Reverse Engineering: Black Boxes 101

All scientific research taken as a whole is an attempt to reverse engineer the universe.

Reverse engineering, as you might suspect, is the reverse of engineering.

Engineering is the art and science of creating something which performs a function: you need to hold up the weight of a bridge so you engineer a column with the right width and depth to hold the weight you need at the proper height.

Reverse engineering is the art and science of determining the structure which performs a function: you see the the bridge, know that something needs to hold it up, then look below and lo and behold there's a column. ( If you were monkey-wrenching, you'd then proceed to blow it up and see if the bridge comes down, but that's another post. )

Mad Science 101

Or, some things I consider the core skills and knowledge of that thing I sometimes refer to as 'mad science'.

Reverse Engineering

Reverse Engineering is a way of learning from experience. It's an application of the core scientific method to whatever thing you want to reverse engineer.

This isn't as amazing as it sounds. Just about everything scientists do under the name of "research" is an act of reverse engineering and anyone who learns primarily by "trial and error" uses the scientific method by virtue of their experimental approach ( contrasted by the method of repeatedly banging one's head against a wall ).

Hypnosis in a Nutshell

The definition of hypnosis is different depending on who you ask, even among skilled hypnotists. The reasons for this is legion, but I think I've found a way to explain hypnosis in a way that anyone can understand.

The main problem with hypnosis is the confusion between the hypnotic process and what is generally thought of as the 'hypnotic state.'

Psychology of Satanism: Nature and Nurture I

Everything within Satanism revolves around a simple psychological concept : "Nature / Nurture." In this post (one of two!), I explain WTF that means. The next part will relate it to Satanism.

"Nature" refers to everything we are born with. In other words, Nature is everything we have and can do at the moment we're shipped brand new from the factory. It's all the base mechanisms we need to survive as individuals as well as a species as a whole. On the individual scale there's critical mechanisms which sustain an individual organism's life --, like the ability to breathe. On the species scale, there's things like individual variations from height to temperment.

How to Completely Fuck Up Yer Magick Mojo

Every 2 out of 3 people I meet who's into magick or ye ol occult is stuck on some kind of unnecessary hang up or another. Most often, it all boils down to the fact that they've stalled during their initiation due to something they're missed, or else they've never encountered some basic, but vital bit of knowledge.

 I've written this short guide in hopes that a few of those stuck will find what that need to unstick themselves.

Self and Not Self

Try this simple experiment before reading the following explanaton. Thar be spoliers there.

Step 1: Get a pen or pencil. Or anything else spear or rod-like you can poke things with.

Step 2: Hold this pen (or whatever you have) like you're going to poke something with it.

Step 3: Poke a lot of shit with it. Poke a pillow, then poke a wall.

Step 4: Notice how when you poke shit with your pen, you sort of have a feeling for the end you're poking shit with and not so much where you're actually touching it.

Step 5: Note how totally weird that is now that you've taken the time to think about it. I mean, it's just the tip of a  pen, and not an extension of yourself you should be able to feel despite the lack of nerves extending into it right? Well...

Karma in Hinduism and Buddhism

When you hit yourself in the eye,
And it occurs through time,
That's a Karma!

This post is a response to the request to clarify a statement I had made -- that the concept of karma isn't the same in Hinduism and Buddhism. I also was giving an example of how metaphors used within some belief systems are meant to be taken in an esoteric sense (in other words, a psychological sense) and not within the frame of the literal supernatural. With that said, enjoy.

First, I found this definition which is a good sketch of karma in both Hinduism and Buddhism:

"the sum of a person's actions in this and previous states of existence, viewed as deciding their fate in future existences"