Just came across the poem All Watched Over by Machines of Loving Grace by Richard Brautigan (via the Adam Curtis documentary of the same name.)

It’s kind of fascinating. I like it.  I know it came from a period whose technological utopianism certainly didn’t come to pass, and might have been a bit off-key in the first place, but its sweetly optimistic (…or bitingly critical, depending on what way you squint at it).

All Watched Over by Machines of Loving Grace

I like to think (and
the sooner the better!)
of a cybernetic meadow
where mammals and computers
live together in mutually
programming harmony
like pure water
touching clear sky.

I like to think
(right now, please!)
of a cybernetic forest
filled with pines and electronics
where deer stroll peacefully
past computers
as if they were flowers
with spinning blossoms.

I like to think
(it has to be!)
of a cybernetic ecology
where we are free of our labors
and joined back to nature,
returned to our mammal
brothers and sisters,
and all watched over
by machines of loving grace.

If it were written today it must surely be ironic. But I wonder if it was heartfelt back in the 60s? I find what it paints to be kind of a mixture of pleasantly bucolic and desireable, and weird and creepy all at once. Not sure if I want it or not. I like the idea of a cybernetic ecology, where we are free of our labours, and joined back to nature. Not entirely so keen on being watched over by machines of loving grace. (Though the benevolent AIs in Iain M. Banks’ Culture novels could be good role models if we did want machines of loving grace…)

It’s interesting that the poem doesn’t really make a case for technology, other than the nod towards a kind of fully automated luxury communism at the end. It just sort of assumes that tech is the route to liberation – I guess that’s the flavour of the time. I’m not a primitivist, but I’m not sure that an IoT meadow will have all that much better benefit than the analogue equivalent.

 

We had a fun EvalApply session today, during which we decided to add to our homepage on evalapply.space a sentence about our interest in examining programming and technology in a wider societal context.  Early on we discussed that this was important to us all, and we often end up chatting about these topics when we meet – perhaps more so than SICP, so far!

We were pondering EvalApply as a name for the group for a short period – from an early email:

In addition, thinking about it further, it also has a double meaning to me that I really like.
Before we apply a function we must first evaluate its arguments.”
Taken metaphorically I feel that this captures [our] philosophical and political views towards technology in a broader sense.  We consider the social ramifications of technology before recommending its use.  We evaluate the arguments before applying its function.

Some things that I remember we chatted about today:

The important of constraints, or having a limited palette.  I can’t remember how it came up, but for me it recalled some of the ideas from old tracker music software and the demoscene, where using restricted hardware and software can be a useful creative constraint.

We talked about community moderation (further to a short note about it earlier this week), with Panda making a strong point that not everyone has the resources to extensively moderate a community.  It had come up for me recently in the context of the Fediverse, and the discussion over the defederation of the Gab instance, and the problems with freedom 0.  “The freedom to run the program as you wish, for any purpose” – this is not good if the purpose is, let’s say, neo-nazism.

Dan discussed the philosopher Simondon (an inspiration for Deleuze and Guattari, I understand), and the topic of alienation and technology.  Not just alienation as a result of losing autonomy in a capitalist system; but also alienation from technology – not knowing how things work or being able to tinker with them.  Emacs being a beautiful example of software you can see the innards of and tinker with, should you wish to.

Dan did a bit of SICP.

Dan and Panda chatted about another French philosopher, whose name I have unfortunately forgotten, and the philosophy of autism.

I read a couple of paragraphs of SICP.

Dan described the difference between technics and technology, which is really interesting – a distinction between the machines themselves, and the analysis of them.

 

Eval’ing and apply’ing in the MayDay Rooms
Been thinking lately that it could be a good municipal function to provide people with access to an ‘online home’, analogous to ensuring provision of physical homes.

In the same way it could be social, affordable, in a co-op, heck even (but hopefully not) private and rented. The municipality provides some infrastructure and codes/regulations to make sure there’s a home for everyone and that everyone can move freely if they want. But equally you can build your own home or move into an intentional community if you want and have the wherewithal to do so.

Not talking about a StateBook – if the state has any function in it, I think it should be regulating for open protocols and standards, or even just bare minimum access to data and data portability (https://newsocialist.org.uk/do-we-really-need-a-statebook/). I’m thinking more like Indienet – (https://indienet.info/) – the project in Ghent (coordinated by @aral@mastodon.ar.al) to provide each denizen with their own connected node in a wider p2p/federated network. I mean municipal more in the sense of libertarian municipalism, self-determination and federation of villages, towns, cities.

Obviously access to physical housing is a mess, at least where I’m currently living, so maybe not the best reference point. But I’m finding it an interesting framing. Every Facebook or Twitter profile is currently a home on the web, and it’s as if billions of people all have the same corrupt landlord.

This is kind of implicitly assuming that everyone *needs* a home on the web. That is certainly a debatable point. It is definitely becoming more of a part of the fabric of everyday life, and you could argue that it shouldn’t be.  I vacillate on this a bit but overall I tend to think that the benefits can outweigh the negatives, when it has a social motive and not a profit motive.

