Paradox, cybernetics and infinite poetry.

This article examines how absence can shape the experience and conception of presence, focusing on the paradoxical relationship between form and time through a cybernetic lens. Using the "Hastig" ("Hastily") movement from Robert Schumann's 1839 piano work *Humoreske* as a case study, it explores how Schumann’s unusual notation—particularly the inaudible "inner voice" melody—challenges conventional musical form by conflating presence and absence, and disrupting linear temporality. Drawing on second-order cybernetics, the article discusses how art models the dynamic interplay between relational structures (language, logic) and experiential dynamics, highlighting the observer’s role in constructing meaning. Ultimately, Schumann’s composition is presented as a manifestation of paradox that invites reconsideration of how form, time, and consciousness interrelate, suggesting that absence can make presence become through a process of ongoing distinction and union.