Hypertext, Hypermedia.

When it starts with the claim that “there is a Chapter Zero, several Chapters One, one Chapter Two, and several Chapters Three” you know it’s not going to be your average uni reading.

I definitely didn’t understand close to everything in Theodor Holm Nelson’s ‘Literary Machines’, but what I did get was just how revolutionary and forward-thinking this article was, originally published in the 1960s.

The first thing that resonated with me was the acknowledgement that the reader “may or may not feel that you understand it fully”, and this proved to be true for me.

The most important aspect that I took out of this reading, and why I believe it to be relevant to our course, is just how revolutionary Nelson’s idea of ‘hypertext’ was back when he coined it in 1960, something that we now have complete access to, and is fully utilized in Networked Media. Through our blogs, we can link to other information, either more of our own writing or someone else’s, and this can lead the reader on a voyage across the internet if they wish.

The author, who himself coined the term, defines ‘hypertext’ as “non-sequential writing – text that branches and allows choice to the reader – best read at an interactive screen”, this is the World Wide Web that I am currently using, and our blogs typify this newfound freedom and abundance of opportunities.

Nelson goes on to state that “there is at present no way to gather, and save, and publish, the many documents and scraps that people are writing on screens and sharing through an immense variety of incompatible systems”, but now, in 2013, there definitely is.

Nelson envisaged the Project Xanadu, a hypertext system designed to support all the features of these other systems, and many more, but this still hasn’t eventuated. Nelson’s future has, however, been somewhat achieved through Tim Berners-Lee and the World Wide Web, based around Hypertext Markup Language and the sharing of information across the world.

Many of the statements regarding the affect that this hypertext would have on society are clearly applicable to our course, and how we have to adapt to its new teaching style. Nelson says that “if you don’t get it there is no persuading you; if you get it you don’t need to be persuaded”, something that Adrian said in as many words in the third ‘unlecture’. Similarly to Adrian’s points, Nelson also states (correctly) that hypertext and its effect was a “manifest destiny” where there was “no point arguing it”, just as this new way of teaching may well become the norm in the near future.

The standout quote for me was far and away:

Education can leap forward into new curricular structures that eliminate sequence and promote initiative and understanding

In my view, this is exactly what Networked Media is aiming to achieve, with it utilizing this hypertext and the boundless opportunities that accompany it.