Roman VEROSTKO Homage to Norbert Wiener a Decision Machine Suite at the Digital Art Museum

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Homage to Norbert Wiener

A Decision Machine Suite

Interactive Electronic Sculpture, 1982-1995

The Decision Machine Suite, a series begun in 1982, pays "homage" to Norbert Wiener (1894-1964), the scientist and humanist considered to be the father of cybernetics. The choice and arrangement of materials exhibits a special interest in the fusion of art and electronics. This series� embodies my on-going interest in celebrating pioneers like George Boole and Alan Turing who contributed to the development of� information theory and computing.� These "hard-wired" works, involved with logical gates (Boolean switching), relate directly to my interest in the gating logic of general computers and the nature of information. As with Norbert Wiener, these interests lead us directly to the human use of machines.

This suite of works, as "homage", provides a playful cybernetic exercise which touches the very heart of the "human - machine" dialectic. Each work consists of an electronic circuit that elects only one of two possible paths at the split moment when the user presses a button. The circuit "decision" cannot be predetermined by the user so each machine is, in itself, an excellent randomizer.

The earliest Decision Machine (1982, Yes-No) displays two lamps labeled "Yes" and "No" respectively. When the user presses the "enter" key only one lamp "Yes" or "No" responds. Similar to the "flip of a coin" this machine can handle any "Yes/No" decision. This version and the 1983 "green (yes)" and "red (no)" version are "generic" deciders for ordinary daily decisions such as whether to listen to this or that music album.



Wall Street, Buy or Sell? 1995 Wood, paint, gold leaf, electronic elements 47cm x 30cm		The Vatican, Right or Wrong? 1994 Wood, paint, gold leaf, electronic elements 42cm x 23cm


The White House, Yeah or Nay? 1995 Vertical back is original long leaf yellow pine salvaged from the 1940's White House restoration. Oak base, plexi-glass, black and white marbles, electronic elements 46cm x 25cm		To Be or Not To Be? 1995 Wood, copper, plexi-glass, paint, electronic elements 43cm x 18cm


Generic Decision Machine I, Red or Green? 1983 Wood, paint, plastic, electronic elements 23cm x 15cm		Generic Decision Machine II, Yes or No? 1982 Wood, electronic elements 21cm x 25cm

"Reasoning" works wonders for us when we have sufficient time and information to make an "intelligent" decision. But what of those moments when reason can't provide the answer and we are forced to choose "this way" or "that way"? The Decision Machine Suite includes specialized machines symbolizing several of the most difficult decisions we humans have to make, decisions we must make at times with the burden of uncertainty. These include: VOTING as in The White House, Yeah or Nay? INVESTING as in Wall Street, Buy or Sell? MORAL DECISIONS as in The Vatican, Right or Wrong? At times, when rational argument fails, we resort to a "flip of the coin". These machines provide an electronic flip of the coin for that decision moment when one is unable to arrive at a decision following reasoned consideration based on available information. Norbert Wiener recognized the "fundamental element of chance in the texture of the universe itself". Computers simulate this "element of chance" through the use of pseudo-randomizers which are algorithms (mathematical formulas). Computer simulations generated with pseudo-randomizers are repeatable whereas the sequence of coin flips is not. Random events, as in the toss of a coin, defy reason and are not computable - one cannot determine the next outcome in advance. Such random events from the microscopic to the macroscopic permeate the texture of our universe. And often, in our own life, we are forced to make countless decisions for which we could not give "reasoned" explanations. The "Decision Machines" provide an electronic trigger that yields a "random" rather than a "pseudo-random" event. This is appropriate in homage to Wiener who observed that "The functional part of physics cannot escape considering uncertainty and the contingency of events." (See The Human Use of Human Beings: Cybernetics and Society, NY, 1967 Edition, p.15) Cybernetics is the study of the guidance and control systems we design for our machines. The successful use of machines is correlative to the ease and degree of "human" control. Even with our most sophisticated guidance and control systems our machines intermittently fail - they crash, self destruct or even turn on us. So we have reason to fear the machine "out of control". But here we have a whole suite of machines "out of control". We enter one bit of information which alters the flow of current in such a way that we can never know (or control) which path it will elect. Is this phenomenon fearsome? This leads us to the ultimate decider but its use is recommended only for the theater. This is the highest rank Decision Machine, To Be or Not To Be?. It might have served Hamlet well: To be or not to be: that is the question.� Whether 'tis nobler in the mind to suffer� The slings and arrows of outrageous fortune,� Or to take arms against a sea of troubles,� And by opposing end them? . . . Technical materials: The circuit, for each work, is crafted with diodes, transistors, capacitors, neon lamps, copper wire, solder, and one 'single pole' input switch. Power supply is household current. The circuit is mounted symbolically within the context of a structure designed by the artist to evoke the meanings associated with each specialized machine. Materials used include: wood, metal, plastic, paint, and glue. "The Vatican" has gold leafed lamp reflectors. "The Whitehouse" includes black and white balloting marbles and a piece of wood salvaged from the 1940's whitehouse renovation.