Review: ‘The Magic of Code: How Digital Language Created and Connects Our World—and Shapes Our Future’ by Samuel Arbesman
Every programmer’s journey begins with a greeting:
This minimal test program, first used at Bell Laboratories some 50 years ago, has sent countless aspiring programmers on their first quest. In The Magic of Code: How Digital Language Created and Connects Our World—and Shapes Our Future, author Samuel Arbesman contends that code, though appearing as a jumble of inert symbols, holds latent power. He insists that everyone, not just software engineers, can embark on this creative adventure.
A trained computational biologist—one who discovers biological truths through simulations rather than physical experiments—Arbesman volunteers as our guide. With software now embedded in our daily routines, he rests uneasily knowing that only the technologically savvy wield all creative potential. He envisions a world in which everyone possesses this power. Thanks to recent advances in generative artificial intelligence, such as ChatGPT, that vision is more plausible than ever.
Arbesman divides The Magic of Code into three parts—Code, Thought, and Reality—to explore how code metaphorically and literally commands our world. Part One introduces the essence of code and its development. Part Two examines how programming languages have become increasingly human. Part Three philosophizes, offering thought-provoking yet sometimes speculative parallels among biology, algorithms, and reality.
In the first section, Arbesman undertakes the Herculean task of tracing the origin and development of code while keeping novices engaged and veterans intrigued. He starts by defining code simply: a series of instructions given to the computer. For overwhelmed beginners, he offers analogies, comparing coding to casting a spell where keystrokes produce tangible effects. Meanwhile, Arbesman rewards seasoned programmers for their patience with quirky tidbits, such as the origin of Unix, a Linux spellcheck command, and the “magic constant” 0x5f3759df used to compute inverse square roots.
In part two, Arbesman explores how programming languages have gradually acquired human-like characteristics. The earliest of these, such as punch cards, resemble cave drawings more than true language—primitive, static instructions etched directly into the machine. Later languages edge closer to real language, though their idiosyncrasies and convoluted complexity draw the ire of many programmers, most notably the distinguished computer scientist Edsger Dijkstra, who famously called FORTRAN a “disorder” and COBOL a “disease.” By contrast, modern languages feel more intuitive and exhibit their own quirky personalities: Python is lyrical and ornate; C is clipped and Hemingway-esque.
Today, many people code without realizing it. Tools such as Excel quietly usher users to think like a programmer. Artificial intelligence lowers the bar to entry even further. For example, Arbesman explains how pattern-seeking algorithms called neural networks, loosely modeled after the brain, perform analogical reasoning—for instance, king – man + woman = queen. As coding becomes more human, such models can now collaborate with humans in creation.
One striking anecdote demonstrating this collaborative expedition involves the author’s friend, Matt Webb, who, despite not knowing the coding language, built an iPhone app with the assistance of ChatGPT. After many iterations, the tag-team developed software that points toward the center of the Milky Way galaxy. It’s a perfect illustration of what Arbesman calls the “accessibility of magic.” Like Webb, anyone equipped with curiosity, patience, and a well-trained chatbot can jumpstart their own journey.
In the third and final section, Arbesman ventures into his intellectual home turf of biology. Shifting his focus from empowerment and accessibility to a more contemplative discussion, he likens DNA to code, describes evolution as an algorithm, and introduces the concept of polycomputing—the idea that biology and computer science are facets of a broader information science. He closes with the simulation hypothesis, musing on whether our world is SimCity or The Matrix. Though he views code as a “kind of universal solvent for thinking about the world,” even he finds the simulation idea a step too far.
Throughout the book, Arbesman develops an underlying metaphor that positions code as an enchanting force in our world, transmuting intentions into actions. Drawing on thinkers like Max Weber and Charles Taylor, he adamantly asserts that Western civilization, far from being a post-Enlightenment world stripped of mysticism, is a civilization flooded with charm and fascination. As proof, he draws on a wide range of cultural references—fairy tales such as Aladdin and Cinderella, classical works from Aristophanes to Ovid’s Metamorphoses, science fiction such as Star Trek and Star Wars, fantasy epics such as Harry Potter and The Lord of the Rings, and religious texts from the Bible to Martin Luther’s Ninety-Five Theses.
Arbesman overstates code’s function in society with many of these references, grossly exaggerating its god-like attributes within his biblical allusions. He likens the creative potential of code to the generative force in Genesis. He echoes the bioethicist Leon Kass’s reading of the Tower of Babel to suggest that through mathematics and computation, we have regained a common language and once again have the capacity to “make a name for ourselves.” He even references biblical prose and structure to elevate programming language to the level of sacred language.
These metaphors extend far past code’s true domain. Few readers will be convinced that code deserves these transcendent comparisons that cross the fine line between elevating the mundane and over-glorifying it. Still, Arbesman’s earnestness and curiosity absolve him of this transgression.
The Magic of Code offers not a trail map to code but a meandering reflection from a scientist passionate about code’s creative potential. By engaging with these emerging tools, we equip ourselves to embark on our own adventures.
So, sit down and open a terminal. Once the computer returns the warm greeting—”Hello, World!”—you are on your way.
The Magic of Code: How Digital Language Created and Connects Our World—and Shapes Our Future
by Samuel Arbesman
PublicAffairs, 304 pp., $30
Matthew Phillips is a research and development engineer in New Mexico.