[Script Info]
Title: 
[Events]
Format: Layer, Start, End, Style, Name, MarginL, MarginR, MarginV, Effect, Text
Dialogue: 0,0:00:00.72,0:00:03.98,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,Of the five senses, vision is the one\Nthat I appreciate the most,
Dialogue: 0,0:00:04.00,0:00:06.98,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,and it's the one that I can\Nleast take for granted.
Dialogue: 0,0:00:07.65,0:00:10.55,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,I think this is partially due\Nto my father, who was blind.
Dialogue: 0,0:00:10.58,0:00:13.68,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,It was a fact that he didn't make\Nmuch of a fuss about, usually.
Dialogue: 0,0:00:13.70,0:00:17.34,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,One time in Nova Scotia, when we went\Nto see a total eclipse of the sun --
Dialogue: 0,0:00:17.36,0:00:18.38,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,(Laughter)
Dialogue: 0,0:00:18.40,0:00:20.49,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,Yeah, same one as in the Carly Simon song,
Dialogue: 0,0:00:20.52,0:00:23.34,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,which may or may not refer\Nto James Taylor, Warren Beatty
Dialogue: 0,0:00:23.36,0:00:25.20,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,or Mick Jagger; we're not really sure.
Dialogue: 0,0:00:25.22,0:00:27.76,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,They handed out these dark plastic viewers
Dialogue: 0,0:00:27.78,0:00:29.83,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,that allowed us to look\Ndirectly at the sun
Dialogue: 0,0:00:29.85,0:00:31.12,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,without damaging our eyes.
Dialogue: 0,0:00:31.14,0:00:33.88,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,But Dad got really scared;\Nhe didn't want us doing that.
Dialogue: 0,0:00:33.90,0:00:36.76,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,He wanted us instead to use\Nthese cheap cardboard viewers,
Dialogue: 0,0:00:36.78,0:00:40.44,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,so that there was no chance at all\Nthat our eyes would be damaged.
Dialogue: 0,0:00:40.47,0:00:42.74,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,I thought this was\Na little strange at the time.
Dialogue: 0,0:00:42.76,0:00:44.23,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,What I didn't know at the time
Dialogue: 0,0:00:44.26,0:00:47.31,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,was that my father had actually\Nbeen born with perfect eyesight.
Dialogue: 0,0:00:47.34,0:00:49.100,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,When he and his sister Martha\Nwere just very little,
Dialogue: 0,0:00:50.02,0:00:52.50,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,their mom took them out\Nto see a total eclipse --
Dialogue: 0,0:00:52.52,0:00:54.05,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,or actually, a solar eclipse --
Dialogue: 0,0:00:54.08,0:00:57.63,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,and not long after that, both of them\Nstarted losing their eyesight.
Dialogue: 0,0:00:58.38,0:01:01.84,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,Decades later, it turned out\Nthat the source of their blindness
Dialogue: 0,0:01:01.87,0:01:04.68,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,was most likely some sort\Nof bacterial infection.
Dialogue: 0,0:01:04.70,0:01:07.33,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,As near as we can tell,\Nit had nothing whatsoever to do
Dialogue: 0,0:01:07.36,0:01:09.28,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,with that solar eclipse,
Dialogue: 0,0:01:09.30,0:01:11.97,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,but by then my grandmother\Nhad already gone to her grave
Dialogue: 0,0:01:11.99,0:01:13.42,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,thinking it was her fault.
Dialogue: 0,0:01:14.52,0:01:17.49,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,So, Dad graduated Harvard in 1946,
Dialogue: 0,0:01:17.52,0:01:18.68,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,married my mom,
Dialogue: 0,0:01:18.70,0:01:20.93,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,and bought a house\Nin Lexington, Massachusetts,
Dialogue: 0,0:01:20.96,0:01:24.54,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,where the first shots were fired\Nagainst the British in 1775,
Dialogue: 0,0:01:24.57,0:01:27.64,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,although we didn't actually hit\Nany of them until Concord.
Dialogue: 0,0:01:27.67,0:01:31.24,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,He got a job working for Raytheon\Ndesigning guidance systems,
Dialogue: 0,0:01:31.27,0:01:34.32,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,which was part of the Route 128\Nhigh-tech axis in those days --
Dialogue: 0,0:01:34.34,0:01:36.78,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,so, the equivalent\Nof Silicon Valley in the '70s.
Dialogue: 0,0:01:37.58,0:01:39.94,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,Dad wasn't a real\Nmilitaristic kind of guy;
Dialogue: 0,0:01:39.97,0:01:43.11,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,he just felt bad that he wasn't able\Nto fight in World War II
Dialogue: 0,0:01:43.14,0:01:44.78,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,on account of his handicap,
Dialogue: 0,0:01:44.81,0:01:46.59,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,although they did let him get through
Dialogue: 0,0:01:46.62,0:01:50.35,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,the several-hour-long army physical exam
Dialogue: 0,0:01:50.38,0:01:53.40,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,before they got to the very last test,\Nwhich was for vision.
