Introduction
With psychogeography [http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Psychogeography] easily defined as a playful examination of the total effects of geography and place on the individual,[“the study of the precise laws and specific effects of the geographical environment, consciously organized or not, on the emotions and behavior of individuals.” Guy Debord. Introduction to a Critique of Urban Geography, 1955] Psychogeophysics extends such research to embrace geophysics [http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Geophysics], defined as the quantitative observation of the earth's physical properties, and its interaction with local spectral ecologies. Geophysics equally encompasses archaeological geophysics, with measurement of such properties allowing for the mapping of previous traces through techniques of particle/wave detection and data forensics.
This extension of psychogeography into geophysics implies a collision between interpretation (fiction) and measurement, with Psychogeophysics proposed as a novel discipline that bridges any such distinction through the medium of code, and offers a speculative take on the future of code as an uncovering of its locative (diagnostic) potentials leading to a new phase of software studies.
History
The term “Psychogeophysics” was first used explicitly during a research group conducted as part of the Transmediale.10 festival [http://www.transmediale.de/festival/all] , Berlin in February 2010, entitled Topology of a Future City [http://www.transmediale.de/en/node/11027]. Psychogeophysics names a direction in which many artists and researchers have explored in recent history.
Earlier events which could be billed as psychogeophysical avant-la-lettre include xxxxx-Peenemünde in Peenemünde [http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Peenemuende], Northern Germany (2008) [http://www.1010.co.uk/org/xxxxx_peenemuende.html], The Courier's Tragedy workshop in Newcastle (2009)[http://ptechnic.org/ecologies/spectral/index.html]
The first Psychogeophysics summit took place in early August 2010 in London, assembling an international group of artists, researchers and theorists to promote this novel discipline with a series of public oriented experimental workshops and seminars investigating various psychophysical [http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Psychophysics] fictions within East London.
Important Precursors
Freidrich Juergenson
Konstantin Raudive [http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Konstantin_Raudive]
dot.walk - socialfiction.org [http://www.socialfiction.org/?tag=.walk]
J.G. Ballard http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Jg_ballard
Techniques
Psychogeophysics borrows techniques from EVP/ITC [http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Electronic_voice_phenomenon], classical psychogeography, archaeological geophysics [http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Archaeological_geophysics], TEMPEST analysis [http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/TEMPEST] and environmental steganography [http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Steganography]. These techniques include:
Although very much in its infancy new techniques suggested by psychogeophysics revolve around two core principles or methodologies: detection (in all its senses), and the pairing of excitation and subsequent measurement.
These techniques include:
References
Resources
The Stone Tape: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/The_Stone_Tape