Hey Julian
I found this interesting:
> Of course I don't agree with his notion of of "natural" and his
> antimathematical arguments. Thinking "naturally" is mediated
> already by cultural algorithms (language, images, abstractions
> etc.). Programming languages are a way to make this thinking
> explicit (and to be able to change it), however "unnatural" it
> might seem.
I agree with what you are saying regarding programming being a way to
make often unconscious thoughts "explicit". But in that process, I
think we
often over-simplify and over-generalise (shall I use the word
"sterilise"?)
the subtle texture of meaning and connotations that exist in the
"analog"
world of say painting or guitar playing.
I'm not saying that thinking "naturally" is not algorithmic in the
way you describe
above, I'm merely pointing out that abstracting thought into a
programming language
is precisely that - an abstraction - and as such we loose something/
some things.
Of course guitar playing is an abstraction as well, but what I find
interesting in
the "analog" world is that our thoughts (here moving fingers being a
thought)
are not necessarily explicit (as is a necessity in thinking in code).
just a point : )
thor
Received on Mon Sep 04 2006 - 14:44:11 BST