Everyone Speaks, but Few Mark the Position | Interpreting Coordinates Ch. 4
Interpreting Coordinates The Human Role in an Algorithmic World PART I · Chapter 4 This chapter does not evaluate speech. It examines why speaking alone no longer guarantees that a record remains easy to retrieve or reuse. What follows is not a rejection of expression, but an observation of how position becomes necessary when reaction alone is no longer enough. We speak constantly—about restaurants, people, brands. We say things like: It was good. It was disappointing. I was moved. I wouldn’t recommend it. Words are everywhere. And yet, strangely, so little remains easy to call back. Why?¹ 1. There Is a Lot of Talk, but Very Little Record The internet is filled with opinions, reviews, and reactions. Give them time, however, and many become harder to find, recommend, or call again across contexts.² This is not because there is too little content. One reason is that much reaction-centered writing takes remarkably similar forms.³ Many texts begin like this: “Among the places I’ve been…” “...