Daft Punk on image

If we have to create an image, it must be an artificial image. That combination hides our physicality and also shows our view of the star system. It is not a compromise. - Thomas Bangalter.

I just discovered this quote, and it very much appeals to me.  It strikes me as being analogous to the way that we craft our identities in virtual spaces.   If only were as flawless in the meat world as the avatars that we create for ourselves are.  Crafting an image internally seems much easier than instantiating it is.

People who use requests for help as power games

I really despise non-consensual power games.  One of the things that irks me in particular is when a person asks someone more experienced in a topic for help and guidance, and the more knowledgeable person turns the situation into a power game.  They use their experience to belittle and bewilder someone who asked for their help.  I gave some advice to a good friend the other night which will hopefully help them out, after another ostensible ally was giving them the run-around.  In areas in which I have expertise, I don't like seeing my friends considered as marks.

Occult clinic duty?

I feel a little like House when he pulls clinic duty.  I've spent the past few hours on /x/ on 4chan dispensing occult advice.

Bombastic promulgation #1: There is no enlightenment without risk

In order to expand one's personal awareness, presence, or power in any meaningful way, one must be willing to risk the ground that they are already standing upon.  For example, you obviously can't advance to the next stone in the stream, unless you are willing to step off of your current stone, if the new position is close, or jump for it if the next stone is farther away.  If your perceptions are accurate, and you plan your move with forethought, you are more likely to find your new footing solid as well.  If you are careless or unobservant, you are much more likely to find yourself in the water.

New Scientist article on random numbers from quantum noise

I read an interesting article from New Scientist today: Random numbers created out of nothing

Consciousness as Integrated Information

From a great New York Times article, Sizing Up Consciousness by Its Bits by Carl Zimmer, I was led to this paper: Consciousness as Integrated Information: a Provisional Manifesto by Dr. Giulio Tononi at the University of Wisconsin, Madison.  As anyone who has read my writing is aware, I'm fascinated by the emergent phenomenon of consciousness.  From the paper's abstract: The integrated information theory (IIT) starts from phenomenology and makes use of thought experiments to claim that consciousness is integrated information.

An excellent resource available free online

In doing some encryption research for a project at work, I discovered that The Handbook of Applied Cryptography is available free online via the Center for Applied Cryptographic Research at the University of Waterloo in Ontario.  This is an excellent resource, so I wanted to share this information on the off-chance that anyone who reads this blog might find it useful.

Useful magical phrases in music

I'm certain that I'm not the only sorcerer(*) who draws inspiration and material from the media that I consume.  In particular, I draw from music.  I grew up on Styx, and Rush, and when I emerged from a doom metal phase in the early 1990s, I came out with a love of hard music that sounded somehow epic, or was at least melodic.  Lately, I've been listening to Killswitch Engage.  A lot.  I mean it, as in their entire discography every single day at work while I pummel data into submission and tweak indexes.

As a result of this exposure, their album As Daylight Dies has become one of my favorite albums, and the song Unbroken has become one of my favorite songs.  I'm sure by this point you're likely thinking "Hey, where's the magic part of this?  What's he trying to pull?" Well, fear not, the magical content follows.

The last verse in the song Unbroken is:

The absence of fear, is the renewal of ourself.
The absence of doubt, breeds desire.
If there is truth to face, I will design it.
I will not be denied!

Pow.  That's Will right there.  Summed up tidily.  This makes a satisfying mantra as well, imho. 
Okay, so the magic part wasn't a grandiose treatise on arcane topics, but it's through the accretion of segments like this that such works emerge.

Ooh, got deep there again on you for a moment, didn't I.  Sorry about that.

Quantum Sorcery is now available as an eBook

I'm pleased to announce that Quantum Sorcery: The Science of Chaos Magic is now available in multiple eBook reader formats from Smashwords. I do have a request for anyone who has read it.  Please review it.  At the moment I have 2 reviews on Amazon (thanks for those!) , and as of yet, no reviews on Smashwords. 

Quantum Sorcery examines the connection between quantum physics and sorcery, though the question "How does magic actually work?" An overview of basic magical skills and practical techniques is followed by basic primers on quantum physics and other theories and principles, which serve as a framework for understanding how fundamental forces might be applied to magical workings.

Perspectives on learning techniques

I read a New York Times article today that calls into question some of the generally accepted assumptions about learning: Forget What You Know About Good Study Habits

The article cites a paper by Kelli Taylor and Doug Rohrer of the University of South Florida, The Effects of Interleaved Practice which compares interleaving and blocking as learning techniques.  Their results seem to show that interspersing a study topic with other material leads to a stronger commitment of the information than gross cramming does.

