Category Archives: Posthuman

Published onOctober 25, 2021

CategoryNews

Drawing on the cosmic night-time magic of Arizonas natural desert landscapes.

Trees Speak are releasing a new album, titled Vertigo of Flaws, via Soul Jazz Records this November.

Across the album the band draw on elements of krautrock, post-punk, and psychedelia, incorporating police sirens, static noise, and 70s-esque synths.

Vertigo of Flaws features contributions from Gabriel Sullivan, Ben Nisbet, Saul Millan, Stephani Guilmette, and Davis Jones.

It follows their last album PostHuman which was released on Soul Jazz earlier in the year.

Pre-order Vertigo of Flaws here in advance of its 26th November release, check out the artwork and tracklist below.

Tracklist:

1. Seventh Mirror2. Cybernetic Dreams3. Interference4. Computer Garden5. Pyramid6. Halide Crystals7. Integratron8. Imaginary Forces9. Phantom LFO10. Opticks11. Mannequin12. Mind In Light13. Palantr14. Vertigo Of Flaws15. Exit Syndrome16. Stasi17. Atomic Voyage18. Ultraviolet

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Trees Speak fuse krautrock with post-punk on Vertigo of Flaws - The Vinyl Factory

Its been difficult to avoid the colossal success of vinyl over the past two years. Sure, sales have been steadily rising since its initial resurgence in the early 10s, but after another record breaking year in 2020, our consumption of vinyl has more than doubled in the first half of 2021 alone. Despite this, reports of huge increases in wait times to get records pressed, errors in manufacturing and labels abandoning the format altogether are rife. So why is the vinyl industry in such a state of chaos?

Overwhelming demand at pressing plants, rising shipping costs, a worrying lack of materials, and a renewed interest from major labels have pushed a manufacturing process that was already in decline to breaking point. Despite its historic significance within dance music, the current impediment in producing vinyl records has put a spotlight on its role within the scene. Does music really have to be pressed onto wax to be legitimate? Is vinyl the only way you can physically release? Is it time to look at more sustainable avenues?

I love vinyl, thats what's so crushing about all of this, says Tomas Fraser, who runs Independent label Coyote Records. Fraser, like many small label owners, has been forced to stop pressing onto vinyl, having done his last run on wax in 2019. I don't know how it's gonna fix itself. I just find it really irritating, to be honest. No one seems to care either.

So, how long is it taking to get a record pressed currently? In an email to customers, Lobster Theremins distribution service is currently giving estimates of 20 weeks, though, from labels and artists that we spoke to, estimates varied wildly from just 10 weeks to an entire year. None of this accounts for delays, mistakes or shipping problems.

Lizzie Ellis, a Bristol-based freelance label manager working across a number of labels, has experienced firsthand the havoc caused by current wait times paired with unforeseen impediments: We sent off a record in February, and were basically now at the back of the queue again we got the test pressings back and they were messed up.

In all my years working with labels and manufacturers, I've rarely had to send test pressings back, especially for plants with a reputation for creating good quality records. All I can think is it must be that the plants are super overwhelmed and they are making mistakes, but for us, that means that were in limbo with [the release].

Weve had similar problems with waiting too, I was sorting a release for another artist and the same plant had said the earliest would be late February next year, for a small record label that basically means it isnt happening.

For those wanting to press smaller runs of records, an extended wait time can mean the difference between being able to release physically or not consumers are less likely to buy a record if it means having to wait in excess of five months to get their product, and to press without pre-orders is risky if the record ends up not selling, particularly with the notoriously tiny margins on vinyl production.

Read this next: Is the vinyl resurgence actually helping dance music?

Despite these wait times, vinyl hasnt seen this much of a boom since before the advent of the CD disk. In 2020, vinyl outsold CDs for the first time ever, and 2021's sales figures have already shot well beyond last year's.

It isnt showing much sign of slowing down, the Global Record Sales Market report 2021-2026 has predicted that the vinyl industry is expected to be worth $481.5 million by 2026, as opposed to its valuation of $179 million in 2019. In a recent study, 15% in the 16-25 age bracket (or Gen Z) said they have bought a vinyl record in the past 12 months, higher than the 11% of millennials whove done the same thing. Amazon even announced their foray into the vinyl market with the Vinyl of the Month Club back in June, which will deliver represses of famous records to buyers' doors every month.

So why the sudden increase in popularity? The pandemic and various worldwide lockdown measures have been a key driving force, cutting off our access to live music and clubs, and driving up digital and physical music sales. For fans wanting to support their favourite artists and labels through financial difficulty, Bandcamp Fridays helped drive up the sale of vinyl, with all proceeds going directly to the seller. Rolling Stone reported that in 2020, the initiative brought in $40 million for sellers during the pandemic. Bandcamp told Mixmag that around half their sales consist of physical merchandise, led predominantly by vinyl, and during Bandcamp Fridays in 2020 physcial sales increased by 107%.

Pressing plant capacity can't keep up with the demand. An anonymous source told Billboard that worldwide there was the capacity to manufacture just 160 million records a year, but to meet current demand that capacity would need to rise to between 300-400 million. Its thought that there are only 100 pressing plants worldwide currently, with just 10 that have the capacity to produce large amounts of records. The majority of which are either owned by labels themselves, have specific links to industry leaders or cannot take on smaller orders.

For independent labels, the only option is to hunt down lesser-known UK-based or EU-based plants, but with larger plants unable to cope with the massive influx of orders, even smaller outfits are having to take on orders from major labels, pushing others to the back of the queue.

I've spent most of this year, talking to loads of people researching, trying to find places that have a shorter turnaround, which is basically nowhere other than a few really tiny independent manufacturers, says Lizzie Ellis. Then everyone is trying to keep details of plants they've found on the down-low, they don't want to tell everyone or that plant will get overwhelmed as well.

Read this next: Vinyl sales have increased by 108% since the beginning of 2021

For many, the increase in interest from major labels is seen as the main cause of pressing plant delays larger plants are thought to prioritise big orders and anything that overspills is mopped up by the small, independent plants that once prioritised independent labels but are now being apparently swayed by the big orders, and big influence.

Most of the vinyl youll buy from stores like Juno comes from [a few big plants], Tomas Fraser agrees the whole industry is vying for a few small slots, so labels like mine are gonna get squeezed out."

For pressing plants, it makes economic sense to make larger runs of records. Producing in bulk is cheaper and simpler in the manufacturing process the plates used to press a record involve creating a sample record using lacquer and unique metalwork that can be used to press over 20,000 records, but this tends to be one of the most expensive and time-consuming parts of the record-making process.

In the early '90s, most titles, even totally unknown white labels, would press tens of thousands of copies, I Love Acid honcho Posthuman tells us. Today, it's usually just a few hundred. So while the overall number of vinyl being made may be similar, there is an insane increase in the number of titles. This is putting a huge demand on metalwork and as a result, there are long waiting times for lacquers to be processed, on average three or four months. That's before you even get a single record pressed.

Go here to read the rest:

The vinyl straw: Why the vinyl industry is at breaking point - Mixmag

In the age of the Anthropocene, humans have become geological agents. We live with the consequences of actions our ancestors committed decades, if not centuries, ago. The linear narrative time that for so long dominated the industrial world has, in our era of climate crisis, collapsed in on itself and is about to snap.

In this talk, we will explore how the Anthropocene's overturning of our conventional narrative structures can be communicated and perhaps even productively re-imagined through the peculiar narrative space-time of the graphic novel form. Drawing on several examples from recent long-form comics, we will see how the elasticity and simultaneity of graphic narrative can allow us to grasp the systemic reach of the Anthropocene and to think through the full force of its effects.

This event forms part of the COP26@City programme, a series of events and actions which demonstrate Citys commitment to reducing our environmental impact and playing our part in responding to the global climate challenge.

COP26 is the 26th UN Climate Change Conference of the Parties and this year it will take place in Glasgow between 31 October 12 November. The COP26 summit will bring parties together to accelerate action towards the goals of the Paris Agreement and the UN Framework Convention on Climate Change.

Speaker:Dr Dominic Davies, Department of English

Dom Davies is Senior Lecturer in English and programme director of the BA English at City. He is the author of Urban Comics (Routledge 2019) and co-editor of Documenting Trauma in Comics (Palgrave 2020). He is currently co-authoring a book entitled Apocalypse Yesterday: Posthuman Geographies and the Anthropocene Graphic Novel.

Attendance at City events is subject to our terms and conditions.

Read more:

Apocalypse Yesterday: The Graphic Novel in the Anthropocene (Wednesday, 3rd November 2021) City, University of London - City, University of London

From reimagining retro burlesque posters to painting Albert Einstein in water colour, farmers protest and more, Abhay Deols social media posts have given us enough reasons to appreciate his inclination towards art. We caught the actor during a hurried trip to Kolkata to be part of his friend, artist Harshit Agarwals solo exhibition, EXO-Stential - AI Musings On The Posthuman, at a city art gallery. The exhibition that started on September 11, came to an end with a talk, The Arts They Are A-Changing, in which Abhay was one of the speakers. After the talk, CT had a quick chat with the actor. ExcerptsYour recent photograph with artist friend Shilo Shiv Suleiman broke a lot of fans' hearts.(Laughs out loud) Please dont take me seriously is what I would say.We noticed you were asked for autographs. Do you get autograph requests frequently in the time of selfies?Not that much. Mostly, it's selfies. You are right. It happens. Not that it doesn't. But not as often. I mean, I prefer autographs for sure. You dont always want to be photographed. But I generally tend to say yes rather than say no (laughs).

We see a lot of your paintings on your social media.

(Laughs) It is a hobby and I paint every now and then. Not as often as I would like to. I put it on my Instagram. I am not a professional though.

How conducive do you find our country to practice and perform arts of any form?

Honestly speaking, art is a luxury. Of course, there is a reason why richer nations tend to have a lot more invested in art than pooper nations. You can only appreciate the beauty when you are not worried about putting food on your plate. Thats the truth. But yes, we have the middle class who are doing well. There are people who are doing well. It's not like we dont have business that runs successfully, not like there isnt infrastructure. We have had a lot more success in the past couple of decades than before. That has led to people having money to spend. So, you do see a lot of art and appreciation for it today than before I think.How are you planning your festive season?

