Tuesday, April 17, 2007

Have you ever transcended space and time? Yes... no... wait... what?

“Time delay enhances our sense of time and distance for the subjects of the image itself.” (221) The Internet is a means for us to instantly transport ourselves from one place to the next. Yet, due to bandwidth restrictions, we are unable to receive information at the speed we want. This gap between the desired speed of transmission and the actual speed of transmission serves as a reminder for us that there still is a barrier in instantaneous transmission. This barrier brings to light the reality that spatially we are not in close proximity to what we are searching for. “In the very ‘imperfections’ that annoy and frustrate us – lies our potential to appreciate the full richness of the subject in the image” (222). Through these gaps from the restrictions of bandwidth, we are reminded of how we are still able to cross the barrier of space through the internet. Although the information we are receiving is not exactly instantaneous, the speed we receive is still done at an incredible rate. Through this annoyance we can fully comprehend the amazing movement of information because of the speed at which it is transmitted. This makes me think of the commercial for Cisco, the human network. In the commercial, people are able to receive video feeds of their favorite sports team regardless of where they are. In the commercial, the people receiving the video feeds only focus on the fact that they are receiving the game. They do not focus on the fact that technology has allowed them to receive the game whenever, wherever. If there was a slight delay in the game, the realization of the fact that they are actually able to receive their coveted sports program anywhere by means of technology comes to light. Through unwanted time-delays, people are reminded that there is a spatial barrier that is being crossed through technology.

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4 Comments:

Blogger Stephanie Chien said...

It's interesting to see how we are so accustomed to instantaneous time. It is only when we have these "malfunctions" or "errors" that we are reminded about how much we take technology for granted. In a society that is so integrated with technology, overcoming spatial barriers has become normalized and increases efficiency. But with time-delays, it just shows that technology is not as perfect as it is made out to be, and how we cannot expect everything to come instantaneously. There are still unwanted barriers and technological problems that could exist, regardless of how advanced our society is.

4/18/2007 12:05 AM  
Blogger Alex K said...

It's interesting how we desire to remove these delays to make it less frustrating and more "usable". We do countless research to improve the technology in order to allow us to bridge the space and time. Yet, on the contrary, the author argues for the need for the people to be reminded of the space and time that we are trying to abstract. While I discussed yesterday about the desire to remove the impurities of the technology, the author argues for the need of these impurities in order to provide the "aura" and realism to the technology that we are trying to improve in order to make more "real-time" and "real".

4/18/2007 9:54 AM  
Blogger Caroline Gibbs said...

I myself have found that my own problem, or rather lack there of, is perpetually fueled by a world obsessed with instant gratification and technology that offers just that. The point you make is so significant in these times, and is an important reminder that we so often forget. Without reminders of the real space that internet and other technologies allow us to bridge, our perception of time and space would be very out of synch with reality.
oh and " 'Have you ever transcended space and time?' 'Yes....no.....well time not space..no I don't know what you're talking about.' " AMAZING movie haha

4/22/2007 6:31 PM  
Blogger tomsproats said...

Technology is making human life lazy and less formal. You don't have to go to the game when you get updated so easily so often. The gap between space and time is being closed and we are becoming dependant on technology for such things. Soon there will be such advances in technology that peopl won't even go to the games.

4/29/2007 8:51 PM  

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