[Script Info] Title: [Events] Format: Layer, Start, End, Style, Name, MarginL, MarginR, MarginV, Effect, Text Dialogue: 0,0:00:00.00,0:00:01.00,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,Of the five senses, Dialogue: 0,0:00:01.00,0:00:04.00,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,vision is the one that I appreciate the most, Dialogue: 0,0:00:04.00,0:00:07.00,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,and it's the one that I can least take for granted. Dialogue: 0,0:00:07.00,0:00:10.00,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,I think this is partially due to my father, who was blind. Dialogue: 0,0:00:11.00,0:00:13.00,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,It was a fact that he didn't make much of a fuss about, usually. Dialogue: 0,0:00:13.00,0:00:14.00,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,One time in Nova Scotia, Dialogue: 0,0:00:14.00,0:00:16.00,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,when we went to see a total eclipse of the sun -- Dialogue: 0,0:00:17.00,0:00:19.00,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,yeah, same one as in the Carly Simon song, Dialogue: 0,0:00:19.00,0:00:21.00,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,which may or may not refer Dialogue: 0,0:00:21.00,0:00:24.00,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,to James Taylor, Warren Beatty or Mick Jagger; we're not really sure. Dialogue: 0,0:00:24.00,0:00:27.00,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,They handed out these dark plastic viewers Dialogue: 0,0:00:27.00,0:00:29.00,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,that allowed us to look directly at the sun Dialogue: 0,0:00:29.00,0:00:30.00,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,without damaging our eyes. Dialogue: 0,0:00:31.00,0:00:32.00,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,But Dad got really scared: Dialogue: 0,0:00:32.00,0:00:33.00,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,he didn't want us doing that. Dialogue: 0,0:00:34.00,0:00:37.00,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,He wanted us instead to use these cheap cardboard viewers Dialogue: 0,0:00:37.00,0:00:40.00,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,so that there was no chance at all that our eyes would be damaged. Dialogue: 0,0:00:41.00,0:00:42.00,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,I thought this was a little strange at the time. Dialogue: 0,0:00:43.00,0:00:44.00,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,What I didn't know at the time Dialogue: 0,0:00:44.00,0:00:46.00,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,was that my father had actually been born with perfect eyesight. Dialogue: 0,0:00:47.00,0:00:49.00,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,When he and his sister Martha were just very little, Dialogue: 0,0:00:49.00,0:00:52.00,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,their mom took them out to see a total eclipse -- Dialogue: 0,0:00:52.00,0:00:53.00,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,or actually, a solar eclipse -- Dialogue: 0,0:00:53.00,0:00:54.00,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,and not long after that, Dialogue: 0,0:00:54.00,0:00:57.00,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,both of them started losing their eyesight. Dialogue: 0,0:00:58.00,0:00:59.00,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,Decades later, Dialogue: 0,0:00:59.00,0:01:01.00,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,it turned out that the source of their blindness Dialogue: 0,0:01:01.00,0:01:04.00,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,was most likely some sort of bacterial infection. Dialogue: 0,0:01:04.00,0:01:05.00,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,As near as we can tell, Dialogue: 0,0:01:05.00,0:01:09.00,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,it had nothing whatsoever to do with that solar eclipse, Dialogue: 0,0:01:09.00,0:01:11.00,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,but by then my grandmother had already gone to her grave Dialogue: 0,0:01:11.00,0:01:12.00,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,thinking it was her fault. Dialogue: 0,0:01:14.00,0:01:17.00,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,So, Dad graduated Harvard in 1946, Dialogue: 0,0:01:17.00,0:01:18.00,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,married my mom, Dialogue: 0,0:01:18.00,0:01:21.00,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,and bought a house in Lexington, Massachusetts, Dialogue: 0,0:01:21.00,0:01:25.00,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,where the first shots were fired against the British in 1775, Dialogue: 0,0:01:25.00,0:01:27.00,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,although we didn't actually hit any of them until Concord. Dialogue: 0,0:01:27.00,0:01:29.00,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,He got a job working for Raytheon, Dialogue: 0,0:01:29.00,0:01:31.00,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,designing guidance systems, Dialogue: 0,0:01:31.00,0:01:34.00,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,which was part of the Route 128 high-tech axis in those days -- Dialogue: 0,0:01:34.00,0:01:37.00,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,so the equivalent of Silicone Valley in the '70s. Dialogue: 0,0:01:37.00,0:01:40.00,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,Dad wasn't a real militaristic kind of guy; Dialogue: 0,0:01:40.00,0:01:43.00,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,he just really felt bad that he wasn't able to fight in World War II Dialogue: 0,0:01:43.00,0:01:44.00,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,on account of his handicap, Dialogue: 0,0:01:44.00,0:01:46.00,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,although they did let him get through Dialogue: 0,0:01:46.00,0:01:50.00,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,the several-hour-long army physical exam Dialogue: 0,0:01:50.00,0:01:51.00,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,before they got to the