1.2.3 Hypertext on Oct. 9

ABOVE
HYPER ex) hypertext
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HYPO ex) hypothesis
BELOW


Today, I'm going to talk about hypertext.
According to Wikipedia.com, Hypertext "most often refers to text on a computer that will lead the user to other, related information on demand. Hypertext represents a relatively recent innovation to user interfaces, which overcomes some of the limitations of written text. Rather than remaining static like traditional text, hypertext makes possible a dynamic organization of information through links and connections (called hyperlinks). Hypertext can be designed to perform various tasks; for instance when a user "clicks" on it or "hovers" over it, a bubble with a word definition may appear, or a web page on a related subject may load, or a video clip may run, or an application may open."

These days, when we use the Internet, hypertext is one of the most popular functions. The difference between hypertext and just text is that we can access whenever or wherever we are. For example, if you read a book, then usually you read from the beginning to the end. In contrast, when you read a text on the net which includes hypertext, it will not be sequential because you can access randomly although information is provided sequentially.

Let's move on to hypertext scholarship.
Have ever heard of Dadaism? It means ignoring traditional idea of arts or against traditional things. One example of the Dadaism is to believe that there's not only one author because no one can write a book with only his/her ideas. This aspect is similar to hypertext. There's not one author, as well. One of the characteristics is that we can access to the others. In other words, we can visit a web site which is provided by the author by using hypertext.

In old days, literature had huge effects on technology. In reverse, however, technology affects not only literature but also everything in our world recently. As a result, some authors overcome the limitation of the typical text and adjust themselves to the new world. This is what we have to do or at least what we try to do now.