THE ORIGIN AND MEANING OF MEDIAONICS
Since the creation of the term Mediaonics there has been in the minds of some a confusion or misconception of its origin and meaning. As the creator of the term I want to put the record straight and clarify for the uninitiated what I believe to be its true meaning.
I will start with the simple definition that many apply to it of dividing the word into two,
media, connecting it with all the ready made connotations of this word and
onics, as from sonics using sound or sound waves. Mediaonics then in its basic form means the integration of media and sound. Many will argue that this is just another word for multimedia and to some extent they are right. However, If the word medium is analysed and considered in the equation mediaonics takes on a completely different meaning which I believe to be its essence and function.
Medium - a means or agency; liquid vehicle with which pigments, elements are mixed; person claiming ability to communicate with spirits; imaginative worlds of fancy; a channel for communication of information.
Mediaonics as a term is by its very nature organic, it has been designed to grow and change to make it adaptable, purposeful, meaningful, and above all else a survivor. The science fiction writer Isaac Asimov gives us a glimpse of the computer that goes beyond the realms of logic and develops emotions and human traits. We live and work in a world where technology is changing our lives at an ever increasing pace and we need to develop and adapt to survive.
Mediaonics in its infancy was simply an arts based approach to new media. It fast became a process for communicating and learning in any subject you care to choose. Like a magnet other things began to be attracted to it and became part of its make up. Like all magnetic particles you can pull them apart and rearrange them.
Mediaonics is about deconstructing and reconstructing information in a creative and imaginative form. It will always push the boundaries of new technology while drawing upon the most basic and fundamental of human skills and emotions. This may involve an input from an astro physicist and classical musician or a brain surgeon and a break-dancer, or an architect and a graffiti artist. Such is the nature of mediaonics.
It has a value both in education and the world of work in that it creates high level skills in the communication highway and develops imaginative, creative and out of the box thinking.
A team from the creative industries together with a number of teachers have already created an installation, in November 2003, that opened discussion about new ways of presenting learning. The team has grown and so has the scale and expectations of the second installation. Mediaonics is the chameleon of new media and learning. It has fibrous roots, and like the hair on your head it just keeps growing.
Brian Lammas. 24.09.04