very last test, Dialogue: 0,0:01:51.00,0:01:52.00,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,which was for vision. Dialogue: 0,0:01:52.00,0:01:56.00,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,(Laughter) Dialogue: 0,0:01:56.00,0:01:59.00,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,So, Dad started racking up all of these patents Dialogue: 0,0:01:59.00,0:02:02.00,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,and gaining a reputation as a blind genius, rocket scientist, inventor. Dialogue: 0,0:02:02.00,0:02:03.00,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,But to us he was just Dad, Dialogue: 0,0:02:03.00,0:02:07.00,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,and our home life was pretty normal. Dialogue: 0,0:02:07.00,0:02:09.00,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,As a kid, I watched a lot of television Dialogue: 0,0:02:09.00,0:02:11.00,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,and had lots of nerdy hobbies Dialogue: 0,0:02:11.00,0:02:14.00,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,like mineralogy and microbiology and the space program Dialogue: 0,0:02:14.00,0:02:15.00,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,and a little bit of politics. Dialogue: 0,0:02:15.00,0:02:17.00,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,I played a lot of chess. Dialogue: 0,0:02:17.00,0:02:18.00,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,But at the age of 14, Dialogue: 0,0:02:18.00,0:02:19.00,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,a friend of mine got me interested in comic books, Dialogue: 0,0:02:19.00,0:02:22.00,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,and I decided that was what I wanted to do for a living. Dialogue: 0,0:02:23.00,0:02:24.00,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,So, here's my dad: Dialogue: 0,0:02:24.00,0:02:29.00,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,he's a scientist, he's an engineer and he's a military contractor. Dialogue: 0,0:02:30.00,0:02:33.00,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,So, he has four kids, right? Dialogue: 0,0:02:33.00,0:02:34.00,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,One grows up to become a computer scientist, Dialogue: 0,0:02:34.00,0:02:36.00,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,one grows up to join the Navy, Dialogue: 0,0:02:37.00,0:02:38.00,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,one grows up to become an engineer, Dialogue: 0,0:02:39.00,0:02:40.00,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,and then there's me: Dialogue: 0,0:02:41.00,0:02:43.00,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,the comic book artist. Dialogue: 0,0:02:43.00,0:02:46.00,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,(Laughter) Dialogue: 0,0:02:46.00,0:02:47.00,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,Which, incidentally, makes me the opposite of Dean Kamen, Dialogue: 0,0:02:47.00,0:02:49.00,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,because I'm a comic book artist, son of an inventor, Dialogue: 0,0:02:49.00,0:02:51.00,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,and he's an inventor, son of a comic book artist. Dialogue: 0,0:02:52.00,0:02:53.00,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,(Laughter) Dialogue: 0,0:02:53.00,0:02:55.00,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,Right, it's true. Dialogue: 0,0:02:55.00,0:02:58.00,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,(Applause) Dialogue: 0,0:02:58.00,0:03:00.00,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,The funny thing is, Dad had a lot of faith in me. Dialogue: 0,0:03:00.00,0:03:03.00,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,He had faith in my abilities as a cartoonist, Dialogue: 0,0:03:03.00,0:03:06.00,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,even though he had no direct evidence that I was any good whatsoever: Dialogue: 0,0:03:06.00,0:03:08.00,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,everything he saw was just a blur. Dialogue: 0,0:03:08.00,0:03:10.00,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,Now, this gives a real meaning to the term "blind faith," Dialogue: 0,0:03:10.00,0:03:14.00,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,which doesn't have the same negative connotation for me that it does for other people. Dialogue: 0,0:03:15.00,0:03:18.00,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,Now, faith in things which cannot be seen, which cannot be proved, Dialogue: 0,0:03:18.00,0:03:22.00,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,is not the sort of faith that I've ever really related to all that much. Dialogue: 0,0:03:22.00,0:03:23.00,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,I tend to like science, Dialogue: 0,0:03:23.00,0:03:25.00,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,where what we see Dialogue: 0,0:03:25.00,0:03:28.00,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,and can ascertain are the foundation of what we know. Dialogue: 0,0:03:29.00,0:03:31.00,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,But there's a middle ground, too. Dialogue: 0,0:03:31.00,0:03:34.00,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,A middle ground tread by people like poor old Charles Babbage, Dialogue: 0,0:03:34.00,0:03:38.00,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,and his steam-driven computers that were never built. Dialogue: 0,0:03:38.00,0:03:40.00,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,Nobody really understood what it was that he had in mind, Dialogue: 0,0:03:40.00,0:03:43.00,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,except for Ada Lovelace, Dialogue: 0,0:03:44.00,0:03:47.00,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,and he went to his grave trying to pursue that dream. Dialogue: 0,0:03:47.00,0:03:49.00,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,Vannevar Bush with his Memex -- Dialogue: 0,0:03:49.00,0:03:52.00,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,this idea of all of human knowledge at your fingertips -- Dialogue: 0,0:03:52.00,0:03:54.00,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,he