[24] signaling systems

[brian carroll]

for twenty years i have been thinking about crypto ideas in the abstract
and at a certain point around Y2K encountered an overview book chock full
of examples of various crypto systems, from earliest days into the
computing present. having a background in architectural study and
independent research, what really captured my interest was the ancient
approach to signaling via what may be called 'communications
infrastructure', in the military sense.

to go once step further into this, it is that a particular physical
structure could be established, a signaling unit [z], which is then
repeated elsewhere at some distance, thus [z2], and that a long chain of
these could be lined up to send a message back and forth through the
connected system:  [z1] <--- [z2] --- [z3] ---> [zN]

obviously this could be connected to present-day computers as electronic
devices that route and forward messages. though consider the same concept
without electromagnetic technology as the foundation and slower than
lightspeed transmission, or having gaps and delays between these
interchanges, such that visual observation and physical motion and symbolic
messaging could be employed and transmit and receive messages over long
distances faster than a rider on horse or perhaps even an airplane.

this references 'the semaphore' as a signaling system- and what i want to
add to this is a typological consideration that has architectural precedent
in this same context. in that if there are signaling stations that are
buildings and have adjustable mechanical arms for signals or codes, that it
is this 'unit' could be considered a typical repeatable construction much
like that of a building type -- that has particular programming in its
design, related to its functioning -- and thus moving from flag signaling
to a 18th c. signaling tower, this "signaling infrastructure" is, in some
way, an early indication of what the circuitboard of civilization will
later develop into when electrified and buildings are plug-and-play in a
coordinated and linked environment, where this signaling is ubiquitous if
not pollutive and yet essentially invisible -- except for the artifacts,
and fragments of this hidden system.

and thus, as with these earlier non-electric and non-electronic
~telegraphic systems, so too their evolution into telegraph, telephone,
broadcast radio & television, cellphone, and data and internet networks
where this signaling occurs at many levels simultaneously within
civilization today.

the reason TYPE is mentioned is because it can help make sense of what is
going on, when considering that some artifacts may be buildings or
connected to them, via tools or systems, whereby evaluation and excavation
of these hidden or subconscious artifacts can help make sense of the
environment that is the context for observation and basic relations today.
(Seeing Cyberspace in some basic sense).

thus the 'semaphore tower' in relation to the broadcast or cellphone towers
of today, in terms of extension and their juxtaposition. for instance, a
'public square' aspect within mass or individual media, channels in these
same realms that were absent in previous signaling and involved gatherings
in buildings or courtyards or theaters, versus television studios and
distributed tv sets.

the larger idea is that, understanding these cybernetic systems requires
understanding the building types and artifacts as components on a
circuitboard, and thus how they function, what their code is, how they are
programmed then allows their internal and external actions to be evaluated
in terms of their own and the overall circuitry involved. so this is
another example of empirical evaluation versus ungrounded relativism,
whereby the latter approach could put bad components into the shared
environment, short-circuit things and use all the energy for itself, and as
long as it is not analyzed or error-corrected in this way, can continue to
do so, etc. this can also be a model of the individual or the entire world,
as circuit, and how computers mediate this condition, within their own
limiting frameworks (which is the binary constraint, and related to issues
of language and signs, as to what is real and can be communicated).

so a conceptualization i have used before to map this out in the
(natural/artificial/virtual) environment is "tools/buildings/systems" to
see how the infrastructure and built environment relate, including its
extension into the hidden or unseen realm of 'cyberspace' that appears
dreamlike by comparison to physical objects. thus the question of what
information actually is, or data, or a 'bit' in terms of its physicality,
and the necessity of having literacy move into a realm of physics to be
able to account for everyday experience and observation in the existing
realms. the environment is saturated with invisible signaling, citizens and
environment including wildlife are being massively radiated by this
electromagnetic approach, that is carrying "data".

so while the signaling may exist in an invisible or impermeable realm to
basic experience and appear wholly intangible as abstract information
disconnected from the known world, it is through the artifacts of
infrastructure that this signaling can begin to be understood- through the
aesthetics of wooden poles and metal pylons and broadcast towers and
microwave and satellite dishes, that the system of transmission and
reception of data, in a realm of powerlines and antennae, begins to have
physicality and groundedness, in terms of direct observation. 'the
internet' is in the wires, it is signaling between the transmitter and
receiver as it is then technically and automatically interpreted - via
signaling units. routers, computers, cellphones, televisions, radios,
encryption devices.

