ABSTRACT
This chapter philosophically explains how an algorithm can produce specific forms of knowledge whose principles do not always match those of postmodern thought. For example, it compares the feedback structure of the algorithm with Derrida’s notion of the trace. The back-and-forth of information is different in both cases, and the difference has to be understood to see how the creation of knowledge with an algorithm lies somewhere between the math at its core and the subjective nexus of power and knowledge that has influenced humanistic thought for over fifty years. It also shows how the layer at which the algorithm operates is unique from the layers with which the user interacts with the outputs of algorithms. In so doing, this chapter clarifies the paradox of using rational mathematical methods, the very science postmodernists taught us to mistrust, as an investigative tool in the humanities. Algorithms seem an awkward mathematical topic for the humanist, but they already occupy such a place of importance in the humanities, their intersection with humanistic thought requires deeper explanation.
