Difference between revisions of "Hertzian Space"

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===Definition===
 
===Definition===
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All of the electronic devices that are produced and sold to us, by their very existence, participate in our culture. Many of them are designed to be interactive, and we engage with them on a daily basis. Some of these devices, such as computers, video games and personal digital assistants, are explicit in their interactivity. However, even devices like electric coffee pots, remote controls and radios are interactive, in the sense that we use them and they affect us. (Deisgn Practices of Hertzian Space - Thesis on Technology's Effect on Humans - MIT)
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Hertzian space is a term used to describe a holistic view of the electronic device and its cultural interactions. Anthony Dunne and Fiona Raby<ref>Dunne, Anthony. Hertzian Tales: Electronic Products, Aesthetic Experience, and Critical Design
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MIT Press. March 2001. Pg 21., as quoted in Fried, Limor. Social Defense Mechanisms: Tools for Reclaiming Our Personal Space. MIT Media Lab Graduate Theses. January 2005. Pg 7.</ref> described this "electro-climate," inhabited by humans and electronic machines, as the interface between electromagnetic waves and human experiences. In a sense, Hertzian space is a holistic view of the electronic device and its cultural interactions. It has been defined by Anthony Dunne as the architecture of the physical interactivity between a device and a person.<ref>Ibid.</ref> Everything that requires electricity gives off an electro-magnetic field that extends infinitely into space. Visible light is part of Hertzian space, as well as radio, medical X-rays, television signals and UV tanning lamps. While we only see the discrete object, there is in fact an entire wave-field emanating from the object.
  
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"Whereas 'cyberspace' is a metaphor that spatialises what happens in computers distributed around the world, hertzian space is actual and physical even though our senses detect only a tiny part of the electromagnetic spectrum. Images of footprint's of satellite TV transmissions in relation to the surface of the earth, and computer models showing cellular phone propagation in relation to urban environments, reveal that hertzian space is not isotropic but has an 'electroclimate' defined by wavelength, frequency and field strength. Interaction with the natural and artificial landscape creates a hybrid landscape of shadows, reflections, and hot points" [http://www.futurefarmers.com/trails/projects.html].
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Interaction with the natural and artificial landscape creates a hybrid landscape of shadows, reflections, and hot points". "Whereas 'cyberspace' is a metaphor that spatialises what happens in computers distributed around the world, Hertzian Space is actual and physical, even though our senses detect only a tiny part of the electromagnetic spectrum".<ref>Trails Forever project. FutureFarmers. Projects. http://www.futurefarmers.com/trails/projects.html Publish date unknown. Accessed Oct 2011.</ref> "The new media and technologies by which we amplify and extend ourselves constitute huge collective surgery carried out on the social body with complete disregard for antiseptics", wrote McLuhan, "If the operations are needed, the inevitability of infecting the whole system during the operation has to be considered. For in operating on society with a new technology, it is not the incised area that is most affected...It is the entire system that is changed".<ref>McLuhan, Marshall. Understanding Media: The Extensions of Man. 1st Ed. McGraw Hill, NY. 1964, pg. 70.</ref>
  
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"In Hertzian Tales, author Anthony Dunne extends the physical interactivity between device and person into an architecture he calls “Hertzian Space.” This space encompasses not only the form and function of a device, but also how people react and relate to it. In a sense, Hertzian space is a holistic view of the electronic device and its cultural interactions. Dunne and Raby describe this “electro-climate,” inhabited by humans and electronic machines, as the interface between electromagnetic waves and human experiences: “Hertzian space describes what happens in front of the screen, outside of the object, it is part of the space our bodies inhabit, even though our senses detect only a tiny part of it” (Dunne and Raby 2001, pg. 12). Visible lights are part of Hertzian space, as are radios, medical X-rays, televisions and UV tanning lamps. Although we cannot sense much of this space (other than visible light of course), the authors claim that we are affected by it, both physically and psychologically.
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Dunne and Raby believe that increased awareness of Hertzian space will assist our design practices. They think that we are only beginning to understand the effects and consequences of technological advances, and that "it is an environment that must be fully understood if it is to be made habitable".<ref>Dunne, Anthony. Hertzian Tales: Electronic Products, Aesthetic Experience, and Critical Design
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MIT Press. March 2001. Pg 21., as quoted in Fried, Limor. Social Defense Mechanisms: Tools for Reclaiming Our Personal Space. MIT Media Lab Graduate Theses. January 2005. Pg 7.</ref> By thinking about technologies in terms of Hertzian Space, we gain a more holistic understanding of technology that goes beyond the merely visible technological object and encompasses the practices, economics, and ideologies that become encoded into technological artifacts.<ref>This entry was contributed in part by Andrew Warner.</ref>
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Dunne and Raby believe that increased awareness of Hertzian space will assist our design practices. They believe that we are only beginning to understand its effects and consequences, and that “it is an environment that must be fully understood if it is to be made habitable’’ (Dunne and Raby 2001, pg. 12).  
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Unfortunately, many manufacturers of electronic products do not consider Hertzian space as an important element in their design process compared to, say, the technical specifications or manufacture costs. As a result, the environment enclosing both device and user is unbalanced. Media theorist Marshall McLuhan describes this cause and effect specifically in regards to electronic media2 that have been forced into a social system without any regard for social convention:
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“The new media and technologies by which we amplify and extend ourselves constitute huge collective surgery carried out on the social body with complete disregard for antiseptics. If the operations are needed, the inevitability of infecting the whole system during the operation has to be considered. For in operating on society with a new technology, it is not the incised area that is most affected. ...It is the entire system that is changed” (McLuhan 1964, pg. 70)
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We see clear examples of such ‘surgeries’ and ‘infections’ all the time, when new technologies are introduced at the pace of engineering without full consideration for their possible effects on society".  
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===References===
 