We are, as a family, not so ritualistic. From a very early age I've noticed that on Diwali days, we burst a lot of crackers that end up irritating in my throat and spreading a lot of smoke in the atmosphere. On Holi, a lot of colours have chemical ingredients harmful for the body. So, I have always questioned since my childhood that if it's not good for the environment, is it really good for god? I am very objective with festivals. In Indian culture, gods and goddesses represent the elements. It is one rare culture that worships nature. I think that is a beautiful part. We worship elements and our gods and goddesses represent those elements. I hope to see festivals that celebrate a clean environment and community.

Read more from the original source:

You can only appreciate art when you're not worried about putting food on your plate: Abhay Deol - Times of India

Specific religious views of a supreme being

Conceptions of God in monotheist, pantheist, and panentheist religions or of the supreme deity in henotheistic religions can extend to various levels of abstraction:

The first recordings that survive of monotheistic conceptions of God, borne out of henotheism and (mostly in Eastern religions) monism, are from the Hellenistic period. Of the many objects and entities that religions and other belief systems across the ages have labeled as divine, the one criterion they share is their acknowledgment as divine by a group or groups of human beings.

In his Metaphysics, Aristotle discusses the meaning of "being as being". Aristotle holds that "being" primarily refers to the Unmoved Movers, and assigned one of these to each movement in the heavens. Each Unmoved Mover continuously contemplates its own contemplation, and everything that fits the second meaning of "being" by having its source of motion in itself, i.e., moves because the knowledge of its Mover causes it to emulate this Mover (or should).

Aristotle's definition of God attributes perfection to this being, and, as a perfect being, it can only contemplate upon perfection and not on imperfection; otherwise perfection would not be one of his attributes. God, according to Aristotle, is in a state of "stasis" untouched by change and imperfection. The "unmoved mover" is very unlike the conception of God that one sees in most religions. It has been likened to a person who is playing dominos and pushes one of them over, so that every other domino in the set is pushed over as well, without the being having to do anything about it. Although, in the 18th century, the French educator Allan Kardec brought a very similar conception of God during his work of codifying Spiritism, this differs from the interpretation of God in most religions, where he is seen to be personally involved in his creation.

In the ancient Greek philosophical Hermetica, the ultimate reality is called by many names, such as God, Lord, Father, Mind (Nous), the Creator, the All, the One, etc.[1] However, peculiar to the Hermetic view of the divinity is that it is both the all (Greek: to pan) and the creator of the all: all created things pre-exist in God,[2] and God is the nature of the cosmos (being both the substance from which it proceeds and the governing principle which orders it),[3] yet the things themselves and the cosmos were all created by God. Thus, God creates itself,[4] and is both transcendent (as the creator of the cosmos) and immanent (as the created cosmos).[5] These ideas are closely related to the cosmo-theological views of the Stoics.[6]

The Abrahamic God in this sense is the conception of God that remains a common attribute of all three traditions. God is conceived of as eternal, omnipotent, omniscient and as the creator of the universe. God is further held to have the properties of holiness, justice, omnibenevolence and omnipresence. Proponents of Abrahamic faiths believe that God is also transcendent, meaning that he is outside space and outside time and therefore not subject to anything within his creation, but at the same time a personal God, involved, listening to prayer and reacting to the actions of his creatures.

In Judaism, God has been conceived in a variety of ways.[7] Traditionally, Judaism holds that YHWH, the God of Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob and the national god of the Israelites, delivered the Israelites from slavery in Egypt, and gave them the Law of Moses at biblical Mount Sinai as described in the Torah. According to the rationalist stream of Judaism articulated by Maimonides, which later came to dominate much of official traditional Jewish thought, God is understood as the absolute one, indivisible, and incomparable being who is the ultimate cause of all existence. Traditional interpretations of Judaism generally emphasize that God is personal yet also transcendent, while some modern interpretations of Judaism emphasize that God is a force or ideal.[8]

Jewish monotheism is a continuation of earlier Hebrew henotheism, the exclusive worship of the God of Israel (YHWH) as prescribed in the Torah and practiced at the Temple of Jerusalem. Strict monotheism emerges in Hellenistic Judaism and Rabbinical Judaism. Pronunciation of the proper name of the God of Israel came to be avoided in the Hellenistic era (Second Temple Judaism) and instead Jews refer to God as HaShem, meaning "the Name". In prayer and reading of scripture, the Tetragrammaton (YHWH) is substituted with Adonai ("my Lord").

Some[who?] Kabbalistic thinkers have held the belief that all of existence is itself a part of God, and that we as humanity are unaware of our own inherent godliness and are grappling to come to terms with it. The standing view in Hasidism currently, is that there is nothing in existence outside of God all being is within God, and yet all of existence cannot contain him. Regarding this, Solomon stated while dedicating the Temple, "But will God in truth dwell with mankind on the earth? Behold, the heaven and the heaven of heavens cannot contain You."[9]

Modern Jewish thinkers have constructed a wide variety of other ideas about God. Hermann Cohen believed that God should be identified with the "archetype of morality," an idea reminiscent of Plato's idea of the Good.[10] Mordecai Kaplan believed that God is the sum of all natural processes that allow man to become self-fulfilled.[11]

Within Christianity, the doctrine of the Trinity states that God is a single being that exists, simultaneously and eternally, as a perichoresis of three hypostases (i.e. persons; personae, prosopa): the Father (the Source, the Eternal Majesty); the Son (the eternal Logos ("Word"), manifest in human form as Jesus and thereafter as Christ); and the Holy Spirit (the Paraclete or advocate). Since the 4th Century AD, in both Eastern and Western Christianity, this doctrine has been stated as "One God in Three Persons", all three of whom, as distinct and co-eternal "persons" or "hypostases", share a single divine essence, being, or nature.

Following the First Council of Constantinople, the Son is described as eternally begotten by the Father ("begotten of his Father before all worlds"[12]). This generation does not imply a beginning for the Son or an inferior relationship with the Father. The Son is the perfect image of his Father, and is consubstantial with him. The Son returns that love, and that union between the two is the third person of the Trinity, the Holy Spirit. The Holy Spirit is consubstantial and co-equal with the Father and the Son. Thus, God contemplates and loves himself, enjoying infinite and perfect beatitude within himself. This relationship between the other two persons is called procession. Although the theology of the Trinity is accepted in most Christian churches, there are theological differences, notably between Catholic and Orthodox thought on the procession of the Holy Spirit (see filioque). Some Christian communions do not accept the Trinitarian doctrine, at least not in its traditional form. Notable groups include the Jehovah's Witnesses, Mormons, Christadelphians, Unitarians, Arians, and Adoptionists.

Within Christianity, Unitarianism is the view that God consists of only one person, the Father, instead of three persons as Trinitarianism states.[13] Unitarians believe that mainstream Christianity has been corrupted over history, and that it is not strictly monotheistic. There are different Unitarian views on Jesus, ranging from seeing him purely as a man who was chosen by God, to seeing him as a divine being, as the Son of God who had pre-existence.[14] Thus, Unitarianism is typically divided into two principal groups:

Even though the term "unitarian" did not first appear until the 17th century in reference to the Polish Brethren,[18][16] the basic tenets of Unitarianism go back to the time of Arius in the 4th century, an Alexandrian priest that taught the doctrine that only the Father was God, and that the Son had been created by the Father. Arians rejected the term "homoousios" (consubstantial) as a term describing the Father and Son, viewing such term as compromising the uniqueness and primacy of God,[19] and accused it of dividing the indivisible unit of the divine essence.[20] Unitarians trace their history back to the Apostolic Age, arguing, as do Trinitarians and Binitarians, that their Christology most closely reflects that of the early Christian community and Church Fathers.[21]

Binitarianism is the view within Christianity that there were originally two beings in the Godhead the Father and the Word that became the Son (Jesus the Christ).[citation needed] Binitarians normally believe that God is a family, currently consisting of the Father and the Son[citation needed]. Some binitarians[who?] believe that others will ultimately be born into that divine family. Hence, binitarians are nontrinitarian, but they are also not unitarian. Binitarians, like most unitarians and trinitarians, claim their views were held by the original New Testament Church. Unlike most unitarians and trinitarians who tend to identify themselves by those terms, binitarians normally do not refer to their belief in the duality of the Godhead, with the Son subordinate to the Father; they simply teach the Godhead in a manner that has been termed as binitarianism.

The word "binitarian" is typically used by scholars and theologians as a contrast to a trinitarian theology: a theology of "two" in God rather than a theology of "three", and although some critics[who?] prefer to use the term ditheist or dualist instead of binitarian, those terms suggests that God is not one, yet binitarians believe that God is one family. It is accurate to offer the judgment that most commonly when someone speaks of a Christian "binitarian" theology the "two" in God are the Father and the Son... A substantial amount of recent scholarship has been devoted to exploring the implications of the fact that Jesus was worshipped by those first Jewish Christians, since in Judaism "worship" was limited to the worship of God" (Barnes M. Early Christian Binitarianism: the Father and the Holy Spirit. Early Christian Binitarianism - as read at NAPS 2001). Much of this recent scholarship has been the result of the translations of the Nag Hammadi and other ancient manuscripts that were not available when older scholarly texts (such as Wilhelm Bousset's Kyrios Christos, 1913) were written.

