Doing Interface Ecology: The Practice of Metadisciplinarity
Andruid Kerne Interface Ecology Lab | Center for Study of Digital Libraries Computer Science Dept., Texas A&M University Abstract What are the systems of representation that are The interface can be modeled as an ecosystem: con- brought into relationships by interfaces? Let's start with nected, dynamic, and characterized by relationships. a simple example: a typical personal computer, con- This model is predicated on a process of working with nected to the Internet. Immediately, we have the "sen- the interface as a border zone between heterogeneous sation systems" of a human being seeing a computer systems of representation. This paper uses sensation, screen, touching a mouse and a keyboard. The physi- embodiment, and semiotics to initiate this work cal is translated into the electronic, and vice versa. process by addressing the range of systems of repre- The analog representations from the physical, real sentation that are involved in its own production. This world are converted to and from the digital representa- "presence of the theorist" creates a self-referential tions processed by the computer. We have layers of metastructure. hardware and software. By referring to a "typical per- sonal computer," I meant to suggest Intel processors As an alternative to the beneficial but ad-hoc assem- and a Microsoft Operating System. Thus, we have the blages of multi-, inter-, and transdisciplinary approach- old anti-trust litigation between Apple and Microsoft, es, the ecosystems approach proposes that the mesh- and more current jostlings with Linux and those who ing of systems of representation is an inherent proper- believe in free software. Somewhere in this scenario, ty of interface phenomena. The meshing process the voices of the hardware and software engineers are causes elements from the involved representational echoing. Perhaps they worked very long hours; per- systems to recombine and form hybrids. Recombinant haps they were content with their rewards; perhaps information is a structural formula for creating new they felt exploited. knowledge, which can be intentionally invoked for that purpose. The interface of the personal computer puts the user in touch The theorist is part of the environment that s/he theo- rizes about. The products of theorizing are information with the assemblers, in a tactile artifacts that are also part of the environment; they and economical way. The eco- themselves function as interfaces. The term metadisci- plinary is developed here in order to describe the nomic relationships leave a sticky inherent and self-referential nature of this structure. trail of money that gets under my The structure of metadisciplinarity connects theory and fingernails. As I close the case practice, which stands in direct contrast with other studies approaches such as performance studies, and get back to writing this paper, which separates itself from theater practice. I worry it might gum up the keyboard. Border zones where systems of representation meet
An interface is a border zone where systems of Those working on the "low level" manufacturing were representation come into contact. It is a mem- probably women. [2] Among these, the ones who built brane, regulating the exchange of vital messages the primary circuit board, known as the motherboard, from one side to the other. The more open the were probably Chinese. [3] Let's open the machine's membrane, the more flow, the more new combina- case and check it out. Perusing the motherboard, inte- tions that an interface supports. Particular mem- grated circuit labels indicate that they were made in brane structures can act as filters, tuning feedback countries such as China (again), Malaysia, the loops. Philippines, El Salvador, and Guatemala. According to -- Interface Ecosystem, The Fundamental Unit of the LABORSTA database of the International Labour Information Age Ecology [1] Organization, the average female electronic equipment assembler in China earned $106 per month during Intelligent Agent 6.1.1 interface.kerne.01 2000. [4] The interface of the personal computer puts the user in touch with the assemblers, in a tactile and We have yet to begin browsing, to economical way. The economic relationships leave a encounter "content." Yet, already, sticky trail of money that gets under my fingernails. As I feel like I am caught in the sticky I close the case and get back to writing this paper, I worry it might gum up the keyboard. web of a horror movie or, at least, a haunted house. I am typing this So many relationships already, and we have not yet gotten to the network. There are some open standards paper in Microsoft Word, wanting here, the TCP/IP protocol stack, and higher level pro- to experience a blank slate for tocols such as HTTP for the Web, SMTP and POP for writing but yearnings for a tabula e-mail. There are standards, too, for declarative lan- guages such as Hypertext Markup Language (HTML) rasa give way to the multilayered and Cascading Style Sheets (CSS). Of course, no web reality of a highly structured, browser is complete without the potential for search. So Google is here, too. complex ecosystem of entities and representations. There are At the time of this writing, it seems that there is an too many windows, too many 85% likelihood that the web browser used by people accessing the Web is Microsoft Internet Explorer. [5] menus, too many entries, too So here we have another of Microsoft's anti-trust litiga- many buttons. tion scenarios, this one involving Netscape. The U.S. Department of Justice and the Sherman Antitrust law In my web browser, I jump from a background article have a presence. So have various states and judges, in an industry rag [9] to the <
