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From the Distribution Religion - Notes on the Aesthetic of Copying an Image Processor

Author
Daniel J. Sandin
Subjects
Collection Texts
ETC archive
ETC1031

https://archive.org/details/ETC1031

Being a copier of many things, in this case the first copier of an Image Processor, I trust the following notes to find meaning to future copiers of Image Processors:

First, it's okay to copy! Believe in the process of copying as much as you can; with all your heart is a good place to start - get into it as straight and honestly as possible. Copying is as good (I think better from this vector-view) as any other way of getting 'there.'

The more you 'buy' the 'copying' of Sandin's encoded intelligence in the I-P, the more you will learn about the man-and-machines. Don't try to make improvements; you'll make it only worse if you modify what already is best, even if it doesn't appear to be the 'best' to your mind's eye. It bothers me very much to see 'folk' laying onto Dan, suggestions of improvement (supposedly) without a thorough giving-in-to understanding of the I-P design. Please realize, that if you 'had-it' to do it you would not be building (copying) an I-P to begin with; you would have done it yourself a long time ago ... so get to work copying-as-usual.

Dan's evolutionary design of the I-P comes from a very high and thorough CONSCIOUS systems--design-intelligence-level. If you deviate in the process of 'copying' and then Dan makes an improvement on his I-P, you will most likely find it quite frustrating in updating your instrument due to your I-P being incompatible in detail to the original. If you get yourself in a jam, then you have to go to Dan and "$PEND' his time getting you out of it.

So...after all this: the Art of 'copying' is a good form to try on for a year or so while you get into building your Image Processor... enjoy.

PEACE/ASCESIS (love):

Phil Morton

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Daniel J. Sandin. From the Distribution Religion - Notes on the Aesthetic of Copying an Image Processor. IS -.

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Summary

Phil Morton, identified here as the first copier of an Image Processor, offers practical notes for future copiers; he endorses faithful copying of Dan Sandin's Image Processor (I-P) and regards copying as a valid method for learning. He warns against unauthorized modifications that may render replicas incompatible with Sandin's evolutionary I-P design and advises consulting Dan and $PENDing his time for fixes, suggesting a year of copying practice before building an Image Processor.

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Last modified 13 September 2026

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