Permacomputing
--------------

Quite a while back now, not so long after I made my long posts
on sustainable computing[1] and salvage computing[2], somebody brought
to my attention (I now forget who, sorry) a very nice article
outlining some similar thoughts, with the title "Permacomputing"[3],
a term coined via analogy to permaculture.  It's absolutely well
worth the read to anybody interested in these kinds of issues.

[1] gopher://zaibatsu.circumlunar.space:70/0/~solderpunk/phlog/discussions-toward-radically-sustainable-computing.txt
[2] gopher://zaibatsu.circumlunar.space:70/0/~solderpunk/phlog/the-standard-salvaged-computing-platform.txt
[3] http://viznut.fi/texts-en/permacomputing.html

My favourite part by far is the quote below (IC stands for Integrated
Circuit):

> IC fabrication requires large amounts of energy, highly refined
> machinery and poisonous substances. Because of this sacrifice,
> the resulting microchips should be treasured like gems or rare
> exotic spices.

The article goes on to talk about maximising active lifespans of
devices, repairing what is broken, and several other ideas I've
also written about, but rather than "salvage computing" (a term I
borrowed from xj9, by the way), this article uses a somewhat less
glamorous term:

> Once perfectly clean ways of producing microchip equivalents
> have been taken to use, the need for "junk fetishism" will probably
> diminish.

Ouch!

I don't share the author's apparent optimism that perfectly
clean alternatives to semiconductors can provide a computing
experience that resembles anything like what silicon has given us.
I certainly don't think it's impossible, and I think research into
plausible candidate technologies is worthwhile, but we shouldn't kid
ourselves here: the universe does not owe us sustainable computing.
Human ingenuity can and has achieved a great many remarkable things,
but it's not magic.  We can't develop whatever technology we like
just by thinking long enough and hard enough about it.  Cold, hard
physical reality may not admit small, lightweight, low energy,
high speed computing devices which can be manufactured on Earth
without substantial environmental damage.  I mean, why would it?
It's not exactly a small ask.

Still, this is a difference of opinion more so than it is a
substantial criticism of the article.  Much of what the article says
is still very relevant even with a worldview where salvage computing
or junk fetishism is the end stage of computing, rather than just
a transitional period before a future of sustainable computing.
There is some interesting stuff in there that's not about energy or
material consumption at all but rather about the social relationships
between people and computers, network architecture, interface design,
and more.  There's also a bunch of stuff about Yin and Yang which I
don't profess to, currently, understand at all.  Still, as I said,
on the whole the article is definitely worth reading, and if you
are seriously interested in this topic then probably worth reading
more than once.

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