#vannevarbush

[quotesofthedaycom]

Quote of the day for Friday, February 28, 2020

[fjonker]

From #Memex #vannevarbush #mit #mind #machine to #gspirit and KnowMO4ME from #ME 🙂

[carolynstroud]

Digital Art History - Blog #1

Walter Benjamin: “The work of Art in the Age of Mechanical Reproduction.“ (pdf or html)

Vannevar Bush: “As We May Think”

There are several issues discussed in “The Work of Art in the Age of Mechanical Reproduction" by Walter Benjamin that still resonate with us today. The first challenge that still exists today is that of the aura. Reproduction of art “detaches the reproduced object from the domain of tradition”. This means that reproducing art separates it from its ritual function. Instead, the function of art is reversed and is now “based on the practice of politics”. A camera for example, was new media at the time that allowed for the reproducibility. Art made by the camera is designed for reproducing rather than ritual sake. Before this, cave painting and other carvings were made for the purpose of the cult and kept hidden as spiritual rituals. The art was not gazed upon by the masses, but instead was kept hidden and unexposed. It was used as an “instrument of magic” and only later was recognized as a work of art. Like the camera, digital media of our present moment is created for the purpose of art. It is mostly created for the masses and for reproducibility. One example is code. Code can create works of art. It can be recreated and reproduced and sent to people all around the world where it can be changed and manipulated. There is nothing about it that is spirituality involved.

Today, we are also challenged by the concept of originality and authenticity. Benjamin notes that the “criterion of authenticity ceases to be applicable to artistic production” when reproduction is involved. A camera creates an image that captures the world exactly how it is at one moment in time. This image is reproduced and sent all around the world. There is no such thing as an authentic print. Originality between the copies also ceases to exist. Each print looks exactly the same. In addition, film creates the same issues.  When film is cut and edited, there is a depth of reality and precision that a painting could not offer and consequently diminishes the aura. The art through film is created for emotional enjoyment through the perspective of the artist and not for ritual purpose. Scenes and images change fast making it harder for the viewer to think about the art, instead the viewer no longer needs to analyze the art. Furthermore, there is no real presence of the actor. This makes film unauthentic. Digital media of today including GIFs, animations and even light shows offer depth into reality, but at the same time it brings up issues of the aura and authenticity.

In Bush’s essay ”As We May Think”, many statements suggest the future creation of a machine (a.k.a. a computer) that has the capabilities of the World Wide Web today. In 1945, Bush predicts that this machine will be capable of recording massive amounts of complex information. He suggests that the device will be able to collect data, observe, extract material from existing record and allow for people to extend the general human race of knowledge. This will aid with research and help the human race develop faster. In today’s world this is called the World Wide Web where we can look up information that was already collected and have all the data at the tips of our fingers. Bush predicted that there would be a method of looking up information that would not rely on an index. He thought there would be a way to connect ideas together through a certain code that operated through “selection by association, rather than indexing”. This is similar to the way our brains work where we relate things through association. This relates to the web since we can type in a keywords and find an article that relates to the word. He predicted that these machines could be “controlled by a keyboard….and sets of buttons and levers”. In today’s world, this is exactly how the computer is controlled. Buttons on the keyboard help pull up specific data and the mouse (which is like his vision of the lever) can flip through pages of a book and scroll through information quickly. Bush predicted that it would be “primarily a piece of furniture at which [someone] works. On the top are translucent screens”. Today, computers are placed on desks where people use a mouse and look through a translucent screen to see the information.

Bush’s article also leads to the idea of a Wikipedia or an online library or encyclopedia of today. He predicted that there could be a way to plug in a title of a book and the book would suddenly show up on the screen. Bush fantasized that “new forms of encyclopedias [would] appear, ready made with a mesh of associative trails running through them”.  Today, this would be something like Wikipedia. The ‘associative trails running through them’ would be the links. When you click on a link, a new page and a new idea is linked to the original page. Also, there is always a way to go back to the original page through the back button or retyping the title in the search.

In addition, Bush also predicted the future with hard drives and flash drives. He thought there would be a way to compress information into a small space. This exists today in technology such as computers and phones. Also, he predicted today’s printer where we would pull up data from the computer, edit and manipulate, and then print it out instantly in a physical copy. Furthermore, he thought there could be a way to talk and the data would be recorded for someone without pressing buttons or pulling levers. This exists today within the computer where we can speak and words are written from our speech. This is also seen in smartphones where we speak to our phones and it gives us directions to the supermarket. Or it gives us information of on a topic of our choosing.  Overall, Bush’s predictions were far ahead of his time, well thought out and surprisingly accurate for the future.

[herrmeyer]

Überwachung

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=d1qOkJcn2c4#t=17

[labmapp]

Vannevar Bush // HypertextVisioner // BackInTheDay

[eloquentandhonest]

If scientific reasoning were limited to the logical processes of arithmetic, we should not get very far in our understanding of the physical world. One might as well attempt to grasp the game of poker entirely by the use of the mathematics of probability.

Vannevar Bush (1890-1974)