a curriculum of proper knowledge consumption

7/30/2019 A Curriculum of Proper Knowledge Consumption

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A Curriculum of Proper

Knowledge Consumptionan elucidation of the design exploration documentedin the accompanying volume, Utopia/Dystopia


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pyright 2013 by abril uval chazin

urriculum rpr nwldg nsumptin

n lucidatin th dsign xplratin dcumntd in thaccmpanying vlum, Utopia/Dystopia

ll ights srvd

h chaptr and sctin titls in this bk ar st in udistaand th bdy cpy is st in imr, bth rm th uitcasyp undry. h lattr is a rvivd vrsin a typacdignd riginally in 1967 by th zch typ dsignr, avlimr. h inunc which his cuntryman, ilm lussr,had n this and th accmpanying vlum inspird thsarch r a typac with zch rts.


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Table of Contents

7 Prologue

11 Seeking A Framework

27 Point, Counterpoint

45 Social Movement Inormation Design

65 Philosophical Basis

73 A Curriculum O Proper Knowledge Consumption

91 Epilogue

95 Acknowledgments

99 Works Cited


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7

Prologue

hn dcidd t g t graduat schl back in th

all 2009, dclard that it was t imprv my

asthtic. had spnt th prvius v yars wrking

n th crativ sid th advrtising businss;

surrundd by dsignrs with dgrs rm schls

lik assrt and SCAD, my undrgraduat businssdgr didnt rally sm s rlvant any mr. O

curs, nc gt t th ynamic dia nstitut, it

was th imprvmnt my asthtic that wuld sn

cm acrss as irrlvant.

hr, was prvidd th pprtunity r th

kind critical thinking had nvr attmptd in any

prvius stting

acadmic r thrwis. acklingundatinal and cntmprary cnsidratins

dynamic mdia in rssr Quacknbushs class

prvidd m with th rmindr ndd hw

much njyd th rigrs schlarship, spcially

whn applid t ths tpics cls t my cr


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A Curriculum of Proper Knowledge Consumption

8

intrsts. rking with rssr asha nstanza-hck at th ntr r ivic dia at MIT r tw

smstrs intrducd m t th thrtical and

philsphical apprachs t undrstanding mdias

plac in scity. ll th whil, th making was

ding with rssrs rian ucid, an ubasiwicz,

unta aza, and athrin ughs allwd r th

xprssin my intrsts and cncrns thrughdsign, n my riginal rasns r taking n th

pursuit an MFA in th rst plac.

h dcumnt that llws utlins my bli

that ur currnt mdia-cntric scitys rgard r

brvity and spd is laving us withut th ability

r a discurs that is anything but acil and

sriusly lacking in nuanc. s a rsult, w ls urpprtunity r th kind rctin that maks us

human. his is an bsrvatin was nly abl t cm

t atr th kind rading and writing cmpltd

in my rst tw yars at DMI, but it tk my cncurrnt

cus n making t hlp m tackl th qustin

what d lik t d abut all this.

cnsidratin which lns d lik t us ts th wrld arund m, xampls what that

wrld lks lik, an xplratin dsigns rl in

that wrld, a cnstructin a philsphical basis

r my plan attack, and an xplanatin that

plan all must b llwd up with hw th xcutin


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Gabi Schaffzin

9

that plan culd lk. s such, th accmpanyingvlum, Utopia/Dystopia, ds xactly that, ring

up th thught prcss and prducts my

attmpt at implmnting a curriculum prpr

knwldg cnsumptin. hrughut bth bks,

crss-rrncs ar mad btwn ach dcumnt,

cnncting th thrtical ramwrks and

philsphical argumnts with th dsign dcisinsmad (and vic vrsa).

O curs, whil th narrativ structur ths

tw vlums may imply that this was a lgical

prgrssin thrugh an argumnt and prcss

alrady dvlpd in my had, this culd nt b

much urthr rm th truth. athr, a cnsidrabl

amunt thught was put int making sur thrganizatin and physical rm ths dcumnts

ar in lin with th pillars upn which th argumnts

prsntd ar built. hp yu njy it.


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11

Seeking A Framework

n his 2010New York Times bstsllr, The Shallows:

What The Internet Is Doing To Our Brains, ichlas

arr tracks humanitys transitin rm th spkn

wrd, t th writtn, th printd, and th digitizd.

h wrk is cmplling, tn transitining

samlssly btwn scintic ndings and illustrativancdts. hrughut, h avids prsnting himsl

as a uddit (th wrd appars nly ncin th

prlgu (3)) whil still making th argumnt that

tdays tchnlgy1 is lading t a rquird r-wiring,

srts, ur brains.

s arr lays th grundwrk r his largr

argumnt, h turns t scintic ndings suchas ichal rznichs 1968 wrk xplring and

1 At a public reading o the book at the Harvard Book Store inCambridge, MA on 28 June, 2010, Carr noted that he uses the term

The Internet in the title as a reerence to technology as a whole,calling out the connected nature o most o todays technology.


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12

mapping th prrntal crtx th brain. arrpints t th xplicit plasticity th rgana quality

lng rjctd by gnratins scintists br (24).

aving n gusswrk rgarding th vntual

dirctin th bk t his radrs, h cncluds

at th cls chaptr n that th pssibility

vntual dcay is inhrnt in th mallability ur

brains (35).Each chaptr thratr tracks th changs that

w ar rcd thrugh as w accpt tchnlgy int

ur livs. ginning with cnturis-ld adjustmnts

t th way w navigatd (th map), th way w

tld tim (th clck), and th way w transrrd

knwldg btwn n anthr (th writtn wrd),

arr thn turns t ur intractins with tdaystchnlgy. nts hw th scrn is rplacing th

printd rm, hw th hard driv and th sarch

ngin ar rplacing mmry, and hw th cmputr

as a whl is rplacing human agncy. pints t

studis that prv that, as ur nw tls allw us t

multi-task, w ar, instad, sprading urslvs t

thin, ctivly missing ut n th salint dtails th inrmatin w cnsum and prduc n a daily

basis. writs that th pric w pay t assum

tchnlgys pwr is alinatin (211).

hrughut, th authr wavs scintic ndings

in with th tachings thrists and philsphrs


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Gabi Schaffzin

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such as arshall cuhan and wis umrd. hisis t rmind his radrs that th way tchnlgy

acts us is nt n t b bsrvd slly in a

labratry. ltrnativly r cncurrntly, his gal

may hav bn t appas bth th radr sking

scintic pr and th n sking thrtical

insight. gardlss his mtiv, arrs wrk was

wll rcivd. n additin t his Times bstsllrstatus, th pic was widly acclaimd by rviwrs

(mazn.cm) and nminatd r a ulitzr in th

gnral nnctin catgry (h ulitzr rizs). n

Slate Magazine, ichal ggr cmpars th bk

t achl arsnsSilent Spring, pinting t th way

arr prsnts his cncrns abut cntmprary

tchnlgy by admirably subjcting his hunch tscrutiny. ggr gs n t xprss sm skpticism

abut arrs mphasis n scinc (brain scinc is

lik th nw rshman quartrback wh shws lts

prmis, h writs), but vntually calls arr a

ralist in pinting ut that th litrary, attntin-

capabl mind, thugh it may nt quit g th way

th chanting rk pts, will n lngr rign.t is this mphasis n th mind th individual

that charactrizs arrs analysis. r th last v

cnturis, vr sinc utnbrgs printing prss

mad bk rading a ppular pursuit, writs arr,

th linar, litrary mind has bn at th cntr


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art, scinc and scity (10). his bsrvatin,mad in th bks pning chaptr, is an ctiv

intrductin t th prspctiv rm which radrs

ar thn guidd thrugh th authrs rmaining

argumnts: hw th mind thindividual, lcatd

at th cntr art, scinc and scity, is bing

changd. arr sms t bypass th institutins

shaping that individuals mind, instad jumpingdirctly int th cntr th imaginary circl.

rtainly, th rlatinship btwn th individual

and scity is by n mans unidirctinal, and arr

ds nt xplicitly st ut t imply that scity as

a whl shuld b xcludd rm cnsidratin in

his critiqu. n act, in his chaptr n th cts

tchnlgy n ur mmry, arr tuchs n hwprsnal mmry shaps and sustains th cllctiv

mmry that undrpins cultur (196). gs n t

assrt that, t rmain vital, cultur must b rnwd

in th minds th mmbrs vry gnratin.

Outsurc mmry, and cultur withrs (197). till,

this analysis th minds rlatinship t cultur

cntinus t cncntrat n th in th quatinand th wrk as a whl rarly tuchs n hw

th cllctiv w acts. hat subtl abstractin ,

hwvrrm t w ds appar in lay hirkys

Here Comes Everybody, particularly in th rm

, as th bks rnt cvr nts, an analysis


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what happns whn society adpts nw bhavirs[mphasis addd].

hirky intrducs us t th issus dalt with

in his 2008 wrk with an ancdta mchanism

that h will us thrughut th rst th bk. n

chaptr n, h tlls th stry vannas phn, lt

in a w rk ity cab in ay 2006, and th pic

battl t rtriv it and sham th individual inwhs pssssin th phn ndd up. tr vannas

rind Evan pstd hr stry t th ntrnt, h

passd th link amng his rinds and amily wh

sprad th link urthr thrugh thir rspctiv

ntwrks. Evntually, atr a hug spik in trafc

t Evans sit, th bradcasting mail addrsss,

thrats physical vilnc against Evan, th arrst th prptratr, th rturn th phn, and

Evans dciddly smart chic t g int th public

rlatins industry, sm srius qustins wr still

lt unanswrd. w want a wrld in which a

wll- grwn-up can us this kind lvrag t

gt a tnagr arrstd? . . . a wrld whr, whnvr

smn with this kind lvrag gts rild up, thycan unilatrally rst all th priritis th lcal

plic dpartmnts? (1314). hs qustins, hirky

nts, ar rhtrical. h ral qustin is, hat

happns nxt? (14).


