Cyborg 101

CYBORG 101
The Warrior's Guide to the Blackboard Jungle

Online book by Angus T.K. Wong.
2 Cyborg 101: Warriors Guide to the Blackboard Jungle
CONTENTS
Introduction Chapter 1 Chapter 2 Chapter 3 Chapter 4 Chapter 5 Chapter 6 Chapter 7 Chapter 8 Chapter 9 Chapter 10 Appendix A Making of a Cyborg How it all began and why A Better War Machine Basic cyborg know-how Cybernetic RAM Upgrade Tactical advantages through enhanced memory capacity Operating System Debugging your environment Hardware Towards the winning edge Input/ Output Your dialogue with the world The Battlefield Cybernetic military strategy and applications Video Acceleration How to read at warp speed The New Edge Further enhancements Epilogue Bugs in the System The failure of modern education
Introduction
What is Cyborg 101?
This book is the culmination of years of research. It was written by Angus T.K. Wong, in 1993. Midway through university, Angus was suspended because of poor academic performance. Three years later, he graduated at the top 5% of his class, on the dean's honour list. This book is his "how to" guide. Its techniques have transformed a lazy, poor-performing dropout, into a straight-A student.
Why is it published on the Internet?

Angus spent 6 months of his life writing this book. For the entire 6 months, he woke up at 5am in the morning, and typed on his computer. In the afternoon, he went to various libraries in his city and did research. At night, he sorted through the research and added to his morning work. Then he slept at 11pm, and repeated the process the next day. When the book was finished, he sent it to various publishers. Many of them thought it was an exciting idea, but they didn't dare publish it. Too controversial. Some wanted him to remove the "science fiction" aspect and turn it into a generic study guide. Some wanted him to remove certain theories because they thought it was too "technical." Most of them were afraid to print the chapters on smart drugs and military strategy. Finally, some of them wanted him to rewrite the whole thing as an auto-biography instead. In the end, Angus decided that the main reason he wrote the book was to share his experiences and learning with other students facing the problems he had overcome. And in the end, he released the text version of his book into cyberspace. Many people sent him email, remarking that his book helped them a lot, and encouraged him to gain more exposure for it. This Web site is the result of another month of work. It is a contribution to students and educators everywhere. (For Angus' controversial treatise on the failure of the educational system, read BUGS IN THE SYSTEM. Tertiary educators have already and many agree with him.)
Author's Note
In my quest for the perfect perspective with which to regard school, I created what I call the paradigm of the cyborg. It is the key manner in which learners will realise success. By viewing themselves as war-machines, of sorts, and the classroom as a battlefield, the students can destroy the notion that school is boring and mundane. This frame of reference also facilitates analysis of the situation in strategic and tactical terminology. In addition, the concept of "cybernetics" in the context of this book refers to the combined use of organic and inorganic tools to assist the student in achieving a common objective. Inorganic devices include, for example, personal computers and subliminals. Organic tools, on the other hand, refer to mental skills such as speed-reading and memory techniques. I believe this book fills a void in the diverse array of literature on learning. Firstly, it is aimed at the student. This is not a handbook for educators. Teachers have been changing and revising their curriculum constantly, and yet few books address the major issue: Student apathy. This volume teaches the student skills in an exciting and lively manner, and recognizes that underachievers lack not the mental ability for success, but the motivation to do so. One special point about my book is that in fact it is most suitable for fans of science fiction and technophiles. SF themes run throughout the book, and these are side-effects of my own interests and background in SF. An observation I have made is that a certain proportion of students who have trouble in school are, in fact, avid fans of science fiction. I was such a person. For far too long, education has concentrated on content, and neglected presentation. Student discontent with school demonstrates the failure of ordinary vehicles of communication and persuasion. This book also presents conveniently in the same place, perhaps for the first time for many readers, revolutionary skills and devices that will soon change forever the landscape of learning.
About This Book

This book contains numerous techniques and principles. Their application to your life does not require a full understanding of why they work. This is analogous to driving a car. When operating a car, it is not necessary to know the mechanical engineering behind its functioning in order to get you to where you're going. All you need to know is how to drive it. Using this book is very much the same way. Although the techniques work, you don't really have to understand the reasoning behind them - and I won't dwell too much on that part of it either. You just have to know when to apply them. This book is geared towards effective results. I wrote it so that a person can just pick it up and start using the stuff immediately. That is why one of the first chapters is about memory. I want you to get right into the action. Feel free to read the memory and speed-reading chapters first, if you need to use these tools right now. However, do not neglect the other chapters. The total unification of diverse tactics into a single strategy for success is the very essence of this book. The scope of this book does not allow me to go into considerable depth on any one particular topic. In Appendix B you will find sources for more information and I highly recommend you use them. The material contained in these pages was gathered from many places. I would like to salute the individual men and women throughout history who have each, in his or her own special way, overcome major obstacles out of their love for humanity, and uplifted us just that little bit more. It is for them, and a new generation of students everywhere, that this book was written. Thank You All and God Bless.
Acknowledgments
Like all human endeavors of massive undertaking, this book would never have come into existence without the help of many people in my life. First and foremost, I would like to thank my mother. She taught me how to read and appreciate books long before any school-teacher did. More than anyone else in the world, she has taught me the value of determination, demonstrating in her own life the power of human will to overcome enormous odds to ultimately prevail. She taught me how to fight. She is indeed my Sarah Conner. I would like to thank my father, a man of extraordinary proportions, who taught me that there is far more to life than meets the eye, that the human mind is filled with awesome capacity and potential, and that the way to understanding the world and yourself involves more than a handful of disciplines and knowledge. Thank you Dad, for showing me the way. I thank my sister and brother, both of whom my life would be lonely and incomplete without their continued support and love. In times when I began to feel arrogant, they pointed out my shortcomings and encouraged me to grow and improve. I love them, I love my family - including my dogs and cat who cannot read this sentence yet nevertheless assuredly know that I love them. I wish to thank everyone in the Internet cyberspace, and I trust and encourage all of you to print and distribute in any form this work of mine. Please keep my work unaltered and ensure I am credited with this manuscript. Hopefully together we will bring to light the material contained herein and I will be at peace knowing I have written something worthwhile for everyone. I hope eventually this will exist in book form for those less fortunate without access to a computer. Finally, I wish to thank again all the men and women whose books I have ever read, for without them my mind would not be able to conceive of and enjoy the immense beauty and diversity of humanity. Live long and prosper, all of you! Angus Wong anguswong@yahoo.com
WRITTEN IN 1993; RELEASED TO THE WORLD VIA CYBERSPACE: March 8, 1995 A.D. WORLD WIDE WEB VERSION RELEASED: January 20, 1996 A.D. EBOOK VERSION RELEASED BY SYNNER90: June 02 2011 AD.
Chapter 1
How it all began and why
"The machines rose from the ashes of the nuclear fire." --- The Terminator
Judgment Day: 1989 A.D.

The effects of shell-shock and how that got me started The lightning took a photograph of me. It was an evening in June, of 1989. I sat at my desk, staring at the wall. There wasn't anything particularly interesting about the wall, but I wasn't in the mood to appreciate more complicated visual stimuli. My mind was preoccupied with something with enormous ramifications for me. Earlier on that day, I had gone to the mailbox to retrieve the day's mailings. There was the usual assortment of junk - with a few real letters interspersed in their midst - and among the conglomeration of paper, I found a letter from my university. I tore open the envelope, and read its contents. Two sentences immediately stood out on the page. The first one reprimanded me on my pathetic academic standings for the past several years, but that was to be expected. I was not a good student. I didn't finish assignments, didn't participate in class discussions, and rarely even went to school. But in spite of all my wrongdoings, I was unprepared for the real purpose of that letter, and that was to inform me that for the next year, I was suspended from university! I was shocked. For a moment, I refused to believe what the letter said. There was no way, in my mind, that I would be caught in such a mess, no way that I would fall to such a dismal low. I had always considered myself intelligent, and lucky. I treated school with a devil-may-care attitude. The thought of me being suspended was inconceivable. But there it was, written in black on white. The irrefutable evidence of my failure burnt into the paper. As I stared at the wall, I thought back to what I had been doing up until that letter arrived. In retrospect, all the times I spend partying with my friends, instead of staying home and studying, seemed wasted periods in my life. Above all, my tuition fees felt miserably like money down the drains - hard-earned cash that my parents had hoped would allow me to earn a
decent education, and find a decent job. As the dreadful reality of the situation sank in, I realized that youthful folly had, indeed, been folly. I focused on a crack in the ceiling. I knew I didn't want anyone - especially not my parents - to know what had happened. It seemed that my parents' worst fears were realized, and they were justified after all, in nagging me to do my homework all those years. I was not only embarrassed; I was totally ashamed of myself. But in the end, the truth had to come out, and I confronted my parents. They listened intently, as I described what had happened, and they didn't pressure me any further. I was prepared for the end of the world, but they saw how miserable I already was. My mother simply asked me what I was going to do for the next little while, and I told her I would find a job and keep busy. The worst of it over, I began to feel better again after a few days, and my vivacious side kicked right back into high-gear. Soon, I found myself partying once more with my friends near-oblivious to what had happened. Then my luck ran out, and some company actually wanted to hire me. Without warning, I found myself in the same grim situation as millions of other people around the world: I was employed. Things turned out to not be as horrible as I anticipated - my employer turned out to have remarkably authentic human characteristics after all. So I worked for most of the year, and while at it, earned quite a lot of money. The remarkable thing during my employment was that I learned how to work under enormous pressure. Our clients were extremely demanding, and I frequently worked overtime just to help the company meet deadlines. But the work was satisfying, and the boss always treated everyone well whenever we pulled through together. We even had a company boat party. I caught fish while my colleagues smoked up. It was a glorious time. I stopped working near the end of summer the following year, needing to make preparations for returning to school. I was gearing myself for the big challenge that lay ahead. Not only did I have to do well in my classes this time around, but I had to pull my grade average up to a minimal level, otherwise they would kick me out again - this time for three years. If there is one thing about a lack of alternatives, it's that nothing else motivates a person quite like it. The horrible possibility of a three-year suspension loomed ominously, and I had difficulty telling the difference between it, and death.
I knew I had to do something about myself. I had to make it really big in school this time. It was boom or bust. Do or die. Like Captain Hernan Cortes, my ships were burnt, and there was no other way to go but forward, and in the final analysis whenever one is confounded by a problem, it always pays to ask an expert for advice.
Preliminary Reconnaissance - What's the Secret?

The things that make a nerd tick The closest expert I know of in such matters was my sister. She was pretty much the super-achiever of the clan. Her grades were top-notch, and she had won many academic scholarships. The fact that I was her biological sibling was a scanty yet reassuring morsel of support in my now desperate struggle to find enlightenment. But when I asked her what the secret to success in school was, I obtained no satisfactory answer. She simply told me that she had never really thought about it, and studying just naturally seemed the thing to do. After all, wasn't that was what every other student on this planet did? Well, to me it didn't seem natural at all. Unfortunately the more people I asked, the more their answers resembled my sister's, and the more appalling the situation looked. Students were to follow the directions given by the teacher, read the books assigned, do the homework, and write the exams. They gave me a generic equation. It seemed simple enough. All one needed was discipline. Aye, there's the rub - discipline: The rarest commodity on this planet. And how was it obtained? All my life I was told that it was earned, cultivated, trained, whipped and bred into you. I felt like a race-horse. But somehow, logic saved the day: How can one create discipline in oneself, when the very process of this creation requires discipline itself?! It was a vicious circle. There had to be something I overlooked. Resorting to drastic measures, I decided to seek my answer in - horror of all horrors - the library! The good news was that my university had an excellent library. There were books and magazines on almost any subject you could imagine, not to mention slides, videos, cassettes, and even compact-discs. Browsing around, my antiquated stereotype of a library being the most boring place on earth dissipated.
I spent a good amount of my spare time perusing the library's contents. I checked indices and catalogues for any material there was on learning, on education, on memory, on reading skills and, of course, on discipline. What I found was disappointing. Apart from some reasonably useful information on memory skills, the material I obtained was mostly common knowledge. The generic equation was repeated: Work hard! The situation seemed hopeless - was I really going to have to just sit down and force myself to study? Then - while contemplating suicide by holding my breath underwater in the bathtub - it occurred to me: I already had discipline! I mean, going to the library and researching all that stuff did take discipline did it not? So what was the difference between the researching that I did, and the researching that I would have to do for a class assignment?
Passion - The Critical Difference

What's your pleasure? The difference was passion. I was driven by passion (and some fear) to do the research. I was curious, I was hungry for information, I was haunted day and night by the elusive solution to my dilemma. I figured that if I could only transfer that passion into my daily school life, I would have it made. I would have seized the very essence of learning - the very fuel of achievement. But intuitively I knew that was too simple an answer. If passion was so easily obtained and managed, why isn't the world filled with successful students? Why the poor grades and high drop-out rates? In other words, how does one get passionate about school? It was damned near impossible to like school, much less feel passionate about it except perhaps passionately hating it! But passion is everywhere. The world is filled with people with passion about many things. From stamp-collectors to mountain-climbers, and book-lovers to video-game addicts, our planet is the home to legions of passionate people. The only problem was, most people were only passionate about certain areas of life, and were either indifferent towards or totally repulsed by other things. Take baseball for instance. For those who are absolutely addicted to it, playing and watching this sport is the only important thing in life. Everything else is insignificant. ERAs and RBIs to these people are more important than why Freud thought that people were hung up about sex in their dismal childhoods. But there
are people who are equally interested in both baseball and Freudian psychology, and perhaps in many other topics as well. How can they manage that? How can these people equally enjoy doing all these diverse and, apparently, conflicting things? How can I, as a student, learn to enjoy school in addition to my existing interests? When I rephrased my question and asked the good students about why they were so passionate about studying - instead of asking them about discipline - all of the high-achievers told me that the reason they worked hard to get good grades was either because their parents would kill them if they didn't - almost literally, in some cases! - or because they were so "naturally high" from the feeling of super-achievement that they would do anything to make the grade. This meant that these people were either motivated by fear or by passion. It was a push, or a pull. The feeling was, however, so intimately bound within their psychology, they were never consciously aware of the motive force behind their endeavors. This was why my sister could not answer me when I first asked her about the subject: She was so bent on achieving; studying just seemed the "natural" thing to do, exactly as she said. So, in order for me to be motivated to do well in school, I had to get passionate about it. But for that to happen, I had to find some way of thinking about school that made it interesting, that made every day in class seem like fun. But was there really a way that school could honestly be fun?!
The Binary System - Intrinsic / Extrinsic Motivation

Carrot or stick, or neither? I found out that it can be. School, taken as a whole, can be regarded as a game - just as life can often be regarded as a game too - a game that you can win. Now, the meaning of "winning" in school, or in life, is not necessarily judged in the same way as winning a game of cards, or a baseball game. There is no scoreboard and no referee. But if you play a baseball game, and your team loses, is that the last time you're ever going to play baseball in your life? No, of course not. You play again and again. If you win, great. If not, then what the hell. You enjoyed yourself anyway. And that's the key. Playing the game has merits all of its own, regardless of the score, regardless of whether you're winning or "losing."
Psychologists refer to this as Intrinsic Motivation - you are motivated internally by your own desire to play. Extrinsic Motivation would be likened to playing the game because you want to show-off to your friends, or because you can't allow yourself to lose because have such a fragile ego. The problem with extrinsic motivation is that once the "goal" or the reason behind the action is satisfied, the motivation disappears. If during the game you felt that you had achieved your goal of showing-off, or your ego didn't need any more nursing, the central motivation to play the game ceases to exist. You now have less certainty why you are playing the game. Of course, you could go on and finish the game all the way to the bottom of the ninth inning, but once the extrinsic motivation vanishes, your mind stops giving it all you've got, because the situation isn't that important to you anymore. In other words, you stop peak performance and simply go through the motions. With regards to school, a student driven to study because her parents want her to, or are forcing her to, is driven by extrinsic motivation. The same goes for a person who is working simply to earn money, and not because he or she totally loves the job. On the other hand, the student staying up all night reading a textbook on astronomy, or the fall of the Roman civilization, and doing so because he or she finds the material fascinating and interesting (or simply loves learning anything new) is propelled forward by intrinsic motive forces. Even though being interested in the material that one is studying is a better situation than studying hard (even if one finds the material boring) because one is driven towards constantly experiencing the "natural high" from excellent grades, both these situations are far superior to the students doing homework only because they'll get into trouble if they don't. The superior student is driven by passion. Unfortunately, most people in the world are solely driven by extrinsic demands. Money is the obvious example. Everyone works and earns money to some extent, but only the intrinsically motivated people are honestly happy with what they're doing. A lot of times, people don't properly differentiate between these two motive forces. They might think that they are intrinsically motivated, when it's really extrinsic. For example, if a person told me that he was driven to work because he has a passion for money, I would challenge that and ask him whether or not winning the lottery would have any effect on how hard he would continue working! If suddenly, he found himself with an additional five million dollars (or even ten million dollars), would he continue waking up early every day, driving to work, staying there for eight to ten hours, and drive back home through rush hour
traffic? Most people would quit the job the next day! Only those who are driven to work regardless of the money, or fringe benefits, or anything else except the job itself, would excel above and beyond anyone else driven by a lesser power. Sir Edmund Hillary wasn't driven to climb Mount Everest because he wanted to get into the front pages of the newspapers. That was a by-product of his endeavor (as earning money is, from a job). He wanted to climb the mountain "because it's there." He climbed it - and risked his life - because he wanted to. A third aspect of this concept of motivation is that of Affective Reward. This is the emotional experience enjoyed as a result of success. For simplicity's sake, affective reward can be tied together with intrinsic motivation. Both are founded within the person, and do not depend on variable and temporary external conditions for inspiration and encouragement. Appendix A discusses this, and other psychological concepts, in greater detail. Suffice to say now that we must realize that long-lasting motivation in any human endeavor is intrinsicallydriven, not extrinsically. There are companies that try to create intrinsic motivation and loyalty in their employees through programmes that reinforce the "esprit de corps" or the company spirit, and make employees feel like working for the company, and with each other, are the best things in the world. Japanese firms are famous for instilling a sense of "family" into their workers, with daily programmes such as morning exercises, and other such activities. It seems artificial, but it works. To take their lead, we must try to establish intrinsic motivation in our situation in school, but how do we accomplish that? The answer lies within our minds.
Paradigms - Changing the World View

Trying on a new pair of glasses In science, there is a term called a paradigm. It basically is another word for the way one looks at the world - one's perspective, one's point of view. Take the example of Plato, for instance. He was a Greek philosopher who lived around 300 B.C. and he believed that the entire universe revolved around our planet Earth. To the people of his time, it was the only reasonable explanation - people are important, people live on this Earth, the gods created Earth, and so the universe revolves around us. No questions asked. Later scientists such as Ptolemy even backed up his idea with scientific calculations!
Then came along a fellow by the name of Copernicus. His ideas were even stranger than his name. He thought that everyone was wrong, that the Earth revolved around the sun. Now that was a really revolutionary idea, but nobody took him seriously for a long time and even made him look like a fool. That was, until about half a decade later when the marvelous Johannes Kepler arrived. He made new astronomical calculations and proved to the world that indeed, we revolved around the sun. The dramatic paradigm shift was to change forever the manner of thinking of everyone in the world. No longer were humans to be regarded as the greatest thing to happen in evolution since nature invented food, and everyone ate humble pie for a few centuries. Then, just when the people thought it was OK to start feeling arrogant again, a guy by the name of Charles Darwin came along, with his leaky old ship, the H.M.S. Beagle. Darwin told us that, hey folks, guess what, our ancestors ate bananas, climbed trees, and looked a hell of a lot like apes. What a riot. So you see, history is filled with paradigm shifts. In truth, there is no "reality" out there. Nobody knows for sure what "reality," really is. Science is continually coming up with new theories about the universe. Nothing is permanent or set in stone. That is why scientific theories are called theories. They are liable to change. Even if a statement is referred to as a "law" - such as, the first law of motion by Isaac Newton - that "law" is itself part of the bigger theory the first law of motion in the theory of Newtonian physics. When that theory is challenged - by Einstein's theory of relativity, for instance - then those "laws" may have to be revised or discarded altogether. Let's take a look at a more apt example of how paradigm shifts can affect us in the world, and let me tell you a story from my own life. In the summer of 1985, my brother, my sister and I were staying over at our friends' place in the suburbs. We had a lot of fun that day, then it was time to sleep. I shared the guest room with my brother, and my sister shared a room with our friends. Around 4 am in the morning, I woke to the sound of glass shattering, and smelt something strange in the air. Instantly I knew something was wrong. In fact, I heard the parents of our friends yell from outside the room, there's a fire, there's a fire! My brother and I instantly reacted to the situation and, to cut a long story short, we both got out of the house safely. My sister, however, having woken up because of all the shouting, went to the window and looked out. Our friends asked her what she was doing, and she said that she was trying to see where the fire was. "Right here!" they told her, "Let's go!" Can you imagine the dramatic
paradigm shift she must have experienced?! The whole situation was changed. Her life was in danger! Anyway, the story had a happy ending, because everyone managed to get out of the house. It's funny now, to talk about my sister's absolutely idiocy but without the proper perspective, without placing herself squarely into the reality of the circumstances, she would not have known the enormity of the situation. Thus, life is full of paradigm shifts. All the time. There's nothing strange or weird about this. You experience them everyday, in varying degrees. In fact, everything in the universe, in life, in school, is simply a matter of perspective - of paradigms - and the key to changing yourself, the key to turning yourself from a lazy bum staring at the wall, into a person who is totally passionate and excited about excelling in school, and getting onto the honour roll, is a matter of shifting your own paradigms about who you are, and what you're doing. And the end of my quest for enlightenment thus became the beginning of a new one: In order to succeed I needed a paradigm shift. A big shift. I needed to view myself as in charge of the situation, in control, and in the game. I needed to feel like school was the most interesting thing that can happen to me, and to have the perspective of mind to be eager to meet the challenges that presented themselves each day. Norbert Wiener invented the field of cybernetics. He defined it as the study of feedback loops and control systems. In other words, cybernetics dealt with systems, whether mechanical or organic, with internal structures that allowed for self-regulation. An air-conditioning system with a thermostat is one such example. However, cybernetic systems include combined organic and mechanical systems. For instance, unlike other flying-machine experimenters, the Wright brothers built airplanes that were flown by human pilots. The movement of the ailerons, and thus the movement of the plane, was controlled via the feedback loop between the plane's actual position in the sky and the pilot's perception of how it should be flown. Therefore, the entire pilot-plane system was self-regulating. Nowadays, the term "cybernetics" has taken on new meaning. It describes the interaction between humans and machines. In fact, the "cybernetic relationship" requires that there be little distinction between the component organic and mechanical parts. A person with a surgically-implanted device, such as a pace-maker, is a prime example. The key to the use of the word "cybernetics" in the context of this book is to realise that cybernetic devices enhance organic functions. I will discuss not only cybernetic hardware, but cybernetic principles as
well. In the competitive world of the urban jungle, it takes more than animal instinct and brute force to survive. Indeed, these two traits, so vital once long ago, may even be counter-productive in this day and age. Because of our biological limitations, and because of the modern demands placed on every person to perform at higher levels, it is foolhardy not to take advantage of advanced technology to assist us in our endeavors. It is this cybernetic assistance that I will show you. Unfortunately, as encountered by most cutting-edge technologies, there is a tendency for people to meet the new frontier with skepticism and fear. In fact, what they fear most is change. There is an inborn predisposition for humans not to change. It is as if we were psychologically imprinted with that infamous phrase, "If it ain't broke, don't fix it." That is a handicapping piece of advice, if I ever heard one. Yet when it comes to new technologies, people are usually reluctant to accept them in their lives. This happens whether in business, school, or everyday living. Even if people do decide to "jump off the deep end" and give the new technology a try, they are hard pressed to let other people know for fear of being labeled "weird." Apparently, there is a subconscious limit on the social acceptability of certain new ideas. More important, there is a social stigma of the person who tries "too hard," the person who is a "wannabe." Let me tell you, right off the bat, that it is only those who try hardest who are winners. Remember, there have been a lot of technologies that were looked down upon, or even made fun of, that have become household words. When the very first executives brought along their portable computers to work, were they applauded for their pioneering spirit and visioneering ability? I doubt very much. More likely, they were regarded with a jaundiced eye, because they did not conform. The same probably went for the first C.E.O.s who took up jogging every morning before work, while their competitors were still in bed. Now, even the President of the United States jogs - traffic jams notwithstanding! Companies that take extreme measures, such as enlisting their employees in survival courses such as those offered by Outward Bound, are initially regarded with disapproval, but later on are followed and credited. When gauging the worth of new technologies, the determinant is, of course, ultimate success. Remember, ordinary methods get ordinary results. The average executive will earn the average pay, and the average student will get an average grade (which, by definition, is just a C). In other words, it is my belief that to be extraordinary, you have to do extraordinary things.
When I realized this, I concluded that the "usual" methods of success didn't work for me. I needed to find other methods. I had to take "extraordinary measures." I would not care if anyone thought I was trying too hard, or acting strangely unconformist. My grades would prove the value of my techniques. So I shifted my paradigms, and decided that the situation had turned into war. The college campus had become a battlefield, and the enemy was anything that stood in my way of success. I could not afford to fail in my task. I had to seek out the enemy and destroy it - no prisoners taken. I had to be stronger and more powerful than ever before. I needed total guarantee of success. Even before I started partying too much, and consequently do badly in school, I had a lot of personal interest in computers and telecommunications. I just never knew how extensively I would soon make use of them. On the other hand, I was sorely lacking in other information, so I read a myriad of literature on personal power, success, accelerated learning, and enhancing the human potential. I read with a fervor, because I needed find the secrets. I needed to become supercharged, fully-loaded with all options, and totally invincible. I had to become a cyborg...
Chapter 2
To Build a Better War-Machine
Basic Cyborg Know-How "You're like a machine underneath right? But sort of alive outside?" "I'm a cybernetic organism. Living tissue over metal endoskeleton." --- Terminator 2
Preliminary Mission Briefing

