3. PROPERTIES OF CYBERSPACE



3.1. What is Cyberspace? 

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Cyberspace, like mental space, is liquid, flexible and vibrant. It continually transforms as it creates a hypertextual, non-linear environment rather than a linear time-space continuum. In cyberspace, the concept of scale as we know it in the physical world does not exist, and, as a binary construct, it is mathematically infinite. The copy is identical to the original, and more than one object can exist in one place.

3.1.1. Electricity and Multimedia 

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Electricity profoundly revolutionized communication, not only by allowing remote and rapid transmission of information, but also by provoking revolutionary changes in culture. The revolution associated with electricity, also known as the IT revolution, is comparable in importance to the revolutions related to the invention of the alphabet, or to the invention of printing.  Electricity creates entirely new types of spatial relations, but what’s most interesting, according to Kerckhove, is that in times of electrical omnipresence, we are able to return to a visual method of communication that is closer to human nature than textual communication. This fact largely determines the nature of our existential space that is  saturated with images and symbols (and that have been expressed in textual forms before):

If the alphabet split language in many parts and reduced the senses involved in human communication to a string of abstract signs, electricity is bringing all the senses together again in multimedia, interactive systems and virtual reality. [1]​

Cyberspace has not been embodied in the form of multi-media accidently, according to Grosz. Graphically embodied virtuality is an expression of the visual nature of our culture—the desire for representation comes directly from our brain and it expresses the need to understand what our body is involved in. The reader translates text into images, which are represented by words, and imagining is the process of this translation.



Imagination means literally the power to create images in the brain. Imagining, or creating images, is exactly what we do when we read. McLuhan’s metaphor of the Gutenberg Galaxy illustrates the transition from genetically naturalistic, tactile culture to the visual culture of the visualized world with the help of evolving technology. Electricity is, according to McLuhan, an extension of the central nervous system, allowing engagement with phenomenon thus far impossible to observe, thus enriching our experience, knowledge, and expanding the range of building our existential space.

3.1.2. Extended sensorium 

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The cognitive capabilities of the new technology have been tested by the creators of electronic virtuality from the very beginning. The topic of crossing sense barriers is popular in discussions of cyberspace and virtual reality. Robinette believes that technology substantially overcomes the limitations of human senses:

I want to use computers to extend human senses. We have certain built-in senses such as vision, hearing and smell, but there are many phenomena that are completely imperceptible to us. Some examples are X–rays, radioactivity, electricity, and the inside of opaque objects. [2]​

Thanks to the development of technology, our horizons have shifted from the edge of what is visible to our naked eyes to what is visible electronically at the speed of light, that is to say, at the scale of non-Euclidian geometry. [3] Anders says that electronically transmitted artifacts might become comparable to telepathy. He uses the term “bypassing the senses” to describe new techniques that have been made possible thanks to the emergence of electronic worlds.

Cyberspace is the area where intelligence will be able to grow in completely new and different directions. The understanding of space, freed from the limitations of human senses, can become multidimensional in ways similar to how other spaces are perceived: for example music – the art of ‘organizing’ space with sounds.



3.1.3. Interactivity 

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Interactivity is the ability to co-create environments in real time, and it significantly determines the properties of cyber-environments. Interactivity is not new for either the physical world or for the world of thoughts because only the interaction with other minds and with the physical world allows building a basic awareness of existential space. What is new is the interaction with the machine and the remote interaction of minds, made possible thanks to the expansion of cyberspace.

Myron Krueger, who was one of the first artist-researchers of electronic interactivity, came up with the concept of Artificial Reality, which was one of the first interactive responsive computer-generated environments.

The concept of interactivity is associated with the concept of interface—a communication platform between the binary mode of the computer and the multimedia mode of human imagination. Interactivity, according to Ostrowicki, is the process of converting or creating an electronic environment through this interface.

Thanks to the interactive interface, monitor display contents are transformed into the kind of place where a person can get settled. [4]​

According to Ostrowicki and many other researchers, the ultimate interactive environment would be a bionic generator with an interface located in the human brain—and here we are back to Stanislaw Lem’s phantomatic visions. Modern creators of computer interfaces tend to minimize the effects of the “artificial” element associated with technological imperfections and give the illusion of liquidity with a response time similar to that in which the brain operates, but it’s still very far from perfection.  Interactivity is also associated with the concept of immersion, tele-immersion, and telepresence. Telepresence enables remote communication with the simultaneous production of the illusion of presence. Telepresence overcomes space-time limitations, allows penetration beyond the boundaries of physicality, and creates a sense of a multi-subjective approach.

Immersion, interactivity, and tele-presence are the mechanisms that involve man in the electronic world of cyberspace, and which produce the illusion of an artificial reality. Because of them, the boundaries between (electronic) virtuality and reality are blurring. The artificial world of cyberspace and the real world of nature are thus interwoven. 

