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   band@octodon.social's status on Monday, 26-Feb-2024 00:58:55 JST band

   in reply to

   • Clive Thompson

   @clive i associated your mention of random music with some John Cage compositions and performances.

   • Embed this notice
     Clive Thompson (clive@saturation.social)'s status on Monday, 26-Feb-2024 00:58:56 JST Clive Thompson

     Coleridge was fascinated by the aeolian harp ...

     ... an instrument that was played not by a human, but by the wind

     A random-seeming input, with a system that transforms it into unpredictable and lovely outputs

     (These days we'd call it "procedural art", lol)

     Coleridge wondered if *humans* were, in essence, aeolian harps

     The metaphor caught on: Romantics loved it

     An essay considering this in the age of chatgpt

     Item #11 in my latest "Linkfest" newsletter, free here: https://buttondown.email/clivethompson/archive/linkfest-18-infinite-crafting-the-reverse/