What is yin-yang?
Yin and yang represent the pairs of opposites, born of the source of all things, that comprise our experience of the cosmos: life and death, day and night, matter and space, male and female, on and on and on. Zen represents the constant balancing of these elements, which are not conflicting but complementary–the two sides of one coin. One does not exist without the other, and within each fetal figure of the circle lies a small circle of the other. That is to say, there are circles within circles within circles, never in a state of perfect balance, but always changing, thus requiring a ongoing process to find the great Middle Way between the two. Zen Computer proposes that the idea of yin and yang lies even at the heart of computing, in the very nature of digital technology. What characterizes digital technology is its ability to render, store, and transmit information in a binary system of 0s and 1s. Every keystroke or click of the mouse sends a tiny on/off signal to the computer’s tr
