Windows & Mirrors: Chapters 4-6

I'd have to say the whole idea of the magic book is fascinating. Virtual reality, in my opinion, is the ultimate invention of imagination. I am an avid comic book reader, and although comic books give less room for the reader's interpretation than the traditional novel, it still inspires the reader to imagine. I believe the same thing applies to the magic book. We live in a society in which our amusement is constantly unsatisfied.

In away, progression is our  way of entertaining ourselves, which can at the same time pose a problem. This brings me back to Walter Ong and his point of view towards orality versus literacy. According to Ong, literacy is unnatural and has weakened  our ability to remember correctly. Whereas orality is natural and therefore should be practiced more often. However, our society is heavily based on our ability to read and interpret. However, this too is changing as we are becoming more reliant on social media, which brings about a different way of seeing the world.

Something like the magic books brings us into a new age in which we rely on what we see and hear; things that are being given to us. Books allow us to interpret and search for the answers. It can be argued that something like the magic book can further weaken our mental ability, because it would allow us to stop exercising our "brain muscles."

Windows and Mirrors Chapters 4-6 Response

I think the idea of Magic Book is really fascinating, but I also think it poses some problems. In placing the reader into a virtual reality, it is taking away the reader’s ability to imagine the world that the author has written, because instead they are being shown it or placed inside of it. To me one of the best aspects of books is that everything is up to reader interpretation. Of course the author writes in descriptions, but even the most detailed scenes are pictured differently by each individual. This is the reason why many people get upset by movie adaptations of books -- their favorite scenes or characters aren’t exactly how they pictured them in their minds. I feel like Magic Book takes away this creative interpretation that readers get by forcing an existing image onto the words. Of course the virtual reality adds a whole new aspect of the story by physically placing you into, but I think it also takes the individuality away from it. 

I think I would rather convergence be more limited to just the internet though, rather than other types of media like books. The internet is already so diverse, including almost every media you can imagine on it, that the convergence is expected. When the convergence happens with a book though, I think it takes away from what the original print books are for. They almost lose their meaning when changed to much. On the other hand, when more media are added to the internet, it adds to it and makes it even more diverse. Since we’re used to the diversity of the internet, more diversity is encouraged, whereas I believe a book is one-dimensional, and should stay the way it is. 

Chapters 4-6: Windows & Mirrors

These chapters had a few different topics connecting to transparency and reflectiveness. The magic book reminded me of a futuristic idea of having people virtually pop up, right in front of you. This book is a mere remediation and creates an experience that people find rather fascinating. I personally found this magic book to be fascinating. It’s hard to imagine a book being combined with a three dimensional experience. I think it would take away from the experience of a book in itself. I also believe the content would get miscommunicated through the extra experience. The book gave an example of children being able to create this imaginative world that the digital lorgnette creates. However, small children cannot read the content of the book through words but rather by the images; therefore they have more control of what the book would mean to them, and adults will read the words and define them as far as their knowledge will allow them. Its evident this is an interesting phenomenon, but I am not sure how I would personally feel about such an experience. The world all around us is constantly undergoing remediation and convergence, not just on a technological level. The example of art I felt was perfect because art is something that anyone can do as long as they have ideas. It is an ambiguous field and they are able to constantly try new things and merge a variety of things. This also helps explain diversity of the worldwide web which I thought was pretty simplistic in a sense that there are millions, maybe even billions of users involved and each website has a target they are trying to reach. Cyberspace brings all of these mediums that together. Unfortunately, because of how society is so consumed into social media, cyberspace has no choice but to become a part of our world. I agree that cyberspace is essentially an extension of our social world, which shines through social media.

Windows and Mirrors

The first three (3) chapters of “Windows and Mirrors” by Jay Bolter and Diane Gromola was a very interesting but excellent read. After the two different perspectives were introduced, I was a little surprised because just as many of my fellow classmates I was expecting more theory to be explained but instead we were given different perspectives on when looking at the computer. One perspective introduced was WINDOWS as something we look through to help structure what we would like to see and MIRRORS as something we use to a reflection of something. It was apparent that both authors believed that the computer has grown to be as large or as important as the traditional mediums and has developed to be an extension of man. I agree with the author’s premises as they define the use of the computer as I view my interactions on the computer. As I re-read the chapters, I found myself evaluating the interfaces I used on the computer and categorizing each under the authors’ definition of windows or mirrors. I found this exercise to be extremely fun and challenging at the same time as I found many of the interfaces to fall under both. Before reading this passage, I never looked at the computer as tool as described in the text but the authors did a great job at explaining the computer as a creative medium.  And as I explained in class, it may be because I had prior knowledge from my previous media ecology class but I found this read to be extremely understandable and directly correlating to the ideologies discussed by Marshall Mcluhan and Walter Ong.