Dialogue: 0,0:01:53.42,0:01:56.06,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,(Laughter)
Dialogue: 0,0:01:56.09,0:01:59.24,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,So Dad started racking\Nup all of these patents
Dialogue: 0,0:01:59.26,0:02:02.73,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,and gaining a reputation as a blind\Ngenius, rocket scientist, inventor.
Dialogue: 0,0:02:02.76,0:02:06.70,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,But to us he was just Dad,\Nand our home life was pretty normal.
Dialogue: 0,0:02:07.34,0:02:09.24,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,As a kid, I watched a lot of television
Dialogue: 0,0:02:09.26,0:02:12.90,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,and had lots of nerdy hobbies\Nlike mineralogy and microbiology
Dialogue: 0,0:02:12.92,0:02:15.44,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,and the space program\Nand a little bit of politics.
Dialogue: 0,0:02:15.47,0:02:16.69,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,I played a lot of chess.
Dialogue: 0,0:02:16.71,0:02:19.86,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,But at the age of 14, a friend\Ngot me interested in comic books,
Dialogue: 0,0:02:19.88,0:02:22.73,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,and I decided that was\Nwhat I wanted to do for a living.
Dialogue: 0,0:02:23.15,0:02:24.93,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,So, here's my dad:
Dialogue: 0,0:02:24.95,0:02:29.95,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,he's a scientist, he's an engineer\Nand he's a military contractor.
Dialogue: 0,0:02:30.86,0:02:32.65,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,So, he has four kids, right?
Dialogue: 0,0:02:32.68,0:02:34.78,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,One grows up to become\Na computer scientist,
Dialogue: 0,0:02:34.81,0:02:36.73,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,one grows up to join the Navy,
Dialogue: 0,0:02:36.76,0:02:39.00,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,one grows up to become an engineer ...
Dialogue: 0,0:02:39.02,0:02:41.98,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,And then there's me:\Nthe comic book artist.
Dialogue: 0,0:02:42.01,0:02:45.74,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,(Laughter)
Dialogue: 0,0:02:45.76,0:02:48.45,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,Which, incidentally, makes me\Nthe opposite of Dean Kamen,
Dialogue: 0,0:02:48.47,0:02:50.94,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,because I'm a comic book artist,\Nson of an inventor,
Dialogue: 0,0:02:50.96,0:02:53.30,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,and he's an inventor,\Nson of a comic book artist.
Dialogue: 0,0:02:53.32,0:02:54.55,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,(Laughter)
Dialogue: 0,0:02:54.57,0:02:55.74,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,Right? It's true.
Dialogue: 0,0:02:55.76,0:02:58.41,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,(Applause)
Dialogue: 0,0:02:58.44,0:03:00.77,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,The funny thing is,\NDad had a lot of faith in me.
Dialogue: 0,0:03:00.80,0:03:02.95,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,He had faith in my abilities\Nas a cartoonist,
Dialogue: 0,0:03:02.97,0:03:06.26,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,even though he had no direct evidence\Nthat I was any good whatsoever;
Dialogue: 0,0:03:06.28,0:03:07.95,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,everything he saw was just a blur.
Dialogue: 0,0:03:07.97,0:03:10.69,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,Now, this gives a real meaning\Nto the term "blind faith,"
Dialogue: 0,0:03:10.71,0:03:13.30,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,which doesn't have the same\Nnegative connotation for me
Dialogue: 0,0:03:13.33,0:03:14.80,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,that it does for other people.
Dialogue: 0,0:03:14.82,0:03:17.97,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,Now, faith in things which cannot\Nbe seen, which cannot be proved,
Dialogue: 0,0:03:17.99,0:03:21.72,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,is not the sort of faith that I've ever\Nreally related to all that much.
Dialogue: 0,0:03:21.74,0:03:23.17,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,I tend to like science,
Dialogue: 0,0:03:23.19,0:03:27.68,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,where what we see and can ascertain\Nare the foundation of what we know.
Dialogue: 0,0:03:28.65,0:03:30.78,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,But there's a middle ground, too --
Dialogue: 0,0:03:30.80,0:03:34.36,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,a middle ground tread by people\Nlike poor old Charles Babbage
Dialogue: 0,0:03:34.38,0:03:37.17,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,and his steam-driven computers\Nthat were never built.
Dialogue: 0,0:03:37.83,0:03:40.88,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,Nobody really understood\Nwhat it was that he had in mind
Dialogue: 0,0:03:40.91,0:03:42.40,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,except for Ada Lovelace,
Dialogue: 0,0:03:43.16,0:03:46.27,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,and he went to his grave\Ntrying to pursue that dream.
Dialogue: 0,0:03:46.98,0:03:49.37,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,Vannevar Bush with his memex --
Dialogue: 0,0:03:49.40,0:03:52.38,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,this idea of all of human\Nknowledge at your fingertips --
Dialogue: 0,0:03:52.40,0:03:53.93,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,he had this vision.
