Infinite Permutations of the Digital Book

Peter Brantley
August 19, 2008 | Permalink | Comments (1) | Listen

James Bridle discusses the near infinite malleability of digital books. From booktwo.org:

Imagine a book that told a different story every time it was opened. The story might change depending on the gender of the reader, or the sex. It might depend on the location of the reader, or the position of the book in time; the time of day, or time in years. Centuries might pass before the book tells the same story again.

The nature of the web makes such a book possible. Immediately, a simple reading of the user-agent to determine the reader's operating system and browser could be used to present each with a different version, breaking the narrative along several general pathways. Sections could be hidden or revealed by simple manipulation of the layout.

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1 Comments

bowerbird said:
August 19, 2008 5:18 PM

borges had this idea a long time ago.

and programming it is almost trivial.

so where's the news value in this post?

-bowerbird

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