Difference between revisions of "Hertzian Space"
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===Definition=== | ===Definition=== | ||
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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.” Hertzian space is a metaphor that is grounded in an actual phenomenon of fluctuating electro-magnetic waves. Everything that requires electricity gives off an electro-magnetic field that extends indefinitely into space. Visible lights are also part of Hertzian space, as are radios, medical X-rays, televisions and UV tanning lamps. While we only see the discrete object, there is in fact an entire wave field emanating from the object. 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. | |
| + | This space encompasses not only the form and function of a device, but also how people react and relate to it. | ||
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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 ... 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".<ref>[http://www.futurefarmers.com/trails/projects.html FutureFarmers - Projects]</ref> |
<blockquote>“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”.<ref>McLuhan 1964, pg. 70.</ref></blockquote> | <blockquote>“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”.<ref>McLuhan 1964, pg. 70.</ref></blockquote> | ||
| − | + | 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’’.<ref>Dunne and Raby 2001, pg. 12.</ref> By understanding hertzian space, we gain a more holistic understanding of technology that goes beyond the merely visible technological object and encompasses the practices, economics, ideologies, etc., that become encoded into technological artifacts. | |
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===References=== | ===References=== | ||
<references /> | <references /> | ||
Revision as of 21:21, 17 June 2011
Definition
In Hertzian Tales, author Anthony Dunne extends the physical interactivity between device and person into an architecture he calls “Hertzian Space.” Hertzian space is a metaphor that is grounded in an actual phenomenon of fluctuating electro-magnetic waves. Everything that requires electricity gives off an electro-magnetic field that extends indefinitely into space. Visible lights are also part of Hertzian space, as are radios, medical X-rays, televisions and UV tanning lamps. While we only see the discrete object, there is in fact an entire wave field emanating from the object. 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.
This space encompasses not only the form and function of a device, but also how people react and relate to it.
"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 ... 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".[1]
“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”.[2]
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’’.[3] By understanding hertzian space, we gain a more holistic understanding of technology that goes beyond the merely visible technological object and encompasses the practices, economics, ideologies, etc., that become encoded into technological artifacts.
References
- ↑ FutureFarmers - Projects
- ↑ McLuhan 1964, pg. 70.
- ↑ Dunne and Raby 2001, pg. 12.
