Reading Hypertext
Hypertext Gardens
- I liked the path(s) that hypertext allow(s) you to take; sometimes there are many options and sometimes there is only one- we travel on these paths without knowing where they will take us, but we travel along with the author, which is very interesting
- we get to experience the thought patterns of whoever creates the hypertext
- "The physical form of the book, the presentation of hypertext on the screen, both alike are bones and dust"
- When following the hypertext, I felt like I was chasing my own tail (which was of course Bernstein's intention)
- I found myself thinking that it was easier to follow the hypertext when there was only one path for me to take, besides going backwards; when there were multiple hypertexts on a page, I struggled with which one to choose
- I knew once I chose one, I would keep following that path, at least for a while -- this seemed like an important decision to make
- for example, his thoughts on books eventually came full circle and applied back to what hypertext offers to readers
- on the page "circles," there's hypertext called 'how it works' -- when you follow this, you get to the page "cycles," on which Bernstein discusses how 'cycles in hypertext create and explain structure;' this is predictably more hypertext
Computer Lib / Dream Machines
- Nelson provides a helpful definition of hypertext on p. 314- I am intrigued by Stretchtext; I was slightly confused by the idea of throttles at first, but the idea sounds very interesting overall
- I liked Nelson's visual representations of thinkertoys -- they certainly helped me understand his idea better
- Overall, I appreciate how inventive Nelson's dream machines are
Literary Machines
- Again, I appreciate Nelson's drawings- What if "everything," as Nelson wishes, was hypertext? It's an interesting world to think about -- what if all of the information we could possibly need was literally at our fingertips all of the time? What does this mean for us, as scholars and researchers?
- research would be easier, but much different -- should it still be considered research if you barely have to search to find the information you need?
The Hyperlink As An Organizing Principle
- it was extremely interesting to read about the history of hypertext; I thought it would at first be only history from the digital age, but the discussion of the Talmud added another level of thought to the topic- I also like the discussion on citations as a sort of hypertext -- I never thought about that before, but it of course makes sense
- as it seems to be with our other readings and discussions in this class, everything starts/started with Vannevar Bush and the memes
- other functions of the hyperlink -- interesting -- hyperlinks are so much more than I thought
- importance of sociology
- I like the collaborative qualities of hyperlinks; while blogging, it gives each post much more depth and connectedness
- the sky is the limit with hypertext; it does so much for research, knowledge, and scholarship
These Waves of Girls
- content-wise, this site deals with so many important issues (feminism, femininity, sexuality, beauty standards, eating disorders, identity, childhood, family, etc.) and I enjoyed exploring it- I found myself getting drawn into the content and getting lost, ever so often (becoming more often as I kept reading) finding that I had already clicked the hyperlinks in the new stories I was reading
- this intertwining quality was very cool and pulled the whole story together for me
- the images that are included are distorted and grainy -- this adds to the memory/childhood feel
- the addition of sound is very interesting as well -- adds another level to the storytelling
- I was intrigued by the links that only had arrows pointing backward
