Dust Or Magic, Creative Work in the Digital Age

12.1 MB·English

by  Bob Hughes

Dust or Magic
Bob Hushes
BO 5 K O
BOOK
S
Bristol,England,UK
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Aboutthe2007 editionof'DustorMagic'
Apartfromitsnewpreface,thiseditionofDustorMagicisessentiallythe
sameastheoriginalone,whichwaspublishedbyAddisonWesleyin2000.The
maindifferencesarethatit'salotmoreaffordable,thankstotheeffortsofLon
BarfieldandPeteMaxwellatBoskoBooks,andtothemagicofe-publishing
and print-on-demand. We think it also has a more satisfactory subtitle.
The old subtitle. Secrets ofSuccessful Multimedia Design, made everyone
cringe,apartfromtheall-powerfulmarketingpeopleatPearsons(whoown
Addison Wesley). And it has a few long-overdue acknowledgements, and
somesmallupdates:
1 particularly need to thank Steve Temblett (my editor, subsequently
chiefeditor,atAddisonWesley)forbeingarockofreassuranceduringthe
harrowingprocess ofgettingthe firsteditionhome anddry, andthen for
comingupwiththeinspiredtitle,DustorMagic.JohnCatogavemelotsof
kindencouragementandthefreeuseofhisofficewhile1waswritingit.Chris
McEvoyhasbeenagreatsupport-andhedeservesspecialthanksforgiving
JakobNielsenadoseofhisownmetricsatwww.usabilitymustdie.com.And
enormousthankstoLonandPetefortheirhelpwithgettingthiseditionto
you,andtoTeresaHayterforputtingupwithitall.
DustorMagic'scoverageofourindustrystopsatabout1998,andthereare
somanythingsthatIcouldupdate,thebookwouldneedtomultiplyinsize
toaccommodatethem.AndIwouldneedseveralparallellivestowritethem.
Instead,withapologies,I'lllimitmyselftojustafewitems:
If you're interested in Interactive Fiction (Adventure-type games,
mentionedinChapter1.5)dotakealookatInform:acomplete,free,object-
oriented language that runs on all machines. It even comes with a big,
wonderfulmanual(alsofree). ItistheworkofOxfordmathematician and
poetGrahamNelson:www.gnelson.demon.co.uk.NickMontforthaswritten
afascinating,hugelyreadablebookaboutthisgenrecalledTwistyLittlePas-
sages^,whichincludesthefruitofextensiveinterviewswiththekeypeople
responsibleforthegenre-includingGrahamNelsonhimself(famousforhis
elusiveness).
ThewonderfulTheodorHolm(Ted)NelsonisalsoinOxfordatthetime
ofwriting,whereheholdsafellowshipattheOxfordInternetInstitute.His
latestmajordevelopmentisZigZag-asystemforassociatingdatainasmany
dimensionsasyoulike,anditreallydoeswork.Healsohasafullyworking
systemforperforming'transclusion'ontheweb,TransLit,allofwhichbuilds
upintoaveryrobust'alternativecomputeruniverse'calledFloatingWorld.
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IV
AndonthesubjectofNelsons,theanecdoteintheintroductionaboutthe
triggersonHMSVictoryarousedquiteabitofinterest,soIdidabitmore
research. It'squitea storybutthemainfigure, Ithink, isamathematician
calledBenjaminRobins(afriendoftheadmiralandexplorerGeorgeAnson).
MoreonthisinanoldishbookcalledGunsatSeabyPeterPadfield.^
HyperCard(referredtofrequentlyinDustorMagic)nowhasamarvellous,
fullycross-platform workalike called Runtime Revolution. It's the product
manyofusdreamedoftenyearsago. See www.runrev.com. BrianThomas
(Chapter2.1)hasusedittore-releasehisIfMonkshadMacs.
BobSteinhasbroughtmanyoftheVoyagerCD-ROMtitlesmentionedin
Chapter2.2backontothemarketagain-seewww.bringyourbrain.com.(This
isinadditiontotheonesAleenSteincontinuestopublishundertheOrgana
name:www.organa.com).
AsIspeculatedinChapter3.7,'trauma'isinamajorsensetheopposite
of'story'.Indeed,that'slargelythebasisofpsychotherapy.Thisisathemein
Joe Lambert's excellent, recently-published Digital Storytelling- capturing
lives,creatingcommunity^,availableviawww.storycenter.org...andforafull
accountseeJudithLewisHerman'sTraumaandRecovery'^.
