Interactivity
A fundamental aspect of deep literacy is the perspective that the most fundamental thing there is, is not matter or information, but interaction. This is because the power of information comes from interaction – interaction is not an optional extra – information which can not be interacted with is dead and useless and in a very real sense not information at all.
From an organisms point of view, non-interactivity is death.
‘Where’, ‘What’ & ‘Wonder’ - Interactivity As Human Sense
Two primary neuronal pathways are worth highlighting; the ‘where’ and ‘what’ systems (Margaret S. Livingstone, 2014).
Something which has fascinated me since childhood has been what ‘better’ vision would ‘look like’. A basic answer to this can be given by looking at text on a traditional computer monitor and then on a high-resolution ‘retina’ display and it feels like your vision has improved. Digital systems have improved human vision in other ways, such as through thermal imaging and other ‘false’ colour displays.
Of course, all interactive computer systems are ‘wonder’ systems, but I introduce the term here to elevate interaction to a foundational element of how we literally and figuratively see our world, in contrast to the current paradigm which presents our computer systems as external tools. I believe that seeing interactivity as a new human sense is a crucial aspect to developing ever more deeply literate digital systems.