Algorithms are Thoughts, Chainsaws are Tools

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Mar 5

Algorithms are Thoughts, Chainsaws are Tools

I don't know if you've heard about "live coding". In short, it is creating music using a computer by writing the score live. Where scores once were notes written out on a page, in live coding the scores are procedures that generate the notes that the computer plays. When the music is performed, the computer screen of the composer is usually projected onto a surface everyone can see and the composition of the music becomes part of the performance. This performance takes the place of people playing instruments, something you don't get when a computer is doing all the heavy lifting.

Algorithms are Thoughts, Chainsaws are Tools is a short film by Stephen Ramsey, a professor of English presented to the Critical Code Studies Working Group, an online Digital Humanities conference where the subject is computer code and its interpretation. The movie is a live commentary of a piece of live coding. The commentary will gives people who are unfamiliar with music and/or coding gain enough appreciation for what is being done to put them in a position if they want to know more. This is a must-see, as it gives you a look at live coding from the inside out. If you have a Mac, you can download the software used to make the music and play around with it.

Algorithms are Thoughts, Chainsaws are Tools from Stephen Ramsay on Vimeo.

One off note in the movie: Ramsey makes a mistake in not studying the software he's commenting closely, so he's left sometimes commenting on the viewer's own questions about the code ("Gee, I wish I knew what that function was doing...."), which is very bad form in live commentary. Ramsey justifies the decision saying that he wanted to put himself on the level of his audience. One cannot help but think that he is being "phony" in his attempt to achieve "authenticity". One almost suspects that this choice was made because he didn't have access to this information or simply didn't have time to do his homework before putting the movie together. You have to be John Madden when you do live commentary, not Joe the Plumber. A good live commentator can bring themselves down to the level of audience when necessary, but can't be a member of the audience and do their job to the full. "Net-court!!!!" as Bud Collins was fond of screaming on tv during tennis matches.

In any case, I highly recommend taking 20 minutes to watch this gentle introduction to live coding