Trithemius (2022)

Trithemius focuses on the persistence of the disease of ignorance throughout human history. While ruminating on the current ecosystem of widespread ignorance and misinformation, Kneschke wondered if the questioning of technological progress and scientific rationality was a new phenomenon. Was the printing press, responsible for the widespread dissemination of the written word, also repudiated? It turned out it had been criticized by Johannes Trithemius, a 16th century abbot. While it would be easy to make this figure a punching bag of derision, instead he became more complex as research continued.

Trithemius preceded the Enlightenment, when magic existed as a legitimate belief system. As such, the abbot allowed himself to be influenced by the occult. He was also one of the world’s earliest cryptographers, having produced several texts that contained hidden messages. Returning to our time, amidst a global pandemic, viruses remain prominent images, and ignorance can be contextualized as a mental virus to which science can provide cures. However, complete fealty to science and technology provides its own downfalls.