commit f0cfb11615d216f61491c5b20882ffe2038726dd
parent d43feb568cfeac9bf30e7353f464b49aab2d6acd
Author: Aymeric Mansoux <aymeric@bleu255.com>
Date: Fri, 10 Jun 2022 13:19:01 +0200
Merge branch 'master' of /var/www/git.bleu255.com/repos/permacomputing
Diffstat:
4 files changed, 125 insertions(+), 0 deletions(-)
diff --git a/automation.mdwn b/automation.mdwn
@@ -0,0 +1,14 @@
+In **automation**, the essential question is how much human effort the
+automation saves in comparison to the requirements of the automation
+technology.
+
+Mere laziness does not justify automation: modern households are full of
+devices that save relatively little time but waste a lot of energy.
+Automation is at its best at continuous and repetitive tasks that require a
+lot of time and/or effort from humans but only a neglectable amount of
+resources from a programmable device.
+
+Permaculture wants to develop systems where nature does most of the work,
+and humans mostly do things like maintenance, design and building. A good
+place for computerized automation would therefore be somewhere between
+natural processes and human labor.
diff --git a/lifespan_maximization.mdwn b/lifespan_maximization.mdwn
@@ -0,0 +1,31 @@
+**Lifespan maximization** is the extension of [[hardware]] lifespan by the
+users. It may be supported by [[planned longevity]] from the manufacturer's
+side, but it rarely is.
+
+IC fabrication requires large amounts of energy, highly refined machinery
+and poisonous substances. Because of this sacrifice, the resulting
+microchips should be treasured like gems or rare exotic spices. Their active
+lifespans should be maximized, and they should never be reduced to their raw
+materials until they are thoroughly unusable.
+
+Broken devices should be repaired. If the community needs a kind of device
+that does not exist, it should preferrably be built from existing components
+that have fallen out of use. Chips should be designed open and flexible, so
+that they can be reappropriated even for purposes they were never intended
+for.
+
+Chips that work but whose practical use cannot be justified can find
+artistic and other psychologically meaningful use. They may also be stored
+away until they are needed again (especially if the fabrication quality and
+the storage conditions allow for decades or centuries of "shelf life").
+
+Use what is available. Even chips that do "evil" things are worth
+considering if there's a landfill full of them. Crack their DRM locks,
+reverse-engineer their black boxes, deconstruct their philosophies. It might
+even be possible to reappropriate something like Bitcoin-mining ASICs for
+something artistically interesting or even useful.
+
+Minimized on-chip feature size makes it possible to do more computation with
+less energy but it often also means increased fragility and shorter
+lifespans. Therefore, the densest chips should be primarily used for
+purposes where more computation actually yields more.
diff --git a/planned_longevity.mdwn b/planned_longevity.mdwn
@@ -0,0 +1,20 @@
+**Planned longevity** is the opposite of [[planned obsolescence]]: the way
+of designing systems, especially [[hardware]], so that it supports
+[[lifespan maximization]].
+
+Planned longevity is something that should ideally take place in the
+industry that produces the hardware. Sometimes, the shortcomings of the
+industry can be compensated by changing the [[firmware]] of the system or
+switching to a third-party [[software]] platform.
+
+Chips should be designed open and flexible, so that they can be
+reappropriated even for purposes they were never intended for. Complex chips
+should have enough redundancy and bypass mechanisms to keep them working
+even after some of their internals wear out. (In a multicore CPU, for
+instance, many partially functioning cores could combine into one fully
+functioning one.)
+
+Concepts that support planned longevity:
+ * [[Design for disassembly]]
+ * [[Open hardware]]
+ * [[Morseware]]
diff --git a/yin_and_yang.mdwn b/yin_and_yang.mdwn
@@ -0,0 +1,60 @@
+*Yin and Yang** (陰陽) are concepts from Chinese philosophy. Yang is active,
+controlling, expanding and stereotypically male, while Yin is passive,
+yielding, contracting and stereotypically female. They are not "good and
+evil" but complementary opposites that should have a balance, often via
+cyclic changes.
+
+In permacomputing contexts, the Yin-Yang dichotomy is sometimes used to
+contrast different computing cultures. Modern technological civilization is
+disproportionally yang, and this yangness extends to the cultures of
+computer hacking: total control over systems (natural or technological) is
+praised, which easily leads to impoverished [[monoculture]]s where a lot of
+energy is wasted on forcing things into narrow standards.
+
+Too much yin, on the other hand, may lead to an excessive acceptance of the
+way how things are and "have always been". It likewise easily leads to
+narrow norms, via traditionalism. The norms may be hostile to innovation,
+experimentation and reappropriation. It may also lead to intellectual
+laziness, where rational analysis is not even attempted.
+
+## Yin and yang hacking
+
+These concepts were introduced in the [[Permacomputing 2020]] text.
+
+In **Yang hacking**, a total understanding and control of the target system
+is valued. Changing a system's behavior is often an end in itself. There are
+predefined goals the system is pushed towards. Optimization tends to focus
+on a single measurable parameter. Finding a system's absolute limits is more
+important than finding its individual strengths or essence.
+
+In contrast, **Yin hacking** accepts the aspects that are beyond rational
+control and comprehension. Rationality gets supported by intuition. The
+relationship with the system is more bidirectional, emphasizing
+experimentation and observation. The "personality" that stems from
+system-specific peculiarities gets more attention than the measurable specs.
+It is also increasingly important to understand when to hack and when just
+to observe without hacking.
+
+Yang hacking is quite essential to computing. After all, computers are based
+on comprehensible and deterministic models that tiny pieces of nature are
+"forced" to follow. However, there are many kinds of systems where the yin
+way makes more sense (e.g. the behavior of neural networks is often very
+difficult to analyze rationally).
+
+## Transgression and immersion
+
+**Transgression** and **immersion** are two oppositional ways to creatively
+relate to constraints, especially in the kind of digital art forms that
+appreciate constraints ([[chip music]], [[demoscene]], [[pixel art]]).
+
+Transgression is yang: it attempts to "break" or "push" the boundaries; to
+get a system to do something it is not supposed to be able to do; to find
+new things by exploring the unexplored possibilities of a given platform.
+The characteristic sounds and looks of a system (such as the 1:1 square wave
+in chip music, or clearly visible pixel boundaries) are often considered
+unrefined and unwanted.
+
+Immersion is yin: instead of breaking away from the typical and unrefined,
+it takes it as the basis to build. The 1:1 square wave is now very much
+wanted. The individual characteristics of a system are appreciated and
+explored ever deeper.