Finally, posthumous thanks and apologies to the late JefRaskin. He
shouldhavefiguredveryprominentlyinDustorMagic,butIamashamedto
saythatIdidn'tknowanythingabouthimuntilhisbookTheHumaneInter-
face^ appeared. (Actually, that's notquitetrue - I'd readsomethingabout
hisSwyftwaresystemaround1988,butitseemedsoridiculouslysimpleand
powerfulthatIbeganto thinkI'ddreamedit- untilthebookcameout.)
MycoverageoftheAppleMacintosh storyandhuman-computerinterface
designwouldhavebeenmuchstrongerifI'dknownaboutJefwhen Iwas
writingDustorMagic.
Copyrightedmaieria!
V
Contents
Preface vtt
SectionI:'Cyberia'
Introduction:TheEmancipationoftheSerfs 1
1.1 Thecomputerasa'medium' 11
1.2 Thecomputerasalandscape 15
1.3 Cyberia'sgeologicalpast 23
1.4 Bush,Engelbart,Nelson,andtheQuestforXanadu 29
1.5 Earlyexplorations:From'timesharing'tothePersonalComputer 45
1.6 Thebeginningsofamassmedium:InteractiveVideo 53
1.7 FromtheMactotheSeedyROM 59
Section2:EminentCyberians
Introduction:"Tomorrow'sestablishmentistoday'slunaticfringe" 75
2J Voicesfromnowhere 79
2.2 Voyager:Cyberia'sfirstviablecommunity 99
2.3 Thepowerof'primaryevidence':CurtisWongdevelopstheVoyagervision 119
2.4 The'bookashero'inRomainVictor-Pujebet's"LeLivredeLulu" 127
2.5 TheNationwideBuildingSociety,andits'Interact'project 135
Section3:WorkinginCyberia
Introduction:Dowereallyhaveto'getreal'? 149
3.1 Cryingallthewaytothebank:Microsoft's"Sendak"saga 151
3.2 Getyourselfatheory,andmakeitagoodone 157
3.3 Audience:Whoareyoumakingthisfor-andwhereareyoutakingthem? 163
3.4 Emotion,interaction,participation,carnival 177
3.5 'Cognitivedynamite':multi-sensoryeifectsthatblowyouaway 189
3.6 'Cognitivetrain-wrecks'and'userexpectations' 201
3.7 Storyspace:fromthepathtothelandscapeitself 211
3.8 WorkinginCyberia:fromstoryspacetotherealworld 227
3.9 Trust,andtheparadoxofself-absorbedwork 249
3.10 Conclusion:rediscoveringworkmanship 255
Notes 261
Bibliography 279
Index 793
C(vyfightedmaterial
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VII
PREFACE
No more booksabout creativity,thanks;
justaworldwhere it is possible
Thelessonthatemerges,fartoocautiously,fromDustorMagic,isthatweare
inthemiddleofanundeclaredwaroverwhatNorbertWienercalled "The
humanuseofhumanbeings".
Sincethebookcameoutinlate 1999I'vebeenableto meetanddiscuss
workinglifewithfarmorepeople, farmorecandidlythan Ievercoulddo
before, andthereisno questionaboutit:thisiswar! Ontheonehand,we
havethepeoplewhodothework.Wehaveourown,personalexperiences
andbeliefsabouthowweworkbest,whichareallamazinglysimilarandare
confirmed nowbymountainsofthe mostconclusiveresearchimaginable.
Ourexperiences,andtheresearch,showunequivocallythatwedoourbest
workwhenwe'renotfeelingthreatenedorharassed,andareincontrolofour
jobsandlives.
Ontheotherhand,wehavethesystem:capitalismanditslatesthuman
manifestation, managerialism. Workers ofallkindsarebeingsubjectedto
moreandmorecontrolandmonitoring,exposedmoreandmoretoarbitrary
inspectionandchallenge, requiredmoreandmoretoaccountnotonlyfor
theiractionsbutalsofortheirproposedactionsandevenfortheirfeelings
abouttheirjobs:employersincreasinglyrequireyoutoholdsincere,positive
feelingstowardthemandtotheircustomers.
Thisappliestoallworkers;i.e.peoplewhoactuallydosomethingfortheir
living,almostirrespectiveofsalary(althoughthepoorest-paidareingeneral
the most monitored). Increasingly, computers are the meanswherebythe
regime isenforced. Thissystem,whosewatchwordis'excellence', seemsto
havebeendesignedtomakegoodworkalmost(butnotquite)impossible.
