Frequently Asked Questions

Questions that come up repeatedly about the practice, platforms, and concepts.

Platform & Tools

Why PICO-8?

PICO-8 is the primary platform for this practice (~90% of work) for three main reasons:

Accessibility: It runs on everything—phones, computers, potatoes. No GPU required, minimal CPU needed. 41% of internet users only have phones, no computers. If I want them to be able to perceive what I'm making, it has to run on what they have. The PICO-8 Education Edition is freely available at pico-8-edu.com, so anyone can try it.

Consistency: Unlike p5.js (which has browser differences), PICO-8 always looks the same across platforms. Predictable behavior, predictable output. No surprises.

Constraints as creativity: PICO-8 has strict limitations—65,536 character maximum, token limits, 32KB RAM, no math library (you hand-code everything), 16 colors, 128×128 pixels. These constraints force creative solutions. Entropy locking was discovered because of size coding constraints—I wouldn't have found it without that pressure.

Why NFTs?

For me, an NFT is a receipt showing you supported the artist. That's it. I only ever wanted to mint on low-energy, eco-friendly blockchains (hence Tezos).

Beyond the receipt, NFT platforms gave me infrastructure I couldn't afford to build myself: immutable records, code hosting on IPFS (so work doesn't disappear when a server goes down), and a community that allowed me to learn and grow my art practice without worrying about tedious implementation details like hosting or database management.

I was able to focus on making art because the platform handled everything else.

Why Tezos specifically?

Low-energy, eco-friendly blockchain. I wasn't interested in chains that required massive energy consumption. Tezos proof-of-stake made sense for the kind of work I wanted to do.

What's size coding and why do you do it?

Size coding (or code golf) is the practice of writing the smallest possible code to achieve a result. In PICO-8, this often means constrained pieces like tweetcarts (code that fits in a tweet—280 characters or less).

I do it because extreme constraints force creative problem-solving. You can't use standard approaches when you're limited to a handful of characters. That pressure reveals techniques you'd never discover otherwise—like entropy locking, which emerged directly from size coding constraints.

Concepts

What's entropy locking?

Entropy locking is a technique where the random number generator is probabilistically reseeded back to its original seed during runtime. The key detail: the timing of the reset is itself random.

Instead of resetting every N frames (predictable), you reset with X% probability each frame (unpredictable). This creates guaranteed bounds without knowable path—you know the seed will reset (entropy will reduce), but you don't know when or how much entropy accumulated before the reset.

This uncertainty creates emergent variety beyond what you'd expect from the algorithm alone. Systems find their own equilibrium—predictable to themselves, but not to human observers.

See also: Creative Code Toronto talk (Jan 25, 2025) for a live demonstration with interactive examples.

What does "entropy" mean in your work?

"Entropy is that within a given system which cannot be measured, plus that which is deliberately not measured."

This definition works across all contexts—Boltzmann, Shannon, thermodynamic entropy—they all share the same pattern. Entropy is always about the gap between the system and our knowledge of it.

Based on Gödel's incompleteness theorems, every system must contain some unknowable entropy unless viewed from outside with total knowledge and sufficient energy. Entropy locking plays with that gap: you know the seed will reset, but when and how much entropy accumulated remains unmeasurable.

What's the Ideocart series about?

Interactive generative systems as lofi Rorschach tests with an SCP Foundation-esque twist. As you explore these generators, you inevitably "see things" in the patterns—faces, creatures, structures, entities. That's pareidolia by design.

The fiction: some of these things might be seeing you back.

Think of it as an alternative world's psychological testing apparatus, where finding meaning in randomness isn't a bug—it's the entire point.

See also: Ideocart series page

Why constrained platforms instead of unlimited tools?

Constraints force creativity. When you have unlimited options, you often default to familiar patterns. When you're forced to work within strict limits (16 colors, 280 characters of code, 32KB RAM), you have to find novel solutions.

Most of my best techniques—like entropy locking—emerged directly from constraint-driven exploration. I wouldn't have discovered them in an unlimited environment.

Practice & Process

Is this your main work?

No. My professional work is in generative chemistry. This art practice connects that work to code and daily life—a framework that applies across chemistry, art, decision-making, and opportunity creation.

I've been exploring these concepts (entropy, emergence, evolution) since around age 13. They're core to my identity and worldview. The art is an accessible entry point to those ideas.

What's the goal of this practice?

"Inspire one person to discover these ideas and explore them."

That's it. If one person encounters this work and it opens a door to thinking about entropy, emergence, or evolution in a new way—that's enough.

What does "entropist" mean?

A descriptive term—someone who works with entropy concepts across multiple domains (chemistry, code, art). Not a title or credential, just what I do.

The domain (entropist.ca) is my workspace URL. I'm not claiming to be "The Entropist" (that would be pretentious). It's more like saying "I'm a chemist" or "I'm a painter"—a description of practice, not an identity declaration.

The term also makes the work much easier to share and discuss than "aebrer" (which everyone has to ask me how to spell). Pragmatic choice.

Why is the source code sometimes really ugly?

In my professional practice, I produce scientific and production-ready code that scales to insane degrees. I cannot afford to do anything I don't (almost) fully understand, and certainly nothing that isn't explained, reproducible, and documented like crazy.

In my art practice, I wanted freedom—not just from others reading my code, but even freedom from the idea that I have to know what I'm doing to discover something interesting.

My professional work is about exploration, sure, but it's careful and considered. My art practice is considered but chaotic. That's the difference.

Can I use or remix your code?

Most work is CC0 (public domain) unless otherwise specified in individual pieces. You're free to use, modify, and build upon it.

Citations not required but definitely appreciated!

Where can I run these pieces?

Published NFTs: Most are on fxhash, objkt.com, or Teia. Links are included on individual work pages.

PICO-8 cartridges: You can run them in the free PICO-8 Education Edition. Some work pages include preloaded cartridge URLs.

Source code: Available in the GitHub repository.

Getting Started

Where do I start if I'm new to this?

For the art: Start with Beginner Ideocartography or explore the Screensavers series. Both are accessible entry points.

For the concepts: Watch the Creative Code Toronto talk (Jan 25, 2025) for a live demonstration of entropy locking with interactive examples.

For the code: Browse the GitHub repository. Series READMEs provide context for major bodies of work.

How do I learn PICO-8?

Start with the free PICO-8 Education Edition. Look up "tweetcart tutorial" for beginner-friendly resources—there's a great page that walks through the basics.

The PICO-8 BBS has thousands of cartridges with viewable source code. Load a cart, hit Escape to see the code, and start tinkering.