Key Ideas and Terminology We must focus our attentions towards specific areas of our lives. Total immersion into a particular discipline will yield intense results. By maximally asserting oneself, the person can fully realize the incredible power of human potential. History overflows with examples of great human triumph through specialization. I always believed that anyone can excel above and beyond other people in any topic, provided he or she spent their entire lives devoted to the pursuit of that one task. In this book, we will learn how to take advantage of this total isolation and focusing of energies, to boost us to new heights of achievement. Yet we must also remember that any single endeavor is but one aspect of our many-faceted lives. If we spend too much time on any one thing, we run the risk of losing the forest for the trees. The world is too wonderful, and life too precious, for a person to neglect exploration into a variety of experiences. In living, I have always preferred a principle of inclusion, rather than exclusion: Trying as many things as reasonably possible, and making as many friends as possible. Therefore, while true that if we dedicated our entire lives to a single task then we would most certainly be very successful in it, that way of life is only for a select few. The majority of people would rather have a more colorful existence. I am no exception. When I am not working hard at school or my jobs, I backpack in the wilderness, go alpine skiing, read science fiction, write computer programs, travel the world, or simply party till dawn with my friends at the latest Karaoke bar. But as we look at the general populace on this planet, we realise that many people sacrifice individual task excellence, for variety. Many are skeptical that people are capable of doing well in seemingly opposing subjects, such as mathematics and fine art, or computer science and humanities. I am reminded of
the proverbial jack of all trades, and master or none. It seems that we must choose between either variety, or success. That is a terrible misconception. I know many people who excel in both the classroom, and the barroom. The perpetuation of the myth that people must specialize, gives everyone a powerful excuse to not do certain things. They may, for instance, say that they are not a "math person." While individual idiosyncrasies and talents can come into play, I do not believe that schools today offer any courses of instruction that are so specialized and demanding that they are above and beyond what the average human can tackle. To argue that the power of specialization is mutually exclusive with the possibility of variety, is akin to saying that one must either be a good cook and a bad driver, or a bad cook and good driver. It is this kind of mentality that leads to the stereotyping of men, women, and nationalities. With Cyborg 101 I hope to destroy this ridiculous Gordian knot of cyclic myth. Having said all of the above, I must now inform the reader that the very delicate balance between a life of breadth, and a life of individual successes, is not easily reached. The key to this power lies in one's ability to exclude the demands and influences on our resources because of our involvement with other tasks, while allowing us to concentrate on a job at hand. In later sections, we will learn the importance of focusing our energies, and methods to manage our exposure to stimuli. We will be able to selectively choose between events, people and thoughts depending on whether they will help or hinder our performance at current tasks. In effect, we will be able to live out component lives dedicated to specific tasks, while still able to integrate all these separate personalities into a total person.
Mission Overview
A reconnaissance satellite view Before we enter into the main techniques for invincibility and peak performance, it is necessary that we look at an overview of the adventure upon which we are about to embark. The format I will be using is structured around a basic premise: The best method is one that unifies all other methods. This arrangement will maximize the benefits of "synergy" - as discussed below - and offer a comprehensive approach towards all objectives. I have formed the framework of our plan around military strategy because I feel that an overall strategic organization is necessary. Performance tools (such as
memory and reading skills) offer short-term tactical advantages, but they are ineffective without long-term strategic guidance. We will also investigate the terrain, the actual environment in which we seek our challenges. Finally, the supreme requirement for a successful execution of our master plan depends on the ammunition and firepower, and that will be derived from your personal energy, both mentally and physically. What we are about to discuss applies to all situations. They are relevant to business, schooling, relationships, sports and other areas of life. School, however, is so important (as you will see) that I have used it for many examples in this book. There is a more fundamental reason why I chose the school as a focus. Learning, as a process, is with us everywhere. We learn all the time. It defines what life is about. Whether it is a new way of putting the ball into the basket, or dealing with a new client, people cannot avoid education. It is inevitable. The important point to understand is that we can be active learners, or passive learners.
Pre-Emptive Strike - Activity / Passivity

Get Them Before They Get You The difference between active learners and passive ones is that active learners take the initiative. An active student will go to class, get the assignment instructions, do the work, and hand in the paper. The passive student will sit at home, hear about the assignment through friends, procrastinate, and then get into a real fix trying to make the deadline. Another example: You just bought a new microwave oven. If you read the instruction book first, and then use the oven, you'll probably be successful the first time, and make that malnutritious TV dinner you were eyeing all day at the supermarket. On the other hand, if you skipped the directions on either the microwave oven or the TV dinner, you might end up with a fried gunk of charcoal, or a short-circuited appliance. Passive learners learn through trial and error. Active learners avoid that trap. By reading this book, you are already well on your way to securing the situation, and preempting the enemy attack, rather than becoming a sitting duck for problems and complications. We will discuss pre-emptive strategy again in a later section. Let me now share with you some powerful theory and terminology.
The Art Of War - Taking Command

Sun Tzu In Psychology 101 Sitting in the bathtub again one day - this time eating strawberry mousse cake - I discovered a very interesting thing: Military strategy could be applied to non-military situations, and specifically towards school. This was no revolutionary "Eureka!" Business management is constantly being taught how to use the same strategies to win their own corporate wars. But nobody had seriously thought about applying the military arts towards school. Perhaps they felt that school was so trivial compared to the big and important things that happened in the real world of corporations and financial institutions, that one surely did not need to take the great pains of applying military skills to it. Or was it really that trivial? Let us follow the logical train of thought: Your performance in school determines your grades; your grades determine which courses you are eligible to take; your courses determine your career direction; finally, your job will more likely than not be determined by the grades you obtained and the programme you graduated from. Therefore, school is of utmost importance in ultimate success in "the real world." It provides not only the specific grades and classroom instruction, but also the training to work towards objectives, and with other people. Think of it as boot camp. But, if school was so important, why aren't all these incredibly powerful tools being applied to it? How come most of the time the only way we, as students, learn about this and other powerful material is outside of school? Why aren't there classes on the topic? Nobody talks about the subject, and it is more the rule than the exception that the general implicit consensus is that application of military and business management skills towards school was overkill.
Maximum Overkill - MaxOK

Objectives At Any Price Overkill, as an everyday concept, denotes a waste of resources. As a military term, it defines an excessive use of power to destroy a target. Surprisingly though, it is my personal belief that the use of overkill has astonishing merits all its own. The major complaint against overkilling is wastage of resources. In certain situations this is an important point to take note of. For example, if you have a limited number of bullets, you don't want to use all of them on just one
opponent, and have no bullets left for defense against other enemies. However, I have discovered that in non-military situations (and sometimes military situations too) most of the time there is no real need to be so exacting in defining precisely how much effort, how much ammunition, is to be used to achieve an objective in the most economical manner possible. Economic resource management is, granted, a vital survival trait. Any species which continually wasted its energies on over-exertion of itself would soon become endangered, and then extinct. Prevention of overkill is an innate survivalistic reflex action in our minds. But let us consider something else. Which do you think is more wasteful: Using up a certain amount of energy to achieve something, and failing; or using up much more than what you think is necessary to achieve the goal, and succeeding? Most people tend to focus on conservation of resources rather than objective achievement. In our quest for efficiency, effectiveness is compromised. The fact is, in most situations, the store of energy and resources - the amount of "ammunition" that is available to a person - far exceeds the minimum requirements of the objectives. We have, at our disposal, such a tremendous arsenal of power, that there is really no need to worry so much about wasting any of it. Conservation of resources as a higher priority than the achievement of objectives is a strategic fallacy. The achievement of goals is of utmost importance. It is like saving millions of dollars in the bank, but not really knowing what to use it all for - the mentality of a miserly old man too caught up in acquisition of wealth to realise that the point of money is to spend it wisely. The accumulation of energy and resources should be a means to ends, and not an end in itself. Too many people spend far too much time and far too much mental effort in trying to lower the cost/benefit ratio. In doing so, they tend to achieve much less than the whole objective. They might destroy part of the target, but fail to annihilate the whole thing. That is the difference between mediocre performance, and peak performance - the difference between a B or a C, and an A. Better to carefully choose worthwhile targets to destroy, rather than be caught up with saving energy in preparation of failure. Some students fail to perform at overkill levels, or even at reasonable levels, because they may think that they are too smart to need to work so hard - as I had thought before - while other students think that they don't have what it takes to get an A, and so try for a B or a C. These are fallacies in thinking. First of all, being smart and knowing the material in the textbook are two different things. If you don't read the book, you won't know the material. Smarts come in handy when
you have to use the material, but regardless of smarts you can get a very decent grade without having to dazzle the teacher. Secondly, schools don't require you to be an Einstein to get through. If they did, we wouldn't be so awed at Einstein and other geniuses in the world. Haven't you ever thought to yourself, gosh, even soand-so got an A on that test. Well, if so-and-so could, likewise can you. This goes for businesses and relationships too. One reason why people slack off, or fail in certain things, is because they think they're too good to have to work at it. They get arrogant, over-confident, and then they get lazy. Remember the clichd story about the hare and the tortoise? Remember how the hare took a nap, and then the stupid tortoise won the race? Well, when people think they're too good for the competition, they get complacent, and then they screw up. When the manager starts playing more and more golf, and neglecting the business, problems arise. When the lovers think that their relationship is on solid footing, and start having "harmless" flings, that's when the marriage counsellor or the "best friend" comes into the picture, to try to clean up the mess they've made. The message is: Don't underestimate the enemy. You must be constantly on the guard and you must sharpen you weapons, and you must use them. Don't wait for a really bad situation to happen before you start using your resources. Prevent problems from arising, by being active, being humble in the face of the enemy, and then giving it all you've got - and that means using maximum overkill, or MaxOK. Throughout this book, you will encounter this concept. MaxOK is my term to denote not only the traditional sense of the phrase, but to stress that objectives must be achieved at any price. In other words, once you're committed to doing something, you do whatever it takes to achieve it - short of being a jerk to other people - and you must do whatever it takes to maintain it. Achieving an objective and then not maintaining it is the failed marriage, the bankrupted business, the big trough in your achievement curve. If you fail to maintain your success, it is because resources have not been continued to be allocated. There are exceptions, however. Certain objectives, usually short-term ones, don't need to be maintained. Examples include one A+ grade for an essay or exam, making the deadline for a client's project, scoring a win in today's baseball game. But most of the time, what really counts are the long-term goals. You don't want just an A+ for one exam: You want to graduate with distinction. You don't want just one job for one client: You want to be the best in the industry. You don't want to
win just one baseball game: You want to win the entire series, and then the league, and then the World Championship. To be successful in the long-term, you must keep at it, and maintain your performance level even if you score big in the short-term goals. Remember, MaxOK means no compromise in your attempts. MaxOK means no pulling punches, no quarter given or taken, no easing up of the trigger, no cease-fire until the target has been totally destroyed. You cannot be hurt, you cannot be stopped. Once the target has been acquired, you are relentless. MaxOK demands that you become a cyborg - MaxOK demands that you become a Terminator.
Synergy - Multiple Weaponry

Increasing Your Power Exponentially In nature, there is a concept called "synergy." In fact, MaxOK itself is based on the advantages of synergy. When two or more different things combine together towards a common goal, the resultant effectiveness is more than simply the arithmetic addition of the individual items. In other words, the whole is greater than the sum of the parts. To illustrate, a lot of people take Tylenol for pain. The active ingredient in Tylenol is acetaminophen. On the other hand, sometimes doctors prescribe codeine, which also works as a pain suppressant. But if you combine acetaminophen with codeine, you get a pain suppressant which is much more effective than if you simply increased dosage for either acetaminophen or codeine individually. In other words, component small amounts of acetaminophen plus codeine are more effective than a single large dosage of either acetaminophen or codeine. In fact, the resultant product is so effective, that it is called Tylenol-3 and is prescribed by doctors for serious pain. As you may probably have concluded, the reason why combining these two chemicals together produces such a dramatic result, is because of synergy. This is a very powerful principle, and it works in all areas of life, regardless of whether you're mixing drugs together, or cross-training. By allocating your resources towards a common goal, you will increase their effectiveness exponentially, and will often need to use less of each resource to achieve the same result. Therefore, you can increase your MaxOK level, and perhaps have more resources remaining after the achievement of the objective. The use of synergy does not mean that
you can put MaxOK aside for a while. Until you are without a shadow of a doubt certain that your objectives will be achieved or have already been achieved, you cannot afford to reduce allocation of resources towards that goal. Remember, unless you achieve the objective, all resources allocated to it will have been totally wasted. The real value of synergy is that the objective would probably be achieved in less time, energy and money.
Concentration Of Power - Advantages of Focus

Cracking an Egg and Other Such Things The concept of "concentration of power" is intricately related to the above two concepts. It is easier to describe this concept by the example of cracking an egg open. If you had to make a sunny-side-up - salmonella poisoning notwithstanding - you take the egg, and hit it sharply against an edge, and pour the contents into the frying pan. But did you know that you are applying the concept of "concentration of power?" If you were to apply the same pressure you did while hitting the egg against the edge, but spread that pressure all over the egg, you would fail in your attempt. The egg is constructed by nature to be so strong, that it can withstand the force of even a jet-plane wheel if the pressure is spread evenly throughout its surface. In fact, this has been done as a dramatic demonstration of the geometric advantages of the dome-shape for use in architecture. One further example can be found right under the sun. If you put a piece of paper in the sunlight, it will just get hot. But if you take a magnifying glass and concentrate all that sunlight into one spot, you will succeed in burning a hole in the paper and even creating fire - and all from the same amount of sunlight. The critical difference is focus - concentration of power. You can apply this concept to your goal achievements. Don't spread your resources so thinly that you don't get anything done. By focusing your forces, a swift and powerful attack can be executed, resulting in more rapid and effective objective achievement - compared to diffused set of attacks against multiple targets. With multiple targets, you have to spread your energy around. This is somewhat similar to the non-use of MaxOK, when you are trying to do something with minimum effort. The key problem is, you may not succeed. By concentrating your forces, you stand a much better chance of victory. Concentration of power is intricately related to MaxOK.
Some people may think, "but what about the phrase 'don't put all your eggs in one basket?'" Well, that phrase has its own wisdom, but what it really says is that one shouldn't be so oblivious to other options, that if the present task fails, there is no backup - no contingency plan. When applying for a job, you don't just go to one employer and see if he hires you. You go to several employers. But at any given time, when you decide that a certain employer deserves your attempts to get hired by him, then you apply MaxOK, and put the other objectives on the back burner. The use of MaxOK and concentration of power depends on good judgment. I have no immutable rule that you can follow to determine what to MaxOK and what not to. Only a fool would MaxOK a totally useless objective. The general who commands his troops to destroy a target which is not strategically important would probably lose the war when the enemy doesn't even care that you annihilated that useless target. The smart general would have in effect a contingency plan to provide defensive capability even if the target turned out to be a useless one. The smart student would have other choices to take if he or she decides to discontinue a certain assignment, or drop a certain course. But while doing the assignment, he or she doesn't spend resources on the other ones. It is only when the primary objective fails - that is, does not deserve any further time or effort - that the student resorts to choosing among the remaining options. And that is what not putting all your eggs in one basket means. The wisdom of this proverb and the concept of MaxOK are not mutually exclusive.
Time Warp - Failures and Regrets in Life

What mistakes really mean and why they are valuable Presently, I would like to draw attention to the term sunk cost, and lead into a discussion regarding mistakes and regrets. In the jargon of economic theory, sunk costs are expenses that are "sunk" or lost. They are "written off" and forgotten. Sunk costs are projects that failed, research that goes nowhere, marketing plans that sold nothing. By halting further resource input into the sunk projects, companies avoid wasting even further money, than what they have already wasted. The analogy is "folding" your hand during a poker game, not to maximize your winnings, but to minimize your losses. Sometimes, people ask me whether or not the existence of sunk costs is an implicit argument against MaxOK. Their reasoning is that the continued
allocation of resources towards a failed plan would be similar to the gambler who has been losing badly, and yet continues to gamble until he has lost everything. In this manner, the reference to sunk costs may seem to undermine our concept of MaxOK. Now, contrary to the above line of thinking, I refresh your memory again that the use of MaxOK requires good judgment. When one realises that a certain method of achieving an objective can be classified as a sunk cost, and should be abandoned, that does not mean that the whole project is abandoned. In other words, the term "sunk cost" is only applicable to the individual component "mistakes" that are inevitable along the path of success. In other words, each "sunk cost" should not be abandoned and forgotten. The rationale here requires some faith in the universe, and in yourself, for it is my belief that sunk costs are not really worthless, or true failures. Sunk costs are, in effect, very expensive lessons. The reason why I say that is because even though in certain instances you may feel that you need not have "paid" so dearly for such a lesson, if only you did this or that, or taken so-and-so's advice, the reality is that you did pay dearly, and you did learn the lesson in such manner. In fact, what other people experience is, for the most part, inconsequential to you because you are the only person in this world who can live your own life. In other words, perhaps those "mistakes" were the only way you would have learned the lessons, and not otherwise. If in fact you were able to travel back in time - not unlike the Terminator - would you have been able to change your future? Not likely. The caveat of time-travelling is that your memories would be erased (most science fiction stories have it wrong). Without knowledge of the future, at any given moment, people are making the best decisions to their ability. Again, this is an inborn survival trait. Your mind wants to, and does, make the best decisions it can. Sometimes it may not seem that way, but deep down inside your mind, there has to be a good reason - or so your mind perceives - for everything that you do, and all the choices you make. We will return to this topic of figuring out why your mind tells you to do certain things, but for the time being my point is that people should not regret their actions. Sunk costs are "losses" viewed from a pessimistic perspective, when in fact they are "investments" in lessons that would not have been otherwise learned. For every mistake you make, know that you have eliminated yet another possibility, and are that much closer to the correct method, and success. Thomas Edison failed in his perfection of the lightbulb some one thousand times, before he arrived at the correct method. He did not regard any failure as a "mistake" but said that every time things didn't work out, he had discovered yet another way
not to make a lightbulb. In such manner, he put forth all his energies towards the ultimate goal - he used MaxOK - while realising that failures were merely temporary obstacles towards success. Therefore, when you realise that a particular avenue of action is not working out, stand back, and assess the situation. Don't stop the whole project. In all achievements, there has to be more than one way of winning. If one method doesn't work, try another. Don't abandon the entire project. Like the wise general, use your "contingency plans." Edison rejected the individual mistakes, but did not "write-off" the entire project as a complete "sunk cost." If he had called a full stop and dumped the entire project because he had "one too many" mistakes, then his mistakes would really be sunk costs in the full economic meaning of the term. Everything he had done would have been truly wasted - and his mistakes doubly so - because the final goal of making a lightbulb would not have been achieved. Since he did not do that, and continued experimentation, the end result was the successful realization of his vision, and the lightbulb came to be. Perhaps someone other than Edison would have solved the problem in less time with less mistakes, or perhaps would have taken more time, and run into more problems. These conjecture are of no value. The fact is, Edison was the only person who struggled with his problems and ultimately succeeded. In like manner, only you can challenge your own problems, and only you command your energies towards their solution. Learning from other people's achievements and losses is only part of the process. In this vast universe, regardless of what you have and have not learned from other people, after all's been said and done, when it comes down to making choices, the final and ultimate act of decision still rests upon you, and you alone.
MaxOK - Recap
Reviewing the concept of MaxOK To wind up our discussion, let me emphasize an aspect of MaxOK: I created the term to denote more than the simple nifty contraction of "maximum overkill." MaxOK encompasses all of the ideas we discussed in this chapter, but the main point I wish to draw attention to is that MaxOK stresses intelligence and good judgment. The power of MaxOK is a combination of the value of careful judgment, and the effectiveness of supreme firepower. In the contest between brain and brawn, MaxOK is the best synthesis of both worlds. Remember, you, of all people on this planet, know your own situations better than anyone else. Deciding when to abandon a particular action and choose another is a judgment
call and requires some courage on your part, but be brave. As Helen Keller once said, "Life is either a daring adventure, or nothing." Or, to paraphrase Eddie Rickenbacker - an American aviator - there can be no courage if there is first no fear. Now, it's time to improve your brain with a...
Chapter 3
Cybernetic RAM Upgrade
Tactical Advantages Through Enhanced Memory Capacity "Your son gave me a message to give to you. He made me memorize it: 'Thank you Sarah, for your courage through the dark years. I can't help you with what you must soon face, except to say that the future is not set. You must be stronger than you imagine you can be. You must survive or I will never exist.' That's all." --- The Terminator
Total Recall - The Ultimate Weapon

Remembering the face of the enemy So far, we have discussed some key terms and very powerful concepts, but you might have found it hard to take the preceding material and apply it immediately to your life. We will dispense with strategic thinking for a moment, and return to it at a later time. In this chapter, I want to show you something more substantial and easier to use right now. Let me provide you with the tactical edge of memory enhancement. The importance of memory in school is an extremely controversial topic. Most teachers tend to play down its importance, while proponents of memory skills insist otherwise. Yet it should be obvious that without good memory, it would be virtually impossible to perform well in school, or elsewhere. If a student forgets the information learned in class, he or she will not be able to answer the questions on a test or exam. It's that simple. In other areas of life, the ability to remember something - the name of a person, for example could determine the outcome of a business deal, or a social interaction. The advantages of better memory usage are so important, that if you read nothing else in this book except this chapter, your performance in school - and other areas of life - will still be dramatically improved. Enhanced memory capacity is like a plasma rifle - more precisely: "A phased plasma rifle in the 40-watt range." - in our war against the obstacles preventing us from peak achievement.
Sequential Access - The Basic Technique

Turning abstract concepts into more tangible ones What's a plasma rifle, you ask? It's a high-tech weapon that any selfrespecting cyborg would have in his arsenal. When you want to terminate something, the way to go is to blow 'em up with a plasma rifle. You probably already know what a rifle is, but what is plasma? Most people might not have come across that word. Here's the textbook definition: A gas consisting of ionized atoms and electrons. So what does "ionized" mean? Here's another definition: An ion is an atom that has become electrically charged by the gain or loss of one or more electrons. Therefore, "plasma" is electrically-charged gas, and a "plasma rifle" shoots a "bullet" of this electrically-charged gas at an enemy. Now that you sort of know what plasma is, suppose you had to remember it for an astronomy exam. How can you guarantee that you will remember what plasma is? You will have to remember all those other names of planets and stars, and who Plato was (remember him from the preceding chapter?) and why Copernicus was so great. In fact, with the myriad of information on the subject of astronomy, the definition of "plasma" might somehow evade you when you come across that question on the exam. But never fear, just picture the following image in your mind: Your plastic mother, is eating a bowl of batteries, and she burps and says "Excuse me." Now isn't that strange? Let's try again to envision what is happening in that scene. Really picture your own mother, now made of plastic - imagine her bouncing around, with coiled telephone cord for hair - sitting down eating a gigantic bowl of AA-sized batteries (with or without the Energizer Rabbit for company) , chewing on the metal (with a sickening sound), and then burping in front of you! Now here's the meaning of that silly image: Plastic Mother = Plasma Giant; Battery = Electrically-Charged; Burp = Gas So now you remember that plasma (plastic mother) is electrically-charged (batteries) gas (burping).
This image will long endure in your mind. If I ask you what plasma is one year from now, you will probably still remember it. The reason why this method is so much more effective than rote memorization is because your mind is specialized to remember strange and unusual things. It does not function well in remembering boring and dull material. You can observe this fact yourself. If you try to remember what you've done in your lifetime, I doubt you will remember exactly each and every footstep you've ever taken, or how many times you breathed yesterday, or even the colour of the shoes of the fifth person you passed by since leaving the house. These mundane and trivial facts are boring to your mind. If it were to spend too much time on these facts, you wouldn't be able to concentrate on the more important things in your life. In fact, this selectivity in memory function is, like the quest towards efficiency, a survival trait. This time, however, this inborn survival trait can be trained to become an advantage in the modern world. Although you may not remember the "small stuff," you will most likely remember what you did on your birthdays, what the best Christmas present you ever got was, or who your very first best friend or lover was. You will also probably remember the details of particularly good Bart Simpson or Seinfeld shows, especially the really wacky and funny ones. Whenever your mind finds something interesting, it will strive to remember it. Your mind will find something interesting if it is funny, if it is life-threatening, if it evokes an emotional response from you, or if it is puzzling or strange. The original reason why your brain was designed to remember these types of things was probably to maximize your chances of survival in the jungle. Anything that is puzzling can be a potential aid, or a hazard. A person of the opposite sex is a potential mate for reproductive purposes. Remembering the events that led to a near-death incident would contribute to prevention of this kind of event in the future. If our ancestors forgot all these things, their chances of surviving or reproducing would be severely limited, and humans might not have lived till today - and invented schools, textbooks, classroom participation, and the final exam. So, in a nutshell, if you want to remember special concepts, make sure that you rework the terminology to make up strange, nonsensical, unusual, and interesting images, such as a "plastic-mother." You should add action and sound and colour and basically put as much energy into the image as you can. Let your imagination run wild. Nothing is too weird. Remember, the only thing that counts is whether or not you can remember the material on the exam. If you have to think of really outrageous images, then do so. Nobody else is going to know anyway, except yourself.
Random Access - The Peg System

