11.1 Patadata Ontology

Andrew Dennis wrote an undergraduate thesis entitled Investigation of a patadata-based ontology for text based search and replacement (2016a), which was directly based on some of the work presented in this thesis and previously published work (Raczinski, Yang, and Hugill 2013; Hugill et al. 2013). His project can be described as such:

1. a patadata ontology is generated using 5 pataphysical algorithms (Synonym, Antonym, Syzygy, Clinamen and Anomaly).

2. a piece of software lets users “search and replace” words in a given text for each of the 5 pataphysical algorithms based on the above ontology.

The 5 algorithms he discusses could be seen as an extension of my own work (which only described 3 algorithms - Clinamen, Syzygy and Antinomy).

Synonym

Pataphysical equivalence—implemented using WordNet’s synsets.

Antonym

Pataphysical coexistence of mutually incompatible concepts—implemented using WordNet’s antonyms.

Syzygy

Pataphysical alignment of three entities—implemented using WordNet’s synonyms and hypernyms.

Clinamen

Pataphysical swerve—implemented using Damerau-Levenshtein algorithm.

Anomaly

Pataphysical exceptions—implemented using randomisation.

Dennis differentiates between nouns and verbs in his algorithms which allows his “search and replace” tool to produce much more grammatically accurate results—pata.physics.wtf does not distinguish between word forms like this.

function generate_synonym(input):
  synonym_list = []
  for word in synonym_set(input):
    if word is noun or word is verb:
      return word
  return input

function generate_antonym(input):
  antonym_list = []
  for word in synonym_set(input):
    if input is noun:
      if word is noun:
        for lemma in word.lemmas:
          if lemma.antonyms.length > 0:
            return lemma.antonym[0]
      else if word is verb:
        for lemma in word.lemmas:
          if lemma.antonyms.length > 0:
            for new_word in synonym_set(lemma.antonyms[0]):
              if new_word is noun:
                return new_word
    else if input is verb:
      if word is verb:
        for lemma in word.lemmas:
          if lemma.antonyms.length > 0:
            return lemma.antonym[0]
  return Null

function generate_anomaly(input):
  not_found = True
  while not_found:
    index = random(0, dictionary.length-1)
    if dictionary[index] != input
      not_found = false
      return dictionary[index]

function generate_syzygy(input):
  syzygy_list = []
  for word in synonym_set(input):
    if word is noun or word is verb:
      if word.hypernyms.length > 0:
        if synonym_set(word.hypernyms[0]).length > 0:
          return synsets_set(word.hypernyms[0])[0].name

function generate_clinamen(input):
  for word in dictionary:
    match = damerau_levenshtein_distance(input, word)
    if match == 2:
      return word

11.1.2 Search and Replace

A screenshot of Dennis’ “search and replace” tool (2016a) is shown in figure 11.1. It gives a good idea of the functionality of the tool. It’s a standalone application that allows users to upload or use an existing ontology. They can then enter a search term and a source text and the search term is replaced by a pataphysicalised term. Users can choose which algorithm to use for the pataphysicalisation and further manually edit the text and export it as an HTML file.

The premise of the search and replace tool is simple but has great potential for creative use. It is highly reminiscent of OULIPO procedures (such as “N+7”) (see section 4.3.1) and could be used in the generation of poetry, literature and art.

Dennis has made his algorithms available on GitHub in the form of a library called PataLib (2016b).

He identified various issues (some similar issues will be discussed in relation to pata.physics.wtf in chapter 12) such as the vocabulary limitations in WordNet, the stemming problem, and the performance of patadata-generation. He also addressed the potential future inclusion of adjectives and adverbs in his search and replace algorithms.

- absorbency:
  anomaly: tobaccophil
  antinomy: nonabsorbency
  clinamen: abhorrency
  synonym: absorbency
  syzygy: permeability
- leanness:
  anomaly: deltal
  antinomy: fatness
  clinamen: bleakness
  synonym: meagerness
  syzygy: insufficiency

11.2 Digital Opera

Version 2 of pata.physics.wtf (see section 10.5) was used in the production of a “Digital Opera” called The Imaginary Voyage (Hugill and Scott 2013; Hugill and Scott 2014b) by Andrew Hugill, Lee Scott, Frederic Wake-Walker and The Opera Group (“Mahogany Opera Group” n.d.).

