Commission: Trends In Cognitive Sciences Cover (Seth)

Well here’s some good news, the work I did for Professor Seth of the Sackler Centre came through and got selected as the cover for TICS that month!

1.6 – Colour: From Source to Perception (part 1)

I hope you can find it in your heart to forgive this seeming tangent from our ongoing discussion of genki. There’s a particular, wonderful subtlety of ki-sense that I wish to explain fully and to do so requires a crash course in… well most of modern science, to be frank. You may be tempted to skip this section as I guess for many readers it tugs on those threadbare, unpleasant memories of high school (or memories yet to be made for you younger readers). In that case I hope you at least skim this section and feel encouraged to return as we progress. Some of the concepts I describe here will appear in modified forms throughout the rest of the textbook, and I would hate for you to miss what I believe are astounding parallels throughout the natural world.

The Magical Properties of Jupiter

Jupiter is considered by many to be a celestial object worthy of awe. Many Muggle cultures have worshipped the planet as the King of the Gods, as in ancient Greece; as the ruler of the movements of planets, as in Vedic Astronomy; or as a God of those in high-office, as in ancient Rome. Although the largest planet in the Solar System, Jupiter’s grand nature throughout the ages is not linked to its size as ancient astronomers would only have been able to observe its brightness. At its peak, Jupiter is the third brightest object in the night sky (after the Moon and Venus), cementing the planet as one of great importance in many belief systems. In modern astronomy, Jupiter is linked to poisons, creativity, and governance.

The Cosmic Backgrounds

What is magic, and how did it come to be? Can it be distilled to hold in the hands, or is it an unextractable facet of an object, like colour or temperature? A true understanding of the very essence of magic and its properties has long been sought after, and many believe uncovering its origins can lead to full mastery.