
con ceal ed des ire todem on s trate thatm athem atics u n derl ies
the w orl d. T he P ythagorean im pu l s e tocon s tru ctthe w orl d
f rom n u m bers com es n atu ral l ytoan yon e w hobu il ds or
program s com pu ters .
Experts in com pu tergraphics hav e l earn ed how to
gen erate al l s orts of recogn izabl e f orm s m athem atical l yan d
1 .
I_I I I
dil -
O.
"
togiv e theirf orm s athree dim en s ion al pres en ce. T heiraim is F l gu f e 47 3- T w o3m P u teI' 9 eeated Im ages f rom the U N C
toen abl e the m achin e tocreate im ages thatl ook as if they
cam e f rom the w orl d of l ight. F orexam pl e, the im ages in P ig.
47 .3 w ere gen erated f rom adatas tru ctu re thatw as its el f
bas ed on as eries of photographs . On ce the com pu terhas
tu rn ed thes e photographs in toam athem atical s tru ctu re of
poin ts an d s hadin gs , itcan m an ipu l ate thats tru ctu re to
gen erate av arietyof im ages w ithdif f eren tl ightin g an d f rom
dif f eren tpers pectiv es . T he m achin e can create an an im ation
in w hichthe v iew ers pers pectiv e chan ges as he ors he w al ks
throu ghthe bu il din g. Com pu tergraphics s u chas thes e are
v iv id exam pl es of the com pu ters abil itytom athem atize
s pace: tobrin g n u m erical an d pictorial s pace together.
Ev en w ithou tthe com pu ter, how ev er, con tem porary
graphics s eem s dedicated tocom bin in g the pictu re w iththe
s cien tif ic graph. On e u n happyres u l tis the ps eu dographthat
Wal kthrou ghproj ect. R eprin ted w iththe kin d perm is s ion of
F rederick P . Brooks , Jr., prin cipal in v es tigator, an d John Airey,
team l eader. Oran ge U n ited Methodis tChu rchf el l ow s hiphal l
des ign byWes l eyMcCl u re, F AIA, an d Craig Leon ard of Bohm N BBJ.
is n ow com m on in n ew s papers , m agazin es , an d tel ev is ion .
Here the n u m berin g of the s pace is s oredu ced thatit
becom es adecoration f orrhetorical ef f ect, an d the graph
res ol v es its el f in ton atu ral is tic f orm s , l ike adegen eratin g
tradition of artorarchitectu re Agraphs how in g the in creas e
in airl in e riders hipov erthe pas tten years w il l f eatu re a
pas s en gerj etzoom in g u ptothe rightov eraCartes ian grid,
its exhau s ttrail def in in g the in creas e yearbyyear. Abar
chartof in du s trial pol l u tion w il l hav e col ored s m oke s tacks
toin dicate the v al u es of eachpol l u tan t. Apie charton s n ack
f ood in Am ericaw il l take the f orm of areal pie. T hes e are
~
I
47 . Seein g an d Writin g
graphs s eekin g toretu rn totheirroots as pu re icon ic pictu re
w ritin g, in w hichim ages f l oatf ree in acon tin u ou s an d
u n n u m bered s pace. P erhaps the des cen tf rom the greatv is u al
rhetoric of the 19 thcen tu rytothe ps eu dographs of todays
n ew s papers m irrors the decl in e in v erbal rhetoric in the s am e
period. In an ycas e, in this f in al eraof prin ttechn ol ogy,
des ign ers of books , j ou rn al s , an d n ew s papers m ixw ords ,
im ages , an d diagram s w ithou tres train t. T he res u l tis
s om etim es s u cces s f u l , s om etim es aparody. Graphs take on
grotes qu e s hapes in ordertoref l ecttheirs u bj ectm atter.
Diagram s s om etim es in tru de in the v erbal textits el f , as
il l u s tration s did w ithgreaterartis tryin the Middl e Ages .
Con v en tion al l in ed textis s u perim pos ed on diagram s , s othat
the diagram s s eem tobe apris on erof the texttow hichthey
ref er. T he pu re v erbal w ritin g s pace, the im pl icitideal of prin t
techn ol ogy, n ow pen etrates oris pen etrated bythe pictorial
s pace of the im age an d the n u m erical s pace of the graph.
Atits w ors t, the prin ted page of ten s eem s exhau s ted-as if
itw ere tryin g tocon v in ce its el f of its ow n v ital ityw ithriotou s
dis pl ays of col oran d f orm . Atits bes t, how ev er, prin tis
an ticipatin g the n ew v is u al rhetoric of el ectron ic w ritin g, in
w hichw ords , im ages , an d n u m bered el em en ts eas il yoccu pya
s in gl e s pace. On abit-m apped com pu ters creen , ev erypixel is an
el em en tin atw o-dim en s ion al Cartes ian graph:l etters of the
al phabetare them s el v es graphic l in es an d cu rv es . T he w hol e
v is u al s pace of the s creen is n u m bered byits xan d y
coordin ates , an d the com pu tercan draw textatan ycoordin ate
pos ition . Itcan al s ogiv e ov eran ypos ition toagraphic. Itis
theref ore n atu ral toin cl u de n u m erical graphs on the s creen
al on g w iththe text, j u s tas itis n atu ral toin cl u de digitized
pictu res an d icon s . Sedate row s of l in eartextare becom in g the
exception ratherthan the ru l e. In s tead al phabetic textm aybe
an chored an yw here on the s creen bes ide, abov e, orbel ow
pictu re el em en ts . T he n tu n bered s pace al s os erv es as agrid to
con trol the m ov em en tof graphs an d diagram s . T he com pu ter
can pl otl in es of databef ore the readers eyes . Itcan pres en t, f or
exam pl e, pol itical m aps thatchan ge toref l ectthe pas s age of
years orcen tu ries atechn iqu e thattm til recen tl yw as l im ited
tof il m orv ideow ithhan d-draw n an im ation . T he com pu ter
m akes pos s ibl e akin d of his torical atl as in w hichin v as ion s an d
battl es , col on ization , an d the grow thof popu l ation s an d cities
are s how n in tim e as w el l as s pace.
T he au thors of s u chan atl as w il l hav e tol earn tow ork in a
n ew dim en s ion . Des ign in g f orthe prin ted page, theym u s t
con s iderhow totu rn his torical chan ge in toareadabl e, s tatic
theN EWMEDIAR EADER
pictu re how topl ace tim el in es , l in es of m arch, an d dates on
the m apin areadabl e w ay. An el ectron ic m apw il l hav e tobe
readabl e ev en as itchan ges ; the au thors m u s tcon ceiv e of their
m apas atem poral experien ce f ortheirreaders . T he s am e hol ds
f orw riters w hos eek toan im ate an yv erbal orgraphic textin
the com pu ter. T heym u s ten v is ion w hatthe readerw il l s ee at
eachm om en tan d how thatv iew w il l accord w ithw hatcom es
bef ore an d af ter. Au thors in prin torm an u s criptm u s tal s o
con ceiv e of theirtextas u n f ol din g in tim e, bu ttheyhav e l ittl e
con trol of the readers pace. T he el ectron ic au thorw hochoos es
toan im ate m u s tbeargreaterres pon s ibil ityf orthe readers
tem poral experien ce, becau s e he ors he can regu l ate the f l ow of
textan d im ages on the s creen .
R ef eren ces
Al exan der, J. J. G. ( 19 7 8)T he Decorated Letter. N ew Y ork: G. Brazil l er.
Ben iger, Jam es R ., 8rR obyn , DorothyL. ( 19 7 8)Q u an titativ e graphics in
s tatis tics : Abrief his tory. Am erican Statis tician , 32 , 1-11.
Hav el ock, Eric. A. ( 19 82 )T he Literate R ev ol u tion in Greece an d Its
Cu l tu ral Con s equ en ces . P rin ceton , N J: P rin ceton U n iv ers ityP res s .
Kn u th, Don al d E. ( 19 82 )T he con ceptof am eta-f on t. Vis ibl e Lan gu age,
16 , pp. 3-2 7 .
_ev y, D., Brots ky, Dan iel C., 8rOl s on , Ken n ethR . ( 19 88)F orm al izin g the
F igu ral : As pects of aF ou n dation f orDocu m en tMan ipu l ation . P al oAl to,
CA: Sys tem Scien ces Laboratory, XeroxP AR C.
_ieberm an , J. B. ( 19 7 8)T ype an d T ypef aces . N ew R ochel l e, N Y : Myriade
P res s .
_l u l l , R am on . ( 19 85)Sel ected Works of R am on Ll u l l ( 12 32 -1316 )
( An thon yBon n er, Ed.)( Vol s . 1-2 ). P rin ceton : P rin ceton U n iv ers ity
P res s .
Morris , Wil l iam . ( 19 82 )T he Ideal Book: Es s ays an d Lectu res on the Arts
of the Book byWil l iam Morn s ( Wil l iam S. P eters on , Ed.). Berkel ey:
U n iv ers ityof Cal if orn iaP res s .
Myn ors , R . A. B. ( Ed.). ( 19 37 )Cas s iodoriSen atoris In s titu tion es . Oxf ord:
Cl aren don P res s .
N is him u ra, Y ., & Keiichi, Sato. ( 19 85)Dyn am ic In f orm ation Dis pl ay.
Vis ibl e Lan gu age, 19 ( 2 ), 2 51-2 7 1. _
N orden f al k, Carl . ( 19 51)T he Begin n in g of Book Decoration ."In Es s ays
in Hon orof Georg Sw arzen s ki( pp. 9 -2 0). Chicago: Hen ryR egn eryCo.
Stein berg, S. H. ( 19 59 )F iv e Hu n dred Y ears of P n n tin g. N ew Y ork:
Criterion Books .
T u f te, Edw ard R . ( 19 83)T he Vis u al Dis pl ayof Q u an titativ e In f orm ation .
Ches hire, CT : Graphics P res s .
Vico, Giam battis ta. ( 19 48)T he N ew Scien ce of Giam battis taVico( T . G.
Bergin 81 M. H. F is ch, T ran s .). Ithaca, N Y : Corn el l U n iv ers ityP res s .
Weitzm an n , Ku rt. ( 19 7 0)Il l u s tration s in R ol l an d Codex: AStu dyof the
On gin an d Method of T extIl l u s tration . P rin ceton , N J: P rin ceton
U n iv ers ityP res s .
Y ates , F ran ces A. ( 19 6 4)Giordan oBru n oan d the Herm etic T radition .
Lon don : R ou tl edge an d Kegan P au l .
--
Q ..., . -. ..,,|9 9 1 48. Y ou Wan taR ev ol u tion
48. [ In trodu ction ] L
Y ou SayY ou Wan taR ev ol u tion ?
Hypertextan d the Law s of Media
T he rev ol u tion has n ' tbeen adequ atel ytel ev is ed-orWebcas t, f orthatm atter. T here are dis tu rbin g
v is ion s pu tf orthin n ew m edias rev ol u tion aryban ter:T ed N el s on s dream of aMcDon al ds in s pired
w orl d hypertextchain , Cl if f ord Stol l s acceptan ce of gov ern m en tin f orm ation s u rv eil l an ce as if itw ere
s il icon s n ake oil f orthe s ou l -an d thes e are j u s ts om e of the ideas com in g f rom gu ys w hoare on ou r
s ide. If theres an yhope w e can hol d ou tf orw hatw il l ev en tu al l ybecom e real it.y -ortom orrow s "
particu l arl ev el of m ediated hyperreal ity- itcan on l ybeen s een , in Stu artMou l throps v iew , by
s u bj ectin g the es s en tial qu al ities of aparticu l arn ew m ediu m tos cru tin y.
Appl yin g McLu han s pl an f oraf ou r partm ediain terrogation , Mou l thropn oted s ev eral qu al ities of
on e particu l arn ew m ediaf orm at, hypertext, w hichin deed w ere born e ou tov erthe f ol l ow in g decade.
( McLu han s f ou rqu es tion s , of cou rs e, can s im il arl ybe appl ied toothers pecif ic digital m edia.)By
pl acin g the n ew m ediu m again s tothers , an d con s iderin g how itm ightf u n ction in the extrem e,
certain as s u m ption s prev iou s l ytaken f orgran ted w ere u ps et. Mou l throppoin ted ou t, f orin s tan ce,
thathypertextdoes n otrepl ace the book it' s m ore l ikel yarepl acem en tf orT V. P u ttin g the book on
the card again s thypertextis s til l apopu l aram u s em en t, thou gh. Y etw hil e ou rappl ian ces aw ait
con v ergen ce, m iddl e s chool an d highs chool s tu den ts of ten s pen d hou rs adayoccu pied in readin g
an d w ritin g on l in e, u s in g tim e thattw odecades earl ierw ou l d l ikel yhav e been of f ered u ptothe l iv in g
room idol . Su chan ou tcom e w as s u gges ted byMou l thropin the f ol l ow in g pages , back bef ore the
graphical Web brow s erhad ev en been depl oyed, w hen the v eryf ew u s ers of the text-on l yWeb w ere
al l peopl e w hocou l d s ol v e s econ d-orderdif f eren tial equ ation s .
N otev eryas pectof todays prev ail in g hypertexts ys tem has been as ros y. As predicted, Son yhas
in deed pu rchas ed Xan adu Operatin g Com pan y, atl eas tin am an n erof s peakin g. Al thou gh
in div idu al s are f ree tos cribbl e in pu bl icl y-pos ted Web diaries an d the l ike, the popu l ace ( el ite orn ot) U
acces s es the Web an d reads in f orm ation al m os ten tirel yv ial arge, corporate Web s ites s u chas Y ahool , Q
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CN N .com , an d MSN BC. Like the P aris ian s tu den trev ol u tion aries of 19 6 8 thatJean Bau dril l ard I
m en tion s ( O19 ), w e hav e taken ov erthe s tation on l ytores u m e n orm al m ethods of broadcas tin g. Is it -1
tool ate tom ake areal rev ol u tion aryef f ort, ordow e s im pl yl is ten toaw ord f rom ou rs pon s oran d
acceptthis retu rn toou ru s u al program m in g?
T he open an d dyn am ic docu v ers e thathypertextw as s u ppos ed tobrin g can tbe s en s ed in the
pu l l u l ation of pos s ibil ities today, ev en on aLin u xcom pu terthatis f orkin g l ike m ad. In s tead of
hypertexton T ed N el s on s m odel ( O11, ( > 2 1, ( > 30), oran yotherhypertextm odel cu rren tatthe tim e
of this es s ays w ritin g, w e n ow hav e as im pl e hypertexts ys tem , the Web, born e u pon the In tern et.
When Mou l thropas ked the l as tof McLu han s f ou rqu es tion s Whatdoes itprodu ce orbecom e
w hen taken toits l im it? of hypertext, he n oted thatam ediu m taken toits l im itis s aid torev ers e;
w ithaparticipatorym ediu m , f orexam pl e, becom in g hom ogen ou s an d hegem on ic. T he n ext
qu es tion , if w e f ol l ow the l in k, in v ol v es as kin g w hatthe Web, todays s pecif ic hypertexts ys tem ,
becom es w hen taken tothe l im it. P artof the an s w erm ightbe s een in u n -hypertext-l ike s erv ices
s u chas in s tan tm es s agin g, MP 3 s w appin g, Q u ake tou rn am en ts , an d m as s iv el ym u l tipl ayer
rol epl ayin g gam es al l of w hichs hare the In tern etw iththe Web bu ttake the ideaof textu al
exchan ge toits data- oraction -packed l im it.
-N M 81 N WF
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48. Y ou Wan taR ev ol u tion
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theN EWMEDIAR EADER
A S is
7 C
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1
Origin al P u bl ication -
P os tm odern Cu l tu re, 1( 3). May19 9 1. T his textis f rom Es s ays in
P os tm odern Cu l tu re, 6 9 -9 7 . Edited byE. Am iran an d J. U n s w orth.
Oxf ord U n iv ers ityP res s , 19 9 3. T he f orew ord w as added in Es s ays in
P os tm odern Cu l tu re an d s om e rev is ion s w ere m ade.
Y ou SayY ou Wan ta
R ev ol u tion ?
Hypertextan d
the Law s of Media
Stu artMou l thropy
When this es s ayf irs tappeared, al l of tw oyears ago, v eryf ew
peopl e ou ts ide the in f orm ation s cien ces had heard of
hypertext, atechn ol ogyf orcreatin g el ectron ic docu m en ts in
w hichthe u s ers acces s toin f orm ation is n otcon s train ed, as
in books , byl in earorhierarchical arran gem en ts of dis cou rs e.
T his obs cu rityhad al w ays s eem ed s tran ge, s in ce hypertext
has been arou n d f oral on g tim e. Its u n derl yin g con cept--
creatin g an d en actin g l in kages betw een s tored bits of
in f orm ation origin ated in 19 45w ithVan n ev arBu s h,
s cien ce adv is ortoP res iden tR oos ev el t, w how an ted tobu il d
am achin e cal l ed Mem extohel pres earchers organ ize
dis parate s ou rces of kn ow l edge ( s ee Bu s h; Lan dow , 14-15).
Bu s hs des ign , bas ed on m icrof il m , rotatin g s pool s , an d
photoel ectric cel l s , prov ed im practical f orthe m echan ical
techn ol ogies of the l ate 19 405. Bu tw hen el ectron ic
com pu ters arriv ed on the academ ic s cen e af ew years l ater,
Bu s hs proj ection s w ere qu ickl yreal ized. In as en s e, al l
dis tribu ted com pu tin g s ys tem s are hypertextu al , s in ce they
del iv erin f orm ation dyn am ical l yin res pon s e tou s ers
dem an ds ( Bol ter, 9 -10). In deed, artif icial in tel l igen ce
res earchers created the f irs thypertextu al n arrativ e, the
com pu tergam e cal l ed Adv en tu re, in ordertoexperim en t
Eozm pu tin gr.Y -iiiaetiin iery; -_7 % il -9 9 % , 2 -?il 2 ."--"-"2 2 3. _- _ ' -. - . ' ' P
w ithin teractiv e com pu tin g in the earl y19 6 0s ( Lev y,
140-41).
Itw as abou tthis tim e thatT heodorI-Iol m N el s on , a
s om etim e academ ic an d adedicated prom oterof techn ol ogy,
coin ed the term hypertext. N el s on of f ered pl an s f ora
w orl dw ide n etw ork of in f orm ation , cen tral l ycoordin ated
throu ghal in kin g an d retriev al s ys tem he cal l ed Xan adu . In a
trioof s el f -pu bl is hed m an if es toes ( Com pu terLib, Dream
Machin es , LiteraryMachin es ), N el s on ou tl in ed the s tru ctu re
an d f u n ction of Xan adu , rightdow n tothe f ran chis e
arran gem en ts f orSil v ers tan ds , the in f orm ation al equ iv al en t
of f as t f ood ou tl ets w here u s ers w ou l d gotoacces s the
s ys tem . ( T his w as l on g bef ore an yon e dream ed of pers on al
com pu ters .)N el s on s ideas gots eriou s con s ideration f rom
com pu ters cien tis ts , n otabl yDou gl as En gel bart, on e of the
pion eers of u s erin terf ace des ign . En gl ebartan d N el s on
col l aborated atBrow n U n iv ers ityin the earl y19 7 05on a
hypertexts ys tem cal l ed P R ESS, an d an u m berof academ ic
an d in du s trial experim en ts f ol l ow ed ( s ee Con kl in ). T oal arge
exten t, how ev er, the ideaof hypertext w hichbothBu s h
an d N el s on had en v is ion ed as adyn am ic, read/ w rite s ys tem
in w hichu s ers cou l d bothm an ipu l ate an d al terthe textu al
corpu s - w as n egl ected in f av orof m ore rigidl yorgan ized
m odel s l ike dis tribu ted databas es an d el ectron ic l ibraries ,
s ys tem s thatoperate m ain l yin aread on l yretriev al m ode. T o
N el s on , hypertextan d otherf orm s of in teractiv e com pu tin g
repres en ted apow erf u l f orce f ors ocial chan ge. T om orrow s
hypertexts ys tem s hav e im m en s e pol itical ram if ication s , he
w rote in LiteraryMachin es ( 3/ 19 ). Y etn oon e s eem ed
particu l arl yin teres ted in expl orin g thos e ram if ication s , at
l eas tn otu n til the m id-19 805, w hen the pers on al com pu ter
bu s in es s w en tbal l is tic.
19 87 : the an n u s m irabil is of hypertext. Man ys tran ge an d
w on derf u l thin gs happen ed in an d arou n d thatyear. N el s on s
u n dergrou n d cl as s ics , Com pu terLib an d Dream Machin es , w ere
pu bl is hed byMicros of tP res s ; N el s on him s el f j oin ed
Au todes k, an in du s tryl eaderin s of tw are dev el opm en t, w hich
an n ou n ced pl an s tos u pportXan adu as acom m ercial
Q o - 0 Q 0
en terpris e; the As s ociation f orCom pu tin g Machin ery
s pon s ored the f irs tof its in tern ation al con f eren ces on
hypertext; an d m os tim portan t, Appl e Com pu terbegan
giv in g aw ayHyperCard, an obj ect-orien ted hypertexts ys tem ,
toan yon e w hoow n ed aMacin tos hpers on al com pu ter.
HyperCard is the Model T of hypertext:rel ativ el ycheap
( origin al l yf ree), s im pl e tooperate ( bein g l argel yan exten s ion
of the Macin tos hs graphical u s erin terf ace), qu ite cru de
com pared tom ore s tate-of -the-artprodu cts , bu ts til l
en orm ou s l ypow erf u l . In the l ate 19 80s its eem ed pl au s ibl e
thatHyperCard an d otherpers on al com pu terappl ication s
w ou l d u s herin an ew paradigm f ortextu al com m u n ication ,
the l ogical s tepbeyon d des ktoppu bl is hin g toal l el ectron ic
docu m en ts con tain in g m u l tipl e pathw ays of expres s ion .
Ithas n ow been s ixyears s in ce thatgreatu n v eil in g of
hypertext, an d n os u chdigital rev ol u tion has arriv ed. At
on e poin t, s ou rces in the pers on al com pu terin du s tryf ores aw
abu rgeon in g m arketf ors tackw are"an d other
hypertextu al l yorgan ized produ cts ; n othin g of the kin d has
m aterial ized. In s tead, the m os tcom m ercial l yam bitiou s
appl ication of HyperCard in el ectron ic pu bl is hin g has been
the VoyagerCom pan ys l in e of Expan ded Books ,"bas ed
excl u s iv el yon prin ttitl es an d caref u l l ydes ign ed todu pl icate
the l ook an d f u n ction of tradition al books ( Stan s berry, 54).
T ru e, the hypertextcon cepthas f in al l yreceiv ed s om e
atten tion f rom hu m an is tacadem ics . JayDav id Bol ters
Writin g Space ( 19 9 1)ou tl in es ahis torical View of hypertext
as the s u cces s ortoprin ttechn ol ogy an d w ithN el s on s
LiteraryMachin es is on e of the f irs ts tu dies of hypertexttobe
pres en ted in hypertextu al f orm . George Lan dow s Hypertext
( 19 9 2 )pl aces dev el opm en ts in el ectron ic w ritin g w ithin the
con textof pos ts tru ctu ral is tcriticis m an d pos tm odern
cu l tu re ( an d is al s odu e toappears hortl yas ahypertext). T he
s pectre of hypertextu al f iction has ev en been rais ed bythe
n ov el is tR obertCoov erin the N ew Y ork T im es Book R ev iew
( s ee T he En d of Books ). Bu tparadoxical l y( oras f ate w ou l d
hav e it), this recogn ition com es w hen hypertextis n ol on ger
w haton e of m ycol l eagu es cal l s abl eedin g edge techn ol ogy.
In deed, m u chof the cache s eem s tohav e bl ed ou tof
hypertext, w hichhas been bu m ped f rom the l im el ightby
hazieran d m ore gl am orou s obs es s ion s :cybers pace, v irtu al
real ity, an d the In f orm ation Highw ay.
Su chchan ges of f as hion s eem aregu l arhazard of the
pos tm odern territory takin g pos tm odoatits m os tl iteral ,
tom ean af terthe n ow orthe n extthin g. Starin g dow n atou r
. J19 48. Y ou Wan taR ev ol u tion
des ktop, l aptop, orpal m topm achin es w hichw e kn ow w il l
be obs ol ete l on g bef ore w e hav e paid f orthem thos e of u s
w ithin w hatF red P f eil cal l s the baby boom prof es s ion al -
m an agerial cl as s w il l al w ays des ire the n extthin g. ( An other
T al e, 9 8). N otf orn othin g hav e w e u pdated StarT rek, ou rtru e
s pace Odys s ey, in toaN extGen eration ."We are the
gen eration ( an d gen erators )of n extn es s . Ors oStev e Jobs
on ce as s u m ed, s om ew hattohis pres en tchagrin . P os s ibl y
hypertext, l ike Jobs s s ophis ticated N eXT com pu ter,
repres en ts an ideathathas n ' tqu ite com e tothe m ain s tream
of pos tm odern cu l tu re, aprecociou s cu riodes tin ed tobe du g
u pyears f rom n ow an d cal l ed s tran gel yahead of its tim e.
U n f ortu n atel y, as T ed N el s on can tes tif y, hypertexthas been
throu ghthis proces s on ce bef ore. Acertain circu l aritys eem s
tobe in pl ay.
P erhaps the probl em l ies n otin ou rtechn ol ogies orthe
thin gs w e w an ttodow iththem , bu tin ou r
m is u n ders tan din g of techn ol ogical his tory. Som e of u s keep
s ayin g, as In ote in this es s ay, thatw e n eed arev ol u tion , a
paradigm s hif t, atotal u prootin g of the ol d in f orm ation
order:an apocal yptic ru ptu re. orbl es s d break, as R obert
Low el l on ce pu tit."An d yetthatis n otw hatw e hav e receiv ed,
atl eas ts of ar. Maybe w e s u f f erthis dis appoin tm en tbecau s e
w e don otu n ders tan d w hatw e are as kin g f or. Whatcou l d
rev ol u tion m ean in apos tm odern con text?We m ightl ook
f oran s w ers in Bau dril l ard, Lyotard, Don n aHaraw ay, or
Hakim Bey; bu tHol l yw ood, as u s u al , has the bes tl in e. J.I-7 .
Law ton s s creen pl ayf orU n derSiege, l as ts u m m ers Stev en
Seagal l v ehicl e, in cl u des an en l ighten in g exchan ge betw een a
CIAs pym as ter( pl ayed byN ick Man cu s o)an d arebel l iou s
terroris tf orm erl yin his em pl oy( T om m ie Lee Jon es ). T he
s pook chides the terroris t, rem in din g him thatthe s ixties are
ov er, the Mov em en tis dead. Jon es s characterrepl ies : Y es !
Of cou rs e! Hen ce the n am e: Mov em en t.Itm ov es acertain
dis tan ce, then its tops . R ev ol u tion gets its n am e byal w ays
com in g back arou n d in you rf ace.
P erhaps hypertextis j u s tan otherm ov em en t. On on e l ev el ,
itis hard todis crim in ate am on g hypertext, v irtu al real ity,
an d n extyears in teractiv e cabl e s ys tem s . Al l three s eem to
m ov e in the s am e gen eral direction , attem ptin g toin creas e
an d en richou rcon s u m ption of in f orm ation . Bu tas An drew
R os s has n oted, u n dertakin gs of this type m ayhav e l arge
con s equ en ces ( Stran ge Weather88). P oten tial l yatl eas t, they
threaten tou ps etthe s tabil ityof l an gu age-as property -a
pos s ibil ityw ithgreatpol itical ram if ication s in deed. Itm ight
48. Y ou Wan taR ev ol u tion
theref ore be dan gerou s todis m is s hypertextas m erel yal ocal
m ov em en t, an in itiativ e as dead as the s ocial agen das of the
s ixties f rom w hichitpartl ys pran g. Con s iderin g the
v icis s itu des of hypertexts his tory, w e m ightin deed cal l ita
rev ol u tion if rev ol u tion is s om ethin g thatcom es f u l l
circl e, es capin g repres s ion tos m ack u s s m artl yin the f ace.
Su chbein g the cas e, how ev er, is this rev ol u tion s om ethin g
ou rcu l tu re gen u in el yw an ts ?When itcom es toin f orm ation
techn ol ogies , w hatdow e w an t?Whyare w e m ov in g in
circl es ?Whatis this f igu re w e are w eav in g, tw ice orthrice,
an d w haten chan teroren chan tm en tdow e w is htocon tain ?
T he origin al Xan adu ( Sam u el T ayl orCol eridges )cam e bil l ed
as ' AVis ion in aDream , des ign ated dou bl yu n real an d thu s
eas il yal ign ed w ithou reraof operation al s im u l ation w here,
s traw berryf iel ds , n othin g is real in the f irs tpl ace, s in ce n o
pl ace is real l yf irs t ( Bau dril l ard Sim u l ation s , 10). Bu tal l great
dream s in v ite rev is ion s , an d thes e days w e f in d ou rs el v es
perpetu al l yon the re-m ake. Sohere is an ew Xan adu , the
u n iv ers al hypertexts ys tem propos ed byT heodorHol m
N el s on av is ion w hich, u n l ike its l egen daryprecu rs or,
can n otbe in tegrated in tothe dream park of the hyperreal .
Hyperreal ity, w e are tol d, is as ite of col l aps e orim pl os ion
w here ref eren tial orgrou n ded u tteran ce becom es
in dis tin gu is habl e f rom the s el f ref eren tial an d the im agin ary.
We con s tru ctou rrepres en tation al s ys tem s n otin s erial
rel ation toin dis pu tabl yreal phen om en a, bu tratherin
recu rs iv e an d m u l tipl e paral l el , m appin g on todif f eren tco-
ordin ate s ys tem s ( P yn chon , 159 ). Maps deriv e n otf rom
territories bu tf rom prev iou s m ap-m akin g en terpris es :al l the
w orl ds as im u l ation .
T his real ityim pl os ion brin gs s eriou s ideol ogical
con s equ en ces , f ors om e w ou l d s ayitin v al idates the in f orm in g
m as tern arrativ es of m odern ity, l eav in g u s w itha
prol if eration of in com patibl e dis cou rs es an d m ethods
( Lyotard, 2 6 ). Su chu n checked v ariation , ithas been obj ected,
depriv es s ocial critiqu e of acl earagen da( Eagl eton , 6 3).
Hyperreal itypriv il eges n odis cou rs e as abs ol u te ordef in itiv e;
critiqu e becom es j u s tan otherf orm of paral ogy, a
cou n term ov e in the l an gu age gam e thatis techn o~s ocial
con s tru ction of real ity. T he gam e is al l en com pas s in g a.n d
therein l ies aprobl em . As Lin daHu tcheon obs erv es , the
ideol ogyof pos tm odern is m is paradoxical , f oritdepen ds u pon
an d draw s its pow erf rom thatw hichitcon tes ts . Itis n ottru l y
radical ; n oris ittru l yoppos ition al ( 12 0).
the N EWMEDIAR EADER
T his probl em of com pl icitygrow s es pecial l yacu te w here
m ediaan d techn ol ogies are con cern ed. Hyperreal ityis as
m u cham atterof w ritin g practice as itis of textu al theory:as
Michael Heim poin ts ou t, l il n m agn etic code there are n o
origin al s ( 16 2 ). El ectron ic in f orm ation m aybe rapidl y
du pl icated, tran s m itted, an d as s em bl ed in ton ew kn ow l edge
s tru ctu res . Erom w ord proces s in g toin teractiv e m u l tim edia,
pos tm odern com m u n ication s ys tem s accen tu ate w hatIhab
Has s an cal l s im m an en ce orthe in tertextu al ityof al l l if e. A
patin aof thou ght, of s ign if iers , of con n ection s ,' n ow l ies on
ev erythin g the m in d tou ches in its gn os tic ( n oo)s phere....
( 17 2 ). F aced w iththis in f in itel ycon v ol u ted s ys tem of
dis cou rs e, w e ris k f al l i.n g in totechn ol ogical abj ection , as en s e
of bein g hopel es s l yaban don ed tos im u l ation , l os tin the
techn ico-l u m in ou s cin em atic s pace of total s patio dyn am ic
theatre ( Bau dril l ard Sim u l ation s , 139 ). If al l the w orl ds as im u -
l ation , then w e are bu ts im u l acral s u bj ects cycl in g throu ghou r
v ariou s iteration s , in capabl e of an yradical oroppos ition al
action thatw ou l d tran s f orm the techn o s ocial m atrix. Ev en
s u ppos edl yres is tan tattitu des l ike cyberpu n k, as An drew
R os s has obs erv ed, ten d totail of f in tocyn ical in terl u des
w here the ru l es of the gam e gou n qu es tion ed ( R os s , 16 0).
Of cou rs e, this pes s im is tic ordef eatis tou tl ook is hardl y
u n iv ers al . We are f arm ore l ikel ytoheartechn ol ogydes cribed
as an in s tru m en tal ityof chan ge oratool f orl iberation .
Bol ter( 19 9 1), Drexl er( 19 87 ), McCordu ck ( 19 85), an d
Zu bof f ( 19 88)al l con ten d thatpos tm odern m odes of
com m u n ication ( el ectron ic w ritin g, com pu tern etw orks , text-
l in kin g s ys tem s )can des tabil ize s ocial hierarchies an d
prom ote broaderdef in ition s of au thorityin the
in f orm ation al w orkpl ace. Heim poin ts ou tthatu n derthe
in f l u en ce of thes e techn ol ogies ps ychic l if e w il l be redef in ed
( 16 4). Bu tif Hu tcheon is correctin herobs erv ation that
pos tm odern is m is n on -oppos ition al , then how w il l s u cha
recon s tru ction of orderan d au thoritytake pl ace?How an d
byw hom is ps ychic l if e an d m ore im portan t, pol itical
l if e goin g tobe redef in ed?
T hes e qu es tion s m u s tu l tim atel ybe addres s ed n otin
theorybu tin practice; w hichis w here the s ign if ican ce of
N el s on s n ew Xan adu l ies . WithXan adu , N el s on in v al idates
techn ol ogical abj ection , adv an cin g an u n abas hedl y
m il l en arian v is ion of techn ol ogical ren ais s an ce in w hichthe
s ys tem s hal l s etu s f ree. In its exten s iv e am bition s , Xan adu
tran s cen ds the hyperreal . Itis n otan opiu m v is ion bu t
s om ethin g s tran gers til l , abu s in es s pl an f orthe dev el opm en t
""1
G ____.,_' 3___.____7 4 $_...,..______Q , -._. <_....@ ___....3.4_7 4.,._._____$
of w hatBarthes cal l ed the s ocial s pace of w ritin g ( 81), a
practical attem pttorecon f igu re l iterate cu l tu re. Xan adu is
the m os tam bitiou s proj ectev erpropos ed f orhypertextor
n on -s equ en tial w ritin g ( Dream Machin es 2 9 ; Literary
Machin es 5/ 2 ). Hypertexts ys tem s expl oitthe in teractiv e
poten tial of com pu ters torecon s tru cttextn otas af ixed
s eries of s ym bol s , bu tas av ariabl e-acces s databas e in w hich
an ydis cu rs iv e u n itm aypos s es s m u l tipl e v ectors of
as s ociation ( s ee Joyce; Lan dow ; Sl atin ). Ahypertextis a
com pl exn etw ork of textu al el em en ts . Itcon s is ts of u n its or
l exias , w hichm aybe an al ogou s topages , paragraphs ,
s ection s , orv ol u m es . Lexias are con n ected byl in ks , w hich
actl ike dyn am ic f ootn otes thatau tom atical l yretriev e the
m aterial tow hichtheyref er. Becau s e itis n ol on gerbook-
bou n ded, hypertextu al dis cou rs e m aybe m odif ied atw il l as
reader/ w riters f orge n ew l in ks w ithin an d am on g
docu m en ts . P oten tial l ythis col l ectiv ityof l in ked text, w hich
N el s on cal l s the docu v e.rs e, can expan d w ithou tl im it.
As N el s on f ores ees it, Xan adu w ou l d em bodythis textu al
u n iv ers e. T he s ys tem w ou l d prov ide acen tral repos itoryan d
dis tribu tion n etw ork f oral l w ritin g:itw ou l d be the
pu bl is hin g hou s e, com m u n ication s m ediu m , an d great
hypertextu al Libraryof Babel . Y etf oral l its radical
am bition s , N el s on s des ign pres erv es f am il iarproprieties .
Local Xan adu ou tl ets w ou l d be Sil v ers tan ds , retail acces s
an d con s u l tin g cen ters m odel ed af terf as t f ood f ran chis es
an d thu s in tegrated w iththe pres en tecon om yof
in f orm ation exchan ge. Xan adu w ou l d protectin tel l ectu al
propertythrou ghcopyright. U s ers w ou l d payperbyte
acces s ed an d w ou l d receiv e royal ties w hen others obtain ed
proprietarym aterial theyhad pu bl is hed in the s ys tem . T he
probl em s an d com pl exities of this s chem e are v as t, an d at
the m om en t, the f u l f il l ed Xan adu rem ain s a2 02 0Vis ion , a
probe in tothe rel ativ el yn earf u tu re. Bu titis af u tu re w ith
com pel l in g an d im portan tim pl ication s f orthe pos tm odern
pres en t.
T he f u tu re, as Dis n eyan d Spiel berg hav e tau ghtu s , is a
pl ace w e m u s tcom e back to. T he Am erican tom orrow w il l
be aheydayof n os tal gia, an in ten s iv e pu rs u itof l os t or
f orgotten v al u es . Xan adu is n oexception :T ed N el s on s ees
the his toryof w ritin g in the 2 1s tcen tu ryas an epic of
recov ery. His gran d hope l ies in aretu rn tol iteracy, acu re
f ortel ev is ion s tu por, an ew R en ais s an ce of ideas an d
gen eral is tu n ders tan din g, agran d pos teritythatdoes n ot
l os e the detail s w hichare the f in al s u bs tan ce of ev erythin g
48. Y ou Wan taR ev ol u tion
al l 9 9 1
Q ... __. @ 111 1 1
( How Hypertext( U n )does the Can on 4). T oas keptical
obs erv er, this v is ion of Xan adu m ights u gges tan other
dom ain of the pos tm odern them e park. Gen tl e readers ,
w el com e toLiteracyl an dl
Bu ton the otherhan d, this v is ion m ightadd u ptom ore
than j u s tas ides how attraction . N el s on f ores ees aren ov ation
of cu l tu re, au n if ication of dis cou rs e, areader-an d w riter' s
paradis e w here al l w ritin g open s its el f to/ in the com m erce of
ideas . T his is the w orl d in w hichal l w ork becom es t.ext,
n ots u bs tan ce bu tref eren ce, n otcon tain m en tbu tcon n ection
( s ee Barthes ; Lan dow ; Zu bof f ). T he m agn itu de of the chan ge
im pl ied here is en orm ou s . Bu tw hatabou tthe pol itics of that
chan ge?Whatcom m u n ityof in terpretation an d beyon d
that, w hats ocial order does this in tertextu al w orl d
pres u m e?Withthe con v iction of atru e En l ighten m en tm an ,
N el s on en v is ion s an ew popu l itis m thatcan m ake the
deeperu n ders tan din gs of the f ew atl as tav ail abl e tothe
m an y ( How Hypertext( U n )does the Can on 6 ).
Whatis p0pu l itis m ? an otherof N el s on s in f am ou s
n eol ogis m s ( e.g., hyperm edia, cybercru d, tel edil don ics ), in
this cas e aportm an teau com bin in g popu l is m w ithel ite.
T he w ord s u gges ts the s ociety-of -texten v is ion ed bytheoris ts
l ike Shos han aZu bof f an d JayDav id Bol ter, aw ritin g s pace in
w hichtraces of au thoritypers is ton l yas l ocal an d con tin gen t
ef f ects , the s ocial equ iv al en tof the decon s tru cted au thor-
f u n ction . Apopu l ite cu l tu re m ightm ark the f irs ts tep
tow ard real ization of Jean -F ran cois Lyotards gam e of
perf ectin f orm ation w here al l hav e equ al acces s tothe w orl d
of data, an d w here [ g]iv en equ al com peten ce ( n ol on gerin
the acqu is ition of kn ow l edge, bu tin its produ ction ), w hat
extraperf orm ativ itydepen ds on in the f in al an al ys is is
im agin ation , w hichal l ow s on e eithertom ake an ew m ov e
orchan ge the ru l es of the gam e ( 52 ). T his is the u topiaof
in f orm ation -in -proces s , the u l tim ate w etw are dream of the
cl eris y:dis cou rs e con v erted w ith100percen tef f icien cyin to
capital , the m echan is m of thatm agical proces s bein g
n om ol ogyorru l e-m akin g adm ittedl yarathers pecial ized
f orm of im agin ation .
Atl eas ttw otrou bl es l u rk in this paradis e. F irs t, the
pros pectthats ocial / textu al orderw il l dev ol v e n otu n tothe
m an ybu ton l ytoav eryf ew ; an d m ore im portan t, thatthos e
f ew w il l f ail torecogn ize the term s of theirs pl en did is ol ation .
Con s iderthe cas e of the rel u ctan tcom pu terdick Cl if f ord
Stol l , w hos e m em oir, T he Cu ckoos Egg, n icel yil l u s trates thes e
probl em s . Stol l excoriates cyberpu n ks , el ectron ic v an dal s
48. Y ou Wan taR ev ol u tion
w hoabu s e the open n es s of s cien tif ic com pu tin g
en v iron m en ts . T heiru n s ports m an l ike con du cts poil s the
in f orm ation gam e, n eces s itatin g cu m bers om e res triction s on
the f ree f l ow of data. Bu tStol l s def in ition of in f orm ation al
f reedom appears m u rkyatbes t. He repeatedl yref ers tothe
m ain f ram e w hos e s ys tem he m on itors as his com pu ter,
l iken in g cybern etic in tru s ion s tobu rgl aries . Digital
in f orm ation , as Stol l s ees it, s tan ds in s trictan al ogyto
m aterial an d priv ate property.
P riv ate in w hats en s e?Stol l prof es s es tobel iev e that
s cien tis ts m u s thav e eas yacces s tores earchres u l ts , bu ton l y
w ithin theirow n com m u n ities . He is qu ick tocon dem n
in cu rs ion s byu n au thorized ou ts iders . T here is s om e s en s e
in this argu m en t:Stol l repeatedl ypoin ts ou tthatthe
in tru derin the Stan f ord m ain f ram e m ighthav e in terf ered
w ithal if es av in g m edical im agin g s ys tem . Bu tal on g w iththis
con cern com es an ideol ogical dan ger. Whodecides w hat
in f orm ation bel on gs tow hom ?Stol l s popu l arel ite is
res tricted toacadem ic s cien tis ts , av ers ion of the peopl e as
n om en kl atu ra, thos e w hos e n eed tokn ow is def in ed bytheir
prof es s ion al af f il iation . More dis tu rbin gl y, Stol l s eem s
u n aw are of the w aythis brotherhood is s itu ated w ithin
l argerpol itical hierarchies . Des cribin g am eetin g w ith
P en tagon bras s , he ref l ects :How f arI' d com e. Ayearago, I
w ou l d hav e v iew ed thes e of f icers as w ar-m on gerin g pu ppets
of the Wal l Streetcapital is ts . T his , af teral l , w as w hatId
l earn ed in col l ege. N ow thin gs didn ts eem s obl ack an d
w hite. T heys eem ed l ike s m artpeopl e han dl in g as eriou s
probl em ( 2 7 8).
Here is el ite popu l is m atits s caries t. T hou ghhe protes ts
( toom u ch)his pol itical correctn es s , Stol l s s en s e of s pecial is t
com m u n itys hif ts toaccom m odate the dem an ds of the
m om en t. He obs erv es repeatedl yov erthe cou rs e of the
m em oirthathe is f in al l ycom in g of age as aw orkin g
s cien tis t. When in F ortMeade, Stol l does as the n ativ es do,
recogn izin g agen ts of AirF orce In tel l igen ce, the N ation al
Secu rityAgen cy, ev en the CIAan d F BIas brothers -in craf t.
Af teral l , theyare s m art ( techn ol ogical l yadept)an d
s eriou s ( prof es s ion al ). T heirim m ediate goal s eem s
l egitim ate an d l au dabl e. T heyare j u s than dl in g aprobl em ,
trackin g dow n the in tru derw hohas v iol ated the el ectron ic
priv acyof Stol l s com m u n ity( an d, n otcoin ciden tal l y, their
ow n ). T heyare the good pol icem en , the on es WhoAre Y ou r
F rien ds , n otreal l yT hem af teral l bu tj u s taqu ain t, braid-
s hou l dered v ers ion of U s .
theN EWMEDIAR EADER
Stol l is n ottrou bl ed thatthes e boon com pan ion s l iv e at
the heartof the m il itary-in du s trial com pl ex. He dis regards
the f actthattheys eem aw are of dom es tic com m u n ication s
in tercepts in phon e con v ers ation s , Stol l s CIAcon tactref ers
tothe F BIas the F en tity, ev iden tl ytothw artam on itorin g
program ( 144). Stol l does tas k his agen cybu ddies f ors ow in g
dis in f orm ation an d m an agin g dirtyw ars , bu tthis critiqu e
n ev ergets m u chpas tthe s tage of rhetorical qu es tion s . In f act
Stol l s eem s in creas in gl ycom f ortabl e in the in tel l igen ce
com m u n ity. If the datas pooks tu rn ou ttobe l es s in teres ted
in f reedom of s cien tif ic s peechthan in qu as hin g as ecu rity
l eak, Stol l has n oreal obj ection . His ow n ideal s an d in teres ts
are con v en ien tl ys erv ed in the proces s .
Whatl eads tos u chregrettabl e bl in dn es s , an d how m ightit
hav e been prev en ted?T hes e m aybe es pecial l ypertin en t
qu es tion s as w e con s ideren tru s tin g ou rl iterate cu l tu re toan
au tom ated in f orm ation s ys tem . T he s pooks are n ots oeas il y
con j u red aw ay. Itis n ol on gers u f f icien ttoobj ectthat
s cien tis ts an d hu m an is ts f orm dis tin ctcom m u n ities , an d
thatStol l s s edu ction cou l d n othappen in ou row n el ect
com pan y. T he ol d T w oCu l tu res paradigm has s hif ted ou t
f rom u n deru s , l argel ythrou ghcathol ic adoption of
techn ol ogies l ike datan etw orks an d hypertext. N etw orks are
n etw orks , an d w e can as s u m e thatm os tif n otal l of them
w il l ev en tu al l yen gen dercl os ed el ites . F as cis m , as Del eu ze
an d Gu attariin s tru ct, is am atterof al l -too-hu m an des ire
( 2 6 ). Whatcan s hiel d hu m an is tn etw orks , orev en the
gen eral is t n etw orks N el s on f ores ees , f rom the s trategyof
div ide an d co-opt?Whatm ightin s u l ate Xan adu f rom thos e
an ces tral v oices prophes yin g w ar?
T he an s w er, as f orecas ters l ike P am el aMcCordu ck, K. Eric
Drexl er, an d An drew R os s poin tou t, m ayl ie in the hypertext
con ceptits el f the operatin g prin cipl e of an open an d
dyn am ic m ediu m , acon s en s u al can on w itham in im u m of
hierarchical im pedan ces an d af u n dam en tal in s tabil ityin
thos e hierarchies itm ain tain s . Vis ion aryan d probl em atic as
itm ays eem , N el s on s ideaof p0pu l itis m has m u chto
recom m en d it n otthe l eas tof w hichis its in v itation to
con s iderm ore caref u l l ythe l ikel ys ocial im pactof adv an ced
com m u n ication s ys tem s . In f acthypertextm ayw el l porten d
s ocial chan ge, af u n dam en tal res hapin g of textprodu ction
an d reception . T he tel os of the el ectron ic s ociety-of -textis
an archyin its tru e s en s e: l ocal au ton om ybas ed on con s en s u s ,
l im ited byarel en tl es s dis in tegration of gl obal au thority.
Sin ce in f orm ation is n ow v irtu al l yan equ iv al en tof capital ,
ex-~ E 0 1 E C -~ as E or: es -
an d s in ce textu al ityis ou rm os tpow erf u l w ayof s hapin g
in f orm ation , itf ol l ow s thatXan adu m ightin deed chan ge the
w orl d. Bu ttorepeatthe cru cial qu es tion , how w il l this
chan ge com e abou t?Whatactu al s ocial proces s es can
tran s l ate the pragm atics of N el s on s bu s in es s pl an in tothe
radical is m of ahypertextm an if es to?
T he com pl ete an s w ers l ie w ithf u tu re his tory. In on e
res pect, T ed N el s on s in s is ten ce thatXan adu becom e an
econ om ical l yv iabl e en terpris e is exem pl ary. We w il l dis cov er
the f u l l im pl ication s of this techn ol ogyon l yas w e bu il d,
m an age, an d w ork in hypertextu al com m u n ities , s tartin g
w ithin the exis tin g con s train ts of in f orm ation capital is m .
Bu tw hil e w e w aiton his tory, w e can tryal ittl e au gu ry. In
tryin g totheorize an as cen tm ediu m , on e is redu ced to
pl ayin g m ediu m , ekin g ou tprediction s w iththe odd m es s age
f rom the OtherSide. Whichbrin gs u s tothe l as tw ork of
Mars hal l McLu han , aparticu l arl yim portan tan ces tral v oice
f rom w hom tohear. Athis death, McLu han l ef tbehin d n otes
f oran en igm atic f in al proj ect:the f ou rf ol d Law s of Media
w hichf orm the f ram ew ork f oras em iotics of techn ol ogy. T he
Law s proceed f rom f ou rbas ic qu es tion s thatcan be as ked
abou tan yin v en tion :
- Whatdoes iten han ce orin ten s if y?
' Whatdoes itren derobs ol ete ordis pl ace?
- Whatdoes itretriev e thatw as prev iou s l yobs ol ete?
- Whatdoes itprodu ce orbecom e w hen taken toits l im it?
As McLu han dem on s trates , thes e qu es tion s are
particu l arl yin s tru ctiv e w hen appl ied topiv otal or
tran s f orm in g techn ol ogies l ike prin tin g orbroadcas tin g.
T heyare in ten ded todis cov erthe w ays in w hichin f orm ation
s ys tem s af f ectthe s ocial text, rearran gin g s en s e ratios an d
rew ritin g theories of cu l tu ral v al u e. T heyrev eal the n atu re of
the bas ic s tatem en t, the u tterin g orou terin g thatu n derl ies
m echan ical exten s ion s of hu m an f acu l ties . If w e pu tXan adu
an d hypertexttothis s eries of qu es tion s , w e m aydis cov er
m ore abou tboththe poten tial an d the l im its of hypertextas
an agen cyof chan ge.
1 WhatDoes Hypertext
En han ce orIn ten s if y?
Accordin g toMcLu han s s tan dard an al ys is , com m u n ication s
m ediaadj u s tthe bal an ce orratio of the s en s es by
priv il egin g on e chan n el of perception ov erothers . P rin t
o~ ea el m } 48. Y ou Wan taR ev ol u tion
prom otes s ightov erhearin g, giv in g u s an obj ectif ied,
pers pectiv al , s ym bol ized w orl d:an eye f oran ear
( U n ders tan din g Media81). Bu tthis approachn eeds
m odif ication f orou rpu rpos es . Hypertextdif f ers f rom
earl ierm ediain thatitis n otan ew thin g atal l bu taretu rn
orrecu rs ion ( of w hichm ore l ater)toan earl ierf orm of
s ym bol ic dis cou rs e, n am el yprin t. T he ef f ectof hypertext
thu s f al l s n ots im pl yu pon the s en s e chan n el s bu tf arther
al on g the cogn itiv e chain . As Van n ev arBu s hpoin ted ou tin
the v eryf irs ts pecu l ation on in f orm ation al l in kin g
techn ol ogies , thes e m echan is m s _en han ce the f u n dam en tal
capacityof pattern recogn ition ( As We MayT hin k, qtd. in
LiteraryMachin es 1/ 50).
Hypertextis al l abou tcon n ection , l in kage, an d af f il iation .
F orm al l ys peakin g, its u n iv ers e is the on e T hom as P yn chon
had in m in d w hen he def in ed paran oia as the real ization
thatev erythin g is con n ected ev erythin g in the Creation n ot
yetbl in din gl yon e, bu tatl eas tcon n ected. . . ( 82 0). In
hypertexts ys tem s , this ethos of con n ection is real ized in
techn ics : u s ers don otpas s iv el yrehears e orreceiv e dis cou rs e,
theyexpl ore an d con s tru ctl in ks ( Joyce, 12 ). Atthe kern el of
the hypertextcon ceptl ie ideas of af f il iation , corres pon den ce,
an d res on an ce. In this , as N el s on has argu ed f rom the s tart,
hypertextis n othin g m ore than an exten s ion of w hat
l iteratu re has al w ays been ( atl eas ts in ce T radition an d the
In div idu al T al en t) atem poral l yexten ded n etw ork of
rel ation s w hichs u cces s iv e gen eration s of readers an d w riters
perpetu al l ym ake an d u n m ake.
T his redef in ition of textu al itygiv es ris e toan u m berof
qu es tion s . Whatdoes itm ean toen han ce ou rs en s itiv ityto
pattern s in this s hif tin g m atrix, tobecom e s en s itized tow hat
P yn chon cal l s otherorders behin d the v is ibl e? Does this
m ean thathypertextw il l tu rn u s in toparan oids , an xiou s
in terpreters con v in ced thatal l s tru ctu res are m ys teriou s l y
organ ized again s tu s ?Whatdoes in terpretiv e res is tan ce
m ean in ahypertextu al con text?Can s u chareadin g s trategy
be pos s ibl e af terpos ts tru ctu ral is m , w iththe au thor-f u n ction
redu ced ( l ike P yn chon him s el f )toqu as i an on ym ou s
dis appearan ce, av oicel es s occas ion f ordecon s tru ctiv e
w ritin g ( McHou l an d Wil l s , 9 )?
P erv ers e thou ghitm ays eem , hypertextdoes in creas e the
agon is tic el em en tin readin g. Earl yexperien ce w ithhypertext
n arrativ e s u gges ts thatits readers m ayactu al l ybe m ore
con cern ed w ithpriorau thorityan d des ign than are readers
of con v en tion al w ritin g. T he apparen tqu ickl im in g of the
8
48. Y ou Wan taR ev ol u tion
au thor does n otdis pel the au raof in ten tion in hypertext
( Dou gl as , 100). T he con s tan tl yrepeated ritu al of in teraction ,
w ithits rem in derof dis cu rs iv e al tern ativ es , rev eal s the text
as am ade thin g, n otm on ol ogic perhaps bu thardl y
in determ in ate. T he textges tu res tow ard open n es s w hat
option s can you im agin e? bu tthen s w if tl yf orecl os es :s om e
option s are av ail abl e bu tn otothers , an d s om eon e cl earl ydid
the def in in g l on g bef ore you began in teractin g. T he au thor
pers is ts , u n dead pres en ce in the l iterarym achin e, the
in ev itabl e Han d thattu rn s the tim e. Hypertextu al w ritin g
atl eas tw hen con s idered as read on l yorexpl oratory text
( s ee Joyce) m aythu s em phas ize an tithetical m odes of
readin g, l eadin g u s toregard the decon s tru cted s ys tem -
m akerm u chin the w aythatLeoBers an ides cribes the
au thorof Grav it)/ s R ain bow :as the en em ytext ( 108).
Soperhaps w e n eed aP s ychiatris tGen eral s Warn in g:
In teractin g WithT his HypertextCan Make Y ou P aran oid
in deed itm u s t, s in ce the roots en s e of paran oia, aparal l el or
paral l axgn os is , happen s tobe ahan dyw aytocon ceiv e of the
m eta s en s e of pattern recogn ition thathypertexts erv es to
en han ce. Bu tw ou l d s u chadis tortion of ou rcogn itiv e ratios
n eces s aril ycon s titu te pathol ogy?In deal in g w ithv as tan d
n ebu l ou s in f orm ation n etw orks tos ayn othin g of thos e
corporate s pon s ored v irtu al real ities thatm ayl ie in ou r
f u tu re acertain creativ e paran oia m aybe adef in ite as s et.
In f actthe paragn os ticis m im pl icitin hypertextm aybe the
bes tw aytokeepthe in f orm ation gam e cl ean . Su rrou n ded by
f il am en ts an d ten dril s of an etw ork, the s oj ou rn erin Xan adu
orotherhypertexts ys tem s w il l al w ays be rem in ded of her
s itu ation in af abric of pow erarran gem en ts . Herabil ityto
bu il d an d pu rs u e l in ks s hou l d en cou rage hertos u bj ectthos e
arran gem en ts toin qu iry. Whichbrin gs u s tothe s econ d of
McLu han ' s keyqu es tion s : "
2 WhatDoes Hypertext
Dis pl ace orR en derObs ol ete?
T hou ghitm aybe tem ptin g tores pon d, the book, s tu pid that
an s w eris in el igibl e. T he book is al readydead ( or
s u pers eded)if byal iv e you m ean thatthe in s titu tion in
qu es tion is es s en tial toou rcon tin u ed com m erce in ideas .
T ru e, the cu l tu ral in dication s are am bigu ou s . Irv in g Lou is
Horow itz argu es thatreports of the book' s dem is e are
exaggerated; ev en in an age of tel ev is ion an d com pu ters , w e
produ ce m ore books eachyearthan ev erbef ore ( 2 0). In deed,
ou rin f orm ation ecol ogys eem s l ikel ytoretain am ixof prin t
theN EWMEDIAR EADER
an d el ectron ic m ediaf oratl eas tthe n extcen tu ry. Y etas
Al v in Kern an recen tl ypoin ted ou t, the ou tl ook f orbooks in
the l on g ru n is an ythin g bu thappy( 135-413). As the i
econ om ic an d ecol ogical im pl ication s of dw in dl in g f ores ts
com e hom e, the cos tof paperw il l ris e precipitou s l y. Atthe
s am e tim e, acidic decayof exis tin g books w il l en orm ou s l y
in creas e m ain ten an ce cos ts tol ibraries . Giv en thes e f actors ,
s om e s hif ttoel ectron ic s torage s eem s in ev itabl e ( thou gh
Kern an , an an al ogu e m an tothe l as t, argu es f orm icrof il m ).
Y etthis chan ge in the m ediu m of prin tdoes n otw orry
cu l tu ral con s erv ativ es l ike Kern an , N eil P os tm an , orED.
Hirs chn earl ys om u chas the pros pectthatthe decl in e of
the book m ayterm in ate the cu l tu ral dom in an ce of prin t.
T he chief techn ol ogical cu l pritin Kern an s deathof
l iteratu re is n otthe s m artm achin e bu tthe idiotbox. Su ch
com m on cu l tu re as w e s til l hav e,"Kern an l am en ts , com es
l argel yf rom tel ev is ion ( 147 ). Bu tthe idiotbox ortobe
precis e, the boxed idiot is precis el ythe in tel l ectu al
probl em thathypertexts eem s excel l en tl ys u ited toaddres s .
In an s w ertoMcLu han ' s s econ d qu es tion w hatdoes hyper-
textren derobs ol ete? the bes tan s w eris n otl iteracybu t
ratherpos t-l iteracy. As N el s on f ores ees , the dev el opm en tof
hypertexts ys tem s im pl ies arev iv al of typographic cu l tu re
( al beititin adyn am ic, tru l ypaperl es s en v iron m en t). T hat
f orecas tm ays eem reckl es s l yn aiv e orem ptil yprophetic, bu t
itis qu ite l ikel yv al id. Hypertextm ean s the en d of the death
of l iteratu re.
Here the v oice of the s keptic m u s tbe heard:arev iv al of
l iteracy? read m yl ips :n otin am il l ion years . Ev en the m os t
dev oted cham pion of prin tis l ikel ytores is tthe n otion of a
Gu ten berg ren ais s an ce. In the Wes t, gen u in e l iteracy
cu l tu ral , m u l ticu l tu ral , ors im pl yf u n ction al can be f ou n d
on l yam on g aw el l -def in ed m an agerial an d prof es s ion al
cl as s . Atpres en tthatcl as s is f airl yl arge, bu tin the U .S. an d
U .K., w orl d l eaders in l ais s ez-f aire edu cation , itis
con tractin g n oticeabl y. Soitm u s ts eem f ool is htoim agin e,
as T ed N el s on does , am as s con s u m erm arketf or
typographic in f orm ation , agrow thin du s trybas ed on the
el ectron ic equ iv al en tof the l ocal l ibrary.
