ACLA: Present When I'm Absent, Speaking When I'm Not There (Uh): The Surd and Immanent Expression in the Radical Black Aesthetic
The Latin word, ‘Surdus’–used to translate the Arabic mathematical term, ‘asamm’–had referred to irrational numbers, those resisting, or willfully remaining deaf to, ratiocination and thus calculability. Its contemporary counterparts, the mathematical 'surd;' and the linguistic use of ‘surd’ for unvoiced consonants find a link in the Proto-Indo-European ‘*swer-’ which meant to buzz, whisper, or whistle. With the rise of contemporary calculation and the computational society of control which derives its power from bayesian modeling, the mathematical theory of communication, and algorithmic machine learning, the ability to remain inscrutible and deafening to such Capitalist ratiocination continues to be, and is an evermore, important aspect of resistance.