Noble’s master’s thesis, titled “Modeling Subjectivity and Collective Sensory Perception as Noisy, Analog Communication in Feedback-Driven Networks”, investigates the process by which socially constructed realities are built in the modern simulacrum as well as the role that epistemic virtues play in this process. He presents the theoretical, computational framework of anonymous, dynamic, decentralized networks whose communication is restricted to the I/O of analog signals, that affords a more mechanistic study. The thesis is centered around an audiovisual installation, titled “Juggling with Five (Times Three) Grapes”, that is composed of five independent computing agents that use photocells to sense—abstractly—the optical content of a video channel. Each agent also has a microphone and speaker for audio input and output that they use to communicate with other agents. The distributed network of agents attempts to reach consensus on the current state of the video channel, and we hear their opinions, discussions, and agreements/disagreements in the form of layered, passing, pure sine tones.
