Understanding the reality of the hard problem of consciousness

Where consciousness is concerned, the appearance is the reality.
 - John Searle

Consciousness is a permanently hot topic in the philosophy of mind since Rene Descartes. Below we examine the most popular views on consciousness, encounter the famous explanatory gap that makes consciousness so elusive, find why the hard problem of consciousness is real, and point out a novel way for its solution.

42: how a theory that adequately describes reality may look like

I have no special talent. I am only passionately curious.
 - Albert Einstein

If you ever thought about the ultimate question of Life, the Universe, and Everything, you probably have noticed such weird things as the temporal paradox, the wave-particle duality, and the Copenhagen interpretation. You may also has been puzzled by the question of why they cannot unify general relativity and quantum mechanics. All this has happened because quantum mechanics has gone astray, and no one wants to admit this. Although it is possible to construct a picture of the world without the strange things mentioned above, no one still gives a shift (a paradigm shift). Below you may find an answer to the question of why quantum mechanics may be incomplete.

Kill la Kill: cybernetics for kids or how the layers of a viable social system are interconnected through the limbic systems of their participants

Humans think they are free, conscious beings, when in truth they are deluded animals. At the same time, they never cease trying to escape from what they imagine themselves to be.

- John Gray

The blind watchmaker named Evolution carves her creations in tight accordance with the principles woven into the very foundations of this world. She is a very harsh mistress who does not forgive mistakes. People believe that they can create things much better that she does only with a kind heart and pure intentions. But again and again, they break their nails in the futile attempts to build a Utopia. It takes some knowledge about how this world is arranged to understand what is in principle possible to build in it. It turns out, that the pure intentions are only a part of the picture, that will crumble if only these intentions are what is left in it. What is the remaining part? Surprisingly, Kill la Kill - a grotesque animation TV-show - may shed some light on this.

A Short Guide to Ghost in the Shell

Only diversity wins in the game of evolution

A cult movie by the cult director - is probably what comes to mind when you hear "Ghost in the Shell". But Mamoru Oshii's 1995 film is only the tip of the iceberg. By the date (2018) the franchise includes:

1. [1] Angel's Egg by Mamoru Oshii (1985)
2. [2] The original manga by Masamune Shirow (1989)
3. [1] The original movie by Mamoru Oshii (1995)
4. [3] The Standalone Complex TV by Kenji Kamiyama (2002)
5. [3] The Standalone Complex TV 2nd GIG by Kenji Kamiyama (2004)
6. [1] GitS Innocence movie by Mamoru Oshii (2004)
7. [3] GitS SAC: Solid State Society movie by Kenji Kamiyama (2006)
8. [1] GitS 2.0 (renewal of the original movie) by Mamoru Oshii (2008)
9. [4] Arise OVA by Kazuchika Kise (2013)
10. [4] Koukaku Kidoutai ARISE: Alternative Architecture TV by Kazuchika Kise (2015)
11. [4] Koukaku Kidoutai: Shin Gekijouban by Kazuya Nomura (2015)

If you are not familiar with GitS, it is better to follow the chronological order. The numbers in square braces are (tentative) lineages. Although the lineages incorporate the same fictional world and characters, they are elaborated by different authors and offer barely connected stories. You may wonder, why I have included "Angel's Egg" into the franchise, and what these feathers from the iconic Floating Museum may mean at the picture above. It may be hard to guess, but the feathers are what connects "Angel's Egg" to Oshii's "Ghost in the Shell". Let's speak about this (and about a little bit more) below.

A Short Guide to Neon Genesis Evangelion

Evangelion is as inexhaustible as the atom
- Lenin

(an obligatory pun that should acсompany any serious writing about Evangelion)

At first glance, Neon Genesis Evangelion is a yet another senseless sci-fi show. The second approach reveals that it is not as simple as it appears to be. However, the truth is that a complex, profound and beautiful story is hidden beneath the seemingly superfluous facade. It could not be revealed easily because of the extreme fragmentation and the tricks authors use to deliberately misguide you. In addition, the powerful psychological drama may draw your attention and move you to tears. Unfortunately, all this may make the supernova hidden in your heart to fade dim, which will undoubtedly ignite at the full extent after you comprehend the whole story. The only way to unveil it is to watch NGE more than once (and probably more than twice or even more) connecting scattered facts with the ones you already have in your memory. However, even in this case, it is very hard to see all because of the way Evangelion is constructed and because some details only available through certain third-party sources. Below I will try to reconstruct the entire plot in a concise though complete manner. This is an ultimate spoiler, so please watch NGE at least once before reading this. The Rebuild of Evanglion movies are discussed at the last section.

How to Draw a Day/Night World Map

Actually, there is nothing too hard, especially if you have a good astronomical algorithm library. Nowadays we could do this using only plain JavaScript and HTML5 canvas.