Blog Prompt 2- Information and Computers-Star Preston

@starlingpreston

Theodor Nelson expresses this idea of a new accessibility and excitement of expression through multiple mediums (3). People will be able to have access to ideas through not only videos, but through digital photos, texts, web videos, etc. Not only, will people be able to have access to this information, but they will also be able to be “active producers,” (DTC Lecture 01.17.13).  The Matrix has both a video and image that recreates the raining code. It’s the same representation of the code expressed in two different ways; that have two very different effects. Personally the video creates a choppy feeling, where as the image seems for like a “raining code.” The creators of The Matrix, used computers to create information in two different accessible ways, which is what Nelson stressed in Literary Machines.

Furthermore, in “As We May Think,” Vannevar Bush saw multiple possibilities in the advancement of technology for the benefit of humanity. The Memex was an idea that allowed the user to project ideas that could be linked with previous ones drawn up on a neo-desk top computer (54). The memex allowed the user to build a trail of ideas and links that another person could ultimately follow or add to. (53).  So really we have this web of information created by humans, but accessed through computers. Not only could a person view this trail, but they could also add to it, tying different aspects and cultures to information. The image from the Matrix appears to be three humans in this digital or computerized world. The image visually represents the link between humanity and computers that Vannevar and Nelson express. That humans express their ideas and thought through multiple outlets with the help of computers. These thoughts can be built upon and linked by others and expressed in even more ways (as is seen in Vannevar’s influence of other thinkers).

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