The following connection may stretch the concept a little, but it is still worth discussing. I was thinking of remediation one day driving in to work. While I’m not sure I want to admit this, I tend to have a Type A personality when I’m behind the wheel of a vehicle; I am focused and driven (pun intended) to get where I’m going as efficiently as possible. That personality trait can be problematic when I’m following someone who drives at a speed lower than the speed limit, especially since I prefer to view “speed limit” signs as indicators of the LOWEST speed a car should be traveling, not the highest speed. I had all sorts of negative thoughts and feelings about that car in front of me and how slow it was going, and I’m sure I verbalized some of them to myself. Finally, the slow car in front of me pulled into a turn lane, and I was forced to stop beside it when our light turned red. Of course, I would have made it through the yellow light had I not been following this slow-poke! I looked over and saw the sweetest-looking woman just sitting patiently in her car, oblivious to anyone else or the tension I felt. I instantly felt guilty for having all those negative thoughts when I was reminded of her humanity. As the light turned green and I drove away, I wondered why I had substituted the humanity of the driver with the inhumanity of the car being driven (which could perhaps be a case of metonymy), and I made the connection to remediation. How often are we guilty of replacing something real with something virtual? I distanced myself from her humanity, and lost a necessary connection that I should have had.

Facebook is the remediation of the annual Christmas card or the occasional letter, but what is lost if I use Facebook as remediation for the physical friendship I used to have with someone? Remediation may make more information available to more people more quickly, but how useful is that information if the quality of the “piece” is diminished (like Dan’s question about only being able to see a representation of The Mona Lisa)?

Perspective

On the flip side, I must also ask, “What can be gained by remediation?” In the discussion of the self, Bolter and Grusin mention that one large benefit of virtual reality is the ability to experience different perspectives. Not only can a virtual reality program facilitate how an adult would view the insides of an architectural piece of work, this program could also demonstrate what a child’s view of this same piece would look like (which of course would come in handy for someone designing a day care or elementary school). Unlike my story at the beginning of this post, the changing perspective offered by virtual reality could help me to see more humanity in others by allowing me to empathize with someone else. As Benedikt (1991, 372) says, “Assuming multiple perspectives is a powerful capacity;” it allows someone “to relate to others in an empathetic way” (qtd. in Bolter and Grusin 245).

The Non-Designers Design Book (Chapters 1-4)

Oh, a little light reading! How refreshing. The first four chapters focused on different aspects of intentionality in design under the umbrella of unity and organization. Effective organization requires the intentional grouping of information into relational parts; she calls this “Proximity.” In order to group, the white space needs to be used properly to show the eye where one group ends and another begins. But she warns against merely filling up white space; not only does randomness break up the organization of the design, it also affects the unity of the design. Proper Alignment helps to fix disunity. Hard edges (flush left, flush right) help to provide alignment which ties information together by mere glances. Another key element is Repetition, involving font styles, sizes, and images.  While the same image would probably not be utilized over and over, something consistent would work (like the same image in different poses). Another good way to demonstrate consistency is to link together different organized groups visually either with a connecting image or a piece of lettering that jumps out of its space.

While these design concepts are wonderful, some of the applications we use are limited in their scope. For example, Word Press does not allow me to manipulate my images across borders. But I can focus on other areas of consistency, organization, and unity. I look forward to practicing!

Since Camille and I are collaborating on our canonical work, I began my responses with her post. She tied in the “Remediated Self” very nicely with an amazing video that exemplifies how an overabundance of and an over-dependence on media can negatively affect the individual’s ability to connect with other individuals. Even the way the two girls in the video look at each other demonstrates their distrust of humans and human interaction. That is truly sad.  I countered, though, with some of the more positive applications that are possible through media, specifically some of the ways virtual reality could be used to help people understand one another. Just like most things in life, though, I think one of the main things to keep in mind is BALANCE.

I also commented on Shantal’s post about her book The Rhetoric of Cool: Composition Studies and New Media by Jeff Rice. While I agree that the composition classroom could use some more “cool,” I don’t see evidence of the author requiring that the foundation be laid before students are encouraged to freely express themselves. We love to see students thinking outside the box, but they do this on a daily basis already (texting lingo, selfies, snap-chats, etc.). Where many students lack is in their ability to think critically and present their thoughts logically and in order. For that reason, we focus on these “non-cool” precepts because they are important. Once students get a solid foundation, then they can build higher and broader. So “yes” to juxtaposition, commutation, and imagery, but only once the basics are laid down in stone.