[...]on, a new abstract machine emerges, in the form of a blind probe head capable of exploring a space of possible forms


="nms">ajayeb's (specia="trms"nttrm="listen,alist,ilist,llist,olist,ylist,ulist">list) jargon ='lgc'><='lgc'>-- what intensified them='qstn'>? ='lgc'>='lgc'>--> ='qstn'>? tech, colonialism, schooling,


what i am trying to do with ="nms">ajayeb, in making this hypertext, is to connect its syntactical constructions to fresh reservoirs of ="trms">linguistic resources ='strcls'>***

="large lg2" stl="font-size:112%"> with ="nms">ajayeb.net i am learning to resist the hierarchical weight of “received pronunciations” and official criteria of correctness of “="nms">ajayeb”

my ="trms"nttrm="righ,rigo,riga,rigi,trig,rign">Rigs, ="trms">="trms">equipped with “knobs”='lgc'>: controlling parameters whose intensity defines the dynamical state of the structure-generating process


='mywrk'>my work on ="nms">ajayeb is an inquiry (or critique) in the ways we re="trms">present the ="trms">world to ourselves ='lgc'>[='lgc'>='lgc'>--> organizing objective referents and label-concepts='lgc'>] ='lgc'>='lgc'><='lgc'>--> a homogenizing ="trms">social critique='qstn'>?

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what is gained and what is lost when “tidying up the archive” ='qstn'>?

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='lgc'>[Yates='lgc'>]

in the ages before printing a trained ="trms">memory was vitally important; and the manipulation of images in ="trms">memory must always to some extent involve the psyche as a whole

='strcls'>** mnemo="trms">technical side of the art is always ="trms">present ='strcls'>**

Mnemosyne, said the ="trms">Greeks, is the mother of the Muses

occult ="trms">memory ="trms">systems ='lgc'><='lgc'>== Renaissance Hermetic tradition ='lgc'>--='qstn'>?='lgc'>='lgc'>--> lullism (lullaby='qstn'>? ="frds scrmbld">Hoda) ='lgc'><='lgc'>--='not'>✕='lgc'>-- ="trms">rhetoric tradition

the ="trms">history of ="trms">memory

the problems of the mental image, of the activation of images, of the grasp of reality through images

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="large lg1" stl="font-size:110%">
the ="trms">horror of no longer re="trms">membering the reason for forgetting, or, “when the times comes for our battle, the ="trms">memories'll be the armour”
Thyrza Goodeve

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knowl="trms"nttrm="knowledge,Knowledge">edge infrastructure
how do changes in knowl="trms"nttrm="knowledge,Knowledge">edge infrastructures reinforce or redistributes ="trms">authority, influence, and power='qstn'>? ='lgc'>='lgc'>--> new ways of thinking and acting

create ='lgc'>+ share ='lgc'>+ dispute knowl="trms"nttrm="knowledge,Knowledge">edge

(Face="trms">book, Google, etc.='lgc'>:) vast stores of anonymized ="trms">data to analysis and exploitation, engaging users and publics in new ways

axes of change='lgc'>: ='lgc'>[fundamental transformations challenging our understanding of the ways knowl="trms"nttrm="knowledge,Knowledge">edge is processed:='lgc'>]
="lstsrd">1- ="trms">technical ="trms">systems and standards
="lstsrd">2- new modes of analyzing ="trms">social (re)organization that exploit the extensive traces left behind by users of information

in="trms"nttrm="cluster,club">cluding='lgc'>:
="lsts lst1">•education
="lsts lst1">•libraries='lgc'>: changing structures, services, and physical spaces
="lsts lst1">•publishing industry
="lsts lst1">•intellectual property
="lsts lst1">•global flow
="lsts lst1">•knowl="trms"nttrm="knowledge,Knowledge">edge politics='lgc'>: filter bubble, counter-expertise,
="lsts lst1">•

unpaind individuals
“sticky” processes and ="trms">routines ='lgc'>='lgc'>--> ='strcls'>*most knowl="trms"nttrm="knowledge,Knowledge">edge workers’ salaries are still paid by bricks-and-mortar organizations with hierarchical structures, established in="trms">situtional cultures, ="trms">systems of credit and compensation/

eventual rise of a ="trms">scientific culture of “extreme openness”

