“Consider the instant gratification of seeing ‘hello, world’ on the screen; it’s nearly the easiest possible way to ‘make’ things, and certainly one where failure has a very low cost. “

Debbie Chachra – “Why I Am Not a Maker”

This passage grabbed my attention because it highlights a fact which I’d never really considered before; coding is an easy medium to fail in. There is no wasted paper, ink, clay, or material of any kind. Only time is wasted, but even that is debatable. Few programmers would say that they’ve learned nothing from a multi-hour project which yielded poor results. I think that, as Debbie Chachra pointed out, coding is an incredibly safe place in which to “make things.” Technology has revolutionized the way which many things are made, though, which relates directly to the digital humanities. Writing has become typing, coding has come into existence, and entire fields of design have been digitalized.

This quote added to my understanding of the digital arts in general. The influx and intake of technology into what were previously artistic fields has created a space where the cost of creating is cheap. There are undoubtedly subfields in the digital arts and humanities which have not been recreated by technology, but technology has touched them all.

This term, I think that I’m most excited for the 3D modeling. I didn’t really know this would be part of the course at the beginning, but I think that it will be one of my favorite parts of the course. I have had some experience with this type of work in the past and I greatly enjoy this type of work. During the first class period, I thought the 3D model of Carleton was especially cool.