I’ve been studying and looking for insights into the life of the genius Claude E. Shannon, the father of Information Theory and inventor of some intriguing toys. One of them is the Shannonizer, which takes any text and edits it as if written by some late author, for example, if Edgar Alan Poe were to edit the following text from WNYC Radio Lab’s website:

Einstein’s Theory of Relativity may have implications on the concept of choice. Namely, that there is none. Do we choose what movie to see tonight? No. (It’s already been chosen, some say.) Do we choose to wiggle our finger? No. (Already wiggled.) This hour of Radio Lab features conversations with scientists and an entire cast of characters who are all waging battle against time – or at least the common sense view of time. We’ll visit a particle accelerator where scientists recreate the moment just after the beginning of time…and also a Dublin artist whose life is a 19 century time-experiment. We end in the Mojave desert, where geologic time flows like a frozen hourglass.

…once passed through the Shannonizer’s algorithmic machine, it appears like this:

Einstein’s Theory of unutterable fear to name– and laugh– but now an entire cast of time…and also a 19 century time-experiment. Do we choose to see tonight? No. We’ll visit a Dublin artist whose life is a ghastly river, where scientists and an entire cast of my bed were in the thing on the common sense view of time flows like a hideous throng rush out; their flames went utterly out; the hot breath of the common sense view of Relativity may have implications on the moment just after the deepest slumber– of Relativity may have had no power to see tonight? No. But with a 19 century time-experiment. Do we choose to repeat, stay! I felt that there had the beginning of the pale door, that there had I had the moment just after the common sense view of Relativity may have rid myself of agony; I shudder to wiggle!