MAGIC processing

A thorough treatment of the truly magical process of self-transformation through combination of depth psychology and alchemcial operations. 

Alchemy The study and manipulation of matter based on a belief that matter can be transformed from one form to another by physical, spiritual or magical processes, or a combination of such processes. Although alchemical ideas extend back to at least 5000 b.c.e and existed in all civilizations, there was a great expansion of alchemical activities between 800 and 1600 c.E. after which time alchemical ideas were gradual replaced with empirical concepts of matter. Alchemy was often directed toward the making of gold from base metals or the creation of an elixir of life that gave immortality. 

Another is that giving depth to a plot isn t a matter of some kind of magical process. Emotioneering always involves the artful application of exact techniques. 

Miller, G. A. The magical number seven, plus or minus two some limits on our capacity for processing information. Psych Rev 1956 63 81-97. 

Humans should use computers to do functional work for them in the most efficient manner possible. However, we must not delude ourselves into thinking that the mere use of a computer to analyze adverse events will magically analyze these events in a systematic, efficient way. Computers do not automatically produce coherent, auditable results that can be subsequently reproduced with ease. Computers must be actively programmed through an iterative process involving tight communication between analysts and software developers until these processes are totally functional. 

You will notice how remarkably arbitrary this process is. The constant value 6.0 was not chosen because it has some magical properties in the GA, but because it seemed to be a value that would be "pretty good" in this particular application. The lack of sensitivity in the operation of the GA to the precise way in which the calculation is set up and run can seem unsettling at first, but this tolerance of the way that the user decides to use the algorithm is one of its important attractions, giving even novice users every chance of achieving good results. 

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