Re: ~e; question EM newsletter

[stephen kovats <kovats@v2.nl>]

dear brian and all,

 i second arthur's opinion, that the major drawback to the newsletters has
been its overreaching scope. I would read it more, and more often, and
perhaps respond, if it didn't deal as much with american energy policy and
similar issues. Also, naming the newsletter just as a number i also find a
drawback. I'm more inclined to go back and look for certain issues and
topics if there were at least some keywords in the title.

but ... it is a great effort, and should in some form be continued,
Stephen

> 
> Brian,
> 
> with great pleasure I've been reading your newsletter and browsed the
> electro-network website. I've always experienced it as a great service
> to the community and a great human powered news aggregator. Although I
> sometimes felt that the scope could be narrowed down to the essence of
> electro-magnetics. As an example, it's interesting to read about oil
> politics and so forth, but is it necessary?
> 
> I think that being as broad as it is, with all information floating
> around, it becomes almost unpleasantly overwhelming. Keeping up reading
> the newsletter is already a small task, putting it together must have
> been a day job.
> 
> Are you in for a discussion about the focus and scope, the topics
> covered in the letter? It could bring down the amplitude and frequency
> of work so to speak, becoming manageable.
> 
> If you decide to stop, we all deeply thank you for your contributions
> to our understanding of EM matters.
> 
> Arthur
> 
>>  hello everyone, I've arrived at the conclusion that the
>>  end of the EM newsletter may be a good idea, to see
>>  if there are other ways of sharing ideas. I think the idea
>>  has proven itself, that over several categories (both in
>>  serial and parallel progression) that EM developments
>>  are interrelated. yet, as with news cycles, massively at
>>  times, redundant. and highly-structured, may deter an-
>>  other approach and contributions, as it is so singular.
>>  I've also weighed the idea of a list itself, it is serves any
>>  purpose or not, and so if ending the EM newsletter and
>>  nothing spontaneous happens on list, it may be possible
>>  it will be shut down until another time with active ideas.
>>  there are many things I wish to write about and also put
>>  online, yet am not sure of the format as it exists (news,
>>  essays) versus actual conversations of shared views.
>>  for instance, having just had some experiences with
>>  the MRI, EEG, EMG, there are some amazing, simply
>>  amazing corollary's to audio-engineering (it would
>>  seem) and also earlier performance art shared on
>>  the list with shocks and muscle contortions. (with an
>>  EMG they put a needle with a microphone into your
>>  muscle and you can hear your muscle as static, it is
>>  wild). (in the MRI, it is like being inside a radio scanner
>>  or a baby in a womb which is getting ultra-sounded (it
>>  is wondered what babies hear of such events, it could
>>  be very frightening first encounter.) (in an EEG it is like
>>  a 16 track brain recorder, except instead of flute it is
>>  eyelids, tracked by electrodes). all of this neuroscience
>>  is fascinating to me, I do not know how to write about
>>  it in an interdisciplinary way yet have always been
>>  fascinated by it (and finally have access to some help
>>  for brain mapping of language/memory issues here).
>>  what is wondered is how experiences which many
>>  people may go through in their lives, such as CAT-
>>  scans, x-rays, and the rest may become rituals of
>>  the cycle of life-to-death in an EM context, which,
>>  say, a radiology department in 'nuclear medicine'
>>  demonstrates, as the height of certain approaches
>>  to medicine and healing. what would environments
>>  or professions be without the equipment used, with-
>>  out all this EM knowledge based on it, and the leaps
>>  and bounds of research and development growing
>>  everyday based on extending this systemic approach.
>>  what does it mean that this is how humans are to be
>>  interfaced with 'health' and diagnostic criteria of a
>>  computer-based society, in terms of other things as
>>  they happen in fields other than medicine (one of my
>>  favorites is archaeology, although knowing only little
>>  of the practiced field, the overlap with architecture in
>>  terms of the toolset is quite large and could be even
>>  more synchronized for creative research of ideas).
>>  maybe this is towards a question of EM 'studies',