In deed, s hou l d Xan adu becom e atext-on l ys ys tem ( w hich
is n otin ten ded), its pros pects w ou l d be poorin the l on g ru n .
T here are how ev erotherhorizon s f orin teractiv e
textu al ity n otj u s thypertextbu tan otherN el s on ian
coin age, hyperm edia. P rin tis n otdie on l ym ean s of
com m u n ication del iv erabl e in apol ys equ en tial f orm at
19 9 1 48. Y ou Wan taR ev ol u tion oeeeoe 0 A 0 Q an _Q _0 _@ _4
articu l ated bys of tw are l in ks . In tryin g toim agin e the f u tu re
of hypertextcu l tu re, w e m u s tal s ocon s iderin teractiv e
m u l tim ediatexts thatin corporate v oice, m u s ic, an im ated
graphics , an d v ideoal on g w ithal phabetic s cript( Lan ham ,
2 87 ). Hypertextis abou tcon n ection prom is cu ou s ,
perv as iv e, an d pol ym orphou s l yperv ers e con n ection . Itis a
w ritin g practice ideal l ys u ited tothe irregu l ar, the
tran s gres s iv e, an d the carn iv al es qu e ( s ee Harpol d). Cu l tu ral l y
s peakin g, the prom is cu ityof hypertext( in the roots en s e of a
ten den cytos eek rel ation s ")kn ow s n obou n ds of f orm ,
f orm at, orcu l tu ral l ev el . T here is n oreas on toas s u m e that
hypertextorhyperm edias hou l d n ots u pportpopu l aras w el l
as el ite cu l tu re, orin deed thatitm ightn otprom ote a
popu l ite m is cegen ation of dis cou rs es .
Bu tw hatcan this m ean tal l cin g books in hom eboyj iv e?
Streetrapm ixed ov erEl iotic s chol ia?N in ten dow ith
del u s ion s of cin em a?Orw ors e, cou l d w e be thin kin g of yet
m ore in du s trial l ightan d m agic, the dis n eyv ers e of
eyephon es an d datagl ov es w here Y OU ( in s ertu s erN am e)are
IN T HEF AN T ASY ?P erhaps , as on e critic of the com pu ter
in du s tryrecen tl ypu tit, in teractiv e m u l tim ediam u s t
in ev itabl ydecaytoits l ow es tcom m on den om in ator, hyper-
MT V"( Lev y"Mu l tim edia,"52 ). Accordin g tothis an al ys is , the
l in earan d obj ectif yin g ten den cies of an yprin tcon ten tin a
m u l tim ediu m textw ou l d be ov erw hel m ed bythe s u bj ectiv e,
irration al , an d em otiv e in f l u en ce of au dio/ v ideo. T his bein g
the cas e, hypertextcou l d hardl ycl aim torepres en tacu re f or
tel ev is ion s tu por.
Bu tN el s on ' s as piration s hou l d n otbe s oeas il ys etas ide as
m erel yav is ion in adream . Hypertextdoes in deed hav e the
pow ertorecov erprin tl iteracy thou ghn otin qu ite the w ay
thatN el s on s u ppos es ; w hichbrin gs u s tothe third of
McLu han ' s qu eries :
3 WhatDoes Hypertext
R etriev e T hatWas P rev iou s l yObs ol ete?
Xan adu an d s im il arproj ects cou l d in v ite l arge n u m bers of
peopl e tobecom e reacqu ain ted w iththe cu l tu ral pow erof
typographic l iteracy. T oas s ertthis , of cou rs e, is tobreak
w ithMcLu han s u n ders tan din g of m ediahis tory. Itis hard
todis pu te the argu m en tof U n ders tan din g Mediaan d T he
Gu ten berg Gal axythatthe cu l tu re of the prin tin g pres s has
en tered in todial ectic con ten tion w ithadif f eren tethos
bas ed on the cool im m ediacyof broadcas tin g. Bu tthou gh
thatdiagn os is rem ain s trem en dou s l yim portan t, McLu han s
cu l tu ral progn os is f orthe Wes thol ds l es s v al u e. McLu han
s aw cl earl ythe tran s f orm in g im pactof el ectric
techn ol ogies , bu tperhaps becau s e he did n otl iv e m u ch
beyon d the on s etof the pers on al com pu terboom , he f ail ed
torecogn ize the n exts tep the recu rs ion toan ew s tage of
typographic l iteracythrou ghthe s yn cretic m ediu m of
hypertext.
Itis cru cial todis tin gu is hrecu rs ion f rom retu rn ors im pl e
repetition , becau s e this dif f eren ce an s w ers the obj ection that
prin tl iteracyw il l be l os tors u ppres s ed in m u l tim ediatexts .
R ecu rs ion is s el f -ref eren ce w iththe pos s ibil ityof progres s iv e
s el f -m odif ication ( Hof s tadter, 12 7 ). Con s idered f orits
recu rs iv e pos s ibil ities , w ritin g m ean s s om ethin g radical l y
dif f eren tin l in ked in teractiv e com pos ition s than itdoes in a
codexbook orev en acon v en tion al el ectron ic docu m en t.
Literacyin hypertexten com pas s es tw odom ain s :the
ordin arygram m atical , rhetorical , an d tropol ogical s pace that
w e n ow kn ow as l iteratu re, an d al s oas econ d prov in ce,
s tricterin its f orm al is m s bu tm u chgreaterin its pow erto
s hape in teractiv e dis cou rs e. T his s econ d dom ain has been
cal l ed w ritin g s pace"( Bol ter, 4); acas e m ightbe m ade ( w ith
apol ogies tothos e w hoin s is tthatv irtu al real ityis s trictl ya
n on prin tphen om en on )thatital s orepres en ts the tru e
m ean in g of cybers pace.
Wal terBen j am in obs erv ed w iths om e regretthatbythe
19 30s , an yl iterate Eu ropean cou l d becom e an au thor, atl eas t
tothe exten tof pu bl is hin g al etterorarticl e in the
n ew s papers ( 2 32 ). Withn oregrets atal l , T ed N el s on
en v is ion s as im il arexten s ion of am ateu rl iteraryprodu ction
in Xan adu , w here al l readers of the s ys tem can poten tial l y
becom e w riters , oratl eas teditors an d com m en tators . T he
F irs tAm en dm en tgu aran tee of f ree s peech, N el s on poin ts
ou t, is apers on al l iberty:an yon e m aypu bl is h, an d in Xan adu
ev eryon e can . N el s on bas es his prediction of rev iv ed l iteracy
on the prom is e of abroadl ypopu l arpu bl is hin g f ran chis e.
T his v is ion is l im ited in on e cru cial regard. N el s on treats
prin tes s en tial l yas the con ten tof his s ys tem , w hichis takin g
arathern arrow v iew . In des cribin g Xan adu as am ore orl es s
tran s paren tm ediu m f orthe tran s m is s ion of text, N el s on
ov erl ooks the f actthatal phabetic oral phan u m eric
repres en tation al s odef in es the f orm of Xan adu , an d in deed
of an yhypertexts ys tem . T his n egl ectis con s is ten tw iththe
gen eral l ybroad f ocu s of N el s on ' s v is ion , w hichhas l ed him to
dis m is s detail s of u s er-in terf ace des ign as f ron t-en d
f u n ction s tobe w orked ou tbythe u s er.
48. Y ou Wan taR ev ol u tion
Des ign detail s , w hetheran teriororpos teriortothe
s ys tem , can n otbe pas s ed ov ers oeas il y. In f actthe s tru ctu re
an d s pecif ication s of the hypertexten v iron m en tare
them s el v es parts of the docu v ers e, argu abl ythe m os t
im portan tparts . Ben eathan yhypertextdocu m en tor
s ys tem there exis ts al ow erl ayerthatw e m ightcal l the
hypotext. On this l ev el , in the w orkin g im pl em en tation s of
its protocol s , Xan adu is acreatu re of prin t. T he com m an d
s tru ctu res thatgov ern l in kage, dis pl ay, editin g, accou n tin g,
an d al l the otherf u n ction s of the s ys tem exis tas digital
im pu l s es thatm aybe tran s l ated in totypographic text. T hey
w ere w ritten ou t, f irs tin ps eu do En gl is hs trin gs , then in a
high-l ev el program m in g l an gu age, f in al l yas bin arycode.
T heref ore Xan adu atits m os tin tim ate l ev el is gov ern ed by
al l thos e f eatu res of the typographic m ediu m s of am il iar
f rom McLu han s an al ys is :s in gu l ars equ en tial ity, obj ectiv ity,
in s tru m en tal ity, l ef t-brain ed v is u al bias , an d s oon . T he
w on derof hypertextan d hyperm edial ies in theircapacity
toes cape thes e l im itation s byu s in g the m icroproces s orto
tu rn l in ear, m on ol ogic typographyrecu rs iv el yback u pon
its el f tocreate l in earcon trol s tru ctu res thatm il itate
again s tabs ol u te l in earcon trol . -
In recogn izin g the recu rs iv e trick behin d hypertextu al
w ritin g, w e com e toabroaderu n ders tan din g of el ectron ic
l iteracy. Literacyu n derhypertextm u s texten d n oton l yto
the con ten t of acom pos ition bu ttoits hypotextu al f orm
as w el l e.g., the w ayn odes are div ided toaccom m odate
datas tru ctu res an d dis pl ays trategies , orthe types of l in kage
av ail abl e an d the w ays theyare apparen ttothe reader.
P ractical l ys peakin g, this m ean s thatu s ers of ahypertext
s ys tem can be expected tou n ders tan d prin tn oton l yas the
m ediu m of tradition al l iterarydis cou rs e, bu tal s oas am eta-
tool , the keytopow eratthe l ev el of the s ys tem its el f .
On g an d McLu han hav e argu ed thattel ev is ion an d radio
in trodu ce s econ daryoral ity, arecu rs ion ton on prin tf orm s
of l an gu age an d an au dil e s pace of cogn ition ( Oral ityan d
Literacy, 135; Law s of Media, 57 ). Byan al ogy, hypertextan d
hyperm edias eem l ikel ytoin s tigate as econ daryl iteracy -
s econ dary in thatthis approachtoreadin g an d w ritin g
in cl u des as el f con s ciou s n es s abou tthe techn ol ogical
m ediation of thos e acts , as en s itiv itytothe w aytexts -bel ow -
the t.extcon s titu te an otherorderbehin d the v is ibl e. T his
s econ daryl iteracyin v ol v es bothrhetoric an d techn ics :to
read atthe hypotextu al l ev el is tocon f ron t( paragn os tical l y)
the des ign of the s ys tem ; tow rite atthis l ev el is to
theN EWMEDIAR EADER
reprogram , rev is in g the w ork of the f irs tm aker. T hu s this
s econ daryl iteracyopen s f orits readers acybers pace in the
tru es ts en s e of the w ord, m ean in g apl ace of com m an d an d
con trol w here the w ritten w ord has the pow ertorem ake
appearan ces . T his s pace has al w ays been acces s ibl e tothe
program m in g el ite, tos ys tem operators l ike Cl if f ord Stol l an d
s hadyoperators l ike his hackeradv ers ary. Bu tN el s on s 2 02 0
Vis ion pu ts aSil v ers tan d in ev erycom m ercial s triprightn ext
toMcDon al ds an d Videol an d. Vice P res iden tGore' s
in f orm ation Su perhighw ay w ou l d brin g cybers pace ev en
cl os er. If Xan adu s u cceeds in re aw aken in g prim aryl iteracy
as am as s phen om en on , there is reas on tobel iev e thatitw il l
in cu l cate s econ daryl iteracyas w el l .
Bu tl .ike an ygran d hope, this techn opiate dream of an ew
l iteracyu l tim atel yhas tocon f ron tits m an f rom P orl ock.
Secon daryl iteracym ightw el l prov e cu l tu ral l ydis as trou s . T he
ideaof agen eral cybers pace f ran chis e, in w hichal l con trol
s tru ctu res are tru l ycon tin gen tan d con s en s u al , does s u m m on
u pv is ion s of in f orm atic chaos . Chaos , how ev er, is acon cept
w e hav e recen tl ybegu n tou n ders tan d as s om ethin g other
than s im pl yan abs en ce of order: itis in s tead acon dition of
pos s ibil ityin w hichn ew arran gem en ts s pon tan eou s l y
as s em bl e them s el v es ( P rigogin e an d Sten gers , 14).
T akin g this n eo-chaotic v iew , w e m ightin qu ire in tothe
pos itiv e ef f ects of s econ daryl iteracyin apos tm odern
pol itical con text. In ou tl in in g af irs tm ov e beyon d ou rrecen t
depthl es s , ahis torical qu ies cen ce, F rederic Jam es on cal l s f or
an aes thetic of cogn itiv e m appin g, apedagogical pol itical
cu l tu re in w hichw e w ou l d begin toteachou rs el v es w here
w e s tan d in the n etw orks of tran s n ation al pow er( 9 2 ). At
this m om en t, as the Wes trecon s iders its N ew Worl d Order
in the af term athof aw arf oroil res erv es , w e s eem in
es pecial l yu rgen tn eed of s u chedu cation . Bu tacu l tu ral
pedagogycl earl yn eeds s om ethin g m ore than the ev en in g
w arn ew s , es pecial l yw hen reporters are con f in ed to
in f orm ation al w adin g pool s . We requ ire n oton l yas en s itiv ity
tothe com pl extextu al ityof pow erbu tan abil itytoin tercept
an d m an ipu l ate thattext an adv an ced creativ e paran oia.
T his m u s tu l tim atel ybe ahu m an s kil l , in depen den tof
techn ol ogical u tteran ce; bu tthe s econ daryl iteracyf os tered
byhypertextcou l d hel pu s atl eas ttobegin the en orm ou s
tas k of draw in g ou row n cogn itiv e m aps . Here, how ev er, w e
v erge on the m ain qu es tion of hypertextu al pol itics , w hich
brin gs u pthe l as tqu es tion in the T oron tocatechis m :
o- . - . s as gas as 2 48. Y ou Wan taR ev ol u tion
19 9 1
4WhatDoes Hypertext
Becom e When T aken toIts Lim it?
OrthodoxMcLu han ite doctrin e hol ds thatev eryf orm ,
pu s hed tothe l im itof its poten tial , rev ers es its
characteris tics ( Law s of Media, v iii). Mediaev ol u tion , in
McLu han s v iew , proceeds throu ghs harpl ypu n ctu ated
equ il ibriu m s . Hot m edial ike prin tten d toin creas e their
rou tin ization an d determ in is m u n til theyreachal im it( s ay,
the pros e of the l ate 19 thcen tu ry). Beyon d thatpoin t, the
ov erheated m ediu m tu rn s paradoxical , pas s in g al m os t
in s tan tl yf rom hottos u percool , bom bardin g readers w ith
s u chapl ethoraof codin gs thatcon v en tion al in terpretation
col l aps es . Stru ctu re an d hierarchy, the dis tin gu is hin g f eatu res
of ahotm ediu m , redu ce toin determ in acy. T he pl u ral ityof
codes ov erw hel m s herm en eu tic certain ty, the f igu re of a
u n iv ocal textrev ers es in topol ys em ou s grou n d, an d w e
reachthe u l tim athu l e of Gu ten berg cu l tu re, F in n egan s Wake.
Bu tthou ghMcLu han had m u chtos ayabou tthe rev ers al
of ov erheated m edia, he l ef tthe com pl em en tarypos s ibil ity
u n expl ored. Whathappen s toal readycool orparticipatory
m ediaw hen theyreachtheirl im its ?T ru e tothe f ou rthl aw ,
theircharacteris tics rev ers e, bu there the ef f ectis reaction ary,
n otradical . R adio, f orin s tan ce, begin s in in teractiv e oral ity
( tw o-w aytran s ceiv in g)bu tdecays in tothe hegem on yof
com m ercial broadcas tin g, w here tal k radio l in gers as a
rem in derof how open the airw av es are n ot. T el ev is ion too
s tarts bys hatterin g the rigid hierarchies of the Gu ten berg
n ation -s tate, prom is in g tobrin g an ypl ace in toou rl iv in g
room s ; bu tits v ers ion of Gl obal Vil l age tu rn s ou ttobe
hom ogen ou s an d hegem on ic, apl an etaryem pire of s ign s ( as
w e s ayin Atl an ta, Al w ays Coca-Col a).
Hypertextan d hyperm ediaare al s oin teractiv el ycool , s o
f ol l ow in g this an al ys is w e m ightcon cl u de thattheyw il l
u n dergoas im il arim pl os ion , becom in g ev erybitas
in s titu tion al ized an d con s erv ativ e as broadcas tn etw orks .
In deed, itdoes n ' ttake McLu han ite m ediatheorytoarriv e at
thatf orecas t. Accordin g tothe econ om ic l ogic of l ate
capital is m , w ou l dn tthe Xan adu Operatin g Com pan y
u l tim atel ys el l ou ttoSon y, Mats u s hita, P hil l ips , ors om e
otherw iel derof m u l tin ation al l ev erage?
Su chas el f -n egatin g rev ers al m ayn otbe the on l ypos s ibl e
ou tcom e, how ev er. Whatif the corporate s hogu n ate decide
n ottov en tu re theircapital ?Whatif bu s in es s l eaders real ize
thattru l yin teractiv e in f orm ation n etw orks don otm ake
w is e in v es tm en ts ?T his con cl u s ion m ightbe s u pported by
m em oryof the n as tin es s Sears an d IBM s tirred u pw hen
theytried tocu rtail u s erau ton om yon theirP rodigyv ideotex
s ys tem ( s ee Lev y, In the R eal m of the Cen s or). T his s cen ario
of corporate rej ection is n otj u s ts pecu l ativ e f abu l ation , bu t
the bas is f orapropos ed m odif ication toMcLu han s f ou rth
l aw . Mediataken totheirl im its ten d torev ers e, bu tn otal l
m ediarev ers e in the s am e w ay. T he cas e of acom pl ex,
s yn cretic, an d f u n dam en tal l yin teractiv e m ediu m l ike
hypertextm ayin v ol v e arev ers al thatdoes n otbrin g u s
back tothe s am e as -it-ev er-w as n otarev ers al in f actbu ta
recu rs ion ( d j av u )toan ew cu l tu ral s pace.
We hav e en tered in toaperiod of chan ge in readin g an d
w ritin g thatR ichard Lan ham cal l s adigital rev ol u tion
( 2 6 8). As this rev ol u tion proceeds ( if itis al l ow ed todos o),
its con s equ en ces w il l be en orm ou s . T he ideaof hypertextas a
f igm en tof the capital is tim agin ation , an in f orm ation
f ran chis e in bothN el s on ' s an d Lyotards s en s es , cou l d w el l
break dow n . T hou ghXan adu m ayin f actopen its
Sil v ers tan ds s om e day, hypertextm ightn otl on g rem ain a
com m ercial propos ition . T he type of l iteracyan d the kin d of
s ocial s tru ctu re this m ediu m s u pports s tan d f u n dam en tal l y
again s tabs ol u te propertyan d hierarchy. As w e hav e hin ted,
hypertextan d hyperm ediapeel back torev eal n otj u s tan
aes thetics of cogn itiv e m appin g bu tn othin gl es s than the
s im u l acral m ap~as -territoryits el f :the real begin n in gs of
cybers pace in the s en s e of adom ain of con trol
Cybers pace. Acon s en s u al hal l u cin ation experien ced dail y
bybil l ion s of l egitim ate operators , in ev eryn ation . . . . A
graphic repres en tation of dataabs tracted f rom the ban ks of
ev erycom pu terin the hu m an s ys tem ( Gibs on , 51). Wil l iam
Gibs on s con ceptof acybern etic w orks pace, l aid ou tin his
dys topian n ov el N eu rom an cerrepres en ts the u l tim ate s hared
v is ion in the gl obal dream of in f orm ation com m erce. F oral l
its adv an cem en tbeyon d the age of n ation -s tate capital is m ,
Gibs on ' s w orl d rem ain s in ten s el ycom petitiv e an d
hierarchical ( f orn ation -s tate s u bs titu te the rev iv ed zaibats u ).
N eu rom an ceris N in eteen Eighty-F ou ru pdated f or19 84, the
f u tu re s om ew hatgl oom il ys u rv eyed f rom R eagan s Am erica.
T here is accordin gl yn otrace of s ocial con s en s u s in
Gibs on ' s con s en s u al in f os phere. In his v ers ion of cybers pace,
the s hape of v is ion is im pos ed f rom w ithou t. T hey con trol
the horizon tal , T hey con trol the v ertical . Of cou rs e there
m u s tbe s om e el em en ts of chaos , el s e Gibs on w ou l d be ou tof
bu s in es s as apaperback w riter; s ohe in v en ts the cybers pace
cow boy, ahackerherow hopl ays the in f orm ation gam e by
48. Y ou Wan taR ev ol u tion
w hathe l ikes tocal l his ow n ru l es . Bu tthou ghcow boys m ay
attem pttou n s ettl e the s ys tem , theirin cu rs ion s am ou n tat
bes ttoharras s m en tan d priv ateerin g. T hes e f orm s of
en terpris e are deem ed il l egal , thou ghtheyare real l yj u s t
bu s in es s byan othern am e ( biz, in Gibs on s parl an ce),
in v en tiv en es s an d com petitiv e adv an tage bein g the on l y
ef f ectiv e prin cipl es of operation .
Gibs on s dark dream is on e thin g in ef f ectitis a
real ization of McLu han s prophecyof rev ers al , an
em pow erin g techn ol ogytu rn ed in toam echan is m of co-
optation an d en s l av em en t. Bu tperhaps T ed N el s on s 2 02 0
Vis ion of hypertextu al l iteracyis s om ethin g el s e. If n ota
u topian al tern ativ e, N el s on s proj ectm ayatl eas tprov ide a
heterotopia, an otherpl ace n otzon ed in the u s u al w ays f or
propertyan d perf orm ativ ity. Cybers pace as Gibs on an d
others def in e itis aCartes ian territoryw here s cien tis ts of
con trol def in e bou n daries an d pow erl in es . T he Xan adu
m odel l ets u s con ceiv e in s tead adecen tered s pace of l iteracy
an d em pow erm en tw here eachs u bj ectacts as ku bern etes or
as T im othyLearys ays , real itypil ot, s teerin g herw ayacros s
the in tertextu al s ea( R eal ityP il ot 2 47 ).
N el s on s v is ion s of the f u tu re dif f ercru cial l yf rom Gibs on s .
In Xan adu w e f in d n otcon s en s u al il l u s ion bu tgen u in e,
n egotiated con s en s u s . T he pathw ays an d con n ection s am on g
texts w ou l d be created on dem an d. Accordin g toN el s on s
pl an s todate, on l ythe m os tf u n dam en tal back en d
con v en tion s w ou l d be s trictl ydeterm in ed:u s ers w ou l d be
f ree tocu s tom ize f ron ten d s ys tem s toacces s in f orm ation
m ore orl es s as theyl ike. Xan adu thu s pos s es s es v irtu al l yn o
can on s in the s en s e of as hel f of cl as s ics orabook of l aw s ;
the can on s of Xan adu m ightcom e cl os ertothe m u s ical
m ean in g of the w ord con geries of con n ection s an d
rel ation s hips thatare recogn izabl yorderl yyetin exhau s tibl y
v ariou s . T he s hif tin g n etw orks of con s en s u s an d textu al
dem an d ( ordes ire)in Xan adu w ou l d be con s tru cted byu s ers
an d f oru s ers . T heirv erym u l tipl icityan d prom is cu ity, on e
m ightargu e, w ou l d m il itate pow erf u l l yagain s tan ys l ide
f rom popu l itis m back tow ard hierarchy.
N el s on s v is ion aryoptim is m s eem s v in dicated, then .
Xan adu as cu rren tl ycon ceiv ed ev en in its s tatu s as N el s on s
s chem e togetrichv erys l ow l y open s the doortoatru e
s ocial rev ol u tion w ithim pl ication s beyon d the w orl d of
l iteratu re orm as s en tertain m en t. Xan adu w ou l d rem ov e
econ om ic an d s ocial gatekeepin g f u n ction s f rom the cu rren t
ow n ers of the m ean s of textprodu ction ( editors , pu bl is hers ,
theN EWMEDIAR EADER
m an agers of con gl om erates ). Itw ou l d tran s f ercon trol of
cu l tu ral w ork toabroadl ycon ceiv ed popu l ation of cu l tu re
w orkers :w riters , artis ts , critics , in depen den ts chol ars ,
au todidacts , gen eral is ts , f an s , pu n ks , cran ks , hacks , hackers ,
an d othern on orqu as i prof es s ion al s . T om orrow s hypertext
s ys tem s hav e im m en s e pol itical ram if ication s , an d there are
m an ys tru ggl es tocom e, N el s on w arn s ( LiteraryMachin es
3/ 19 ). T his is an u n ders tatem en tof cos m ic proportion s .
Bu titw ou l d be am is take tocel ebrate cybern etic MayDay
w ithou tperf orm in g af ew real itychecks . Al on g w ithal l thos e
v is ion aryf orecas ts of pos t hierarchical in f orm ation
exchan ge ( Zu bof f , 39 9 ), s om e hard f acts n eed tobe
ackn ow l edged. T he eraof the garage-born com pu term es s iah
has pas s ed. Directl yorin directl y, m os tdev el opm en tof
hardw are an d s of tw are depen ds on heav il ycapital ized
m u l tin ation al com pan ies thatdoathriv in g bu s in es s w ith
the def en s e es tabl is hm en t. T his af f il iation cl earl yin f l u en ces
the dev el opm en tof n ew m ecl ia con s ideran in f l u en tial
paperon T he R hetoric of Hypertext w hichu s es the
requ irem en ts of am il itarytrain in g s ys tem topropos e
gen eral s tan dards of coheren ce an d in s tru m en tal
ef f ectiv en es s f orthis m ediu m ( Carl s on , 19 9 0). T echn ol ogical
dev el opm en tdoes n othappen in cybers pace, bu tin the m ore
f am il iaru n iv ers e of pos tin du s trial capital . T hu s tothe
cl earheaded an ys u gges tion thatcom pu tertechn ol ogym ight
be an ythin g bu tan in s tru m en tof this s ys tem m u s ts eem
qu ixotic orj u s tpl ain s tu pid.
Bef ore s teppin g of f in tocybers pace, w e dow el l topeel of f
the f u tu ris theadgearan d l is ten tos om e v oices in the s treet.
N oon e w an ts toread an ym ore:books s u ck, N in ten doru l es .
Com pu ters are eitherim perial bu s in es s m achin es orhead
toys f oryu ppies . An yon e s til l in teres ted in m as s cu l tu re
n eeds tocheck ou tthe yaw n in g gapbetw een the richan d the
debtpayers , n ottom en tion the in cipien ts pl in terin g of Eu ro-
Am ericain tow arrin g ethn icities an d m u l ticu l tu ral tribes .
An d w hil e w e' re atit, w e m ightal s odos om e thin kin g abou t
ou rm os trecen tgl obal con f l ict, w argam e-as -v ideo-gam e w ith
real is tic third w orl d bl ood, acam paign in def en s e of
econ om ic im bal an ce an d the Wes ts righttodeterm in e
pol itical orderin the Middl e Eas t. P erhaps w e are u s in g the
w ord rev ol u tion f artool oos el y. Giv en the pres en ts tate of
pol itical an d cu l tu ral af f airs , an yv is ion of apopu l ite f u tu re,
oras John P erryBarl ow has it, an el ectron ic f ron tier ( s ee
Sterl in g), n eeds hard s cru tin y. R ev ol u tion , as T om m ie Lee
Jon es rem in ds u s , is w hatyou f in d in you rf ace
48. Y ou Wan taR ev ol u tion
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Bu s h, Van n ev ar. As We MayT hin k."Atl an tic Mon thl y( Ju l y, 19 45):
101-08.
Carl s on , P atricia. "T he R hetoric of Hypertext."Hyperm edia2 ( 19 9 0):
109 -31. -
Con kl in , Jef f rey. "Hypertext: An In trodu ction an d Su rv ey."Com pu ter
2 0( 19 s 7 ); 17 -41.
Coov er, R obert. T he En d of Books ."N ew Y ork T im es Book R ev iew ,
Ju n e 2 1,19 9 2 .1 W.
Del eu ze, Gil l es an d F l ixGu attari. An ti-Oedipu s : Capital is m an d
Schizophren ia. T ran s . R obertHu rl ey, Mark Seem , Hel en R . Lan e.
Min n eapol is : U n iv ers ityof Min n es ota, 19 7 7 .
Dorf m an , Ariel . T he Em pire' s Ol d Cl othes . N ew Y ork: P an theon , 19 83.
Dou gl as , Jan e Y el l ow l ees . "Wan derin g throu ghthe Labyrin th:
En cou n terin g In teractiv e F iction ." Com pu ters an d Com pos ition
6 ( 19 s 9 ); 9 3-103.
Drexl er, K. Eric. En gin es of Creation : T he Com in g Eraof
N an otechn ol ogy. N ew Y ork: Dou bl eday, 19 87 .
Eagl eton , T erry. Capital is m , Modern is m an d P os tm odern is m . N ew
Lef tR ev iew 152 ( 19 85): 6 0-7 3.
Gibs on , Wil l iam . N eu rom an cer. N ew Y ork: Ace, 19 84.
Harpol d, T eren ce. "T he Grotes qu e Corpu s : Hypertextas Carn iv al ."
What' s aCritic toDo? Ed. G.P . Lan dow . Bal tim ore: John s Hopkin s U P
[ f orthcom in g].
Has s an , Ihab. T he P os tm odern T u rn :-Es s ays in P os tm odern T heory
an d Cu l tu re. Col u m bu s : OhioState, 19 87 .
Heim , Michael . El ectric Lan gu age: aP hil os ophical Stu dyof Word
P roces s in g. N ew Hav en : Y al e U P , 19 87 . '
Hof s tadter, Dou gl as . Godel , Es cher, Bach: An Etern al Gol den Braid.
N ew Y ork: Bas ic, 19 7 9 .
Horow itz, Irv in g Lou is . Com m u n icatin g Ideas : T he Cris is of
P u bl is hin g in aP os t-In du s tn ' al Society. N ew Y ork: Oxf ord U P , 19 86 .
Hu tcheon , Lin da. AP oetics of P os tm odern is m : His tory, T heory,
F iction . N ew Y ork: R ou tl edge, 19 88.
Jam es on , F rederic. P os tm odern is m , orthe Cu l tu ral Logic of Late
Capital is m ."N ew Lef tR ev iew 146 ( 19 84): 53-9 2 .
Joyce, Michael . "Siren Shapes : Expl oratoryan d Con s tru ctiv e
Hypertexts . Academ ic Com pu tin g ( N ov em ber, 19 88): 11 f f .
Kern an , Al v in . T he Deathof Literatu re. N ew Hav en : Y al e U P , 19 9 0.
theN EWMEDIAR EADER
Lan dow , George. Hypertext: T he Con v ergen ce of Con tem poraryCn tical
T heoryan d T echn ol ogy. Bal tim ore: John s Hopkin s U P , 19 9 2 .
Lan ham , R ichard. "T he El ectron ic Word: LiteraryStu dyan d the
Digital R ev ol u tion ."N ew LiteraryHis tory2 0( 19 89 ): 2 6 8-89 .
Leary, T im othy. T he Cyberpu n k: T he In div idu al as R eal ityP il ot."
Storm in g the R eal ityStu dio: ACas ebook of Cyberpu n k an d
P os tm odern F iction . Ed. LarryMcCaf f ery. Du rham : Du ke U P , 19 9 2 .
2 45-58.
Lev y, Stev en . Hackers : Heroes of the Com pu terR ev ol u tion . N ew Y ork:
DeU ,19 84.
i.T he En d of Literatu re: Mu l tim ediais T el ev is ion ' s In s idiou s
Of f s prin g."Macw orl d ( Ju n e, 19 9 0): 51+.
l ."In the R eal m of the Cen s or: T he On l in e Serv ice P rodigy
T el l s its U s ers toShu tU pan d Shop."Macw orl d ( Jan u ary, 19 9 1):
6 9 +.
Lyotard, Jean F ran cois . T he P os tm odern Con dition : AR eporton
Kn ow l edge. T ran s . Geof f Ben n in gton an d Brian Mas s u m i.
Min n eapol is : U n iv ers ityof Min n es ota, 19 84.
McCordu ck, P am el a. T he U n iv ers al Machin e: Con f es s ion s of a
T echn ol ogical Optim is t. N ew Y ork: McGraw -Hil l , 19 85.
McHou l , Al ec an d Dav id Wil l s . Writin g P yn chon : Strategies in
F iction al An al ys is . U rban a: U n iv ers ityof Il l in ois , 19 9 0.
McLu han , H. Mars hal l . U n ders tan din g Media: T he Exten s ion s of Man .
N ew Y ork: McGraw -Hil l , 19 6 4.
McLu han , H. Mars hal l an d Eric McLu han . Law s of Media: T he N ew
Scien ce. T oron to: U n iv ers ityof T oron to, 19 88.
N el s on , T heodorHol m . Com pu terLib/ Dream Machin es . R edm on d,
WA: T em pu s Books , 19 87 .
i.LiteraryMachin es . Sau s al ito, CA: Min df u l , 19 9 0.
i."How Hypertext( U n )does the Can on ." P aperdel iv ered at
the Modern Lan gu age As s ociation Con v en tion , Chicago, Decem ber
2 8,19 9 0.
On g, Wal ter. Oral ityan d Literacy: T he T echn ol ogizin g of the Word.
N ew Y ork: Methu en , 19 82 .
P f eil , F red. An otherT al e toT el l : P ol itics an d N arrativ e in P os tm odern
Cu l tu re. N ew Y ork: Vers o, 19 9 0.
P os tm an , N eil an d Cam il l e P agl ia. "She Wan ts HerT V! He Wan ts His
Book! Harper' s 2 82 ( March, 19 9 1): 44f f .
P rigogin e, Il yaan d Is abel l e Sten gers . Orderou tof Chaos : Man ' s N ew
Dial ogu e w ithN atu re. N ew Y ork: Ban tam , 19 84.
P yn chon , T hom as . Grav ity' s R ain bow . N ew Y ork: Vikin g, 19 7 3.
R os s , An drew . Stran ge Weather: Cu l tu re, Scien ce, an d T echn ol ogyin
the Age of Lim its . N ew Y ork: Vers o, 19 9 1.
Sl atin , John . "R eadin g Hypertext: Orderan d Coheren ce in aN ew
Mediu m ."Col l ege En gl is h52 ( 19 9 0): 87 0-83.
Stan s berry, Dom in ic. Hyperf iction : Beyon d the Garden of the
F orkin g P aths ."N ew Media. May, 19 9 3. 52 -55.
Sterl in g, Bru ce. T he HackerCrackdow n : Law an d Dis orderon the
El ectron ic F ron tier. N ew Y ork: Ban tam , 19 9 2 .
Stol l , Cl if f ord. T he Cu ckoo' s Egg: T rackin g aSpyT hrou ghthe Maze of
Com pu terEs pion age. N ew Y ork: Dou bl eday, 19 89 .
Zu bof f , Shos han a. In the Age of the Sm artMachin e: T he F u tu re of
Work an d P ow er. N ew Y ork: Bas ic, 19 88.
.._; .. 0-- __.-,_- . Q , I19 49 . T he En d of Books
49 . [ In trodu ction ]
T he En d of Books
Whatis the en d of books ?P rov ocation , the com m u n ication of dif f eren tpers pectiv es , the pl eas in g
rearran gem en tof thou ghtthrou ghl an gu age an d n arrativ e thes e are af ew pos s ibl e en ds . T heyare
certain l yon es thatR obertCoov erhas w orked tow ard in his pos tm odern f iction , prov ided in codex
f orm atin P ricks on gs an d Des can ts , T he U n iv ers al Bas ebal l As s ociation , T he P u bl ic Bu rn in g, an d Briar
R os e, am on g others . WhatCoov erf ou n d in teachin g ahypertextw ritin g w orks hopw as that
al l ow in g s tu den ts tow rite on the com pu terin this f orm actu al l yf u rthered the en d of books .
Gettin g [ w ritin g s tu den ts ] totryou tal tern ativ e orin n ov ativ e f orm s is harderthan tal kin g them
in tochas tityas al if e s tyl e, Coov erw rites . Bu tcon f ron ted w ithhypers pace, theyhav e n ochoice:al l
the com f ortin g s tru ctu res hav e been eras ed. Whatres u l ted f rom the con f ron tation betw een an
u n u s u al hypertextw ritin g opportu n ityan d aw el l -read, con s erv ativ e s tu den tw as , Coov erf ou n d,
high-qu al ityan d copiou s l iteraryou tpu t. T he ben ef its s een in this w orks hopcam e w iththe hel pof
Brow n s robu s tan d w el l -s u pported s ys tem s f orcom pos ition an d thes e s ys tem s w ere im portan t,
s in ce s tu den ts did n othav e the s am e acces s toprogram m ers thatcol l aboratin g artis ts did in earl ier
proj ects . T heydid hav e, w ithin the en v iron m en tprov ided in Coov eris cl as s , the abil itytocol l aborate
on the au thors hipof hypertexts ys tem s bef ore the Web w as in v en ted, w orkin g on proj ects in
grou ps thatm etin pers on an d in teractin g w itheachotherv iaon l in e w ritin g.
J. Y el l ow l ees Dou gl as , in herpos t T he En d of Books book w hichtakes its n am e f rom this es s ay,
cal l s this the s in gl e articl e thatargu abl yhas m ade m ore readers aw are of hypertextf iction an d
in f l am ed m ore critics than an yother Coov erhas m an aged n oton l ytoprov oke s tu den ts in to
w 1' itin gin n ov ativ e. f iction , bu tal s otoprov oke critics in tow ritin g s w eepin g den u n ciation s of the
ideaof el ectron ic l iteratu re. T hes e critical in f l am m ation s hav e res u l ted in heated hu m an is ttracts
bu tl ittl e. il l u m in ation . Som e hav e had dif f icu l tl ygettin g beyon d the titl e of this es s ay, atl eas t
em otion al l y; the al tern ate readin g of the titl e des cribed in the f irs tparagraphm ayhel p, in this cas e.
Sin ce this es s ays 19 9 2 appearan ce in the N ew Y ork T im es Book R ev iew , Coov erhas decl ared that
the Gol den Age of l iteraryhypertexthas en ded, an d thatthis heav il ytextu al eraof in n ov ation in
the f orm has giv en w aytothe w orl d of the Web. ( Al thou ghm an yw how eren ' tbothered byT he
En d of Books hav e bem oan ed this m ore recen tdecl aration , Coov erhim s el f f ores ees , atthe v ery
l eas t, an en j oyabl e Sil v erAge, an d hopes thatreadin g w il l con tin u e tohav e apl ace in ou r
com pu terized experien ces .)If the s u n l itaf tern oon of hypertexthas en ded, thatcan on l ym ean that
s om e of thos e com f ortin g s tru ctu res thatw ere l ackin g in 19 9 0' s hypertextcom pos ition cl as s do
cu rren tl yexis t an d the s ys tem s hock thathypertextw ritin g produ ced in 19 9 2 can n ol on gerbe
adm in is tered in the s am e w ay. P erhaps the n extw aytos tim u l ate s tu den ts in tol iterarycreativ ity
u s in g the com pu terw il l in v ol v e s om ethin g m ore n ov el than l in k-an d n ode hypertext?
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49 . T he En d of Books
Origin al P u bl ication
T he N ew Y ork T im es Book R ev iew 11, 2 3-2 5. 2 1 Ju n e 19 9 2 .
T he En d of Books
R obertCoov er
In the real w orl d n ow adays , thatis tos ay, in the w orl d of
v ideotran s m is s ion s , cel l u l arphon es , f axm achin es , com pu ter
n etw orks , an d in particu l arou tin the hu m m in g digital ized
precin cts of av an t-garde com pu terhackers , cyberpu n ks an d
hypers pace f reaks , you w il l of ten hearits aid thatthe prin t
m ediu m is adoom ed an d ou tdated techn ol ogy, am ere
cu rios ityof bygon e days des tin ed s oon tobe con s ign ed
f orev ertothos e du s tyu n atten ded m u s eu m s w e n ow cal l
l ibraries . In deed, the v eryprol if eration of books an d other
prin t~bas ed m edia, s oprev al en tin this f ores t-harv es tin g,
paper-w as tin g age, is hel d tobe as ign of its f ev eris h
m oribu n dity, the l as tf u til e gas pof aon ce v ital f orm bef ore it
f in al l ypas s es aw ayf orev er, dead as God.
Whichw ou l d m ean of cou rs e thatthe n ov el , too, as w e
kn ow it, has com e toits en d. N otthatthos e an n ou n cin g its
dem is e are griev in g. F oral l its pas s in g charm , the
tradition al n ov el , w hichtook cen ters tage atthe s am e tim e
thatin du s trial m ercan til e dem ocracies aros e an d w hich
Hegel cal l ed the epic of the m iddl e-cl as s w orl d is
perceiv ed byits w ou l d-be execu tion ers as the v iru l en t
carrierof the patriarchal , col on ial , can on ical , proprietary,
hierarchical an d au thoritarian v al u es of apas tthatis n o
l on gerw ithu s .
Mu chof the n ov el s al l eged pow eris em bedded in the l in e,
thatcom pu l s oryau thor directed m ov em en tf rom the
begin n in g of as en ten ce toits period, f rom the topof the
page tothe bottom , f rom the f irs tpage tothe l as t. Of cou rs e,
throu ghprin ts l on g his tory, there hav e been cou n tl es s
s trategies tocou n terthe l in eis pow er, f rom m argin al iaan d
f ootn otes tothe creativ e in n ov ation s of n ov el is ts l ike
Lau ren ce Stern e, Jam es Joyce, R aym on d Q u en eau , Ju l io
Cortazar, Ital oCal v in oan d Mil orad P av ic, n ottoexcl u de the
f orm is f ather, Cerv an tes him s el f . Bu ttru e f reedom f rom the
tyran n yof the l in e is perceiv ed as on l yreal l ypos s ibl e n ow at
l as tw iththe adv en tof hypertext, w ritten an d read on the
com pu ter, w here the l in e in f actdoes n otexis tu n l es s on e
in v en ts an d im pl an ts itin the text.
theN EWM EDIAR EADER
Hypertext is n otas ys tem bu tagen eric term , coin ed a
qu arterof acen tu ryagobyacom pu terpopu l is tn am ed T ed
N el s on todes cribe the w ritin g don e in the n on l in earor
n on s equ en tial s pace m ade pos s ibl e bythe com pu ter.
Moreov er, u n l ike prin ttext, hypertextprov ides m u l tipl e
paths betw een texts egm en ts , n ow of ten cal l ed l exias in a
borrow in g f rom the pre-hypertextu al bu tpres cien tR ol an d
Barthes . Withits w ebs of l in ked l exias , its n etw orks of
al tern ate rou tes ( as oppos ed toprin ts f ixed u n idirection al
page-tu rn in g)hypertextpres en ts aradical l ydiv ergen t
techn ol ogy, in teractiv e an d pol yv ocal , f av orin g apl u ral ityof
dis cou rs es ov erdef in itiv e u tteran ce an d f reein g the reader
f rom dom in ation bythe au thor. Hypertextreaderan d w riter
are s aid tobecom e co-l earn ers orco-w riters , as itw ere,
f el l ow -trav el ers in the m appin g an d rem appin g of textu al
( an d v is u al , kin etic an d au ral )com pon en ts , n otal l of w hich
are prov ided byw hatu s ed tobe cal l ed the au thor.
T hou ghu s ed atf irs tprim aril yas aradical l yn ew teachin g
aren a, bythe m id-19 80s hypers pace w as draw in g f iction
w riters in toits in tricate an d in f in itel yexpan dabl e, in f in itel y
al l u rin g w ebs , its green -l im n ed garden s of m u l tipl e f orkin g
paths , toal l u de toan otherau thorpopu l arw ithhypertext
bu f f s , Jorge Lu is Borges .
Sev eral s ys tem s s u pportthe con f igu rin g of this s pace f or
f iction w ritin g. Som e u s e s im pl e ran dom ized l in kin g l ike die
s hu f f l in g of cards , others ( s u chas Gu ide an d HyperCard)
of f erakin d of do-it-you rs el f bas ic tool s et, an d s til l others
( m ore el aborate s ys tem s l ike Storys pace, w hichis cu rren tl y
the s of tw are of choice am on g f iction w riters in this cou n try,
an d In term edia, dev el oped atBrow n U n iv ers ity)prov ide a
com pl ete package of s ophis ticated s tru ctu rin g an d
n av igation al dev ices .
Al thou ghhypertexts cham pion s of ten as s ail the arrogan ce
of the n ov el , theirow n cl aim s are hardl ym odes t. Y ou w il l
of ten hearthem procl aim , qu ite s eriou s l y, Il iatthere hav e
been three greatev en ts in the his toryof l iteracy:the
in v en tion of w ritin g, the in v en tion of m ov abl e type an d die
in v en tion of hypertext. As hypers pace-w al kerGeorge P .
Lan dow pu ts itin his recen tbook s u rv eyin g the f iel d,
Hypertext:El ectron ic textproces s in g m arks the n extm aj or
s hif tin in f orm ation techn ol ogyaf terthe dev el opm en tof die
prin ted book. Itprom is es ( orthreaten s )toprodu ce ef f ects on
ou rcu l tu re, particu l arl yon ou rl iteratu re, edu cation , criticis m
an d s chol ars hip, j u s tas radical as thos e produ ced by
Gu ten bergis m ov abl e type.
N otin g thatthe m ov em en tf rom the tactil e tothe digital
is the prim aryf actabou tthe con tem poraryw orl d,"Mr.
Lan dow obs erv es that, w hereas m os tw ritin gs of prin t-
bou n d critics w orkin g in an exhau s ted techn ol ogyare
m odel s of s chol arl ys ol em n ity, records of dis il l u s ion m en t
an d brav e s acrif ice of hu m an is tic pos ition s ,"w riters in an d
on hypertextare dow n rightcel ebratory. . . . Mos tpos t-
s tru ctu ral is ts w rite f rom w ithin the tw il ightof aw is hed-f or
com in g day; m os tw riters of hypertextw rite of m an yof the
s am e thin gs f rom w ithin the daw n .
Daw n itis , tobe s u re. T he gran ddaddyof f u l l -l en gth
hypertextf iction s is Michael Joyceis l an dm ark Af tern oon ,
f irs trel eas ed on f l oppydis k in 19 87 an d m ov ed in toan ew
Storys pace reader, partl ydev el oped byMr. Joyce him s el f ,
in 19 9 0.
Mr. Joyce, w hois al s othe au thorof aprin ted n ov el , T he
WarOu ts ide Irel an d:AHis toryof the Doyl es in N orthAm erica
Withan Accou n tof theirMigration s , w rote in the on -l in e
j ou rn al P os tm odern Cu l tu re thathyperf iction is the f irs t
in s tan ce of the tru e el ectron ic text, w hatw e w il l com e to
con ceiv e as the n atu ral f orm of m u l tim odal , m u l tis en s u al
w ritin g,"bu titis s til l s oradical l yn ew itis hard tobe certain
j u s tw hatitis . N of ixed cen ter, f ors tarters an d n oedges
either, n oen ds orbou n daries . T he tradition al n arrativ e tim e
l in e v an is hes in toageographical l an ds cape orexitl es s m aze,
w ithbegin n in gs , m iddl es an d en ds bein g n ol on gerpartof
the im m ediate dis pl ay. In s tead; bran chin g option s , m en u s ,
l in k m arkers an d m apped n etw orks . T here are n ohierarchies
in thes e topl es s ( an d bottom l es s )n etw orks , as paragraphs ,
chapters an d othercon v en tion al textdiv is ion s are repl aced
byev en l yem pow ered an d equ al l yephem eral w in dow ~s ized
bl ocks of textan d graphics s oon tobe s u ppl em en ted w ith
s ou n d, an im ation , an d f il m .
As Carol yn Gu yeran d MarthaP etrypu titin the open in g
direction s totheirhypertextf iction Izm e P as s , w hichw as
pu bl is hed ( if pu bl is hed is the w ord)on adis k in cl u ded in
the s prin g 19 9 1 is s u e of the m agazin e Writin g on the Edge:
T his is an ew kin d of f iction , an d an ew kin d of
readin g. T he f orm of the textis rhythm ic, l oopin g on
its el f in pattern s an d l ayers thatgradu al l yaccrete
m ean in g, j u s tas the pas s age of tim e an d ev en ts does
in on e' s l if etim e. T ryin g the textl in ks em bedded
w ithin the w ork w il l brin g the n arrativ e togetherin
n ew con f igu ration s , f l u id con s tel l ation s f orm ed by
the pathof you rin teres t. T he dif f eren ce betw een
readin g hyperf iction an d readin g tradition al prin ted
f iction m aybe the dif f eren ce betw een s ail in g the
is l an ds an d s tan din g on the dock w atchin g the s ea.
On e is n otn eces s aril ybetterthan the other.
Im u s tcon f es s atthis poin tthatIam n otm ys el f an expert
n av igatorof hypers pace, n oram I as Iam en terin g m y
s ev en thdecade an d thu s rathercom m itted, f orbetterorf or
w ors e, tothe obs ol es cen tprin ttechn ol ogy l ikel ytoen gage
in an ym aj orhypertextf iction s of m yow n . Bu t, in teres ted as
ev erin the s u bv ers ion of the tradition al bou rgeois n ov el an d
in f iction s thatchal l en ge l in earity, If el tthats om ethin g w as
happen in g ou t( orin )there an d thatIou ghttokn ow w hatit
w as :if Iw ere n otgoin g tos ail the Gu yer-P etryis l an ds , Ihad at
l eas tbetterru n tothe s hore w ithm yf iel d gl as s es . An d w hat
betterw aytol earn than toteachacou rs e in the s u bj ect?
T hu s began the Brow n U n iv ers ityHypertextF iction
Works hop, tw os prin g s em es ters ( an d al readyas m an y
s of tw are gen eration s )ol d, acou rs e dev oted as m u chtothe
chan gin g of readin g habits as tothe creation of n ew
n arrativ es .
Writin g s tu den ts are n otoriou s l ycon s erv ativ e creatu res .
T heyw rite s tu bborn l yan d hopef u l l yw ithin the tradition of
w hattheyhav e read. Gettin g them totryou tal tern ativ e or
in n ov ativ e f orm s is harderthan tal kin g them in tochas tityas
al if e s tyl e. Bu tcon f ron ted w ithhypers pace, theyhav e n o
choice:al l the com f ortin g s tru ctu res hav e been eras ed. It' s
im prov is e orgohom e. Som e f ran tical l yrebu il d thos e ol d
s tru ctu res , s om e j u s tgetl os tan d drif tou tof s ight, m os tl eap
in f earl es s l yw ithou tev en as kin g how deepitis ( in f in itel y
deep)an d adm it, ev en as theypaddl e f ordearl if e, thatthis
n ew aren ais in deed an excitin g, prov ocativ e if f requ en tl y
f ru s tratin g m ediu m f orthe creation of n ew n arrativ es , a
poten tial l yrev ol u tion arys pace, capabl e, exactl yas
adv ertis ed, of tran s f orm in g the v eryartof f iction , ev en if it
n ow rem ain s s om ew hatatthe f rin ge, rem ote s til l , in thes e
v eryearl ydays , f rom the m ain s tream .
Withhypertextw e f ocu s , bothas w riters an d as readers ,
on s tru ctu re as m u chas on pros e, f orw e are m ade aw are s u d-
den l yof the s hapes of n arrativ es thatare of ten hidden in
prin ts tories . T he m os tradical n ew el em en tthatcom es to
the f ore in hypertextis the s ys tem of m u l tidirection al an d
of ten l abyrin thin e l in kages w e are in v ited orobl iged to
create. In deed the creativ e im agin ation of ten becom es m ore
preoccu pied w ithl in kage, rou tin g an d m appin g than w ith
s tatem en tors tyl e, orw ithw hatw e w ou l d cal l characteror
49 . T he En d of Books
pl ot( tw otradition al n arrativ e el em en ts thatare decidedl yin
j eopardy). We are al w ays as ton is hed todis cov erhow m u .chof
the readin g an d w ritin g experien ce occu rs in the in ters tices
an d traj ectories betw een textf ragm en ts . T hatis tos ay, the
textf ragm en ts are l ike s teppin g s ton es , there f orou rs af ety,
bu tthe real cu rren tof the n arrativ es ru n s betw een them .
T he greatthin g, as on e you n g w riter, Al v in Lu , pu titin
an on l in e cl as s es s ay, is the degree tow hichn arrativ e is
com pl etel ydes -tru cted in toits con s titu en tbits . Bits of
in f orm ation con v eykn ow l edge, bu tthe j u xtapos ition of bits
creates n arrativ e. T he em phas is of ahypertext( n arrativ e)
s hou l d be the degree tow hichthe readeris giv en pow er, n ot
toread, bu ttoorgan ize the texts m ade av ail abl e toher.
An yon e can read, bu tn otev eryon e has s ophis ticated
m ethods of organ ization m ade av ail abl e tothem .
T he f iction s dev el oped in the w orks hop, al l of w hichare
s til l in progres s , hav e ran ged f rom geographical l yan chored
n arrativ es s im il artoOu rT ow n an d Choos e-Y ou r Ow n
Adv en tu re s tories toparodies of the cl as s ics , n es ted
n arrativ es , s patial poem s , in teractiv e com edy, m etam orphic
dream s , irres ol v abl e m u rderm ys teries , m ov in g com ic books
an d Chin es e s exm an u al s . -
In hypertext, m u l tiv ocal is m is popu l ar, graphic el em en ts ,
bothdraw n an d s can n ed, hav e been in corporated in tothe
n arrativ es , im agin ativ e f on tchan ges hav e been em pl oyed to
iden tif yv ariou s v oices orpl otel em en ts , an d there has al s o
been av eryef f ectiv e u s e of f orm al docu m en ts n ottypical l y
u s ed in f iction s s tatis tical charts , s on g l yrics , n ew s paper
articl es , f il m s cripts , doodl es an d photographs , bas ebal l
cards an d boxs cores , diction aryen tries , rock m u s ic al bu m
cov ers , as trol ogical f orecas ts , board gam es , an d m edical an d
pol ice reports . "
Atou rw eekl yw orks hops , s el ected w riters dis pl ay, on an
ov erhead proj ector, theirdev el opin g n arrativ e s tru ctu res ,
then f ace the u s u al critiqu e of theirw ritin g, des ign ,
dev el opm en tof character, em otion al im pact, atten tion to
detail an d s oon , as appropriate. Bu ttheyal s oen gage in
con tin u ou s on l in e dial ogu e w ithon e an other, exchan gin g
criticis m , en thu s ias m , dou bts , s pecu l ation s , theorizin g,
w is ecracks . Som u .chf u n is al l of this , s ocom pel l in g this
dow n rightcel ebratory experien ce, as Mr. Lan dow w ou l d
hav e it, thatthe creativ e ou tpu t, s of aran yw ay, has been
m u chgreaterthan thatof ordin aryu n dergradu ate w ritin g
w orks hops , an d certain l yof as highaqu al ity.
theN EWMEDIAR EADER
In addition tothe in div idu al f iction s , w hichare m ore or
l es s protected f rom tam perin g in the ol d proprietaryw ay, w e
in the w orks hophav e al s opl ayed f reel yan d of ten qu ite -
an archical l yin agrou pf iction s pace cal l ed Hotel . Here,
w riters are f ree tocheck in , toopen u pn ew room s , n ew corri-
dors , n ew in trigu es , tou n l in k texts orcreate n ew l in ks , to
in tru de u pon ors u bv ertthe texts of others , toal terpl ot
traj ectories , m an ipu l ate tim e an d s pace, toen gage in dial ogu e
throu ghin v en ted characters , then kil l of f on e an others
characters orev en tos abotage the hotel s pl u m bin g. T hu s on e
dayw e m ightf in d am an an d w om an en cou n terin g each
otherin the hotel bar, w orkin g u ps om e kin d of s exu al
l iais on , on l ytoretu rn af ew days l ateran d dis cov erthaton e
orbothhad s exchan ges . Du rin g on e of m yhypertext
w orks hops , acertain readin g ten s ion w as cau s ed w hen w e
f ou n d thatthere w as m ore than on e barten derin ou rhotel :
w as this the s am e barorn ot?On e of the s tu den ts Al v in
Lu again res pon ded byl in kin g al l the barten ders toR oom
6 6 6 , w hichhe cal l ed the P rodu ction Cen ter, w here s om e
im pris on ed al ien m on s terw as giv in g birthtof u l l ~grow n
barten ders on dem an d.
T his s pace of es s en tial l yan on ym ou s textf ragm en ts
rem ain s on l in e an d eachn ew s etof w orks hops tu den ts is
in v ited tocheck in there an d con tin u e the s toryof the
HypertextHotel . Iw ou l d l ike tos ee its tayopen f ora
cen tu ryortw o.
How ev er, as al l of u s hav e dis cov ered, ev en thou ghthe
bas ic techn ol ogyof hypertextm aybe w ithu s f orcen tu ries to
com e, perhaps ev en as l on g as the techn ol ogyof the book, its
hardw are an d s of tw are s eem tobe f ragil e an d s hort-l iv ed;
w hol e n ew gen eration s of equ ipm en tan d program s arriv e
bef ore w e can f in is hreadin g the in s tru ction s of the ol cl Ev en
as Iw rite, Brow n U n iv ers ityis highl ys ophis ticated
In term edias ys tem , on w hichw e hav e been w ritin g ou r
hypertextf iction s , is bein g phas ed ou tbecau s e itis too
expen s iv e tom ain tain an d in com patibl e w ithAppl e' s n ew
operatin g-s ys tem s of tw are, Sys tem 7 .0. Agood portion of
ou rl as ts em es terw as s pen ttran s portin g ou rdocu m en ts
f rom In term ediatoStorys pace ( w hichBrow n is n ow
adoptin g)an d adj u s tin g tothe n ew en v iron m en t.
T his probl em of operatin g-s ys tem s tan dards is bein g
u rgen tl yaddres s ed an d debated n ow byhypertextw riters ; if
in teraction is tobe ahal l m ark of the n ew techn ol ogy, al l its
pl ayers m u s thav e acom m on an d con s is ten tl an gu age an d al l
m u s tbe equ al l yem pow ered in its u s e. T here are other
0* A 1 0 A
probl em s too. N av igation al procedu res :how doyou m ov e
arou n d in in f in ityw ithou tgettin g l os t?T he s tru ctu rin g of
the s pace can be s ocom pel l in g an d con f u s in g as tou tterl y
abs orb an d n eu tral ize the n arratoran d toexhau s tthe reader.
An d there is the rel ated probl em of f il terin g. Withan
u n s tabl e textthatcan be in tru ded u pon byotherau thor-
readers , how doyou , cau ghtin the m aze, av oid the triv ial ?
How doyou du ck the garbage?Ven erabl e n ov el is tic v al u es
l ike u n ity, in tegrity, coheren ce, v is ion , v oice s eem tobe in
dan ger. El oqu en ce is bein g redef in ed. T ext has l os tits
can on ical certain ty. How does on e j u dge, an al yze, w rite abou t
aw ork thatn ev erreads the s am e w aytw ice?
An d w hatof n arrativ e f l ow ?T here is s til l m ov em en t, bu t
in hypers paces dim en s ion l es s in f in ity, itis m ore l ike en dl es s
expan s ion ; itru n s the ris k of bein g s odis ten ded an d s l ackl y
driv en as tol os e its cen tripetal f orce, togiv e w aytoakin d of
s tatic l ow charged l yricis m thatdream ygrav ityl es s l os t-in -
s pace f eel in g of the earl ys ci-f if il m s . How does on e res ol v e
the con f l ictbetw een the reader' s des ire f orcoheren ce an d
cl os u re an d the text' s des ire f orcon tin u an ce, its f earof
death?In deed, w hatis cl os u re in s u chan en v iron m en t?If
ev erythin g is m iddl e, how doyou kn ow w hen you are don e,
eitheras readerorw riter?If the au thoris f ree totake as tory
an yw here atan ytim e an d in as m an ydirection s as s he orhe
w is hes , does thatn otbecom e the obl igation todos o?
