DELETION, PERMANENCE, AND CONSISTENCY=====================================

Silicon Valley likes to store data because it entrenches people in their past behaviors. Corporate culture’s emphasis on consistency is ableist, colonizing, transphobic, and represents a growing discomfort with people’s fluidity.

I hope someday to have an International Day of Deletion. How can we live more presently?

I am excited to say that after a few years of privately practicing Deletion Day on April 4th, we’ve got a public website.

Deletion Day 2020 is less straightforward than it’s been in past years. With the isolation of social distancing, I’ve found comfort in social and digital media. And my gripes about data security and privacy seem tiny next to the health crisis we’re dealing with globally. But – this is still something that matters to me. Privacy and agency remain important components of the rapid changes we’re witnessing in government and society.

“how can i help?”

a solitary dial reflects the machine’s physical clock speed, acting as display rather than control. despite appearances, your presence is appreciated.

depression is a personal reflection of my past few years, struggling with depression in an environment that couldn’t help or support me the way i needed. depression initially existed as part of a larger criticism of capitalism and the work ethic. i stripped down the larger piece until one exposed dial remained.

the dial represents the machine’s energy level. turned all the way down, it represents depression; the machine’s clock speed drops, and it becomes so sluggish it’s nearly inoperational. when the dial is turned all the way up, the machine works “as intended”.

geometries that reveal contradictory images / messages from different perspectives (to be printed, then origami’d). i tested a few geometries for this one; here’s a prototype i built to test “print” images to a pyramidal lattice:

self-destructive art piece that wants privacy:

wiping away digital residue:

a printer that ran through a scanner that ran through another printer and then into a paper shredder because idk state surveillance or something:

https://www.eventbrite.com/e/sfpc-spring-2018-student-showcase-tickets-45020562715

this evening (less than two days before the showcase) i finally had an idea that stuck. i’m writing from the subway home after building the enclosure and v1 of the software:

the project is called depression. i’m excited to write more about it soon!

turns out marvin minsky beat me to it. for context: minsky, who said “i don’t think there is any such thing” regarding human consciousness, co-founded MIT’s AI laboratory. MIT has a long history of military research; in recent years, its public focus has shifted to military robots, drones, and battle suits.

his manifesto creeps me out. i changed “hands” to “drones” to emphasize why. Edits left as strikethroughs; emphasis my own.

Claude Lévi-Strauss, “Tristes Tropiques”

one of my major goals during this program is to not make things.

* silence. the sfpc showcase curators back away slowly to discuss what a mistake they’ve made. *

it’s okay, i’ll do the assignments and make a showcase project and all that. i’m still going to make things. it’s hard not to; i’ve already made a lot of Things since arriving, more than i’m comfortable with. but i’m celebrating all the things i think of that i don’t make.

during the binary numbers assignment, i came up with an idea to:

• map binary digits (bits) to piano keys
• find binary numbers that resolve to nice chords
• create a simple matching app that prompts players with a decimal number and celebrates when the correct chord is played

week 1

week 2

week 3

week 4

week 5

…i can’t believe we’re halfway through! final showcase prep is starting and i still have no idea what i’ll build. yikes! gonna go ponder that, bye for now :)

with this week’s readings on “security” + surveillance for our crit theory course (“the radical outside”) fresh on my mind, the customs experience was heightened. last time reached an ABSURD level of invasiveness with questions about my family. this time was just lots of silence as i pondered what the neural nets were cooking up.

lil thought: upon saying i quit my job just over a month ago, the agent said “oh - that’s a really long time”. Work is a weed we’re feeding 🌱 neoliberal capitalism, “we eat for you”, soapbox, etc.

Before I start any application process I try to learn as much as I can about the place. That involves learning about the folx involved. I hope this post helps a future SFPC attendee get started on their application.

If you’ve landed here from a search and are considering applying, I recommend doing so! It’s fun here and the people are nice.

A disclaimer before we get into it: everyone who goes through SFPC comes from different backgrounds. If you see something on my application that you haven’t experienced, please don’t take it as a requirement. Batches are carefully selected to include different perspectives and skillsets. And you’re awesome 💕

there can be no understanding between the hands and the brain unless the heart acts as mediator.

but we couldn’t reach consensus about what this meant re: the worker struggles depicted in the film.

anyway, it’s late so instead of getting getting into heady things like that, i’ll share something that made me laugh during the movie. this scene reminded me of my lacking estimation skills at various points in my corporate tech career:

^ me, hand waving

^ my manager

^ my current progress

create a few distinct sounds, for example:

• cup/table tap
• cup/table scrape
• ball/table tap
• ball/table scrape
• cup/ball tap

these examples are unambiguous and easy to perform rapidly by someone keeping the cup in one hand & ball in the other. i’ll refer to each performed sound as a “bit” from here on out.

for n bits, you have (number of sounds)^n options. with the examples above that’s 5^n, which is plenty.

so what’s important to convey?

the shapes are curvy and strange, so it’s easier to share a limited reference table of basic + advanced shapes instead of deriving each part of the bear from scratch. three bits could cover 125 shapes, which is ample for bear and bear-like drawings.