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| Links Have
Effects So what is the point I am making? The point is, links do have signification, and the reason why we often failed to see their signification has to do with this preoccupation of ours. We are too familiar with them to be able to 'see' the effects they have on us. In the subsequent paragraphs, I shall discuss the ways in which links can have effects or meanings, some of these may be unique to electronic documents (henceforth, I will use this interchangeably with hypertexts) while others may not be so unique. With an awareness of the signification a link can have, we will be able to "enhance our understanding of both the possibilities and limits of hypertext" (Ess). Such understanding is definitely crucial, not only for writers and theorists, but also for readers in this electronic era. First of all, we should recognize that a link is itself unique to electronic documents. It has been argued that hypertexts or electronic documents are actually closer to how a human mind functions, via association. It is, however, not my concern here to argue for or against this proposition. If we assume that human minds really work by association, then we can see how a linked text has the potential to allow human minds to function more 'naturally'. And if human minds are associative in nature, it is important, therefore, to examine what a link can do. |
