Saturday, January 14, 2006

Tim Gaze - Writing's Analogy to the Wave-Particle Duality

Writing's Analogy to the Wave-Particle Duality

In 1924, Louis de Broglie, in his thesis Recherche sur la théorie des quanta, hypothesised that particles of matter can exhibit wave behaviour, and that waves such as light can exhibit particle behaviour. The corollary, widely accepted as part of the bedrock of Physics, is that there are no distinct categories of particles or waves, but hybrid wave-particles, which exhibit particle behaviour under some circumstances, and wave behaviour in others.

I propose that this wave-particle duality is an accurate metaphor for the nature of writing.

Writing contains words. Much attention is given to analyses of the meanings of these words. Often, writing is treated as if its only purpose were to convey semantic meaning through words. We might describe attention to words as the particle aspect of writing.

Linguistics, semantics, most philosophy, literature, legal documents, email and SMS messages focus on the particle aspect of writing.

Less attention is given to the non-verbal quality of writing: its visual appearance, and what this might convey. The visual appearance of writing could be described as its wave aspect.

Signatures, calligraphy, asemic writing and graphology operate more on the wave aspect of writing.

Western civilisation massively over-emphasises the particle aspect of writing. We need to consider both sides of its nature, in order to truly understand what writing is, and what it does to us.


Tim Gaze
Adelaide
November 2005

Tim Gaze - comments on the cut-up technique

comments on the cut-up technique

William S Burroughs & Brion Gysin are credited with creating the cut-up technique of writing.

After slicing though a pile of newspapers, Brion noticed that it was easy to juxtapose slices from different pages of newspaper, & create new, sometimes sensible texts. Essentially, a process of collage.

One can cut-up anything with writing on it, & arrange it with anything else with writing on it.

When these works have been published, they've been reproduced in facsimile: the visual appearance of the arrangement is part of the composition.

Usually, these works are read as irrational or surprising texts. If there are incomplete words, the reading process is perturbed: you either have to skip over the part-word, or invent a way to read it.

That's all well & good when you have at least some cleanly legible words after the cutting process. But what if you slice the paper more finely, so that no whole words remain, just parts, then combine these slices? You get semi-words, some of them unpronounceable strings of letters.

Or what if you slice so finely that you cut the letters into pieces? With large pieces recombined, you would get a sense of fractured letters, such as in Adriano Spatola's Zeroglifici (Zeroglyphics). You might recognise the curves & stems of certain letters.

With really tiny pieces recombined, you would get a sense of noise. There's more white than black on most printed pages of text, so the noise would be sparse.

Another consideration is what angle you arrange each slice. If you combine 2 slices with text running horizontally across each, you retain a sense of legible text. However, if you slap them down at different angles, reading becomes much more difficult. You get something like tossed word salad.


Tim Gaze
January 2006

john m. bennett


john m. bennett
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john m. bennett


john m. bennett
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john m. bennett


john m. bennett
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james p. & john m. bennett


james p. & john m. bennett
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ficus strangulensis


ficus strangulensis
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ficus strangulensis


ficus strangulensis
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ficus strangulensis


ficus strangulensis
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ficus strangulensis


ficus strangulensis
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ficus strangulensis


ficus strangulensis
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ficus strangulensis


ficus strangulensis
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ficus strangulensis


ficus strangulensis
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ficus strangulensis


ficus strangulensis
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ficus strangulensis


ficus strangulensis
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ficus strangulensis


ficus strangulensis
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pablo wright


pablo wright
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pablo wright


pablo wright
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les cammer


les cammer
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solamito luigino


solamito luigino
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solamito luigino


solamito luigino
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solamito luigino


solamito luigino
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solamito luigino


solamito luigino
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solamito luigino


solamito luigino
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solamito luigino


solamito luigino
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solamito luigino


solamito luigino
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solamito luigino


solamito luigino
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solamito luigino


solamito luigino
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Tom Taylor

BRIEFS


 
*



heeded hent, nor pluded n'or
bescreened intent hastens out
nix termer nie formal posts
 
Nay: lute sphincter



*



The lump, the door & the fool
 
Change climates of tension, not beleagured
nor prescient, in-house
data is flaming. 







You'd'd plud but springer at seams.
 
Nordo, butt-flake, inherent wastefulness
managing
elite but hesitant.
 
b



*



I'd chainsawed word
or but have no sender.
 
... but, 'er
 leans
winter (name), a
one each



 *



in had (a cold)


This wrinkled spinner, speaks
in summation holds north can't
 
below or sentient in some other rm
l,lets tone -les, foamer ply



 *



then  thrown
budded spud
arf
 
on time, smiled, rook'd in, took
can't all be lonely, bug



 *



win
Brief, leaped, o'er-spent: nurture
'd live to you, Jim; hoser funts
 
esker, chemical (most of the songs)
remember?



*



A forded elegance, excellence
Where at's temper makes again it
unwinding within, nor
 
restores what firmer scores
at resolve nor plented. unclear



 *



Narcs at specials within hour
bong     specific        ear
 
and as leaves lets not rescue
a sense determs nox plude, ire



 *



From farms at hunk, from wasks
leer fare inks mated spike dork
added or pork delete histamine bog
 
eager hadded to plume no spooners out
axe

junior bittencourt


junior bittencourt
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junior bittencourt


junior bittencourt
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malok


malok
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malok


malok
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malok


malok
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malok


malok
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malok


malok
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the blaster


the blaster
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the blaster


the blaster
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andrew topel


andrew topel
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andrew topel


andrew topel
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jukka-pekka kervinen & spencer selby

jukka-pekka kervinen & spencer selby

jukka-pekka kervinen & spencer selby

jukka-pekka kervinen & spencer selby

Friday, January 13, 2006

jUStin!katKO


jUStin!katKO
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jUStin!katKO


jUStin!katKO
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jose luis mariscal


jose luis mariscal
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jose luis mariscal


jose luis mariscal
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jose luis mariscal


jose luis mariscal
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jose luis mariscal


jose luis mariscal
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marc deb


marc deb
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spleen #70


spleen #70
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spleen #70


spleen #70
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