Strange Loops

Abstract

Hero of Alexandria’s Automata describes the design and construction of theatrical automata. These elaborate devices could be mechanically programmed to perform a variety of activities, including rolling around the floor on any of several predetermined paths, sparking a group of dancing figurines to life, or even presenting a multiscene play with changing backdrops and puppet actors. Hero presents his automata as mechanical systems shaped by an iterative dynamic between craftsman and machine: the craftsman begins with a plan for the automaton, but the automaton’s own material complications ‘reprogramme’ the plan in various ways throughout the construction process. These ancient automata are driven by stubbornly material, mechanical components, and yet the iterative process of designing and fitting the automaton to play out its ‘programme’ turns out to resemble the day-to-day work of constructing algorithms like those that guide modern automated systems more than the cleanly finished products might suggest. In this paper, I explore the material complications of Hero’s automata, the extent to which his automata aim for realism, and the ways in which Hero’s instructions to a reader-builder appeal to the kind of looped ‘respecification’ modern algorithms require as their designs are gradually refined by the complications of the world in which they operate.