Independence from sequence Let's take another example. This time, I'll use some material from John Naisbitt and Patricia Aburdene's excellent book entitled Megatrends 2000. John and Patricia talk about the various patterns of change in the world today. They list ten of these "megatrends," and they are: 1. 2. 3. 4. 5. 6. 7. 8. 9. 10. The Booming Global Economy of the 1990's. A Renaissance in the Arts. The Emergence of Free-Market Socialism. Global Lifestyles and Cultural Nationalism. The Privatization of the Welfare State. The Rise of the Pacific Rim. The Decade of Women in Leadership. The Age of Biology. The Religious Revival of the New Millennium. The Triumph of the Individual.
If we had to memorize this for an exam, we should look at the key concepts in the selection. Here is the exert again, this time with keywords emphasized: 1. 2. 3. 4. 5. 6. 7. 8. 9. 10. The Booming Global Economy of the 1990's. A Renaissance in the Arts. The Emergence of Free-Market Socialism. Global Lifestyles and Cultural Nationalism. The Privatization of the Welfare State. The Rise of the Pacific Rim. The Decade of Women in Leadership. The Age of Biology. The Religious Revival of the New Millennium. The Triumph of the Individual.
Let's create some powerful images with the keywords: y y y y y y y y y y y Booming Global Economy - Earth (global) exploding in space(booming) Renaissance - the Mona Lisa (Renaissance art) Free-Market Socialism - flea-market (free-market) and soda (socialism) Global Lifestyles - Glow-In-The-Dark (global) all-bran ("Life" brand) Cultural Nationalism - Gnat (nationalism) Cult (cultural) Privatization / Welfare State - A soldier (private) falls into a well (welfare) Pacific Rim - Pacman (pacific) Women in Leadership - Margaret Thatcher Biology - a frog, or any other "lab animal" New Millennium - HAL, from 2001: A Space Odyssey (millennium) Individual - Indecent Video, a sex scene (individual)
Now, suppose we not only have to know each concept by itself, but also the number of the concept in the list of ten. This time, we will use what is known as the peg-system of memory, a generic term for this skill in memory systems. Leave the megatrends list for a moment and read the following descriptions: y y y y y y y y y y A pencil is number one (it looks like the number one) A tulip flower is number two ("tu" = two) A tree-house is number three ("tree" = three) A table is number four (four legs) A hand is number five (five fingers) A pair of dice is number six (six sides to each die) A mirror is number seven (smashing it causes seven years' bad luck) A pair of skates is number eight (skating the figure eight in an ice-rink) A cat is number nine (nine lives) A telephone is number ten (ten digits)
Read the list over a few times, until you are sure you remember the item, and the number it is related to: One - pencil; two - tulip; three - tree-house; four table; five - hand; six - dice; seven - mirror; eight - skates; nine - cat; ten telephone. Now that you have remembered the peg list, it's time to attach information to each of the pegs (or slots for memory items):
A large balloon of the Earth (global) is spinning in space until a giant pencil (one) comes along and pierces the Earth, causing a massive explosion with a big Boom! (expansion) = Booming Global Economy (number one) A giant tulip (two) grows out of Mona Lisa's (renaissance) head, and she screams her head off = Renaissance in Art (number two) Up in a tree is a tree-house (three) and in the tree-house is a flea-market (free-market). The people in the flea-market are being washed out of the treehouse by an enormous flood of soda (socialism) = Free-Market Socialism (number three) A giant gnat (nationalism) stands high up in a table (four) at night and while glow-in-the-dark all-bran (global lifestyles) flakes fall from the ceiling, gives a speech to the cult (cultural) members sitting on the floor = Global Lifestyles & Cultural Nationalism (number four) A soldier (privatization) is running in the battlefield when an enormous hand (five) shoots out from a well (welfare) in the ground, grabs him, and pulls him screaming and fighting back into the well = Privatization of the Welfare State (number five) Now, finish the process by inventing images yourself with the remaining peg numbers and the rest of the megatrends list. Then, for practice, try to recall the entire megatrends list, and write down the concepts on paper in order. Then, write them down again in reverse order. Next, ask someone to test you. Tell them to say a number, while you tell them the concept that belongs to that number. Finally, change over, and tell them the number when they name the concept. You should be amazed at yourself. You probably got all of the concepts memorized for good now. If you didn't do so well, perhaps some of the images were not as vivid as they should have been, or they did not work for you. Everyone's mind works differently. What my brain finds interesting may not appeal to yours. If you wish, change the peg list, the megatrends images, or both. Do that now, until you can remember the list perfectly. You now already know the basic mechanism for superior memory power. Just by applying what you have learned so far will boost your grade performance to new heights. These memory techniques will work with all subjects, but you may have to modify their usage with certain items such as mathematical equations, or scientific data. We will discuss these later, but for now, practice your new skills on other lists of items. Perhaps you want to remember the first
ten technological inventions starting with the wheel, or ten famous people in history, or the top ten Fortune 500 companies. The possibilities are endless. You may want to test yourself again tomorrow, or the day after that. If you manage to recall all the items, that's great. If not, then look at which items you recalled easiest, and which ones you couldn't recall at all. Look at the memory images you used. Were they vivid enough? Did you make the scene funny, or ridiculous? Was there any action? Colour? Sound? Danger? With practice, you should be able to create better images, and soon you will be able to memorize almost anything, and have total recall. When you have finished with your preliminary practice, your next task is to expand your peg list. Your present list of ten items is very limited. If you use it for different types of ten items, it should work fine as long as your images are not too similar to one another. However, if you need to memorize a list of items in a certain category and those items exceed the list, you will confuse yourself if you try to start again at number one (pencil) and re-use the list. You'll be hard pressed to figure out if a certain item is number one, or eleven, or twenty-one. So you have to expand your peg system. Try to create up to 20 pegs, then 30. After that, you may expand it up to even 100 items if you wish. Just be sure that each number has a peg item that has meaning attached to the number. For example, 52 could be a calendar, since there are 52 weeks in a year. Or it could be a deck of cards. The number 12 could be a clock, which has twelve numbers on its face. Be sure to use concepts that have meaning for you, because you will be the one using the peg list, and you will be the one attaching information onto it. After a while you will start to realise that you are really using your brain with all these exercises. Using your memory in this way could sometimes cause mental fatigue, or a "headache." This is normal. Your brain is an organ, and it too can get tired, but remember that just like other organs in your body, the more you use it, the healthier it becomes, and the better it can function. Keep training your brain, and eventually your memory skills will be almost automatic, and you will find that sometimes even without constructing memory-stories, you will be able to remember new information effectively. When you feel ready to go on, let's take a look at some examples of how these memory skills can be modified to be specifically applied to certain tasks.
Advanced Sequential Access - Putting Sonic Boom into Presentations

Preventing stage-fright in the boardroom Suppose you had to memorize a speech, or a presentation. It doesn't matter if you're in the classroom, or the boardroom. Your success and your confidence in front of a group of people listening to you talking will depend entirely on your ability to recall the material you are presenting. This is where our cybernetic memory skills come into play. Assume you had to give a presentation on the benefits of the new plasma rifle that your R&D department has managed to put together, and you want to put forward the proposal to manufacture this product and sell it to the public. Your basic argument is that plasma rifles are better than laser rifles. Since a presentation is not a direct reading out loud of an essay, you don't have to memorize every word verbatim. So the first thing we do is to list out the key points we want to present:
y plasma y our
is an ionized gas - i.e., a gas with an electrical charge.
plasma rifle fires a bolt of plasma at the enemy. attacks can be reflected by shiny armor.
y laser y laser
rifles need to be constantly aimed at the enemy because the laser needs time to heat up the target area.
y plasma
rifles look cool on cyborgs.
Now, I'm sure you remember what "plasma" is, from the preceding section. Let's use that image as a starter: Imagine your plastic mother eating batteries and burping. Now, we need to remember the word "bolt" (fires a bolt at the enemy). Think of a thunderbolt, with a brilliant flash, and an explosion. Envision a thunderbolt slamming down from the heavens, exploding on your mother (sorry Mum!) and frying her hair. Now, see a knight in shining armor, riding on the thunderbolt. Hear the loud thunder. See the shiny suit of armor. Imagine how the shiny brass will make you squint your eyes because it's so shiny. Now, while you're squinting at the brass, suddenly an arrow flies towards you, shot by the knight, and stabs you in the eye! Ouch! The arrow represents aiming. Think of the pain, think of the horror! Now imagine you trying to pull the arrow out, and when you finally do (aren't you glad this is just imagination?!) you realise that the "arrow" was really the minute hand
of a gigantic clock! The clock represents time. Next, imagine you pushing the clock away because you're so angry it stabbed you in the eye. Push the clock over a cliff, and watch it fall down, down, down into the depths. Imagine the clock screaming, cursing at you. Imagine it falling into the fiery heat of hell. Now imagine yourself sweating because of the heat. Picture yourself walking away from the edge of that cliff because it's so hot. And finally, picture a million icecubes falling down on the sky and hitting your head. The ice-cubes represent "coolness." Ok, so that's our memory story. It's a sequential access memory aid because each image evokes the next one, and it is a continuous "mental movie." Unlike the peg-system of memory, you cannot randomly pick a concept out. You must follow the entire sequence from beginning to end. And this is good. We need the sequential aspect, because we are memorizing a presentation, and presentations have a specific order from beginning to end. Now, imagine yourself in the boardroom of the high-tech firm, CyberDyne Systems, Inc. Imagine yourself giving the presentation. What's first? Think about your story. Oh yes, plasma. So you explain what plasma is: "Plasma, as you all may well know, is an ionized gas, or one that has an electrical charge. Our new plasma rifle uses that charged gas for defensive capabilities." Then you remember the thunderbolt. So you tell them that the new plasma rifle shoots a bolt of plasma at the target. "Why is this better than laser technology," someone asks you? You remember the shiny armor on the knight, and reply, "Oh, well, you see. Lasers can be reflected off shiny armor." You go on and remember that the shiny light caused you to squint and you got an arrow in your eye, which turned out to be the minute hand of a clock. So you say to the crowd, "And not only that, but a laser beam has to be aimed at the target for a certain amount of time. A plasma bolt does not." Then, you remember pushing the clock into the depths of hell and feel the heat rising up from the abyss, and say, "the reason for the aiming is that the laser needs time to heat up the target area." Since you're already on a roll, you start to improvise with the material you already have: "In contrast, the plasma bolt can be fired, and upon release from the rifle, the user is free to move about without having to continue aiming the weapon at the opponent." Improvisation finished, you get back into the memory story, and remember that after pushing the clock down, you stepped away from the edge of the cliff because it was too hot, and suddenly ice-cubes rained from the sky: "And finally, the aesthetic value of our new product will appeal to cyborgs everywhere who
want to look ... well, cool with the new armament." Applause and confetti. Take a bow. You've done a good job.
High-Resolution Graphical InterFACE - The Key to Personal Rapport

Remembering strangers and other weirdoes One of the most important things a business-person must know how to do is remembering people's names. In fact, this goes beyond business. A politician has to know the names of voters, and other important people. A teacher must know the names of certain students to give class participation marks, and to make the teaching environment more personal, more "user friendly." But sometimes, it's just too overwhelming a task. A cocktail reception, for example, probably consists of hundreds of people. How on earth is a person supposed to remember all of them? The first key is to be selective. Are you sure you need to remember that person's name? This goes for other information too. Unless you need to know it, spending time memorizing certain bits of information is a serious drain on your time and energy. The second key is to utilize memory skills to assist you in this task. Here is the basic formula for remembering people's names:
y Pick y Find y Find
out a specific reason why that person is important to you. something unique about that person's character. something unique about that person's physical appearance. up a strange memory image with the person's name.
y Make
Let's take an example. Suppose you had to remember a fat, bald rocket scientist by the name of Jeffrey Wundershoes. I am actually cheating here, because immediately the name "Wundershoes" would evoke a strange mental image: A pair of magic shoes. You could imaging a pair of magical winged slippers, or diamond-studded loafers much like the pair Aladdin would wear while riding his magic carpet. Next, we check out the person's character background. He's a rocket scientist. Picture a large rocket, with the NASA logo on the side, ready to take off. Now, think about the physical attributes of the person. He's fat, and bald. Think of
his head as the moon. It's shiny, almost smooth. Imagine craters on his head. That's a hilarious image in itself - my apologies to readers with receding hairlines. OK, now, put all the images together. Imagine a large rocket, wearing magical shoes, smashing into the side of the moon. We forgot something. Why is this person important to us? If we can't remember why he's so important, we won't understand why we had to know his name in the first place. So we think about it, and realise that this person is, in fact, the father of our spouse. Wow. That makes for VIP status, does it not? So we imagine the rocket, with magical shoes, smashing against the side of the moon, and causing a massive explosion of rice everywhere. That's right. Rice. It signifies a wedding. And that should remind us about family, about relatives. So we remember that this scientist (rocket) has the name Wundershoes (magical slippers), is bald (the moon) and is our relative (rice), in fact our father-in-law. With other more common names, it gets a bit harder. The worst cases are names such as Smith or Jones. But we can tie those names to other things. For example, if we have a friend who wears black clothing all the time, or has black hair, and his name is Smith, then we could group those two ideas together to make "blacksmith." Then we would use something related to what a blacksmith does, such as make horseshoes, or other iron objects. Tie those concepts together with the physical attributes, the personality traits, and the person's importance to us, and we've got it made. It is advantageous to write down a list of names for yourself, and create images with those names - images that make sense to you. Then, when the next cocktail party or social function rolls around, you will already have a prepared mental list of name-concepts that you can use immediately when you're introduced to someone. A tip from me is to use first impressions. The very first things that strike you about a person are usually the key attributes that will remind you about he or she is.
Mental Fax Machines - Streamlining Your Studying

How to ace tomorrow's essay-type exam To conclude this chapter, I will present to you a tested-and-tried method of studying for exams with essay-type questions. I created this method for my own use, and now I share it with you. Be informed, however, that I assume you have
had sufficient practice with the memory skills covered in this section to be competent enough to use them by yourself. If you have not been successful in the exercises we've been through, you must look at the way in which you have been constructing your mental images. Make sure they work. I don't want you to have a false sense of security if you're going to use this technology in a real exam. That said, I don't want to discourage you either. The memory skills aren't difficult. They just need some practicing, and time to get used to. Here is the complete manner in which you memorize material from a textbook. Assume you had to memorize the following excerpt for a test tomorrow. Again, it is taken from Megatrends 2000: When the great dystopian George Orwell wrote 1984, Stalin was still alive and Hitler had recently died. No wonder Orwell believed the dictator of the future would use technological advances to hold people in subjugation. This was also the premise of Aldous Huxley's Brave New World. Dictators do need to control information to maintain control, since knowledge is power. But it did not work out the way Orwell and Huxley feared. Global television and video cassettes instead have curbed the power of dictators. There are fewer dictators on the planet today because they can no longer control information; ... The old men in China did decide to shoot down the student demonstrators in the full glare of television, but ten years earlier the students would never have reached Tiananmen Square in the first place. With individuals' power extended by the computer, citizens can keep tabs on governments a lot more efficiently than governments can keep tabs on people. Now, we must use a highlighter pen to focus on the key points. I know that there is a great controversy surrounding the use of highlighters, but like any other instrument, there is a way to use it and a way to abuse it. I'll show you how to use it here. Take the highlighter, and mark out the key points. Again, like we had to do for our presentation, the only things we need to know are the key points. We don't have to memorize verbatim. Teachers give marks for points used in essay questions, not photographic memory ability. Here is the exert again, with boldface where I would use my own highlighter: When the great dystopian George Orwell wrote 1984, Stalin was still alive and Hitler had recently died. No wonder Orwell believed the dictator of the future would use technological advances to hold people in subjugation. This was
also the premise of Aldous Huxley's Brave New World. Dictators do need to control information to maintain control, since knowledge is power. But it did not work out the way Orwell and Huxley feared. Global television and video cassettes instead have curbed the power of dictators. There are fewer dictators on the planet today because they can no longer control information; ... The old men in China did decide to shoot down the student demonstrators in the full glare of television, but ten years earlier the students would never have reached Tiananmen Square in the first place. With individuals' power extended by the computer, citizens can keep tabs on governments a lot more efficiently than governments can keep tabs on people. Incidentally, the best highlighter that I have come across is the yellow one made by Major Accent . I always keep several handy. I have found that its shade of yellow is just right. Other highlighters are either too bright, or too dull. But again, this is my personal preference. If you like another shade of yellow, by all means use that highlighter, but the important thing to remember is to use the same type of highlighter for all your memory sessions. It appears to me that the brain gets trained to recognize certain text if it is lit up with the highlighter you normally use, and the brain tends to pick up that material easier the more it is trained to recognize text in that specific shade of colour. Notice also that I did not highlight complete sentences. It is my own theory that by highlighting only the important parts of a sentence, you force your mind to recognize the information on its own terms. You deprive it the luxury of treating the information as complete and done with, when framed inside a complete sentence. Sometimes, students find that they go on "autopilot," without realising what they had been reading. By highlighting only fragments of a sentence, the mind is forced to actively reconstruct the meaning of the words, instead of simply "reciting" whatever the author wrote. In addition, the use of less highlighter ensure that you do not light up the page like a Christmas tree. Some textbooks look like they were painted with a highlighter, defeating the entire purpose of highlighting in the first place! In any case, we have marked out the key concepts in the passage. Let's look at the concepts themselves: y George Orwell was a dystopian who wrote 1984. y Stalin and Hitler were dictators. y Technological advances can hold people in subjugation.
y y y y y y y
Aldous Huxley's Brave New World. Dictators need to control information. Knowledge is power. Global television and video cassettes curb power of dictators. Dictators no longer control information. Old men in China shot students in Tiananmen Square. Computers help the public keep tabs on the government, not viceversa.
By listing the concepts out, you are making notes. You are distilling the real information from the textbook. The next step is to memorize the information. We will use sequential accessing here because during the exam, we want to write down points which are congruent with one another, and follow the logical sequence of thought as was presented in the textbook. The memory story might be as follows: A talking pig (Orwell's 1984) eats a disk (dystopian), munching loudly. Bits of plastic fall from its mouth. The disk is stained (Stalin) with paint in the shape of a Nazi sign (Hitler). The disk explodes and out comes a submarine (subjugation). Huckleberry Finn (Huxley) is riding on top of the submarine and carrying the world on his shoulders (Brave New World). A VCR remote control (information control) flies down from the sky and attacks the submarine, shooting infrared beams at it. Suddenly, thousands of volumes of encyclopedias fall from the sky (knowledge) and fall into the water around the submarine. You plug a television (global television) into one of the volumes of encyclopedia (power) and turn it on. There is an action movie playing (video cassette) on the television. It shows a man smashing his car against the side of the curb (curb power of dictators). An old Chinese man is almost run over by the car (old men in China) . The old man raises his gun and tries to shoot the driver (students shot). Suddenly, a whole legion of tin men or tin soldiers (Tiananmen Square) rush around the corner of a building. They are running by and drinking soda pop (tabs) at the same time. As they come closer, you see that their heads are large computer screens (computers) with the words "Miami Vice" (not vice-versa) on them. What a really weird story! But if it wasn't weird, you probably wouldn't remember it. If you feel you're ready, answer this question which might probably be on the exam:
Question 1: Discuss issues relevant to the ways technology can determine the distribution of power in society. Be sure to give examples to support your arguments. Would you have panicked at the sight of this question, if you didn't prepare for it? I sure would have! But now that you are armed with the memory story, you can breeze through it. A sample answer might be as follows: George Orwell, the dystopian, wrote the book 1984 which discussed how technology could influence the control of power in a society. He was influenced mainly by dictators such as Stalin and Hitler. His primary argument was that technological inventions could hold people in subjugation. A similar author is Aldous Huxley who wrote Brave New World. Since knowledge is power, dictators want to control information. However, in modern times, inventions such as the television and the video cassette curb the power of these dictators and they can no longer control the information. An example of this would be Tiananmen Square, in which the Chinese government gave orders to have student demonstrators shot. However, the whole world could see what they had done. Another example would be the invention of the computer. It is another device which helps the people keep tabs on the government, and not vice-versa. What do you think you would have gotten for this answer? Surely an A+!!! Can you appreciate the power you now have in your hands? Use it well. You have successfully gained the critical tactical advantage of cybernetic technology, and are a fully-fledged cyborg! Congratulations! In the next chapter, we will look at the fundamental ways in which you function. In other words, we're going to install the latest version of ...
Chapter 4
The Operating System
Debugging You and Your Environment "So what's the deal?" "My mission is to protect you." "Yeah? Who sent you." "You did. 35 years from now, you reprogrammed me to be your protector here, in this time." "Oh. This is deep..." --- Terminator 2
Structured Programming - The Power of Organization

Taking control of your environment and life In his book The Anatomy of Power, John Kenneth Galbraith stressed that organization is the source of power which deserves the most attention: Organization, the third of the sources of power, normally exists in association with property and, in greater or less measure, with personality. It is, however, more important than either, and in modern times increasingly so.1 His opinion is echoed (by Adolf Berle, Jr.): No collective category, no class, no group of any kind in and of itself wields power or can use it. Another factor must be present: That of organization. 2 These two authors obviously feel that organization is a crucial asset. Yet upon even thinking about the word "organization," many people shudder. It conjures up images of factories, armies, your mother yelling at you to clean up the room. This is an incorrect perception. Organization is something that any person aspiring towards success must learn. It is something to be appreciated. Too many people mistake organization for routine. As the British author, Sir Arthur Helps, wrote: "Routine is not organization, any more than paralysis is order." 3 I do not associate organization with a schedule. Schedules are too inflexible. They are only for people who cannot think for themselves. By being organized, a person should be able to anticipate and deal with anything that comes in his way without need of resorting to routine and habit.
According to Galbraith, the power that is derived from organization is threefold. First, it derives the ability to influence events outside of its own structure from the strength of integrity - or discipline, for lack of a better word! - internally. That is to say, you must stand by your commitment in organization of your life. Like an army containing dissenting ranks among itself, disorder within will disrupt effective control without. Secondly, the power of an organization is "dependent ... on its association with the other sources of power [property and personality] ... and on its access to the instruments of enforcement." What Galbraith is telling us is that organization itself is not enough. There must be other sources of power to "energize" the structure of organization. In other words, organization alone cannot provide you with long-term strategic advantage without the various tactical advantages - for example, your memory skills - that fit into the larger scheme of things. This is why I stressed earlier that a system of unification is necessary to take maximum advantage of all these separate skills and tools. Finally, Galbraith states that "there is an association between the power of an organization and the number and diversity of the purposes for which submission is sought." Here, he uses the word "submission" to mean the achievement of objectives. Using the terminology we discussed before, this final attribute of organization stresses the point that the more concentrated the power, the more effective the action. Therefore, in our paradigm of the cyborg, we cannot build a cyborg without a "metal skeleton." If you remember the movie, The Terminator, recall that near the end even when all the other parts of its body were destroyed, the cyborg continued to operate with minimal power via its metal skeleton, walking out from the massive explosion that fried all its other components. This image conveys the incredible advantage of good organization. It serves to hold everything else up, and keeps us supported even when individual mechanisms - individual skills, or tools - fail us. Most people's incorrect perception of organization stems from faulty childhood exposure to the term. Teachers and parents probably told them to "get organized" and set up a schedule for them so that they would do certain things at certain times. This is a horrible way of looking at the concept of organization. By shutting the person inside a steel cage of daily routine, there is hardly any room left for creative problem-solving. If something unexpected came up, something that the person - and indeed, the schedule itself - did not anticipate, then disaster results. Strict "organization" by attempting to control for all variables is
impossible. We learned this lesson from chaos theory, the branch of mathematics that deals with unpredictability in complex systems. Perhaps some of you have come across the concept of chaos theory in Michael Crichton's book (and movie) Jurassic Park. In it, the character of Ian Malcolm describes exactly why it is impossible to anticipate each and every scenario, and that it would be arrogant and useless for us to try to do so. Thus, the real value of organization lies in the fact that we can place certain items in strategically advantageous positions, so that when the unexpected strikes, we are maximally prepared to deal with it. Therefore, the virtue of organization is not success via constraint, but success via freedom - freedom achieved and afforded by the strength of a well-constructed foundation, so that risks are minimized and the limits of protected exploration and experimentation are consequently extended.
Spatial Advantage - Establishing your HQ

How to acquire some elbow room in which to maneuver When it comes down to the basics, there are only two things in the universe which really need our attention concerning organization: Space and Time. In fact, according to scientists, space and time are the same thing. So in our organization of our life, we are in fact making Space/Time work for us. To begin with, let us tackle space first. Answer this simple question: Is your room organized? That is, can you honestly say that it is neat and tidy? Have you emptied the trash-can, or is it overflowing with garbage? Are there books and magazines everywhere? Are your clothes strewn about the floor? Do you have mountains of paper - especially those ubiquitous receipts from automated banking machines - on your desk? Can you even see where the desk is? A good way of assessing whether or not your room is a suitable place to act as your headquarters of operations, your HQ, is to stand in the centre of it, and consider whether or not your mind is calm, clear and relaxed in this environment. If everywhere you look there is something bothering you, or something that disrupts your attention, then you need to get rid of those items. You cannot hope to maximize your studying performance if your attention is constantly compromised by extraneous variables. There are three steps to cleaning out your room: 1. Throw out the useless junk.
2. 3.
Throw out more junk. Throw out the rest of the junk.
These three steps are more serious than they appear. In the first step, you get rid of anything that is obvious trash such as gum wrappers and used tissue paper. Empty your garbage can. Launder the bed sheets if that is necessary - it probably is. Vacuum or sweep the place. Do a really good job of cleaning the junk out. You will not likely clean your room as thoroughly, for a long time to come! Having thrown out the existing garbage, you now get rid of anything that will soon become trash. This includes old magazines and newspapers that you have read and don't need to keep (If you are keeping a certain periodical because you think some of its articles would be useful in a term paper, or presentation, be advised that a good library would probably have that publication on microfilm alternatively, you can just rip out the specific articles and store them away). Store away in a box (or sell) those books that you never touch, never will read, and are simply a waste of space to keep around. Move out useless items on the desk or on the floor. Relocate or store away extra clothing that is just taking up closet space. Get rid of anything else you can think of that is not important at all but you just kept it because you didn't know what to do with it, or didn't know who to give it to. Finally, you must consider every item that now remains in your room. Carefully assess its worth. Do you absolutely need it? Will it help you achieve your objectives, or will it turn out to be a nuisance? The more items that are unrelated to your tasks, the higher the probability of your mind being distracted, and the lower the chances are of you hanging around and doing your work like you're supposed to. For example, imagine you're reading your textbook when, out of the corner of your eye, you spy a poster of your favourite rock group. Now, unless the poster means absolutely nothing to you (in which case, it shouldn't be around anyway) you might daydream by reminiscing about a concert you went to with your friends. You may then start to entertain the prospect of going out to party as an alternative to studying. Now, regardless of whether or not you actually abandon your work, you don't need that kind of temptation. This goes for anything else that will be distracting. You be the judge. The exceptions are items such as cassette players or a VCRs, because these are tools that you can utilize - as you will later learn. Various decorations, such as flowers or pictures, may also be essential to your general ease of mind when working in your room, and certain items may even serve as inspiration or support. While I was studying for my final
exams one year, I had on my wall a large painting of an ancient warship ravaged by a stormy sea. My father had given it to me a long time ago, and I focused on it with renewed interest. I admired how it refused to be capsized and majestically overcame the torrential wind and waves, and told myself that I, too, can brave the pressures and demands surrounding me. When your room is finally free of clutter, finish the organization process by putting your textbooks, pens, pencils, calculators, dictionaries, and other essential items near your desk, for easy access. Make sure your trash can is big enough so that you can throw away any garbage before it starts cluttering up your room again, and promise yourself that you will empty it every other day. The last, and most important thing you have to do is make sure your computer system - if you have one - is ready to be used. Is there enough paper in the printer? Is the ink or toner supply abundant? Do you need new diskettes? Do you need any upgrades? Get your computer hardware and software up to specs so that at the very least you can use it for word-processing.
Primary Defense Systems - Armor in the Space/Time Continuum