In the Mormonism represented by most of Mormon communities, including The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints, "God" means Elohim (the Father), whereas "Godhead" means a council of three distinct entities; Elohim, Jehovah (the Son, or Jesus), and the Holy Spirit. The Father and Son have perfected, material bodies, while the Holy Spirit is a spirit and does not have a body. This conception differs from the traditional Christian Trinity; in Mormonism, the three persons are considered to be physically separate beings, or personages, but indistinguishable in will and purpose.[22] As such, the term "Godhead" differs from how it is used in traditional Christianity. This description of God represents the orthodoxy of The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints (LDS Church), established early in the 19th century. However, the Mormon concept of God has expanded since the faith's founding in the late 1820s.[citation needed]

Islam's most fundamental concept is a strict monotheism called tawd. God is described in the Surat al-Ikhlas as: "Say: He is God, the One; God, the Eternal, the Absolute; He begot no one, nor is He begotten; Nor is there to Him equivalent anyone."[23][24] Muslims deny the Christian doctrine of the Trinity and divinity of Jesus, comparing it to polytheism. In Islam, God is beyond all comprehension or equal and does not resemble any of his creations in any way. Thus, Muslims are not iconodules and are not expected to visualize God. The message of God is carried by angels to 124,000 messengers starting with Adam and concluding with Mohammad. God is described and referred in the Quran by certain names or attributes, the most common being Al-Rahman, meaning "Most Compassionate" and Al-Rahim, meaning "Most Merciful" (see Names of God in Islam).[25]

Muslims believe that creation of everything in the universe is brought into being by God's sheer command Be and so it is.[26][27] and that the purpose of existence is to please God, both by worship and by good deeds.[28][29] There are no intermediaries, such as clergy, to contact God: He is nearer to his creation than the jugular vein[30]

Allh (Arabic: Allh), without plural or gender is the divine name of the lord mentioned in the Quran, while "ilh" (Arabic: ellh) is the term used for a deity or a god in general.[31][32][33]

The Bah Faith believes in a single, imperishable God, the creator of all things, including all the creatures and forces in the universe.[34] In Bah belief, God is beyond space and time but is also described as "a personal God, unknowable, inaccessible, the source of all Revelation, eternal, omniscient, omnipresent and almighty."[35] Though inaccessible directly, God is nevertheless seen as conscious of creation, possessing a mind, will and purpose. Bahs believe that God expresses this will at all times and in many ways, including Manifestations, a series of divine "messengers" or "educators".[36] In expressing God's intent, these manifestations are seen to establish religion in the world. Bah teachings state that God is too great for humans to fully comprehend, nor to create a complete and accurate image.[37] Bah'u'llh often refers to God by titles, such as the "All-Powerful" or the "All-Loving".

Some Jewish, Christian and Muslim Medieval philosophers, including Moses Maimonides and Pseudo-Dionysius, as well as many sages of other religions, developed what is termed as apophatic theology or the Via Negativa, the idea that one cannot posit attributes to God and can only discuss what God is not. For example, we cannot say that God "exists" in the usual sense of the term, because that term is human defined and God's qualities such as existence may not be accurately characterized by it. What we can safely say is that it cannot be proven empirically or otherwise that God is existent, therefore God is not non-existent. Likewise God's "wisdom" is of a fundamentally different kind from limited human perception. So we cannot use the word "wise" to describe God, because this implies God is wise in the way we usually describe humans being wise. However we can safely say that God is not ignorant. We should not say that God is One, because we may not truly understand Gods nature, but we can state that there is no multiplicity in God's being. In the Quran, it is stated that God possess no quality of God's creation, which means that there cannot be a He or She used to describe God. To say that God is angered or feels any kind of emotion is a misunderstanding. Emotion is in common to all humans; it is what gives them their essence, though to feel love, anger, jealousy, or happiness clouds and misguides our judgment and may lead us to make a weak decision or do something unfair. Therefore, One who sees all and can feel all does not need any emotion to make a decision. God is beyond emotion and other human biases.

The reason that this theology was developed was because it was felt that ascribing positive characteristics to God would imply that God could be accurately described with terms that were used to describe human qualities and perceptions. As humans cannot truly comprehend what kind of wisdom an eternal transcendent being might have, or what infinity might be like, we cannot in fact know or characterize his true nature. It is beyond human ability and would only mislead people. The proponents of this theory often experienced meditation, which they viewed as the only effective way of having a personal relationship with God. It involved trying to reach beyond the words commonly used to describe him and his more ineffable characteristics, and to comprehend in a mystical manner the truths about him which could not be achieved through religious language. Thus many sages and saints of both monotheistic and other traditions described mystical trances, or raptures and stated they were unable to describe God or their visions fully.[citation needed]

Jainism does not support belief in a creator deity. According to Jain doctrine, the universe and its constituentssoul, matter, space, time, and principles of motionhave always existed. All the constituents and actions are governed by universal natural laws. It is not possible to create matter out of nothing and hence the sum total of matter in the universe remains the same (similar to law of conservation of mass). Jain text claims that the universe consists of Jiva (life force or souls) and Ajiva (lifeless objects). Similarly, the soul of each living being is unique and uncreated and has existed since beginningless time.[38]

The Jain theory of causation holds that a cause and its effect are always identical in nature and hence a conscious and immaterial entity like God cannot create a material entity like the universe. Furthermore, according to the Jain concept of divinity, any soul who destroys its karmas and desires, achieves liberation/Nirvana. A soul who destroys all its passions and desires has no desire to interfere in the working of the universe. Moral rewards and sufferings are not the work of a divine being, but a result of an innate moral order in the cosmos; a self-regulating mechanism whereby the individual reaps the fruits of his own actions through the workings of the karmas.

Through the ages, Jain philosophers have adamantly rejected and opposed the concept of creator and omnipotent God. This has resulted in Jainism being labeled as nastika darsana (atheist philosophy) by rival religious philosophies. The theme of non-creationism and absence of omnipotent God and divine grace runs strongly in all the philosophical dimensions of Jainism, including its cosmology, concepts of karma and moksa and its moral code of conduct. Jainism asserts a religious and virtuous life is possible without the idea of a creator god.[39]

The non-adherence[40] to the notion of a supreme God or a prime mover is seen as a key distinction between Buddhism and other religious views. In Buddhism, the sole aim of the spiritual practice is the complete alleviation of distress (dukkha) in samsara,[41][42] called nirvana. The Buddha neither denies nor accepts a creator,[43] denies endorsing any views on creation[44] and states that questions on the origin of the world are worthless.[45][46] Some teachers instruct students beginning Buddhist meditation that the notion of divinity is not incompatible with Buddhism,[47] but dogmatic beliefs in a supreme personal creator are considered a hindrance to the attainment of nirvana,[48] the highest goal of Buddhist practice.[49]

Despite this apparent non-theism, Buddhists consider veneration of the Noble Ones[50] very important[51] although the two main schools of Buddhism differ mildly in their reverential attitudes. While Theravada Buddhists view the Buddha as a human being who attained nirvana or arahanthood through human efforts,[52] Mahayana Buddhists consider him an embodiment of the cosmic dharmakaya (a notion of transcendent divinity), who was born for the benefit of others and not merely a human being.[53] In addition, some Mahayana Buddhists worship their chief Bodhisattva, Avalokiteshvara[54] and hope to embody him.[55]

Buddhists accept the existence of beings known as devas in higher realms, but they, like humans, are said to be suffering in samsara,[56] and not necessarily wiser than us. In fact, the Buddha is often portrayed as a teacher of the gods,[57] and superior to them.[58] Despite this, there are believed to be enlightened devas on the path of Buddhahood.

In Buddhism, the idea of the metaphysical absolute is deconstructed in the same way as of the idea of an enduring "self", but it is not necessarily denied. Reality is considered as dynamic, interactive and non-substantial, which implies rejection of brahman or of a divine substratum. A cosmic principle can be embodied in concepts such as the dharmakaya. Though there is a primordial Buddha (or, in Vajrayana, the Adi-Buddha, a representation of immanent enlightenment in nature), its representation as a creator is a symbol of the presence of a universal cyclical creation and dissolution of the cosmos and not of an actual personal being. An intelligent, metaphysical underlying basis, however, is not ruled out by Buddhism, although Buddhists are generally very careful to distinguish this idea from that of an independent creator God.[59]

In Hinduism, the concept of god is complex and depends on the particular tradition. The concept spans conceptions from absolute monism to henotheism, monotheism and polytheism. In the Vedic period monotheistic god concept culminated in the semi-abstract semi-personified form of creative soul dwelling in all god such as Vishvakarman, Purusha, and Prajapathy. In the majority of Vaishnavism traditions, he is Vishnu, and the text identifies this being as Krishna, sometimes referred as svayam bhagavan. The term isvara - from the root is, to have extraordinary power. Some traditional sankhya systems contrast purusha (devine, or souls) to prakriti (nature or energy), however the term for sovereign god, ishvara is mentioned six times in the Atharva Veda, and is central to many traditions.[60] As per Advaita Vedanta school of Hindu philosophy the notion of Brahman (the highest Universal Principle) is akin to that of god; except that unlike most other philosophies Advaita likens Brahman to atman (the true Self of an individual). For Sindhi Hindus, who are deeply influenced by Sikhism, God is seen as the omnipotent cultivation of all Hindu gods and goddesses.[clarification needed] In short, the soul paramatma of all gods and goddesses are the omnipresent Brahman and are enlightened beings.

Brahman is the eternal, unchanging, infinite, immanent, and transcendent reality which is the divine ground of all matter, energy, time, space, being and everything beyond in this Universe.[61][62] The nature of Brahman is described as transpersonal, personal and impersonal by different philosophical schools. The word Brahman is derived from the verb brh (Sanskrit: to grow), and connotes greatness and infinity.

Brahman is talked of at two levels (apara and para). He is the fountainhead of all concepts but he himself cannot be conceived. He is the universal conceiver, universal concept and all the means of concept. Apara-Brahman is the same Para Brahma but for human understanding thought of as universal mind cum universal intellect from which all human beings derive an iota as their mind, intellect etc.[citation needed]

Ishvara is a philosophical concept in Hinduism, meaning controller or the Supreme controller (i.e. God) in a monotheistic or the Supreme Being or as an Ishta-deva of monistic thought. Ishvara is a transcendent and immanent entity best described in the last chapter of the Shukla Yajur Veda Samhita, known as the Ishavasya Upanishad. It states "ishavasyam idam sarvam" which means whatever there is in this world is covered and filled with Ishvara. Ishvara not only creates the world, but then also enters into everything there is. In Saivite traditions, the term is used as part of the compound "Maheshvara" ("great lord") later as a name for Siva.

Lord Shiva is more often considered as first Hindu God. Mahadeva literally means "Highest of all god". Shiva is also known as Maheshvar, the great Lord, Mahadeva, the great God, Shambhu, Hara, Pinakadhrik, bearer of the axe and Mrityunjaya, conqueror of death. He is the spouse of Shakti, the goddess. He also is represented by Mahakala and Bhairava, the terrible, as well as many other forms including Rudra. Shiva is often pictured holding the damaru, an hour-glass shape drum, shown below with his trishula. His usual mantra is om namah shivaya.[63]

This must not be confused with the numerous devas. Deva may be roughly translated into English as deity, demigod or angel, and can describe any celestial being or thing that is of high excellence and thus is venerable. The word is cognate to Latin deus for "god". The misconception of 330 million devas is commonly objected to by Hindu scholars. The description of 33 koti (10 million, crore in Hindi) devas is a misunderstanding. The word koti in Sanskrit translates to 'type' and not '10 million'. So the actual translation is 33 types and not 330 million devas. Ishvara as a personal form of God is worshiped and not the 33 devas. The concept of 33 devas is perhaps related to the geometry of the universe.