The system, it should be said, needs good stuffand does not actually
objectto itperse.Whatitreallyobjectsto isthe situationsinwhichgood
stuffisproduced:situationswherepeoplefeelsecure,valued,andincontrol.
Thesearepreciselythesituationswherethesystem'swritdoesnotrun,and
theyareanathematoit.Sothegoodstuffpeopledoisoverwhelminglydone
despitethe system,in theteethofitsopposition, andin overlookednooks
andcranniesofhumandecencyandrespect.Foranyonewhowantstospend
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VIII Preface
theirlifedoinggoodstuff,thisisanimportantthingtograsp-becauseuntil
yougrasp ityou are apttoblameyourselfunnecessarilyforyour failures.
Andthesystemwillencourageyoutodothis.Ittellsyouthat"youcanmake
itifyoutry"andyoutendtobelieveit,evenwhencommon-sensetellsyouit
isabarefacedlie:wecannotallplayforManchesterUnited,orbePresident
oftheUnitedStates,orbeautiful,simplyby'trying'.Soifyouwanttodogood
stuff,thefirstthingyoumustdoisdistinguishsituationsthatpermititfrom
onesthatdon't,andtrytofindwaysofturningtheonesthatdon'tintoones
thatdo.Youcan'tdothiswithoutactionthat'stosomeextentpolitical,and
basedonsolidarity:thingsthatthesystemabhorsandwhichithasdeveloped
aricharrayoftechniquesfordiscouraging.
The most effective ofthese techniques is a special kind ofdivision of
labour,wherebythemostdangerousmembersoftheworkforceareseparated
from theirfellows by special favours and titles. Thus you, who read this,
areperhapscalled creative'byyourbosses,andallowedtowearyourown
clothestowork.Yourworkwillbedoneinadifferentandcuriouslyhallowed
partofthebuilding,maybeslightlylessintenselymonitoredthanotherpeo-
ple's,andtherewillbestronghintsthatyoumayatsomepointenjoyhugely
betterrewardsthantheotherworkersdo.Youmayevenhaveabar-football
machineintheoffice(butalsoastrangeinhibitionaboutactuallyusingit).
Itwillalso beassumedthat,becauseyou are so verydifferentfrom other
workers,youscorntheideaofjoiningatradeunion,andareentirelyhappy
toworkwholeweekendsofunpaidovertime,andevenbragaboutit.'Creativ-
ity'hasbecomethenewmethodism-anideologythatpervertsworkersinto
embracingtheirownhumiliation.
Computersareallaboutcontrol-butofwhat,bywhom?Theyarerou-
tinelydescribed as 'revolutionary' and theirliterature isfulloftalk about
'human values' and 'human-centered design'. Computers are certainly
permeating and affecting human life all over the planet. Butwhat is the
'computer-revolutionary agenda' and who, ifanyone, is writing it? What
greatvisionsdowehave,aboutlifeafteracomputerrevolution?
BenShneidermanisjustlyconsideredoneofthegreatnamesinHuman-
ComputerInterfacedesignbuthisrecentbook,Leonardo'sLaptops worries
me.Hestartsoffbydeclaringthat"Thetimeisrightforthehightechworldto
attendmorecloselytotheneedsofhumanity."Ahsohxtely]Buthethenunfolds
avision ofcomputeruse that soundsto meverymuch like old-fashioned
Victoriancolonialism,withknobson. Hisfuture-worldseemstobeasort
ofsweetshop staffed by obliging, good-humoured foreigners. Has he got
'humanity'confusedwith'customer'?Whenyoutravel,hepredicts,'human-
ity' will be able to choose "localguides whom you hirefor their colorful
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Preface IX
personalityorbotanicalknowledge".'Humanity'willbesupportedbykindly
nativesandapplaudedbyhisever-adoringrelativeseverystepoftheway:
"Imaginethatafterasunriseclimb,youreachthesummit.Youopen
upyourphonecam andsend apanoramicviewtoyourgrandpar-
ents,parents, andfriends. Theyhearthesoundofbirds, smell the
mountain air,feelthewind'scoolness, andexperienceyourfeeling
ofsuccess. Theycanheareachothercheeringandpointatthebirds
or clickon otherpeaks tofind outmore. Theyrememberhow, on
yourlastclimb, a rockslide broughtyou unconscious to an emer-
gencyroom.Onthatoccasion,fortunately,your"WorldWideMed"
recordsguidedthephysiciantocareforyou.Shewasabletoreview
yourmedicalhistory, withannotationsinherlocallanguagehelp-
inghertoprescribetherighttreatment.Today'sclimbhasahappier
outcome,whichrestoreseveryone'sconfidence."
