Almost there. Currently just have the 'Personal Statement' of my UCAS form to fill in. below is my draft. Criticise if you wish. I may pay attention. Gabriella told me remove all named references since all except one might not be viewed in the most positive of lights by a conservative British admissions officer. But I strongly feel I should write exactly what I feel instead of sucking up. I'm a stubborn bastard, but I also feel I am right. Anyway, lemme know what y'all think:
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I chose Artificial Intelligence because I feel at last, I have found a subject which combines the realm of the linear and the logic with the realm of the abstract and the tenebrous. It is a subject which by proxy, must include something other than assembly language and hardware protocols. Metaphysics, philosophy, psychology must all be considered as well. I am a man whose interests linger in twilight, neither day or night. I must be able to touch both the world of order and the world of chaos, our sentience encompasses both. The path to this choice has been a truly winding one. I would have to go back to when my inner eye was truly opened by a book titled 'Prometheus Rising' by Robert Anton Wilson. In it he teaches and embellishes upon Timothy Leary's 8-circuit model of consciousness. He expands into the processes we take for granted in everyday thought, discusses synchronicity and suggests that 'reality' is far more tightly linked to our inner concept of it than we may at first believe. Briefly in this book, but more richly in his other books, he reiterates the impact and power of our language and symbol systems upon this inner concept of reality. During this journey, I was thus introduced to names like Alfred Korzybski and his work on Semantics, Carl Jung and his Archetypes and Hakim Bey and his Ontological Terrorism. All contributing greatly to deep inner reflection, and yet none falling prey to wishy-washy new-age thought. Although I expect to have to apply my ideas within the limited capacities of a programming language, I don't see it as an obstacle, but rather as a poetic metaphor of ourselves. Are we not ourselves, sentient siblings striving to connect to each other and the world around us, in spite of the limitations of our senses and our language?
In the future I hope to share what I learn through various enterprises. In the gaming industry, we are currently reaching two final hurdles. One is the fully immersive experience. The other, and the one I wish to tackle, is the truly believable AI opponent. By learning more about what makes us human and how to code it, I can create computer opponents that are truly convincing in their philosophies and behaviour. Opponents that can possess qualities of hubris, paranoia, compassion and even faith.
In a more humanitarian and ambitious direction, I want to be able to create AI - married to the appropriate equipment - that can help find and neutralise land mines. An AI so well tuned to understanding where human soldiers would place land-mines it would beg the quality women are more often credited with having: Intuition.
Throughout my studies, I always aim to learn the most about myself.
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Here are the 6 choices:
- U of Birmingham : Artificial Intelligence and Philosophy
- UWE, Bristol : Artificial Intelligence and Sociology
- Edinburgh : Artificial Intelligence and Philosophy
- U of Huddersfield : Artificial intelligence and Multimedia
- U of Reading : Artificial Intelligence and Cybernetics
- U of Sussex : Artificial Intelligence and Computer Science
My 1st choice is still Reading, followed by Edinburgh. It's a toss up between Huddersfield and Birmingham after that. We'll see....
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btw, found out that one of Hakim Bey's books has actually been entirely reproduced as HTML at:
http://www.hermetic.com/bey/taz_cont.html
R.A.Wilson's ramblings about 'Guerilla Ontology' finally become clear. Very interesting, not at all what I expected the book to be about. Sort of like a peom-prose hybrid with a practical instructional bent but also stream-of-consciousness Sufism...weird...
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I chose Artificial Intelligence because I feel at last, I have found a subject which combines the realm of the linear and the logic with the realm of the abstract and the tenebrous. It is a subject which by proxy, must include something other than assembly language and hardware protocols. Metaphysics, philosophy, psychology must all be considered as well. I am a man whose interests linger in twilight, neither day or night. I must be able to touch both the world of order and the world of chaos, our sentience encompasses both. The path to this choice has been a truly winding one. I would have to go back to when my inner eye was truly opened by a book titled 'Prometheus Rising' by Robert Anton Wilson. In it he teaches and embellishes upon Timothy Leary's 8-circuit model of consciousness. He expands into the processes we take for granted in everyday thought, discusses synchronicity and suggests that 'reality' is far more tightly linked to our inner concept of it than we may at first believe. Briefly in this book, but more richly in his other books, he reiterates the impact and power of our language and symbol systems upon this inner concept of reality. During this journey, I was thus introduced to names like Alfred Korzybski and his work on Semantics, Carl Jung and his Archetypes and Hakim Bey and his Ontological Terrorism. All contributing greatly to deep inner reflection, and yet none falling prey to wishy-washy new-age thought. Although I expect to have to apply my ideas within the limited capacities of a programming language, I don't see it as an obstacle, but rather as a poetic metaphor of ourselves. Are we not ourselves, sentient siblings striving to connect to each other and the world around us, in spite of the limitations of our senses and our language?
In the future I hope to share what I learn through various enterprises. In the gaming industry, we are currently reaching two final hurdles. One is the fully immersive experience. The other, and the one I wish to tackle, is the truly believable AI opponent. By learning more about what makes us human and how to code it, I can create computer opponents that are truly convincing in their philosophies and behaviour. Opponents that can possess qualities of hubris, paranoia, compassion and even faith.
In a more humanitarian and ambitious direction, I want to be able to create AI - married to the appropriate equipment - that can help find and neutralise land mines. An AI so well tuned to understanding where human soldiers would place land-mines it would beg the quality women are more often credited with having: Intuition.
Throughout my studies, I always aim to learn the most about myself.
*************************
Here are the 6 choices:
- U of Birmingham : Artificial Intelligence and Philosophy
- UWE, Bristol : Artificial Intelligence and Sociology
- Edinburgh : Artificial Intelligence and Philosophy
- U of Huddersfield : Artificial intelligence and Multimedia
- U of Reading : Artificial Intelligence and Cybernetics
- U of Sussex : Artificial Intelligence and Computer Science
My 1st choice is still Reading, followed by Edinburgh. It's a toss up between Huddersfield and Birmingham after that. We'll see....
********************
btw, found out that one of Hakim Bey's books has actually been entirely reproduced as HTML at:
http://www.hermetic.com/bey/taz_cont.html
R.A.Wilson's ramblings about 'Guerilla Ontology' finally become clear. Very interesting, not at all what I expected the book to be about. Sort of like a peom-prose hybrid with a practical instructional bent but also stream-of-consciousness Sufism...weird...
VIEW 8 of 8 COMMENTS
http://suicidegirls.com/boards/Lifestyle/16549/page2/
Hmm- I'd have to say I am about as spiritually sensitive as a cement block. All things supernatural just weren't for me- they just didn't compute to my scientific and rational brain. I can appreciate all things from an academic standpoint- but it interests me that you are actually drawn to something in others you can't personally sense.
In some regards it makes sense though. You long to have full awareness of the other realms. So you are drawn to people who complete you.