and so in some sense, the data stream is the signaling and there is a
surrounding context or environment this transfer of information is
occurring in. and as conceived, 'the binary' ones and zeroes oftentimes
represent this realm or emblemize it, as if technocratic heraldry which
functions as a shield or coat of arms via various protocols and standards.
and yet as a worldview coursing through the veins of society, "the
perspective" captured or constructed in that data framework could be
grossly inaccurate or out of touch with the real world as it exists and
instead promote a false perspective, due to relying on a structure of
pseudo-truth for 'shared awareness'. thus a huge error rate could be the
foundation of this signaling system as information.

it would be equivalent to using flags to send messages where the messages
are flawed or warped perception, and repeatedly communicating on that basis
for the shared connection. and how the game "telephone" indicates over time
how a signal could degrade via lossy transmission, as this may rely to
substandard ideas even within a digital context.

and thus it is to question the existence of such infrastructure and
artifacts, and their use and potential development in new terms as devices
for signaling and shared communication. what if vastly improved systems are
possible, based on other approaches, where what is on the inside of the
system accurately is modeling what is on the outside and it is in service
to truth, not in denial of it. and in this way, so too cryptology and
cipher systems that could signal beyond the existing conceptions, due to
having a more accurate framework to function within, in that these
signaling components of the circuitboard could be more wide-ranging and
useful than expert and corrupted and devolved technical systems of today,
trapped within ideology. that, the existing collapsed system, is nothing
less than an electromagnetic labyrinth. some day it will be fascinating to
learn from those involved the extent of its mysteries and ongoing intrigue.


--- semaphore signals ---

wikipedia has a disambiguation page for [semaphores]
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Semaphore_%28disambiguation%29'

and so there are flag semaphores
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Flag_semaphore

semaphore lines (18th c. semaphore towers)
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Semaphore_line

and these move into remaining infrastructures of today, including rail
signaling
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Railway_semaphore_signal

and traffic signals (to perhaps include live highway signage)
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Traffic_semaphore

so imagine that the earliest instances probably involved state
communications in a security/secrecy context, if not diplomatic and related
to connection with remote territory or a boundary, and that that content
moves into the electronic computer network and is zoned into a particular
realm of intra-state and international state-state communication. and
similar typological units or 'mechanisms' for conveying signals abstract
into stop/go/yield for pedestrians and cars, which can be overridden by
police and emergency vehicles and funeral hearses via special switch.  and
thus like a router or some traffic management protocol that is rule-based,
the code of green, yellow, red, is transmitted and received or written and
read as output and used to instruct the data flowing through the system, as
it is accurately interpreted and obliged. and if not, redundancy of
monitoring by police or traffic cameras to mail a ticket and license photo.

and aesthetically it is interesting that 'civilization' the world over
involves these basic infrastructural systems. i have read that colors for
traffic lights may be different in certain countries though am not familiar
with this. and yet, aspects of infrastructure retain a general pattern that
is repeated and 'typical' in terms of systems that repeat and are shared,
even across cultures that can be ideologically apposed yet require similar
technology to function. thus the symbology of the wooden pole, metal tower
as an indication of 'modernization' and in the 1960s, the cobra-head
streetlight as a leading edge of this universal aesthetic of development,
worldwide. so for the electronic signaling system of traffic lights, there
must be a connection to the poles and towers leading back to an electrical
power plant, to complete the circuit. so too, computers the same. wireless
the same. tools, buildings, systems. mapping this out in its functioning.
then it is possible to get a sense of the boundaries involved, the
dimensions, the framework and relations established. including between
componentry itself.

thing is, most traffic signals are probably routed to a central Department
of Transportation that monitors the circuit and involves vast analysis of
traffic flows, timing of schedules and events, and weather, and then
continuously seeks to modify and improve its functioning via small changes
or tweaks that test against hypotheses and modify the system to attempt to
improve it. so imagine there are 2,000 traffic cameras that route into a
traffic monitoring building via network connections and basically this is
the program of the building. its purpose. if it were an external signaling
system those same traffic lights may be sending signals into vehicles and
getting responses back, and reading and writing data in some other
dimensionality and then it would be more like a signaling system of flags
and codes, where it is not just read-only for those vehicles operating
within the system. RFID lane passes and toll booths perhaps. or, in a
disconnected or decentralized realm, GPS dashboard units and satellites as
they feed back to other buildings and monitoring systems which may or may
not be correlated further.

