Matter as code

 

The standard concept of code is that it belongs to something of a purely linguistic, immaterial sort: natural languages, programming languages (high-level to micro-code), languages of mathematics, … .

There is the metaphor “code as material”: When you write code, it has a flow to it. It reacts to your actions (and the actions of other people – “users”) in certain ways. It changes over time, based mostly on the complexities of the environment in which it is found. It reacts to other code, and so-on. And, like clay and glazes, it has both accessibility for basic learning and a frustratingly long learning curve towards developing mastery. Once you develop mastery in code, you can dance with it, and produce the same types of harmonious beauty that comes from understanding the flow and pulse of any material.

But what of “material as code”?

• Transmaterials:
   
  

  Can code be matter? Though often perceived as immaterial, code has always been inherently embedded in the physical machines. Computer processes themselves are now also increasingly taking shape in the tangible realm, controlling physical processes and influencing the way we behave in and experience space. By making these processes visible in physical matter, artists and designers provide us insights to understand software processes and digital aesthetics.

• Claytronics:
   
  

  Matter as Code

  Scientists at Carnegie Mellon University (CMU) are building an entirely new form of smart matter. Claytronic atoms, or “catoms,” are millimeter-scale spherical components capable of self-assembly and directed coordination. Researchers seek a near future where billions of microscopic intelligent catoms will be programmed to dynamically assemble into virtually anything. They envision claytronics being used in many diverse domains, from real-time 3D collaborative design to remote surgery where claytronic devices can be programmed to enter the body, remove tissue, and suture the wound—all without the need for hospital support.

• The material output of bio-compilers/-assemblers/-3Dprinters.
   
  
• Molecular assemblers/compilers:

  Matter compilers receive their raw materials from the Feed, a system analogous to the electrical grid of modern society. The Feed carries streams of both energy and basic molecules, which are rapidly assembled into usable goods by matter compilers.
  — The Diamond Age

 


Again, matter-code – catter (code|matter) – is seen as a yin-yang/qi-li symbiosis.

catter
from The Century Dictionary and Cyclopedia
To thrive.
 

 

(Some are troubled by the concept of matter not apparently including forces and energy [cf. Physicalism:SEP and Matter and Energy: A False Dichotomy]. But from Boson:Wikipedia, “Whereas the elementary particles that make up matter (i.e. leptons and quarks) are fermions, the elementary bosons are force carriers that function as the ‘glue’ holding matter together.” Furthermore, from Force_carrier:Wikipedia, “In particle physics, force carriers or messenger particles or intermediate particles are particles that give rise to forces between other particles. These particles are bundles of energy (quanta) of a particular kind of field. There is one kind of field for every type of elementary particle. For instance, there is an electron field whose quanta are electrons, and an electromagnetic field whose quanta are photons. The force carrier particles that mediate the electromagnetic, weak, and strong interactions are called gauge bosons.” It appears matter in the quantum age has a new “spin”.)
 

Still …

All is catter! (Caterialism)
 

 


Was Catwoman a Caterialist?

 

 


Philip Thrift