Information Symbiosis

The Nacirema are an interesting sect of organisms that inhabit the surface of a moderately sized land mass located in a region of earth about 45 degrees latitude. Their development has been very recent. The fossils of this species are less than one percent as old as those of the earliest organisms. (Campbell, 2008) The Nacirema group in particular has only officially industrialized their region within the last two hundred revolutions of earth’s sun.


The defining anatomic characteristic of the species to which the Nacirema belong is an enlarged frontal neo-cortex. (Campbell, 2008) This development has allowed this species to advance a complex process of external memory storage. (Dennett, 1996) Within the frontal lobe, a new theatre of competition has emerged. (Dawkins, 1976) Not only are the organisms themselves competing for resourses, but now through a symbiosis, the neo-cortex has become a vehicle for new entities that will compete for resources both inside the cortex as well as in the environment surrounding the organism. (Dawkins, 1976)


A symbiosis is a relationship of two different organisms “that live together in direct and intimate contact.” (Campbell, 2008 p. 35) Mutualism is an interaction that benefits both parties. (Campbell, 2008) The frontal cortex receives a novel medium for information storage and manipulation. The new replicator has acquired a method of storage and replication. (Dennett, 1996) All advanced frontal cortices form this relationship and constantly benefit from the exploitation of their partners.


The Nacirema as well as some other groups particularly exhibit this relationship. They erect external information storage facilities that span entire land masses and may rise very high in the sky. The Nacirema also utilized highly advanced and inter-connected systems of information propagation. Many of the Nacirema are completely un-aware of this highly important relationship with information .


The central concept contained within the theory of memetics is that the principles of Darwinian natural selection apply to any information that undergoes a process of variation, selection and retention. (Blackmore ,1999) Genetics, the science of the replication of biological information is a special case of memetics. However, the principle of Darwinian natural selection is substrate-neutral, meaning that it can operate on any system of heredity, variation and competition. (Blackmore ,1999) “If there is a replicator that makes imperfect copies of itself only some of which survive, then evolution must occur.” (Blackmore ,1999 p 11)


This process began at least 3.5 billion years ago. (Campbell, 2008) The information symbiosis existed ever since the beginning of life. (Dawkins, 1976) Until relatively recently, the only medium of replication was the genetic biological form. (Blackmore ,1999) Made possible by the incipient frontal cortex, the ancestors of the Nacirema began processes of imitation. (Blackmore ,1999) This development allowed the replicators to transition into the external environment of the organism. (Blackmore ,1999) After the imitation threshold was crossed, the information could reproduce much faster. (Blackmore ,1999) Until the imitation threshold, the only time the information could replicate was during the process of biological reproduction. (Dawkins, 1976) Since the threshold, various forms of replication have developed.


The Nacirema spend their entire day replicating the information through specialized sound productions. They often spend large amounts of time in front of machines that constantly feed them information. The Nacirema may spend significant time extracting information from bound stacks of information storage receptacles or manipulating peripheral devices.


The unit of cultural replication has been titled the meme. (Dawkins, 1976) When a meme is planted into the brain of the Nacirema, they are literally parasitized. (Dawkins, 1976) The meme is housed within the neural activity of the host or it may be stored in an environmental form. (Blackmore ,1999) A successful meme will then be spread, by the host, through various means of communication, infecting a larger portion of the population. (Blackmore ,1999)


However, the Nacirema are not slaves to the information. Indeed they, along with all other living organisms, owe their very existence to the process of information replication. Their species is especially capable at taking in information from the environment and manipulating it internally or externally, for personal benefit, before storing it externally again. (Dennett, 1996) This system, named off-loading, is extremely valuable to Nacirema. The storage capacity of the biological system can be very limiting. (Dennett, 1996) Through off-loading, the Nacirema benefit from storage capacity that is effectively unlimited. (Dennett, 1996) While other species may exhibit simple imitation techniques and may possess brains of comparable size, no other creatures are so cable of extruding their minds into the environment. (Dennett, 1996)


“Cultural transmission is analogous to genetic transmission in that, although basically conservative, it can give rise to a form of evolution.” (Dawkins, 1976 p 189) “All life evolves by the differential survival of replicating entities” (Dawkins, 1976 p 192) Memetics is not to be confused with social Darwinism. While cultural evolution does occur, it is in no way directional or progressive. Natural selection does favor those that “behave in such a way as to increase their numbers” in the future. (Dawkins, 1976 p 196) However, a “simple replicator… cannot be expected to forgo short term selfish advantage even if it would really pay it in the long term to do so.” (Dawkins, 1976 p 200)




Works Cited:



Blackmore, S,. (1999) The Meme Machine. New York: Oxford.



