Psychology 2011A/B

Altered States of Consciousness

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COURSES:		Psychology 2011A/B: Altered States of Consciousness		Psychology 3120G: Altered States: Selected Topics		Psychology 3177F: Consciousness

 

ANNOUNCEMENTS

January 29, 2012: Please note that some of my Office Hours have been changed to the following: Thursday, February 2, 2012, 12:00 noon to 1:30 p.m. and Thursday, February 16, 2012, 12:30 to 1:30 p.m.

January 19, 2012: To answer the most frequent questions from students who missed the first couple of classes on January 9 & 16, 2012: The textbook is my lecture notes; and two topics were covered during the first lecture in addition to those that are in the book, namely, "beliefs about consciousness and reality" and "remote viewing;" and one topic in the second lecture, which was Bill Bengston's study. There is some material to cover those topics in the "Resources" box on the left.

December 21, 2011: I have submitted the grades for the course. The averages on the final exam were 73% and 71% with highest grades of 78/80 and 76/80 for sections 570 and 571 respectively. The averages of the final grades were 73% and 69% with highest final marks of 98% and 96%. Well done!

December 19, 2011: I've posted the answers to the final exam in the resource box on the left.

November 20, 2011: The final examination will be held on Monday, December 19, 2011 at 9:00 a.m. in Rooms SA150 and SA151. You can go to either room. If one room fills up, we will send students to the other one. The exam will be 90 minutes long. Please remember to bring a pencil, eraser, and your student identification card. Please do NOT bring your cell phones or other electronic devices. You are not allowed to have a cell phone or any other electronic device with you during the examination. The following is a breakdown of the number of questions on the examination targetting the material for each of the topics covered in the chapters of the book:

Chapter 1	5 questions
Chapter 2	5 questions
Chapter 3	5 questions
Chapter 4	5 questions
Chapter 5	5 questions
Chapter 6	5 questions
Chapter 7	16 questions
Chapter 8	16 questions
Chapter 9	16 questions
Chapter 10	2 questions
Total	80 questions

 

There will be an Optional Review Session on Friday, December 16, 2011 at 2:00 p.m. in Room SA151 in order to answer any questions that students may have.

November 15, 2011: The final exam timetable is out and our final exam is set for Monday, December 19, at 9:00 a.m. Once I know the rooms for it, I will post that information on this web page.

Some of you have expressed interest in experiencing ME. There is one certified ME practitioner in London. I am neither recommending nor not recommending her. Here is her contact information: Cathie Granger, Matrix Energy Practitioner, (519) 439-2035, catgranger@rogers.com. She asks that if you do contact her, that you indicate that you are one of my students.

November 8, 2011: Due to requests for Angie's contact information, here it is: http://www.angiearistone.com/

November 7, 2011: I have posted the answers to Test 2. If you keep getting the old answers from last year, refresh your browser and the new ones should show up.

October 20, 2011: The preliminary date for the final exam is out: Monday, December 19, 2011 at 9:00 a.m. Students are requested not to make travel arrangements until the date for the exam has been finalized on November 14, 2011.

October 13, 2011: Students did well on the first test. The average for Section 570 was 72% and for Section 571 it was 69%. Nobody got perfect. Two students in Section 570 got 39/40. The highest mark in Section 571 was 38/40. Congratulations!

September 20, 2011: Several students have pointed out to me that the practice tests and exam are NOT on reserve in the library. I have followed up with the library and have now been told that they will become available on reserve sometime on September 21, 2011. Please let me know if there are still any problems after that time.

July 25, 2011: I have posted the course outlines for the fall semester. They can be accessed from the Resources box on the left. Course outlines for Psychology 2011b will be available sometime in December.

April 27, 2011: The highest mark on the final examination was 79/85. The averages on the examination are 65% (n=82) and 69% (n=80) for sections 570 and 571 respectively. The final grades in the course are 63% (n=84) and 66% (n=87) respectively. If anyone would like to know her marks for the tests and exam, just send me an e-mail with your name, student number, and section number. Please note that I will be gone to Europe from May 2 to May 11 but will respond when I get back. If you missed the exam and need to write the make-up, please contact the Academic Dean's office at King's. Have a great summer!

