Discussion about E-books.

Thoughts to the (Sconce, Haunted Media, 2000) reading:

The development of electronic presence form telegraph to television was addressed by Sconce. It is intriguing that the first concept of telegraphy was inspired by spiritualism since Kate Fox has opened a telegraph line to spirit world in Hydeville. Regarding to telegraph, I didn’t really experience that period. Bout I quite miss the time that I was waiting for the post officer come to ring my door and get the real letter by hand writing every morning. As we can see now, the progress of communication has made a milestone not only in telegraphy but also the reading habits which has been discussed in the class. I would like to evaluate this controversial situation related to E-Books. I could still remember that the first children book which was given by my mom and I couldn’t help but take closer to feel and smell the existence of book. That is one of my favorite scents in my childhood even now. The technology has changed people’s life to some extent, we could see that most of people read E-books from laptop, I phone or I pad…etc anytime and everywhere, because they could easily get the information without carrying actual books even read it for free. Isn’t it a good thing for us that we could only carry one item which contains lots of books for free?

Similarly, when it comes to download, not only books but music is also more available than before. Thus, when people choose to read materials on line instead of buying the real one, books are suffered from the same situation as CDs. It is ironic to say that the more convenient technology has brought to us the more destructive corruption would happen to publishers. Who is going to compose the great music or write a book for us? Technology also force these artist have no choice to publish their works on line to see how popular it could be, how much could they achieve if they publish in “real world.” to some extend, technology has already affected the way that people react, we are just like water which was poured into different shapes of bottles. That is, from the time we rely on technology, we (water) incline to suit to technology instead of technology suit to us.

Unpredictable Cyberspace

Thoughts in relation to the Benedikt (1993) reading:

The interesting issue was raised with cyberspace especially between visual and reality. As human beings with physical body, do we really live in the space we actually being or just live in our preferences and imagination which are created by our choices. There would always be a temptation that people choose living in the world which is suitable or much satisfied with for them. I was just thinking about the movement -“Woodstock Music Arts Festival” held in the countryside of United State in 1969 while the time that drugs, folk rock music and psychedelic…etc. were sharply popped up. It was described as the amazing events with the theme of “Love and Peace” during the period of 60’s when people are depraved and self-indulgent after wars. During these three days, Woodstock actually created a wonderful world filled with music, drugs as well as fantasy for those people who pursued the peaceful realms and actually abandoned themselves into that atmosphere even there were not enough space to live (they might just lie down or stand up) no more food and water supplied at that moment “in reality”, I mean, physically. So, those audience might just leave their body behind and let their mind followed by the visual imagination which created by themselves. I would say that it was kind of the cyberspace which actually doesn’t exist but appeal to the real, described in Benedikt(1993)“Cyberspace doesn’t exist .”

The similar example in the theory of Tao created by Lao-tzu (a Chinese philosopher in the Spring and Autumn Period) who support people in that turbulent period should be self- indulgence, enjoy themselves, living in their dreams and all the creations should be back to nature. What he had brought was naturalization, interactive with natural and importance of life as the world 3 structure by Benedikt.

While Benedikt was saying that architecture as belonging to world 3, an controversial issue may be thought of”heavenly City.” One of my favorite novels” The lovely bones”, Alice Sebold (2003), has described the heaven is not like the one we normally define but more like the desire deeply inside to one’s mind. In the story, I found that it is interesting to note that when two dead people have the same desire when they are in so-called heaven and they actually share the space which is in the same heaven to each other and also meet there by this kind of connections. I would take that as cyberspace to two strangers who had common networks of their own imagination and desire.