Ken Perlin's Lecture/NaNoWriMo

Ken Perlin was a great speaker. I was almost surprised (though I shouldn't have been after reading some of his blog) that he was so personable. I guess I had a preconceived notion of what a computer genius would sound like, and Ken was more of a philosopher/psychologist than anything else. I love that his main concern was in understanding human behavior through computer representations. The facial expression program was ingenious for this exploration, and I was pleased to see that it was actually being used for behavioral purposes with autistic children. I can see how many of Ken's games would become excellent teaching tools, but I was disappointed to hear that he thought many of the educational games we used to play as kids were ineffective. I used to love Mathblasters and a myriad of typing games.

As for the Novel in a month contest, I think it's an interesting idea. I like that Ken started a blog to force himself to write everyday. I wish I had that kind of discipline, because I used to love writing, and I used to write all the time, anywhere. I'm not sure if I really want to write a novel this November, but it definitely might inspire me to start writing more. I'm also curious to see how his joint-creation will come out, it could be very interesting.

Chapter 12

Intro / Cent Mille Milliards de Poèmes
1960
Oulipo (Ouvroir de Littérature Potentille)

• formed to explore the potential of literature through various constraints in vocabulary, syntax, novelistic or dramatic conventions, poetic meter, for, etc.
• types of Oulipo experiements include: lipograms, palindromes, algorithmic tecniques - hypermedia, and others
• founded by François Le Lionnais (original members:Jean Queval, Raymond Queneau , Jean Lescure, Jaques Duchateau, Claude Berge, and Jacques Bens)
• Jean Queval was often banned from their meeting place and then readmitted, and would later attempt to ban himself and be stopped by the group on several occasions
• the failures of language led them, and others before them, to "reflect on this strane tool which one would consider, which sometimes commans consideration, without reference to utility."
• one goal was to bring together texts for an anthology of experimental literature
• 
  

1961
Raymond Queneau

• created the famous book of poems in which each of 14 lines is interchangable with 10 others - Cent Mille Milliards de Poèmes
  
• helped to define a new type of computer-mediated textuality, gives the reader an enhances role in the process of literary creation
• computer can be used for more than just creating infinite variations from a set of materials, it can also narrow them down and make decisions, but Calvino Argues that this will never create literature on its own.

1981
Paul Fournel

• the Centre Pompidou experiment
• use of computers to aid in reading select combinatory or algorithmic works (ie. Queneau's Cent Mille Milliards de poèmes or his A story as you like it)
  
• computer can help with editing, or fine-tuning a text
• different types of relationships between author, work, computer, and reader: 1- Author>Computer>Work (creation is aided by the computer, author inputs information, computer makes selections), 2-Author>Computer>Work>Computer>Reader (the computer helps both the author make selections, and gives the reader clues to solve enigmas created by the author), 3-Author>Computer>Reader>Computer>Work (author creates material, reader choses what material to use, computer creates a product)

Italo Calvino

• created a short story or novel to explore the necessity of a computer for the creation of literature
• by writing a detective story with hundreds of possible scenarios, a computer is helpful in organizing and presenting what those scenarios are given the information provided
  

This is such a great committee. Of course the french created an organization whose mission was the explore the possibilities of literature; to create new and exciting ways to use text. I'm all for this kind of exploration and I'd love to play with this principle of constraints to see what I can create. One of the definitions that I liked the most for Oulipo was "rats who must build the labyrinth from which they propose to escape." This is a great metaphor for the work that they do.

Chapter 11

1965
Theodor H. Nelson

• coined the term "hypertext" as 'a body of written or pictorial material interconnected in such a complex way that it could not conveniently be presented or represented on paper.'
• proposed that there were several specific types of hypertext; in this essay he describes on as a complex, reconfigurable, linked structures of information, which can be manipulated at a granularity much smaller (or larger) than the page.
• his vision was a precursor to making "personal information managers useful platforms for thinking and working in a networked world"

Chapter 10

1964
Roy Ascott

• "remade art (and art education) in view of Wiener's cybernetics"
• Ascott saw a connection between cybernetics/science and art (arguably the first to discuss new media art)
  
• used art "as an investigation of behavior, of creating situations for exploring behavior"
• created an entire system of art education that would include art, design, and science, and also require its students to find their own personal artistic identity
• Art should ask questions and find new answers
• Artists should be encouraged to use science as a tool and a reference and to integrate the two fields

Ascott definitely has an interesting idea for an art education curriculum. I really like the idea of students taking on personalities opposite from their "normal" selves and have random handicaps so that they must become interdependent and broaden their own experiences of personal behavior. That seems like a fascinating social experiement to me and I would be curious to see if it could really be implemented and whether the results will be as Ascott claims, that the students will then be able to create their own "special creative identity."

Chapter 9

1963
Ivan E. Sutherland

• created the Sketchpad System - a program developed for designers to draw geometric shapes on the first direct-manipulation interface using constraints.
• it allowed designers to communicate with the computer via picture/image rather than text alone.

Alan Kay

• created the object-oriented programming language Smalltalk and Dynabook
  

Chapter 8

1962
Douglass Engelbart

• outlines several ideas for the future of computers and computer technology
• imagined and created the word processor
• invented the mouse, the window, mixed text/graphic displays, the hyperlink
• helped to establish the Internet
• worked to "augment human intellect"

I applaud Engelbarts efforts to make it easier to solve more complex problems as our societies have evolved, but I can't help but think that it is this philosophy that has led us on a race towards what's most efficient and easy, but maybe not what's best.

Chapter 7

1959
Brion Gysin

• cut newspaper articles into sections ad rearranged them at random to create a book called Minutes to Go
• inspired Burroughs to write about the cut-up method

1961
William S. Burroughs

• the cut and paste method that he describes is used today in "many aspects of new media in computer literary practice as well as game theory
• oulipo was insipired by this technique
• cut-ups can be used by anyone, universal participatory way to utilize art and create new and more interesting game situations.
  

This is an interesting experiment with chance operations, and it can wield some pretty interesting results, or it can be kind of unitelligable. I definitely think this is worth trying, but I'm not super excited about it.