Hi all,

Just copying the email I sent to Matthew a few days ago to contribute to the scholarship on this subject.


"....a copy of my recent book (High-Tech Trash: Glitch, Noise, and Aesthetic Failure, University of California Press, 2019) which addresses themes of error, accident, and failure in computational systems, albeit primarily from the perspective of aesthetics."

The book can also be downloaded for free, through open access here: High-Tech Trash: Glitch, Noise, and Aesthetic Failure 


Best,


Carolyn L. Kane, Author of 
(University of California Press, 2019)

Associate Professor, School of Professional Communication
Faculty of Communication and Design
Ryerson University
80 Gould Street
Toronto, Ontario
Canada M5B 2K3


Carolyn L. Kane, Author of 
(University of California Press, 2019)

Associate Professor, School of Professional Communication
Faculty of Communication and Design
Ryerson University
80 Gould Street
Toronto, Ontario
Canada M5B 2K3




On Fri, Jul 3, 2020 at 1:55 PM Matthew Kirschenbaum <mkirschenbaum@gmail.com> wrote:
Hello all,

I am interested in a better understanding of the nature of computational error. My sense is that actual, literal (mathematical) mistakes in modern computers are quite rare; the notorious Pentium bug of the early 1990s is the exception that proves the rule. Most bugs are, rather, code proceeding to a perfectly correct logical outcome that just so happens to be inimical or intractable to the user and/or other dependent elements of the system. The Y2K "bug," for instance, was actually code executing in ways that were entirely internally self-consistent, however much havoc the code would wreak (or was expected to wreak).

Can anyone recommend reading that will help me formulate such thoughts with greater confidence and accuracy? Or serve as a corrective? I'd like to read something fundamental and even philosophical about, as my subject line has it, the nature of computational error. I'd also be interested in collecting other instances comparable to the Pentium bug--bugs that were actual flaws and mistakes hardwired at the deepest levels of a system.

Thank you-- Matt


--
Matthew Kirschenbaum
Professor of English and Digital Studies
Director, Graduate Certificate in Digital Studies
Printer's Devil, BookLab
University of Maryland
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