R. A. Random

A reflection on an article by Bill Viola from Reasons for knocking at an Empty House Writings

The article is about memory and time, and how as we approach a truer synthesis for artificial intelligence, the less able we will be to find “living room” for ourselves in a constantly growing age of technology. 

Our friend Bill Viola (all the way back in the 1980s) made a fascinating assertion––and asked a poignant question––in his article about creativity and memory in the age of information overload. There is value in being able to forget, or at least, there is value in the ability to edit the memories of our lives––but are we allowed the possibility of respite while living amidst a media-saturated public space? It’s difficult to know, especially when statements such as McLuhan’s “…[sic] we make our technology and our technology makes us..” are admittedly true. Television and film in particular have reinforced our perception of segmented time and memory; we often also associate music with time periods and places in our lives. Media truly does have a hold on our contiguous experience.

And since the Renaissance, the West has considered visual perception and notation to be the truest form of understanding the world. The West mastered time and its notation so we can measure the march of progress minute-by-minute. In art, we have considered that which is most “realistic” to be closest to what the eye perceives as true…but in all these respects we often neglect the holistic nature of our living. By comparison, the traditions of the East have always considered the whole. Viola makes a phenomenal allegory of the differences in culture from East to West in his example of the Java musicians. The musical groups learn all songs by rote and repetition, but even with such expert knowledge, they would refuse to play only a segment of a song. Their is only the whole, in such a mindset, and the parts are inseparable.

Is the West too self-segregated by its own ideology? A history of evidence might point us to such a conclusion. But, I think, we’re getting better. Especially today, the advent of incredible advances in technology are pressing the West to think past segmentation and towards collaboration (maybe even cohesion). Consider why Apple has surpassed Microsoft and IBM as the top provider of consumer products. Naturally, it’s because the Apple ecosystem is unparalleled––from the time you open the box of a MacBook to the moment you need to wirelessly synch a printer or iPhone, it works flawlessly…and beautifully. 

I hope, and I believe, that this is the direction of our future. We are aiming for a higher and more holistic approach towards everything, especially now that “User Experience” is the most recent buzzword in the tech-biz industry. I can only assume that the next chapter is finding a way to remove ourselves from the glut of “information overload” and the simplification of everything.