RE: ~e; question EM newsletter

["Mike McPherson" <mike@mcpherson.net>]

Brian,
  I have learned a great deal by reading your EM newsletters.  Some of your
links and comments have landed me on websites that I probably wouldn't have
found or even thought of seeking out.

While I personally tend to search out the more technical aspects of this
domain, others may not.  So it is.

I would also like to echo the earlier posts WRT the suggestion of narrowing
the scope. This would put less of a burden on you if nothing else.  

Producing a newsletter about all aspects connected to any one information
domain (especially one as far reaching as electromagnetism) is a Herculean
task to say the least!  

I hope you decide to continue on - sharing useful information may soon
become a crime :-). 

If you decide to end the newsletter, then I thank you for what I've learned
from your contributions.

Regards,
/// Mike

-----Original Message-----
From: info@electronetwork.org [mailto:info@electronetwork.org] On Behalf Of
brian carroll
Sent: Wednesday, September 01, 2004 9:25 PM
To: electronetwork-l@openflows.org
Subject: ~e; question EM newsletter


  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/

  the electromagnetic internetwork-list
  electromagnetism / infrastructure / civilization
  archives.openflows.org/electronetwork-l
  http://www.electronetwork.org/list/