Barbara,

Thank you for your wonderful response. I'm thrilled to hear you call it
Computerspeak, the Brave New Lingo, as I completely agree. It is a foreign language. And not foreign to we particular humans in this particular location, but foreign to being human (i think sometimes).

I'm also a fiction writer & poet. Computers are my work, and writing is my love. Although I was proficient at using a word processor since my early high school years, I have never used one to write. I prefer to write things out long-hand as it gives me time to think. And yes, I am probably the only person in my industry who believes in the virtues of doing things Alla Prima... ie, without the intention of revising. Naming may be changing, but there's merit to doing it right the first time. As such, I always write in pen.

I laughed when you mentioned Pirsig's book. I've recently re-read it.
I finished it the night I started these notes. I made several attempts to
read it many years ago, but for whatever reason never made it all the way through. Something these last few months has made me need to get back in touch with my roots, perhaps so I could begin again this discussion. First I re-read Walden, then Zen & The Art of Motorcycle Maintenance, now I'm working on Godel, Escher, Bach: The Eternal Golden Braid.

These books summarize the spirit of my endeavors for the last six years. Whether this spirit arose BECAUSE of these books, or whether I simply harmonized with these other efforts, is not of great importance. What is important is that all of them give me strength to speak up. Knowing that I'm not the only one having thoughts of a peculiar kind is a great comfort.

It's an inspiration.

I'm grateful you were up-front about your "learning disability" as I've
needed some motivation to steer this conversation away from the techno-speak direction it's started to take. May I quote you? I like your line about not knowing what an "expert system shell ..." is. Quite a lot my concern in writing these notes to the sort of to the audience I'm aiming at is describing my efforts in language that doesn't alienate people. More than that, I'm headed for an all-out attack on the kind of self-satisfied "we are the ONLY world" attitude apparent in my field.

I have some unpopular opinions about my profession. I'm sitting on a
technological innovation that I've spent quite a bit of my soul on, and I'll be damned if I let this baby loose in the company of the technocratic spiritually-empty elite. I'd much rather let it hang with you, or Bob Barnes, or Norman Girardot.

Also: I put you on the list not because of the technology side of Gravity, but the social side. As I haven't ventured into the latter aspect (with perhaps a start when I spoke of apathy and alienation), don't
think it'll be all techno-babble. Right now I'm luring in one brand of
listener, the kind less likely to keep an open mind (the non-liberal-arts
listener). I've got a few bombshells up my sleeve that will require a seasoned idealism. It'll at least be interesting to see what transpires. (Some of the responses so far haven't been very flattering.)

I'd also like to quote your hub/wheel remark. It's made me realize that I ought to send out the audience list. I sent one to Steven Goldman, and he responded "That's quite a list." It'd be a good thing for people to know who else is listening. I've held off because the list changes every day. People are dropping out like flies. There's just NO TIME. And I can understand that. I expected there to be a sort of winnowing process at the start.

If you can think of anyone else that would appreciate the style or intention of these notes, let me know.

Thanks again,
Timothy