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| Charis Tsevis |
In September 1940, George Stibitz used a Teletype machine to send instructions for a problem set from his Model at Dartmouth College to his Complex Number Calculator in New York and received results back by the same means.
What are historical routes of communication?
How do they shape how we organize information?
read Congress Pushes Apple to Protect Your Address Book - ABC News
Cloud computing
Create a network right now!
Networked art
-museums and net art
-Bil T Jones
-5 innovative networked art projects
-Golan Levin
Networked clothing
-FB Hoodie
-talk 2 my shirt
What networked objects or art could you design? Some ideas...
-LED Fabric,
-Laundrino
-LED Dresses
For Homework:
metaforas.org- Foundations- all sections
Blog Response due next week- also read my comments on your thesis statements. Most people need to revise them.
metaforas.org -Foundations readings:
ReplyDeleteWhat caught my eye the most was how far we have come in technology when solely looking at the computer and the internet/world wide web...
Years ago messages were sent on food, word or mouth, or pigeons. Now cell phones give their users multiple ways to send a message.
I think what I have either forgotten or did not realize how much other people and I depend on this electronic connection that allows us to share information, communicate and connect with others.
People put a lot on their computers, servers, phones, and other digital storage devices: they have family photographs, homework assignments and works that are very important. If such digital files could not be accessed or were lost what would people do? How saddening would it be if the pictures from your wedding or the last image of your deceased mother was gone forever?
After reading the articles on this site... my first thoughts were how information is accessed and what happens when it is lost. I myself have 1000s of images on my computer and would be devastated if I could never access them again. I would print them all out but that would take weeks. Storing my photographs and work on my computer makes everything so easy and convenient. Which is why I think if such devices where unable to be used people would have the hardest time going back to physical data storing and such.
The virtually of the web and its interconnectedness makes it so easy for people to connect with one another, I just wonder if people are going to completely lose site of physical realtionships.
The metaforas.org foundations section is an excellent tool for learning about how the original concept of a circuit, or a network has evolved into modern times, and how multimedia is perceived. It is nice to step back once and awhile and really look at terms such as circuit, or network, and how we use them today compared to what they meant in the past.
ReplyDeleteWhat I found most interesting is the concept of a “creative interlocutor” and all the tasks that needs to be performed in order to bring stability, and organization throughout this digitized “library” of information, while also being producers, directors, editors, and collectors. The “World Brain”, a term they used that was originally conceived by H.G. Wells, to describe the modern realm of digital networking as a living organ really stood out to me. Their use of the “world brain” brain concept being a living organism is a great way of looking at this collection of shared data and information, the culture that flourishes from it, and the way people make their own conclusions, findings, etc.
With that in mind, they raise a good question about how to organize a digital library with the information overload and how to decipher what is “most useful to particular needs and situations.” It is agreeable that just because a search engine gives us the most popular answer to our questions, it does not mean its the best one. More importantly, the hastened availability of said popular answer may devalue it’s credibility.
“When creative output is digitized, it changes the working process, the relationship between creator and audience, and allows the combination of work into multimedia. Culture in the realm of the circuit is a shared process, and also the process of sharing.” This is important to emphasize because we are only making this transition, and this way of thinking needs to be embraced. Creative contributions on a digital level now have a huge audience, compared to the past where only the wealthy could view fine art. Creativity in this medium, in the 21st century, is interactive. The “end result” may never be, due to the critical evaluation it constantly receives, which is good for the evolution of ideas, and art itself.
The three most appealing parts of the reading to me were the limitations presented by technological advances, that the idea of networks in theory has not changed since it's first implication and that the only limitations on a network is the limitation of the imagination. Technology always seems to bring new, better and more helpful options for the world. However, like with the railroads despite their rapid speed they presented limitations such as where you were or how you might want to get there. In addition, from the first pony express to the current world wide web the base idea of networks has not changed. Much like the pony expresses carrying information from point A to B, now the same actions is being undertaking by satellites in a much faster time. Finally, the lack of limitations on the power and ability of a network is a very intriguing idea. The idea that a network can do anything a mind can imagine is an exciting idea that may lead to the next huge technological advancement.
ReplyDeleteI had never thought about how far we had come in the advancement of technology until recently talking about it in class and then now reading this article. It was just more than 100 years ago that we were perfecting mail carrying and now we can get mail with in one day of sending it. Years ago it would take days, maybe weeks to send a message now we can get a text message in seconds. It would take weeks maybe months to get across country and now it only can take hours by plane. Technology has come along way but it has gotten me thinking, does the human race trust technology too much? I think so! We all, including myself, put our whole lives on the internet or our cell phones. Pictures, personal information, dating status, family status, not to mention someone could follow you and know your every move with all the status up dates that people these days do.
ReplyDeleteBut with all the advances comes limitations. We can only fly places that have an airport to fly into. We can only send mail to someone who has a perminet address. Also there is a lack of privacy. The government can just hack onto your computer, tap your cell phone, or house phone, if they feel that you are playing a part in a suspicious activity.
The internet and other technologies have come a long way since they were first developed and as we can see before our eyes, technology is advancing faster then we can learn how to use it.
