Mare Hirsch // 3 . 3 4
"A particular method of symbolizing may be unimportant, but it is always important that this is a possible method of symbolizing. And this happens as a rule in philosophy: The single thing proves over and over again to be unimportant, but the possibility of every single thing reveals something about the nature of the world."
- Ludwig Wittgenstein, Tractatus Logico-Philosophicus, 3.34
3 . 3 4 embodies the tension between explicit calculation and unforeseen emergence. The configuration of the suspended agents in the robotic sculpture is dictated by two antagonistic, self-organizing algorithms, in which each agent's position is influenced by a subset of other agents in the system. From this algorithmic competition, form and structure are created.
Despite the limited intelligence of each agent, an intricate and dynamic structure emerges from the movement of the entire system. The structure, not explicitly calculated as a whole,
is the result of many incremental decisions with limited visibility with respect to other agents--decisions that render the system with a meta-logic that is observable only from a greater distance.
This tension between explicit control and emergent form invites a meditation on the relationship between logical calculation and unexpected consequences at multiple scales of existence.
Despite the limited intelligence of each agent, an intricate and dynamic structure emerges from the movement of the entire system. The structure, not explicitly calculated as a whole,
is the result of many incremental decisions with limited visibility with respect to other agents--decisions that render the system with a meta-logic that is observable only from a greater distance.
This tension between explicit control and emergent form invites a meditation on the relationship between logical calculation and unexpected consequences at multiple scales of existence.
[ simulation and control software ]
