# Dynamicland / Realtalk OS \[Doesn't really fit in software, small-computers, or homelab, so for now it's directly under projects. It may move in the future.] I've been learning about [Dynamicland](https://dynamicland.org/) and Realtalk OS, after someone shared a link to Hypercard in the World ([youtube](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=uI7J3II59lc)). The way these projects fire my brain, especially since recently reading Karl Schroeder's _Ventus_ and _The Suicide of our Troubles_, and the watershed politics in Ruthanna Emrys' _A Half-Built Garden_. J recommended I think about how I can help with Dynamicland's research with my own input. How could my set of skills (e.g. MechE and woodworking) contribute? What diversity of experience can I provide? For my whole programming career I have wanted better ways to visualize the context of the program/app/script. I have wanted call trees but more than just during debugging. With IaC I want resource dependency trees. With greater context could we do more than just inspect an existing system? Could we use the model to generate a new system (of code)? Oh dear, this idea spins off into [[Terrascope]]. --- researchers try to expand humanity and in so doing produce byproducts like "UI" and "OS". They use these byproducts divergently to explore their research. companies who capitalize on the new byproducts do so convergently, putting walls around them to make users buy more, or give up personal data, etc. it's yet another way product-centered technology has enshittified: lure the users in with the promise of using cool new toys, but restrict them from using their toys any way that doesn't benefit the company. --- "I've been working with bytes for 35 years, and I've never been able to hold them in my hand before" (Bootstrapping Research & Dynamicland, Dec 2019) Reminds me of the "nanosecond" that Rear Admiral Grace Hopper brought to her talk in the 80s. "Computation is too powerful a tool to be trapped inside tiny devices and be restricted to professional programmers." ## Setting up my own dynamic environment Could I put together a Realtalk example to bring to a work offsite? Bret Victor calls this hardware a "dynalamp" (it has a lampshade and is mounted on a long articulating stand). The lamp contains a projector, camera, a couple light bulbs. The base of the lamp contains a processor. They made something they call a [Dynapad](https://dynamicland.org/archive/2023/Jelly_tablet), which is a Microsoft Surface tablet running Realtalk, and interacting with the Realtalk site in the physical space they're in. 1080p AAXA P7 is a small projector they use for [Mini Dynalamap](https://dynamicland.org/archive/2022/Mini_Dynalamp) In fact they've been through a whole saga of hardware: - 2016: [Protrackers](https://dynamicland.org/archive/2016/Protrackers) - 2017: [Projectors](https://dynamicland.org/archive/2017/Projectors) and [Realboxes](https://dynamicland.org/archive/2017/Realboxes) - 2018: [Dynabulbs](https://dynamicland.org/archive/2018/Dynabulbs) - 2019: [Dynalamps](https://dynamicland.org/archive/2019/Dynalamps) - 2021: [4K Cameras](https://dynamicland.org/archive/2021/4K_cameras) - 2022: [Mini Dynalamp](https://dynamicland.org/archive/2022/Mini_Dynalamp) maybe I could start with [Installation Kit](https://dynamicland.org/archive/2021/Installation_Kit)? Projectors: - https://www.bestbuy.com/site/aaxa-p6x-dlp-pico-projector-4-hour-battery-usb-c-input-wireless-mirroring-1000-lumens-hdmi-usb-tf-input-1080p-support-gray-black/6451464.p?skuId=6451464 - https://www.bestbuy.com/site/aaxa-slc450-short-throw-native-1080p-smart-mini-projector-wireless-mirroring-streaming-apps-wifi-bluetooth-4-way-keystone-space-gray/6563051.p?skuId=6563051 - https://www.bestbuy.com/site/aaxa-p400-short-throw-mini-projector-2-hour-battery-native-1080p-wireless-mirroring-built-in-streaming-apps-space-gray/6553288.p?skuId=6553288 small printers: - Maybe a zero-ink printer? https://zink.com/ - Brother VC-500W - Canon IVY Mini Photo Printer - Polaroid's ZIP mobile printer ## To follow up - Bret Victor's personal website https://worrydream.com/ - watch this space https://dynamicland.org/ - https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Smalltalk - https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Etoys_(programming_language) - http://squeakland.org/ ## book recommendations \[from https://dynamicland.org/2024/Roots/] ### The visual medium - [ ] #book-rec #nonfiction _Before Writing, Vol. 1: from counting to