had this vision. Dialogue: 0,0:03:54.00,0:03:55.00,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,And I think a lot of people in his day Dialogue: 0,0:03:55.00,0:03:57.00,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,probably thought he was a bit of a kook. Dialogue: 0,0:03:57.00,0:03:59.00,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,And, yeah, we can look back in retrospect and say, Dialogue: 0,0:03:59.00,0:04:03.00,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,yeah, ha-ha, you know -- it's all microfilm. But that's -- Dialogue: 0,0:04:03.00,0:04:06.00,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,that's not the point. He understood the shape of the future. Dialogue: 0,0:04:06.00,0:04:10.00,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,So did J.C.R. Licklider and his notions for computer-human interaction. Dialogue: 0,0:04:10.00,0:04:13.00,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,Same thing: he understood the shape of the future, Dialogue: 0,0:04:13.00,0:04:16.00,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,even though it was something that would Dialogue: 0,0:04:16.00,0:04:19.00,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,only be implemented by people much later. Dialogue: 0,0:04:19.00,0:04:22.00,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,Or Paul Baran, and his vision for packet switching. Dialogue: 0,0:04:22.00,0:04:24.00,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,Hardly anybody listened to him in his day. Dialogue: 0,0:04:25.00,0:04:27.00,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,Or even the people who actually pulled it off, Dialogue: 0,0:04:27.00,0:04:30.00,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,the people at Bolt, Beranek and Newman in Boston, Dialogue: 0,0:04:30.00,0:04:32.00,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,who just would sketch out these structures Dialogue: 0,0:04:32.00,0:04:35.00,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,of what would eventually become a worldwide network, Dialogue: 0,0:04:35.00,0:04:39.00,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,and sketching things on the back of napkins and on note papers Dialogue: 0,0:04:39.00,0:04:41.00,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,and arguing over dinner at Howard Johnson's -- Dialogue: 0,0:04:41.00,0:04:43.00,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,on Route 128 in Lexington, Massachusetts, Dialogue: 0,0:04:43.00,0:04:46.00,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,just two miles from where I was studying the Queen's Gambit Deferred Dialogue: 0,0:04:46.00,0:04:48.00,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,and listening to Gladys Knight & the Pips Dialogue: 0,0:04:48.00,0:04:50.00,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,singing "Midnight Train to Georgia," while -- Dialogue: 0,0:04:50.00,0:04:51.00,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,(Laughter) Dialogue: 0,0:04:51.00,0:04:54.00,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,-- in my dad's big easy chair, you know? Dialogue: 0,0:04:54.00,0:04:56.00,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,So, three types of vision, right? Dialogue: 0,0:04:56.00,0:04:59.00,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,Vision based on what one cannot see: Dialogue: 0,0:04:59.00,0:05:02.00,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,the vision of that unseen and unknowable. Dialogue: 0,0:05:02.00,0:05:05.00,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,The vision of that which has already been proven or can be ascertained. Dialogue: 0,0:05:05.00,0:05:07.00,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,And this third kind Dialogue: 0,0:05:08.00,0:05:10.00,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,of vision, of something which Dialogue: 0,0:05:10.00,0:05:11.00,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,can be, which may be, Dialogue: 0,0:05:12.00,0:05:15.00,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,based on knowledge, but is as yet unproven. Dialogue: 0,0:05:15.00,0:05:20.00,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,Now, we've seen a lot of examples of people who are pursuing that sort of vision in science, Dialogue: 0,0:05:20.00,0:05:22.00,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,but I think it's also true in the arts, it's true in politics, Dialogue: 0,0:05:22.00,0:05:25.00,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,it's even true in personal endeavors. Dialogue: 0,0:05:25.00,0:05:27.00,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,What it comes down to, really, is four basic principles: Dialogue: 0,0:05:27.00,0:05:29.00,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,learn from everyone, Dialogue: 0,0:05:29.00,0:05:31.00,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,follow no one, Dialogue: 0,0:05:31.00,0:05:33.00,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,watch for patterns, Dialogue: 0,0:05:33.00,0:05:34.00,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,and work like hell. Dialogue: 0,0:05:34.00,0:05:37.00,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,I think these are the four principles that go into this. Dialogue: 0,0:05:37.00,0:05:39.00,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,And it's that third one, especially, Dialogue: 0,0:05:39.00,0:05:41.00,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,where visions of the future Dialogue: 0,0:05:41.00,0:05:43.00,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,begin to manifest themselves. Dialogue: 0,0:05:43.00,0:05:45.00,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,What's interesting is that this particular way of looking at the world, Dialogue: 0,0:05:46.00,0:05:48.00,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,is, I think, only one of four different ways Dialogue: 0,0:05:48.00,0:05:50.00,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,that manifest themselves in different fields of endeavor. Dialogue: 0,0:05:50.00,0:05:52.00,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,In comics, I