is the prototypic
software tool
with menus of tasks
and palettes of tool-icons
for manipulating images
so suppose we design
NovelShop
or PlotShop
with tools for constructing narratives
choose a cast of characters
and plot complications
and keep tweaking the details
until it makes a convincing whole
now this toolkit
should map onto
the ensembles of code fragments
we associated with biographical concepts
and the question arises whether
we can crystallize each ensemble
into a universal superconcept
anticipating every plot variant
in its proper place
but of course we can't
reality is too fluid
and instead we have to
negotiate
between code and fact
(or code and fiction)
trying different tools
until something fits
but programming languages
generally assume the programmer's goal
is a 'closed' universal superprogram
and leave the programmer
to wrestle with the
indeterminate tool-combinatorics
game a.i. faces the same problem
negotiating between
a set of possible moves
and a more-or-less-known world
containing enemies
who strive to strike
from the least anticipated direction