N odou bt, this w il l be am aj orthem e f orn arrativ e artis ts
of the f u tu re, ev en thos e l ocked in tothe ol d prin ttech-
.s |9 49 . T he En d of Books
n ol ogies . An d that' s n othin g n ew . T he probl em of cl os u re w as
am aj orthem e w as itn ot? of the Epic of Gil gam es has it
w as chopped ou tin cl ayatthe daw n of l iteracy, an d of the
Hom eric rhaps odies as theyw ere com m itted topapyru s by
techn ol ogical l yin n ov ativ e Greek l iteratis om e 2 6 cen tu ries
ago. T here is con tin u ity, af teral l , acros s the ages riv en by
s hif tin g techn ol ogies .
Mu chof this Im ighthav e gu es s ed an d in f actdid
gu es s bef ore en terin g hypers pace, bef ore Iev erpicked u pa
m ou s e, an d m ythou ghts hav e been tem pered on l ys l ightl y
byon -l in e experien ce. WhatIhad n otcl earl yf ores een ,
how ev er, w as thatthis is atechn ol ogythatbothabs orbs an d
total l ydis pl aces . P rin tdocu m en ts m aybe read in
hypers pace, bu thypertextdoes n ottran s l ate in toprin t. Itis
n otl ike f il m , w hichis real l yj u s tthe dead en d of l in ear
n arrativ e, j u s tas 12 -ton e m u s ic is the dead en d of m u s ic by
the s tav e. J
Hypertextis tru l yan ew an d u n iqu e en v iron m en t. Artis ts
w how ork there m u s tbe read there. An d theyw il l probabl y
be j u dged there as w el l :criticis m , l ike f iction , is m ov in g of f
the page an d on l in e, an d itis its el f s u s ceptibl e tocon tin u ou s
chan ges of m in d an d text. F l u idity, con tin gen cy,
in determ in acy, pl u ral ity, dis con tin u ityare the hypertext
bu zzw ords of the day, an d theys eem tobe f as tbecom in g
prin cipl es , in the s am e w aythatrel ativ ityn ots ol on g ago
dis pl aced the f al l in g appl e.
_
., . . G .-.- O......-,_.._.__....,._-. 19 9 3 50. T im e F ram es
50. [ In trodu ction ]
T im e F ram es
ScottMcCl ou d is the Aris totl e of com ics , s how in g the w ayf orcon tem porarythin kers w how ou l d
s eek torigorou s l yan al yze em ergin g m edia.
WhatAris totl e did f orAttic dram ain the P oetics , McCl ou d has don e f orthe n egl ected f orm of
com ics . He has expl ain ed w hatthe m os ttal en ted com ic artis ts kn ew , al thou ghon l yWil l Eis n erhad
begu n toarticu l ate it how the com ic f orm atw orks , an d w hatits u n derl yin g s tru ctu res an d
techn iqu es are. He began byrigidl ydef in in g com ics as s equ en tial art ( or, if f u rtherexpl ication is
n eces s ary, j u xtapos ed pictorial an d otherim ages in del iberate s equ en ce). McCl ou d then f ou n d . A
that, bas ed on this def in ition , com ics are as ol d as the an cien tEgyptian s . F rom there, he w en ton to
con s iderm an yof the im portan thigher-l ev el techn iqu es of the com ic artis t:How does the v ariation
betw een gen eric an d s pecif ic repres en tation of peopl e w ork?Whathappen s in betw een the pan el s
of the com ic im ages w e read?Whatare the u s es of col orin the com ic artf orm ?An d, as is dis cu s s ed
in the chapterexcerpted here, how can tim e be repres en ted in am ediu m w hichis ( al thou ghitis
read ov eraperiod of tim e)pu rel ys patial ?Itis hardl yn eces s arytoev en m en tion thatMcCl ou ds
w ork has im pl cation s f orcom bin in g textan d im age, bu titprov ides otherl es s on s an d exam pl es .
Man yof thos e in v ol v ed w ithn ew m ediaare pl eas ed byMcCl ou ds def tm etacom ic tricks , a
n u m berof w hichare repres en ted in this chapter. Sin ce McCl ou d u s es an arrativ e m ediu m s u ited to
gen eral expos ition , he w as abl e tow rite acom ic abou tcom ics , an d take adv an tage of this to
il l u s trate ( in ev erys en s e of the w ord)his poin ts . Others im il arattem pts are n otal w ays as
s u cces s f u l : al thou ghthere hav e been bu il din gs con s tru cted m ain l ytocom m en ton arthitectu re,
thes e are n otu s u al l ypopu l arorv eryhabitabl e s tru ctu res . Whil e the f irs tedition of George
Lan dow s Hypertextw as is s u ed byJohn s Hopkin s on cl is k as Hypertextin Hypertext, this edition
n ev ergain ed w ide s chol arl ycu rren cy n otbein g as w idel ycited as the book itw as bas ed u pon
an d Lan dow s Hypertext2 .0w as n otis s u ed in as im il arf orm at. Som e in teres tin hypertextu al
criticis m of hypertextrem ain s , as can be s een in the Septem ber2 002 s pecial is s u e of the Jou rn al of
Digital In f orm ation , edited byJil l Wal keran d Su s an aT os ca. P erhaps this w il l bu il d u pon other
n on f iction hypertextw ork toprov ide in teres tin g res u l ts ; itm ayal s os im pl ybe dan cin g abou tdan ce.
Lookin g toU n ders tan din g Com ics can prov oke n ew m ediain s ight, bu tit' s certain l yn otthe cas e
thatal l of McCl ou ds techn iqu es can be eas il ydragged an d dropped in tothe digital real m . What
McCl ou ds w ork n ev erthel es s s how s is thatn ew f orm s , ev en thos e thathav e n otbeen s tu died
s eriou s l yf orcen tu ries orev en decades , doin deed hav e certain con v en tion s an d ru l es , an d thatif
the f orm bein g s tu died is con s idered w ithcare an d thou ght, thes e ru l es can be determ in ed,
ben ef itin g thos e w how ork in the f orm , w hoare s triv in g toim prov e the practice of theirart.
N M
.. \ 1 ' - ~ . ' _ . _ - - -,.. . -" ,, .. v .- " -
__ . - -~ __. .. - -.~ ~ , , .- ~ __
, I ,.. -, , _. , - - . _g ,. ' - , , . * . '
."F u rther_R eadin .g , i. ._, 1 1,] _~ H N g ____
Ers n er} w i_l L; ,com ics ' 8i7 $eqi1en zial .4rg; .Iain j arat. a aas s rq .m aee.r s } -19 135.5 f .; _Lr if . f
- . ' - ' __-__- ' ~ _\ . . - I .. .
0L,-.' m a@ w , George P . Hypertextin ]q_Iypett' e_xt..-2 ~3. ?~; 1' is ks ; .~M icin ,tos h an d; ,hiin dr; > \i/ s .\)ers "ion -= ; ._M Bal tim o_r_e:' ; _,
John s Hop,l gi~n s U riiv ers ityP res s i' '
' 7 McCl ou d,' ; SoottIR eiihien n g C; c> ' r_' r' \1r' t .-s ' ,' ."g,l Il l en j yoikz; Ha' rtierpeien n iaL__2 Oo0,_4f . ' " ' " i ' 1
__. _' , - ~" .---.~ . -,
\
' -iitgti-n "g,.then ,: thatT ed 3. 5
N el s on em pl oyej d an - 1 =
, .. __. -1
. , .
See Bien da?_.L u rel ' s es s ay
c( <> 38)-' f 0r; -. direct- r
appl ication of ' Aris totel ian
dram atioideas f rew '
m edia.; ' ~ Q Q ,
v .
1 . .
. .. ~-
. -'
-I. - ~ ' .' - ' I
. -,- " ' _..\..
Som e. n ew m edia?. 1 ;
v . . I .
practition ers . hav e al s o ..
begu n T o "$Idf * f t|1eir-1"' e
ow n w ork as ' a"ty|:ie of
s equ en tial _a' rt' .~ ,Gi\' / en ' - 4'
thatthu m bn ail s -an d; ' -
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51.[ II1trodu ction ]
Su rv eil l an ce an d Captu re
T w oModel s of P riv acy
T he pol ice gets earchw arran ts toal l ow them togatherin f orm ation abou tthe peopl e theys u s pectof
w ron gdoin g atl eas t, on T V s how s l ike Law an d OrderIf the j u dge does n ' tthin k theyhav e en ou gh
reas on tos u s pectthe pers on , the requ es tf oraw arran tis den ied. In adys topia, how ev er the can on i-
cal exam pl e is thatof l 9 84 there is total s u rv eil l an ce. In f orm ation is gathered abou tev eryon e, an d
the an al ys is of this in f orm ation is u s ed todecide w hotos u s pect. Vis ion s of total s u rv eil l an ce hav e
of ten been dis m is s ed as pu re f an tas y. En zen s bergers es s ay( O18)pres en ts the s tan dard obj ection :
T he m on itorin g of al l tel ephon e con v ers ation s , f orin s tan ce, pos tu l ates an apparatu s w hichw ou l d
n eed tobe n tim es m ore exten s iv e an d m ore com pl icated than thatof the pres en ttel ephon e s ys tem .
Acen s ors of f ice, w hichcarried ou tits w ork exten s iv el y, w ou l d of n eces s itybecom e the l arges tbran ch
of in du s tryin its s ociety.
Michel F ou cau l ts in f l u en tial con ceptof pan opticis m pres en ts as cen arioin w hichthis is n otthe ~
cas e. P an opticis m gets its n am e f rom athou ghtexperim en tabou tpris on des ign f rom atim e bef ore
el ectron ic s u rv eil l an ce. In the pan opticon , con ceiv ed byJerem yBen tham , the pris on s gu ards s itin a
cen tral tow er, rin ged byabu il din g con tain in g cel l s . T he cel l s are con s tru cted s othatl ights hin es
throu ghthem , tow ard the tow er. T his backl ights the in m ates in theirin div idu al cel l s , m akin g each
pris on er' s ev erym ov e v is ibl e toagu ard in the tow er. T he tow eris con s tru cted s othatpris on ers can
n ev ertel l if theyare bein g w atched. As F ou cau l tw rites , the m aj oref f ectof the P an opticon is to
in du ce in the in m ate as tate of con s ciou s an d perm an en tv is ibil itythatas s u res the au tom atic
f u n ction in g of pow er. Sotoarran ge thin gs thatthe s u rv eil l an ce is perm an en tin its ef f ects , ev en if it
is dis con tin u ou s in its action ; thatthe perf ection of pow ers hou l d ten d toren derits actu al exercis e
u n n eces s ary; thatthis architectu ral apparatu s s hou l d be am achin e f orcreatin g an d s u s tain in g a
pow errel ation in depen den tof the pers on w hoexercis es it; in s hort, thatthe in m ates s hou l d be
cau ghtu pin apow ers itu ation of w hichtheyare them s el v es the bearers ( 2 01). T he in m ates kn ow
thattheym aybe m on itored atan ytim e, s otheyw il l actatal l tim es as thou ghtheyare bein g
m on itored, becom in g theirow n s u rv eil l an ce.
T his s u rv eil l an ce m odel of priv acy, es pecial l yin the term in ol ogyof F ou cau l t' s pan opticon , has been
the dom in an t. m odel f orm os tdis cou rs e abou tpriv acyin the n ew m ediaf iel d. T his m odel f ail s to
highl ightcertain as pects of the techn ical el em en ts of n ew m edia- gl os s in g ov erw ays in w hichthe
in s titu tion al practices of com pu ters ys tem des ign m aybe an tithetical topriv acy, as w el l as w ays that
the tool s of com pu ters cien ce m aybe abl e toprov ide ef f ectiv e priv acy en han cin g techn ol ogies .
In the es s ayreprin ted here, P hil Agre grappl es w iththe qu es tion s of in s titu tion al practice,
pres en tin g adif f eren tm etaphorf orpriv acy, the captu re m odel draw n f rom an aw aren es s of the
cu rren tm ethods of com pu ters ys tem s des ign . F ol l ow in g the s tan dard com pu ters cien ce practices in
ordertodes ign ordepl oyan ew m edias ys tem thatcaptu res ( col l ects throu ghef f ort)in f orm ation
abou tits u s e, priv acycon s ideration s in ev itabl yaris e. Agre al s odem on s trates thatl ookin g throu gh
the l en s of captu re can s how u s w ays in w hichou ractiv ities are them s el v es res tru ctu red. Ju s tas the
in m ate of the pan opticon chan ges his behav ior, in tern al izin g his s u rv eil l an ce, s othe in f orm ated
organ ization in tern al izes captu re- reorderin g behav iors othatitis m ore am en abl e tocaptu re
m odel s ( w hichw ere l ikel ydev el oped u n derthe f iction thattheytran s paren tl yrepres en ted the prior
s tate of behav ior).
51. Su rv eil l an ce
an d Captu re
' -' :.- T - , . ..' _|_
' - v - ' T 4..
T Hef ; :w eh* s
cref a v e; ' .s el F es u Y v ,eil Eahte
E "
[

. -- Lir_ .n Q ::' -' 5-Q T ???"l Z0:= l .~.i3.?f l l ?l -412
-' I. ~ ., ..~~..
51. Su rv eil l an ce
an d Captu re
Agre' s des cn ' ption _of f the;
c_aptu re m odel greatl y.
con t,ribu t' e]s ,to ' ,f - '
u rT de' rs tan din g priv acy_"
is s u es , bT _; T t_as he - ' -
em phas iz_es _in this _
s el ection . the captu re :-
m odel does n otren der_
s u rv eil l an ce an ou tm oded "
idea. Dif f ere' n t_s cen arios
im pl ication s f or '
priv acyare how pl ayin g-_
ou t--s om e bes t_
u _n ders .tood throu ghthe '
s u rv eil l an ce m odel a-.n d- '
s orn e_bes t.u n de> r_s tood as
apw r@ iMhe u s e an d
dev el opm en tof n ew . .. .
m edia. - _i
theN EWMEDIAR EADER
T he captu re of priv ate in f orm ation is accel eratin g as com pu tin g becom es ev erm ore in tegrated
w ithou rl if e proces s es an d s paces , w hetherin the gu is e of Web f orm s , s w ipe cards , orthe im pl an tin g
of com pu ters an d trackin g dev ices u n derthe ru bric of u biqu itou s com pu tin g. F orthis in tegration to
be ef f ectiv e, the com pu term u s tkn ow abou tthe s itu ation in tow hichitis in tegrated. T hatis , the
com pu ters ys tem m u s tbe des ign ed tocon tain am odel of the activ ities takin g pl ace. T he s tan dard
com pu ters ys tem s des ign m ethodol ogyis toan al yze thes e proces s es atev erm ore f in e-grain ed l ev el s
of detail . In the captu re m odel , the m ore detail ed the in f orm ation , the m ore com pu tation al proces s es
can an al yze an d au gm en tthe activ ity, an d theref ore the m ore poten tial l yf ru itf u l the res u l ts of
in trodu cin g com pu tin g in tothe s itu ation . T he in f orm ation prov ided throu ghcaptu re in s ys tem s
dev el opm en tm ayhav e qu ite pos itiv e res u l ts , an d ~as is n otthe cas e w iththe s u rv eil l an ce m odel is
s el dom con s idered as harm f u l tothe partyw hos e in f orm ation is captu red.
In af u rtherdif f eren ce f rom the s u rv eil l an ce m odel , w hichim agin es the res u l ts of al l in f orm ation
col l ection des tin ed f orthe cen tral repos itoryof aBig Brother,"the captu re m odel u n ders tan ds
in f orm ation togoin m an ydirection s , an d f orm an ypu rpos es . Adel iv erys erv ice m aycaptu re
in f orm ation abou tdriv ers , han dl ers , s en ders , receiv ers , the packages thatpas s throu ghtheirh.an ds ,
an d the v ehicl es in w hichtheyare tran s ported. Aban k m aycaptu re in f orm ation abou ttel l ers ,
borrow ers , depos itors , l oan of f icers , an d the m on eythat( v irtu al l y)pas s es throu ghtheirhan ds . An
in div idu al m ayu s e ahan dhel d com pu teran d pers on al in f orm ation m an agem en t( P IM)s of tw are to
organ ize an d categorize in teraction s w ithw ork, f am il y, an d f rien ds . T he captu re m odel hel ps to
expl ain , m ore cl earl ythan as u rv eil l an ce con ceptm ight, how the gatherin g of s u chin f orm ation has
ben ef its as w el l as priv acyim pl ication s an d w ork-res tru ctu rin g im pl ication s , ev en if the in div idu al in
qu es tion is n otcon tin u al l yu n derobs erv ation . Adel iv erydriv erm ayal s ou s e P IM s of tw are to
s chedu l e adepos itof m on eyatthe ban k, an d the three captu red ev en ts ( v ehicl e m ov em en t, P IM
tas k com pl etion , ban k accou n tactiv ity)w il l n otim m ediatel ybe correl ated, becau s e the three pieces
of in f orm ation don otin itial l yexis tin the s am e con text. In creas in g correl ation of this s ortis ,
how ev er, an ackn ow l edged corporate goal .
Con trov ers ies ov erWeb s ite cookies are on e topic thathas highl ighted how the n ew m edia
en v iron m en tis f il l ed w ithcorporate attem pts tobu il d prof il es of cu s tom ers an d otherv is itors f rom
captu red data w hichare then u s ed totarget-m arket, an d are s ol d an d traded. Su chtrackin g has
gen eral l ybeen dis cu s s ed in term s of s u n / eil l an ce s tyl e m on itorin g of s hoppin g activ ity. Web u s ers
aren ' tparticu l arl yhappyabou tthe s itu ation , con s idered eitherw ay. U n l ike m an ycaptu re s u bj ects
dis cu s s ed byAgre, n eitheru s ers n ortheirem pl oyers s ee thes e action s , w hetherv iew ed as captu re or
s u rv eil l an ce, tobe particu l arl yben ef icial . F orexam pl e, the com pan yDou bl eCl ick receiv ed s tron g
protes tin res pon s e toits pu bl ic pl an s tom erge al arge con s u m erdatabas e ithad pu rchas ed w iththe
in f orm ation ithas col l ected bys erv in g adv ertis em en ts ( an d cookies )on m an yWeb s ites . Su ch
practices , how ev er, are qu ietl ycon tin u in g. T he is s u e is hard tou n ders tan d in term s of the Big
Brother"s u rv eil l an ce of 19 84orthe s el f -s u rv eil l an ce en cou raged bythe pan optic m odel . Itcan be
s een , in s tead, as the organ ization of pers on al in f orm ation as acom m odity. As R ogerCl arke an d
others hav e expl icated, s u chorgan ization is obj ection abl e n ots im pl ybecau s e w e don ' tl ike cal l s f rom
tel em arketers , orbecau s e w e l ike tokeeps om e thin gs abou tou rs el v es toou rs el v es . Itis al s o
obj ection abl e becau s e of the w ayw e exis tas s ocial bein gs m an agin g ou rpers on ae in the pu bl ic
w orl d bydecidin g w hattodis cl os e, an d tow hom . Cookies don ' ts im pl ythreaten the s ecu rityof ou r
creditcard data, theyal s ocom prom is e ou rabil itytom an age how w e pres en tan d def in e ou rs el v es .
Organ ization s s u chas the N SAacqu ire v as tam ou n ts of in f orm ation abou tou rs ociety. T he
Echel on s ys tem , as the ACLU s Echel on Watchreports , m on itors "as m an yas 3 bil l ion com m u n ication s
ev eryday, in cl u din g phon e cal l s , e-m ail m es s ages , In tern etdow n l oads , [ an d] s atel l ite tran s m is s ion s "in
the U n ited States , the U n ited Kin gdom , Can ada, Au s tral ia, an d N ew Zeal an d. Af ters u chdatais
col l ected itis s can n ed f oru n u s u al f l ow s , pre-def in ed keyw ords , orem ergen tpattern s . T he
in f orm ation f ou n d is u s ed n oton l yagain s ttargets chos en in adv an ce ( w hichreportedl yin cl u de
-
\
19 9 4
, -_.- ,._.-_-,,_. - ,,_.-_.,,.. ,,e_._._.,- _51. Su n / eil l an ce
s u s pected terroris ts an d in tern ation al charities , as w el l as f oreign com pan ies w hoare biddin g f or
bu s in es s again s tdom es tic on es ), bu tal s otoiden tif yn ew s u s pects . When pan opticis m is u s ed toref er
tothis phen om en on , itis n ol on gerref errin g tothe kn ow l edge of pos s ibl e s u rv eil l an ce thatl eads to
s el f -s u rv eil l an ce. Itis al s oref errin g toattem pts toactu al l ycreate the total s u rv eil l an ce s tate of 19 84.
Whil e En zen s bergerargu ed thats u chatotal col l aps e of priv acyw as im pos s ibl e, he m ade this
argu m en tf rom the pers pectiv e of hu m an s u rv eil l an ce, w ritin g bef ore itw as practical toem pl oy
com pu teran al ys is f orproces s in g m as s iv e am ou n ts of in tercepted com m u n ication s .
A19 9 7 col l ection edited byAgre an d Marc R oten berg takes u pthe qu es tion of w here priv acyis
headed in the on l in e era. P riv acy-en han cin g techn ol ogies are on e im portan tareaof dev el opm en t. F or
exam pl e, the w ides pread u s e of s tron g cryptographyis on e w ayof en han cin g priv acy -n otbecau s e
itw ou l d be s tron g en ou ghtoprev en tthe N SAorits cou n terparts f rom acces s in g the con ten ts of a
m es s age in w hichtheyw ere particu l arl yin teres ted, bu tbecau s e theiracces s w ou l d requ ire the u s e of
acertain am ou n tof com pu terpow er, en ou ghtom ake the con tin u al m on itorin g of al l in tercepted l
m es s ages , s u s pectorn ot, im practical .
Cryptographyhas been aprim aryexam pl e of how com pu ters are n ot, as theyhav e s om etim es
been characterized in the hu m an ities , af orce s om ehow bytheirdes ign al ign ed w iths u rv eil l an ce an d
au thoritarian is m . In the 19 9 0s , as pro cryptographys en tim en tgrew , m an ygov ern m en ts activ el y
oppos ed the u s e of s tron g cryptographybytheircitizen s , atthe l eas tdem an din g keyes crow or
otherm eas u res toaid s tate s u rv eil l an ce. Bu tas el ectron ic com m erce becam e in creas in gl yim portan t
tov is ion s of f u tu re econ om ic grow th, an d as itbecam e cl earthaton l ys tron g en cryption w ou l d l ead
tocon s u m ers f eel in g com f ortabl e abou ts en din g creditcard dataov erthe In tern et, thes e gov ern m en t
obj ection s dim in is hed.
T he av ail abil ityof cryptographyis on l yan in itial , ten tativ e s tep. En crypted em ail is n ow rare
en ou ghtodraw atten tion , an d in f requ en ten ou ghf orthe gov ern m en ttoopen an d s earchin its
en tirety, if itcares to. On l yon ce the u s e of cryptographyf orn ew m ediacom m u n ication s has becom e
as s tan dard as the u s e of en v el opes f orpapercom m u n ication s w il l the eas yabil ityof the gov ern m en t
tov iol ate priv acy- w hethercon s idered as s u rv eil l an ce orcaptu re ceas e tohan g ov erev ery
el ectron ic m ov em en tan d dataexchan ge. Whatw il l rem ain w il l be con tin u al captu re of priv ate data
bym ega-corporation s , trackin g em pl oyees , cu s tom ers , an d pas s ers bythou ghev erygl im ps e,
tran s action , an d w orkpl ace activ ity. Al ready, corporation s m aym on itoral l cas u al con v ers ation by
u s ers thatpas s es throu ghtheirs of tw are, an d ev en dos ou n derthe s hrou d of l egal ity. As of this
w ritin g, the Micros of tIn s tan tMes s en gerl icen s e agreem en ts pecif ies thatal l com m u n ication s in that
s ys tem are the propertyof Micros of t; the com pan ym aychoos e todoan ythin g itl ikes w iththem ,
in cl u din g pu bl is hin g them w ithattribu tion . In s pace, perhaps , n oon e can hearyou s cream . Bu tin
cybers pace, s om eon e perhaps the riches tm an on the pl an et can in deed hearyou , w hetheryou
s cream , cry, orw his per, ev en in apriv ate con v ers ation .
-N WF
__F u rtherR ead:il l l l ' T ' T H
As -re: P hil ip)E-aj an ii-1u air ..a en s g; ~eds ..r i u a; y &a3s ; grv a .e.irr griav -.ian a ' apa; ; tta1 rbrT idgeI; ' T .l T 1II> . .g; g,s ; ~ iT
' 19 9 Z:<_~ I . T .
- . . - . . u n . - - . - ~ . - ' .. -~
' ~ -' : ._~ .~.- _- - - ,.. = . .
> A' _g.rel , P hil ipf , .cgg7 ; T _ __u tatioh' arid; Hu l I?dii:.; E riie i& T il i-bi dQ _ 1; Q 1iiv r$ty; f J r s s ; T Y . ~- j g i-_.. .
.1 ~ri1f r<i,i ' m s - 1T h= = ,; l / i> r1= riaf U iT iv : ?rs iit$T 1.' 1I<-T j ; 1; ~,; -' if t _; U .T hiv ers r&; "C m m u n it w
Sm -e1:3,,; _g. __~ W.
Cl arl ie, -R o.g' er. _f ' * r~h ' Di' g_itaj l :' P ers _oT ial _a' _n d:1Its .l -f ikiptitir a ol yi-t = {m a j
1 if A I "
T F Q l T ?i1l t> .~l * l i l T l Q .?P T ?iiP ti i% "i ?* .
- l l ? s ."E"* ' = ,; P .= = \.T 1." ' T f E?F !r,* 19 -7 7 T "!' T T T ' ' f .
an d P v .w ' eT ' ; .."36 ' Z+38.6 , T e ' .
an d Captu re
51. Su rv eil l an ce
an d Captu re
Origin al P u bl ication
In f orm ation Society10( 2 ):101-12 7 . April Ju n e 19 9 4.
Su rv eil l an ce an d
Captu re
T w oModel s of P riv acy
P hil ipE. Agre
1 In trodu ction
Ideas abou tpriv acyare, am on g otherthin gs , cu l tu ral
phen om en a. T heyare s haped throu ghhis torical experien ce,
theycon dition perception s of n ew l yaris in g phen om en a, an d
theyare reprodu ced ortran s f orm ed in al l of the s am e
com pl icated w ays as otherel em en ts of cu l tu re. Cu l tu ral ideas
abou tpriv acyare particu l arl ys ign if ican trightn ow , giv en the
rapid em ergen ce of n ew techn ol ogies an d n ew pol icyis s u es
arou n d priv acy. In this paperIpropos e tocon tras ttw o
cu l tu ral m odel s of priv acy:
T he s u rv eil l an ce m odel ,"cu rren tl ydom in an tin the
pu bl ic dis cou rs e of atl eas tthe En gl is h-s peakin g
w orl d, is bu il tu pon v is u al m etaphors an d deriv es
f rom his torical experien ces of s ecretpol ice
s u rv eil l an ce.
Al es s f am il iaral tern ativ e, the captu re m odel ,"has
m an if es ted its el f prin cipal l yin the practices of
in f orm ation techn ol ogis ts ; itis bu il tu pon l in gu is tic
m etaphors an d takes as its prototype the del iberate
reorgan ization of in du s trial w ork activ ities toal l ow
com pu ters totrack them in real tim e.
T hes e tw om odel s are n otm u tu al l yexcl u s iv e. By
em phas izin g the con tras ts betw een them , Ihope tom ake
ev iden ttheircon tin gen tn atu re. P riv acyis s u es take dif f eren t
f orm s in dif f eren tin s titu tion al s ettin gs an d his torical
periods , an d n os in gl e m odel s u f f ices tof u l l ycharacterize al l
of the f orm s thatpriv acyis s u es can take.
Section 2 m otiv ates this s tu dybydis cu s s in g as etof
em ergin g techn ol ogies f ortrackin g peopl e an d m ateri-
al s . Con s ideration of thes e techn ol ogies w ithin
exis tin g con cepts of priv acyrev eal s certain prev iou s l y
u n f ocal ized el em en ts , m os tparticu l arl ythe
reorgan ization of activ itytoaccom m odate the
trackin g proces s .
theN EWMEDIAR EADER
Section 3 takes u pthis obs erv ation m ore f orm al l yby
in trodu cin g an d def in in g the s u rv eil l an ce m odel an d
the captu re m odel of priv acyis s u es .
Section 4dis cu s s es the captu re m odel in m ore depth,
rel atin g ittodeepl yin grain ed as pects of appl ied
com pu tin g as aprof es s ion al practice. Itin trodu ces the
con ceptof a"gram m arof action "an d prov ides s ev eral
exam pl es . Itthen des cribes an ideal ized f iv e s tage
cycl e f orthe dev el opm en tof captu re s ys tem s an d
ref l ects on certain com pu ter-s u pported cooperativ e
w ork s ys tem s in this l ight.
Section 5des cribes s om e trade-of f s in heren tin the
con ceptof captu re, an d con s equ en tl yin the v ery
des ign of com pu ters ys tem s as theyare cu rren tl y
u n ders tood.
Section 6 in trodu ces the gen eral qu es tion of captu re
as as ocial phen om en on , in s is tin g thatcaptu re be
s tu died again s tthe backgrou n d of the l arger
in s titu tion al dyn am ics in w hichitis em bedded.
Section 7 of f ers aprov is ion al an al ys is of the pol itical
econ om yof captu re, s tartin g w ithadis cu s s ion of the
rol e of in f orm ation techn ol ogyin redu cin g econ om ic
tran s action cos ts .
Section 8 con cl u des byretu rn in g tothe com paris on
betw een the s u rv eil l an ce an d captu re m odel s an d
as s es s in g s om e of the pos s ibl e f u tu res tow hichthey
poin t.
2 T rackin g
T his reexam in ation of priv acyw as origin al l ym otiv ated by
the em ergen ce of n ew techn ol ogies f orthe trackin g of
peopl e, au tom obil es , packages , m aterial s , an d s of orth. In the
activ e badge proj ectatOl iv etti( Wan tetal 19 9 2 )an d Xerox
( Weis er19 9 3), f orexam pl e, em pl oyees w earon theircl othin g
abl ack pl as tic rectan gl e cal l ed abadge thatu s es in f rared
l ighttoin dicate its l ocation todev ices m ou n ted on w al l s an d
ceil in gs , w hichin tu rn are con n ected toadatabas e. Sev eral
experim en ts hav e expl ored v ariou s u s es of the badges , f or
exam pl e todeterm in e acol l eagu e' s l ocation in the bu il din g or
toau tom atical l ydirectagiv en in div idu al s cal l s tothe
phys ical l ycl os es ttel ephon e. T his res earchhas been v iew ed as
as teptow ard u biqu itou s com pu tin g,"in w hich
com pu tation al m achin eryis dis tribu ted throu ghou tthe
phys ical en v iron m en t( e.g., Gol d 19 9 3). F orexam pl e, s ev eral
grou ps ( El rod etal 19 9 3, Mil l etal 19 9 2 )are creatin g s m art
0* > 0 > ~ 0* 1 T o ~ * r ~ ~+= 0* "" Es 0| 510
19 9 4
bu il din gs in w hichcl im ate con trol s are in tegrated w ith
n etw orked digital s ys tem s .
Activ e badges m aybe the bes t-kn ow n trackin g techn ol ogy,
bu ttheyare hardl yu n iqu e. Othertrackin g s chem es in v ol v e
radio-f requ en cybeacon s in s tal l ed on m aterial s in
m an u f actu rin g an d dis tribu tion ( F al es 19 9 2 , Sabetti19 9 3).
An d the trade pres s has reported on n u m erou s
im pl em en tation s of trackin g s ys tem s :
- U P S u s es bar-codes an d acu s tom ized el ectron ic
cl ipboard totrack the m ov em en ts of packages ; w hen a
package is del iv ered, the cl ipboard digital l yrecords the
recipien ts s ign atu re an d s en ds in f orm ation abou tthe
packages s tatu s toacen tral com pu terthrou gha
n ation w ide cel l u l artel ephon e n etw ork ( Du f f y19 9 3,
Eckers on 19 9 1).
- T he Can adian Min is tryof T ran s portation u s es a
w irel es s packetradion etw ork an d an ation al databas e
tokeeptrack of com m ercial v ehicl es in T oron to. P ol ice
an d in s pectors u s e in f orm ation prov ided bythe s ys tem
tocheck driv ers s peed an d w atchf oru n l icen s ed
v ehicl es , an d theycan cal l u pacom pl ete his toryof an y
v ehicl e in af ew s econ ds ( Lou derm il k 19 9 3).
- Atru ckin g f irm cal l ed Am erican aIn c. u s es w irel es s
com m u n ication s an d the U S m il itarys Gl obal
P os ition in g Sys tem ( GP S)toal l ow dis patchers to
au tom atical l ytrack its tru cks . Eachtru ck carries an
Appl e Macin tos hthatperiodical l ytakes areadin g
f rom aGP S dev ice an d s en ds ittoheadqu arters by
el ectron ic m ail ( Law ton 19 9 2 ).
- Com pu tern etw orks are in creas in gl ym akin g pos s ibl e
au tom atic real -tim e datacol l ection an d an al ys is f or
l arge-s cal e accou n tin g an d con trol s ys tem s , an d this
dev el opm en tis rev ol u tion izin g ( if bel atedl y)the f iel d
of m an agem en taccou n tin g ( John s on an d Kapl an
19 87 :5~6 f f .)
- As ys tem cal l ed VoiceF ram e is u s ed tom on itor
peopl e w hohav e been con v icted of crim es . Each
of f en derw ears abracel etthatn otif ies the au thorities
if itpas s es ou ts ide acertain bou n dary( Leibow itz
19 9 2 ).
- In aw ide ran ge of v irtu al real ity an d tel epres en ce
s ys tem s , s om e m echan is m con tin u al l yin f orm s a
com pu terabou tthe l ocation s of certain parts of a
pers on s body. T he l ocation s m ightbe com pu ted an d
tran s m itted bydev ices thatare phys ical l yattached to
the rel ev an tbodyparts , ortheym ightbe com pu ted
an d Captu re
byas tation arydev ice thatobs erv es the bodys
m otion , perhaps throu ghav ideocam era( Meyer,
Appl ew hite, an d Biocca19 9 2 ).
- On e div is ion of N CR has in tegrated its j u s t-in -tim e
m an u f actu rin g s ys tem s w ithapl an t w ide s ys tem of
bar code readers . T he s tatu s of eachj ob is av ail abl e
f rom com pu terterm in al s throu ghou tthe
organ ization ( An on ym ou s 19 9 0).
- F as tf ood chain s are rapidl yin tegratin g their
operation s throu ghpoin t of -s al e ( P OS)term in al s an d
bookkeepin g s ys tem s f ortrackin g in div idu al s tores
activ ities byin tercon n ectin g theirl ocal com pu ters
w ithm ain f ram es atheadqu arters , w hichperf orm s
in ten s iv e an al ys is of the res u l tin g data( McP artl in
19 9 2 , Sim ps on 19 89 ). Item s captu red an d s tored in
the databas e in cl u de produ ctm ix, s al es s tatis tics ,
l aborin f orm ation , f ood cos ts , ban k depos its , cas h
regis terin f orm ation , s al es total s , av erage order
am ou n ts atdif f eren tpoin ts in the day, an d cu s tom er
traf f ic ( Bau m 19 9 2 ). Mos ts u chs ys tem s hav e repl aced
bran chm an agers f u n ction s w ithcen tral ized con trol
( Wal ton 19 89 :42 f f .), apattern f ou n d throu ghou t
m as s retail in g ( Sm ith19 88).
- N u m erou s proj ects are cu rren tl ybu il din g s ys tem s
f ordes ign ration al e captu re ( DR C)( Carrol l an d
Moran 19 9 1). T he ideais thatdes ign chan ges in l arge
en gin eerin g proj ects are of ten m ade dif f icu l tbyin ade-
qu ate in s titu tion al m em oryabou tthe reas on in g
behin d prev iou s des ign decis ion s . ADR C s ys tem f il l s
this gapbyal l ow in g des ign ers tom ain tain aru n n in g
accou n tof theirreas on in g du rin g the des ign proces s ,
u s in g ataxon om yof types of reas on in g an d a
com pl exs ys tem of datas tru ctu res f orrepres en tin g
them al l . T his m aterial is then s tored f orl ater
ref eren ce. F orCarrol l ( 19 9 2 ), des ign ration al e captu re
is the cu l m in ation of an u n derl yin g l ogic of com pu ter
des ign activ ities . Des ign practice, he argu es , can be
v iew ed as reif yin g aparticu l arw ork practice, an d
des ign ration al e captu re s im il arl yin v ol v es the
reif ication of the des ign proces s its el f , w ithal l of its
el em en ts of herm en eu tic in qu iry.
- Sev eral v en dors hav e bu il ts of tw are s ys tem s f or
trackin g j ob appl ican ts throu ghthe w hol e appl ication
an d in terv iew proces s . T he s ys tem s can keeptrack of
eachin div idu al s paperw ork, gen erate rou tin e l etters ,
an d m ain tain adatabas e of appl ican ts thatcan be
s earched in aw ide v arietyof w ays , in cl u din g
gen eratin g docu m en ts f oraf f irm ativ e action
51. Su rv eil l an ce
an d Captu re
reportin g an d the l ike. Em pl oyees participatin g in the
hirin g proces s u pdate the databas e u pon eachs tepof
the proces s ( R om ei19 9 1).
- In T hail an d, the Min is tryof the In terioris
dev el opin g acen tral ized databas e tom ain tain
in f orm ation on eachof the cou n try' s citizen s . Each
in div idu al w il l hav e au n iqu e iden tif ication n u m ber
recorded on acard w itham agn etic s trip( Hof f m an
19 9 0).
T he cas es v aryam on g them s el v es in s ev eral w ays . Al thou gh
eachs ys tem keeps track of s ign if ican tchan ges in atracked
en titys s tate, the n atu re of thes e chan ges v aries . In s om e
cas es the chan ges are s im pl ychan ges in phys ical l ocation ,
reckon ed again s ts om e kin d of s tation arycoordin ate grid;
the s ys tem m ayw el l pl ace s om e kin d of in terpretation on
thes e l ocation s , perhaps rel ativ e toas treetm ap. In other
cas es the chan ges are def in ed in in s titu tion al term s , f or
exam pl e w hetherapackage has been f orm al l yreceiv ed or
w hethers om eon e has been f orm al l yof f ered ortu rn ed dow n
f oraj ob. In the f orm ercas e, the term trackin g takes on a
m ore l iteral s en s e of trackin g throu ghs pace. In the l atter
cas e, the term trackin g is am etaphor; the en tityin qu es tion
traces atraj ectorythrou gham ore abs tracts pace w hich
m ighthav e n u m erou s dim en s ion s .
On e m ightf u rtherdis tin gu is hbetw een s ys tem s thattrack
hu m an bein gs an d s ys tem s thattrack phys ical obj ects . Su cha
dis tin ction w ou l d be m is l eadin g, thou gh. Sys tem s are in deed
f ou n d ateachextrem e f orexam pl e radiotran s m itters
attached tos hippin g crates orf as ten ed topris on ers l im bs .
Bu tm an yof the s ys tem s track bothpeopl e an d obj ects , an d
others track obj ects as s tan d in s f orpeopl e. As ys tem that
tracks peopl e bym ean s of iden tif ication cards , f orexam pl e, is
real l ytrackin g the cards ; an ycon n ection betw een the card
an d pers on w il l hav e tobe m ade in s om e otherw ay, s u chas
an of f icial ors u perv is orcheckin g eachin div idu al s
appearan ce again s taphotographu pon eachs ign if ican t
ev en t. Sim il arl y, as ys tem thattracks tru cks can gen eral l y
depen d on as tabl e corres pon den ce, atl eas tov ers hort
periods , betw een tru cks an d theirdriv ers .
Sys tem s thattrack phys ical obj ects , f ortheirpart, v ary
con s iderabl yin the m ean s byw hichtheydetects ign if ican t
s tate chan ges . Som e depen d on com pl exs chem es f or
reckon in g abs ol u te orrel ativ e l ocation ; thes e s ys tem s m ay
on l yrequ ire an approxim ate l ocation , an d thu s m ayon l y
receiv e aperiodic u pdate f rom al ocation m eas u rin g dev ice.
theN EWMEDIAR EADER
Others ys tem s depen d on adis tribu ted s ys tem of pas s iv e
s en s ors . Y etothers m ightin v ol v e s en s ors thatactiv el ys eek
ou tthe en tities bein g tracked. Bu tal arge n u m berof s ys tem s
in v ol v e hu m an in terv en tion :ahu m an bein g execu tes s om e
phys ical action thatcl os es acau s al chain betw een the tracked
en tityan d the cen tral ized s ys tem , therebys ign if yin g that
s u ch-an d-s u chas tate-chan ge has taken pl ace.
In gen eral , the v ariou s trackin g s ys tem s v aryw idel yin the
w aytheydiv ide theircom pu tation al l aborbetw een the
m ov in g en tity, s om e s tation arycom pu ters ys tem , an d
v ariou s hu m an orm echan ical in term ediaries . AGP S dev ice,
f orexam pl e, perf orm s al l of the n eces s arycom pu tation at
the l ocation of the obj ectbein g tracked. Atan otherextrem e,
atrackin g s ys tem m ightem pl oyan al gorithm tol ocate the
tracked en tityw ithin eachs u cces s iv e v ideoim age itreceiv es
f rom as tation arycam era. .An d in the m iddl e grou n d betw een
thes e extrem es l ie n u m erou s s chem es f ors pl ittin g the
bu rden of trackin g f orexam pl e bypl acin g barcodes orLEDs
on the en titybein g tracked, orbyres trictin g the en titys
m ov em en ts s othatitn eces s aril ycom es in tocon tactw ithrel -
ativ el ys im pl e s en s ors ( U doka19 9 1). ( F oragen eral
treatm en tof this trade of f in the des ign of robots , s ee
Don al d ( f orthcom in g).)
Des pite al l of thes e v ariation s , the v ariou s trackin g
s ys tem s hav e agreatdeal in com m on . In eachcas e, s om e
en titychan ges s tate, acom pu terin tern al l yrepres en ts thos e
s tates , an d certain techn ical an d s ocial m ean s are prov ided
f or( in ten dedl yatl eas t)m ain tain in g the corres pon den ce
betw een the repres en tation an d the real ity. T he com pu ter
m aym ain tain acen tral ized databas e ( this is the u s u al cas e)
oritm aybe m ore w idel ydis tribu ted. Eachen tityhas a
def in ite iden titythatrem ain s s tabl e ov ertim e, an d if s ev eral
en tities are bein g tracked then the trackin g s ys tem has s om e
m ean s of con s is ten tl yattachin g agiv en en titytoits
corres pon din g repres en tation . T his repres en tation w il l be
expres s ed w ithin s om e m athem atical l ydef in abl e
repres en tation s chem e, w hichis capabl e of expres s in g a
certain f orm al s pace of s tates of af f airs . T he com pu ter
m ain tain s arepres en tation on l yof certain as pects of the
en tity. In particu l ar, the repres en tation s chem e recogn izes
certain s pecif ic kin ds of chan ges of s tate, n am el ythos e w hich
corres pon d tochan ges in the s tored repres en tation . As ys tem
f ortrackin g an obj ects l ocation , f orexam pl e, s hou l d be
u n af f ected bychan ges in its col or; the recogn ized s tate-
chan ges w il l al l take the f orm of tran s ition s f rom , s ay, on e
19 9 4
a. E as ._-- am - -.~ . ...-as -_E W I 51. Su rv eil l an ce
an d Captu re
s equ en ce of coordin ates toan other. As the en titys
corres pon din g repres en tation chan ges , records m ayw el l be
keptof its s tate tran s ition s , yiel din g ahis tory of its
traj ectorythrou ghtim e. An d this traj ectory, of cou rs e, can be
eitherl iteral orm etaphorical , depen din g on w hatas pects of
the en tityare repres en ted.
In addition tothe con tin u al u pdatin g of arepres en tation ,
eachtrackin g s ys tem is capabl e of cl os in g acau s al l oop
betw een the en tityan d the com pu ter. T hatis , in f orm ation
does n ots im pl yf l ow f rom the en titytothe com pu ter; in
addition , certain hu m an orm echan ical agen ts , f aced w itha
giv en en tityin apres cribed type of s itu ation , are capabl e of
determ in in g its iden tityan d cal l in g u p the in f orm ation in
its f il e. ( T hes e agen ts activ ities m ay, of cou rs e, be tracked as
w el l .)Again , the cau s al m ean s thatprov ide f orthis l oop~
cl os in g v aryw idel y, f rom barcodes toiden tif ication cards to
l icen s e pl ates tokeys topaperw ork of al l s orts , an d the
com pu tation al div is ion of l aboram on g the en tity, agen t,
cen tral com pu ter, an d s of orthv aries w idel yas w el l .
T rackin g s ys tem s l ike thes e can obv iou s l ybe u s ed f or
good oril l . Otherthin gs bein g equ al , itis probabl yagood
ideatotrack hazardou s m aterial s , gov ern m en tm on ey, an d
s of orth. Atthe s am e tim e, res earchon com pu ters an d
priv acyhas em phas ized the f ear, of ten perf ectl yj u s tif ied,
thatthe accu m u l ated in f orm ation abou tatracked pers on
m ightbe u s ed f orabu s iv e pu rpos es , f orexam pl e s tal kin g by
aw ou l d-be as s ail an t, irres pon s ibl e pu bl ication of
em barras s in g f acts , oroppres s iv el ydetail ed con trol of w ork
activ ities . In particu l ar, this res earchhas f ocu s ed on the
el em en tof data-col l ection ; its qu es tion is w hatbecom es of
the dataon ce itis col l ected. Y ettrackin g s chem es hav e
an others ide: the practical arran gem en ts throu ghw hichthe
datais col l ected in the f irs tpl ace, in cl u din g the
arran gem en ts thatm ake hu m an activ ities an d phys ical
proces s es trackabl e. As hu m an activ ities becom e in tertw in ed
w iththe m echan is m s of com pu terized trackin g. the n otion
of hu m an in teraction s w ithacom pu ter" u n ders tood as a
dis crete, phys ical l yl ocal ized en tity be.gin s tol os e its f orce;
in its pl ace w e en cou n teractiv ity-s ys tem s thatare
thorou ghl yin tegrated w ithdis tribu ted com pu tation al
proces s es . Itis this deeperim pl ication of trackin g thatf orm s
the cen tral m otiv ation f orthis paper.
3 Su rv eil l an ce an d captu re
Letu s , then , f orm al l yin trodu ce the s u rv eil l an ce m odel an d
the captu re m odel of priv acyis s u es . Am odel , f orpres en t
pu rpos es , is aw ayof l ookin g atthin gs ; s pecif ical l y, itis as et
of m etaphors . Dis tin ctm odel s don otdiv ide the w orl ds
s ociotechn ical phen om en ain ton on ov erl appin g cl as s es ;
in s tead, theys im pl ypoin tou ts om e poten tial l ys ign if ican t
f eatu res of the phen om en a f eatu res thatm aycal l f orm ore
con crete an al ys is .
T he s u rv eil l an ce m odel has f iv e com pon en ts :
( 1)v is u al m etaphors , as in Orw el l s Big Brotheris
w atchin g you orBen tham s P an opticon ;
( 2 )the as s u m ption thatthis w atchin g is
n on cl is ru ptiv e an d s u rreptitiou s ( exceptperhaps
w hen goin g as trayoris s u in g athreat);
( 3)territorial m etaphors , as in the in v as ion of a
priv ate pers on al s pace, prototypical l ythe f am il y
hom e, m arked ou tbyrights an d the oppos ition
betw een coercion an d con s en t;
( 4)cen tral ized orches tration bym ean s of a
bu reau cracyw ithau n if ied s etof f il es ; an d
( 5)iden tif ication w iththe s tate, an d in particu l ar
w ithcon s ciou s l ypl an n ed-ou tm al ev ol en taim s of a
s pecif ical l ypol itical n atu re. '
When s tated in this w ay, itbecom es ev iden tthatthe
s u rv eil l an ce m odel is acu l tu ral phen om en on . Al thou ghits
earl ies tgen eal ogydes erv es f u rtherres earch, its m odern
his toryis cl earl yrooted in the his torical experien ce of s ecret
pol ice organ ization s an d theirn etw orks of l is ten in g dev ices
an d in f orm ers , m os tprom in en tl yin the total itarian s tates of
N aziGerm an yan d the Sov ietU n ion , an d toal es s erbu ts til l
s ign if ican texten tin the U n ited States . George Orw el l s 19 84
gav e thes e s ym bol s theirm os tv iv id l iteraryf orm , bu tthe
cu l tu ral l egacyof this his toryis al s oev iden tin , f orexam pl e,
the u n pl eas an tcon n otation s as s ociated w ithcertain u s es of
aw ord l ike f il es . Moreov er, phil os ophers an d cu l tu ral critics
hav e gen eral l yhel d v is ion an d v is u al m etaphors in l ow
es teem throu ghm u chof this cen tu ry, as Jay( 19 9 3)has
docu m en ted in the cas e of F ran ce. In an ycas e, itis im portan t
tokeepin m in d thatthe s u rv eil l an ce m odel is as ys tem of
m etaphors ; in appl yin g the s u rv eil l an ce m odel toapriv ate
com pan y, f orexam pl e, on e is s im pl yl iken in g ittoa
m al ev ol en ts tate organ ization , an d itw il l be im portan tto
expl ore the l im its of this com paris on .
51. Su rv eil l an ce
an d Captu re
T he s u rv eil l an ce m odel is byf arthe m os tprev al en tin the
l iteratu re on priv acy. Itis f ou n d, f orexam pl e, in def in ition s
of priv acyin term s of the righttobe l ef tal on e, orin
con cern s ov erin f orm ation bein g u s ed f oru n in ten ded
pu rpos es . In deed, the v as tm aj orityof the exis tin g l iteratu re
on com pu ters an d priv acyem pl oys the s u rv eil l an ce m odel
w ithou tcritical l yan al yzin g itorcon s iderin g al tern ativ es ,
in dexin g itthrou ghthe term s u rv eil l an ce orref eren ces to
Big Brother an d otherthem es f rom Orw el l ( Bu rn ham 19 83,
Cl arke 19 89 , T he Econ om is t19 9 3, F l aherty19 89 , F l yn n 19 9 3,
Gan dy19 9 3, Lars on 19 9 2 , P il l er19 9 3, R abel 19 9 3, R obin s
an d Webs ter19 88, R u l e 19 7 4, Sm ith19 7 9 , Ware 19 9 3). My
poin tis n otthatthis w ork is w ron g, bu tratherthat
al tern ativ e m odel s m ightdraw dif f eren t, bu tequ al l y
im portan t, el em en ts in tothe f oregrou n d.
On e s u chal tern ativ e m etaphor-s ys tem is the captu re
m odel . In n am in g this m odel , Ihav e em pl oyed acom m on
term of artam on g com pu tin g peopl e, the v erb tocaptu re.
Com pu tation al is ts dis cou rs e rarel ybrin gs tothe s u rf ace the
con n otation s of v iol en ce in the m etaphorof captu re;
captu red in f orm ation is n ots poken of as f l eein g, es capin g, or
res en tin g its im pris on m en t. T he term has tw ou s es . T he f irs t
an d m os tf requ en tref ers toacom pu ters ys tem s ( f igu rativ e)
actof acqu irin g certain dataas in pu t, w hetherf rom ahu m an
operatororf rom an el ectron ic orel ectrom echan ical dev ice.
T hu s on e m ightref ertoacas hregis terin af as t f ood
res tau ran tas captu rin g apatron s order, the im pl ication
bein g thatthe in f orm ation is n ots im pl yu s ed on the s pot,
bu tis al s opas s ed al on g toadatabas e. T he s econ d u s e of
captu re, w hichis m ore com m on in artif icial in tel l igen ce
res earch, ref ers toarepres en tation s chem es abil itytof u l l y,
accu ratel y, orcl ean l y expres s particu l ars em an tic n otion s or
dis tin ction s , w ithou tref eren ce tothe actu al takin g in of
data. T hu s on e m ightref ertothe obj ectcl as s es of an obj ect-
orien ted com pu terprogram as captu rin g the dis tin ction
betw een s tan din g orders an d particu l aroccas ion s on w hich
goods are del iv ered. T his am bigu itybetw een an
epis tem ol ogical idea( acqu irin g the data)an d an on tol ogical
idea( m odel in g the real ityitref l ects )is rem arkabl ycom m on
in the v ocabu l aryof com pu tin g. ( Al res earchers , f orexam pl e,
appl ythe w ord epis tem ol ogical in the s econ d s en s e of
captu re, n otthe f irs t.)
- T he captu re m odel can be con tras ted poin t by poin tw ith
the s u rv eil l an ce m odel . Itcom pris es :
theN EWMEDIAR EADER
( 1)l in gu is tic m etaphors f orhu m an activ ities ,
as s im il atin g them tothe con s tru cts of acom pu ter
s ys tem s repres en tation l an gu ages ;
( 2 )the as s u m ption thatthe l in gu is tic pars in g of
hu m an activ ities in v ol v es activ e in terv en tion in an d
reorgan ization of thos e activ ities ;
( 3)s tru ctu ral m etaphors ; the captu red activ ityis
f igu rativ el yas s em bl ed f rom acatal og of parts
prov ided as partof its in s titu tion al s ettin g;
( 4)decen tral ized an d heterogen eou s organ ization ; the
proces s is n orm al l ycon du cted w ithin particu l ar, l ocal
practices w hichin v ol v e peopl e in the w orkin gs of
l argers ocial f orm ation s ; an d
( 5)the driv in g aim s are n otpol itical bu t
phil os ophical , as activ ityis recon s tru cted throu gh
as s im il ation toatran s cen den t( v irtu al )orderof
m athem atical f orm al is m .
Sin ce the captu re m odel is l es s f am il iarthan the
s u rv eil l an ce m odel , the n extf ou rs ection s w il l be dev oted to
expl ain in g it. T he captu re m odel , l ike the s u rv eil l an ce m odel ,
is am etaphor-s ys tem an d n otal iteral des cription . Itcan , f or
exam pl e, be appl ied equ al l yw el l topu bl ic orpriv ate
organ ization s ( ortothe m an yactiv ity-s ys tem s thatcros s the
in creas in gl yperm eabl e bou n daries betw een thes e tw o
dom ain s ), al thou ghm yan al ys is w il l f ocu s on w orkpl ace
s ettin gs . Itis im portan ttom ake cl ear, w ithregard topoin t
( 5), thatthe captu re m odel is aphil os ophical m etaphorin the
s am e s en s e as the s u rv eil l an ce m odel is apol itical m etaphor.
T he actu al in s titu tion al s ites tow hichthe captu re m odel
m ightbe appl ied pres u m abl yhav e theirpol itical as pects ; the
poin tis s im pl ythatthe captu re m odel s u gges ts u s in g certain
phil os ophical proj ects as m odel s f oru n ders tan din g the
activ ities in thes e s ites .
T he tw os ets of m etaphors hav e s ign if ican tl ydif f eren t
origin s . Whereas the s u rv eil l an ce m odel origin ates in the
cl as s ical l ypol itical s phere of s tate action , the captu re m odel
has deeproots in the practical appl ication of com pu ter
s ys tem s . As s u ch, techn ical dev el opm en ts s u chas the
trackin g s chem es des cribed in Section 2 don otbrin g the
captu re m odel in toexis ten ce; rather, theyexpres s in acl ear
w ays om ethin g thathas l on g been im pl icitin appl ied
com pu terw ork, w hetherorn otits rel ev an ce topriv acy
is s u es has been recogn ized.
aw ~ _... ~@ -~ ~ @ - e - 51. Su rv eil l an ce
19 9 4
4Gram m ars of action
Com pu ters are f requ en tl ys aid tos tore an d tran s m it
in f orm ation . T he term , thou gh, con ceal s as ign if ican t
am bigu ity. On on e han d, in f orm ation can be def in ed ( as per
Shan n on an d Weav er)as apu rel ym athem atical m eas u re of
in f orm ation an d in f orm ation -carryin g capacity, w ithou t
regard f orthe con ten t. On the otherhan d, in f orm ation is
in f orm ation al s oabou ts om ethin g. ( As im il arpoin tappl ies to
cu s tom aryu s es of the term data.)Al thou ghitm akes s en s e
tos peak of f al s e in f orm ation ( f orexam pl e, in af au l tycredit
databas e), the tacitas s u m ption is m os tcom m on l ythat
in f orm ation is tru e thatitcorres pon ds in s om e
tran s paren tw aytocertain peopl e, pl aces , an d thin gs in the
w orl d. T his as s u m ption does n ot, s trictl ys peakin g, deriv e
f rom an yin heren tpropertyof com pu ters . Itis , rather, a
theoryof repres en tation thatis em bedded in the w aythat
com pu ters hav e cu s tom aril ybeen u s ed.
T os ee this , con s ideratextbook of in f orm ation
m an agem en ts u chas Martin ( 19 89 ). Martin s goal is to
in s tru ctMIS m an agers on the prin cipl ed con s tru ction of
in f orm ation s ys tem s , an d s pecif ical l yon the prin cipl ed
s el ection of w hatou ghttobe repres en ted. In doin g this , he
des cribes an on tol ogyof en tities an d rel ation s an d f u n ction s
an d activ ities , al on g w ithas etof procedu res f or
s ys tem atical l yrepres en tin g the exis tin g organ ization in thes e
term s . Hav in g prepared this s el f -repres en tation , the n exts tep
is toim pl em en titon acom pu ter. T he pu rpos e of this
com pu terw il l be tom odel the organ ization thatis , to
m ain tain as etof datas tru ctu res thatm irrorthe day to day
activ ities of the organ ization s m em bers . In phil os ophical
term s , the res u l tin g com pu terw il l em bodyacorres pon den ce
theoryof repres en tation :the m achin es in tern al s tates w il l be
tru e ( s of aras this theoryis con cern ed)becau s e they
m ain tain acertain f ixed s etof rel ation -pres erv in g m appin gs
tothe extern al s tates of af f airs in the w orl d.
T he practice of con s tru ctin g s ys tem atic repres en tation s of
organ ization al activ ities is n otatal l n ew , of cou rs e, n oris it
in heren tl ytied tocom pu ters ys tem s dev el opm en t. In deed,
Martin em phas izes thatitcan be v al u abl e in its el f , ev en
w ithou t. an ycom pu ters bein g in s tal l ed, s im pl yf orthe
redu n dan cies an d otherin ef f icien tpattern s of activ ityitcan
brin g tom an agem en ts n otice. As s u ch, itcl earl ys tan ds in a
l in e of des cen tthatin cl u des the el aborate repres en tation al
s chem es of in du s trial tim e an d m otion s tu dies ( Gil breth
19 12 , Hol m es 19 38)an d otherf orm s of s ys tem atic
an d Captu re
ration al ization of w ork activ ities ( Lichtn er19 2 4). When
appl ied tothe trackin g of organ ization al proces s es , of cou rs e,
thes e s chem es rel ied heav il yon paperw ork ( Y ates 19 89 )or
on the in trin s ic con trol s bu il tin tothe m ov em en ts of
m achin ery( Edw ards 19 7 9 ).
Bes ides the creation of trackin g s ys tem s , s ys tem atic
activ ity-m appin g s chem es hav e al s obeen appl ied tothe
au tom ation of activ ities . Cou ger( 19 7 3), f orexam pl e, s u rv eys
av arietyof s u chs chem es f rom the earl ydays of com pu tin g,
eachbas ed on tracin g the f l ow s of in f orm ation w ithin a
bu s in es s . Am apof thes e in f orm ation -f l ow s , an d of the
in f orm ation -proces s in g operation s thattake pl ace al on g the
w ay, cou l d be treated as abl u eprin tf oracom pu terprogram
thatau tom ated thos e s am e operation s .
Y etan otheran al ogou s repres en tation practice is f ou n d in
res earchon kn ow l edge repres en tation in the f iel d of
artif icial in tel l igen ce. Sev eral of the en tity-rel ation s hip
diagram s in Martin ( 19 89 : 16 8 f f .)res em bl e n othin g s om u ch
as the s em an tic n etw orks em pl oyed in AIkn ow l edge
repres en tation res earch( Brachm an an d Lev es qu e 19 85). AI
res earchers , m ore than theircou n terparts in otherkin ds of
appl ied com pu ters cien ce, s etabou texpl icitl ys earchin g f or
on tol ogical s ys tem s thatw ou l d al l ow acom pu terto
repres en tcl ean l yan d accu ratel yaw ide ran ge of hu m an
kn ow l edge in cl u din g kn ow l edge abou thu m an activ ities
an d s ocial organ ization s .