Pushing Back the Boundaries of Personal Time Now that you have established your spatial domain, it is necessary that you find the time to do your work. This is not as simple as it sounds. I will explain by using the concept of shielding: Light Shielding (or light armor) is psychological distance from things that drain your time. This includes friends and relatives that make non-vital demands on you. I will go into this in more detail later. Other things to defend yourself against are television shows (especially soap operas) and magazine articles that provide nothing more than "pure entertainment value." The reasons to avoid these things will become evident. Heavy Shielding (or heavy armor) is physical separation from sources of distraction. The simplest example is shutting and locking your door and preventing surprise visits that take up your room and time. Another example is unplugging the telephone. An extreme example would be to move your entire base of operations into the mountains somewhere in the north pole (although getting to school might then become a rather perplexing problem). Heavy shielding is used when light shielding fails to work. If you cannot prevent yourself from watching soap operas, then remove the television, or give it to someone.
Unfortunately, the use of shielding requires some strength of character on your part. One of the things that some people find they cannot stop themselves from doing is talking endlessly on the telephone on numerous (and trivial) topics. If you cannot stop yourself from wasting time like that, I would not recommend throwing the telephone out the window because you may need to use it in an emergency. However, turning off the ringer, or unplugging the phone usually suffices. When people cannot hear their phones ring, after a while they settle down and become somewhat anti-social. This is good (to some extent) for people who are hooked on going out, or "partying" with their friends. Perhaps you've already experienced this some time in your life already and know what I am talking about - perhaps for a certain period of time you were able to isolate yourself because you decided you really had to "get down to work" and found that you actually desired your solitude and peace. Sometimes when I get into this Zero-Zone ("Zero" referring to the term "social zero") I try to maintain it (at the cost of social status and interaction, which turns out to be a surprisingly small price to pay in order to be able to focus on your work and success) I don't want to get out of it, and try to avoid all forms of social influence completely. Sometimes, a voice in my head might rationalize that I need a "break" and should go out and party for a while to "relax," but in actual fact, disrupting the Zero-Zone state of mind like this will not "recharge" you, but instead ruin your placid mind state, and introduce horribly tempting options that take you away from your work. For example, if you went out and had a real blast one night, but still had a big exam or assignment due the next week, then upon your return to your work you may find that your tolerance for continuing to work has been lowered. In other words, you find it harder to concentrate on your work, and easier to rationalize that you can "go out just one more night" since the exam or due date is so far away, or rationalize that you "deserve" it. I am not advocating total seclusion or a life as a hermit, but unless you are honestly and absolutely uninfluenced by social temptations (which is hardly likely) then there is no reason why you should put your important work in jeopardy by relatively trivial social events. You must judge for yourself whether or not an opportunity for socializing, or recreation, is justified in light of the fact that it may well hinder the successful completion of your projects - by ruining your "zone" state of mind. When considering if a certain social event is really worth your while, remember what Sarah Conner was told: "Look at it this way, in a hundred years, who's gonna care?" But if you don't do your work, maybe in a hundred years, your descendants will care!
With regards to the telephone - a device which either leads to a social excursion, or is a distraction in itself - if you find that you cannot help but allocate a significant part of your unconscious attention to it - wondering constantly whether or not it will ring, or has rung, and whether or not there is a message for you - and that you are concerned that you will miss an important call, by all means use a telephone answering machine. Keep the volume off so you can't hear your friends screaming at you to pick the phone up because they have a really juicy bit of news to tell you). The new digital answering units perform marvelously because, unlike the regular cassette units, you cannot hear the mechanism work, and thus you don't know that it is recording an incoming call. So-called "invisible" answering services, provided by your phone company, can silently route an unanswered call to a computerized answering device and likewise excellent for our purposes. The key is to avoid a situation in which you are heavily focussed into your work, either reading something or solving a problem, and then finding your attention broken because you heard the answering machine go on, and then sit and wonder who called, and why. If your machine is not absolutely silent, then try to move it out of your hearing range, or wrap it in towels to smother the noise. That way, you can virtually forget all about the telephone, and abandon all intentions of waiting for people to call you. Usually, if someone does call but leaves no message, there wasn't anything important he or she wanted to say anyway. In this manner, you can screen out the time-wasters and pay attention only to calls that really mean something. If, even with an answering machine, you're still concerned about missing a certain special call, then install a caller-identifier unit on your line. This unit will provide information on the telephone number of the incoming call, usually with the time and date of that call. Your telephone company should be able to give you details on these and other "call management" services. There are, for instance, services which allow you to "block" certain telephone numbers from calling you, and this is useful for nuisance or indiscreet callers. Let us summarize what has been discussed so far:
y Organization is y Get rid of y Set up
critical to maximizing power
unnecessary items that complicate your life your personal time by attending only to important things
barriers to distance yourself from the demands of other people untimely disruptions of your work mind state.
y Maximize y Prevent
You may have noticed that there is a common theme to all these points, and that is the reduction of extraneous factors unrelated to your work. This is a very important rule to take note of, and we can find the rationale behind it by looking at how a computer works.
Ending Multi-Tasking - Applying Concentration of Power to Your Life

Why you shouldn't chew gum and talk at the same time A new generation of software has been released into the public for use on personal computers. This new software enables the computer to perform "multitasking" or the ability to run several different programs simultaneously. The benefits of this are, on the surface, many. For example, a user could be finishing up calculations on a spreadsheet program, while printing a report from his wordprocessor program, and at the same time playing the video-game Tetris . However, as veteran power-users will attest, the average time the computer spends on each task is compromised, and while it is nice to be able to do many things at once, usually out of the many tasks there is but a single one of major importance. In our example above, perhaps the job requiring top priority would be the printing of the report. The spreadsheet calculations might perhaps have only secondary or tertiary importance. The video game, obviously, did not need to be running. Computers are able to perform multi-tasking because they allocate individual "time-slices" to each program, in effect giving each program a certain amount of time before abandoning it and going onto the next program. This timesharing process fills the need to have a separate computer doing the other tasks, and its major advantage is economic. Unfortunately, the computer's main processor - its "brain" - does not run any faster under multi-tasking, and therefore each component task now runs slower and at a lower level of performance. The same thing happens to ordinary human beings - even cyborgs. Someone trying to juggle several tasks at the same time will find it enormously difficult to excel in them. It may be possible to complete all the tasks, but chances of peak performance would be reduced. In other words, multi-tasking is the anti-thesis of MaxOK and concentration of power. Remember what we said earlier: The allocation of resources to a single objective are justified if and only if that objective has been achieved. Until
achievement, all resources are considered wasted. Since humans aren't really machines, multi-tasking our lives would result in lowered per-task performance, and higher probabilities of resource wastage. Your best course of action in the successful completion of projects is to remove all other things that have nothing or little to do with those projects. By streamlining your life, you increase "per-task processing power" and effectiveness. In this concept of minimizing multi-tasking, I am not only referring to the explicit and obvious things that people do. It is easy to see why a person would have a harder time doing a whole bunch of things simultaneously, but there is a hidden aspect to all of this. Even when a student, for example, is sitting down at his desk and ready to study, with no other obligations, that does not necessarily mean his mind is not multi-tasking. It just means his body isn't doing so. Unnecessary mental multi-tasking includes spending cognitive energies on worries, speculation, unending pondering, and generally keeping ideas revolving constantly in the mind. These additional hidden tasks are analogous to the "background operations" a computer performs in addition to the "foreground" main application. In computer jargon, they are either called Extensions (on the Macintosh computer), or TSR - terminate and stay resident - programs (on the MS-DOS machines). These background tasks encroach upon the performance of the microprocessor and almost always slow down the average performance of the machine. Likewise, not only must we stop conspicuous multi-tasking, but we must remove the additional burden of "background tasks" in our brains. One way of preventing thoughts from revolving around and around in the mind is to do something about those thoughts. Usually, when people worry about something, their mind is trying to send them the message that they should be doing something about the problem. People who tend to procrastinate almost always feel guilty and worry. The only real solution to preventing all this additional mental baggage, is to attend to all the tasks that need to be done. On the other hand, people sometimes worry unnecessarily. If a certain problem is beyond the power of the person to handle, then there is really no logical reason for them to be concerned about it. After all, it is out of their hands. But logic almost never wins in the struggle between it and emotion. Organisms, such as cyborgs and humans, are driven by emotion more than reason, most of the time. That is why being passionate about something is a much more powerful motive force than simply understanding the logic behind why you want to do something. Returning to our problem, we need to find a way of dealing with
unnecessary worries. One of the best methods is to simply write down the problem on a piece of paper, and stow it away for the time being. By doing so, you are telling your mind "Hey, time-out here. I need the rest of your computing power. We'll just 'save' this background program for now, and come back to it later. I promise." When writing down your worry, you are freeing your memory systems. Once you you've put the worry in a permanent storage place, your mind realises that it does not have to spend any more energy reminding you of it - for whatever reason it thinks so highly of the problem - and gradually lets go. I always write down things that "bug" me at the beginning of a study session, or when I need my mind to be totally focussed. Then, I just forget about all those problems, and go to my present task. I am secure in the knowledge that whatever it was that I was so worried about - by that time I might even have forgotten what it was ! - is written down, and I can go back and read it, and enjoy the luxury (?!) of worrying about it after I finish the current job. Most people keep their worries in their minds at a high-level of awareness because they are afraid that they will forget this very important problem, whatever it is. Writing it down guarantees that they will not forget it, and without a good reason why it should keep the thought active, the mind decides to shut it down. Therefore, regardless of the type of background task you have to disable, you can do either of two things about it, after you have written it down: If the task is an important one, you can read it again later and so that you can something about it; or if the task is something beyond your power to deal with, then just leave it. What I mean, however, is not that one should forget about all the things that one cannot directly affect. For example, a person can do something about his worry that he won't be able to hand in his homework in time, but the same person is powerless against preventing an earthquake from happening. That does not mean he just sits and lets everything crumble around him. He takes action to minimize the effects of this natural disaster, but he should not spend time worrying about the earthquake itself. In other words, he can worry and do something about his material possessions, getting his family to safety, and things like that, but it is useless for him to worry about how terrible the earthquake will be, or what a stupid thing an earthquake is and who the hell invented it anyway, or how unfortunate the timing of it is (since it's his birthday, and he was looking forward to a birthday party with lots of presents, but with the earthquake now he's hard-pressed to find friends who are crazy enough to celebrate with him!). By differentiating between unnecessary worries, and those that we can and should take action to deal with, we free our minds and
maximizing our overall cognitive processing power. In addition, we save yet more time and energy.
Cybernetic Energy Level - Ensuring Your Powerpack is FullyCharged

The Essence of Total Success Thus far, we have discussed methods to increase the amount of time and space available to you. Expanding the limits of these two factors will enable you to be more flexible and more effective when tackling your projects. However, increased time and space is of no value to you if you do not have the energy (and thus desire) to attend to your objectives. There are three areas that we need to look at, when it comes to energy levels. The first one is the quality and quantity of sleep we are getting. The second has to do with the types of foods we eat. Finally, we must look at how well our body is toned through the use of proper exercise.
Cyborg Cynoozing - Sleep and its Many Faces

Making the best of this organic constraint One of the key variables involved in determining your energy level is sleep. Humans need restful sleep in order to recharge themselves. Mental performance is drastically diminished due to sleep deprivation or disturbance. Even with cybernetic assistance (see Chapter Nine) the organic component of the cyborg still has a requirement for an absolute minimum level of daily sleep. The management of sleep time is a critical endeavor. Inappropriate or inadequate sleep results in dire consequences. Many people will remember the disastrous Exxon Valdez oil spill of 1989, in which a ship carrying oil crashed and produced an environmental nightmare. A recent report from the National Commission on Sleep Disorders Research concluded that the major factor involved in the accident was the "severe fatigue" of the ship's third mate who was in charge at the time. The commission called for more research to combat the nationwide "silent epidemic" of sleep disorders. Experts speculate that sleep problems cost society some $50 billion annually. Nearly 40 million Americans have sleep problems, and virtually no-one in America is getting enough quality sleep.
Most adults need about 8 hours of sleep, daily, to function properly. The reality, however, is that most people don't get that much sleep done. Teenagers, in particular, sleep about 2 hours less than they did 80 years ago. James Walsh, director of the Sleep Disorders Research Center at Deaconess Hospital, says that "America has a sleep debt and in our opinion it's every bit as important as the national debt." Inadequate sleep causes many problems, including damage to mental and physical health, impaired mental functioning, and host of other problems. Every nuclear accident, including Chernobyl, has occurred in the wee hours of the morning - a time when humans are naturally "down," regardless of when they went to bed. Experts stress that a lot more research and attention must be paid to the problems of sleep. There is a tendency for most people to shrug it off and just try to "live with it." In fact, sleepiness causes more problems than alcoholrelated incidents.4 Scientific research on sleep has been rather disappointing, and yet we still do not have a clear idea why we need to sleep. There has been an attempt at isolating a "sleep substance" in the human brain - a substance which may be responsible for the induction of sleep - but there have been no solid conclusions.5 There is very little we can ascertain about why we need to sleep. One theory holds that nature selected this trait for humans so that we would not be exposed to the higher risks of night-time, during the earlier periods of our evolution. By forcing humans to sleep, and thus remain stationary, nature prevented our ancestors wandering around and falling into holes or the jaws of nocturnal predators. In addition, sleep may be a way of forcing us to save our energies, so that we will be more successful in our tasks (e.g., obtaining food) during the daytime when we can see properly. However, this energy-conservation theory does not answer the question why nature did not instead give us night-vision capability. In any case, since evolution has been kind enough to endow us with the many advantages that we already have - for example, the expanded frontallobes in the brain, the articulate fingers of the hand, and the architecturally magnificent structure of the foot - the general consensus is that the act of sleeping must somehow be absolutely vital to our survival, otherwise it should have been eliminated through the millennia. Such inquiries and speculation into the purposes of sleep are interesting yet does not truly concern us right now. The fact is, we have to sleep. If we don't sleep, we cannot perform at satisfactory levels. Therefore, a pragmatic approach
is necessary and we have to pay careful attention to the many factors influencing our sleep. Our highest priorities are to maximize the effectiveness of our sleep, and minimize the time we actually spend sleeping. In order to do these things, we must first understand the basic mechanisms and principles behind sleep. When we normally refer to sleep, we think of it as a single process, one that is defined as the opposite of wakeful activity. In fact, a complete "set" of sleep consists of subsets of different "types" of sleep. Scientists categorize the different types of sleep by the brainwave patterns they elicit. Brainwave patterns are measured by EEG - electroencephalogram - machines, and show the unique configurations of electrical activity in the brain. Different brainwave patterns mean that the brain is operating in different "modes" of thought, much the same way that the different ways that electricity surges through a computer's circuitry determine the different functions the computer is performing. The EEG patterns of sleep can themselves be broken down into four basic categories. When our brains are functioning normally in a wakeful mode, such as when we go about our daily activities, the EEG pattern of our brains would show beta waves. When we initially close our eyes and start to go to sleep, our brainwaves are mostly alpha. We relax our bodies, and our internal temperature starts to drop (the dropping of temperature is an evolutionary method of saving energy). Alpha waves can be elicited simply by shutting our eyes, and relaxing. After relaxing, we gradually enter deeper and deeper sleep. Our brainwaves become less active, and we are categorized as entering SWS, or slow wave sleep. When we are totally relaxed, and are deeply asleep, our brains finally elicit delta waves. Sometime into the night, our brains switch from delta mode into theta mode. In this mode, our brains suddenly "awaken" even though the rest of the body is fast asleep. In fact, the characteristics of theta waves are somewhat similar to beta waves, and this creates an interesting phenomenon: We are sleeping, but our brain is wide awake. This type of sleep is known as paradoxical sleep. It is during this stage when we start to dream. Most people tend to think that we dream throughout the night. This is not so. We dream only intermittently, and only during theta stage. In addition, our eyes do a very interesting thing: They move. These rapid eye movements - or REM - occur only during the dreaming stages. When theta waves are present, our minds are in maximum creative mode. That is why dreams are so full of imagination and creativity. Otherwise, during our delta phase, our minds are essentially blank. Interestingly enough, during REM
sleep, a biological mechanism kicks in and our bodies are virtually paralyzed for the duration. One theory holds that this was nature's way of ensuring that we don't physically act out our dreams. Research into sleepwalking speculates that the disorder is related to a fault in this paralysis mechanism. REM sleep lasts for only a relatively brief amount of time. A dream that, upon waking, feels like it's been going on for the entire night, may only have lasted less than an hour. Your time spent each night consists mostly of blank or "passive" delta sleep, and not "active" (dream) sleep. Therefore, for us to be able to obtain the rest we need every time we sleep, our bodies have to be able to enter the delta phases. If it cannot, because of interference from the environment or because of chemicals in our bodies, then we do not obtain restful sleep, and feel sluggish and groggy upon waking up. The relationship between sleep and learning ability has been welldocumented. Not only do we require fresh minds in order to maintain attention spans and concentrate on new information, but the act of sleeping seems to have a consolidation effect, organizing the information learned that day and registering it into their respective places in our memories. Sleep also induces maximum creativity, during the theta stage, and this may be one reason why some people go to bed with a problem, and wake up with the solution. Their imagination was active during REM sleep, and found a solution to the problem by considering all kinds of possibilities. Before we continue our discussion regarding sleep, there is something else I must mention. All life forms on this planet are governed by cycles, or rhythms. These cycles vary between animals, and between functions within the same animal. Cycles can vary in length and classification. Some are annual cycles, while others have a monthly basis, and still others operate on a daily or even hourly schedule. An example of an annual cycle would be the blooming of flowers in the spring. A monthly cycle would be the normal menstruation periods of females. Finally, the best example of a daily cycle is the cycle of sleep. You can think of these natural cycles as biological clocks - or endogenous cycles (driven by internal clocks rather than by external events). Daily cycles are called circadian rhythms (from the Latin circa meaning "around" and dia meaning "day"). Sleep cycles are both endogenous cycles and also circadian rhythms. Because of some warped sense of humor on the part of mother nature, the circadian rhythm of sleep in humans is, on average, based on a 25-hour cycle! In other words, we operate on an approximately 25-hour day,
biologically, instead of the actual, physical 24-hour day.6 The implications of this are enormous. It means that if left to our own devices, and if all other variables were the same, we would go to sleep and wake up one hour later every day. This is one of the biggest reasons why most people find it hard to get out of bed at the same time every morning. Unfortunately for us, we have to live with this fact. So the next time someone yells at you and says you're a lazy bum for sleeping so late, you can reply: "You know, there is a desynchronization between my circadian rhythm and the arbitrary and external concept of a 24-hour day." I doubt that too many people will accept that as an excuse if you're late for school or work, but at least you sounded really smart for about five seconds. There is some more information about our circadian rhythms that you need to know. Scientists have determined that not only do we operate on a 25-hour biological clock, but that we are predisposed to sleep again several hours after waking up. In other words, we like afternoon naps.7 Some cultures, such as that of Mexico, revolve around the siesta - the afternoon nap. Everybody goes home and catches a few winks before going back to work. (That sort of makes the North American lunch-break a pretty pathetic invention!) Apparently, nature had a field day with our genes. It made us walking and talking monuments to tardiness and sloth! But that can't really be the case. Why would evolution make such a big mistake? In fact, it turns out that it was not nature, but humans who have made the mistake. Humans invented the 9-to-5 work day. Humans invented the 8 hour sleep schedule. To understand the mistake we have made, we will need to understand the difference between monophasic sleep, and polyphasic sleep8. Monophasic sleep is the "norm" for North American culture. We sleep at night, and work during the day. Polyphasic sleep consists of multiple sleep/wake incidents scattered throughout the day. A sleep schedule with an afternoon nap is an example of polyphasic sleep. In fact, it is biphasic. There is evidence to suggest that humans were originally suited to a polyphasic sleeping routine, rather than the arbitrary monophasic one that we are used to. For starters, almost all animals in nature conform to polyphasic behavior. In addition, polyphasic behavior is the predominant mode of sleeping for human infants, and even in the later years, children have to slowly be weaned from the afternoon nap. Furthermore, when people are isolated from the external environment - so that they cannot determine the actual time of the day from natural cues such as sunlight, or artificial cues such as clocks or television
programs - they tend to exhibit more napping behavior instead of retaining the single monophasic sleep period during the "night." Finally, it appears that naps relatively brief sessions of sleep - are more effective in refreshing the mind, than longer periods of sleep.9 In a sense, we were taught to "unlearn" this natural way of sleeping, when we had to adjust to the arbitrary 9-to-5 schedule. How has modern society thrown our sleep mechanisms into chaos? There are many aspects to this question, but one important element that almost all sleep researchers agree on is the invention of night light, from candles all the way to the modern halogen lamp. With the added ability to see in the dark, humans found themselves capable of work even after the sun has set. Having broken free of this constraint, and by using artificial cues - such as clocks and watches - to keep track of time, humans were able to operate on a totally artificial and arbitrary sleep/wake schedule. The increased demand for more attention to the increasing amounts of information in our modern society have discouraged the "unproductive" act of sleeping, as people everywhere try to squeeze more and more "wake" time out of the 24-hour day. Unfortunately for most people, they remain caught in the time-honored tradition of a monophasic sleep/wake schedule. Sleep research has already found evidence to support the hypothesis that polyphasic schedules are more efficient. In this section, I will show you how we - as cyborgs - can achieve the goal of minimizing sleep time, with a level of effectiveness hardly ever approached by other non-cybernetic human units.
The Biphasic Mode - Making use of a Siesta

When in Mexico do as the Mexicans A biphasic sleeping schedule takes advantage of the higher effectiveness and rejuvenation capability of short naps. The method I detail here is somewhat biased towards the bigger segment of "main" sleep time at night. This method is good for people who do not want to entirely forfeit the traditional daytimewake/nighttime-sleep behavior. Therefore, it is not as efficient as other methods, but nevertheless a better way of sleeping than the pure monophasic method. For starters, we should find some way of accommodating the need for an afternoon nap. Studies have shown that this need not be a lengthy period of rest. In fact, 30-minutes of restful sleep are adequate to satisfy the natural desire for a nap, and to effectively refresh our minds for coping with the second half of the day. Business executives who allow themselves this advantage usually take their
naps during their lunch hour. Since only a half-hour is necessary, this can be successfully incorporated into their schedule. The two biggest impediments to effective sleep are light and sound. If either of these are present, the effectiveness of sleep could be reduced, or prevented altogether. Research has found that the worst kinds of sound and light are the intermittent types - those that have no predictable pattern. These interruptions prevent the body from entering delta sleep. It seems as though your body doesn't "dare" go to sleep when so much unpredictable activity is happening around it. This is most likely a survival instinct. In order to minimize the distractions of light and sound, I have found that simple solutions work best. The use of an eyeshade, or some kind of cloth wrapped comfortably around the eyes, works to block out light. To diminish the volume of disturbing noise, I use earplugs. There are many types of earplugs available from your local pharmacy, but the best ones I find are the soft spongy types. Other earplugs are either too hard and feel bulky, or are made of materials such as down or wool, which have fibers that can become itchy or cause allergic reactions in some people. By blocking out noise and light, you help the body enter restful sleep. A loud alarm clock (which pierces the earplug barrier) placed nearby will serve to awaken you so that you don't sleep past the absolute minimum time necessary for refreshment. One excellent method of ensuring effective siestas is through the use of a cybernetic brain machine. These devices are covered in Chapter Nine. For now, let me just say that I use a subliminal cassette program that is exactly 30-minutes in length. The subliminal programming induces theta and delta brainwaves, and essentially what it does is "force" me to go to sleep. At the end of the program, the subliminals automatically induce beta waves and wakes me up. Unless I am truly fatigued, I have no problems with this. The 30-minute nap session feels like several hours, and afterwards I feel totally refreshed and ready for the second half of the day. This is an excellent example of using cybernetic assistance to make our natural biology cooperate with us.
The Polyphasic Mode - Maximizing Organic Sleep time

The Leonardo da Vinci secret Almost everyone has heard of Leonardo da Vinci. We regard him as a great painter, and inventor. But did you know that he had a very big advantage over
most other people? He slept for only 1.5 hours every night. In effect, he had 22.5 hours of wakeful activity every day! This remarkable "secret" is narrated by Giancarlo Sbragia, a playwright and actor who lives in Rome.10 He claims that he might have come across da Vinci's secret via, of all people, a psychic medium! In any case, it is an intriguing and fascinating method of minimizing sleep without drastic reduction in wakeful performance. The da Vinci method, briefly, required the person to operate on a 4-hour basis. (This is in line with the scientific conclusion of the human tendency to gravitate towards a 4-hour schedule, as discussed in preceding sections). At the end of every 4-hour wake phase, the person sleeps for 15 minutes. Then, the cycle is reset, and the person operates in a wakeful state for another 4 hours before he sleeps again. Although intriguing, it may be very difficult for most people to achieve this schedule. Sbragai himself stated that it was necessary for him to learn certain meditation techniques in order to execute this sleep schedule properly. For most people without these skills, I venture to speculate that it would be quite impossible to sleep for only 15 minutes for every 4 hours of being awake. Therefore, I have modified the da Vinci method. The modified version that I will now describe is called CyberSleep. Instead of sleeping for 15 minutes, the person sleeps between a half-hour to one-hour. The method also requires an extended sleep of 2 hours during the early morning period. This is to acknowledge the decreased performance capacity of people during those hours - as I had mentioned before. To establish the specific times for CyberSleeping - times which are most effective for you and your work schedule - first write down all the things that you have to be awake for every day. If you have to work from 9-to-5, write this down, but include any possible lunch-breaks or other times you can fit a short nap into. If you are a student, write down all the starting and ending times of your classes. Do this for every day of the week. Now, look at your schedule and determine which periods of time are available for you to put in CyberSleep naps (between a half-hour to one-hour duration). Try to fit in as much nap time as possible, and as evenly distributed over the 24-hours as possible. Remember to allocate a 2-hour sleep period somewhere in the early morning (between 2 am and 5 am).
When determining your polyphasic schedule, keep in mind that you should try to keep wake-periods to about 4 hours, and try not to extend or shorten these periods any more than absolutely necessary. A flexibility of about one hour is probably tolerable, but any more variation than that and you may find it harder to go to sleep during the sleep-periods, or harder to obtain the full benefits of each short nap. One final point that I must mention is that Sbragai said that one of the hardest things to do with his sleep schedule was finding enough things to do. As a result, there is a high probability of boredom, especially during the late evening and early morning hours when everyone else is sleeping and shops and businesses are closed. It is up to you to find enough work to keep yourself busy and useful. Otherwise, you may want to revert back to the less efficient sleep schedules so that you can "fill in the blanks" with sleep.
The Anchor Method

