Review of Randomness by Mark S
From Maze
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The role of randomness in creating patterns and designs, using analog methods of random generation. Burroughs and Cage will figure prominently here, but there are earlier examples, most notably, the 18th century Dominican priest Sebastien Truchet, whose randomly generated Truchet patterns eerily prefigure that pattern produced by 10 PRINT. | The role of randomness in creating patterns and designs, using analog methods of random generation. Burroughs and Cage will figure prominently here, but there are earlier examples, most notably, the 18th century Dominican priest Sebastien Truchet, whose randomly generated Truchet patterns eerily prefigure that pattern produced by 10 PRINT. | ||
===The emergence of Randomness in Computing=== | ===The emergence of Randomness in Computing=== | ||
| − | A central element of this section is the work of John von Neumann, who sought to easily create random numbers for the purposes of conducting computer simulations of the hydrogen bomb. | + | A central element of this section is the work of John von Neumann, who sought to easily create (pseudo-)random numbers for the purposes of conducting computer simulations of the hydrogen bomb. A key point to tease out here is that the first computer-based random number generators were closely connected to the Cold War. In this way, the RND token is a tiny slice of a much larger shared history between war and computers. This connection has been well-traced out in regards to videogames, but the military's connection to something as simple as RND is something too easily glossed over. What's remarkable, in looking over the early papers discussing random number generation from the fifties and sixties, is that all of them were funded by either the military or the Atomic Energy Commission. |
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===The emergence of computational randomness in aesthetic design=== | ===The emergence of computational randomness in aesthetic design=== | ||
An early example of this is a 1960 teleplay "written" by a computer at MIT, and then performed on CBS. | An early example of this is a 1960 teleplay "written" by a computer at MIT, and then performed on CBS. | ||
