As a complement to Jim Choate's forward on the "trits" communication research, we suggest perusing an interview of the philosopher Paul Virilio. Here're are excerpts from the interview available at: http://pwp.usa.pipeline.com/~jya/silence.txt PAUL VIRILIO: I have to take a detour through physics here, and this is one of the differences between and Baudrillard and myself. Unlike him, I have a formal scientific education (that's why physics and military sciences kept me busy for a very long time). In the past, reality was a matter of mass; then it became mass + force. Today, reality is the outcome of: mass + force + information. Matter has now become truly three-dimensional. This is a clear break. What we have witnessed in Italy, with Berlusconi seizing power, is the first successful media-coup in history. Italy is again Europe's avant-garde, and is showing us where the new political alternative resides - in a realm where "left" or "right" are no longer relevant. The new political alternative is between the old political class on one side, and the new media-class on the other. With Italy, the media-class has now seized power in Europe. It will also happen in the United States, in France, in Spain, and elsewhere. CARLOS OLIVEIRA: Do you see some kind of media-fascism looming on the horizon? PAUL VIRILIO: No, because what I see is far worse! Due to its overwhelming power, the totalitarianism of the information-medium is going to be even more powerful than the traditional political totalitarianism of the old national-socialist or communist hues. The dangers are looming larger. I repeat: only if one is guarded against its dangers will it be possible to enjoy the positive aspects of the developments in the realm of new technologies. CARLOS OLIVEIRA: In your eyes, is there any way out of this rather bleak situation? PAUL VIRILIO: An accompanying evil here is the end of writing, as it unfolds through image technology, cinema/film, and television-screen. These new developments threaten the ability to conjure up mental images with oblivion. The typical modern human is characterized by a life under the dictatorship of the screen, to which the written word falls victim. We don't read any more, we hardly write each other - since we can call each other on the phone. Next, we will no longer speak! I'd really like to say: this will indeed be the silence of the lambs!