April 18, 2011: In order to access the Journal of Consciousness Studies online, click on this link: "Journal of consciousness studies -- IngentaConnect." That will bring up a dialogue page on which you have to enter your UWO username and password. Once you have done that, you will be redirected to the Journal of Consciousness Studies. Go down the list and choose "Volume 17" and then "Numbers 7-8, 2010." Click on that link. That will take you to the contents of that issue. Scroll down the list; my article was the last article in the issue. Click on the title of my article. That will take you to a page with the title, author, abstract, etc. Toward the top of the page there is a button that says: "PDF." Press on that button and "Voila," erudite words of wisdom! If you have problems gaining access to the article, ask one of the librarians to help you.

April 6, 2011: There have been requests from students for the "lecture notes" from the review session. The most substantial subject matter that I talked about that is not in the textbook is the dematerialization of matter. You can read that material on pages 214 to 219 of the following article:

Baruss, I. (2010). Beyond scientific materialism: Towards a transcendent theory of consciousness. Journal of Consciousness Studies, 17(7-8), 213-231.

The Journal of Consciousness Studies is available in the Weldon library and also online through the UWO library.

March 22, 2011: I received the following e-mail last night:

"Dear Dr. Baruss,

"Why oh why would you ever submit to the lunacy of a DC/ND and so-called "matrix energetics" ? We are appalled by your lack of discretion. We students are attempting in our education to separate the chaff from the grain, and your buy-in into this crap does nothing to secure our confidence in your intellectual honesty.

"Really, Dr. Baruss, you should be ashamed.

"The Class"

This e-mail was ostensibly sent by "michael levis <jolida202@gmail.com>." There is no "Michael Levis" registered at the University of Western Ontario, so this e-mail could have been sent by anyone. If it was sent by a student in one of my classes, then this is a good thing, insofar as whoever wrote the message appears to have been jostled out of his or her comfort zone, thereby opening up the possibility of actually learning something that she or he does not already know. What is not good, if this is indeed an e-mail sent by a student, is that it was sent anonymously. I will not tolerate anonymous e-mail messages from students. In future, all such messages will be forwarded directly to the Academic Dean.

Incidentally, this e-mail is a good example of the sort of discouragement frequently aimed at those of us conducting scientific research in controversial areas of investigation. In fact, it would be a good idea for students to review the material in Chapter 1 pertaining to science, and, in particular, the proper conduct of science and the politics of science. In that regard, please note the following change to the final examination: There will be 85 questions on the final examination, of which ten will be based on the material in Chapter 1. Five of those ten questions will explicitly test students’ knowledge of science. The remainder of the format for the final examination remains as previously announced.

March 15, 2011: There will be an optional review session on Thursday, April 21, 2011 at 2:00 p.m. in Room DLH130. We cannot have the optional review session on Friday, April 22, because that is Good Friday and the College is closed.

March 10, 2011: The final examination will be held on Saturday, April 23, 2011 at 9:00 a.m. in Rooms SA150 and SA151. You can go to either room. If one room fills up, we will send students to the other one. The exam will be 90 minutes long. Please remember to bring a pencil, eraser, and your student identification card. Please do NOT bring your cell phones or other electronic devices. You are not allowed to have a cell phone or any other electronic device with you during the examination. The following is a breakdown of the number of questions on the examination targetting the material for each of the topics covered in the chapters of the book:

Chapter 1	5 questions
Chapter 2	5 questions
Chapter 3	5 questions
Chapter 4	5 questions
Chapter 5	5 questions
Chapter 6	5 questions
Chapter 7	16 questions
Chapter 8	16 questions
Chapter 9	16 questions
Chapter 10	2 questions
Total	80 questions

March 4, 2011: I have the grades for your second test. So if anyone isn't sure what mark she got, just e-mail me with your name, student number, and section number, and ask for the grade. The average grade for Section 570 was 63% (up from 62% on Test 1); the average grade for Section 571 was 74% (up from 66% on Test 1). Awesome Section 571! The highest mark for Section 570 was 37/40 but four students from Section 571 got 39/40. No one got perfect :(. So, I expect some students from both sections to get perfect on the final exam!