Intelligent Agent 6.1.1 interface.kerne.02 perception and action are integrated through cognition. ratory, "a site … through which artists, scientists, tech- [13] Through the process of sensation, through per- nologists, and theorists commingle" [24] and mentions ception and action connected, at the nexus of the ZKM, Banff, Ars Electronica, and IRCAM as examples. interface, I encounter all of these systems of represen- Gibbons [25], Norman [26], Century [27], and Ascott tation, their forms as media, the rules that govern their [28] call these assemblages transdisciplinary -- trans- production and the subversions that attempt to coun- disciplinary research is said to "interpenetrate discipli- tervail the underlying epistemologies, and their nary epistemologies" [29]; it is "transgressive." [30] methodologies of practice. As a creative agent, my body is signifier and signified, subject and object. I cre- The value that transdisciplinarity places on the practice ate information artifacts, which function as interfaces. of disciplinary assemblage is a good start. The prob- This paper is one such. I am linked into the complex lem is that trans- means, "across, to or on the farther web of relationships, through my act of writing about side of, beyond, over." [31] Novak's transvergence this interface ecosystem. Through this act of cognition, moves this prescription forward by including an the representational forms that I produce are likewise emphasis on connecting, but without theorizing the linked. Soon these words will move from the word embodied practice of interface development. [32] processor. They will be uploaded as bits by means of While going across, beyond, and over disciplinary a browser, and web protocols. They will be published. boundaries, the denotation of trans- is still lacking not They may influence the environment to which they only the structural imperative for assembling disci- refer. This is our first encounter with the reflexive, plines, but also a sense of how processes of discipli- recursive, self-referential structure called meta-. nary recombination are a formula for creating new knowledge. Nowotny observes that "Transdisciplinarity Disciplinary assemblages ... is more than juxtaposition. ... If joint problem solving is the aim, then the means must provide for an inte- Behind each type of representational form that inter- gration of perspectives in the identification, formulation faces connect, lie one or more disciplines of methodol- and resolution of what has to become a shared prob- ogy. These disciplines enable and govern practice with lem." [33] But, what are the structures and processes their codifications of methodological discourse. [14] that catalyze this type of integration? The composition of disciplines into hybrid assem- blages is necessary in order to address the diverse Recombinant information heterogeneous systems of representation that connect through the interface border zone. Examples of these In fact, juxtaposition is a starting point for integration. disciplinary assemblages are well known. Gaver [15] As the collages of Ernst established early in the 20th and Norman [16] translated Gibson's perceptual model century, juxtaposition can serve as the first step in a of affordance [17] from cognitive science into human human algorithm for generating new meanings. computer interaction. Walczak and Wattenberg Juxtapositions and recontextualizations draw the mind brought notions of temporality and self-organizing to wonder about potential connections between ele- structure from architecture into interaction design in ments. The next steps depend on the sensory and the web-based artwork Apartment. [18] Schiphorst uti- semiotic relationships that can be drawn between ele- lized techniques and philosophy from choreography ments through cognitive processes. As I suggested in and somatics while creating the Bodymaps installation. previous writings [34], Dada collage, filmic montage, [19] Mateas and Stern have developed computational Debord's detournement, audio sampling and remix, as models of theater's "beat" and integrated them with well as hypertext practices of authoring by reference artificial intelligence and computer graphics for their are all examples of this cognitive and semiotic restruc- work Façade. [20] The author has built a generative turing. They are types of recombinant information pro- space for browsing, authoring, and collecting with cessing: "Recombination is the process of taking exist- principles from music composition and collage, as well ing coded compositions, breaking them down into con- as machine learning and computer graphics in stituent elements, and recombining those elements to CollageMachine. [21] In collaboration with creative form new codings." [35] Recombinant information cognition researcher