consider a typical home or work computer then, in terms of a signaling
system and cryptography. it is presumed to be able to send data from one
computer to another in any other context, without respect to environment,
and be afforded the right to privacy, secrecy, and security by default. and
the reality is that these [computers] are connected via a power system and
[network] that while they may be interconnected [PC] <--> [PC], also
inherently is connected to other infrastructure within the circuit,
buildings, including powerplant, software companies, network providers, and
in terms of cryptography, the NSA itself as an inherent structural
connection. so like the DoT example above, expecting the NSA to keep on one
side of the windshield no matter the surrounding context may not be
realistic given the environment, if there is compromised circuitry or
short-circuiting by default in the shared/unshared situation. and given
their institutional technical capacity, certainly they have the capacity to
real-time access your dashboard GPS data and vehicle location via
infrastructure, anything in your banking or computer, should that be
legally allowed or required for the vital security of the state, as this
relates to issues of privacy and protection and continuation of the shared
state as an entity. yet what if they were on the other side of this
boundary by ideological default, for most everyone, and leaning so far
forward that all these various infrastructure systems were a means for
doing business and commercialization and populist takeover of state systems
by a particular mindset or aligned group of people. what if the traffic
signal was subverted and you got the wrong color and drive into a
semi-truck and lose your life via such a bizarre glitch, purposive to an
overruling, hostile political agenda that aligns with a hidden
dictatorship. what then.

in other words- what if the NSA has gone political, and so too,
infrastructural systems, tools, buildings and their programming,
functioning against the civilian, human population. where are the
boundaries, limits, what is expected of government, how is it accounted
for, error checked and corrected, what oversight or review of activity, or
is it essentially all off the books now. the potential exists for total
control of civilization by manipulating the local and global infrastructure
against ideological opponents. what is to prevent this if it cannot even be
communicated about or 'observed' due to oppressive actions to shut down
relaying of messages and conditions of mass illiteracy, and thus an
incapacity to relate in the environment that exists.

and so a question may be, to what extent such an infrastructural signaling
system could feasibly be detached from its foundation in military
operations and state security, firstly, such that the NSA or CIA or FBI as
building types with programmatic functioning -would not- be accessing
telecom buildings and their functioning, ISPs, data centers and server
farms, switches and relays, as part of their data monitoring and oversight
of this activity- when or if applicable. that in certain cases it would be
assumed part of the core mission of intelligence, as it relates to
security, secrecy, and privacy. in this way, an archeological excavation of
these systems would seem to indicate that a 'cryptographic software' and
its computing hardware is thoroughly embedded and reliant upon its
monitoring and power providing infrastructure in order to operate- legally,
within a safe and protected domain of appropriate use. though if this is
subverted, then the boundary could seemingly be legitimately crossed by
legalizing covert access and monitoring, if not take-down operations in a
cyberwar scenario, against state enemies. or, in the corrupted version, a
political enemies list of a hidden dictator. such as smashing their
equipment via computer bugs and malware and surveilling everything they do,
to exploit and harass and seek to bring about their demise, using these
same institutions in a short-circuited scenario, where the state itself is
attacking citizens who are operating in an appropriate realm and yet exist
unprotected from aggressions of subverted institutions, revealing a secret
agenda.

thus, if enough drivers notice the timing is off at traffic lights and have
had their equipment corrupted or data exploited, and have seen strange
accidents or injuries, they may begin to wonder what is "governing" the
inside actions and modeling of infrastructural system-- who is it serving,
or is it trying to harm people via its subversion. and they may lose trust
in using the system because it could be against them, it is only a matter
of time before the wrong-color light is sent to their vehicle, etc. the
integrity of these state operations then relies upon what [ideas] are
governing their functioning, and how they are accounted for, in truth or
pseudo-truth, or some twisted version reliant upon lies, where deception is
now out in the open.