March 2, 2011: Students keep e-mailing me telling me that they keep getting the old answers for Test 2 instead of the new ones. Refresh your browser. Your browser is lazy and when you go to look at the web page, it just shows you the one it already has in memory. If you refresh, you will see the new material.

March 1, 2011: I have posted the answers to Test 2 that was written on Monday, February 28, 2011.

February 10, 2011: I have the grades for the first test. So far, 84 students from Section 570 and 84 students from Section 571 have written the first test. The average for Section 570 is 62% and the average for Section 571 is 66%. The highest mark in Section 570 was 95% and the highest mark in Section 571 was also 95% with lots of students getting grades of 90% or higher in both sections. If anyone wishes to confirm the grade on her or his test, please e-mail me with your name and student number and your section number and I will e-mail you your grade.

January 31, 2011: Office hours cancelled for Wednesday, February 2, 2011. Please e-mail me if you need me for anything.

January 28, 2011: I have put Richard Bartlett's book Matrix Energetics on reserve in the King's library for this course. Also, some of you have expressed interest in experiencing ME. There is one certified ME practitioner in London. I am neither recommending nor not recommending her. Here is her contact information: Cathie Granger, Matrix Energy Practitioner, (519) 439-2035, catgranger@rogers.com. She asks that if you do contact her, that you indicate that you are one of my students.

January 25, 2011: Some of you have asked where you can read about my research concerning remote healing using techniques derived from Matrix Energetics. This research is ongoing and has not yet been written up. For speculations about the theory that could explain such radical transformations, you can see the following article: http://journalofcosmology.com/QuantumConsciousness110.html. Also, for information about Matrix Energetics itself, please go to the Matrix Energetics web site: http://www.matrixenergetics.com/.

January 18, 2011: I have received the following message from the Services for Students with Disabilities office:

“A fellow student would benefit from assistance with class notes.   We are looking a volunteer who takes good notes,  attends class regularly,  and is willing to share their notes.  You may be entitled to an honorarium and a letter of reference from Counselling and Student Development. If you are interested please contact Maureen Moore, Services for Students with Disabilities, King’s.  You may be asked to provide a sample of your notes.  We thank you for considering this volunteer experience”

 

Maureen Moore, Disabilities Assistant, King's University College, 519-433-0041 #4568, Wemple 159

December 21, 2010: (Winter Solstice) I have submitted the grades. The class averages on the final exam were 67% and 65% for Sections 570 and 571. The highest mark on the exam was 79/80. The lowest mark . . . . well, I don't think you want to know. The class averages for the course were 68% and 65% for Sections 570 and 571 respectively. The lowest mark in the course was 0% and the highest mark was 99%. If anyone isn't sure of the marks she got on her tests and exam, just e-mail me with your student number and the section you are in and I will tell you. . . . Have a great 2011!

December 13, 2010: There will be an optional review session today, Monday, December 13, 2010 at 3:00 p.m. in Room SA151. I will not prepare anything for that session but will be available to answer questions.

