Randomness in the Arts
From Maze
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As observant creatures, we remember and perceive, combing through one another's experiences and stories to thrive. In the process of acquiring that culture, randomness is a manifestation of surprise. That is how it so effectively accesses our emotions. | As observant creatures, we remember and perceive, combing through one another's experiences and stories to thrive. In the process of acquiring that culture, randomness is a manifestation of surprise. That is how it so effectively accesses our emotions. | ||
| − | Perceptually, random visual images can alert us to previously undiscovered compositions. Musically, random sound works the same. It can re-order sonic events or even produce original ones. which satisfy our | + | Perceptually, random visual images can alert us to previously undiscovered compositions. Musically, random sound works the same. It can re-order sonic events or even produce original ones. which satisfy our need for emotion. |
| − | particularly such as when one “practices a random act of kindness.” | + | Randomness heightens every other emotion, because, like Bruce Schneier has observed of technology, it obscures perception, and mandates further observation and investment. When combined with generosity: When combined with generosity "Practice random acts of kindness." When scientific predictions are made, such as whether a meteor will destroy the planet, or whether a new drug will help people, surveys are made, and noise, or random events must be separated. |
| − | Randomness heightens every other emotion, because, like Bruce Schneier has observed of technology, it obscures perception, and mandates further observation and investment. When combined with generosity, it can be a cause for celebration. When scientific predictions are made, such as whether a meteor will destroy the planet, or whether a new drug will help people, surveys are made, and noise, or random events must be separated. | + | Randomness implies a relationship between expectation and surprise, a violation of anticipation as well as a notion of temporariness and release. This notion of violated predictability is key to some modern musician's playing and composing styles, leading many to create “generative music,” such as Autechre (http://www.soundonsound.com/sos/apr04/articles/autechre.htm) who produce music using precisely-chosen strands of random numbers. |
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| − | randomness implies a relationship between expectation and surprise, a violation of anticipation as well as a notion of temporariness and release. This notion of violated predictability is key to some modern musician's playing and composing styles, leading many to create “generative music,” such as Autechre (http://www.soundonsound.com/sos/apr04/articles/autechre.htm) | ||
Yet surprise elements have existed in music well before computers. Consider blues music - a genre which invites improvisation. It might be imagined as a personal music, in which the performer surprises himself though taking random chances in the notes played on an instrument. Imagine an evening's performance, a guitarist onstage, struggling to connect his inner feelings with the motion of his hands and the sound his instrument produces. As playing gets more intense, the body couples tightly to the instrument, and perhaps due to a bit of perspiration, a brief index finger slip near the 14th fret leads to a random “wrong note” which the player's and listeners' ears quickly detect. Yet, the skilled player perceives it not as a "wrong note," but an unexamined slice of his story, and incorporates the new pitch into the melody. Working the note back into the fold, the player relives that surprise moment with every pluck until it no longer becomes a surprise. | Yet surprise elements have existed in music well before computers. Consider blues music - a genre which invites improvisation. It might be imagined as a personal music, in which the performer surprises himself though taking random chances in the notes played on an instrument. Imagine an evening's performance, a guitarist onstage, struggling to connect his inner feelings with the motion of his hands and the sound his instrument produces. As playing gets more intense, the body couples tightly to the instrument, and perhaps due to a bit of perspiration, a brief index finger slip near the 14th fret leads to a random “wrong note” which the player's and listeners' ears quickly detect. Yet, the skilled player perceives it not as a "wrong note," but an unexamined slice of his story, and incorporates the new pitch into the melody. Working the note back into the fold, the player relives that surprise moment with every pluck until it no longer becomes a surprise. | ||
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| − | Sometimes, it is not merely a single random event, but an accumulation of them which really makes the world run, at least according to a theory science fiction writer Douglas Adams repeatedly referred to called "Infinite Improbability." | + | Sometimes, it is not merely a single random event, but an accumulation of them which really makes the world run, at least according to a theory science fiction writer Douglas Adams repeatedly referred to called "Infinite Improbability." |