--- on HIOX and signaling ---

long ago discovered the master symbol i refer to as HIOX which is
equivalent to the Union Jack flag and the 16 segment electronic display.
and it was through Plato's Republic that the idea was realized to start
rotating and mirroring alphanumerics and this symbol allows all letters and
numbers to co-exist as a potential, within a single unit or 'bit' as it
were, whereby the set exists: {0-9,A-Z} in a single character. such that if
HIOX were tokenized as an asterisk, the word: b**, would then allow any
combination of those potential letters and numbers as wildcards. this
related to sets and probabilities and language that is not just linear,
moving from left to right and instead, in other dimensionality, (boo, big,
bad, bye, bit, bot, &c).

so i had this idea, get a 16 segment display...
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Sixteen-segment_display

and then a microcontroller board, for me, Parallax BoE
http://www.parallax.com/catalog/microcontrollers/basic-stamp/kits

and program the sequence of this alphabetic change as an animation. very
basic yet doable for an electronics illiterate like myself. i think i may
have tried a dual 16 segment display as well. yet could not get to the next
level beyond this, to do larger transformational changes, such as flipping
letters vertical and horizontal across a wider area, retaining original
letters and juxtaposing them in various ways, such as:

  b d
  p

This approach would require more display area, and the goal was to get at a
word or sentence level and be able to explore these transmutative aspects
of alphanumerics as language. so there are dot matrix LED displays yet my
skills and limited understanding were not capable of getting there, at the
higher pin-out counts required and with other custom IC controllers to make
it work. thus it bounded further exploration.

for me the larger purpose of this was related to cryptography and the
exploration of language broken down into its elemental patterns, as these
form a kind of calculus. and as this could further become the basis for
analysis, and hardware and software development in terms of signaling. for
instance, running b against d may result in o, or II.

since that time 10 years ago, the microcontroller market has taken off and
now there are many options to choose from, including Arduino which I have
no experience with and do not know if it is as ease-of-use as the Parallax
system was for an absolute beginner. though there are tremendous resources
and options for these microcontrollers or "custom programmable" integrated
circuits (basically transistors and resistors in centipede-looking chips)
that have interfaces to computers, and various modules that can be modified
via existing codes and tutorials to get in the vicinity of project goals.

here are a few examples of this...

SparkFun Electronics- Arduino microcontrollers
https://www.sparkfun.com/categories/242

if you know what you are doing, and where to start, perhaps it is fairly
doable. especially if you have others to ask for assistance if a dead-end
is encountered. otherwise it could seem daunting for the beginner who has
no electronics background. and yet it seems step-by-step, beginners
resources are available to begin this exploration process.

the thing is, with a microcontroller platform, it is then possible to
further explore this HIOX signaling via electronic LED displays... and yet
again the format of the displays becomes an issue, for what is required
versus what exists, and the level of complexity to do simplest, most manual
transformations via writing code bit by bit to change 'graphics'.

tutorial example: Controlling RGB Matrices with Arduino
https://www.sparkfun.com/tutorials/201

so what this amounts to is a bounded realm of LED display technologies
driven by custom-programmed microcontrollers that could potentially be used
for rudimentary explorations of HIOX signaling as basic cryptographic
research, in its potential versus incapacity to make any headway along
these lines given personal, resource, and technology limits. so while for
me this is all about proving ideas of 3-value and N-value logic via
experimental demonstrations, it turns out not possible to pursue. and thus
these words versus artifacts, a working signaling system in its more
developed conception, where computation, mathesis, and signage is involved.
even beyond a realm of software-based encryption. something else, beyond.

thus for an LED matrix, hand coding each alphanumeric letter and number and
their transformation is basically endless bureaucracy and total friction to
such experimentation, and the size of the arrays is off (displays need odd
number of pixels for centering of master symbol, and spacing of array of
multiple symbols). and, also, LCD just is not as cool as LED in this realm,
so really wanted to keep it in this semaphore context, versus that of a
'screen', more an external sign or transformable "electronic flag"
mechanism.

