JF Ptak Science Books Post 2158
Alfred Smee's Process of Thought Adapted to Words and Language, Together with a Description of the Relational and Differential Machines1... is an extraordinary book, an "electro-biologic" work of superior thought and organization, and which is seen as being the first work theorizing the possibility of information storage and retrieval via a machine. I've not yet read this book through though the book is long known to me--now, sitting down with it, finally, I was instantly drawn to its high possibilities because of the structure of its table of contents. It--the table-- simply is a beautiful read. [Source: here.]
There have been times on this blog where I have created some bits of found poetry from mostly densely difficult passages--generally the process seems to diffuse the maledictus confutatis, and becomes some sort of pretty. (See Found-Poetry of Accumulations, Found-Word Bibliopathology, "Hog-Bound", a Found-Poem in a FBI Dposition, for example.) In this instance--using the description of Chapter XI ("On Logic or the Art of Quibbling") in the table of contents--the found poetry is made from some incredible fragments on the order of Piranesi's imago frammenti and lovely in their own way and found in situ, lovely in their original setting, and still more attractive set as poetry, I think:
ON LOGIC OR THE ART OF QUIBBLING
Logic applicable to Quibbling, Quibbles by Puns, By Qualified Nouns,
By Variations in Number,
By the Question involving Two Answers, By Constitution of Words, By the Verb,
By General Principles, with Exceptions.
By Two Words for the same Thing
By Cause and Effect, By using Words contrary to well-known Principles, By Action conjoined with the use of Words, By Variations of Emphasis.
By Exalting a Probability, By Circular Reasoning.
By a Question involving a False Premiss.
By reasoning upon that which may be known.
By changing the Word for the same Thing.
By a Variation of Punctuation,
By Begging the Question.
Re-setting Chapter XI seems to be more of a result of exploration in the more-densely arranged original--setting out in the book's version one is more like an explorer, finding bits and chunks here and there, and then simply placing them in a more orderly fashion, as in the case of Piranesi's bits and pieces.
The text of Chapter XI might also be read as a street map, and the reader, in this case, could be attracted to it as a flaneur, roaming its twists and turns in a casual but observational way, strolling into the most interesting and attractive parts. An urban garden of words.
Notes:
1. The full title: PROCESS OF THOUGHT ADAPTED TO WORDS AND LANGUAGE. TOGETHER WITH A DESCRIPTION OF THE RELATIONAL AND DIFFERENTIAL MACHINES. BY ALFRED SMEE, F.R.S. CAES. ACAD. NATURJE CURIOSORUM HON. SOC. SENIOR SURGEON TO THE ROYAL GENERAL DISPENSARY," ALDERSOATE STREET; SURGEON TO THE BANK OF ENGLAND AND TO THE CENTRAL LONDON OPHTHALMIC HOSPITAL; LATE IECTURER ON SURGERY.
This is a good description of Smee's theory, found on the History-computer.com site:
"Little was known about the brain in the middle of 19th century, and there were no good tools for its study. That's why Smee had to rely on speculation rather than experimentation to gain his understanding of human thinking. The outcome of these speculations was his electro-biological machine."
"According to his theory, each idea is determined by the presence or absence of certain properties (redness, roundness, etc.), and each property is represented in the brain by the electrical stimulation of a nerve fiber. Thus, for Smee, an idea consists of a collection of electrically stimulated nerve fibers. Using the technology of the 19th century, the machines Smee conceived for presenting his ideas were entirely mechanical."
"Smee's Relational Machine (so called because it represented the relationship between the various properties, comprising an idea), was intended to represent one thought, idea, or mental image at a time. One version of it was constructed from a large piece of sheet metal, repeatedly divided into halves by metal hinges. Half of the metal would represent the presence of a property, the other—the absence. The metal flaps, representing absent properties, would be folded out of sight until all that remained was a piece of metal representing the collection of properties that formed the idea."
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