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n th cas Here Comes Everybody, what llwsis tn mr chaptrs, ach prsntd with anthr

stry rm ppular culturb it hw a wbsit lik

tup.cm cam t b, hw activists shind light n

th athlic hurchs sx abus scandals, hw inux

was cratd by bth n dvlpr and a cmmunity

dvlprs, and s ncmbind with a ramwrk

r tnt ur nw rganizing tls. hrughut,h pints ut that th tls w hav tday (r, at

last, th ns that wr availabl up t and at th

pint th bks publishing) ar rspnsibl r

signicantly lwring th barrirs ntry rlatd t

accssing th nrgy, skills, and attntin grups

disparat individuals. y making it asir t

rganiz, h rs, mr ppl will d s: On th uncntntius tnts cnmics is that ppl

rspnd t incntivs. yu giv thm mr a

rasn t d smthing, thy will d mr it, and i

yu mak it asir t d mr smthing thy ar

alrady inclind t d, thy will als d mr it (18).

s a prminnt thrist himsl, hirky maks

sur t rrnc ths wh hav cm br. uss bth th asan iling and asan lr

t mak his pintsrrncs t nald ass

ssay, h atur h irm. h rmr rrs

t th pint at which th high transactin csts

managing an rganizatin n lngr mak th


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xistnc th rganizatin wrth it. h lattris th pint at which th transactin csts bcm

s lw, that thr is n pay r th rganizatin

t xist t prrm its unctin. Our nw scial

tls, hirky argus, nabl us t brak thrugh th

asan r by crating lsly rganizd grups (h

uss as an xampl phtgraphrs wh happnd t

b at th rmaid arad in ny sland, NY in 2005)whs transactin csts ar s lw, thrs vry littl

incntiv nt t prrm thm (pling phts rm

th vnt n th scial pht sit, lickr.cm).

ncluding th wrk scial thrists such as

as, Ethan Zuckrman (whs lbal ics sit h

calls ut as a challng t th tmpting assrtin

that a jurnalist wuld hav t b anintd by smldr rm mdia (72)), and chai nklr (r his

thris n nn-markt cratin grup valuth

ways ppl ar happy t cprat withut nding

nancial rward (133)) grunds hirkys analysis in

th ramwrks that shap hw many s prsnt

day scity. n th pilgu th 2009 paprback

ditin th bk, hirky tlls th stry (318) ldus anutius, th ntian printr wh invntd

th pckt-sizd bk in 1501an histrical rrnc

mad by arr, as wll (70). alling th invntin n

th small rvlutins xtnding th big rvlutin

mvabl typ, hirky rs that th lssn rm


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anutiuss li is that th utur blngs t ths whtak th prsnt r grantd (319).

ith this mphasis n mving past th

prsnt in rdr t undrstand th utur, hirky

ncurags his radrs t s that ur ntwrks

ar strngr thanks t nw bhavirs nabld by

tchnlgy. nsquntly, h psits that thr is a

shit in th balanc pwr rm th institutinsthat gvrn ur livs t ths tchnlgy nabld

ntwrks. ccrding t hirky, this shit is wrth

clbratingand in many th xampls h rs, it

crtainly is. ut a cnsidratin hwwe act in ur

nw prsnt dsrvs an qually imprtant analysis

hwwe are acted upon. n cnsidring th lattr

prspctiv, hirkys rhtrical qustins abvbcm lss srcing us t qustin th ways in

which th tchnlgy that w bliv w cntrl

bgins t tak cntrl us.

wnty yars ag, il stman raisd such

qustins in Technopoly: The Surrender o Culture

to Technology. y mving his radr thrugh a

cntinuum tchnlgical changs, stmanstablishs a taxnmy phass: rm tl-using

culturs t tchncracis t chnply. uch lik

arr and hirky in thir rspctiv vlums, stman

thrads histrical rrncs with thrtical vrss

t prsnt an argumnt n th nw human cnditin


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that has bgun (and will cntinu) t bcm thnrm in tdays scity. stman, hwvr, taks

a mr cmprhnsiv viw than his succssrs,

prrring t s shits in th w inunc

rsulting in hlistic cultural changs, rathr than

changs bsrvd in th bhavirs th individual

r cllctiv.

n bsrving th dirncs in which arr andstman prtray th vlutin th mchanical

clck and th subsqunt changs du t its us, n

can s quickly th varid mds in which th tw

authrs prsnt thir argumnts. tr utlining th

mchanical clcks mv rm th mnastry as a tl

usd by hristian mnks t signiy prayr tims t

an vr-prsnt and critical tl synchrnizatinin th gnral cmmunity, ichlas arr nts

that h mchanical clck changd th way w saw

urslvs . . . it changd th way w thught . . . ur

minds bgan t strss th mthdical mntal wrk

divisin and masurmnt (43). r w bsrv

arrs armntind mphasis n th whn

dvlping a ramwrk r th valuatin tchnlgical advancmnts.

stman als ss th clck as a majr milstn

in tchnlgically inuncd scital shits.

nts that ing harls rdrd th clck blls

b rung hurly rathr than n prayr tims (as had


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bn th cas with th mnks). his shit, h argus,was indicativ a tl bing mplyd t lsn

th authrity th cntral institutin mdival

li (27). t is this typ shitcultural institutins

yilding t th dvlpmnt ths tls which

wr nc an intgratd part that culturthat

charactrizs a tchncracy. ith sm xcptins,

tls did nt prvnt ppl rm bliving in thirtraditins, in thir d, in thir plitics, in thir

mthds ducatin, r in th lgitimacy thir

scial rganizatin. hs blis, h cntinus,

dirctd th invntin tls and limitd th uss t

which thy wr put (23). s tchncracy tk hld

a pst-mdival wrld, lmnts cultur such as,

cnsqunc, traditin, scial mrs, myth, plitics,ritual, and rligin [had] t ght r thir livs (28).

chncracy, hwvr, still allwd r ths

lmnts t cxist alngsid tchnlgy. h

tchnlgical was th strngr, curs, but th

traditinal was still thrstill unctinal, still

xrting inunc, still t much aliv t ignr (48).

t s, stman gs n t argu, nc chnplytk hld; in chnply, thr is n mr rm

r altrnativs. h pwrs driving advancmnt

tchnlgy thrughut ur cultural institutins

yild t n traditins. hus, whras hirky ss ur

currnt tchnlgical landscap as an nablra


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ramwrk that allws us t rganiz and act in nwways as a cllctivstman ss it as a rc acting

n us.

r instanc, bth hirky and stman rrnc

th cncpt inrmatin vrlad.2 hirky

blivs th bst way t tackl this vrw cntnt

rm varius mdia channls and platrms is t

plac th jb ltring that cntnt int th hands its cnsumrs, rathr than its publishrs. iltr-

thn-publish, h writs, whatvr its advantags,

rstd n a scarcity mdia that is a thing th past.

h xpansin scial mdia mans that th nly

wrking systm is publish-thn-ltr (98). h jb

ltring, thn, is tndd t by individuals drivn

t participat ut mtinal cnnctin (whathirky calls lv), nt mnyth lattr nt bing as

imprtant nw that transactin csts t participat

ar s lw.

hirky, curs, had th bnt having sn

varius scial mdia platrms (ypac, wittr,

ivurnal, t al.) in actin whn h wrtHere

Comes Everybody. t s r stmans Technopoly.gardlss, it is dubtul stman wuld b s

willing t trust th masssr, rathr, ths undr

2 Shirky never uses the term inormation overload specically, thoughhe alludes to the problems associated with it while outlining the newmedia landscape in chapters three and our o Here Comes Everybody.


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th inunc chnplian rcs

with thrl ltring cntnt r gnral cnsumptin.

tr all, in chnply, r rin is grantd t

any tchnlgy (129), including ths usd r

th publishing and ltringvn languag itsl.

stman argus,

h qustin with languag, as with any thrtchniqu r machin, is and always has bn, h is

t b th mastr? ill w cntrl it, r will it cntrl

us? h argumnt, in shrt, is nt with tchniqu.

h argumnt is with th triumph tchniqu, with

tchniqus that bcm sanctid and rul ut th

pssibilitis thr ns (143).

h as with which cmmunitis may ltr thvrw inrmatin bing publishd, thrr,

is n us whn th tls bing usd r publishing

and ltringlanguag, machin, tchniquar

pratd undr th rcs chnply.

t is imprtant t nt th way in which stman

sparats tchnlgy rm chnply. nstad

pinting t hw spcic tls, such as an nlinsarch r txt mssag, may act ur brains r

inspir a scial mvmnt, h rams th cncpt as

a thught-wrld. utlins sm th tnts


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this thught-wrld whn writing th riginatr scintic managmnt, rdrick . aylr:3

. . . aylrs bk The Principles o Scientic

Management, publishd in 1911, cntains th rst

xplicit and rmal utlin th assumptins

th thught-wrld chnply. hs includ

th blis that th primary, i nt th nly, gal

human labr and thught is fcincy; that tchnicalcalculatin is in all rspcts suprir t human

judgmnt; that in act human judgmnt cannt b

trustd, bcaus it is plagud by laxity, ambiguity,

and unncssary cmplxity; that subjctivity is

an bstacl t clar thinking; that what cannt b

masurd ithr ds nt xist r is n valu;

and that th aairs citizns ar bst guidd and

cnductd by xprts (51).

stmans cncrns ar nt with th tls

usdthrwis h wuld nt dlinat tl-using

culturs as a sparat stp in his taxnmy. athr, it

is th way in which scity radily adpts ths tls:

withut a thrugh cnsidratin th rcs

acting n ths tls

in particular, th mtivs ths rcs.

3 Carr also writes o Taylor, though he does so in order to explain theemphasis on eficiency placed on the Internet and search engines suchas Google.


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n hr 2012 uth by uthwst ntractiv talk,h wr ar n twrkd ublics, rsarchr

danah byd4 ntd that

w ar th thingsand th pplthat w d nt

undrstand ar mr than th things w d, vn

i th lattr ar much mr risky. r this rasn,

its nt surprising that ppl ar tchnlgy. ts

nwnss is cnusing and n ns quit crtain whatt d with th prmiss it rs.

hirky and arr hav prducd intriguing

and thrugh wrks which prsnt thris and

ramwrks t turn tchnlgy int smthing w

d undrstand (hirky crtainly prsnts a ar mr

ptimistic n than arr). ut thris, accrding tstman, ar vrsimplicatins, r at last lad t

vrsimplicatin . . . hir waknss is that prcisly

bcaus thy vrsimpliy, thy ar vulnrabl t

attack by nw inrmatin (77).

byd wnt n t rrnc lvin ranzbrgs

irst aw chnlgy: chnlgy is nithr gd,

nr bad, nr is it nutral. h addd that, givnthis, its irrspnsibl t assum that th tls wr

building just wandr ut int th wrld with nly

4 boyd legally changed her name to be all lowercase, noting that shepreers the symmetry o the d and h in her rst name (Goodman).