Smith [22], principles of cognitive forms new meanings through the process of compos- science are being integrated with this work in ing elements from the disparate systems. The process combinFormation. [23] works similarly to the shuffling of base pairs in genet- ics, except here, cognition plays the role of interpreter. Transdisciplinarity Our cognitive processing of recombinant information is While these examples constitute instances of practice, addressed by the geneplore model of creative cogni- they are not sufficient to define an approach. Prior tion. [36] According to geneplore, creative experiences research has begun to address these phenomena of can develop when phases of generative processes disciplinary assemblage more systematically. Century, (e.g., memory retrieval, analogical transfer) alternate among others, describes the advent of the studio-labo- with exploratory interpretive operations (e.g., attribute Intelligent Agent 6.1.1 interface.kerne.03 finding, hypothesis testing). Certain conditions Disciplines are represented by methodologies, as well increase the likelihood of creative experience. The as epistemologies; using these together initiates generation of pre-inventive structures, which serve as processes of translation. Translations are inherently the grist of creative process, makes the development imperfect, which is where things get interesting: in the of creative results more likely. Combinations of images context of the interface ecosystem, practitioners have and words -- that is, recombinant information -- are a to resolve the ambiguities between disciplines. They / form of pre-inventive structure, as are visual patterns we have to figure out how things fit together. The theo- and mental models. The exploration phase consists of rem of recombinant information applies: when juxtapo- articulation, interpretation, and refinement. We play sition is followed by geneplorative processes of con- with the pre-inventive structures in search of under- ceptual integration, interface ecosystems generate standing. We may iteratively cycle back and forth hybrid metadisciplinary forms, as well as new media, between phases of "generate" and "explore." and new theory. That is, these processes create new species of meaning and those of us with a need to sell Some pre-inventive structures are also characterized something may be prone to calling this a formula for by pre-inventive properties. Examples of the latter innovation. include ambiguity and incongruity. That is, when infor- mation elements are recombined and a combination Metadisciplinarity makes sense immediately, the cognitive process is not likely to go anywhere. However, if there are potential Hofstadter uses the term "strange loop" to describe a relationships that are not immediately clear, the mind tangled hierarchy in which following a chain of levels tends to work on making sense of them by finding new of reference returns us to a previous state. [37] These connections. Sometimes, configurations of pre-inven- levels of reference are meta-levels. One example tive structures do not lead anywhere. There are no would be Gödel's proof of the incompleteness of guarantees. On other occasions, we have an "Ah-ha!" Whitehead's Principia Mathematica (PM): PM is not experience, the emergence of new ideas. complete, because it can't contain all possible state- ments about itself. (The counterexample is "P.M. is not complete.") These are meta-statements; mathematics The notion of metadisciplinarity and meta-mathematics (and by extension, recursively, metameta…mathematics) are parts of the same sys- focuses on the recombination of tem. disciplinary systems. Disciplines The interface described in the section above, which are referenced and juxtaposed by develops and represents theory about interfaces, is the sensory, media, and technical another example of a strange loop. We will again find intersections of the interface bor- this structure by examining the role of disciplines in the interface ecosystems of the information age. der zone. The notion of metadisciplinarity develops a structurally identical chain of self-reference. In examining and developing phenomena of interface ecosystems, we refer to the underlying knowledge structures of discipli- A theorem of recombinant information therefore is that nary inquiry. We refer to the structure of disciplines the ambiguous and incongruous juxtaposition of het- themselves. Our process of referencing is situated in erogeneous elements -- related through the operation our bodies, which are connected to technology and of an interface -- is likely to stimulate the emergence information through sensation -- in experiences of of new hybrid forms. The term "element" here may be reading and writing, seeing and clicking, authoring and a nested signifier; that is, whole representational sys- designing. Sensation and action mesh in cognition. tems of elements can function themselves as the ele- Action has the potential to express and create. All of ments that are juxtaposed. In interface ecosystems, this grounds metadisciplinary inquiry in an ecosystem systems of representation (such as sensation and text, of practice. Theorizing becomes part of our work with video and interactivity) are among the elements that interfaces and takes