8x8 RGB LED Matrix Display Module
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ANmZZx8HnMc

Two 8x8 RGB LED Matrix - Fire Effect (new version)
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=tz_HT-FqEOE

How to drive an led display matrix.
http://www.best-microcontroller-projects.com/led-dot-matrix-display.html

Adafruit RGB LED Matrix
http://www.adafruit.com/category/63_100
http://www.rayslogic.com/propeller/programming/AdafruitRGB/AdafruitRGB.htm

24x16 RGB LED Matrix
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=B0E9o32j8EM

so the thing is, if there was already software that mapped out letters and
calculations to transform them or establish and 'compute' relations, then
it could be plug and play exploration and things could go beyond talking
about letters and numbers on a display-- except this is not possible in the
given frameworks- and it scales up to larger store displays and mega
displays likewise-- it is coded within a certain relation to language that
removes the [sign] of its graphic information and instead each alphanumeric
needs to be reconstructed individually as a graphic bitmap, seemingly, in
order to start this process. language is not conceptualized in a way to
allow it to be explored as a signal itself, only as a representation of
signaling. thus everything is from scratch and the bigger you think, the
more impossible it is to do because it is like trying to build a pyramid
from individual pieces of sand. it is not a viable approach.

and yet the potential is quite extraordinary, for instance if a 3D array of
LED lights could model a letter 3-dimensionally within its matrix, and
allow letters to be twisted or mirrored, if only software could allow for
this, and displays were built around this functionality... thus,
eventually, such novelties could also have a signaling dimension,
conceptually, even if only as artwork that takes code and makes patterned
permutations-- basically the same thing this device may be programmed to
do, though with alphanumerics or its de|con-struction...

LED Cube 8x8x8 running on an Arduino
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=GUcX41pokZY

(in that, what if i want to spin the letters A and X and G at different
speeds in a word, and then letters H and W vertically, while rotating the
letter N)


--- conceptual backgrounder ---

so visiting the Walker Art Center about 30+ years ago, encountered
paintings of Jasper Johns that were a 7-segment LED display (0-9 plus hex)
in painted form, which got me thinking... and then years later at the same
museum, artist Jenny Holzer had a mind-blowing exhibit of LED displays
running streams of scrolling and blinking red illuminated text, statements
and ideas, that tied into this fascination with language in its other
functioning, as if conceptual data or running code. and the idea of
programming language was involved with this idea of HIOX, to be able to
create equations and algorithms to transform alphanumerics in a context of
display. i just did not know you could not do it, that it was not modeled
or conceived this way. yet the boundary kept me from exploring it any
further, beyond serial writing of perspective, trapped in the code-limits,
as i remain here. note the electronic context for linguistics... in that
ideas of code and programming could exist outside the computer, firstly,
and in a realm of signs and signage and their interplay in signaling
systems, more as traditional data relay. also, the primacy of aesthetics in
this, electromagnetic yet tangibly grounded in the world in a most familiar
way, using read/write systems in various contexts (truisms in stone, LED
signs) though also that there is a poetic dimension inherent in this
approach, and likewise could exist within code and programming and
signaling likewise...

Jenny Holzer - artist info
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Jenny_Holzer

Sounding the Alarm, in Words and Light (2009)
http://www.nytimes.com/2009/03/13/arts/design/13holz.html

Jenny Holzer: "Projection for Chicago" (amazing video of her work)
http://blip.tv/art21-exclusive/jenny-holzer-projection-for-chicago-1701427

google image search: various examples of her LED signage
https://www.google.com/search?q=jenny+holzer+led+signs&safe=off&client=firefox-a&hs=k61&rls=org.mozilla:en-US:official&tbm=isch&tbo=u&source=univ&sa=X&ei=sWlIUrWMKYm09QSS_4C4Dg&ved=0CCwQsAQ&biw=1425&bih=847&dpr=1#imgdii=_

so the situation that exists at this/that point is that i myself can
operate a 16 segment LED display via a Parallax microcontroller, yet cannot
get beyond this limit. and then the options that exist for larger signage,
towards the scale of displays that Jenny Holzer uses, is likewise limited
by its conception or protection of language as a pre-defined graphic
element that cannot be broken down into its constituent parts or elements
(like individual segments of a 16 segment display) and instead forces these
considerations into an enormous bitmap animation scenario, making
electronic pointillism unto madness. so in terms of software-- it is all
dumb, in terms of [signs] as the language elements exist as concepts- as if
INVIOLABLE. meaning, beyond questioning. a rigid limit or assumption or
threshold that locks-down interpretation and requires letters, words, and
numbers be that and not some aspect of them. and thus a typo is only and
ever an error, never an insight into the deeper structuring. nothing
conceptual allowed about language as a metaphysical system of symbolic
communication. nothing of numbers and their symbolism. nothing of signs in
relation to calculation as this equates with establishing logic. mirroring,
none of it. tools would need to be re-conceived and programmed this way.