I just spent a few days away in the Lake District.  It’s a beautiful part of England, and a great place to get away to relax and slow your pace down a bit.  Living in London at present, I notice that it takes a couple of days for me to properly unwind and appreciate the peace and quiet and nature on offer when coming to the Lakes.  Day 1 my head is usually wrapped up in something and I don’t fully appreciate my surroundings.  By day 3 or so I can happily just stare at a tree for 30 minutes or so (well maybe 15 minutes).  Usually at the moment however I also come back after three or four days.  It’d be good to spend a full week or two there and see what happens, or even go full Walden and spend a year there.

This time I did one big walk, hiking from Skelwith up to Swirl How in the Coniston set of fells.  It’s 2630 feet high, just 3 feet shorter than the Old Man of Coniston.  The walk there and back took about 7 hours.

The view from Swirl How down into the Greenburn valley. Wetherlam in the foreground to the right.

One of my favourite views that I’ve come across in the Lakes is en route to Little Langdale, looking through the Blea Tarn pass towards the Langdale Pikes.  This is a set of peaks rising from the Langdale Valley.  They have great names like Pike O’Blisco, Harrison Stickle, Sergeant Man, Pavey Ark, etc.

(Question: If you cross a stream near Harrison Stickle, is it a Harrison Ford?  Answer: yes. yes it is.)

Looking over towards the Langdale Pikes

We did a couple of shorter walks too.  One up the excellently named Iron Keld, leading towards Black Crag.  The signpost on the way is great – you have a choice of paths leading to either “Sunny Brow”, or “Iron Keld” and “Black Crag”.  It feels a  bit like choosing between Hobbiton and Mordor.  But for reference, Iron Keld is much more fun than Sunny Brow – it’s an old pine plantation.

The other short walk was up Loughrigg Fell, which joins Skelwith Bridge and Ambleside.   It’s a low fell but a beauty.  When you get near the top it is has lots of gentle undulations, lots of little paths to explore, and some great panoramic views – down towards Ambleside, over to Windermere, great views of Grasmere and Rydal Water.  This time of year it is covered in ferns and looks a little bit like Tellytubby Land in my opinion.

Top o’ Loughrigg

Loughrigg Tarn is a total beauty spot.  An idyllic smallish tarn on the south side of Loughrigg.  A good spot for taking a dog for a swim and looking over towards the Langdale Pikes from a different angle.  You get a good view down to it from the top of Loughrigg.

Loughrigg Tarn below

I can highly recommend a trip to the Lakes.

Kicks Condor discusses his ‘infostrat’ (information strategy), as filtered through a reading of Ton‘s writings on the topic.

What’s an infostrat?  Picking up from Ton and Kicks:

“deciding what and how to bookmark or archive stuff, sorting through conflicting news stories and accusations, and alternating “periods of discovery with periods of digesting and consolidating”

and

“what is my strategy to comb through the gigs and gigs of input I can plug myself into on the Web?”

I find it all very interesting and would like to work out an infostrat for myself.  Quite often I fall into the pit of infinite scroll and end up in a mess of information overload.  Need to change my filters.

What do I want from the world of information out there?  I would separate my goals in to the social and the informational.

For the social side: I want to not only communicate with people, but to over time become close to some of them.  I must say that until recently, social media has always felt remarkably asocial to me.  Ton seems to have achieved sociality very well over time through blogging. I’d like to explore if there’s a knack to that, other than just giving it time.

For the informational side: this is more what social media has traditionally given me.  However, so far, it’s facilitated more consumption than consolidation I would say.  So I am very intrigued by Kicks’ mention of the linkage between blogs and wikis.  I like the idea of the blog timeline crystallising into a personal wiki over time.

Thanks Ton and Kicks for the discussion.  I have some reading to do!

Despite the liberatory potential of technology, of which I see free software playing a big role, there’s a very real concern of ending up with a kind of technocratic ‘vanguard party’.

You can debate the merits of vanguardism in general, but couple it with the current disproportionate skew of tech roles to white and male – which is even more pronounced in free software at present – and throw in the ‘scratch your own itch’ trope.

That’s a huge systemic problem as vanguard becomes regime.

Some things I am learning: if you’re white and male and into free software (I am), recognise that you have a very blinkered and narrow view of the world.

* Spend half the time you use learning Yet Another Technology to educate yourself about race, gender and class struggles (historical and present).

* Pipe down and listen to others when it comes to discussions about what is needed in software.

* Don’t ‘scratch your own itch’ – serve a community. If you’re white, male and technically proficient you’ve got enough privilege in the bank to pay it back building for others rather than yourself.

Watched the Lecture 1a video for SICP. (Not sure how exactly these correspond to the book – is it by chapter?)

It’s Hal Abelson giving the lectures. I find him really engaging. And, I did not know this until I looked him up just now, but is a founding director of both Creative Commons and the Free Software Foundation. Rad!

Anyway, here’s a few notes I made while watching the video.

Continue reading “Notes on SICP Lecture 1a”

Last weekend was IndieWebCamp Utrecht. I went along and had a great time learning, hacking, and seeing some parts of Holland.

IndieWebCamps are brainstorming and building events where IndieWeb creators gather semi-regularly to meet in person, share ideas, and collaborate on IndieWeb design, UX, & code for their own sites. — IndieWebCamps

They’re a great way to learn more about the IndieWeb and also a great excuse to visit a new place you’ve never been before.

I travelled over on a rail and sail ticket from London -> Utrecht with an overnight ferry.  I went to IWC over the weekend, plus a day in Utrecht before, and a day in Rotterdam afterwards.

Continue reading “IWC Utrecht & a trip to Holland”