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Scary...

Chance Operation

For the chance operation assignment I started off by asking my dad to bring me some paint in “cool tones” from the chemical recycling center near his workplace. So in the very beginning I had limited input as to the specific colors of paint other than trying to explain to my dad what cool tones were. I then used a card display board as canvas. I rolled a 10 sided die twice and took the two numbers to determine the size of the grid. I marked the grid on with a marker to the board. The grid came out to be 6 by 9. I then gather 6 instruments (to full the sides of a die). I had a teakettle, small measuring cup, funnel, large measuring cup, a paint brush and several straws taped together. I had gathered up white and black paints to complete a 10 sided die had. I then had my sister roll the dice to first determine the instrument, paint color then location on the grid. I went on like this until I had covered the entire surface. It is also interesting to note the texture of the paints, since I had acquired them from basicly “the dump” a few were old and chunky. While a few others were extremely runny (yes I mixed them as best as I could). As to how I applied the paint I laid the cardboard on the ground and dropped the paint from arms height. Which removed a great deal of accuracy as where the painted landed. I scooped, poured and in the instance of the straws blew(spattered) paint.

To intergrade or to not intergrade...

3 Points to Respond to:

1) In the final pages of Bush's paper he speaks about bypassing the mechanical or physical action/aspect of creating a result. He suggests we could tap into the electrical pulses that govern our bodies. While for most of us that technology is still just scifi reality I have heard/seen instances where this technology is becoming reality.

An interesting point I thought of was that all these possibilities that Bush came up with using various mechanical technologies we wiped away just four years later with the invention of the integrated circuit. Well perhaps not that quickly. I do not know if and when Bush understood the impact of this invention on his own concepts.

2) The sharing of “trails” as a result of the memex was cool point to think about in modern terms. Trails and the simultaneous viewing of multiple documents were both cool. I can't think of any examples of trails in the sense that he described them. To Bush trails were more free flowing than the organization and gather methods that we have today. For sure the file system on our hard drives are a more rigid basic example of what he was trying to get at. With the innovation of the touch screen technology I think more intuitive program design is coming to the surface. But I think programs are still based largely on the rigid old technology style. But surely the sharing of data is beyond what he imaged. Of course we have the modern equivalent of his custom trail microfilm swapping idea in the form of CD's and thumb drives. However the internet is another beast entirely.

3) Some technologies or devices seemed within arms reach to Bush. Like a it was a simple matter to hook up a microphone to a typewriter and get them record spoken word. However seemingly a simple task on the surface, today we still struggle with this technology because it was discovered to be an extra ordinary complicated task. We took for granted how simple speech or writing seems to us as humans. Even today we struggle with only decent handwriting recognition software and ok speech recognition. Perhaps if it wasn't for the availability of the typewriter/keyboard if we would have been forced to work harder on getting the two above technologies to work?

Predictions for the Future

1) I predict that what lies between us physically and our devices will ebb away faster and faster. While we have been fantasizing for a long while now about becoming one with our technology, there is still will be the need for a great debate on the effects of cybernation on human kind and society. Will we take that leap? I think we will, especially if we retain our current American mindset. However is fun to think about alternatives to cybernation that are not invasive to the human body.

2) Our homes: More and more house are being built with today's technology (HDMI cables and home entertainment center hook ups etc). However it is just a handful of these expensive home that have this set up. Our homes will become sleek and minimalistic. Our walls, floors and ceilings will be our computers. In the future our houses will be one with technology just as now our houses are one with electricity. Our houses will be built with a standard amount of technology in them. Will we have to plug in? No. Our laptops, cellphones, etc will be our house. Wither we become one with technology or not we will be able to access our “homes” whenever where ever we are.

3) Medical Advances: Perhaps our homes will care for us. Integrating technology to reach out for help when we can't. Our homes will keep us healthy by sending information to our doctors. I don't think the medical field will advance much faster than its current rate. Unless we decide to take a sudden extreme interest and throw money at it. Secondly, there is the ultimate limitation of “human time” or “human speed”. Our world will always be limited by the factor of “human time”. For example there are certain experiments and trials that need a whole lifetime for meaningful data collection. For the medical field to make flying advances, there needs to be at least a totally public domain for the exchange of information between professionals.