the computing machine

Computers are phenomenal tools. Consider this analogy with a motorcar. A car needs fuel to run its engine, which is a prerequisite for driving it. A computer, however, needs language as fuel.

Electricity is not the computer’s fuel. It is analogous to the molecular and atomic assemblage that holds the physics of the car in place, such as the properties of steel, fiber and so on. Without language a computer might start but will not “run”. for anything of significance to happen: text or colors appearing on a display, beeping sounds being emitting from the motherboard, language must be present.

The computer is a language machine: a machine that interprets language. This is both miraculous and mystifying. It takes quite a bit of time to digest, and is rather philosophical if one were to ruminate on it. Language manifests as reality in the domain of the computer. We are interacting with executable language when we use a computer. This is rather incredible, and deserves our appreciation. It is as though what we speak, or write, becomes reality.