I don't really like changing out the silverwear rack, either, for instance. I don't really remember how that tied into anything important in this chapter (I read it sporadically throughout break and it was just -that- memorable...), but I could relate.
The biggest thing that stood out to me, randomly enough, was the importance he noted about a specific hierarchy in things. The highest position is the best, the natural order of things in the world... et cetera. I'm still struggling to find a strong connection to anything in particular about this non-sequitor, but I haven't given up.
Ah. Alright. There we go. A connection, finally, but it's a stretch-
I use the order that Weinberger discusses (the hierarchy) when I tag my friends in Facebook. Their pictures become an order of importance system; some are tagged, some aren't. This also correlates with the silverware rack that Weinberger alludes sloppily to. Everything must be organized, painstakingly, but some items are skipped. That is, some of my friends are knives (easy to put away) and some are forks- if you tag them, they'll simply untag themselves so it's not worth worrying about.
I love your picture and title!
ReplyDeleteI agree with you on your criticisms of Weinberger. As a reader, I don't want to dig through examples irrelevant to me to find his purpose of writing. His point becomes lost in his examples.
You did a good job with your comparison at the end of the post. I can relate to that a lot, seeing as I don't tag all of my friends either. I felt that your connection was also good in how you were talking about how his metaphors seem hard to relate in today's society. You did a nice job. Keep it up.
ReplyDeleteI agree with the examples. There are so many of them that by the time you are done with the chapter, you can only remember forks and knives.
ReplyDeleteyeah, the idea I think I'll carry away from Wienberger is the idea of our obsession (?) with "sorting" and "arranging" and the natural hierarchy we all seem to unconsciously follow. It's an important point to keep in mind, and maybe that's why he stresses it so much.
ReplyDeleteAs someone who thoroughly enjoys Weinberger’s metaphors, I thought this would be a good post to respond to. I think the reason he spends so much time on comparison rather than explaining himself in term or definition, is not because he enjoys it (although, he obviously does!), but because there’s no other way to do it. Firstly, he is trying to deconstruct something in which he is completely inside of; the organization of reality (He’s biting of a fairly large chunk). It can’t be lumped together, because all the properties are situational, whether it be time period or the act of sorting silverware. He questions whether we do things because it easier, or do we do something because the particular method has meaning. When organization is physical, it is a conscious act, we’re making it better, and we’re fixing something. Yet when the organization is digital our expectations somehow change. We expect it to be fluid, instantaneous, and perpetually “fixed”. Does solid hierarchy really exist? I think yes, but only in the sense of the amount of control we have.
ReplyDeleteI think I’m rambling. I hope that made sense. I like your webpage. I have to do the other assignment. The end.
-kelly frost