21-nelson74-4web2

the

NEWMEDIA

READER

(The path unchosen fades from the screen, as does the

previous shank.)

Either of these alternatives may continue with its own

developments and animations under the control of its own

shank.

Several features of this control application are of special

interest. One is that the presentation may be continuous in

all directions, aiding in continuous user orientation. Another

is that presentations are reversible in various ways, an aid

both in user orientation and self-study. (Not only is a demon-

stration reversible within a given shank, but the user may

back the pip through an intersection into the antecedent

shank—which reappears at the juncture as the lightpen

backs up—and the user may continue to reverse the

presentation through that preceding shank, or to re-enter the

intersection and make another choice, “the path not taken.”)

These features allow the user clearly to repeat demon-

strations as often as he likes and to explore numerous

alternatives.

The displayed control net is thus to be understood as a

large network of choices, mostly unseen, whose currently

visible portion “walks” around the screen as use progresses.

Within this system, then, numerous variants are possible. For

instance, the currently visible portion of the net may itself be

whimsically incorporated in a picture, viz.:

The Greeks told of a giant named Procrustes (rhymes with

Rusty’s) who was very hospitable to passing travelers. He

would invite, indeed compel them, to sleep in his bed.

Unfortunately, because it was a very odd bed, he had to cut

them up first . . .

Procrustes has haunted conversations ever since; and any

time we are forced to use categories that don’t properly fit a

subject, it seems like an invitation to the Procrustean bed.

Hypertext systems at last offer total freedom from

arbitrary categorizing and chopping; but in 

some systems for

storing and presenting information, I can’t help hearing the

whisk of Procrustes’s knife—

“Take new Tap-A-Toe Futuroidic Footless De-

Clutching. Instead of old-fashioned gas, brake and

clutch pedals that kept your feet busier than a dance

marathon, Tap-A-Toe Futuroidic Footless De-

Clutching offers the convenience of Single Pedal

Power Control—combines 

all foot functions in one

single pedal!

“Think of it: one tap—you go, moving off faster than

a barfly after Repeal.

“Two taps—you change gears, as smooth and

automatic as a mortgage foreclosure.

“Three taps—you stop quicker than the U.S. economy.

“And that’s all there is to it. Tap-A-Toe Futuroidic

Footless De-Clutching with Single Pedal Control is as

easy and effortless as the Jap march on Manchuria!”

Bruce McCall,

“1934 Bulgemobile Brochure,”

National Lampoon, May 74, 76–7.

A nice example of a unified presentational system would

allow you a “feelie” glove along with your computer display—

the sort of thing Mike Noll has been doing at Bell Labs.

Now, suppose you are playing with a diagram of a star on a

computer display screen. It’s all very well to see its layers,

flowing arrows representing convection currents,

promontories and so on—but some things you ought to be

able to 

feel. For example, the mechanical resonance-properties

of stars. It would be nice to be able to reach and grasp the

star, to squeeze it and feel its pulsations as it regains its shape.

This could be done in the glove—at the same time the 

image

of the glove grasps the star on the screen, and the star is

squished.

Of course, to build such a responding glove, particularly

one that gave you subtle feelings back in your fingers, would

probably be very expensive. But it’s the kind of possibility

people should start considering.

21. Computer Lib

/Dream Machines

328

---

21. Computer Lib

/Dream Machines

1974

First of all, I feel that very few people understand what

interactive computer systems are about. It’s like the story of

the blind man and the elephant—each thinks it’s a different

thing (based, usually, on his own technical specialty).

But I think it’s all show business. PENNY ARCADES are

the model for interactive computer systems, not classrooms

or libraries or imaginary robot playmates. And computer

graphics is an intricate branch of movie-making.

Okay, so I wanted a term that would connote, in the most

general sense, the showmanship of ideas and feelings—

whether or not handled by machine.

I derive “fantics” from the Greek words “phainein” (show)

and its derivative “phantastein” (present to the eye or mind).

You will of course recognize its cousins fantastic, fantasy,

phantom. (“Phantom” means what is shown; in medical

illustration it refers to an opaque object drawn as

transparent; a “phantom limb” is an amputee’s temporary

feeling that the severed limb has been restored.) And a

fantast is a dreamer.

The word “fantics” would thus include the showing of

anything (and thus writing and theater), which is more or

less what I intended. The term is also intended to cover the

tactics of conveying ideas and impressions, especially with

showmanship and presentational techniques, organizing

constructs, and fundamental structures underlying

presentational systems.

Thus Engelbart’s data hierarchy, SKETCHPAD’s

Constraints, and PLATO’s fantic spaces are fantic

constructions that need to be understood if we are to

understand these systems and their potential usages. 

Livermore Labs, those hydrogen-bomb design people,

will have a “Laboratory for Data Analysis,” an opulent

facility for experimenting with multidimensional

visualization. 

One of your jolly ironies. I have seen pictures of

beautiful multibutton control handles which were

designed for project SMASH, would you believe

Southeast [Asia] Multisensory Armament System for

Helicopters. Aargh.

The best with the worst.

Everything is deeply intertwingled.

Designing screen systems that focus the user’s thought on

his work, with helpful visualizations and no distractions, is

the great task of fantic design.

In a system I designed for CRT motion-picture editing, the

user could manipulate written descriptions on the screen

(corresponding to the usual yellow-pad notes). To see the

consequences of a particular splice, for instance, the editor

would only have to draw a line between two annotated lines

representing shots. Trim variations could be seen by moving

this cut-line (illustrated).

Not long after, CBS and Memorex 

did introduce a system

for movie editing by CRT—but I’ve heard that in their

system the user has to actually deal with numbers. If so, this

is missing the whole point.

329

;

---