Ergodic literature. Ergodic literature is a term coined by Espen J. Aarseth in his book Cybertext—Perspectives on Ergodic Literature, and is derived from the Greek words ergon, meaning "work", and hodos, meaning "path". Aarseth's book contains the most commonly cited definition: In ergodic literature, nontrivial effort is required to allow the reader to traverse the text.
If ergodic literature is to make sense as a concept, there must also be nonergodic literature, where the effort to traverse the text is trivial, with no extranoematic responsibilities placed on the reader except (for example) eye movement and the periodic or arbitrary turning of pages. [citation needed] Cybertext is a subcategory of ergodic literature that Aarseth defines as "texts that involve calculation in their production of scriptons.
" [1] The process of reading printed matter, in contrast, involves "trivial" extranoematic effort, that is, merely moving one's eyes along lines of text and turning pages. References[edit] See also[edit] Fleet Foxes - Helplessness Blues by subpop. MOSSLESS Magazine › Home. News for the arts and creative industry - Jobs, Careers & News :artsHub.co.uk | The UK Arts Portal. PLATFORM MAGAZINE. The Quietus.