know that Dialogue: 0,0:05:52.00,0:05:55.00,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,it results in sort of a formalist attitude Dialogue: 0,0:05:55.00,0:05:57.00,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,towards trying to understand how it works. Dialogue: 0,0:05:57.00,0:06:00.00,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,Then there's another, more classical, attitude Dialogue: 0,0:06:00.00,0:06:02.00,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,which embraces beauty and craft. Dialogue: 0,0:06:02.00,0:06:06.00,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,Another one which believes in the pure transparency of content. Dialogue: 0,0:06:06.00,0:06:08.00,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,And then another Dialogue: 0,0:06:08.00,0:06:10.00,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,which emphasizes the authenticity of human experience -- Dialogue: 0,0:06:10.00,0:06:12.00,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,and honesty, and rawness. Dialogue: 0,0:06:12.00,0:06:14.00,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,These are four very different ways of looking at the world. I even gave them names. Dialogue: 0,0:06:14.00,0:06:18.00,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,The classicist, the animist, and formalist and iconoclast. Dialogue: 0,0:06:18.00,0:06:19.00,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,Interestingly, it seemed to correspond more or less Dialogue: 0,0:06:19.00,0:06:22.00,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,to Jung's four subdivisions of human thought. Dialogue: 0,0:06:24.00,0:06:26.00,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,And they reflect a dichotomy of art and delight Dialogue: 0,0:06:26.00,0:06:28.00,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,on left and the right; Dialogue: 0,0:06:28.00,0:06:30.00,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,tradition and revolution on the top and the bottom. Dialogue: 0,0:06:30.00,0:06:32.00,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,And if you go on the diagonal, you get content and form -- Dialogue: 0,0:06:32.00,0:06:34.00,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,and then beauty and truth. Dialogue: 0,0:06:34.00,0:06:35.00,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,And it probably applies just as much Dialogue: 0,0:06:35.00,0:06:38.00,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,to music and to movies and to fine art, Dialogue: 0,0:06:38.00,0:06:41.00,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,which has nothing whatsoever to do with vision at all, Dialogue: 0,0:06:41.00,0:06:44.00,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,or for that matter, nothing to do with our conference theme of Dialogue: 0,0:06:44.00,0:06:45.00,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,"Inspired by Nature" -- Dialogue: 0,0:06:45.00,0:06:48.00,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,except to the extent of the fable of the frog Dialogue: 0,0:06:48.00,0:06:51.00,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,who gives the ride to the scorpion on his back to get across the river Dialogue: 0,0:06:51.00,0:06:53.00,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,because the scorpion promises not to sting him, Dialogue: 0,0:06:53.00,0:06:55.00,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,but then the scorpion does sting him anyway and they both die, Dialogue: 0,0:06:55.00,0:06:58.00,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,but not before the frog asks him why and the scorpion says, Dialogue: 0,0:06:58.00,0:06:59.00,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,"Because it's my nature" -- Dialogue: 0,0:06:59.00,0:07:01.00,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,in that sense, yes. Dialogue: 0,0:07:01.00,0:07:03.00,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,(Laughter) Dialogue: 0,0:07:03.00,0:07:04.00,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,So -- Dialogue: 0,0:07:05.00,0:07:08.00,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,so this was my nature. The thing was, I saw Dialogue: 0,0:07:08.00,0:07:10.00,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,that the route that I took to discovering Dialogue: 0,0:07:10.00,0:07:13.00,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,this focus in my work Dialogue: 0,0:07:13.00,0:07:15.00,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,and who I was, Dialogue: 0,0:07:15.00,0:07:17.00,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,I saw it as just this road to discovery. Dialogue: 0,0:07:17.00,0:07:19.00,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,Actually, it was just me embracing my nature, Dialogue: 0,0:07:19.00,0:07:21.00,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,which means Dialogue: 0,0:07:21.00,0:07:24.00,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,that I didn't actually fall that far from the tree after all. Dialogue: 0,0:07:26.00,0:07:28.00,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,So what does a "scientific mind" Dialogue: 0,0:07:28.00,0:07:30.00,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,do in the arts? Dialogue: 0,0:07:31.00,0:07:32.00,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,Well, I started making comics, Dialogue: 0,0:07:32.00,0:07:34.00,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,but I also started trying to understand them, almost immediately. Dialogue: 0,0:07:34.00,0:07:37.00,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,And one of the most important things about comics, I discovered, Dialogue: 0,0:07:37.00,0:07:39.00,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,was that comics are a visual medium, Dialogue: 0,0:07:39.00,0:07:43.00,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,but they try to embrace all of the senses within it. Dialogue: 0,0:07:43.00,0:07:47.00,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,So, the different elements of comics, like pictures and words, Dialogue: 0,0:07:47.00,0:07:50.00,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,and the different symbols and