Bhagavan literally means "possessing fortune, blessed, prosperous" (from the noun bhaga, meaning "fortune, wealth", cognate to Slavic bog "god"), and hence "illustrious, divine, venerable, holy", etc. In some traditions of Hinduism it is used to indicate the Supreme Being or Absolute Truth, but with specific reference to that Supreme Being as possessing a personality (a personal God).[citation needed] This personal feature indicated in Bhagavan differentiates its usage from other similar terms such as Brahman, the "Supreme Spirit" or "spirit", and thus, in this usage, Bhagavan is in many ways analogous to the general Christian and Islamic conception of God.

The Western Wisdom Teachings present the conception of The Absolute (unmanifested and unlimited "Boundless Being" or "Root of Existence", beyond the whole universe and beyond comprehension) from whom proceeds the Supreme Being at the dawn of manifestation: The One, the "Great Architect of the Universe". From the threefold Supreme Being proceed the "seven Great Logoi" who contain within themselves all the great hierarchies that differentiate more and more as they diffuse through the six lower Cosmic Planes. In the Highest World of the seventh (lowest) Cosmic Plane dwells the god of the solar systems in the universe. These great beings are also threefold in manifestation, like the Supreme Being; their three aspects are Will, Wisdom and Activity.

According these Rosicrucian teachings, in the beginning of a Day of Manifestation a certain collective Great Being, God, limits himself to a certain portion of space, in which he elects to create a solar system for the evolution of added self-consciousness. In God there are contained hosts of glorious hierarchies and lesser beings of every grade of intelligence and stage of consciousness, from omniscience to an unconsciousness deeper than that of the deepest trance condition.

During the current period of manifestation, these various grades of beings are working to acquire more experience than they possessed at the beginning of this period of existence. Those who, in previous manifestations, have attained to the highest degree of development work on those who have not yet evolved any consciousness. In the Solar system, God's Habitation, there are seven Worlds differentiated by God, within Himself, one after another. Mankind's evolutionary scheme is slowly carried through five of these Worlds in seven great Periods of manifestation, during which the evolving virgin spirit becomes first human and, then, a God.

Concepts about deity are diverse among UUs. Some have no belief in any gods (atheism); others believe in many gods (polytheism). Some believe the question of the existence of any god is most likely unascertainable or unknowable (agnosticism). Some believe God is a metaphor for a transcendent reality. Some believe in a female god (goddess), a passive god (Deism), an Abrahamic god, or a god manifested in nature or the universe (pantheism). Many UUs reject the idea of deities and instead speak of the "spirit of life" that binds all life on earth. UUs support each person's search for truth and meaning in concepts of spirituality. Historically, unitarianism and universalism were denominations within Christianity. Unitarianism referred to a belief about the nature of Jesus Christ that affirmed God as a singular entity and rejected the doctrine of the Trinity. Universalism referred to a theological belief that all persons will be reconciled to God because of divine love and mercy (Universal Salvation).[64]

The term for God in Sikhism is Waheguru. Guru Nanak describes God as nirankar (from the Sanskrit nirkr, meaning "formless"), akal (meaning "eternal") and alakh (from the Sanskrit alakya, meaning "invisible" or "unobserved"). Sikhism's principal scripture, the Guru Granth Sahib, starts with the figure "1", signifying the unity of God. Nanak's interpretation of God is that of a single, personal and transcendental creator with whom the devotee must develop a most intimate faith and relationship to achieve salvation. Sikhism advocates the belief in one god who is omnipresent (sarav vi'pak), whose qualities are infinite and who is without gender, a nature represented (especially in the Guru Granth Sahib) by the term Ek Onkar.

Nanak further emphasizes that a full understanding of God is beyond human beings, but that God is also not wholly unknowable. God is considered omnipresent in all creation and visible everywhere to the spiritually awakened. Nanak stresses that God must be seen by human beings from "the inward eye" or "heart" and that meditation must take place inwardly to achieve this enlightenment progressively; its rigorous application is what enables communication between God and human beings.

Sikhs believe in a single god that has existed from the beginning of time and will survive forever. God is genderless, fearless, formless, immutable, ineffable, self-sufficient, omnipotent and not subject to the cycle of birth and death.

God in Sikhism is depicted in three distinct aspects: God as deity; God in relation to creation; and God in relation to man. During a discourse with siddhas (wandering Hindu adepts), Nanak is asked where "the Transcendent God" was before creation. He replies: "To think of the Transcendent Lord in that state is to enter the realm of wonder. Even at that stage of sunn, he permeated all that void" (GG, 940).

According to Brahma Kumaris, God is the incorporeal soul with the maximum degree of spiritual qualities such as peace and love.[65][66]

Some comparatively new belief systems and books portray God as extraterrestrial life. Many of these theories hold that intelligent beings from another world have been visiting Earth for many thousands of years and have influenced the development of our religions. Some of these books posit that prophets or messiahs were sent to the human race in order to teach morality and encourage the development of civilization (see, for example, Rael and Zecharia Sitchin).

The spiritual teacher Meher Baba described God as infinite love: "God is not understood in His essence until He is also understood as Infinite Love. Divine Love is unlimited in essence and expression, because it is experienced by the soul through the soul itself. The sojourn of the soul is a thrilling divine romance in which the lover, who in the beginning is conscious of nothing but emptiness, frustration, superficiality and the gnawing chains of bondage, gradually attains an increasingly fuller and freer expression of love and ultimately disappears and merges in the Divine Beloved to realize the unity of the Lover and the Beloved in the supreme and eternal fact of God as Infinite Love."[67]

Anton LaVey, founder of the Church of Satan, espoused the view that "god" is a creation of man, rather than man being a creation of "god". In his book, The Satanic Bible, the Satanist's view of god is described as the Satanist's true "self"a projection of his or her own personalitynot an external deity. Satan is used as a representation of personal liberty and individualism. LaVey discusses this extensively in The Book of Lucifer, explaining that the gods worshipped by other religions are also projections of man's true self. He argues that man's unwillingness to accept his own ego has caused him to externalize these gods so as to avoid the feeling of narcissism that would accompany self-worship.

"If man insists on externalizing his true self in the form of "God," then why fear his true self, in fearing "God,"why praise his true self in praising "God,"why remain externalized from "God" in order to engage in ritual and religious ceremony in his name?Man needs ritual and dogma, but no law states that an externalized god is necessary in order to engage in ritual and ceremony performed in a god's name! Could it be that when he closes the gap between himself and his "God" he sees the demon of pride creeping forththat very embodiment of Lucifer appearing in his midst?"

Process theology is a school of thought influenced by the metaphysical process philosophy of Alfred North Whitehead (18611947), while open theism is a similar theological movement that began in the 1990s.

In both views, God is not omnipotent in the classical sense of a coercive being. Reality is not made up of material substances that endure through time, but serially-ordered events, which are experiential in nature. The universe is characterized by process and change carried out by the agents of free will. Self-determination characterizes everything in the universe, not just human beings. God and creatures co-create. God cannot force anything to happen, but rather only influence the exercise of this universal free will by offering possibilities. Process theology is compatible with panentheism, the concept that God contains the universe (pantheism) but also transcends it. God as the ultimate logician - God may be defined as the only entity, by definition, possessing the ability to reduce an infinite number of logical equations having an infinite number of variables and an infinite number of states to minimum form instantaneously.

A posthuman God is a hypothetical future entity descended from or created by humans, but possessing capabilities so radically exceeding those of present humans as to appear godlike. One common variation of this idea is the belief or aspiration that humans will create a God entity emerging from an artificial intelligence. Another variant is that humanity itself will evolve into a posthuman God.

The concept of a posthuman god has become common in science fiction. Science fiction author Arthur C. Clarke said in an interview, "It may be that our role on this planet is not to worship God, but to create him." Clarke's friend and colleague, the late Isaac Asimov, postulated in his story "The Last Question" a merger between humanity and machine intelligence that ultimately produces a deity capable of reversing entropy and subsequently initiates a new Creation trillions of years from the present era when the Universe is in the last stage of heat death. In Frank Herbert's science-fiction series Dune, a messianic figure is created after thousands of years of controlled breeding. The Culture series, by Iain M. Banks, represents a blend in which a transhuman society is guarded by godlike machine intelligences. A stronger example is posited in the novel Singularity Sky by Charles Stross, in which a future artificial intelligence is capable of changing events even in its own past, and takes strong measures to prevent any other entity from taking advantage of similar capabilities. Another example appears in the popular online novella The Metamorphosis of Prime Intellect in which an advanced artificial intelligence uses its own advanced quantum brain to resolve discrepancies in physics theories and develop a unified field theory which gives it absolute control over reality, in a take on philosophical digitalism.

The philosopher Michel Henry defines God from a phenomenological point of view. He says: "God is Life, he is the essence of Life, or, if we prefer, the essence of Life is God. Saying this we already know what is God the father the almighty, creator of heaven and earth, we know it not by the effect of a learning or of some knowledge, we dont know it by the thought, on the background of the truth of the world; we know it and we can know it only in and by the Life itself. We can know it only in God."[72]

This Life is not biological life defined by objective and exterior properties, nor an abstract and empty philosophical concept, but the absolute phenomenological life, a radically immanent life that possesses in it the power of showing itself in itself without distance, a life that reveals permanently itself.

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AWAY: The Survival Series lets you star in your own personal nature documentary as you glide through the forest, sneak past predators, and hunt down your prey, all while a narrator describes your every move. Set in a distant future where nature has reclaimed the planet, AWAY is a narrative-driven survival adventure where you embody a tiny sugar glider embarking on a quest to save your family. Soar across misty chasms, leap from tree to tree, and climb to the top of the forest canopy as you journey across the posthuman wilderness!