===References===
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Social Defense Mechanisms: Tools for Reclaiming Our Personal Space by Limor Fried Submitted to the Department of Electrical Engineering and Computer Science January 28, 2005 In Partial Fulfillment of the Requirements for the Degree of Bachelor of Science in Electrical Engineering and Master of Engineering in Electrical Engineering and Computer Science, pg. 8.
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http://www.futurefarmers.com/trails/projects.html
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[[Category:Book Pages]]
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[[Category:Illustrated]]
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[[Category:Architecture]]

Latest revision as of 05:03, 9 December 2023

Hertzian-space-maggie-nichols.jpg

Definition

Hertzian space is a term used to describe a holistic view of the electronic device and its cultural interactions. Anthony Dunne and Fiona Raby[1] described this "electro-climate," inhabited by humans and electronic machines, as the interface between electromagnetic waves and human experiences. In a sense, Hertzian space is a holistic view of the electronic device and its cultural interactions. It has been defined by Anthony Dunne as the architecture of the physical interactivity between a device and a person.[2] Everything that requires electricity gives off an electro-magnetic field that extends infinitely into space. Visible light is part of Hertzian space, as well as radio, medical X-rays, television signals and UV tanning lamps. While we only see the discrete object, there is in fact an entire wave-field emanating from the object.

Interaction with the natural and artificial landscape creates a hybrid landscape of shadows, reflections, and hot points". "Whereas 'cyberspace' is a metaphor that spatialises what happens in computers distributed around the world, Hertzian Space is actual and physical, even though our senses detect only a tiny part of the electromagnetic spectrum".[3] "The new media and technologies by which we amplify and extend ourselves constitute huge collective surgery carried out on the social body with complete disregard for antiseptics", wrote McLuhan, "If the operations are needed, the inevitability of infecting the whole system during the operation has to be considered. For in operating on society with a new technology, it is not the incised area that is most affected...It is the entire system that is changed".[4]

Dunne and Raby believe that increased awareness of Hertzian space will assist our design practices. They think that we are only beginning to understand the effects and consequences of technological advances, and that "it is an environment that must be fully understood if it is to be made habitable".[5] By thinking about technologies in terms of Hertzian Space, we gain a more holistic understanding of technology that goes beyond the merely visible technological object and encompasses the practices, economics, and ideologies that become encoded into technological artifacts.[6]

References

  1. ↑ Dunne, Anthony. Hertzian Tales: Electronic Products, Aesthetic Experience, and Critical Design MIT Press. March 2001. Pg 21., as quoted in Fried, Limor. Social Defense Mechanisms: Tools for Reclaiming Our Personal Space. MIT Media Lab Graduate Theses. January 2005. Pg 7.
  2. ↑ Ibid.
  3. ↑ Trails Forever project. FutureFarmers. Projects. http://www.futurefarmers.com/trails/projects.html Publish date unknown. Accessed Oct 2011.
  4. ↑ McLuhan, Marshall. Understanding Media: The Extensions of Man. 1st Ed. McGraw Hill, NY. 1964, pg. 70.
  5. ↑ Dunne, Anthony. Hertzian Tales: Electronic Products, Aesthetic Experience, and Critical Design MIT Press. March 2001. Pg 21., as quoted in Fried, Limor. Social Defense Mechanisms: Tools for Reclaiming Our Personal Space. MIT Media Lab Graduate Theses. January 2005. Pg 7.
  6. ↑ This entry was contributed in part by Andrew Warner.
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