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Gabi Schaffzin

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psitiv cts s such, this critiqu tchnlgywill cntinu with chnply as a guiding rc,

r it prsnts a ramwrk thrugh which w ar

nt rcd t s a gd, nr a bad, nr crtainly a

nutral. athr, it asks us t s th rcs acting n

that wrld int which ur tls ar wandring and

nabls us t cnsidr th mtivs ths rcs

and th cnsquncs allwing thm t cntinuas thy ar.

s a rst stp, w must rviw sm tchnlgys

mst hraldd achivmnts. s stman writs in

Technopolys rst chaptr, a wis manvn n

such a wul cuntnancmust bgin his critiqu

tchnlgy by acknwldging its succsss (7).


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27

Point, Counterpoint

The Telegraph vs. The Nanosecond

rhaps n th mst pignant xampls

a tchnlgy nt nly altring th bhavir a

ppulus, but als having a prmannt ct n

th trajctry th thught-wrld its tim, is

th tlgraph. ams ary, in his ssay, chnlgyand idlgy: th cas th tlgraph prsnts

an xcllnt argumnt r that pic innvatin

as mricas tipping pint int th industrial

rvlutinacting as bth an nablr r s many

thr advancs as wll as a catalyst in a shit

human idlgy. h tlgraph, argus ary, was

rspnsibl r a rcncptualizatin what abusinss lkd lik, what languag sundd lik,

and what rl lctricity wuld play in th cnsumr

gds markt. w that railrads nd nt dpnd

n ridrs n hrsback t chang signals alng th

rails, trains culd mv much astr and at gratr


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rquncy. umans culd cmmunicat with nanthr rm acrss th glb, and d s, r th

rst tim, withut rquiring any majr travl by any

party. glbal synchrnizatin bganrm railrad

timtabls t city halls t nancial markts.

n 1858, harls . riggs and ugust avrick

xplrd th maning th tlgraph t humanity.

hy assrtd that (as citd by ary), t is impssiblthat ld prjudics and hstilitis shuld lngr xist,

whil such an instrumnt has bn cratd r an

xchang thught btwn all natins th arth.

h annihilatin tim and spac inspird mr

than just nw businss vnturs. t inspird hp.

urthr, it nabld spd. umans culd travl

astr, cmmunicat astr, vn trad astr. sarry nts, tim has bn rdnd as an

clgical nich t b lld dwn t th micrscnd,

nanscnd, and picscnddwn t a lvl at

which tim can b picturd but nt xprincd.

his is du t a glbal tim synchrnizatina

prduct ur rlativly nw ability t travl quickly

acrss tim-zns, dlinatins dvlpd nly atrth intrductin th tlgraph itsland als

th synchrnizatin nancial markts. ary

calls ut th xampl cmmditis tradrs in th

mrican idwst in th arly- and mid-19th

cntury. arkts whs prics laggd tw yars


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Gabi Schaffzin

29

bhind Eastrn markts in th 1820s sn laggdbhind by nly mnths thanks t th spd with

which prics travld rm w rk r England.

y 1857, hwvr, th pric shits wr virtually

instantanus.

day, th invitabl rquirmnt t kp apac

with th spd lctrnic markts has lad t th

advnt algrithmic trading

th tracking, buying,and slling nancial prducts via prprgrammd

quatins basd n th lgic ths markts. n th

1970s and 1980s, as banks and thr rms bgan t

turn thir cus t th lctrnic mdling ths

quatins, it bcam imprativ t mak accssibl t

individual mplys th tchnlgy t d s. hus,

whn an ricklin and b rankstn rlasd thrst lctrnic spradsht stwar, isialc, in 1976,

th chang catalyzd by th tlgraph shitd int

high gar.

lng with th spradsht cam th ability

t cmplt bttr analysis astr (ain). ith

rptitiv clls, built-in quatins, and instantanus

crss-rrncs, calculatins wr autmaticallychckd by th cmputr (ain). n, th

cmplxity mdls allwd by th stwar (and

its drivativs, tus 1-2-3, icrst Excl, t al.)

bcam a masur valu: ths mdls with

mr cmplxity wr hraldd as mr lgitimat.


30/108


30

inancial markts bgan spculating basd n thsmdls, dpnding n snsitivitis1 t cnvy a sns

surnss r pr. s n invstmnt bankr put it,

it was this ida that w culd sit with [a clints] Ceo

and say w thught vrything (aundrs).

his cmplxity rquird a nw kind thinking

and individuals with th ability t d s. irms bgan

t bring in physicists t build mdls n a prpritarybasis. On such individual is Emanul rman, a

physicist wh bgan his carr at ll abs but

quickly bcam brd and mvd n t ldman

achs. n his 2004 autbigraphy h writs taking

a many-sidd viw risk that was a nvr nding

ntrpris. nts that much nancial

mdling is an xrcis th imaginatin (257).arly tn yars latr, it is nt uncmmn t rad

ash-crashs within th markt, bri but signicant

dips causd by a bug within algrithmic trading

cd (anx). rtainly, th nancial cllaps lat-

2008 can b blamd in part n an vrcndnc in

cmplxity within ur markts (h hit us).

hs ccurrncs ar th prduct th marrying imaginatin with risk, spcially in th cntxt ur

chnplya plac whr ur markts cnrm t

th tchnlgy availabl t thm. s tvn vy wrt

1 Small models within models that try to convey what elements o ascenario can directly or indirectly afect outcomes.


31/108

Gabi Schaffzin

31

in a 1984 arprs atur n lctrnic spradshts,ths wh us thm hav a tndncy t ls sight

th crucial act that th imaginary businsss thy

crat n thir cmputr ar just thatimaginary.

ctual businsss cnstantly dpnd n th

typ imaginary mdling prrmd using

dvics such as th lctrnic spradshtpatnts,

custmr data, sals rcasts, and s n

r aidin dcisin making. h incrasd capability ur

tchnlgy allws us t cnsum and prcss mr

inrmatininrmatin which is bing prducd

by that sam tchnlgy. ut ar w put in a bttr

psitin t mak dcisins n ur wn r d ur

instrumnts intrr with ur ability t d s? his

dpnds n th rcs acting n ths tls.

Ted Turner vs. The Sensational Media

wantd t start th abl ws twrk, ntd

businss mgul and CNN undr, d urnr, in 1979,

bcaus lt that mrica ndd an in-dpth vic

in whats ging n in th nws (Oprah.cm). On

yar latr urnr launchd th 24-hur cabl nwschannl as a way t rach individuals wh wr nt

abl watch th nws n its xisting schdul (5 p.m.,

6 p.m., and 11 p.m.) th big thr ntwrks: ABC,

CBS, and NBC (Oprah.cm). aving alrady built his

tlvisin mpir by taking advantag th UHF


32/108


32

bradcast spctrum (n that had bn rcntly madavailabl by th FCC; all th majr ntwrks wr n

th lgacy VHF), urnr undrstd what it mant t

pinr a nw industry via a nw tchnlgy. ith

satllits tday, h ntd, thrs n rasn why

ppl shuld b ignrant abut whats ging n in

th rst th wrld (atinal nstitutin ntr).

ithut much prgramming availabl which tspak n mst cabl prvidrs, CNN brk grund

by bradcasting what it cnsidrd t b valuabl

inrmatin 24-hurs pr day.

ith csts r bth physical (shipping and

travling) and virtual (tlcnrncing and ntrnt

nabld sharing) cnnctins s lw thanks t

nw tchnlgis, cmpanis (including mdiantwrks) bgan xpanding rapidly thrughut

th glb. Evntually, atr xpanding glbally via

CNN ntrnatinal, urnrs ntwrk was sharing

inrmatin acrss th plant, part a much largr

glbalizatin trnd sn thrughut th businss

wrld. urnr and his cntmpraris hraldd this

xpandd ntwrk in a strikingly similar ashin tth tlgraphs advcatsth sharing inrmatin

wuld b a mans thrugh which humanity wuld

nd cmmn causs and rduc vilnc and

stri. am th right man in th right plac at

th right tim, nt m aln, but all th ppl


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Gabi Schaffzin

33

wh think th wrld can b brught tgthr bytlcmmunicatins (nry).

h mans t cmmunicat and shar

inrmatin gathrd via satllit and bradcast

int hms was a ralizatin arshall cuhans

lbal illag, a plac whr lctric spd [was]

bringing all scial and plitical unctins tgthr

in a suddn implsin [that] hightnd humanawarnss rspnsibility t an intns dgr (5).

urnr, at th hlm r th ntwrks rst 20

yars, blivd that CNN culd b a catalyst in this

hightning thrugh its bjctiv and act-basd

rprting n natinal and intrnatinal aairs. s

th mdia landscap has changd, hwvr, an

mphasis n prt making has rcd cabl nws inta dirnt plac than urnr nvisind.

t th halway pint 2012, CNN sat lw in th

ratings r 24-hur cabl nws ntwrks, trailing

ar bhind bth x ws and MSNBC, tw ntwrks

which had mrgd yars atr CNNs initial launch.

uch cmmntary was writtn abut th all

th nc hraldd cabl nws giant, tn qutingfcial CNN spksprsns spusing th valu

th ntwrk as a surc r nn-partisan, quality

jurnalism (yrs). rtainly, this dns stmmd

rm th rganizatins attmpt t dirntiat

itsl rm th idlgically-drivn x ws and


34/108


34

MSNBC (cnsrvativ- and libral-laning, rspctivly).ut urthr criticism has bn lbbd at th ntwrk

r vring away rm th typ nws-gathring

r which it was riginally knwn (yrs). Evn

urnr himsl statd in rcnt yars that h wuld

lik t s lss uy nws and mr nvirnmntal

nws and mr intrnatinal nws . . . a littl mr

substantiv (ha).hthr th rt th CNNs ratings ws is

basd n th ntwrks lack cus n intrnatinal

nws r is t cusd n staying nn-partisan, th

act rmains that it is unabl t garnr th shar

audinc it nc culd. hrs trmndus prssur

t gt ppl t watch ths channls s thy can

sll advrtising r a highr pric, urnr tld mrkaw in 2011. thy g t mr snsatinalt

m, trivialprgramming (US Zitgist 2010). nd,

as th mdia industry cnslidatd, th typ

disruptin which urnr was abl t accmplish in

1980 was n lngr pssibl. n th uly/ugust 2004

issu Washington Monthly, urnr writs, hat

will prgramming b lik whn its prducd r nthr purps than prt? hat will nws b lik

whn thr ar n indpndnt nws rganizatins t

g atr stris th big crpratins avid?

s with th tlgraph, cabl and satllit

cmmunicatin was viwd as a pssibl bridg


35/108

Gabi Schaffzin

35

btwn glbal partis wh may nt b amiliarwith n anthrs cultur. nrming ths grups

abut n anthr culd hav bn acilitatd by

th nw tchnlgy. wvr, th cnsidratins

capital cmplicatd and cmprmisd th

riginal visin. ut cabl nws is an inhrntly n

way cmmunicatin. h vlutin tchnlgy

has ld t th dsign and curatin intractivxprincsths which allw us t bth cnsum

and crat, allwing us t raliz mr cmplx

discurss acrss a plthra channls.

