Temporada 4 · Autopsia de los Gigantes · JVV-T4-29
Periodic table of accelerationist drives
I Why a system for the unsustainable
The ideas that feed the engine of collapse—Land, Fisher, Huanca, Zorn—burn and mix with no order.
James needed a chemistry board to know which spark to mix with which gas:
hence the Periodic Table of Drives—256 conceptual “elements”, classified by meltdown temperature and collision affinity.
Here is the in-person extract (16 of 256): just enough for the reader to sense the logic and crave the full poster.
II Synthetic legend
| Field | Meaning |
|---|---|
| Sym. | Abbreviation of the drive (2 – 3 letters) |
| Author-isotope | Thinker of origin |
| Z (Nihil charge) | Impulse to dissolve structures (0–10) |
| A (Ethical affinity) | Potential for reconstruction (+) or cynicism (–) |
| Melting point °C | The narrative temperature at which the idea gives up solid form |
| Compatibility | Elements it reacts with explosively |
III Sample of 16 key elements
| Sym. | Author-isotope | Z | A | Melting °C | Compatibility (explosion) |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Md | Nick Land | 10 | –7 | –273 | Dl (rhizome), Cr (crash) |
| Dl | Deleuze/Guattari | 6 | +3 | –88 | Md, Tx (Tsing) |
| Xf | Laboria Cuboniks | 7 | +4 | –40 | Hr (Haraway), Gn (Negarestani) |
| Hr | Donna Haraway | 4 | +6 | –10 | Xf, Tp (Tulpas) |
| Pl | Karl Marx | 5 | +5 | –12 | Md (anti-reactive: forms foam) |
| Fn | Michel Foucault | 6 | +1 | –30 | Dl, Cr |
| Cr | J.G. Ballard | 8 | –4 | –120 | Md, Pl (spark), Zr |
| Zr | John Zorn | 9 | –1 | –200 | Hr, Md, Cr |
| Hs | Mark Fisher | 4 | –2 | –15 | Dl, Pl |
| Tx | Anna Tsing | 3 | +6 | –5 | Dl, Hr |
| Gn | Reza Negarestani | 8 | –3 | –150 | Xf, Cr |
| Mt | Timothy Morton | 2 | +1 | –2 | Tx, Hr |
| Mc | Marshall McLuhan | 5 | 0 | –25 | Zr, Fn |
| Gb | William Gibson | 6 | –1 | –60 | Mc, Dl |
| Sw | Srnicek & Williams | 3 | +5 | –8 | Pl, Tx |
| Hu | Donna Huanca | 4 | +2 | –18 | Zr, Xf |
(Symbolic empirical values; not for use in a human laboratory.)
IV Rules of rapid reactivity
- ΔZ ≥ 5 + opposite A → creative explosion (e.g. Md + Pl).
- Elements with a melting point < –100 °C vaporise discourse; they need an ironic vessel.
- Any mixture with Xf (xenofem) adds a gender glitch filter.
V Ritual of the epistemological laboratorysafe
-
01
Pick three symbols that draw you.
-
02
Write 50 words mixing their voices (with no citations).
-
03
Watch what narrative temperature comes off:
- if the text liquefies into sarcasm → drop in a bucket of Fisher (Hs) to temper it,
- if it freezes into academicism → add a drop of Zorn (Zr) and turn up the distortion.
VI Future use and expansion
- Interactive poster (SVG): click = an extended card with bibliography and recommended essays.
- “JamesForge” filter: an AI prompt that takes a formula (e.g. Md₂Dl₁Hs) and generates the text on the spot.
- Workshop: readers mix 4 elements and present a 500-word essay; the best go through to Season 5.
VII Coda
“Classifying madness does not tame it; it only spreads the gunpowder more evenly.”
The Periodic Table of Drives does not aim to freeze the authors—it is a map of reactivity for going on distilling lucid chaos without blowing the beaker… too soon.