CAN .WALK WILL COMPUTE

can .walk will compute: NYC may 10 - 2003

Early march 2003 we announced the following

Desperately in need of some extra computing power? Need to render some data but you hardware can't handle the algorithms? Want to calculate one of those insane numbers?

The psychogeographic computer can help you.

Submit your computational needs to us before 25 April 2003.

Socialfiction.org will select from all reactions the problem most important for the welfare for all of mankind. During the PsychoGeoConFlux held in New York from 8 to 11 May 2003, we will program a pedestrian computer that will be made up from the congregation of international psychogeographers that will .walk to compute for you.

From the many proposals we received the following seemed most relevant

Grand Unified Gift Theory

We are told, or maybe I heard it in the little voices, that fundamental forces of physics are the result of the exchange of particles such as gravitons.

I have observed the manifestation of similar such particles, such as 'sexons', which took the form of popped popcorn kernels, which when exchanged between individuals resulted in a sexual tension.

Similarly, a gift is a reification of the bond between the ones that exchange it. Clearly this is a manifestation of a quantum particle. I propose to determine the Master-Charge ratio of the quantum gift particle, which should be a universal constant similar to the charge-to-mass ratio of the electron, and should be similarly useful in describing universal gift giving.

The .Walk computer will operate with gifts exchanged between walkers, as well as quantum information particles represented by stencils of the numbers 0 through 9.

I await your assistance in programming the unit with these parameters.

from: bobbi@webbittown.net

Right. To do this we wrote the following .walk script

// quantum_gift_particle.walk

// socialfiction.org
// based on an idea from bobbi@webbittown.net
// GQ=gift quantum;; U.WMT=unique.walk meta tag;; WF=workfield;; S=self;; O=Other;; P=position;; D=Direction;; G=gift;; V=value;; VF=value field;; PO=pop up;;

U.WMT =

Def PO[print=false] // set 'true' to enable
{
"Are you sure?"
}

Def V
{
predicted value of improvement WG(rate{Gx[0-9]}) // 0=useless - 9=excellent
export V[Gx] to VF // export: value[direction;;metatag[O]]
}

Def GQ P[1-6]
{
first left;; first right;; second left;; second right;; third left;; third right
}

Def WF
{
import D1{random(1P from GQ)}//=

import D2{random(1P from GQ)}//=

}

Walk WF
{
repeat
{

When S=O
{

If WF D<3
{
Import G{random 1P from GQ(if PO=true[print PO])}
Export (G+U.WMD[S]) to O
}

If WF D=3 or D>3
{
Import G {random (1P from GQ) or (Px from WF; delete Px in WF(if PO=true[print PO]))}
Export (G+U.WMD[S]) to O
}
}

When Import Gx from O
{
Do V[Gx]
Def Dx
{
Gx+1;;U.WMT[O]}to WF
}
}

VF
{

}
}
}

This .walk, by far the most complex we have done, introduces several new features to the .walk code library. First there is the 'pop-up' contained in Variable PO that contains the text string "Are You Sure" whenever it is called on. The default value of this variable is 'False' meaning that you have to manually readjust it to 'True' to make it appear during the walking of this script.

yes Hou Je Bek try to explain that

pics by glowlab

Another new feature is that this script generates metadata; every imported direction (the gift) is before it gets recorded encoded with the unique signature of the agent exporting it. In this case the metadata is implemented to be able to map the emerging bonds between the gift-givers.

The immediate task of this script is to assign values to directions imported from other agents in relation to the expected improvement of the quality of the walk resulting from the new direction .

Because the initial setting of the .walk prescribes 2 directions the number of encounters amongst the agents was too small to actually deduce a quantum gift ratio. A setting with 3 directions would have been better as that results in more looped walks. (see http://www.socialfiction.org/psychogeography/grid_DBN.htm) Therefore the determination of both the quantum gift ratio & the mapping of the quantum bond remains unclear. One agent with a initial setting of 2 succeeding Right turn exchanged data with 2 different agents.

Here is the itinerary of that walk. (try to work it out on the map)

suffolk
norfolk R
stanton R
suffolk
clinton R

exchange; D=second right

rivington R
suffolk
norfolk L

exchange; E=first right

delancey
broome R
essex R
delancey L
ludlow
orchard

//glitch in the program hard disk which smells of ozone
R

rivington R
Ludlow
essex L
stanton R
norfolk R
rivington
delancey L
suffolk R
broome R
norfolk
essex L
grand R
ludlow R
delancey L

What it could have looked like? The bonding between agents could have looked like this:

a propos; while in new york we also did a talk: http://www.socialfiction.org/psychogeography/talkwalk.html

postcript
http://www.socialfiction.org/psychogeography/walkpostscript.html

.readme
http://www.socialfiction.org/psychogeography/readme.html

PsychoGeoConflux
http://www.glowlab.com/psygeocon/psygeocon.html