february 15, 2002
*context weblog <http://straddle3.net/context/>
announces second issue of context series.
The subject is "Aesthetic Computing" that refers to the search
for a new development of representation and notation, the exploration
on the use of artistic methods and processes within common representations
found in computing. The term was coined by Paul Fishwick a researcher
on modeling, simulation and computer arts.
Fishwick defined Aesthetic Computing as "the study of artistic,
personalized formal model structures in computing." For him, "at
a minimum, this refers to the existence of aesthetics, and its importance,
in computing and mathematics. Numerous testimonies to aesthetics
can be found in mathematics (Hardy and Poincare), physics (Einstein,
Feynman), and computing (Knuth, Bentley with his "Programming Pearls")...
But, I think we need to go beyond this minimal interpretation with
a serious of "what ifs":
· What if a program was built to look like a city?
· What if an operating system really looked like Tron
· What if a mathematical notation was crafted using
an arbitrarily chosen aesthetic or style (such as surrealist, classic
Greek, or Gothic)?
· What if we had a Holodeck - would we still focus
on textual representation?
· What if artistic representations could be achieved
quickly, would this change our creative possibilities for formal
· What if we could personalize our interface to mathematics
and computing by re-presenting formal model structures that fit
our own peculiar and individual needs and wants?"
This is a contribution to a trend on programming, the visual programming
-- like David Gelernter, John Maeda, Marc Najork and Simon Kaplan,
Takashi Oshiba and Jiro Tanaka and others--. "Programming is typically
viewed as a low-level activity underneath the umbrella of software
engineering," said Fishwick,"This view should change if we are to
more clearly represent programs as models, while relegating textual
programs to the status currently occupied by assembly language -a
necessary, but low level construct."
We are on the brink of a revolution; how do we think about models
for computing, and ultimately, representation in mathematics?