Computational inking (CT) has gained in popularity in recent years, both within educational and political discourses. It is more than ever important to discuss the term itself in order to determine to which extent it is helpful in solving the challenges it has been suggested to address. Recently, Denning (2017) proposed that CT can be viewed as either “traditional” or “new”. Traditional CT is a skillset resulting from engaging in traditional computing activities, e.g. programming, whereas new CT forefronts certain skills as desired in problem solving. By looking at CT through the perspective of computer semiotics, specifically the algorithmic sign, it is possible to dissolve the hard distinction of traditional vs. new. Instead, a perception of CT having both an implicit and an explicit nature emerges, allowing for a dialectic relationship between CT’s integrated implicit and explicit nature.