(forms that are) human-="trms"nttrm="already,spread">readable ='and'>& machine-="trms"nttrm="already,spread">readable ='lgc'><='lgc'>-- the move i made from my note="trms">book to ="nms">ajayeb.net



infrastructure ='lgc'>=/= ="trms">system

infrastructure perspective='lgc'>:
="lsts lst1">•modular
="lsts lst1">•multi-layered, multi-scaled (layered ="trms">nature of infrastructure, navigating among ="trms">different scales)
="lsts lst1">•rough-cut character
="lsts lst1">•="trms">ecologies/complex adaptive ="trms">systems
='lgc'>='lgc'>-->='strcls'>** infrastructures consist of numerous ="trms">systems, each with unique ='strcls'>*o="trms"nttrm="righ,rigo,riga,rigi,trig,rign">rigins and ='strcls'>*goals, which are made to ="trms">interoperate by means of ='strcls'>*standards, socket layers ='lgc'>[='lgc'>: a bony hollow into which a structure fits='lgc'>], ="trms">social norms, and individual behaviors that smooth out connections among them
='lgc'>=/=
="trms">system perspective='lgc'>:
="lsts lst1">•fully coherent
="lsts lst1">•deliberately engineered
="lsts lst1">•end-to-end process


(Weinberger's notion of) ='strcls'>*stoping point='strcls'>*
“knowl="trms"nttrm="knowledge,Knowledge">edge as a series of stopping points”
="lsts lst1">•printed journal articles
="lsts lst1">•="trms">books
="lsts lst1">•text="trms">books
="lsts lst1">•(other fixed products)
='lgc'>--='lgc'>[changing to='lgc'>]='lgc'>='lgc'>--> a ="trms">world where knowl="trms"nttrm="knowledge,Knowledge">edge is perceptually in motion ='lgc'>}='lgc'>='lgc'>--> in a way ="nms">ajayeb.net is part of this ="trms">transition
we face a ="trms">world of abundant information, hyperlinked ideas, per="trms">mission-free resources, highly public ="trms">interaction, and massive, unresolved disagreement. (Weinberger)
individual expertise is (many argue) being replaced by the wisdom of crowds='lgc'>: noisy and endlessly contentious, but also rich, diverse, and multi-="trms">skilled ='lgc'>[='lgc'>=/= fantasies of Black Mirror TV series='lgc'>]


wikis of all ="trms">sorts

(='qstn'>?is my ="nms">ajayeb.net a) citizen ="trms">science

vigor and growing utility

“distance ="trms">matters”
(Olson)


commodification of ="trms">data ='lgc'>: the ="trms">presentation of ="trms">datasets as complete, ="trms">interchangeable products in ="trms"nttrm="already,spread">readily exchanged formats


="trms">data-driven ="trms">science
problem of evaluation
='lgc'>='lgc'>--> ='strcls'>***Do we know things if we cannot explain why they are true='qstn'>?='strcls'>*** (Anderson)

hierachically organized forms of credentialing

in Julia's seminar we were trying to examine='lgc'>: commodified ="trms">data analysis tools and widely available software ="trms">skills ='lgc'>='lgc'>==> (larger number of participants to) analyze ="trms">data and run models

(='strcls'>*a problem with university students='lgc'>:) ='lgc'>[students who do appear='lgc'>] more motivated by the university as a ='strcls'>*rite of passage='strcls'>* (گذار از بلوغ) and a ='strcls'>*lifestyle='strcls'>*
='lgc'>=/= learning
='strcls'>*professors are no longer seen as infallible experts, but as resources whose facts can be checked in real time

(="trms">question of) standard / ="trms">ontology ='lgc'>='lgc'>--> (desire for) universality / (need for) change


="large lg3" stl="font-size:111%"> knowl="trms"nttrm="knowledge,Knowledge">edge of ="trms">past climates