Dialogue: 0,0:03:53.95,0:03:55.79,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,And I think a lot of people in his day
Dialogue: 0,0:03:55.82,0:03:57.76,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,probably thought he was a bit of a kook.
Dialogue: 0,0:03:57.78,0:04:00.20,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,And, yeah, we can look back\Nin retrospect and say,
Dialogue: 0,0:04:00.22,0:04:02.44,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,"Yeah, ha-ha, it's all microfilm --
Dialogue: 0,0:04:02.46,0:04:03.49,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,(Laughter)
Dialogue: 0,0:04:03.51,0:04:06.60,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,But that's not the point;\Nhe understood the shape of the future.
Dialogue: 0,0:04:06.62,0:04:11.21,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,So did J.C.R. Licklider and his notions\Nfor computer-human interaction.
Dialogue: 0,0:04:11.24,0:04:14.10,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,Same thing: he understood\Nthe shape of the future,
Dialogue: 0,0:04:14.13,0:04:17.73,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,even though it was something\Nthat would only be implemented
Dialogue: 0,0:04:17.75,0:04:19.14,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,by people much later.
Dialogue: 0,0:04:19.17,0:04:21.89,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,Or Paul Baran, and his vision\Nfor packet switching.
Dialogue: 0,0:04:21.91,0:04:24.07,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,Hardly anybody listened to him in his day.
Dialogue: 0,0:04:24.77,0:04:26.96,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,Or even the people\Nwho actually pulled it off,
Dialogue: 0,0:04:26.99,0:04:29.60,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,the people at Bolt, Beranek\Nand Newman in Boston,
Dialogue: 0,0:04:29.62,0:04:32.53,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,who just would sketch out these structures
Dialogue: 0,0:04:32.56,0:04:35.09,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,of what would eventually\Nbecome a worldwide network,
Dialogue: 0,0:04:35.12,0:04:38.74,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,and sketching things on the back\Nof napkins and on note papers
Dialogue: 0,0:04:38.76,0:04:41.06,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,and arguing over dinner\Nat Howard Johnson's --
Dialogue: 0,0:04:41.08,0:04:43.47,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,on Route 128 in Lexington, Massachusetts,
Dialogue: 0,0:04:43.50,0:04:46.73,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,just two miles from where I was studying\Nthe Queen's Gambit Deferred
Dialogue: 0,0:04:46.75,0:04:48.85,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,and listening to Gladys Knight & The Pips
Dialogue: 0,0:04:48.88,0:04:51.04,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,singing "Midnight Train to Georgia" --
Dialogue: 0,0:04:51.07,0:04:52.07,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,(Laughter)
Dialogue: 0,0:04:52.10,0:04:53.94,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,in my dad's big easy chair, you know?
Dialogue: 0,0:04:53.96,0:04:55.90,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,So, three types of vision, right?
Dialogue: 0,0:04:55.92,0:04:58.90,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,Vision based on what one cannot see,
Dialogue: 0,0:04:58.92,0:05:01.69,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,the vision of that unseen and unknowable.
Dialogue: 0,0:05:01.72,0:05:05.18,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,The vision of that which has already\Nbeen proven or can be ascertained.
Dialogue: 0,0:05:05.20,0:05:11.72,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,And this third kind, a vision of something\Nwhich can be, which may be,
Dialogue: 0,0:05:11.75,0:05:14.75,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,based on knowledge\Nbut is, as yet, unproven.
Dialogue: 0,0:05:15.48,0:05:17.53,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,Now, we've seen a lot\Nof examples of people
Dialogue: 0,0:05:17.56,0:05:19.87,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,who are pursuing\Nthat sort of vision in science,
Dialogue: 0,0:05:19.90,0:05:22.85,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,but I think it's also true\Nin the arts, it's true in politics,
Dialogue: 0,0:05:22.88,0:05:25.06,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,it's even true in personal endeavors.
Dialogue: 0,0:05:25.09,0:05:27.74,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,What it comes down to, really,\Nis four basic principles:
Dialogue: 0,0:05:27.76,0:05:28.96,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,learn from everyone;
Dialogue: 0,0:05:28.98,0:05:30.31,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,follow no one;
Dialogue: 0,0:05:30.81,0:05:32.22,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,watch for patterns;
Dialogue: 0,0:05:32.66,0:05:33.84,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,and work like hell.
Dialogue: 0,0:05:33.86,0:05:36.88,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,I think these are the four principles\Nthat go into this.
Dialogue: 0,0:05:36.91,0:05:38.74,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,And it's that third one, especially,
Dialogue: 0,0:05:38.76,0:05:41.90,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,where visions of the future\Nbegin to manifest themselves.
Dialogue: 0,0:05:42.43,0:05:45.80,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,What's interesting is that this particular\Nway of looking at the world,
Dialogue: 0,0:05:45.83,0:05:47.96,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,is, I think, only one\Nof four different ways
Dialogue: 0,0:05:47.98,0:05:50.70,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,that manifest themselves\Nin different fields of endeavor.
