Monorepo for Aesthetic.Computer
aesthetic.computer
feat: ingest SoSoft docs + 14 software art texts into research platter
Pulled 4 SoSoft doc digests and 14 full-text open-access PDFs from
Casey Reas' Software Art References list (Galloway, Manovich, Flusser,
Wark, Kelty, Chun, McHugh, Quaranta x2, Fuller, Galanter, Raymond,
Goriunova, Wagenknecht). Updated platter.html with new readings groups,
SCORE.md with 8 missing papers, RESEARCH-DIRECTION.md with SoSoft TODO
tracking ~55 remaining texts. sync-platter.mjs now dynamically counts
readings instead of hardcoding.
Co-Authored-By: Claude Opus 4.6 (1M context) <noreply@anthropic.com>
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papers/RESEARCH-DIRECTION.md
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papers/RESEARCH-DIRECTION.md
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# Research Direction · Aesthetic Computer
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**Last updated**: 2026-03-28
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**Last updated**: 2026-04-06
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**Author**: @jeffrey — [ORCID 0009-0007-4460-4913](https://orcid.org/0009-0007-4460-4913)
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---
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## Current Goals
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1. **Get all 6 papers to submission quality** — integrate platter corpus citations, polish arguments, tighten prose
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1. **Get all 27 papers to submission quality** — integrate platter corpus citations, polish arguments, tighten prose
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2. **Submit to open deadlines**: ACM C&C Demos (Apr 16), ICCC Short Papers (Apr 24)
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3. **Build the research moat** — use the 40+ readings library and 94-project software history as scholarly foundation
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3. **Build the research moat** — use the 87+ readings library and 94-project software history as scholarly foundation
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4. **Establish AC's place in computing history** — repo archaeology paper traces the lineage; software history catalogs 94 predecessor projects
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5. **Complete SoSoft readings acquisition** — ~55 remaining texts from Casey Reas' Software Art References list (see TODO below)
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---
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···
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- Three lineage threads: drawing tools → AC pieces, performance tools → multiplayer, dev infrastructure → hot-reload
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### Citation Integration (The Moat)
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- 58 readings in `system/public/assets/papers/readings/text/`
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- **32 of 58 now cited** across paper bibliographies (up from 0 as of 2026-03-10)
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- 87 readings in `system/public/assets/papers/readings/text/` (up from 58 as of 2026-04-06)
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- **32+ now cited** across paper bibliographies (up from 0 as of 2026-03-10)
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- **Batch added 2026-03-18**: Little Schemer, van Engelen, Joy of Clojure, McCarthy 1960, Ted Nelson, 10 PRINT, Kittler, McLuhan, Shklovsky, Adorno, Langer, Fisher across 8 bib files
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- **Prose citations added 2026-03-18**: `\cite{}` calls integrated into 6 paper .tex files (ac, kidlisp, pieces, sustainability, os, complex)
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- **Final Tier 1 batch 2026-03-18**: Ingold, Strudel (Roos & McLean), Staunæs/Stiegler added to bib files AND cited in prose
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## Platter Corpus Summary
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The research platter (`papers.aesthetic.computer/platter`) contains:
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- **6 papers** (4 arXiv LaTeX + 2 JOSS Markdown)
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- **40+ readings** (PDFs with text extractions)
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- **85 reports** (internal markdown)
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- **144 plans** (internal markdown)
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- **27 papers** (26 arXiv LaTeX + 2 JOSS Markdown) — up from 20 as of 2026-03-28
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- **87 readings** (PDFs with text extractions) — up from 58 as of 2026-04-06
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- **109 reports** (internal markdown)
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- **162 plans** (internal markdown)
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- **8 studies** (internal markdown)
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- **70+ reference items**
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- **94-project software history**
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- **API & data source documentation**
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This corpus is the scholarly foundation. Every paper revision should draw from it.
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---
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## TODO: SoSoft Readings Acquisition
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Casey Reas' "Software Art References (2000+)" on `sosoft.arts.ucla.edu/docs` lists 77 texts.
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As of 2026-04-06, we have acquired 18 (14 full-text + 4 SoSoft doc digests). ~55 remain.
