your introduction.
"Terminal Narcissus and the Posthuman: Reflexivity and Augmentation through the Hypertext Mirror" was presented at the 2002 Computers and Writing Conference at Illinois State University in Normal, IL. The conference was a good one, and I had the opportunity to hear some inspiring work and meet some interesting people. What I seem to remember most, however, is my eye infection. You might imagine reading a paper to a crowded room of strangers with one eye tearing to the point where it appears as if your own work is having a profound effect on you, that is, bringing you to tears. Perhaps I was believed to be deeply disturbed.
	What follows is merely the germ of an idea, the start of something that I hope will contribute to the present conversation on computers and writing.
I would like to thank Kate Hayles who not only produced one of the most important books that I've read but took the time to respond to my e-mails. My intentions are to challenge the second wave of criticism that has pulled the utopian rug from under our optimistic terminals by offering a semiotic formula, a "proof" for hypertext's heuristic capacity. As I concluded to Hayles, I would like to show how computers do enable our students to rise to the critical self-consciousness that Giroux has discussed.  Hayles was kind enough to offer sound advice. I am also very much indebted to my friend Kevin Weiss, a topologist living in Louisville, who helped me think through the formula.	Hey now.