diff --git a/notes.md b/notes.md index 6a1e9fa..77f170a 100644 --- a/notes.md +++ b/notes.md @@ -10,34 +10,34 @@ This is a guide for Technology and Society 200 (Fall 2018; 60 undergraduate stud ## Theories and Concepts -* Approach technologies as congealed labour; doing so expands what "technology" means and underscores the embodied work and material histories at play from ideation and patenting to manufacturing and maintenance. Technologies are not only things; they are processes, too. (See [Mayer](http://keywords.nyupress.org/media-studies/essay/labor/); [reading optophone](http://amodern.net/article/optophonic-reading/); [Crawford and Joler](https://anatomyof.ai/).) -* Ask who benefits most from automation and novelty; doing so attends to how planned obsolescence and deskilling affect various groups of people. Automation may increase efficiency or productivity in some areas, but it most certainly shapes craft and changes demands for occupations and forms of expertise. (See [Luddites](http://keywords.nyupress.org/american-cultural-studies/essay/technology/); [Crawford and Joler](https://anatomyof.ai/); [Pedercini](http://www.molleindustria.org/to-build-a-better-mousetrap/).) -* Recognize when projects aestheticize the politics of their technologies; doing so addresses how values are expressed through design as well as through terms such as "user-friendly," "fast," "sleek," "convenient," and even "minimalist." Design may be politics by seemingly apolitical means. (See [Parker](http://www.tate.org.uk/art/artworks/parker-cold-dark-matter-an-exploded-view-t06949/story-cold-dark-matter); [McPherson](http://keywords.nyupress.org/american-cultural-studies/essay/digital/); [Crawford and Joler](https://anatomyof.ai/).) -* Engage directly the power of technology; doing so foregrounds how and why a given technology could oppress groups of people, or be used to resist oppression. Technology is not only an object but also a force, and it is entangled with issues of race, gender, sexuality, extraction, and ability. (See [Nakamura](http://keywords.nyupress.org/american-cultural-studies/essay/media/); [Nelson](http://www.alondranelson.com/books/afrofuturism); [Case](http://nothing-to-hide-demo.s3.amazonaws.com/index.html); [Pedercini](http://www.molleindustria.org/to-build-a-better-mousetrap/).) -* Examine the "default settings" of technologies; doing so asks for whom, by whom, and under what assumptions they are designed, and who they may exclude and enable. All projects have intended audiences, even if those intentions are not always conscious or deliberate. (See [Skawennati](http://www.timetravellertm.com/episodes/episode04.html); [Nelson](http://www.alondranelson.com/books/afrofuturism); [Nakamura](http://keywords.nyupress.org/american-cultural-studies/essay/media/).) -* Avoid flattening society to a market or venue for products; doing so recognizes how social norms, contexts, and behaviours shape production, too. Society is a generalization and abstraction as well as a situation and practice that influences technologies. (See [Hendler](http://keywords.nyupress.org/american-cultural-studies/essay/society/); [McPherson](http://keywords.nyupress.org/american-cultural-studies/essay/digital/).) -* Try to locate technologies in their supply chains; doing so addresses their dependencies and conditions of production, not to mention people's complicity with anonymous materials. Technologies persist within and through vast and complex infrastructures, which are incredibly difficult to study. (See [Pedercini](http://www.molleindustria.org/to-build-a-better-mousetrap/); [Crawford and Joler](https://anatomyof.ai/); [Le Guin](http://jenteryteaches.com/noneshall/leguin.pdf).) -* Pair "media" (plural) with "the media" (singular); doing so affords an understanding of the relationships between content and a platform, messages and a network, formats and a venue, communications and an outlet, representation and a system. Media may be windows (through), portals (to), frames (around), links (between), containers (in), addresses (at), negotiations (with), agents (for), and records (of). (See [Nakamura](http://keywords.nyupress.org/american-cultural-studies/essay/media/); [Case](http://nothing-to-hide-demo.s3.amazonaws.com/index.html); [Sullivan