form as a metadisciplinary inter- are subjected to processes of juxtaposition and recom- face. bination. Using cognitive principles such as geneplore to The notion of metadisciplinarity focuses on the recom- describe the process through which we form relation- bination of disciplinary systems. Disciplines are refer- ships between disciplines and their constituent lan- enced and juxtaposed by the sensory, media, and guages is another form of self-reference, another technical intersections of the interface border zone. strange loop. The practice of metadisciplinarity invokes The juxtaposition invokes recombinant information cognitive science to understand and explain phenome- principles of collage, detournement, and geneplore. Intelligent Agent 6.1.1 interface.kerne.04 na such as its own invocation of cognitive science in phenomena; it involves synthesis and the development combination with other disciplines, such as computer of new interface phenomena. These modes of practice science and cultural theory. And again the theory of are inseparable. Metadisciplinarity develops an aware- metadisciplinarity constitutes its practice. ness of the structures of situated disciplines that form relationships in interfaces. Through its practice, and While the theory of relativity and quantum mechanics intentional cultivation of these relationships, we can have refuted the notion of the unbiased observer, this create hybrid forms of representation. model still pervades the scientific method. Even though the observer model is refuted and critiqued in Practicing interface ecology means connecting theory discourse, it still governs the structure of disciplines in and practice through metadisciplinary structures. the humanities and social sciences. Separating New Media Studies, or Internet Studies, from practice would avoid the metadisciplinary nature Ethnography and "studies" of interface phenomena. Connecting disciplines pro- motes the creation of hybrid forms. As computational Ethnography has been understood as "writing culture." artifacts and their interfaces become tangible and per- Given the suffix -graphy, we can extend this under- vasive, as they permeate a wider and wider range of standing to include the visual. In his classic work of human activities and environments, the need for cultural anthropology, Geertz identified "doing ethnog- metadisciplinary practice grows. Future work will raphy" as thick description, a piling of layers of signifi- explore how the practice of metadisciplinarity can play cation. [38] Clifford [39] followed by turning ethnogra- a new role in pedagogy and research among the fields phy's tools onto its practice. He identified the reflexivity of computation, information, interaction design, and of ethnography, realizing that what gets written down is 'new' media. inevitably as much about the writer as about "the other." The result is an onus on the writer to make her References / his presence explicit. [1] A. Kerne, "Interface Ecosystem, the Fundamental We can apply this reflexive sense of self-reference to Unit of Information Age Ecology" in Proceedings SIG- the products of writing culture and representing it GRAPH 2002, Art and Animation, p. 142-145 graphically. The products of ethnography are them- selves information artifacts: they function culturally, in [2] R. Grossman, "Women's place in the integrated cir- the ecosystem of the culture that is being described. cuit" in: Radical America, 14:1 (Jan / Feb 1980), 29-49 By representing observations, in the form of thick descriptions, these information artifacts may exert [3] E. Millard, "Inside the Hidden World of Motherboard influence. They are meta-artifacts that integrate theory Manufacturing," TechNewsWorld (Oct 8, 2003); and practice. http://www.technewsworld.com/perl/story/31786.html
However, ethnography is located in the discipline of [4] International Labour Organization, LABORSTA anthropology. The making of cultural artifacts involves database of labour statistics (2002); self-expression and is typically found in disciplines http://www.ilo.org/public/english/bureau/stat/portal/onlin such as art, design, and creative writing. The separa- e.htm tion of theory and practice through distinct disciplines interferes with the development of hybrid forms, [5] C. Upsdell, "Browser News: Stats > Trends," 279th obscuring the development of the creative role of the ed. (Jan 24, 2004); individual in "discourse." This is the underlying model http://www.upsdell.com/BrowserNews/stat_trends.htm of many fields of study, such as performance studies, which observe and write about theater, dance, and rit- [6] K. Ehrlich, "A conversation with Ted Selker" in: acm ual, without engaging directly in performance practice. interactions 4:5 (1997), p. 34-47 In current academic frameworks, performance studies theses are not performances -- in spite of the fact that [7] M. De Landa, A Thousand Years of Nonlinear a sampling of the NYU Performance Studies History (Zone Books: New York, 1997). K.N. Hayles, Department listserv indicates that many performance How we became posthuman: virtual bodies in cyber- studies scholars are accomplished, practicing perform- netics, literature, and informatics (U of Chicago Press: ers, and that doing performance is important to them. Chicago, 1999).