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### Acquired (14 full-text conversions from open-access PDFs)
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| # | Author | Title | Lines | Source |
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|---|--------|-------|-------|--------|
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| 1 | Galloway | *Protocol* (2004) | 10,498 | asounder.org |
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| 2 | Manovich | *Software Takes Command* (2013) | 13,804 | Monoskop |
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| 3 | Fuller | *Behind the Blip* (2003) | 384 | Monoskop (rough OCR) |
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| 4 | Flusser | *Into the Universe of Technical Images* (2011) | 6,910 | readings.teaching-documents.org |
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| 5 | Wark | *A Hacker Manifesto* (2004) | 6,402 | Monoskop |
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| 6 | Kelty | *Two Bits* (2008) | 15,808 | twobits.net (CC BY-NC-SA) |
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| 7 | Chun | "On Software" essay (2005) | 1,133 | Monoskop |
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| 8 | McHugh | *Post Internet* (2019) | 11,839 | Link Editions (CC) |
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| 9 | Quaranta | *Beyond New Media Art* (2013) | 11,337 | Link Editions (CC) |
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| 10 | Quaranta | *In Your Computer* (2011) | 8,511 | Link Editions (CC) |
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| 11 | Galanter | "What Is Generative Art?" (2003) | 894 | philipgalanter.com |
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| 12 | Raymond | *Cathedral and the Bazaar* (rev. ed.) | 11,446 | Monoskop (OPL) |
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| 13 | Goriunova | *Readme 100* (2006) | 5,366 | Monoskop |
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| 14 | Wagenknecht | *Deep Lab* (2014) | 5,482 | Frank-Ratchye STUDIO |
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### Pending (known open-access, need different extraction)
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- [ ] Manovich — *The Language of New Media* (2001) — scanned PDF on Monoskop, needs OCR (`tesseract` or similar)
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- [ ] Chun — *Programmed Visions* (2011) — MIT Press OA at `direct.mit.edu`, 403'd on direct fetch; try browser download
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- [ ] Fuller (ed.) — *Software Studies: A Lexicon* (2008) — Monoskop blocked; try alternate mirror or manual download
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- [ ] Mansoux & de Valk — *FLOSS+Art* (2008) — Monoskop blocked; try alternate mirror or manual download
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- [ ] Paglen — "Invisible Images" (2016) — full text at `thenewinquiry.com`, needs manual copy (WebFetch refused copyright)
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### Not yet searched (remaining ~55 from Casey's 77)
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Many are commercially published books without known open-access editions. Priority tiers:
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**Tier 1 — most likely findable (exhibition catalogs, institutional publications)**
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- [ ] *010101: Art in Technological Times* (SFMOMA, 2001)
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- [ ] *Abstraction Now* (Künstlerhaus, 2003)
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- [ ] Respini — *Art in the Age of the Internet* (Yale UP, 2018)
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- [ ] Archey & Peckham — *Art Post-Internet* (UCCA, 2014)
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- [ ] Stocker & Schöpf — *Ars Electronica 2003: Code* (Hatje Cantz)
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- [ ] *Coder le monde* (Centre Pompidou, 2018)
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- [ ] Paul & Rellie — *Feedback* (LABoral, 2007)
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- [ ] Bernard & Quaranta — *Holy Fire: Art of the Digital Age* (iMAL, 2008)
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- [ ] Sonic Acts volumes (multiple, 2001–2008)
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- [ ] Schmalstieg — *Manifestos for the Internet Age* (Greyscale Press) — GitHub repo exists
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**Tier 2 — commercially published, check Archive.org lending library**
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- [ ] Bourriaud — *Relational Aesthetics* (Les presses du réel, 2002) — Monoskop may have
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- [ ] Bratton — *The Stack* (MIT Press, 2015)
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- [ ] Cubitt — *Practice of Light* (MIT Press, 2014)
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- [ ] Cornell & Halter — *Mass Effect* (MIT Press, 2015)
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- [ ] Harrell — *Phantasmal Media* (MIT Press, 2013)
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- [ ] Hoy — *From Point to Pixel* (Dartmouth, 2017)
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- [ ] Shanken — *Art and Electronic Media* (Phaidon, 2009)
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- [ ] Wilson — *Information Arts* (MIT Press, 2002)
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- [ ] Vesna — *Database Aesthetics* (U Minnesota Press, 2002)
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- [ ] Rinehart & Ippolito — *Re-Collections* (MIT Press, 2014)
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- [ ] Raley — *Tactical Media* (U Minnesota Press, 2009)