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3.1.4. Nonlinearity. Hypertextuality

Nonlinearity is the fundamental feature that distinguishes the virtual world from the physical world. It also derives from mind spaces: the brain does not function linearly—access to its memory resources is similar in structure to the access within hypertextual structures (rather than continuous narrative structures of physical space).  Cyberspace is not based on a linear space-time continuum. The idea of cyberspace is based on the principles of tearing and breaking narration. Hypertext is a new language that breaks the narration. It was created along with the development of computer technology and cyberspace, and became the language of virtual worlds.

Hypertext is a bold and radical idea, a new way of reading and writing—similar to it, but more rapid, and complete with quotes, exceptions and footnotes. In the future, hypertext will evolve into a huge, navigable network of new literature. [5]​​

The characteristic movement in cyberspace is the jump, not the step. Communication derives from the multi-linearity of the connections. Hypertext, as Ostrowicki says, is not "a proper text," it is more of an information about different texts—code node, rhizome or meta-data. Hypertextuality is also associated with multi-meaning dimension of information.  Novak contrasts the linearity of narrative thinking with the nonlinearity of poetic thinking. He believes that poetry is closer to the cyberspatial, hypertextual environment, and access to the resources of cyberspace is randomized, not sequenced. Novak believes that in order to understand Gibson’s "incredible complexity" of cyberspace, we need a "poetic" approach to the construction of cyberspace. [6] This implies the hypertextual approach.

Holtzman suggests that, thanks to the hypertextuality of cyberspace, we will be able to discover whole new areas of the mind and that we may develop new forms of logic that will better reflect the workings of the mind.  "Freed from the constraints of linear forms,” says Holtzman, “using the imagination, we can explore completely new human potential'. [7]

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3.1.5. Infinity 

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The notion of the infinity of cyberspace is complex, and can be considered on many levels: physical, mathematical and psychological.  Physically, because the data stored on a finite number of servers, it contains finite volume, and as the cable through which the data flows has finite capacity and speed limitations, cyberspace is finite, and therefore is limited by the constraints of the “finite” physical world.

As a mathematical construct, though, cyberspace can be considered infinite because it is infinitely divisible and can be expanded by adding an infinite number of pages connected by an infinite number of links. Holtzman, like many other scholars, believes that infinity is a natural feature of electronic virtual environments due to its logical mathematical construct. As an example, he maintains that fractal structure is the most appropriate way to “build” virtual databases. Many other researchers, including Virillio, are in favor of the fractal aproach as well.

Psychologically, aside from its physical limitations, considering cyberspace as a development and extension of mental space, we could rely on the argument of potentially infinite possibilities of the mind. However, according to Novak it is not that simple:

Strictly speaking, as a human construct, cyberspace is finite. However, we are not only finite, but also very small, and confined to a very small region of reality, and anything that involves large enough numbers, or that exists in a sufficiently different scale than we exist in, is, effectively, if not literally, infinite or infinitesimal. [8]

Novak believes that cyberspace as a structure for not only storing data, but also for coordinating its movement and development; cyberspace is many times larger than physical data storage. However, cyberspace itself is not infinite, just much bigger than one can imagine. Novak doubts that the human mind is capable of working “in the mode” of infinity:

We, the finite, can never conduct a full critique of the infinite. Hence, by a curious reversal of terms, it is reality itself that is most virtual for us, in the sense of being an asymptotic potentiality that we can never fully know or exhaust. The 'real' is already virtual. [9]​



The actual infinity of cyberspace remains a contentious issue, although Novak himself says:

Pure virtual space is a liquid approximation of the potentiality of all possible worlds (...). [10]

3.1.6. Lack of scale 

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The lack of scale in cyberspace means the inability to measure distance, determine size physically, and, above all, to locate a reference point for tracking in cyberspace. Normally, a man gets orientation in space by estimating his position in relationship to a reference point and by determining directions and territories with respect to this point. By measuring from this point, he creates an image of his surrounding space. In cyberspace, because of the lack of scale, it is not possible to determine distance, direction and territory. To the contrary, cyberspace adapts its “size” to meet the current needs of a user.

According to Norberg-Schulz, scale is the key factor affecting the size of physical space. By scale he means the criteria associated with size and scale related to the body; it does not translate to spaces of the mind or cyberspace. Scale and dimension are the way we interact with the physical world but they do not work in the non-material worlds.

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There is no scale in VR. There is no limit to the resolution of a virtual construction. [11]​

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Despite the obvious uselessness of the concept of scale in cyberspace, we tend to try to find a use for it (like we do with many other concepts that we use to use in the material world). Thus researchers tend to redefine familiar concepts and adapt them to cyberspace. For example, Michael Benedikt treats the concept of scale in cyberspace as a combination of scale and resolution. According to him, scale is a change of resolution and it causes the pixel or voxel (three dimensional pixel) to accelerate or slow down. Pixels and voxels, like the entire cyberspatial environment, are free from physical forces, but resolution changes affect the fluidity of their movement. This is the phenomenon that Benedikt associates with scale in cyberspace.

