I am invigorated to find someone who shares the same insights that I have from Superposition. I totally think the part involved rolling marbles a “marblelous” portrayal of order versus chaos. The marbles at some point appeared scattered around the platform in disorder, yet when the actors start retrieving the marbles and roll them again, it cannot be more explicit that humans exert some control over the marbles’ relative locations. Indeed, the chance to predict each marble will end up is infinitesimal; however, we do know that the marbles will be somewhere within this closed system defined by a coordinate system. Certainly, this episode illustrated “an attempt to derive highly logical, calculable, mathematical meaning from a disorderly incident.”
A follow up example of humans exerting control over randomness occurred when the performers superimposed a grid on a piece of writing. Just like that, Ikeda simply engendered a cluster of alphabets listed in disarray. So, how did the performers restore order? Just simply crossed out the blanks or filled the blanks in black to create a new crossword puzzle. Once again, Ikeda laid out a completely arbitrary problem only to be solved by his human programmers.
In response to the last part of your comment, I hold a different view. Rather than criticizing the “attempt to mediate the world to make it more intelligible,” I think Ikeda actually advocates the practice of incessant exploration of the world. Here is a fraction of message excerpted from the words that were typed along the dark line amid the large screen: “All unstable processes we should control. All unstable problem we should solve. All unstable program we should determine.” As succinctly and clearly conveyed by the words, Ikeda is adherent to the activism in controlling, solving, and determining uncertainty. However, I agree that I sensed a somewhat contentious, if not rhetorical, tone when the words mention religion. In deliberate repetition and rhyme, the phrases emerged in sequence: “Religion is a boundary conviction. Religion is a divisionary confliction. Religion is a sanctuary compulsion. Religion is a country comparison. Religion is a supercountry constitution.” Somehow, I felt diverted from the mainline, which should be about the interaction between Science and Art, Randomness and Control rather than introducing another gigantic theme Religion. I wish to take no further part in discussing religion since I believe it is a distraction to this work. Nevertheless, I am convinced that Ikeda exemplifies, and thus supports, the merit of gazing the world through the lens of science and technology.

Superposition is precisely about the “encounter of randomness and control” which was specifically mentioned by Ryoji Ikeda in his interview with Peter Weibel on July 31, 2012. Ikeda purposely creates randomness with an intention to distinguish its counterbalance. With this expectation already instilled in my mind, I was able to detect several nuances that changed my aesthetic view of digital art.

The first encounter of randomness, perhaps, was unpleasantly “shocking” for many people. I have to admit that I also experienced some unease by the white and black slides blasting relentlessly in high frequencies. However, I noticed something structured and organized, apart from this mosaic chaos. Effacing all the cacophonies from the electric shocks and heeded closely at the time-clicking sound at the background, I was able to see sinusoidal waves. They were delineated by black screens aligned at discrete positions at certain time increments. Like the phi phenomenon ascribing the path of a fast-moving flashlight to our cognitive activities, the waves seemed to stimulate similar responses in our brains. Suggestively, Ikeda wanted to underline the fact that our minds are prewired to search for patterns in random dynamics of nature.

Another conclusion I drew from this episode is the quantum theory of wave-particle dualism. In analogy to this concept, each screen represents particulate property of light; but when you see them as a collective body, its wave-like quality becomes readily perceivable.

If Ikeda was playing a slot machine with the blasting screens, he would never wait for his prize to happen by chance. Instead, he would rather take control over time and make sure every figures will align with one another at his discretion just like he demonstrated here.

If you are interested in the Ryogi Ikeda’s interview with Peter Weibel, here is a link that will direct you to the article adapted by UMS: http://www.umslobby.org/index.php/2014/10/artist-interview-ryoji-ikeda-creator-of-superposition-16077