Comments on: Now for something different… http://crookedtimber.org/2007/07/02/now-for-something-different/ Out of the crooked timber of humanity, no straight thing was ever made Sun, 27 May 2012 05:54:54 +0000 hourly 1 http://wordpress.org/?v=3.3.2 By: brian.a http://crookedtimber.org/2007/07/02/now-for-something-different/comment-page-1/#comment-202711 brian.a Wed, 04 Jul 2007 17:15:38 +0000 http://crookedtimber.org/2007/07/02/now-for-something-different/#comment-202711 In our post-naive-realist mindset, we're used to thinking of a photographic image as existentially unique, even alongside other images of the same object. But the morphological uniqueness of the object itself allows these programmers to exploit, in amazing ways, the purely <i>iterable</i> aspect of an image. It looks like we're about to enter a period of "going back" to thinking of the photo as "merely" information. In our post-naive-realist mindset, we’re used to thinking of a photographic image as existentially unique, even alongside other images of the same object. But the morphological uniqueness of the object itself allows these programmers to exploit, in amazing ways, the purely iterable aspect of an image. It looks like we’re about to enter a period of “going back” to thinking of the photo as “merely” information.

]]> By: Eszter http://crookedtimber.org/2007/07/02/now-for-something-different/comment-page-1/#comment-202691 Eszter Wed, 04 Jul 2007 12:57:10 +0000 http://crookedtimber.org/2007/07/02/now-for-something-different/#comment-202691 Jacob, thanks for expanding our vocab. And thanks for reminding me of that relevant category I had created back when.:) Jacob, thanks for expanding our vocab. And thanks for reminding me of that relevant category I had created back when.:)

]]> By: Jacob Christensen http://crookedtimber.org/2007/07/02/now-for-something-different/comment-page-1/#comment-202598 Jacob Christensen Tue, 03 Jul 2007 16:43:16 +0000 http://crookedtimber.org/2007/07/02/now-for-something-different/#comment-202598 (Just a practical note to Eszter: There is a <a href="http://crookedtimber.org/category/timesink/" rel="nofollow">"time sink"</a> category on this blog. You might want to add this entry to that as well ;-) ) (Just a practical note to Eszter: There is a “time sink” category on this blog. You might want to add this entry to that as well ;-) )

]]> By: Jacob Christensen http://crookedtimber.org/2007/07/02/now-for-something-different/comment-page-1/#comment-202597 Jacob Christensen Tue, 03 Jul 2007 16:40:46 +0000 http://crookedtimber.org/2007/07/02/now-for-something-different/#comment-202597 In order to bring some variations to the comments, I'll introduce the equivalent expression in Danish, which for people of my age is - <em>Hold da kæft for nogle blærede effekter...!</em> (Danish teens and twentysomethings would simply say <em>f&%@</em>) And yes, you should watch the video with the sound on. In order to bring some variations to the comments, I’ll introduce the equivalent expression in Danish, which for people of my age is – Hold da kæft for nogle blærede effekter…! (Danish teens and twentysomethings would simply say f&%@)

And yes, you should watch the video with the sound on.

]]> By: Joshua W. Burton http://crookedtimber.org/2007/07/02/now-for-something-different/comment-page-1/#comment-202583 Joshua W. Burton Tue, 03 Jul 2007 14:23:04 +0000 http://crookedtimber.org/2007/07/02/now-for-something-different/#comment-202583 <blockquote>And in the bloodlit dark behind his eyes, silver phosphenes boiling in from the edge of space, hypnagogic images jerking past like film compiled from random frames. Symbols, figures, faces, a blurred, fragmented mandala of visual information. Please, he prayed, now--- A gray disk, the color of Chiba sky. Now--- Disk beginning to rotate, faster, becoming a sphere of paler gray. Expanding--- And flowed, flowered for him, fluid neon origami trick, the unfolding of his distanceless home, his country, transparent 3D chessboard extending to infinity. Inner eye opening to the stepped scarlet pyramid of the Eastern Seaboard Fission Authority burning beyond the green cubes of Mitsubishi Bank of America, and high and very far away he saw the spiral arms of military systems, forever beyond his reach. And somewhere he was laughing, in a white-painted loft, distant fingers caressing the deck, tears of release streaking his face.</blockquote> <i>Neuromancer</i> (Ace, 1984). Welcome to the consensual hallucination.
And in the bloodlit dark behind his eyes, silver phosphenes boiling in from the edge of space, hypnagogic images jerking past like film compiled from random frames. Symbols, figures, faces, a blurred, fragmented mandala of visual information.

Please, he prayed, now—-

A gray disk, the color of Chiba sky.

Now—-
Disk beginning to rotate, faster, becoming a sphere of paler gray. Expanding—-

And flowed, flowered for him, fluid neon origami trick, the unfolding of his distanceless home, his country, transparent 3D chessboard extending to infinity. Inner eye opening to the stepped scarlet pyramid of the Eastern Seaboard Fission Authority burning beyond the green cubes of Mitsubishi Bank of America, and high and very far away he saw the spiral arms of military systems, forever beyond his reach.