et al.](http://jenteryteaches.com/noneshall/sullivan.pdf); [Morgan-Parmett](http://keywords.nyupress.org/media-studies/essay/space/).) -* Note the everyday aspects of technology; doing so stresses the centrality of habits and standards to development. Consider, for instance, how QWERTY shapes your language and writing habits, or how HTTP protocols control the web. Technologies are not only whiz-bang spectacles but also humdrum routines; most of the time, they are rather boring. (See [Borges](http://jenteryteaches.com/noneshall/borges.pdf); [Bush](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=c539cK58ees).) -* Consider parthood alongside forms and wholes; doing so traces the components of technologies in archives and collections as well as in patents and claims. Technologies don't descend from the sky or spring from the minds of lone inventors; they are assembled and maintained. (See [Tennis for Two](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=6QSHZ20MQfE); [phonautograph](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=75UrxueiP-4&index=14&list=FLX5MebKiIMwpcgIVC7t7GDQ); [Rosner et al.](https://faculty.washington.edu/dkrosner/files/CHI-2018-Core-Memory.pdf); [Parker](http://www.tate.org.uk/art/artworks/parker-cold-dark-matter-an-exploded-view-t06949/story-cold-dark-matter).) -* Refrain from reducing technologies to only metaphors, experiences, or tech specs, or to only digital or analog processes; doing so acknowledges how talking about technology is entwined with using it, making it, and repairing it. All technical matters are also social and cultural matters. (See [McPherson](http://keywords.nyupress.org/american-cultural-studies/essay/digital/); [Rosner et al.](https://faculty.washington.edu/dkrosner/files/CHI-2018-Core-Memory.pdf); [Nakamura](http://keywords.nyupress.org/american-cultural-studies/essay/media/).) -* Remember that data are produced, not given or captured; doing so emphasizes how this becomes that, or how data is structured, collected, and expressed for interpretation. (See [Greg and Nafus](http://keywords.nyupress.org/media-studies/essay/data/); [Crawford and Joler](https://anatomyof.ai/).) +* Approach technologies as congealed labour; doing so expands what "technology" means and underscores the embodied work and material histories at play from ideation and patenting to manufacturing and maintenance. Technologies are not only things; they are processes, too. (See [Mayer](http://keywords.nyupress.org/media-studies/essay/labor/ "Mayer, Vicki. 2020. “Labor | Keywords for Media Studies.” https://keywords.nyupress.org/media-studies/essay/labor/."); [reading optophone](http://amodern.net/article/optophonic-reading/ "“OPTOPHONIC READING, PROTOTYPING OPTOPHONES.” 2020. Amodern. https://amodern.net/article/optophonic-reading/."); [Crawford and Joler](https://anatomyof.ai/ "“Anatomy of an AI System.” 2020. Anatomy of an AI System. http://www.anatomyof.ai.").) +* Ask who benefits most from automation and novelty; doing so attends to how planned obsolescence and deskilling affect various groups of people. Automation may increase efficiency or productivity in some areas, but it most certainly shapes craft and changes demands for occupations and forms of expertise. (See [Luddites](http://keywords.nyupress.org/american-cultural-studies/essay/technology/ "Sayers, Jentery. 2020. “Technology | Keywords for American Cultural Studies, Second Edition.” https://keywords.nyupress.org/american-cultural-studies/essay/technology/."); [Crawford and Joler](https://anatomyof.ai/ "“Anatomy of an AI System.” 2020. Anatomy of an AI System. http://www.anatomyof.ai."); [Pedercini](http://www.molleindustria.org/to-build-a-better-mousetrap/ "Molleindustria. 2020. “To Build a Better Mousetrap.” https://molleindustria.org/to-build-a-better-mousetrap/.").) +* Recognize when projects aestheticize the politics of their technologies; doing so addresses how values are expressed through design as well as through terms such as "user-friendly," "fast," "sleek," "convenient," and even "minimalist." Design may be politics by seemingly apolitical means. (See [Parker](http://www.tate.org.uk/art/artworks/parker-cold-dark-matter-an-exploded-view-t06949/story-cold-dark-matter "Tate. 2020. “The Story of Cold Dark Matter – Look Closer.” Tate. https://www.tate.org.uk/art/artworks/parker-cold-dark-matter-an-exploded-view-t06949/story-cold-dark-matter."); [McPherson](http://keywords.nyupress.org/american-cultural-studies/essay/digital/ "McPherson, Tara. 2020a. “Digital | Keywords for American Cultural Studies, Second Edition.” https://keywords.nyupress.org/american-cultural-studies/essay/digital/."); [Crawford and Joler](https://anatomyof.ai/ "“Anatomy of an AI System.” 