The problem of lack of scale in cyberspace implies that this new environment should be considered as a new category—as a space, but definitely a new kind of space that requires new classifications, definitions, and an independence from the habits and concepts transferred to it from other fields.



3.1.7. Uniformity of a copy. Problems with authorship. 

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The concept of origin disappears in cyberspace, as each digital copy is indistinguishable from the original. Copying and pasting is easier than creating a new one, and so “origin” involves changes in the understanding of creative processes. The copy is created without any loss of quality, a copy that is always perfect. [12]

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This applies to the problem of authorship, which is widely discussed by the creators of electronic environments. Cyberspace requires changes in the very concepts related to authorship.

This revolution in the arts involves a radical transformation of the role of artist, who, instead of creating, expressing, and communicating the content and meaning, is now designing the contexts in which the recipient will be able to construct their experiences and their own meanings. [13]​



3.2. Where is cyberspace?

Cyberspace is nowhere and everywhere at the same time.  Cyberspace is woven between physical space and mental space and it creates bridges between them, visualizing and allowing communication.

Cyberspace is like Oz — we know that it exists, we can get there, but it has no specific location. [15]​

From the technological perspective, cyberspace as an electronic space is dependent on a generator and an interface device. Although an invisible electronic grid surrounds us constantly, we are unable to connect with this world without the mediation of a device. This means that cyberspace can be wherever we are able to generate it and get inside it. For the recipient, cyberspace is a collection of events and places that he can access after connecting to the network. It is only limited by technology, but there are no spatial restrictions. It is not a linear environment so it does not have unused space. It exists only where it is needed, and disappears where no one is looking. It is a collection of popular places and events that live only through the activity of a user.

Cyberspace is generated from the outside, and as McFadden says, is top-down and symbolic rather than bottom-up and spacious. [16] This means that its form is somewhat rigid, and does not evolve as other forms of nature—it is not “grown” and left to fend for itself.

We are currently building virtual worlds from the outside in order to enter them from the inside. [17]​

3.2.1. Self-organization (User-Driven Environment) 

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Cyberspace is created simultaneously by many users, and it combines individual territories, spaces, agoras, squares, and auditoriums. It is a world that self-organizes, and, with no defined boundaries (in the sense of imagining the physical boundaries), it is continually created and dismantled—it lives and dies depending entirely on the activity of its users. Among other things, this is why Novak and Kerckhove call it an intelligent space. A self-organizing structure affects its discontinuous, jagged and random nature.

Cyberspace consists of many different media, all of which constitute its structure and construction. That is, they are not natural but are the product of designers, and, in many cases, users. Spatialisation of cyberspace is a product of those who encode the spatial algorithms. [18]​

Cyberspace, because it is a social product that takes dematerialized form and structure, is entirely determined by its creators, and does not have one static, measurable reference system. Because of that, it is not continuous and it fully depends on the user. This has a significant impact on the fact that, on a local level, cyberspace environments are so different from each other.

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[1] Kerckhove D., The Architecture of Intelligence (The Information Technology Revolution in Architecture), Birkhäuser Basel, 2001, p. 22.

[2] Rheingold H., Virtual Reality, Mandarin, London 1991, p. 25.
[3] Virillio P., We may be entering an electronic gothic era, [Architectural Design, Architects in Cyberspace II, 1997]

[4] Ostrowicki M., Wirtualne Realis. Estetyka w epoce elektroniki, Universitas, Kraków 2006, p. 25.
[5] Kerckhove D., op.cit., p. 41 (Ted Nelson,1962)
[6] Williama Gibson: ”(…) Cyberspace. A consensual hallucination experienced daily by billions of legitimate operators, in every nation, by children being taught mathematical concepts... A graphic representation of data abstracted from the banks of every computer in the human system. Unthinkable complexity. …”
[7] Holtzman S., Digital Mosaics: The Aesthetics of Cyberspace, Touchstone, 1998, p. 174.

[8] Marcos Novak, Alessandro Ludovico interview with Marcos Novak

http://www.neural.it/english/marcosnovak.htm
[9] Marcos Novak, Alessandro Ludovico interview with Marcos Novak
[10] Marcos Novak, Alessandro Ludovico interview with Marcos Novak

[11] Holtzman S., op.cit.
[12] Holtzman S., op.cit.
[13] Sitarski
[14] Mitchell W., City of Bits, MIT Press, Boston 1996
[15] Norberg – Schulz C., Bycie, przestrzeń i architektura, Murator, Warszawa, 2000, p. 54.
[16] McFadden T., Notes on the structure of Cyberspace, [Architectural Design, Architects in Cyberspace, red. Spiller N., 1995]
[17] Norberg – Schulz C., op.cit., Murator, Warszawa, 2000, p. 37.
[18] Dodge M., Kitchin R., Atlas of cyberspace, Addison – Wesley, 2001.