Mystical experiences relate to a fundamental dimension of human existence. These experiences, which are characterized by a sense of union with God, are commonly reported across all cultures. To date, no electroencephalography (EEG) study has been conducted to identify the neuroelectrical correlates of such experiences. The main objective of this study was to measure EEG spectral power and coher...

The use of semiotics has been proposed in studying the ways in which information is mediated in computer systems, particularly in user interfaces. Goguen's algebraic semiotics provides a formal tool for studying the systematic use of signs in computer systems, and for presenting formal comparisons of diierent interface designs. The formal elements of algebraic semiotics make it a kind of algebr...

A large body of historical evidence describes the use of hallucinogenic compounds, such as psilocybin mushrooms, for religious purposes. But few scientific studies have attempted to measure or characterize hallucinogen-occasioned spiritual experiences. The present study examined the factor structure of the Mystical Experience Questionnaire (MEQ), a self-report measure that has been used to asse...

A book called the Zohar emerged during the Middle Ages, giving rise to a Jewish form of mystical speculation known as the "Cabala" and creating strong interest in the system's mystical teachings in both Jewish and Christian circles. During the Renaissance, Pico, Reuchlin, and Ricci led in applying the Zohar's mystical teachings to the OT in defense of Christian doctrines such at that of the Tri...

JCB • VOLUME 214 • NUMBER 2 • 2016 122 Growing up in the Boston area, Cliff Brangwynne was a kid with distinct interests. He recalls performing one of his fi rst experiments after watching a TV program on quantum mechanics: spending an afternoon bouncing a tennis ball off a wall in an attempt to observe quantum tunneling. Through high school, he read pop-science books about the weirdness of the...

Etymology: from the Greek word "semeion" ("sign") Semiotics is a field of research that studies signs as an essential part of cultural life and communication. According to semiotics, we can only know culture (and reality itself) by means of signs, in other words, through the processes of signification. Semiotics has two founders: the Swiss linguist Ferdinand de Saussure (died 1913) and the Amer...

The first lecture will present pictorial semiotics within the framework of general semiotic theory. It will construe semiotics as a particular point of view taken on everything which is human or, more generally, endowed with life, rather than simply the continuation of the mixed or separate doctrines due to Saussure and Peirce. The historical part will describe briefly the development of pictor...

In the following, elementary constituents of models in computational semiotics are outlined. This is done by referring to computer simulations as a framework which neither aims to describe artificial sign systems (as done in computer semiotics), nor to realize semiotic functions in “artificial worlds” (as proposed in “artificial semiosis”). Rather, the framework referred to focuses on precondit...