everything in between Dialogue: 0,0:07:50.00,0:07:51.00,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,that comics presents Dialogue: 0,0:07:51.00,0:07:53.00,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,are all funneled through the single conduit of vision. Dialogue: 0,0:07:53.00,0:07:55.00,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,So you have things like resemblance, Dialogue: 0,0:07:55.00,0:07:58.00,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,where something which resembles the physical world can be abstracted Dialogue: 0,0:07:58.00,0:08:00.00,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,in a couple of different directions: Dialogue: 0,0:08:00.00,0:08:02.00,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,abstracted from resemblance, Dialogue: 0,0:08:02.00,0:08:04.00,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,but still retaining the complete meaning, Dialogue: 0,0:08:04.00,0:08:08.00,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,or abstracted away from both resemblance and meaning towards the picture plan. Dialogue: 0,0:08:08.00,0:08:10.00,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,Put all these three together, and you have a nice little map Dialogue: 0,0:08:10.00,0:08:13.00,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,of the entire boundary of visual iconography Dialogue: 0,0:08:13.00,0:08:15.00,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,which comics can embrace. Dialogue: 0,0:08:15.00,0:08:18.00,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,And if you move to the right you also get language, Dialogue: 0,0:08:18.00,0:08:21.00,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,because that's abstracting even further from resemblance, Dialogue: 0,0:08:21.00,0:08:23.00,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,but still maintaining meaning. Dialogue: 0,0:08:24.00,0:08:26.00,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,Vision is called upon to represent sound Dialogue: 0,0:08:26.00,0:08:29.00,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,and to understand the common properties of those two Dialogue: 0,0:08:29.00,0:08:31.00,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,and their common heritage, as well. Dialogue: 0,0:08:31.00,0:08:34.00,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,Also, to try to represent the texture of sound Dialogue: 0,0:08:34.00,0:08:38.00,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,to capture its essential character through visuals. Dialogue: 0,0:08:39.00,0:08:41.00,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,And there's also a balance Dialogue: 0,0:08:41.00,0:08:43.00,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,between the visible and the invisible in comics. Dialogue: 0,0:08:44.00,0:08:46.00,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,Comics is a kind of call and response Dialogue: 0,0:08:46.00,0:08:47.00,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,in which the artist gives you Dialogue: 0,0:08:47.00,0:08:48.00,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,something to see within the panels, Dialogue: 0,0:08:48.00,0:08:52.00,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,and then gives you something to imagine between the panels. Dialogue: 0,0:08:53.00,0:08:55.00,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,Also, another sense Dialogue: 0,0:08:55.00,0:08:58.00,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,which comics' vision represents, and that's time. Dialogue: 0,0:08:59.00,0:09:02.00,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,Sequence is a very important aspect of comics. Dialogue: 0,0:09:03.00,0:09:05.00,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,Comics presents a kind of temporal map. Dialogue: 0,0:09:06.00,0:09:09.00,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,And this temporal map was something that energizes modern comics, Dialogue: 0,0:09:09.00,0:09:12.00,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,but I was wondering if perhaps it also energizes Dialogue: 0,0:09:12.00,0:09:14.00,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,other sorts of forms, Dialogue: 0,0:09:14.00,0:09:15.00,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,and I found some in history. Dialogue: 0,0:09:16.00,0:09:19.00,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,And you can see this same principle operating Dialogue: 0,0:09:19.00,0:09:22.00,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,in these ancient versions of the same idea. Dialogue: 0,0:09:22.00,0:09:24.00,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,What's happening is, the art form is colliding Dialogue: 0,0:09:24.00,0:09:25.00,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,with the given technology, Dialogue: 0,0:09:25.00,0:09:29.00,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,whether it's paint on stone, like the Tomb of the Scribe in ancient Egypt, Dialogue: 0,0:09:29.00,0:09:31.00,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,or a bas-relief sculpture rising up a stone column, Dialogue: 0,0:09:32.00,0:09:34.00,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,or a 200-foot-long embroidery, Dialogue: 0,0:09:34.00,0:09:36.00,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,or painted deerskin and tree bark Dialogue: 0,0:09:36.00,0:09:39.00,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,running across 88 accordion-folded pages. Dialogue: 0,0:09:39.00,0:09:41.00,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,What's interesting is, once you hit print -- Dialogue: 0,0:09:41.00,0:09:43.00,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,and this is from 1450, by the way -- Dialogue: 0,0:09:43.00,0:09:45.00,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,all of the artifacts of modern comics start to present themselves: Dialogue: 0,0:09:45.00,0:09:47.00,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,rectilinear panel arrangements, Dialogue: 0,0:09:47.00,0:09:49.00,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,simple line drawings without tone Dialogue: 0,0:09:49.00,0:09:52.00,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,and