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ESOTERIC PRACTICES IN COMPUTATION
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With the increasing use of the internet for commercial purposes and the definition of user experience standards in the 90's (CHECK), the world wide web has faced several shifts in the way software is built.
As adoption increased, companies have been confronted with the challenge of augmenting conversion rates and with that interfaces changed from joyful experiments of creativity to all of the same KPI-tracking websites.
Computers have became interfaces for an endless stream of information, where users are seen as numbers for profit. We are supposed to scroll through a fast paced flow of content in an anesthesic way.
That differs a lot from our experience as a species that has spent thousands of years in nature, thinking and feeling about the ways we experience exhistance. In technology there is almost nothing left for animism, no contemplation. The aesthetic experience with computers has been reduced to an artificial inflow of dopamine.
The only technogods we have are those in charge of platforms. The owners of data.
That has brought several challenges for humans. As consumers of the internet, we've seen the downfall of truth, with a confusion of what is real and what is not. We no longer know who to trust with the weaponization of algorithms.
It seems like racional thinking doesn't work as it should in this scenario.
Byung Chul-Han describes the screen as flat [2]. Like if there was no place for experiencing the deepness of human nature inside of a computer. Where instead of the possible erotic experience that can be found in other places, there was only pornography. Everything is exposed, nothing is hidden.
So the questions that arise in my mind are:
How could (if they could) esoteric practices challenge the status-quo of computation in the contemporary world?
Can computers be an interface for phenomenological experiences? Can art be a vector for an aesthetic experience through machines?
What are the possible sensitive experiences that could emerge from a different approach to computation?
Part of the research also suggests an investigation of possible esoteric practices in the history of computation, like hacker aesthetic, obfuscation, cryptography, permacomputing, low tech, glitch aesthetic, among others.
Another interesting aspect to be exhamined is how obsfucative practices could represent a counterpoint to the overexposed nature of web in the current moment. Not only in functional ways, like those defended by the cypherpunk movements, but from a conceptual and philosophical stand point.
What if what we could have as an antithesis to the huge inflow of information and hyperreality is actually taking a step towards esoteric practices?
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Despite the theoretical aspect of the raised questions, a huge part of the exploration for this research should be manifested as an artistic practice. Code has been the core of my work as an artist and although most of the time represented as software art, I've been deeply interested in the idea of building esoteric tools for others to experiment with.
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DEFINITIONS
"a category of movements that embrace an "enchanted" worldview in the face of increasing disenchantment". [1]
ESÔTERIKÓS : belonging to an inner circle. [1]
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HISTORIC CONTEXT
The term "esotericism" thus came into use in the wake of the Age of Enlightenment and of its critique of institutionalised religion. [1]
Certain groups wanted to disassociate themselves from the dominant Christianity in Western Europe. [1]
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OPPOSITE CONCEPTS
↳ Hyperreality (Baudrillard)
↳ Literal practices
↳ Candy-like art
↳ Social media algorithms
↳ Concrete art
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ADJACENT CONCEPTS
↳ Poetry
↳ Non-computational cryptography
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TO BE RESEARCHED
↳ The history of the internet.
↳ The history of UX standards
↳ Cypherpunk history/concepts
↳ Esoteric sound practices
The use of frequencies to deliver messages
↳ PCB aesthetic
↳ Possible historical esoteric practices
Hacker aesthetic
Obfuscation and cryptography
Glitch aesthetic
Permacomputing
Low tech
Command line tools
↳ Books
Metaphysics by Plato
Obfuscation: A User's Guide for Privacy and Protest
Aesthetic Programming: A Handbook of Software Studies
Eloquent Javascript
↳ Links
https://computervirus.glitch.me
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TOOLS TO EXPLORE
↳ Awkward/glitched/obscure browser-based text editor
↳ Mobile writing device
Allows you to save plain text / obfuscated text / graphical mode
You can allow your friends to see what you write
At first, the content can only be seen at the device
[1] https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Western_esotericism
[2] Saving Beauty