In a way, with the ever-expanding Internet afoot, we have all become interlocutors. Obviously we are not all reliable, grade-A interlocutors but we “facilitate the exchange of ideas between one need and another” and often times navigate, produce, direct, collect, edit, and organize contributions to “the infinite digital library.” We are “distributor[s] of inspiration” all thanks to the recently founded “World Brain” of all networks, the World Wide Web. As the impulses in the brain are similar to those of a digital file or even a website: “they have no implicit value until interpreted.” It is crazy to see that people were dreaming of the Internet, envisioning a way to send packets of data publicly worldwide per se, as far back as the 19th century. H. G. Wells’ “Permanent World Encyclopedia” has become a living, practically breathing, reality. As the so-called Interlocutors, we feed the brain daily with the infinite amount of information that we collect and reflect upon. Metaphorically speaking every new technology that comes out that can store metafora “are volumes in the library of the World Brain.” It is amazing to see how everything connects in the “circuit,” when once upon a time the only means of communication were by word of mouth. Nowadays it is unusual to not combine multiple mediums of sense-stimulating sources at once. What is truly amazing is that that the bare bones of it all start with simple binary code, on or off switch, thousands of them depicting windows upon windows of colorful words, graphics, and sounds. Computers, along with the Internet have truly brought about the most complexly vast and most convenient communication circuit, and have really helped to evolve and revolutionize the world. It changes the way we view things, how we create things, how we talk to people, and it certainly helps our “quest for understanding” because we can reach practically anything by delving into this interlocking network of information.
ReplyDeleteI thought that the most interesting part of this article was “The Medium.” I found it very interesting to learn how much creativity and multimedia has changed. “Samplers and other digital tools can fabricate sounds out of nothing more than numbers. If music once depended on the physical presence and organization of the musician and the instrument, it now depends on the programmer and engineer.” This statement really summed up what our world has come to in terms of technological advancements and innovations. As stated earlier in this exert, multimedia used to consist of dance and masks used in tribal rituals and now all different types of multimedia can be played using a compact device such as a cell phone. The world we live in now is almost completely digitized, which I think is absolutely crazy. I love the fact that I can be creative on the computer and other technological mediums but sometimes I think people forget that there are other ways to be creative aside from the digital perspective.
ReplyDeleteAll the information we, as individuals, gain and then proceed to put that information into the internet, is helping the “brain” grow. Everything new thing that is added soon joins this large world of networking. There is so much information out in the cyber world, that you could find almost anything you are curious about. However, just because it is fast and easy does not always mean it is correct. Library and museums carry so much information and objects. The information is organized in a certain way in each area, and thought may take a little longer to retrieve this information, we know that we can count on it. Because there is so much data on the internet, a possible new discovery of information that can be maintained, like an online library can may be managed as the years go on. This can allow us to gain more knowledge and the process to continue.
ReplyDeleteWork such as paintings, sculptures, and films, or any other raw material is art work done by an artist. However, when art is put through editing and changes are made to the work, with a combination of ideas from more than one person, it is now a multimedia. Any two or more forms of media in combination becomes a multimedia and it can date back to several years ago. Every piece of media is so much easier to collect now a days. Back then music simply came from and instrument and the person playing it. Now, you can use a simple digitized tool to fabricate the instrument of a sound. Along with the article, I would say my cell phone really does provide all information a news crew would have back in the day.
Number is one thing that makes up the elements of the computer. It crazy to think that some sort of number system has been around as long as 15,000 BCE. Knowing that numbers are the components of a computer, is such a interesting detail to believe, that our minds have been evolving since that time, only by adding more information to it. Numbers even come in contact with sound. Back then, sound was translated through signal of vibration. Now, through the computer, music is sampled, then converted into numbers that is then translated and carried through a speaker.
Computer programs are a type of algorithm, which is also number thats are translated into a code that a computer can read. Numbers and mathematics really take up most of every concepts of a computer. I find it extremely crazy that our minds can come up with a set of numbers, create machines to deal with theses numbers, and eventually turn it into a computer. Today, we are going above and beyond just a simple computer. We have laptop and flat screens, and programs that can pretty much do anything. To think all of information came form simple numbers really blows my mind.
This article was very interesting and mind opening. After reading this article, I realized how advanced technology is now compared to the past. Compared to past ways of communication, we now have several ways to communicate. And also compared to the past technology or ways of sending and receiving information within a couple of days, our technology today allows us to send and receive messages in a matter of seconds from computer to computer or wireless phone to wireless phone.
ReplyDeleteOnce section I found interesting in this article is "World Brain". The fact that they even compare technology and circuits to the brain fascinates me because I would never have thought if it that way. In the introduction, they speak about the human brain and how every neuron in the brain in connected to a billion other neurons which are connected to a thousand others and so on. Our source of communication is indeed exactly like the brain. On the other hand, the internet is our World Brain. Like our human brain, it contains information and can increase its knowledge every day. It also sends and receives all sorts of news, information, ideas, etc.
At the end of reading every aspect of this article, I realized how much our generation has changed compared to our grandparents and even parents generation. Because of the internet, and wireless phones, and now even "smart" phones, we can access almost anything at anytime from any location. Thinking about that opens my eyes to what we really have and makes me wonder what our generation would be like if we did not have the advancements we have today.
After reading this article my horizon has been expanded on the history and information on how technology has evolved. Over the years many things have changed and excelled into better things. For example the card punchers section was very interesting to me. I had never thought of what people did in older times for technology. I have come to realize that back in the day, people were more self reliant. Today on the other hand, we rely far too much on technology. Everything imaginable can be done on it. We put majority of our information on it also. Technology is advancing so much from what it is before us citizens are having trouble keeping up! There was a part in the Medium section that caught my attention and made me realize things. Cell phones, they connect to everything. Most people now a days have smart phones. This allows everyone to connect to the world whenever and wherever they'd like. You can communicate with others, go on social networking sites and find out just about any news or other information you would like at whatever time necessary. In conclusion, technology is expanding in mass amounts leaving things to be done by hand or the brain to decrease. From generation to generation technology is expanding to what we know today and then some.
ReplyDeleteIt’s amazing how technology greatly advances over time. What really caught my attention is how Paul Baran chose the brain as a model to improve network reliability. I agree that we do take today’s technology for granted because we never had to deal with living life without them. We rely heavily on today’s technology and we use it nearly for everything. “In the pre-digital world, creativity was expressed through physical media” but today we use our technology to create. “If music once depended on the physical presence and organization of the musician and the instrument, it now depends on the programmer and engineer.” This statement is true in many ways because we don’t even use physical instruments to create music. Even today’s singers don’t use their “real” voice to sing. Their voices are altered though the computer in order to make their music interesting and exciting. There is even an application for the iphone called “T-Pain Auto-Tune” which actually makes people sound robotic but if used correctly it will make you sound like a singing sensation. My fourteen year old niece recorded herself singing on this application and I could not believe how good it sounded. Although it was not her actual voice since the app altered her voice, but it still sounded awesome. All this new technology makes me wonder what further advancements will happen in just a couple of years
ReplyDeleteIt is so fascinating that the Internet was created relative to the human brain. Even more interesting, the author states how the Internet, as a network, has its glitches, or disadvantages, just as the human mind does. After this is mentioned, and also in the beginning of the article, the author goes on to mention the social impacts of technology because of these networks:"Electrified networks produce rapid and sometimes radical social changes."One of our previous class discussions, regarding Facebook, is a perfect example of these "social changes" the author mentions. While we considered within all that Facebook offers, it has its pros, it has many cons. In conclusion, while these networks and networks within networks continue to advance, there will always be the potential for negative consequences within these advancements, just like the network it was created through - the human mind.
ReplyDeleteI was most intrigued by how our internet, was influenced by the processes of the Neural Network of our brain. How these connectives work to send information to parts of our body is interesting in itself, but to successfully do so with machinery is admirable. I also found that Web 2.0 has changed the way we use and share data on the internet. It's given us more of a basis to share our own data and/or personal lives. This allows more information to be put on the internet, and also allows people to share their own experiences throughout. Which brings me to Digital Vs. Analog. There's obvious reasons why digital may be better than analog, and why analog may be better than digital. But in terms of sharing information and knowledge, digital allows this process to occur infinite times with a click of a button. Which also depreciates how we as a whole may look at certain information. In film, through experience, I've found that I'm able to do really cool and interesting things with the physical exposure process. Things that digitally would be nearly impossible due to many scientific and natural elements that can take place. But the same goes for digital film. There are many many things one can do on the computer to manipulate a photography, that on analog, would be difficult to impossible.
ReplyDeleteAfter reading these articles I had a new understanding of technology and the Neural Network of our brain. It was fascinating to think about networks and the process that goes into such things. To think about how the human brain works is intricate and complex enough, but to transform the same process of thought into a computer/machine, is beyond my knowledge. Compared to the live our grandparents and parents grew up with, our generation and generations to come have it easy. With the world wide web, everything is easier. Finding information, looking for a restaurant, getting help with ANYTHING, it's all there on the internet. We're so used to having all of the answers at the click of our fingers, it can be scary if you think about it but it's also the way of the future. We're constantly advancing to new levels. Our technology today is proving to be so advanced, and doesn't seem to be slowing down at any point. We have so many different ways of communicating with each other that if someone were out of touch for an hour, you would naturally wonder if something happened to them. The section "World Brain" instantly reminded me of smart phones, and mac computers. They're so smart! Some days when Im using my computer I am in shock at how smart it is. It gets to know me, it gets to know my friends, its like a human brain the way it filters. It is constantly making my computer experience simpler, easier and more enjoyable.
ReplyDelete"A network is not valuable for what it is, but for what it does: facilitates the distribution, exchange, and assemblage of information and goods, and allows human beings to move between communities." I thought this quote was very interesting because I have never thought about it before. I naturally group a network as a whole and judge its importance as a whole. But the most valuable thing about a network, is what it does, the people it brings together, the information, and the experience. It was very interesting to break it down and think about all the aspects that go into creating a network.