The analogy that comes to my mind regarding cramming is the charging of a NiCd battery.  When a rapid charger is used, the battery quickly charges to full capacity, but that charge is also more quickly depleted.  Compare this to a slower trickle charger that takes longer to charge the battery, but provides a longer lasting charge.

This is causing some consternation

Stephen Hawking says universe not created by God

In light of recent debates that I've read over the nature of gravity, and the possibility that treating it as a force may not be entirely accurate, it will be interesting to see where this all goes.

Unknown cells from the red rain reproduce?

Another interesting paper from the ArXive blog: The Extraordinary Tale of Red Rain, Comets and Extraterrestrials

Interesting new post on the physics arXive blog

I spotted this post today Quantum Entanglement Can be a Measure of Free Will on the MIT Technology Review Physics ArXive blog.  The paper that is refers to is here: How much free will is needed to demonstrate nonlocality?.

The third replicator

Here is a New York Times article on 'temes', or technological memes, a third replicator proposed by Susan Blackmore: The Third Replicator

I've read her book, The Meme Machine, as well as heard one of her lectures that she did with Mark Pesce, another one of my favorite reality engineers.  I consider her to be right up there with Dawkins.

The big question

I imagine that many people's "Big Question" that they want to know the answer to may be "Is there a God?" or maybe "What is the meaning of life?" Not mine.  My Big Question is whether the universe is deterministic or non-deterministic.  I've read numerous works that fall on either side of the issue, and had many great discussions about it.  Some people seem to have views on the topic that border on the dogmatic. I don't know, and I must accept the premise that I will almost certainly never know the answer in my lifetime. Of course I like the idea that I have freedom of choice in my thoughts and actions, but I must also accept the possibility that at 10^-32 seconds after the instantiation of this universe that it was determined that I would be here at this moment typing these words.  And these too.  Damn.

A dilemma rears its ugly head (in a green pointed hat?)

Okay.  Here is my dilemma.  I practice what I refer to, for lack of a better term, as sorcery.  I profess that human beings have the capability of altering objective reality through the exertion of will.  I don’t go dragging supernatural entities into my system, as I see no need to.  Now on the other hand, I fully acknowledge that maybe the things that I think I or others have made happen may be fortunate series of incredibly precise coincidences, that have happened to give me the exact result that I was seeking at the time, and I’m okay with that.  So needless to say, my idea of reality is rather fluid, and is probably not aligned with anything that any rational person would refer to as normal.  I believe in consensus reality, and I acknowledge that not everyone’s reality tunnels are going to align perfectly.

So, as a dweller on the “fringe”, how much validity must I ascribe to beliefs which I consider to be outlandish that I come across, without drifting into the arena of hypocrisy?

The specific case that I am referring to involves a happy chap who apparently lives in a world in which elves and gnomes are real.  And unicorns are too.  Really real.

What the hell am I supposed to make of that?  Maybe his reality is vastly different than mine is.  Maybe he kicks back and eats oranges with elves on a regular basis.  Can I judge?  I’m still trying to work this one out, but I needed to get this put down on pixels so I don’t forget about it during a bender or something.

RIP Isaac Bonewits

Upon learning today of the death of Isaac Bonewits, I reflected on the influence of his book ‘Real Magic’ on my development as an aspiring neo-pagan back in the late 1980’s.  Around 1988 or so, many of the people in my social group were Wiccans.  I had grown up in a very non-religious, but not anti-religious household.  Religion just wasn’t a part of my life.

On several occasions, there were social gatherings that I would attend that preceded sabbats, and I would always leave prior to the ritual.  One day, I decided to stay and participate.  I stayed with the group for about 3 years before I felt that I had learned what I needed to, and moved on.

During this period, I read about magic extensively.  Between the libraries at Indiana State University, and at Wyrd House, a monthly metaphysical social gathering I was active in at the time, I had the works of a wide selection of contemporary pagan authors at my disposal. I read Adler, Fitch, Cunningham, Cabot, Gardiner, Sanders, Bonewits, and many others.  Isaac’s approach to magic really spoke to me, and it informed the structure and practice of my practice for many years.

Welcome to Apophenic Apocrypha

How on earth did you end up here?  Regardless of what series of actions and choices (and more importantly, whether you actually had any choice in the matter at all) led to you reading these words, welcome. 

First, let's consider the name of this place.  Apophenic Apocrypha.  Even the spell checker on this site chokes on the name.  Apophenia is the phenomenon of perceiving patterns in random data.  The 23 Enigma is a prime example of this in action.  Apocrypha is a body of work of dubious authorship or authenticity. Numerous religious texts fall into this category. 

The subjects that I write on tend toward fringe culture, pop culture,  and the occult.  Much of my older material is located on my website SpikeVision.org.  I've also written one book, 'Quantum Sorcery: The Science of Chaos Magic' which is available from Immanion Press, or via quantumsorcery.org.