Algoliterary Experiments

These algoliterary experiments have been inspired by methodologies that were developed during Algolit sessions in Brussels. Algolit is a research group on free code and texts: https://algolit.net.

Latest Algoliterary experiments

Tree(s) sort(ed)

Algorithm: Tree sort
Trees: beeches, oaks, maples, chestnuts in Bois de la Cambre/Ter Kameren Bos and Sonian Forest
Humans: 60 students of ESA Saint-Luc Bruxelles, Jara Rocha, Outi Laiti, Stephan Kampelmann, Nathalie Grandjean, Loren Ren Britton, Guillaume Slizewicz, Gijs de Heij, An Mertens.
Language: English
Published: 2022
License: Collective Conditions for (re-)use (CC4r), June 2021

Read the tree: sorted by date, sorted by colour, sorted by natural element, sorted by image description.

The generator of this poster is the tree sort algorithm, the subject are all the trees, algorithmic exercises and human beings involved in the residency of Anaïs Berck at the Villa Empain and ESA Saint-Luc Bruxelles in October 2021. The images and texts are srted following different criteria: time, colour and the natural element in the alt-text description of the images. Tree sort or binary search tree allows for fast lookup, addition, and removal of data items, and can be used to implement dynamic sets and lookup tables. The basic operations include: search, traversal, insert and delete.They are used in relational databases, data compression code, in Unix kernels for managing a set of virtual memory areas, and more. The binary search tree algorithm was discovered independently by several researchers, including P.F. Windley, Andrew Donald Booth (UK), Andrew Colin (UK), Thomas N. Hibbard (US), and attributed to Conway Berners-Lee (UK) and David Wheeler (UK), in 1960 for storing labelled data in magnetic tapes.

Repository: https://gitlab.constantvzw.org/anais_berck/trees-sorted
With the support of: These posters are a creation for the exhibition in the framework of the Open Door Days in ESA Saint-Luc Bruxelles with the support of FRArt.
Thanks to: Danielle Lenaerts, Mark Streker

Paseo por arboles de madrid

Algorithm: Markov Chain
Trees: collection of trees in the neighbourhood of Barrio de Las Letras in Madrid, retrieved from Un Alcorque, un Arbol
Humans: Emilia Pardo Bazán, Benito Pérez Gáldos, Jaime Munárriz, Luis Morell, An Mertens, Eva Marina Gracia, Gijs de Heij, Ana Isabel Garrido Mártinez, Alfredo Calosci, Daniel Arribas Hedo
Language: Spanish, English
Published: 2021
License: Collective Conditions for (re-)use (CC4r), June 2021
: Read the book online ⤤

In this book, the Markov Chain algorithm simultaneously generates a poem and a walk along trees in the neighbourhood Las Letras in the centre of Madrid. Despite the impression that there are few trees in the neighbourhood, the algorithm counts 460 of them. Markov Chain was designed in 1906 by Andrey Markov, a Russian mathematician who died in 1992. This algorithm is at the basis of many softwares that generate spam. It is used for systems that describe a series of events that are interdependent. What happens depends only on the previous step. That is why Markov Chains are also called "memoryless".

URL: http://paseo-por-arboles.algoliterarypublishing.net
Repository: https://gitlab.constantvzw.org/anais_berck/paseo-por-arboles-de-madrid
With the support of: This book was created as part of the residency of Anaïs Berck in Medialab Prado in Madrid, granted by the Government of Flanders as part of their 'Residency Digital Culture' program. The creation happened in company of collaborators of Medialab Prado, who assisted to various workshops.

Levenshtein Distance

Algorithm: Levenshtein Distance
Trees: eucaliptus + found species in Spanish on the internet
Humans: Julio Cortázar, Gijs de Heij, An Mertens
Language: Spanish, English
Published: 2021
License: Collective Conditions for (re-)use (CC4r), June 2021
: Read the book online ⤤

The author of this book is the Levenhstein Distance algorithm, the subject is the eucalyptus tree in "Fama y eucalipto", an excerpt from Historias de Cronopios y de Famas by Julio Cortázar, published in 1962 by Editorial Minotauro. Levenshtein distance, edit distance or word distance is an algorithm that operates in spell checkers. It is the minimum number of operations required to transform one word into another. An operation can be an insertion, deletion or substitution of a character. The algorithm was an invention of Russian scientist Vladimir Levenshtein in 1965.

URL: http://anaisberck.tabakalera.eus/
Repository: https://gitlab.constantvzw.org/anais_berck/levenshtein-distance-lee-a-cortazar
With the support of: This book is a creation for ÁGORA / CEMENT / CÓDIGO, an online exhibition curated by Lekutan, within the programme of Komisario Berriak supported by Tabakalera in Donostia/San Sebastián, Spain.
Thanks to: Andrea Estankona, Jaime Munárriz, Esther Berdión