the truth of the signal

C.R.W. Nevinson, New York by Night, ca. 1922. Oil on canvas.

Nevinson was a British artist who visited New York after World War I. His boasting and exaggerated claims of war experiences, together with his depressive and temperamental personality, made him many enemies in both the U.S. and Britain. In 1920, the critic Charles Lewis Hind wrote of Nevinson: "It is something, at the age of thirty-one, to be among the most discussed, most successful, most promising, most admired, and most hated British artists."

Hidden PCB silkscreen art

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What you're looking at is a subtle artistic inside joke within the world of electrical and hardware engineering.

During the design process of PCB's, engineers have to map out the board's silkscreen (aka the nonconductive layer of apoxy ink, typically in white, black or yellow, that is used to indicate components, design, and test points). This is an essential part of circuit board building that is an integral part of the design process, serving as essentially a communicative manual to anyone servicing it, or something fun to find for teardowns. Think of it as a medical diagram to the board's meat and bones. It is layered on top of the solder mask which in turn protects the copper of the board from corrosion.

Many designers opt to put hidden messages, symbols or popculture references within the leftover/non-essential spaces as a fun way to connect them to their work. It's a piece of the artist within the art, and acts as a fun little real life easter egg to anyone brave enough to open up the tech housing it.

They don't serve any functional purpose to the board, but they sure are cool :)

Images and info sourced from flickr, r/hiddenpcbeggs, and pcbgogo