Tag Archives: #code

Digitally Born

Shy Boy

Not only is it literature but it is also digital art because of the way it is presented. You not only read the poem about a Shy Boy and how he see and feels about himself but see a visual representation of the emotional state he is trying to convey. What makes this digitally born is that the authors would not have been able to present it in this particular way without its origins starting in the digital world.

Being a bit of a geek myself I always look at the source code of web sites that interest me so I can see how they did it. One of the first things that I noticed was that the code used was very minimal. I was expecting to see a huge amount but it is ten lines of code. The active part of the poem, a .swf file that is used for vector graphics, is stored on their server and does not activate until a user clicks on the ‘enter’ link.

As stated in Hayles’ Electronic Literature: What is it? In chapter three part of the genetic material to be born digitally is to have code embedded and part of the interpretation process. We read this in paragraph six:

“Unlike a print book, electronic text literally cannot be accessed without running the code. Critics and scholars of digital art and literature should therefore properly consider the source code to be part of the work, a position underscored by authors who embed in the code information or interpretive comments crucial to understanding the work.”

Audra Mann | @WSUVcollegeMom

Blog 2: Humans and Computers

@kylemcgee77

The relationship between human beings and computers is something that is not going away any time soon. As the human race continues to evolve, so will our technological strides. This will eventually bring the human race to the point raised by Vannevar Bush that humans will one day be so reliant on technology that we will not be able live without it. We as humans tend to rely on technology to make our lives easier, while technology (computers) relies on us to operate them. Technology will take away the need for hard work and overall comprehension. The Matrix is a film that cleverly demonstrates how human beings and computers rely on each other to function properly.  In the film, humans are used as a source of energy for machines. The machines, in turn, provide a sort of virtual reality for the humans that will blind them from the apocalyptic world. It also provides them with security. The virtual reality created by the machines is represented by a raining green code (as seen in the image from the link). This raining green code is used in the dream sequence (seen in the video) and is used to represent information from the virtual reality such as visuals and audio. The dream scene supports Theodor Nelson’s idea that essentially all obtainable information will become computerized code. Claims from people like Bush and Nelson raise a lot thought and concern for the future. Will the human race truly be so reliant on technology that we will not be able to live without it?

#dtcv