{"id":5225,"date":"2011-03-07T09:53:19","date_gmt":"2011-03-07T09:53:19","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/monochromist.com\/2011\/03\/07\/black-box\/"},"modified":"2011-03-07T09:53:19","modified_gmt":"2011-03-07T09:53:19","slug":"black-box","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/monochromist.com\/notes\/2011\/03\/07\/black-box\/","title":{"rendered":"Black box"},"content":{"rendered":"

Black box<\/a><\/p>\n

\n

Black Boxes- the “hiding” of aspects of an artifact- should be understood as both literal (in the case of most computers, including the\u00a0NeXT Step<\/a>), as well as metaphorical in regards to the artifact’s history, possible uses, and technical considerations decided during its development. Media artifacts typically present themselves as black boxes- regardless of how much of their “guts” are visible, they are taken as cohesive, finished wholes to be used for a set purpose. Using the technology in a way not intended or against its design,\u00a0the Hack<\/a>, requires to a certain extent the opening of the black box surrounding the technology.<\/p>\n

A prime example of this is the “obvious<\/a>,” i.e. those aspects of the technology that are used due to the particular historical context of the development of the artifact. These aspects, however, were not always obvious, and in most cases of dead media, no longer seem all that obvious anymore.<\/p>\n

Following Bruno Latour, scientific and technological progress includes both the opening and closing of “black boxes”. The opening of black boxes involves the questioning or destabilizing of settled knowledge- even if this knowledge is of the lack of knowledge- and proposing alternative solutions\/explanations to the problematic at hand. For example, the\u00a0Hollerith Punch Card<\/a>\u00a0opened the black box of knowledge regarding the tabulating of census data. The closing of black boxes entails the settling of knowledge into fact- the inclusion of\u00a0the arbitrary<\/a>\u00a0into a technology was a conscious, debatable (and in most instances, probably debated) decision during development, but once settled these choices are taken for granted. QWERTY is an example of a black boxed aspect of computers, although multiple attempts from its inception have tried to pry open this box.<\/p>\n

At its core, inquiries into dead media involves the opening of black boxes- it is the questioning not only of the material object, but also the socio-historical circumstances of its development and use. “Black box” is also the term used for the instrument that records flight information that can be collected and analyzed after a plane crash. In many ways, this may be a particularly striking metaphor for the inquiries pursued in the Dead Media Archive project.<\/span>A prime example of this is the “obvious,” i.e. those aspects of the technology that are used due to the particular historical context of the development of the artifact. These aspects, however, were not always obvious, and in most cases of dead media, no longer seem all that obvious anymore.<\/p>\n

Following Bruno Latour, scientific and technological progress includes both the opening and closing of “black boxes”. The opening of black boxes involves the questioning or destabilizing of settled knowledge- even if this knowledge is of the lack of knowledge- and proposing alternative solutions\/explanations to the problematic at hand. For example, the Hollerith Punch Card opened the black box of knowledge regarding the tabulating of census data. The closing of black boxes entails the settling of knowledge into fact- the inclusion of the arbitrary into a technology was a conscious, debatable (and in most instances, probably debated) decision during development, but once settled these choices are taken for granted. QWERTY is an example of a black boxed aspect of computers, although multiple attempts from its inception have tried to pry open this box.<\/p>\n

At its core, inquiries into dead media involves the opening of black boxes- it is the questioning not only of the material object, but also the socio-historical circumstances of its development and use. “Black box” is also the term used for the instrument that records flight information that can be collected and analyzed after a plane crash. In many ways, this may be a particularly striking metaphor for the inquiries pursued in the Dead Media Archive project.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