Flexibility in an Inflexible Society The da Vinci and CyberSleep methods are, admittedly, relatively esoteric and eccentric (but what revolutionary idea isn't). Therefore, it may be hard to execute them successfully given the proliferation of monophasic schedules with the majority of the human population, and the general consensus to operate on it as a basis. An alternative method is available to increase flexibility in sleep time, but allow a person to still increase overall sleep efficiency. The method is called the Anchor Method. It is was introduced by two researchers - Minors and Waterhouse - in 1981, and is based on an 8-hour total sleep time. The anchor methods requires sleep to be "anchored" to an unvarying 4-hours of sleep every night at the same time, but allows the remaining 4-hours to be taken at any other time during the day, as the person desires. The "flexible" 4-hour portion must be used as a whole and not fragmented into component naps. The anchor method allows a person to sleep with a relatively traditional uninterrupted "anchor sleep" period, but reduces that inflexible portion to 4hours, and provides freedom to adapt to changing demands via the "non-anchor" portion of the total sleep time.
Core Sleep
The Absolute Minimum Scientists have determined that there is an absolute minimum amount of time that the average human person requires for normal functioning. They call this core sleep and any additional sleep time as optional sleep. Core sleep is usually 5 hours for most humans. This varies dramatically in some people, sometimes to the point of virtually not needing sleep at all. But 5 hours is the average amount, and is really all that is necessary for us to obtain the physiological benefits. For those people who may be able to operate with only core sleeping, it may be possible to dispense altogether with the polyphasic methods. By sleeping between the hours of, for example, 1 am to 5 am, a person would have at his command a day of 19 hours. A variation in this core sleep method would be to add an additional 30minutes of nap time during the afternoon, around 1 PM.
System Shutdown - Induction of Sleep

Keeping the jumping sheep well away Thus far we have discussed several modes of sleeping which can increase our overall time available for activities. We now focus our efforts onto the bigger problem: Getting quality sleep by getting to sleep. Inability to enter sleep essentially renders our carefully plotted sleep-periods worthless, and throws our entire plan into havoc. The first thing to know is that the best way of making your body sleep quickly is to not let it sleep for a while. In other words, by forcing yourself to be awake for extended periods of time, you will ensure that your mind is fully ready to enter sleep once the opportunity is available. This method of forcing yourself to stay awake is useful for initializing a new sleep regime. For example, when converting from monophasic sleep into a polyphasic sleep schedule, it is best to try to stay awake for maybe 36 hours, and then allow yourself a half-hour or onehour sleep period, to initialize the cycle. Then you wake up, and work for 4-hours, and sleep again. After a few days, your body should adapt to this new sleeping regime, and your circadian rhythms will be entrained to the new schedule.
An important point to note regarding sleep, and which is very much related to trying to keep yourself awake, is that certain chemicals affect your body's ability to "recharge" during the actual sleep periods. The two major enemies to quality sleep are caffeine and nicotine. Other stimulants are also detrimental to a good night's sleep, but these two substances are readily available and easily exposed to. Perhaps it is of interest to you to know that caffeine, for example, can take up to 24 hours before your body totally eliminates it from the system. Caffeine and nicotine can affect your body so much that delta mode is hardly entered into, regardless of how long you have been able to sleep. People pulling "all-nighters" by drinking lots of coffee, smoking cigarettes, and restricting their sleep usually end up in less-than-perfect states of mind when morning arrives. The student cramming for an exam in such a manner will not have the full complement of his mental faculties available during the actual exam, and suffers from lowered concentration ability, higher risks of making careless mistakes, a dramatic reduction in memory recall, and a diminished proficiency to think logically. On top of all this, the stimulants in his bloodstream make him nervous and panicky. Lucky (or blessed) indeed is the person who can pull off an A+ in such a state of disarray! But to return to our discussion concerning sleep, we must try to totally eliminate these and other artificial stimulants in our bodies, by refraining from smoking and drinking coffee. I understand that these are terribly hard habits to break - I've been there - but if you are committed to utilizing a higherperformance sleep schedule, because you need the extra time, then you absolutely must allow your body the full potential to enter deep sleep. Otherwise, you simply will not be refreshed after the sleep period, and it would become impossible to maintain the sleep routine without seriously reducing your wakeful performance. Even with the use of subliminals to induce sleep, a body loaded with stimulant chemicals will be reluctant to succumb to the induction. Speaking of chemicals, one substance that is naturally occurring in our bodies is serotonin. This is a neurotransmitter - a chemical that your body uses to transmit information between its nervous system. We will encounter neurotransmitters again in Chapter Nine when we discuss cognitive chemicals. In the meanwhile, I would just like to point out that serotonin is necessary for the proper maintenance of sleep. If its levels are too low, then it is harder for a person to enter deep sleep. Adequate levels of serotonin also ensure that the sleep latency period is reduced - the period of time it takes a person to "fall asleep" once the lights are off. With regards to our objective of sleep induction, it
pays to have enough serotonin in our bodies. One way of getting this important neurotransmitter is through milk. Dairy milk contains L-Tryptophan, a substance which is the precursor of the serotonin neurotransmitter - your body transforms L-Tryptophan into serotonin (your body also requires a small amount of Vitamin B6 and magnesium to help convert L-Tryptophan into serotonin so take a multivitamin and mineral pill containing these nutrients along with your milk). That's why sometimes you may have been told to try drinking a glass of warm milk if you can't sleep. Unfortunately, dairy milk is also the source of many health problems. In fact, many health experts discourage people from eating or drinking dairy products of any kind. (Please see the health sources in Appendix B.) Therefore, for CyberSleep purposes, I recommend you treat drinking milk along the lines of taking sleeping pills - don't overdo it. The body's levels of serotonin could also be affected by electromagnetic fields. This may sound somewhat paradoxical to a cyborg, who is half organic and half electromechanical. But even cyborgs have to sleep - and, like Philip K. Dick asked us, "Do androids [and cyborgs] dream of electric sheep?" - and we must take measures to ensure that we do not have extraneous magnetic influences that disturb the proper functioning of our bodies. Thus, when you go to bed, stay away from electrical appliances. Make sure your body - especially your head - is well away from electric wall outlets, or wires and cables that run from those outlets. Don't put anything with a magnetic field near your bed - such as televisions, telephones, and especially HiFi speakers (such as those from a ghettoblaster) because all these items have magnets inside them. Another factor which influences our desire and ability to sleep is sunlight. Exposure to sunlight helps people to entrain their circadian rhythms to be awake during the sunlight periods. This is useful if that is what you want to do. However, a polyphasic sleep schedule usually requires sleep periods during the day, when there is usually plenty of sunshine. Therefore, we must again block out this natural cue of sunlight either by the use of eyeshades, or by sleeping in a room devoid of light. Sometimes, when I am using a polyphasic schedule, I find places that are totally dark - and safe! - to sleep in. I have successfully maintained these daytime sleep-periods in bathrooms, walk-in-closets, underneath a bed, in the trunk of a car (with folded-down seats), and even in a laundry room. The key things to note are that you must find a relatively dark and quiet place, and you must also be comfortable. I used to carry around an inflatable air mattress - a part of my camping equipment - to allow me to sleep pretty much anywhere I need to.
Recall the high priority I gave to the maintenance of the "zero zone," or the sense of minimal stimulation and external influence. When utilizing nontraditional sleeping cycles, a zero zone is critical for success. Why is this? Well, the final factor that can disrupt the successful implementation of our sleeping schedule is, in fact, the most important one: Other people. And of all people, the ones who have the most potential to affect us are our friends. The reason why I say this is because even though our family and lovers may be closer to us, they will likely understand our situation, and allow us to continue our sleeping schedule. With friends, the willingness to leave us be would not be as high. I am not saying that our friends would be deliberately trying to screw up our lives. Instead, they may not understand or appreciate the importance of the situation, and may even try to "help" you adjust back to "normal" time, or try to "save" you from your crazy sleeping plan - which in their minds is obviously a sign of overexertion and too much work. Therefore, you must try to make everyone around you understand what you are trying to accomplish. If you cannot successfully get the message across to them, it's time to use some cyborg shielding!
The Organic Connection - Your Living Body

You are what you throw into that big mouth of yours Thus far we have covered many topics on maximizing your biological potential by the use of techniques, and devices. In a sense, we have been augmenting our biology through a cybernetic connection with semi-artificial help. In this section, I want to draw our attention back to the human body, for it is the foundation and, indeed, very essence of the cybernetic existence. Because a full discussion on the topic of health is such an immense undertaking, I can only give you general principles and methods to help you achieve a more efficient and healthier lifestyle. I strongly recommend you go to Appendix B and read the books listed there which concern health and nutrition, for a full coverage of this very important subject. Let's look at some remarkable concepts about health.
The Body Machine

Increasing Organic Power from the Ground Up The key item we have to pay close attention to is energy. Without energy, our body cannot function. The very mentioning of "energy," especially when talking about bodily health, almost always makes people think about physical energy in terms of sports, or muscular energy. In fact, when I refer to "energy" in the context of this book, I am referring not only to the above types of energy expenditure, but also the energies required for mental functioning, immune system activation, biological waste disposal, and stress tolerance. It may strike some people particularly unexpectedly - especially when it is so obviously that it is easily overlooked - when they realise that our brains require energy to run. They are organs, and like any other organ in the body, demand us to "exercise" it, and keep it in shape by providing the correct "fuels" for its operations. The efficacy of our immune system also depends on sufficient levels of energy. In fact, it does not take a great leap of faith to acknowledge that everything about your body is related to your energy level. The most basic key to your body's energy level is nutrition. It is a fallacy of thinking to believe that even if you eat the wrong things, some parts of your body (for example, your brain maybe) will still function "ok." People gulp down all kinds of junk, thinking that they can "work it off" later on. Students may binge on pizza and coke, while cramming for an exam in the middle of the night. (In desperation, they may even eat cold pizza!) Actually, everything that these students eat affects the way their brains work, and the way their bodies respond to the added stress of cramming. Although we all have probably been told, ad nauseum, that we shouldn't eat junk food because it's bad for us, most of us still do. That's OK. Sort of. We all have to "take a breather" and just "mellow out" once in a while. Life wasn't meant to be lived by sticking to all kinds of rules and trying to be the "perfect" person. If you want to eat something that's "bad" for you, there is no reason why you shouldn't unless it affects the quality of your life in the long run. It's fine to enjoy nasty things such as candy bars, alcohol or fast food, once in a while. But if you ingest these things to the extent that they become synonymous with your name, then you're going to suffer the consequences of lowered body performance (in all functions) and there is no way around that fact. The critical decision that you should make now is that you will do yourself a favor, and keep
in mind that anything unnatural is most likely bad for you. That's the simplest rule I can think of, concerning proper nutrition. When I say "unnatural" I don't mean just the obvious candidates of artificial flavorings and chemical preservatives (if you can't pronounce or spell it, you probably shouldn't eat it). I also refer to the "unnatural" aspect of rationale about food. A good example is milk. Cow's milk, that is, not human milk. There's a lot of controversy about this food. Some nutritionists say that milk is good for you because it gives you calcium, and protein, and all those nice vitamins and minerals your body needs. The milk companies tell you the same thing. On the other hand, other nutritionists and doctors have decided that milk aggravates allergies and can contribute to a whole slew problems for your body. The bottom line is, cow's milk was designed for baby cows. Human milk was designed for human babies. You don't usually see a dog sucking on a cow's teat for milk now, do you? Or a gorilla mother nursing a lamb. Cow's milk provides different hormones and nutrients which help the young calf grow up quickly. Drinking cow's milk, or eating any product made from that milk (including cheese and butter) is sort of like putting the wrong kind of fuel in your car. Evolution had designed the human body to be very adaptable to whatever its environment can provide. That's one of the reasons why there are so many of us on this planet right now. But just because we can adapt to our foods, doesn't mean we should eat anything and everything in sight. We must choose our foods carefully. We are what we eat, no ifs, ands or buts... Along the same lines, we're not naturally omnivorous. That is, we don't naturally eat both meat and veggies. We're frugivores - fruit eaters. Our thumbs were designed to grasp fruit and manipulate it to eat (in addition to making and using tools). Our jaws were designed for biting into and chewing fruit. Our teeth can in no way compare to those of carnivores when it comes to tearing flesh out from a dead animal. Our wimpy fingernails and canines are a poor excuse to go hunting. In fact, we are not even psychologically suited for hunting down and feasting on prey. Tigers, lions, and even dogs and cats will pounce on poor, unsuspecting rabbits or other fare, at any age. Human children would rather play with their Super Nintendo than snack on little furry creatures. (If babies were born with the instinct to hunt down the kitchen mouse for food, that would assuredly bring a whole new meaning to the term "catch-of-the-day!") In the final analysis, we were taught to eat whatever we eat now, by other people. They may have been our parents, our teachers, or even our local
foodstuffs company. They probably had the best of intentions (with the possible exception of the food companies which have a significant financial interest in our purchase of their products!), but that doesn't make the logic any sounder. When in doubt, always go with nature. She's been there for you for more than five million years, and will be in the future. Trust nature, and eat the foods your body was designed to eat. That way, your body will function the way it was designed to, without need to compensate by adapting to less-than-perfect food sources. Did you know that even if you eat meat for "protein content," your body still has to break down the meat into the component amino acids, and then reassemble them into the configurations that your body requires? There is no "direct conversion" of cow meat into your body. In fact, you can easily get the same amino acids, just by munching on a banana. Saves a hell of a lot of burden on your system. Besides, you don't really need to eat meat to get protein. Mr. Cow didn't eat another cow to become so big. He ate grass, of all things! We could eat grass too, if only we had the proper digestive system for it. But since we don't (cattle have a developed stomach to digest the tough cellophane in plants - our measly appendix is less than useless in that regard) we should stick to our natural fare: Fruits. But then again, eating only fruits sounds, oh, so boring. Not exactly what you had in mind when you signed up to become a cyborg eh? Well, the cybernetic diet is not that boring. In addition to healthy foods, there are some very interesting things you can pop into your mouth. These will be discussed in Chapter Nine. But for now, just understand that you should "go natural." Fruits provide the proper energy sources for your brain to work effectively, and encourages your body to clean itself of toxins and other junk. The body itself produces toxic byproducts every day, just from daily operations. No reason why you should add to the garbage pile through eating. I could go on, and on about this topic, but there is really no need for me to do so. First of all, you can get more extensive information from a book such as Fit For Life, as listed in Appendix B. A discussion that exhausts the information will exhaust the reader as well and is beyond the scope of this chapter. Suffice that your curiously is piqued, and you are motivated to investigate this very important subject on your own. Secondly, there may really be no need for me to say more. You already know the key principles towards good health: Eat what's naturally wholesome, and do what's naturally logical. So if your mother tells you that chocolate is bad for you, it probably is. On the other hand, if she insists you eat a large steak, you might want to reconsider your options. (To shift your paradigm,
maybe you can think about the poor cow that died and got a piece of its body on the plate in front of you. That's no fantasy. It's true. Wouldn't you rather have a strawberry and pineapple fruit salad instead?) Before you make a drastic change in diet, make sure you consult your doctor, and read up on the topic. Some people experience nausea and loose stools when they switch to a natural diet. Actually, that's just your body trying to make the best of time, and getting rid of all the accumulated toxins in your body while it has the chance (before you change your mind, and go back to eating junk!). But it's best to be safe, and have the guidance of doc, coupled with the proper information. The very first result you get from a better diet is increased energy. You will not feel so sluggish and laggard. You won't, in a sense, be "lazy" anymore. You might even want to find things to do, just to keep yourself occupied. Also, your brain will work better, and you'll be able to think clearly, and concentrate more. Your raw memory will also increase, and should function at superior levels when coupled with memory skills. You will also be better protected against diseases and other disorders. Your need for sleep will decrease, and sleep itself will become more effective and more refreshing. A lot of people suddenly find that their allergies are gone, or that they naturally lose the weight they've been trying to "work off," or diet off. Your skin, fingernails and hair will all look and feel much healthier. There isn't a part of your body that isn't affected by a change in diet. One other "positive side-effect" about all of this is that by eating a natural diet you will have simplified a lot of things. You hardly have to cook, and you hardly have to wash up (dishes are so easily cleaned by rinsing with hot water, when you don't use them to eat greasy foods). A natural diet is such a time and effort saver, it's a great way to maximize your daily time, especially if you need it to study for exams, or meet a company deadline. When I am under pressure, I go shopping and stock up my "reservoir" of fruits and veggies, so that I don't even have to leave the house for the entire week. In the morning, I drink fruit juice, so breakfast takes only ten minutes. I can even munch on bananas while working, and sip fruit juice all day. (The only hard parts are cutting open pineapples and melons, but hey, what's a guy to do eh?) If you are really trying to save time and effort, you might opt to buy the "premium" orange juices that they now sell in the supermarkets, and those aren't made from concentrates, so you get much more out of them (concentrating fruit juices destroys a lot of beneficial nutrients, and you don't get the same natural "water" that the original fruit provided). Premium juices aren't as good as their fresh-squeezed counterparts, but they're a superior
alternative to other "juices" which either contain 10% real juice (and 90% artificial muck) or have had the good stuff destroyed in the processing procedure. To conclude our discussion about natural foods, I don't want you to put a label on this topic and think of it as some kind of "miracle" cure-all method I've just presented. It's just a healthier, and more intelligent, way of eating and living. It's so simple, it's almost too obvious. Maybe that's one reason why a lot of people have overlooked it. So if you really do become a healthier person by eating properly, no need to thank me. Instead, thank the men and women (such as Harvey and Marilyn Diamond who wrote Fit For Life) who brought this subject into the public awareness so that all of us can enjoy the benefits of a supercharged body.
Training Mission - Exercise for the Cybernetic Soldier

Getting off your butt and into a piece of the action Having increased energy levels is not the only objective in elevating the quality of your life. Your body can benefit from activity. It was built to be used, to be operated, to be put into action. Unless you constantly keep it in shape, your body will "rust" like an abandoned cyborg in an interstellar spaceyard. Exercise will strengthen a lot of muscles, but the most important muscle is your heart. By toning it and your lungs through aerobics and similar cardiovascular exercises, you will make oxygen transfer more efficient. This is important both for thinking capacity, and for immune system functioning.
Rebounding
Zero Gravity on Planet Earth The best overall exercise is... rebounding. That is, trampolining, or bouncing up and down on a taut piece of fabric. Doesn't exactly sound too macho for the cyborg warrior now does it? But rebounding is the best kind of exercise you can do. Albert E. Carter, a world authority on rebounding exercise, says that it is "the most efficient, effective form of exercise yet devised by man." In his book The Miracles of Rebound Exercise, he identifies the key factor in any effective exercise: Resistance against gravity. That is, anyone who is exercising - whether they are dancing, skipping rope, jogging, lifting weights, or even swimming - they are pushing or pulling against forces that resist them, and the common
denominator to all these exercise forms is gravity. Rebound exercise maximizes the benefits of gravity resistance. When you bounce, you are exercising every part of your body. The exercise comes from the top and bottom of the bounce. At the bottom, your G-force (gravitational force) is maximized, and your entire body resists the downward movement (from your falling). At the top, your body relaxes, and is in free-fall. This up/down motion and gravity/free-fall effect will tone muscles and in addition will stimulate your immune system. Your so-called immune system is near-synonymous with the lymphatic system. Lymph is the fluid that transports your body's defenses around, and takes care of the removal of toxins and foreign invaders. The lymph fluid does not move around in the same way your blood circulates because it does not have a central "pump" mechanism. Instead, lymph moves when you move. Muscular contraction/relaxation pushes the lymph. Thus, when you exercise - especially during rebounding - you increase the circulation rate of your lymphatic system, and speed up the immune function. Rebounding is also the safest form of exercise because there is no impact on your body: At the bottom of the bounce, you are gradually slowed down by the stretching of the fabric. There is no jarring shock, unlike an exercise such as jogging. Rebounding is also more efficient, because it maximizes the gravity effects. In fact, rebounding for five minutes a day, especially soon after getting out of bed in the morning, is all you really need. It's very effective. Rebound units that are no bigger than a small coffee table in diameter, and which can fit under your bed when not in use, cost only about thirty dollars. There is no need to buy really expensive units, but be sure that the unit you get is wellconstructed and won't suddenly collapse after a few bounces. If you already exercise, you should really consider rebounding as an alternative. It is inexpensive, requires very little time, and is very effective. It is also a very fun way to get healthy. There probably are very few people in this world who haven't loved to bounce, when they were children, whether on a bed, tree branch, or a parent's back. (Pity Dad' and his chiropractor!)
Rollerblading
Warp speed Transportation While we're on the topic of fun exercise, let's talk about Rollerblading, or more generically known as in-line skating. This form of sport has hit our country like a shock wave, and it's extremely hard to find a place in the city where in-line skaters don't come whizzing by. Obviously, there's got to be good reasons why so
many people are "blading," and there are. Rollerblading is relatively inexpensive, is effective, and above all it's excellent transportation. People even skate to school and to work. In-line skates are like turbo units for your feet. When you know how to skate, the world suddenly collapses and shrinks. Places that were too far to walk are now within a couple of minutes' reach. If you're a student, skating to school may be the most intelligent choice, and can save you the costs of automobile or public transportation. While at school, skating can reduce the amount of time you spend walking between classes, and makes the entire campus much more accessible to you. Sometimes students neglect to go to the library often enough, because they don't want to walk "all the way over there." By zipping around on blades, you make moving about on campus more efficient and fun. In fact, if your library allowed it (or didn't explicitly ban it!) locating research books on the shelves will be rapidly accomplished, simply by gliding along on skates. You might even be encouraged to do more in-depth research because of all the time and effort you've saved, and because it's so darn fun! As for skating to work, I know some people who do just that, and you might see them flying by on their way to the office, with blades, suit, tie, briefcase and all! In-line skates range from $80 to more than $400. If you don't already have skates, a pair costing about $150 will do the job. Look into it, whether as a form of fun exercise you can do with a bunch of friends, or by yourself, or as a form of transportation that is not only environmentally-friendly but can also provide your body with the workout it needs. Finally, let me remind you again that when it comes to your body, how you treat it is how your body will treat you. Don't neglect the powerful and wonderful machine you inhabit. By keeping it well-maintained, you will ensure that it will give you many years of service. After all, there's no money-back guarantee on it, and the non-renewable warranty expired ninety days after you were born! Now that we've taken care of the organic part of us, let's investigate the cybernetic - or mechanical - side of our cyborg existence. Let's check out the...
Chapter 5
HARDWARE!
Towards the winning edge "Watching John with a machine, it was suddenly so clear. The Terminator would never stop. It would never leave him. And it would never hurt him, never shout at him, or get drunk and hit him, or say it was too busy to spend time with him. It would always be there, and it would die to protect him. "...This thing - this machine - was the only one who measured up. "In an insane world, it was the sanest choice..." --- Terminator 2
Machines - The Cybernetic Connection

Sidekicks and companions on the path of success
NOTE: The following chapter (and indeed, this entire book) was written by Angus in the early 90's. This was before the advent of mass communications on the Internet, and before the general population had access to email. This was a time before the PowerPC, Windows95, the Apple/NeXT merger, or Microsoft's attempt at dominating the Internet. But much of what is said about hardware usage is still relevant.
The true cyborg never takes it upon himself to do everything by hand. There are numerous devices out there that help take the burden of mundane and repetitious activities off us, and allow us the freedom to enjoy life, and more time and energy to minister to the tasks that really need our attentions. To some readers, the emphasis on electronic technology in this chapter may seem over-indulgent. Yet this technology is omnipresent in the modern world. To diminish its importance would be skirting the issue. The fact is, the computer may well be the most important addition to human life in the history of humankind. No other tool provides us with so much power, because no other tool was designed to manage that most important resource of all: Information. When the personal computer revolution got under way in the late seventies, few people took heed. In fact, even IBM ignored the personal computer market, thinking it a fad that would quickly pass. The IBM PC was virtually the last hurried entry into the personal computer market. Still other companies may have missed the train altogether. Not until the mid-eighties did the majority of people realise that they not only should start finding out what all the fuss was about, but suddenly knowledge of the new phenomenon was vital to their functioning in society and
business. Now, in the early nineties, we find the personal computer as much a household item as a microwave oven. People spend a lot of time, money and energy on books, tapes and lessons trying to catch up on the past decade of technological advancement. Ten years ago, to function in business, it may have been enough to know how to type. Now, almost everyone is assumed to be capable of using Windows(r), Lotus(r), or whatever the latest software revolution is. Better to have started early before the tide swept one over and made one obsolete. Computer technology is here to stay. You should make yourself comfortable in integrating your life with it. I totally believe that the next major trend in computer awareness has to do with telecommunications, databases, and information retrieval. Even as you read this book, more and more people are learning how to use the new technology of information networks. A simple rule of thumb to measure your pace with the technology is to ask yourself just how alien the "other world" seems to you. Do you experience resistance within, when confronted with the new medium? Are you intimidated by the enormity and seemingly-overwhelming complexity of it all? Yet, would you prefer to be forced to understand it by way of job requirement (at a later time when everyone else already knows how to use it), or get into the action now and gain the tactical advantage of its benefits? The more fearful and resistant you are of the technology, the more pressing is the need for you to learn it. Imagine how a person would be able to survive in the world if he refused to learn how to use telephones, fax machines, or even the television. Computers intertwined with life is already a reality; the need to understand information retrieval and telecommunications will be inevitable. The bright side of it all is that once you have made your way into the "electronic village" you will wonder how you ever got along without it. Should you so wish, simply balance out your immersion in the technology with opposing interests (e.g., reading great novels, or socializing, when your objectives have been achieved). Although I too prefer a life less dependent on the new machines, lamenting about the "complexity" and "coldness" of it all will get one nowhere in the modern world. Naivet is a poor substitution for knowledge and skill. Without further preamble, let us examine how machines can enhance our lives in a cybernetic connection. One of the key functions of a good cybernetic device is to help us manage our lives. For this important job, we turn to the mighty organizers.
Organizers - Our Personal Secretaries