The Memex vs. Facebook

annvar ushs and ark Zuckrbrgs visins

shard a lty gal: th bttrmnt mankind. Oninnvatr, having just nishd dvlping th atmic

bmb, lt that mrging tchnlgy at th tim

culd ushr in a lvl nlightnmnt, n that

wuld ncurag humans t grw in th wisdm

xprincrathr than digrss and kill. h thr

innvatr, with his pnchant r tinkring with

th latst stwar and ntwrking tls, blivdthat a scity with libral plicis n sharing

prsnal inrmatin wuld ncurag cnnctins

btwn nighbrs and intrnatinal strangrs

alik. Each ths innvatrs usd similar building

blcks t cnciv and cnstruct his rspctiv


36/108


36

tl

Zuckrbrgs acbk having th luxury narly 60 yars tchnlgical dvlpmnts n

ushs mythical mx.

s ush mrgd rm his wrk n th anhattan

rjct in 1945, h sught ut ways t utiliz th

ras rapidly dvlping tchnlgical advancs r

acadmic, rathr than military, bjctivs. cusd

n rsarch tchniqus, uld by his bli thatppl wr nt quippd with th prpr tls t

cllct, cnsult, and shar ndings. s h wrt in

The Atlantic Monthly, rsumably mans spirit shuld

b lvatd i h can bttr rviw his shady past

and analyz mr cmpltly and bjctivly his

prsnt prblms (47).

ush was mainly cncrnd with using tchnlgyt rplicatr supplmntprcsss th

human brain. s such, th cllctiv valu th

individual tchnlgis was ully illustratd nc

thy cam tgthr in his visin th mx, a

dsk-nclsd mchanizd systm r cllctin,

rtrival, rviw, and cnsultatin rsarch.

ntral t th mx cncpt wr trails data:assciativ, rathr than alphabtical r thrwis

indxd cntnt. signd basd n th thught

assciatin prcss, individual pics rsarch

wr cllctd rm disparat surcs, transrrd t

and rm a strag mdium (micrlm), and taggd


37/108

Gabi Schaffzin

37

with uniqu idntiying addrsss. hs rcrds trails culd als b shard r duplicatd s that prs

and cllagus wuld hav th ability t viw and

anntat ach thrs rsarch (4446).

hil nvr ully ralizd as a physical

prduct, many aturs th mx hav bn

implmntd thrughut tdays tchnlgical

advancs. ic rcgnitin stwar, camra andlns miniaturizatin, and ir im rnrs-s

yprtxt arkup anguag (HTML) can all b tid

back t prpsals ush maks in hisAtlantic articl,

ntitld s ay hink. rhaps n th

mst ncmpassing cntmprary xampls th

mx, hwvr, is acbk, launchd in 2003. ust

as ush hpd that his mx trails wuld lad tth lvating mans spirit, Zuckrbrgs visin

r acbk was n in which th wrld [is] mr

pn and transparnt, which . . . will crat gratr

undrstanding and cnnctin. Zuckrbrg and his

tam blivd thy culd achiv this by ncuraging

th us its tchnlgy t prmt cial alu,

mmn lar, and On rld

amng thrprincipls (acbk rincipls).

acbk usrs ability t uplad thughts (r

nts), phtgraphs, and vids mimics ushs visin

a multi-mdia rcrding tl r rsarchrs. h

sits ik buttns allw usrs t mark any cntnt


38/108


38

thy nd nlin and plac a rrnc t it n aacbk prl pag. his buttn, alng with

cmmnt thrads, act as cnsultatin tls, allwing

cnnctins t dclar i thy shar th sam

pinins n r apprv a pic cntnt. inally,

usrs ar ncuragd t shar cntnt via th

acbk platrm, ithr t th gnral public (via

th ws d) r t a spcic cnnctin via aacbk mssag. h acbk platrm

(ncmpassing acbk.cm, mbil applicatins,

and any tchnlgy utilizing its applicatin

prgramming intrac) uss all th data t which

it has accss and crats its wn vrsin ushs

mx trails. rnrs-s rld id b is an

implmntatin a sa intractiv shardknwldg inspird by ushs mx (1995 annvar

ush ympsium), thn acbks intllignt

rcmmndatin and ltring ngin is a mx

trail, cratd n th y.

t is this ngin that drivs th cr acbks

valu. nsidr il stmans inrmatin glut

vrsus lay hirkys publish-thn-ltr. hn thw inrmatin gs thrugh a cntral algrithm

that catgrizs, priritizs, and prsnts that

inrmatin, thr is n glut, n nd r ltring n

th sid th human. r acbk as a crpratin,

building and maintaining this ngin prvids a


39/108

Gabi Schaffzin

39

twld bnt: usrs ar prsntd with whatthy bliv t b th mst prsnalizd inrmatin,

nsuring trafc stays high, a bn t advrtisrs;

ths sam advrtisrs can draw n th data

mving thrugh th ngin in rdr t bttr

custmiz thir ads t thir targt audincs

(arisr 194). th ths slling pints rsult

in highr rvnu pssibilitis.ush, curs, nvr rrncs rvnu

pprtunitis in s ay hink. his

undamntal dirnc is whr acbk and th

mxs shard cntinuum mchanics (cllct,

cnsult, shar) t philsphical gals (mak th

wrld a bttr plac) branchs: whr mx was

cusd n sharing inrmatin r th bnt thacadmy and its ndavrs, acbk is cusd n

gathring, ltring, and prsnting inrmatin at

th bhst its advrtisrs. s srving its paying

custmrs cuntr-act th gratr undrstanding

and cnnctin prmisd?


40/108


40

A Technopolian Critique

h struggl t undrstand tchnlgys prgrssin

is nt a nw n. igmund rud, in his 1929 wrk,

Civilization and Its Discontents, highlights th

dialctic btwn th prblms slvd by tchnlgy

and ths nw ns raisd by it:

ut hr th vic pssimistic criticism maksitsl hard and warns us that mst ths

satisactins llw th mdl th chap

njymnt xtlld in th ancdtth njymnt

btaind by putting a bar lg rm undr th

bdclths n a cld wintr night and drawing it

in again. thr had bn n railway t cnqur

distancs, my child wuld nvr hav lt his nativ

twn and shuld nd n tlphn t har his

vic; i travling acrss th can by ship had

nt bn intrducd, my rind wuld nt hav

mbarkd n his sa-vyag and shuld nt nd a

cabl t rliv my anxity abut him (61).

undrstand th ct any ths

tchnlgical tlsth tlgraph, cabl tlvisin,

scial trails

n humanity as a whl is nt inth scp this dcumnt. r is th pint

this chaptr t call ut ths tls as having nvr

acilitatd wrld-altring vnts with psitiv

utcms. n act, acbk and thr scial

ntwrks hav bn crditd with prviding th


41/108

Gabi Schaffzin

41

channls thrugh which th pprssd participantsin th rab pring built rvlutins t vrthrw

thir dictatrial gvrnmnts (Zuckrman ivic

isbdinc). ut th vnts in unisia, ibya,

Egypt, and thr natins in arly anuary 2010

hav als raisd signicant qustins abut what

might happn as th gvrnmnts bcm awar

and mv n t ths platrms (Zuckrmanrzv). hil th ntwrks hstd th cntnt

which mtivatd Egyptian rvlutinaris, it was

shutting th cuntrys ntrnt cnnctin that

brught prtstrs in largr numbrs t th strt

t participat in th ahrir quar prtsts (ward,

t al.). nd what th cmmrcial ntitis (sm

with rlatinships t gvrnmnts) bing th gatkprs t th data and cntnt usd within ths

rvlutins? whm d thy ultimatly answr?

hs and thr qustins illustrat th

imprtanc cnsidring th rcs that hav actd

n ths tls and th rsulting implicatins n th

way scity is abl (r willing) t us thm. hn

th nanscnd bcms a unit masurmnt rtrad, a ral stat bm ccurs surrunding th

ptical br that brings data t buildings in such

a small amunt tim (illr). hn th nws is

always n, it is paid r by advrtising drivn by th

act that smn must always b watchingvn i


42/108


42

that mans tailring that nws t a spcic idlgy.nd whn, as annvar ush nts, thr will always

b plnty things t cmput in th dtaild aairs

millins ppl ding cmplicatd things (41),

it bcms imprativ t bgin t cmput, vn, th

dtails th uncmplicatd.

n cnsidring ths rcs, tw thms punctuat

th cas studis xplrd in this chaptr. irst, ach th utpian visins driving th tchnlgical

innvatins wr prdicatd n th bli that

sharing inrmatin btwn unknwns wuld rsult

in th bttrmnt humanity. ccrding t danah

byd, this is, prhaps, a curius bli:

Expsur t nw ppl dsnt autmaticallyprduc tlranc. hn xplrrs travrsd th

arth lking r pprtunity, thy pillagd and

plundrd vn br thy bgan clnizing.

ar ruld th sas. nd lts b hnst...xpsur

t thr ppl during grat xplratins did

nt magically prduc tlranc. t brd angr,

distrust, and hatrd.

cndly, as ary nts in his analysis th

varius idlgical changs tracd back t th

invntin th tlgraph, chnlgy as such is t

abstract a catgry t supprt any prcis analysis;

thrr, changs in tchnlgy g unanalyzd


43/108

Gabi Schaffzin

43

xcpt r classiying thm within varius stags capitalist dvlpmnt. r, h is calling ut

a ault in mst analyss surrunding tchnlgy

but als bringing t light n th thms bth

stmans wrk and this chaptr: th rquirmnt t

cntxtualiz a critiqu tchnlgy with a rviw

th capitalist inuncs n it alng th way. Each

th cas studis prsntd abv d prcisly that.

Understanding Designs Susceptibility to Technopolian Forces

hat th cus hr has bn at th crssrads

knwldg transr and cmmrc is crtainly n

cincidnc. urly, tdays inrmatin scity

placs much valu n bth. rm th rts

tchnlgical cmmunicatin t tdays mstppulus virtual ntwrk, ths ar xampls

cmmunicatin systms in actin, sn thrugh

th lns thir dsignd purps , vntually

stablishing thir plac in chnply.

