Shifting realities: Tron cyberspace and the “New” consciousness in 21st Century technoscapes

The existing direction of the (mis)use of information technologies founded on the deceptively secular rationalised heritage of scientism, arguably spells the increasing proximity to a dystopian nightmare that is far from mere fiction and imbued with the eternal religious symbolic of the battle between good and evil, as depicted in the 2010 science fiction film Tron: Legacy . The historical contextualisation of events in the film reveals the promise of the unfolding of an advanced sensibility alongside these concerns, in which fantasy and science converge to liberate humanity from an increasingly limiting worldview, and information and images serve as conduits to the sacred. The critical role information stands to play in humanity’s conscious evolution is outlined in the proposed development of a “dream systems theory”, where dreams capes are defined as interconnected systems of imaginal data

The hero organism and heroism science: A new frontier of human consciousness

In the context of a new science of heroism this article presents a brief history of the presence and study of heroism, and an outline of the key characteristics of the modern-day movement of heroism. The potentially wide-reaching impacts of the science of heroism are briefly discussed. The hypothesis of human beings as “hero organisms” is presented, before embarking on a discussion on what it means for each of us to be on our own hero’s journey

Heroic play: Heroism in mindful, creative and playful participation

This article explores the presence of heroism in playful engagement with mobile, locative and social technologies, drawing on select ethnographies of Australian households. Heroic modalities in the data are examined in relation to mindful creative forms of play that can be collaborative or personal, socially conscious or acutely self-reflective, altruistic and non-altruistic. All modalities presented in this article, I argue, involve heroic leadership as a transformative and imaginative form of creative communication and engagement with modern technologies. The playful aspect subverts some of the more traditional views of the heroic imagination and heroic action, such as sacrifice and risk, resulting in novel and hybridised heroic modalities. As a new form of play, heroic play emerges as the height of transformative, mindful and creative playful participation, indicating the potential for the banality of playful heroism in the everyday

Breaking disciplinary boundaries: Heroism studies and contemporary research practices

This article explores story and science as products of human cultures, imagination, and innovation, using the recent emergence of heroism research as a case study. Drawing on in-depth interviews with experts in the field of heroism studies and beyond, the paper investigates interdisciplinary perspectives on heroism, and explores synergies between language used in the biological sciences and the hero’s journey story arc. Story and metaphor are found to be important methodological tools in participants’ contemporary research practices. The hero’s journey, in particular, emerges as an interpretive apparatus that can inform interdisciplinary, novel and creative research practices, and facilitate the breakdown of increasingly dissolving disciplinary boundaries. The compatibility of narratives of heroism and biology indicated in this qualitative study is a promising platform for re-introducing diverse ways of knowing and ameliorating the split between competing knowledge cultures in contemporary scholarship

Scalar Emission in the Bulk in a Rotating Black Hole Background

We study the emission of scalars into the bulk from a higher-dimensional rotating black hole. We obtain an analytic solution to the field equation by employing matching techniques on expressions valid in the near-horizon and far-field regimes. Both analytic and numerical results for the absorption probability, in the low-energy and low-angular momentum limit, are derived and found to be in excellent agreement. We also compute the energy emission rate, and show that the brane-to-bulk ratio of the energy emission rates for scalar fields remains always larger than unity in the aforementioned regime.Comment: 14 pages, Latex file, 5 figures, references adde

Curb Your Heroism: How Larry David, an Old, Bald Misanthrope, Won the Hearts of Millions

For eleven television seasons, viewers of the series Curb Your Enthusiasm have been witness to a main character in Larry David who paradoxically displays attributes that are both endearing and revolting. This article offers an analysis of Larry David’s character with the goal of ascertaining his heroic nature, specifically focusing on whether he best meets the scientific criteria for a hero or for an antihero. Drawing from the literature of heroism science, we examine a large body of evidence from episodes of the series supporting arguments for both heroism and antiheroism in Larry’s character. Consistent with definitions of heroism, Larry manifests deviance, humility, loyalty to principles, and a growth mindset. Yet consistent with antiheroism, Larry shows selfishness, social insensitivity, manipulativeness, and resistance to growth. We conclude that any inconsistencies in his character can be understood through a consideration of Curb Your Enthusiasm’s comedic goals and sensibilities

The search for a hero gene: Fact or fiction?

The radical entry of heroism research into scientific inquiry presents interesting challenges and possibilities for the study of heroism and the human condition more broadly. This „final frontier‟ of the enduring phenomenon of heroism stands to offer remarkable, unprecedented, and controversial advances in our understanding of heroic and human behaviour. Is a genetic basis for heroism a real possibility? If so, what would its impacts be? Advances in genomics and increased interest in the fields of epigenetics and neuroplasticity might hold the key to its discovery. This article considers some of the leading emerging research in global health genomics and speculations in the scientific study of heroism, and its potential interrelationship with genetic and epigenetic well-being

A statistical model for the prediction of wind-speed probabilities in the atmospheric surface layer

Wind fields in the atmospheric surface layer (ASL) are highly three-dimensional and characterized by strong spatial and temporal variability. For various applications such as wind comfort assessments and structural design, an understanding of potentially hazardous wind extremes is important. Statistical models are designed to facilitate conclusions about the occurrence probability of wind speeds based on the knowledge of low-order flow statistics. Being particularly interested in the upper tail regions we show that the statistical behavior of near-surface wind speeds is adequately represented by the Beta distribution. By using the properties of the Beta probability density function in combination with a model for estimating extreme values based on readily available turbulence statistics, it is demonstrated that this novel modelling approach reliably predicts the upper margins of encountered wind speeds. The model’s basic parameter is derived from three substantially different calibrating datasets of flow in the ASL originating from boundary-layer wind-tunnel measurements and direct numerical simulation. Evaluating the model based on independent field observations of near-surface wind speeds showed a high level of agreement between the statistically modelled horizontal wind speeds and measurements. The results show that, based on the knowledge of only a few simple flow statistics (mean wind speed, wind speed fluctuations and integral time scales), the occurrence probability of velocity magnitudes at arbitrary flow locations in the ASL can be estimated with a high degree of confidence