We Have Never Been Modular

Lev Manovich

We Have Never Been Modular

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[ note: the definitions of terms which appear in quotes in this text are
from en.wikipedia.org ]


Thanks to everybody who commented on my text

Comments

—– Original Message —–
From: "Lev Manovich" <[email protected]>
To: "'RHIZOME'" <[email protected]>; <[email protected]>
Sent: Tuesday, November 29, 2005 6:22 AM
Subject: RHIZOME_RAW: We Have Never Been Modular

"Today, in our times of evaluation,
to be a computer expert or a successful manager is a gift of nature, while
to have a beautiful lips or eyes is a fact of culture…"
( Some Politically Incorrect Reflections on Violence in France & Related
Matters .
Violence, Irrational and Rational:Slavoj Zizek,Nov.2005)

> Lev.Manovich wrote:
> We Have Never Been Modular
"A module is a self-contained component of a system, which has a
well-defined interface to the other components; something is modular if it
is constructed so as to facilitate easy assembly, flexible arrangement,
and/or repair of the components."(Wikipedia)
Who are WE?In folowing text *we*are going to se see who Are Modular
considered viewpoint,interest and certain ideology.

>L.M. wrote:
>We are talking about the logic of
> modularity which extends beoynd the Web and digital culture.

There's no such logic.
"Modularity is the property of computer programs that measures the extent to
which they have been composed out of separate parts called modules."
"…Logic, from Classical Greek (logos), originally meaning the word,
or what is spoken, (but coming to mean thought or reason) is most often said
to be the study of arguments…"
So,we could talk about modularity in cognitive sciences,same as about
Modularity in Computer Science.But there're nothing like"logic of
modularity"(sources :Wikipedia,Google,Lexicon of foreign words and
expressions,M.Vujaklija,Great Encyclopedia,Prosveta),actualy there's no need
for "the study of arguments"(logic)because those facts doesn't need any
argument.
"When a neuroscientist uses the word "module", s/he is usually trying to
underscore the conclusion that brains are structured, with cells, columns,
layers and/or regions that divide up the labor of information processing in
a variety of ways…Following the MIT linguist Noam Chomsky (Chomsky, 1957;
1965; 1988), Fodor("Modularity of Mind"Jerry Fodor's monograph,1983. ),
argues that human language fits this definition of a module…Fodor defines
modules as cognitive systems (especially perceptual systems)…Fodor's
version of modularity unifies the three claims that language is innate,
localized, and domain-specific…"( MODULARITY, DOMAIN SPECIFICITY AND THE
DEVELOPMENT OF LANGUAGE,Elizabeth Bates,Center for Research in Language
University of California, San Diego)
Different usage of word modularity in different area refer on
description,function and processes,not on logic.

> Modularity has been the key principle of modern mass production. Mass
> production is possible because of the standarisation of parts and how they
> fit with each other - i.e. modularity.

Modularity is feature.Invention of steam mashine and work in series
essentially determinate
and make possible
mass production.Standardization is ultimatum for huge production,this one's
consequence
of rising capitalism.Pyramids are assembled of "module",result's "pyramid
modularity",but
there's only few pyramids on the world.Reason's obvious: shortage of death
Pharaoh
and zero market price&demand(see G.Bataille:La part mauditte-production in
sacral society).

> Today we are still leaving in an era of mass production and mass
modularity,
> and globalisation and outsourcing only strengthen this logic. One commonly
> evoked characteristic of globalisation is greater connnectivity