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Discussion on: Can code be poetic?

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dantiel profile image
dantiel

code is anti-poetic, so when you write code, you basically write an anti-poem, especially when you're working for the industry, you're anti-poetic, that doesn't mean its non-poetic, because writing code is a creative habit, just as writing a poem is, because existence is non-poetic, and non-existence is poetic, there isnt anything less poetic than the poet himself, but in the aetherical battle of a sleep-deprived individual against the frivolous capitalist system, the machine-leviathan, taming the dragon, befriending him, making him compliant and his endeavor fruitful, his work may feel poetic, but for the reality it is too late, now that he has become a robot. I would also say any poem is an anti-poem, because it means reinventing language and its use, therefore id say there are ways to write poetic code, like an elegant solution is always poetic in sense that it counts for programs as well as for a dance. furthermore a poem isnt more poetic if it is written in another language, it must be like music, always in the right language and tone, that means if you write a poem in code-style it is like noise-music, words are words, vibration is vibration, a rose is a rose.
in summary to clear some things up: written words are subset of poetry, and code is a subset of written words, but those are only the levers of the machine. flattering poems are a way to try program and failsafe the heart of human. but a heart must be free, and a robot must do its duty.

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michaeltharrington profile image
Michael Tharrington

This is a really deep take! I'm probably gonna need to read through it a few times to fully understand, but I think I get the gist and it's super interesting.

You mentioned "especially when you're working for the industry" and I think what you're getting at here is that when you're coding for someone to make money, you're doing a job and that feels in opposition to writing poetry which is typically thought of more as a creative expression that was made for the sake of the expression (and not to bring in cash).

But, if someone is coding for themselves, exploring methods, and creating more for the sake of creation and self expression than for dollars, then that would be more in line with writing poetry.

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dantiel profile image
dantiel

as a human being I am in-between AI, robotics and nature with its consummation needs, I code therefore I am, which is untrue because more true in robotic language will be, I am coded, therefore I am.
If I can write an AI that writes poems, to get dollars for it, then both the code of this program and its return value will be poems, but it will be a very terrible one to read.
there must be a recipient which probably must have a soul or a conscious. so if you think that a machine has a soul or conscious, every bit of zero and one will be part of a breathtaking poem.... but coding and language is related because it means compression of information on a higher level of abstraction, by AI machines may replace our brains but not our deepest inside. when I write a poem, I ask my stomach about his opinion, if he gulps, then it is good, false otherwise.