2020. Anatomy of an AI System. http://www.anatomyof.ai.").) +* Engage directly the power of technology; doing so foregrounds how and why a given technology could oppress groups of people, or be used to resist oppression. Technology is not only an object but also a force, and it is entangled with issues of race, gender, sexuality, extraction, and ability. (See [Nakamura](http://keywords.nyupress.org/american-cultural-studies/essay/media/ "Nakamura, Lisa. 2020. “Media | Keywords for American Cultural Studies, Second Edition.” https://keywords.nyupress.org/american-cultural-studies/essay/media/."); [Nelson](http://www.alondranelson.com/books/afrofuturism "“Alondra Nelson | Afrofuturism.” 2020. http://www.alondranelson.com/books/afrofuturism."); [Case](http://nothing-to-hide-demo.s3.amazonaws.com/index.html "“Nothing To Hide.” 2020. NothingToHide.Cc. http://back.nothingtohide.cc."); [Pedercini](http://www.molleindustria.org/to-build-a-better-mousetrap/ "Molleindustria. 2020. “To Build a Better Mousetrap.” https://molleindustria.org/to-build-a-better-mousetrap/.").) +* Examine the "default settings" of technologies; doing so asks for whom, by whom, and under what assumptions they are designed, and who they may exclude and enable. All projects have intended audiences, even if those intentions are not always conscious or deliberate. (See [Skawennati](http://www.timetravellertm.com/episodes/episode04.html "“TimeTraveller™.” 2020. http://www.timetravellertm.com/episodes/episode04.html."); [Nelson](http://www.alondranelson.com/books/afrofuturism "“Alondra Nelson | Afrofuturism.” 2020. http://www.alondranelson.com/books/afrofuturism."); [Nakamura](http://keywords.nyupress.org/american-cultural-studies/essay/media/ "Nakamura, Lisa. 2020. “Media | Keywords for American Cultural Studies, Second Edition.” https://keywords.nyupress.org/american-cultural-studies/essay/media/.").) +* Avoid flattening society to a market or venue for products; doing so recognizes how social norms, contexts, and behaviours shape production, too. Society is a generalization and abstraction as well as a situation and practice that influences technologies. (See [Hendler](http://keywords.nyupress.org/american-cultural-studies/essay/society/ "Hendler, Glenn. 2020. “Society | Keywords for American Cultural Studies, Second Edition.” https://keywords.nyupress.org/american-cultural-studies/essay/society/."); [McPherson](http://keywords.nyupress.org/american-cultural-studies/essay/digital/ "McPherson, Tara. 2020a. “Digital | Keywords for American Cultural Studies, Second Edition.” https://keywords.nyupress.org/american-cultural-studies/essay/digital/.").) +* Try to locate technologies in their supply chains; doing so addresses their dependencies and conditions of production, not to mention people's complicity with anonymous materials. Technologies persist within and through vast and complex infrastructures, which are incredibly difficult to study. (See [Pedercini](http://www.molleindustria.org/to-build-a-better-mousetrap/ "Molleindustria. 2020. “To Build a Better Mousetrap.” https://molleindustria.org/to-build-a-better-mousetrap/."); [Crawford and Joler](https://anatomyof.ai/ "“Anatomy of an AI System.” 2020. Anatomy of an AI System. http://www.anatomyof.ai."); [Le Guin](http://jenteryteaches.com/noneshall/leguin.pdf " ").) +* Pair "media" (plural) with "the media" (singular); doing so affords an understanding of the relationships between content and a platform, messages and a network, formats and a venue, communications and an outlet, representation and a system. Media may be windows (through), portals (to), frames (around), links (between), containers (in), addresses (at), negotiations (with), agents (for), and records (of). (See [Nakamura](http://keywords.nyupress.org/american-cultural-studies/essay/media/ "Nakamura, Lisa. 2020. “Media | Keywords for American Cultural Studies, Second Edition.” https://keywords.nyupress.org/american-cultural-studies/essay/media/."); [Case](http://nothing-to-hide-demo.s3.amazonaws.com/index.html "“Nothing To Hide.” 2020. NothingToHide.Cc. http://back.nothingtohide.cc."); [Sullivan et al.](http://jenteryteaches.com/noneshall/sullivan.pdf " "); [Morgan-Parmett](http://keywords.nyupress.org/media-studies/essay/space/ "Parmett, Helen Morgan. 