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AWAY: The Survival Series Glides Onto PC and Console Today - GLYFE Nation

Significance

Assessing the ecological consequences of human settlement can help preserve island forests and their ecosystem services, but to understand the legacy of these interactions requires datasets that span centuries. We used paleoecological data (e.g. fossil pollen) to show that prehuman Holocene forests were dynamic in response to climatic changes, and that human colonization led to increased incidence of fire, soil erosion, and grazing impacts in the Canary Islands and Cabo Verde. Humans have driven compositional convergence within the thermophilous woodland zone of Cabo Verde but in the Canary Islands relictual fragments of laurel forests persist. Our long-term view highlights the legacy of past human impacts and which tree species to restore and conserve in thermophilous woodlands within these biodiversity hotspots.

The extinction of iconic species such as the dodo and the deforestation of Easter Island are emblematic of the transformative impact of human colonization of many oceanic islands, especially those in the tropics and subtropics. Yet, the interaction of prehistoric and colonial-era colonists with the forests and forest resources they encountered can be complex, varies between islands, and remains poorly understood. Long-term ecological records (e.g., fossil pollen) provide the means to understand these human impacts in relation to natural change and variability pre- and postcolonization. Here we analyze paleoecological archives in forested landscapes of the Canary Islands and Cabo Verde, first colonized approximately 2,400 to 2,000 and 490 y ago, respectively. We demonstrate sensitivity to regional climate change prior to human colonization, followed by divergent but gradual impacts of early human settlement. These contrast with more rapid transformation in the colonial era, associated with significant increases in anthropogenic pressures. In the Canary Islands, at least two native tree taxa became extinct and lowland thermophilous woodlands were largely converted to agricultural land, yet relictual subtropical laurel forests persisted with limited incursion of nonnative species. In Cabo Verde, in contrast, thermophilous woodlands were depleted and substituted by open landscapes and introduced woodlands. Differences between these two archipelagos reflect the changing cultural practices and societal interactions with forests and illustrate the importance of long-term data series in understanding the human footprint on island ecosystems, information that will be critically important for current and future forest restoration and conservation management practices in these two biodiversity hotspots.

Human colonization of virtually the entirety of the tropics and subtropics was accomplished by the start of the Holocene (1, 2). However, remote oceanic islands provide the exceptions to this generalization, many having been first colonized in late prehistoric times (approximately in the last 3,000 y) or in the colonial era (post-1400 CE) (2). Humans have since transformed these systems, via habitat conversion, resource exploitation, hunting, and the introduction of nonnative species. Cases such as Easter Island exemplify a complete loss of preexisting forest cover (3), but often ecological cascades have had profound impacts within persisting forest communities. The loss of the dodo on Mauritius (4) and most of the land birds of Guam (5) (following the introduction of the brown tree snake) are emblematic. Moreover, the response of island forests to anthropogenic drivers varies greatly among islands: whereas forested areas on Hawaii contain many nonnative species (6), Canarian laurel forests are composed almost entirely of native species of trees and shrubs (7). Understanding the legacy of human impacts on these remote oceanic islands, and particularly on their forests, requires a combination of paleoecological and archaeological studies over timelines that incorporate both pre- and posthuman dynamics (8).

For prehistoric settlers, island forests provided vital ecosystem services such as food (fruits, animal prey), medicines, shelter, tools, timber, wood for hearths, and regulatory services, including water flow regulation and soil erosion protection. The forested landscapes also provided growing conditions suitable for agricultural conversion. While prehistoric island societies typically interacted and traded with other islands or regions, most land-use decisions were made locally (8, 9). Island forests were subjected to clearance by fire (9), increasing agricultural activities, accelerated soil erosion (10), and the introduction of species such as goats, pigs, and rats (11), which are often implicated in extinctions of native vertebrates (11, 12). Colonial-era first colonists, in contrast, frequently made land-use decisions focused on colonial trading networks, leading to aggressive, rapid acts of deforestation and land-use change, and generally involving accelerated rates of nonnative species introduction (13).

Here we present comparative paleoecological analyses of two oceanic archipelagos from the biogeographical region of Macaronesia (which comprises Cabo Verde, Canaries, Selvagens, Madeira, and Azores), namely 1) Cabo Verde, settled by the Portuguese in 1462 CE and the first tropical European colony, and 2) the subtropical Canary Islands, first settled by people from North Africa around 2,400 to 2,000 cal BP (14) and subsequently conquered by the Castilians over the course of the 15th century. In the early colonial period, both archipelagos were inextricably connected to the development and spread of agricultural, economic, and societal practices in the colonialization of the New World tropics (13) (SI Appendix). They thus provide ideal model systems (15, 16) through which to understand how humans have impacted forested landscapes through diverse stages of technological and cultural development (8, 1719).

Our analyses are based on five sequences from natural sediment deposits (volcanic calderas), representing two major ecosystem types (Fig. 1): first, thermophilous woodlands, thought to have originally spanned 100 to 600 meters above sea level (masl) in the Canaries and found from 500 to 1,500 masl in Cabo Verde, and second, laurel forest, which occurs from 500 to 600 m to 1,000 to 1,200 m in the Canary Islands but is absent from Cabo Verde (Fig. 2). To provide a comparative synthesis of the natural dynamics of these forested landscapes over time and how humans have changed them, we use multivariate analyses (ordination) to integrate paleoecological datasets of forest composition (fossil pollen), fire regimes (charcoal), erosion (sediment elemental composition and median grain size), soil organic content (loss on ignition), and herbivore introductions (spores of coprophilous fungi). Prior to human colonization, forest variability within the last 10 ka showed evidence of the ecosystems responding to regional climate change, whereas after human colonization there is evidence for increased incidence of fire, soil erosion, and the arrival of domesticated animals (goats, pigs). These latter changes are associated with a reduction in the forest cover in both archipelagos and compositional convergence within the thermophilous woodland zone of the Cabo Verde islands.

Maps of the Cabo Verde and the Canary Islands and photographs and elevation of the studied volcanic calderas. We use Anthropocene in an informal sense to indicate the period since human colonization, which differs island to island. (Lower) Chronological axes showing geological, climatic, and human milestones of the last 20 My in southern Macaronesia. See SI Appendix, Supplementary Text for references.

Distribution of woodland vegetation types in southern Macaronesia. (Left) Schematic elevational zonation. (Right) Remaining distribution of laurel forest and thermophilous woodlands in the Canary Islands based on ref. 43 and of introduced woodland in Cabo Verde based on ref. 44.

Paleoecological analyses of sediment deposits from five volcanic calderas from: La Gomera, Gran Canaria (Canary Islands), Santo Anto, So Nicolau, and Brava (Cabo Verde), within the past 10 ka reveal distinct differences in pre- and posthuman colonization landscape dynamics. Proxies for erosion, burning, and grazing show particularly prominent changes.

Sediment geochemistry for Laguna Grande (La Gomera, 1,250 masl) shows consistent values of SiO2, Fe2O3, Al2O3, and TiO2 from the base of the core (approximately 9,600 cal BP, [calibrated years before present], 95% CI [confidence interval], 10,900 to 8,700 cal BP; SI Appendix, Fig. S1), then slight declines coincident with the regional drying trend of the end of the African humid period, approximately 5,500 cal BP (SI Appendix, Fig. S2) until human colonization of the archipelago. Subsequently, values of Al2O3 and TiO2 decline further, yet SiO2 and Al2O3 values abruptly rise approximately 600 cal BP before declining again toward the present (SI Appendix, Fig. S2). A peak in Sporormiella coprophilous spores also occurs approximately 600 cal BP (Fig. 3). Macrocharcoal concentrations reach maximum values approximately 1,296 cal BP (95% CI 1,926 to 940 cal BP, Fig. 3 and SI Appendix, Fig. S3). At Valleseco (Gran Canaria, 870 masl), sediments show stable Fe2O3, Al2O3, and TiO2 content from 5,000 to 2,500 cal BP, and enrichment in SiO2 coinciding with peaks in macrocharcoal 2,260 cal BP (95% CI 2,517 to 2,063 cal BP) followed by the highest concentrations of Sporormiella spores in the record, approximately 2,031 cal BP (95% CI 2,364 to 1,951 cal BP). Due to soil removal for agricultural purposes the record has a top date of approximately 1,208 cal BP.

Longitudinal data series for key environmental proxies (normalized values 0 to 1) from five cores from the Canary Islands (Left) and Cabo Verde islands (Right). SiO2 (%) content and median grain size (MGS, in micrograms) are indicators of rates of erosion within the catchment. Charcoal refers to macrocharcoal concentration (number of fragments per cubic centimeter), a proxy for local fires; Sporormiella (% over pollen sum) refers to spores of these coprophilous fungi, which are indicators of the presence of herbivores. Loss on ignition (%) and organic matter content (%) are indicators of soil organic matter. Vertical bands indicate the best estimates of the timing of Prehistoric (green) and European colonial (gray) settlement (14, 19).

Sites recording pollen from thermophilous woodland taxa are located in Cova Galinha (Brava, 810 masl), Calderinha (So Nicolau, 1,000 masl), and Cova de Pal (Santo Anto, 1,150 masl). The Brava site shows episodes of increased Al and Si between 8,000 and 7,000 cal BP, and increases in median grain size approximately 4,000 cal BP (95% CI 4,326 to 3,838 cal BP; Fig. 3 and SI Appendix, Fig. S2). Increased charcoal concentrations and peaks in Sporormiella spores occurred after approximately 400 cal BP (95% CI 613 to 207 cal BP; Fig. 3). The So Nicolau site records increased median grain sizes and Ti % between 6,000 and 5,000 cal BP (SI Appendix, Fig. S2), and these erosion indicators steadily increased after 468 cal BP (95% CI 634 to 343 cal BP). The charcoal increases after approximately 600 cal BP in this site and is abundant until the present (Fig. 3). On Santo Anto the sediments show steady increases in Si, Al, Fe%, and median grain size between approximately 470 cal BP (95% CI 640 to 320 cal BP) and the present, also coinciding with increased macrocharcoal concentrations and peaks of coprophilous fungal spores (Fig. 3 and SI Appendix, Fig. S3).

