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