The inspiration and purpose behind pursuing this project topic can be traced back to an article in the 1988 autumn issue of Visible Language. The article, Instant Theory: Making Thinking Popular, by Craig J. Saper, explores the hows and whys of evolving a public theory for the understanding of various media and culture.

A public theory increases access to strategies and information on learning and innovations. This article states that there have been previous attempts by concrete poets to popularise thinking in the form of pattern recognition and puzzle solving. In fact, it is this attempt that guides this essay as it studies the views of other theorists to explore alternative systems for representing our knowledge. These alternative systems help build an entire cultural setting for the spread of ideas. It also includes the possibility of dissolving accumulated theories into thinking images.

Before elaborating on the alternative systems, a brief introduction to concrete poetry is essential to understanding why it is important to study concrete poetry in the context of instant theory.