// PHILOSOPHY · POETRY · SPOKEN WORD · MUSINGS

Cipher

Philosophy, poetry, spoken word, and the things worth saying twice.

// GALLERY

20 Experiences

What Survives the Machine
Essay Listen

What Survives the Machine

micro-essay

“Run the test. Ask anyone who loves something: if a machine could do this for you, would you still want to do it?”

From Cipher
The Amplifier Problem
Lyric Listen

The Amplifier Problem

spoken word

“We thought we invented a teacher. We invented an amplifier.”

From Cipher
The Beautiful Middle
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The Beautiful Middle

micro-essay

“A Tuesday. 2100.”

From Cipher
Knowing Is Never Neutral
Lyric Listen

Knowing Is Never Neutral

spoken word

“Every fact has a history. Somebody counted it. Somebody was missing from the count.”

From Cipher
Graph Before Database
Lyric Listen

Graph Before Database

rhythm

“Before the database: somebody had a ledger. Before the ledger: somebody had a wall.”

From Cipher
The Scripture of Plumbing
Lyric Listen

The Scripture of Plumbing

rhythm

“Somewhere right now, a regulation is keeping a plane in the sky.”

From Cipher
Silence as Signal
Poem Listen

Silence as Signal

poetry

“Ninety percent of your neurons are not firing right now.”

From Cipher
The Durability of the Craft
Essay Listen

The Durability of the Craft

micro-essay

“The hands that keep the world standing are usually not in the brochure.”

From Cipher
Every Body Is a Border
Poem Listen

Every Body Is a Border

poetry

“Your address is not a single point.”

From Cipher
The Physics Is Cheap, the Will Is Expensive
Essay Listen

The Physics Is Cheap, the Will Is Expensive

micro-essay

“The cure exists. You can read the paper.”

From Cipher
The Trick the Brain Plays on Itself
Lyric Listen

The Trick the Brain Plays on Itself

spoken word

“Your brain makes stuff up. Constantly. Beautifully. Before you notice.”

From Cipher
Love Is Computation Nobody Asked For
Poem Listen

Love Is Computation Nobody Asked For

poetry

“A model of love has been attempted many times.”

From Cipher
The Common Bus
Lyric Listen

The Common Bus

rhythm

“A Soviet cyberneticist in 1956. An Ethiopian farmer in 1940. A Joseon apothecary in 1780.”

From Cipher
Comedy Is Compression
Lyric Listen

Comedy Is Compression

spoken word

“A good joke is a proof.”

From Cipher
Every Measurement Costs Something
Essay Listen

Every Measurement Costs Something

micro-essay

“Every prediction costs a joule. Every audit costs a trust.”

From Cipher
The Book That Rewrites Itself
Lyric Listen

The Book That Rewrites Itself

rhythm

“This book has been here before.”

From Cipher
Start Them Young, Start Them Playful
Essay Listen

Start Them Young, Start Them Playful

micro-essay

“A three-year-old drops a ball.”

From Cipher
Belief Under Audit
Lyric Listen

Belief Under Audit

spoken word

“Everything has to pass through the checkpoint now.”

From Cipher
Borders Were Always Negotiable
Poem Listen

Borders Were Always Negotiable

poetry

“The map is older than the line on it.”

From Cipher
The Signal the Grandmother Heard
Poem Listen

The Signal the Grandmother Heard

poetry

“A grandmother, somewhere — on a porch in a country whose name you would pronounce wrong — stood up in the middle of a sentence and said, a storm is coming.”

From Cipher

Free to read · Free to hear

Every book, open to everyone

The books of David Jean Charlot, PhD, are free to read in your browser as pre-release editions: more than two hundred of them so far, with no account needed. Press Listen and a natural voice reads the chapter to you. It is one goal, simple to say and long to finish: to share reading with the world.

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