Dialogue: 0,0:05:50.72,0:05:55.21,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,In comics, I know that it results\Nin sort of a formalist attitude
Dialogue: 0,0:05:55.23,0:05:57.29,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,towards trying to understand how it works.
Dialogue: 0,0:05:57.31,0:05:59.54,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,Then there's another,\Nmore classical attitude
Dialogue: 0,0:05:59.57,0:06:02.15,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,which embraces beauty and craft;
Dialogue: 0,0:06:02.18,0:06:06.21,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,another one which believes\Nin the pure transparency of content;
Dialogue: 0,0:06:06.23,0:06:10.18,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,and then another, which emphasizes\Nthe authenticity of human experience
Dialogue: 0,0:06:10.20,0:06:11.62,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,and honesty and rawness.
Dialogue: 0,0:06:11.64,0:06:14.45,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,These are four very different ways\Nof looking at the world.
Dialogue: 0,0:06:14.47,0:06:15.62,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,I even gave them names:
Dialogue: 0,0:06:15.65,0:06:18.40,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,the classicist, the animist,\Nthe formalist and iconoclast.
Dialogue: 0,0:06:18.42,0:06:20.96,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,Interestingly, they seem\Nto correspond more or less
Dialogue: 0,0:06:20.98,0:06:23.56,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,to Jung's four subdivisions\Nof human thought.
Dialogue: 0,0:06:23.58,0:06:26.37,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,And they reflect a dichotomy\Nof art and delight
Dialogue: 0,0:06:26.39,0:06:27.61,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,on left and the right;
Dialogue: 0,0:06:27.63,0:06:30.13,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,tradition and revolution\Non the top and the bottom.
Dialogue: 0,0:06:30.15,0:06:32.80,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,And if you go on the diagonal,\Nyou get content and form,
Dialogue: 0,0:06:32.82,0:06:34.06,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,and then beauty and truth.
Dialogue: 0,0:06:34.09,0:06:38.17,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,And it probably applies just as much\Nto music and movies and fine art,
Dialogue: 0,0:06:38.20,0:06:41.17,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,which has nothing whatsoever\Nto do with vision at all,
Dialogue: 0,0:06:41.20,0:06:44.08,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,or, for that matter, nothing to do\Nwith our conference theme
Dialogue: 0,0:06:44.10,0:06:45.43,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,of "Inspired by Nature,"
Dialogue: 0,0:06:45.46,0:06:48.14,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,except to the extent\Nof the fable of the frog
Dialogue: 0,0:06:48.16,0:06:51.43,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,who gives a ride to the scorpion\Non his back to get across the river
Dialogue: 0,0:06:51.45,0:06:53.66,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,because the scorpion\Npromises not to sting him,
Dialogue: 0,0:06:53.69,0:06:56.22,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,but the scorpion stings him anyway\Nand they both die,
Dialogue: 0,0:06:56.25,0:06:59.14,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,but not before the frog asks\Nhim why, and the scorpion says,
Dialogue: 0,0:06:59.16,0:07:00.36,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,"Because it's my nature."
Dialogue: 0,0:07:00.38,0:07:01.54,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,In that sense, yes.
Dialogue: 0,0:07:01.56,0:07:04.91,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,(Laughter)
Dialogue: 0,0:07:04.93,0:07:06.16,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,So this was my nature.
Dialogue: 0,0:07:06.18,0:07:09.30,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,The thing was, I saw that the route I took
Dialogue: 0,0:07:09.32,0:07:13.17,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,to discovering this focus in my work
Dialogue: 0,0:07:13.19,0:07:15.04,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,and who I was --
Dialogue: 0,0:07:15.06,0:07:17.29,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,I saw it as just this road to discovery.
Dialogue: 0,0:07:17.31,0:07:19.53,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,Actually, it was just me\Nembracing my nature,
Dialogue: 0,0:07:19.56,0:07:24.40,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,which means that I didn't actually fall\Nthat far from the tree, after all.
Dialogue: 0,0:07:25.54,0:07:30.08,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,So what does a "scientific mind"\Ndo in the arts?
Dialogue: 0,0:07:30.54,0:07:33.93,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,I started making comics, but I also\Nstarted trying to understand them,
Dialogue: 0,0:07:33.96,0:07:35.11,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,almost immediately.
Dialogue: 0,0:07:35.13,0:07:38.21,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,One of the most important things\Nabout comics that I discovered
Dialogue: 0,0:07:38.24,0:07:40.08,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,was that comics are a visual medium,
Dialogue: 0,0:07:40.11,0:07:42.95,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,but they try to embrace\Nall of the senses within it.
Dialogue: 0,0:07:43.07,0:07:47.14,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,So, the different elements\Nof comics, like pictures and words,
Dialogue: 0,0:07:47.16,0:07:49.68,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,and the different symbols\Nand everything in between
Dialogue: 0,0:07:49.71,0:07:50.89,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,that comics presents,
Dialogue: 0,0:07:50.92,0:07:53.48,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,are all funneled through\Nthe single conduit, a vision.