Each th tchnlgis discussd wr hraldd

r th prmisd utcm thir implmntatin

and us, as dsignd by thir cratrs. ut what dsign itsl as a chnplian tchniqu? sign,

atr all, rprsnts th planning cnvrting

th cncptual t th cncrt. his cnvrsin is

bsrvd distinctly in th inrmatin dsign ld,

in particular, as th cncpts dscribd by txtual


44/108


44

and numrical data is prsntd in a sminglynutral mannr.

mattr th nal rm, hwvr, that cnvrsin

must undrg scrutiny by intrstd partis. h

cnvrsin is, t rrnc byds mntin lvin

ranznbrg, nithr gd, nr bad, nr is it nutral,

and prvids r a rich analysis its suscptibility t

chnplian rcs, spcially whn applid t a us-cas stpd in human mtivs and bli systms. s

such, an xaminatin inrmatin dsign usd in

scial mvmntsarguably, highly mtivatd partis

with strngly varid intrsts basd n spcic pints

viwbrings t light th imprtant qustin:

s a cnsidratin th rcs acting n dsign

inhrntly built-in t r xcludd rm th way thld is undrstd tday?


45/108

45

Social Movement

Information Design

Evn as sm its arlist xampls wr prducd

with scial cnsidratins in mind, inrmatin

dsign has bn particularly hlpul in assisting

dsignrs mpirical data with cnmic and

scintic ndavrs. day, hwvr, ss its

ppularity amng scial mvmnts grwing.his crss-pllinatin th subjctiv dsign

inrmatin and a smingly bjctiv scintic

apprach t inrmatin gathring and rganizatin

has raisd qustins, spcially as it srvs bth

cmmrcial and scial intrsts cncurrntly.

Graphic and Inormation Design & Social Movementsrguably, inrmatin dsignrs ar ths wh cus

n using maps, charts, illustratins, graphs, and thr

graphic-havy visual lmnts t cnvy thir

mssagwith a strng mphasis n th

simplicatin that mssag. nrmatin dsignrs


46/108


46

us visualizd data t cnvy mssags in aunivrsal rmimagrytracs back t

aincis itruvian an, illiam layairs

Commercial and Political Atlas, and r. hn

nws wrk mapping th chlra utbrak in

ndn in th 1850s (ut, Visual Display).

ut whil dcumntatin nws maps r

layairsAtlas is rlativly cmmnplac, thris littl writtn abut th us inrmatin

dsign in cntmprary scial mvmnts. n rdr

t gain a critical undrstanding scial inrmatin

dsign, thrr, it wuld llw as wrthwhil t

apply cntmprary inrmatin dsign principls

t ths graphics bing prducd r scial

mvmnts tday.

A Tutean Framework

bgin, it wuld b hlpul t rviw th wrk

prhaps th mst prminnt inrmatin dsign

thrist ur tim, r. Edward ut (stn).

is rst bk, The Visual Display o Quantitative

Inormation, riginally publishd in 1983, prsntsa thrugh vrviw th histry inrmatin

dsign. t als prpss a st principls t b usd

in ctiv graphics which maintain th intgrity

thir rspctiv data. inc th publicatin

Visual Display, ut has built up an mpir


47/108

Gabi Schaffzin

47

sl-publishd wrk and sl-rchstratd sminars.hNew York Times ntd in 1998 that, his skills

sm uniquly suitd t th mmnt: h knws hw

t turn sas inrmatin int navigablvn

scnicwatrways (haply). is parklins1 and

thr mchanisms hav mad him a mainstay in

th inrmatin dsign ld, prviding him th

pprtunity t hav signicant inunc vr th waycrpratins and gvrnmnt rganizatins prsnt

data (stn).

n his urth and mst rcnt vlum,Beautiul

Evidence, ut prsnts a list six principls:

mparisns; ausality, chanism, tructur,

Explanatin; ultivariat nalysis; ntgratin

Evidnc; cumntatin; and ntnt untsst ll. critiqu using ths principls can b

usul in hlping t dissct a visual languag rm

an analytical prspctivhw wll an argumnt is

prsntd via th dsign th data assciatd with

that argumnt, r, as ut nts, t apprais thir

quality, rlvanc, and intgrity. h act that scial

mvmnt dsigns subjct mattr may dir rmtraditinal crprat r scintic prsntatins

is mt accrding t uts assrtin that th

1 A Sparkline is a small intense, simple, word-sized graphic withtypographic resolution (Tute, Beautiful Evidence). They are tools meantto integrate the visual representation o data into text-based narrative.


48/108


48

undamntal principls analytical dsign applybradly, and ar indirnt t languag r cultur

r cntury r th tchnlgy inrmatin display.

gs n: uman activitis, atr all, tak plac

in intnsly cmparativ and multivariat cntxts

lld with causal idas: intrvntin, purps,

rspnsibility, cnsqunc, xplanatin, intntin,

actin, prvntin, diagnsis, stratgy, dcisin,inunc, planning.

r ut, applying his apprach t any scial

mvmnt inrmatin dsign wuld prvid a

ruitul undrstanding ths dsigns quality,

rlvanc, and intgrity. ut what ds this

applicatin lk lik using ral-wrld xampls? his

analysis taks tw mvmnts aturing widspradus ingraphics and data visualizatinth

Occupy all trt and th anti-SoPA/anti-PIPA

mvmntsand attmpts such an applicatin.

Occupy Wall Street

nrally spaking,2 th Occupy mvmnt

(smtims calld Occupy all trt r oWS)rrs t a glbal prtst against th cnmic and

scial injustics causd by what its mmbrs bliv

t b capitalisms pwr vr gvrnmnt and th

2 Due to the disparate nature o the Occupy movement, there is nooficial maniesto or handbook to reerence.


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Gabi Schaffzin

49

individual

a pwr which th mvmnt psitshas ld t a svrly skwd distributin walth

thrughut th dvlpd wrld. O particular

nt is th mvmnts mphasis n hrizntal

rganizatin, gvrnd by cnsnsus prcsss:

dcisins ar mad at gnral assmbly mtings3

via prdtrmind mthds that ar dsignd

t nsur brad agrmnt acrss th grup. nptmbr 2011, ccupatinsr camps

prtstrs in public lcatinsbgan apparing

in hundrds citis arund th wrld. tr th

majrity camps wr victd by lcal authritis,

th mvmnt cntinud as a ntwrk smallr

grups, planning dirct actin prtsts and

awarnss campaigns. Each camp and assciatdscial actin shar a gnral thm (rprsnting th

99% th ppulatin wh ar actd by th unair

distributin walth). hr is n fcial bdy which

gvrns ach n as a cllctiv (Occupyallt.rg).

3 General assembly reers to a time and place or . . . announcementsand proposals. It is open to anyone and is governed by consensusprocess proposals are made and passed via broad agreement, handsignals are used to indicate various points o process, and a team oat least 11 acilitators ensure the process is executed as previouslyagreed upon. For more, see: http://bit.ly/tsBIoE.


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50

Anti-SOPA/Anti-PIPA

n Octbr 2011, th Elctrnic rntir undatin4

bgan ncuraging cnstitunts t cntact thir

ngrssinal rprsntativs t vic cncrn

vr lgislatin bing dbatd n th rs th

.. us prsntativs and .. nat, th

tp Onlin rivacy ct5 (SoPA) and PIPA (rtct

ntllctual rprty ct) (. 3804; . 968; ..3261). h rganizatin xprssd ars vr what

thy lt wr vr-raching masurs t prtct

intllctual prprtymasurs that wuld, thy

blivd, invad usrs privacy and cnsr r

spch nlin. h llwing mnth, ngrssinal

mark-up harings wr hld, aturing v

rprsntativs rm th mdia industry andn rprsntativ rm tchnlgy giant gl.

aking nt th lack rprsntatin, mr

tchnlgy cmpanisacbk, ay, and

thrsjind tgthr in ppsitin th

lgislatin (igginbtham). gl itsl hird at

last 15 lbbying rms t cuntr th bills (yatt).

On vmbr 16, th rts th tchnlgylbby crssd vr int mainstram attntin whn

th nlin micr-blgging sit, umblr, bgan

4 A non-prot advocacy group, described as committed to conront[ing]cutting-edge issues deending ree speech, privacy, innovation, andconsumer rights (sopa/pipa: Internet Blacklist Legislation).

5 Formerly Combating Online Inringement and Countereits Act, or coica.


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Gabi Schaffzin

51

cnsring usr dashbards by blcking ut txt nth sit with black squars. n atr, thr nlin

giants mad similar gstursall t prtst SoPA and

PIPA (alvz). s cvrag SoPA and PIPA mvd

int th mainstram, mr cntnt rgarding th

lgislatin and th mvmnt against it was bing

prducd and distributd, spcially nlin.

Comparing Occupy and Anti-SOPA/Anti-PIPA

th scial and plitical actrs, as wll as dsignrs,

wuld bnt rm an invstigatin ths

tw cntmprary scial mvmnts and thir

rspctiv us inrmatin dsign. On th n

hand, thr ar cncrt variatins btwn th tw

mvmnts: Occupy prsnts itsl as a hrizntalmvmnt, whil th rts th anti-SoPA/anti-PIPA

ar citd as a tchnlgy lbby initiativ, vntually

gaining bradr supprt via spcic r- and nt-

r-prt rganizatins (i.. umblr, ikipdia, t

al.). dditinally, Occupy rsists assigning itsl n

singular mssag r gal, whras anti-SoPA/anti-

PIPA rallid cnstitunts arund dating tw vryspcic pics lgislatin (chwartz; alvz).

h tw mvmnts ar nt, hwvr, mutually

xclusiv. n act, n th tnts th Occupy

mvmnt is t supprt rdm spch and

rsist cnsrship. s such, varius grups within


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52

th mvmnt xprssd supprt r th SoPA/PIPAppsitin, ging s ar as t ncurag activists

t Occupy SoPA by cntacting lcal rprsntativs

(Occupy SoPA). Evn thugh mmbrs th

mvmnt had prviusly xprssd rsistanc

ngaging with th plitical systm, th thrat psd

by ths bills was nugh t inspir actin (lin).

ynd th cmplicatins in cmparing thtw mvmnts, a thrugh invstigatin vry

ingraphic assciatd with ach mvmnt is

impssibl; nithr mvmnt has an fcial

prducr r rpsitry r prmtinal r

inrmatinal cntnt, lt aln th spcically visual.