2020. “Space | Keywords for Media Studies.” https://keywords.nyupress.org/media-studies/essay/space/.").) +* Note the everyday aspects of technology; doing so stresses the centrality of habits and standards to development. Consider, for instance, how QWERTY shapes your language and writing habits, or how HTTP protocols control the web. Technologies are not only whiz-bang spectacles but also humdrum routines; most of the time, they are rather boring. (See [Borges](http://jenteryteaches.com/noneshall/borges.pdf " "); [Bush](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=c539cK58ees "Memex Animation - Vannevar Bush’s Diagrams Made Real. 2009. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=c539cK58ees.").) +* Consider parthood alongside forms and wholes; doing so traces the components of technologies in archives and collections as well as in patents and claims. Technologies don't descend from the sky or spring from the minds of lone inventors; they are assembled and maintained. (See [Tennis for Two](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=6QSHZ20MQfE "When Games Went Click: The Story of Tennis for Two. 2013. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=6QSHZ20MQfE."); [phonautograph](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=75UrxueiP-4&index=14&list=FLX5MebKiIMwpcgIVC7t7GDQ "FIRST SOUNDS: Humanity’s First Recordings of Its Own Voice. 2014. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=75UrxueiP-4&index=14&list=FLX5MebKiIMwpcgIVC7t7GDQ."); [Rosner et al.](https://faculty.washington.edu/dkrosner/files/CHI-2018-Core-Memory.pdf "Rosner, Daniela K., Samantha Shorey, Brock R. Craft, and Helen Remick. 2018. “Making Core Memory: Design Inquiry into Gendered Legacies of Engineering and Craftwork.” In Proceedings of the 2018 CHI Conference on Human Factors in Computing Systems - CHI ’18, 1–13. Montreal QC, Canada: ACM Press. doi:10.1145/3173574.3174105."); [Parker](http://www.tate.org.uk/art/artworks/parker-cold-dark-matter-an-exploded-view-t06949/story-cold-dark-matter "Tate. 2020. “The Story of Cold Dark Matter – Look Closer.” Tate. https://www.tate.org.uk/art/artworks/parker-cold-dark-matter-an-exploded-view-t06949/story-cold-dark-matter.").) +* Refrain from reducing technologies to only metaphors, experiences, or tech specs, or to only digital or analog processes; doing so acknowledges how talking about technology is entwined with using it, making it, and repairing it. All technical matters are also social and cultural matters. (See [McPherson](http://keywords.nyupress.org/american-cultural-studies/essay/digital/ "McPherson, Tara. 2020a. “Digital | Keywords for American Cultural Studies, Second Edition.” https://keywords.nyupress.org/american-cultural-studies/essay/digital/."); [Rosner et al.](https://faculty.washington.edu/dkrosner/files/CHI-2018-Core-Memory.pdf "Rosner, Daniela K., Samantha Shorey, Brock R. Craft, and Helen Remick. 2018. “Making Core Memory: Design Inquiry into Gendered Legacies of Engineering and Craftwork.” In Proceedings of the 2018 CHI Conference on Human Factors in Computing Systems - CHI ’18, 1–13. Montreal QC, Canada: ACM Press. doi:10.1145/3173574.3174105."); [Nakamura](http://keywords.nyupress.org/american-cultural-studies/essay/media/ "Nakamura, Lisa. 2020. “Media | Keywords for American Cultural Studies, Second Edition.” https://keywords.nyupress.org/american-cultural-studies/essay/media/.").) +* Remember that data are produced, not given or captured; doing so emphasizes how this becomes that, or how data is structured, collected, and expressed for interpretation. (See [Gregg and Nafus](http://keywords.nyupress.org/media-studies/essay/data/ "Gregg, Melissa, and Dawn Nafus. 2020. “Data | Keywords for Media Studies.” https://keywords.nyupress.org/media-studies/essay/data/."); [Crawford and Joler](https://anatomyof.ai/ "“Anatomy of an AI System.” 