Campbell, N., Reece, J., Urry, L., Cain, M., Wasserman, S., Minorsky, P., Jackson, R., (2008) Biology (8th ed.) San Fransisco: Pearson Benjamin Cummings.



Dennett, D., (1996) Kinds of Minds. New York: BasicBooks.



Dawkins, R., (1976) The Selfish Gene. New York: Oxford.

New Website

The new Website is now up.

Same URL

www.distortedcognitions.webs.com

"Incipient/Mørkhet" physical CD

Distorted Cognitions' new physical release "Incipient/Mørkhet" is now available from Oriffs metal shop in Europe (France specifically) and CDbaby in USA and internationally. As always, downloads are free from official website. Physical copies are also available directly from me.

Purchase at:
http://www.cdbaby.com/cd/distortedcognitions2

Plato's Cave

Here is a video depicting Plato's Cave.

It explains the situation and obligation of the philosopher.

Distorted Cognitions Notation

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* Distorted Cognitions Notation *
* copyright 2009 *
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"Incipient"
Distorted Cognitions
copyright 2009
www.distortedcognitions.com
www.myspace.com/distortedcognitions
www.distortedcognitions.blogspot.com

Incipient = emerging

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**The Uncertainty Principle
The uncertainty pricnciple states that no matter how much one knows of a subject, they
can never be sure that their understanding is complete. In Quantum Physics, the more
one knows about the location of a quanta the less one can know about that particle's velocity.
Know matter what magnification at which a person may observe an object,
one can never magnify to the end of the infitismal. Eventually at the nano-scale,
nothing can be seen at all because all definition is smaller than any visible
wavelenth of light. Stephen Hawking desribes this and more in
"A Brief History Of Time"

C.maj C.min

B.maj E.5.octave

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**Event Horizon
The event horizon is the border at the edge of a black whole. After crossing this
border, time and space bend infinitly and causality loses all meaning. A Black hole is infinitly
small and infinitly dense. Not even light can escape the border. This phenomena
is known as a singularity. A singularity is is a border of meaning. Input from one side
of the singularity can have no effect on the other side. A singularity also potentially
lies at the origin of the universe.

verse: G D Bb D

refrain: Bb G D A

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** Falsification
Karl Popper solved the problem of induction with the method of falsification. One cannot
predict the future based on events of the past. This is the problem of induction, a statistical
limit that always leaves confidence to less than one-hundred percent. Falsification
can tell us what is not true. While truth cannot be proven (and some would say doesn't
exhist), that which is not true can be demonstrated. Any theory must be falsifiable
in principle in order to be useful.

E B C A

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**Replikraft
The information replicators have great power. The "Selfish Gene" view of replication and
natural selection is a very powerful theory created by Richard Dawkins in his work.
"The Selfish Gene". Much understanding can be gained by recognizing the simplest
unit of information that retains signifigance as the item upon which natural selection
operates. Genetics is a special biological case of memetics. Memetics is the science
of information replication. Before the exhistance of consciousness, genetics was likely
the only form information duplication. This process of replication eventually causes
competion for recourses creating natural selection. From this process, all diversity
and specialization has emerged, including life and consciousness. Now a new theatre for
natural selection exhists in brains as well as information storage systems created by
the mind like books and electronic storage systems. The arena for information natural
selection is known as the memosphere. The memosphere includes the complete genetic
variation for all life as well as the all of the phenotypic effects of the genes. The "Extended
Phenotype" ( another great book by Dawkins) includes not only the genetic expression
within the organism but also all of the efffects on other organisms and the enviroment as
a consequence of the genetic expression. These principles reveal the replicating
information to be the cause and creater of all complexity and life. From simple protein
chains and crystal development to airplanes, skyscrapers, space programs, computers,
human minds, global warming, telecommunication, complex lifeforms as well as human
concsiousness have all emerged from this simple naturally occuring process of
replication and competition.

intro: C G Ab

verse: 2x
2x G D C D
2x A D E D

refrain
2x B F# Ab F#
2x A D C D

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**reflection at dusk
Inspired by "Dunkelheit" by Varg Vikernes.