December 8, 2010: Some of you have asked me about the review session that we would have had last Monday. I had a few things prepared if you wanted to think about them (e.g., where are the 7 places in the textbook where cats (i.e., felines) show up?) but I was going to review whatever students wanted us to. (Actually, get you guys to explain things to each other.) So there was no common curriculum for that class that we needed to cover. . . . Also, if any of you want to see me, I should be in my office Thursday, December 9, 2010 at 11:00 a.m. . . . In response to continued requests to post the answers to the practice exam, here they are:

1	E
2	A
3	C
4	C
5	E
6	D
7	C
8	D
9	D
10	A
11	D
12	E
13	E
14	C
15	E
16	A
17	D
18	E
19	E
20	E
21	C
22	E
23	C
24	D
25	E
26	E
27	D
28	E
29	C
30	E
31	D
32	B
33	D
34	E
35	C
36	A
37	C
38	B
39	A
40	A
41	B
42	E
43	A
44	A
45	E
46	C
47	A
48	E
49	A
50	B
51	A
52	E
53	A
54	B
55	B
56	C
57	D
58	C
59	B
60	B
61	D
62	B
63	E
64	C
65	A
66	E
67	D
68	A
69	B
70	E
71	B
72	D
73	E
74	C
75	D
76	C
77	B
78	A
79	D
80	A

December 6, 2010: Classes have been cancelled today due to weather conditions. Please see http://www.uwo.ca.

December 2, 2010: The final examination will be held on Tuesday, December 14, 2010 at 2:00 p.m. in rooms SA150 and SA151. Students in either section can go to either room.

November 24, 2010: Please note that I will not be holding any office hours on Wednesday, December 8, 2010. If someone needs to get hold of me, please come the week before or e-mail me.

November 23, 2010: There will be an optional review session on Monday, December 13, 2010 at 3:00 p.m. in Room SA151. I will not prepare anything for that session but will be available to answer questions.

November 17, 2010: References to the reading in class:

Das, R. (1979). Miracle of love: Stories about Neem Karoli Baba. New York: E. P. Dutton.

Grinspoon, L. & Bakalar, J. B. (1979). Psychedelic drugs reconsidered. New York: Basic.

The final examination will be held on Tuesday, December 14, 2010 at 2:00 p.m. The exam will be 90 minutes long. Please remember to bring a pencil, eraser, and your student identification card. Please do NOT bring your cell phones or other electronic devices. You are not allowed to have a cell phone or any other electronic device with you during the examination. The following is a breakdown of the number of questions on the examination targetting the material for each of the topics covered in the chapters of the book:

Chapter 1	5 questions
Chapter 2	5 questions
Chapter 3	5 questions
Chapter 4	5 questions
Chapter 5	5 questions
Chapter 6	5 questions
Chapter 7	16 questions
Chapter 8	16 questions
Chapter 9	16 questions
Chapter 10	2 questions
Total	80 questions

The class averages for Test 2 were 70% and 68% for Sections 570 and 571 respectively. No one got perfect but one student 39/40.

November 9, 2010: I ended up giving quite a different lecture for Section 571 than Section 570 after Test 2, so I won't hold students responsible for the material covered after Test 2 since everyone writes the same final examination. However, a number of you asked for information about ME so here is Richard Bartlett's web site: http://www.matrixenergetics.com/ and Justice Bartlett's web site: http://www.justiceinsight.net/.

November 5, 2010: For the second test, I am only targetting material since the time of the first test. However, you may need to remember something from the first part of the course, so the test is officially cumulative.

Also, please note that student evaluations of teaching will be held immediately prior to the test.

October 21, 2010: The final exam has tentatively been set for Tuesday, December 14, 2010 at 2:00 p.m. It will probably be held in SA150 and SA151 but I will let you know as soon I have that information.

October 17, 2010: There was a small boo-boo in the grades that I received from Western's ITS so the class average for Section 571 is actually 66% with a highest mark of 95%. If anyone is concerned about this matter, please feel free to e-mail me (include section number and student number) and I will tell you the grade that I have for you.

October 13, 2010: Test 1 has been graded. The class average for Section 570 was 72% (highest mark 100%) and for Section 571 was 55% (highest mark 93%). (55%? Ummm. What happened there?) Also, for those of you interested, here is Angie's (the guest speaker's) web site: http://www.angiearistone.com/.

October 4, 2010: The answers below are for the practice test for which you already have answers. The answers for the practice test for which you do not already have answers was actually in the resource box on the left under "Test 1 Answers." Anyway, I've taken down those answers. Here are the answers for the Test 1 practice test which does not already have answers: ADACE DECDD ADEAD DDDBD DDEBA ABDBD DAECD ADAAD.