Dialogue: 0,0:07:53.51,0:07:55.49,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,So we have things like resemblance,
Dialogue: 0,0:07:55.51,0:07:58.75,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,where something which resembles\Nthe physical world can be abstracted
Dialogue: 0,0:07:58.77,0:08:00.54,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,in a couple of different directions:
Dialogue: 0,0:08:00.56,0:08:04.16,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,abstracted from resemblance,\Nbut still retaining the complete meaning,
Dialogue: 0,0:08:04.18,0:08:06.90,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,or abstracted away\Nfrom both resemblance and meaning
Dialogue: 0,0:08:06.92,0:08:08.18,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,towards the picture plane.
Dialogue: 0,0:08:08.20,0:08:11.04,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,Put all these three together,\Nand you have a nice little map
Dialogue: 0,0:08:11.06,0:08:13.18,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,of the entire boundary\Nof visual iconography,
Dialogue: 0,0:08:13.20,0:08:14.99,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,which comics can embrace.
Dialogue: 0,0:08:15.01,0:08:17.85,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,And if you move to the right\Nyou also get language,
Dialogue: 0,0:08:17.87,0:08:20.85,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,because that's abstracting\Neven further from resemblance,
Dialogue: 0,0:08:20.87,0:08:22.87,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,but still maintaining meaning.
Dialogue: 0,0:08:23.48,0:08:26.23,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,Vision is called upon to represent sound
Dialogue: 0,0:08:26.25,0:08:29.82,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,and to understand\Nthe common properties of those two
Dialogue: 0,0:08:29.85,0:08:31.99,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,and their common heritage as well;
Dialogue: 0,0:08:32.01,0:08:34.40,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,also, to try to represent\Nthe texture of sound
Dialogue: 0,0:08:34.42,0:08:38.14,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,to capture its essential\Ncharacter through visuals.
Dialogue: 0,0:08:39.14,0:08:43.24,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,There's also a balance between the visible\Nand the invisible in comics.
Dialogue: 0,0:08:44.16,0:08:46.06,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,Comics is a kind of call and response,
Dialogue: 0,0:08:46.08,0:08:49.22,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,in which the artist gives you something\Nto see within the panels,
Dialogue: 0,0:08:49.25,0:08:52.25,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,and then gives you something\Nto imagine between the panels.
Dialogue: 0,0:08:53.02,0:08:57.29,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,Also, another sense\Nwhich comics' vision represents,
Dialogue: 0,0:08:57.31,0:08:58.60,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,and that's time.
Dialogue: 0,0:08:58.98,0:09:01.90,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,Sequence is a very important\Naspect of comics.
Dialogue: 0,0:09:02.65,0:09:04.76,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,Comics presents a kind of temporal map.
Dialogue: 0,0:09:05.95,0:09:09.58,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,And this temporal map was something\Nthat energizes modern comics,
Dialogue: 0,0:09:09.61,0:09:12.53,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,but I was wondering\Nif perhaps it also energizes
Dialogue: 0,0:09:12.55,0:09:14.07,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,other sorts of forms,
Dialogue: 0,0:09:14.09,0:09:15.52,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,and I found some in history.
Dialogue: 0,0:09:16.61,0:09:19.29,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,You can see this same principle operating
Dialogue: 0,0:09:19.31,0:09:22.30,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,in these ancient versions\Nof the same idea.
Dialogue: 0,0:09:22.32,0:09:23.48,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,What's happening is,
Dialogue: 0,0:09:23.50,0:09:25.84,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,an art form is colliding\Nwith a given technology,
Dialogue: 0,0:09:25.86,0:09:27.21,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,whether it's paint on stone,
Dialogue: 0,0:09:27.23,0:09:29.63,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,like the Tomb of Menna the Scribe\Nin ancient Egypt,
Dialogue: 0,0:09:29.65,0:09:32.26,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,or a bas-relief sculpture\Nrising up a stone column,
Dialogue: 0,0:09:32.28,0:09:34.31,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,or a 200-foot-long embroidery,
Dialogue: 0,0:09:34.33,0:09:36.31,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,or painted deerskin and tree bark
Dialogue: 0,0:09:36.33,0:09:38.77,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,running across 88 accordion-folded pages.
Dialogue: 0,0:09:38.79,0:09:40.96,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,What's interesting is,\Nonce you hit "print" --
Dialogue: 0,0:09:40.98,0:09:42.84,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,and this is from 1450, by the way --
Dialogue: 0,0:09:42.86,0:09:45.100,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,all of the artifacts of modern comics\Nstart to present themselves:
Dialogue: 0,0:09:46.02,0:09:47.54,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,rectilinear panel arrangements,
Dialogue: 0,0:09:47.56,0:09:49.33,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,simple line drawings without tone,
Dialogue: 0,0:09:49.35,0:09:51.35,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,and a left-to-right reading sequence.
Dialogue: 0,0:09:52.76,0:09:57.77,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,And within 100 years, you already start\Nto see word balloons and captions,
Dialogue: 0,0:09:57.80,0:10:00.76,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,and it's really just a hop, skip\Nand a jump from here to here.
