Equal temperament and the Apple II’s color system are bound by the same “technique of diffusion.”

 Equal temperament and the Apple II’s color system are bound by the same “technique of diffusion.”

Equal temperament does not remain faithful to the pure harmonic ratios of just intonation; instead, it slightly shifts each frequency so that twelve tones can be placed at equal intervals. This minute distortion sacrifices tonal purity in exchange for the freedom to modulate into any key. Mapping the world of sound onto an even grid is much like the Mercator projection distorting the globe to make it navigable. The tones are no longer perfect, yet the world becomes connected. When we hear this distortion, it feels less like a flaw and more like a “bleeding”—a soft blending of intervals that lets music flow.

The Apple II’s color works in the same way. It did not produce accurate RGB hues, but relied on side effects of the NTSC signal, generating colors through interference between scan lines. This was a calculated illusion, a design that valued “being able to display and move” over physical precision. Like equal temperament, it traded purity for flexibility. Both systems deliberately loosen theoretical ideals, embracing distortion as a sensory continuity that smooths the world. The resonance of equal temperament and the colors of the Apple II alike carry a human freedom that lives within their gentle diffusion.