2020. Anatomy of an AI System. http://www.anatomyof.ai.").) * Read any list like this one with a healthy dose of skepticism. Generosity of interpretation goes a long way, but gaps make bridges possible, and bias fuels advice. What's missing from the list? How does it communicate? What motivates it? What does it assume? What does it want? How does it reflect a discipline or a moment in time? ## Practices -* Experiment across a spectrum of critical work; doing so values both distance and immersion. Try writing about technologies or composing critiques of them while also thinking with and through them. Researchers are not outside what they study, yet they should be aware of and reflect upon their influence and biases. (See [Rosner et al.](https://faculty.washington.edu/dkrosner/files/CHI-2018-Core-Memory.pdf); [Sullivan et al.](http://jenteryteaches.com/noneshall/sullivan.pdf); [Morgan-Parmett](http://keywords.nyupress.org/media-studies/essay/space/); [Barchas](http://www.whatjanesaw.org/).) -* Ask for permission before working with or circulating materials, and give credit where credit's due; doing so privileges consent, licensing, attribution, and compensation in the research process. After all, the materials may not be yours to use or share. (See [fair dealing](https://www.uvic.ca/library/featured/copyright/fairdealing/index.php); [Nelson](http://www.alondranelson.com/books/afrofuturism); [Skawennati](http://www.timetravellertm.com/episodes/episode04.html); [Sullivan et al.](http://jenteryteaches.com/noneshall/sullivan.pdf); [Le Guin](http://jenteryteaches.com/noneshall/leguin.pdf).) -* Conjecture with affordances; doing so demonstrates how design is relational. It happens between people, environments, and things; it's not just a quality or property of objects. (See [Parker](http://www.tate.org.uk/art/artworks/parker-cold-dark-matter-an-exploded-view-t06949/story-cold-dark-matter); [Barchas](http://www.whatjanesaw.org/); [Rosner et al.](https://faculty.washington.edu/dkrosner/files/CHI-2018-Core-Memory.pdf)) -* Produce your own time and space through technologies; doing so may help you to project a world or speculate about one. Space and time are their own sort of media. They act upon us, but we can also compose with them. (See [Nelson](http://www.alondranelson.com/books/afrofuturism); [Skawennati](http://www.timetravellertm.com/episodes/episode04.html); [Morgan-Parmett](http://keywords.nyupress.org/media-studies/essay/space/); [Sullivan et al.](http://jenteryteaches.com/noneshall/sullivan.pdf)) -* Articulate your position on openness; doing so stresses how dissemination is only one step in the production process. For example, open data is useful, but people also need to know where it came from, how it was produced and with whose consent, and how to interpret it. (See [black box](http://keywords.nyupress.org/american-cultural-studies/essay/digital/); [Gregg and Nafus](http://keywords.nyupress.org/media-studies/essay/data/); [Crawford and Joler](https://anatomyof.ai/); [Le Guin](http://jenteryteaches.com/noneshall/leguin.pdf).) -* Determine what your project will help people to compile or "re-member"; doing so foregrounds how technologies are agents of memory and forgetting. Through automation and design, they assemble parts, compile components, and refresh files. Or, they keep things found for you. (See [Borges](http://jenteryteaches.com/noneshall/borges.pdf); [Parker](http://www.tate.org.uk/art/artworks/parker-cold-dark-matter-an-exploded-view-t06949/story-cold-dark-matter); [Bush](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=c539cK58ees).) -* Address the ghosts; doing so helps to engage (instead of avoid or discount) the unknowns of your project, including its histories and futures. Even though we may not comprehend or apprehend how they work, technologies alone do not explain the past, solve pressing issues, or fix the future. They are components of social and cultural processes. (See [Rosner et al.](https://faculty.washington.edu/dkrosner/files/CHI-2018-Core-Memory.pdf); [Sullivan et al.](http://jenteryteaches.com/noneshall/sullivan.pdf); [Le Guin](http://jenteryteaches.com/noneshall/leguin.pdf).) -* Ask yourself where your project will be