Comments on: Blog all dog-eared pages: Hertzian Tales by Anthony Dunne 10 years on, or “All electronic products are hybrids of radiation and matter”

By: Mohammad Irshaid - Making radio tangible

Mohammad Irshaid - Making radio tangible — Fri, 05 Mar 2010 20:05:48 +0000

[...] As Matt Jones points out, they go on to coin the term “radiogenic” to describe objects that: “function as unwitting interfaces between the abstract space of electromagnetism and the material cultures of everyday life, revealing unexpected points of contact between them.” [...]

By: Making radio tangible

Making radio tangible — Sat, 10 Oct 2009 11:41:15 +0000

[...] Matt Jones points out, they go on to coin the term “radiogenic” to describe objects [...]

By: 20090713 - Adam Crowe

20090713 - Adam Crowe — Tue, 14 Jul 2009 00:32:39 +0000

[...] Magical Nihilism — Hertzian Tales 10 years on, or “All electronic products are hybrids of ra… 'p101 “It might seem strange to write about radio, a long-established medium, when discussion today centres on cyberspace, virtual reality, networks, smart materials and other electronic tehcnologies. But radio, meaning part of the electromagnetic spectrum is fundamental to electronics. Objects not only “dematerialise” into software in response to minituarisation and replacement by services but literally dematerialise into radiation. All electronic products are hybrids of radiation and matter. This chapter does not discuss making the invisible visible or visualising radio, but explores the links between the material and the immaterial that lead to new aesthetic possibilities for life in an electromagnetic environment. Whereas cyberspace is a metaphor that spatialises what happens in computers distributed around the world, radio space is actual and physical, even though our senses detect only a tiny part of it.” — Inspired my bluetooth tinkerings back in the day. Dunne&Raby touch skin extensionsofman objects liminalobjects radio electromagnetism designnoir interaction design [...]

By: David Sanger

David Sanger — Mon, 29 Jun 2009 06:25:56 +0000

Thanks for the insights; quite intriguing.

I wonder if there’s thought being given to a economy of digital objects. The economy of material objects centers on trade of unique objects of value, with money as a medium of exchange.

Digital objects don’t have single unique manifestations so don’t get traded, they get replicated instantaneously. Legal constraints like copyright lose their hold since replication is without cost and the original remains intact. As a result there is no obvious way for creators, designers, writers, musicians and even reporters, to get revenue.

A digital economy would need a new medium of exchange, flowing from users to creators in proportion to the value of each creation as determined by the market eg. by usage, reputation etc..

Digital currency would need to be exchangeable with standard currency so creators could eat.