cuneiform_, Denise Schmandt-Besserat ([bookshop.org](https://bookshop.org/p/books/before-writing-vol-ii-a-catalog-of-near-eastern-tokens-denise-schmandt-besserat/6634029?ean=9781477325766)) - [ ] #book-rec #nonfiction _The Domestication of the Savage Mind_, Jack Goody ([bookshop.org](https://bookshop.org/p/books/the-domestication-of-the-savage-mind-jack-goody/8491671?ean=9780521292429)) - [ ] #book-rec #nonfiction _Writing_, David Diringer ([archive.org](https://archive.org/details/in.gov.ignca.12550)) - [ ] #book-rec #nonfiction _Preface to Plato_, Eric A. Havelock ([bookshop.org](https://bookshop.org/p/books/preface-to-plato-eric-a-havelock/6694821?ean=9780674699069)) - [ ] #book-rec #nonfiction _Orality and Literacy_, Walter J. Ong ([www.routledge.com](https://www.routledge.com/Orality-and-Literacy-30th-Anniversary-Edition/Ong/p/book/9780415538381)) - [ ] #book-rec #nonfiction _The Printing Press as an Agent of Change_, Elizabeth L. Eisenstein ([bookshop.org](https://bookshop.org/p/books/the-printing-press-as-an-agent-of-change-elizabeth-l-eisenstein/6862777?ean=9780521299558)) [priority:: medium] - [ ] #book-rec #nonfiction _The Educated Mind: How Cognitive Tools Shape Our Understanding_, Kieran Egan ([wikipedia.org](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/The_Educated_Mind)) - [ ] #book-rec #nonfiction _Envisioning Information_, Edward R. Tufte ([www.edwardtufte.com](https://www.edwardtufte.com/book/envisioning-information/)) - [ ] #book-rec #nonfiction _Understanding Comics: The Invisible Art_, Scott McCloud ([wikipedia.org](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Understanding_Comics)) ### Physicality & agency - [ ] #book-rec #nonfiction _Cognition in the Wild_ , Edwin Hutchins ([MIT press](https://mitpress.mit.edu/9780262581462/cognition-in-the-wild/)) - [ ] #book-rec #nonfiction _Shop Class as Soulcraft: An Inquiry into the Value of Work_, Matthew B. Crawford ([bookshop.org](https://bookshop.org/p/books/shop-class-as-soulcraft-an-inquiry-into-the-value-of-work-matthew-b-crawford/586731?ean=9780143117469)) [priority:: medium] - [ ] #book-rec #nonfiction _The Hand: How Its Use Shapes The Brain, Language, and Human Culture_, Frank R. Wilson ([bookshop.org](https://bookshop.org/p/books/the-hand-how-its-use-shapes-the-brain-language-and-human-culture-frank-r-wilson/6705282?ean=9780679740476)) [priority:: high] - [ ] #book-rec #nonfiction _A Pattern Language: Towns, Buildings, Construction_, Christopher Alexander, Sara Ishikawa, Murray Silverstein ([wikipedia.org](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/A_Pattern_Language)). Christopher Alexander is neat because his work inspired _software_ Pattern Languages, which inspired Ward Cunningham in the design of the first wiki ([Wiki as pattern language, paper](https://dl.acm.org/doi/10.5555/2725669.2725707)) [priority:: high] - [ ] #book-rec #nonfiction _The Oregon Experiment_, Christopher Alexander, Murray Silverstein, Shlomo Angel, Sara Ishikawa, and Denny Abrams ([wikipedia.org](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/The_Oregon_Experiment)) [priority:: high] - [ ] #book-rec #nonfiction _How Buildings Learn: What Happens After They're Built_, Stewart Brand ([wikipedia.org](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/How_Buildings_Learn)) [priority:: high] - [ ] #book-rec #nonfiction _Something Incredibly Wonderful Happens: Frank Oppenheimer and His Astonishing Exploratorium_, K.C. Cole ([bookshop.org](https://bookshop.org/p/books/something-incredibly-wonderful-happens-frank-oppenheimer-and-his-astonishing-exploratorium-k-c-cole/3613?ean=9780226113470)) - [ ] #book-rec #nonfiction _Mr. Wilson's Cabinet of Wonder: Pronged Ants, Horned Humans, Mice on Toast, and Other Marvels of Jurassic Technology_, Lawrence Weschler ([bookshop.org](https://bookshop.org/p/books/mr-wilson-s-cabinet-of-wonder-pronged-ants-horned-humans-mice-on-toast-and-other-marvels-of-jurassic-techno-logy-vintage-books-lawrence-weschler/6703366?ean=9780679764892)) ### The dynamic medium - [ ] #book-rec #nonfiction _The New Media Reader_, Wardrip Ruin & Montfort (http://www.newmediareader.com/) - [ ] #book-rec #nonfiction _From Memex to Hypertext_, James M. Nyce ([bookshop.org](https://bookshop.org/p/books/from-memex-to-hypertext-vannevar-bush/19923961?ean=9780125232708)) [priority:: medium] - [ ] #book-rec #nonfiction _Memory Machines: The Evolution of Hypertext_, Belinda Barnet ([bookshop.org](https://bookshop.org/p/books/memory-machines-the-evolution-of-hypertext-belinda-barnet/6915648?ean=9781783083442)) [priority:: medium] - [ ] #book-rec #nonfiction _Dream Machines: New Freedoms Through Computer Screens & Minority Report_ ([worrydream.com](https://worrydream.com/refs/Nelson_T_1974_-_Computer_Lib,_Dream_Machines.pdf)) [priority:: medium] - [ ] #book-rec #nonfiction _Literary Machines_, Ted Nelson ([wikipedia.org](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Literary_Machines)) - [ ] #book-rec #nonfiction _Mindstorms: Children, Computers, and Powerful Ideas_ Seymour A. Papert ([bookshop.org](https://bookshop.org/p/books/mindstorms-children-computers-and-powerful-ideas-seymour-a-papert/14349506?ean=9781541675124)) - [ ] #book-rec #nonfiction _Powerful Ideas in the Classroom_, B.J. Allen-Conn & Kim Rose ([worrydream.com](https://worrydream.com/refs/Allen-Conn_2003_-_Powerful_Ideas_in_the_Classroom.pdf)) ### Dynamic environments - [ ] #book-rec #nonfiction _Tools for Thought_, Howard Rheingold ([www.rheingold.com](https://www.rheingold.com/texts/tft/), [MIT Press](https://mitpress.mit.edu/9780262681155/tools-for-thought/)) [priority:: medium] - [ ] #book-rec #nonfiction _Sketchpad_, Ivan Sutherland ([wikipedia.org](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Sketchpad)) [priority:: medium] - [ ] #book-rec #nonfiction _The Augmentation Papers_, Douglas C. Engelbart ([dougengelbart.org](https://dougengelbart.org/content/view/201/)) [priority:: medium] - [ ] #book-rec #nonfiction _A history of personal workstations_, Adele Goldberg ([dl.acm.org](https://dl.acm.org/doi/book/10.1145/61975)) [priority:: medium] - [ ] #book-rec #nonfiction _Smalltalk-80: Bits of History, Words of Advice_, Glenn Krasner ([worrydream.com](https://worrydream.com/refs/Krasner_1983_-_Smalltalk-80_Bits_of_History,_Words_of_Advice.pdf)) - [ ] #book-rec #nonfiction _The Human Interface: Where People and Computers Meet_, Richard A. Bolt ([archive.org](https://archive.org/details/humaninterfacewh0000bolt)) [priority:: medium] - [ ] #book-rec #nonfiction _Spatial Data-Management_, Richard A. Bolt ([worrydream.com](https://worrydream.com/refs/Bolt_1979_-_Spatial_Data_Management.pdf)) - [ ] #book-rec #nonfiction _Viewpoint: Toward a Computer for Visual Thinkers_, Scott Edward Kim ([worrydream.com](https://worrydream.com/refs/Kim_1988_-_Viewpoint,_Toward_a_Computer_for_Visual_Thinkers.pdf)) [priority:: medium] ### Warnings - [ ] #book-rec #nonfiction _Seeing Like a State: How Certain Schemes to Improve the Human Condition Have Failed_, James C. Scott ([wikipedia.org](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Seeing_Like_a_State)) - [ ] #book-rec #nonfiction _Simulation and its Discontents_, Sherry Turkle ([MIT Press](https://mitpress.mit.edu/9780262546799/simulation-and-its-discontents/)) - [ ] #book-rec #nonfiction _Amusing Ourselves to Death: Public Discourse in the Age of Show Business_, Neil Postman ([bookshop.org](https://bookshop.org/p/books/amusing-ourselves-to-death-public-discourse-in-the-age-of-show-business-neil-postman/6781325?ean=9780143036531)) - [ ] #book-rec #nonfiction _Technopoly: The Surrender of Culture to Technology_, Neil Postman ([bookshop.org](https://bookshop.org/p/books/technopoly-the-surrender-of-culture-to-technology-neil-postman/6718677?ean=9780679745402)) - [ ] #book-rec #nonfiction _Tools for Conviviality_, Ivan Illich ([bookshop.org](https://bookshop.org/p/books/tools-for-conviviality-ivan-illich/17686474?ean=9781842300114)) - [ ] #book-rec #nonfiction _From Satori to Silicon Valley_, Theodore Roszak ([web.standford.edu](https://web.stanford.edu/dept/SUL/sites/mac/primary/docs/satori/)) ### Biographies - [ ] #book-rec #nonfiction _The Dream Machine: JCR Licklider and the Revolution That Made Computing Personal_, M. Mitchell Waldrop ([bookshop.org](https://web.stanford.edu/dept/SUL/sites/mac/primary/docs/satori/)) [priority:: highest] - [ ] #book-rec #nonfiction _Bootstrapping: Douglas Engelbart, Coevolution, and the Origins of Personal Computing_, Thierry Bardini ([bookshop.org](https://bookshop.org/p/books/bootstrapping-douglas-engelbart-coevolution-and-the-origins-of-personal-computing-thierry-bardini/10921659?ean=9780804738712)) [priority:: medium] - [ ] #book-rec #nonfiction _Points of View: A Tribute to Alan Kay_, Ian Piumarta & Kimberly Rose ([worrydream.com](https://worrydream.com/refs/Piumarta_2010_-_Points_of_View.pdf)) - [ ] #book-rec #nonfiction _The Ascent of Man_, Jacob Bronowski ([bookshop.org](https://bookshop.org/p/books/the-ascent-of-man-jacob-bronowski/21376087?ean=9781849901154))