29 | 2003

Now showing 1 - 2 of 2

Coding the Infome: Writing Abstract Reality
Jevbratt, Lisa (2003) , S. 1-12
Because of their specific history, we think of computer languages and code as symbolic abstractions of natural languages, and computers as universal machines manipulating these symbols. However, today every computer exists in relation to the Internet, whether it is connected or not. Every software is potentially a networked software, a building block of the networks we live within and through. Because of this, code is no longer Text, a symbolic representation of reality - it is reality. To write code is to create and manipulate this reality. Within it, artist-programmers are more land-artists than writers, software are more earthworks than narratives, this creates new and fascinating issues in terms of referentiallity and meaning for the coding artist to delve into.
The Computer as a Prosthetic Organ of Philosophy
Rokeby, David (2003) , S. 1-7
This article looks at issues of language and encoding from the perspective of computer programming. Particular attention is paid to the different relationships between code and encoder/decoder in computer coding and human language coding. Examples of the writer/artist's work and working experience are used to illuminate these differences and a role for computers as philosophical prostheses is proposed.