Des pite theirv aried s u rf ace f orm s . thes e l in es of res earch
togethercon s titu te acoheren tgen eal ogy atradition of
appl ied repres en tation al w ork thathas in f orm ed
organ ization al practice the w orl d ov er. Its u n derl yin g
approachis organ ized an d reprodu ced l argel ythrou ghits
practical con du ct:its m ethods , its l an gu age, its paradigm s of
good practice, its train in g regim en s , an d s of orth. Al thou ghit
has becom e deepl yiden tif ied w ithorgan ization al appl ication s
of in f orm ation techn ol ogy, itis ( atl eas tin prin cipl e)n eithera
n eces s aryn oras u f f icien tcon dition f orthe u s e of com pu ters .
Atthe s am e tim e, ithas grow n s u chdeeproots in
com pu tation al practice thatitis hard toim agin e w hatan y
al tern ativ e com pu tation al practice w ou l d be l ike.
Am on g the m an yattribu tes s hared bythes e
repres en tation s chem es , perhaps the m os ts ign if ican tf or
pres en tpu rpos es is theiru s e of l in gu is tic m etaphors :they
eachem pl oyf orm al l an gu ages f orrepres en tin g hu m an
activ ities . Hu m an activ ityis thu s ef f ectiv el ytreated as akin d
of l an gu age its el f , f orw hichagood repres en tation s chem e
51. Su rv eil l an ce
an d Captu re
prov ides an accu rate gram m ar. T his gram m ars pecif ies as et
of u n itaryaction s the w ords orl exical item s of action ,
w hichAIpeopl e cal l prim itiv es an d w hichQ u in n ( 19 9 3:
103-109 f f .)cal l s m in im u m repl icabl e u n its . Ital s os pecif ies
certain m ean s byw hichaction s m ightbe com pou n ded
m os tcom m on l ybyarran gin g them in toas equ en ce, al thou gh
v ariou s l an gu ages prov ide m ore s ophis ticated m ean s of
com bin ation ( f orexam pl e, con dition al an d iterated
s equ en ces ).
T hes e gram m ars of action are cen tral tothe captu re m odel .
Gram m ars of action hav e m an yan d v aried m an if es tation s .
- Accou n tin g s ys tem s , f orexam pl e, are bas ed on
gram m ars of action ; in ordertokeepas etof books , it
is n eces s arytoorgan ize on es f in an cial activ ities w ith
av iew tocategorizin g ev erym ov e as on e of the
action -types thaton es particu l araccou n tin g s chem e
recogn izes .
- T el em arketers an d m an ytypes of tel ephon e-bas ed
cu s tom ers erv ice pers on n el em pl oys cripts thatare
bas ed on as etof s tan dard m ov es , m an yof w hos e
n am es are draw n f rom the s tru ctu red patterof s al es
peopl e ( e.g., as s u m ptiv e cl os e). Som e gram m ars of
s al es in teraction are extraordin aril ycom pl ex( Mil l er
an d Heim an 19 87 ).
- Al im ited~acces s highw ay( s u chas the roads in the
Am erican in ters tate highw ays ys tem )en f orces ,
throu ghbothphys ical an d l egal m ean s , as im pl e
gram m arof action w hos e el em en ts are en tran ces ,
dis crete con tin u ou s s egm en ts of trav el ed roadw ay,
an d exits . T ol l -col l ection s ys tem s f ors u chroads of ten
em pl oyakeypu n chcard w hichcon tain s atabl e f or
m appin g gram m atical trips tocol l ectibl e tol l s .
- T he u s erin terf aces of m an y( if n otal l )com pu ters
are readil yu n ders tood as s u ppl yin g theiru s ers w ith
gram m ars of action . T he perm is s ibl e u n itaryaction s
are ASCIIkeys trokes , m en u s el ection s , s hel l
com m an ds , an d s of orth. Som e proj ects hav e
attem pted tof orm al ize the in teraction pattern s
dis cov ered in em pirical s tu dyof hu m an con v er-
s ation s , an d then tobu il d com pu terprogram s that
can en gage in thes e pattern s ( Lu f f , Gil bert, an d
F rohl ich19 9 0).
~ Waiters in l arge res tau ran ts f requ en tl yem pl oyan
au tom ated s ys tem f orpas s in g orders tothe kitchen
an d keepin g track of tabs ( R u l e an d Attew el l 19 89 ,
Q u in n 19 9 2 : 142 -145). T he w aiterm ightin teract
theN EWMEDIAR EADER
w iththe s ys tem bys w ipin g acard throu ghareader
on the cas hregis teran d en terin g com m an ds on a
tou ch-s en s itiv e dis pl ay.
- En terpris e in tegration ( El )s ys tem s draw an organ i-
zation s com pu ters ys tem s togetheron agl obal
n etw ork w ithas tan dardized s etof com m u n ication s
protocol s an d datam odel s . On e propos al f oran El
architectu re ( P an an d T en en bau m 19 9 1)breaks an
organ ization s w ork activ ities dow n in totas ks , each
repres en ted w ithin acom m on l an gu age, an d au tom at-
ical l yev al u ates w hichtas ks s hou l d be as s ign ed to
com pu tation al agen ts an d w hichs hou l d be as s ign ed
tohu m an w orkers .
Whatm atters in eachcas e is n otthe s equ en ces of in pu ts to
orou tpu ts f rom agiv en m achin e, bu tratherthe w ays in
w hichhu m an activ ities hav e been s tru ctu red. T he captu re
m odel des cribes the s itu ation thatres u l ts w hen gram m ars of
action are im pos ed u pon hu m an activ ities , an d w hen the
n ew l yreorgan ized activ ities are repres en ted bycom pu ters in
real tim e. Itis con v en ien ttos u bdiv ide this proces s in toa
f iv e-s tage cycl e. T his div is ion is , of cou rs e, agreat
ov ers im pl if ication :the phas es f requ en tl yoperate
con cu rren tl y, adv an ces in on e phas e m ayf orce rev is ion of the
w ork don e in an earl ierphas e, an d w ork in eachs tage draw s
on aw ide ran ge of s ociotechn ical adv an ces n otn eces s aril y
rel ated tothe others tages .
An al ys is . Som ebodys tu dies an exis tin g f orm of activ ity
an d iden tif ies its f u n dam en tal u n its in term s of s om e
on tol ogy( e.g., en tities , rel ation s , f u n ction s , prim itiv e action s ,
an d s of orth). T his on tol ogym ightdraw on the participan ts
term s f orthin gs , oritm ightn ot. P rogram m in g l an gu ages
an d s ys tem s an al ys is m ethodol ogies f requ en tl ys u ppl ybas ic
on tol ogies ( obj ects , v ariabl es , rel ation s )u pon w hichdom ain -
s pecif ic on tol ogies can be bu il t. T he res u l tin g on tol ogies are
s om etim es s tan dardized acros s w hol e in s titu tion s ,
in du s tries , orm arkets .
Articu l ation . Som ebodyarticu l ates agram m arof the w ays
in w hichthos e u n its can be s tru n g togethertof orm actu al
s en s ibl e s tretches of activ ity. T his proces s can be com pl icated,
an d itof ten requ ires rev is ion of the precedin g on tol ogical
an al ys is . Itis typical l ygu ided byan al m os taes thetic criterion
of obtain in g acom pl ete, cl os ed, f orm al l ys pecif ied pictu re of
the activ ity.
Im pos ition . T he res u l tin g gram m aris then giv en a
n orm ativ e f orce. T he peopl e w hoen gage in the articu l ated
aw . a ram --a..--~?. 5.._a 51. Su rv eil l an ce
19 9 4
activ ityare s om ehow in du ced toorgan ize theiraction s s o
thattheyare readil ypars eabl e in term s of the gram m ar.
T he s om ehow is typical l yboths ocial ( expl icitprocedu res
backed u pbycertain rel ation s of au thority)an d techn ical
( w hetherthrou ghm achin eryors im pl ythrou ghphys ical
barriers ); participan ts in the activ itym ayorm ayn ot
participate in the proces s an d m ayorm ayn otres is tit.
In s titu tion s f requ en tl yim pos e gram m ars on activ ities f or
reas on s otherthan real -tim e captu re f orexam pl e, f or
s ecu rity, ef f icien cy, protection f rom l iabil ity, an d s im pl e
con trol .
In s tru m en tation . Social an d techn ical m ean s are
prov ided, w hetherthrou ghpaperw ork orm achin ery, an d
poten tial l yw ithacom pl exdiv is ion of l abor, f orm ain tain in g
aru n n in g pars e of the on goin g activ ity. T his phas e m ay
coin cide w iththe im pos ition phas e, oritm ayf ol l ow byyears
ordecades . Af terw ard, the participan ts begin , of n eces s ity, to
orien ttheiractiv ities tow ard the captu re m achin eryan d its
in s titu tion al con s equ en ces .
El 8bOl 3ti0l 1. T he captu red activ ityrecords , w hichare in
econ om ic term s am on g the produ cts of the reorgan ized
activ ity, can n ow be s tored, in s pected, au dited, m erged w ith
otherrecords , s u bj ected tos tatis tical an al ys is , em pl oyed as
the bas is of P aretooptim ization , an d s of orth. Likew is e,
con cu rren tcom pu tation al proces s es can u s e captu red records
tow atch the on goin g activ ities f orpu rpos es of error
detection , adv ice giv in g, perf orm an ce m eas u rem en t, qu al ity
con trol , an d s of orth. T hes e addition al proces s es m ightaris e
s im u l tan eou s l yw iththe in s tru m en tation phas e, ortheym ay
accu m u l ate l on g af terw ard.
T his cycl e is n orm al l yatten ded byakin d of m ythol ogy,
accordin g tow hichthe n ew l ycon s tru cted gram m arof action
has n otbeen in v en ted bu tdis cov ered. T he activ ityin
qu es tion , in otherw ords , is s aid tohav e al readybeen
organ ized accordin g tothe gram m ar. Of cou rs e this is n ot
w hol l yf al s e; im pos in g agram m arthatradical l yan d
arbitraril ym is repres en ts the activ ityw il l probabl yl ead to
cal am ity. Bu tev en w hen agram m arof action is rel ativ el y
good in this s en s e, its im pos ition w il l gen eral l yrequ ire hard
w ork, bothf orthe peopl e w hoare im pos in g the gram m ar
an d the peopl e u pon w hom the gram m aris im pos ed. T he
w ork of thes e l atterparticipan ts con s is ts in partof f in din g
w ays toorgan ize on es activ ities , ev en in the trickyan d
exception al cas es , s othattheycan be pars ed w ithin s u ch-
an d s u chav ocabu l aryof dis crete u n its .
an d Captu re
l n deed, itis cru cial toappreciate the s en s es in w hichthe
im pos ition an d in s tru m en tation phas es con s titu te a
reorgan ization of the exis tin g activ ity, as oppos ed tos im pl ya
repres en tation of it. Letu s dis tin gu is heights u chs en s es , in
in creas in g orderof s ign if ican ce f orthe cu rren targu m en t:
( 1)T he in trodu ction of n ew techn ol ogies , w hether
theyin v ol v e the captu re of activ ities orn ot, is
f requ en tl ythe occas ion f oraw ide v arietyof other
kin ds of chan ges tothe activ ity, f orexam pl e du e to
extrin s ic econ om ic chan ges ( e.g., Iacon oan d Kl in g
19 87 ). In deed techn ol ogical chan ge is gen eral l y
in s eparabl e f rom broaders ocial chan ges .
( 2 )T he repres en tation s con s tru cted in the
articu l ation phas e ( bas ed tos om e exten ton em pirical
s tu dyof the activ ity, bu tm os tl yon in f orm al
s pecu l ation an d s cen ario-m akin g)an d then in the
el aboration phas e ( bas ed on the n ew l yaccu m u l ated
databas e of pars ed activ ity)f requ en tl ys u gges t
rearran gem en ts of the activ ity( Q u in n 19 9 2 , T ayl or
19 2 3). Som e of thes e rearran gem en ts m aybe
des ign ed in parttof acil itate the captu re proces s , as in
Ham m ers ( 19 9 0:112 )dictu m , Captu re in f orm ation
on ce an d atthe s ou rce.
( 3)Gram m ars of action f requ en tl yov ers im pl if ythe
activ ities theyare in ten ded torepres en t, if on l y
becau s e the peopl e w hoarticu l ate the gram m ars are
on l ys u perf icial l yacqu ain ted w ithits actu al
com pl exities an d the actu al s ocial f orces that
determ in e its f orm ( Su chm an an d Jordan 19 89 ). T he
on tol ogym ayf ail tom ake en ou ghdis tin ction s , orel s e
w hol e s u bcategories of in v is ibl e activ itym ightgo
u n repres en ted. T he gram m arm ightim pos e ov erl y
res trictiv e ordeiin g con s train ts on the u n itary
action s , itm ightn egl ectthe in terl eav in g of dis tin ct
f orm s of activ ity, oritm ightm is take pres cribed
procedu res f oran accu rate des criptiv e accou n t( orat
l eas tapracticabl e f orm )of the activ ity( Su chm an
19 83). As ares u l t, the participan ts in the n ew l y
in s tru m en ted activ ityw il l f in d itn eces s arytoev ol v e a
s ys tem of w orkarou n ds tokeepthin gs goin g
( Gas s er19 86 ).
( 4)Gram m ars of action can be m is taken in other
w ays . Mos tes pecial l y, theycan en code a
s ys tem atical l ydis torted con ception of the activ ity. F or
exam pl e, Kl in g ( 19 9 1)argu es thatextan tcom pu ter-
s u pported cooperativ e w ork ( CSCW)s ys tem s are
bas ed on on tol ogies thatrecogn ize cooperation bu t
n otcon f l ict, an d col l aboration bu tn otcom petition
( cf . Orl ikow s ki19 9 3). T he im pos ition of adis torted
gram m aron an activ itycan hav e aw ide ran ge of
con s equ en ces .
( 5)When the practical circu m s tan ces of an activ ity
are in s tru m en ted, the res u l tin g m achin eryrarel y
takes its m eas u rem en ts w ithou thu m an cooperation ,
in terpretation , categorization , dataen try, report
w ritin g, dis pl ayin g of iden tif ication , s w ipin g of cards
throu ghreaders , aim in g of s en s ors atbarcodes , an d
s of orth. T he real -tim e accu m u l ation of dataon the
activ ity, in otherw ords , in trodu ces n ew el em en ts
in tothe activ ityits el f . When thes e el em en ts are n ot
an ticipated in the des ign , the poten tial f or
dis ru ption is great. Medical s ettin gs , f orexam pl e,
of ten reportbackl ogs of u n en tered data( Haw ker
19 9 1, Wal ton 19 89 : 2 0).
( 6 )T he peopl e w hos e activ ities are bein g captu red
w il l probabl yadj u s ttheircon du ctbas ed on their
u n ders tan din g of w hatw il l becom e of the dataan d
w hatthis en tail s f ortheirow n l iv es . F orexam pl e,
theym ightw ork f as ter, choos e eas ier( orotherw is e
adv an tageou s )tas ks , con du ctcertain as pects of the
activ ityou tof the reachof the in s tru m en tation ,
chan ge cou rs e depen din g on pattern s thatm ight
em erge f rom al ready-captu red data, an d s oon . In
gen eral , as Su chm an ( 19 9 2 )s u gges ts , theyw il l
m ain tain an orien tation tothe "im age"theyproj ect
tow hoev eris m akin g u s e of the captu red
in f orm ation , be itabos s , acol l eagu e, an au ditor, a
regu l atoryagen cy, an in s u ran ce com pan y, or
w hatev er. On Su chm an s an al ys is , the com pl ian ce
betw een s ys tem records an d on goin g ev en ts is an
in terpreted orn egotiated corres pon den ce rather
than al iteral on e. T he rel ation of records toev en ts
in v ol v es organ ization m em bers j u dgem en tcal l s
abou tw hatis acl os e en ou ghf itf oral l practical
pu rpos es ."T hu s , in as m u chas the captu red action s
are addres s ed toan "au dien ce"v iacom pu ter
m ediated repres en tation , theytake on a
perf orm ativ e"qu al ity( cf . Dou ris h19 9 3)thatbel ies
the in ten dedl yobj ectiv e characterof the
repres en tation al proces s ( cf . Garf in kel 19 84[ 19 6 7 ]).
( 7 )Giv en this hu m an in terv en tion in the captu re
proces s , the proces s of ten becom es the s ite of m ore
ov ertl ypol itical con f l icts . T he participan ts m ayadj u s t
the tim in g an d con ten ts of the v ariou s data-captu re
ev en ts totheiradv an tage. T heym ightin terpretan d
categorize ev en ts in s ym pathetic w ays , bias
51. Su rv eil l an ce theN EWMEDIAR EADER
an d Captu re
j u dgem en tcal l s in on e direction oran other, orchoos e
action -s equ en ces thatin cl u de orexcl u de certain
el em en ts . T heym ightattem pttom in im ize u s e of the
com pu teroru s e trackin g datatocoerce orin f l u en ce
others in the organ ization . T heym ightf al s if ycertain
in f orm ation , theym ightdel ayen terin g it, orthey
m ightn egl ecten terin g ital together.
( 8)T he n ew l yin trodu ced s ys tem m ightbrin g n ew
in s titu tion al dyn am ics , n otl eas tbecau s e the des ign ers
on tol ogies an d gram m ars w il l n orm al l ybe obl iv iou s to
the pol itical dim en s ion s of activ ity( Kl in g 19 80). T hes e
n ew dyn am ics m ightran ge f rom m an ipu l ation of the
in s titu tion al procedu res arou n d the s ys tem ' s u s e to
l obbyin g f ortechn ical chan ges toov ertl ypol itical
cam paign s toregu l ate u s es of the techn ol ogy.
T he pictu re thatem erges is atodds w iththe m ythol ogyof
tran s paren trepres en tation . T he phen om en al is ted in ( 1)
an d ( 2 ), tobe s u re, on l ycon f l ictw iththe m ythol ogytothe
exten tthatthe im pos ition of agram m arcan n otbe
dis tin gu is hed f rom the otherw ays in w hichactiv ities
chan ge. On e m ightargu e, m oreov er, thatthe phen om en a
l is ted in ( 3)an d ( 4)can be m itigated throu ghm ore
s ophis ticated an al ys is an d articu l ation . An d the phen om en a
l is ted in ( S)throu gh( 7 )can of ten be m itigated tos om e
degree throu ghin creas in gl yrigid s ociotechn ical m ean s of
in s tru m en tation ( an in s tan ce of ( 8)). Bu tn om atterhow
thorou ghl ythe captu re proces s is con trol l ed, itis im pos s ibl e,
s hortperhaps of total m echan ization of agiv en f orm of
activ ity, torem ov e the el em en ts of in terpretation , s trategy,
an d in s titu tion al dyn am ics . T his is n ottos aythatcaptu re is
im pos s ibl e; tothe con trary, n u m erou s im pres s iv e exam pl es
al readyexis t. T he poin t, rather, is thatcaptu re is n ev er
pu rel ytechn ical bu tal w ays s ociotechn ical in n atu re. If a
captu re s ys tem w orks then w hatis w orkin g is al arger
s ociopol itical s tru ctu re, n otj u s tatechn ical s ys tem ( Bow ers
19 9 2 ). An d if the captu re proces s is gu ided bys om e n otion
of the dis cov ery of apreexis tin g gram m ar, then this n otion
an d its f u n ction in g s hou l d be u n ders tood in pol itical term s
as an ideol ogy.
Agood exam pl e of the f iv e-s tage captu re cycl e is f ou n d in
the res earchof Win ograd an d F l ores etal .. on CSCWs ys tem s .
In theirorigin al res earchon T he Coordin ator( F l ores etal .
19 88), theym ade expl icitthe m ethodol ogical prin cipl e that
s ys tem des ign s hou l d begin w ithan on tol ogythatcl arif ies
the u n derl yin g s tru ctu re of exis tin g practices . Al thou ghthis
as s ertion is f arf rom n ov el in its el f , theircon tribu tion w as to
0= at0 o ~~ 0e~ - 0- l ~
radical ize itthrou ghthe appl ication of phil os ophical
con cepts ( Win ograd an d F l ores 19 86 ). T he ideais thata
deeper-than -n orm al on tol ogycan prov ide af irm eran d m ore
accu rate bas is f ors ys tem -bu il din g. Win ograd an d F l ores take
theirin s piration f orthis proj ectf rom the exis ten tial
herm en eu tics of Martin Heidegger' s Bein g an d T im e ( 19 6 1
[ 19 2 7 ]). Heidegger' s proj ectw as toem pl oys u cces s iv e cycl es
of phen om en ol ogical des cription tou n cov ers u cces s iv el y
deeperl ayers of on tol ogical s tru ctu re in hu m an experien ce,
ev en tu al l yyiel din g s om e kin d of au then tic en gagem en tw ith
the u l tim ate on tol ogical categoryof Bein g its el f .
F orWin ograd an d F l ores , this m ethod prom is es akin d of
u l tim ate au thoritytotheirproj ectof aprioricl arif ication
( Su chm an 19 9 3). Hu m an activ ities , theyargu e, goas tray
w hen theydepartf rom the es s en tial s tru ctu res thatrigorou s
phen om en ol ogical an al ys is rev eal s , an d com pu ter-m ediated
tool s can prev en ts u chm is takes byim pos in g particu l argram -
m ars of action u pon theiru s ers . Al thou ghthis ideais
al togethern atu ral w ithin the tradition s of com pu ters cien ce,
an d w hil e Win ograd an d F l ores phil os ophyis al erttos om e
of the ov ers im pl if ication s im pl icitin con v en tion al
com pu tation al practices , Heideggerw ou l d hav e been aghas t
atthe ideaof f orm al izin g on tol ogical categories in
com pu tation al ( orotherw is e m athem atical )term s , m u chl es s
em pl oyin g m achin erytoen f orce com pl ian ce w iththem .
Win ograd an d F l ores on tol ogy, m oreov er, has l ittl e todo
w ithHeidegger' s , bein g draw n prin cipal l yf rom the qu ite u n -
Heideggerian theoryof s peechacts ( Searl e 19 6 9 ). In their
des ign f orT he Coordin ator, theyprov ide agram m arof
l in gu is tic action in con v en tion al s tate-graphn otation . U s ers
exchan ge el ectron ic m es s ages in con du ctin g theirw ork, an d
theyare s u ppos ed tol abel eachm es s age w ithaparticu l ar
s peechact. T he s ys tem , m ean w hil e, can captu re the s peech-
acts tru ctu re of eachs equ en ce of in teraction s . Al thou gh
s om e res earchgrou ps hav e pres en ted equ iv ocal ev al u ation s
of T he Coordin ators s u cces s in practice ( e.g., Bu l l en an d
Ben n ett19 9 0), itis n otm ypu rpos e toargu e thats u ch
s ys tem s can n otw ork. Q u ite the con trary, Iw is htoportray
T he Coordin atoran d its m ore s ophis ticated s u cces s ors
( Mars hak 19 9 3, Medin a-Moraetal . 19 9 2 )as deepl yrooted
in as ocial an d techn ical tradition . Al thou ghcom pu ter-
s u pported cooperativ e w ork s ys tem s s u chas T he
Coordin atorrequ ire theirdes ign ers toperf orm particu l arl y
rigorou s on tol ogical w ork in the an al ys is an d articu l ation
phas es ( cf . Cl aw s on an d Bos trom 19 9 3), this w ork is n o
19 9 4
dif f eren tin kin d f rom the gen eration s of s ys tem s an al ys is
thathav e gon e bef ore it.
T os u m m arize, the phen om en on of captu re is deepl y
in grain ed in the practice of com pu ters ys tem des ign throu gh
am etaphorof hu m an activ ityas akin d of l an gu age. Within
this practice, acom pu ters ys tem is m ade tocaptu re an
on goin g activ itythrou ghthe im pos ition of agram m arof
action thathas been articu l ated throu ghaproj ectof
em pirical an d on tol ogical in qu iry. Adv an ces in com pu ter
s cien ce hav e thu s gon e han d-in -han d w ithon tol ogical
adv an ces . F u rtherm ore, the phen om en on of captu re al s o
u n derl ies the trackin g s ys tem s dis cu s s ed in Section 2 .
T rackin g is im pos s ibl e w ithou tagram m arof s tates an d
s tate chan ges an d the techn ical m ean s todetectthe s tates
( orthe s tate chan ges )w hen theyoccu r. Exceptin the
s im pl es tcas es , this w il l requ ire thatthe gram m arbe
im pos ed throu ghon e m ean s oran other:l ocation trackin g
dev ices , paperw ork, iden titycards , an d s of orth. T he
res u l tin g techn ol ogy of trackin g is n otas im pl e m atterof
m achin ery:ital s oin cl u des the em pirical proj ectof an al ys is ,
the on tol ogical proj ectof articu l ation , an d the s ocial proj ect
of im pos ition . '
5Captu re an d f u n ction al ity
Av arietyof proj ects , particu l arl yin the participatorydes ign
m ov em en t( Schu l eran d N am ioka19 9 3), hav e s ou ght
al tern ativ es tothe en gin eerin g s trategyof thorou ghgoin g
captu re, throu ghs chem es thatal l ow peopl e torecord
in f orm ation in the f orm of com pu terized text( an d in other
com pu terized m ediaas w el l )w ithou tim pos in g an ydetail ed
gram m aron it. T he s tored m aterial s can l aterbe retriev ed
an d in terpreted byothers . Sim pl e el ectron ic m ail an d
hypertexts ys tem s w ork this w ay, as docertain m ore
s ophis ticated s ys tem s ( MacLean , Y ou n g, an d Moran 19 89 ).
Bu tthes e s ys tem s al l participate in atrade-of f thatgoes to
the core of com pu tin g:acom pu ter ~atl eas tas com pu ters
are cu rren tl yu n ders tood can on l ycom pu te w ithw hatit
captu res ; s othe l es s as ys tem captu res , the l es s f u n ction al ity
itcan prov ide toits u s ers . T ou n ders tan d this trade-of f ,
con s iderthe con tras tbetw een v oice m ail an d el ectron ic m ail .
Bothm ediaare rou tin el yem pl oyed tocon v eys tretches of
l an gu age f rom on e pers on toan other, as w el l as av arietyof
otherf u n ction s :s torin g the m es s ages , rev iew in g them l ater,
repl yin g tothem , attachin g tim es tam ps an d l abel s tothem ,
an d s oon . N on ethel es s , theycaptu re dif f eren tas pects of the
51. Su rv eil l an ce
an d Captu re
51. Su n / eil l an ce
an d Captu re
l an gu age:w hereas v oice m ail captu res s poken l an gu age atthe
l ev el of s am pl ed f requ en cys pectra, el ectron ic m ail captu res
w ritten l an gu age atthe l ev el of ASCIIkeys trokes . Each
m ediu m thu s has capacities thatthe otherdoes n ot:v oice
m ail , u n l ike e-m ail , can tran s m its in gin g an d l an gu ages
w ithou tLatin orthographies , an d e-m ail archiv es , u n l ike
v oice m ail , can be s earched bykeyw ord. F in al l y, n either
m ediu m captu res the gram m atical s tru ctu re of the m es s ages
ittran s m its , m u chl es s an ythin g abou tthe con ten tof thos e
m es s ages . T hu s n eitherm ediu m can of f erf eatu res bas ed on
au tom atic recogn ition of agram m atical ity, u rgen cy, or
rel ev an ce toagiv en topic. ( Itm aybe pos s ibl e toheu ris tical l y
in f ers u chm atters f rom e-m ail m es s ages , bu ts ys tem s f or
doin g s oare f arf rom practical atthis m om en t.)Som e
an al ogou s exam pl es in cl u de the con tras tbetw een pain tin g
an d draw in g program s , an d betw een ASCII-bas ed texteditors
an d WY SIWY G w ord proces s ors .
T his trade-of f is al s of ou n d in s ys tem s f ortrackin g hu m an
activ ities throu ghau tom atic captu re. Sim pl ypu t, as ys tem
can on l ytrack w hatitcan captu re, an d itcan on l ycaptu re
in f orm ation thatcan be expres s ed w ithin agram m arof
action thathas been im pos ed u pon the activ ity. N u m erou s
s ys tem s , in cl u din g m an yof the exam pl es in Section 2 , res ide
tow ard the m in im al en d of this trade-of f s in ce theyon l y
track s im pl e pos ition in f orm ation . Sys tem s l ike thes e are n ot
particu l arl ycon v in cin g cas es of the captu re m odel s in ce they
don otu s u al l yrequ ire m u chim pos ition beyon d the
in s tal l ation of the trackin g in s tru m en ts them s el v es . Bu t
pos ition trackin g is f requ en tl yaprecu rs ortom ore
qu al itativ el ycom pl exkin ds of captu re, f orexam pl e w hen
pos ition al in f orm ation is s tored al on g w ithotherev en ts or
tran s action s thatm ightbe captu red:arriv al atacertain
des tin ation , cros s in g acertain bou n dary, chan ges in the
s tatu s of m aterial s orparticipan ts , en cou n ters w ithother
participan ts , an d s of orth.
T he in heren ttrade-of f of com pu ters ys tem s f orcaptu rin g
hu m an activ ities u n derl ies the m os ts ign if ican ttechn ical
tren d in theiron goin g his torical dev el opm en t:the ten den cy
tow ard ev erdeeper articu l ation an d captu re of activ ities . As
Q u in n ( 19 9 2 :104f f .)has pu titin the cas e of bu s in es s es in
s erv ice in du s tries , the m in im u m repl icabl e u n it has gotten
s teadil ys m al l er:
Earl yin the l if e cycl e of m an ys erv ice in du s tries , the
s m al l es ttru l yrepl icabl e u n its eem ed tobe an
in div idu al of f ice, s tore, orf ran chis e l ocation . Later, as
theN EWMEDIAR EADER
v ol u m e in creas ed, itof ten becam e pos s ibl e f orthe
headqu arters todev el opan d repl icate greater
ef f icien cies w ithin l ocation s bym an agin g an d
m eas u rin g critical perf orm an ce v ariabl es atin div idu al
departm en tal , s al es cou n ter, activ ity, ors tock-keepin g
u n it( SKU )l ev el s . T hen the s u cces s f u l redu ction of key
activ ities totheirm os tref in ed el em en ts al l ow ed
McDon al ds , F ederal Expres s , Wal -Mart, Citicorp, Mrs .
F iel ds , P izzaHu t, an d ev en the N ew Y ork Stock
Exchan ge ( N Y SE)topu s hthe repeatabil ityu n itto
ev en s m al l erm icrom an agem en t l ev el s . R epl icatin g
precis el ym eas u red activ itycycl es , del iv erytim es ,
cu s tom erqu erys equ en ces , pers on al s el l in g
approaches , cu s tom erdata, in v en torycon trol pattern s ,
in gredien ts , f res hn es s an d cookin g cycl es , cou n ter
dis pl aytechn iqu es , cl ean l in es s an d m ain ten an ce
procedu res , an d s oon , in detail becam e keys tos erv ice
an d f in an cial s u cces s . Laps es l ed todif f icu l ties .
Eachs tepin this proces s of on tol ogical ref in em en trequ ires
des ign ers torev is iteachof the f iv e s tages of the captu re
cycl e, f orm u l atin g ev erm ore ref in ed on tol ogies an d
gram m ars of activ ityan d then im pos in g, in s tru m en tin g, an d
el aboratin g thes e throu ghw ork reorgan ization an d n ew
techn ol ogy. T he rem ain derof the papercon s iders certain
as pects of the s ocial organ ization of this proces s .
6 Captu re in s ociety
T he prev iou s s ection has des cribed the captu re m odel l argel y
as s om ethin g in tern al tothe en gin eerin g an d s cien tif ic
tradition s of com pu terw ork. An d in deed, con s idered s im pl y
as as etof ideas , the captu re m odel is v erym u chacreatu re of
com pu tin g res earchan d its in tel l ectu al gen eal ogy. T he
s ys tem s thatres u l tf rom the appl ication of thes e ideas ,
thou gh, are s ociotechn ical phen om en aof con s iderabl e
m agn itu de w hos e an al ys is requ ires u s tocon s idern u m erou s
f actors beyon d the ideas them s el v es . Itis f artooearl yto
m ake an yf in al as s es s m en tof captu re as as ocial
phen om en on . In s tead, Iw ou l d l ike s im pl ytos ketchs om e
gen eral an al ytical con s ideration s thatm ightbe hel pf u l in
gu idin g f u tu re res earchan d activ is m .
Ideas abou tcom pu ters an d priv acy, Section 2 has argu ed,
are, am on g otherthin gs , cu l tu ral phen om en a. As s u ch, they
rou tin el ys tru ctu re w ritin g an d thin kin g on the s u bj ect
w ithou tan yon e n eces s aril ybein g aw are of them . T heydos o
in m an yw ays :throu ghm etaphors an d otherl iteraryf igu res ,
throu ghm ore orl es s con v en tion al ized gen res of w ritin g, an d
o W., A oem eeeeeee in o e e~~~~o. ~~ o roe. 19 9 4 51. Sl .|rVe' l u .al ' ICe
throu ghhabits of s el ectiv e perception an d in qu iry. As Kl in g
an d Du n l op( 19 9 3)hav e poin ted ou t, an al ys is of the pl ace of
com pu tertechn ol ogyin s ocietyhas of ten been im pov eris hed
throu ghabif u rcation in totw os tru ctu ral l yoppos ed gen res ,
w hichtheycal l u topian an d an ti u topian . T he u topian gen re,
as its n am e s u gges ts , em phas izes good thin gs :ef f icien cy, the
am pl if ication of v ariou s prof es s ion s pow ers , an d other
ben ef icial con s equ en ces of com pu tin g. T he an ti u topian
gen re, f orits part, draw s on as tock of cu l tu ral im ages of cl as s
con ictan d total itarian dom in ation . Bothgen res are
prev al en tin j ou rn al is tic an d academ ic w ritin g al ike.
In the particu l arareaof w orkpl ace com pu tin g, on e s tran d
of an ti u topian w ritin g is f ou n d in u n ion orien ted criticis m s
of m an agerial con trol im perativ es ( Gars on 19 89 , How ard
19 85, Shaiken 19 85; cf . R u l e an d Attew el l 19 89 ). T he
argu m en t, f irs tf orm al ized byBrav erm an ( 19 7 4)bu t
pos s es s in g deeperhis torical roots in the Am erican u n ion
m ov em en t, w as origin al l ym otiv ated byreal his torical
con f l icts ov erprodu ction kn ow l edge, w hichcon s is ted of the
appropriation of craf t. kn ow l edge throu ghs cien tif ic
m an agem en tan d the repl acem en tof craf tw ork w ays w ith
f ragm en ted an d ration al ized f orm s of w ork en f orced throu gh
directs u rv eil l an ce an d con trol . An exten s iv e s chool of
thou ghthas gen eral ized this experien ce in toatheoryof the
his torical dev el opm en tof w ork.
Ju s tas the u topian s are of ten accu rate in reportin g the
ben ef its of com pu tin g, thes e critics are s u rel yn ot
hal l u cin atin g the in s tan ces of com pu ter-m ediated
dom in ation theydes cribe, particu l arl yin certain
m an u f actu rin g an d dis tribu tion in du s tries w ithl on g
his tories of organ ized w orkpl ace con f l ict. Bu tacon s iderabl e
bodyof em pirical res earchhas dem on s trated thatthe
pictu re, atl eas tin the pres en tday, is m ore com pl exthan this
s in gl e-f actortheorycan expl ain ( T hom ps on 19 89 ). In
particu l ar, Kl in g an d Iacon o( 19 84)argu e again s tredu cin g
the m an agerial s trategies an d organ ization al dyn am ics
arou n d com pu tin g tos im pl e hierarchical con trol . T heirgoal
is n ots im pl ytof in d acom prom is e orhal f w aypos ition
betw een the u topian an d an ti u topian gen res , bu tratherto
dev el opam u l ti dim en s ion al m odel thatel u cidates av ariety
of in teraction s . In particu l ar, theyargu e f oran in s titu tion al
m odel bas ed on com pl expattern s of n egotiation an d con trol
thatoperate in al l direction s , n otj u s tf rom the topdow n .
Al l en ( 19 9 4), in particu l ar, des cribes s om e em ergin g pattern s
of l ateral con trol rel ation s in in creas in gl yin tegrated f irm s .
an d Captu re
Attew el l ( 19 9 1)broaden s the s cope of an al ys is ev en f u rther,
argu in g thatan adequ ate m odel of organ ization al com pu tin g
m u s tin tegrate s ev eral dis parate f actors :an organ ization s
en v iron m en t, cu l tu re, bu s in es s s trategy, w ork organ ization ,
an d l aborm arketcon dition s .
When appl ied as the s ol e f ram ew ork of com pu tin g an d
priv acy, the s u rv eil l an ce m odel con tribu tes tothe n ear-
in ev itabil ityof ov ers im pl if ied an al ys is . F orexam pl e, ithas
directed s ev eral au thors atten tion tothe ris e of com pu ter~
m ediated s chem es f ordetail ed m on itorin g of w ork activ ities
( e.g., Cl em en t19 88), the ideabein g thatdis tribu ted
com pu ters ys tem s hav e the poten tial toes tabl is haregim e of
total v is ibil itythrou ghreal tim e digital repres en tation of
w ork activ ities . Bu tw hil e n u m erou s w orkers hav e j u s tl y
res en ted theirexperien ces w iths u chs ys tem s , the s ys tem s
them s el v es are ev ol v in g, an d the ev iden ce is equ iv ocal on
theiru biqu ity, theiref f ectiv en es s , an d the degree of
res en tm en ttheyhav e prov oked ( Gran t, Higgin s , an d Irv in g
19 88; Kl in g 19 89 ; Kl in g an d Du n l op19 9 3). Again , the poin t
is n ottoiden tif yahal f w aypos ition betw een extrem e v iew s ,
bu ttocom e toam ore com pl icated appreciation of the actu al
dyn am ics of s u chdev el opm en ts . U n f ortu n atel y, al l the
s u rv eil l an ce m odel of f ers is am etaphorof bu reau cratical l y
organ ized s tate terrorthatof ten s eem s dis proportion ate to
the actu al experien ce of corporate l if e. T he rhetoric of Big
Brothertechn ol ogies is eas il y an d f requ en tl y ridicu l ed
throu ghparaphras e in term s of s in is tercon s piracies an d
the l ike. T he paradoxical res u l tis thatgen u in el yw orris om e
dev el opm en ts can s eem n ots obad"s im pl yf orl ackin g the
ov erthorrors of Orw el l s dys topia.
T obe s u re, the captu re m odel is com patibl e w iths om e
perf ectl ycon v en tion al u topian an d an tieu topian s cen arios .
An d itis w orthas kin g, w hatw ou l d atotal reorgan ization of
al l s pheres of l if e in accord w iththe captu re m odel be l ike?
Som e gu idan ce on the qu es tion is av ail abl e s im pl yf rom the
captu re m odel s def in ition :gram m ars of action w ou l d hav e to
be articu l ated f orev erydom ain of hu m an activ ity( w ork,
con s u m ption , trav el , pol itics m edicin e, an d s of orth), an d
thes e gram m ars w ou l d hav e tobe im pos ed on their
res pectiv e dom ain s , w iththe res u l tthats ociotechn ical
m achin eryof n u m erou s types w ou l d regis terev erys tate-
chan ge of an ys ign if ican ce in real tim e.
Whatw ou l d becom e of the datain this im agin aryw orl d? I
Whereas the s u rv eil l an ce m odel s u gges ts thatthe res u l tin g
m as s es of dataw ou l d be gathered an d s tored in s om e cen tral
51. Su rv eil l an ce
an d Captu re
l ocation , the captu re m odel is agn os tic on this m atter. In deed,
the captu re m odel em phas izes thatcaptu re, as as pecif ical l y
s ocial proces s , is n otau n itaryphen om en on . T othe con trary,
ev erydom ain of activ ityhas its ow n his torical l ogic, its ow n
v ocabu l aryof action s , an d its ow n dis tin ctiv e s ocial rel ation s
of repres en tation . As ares u l t, in f orm ation gathered throu gh
captu re in on e dom ain of activ itym ayorm ayn otbe
com m en s u rabl e w ithin f orm ation captu red in an other
dom ain . Ev en w ithou tthis el em en tof u n if ication an d
cen tral ization , thou gh, this pictu re of atotal l ycaptu red
s ocietyof f ers pl en tyof opportu n ityf oru topian an d an ti-
u topian s pecu l ation . In particu l ar, ithas am il l en arian f l av or
of perf ecttran s paren cyof corres pon den ce betw een digital
repres en tation s an d the n ow f u l l yordered af f airs of
em bodied activ ity.
N on ethel es s , this pictu re is w hol l yu n s atis f actory, s in ce it
prov ides n on otion of the l argers ocial dyn am ics thatcaptu re
proces s es w il l participate in orin teractw ith. In deed, w ithou t
aw orked 0u tcon ception of how real activ ities m ightactu al l y
be reorgan ized du rin g the v ariou s phas es of the captu re cycl e,
this s ketchof ahypothetical w orl d of total captu re is hard to
dis tin gu is hin an ycon v in cin g w ayf rom the u topias an d
dys topias as s ociated w iththe s u rv eil l an ce m odel .
An ys eriou s an al ys is of captu re, then , w il l requ ire an
u n ders tan din g of the s ocial rel ation s w ithin w hichthe
s ociotechn ical phen om en on of com pu tin g is em bedded. In
particu l ar, itdoes n ots u f f ice topos tu l ateahis torical tren d
tow ard ev er-m ore-thorou ghcaptu re of hu m an activ ities
w ithou tprov idin g s om e w aytoan al yze the s ocial f orces
thats tru ctu re the s ocial rel ation s hips arou n d captu re in an y
giv en s ettin g. F arf rom portrayin g captu re as as ocial actor
in its ow n right, an u an ced u n ders tan din g of the captu re
m odel s ketches ou tthe l an ds cape of pos s ibil ities an d
al tern ativ es u pon w hichparticu l arcon crete in s tan ces of
captu re w il l be con tes ted.
In con s iderin g the in s titu tion al con textof the captu re
m odel , itw il l hel ptodis tin gu is hthe gen eral con ceptof
captu re f rom tw os pecif ic appl ication s of gram m ars of action ,
au tom ation an d T ayl oris m . Whil e au tom ation has abroad
m ean in g, ref errin g toan yin trodu ction of n ew techn ol ogy, it
al s oref ers m ore s pecif ical l ytothe s ys tem atic repl acem en tof
hu m an activ ities w iththe operation of m achin ery. T his
proces s of ten in v ol v es the repres en tation of exis tin g f orm s of
activ itybym ean s of gram m ars of action , f orexam pl e by
s ys tem s an al ys ts w hom apou tthe in f orm ation f l ow s in an
theN EWMEDIAR EADER
organ ization w iththe aim of reprodu cin g them al l in
s of tw are. In s u chaproj ect, the in ten tion is n otto
in s tru m en tthe activ itybu ts im pl ytorepl ace it. In w ork
ration al ization accordin g toT ayl oran d his f ol l ow ers ,
en gin eers repres en texis tin g f orm s of activ ityw iththe goal
of reorgan izin g them accordin g toprin cipl es of ef f icien cy.
Again , the res u l tin g activ ityis probabl yn otin s tru m en ted,
f orthe s im pl e reas on thatits precis e s tru ctu re an d s peed are
al readykn ow n .
Au tom ation an d T ayl oris m are bothextrem el yres trictiv e
approaches tow ork reorgan ization . In particu l ar, theyboth
addres s the tw in im perativ es of ef f icien cyan d con trol in the
s am e f as hion :byl egis l atin g the precis e s equ en ce of action s in
adv an ce. As ares u l t, theyare bothhighl yin f l exibl e. T his
in f l exibil ityis ref l ected, in tu rn , in the w ide ran ge of
s ociol ogical theories of organ ization thatare bas ed on a
s im pl e oppos ition betw een rou tin es an d n on -rou tin e
( i.e., s kil l ed")activ ities ( Cyertan d March19 6 3, N el s on an d
Win ter19 82 , Sabel 19 82 , Stin chcom be 19 9 0). Captu re, by
con tras t, perm its ef f icien cyan d con trol tobe treated
s eparatel y, s othatpeopl e w hoen gage in heav il ycaptu red
activ ityhav e acertain kin d of f reedom n oten j oyed bypeopl e
in T ayl orized w ork. In as m u chas captu re is bas ed on a
l in gu is tic m etaphor, this f reedom is precis el ythe type
as cribed tol an gu age u s ers byl in gu is tic theories of
gram m ar f orexam pl e in Chom s kys ( 19 7 1:50)n otion of
f ree creation w ithin as ys tem of ru l e. T hatis , j u s tas the
s peakers of En gl is hcan produ ce apoten tial l yin f in ite v ariety
of gram m atical s en ten ces f rom the f in ite m ean s of En gl is h
v ocabu l aryan d gram m ar, peopl e en gaged in captu red activ ity
can en gage in an in f in ite v arietyof s equ en ces of action ,
prov ided thes e s equ en ces are com pos ed of the u n itary
el em en ts an d m ean s of com bin ation pres cribed bythe
gram m arof action .
Itis thu s thatcaptu red w ork activ ities are of ten con n ected
w iththe corporate dis cou rs e of em pow erm en t ( Agre
f orthcom in g). In particu l ar, captu re is com patibl e w ith
m odes of w ork reorgan ization thatin creas e the s kil l l ev el of
j obs , as w el l as w ithde-s kil l in g, s in ce captu re does n ot
requ ire thatcon trol be exercis ed throu ghthe f ragm en tation
of j obs an d the aprioris pecif ication of theirf orm s . In s tead,
captu re perm its w ork activ ities tobe dis cipl in ed throu gh
aggregate m eas u res deriv ed f rom captu red in f orm ation .
T ayl orite tim e an d-m otion s tu dies m ightbe perf orm ed as
w el l , bu ttheirpu rpos e is n ow toen s u re thathighl yef f icien t
o-4 A e 1---o-A e--- e --oe c ,~-* 0 e O __ . .. 19 9 4 51. Su rv eil l an ce
s equ en ces of action exis tin the f irs tpl ace. T he gen eral
pictu re of em pow erm en tan d m eas u rem en tis con s is ten t
w ithaw ide ran ge of pow errel ation s , f rom the in ten s iv e
produ ction pres s u res pl aced on f as tf ood w orkers by
cen tral ized m on itorin g of captu red in f orm ation tothe
rel ativ el ygen tl e bu reau cratic n egotiation s experien ced by
doctors deal in g w iththe m edical -activ itycaptu re s chem es of
hos pital s , heal thm ain ten an ce organ ization s , an d in s u ran ce
com pan ies . In particu l ar, the m eas u rem en ts thatare deriv ed
f rom repres en tation s of captu red w ork can be pu ttoa
v arietyof u s es , in cl u din g piece rate payan d periodic
adj u s tm en ts of w ork m ethods . T he u l tim ate u s e of s u ch
m eas u rem en ts is the es tabl is hm en tof biddin g f ors erv ices in
real -tim e m arkets , w herebythe con trol f u n ction prev iou s l y
prov ided bybu reau cracyis tran s f erred tothe in heren t
dis cipl in e. of the m arket. Au s ef u l theoryof the captu re
m odel s pl ace in s ocietyw ou l d prov ide aw ayof
u n ders tan din g w hen the captu re m odel is em pl oyed, how it
is em pl oyed, an d how its em pl oym en taf f ects rel ation s hips
am on g peopl e. Agreatdeal of w ork is requ ired bef ore s u cha
theorycan be f orm u l ated, bu tatl eas ts om e pl au s ibl e s tartin g
poin ts are av ail abl e.
7 T he pol itical econ om yof captu re
T hes e gen eral con s ideration s prov ide the backgrou n d f oran
an al ys is of captu re as an in s titu tion al phen om en on . Whil e
in s titu tion s des erv e an al ys is on n u m erou s l ev el s , Ipropos e to
f ocu s on Ciborra' s ( 19 83, 19 87 )econ om ic m odel of the
in s titu tion al ef f ects of in f orm ation techn ol ogy. T he an al ys is
in this s ection w il l be con s iderabl ym ore s pecu l ativ e than in
prev iou s s ection s , an d s hou l d be u n ders tood as the ou tl in e of
ares earchagen da.
Ciborra' s m odel is bas ed on Coas es ( 19 37 )n otion of
tran s action cos ts . Coas e begin s byl ookin g atal l produ ctiv e
hu m an in teraction s as econ om ic exchan ges , an d then he as ks
w hys om e s u chrel ation s are organ ized throu ghm arket
m echan is m s an d others are organ ized w ithin the au thority
rel ation s hips of hierarchical f irm s . His an s w er, rou ghl y
s peakin g, is thatthe bou n daries of f irm s are draw n arou n d
tran s action s w hichare l es s cos tl ytoperf orm w ithin a
hierarchythan theyare toperf orm in am arket. T ran s action
cos ts , w hichare the cos ts as s ociated w iththe u s e of m arket
exchan ge, in cl u de the cos ts of l ocatin g an d ev al u atin g the
v ariou s goods an d s erv ices f ors al e in the m arket, def in in g
the precis e n atu re of the goods an d s erv ices tobe exchan ged,
an d Captu re
an d n egotiatin g an d en f orcin g the con tracts thatgov ern the
exchan ge. ( F orthe s u bs equ en this toryof the theoryof
tran s action cos ts , s ee Wil l iam s on an d Win ter( 19 9 1).)
Markets w ork ov ertim e toredu ce tran s action cos ts , f or
the s im pl e reas on thatcom petition ten ds toredu ce al l cos ts
of produ ction . F orexam pl e, im prov ed com pu tin g an d
com m u n ication s techn ol ogies m ake iteas iertocol l ectan d
an al yze in f orm ation on of f erin gs av ail abl e in the m arket. As
techn ol ogical chan ges perm itdecreas es in tran s action cos ts ,
the theorypredicts thatthe bou n daries of f irm s an d the
con tractu al bas is of v ariou s econ om ic arran gem en ts w il l
chan ge as w el l in particu l arw ays . F orexam pl e, f irm s m ay
begin topu rchas e certain goods an d s erv ices on the open
m arketin s tead of organ izin g theirprodu ction in -hou s e, an d
pattern s of v ertical in tegration m aychan ge as itbecom es
m ore ef f icien ttocoordin ate certain in s titu tion al in terf aces
throu ghm arketm echan is m s ratherthan bu reau cratic
organ ization .
Ciborra( 19 87 :2 58-2 6 0)appl ies this theorytothe rol e of
in f orm ation techn ol ogyin organ ization al chan ge. F ol l ow in g
Ou chi( 19 7 9 ), he exten ds Coas es f ram ew ork s l ightl yby
dis tin gu is hin g three organ ization al types m arkets ,
bu reau cracies , an d cl an s depen din g on the degree of
am bigu ityoru n certain typres en tin agiv en w ayof produ cin g
an d s el l in g agiv en produ ctors erv ice, an d on the degree of
con gru en ce am on g the in teres ts of the v ariou s parties tothe
in teraction . Accordin g tothis an al ys is , an econ om ic
rel ation s hipw il l be organ ized as a-m arket( w ithcom pl etel y
s eparate tran s action s on ev eryoccas ion of exchan ge)w hen
am bigu ityan d u n certain tyare l ow an d the in teres ts of the
parties are in con f l ict; itw il l be organ ized as aru l e bou n d
bu reau cratic organ ization w hen am bigu ityan d con gru ityof
in teres ts are m oderate; an d itw il l be acl os el ykn it, in f orm al
cl an w hen am bigu ityan d con gru ityof in teres ts are high.
( N u m erou s in term ediate an d hybrid f orm s are f ou n d as
w el l .)F orm u l ated in this w ay, the theorys pecif ical l ypredicts
that, as tran s action cos ts are redu ced, in du s tries w il l
dem on s trate ahis torical traj ectoryin the direction f rom
cl an s tohierarchies tom arkets .
If tru e, this theoryou ghttobe in v al u abl e tom an agers
f aced w ithpl an n in g the organ ization al con com itan ts of
techn ol ogical chan ge. Withthe tran s ition f rom cl an to
hierarchy, orhierarchytom arket, orw ithothers ign if ican t
tran s ition s in w ork organ ization w ithin eachof thes e
categories , the theoryof tran s action cos ts pres cribes in s om e
51. Su rv eil l an ce
an d Captu re
detail the econ om ical l ym os tef f icien tan d s tabl e con tractu al
f orm thatcan be giv en tothe s ocial rel ation s hips in the n ew
f orm of w ork. In particu l ar, Ciborra( 19 87 )argu es , s trategies
f ordes ign in g an d m an agin g in f orm ation techn ol ogyou ght
todepen d on w hichcategoryof econ om ic rel ation s hips is
pres en t( thatis , the rel ation s hips thatw il l be pres en ton ce
the s ys tem is w orkin g).
When appl ied in accordan ce w iththe captu re m odel ,
in f orm ation techn ol ogyredu ces tran s action cos ts by
im pos in g m ore cl earl ydef in ed l es s am bigu ou s an d l es s
u n ce_rtain rel ation s hips u pon the parties toecon om ic
in teraction s , therebydecreas in g the ov erhead as s ociated
w ithcoordin ation of v ariou s in div idu al s activ ities . More
s pecif ical l y, on ce agram m arof action has been im pos ed
u pon an activ ity, the dis crete u n its an d in div idu al epis odes
of the activ ityare m ore readil yiden tif ied, v erif ied, cou n ted,
m eas u red, com pared, repres en ted, rearran ged, con tracted
f or, an d ev al u ated in term s of econ om ic ef f icien cy. T his is a
particu l arl ys im pl e m atterw hen the in teraction s in qu es tion
are al readyorgan ized bym arketrel ation s hips , an d Ciborra
con j ectu res ( 19 87 :2 6 3)thatm arkettran s action s rather
than bu reau cratic f irm s are atpres en tthe-m ain f iel d of
appl ication of DP techn ol ogy, s in ce the s tru ctu red an d
s tan dardized n atu re of thos e tran s action s m ake them m ore
s u itabl e toau tom ation . In deed s om e of the m os t
s pectacu l arappl ication s of in f orm ation techn ol ogyare
f ou n d in the operation of gl obal m arkets in s tocks ,
com m odities , cu rren cies , an d deriv ativ es bu il tu pon thes e
thin gs ( Ku rtzm an 19 9 3), an d this in creas in gl yin cl u des
gen eral ized m arkets in debts tream s of al l s orts ( Len zn er
an d Heu s l ein 19 9 3).
Bu tin f orm ation techn ol ogycan al s oredu ce in f orm ation
cos ts w hen appl ied tow ork activ ities in bu reau cracies an d
cl an s , perhaps l eadin g thes e activ ities tochan ge their
econ om ic organ ization . When des ign ed an d in trodu ced in
accord w iththe captu re m odel , throu ghthe u s e of an
on tol ogyan d gram m arof s ocial in teraction , com pu ter-
s u pported cooperativ e w ork ( CSCW)tool s are particu l arl y
w el l s u ited tothis pu rpos e. T he gram m ars w hichs u chtool s
im pos e u pon an organ ization s activ ities n eces s aril y
s tru ctu re, tos om e s u bs tan tial exten t, the rel ation s hips
am on g the organ ization s m em bers ( Ciborraan d Ol s on
19 88). In particu l ar, Ciborra( 19 87 :2 6 3)recom m en ds f or
this pu rpos e the f ram ew ork of s peechacts an d
com m itm en ts ( F l ores an d Lu dl ow 19 81)l aterem pl oyed by
theN EWMEDIAR EADER
the Coordin ator( s ee abov e, Section 4). ( As agen eral m atter,
of cou rs e, s u chs ys tem s are m ore readil yim pl em en ted w hen
s u pportin g activ ities thatare al readyorgan ized throu gha
gram m arof action . T he poin tis s im pl ythattheym ayprov e
s u itabl e f orl es s s tru ctu red activ ities as w el l .)On ce thes e
qu al itativ e s tru ctu res of w ork in teraction s hav e been
f orm al ized an d s u cces s f u l l ys u bm itted toau tom atic trackin g
an d en f orcem en t, itcos ts l es s tocoordin ate them al l .
T he an al ys is of tran s action cos ts has pol itical
con s equ en ces f orthe des ign of com pu ters ys tem s that
s u pportcooperativ e w ork. F orexam pl e, Ciborraan d Ol s on
( 19 88)as s ertthat, in redu cin g tran s action cos ts , n ew
techn ol ogies can be des ign ed torein f orce cl an -l ike s tru ctu res
as oppos ed tocreatin g econ om ic pres s u res f oratran s ition
tohierarchical orm arkets tru ctu res . Bu tthis is con traryto
Coas es ( 19 37 )origin al argu m en t, w hichis thatthe u s e of
m arkets orhierarchies ( or, byexten s ion , cl an s )is
determ in ed bytheirrel ativ e cos ts , w ithn on m arket
organ ization s s av in gs in tran s action cos ts bein g bal an ced
again s ttheircom parativ e econ om ic in ef f icien cies .
( In ciden tal l y, cl an s s hou l d n otbe con f u s ed w iththe
con tem poraryphen om en on of f requ en tl yreorgan ized
m u l tif u n ction al team s , w hichare, econ om ical l ys peakin g,
real l yakin d of in tern al l aborm arket.)Bythis l ogic,
techn ol ogies thatredu ce tran s action cos ts w il l , otherthin gs
bein g equ al , n eces s aril ys hif tthe bal an ce in the direction of
m arketrel ation s . Bu t, as Coas e poin ts ou t, n ew techn ol ogies
can al s oredu ce the cos ts of organ izin g ( he cites the
tel egraphan d tel ephon e, thou ghthe poin tcl earl yappl ies to
com pu tern etw orks as w el l ), thu s poten tial l ypres erv in g or
ev en exten din g the econ om ic s cope of f irm s ev en in the f ace
of redu ced tran s action cos ts . T he broaderpoin thas
con s iderabl e s ign if ican ce f ordes ign ers w how is hto
en cou rage cl an -l ike f orm s of s ocial rel ation s as oppos ed to
m arketorhierarchical rel ation s :af ocu s on the redu ction of
tran s action cos ts w il l n ots erv e this goal .
T hes e propos ition s on tran s action cos tecon om ics ,
togetherw iththe f oregoin g an al ys is of captu re, s u gges ta
ru dim en tarytheoryof the pol itical econ om yof captu red
in f orm ation . T opl ace this theoryin pers pectiv e, itw il l hel p
tocon s iderSchil l eris ( 19 88)an al ys is of in f orm ation as a
com m odity. Schil l erargu es again s tderiv in g the econ om ic
properties of in f orm ation s im pl yf rom its in heren tqu al ities
( its l ack of in heren tphys ical f orm , eas e of du pl ication , an d
s of orth). In s tead, he as s erts thatthe s pecif ic his torical f orm
1334
0< ~ 1- ~ ecr= aeaeeoa e ~o ~e o_A o-~ ~ # - ac ' - 51. Su rv eil l an ce
of in f orm ation depen ds on its em beddin g in aparticu l ars et
of s ocial rel ation s hips . In f orm ation , in particu l ar, has
in creas in gl ybecom e acom m odity, thatis , s om ethin g
produ ced, exchan ged, an d u s ed w ithin the f ram ew ork of a
m arketecon om y. In deed, as arapidl yexpan din g s ectorof
the m arket, in f orm ation has becom e af u n dam en tal s ou rce
of grow thf orthe m arketecon om yas aw hol e ( 19 88:2 7 ).
In f orm ation , thou gh, has n otal w ays been acom m odityin
this s tricts en s e, an d Schil l erpoin ts tothe his torical proces s
byw hichthe produ ction of in f orm ation has becom e a
m arket-bas ed in du s tryl argel ycom parabl e toan yother, a
proces s thathas in v ol v ed the progres s iv e reorgan ization of
the hu m an activ ities throu ghw hichin f orm ation is
produ ced an d u s ed.