September 28, 2010: Here are the answers to the first practice test: BDCDB DBBCD BCECB CAEEE ABBDA ADBEA EBDBE CDEED.

Also, someone asked about an electronic version of the text. You can buy one here: http://www.amazon.com/Alterations-Consciousness-Empirical-Scientists-ebook/dp/B003Q6CX1O.

Also, I have received the following request from the Services for Students with Disabilities Office for anyone in Section 571:

“A fellow student would benefit from assistance with class notes.   We are looking a volunteer who takes good notes,  attends class regularly,  and is willing to share their notes.  You may be entitled to an honorarium and a letter of reference from Counselling and Student Development. If you are interested please contact Maureen Moore, Services for Students with Disabilities, King’s.  We thank you for considering this volunteer experience”

September 21, 2010: Here's a link to the Bengston study discussed in class: http://www.scientificexploration.org/journal/jse_14_3_bengston.pdf.

July 21, 2010: The course outlines for the fall semester are now available. You can see them by clicking on the appropriate link in the "Resources" box on the left. Please read Chapter 1 of the textbook for the first class.

April 30, 2010: I have submitted the grades for the course. You did well on the final exam, with a class average of 69% for Section 570 and 71% for Section 571. The highest mark on the final exam was 79/80. The same student got 99% in the course. In fact 7 students got 90% or higher in the course. The class averages for final grades were 63% for Section 570 and 68% for Section 571, but these don't mean mean much because they include students who did not write the final exam. The averages for the final exam are more representative of class performance. Have a good summer!

April 17, 2010: Some of you have been asking when the Registrar will have the grades available. As soon as I receive the exam marks, which I've been told will be by Friday, I will add up the marks and submit them to the Registrar at King's.

Also, some of you have been asking what you can do to improve your grades. There are no remedial opportunities for anyone. The grade you receive in the course is determined in the manner explained in the course outline.

March 30, 2010: There will be an optional review session on Friday, April 23, 2010, at 3:00 p.m. in Room DL130.

March 11, 2010: The final examination will be held on Monday, April 26, 2010 at 2:00 p.m. in Rooms SA150 and SA151. All students can go to either room. The exam will be 90 minutes long. Please remember to bring a pencil, eraser, and your student identification card. Please do NOT bring your cell phones or other electronic devices. You are not allowed to have a cell phone or any other electronic device with you during the examination. The following is a breakdown of the number of questions on the examination targetting the material for each of the topics covered in the chapters of the book:

Chapter 1	5 questions
Chapter 2	5 questions
Chapter 3	5 questions
Chapter 4	5 questions
Chapter 5	5 questions
Chapter 6	5 questions
Chapter 7	16 questions
Chapter 8	16 questions
Chapter 9	16 questions
Chapter 10	2 questions
Total	80 questions

The class averages for Test 2 were 68% and 71% for Sections 570 and 571 respectively. No one got perfect but a couple of students, one in each section, got 39/40. Much better performance than the first test!

February 28, 2010: Wow. No matter what I say, I keep getting questions about Test 2. So, to make things simple, let's just go back to what is on the course outline. All tests and exams are cumulative. And I won't answer any more questions about what could or could not be on the test.

February 25, 2010: While Test 2 is cumulative, in the sense that you will need to remember material covered on the first test, I am targetting material covered since the time of the first test. In particular, there are 13 or 14 questions on Test 2 related to each of chapters 4, 5, and 6 for a total of 40 questions.

January 10, 2010: To answer the most frequent questions from students who missed the first class on January 4, 2010: The textbook is my lecture notes; and two topics were covered in addition to those that are in the book, namely, "beliefs about consciousness and reality" and "remote viewing." There is some material to cover those topics in the "Resources" box on the left.