Dialogue: 0,0:10:01.51,0:10:04.94,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,So I wrote a book about this in '93,\Nbut as I was finishing the book,
Dialogue: 0,0:10:04.97,0:10:06.88,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,I had to do a little bit of typesetting,
Dialogue: 0,0:10:06.91,0:10:09.58,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,and I was tired of going\Nto my local copy shop to do it,
Dialogue: 0,0:10:09.60,0:10:10.84,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,so I bought a computer.
Dialogue: 0,0:10:10.87,0:10:12.54,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,And it was just a little thing --
Dialogue: 0,0:10:12.57,0:10:14.73,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,it wasn't good for much\Nexcept text entry --
Dialogue: 0,0:10:14.76,0:10:18.60,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,but my father had told me\Nabout Moore's law back in the '70s,
Dialogue: 0,0:10:18.62,0:10:20.10,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,and I knew what was coming.
Dialogue: 0,0:10:20.55,0:10:23.25,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,And so, I kept my eyes peeled
Dialogue: 0,0:10:23.27,0:10:25.31,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,to see if the sort\Nof changes that happened
Dialogue: 0,0:10:25.34,0:10:27.95,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,when we went from pre-print\Ncomics to print comics
Dialogue: 0,0:10:27.97,0:10:30.84,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,would happen when we went beyond,\Nto post-print comics.
Dialogue: 0,0:10:31.34,0:10:33.08,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,So, one of the first things proposed
Dialogue: 0,0:10:33.11,0:10:35.46,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,was that we could mix\Nthe visuals of comics
Dialogue: 0,0:10:35.48,0:10:38.30,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,with the sound, motion\Nand interactivity of the CD-ROMs
Dialogue: 0,0:10:38.32,0:10:39.53,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,being made in those days.
Dialogue: 0,0:10:39.55,0:10:41.13,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,This was even before the Web.
Dialogue: 0,0:10:41.15,0:10:43.11,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,And one of the first things they did was,
Dialogue: 0,0:10:43.14,0:10:45.05,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,they tried to take the comics page as is
Dialogue: 0,0:10:45.07,0:10:46.53,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,and transplant it to monitors,
Dialogue: 0,0:10:46.56,0:10:48.56,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,which was a classic McLuhanesque mistake
Dialogue: 0,0:10:48.58,0:10:51.08,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,of appropriating the shape\Nof the previous technology
Dialogue: 0,0:10:51.10,0:10:53.17,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,as the content of the new technology.
Dialogue: 0,0:10:53.19,0:10:55.67,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,And so, what they would do\Nis have these comic pages
Dialogue: 0,0:10:55.69,0:10:57.33,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,that resemble print comics pages,
Dialogue: 0,0:10:57.35,0:10:59.77,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,and they would introduce\Nall this sound and motion.
Dialogue: 0,0:10:59.79,0:11:03.03,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,The problem was that if you go\Nwith this basic idea
Dialogue: 0,0:11:03.06,0:11:05.41,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,that space equals time in comics,
Dialogue: 0,0:11:05.43,0:11:08.14,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,what happens is that\Nwhen you introduce sound and motion,
Dialogue: 0,0:11:08.17,0:11:11.57,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,which are temporal phenomena\Nthat can only be represented through time,
Dialogue: 0,0:11:11.59,0:11:15.90,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,they break with that continuity\Nof presentation.
Dialogue: 0,0:11:16.82,0:11:18.36,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,Interactivity was another thing.
Dialogue: 0,0:11:18.39,0:11:21.15,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,There were hypertext comics,\Nbut the thing about hypertext
Dialogue: 0,0:11:21.18,0:11:23.89,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,is that everything in hypertext\Nis either here, not here,
Dialogue: 0,0:11:23.91,0:11:25.07,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,or connected to here;
Dialogue: 0,0:11:25.09,0:11:26.44,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,it's profoundly nonspatial.
Dialogue: 0,0:11:26.47,0:11:28.92,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,The distance from Abraham Lincoln\Nto a Lincoln penny
Dialogue: 0,0:11:28.94,0:11:32.03,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,to Penny Marshall to the Marshall Plan\Nto "Plan 9" to nine lives:
Dialogue: 0,0:11:32.05,0:11:33.20,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,it's all the same.
Dialogue: 0,0:11:33.23,0:11:34.42,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,(Laughter)
Dialogue: 0,0:11:34.44,0:11:37.30,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,But in comics,
Dialogue: 0,0:11:37.32,0:11:40.19,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,every aspect of the work,\Nevery element of the work,
Dialogue: 0,0:11:40.21,0:11:43.35,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,has a spatial relationship\Nto every other element at all times.
Dialogue: 0,0:11:43.37,0:11:44.54,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,So the question was:
Dialogue: 0,0:11:44.56,0:11:47.54,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,Was there any way to preserve\Nthat spatial relationship
Dialogue: 0,0:11:47.57,0:11:49.91,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,while still taking advantage\Nof all of the things
Dialogue: 0,0:11:49.94,0:11:51.58,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,that digital had to offer us?