Conclusion [8] G.A. Miller, "The Magical number seven, plus or minus two: some limits on our capacity for processing The structure of metadisciplinarity connects theory and information" in: Psychology Review 63 (1956), 81-97 practice. Engaging in interface ecology involves analy- sis in order to develop an understanding of interface [9] E. Millard, "Inside the Hidden World of Motherboard Intelligent Agent 6.1.1 interface.kerne.05 Manufacturing," TechNewsWorld (Oct 8, 2003); Production of Knowledge (Sage Publications Inc.: http://www.technewsworld.com/perl/story/31786.html London, 1994)
[10] A. Kerne, "Structures of Interactive Information," [26] S.J. Norman, "Transdisciplinarité et genèse de http://ecologylab.cs.tamu.edu/courses/sii/modules/mea nouvelles formes artistiques, Délégation aux arts plas- ning/dynamicNav.html tiques," Ministère de la Culture de France (1997); http://www.culture.fr/culture/mrt/bibliotheque/norman/n [11] J. Baudrillard, "The Ecstasy of Communication" in: orman.rtf H. Foster (ed.), The Anti-Aesthetic: Essays on Postmodern Culture (New Press: New York, 1983) [27] M. Century, "Pathways to Innovation in Digital Culture," Report to the Rockefeller Foundation, [12] M. Merleau-Ponty, Phenomenology of Perception http://www.nextcentury.ca/PI/PImain.html (Humanities Press: New York, 1962) [28] R. Ascott, R. Mission, "CAiiA: Center for Advanced [13] R. Brooks, Cambrian intelligence: the early history Inquiry in the Interactive Arts - STAR: Science of the new AI (The MIT Press: Cambridge, MA, 1999) Technology and Art Research" (2002); http://www.caiia-star.net/mission/index.html [14] M. Foucault, The Archaeology of Knowledge and The Discourse on Language (Pantheon Books: New [29] M. Century, "Pathways to Innovation in Digital York:, 1972) Culture," Report to the Rockefeller Foundation, http://www.nextcentury.ca/PI/PImain.html [15] W. Gaver, "Technology Affordances" in: Proceedings CHI 1991, p. 79-84 [30] H. Nowotny, P. Scott, M. Gibbons, Re-Thinking Science: Knowledge and the Public in an Age of [16] D. Norman, The Psychology of Everyday Things Uncertainty (Polity: Oxford, 2001) (Basic Books: New York, 1988) [31] Oxford English Dictionary on Compact Disk, [17] J.J. Gibson, The Ecological Approach to Visual Second Ed. (Oxford University Press: Oxford, 1992) Perception (Houghton Mifflin: New York, 1979) [32] M. Novak, "Speciation, Transvergence, [18] V. Lamontagne, Interview with Marek Walczak & Allogenesis: Notes on the Production of the Alien," Martin Wattenberg (2001); http://www.mat.ucsb.edu/~marcos/transvergence.pdf http://www.mobilegaze.com/mg3/apartment_en.html [33] H. Nowotny, "The Potential of Transdisciplinarity" [19] T. Schiphorst, "Bodymaps: Artifacts of Touch" in: in: Rethinking Interdisciplinarity (Jan. 2004); Proceedings SIGGRAPH 1997, Electric Garden, p. 72- http://www.interdisciplines.org/interdisciplinarity/papers/ 73 5/24
[20] M. Mateas, Interactive Drama, Art, and Artificial [34] A. Kerne, V. Sundaram, "A Recombinant Intelligence, Ph.D. Thesis, Technical Report CMU-CS- Information Space" in Proc Computational Semiotics 02- 206, CMU School of Computer Science (Dec. and New Media (COSIGN,2003) 2002) [35] A. Kerne, V. Sundaram, "A Recombinant [21] A. Kerne, "CollageMachine: An Interactive Agent Information Space" in Proc Computational Semiotics of Web Recombination" in: Leonardo 3:5 (Nov. 2000), and New Media (COSIGN,2003) p. 347-350 [36] R.A. Finke, T.B. Ward, S.M. Smith, Creative [22] R.A. Finke, T.B. Ward, S.M. Smith, Creative Cognition (The MIT Press: Cambridge, MA, 1992) Cognition (The MIT Press: Cambridge, MA, 1992) [37] D. Hofstadter, Godel, Escher, Bach: An Eternal [23] A. Kerne, S.M. Smith, J.M. Mistrot, V. Sundaram, Golden Braid (Basic Books: New York, 1973) J. Wang, M. Khandelwal, "Enabling Independent Expression of Interest in a Generative Design Space" [38] C. Geertz, The Interpretation of Cultures (Basic Books: New York, 1973) [24] M. Century, "Pathways to Innovation in Digital Culture," Report to the Rockefeller Foundation, [39] J. Clifford, G. Marcus, Writing Culture: The Poetics http://www.nextcentury.ca/PI/PImain.html and Politics of Ethnography (U of California Press: Berkeley, CA 1986) [25] [Gibbons94] M. Gibbons, C. Limoges, H. Nowotny, S. Schwartzman, P. Scott, M. Trow, The New Intelligent Agent 6.1.1 interface.kerne.06