IgetthefeelingthisUtopiaisnotforeveryone,butratherfordistinguished
Americanuniversityprofessorsandafewotherhigh-earners.Shneiderman
doesnotseemawarethatahugeproportion^oftheworldspopulationhas
neverevenmadeaphonecall,letaloneusedacomputer,orthatthetechnol-
ogyhedescribesdependsonpovertywagesandenvironmentalsqualorhe'd
nevertoleratehimself^.Wearenottoldwhethertheforeign,femalephysician
who sortedhim outgetstousethisstuffaswell, inher'locallanguage' or
otherwise,butmyguessisperhapsnot.It'saconsumerrevolution,andthe
peoplebehindthecounterarenotintheequation. Perhapstheylovetheir
work,perhapsnot.Theyaresimply'there',likeMountEverest.What'simpor-
tantistheshoppingexperience.
MichaelDertouzosisanotherwriterminingthesamevein.Dertouzosis
thehugelyrespectedex-headofMIT'sLaboratoryforComputerScience,so
whathesaysistakenveryseriously. Heevenattends(hetellsus)meetings
oftheWorldEconomicForuminDavos,wheretheworld'smostpowerful
businesspeopleandpoliticiansdecidepolicyfortherestofus.
Inhis2001bookTheUnfinishedRevolution^Dertouzosdoesacknowledge
thatpovertyexists.HeevenacknowledgesthatitexistsintheUSA:
"In the US economy, an average of$3,000 in hardware, software,
and relatedservices isspenteachyearpercitizen. In Bangladesh
it's$1,accordingtothatcountry'sembassy.IsuspectthatifIcould
findan "embassy"representingpoorAmericans,orthepoorofany
industrial nation, I would get an equally screeching dissonance
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Preface
between information technologyexpenditures in theghetto and in
thesuburbs."
Butthen he falls for and recycles some startlingperceptions oftheworld
anditspeople.Thereisanassumption,whichonehopedhaddiedwiththe
British Raj, thattheworld'speople aresomehowhappy,evenfortunate, in
theirpoverty-andalsopitifullyhelpless.Hesuggeststhattheydonotknow
howtofeedthemselvesortakecareoftheirownhealth,andneed'our'help
-whichwesupplybykindlyallowingthemtoworkforusandsellusthings,
cheaply.
Heenvisagesglobalised,internetcounsellingservices,wherethesuppos-
edlybone-idle,poor-but-happywomenof"theEast"providecut-pricesolace
forthetormented,richwomen(hangon!whyonlywomen?)of"theWest":
"Older,experiencedIndianwomencouldspendalotoftimeoverthe
Netchattingwith Western divorcees, whocouldbenefitfrom their
adviceatcostssubstantiallybelowthepsychologist'scounselingfee.
ThelackoftimethatcharacterizesWesternerswouldbecounterbal-
ancedbytheplentifultimeofpeopleinIndia."
Nosuggestion,interestingly,ofusingpoorAmericanwomentoperformthis
service.Whynot?They'reintherighttimezone;theyevenspeakthesame
languagesasthedivorcees.Andheavenknowstheyneedthemoney! Why
couldn'this own country's famous 'trailer-parktrash' do this? Dertouzos
doesnotsay.
AfewpageslaterhehasChinesecompaniessellingtranslationservicesto
"WesterncompaniesanxioustodobusinessinC/ima."Everybodywouldben-
efit.ThelittleChinesecompaniesgetfatontranslationfees,andtheWestern
companygetstheChinesemarket.Soundsfair?
No careersareriskedbyproposingrevolutionslikethese. Theyrockno
boatsandthreatennovestedinterests. Onthe contrary, theiruniversities'
corporatesponsorsaresurelyveryhappytohavethesescenariospresentedas
"thefuture"(andgratis,bybig-namepublishers)becauseitisafuturethey'd
lovetocaterfor;infact,afuturetheyabsolutelyneed! Itinvolvesplentyof
bandwidth, plentyofgadgets, plentyforthe investorsto getexcitedabout,
whichmeansplentyofprofits.
Theyare not all acquiescence though: they can talktough. Dertouzos
chastises'us'forputtingupwithinferiorgadgets,andShneidermanchastises
theself-indulgentdevelopersfor"producingtoolsforthemselves,givinglittle
thoughttotheneedsofotherusers."Thisisacommonrefraininthisgenre