Journalism - Writing Technologies Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 1750 words

Journalism - Writing Technologies - Essay Example Her arguments, especially those that suggest how language evolved out of mathematical algorithms, will also be compared with other theoretical models such as the remediation concept as posited by Bolter and Grusin (2000). Language and Code Codes refer to the advanced writing techniques that translate natural languages to executable programs through a structured process of gradual refinement. The argument about how codes are increasingly becoming part of society is anchored on the logical evolution of language. Hayles pointed out that it has always changed across different periods of human history, adapting and changing according to the social triggers that disrupt the language systems. According to Aitchison (2001), such social triggers accelerate deeper causes and hidden tendencies that lie dormant within a language (Aitchison, p153)2. The explanation of this phenomenon can be quite complex and could assume scientific, psychological and cultural perspectives. Nonetheless, they revea l the agreement that languages are bound to be affected by the speakers’ environment. This is the raison d’etat behind the conventional claims about the impact of the code in modern society. Technology has dominated much of human activities with the way computers and other information and communication machines have increasingly become integrated in man’s way of life. There are, for instance, those who will argue that life will be difficult without a mobile phone or work cannot be performed without the Internet or computers. What happened was that technology became indispensable and machines have influenced human faculties and activities. Technological codes have been integrated in several aspects of human lifestyle such as how codes are embedded in commercial product cycles and into the wider capitalist system itself. These reasons, however, belong to a school that conventionally explains how technology impacts language and writing. Hayles has suggested a diffe rent perspective in interpreting the role of codes in language and its development. She invoked a growing school of thought that argues how the universe is fundamentally computational, elevating code as some lingua franca not only of machines but of all physical reality (Hayles, p15).3 In the context of writing, for instance, there is the claim that its earliest precursor is mathematics and not pictures that many believe led to syllabic writing and phonetics (Liu, 2010, p315).4 This position made writing a complex set of semiotic situations rather than mere recording of what is spoken. This theory has enabled Hayles to explain a deeper relationship between code, language, society and technology. She was able to develop a paradigm that is based on the concept of computation. Code, Writing and Speech As has been stated previously, code is a writing technique that translates language into a form understood by machines. Therefore, if Hayle’s theory is to be believed, it resembles other forms of language such as writing and speech. The outcome of the process is similar to those used in human processing of visual information, including perspective and stereoscopy (Hayles, 1999, p275).5 This nature, including Hayles invocation of Derridean metaphysics, demonstrate how code assume a certain degree of materiality as has been supported as well in how codes have penetrated the represented world. This is the basis for