Overview of the Book

Abstract

Figures such as the Golem, Frankenstein, and HAL 9000 have fascinated the public for centuries. As robots and intelligent machines have advanced, they have invaded our private spaces. Thus, the need for intelligent machines to understand our personal and cultural narratives is more imperative than ever. Utilizing the structure of the text instead of the textual content, we present simple algorithms, most of which are accessible to a wide range of readers in order to reveal the rhythm and structure of dialogues in films, theater, television, and radio scripts. Most of these algorithms can be implemented using spreadsheets, such as Microsoft Excel. We open an epistemological window to shed light on the dialogue between man and machine using tools from digital humanities and social networks.