Developed

The readings that stood out to me the most for the week were the first two: “The Library of Babel” and “Electronic Literature: What Is It?”. “Electronic Literature: What Is It?” was written very well, but it was odd reading about a subject that is so subjective in such an objective matter. Not to discredit Hayles in any way, but I think that perhaps the way she describes electronic literature comes off as a bit "cold." It's hard to specify what exactly I mean by this, but one way I can describe it is that, if I had read what she wrote having had no experience at all with E-lit, I'm not sure I would be as interested as I am having had the introduction presented by Prof. Snelson. No doubt, Hayles knows what she is talking about; but her position as an ultimate authority is a bit off-putting. As for “The Library of Babel”, well, to be frank; it blew my mind. It's crazy to me just how many possible combinations of words are out there, and that theoretically, anything that can or will be said might be found in the The Library of Babel. What also struck me is the librarians. They made me realize just how desperate human beings can become striving to discover meaning, reason, and purpose in our lives. It is perhaps impossible for our minds to try and accept that anything might be without all three of those properties.