T he econ om ic theoiyof captu re pres en ted here m akes it
pos s ibl e toexten d Schil l ers an al ys is in the cas e of on e
con s iderabl e categoryof in f orm ation com m odities , n am el y
captu red in f orm ation . R egardl es s of its particu l arcon ten t,
captu red in f orm ation is dis tin gu is hed byits du al
rel ation s hip - bothprodu ctan d repres en tation - tothe
hu m an activ ities u pon w hichparticu l argram m ars of action
hav e been im pos ed. In particu l ar, the captu re proces s m akes
v is ibl e agreatdeal of in f orm ation -creatin g activ ityw hich
had f orm erl ybeen l ef tim pl icitin the produ ction of other,
his torical l ypriorcom m odities . Moreov er, the phen om en on of
captu re exten ds m arketrel ation s n ots im pl ythrou ghthe
com m odif ication of the captu red in f orm ation its el f ( if in f act
thatin f orm ation is m arketed), bu tal s othrou ghthe
m ov em en ttow ard m arketrel ation s , throu gharedu ction in
tran s action cos ts , of the hu m an activ ities thatthe
in f orm ation repres en ts . In otherw ords , byim pos in g a
m athem atical l yprecis e f orm u pon prev iou s l yu n f orm al ized
activ ities , captu re s tan dardizes thos e activ ities an d their
com pon en tel em en ts an d therebyprepares them ( again , other
thin gs bein g equ al )f oran ev en tu al tran s ition tom arket-bas ed
rel ation s hips . T his tran s ition is n otam echan ical proces s , to
be s u re; attem pts toim pos e gram m ars of action u pon exis tin g
f orm s of activ ityare them s el v es f orm s of activ itypu rs u ed by
f u l l ybl ow n hu m an agen ts , an d theyregu l arl yf al l preytotech-
n ical orecon om ic m is cal cu l ation s , ortothe res is tan ce of the
participan ts . T he ten den cyof in f orm ation techn ol ogyto
con tribu te tothe s pread of m arketrel ation s in toprev iou s l y
hierarchical orin f orm al territories of activ itys hou l d thu s be
u n ders tood as the his torical l ycon tin gen tcon f l u en ce of a
dis cipl in arypractice an d an econ om ic l aw , on the s am e bas is
an d Captu re
as the m u tu al accom m odation of s u ppl yan d dem an d in
perf ectm arkets .
T hats aid, the rol e of in f orm ation techn ol ogyin the
gen eral ization an d exten s ion of m arketrel ation s is
f orm idabl e an d n ottobe u n deres tim ated. T he proces s is
extraordin aril ys ys tem atic. Atthe l ev el of the prof es s ion al
practice of com pu terpeopl e ittakes the f orm of akin d of
repres en tation al cru s ade the con s ciou s f orm u l ation of a
thorou ghgoin g s ys tem of on tol ogical categories f orthe f u l l
ran ge of produ ctiv e activ ities , atev eryl ev el f rom the gl obal
econ om yas aw hol e tothe m os tref in ed u n itaryaction . N o
m atterhow f orbiddin g theirdis cu rs iv e f orm s m aybe an d n o
m atterhow es oteric m u chof theirs pecif ic con ten trou tin el y
is , thes e on tol ogical s chem es m u s tn on ethel es s be
u n ders tood f u n dam en tal l yn otas techn ical bu tas "s ocial ."
In otherw ords , the practice of f orm u l atin g thes e on tol ogies
is , al l dis cipl in aryin s u l arityas ide, an d regardl es s of an yon e' s
con s ciou s u n ders tan din gs of the proces s , af orm of s ocial
theorization . An d this theorizin g is n ots im pl yas chol as tic
exercis e bu tis partof am u chl argerm aterial proces s throu gh
w hichthes e n ew s ocial on tol ogies , in acertain s pecif ic s en s e,
becom e real . '
T he rel ev an ts en s e of real ity m u s tbe def in ed w ithcare,
s in ce, as Section 4has argu ed atl en gth, the articu l ation an d
im pos ition of gram m ars of action rou tin el yin v ol v es akin d
of m ythol ogy:the ideathatthe activ ityin qu es tion has
al readybeen organ ized in accord w iththe gram m ar, an d that
the s u bs equ en tcaptu re s chem e s im pl yreads of f , in real tim e,
arepres en tation of this preexis tin g f orm al s tru ctu re. T his
kin d of m ythol ogyis f requ en tl yas s ociated w iththe
con s titu tion of n ov el com m odities , an d m ayev en hel pdef in e
the com m odity-f orm as as ocial phen om en on . In deed, the
theoryof tran s action cos ts exhibits the s am e f orm of
m ythol ogy, in as m u chas itpres u ppos es thatthe en tire w orl d
of produ ctiv e activ ities can be con ceptu al ized, apriori, in
term s of extrem el yn u m erou s epis odes of exchan ges am on g
econ om ic actors .
T he tru th, of cou rs e, is m ore com pl icated. T he
in trodu ction of captu re s ys tem s in toexis tin g activ ities
requ ires agreatdeal of ef f ort, in cl u din g n ots im pl ythe
techn ical w ork of bu il din g an d in s tal l in g the s ys tem bu tthe
s ocial w ork of im pos in g the s ys tem an d then l iv in g w ithit. In
particu l ar, the w ork of im pos in g acaptu re s ys tem f requ en tl y
in v ol v es con f l ict, as the af f ected parties organ ize res is tan ce
toitan d its ben ef iciaries organ ize toov ercom e, dis s ol v e, or
n | L
51. Su rv eil l an ce
an d Captu re
circu m v en tthis res is tan ce ( Agre in pres s ). N orm al l ythes e
con f l icts take pl ace w ithin the con textof exis tin g
organ ization al s tru ctu res , bu tif the tran s action cos tan al ys is
is an ygu ide then m an yof thes e con f l icts w il l becom e l argel y
m ootas the con tes ted s ocial rel ation s hips m ov e in creas in gl y
tow ard the m arket. T he grow thin tem poraryem pl oym en t
( N egrey19 9 3, Sacco19 9 3)an d the tren d tow ard ou ts ou rcin g
of n on core f u n ction s ( Q u in n 19 9 2 )m aybe, atl eas tin part,
on e ref l ection of this m ov em en t. Be this as itm ay, arapidl y
grow in g l iteratu re is expl orin g the poten tial l ycon s iderabl e
s tru ctu ral chan ges tof irm s an d m arkets in w hich
in f orm ation techn ol ogym ayparticipate ( Dav is 19 87 , Q u in n
19 9 2 , ScottMorton 19 9 1).
T he an al ys is in this s ection , on ce again , s hou l d n otbe
u n ders tood as af in is hed theorybu tas acon j ectu ral ou tl in e
of aprogram of res earch. Les tthe theorybe ov ergen eral ized,
s ev eral qu al if yin g poin ts , al readyim pl icitin the argu m en t
abov e, s hou l d be em phas ized. In f orm ation techn ol ogyis n ot
s yn on ym ou s w iththe captu re m odel ( atl eas tn otin
prin cipl e), the appl ication of in f orm ation techn ol ogycan
hav e othercon s equ en ces bes ides the redu ction of tran s action
cos ts , an d redu ction s in tran s action cos ts don otn eces s aril y
in du ce tran s ition s tom arketrel ation s if other, cou n terv ail in g
f actors are pres en t. Chan ges thatredu ce the cos ts of s om e
tran s action s m aybe accom pan ied by, ev en l in ked to, other
chan ges thats im u l tan eou s l yin creas e the cos ts of other
tran s action s . ( In deed, Al l en ( 19 9 4)s u gges ts thatin creas ed
in tegration of produ ction proces s es requ ires n ew , l es s
rou tin ized kin ds of rel ation s hips am on g the peopl e in v ol v ed.)
Appl ication s of in f orm ation techn ol ogyare in v ariabl yaccom ~
pan ied byotherdev el opm en ts an d otheragen das thatcan
in f l u en ce the s hape an d con s equ en ces of n arrow l y
techn ol ogical chan ges . F in al l y, al l of thes e phen om en aare
s u bj ecttocon tes tation on aw ide v arietyof f ron ts .
T hes e qu al if ication s hav in g been s tated, the hypothes is
s eekin g v al idation can be f orm u l ated in the l arges tpos s ibl e
term s :the com pu terpractition ers practice of captu re is
in s tru m en tal toaproces s byw hichecon om ic actors redu ce
theirtran s action cos ts an d therebyhel ptran s f orm
produ ctiv e activ ities al on g atraj ectorytow ards an
in creas in gl ydetail ed rel ian ce u pon ( ors u bj ection to)m arket
rel .ation s . T he res u l tis agen eral ized accel eration of econ om ic
activ ityw hos e s ocial ben ef its in term s of produ ctiv e
ef f icien cyare cl earen ou ghbu tw hos e s ocial cos ts ou ghttobe
am atterof con cern .
theN EWMEDIAR EADER
8 Con cl u s ion
T he prev iou s s ection s hav e ou tl in ed apol itical econ om yof
w orkpl ace priv acy, bu il din g on an an al ys is of the prof es s ion al
practice of com pu terpeopl e. T his dis cu s s ion prov ides s om e
res ou rces f oram ore caref u l con s ideration of the rel ation s hip
betw een the tw om odel s of priv acy, the s u rv eil l an ce m odel
an d the captu re m odel , thatIin trodu ced atthe ou ts et. Letu s
rev iew thes e m odel s res pectiv e def in ition s , recal l in g on ce
again thattheyare in ten ded as m etaphores ys tem s an d n otas
m u tu al l yexcl u s iv e categories :
( 1)T he s u rv eil l an ce m odel em pl oys v is u al m etaphors ,
m os tf am ou s l yOrw el l s Big Brotheris w atchin g you ;
the captu re m odel em pl oys l in gu is tic m etaphors by
m ean s of v ariou s gram m ars of action .
( 2 )T he s u rv eil l an ce m odel em phas izes n on dis ru ptiv e,
s u rreptitiou s datacol l ection ; the captu re m odel
des cribes the readil yapparen tin s tru m en tation that
en tail s die reorgan ization of exis tin g activ ities .
( 3)T he s u rv eil l an ce m odel is con cern ed tom ark of f a
priv ate region bym ean s of territorial m etaphors of
"in v as ion "an d the l ike; the captu re m odel portrays
captu red activ ities as bein g con s tru cted in real -tim e
f rom as etof in s titu tion al l ys tan dardized parts
s pecif ied bythe captu red on tol ogy.
( 4)T he s u rv eil l an ce m odel depicts the m on itorin g of
activ ityas cen tral l yorgan ized an d pres u m es thatthe
res u l tin g in f orm ation is cen tral l ys tored; the captu re
m odel em phas izes the l ocal l yorgan ized n atu re of con -
tes ts ov erthe captu re proces s an d theirs tru ctu rin g
w ithin particu l arin s titu tion al con texts .
( 5)T he s u rv eil l an ce m odel takes as its prototype the
m al ev ol en tpol itical activ ities of s tate organ ization s ;
the captu re m odel takes as its prototype the qu as i-
phil os ophical proj ectof on tol ogical recon s tru ction
u n dertaken bycom pu terprof es s ion al s in priv ate
organ ization s .
T he bodyof the paperhas in trodu ced areas on abl y
s u bs tan tiv e theoryof captu re as partof the his torical
dyn am ics of am arketecon om y. T his theorydoes n ot
preten d tocov eral l u s es of com m odif ied in f orm ation , an d it
w ou l d be w orthexpl orin g the pos s ibil ities of aparal l el theory
of in f orm ation f orm ed in tocom m odities throu ghproces s es
betteru n ders tood throu ghthe s u rv eil l an ce m odel . Su cha
theoryis av ail abl e in the w ork of Gan dy( 19 9 3), w ho
em phas izes the n ow v as tm arketm achin eryarou n d the
0:: _r__. O -~ m O_~~ 4 Q __c
pers on al in f orm ation thatpeopl e l eav e behin d in aw ide
ran ge of pu bl ic records an d econ om ic tran s action s . Mu chof
this in f orm ation , n odou bt, aris es in the f irs tpl ace throu gh
the captu re of activ ities of v ariou s kin ds . On e pos s ibil ityis
thatm arketpres s u res of v ariou s s orts ten d toin du ce a
tran s ition in the m an n erin w hichin f orm ation is col l ected,
aw ayf rom the s u rv eil l an ce m odel an d tow ard the captu re
m odel . Su chatren d, if itexis ts , w il l pres u m abl ybe m os t
m arked in w orkpl aces , w here the rel ation s of pow er
n eces s arytoim pos e gram m ars of action are the m os tf u l l y
dev el oped. Bu tthe accu m u l ation of pers on al in f orm ation
throu ghm edical care, the con tractu al con dition s of in s u ran ce
cov erage, an d driv in g on in creas in gl yin s tru m en ted pu bl ic
roads ( Ben der19 9 1, J u rgen 19 9 1)al s oprov ides prom is in g
s ites of in v es tigation al on g thes e l in es .
Som e addition al topics in v ite f u rtherres earch. Itw ou l d be
v al u abl e tocatal og the kin ds of organ ization al
tran s f orm ation s thatcan accom pan ythe im pos ition of
gram m ars of action . Captu re, an d particu l arl ythe s harin g an d
s tan dardization of on tol ogies , m ayprov ide av ocabu l aryf or
expl orin g s om e of the in terl ockin g, ov erl appin g, an d cros s -
f ertil ization am on g v ariou s f orm s of com pu ter-m ediated
w ork thatare ev ol v in g w ithin the gl obal econ om y( R os en berg
19 82 ). T he proces s es of articu l ation an d im pos ition s hou l d be
s tu died em pirical l yin av arietyof s ettin gs , particu l arl yw ith
regard tothe f orm s of "participation "thattheyexhibit. T he
gen eal ogyof the captu re m odel s hou l d be s ou ghtin the
his toryof ideas an d in the his torical dev el opm en tof the
com pu terprof es s ion an d its practices . T he tran s action cos t
m odel of captu re econ om ics s hou l d be ev al u ated an d
exten ded w ithref eren ce todetail ed cas e s tu dies .
T he an al ys is of the captu re m odel has s ign if ican t
im pl ication s f ordes ign ers . Itprov ides s om e tool s f orpl acin g
techn ical des ign ~s tyl es in l argerpol itical an d econ om ic
con texts , an d therebyf orm ore con s ciou s l ys ettin g res earch
priorities in accordan ce w ithdem ocratic goal s . T his an al ys is
m ightal s oprov ide s om e im petu s f orin v es tigation s of the
u n derl yin g s tru ctu res of des ign practices , an d itm ightprov ide
aprototype f orres earchin tothe pol itical an d econ om ic-
dim en s ion s of v ariou s s pecif ic f orm ation s of des ign . F in al l y, it
w ou l d s eem im portan ttoarticu l ate v ariou s cou n ter-
tradition s of des ign an d theiras s ociated cou n ter~v is ion s of
hu m an activ ity, keepin g in m in d the trade-of f s thatare
s tu bborn l yin heren tin com pu ters an d com pu tation al des ign
as thes e thin gs are cu rren tl ycon s titu ted.
0 _. -019 9 4 51.Su rv eil l an ce
an d Captu re
Ackn ow l edgem en ts
T his paperorigin ated in com m en ts thatIprepared as adis cu s s an t
atthe Sym pos iu m on Bas ic R es earchT opics atthe Con f eren ce on
Com pu ter-Hu m an In teraction in May19 9 2 in Mon terey, Cal if orn ia.
T han ks toJohn Carrol l an d Jim Hol l an f ortheirrol es in organ izin g
this m eetin g. Ipres en ted as u bs equ en tv ers ion atthe T hird
Con f eren ce on Com pu ters , F reedom , an d P riv acyin March19 9 3 in
San F ran cis co. T han ks ton u m erou s participan ts in this con f eren ce
f ortheiru s ef u l com m en ts . T he paperhas al s oben ef itted f rom
com m en ts byJon athan Al l en , R ick Craw f ord, Bru ce Don al d, Mike
R obin s on , Dan Schil l er, Lu cySu chm an , an d R an dyT rigg.
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theN EWMEDIAR EADER
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19 9 3.
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Com pu tin g R eport16 ( 5), 19 9 3, pages 1-2 0.
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adv an tage in the f as tf ood f racas , In f orm ation Week 37 4, 18 May
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an d Captu re
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pages 2 37 -2 50.
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f ram ew ork f oren terpris e in tegration , IEEET ran s action s on Sys tem s ,
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l if e athin g of the pas t, Macw orl d 10( 7 ), 19 9 3, pages 12 4-130.
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Of f ice T echn ol ogy36 ( 8), 19 9 1, pages 52 -53.
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econ om y, In s ide the Bl ack Box: T echn ol ogyan d Econ om ics ,
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in the Com pu terAge, N ew Y ork: Schocken Books , 19 7 4.
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P robl em s 36 ( 3), 19 89 , pages 2 2 5-2 41.
Charl es F . Sabel , Work an d P ol itics : T he Div is ion of Laborin In du s try,
Cam bridge: Cam bridge U n iv ers ityP res s , 19 82 .
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an d proces s es , I&CS ( In s tru m en tation 8 Con trol Sys tem s )6 6 ( 10),
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Modern Of f ice T echn ol ogy38( 5), 19 9 3, pages 47 -48.
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an d Jan etWas ko, eds ., T he P ol itical Econ om yof In f orm ation ,
51. Su rv eil l an ce
an d Captu re
Madis on : U n iv ers ityof Wis con s in P res s , 19 88.
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Y ork: Oxf ord U n iv ers ityP res s , 19 9 1.
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Y ork: An chorP res s , 19 7 9 .
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Sys tem s 1( 4), 19 83, pages 32 0-32 8.
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kn ow l edge, in KeaT ij den s , MaryJen n in gs , In aWagn er, an d
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theN EWMEDIAR EADER
F rederick Win s l ow T ayl or, T he P rin cipl es of Scien tif ic Man agem en t,
N ew Y ork: Harper, 19 2 3.
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Com pu terw orl d 2 3( 40), 2 October19 89 , pages S2 2 -2 6 .
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T echn ol ogyan d the Organ ization , Bos ton : Harv ard Bu s in es s School
P res s , 19 89 .
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7 1-7 2 .
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Origin s , Ev ol u tion , an d Dev el opm en t, Oxf ord: Oxf ord U n iv ers ity
P res s , 19 9 1.
T erryWin ograd an d F ern an doF l ores , U n ders tan din g Com pu ters an d
Cogn ition : AN ew F ou n dation f orDes ign , N orw ood, N J: Abl ex, 19 86 .
JOAn n e Y ates , Con trol throu ghCom m u n ication : T he R is e of Sys tem in
Am erican Man agem en t, Bal tim ore: John s Hopkin s U n iv ers ityP res s ,
19 89 .
19 9 4
O 4 _._.@ .; ~---9 Q -_.-1 ...,...............Q -4-_- - Q _._._........... .._____Q -1; ....,-_.. 5.... -.- - --0 g _- -Q ----__52 . N O n e a
an d LiteraryT heory
52 .[ In trodu ction ] p
N on l in earityan d LiteraryT heory
Es pen Aars eths es s ayis n eitherabou thypertextn orabou ts om e othertype of textthatis s pecif ic to
the com pu ter. How , then , did s u chadocu m en tin s in u ate its el f in toabook cal l ed Hyper/ T ext/ T heory, ____. . _.. _,_
an d how did itm an age toal s ow ork its w ayin toon e cal l ed T he N ew MediaR eader? g; y; ,1' s i,
Aars ethn oticed, du rin g readin gs of texts thatare pres en ted orgen erated throu ghcom pu ter "il l _-7 -T .-,' . }
s of tw are ( s u chas Michael Joyces Af tern oon )thatm an yof the in teres tin g qu al ities of el ectron ic " ~' l I 1 U |
l iteratu re s tem n otf rom its repres en tation on aphos phor-l in ed v acu u m tu be ( oragrid of l iqu id 013 ~ -
crys tal )ratherthan apage, bu tf rom its n on l in earn atu re. He al s on oted thatthis qu al ityof -
n on l in earityis n eitherin s is ted u pon bythe com pu tern orprecl u ded byprin t. R atherthan ; _; .-1- ,T _:__r; ' ; ,' _1" __.___~ - -.
attem ptin g toappl yexis tin g l iterarytheorytotrytoexpl ain u n u s u al com pu terl iteraryartif acts ,
Aars ethhas dev el oped gen eral an d yetpow erf u l theories , theories w hichappl you ts ide of n ew -.0 = ; ~+j -' ~7 "."'
, _ u n ders ",tan din g -of the ol d
m ediabu tare bas ed l argel yu pon the s tu dyof n ew m ediaw orks an d thos e u n u s u al as pects of text,__S6 ' m ' g f m "-dv rm E' e-d,.I__-
rhartheyhighl ight .~i5,,; .; en rrir ir; i$rariw a:. . i; Z
T he al l u re of the s creen cau s es m an yen thu s ias ts tos ee com pu terl iteratu re as its ow n en tirel y _1.
n ew category, av iew thatR obertCoov ercon s iders , bu tdoes n otf u l l yem brace, in his es s ay( O49 ). pt: .'
Y etj u s tas f il m an d prin tl iteratu re hav e com m on s tru ctu res an d in f l u en ce on e an other, n ew m edia -3; 1
artan d w ritin g rel ate tow orks thatare n on -digital . On e of the s ign s of the m atu rityof n ew m edia
. . . . . . - .._the con cept.pf --m edia- .1 i~.
s chol ars hipIS that1thas s tarted togen erate approaches thatappl ytoOl )]CtS ou ts ide the f iel d. ' .r:; ,,e,f b m para v -8:5. I.
In addition todes cribin g atypol ogyf orn on l in eartexts , Aars eth' s es s aym al ces an im portan t y_
con tribu tion bydis cu s s in g hypertextf iction in depthal on gs ide in teractiv e f iction w orks ( a.k.a. text ' .
adv en tu re gam es )s u chas Adv en tu re an d al on gs ide con v ers ation al characters s u chas El iza/ DoctorBy 1,J.a_f yh-Ij Da)iid:?"Bol ter ; ( 047 ); :f ' l - > 7
goin g ou ts ide the bou n daries of hypertext-n oton l ytoref ertoprin tw orks s u chas Hops cotchbu t
al s otocon s iderothercom pu ters of tw are f orpres en tin g texts -Aars ethw as abl e toiden tif yan d 7 ; _
categorize the m os ts al ien tf eatu res of n on l in eartexts , ratherthan bas in g his con cl u s ion s on a i_' {' ,j ' .' } .; .; -
grou pof hom ogen eou s l yhypertextu al w orks , al l created al thou ghperhaps byau thors w ith if 1 W 1 M Z l l
dif f eren tgoal s u n ders im il aras s u m ption s . _~ ,1. .-:. ; .- ..
An otherim portan tpoin tm ade in this es s ayis thattoday' s el ectron ic textu al s ys tem s are n ots o H ' .T h?' _-_...
. . . . = . .1./ irtan an In tem et . .
n ew w hen s ys tem s l ike the tel egraphare con s idered. Al thou ghT he N ew MediaR eaderin cl u des on l y eiq5l b_res _., :_. .-_. A
w ritin gs f rom the m iddl e of the cen tu ryu pthrou ghthe as cen dan ce of the Web, con s ideration of
the his toryof n ew m ediacertain l ys hou l d n otbe res tricted tothe period af terWorl d WarII. = i8; day5; ri' "rw Q rk_ ; ' ' -
Aars eths Cybertextof f ers an excel l en ts tu dyof w hatare cal l ed, in this es s ay, n on l in eartexts . Itis ~' ; ' 1
w idel ycited in recen tw ork, has been the s tartin g poin tf oran in v ol v ed dis cu s s ion on ebr( El ectron ic H l M '
Book R ev iew )an d has in s pired as eries of edited v ol u m es begin n in g w ithT he CybertextY earbook 2 000. T ,
Whil e Aars ethhas prov ided m an yin s ights in this es s ayan d in Cybertext, on e of his m os tim portan t 1 -'
con tribu tion s has been tos u gges tan ew on tol ogyof texts , ortexton om y, as he cal l s it, an d tol in e ou t
acategory, an d en u m erate as etof in depen den tf eatu res , thats eem tobe of boththeoretical an d
critical in teres t.
-N M 047
.. _. are
Aars eth,.Es pen . Cyl rerf text:,2 -P ers pectiv es gon f f rgirriictiteratu r f Bal tim ore:.1Q ]1~i; i; 1iiqpkif iri--I_L[ |j |iv rs ity' "P res s ,_j _3_f % _
_," ' 2 ", . _' .:' __-. J I .1 . .2 1- ..-. ' _' , ' ' ,__, ' _' _j .. ' .' ..-_' ., A
__p ; ,. . .v ~...-..- ... . "--A-* ' . ' _, ... . . . - ' -" \
r.birIe; iar.
45ia.' i a9 ' 7 .T ' * r- T l -if l ( iP i9 l R i?l i' i?' ?l ?i-5il ' l ?l Il Y 9 l l i; W r-e n d > .eii1i> n v ; ; _<i9 9 8> .~F 5 ~ .1 "
. . . . . .... -,- .~ . . ~ - ~ . ,,, _, _. .
\ , . _,, __. _ . I ~_-~ .. . .
. , ,_. .v , A1 .. A ' n ___. _,__,, _.._,,__, . -._--.' ..
52 . N on l in earity
an d LiteraryT heory
Origin al P u bl ication
Hyper/ T ext/ T heory, 51-86 . Ed. George Lan dow . Bal tim ore: John s
Hopkin s U n iv ers ityP res s , 19 9 4.
N on l in earityan d
LiteraryT heory
Es pen J. Aars eth
El ectron ic w ritin g w il l requ ire as im pl er, m ore pos itiv e
l iterarytheory.
J. Dav id Bol ter
T he f u tu re can on l ybe an ticipated in the f orm of an
abs ol u te dan ger.
Jacqu es Derrida
In this es s ayIou tl in e atheoryof n on l in eartexts an d
in v es tigate s om e of its pos s ibl e im pl ication s f orthe practice
of l iterarytheoryan d criticis m . An on l in eartextis an obj ect
of v erbal com m u n ication thatis n ots im pl yon e f ixed
s equ en ce of l etters , w ords , an d s en ten ces bu ton e in w hich
the w ords ors equ en ce of w ords m aydif f erf rom readin g to
readin g becau s e of the s hape, con v en tion s , orm echan is m s of
the text. N on l in eartexts can be v erydif f eren tf rom each
other, atl eas tas dif f eren tas theyare f rom the l in eartexts .
In the con ceptu al f ram ew ork pres en ted here, the l in eartext
m aybe s een as as pecial cas e of the n on l in earin w hichthe
con v en tion is toread w ord byw ord f rom begin n in g toen d.
R ecen tl y, becau s e of the com pu ter, certain types of n on l in ear
texts hav e receiv ed atten tion f rom edu cation al , techn ol ogical ,
an d theoretical circl es . N ow m aybe the tim e tobroaden the
s cope of in teres tan d toexam in e textu al n on l in earityf rom a
gen eral poin tof v iew .
Ov erthe pas ttw odecades , the s pread an d radical
dev el opm en tof the com pu teras am ean s of cu l tu ral an d
aes thetic expres s ion has created achal l en ge tothe
paradigm s of cu l tu ral theorythathas n otyetbeen
s ys tem atical l yan s w ered. Stu dies of s pecif ic com pu ter-
m ediated phen om en aof ten s u f f erf rom al ack of in s ight
in ton eighborin g phen om en a, again cau s ed byam is s in g
f ram e of ref eren ce, agen eral theoretical ov erv iew bas ed on a
broad com parativ e s tu dy, an d adial ectic betw een
n eighborin g f iel ds . T his is n otl eas tthe cas e in l iterary
theory, in w hichtechn ol ogical is s u es tradition al l yhav e been
theN EWMEDIAR EADER
m etw ithv eryl ittl e in teres t. Du rin g the pas tdecade,
how ev er, s u chis s u es hav e s een am arked in creas e of
atten tion , perhaps n ottotal l yin depen den tof the s u cces s f u l
in trodu ction of el ectron ic w ord proces s in g as an academ ic
tool . T he w ord proces s orhas s erv ed tof am il iarize the
l iterarys chol arw iths om e as pects of the n ew text
techn ol ogies ; bu t, du e toits col l aborativ e an d em u l ativ e
n atu re ( the w ayel ectron ic w ord proces s in g as s u m es the
goal s of the earl iertechn ol ogies ), the m ore radical poten tial
of textu al com pu tin g is eas il yign ored, an d the com pu teris
gratef u l l yperceiv ed as l es s threaten in g than itactu al l yis .
T his es s ay, u n l ike the others in this book [ Hyper/ T ext/
T heory], is n otprim aril ycon cern ed w ithhypertext. In s tead,
Is hal l trytotake as tepback, toin v es tigate the l arger
repertoire of textu al f orm s of w hichhypertextcan be s aid to
be on e. Hypertext, w hen regarded as atype of text, s hares
w ithav arietyof othertextu al types af u n dam en tal trait,
w hichw e def in ed as n on l in earity. Itm u s tim m ediatel ybe
poin ted ou tthatthis con ceptref ers on l ytothe phys ico-
l ogical f orm ( orarran gem en t, appearan ce)of the texts , an d
n ottoan yf iction al m ean in g orextern al ref eren ce theym ight
hav e. T hu s , itis n otthe pl ot, orthe n arrativ e, oran yother
w el l -kn ow n poetic u n itthatw il l be ou rdef in itiv e agen cybu t
the s hape ors tru ctu re of the textits el f . An arrativ e m aybe
perf ectl yn on l in ear( f orexam pl e des cribin g as equ en ce of
ev en ts in arepetitiv e orn on s equ en tial w ay)an d yetbe
repres en ted in atotal l yl in eartext.
T he adv en tof com pu ter-m ediated textu al .itys eem s tohav e
l ef tm an yof thos e theoris ts an d critics w hon oticed itin a
term in ol ogical v acu u m . In theireagern es s todes cribe the
brav e n ew real ity, theyl etaf ew w ords l ike el ectron ic an d
hypertextcov erm an ydif f eren tphen om en a. Behin d the
el ectron ic textthere is al arge an d heterogen eou s v arietyof
phen om en a, an d, as w e s hal l s ee, acom pu ter-m ediated text
m ayhav e m ore in com m on w ithapaper-bas ed on e than
w ithon e of its el ectron ic brethren .
Af tercon s iderin g s om e f u n dam en tal probl em s w iththe
con ceptof textu al ity, Is hal l propos e atypol ogyof n on l in ear
texts bas ed on prin cipl es extracted f rom v ariou s s am pl es , an d
then Is hal l ou tl in e the m ain f orm s of n on l in earity. Sin ce the
paradigm s an d practice of l iterarytheorycan n otrem ain
u n af f ected byits en cou n terw ithn on l in earl iteratu re, except
bypreten din g itn ev erhappen ed, Ibothdis cu s s n ew
appl ication s of l iterarytheoryan d s u gges ts om e pos s ibl e
n ew departu res .
O 0 Ee 0 ~ O 0 O ~ 0
Behin d the Lin es : WhatIs aT ext, An yw ay?
T he textas aw hol e an d as as in gu l arw hol e m aybe
com pared toan obj ect, w hichm aybe v iew ed f rom
s ev eral s ides , bu tn ev erf rom al l s ides aton ce.
P au l R icoeu r
T opres en tn on l in eartextu al ityas aphen om en on rel ev an tto
textu al theory, on e m u s trethin k the con ceptof textu al ityto
com pris e l in earas w el l as n on l in eartexts . T he text,"as itis
com m on l yperceiv ed, en tail s as etof pow erf u l m etaphys ics
thatIhav e n ohope of dis pers in g here. T he three m os t
im portan ton es are thos e of readin g, w ritin g, an d s tabil ity.
R egardl es s of m u tu al con tradiction , thes e three w ork
togethertocon trol ou rn otion of w hatatextis . F orou r
pu rpos e, theycan be s u m m ed u pas f ol l ow s : ( 1)Atextis
w hatyou read, the w ords an d phras es thatyou s ee bef ore
you reyes an d the m ean in gs theyprodu ce in you rhead. ( 2 )A
textis am es s age, im bu ed w iththe v al u es an d in ten tion s of a
s pecif ic w riter/ gen re/ cu l tu re. ( 3)Atextis af ixed s equ en ce of
con s titu en ts ( begin n in g, m iddl e, en d)thatcan n otchan ge,
al thou ghits in terpretation s m ight. In oppos ition tothes e
n otion s , Iargu e thatthe l es s on s of n on l in earl iteratu re s how
u s atextu al itydif f eren tf rom ou rreadin gs ( an d ou rreadin gs
of readin g"), m ore f u n dam en tal than ou rm es s ages , an d,
throu ghthe ev ol v in g ritu al s an d techn ol ogies of u s e an d
dis tribu tion , s u bj ecttom an ytypes of chan ge. Idon otf ora
m om en tbel iev e thatm ycon s tru cted bin aris m of the
n on l in eartextan d the l in eartextoran yof the other
pers pectiv es in this es s ayare an ym ore f ree of am etaphys ics
than an yprev iou s textu al theory, bu tIhope theyare better
s u ited toiden tif yin g s om e of the rel ev an tis s u es of textu al
com m u n ication .
Myu s e of the w ord textis s eem in gl yatodds w iththatof
certain s chool s of textu al theorythatregard the textas a
s em an tic n etw ork of s ym bol ic rel ation s , l oos el yattached to
the n otion of the l iteraryw ork. Idon otin ten d tochal l en ge
thatidea; Ibel iev e thatitbel on gs toadif f eren tas pectorl ev el
of the s am e obj ect. We then hav e tw opers pectiv es : the textas
atechn ical , his torical . an d s ocial obj ectan d the textas itis
in div idu al l yreceiv ed an d u n ders tood. T hes e as pects , w hichw e
m ightcal l the in f orm ativ e an d the in terpretabl e are gov ern ed
bydif f eren tru l es , bu ttheyare in terdepen den tan d in f l u en ce
( an d s om etim es in tru de on )eachotherin m an yw ays .
T he in f orm ativ e as pectof the textis u s u al l ythe harderto
s ee, becau s e itis the m os tobv iou s . In addition toits v is ibl e
$9 9 4
om e e e are o
w ords an d s paces , w hichw e m aycal l the s cript, atext
52 . N on l in earity
an d LiteraiyT heory
in cl u des apractice, as tru ctu re orritu al of u s e. Dif f eren t
practices adhere todif f eren ttexts ; w e don otread P ean u ts
( the com ic s trip)the w ayw e read the Bibl e. Of cou rs e, arich
texts u chas the Bibl e has m an yu s es an d is peru s ed in m an y
w ays . Iam n ottal kin g of in terpretation here, j u s tthe
al gorithm an d choreographythatcon du cts the s criptf rom
the texttothe m in d of the behol der. T his m aybe com pared
( caref u l l y)tothe con ceptof gen re, exceptthatgen re is s een
priortothe text, an d rev ered orbetrayed byit; here itis the
otherw ayarou n d. A -
T he rel ation s hipbetw een the textan d the s criptrequ ires
cl os eratten tion . T here is , of cou rs e, n oton e s u chrel ation s hip
bu tas m an yas there are techn ol ogies an d con v en tion s of
readin g an d w ritin g. As im pl is tic m odel m ightdepicttw oof
the m os tcom m on rel ation s hips as the f ol l ow in g:text
s u bordin ate tos cript( the han dw ritten l etter, the el ectron ic
w ord-proces s in g docu m en t)an d s cripts u bordin ate totext
( the m as s -produ ced papercopy, the read on l yCD-R OM). In
the f irs tcas e, w hatev eryou dotothe s criptaf f ects the text;
in the s econ d, itdoes n ot. When w e l ook f orw ays todes cribe
dif f eren ces betw een types of text, the w ord el ectron ic u s u al l y
does n otgetu s v eryf ar.
T he in terpretabl e as pectof the textis thatw hichm akes it
dif f eren t; tobe bl u n t, itis thatw hichm akes itw orthreadin g.
F orm al as w el l as s em an tic el em en ts com e in topl ay:if atext
has an u n u s u al s hape, thatal on e arou s es ou rin teres t. Mos t
texts , how ev er, are borin gl yf am il iarin theirs hape; w e
al readykn ow how toread them . Iin ten d todeal w iththe
in terpretabl e as pecton l yin s of aras itis af f ected bym y
dis cu s s ion of the in f orm ativ e; toen gage itf u l l yhere w ou l d
be ( atbes t)apoin tl es s his toric rev iew of the highl ights of
l in gu is tic an d l iterarytheory.
T here is aprobl em here thatgoes back toaf l aw atthe
heartof m ydef in ition of n on l in eartext. When Is aid thata
textcan be n on l in earbycon v en tion , the def in ition is l aid
open toin terf eren ce f rom the in terpretabl e l ev el . Whatif a
texts im pl yin s is ts on its n on l in earity?Shou l d w e take its
w ord f orit?T here are m an ys u chtexts ; l \/ Iil orad P av ics
Lan ds cape P ain ted w ithT ea( 19 9 0)com es tom in d. F rom the
s econ d hal f , itcan be read as acros s w ord pu zzl e, either
acros s ordow n , f ol l ow in g the expl icitin s tru ction s giv en
on pages 100-101. Bu tw hatif atextgiv es u s s u ch
in s tru ction s atthe s tart, then can cel s them l ateron ?Or
w ors e, w hatif the texts tarts byw arn in g u s again s tpos s ibl e
52 . N on l in earity
an d LiteraryT heory
attacks of il l egitim ate n on l in earities , then proceeds toorder
u s togoaton ce topage 50f orf u rtherin s tru ction s an d s kip
the in terv en in g pages that, w e are tol d, hav e been
con tam in ated bys u bv ers iv e direction s ?T hes e hypothetical
cas es , w hichare f arf rom im pos s ibl e, il l u s trate apecu l iar
s em iotic pow erof the l in eartextov erthe n on l in ear:the
l in earcan f l irtw ithn on l in earity, bu tthe n on l in earcan n ot
l ie an d preten d tobe l in ear.
Bu tl etu s retu rn toou rm etaphys ical qu es tion , w hich
real l yis as eriou s on e:Whatis atext?Or, torephras e it,
Whichel em en ts an d ef f ects bel on g tothe textan d w hichdo
n ot?T he pos ts tru ctu ral is ts are f on d of dis cu s s in g this
qu es tion in ( an d in rel ation to)the pref ace orthe f orew ord,
bu ts in ce Idon othav e s u chpl aces atm ydis pos al in this
book, bu ton l yachapter, Is hal l n otargu e w iththem . In s tead,
con s iderthis :does the au thor' s n am e bel on g toatext?Itis
u s u al l yon l yf ou n d ou ts ide the text on the cov er, in the
catal ogu e, in the book rev iew , an d in s om e cas es in the topor
bottom m argin s of the page; bu titcan be argu ed that, al on g
w iththe text' s titl e, w hichis al s of ou n d ou ts ide the text
proper( n oten cl os ed in it), the w ords thatm ake u pthe
au thor' s n am e are the s in gl e m os tm ean in gf u l phras e of the
text. Of the text, bu tn otin the text. Im agin e the dif f eren ce
betw een atextbyP G. Wodehou s e an d atextbyAgatha
Chris tie; n oprobl em there. Itdoes n otev en hav e tobe an y
s pecif ic books ; w e kn ow the dif f eren ce an yw ay. T he f actthat
w e m aykn ow s om ethin g abou tthe au thors behin d thes e
n am es is n otan yw here n earas im portan tas w hatw e kn ow
abou tatext, on ce w e kn ow itis byon e of them . On ce Ipick
u pabook byKen F ol l ett, Ihav e al readys tarted the
in terpretation of it, l on g bef ore Ihav e s tarted on the f irs t
page. Ev en if the n am e its el f is u n kn ow n tou s , its hin ts of
gen deran d cu l tu ral backgrou n dare m ean in gf u l .
Au thors hav e al w ays kn ow n thes e thin gs . In an tiqu ityan d
the earl yMiddl e Ages , s om e w riters w ou l d u s e the n am e of a
f am ou s au thortogettheir.ideas read an d s pread n otas a
v il l ain ou s f orgeryw iththe goal of s hort-term ben ef itbu tas a
w aytoen han ce the en du ran ce an d pos ition of theirw ork.
T hin k of itas akin d of ben ev ol en tcom pu terv iru s . In m ore
recen ttim es , f em al e w riters u s ed m al e ps eu don ym s :the
f iction w as ev en betterif af ictitiou s au thorcou l d be
con s tru cted. Stil l , s eriou s au thors u s e ps eu don ym s f ortheir
l es s s eriou s w ork; thatw aythe w eightof their"tru e"n am e
w il l n otm is l ead theirreaders expectation s an d
in terpretation s . T his s hif tw orks w el l ev en if the con n ection
theN EWMEDIAR EADER
betw een the tw on am es is kn ow n ; itis the n am e, n otthe
pers on behin d it, thatis im portan t. T he n am e bel on gs tothe
text, the w riter( as in ghos tw riter)does n ot.
Ou rdis tin ction betw een the textan d the s criptin the cas e
of m as s -produ ced an d -dis tribu ted copies l eads tothe
f u n dam en tal qu es tion of in w hats en s e the s cript-
in depen den ttext( the s o-cal l ed real textbehin d al l the
copies )can be s aid toexis t. T his dis tin ction m ays eem s o
m u chqu ain tan d u n n eces s arycon ten tiou s n es s , bu tas part
of the textu al on tol ogy or, tocoin an am e f orou rf iel d,
text0n 0m y pres en ted in this es s ay, ithel ps u s tos how that
the s tabil ityof paper-bas ed docu m en ts is as m u chaprodu ct
of ou rm etaphys ical bel ief in atran s cen den tal textas an
in heren tqu al ityof the phys ical obj ect.
Im agin e abook in w hichs om e of the pages appeartobe
m is s in g, orthe prin tis u n readabl e ev ery16 pages , ors om e of
the pages are repeated w hil e an equ al n u m berom itted. Ev en
if this copyis the on l yon e w e ev ers ee, w e au tom atical l y
as s u m e thatitis n ots u ppos ed tobe this w ayan d thata
m ore correctv ers ion exis ts . Itm ayn ev erhav e been prin ted;
bu ttou s , w hocan im agin e itperf ectl y( exceptf orthe
m is s in g w ords , of cou rs e), itis s til l m ore real than the on e w e
are hol din g. F orin s tan ce, in T erryEagl eton s LiteraryT heory,
there are tw ochapters bearin g the n u m beron e; the f irs t
titl ed In trodu ction :Whatis Literatu re"( p.1), an d the other
T he R is e of En gl is h"( p.17 ).1 Sin ce m ycopyis f rom the
eighthprin tin g ( 19 9 0)an d the book w as f irs tpu bl is hed in
19 83, itis u n l ikel ythatthere is av ers ion w ithon l yon e f irs t
chapter, bu tw e n ev erthel es s as s u m e thatthis is w hatthe
textm ean t, an d thatthe in trodu ction gotn u m bered by
m is take. We dothis ou tof l ack of res pectf orthe copy; it
appears tom is repres en tthe real text, ev en if s u chathin g
m ayn ev erhav e exis ted. In s hort, w e pref erthe im agin ed
in tegrityof am etaphys ical obj ecttothe s tabl e v ers ion that
w e obs erv e. Whichon e is m ore real than the other?As l on g
as w e are abl e toim agin e an d recon s tru ctan ideal v ers ion ,
ev erythin g appears tobe f in e, an d ou rm etaphys ics rem ain s
in tact. Bu tw hatif the f l aw ed v ers ion in terf eres s odeepl y
w ithou rs en s e of reception thatit, in m ore than am an n erof
s peakin g, s teal s the s how ?F ol l ow in g ou rm etaphys ical l ogic,
w e w ou l d hav e tos aythatan ew texthad been created, s in ce
the al tern ativ e w ou l d be as criptw ithou tatext. Bu t, becau s e
of its u n in ten tion al origin , this n ew textcan n otbe
m etaphys ical l yequ al tothe textitrepl aces , an d s ow e are l ef t
w ithaparadox:s om e texts are m etaphys ical , s om e are n ot,
i
O A A A A A A AA AA A 0 A AA ; AA AA 0AA e AA_AAA_AAAA_AA""-- Q ' A
an d if w e don otkn ow theirorigin s , w e hav e n ow aytotel l
the dif f eren ce.
T he al tern ativ e, of cou rs e, is toaban don the con ceptof a
real text-behin d-the-textal together. On Satu rday, F ebru ary
the 7 th, 19 87 , Is aw John Boorm an s Zardoz ( 19 7 4)atthe
Bergen F il m Cl u b. Ordid I?As ithappen ed, s om ehow the
reel s gotm ixed u pan d w ere proj ected in the s equ en ce 1, 2 , 4.
3, 5. T he f il m is aw eird, al l egorical adv en tu re, f rom abarbaric
f u tu re in w hichtechn ol ogyhas becom e in expl icabl e an d
s u pern atu ral toev eryon e bu tas ecl u ded grou pof v erybored
im m ortal s . T he titl e is an an agram atic al l u s ion toT he Wizard
of Oz, an d the s torycon tain s m an ys u rreal an d f an tas tic
el em en ts ~n otl eas t, its eem ed tom e, the s u dden j u m pin
the n arrativ e, f ol l ow ed af teraw hil e byaj u s tas s tran ge f l as h-
back. When the f if threel cam e on , how ev er, Is l ow l ys tarted
tos u s pectthatthis rathercru de m on tage techn iqu e w as
n eitherBoorm an n orhis f il m com pan y' s doin g, bu tm os t
l ikel yam is take in reel tim e. Bythen the dam age w as don e,
an d Ihad had the con f u s in g priv il ege of bein g l os tin the
m aterial ityof af il m - as tran gel yappropriate experien ce,
s om ew hatparal l el tothatof the m ain character, pl ayed by
Sean Con n ery, abarbarian w hom an ages togetin tothe
s ecretpl ace, the Vortexof the im m ortal s , tos ee theirs tran ge
cu s tom s an d techn ol ogy( an d theirev en tu al des tru ction )
f rom the in s ide.
Byv irtu e of the al tered s equ en ce, an u n in ten ded
cin em atic experien ce, an ew expres s ion , w as created. Bu t
w as itan ew f il m ?Iam tem pted toan s w er, n o. N otbecau s e
If eel thataf il m ( oran yotherartis tic w ork)has tobe the
in ten ded an d con s ecu tiv e des ign of acon s ciou s , creativ e
operator, bu tbecau s e boththe origin al an d the heretical
s equ en ces are bas ed on the s am e m aterial poten tial . In this
s en s e, atextoraf il m is l ike al im ited l an gu age in w hichal l
the parts are kn ow n , bu tthe f u l l poten tial of their
com bin ation s is n ot. T he m u tation of Zardoz w as created by
ahidden pos s ibil ityin its chan n el , n otbythe in trodu ction
of an ew code orprin cipl e.
T here are m an ys cal es of chan ge in atext' s m etam orphos is :
u n in ten tion al ( the bl u n ders of atypes etterorproj ection is t
in the dark), u s u rpatory( are m ixof s am pl es f rom am u s ical
recordin g, ahacked v ers ion of acom pu tergam e), pl agiaiy
( on e com pos ers u n ackn ow l edged v ariation s on athem e of
an other), an d s u bv ers iv e ores tran gin g ( the cu tu p textu al
experim en ts of Wil l iam Bu rrou ghs an d John Cage), to
s u gges taf ew . Som e of the res u l ts of s om e of thes e
A A _ u AA.__. A Ag. ____
119 9 4
operation s w e m ightacceptas au then tic n ew w orks , others
52 . N on l in earity
an d LiteraiyT heory
n ot, accordin g tothe cu l tu ral l egitim acyof theirm ethod of
con s tru ction ortheiroperator; or, in the cas e of an ew
aes thetic s ys tem , depen din g on con tem poraryem pathyw ith
the perceiv ed pol itical s ym bol is m of the m ode of m u tation .
T extu al in tegrityan d the borderbetw een tw ow orks of
arv this is hardl yas tartl in gl yorigin al con cl u s ion is a
cu l tu ral con s tru ct. More im portan tl y, as Ihav e tried tos how ,
s ois ou rn otion of w hatcon s titu tes the textits el f n oton l y
ou rcon ception of its f u n ction , m ean in g, orm etaphys ical
rel iabil itybu tal s ow hatitappears tobe m ade of an d w hat
con dition s hav e tobe m etf oru s toackn ow l edge its
exis ten ce. Whatrem ain s tobe in v es tigated, then , is the
pos s ibil itythattextu al ityexis ts beyon d m etaphys ics ,
throu ghl ocation , an atom y, an d tem poral ity.
T here is n os en s e in den yin g thatthis cris is of the text( if
s opreten tiou s aden otation m u s tbe u s ed)is brou ghtabou t
bythe digital w on ders of the in f orm ation age orrather, by
the s om ew hates chatol ogical cl aim s of the propon en ts of the
s o-cal l ed n ew m edia:the book is dead, this is the Late Age
of P rin t, the el ectron ic textw il l f ree u s f rom the tyran n yof
paper, an d in the f u tu re, ev eryon e w il l be aw riter. N o
dou bt, thes e are in teres tin g tim es . T he probl em w ithterm s
s u chas the el ectron ic textan d the prin ted book is thattheyare,
toborrow aphras e f rom Cl if f ord Geertz, toodan gerou s l y
u n f ocu s ed tos u s tain aprecis e an al ys is . N ev erthel es s , this
en thu s ias tic es chatol ogyf orces u s tos ee du s tyol d thin gs in a
n ew l ightan d perhaps l earn athin g ortw oin the proces s .
An d s othe com pu ter thatol d, m ythol ogical beas t has
becom e in s tru m en tal in ev eryon es qu es tf oran ew
u n ders tan din g of the text. T he dan gerof tu rn in g this qu es t
in toj u s tan otherm etaphys ics com es m ain l yf rom tw os ides ,
bothof w hichitis im pos s ibl e toav oid al together:the
v igorou s rhetoric of the cu rren tgen eration of m edia
prophets u rgin g u s tobel iev e in theirel ectron ic text; an d,
m ore f u n dam en tal l y, thatthere is s u chathin g as the text, a
theoretical en titythatdef in es the s u f f icien tan d n eces s ary
con dition s of textu al ity, w ithn oregard f orpractice, his tory,
ortechn ol ogy. ( T here are al s othe probl em s of tran s l ation ,
tran s cript, pas tiche, thef t, cen s ors hip, editin g, v arioru m
edition s , in com pl ete m an u s cripts , an d oral n arrativ es , w hich
w il l n otbe dis cu s s ed here.)
On e of the m os tim portan tideol ogical as pects of the
ef f ects on v erbal com m u n ication of the pres en tan d earl ier
in f orm ation techn ol ogies is thatthe tran s cen den tal con cept
52 . N on l in earity
an d LiteraryT heory
of texts eem s tos u rv iv e. Itdoes n otcom e tom ean
s om ethin g el s e, l ike el ectron ic book, com pu tern ov el , or
v irtu al docu m en t:the el ectron ic text, f oral l its hype an d
n aiv et , is s til l atext. If w e acceptthis cl aim , then its eem s
cl earthattextu al itycan n otbe def in ed in term s of l ocation ,
an atom y, ortem poral ity. Whatis the dif f eren ce, in term s of
s cript, betw een Don Q u ixote on paperan d Don Q u ixote on a
s creen ?Ibel iev e theyare the s am e, al thou ghIkn ow that
the in k-cel l u l os e rel ation s hipprom otes an d im pedes dif f eren t
ritu al s of u s e than does the el ectron -phos phorrel ation s hip.
T ocl arif ythe f u n dam en tal m echan is m s of texts , w e
s hou l d s tu dytextas in f orm ation . T his s im pl e an d perhaps
an ticl im actic in j u n ction does n otl eav e the etern al qu es tion s
of rhetoric an d poetics in the han ds of the in f orm ation
theoris ts an ym ore than the f u n dam en tal probl em s of
s em an tics can be s ol v ed byphon etician s , bu titm ightgiv e u s
am ore s tabl e obj ecttow ork w ithin atim e w hen ou rol d
paper-bas ed paradigm s s eem todis pers e on the w in ds of the
rhetoric of the n ew techn ol ogies . U n derthes e circu m s tan ces
itm ights eem as u s pectm ov e tol in k ou rcon ceptof
textu al itytothe v erys cien tif ic ideol ogythatcau s es ou r
cris is , the theories of cybern etics an d in f orm ation as
con ceiv ed byN orbertWien er, Cl au de Shan n on , an d others in
the 19 405.2 How ev er, this is hardl yacon trov ers ial con n ection
in its el f , f orthe in f l u en ce of this paradigm on l iterarytheory
can be f ou n d throu ghou ts tru ctu ral is m an d beyon d, in the
hegem on ic w orks of R om an Jakobs on an d U m bertoEco, f or
exam pl e. Where this n ew adaptation m ightprov e tobe a
radical departu re is in the w ayw e s hal l u s e ittodef in e
textu al ityin depen den tof its tradition al as s ociates , the
reader/ receiv er/ au dien ce an d w riter/ s en der/ au thor. T his
m ov e, w hichm ightbe s een as s el f -def en s e, s erv es tw o
practical pu rpos es :toav oid the rathers il l yideathatthe
readeran d au thorare becom in g the s am e pers on ; an d to
f ree the textf rom bein g iden tif ied w ithits readin gs an d its
w ritin gs . Atextis n otw hatw e m ayread ou tof it, n oris it
iden tical w ithw hats om eon e on ce w rote in toit. Itis
s om ethin g m ore; apoten tial thatcan be real ized on l y
partial l yan d on l ythrou ghits s cript. F u rtherm ore, texts
( w hethertheyexis torn ot), l ike el ectron s , can n ev erbe
experien ced directl y, on l ybythe s ign s of theirbehav ior.
T exts are cros s produ cts betw een as etof m atrices
l in gu is tic ( the s cript), techn ol ogical ( the m echan ical
con dition s ), an d his torical ( the s ocio-pol itical con text); an d
becau s e of the tem poral in s tabil ityof al l of thes e v ariabl es ,
theN EWMEDIAR EADER
texts are proces s es im pos s ibl e toterm in ate an d redu ce. T his
pers pectiv e l ets u s in cl u de n on l in eartexts , m an yof w hich
hav e n oau thor( orev en reader)in the tradition al s en s e.
Mterthe ten s ion s an d m is u n ders tan din gs cau s ed bythe
in tru s ion s of n ew com pu ter-m ediated textu al ities an d the
in ev itabl e res is tan ce tothem hav e been abs orbed in to
l iterarytheory, n ew textu al paradigm s w il l ev en tu al l y
em erge. T heyw il l n odou btbe v erydif f eren tf rom the
pers pectiv e pres en ted here, bu tw ithal ittl e l u ck their
m etaphys ics m ightbe in f orm ed bythe prin cipl es behin d the
l in es of the textu al techn ol ogies , as w el l as bythe m etaphors
of the l ates tin terf aces .
AT ypol ogyof N on l in earT extu al ity
T he u s e of the term n on l in earityin this es s ayis grou n ded in
m athem atics an d n otin s pired bythe m odern phys ical
s cien ces . Iem phas ize this poin tn otbecau s e Iw an tto
dis tan ce m ys el f f rom the cl aim s of l iterarycritics , l ike
Katherin e Hayl es , w hoem pl oythe term in its l atters en s e,
bu tbecau s e the in f l u en ce of n on l in eardyn am ics on recen t
l iterarytheorys hou l d n otbe con f u s ed w iththe pres en t
f orm al con ceptof n on l in eartextu al :ity.3 In s ights prom oted by
the m etaphors of n on l in earphys ics aid u n ders tan din g of
n on l in eartexts as w el l as l in earon es , bu treadin g an on l in ear
textis n otthe s am e as areadin g in f orm ed byres earchin
f ractal geom etryorchaos theory. T he behav iorof s om e
kin ds of n on l in eartexts can certain l ybe des cribed in term s
of u n predictabil ity, s el f -organ ization , an d tu rbu l en ce, bu tf or
the def in ition an d bas ic u n ders tan din g of n on l in ear
l iteratu re w e n eed n otl ook thatf ar.
F oraf orm al def in ition of ou rcon cept, the m athem atical
bran chof topol ogyw il l s u f f ice. Accordin g tom ycopyof
Wehs ters N ew T w en tieth-Cen tu ryDiction ary, this is the theory
of thos e properties of geom etric f igu res thatrem ain
u n chan ged ev en w hen u n derdis tortion , s ol on g as n o
s u rf aces are torn . Withou ttoom u chdis cordan ce, Ihope, the
texton om ical v ers ion of topol ogym aybe des cribed as the
s tu dyof the w ays in w hichthe v ariou s s ection s of atextare
con n ected, dis regardin g the phys ical properties of the
chan n el ( paper, s ton e, el ectrom agn etic, an d s oon ), bym ean s
of w hichthe textis tran s m itted. T he origin al m athem atical
m ean in g is tran s pos ed f rom geom etrytotexton om yrather
than m etaphorized, becau s e the f orm al is m is l ef tin tact.
T extu al topol ogydes cribes the f orm al s tru ctu res thatgov ern
the s equ en ce an d acces s ibil ityof the s cript, w hetherthe
19 9 4
-Ae _AoA_AAAAAAAA As -A* AAAA~ 0A a-AA-AA 0------ -A AAA AeAAAAAAA
proces s is con du cted m an u al l y( f orexam pl e, bycon v en tion )
orm echan ical l y( f orexam pl e, bycom pu ter).
If texts are tobe des cribed in topol ogical term s , theym u s t
be s how n tocon s is tof as etof s m al l eru n its an d the
con n ection s betw een them . F u rther, the f u n ction of thes e.
u n its m u s tbe rel ev an ttoou rn otion of n on l in earity. Itis n ot
dif f icu l ttopartition an ytextin tographem es ( l etters ),
l exem es ( w ords ), ors yn tagm s ( phras es ors en ten ces ), bu t
n on e of thes e el em en ts in dicates n on l in earitybyits pres en ce.
As l aterexam pl es rev eal , the pos ition of as in gl e l etterorthe
pos ition of m an ys yn tagm s s tru n g togethercan m ake atext
n on l in ear. T heref ore, the u n itf orw hichw e are l ookin g is
cl earl yn otdef in ed byl in gu is tic f orm . T his u n it, w hichis bes t
con ceiv ed as an arbitraril yl on g s trin g of graphem es , is iden ti
f ied byits rel ation tothe otheru n its as con s train ed an d
s eparated bythe con v en tion s orm echan is m s of theirm other
text. Its hou l d be n oted thatthes e textu al u n its u s u al l ydo
n otu ps etthe l aw s of gram m atical l an gu age, bu tthatis of n o
im portan ce toou rdef in ition .
As as u itabl e n am e f ors u chau n itIs u gges ttexton , w hich
den otes abas ic el em en tof textu al ity. In accordan ce w iththe
con ceptof textu al itydev el oped in the prev iou s s ection , a
m ore l ogical n am e m ights eem tobe s cripton , bu tthis term
pos its thatthe textu al u n itbel on gs tothe readin g proces s
ratherthan thatitin heres in the textu al s tru ctu re as a
s trategic poten tial . As cripton , then , is an u n broken
s equ en ce of on e orm ore texton s as theyare proj ected bythe
text. An otheral tern ativ e totexton m ightbe l exie, af ter
R ol an d Barthes s u n ites de l ectu re ( u n its of readin g)in
S/ Z. T his can didate, adopted byGeorge P . Lan dow ( 19 9 2 )
f rom an En gl is htran s l ation as l exia, Iw an ttoav oid
becau s e of Barthes s em phas is on s erial ity( f ragm en ts
con tiga)an d the des tru ctiv e proces s of its s eparation
( d cou p )f rom the texts F orBarthes , l exies are n otthe
bu il din g bl ocks of textu al itybu tav iol en tan d pow erf u l
dem on s tration of readin g. In s harpcon tras ttothe pl ayf u l
com bin atorics of textu al n on l in earity, Barthes ' s m ottois
cl earl ydiv ide etim pera.
In addition toits texton s , atextcon s is ts of on e orm ore
trav ers al f u n ction s , the con v en tion s an d m echan is m s that
com bin e an d proj ecttexton s as s cripton s tothe u s er( or
reader)of the text. We u s e thes e f u n ction s todis tin gu is h
betw een the v arian ts in ou rtextu al typol ogy. Atrav ers al
f u n ction m ightbe as im pl e actof acces s in g atext( f or
exam pl e pick aran dom card orEcc 12 :12 b)oritm ightbe
As AAAAAAAAw e-___-<> ~-___ 52 . N on l in earity
an d LiteraiyT heory
acom pl exs etof in s tru ction s ( f orexam pl e acom pu ter
program s u chas El iza)thatcom pil es as cripton f rom texton s .