in ten, twenty, or even fifty years; doing so prompts attention to maintenance and obsolescence. If you want your project to stick around, then facilitate preservation and repair now rather than later. (See [Tennis for Two](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=6QSHZ20MQfE); [phonautograph](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=75UrxueiP-4&index=14&list=FLX5MebKiIMwpcgIVC7t7GDQ); [reading optophone](http://amodern.net/article/optophonic-reading/).) -* Where useful, value ephemerality and even magic as media; doing so may increase creativity and/or decrease pressure. Not all ideas, processes, and experiments need to be documented or tracked, and not everything about a project must be rationalized or demystified. (See [phonautograph](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=75UrxueiP-4&index=14&list=FLX5MebKiIMwpcgIVC7t7GDQ); [Sullivan et al.](http://jenteryteaches.com/noneshall/sullivan.pdf); [Barchas](http://www.whatjanesaw.org/); [Case](http://nothing-to-hide-demo.s3.amazonaws.com/index.html).) -* Involve your audience; doing so helps to avoid reducing them to only users or consumers. It may also prompt some informative feedback and needed critique. (See [Rosner et al.](https://faculty.washington.edu/dkrosner/files/CHI-2018-Core-Memory.pdf); [Sullivan et al.](http://jenteryteaches.com/noneshall/sullivan.pdf)) -* Don't reinvent the wheel, and be leery of over-investing in either novelty or failing; doing so may help to bypass the competitive tendencies and attention economics of design and development. Tweaking or customizing an existing technology may afford a lot; it may also reduce scope and feature creep. (See [Tennis for Two](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=6QSHZ20MQfE); [phonautograph](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=75UrxueiP-4&index=14&list=FLX5MebKiIMwpcgIVC7t7GDQ); [Sullivan et al.](http://jenteryteaches.com/noneshall/sullivan.pdf)) -* Make a useless or disinterested version of your project; doing so may underscore the creative and critical dimensions of technology and society. After all, not all technologies must increase productivity or efficiency. Consider the roles of technologies in art, theory, and storytelling. (See [Parker](http://www.tate.org.uk/art/artworks/parker-cold-dark-matter-an-exploded-view-t06949/story-cold-dark-matter); [Case](http://nothing-to-hide-demo.s3.amazonaws.com/index.html).) +* Experiment across a spectrum of critical work; doing so values both distance and immersion. Try writing about technologies or composing critiques of them while also thinking with and through them. Researchers are not outside what they study, yet they should be aware of and reflect upon their influence and biases. (See [Rosner et al.](https://faculty.washington.edu/dkrosner/files/CHI-2018-Core-Memory.pdf "Rosner, Daniela K., Samantha Shorey, Brock R. Craft, and Helen Remick. 2018. “Making Core Memory: Design Inquiry into Gendered Legacies of Engineering and Craftwork.” In Proceedings of the 2018 CHI Conference on Human Factors in Computing Systems - CHI ’18, 1–13. Montreal QC, Canada: ACM Press. doi:10.1145/3173574.3174105."); [Sullivan et al.](http://jenteryteaches.com/noneshall/sullivan.pdf " "); [Morgan-Parmett](http://keywords.nyupress.org/media-studies/essay/space/ "Parmett, Helen Morgan. 2020. “Space | Keywords for Media Studies.” https://keywords.nyupress.org/media-studies/essay/space/."); [Barchas](http://www.whatjanesaw.org/ "“What Jane Saw.” 2020. http://www.whatjanesaw.org/.").) +* Ask for permission before working with or circulating materials, and give credit where credit's due; doing so privileges consent, licensing, attribution, and compensation in the research process. After all, the materials may not be yours to use or share. (See [fair dealing](https://www.uvic.ca/library/featured/copyright/fairdealing/index.php "“Fair Dealing - University of Victoria.” 2020. https://www.uvic.ca/library/featured/copyright/fairdealing/index.php."); [Nelson](http://www.alondranelson.com/books/afrofuturism "“Alondra Nelson | Afrofuturism.” 2020. http://www.alondranelson.com/books/afrofuturism."); [Skawennati](http://www.timetravellertm.com/episodes/episode04.html "“TimeTraveller™.” 