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Journal 9: Materiality

 

The very essence of a piece of work, the material, is a compilation of past works, new ideas, and author interpretation.

 

Quotations are a pretty significant part of writing.  It is often the past information that supports arguments being made in the present.  Being able to find and use the right quotes in the right ways says more about the author’s ability than one might realize.  A good eye and some skills can make for a very persuasive piece.  Lessig argues that while citations are a necessary creative privilege.  There is a certain liberty writers have when freely quoting (and citing) others because the writing community is one that builds upon the ideas of others, argues about it, and formulates new ideas.

 

The R/W culture is one where everyone is involved in shaping the ever-evolving writing community.  Things like blogs and the ability to comment unites a large community of writers with different ideas, opinions, and though processes.  Reading and responding, building upon and creating, these are all aspects of composing, collaborating, and remixing.  While they might not be formally sitting down and declaring “let’s develop this idea together” in a way, as a community, they still are very much involved in every transformation of an idea.  It’s a web where everyone is involved and every idea relates to an old or new idea and has an effect.

 

 Gladwell speaks more in physical material terms.  He discusses the paper versus technology aspect of life.  He argues that old innovations are often lost through time simply because they are old.  Materials should be valued because of their actual usefulness and worth, instead of being overlooked by the newer shiner inventions meant to improve upon something.  In a way, this relates back to ideas and how new concepts can often overshadow older ideas because a lot of people have simply moved on from an old mindset.  

 

Lessig’s text deals more with the substance of the words and Gladwell focuses on the physical aspects.  They are different things, but hold some truth when tied together. Since everything builds upon each other, older ideas can be lost in a large crowded discussion.  Going back to the root may be a better solution that trying to push on all the time.  Sometimes, you much move backwards in order to move forwards.  

 

Hook feels a strong connection with her audience.  Her process of writing consists of handwriting because it allows her to have a different experience and makes the work more raw instead of polished when it might not be.  She would probably agree with Gladwell that the older physical paper is still as useful as computers