Metacorder
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The Metacorder is a theoretical device described in the short story of the same name by Tristan Parker. As the story describes, the Metacorder is a computational device which does nothing other than monitoring its own activities. While in practice this would result in an endless loop similar to the print "print" quine, the story takes this idea and gives it a sort of intelligence which allows the Metacorder to consider and judge its own actions.
This is an example of constrained writing, both in that the story describes a single object over the course of several pages, and that it is done entirely in the voice of such an object being described. This double rule allows much playfullness, however, and the story ranges from realistic technical descriptions to vague, poetic musings while still keeping the same voice throughout.
External links
- The Metacorder free eText (http://geocities.com/lmtbl/art/short/metacorder.txt)