C B C A


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"Mørkhet"
Distorted Cognitions
copyright 2009
www.distortedcognttions.com
www.myspace.com/distortedcognitions
www.distortedcognitions.blogspot.com

Mørkhet = darkness
**Songs ordered as originally in
**the initial release "Incipient/Proletariat".

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4. *Nihilist Hypothesis - "Antakelse Av Nihil"
Nihilism is the denial of any absolute objective truth.
Nihilism is the post-conventional response to any
claims of absolute knwoledge. Nihilsm is the ultimate
result of any form of relativism. Two absolute
truths cannot be contradictory. If truth us only relative,
than there is no such thing as absolute
truth. This is the creed of the Nihilist.

tab nortation (fret numbers) (triplets)
last two lines break triplet structure
4/4

0 5 7 0 7 8 0 7 8 0 11 12 4x

0 6 5 0 8 7 0 6 4 0 4 3 4x

0 2 3 0 2 3 0 2 3 0 2 3 4x



0 6 5 0 5 4 0 2 3 0 2 3 4x

0 5 7 0 8 5 0 5 7 0 7 0 8 5 0 5 4x

0 3 5 0 6 3 0 3 5 0 5 0 6 3 0 3 4x


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5 *Thoughts of Monism - "Natürlich Tanke"
"Doppelt Die Zerstörung"
Another version of this song appears in "Krimpatul".

Dualism is the perception of two worlds.
One is the material world which we vaguely perceive. The other is a hidden world that is
behind the scenes. Perceptional abuility is very limited. The world we experience is
very little like the actual world that exhists. Human eyes only detect a negligilble fraction of
the spectrum of light. Human ears only perceive a tiny portion of all
wavelengths of sound and pressure. However, dualism is often considered in the
"Cartesian" form where the "mind" is a seperate entity from the physical brain.
The essence of a person is thought to be some kind supernatural soul which is
often also thought to be immortal. This idea has been disproven many
times over with technology like anesthesia and brain imaging.
Although human perception is very limited, that is no reason accept any form of supernatural
dualism. There is nothing outside the material world. However, the material world is very much larger
and more complicated than many would realize. Monism is the rejection of any supernatural duality.
Materialism is the naturalist (Natürlich) monistic
and scientific aproach.

(atonal chords)

Verse: 4 6 7 3 4x

Chorus: 6 7 4 3 4x

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2 *Abscent Logic - "Benötigen" = need
(noisy chords)

verse
3 3 3 3 5 2 4x
0 0 4 0 0 2 2x
-repeat

trans
3 3 3 3 2 2 4x

chorus 4x
4 4 4 4 4 4
5 5 5 5 5 5
H 3 3 3 3 3
H 3 3 3 3 3

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3 *What is Good - "Hvilken Skikkelig"
lyrics taken from:
Friedrich Nietzsche
"The Antichrist"
section two in an edition translated by
Anthony Ludovici (Barnes & Noble 2006)

4 4 4 4 4 4 8 8 8 8 8 8 4x

6 6 6 6 5 5 4 4 8x

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**not originally on "I/P*
**The Mind - "Neuroskepsis" - "Mistroverstand"
included on late editions because of relation to other subjects on album.
The propper mind is nothing outside of the neurons contained in the central
nervous system and the electro/chemical activity between them. It has
much in common with a electronic computer with
equivilent wires as well as mechanisms for
processessing, coding and storing information.
A new concept, propositioned by Andy Clark and David Chalmers
in 1998 is that of the "extended mind" where a
person's functional mind inculdes all of the information
readily acceptable for use. With the advent of the
internet, the functional, extended mind is growing
vastly larger very quickly. As humans become more
integratd with the network of information, the extended
mind grows to incredible capacatiy and capability.
This idea is very similar to the "Extended Phenotype" explained
by Richard Dawkins.

Tab format (fret numbers)

4x 0 3 2 2

4x 6 4 6 2

4x 2 3 2 4

4x 0 3 0 2

The Genius of Charles Darwin

Richard Dawkins presents The Genius of Charles Darwin. A series based on Darwinism and Evolution and the battle it faces.


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"Apocryphal" and "Benötigen" videos