I'm interested in the philosophical underpinnings that inform web presentations. I believe the metaphors joining brain and computer are largely based on the old synaptic, hardwired paradigm. Herkenham has estimated under 2% of neuronal communication occurs at the synapse (p.139 in Molecules of Emotion). Could metaphoric brain-computer connections also relate to the newer more fluid, hormonal, parasynaptic model we now know exists?

My aim is not to discredit brain-computer associations. These lines of connection are well drawn in the psyche of many intelligent people. Rather, I would like to re-examine the word "network"--an accepted conceptual bridge between brain and computer. Network is a term with various meanings. It could refer to a branched system with defined patterns or to an interconnected waterway in constant motion. This latter definition is key. As Herkenham has said, unlike the computer's motherboard, "the brain is wet, and lives in that kind of environment (p.170 in Mapping the Next Millennium)." "Network" typically evokes images of hardware, or red and blue lines on maps or a branching vascular system. I don't believe the idea of canals or finger lakes or the parasynaptic system is what most have in mind when connecting brain and computer.

Another thread: In web-based work, I feel there has been an over-dependence on linking, which is disjunctive and counter to dramatic or in-depth literature. Linking is only one aspect of hypertext markup language. The quick cut can become an aggressive pattern. The predominantly male population on the web tends to color how work is presented. I want to create a space that draws people in, that invites participation--that balances the vectors of receptivity and extension.

In the brain, there is, most significantly, a chemical hormonal flow. Information is exchanged in a rich mobile broth. It is this sense of flow that I hope will pervade the web. The notion that the quantity of links indicates a superior model of artistic communication is like the myth that the spurt across the neuromuscular junction provides the primary basis of neurological communication. The number of links may imply assertiveness or fortitude and little else.

The mythic proposition of synaptic supremacy is connected to the idea of extension. It is not a great leap to the idea of phallic extension and its concomitant ejaculate. This is, I believe, the basis for an over-reliance on hyperlinks. A kind of macho factor. The power to extend. It has led fiction into a maze when many were hoping for a-maze-ment. It has short-circuited the exploration of space-time and literature.

I like to examine how various conventions introduced on the web find expression. I long for a sense of yen-yang, a co-existence of male and female principles. One can witness how "push" technology, which involves automatically refreshed pages, has often been used as a thrusting mode of presentation. There's nothing inherent in push technology that decrees an aggressive approach. I've spoken on other occasions about how automatic refreshing can be varied in tempo to create a climate for meditation or an opportunity for dialogue.

I'm excited by new methods of animation that create smooth, rather than cartoon-like motions. Text and image Java Applets and recently dynamic html with layers and timelines can enhance opportunities for web presentations that flow, that promote a milieu for deep involvement. I propose that this is feminine in the same way that I would suggest the new chemical model of the brain is feminine, namely, due to the concept of receptivity.

Internet user-involvement need not be dependent on repetitive extension via links. The involvement can be interior to the page. In an ideal world, there is room for receptivity and extension, just as in the brain there is synaptic and parasynaptic activity and, of course, both men and women have it. Any metaphor breaks if you push it far enough. In closing, I would like to reiterate: is the excessive reliance on hyperlinks merely an allusion to synaptic activity? Given that a liquid dance is being performed in the brain, how might the elements of receptivity and responsiveness be given adequate play in the web environment?