Black box Black Boxes- the “hiding” of aspects of an artifact- should be understood as both literal (in the case of most computers, including the\u00a0NeXT Step), as well as metaphorical in regards to the artifact’s history, possible uses, and technical considerations decided during its development. Media artifacts typically present themselves as black boxes- regardless of […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"link","meta":{"jetpack_post_was_ever_published":false,"_jetpack_newsletter_access":"","_jetpack_dont_email_post_to_subs":false,"_jetpack_newsletter_tier_id":0,"_jetpack_memberships_contains_paywalled_content":false,"_jetpack_memberships_contains_paid_content":false,"footnotes":"","jetpack_publicize_message":"","jetpack_publicize_feature_enabled":true,"jetpack_social_post_already_shared":false,"jetpack_social_options":{"image_generator_settings":{"template":"highway","default_image_id":0,"font":"","enabled":false},"version":2}},"categories":[1],"tags":[97,273],"class_list":["post-5225","post","type-post","status-publish","format-link","hentry","category-video_graphics","tag-links","tag-media-theory","post_format-post-format-link"],"jetpack_publicize_connections":[],"jetpack_featured_media_url":"","jetpack_sharing_enabled":true,"jetpack_shortlink":"https:\/\/wp.me\/p5sGHy-1mh","jetpack-related-posts":[{"id":4493,"url":"https:\/\/monochromist.com\/notes\/2011\/01\/29\/manifesto-of-negativity\/","url_meta":{"origin":5225,"position":0},"title":"MANIFESTO OF NEGATIVITY","author":"monochromist","date":"January 29, 2011","format":false,"excerpt":"Prescript: I have nothing to say. Nothing counts any more; nothing ever did. Culture is dead. It committed suicide because it had become successful. The liberation of language, a poetics of freedom of the word, the Futurists\u2019 parole in liberta, the jouissance of schizophrenic discourse, the transrational zaum of the\u2026","rel":"","context":"In "motion"","block_context":{"text":"motion","link":"https:\/\/monochromist.com\/notes\/category\/video_graphics\/"},"img":{"alt_text":"","src":"","width":0,"height":0},"classes":[]},{"id":3822,"url":"https:\/\/monochromist.com\/notes\/2011\/03\/10\/experiencing-the-fear-of-technology-robo\/","url_meta":{"origin":5225,"position":1},"title":"“Experiencing the Fear of Technology” – Robo Culture Wiki","author":"monochromist","date":"March 10, 2011","format":"link","excerpt":"\"Experiencing the Fear of Technology\" - Robo Culture Wiki-The end of the human resistance is fast approaching- The rise of technology will no doubt lead to our downfall as the eminent creatures on earth. One can often turn to popular media to witness this fantasy unfold with such films as\u2026","rel":"","context":"In "motion"","block_context":{"text":"motion","link":"https:\/\/monochromist.com\/notes\/category\/video_graphics\/"},"img":{"alt_text":"","src":"","width":0,"height":0},"classes":[]},{"id":3836,"url":"https:\/\/monochromist.com\/notes\/2011\/03\/10\/shared-identity-black-prison-8\/","url_meta":{"origin":5225,"position":2},"title":"Shared Identity: Black Prison 8:","author":"monochromist","date":"March 10, 2011","format":"link","excerpt":"Shared Identity: Black Prison 8: adukuraha: \u201cCant Shut our voice down like em bitches at your show down we\u2019re up for any blow down coz black prison 8 always bring the house down.\u201d \u201di chack ma self on the mic..the one man show..drop in the beat..cuz i know the heat..whan\u2026","rel":"","context":"In "motion"","block_context":{"text":"motion","link":"https:\/\/monochromist.com\/notes\/category\/video_graphics\/"},"img":{"alt_text":"","src":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/68.media.tumblr.com\/tumblr_lhtpp0awzv1qzbl0e.jpg?resize=350%2C200","width":350,"height":200},"classes":[]},{"id":5219,"url":"https:\/\/monochromist.com\/notes\/2011\/03\/07\/gaanagaa-maldives-internets-black-hole-an\/","url_meta":{"origin":5225,"position":3},"title":"gaanagaa: Maldives: Internet’s “Black hole”?\u2026","author":"monochromist","date":"March 7, 2011","format":"gallery","excerpt":"gaanagaa: Maldives: Internet\u2019s \u201cBlack hole\u201d? An interesting poster from Reporters without Borders. Maldives listed among fifteen of the \u201cblack holes\u201d in the World Wide Web. They have also named Maldives as an enemy of the internet, who are talking without any shame about freedom of expression. Whose to blame? The\u2026","rel":"","context":"In "motion"","block_context":{"text":"motion","link":"https:\/\/monochromist.com\/notes\/category\/video_graphics\/"},"img":{"alt_text":"","src":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/monochromist.com\/notes\/wp-content\/uploads\/2011\/03\/tumblr_lhpkves4MT1qhgpouo1_1280.jpg?resize=350%2C200","width":350,"height":200},"classes":[]},{"id":5045,"url":"https:\/\/monochromist.com\/notes\/2008\/12\/05\/deductive-thinking-had-deducted-life-to-black-and\/","url_meta":{"origin":5225,"position":4},"title":"Deductive thinking had deducted life\u2026","author":"monochromist","date":"December 5, 2008","format":"gallery","excerpt":"Deductive thinking had deducted life to black and white\u00a0\u00a0(via psychonautfromatlantis)","rel":"","context":"In "motion"","block_context":{"text":"motion","link":"https:\/\/monochromist.com\/notes\/category\/video_graphics\/"},"img":{"alt_text":"","src":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/monochromist.com\/notes\/wp-content\/uploads\/2008\/12\/J2IrkZXSSh499lsklR0qdtSWo1_500.jpg?resize=350%2C200","width":350,"height":200},"classes":[]},{"id":3859,"url":"https:\/\/monochromist.com\/notes\/2011\/03\/05\/fette-george-condo-black-and-white\/","url_meta":{"origin":5225,"position":5},"title":"fette: George Condo, Black and\u2026","author":"monochromist","date":"March 5, 2011","format":"gallery","excerpt":"fette: George Condo, Black and White Abstraction, 2005, mixed mediums on canvas, 90 x 110 in.","rel":"","context":"In "motion"","block_context":{"text":"motion","link":"https:\/\/monochromist.com\/notes\/category\/video_graphics\/"},"img":{"alt_text":"","src":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/monochromist.com\/notes\/wp-content\/uploads\/2011\/03\/tumblr_lhkc2vH7dS1qzo0d3o1_1280.png?resize=350%2C200","width":350,"height":200},"classes":[]}],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/monochromist.com\/notes\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/5225","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/monochromist.com\/notes\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/monochromist.com\/notes\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/monochromist.com\/notes\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/monochromist.com\/notes\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=5225"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/monochromist.com\/notes\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/5225\/revisions"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/monochromist.com\/notes\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=5225"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/monochromist.com\/notes\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=5225"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/monochromist.com\/notes\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=5225"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}