This article was written for Scroll magazine number two, on the theme of “place”, where it appeared in edited form as “Disrupting the Conceptual Metaphors of the Web”:
http://scrollmagazine.com/number-2/conceptual-metaphors
We’ve developed an array of metaphors for talking about the intangible spaces of the web. Maybe it’s time to unshackle ourselves from some of them.
Have you ever played around with a gadget or application, only to discover it’s absolutely perfect for something different from its original design? This kind of inventiveness, or playfulness, happens all the time in our digital environment, but it signals a major shift in the relationship between the inventor or designer and the user.
Nora interviewed Clay Shirky about just that earlier this week. Clay is a big thinker on internet and culture, and he has a lot to say about how users shape the tools they use and how designers should respond to this new “interaction loop.”
Tagged with spark cbc book:author=clay shirky culture technology
The march of computer technology continues. But as silicon chips and search engines become faster and more productive – can the same be said for us?
The creator of Wolfram Alpha describes how his new “computational knowledge engine” is changing – and improving – how we process information. Meanwhile, suffering from data and distraction burnout? Find out what extremes some folks take to stop their search engines.
Also, the Singularity sensation of humans merging with machines… and, why for the ancient Greeks all of this is “been there, done that.” A deep sea dive turns up a 2,000 year old computer!
Guests:
Jo Marchant – Freelance science journalist and author of Decoding the Heavens: A 2,000-Year-Old Computer—and the Century-Long Search to Discover Its Secrets - Stephen Wolfram – Mathematican, computer programmer, and founder of Wolfram Research and Wolfram Alpha - Fred Stutzman – PhD student at the University of North Carolina School of Information and Library Science - Peggy Orenstein – author and contributing editor to the New York Times Magazine, which is where we found her article “Stop Your Search Engines” - Ray Kurzweil – Inventor, futurist and author, most recently, of The Singularity Is Near: When Humans