The Personalization of Complexity V.E.5.e. |
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I am not here to cast dire warnings, utter luddite threats, wring hands (so we have them? carpal tunnel and all)--or even complain. If recognition of the problem is half the solution, it is only a moment of insight that we might want. "One implication of letting go of causality is that systems always behave as they should, which is to say, they always operate in accord with their structures, whatever those may be. In Maturana's world, my car always works, whether it starts or not, because it operates only and always in accord with its structure at the moment." N. Katherine Hayles * The moment of insight might come with a breakdown in your e-mail system, your server, your bookmarks (!), or in just losing something you thought was on your hard drive. Suddenly you realize that there is no appeal. You, your body, your brain and your brain's electronic companion are a closed system, for the nonce. No one else knows this place. I used to feel that I could be eminently helpful when a friend or colleague had a question about his computer. Now, I avoid offering advice for the same reasons that I don't do therapy. We can no longer insist to ourselves that our computers always function "according to their structure"--if their organization is constantly at variance. Of course they should work a certain way, and would, one supposes, if we never intruded on the perfect, original organization. Or if we could remember everything that the computer knows. |
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