The specific title of the relevant act of the opera is The Amorphous Isle (Hugill and Scott 2014a) (see image 11.2). It is described below in the words of Alfred Jarry:

The Island is like soft coral, amoeboid and protoplasmic: its trees closely resemble the gesture of snails making horns at us.

(Jarry 1996)

The music for this act was created by Andrew Hugill and the visual design by Lee Scott. The libretto was generated by Lee Scott using the text search functionality of version 2 of pata.physics.wtf.

Practically, the idea of this act of the opera is to navigate the map shown in image 11.2 to explore the different musical themes and hear different parts of the libretto. In the centre is a circle which displays images based on the current mood.

It is languid and drifting, shapeless and ambiguous. […] The island is presented as a quincuncial projection […], complete with pulsing gridlines and curious symbols that mark musical settlements. There are thirty settlements in total: seven of these are dedicated to Jarry’s description of the three ‘kings’ that reside on The Amorphous Isle, ten are ‘lighthouses’ that appear on the coastline, and thirteen exist as ‘nebulas’, pockets of activity that have no fixed location. Each settlement is assigned a visual theme such as cyclical movement, abstract pattern or light in motion, as well as a specific ‘feel’ that is determined by its musical content. […] The music includes slow, subtle transformations, gentle textures, drones and a fairly static harmonic structure.

(Hugill and Scott 2013)

The source text for the libretto is shown below courtesy of Lee Scott (2014). ‘Mood’ keywords are shown in bold with lines of the libretto below.

Confusing

…my tuning fork. imagine the perplexity of a man outside time …
…mandrills or clowns, spread their caudal fins out wide like acrobats …
…griddlecake, hard cube-shaped milk, and different liqueurs in glasses as thick as a bishop’s amethyst …

Playful

…peacocks’ tails, gave us a display of dancing on the glassy …

Busy

…wasps and bumblebees and the vibration of a fly’s wing …

Driving

…bodies striking the hours of union and division of the black …

Disjointed

…tangential point of the universe, distorting it according to the sphere’s …

Sadness

…others: may your dire sorrow flyaway …
…no longer deep enough to satisfy our honour …
…other side of the green sleep of hulls; ships passed away …

Sweeping

…loved her like the infinite series of numbers …
…the veritable portrait of three persons of god in three escutcheons …

Fear

…it will set. fear creates silence nothing is terrifying …
…forth revealing the distinction and evil engraved in the wood …
…underground arose from ali baba screaming in the pitiless oil …

Joy

…sibyls record the formula of happiness, which is double: be amorous …
…the lord of the island gloried that his creation was good …

Awe

…like earth; the enemy of fire and renascent from it …
…awesome figure, warlike and sacerdotal, glared at the assembly …
…is not an island but a man …

Clocked

…quincuncial trees…

Tension

…the vigilant gaze of the spirit of the dead …
…do not make as much noise as a single drum …
…the oars made a clangourous sound as they scraped along the bow …

Calm

…a strange upon a clam sea quilted with sand; faustroll …
…each person present threw a pebble into the sea …
…depth and with edges that tend to ebb and flow …

Morphing

…in a striking metamorphosis the mourning color of the hangings turned …

11.3 Dissemination & Impact

11.3.3 Community Impact

pata.physics.wtf has received some nice feedback from the community.

In 2014 the site was featured on patakosmos.com, a Pataphysical Terrestrial and Extraterrestrial Institutes Tourist Map by Giovanni Ricciardi (2014). He called it an “exceptional tool, an online project that dismantles and continually redefines all meaning. La ′pataphysique est la fin des fins.”. Image 11.3 shows a screenshot of the site from late 2014.

At the LMS launch in 2014 where pata.physics.wtf was showcased the DMU Twitter account sent a nice little review as shown below.

[pataphysics] Google twisted twin! Great IOCT project

(Tweet by @dmuleicester)

In 2016 pata.physics.wtf received a lovely piece of fan-mail by the Musée Patamécanique.

Dear Imaginary friend,

We love what you love and we think your work is lovely. Thank you for helping to bring the syzygy search engine to life.

Truly. Love, Your imaginary friends and fans here at Musée Patamécanique

(Musée Patamécanique 2016)