>>  an interdisciplinary perspective. it is believe that,
>>  as a proof-of-concept, the EM Education Initiative
>>  (EEI, http://www.electronetwork.org/works/eei/ ) is
>>  a proven viable approach to currently disparate
>>  information online, to integrate and collate it (yet,
>>  still needing refinement and collaborative moves).
>>  The EM cultural aspects tend to be proven by the
>>  works of artists, scientists, and others whose vast
>>  research defines the present in terms of EM, yet
>>  it still needs to be seen as a whole (such as, the
>>  electronic, media, and other art with EM sciences,
>>  histories, scholarship, within a shared empiricism.)
>>  The approach to EM education can and will be a
>>  way to continue the EEI goals yet it is wondered if
>>  a list newsletter is serving the larger purposes or
>>  just repeating the news cycle in an EM context, so
>>  maybe it is time to reconsider its purpose, value,
>>  as there could be other options available. Also, it
>>  should be noted that it is hoped anyone writes if
>>  they feel like it, and many times my writing is a bit
>>  loose (not just grammatically messed up, but also
>>  to push an idea to a point where maybe someone
>>  may comment, to see if anyone has a view that is
>>  able to recontextualize or refine the question to a
>>  more practical or better language or even contest
>>  the ideas, whatever. though it often is just silence).
>>  So, I am not sure what the list could be, and hope
>>  others speak up if they think it is something, is not
>>  something, should be something or maybe it is not
>>  about a list but the project and what this might be.
>>  as always, suggestions, comments, ideas wanted,
>>  needed, appreciated, including any and all criticism.
>>  (by the way, I may be a bit dense and 'not get' what
>>  may be readily understood by others, this is part of
>>  what may be a 'blind-spot' in my sense of things as
>>  is finally being realized (Asperger's Syndrome) so
>>  if something is clear to most I will probably miss it,
>>  so it is hard to guess what works and what doesn't
>>  if others have an understanding of common sense,
>>  in relation to this project. I lack this critical ability to
>>  see and understand this project in relation to how
>>  others may perceive it, cannot grasp the missing
>>  parts and so it is a lot of trial and error (and errors)
>>  and so, if there is something to say I hope people
>>  feel free enough to say it and say it loud and know
>>  that this 'gap' is an enigma, between what others
>>  may be interested in and what is happening now.
>>  I hope others can find a place for their work and
>>  their ideas, yet there are limitations on individuals
>>  to go beyond their means to make it all happen.
>>  the EEI project is not going away, though it may
>>  become more quiet as it is pursued (for research,
>>  building the project, hopefully offline opportunities
>>  and support to pursue this work with others in a
>>  shared/collaborative project). The one thing I am
>>  able to do is push the larger project forward, the
>>  framework, the details and technical aspects are
>>  a weak-point (if telling from my brain, it may be a
>>  real weak-point in terms of degraded motorskills
>>  and some delays). Though i am dedicated to this
>>  project, and not only my own work, which often is
>>  not developed to try to develop the larger context,
>>  but all works which truly fascinate me to no end,
>>  and I am sure others would also find a fascination
>>  (from other disciplines) of the things going on today.
>>  Such as MRIs and radio-scanners and EEGs and
>>  audio-engineering, parallels are truly uncanny--
>>  and these things have been explored by artists,
>>  it is in the record and these are living artists, and
>>  technologists, and scientists who can go so much
>>  further with these ideas if more know of what this
>>  is that is being explored, and to support such work.
>>  from internet art to em archaeology to any discipline
>>  which is in some way affected/effected, how this is
>>  all tied together-- I hope this conversation can occur
>>  as it offers a view of the whole that is missing from
>>  any one discipline, from my experience, and could
>>  help revalidate the oftentimes great works that are
>>  caught in traditional categorizations, I wish it was
>>  not an issue of individual philosophy as it is not as
>>  solitary as this, nor proprietary. I have no idea how
>>  to go beyond and seek any advice or suggestions