On cllctin Occupy rlatd graphics (including

a numbr anti-SoPA/anti-PIPA cusd dsigns)rsids at Occupysign.rg, whs administratrs

dscrib th sits gal as building a visual languag

r th 99 prcnt (Occupysign.rg). rducd and

maintaind by a grup vluntrs, th sit prsnts

itsl as a tlkit r bth ths wh d and d nt

sl-idntiy as dsignrs. t prvids visual lmnts

that can b rprducd and distributd n signs,bannrs, r nlin. nitially, th cus th grup

was n prducing ingraphics and icngraphy r

th mvmntsmtims using data-sts rcivd

rm cnstitunts. Evntually, th sit xpandd

int pstrs and thr dsignd pics rlatd t


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Gabi Schaffzin

53

th mvmnt. hn askd hw ingraphicsar classid as such by sit administratrs, tam

mmbr ax lavkin ntd, guss its bn mr

a knw it whn w s it apprach.

his rlativly libral apprach is ntd bynd

Occupysign, as wll, whn bsrving ach

mvmnts rspctiv dsign subjct-mattr (thr

ar graphics dscribing th purps a mvmnt,dscriptins its mmbrs and makup, its gals

and cts, and s n) and cntnt (bth mvmnts

causs ar rprsntd thrughut varius graphics

in a quantitativ r qualitativ mannr). n attmpt

t cntxtualiz ach mvmnts visuals by asthtic

is similarly vasiv: n bsrvs a rang asthtics

rm larg blcks txt t pictgrams, graphs, andvn dchnk-squ vic rippls.6

Application O The Tutean Framework

h highly varid natur th inrmatin graphics

prducd r and by th Occupy and anti-SoPA/anti-

PIPA mvmnts is indicativ th widsprad us

inrmatin dsign thrughut ach mvmntsmdia stratgy. Evn th pur vlum dsigns rm

which t pull a sampl t analyz is an indicatin

bth th ppularity th ingraphic rm amng

6 Please see http://occupydesign.org/gallery/all?eld_type_tid=3 andhttps://google.com/takeaction/past-actions/end-piracy-not-liberty/.


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54

ths particular mvmnts and th prvasivnss inrmatin dsign in ur visual cultur. ut

ds th us a rm which is tn sn in data-

cntric cmmunicatins distract rm th mtivs r

maning th dsignr?

ccrding t ut, Evidnc is vidnc

(Visual Display). Encuraging a cmparativ and

multivariat apprach is bst r cnmic rscintic cnsidratinslds in which mpirical

data drivs much what is taught. ut what this

apprach ignrs ar cnsidratins such asamng

thrsth intangibility mvmnt bjctivs,

th multichannl natur graphic prsntatin (in

mvmnt litratur, n pstrs, during cllctiv

actin), and th imprtanc annymity r smmvmnt actrs (spcially ths supprting

cntntius causs).

r instanc, an applicatin th utan

principls suggsts that Occupysigns inrmatin

graphics ar rlativly wak: thy nrmally nly

cntain w pics data, thy ar prsntd with

vry simpl visual cus (in black and whit, withutmr than a w dirnt icns, tc.), and thy

ar wak whn sn individually. hs dsigns,

hwvr, wr prpard r us in cllctiv physical

actinccupatins and prtsts. h pinrs

inrmatin dsign wr nt abl t tak th channls


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Gabi Schaffzin

55

and mdia w hav availabl tday int cnsidratin:layair and nw wr snding thir dsigns t

b printd in bks r jurnals. ut as th us

inrmatin dsign mvs bynd th mdical and

cnmicand int cmmrcial advrtising, prsnal

xprssin, and scial advcacyth ways in which

w valuat this dsign must adapt accrdingly.

ncurrntly, a rvaluatin th ldsapprach t intgrity is als in rdr. ut

prmts dcumntatin as a rquirmnt r strng

analytical dsignan assrtin that is hard t rut

whn cnsidring th imprtanc dlinating

btwn act and ctin. ut at what pint ds

an mphasis n dcumntatin vrshadw an

xprssin bli? s imprpr citatin surcs rgarding a mvmnts rach, distract rm

th dsignrs intnt t prtray a larg scal actin?

On th thr hand, an mphasis n xprssin

thrugh dsignrathr than n slly cnvying

scintically accurat inrmatin abut r r a

mvmntlavs prhaps t much in what iltn

lasr calls th catgry cnsciusnss-raising. gs n t argu that w can yu pntrat

ppls immunity is always th undamntal

qustin a dsignrs wrk (lasr and ayr).

s pntratin withut an mphasis n


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56

act

turning t shck valu

urthr plariz analrady dichtmus discurs?

Challenges To Inormation Designs Inherent Objectivity

b sur, uts strng mphasis n scinc and

mpirical inrmatin in th dsign ld has drawn

indirct criticism rm a numbr dsignrs. w

in particular, ssica land and illiam rnttl,writ in 2002 th dangrs applying principls

what ut might call wll-dsignd graphics t th

scintic. h appal inrmatin dsign is that

it rs instant crdibility. hy cntinu, ut its a

als authrity, particularly bcaus w buy int th

rm s unqustiningly.

bin rly als prsnts a similar warning,thugh sh apprachs th dangrs rm th

prspctiv th dsignr, rathr than th bsrvr.

n hr 1998 rviw dsignr ichard uards

ztlan str, sh rs an intrrgatin cultural

hgmny in graphic dsign. h argus that sign

in ur prsnt dcad cannt b thught slly

in trms an bjct r prduct; rathr, it must bcnsidrd as a prcss carrid ut with a nxus

particular scial rlatins (cultural, cnmic,

symblic) (22). urthr, sh ncurags currnt

dsignrs t cnsidr th lds mtapraxis, a plac

whr maning bcms attachd t bjcts, imags,


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Gabi Schaffzin

57

and wrds: h ability t ngag in this mtapraxisis part what sts dsignrs rm nndsignrs,

spcially in this ag prsnal cmputrs and

cttag industry dsign, whn prssinal status

aln n lngr dns a ld (23).

n raising th varius cnsidratins which must

b acknwldgd whil dsigning inrmatin, and

in cusing n th spcic valu th prssinaldsignr, rly calls int qustin th vry natur

uts missin, n which thNew York Times

dscribs as prslytizing, winning cnvrts and

turning a prt in th prcss. ut, in th sam

articl, nts that h is xpanding [his] taching

t rach ppl dirctly (haply). his willingnss

t imbu th masss with th valus gdinrmatin dsigna willingnss upn which his

ntir businss mdl is prdicatdstands in dirct

cntrast t th wrk a philsphr whs inunc

n th inrmatin dsign ld dats back t narly

60 yars br th publishing The Visual Display o

Quantitative Inormation.

Otto Neurath, Isotype, and The Transormer

s a unding mmbr th inna ircls lgical

psitivist mvmnt, Ott urath blivd that

th xprssin act was utmst imprtanc,

spcially in a Eurp having rcntly bn ravagd


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58

by rld ar . uring his tnur as dirctr varius lcal musums in ipzig and inna,

urath dsignd xhibits r citizns that xplaind

statistics and plicis abut lcal cmmunitis and

thir varius cnmic and scial cncrns (uptn).

nundd by th cmplxitis xprssing

statistical knwldg thrugh vrbal languag and th

ruls which accmpany it, urath turnd t a systm pictgrams, dsignd and arrangd (smtims

alngsid writtn languag) with a lgic h lt

unattainabl thrugh wrds aln. hs pictgrams

addrssd, t, his struggl t cnvy rlvant

inrmatin in a clar mannr, t b cnsumd and

undrstd by an intrnatinal audinca d-

bablzatin srts. urath vntually titld thismd inrmatin transr th ntrnatinal

ystm O pgraphic ictur Educatin, r

styp (uptn; Ott urath 1215).

styp prsntd a way r urath t balanc

his struggl with th rm languagth ruls

and cnsidratins assciatd with th writtn and

spkn wrd

and his bli, as a lgical psitivist,that languag culd still cnvy univrsal act. n

his intrductry txt t styp, urath nts

that mak a pictur is mr rspnsibl than t

mak a statmnt, bcaus picturs mak a gratr

ct and hav a lngr xistnc (15). nsidring


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Gabi Schaffzin

59

th dvastating cts rld ar n th wrldarund him, it is n surpris that rspnsibility

is a pririty uraths. vlping a languag

basd n th univrsality imagry was utmst

imprtanc t him, as h blivd it culd ushr in,

accrding t dsignr and ducatr Elln uptn, a

mr galitarian cultur, n in which pictrial

inrmatin wuld disslv cultural dirncs (50).s ari urath (n idmistr), Ott uraths

wi and cllagu, writs, urath wantd t dvlp

charts maning smthing r vryn, h wantd

t mak sur that thy xcludd nbdy, that thy

allwd svral lvls undrstanding . . . as a mans

ducatin that is nutral, prvids bjctiv

acts and lavs judgmnt and valuatin t thviwr (26).

his smingly utpian visin rquird

vrcming many bstacls. urath st ut t tak

n th practicalitis building styp int a truly

intrnatinal languag (all th whil ddging th

pprssiv rgims th pr-rld ar II natins

Eurp) by building a tam dsignrs

mstntably, rd rntz, wh had signicant inunc

n styps amus wd cut asthtic (uptn

48). arly 80 yars atr uraths intrductin

styp, th languags staying pwr is vidnt nly

in this asthtics inunc n currnt inrmatin


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60

dsign and data visualizatin pictgraphy (and,prhaps, in th additin th trm istyp t

dsigns lxicn). n 1972, 27 yars atr uraths

dath, ari rtird, dpsiting th ull cach th

prjcts dcumnts and publicatins int an archiv

at th nivrsity ading, utsid ndn (uptn

48, tnt 4).

ut styp may hav mr t tach us,particularly n a philsphical r thrtical lvl.

uraths systm was built arund th prmis

that languag xists as an bjct tid t natur,

thugh still rmd by th bsrvr this

natur (uptn 47). his bli can b xplicitly

sn in styps strng mphasis n th rl

what urath calld th transrmr. s bininrss writs in his bk The Transormer, urath

dvlpd th ntin transrmr (it was

ransrmatr in rman) t dscrib th prcss

analysing, slcting, rdring, and thnmaking

visual [mphasis his] sm inrmatin, data, idas,

implicatins (6).

his prcss was a dtaild n, with thtransrmr wrking with stakhldrs and subjct

mattr xprts, gaining a strng undrstanding

an issu br building ach styp translatin

t rprsnt it. his includd cnsidring th

audinc th languag and what symbls wuld


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Gabi Schaffzin

61

bttr rsnat with thm (ari urath 75). hna discipl uraths, udlph dly, tk his

knwldg styp t th nitd tats in th

1930s and 1940s, h ptd nt t includ th rl

transrmr. nstad, his gal was t rach as brad

an audinc as pssibl by bringing, r xampl,

th pictgrams t schl childrn as symbl shts.

n ding s, h alinatd urath. s Eric indl,curatr h Ott and ari urath styp

llctin at th nivrsity ading, ntd, it

ld t [a rductin in] th richnss prsntatin

inrmatin. y rmving th transrmr and

attmpting t bring th principls styp t th

masss, much was lst in th dvlpmnt and th

rsulting maning th languag. s such, urathand his tam sught t cntrl vry lmnt th

dsign and prductin styp.

