Date: Tue, 15 Sep 2015 12:21:09 -0700
From: Robert M Ochshorn
Subject: Fwd: INPUT.2 @ CDG: Unpacking my Library
Dear Nagle, Paula, Glen, Toby, Dave, Matthias, Chaim, and Götz, (and also Bret and May-Li, who’ve already received this mail),

I would love for you to attend tomorrow evening. The group is loosely centered around people with skills and interest in computer graphics/vision and sound synthesis/analysis, but it is not exclusively or even primarily a technical conversation that I am hoping to facilitate. Rather, I am trying to mobilize some community/context for our work and thoughts outside CDG (outside-in? inside-out?), and that effort is severely impeded without your voice and participation. I’m not sure how this will go tomorrow night—I am imagining this one as something of a salon[0]—but want to make it very clear that you are welcome and invited. Please let me know if you’ll be able to make it so I can order the right amount of food and—really—to quell my event-organizing anxieties.

Yrs,
RMO

[0]
A salon is a gathering of people under the roof of an inspiring host, held partly to amuse one another and partly to refine the taste and increase the knowledge of the participants through conversation. These gatherings often consciously followed Horace's definition of the aims of poetry, "either to please or to educate" ("aut delectare aut prodesse est"). Salons, commonly associated with French literary and philosophical movements of the 17th and 18th centuries, were carried on until recently[when?] in urban settings.

(from wp, emph mine)

Begin forwarded message:

From: Robert M Ochshorn
Subject: INPUT.2 @ CDG: Unpacking my Library
Date: September 15, 2015 at 12:10:02 PM PDT
To: Neeraj Kumar , Jinna Lei , Steve Rubin , Colin Sullivan , Matt Vitelli , "H. Lee" , May-Li Khoe , Juho Kim , Lia Napolitano , ****************, Mayank Sanganeria , Amy Pavel , Bradley Neuberg , Bryan Russell , Maneesh Agrawala , Dany Qumsiyeh
Cc: Bret Victor

habent sua fata libelli[0]

Tomorrow night at CDG, you are invited to the second edition of INPUT[1]. Since many of you have seen the space by now, the format this month will be different. Instead of a guided tour and centralized talk, we will meet in the CDG library[2] to work on and brainstorm new inputs particular to that space. 

INPUT.2:
September 16, 2015, 7-9pm, 2 S Park St (SF)
RSVP requested.

We have scans of many (but not all) of the books, and are curious to explore and discuss input paradigms that extend—but do not deny—the printed form. Spine recognition, voice search, page turning, audio notes, &c &c &c.

As with last month, dinner will be provided. Additionally, you are welcome to invite others who you think may be interested—please give me a heads up so I order the right amount of food.

A short note on what is meant by “work”: I will try to have enough materials and camera streams ready so that prototyping basic vision, search, and synthesis techniques will be possible if you are interested in jumping right into something, but my expectation is much closer to a “brainstorming salon,” if you will, with people and food and conversation primary. To reiterate a prior invitation: you are welcome at CDG anytime if you’d like to play with any ideas on a longer timeframe.


Your correspondent,

Robert M Ochshorn
- -
Researcher, Communications Design Group
**********


A CDG visitor reads Tufte in the context of the context.


[0] translation: books have their destiny

[1] refresh: The meeting is called INPUT because we imagine computers interacting with us in and through our world aided by the inputs of seeing and listening, rather than us (humans) needing to constrain our inputs through the narrow range of digital keyboards, mice, and slippery screens. The meeting is also called INPUT because we are in urgent need of your input as we (so far, myself and Bret Victor) develop a new system for room-based spatial/physical computing.

[2] here is a list of books in the library, circa December: