​This month, Cybersentics Book Club comes with a Midwestern flavor! Explore a study of a 1960 experimental computing device developed at the University of Illinois Biological Computer Laboratory that probes the tensions between consciousness, embodiment, and control in the history of computation.

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​This Month's Reading:
Hamilton, K. (2017). Where the Turtles End. Contemporary Arts and Cultures.

​Access Reading
(Also Included with RSVP: You’ll receive the reading link in your confirmation email)

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​About Where the Turtles End:
In "Where the Turtles End," Kevin Hamilton examines the Adaptive Reorganizing Automaton (ARA), an experimental device developed at the University of Illinois Biological Computer Laboratory (BCL) in 1960, tracing how competing approaches to materiality in the history of computation illuminate a persistent tension between consciousness, embodiment, and control.

​Did you know that a small university town amid cornfields (Urbana) has been the home of second-order cybernetics, early computing, the first algorithmic music, the Mosaic graphical web browser, and so much more? Now you do — and there's more to that story.

​For this meeting, we are trying something new: the session will be held in a hybrid format, welcoming participants from outside the Bay Area to join us online. We are also hosting the article's author, Kevin Hamilton, who will join us virtually as our first guest speaker.

​About the Cybersentics Book Club:

​Gray Area is pleased to host a new reading group, the Cybersentics Book Club that will explore the human sensorium through the lens of art and technology.

​In the first cycle, Cybersentic's reading list will center key themes related to the bidirectional flow of information between bodies and the environment. The outward perspective examines biofeedback, while the inward perspective focuses on cyborg art.

​This book club is a fit for artists, makers, researchers, scholars, engineers, and anyone curious about the integration of technology and art. Join us as we investigate how to enhance our sensory experiences, from biofeedback and sonification to embedding sensors that challenge our perceptions.

​Our group's purpose is to cultivate a welcoming community that fosters knowledge-sharing and collaboration. Whether you're seeking to connect with potential collaborators, look for answers to pressing questions, gain critical insights, or engage in peer learning, this is the place for you!

​Cybersentics is organized and led by Gray Area Research Fellow Anastasia Chernysheva as part of the Biofeedback Art|Research Network (BARN).

​Accessibility:

​All ages welcome. A high school reading level or above is recommended.

​Hybrid event
In-person meeting hosted upstairs in the Gray Area Incubator, not wheelchair or mobility accessible
Online Zoom link provided upon RSVP

​View our FAQ page for more info, or contact us at [email protected] with any accommodation requests.