Extended memory functions for our human brains There are basically two types of organizers we can use. One made of paper, and one made of metal and plastic. The paper organizers come in the form of the "FiloFax" booklets, with special formatted pages for the various categories of information we need to keep track of. They are relatively inexpensive, and available in many stationery supply stores. On the other side of the coin are the electronic organizers, pioneered most probably by the wonderful Sharp "Wizard" units, and now come in an array of models by many other manufacturers. Any organizer, whether paper or electronic, must do the following things:
y Record our y Maintain y Provide
daily schedules
our telephone and address list
various levels of overview of our schedule to allow us to see projects and their due dates in the proper perspective bits of information that are important yet prone to be lost if not properly filed away us observe our past, present, and future activities in order to see the direction in which we are going Of the above functions, the most important one is keeping track of our schedules, or agenda. Recall that I use the term "schedule" not to mean a static structure that constrains our actions. Rather, I use the term to mean the overall "plan" in which we are free to make changes and adjust to the ever-changing environment and personal demands. For our purposes, I highly recommend an electronic organizer. The greatest advantage of it over a paper one is the speed at which data can be accessed and manipulated. For example, if I wanted to find a particular phone number, I can search the electronic database and come up with the result in a few seconds. A paper phone book might take considerably longer, and entries may not be in true alphabetical order. In fact, with my Sharp Wizard, I could reverse the process, and find the name that a certain number belongs to. This is especially useful for checking on Caller-ID numbers (see Chapter Four). With a paper organizer, this could take a long, long time. With regards to dates and times, if I had to find out the exact date when a particular assignment is due on, I simply type in several characters of the assignment, and find the date, using the electronic search
y Let y Hold
function. With a paper organizer, I would have to flip through each page on the datebook, and locate by eye the assignment. Another benefit that the electronic organizer - EO - has over the paper organizer - PO - is that I can invoke an overview of my schedule by daily activities, weekly activities, monthly activities, and perhaps even an annual summary. These are available on demand, in seconds. It would be nearly impossible to achieve with a PO. I would have to flip through the datebook to get an idea of what is happening in the vicinity of a certain date I'm interested in, and then try to remember what is happening the week after that, or before that, or what is going on next month, and then forget what I had wanted to do all this for in the first place! The benefit of the EO's summary function is indispensable when encountering new demands. For example, I would enter in all the assignment due dates for certain projects throughout the year, when school starts. When I encounter a new project, I could look at how all my other projects and events are organized, and figure out when would be the most appropriate time for me to attend to the new project. The EO also allows me to plan ahead for my activities and budget my time for each task. Every morning, when I wake up, I check my daily listing of events, and then I check my weekly summaries Every weekend, I check on the month's listings, and examine what future months will bring. All of this in 30-seconds. Because the EO is so easy and quick to use, I am encouraged to check and recheck everything. This way, I would have a constantly updated subconscious sense of where I am in my life, and how everything is coming along. If I had to use a PO, I would probably not be as eager to examine my schedules so frequently. Electronic organizers also have the added ability to accommodate special "program cards." Granted, not all EO's have this function. Nevertheless, when shopping for an EO, it is something to be kept in mind. Program cards run the gamut from electronic dictionaries, to spreadsheet programs, to language translators. Electronic dictionaries, in particular, are very helpful in learning new words, and understanding their correct usage. A lot of people put off looking up new words because of the inconvenience associated with flipping through a paper dictionary. The electronic dictionary saves us from this inconvenience. In addition, it allows us to double-check the spelling of words we are unsure of. Finally, the vast selection of applications cards out there virtually guarantee that many tasks we have to do will be conveniently automated.
Because there are so many organizers out there by so many different companies, and because the technology is changing every day, I cannot safely recommend any particular brand or model. The student or executive shopping for one would be well served by research, and trying out different units. Keep in mind also the options and peripherals available for the unit, and the possibility of future expansion (such as in memory capacity). One important option to look at is the availability of a cable or software that allows the organizer to communicate with a personal computer. This "computer-link" will make your EO a portable version of your computer's data. Some EO's include word-processing programs, and you could then use this portable mini-word-processor to edit essays or reports that you normally do on your home computer. Advanced EO's even have modem and faxing capabilities, expanding yet more of your reach as a user in the task of managing information and data. My own unit is a Sharp IQ-8200, but there is already a new 9000-series even as I write this sentence. Regardless of your choice for an EO or PO, make sure you learn how to use them. PO's generally need little, if any, instruction. They are simply booklets in which you write. There are, however, some very ingenious formatted pages that make better use of this kind of medium. On the other hand, the EO's usually need some time getting used to. The biggest complaint that beginning user of EO's have is that they are not as quick entering data into the EO's as they are writing something down on a PO. This will change with practice and use. Soon you may find - as I did - that entering and retrieving data on an EO is much quicker and more efficient than fumbling around with a paper organizer and pen. My sister had an EO once, but she refused to use it, swearing by her FiloFax. To this day, she still uses the FiloFax. She says she likes reading handwritten words on real paper, not a pattern of dots on an screen. To each his or her own, I guess. Recently, however, Apple Computer released their hand-held Newton, a "personal digital assistant." The Newton PowerPad is a computer organizer unit that can recognize handwriting. Thus, information does not need to be typed in. Handwriting, on the Newton screen, is translated into the corresponding characters via optical character recognition (OCR) technology. Therefore, the best of both the worlds of handwriting convenience, and computerized information management, is now available. Unfortunately, the Newton is rather high-priced, and costs just under $900 at the time of this writing. With any type of organizer, you must make a commitment to use it. It would serve no purpose if you still try to keep everything in your head. By putting your information into the organizer, you are freeing up your mental energies that are used up when you try to keep
everything memorized and try to juggle all the bits of information in a coherent and useful manner. Again, we are minimizing our multi-tasking. One additional point that needs to be emphasized: You must keep a backup of all your data. How often you do this depends on the priority of the data and the rate you change your data. The more you do, and the more the organizer has to keep track of, the more frequently you should backup. A general rule of thumb is to backup once every two weeks. I backup my organizer on a weekly basic. With PO's, backing up becomes a bit difficult, but the quickest way is to photocopy the pages. With an EO, you can either send the information to your home computer as a file, or print it out and put the hardcopy in a safe place. Some units also allow you to backup your data onto memory cards, which can be removed or inserted much the same way a home computer uses floppy disks.
Microcassette Recorders - Instant Scribes At Your Service

Why talking to yourself isn't always a sign of insanity Organizers keep track of information you put into them by writing, or by punching keys. Sometimes, there are situations in which it is inconvenient, or impossible to do this. For example, while driving, or when your train of thought is so fast, you need to record your ideas as quickly as possible before they vaporize into outer space. It is in these scenarios when a microcassette recorder becomes vital. The key function of a microcassette recorder - MR - is to serve as a temporary storage location for your ideas. Most people continue to ponder and solve the problems that they turn over and over in their minds, even as they go about their daily activities. Sometimes, ideas and inspirations just pop into their heads. These times of insight should not be wasted. Ideas are fleeting things. Reminding yourself that you will remember a certain idea will not guarantee that you will absolutely remember it, or recall it successfully when the time comes to use it. Even when you apply the memory skills learned in Chapter Three, remember that we cannot compromise on our mission as a cyborg. We must guarantee success. If we come up with a really good idea to put into an essay, we must make sure that we remember to do so when we sit down to write it, and get the marks we deserve. The ease at which we can simply pick up the MR and record the idea into it is remarkable. I make keeping records of my ideas a high priority. One would be amazed at the reservoir of inspiration and solutions the
mind is capable of on a daily basis. When we use the MR, we maximize the efficiency of our brains. The subconscious efforts that it makes to solve our problems should not be wasted. You see, the mind almost always is engaged in problem-solving. It is another survival trait of humans and cyborgs. Unfortunately, when we finally do come to a solution, the brain considers the matter finalized, and the case closed. It is up to us to record the results in a permanent form, and free the mind to work on other things. Another very important function that a microcassette recorder does for us is make our memory skills more effective. The manner in which this is accomplished is by recording our memory stories into the MR. Then, when we start to memorize the story by picturing the images in our heads, we simply close our eyes, and listen to the MR. This added benefit of concentrating on the physical sound of our voice narrating the memory story highly reinforces the imprinting of the information into our memory. In addition, we would not have to open our eyes to check up on the accuracy of our memory image. We simply rewind the tape, and listen to the story again. With the MR, memorizing the images is best done when lying in bed, ready to go to sleep. We are relaxed, and our minds are focused. There is no external distraction, no noise, no light, to disrupt our attention. In this totally focused state of mind, memory images achieve a vividness not otherwise present. Then, when we go to sleep, the memory images are well ingrained and our minds can perform the consolidation process during our sleep. In the morning, it is as easy as pushing a button, to review the entire memory sequence. One important issue I must raise is the controversy surrounding the use of cassette recorders to record classroom lectures or other such information. I highly discourage this. If a student knows that the entire lecture is being recorded onto tape, he or she will not likely pay as much attention in class, letting the MR do the job. Then, when the time comes to review the material, not only does the student have to listen to the entire lecture again, but has to really pay attention for the first time, and take notes. It's like going to school twice! Once is already more than enough for most people! Therefore, use the MR conscientiously. Don't make it a substitute for paying attention. Above all, don't use it as a mental trashcan, filing away all your ideas but never listening to the tapes again, and never doing anything about all those neat ideas. It is very easy to accumulate an enormous collection of MR tapes, and not have to time or patience to listen to them and extract the ideas. One full cassette is more than enough work for one night.
Consolidate your tapes as soon as possible, and that means whenever you have access to a pen and paper, or a word-processor, or your organizer. Finally, always label the cassettes, and make sure you don't record over information that you haven't yet consolidated. I have two cassettes that I mainly use. One is entitled "random thoughts" and the other is labeled "project." On this latter tape, I record inspirations and revelations related to an ongoing assignment. In effect, the assignment is constantly being completed while I go about my activities. The only tasks remaining would be to consolidate the ideas in a coherent manner and type out the resulting product. The MR makes my life much easier by making normally unproductive periods of time - such as while traveling in a car, or walking to school - fruitful and potentially lucrative.
Cyborg SideKicks - More Products that Enhance your Power

Recommendations from the curator of all things neat One basic premise of working or studying is that it is usually confined to a desk. This is an unfortunate situation, for the desk and chair do not necessarily offer the body a comfortable mode of posturing. Students and executives often complain of back problems, or difficulty in concentration, because of discomfort at the table. This is especially apparent during the reading of textbooks. However, a device has been invented which brings a whole new meaning to the term "bedside reading." I refer to nothing other than the miraculous prism glasses. These are eyeglass frames on which are mounted twin optical prisms. They reflect light at an angle, and allow you to read a book while lying flat on your bed. You simply put the glasses on, head resting comfortably on a pillow, and put your book on your chest or tummy. You can read entire books very comfortably, and your brain might even benefit from the additional oxygen through increased circulation. One caveat of this is that you may find it somewhat easier to drift off to sleep in such a position! Nevertheless, the prism glasses offer a very feasible alternative for aspiring academic hunchbacks and corporate gargoyles. The prism glasses can be found at specialty stores such as The Sharper Image and Hammacher-Schlemmer. In the event that your work requires writing, or otherwise demands that you remain at the desk, you should take measures to ensure maximum comfort. The most effective way of achieving that is to purchase an orthopedic support, or contoured backrest, to sit on. The best product in this category is probably the
OBUS Forme(r), an award-winning backrest created by Frank Roberts, a Canadian industrial designer. While recovering from an injury, Frank found it very painful to sit without some kind of back support. Conventional products did little to ease his discomfort, and thus he took it upon himself to design what he felt would be the best orthopedic support product in the world. He seems to have achieved that goal. The OBUS Forme(r) is internationally-recognized and acclaimed. It attaches to the chair you sit on, and is a world of difference for the desk-bound worker. OBUS Forme(r) products are available at many places, and your local chiropractor would assuredly be able to help you locate a source. Be sure to ask specifically for it by name. Another important item on the agenda for a comfortable environment at the desk is good lighting. Sometimes, desks have lighting that comes at an angle, creating shadows that are not only distracting, but obscure certain portions of the work. The shadow of a pen, for instance, can fall on the writing in a very annoying manner. To minimize this problem, use multiple lighting sources. Position the lights in such a way as to cut down on the extent of interference by shadows. Usually three lights positioned around the person will be the optimum arrangement, and two lights are the minimum requirement. The increased ambient illumination will also help you focus and awaken you during the working process. As for myself, I use three lights. The first is a standard desk lamp, followed by a hovering light just above the book I am reading, or the paper I am writing on. The third light comes in the form of a spotlight with a "crane" neck, that shines from behind me and over my shoulder. This way, I eliminate all shadows, and can even train the lights to focus on the book, subconsciously helping to redirect my attention away from my surroundings and onto my work. Remember, careful attention to detail when it comes to creating a proper working environment will help you perform at your best. Physical discomfort is the easiest and most apparent problem to tackle, and should not come between you and your work. Good lighting is important, but comfort while sitting is a must. That is why I recommended the orthopedic back rest. It would be especially appreciated during your sessions in front of a computer.
The Personal Computer - A Cyborg's Best Friend

Preventing your investment from becoming an expensive paperweight Have you ever wondered how many personal computers there must be out there? The actual number must be quite impressive, as personal computers have become more economically viable for the average household. However, how many of those computers are actually being used by people? I am speaking of real application, with real value, not merely for playing games, or even simply as a high-powered word-processor. I am talking about opening up a whole new world of information, right at your fingertips. In the remainder of this chapter, I will show you how a computer will significantly empower you to achieve success. Perhaps you want to know from what standpoint I speak? Well, computers have been my lifelong interest. Ever since the day I put my kiddie fingers on a Radio Shack TRS-80, in 1978, I had always considered computers to be one of the most powerful tools human beings have ever invented have owned and used virtually every microcomputer the industry has been able to put out for the public. I have written programs, and been hired to teach other people how to use computers. Over the years, I examined the diverse applications that personal computers are capable of. Wordprocessing remains a popular option and a lot of household computers are used mainly for that single application. However, I am convinced that word-processing, and indeed all other applications, must take lower priority because that there is but a single, main job that a computer can perform marvelously: Remote information retrieval. The PC is essentially a magic box that can provide you with answers to virtually any question. First of all , do you even have a computer? If you do not, and cannot afford one, you must make sure you somehow have access to a unit. Perhaps you can borrow a friend's model. Most schools have a computer lab for student use. In my case, I have friends who either don't have a computer of their own, or prefer using my Macintosh. The end result is the same: They come to my place from time to time, to do their work. I don't mind at all, and welcome the opportunity to help them out, so long as they keep everything clean and don't use up all my printer paper. I have, however, yet to enjoy all those dinners that they keep promising to buy me! If you are thinking of buying a computer, for the first time or to replace your old unit, it is best to secure the expert advice of a computer enthusiast. Actually, you should consult computer enthusiasts, with an emphasis on the plural. Like all
humans, enthusiasts have individual preferences and biases. For example, some 55 million people swear by the Macintosh computer operating system but the world in general is using the Windows operating system (mainly because it's cheaper, and that is not an insignificant factor). Keep in mind, also, that most universities and colleges have educationalpricing. They offer computer systems such as the Macintosh and PC computers at exceptionally discounted prices that no commercial vendor can challenge. Be sure to check your school's computer shop and compare prices around town. If you do manage to find a commercial vendor matching, or even beating, the educationaldiscounted price, ensure that it is an authorized dealership, and that they are unlikely to disappear within the next year. Some retailers sell "grey market" machines that may have a low purchase price, but the warranties are not covered by the original manufacturer. You may also want to explore the possibility of buying a second-hand machine. As always, get the opinion of a friend who knows about computers so that you can tell whether or not the used machine is a viable unit. No matter which computer you end up using, make sure that you have support using it. That means, you must ensure that (1) there are a lot of stores selling products for it; (2) enough of your friends and associates have similar models so that you can ask them questions; (3) the company you buy from is not going to leave you hanging without customer support.; and (4) enough people in the world are using the machine to make it "important" and guarantee continued support. Put simply, make sure your computer will be compatible with the world. As of this writing, the only two computer systems that I feel can really fit the bill, especially for students, are the Macintosh computers, and the IBM PC (or compatible) machines. In fact, all things considered, I would recommend a Macintosh unit for its superior ease-of-use. The Mac has the ability to not only use disks from the IBM PC and the Apple II computer, but it can even run both of their programs (with the proper software). Actually, the Amiga and the Atari ST machines can run both Mac and IBM PC programs as well, but the user-interface on the Macintosh is so much nicer, and the support in the other areas so much better, that I would have to recommend it instead of the other contenders. An exception can be made, however, for the Amiga computer. That is a unit superior to all other personal machines in the realm of video processing. If you are involved in commercial video production, you should seriously consider the Amiga. However, all things considered, a Macintosh system would best serve the needs of most people.
AUTHOR's UPDATE: I now work for a large computer hardware corporation and can no longer objectively comment on operating system choice. However, I am happy to report that the end-user has even more choice than ever before, especially now that Apple has announced that it is highly likely that the MacOS will be released to run on Intel architecture. Meaning you can run Macintosh on your PC instead of being stuck with Windows95. A second criteria to consider is whether or not you want a portable laptop computer, or a desktop computer. As a general rule, you will pay much more for a laptop compared to a desktop computer with similar capability. The ease of transportability of a laptop is seductive, but I would suggest that as a general rule, you will find that the times when you are really doing the most productive work will be at home, regardless of the type of computer you use. Your home is your HQ, after all! Therefore, unless you plan on doing a lot of work while traveling, or setting up your laptop computer during a lecture in order to type in notes - as opposed to writing them by hand - a desktop computer system will offer you more power, for less money. Laptops tend also to suffer from the limitations of battery life. A rule of thumb is that most laptops batteries only provide for a couple of hours of operating time before they need to be recharged. Carrying several batteries will soon become a burden. Laptops are relatively fragile. You expose your computer to many risks by carrying it around. Portable computers are also rather heavy, and can weigh in at seven to fifteen pounds apiece. On the other hand, if can afford the best of both words, there is the Macintosh Duo, a laptop computer that can attach to a docking station at home and essentially transform itself into a desktop computer with the full complement of desktop power options. At the time of this writing, it is the most flexible and powerful model that money can buy. If you are planning on buying a laptop in order to take notes during a lecture, be advised that you will probably still have to draw out diagrams by hand, on separate pieces of paper, and unless your typing skills are relative competent, you will not be able to keep up with the lecture speed. A laptop, however, is a valuable tool for increasing productivity when you are "on the road" if it is used properly and if its limitations are acknowledged. Now, before you spend any money on anything else other than the basic computer system, be sure you get a modem. I will teach you how to use a modem properly in the next chapter, but for the time being, just know that a modem allows your computer to "talk" to other computers over a regular telephone line.
In my opinion, the modem is the most important piece of computer equipment you can have. If I could only have one item out of my entire collection of devices, I would take the modem. I would trade all my hard-disks, colour screens, and even my laser printer, for the use of a modem. A computer without a modem would be like a television and VCR that could only play videocassettes, and cannot receive normal broadcasts. When shopping for a modem, get the fastest modem you can afford. The maximum speed right now is 14.4 kilobits per second (kpbs). [UPDATE: For 1997 it is 28.8 kbps and 56 kbps is coming]. Ignore the technical considerations for now. A general rule to follow is that anything with 9600 bits per second (9600 bps) or higher is considered fast. Anything lower than 9600 bps is relatively slow. Ask your computer salesperson for this information. You would do nicely to bring a computer enthusiast friend along on the day of the purchase. I don't want to confuse you with too much technical jargon, but let me say that there are ways of increasing the speed of a modem by data compression, to squeeze the data into a smaller size before sending it. The addition of data compression options in a modem may allow the modem to be rated at a higher speed. For example, a 2400 bps modem with data-compression might be marketed as a 9600 bps modem. Make sure the "raw" data speed of the modem is being considered, and not the "effective" or "enhanced" data speed. There's a big difference between real strawberries, and artificial strawberry flavors. Finally, most modems nowadays offer fax capability. If you can afford it, get the fax option. You will find a lot of uses for it over time, and the quality of a computer fax transmission is superior to that of a regular fax machine. It is, however, not recommended as a complete replacement for having a real standalone fax unit. When you have gotten the modem stuff sorted out, throw in a terminal program. This is a program that lets your computer, and you, utilize the modem. A computer cannot use a modem unless it knows how. But don't buy the terminal program, unless you really enjoy spending money. Most commercial terminal programs are quite expensive. Ask your computer friends, or the store person, or a local computer hobby group, to copy a shareware or freeware terminal program for you. These are usually comparable to commercial terminal programs and often times are superior. Freeware is, obviously, free. Shareware may require you pay the author of the program a nominal sum, usually about $20. Finally, get a hard disk. Forty megabytes (40 MB) is usually adequate; less than that is pushing it; more than that is sometimes wasteful. You will also need a
floppy disk drive. Ensure the floppy drive is compatible with the High-Density format, since that is the industry standard. The final peripheral you need is a printer. With regards to that item, if you can afford it, buy a laser printer. A model adequate for most people's needs would cost about $1200 (for 1993 pricing, that is). However, if you're spending more than $2000 for a laser printer, you may be paying too much or you may be getting more laser printer than you really need. If you cannot afford laser, the next best option is an inkjet printer. These print at almost the same quality as laser printers, but are much slower, and the ink tends to run if you get the paper wet. If you don't mind the lack of speed, inkjet printers offer laser-quality at astonishingly low prices. A generic inkjet printer would run around $500. The remaining printer type, the dot-matrix printer, is all but obsolete and should be avoided. On the other hand, if you cannot afford a printer at this time, there are alternatives. You can print either from a friend's printer, provided his machine is compatible with your computer, or bring your disks to the hundreds of service bureaus around the country that offer laser printing. In Toronto, for example, a lot of Kinko's service outlets offer Macintosh laser printing with a per-page pricing plan. Barring all of the above printing options, and if you have a modem with fax capability, you can use any fax machine as a makeshift printer. Simply fax your documents to the machine. The resulting printout of thermal paper will have to be photocopied before it is presentable for handing in as assignments. However, the quality of the fax printout will be superior to many dot-matrix printers, and this method is useful in emergency situations. A friend of mine who found that his printer was damaged did exactly this, and was able to make a deadline and hand in an assignment on time. One of the most important things you should get when you have compiled your computer system, is a surge protector. These are multiple electrical outlet "bars" which filter the electricity from your wall socket before letting it go into your computer and the other devices. This is a very important part of your whole system, because unprotected components are susceptible to irreparable damage from fluctuations in the electrical current. Some surge protectors even include protection for the modem's telephone line, and this is a feature that should be available on yours. A final note on this is that during a lightning storm, it is best to refrain from using your computer because of the higher possibility of sudden and destructive electrical surges.
Floppy Disks
Their Care and Feeding Most of the time, you will depend entirely on your hard disk. It's faster and has a larger capacity than a floppy disk. However, for backup purposes and to transport files, you will still require the use of floppy disks. (Floppy disks are named such - even though 3.5" disks are hardly "floppy" - because of a carryover from the earlier days of personal computers. Back then, the 5.25" disks were, indeed, "floppy." They were also called "flexible disks." - I, of course, flexed one too many of them!). You must always, always backup your data. I cannot stress this point enough. You don't need any fancy backup or "archival" programs. You just have to remember to copy your files onto floppy disks. Make several copies. I recommend four copies on four different disks (three floppies, one hard disk). Some may consider this overkill, but MaxOK works here too. I've had backups, and even backups of backups, fail me, so I take no chances for important stuff. If all you do is save the latest version of your files onto your main hard disk, and then copy those same files onto your floppies, you will ensure a reasonable margin of safety. During the writing of this book, I saved copies in no less than seven locations (my main hard disk, two removable SyQuest hard disk cartridges, and four HD disks). [UPDATE: For 1997 I recommend the Iomega Zip or Jaz disks]. In fact, it was nearly too much of a coincidence that, while working on this chapter, my entire computer system failed on me. Although I had taken considerable precautions in the end the only reason why you are reading this book was because I backed-up my files. This incident demonstrates that you can never be certain just how reliable your hardware will be, and the only way to be sure that your work will not have been in vain is to backup, with as many copies as you can tolerate making. This golden rule of computing should not be learned the hard way. Now, while we're on the subject of floppy disks, be sure to buy top-quality floppy disks. Don't try "el-cheapo" disks at bargain prices. In other words, don't buy "no-name" brands. However, some computer supply stores are able to match no-name prices with their name-brands. For example, I recently purchased Polaroid HD disks for less than $10 a box. Always take advantage of these bargains, and steer clear of inferior disks. Over the past one and a half decades of computer experience, I have experienced total disk failure with just too many of these no-name disks. Brands of good quality disks include: Dysan, Polaroid, 3M, Sony, Kao, and Verbatim. Using disks of lower quality, you might get by with up to
70% of the disks you buy, but the remaining 30% will either fail to initialize outright, or are time bombs waiting to fail you sometime "real soon now." If you forget which disks are the ones that were totally OK, and which ones you had trouble with before - but seem fine now - then you might record an important term paper onto the wrong disk, and find that you computer refuses to read it on the day the paper is due. The savings in disk cost are just not worth it. After all, how much money do you need to save, to justify the cost of a lost assignment? Some computer users advocate buying single-sided (SS) disks and formatting them as double-sided (DS) disks. This practice is potentially dangerous. DS disks were certified on both sides. SS disks failed certification on one side, or were not certified at all. You are playing roulette with this practice, even though there are very few SS disks that do not work as DS disks. Again, with the low prices of disks these days, you should not be trying to save money with these gimmicky tricks. Using SS disks as DS disks, and non-HD disks as HD disks, by punching an extra hole in the disk, were methods invented during the 1980's when disk prices were astronomical. Nowadays, not only are disk prices very reasonable, but you would be hard-pressed to find single-sided disks - they're all but virtually extinct now. As for HD disks, their magnetic surfaces are specially prepared for use with the highdensity drive's read/write heads. DS disks have too unrefined a surface to work properly with an HD drive. Don't be fooled into buying a "disk hole-puncher" and think you can convert DS disks into HD disks. Unless they come pre-formatted, initialize all your disks when you bring them home . That way, you have a constant supply of formatted blank disks ready to be used. Not only is it an inconvenience to format a disk halfway into your work, but some programs don't have a formatting function, and won't let you quit it, in order to go back to the main operating system for formatting, without losing your work.
Support
The most immediately available, and usually best, form of support for your computing comes from your friends and associates who have the same type of computer as you do. They are more often than not more understanding of any questions that you may have, and can offer more time and effort than a more commercial source. Perhaps there is a "computer-whiz" that you know personally, or can locate through a friend of a friend, and these computer enthusiasts really do know their material. At any given moment in time, it is highly likely that a
"nerd" is saving humanity from utter destruction, somewhere in the world. It is to your best interests that you either establish rapport with one of them, or become one yourself. Barring the expert advice of a computer hobbyist, your next source of support comes from the store you purchased your computer from. It is perhaps unfortunate that although the people there had been more than efficient in selling you the machine, they may not be as adept in solving a technical problem. In such cases, you should try other stores which carry your computer model. Be advised, however, that whichever store you receive your help from, it is quite possible that they have an inherent bias towards convincing you that you need to buy a certain product from them to alleviate your troubles. In such cases, be sure to ask the salesperson specifically whether or not he or she can absolutely guarantee that your problem will be fixed through the use of those products. Unless they swear on their dog Rover's grave, I would seek a second opinion. Opinions - whether second, third, or of the order infinity - are the very essence of electronic Bulletin Board Systems, or BBSs. These are computer systems that have been devoted specifically for the purposes of allowing a lot of people to share information by "posting" messages digitally, analogous to leaving bits of paper on a corkboard. BBSs are accessed with your trusty modem, and they are usually free of any service charges. You see, BBSs are often run by the same "nerds" that have been saving civilization as you know it from crumbling, and are computer systems that have been "dedicated" for public use much in the same way that you offer the temporary use of your house for a party. You will be able to find telephone numbers for these systems from a local computer newszine, or by word of mouth. There is more information on utilizing BBSs in the next chapter. Your final avenue for knowledge about computers will come from books and magazines. The latter is the more effective of the two, simply because of the frequency of publication. Because the world of high-technology changes so rapidly, the material contained in books are very often obsolete by the time anyone actually sits down to read it. This is especially true for books that teach you how to use certain programs. Because manufacturers may produce several new versions of their programs in the span of just one year, you must keep up with the Joneses through more current periodicals, and regard the advice of books with a certain degree of skepticism. The most up-to-date information, of course, will be found in the BBSs which are frequented by a myriad of computer users who have a comparable myriad of information sources. Very often, on the
BBSs, you will learn of products that are not even on the shelves yet, or hidden features of programs that were not mentioned in the documentation. To summarize, you should seek help or advice first from your friends and associates, then your computer store. However, it is best to leave a few messages on BBS systems and see what the 16-year old experts say. Their opinions and suggestions are usually the most sound out of the above sources of help, although it may take several days before you get an appropriate response. Finally, you should make it a habit to read at least one computer magazine each month to keep abreast of everything. Otherwise, you have no one to blame but yourself for not "getting with the programme." [UPDATE: For 1997 there is the world-wide INTERNET and you probably know all about that already.] You have probably realized by now that there is a lot of power available to you via the computer, perhaps more than you've ever realized before. But there is yet more to come. Let us examine the ways in which you interact with the world, the way you handle your...
Chapter 6
Input / Output
Your dialogue with the world "What did he just say?" "He said there's a storm coming in." "I know." --- Terminator 2
World Access - Navigating Out There

