[SIGCIS-Members] on the nature of analog computing

Ian S. King isking at uw.edu
Sat Nov 8 13:40:23 PST 2014


The initial question, about the use of the concept 'analog', puts me in
mind of a book recently published by Bernd Ullmann, "Analog Computing".  I
haven't had an opportunity to finish reading it but I do recall Bernd
offering the two concepts not as an either/or choice but as alternative
perspectives.

I've visited Bernd in Bad Schwalbach, and his collection of analog (by
circuit construction) computers is impressive to the point of
overwhelming.  And they work!  -- Ian

On Sat, Nov 8, 2014 at 8:57 AM, Paul Fishwick <metaphorz at gmail.com> wrote:

> @Willard: Care’s argument seems compelling and your characterization feels
> accurate to me. The term
> “analog”, unfortunately, has transformed into the opposite of digital.
> Your “continuity of practice” (modelling)
> seems more relevant and enriching. One of the side of effects of our
> current condition in computer science,
> is that the analog is ignored in CS education. History also tends to be
> ignored, which is a related and more
> acute problem.
>
> @Ben: I enjoyed reading Sterne’s essay. I especially like the point made
> in the last paragraph:
> “technology is a part of the domain of human existence, not something
> outside it.” This is as true today
> as it was when we first fashioned sticks out of branches and used bones
> for information (e.g., Ishango bone).
>
> A significant issue is that computing is taught and generally viewed as
> something happening in a box. If we
> can learn from the mathematicians, computing can be viewed as an intensely
> human activity similar to how
> we can view the world through the lens of set theory. This issue, I
> believe, is related to the analog computing
> discussion since it is a short transition from the analog to seeing
> computing everywhere. If we limit our understanding
> of computing to the digital, it is quite literally difficult to leap out
> of the box.
>
> -p
>
>
>
>
> On Nov 7, 2014, at 10:47 AM, Ben Peters <bjpeters at gmail.com> wrote:
>
> Thanks, Paul, for the fascinating prompt.
>
> I'm excited to hear about the literature suggested by Willard, and I
> particularly like your distinction between analog as what is not discrete
> and analog as isomorphism (e.g. Douglas Hoftstadter's most recent book).
> Those interested may also be interested in the media philosopher and sound
> historian Jonathan Sterne's take on the question, which resonates fairly
> well with your distinction and Willard's comments on the midcentury timing.
>
> If interested, check out this short essay draft Sterne wrote on "analog"
> <http://culturedigitally.org/2014/05/analog-draftdigitalkeywords/> that I
> am editing for a forthcoming volume
> <http://culturedigitally.org/digital-keywords/> (currently under review
> at Princeton), and that at least one other on this list are contributing to
> (*head nod toward Bernie*). Sterne develops more extended arguments in his
> books on the MP3 and sound recording, and I could if asked point to more
> tangential digital-analog debate in sound studies.
>
> Running out the door,
>
> Ben
>
> petersbenjamin.wordpress.com
>
> On Fri, Nov 7, 2014 at 9:22 AM, Paul Fishwick <metaphorz at gmail.com> wrote:
>
>> I recently had a discussion about analog computing with someone who works
>> actively on
>> hybrid analog-digital systems at the integrated circuit level. My
>> proposal was that there seems
>> to be, based on historical accounts and reflection, two differing views
>> on “analog”: 1) analog
>> reflecting the continuous or discrete character of magnitude of a
>> variable, and 2) isomorphism
>> indicated by construing analog to be associated closely with analogy.
>>
>> To take one example which can serve for discussion: Are Minecraft
>> circuits analog, digital, or
>> both? It depends on how we define “analog” and where we focus (on the
>> issue of representation
>> or magnitude). For example, redstone circuits could be viewed as analog
>> computing in the sense
>> that the circuits are analogous to electronic circuits containing gates
>> such as and, or, xor, etc.
>> And yet, at the bottom of the vast hierarchy of translation, we have
>> Minecraft servers and clients
>> working on top of a digital substrate. In the mid 90s, I bought a Nord
>> Lead for my synthesizer
>> collection, and Nord uses “virtual analog” to characterize their lineup
>> (an analog front end
>> and a digital back end):
>>
>> http://www.nordkeyboards.com/products/nord-lead-2x
>>
>> My view is that the issue of magnitude is a side-effect of “analog as
>> analogy and, thus,
>> isomorphism", and thus not primary. Tangible objects when juxtaposed and
>> configured together
>> to form physical analogies happen to be continuous simply because reality
>> and our physiology
>> is continuous, and we employ real objects (at least in the mind) when
>> forming analogies. This
>> view may need tweaking, but it seems as though the knowledge of such
>> things is present in
>> this forum.
>>
>> What are the thoughts on this? Is this an ongoing point of debate among
>> historians?
>>
>> -paul
>>
>>
>> Paul Fishwick, PhD
>> Chair, ACM SIGSIM
>> Distinguished University Chair of Arts & Technology
>>    and Professor of Computer Science
>> Director, Creative Automata Laboratory
>> The University of Texas at Dallas
>> Arts & Technology
>> 800 West Campbell Road, AT10
>> Richardson, TX 75080-3021
>> Home: utdallas.edu/atec/fishwick
>> Blog: creative-automata.com
>>
>>
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>
>
> Paul Fishwick, PhD
> Chair, ACM SIGSIM
> Distinguished University Chair of Arts & Technology
>    and Professor of Computer Science
> Director, Creative Automata Laboratory
> The University of Texas at Dallas
> Arts & Technology
> 800 West Campbell Road, AT10
> Richardson, TX 75080-3021
> Home: utdallas.edu/atec/fishwick
> Blog: creative-automata.com
>
>
> _______________________________________________
> This email is relayed from members at sigcis.org, the email discussion list
> of SHOT SIGCIS. Opinions expressed here are those of the member posting and
> are not reviewed, edited, or endorsed by SIGCIS. The list archives are at
> http://sigcis.org/pipermail/members/ and you can change your subscription
> options at http://sigcis.org/mailman/listinfo/members
>



-- 
Ian S. King, MSIS, MSCS
Ph.D. Candidate
The Information School
University of Washington

An optimist sees a glass half full. A pessimist sees it half empty. An
engineer sees it twice as large as it needs to be.
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