I am teaching another online course at Arcanorium College from September 19 to October 28. The course description:
Magic talismans and servitors both serve to amplify the magician’s power, often through automation of magical agency. The creation of a magical agent appeals not only for those powers or degrees of power the agent possesses that the magician does not, but for the agent’s ability to attend to the magician’s intentions while she goes about other tasks.
In this six-week course we will consider a theory of automagic devices from the perspective of automatic machines. There will be reading assignments and much reflection and discussion. We will attempt to sort out some models by which we can construct automagic devices either individually or as part of future courses (Automagica Practica) in the Dept of Magical Computing / Magical Computer Lab.
During the course, we will touch on:
- a general theory of machines and mechanism
- cybernetics
- automatic, autonomous, autopoietic, and non-trivial machines
- degrees of automatism
- robotics
- connections between tool use and language
- mapping magical to mechanical activity
- psionic/radionic devices
The course is available to all Arcanorium students. Registration fees for the College are UK£60 for 12 months or UK£20 for 3 months, and include all courses offered (~2 every 6 to 8 weeks).