Aggressive Reading |
A hypertext must be interactive. A hypertext writer must sacrifice
some authority over his or her work and give choices to readers but also be
aware of when he or she remains in control. Readers of traditional print texts
must adjust their reading process to enjoyably read a hypertext. They have to
get into the driver's seat
of the text. Not every electronic text forces the reader to be the driver. These
are not hypertexts by my definition, though. Hypertexts should never lose their
interactivity. Of the few foundational, a priori characteristics of hypertext
I discuss, this is the most integral one.
In place of the term "interactive," I am borrowing the more descriptive
term "ergodic" from Espen Aarseth's Cybertext. Aarseth defines
it thusly: "In ergodic literature, nontrivial effort is required to allow
the reader to traverse the text"(1). Aarseth defines trivial effort as
things like "eye movement and the periodic or arbitrary turning of pages"(2).
Ergodic literature includes many texts that are rarely included in hypertext
criticism, and for Aarseth, the category includes non-electronic literature
(such as the I Ching or the Tarot) in addition to computer games and
canonical hypertexts. Despite the relative focus of my exploration of hypertext,
the openness of ergodicism is important in discussing hypertext's capabilities.
A reader can interact with an ergodic text on levels that are extratextual
and independent of narrative.
So, although defining a hypertext as ergodic may exclude some visions of hypertext (as nothing more than a linear electronic work, for example), it includes newer works that come from different artistic traditions.