Chapter 30

1981
Theodor H. Nelson

• proposed a universal electronic Publishing System and Archive, similar in function to Bush's Memex device
• give everyone the ability to produce their own documents and connect them to anyone elses public documents, with the ability to edit any version of any text, theirs or others public files
• envisioned a company who would be in charge of running this network and each member of the network would pay a small fee to access each document, in the same way we pay the utilities companies

My first impression of Nelson's text was that he seems extremely condescending. I just wanted to say to him stop blabberng about how we might not understand or want to take the time to read through and just say what you want. If I've taken the time to start reading, why are you trying to deter me? "Suggestions are welcome, if you are sure you understand the design first." This kind of statement made me care so much less about his really intereting archival ideas. What Nelson has come up with is very complex but also complete in that, if this program were fully developed it could easily be implemented.

Chapter 29

1980
Richard A. Bolt

• Bolt created a program called "Put-That-There" which inspired combined speech and gesture input, embedded computing and a computer interface that is more like spoken conversation
• provided a way to view data on two-dimensional screens in a three-dimensional simulation
• developed multimodal interfaces to communicate more effectively with the computer in a more humanistic way
• if voice recognition becomes popular it would change the way we use and understand computers
• he created an entire room "the media room" at MIT instead of simply a desktop that one would sit in front of to apply his multimodal experience
• with voice-gesture conjunction the user can use pronouns

This is an incredible system. I would love this kind of voice-gesture recognition for my own computer, or at least a voice and joystick since I don't have an entire wall to display upon. I still don;t know why voice recognition hasn't taken off because it would be a lot more efficient if the technology were advanced enough.

Chapter 28

1980
Seymour Papert
Mindstorms

• worked to create an environment in which children could use computers as learning tools
• was inspired by the work of Jean Piaget called "constructionism"
• learning in a self-directed, self-motivated way through his programming language LOGO which we began in 1967

I love that the computer can be used as a learning device for kids. Games and interactivity have always been the best way to teach children, at least in my experience, and when children feel like they are in control of the situation they are more willing to actively participate.

Chapter 27

1980
Gilles Deleuze and Félix Guattari

• introduced rhizomatic writing - which they did not intend to feature a specific medium or even style, only to describe certain texts
• challenged readers to "reconsider dualism" and according to Foucault, "to be radical without being sad"
• a book is an assemblage of lines articulated and divided with various rates of flow
• attempted to quantify literature "There is no difference between what a book talks about and how it is made. Therefore a book also has no object"
• literature is about dichotomy and reflection it branches out like a tree

It would be hard for me to agree completely to the ideas in this article that I can ascertain and the rest is mostly a blur. I don't feel that all literature can be interpreted without meaning, doesn't that disrespect the author in some way? I can see where they're going with this idea, as a way to make all mediums connected by their innate structure and composition, but I'm not sure how interested I am in removing all meaning from a given work, I would feel cheated.

Chapter 26

1977
Alan Kay and Adele Goldberg

• envisioned the importance of the notebook computer with their Dynabook vision
• understood the computer from a totally different perspective than their peers - believed it would one day be a device used by "educators, business-people and poets" alike for computational and creative purposes
• their ideas were used to create the Star computer by Xerox Systems Development Division
• the interface designed for the Star was later incorporated into Apple's Macintosh
  
• helped to create the Ethernet cable, the mouse, the laser printer, and WYIWYG printing standard for today's computers
• Dynabook: handle all information-related needs (Iphone : check), a programming and problem solving tool, interactive memory, text editor, medium for expression
• the dynabook would allow for human-computer interaction, for the medium to be affected by the user; to be responsive
  
• imagined that there would be no delay in response time
• imagined that children should also be able to use this device

It is incredible that these people had the foresight to envision today's laptop or iphone-like device. They sought to create a computer that could literally be used by everyone, and that everyone's specific needs and wishes could be met. At the time, this would have been incredibly far-fetched but I'm glad they pursued it so that we can have this kind of technology today.

Chapter 25

1977
Myron W. Kruegar

• considered the "father of virtual reality"
• first rejected by and then later accepted by the art community for his innovations which seemed purely technological at the start
• his "aesthetic concerns" were not as easily accepted by the computer world
• believed that "response is the medium"
• meaning is created through interaction with the specific computer system
• technology can be used, not just as a problem solver, but to generate and inspire ideas
• encouraged scientists, artists, engineers to work together

It's true that we still don't often see the connection between technology and aesthetics but I think that we are definitely working towards that goal. There are more and more fields, and types of new media that are incorporating all of these ideas, which we saw very clearly in the exhibits we visited in Chelsea where art, science, and technology come together.

Chapter 24

1976
Joseph Wizenbaum

• discussed the negative consequences of his own technological designs
• urged other scientists and technologists to "take responsibility for the use of that which they discover and develop
• created the "Eliza" system from 1964-1966, which ran a set of scripts called "Doctor" which impersonated a psycho-therapist
• Wizenbaum feared that applications like his that would employ human language would blur the aapropriate functions for technology in a negative way
• the Eliza program inspired others to create other psychiatric simulations lie Kenneth Colby's Perry and Depression 2.0

As Turkle described, I do not believe that programs like Eliza distort our view of humanity because it did not possess enough variability to actually fool someone, but I wonder if a program was created today to act as a therapist would we be able to make a believable one? How would this affect us if we could actually treated and diagnosed by a computer?