1. Old New Media - April 8
10.00 Outline of the NMNT course / Memex Revisited
We will kick of the day with an overview of the NMNT course.
Then we will review Vannavar Bush's groundbreaking article in which he outlines the internet in a complete analog way in 1945. We will look for similarities and differences between his idea and the current internet. This is a pioneering new media paper so interesting by itself, but also a good example that the ideas and concepts behind today's new media can often be traced back to the early days, and that by reflecting on these old examples one can actually get inspiration how to evolve today's new media into the future.
Vannavar Bush. As We May Think. Reprint from The Atlantic Monthly, July, 1945. Interactions, March 1996.
William Gibson. Googling the Cyborg. WilliamGibsonBooks.com, January 28, 2003
A non-fiction article by SF author William Gibson called:
"Googling the Cyborg" about Vannevar Bush making predictions about the future and getting it right.
Or at least, getting pretty close.
http://www.williamgibsonbooks.com/archive/2003_01_28_archive.asp
Please do the following:
Watch the movies, and then read the article in detail. You can start with the intro, section 1, and then section 6 onwards
Capture examples of similarities between the Memex and the Web
Capture examples of functional differences - how does the Memex deviate from standard functional web use
Fastforward into the future by picking one of the differences, and design a novel imaginary app or capability inspired by this difference
We will then have a short group discussion about your findings
12:30 Lunch
13:30 Back to the Future
All Media was Once New
Hardware, Interfaces, Human
Early Cybernetic Art
Narrative (not covered in class)
Selected references:
J.C.R. Licklider. Man Computer Symbiosis. IRE Transactions on Human Factors in Electronics,volume HFE-1, pages 4-11, March 1960
Thomas Dreher, History of Computer Art
Nicolas Schöffer, CYSP-1, a robotic danser (1956), description at Cybernetic Zoo
cyberneticserendipity.net, web site dedicated to the Cybernetic Serendipity Expo (full expo catalogue)
Jack Burnham. Software - Information Technology: Its New Meaning for Art. Exhibition Catalogue, Jewish Museum, New York, 1970.
Senster.com, a site dedicated to Edward Ihnatowicz, early cybernetic researcher and artist.
Edward Ihnatowicz, Cybernetic Art: a Personal Statement
Evoluon.org, website dedicated to the location where Senster was exhibited.
For more see Further Reading & Viewing
15.00 Trailblazer for assignment 1
See Lab 1