Sonntag, 11. Mai 2025, 11 bis 16.30 Uhr, diffrakt | zentrum für theoretische peripherie
Workshop mit
Maria Dębińska | Francis Gene-Rowe | Ben Woodard
– Die Veranstaltung findet auf Englisch statt. –
Do numbers live in nature? Slime moulds solve mathematical problems, sticks are used to divine answers to difficult or impossible questions. But are divination and computation related because they deal with numbers – or do they ‘naturally’ grow together in yarrow stalks and Physarum polycephalum? Do living beings, games, and random number generators simply fuel a fundamental desire to tell stories and make fictions in a different way?
In this workshop, with the help of the slime anthropologist Maria Dębińska, the slime poet Francis Gene-Rowe, and the slime philosopher Ben Woodard, we will engage with mad theories of slimy numbers, slime mould computation and divination, the algorithmics of science fiction, and the blurry lines between the artificial and the natural in the context of generative play. We will start from the premise that the difference between computation and divination is mythology and we will attempt to collectively develop slime-inspired myths to transform the slime mould’s meandering paths into stories. Slimy methods employed will include: creative writing, collective worldbuilding, aleatory procedures, and oracle-making.
Participation in the workshop is limited. To register and receive the reading materials in advance, please send a short message to mail@diffrakt.space.