And somewhere he was laughing, in a white-painted loft, distant fingers caressing the deck, tears of release streaking his face.

Neuromancer (Ace, 1984). Welcome to the consensual hallucination.

]]> By: Eszter http://crookedtimber.org/2007/07/02/now-for-something-different/comment-page-1/#comment-202571 Eszter Tue, 03 Jul 2007 12:02:53 +0000 http://crookedtimber.org/2007/07/02/now-for-something-different/#comment-202571 Katherine, you're definitely missing something, but I don't think it's possible for us to summarize it here in a few words. That's why I didn't add much commentary to my post. Try to watch it with the sound on. Vivian, yeah, I almost apologized for not waiting until Friday, but did put the logo there as warning.:) Novakant, yup, made me smile. Good to know that people don't hold such a grudge against a company that they don't recognize and acknowledge amazing contributions. Katherine, you’re definitely missing something, but I don’t think it’s possible for us to summarize it here in a few words. That’s why I didn’t add much commentary to my post. Try to watch it with the sound on.

Vivian, yeah, I almost apologized for not waiting until Friday, but did put the logo there as warning.:)

Novakant, yup, made me smile. Good to know that people don’t hold such a grudge against a company that they don’t recognize and acknowledge amazing contributions.

]]> By: Katherine http://crookedtimber.org/2007/07/02/now-for-something-different/comment-page-1/#comment-202569 Katherine Tue, 03 Jul 2007 10:48:40 +0000 http://crookedtimber.org/2007/07/02/now-for-something-different/#comment-202569 Sorry, am I missing something? I didn't have the sound on, so all it looked like to me was a zoom tool. I must be missing something. Sorry, am I missing something? I didn’t have the sound on, so all it looked like to me was a zoom tool. I must be missing something.

]]> By: novakant http://crookedtimber.org/2007/07/02/now-for-something-different/comment-page-1/#comment-202565 novakant Tue, 03 Jul 2007 10:11:56 +0000 http://crookedtimber.org/2007/07/02/now-for-something-different/#comment-202565 love it, also the part were he says "you know, I never thought I'd work for Microsoft, so it's very gratifying, this kind of reception here" lol love it,

also the part were he says “you know, I never thought I’d work for Microsoft, so it’s very gratifying, this kind of reception here”

lol

]]> By: Kieran Healy http://crookedtimber.org/2007/07/02/now-for-something-different/comment-page-1/#comment-202558 Kieran Healy Tue, 03 Jul 2007 05:22:05 +0000 http://crookedtimber.org/2007/07/02/now-for-something-different/#comment-202558 Culture as collective representations emerging from multiple positions. Cool. What he says at the end of the talk is great. Culture as collective representations emerging from multiple positions. Cool. What he says at the end of the talk is great.

]]> By: Daniel Zaccariello http://crookedtimber.org/2007/07/02/now-for-something-different/comment-page-1/#comment-202557 Daniel Zaccariello Tue, 03 Jul 2007 05:12:08 +0000 http://crookedtimber.org/2007/07/02/now-for-something-different/#comment-202557 I'm completely stunned. I have worked in and with technology in a deep way for going on 12 years now. Rarely am I stunned. I see a lot of cool things (multi-touch displays was the last one), but even that didn't strike me as positively revolutionary:--multi-touch is a mechanism for interfacing...what was in what you've linked to, on the other hand changes the way we think about how we can organize data...and further, perceptions of the world. I'm already dreaming about how I can extend the metaphor to my area of study:-- other social and political phenomena. I’m completely stunned. I have worked in and with technology in a deep way for going on 12 years now. Rarely am I stunned. I see a lot of cool things (multi-touch displays was the last one), but even that didn’t strike me as positively revolutionary:—multi-touch is a mechanism for interfacing…what was in what you’ve linked to, on the other hand changes the way we think about how we can organize data…and further, perceptions of the world. I’m already dreaming about how I can extend the metaphor to my area of study:—other social and political phenomena.

]]> By: Guest http://crookedtimber.org/2007/07/02/now-for-something-different/comment-page-1/#comment-202549 Guest Tue, 03 Jul 2007 02:28:52 +0000 http://crookedtimber.org/2007/07/02/now-for-something-different/#comment-202549 wow. just wow. holy cow. wow. just wow. holy cow.

]]> By: vivian http://crookedtimber.org/2007/07/02/now-for-something-different/comment-page-1/#comment-202544 vivian Tue, 03 Jul 2007 01:30:20 +0000 http://crookedtimber.org/2007/07/02/now-for-something-different/#comment-202544 Ooh, will try it on the cool new computer upstairs. Thanks for not making us wait until Friday! Ooh, will try it on the cool new computer upstairs. Thanks for not making us wait until Friday!

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