Re: [-empyre-] Digital Spiritual

[Glen Murphy <gmurphy@gmail.com>]

> When you're using a Computer, it is very
> hard to forget that you're doing so.

I would say that that only applies within the context of 'joe average'
user - it's like reading a book - many people are continually aware
that they're reading a book, but others get lost in the magic of the
words and get transported away.

For many younger users (myself included), computers are transparent -
I've spent countless nights in front of my three machines, lost in
what I'm doing, and the next day, I can't remember whether the
conversations I had were in person, on the phone, or in real life. And
then you look at the harder-core game-players; they are so easily lost
'in the zone', a definately meditative experience, where even the game
becomes transparent and you run entirely on subconsious reflex.

If you can get a user to that state, you've achieved more than most
could hope for, and I think if we're going to go down the spirituality
route, Computers can't be discounted, especially as the younger
generation is probably more comfortable, and more willing to accept
things from a standard beige desktop than they are with books, or
novel new environments.

Hm, this all sounds a bit harshly critical .. I don't mean for it to
be, consider it more of a defense of the use of Computers.

~ Glen

--
http://glenmurphy.com/


On Wed, 28 Jul 2004 18:20:37 -0400, David Fono <fono@cs.queensu.ca> wrote:
> I think tapping spirituality via a Computer, [capital C], is a very
> tricky proposition.
> 
> That's because a Computer is locked down in awfully particular
> metaphors and interaction styles -- we interact with Computers in a
> very limited, superficial way, which reduces most interactions to
> superficial manipulations. This is the cognitive dissonance that arises
> with many people when they try to converse with others over instant
> messaging -- they find it impossible to connect to the other person, as
> they normally would. They're in front of the screen, they're working on
> a virtual desktop, point 'n' click, drag 'n' drop, ad nauseum... using
> a Computer requires a suspension of disbelief, because you're
> communicating in a lexicon and within a context that has only abstract,
> academic bearing on real life. When you're using a Computer, it is very
> hard to forget that you're doing so. Thus, I think any attempt to use
> the Computer to speak to something as deep and soulful as spirituality,
> would reduce it to something very superficial as well. When you talk to
> your soul the same way you talk to Excel, it's hard to take it very
> seriously.
> 
> On the other hand, I think there is great potential in this realm for
> computers [lower case c]. The particularly peculiar demands exacted on
> us by Computers can and will be opened up, so we can interact with them
> more naturally, as Environment rather than Device. At that point, there
> will be much more of a chance to harness their informational power to
> explore something as nebulous and elusive as spirituality. This is
> actually one of the current overarching goals in the field of human
> computer interaction. One can explore these possibilities now, using
> experimental technology, and that's what a lot of the better
> technological installations do. I recently completed my first such
> effort, an Electric Confessional
> (http://www.exposedbrain.com/archives/000072.html), which uses neither
> a screen nor an input device -- and it just _feels_ so much more real,
> so much less contrived, and so much more accessible on one's own human
> terms.
> 
> Cheers,
> Fono [long time lurker, first time poster]
> 
> _______________________________________________
> empyre forum
> empyre@lists.cofa.unsw.edu.au
> http://www.subtle.net/empyre
> 


On Wed, 28 Jul 2004 18:20:37 -0400, David Fono <fono@cs.queensu.ca> wrote:
> I think tapping spirituality via a Computer, [capital C], is a very
> tricky proposition.
> 
> That's because a Computer is locked down in awfully particular
> metaphors and interaction styles -- we interact with Computers in a
> very limited, superficial way, which reduces most interactions to
> superficial manipulations. This is the cognitive dissonance that arises
> with many people when they try to converse with others over instant
> messaging -- they find it impossible to connect to the other person, as
> they normally would. They're in front of the screen, they're working on
> a virtual desktop, point 'n' click, drag 'n' drop, ad nauseum... using
> a Computer requires a suspension of disbelief, because you're
> communicating in a lexicon and within a context that has only abstract,
> academic bearing on real life. When you're using a Computer, it is very
> hard to forget that you're doing so. Thus, I think any attempt to use
> the Computer to speak to something as deep and soulful as spirituality,
> would reduce it to something very superficial as well. When you talk to
> your soul the same way you talk to Excel, it's hard to take it very
> seriously.
> 
> On the other hand, I think there is great potential in this realm for
> computers [lower case c]. The particularly peculiar demands exacted on
> us by Computers can and will be opened up, so we can interact with them
> more naturally, as Environment rather than Device. At that point, there
> will be much more of a chance to harness their informational power to
> explore something as nebulous and elusive as spirituality. This is
> actually one of the current overarching goals in the field of human
> computer interaction. One can explore these possibilities now, using
> experimental technology, and that's what a lot of the better
> technological installations do. I recently completed my first such
> effort, an Electric Confessional
> (http://www.exposedbrain.com/archives/000072.html), which uses neither
> a screen nor an input device -- and it just _feels_ so much more real,
> so much less contrived, and so much more accessible on one's own human
> terms.
> 
> Cheers,
> Fono [long time lurker, first time poster]
> 
> _______________________________________________
> empyre forum
> empyre@lists.cofa.unsw.edu.au
> http://www.subtle.net/empyre
>