Detrended correspondence analysis (DCA) of the fossil pollen records of the five sites revealed a gradient in the first axis from La Gomera laurel forest (right) to recent samples from the Cabo Verde thermophilous zone (left), with the second axis describing a gradient from prehuman colonization samples from Brava (low) to recent Gran Canaria samples (high) (Fig. 4A). In compositional terms, taxa from Canarian laurel forests such as Lauraceae, Morella, and Ericaceae have positive scores within DCA axis-1, while introduced taxa in Cabo Verde plot with negative scores (e.g., Eucalyptus, Opuntia, Persea americana, Zea mays; SI Appendix, Fig. S4). DCA axis-2 positive values feature taxa typical for Canarian open landscapes (Kleinia, Fabaceae, Rumex) and thermophilous woodland taxa (Rhamnaceae, Juniperus), while negative scores correspond to taxa typical of humid environments (Salix, Juncaceae) and native taxa from Cabo Verdean thermophilous woodlands (Dracaena draco, Urticaceae, Lotus) (SI Appendix, Fig. S4). The two Canarian data series show generally increasing values in axis-2 over time, whereas the Cabo Verde series converge within the Left quadrant of the DCA plot (low values in both axes).

Ordination plots of fossil pollen data from southern Macaronesia. Colored polygons differentiate samples from different islands. Arrows show the main trend of change from older to younger samples. (A) DCA. Stars show samples dated after human settlement; other symbols show prehuman settlement. (B) CCA for three Cabo Verde islands (Left) and two Canarian islands (Right). CCA shows associations between pollen percentages and four proxies of environmental change (thin blue arrows). See SI Appendix, Table S1 for correlation scores with axes 1 and 2. Coring site elevations are as per Fig. 1. Proxies are as per Fig. 3 and Materials and Methods.

Canonical correspondence analysis (CCA) for each archipelago separately permits testing of the associations between proxies of vegetation change and environmental change (Fig. 4B and SI Appendix, Table S1). For the Canary Islands, CCA axis-1 is negatively correlated with herbivores and soil organic matter and positively correlated with erosion variables, while axis-2 is negatively correlated with local fires. Samples dated between 2,500 cal BP and the present representing the thermophilous woodland of Gran Canaria, plot with fire and erosion. Samples dated between 800 cal BP and the present in the laurel forest of La Gomera have higher organic matter content (loss on ignition [LOI]) and herbivore presence (Fig. 4B and SI Appendix, Table S1). Conversely, the Cabo Verde plot shows correlation between CCA axis-1 and soil organic matter and herbivores, and axis-2 with erosion, and samples dated between 500 cal BP and the present are associated with herbivore presence, erosion, and local fires. Finally, samples from prehuman periods from So Nicolau and Santo Anto are associated with higher levels of organic matter (Fig. 4B and SI Appendix, Table S1).

The Canarian laurel forests and Canarian/Cabo Verdean thermophilous woodlands were compositionally dynamic before human arrival. Changing environmental conditions are associated with shifts in species abundance and probably in elevational distribution. For example, the environmental changes consequent upon the shift in the monsoonal circulation at the end of the African Humid Period (approximately 5,500 cal BP) (20, 21), illustrate the ecological effects of relatively abrupt regional change in Macaronesian forests. During this humid period, the continuous 10,000-y record of Laguna Grande (La Gomera) geochemical values are generally stable, indicating a lack of abrupt erosion events, but pollen data show changes in composition in response to the advent of drier climatic conditions (22). Around 5,500 y ago, decreases in the arboreal pollen from hygrophilous species such as the palm Phoenix canariensis and the willow Salix canariensis are evident, while pollen from the more drought tolerant and xerophilous Morella and Erica, taxa of woody heath, increases. These taxa characterize a landscape that has endured until the present day (22). The change also coincides with an acceleration in sediment accumulation rate and the occurrence of local fires, shown by an increase in macrocharcoal concentrations. Similarly, at Laguna de Valleseco (Gran Canaria) thermophilous woodland (Juniperus and P. canariensis) was dominant at approximately 4,500 cal BP (23). Subsequently, charcoal concentrations increased between approximately 4,000 and 3,000 cal BP, indicating increased fire incidence prior to human colonization. This shift in fire regime, likely due to increasing aridity, drove a decline in thermophilous elements and increases in herbaceous taxa.

Before human arrival in Cabo Verde 560 y ago, pollen data from So Nicolau indicate a landscape dominated by woodlands on the upper slopes of Monte Gordo, the highest peak of the island (1,200 masl). This woodland included Ficus (fig) trees, D. draco (dragon tree), and the shrub Euphorbia tuckeyana, with occasional acacia trees (Faidherbia albida) (24). These thermophilous woodlands were likely restricted to the highlands (25). In contrast, in Cova de Pal (Santo Anto), pollen data suggest a more open landscape, with tree species represented by Ficus, F. albida, Dichrostachys cinerea, and Sapotaceae (genus Sideroxylon). This is similar to Cova Galinha (Brava), which records the presence of the shrub Dodonaea viscosa, plus the trees Ficus and D. draco (26, 27). During the period before human arrival in Cabo Verde, soil geochemistry indicates episodes of sediment erosion related to intense precipitation episodes during the African humid period on So Nicolau (approximately 6,000 to 5,000 cal BP) (24) and Brava (approximately 8,000 to 7,000 cal BP) (27). Cabo Verdean prehuman landscapes also experienced fire events, as evidenced by discrete charcoal peaks in Santo Anto approximately 2,000 cal BP, and a prominent charcoal peak in So Nicolau approximately 600 cal BP (95% CI 790 to 480 cal BP) that may be natural or anthropogenic. Prior to human disturbance, natural fires, probably resulting from regionally drier conditions, may have been linked to scrub encroachment (24).

Laurel forests and thermophilous woodlands of the Canary Islands and Cabo Verde have undergone radically different regimes of human impact: two waves of human colonization in the Canary Islands, a precolonial indigenous settlement approximately 2,400 to 2,000 cal BP, followed by Castilian conquest after 1402 CE, and colonial settlement in Cabo Verde after 1460 CE. We found strong evidence of an increase in anthropogenic pressures (soil erosion, local fires, and grazing activity) linked to human arrival in all studied sites. Forests in both archipelagos displayed heterogeneous ecological responses to initial anthropogenic pressures (Fig. 3), as shown by two different trajectories over time within the multivariate analyses (Fig. 4): divergence for the Canarian laurel and thermophilous woodlands due mainly to differences in forest type, and convergence in Cabo Verde due to reduction of woodland cover and plant community homogenization related to the introduction of cultivars and invasive species.

The first use of Canarian forests by aboriginal settlers was probably related to livestock keeping (e.g., pigs), and the gathering of useful species for food (Arbutus, Canarina, Visnea), wood (Apollonias, Juniperus, Olea, Persea, Pinus), or fodder (Chamaecytisus, Teline) (7). These activities appeared to have had little impact on the forest. In La Gomeras laurel forest, for example, approximately 1,800 y ago, local fires and organic matter flux within the basin only showed discrete increases, and the laurel forest composition did not change significantly (Figs. 3 and 4). This may reflect initially small local human populations whose permanent dwellings were at lower elevation (28). Later, at approximately 750 cal BP (95% CI 830 to 700) sharp increases occur in indicators of herbivore presence (coprophilous fungi) probably representing introduced ovicaprids (Capra hircus, Ovis aries) and pigs (Sus domestica) (14) followed by higher organic matter flux. These two environmental variables, which are potentially linked, are identified as the main drivers of recent subtle laurel forest change.

In Gran Canarias thermophilous woodlands, significant local fires and soil erosion are the first evidence for the impact of aboriginal people. Between 2,640 and 2,250 cal BP, peaks in charcoal suggest that the first people colonizing the island used fires for land clearing; at this time there was an associated decline in trees and an expansion of herbaceous plants (23). Shortly after, soil erosion increased, possibly reflecting a change in sediment source and amount associated with the opening of the landscape (Fig. 3). CCA results support this scenario, linking fire and erosion as the most significant environmental drivers in the degradation of the thermophilous forests of Gran Canaria (Fig. 4). The presence of herbivores (evidenced by spores of coprophilous fungi) also increased sharply approximately 2,130 cal BP (95% CI 2,360 to 1,950 cal BP). This finding aligns with another paleoecological record from La Laguna (Tenerife), which shows the rapid decline of at least two tree taxa, oak (Quercus spp.) and hornbeam (Carpinus cf. betulus), most likely reflecting human transformation of the landscape on a large scale through burning and grazing (29). The Castilian arrival in the 15th century brought new impacts on vegetation related to tree-felling technology, wood demand, and the translocation of forest soils for improving agricultural land (19).

Within the thermophilous woodlands and open landscapes of Cabo Verde, the onset of anthropogenic pressures occurred after 1462 CE and the arrival of European Portuguese settlers (Fig. 3). In the studied woodlands and open landscapes, several driversfire, herbivory, and consequent soil erosionwere simultaneously associated with land-use change, as shown in the CCA (Fig. 4). Soil organic matter decreased after human settlement, indicating that soils lost some organic content, likely due to increased soil erosion, which diluted organic inputs into the sediment. Anthropogenic pressures, namely the exploitation of fig trees for wood and of dragon trees for medicine, are historically documented in So Nicolau and Santo Anto (the northern islands) (30); these practices appear to have severely depleted the thermophilous woodlands of Cabo Verde and led to a decrease in extent of woody taxa (26). These compounded human-driven impacts likely played a role in the socioecological crises that affected the archipelago between the 16th and early 20th centuries (31, 32), and consequent land abandonment could have created epicenters for the spread of introduced species. The pollen records show an increasing presence of pollen from introduced species after 500 cal BP, including herbaceous taxa such as Asystasia, Portulaca, Rosaceae, Centaurea, Commelina benghalensis, and taxa currently considered invasive species (or with potential of invasiveness) such as Lantana camara, Agavoidea, and Opuntia, as well as pollen from cultivated species such as Z. mays, Cerealia, Ipomoea batatas, and P. americana (24, 26, 27). L. camara is currently being targeted for action as its substantial and increasing biomass is flammable and generates a high wildfire risk (33). Thus, our analyses suggest that vegetation differences between islands have been diminished due to the impact of colonial activities such as woodland clearance and also by species introductions (Fig. 4). In sum, the legacy of 500 y of land use in Cabo Verde appears to be a trend toward biotic homogenization and the loss of landscape authenticity. If remaining woodland differences are not maintained and protected, then the biodiverse landscapes of the archipelago could decline even further.