Moving Away From A Focus On The Design Side

t can b said that this cus n cntrl

prductin ld t styps vntual dwnall. his

is nt t dtract rm th systms inunc nth gnratins dsignrs wh cam atr its

incptin amidst a war trn Eurp. uraths

apprach is cntxtualizd whn viwd alngsid

mr cntmprary thrists such as bin rly;

attmpts at cntrlling r changing th way dsign


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62

r mdia is mad is nthing nw. his phnmnnis what stman rrs t whn h nts that n

n can rasnably bjct t th ratinal us

tchniqus t achiv human purpss. gs n

t call ut th prcis subjct mattr uraths

rts:

. . . anguag itsl is a kind tchniqu

an invisibltchnlgyand thrugh it w achiv mr than

clarity and fcincy. achiv humanityr

inhumanity. h qustin with languag, as with

any thr tchniqu r machin, is and always has

bn, h is t b th mastr? ill w cntrl it, r

will it cntrl us? h argumnt, in shrt, is nt with

tchniqu. h argumnt is with th triumph

tchniqu, with tchniqus that bcm sanctid

and rul ut th pssibilitis thr ns (142).

nrmatin dsign is a tchniqun that

stands t r signicant aid t ths wrking

t undrstand a cmplx st data. s mdia

philsphr ilm lussr assrts, mags ar

mdiatins btwn th wrld and humanbings . . . th wrld is nt immdiatly accssibl t

thm and thrr imags ar ndd t mak it

cmprhnsibl (lussr Towards A Philosophy 9).

Ovrwhlming data bcms digstibl inrmatin

whn prsntd via imagry. ut th trust w plac in


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Gabi Schaffzin

63

ths imags bcms dangrus as ur critical ysbcm lackadaisical and th tchniqus t prduc

thm bcm sanctid. hy ar suppsd t b

maps but thy turn int scrns, lussr cntinus,

uman bings rgt thy cratd th imags in rdr

t rintat thmslvs in th wrld (lussr Towards

A Philosophy 10). h transrmrs prspctiv and

inhrnt bias is rgttn in th prcivd bnt th cnvninc gaind.

attmpt a mthdical r scintic valuatin

th inrmatin graphics prducd by Occupy,

anti-SoPA/anti-PIPA, r any scial mvmnts is a

util xrcisthy ar nar innit in numbr,

prducd by cuntlss dsignrs, distributd, citd,

vn mdid thrughut cuntlss channls n aplthra platrms. s graphics assciatd with

mvmnts, this is bth xpctd and accptabl:

th way th pics ar dsignd, viwd, and sprad

ar all prducts th nuanc and maning-making

inusd int thm. h way thy ar undrstd is a

prduct th maning thir audincs sk. hy

nd nt b hld accuntabl t th tnts truth. nd nt scld dsignrs r nt prducing thm

in accrdanc with utan (r any thr) principls.

athr, w must rmmbr what Ott urath alrady

knw whn dvlping styp: thr is a translatin

that taks plac btwn th lings, th wrds, and


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64

th imags that mak up an inrmatin dsign. hn,prhaps, w can tach dsign cnsumrs t d s with

a critical y and a willingnss t lk past tchniqu.

arly 15 yars atr rlys ztlan ssay,

dsignrs ar still acd with th act that thir ld

is inhrntly cmmrcially drivn. ut in th ra

ppl, nc.s dminanc in th cnsumr markt, in

a tim whn dsign thinking is part th businsslxicn, and th chnlgy, Entrtainmnt, and

sign cnrnc is prhaps n th mst

widly cnsumd,7 surly th bsrvrs all

this tchniqu-clbratd dsign ar rady r a r-

ducatin rgarding cnsumptin: a ramwrk, nt

t prduc bautiul, wll-dsignd inrmatin,

but n t cnsum it rspnsibly.his ramwrk wuld rquir th dvlpmnt

a curriculum prpr knwldg consumption, n

that challngs viwrs dsign t answr stmans

rhtrical qury with an mphatic, w will cntrl

it, and nt vic vrsa. aking int cnsidratin

chnplys currnt prgram, prhaps thr ar nw

ways t rach ur dsign cnsumrs, making surthat thy undrstand what Ott urath nc did:

n must always cnsidr th rcs at wrk n th

knwldg arund us.

7 As o Jun 2011, the videos on TED.com reached over 500 views (Lawler).


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65

Philosophical Basis

Brevity & Speed

h xampls prsntd in prvius chaptrs cusd

n inrmatin sharing tchnlgis which wr

dvlpd with signicant prmis. h tlgraph,

cabl nws, th scial ntwrk, and inrmatin

dsign playd th rl straw man in an argumntcusd n th ngativ cnsquncs chnplys

rcs taking hld. ut ach th transrmatins

utlind rs insight int th valus prmtd by

ths rcs: a high vlum inrmatin prducd

and transrrd quickly. hs prtins may b

packagd r man (as in th cas cabl nws,

acbk, and th ingraphic) r machin (as in thcas th algrithmic trad).

hr is littl surpris that vlum and spd ar

th qualitis which apprpriatly charactriz ach

transrmatin, spcially as a prt mtiv taks

hld th tchnlgy. usinss, atr all, is drivn by


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66

cnsumptin

and succss vr ns cmptitrs isachivd whn ns prduct is cnsumd in largr

quantitis r at gratr spds (r bth). s capital

drivs th ways in which w prduc, transr, and

cnsum inrmatin, th units with which w

masur that inrmatin bcm smallr. Evn as

th tchnlgical bstacls n cntnt lngth

ar vrcm, w cntinu t wrship th shrt-rm.h wittr platrm, r xampl, was built t

b usd vr th 160-charactr-limitd txt mssag

basd SMS (hrt ssag rvic). day, as th

majrity twtrs us dsktp and mbil

applicatins which culd accmmdat largr

blcks cntnt, th platrms 140 charactr limit

rmains (h Evlving Ecsystm).1

n 1964, mdia thrist arshall cuhan rd

guidanc n th rlatinship btwn inrmatin

and th rm in which it is prsntd whn h

assrtd that th mdium is th mssag (25).

arly 40 yars latr, in 2002, thrist ctt ash

translatd cuhans aphrism litrally: tdays

prrrd mdium cmmunicatin is th mssag.rviusly th dminant mdium was narrativ,

lyric ptry, discurs, th painting. ut nw it is the

message: th mssag th cmmunicatin. h

1 The Twitter platorm reserves 20 characters or meta-data related tothe destination and ormat o the message (New User FAQs).


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Gabi Schaffzin

67

mdium nw is vry byt-lik. t is cmprssd (2).n his 2002 publicatin, Critique o Inormation, ash

prsnts a dns but thrugh pstmdrnist analysis

what h calls th inrmatinalizatin scity:

a plac whr mdia scitys paradigmatic unit

cultur is th cmmunicatin, which in its brvity,

spd and phmrality is taking vr rm narrativ

and discurs as th axial principl cultur (viii).n ur currnt stat tchnlgical rms

li, ash argus, inrmatin shrinks r cmprsss

mtanarrativs t a mr pint, a signal, a mr

vnt in tim (1, 17). s such, th ability r rctin

and critiqu ar thrwn int qustin. arrativ

and discurs hav givn way t th vry byt-lik

mssag

thr is n lngr rm r th srt lgitimating argumnt that yu ar prsntd with

in a discurs and pwr, which was nc largly

discursiv . . . is nw largly inrmatinal (3); whn

spd and brvity bcm qualitis cmmunicatin

which ar hraldd abv such rms as narrativ

and discurs, th partis wh ithr str r cnvy

th mst inrmatin in th shrtst amunt tim als hld th gratst amunt pwr. h

institutins and traditins that mak up ur cultural

undatin giv way t ths pwrs and chnply

nsus. ith his cus n th cultural, ash prvids

th sam cncptualizatin th primary ara


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cncrn in ur nw tchnlgy-drivn inrmatinag as stman. ut ash als dlvs int th highr

lvl dangrs th cmprssin tim and spac,

marking spd and brvity as th primary drivrs

th lss ur ability r rctin.

Refection

ut what valu t us is th ability r rctin? undrstand this, it wuld b hlpul t xplr th

tachings th philsphr ilm lussr. Exild

rm his hm in ragu during th cnd rld

ar, lussr was sparatd rm his amily, whm

h wuld ls at th hands th azis. studnt

philsphy at th tim, h vntually und

himsl wrking as an nginr r a manuacturr radis and transistrs in razil. is acadmic

inclinatins ld him back t th acadmy, hwvr,

and in 1960 h bgan wrking with th razilian

nstitut r hilsphy in al. n atr, h

bgan taching at th nivrsity al as a

prssr philsphy t studnts in th schl

nginring (lussr Writings 197200). s such, his

xprinc taching th humanitis t studnts

an applid scinc maks him particularly rlvant

t th cnstructin a curriculum prpr

knwldg cnsumptinn which is mant t


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adapt th tachings th humanitis t nlightnusrs scintically drivn tchnlgis.

lussrs writings d nt rsmbl ths th

majrity thr philsphrs: thy lack citatins

and tnts2 and ar tn dlivrd as shrt, lucid

ssays. his my hav cntributd t his rlativ

bscurity in th mainstram; h rarly appars

bsid cuhan r altr njamin in th annals mdia philsphy. is ssays, hwvr, prvid

pignant critiqus n th stat tchnlgy and

cmmunicatin during his tim3. n particular,

lussr lt that humans ar in dangr dvlping a

dislcatd wrld viw as thy ar prgrammd by

tchnlgy, rathr than th bing th ns ding th

prgramming (vn mlunxn).his ar is utlind quit ctivly in Towards

A Philosophy O Photographya txt which will b

discussd in th llwing chaptr. h basis r his

ar this prgramming, hwvr, is lucidatd in a

talk h gav t th razilian nstitut hilsphy

in 1963 ntitld hught and ctin. n

2 In his review o Flussers work in the context o the philosopherscontemporaries, Sjoukje van der Meulen notes Flussers reusalto comply with basic academic requirements: none o his booksincludes a bibliography or any other reerence system, because asFlusser proessed himsel this would deviate rom the clarity o histhoughts (181).

