Re: Jurgen Fauth's article--inspiration
Andrew Kean Smith (aks2c@faraday.clas.virginia.edu)
Thu, 3 Oct 1996 20:33:00 -0400 (EDT)
A number of ideas have been put forth regarding the
importance of
hypertext, its effect on communication, and the new style of
thinking it will
elicit, etc. The following, in a nutshell, comprises my views
on this
controversial subject.
IUll begin my little essay with a question. When the
toaster was
invented, was there a flurry of correspondence regarding the
RdeathS of
un-toasted bread? The answer is no. I know that because there
is no word in
the english language for Run-toasted bread.S There are several
lessons that
can be learned from this and applied to the subject of
hypertext.
One of which (IUll leave the rest for you at home to
ponder), is that
the Web is a medium for the exchange of information. Any
extent to which it
BECOMES information in and of itself will be inherently
limited--due to the
fact that at some point, information has to be processed, not
just observed, in
order for it to be understood. What does this have to do with
bread? Like
plain bread, traditional publications will not be usurped by
their high-tech
cousins. They both have distinct qualities, a base of fans who
appreciate
these qualities, and require less RdoctoringS (remember the
discussion we had
on altering the hypertext depending on where readers entered
it) than do their
counterparts.