Given that 2021 is the launch year of the United Nations International Decade of Restoration and Conservation (https://www.decadeonrestoration.org), the question of understanding past tree coverage and composition before initiating forest restoration projects is moving rapidly up the political agenda. To understand the former composition of forests requires datasets that span centuries, due to the time it takes trees to reach maturity. Our integrated paleoecological analyses provide an important comparative perspective to understanding contemporary (sub)tropical island forest status and a quantitative evidence-based guide to forest restoration (34). The evidence suggests that in the Canary Islands, thermophilous woodlands were heavily impacted since the first human settlement, while continued exploitation during the historical period has resulted in extreme reduction of its natural distribution and in poor condition for recovery, currently being the most threatened ecosystem of the Canaries (35). The laurel forest was comparatively less affected by first contact and subsequent anthropogenic pressures (indeed they have experienced a significant natural recovery in the last three decades) (7). In Cabo Verde, the story is different. Our analysis suggests that the degradation of the thermophilous woodlands through human pressures greatly surpassed their ability to recover naturally, especially in a context of rapid land use changes (agriculture, livestock, wood provisioning), soil erosion, fire occurrence, and the introduction of invasive species (e.g., Furcraea foetida, L. camara, Leucaena), all heightened by episodes of socioecological stress between 1550 and 1750 CE (32). Importantly, our findings show loss of biotic distinctiveness of the thermophilous woodlands of Cabo Verde, through a combination of decreasing endemics and the introduction of generalist species, generating biotic homogenization (36). This trend of forest convergence during the past 500 y suggests a generalized loss of landscape authenticity at archipelago level that may have had an impact on overall island forest biodiversity and resources. The most likely explanation for why thermophilous woodlands rather than laurel forests were more heavily impacted by human activities may be related to their geographical location. The thermophilous woodlands occupy the midelevations of the Canaries and the highlands in Cabo Verde. These are areas that were probably more suitable for human land use in each archipelago, as they feature fertile soils and water resources.

There is growing global interest in the restoration of degraded, damaged, or destroyed forest ecosystems to provide the goods and services that people value and benefit from (including sequestration of atmospheric CO2, water flow regulation, soil erosion protection, and important habitats for native forest biodiversity) (37, 38), and in this context the questions of which tree species to plant and where, are pressing. To answer these questions requires understanding of how and why forests changed from their preanthropogenic baselines (8). In biodiversity hotspots such as the Canary Islands and Cabo Verde, understanding legacies of past human impacts becomes even more critical, because planting fast growing nonnative species can lead to serious environmental degradation and biodiversity loss. This is a situation that is now common in many biodiverse areas of the world, often representing an attempt to sequester atmospheric CO2. Conservation managers may face a trade-off between rapid reforestation to provide particular ecosystem goods (e.g., to fight soil erosion) and the spread of invasive species that may ultimately endanger the endemic flora.

In both Cabo Verde and the Canary Islands, legislation and afforestation practices to address land degradation were put in place during the early mid-20th century (35, 39). In the Canaries, efforts were first focused on the recovery of pine forests, mainly planting Canarian pine but also using fast-growing nonnative tree species, including Pinus radiata and Eucalyptus. Early pine forest plantations pursued provision (source of wood) and regulation (soil erosion control) goals. Only in the last two decades has active restoration, focused on conservation aims, taken place in the laurel forest (e.g., Gran Canaria) (7) and thermophilous woodlands (e.g., Teno, Tenerife) (35). In Cabo Verde, plantations of fast-growing drought-resistant plant species were established, such as Prosopis juliflora, Eucalyptus, and Pinus canariensis. The result is that, currently, only a small fraction of the forested territory supports endemic and native woodlands that include woody species inhabiting the highlands such as D. draco, Ficus sycomorus, Ficus sur, D. viscosa, Sideroxylon marginata, F. albida, and D. cinerea in the midlands, and Tamarix senegalensis and Phoenix atlantica in the coastal areas (25). These native trees could be included in reforestation efforts, together with fruit-producing taxa such as Cabo Verdean native Ficus that could be beneficial for the local fauna. In addition, further research on the use of timber plantation development may help ascertain if the undesirable effects, such as inhibiting forest understory growth (39), can be outweighed by the potential benefits, such as soil protection.

Our results also show the importance of applying targeted restoration efforts toward the remaining thermophilous forest. In this context, where habitat loss and fragmentation are dominating the islands landscape and in the event of anthropogenic climate change (17), restoration practices may be especially challenging and conservationists might be required to implement complementary ex situ measures such as safeguarding thermophilous plant species in seed banks to preserve the genetic diversity (40). Therefore, enhancing seed banks in both the Canary Islands (e.g., the Canarian Botanical Garden Viera y Clavijo) and in Cabo Verde (e.g., Cabo Verde National Agricultural Research and Development Institute [INIDA]) should also be considered as a conservation priority. This long-term view has highlighted the amount of change that these island forests have undergone and the urgent need to preserve and restore the existing forest remnants, when possible, with extra efforts dedicated to the more seriously diminished communities of thermophilous woodlands in both archipelagos.

Our analyses comprise sediment records previously published and obtained within highland and midelevation volcanic calderas in five islands: La Gomera and Gran Canaria (Canary Islands) and Santo Anto, So Nicolau, and Brava (Cabo Verde). Sample collection was carried out through coring techniques of the former lakes and calderas of Laguna Grande (La Gomera), Laguna de Valleseco (Gran Canaria), and Cova de Pal (Santo Anto), and direct sampling from soil profiles was done in Calderinha (So Nicolau) and Cova Galinha (Brava) sites (Fig. 1).

We constructed age-depth models using the recently updated calibration curves (IntCal20) to convert radiocarbon dates into calibrated ages for all the island sequences using the R package rbacon (41). We used model boundaries in the Gran Canaria, Santo Anto, and So Nicolau records to allow for differential sedimentation rates in records with pronounced changes in accumulation of sediment (SI Appendix, Fig. S1). Bacon outputs are reported as calibrated years before present; with 1950 CE as zero by definition, and a confidence interval of 95% is used for interpretation (SI Appendix, Figs. S1 and S3).

We studied multiple indicators of plant biodiversity and environmental change in each site, including biotic proxies (fossil pollen, Sporormiella fungal spore, and charcoal particles) and abiotic proxies (granulometry and/or soil elemental composition). Proxy-specific information and details of coring sites, laboratory methods, and pollen sums are provided as follows: Laguna Grande (22), Laguna de Valleseco (23), Cova de Pal (26), Calderinha (24), and Cova Galinha (27). Rock Fusion X-ray fluorescence was used for the analysis of sediment geochemistry in the Canarian sites, providing oxide percentages (e.g., TiO2) and organic matter percentage values, and portable X-ray fluorescence (XRF) was used for analysis of Cabo Verde sites, providing elemental percentage data (e.g., Ti) (SI Appendix, Fig. S2).

For statistical analyses, percentage values of non-pollen palynomorphs over pollen sum (including unidentifiable grains in Cabo Verde sites), concentration values of macrocharcoal particles, size measurements of granulometry, and percentage values of XRF were normalized (values range between 0 and 1). We carried out DCA with the Vegan package in RStudio (R Core Team) using pollen percentage values to quantify palynological turnover (42). For CCA, we used the same software and normalized values of selected environmental variables. We chose samples from every environmental variable that shared depth values used in pollen analyses, and when sampling depth values did not coincide, we selected the closest neighboring samples. Thus, environmental variables represent roughly synchronous phenomena. We used 1) percentages of the spores of coprophilous fungi Sporormiella to represent herbivore presence in the local catchment, 2) loss-on-ignition percentage (Cabo Verde) and organic matter percentage (Canary Islands) as a proxy of soil organic content and organic matter flux within the basins, 3) macrocharcoal particle concentrations to represent local fire occurrence, and 4) median grain size (in micrometers) in the Cabo Verde sites and SiO2 percentages in the Canary Island sites as proxies for erosion (sediment run-off from caldera margins).

Pollen data for Laguna Grande (22), Laguna de Valleseco (23), Cova de Pal (26), and Calderinha (24), sites islands can be downloaded from ref. 8. Pollen data of Cova Galinha site (27) have been deposited in Neotoma Paleoecology Database (https://apps.neotomadb.org/explorer/?datasetid=48891). The rest of the data used in the paper are provided within the SI Appendix.

We thank the Spanish Ministry of the Environment and Rural and Marine Environs, Autonomous Organisation of National Parks (Project 003/2008); the Canarian Agency for Research, Innovation, and Information for Society and the European Regional Development Fund (Project SolSubC200801000053); the Spanish Ministry of Science and Innovation (CGL 2009-10939); and the Spanish Ministry of Education (EX2009-0669) for funding the paleoecological projects in the Canary Islands. We thank the University of Southampton for the Geography and the Environment +3 Postgraduate Research Scholarship awarded to A.C.-B. (2017 to 2020, WRJB1B), as well as the Royal Geographic Society with the Institute of British Geographers (2015, 2019 Research Grants grants), the Explorers Club (exploration grant 2018), the Quaternary Research Association (Chrono-14 award 2018), the Association for Environmental Archaeology (small research grant 2019), Natural Environment Research Council radiocarbon support grants (2018, 2019) for funding our teams paleoecological research in Cabo Verde. We thank Juli Caujap Castells and the Jardn Botnico Canario Viera y ClavijoUnidad asociada al Consejo Superior de Investigaciones Cientficas, for insights into the Cabo Verdean and Canarian seed banks, and two anonymous reviewers for their constructive suggestions to improve the manuscript.

Author contributions: A.C.-B., L.d.N., J.-M.F.-P., R.J.W., K.J.W., M.E., and S.N. designed research; A.C.-B., L.d.N., and S.N. performed research; A.C.-B. and S.N. analyzed data; and A.C.-B., L.d.N., J.-M.F.-P., R.J.W., K.J.W., M.E., and S.N. wrote the paper.

The authors declare no competing interest.

This article is a PNAS Direct Submission. P.R. is a guest editor invited by the Editorial Board.

This article contains supporting information online at https://www.pnas.org/lookup/suppl/doi:10.1073/pnas.2022215118/-/DCSupplemental.

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Anthropogenic transitions from forested to human-dominated landscapes in southern Macaronesia - pnas.org

If we were in a hyper-realistic simulation, la The Matrix,would it be possible to find out? A team of physicists believes so, and they are trying to fund their experiment with a Kickstarter campaign to find out. Whether it's possible even test this, how, and what are the consequences of finding out are all big questions waiting to be explored.

