Synopses & Reviews
This book is a critical introduction to the subject of algorithms, code and software that develops an understanding of the social and philosophical implications. This book has been written specifically for people interested in the subject from a non-technical background and provides a lively and interesting analysis of these new media forms. Software is a tangle, a knot, which ties together the physical and the ephemeral, the material and the ethereal, into a complete system that can be controlled and directed. However, software exceeds our ability to place limits on its entanglement, for it has in the past decade entered the everyday home through electronic augmentation that has replaced the mechanical world of the 20th Century. From washing machines to central heating systems, to children's toys, television and video; the old electro-magnetic and servo-mechanical world is being revolutionised by the silent logic of virtual devices. It is time, therefore, to examine our virtual situation.
Review
"This is a beautifully written book that pulls off the difficult task of introducing the subject of software and the workings of code to the non specialist whilst also providing an original take of the philosophical and the cultural importance of code in contemporary culture." - Michael Bull, University of Sussex, UK
"The book is warmly recommended:[Berry's] understanding of software is fantastic. It reaches out to so many discussions and has so many implications that it is an engine in itself: it produces ideas." - Jussi Parikka, Winchester School of Art, University of Southampton, UK
"What is important about The Philosophy of Software is that it really is about what it claims to be about. Rather than trying to shoehorn software into an existing philosophical or political agenda it considers software as a thing in itself and finds those philosophers and philosophical ideas that best address the vitally important phenomenon of software. However much philosophy, computer science or cybercultural theory you may know this is a book that will set you thinking about software anew." - Rob Myers, Furtherfield
Synopsis
This book is a critical introduction to code and software that develops an understanding of its social and philosophical implications in the digital age.Written specifically for people interested in the subject from a non-technical background, the book provides a lively and interesting analysis of these new media forms."
Synopsis
The Philosophy of Software is a critical introduction to the subject of algorithms, code and software that introduces and engages with their social and philosophical implications. This book has been written to appeal not only to people interested in the subject but also to those from a non-technical background who want to know more about our softwarised societies. Indeed, software is a tangle or a knot, which ties together the physical and the computational, the material and the digital, into a comprehensive system for control and manipulation. However, software also exceeds our ability to place limits on its entanglement, and has entered
everyday life to an amazing degree in the 21st Century. From washing machines to central heating systems, to children's toys, television and video; the old mechanical world is being revolutionised by the silent logic of digital devices. It is time, therefore, to examine our algorithmic situation.
About the Author
David M. Berry is Reader in the School of Media, Film and Music at the University of Sussex and affiliated researcher at Institutt for Medier og Kommunikasjon (IMK), University of Oslo.
Table of Contents
Acknowledgements
1. The Idea of Code
2. What is Code?
3. Reading and Writing Code
4. Running Code
5. Towards a Phenomenology of Computation
6. Real-Time Streams
Bibliography
Index