Sin ce there is an in f in ite s etof trav ers al f u n ction s , Is hal l n ot
trytom ake an in v en toryof them here bu tin s tead des cribe a
s etof bas ic v ariates thattogetherdef in es am u l tidim en s ion al
coordin ate s ys tem in tow hichthe f u n ction s can be pl otted.
T his propos ed m atrix, w hichis cl earl yin com pl ete, m aybe
expan ded orchan ged as n ew trav ers al f u n ction s are
dis cov ered oras exis tin g on es are betteru n ders tood. T he
categories Iin ten d toextractare pragm atic an d ten tativ e,
an d w il l hopef u l l yyiel d toam ore con cis e m odel as the
res earchprogres s es .
Bel ow is al is tof the v ariates , s l ightl yadapted f rom m y
T exts of Chan ge, in w hichtheyare dev el oped an d dis cu s s ed at
l en gthan d appl ied toas etof n on l in eartexts .6 T hen , bythe
expl oratorydata-an al ys is m ethod kn ow n as corres pon den ce
an al ys is , atw o-dim en s ion al pl otw as produ ced in w hichthe
texts f orm ed grou ps thatprov ided abas is f orgen eral
cl as s if ication ?
T opol ogy. T he f u n dam en tal dif f eren ce is thatbetw een the
l in earan d the n on l in ear. An on l in eartextis aw ork thatdoes
n otpres en tits s cripton s in on e f ixed s equ en ce, w hether
tem poral ors patial . In s tead, throu ghcybern etic agen cy( the
u s erl s ], the text, orboth), an arbitrarys equ en ce em erges .
Dyn am ics . T hen there is the dif f eren ce betw een the s tatic
an d the dyn am ic text. In as tatic textthe s cripton s are
con s tan t, w hereas in adyn am ic textthe con ten ts of
s cripton s m aychan ge w hil e the n u m berof texton s rem ain s
f ixed ( in tratexton ic dyn am ics ), orthe n u m berof texton s m ay
v aryas w el l ( texton ic dyn am ics ).
Determ in abil itycon cern s the s tabil ityof the trav ers al
f u n ction ; atextis determ in ate if the adj acen ts cripton s of
ev erys cripton are al w ays the s am e, an d in determ in ate if n ot.
T ran s ien cy. If the m ere pas s in g of the u s ers tim e cau s es
s cripton s toappear, itis tran s ien t, if n ot, itis in tran s ien t. If
the tran s ien cyhas the n atu re of real tim e itis s yn chron ou s ;
if the rel ation s hipbetw een the u s ers tim e an d the pas s in g of
f iction al tim e is arbitrary, w e cal l itas yn chron ou s .
Man eu v erabil ity. T he qu es tion of how eas yitis toacces s
the s cripton s of atextcan be des cribed in term s of trav ers al
f u n ction s an d theircom bin ation s . T he m os topen ( orw eak)
w e cal l ran dom acces s toal l s cripton s ; then there is the
s tan dard hypertexttrav ers al f u n ction the l in k, expl icitacces s
toal l s cripton s ; the hidden l in k; the con dition al orcom pl exl in k;
an d, f in al l y, the arbitraryorcom pl etel ycon trol l ed acces s .
52 . N on l in earity
an d LiteraryT heory
U s er-f u n ction al ity. Bes ides the in terpretativ e f u n ction of
the u s er, w hichof cou rs e is pres en tin the u s e of bothl in ear
an d n on l in eartextu al ity, the u s e of n on l in eartexts m aybe
des cribed in term s of f ou ractiv e f eedback f u n ction s :the
expl orativ e f u n ction , in w hichthe u s erdecides w hichpath to
take; the rol e-pl ayin g f u n ction , in w hichthe u s eras s u m es
s trategic res pon s ibil ityf oracharacter in aw orl d des cribed
bythe text; the con f igu rativ e f u n ction , in w hichtexton s
an d/ ortrav ers al f u n ction s are in partchos en an d/ or
des ign ed bythe u s er; an d the poetic f u n ction , in w hichthe
u s ers action s , dial ogu e, ordes ign are aes thetical l ym otiv ated.
An ytype of textcan be dis cu s s ed accordin g tothes e
categories ; Iav oid the prim itiv e an d theoretical l y
u n in teres tin g div is ion betw een el ectron ic an d hard copy
texts as w el l as the n ebu l ou s con ceptof in teractiv e f iction .
T he m odel is equ al l yappl icabl e toachil d' s in terrogation of a
s torytel l eran d ares earchers con v ers ation w ithan artif icial
in tel l igen ce program , oraradiobroadcas tof T he Win d in the
Wil l ow s .
T he bes tw aytotes tam odel is tos ee how w el l its tan ds u p
ton ew data. Sin ce Idev el oped m in e in 19 9 1, an ew texttype
has appeared, in v en ted bythe s cien ce f iction au thorWil l iam
Gibs on . His Agrippa:ABook of the Dead ( 19 9 2 )dis pl ays its
s criptataf ixed s crol l in g pace on the s creen an d then
en crypts itbyatechn iqu e cryptical l ykn ow n as R SA,
ren derin g itef f ectiv el yu n readabl e af terthaton e proj ection s
Leav in g the m ore obv iou s j okes as ide ( betterm ake
res erv ation s dow n atthe l ibrary, qu ickl ), this is cl earl yon e
m ore of thos e on e of a-kin d texts f orw hichthe m ediu m is
the m es s age s eem s tohav e been in ten ded. Bu tthats hou l d
n ots topthe em pirical l iterarycritic. Im u s tadm ittoa
cu riou s f eel in g of u n eas e here. Agrippaperv ers el yobeys the
l ogic of cu l tu ral capital is m beyon d the w il des tdream s of
pu bl is hers :itis the n on reu s abl e book. Atthe s am e tim e it
obv iou s l ys u bv erts the m etaphys ics of textu al m as s
produ ction . How ?Bybein g acopythatdes troys its text, ora
textw hichdes troys its copy?Agrippais au n iqu e l es s on in
textu al on tol ogy, ' al in eartextthats eem s tof l irtw ith
n on l in earity, n otthrou ghits con v en tion orm echan is m bu t
throu ghthe dif f eren ce betw een its u s ed an d u n u s ed copies .
T he in div idu al copy as -textis l in ear, becau s e there is on l y
on e s equ en ce: f irs t, the decrypted s cripton on ce, then the re-
en crypted on e f orev eraf ter; bu tthe text-as -copym aytu rn
ou ttobe eitherof the s cripton s an d is theref ore n on l in ear.
R atherthan acceptthatthis paradoxical res u l tu n derm in es
theN EWMEDIAR EADER
m yl in ear n on l in eardis tin ction , Icon ten d thatbydes troyin g
its trav ers al f u n ction itexpos es the in heren tin s tabil ityof
the m etaphys ical con ceptof the textits el f . T hu s , Agrippa
becom es n on l in earon l yif w e choos e toacceptthe text-
behin d-the-text as m ore real than the phys ical obj ectthat
can ref u s e tobe read. As f orthe res tof ou rcategories ,
Agrippais aratheru n u s u al com bin ation of as tatic,
determ in ate, an d tran s ien ttextw ithcom pl etel ycon trol l ed
acces s tos cripton s .
As as im pl if ied s yn thes is of this m odel In ow propos e f ou r
pragm atic categories , ordegrees , of n on l in earity:( 1)the
s im pl e n on l in eartext, w hos e texton s are total l ys tatic, open
an d expl orabl e bythe u s er; ( 2 )the dis con tin u ou s n on l in ear
text, orhypertext, w hichm aybe trav ers ed byj u m ps
( expl icitl in ks )betw een texton s ; ( 3)the determ in ate
cybertext, in w hichthe behav iorof texton s is predictabl e
bu tcon dition al an d w iththe el em en tof rol e-pl ayin g; an d ( 4)
the in determ in ate cybertextin w hichtexton s are dyn am ic
an d u n predictabl e. T he w eakn es s of this s im pl if ied m odel is
thats om e n on l in eartexts , s u chas thos e thatare boths tatic
an d in determ in ate, f al l betw een the gen eral ized categories .
How ev er, itis n otu n com m on in cu l tu ral theorythat
gen eral ization m ean s l os s of precis ion ,.an d its hou l d al w ays
be w eighed again s tthe u s ef u l n es s an d con v en ien ce of the
s im pl if ication an d the f actthatam ore rigorou s an d
u n m itigated m odel exis ts .
T he res tof this es s aydis cu s s es eachof thes e f ou r
categories , s om e of the texts thatcan be s aid tobel on g to
them , theirattribu tes an d pecu l iarities , an d theirim portan ce
tol iterarytheories an d tothe practice of l iterarycriticis m .
T he R eaderl es s T ext
N on l in earitycan be achiev ed in m an yw ays , the s im pl es tof
w hichis as criptf orkin g ou tin tw odirection s on as u rf ace,
f orcin g its w itn es s ( the u s er)tochoos e on e pathin
pref eren ce toan other. In s u chacas e ( f orexam pl e, the dream
m aps in KathyAckers Bl ood an d Gu ts in HighSchool ), the
u s ercan im m ediatel yaf terw ards take the otherpathan d
thu s ev en tu al l yv iew al l parts of the s cripts im u l tan eou s l y?
T he v erbal os cil l ation created bytw oequ al l ypos s ibl e
com bin ation s , the choice of w hichis en tirel yu ptothe u s er,
produ ces an am bigu itydif f eren tf rom the u s u al poetic dou bl e
m ean in g of aw ord orphras e, becau s e there s eem tobe tw o
dif f eren tv ers ion s , n eitherof w hichcan exis tal on gs ide the
other, an d bothobv iou s l ydif f eren tf rom the textits el f . Like
19 9 4

52 . N on l in earity
O. A A A _<@ AA _A ._: A A A K A A --.; Aa_$....-- A A.A_4' } . A A._A__A
optical il l u s ion s , w e can im agin e f irs ton e, then the other, bu t
n otbothatthe s am e tim e. When w e l ook atthe w hol e of
s u chan on l in eartext, w e can n otread it; an d w hen w e read it,
w e can n ots ee the w hol e text. Som ethin g has com e betw een
u s an d the text, an d thatis ou rs el v es , tryin g toread. T his s el f -
con s ciou s n es s f orces u s totake res pon s ibil ityf orw hatw e
read an d toacceptthatitcan n ev erbe the textits el f . T he
text, f arf rom yiel din g its riches toou rcritical gaze, appears
tos edu ce u s , bu titrem ain s im m acu l ate, recedes , an d w e are
l ef tw ithou rpartial an d im pu re thou ghts , l ike u n w orthy
pil grim s bes eechin g an abs en tdeity.
How ev er, if atextcan n otbe con qu ered, itis al l the better
s u ited f orw ors hip. T he w al l -in s cription s of the tem pl es in
an cien tEgyptw ere of ten con n ected tw o-dim en s ion al l y( on
on e w al l )orthree-dim en s ion al l y( f rom w al l tow al l an d f rom
room toroom ), an d this l ayou tal l ow ed an on l in ear
arran gem en tof the rel igiou s textin accordan ce w iththe
s ym bol ic architectu ral l ayou tof the tem pl e.
Withou tdou bt, the m os tprom in en tan d popu l arn on l in ear
textin his torym u s tbe the f am ou s Chin es e w ork of oracu l ar
w is dom , IChin g orBook of Chan ges , on e of the greatcl as s ics of
an tiqu ity, w hichw as u s ed f orthou s an ds of years f or
m editation an d as an oracl e. Itis n ot, as is s om etim es s tated,
the ol des ttextin Chin es e an d w orl d l iteraryhis tory, bu titis
w el l ov erthree thou s an d years ol d an d origin ates f rom the
s ym bol s ys tem s aid tohav e been in v en ted ov erf iv e thou s an d
years agobythe l egen daryF u Hs i. Othern otabl es , am on g
them Kin g Wen , the Du ke of Chou , an d Con f u ciu s , hav e
dev el oped an d an n otated the textdow n throu ghthe ages ; an d
the textis s til l bein g rew ritten an d m u tatin g, adaptin g to
m odern s ocietyan d its paradigm s .
IChin g is m ade u pof s ixty-f ou rs ym bol s orhexagram s ,
w hichare the bin arycom bin ation s of s ixw hol e orbroken
( chan gin g)l in es ( 6 4= 2 6 ). Ahexagram ( s u chas n r. 49 :
K0/ R ev ol u tion )con tain s am ain texton an d s ixs m al l on es ,
on e f oreachl in e. Bym an ipu l atin g three coin s orf orty n in e
yarrow s tal ks accordin g toaran dom izin g prin cipl e, texton s
f rom tw ohexagram s are com bin ed, produ cin g on e ou tof
409 6 pos s ibl e s cripton s . T his s cripton con tain s the an s w erto
aqu es tion the u s erw rote dow n in adv an ce. T he extrem el y
cl ev eropen n es s of the f orm u l ation s , the s en s e of ritu al
in v ol v ed in throw in g the coin s ors tal ks , an d the s tran gel y
pers on al com m u n ication betw een the u s eran d the book
al m os tal w ays m ake an an s w erextracted f rom IChin g s eem
rel ev an tan d s om etim es ev en div in el yin s pired.
_A_._.Q
an d LiteraryT heory
U n l ike his toric texts w ithaf ixed expres s ion , s u chas
Beow u l f IChin g s eem s tos peak u n iqu el ytou s acros s the
m il l en n ia, n otas adis tan tm irrorthatcan be u n ders tood in a
phil ol ogical orrom an tic s en s e bu tas an en titythats om ehow
u n ders tan ds u s an d exis ts f oru s . T his al m os trel igiou s ef f ect
can be partl yexpl ain ed bythe repeated u pdates an d the f act
thatthe textw as in ten ded tobe u s ef u l an d directl yrel ev an t
toev en ts in peopl es l iv es , bu tits eem s tom e thatitis the
expl icitan d el aborate ritu al , l argel yu n chan ged throu ghthe
ages , thatcreates the textu al pres en ce thatal l ow s u s tobe
n aiv e u s ers n otreaders bu tagen ts of the text, cl os el y
rel ated tothe u s ers of three thou s an d years ago, des pite the
epis tem ol ogical in terv en tion s of tim e an d cu l tu re. T he Book
of Chan ges m ayn otbe the w orl d' s f irs ttext, bu titis certain l y
the f irs texperts ys tem bas ed on the prin cipl es of bin ary
com pu tin g thatv erym u chl aterbecam e au tom ated by
el ectricityan d the v acu u m tu be.
Bothtypes of textdis cu s s ed s of ars eem torej ectthe
pres en ce of the tradition al readerf igu re, as itis im pl ied an d
appl ied in the theories of l iteratu re. As an in div idu al , this
pal e an d u n con trov ers ial charactern ev erm attered m u chto
u s critics an yw ay, an d then on l yas acon s tru cton w hichto
han g the bas erpl eas u res of the text; he is ou rpooran d
predictabl e cou s in , s l av e tothe rhythm , l os tin the textu al
pl eas u re dom e l ike the bal l in apin bal l m achin e. Later, f orthe
reader-res pon s e theoris ts , he becam e athu m btack w ith
w hichtopin dow n the v ariabl e of l iterarym ean in g w hen it
cou l d n ol on gerbe l ocated in the text. Activ e orpas s iv e, the
readeris al w ays portrayed as areceiv erof the text, goin g
qu ietl yabou tthe bu s in es s of con s u m in g, con s tru ctin g
m ean in g on l y, af ixed bu tev ol v in g characteratthe en d of the
texts produ ction l in e, def in ed bythe con v en tion s an d
s trategies of readin g. Of cou rs e, itcan be argu ed thatthis
rel ation s hipis n odif f eren tf orn on l in eartexts , on ce the
s hock of an al ien f orm is gon e an d the particu l arcon v en tion
is u n ders tood an d m as tered. T his cou n terpoin t, w hichm ay
be cal l ed the Verf rem du n g-argu m en t, has m u chm erit, bu tit
ign ores the f actthatthe u n ders tan din g ( beyon d triv ial )of a
n on l in eartextcan n ev erbe acon s u m m ate u n ders tan din g,
becau s e the real ization of its s cript( an d n otj u s tits
m ean in g)bel on gs tothe in div idu al u s er, w hois acu tel yaw are
of his orherow n con s tru ctiv e participation . Sin ce the obj ect
is u n s tabl e bothin as yn tactic an d s em an tic s en s e, itcan n ot
be read, on l ygl im ps ed an d gu es s ed at. Mu chof the in itial
dis com f ortf el tbythe u s erof an on l in eartextis cau s ed byits
52 . N on l in earity
an d LiteraryT heory
n otbehav in g as areal texts hou l d; on ce the s tran gen es s is
gon e, the u s erkn ow s w hattoexpect, w hichis n ottoexpect
ev erythin g. T he u s ers l earn toaccepttheirpos ition as agen ts
of the text, s om etim es happil y, as in the cas e of the Book of
Chan ges , an d s om etim es u n happil y, as w iththe f orkin g
direction s texts . T he dif f eren ce betw een thes e tw otypes of
experien ce can be expl ain ed bythe pres en ce orabs en ce of an
es tabl is hed ( m ean in gf u l )ritu al , w hichm u s tabs ol v e the u s er
f rom the bu rden of readin g w hichin the cas e of n on l in earity
m aybe def in ed as the f ru s tratin g attem pttoharm on ize
con tradictorys cripton s f rom the s am e text. T he u s erof l
Chin g rel ates the s cripton directl ytohis orherin div idu al
s itu ation , an d the in terpretation , f ol l ow in g the ritu al of
produ cin g the hexagram , can on l ybe don e bythe in div idu al .
T his f al l f rom readers hips hou l d n otbe con f u s ed w iththe
cl ev erdes tabil ization ef f ects of s o-cal l ed m etaf iction s , in w hich
the oppos ite poin t readers hipcon f irm ed is m ade. Ev en
( an d es pecial l y)the f am ou s l yu n readabl e texts s u bv ers iv el y
obs erv e the m etaphys ics of the gen eral reader:the doorw ou l d
n otbe l ocked if the ow n erdid n otbel iev e in thiev es .
F ew texts driv e hom e the poin tof the readerl es s textm ore
abu n dan tl ythan R aym on d Q u en eau s Cen tMil l e Mil l iards de
P oem es ( 19 6 1).13 In this s hortbook, ten pages are cu tin to
f ou rteen on e-l in e s trips , an d the u s eris in v ited tof l ipthe
s trips in div idu al l y, tof orm 100,000,000,000,000dif f eren t
com bin ation s . As ittu rn s ou t, eachof the 140s trips ( or
texton s )is as on n etl in e, an d the res u l tof an ycom bin ation is
as cripton in the f orm of af orm al l yperf ects on n et. Here is
s on n etn u m ber6 59 57 6 58 052 316 :
Q u an d l ' u n av equ e Iau tre au s s itots ym pathis e
qu e con v oitaitces ts u ru n e horde des crocs
des tres in decis v ou s parl en ts an s f ran chis e
il n e trou v e au s s is ec qu u n _s ac de v ieu xf ayots
L' u n etIau tre arais on n on l af ou l e in s ou m is e
qu icl ochard dev en an tj etaits es oripeau x
al l eral agran d v il l e es tbien u n e en trepris e
l en f an tpu rau xyeu xbl eu s aim e l es berl in gots
Du pol e aR os ariof aitu n e bel l e trotte
on gif f l e l e m arm otqu ipl on ge s am en otte
l ors qu on rev ien tau porten es s u yan tu n grain
N e f al l aitpas s il oin agiters es brel oqu es
on tran s ports etl e m arbre etdebris etd. f roqu es
l ag m el l it v raie accu s e s on des tin .
theN EWMEDIAR EADER
T his m ayn otbe the m os texcitin g of l yrical poetry, bu tit
is u n iqu e in av erys pecial s en s e: Ihav e n ev erread itbef ore,
an d chan ces are thatn eitherhas an ybodyel s e. Whow rote it?
Was itm e, orQ u en eau ( an d if s o, in 19 6 1 or19 9 2 ?), or
perhaps the textits el f ?Wil l an ybodyev erread n u m ber6 5
9 57 6 58 052 317 ?F oron e pers on toread al l the s on n ets is
cl earl yim pos s ibl e, an d ev en av erys m al l f raction s ayten
m il l ion w ou l d take atl eas ton e hu n dred years . Cen tMil l e
Mil l iards de P oem es ef f ectiv el ym ocks the theoretical n otion s
of w riteran d reader, w hil e the pow erof the textis cl ev erl y
dem on s trated. ( Whatitdoes toou rn otion of the s on n etis
perhaps betterl ef tu n s aid.)Obv iou s l ythe pos s ibil ities of the
book as f orm atare bein g s train ed tothe l im it, com m en ts
I/ Vil l iam P au l s on , w hogoes on topropos e P oem es as an ideal
can didate f oracom pu terized v ers ion . Con trarytoP au l s on ,
Is u gges tthatthe f actthatitis abook is j u s tas s ign if ican t;
an d if its eem s eas ytoim pl em en tas acom pu terprogram ,
thatis becau s e of the s im pl e an d u n s train ed el egan ce of its
idea.
T he dif f eren ce betw een thes e experien ces an d m y
experien ce w ithBoorm an s Zardoz is thatin the l attercas e I
cou l d, bas ed on m ycu l tu ral com peten ce, dedu ce the actu al
exis ten ce of av ers ion thatw as in depen den tof m e an d the
pos s ibil ityof aproperreadin g thatcou l d be con du cted byan
eas il yim agin ed properreader, bu tn otbym e. In other
w ords , l rej ected m yreadin g becau s e ittol d m e thatIw as
n otareal reader, s in ce w hatIw as readin g w as n otthe real
text. T he s hock of dis cov erin g thaton e is n otareadercan
on l yhappen ( an d on l yacciden tal l y)w ithal in eartext,
becau s e thatis the on l ytextin w hichthe m etaphys ics of a
real readerhas an ycredibil ityan d the on l ytextin w hichthe
readercan exis tas aredu cibl e, accou n tabl e f igu re. In
addition , readerhas u n til n ow al w ays been def in ed by
l iterarytheoris ts w ithon l ythe l in eartextin m in d. If w e
w an ttokn ow w hatis goin g on betw een n on l in eartexts an d
theiru s ers , w e m u s tcom e u pw ithacon ceptthatim pl ies
bothm ore an d l es s than readin g an d redef in es l iterary
s atis f action as w el l as herm en eu tic behav ior.
HypertextIs N otWhatY ou ( May)T hin k
Hypertext, f oral l its packagin g an d theories , is an am azin gl y
s im pl e con cept. Itis m erel yadirectcon n ection f rom on e
pos ition in atexttoan other. How ev er, w hen w e s peak of
hypertext, itcan s ign if yatl eas tthree dif f eren tthin gs : ( 1)the
gen eral con cept, as ou tl in ed abov e; ( 2 )an im pl em en tation of
Q -.-_-A A A @ _-.-.. AAQ -ie-,A A _.-.~.---Q AApes _-....-Q A -xi_Q A..A.A.A A A AQ ~,A_AA.....A A
the con cept, u s u al l yacom pu terappl ication cal l ed a
hypertexts ys tem , w ithidios yn cras ies an d en han cem en ts
thatm ake itdif f eren tf rom others ys tem s ; an d ( 3)atext
em bedded in ( an d def in ed by)s u chas ys tem . As an
u n f ortu n ate res u l t, m an yas s u m ption s m ade abou tthe
gen eral con ceptof hypertextare real l yabou tas pecif ic
im pl em en tation . Added tothatare the pol itical con j ectu res
abou tthe ben ev ol en tef f ects on the s tru ctu res of pow er
betw een w riters an d readers , teachers an d s tu den ts ,
gov ern m en tan d the pu bl ic, in w hichthe good gu ys s eem to
be w in n in g, atl eas tin theory. On l ythe f irs tof thes e rel ation -
s hips w il l be dis cu s s ed here, an d on l ybecau s e of the
as s u m ption s abou tthe ef f ects of hypertextu pon the f igu res
of au thoran d reader. ( Of cou rs e, im pl icitin the term
hypertextis as phere of m ean in gs beyon d the operation al .
T hos e w how ou l d pl ayon this poten tial can n otcom pl etel y
es cape its dark s ide: the exces s iv e, the abn orm al , the s ickl y.)
Al thou ghthe term hypertextw as f irs tu s ed byT heodorH.
N el s on in 19 6 5( com pare N el s on 19 87 ), the m odern origin
of the ideais gen eral l yaccepted tos tem f rom Van n ev arBu s h,
w hos e articl e As We MayT hin k ( 19 45)des cribed apos s ibl e
s ol u tion tothe s cien tis ts probl em of keepin g u pw iththe
grow in g m ou n tain of res earch, in the f orm of as ortof
m echan ized priv ate f il e an d l ibrary, am achin e f ors torin g,
an n otatin g, retriev in g, an d l in kin g in f orm ation :the m em ex.
Al thou ghBu s hem phas izes the trail the l in earorderin g of
in teres tin g item s f rom the m aze of m aterial s av ail abl e he
al l ow s his u s ertogoof f on l ittl e s ide excu rs ion s . Bu s hw as n o
techn o pes s im is t( atthe en d of the articl e he ev en en v is ion s
the n eu ral j ack of the 19 80s cyberpu n k s cien ce f iction l ), an d
w e can hardl ybl am e him f orn otcom in g u pw ithacom pl ete
w eb v iew on hypertextu al ityin 19 45. Bu tits hou l d be
poin ted ou tthatin his f as cin atin g v is ion - his poetics
n on l in earityis as m u chaprobl em ( the m aze)as as ol u tion
( the trail ). Where he cl earl ycon cu rs w ithhis apos tl es is in
his f ocu s on u s er-created l in ks an d an n otation s . T his m ay
s eem m ore radical than itactu al l yis , w iths u bv ers iv e pol itical
con s equ en ces f orthe w orl d of l iteratu re an d art; bu tBu s hs
u s eris cl earl ym odel ed on the tradition al academ ic au thor,
w hocan carryou this critical com paris on s an d an n otation s
of s ou rces w iththe s am e s eren e dis tan ce as bef ore, on l y
m u chm ore ef f icien tl y.
T he prin cipl e of hypertexts hou l d n otbe l in ked toa
particu l arideol ogyorpoetics becau s e itcan be u s ed ( an d of
o I39 9 52 . N on l in earity
an d LiteraryT heory
cou rs e m is u s ed)bym an y. Moreov er, w hen as l iterarycritics
w e exam in e ahypertextu al text, w e s hou l d take care n otto
con f u s e its in terpretation w iththe au thor reader
rel ation s hipm ade pos s ibl e bythe ideol ogyof its hypertext
s ys tem an d then as s ign the con cl u s ion s toagen eral theory
of l iteraryhypertext. V
Hypertexttheoris ts f requ en tl yem pl oys patial im ageryto
des cribe the rel ation s m ade pos s ibl e byl in ks an d texton s :
m aps , three-dim en s ion al ity, textu al l an ds capes , n av igation ,
topography, an d the l ike. T his rhetoric f ail s tohide the f act
thatthe m ain f eatu re of hypertextis dis con tin u ity the
j u m p the s u dden dis pl acem en tof the u s ers pos ition in the
text. P u re hypertextis actu al l yam on g the l eas ttopographical
m odes of n on l in earity. T oeas e this s itu ation , hypertext
s ys tem s of ten in trodu ce addition al f eatu res :ov erv iew s , in dex
v iew s , w eb v iew s , texton l is ts , an d s oon . Som e w ou l d
u n dou btedl yargu e thatthes e in s tru m en ts are al s ohypertext,
bu ts in ce w e w ou l d recogn ize atextas hypertextw ithou tan y
of them , w e s hou l d al s oen deav ortodis cu s s the l iterary
ram if ication s of hypertextw ithou tthem . When theyare
in cl u ded in al iteraryhypertext, theys u bs tan tial l yaf f ectthe
textu al ritu al , u s u al l ytoapoin tatw hichitis dif f icu l tto
s peak abou tthe s am e text.
Atextthatal readyhas becom e can on ical in the dis cu s s ion s
of l iteraryhypertextis Michael Joyces Af tern oon , as tory."
Com pris in g ( accordin g tothe in f orm ation s u ppl ied at
s tartu p)539 texton s an d 9 50l in ks , Af tern oon bothcel ebrates
an d s u bv erts hypertexts tru ctu re. T he f irs tof its kin d, it
in trigu in gl ydem on s trates the poten tial of hypertextu al ity
f orl iteraryexperim en tan d expl ores the ef f ects of
n on l in earityon n arration .
T here are n ov is ibl e l in ks in Af tern oon , an d the u s erm ay
cl ick on an yw ord in the s cripton s tos ee if theyyiel d ( l in k to)
s om ethin g s pecial . If theydon ot, orthe u s erpres s es the
retu rn key, the n extdef au l ts cripton in the pres en tchain
occu pies the s creen A. In addition , the u s erm aycal l u pam en u
w ithexpl icitl in ks , bu tthis can be adis ru ptiv e el em en tin the
otherw is e s u gges tiv e an d en igm atic ride on the l in k s tream .
T ocom pl icate m atters , s om e l in ks are con dition al ; theyare
av ail abl e on l yif the u s erhas earl iertrav ers ed certain
u n s pecif ied s cripton s . As an yon e f am il iarw ithhypertext
program s kn ow s , this in terf ace is v eryu n u s u al :an in v is ibl e
l in k is as u n heard of as an ew s paperarticl e w ithou ta
headl in e. T he con dition al l in k is j u s tas u n can n yan d m akes
52 . N on l in earity
an d LiteraryT heory
the texts eem tohav e am in d of its ow n .8 T hu s Af tern oon ,
argu abl ythe f irs tl iteraryhypertext, tu rn s ou ttobe
s om ethin g m ore:acybertextdis gu is ed in hypertexts cl othin g.
Itis hard tocl as s if yAf tern oon as an arrativ e ( oras tory,
as the textparadoxical l ytitl es its el f ). Al thou ghw ithin m os t
of the in div idu al s cripton s the v oice of af irs tpers on
n arratorrel ates ev en ts toan arratee in atradition al m an n er,
the u n predictabl e chan gin g of s cen es ( as on e trail of rel ated
s cripton s abru ptl ys tops an d an otherbegin s )con s tan tl y
u n derm in es the w ou l d-be readers attem pttoiden tif yw ith
the n arratee, as w el l as the iden tif ication of the n arratoran d
the ( im pl ied)au thororexoAn arrator, as itw ere. In Af tern oon
there s eem s tobe an an ti-n arratoratw ork, giv in g the
n arrator( an d m e)ahard tim e. In l in earexperim en tal texts
the s u bv ers iv e ef f ectis s om etim es achiev ed byadis tan ce
betw een n arratoran d n arratee an d s om etim es bythe l os s
of n arratee~ the n arratoras s ol ips is t. In Af tern oon ,
how ev er, the rel ation betw een n arratoran d n arratee
appears rel ativ el yn orm al ; w hil e the dis tan ce betw een the
u s eran d n arratee on on e s ide an d n arratoran d au thoron
the otheris s tretched tothe l im itbythe u n rel iabl e l in ks . F ar
f rom f eel in g l ike Lan dow s reader-au thor ( 117 ), w hohas
n oprobl em con s tru ctin g m ean in g an d n arrativ e f rom
f ragm en ts prov ided bys om eon e el s e, If el tcon s tan tl y
s idetracked, tu rn in g an d tu rn in g in the dil atin g text, dead.
s u re thatim portan tthin gs w ere bein g w his pered j u s t
beyon d m yhearin g. Ican n otden ythatitw as av ery
f as cin atin g l iteraryexperien ce. I
Itcan be argu ed thatthe textIen cou n tered w as ( in m ore
than on e s en s e)n otthe s am e as the on e dis cu s s ed byStu art
Mou l throp, J. Dav id Bol ter, an d Lan dow . F rom their
accou n ts itappears thattheyu s ed adif f eren tan d m ore
adv an ced v ers ion of Af tern oon s hypertexts ys tem , the
au thorv ers ion of Storys pace, w hichal l ow s w ritin g an d
addin g l in ks , an d m os ts ign if ican tl ycon tain s agl obal v iew , a
graphical repres en tation of the topol ogical rel ation s
betw een al l texton s an d l in ks . Myv ers ion w as in
R eadin gs pace, the s tan d-al on e readerprogram that
Af tern oon s pu bl is herdis tribu tes . Con s equ en tl y, m y
en cou n ter, on e s cripton atatim e, w ithAf tern oon w as v ery
dif f eren tf rom theirs ; f orthe gl obal v iew , ev en if theydid n ot
u s e it, gav e them as af etyn etthatIl acked. Whil e Iw as l os t
in the l abyrin th, theycou l d be u pthere w ithits creator
bu ton l yu ptoapoin t. Whatev erchan ges theym ight
im pos e, itw ou l d on l ybe on theirow n copies ; Joyces text
theN EWMEDIAR EADER
w ou l d s tan d u n chan ged. In this , hypertextis n otdif f eren t
f rom paper-bas ed l in eartexts . T he bal an ce of pow er
betw een readers an d w riters is n otchan ged byhypertext
al on e, n orbyits en han cem en ts , bu tbythe pol itical an d
econ om ic l ogic of s ociety( tou s e s om e s l ightl yin accu rate
cl iches ). T his m aychan ge, u n derthe in f l u en ce of
techn ol ogical chan ge an d otherthin gs ; bu tu n til itdoes ,
hypertextis j u s ton e m ore in s tru m en tin s om e
repres en tation al en terpris e, toborrow aphras e f rom
Sam u el Del an y.
T oexpan d the n otion of hypertextbys u bs u m in g other
com pu ter-m ediated textu al com m u n ication phen om en as u ch
as U s en et( s ee Bol ter, 2 9 )orin tertextu al al l u s ion ( s ee
Lan dow , 10)w il l on l yren derthe con ceptu s el es s f orcritical
dis cou rs e. Lan dow s term im pl icithypertext im pl ies thatan
al l u s ion an d al in k are es s en tial l ythe s am e, bu tw e on l yn eed
ahypertextw ithbothl in ks an d al l u s ion s tos ee thatthey
w ork dif f eren tl yan d m u s tbe con s idered tw os eparate
l iteraryin s tru m en ts . Bol ter, eagertoprocl aim the en d of the
prin ted book, pl ays al on g w iththe m etaphys ics of
l ogocen tris m an d redu ces prin ton papertobarel yacorn erof
its m u l tif orm n atu re:Aprin ted book gen eral l ys peaks w itha
s in gl e v oice an d as s u m es acon s is ten tcharacter, apers on a,
bef ore its au dien ce.2 F orthe el ectron ic text, how ev er, this
n ol on gerappl ies , becau s e itis n otaphys ical artif act. T ogo
again s tBol ters rhetoric, Iw ou l d s aythatin s tead of hav in g
tw os ets of oppos ed attribu tes , on e con n ected tothe
prin ted an d on e tothe el ectron ic text, w e hav e an u m ber
of dif f eren ttexttypes , s om e paperbas ed an d s om e digital ,
w iththe greaterv arietyam on g the digital on es , an d the
paperbas ed m os tcen tral l ypl aced. T hu s , there m aybe m ore
dif f eren ce betw een tw odigital texts than betw een eitherof
thos e an d apapertext. Al l u s ion , ref eren ce, qu otation , an d
l in kin g are al l dif f eren tf u n ction s of in tertextu al ity, j u s tas
U s en etn ew s grou ps , el ectron ic m ail in g l is ts , hypertext
s ys tem s , paperback bes ts el l ers , an d f l ys heets repres en t
dif f eren tm odes of textu al ity.
As the an al ys is of Af tern oon in dicates , l iteraryhypertexts
s eem topos e in teres tin g pers pectiv es f ors tu den ts of
l iteratu re. T he qu es tion of n on l in earn arrativ e v ers u s an ti-
n arrativ e s hou l d n otbe decided bythe ev iden ce f rom on l y
on e text( ev en if itexis ts in tw ov ers ion s ), an d perhaps w e
n eed an ew term in ol ogythatl ets u s n am e the repres en tation
an d com pos ition prin cipl e thatrel ates ton on l in earityas
n arrativ e rel ates tol in earity.
__
19 9 4
oAAAAA A oAA AtAAA AAAAAAoA c AA-AA Ao As AA l 52 . N on l in earity
How ev er, on e tradition al term s eem s al m os tperf ectto
des cribe l iteraryhypertexts . Af tern oon does n otrepres en ta
break w iththe n ov el . On the con trary, itf in ds its pl ace in a
l on g tradition of experim en tal l iteratu re in w hichon e of the
m ain s trategies is tos u bv ertan d res is tn arrativ e. T he n ov el
( the n ew ), f rom Cerv an tes tothe R om an N ou v eau , has
al w ays been an an ti-gen re, an d Af tern oon is bu tits l ates t
con f irm ation .
Deathan d Cybern etics in the
Ev er-en din g T ext
I' m n ots u re thatIhav e as tory. An d if l do, Im n ot
s u re thatev erythin g is n ' tm ys tory.
Michael Joyce, Af tern oon , as tory
If l iteraryhypertextis an ew f orm of com pu ter-m ediated
textu al ity, cybertext. is af airl yol d on e, goin g back tothe
19 6 0s if n otl on ger. Cyheris deriv ed f rom cybern etics , the
n am e of N orbertWien ers s cien ce of con trol an d
com m u n ication in the an im al an d the m achin e, again
deriv ed f rom the Greek kybern t s , s teers m an ( com pare
gov ern or). Acybertextis as el f Achan gin g text, in w hich
s cripton s an d trav ers al f u n ction s are con trol l ed byan
im m an en tcybern etic agen t, eitherm echan ical orhu m an .
T here are m an ys pecies of cybertext, an d m ydis tin ction
betw een determ in ate an d in determ in ate tries tos etu pan
im portan tdiv is ion betw een tw om ain grou ps :thos e thatcan
be predicted ( f orexam pl e, on e s etof u s eraction s w il l al w ays
yiel d the s am e s etof s cripton s )an d thos e thatcan n ot. T he
s econ d grou pw il l be dis cu s s ed in the n exts ection .
T he his toryof com pu ter-m ediated cybertexts can be
traced totw odif f eren ts ou rces , bothorigin atin g f rom f iel ds
of com pu ters cien ce, an d bothw iththeirm em orabl e u r-texts .
T he f irs t, El iza, created byJos ephWeizen bau m in 19 6 6 , w as
an earl ys u cces s in the f iel d cal l ed artif icial in tel l igen ce. T he
m otherof al l dial ogu e program s ( P arry, SHR DLU , R acter, an d
cou n tl es s others ), El izapl ayed the partof aps ychotherapis t,
as kin g the u s erqu es tion s an d con s tru ctin g f u rtherqu es tion s
u s in g in f orm ation f rom the an s w ers . U s u al l y, dial ogu es
tu rn ed ratherP in teres qu e as s oon as the u s ers dis cov ered
El izas v erym echan ical n atu re; bu tWeizen bau m s in v en tion
ef f ectiv el ydem on s trated m an s n eeds f orcom m u n ication , n o
m atterw ithw hom ( orin deed w hat), an d an im portan t
l iterarygen reA the artif icial con v ers ation al is t -w as born .
an d LiteraryT heoiy
T he others ou rce is kn ow n as the cl as s ic gam e Adv en tu re
the f irs tof the highl ypopu l arcom pu tergam e gen re of
adv en tu re gam es . Accordin g toJon Lan es tedt, Adv en tu re w as
f irs tal an ds cape s im u l ation of Col os s al Cav e in Ken tu cky,
topographed as aF ortran program byWil l iam Crow therat
the en d of the 19 6 0s , then en han ced byDon Woods toattain
its adv en tu re f orm , an d l aterm odif ied an d ported byothers
tocou n tl es s com pu terpl atf orm s as the hom e com pu ter
expl os ion s tarted atthe en d of the 19 7 0s . Its techn ical
s tru ctu re becam e the paradigm f orav eryl arge n u m berof
s im il argam es , ev en af term ore adv an ced types , s u chas
In f ocom s Zork, becam e com m ercial l yav ail abl e.
T he bas ic s tru ctu re of Adv en tu re can be des cribed n otas a
topographybu tas an ergography, the textu al l yrepres en ted
l aboriou s progres s of the m ain character/ n arratee/ u s er; the
texts you . Y ou s tas k is tof in d al l the treas u re an d kil l the
appropriate m on s ters w hil e av oidin g gettin g kil l ed ors tu ck
orl os tin the topographical m aze. T he u s ercon trol s you by
typin g com m an ds , s u chas kil l trol l , orgrab gol d, thatare
in terpreted byas im pl e v erb-obj ectpars er. Direction s can be
s pecif ied bys im pl e l etters :n f orn orth, d f ordow n etc.
Depen din g on the u s ers in pu t, the textw il l is s u e s hort
s cripton s des cribin g the l an ds cape, pos s ibl e exits tothe n ext
room , an yobj ects l yin g abou t, orthe res u l tof the u s ers l as t
com m an d. Here is as horts am pl e of the s tartof as es s ion
w ithAdv en tu re ( m ycom m an ds are in capital l etters ):
Wel com e toAdv en tu rel l Wou l d you l ike in s tru ction s ?
N
P l eas e an s w erthe qu es tion !
N O
Y ou are s tan din g atthe en d of aroad bef ore as m al l
brick bu il din g. Arou n d you is af ores t. As m al l s tream
f l ow s ou tof the bu il din g an d dow n agu l l y.
BU ILDIN G
Y ou are in s ide abu il din g, aw el l hou s e f oral arge
s prin g.
T here are s om e keys on the grou n d here.
T here is as hin ybras s l am pn earby.
T here is f ood here.
T here is abottl e of w aterhere.
T AKEKEY S
Ok.
LEAVE
Y ou are aten d of road again .
52 . N on l in earity
an d LiteraryT heoiy
DOI/ U N
Y ou are in av al l eyin the f ores tbes ide as tream
tu m bl in g al on g arockybed.
DOWN
Atyou rf eetal l the w aterof the s tream s pl as hes in toa
2 -in chs l itin the rock. Dow n s tream the s tream bed is
bare rock.
DOWN ST R EAM
Y ou don tf itthrou ghatw o-in chs l it! _
Y ou re ats l itin s tream bed.
Adv en tu re an d m os ttexts l ike itare determ in ate,
in tran s ien t, an d in tratexton ical l ydyn am ic, w ithcom pl etel y
con trol l ed acces s tos cripton s . T he u s ers f u n ction takes the
f orm of rol e-pl ayin g, s in ce the u s eras s u m es s trategic
res pon s ibil ityf orthe n arratee. As w ithAf tern oon , thes e texts
of ten giv e m e af eel in g of bein g l os t, the f eel in g thatthe real
action is takin g pl ace el s ew here in the text; bu tin adv en tu re
gam es the en n u iis u s u al l yrepl aced bydeath, w hen the you
has reached adead en d in the topographyorin v oked s om e
deadl yres pon s e byaw ron g action . Deathin the cybertextis
as tran ge kin d of death, how ev er, in rel ation todeathbothin
f iction an d in real l if e. R atherthan s ign if yin g cl os u re the
en d cyberdeath s ign if ies as ortof rein carn ation of the
m ain character:deathim pl ies begin n in g. T his phen om en on
m os tcl earl yes tabl is hes the dif f eren ce betw een m ain
character, n arratee, an d u s er. T he m ain characteris s im pl y
dead, eras ed, an d m u s tbegin again . T he n arratee, on the
otherhan d, is expl icitl ytol d w hathappen ed, u s u al l yin a
s arcas tic m an n er, an d of f ered the chan ce tos tartan ew . T he
u s er, aw are of al l this in aw ayden ied tothe n arratee, l earn s
f rom the m is takes an d prev iou s experien ce an d is abl e topl ay
adif f eren tgam e.
Ju s tas deathin the determ in ate cybertextis akin d of
u n en d, the en d of the cybertextis akin d of u n deathal s ocon -
trarytof iction . T he en d of acybertext( w hen the u s erqu its )
can be eithers u cces s f u l ( the u s erw in s )oru n s u cces s f u l ( the
gam e is n ots ol v ed). T he f irs tcas e den ies the s atis f action that
can be experien ced atthe en d of agood, tradition al epic,
s in ce the you rem ain s in the textaf tercom pl etin g the
adv en tu res , bu tthere is n othin g m ore todo. Ev en w hen the
textin cl u des s om e s ortof cerem on yof v ictory, itcan n ot
prov ide the tradition al bu il d u pan d rel eas e of ten s ion that
the readers of f iction n orm al l yexpect. In Aris totel ian term s ,
the en d is m arked byperipetyn otcathars is . If the en d is
u n s u cces s f u l , this toom ean s aban don m en tof the you , w hich
theN EWMEDIAR EADER
then rem ain s in the textas aghos tin the m achin e:n otl iv in g,
n otproperl ybu ried, an d w ithacau s e l ef tu n f in is hed.
If the abs en ts tru ctu re of n arrativ e is the keyprobl em in
l iteraryhypertext, in determ in ate cybertextthe abs en t
s tru ctu re is the pl ot. Sin ce w ithou tau s erthere can be n o
action ( praxis )in adeterm in ate cybertext, the con ceptof
s tory( f ahu l a)is m ean in gl es s . In f iction the s torydeterm in es
an d hides behin d the pl ot, w hichprodu ces the action ,
w hereas in cybertextthe pl otits el f is hidden , an d s othe
dis cu rs iv e cau s al ityis rev ers ed:action determ in es ( ors eeks in
v ain f or)the pl ot, w hichif f ou n d does n otprodu ce an ythin g
in teres tin g, on l y( barel y)cl os u re. Al thou ghthere is a
n arrator, becau s e of the n arratees s ign if ican tin terru ption s
there can be n on arrativ e, on l yn arration . T he goal of this
dial ogu e is totryou tpos s ibl e pl ots u n til the s hoe f its :the
u s eris pl ayin g f orthe pl ot.
An thon yN ies z an d N orm an Hol l an d, in theirearl yarticl e
on w hattheycal l ed in teractiv e f iction ( acon ceptthat
corres pon ds todeterm in ate cybertext, if on e dis regards their
def in ition of it), con ten d thatIn teractiv e f iction has becom e
pos s ibl e on l yw iththe adv en tof high-s peed digital
com pu ters thatare capabl e of han dl in g w ords .2 2 How ev er,
w hen theycom pare com pu ter-bas ed adv en tu re gam es to
paper-bas ed on es , the on l ydif f eren ce theycan f in d is that
the l atterdon otyiel d the s en s e of tru e dial ogu e thaton e
gets f rom com pu terized in teractiv e f iction . Whattheym ean
is thatthe u s erdoes n ottype w ords on the s creen an d w atch
the res pon s e. ( T he s en s e of tru e dial ogu e is hard totake
s eriou s l y.)In f act, agam e book s u chas T he Mon eySpider( of
the type thatin s tru cts , If you w an ttohearabou tSchm idt,
tu rn to2 7 0, an d if you w an ttohearabou tP opper, tu rn to
9 0)tel l s the u s ertow rite on its pages tom approgres s .
When cl as s if ied bythe categories of the v ariate m odel , T he
Mon eySpider, j u s tl ike Adv en tu re, is determ in ate, in tran s ien t,
an d in tratexton ical l ydyn am ic ( s in ce the u s erbyw ritin g
chan ges atl eas ton e texton ), w ithcom pl etel ycon trol l ed
acces s tos cripton s ( itis pos s ibl e tocheat, of cou rs e, bu tthat
can be don e in Af tern oon too). T his is n ocoin ciden ce, becau s e
the gam e book gen re w as in partin s pired byan d adapted
f rom the com pu ter-m ediated adv en tu re gam e:an in teres tin g
exam pl e of how the prin ted book can s u bs u m e the
el ectron ic text, if the m arketdem an ds it.
Q A A _.......Q ._ - A Q _.......-.__....._.Q .A_A_..__A..........Q - ______.._.o" Q ._
A<> --...............-__._-~-0-A- l > 19 9 52 . N on l in earity
T rav el s in Cybertextu al ity
As the f iel d of artif icial in tel l igen ce expan ded, its oon
ov erl apped w iththatof topographyan d w orl d s im u l ation
an d produ ced s torygen erators an d m odel s f orrepres en tin g
action s an d characters . Later, res earchtook an expl icit
in teres tin the adv en tu re gam e, dev el opin g com pl exm odel s
of the in teraction betw een au s erAcon trol l ed characteran d
artif icial pers on s w ithin as im u l ated w orl d, f orexam pl e, the
Oz P roj ectof the Sim u l ated R eal ities Grou patCarn egie
Mel l on U n iv ers ity. Su chs ys tem s can be cl as s if ied as
in determ in ate cybertexts , s in ce the l ev el of com pl exityan d
the f l exibil ityof u s erin pu t, l ike expl icitl yprogram m ed
ran dom behav ior, m ake s cripton s u n predictabl e.
In teres tin gl y, am ain goal of adv en tu re gam e theoris ts s u ch
as Bren daLau rel an d others is tobe abl e tocon trol w hat
theycal l the pl ot. T he u s er-characterw il l be al l ow ed s om e
l eew ay, bu tbyu s e of P l ayw right, an experts ys tem w ith
kn ow l edge of dram atic s tru ctu re ( perhaps n ottotal l yu n l ike
an in tel l igen tv ers ion of Af tern oon s an tiAn arrator), the
s itu ation s an d action s w ou l d be caref u l l yorches trated tof it
its m odel of appropriate dram a. Al thou ghthis aes thetical l y
m otiv ated poetics has the goal of creatin g w el l -f orm ed
dram atic u n ity, itis hard n ottos ee the poten tial f orcon f l ict
betw een the u s eran d this deu s in m achin a. As the his toryof
the n ov el has s how n , the f orces of carn iv al is m w il l w ork
cen trif u gal l yagain s tthe l aw of gen re in an ys im u l ated s ocial
s itu ation . Atl as t, in the cybertext, the u s ercan becom e a
l ittl e akin toan au thor n ot, Ihas ten toadd, tothe au thor
of the cybertext( an d perhaps the con ception of au thor
s hou l d n otbe s tretched this f ar), bu tperhaps , s ay, toa
n ov el is tof the n in eteen thcen tu ry.
T he earl ydeterm in ate texts , s u chas Adv en tu re an d El iza,
s eem in gl yin v ited the u s ertoparticipate, bu ts oon rev eal ed
thatthis w as im pos s ibl e, an d thats u bordin ation w as the
n am e of the gam e. T he u s ercou l d on l yf il l , orm ore typical l y
f ail tof il l the n arrow track of the texts hidden pl ot; an d the
texts ev ol v ed topl ayon this f ail u re, as tes tif ied bythe of ten
( an d s om etim es u n in ten ded)iron ic an d hu m orou s res pon s e
tothe u s ers con tra-gen eric activ ities ( f orexam pl e, drop
dead Y ou re n otcarryin g thatl ).
In determ in ate cybertexts hou l d be s een as am ov em en t
n otagain s t, bu tbeyon d gen re. As the s im u l ation of s ocial
s tru ctu re becom es richer, pl otcon trol becom es in creas in gl y
dif f icu l t; an d itis eas ytopredictthe decen tered cybertextin
an d LiteraryT heory
T I' I I.' Il ' IgO Of the Cabl e": w hichs tories , pl ots , an d cou n terpl ots aris e n atu ral l y f rom
the au ton om ou s m ov em en ts of the cybern etic con s tru cts .
Al readyf ree of n arrativ e, this Bau dril l ardian n ightm are if
thatis w hatitis ( com pare Mou l throp, Hypertextan d the
Hyperreal ) prom is es m an ym ore es capes : f rom pl otan d
pl otters ( au thors an d au thorAm achin es ), f rom gen re an d
con tra-gen erity, an d f rom the s ocial s el f . If its u cceeds , the
textu al pl eas u re m achin e cou l d be s aid tohav e es caped ev en
f rom s im u l ation an d becom e an em u l ation , as u ppl em en t as
dan gerou s as theycom e.
As al w ays , w e don othav e tow aitf orthe textu al m achin es
tocatchu p. T heyal readyhav e. T he tel egraph, the s in gin g
w ire, is acon s picu ou s l yu n s u n g heroin m os this tories of
com m u n ication m In v en ted in 17 9 3 byCl au de Chappe, the
f irs tm odern tel egraphw as optical , n otel ectric, im pl em en ted
as achain of s em aphore tow ers in F ran ce. Laterthe
Am erican Sam u el Mors e con s tru cted his el ectrom agn etic
tel egraph, an d in 1844s etu pal in e betw een Bal tim ore an d
Was hin gton , thu s redef in in g the m ean in g of the w ord
com m u n ication . Areas on f orm ediatheoris ts om is s ion of
the tel egraphcou l d be thatitis categorical l yu n cl ean ,
depen din g equ al l yon m ateiial an d im m aterial techn ol ogies ,
an d theref ore an em barras s m en ttothe greatdiv ide betw een
prin tan d el ectron ic m edia.
F rom the s tart, the el ectric tel egraphw as u s ed f ortextu al
f u n an d gam es . Mars hal l McLu han tel l s this s tory:When a
grou pof Oxf ord u n dergradu ates heard thatR u dyard Kipl in g
receiv ed ten s hil l in gs f orev eryw ord he w rote, theys en thim
ten s hil l in gs bytel egram du rin g theirm eetin g:P l eas e s en d u s
on e of you rv erybes tw ords . Back cam e the w ord af ew
m in u tes l ater:T han ks .2 7
T his is n otthe pl ace toretrace the f u n dam en tal chan ges to
s ociety, tim e, an d s pace brou ghtabou tbythe tel egraph, bu tit
s hou l d be n oted thattel egraphan d l aterthe tel exw as the
m ethod of in s tan tgl obal textu al com m u n ication du rin g a
period of m ore than "ahu n dred years , bef ore digital com pu ter
n etw orks cam e in tobein g in the 19 6 0s an d ' 7 0s . How ev er,
w iththe com pu ters abil itytohan dl e m ore than tw o
com m u n icators s im u l tan eou s l y, n ew types of n on l ocal textu al
f oraw ere m ade pos s ibl e. F irs tthere w ere the m ain f ram e
com pu ters w iththeiru s ercom m u n ities s en din g m es s ages to
eachotheran d s of orth, then com m u n ication betw een
com pu ters ( an d theiru s ers )ov eradis tan ce, bytel ephon e w ire
ordedicated cabl e n etw orks . Withthe em ergen ce of the
n etw orks an d the u s e of m odem s , m an ydif f eren tkin ds of
52 . N on l in earity
an d LiteraryT heory
textu al com m u n ication ev ol v ed f rom eAm ail v iam ail in g l is ts
an d n ew s grou ps tos o-cal l ed on -l in e chat, s u chas the
in teres tin g phen om en on In tern etR el ayChat.
Atthe en d of the 19 7 0s , w iththe s pread of the highl y
popu l arAdv en tu re ov erthe n etw orks , itw as tobe expected
thats om eon e s hou l d com bin e in s tan ttextu al
com m u n ication an d adv en tu re gam in g. In the f al l of 19 7 9 at
Es s exU n iv ers ity, R oyT ru bs haw s tarted the dev el opm en tof
the Mu l ti-U s erDu n geon ( MU D)on aDEC Sys tem -10
m ain f ram e, atas k taken ov erbyR ichard Bartl e in the
s u m m erof 19 80.2 9 T he f irs tMU Dw as as u cces s f u l gam e,
w ithu s ers s corin g poin ts bykil l in g eachothers characters or
f in din g hidden treas u res an d ev en tu al l yreachin g the
pow erf u l s tatu s of w izard, bu titw as al s om u chm ore than a
gam e; itw as acyberpl ace w here peopl e cou l d en j oycom pl ete
an on ym ityan d f reedom f rom theirs ocial an d phys ical s el v es
an d take on an ypers on atheycou l d thin k of , doin g thin gs
w ithw ords thattheyw ou l d n orm al l yn ev erdo. T hu s an ew
m ode of textu al expres s ion w as in itiated, dif f eren tev en f rom
the tel egraph:the u s erhad tobe v eryqu ick, an d f orm u l ate
s hort, u n retractabl e s en ten ces in s econ ds , ordie. Dorothy
P arkeran d Ern es tHem in gw ayw ou l d hav e l ov ed it.
Like Adv en tu re bef ore it, MU Ds pread ou tgl obal l yon the
academ ic com pu tern etw orks , w as s oon copied, an d chan ged
in toothertypes of m u l tiAu s ertexts . In the s u m m erof 19 89
atCarn egie Mel l on U n iv ers ity, Jam es As pn es program m ed a
MU Dw ithas ign if ican tn ew f eatu re: in addition tocreatin g
theirow n characters , the u s ers w ere al l ow ed toexpan d the
MU Ds textu al des cription s , addin g theirow n l an ds capes to
the topographyof the MU D. T his MU D, kn ow n as T in yMU D
an d reachabl e f rom an ycom pu terl in ked tothe gl obal
In tern et, em phas ized s ocial in teraction an d bu il din g. T here
w as n om erits ys tem ; if you rcharacterw as kil l ed, its im pl y
gotan in s u ran ce f ee of 50pen n ies . T he co creativ ityof the
u s ers w as av eryan archic s tepf rom the f irs tMU Ds .
T in yMU Dl as ted f rom Au gu s t19 , 19 89 , toApril 2 8, 19 9 0,
w hen its databas e of des cription s becam e toobig tohan dl e,
f il l ed u pbym ore than 132 ,000u s erAdef in ed obj ects , eachof
w hichcou l d con tain s ev eral texton s .
When regarded as l iteraryobj ects , MU Ds s eem todef y
ev erycon ceptof l iterarytheory. Ev eryu s erhas adif f eren t( or
s ev eral dif f eren t)an d partial pers pectiv e( s -), an d the u s ers
bom bard eachotherw ithtexton s m ean ton l ytol as tas l on g
as theyare n ots crol l ed of f the s creen . MU Ds are l ike
con s tan tl ym ean derin g riv ers , dev el opin g n ew cou rs es that
theN EWMEDIAR EADER
cros s an d re-cros s eachotheran d are f il l ed w ithal l s orts of
pecu l iarf l ots am an d j ets am . An d s u dden l y, in the m iddl e of
chaos , agrou pof characters m ays tarts in gin g in u n is on the
Y oyodyn e s on g f rom T hom as P yn chon s T he Cryin g of Lot49 :
Highabov e the LAf reew ays , / An d the traf f ics w hin e,/
Stan ds the w e.l l Akn ow n Gal acton ics / Bran chof Y oyodyn e.3
Stran ge thin gs happen ats ea.
Com pared toan in eteen thAcen tu ryn ov el , T in yMU D
appears total l ydif f eren t:tran s ien t, dyn am ic, in determ in ate,
w ithexpl orativ e, rol e-pl ayin g, con f igu rativ e, an d poetic u s er-
f u n ction al ity. An d ye t, this is l iteratu re:l etters , w ords , an d
s en ten ces are s el ected, arran ged an d dis s em in ated todel ight,
im pres s , oren rage an u n kn ow n au dien ce. T he s cripton s ,
w hichcan be f u n n y, poign an t, s l eazy, s il l y, obn oxiou s , orn ois y,
u s u al l ycom e in aheterogen eou s m ix. Withm ore than tw en ty
characters in the s am e room , ittakes aharden ed MU Dder to
keeptrack of w hatis goin g on . Special -pu rpos e MU D-cl ien t
program s thathav e been dev el oped toru n on the u s ers l ocal
m achin e an d eas e com m u n ication prov ide f u n ction al itythat
is n otpartof the MU Dits el f , s u chas f il terin g ou tn ois y
characters an d au tom atin g of ten -u s ed com m an ds . N otal l
characters on e m eets on aMU Dhav e real pers on s behin d
them , an d s ev eral characters m ightbe pl ayed bythe s am e
pers on . An earl yau tom atic character( s o-cal l ed bot)on
T in yMU Dw as cal l ed T erm in ator, had its ow n of f ice, an d w as ,
l ike its cin em atic n am es ake, program m ed tokil l . If you paid it
2 00pen n ies itw ou l d goan d pes teran ycharacteryou
s pecif ied. Bots w ere s im pl yextern al program s bu il tu s in g
v ariou s artif icial in tel l igen ce techn iqu es an d l ogged on bytheir
creators toT in yMU Dj u s tl ike hu m an pl ayers , bu tu s u al l y
recogn ized bytheirs om ew hatpoorcom m u n ication s kil l s .
