Disclaimer: A mere mortal’s attempt to understand the cosmos.
Thread I: Axioms
It isn’t a coincidence that two of the most widely printed texts in human history begin with an axiom.
“In the beginning, God created the heavens and the earth” starts one, while the other begins with, “A point is that which has no part.”
But that is where the similarities between The Holy Bible and Euclid’s Elements starts and ends.
Having read both, I felt a profound desire to go back to “First Principles” in my field of computing. These “Axioms of Binary Engines” would light the pathway for those embarking on this journey of digital manifestation and creation.
Here we go...
Axiom I: Insight is the Differential Entropy in Information
Leonard Susskind, a theoretical physics professor at Stanford University, envisioned encapsulating the “Entropy of Information” in minute cubes of space and time. The information of subatomic particles would be encased within a cube with a side length equivalent to Planck’s constant and could be calculated by a clock with the accuracy of Planck’s Time.
Planck’s Distance: 1.616255(18)×10−35 m
Planck’s Time: 5.4×10-44 s
Trivia: Such a density would have been enough to create black holes a mere 10-35 meter across (a dimension known as the Planck length) with a mass of 108 kilogram (the Planck mass). This is the lightest possible black hole according to conventional descriptions of gravity.
With both physical and sentient forces at play, the “Entropy of Information” changes with time and space. And it is this differential change in the “Entropy of Information” that can be termed as “Insight.”
Axiom II: Computing is Insight.
Prof. Onur Mutlu of CMU begins his “Computer Architecture” course with a renowned quote from Richard Hamming: “The purpose of computing is insight, not numbers.” Frankly speaking, this didn’t resonate with me at first. Insight appears to be a rather vague concept, one that is defined beyond rationality.
“The purpose of computing is insight, not numbers.”
Luckily, I came across Leonard Susskind’s work on the Entropy of Information, which was helpful in rethinking my bounded perspective of “insight.”
Axiom III: Insight is always in motion.
All particles in this cosmos are in motion. If you happen to find a stationary one, shifting your frame of reference would make you realize otherwise. The same holds true for electrons and photons. Whether they are in a processing core, photonic Interconnect, or memory cell, they are always in motion.
When Insight flows selectively, this could be called “Processing.”
When it flows without hesitation, this could be “Sharing.”
When it is trapped in a loop, that would be “Storage.”
Thread II: Alpha to Omega
A Binary Engine channels the flow of Insight across multiple layers of abstractions. As it transcends these layers, the Insight undergoes its corresponding transformations. The role of the Binary Engineer is to look at computing as One Stack, as a thread that binds “Empathy” with “Entropy.” These layers of abstractions act as landmarks on the journey of “Insight.”
Empathy
Ethnography
Design Thinking
Ecosystem
Problem Statement
Algorithms
Programming Language
Compiler
Runtime System (OS/VM)
ISA Architecture
Microarchitecture
Circuit
Logic
Gates
Electrons
Entropy
Thread III: Transit Cards.
Transit Cards are the Junctions through which “Insight” Transcends. Following is an example.
Thread IV: Note to Future Self:
Revisit this page in the Post-Binary era.