without the risk

(was Re: RHIZOME_RAW: Re: Re: draw-something)


> http://www.musicoftheprimes.com/gauss.htm


the presentation is nice. i liked it, but am going to nitpick now,
simply because there's nothing personal to be interpreted, it's not
by anyone we know. this is a prime (no pun intended) example of our
frenzy for irresponsibly consuming resources.


seems like it's on the web, for no other reason than "because it can
be". if this were an isolated case, it would hardly matter. but as
with most of the web uploaded by individuals with whose subject is
not primarily web-centered, the media is reliant on traditional (pre-
computer) models. (whereas something like Amazon.com is
fundamentally structured for non-linearity, most personal web sites
are just not)). once upon a time, linear media on the net pretty
much was a sign that the author had no real technical knowledge. so
they were easily forgiven. now, web programmers memorize more (a
requirement for Flash and Windows) but understand less. most now
actually use "new" media to refer to this old model.

there's an odd feature. the web page is (as so many are) essentially
only there so a flash file can have an address that ends with html.
silly, but no harm. mostly bad design and Flash has so many far
greater problems. the flash file uses scripting and buttons to offer
non-linear navigating within the flash itself (one never leaves that
html frame/page). however, the info we get makes only a little
sense, unless we read it in the order pictured and numbered. ie.
though technically non-linear, it's still VERY linearly conceived.
that's also often what happens with hyper-links, HTML. whereas so
many have the ability to use (all it takes is a computer), even
create it (every language has event listeners). so few actually
conceive their projects this way.

the piece is essentially a translation of a paper, divided not by
paragraph marks but buttons. linearity = pages in a book, frames in
a film, or video seconds in an audio recording, a time line, etc.
the non-linear route would be to discard the original model
entirely. taking another step back, to decide what is the info
(devoid of form) and see where parts stand alone and which are
dependent on what. but so often, authors think in terms of "can i do
this? yes. so i will" rather than start by determining the needs of
a very particular audience. look at the work (and not the authors)
and decide what form/venue would be most effective for that audience
to come away with that info.


though many speak of the "digital divide", referring mostly to
economic constraints that prohibit the spread of the web. in a
presentation a few months ago, a genuinely nice, thoughtful guy was
showing how they brought web connected computers in, but no one knew
how to use them. more importantly though, they had no desire to
learn. however, went on to say that cell phones, (which require
their own infra-structure and steep learning curve (much, much less
apparent to westerners)) are sold at about 3 times the rate. so,
they do have a desire there and there is no fundamental obstacle.

in the US, it's usually doctors (and probably many white collar
professionals but i rarely have contact with accountants or lawyers)
who seem the least web-savvy by far. they are often the most bound
and blinded by web superstitions. the speaker was going on to
explain bringing a video project to inner city kids. by doing it on
the web, hoped to open up whatever the web has to offer them (though
seems obvious the answer is "not much"). is access to Wikipedia
going to help them avoid getting shot by a starving crack-head?

but it became obvious this ambassador of the web, in confusing linear
(movie making is a great idea for the kids …) with nonlinear (.,..
the web doesn't make it any better though, usually worse), he was
demonstrating using traditional linear models to determine who is
needy and what do they need. just because they don't have it doesn't
mean they would use it the same way if they did. (most of the web is
geared toward middle class interests: buying luxury items, learning
about hobbies, Flickr is hardly an essential for survival…) why do
folks who aren't even close to thinking non-linearly, bothering with
computers or the web? mostly because … well, they can. but rather
than transform a new forum to accommodate our old experiences, why
don't people stick with the old (is still perfectly good) or not
cling so tightly, move beyond the familiar. by the vast popularity
from traditional thinkers, the new forum for alternative models has
been almost entirely obliterated. nothing wrong with saying "this
needs to be presented in book form" the absurd push for extreme
specialization (eg. ActionScrtipt programmers hired before a project
is even ironed out.) is probably a lot to blame for inappropriate
media being used on the web. but the trend ironically leaves very
little room for anything BUT traditional models (which this site is
direct a product of).


if you don't see it, fine. but why would you or anyone choose to
waste another minute on the web?

Possibly to subscribe to a community. Rhizome itself is a great
model. Taking this list alone into consideration, it is one non-
linear function. To be a part of the community, you add text
(usually in the form of email) which is technically non-linear in how
humans read. There is no need to use FTP to upload movies, etc. So,
more precisely, why are people wasting their time uploading (and the
added bytes do cost us directly or indirectly) but not really
understand what computers do? there are plenty of things neither i
nor most of us understand, but are not compelled to perform surgery,
re-wire my apartment building, classify amoeba species. people make
a movies without showing them at every gas station they could.
wouldn't baking pies for everyone in your apartment building/
neighborhood, be a lot more effective for joining a community? to
connect to people without the risk of ever having to see them?