that's what I love about it - it's the fluidity.* I also love
   error introduction.* Back when telephone lines were a thing, I'd
   sometimes listen to the static behind the dial tone... or if I
   was in a long conversation with someone, I'd find the static and
   compression issues with their voice fascinating - more than what
   they were trying to tell me. Claude Shannon's "A Mathematical
   Theory of Communication" (1948) and* "Communication Theory of
   Secrecy Systems" (1949) is fascinating reading. One man.
   Cryptography, Information Theory, the Entropy of Information,
   the redundancy of English, the redundancies built into
   successful communications systems... I don't even know when I
   read his stuff or found it.* It was in a library, I was a
   teenager, it was just before I got my first modem... and even
   though I didn't understand the math... the CONCEPTS just made my
   mind go POOF POOF POOF POOF POOF POOF POOF all over the place.
   Mind you, it was an ancient document when I read it.* It's just
   as ancient now.* but it's still valid. Still valid. Our
   Internet, security systems, transmission protocols, compression
   algorithms (ALL OF THEM), depend COMPLETELY on this one freakin'
   genius who unlocked... all this.* All this.* All this.* Just
   freakin' amazing. Einstein is a lot of fun but unless you're
   blowing up a city, pretty useless stuff.* Good for imagination.
   But Claude Shannon?* heh, we're LIVING it.* Yet, who knows his
   name?* Not many outside of ppl who are into this kind of thing.