I am still getting requests from students from the fall semester to raise their marks. This is a separate issue from students who feel that they have received the wrong grade for the course. In the latter case, please contact me so that we can clear up any issues, such as a mismatch between your answers for the exam questions and your answers on the scantron sheet, or a mismatch between your calculations of the final grade and mine, problems with the answers for specific questions on the exam, or any other relevant issues. However, please note that I do not respond to students who acknowledge that they received the grade that they did and are simply asking me to give them a higher grade. In my view, making such a request borders on academic misconduct.

December 30, 2009: The final exams have been marked. The class average on the final exam for Section 570 was 70% and for Section 571 was 72%. The highest mark on the final exam was 79/80 and lots of students got marks in the 90% range on the final exam. The highest mark in the course was 99%. The lowest mark was 0%. The class average for the course for Section 570 was 65% and for Section 571 was 67%. I hope that you are having a lovely Christmas break!

December 16, 2009: A reminder that there will be an optional review session on Monday, December 21, 2010 at 2:30 p.m. in Room W170.

November 22, 2009: The class average on Test 2 was the same for both sections, namely, 63%. One student in Section 571 got perfect on the test and a student in Section 570 got A⁺.

The final examination will be on Tuesday, December 22, 2009 at 7:00 p.m. in Rooms SA150 & SA151. You can go to either room. The exam will be 90 minutes long. Please remember to bring a pencil, eraser, and your student identification card. Please do NOT bring your cell phones or other electronic devices. You are not allowed to have a cell phone or any other electronic device with you during the examination. The following is a breakdown of the number of questions on the examination targetting the material for each of the topics covered in the chapters of the book:

Chapter 1	5 questions
Chapter 2	5 questions
Chapter 3	5 questions
Chapter 4	5 questions
Chapter 5	5 questions
Chapter 6	5 questions
Chapter 7	16 questions
Chapter 8	16 questions
Chapter 9	16 questions
Chapter 10	2 questions
Total	80 questions

November 19, 2009: One of the students pointed out that there is no link to the drug harmfulness material that was covered in class. Well, now there is. Just go to the "Drug Harmfulness" title in the "Resources" box to the left.

November 8, 2009: For Test 2 I am targetting material since the time of the first test. You still need to remember the material from before the first test, but I won't be targetting it for the second test.

October 23, 2009: I'm still getting swamped with requests from students to write the final examination early. Please note that the academic session does not end until the last examination is over. It is your responsibility to be in attendance until that time. I am not trying to be mean. It is difficult for the Registrar's office to schedule exams with a minimum of time-table conflicts. Don't forget that we have students from pretty much every undergraduate program in the class. In the past, we've had up to 6 or 7 students having to write in the conflict room, and nobody wants to write in the conflict room. So our examination is scheduled at a time when as many students as possible can actually come to write it. It happens to be at the end of the exam schedule. Be please patient with the process and make other arrangements for your vacations.

October 20, 2009: The Registrar's office has announced the date for the final examination for this course, namely, Tuesday, December 22, 2009, at 7:00 p.m. I am already receiving requests from students to write the exam early because they want to buy cheaper plane tickets to get home or go on vacation with their families. Please do not make such requests. If you have a legitimate reason to miss the final examination, such as a medical illness on the day of the exam, then you need to go to your dean's office and they will contact me about it.

October 20, 2009: After sorting out the which students wrote in which section bru ha ha the class average for section 570 is 62%. Please make sure that you write in your section number at the top of the scantron sheet (in addition to filling in the bubbles) so that your test can be correctly sorted into the right pile for marking.

October 20, 2009: Please note that student evaluations of teaching will be carried out before Test 2 on November 9, 2009. The test will begin immediately following the student evaluations of teaching.

October 15, 2009: Your tests have been marked. The class average for section 570 was 60% (including three students who received a grade of zero for writing with the wrong section) with a highest grade of 36/40. The class average for section 571 was 68% with a highest grade of 39/40. See you in class on Monday!

September 13, 2009: The first class is Monday, September 14, 2009. There will be a lecture that will take up the entire time of the class. If possible, please come prepared by reading Chapter 1 of the textbook.

