Alana;
We are entering here a very interesting threshold: moving between the
digital and analog. For the people living in the territory I inhabit,
Yucatan, the past is in the future. When I mention the different types
of human interactions, I was indeed, making a historical connection that
for some strange reasons, get blurred when discussing the digital. The
Mayans, whose technology was nature based, built complex light and sound
systems in their cities and port. When learning about this and
connecting it to an inevitable post technological future -I reclaim
Blade Runner and Mad Max as post tech work of art-, I sense the need for
understanding the Cosmo, work with its energy and developed ways in
which the future technology that we create becomes part of the
environmental Caos in search of our own sustainability. I highly
recommend a reconsideration of Greek spirituality as well as West
African System of beliefs. They, as well as the Mayans, had systems of
beliefs connected to nature.
Raul
On Saturday, April 30, 2005, at 02:11 PM, Dr. Alana James wrote:
> Hi everyone,
> Several comments have sparked a topic that interests me as I foray into
> the world of digital communities.
>
> Noreen wrote: "how do you form context online? That is part of the
> digital life."
>
> Interesting term: digital life, I suspect that while, like a good book,
> the digital world is engaging and entertaining, sometimes interesting
> and informative, etc. it is, at best, life in small letters. Perhaps
> this is a limited perspective and due to the fact that online community
> is new to me. Those of you with more vast experience, I am interested
> in learning, does digital life ever evolve to the richness of face to
> face community? If so, can you tell stories of the circumstances?
>
> When I converse with people face to face, in community and over time,
> when I Live with them, I enjoy richness due to long term association
> and the understanding of each others histories. Does this happen in
> digital life? Or is it more similar to meeting at a cocktail party,
> having an interesting conversation and agreeing to meet again for
> lunch? In the second scenario the Life develops in less public
> circumstances.
>
> I see a tie here with Raul's comments: "How could we forget that our
> existence has been marked with human interaction since ancient time to
> today, including oral discourses, public theater, mail art, social
> performance, the book, interactive installation, gardening,
> environmental art, just to name some of the ways in which we remarks
> the way in which interact with the world and/or the universe."
>
> I am interested in hearing others comments on the ways in which digital
> life adds to or subtracts from the forms of life (and Life) mentioned
> above. Maybe what interests me here are the subtleties alluded to in
> Lawrence's comment (slightly enhanced): "moving between the digital and
> the analog, the blurred and crossing over differences between machine
> and handwork (lifework?) informs one's use of both and the work they
> produce."
>
> Alana
>
>
>
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