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- [ ] Whitelaw — *Metacreation* (MIT Press, 2004)
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- [ ] Anderson — *Technologies of Vision* (MIT Press, 2017)
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**Tier 3 — artist monographs, harder to find digitally**
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- [ ] Arcangel — *The Source Digest* (2017)
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- [ ] Cheng — *Emissaries Guide to Worlding* (2018)
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- [ ] Hershman Leeson — *Civic Radar* (2016)
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- [ ] Lozano-Hemmer — *Pseudomatisms* (2016)
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- [ ] Maeda — *Maeda@Media* (2000) and *Creative Code* (2004)
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- [ ] Simon Jr. — *Outside In* (2009)
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- [ ] Sollfrank — *net.art generator* (2004)
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### Strategy for remaining texts
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1. **Manual Monoskop download** — several blocked texts exist on Monoskop but need browser-based download
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2. **Archive.org lending library** — many MIT Press titles available via controlled digital lending
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3. **Institutional access** — UCLA library access may cover many MIT Press, Phaidon, Verso titles
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4. **OCR pipeline** — install `tesseract-ocr` for scanned PDFs (Manovich *Language of New Media*)
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5. **Exhibition catalog PDFs** — many institutions post catalog PDFs; search museum websites directly
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papers/SCORE.md
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papers/SCORE.md
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| Paper | Format | PDF | Source |
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|-------|--------|-----|--------|
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| The Potter and the Prompt | arXiv (LaTeX) | `arxiv-holden/holden.pdf` | `arxiv-holden/holden.tex` |
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| Two Departments, One Building | arXiv (LaTeX) | `arxiv-ucla-arts/ucla-arts.pdf` | `arxiv-ucla-arts/ucla-arts.tex` |
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| Handle Identity on the AT Protocol | arXiv (LaTeX) | `arxiv-identity/identity.pdf` | `arxiv-identity/identity.tex` |
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| Five Years from Now: What Aesthetic Computer Probably Becomes | arXiv (LaTeX) | `arxiv-futures/futures.pdf` | `arxiv-futures/futures.tex` |
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| Get Closed Source Out of Schools | arXiv (LaTeX) | `arxiv-open-schools/open-schools.pdf` | `arxiv-open-schools/open-schools.tex` |
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| CalArts, Callouts, and Papers | arXiv (LaTeX) | `arxiv-calarts/calarts.pdf` | `arxiv-calarts/calarts.tex` |
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| Reading the Score: A Critical Analysis of SCORE.md | arXiv (LaTeX) | `arxiv-score-analysis/score-analysis.pdf` | `arxiv-score-analysis/score-analysis.tex` |
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| KidLisp Cards: Programs That Fit on a Card | arXiv (LaTeX) | `arxiv-kidlisp-cards/kidlisp-cards.pdf` | `arxiv-kidlisp-cards/kidlisp-cards.tex` |
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| Sucking on the Complex | arXiv (LaTeX) | `arxiv-complex/complex.pdf` | `arxiv-complex/complex.tex` |
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| Playable Folk Songs | arXiv (LaTeX) | `arxiv-folk-songs/folk-songs.pdf` | `arxiv-folk-songs/folk-songs.tex` |
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| Every Sound is a Painting: Sampling as Visual-Auditory Practice | arXiv (LaTeX) | `arxiv-sampling/sampling.pdf` | `arxiv-sampling/sampling.tex` |
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| PLORKing the Planet: From Laptop Orchestra to Planetary Organ | arXiv (LaTeX, 8pp) | `arxiv-plork/plork.pdf` | `arxiv-plork/plork.tex` |
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| From setup() to boot(): Processing at the Core of the Piece API | arXiv (LaTeX, 7pp) | `arxiv-api/api.pdf` | `arxiv-api/api.tex` |
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| Network Audit: Who Uses Aesthetic Computer and What Do They Make? | arXiv (LaTeX, 4pp) | `arxiv-network-audit/network-audit.pdf` | `arxiv-network-audit/network-audit.tex` |
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papers/sync-platter.mjs
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papers/sync-platter.mjs
···
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? (readFileSync(INDEX_PATH, "utf8").match(/class="p"\s+data-paper-id=/g) || [])
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.length
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: 0;
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const readingsCount = countFiles(
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join(REPO_ROOT, "system/public/assets/papers/readings/text"),
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".txt",
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);
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html = replaceOrThrow(
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html,
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/<div class="stats">[\s\S]*?<\/div>/,
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`<div class="stats">