July 20, 2009: I have posted the course outlines for the fall semester 2009–10 in the "Resources" box on the left. I you have any questions about the course, please e-mail me.

May 6, 2009: All the tests and exams have been written and graded. The class averages on the final exam were 71% for Section 570 and 68% for Section 571. The class averages for the course were 69% for Section 570 and 66% for Section 571. The highest mark on the final exam was 78/80. Four students received that mark, three from Section 570 and one from Section 571. The highest mark in the course was 97%. Ten students got 90% or higher in the course; six from Section 570 and four from Section 571. If you have any questions about the exam or your mark, please don't hesitate to ask. Please remember, though, that I do not respond to students who are dissatisfied with the mark that they received in the course and simply ask me to raise it. However, I will address all legitimate concerns as quickly and fairly as possible. Have a good summer! And I'll see some of you in the fall.

April 27, 2009: Just a reminder that the optional review session is today, Monday, April 27, 2009 at 3:00 p.m. in room DL130.

March 22, 2009: The final examination will be on Tuesday, April 28, 2009 at 2:00 p.m. in Room SA150/151 and will be 90 minutes long. Please remember to bring a pencil, eraser, and your student identification card. Please do NOT bring your cell phones or other electronic devices. You are not allowed to have a cell phone or any other electronic device with you during the examination. The following is a breakdown of the number of questions on the examination targetting the material for each of the topics covered in the chapters of the book:

Chapter 1	5 questions
Chapter 2	5 questions
Chapter 3	5 questions
Chapter 4	5 questions
Chapter 5	5 questions
Chapter 6	5 questions
Chapter 7	16 questions
Chapter 8	16 questions
Chapter 9	16 questions
Chapter 10	2 questions
Total	80 questions

March 10, 2009: Please note that office hours for Thursday, March 12, 2009 have been moved to Friday, March 13, 2009 from 12:00 noon to 3:00 p.m.

February 26, 2009: A number of students have asked me what is included on Test 2. You are required to know everything from the beginning of the course until the time of the test. However, I will only be targetting material covered since the last test. That doesn't mean that you can forget everything before that since you might need to remember it in order to answer some of the questions. Don't forget to bring your student cards, a pencil, and eraser to the test.

Also, I wrote a bit about Matrix Energetics in my blog on the home page.

February 2, 2009: Just a reminder that the classroom for Section 571 (the 3:30 p.m. class) has been moved from W168 to SA151 as of Monday, February 3, 2009.

January 26, 2009: For Section 570 only, the answer to the following question should be D not A. (This was one of the questions submitted by students and it was entirely my fault that I indicated the wrong answer in the table, not the student's.) The correct answer is now reflected in the table of answers for all versions of the test.

#. *According the William James the self is
A) a stream.
B) the biological organism within which an information processing system exists.
C) a mental representation of the information processing system within itself.
D) a passing thought that appropriates previously aggregated ideas about what one is like.
E) the fringe of a penumbra.

January 23, 2009: Students have been asking me about the first test. The test consists of 40 multiple-choice questions which you will get 40 minutes to complete. The questions are fairly evenly distributed throughout the material of the first three chapters with about 12 to 14 questions per lecture. There will be a lecture after the test.

January 13, 2009: A number of students who registered late for the class have asked me what they missed on the first day of class. Most of what was covered is in Chapter 1 of the textbook. However, we covered two topics that are not in the textbook. I elaborated on beliefs about reality, which are discussed in the text, but not to the extent to which I talked about them in class. In order to see that material, click on the "Beliefs About Reality" link in the Resources box on the left. When the link opens, below the "Beliefs About Reality" table is another link to an article in which the table is explained. The other topic was that of remote viewing. I said a little bit about the initiation of that research program at Stanford Research International and mentioned the example in which Pat Price viewed Semipalatinsk. The "Remote Viewing" link in the Resources box on the left has a reference and link to an article describing that work.