Sensory
Sampling. The image to the right shows a Senory System (two rows of
nodes of 15 nodes each) at the top of the image in addition to the usual Dynamic
System (an array nodes in the center of the image).Using Sound to Discover Dynamic Pattern
Instructions for using Sound
While the Node Frame (and Smilie 3) expresses the flow of dynamics visually in a form that is very close to how the model was conceptualized, staring at a bunch of blinking lights is not always epistemologically the most useful way of discovering pattern in a complex and dynamic context.
How we represent the dynamics of a system is crucial in determing what sort of patterns we are able to extract from that system. What happens in the process of knowing is tightly tied to the process of represenation. On this web page we will let you play with extracting pattern from a system when its dynamics are expressed auditorily.
Sensory
Sampling. The image to the right shows a Senory System (two rows of
nodes of 15 nodes each) at the top of the image in addition to the usual Dynamic
System (an array nodes in the center of the image).
A Dynamic System. In the image the array is 5 nodes by 6 nodes = 30 nodes. We will assume that the 30 nodes in in the 5x6 array is the dynamic system whose patterns we want to discover. Does it have basins? What are the qualities of the the basins it might have?
A Sensory System. The top two rows of nodes called senory nodes. The sensory nodes are designed ONLY to take input from the dynamic system. The dynamic system does not take input from them. The sensory nodes can take input from each other. Thus, the sensory nodes as a group can act as an instrument for detecting changes in the dynamic system. [In the advanced interface, the sensory nodes can be customized to feedback to the system just in case you want to study the impact of observation on behavior--but in interface you will play with on this page, that is not the case.]
Sound Frame. Click on the "Use Sound" radio button and then click on the "Edit Sound" button. The sound frame will pop up (see image below). The sound frame allows you to express a sample of the system's dynamics auditorily. The sound interface is driven by the states of the top row of 15 sensory nodes and will not function if they are not connected. When the top row of sensory nodes is taking input from the system, the sounds it outputs depend on the dynamics of the specific nodes that those 15 sensory nodes sample from. A final point about sensory nodes is that they can accept input from other sensory nodes so that you can model sensory networks. The sound patterns that you hear are candidates for emergent patterns that result from the dynamic processes of E42-generated systems.
The
top row of 15 sensory nodes (see Node Frame imageabove) are divided into three
subsets of five nodes; each of these subsets outputs to one of three instruments
(see figure to the right).
[More details: One node from each subset (the first, sixth, and eleventh node in the row of 15 nodes) determine if the three instruments are silent or voiced on a given iteration. The other four nodes (i.e., 16 bits) determine which of sixteen notes (two octaves) the instrument will play, if voiced.]
A sense of cadence is enforced by the fact of movement through discrete iterations. The Sound Frame introduces a substantial delay between iterations to allow notes (or chords) to be voiced long enough to be easily heard.
In the figure, the instrument on the far left is set to acoustic base, the middle instrument is set to vibraphone, and for the right-most instrument the menu of 128 instruments is open and kalimba is being selected. The chord check box allows you to set an instrument to play either a chord or a note on voiced iterations. The Pitch Range control allows you to set the three instruments to different octaves so that you can hear them more distinctly from each other. The Volume control allows you to set the relative volumes of the three instruments. The "Play Instrument" button allows you to hear an individual instrument while you are searching for one you like. The "Play All" button allows you to play all instruments together to determine if you like they way the sound together and to be sure you can hear each distinctly. When appropriately designed, the three-instrument sound option is a powerful way of comprehending the dynamics of a system and for searching for and detecting basins.
Do NOT close the sound frame or else the sound will not work. Move the frame around to get it out of your way. When you press PLAY, it will disappear to the back.
Play. Open the sound frame and chose three instruments. We recomend you put each in a different pitch range, at least as a start. Make sure you have checked the "Use Sound" radio button. Press PLAY. Listen to the pattern of dynamics. How long is the basin length?
Press PERTURB. The system will most likely pass through a tributary that falls into another basin. Can you hear when the new basins starts? How long is it?
As you perturb the system repeatedly, can you identify any basins you have heard before?
How do these experiences reflect on your ability to extract pattern from new and unfamiliar dynamics in the world around you using sound?