Adis cu s s ion of MU Ds in term s of au thors an d readers is
irrel ev an t:aMU D can n otbe read, on l yexperien ced f rom the
v eryn arrow pers pectiv e of on e orm ore of the u s ers
characters , w ithal otof s im u l tan eou s s cripton s bein g beyon d
reach; an d the u s ercan n otbe s u re thataparticu l ar
con tribu tion w il l ev erbe experien ced bym ore than af ew
peopl e, or, s in ce the othercharacters m ightal l be artif icial
pers on s orcon trol l ed bythe s am e real pers on , byan yon e atal l .
T he Lim its of F iction
An im portan tis s u e rais ed bybothdeterm in ate an d
in determ in ate cybertexts is theirrel ation tothe on tol ogical
categories of textu al ity:f iction , n on f iction , poetry, dram a,
etc. In the cas e of cybertexts s u chas Adv en tu re an d
19 9 4
1} AAAA_AAs O AAAAA-1...---------- o- A~-- AA----~-AAo-- ---A - e~- 52 . N on l in earity
T in yMU D, the m os tobv iou s choice, f iction , is n otobv iou s
en ou gh. Adv en tu re in v ites abel ief f rom the u s er, bu tthis is
n otthe s am e bel ief ors u s pen s ion of dis bel ief thatm u s tbe
s u s tain ed bythe u s erof real is tic orf an tas tic n ov el s .
Cybertextu al ityhas an em pirical el em en tthatis n otf ou n d in
f iction an d thatn eces s itates an on tol ogical categoryof its
ow n , w hichm ightas w el l be cal l ed s im u l ation .
In f iction the u s erm u s tcon s tru ctm en tal im ages that
s om ehow corres pon d tothe w orl d des cribed in the text. T he
u s eris res pon s ibl e f orthe im ages , bu tthe textis in con trol
an d can dictate chan ges w ithou tan ydef eren ce toextern al
l ogic. F rom the u s ers pers pectiv e, f iction s are n eitherl ogical
n oril l ogical . If the f iction cl aim s thatel ephan ts are pin k,
then in the f iction theyare, becau s e n obodyis there to
con tradictit. Af iction , then , is n otabou ts om ethin g that
does n otexis tbu tabou ts om ethin g thatitis m ean in gl es s to
con tradict.
In Adv en tu re, the res pon s ibil ityf orcoheren ce is s hared
betw een the u s eran d the text. If the you -characterdrops a
s w ord in on e pl ace, l eav es , an d com es back, the s w ord is s til l
there. In otherw ords , there is as ys tem atic con tractbetw een
textan d u s er, l ike the cau s al on e thatexis ts in the real w orl d
an d w hich, u n l ike f iction s , can be em pirical l ytes ted. In
T in yMU Dthe s im u l ation of real ityis ev en cl os ertothe real
thin g, s in ce the con v ers ation s the u s ers charactercon du cts
w ithothercharacters of ten hav e the s ign s of real con v ers ation s .
Sim u l ation s are s om ew here in betw een real ityan d f iction :
theyare n otobl iged torepres en treal ity, bu ttheydohav e an
em pirical l ogic of theirow n , an d theref ore theys hou l d n otbe
cal l ed f iction s . U n l ike f iction s , w hichs im pl ypres en ts om ethin g
el s e, cybertexts repres en ts om ethin g beyon d them s el v es .
T he R hetoric of N on l in earity
As w e hav e s een , the prof ou n d chal l en ge of n on l in eartexts
tothe bas ic con cepts of l iterarytheorym akes itdif f icu l tto
dis cu s s them in com m on l iteraryterm s . Ev en tothe exten t
itis s til l pos s ibl e, its hou l d be don e w ithcau tion ; an d if w e
can be s u re of n othin g el s e, w e m aybe certain that
con tradiction w il l be the u n in v ited m as tertrope of ou r
dis cou rs e. Bu ts til l w hatkin d of ( l iterary?s em iotic?)
phen om en on is n on l in eartextu al ity?Is there an am e or
recogn ized cl as s f orthe dev ice ( orbetter, s etof dev ices )of
n on l in earity?Dos om e dom ain s of l iterarytheoryl en d
theirv ocabu l aries m ore eas il ytoits des cription than
others ?( If s o, thos e are the on es m os tw orthyof s u s picion .)
an d LiteraryT heory
As the adv ocates of hypertexten thu s ias tical l yrem in d u s , it
can be f ou n d as f iction , poetry, textbooks , en cycl opedias ,
an d s oon ; s on on l in earityas the s u pers etof hypertextis
cl earl yn otal iterarygen re, oratype of poetic expres s ion or
dis cou rs e. T his probl em of cl as s if ication can al s obe
des cribed in s em iotic term s , bu tm ain l ytotheef f ectthata
texttype ( in ou rn on gen eric s en s e)is as ign if ication s ys tem ,
an au ton om ou s s em iotic con s tru ctthathas an abs tract
m ode of exis ten ce in depen den tof an ycom m u n icativ e actit
m akes pos s ibl e, w hichdoes n otreal l yan s w erthe
qu es tion T os em iotics , texts are chain s of s ign s , an d
theref ore l in earbydef in ition .
If w e tu rn torhetoric, w e s ee thatn on l in earityis cl earl y
n otatrope, s in ce itw orks on the l ev el of w ords , n ot
m ean in g; bu titcou l d be cl as s if ied as atype of f igu re,
f ol l ow in g P ierre F on tan iers taxon om yof tropes an d f igu res .
In the s econ d partof his cl as s ic in v en toryof rhetorical
f igu res , F igu res du Dis cou rs , F on tan ierdef in es l es F igu res n on -
T ropes the f igu res otherthan tropes . T hes e he div ides
in tos ev eral cl as s es : con s tru ction -f igu res , el ocu tion f igu res ,
s tyl eAf igu res , an d thou ght-f igu res , w ithv ariou s s u bcl as s es
in cl u din g in v ers ion , appos ition , el l ips is , an d repetition .
Am on g thes e cl as s es w e cou l d pl ace the f igu res of
n on l in earity, w iththe f ol l ow in g s etof s u bcl as s es :f orkin g,
l in kin g/ j u m pin g, perm u tation , com pu tation , an d pol ygen es is .
T hes e s u bcl as s es can be f u rtherdiv ided, of cou rs e; an d m ore
im portan tl y, in s tan ces f rom dif f eren ts u bcl as s es ( an d f rom
tradition al on es s u chas repetition an d topography)can
com bin e tocon s titu te atexttype.
Com pared tothe textu al typol ogypres en ted earl ier, this
pers pectiv e has the adv an tage of con n ectin g toatradition al
con ceptof l iterarytheory, the f igu re. In this , how ev er, the
ideaof rhetoric is ev en f artherrem ov ed f rom its origin as a
theoryof s peech. Bu ts in ce the n on -tropic f igu re is the
con ceptf oru n u s u al pos ition in gs of w ords , itm ightn otbe
total l yu n j u s tif ied.
In term s of the s im pl if ied hierarchyof n on l in eartexts ,
thes e cl as s es of f igu res bel on g tothe f ol l ow in g l ev el s :
f orkin g, f ou n d in the s patial l yn on l in eartext; l in kin g/
j u m pin g, bel on gin g tothe s tratu m of hypertext;
perm u tation , com pu tation , an d pol ygen es is , al l f ou n d in
bothdeterm in ate an d in determ in ate cybertext. Whereas a
u s er-created perm u tation is determ in ate ( f orexam pl e,
Q u en eau s P oem es ), acom pu ted perm u tation m aybe
determ in ate orin determ in ate ( f orexam pl e, IChin g). A
52 . N on l in earity
an d LiteraryT heory
com pu tation m aybe determ in ate orcon tain aran dom
f u n ction thatm akes itin determ in ate. P ol ygen es is can be
determ in ate ( f orexam pl e, w hen the u s ertypes as en ten ce to
El iza, its res pon s e can be predicted)orin determ in ate ( as in
the MU Ds ). Af u rthercl as s if ication of the f igu res of
n on l in earity, s u chas dis tin gu is hin g betw een dif f eren ttypes
of f orks , l in ks , ran dom f u n ction s , pol ygen etic m odes , an d s o
on , w il l n otbe u n dertaken here. I
T he Corru ption of the Critic
How can l iterarytheoryattack the textu al ities of
n on l in earity?How can w e cu tthem u p, read in tothem , de-
s cribe them s otheyf itin ou rn arrativ es ?How can w e l in k
them toou rtotem s an d con trol theirhidden m echan is m s ?
Hypertexts eem s al readyw el l on its w ayin tothe can on . Is
this agood s ign ?Con qu es ts , u n l ike dis cov eries , are s el dom
acciden tal . On the otherhan d, there is n os u chthin g as
l iterarytheory; there are on l ytheories an d theoris ts . An d
texts . Literarytheory. m ore than m os tacadem ic dis cipl in es ,
has al w ays been u n cen tered an d f ragm en ted, aw iden in g gyre
of readin gs an d in teres ts l in ked tocou n tl es s phil os ophies ,
l ike atru e Barthes ian texte s criptibl e. Soif hypertexts hou l d
f in d ahom e, w hyn othere? I
T his es s ayw il l n otan s w eran yof the big qu es tion s :What
w il l hypertextdotothe w ays w e thin k abou ttexts ?How w il l
itres is tthe w ays w e are goin g tothin k abou tit, an d be
rem em bered as s om ethin g otherthan an in Ahou s e pet, adead
tradition of l iteraryexperim en t, expl ain ed an d packaged
f rom the s tart?How w il l the pow erf u l bu textrem el y
prim itiv e l ogic of the l in k af f ectou rdis cu rs iv e m ethods ?
If hypertexthas con n ected w el l w ithl iterarys tu dies ,
cybertext, am u chol dertextu al phen om en on , has gon e by
l argel yu n n oticed. An articl e ortw o, af ew doctoral
dis s ertation s ; the l ack of in teres tis s ign if ican t, an d m ayhav e
s ev eral cau s es . On e is obv iou s :adv en tu re gam es are gam es ,
an d thatis n otou rdepartm en t. N eitheris the s im il arity
betw een IChin g, Q u en eau s P oem es , an d Adv en tu re too
s trikin g atf irs ts ight. P erhaps , al s o, the adv en tu re gam e, f or
al l its triv iaan d popu l arappeal , is tooradical tobe
recogn ized, becau s e itdis f igu res n oton l ythe readin g proces s
bu tal s othe reader. Literarycritics hav e gen eral l ys corn ed
pros aic texts thattooopen l ycaptu red theiru s ers in w hich
the rel ation s hipbetw een readeran d n arratee becam e too
in tim ate, l ackin g iron ic dis tan ce orVerf rern du n g. Like the
tel egraph, s u chtexts f al l betw een accepted categories , in this
theN EWMEDIAR EADER
cas e betw een l yrical poetryan d pros e. Af tern oon on the other
han d, w ithits s u bv ers iv e an ti-n arrator, has s eem in gl yn o
probl em w iththis , an d can be w el com ed an d con f igu red in to
l iteratu re an d the l iterary.
T he keydif f eren ce betw een Af tern oon an d cybertexts s u ch
as Adv en tu re an d T in yMU Dis w hatthe v irtu al real ity
res earchers cal l im m ers ion :the u s ers con v in ced s en s e that
the artif icial en v iron m en tis n otj u s tam ain agen tw ith
w hom theycan iden tif ybu ts u rrou n ds the u s er. In
cybertextu al term s w e cou l d s aythatthe u s eras s u m es the
s trategic an d em otion al res pon s ibil ityof the character, or
thatthe dis tan ces betw een the pos ition s of m ain character,
n arratee, an d u s erhav e col l aps ed.
T othe critical in s titu tion , this on tol ogical em barras s m en t
becom es an ethical on e. How can w e be critics if w e can n o
l on gerread?How can rev iew ers of cybertexts f ace the f act
theyprobabl ym is s ed l arge n u m bers of s cripton s ?An d
w ors e, n oton l yw il l w e hav e toadm itthatw e barel ym ade it
tof irs tbas e, bu tin the expl oration of in determ in ate
cybertexts w e w il l be rev iew in g the res u l ts of ou row n
s trategic an d creativ e in v es tm en ts .
P robl em s of T extu al An thropol ogy"
T his cris is in criticis m m ightn otam ou n ttoan ythin g
terribl e, bu titcou l d be u s ed as an ew departu re f orl iterary
herm en eu tics . Af terthe cel ebrated deaths of the au thor, the
w ork, an d readin g, the textis n ow giv in g u pthe s pirit,
betrayed byits m os ttru s ted com pan ion , the s ign if ier. What
is l ef tis l in earan d n on l in eartextu al ity, orbetter, l in earan d
n on l in eartextu al ities . T his em pirical ev ol u tion m akes
pos s ibl e as hif tin m ethod f rom aphil ol ogical toan
an thropol ogical approachin w hichthe obj ectof s tu dyis a
proces s ( the chan gin g text)ratherthan aproj ect( the s tatic
text). On -l in e phen om en aan d particu l arl ythe MU Ds , w ith
theirf l u id exchan ges of textu al praxis , of f eru n iqu e
opportu n ities f orthe s tu dyof rhetoric, s em iotics , an d
cu l tu ral com m u n ication in gen eral .
MU Ds an d s im il arn on l ocal f orm s of in s tan ttextu al
com m u n ication can be s tu died f rom m an ypers pectiv es in the
hu m an s cien ces ; ps ychol ogical , s ociol ogical , an thropol ogical ,
l in gu is tic, phil os ophical his torical , etc. Shades of thes e w il l
in ev itabl yf in d theirw ayin tothe l iteraryan d textu al
pers pectiv es thatw e m ightexpectf rom ou rov m dis cipl in e. If
l iteraiytheoris ts an d critics doen gage in the s tu dyof
in determ in ate cybertexts , its hou l d be w ithan aw aren es s that
- v i
19 9 4
0AA -. ---a U A- As - _________A--0-- -l 52 . N on l in earity
the ol d rol e of apos terioriin v es tigatorn ol on gers u f f ices . Like
the u s er, the critic m u s tbe there w hen ithappen s . N oton l y
thatbu t, l ike the participan tobs erv erof s ocial an thropol ogy,
he ors he m u s tm ake ithappen im prov is e, m in gl e w iththe
n ativ es , pl ayrol es , prov oke res pon s e.
What, m ayw e as k, w il l then be the dif f eren ce betw een this
l iteraryan thropol ogyan d areal an thropol ogis ts
in v es tigation of on -l in e phen om en a?In otherw ords , w hat
keeps criticis m f rom chan gin g in toas u b-dis cipl in e of
tradition al s ocial an thropol ogy?F irs t, itm u s tbe n oted that
s ocial an thropol ogyan d l iterarytheoryal readyhav e s ev eral
pers pectiv es an d goal s in com m on , an d arecen this toryof
m u tu al in f l u en ce. In cu l tu ral an thropol ogy, cu l tu res are
treated as texts tobe in terpreted an d s u bj ected tocritiqu e,36
an d ev en the probl em of an thropol ogical m ethod as al iterary
proces s has becom e acon cern .
In the tran s ien ts ocial textu al ities , the on tol ogies of the
tw otradition s m ights eem tocon v erge, an d the bou n daries
betw een cu l tu ral an thropol ogyan d l iterarytheorym ay
appearf u zzierthan ev er. Itcou l d theref ore be u s ef u l to
expl ore s om e probl em s an d con f l icts of pers pectiv e that
m ightaw aitev en tu al partn ers hips of the tw of iel ds . Sin ce
MU Ds an d otherin determ in ate cybertexts are cl os ed
s ign if ication s ys tem s , thatis , textu al types , theys hou l d n ot
be an al yzed as tradition al cu l tu res ors u bcu l tu res . T he
pos torgan ic an thropol ogys ol icited in arecen tes s ayon the
phen om en on kn ow n as cybers pace is perhaps j u s tan other
term f orw hatl iterarycritics hav e been doin g s in ce P l ato. T o
be an al yzed an d def in ed, acu l tu re m u s tbe s how n toexis t
in depen den tl yof an yon e s ign if ication s ys tem . When a
s cien ce s tarts tocon f u s e its m etaphors w ithits em pirical
s u bs tratu m ( f orexam pl e w hen texts becom e texts ), itis
dan gerou s l ycl os e tobecom in g am ythol ogy. An
an thropol ogyof MU Ds , f orin s tan ce, s hou l d n ots ee as its
prim aryobj ectthe ritu al s an d in teraction s betw een the
characters in s ide; bu tratherthe rel ation betw een the ou ts ide
participan ts ( the u s ers )an d theirin s ide s ym bol ic action s .
Literarytheory, on the otherhan d, s hou l d n otf ocu s on the
s ocial behav iorm ade pos s ibl e bytextu al s ym bol s , bu ton how
the s ign s ys tem is u s ed tocon s tru ctan d expl ore the
pos s ibil ityof atext-bas ed repres en tation of iden tity. If a
cooperation betw een an thropol ogyan d textu al criticis m is to
be achiev ed, the tw odis cipl in es s hou l d n ottrytodoeach
others w ork, orm is take the others on tol ogyf orits ow n .
an d LiteraryT heory
Af terthes e s pecu l ation s the qu es tion rem ain s :Whatw il l
the s tu dyof n on l in earityan d cybertextu al itydotol iterary
theory?Atthis poin tthere can be n ocl earan s w er. Betw een
the bl u rryprom is es of techn ol ogyan d the s harpedges of
pol itical real itythere is , in the w ords of Jacqu es Derrida, as
yetn oexergu e. T his es s ayhas attem pted tocreate au s abl e
term in ol ogyf orthe s tu dyof aw iderran ge of textu al ities
than has hithertobeen ackn ow l edged bythe f iel d of l iterary
s tu dyan d topoin ttos om e cu rren tprobl em s an d chal l en ges
in the s tu dyof com pu ter-m ediated textu al ities . As w e hav e
s een , f u n dam en tal s tru ctu ral term s l ike s tory, pl ot, f iction , an d
n arrativ e are n otal w ays s u itabl e todes cribe the n on l in ear
textu al ities . T ou s e them w ithou tqu al if ication is cl earl y
irres pon s ibl e. T he f igu res of n on l in earitys u gges tthaton e
m u s trev is e l iteraryterm in ol ogyan d poetics in orderto
av oid f u rthercon f u s ion an d u n n eces s aryam bigu ity. Som e of
m yrecon f igu ration s of thes e l iteraryan d theoretical
con cepts m ighttu rn ou ttobe u n n eces s ary, an d others are
probabl yn otradical en ou gh. As Ihav e s how n , in addition to
hypertextthere is aw eal thof n on l in eartexttypes , f rom
an cien tin s cription s tos ophis ticated com pu terprogram s
bas ed on the l ates ts em an tic res earch. Ihav e n ottried to
pres en tan exhau s tiv e em pirical s u rv eyof s u chtypes orto
giv e adetail ed his torical expos ition of the dev el opm en tan d
s pread of textu al n on l in earity. Others are v eryw el com e to
eitherof thes e tas ks ; Ihav e n oin ten tion of takin g them on .
N ordoIbel iev e thatthere is an yn eed tocon s tru cta
his torical tradition of n on l in earl iteratu re, as the s pecim en s I
hav e s een s of ars eem tobe dif f eren tf rom an d is ol ated f rom
eachotherratherthan bel on g toan ythin g thatcan
reas on abl ybe characterized as acom m on gen re. T here are
u n dou btedl yl ocal tradition s , bu tn on l in ears trategies appear
toris e ou tof aprev al en tan d tran s his toric n eed tocom pos e
apractical ef f ect, perpen dicu l artol in eartextu al ity, bu t
u s u al l yw ithas pecif ic an d con s tru ctiv e ors u bv ers iv e rather
than s en s ation al is tic orf riv ol ou s obj ectiv e.
When con f ron ted w ithn ew datathatis recogn ized as
rel ev an tbu tu n u s u al , an academ ic dis cipl in e s u chas l iterary
s tu dies can em pl oyatl eas ttw odif f eren ttactics toharm on ize
the s itu ation . T he exis tin g theories m aybe u s ed togras pan d
f ocu s the n ew m aterial ( the in tru deris tam ed), orthe n ew
m aterial can be u s ed toreev al u ate an d m odif ythe ol d
pers pectiv es ( the f iel d is chan ged). Here Ihav e f ocu s ed n oton
the ef f ects an d in s ights produ ced bythe v ariou s bran ches of 7 7
52 . N on l in earity
an d LiteraryT heory
l iterarytheoryw hen appl ied ton on l in eartexts bu ton the
poten tial f orn ew pers pectiv es on l iteratu re in gen eral that
the s tu dyof n on l in eartextu al itym ightbrin g u s . N on l in ear
texts an d l iterarytheories m ayhav e al ottos aytoeachother,
bu tw e s hou l d n otl eton l yon e s ide doal l the tal kin g.
N otes
1. T erryEagl eton , LiteraryT heory: An In trodu ction ( Min n eapol is :
U n iv ers ityof Min n es otaP res s , 19 83).
2 . N orbertWien er, Cybern etics ; Or, Con trol an d Com m u n ication in
the An im al an d the Machin e ( N ew Y ork: T echn ol ogy, 19 48).
3. N . Katherin e Hayl es , Chaos Bou n d: Orderl yDis orderin
Con tem poraryLiteratu re an d Scien ce ( Ithaca: Corn el l U n iv ers ity
P res s , 19 9 0).
4. R ol an d Barthes , S/ Z ( P aris : Seu il , 19 7 0), 2 0.
5. George P . Lan dow , Hypertext: T he Con v ergen ce of Con tem porary
Cn tical T heoiyan d T echn ol ogy( Bal tim ore: John s Hopkin s U n iv ers ity
P res s , 19 9 2 ).
6 . Es pen Aars eth, T exts of Chan ge: T ow ards aP oetics of
N on l in earity( c.phil . dis s ., u n pu bl is hed, U n iv ers ityof Bergen ,
Departm en tof Com parativ e Literatu re, 19 9 1).
7 . See Michael J. Green acre, T heoryan d Appl ication s of
Corres pon den ce An al ys is ( Lon don : Academ ic P res s , 19 84).
8. Wil l iam Gibs on , Agrippa: ABook of the Dead ( N ew Y ork: Kev in
Begos , 19 9 2 ).
9 . KathyAcker, Bl ood an d Gu ts in HighSchool ( N ew Y ork: Grov e
P res s , 19 7 8), 46 -51.
10. R ol f Gu n dl ach, T em pel rel ief ,"in Lexicon derAgyptol ogie
( Wies baden : OttoHarras s ow itz, 19 85), 6 :407 -11.
11. Jam es Legge, IChin g: Book of Chan ges ( 1888; Secau cu s , N .J.:
Citadel P res s , 19 6 4), 7 . V
12 . C. G. Ju n g, f orew ord toIChin g orBook of Chan ges , tran s . Cary
F . Bayn es f rom aGerm an tran s l ation byR ichard Wil hel m ( 19 50;
Lon don : Arkan a/ P en gu in , 19 89 ), l v ii-l xi. A
13. R aym on d Q u en eau , Cen tMil l e Mil l iards de P oem es ( P aris :
Gal l im ard, 19 6 1).
14.Wil l iam P au l s on , Com pu ters , Min ds , an d T exts : P rel im in ary
R ef l ection s ,"N ew LiteraryHis tory2 0( 19 89 ): 2 9 7 .
15. F orcritical v iew s of pol itical cl aim s abou tel ectron ic m ediain
gen eral , s ee Jam es W. Carey, Com m u n ication As Cu l tu re: Es s ays on
Mediaan d Society( Bos ton : U n w in Hym an , 19 88), es pecial l y"T he
Mythos of the El ectron ic R ev ol u tion , an d abou thypertext, Stu art
Mou l throp, Y ou SayY ou Wan taR ev ol u tion ?: Hypertextan d the
Law s of Media,"P os tm odern Cu l tu re 1 ( May19 9 1).
16 . T heodorHol m N el s on , LiteraryMachin es , ed. 87 .1 ( Sw arthm ore,
P a.: T heodorH. N el s on , 19 87 ), an d Van n ev arBu s h, "As We May
T hin k, Atl an tic Mon thl y17 6 ( Ju l y19 45): 101-8.
17 . Michael Joyce, Af tern oon , as tory( Cam bridge, Mas s .: Eas tgate
Sys tem s , 19 9 0). F ordis cu s s ion s of Af tern oon , s ee Stu artMou l throp,
Hypertextan d the Hyperreal f " Hypertext' 89 ( N ew Y ork:
As s ociation of Com pu tin g Machin ery, 19 89 ), 2 59 -6 7 ; J. Dav id
Bol ter, Writin g Space: T he Com pu ter, Hypertext, an d the His toryof
Writin g ( Hil l s dal e, N .J.: Law ren ce Erl bau m , 19 9 1); an d Lan dow ,
Hypertext.
theN EWMEDIAR EADER
18. Mou l throp, "Hypertextan d the Hyperreal ,' "2 39 .
19 . In gerChris ten s en , T he Mean in g of Meta ction : ACritical Stu dy
of Sel ected N ov el s byStern e, N abokov , Barth, an d Becket( Bergen :
U n iv ers itets f orl aget, 19 81), 141-43.
2 0. Bol ter, Wn tin g Space, 7 .
2 1. Jon Lan es tedt, Epis k P rogram v are- En LittercerT eks ttype? [ Epic
Sof tw are Al iteraryT extT ype?] ( c.phil . dis s ., U n iv ers ityof Os l o,
19 89 ). Wil l iam Crow theran d Don Woods , Adv en tu re, this v ers ion
im pl em en ted byGordon Letw in ( IBM/ Micros of t, 19 81).
2 2 . An thon yJ. N ies z an d N orm an N . Hol l an d, In teractiv e F iction ,"
Cn tical In qu iry11 ( 19 84): 113.
2 3. R obin Waterf iel d an d Wil f red Dav ies , T he Mon eySpider( Lon don :
P en gu in 19 88).
2 4. See Jam es R ichard Meehan , T he Metan ov el : Writin g Ston es by
Com pu ter( P h.D. dis s ., Y al e U n iv ers ity, U n iv ers ityMicro l m s
In tern ation al , 19 7 6 ); R ogerC. Schan k an d P eterChil ders , T he
Cogn itiv e Com pu ter: On Lan gu age, Learn in g, an d Artif icial
In tel l igen ce ( R eadin g, Mas s .: Addis on -Wes l ey, 19 84); an d Michael
Lebow itz, "Creatin g Characters in aStory-tel l in g U n iv ers e,"P oetics
13 ( 19 84): 17 1-9 4.
2 5. Bren daLau rel , Com pu ters as T heatre ( R eadin g, Mas s .: Addis on -
Wes l ey, 19 9 1).
2 6 . Cf . Carey, Com m u n ication As Cu l tu re, ch. 8.
2 7 . Mars hal l McLu han , U n ders tan din g Media: T he Exten s ion s of Man
( N ew Y ork: P en gu in Books / Men tor, 19 6 4), 2 2 5.
2 8. El izabethM. R eid, El ectropol is : Com m u n ication an d Com m u n ityon
In tern etR el ayChat( hon ors thes is , U n iv ers ityof Mel bou rn e, 19 9 1).
2 9 . R ichard Bartl e, In teractiv e Mu l ti-U s erCom pu terGam es ( parts
f rom ares earchreportcom m is s ion ed byBritis hT el ecom ,
dis s em in ated bythe au thor, 19 9 0).
30. T hom as P yn chon , T he Cryin g of Lot49 ( Lon don : P icador, 19 6 7 ).
31.U m bertoEco, AT heoryof Sem iotics ( Bl oom in gton : In dian a
U n iv ers ityP res s , 19 7 9 ), 9 .
32 . Lou is Hj el m s l ev , P rol egom en atooT heoryof Lan gu age ( 19 43),
tran s . F ran cis J. Whit el d ( Madis on : U n iv ers ityof Wis con s in P res s ,
19 6 1), 30.
33. P ierre F on tan ier, Les F igu res du Dis cou rs ( 182 1-30; P an ' s :
F l am m arion , 19 6 8), 2 7 1.
34. How ard R hein gol d, Virtu al R eal ity( N ew Y ork: Su m m itBooks , 19 9 1).
35. See al s oR ichard Ziegf el d, In teractiv e F iction : AN ew Literary
Gen re?"N ew LiteraryHis tory2 0( 19 89 ): 341-7 2 .
36 . George E. Marcu s an d Michael M. J. F is cher, An thropol ogyas
Cu l tu ral Cn tiqu e: An Expen m en tal Mom en tin the Hu m an Scien ces
( Chicago: U n iv ers ityof ChicagoP res s , 19 86 ).
37 . Cl if f ord Geertz, Works an d Liv es : T he An thropol ogis tas Au thor
( Stan f ord: Stan f ord U n iv ers ityP res s , 19 88).
38. Dav id T om as , "Ol d R itu al s f orN ew Space,"in Cybers pace: F irs t
Steps , ed. Michael Ben edikt( Cam bridge: MIT P res s , 19 9 1), 31-47 .
of aa - w e e ~ * ~ ~ao~~~~ s ec * ~o~ 0
L9 9 4
53. [ In trodu ction ]
N om adic P ow eran d
Cu l tu ral R es is tan ce
T he Critical ArtEn s em bl e tu rn ed the rhizom e on its root. T he gu res of the rhizom e an d
n om adol ogy, f as hion ed byGil l es Del eu ze an d F l ixGu attari( Q 2 7 ), hav e been aw orl dw ide
in s piration f orcu l tu re w orkers f rom the n et.artm ail in g l is tatrhizom e.org toHom iK. Bhabhas
pos tcol on ial critiqu e. R hizom e l an gu age. has been adopted as al an gu age of l iberation , as an
al tern ativ e tothe N ew Lef tthatin retros pects eem s tohav e died in the s treets in 19 6 8. Y etin this
es s aythe CABpos its the rhizom e an d n om ad as u s ed bym an yn ew m ediaw riters todis cu s s
n etw ork an d hypertextu al techn ol ogies as f igu res of corporate pow er, ratherthan of l iberation .
T hatthe appl ication s of rhizom e l an gu age ton ew m ediatechn ol ogies m ayhav e s prou ted f rom a
m is readin g of Del eu ze an d Gu attariis of l ittl e im portan ce in this con text; l an gu age achiev es
m ean in g throu ghu s e. Byco-optin g the l an gu age of the rhizom e an d n om ad f rom the _
techn ol iberation is ts , CAEcu ttothe heartof the argu m en tthatn ew m edian etw orks are
in heren tl yin com patibl e w iththe pow errel ation s of the in du s trial rev ol u tion . T heydem ol is hed
the ideathatitis im pos s ibl e f orpow ertoco-optn etw ork an d hypertexttechn ol ogies , thats u ch
techn ol ogies hav e am an if es tdes tin yof f reedom .
T he CAEargu ed: thatthe pow erel ite are n ow the prim aryben ef iciaries of n etw ork techn ol ogies ;
thatthes e techn ol ogies al l ow them , as w el l as the s ites of in du s trial produ ction , tobe s om obil e as
tom ake res is tan ce in phys ical s pace in ef f ectu al ; thatthe com m u n ication an d con trol f u n ction s of
the el ite are n ow f u l l ycybers patial , s ocybers pace becom es the on l yef f ectiv e s ite of res is tan ce; an d
thatthe on l ypoten tial l yef f ectiv e cybers pace res is tan ce is dis tu rban ce v iathe s abotage of
in f orm ation techn ol ogies an d the poten tial pan ic created bythe cu tof f of in f orm ation f l ow ( an d
res u l tin g des tabil ization of the priv atized s af e ha.rbors created bythe pow erf u l f orthos e they
em pl oy).
Sin ce the m id 19 9 0s , s ign if ican tf l aw s hav e been f ou n d in thes e argu m en ts . T he m os ttel l in g of
thes e is thatcorporate pow ercon tin u es tof eel an eed topres s f orgreaterm obil ity( e.g., v iathe
Worl d T rade Organ ization ), an d con tin u es tohav e its m eetin gs abou tthis m atterin phys ical s pace.
Mean w hil e, protes tm ov em en ts hav e f ou n d ef f ectiv e m ean s tou s e cybers patial techn ol ogies f or
theirow n com m u n ication , an d hav e dev el oped the n om adic abil itytom eetcorporate pow eron
the. s treetw herev eritchoos es togather. T he pow erel ite hav e f ou n d them s el v es u n expectedl y
trapped in m eetin g-room bu n kers , ratherthan f ree tom ov e as theypl eas e.
Y etthe qu es tion of how , orw hether, tou s e n ew m ediatechn ol ogies f ortakin g ( v irtu al )action ,
ratherthan organ izin g an d reportin g ( phys ical )action , rem ain s open . T he m os tatten tion -gettin g
w ork thatpos ition s the n etw ork as as pace f oraction has been the v irtu al s it in s of hacktiv is ts
an d cyberhippies . Bu tis u n cl earw hetherthis w ork is actu al l ym ore l ike aphys ical s it in orl ike
gatherin g s ign atu res on apetition . Itdoes n otcl os e dow n s paces of pow erorhav e an u n den iabl e
pu bl ic pres en ce the w ayphys ical s it in s hav e. Itdoes prov ide aw ayf orrel ativ el yl arge n u m bers of
peopl e toexpres s pers on al dis s atis f action w ithpow er, as petition s do, an d itin v ol v es as im il arl ev el
of pers on al ( phys ical )ris k. Y etthis w ork goes beyon d the petition in its theatrical dim en s ion s ,
w hichexis tbothf orthe participan ts an d f ortheirau dien ce the pres s , an d the s it-in targets .
CAB, f ortheirpart, hav e w eighed in tothe debate bydecl arin g that, atthis his torical m om en t,
ev en the phys ical s it-in has al m os tn otactical v al u e, an d thathacktiv is tv irtu al action s are in the
m ain tactical l yn egativ e ( ev en if theym aypos s es s s m al l pedagogical v al u e, w hichm ightev en tu al l y
53. N om adic P ow er
an d Cu l tu ral R es is tan ce
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53 N 0l 113d' l C P ow er theN EWMEDIAR EADER
an d Cu l tu ral R es is tan ce
partial l ym otiv ate tactical l ypos itiv e action ). T his obj ection tothe v irtu al s it-in com es becau s e, f or
CAE, El ectron ic Civ il Dis obedien ce is n otaf orm of tradition al Civ il Dis obedien ce, bu tan in v ers ion of
it. R atherthan the peopl e u n ited"of CD, ECD im agin es m an yin depen den tl y actin g cel l s . R ather
than CD' s aim in g f orm ediam an ipu l ation throu ghw hichpu bl ic pres s u re w il l be brou ghttobearon
an in s titu tion tochan ge its pol icies , ECDaim s tobrin g the pres s u re f orchan ge directl y( argu in g that
there is n ow n ocorporate orgov ern m en tal in s tu tition w hois n otam pl yprepared todobattl e in the
m edia, torev ers e the s pin of an ypu bl icl y-appl ied pres s u re). F orECDtobe ef f ectiv e, CAEargu es in
"El ectron ic Civ il Dis obedien ce, Sim u l ation , an d the P u bl ic Sphere,"action s hou l d n oton l ybe n on
theatrical its hou l d be con du cted in s ecret.
T he Hacktiv is m ogrou pof cDc ( Cu l tof the Dead Cow )is an organ ization thatpartial l ys hares
CAEs bel ief in the v al u e of s ecrecy, bu tdis agrees bothw ithCAEan d m an yhacktiv is ts on the s u bj ect
of dis obedien ce. T he cDc m odel is , in s tead, on e of dis ru ptiv e com pl ian ce. T heirw ork f ocu s es on the
dev el opm en tof s of tw are thaten abl es action s f orbidden byrepres s ion , ratherthan en abl in g ( priv ate
orpu bl ic)attacks on repres s ors . An exam pl e is s of tw are f oral l ow in g pol itical dis s iden ts to, as s af el y
as pos s ibl e, s hare in f orm ation w hil e behin d the GreatF irew al l of Chin a( w hichw as , of cou rs e,
con s tru cted w iththe hel pof U .S. corporation s ). F ors u chs of tw are tobe ef f ectiv e the detail s of its
operation m aybe, in s om e cas es , bes tkepts ecret. How ev er, in gen eral cDc hopes thatopen code can
becom e the l in gu af ran caof ahacktiv is m thats eeks tow age peace, n otw ar. Whil e the term is n ' tu s ed,
the s of tw are des cribed in cDc' s Wagin g P eace on the In tern et w ou l d create as etof con n ection s
betw een dis s iden ts thats ou n d, in techn ol iberation is tterm s , rhizom atic.
N WF
l
0- _-.. _-4. - _.. _.. --_...- |_53. N om adic P ow er
19 9 4
_ 1 _
F u n :her_R eadin gs ' _' . -; 2 ,
an d Cu l tu ral R es is tan ce
-. - .
. - ' . - .
Critical ArtEn s em bl e.--"El ectron ic Civ il Dis obedien _ce,- in iu l ation ,_an d.tl ie -P u bl ic ' Sphere.' _l ; Orig-in al l ypoT s ted_.' on the n ettim eii-em ail l is t. i
<http:/ / w w w .n ettim e.org/ n ettim e.w 3archiye/ 19 9 9 01/ rn s g00O33.htm l $
' Critical f ArtEn s em bl e.-<http:/ / w T w yv .critical -art.n et> " _. r
l -l ac-ktiv is m : When P ol itics Meets T echn ol ogy. Web s ite. <http:/ / h' a_ckti_v is _m .open f l ow s .org> - ' _ . ____ -" _A ' _I. T T i
Khal il zad, Zal m ay, Jo_h* n P . White, an d An drew W. Mars hal l , eds . Strotef j c Apprais al : f he Chan gin g R ol e of In j brriiatian in War zre. _San ta' _
Mon ica. C.a_l if .:R an dT P u bl ication s ,19 9 9 .<http:/ / w w w .ran d.org/ pu bl ication s / MR / MR 1016 > .,, f -_ ____~_r _' '
R u f n , Oxbl ood. Wagin g P eace _on .the_1n .ter_n et."' T he"R ' egif 5tT en ' _19 ' _April 2 002 . ehttp:/ / w w w .theregis ter.co.u k/ con ten t/ 6 / 2 49 46 .h' tm l > A
_' ._ 1 ' __, . . '
I . ' 0 ~" . ' .
Origin al P u bl ication
T he El ectron ic Dis tu rban ce, 11-30. N ew Y ork: Au ton om edia, 19 9 4.
N om adic P ow er
an d Cu l tu ral
R es is tan ce
Critical ArtEn s em bl e
T he term thatbes tdes cribes the pres en ts ocial con dition is
- _. _ . _-
_. . _..- __. .
' - ~ - _ .- . -
. . ' - ' ..
Af teral l , w hatotherchan ce is there?Itis f orthis reas on that
f orm ers trategies of s u bv ers ion ( aw ord w hichin critical
dis cou rs e has abou tas m u chm ean in g as the w ord
"com m u n ity), orcam ou f l aged attack, hav e com e u n dera
cl ou d of s u s picion . Kn ow in g w hattos u bv ertas s u m es that
f orces of oppres s ion are s tabl e an d can be iden tif ied an d
s eparated an as s u m ption thatis j u s ttoof an tas tic in an age
of dial ectics in ru in s . Kn ow in g how tos u bv ertpres u ppos es an
u n ders tan din g of the oppos ition thatres ts in the real m of
certitu de, or( atl eas t)highprobabil ity. T he rate atw hich
s trategies of s u bv ers ion are co opted in dicates thatthe
adaptabil ityof pow eris tooof ten u n deres tim ated; how ev er,
l iqu es cen ce. T he on ce u n qu es tion ed m arkers of s tabil ity, s u ch credits hou l d be giv en tothe res is ters , tothe exten tthatthe
as God orN atu re, hav e dropped in tothe bl ack hol e of
s cepticis m , dis s ol v in g pos ition ed iden tif ication of s u bj ector
obj ect. Mean in g s im u l tan eou s l yf l ow s throu ghaproces s of
prol if eration an d con den s ation , aton ce drif tin g, s l ippin g,
s peedin g in tothe an tin om ies of apocal yps e an d u topia. T he
l ocation of pow er -an d the s ite of res is tan ce res tin an
am bigu ou s zon e w ithou tborders . I-l ow cou l d itbe otherw is e,
w hen the traces of pow erf l ow in tran s ition betw een
n om adic dyn am ics an d s eden tarys tru ctu res betw een
hypers peed an d hyperin ertia?Itis perhaps u topian tobegin
w iththe cl aim thatres is tan ce begin s ( an d en ds ?)w itha
N ietzs chean cas tin g~of f of the yoke of cataton iain s pired by
the pos tm odern con dition , an d yetthe dis ru ptiv e n atu re of
con s ciou s n es s l eav es l ittl e choice.
T readin g w aterin the pool of l iqu id pow ern eed n otbe an
im age of acqu ies cen ce an d com pl icity. In s pite of their
aw kw ard s itu ation , the pol itical activ is tan d the cu l tu ral
activ is t( an achron is tical l ykn ow n as the artis t)can s til l
produ ce dis tu rban ces . Al thou ghs u chaction m aym ore cl os el y
res em bl e the ges tu res of adrow n in g pers on , an d itis
u n certain j u s tw hatis bein g dis tu rbed, in this s itu ation the
pos tm odern rol l of the dice f av ors the actof dis tu rban ce.
s u bv ers iv e actorprodu ctis n otcoeoptiv el yrein v en ted as
qu ickl yas the bou rgeois aes thetic of ef f icien cym ightdictate.
T he pecu l iaren tw in em en tof the cyn ical an d the u topian in
the con ceptof dis tu rban ce as an eces s arygam bl e is aheres y
tothos e w hos til l adhere to19 th-cen tu ryn arrativ es in w hich
the m echan is m s an d cl as s ( es )of oppres s ion , as w el l as the
tactics n eeded toov ercom e them , are cl earl yiden tif ied. Af ter
al l , the w ageris deepl ycon n ected tocon s erv ativ e apol ogies
f orChris tian ity, an d the attem pttoappropriate ration al is t
rhetoric an d m odel s topers u ade the f al l en toretu rn to
tradition al es chatol ogy. Aren ou n ced Cartes ian l ike P as cal , ora
ren ou n ced rev ol u tion aryl ike Dos toyev s ky, typif yits u s e. Y et
itm u s tbe real ized thatthe prom is e of abetterf u tu re,
w hethers ecu l arors piritu al , has al w ays pres u ppos ed the
econ om yof the w ager. T he con n ection betw een his toryan d
n eces s ityis cyn ical l yhu m orou s w hen on e l ooks back ov erthe
trail of pol itical an d cu l tu ral debris of rev ol u tion an d n ear-
rev ol u tion in ru in s . T he F ren chrev ol u tion s f rom 17 89 to
19 6 8 n ev ers tem m ed the obs cen e tide of the com m odity
( theys eem tohav e hel ped pav e the w ay), w hil e the R u s s ian
an d Cu ban rev ol u tion s m erel yrepl aced the com m odityw ith
the total izin g an achron is m of the bu reau cracy. Atbes t, al l that
7 7 * | i
53. N om adic P ow er
an d Cu l tu ral R es is tan ce
is deriv ed f rom thes e dis ru ption s is as tru ctu re f oran os tal gic
rev iew of recon s titu ted m om en ts of tem poraryau ton om y.
T he cu l tu ral produ cerhas n otf ared an ybetter. Mal l arm
brou ghtf orththe con ceptof the w agerin AR ol l of the Dice,
an d perhaps u n w ittin gl yl iberated in v en tion f rom the bu n ker
of tran s cen den tal is m thathe hoped todef en d, as w el l as
rel eas in g the artis tf rom the m ythof the poetic s u bj ect. ( Itis
reas on abl e tos u gges tthatde Sade had al readyaccom pl is hed
thes e tas ks atam u chearl ierdate). Du cham p( the attack on
es s en tial is m ), CabaretVol taire ( the m ethodol ogyof ran dom
produ ction ), an d Berl in dada( the dis appearan ce of artin to
pol itical action )al l dis tu rbed the cu l tu ral w aters , an d yet
open ed on e of the cu l tu ral pas s ages f orthe res u rgen ce of
tran s cen den tal is m in l ate Su rreal is m . Byw ayof reaction to
the abov e three, achan n el w as al s oopen ed f orf orm al is t
dom in ation ( s til l tothis daythe dem on of the cu l tu re-text)
thatl ocked the cu l tu re-obj ectin tothe l u xu rym arketof l ate
capital . How ev er, the gam bl e of thes e f oreru n n ers of
dis tu rban ce rein j ected the dream of au ton om yw iththe
am phetam in e of hope thatgiv es con tem porarycu l tu ral
produ cers an d activ is ts the en ergytos tepu ptothe
el ectron ic gam in g tabl e torol l the dice again .
In T he P ers ian Wars , Herodotu s des cribes af eared peopl e
kn ow n as the Scythian s , w hom ain tain ed ahorticu l tu ral -
n om adic s ocietyu n l ike the s eden taryem pires in the cradl e
of civ il ization ."T he hom el an d of the Scythian s on the
N orthern Bl ack Seaw as in hos pitabl e bothcl im atical l yan d
geographical l y, bu tres is ted col on ization l es s f orthes e n atu ral
reas on s than becau s e there w as n oecon om ic orm il itary
m ean s byw hichtocol on ize ors u bj u gate it. Withn of ixed
cities orterritories , this w an derin g horde cou l d n ev erreal l y
be l ocated. Con s equ en tl y, theycou l d n ev erbe pu ton the
def en s iv e an d con qu ered. T heym ain tain ed theirau ton om y
throu ghm ov em en t, m akin g its eem toou ts iders thatthey
w ere al w ays pres en tan d pois ed f orattack ev en w hen abs en t.
T he f earin s pired bythe Scythian s w as qu ite j u s tif ied, s in ce
theyw ere of ten on the m il itaryof f en s iv e, al thou ghn oon e
kn ew w here u n til the tim e of theirin s tan tappearan ce, or
u n til traces of theirpow erw ere dis cov ered. Af l oatin g border
w as m ain tain ed in theirhom el an d, bu tP ow erw as n ota
m atterof s patial occu pation f orthe Scythian s . T hey
w an dered, takin g territoryan d tribu te as n eeded, in
w hatev erareatheyf ou n d them s el v es . In s odoin g, they
con s tru cted an in v is ibl e em pire thatdom in ated As ian f or
theN EWMEDIAR EADER
tw en ty-s ev en years , an d exten ded as f ars ou thas Egypt. T he
em pire its el f w as n ots u s tain abl e, s in ce theiriioin adic n atu re
den ied the n eed orv al u e of hol din g territories . ( Garris on s
w ere n otl ef tin def eated territories ). T heyw ere f ree to
w an der, s in ce itw as qu ickl yreal ized bytheiradv ers aries that
ev en w hen v ictorys eem ed probabl e, f orpractical itys s ake it
w as bettern ottoen gage them , an d toin s tead con cen trate
m il itaryan d econ om ic ef f orton others eden tarys ocieties
thatis , on s ocieties in w hichan in f ras tru ctu re cou l d be
l ocated an d des troyed. T his pol icyw as gen eral l yrein f orced,
becau s e an en gagem en tw iththe Scythian s requ ired the
attackers toal l ow them s el v es tof ou n d bythe Scythian s . It
w as extraordin aril yrare f orthe Scythian s tobe cau ghtin a
def en s iv e pos tu re. Shou l d the Scythian s n otl ike the term s of
en gagem en t, theyal w ays had the option of rem ain in g
in v is ibl e, an d therebyprev en tin g the en em yf rom
con s tru ctin g atheaterof operation s .
T his archaic m odel of pow erdis tribu tion an d predatory
s trategyhas been rein v en ted bythe pow erel ite of l ate capital
f orm u chthe s am e en ds . Its rein v en tion is predicated u pon
the techn ol ogical open in g of cybers pace, w here
s peed/ abs en ce an d in ertia/ pres en ce col l ide in hyperreal ity.
T he archaic m odel of n om adic pow er, on ce am ean s toan
u n s tabl e em pire, has ev ol v ed in toas u s tain abl e m ean s of
dom in ation . In as tate of dou bl e s ign if ication , the
con tem porarys ocietyof n om ads becom es bothadif f u s e
pow erf iel d w ithou tl ocation , an d af ixed s ightm achin e
appearin g as s pectacl e. T he f orm erpriv il ege al l ow s f orthe
appearan ce of gl obal econ om y, w hil e the l atteracts as a
garris on in v ariou s territories , m ain tain in g the orderof the
com m odityw ithan ideol ogys pecif ic tothe giv en area.
Al thou ghboththe dif f u s e pow erf iel d an d the s ight
m achin e are in tegrated throu ghtechn ol ogy, an d are
n eces s aryparts f orgl obal em pire, itis the f orm erthathas
f u l l yreal ized the Scythian m yth. T he s hif tf rom archaic s pace
toan el ectron ic n etw ork of f ers the f u l l com pl em en tof
n om adic pow eradv an tages :T he m il itarized n om ads are
al w ays on the of f en s iv e. T he obs cen ityof s pectacl e an d the
terrorof s peed are theircon s tan tcom pan ion s . In m os tcas es
s eden tarypopu l ation s s u bm ittothe obs cen ityof s pectacl e,
an d con ten tedl ypaythe tribu te dem an ded, in the f orm of
l abor, m aterial , an d prof it. F irs tw orl d, third w orl d, n ation or
tribe, al l m u s tgiv e tribu te. T he dif f eren tiated an d
hierarchical n ation s , cl as s es , races , an d gen ders of s eden tary
m odern s ocietyal l bl en d u n dern om adic dom in ation in tothe
IE9 !-34
o o ~ <1. a w e ac -4: n a o c oak
rol e of its s erv ice w orkers in tocaretakers of the cyberel ite.
T his s eparation , m ediated bys pectacl e, of f ers tactics thatare
beyon d the archaic n om adic m odel . R atherthan ahos til e
pl u n derin g of an adv ers ary, there is af rien dl ypil l age,
s edu ctiv el yan d ecs tatical l ycon du cted again s tthe pas s iv e.
Hos til ityf rom the oppres s ed is rechan n el ed in tothe
bu reau cracy, w hichm is directs an tagon is m aw ayf rom the
n om adic pow erf iel d T he retreatin tothe in v is ibil ityof
n on l ocation prev en ts thos e cau ghtin the pan optic s patial
l ock-dow n f rom def in in g as ite of res is tan ce ( atheaterof
operation s ), an d theyare in s tead cau ghtin ahis torical tape
l oopof res is tin g the m on u m en ts of dead capital . ( Abortion
rights ?Dem on s trate on the s teps of the Su prem e Cou rt. F or
the rel eas e of dru gs w hichs l ow the dev el opm en tof HIIZ
s torm the N IH). N ol on gern eedin g totake adef en s iv e
pos tu re is the n om ads greates ts tren gth.
As the el ectron ic in f orm ation -cores ov erf l ow w ithf il es of
el ectron ic peopl e ( thos e tran s f orm ed in tocredithis tories ,
con s u m ertypes , pattern s an d ten den cies , etc.), el ectron ic
res earch, el ectron ic m on ey, an d otherf orm s of in f orm ation
pow er, the n om ad is f ree tow an derthe el ectron ic n et, abl e to
cros s n ation al bou n daries w ithm in im al res is tan ce f rom
n ation al bu reau cracies . T he priv il eged real m of el ectron ic
s pace con trol s the phys ical l ogis tics of m an u f actu re, s in ce the
rel eas e of raw m aterial s an d m an u f actu red goods requ ires
el ectron ic con s en tan d direction . Su chpow erm u s tbe
rel in qu is hed tothe cyberreal m , orthe ef f icien cy( an d
therebythe prof itabil ity)of com pl exm an u f actu re,
dis tribu tion , an d con s u m ption w ou l d col l aps e in toa
com m u n ication gap. Mu chthe s am e is tru e of the m il itary;
there is cyberel ite con trol of in f orm ation res ou rces an d
dis pers al . Withou tcom m an d an d con trol , the m il itary
becom es im m obil e, oratbes tl im ited tochaotic dis pers al in
l ocal ized s pace. In this m an n eral l s eden tarys tru ctu res
becom e s erv an ts of the n om ads .
T he n om adic el ite its el f is f ru s tratin gl ydif f icu l ttogras p.
Ev en in 19 56 , w hen C. WrightMil l s w rote T he P ow erEl ite, it
w as cl earthatthe s eden taryel ite al readyu n ders tood the
im portan ce of in v is ibil ity. ( T his w as qu ite as hif tf rom the
l oom in g s patial m arkers of pow eru s ed bythe f eu dal
aris tocracy). Mil l s f ou n d itim pos s ibl e togetan ydirect
in f orm ation on the el ite, an d w as l ef tw iths pecu l ation s
draw n f rom qu es tion abl e em pirical categories ( f orexam pl e,
the s ocial regis ter). As the con tem poraryel ite m ov es f rom
cen tral ized u rban areas todecen tral ized an d deterritorial ized
cybers pace, Mil l s dil em m abecom es in creas in gl yaggrav ated
How can as u bj ectbe critical l yas s es s ed thatcan n otbe
l ocated, exam in ed, orev en s een ?Cl as s an al ys is reaches a
poin tof exhau s tion . Su bj ectiv el ythere is af eel in g of
oppres s ion , an d yetitis dif f icu l ttol ocate, l etal on e as s u m e,
an oppres s or. In al l l ikel ihood, this grou pis n otacl as s at
al l - thatis , an aggregate of peopl e w ithcom m on pol itical
an d econ om ic in teres ts bu tadow n l oaded el ite m il itary
con s ciou s n es s . T he cyberel ite is n ow atran s cen den ten tity
thatcan on l ybe im agin ed. Whethertheyhav e in tegrated
program m ed m otiv es is u n kn ow n . P erhaps s o, orperhaps
theirpredatoryaction s f ragm en ttheirs ol idarity, l eav in g
s hared el ectron ic pathw ays an d s tores of in f orm ation as the
on l ybas is of u n ity. T he paran oiaof im agin ation is the
f ou n dation f orathou s an d con s piracytheories +al l of w hich
are tru e. R ol l the dice.
T he dev el opm en tof an abs en tan d poten tial l yu n as s ail abl e
n om adic pow er, cou pl ed w iththe rearv is ion of rev ol u tion in
ru in s , has n earl ym u ted the con tes tation al v oice.
T radition al l y, du rin g tim es of dis il l u s ion m en t, s trategies of
retreatis m begin todom in ate. F orthe cu l tu ral produ cer,
n u m erou s exam pl es of cyn ical participation popu l ate the
l an ds cape of res is tan ce. T he experien ce of Bau del aire com es
tom in d In 1848 P aris he f ou ghton the barricades , gu ided by
the n otion thatpropertyis thef t, on l ytotu rn tocyn ical
n ihil is m af terthe rev ol u tion s f ail u re. ( Bau del aire w as n ev er
abl e tocom pl etel ys u rren der. His u s e of pl agiaris m as an
in v erted col on ial s trategyf orcef u l l yrecal l s the n otion that
propertyis thef t). An dre Breton s earl ys u rreal is tproj ect
s yn thes izin g the l iberation of des ire w iththe l iberation of
the w orker u n rav el ed w hen f aced w iththe ris e of f as cis m .
( Breton s pers on al argu m en ts w ithLou is Aragon ov erthe
f u n ction of the artis tas rev ol u tion aryagen ts hou l d al s obe
n oted. Breton n ev ercou l d aban don the ideaof poetic s el f as a
priv il eged n arrativ e). Breton in creas in gl yem braced
m ys ticis m in the 30s , an d en ded bytotal l yretreatin g in to
tran s cen den tal is m . T he ten den cyof the dis il l u s ion ed cu l tu ral
w orkertoretreattow ard in tros pection tos ides tepthe
En l ighten m en tqu es tion of Whatis tobe don e w iththe
s ocial s itu ation in l ightof s adis tic pow er?"is the
repres en tation of l if e throu ghden ial . Itis n otthatin terior
l iberation is u n des irabl e an d u n n eces s ary, on l ythatitcan n ot
53. N om adic P ow er
an d Cu l tu ral R es is tan ce
53. N om adic P ow er
an d Cu l tu ral R es is tan ce
becom e s in gu l arorpriv il eged. T otu rn aw ayf rom the
rev ol u tion of ev erydayl if e, an d pl ace cu l tu ral res is tan ce
u n derthe au thorityof the poetic s el f , has al w ays l ed to
cu l tu ral produ ction thatis the eas ies ttocom m odif yan d
bu reau cratize.
F rom the Am erican pos tm odern v iew poin t, the 19 th-
cen tu rycategoryof the poetic s el f ( as del in eated bythe
Decaden ts , the Sym bol is ts , the N abis School , etc.)has com e
torepres en tcom pl icityan d acqu ies cen ce w hen pres en ted as
pu re. T he cu l tu re of appropriation has el im in ated this option
in an d of its el f . ( Its til l has s om e v al u e as apoin tof
in ters ection . F orexam pl e, bel l hooks u s es itw el l as an
en tran ce poin ttootherdis cou rs es ). T hou ghin n eed of
rev is ion , As ger.]orn ' s m odern is tm otto"T he av an t-garde
n ev ergiv es u p!"s til l has s om e rel ev an ce. R ev ol u tion in ru in s
an d the l abyrin thof appropriation hav e em ptied the
com f ortin g certitu de of the dial ectic. T he Marxis tw aters hed,
du rin g w hichthe m ean s of oppres s ion had acl eariden tity,
an d the rou te of res is tan ce w as u n il in ear, has dis appeared
in tothe v oid of s cepticis m . How ev er, this is n oexcu s e f or
s u rren der. T he os tracized s u rreal is t, Georges Batail l e,
pres en ts an option s til l n otf u l l yexpl ore:In ev erydayl if e,
ratherthan con f ron tin g the aes thetic of u til ity, attack f rom
the rearthrou ghthe n on ration al econ om yof the perv ers e
an d s acrif icial . Su chas trategyof f ers the pos s ibil ityf or
in ters ectin g exterioran d in teriordis tu rban ce.
T he s ign if ican ce of the m ov em en tof dis il l u s ion m en tf rom
Bau del aire toArtau d is thatits practition ers im agin ed
s acrif icial econ om y. How ev er, theircon ception of if w as too
of ten l im ited toan el ite theaterof tragedy, thu s redu cin g itto
ares ou rce f orartis tic expl oitation . T ocom pl icate m atters
f u rther, the artis tic pres en tation of the perv ers e w as al w ays
s os eriou s thats ites of appl ication w ere of ten con s equ en tl y
ov erl ooked. Artau d' s s tu n n in g real ization thatthe body
w ithou torgan s had appeared, al thou ghhe s eem ed u n certain
as tow hatitm ightbe, w as l im ited totragedyan d apocal yps e.
Sign s an d traces of the bodyw ithou torgan s appear
throu ghou tm u n dan e experien ce. T he bodyw ithou torgan s
is R on al d McDon al d, n otan es oteric aes thetic; af teral l , there
is acritical pl ace f orcom edyan d hu m oras am ean s of
res is tan ce. P erhaps this is the Situ ation is tIn tern ation al s
greates tcon tribu tion tothe pos tm odern aes thetic. T he
dan cin g N ietzs che l iv es .
theN EWMEDIAR EADER
In addition toaes theticized retreatis m , am ore s ociol ogical
v arietyappeal s torom an tic res is ters aprim itiv e v ers ion of
n om adic dis appearan ce. T his is the dis il l u s ion ed retreatto
f ixed areas thatel u de s u rv eil l an ce. T ypical l y, the retreatis to
the m os tcu l tu ral l yn egatin g ru ral areas , orto
deterritorial ized u rban n eighborhoods . T he bas ic prin cipl e is
toachiev e au ton om ybyhidin g f rom s ocial au thority. As in
ban d s ocieties w hos e cu l tu re can n otbe tou ched becau s e it
can n otbe f ou n d, f reedom is en han ced f orthos e participatin g
in the proj ect. How ev er, u n l ike ban d s ocieties , w hichem erged
w ithin agiv en territory, thes e tran s pl an ted com m u n ities are
al w ays s u s ceptibl e toin f ection s f rom s pectacl e, l an gu age, an d
ev en n os tal giaf orf orm eren v iron m en ts , ritu al s , an d habits .
T hes e com m u n ities are in heren tl yu n s tabl e ( w hichis n ot
n eces s aril yn egativ e). I/ Vhetherthes e com m u n ities can be
tran s f orm ed f rom cam pgrou n ds f orthe dis il l u s ion ed an d
def eated ( as in l ate 6 0s -earl y7 0s Am erica)toef f ectiv e bas es
f orres is tan ce rem ain s tobe s een . On e has toqu es tion ,
how ev er, w hetheran ef f ectiv e s eden tarybas e of res is tan ce
w il l n otbe qu ickl yexpos ed an d u n derm in ed, s othatitw il l
n otl as tl on g en ou ghtohav e an ef f ect.