a left-to-right reading sequence. Dialogue: 0,0:09:53.00,0:09:54.00,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,And within 100 years, Dialogue: 0,0:09:54.00,0:09:57.00,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,you already start to see word balloons and captions, Dialogue: 0,0:09:58.00,0:10:00.00,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,and it's really just a hop, skip and a jump from here to here. Dialogue: 0,0:10:01.00,0:10:03.00,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,So I wrote a book about this in '93, Dialogue: 0,0:10:03.00,0:10:05.00,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,but as I was finishing the book, Dialogue: 0,0:10:05.00,0:10:06.00,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,I had to do a little bit of typesetting, Dialogue: 0,0:10:06.00,0:10:08.00,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,and I was tired of going to my local copy shop to do it, Dialogue: 0,0:10:08.00,0:10:10.00,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,so I bought a computer. Dialogue: 0,0:10:11.00,0:10:14.00,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,And it was just a little thing -- it wasn't good for much except text entry -- Dialogue: 0,0:10:14.00,0:10:17.00,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,but my father had told me about Moore's Law, Dialogue: 0,0:10:17.00,0:10:20.00,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,about Moore's Law back in the '70s, and I knew what was coming. Dialogue: 0,0:10:21.00,0:10:23.00,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,And so, I kept my eyes peeled Dialogue: 0,0:10:23.00,0:10:25.00,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,to see if the sort of changes that happened Dialogue: 0,0:10:25.00,0:10:28.00,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,when we went from pre-print comics to print comics Dialogue: 0,0:10:28.00,0:10:31.00,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,would happen when we went beyond, to post-print comics. Dialogue: 0,0:10:31.00,0:10:33.00,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,So, one of the first things that were proposed Dialogue: 0,0:10:33.00,0:10:35.00,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,was that we could mix the visuals of comics Dialogue: 0,0:10:35.00,0:10:37.00,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,with the sound, motion and interactivity Dialogue: 0,0:10:37.00,0:10:39.00,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,of the CD-ROMs that were being made in those days. Dialogue: 0,0:10:39.00,0:10:41.00,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,This was even before the Web. Dialogue: 0,0:10:41.00,0:10:42.00,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,And one of the first things they did was, Dialogue: 0,0:10:42.00,0:10:44.00,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,they tried to take the comics page as-is Dialogue: 0,0:10:44.00,0:10:45.00,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,and transplant it to monitors, Dialogue: 0,0:10:45.00,0:10:47.00,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,which was a classic McLuhanesque mistake Dialogue: 0,0:10:48.00,0:10:51.00,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,of appropriating the shape of the previous technology Dialogue: 0,0:10:51.00,0:10:53.00,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,as the content of the new technology. Dialogue: 0,0:10:53.00,0:10:54.00,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,And so, what they would do is, Dialogue: 0,0:10:54.00,0:10:56.00,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,they'd have these comic pages that resemble print comics pages, Dialogue: 0,0:10:56.00,0:10:59.00,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,and they would introduce all this sound and motion. Dialogue: 0,0:11:00.00,0:11:02.00,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,The problem was, that if you go with this idea -- Dialogue: 0,0:11:02.00,0:11:05.00,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,this basic idea that space equals time in comics -- Dialogue: 0,0:11:05.00,0:11:07.00,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,what happens is that when you introduce sound and motion, Dialogue: 0,0:11:07.00,0:11:11.00,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,which are temporal phenomena that can only be represented through time, Dialogue: 0,0:11:11.00,0:11:16.00,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,then they break with that continuity of presentation. Dialogue: 0,0:11:17.00,0:11:18.00,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,Interactivity was another thing. Dialogue: 0,0:11:18.00,0:11:19.00,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,There were hypertext comics. Dialogue: 0,0:11:19.00,0:11:20.00,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,But the thing about hypertext Dialogue: 0,0:11:20.00,0:11:23.00,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,is that everything in hypertext is either here, not here or connected to here; Dialogue: 0,0:11:23.00,0:11:25.00,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,it's profoundly non-spatial. Dialogue: 0,0:11:25.00,0:11:28.00,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,The distance from Abraham Lincoln to a Lincoln penny, Dialogue: 0,0:11:28.00,0:11:30.00,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,the Penny Marshall to the Marshall Plan Dialogue: 0,0:11:30.00,0:11:31.00,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,to "Plan 9" to nine lives: Dialogue: 0,0:11:31.00,0:11:33.00,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,it's all the same. Dialogue: 0,0:11:33.00,0:11:34.00,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,(Laughter) Dialogue: 0,0:11:34.00,0:11:36.00,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,And -- but in comics, in comics, Dialogue: 0,0:11:37.00,0:11:39.00,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,every aspect of the work, every element of the work Dialogue: 0,0:11:40.00,0:11:43.00,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,has a spatial relationship to every