| It is important to realise that HPI may not be able emerge without a technological substrate, a medition layer analogous to a cell membrane or langauge interpreter. For such technologies to become possible, HCI specifically, and computing in general, needs a radical shift away from serial, singular, fragile systems to embrace the ditributed, concurrent, robust techniques nature utililses. We are seeing the beginings of such a departure with theories from biologically inspired computing((Amorphous Computing (Beal, 2004) or Membrane Computing (Păun, 2004) for example.)) and in a more practical domain, languages such as Erlang((Information about Erlang can be found at http://erlang.org/faq/faq.html)). | It is important to realise that HPI may not be able emerge without a technological substrate, a medition layer analogous to a cell membrane or langauge interpreter. For such technologies to become possible, HCI specifically, and computing in general, needs a radical shift away from serial, singular, fragile systems to embrace the ditributed, concurrent, robust techniques nature utililses. We are seeing the beginings of such a departure with theories from biologically inspired computing((Amorphous Computing (Beal, 2004) or Membrane Computing (Păun, 2004) for example.)) and in a more practical domain, languages such as Erlang((Information about Erlang can be found at http://erlang.org/faq/faq.html)). |
| Aside from 'archaic' ethnobotanical experiments, what are the ways to establish a two-way interface for communication between humans and plants? The notions of space, time, movement and persistence differ greatly between the human and botanical realms. Where human progress is often described as linear, the progression of plants is cyclical, seasonal. On a larger scale, humans and plants both occupy interdependent regional habitats, which temper and define them. In order to interface with plants,humans would need to go through a gradual time-unbinding((In the 'General Semantics' proposed by Alfred Korzybski, 'time binding' diferentiates human activity from the 'space binding' and 'energy binding' activities which define animals and plants respectivly. (Korzybski, 1995))), a relinquishing of the short-term, short-lived, incremental and individualistic advances, for slower, collective cycles of growth and decay. Successful time-unbinding may be enough to allow communication with plants about our divergent perceptions of space and movement, but would humans be able to grasp what it is like to be a forest, consisting of billions of roots and rhizomes, trillions of leaves, stems, branches, flowers and insects? Would our thinking become more reticulate, our logic less linear? Can we enhance the embodied, subtle chemical communication that give the plants their shape and function, as well as ability to signal, attract (and repel), or feed other organisms? What can we learn from the effects of plant alkaloids on human physiology? What human abilities would appeal to plants? Would these communications lead to a more integrated, holistic consciousness? | Aside from 'archaic' ethnobotanical experiments, what are the ways to establish a two-way interface for communication between humans and plants? The notions of space, time, movement and persistence differ greatly between the human and botanical realms. Where human progress is often described as linear, the progression of plants is cyclical, seasonal. On a larger scale, humans and plants both occupy interdependent regional habitats, which temper and define them. In order to interface with plants, humans would need to go through a gradual time-unbinding((In the 'General Semantics' proposed by Alfred Korzybski, 'time binding' diferentiates human activity from the 'space binding' and 'energy binding' activities which define animals and plants respectivly. (Korzybski, 1995) )), a relinquishing of the short-term, short-lived, incremental and individualistic advances, for slower, collective cycles of growth and decay. Successful time-unbinding may be enough to allow communication with plants about our divergent perceptions of space and movement, but would humans be able to grasp what it is like to be a forest, consisting of billions of roots and rhizomes, trillions of leaves, stems, branches, flowers and insects? Would our thinking become more reticulate, our logic less linear? Can we enhance the embodied, subtle chemical communication that give the plants their shape and function, as well as ability to signal, attract (and repel), or feed other organisms? What can we learn from the effects of plant alkaloids on human physiology? What human abilities would appeal to plants? Would these communications lead to a more integrated, holistic consciousness? |
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