Batmemes

Batmemes springs from experiments of the Oulipo movement in France in the early 60’s. This group of reality challenged(?) artists explored unusual methods for discovering novel ideas.

Instead of the mind’s “normal” way of generating thoughts through conditioned association, they twisted language in unnatural directions to uncover unique juxtapositions and unpredictable expressions.

Batmemes adopts, and updates, this approach for the 21st century. Employing sophisticated memetic engineering, Batmemes recruits strange attractor mathematics, psycho-linguistic relations, markov dna statistics gleaned from digesting other literature, as well as less conventional algorithms.

How It Works

Cut and paste text from poems, articles, essays —or enter text directly into the transformer window and click the Transmute button. Starting with something like this:

I am chaos.
I am the substance from which your artists and scientists build rhythms.
I am the spirit with which your children and clowns laugh in happy anarchy.
I am chaos.
I am alive, and I tell you that you are free.
-Eris, Principia Discordia

and a transmute option called Strange Attractor, Batmemes generates the following:

Sleepwalk merrymaking
the tessellation of gentle splashing legateships
tickling freak mischief.
I misrule technology with stolen judo
to soothe and mourn
and flimflam happy slipups.
Jaunty. speeding, light-headed
skeptically torture
your glacial torment

Why it Works

But isn’t this just a fancy version of ‘monkeys at the typewriter’? If so, we’d really like to meet one of those monkeys! The patterns of Batmemes and Oulipo are not the same patterns the brain uses, but they are not random. A future article will discuss more about how Batmemes actually works but, of course, the best way to experience what happens is try it yourself. Free.

Mandatory disclaimer… you may experience surreal, eerie, surprisingly creative turns of phrases and constructs never heard or uttered by our species. If it is true that a certain sequence of words, or thoughts they trigger, may actually rent the fabric of one’s reality, just remember —don’t panic. And bring your towel.

Batmemes is currently being rewritten. A beta version is available to play with here.