other element at all times. Dialogue: 0,0:11:43.00,0:11:44.00,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,So the question was: Dialogue: 0,0:11:44.00,0:11:47.00,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,was there any way to preserve that spatial relationship Dialogue: 0,0:11:47.00,0:11:49.00,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,while still taking advantage of all of the things Dialogue: 0,0:11:49.00,0:11:51.00,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,that digital had to offer us? Dialogue: 0,0:11:51.00,0:11:53.00,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,And I found my personal answer for this Dialogue: 0,0:11:53.00,0:11:55.00,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,in those ancient comics that I was showing you. Dialogue: 0,0:11:56.00,0:11:59.00,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,Each of them has a single unbroken reading line, Dialogue: 0,0:11:59.00,0:12:01.00,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,whether it's going zigzag across the walls Dialogue: 0,0:12:01.00,0:12:03.00,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,or spiraling up a column Dialogue: 0,0:12:03.00,0:12:06.00,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,or just straight left to right, or even going in a backwards zigzag Dialogue: 0,0:12:06.00,0:12:08.00,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,across those 88 accordion-folded pages. Dialogue: 0,0:12:08.00,0:12:10.00,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,The same thing is happening, and that is that the basic idea Dialogue: 0,0:12:11.00,0:12:13.00,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,that as you move through space you move through time Dialogue: 0,0:12:13.00,0:12:15.00,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,is being carried out without any compromise, Dialogue: 0,0:12:15.00,0:12:18.00,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,but there were compromises when print hit. Dialogue: 0,0:12:18.00,0:12:21.00,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,Adjacent spaces were no longer adjacent moments, Dialogue: 0,0:12:21.00,0:12:24.00,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,so the basic idea of comics was being broken again and again Dialogue: 0,0:12:24.00,0:12:25.00,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,and again and again. Dialogue: 0,0:12:25.00,0:12:26.00,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,And I thought, O.K., well, Dialogue: 0,0:12:26.00,0:12:28.00,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,if that's true, is there any way, Dialogue: 0,0:12:29.00,0:12:31.00,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,when we go beyond today's print, Dialogue: 0,0:12:31.00,0:12:33.00,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,to somehow bring that back? Dialogue: 0,0:12:34.00,0:12:36.00,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,Now, the monitor Dialogue: 0,0:12:37.00,0:12:39.00,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,is just as limited as the page, technically, right? Dialogue: 0,0:12:39.00,0:12:41.00,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,It's a different shape, but other than that Dialogue: 0,0:12:41.00,0:12:43.00,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,it's the same basic limitation. Dialogue: 0,0:12:43.00,0:12:46.00,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,But that's only if you look at the monitor as a page, Dialogue: 0,0:12:47.00,0:12:49.00,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,but not if you look at the monitor as a window. Dialogue: 0,0:12:50.00,0:12:52.00,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,And that's what I proposed: that perhaps we could create these comics Dialogue: 0,0:12:52.00,0:12:53.00,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,on an infinite canvas: Dialogue: 0,0:12:54.00,0:12:58.00,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,along the X axis and the Y axis and staircases. Dialogue: 0,0:12:59.00,0:13:01.00,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,We could do circular narratives that were literally circular. Dialogue: 0,0:13:01.00,0:13:04.00,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,We could do a turn in a story that was literally a turn. Dialogue: 0,0:13:05.00,0:13:07.00,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,Parallel narratives could be literally parallel. Dialogue: 0,0:13:09.00,0:13:11.00,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,X, Y and also Z. Dialogue: 0,0:13:12.00,0:13:14.00,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,So I had all these notions. This was back in the late '90s, Dialogue: 0,0:13:14.00,0:13:17.00,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,and other people in my business thought I was pretty crazy, Dialogue: 0,0:13:18.00,0:13:20.00,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,but a lot of people then went on and actually did it. Dialogue: 0,0:13:20.00,0:13:22.00,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,I'm going to show you a couple now. Dialogue: 0,0:13:23.00,0:13:26.00,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,This was an early collage comic by a fellow named Jason Lex. Dialogue: 0,0:13:30.00,0:13:32.00,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,And notice what's going on here. Dialogue: 0,0:13:32.00,0:13:34.00,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,What I'm searching for is a durable mutation -- Dialogue: 0,0:13:34.00,0:13:36.00,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,that's what all of us are searching for. Dialogue: 0,0:13:36.00,0:13:38.00,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,As media head into this new era, Dialogue: 0,0:13:38.00,0:13:41.00,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,we are looking for mutations Dialogue: 0,0:13:41.00,0:13:45.00,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,that are durable, that have some sort of staying power. Dialogue: 0,0:13:45.00,0:13:49.00,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,Now, we're taking this basic idea of presenting comics in a visual medium, Dialogue: 