The Abacus, Infinite and Otherwise @ the Plaintext_Tools Zwki

[Alan Sondheim]

The Abacus, Infinite and Otherwise @ the Plaintext_Tools Zwki


Introduction to the file:

"This text file constitutes a series of small essays on the notion of the
abacus. The abacus is unique since it is a digital instrument that exists
within the analogic real; there is always room for error.

"The abacus constitutes a raster within the real. It can be constructed to
any base; I consider an abacus to an infinite base. In this case, every
number is a unique symbol.

"One can reverse this, in a sense, considering the application of analogic
instruments to the digital domain. However since the latter is either a
matter of abstract definition (i.e. definition within an abstract
ontology) or a practical engineering application which is always already
analogic, it might be a fairly useless exercise.

"I fear that some of the below may be naive; in any case, read on, and
thank you for giving it some attention.

"Alan Sondheim 4/05"

- Go to the URL below, and click on

"The Abacus, Infinite and Otherwise"

http://www.as.wvu.edu:8000/clc/projects/plaintext_tools/AnalogDigital