Clive Thompson on Nostr: Coleridge was fascinated by the aeolian harp ... ... an instrument that was played ...
Coleridge was fascinated by the aeolian harp ...
... an instrument that was played not by a human, but by the wind
A random-seeming input, with a system that transforms it into unpredictable and lovely outputs
(These days we'd call it "procedural art", lol)
Coleridge wondered if *humans* were, in essence, aeolian harps
The metaphor caught on: Romantics loved it
An essay considering this in the age of chatgpt
Item #11 in my latest "Linkfest" newsletter, free here: https://buttondown.email/clivethompson/archive/linkfest-18-infinite-crafting-the-reverse/
... an instrument that was played not by a human, but by the wind
A random-seeming input, with a system that transforms it into unpredictable and lovely outputs
(These days we'd call it "procedural art", lol)
Coleridge wondered if *humans* were, in essence, aeolian harps
The metaphor caught on: Romantics loved it
An essay considering this in the age of chatgpt
Item #11 in my latest "Linkfest" newsletter, free here: https://buttondown.email/clivethompson/archive/linkfest-18-infinite-crafting-the-reverse/