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<span>${piecesTotal}</span> pieces · <span>${libModules}</span> lib modules · <span>${functionCount}</span> functions · <span>${plans.count}</span> plans · <span>${reports.count}</span> reports · <span>${studies.count}</span> studies · <span>30+</span> readings · <span>${papersCount}</span> papers
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<span>${piecesTotal}</span> pieces · <span>${libModules}</span> lib modules · <span>${functionCount}</span> functions · <span>${plans.count}</span> plans · <span>${reports.count}</span> reports · <span>${studies.count}</span> studies · <span>${readingsCount}+</span> readings · <span>${papersCount}</span> papers
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</div>`,
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"stats block",
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);
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system/public/papers.aesthetic.computer/platter.html
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system/public/papers.aesthetic.computer/platter.html
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<h1>Research Platter</h1>
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<div class="subtitle">Full knowledge base for Aesthetic Computer papers and research.</div>
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<div class="stats">
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<span>362</span> pieces · <span>76</span> lib modules · <span>95</span> functions · <span>162</span> plans · <span>109</span> reports · <span>8</span> studies · <span>30+</span> readings · <span>27</span> papers
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<span>362</span> pieces · <span>76</span> lib modules · <span>95</span> functions · <span>162</span> plans · <span>109</span> reports · <span>8</span> studies · <span>87+</span> readings · <span>28</span> papers
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</div>
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</div>
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···
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<div class="section-header" data-color="pink" onclick="toggleSection(this)">
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<span class="toggle">▼</span>
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<h2>Papers</h2>
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<span class="count">27 publications</span>
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<span class="count">28 publications</span>
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</div>
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<div class="section-items">
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<a class="item" href="/aesthetic-computer-26-arxiv.pdf">Aesthetic Computer '26 — A Mobile-First Runtime for Creative Computing (arXiv, 5pp)</a>
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<div class="section-header" data-color="purple" onclick="toggleSection(this)">
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<span class="toggle">▼</span>
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<h2>Readings Library</h2>
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<span class="count">30+ texts with full-text extracts</span>
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<span class="count">48+ texts with full-text extracts</span>
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</div>
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<div class="section-items">
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<div class="item-group">
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<a class="item" href="https://aesthetic.computer/assets/papers/readings/text/stiegler-idiotext.txt">Asker Bryld Staunæs — "Stiegler's Concept of Idiotext" (2021) <span class="file">txt</span></a>
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<a class="item" href="https://aesthetic.computer/assets/papers/readings/text/lawson-last-exit-painting.txt">Thomas Lawson — "Last Exit: Painting" (Artforum, 1981) <span class="file">txt</span></a>
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<a class="item" href="https://aesthetic.computer/assets/papers/readings/text/Goodiepal-Equation-Documentary-Transcript-2017.txt">Goodiepal / Sami Sänpäkkilä — <em>The Goodiepal Equation</em> documentary transcript (2017, auto-generated English from YouTube) <span class="file">txt · 1505 lines</span></a>
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</div>
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<div class="item-group">
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<div class="item-group-label">Social Software (UCLA SoSoft)</div>
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<a class="item" href="https://aesthetic.computer/assets/papers/readings/text/Reas-SoSoft-Software-Art-References-2024.txt">Casey Reas — Software Art References (2000+) <span class="file">txt · curated index</span></a>
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<a class="item" href="https://aesthetic.computer/assets/papers/readings/text/Reas-SoSoft-Nam-June-Paik-Social-Software-2026.txt">Casey Reas — Nam June Paik's Social Software (Smithsonian research, Mar 2026) <span class="file">txt</span></a>
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<a class="item" href="https://aesthetic.computer/assets/papers/readings/text/Reas-SoSoft-Reading-List-001-2026.txt">Casey Reas — Social Software Reading List #001 (Winter 2026, 16 texts) <span class="file">txt</span></a>
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<a class="item" href="https://aesthetic.computer/assets/papers/readings/text/SoSoft-Digital-Art-Museum-Age-Exhibitions-2026.txt">Digital Art Enters the Museum Age — 8 institutional exhibitions 2018–2025 <span class="file">txt</span></a>
