syn·site
in Robert Smithson's terms*: (a partially generated and generative theory) The Synsite (an entangled situating) is an inter-dimensional picture that is amorphous, and yet it represents an interweaving of actual and virtual sites (an amalgamation of the Pine Barrens Plains, ML-scene processing, and the hyper-saturated yellow-green of a pool of disintegrated oak pollen, for instance). It is by this inter-dimensional metaphor that one entangled situating can represent another entangled situating, which does not resemble it—thus The Synsite. To comprehend this language of situating is to appreciate the metaphor between the syntactical construct and the complex of ideas, permitting the former to operate as a inter-dimensional picture that doesn't look like a picture. ... Between the actual-virtual sites in their respective planes and The Synsite itself exists a metaphoric space of collapsible significance. Perhaps "travel" through this space is a boundless metaphor. Everything in and between the entangled situatings could transform into physical metaphorical material devoid of natural meanings or realistic assumptions. Let us say that one embarks on many fictitious journeys at once if one decides to seek the site of the Synsite. Each “journey” is invented, devised, artificial; one might call it a syn-trip to a site from a Synsite. Once one arrives at the “assembly,” one discovers that it is man-made in the form of a network, and that she mapped this network in an aesthetic and temporal entanglement rather than specific political or economic boundaries.
This revisited theory is currently collaborative but could be surrendered to the faceless corpus of AGI at any time. Like the sources they scrape, theories are also both used and abandoned. That theories are constant is dubious; that sources are singularly credited is increasingly doubtful. Vanished theories compose the dense data layers of countless LLMs.
in Robert Smithson's terms*: (a partially generated and generative theory) The Synsite (an entangled situating) is an inter-dimensional picture that is amorphous, and yet it represents an interweaving of actual and virtual sites (an amalgamation of the Pine Barrens Plains, ML-scene processing, and the hyper-saturated yellow-green of a pool of disintegrated oak pollen, for instance). It is by this inter-dimensional metaphor that one entangled situating can represent another entangled situating, which does not resemble it—thus The Synsite. To comprehend this language of situating is to appreciate the metaphor between the syntactical construct and the complex of ideas, permitting the former to operate as a inter-dimensional picture that doesn't look like a picture. ... Between the actual-virtual sites in their respective planes and The Synsite itself exists a metaphoric space of collapsible significance. Perhaps "travel" through this space is a boundless metaphor. Everything in and between the entangled situatings could transform into physical metaphorical material devoid of natural meanings or realistic assumptions. Let us say that one embarks on many fictitious journeys at once if one decides to seek the site of the Synsite. Each “journey” is invented, devised, artificial; one might call it a syn-trip to a site from a Synsite. Once one arrives at the “assembly,” one discovers that it is man-made in the form of a network, and that she mapped this network in an aesthetic and temporal entanglement rather than specific political or economic boundaries.
This revisited theory is currently collaborative but could be surrendered to the faceless corpus of AGI at any time. Like the sources they scrape, theories are also both used and abandoned. That theories are constant is dubious; that sources are singularly credited is increasingly doubtful. Vanished theories compose the dense data layers of countless LLMs.
SYN (along with, at the same time | from Greek SYN, with | ~SYNTHETIC) + SITE (N: point of event, occupied space, internet address; V: to place in position | from Latin SITUS, location, idleness, forgetfulness | ~WEBSITE ¬cite ¬sight), cf. SITE/NON-SITE (from Robert Smithson, A PROVISIONAL THEORY OF NONSITES, 1968)
The loam—a residue sometimes hard, mostly soft—when expressed via the rampant acceleration of data proliferation, circulation and exchange, is a rather precious, albeit strange, entity. Vibrant and disruptive, flowing and yet at times steadfast, both segment and infinite plane, it names a kind of dynamic discourse, closer to that of a living, breathing, shape-shifting mesh. Its connections are self-organising complexities, which require the practical activities of distributed intelligences.
The loam—a residue sometimes hard, mostly soft—when expressed via the rampant acceleration of data proliferation, circulation and exchange, is a rather precious, albeit strange, entity. Vibrant and disruptive, flowing and yet at times steadfast, both segment and infinite plane, it names a kind of dynamic discourse, closer to that of a living, breathing, shape-shifting mesh. Its connections are self-organising complexities, which require the practical activities of distributed intelligences.