Maximizing the cyborg potential to debug its environment A cyborg is not a self-contained entity. The purpose of a cyborg's existence is so that it can interact with the world. A cyborg is not an automaton. It can think for itself, live and breathe, just like any other organism out there. But a fruitful existence requires proper interaction with the world. In this chapter, we will examine the many ways in which this can be most effectively accomplished.
The Brain Age - Living in a World of Information

How to stop oneself from being drowned in a sea of knowledge UPDATE: As of 1996 I have been recommending that people access the Internet via the World Wide Web. This chapter was written prior to the invention of the Web and before Netscape was even a company. Technical information here may be out of date especially with regards to BBS systems, but the concepts remain viable. Recall than in Chapter Three, we used Megatrends 2000 for examples to practice our memory skills with. That book was the sequel to the original Megatrends, in which John Naisbitt talked about a shift from an industrial society to an information society. In other words, during the factory-age of the industrial revolution, people were more concerned with the production of physical, tangible products. Now, in the new age of the information society, the key goods are intangible products and information is the king commodity of them all. It allows people to understand the world around them and allows them to take the best
course of action. Information is more valuable than money, and sometimes even more than human life. Some people pay large sums of money to obtain stock market information, or to obtain an education, while others will sacrifice themselves or resort to physical injury and murder to retrieve secrets. Fortunately for us, we do not have to be concerned with the extreme lengths that some people go to in order to obtain information. As cyborgs, the resources of information at our disposal are within extremely easy reach. In this chapter I will show you how to obtain what we need, using the example of a student researching a subject for the writing of a term paper.
Intelligence Gathering
Obtaining Information on Virtually any Subject The best place to go for research is the library. You probably already knew that, but it seemed such a clich that you never gave it much thought. In addition, you probably think of the library as a really dull place. I am sure that simple psychological conditioning contributed to that perception. Every time you visited the library, you were compelled to do so because you had a research topic to do. After a while, the only times you went to the library were when projects were due. Over time, you thus learned to associate deadlines, work, and pressure with the library. We will change that perception. Let me first show you a marvelous invention that saves you a lot of legwork and makes your library sessions more efficient.
The Cyberspace
The "Real" Virtual Reality Have you ever played with one of those nifty Virtual Reality machines? Have you ever put on 3D goggles and found yourself inside a computer-generated world? Virtual Reality - or VR - has become the new wave of entertainment and the latest form of the evolving human-machine interface. VR is, indeed, one of the best examples of cybernetics. However, the term "virtual reality" has its roots in a more fundamental, and more powerful, dimension of space: That of the computer modem. The modem, or "modulator/demodulator," is a device that allows your personal computer to "talk" with other computers over regular telephone lines. It converts digital data
(the 1's and 0's a computer uses) into analog data (the actual sounds that are transmitted over the phone lines). This process is called modulation, and the reverse of that - translating the analog sounds back into digital information at the receiving end of the communications channel - is called demodulation. So, the word "modem" is a contraction. In Chapter Five, you learned how important it was to buy, or obtain use of, a modem. Here I will show you why, and how to use one properly. A modem allows you access to the incredible world of the "internet." Now, contrary to what a lot of people think, there is no company, no institute, no central controlling organization for the internet. The internet - spelt with a lowercase "i" - is simply the term used for describing the entire collection of telecommunications links in the world. In other words, when I say I am going to access the internet, what I actually mean is that I am going to tap into the entire world's information, by hooking up to a local access port (or point of entry). Put in another way, if I wanted to join a whole bunch of people at a party (to obtain information about the latest gossipy news!) then I would have to start by walking into the door, before I can participate in the discussions. To walk into our internet "door" we need to establish a modem link with one of the many ports in the internet. This can be in the form of your educational computer network at your university, or a large commercial network company such as CompuServe, or even with a smaller-scale bulletin board system - or BBS - which is simply a computer that someone (usually a computer enthusiast) has dedicated exclusively for the transfer of electronic information. Large corporations and government institutions have their own direct internet links to the internet. If you work for such a company, ask computer personnel if this service is available. For information on using the educational network, ask your computer science professor, or the computer department. As for commercial systems, there are special "starter packs" that are almost always included in the purchase of a modem. Otherwise, flip through a computer magazine to find toll-free numbers, or ask a computer store. Finally, BBS systems the world over usually have their modem numbers listed in local computer newsletters. One of the best reasons for using a BBS, and not the other ports, is that it is usually free of charge unless you call a long-distance system that is out of town. In addition, a BBS system has a sense of "community" in it, with a specific set of people and personalities that regularly "drop in." In time, you will learn peoples'
names, and begin to treat them as associates, or even friends. With larger systems, it is much harder to establish rapport with individual people because the rate of information exchange is so high and numbers of people involved in the discussions so enormous. The reason why we are interested in establishing rapport is that one of the best ways of getting information is by asking an expert on the topic. We may already have friends who are "into" certain subjects, or know people in those industries, but by expanding our horizons and getting to know more people "out there" in the cyberspace. The cyberspace is the region of "space" defined as the non-physical dimension where everyone participates in electronic discussion, and where all the electronic files and databases are located. Through it, we can reach more people, and get more responses. In fact, if we post a message in a BBS system asking for advice, not only will the "regulars" reply to it, but other people that we've never heard from would suddenly jump into the discussion. An electronic message in the internet is like throwing a stone out into a vast pond. The ripples caused by your message would soon cause an enormous collection of people to give you information, or at least tell you where to look. By tapping this power we are giving more audience to our request for information. The manner in which we "log on" and access a BBS system varies depending on the type of computer and modem you use. Generally-speaking, a Hayescompatible modem would respond simply by typing ATDTxxx-xxxx where "xxxxxxx" is the phone number of the BBS system you are trying to connect to. Obtain these phone numbers by (1) asking any computer enthusiasts you know in or outside of school; (2) visiting a computer store and asking the people who work there; and (3) picking up a copy of a local computer newsletter. In Toronto, one of the most-circulated computer newspapers is Toronto Computes! and every issue contains a short BBS listing. Each BBS is also listed with a certain description, informing you of the theme, or major topic of interest, of that particular system. Think of BBS's as electronic social clubs, or interest groups, and be sure to ask your questions in the context of a proper BBS. Your terminal program is the software that controls your modem. It lets you access online services such as BBS systems. The terminal program will usually have a command-line interface that stresses typing commands, and resembles the MS-DOS command prompt set-up. When connected to an online service, most of the time you will be presented with a menu of options, and asked to select a number from the choices. The commands may be rather esoteric when
you first navigate the cyberspace. Be sure to have your terminal program and modem reference books handy, and don't be afraid to ask for help from a computer enthusiast. Those people really know their stuff. An alternative terminal program is epitomized by the Macintosh computer's First Class Interface. It sports a graphical environment interface. Commands are represented by icons, or miniature pictures, that replace the archaic commandline menu. While other terminal programs work with generic BBS systems and large networks, the First Class systems require special software (which is free) to connect to the BBS featuring this interface. One such BBS is MAGIC - the Macintosh Awareness Group in Canada - run by Mark "Magic Merlin" Windrim. In fact, MAGIC is one of the best places in Toronto to ask for information. The BBS is the largest one of its kind in the world, and has multiple lines so that a lot of people can connect to it at the same time. MAGIC is actually a miniaturized version of a large network, rather than simply a BBS. The best part of all is that MAGIC is free (at least, at the time of this writing). I highly recommend it. The current phone number for MAGIC is 416-xxx-xxxx but updates can usually be found from the sources I mentioned above. An MS-DOS version of the First Class interface has been recently released, so people who do not have a Macintosh computer can join in the fun. By going online, you can take the Yellow Pages' advice, and let your fingers do the walking, and typing. For example, assume that I was assigned a research project concerning the astronomical constellation of Corona Borealis, and I needed to write up an essay about its mythology and science. I would thus go to a BBS featuring astronomy as its main theme, a BBS featuring ancient mythology, and a BBS (such as MAGIC) that has separate conferences - or forums - on each of these topics. A typical message to be left would run along the lines of: Hi Everyone! I need some information about the constellation known as CORONA BOREALIS. I require information on both its MYTHOLOGY and its SCIENCE. If anyone can help in any way, I would appreciate your response. Thanks very much in advance. Angus. Some systems even offer simultaneous and instantaneous communications via its chat mode (or "CB-simulator," the original CompuServe name for this
wonderful feature), rendering the communication not unlike a telephone conference call, except for the fact that everyone is typing instead of speaking. However, chat modes usually are less productive compared to simply leaving messages, because people have less time to formulate a reply for you. When posting messages, you should, of course, ask nicely and phrase your message concisely and succinctly, to save your potential responder time and effort in reading it. You will also save your host system operator - or sysop, for short - valuable storage space on his disk. Above all, don't ask so many questions that people begin to start ignoring you and consider you a nuisance. Just use common sense. Messages that are posted usually take from 24 hours to a few days before everyone who is interested in responding to you has done so. In the interim, you can use the time to check other sources for information. Again, you don't have to leave your desk. By using your modem, you can access a whole slew of other information channels. One of my favourite hangouts is at the library - the electronic version. Most libraries have their entire catalogue stored in a computer database. Because of the pioneering and visionary efforts of certain librarians, external access by the public is available. This saves the time and energy required to physically go to the library. I can check what books the library has on a certain topic, and narrow my search by author, title, or date of publication. To learn how to use your local library online service, call them or pay them a physical visit, and ask the librarians. Be sure to inquire about the hours of operation, because even though most libraries run their databases all the time, some have to shut them down for maintenance once in a while. I remember I had to do a research assignment one night and found my favourite database shut down. Fortunately for me, I had a list of other libraries, and those were open. Be advised that the computer databases are also available for access via terminals inside the library itself, so you can take advantage of this valuable time-saver when physically at the library. Aside from the electronic catalogues, there are other similar methods of finding books and magazines. (An example would be the traditional card catalogue.) Those are, however, archaic technologies and more often than not have been replaced with their modern versions. In any case, if you need help finding something, always ask a librarian. If he or she doesn't know, ask another. If the third librarian still cannot help you, go to another library.
Your modem can serve you in yet another manner: Through online computerized abstract search and retrieval - CASAR for short; my terminology. A CASAR service allows you to locate magazine and journal articles, a process that is expedited via the computer. CASAR services let you find periodical (magazines, journals, anything published on a "periodical" basis) information by narrowing your search through criteria you designate. For example, I could enter in the command FIND: corona AND borealis AND astronomy. The results of that search would show me all the articles ever published in all the periodicals that are covered by that database (therefore, there may be other periodicals that the search missed, because the service does not cover them). Without CASAR, a manual search would take days, or even weeks and months, to obtain a comparable search depth. You can take advantage of CASAR services through either a commercial network system such as CompuServe. Their service is called IQuest. Sometimes, it is offered as part of your online library database service package. For example, the online database at York University offers a citation database search service, in addition to the usual book database. Some CASAR services let you order the actual article, and by paying a certain fee you will receive a photocopy of the article in the mail. You may want to resort to this if you cannot find the information you need elsewhere. Be advised that commercial systems usually charge for the use of their search services. Always make sure you know whether or not you are incurring charges when logging onto any service, even if only to browse around Be sure to know the exact details of your financial and legal responsibilities, before you use any online service. Speaking of abstract and citation databases, a non-modem version of it is the CD-ROM search system - based on Compact Disc technology. Most of the larger libraries have CD-ROM systems. Their usage is not unlike the CASAR services, but this time without the need for a modem link. When you have exhausted your library databases and periodical services, you will have quite a large collection of sources of information, yet no real solid information. That will come later, when you actually read the books and articles. Now, it is time to go back to your BBS systems and check for messages. Depending on your Reponses, you may obtain more sources, or actual information on your topic. Please understand that even though you have been given actual information on a topic (for example, someone may have told me: "Corona Borealis is known as the 'Northern Crown' as opposed to Corona Australis which is the 'Southern Crown' in the Southern Hemisphere") but it is up to you to check and verify and identify the source of that information through
your own research. It is not enough to simply quote a reply from a BBS system in your footnotes for the term paper.
Where No One Has Gone Before

The Library When you have finally collected all your preliminary information, you can start obtaining the real stuff. The only really efficient way of doing this is by physically going the library. You may not want to, because you have a certain perception about what a library is, but in time you will start to appreciate this incredible storehouse of a wealth of knowledge. Think of it this way: If you have a question, the answer is probably hidden somewhere in the library. It's a game of intellectual hide and seek. Before you leave your house, though, check your own library. Perhaps you already have one of those books you need, or the particular magazine with the article in it, somewhere. Maybe one of your family members has it, or your friends. Drop your shielding for a while and ask around. This could save you from unnecessarily borrowing a book, or incurring photocopying charges. Finally, gather up your notes, and head off to the first library on your list. You will probably have to visit a few libraries to get all the information you need, so just start off with the one you think will have the most information. When you arrive at the library, be sure you know how to go about finding your books and magazines. Check the call-numbers using the computerized catalog. If in doubt, ask a librarian. Then, go to the specific floor, or section, of the library, and take the book out. Know also that sometimes magazines are kept in the form of microfilm. Aside from giving you the goose bumps by reminding you of exciting espionage movies such as the James Bond films, microfilm is a valuable resource especially when you need to check out periodicals from many years ago. Next, take all those books and magazines to a table, and sit down to skim through them. Check whether or not you can actually use the material in them. (Chapter Eight will teach you how to scan a book properly.) Locate the specific pages that contain relevant information. Mark the pages with Post-It notes, or otherwise jot down the page numbers. Be sure to eliminate redundancy. Sometimes the same material is presented in several books or magazines. You only need one or two sources for it.
While you are doing all this, your research essay should start forming in your mind. You should be getting a picture of how it might look like, and what you might include in it. This is good. Exposure to the information in the books and magazines will give you a sense of the scope your essay can cover, and all the possible ways of arranging and presenting your information. Above all, the most important thing to note is that you should be getting an opinion of the topic. Even if your topic isn't a controversial issue, you should have some kind of attitude towards it. This is excellent, for it gives your essay a direction, and the foundation for a thesis statement, or what your essay is trying to show or prove. All essays are trying to demonstrate a certain point, and all your research goes into supporting that point. When you have finally finished with reading and identifying the information you need, take the books and magazines to the photocopier, and have a spending spree on Xeroxing. It is far easier to flip through photocopy pages, than trying to manipulate an entire book. The exception to this is when a certain book contains so much material that it is better to borrow it, rather than photocopy all those pages. When photocopying, be sure to write down the exact title, author name, publisher, and year of publication of the book, onto your Xeroxed pages. For microfilm, there are copier machines that reproduce the article you require, onto regular paper. One additional point I wish to make concerning the use of a library, is that although the bulk of your material will probably come from books and possibly periodicals, you should also check out the other forms of media such as videocassettes, audio tapes. Although it may be difficult to "Xerox" these forms of media, you can take notes while watching or listening to them. Write down the publication information for these sources as well. The final thing you should do is put everything back in their places, or drop them into the "returns" box for reshelving. If you have any books you intend to borrow, go to the counter and take them out. Then head on home and take a break. Your reconnaissance mission has been successfully executed.
Mission: Consolidation
Organizing the Information You Now Have After your break, it's time to get back on track with the project. Take all the notes and photocopies you have and flip through them. Get an idea of all the various subtopics you have in that pile of paper in front of you, and write these subtopics down on a piece of paper. They form the "building blocks" of your essay. You are finished with Phase One of the assignment: Preliminary Reconnaissance. This was the stage when you explored the various topics, in the library, and just now, to determine exactly what kind of information you have. Now it's time for Phase Two: Target Acquisition. In Phase Two, your mission is to identify (1) your thesis statement and (2) your supporting arguments. To obtain a thesis, think about what you want to prove in your paper. Summarize this in a sentence. That's your thesis statement. For example, "The increased demand our society has put on information has generated a new industry of information specialists and services," is a thesis statement. Even with my Corona Borealis example, I could state simply that "Corona Borealis is a constellation abundant not only with scientific research, but it is also rich in mythology and folklore." If you really can't think of an argument for a topic, remember that most topics are important. At least, important enough for you to be assigned the task of writing a paper on it! A worst-case thesis might be, "The invention of the shoe was a very important event," but that sounds horribly dull, so try to rework it at least into, "The invention of personal footwear was an event that influenced the entire course of human history." When determining your thesis, just ask yourself what the material you have researched is trying to say. Usually, there is an overriding main point that they are all trying to prove. Sometimes, you will find information that is conflicting. This shows that your topic is a controversial one. Always pick the side of the issue that you have the most supporting arguments for - unless you are prepared to do further research in order to provide for the side that lacks sufficient arguments and supporting evidence (and this is quite often the proper route to take). The point of your paper is to prove your thesis. It would do no good if your arguments tend to favor the other side of your argument. When you have your thesis statement, the rest is easy. Simply pick out the arguments and separate them into two sides: Yours, and the opposition's. Take
neutral data, and interpret it so that it favors your arguments. If your thesis was, "Mr. Peabody enjoyed that glass of water," and the neutral fact was that the glass was half-filled with water, you can argue that Mr. Peabody drank the entire half of the glass! If you want to show that Mr. Peabody hated that glass of water, say that he left an entire half of the glass still filled! Have fun with manipulating data. Everyone's doing it these days. Politicians, advertisers, your mother-in-law, you name it. Next, create a priority list of your arguments. Put the most compelling argument as number one, followed by the next-most compelling, and so forth. Now, your paper will follow this order: Introduction, second-most compelling argument, other arguments, most-compelling argument, conclusion. This is the strategic order of a term paper. Most people put their most-compelling one first, and then the second-most compelling, etc. but this makes the paper drag on and arguments become less and less persuasive. The reverse causes the reader to consider all arguments before the last couple to be weak and might ignore them. The strategic order will ensure maximum impact with what you have. The next thing you do is write your introduction and conclusion together. The introduction and conclusion are basically the same thing. Use an hourglass layout. That means, you start broad ("There are many factors involved in determining the direction of the human species," blah, blah, blah) and go into a narrow focus onto your thesis (blah, blah, blah, "But one of, if not the most, important of these factors is that humans tend to prefer chocolate mousse cake over strawberry ice-cream.") Remember to reverse this order in the conclusion by first summarizing a few of your most important points ("As we have seen, not only does the preference for chocolate mousse cake determine the shopping habits of people, but it also influences the frequency with which they wake up during the night in order to indulge themselves. This severely affects their work habits.") and then leading onto the wider scope again ("Although we have examined just one reason why the entire economy, and indeed very future, of a nation can hinge upon the simple biology of a taste bud, there are a multitude of other factors deserving such attention. It is to the men and women of science, and the pastry shops, that we look to, in that their intelligence and wisdom shall guide humanity towards a brighter, and perhaps more hopeful, future.") Finally, fill in the space between the introduction and the conclusion. Remember to use the strategic order. Each of your arguments will take up one paragraph. Begin the paragraph with a statement that summarizes that particular argument ("The
human desire for confectionery cannot be restrained under usual circumstances, and can only be checked in the face of physical injury or death.") and continue the paragraph by explaining why. You must also use a proper "link" from that first sentence onto the one above it (For our ongoing example, the first paragraph would begin with: "One of these reasons is that fact that the human desire for confectionery cannot be restrained..." and so forth) so that the "flow" of your essay is smooth and appealing. Style is very, very important. When your paper is finished, look through it once, and see how you can make it better. Perhaps there are some points that sound too weak. Strengthen these either by reworking the material, or doing further research. Don't expect to turn in a perfect paper the first time around. You have to tailor and customize it to have the best effect possible on the teacher. Think of term papers as a nuclear missile. You create it, craft it deftly, and then send it to the teacher, nuking him or her (and thus ensuring that they give you a good grade!). If you don't have enough firepower in your essay, you won't "blow 'em away" and won't impress your teacher as much. Be sure the warhead works, before you launch it.
Presentations
The Mother of all Battles There are some people that consider public speaking more horrible than even death. Death?! Can that be right? But it's true. Some people would rather die than stand up in public to speak. Perhaps you don't quite fear it as much. Perhaps you really do. Teachers usually give pep-talks such as, "Hey, you're going to have to do it anyway so don't even think about getting scared." Or they might be a little more persuasive and tell them, "It's going to be OK. Everyone's doing it, and we're all nice people here anyway, so why worry?" That's all a load of, um, hogwash. People are going to get scared anyway. What's the secret to overcoming this? Well, you can get drunk, but that wouldn't help because you wouldn't be able to think properly, and then you'd really make a fool out of yourself. The best thing to do, in my opinion, is to get to know the people who are going to listen to you. Try to make friends with them. That way, you will consider speaking to your friends and not a bunch of scary people who are probably thinking about what a horrible shirt you have on today. If the people in your class really do turn out to be jerks, and not worth your effort
at befriending them, then establish rapport with your teacher. When giving your presentation, just pretend you're speaking to him or her exclusively, and the rest of the class is just being nosy and listening in on your conversation. If they manage to ask you questions, just remember that you're the expert (if you're not, make sure you are by doing enough research) on the topic you're giving, and that you're going to be giving them your piece of mind, and not the other way around. Follow the same procedure as writing an essay, for putting together a presentation, only this time you don't have to write so much. Remember to use the strategic order in your presentation, do thorough research (especially if fielding questions - think of questions as possible missiles, and consider research as protective shielding), dress smartly, do your hair properly, act cool, and take the room by storm.
Know Thy Enemy