2020. http://www.timetravellertm.com/episodes/episode04.html."); [Sullivan et al.](http://jenteryteaches.com/noneshall/sullivan.pdf " "); [Le Guin](http://jenteryteaches.com/noneshall/leguin.pdf " ").) +* Conjecture with affordances; doing so demonstrates how design is relational. It happens between people, environments, and things; it's not just a quality or property of objects. (See [Parker](http://www.tate.org.uk/art/artworks/parker-cold-dark-matter-an-exploded-view-t06949/story-cold-dark-matter "Tate. 2020. “The Story of Cold Dark Matter – Look Closer.” Tate. https://www.tate.org.uk/art/artworks/parker-cold-dark-matter-an-exploded-view-t06949/story-cold-dark-matter."); [Barchas](http://www.whatjanesaw.org/ "“What Jane Saw.” 2020. http://www.whatjanesaw.org/."); [Rosner et al.](https://faculty.washington.edu/dkrosner/files/CHI-2018-Core-Memory.pdf "Rosner, Daniela K., Samantha Shorey, Brock R. Craft, and Helen Remick. 2018. “Making Core Memory: Design Inquiry into Gendered Legacies of Engineering and Craftwork.” In Proceedings of the 2018 CHI Conference on Human Factors in Computing Systems - CHI ’18, 1–13. Montreal QC, Canada: ACM Press. doi:10.1145/3173574.3174105.")) +* Produce your own time and space through technologies; doing so may help you to project a world or speculate about one. Space and time are their own sort of media. They act upon us, but we can also compose with them. (See [Nelson](http://www.alondranelson.com/books/afrofuturism "“Alondra Nelson | Afrofuturism.” 2020. http://www.alondranelson.com/books/afrofuturism."); [Skawennati](http://www.timetravellertm.com/episodes/episode04.html "“TimeTraveller™.” 2020. http://www.timetravellertm.com/episodes/episode04.html."); [Morgan-Parmett](http://keywords.nyupress.org/media-studies/essay/space/ "Parmett, Helen Morgan. 2020. “Space | Keywords for Media Studies.” https://keywords.nyupress.org/media-studies/essay/space/."); [Sullivan et al.](http://jenteryteaches.com/noneshall/sullivan.pdf " ")) +* Articulate your position on openness; doing so stresses how dissemination is only one step in the production process. For example, open data is useful, but people also need to know where it came from, how it was produced and with whose consent, and how to interpret it. (See [black box](http://keywords.nyupress.org/american-cultural-studies/essay/digital/ " "); [Gregg and Nafus](http://keywords.nyupress.org/media-studies/essay/data/ "Gregg, Melissa, and Dawn Nafus. 2020. “Data | Keywords for Media Studies.” https://keywords.nyupress.org/media-studies/essay/data/."); [Crawford and Joler](https://anatomyof.ai/ "“Anatomy of an AI System.” 2020. Anatomy of an AI System. http://www.anatomyof.ai."); [Le Guin](http://jenteryteaches.com/noneshall/leguin.pdf " ").) +* Determine what your project will help people to compile or "re-member"; doing so foregrounds how technologies are agents of memory and forgetting. Through automation and design, they assemble parts, compile components, and refresh files. Or, they keep things found for you. (See [Borges](http://jenteryteaches.com/noneshall/borges.pdf " "); [Parker](http://www.tate.org.uk/art/artworks/parker-cold-dark-matter-an-exploded-view-t06949/story-cold-dark-matter "Tate. 2020. “The Story of Cold Dark Matter – Look Closer.” Tate. https://www.tate.org.uk/art/artworks/parker-cold-dark-matter-an-exploded-view-t06949/story-cold-dark-matter."); [Bush](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=c539cK58ees "Memex Animation - Vannevar Bush’s Diagrams Made Real. 2009. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=c539cK58ees.").) +* Address the ghosts; doing so helps to engage (instead of avoid or discount) the unknowns of your project, including its histories and futures. Even though we may not comprehend or apprehend how they work, technologies alone do not explain the past, solve pressing issues, or fix the future. They are components of social and cultural processes. (See [Rosner et al.](https://faculty.washington.edu/dkrosner/files/CHI-2018-Core-Memory.pdf "Rosner, Daniela K., Samantha Shorey, Brock R. Craft, and Helen Remick. 