Title: Storing information on paper using the Pen To Paper protocol | |
Author: Solène | |
Date: 15 July 2022 | |
Tags: life fun nocloud | |
Description: This article is about describing the process of storing | |
and extracting information on paper using a pen. | |
# Introduction | |
Here is a draft for a protocol named PTPDT, an acronym standing for Pen | |
To Paper Data Transfer. It comes with its companion specification | |
Paper To Brain. | |
The protocol describes how a pen can be used to write data on a sheet | |
of paper. Maybe it would be better named as Brain To Paper Protocol. | |
# Terminology | |
Some words refer to specific concepts: | |
* pen: a pen or pencil | |
* paper: material on which pen can be used | |
* writer: the author when using the pen | |
* reader: the author when reading the paper | |
* anoreader: anonymous reader reading the paper | |
# Model | |
The writer uses a pen on a paper in order to duplicate information from | |
his memories into the paper. | |
We won't go into technical implementation details about how the pen | |
does transmit information into the paper, we will admit some ink or | |
equivalent is used in the process without altering data. | |
# Nomenclature | |
When storing data with this protocol, paper should be incrementally | |
numbered for ordered information that wouldn't fit on a single storage | |
paper unit. The reader could then read the papers in the correct order | |
by following the numbering. | |
It is advised to add markers before and after the data to delimit its | |
boundaries. Such mechanism can increase reliability of extracting data | |
from paper, or help to recover from mixed up papers. | |
# Encoding | |
It is recommended to use a single encoding, often known as language, | |
for a single piece of paper. Abstract art is considered a blob, and | |
hence doesn't have any encoding. | |
# Extracting data | |
There are three ways to extract data from paper: | |
1. lossless: all the information is extracted and can be used and | |
replicated by the reader | |
2. lossy: all the information is extracted and could be used by the | |
reader | |
3. partial: some pieces of information are extracted with no guarantee | |
it can be replicated or used | |
In order to retrieve data from paper, reader and anoreader must use | |
their eyesight to pass the paper data to their brain which will decode | |
the information and store it internally. If reader's brain doesn't | |
know the encoding, the data could be lossy or partially extracted. | |
It's often required to make multiple read passes to achieve a lossless | |
extraction. | |
# Compression | |
There are different compression algorithms to increase the pen output | |
bandwidth, the reader and anoreader must be aware of the compression | |
algorithm used. | |
# Encryption | |
The protocol doesn't enforce encryption. The writer can encrypt data | |
on paper so anoreader won't be able to read this, however this will | |
increase the mental charge for both the writer and the reader. | |
# Accessibility | |
This protocol requires the writer to be able to use a pen. | |
This protocol requires the reader and anoreader to be able to see. We | |
need to publish Braille To Paper Data Transfer for an accessible | |
alternative. |