0,0:13:49.00,0:13:52.00,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,and then we're carrying it through all the way from beginning to end. Dialogue: 0,0:13:52.00,0:13:54.00,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,That's that entire comic you just saw Dialogue: 0,0:13:54.00,0:13:56.00,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,is up on the screen right now. Dialogue: 0,0:13:56.00,0:13:59.00,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,But even though we're only experiencing it one piece at a time, Dialogue: 0,0:13:59.00,0:14:01.00,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,that's just where the technology is right now. Dialogue: 0,0:14:01.00,0:14:03.00,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,As the technology evolves, Dialogue: 0,0:14:03.00,0:14:06.00,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,as you get full immersive displays and whatnot, Dialogue: 0,0:14:06.00,0:14:08.00,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,this sort of thing will only grow. Dialogue: 0,0:14:08.00,0:14:10.00,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,It will adapt. It will Dialogue: 0,0:14:10.00,0:14:12.00,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,adapt to its environment: Dialogue: 0,0:14:12.00,0:14:14.00,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,it's a durable mutation. Dialogue: 0,0:14:15.00,0:14:17.00,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,Here's another one I'll show you. This is by Drew Weing; Dialogue: 0,0:14:17.00,0:14:18.00,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,this is called, Dialogue: 0,0:14:18.00,0:14:20.00,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,"Pup Contemplates the Heat Death of the Universe." Dialogue: 0,0:14:46.00,0:14:47.00,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,See what's going on here Dialogue: 0,0:14:48.00,0:14:51.00,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,as we draw these stories on an infinite canvas Dialogue: 0,0:14:53.00,0:14:56.00,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,is you're creating a more pure expression Dialogue: 0,0:14:57.00,0:14:59.00,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,of what this medium is all about. Dialogue: 0,0:15:04.00,0:15:06.00,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,We'll go by this a little quickly -- you get the idea. Dialogue: 0,0:15:06.00,0:15:08.00,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,I just want to get to the last panel. Dialogue: 0,0:15:14.00,0:15:17.00,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,(Laughter) Dialogue: 0,0:15:17.00,0:15:18.00,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,There we go. Dialogue: 0,0:15:20.00,0:15:22.00,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,(Laughter) Dialogue: 0,0:15:25.00,0:15:28.00,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,(Laughter) Dialogue: 0,0:15:31.00,0:15:32.00,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,Just one more. Dialogue: 0,0:15:34.00,0:15:36.00,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,Talk about your infinite canvas. Dialogue: 0,0:15:37.00,0:15:39.00,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,It's by a guy named Daniel Merlin Goodbrey in Britain. Dialogue: 0,0:15:40.00,0:15:42.00,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,Why is this important? Dialogue: 0,0:15:43.00,0:15:45.00,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,I think this is important because media, Dialogue: 0,0:15:46.00,0:15:47.00,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,all media, Dialogue: 0,0:15:48.00,0:15:51.00,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,provide us a window back into our world. Dialogue: 0,0:15:51.00,0:15:53.00,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,Now, it could be that motion pictures -- Dialogue: 0,0:15:53.00,0:15:56.00,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,and eventually, virtual reality, or something equivalent to it -- Dialogue: 0,0:15:56.00,0:15:58.00,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,some sort of immersive display, Dialogue: 0,0:15:58.00,0:16:03.00,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,is going to provide us with our most efficient escape from the world that we're in. Dialogue: 0,0:16:03.00,0:16:06.00,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,That's why most people turn to storytelling, is to escape. Dialogue: 0,0:16:06.00,0:16:09.00,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,But media provides us with a window Dialogue: 0,0:16:09.00,0:16:12.00,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,back into the world that we live in. Dialogue: 0,0:16:13.00,0:16:15.00,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,And when media evolve Dialogue: 0,0:16:16.00,0:16:21.00,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,so that the identity of the media becomes increasingly unique. Dialogue: 0,0:16:21.00,0:16:24.00,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,Because what you're looking at is, you're looking at comics cubed: Dialogue: 0,0:16:24.00,0:16:27.00,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,you're looking at comics that are more comics-like than they've ever been before. Dialogue: 0,0:16:28.00,0:16:31.00,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,When that happens, you provide people with multiple ways Dialogue: 0,0:16:31.00,0:16:34.00,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,of re-entering the world through different windows, Dialogue: 0,0:16:35.00,0:16:38.00,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,and when you do that, it allows them to triangulate the world that they live in Dialogue: 0,0:16:38.00,0:16:40.00,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,and see its shape. Dialogue: 0,0:16:40.00,0:16:42.00,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,And that's why I think this is important. Dialogue: 0,0:16:42.00,0:16:44.00,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,One of many reasons, but I've got to go now. Dialogue: 0,0:16:44.00,0:16:45.00,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,Thank you for having me.