A translation is the transformation or conversion of a meaning from one form or medium into another, thus rendering it graspable across or between contexts. Translation is a key concept and function for work across disciplines, as well as for the construction of data democracy.  

Making the strange familiar and the familiar strange

In anthropology, translation has traditionally been used to make the seemingly strange and exotic familiar, and the familiar strange. This is done through participatory observation and through thorough description and translation, not only of language but of cultural meanings, logics, and values, in order to render these graspable for non-natives. 

In the Cryptic Commons, we exhibit translation on three levels: translation of concepts and functions between/across disciplines, translation between technical and social aspects of cryptography, and translation of research findings into practical uses and common public domains (making things public).

“We’re basically speaking past each other. We were both speaking English, but not really. We both have our own jargon and we can use the same words to mean very, very different things.”

-university cryptographer

Socio-technical sustainability

For transdisciplinary research to happen, translation across disciplines is needed. 

For data democracy to be technologically and socially sustainable, translations of different kinds are necessary. Trust and privacy, for instance, are words that we often hear in public and academic debates about digitization. These words, however, have a radically different meaning in mathematics and cryptography from their meaning in social life. What is trustworthy in one societal and cultural context, may not be trustworthy in another. Careful attention to translation in the construction of the Cryptic Commons is crucial because translation can also mean betrayal: meanings can be misconstrued, and values can be erased. 

To learn more about translations, we recommend that you read “https://www.academia.edu/34500167/2017_Uncommon_Things” (2017) by Amira Salmond. 

“There were no equations in it, so I couldn’t understand the document. So many words!”

-control and automation engineer

A translation is the transformation or conversion of a meaning from one form or medium into another, thus rendering it graspable across or between contexts. Translation is a key concept and function for work across disciplines, as well as for the construction of data democracy.  

Making the strange familiar and the familiar strange

In anthropology, translation has traditionally been used to make the seemingly strange and exotic familiar, and the familiar strange. This is done through participatory observation and through thorough description and translation, not only of language but of cultural meanings, logics, and values, in order to render these graspable for non-natives. 

In the Cryptic Commons, we exhibit translation on three levels: translation of concepts and functions between/across disciplines, translation between technical and social aspects of cryptography, and translation of research findings into practical uses and common public domains (making things public).

“We’re basically speaking past each other. We were both speaking English, but not really. We both have our own jargon and we can use the same words to mean very, very different things.”

-university cryptographer

Socio-technical sustainability

For transdisciplinary research to happen, translation across disciplines is needed. 

For data democracy to be technologically and socially sustainable, translations of different kinds are necessary. Trust and privacy, for instance, are words that we often hear in public and academic debates about digitization. These words, however, have a radically different meaning in mathematics and cryptography from their meaning in social life. What is trustworthy in one societal and cultural context, may not be trustworthy in another. Careful attention to translation in the construction of the Cryptic Commons is crucial because translation can also mean betrayal: meanings can be misconstrued, and values can be erased. 

To learn more about translations, we recommend that you read “https://www.academia.edu/34500167/2017_Uncommon_Things” (2017) by Amira Salmond. 

“There were no equations in it, so I couldn’t understand the document. So many words!”

-control and automation engineer