Dialogue: 0,0:11:51.60,0:11:53.64,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,And I found my personal answer for this
Dialogue: 0,0:11:53.66,0:11:55.97,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,in those ancient comics\Nthat I was showing you.
Dialogue: 0,0:11:55.99,0:11:59.33,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,Each of them has a single\Nunbroken reading line,
Dialogue: 0,0:11:59.36,0:12:03.05,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,whether it's going zigzag across the walls\Nor spiraling up a column
Dialogue: 0,0:12:03.08,0:12:04.60,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,or just straight left to right,
Dialogue: 0,0:12:04.63,0:12:08.68,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,or even going in a backwards zigzag\Nacross those 88 accordion-folded pages,
Dialogue: 0,0:12:08.70,0:12:10.09,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,the same thing is happening;
Dialogue: 0,0:12:10.12,0:12:12.90,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,that is, that the basic idea\Nthat as you move through space
Dialogue: 0,0:12:12.93,0:12:14.08,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,you move through time,
Dialogue: 0,0:12:14.11,0:12:16.19,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,is being carried out\Nwithout any compromise,
Dialogue: 0,0:12:16.22,0:12:18.25,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,but there were compromises when print hit.
Dialogue: 0,0:12:18.27,0:12:21.19,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,Adjacent spaces were no longer\Nadjacent moments,
Dialogue: 0,0:12:21.21,0:12:24.43,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,so the basic idea of comics\Nwas being broken again and again
Dialogue: 0,0:12:24.45,0:12:25.61,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,and again and again.
Dialogue: 0,0:12:25.63,0:12:27.96,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,And I thought, OK, well, if that's true,
Dialogue: 0,0:12:27.98,0:12:30.89,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,is there any way,\Nwhen we go beyond today's print,
Dialogue: 0,0:12:30.91,0:12:32.67,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,to somehow bring that back?
Dialogue: 0,0:12:34.06,0:12:39.30,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,Now, the monitor is just as limited\Nas the page, technically, right?
Dialogue: 0,0:12:39.33,0:12:41.45,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,It's a different shape,\Nbut other than that,
Dialogue: 0,0:12:41.48,0:12:43.38,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,it's the same basic limitation.
Dialogue: 0,0:12:43.41,0:12:46.41,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,But that's only if you look\Nat the monitor as a page,
Dialogue: 0,0:12:46.97,0:12:49.33,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,but not if you look\Nat the monitor as a window.
Dialogue: 0,0:12:49.69,0:12:50.94,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,And that's what I propose,
Dialogue: 0,0:12:50.96,0:12:54.08,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,that perhaps we could create\Nthese comics on an infinite canvas,
Dialogue: 0,0:12:54.10,0:12:57.01,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,along the X axis and the Y axis
Dialogue: 0,0:12:57.04,0:12:58.30,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,and staircases.
Dialogue: 0,0:12:58.83,0:13:01.74,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,We could do circular narratives\Nthat were literally circular.
Dialogue: 0,0:13:01.76,0:13:04.83,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,We could do a turn in a story\Nthat was literally a turn.
Dialogue: 0,0:13:05.21,0:13:07.64,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,Parallel narratives\Ncould be literally parallel.
Dialogue: 0,0:13:08.98,0:13:10.69,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,X, Y and also Z.
Dialogue: 0,0:13:12.24,0:13:13.56,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,So I had all these notions.
Dialogue: 0,0:13:13.58,0:13:15.09,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,This was back in the late '90s,
Dialogue: 0,0:13:15.12,0:13:17.95,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,and other people in my business\Nthought I was pretty crazy,
Dialogue: 0,0:13:17.97,0:13:20.50,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,but a lot of people then went on\Nand actually did it.
Dialogue: 0,0:13:20.52,0:13:22.24,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,I'm going to show you a couple now.
Dialogue: 0,0:13:22.76,0:13:26.28,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,This was an early collage comic\Nby a fellow named Jasen Lex.
Dialogue: 0,0:13:29.64,0:13:31.41,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,And notice what's going on here.
Dialogue: 0,0:13:31.44,0:13:33.96,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,What I'm searching for\Nis a durable mutation --
Dialogue: 0,0:13:33.98,0:13:35.96,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,that's what all of us are searching for.
Dialogue: 0,0:13:35.98,0:13:39.16,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,As media head into this new era,
Dialogue: 0,0:13:39.18,0:13:41.68,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,we are looking for mutations\Nthat are durable,
Dialogue: 0,0:13:41.70,0:13:44.29,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,that have some sort of staying power.
Dialogue: 0,0:13:45.24,0:13:49.34,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,Now, we're taking this basic idea\Nof presenting comics in a visual medium,
Dialogue: 0,0:13:49.36,0:13:52.68,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,and we're carrying it through all the way\Nfrom beginning to end.
Dialogue: 0,0:13:52.70,0:13:55.87,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,That's that entire comic you just saw,\Nup on the screen right now.