and so for awhile i investigated these signs and realized the limits
involved, and would have attempted an art project to reinterpret the
display yet do not have the programming skills needed to explore ideas
beyond the existing context, and it would likely take significant
programming effort to allow the type of HIOX exploration imagined,
developing various approaches and techniques and routines for such
dimensional transformation of language as code. the initial question begins
with 3|E and its relation between number and letter as this relates to
paradox and logic, and then moves far beyond this into calculations, and
exploring the calculus of various set combinations and permutations. yet
software tools and models do not exist to do this. though an issue like
color display could be added, as with a traffic light, and further bring
out relations amongst patterns embedded in a given linguistic and
mathematic context... again, as this relates to signaling. ways of
perceiving 'wave function' of data that collapses into one framework or
another, based on superposition and observer relations.

Electro E Programmable Tri-Color LED Sign Display 11.5 x 41
http://www.neon-das.com/mm5/merchant.mvc?Screen=PROD&Product_Code=LEDEM-4U421E

M1000 Large Alphanumeric Display 2" to 4.5"
http://www.vorne.com/led-displays-m1000.htm

the graphic-based Vorne display (url directly above) seemed to have the
most potential in terms of programmability, perhaps defining a letter as a
graphic object that could then be flipped or turned, as an image, yet it
seemed infeasible to pursue without the programming ability to shape the
code which may be more difficult than an educational microcontroller in
defining what happens or how, and reliant upon technical support that
probably is bounded to words and sentences versus artistic or pure
research, into display systems, for conceptual communication.

so while Jenny Holzer is working at a wild scale within this
(light-emitting diode) electronic display as an artistic medium, the medium
itself in its technical configuration does not allow a questioning of the
language that inhabits the display nor its [sign]=[sign] assumption, that
limits what the language can say, bounded to a finite construct that while
traditional is also linear and rigid, whereas stock market number displays
could be constantly transforming or updating numbers or scheduling displays
could change one city to another, and yet letters and words themselves have
no such 'higher functionality' than being static objects, unrelated to
anything else structurally or conceptually- yet linguistically this is a
false perspective. they are highly related, letters and numbers and signs
are connected via common structures and emerge out of them, such as an M
and W or 3 and E, or all of these in a single instance. and yet that
turning or rotation or flipping is off-limits in the display model-- yet it
is where the code begins, and programming of other language interactions in
calculus-like trans transformative relations.

the thing is: this is a semaphore!  display this on a wall in your
apartment or home, program it for messaging, and point it out the window
and you have a relay-based visual system for sharing data that can be
encrypted within a shared key cipher system. not for nefarious purposes,
potentially as artistic display of the beauty of alphanumerics, such as
tessellation patterns that are based on these geometric dynamics, as well
as typographic tessellations... (note: my research work preceded this)

Hypnopaedia
By Zuzana Licko
http://www.emigre.com/EFfeature.php?di=98

in any case, a potential exists for structures and patterns of language and
number, mathematics even, to be recontextualized via electronic displays
and reconceptualized as language and in turn, cipher systems. in that the
~idea of code and programming could be different than existing approaches
to mediating [signs] within a linear single perspective framework. it could
be a situation involving /superposition/ within language, and 3-value and
N-value logic, versus only binary interpretations; correct display versus
alternative forms of communicative display. and this taken into an
environment of ubiquitous commercial signage, networked 'electronic
billboards' of a given ideological disposition to semiotics and fixed ideas
about image-based POVs, versus breaking it down, investigating it as data,
considering its potentials and dimensionality in terms of signaling,
patterns, data, symbols, calculation, perception, perspective, limits,
thresholds, boundary, skew, meaning, relativism, parallel observation,
zoning, secrecy, infrastructure, covert communication, networks, literacy,
translation, ciphers, etc.