='at'>@="nms">apass
(through my ="trms">love and study for ="nms">ajayeb ='lgc'>='lgc'>--> infrastructure ='lgc'>='lgc'>-->) ="trms">questions for ="nms">apass='lgc'>:
="prgrph">-what new forms of organization and ="trms">community are emerging='qstn'>? what power ="trms">relations do they rely on, create, or destroy='qstn'>? who wins and who loses as knowl="trms"nttrm="knowledge,Knowledge">edge infrastructure change='qstn'>? (="trms">questions proposed by a knowl="trms"nttrm="knowledge,Knowledge">edge infrastructure workshop 2012)
="prgrph">-(ways to) en="trms">code and reinforce existing ="trms">interests and ="trms">relations of power
="prgrph">-(we need) a design ="trms">community versed in these ="trms">literatures='lgc'>:
="lsts lst1">•="trms">different ="trms">social ="trms">worlds
="lsts lst1">•conflicting conceptual frameworks
="lsts lst1">•="trms">sociology of ="trms">science and ="trms">technology
="lsts lst1">•="trms">sociology of standards (='lgc'>='lgc'>--> standardizing ="trms">data has proven to be a crucial activity in ='strcls'>*scaling up='strcls'>* the ="trms">sciences) ='at'>#lens
="lsts lst1">•boundary objects
="lsts lst1">•trading zones
="lsts lst1">•actor ="trms">networks
="lsts lst1">•how sharing works in practice
="lsts lst1">•agreements on shared norms, practices, and ="trms">technical ="trms">systems (problematized by ="frds scrmbld">Femke, she focuses my attention on how software developers are too quick to construct “="trms">ontologies”)
="lsts lst1">•
='lgc'>='lgc'>==> to scale up the generally lower-level focus of design thinking ='lgc'>[='lgc'>='lgc'>--> how my ="nms">ajayeb.net addresses this='qstn'>?='lgc'>]
='lgc'>='lgc'>--> to co-design new infrastructures
='lgc'>='lgc'>--> to look beyond the scale of a field and timeframe of a career


="large lg4" stl="font-size:111%"> (we need) meaningful access to digital media (not an exciting add-on investment)
='lgc'>='lgc'>--> new forms of knowl="trms"nttrm="knowledge,Knowledge">edge infrastructure may disadvantage and devalue older forms of knowl="trms"nttrm="knowledge,Knowledge">edge production='lgc'>:
="lsts lst1">•new sensor ="trms">network replacing ="trms">ecological fieldwork ='lgc'>='lgc'>-->='qstn'>? my ='at'>#amazon
="lsts lst1">•“="trms">instrumenting ocean” supplanting traditions of the oceanographic cruise ='lgc'>[in the last 20 years new sensor grids have come to cover the oceans, land, sky and space='lgc'>] ='lgc'>='lgc'>-->='qstn'>? my ='at'>#="nms">ajayeb's is concerned with thinking “beyond the ='strcls'>*="trms">instrumental ="trms">languages of utility and function='strcls'>*, which tend to cast knowl="trms"nttrm="knowledge,Knowledge">edge infrastructures as ='strcls'>*neutral ="trms">instruments='strcls'>* whose ="trms">positive and negative effects lie solely in the way they are operationalized and used”

='strcls'>*consequences of change are rarely ="trms">socially, culturally, or economically neutral='strcls'>*


collectives
assemblages
con="trms">figurations

try to tell yourself a “="trms">technology only” or “="trms">social only” ="trms">story of knowl="trms"nttrm="knowledge,Knowledge">edge infrastructure (and you will find it impossible)
(Brunton's) spam ='lgc'>='lgc'>--> co-evolution of ="trms">technical ="trms">systems, ="trms">communities, and ="trms">social norms

="large lg5" stl="font-size:137%"> knowl="trms"nttrm="knowledge,Knowledge">edge infrastructures ='lgc'>==carry='lgc'>='lgc'>==> significant distributional consequences ='lgc'>='lgc'>--> advancing the ="trms">interests of some and actively damaging the prospects of others

(ways of producing “raw” date) davulated by “="trms">data sharing”='lgc'>:
="lsts lst1">•='strcls'>*labor-intensive='strcls'>* collecting practices
="lsts lst1">•site-="trms">specific expertise required
='lgc'>}='lgc'>='lgc'>--> long-standing ="trms">craft traditions

once-vast secretarial ranks (of large organizations) ='lgc'>[a British nostalgia for bureaucratic hierarchy fantasized and fr[...]