Simulation Theory, in its most basic form, goes like this: if humans (or another species, for cuteness feel free to imagine it's puppies) continues to advance for hundreds, thousands, or even millions of years, it's a pretty safe bet that we will have alotof computational power at our finger/paw tips. If we were to expand out into the galaxy (or even further) we may harness the power of stars, or possibly even black holes.

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With all this energy and computational power, it's likely that at some point our descendants will be curious enough to run "ancestor simulations", using just a tiny fraction of the computing power available to us.

Ancestor simulations, as put forward by Swedish philosopher and Oxford University Professor Nick Bostrom in his2003 paper "Are you living in a computer simulation?", is the idea that future generations might have the computing power to run simulations on our forebears, and imbue these simulations with a sort of artificial consciousness. If this has already happened, this would mean the vast majority of people are simulations by the advanced descendants of the original humankind, and if that's the case, it's more rational to assume you are one of the simulations rather than one of the original biological humans.

In his paper, Bostrom proposes three possible scenarios:

1) The fraction of human-level civilizations that reach a stage where they are able to run these simulations is very close to zero.

I.e. it's likely we'll get wiped out before we reach a point where we are able to perform such tests.

2)The fraction of posthuman civilizations that are interested in running ancestor simulations is very close to zero.

In other words, our species has changed so much by that point that we are no longer interested in running simulations, and no curious individuals have access to the power to create them, or else running these simulations is banned.

3)The fraction of all people with our kind of experiences that are living in a simulation is very close to one.

If the other two are false, then we are left with option number three: our species develops the required technology and starts creating an incomprehensible number of ancestor simulations (over time). This would mean that the vast majority of "people" with experience of living on Earth are... inside a simulation, they just don't know it.

So far, so philosophical, but can we test it? Well, if you make a few assumptions about the limits of potential simulations, then it might just be possible.

In 2017, a group of physicists proposed a few methods of finding out in their paper "On Testing the Simulation Theory"withvarying degrees of complexity. Their idea rests on the assumption that the simulation would have limited resources, and so isn't simulatingeverythingin the universe all at the same time. As such, the simulation would act much like a computer game, only rendering the parts of the simulation that are being observed by a "player" at the time. Sort of like how in the background of Super Mario, the designers chose not to simulate the entire observable universe off-screen, to save on computer power (a wise move).

The key to finding out whether we are in a simulated universe or a real one is to find out when information becomes available tous, the observers.

"To save itself computing work, the system only calculates reality when information becomes available for observation by a player, and to avoid detection by players it maintains a consistent world, but occasionally, conflicts that are unresolvable lead to VR indicators and discontinuities (such as the wave/particle duality)," the authors wrote in the paper.

Should it only be at the time of observation by an observer (and not apparatus), the team suggests this would be evidence that it is only being "rendered" at the point of observation, meaning that we are living in a simulation.

Testingthis, the team says in the paper, isn't as complicated as it sounds. Though, obviously, it's still very complicated and involves the double-slit experiment. It all revolves around forcing "the VR rendering engine to create discontinuities in its rendering or produce a measurable signature event within our reality that indicates that our reality must be simulated."

In the double-slit experiment, singlephotons are fired at a double-slit cut into ascreen. If you do thisand look at the buildup of impacts on the screen, you will see a pattern emerge, as shown below. This pattern is what you'd expect if the photons were acting as waves.

So far, so simple. Now, if youdetectwhich slitthe photons are going through (imagine a beep every time a photon goes through the top slit, if it pleases you) the pattern that we get is two lines, as if the photons were behaving as particles (see below video).

Turn off the detector, and we're back toseeing the interference pattern (the waves seen above). Having or not having access to the "which way" data (essentially knowing which slit the photon went through) determines whether the photon acts as a particle or a wave. Photons can behave as either particles or waves, but cannot be observed as both at the same time.

If your brain hurts, imagine how quantum physicists feel every moment of their waking lives. But, for the authors of the 2017 studyitcouldgive us an opportunity to find out if we're real, which would be nice to know, even if it isn't going to imbue you with the power of Neo fromThe Matrix.

"The following experiments are designed based on the hypothesis that the availability of which-way data to an observer is the key element that determines the pattern found on the result screen: the simulated content (the virtual reality) is computed and available to be rendered to an experimenter only at the moment that information becomes available for observation by an experimenter and not at the moment of detection by an apparatus," the authors wrote.

By using a series of abstractions, they propose that it might be possible to find (should we live in a simulation) that the information is only given to us at the point of observation. To do this, they try to create versions of the double-slit experiment that would create a paradox.

Two strategies can be followed to test the simulation theory," they explain. "1: Test the moment of rendering. 2: Exploit conflicting requirement of logical consistency preservation and detection avoidance to force the VR rendering engine to create discontinuities in its rendering or produce a measurable signature event within our reality that indicates that our reality must be simulated."

In one of the simplest of their proposed experiments, the which-way dataand screen data are collected on two separate USB drives, and not seen by an experimenter. Keep doing this, and you have a lot of flash drives that contain which-way data, and screen data. You then destroy the which-way data USBs based on a coin flip (heads you survive, tails you die like Anton Chigurh from No Country For Old Men, but in a lab coat).

"Destruction must be such that the data is not recoverable and no trace of the data is left on the computer that held and transferred the data. For n even, one can replace the coin-flipping randomization by that of randomly selecting a subset composed of half of the pairs of USB flash drives containing which-way data for destruction (with uniform probability over such subsets)," they say in the paper.

"The test is successful if the USB flash drives storing impact patterns show an interference pattern only when the corresponding which-way data USB flash drive has been destroyed."

I.e. if you open up the screen data and see wave patterns when the corresponding which-way USB stick has been destroyed, that would mean that the simulation had rendered reality at the point of observation (you opening the file) and not when observed by the detector.

Of course, the simulation could be clever enough that it knows of intent and will find tricksier ways of concealing this from you, so should this not work, the team propose a series of ever more complex ways that you could test the system (if it exists). They even started a Kickstarter in order to fund the tests, which has raised over$236,590so far.

Of course, if we find out that we'renotliving in a simulation that has implications too. Going back to Bostrom's proposal, it would mean that we are looking at option 1 or 2: we either don't make it as a species, or become something virtually unimaginable. Both of which might be preferable to finding out that we arein a simulation. Ifthat happened it could ruin whatever "they" were testing by running the simulation in the first place. They might simply turn us off.

Link:

Physicist's Kickstarter To Test Whether We Are Living In A Simulation Raises $236000 - IFLScience

Bring Me the Horizon won the Grand Prize at the Heavy Music Awards 2021.

The Shefield-born band won both the best album and the best UK band of the LP Post Human: Survival Horror at a ceremony held in Londons O2 Forum Kentish Town and returned live after the coronavirus pandemic. bottom. ..

Frontman Oliver Sykes, who received their award, said:

Thanks to the Heavy Music Awards for making all this possible. This is just the beginning of a new journey for us. PostHuman Chapter 2 is coming soon. Its very exciting to announce in the coming weeks. !

Elsewhere, Wargasm won the Best UK Breakthrough Band and Rou Reynolds won the best production of Enter Shikaris Nothing is True & Everything is Possible. Ghostemane has won the Best International Band.

The music venue trust, which was handed the H given by Frank Turner from Ticketmaster, had a special prize. The award was given to an individual or organization that has made an extraordinary positive contribution to the heavy music scene, and the Trust received this award for its support of grassroots organizations in the coronavirus pandemic.

Below is a complete list of the winners of the Heavy Music Awards 2021.

Best Album Released by Amazon Music-Bring Me the Horizon, Post Human: Survival Horror

H-Music Venue Trust presented by Ticketmaster

Best UK Band Announced by Lightwave Productions-Bring Me the Horizon

Best Productions-Rou Reynolds, Enter Shikari, Nothing is Truth, Everything Is Possible

Best International Band Announced by EMP-Ghostemane

Best UK Breakthrough Band from Sharptone Records-Wargasm

Best International Breakthrough Band Announced by AfterLive Music-Spiritbox

The Best Podcast Announced by The Heavy Network-Downbeat

Best Video-Nova Twins, Taxi

Best Album Artwork-Mattias Adolfson, Dance Gavin Dance, Afterburner

Bring Me the Horizon Wins Grand Prize at Heavy Music Awards 2021 | Music

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Bring Me the Horizon Wins Grand Prize at Heavy Music Awards 2021 | Music - Pennsylvanianewstoday.com

With artificial intelligence (AI) and machine learning (ML) making inroads into what were hitherto exclusive human domains like writing and driving it was only a matter of time that artists too began experimenting with it. Many exhibition centres and auction houses around the world have begun taking interest in art pieces created with AI. The latest in that list is an exhibition set to be held in Kolkata later this month. It will be India's first solo exhibition of AI Art and will feature works of the pioneering artist, Harshit Agarwal.

Emami Art, the Kolkata gallery hosting the exhibition, posed serious questions on its website about how AI will shape the artistic landscape. It started by asking whether AI art is truly the future of contemporary art and whether AI is a competition or collaborator. The exhibition, titled EXO-stential AI Musings on the Posthuman, will try to discuss these issues, the gallery said.

Usually, to create a piece of AI art, artists write algorithms keeping in mind a desired visual outcome. These algorithms give broad directions and allows the machine to learn a specific aesthetic by analysing thousands of images. The machine then creates an image based on what it has learned.

After the AI Art form came into existence in 2015, the initial years were turbulent and only led to the creation of hauntingly familiar yet alien forms. The field has developed considerably in the last five years. Emami Art said it is trying to present the enlarged practice and diversity of AI art through this solo exhibition.

The exhibition will begin September 11 and will last till the end of month. Emami Art described Harshit Agrawal as a pioneer in the developing genre of AI Art and has worked with it since 2015. His work has been nominated twice for the top tech art prize, the Lumen.

On an Instagram post, Agarwal spoke about the exhibition: "Bringing together my #AI art practice of over 6 years since the inception of this field. Spanning themes beyond the novelty hype to explore themes of authorship, gender perceptions, deep rooted social inequities and biases, identity, seemingly universal notions of the everyday- all through this new lens of AI with its unique capabilities of complex data understanding and estrangement. Let's engage consciously with this beast we're increasingly being immersed in, journeying into the #posthuman, instead of being simply sucked into it!"

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AI Art: Kolkata Exhibition to Showcase Artworks Created With Assistance of Artificial Intelligence - Gadgets 360