Empathy

Consuming the written word is a different experience since the introduction of digital technologies. The act of reading itself is a new experience. Empathy changes the experience as well.

“Ringworld” by Larry Niven is one of science fiction’s landmark publications. In “Ringworld”, our main character and his com- panions discover an artifact in deep space. It is a ring with its own sun at the center. On the inside of the ring, there are rivers, fields, and cities. This “Ringworld” is the equivalent size of 350 million earths. The main character is asked to solve several crisises pertaining to the Ringworld. All of his solutions fail due to his inability to perceive the true size of his environment.

You are asked to read the entire novel, printed out and pre- sented across the span of 12 m. Traditionally, the reader is required to empathize with a novel’s characters through the words of the author. Empathy asks the reader to empathize with the characters through the act of reading.

For the comfort of the reader, a chair is provided.