2018. “Making Core Memory: Design Inquiry into Gendered Legacies of Engineering and Craftwork.” In Proceedings of the 2018 CHI Conference on Human Factors in Computing Systems - CHI ’18, 1–13. Montreal QC, Canada: ACM Press. doi:10.1145/3173574.3174105."); [Sullivan et al.](http://jenteryteaches.com/noneshall/sullivan.pdf " "); [Le Guin](http://jenteryteaches.com/noneshall/leguin.pdf " ").) +* Ask yourself where your project will be in ten, twenty, or even fifty years; doing so prompts attention to maintenance and obsolescence. If you want your project to stick around, then facilitate preservation and repair now rather than later. (See [Tennis for Two](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=6QSHZ20MQfE "When Games Went Click: The Story of Tennis for Two. 2013. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=6QSHZ20MQfE."); [phonautograph](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=75UrxueiP-4&index=14&list=FLX5MebKiIMwpcgIVC7t7GDQ "FIRST SOUNDS: Humanity’s First Recordings of Its Own Voice. 2014. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=75UrxueiP-4&index=14&list=FLX5MebKiIMwpcgIVC7t7GDQ."); [reading optophone](http://amodern.net/article/optophonic-reading/ "“OPTOPHONIC READING, PROTOTYPING OPTOPHONES.” 2020. Amodern. https://amodern.net/article/optophonic-reading/.").) +* Where useful, value ephemerality and even magic as media; doing so may increase creativity and/or decrease pressure. Not all ideas, processes, and experiments need to be documented or tracked, and not everything about a project must be rationalized or demystified. (See [phonautograph](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=75UrxueiP-4&index=14&list=FLX5MebKiIMwpcgIVC7t7GDQ "FIRST SOUNDS: Humanity’s First Recordings of Its Own Voice. 2014. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=75UrxueiP-4&index=14&list=FLX5MebKiIMwpcgIVC7t7GDQ."); [Sullivan et al.](http://jenteryteaches.com/noneshall/sullivan.pdf " "); [Barchas](http://www.whatjanesaw.org/ "“What Jane Saw.” 2020. http://www.whatjanesaw.org/."); [Case](http://nothing-to-hide-demo.s3.amazonaws.com/index.html "“Nothing To Hide.” 2020. NothingToHide.Cc. http://back.nothingtohide.cc.").) +* Involve your audience; doing so helps to avoid reducing them to only users or consumers. It may also prompt some informative feedback and needed critique. (See [Rosner et al.](https://faculty.washington.edu/dkrosner/files/CHI-2018-Core-Memory.pdf "Rosner, Daniela K., Samantha Shorey, Brock R. Craft, and Helen Remick. 2018. “Making Core Memory: Design Inquiry into Gendered Legacies of Engineering and Craftwork.” In Proceedings of the 2018 CHI Conference on Human Factors in Computing Systems - CHI ’18, 1–13. Montreal QC, Canada: ACM Press. doi:10.1145/3173574.3174105."); [Sullivan et al.](http://jenteryteaches.com/noneshall/sullivan.pdf " ")) +* Don't reinvent the wheel, and be leery of over-investing in either novelty or failing; doing so may help to bypass the competitive tendencies and attention economics of design and development. Tweaking or customizing an existing technology may afford a lot; it may also reduce scope and feature creep. (See [Tennis for Two](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=6QSHZ20MQfE "When Games Went Click: The Story of Tennis for Two. 2013. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=6QSHZ20MQfE."); [phonautograph](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=75UrxueiP-4&index=14&list=FLX5MebKiIMwpcgIVC7t7GDQ "FIRST SOUNDS: Humanity’s First Recordings of Its Own Voice. 2014. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=75UrxueiP-4&index=14&list=FLX5MebKiIMwpcgIVC7t7GDQ."); [Sullivan et al.](http://jenteryteaches.com/noneshall/sullivan.pdf " ")) +* Make a useless or disinterested version of your project; doing so may underscore the creative and critical dimensions of technology and society. After all, not all technologies must increase productivity or efficiency. Consider the roles of technologies in art, theory, and storytelling. (See [Parker](http://www.tate.org.uk/art/artworks/parker-cold-dark-matter-an-exploded-view-t06949/story-cold-dark-matter "Tate. 2020. “The Story of Cold Dark Matter – Look Closer.” Tate. https://www.tate.org.uk/art/artworks/parker-cold-dark-matter-an-exploded-view-t06949/story-cold-dark-matter."); [Case](http://nothing-to-hide-demo.s3.amazonaws.com/index.html "“Nothing To Hide.” 2020. NothingToHide.Cc. http://back.nothingtohide.cc.").) ## Prototyping Techniques