Dialogue: 0,0:13:55.90,0:13:58.95,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,But even though we're only experiencing it\None piece at a time,
Dialogue: 0,0:13:58.98,0:14:01.56,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,that's just where\Nthe technology is right now.
Dialogue: 0,0:14:01.58,0:14:03.32,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,As the technology evolves,
Dialogue: 0,0:14:03.35,0:14:06.33,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,as you get full immersive\Ndisplays and whatnot,
Dialogue: 0,0:14:06.35,0:14:09.12,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,this sort of thing\Nwill only grow; it will adapt.
Dialogue: 0,0:14:09.15,0:14:14.70,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,It will adapt to its environment;\Nit's a durable mutation.
Dialogue: 0,0:14:14.72,0:14:15.89,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,Here's another one.
Dialogue: 0,0:14:15.91,0:14:18.21,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,This is by Drew Weing; this is called
Dialogue: 0,0:14:18.24,0:14:21.25,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,"'Pup' Ponders the Heat Death\Nof the Universe."
Dialogue: 0,0:14:46.06,0:14:47.55,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,See what's going on here
Dialogue: 0,0:14:48.58,0:14:51.58,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,as we draw these stories\Non an infinite canvas
Dialogue: 0,0:14:53.84,0:14:58.98,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,is you're creating a more pure expression\Nof what this medium is all about.
Dialogue: 0,0:15:03.66,0:15:06.23,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,We'll go by this a little quickly.\NYou get the idea.
Dialogue: 0,0:15:06.26,0:15:08.26,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,I just want to get to the last panel.
Dialogue: 0,0:15:14.04,0:15:17.14,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,[Cat 1: Pup! Earth to Pup!\NCat 2: Come play baseball with us!]
Dialogue: 0,0:15:17.16,0:15:18.23,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,(Laughter)
Dialogue: 0,0:15:18.25,0:15:19.85,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,[Pup: Did either of you realize
Dialogue: 0,0:15:19.88,0:15:23.17,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,that eventually the universe\Nwill be nothing but a thin, cold gas
Dialogue: 0,0:15:23.20,0:15:25.16,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,spread across infinite, lonely space?]
Dialogue: 0,0:15:25.18,0:15:27.80,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,[Cat 1: Oh ...\NCat 2: We'd better hurry, then!]
Dialogue: 0,0:15:27.82,0:15:29.82,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,(Laughter)
Dialogue: 0,0:15:31.52,0:15:32.67,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,Just one more.
Dialogue: 0,0:15:35.14,0:15:37.09,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,Talk about your infinite canvas.
Dialogue: 0,0:15:37.11,0:15:39.90,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,It's by a guy named\NDaniel Merlin Goodbrey, in Britain.
Dialogue: 0,0:15:40.26,0:15:41.66,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,Why is this important?
Dialogue: 0,0:15:42.90,0:15:45.23,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,I think this is important because media --
Dialogue: 0,0:15:46.40,0:15:47.74,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,all media --
Dialogue: 0,0:15:47.76,0:15:50.07,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,provide us a window back into our world.
Dialogue: 0,0:15:50.57,0:15:54.89,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,Now, it could be that motion pictures\Nand eventually, virtual reality,
Dialogue: 0,0:15:54.91,0:15:58.09,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,or something equivalent to it,\Nsome sort of immersive display,
Dialogue: 0,0:15:58.12,0:16:02.23,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,is going to provide us\Nwith our most efficient escape
Dialogue: 0,0:16:02.26,0:16:03.68,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,from the world that we're in.
Dialogue: 0,0:16:03.70,0:16:06.48,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,That's why most people turn\Nto storytelling, to escape.
Dialogue: 0,0:16:06.50,0:16:12.90,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,But media provides us with a window\Nback into the world we live in.
Dialogue: 0,0:16:13.26,0:16:16.40,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,And when media evolve
Dialogue: 0,0:16:16.42,0:16:21.40,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,so that the identity of the media\Nbecomes increasingly unique --
Dialogue: 0,0:16:21.42,0:16:24.62,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,because what you're looking at\Nis comics cubed,
Dialogue: 0,0:16:24.65,0:16:27.02,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,you're looking at comics\Nthat are more comics-like
Dialogue: 0,0:16:27.05,0:16:28.64,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,than they've ever been before --
Dialogue: 0,0:16:28.66,0:16:31.32,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,when that happens, you provide\Npeople with multiple ways
Dialogue: 0,0:16:31.34,0:16:35.32,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,of reentering the world\Nthrough different windows.
Dialogue: 0,0:16:35.34,0:16:39.11,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,And when you do that, it allows them\Nto triangulate the world they live in
Dialogue: 0,0:16:39.13,0:16:40.51,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,and see its shape.
Dialogue: 0,0:16:40.53,0:16:42.31,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,That's why I think this is important.
Dialogue: 0,0:16:42.33,0:16:44.39,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,One of many reasons,\Nbut I've got to go now.
Dialogue: 0,0:16:44.41,0:16:45.56,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,Thank you for having me.