>>  as to what may be options for the EEI project, or the
>>  issues, or the list, or the ideas, or where things are
>>  today versus what is in the newsletters, anything.
>>  from my sense, I tend to see more relevance in
>>  reading ancient texts which bring everything into
>>  relation with one another (music with astronomy,
>>  or electronic music and radio astronomy, today),
>>  than any subdivision-of-subdivision-of-an-idea
>>  which is a particular point of view of infinite many
>>  based on particular cases (specificities, firstly). it
>>  is not that this is wrong, it is not, but as a context
>>  it is like looking at the details and talking about
>>  the whole of something and instead it would be
>>  to talk of the general (generalist) as a context in
>>  which to recontextualize pre-existing specialist
>>  views and vantage points, though in relation to
>>  each other (e.g. new media and new economy).
>>  I don't know, I truly do not know the direction to
>>  go, but have a hunch and have followed it until
>>  a point where the results of the experiment are
>>  clear enough to decipher, and then to make a
>>  refinement in direction or expansion, whatever.
>>  whatever this is, it is meant to include others, it
>>  is hoped others feel they are wanted, needed,
>>  valued, and that a publicness is the meaning
>>  of this initiative, not for political reasons but for
>>  the needs of ideas, as businesses could also
>>  make gains by listening to those who develop
>>  ideas (in the arts, say) about what works and
>>  what does not-- and there is a great resource,
>>  still untapped, about tying these things together
>>  to make larger changes, in a context (not in the
>>  hierarchical disciplines but in a shared interest/
>>  investigation, and purpose). if something works
>>  better it can help other things work better too, it
>>  is why supporting business innovations are as
>>  important as others, too, it is proposed, because
>>  this is often how changes are enacted today as
>>  science, technology, society. not that this is the
>>  rule, but it is an idea of innovation. and EM is an
>>  area where this is the rule, and once the basics
>>  are made tangible, much of it is readily available
>>  to at least grasp, to imagine, to dream about or
>>  propose what may be possible, given the givens.
>>  thus, it is back to the power of ideas, education,
>>  serving these dimensions, and also relating it
>>  to existing efforts, public and private, and to try
>>  to make things happen, let them happen, by a
>>  recontextualization, reconfiguration by way of
>>  electromagnetic knowledge. I realize the text is
>>  too idiosyncratic for most to read, or reread as
>>  it may be, again and again, post to post, yet it
>>  is an attempt to share a belief in what this is,
>>  why this is, where it may be going, who it is
>>  hoped is involved, how to encourage this and
>>  to improve upon the approach/model, and to
>>  ask for ideas, not necessary for debate, though
>>  that is okay. though also for exchange, so as
>>  to improve the public project, to make it worth-
>>  while for others to place their efforts into too.
>>  as always, the electronetwork.org domain is
>>  possible to transfer to a public project, and a
>>  larger network of nodes and content is a goal
>>  yet requires group and business resources to
>>  actually accomplish in both scale and quality.
>>  so, sharing here, asking here, thanks for being
>>  here, and yet i wish it was not so silent as it is
>>  not a high-goal to write newsletters to myself.
>>  so too, openflows.org has been kind to allow
>>  the list to operate during very turbulent times
>>  (PEN-list, electronetwork-list) and maybe it is
>>  also time to consider the list part of the archive,
>>  a record, and another interface may work better.
>>  in any case, thanks to every one of the members
>>  for signing on, it has often kept the ideas going,
>>  the thought that maybe someone on the list may
>>  find a bit of information of relevance in some way,
>>  or to pass it on to someone who may find interest.
>>  it makes me smile, i don't get it though it makes
>>  me happy nonetheless that the list has endured,
>>  though the potential of the project still is way out
>>  on the horizon. thanks if you read this far. brian
>> 
>>  the electromagnetic internetwork-list
>>  electromagnetism / infrastructure / civilization
>>  archives.openflows.org/electronetwork-l
>>  http://www.electronetwork.org/list/
> 
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