Electronics Faire: Computational Logic with Vintage Legos

The miracle of electronics technology is twofold. First in the science of transduction and electrification through which electrons are ordered into systems via conductive substrates. And second is the process of ordering into system through the formal structure of logic, materialized in the form of circuits like light switches and, after Alan Turing’s work in mathematics and logic, computers. This workshop will introduce some of the foundational premises of the logic of computing, particularly the notions of enumerable sets, Cantor’s theorem, and Turing Machines. Using simple material like beads, trinkets, legos, and action figure limbs, we’ll learn how to think like computers by working through processes of combination, recombination, and uncombination of groups. The goal is to 1) create little action figure horror stories and 2) mentally grasp one of the intellectual landmarks of the 20th century: Turing’s theory of computability. From there, we’ll marvel at the first built electronic computer, what historians have called ‘Turing’s Cathedral.’

About the Instructor:

Will is an artist and scholar. His practice is based in writing, music, and coding and he is interested in affect theory and dialectics. His work has been shown internationally at the Estonia Academy of Art and at the Arts, Letters, and Numbers Residency in Albany, New York. His writing can be found on the Triple Ampersand Journal and in the upcoming publication of the Yale Machine and Matter Symposium. Will has taught media studies and design at Fordham University and at The New School. His musical interests are in guitar, piano, and lyricism.