--- tangible examples ---

so imagine you have an electronic display like the Vorne signage above and
it can hold and display a bit string, that another observer can relate to.
and they hold their phone up to the display and software evaluates it and
outputs some transformed version based on its expansion and-or a shared
key. else, that certain letters or numbers or patterns emerge from the
noise based on an algorithm. or that it is infrared or UV and looked at a
display in those frequencies reveals other data, say with a digital camera.
and thus a QR-code like potential to convey information though abstracted
or embedded in what appears to be or is a noisefield.

else, it could be a sign on a house, and used as an encryption system to
allow a courier to leave a message or open a e-commerce delivery portal and
leave a package, via scanning data and verifying identity against matched
network records. or, it could be data on a building, viewed as if by
microwaves or laser miles distant, or telescope, whose encryption can be
unlocked in a given perspective though not in others, via line of sight
communications. in the sense the signaling can be changed and altered, it
is as if a flag based signaling system of N-potential flags in an unknown
library of a bounded infinity, more ocean than fishbowl, even for an 8x8
display, versus 3,000 by 300, etc.

the code potential in this, the ability to program and explore alphanumeric
and patterned structure, is extraordinary, perhaps even unprecedented as a
communications medium, beyond or outside of the framework of a computer and
into questions of signs and signage and symbols themselves. like in some
cases the metaphysics of charcoal, pencils, and pens need to be worked-out
in terms of language, before having a sense of what laser printing is
really capable of and how it is different and yet extends other principles
further along, yet remains connected to what preceded it in a shared realm
of language. so too, electronic displays as signage ("Great White Way"
lighting and advertising of electrification; ~Learning from Las Vegas
analysis of signage infrastructure), that their may be more to it than the
default interpretation inside computers, when formatted by binary ideology
that has pretty much everything wrong, conceptually.

what if the signage and cellphones were an encryption platform. what if
signaling occurred between signage and vehicles and allowed zoned
interactions with regard to information though also secrecy and security
issues. what if such signage and display was a type of chalkboard for
calculation or modeling of ideas or learning about logic or other
conceptualization. what if it even connects with rituals, such as holiday
lights or decorations and could exist as a subsystem of a dwelling,
mediating an interior and exterior relation, threshold or boundary. in that
it functions as a traffic light in some instances, an electronic relay of
information in others, a house address in others, or electronic dropbox.
this is infrastructure, tools, building, systems.

yet it has a vital functional role matched into its aesthetics. it is not
just a dumb display screen to transmit dumb data. it has deeper and more
imaginative purpose.

--- where its at today ---

thus as stated nothing occurred to develop this HIOX approach into a
signaling system. it would need to be collaborative and supported as basic
research. manufacturers would likely have to be involved to potentially
change circuitry to allow for new functionality even, in that this could be
more an issue of computation than it is at present, where it is more that
of display alone. and so the gap between the idea and the existing reality
is that the tools are themselves limited in what can happen, and available
techniques are bounded to only certain interpretations that are biased to
particular tried-and-true display outputs. and so even a larger scale more
capable electronic display is locked-down in its capacity to ask and
explore these questions. and the pointillist condition establishes an
impossible barrier that cannot be surpassed within the given framework,
without conceiving of a better way to develop a prototype display, a
proof-of-concept that demonstrates and can validate the approach via
experiments open to peer-review and extension by involved others, as a new
platform of pattern-based signaling.

instead of the large LED display, the large electronic canvas needed for
the scale of the inquiry (bit set at sentence or paragraph length, versus
letters and word), its lack of computability then offers no benefit to a
smaller and equally incapable mini 32 x 32 LED matrix, in that the problems
are only compounded at the larger scale and remain daunting, infeasible,
no-go.

and yet -- it is the very same underlying concept taken back into the
original 16 segment LED display (aka HIOX), that if combined in a larger
array or display format, does allow this segment-based breakdown of the
numbers and letters to occur and could be used in a realm of computation,
just not at an integrated scale. consider this pinball LED display...

Data East Dual 16 Digit Alphanumeric LED Display
http://bayareaamusements.com/Merchant2/merchant.mvc?Screen=PROD&Product_Code=DI-DIS244

this to me, in a context of bit sets and bit strings, has a computational
potential built-into the display itself, given how the software processes
the code, and how well the code can map into the various structures and
retain readability, even though not effectively aligned due to vertical
distance. those 32 digits each have a potential for at least 26 letters and
10 numerals, which makes it a multiset with 2-level potential of:

[36][36][36][36][36][36][36][36][36][36][36][36][36][36][36][36]
[36][36][36][36][36][36][36][36][36][36][36][36][36][36][36][36]

this is far beyond trillions of set combinations and permutations. there
are likely incomputable numbers here, not even considering the alphabet
dimensions, in terms of probabilities. what this really is, in terms of
N-value logic is an array of 32 wildcard variables that could be anything...

