Tag Archives: Internet

Colored Spheres Respond to Human Touch

January 10th, 2014 | Space

Colored Spheres Respond to Human Touch 1

Colored Spheres Respond to Human Touch 2

Colored Spheres Respond to Human Touch 3

Colored Spheres Respond to Human Touch 4

Colored Spheres Respond to Human Touch 5 Colored Spheres Respond to Human Touch 7 Colored Spheres Respond to Human Touch 8

From now until January 14th, 2014, you can experience a luminous new art installation at the Hong Kong Arts Centre. The design collective known simply as teamLab created this glowing field of orbs that actually responds to human touch. From the artists:

“Individual balls floating in the air communicate to each other via a wireless connection.
The balls change color when touched by people, when they bump into things, or receive a shock, and sounds are produced in relation to the colors. Those balls send this color information to other balls, which in turn send the information to balls close by, and the information spreads out so that all the balls become the same color.”

The artists hope to equate the interaction of the orbs to the growing connectivity of people across the internet. “The internet has spread through out the world. Individuals are connected to closely related people and information spreads back and forth freely between them. People act as the intermediary for the information and in an instant the information spreads and the world unifies”

So, I suppose at this very moment, I am playing a small role in the internet communication world in which we all live…

-RSB

[via Design Boom]

What The Internet Is Doing to Your Brain

May 8th, 2013 | Brain

Internet Brain

Internet Brain

Ever since I started a full-time job working at a computer, I feel like my brain has gone a bit haywire.  My attention span seems shorter every day, I check a myriad of iPhone apps every 20 minutes (without much reason), and I can hardly get through a task from start to finish. I believe this is all directly attributed to my perpetual online status.

The “3 minutes on the Internet” highlighted at the beginning of this video perfectly describes the scatter brain feeling I get with endless connection to information.  Of course, I’m happy to learn everything there is to know about the violent behavior of panda bears or toilet paper orientation (DON’T CLICK THAT!), and this breadth of knowledge is great at cocktail or dinner parties, but the depth of knowledge is often sacrificed.

So what do can do about this problem?

Well, I think one good solution is to disconnect from time to time.  Print off a long article you plan to read and get away from the computer for an hour or so.  This will help with the next step…

Commit your attention.  Resist any and all urges to check email, facebook, reddit, or RobotSpaceBrain until a task is completed.  In time, this should get easier as your brain adjusts to a new level of focus.

Exercise & Practice Meditation.  Clearing your mind from the hustle of daily life is essential for well-being. Exercise has been linked to increased attention in several studies. I have never practiced meditation, but I’ve heard it can do the same.

The whole point isn’t that there’s something inherently wrong with the Internet, but I would recommend taking a moment to reflect on how it’s affecting you.  Maybe you can adjust your usage to find a little more zen in your life.  I sure hope I can.

-RSB

[via Gizmodo]