Humanist Discussion Group, Vol. 39, No. 165.
        Department of Digital Humanities, University of Cologne
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        Date: 2025-10-15 05:14:44+00:00
        From: Willard McCarty <willard.mccarty@mccarty.org.uk>
        Subject: skill in digital expressions?

Among many other effects of the medium we strive to understand and use
intelligently, I would question the consequences for the expressions of
skill, or as I would call it, craft-work. The question applies obviously
to programming done by humans but also to other work, say in
photography. Use of a digital camera requires a somewhat different set
of skills from a film camera, particularly if you develop and print your
own, but the essentials of taking a photo worthy of lasting attention
remain. My impression, however, is that the craft-work of fine
photography tends to get far less attention nowadays than once was the
case. Of course there are many aspects in the use of such a medium to be
discussed and have theories about. But I wonder if the automatisation of
so much of what we do has in effect drowned out attention to the care
with which we do it.

My interest in photographic skill has grown out of amateur practice in
part, but at the theoretical end it has been sharpened by inquiries into
how the camera-machine can be used to explore machinic vision more
broadly. I'm especially interested in creative, exploratory, epistemic
use of the smart machine at the level of craft-work. Up until the close
of the last century attention to the skills involved was not difficult
to find. Since then there seems to be much less.

Comments on the above, helpful pointers to stuff I may have missed,
would be welcome.

All best,
WM
--
Willard McCarty,
Professor emeritus, King's College London;
Editor, Interdisciplinary Research in the Arts,
   Sciences and Humanities (Berghahn); Humanist
www.mccarty.org.uk


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