How do we read hypertext? (answers of W. Iser’s phenomenology)

The author considers the phenomenological ideas of German literary theorist W. Iser (1926-2007), what helps to compare reading practices of traditional linear and new non-linear computer texts. Generations brought up in the era of the book reading predominance often fear the “mosaic” perception of reality by digital generations, which operate mainly with hypertexts. Mosaic and semantic gaps characterize not only hypertext. The phenomenological approach to reading draws attention to the activity of reader in creating a coherent impression of the readable work. That is, any text, not just a computer one, includes transition points and gaps in the narrative, which activates the reader's horizon of expectations. The fundamental difference between the reading practice of hypertext and a printed book is the unlimited scope of the beginning and end of the narrative and, consequently, the complexity of separating text from context.