neoquip is an experimental numeric encoding using knots in rope based on Quipu/Khipu. We created it as part of the Goldsmiths Computation Arts MA. Our journey in to Quipu began by exploring posthumanism, where we want to trace the thread of human technology back through time and think about what technologies have really made us human and if all development is a continous curve.
The encoding is similar to Quipu. We use a figure-of-eight for 1, with 2-9 encoded in the same way. We've added an alpine butterfly knot to represent zero, and we encoding the lowest values nearest to the top line, so each level down grows by an order of ten, meaning it's easier to extend the cord later to accomodate larger numbers if needed. Our plan was that we would use cord with Z chirality for positive numbers and S chirality for negative numbers, however that isn't built in to the visualisation yet.
Rope and knots images, and lots of information gathered from The Quipu: "Written" Texts in Ancient Peru Elizabeth P. Benson, The Princeton University Library Chronicle, Vol. 37, No. 1 (AUTUMN 1975), pp. 11- 23
© Copyright 2018 Julian Burgess & Izzy Mclellan