[ * ][ * ][ * ][ * ][ * ][ * ][ * ][ * ][ * ][ * ][ * ][ * ][ * ][ * ][ *
][ * ]
[ * ][ * ][ * ][ * ][ * ][ * ][ * ][ * ][ * ][ * ][ * ][ * ][ * ][ * ][ *
][ * ]

and thus, in a larger consideration of display potential (not limited by
size of the 'pixel' or bit), infinity upon infinity could be nested within
these interset relations, one variable in relation to others, in various
nonlinear patterns. and this could occur graphically, as if glyphs or
symbols or various emergent proto-signage.

whereas, for a digital, binary viewpoint, in 2-values, the same potential
for display as literal number, could be entirely finite and bounded:

[0][1][0][0][1][0][1][1][0][1][0][1][0][0][0][1]
[1][0][0][1][0][1][1][0][1][0][1][0][0][0][1][0]

and thus, once adding in 'neutral' or unknown (n) of 3-value logic into
this fixed idea of binary language, strange dynamics and possibilities are
opened up within these limited sign systems, and the processing becomes
indeterminate and can be paused or begin to loop, remaining in an undecided
or questioning state....

[0][1][0][0][1][0][n][1][0][1][0][1][0][n][0][1]
[1][n][0][1][0][1][1][0][1][0][n][0][0][0][1][0]

and then with N-value logic, the wildcards transform everything, and the
one and zero absolutes are the exception, a contingency assumption, always
looping to test against the model and its assessment, versus a forgone
conclusion. and in this way, the signs of language and mathematics.


--- Tenori-on ---

in my explorations i discovered one tool that had the potential of a
HIOX-based signaling system, the Yamaha Tenori-on electronic music
instrument....

Tenori-on
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Tenori-on

TENORI-ON Product Demo Performance
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=_SGwDhKTrwU

Yamaha website - software version
http://usa.yamaha.com/products/musical-instruments/entertainment/tenori-on/

what intrigued me about this platform was that it was conceived as a visual
instrument in addition to musical, so that the LEDs and the sequencing of
sound were matched, and patterns could be programmed into the device and
shared as a visual display. the fact that it is a sequencer is very
important, in terms of looped permutation of data, if considering the
display. and yet it remains in a linear time framework by default and
limited capacity to explore anything related to HIOX beyond the given
context, yet exists a potential tool likewise. such that it feasibly could
be used for signaling, as a semaphore.

if attaching it a radio-controlled plane or drone, it could send
alphanumeric display messages via persistence of vision, spelling out data
across the sky via electronic sky writing. or it could be held up at a
distance and burst a message that is captured via video recording and
spotting scope, and when the recording is played back, its message could be
spelled out frame by frame or perhaps exists in an encrypted or hidden
format, say UV or other LEDs that make it look inert and in a state of
non-display, when instead transmitting information or data.

to me this is a semaphore system. and its additional uniqueness was that it
was designed to be connected at a distance to another Tenori-on via network
connection, as if a telegraph, and the music on one device would appear on
the other and each would be able to manipulate the common screen and light
patterns in real-time. how amazing is that? amazing enough to discontinue
develop the product unfortunately. it is perfect for music therapy at a
distance, musical education, if it had more capacity for experimentation
(versus being limited in what is allowed to occur, musically) and thus it
was of limited use as an instrument for those who make music, too
constrained in operation. and yet, idea-wise, it has tremendous potential
as a platform for communication, whether musical or pattern based; and
taken into the above context, signaling, code, programming, semaphore.
tablet software is not the same idea.

--- today ---

thus, when writing emails about logic, it is trapped within this
inescapable coded and programmed context of binary ideology. what can
happen is only what is allowable or possible within the existing
constraints and frameworks, and thus this description of the idea is more
than can be done within the technology itself, as it is ideologically
formatted. in terms of tool use. to enter into a cryptographic context,
computation of bit sets and relaying signals would require developing new
circuits based on 3-value and N-value logic, computer architectures that
allow the code to exist and be processed as it exists, as information in a
grounded model of contingent truth. perhaps even establishing a means for
entanglement between such systems. until then, it seems description and
representation within existing systems would be bounded to a prototype
condition, showing the idea, conceptualizing it, rather than actualizing it.

dim sum, banh mi, sashimi

℻
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