Windows & Mirrors

I thought Windows and Mirrios by J. David Botler and Diane Gromola was an excellent read. The book brings about these two perspectives when looking at the computer: windows as something we look through to help frame what we want to see and mirrors that we use to see our reflection; participating and interacting with the computer, as if it was an extension of ourselves. It's safe to say that the computer has reached the ranks of television and radio, and it's still considered a new medium. Botler and Gromola believe the computer is more than just an appliance to assist us in our daily routines. I'd have to agree with them, the computer has the potential to change the world even further than what it already has. In a way Botler and Gromola argued that the computer is a creative medium that creates more genres for creators of any art/craft form. I never really saw the computer as an "untensil" for creating art. Usually, when you think about the computer you think about science, technological advancement, communication, etc. So it was very interesting to think about the computer as something other than a way of doing my homework and searching weird stuff on the Internet. I think the computer is both an window and a mirror. The computer is a window in which we look to find information about things that interest us. The computer is also a mirror that acts as an extension of our minds; creating in cyberspace what we cannot in reality, at least for now.

Windows and Mirrors: TEXT RAIN as a medium rather than a machine

This weeks reading of the first three chapters of Bolters and Diane: Windows and Mirrors was surprisingly interesting and easy to comprehend. For the purpose of this blog post I am going to focus my reflection on chapter 1, specifically TEXT RAIN, and how it relates to the information given in the chapter.  I believe that the use of TEXT RAIN as the first exhibit to explore and to introduce the concepts of this chapter was perfectly fitting.  I started off the reading by visualizing what I believe was a beautiful piece of art on multiple levels.  This is something that we see often in 2014: computers being an extremely popular medium for creativity and art these days, but I had never thought about how we got here.  Chapter 1 speaks about three main points; "1) The computer has become a new medium (a new set of media forms) 2) To design a digital artifact is to design an experience 3) Digital design should not try to be invisible (chapter 1, pg12)."  The Text Rain exhibit clearly shows all three of these points while the chapter continues to explain how these concepts came about.  Dates are given along with the way the computer was viewed at the time as well as the development of perception of the computer going from a “machine” to a “symbol manipulator” and everything in between as is evolved into the medium that it is today. Text Rain was just the beginning of the computers use of a medium. It allowed for creativity and expression from both the creators and the “viewers” or “participants”, created an interactive experience, allowed for the relay of a message both by the user itself and the concept as a whole, and definitely was not invisible on any level. 

Text Rain, Wooden Mirror and Nosce Te Ipsum

Unlike the previous handouts, Windows and Mirrors was an easy and an interesting read. The concept of comparing Interface with windows and mirrors broadened my arena of knowledge on this subject. It got me into thinking what would gmail/yahoo be categorized under or what would Facebook be categorized under and so on. But, I think its not possible to categorize them under one. They are mix of both, not necessarily in equal proportion. Gmail/Yahoo are more like a window while Facebook is more of a mirror. Google hangout and an online radio would be more of a mirror since they provides one with a compelling experience. At times, the difference between both seem really blurred because each interface is a mix of both. The drawbacks of Windows as suggested by Bolter and Gromala are the ones even I have myself witnessed. Having used both, I surely agree with the view put forward by authors that Windows owing to its idea of sticking to consistency have failed to think beyond or rather be creative enough like their Mac counterparts. To me, Windows seem more machine like while Mac seems more smart human like. The point made on Page. 74, 'Usability testing must come to appreciate the need for the interface to oscillate between transparency and its opposite. It must learn to measure this oscillation, which in fact defines each digital interface.' really got me into thinking that there is a lot that goes into creating an Interface. It is not the mere usage of words and design in their most basic form, but usage of words and designs that are reflective and transparent, the ones that delivers information and provides a compelling experience to its users.