{
  "$type": "site.standard.document",
  "content": "---\ntitle: \"Feedback in livecoding: cui bono?\"\ndescription: \"A pre-class prompt for cybernetics students: watch some livecoding videos and think about what's shown, what's hidden, and who the feedback serves.\"\ntags:\n  - teaching\n  - livecoding\n---\n\nimport YouTube from \"@/components/YouTube.astro\";\n\n:::tip\n\nHere's the\n[link to the slides](/blog/2021/09/13/feedback-in-livecoding-cui-bono/) for the\nactual presentation on Oct 13.\n\n:::\n\nHi, BUILD students. I know y'all are busy, so this won't take _too_ long and\nwill hopefully be fun. Before my guest lecture, I'd like to introduce you (if\nyou haven't seen it before) to [livecoding](https://toplap.org/about/). Imagine\nyou arrive at the club[^pingers], and as well as the glow sticks and the pingers\nand the heaving bodies on the dance floor instead of a \"traditional\" DJ you see\nthis:\n\n[^pingers]:\n    I don't really have any lived experience with this---I'm approaching 40 and\n    have young kids and I'm normally in bed by 9:30pm.\n\n<YouTube id=\"C2GH5JmJwhU\" />\n\n<YouTube id=\"a1RxpJkvqpY\" />\n\n<div style=\"padding:56.25% 0 0 0;position:relative;\">\n  <iframe\n    src=\"https://player.vimeo.com/video/592452477?color=be2edd\"\n    frameborder=\"0\"\n    allow=\"autoplay; fullscreen; picture-in-picture\"\n    allowfullscreen\n    style=\"position:absolute;top:0;left:0;width:100%;height:100%;\"\n    title=\"Ushini &amp;amp; Ben live @ ACMC&amp;#039;21\"\n  ></iframe>\n</div>\n{/* Script removed during migration */}\n\n## What can cybernetics teach us about this?\n\nObviously there are lots of feedback loops in this CPS; involving\naudience/room/livecoder/screens/lights/loudspeakers etc. But one of the things\nthat interests me most about livecoding is that it gives the club-goers a chance\nto see (and hopefully to _care_) about the source code of a computer program.\n\nThere's lots we could say about this from a cybernetics perspective, but the\nthings I want to focus on in this class is _feedback_.\n\nHere are a few questions for you to think about ahead of class. In each\nlivecoding video:\n\n- what has the performer chosen to _show_?\n- what has the performer chosen to _hide_?\n- who is the feedback _for_[^cui]?\n- in each case, why do you think those decisions were made?\n- when watching, what did _you_ want more/less/different feedback about?\n- if you were the AV designer for [Ushini](https://ushini.com) & my next\n  livecoding set, what changes would you make?\n- how does a taking a cybernetic approach to this question change answer to\n  these questions? (because feedback is something that cybernetics has a fair\n  bit to say about)\n\n[^cui]: Hence the pretentious latin in the title of this blog post.\n\nIf you want to go a bit deeper on the semiotics of all this livecoding stuff, my\ncollaborators and I have written a couple of papers[^gauche] on the\nsemantics/semiotics of livecoding:\n\n- Swift, B., Sorensen, A., Gardner, H., & Hosking, J. (2013).\n  [Visual Code Annotations for Cyberphysical Programming](https://doi.org/10.1109/LIVE.2013.6617345).\n  _LIVE '13: 1st International Workshop on Live Programming at ICSE_, 27–30.\n\n- Sorensen, A., Swift, B., & Riddell, A. (2014).\n  [The Many Meanings of Live Coding](https://doi.org/10.1162/COMJ_a_00230).\n  _Computer Music Journal_, 38(1), 65–76.\n\nIf there are other thinkers/writers/doers that you can think of who also have\nsomething to say about this, then bring those ideas along and we can discuss\nthem as well.\n\n[^gauche]: I hope it's not too gauche to provide _two_ self-citations.\n",
  "createdAt": "2026-05-13T23:14:50.554Z",
  "description": "A pre-class prompt for cybernetics students: watch some livecoding videos and think about what's shown, what's hidden, and who the feedback serves.",
  "path": "/blog/2021/09/13/feedback-in-livecoding-cui-bono",
  "publishedAt": "2021-09-13T00:00:00.000Z",
  "site": "at://did:plc:tevykrhi4kibtsipzci76d76/site.standard.publication/self",
  "tags": [
    "teaching",
    "livecoding"
  ],
  "textContent": "A pre-class prompt for cybernetics students: watch some livecoding videos and think about what's shown, what's hidden, and who the feedback serves.",
  "title": "Feedback in livecoding: cui bono?"
}