The loam—a residue sometimes hard, mostly soft—when expressed via the rampant acceleration of data proliferation, circulation and exchange, is a rather precious, albeit strange, entity. Vibrant and disruptive, flowing and yet at times steadfast, both segment and infinite plane, it names a kind of dynamic discourse, closer to that of a living, breathing, shape-shifting mesh. Its connections are self-organising complexities, which require the practical activities of distributed intelligences.
A single click of a mouse sets off a chain reaction and sends a signal to mining farms around the world, which go on to have a footprint of 35 kWh for an ‘average’ transaction, with emissions of close to 20 KgCO2 for that single mouse click [...] An ETH transaction is thousands times more costly than other internet activities that individuals typically engage in. [...] Transactions relating to NFTs however, have more complexities involved.
[...]
A single NFT can involve dozens of transactions, and potentially more. These include minting, bidding, cancelling, sales and transfer of ownership.
[...]
This single NFT’s footprint is equivalent to a EU resident’s total electric power consumption for more than a month, with emissions equivalent to driving for 1000Km, or flying for 2 hours.
A single click of a mouse sets off a chain reaction and sends a signal to mining farms around the world, which go on to have a footprint of 35 kWh for an ‘average’ transaction, with emissions of close to 20 KgCO2 for that single mouse click [...] An ETH transaction is thousands times more costly than other internet activities that individuals typically engage in. [...] Transactions relating to NFTs however, have more complexities involved.
[...]
A single NFT can involve dozens of transactions, and potentially more. These include minting, bidding, cancelling, sales and transfer of ownership.
[...]
This single NFT’s footprint is equivalent to a EU resident’s total electric power consumption for more than a month, with emissions equivalent to driving for 1000Km, or flying for 2 hours.
A single click of a mouse sets off a chain reaction and sends a signal to mining farms around the world, which go on to have a footprint of 35 kWh for an ‘average’ transaction, with emissions of close to 20 KgCO2 for that single mouse click [...] An ETH transaction is thousands times more costly than other internet activities that individuals typically engage in. [...] Transactions relating to NFTs however, have more complexities involved.
[...]
A single NFT can involve dozens of transactions, and potentially more. These include minting, bidding, cancelling, sales and transfer of ownership.
[...]
This single NFT’s footprint is equivalent to a EU resident’s total electric power consumption for more than a month, with emissions equivalent to driving for 1000Km, or flying for 2 hours.
the semiconductor-grade silicon crystal industry has much in common with the healing crystal industry (which has been experiencing a period of increased popularity thanks in part to the rise of networked digital platforms). By mapping the resonances between these two seemingly opposed crystal economies through archival and field research into both, this talk re-grounds the increasingly everyday experience of using networked technologies in geologic, environmental, and metaphysical dimensions.
the semiconductor-grade silicon crystal industry has much in common with the healing crystal industry (which has been experiencing a period of increased popularity thanks in part to the rise of networked digital platforms). By mapping the resonances between these two seemingly opposed crystal economies through archival and field research into both, this talk re-grounds the increasingly everyday experience of using networked technologies in geologic, environmental, and metaphysical dimensions.
the semiconductor-grade silicon crystal industry has much in common with the healing crystal industry (which has been experiencing a period of increased popularity thanks in part to the rise of networked digital platforms). By mapping the resonances between these two seemingly opposed crystal economies through archival and field research into both, this talk re-grounds the increasingly everyday experience of using networked technologies in geologic, environmental, and metaphysical dimensions.
There's a lot of weird overlaps between the fetishizing of networked computation as instrument of salvation or enlightenment in the tech industry and the fetishizing of crystals as instruments of salvation or enlightenment in the wellness-industrial complex.
There's a lot of weird overlaps between the fetishizing of networked computation as instrument of salvation or enlightenment in the tech industry and the fetishizing of crystals as instruments of salvation or enlightenment in the wellness-industrial complex.
There's a lot of weird overlaps between the fetishizing of networked computation as instrument of salvation or enlightenment in the tech industry and the fetishizing of crystals as instruments of salvation or enlightenment in the wellness-industrial complex.