Framing versus Transversality

The way in which our lives have been shaped and the reasons why we are where we are today is no doubt due to the framing of the aspects around us. One particularly large influence on our life which shapes our understanding of issues is the way the media is framed. The framing of the media and what is portrayed to the public is heavily affecting our lies and what we value in it. This is also related to the types of technologies that we are exposed to. Whether it be a newspaper, the television, computers or smart phones, the way we use these instruments and what is presented to us from them is all part of the framing of our lives.

In regards to transversality, there is quite a distinction between it and framing and the way it affects us. Andrew stated in the lecture that,

              “grasping as much from infinity as we can is TRANSVERSALITY, whereas rejecting infinity as much as we can in favour of what are known, given structures is FRAMING.”

Transversality can be defined as “a line that cuts across other lines, perhaps across entire fields – bringing the fields together in a new way, recreating fields as something else” (Murphie 2006). This concept can be used to help define the way in which aspects of our media, although separate, can be linked together.

Gary Genosko, adds to this idea as “he takes this question of transversality into an understanding of the dynamics of institutions”, where it leads to the reforming of institutions when new lines cross between older disciplines and cultural practices.

A modern day example of a transversal technology and one which we can all associate with is the organization of data in our music libraries. Today we simply log onto iTunes and can purchase a whole library of music that is specific to our favourite genres. This can also be associated as having a new set of framings as iTunes is a result of apple technology, which is what has consequently resulted in the decrease in CD shops. This “line” that links different fields can be an example of our own ecologies of practice as what we choose to do and our what our prior knowledge and understanding of issues are, leads us to be able to use media in the way can today.

References:

Genosko, Gary. Félix Guattari: An Aberrant Introduction (London and New York: Continuum, 2002)

Murphie, A 2006, 'Editorial'. The Fibreculure Journal. Issue 9, <http://nine.fibreculturejournal.org/>

Mixed Realities

Reality is what we experience of the world as produced by our sensations, habits and mind. The readings this week covered the topic of reality and how virtual reality and augmented reality have become such an integral part of our everyday lives.

In recent years the sense of the word reality has been constantly changing as new meanings and terms associated with reality keep altering, due to the continual development of technology. Very basically, reality refers to the state of things as they exist. This includes anything that is observable or comprehensible and everything that has existed, exist or will exist. ‘The real’ refers to the world as it is, whether we can/choose to engage in it or not.

This means that virtual reality refers to computer-simulated environments that present a physical sort of ‘real’ presence in an imaginary world that is displayed through a computer screen or another equivalent. Virtual reality became very popular during the early 1990s due to the success and technological advancements in such films as The Matrix. It was this platform and rapid speed of technological progression that led to the development of further forms of this ‘replicated’ reality.

More recently, augmented reality is a further adaptation of virtual reality, which focuses more as a live and direct view of a physical ‘real-world’ whose elements are amplified by replica sensory inputs such as sound and graphics. In a sense it is the mergence of reality and virtual reality. A current example of this is the Google glass. Our sensations (touch, smell, hear, taste, speak) all play an integral part in our understanding and perception of reality. However, it has been in more recent times when our sensors have become more imperative, due to virtual and augmented reality and how we use it. This Google glass is a way in which reality and virtual reality is combined into one and is control through voice activation and movement.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=v1uyQZNg2vE

It is through these everyday practices and technological devices that we can now choose to live our lives in a more ‘virtual’ way by accessing elements of technology and ‘reality’ that make the types of experiences we now have even more ‘real’ than they really are.