3 Flusser died in a car crash outside Prague in 1991 (von Amelunxen).


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it, lussr critiqus th artsian viwpint

aviwpint takn n by th st in its ushring in

th drn g. n particular, lussr ss as

prblmatic th artsian distinctin thinking

thingxtndd thing, a prcss which sks t

simultanusly undrstand and mdiy th wrld

thrugh thought. hught, in lussrs cncptin, is

an advancmnt twards clarity and undrstanding. writs: hught xpands in accrdanc with th

ruls languag . . . shuld imagin thught as an

xpanding wb (5). s thught xpands, languag

cms with. wvr, w cannt hlp but cnnct it

back t what has mad us abl t us it, ur prvius

thught: hrugh th mshs in that wb w always

dwll in th prximity ur rigins, vn thughcnvrsatin drags us alng, bcaus, as w mv

n, w tak ur rigins with us (5). king clarity

and undrstanding, thrr, must b balancd

by rctinr, as lussr calls it, philsphy.

ctin, lussr rs, is a rquirmnt t kp

thught rm dvuring itsl:

ut shuld th wb languag cls cmpltly

arund us, shuld th mshs languag disappar,

shuld discurs bcm rigrus, (as it ds

in mathmatics), w wuld ls ur capacity r

amazmnt. nw wrds, n nw thughts wuld

thn mrg, and w wuld rvlv in th rptitiv

circls idl talk (56).


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h abslut brdm, mrtal tdiusnss, [and]disgusting idm pr idm (6) prct thught,

withut rctin, vntually lads us t th nd

thughtth nd ur chancs r amazmnt. n

rctin, hwvr, lussr ss an pprtunity r

humans t cntinu n as xactly that: human.

think, in rdr t think n mr, w talk, in rdr t

stp talking. hught is absurd, but it is what maksus what w ar, thinking things, humans (7).

n disscting th sts bsssin with llwing

scarts wish t knw and catalg vrything in th

wrld, lussr calls ut th tru dangr allwing

urslvs t succumb t th valus brvity and

spd: w ar lt with n tim r spac r rctin,

n pssibility discurs, with nthing ls t try tundrstand. ar lt with stmans chnply

and ashs inrmatinalizd scity, and t this list

w can add lussrs aradis idl talk . . . whr

nthing amazing can happn and nthing can

thrr b dubtd (67). ar rcd int a

spac bjctivity, whr th lgitimating argumnt

surrunding inrmatin is th inrmatin itsl,carrid alng in th bit r th byt.

Opning up a spac r rctin, thn, is th

ultimat gal th curriculum prpr knwldg

cnsumptin. chiving this gal, hwvr, rquirs

an undrstanding what th curriculum ntails.


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73

A Curriculum Of

Proper Knowledge Consumption

h us th phras a curriculum prpr

knwldg cnsumptin carris with it many

pssibl implid judgmnts r manings. ut

by braking it dwn int individual trms,

undrstanding what th curriculum as a whl

brings with it bcms asir.

Knowledge Consumption

hil th numbr mdia mssags t which

w ar xpsd n a daily basis1 is shcking, th

us th trm cnsumptin hr rrs t th

cnscius ingstin ths mssags which w

hav sught ut r which hav bn prsntd tusdirctly r indirctly. uring intractins with

1 The multitude o various arguments regarding this gure makes itdificult to provide an exact gure. For an example o one such assertion,see: http://www.telegraph.co.uk/science/science-news/8316534/Welcome-to-the-inormation-age-174-newspapers-a-day.html


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mdia r thr individuals, w ar prsntd withinrmatinwhthr r nt w synthsiz this

inrmatin int knowledge is a chic mad by us,

th cnsumrs. b sur, thr may b curricula

which ar cncrnd with th cuntlss subliminal

mssags which ur minds prcss thrughut th

day. his particular curriculum, hwvr, tachs

that consideration should be given to the motivesand perspectives o those who produce and transmit

the inormation being consumed. s this is nt

pssibl with mdia cnsumd subcnsciusly, th

curriculum cuss n th mdia w rad, listn t,

r watch, as wll as th cnvrsatins w hav with

n anthrthat is, th inrmatin w cnsciusly

cnsum and synthsiz int knwldg.n his 2012 bk, The Inormation Diet: A Case or

Conscious Consumption, lay hnsn assrts that th

cncpt inrmatin vrlad, abut which th

liks stman and arr hav thrizd, is

nn-xistnt. athr, h argus, consumers ar t

blam r activly ingsting t much inrmatin

int thir brains.

nrmatin is n mr autnmus than rid

chickn, and it has n ability t rc yu t d

anything as lng as yu ar awar hw it acts

yu. . . . ts nt th ttal amunt inrmatin,


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Gabi Schaffzin

75

but yur inrmatin habit that is pushing yu t

whatvr xtrm yu nd uncmrtabl (25).

hil hnsns bli that a cnsciusnss

rgarding hw inrmatin acts an individual is

crtainly n th right track, h t quickly ignrs

tw imprtant ntins: that it is difcult r us, as

humans, t blck ut th multitud stimuli ding

us inrmatin (vak); and that th mdia industryis prdicatd n th crat making sur that

mssags ar sn and prcssd. hus th cus hr

will rmain n cnsumd knwldginrmatin

that has bn cnsciusly synthsizd.

Proper

nsidring knwldg cnsumptin as a singlunit within th curriculum titl, rathr than tw

sparat lmnts, allws r th tw wrds t inrm

n anthr mr clarly. ut it als prvids sm

clarity whn trying t undrstand th cntxt

th us prpr in th curriculum titlthat is,

th gal this curriculum is t tach th prpr

cnsumptin knwldg, nt th cnsumptin prpr knwldg.

ning prpr knwldg cnsumptin taks

int accunt th philsphical basis prsntd in

th prvius chaptr: a cnsidratin that humanity

dsrvs th pprtunity r thrugh rctin,


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smthing unattainabl with chnplys mphasisn brvity and spd. h synthsis inrmatin

int knwldg is nt th sam as rctin. h

rmr indicats that inrmatin is bing cmbind

int smthing nwknwldgwhil th lattr

is charactrizd by a cnsidratin and critiqu

th knwldg cnsumd. his dirnc urthr

undrlins th imprtanc th additin thadjctiv prpr whn titling th curriculum.

urthr,proper knowledge consumption

acknowledges the inherent subjectivity o any given

communication. his rcgnitin is tn jttisnd

by th tchniqu-happy actrs chnply;

taking int cnsidratin bias, mtiv, multipl

viwpints, and th lik, is bth tim cnsuming andcmplicatd. tr all, as rdrick . aylr nts (as

citd by stman), subjctivity is an bstacl t clar

thinking (51). king aylrs clar thinking, n

th thr hand, wrngly mpwrs th prducr

cmmunicatin as t asily right r truthul.

ivn this, it is imprtant that tachrs

th curriculum nt nly custmiz th cntnt tthir gals, but als imprativ that thy r thir

audincs an labratin n th valus and mtivs

driving this custmizatin. h viwrs wrk

prducd thrugh a curriculum prpr knwldg

cnsumptin shuld b givn th pprtunity t


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Gabi Schaffzin

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undrstand th prspctiv, inuncs, and rasnsbhind th cnstructin such a curriculum.

Curriculum

inally, th trm curriculum is usd in rdr t imply

a taching pprtunityn that is built n th bli

that any elucidation o the dangers o Technopoly

will inspire a more critically consuming public. hispprtunity may prsnt itsl in an acadmic

stting, but it will als xist utsid. ritrs, artists,

and cmmunity and activist ladrs, r instanc,

all prat in scital institutins with audincs

wh may b asily mpwrd with th awarnss

chnplian rcs.

uilding this awarnss, nts stman, wuldman rasn t hp that th nitd tats may yt

surviv its Ozymandias-lik hubris and tchnlgical

prmiscuity (183). airing a philsphical

basis (utlind in th prvius chaptr) with th

prscribd mthdlgy dscribd blw shuld

lad t th cratin a st lssns wrking

twards a cmmn gal. s lssn is t spcic,and philsphy t gnric, th trm curriculum

prprly rprsnts this cllctin pdaggical

guidlins and tls.

ut making awar chnplian cncrns t any

individual wuld rquir a curriculum brn th


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paradxical struggl btwn taking advantag th tls, channls, and mdia availabl tday and

illustrating th dangrs assciatd with th w

inunc manating rm ths sam tls, channls,

and mdia. his rictin is apparnt in ilm lussrs

carr: h usd his xprtis as an nginr in rdr

t nlightn thr nginrs t th philsphical

cnsidratins rlatd t thir ld. s such, a brianalysis his writing will inrm th mthds

rcmmndd r th nactmnt th curriculum.

The Apparatus

lussrs Towards A Philosophy O Photography

prsnts an attmpt t sum up th ssntial quality

phtgraphy (76). raking th ld dwn intimagapparatusprgraminrmatin, th

mdia philsphr critiqus th ways in which w

prduc and rad imagry, spcically tchnical

imags: imags that, lussr nts, ar abstractins

txts, which ar thmslvs abstractins th

imagry that rprsnts th wrld itsl. hs

tchnical imags hav bn accptd as bjctivrprsntatins this sam wrld, hwvr, lading

whvr lks at thm t s thm nt as imags but

as windws (15).

lussrs argumnt assrts that this sam trust is

placd in phtgraphsimags cratd by th camra


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Gabi Schaffzin

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which has bn prgrammd t crat ths imagsin a crtain mannr. h prgram is structurd t

srv th purpss th camra itsl, prviding r

th ralizatin its capabilitis and, in th prcss,

r th us scity as a dback mchanism r its

prgrssiv imprvmnt (46). n this prgramming,

lussr is alignd with bin rly, ichlas

arnham, and stman whn h nts that

thr ar urthr prgrams bhind this n (that

th phtgraphic industry, th industrial cmplx,

th sci-cnmic apparatuss), thrugh th

ntir hirarchy which thr ws th nrmus

intntin prgramming scity t act in th

intrsts th prgrssiv imprvmnt th

apparatuss (46).

his prsnicatin th camra drivn by a

mtiv t gathr dback rm th phtgraphr

(thus using scity r its wn purpss), raiss th

qustin what rl th phtgraphr actually plays:

is sh using th camra r is it using hr? lussr

nts that th rlatinship btwn th usr and thapparatus is, gnrally, a cprativ n. gs

n, hwvr, t ask: w ar hav phtgraphrs

succdd in subrdinating th camras prgram

t thir wn intntins, and by what mans? nd,

vic vrsa: w ar has th camra succdd in


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A Curriculum of Proper

a curriculum of proper knowledge consumption

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