"nowness of the stream"

By Anne Dalke
July 19, 2014 - 11:55

A few weeks ago, I asked Ann if the comments on all pages could be re-ordered, so that they appear in reverse chrono-order.
Making that request, I acknowledged, meant that I'd finally bought into the "nowness" of the stream, as per
http://www.theatlantic.com/technology/archive/2013/12/2013-the-year-the-stream-crested/282202/
--just as the stream has crested. I'd like us to talk about this. Two starting points?

"'interactive' anything is the wrong word. Interactive makes you imagine people sitting with their hands on controls, some kind of gamelike thing. The right word is 'unfinished.' Think of cultural products, or art works, or the people who use them even, as being unfinished. Permanently unfinished."

"It's like a story of ecosystem collapse where once the delicate balances get thrown off, the biome begins to veer off in crazy directions, everything running around like Texas crazy ants....."

Clarifying

interactive vs unfinished

interesting article! and was very aware as reading it that i'm really just on the edge of even thinking about all this, and don't know a lot of the particulars named here as examples of how folks/internet are moving beyond 'nowness' as a solo or controlling value. it really makes sense to me that there can and should be these different levels or modes - rather than a single dominant mode - such a contextual, shifting way to think about it. so given this, interactivity does seem (strangely!) slow and linear even if in a bi-directional way, whereas unfinishedness doesn't specify or assume

Supporting

respecting the evolution of thought through discussion

unfinished is good, in a different way. i like it in terms of an evolution, but not in the way the nowness of the article ascribes. to respect the evolution of discussion, i think i would prefer reverse chronological order.

"nowness of the stream"