When we approach electronic literature, the aspect of coding becomes an interesting point of interest. In the case of computers it becomes a human creation of a mechanical extension of life. The use of HTML and other coding languages is built to operate according to its own purpose and its own reflection of humanity so to speak. It’s a little eerie your siri can talk to you and its a little errie that netflix knows (or thinks it knows) what movie I might like. But we use these functions and interact with the language it communicates with us with. The existance of the coded computer languages becomes forgotten, as we use it for reading apps or downloaded text. It becomes a hidden, forgotten world running parallel to our own concept of language. And I don’t know about you, but simply thinking about the vast amount of language that lies in just this dinky little post is mystifying! The infinite bounds of language continuously grow as a spiraling stair case, vertically extending through time and into digital space.
On that note I will offer you an example of digital poetry at work, in the form of a 1985 literary videogame called “Swallows.” It was originally created in 1985 for Apple by writer Paul Zelevansky and has been made accessible by Mathew Kirschenbaum. You can read more about the recovering Paul Zelevansky’s “Swallows”and how to run the original program through a blog post by Lorie Merson. So here you go, enjoy the “G R E A T . B L A N K N E S S” and consider the hidden code behind the literary work and its interface.
And on a final note, I will leave you with a question. How do you view the language of computers? Do you think coding humanizes or de-humanizes the use of digital language?
Jessica,
I’ve decided to tackle your questions. I see the language of computers as being a language of humans. Humans created the language. Humans created computers. Humans speak the language of computers, which they created, in order to talk to computers in the way they most want to.
To learn and use code on a computer is like to learn and use French in France. You can get by with gestures and facial expressions and some English in France. Let’s say the interface in this situation is body. Now, in the case of the computer, the interface most of us see is whatever this is right now (what is that even called?). I could perhaps communicate more thoroughly using a computer if I knew the language of computers, but this interface does the job for me. Just like gestures and facial expressions get me by in France. Now, in a dire situation, I may need a translator. Enter, the American Embassy or Free Geek.
I think one of the more human aspects of code and algorithms is the ability to lead to serendipitous discovery!
I’m beginning to see coding as humanizing the digital language. Code is merely a language used to articulate to the computer what I want it to do. I can make it do what I want so that a page can look “pretty” and be “user friendly” just by telling it to. I just have to use its language when I tell it to do what I want, and what is more human than communicating in different languages?