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<span class="item" style="color:var(--dim)">Carlos Sanchez — Conversation (May 2025) <span class="file">no content available at source</span></span>
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</div>
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<div class="item-group">
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<div class="item-group-label">Software Art & New Media Theory (from SoSoft list)</div>
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<a class="item" href="https://aesthetic.computer/assets/papers/readings/text/Galloway-Protocol-How-Control-Exists-2004.txt">Alexander R. Galloway — <em>Protocol: How Control Exists after Decentralization</em> (MIT Press, 2004) <span class="file">txt · 10498 lines</span></a>
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<a class="item" href="https://aesthetic.computer/assets/papers/readings/text/Manovich-Software-Takes-Command-2013.txt">Lev Manovich — <em>Software Takes Command</em> (Bloomsbury, 2013) <span class="file">txt · 13804 lines</span></a>
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<a class="item" href="https://aesthetic.computer/assets/papers/readings/text/Fuller-Behind-the-Blip-2003.txt">Matthew Fuller — <em>Behind the Blip: Essays on the Culture of Software</em> (Autonomedia, 2003) <span class="file">txt · rough OCR</span></a>
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<a class="item" href="https://aesthetic.computer/assets/papers/readings/text/Flusser-Into-Universe-of-Technical-Images-2011.txt">Vilém Flusser — <em>Into the Universe of Technical Images</em> (U Minnesota Press, 2011) <span class="file">txt · 6910 lines</span></a>
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<a class="item" href="https://aesthetic.computer/assets/papers/readings/text/Wark-A-Hacker-Manifesto-2004.txt">McKenzie Wark — <em>A Hacker Manifesto</em> (Harvard UP, 2004) <span class="file">txt · 6402 lines</span></a>
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<a class="item" href="https://aesthetic.computer/assets/papers/readings/text/Kelty-Two-Bits-Cultural-Significance-Free-Software-2008.txt">Christopher M. Kelty — <em>Two Bits: The Cultural Significance of Free Software</em> (Duke UP, 2008, CC BY-NC-SA) <span class="file">txt · 15808 lines</span></a>
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<a class="item" href="https://aesthetic.computer/assets/papers/readings/text/Chun-On-Software-Persistence-Visual-Knowledge-2005.txt">Wendy Hui Kyong Chun — "On Software, or the Persistence of Visual Knowledge" (2005) <span class="file">txt · 1133 lines</span></a>
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<a class="item" href="https://aesthetic.computer/assets/papers/readings/text/McHugh-Post-Internet-Link-Editions-2019.txt">Gene McHugh — <em>Post Internet</em> (Link Editions, 2nd ed. 2019, CC BY-NC-SA) <span class="file">txt · 11839 lines</span></a>
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<a class="item" href="https://aesthetic.computer/assets/papers/readings/text/Quaranta-Beyond-New-Media-Art-2013.txt">Domenico Quaranta — <em>Beyond New Media Art</em> (Link Editions, 2013, CC) <span class="file">txt · 11337 lines</span></a>
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<a class="item" href="https://aesthetic.computer/assets/papers/readings/text/Quaranta-In-Your-Computer-2011.txt">Domenico Quaranta — <em>In Your Computer</em> (Link Editions, 2011, CC) <span class="file">txt · 8511 lines</span></a>
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<a class="item" href="https://aesthetic.computer/assets/papers/readings/text/Galanter-What-Is-Generative-Art-2003.txt">Philip Galanter — "What Is Generative Art? Complexity Theory as a Context for Art Theory" (2003) <span class="file">txt · 894 lines</span></a>
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<a class="item" href="https://aesthetic.computer/assets/papers/readings/text/Raymond-Cathedral-and-the-Bazaar-1999.txt">Eric S. Raymond — <em>The Cathedral and the Bazaar</em> (O'Reilly, rev. ed., OPL) <span class="file">txt · 11446 lines</span></a>
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<a class="item" href="https://aesthetic.computer/assets/papers/readings/text/Goriunova-Shulgin-Readme-100-Software-Art-Factory.txt">Olga Goriunova (ed.) — <em>Readme 100: Temporary Software Art Factory</em> (2006) <span class="file">txt · 5366 lines</span></a>
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<a class="item" href="https://aesthetic.computer/assets/papers/readings/text/Wagenknecht-Deep-Lab-2014.txt">Addie Wagenknecht (ed.) — <em>Deep Lab</em> (Frank-Ratchye STUDIO, CMU, 2014) <span class="file">txt · 5482 lines</span></a>
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<span class="item" style="color:var(--dim)">Lev Manovich — <em>The Language of New Media</em> (MIT Press, 2001) <span class="file">scanned PDF · needs OCR</span></span>
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<span class="item" style="color:var(--dim)">Wendy Hui Kyong Chun — <em>Programmed Visions: Software and Memory</em> (MIT Press, 2011) <span class="file">MIT OA · needs extraction</span></span>
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<span class="item" style="color:var(--dim)">Matthew Fuller (ed.) — <em>Software Studies: A Lexicon</em> (MIT Press, 2008) <span class="file">Monoskop · blocked</span></span>
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<span class="item" style="color:var(--dim)">Mansoux & de Valk (eds.) — <em>FLOSS+Art</em> (GOTO10, 2008) <span class="file">Monoskop · blocked</span></span>
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</div>
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<div class="item-group">
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<div class="item-group-label">Games & Play</div>