Indeed, the metaphor on movement carries with it assumptions about
the inevitability of progress that comes with technological innovation,
as well as the unexamined faith in technological movement ultimately leading
to shifts in cultural thinking and meaning making; as the editors assert:
- "Examination of other paradigm shifts shows that shifts in cultural
belief systems expose to the light the endless paradoxes and connections
with which cultures live as a matter of course" (16),
- "The new ‘reality’ of dimensions that we will eventually come to
understand about cyberspace demands new habits of thought that will swiftly
become commonplace" (18), and
- "All new technology brings with it a moment’s opportunity to view
the world as it shifts. The window opens for an instance, the bright
glare of myriad possibilities streams blindingly into the room, and we
are stunned" (19).
The image of the individual stunned belies the assumption here that
new communication technologies are moving us into new habits of thought,
new forms of literacy, and even new dimensions of consciousness.
And, curiously, this becomes one of the central--if not always acknowledged--paradoxes
of the collection.
| table of contents
| opening | 1 | 2 | 3 | 4
| connections | movement
| assumptions | conclusion |