An other19 th-cen tu ryn arrativ e thatpers is ts beyon d its
n atu ral l if e is the l aborm ov em en t i.e., the bel ief thatthe
keytores is tan ce is tohav e an organ ized bodyof w orkers
s topprodu ction . Like rev ol u tion , the ideaof the u n ion has
been s hattered, an d perhaps n ev erexis ted in ev erydayl if e.
T he u biqu ityof broken s trikes , giv e-backs , an d l ay-of f s
attes ts thatw hatis cal l ed au n ion is n om ore than al abor
bu reau cracy. T he f ragm en tation of the w orl d in ton ation s ,
region s , f irs tan d third w orl ds , etc., as am ean s of dis cipl in e
byn om adic pow er has an achron ized n ation al l abor
m ov em en ts . P rodu ction s ites are toom obil e an d
m an agem en ttechn iqu es toof l exibl e f orl aboraction tobe
ef f ectiv e. If l aborin on e areares is ts corporate dem an ds , an
al tern ativ e l aborpool is qu ickl yf ou n d T he m ov em en tof
Du pon t' s an d Gen eral Motors produ ction pl an ts in toMexico,
f orexam pl e, dem on s trates this n om adic abil ity. Mexicoas
l aborcol on yal s oal l ow s redu ction of u n itcos t, byel im in atin g
f irs tw orl d w age s tan dards an d em pl oyee ben ef its . T he
s peed of the corporate w orl d is paid f orbythe in ten s if ication
of expl oitation ; s u s tain ed f ragm en tation of tim e an d of s pace
m akes itpos s ibl e. T he s ize an d des peration of the third w orl d
l aborpool , in con j u n ction w ithcom pl icitpol itical s ys tem s ,
prov ide organ ized l aborn obas e f rom w hichtobargain .
0~ o ~ ore o ~.~o~:~ trio
T he Situ ation is ts attem pted tocon ten d w iththis probl em
byrej ectin g the v al u e of bothl aboran d capital . Al l s hou l d
qu itw ork~ prol es , bu reau crats , s erv ice w orkers , ev eryon e.
Al thou ghitis eas ytos ym pathize w iththe con cept, it
pres u ppos es an im practical u n ity. T he n otion of agen eral
s trike w as m u chtool im ited; itgotbogged dow n in n ation al
s tru ggl es , n ev erm ov in g beyon d P aris , an d in the en d itdid
l ittl e dam age tothe gl obal m achin e. T he hope of am ore
el ite s trike m an if es tin g its el f in the occu pation m ov em en t
w as as trategythatw as al s odead on arriv al , f orm u chthe
s am e reas on .
T he Situ ation is tdel ightin occu pation is in teres tin g to g
the exten tthatitw as an in v ers ion of the aris tocratic right
toproperty, al thou ghthis v eryf actm akes its u s pectf rom
its in ception , s in ce ev en m odern s trategies s hou l d n ot
m erel ys eek toin v ertf eu dal in s titu tion s . T he rel ation s hip
betw een occu pation an d ow n ers hip, as pres en ted in
con s erv ativ e s ocial thou ght, w as appropriated by
rev ol u tion aries in the f irs tF ren chrev ol u tion . T he l iberation
an d occu pation of the Bas til l e w as s ign if ican tl es s f orthe
f ew pris on ers rel eas ed, than tos ign al thatobtain in g
propertythrou ghoccu pation is adou bl e-edged s w ord. T his
in v ers ion m ade the n otion of propertyin toacon s erv ativ el y
v iabl e j u s tif ication f orgen ocide. In the Iris hgen ocide of the
1840s , En gl is hl an dow n ers real ized thatitw ou l d be m ore
prof itabl e tou s e theires tates f orrais in g grazin g an im al s
than tol eav e the ten an tf arm ers there w hotradition al l y
occu pied the l an d. When the potatobl ights tru ck,
des troyin g the ten an tf arm ers crops an d l eav in g them
u n abl e topayren t, an open in g w as perceiv ed f orm as s
ev iction . En gl is hl an dl ords requ es ted an d receiv ed m il itary
as s is tan ce f rom Lon don torem ov e the f arm ers an d to
en s u re theydid n otreoccu pythe l an d. Of cou rs e the
f arm ers bel iev ed theyhad the righttobe on the l an d du e to
theirl on g s tan din g occu pation of it, regardl es s of their
f ail u re topayren t. U n f ortu n atel y, the f arm ers w ere
tran s f orm ed in toapu re exces s popu l ation s in ce theirright
topropertybyoccu pation w as n otrecogn ized. Law s w ere
pas s ed den yin g them the righttoim m igrate toEn gl an d,
l eav in g thou s an ds todie w ithou tf ood ors hel terin the Iris h
w in ter. Som e w ere abl e toim m igrate tothe U S, an d
rem ain ed al iv e, bu ton l yas abj ectref u gees . Mean w hil e, in
the U S its el f , the gen ocide of N ativ e Am erican s w as w el l
u n derw ay, j u s tif ied in partbythe bel ief thats in ce the n ativ e
tribes did n otow n l an d, al l territories w ere open , an d on ce
Q . ea- I39 9 ! 53. N om adic P ow er
an d Cu l tu ral R es is tan ce
occu pied ( in v es ted w iths eden taryv al u e), theycou l d be
def en ded. Occu pation theoryhas been m ore bitterthan
heroic.
In the pos tm odern period of n om adic pow er, l aboran d
occu pation m ov em en ts hav e n otbeen rel egated tothe
his torical s crapheap, bu tn eitherhav e theycon tin u ed to
exercis e the poten cythattheyon ce did; El ite pow er, hav in g
rid its el f of its n ation al an d u rban bas es tow an derin
abs en ce on the el ectron ic pathw ays , can n ol on gerbe
dis ru pted bys trategies predicatedu pon the con tes tation of
s eden taryf orces . T he architectu ral m on u m en ts of pow erare
hol l ow an d em pty, an d f u n ction n ow on l yas bu n kers f orthe
com pl icitan d thos e w hoacqu ies ce. T heyare s ecu re pl aces
rev eal in g m ere traces of pow er. As w ithal l m on u m en tal
architectu re, theys il en ce res is tan ce an d res en tm en tbythe
s ign s of res ol u tion , con tin u ity, com m odif ication , an d
n os tal gia. T hes e pl aces can be occu pied, bu ttodos ow il l n ot
dis ru ptthe n om adic f l ow . Atbes ts u chan occu pation is a
dis tu rban ce thatcan be m ade in v is ibl e throu ghm edia
m an ipu l ation ; aparticu l arl yv al u ed bu n ker( s u chas a
bu reau cracy)can be eas il yreoccu pied bythe pos tm odern w ar
m achin e. T he el ectron ic v al u abl es in s ide the bu n ker, of
cou rs e, can n otbe taken byphys ical m eas u res .
T he w eb con n ectin g the bu n kers the s treet -is of s u ch
l ittl e v al u e ton om adic pow erthatithas been l ef ttothe
u n dercl as s . ( On e exception is the greates tm on u m en ttothe
w arm achin e ev ercon s tru cted:T he In ters tate Highw ay
Sys tem . Stil l v al u ed an d w el l def en ded, thatl ocation s how s
al m os tn os ign of dis tu rban ce.)Giv in g the s treettothe m os t
al ien ated of cl as s es en s u res thaton l yprof ou n d al ien ation
can occu rthere. N otj u s tthe pol ice, bu tcrim in al s , addicts ,
an d ev en the hom el es s are bein g u s ed as dis ru pters of pu bl ic
s pace. T he u n dercl as s ' actu al appearan ce, in con j u n ction
w ithm edias pectacl e, has al l ow ed the f orces of orderto
con s tru ctthe hys terical perception thatthe s treets are
u n s af e, u n w hol es om e, an d u s el es s . T he prom is e of s af ety
an d f am il iarityl u res hordes of the u n s u s pectin g in to
priv atized pu bl ic. s paces s u chas m al l s . T he price of this
protection is m is the rel in qu is hm en tof in div idu al
s ov ereign ty. N oon e bu tthe com m odityhas rights in the
m al l . T he s treets in particu l aran d pu bl ic s paces in gen eral
are in ru in s . N om adic pow ers peaks toits f ol l ow ers throu gh
the au toexperien ce of el ectron ic m edia. T he s m al l erthe
pu bl ic, the greaterthe order. -
53. N om adic P ow er
an d Cu l tu ral R es is tan ce
T he av an t-garde n ev ergiv es u p, an d yetthe l im itation s of
an tiqu ated m odel s an d the s ites of res is tan ce ten d topu s h
res is tan ce in tothe v oid of dis il l u s ion m en t. Itis im portan tto
keepthe bu n kers u n ders iege; how ev er, the v ocabu l aryof
res is tan ce m u s tbe expan ded toin cl u de m ean s of el ectron ic
dis tu rban ce. Ju s tas au thorityl ocated in the s treetw as on ce
m etbydem on s tration s an d barricades , the au thoritythat
l ocates its el f in the el ectron ic f iel d m u s tbe m etw ith
el ectron ic res is tan ce. Spatial s trategies m ayn otbe keyin
this en deav or, bu ttheyare n eces s aryf ors u pport, atl eas tin
the cas e of broad s pectru m dis tu rban ce. T hes e ol der
s trategies of phys ical chal l en ge are al s obetterdev el oped,
w hil e the el ectron ic s trategies are n ot. Itis tim e totu rn
atten tion tothe el ectron ic res is tan ce, bothin term s of the
bu n keran d the n om adic f iel d. T he el ectron ic f iel d is an area
w here l ittl e is kn ow n ; in s u chagam bl e, on e s hou l d be ready
tof ace the am bigu ou s an d u n predictabl e hazards of an
u n tried res is tan ce. P reparation s f orthe dou bl e edged s w ord
s hou l d be m ade.
N om adic pow erm u s tbe res is ted in cybers pace ratherthan
in phys ical s pace. T he pos tm odern gam bl eris an el ectron ic
pl ayer. As m al l bu tcoordin ated grou pof hackers cou l d
in trodu ce el ectron ic v iru s es , w orm s , an d bom bs in tothe data
ban ks , program s , an d n etw orks of au thority, pos s ibl y
brin gin g the des tru ctiv e f orce of in ertiain tothe n om adic
real m . P rol on ged in ertiaequ al s the col l aps e of n om adic
au thorityon agl obal l ev el . Su chas trategydoes n otrequ ire a
u n if ied cl as s action , n ordoes itrequ ire s im u l tan eou s action
in n u m erou s geographic areas . T he l es s n ihil is tic cou l d
res u rrectthe s trategyof occu pation byhol din g dataas
hos tage in s tead of property. Byw hatev erm ean s el ectron ic
au thorityis dis tu rbed, the keyis tototal l ydis ru ptcom m an d
an d con trol . U n ders u chcon dition s , al l dead capital in the
m il itary/ corporate en tw in em en tbecom es an econ om ic
drain m aterial , equ ipm en t, an d l aborpow eral l w ou l d be
l ef tw ithou tam ean s of depl oym en t. Late capital w ou l d
col l aps e u n derits ow n exces s iv e w eight.
Ev en thou ghthis s u gges tion is bu tas cien ce-f iction
s cen ario, this n arrativ e does rev eal probl em s w hichm u s tbe
addres s ed. Mos tobv iou s is thatthos e w hohav e en gaged
cyberreal ityare gen eral l yadepol iticized grou p. Mos t
in f il tration in tocybers pace has eitherbeen pl ayf u l v an dal is m
( as w ithR obertMorris rogu e program , orthe s trin g of P C
v iru s es l ike Michael an gel o), pol itical l ym is gu ided es pion age
( Marku s Hes s hackin g of m il itarycom pu ters , w hichw as
theN EWMEDIAR EADER
pos s ibl ydon e f orthe ben ef itof the KGB), orpers on al
rev en ge again s taparticu l ars ou rce of au thority. T he hacker
code of ethics dis cou rages an yactof dis tu rban ce in -
cybers pace. Ev en the Legion of Doom ( agrou pof you n g
hackers thatpu tthe f earin tothe SecretServ ice)cl aim s to
hav e n ev erdam aged as ys tem . T heiractiv ities w ere
m otiv ated bycu rios ityabou tcom pu ters ys tem s , an d bel ief in
f ree acces s toin f orm ation . Beyon d thes e v eryf ocu s ed
con cern s w ithdecen tral ized in f orm ation , pol itical thou ghtor
action has n ev erreal l yen tered the grou p' s con s ciou s n es s .
An ytrou bl e thattheyhav e had w iththe l aw ( an d on l yaf ew
m em bers break the l aw )s tem m ed eitherf rom creditf rau d or
el ectron ic tres pas s . T he probl em is m u chthe s am e as
pol iticizin g s cien tis ts w hos e res earchl eads tow eapon s
dev el opm en t. Itm u s tbe as ked, How can this cl as s be as ked
todes tabil ize orcras hits ow n w orl d?T ocom pl icate m atters
f u rther, on l yaf ew u n ders tan d the s pecial ized kn ow l edge
n eces s aryf ors u chaction . Deepcyberreal ityis the l eas t
dem ocratized of al l f ron tiers . As m en tion ed abov e,
cyberw orkers as aprof es s ion al cl as s don othav e tobe f u l l y
u n if ied, bu thow can en ou ghm em bers of this cl as s be
en l is ted tos tage adis ru ption , es pecial l yw hen cyberreal ityis
u n ders tate-of -the-arts el f -s u rv eil l an ce?
T hes e probl em s hav e draw n m an yartis ts toel ectron ic
m edia, an d this has m ade s om e con tem poraryel ectron ic art
s opol itical l ycharged. Sin ce itis u n l ikel ythats cien tif ic or
techn o w orkers w il l gen erate atheoryof el ectron ic
dis tu rban ce, artis ts -activ is ts ( as w el l as othercon cern ed
grou ps )hav e been l ef tw iththe res pon s ibil itytohel pprov ide
acritical dis cou rs e on j u s tw hatis ats take in the
dev el opm en tof this n ew f ron tier. Byappropriatin g the
l egitim ized au thorityof artis tic creation , an d u s in g itas a
m ean s toes tabl is hapu bl ic f oru m f ors pecu l ation on am odel
of res is tan ce w ithin em ergin g techn o-cu l tu re, the cu l tu ral
produ cercan con tribu te tothe perpetu al f ightagain s t
au thoritarian is m . F u rther, con crete s trategies of im age/ text
com m u n ication , dev el oped throu ghthe u s e of techn ol ogy
thathas f al l en throu ghthe cracks in the w arm achin e, w il l
betteren abl e thos e con cern ed toin v en texpl os iv e m aterial to
tos s in tothe pol itical -econ om ic bu n kers . P os terin g,
pam phl eteerin g, s treettheater, pu bl ic art al l w ere u s ef u l in
the pas t. Bu tas m en tion ed abov e, w here is the pu bl ic; w ho
is on the s treet?Ju dgin g f rom the n u m berof hou rs thatthe
av erage pers on w atches tel ev is ion , its eem s thatthe pu bl ic is
el ectron ical l yen gaged T he el ectron ic w orl d, how ev er, is by
ca: o ~~ :o o o~~:~- ~a1~ ek > ~oe- I39 9 4 53. N om adic P OWET
n om ean s f u l l yes tabl is hed, an d itis tim e totake adv an tage
of this f l u iditythrou ghin v en tion , bef ore w e are l ef tw ith
on l ycritiqu e as aw eapon .
Bu n kers hav e al readybeen des cribed as priv atized pu bl ic
s paces w hichs erv e v ariou s particu l arized f u n ction s , s u chas
pol itical con tin u ity( gov ern m en tof f ices orn ation al
m on u m en ts ), orareas f orcon s u m ption f ren zy( m al l s ). In l in e
w iththe f eu dal tradition of the f ortres s m en tal ity, the
bu n kergu aran tees s af etyan d f am il iarityin exchan ge f orthe
rel in qu is hm en tof in div idu al s ov ereign ty. Itcan actas a
s edu ctiv e agen tof f erin g the credibl e il l u s ion of con s u m ptiv e
choice an d ideol ogical peace f orthe com pl icit, oritcan actas
an aggres s iv e f orce dem an din g acqu ies cen ce f orthe res is tan t.
T he bu n kerbrin gs n earl yal l toits in teriorw iththe
exception of thos e l ef ttogu ard the s treets . Af teral l , n om adic
pow erdoes n otof f erthe choice n ottow ork orn otto
con s u m e. T he bu n keris s u chan al l -em bracin g f eatu re of
ev erydayl if e thatev en the m os tres is tan tcan n otal w ays
approachitcritical l y. Al ien ation , in part, s tem s f rom this
u n con trol l abl e en trapm en tin the bu n ker.
Bu n kers v aryin appearan ce as m u chas theydoin
f u n ction . T he n om adic bu n ker -the produ ctof the gl obal
v il l age- has bothan el ectron ic an d an architectu ral f orm .
T he el ectron ic f orm is w itn es s ed as m edia; as s u chit
attem pts tocol on ize the priv ate res iden ce. In f orm ativ e
dis traction f l ow s in an u n ceas in g s tream of f iction s
produ ced byHol l yw ood, Madis on Av en u e, an d CN N . T he
econ om yof des ire can be s af el yv iew ed throu ghthe f am il iar
w in dow of s creen al s pace. Secu re in the el ectron ic bu n ker, a
l if e of al ien ated au toexperien ce ( al os s of the s ocial )can
con tin u e in qu ietacqu ies cen ce an d deeppriv ation . T he
v iew eris brou ghttothe w orl d, the w orl d tothe v iew er, al l
m ediated throu ghthe ideol ogyof the s creen . T his is v irtu al
l if e in av irtu al w orl d.
Like the el ectron ic bu n ker, the architectu ral bu n keris
an others ite w here hypers peed an d hyperin ertiain ters ect.
Su chbu n kers are n otres tricted ton ation al bou n daries ; in
f act, theys pan the gl obe. Al thou ghtheycan n otactu al l y
m ov e throu ghphys ical s pace, theys im u l ate the appearan ce
of bein g ev eryw here aton ce. T he architectu re its el f m ayv ary
con s iderabl y, ev en in term s of particu l artypes ; how ev er, the
l ogoortotem of aparticu l artype is u n iv ers al , as are its
con s u m abl es . In agen eral s en s e, itis its redu n dan t
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participation in thes e characteris tics thatm ake its o
s edu ctiv e. ~
T his type of bu n kerw as typical of capital is tpow ers f irs t
attem pttogon om adic. Du rin g the Cou n terref orm ation ,
w hen the Cathol ic Chu rchreal ized du rin g the Cou n cil of
T ren t( 1545-6 3)thatu n iv ers al pres en ce w as akeytopow er
in the age of col on ization , this type of bu n kercam e of age. ( It
took the f u l l dev el opm en tof the capital is ts ys tem toprodu ce
the techn ol ogyn eces s arytoretu rn topow erthrou gh
abs en ce). T he appearan ce of the chu rchin f ron tierareas both
Eas tan d Wes t, the u n iv ers al ization of ritu al , the
m ain ten an ce of rel ativ e gran deu rin its architectu re, an d the
ideol ogical m arkerof the cru cif ix, al l con s pired topres en ta
rel iabl e pl ace of f a.m il iarityan d s ecu rity. Wherev erapers on
w as , the hom el an d of the chu rchw as w aitin g.
In m ore con tem porarytim es , the gothic arches hav e
tran s f orm ed them s el v es in togol den arches . McDon al d' s is
gl obal . Wherev eran econ om ic f ron tieris open in g, s ois a
McDon al d' s . T rav el w here you m ight, thats am e ham bu rger
an d coke are w aitin g. Like Bern in is piazzaatSt. P eters , the
gol den arches reachou ttoem brace theircl ien ts s ol on g as
theycon s u m e, an d l eav e w hen theyare f in is hed. Whil e in the
bu n ker, n ation al bou n daries are athin g of the pas t, in f act
you are athom e. Whytrav el atal l ?Af teral l , w herev eryou go,
you are al readythere.
T here are al s os eden tarybu n kers . T his type is cl earl y
n ation al ized, an d hen ce is the bu n kerof choice f or
gov ern m en ts . Itis the ol des ttype, appearin g atthe daw n of
com pl exs ociety, an d reachin g apeak in m odern s ocietyw ith
con gl om erates of bu n kers s pread throu ghou tthe u rban
s praw l . T hes e bu n kers are in s om e cas es the l as ttrace of
cen tral ized n ation al pow er( the White Hou s e), orin others ,
theyare l ocation s tom an u f actu re acom pl icitcu l tu ral el ite
( the u n iv ers ity), ors ites of m an u f actu red con tin u ity
( his torical m on u m en ts ). T hes e are s ites m os tv u l n erabl e to
el ectron ic dis tu rban ce, as theirim ages an d m ythol ogies are
the eas ies ttoappropriate.
In an ybu n ker( al on g w ithits as s ociated geography,
territory, an d ecol ogy)the res is tan tcu l tu ral produ cercan
bes tachiev e dis tu rban ce. T here is en ou ghcon s u m er
53. N om adic P ow er
an d Cu l tu ral R es is tan ce
techn ol ogyav ail abl e toatl eas ttem poraril yrein s cribe the
bu n kerw ithim age an d l an gu age thatrev eal its s acrif icial
in ten t, as w el l as the obs cen ityof its bou rgeois u til itarian
aes thetic. N om adic pow erhas created pan ic in the s treets ,
w ithits m ythol ogies of pol itical s u bv ers ion , econ om ic
deterioration , an d biol ogical in f ection , w hichin tu rn
theN EWMEDIAR EADER
produ ce af ortres s ideol ogy, an d hen ce adem an d f or
bu n kers . Itis n ow n eces s arytobrin g pan ic in tothe bu n ker,
thu s dis tu rbin g the il l u s ion of s ecu rityan d l eav in g n opl ace
tohide. T he in citem en tof pan ic in al l s ites is the
pos tm odern gam bl e.
., __.,, . 0 . O . O I39 9 " 54. T he Worl d Wide Web
54. [ In trodu ction ]
T he Worl d-Wide Web
T he Web is arel ativ el yprim itiv e hypertexts ys tem , bu tithas certain l yf u l f il l ed its goal of bein g apool
of hu m an kn ow l edge in f act, ithas ov erf l ow ed this origin al goal tobecom e av as ts eaof hu m an
kn ow l edge. T he Web dem on s trates , as Don al d N orm an has s aid thatthe techn ol ogies thatprev ail
don ' thav e tobe the bes ton es theyj u s thav e tobe good en ou gh. Otherf actors , in cl u din g
av ail abil ity, price, an d the open n es s of s tan dards can al l ow atechn ol ogyw hichis in f eriorin m an y
s pecif ic w ays todom in ate. T hatis j u s tw hathas happen ed w iththe hypertexttechn ol ogies of the
Web in f eriortothos e con ceptu al ized in T ed N el s on s Xan adu , in f eriortothos e propos ed in the ,
Dexterhypertexts tan dard, an d in f eriortoahos tof earl ierl ocal areaors tan d-al on e hypertext
s ys tem s an d al s oov erw hel m in gl ys u cces s f u l in l in kin g an d m akin g acces s ibl e aw orl d-w ide w eal th
of in f orm ation , m ore than has ev erbeen con tain ed in an yphys ical l ibrary. T he ACM Hypertext
con f eren ce w as probabl yrighttorej ectT im Bern ers -Lees paperabou tthe Web in 19 9 1, redu cin g the
an n ou n cem en tof this earth-s hatterin g s ys tem toapos ters es s ion , j u s tas itw as probabl yrightf or
the techn ol ogical l yin f eriorWeb toeatal iv e thos e s u perior hypertexts ys tem s tal ked abou tatthe
ACM Hypertextcon f eren ce.
T he pow erof the Web is ev iden ttoday, an d s hou l d hav e been in 19 9 4w hen con s idered n otagain s t
otherhypertexts ys tem s bu tagain s tits real com petitors , then popu l arIn tern ets erv ices s u chas
Gopheran d WAIS. ( T he m os tu s ef u l an d m os tw idel yu s ed In tern ets erv ice todaycon tin u es tobe
em ail , the l es s gl am orou s w orkhors e of the n etw ork.)N ow , of cou rs e, itis tel ev is ion an d v ideogam es
thatare s een as the Webs com petition , atl eas tw ithin the m ediain du s tries . Bu tw hil e the Web w as
w el l -s u ited tothe in f orm ation -pu bl ication tas ks thathad been the prim aryu s e of Gopher, the
tel ev is ion -l ike s how s an d con s ol e-l ike gam es l au n ched on the Web byw el l -f u n ded com pan ies in the
19 9 05f ou n d l ittl e. traction . ( Aparticu l arl ys pectacu l arf ail u re thatpu rs u ed this an al ogyw as the high-
rol l in g, s how -bas ed in carn ation of the Micros of tN etw ork, al s okn ow n as MSN .)In s tead, the Webs
kil l erapp w as , an d s til l is , s im pl ythe f as t, u biqu itou s , an d n otal w ays f l as hytype of pu bl ication it
has rev el ed in s in ce the m id-19 9 0s . T hes e pu bl ication s of ten are n otm u chm ore el aborate than the
pu re textu al f orm atthatem ail has u s ed f ordecades . T he tru e triu m phof the Web is s een in the
f u l f il l m en tof u rgen tpu bl ic des ire in T he StarrR eport, f irs trel eas ed on the Web af terthe in v es tigation
w as prov oked byatextu al Web pu bl ication ; the ban teran d rehas hed n ew s of an ew s ortof
com m u n ityon Sl as l icl ot; the ten s e rel oadin g of pages as an ation w aited tos ee w hoprev ail ed in the
2 000pres iden tial el ection ; obs es s iv el y-u pdated pers on al diaries an d Web l ogs ; an al m os tin f in ite an d
rew riteabl e en cycl opediaof academ ic dis cou rs e, organ ized an d dis organ ized res is tan ce, ches s boards
s hared betw een dis tan toppon en ts , l abyrin ths of l iteratu re, v oyeu ris m of the ordin ary, dail yan d
s poradic expres s ion s of des ire; apool thatis m u rkyan d prof ou n d, teem in g w iththe u s el es s an d the
in dis pen s abl e; abodyof textw e can s u rf in pl ayf u l l yors ail throu ghw ithres ol v e on v oyages of m an y
s orts rel igiou s m is s ion s orcom m ercial j ou rn eys orattem pts atcon qu es torexpl oration thataim to
grow the greatrecord of kn ow l edge an d giv e v oice to, orchan ge f orev er, w how e are.
- N M &N WF
54. T he Worl d-Wide Web
Origin al P u bl ication
Com m u n ication s of the ACM, 37 ( 8):9 07 -9 12 . Au gu s t19 9 4.
T he Worl d-Wide Web
T im Bern ers Lee, R obert
Cail l iau , AriLu oton en ,
Hen rik F rys tyk N iel s en ,
an d Arthu rSecret
T he Worl d-Wide Web ( W3)w as dev el oped tobe apool of
hu m an kn ow l edge, w hichw ou l d al l ow col l aborators in
rem ote s ites tos hare theirideas an d al l as pects of acom m on
proj ect. P hys icis ts an d en gin eers atCER N , the Eu ropean
P articl e P hys ics Laboratoryin Gen ev a, Sw itzerl an d,
col l aborate w ithm an yotherin s titu tes tobu il d the s of tw are
an d hardw are f orhigh-en ergyphys ics res earch. T he ideaof
the Web w as prom pted bypos itiv e experien ce of as m al l
hom e-brew pers on al hypertexts ys tem u s ed f orkeepin g
track of pers on al in f orm ation on adis tribu ted proj ect. T he
Web w as des ign ed s othatif itw as u s ed in depen den tl yf or
tw oproj ects , an d l aterrel ation s hips w ere f ou n d betw een the
proj ects , then n om aj ororcen tral ized chan ges w ou l d hav e to
be m ade, bu tthe in f orm ation cou l d s m oothl yres hape to
repres en tthe n ew s tate of kn ow l edge. T his propertyof
s cal in g has al l ow ed the Web toexpan d rapidl yf rom its
origin s atCER N acros s the In tern etirres pectiv e of
bou n daries of n ation s ordis cipl in es .
If you hav en ' tyetexperien ced the Web, the bes tw ayto
f in d ou tabou titis totryit. An Appen dixtothis articl e giv es
s om e recipes f orgettin g hol d of W3 cl ien ts . Giv en on e of
thes e, you w il l qu ickl yf in d ou tal l you n eed tokn ow , an d
m u chm ore. F orhard copytoread on the pl an e, orif you
don ' thav e In tern etacces s f rom you rdes ktopm achin e, ref er
toou rpaperin El ectron ic N etw orkin g ( s ee Gl os s aryan d
F u rtherR eadin g)f oran ov erv iew of the proj ect, m aterial
w hichw e w il l n otrepeatbu tw il l s u m m arize here.
AW3 cl ien t program ru n s on you rcom pu ter. When it
s tarts , itdis pl ays an obj ect, n orm al l yadocu m en tw ithtext
an d pos s ibl yim ages . Som e of the phras es an d im ages are
highl ighted:in bl u e, orboxed, orperhaps n u m bered,
depen din g on w hats ortof adis pl ayyou hav e an d how you r
pref eren ces hav e been s et. Cl ickin g the m ou s e on the
theN EWMEDIAR EADER
highl ighted area( an chor)cau s es the cl ien tprogram to
retriev e an otherobj ectf rom s om e othercom pu ter, as erv er.
T he retriev ed obj ectis n orm al l yal s oin ahypertextf orm at,
s othe proces s of n av igation con tin u es ( s ee F igu re 54.1).
When v iew in g s om e docu m en ts , the readercan requ es ta
s earch, bytypin g in pl ain text( orcom pl excom m an ds )to
s en d tothe s erv er, ratherthan f ol l ow in g al in k. In eithercas e,
the cl ien ts en ds arequ es tof f tothe s erv er, of ten acom pl etel y
dif f eren tm achin e in s om e otherpartof the w orl d, an d
w ithin ( typical l y)as econ d, the rel ated in f orm ation , in either
hypertext, pl ain textorm u l tim ediaf orm at, is pres en ted. T his
is don e repeatedl y, an d byas equ en ce of s el ection s an d
s earches on e can f in d an ythin g thatis ou tthere. Som e
im portan tthin gs ton ote are:
- Whatev ertype of s erv er, the u s erin terf ace is the s am e, s o
u s ers don otn eed tou n ders tan d the dif f eren ces betw een the
m an yprotocol s in com m on u s e. Bef ore W3, acces s to
n etw orked in f orm ation typical l yin v ol v ed kn ow l edge of
m an ydif f eren tacces s recipes f ordif f eren ts ys tem s , an d a
dif f eren tcom m an d l an gu age f oreach. T he m odel of
hypertextw ithtextin pu thas prov ed s u f f icien tl ypow erf u l to
expres s al l the u s erin terf aces , w hil e bein g s u f f icien tl ys im pl e
torequ ire n otrain in g f oracom pu teru s er.
- Lin ks can poin ttoan ythin g thatcan be dis pl ayed, in cl u din g
s earchres u l tl is ts . ( When aqu eryis appl ied toan obj ect, the
res u l tin g obj ecthas an addres s , def in ed tobe the addres s of
the qu eried obj ectcon caten ated w iththe textof the qu ery.
As the res u l tobj ecthas an addres s , on e can m ake l in ks toit.
F ol l ow in g the l in k l aterl eads toareev al u ation of the qu ery.)
- Whil e m en u s an d directories are av ail abl e, the extraoption
of hypertextprov ides am ore pow erf u l com m u n ication s tool .
In s im pl e cas es , the s erv erprogram can gen erate ahypertext
v iew repres en tin g ( f orexam pl e)the directorys tru ctu re of an
exis tin g f il e s tore. T his al l ow s exis tin g datatobe pu ton the
Web w ithou tf u rtherhu m an ef f ort.
- T here is av eryexten dabl e s ys tem f orin trodu cin g n ew
f orm ats f orm u l tim ediadata.
- T here are m an yW3 cl ien tprogram s . As hypertext
in f orm ation is tran s m itted on the n etw ork in l ogical ( m ark-
u p)f orm , eachcl ien tcan in terpretthis in aw ayn atu ral f or
the giv en pl atf orm , m akin g optim al u s e of f on ts , col ors , an d
otherhu m an in terf ace res ou rces av ail abl e on thatpl atf orm .
. . 0 O . O . .. l " 54. T he Worl d-Wide Web We
l bn il hl n u l l
F igu re 54.1. U s in g the Worl d-Wide
Web. Show n here is the au thors
L
T l 1 iiioiT i i|' ii' o I I J
prototype Worl d-Wide Web +
u . .1 ,iIT ""' -V J-m rj _: I I ~_
appl ication f orN extStepm achin es
T he appl ication in itial l ydis pl ays the
u s ers "hom e"page ( top)of pers on al
n otes an d l in ks ( top). Cl ickin g on LL) _-T
u n derl in ed texttakes the readerto
n ew docu m en ts . In this cas e, the
u s erv is ited the Virtu al Library, an d, 3 .
D5
.-
4--.-4 Q -._Q ~.n Q _Q 4 -
M h r
l oan :
Kv
in the highen ergyphys ics 1
departm en t, f ou n d al in k toCER N . _U
Lin ked toCER N w as the "Atl as " - ..
c0l l aboration s w eb in cl u din g an .
en gin eerin g draw in g ( backgrou n d). -
T os av e hav in g tof ol l ow the s am e
pathagain , the l in k m en u ( s how n )
( Q .
Atl l ail m i
al l ow s an ew l in k tobe m ade, f or ..
exam pl e f rom texttyped in tothe
hom e page, directl ytothe Atl as
in f orm ation .
Q 1-Li?
WhatDoes W3 Def in e?
W3 has com e tos tan d f oran u m berof thin gs , w hichs hou l d
be dis tin gu is hed. T hes e in cl u de
- T he ideaof abou n dl es s in f orm ation w orl d in w hichal l item s
hav e aref eren ce byw hichtheycan be retriev ed;
- T he addres s s ys tem ( U R I)w hichthe proj ectim pl em en ted to
m ake this w orl d pos s ibl e, des pite m an ydif f eren tprotocol s ;
- An etw ork protocol ( HT T P )u s ed byn ativ e W3 s erv ers
giv in g perf orm an ce an d f eatu res n ototherw is e av ail abl e;
- Am arku pl an gu age ( HT ML)w hichev eryW3 cl ien tis
requ ired tou n ders tan d, an d is u s ed f orthe tran s m is s ion of
bas ic thin gs s u chas text, m en u s an d s im pl e on -l in e hel p
in f orm ation acros s the n et;
- T he bodyof dataav ail abl e on the In tern etu s in g al l ors om e
of the precedin g l is ted item s .
T he cl ien t s erv erarchitectu re of the Web is il l u s trated in
F igu re 54.2 .
U n iv ers al R es ou rce Iden ti ers
U n iv ers al R es ou rce Iden tif iers ( U R Is )are the s trin gs u s ed as
addres s es of obj ects ( e.g., m en u s , docu m en ts , im ages )on the
Web. F orexam pl e, the U R Iof the m ain page f orthe WWW
proj ecthappen s tobe
http:/ / in f o.cern .ch/ hypertext/ WWI/ V/ T heP roj ecthtm l
[ As of s u m m er2 002 , http:/ / w w w .w 3.org/ ]
' "' __g.; ,T i:f ii* 1: ' _"-'
' g .,, , v i, p
ii: r,i-~; m u ~q= a ; i"' t
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# J-Lil 4| 1-"
- - _" ' EXp!il ' im cn ts _-
-443 I
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be-3 _ Il l
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' EBA} ' Arw l i-u iitiic
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. r:> ".-:' _:; r"_' 1". .~ if ! ...s
. V _.--An n a-Cl -M . . __..
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-Eu ton n n Laboratoryl ot
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- I
Gn tn v l
U R Is are U n iv ers al in thattheyen code m em bers of the
u n iv ers al s etof n etw ork addres s es . F oran ew n etw ork
protocol thathas s om e con ceptof obj ect, on e can f orm an
addres s f oran yobj ectas the s etof protocol param eters
n eces s arytoacces s the obj ect. If thes e param eters are
en coded in toacon cis e s trin g, w ithapref ixtoiden tif ythe
protocol an d en codin g, on e has an ew U R Is chem e. T here are
U R Is f orIn tern etn ew s articl es an d n ew s grou ps ( the N N T P
protocol ), an d f orF T P archiv es , f ortel n etdes tin ation s , em ail
addres s es , an d s oon . T he s am e can be don e f orn am es of
obj ects in agiv en n am e s pace.
T he pref ixhttp in the precedin g exam pl e in dicates the
addres s s pace, an d def in es the in terpretation of the res tof
the s trin g. T he HT T P protocol is tobe u s ed, s othe s trin g
con tain s the addres s of the s erv ertobe con tacted, an d a
s u bs trin g tobe pas s ed tothe s erv er. Dif f eren tprotocol s u s e
dif f eren ts yn taxes , bu tthere is as m al l am ou n tof com m on
s yn tax. F orexam pl e, the com m on U R Is yn taxres erv es the /
as aw ayof repres en tin g ahierarchical s pace, an d as a
s eparatorbetw een the addres s of an obj ectan d aqu ery
operation appl ied toit. As thes e f orm s recu rin s ev eral
in f orm ation s ys tem s , toal l ow expres s ion of them in the
com m on s yn taxal l ow s the f eatu res tobe retain ed in the
com m on m odel , w here appropriate. Hierarchical f orm s are
u s ef u .l f orhypertext, w here on e w ork m aybe s pl itu pin to
m an yin terl in ked docu m en ts . R el ativ e n am es expl oitthe
54. T he Worl d-Wide Web
T erm in al P C or U n ix ~
em u l ator Macin tos h x11 N "S"p
gr
l
s chem e, P rotocol s ,
F igu re 54.2 . T he Worl d-Wide Web cl ien t-s erv erarchitectu re. F or
pu bl is hed in f orm ation tobe u n iv ers al l yav ail abl e, W3 rel ies on a
com m on addres s in g s yn tax, as etof com m on protocol s , an d
n egotiation of dataf orm ats .
.ae 1 iv aiis
Sew ern !s $.<> * her.t
~av P " .@ $l 0h. -.
.-...-.,-.. J. - )
......-._.., ..
D l he . n f . ii5
.' _$9 l 9 _ _"-' .9 33- ' _; '
hierarchical s tru ctu re an d al l ow l in ks tobe m ade w ithin the
w ork in depen den tof the higherparts of the U R Is u chas the
s erv ern am e.
U R Is yn taxal l ow s obj ects tobe addres s ed n oton l yu s in g
HT T P bu tal s ou s in g the othercom m on n etw orked
in f orm ation protocol s in u s e today( F T P , N N T P , Gopher, an d
WAIS), an d w il l al l ow exten s ion w hen n ew protocol s are
dev el oped. _
U R l s are cen tral tothe W3 architectu re. T he f actthatitis
eas ytoaddres s an obj ectan yw here on the In tern etis
es s en tial f orthe s ys tem tos cal e, an d f orthe in f orm ation
s pace tobe in depen den tof the n etw ork an d s erv ertopol ogy.
HypertextT ran s f erP rotocol
P erhaps m is n am ed, ratherthan bein g aprotocol f or
tran s f errin g hypertext, HT T P is aprotocol f ortran s f errin g
in f orm ation w iththe ef f icien cyn eces s aryf orm akin g
hypertextj u m ps . T he datatran s f erred m aybe pl ain text,
hypertext, im ages , oran ythin g el s e.
When au s erbrow s es the Web, obj ects are retriev ed in rapid
s u cces s ion f rom of ten w idel ydis pers ed s erv ers . F ors m al l
docu m en ts , the l im itation s tothe res pon s e tim e s tem m ain l y
f rom the n u m berof rou n d tripdel ays acros s the n etw ork
n eces s arybef ore the ren dition of the obj ectcan be s tarted.
HT T P is theref ore as im pl e requ es t/ res pon s e protocol .
HT T P does n oton l ytran s f erHT MLdocu m en ts . Al thou gh
HT MLcom prehen s ion is requ ired of W3 cl ien ts , HT T P is
u s ed f orretriev in g docu m en ts in an u n bou n ded an d
exten s ibl e s etof f orm ats . T oachiev e this , the cl ien ts en ds a
( w eighted)l is tof the f orm ats itcan han dl e, an d the s erv er
repl ies w ithdatain an yof thos e f orm ats thatitcan produ ce.
theN EWMEDIAR EADER
T his al l ow s proprietaryf orm ats tobe u s ed betw een
con s en tin g program s in priv ate, w ithou tthe n eed f or
s tan dardization of thos e f orm ats . T his is im portan tbothf or
high-en d u s ers w hos hare datain s ophis ticated f orm s , an d
al s oas al "l ook f orf orm ats thathav e yettobe in v en ted. T he
s am e n egotiation s ys tem is u s ed f orn atu ral l an gu age
( En gl is h, F ren ch, f orexam pl e)w here av ail abl e, as w el l as f or
com pres s ion f orm s .
HT T P is an In tern etprotocol . Itis s im il arin its readabl e,
text-bas ed s tyl e tothe F il e T ran s f er( F T P )an d N etw ork
N ew s ( N N T P )P rotocol s thathav e been u s ed totran s f er
f il es an d n ew s on the In tern etf orm an yyears . U n l ike thes e
protocol s , how ev er, HT T P , is s tatel es s . ( T hatis , itru n s ov er
aT CP con n ection thatis hel d on l yf orthe du ration of on e
operation .)T he s tatel es s m odel is ef f icien tw hen al in k
f rom on e obj ectm ayl ead equ al l yw el l toan obj ects tored
on the s am e s erv er, ortoan otherdis tan ts erv er. T he
pu rpos e of aref eren ce s u chas aU R Iis thatits hou l d al w ays
ref ertothe s am e ( in s om e s en s e)obj ect. T his al s om akes a
s tatel es s protocol appropriate, as itretu rn s res u l ts bas ed on
the U R Ibu tirrel ev an tof an yprev iou s operation s
perf orm ed bythe cl ien t.
T he HT T P requ es tf rom the cl ien ts tarts w ithan
operation code ( kn ow n as the m ethod, in con f orm an ce w ith
obj ect-orien ted term in ol ogy)an d the U R Iof the obj ect. T he
GET "m ethod u s ed byal l brow s ers is def in ed tobe
idem poten tin thatits hou l d pres erv e the s tate of the Web
( apartf rom bil l in g f orthe in f orm ation tran s f er, an d
s tatis tics ). AP U T m ethod is def in ed f orf ron t-en d u pdate,
an d aP OST m ethod f orthe attachm en tof an ew docu m en t
tothe Web, ors u bm is s ion of af il l ed in f orm orotherobj ect
tos om e proces s or. U s e of P U T an d P OST is cu rren tl yl im ited,
partl ydu e tos carcityof hypertexteditors . T he exten s ion to
otherm ethods is as u bj ectof s tu dy.
When obj ects are tran s f erred ov erthe n etw ork,
in f orm ation abou tthem ( m etain f orm ation )is tran s f erred
in HT T P headers . T he s etof headers is an exten s ion of the
Mu l tipu rpos e In tern etMail Exten s ion s ( MIME)s et. T his
des ign decis ion w as taken toopen the doortoin tegration of
hyperm ediam ail , n ew s , an d in f orm ation acces s . U n l ike in
em ail , tran s f erin bin ary, an d tran s f erin n on s tan dard bu t
m u tu al l yagreed docu m en tf orm ats is pos s ibl e. T his al l ow s ,
f orexam pl e, s erv ers toin dicate l in ks f rom , an d titl es of ,
docu m en ts ( s u chas bit-m apim ages )w hos e dataf orm atdoes
n ototherw is e in cl u de s u chin f orm ation .
0 o ~a ~10 s o o ew . -> 0. 41+ o E9 9 4 54. T h9 Worl d-Wide Web
T he con v en tion thatu n recogn ized HT T P headers an d
param eters are ign ored has m ade iteas ytotryn ew ideas on
w orkin g produ ction s erv ers . T his has al l ow ed the protocol
def in ition toev ol v e in acon trol l ed w aybythe in corporation
of tes ted ideas .
HypertextMarku pLan gu age ( HT ML)
Des pite the abil ityof HT T P ton egotiate f orm ats , W3
n eeded acom m on bas ic l an gu age of in terchan ge f or
hypertext. HT MLis thatl an gu age, an d m u chof the f abric
of the Web is con s tru cted ou tof it. Itw as des ign ed tobe
s u f f icien tl ys im pl e s oas tobe eas il yprodu ced byboth
peopl e an d program s , bu tal s otoadhere tothe SGML
s tan dard in thatav al id HT MLdocu m en t, if attached to
SGMLdecl aration s in cl u din g the HT MLDT D,"m aybe
pars ed byan SGMLpars er. HT MLis am arku pl an gu age
thatdoes n othav e tobe u s ed w ithHT T P Itcan be u s ed in
hypertextem ail ( itis propos ed as af orm atf orMIME),
n ew s , an d an yw here bas ic hypertextis n eeded. Itin cl u des
s im pl e s tru ctu re el em en ts , s u chas s ev eral l ev el s of
headin gs , bu l l eted l is ts , m en u s an d com pactl is ts , al l of
w hichare u s ef u l w hen pres en tin g choices , an d in on -l in e
docu m en ts .
U n derdev el opm en tis am u chen riched v ers ion of HT ML
kn ow n has HT ML+. T his in cl u des f eatu res f orm ore
s ophis ticated on -l in e docu m en tation , f orm tem pl ates f orthe
en tryof databyu s ers , tabl es an d m athem atical f orm u l ae.
Cu rren tl ym an ybrow s ers s u pportas u bs etof the HT ML+
f eatu res in addition tothe core HT MLs et.
HT MLis def in ed tobe al an gu age of com m u n ication ,
w hichactu al l yf l ow s ov erthe n etw ork. T here is n o
requ irem en tthatf il es are s tored in HT ML. Serv ers m ays tore
f il es in otherf orm ats , orin v ariation s on HT MLthatin cl u de
extrain f orm ation of l ocal in teres ton l y, an d then gen erate
HT MLon the f l yw itheachrequ es t.
W3 an d OtherSys tem s
T w oothers ys tem s , WAIS ( f rom T hin kin g Machin es
Corporation an d n ow WAIS, In c.)an d Gopher( f rom the
U n iv ers ityof Min n es ota), s hare W3s cl ien t s erv er
architectu re an d acertain am ou n tof its f u n ction al ity. T abl e
54.1 in dicates s om e of the dif f eren ces .
T he WAIS protocol is in f l u en ced l argel ybythe z39 .50
protocol des ign ed f orn etw orkin g l ibrarycatal ogs . Ital l ow s a
text-bas ed s earch, an d retriev al f ol l ow in g as earch. In dexes to
be s earched are f ou n d bys earchin g in am as terin dex. T his
tw o-s tage s earchhas been dem on s trated tobe s u f f icien tl y
pow erf u l tocov erthe cu rren tw orl d of WAIS data. T here are
n on av igation al tool s toal l ow the readertobe s how n the
av ail abl e res ou rces , how ev er, orgu ided throu ghthe data:the
readeris parachu ted in "toahopef u l l yrel ev an ts potin the
in f orm ation w orl d, bu tl ef tw ithou tcon text.
Gopherprov ides af ree texts earchm echan is m , bu t
prin cipal l yu s es m en u s . Am en u is al is tof titl es , f rom w hich
T abl e 54.1. Acom paris on of
three popu l arn etw ork
in f orm ation proj ects .
, R egis tered s erv er gu res taken
April 2 7 , 19 9 3 an d April 15,
19 9 4. WAIS: f rom T hin kin g
Machin es Corporation
directory, n u m berof dis tin ct
hos ts . Gopher: f rom "Al l the
Gophers in the w orl d"regis ter
atthe U n iv ers ityof
Min n es ota. W3: f rom
Geographical regis tryatCER N .
In al l cas es m an ym ore s erv ers
exis tw hichare n otdirectl y
regis tered, s othes e are av ery
rou ghgu ide w ithn oin dication
of qu an tityorqu al ityof
- in f orm ation ateachhos t.
54. T he Worl d-Wide Web
the u s erm aypick on e. Whil e gophers pace is in f actaw eb
con tain in g m an yl oops , the m en u s ys tem giv es the u s erthe
im pres s ion of atree. T he Veron icas erv erprov ides am as ter
in dexf orgophers pace.
T he W3 datam odel is s im il artothe gopherm odel , except
thatm en u s are gen eral ized tohypertextdocu m en ts . In both
cas es , s im pl e f il e s erv ers gen erate the m en u s orhypertext
directl yf rom the f il e s tru ctu re of as erv er. T he W3
hypertextm odel giv es the program m ore pow erto
com m u n icate the option s av ail abl e tothe reader, as itcan
in cl u de headin gs an d v ariou s f orm s of l is ts tru ctu re, f or
exam pl e, w ithin the hypertext.
Al l three s ys tem s al l ow f orthe prov is ion of graphics , s ou n d
an d v ideo, al thou ghbecau s e the WAIS s ys tem on l yhas acces s
bytexts earch, texthas tobe as s ociated w ithgraphics f il es to
al l ow them tobe f ou n d.
W3. cl ien ts prov ide acces s tos erv ers of al l types , as as in gl e
s im pl e in terf ace tothe w hol e Web is con s idered v ery
im portan t. U n kn ow n tothe u s er, s ev eral protocol s are in u s e
behin d the s cen es . Acom m on code l ibraryl ibw w w "pu tin to
the pu bl ic dom ain byCER N has prom oted this u n if orm ity.
Whereas on e w ou l d n otw is htos ee greaterprol if eration of
protocol s , the exis ten ce of m ore than on e protocol probabl y
al l ow s f orthe m os trapid progres s du rin g this phas e in the
dev el opm en tof the f iel d. Ital s oal l ow s acertain l im ited
con f iden ce that, if an architectu re can en com pas s ol der
s ys tem s an d al l ow tran s ition tocu rren ts ys tem s , itw il l , by
in du ction , be abl e toprov ide atran s ition ton ew eran d better
ideas as theyare in v en ted.
R ecen tW3 Dev el opm en ts
T his articl e, l ike others in this is s u e, w as deriv ed f rom
m aterial w ritten in April 19 9 3 f orthe IN ET ' 9 3 con f eren ce.
Grow thof the Web s in ce thattim e has been s ogreatthat
this s ection has been com pl etel yrew ritten . T here are n ow
82 9 ( May: 1,2 48)ratherthan 6 2 regis tered HT T P s erv ers ,
an d m an ym ore cl ien tprogram s av ail abl e as then .
T he in itial prototype W3 cl ien tw as aw ys iw yg hypertext
brow s er/ editoru s in g N eXT Step. We dev el oped al in e m ode
brow s er, an d w ere en cou ragin g the dev el opm en ts of agood
brow s erf orX w orks tation s . On e yearago, N CSA' s Mos aic W3
brow s erw as in w ide u s e on X w orks tation s . Its eas yin s tal l ation
an d u s e w as am aj orreas on f orthe s pread of the Web. T oday
there are m an ybrow s ers av ail abl e f orw orks tation s , Macin tos h
an d IBM/ P C com patibl e m achin es , an d f oru s ers w ith
theN EWMEDIAR EADER
character-bas ed term in al s . Of the l attercategory, Lyn x f rom
the U n iv ers ityof Kan s as prov ides f u l l s creen acces s tothe Web
f oru s ers w ithcharacterterm in al s orem u l ators ru n n in g on
pers on al com pu ters . Sin ce n ew s of tw are is appearin g
f requ en tl y, readers are adv is ed tocheck the l is ts on the Web f or
thos e m os ts u ited totheirn eeds .
T he av ail abil ityof brow s ers an d the av ail abil ityof qu al ity
in f orm ation hav e prov oked eachother. On e av ail abl e
in dicatorof grow thhas been Meritl n c.' s cou n tof the traf f ic
of v ariou s dif f eren tprotocol s acros s the N SF T 3 backbon e in
the U .S. ( s ee F igu re 54.3).
An in dicatorof the u ptake rate of cl ien ts is the l oad on the
in f o.cem .chW3 s erv eratCER N , w hichprov ides in f orm ation
abou tthe Web its el f , w hichm ore than dou bl ed ev ery4m on ths
ov erthe three years betw een April 19 9 1 an d April 19 9 4.
In f orm ation prov iders hav e al s obl os s om ed. Som e of thes e
prov ide s im pl e ov erv iew s of w hatis av ail abl e atparticu l ar
in s titu tes orin particu l arf iel ds . Others u s e the pow erof the
W3 m odel toprov ide av irtu al w orl d of greatrichn es s .
10T erabytes
1 T erabyte
100Gigabytes
v i - v i ' N
~:?; i,
10Gigabytes -' - ~-- __
WAIS ' "' - -
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1% HT T P --
100Megabytes ~,' -4.' -' . - - - --- -' - - - - ~ ~ ~ - - - - -f - - - - - - - - - - -
10Me-gabytes l | l I 1 l l __i_- 1-..: 1 1 l iLs l
9 2 11 9 301 9 303 9 3059 307 9 309 9 311 9 401 9 403
F igu re 54.3. T raf f ic in bytes perm on thacros s the N SF T 3
backbon e in the U .S. F il e T ran s f erP rotocol ( F T P )w as
tradition al l yu s ed toacces s archiv es of s of tw are. F T P u s es
s eparate con n ection s f orcon trol an d dataf l ow . WAIS aros e as an
in terf ace totextretriev al s ys tem s , Gopherprotocol w ithm en u -
s tyl e in terf aces , an d W3s HT T P w ithhypertextan d m u l tim edia.
W3 cl ien ts han dl e m an yprotocol s toacces s al l thes e w orl ds of
dataas as eam l es s con tin u u m , bu tn ew W3 s erv ers u s e HT T P by
pref eren ce. Eachv ertical div is ion repres en ts aten f ol d in creas e in
traf f ic. T he horizon tal div is ion s are m on ths . Data: Merit
<f tp:/ / f tp.m erit.edu / s tatis tics / n s f n et> . [ As of s u m m er2 002 ,
http:/ / w w w .if l a.org/ docu m en ts / in tern et/ n s f -his t.txt]
o 044* 4.: 0 0 ~= o o ~04 kol il ggl 54. T he w 0|' l .d-w ide Web
Exam pl es of s erv ers thatu s e hypertextin in teres tin g w ays
are the R AL-Du rham P articl e Databas e, an d the Legal
In f orm ation In s titu tes hypertexts of s ev eral greattom es of
Am erican l aw . F ran z Hoes el ' s hypertextv ers ion of the
Vatican ' s R en ais s an ce Cu l tu re exhibitatthe Libraryof
Con gres s s etan exam pl e thatw as f ol l ow ed bym an y
col l ection s of art, his toryan d otherf iel ds . T he P al oAl to
tow n hal l ru n s as erv erw ithev erythin g f rom bu il din g
regu l ation s tores tau ran ts . As an exam pl e of the in creas in g
u s e of the Web f orcom m erce, au s er f rien dl yv irtu al
cl othin g s tore prom pts f oron es s ize, an d poin ts toav irtu al
s tore con tain in g on l ythos e cl othes thatare the rights ize
an d al s oin s tock.
T he F u tu re
T he W3 in itiativ e occu pies the m eetin g poin tof m an yf iel ds
of techn ol ogy. U s ers pu tpres s u re an d ef f ortin tobrin gin g
abou tthe adoption of W3 in n ew areas . Apartf rom bein g a
pl ace of com m u n ication an d l earn in g, an d an ew m arket
pl ace, the Web is as how grou n d f orn ew dev el opm en ts in
in f orm ation techn ol ogy. Som e of the dev el opm en ts thatw e
l ook f orw ard toin the n extf ew years in cl u de
- T he im pl em en tation of an am e s erv ice thatw il l al l ow
docu m en ts tobe ref eren ced byn am e, in depen den tof their
l ocation ;
- Hypertexteditors al l ow in g n on expertu s ers tom ake
hypertextl in ks toorgan ize pu bl is hed in f orm ation . T his w il l
brin g the goal of com pu ter~s u pported col l aboration cl os er,
w ithf ron t-en d u pdate, an d an n otation ;
- More s ophis ticated docu m en ttype def in ition s prov idin g f or
the n eeds of com m ercial pu bl is hers of on l in e m aterial ;
- T he dev el opm en tof acom m on f orm atf orhypertextl in ks
f rom tw o- an d three-dim en s ion al im ages giv in g m ore
excitin g in terf ace pos s ibil ities ;
- In tegration w ithcon cu rren teditors an d otherreal -tim e
f eatu res s u chas tel econ f eren cin g an d v irtu al real ity;
- Eas y-to u s e s erv ers f orl ow -en d m achin es toeas e pu bl ication
of in f orm ation bys m al l grou ps an d in div idu al s ;
- Ev ol u tion of obj ects f rom bein g prin cipal l yhu m an -readabl e
docu m en ts tocon tain m ore m achin e orien ted s em an tic
in f orm ation , al l ow in g m ore s ophis ticated proces s in g;
- Con v en tion s on the In tern etf orchargin g an d com m ercial
u s e toal l ow directacces s tof or-prof its erv ices .
Con cl u s ion
Itis in ten ded thataf terreadin g this articl e you w il l hav e an
ideaof w hatW3 is , w here itf its in w ithothers ys tem s in the
f iel d, an d w here itis goin g. T here is m u chm ore tobe s aid,
es pecial l yabou tprov idin g in f orm ation , bu tthis is des cribed
on the Web its el f . Al s oin the Web abou tthe Web"are l is ts
of con tribu ted res earchan d dev el opm en tw ork an d ideas ,
an d poin ters tow ork in progres s , s othatthos e in teres ted can
w ork together.
T he Web does n otyetm eetits des ign goal as bein g apool
of kn ow l edge thatis as eas ytou pdate as toread T hatl ev el
of im m ediacyof kn ow l edge s harin g w aits f oreas y to-u s e
hypertexteditors tobe gen eral l yav ail abl e on m os tpl atf orm s .
Mos tin f orm ation has in f actpas s ed throu ghpu bl is hers or
s ys tem m an agers of on e s ortoran other. How ev er, the
in credibl e div ers ityof in f orm ation av ail abl e giv es greatcredit
tothe creativ ityan d in gen u ityof in f orm ation prov iders , an d
poin ts toav eryexcitin g f u tu re.
Appen dix: Gettin g Started
If you hav e av t1OO term in al , you can tryou taf u l l s creen
in terf ace bytel n ettou kan aix.cc.u kan s .edu Ian d l oggin g in as
w w w . Withan yterm in al , you can tel n ettoin f o.cern .chIf or
the s im pl es tin terf ace. T hes e brow s ers are al s oav ail abl e in
s ou rce an d in s om e cas es bin aryf orm . Detail s of s tatu s an d
coordin ates of abou t2 0dif f eren tbrow s ers are av ail abl e on
the Web j u s tf ol l ow al in k toWorl d-Wide Web, an d s el ect
s of tw are av ail abl e.
T he kern el W3 code ( acom m on code l ibrary, an d bas ic
s erv eran d cl ien ts )f rom CER N is in the pu bl ic dom ain . ( Al l
protocol s an d s pecif ication s are pu bl ic dom ain .)Itis av ail abl e
byan on ym ou s F T P f rom in f o.cern .ch.JI
N CSAs Mos aic brow s erf orW3 is av ail abl e f orX, Mac or
P C/ Win dow s byan on ym ou s F T P f rom f tp.n cs a.u iu c.edu ,
cu rren tl yw ithou tcharge f oracadem ic u s ers . [ As of s u m m er
2 002 , f tp.n cs a.u iu c.edu is s til l on l in e; Mos aic is av ail abl e f or
f ree f rom there byf tp. Hos ts m arked T are n ol on geron l in e.]
N ote
1. T he In tern etEn gin eerin g T as k F orce ( IET F )is cu rren tl yde n in g
as im il aran d deriv ed s yn taxkn ow n as aU n if orm R es ou rce Locator
( U R L). As this w ork is n otcom pl ete, an d there is n ogu aran tee that
U R Ls w il l hav e the s am e s yn taxorproperties as U R Is , w e u s e the
term U R Ihere toav oid con f u s ion .
54. T he Worl d-Wide Web theN EWMEDIAR EADER