Keep it secret, keep it fun

Codes, ciphers and puzzles are not really my thing. But I remember manually spinning the record player backwards trying to hear the evil messages on Maiden and Zepplin records. "Ziiip, zaap, suhweee zurp." The puzzle was wondering if these messages were really there, or was this a pre-internet urban myth?

Every day I deal with language coding and how brains deal with it. To me, the idea of abstraction of symbols or language into other combinations of sounds or symbols seems a bit like trickery, but it is how we interface with tools and machines and with other humans. English phonemes and computer codes help us work on higher level thinking to enact programs or communicate more effectively. This exercise of codifying and filtering what we know into a different set of symbols is powerful technology. It empowers us to use tools that can extend human effort and communication. And Joey says its fun.

Explorations into computer science has been an opportunity for me to subtly include more of this thinking into my work.

This rug is based on the physical limits of computers, and also the ways in which algorithms actually function. It was first built to demonstrate FLOPS, which can be considered the measure of horsepower of computers. The amount of Floating Point OPerationS demonstrates how much a device can do at once; how many decisions or comparisons a computer can make.

I limited this rug to seven FLOPS. Can you see them? Each one three components that equal 32. The "sign" (in bright orange) of each FLOP leads the neighbouring 8 bit "exponents", which are watery-blue. The other 23 bits in each make up the "mantissa". If I had made this rug with as many FLOPS as the world's most powerful computer right now, it would reach far beyond our galaxy. I did the math based on these 3" squares, and it would comfortably reach Perseus. How's that for a magic carpet ride. In addition to the FLOPS, there are many other codes sneaking around in this rug. I have not only hidden them, but they are also coded using numbers and esoteric computer languages. Although I personally find no great joy in solving puzzles, I have loved creating them here, despite the self-imposed difficulties. I especially liked making tricky missives that might be noticed but will likely be missed by many. They are hidden in plain view, beautiful to find and feel. Will you see any secret messages? I'd love to hear if you do.