Establishing Rapport with your Teacher Your teacher isn't really your enemy, but he or she is the one who will finally give you the grade. The usual way a student will obtain a good grade is by doing whatever the teacher assigns the class. The usual way a teacher knows what to assign the class is by following not only the curriculum, but in addition following his or her own preferences. Educators are, after all, only human - unlike us cyborgs - and they're subject to the same whims and fancies that make people who they are. As a result, it is one of your primary mission directives to seek out your teachers and analyze their personality makeups. Find out what they like and dislike. The only way to do this is by chatting with them, after class, or whenever it is socially viable. By chatting with them you are (1) establishing rapport; (2) removing the possible false prejudice that teachers are inaccessible, cold, and non-human; (3) understanding the class from their point of view. This last item is very important. Usually, when a teacher is giving a presentation, he has a specific point he wishes to impress upon the class. In fact, he has a thesis not unlike one which might exist in an essay. Indeed, there is usually a thesis for the entire course. This overall objective is usually written down in an outline of the course given at the beginning of the year. Never lose track of the main theme of the course. Everything you present to the teacher in the form of essays, tests, final exams, presentations, etc. will be gauged against how well your understanding of
the course material is on par with the teacher's own thesis (or the course's thesis). Sometimes, the course's thesis will change over the duration of the year, and you should be aware of this, but for most of the time it will remain the same as when you started out from Day One. By paying attention to the teacher's thesis, you will ensure handshaking with him or her. "Handshaking" is a term used in computer communications jargon to mean that two machines are agreeing to speak to each other in a certain manner. Put in another way, you and your teacher are on the same wavelength. Until you establish this communications channel, there will be interference and noise, and both you and your teacher may misunderstand each other (but only you really suffer, because you get the grade, not usually the other way around). On the other hand, I do not want to appear to condone senseless chit-chat, or asking questions just for the sake of asking a question. Usually, when that happens, everyone in the room knows the student is trying too hard. Mr. Wannabe-A-Student had better do a lot of reading and research and ask an intelligent question, or one that honestly deserves attention, or one that he honestly wants to ask for the sake of information and not the act of asking a question. Teachers (and fellow students) would sometimes get annoyed at questions that obviously are a waste of everyone's time. I'm sure you probably have heard one of them in your academic career. The only way to ensure that you're being sincere and useful and, above all, impressive upon the teacher, is to understand the teacher's thesis, understand the course's thesis, understand your course material, and then ask a question on the basis of all these things. I am not trying to discourage people from asking questions. That's the last thing I want to come across as saying. I just feel that there is a definite need for students to understand the distinction between asking a question, and moving your mouth with your hand up. I stress this distinction not for the sake of the class, but for the sake of the student. If a teacher realises that a student is trying to "suck up" or impress him or her just because they want a better grade, then that teacher will feel "used" and probably won't give the student much thought. However, if the teacher sees that a student has done his homework - literally! - and is sincerely interested in the topic (while further demonstrating his prowess by bringing into the discussion outside reading and research which is relevant to the course material) then the teacher will enjoy teaching that student, and enjoy giving that student high marks. You must realise that teachers, like everyone else, wants to be useful. If they feel that they are doing a good job, they'll be happy, and a
happy teacher is what you want when it comes to writing down that A+ on your report card. A further note on teacher-student rapport: If a teacher realises that a student is a capable and interested pupil, he or she will find it difficult to give them a bad grade. What I mean to say is that a teacher will want to find some reason to give the student a good grade. Usually this is provided through the normal course offerings of exams and assignments. Sometimes, however, a student can create further opportunities by asking for more work! You might shudder at this suggestion, but it really isn't as bad as it sounds, and bonus credit for extra assignments usually are easily earned since there isn't as much pressure associated with them as the usual "mainstream" assignments. Another reason why a teacher wants to give a good grade to a student is quite simply because the teacher feels that the student deserves it. And if you've done all your work properly, you do indeed deserve a good grade. Everyone deserves good grades, but only those who are committed to making the efforts involved will get them. I remember quite distinctly a certain professor (who shall remain totally anonymous!) I had at my university. I had originally thought the course she taught to be very stupid, and took it only because it was required. As the year progressed, I began to understand the thesis of the course, and found out that it was totally unlike the thesis I thought it was at the beginning of the year! When I realized this prejudice of mine, and thus changed my paradigm of what the course meant, I enjoyed the class so much that even my professor realized I was enthusiastic about it. One day, after handing back a very important essay (worth probably about 30% of our grade) she took me aside and told me that my essay was missing some parts, and that she thinks I have what it takes to get an A for the course. So she offered to let me rewrite a particular portion of the essay, so that I could obtain a higher mark. I thanked her for her kindness, and rewrote the paper. I got an A for that course. So you see, teachers will sometimes go out of their way to help students. All you have to do is show them that you deserve their help. And you must always remember the favors your teacher affords you. The professor who let me rewrite my paper was not only bending the rules for me, but she must already have tons of work to do, without having to entertain the extra effort of marking my essay a second time around. I guess I am sincerely grateful to her enough to include her example in this book.
Friends or Foes
Fellow Students Put simply, anyone who deters you from a good grade, is an enemy. This may, of course, change with circumstances, but it's a general rule to follow. (For more information on determining who the enemy really is, please see Chapter Seven.) At the risk of sounding like I am condoning superficial human relationships, I venture to say here that it is to your best interest to make friends with your fellow classmates if for no reason other than that it will help you get a better grade. Fellow students are filled with information. They can help you out when you cannot attend class on a certain day, or when you have to find out the exact deadline for an assignment, or when you have to do a group project. Always try to make friends with the students who seem the brightest and most enthusiastic in the class, but never be so conceited and arrogant to ignore the more quiet and less conspicuous of your classmates. If you have the potential to make friends that last not only for the duration of the course, but perhaps for a lifetime, why pass on that opportunity? What I'm saying is that you should make an effort that is more active and has more initiative than usual in getting to know people. Don't just let things happen "naturally." Everything happens naturally. It's just that sometimes "natural" isn't what you want to happen. Finally, making friends with students ensures that you walk into a classroom of people, and not just faces. You will feel more relaxed, having more friends who are "on your side," and you will be able to participate more frequently, and with less stress, in class discussions. You will find that you will enjoy just being in the class, simply because you know people around you. Every little bit helps. Remember: Synergy. By making yourself known to your fellow students, and your teacher, you are on your way to becoming the exceptional student, and a happy cyborg. Now, power up your weapons, because in the next few pages, you will encounter the most important chapter in this book. You will enter...
Chapter 7
The Battlefield Situation
Cybernetic military strategy and applications "The Terminator is an infiltration unit. Part man, part machine. Underneath it is a hyper-alloy combat chassis. Microprocessor controlled. Fully armored. Very tough. But outside, it's living human tissue. Flesh, skin, hair, blood... It can't be bargained with. It can't be reasoned with. It doesn't feel pity, or remorse, or fear. And it absolutely will not stop. Ever!" --- The Terminator
Cyborg Attack Mode

Military Strategy in Non-Military Situations Making use of tactical considerations to ensure overall strategic success For most of the preceding chapters of this book, we have discussed topics which give a person short-term tactical advantages. For example, skills to successfully write a particular exam, techniques to minimize sleep time, and knowledge to use specific machines and tools to benefit us. These are all individual "weapons" in our war against the obstacles. You can think of them as machine guns, tanks, or even individual soldiers. But because of their nature, they are limited in that they still require guidance to use them. Even the smartest of weapons, the artificiallyintelligent "smart" cruise missiles, need someone to determine their targets for them. This is when strategic analysis and guidance comes into play, and will be the focus of this chapter. One clarification must be made concerning the material in this chapter. Some of it may portray itself as advocating the "use" of people, in a superficial and pragmatic manner, without regard for their individuality or feelings. Yet it should be obvious that I cannot possibly want to convey that kind of message. "No man is an island," it has been said, and no person should be. On this planet, we are each unique and special. In my life, I have met so many individuals with remarkable qualities and personalities that I find it ridiculous to attempt to generalize about people. I have friends all over the world. Most from personal encounter and travel, others (such as pen pals) simply from correspondence. I do not consider myself a conniving or iniquitous person. I doubt my friends do either. In fact, for the most part, I have tried very hard to help as many people, and animals, as I can financially and psychologically afford to. Yet it took me a long
time to get over the stigma of compromising objective accomplishment with the fear that one is using other people. Our treatment and relationship to other people come on at least two levels. First of all, we are associated with that person because of some need, whether it is emotional, financial, or otherwise. Yet on top of this utilitarian level, we overlay our personal feelings and affection. We cannot say, for example, that we are "using" our fellow students to achieve some end, unless we also say that we "use" our parents to ensure survival. We cannot blame patients for "using" doctors, lawyers for "using" witnesses, or patrons from "using" waiters. Just because you are afraid of being a jerk if you asked a classmate to help you type up a paper does not mean that you suffer the consequences of not getting it typed, or paying to have it typed (by "using" someone else). In fact, if a classmate was a personal friend of yours, you would probably not hesitate to ask for help, secure in your knowledge that you would have done the same for them. Just because you prefer to ask for help from people who are already your friends does not preclude the fact that you can ask for help from people first and then become their friends. I know a lot of family doctors that have personal relationships with their patients. I am sure that very few of those patients started off as friends first, before deciding to see the doctor. I made many good friends during my school years simply because situations demanded that I collaborate with them on a certain project, or borrow their notes. To be sure, most students make friends at school in exactly this manner anyway, so what is there to prevent us from becoming aware of the fact, and maximizing its value? In any event, what I present are only the tools and potentials for their use. Whether or not you decide to use them towards friendly, or manipulative, ends will depend on your personality. Nothing that I can say will make you go out and do harm to someone else unless you are already predisposed to something like that, in which case you would merely be using my material as an excuse. I take comfort in knowing that people can only succeed if they think, subconsciously or not, that they deserve it.
The Battle plan

Mapping Out the Objectives In order to win a war, we must understand as many aspects of the situation we are in, as possible. However, there is but a single supremely important piece of information that supersedes all others in priority: Knowledge of the conditions of victory. I say this because we must understand what we are fighting for. We
must understand the whole point of the war. It is easy to be caught up in the intensity of the moment, in each individual shorter-term battle, and in the even smaller components of that battle - the very-short-term goals. Without knowing what our ultimate objective is, we cannot know when to stop fighting, we cannot know whether or not we had already won, and most importantly we cannot know if we have made errors in our strategic thinking without a specific target to gauge us. Therefore, let us specify our ultimate goal. What do you want to get out of your business? Out of your school? Out of your life? Why do you wake up every morning? What are you trying to accomplish by reading this book? What would make you totally happy for the rest of your life? Please sit down at your desk now - using maximum shielding so that you will not be disturbed at such a critical point in time - and write down your thoughts about the ultimate objective you are striving towards. Make sure that it is truly extremely long-term. When thinking about your target, ensure that you are specific about it. Very specific. It would do not good for a commander or general to give a vague description of an objective to his or her soldiers. They must have specific characteristics to identify the enemy. Likewise, you must describe your goal in specific terminology. What makes your target different from other targets? How "big" is it? What "colour" is it? What does it "look like?" For example, if your target was the achievement of a million dollars, then the specific characteristic of it would be the appearance of the digit $1,000,000 in your bank statement (Net balance, I might add!) If you were a student, perhaps you wanted to graduate at the top of your class. In that case, perhaps a diploma and a letter from your dean telling you that you're the best, would serve as specific descriptors. In addition to writing down the detailed "markings' or attributes of your target, write down the reasons, the "why," for your choice of target. You need to understand your rationale behind the selection of this objective, because you can usually find out more about what you really want to get out of life by looking at the reasons behind your choices, rather than at the actual choices you have selected. Do this now, and take up to an hour to really ask yourself questions about your own life, and the direction it is going, and where you want to ultimately end up. Now, take a look at your supreme goal - your "big target" or BigT. Can you break it down into component targets and smaller, shorter-term objectives? I am sure you can. Simply examine your ultimate goal, and write down all the
individual steps it would take before you achieve that ultimate goal. Think about all the things that will lead you right up to that big bulls eye, all the stepping stones on your path to total success. To help you with this task, here's a hint: Sometimes people find that their particular BigT is hard to break down because they have no idea how to get from where they are, to where the BigT is. That's OK. Use some problem-solving help. Use the technique of working backward. In other words, establish your BigT, then write down what will immediately precede and lead up to it. Write down the causes of the effects. By working backward, you will be able to plot out a viable route to success. I learned this method when I was playing with maze problems as a kid. If I simply drew a line from the goal, all the way back to the starting point, I would save myself the trouble of having to decide all the different paths and changes in direction that come with working forward. Now that you have established your BigT, we can look at the SmallT's (the shorter-term goals). Can you break down these into constituent targets? I know this exercise is getting tedious, but believe me it will serve you for years to come. If you have done this kind of "goal planning" before, try doing it again, but this time think in terms of military strategy and objectives. The change in paradigm may give you new insight and make you realise that there were some objectives of key strategic importance that you never knew existed! Finally, stand back and take a look at your overall strategic plan. You have identified the ultimate objective - the BigT - and the individual component targets - the SmallT's - that lead up to it. Ask yourself whether or not there are other SmallT's which can lead up to the BigT just as effectively (provided those SmallT's are achieved)? By doing so, you are mapping out your options. Remember, MaxOK does not mean you must follow one path all the way to success, and throw in all your efforts and resources into that one path, regardless of feedback. MaxOK requires you to use your judgment, and put maximum effort into your overall war, or each individual battle, but if things aren't working out, you have to switch to another plan of attack. MaxOK means that you don't just give up. It doesn't condone stubbornness.
SmallT's - The Shorter-Term Goals

Breaking down the big parts into smaller parts Let's look at the SmallT's for a while. In the example of the student, a SmallT which can lead to the BigT of total academic success would be getting an A in his
physics class. Another SmallT would be getting an A in his chemistry class. Yet another SmallT would be getting an A in his literature class. The list goes on. Now, if we look at the SmallT for the physics class, are there even shorter term goals? You bet. He has to ace each of the individual exams, do well on the assignments, and get the 15% participation mark. And what about those exams? The goals within that objective consist of getting each individual question correct. Do you see the changing scale of events? We move in from an overall BigT, and zoom closer and closer from the war, into the battles, and into the skirmishes. The very act of planning out your overall battle plan in this manner ensures that you have a total and holistic sense of the entire war situation. This sense of the "big picture," with knowledge of the individual details of that war, will provide you with a specific frame of reference to compare everything that happens against. By knowing what you do now, you can gauge the relative importance of certain actions and events, and determine their actual and objective worth towards the achievement of your BigT. Many times, people encounter problems that may seem very important, but which in fact turn out to be irrelevant to their ultimate objective. For example, while most people think that failing a course is a very bad thing - and it can be - it may turn out that the course was totally optional and not at all related to the student's major, in which case he can simply drop it. End of story. In another example, a business executive who loses a deal with a particular client may realise that the client had nothing to do with what the executive really wanted to do in her life: Enter the Olympics! Thus, not only do we need to break down our objectives into smaller and smaller pieces, to map out the individual footsteps to take, on the path to success, but we also need to identify steps that are unnecessary or irrelevant. While it may be nice to climb up a mountain that lies somewhere between our starting point and the destination, our major purpose is to get to the destination. Climbing the mountain, or failing to climb the mountain, is irrespective of our final goal. It may even deter us or delay success. While other people, mountaineers for instance, will make the mountain itself their goal, we have not chosen that path. Every person has his or her own specific goals, and specific strategy and battle plan to achieve those goals. Do not mistake another person's SmallT for your own SmallT. If Mary, who is an astronaut, can withstand a million G-forces (because she's a cyborg as well) that's great. But it would be useless for you do be able to do the same, except to impress your friends. Unless you think that impressing your friends would lead you to your BigT - hardly likely - then what Mary can achieve and you cannot is not to be your concern.
Sun Tzu
The Grandmaster of War More than two and a half thousand years ago, a man by the name of Sun Tzu wrote a book. He called it the Art of War. Chinese today refer to this incredible work as Sun Tzu's Art of War. It details completely the subject of effective military strategy. Sun Tzu's book was so well-written and his theories so powerful, that the king of the kingdom of Wu made Sun Tzu the general and master strategist for his entire army. The kingdom of Wu was invincible for about two decades, but after Sun Tzu passed away, and his theories then forgotten by the army, the kingdom of Wu succumbed to its enemies and was finally defeated in 473 B.C. In 1782, Father Amiot - a travelling Jesuit priest - translated the Art of War from the Chinese into French. As a result, it has been said that Napoleon himself used Sun Tzu's strategies to win his battles, and that his final defeat was a result of neglecting Sun Tzu's theories. In 1905 the Art of War was translated into English. And finally, 88 years later, in 1993, its theories were incorporated into this book, as a tribute and homage to the great man himself, Sun Tzu, the grandmaster of war.
The 36 Stratagems
More Power from China In addition to the Art of War, the Chinese have enjoyed yet another tome of strategic theory: The 36 Stratagems. Interestingly enough, no one person wrote the 36 Stratagems. In fact, each of the 36 was derived from numerous sources and strategic thinkers, distilled over the centuries and passed from generation to generation mainly by word of mouth. Even today, the Chinese people know of the 36 Stratagems the same way proverbs are passed down through history in other cultures of the world. For those of us who are predominantly North American, we can enjoy this collection of wisdom from China through the wonderful book, Lure the Tiger Out of the Mountains, by Gao Yuan (published by Simon & Schuster). I highly recommend it, along with the Art of War.
The Art of Cyborg War

The Path to Invincibility Now that you know the two major sources for strategic theory, let us begin to apply the wisdom to win our own wars, to achieve our own BigT's. In the remainder of this chapter, I will discuss with you the many theories of strategic warfare. I will provide only a concise and brief synopsis of their wisdom. I cannot give you the totality of their application. Individual needs will vary among users, and between situations. It is impossible to cover each and every possible use for the strategies, but knowledge of their overall description and value will allow the aspiring cyborg to tailor the strategy to the needs of specific circumstances, and understand the options available at his or her disposal. Neither will I present all of the strategies of warfare. Some of them have very little relevance to events outside of warfare, and some of them have questionable ethical value. Moreover, a full treatise on every single strategic concept would be overwhelming, and you will find it confusing and impossible to choose among so many possibilities. I have limited this chapter to only the strategies that I feel are worthy enough deserve our attentions, for the time being. I will leave father investigation into the matter as the topic for another book. If your curiosity is still piqued after reading my presentation, then I recommend you examine the sources listed in Appendix B for more information. There is no strict format in which I will present the following material. With very few exceptions, no one strategy is more important the others. Priorities of application will differ with changes in situational demands. It is up to you, the user, to understand their value, and select the best appropriate applications for them. I will also tend to use more examples that have to do with school, rather than business, for I feel that there tend to be more sources for business strategy than the academic counterpart. Do not, however, make the mistake of limiting the use of the strategies to my discussion: The strategies are universally applicable. Without further ado then, I present to you, the Art of Cyborg War.
Number 36
The "Highest Stratagem of them All" Having said all of the above, I wish to draw your attention to Number 36 of the 36 Stratagems. Literally translated, it says: "Thirty-Six Strategems: Escape is the highest of them all." The meaning of the word "escape" or "running away" in this context does not denote quitting. It does not stress abandonment over everything else. The wisdom of this stratagem implies reassessment of the situation. In other words, "He who runs away, lives to fight another day." We take it to mean that when things are not working out as they should, regardless of how much planning you have provided, the wisest course of action is to stand back, call a time-out, and look at the reason why things are not what they should be. Number 36 is the key to dealing with mistakes - and mistakes will happen. The very essence of warfare indicates a need to constantly analyze and derive useful information from the ongoing battles. Therefore, you must never rest, never become arrogant, or complacent, or egotistical, or over-confident. Threat will come as a surprise from any direction, from any source. Your best bet is to be prepared for all possibilities, and deal with obstacles that suddenly materialize. The use of Number 36 will come into play when it is time to consider changing your courses of action; when it is time to regroup, and see whether or not it would be better to MaxOK another line of thinking and doing, rather than squander resources on the present mode. A secondary implication of Number 36 is to halt the rising damage and destruction. An army that stubbornly fails to fall back, and retreat from an overwhelming enemy will soon face total annihilation and attrition. If a student finds that he cannot cope with a certain class, regardless of all other tactical considerations taken to secure success, then the only way to minimize damages is to drop the course before a low grade is recorded - permanently - into the student's academic progress, and the grade average is compromised. Number 36 states that you must drop the course before the drop-deadline, before it's too late, and an F is recorded. In the scenario of business, Number 36 alludes to the concept of a "sunk cost." Recall that we agreed that sunk costs are not failures in and of themselves. They are merely lessons to be learned, and the wise fighter will likewise learn from mistakes by being brave enough to retreat for the time being. A course dropped can be taken again, the next time around with more information about it, and thus a higher chance of success. Repeat after me: "Retreat is not defeat. Retreat is not defeat. Retreat is not defeat."
Know Thy Enemy

Sun Tzu stressed that in order to win battles (and ultimately the war), we have to know the strength of both ourselves and the enemy. But who is the enemy? Sometimes, it's easy to tell, but most of the time there are far more numbers of "hidden" enemies, than conspicuous ones. We can simplify the task of enemy identification by realising that anything that hinders or prevents our realization of success is an enemy. This includes people and events we are shielding from. It includes other demands placed on our time and energies, that deter us from focusing our resources towards the main battle situation. Think about all of these factors that influence you now. If you are running a business, the enemy will be other businesses that compete with you in your industry. It may even include businesses from other industries. Enemies in school can include people who steer you away from studying, temptations to not go to class. A traffic jam might be an enemy, if you are trying to get to school to write an exam. In fact, even the teacher could be an enemy, if his or her teaching methods are not working well for you. Take some time now and write down all the enemies you can think of, no matter how trivial they may seem. Remember, as you write, that some enemies may appear in the form of allies or comrades, but turn out to deter rather than assist you. For example, you family, although usually supportive and understanding, may try to prevent you from your polyphasic sleep schedule (q.v.) and this renders it as an enemy. Take one hour to write down your list of enemies. Now. OK, while you were writing, you probably realized that enemies can fluctuate. In other words, depending on the circumstances, an ally could be an enemy (as in the example of your family) and vice-versa. This is quite normal. The USA decided that the USSR was its enemy for a while, but now they're buddies. Actually, before the "cold war" started, the USA and the USSR were friends. So you see, everything changes from time to time. In the example of your teacher or professor, even though the teaching methods may not work for you, the teacher really does want to help. It's just the method of instruction that's the real enemy. And this brings us to the next point: Some of your enemies are not really enemies at all, but were perceived as such because of a hidden and more fundamental problem. The real enemy was the teaching method, not the teacher. Go back to your list and recheck your enemies and try to find more fundamental faults with them, rather than consider the surface issue.
Now that you have finished with your enemy list, you understand what you have to look out for. And that leads to our final point on this subject: You must try to turn enemies into allies. To illustrate, if your teacher's methods aren't doing you any good, perhaps you can confront the teacher and discuss your problems with him or her. Since your teacher probably isn't "out to get you" - contrary to what some students may think! - he or she will work with you to find some way around the problem. Perhaps it's the manner of speech your teacher uses in class, or the way the presentation or lecture comes across to you. The teacher may even suggest some extra credit for you, to compensate for your bad performance in previous tests and exams. In this case, your teacher has allied with you and given you additional opportunity to prove your worth. A bad situation has thus been rectified. To summarize, Sun Tzu says: "By understanding yourself and understanding your enemy, you will win all of a hundred battles you fight."
Sacrifices as Investments
Throwing a Brick The 36 Stratagems list one which applies to personal sacrifice: "Throw a brick to attract jade." In our context, it refers to sacrificing something relatively unimportant (in the long run) to reap the rewards of something of much higher value in the end. Actually, "sacrifice" isn't really a good way of looking at this stratagem. A better term would be "investment." To see it in the light of the student, the relatively unimportant social events that he misses in order to study are bricks. The A+ he gets on the exam is the valuable jade. This stratagem is easy to see in such a context, but there are other applications. If you are trying to sell a product, as a manufacturer, the brick is the cost of advertising. The jade is the ultimate reward that supersedes all your investments in advertising. If you are a student writing a research paper, the brick is the time you spend researching in the library. The jade is a great paper and great marks. In addition, if you are trying to get an A+ on a critical class that is of absolute importance to your major, and find that you don't have enough time to study for
its exam, then you can cast the brick and stop studying for the less important classes, and put your efforts towards that critical objective. You may not do as well in the other classes you sacrificed, but you will get a high mark for that vital course, and in the long run you will successfully graduate in the major of your choice. A language course may not be as important as a math course, for a student majoring in physics. A computer science course may only be an elective for a humanities student. Casting bricks to attract jade mean that you MaxOK all your resources, to the extent of perhaps "wasting" some of them (but you can never tell, because there is no way you will truly know what the exact amount of a certain resource is necessary to obtain success. Only God - and maybe your mother - will know for sure) but to secure the objective in the long run. I must stress, however, that too many people abuse this stratagem. They think that they will neglect their electives so that they can do better in their major courses. This is wrong. They should strive to accommodate all their classes. Throwing a brick must only be done in dire circumstances. You have not done your job well as a strategic commander if you have to resort to throwing bricks all the time, and the key to being able to cope with as many things as possible is organization, as we have discussed, and intelligent management of your time and energies.
Taking Advantage of Opportunities

A House on Fire Opportunities abound in life, and the wise cyborg will do well to take advantage of as many of them as possible. In the words of the immortal Anthony Robbins, "The meeting of preparation with opportunity generates the offspring we call luck." Therefore, we must be prepared, in order to maximize the value of opportunity when it comes knocking our doors. The Stratagems have this to say: "While a house is on fire, take advantage of the confusion to loot it." This stratagem, granted, has rather nefarious overtones, but we can ignore the bad side and use the good. The wisdom is the same: Secure the chance to do things, when circumstances are most favorable for their success. Let me give you a constructive example: Assume that you need to use the school's computer system to finish an assignment for your computer science class, but there are simply too many students around and too few computers. Every time you go to the computer lab, you fail to find a vacant computer workstation, and so far you have
not been able to do the assignment, and the deadline is fast approaching. What do to? Pull the fire alarm and get everyone out. Actually, I'm just kidding. That was a horrible example (but a funny one, I think, sort of, maybe. OK, it wasn't. Happy now?) but serves to illustrate my point. You have to find a situation in which you can achieve your objectives. Pulling the fire alarm wouldn't do anyway, because the computer system might be turned off in such an emergency, and above all you might get expelled from school for such an inconsiderate prank. A better solution would be to wait until everyone's gone home, and there are more terminals free for you to use. This doesn't work all of the time, of course. Students may refuse to go home until they have finished their assignments (which may be well past the deadline, if your school is anything like mine!). A more substantial mode of action would be to do the assignment before all these people decided to hog the machines. Again, you have to find a situation that avoids the problem of congestion. A MaxOK variant of this solution would be actually go up to the computer science teacher and ask him or her for the assignment before it is even handed out. This is true "maximum MaxOK" (if there can even be such a thing). It isn't "cheating" because you aren't infringing upon the rights of another student. In fact, you are doing the masses of people a favor, by finishing your assignment early so that you won't have to compete with them for yet another space in the computer lab, and you have essentially increased the number of available computer units by one. There is a concept called the "tragedy of the commons." The story associated with that idea goes something like this: In a certain village, all the farmers depend on the same field for planting crops. The area of the field is of a size that can exactly accommodate each farmer's crops provided everyone kept their planting to a certain limit. This was to allow the field an opportunity to regenerate the nutrients in its soil, and accommodate the next batch of crops for the village. However, as far as each individual farmer was concerned, it was to his best interests to plant a few more crops than he was technically allowed. His rationale was that the relatively few extra crops he planted would hardly make a difference. Yet when a large number of farmers do likewise, we find that the field has been depleted of its nutrients, and cannot support any more crops. The village thus suffers from the seemingly minor actions of a few selfish individuals. This aggregate effect of small differences is somewhat akin to synergy, though in a negative context. Taken in light of what we have discussed above, the argument
may be that if everyone pre-empted the situation and did their computer projects sooner than expected, the cumulative effect would be a situation of chaotic frenzy in which everyone was competing with everyone else for the computer lab, and we would be back at square one. On the contrary, I hardly think it realistic to believe that there will be that many people who read this book, and do as recommended. The world would not be in such disrepair with so many people underachieving, if the majority of humanity were so action-oriented and initiative-taking. Therefore, it is only the relatively few outstanding students who will make the effort to pre-empt the deadline rush. On the other hand, if indeed everyone took advanced action instead of waiting until the last minute, there would still be ample time and space for everyone to do the assignment, since there is plenty of time before the deadline. However, if the latter should ever happen, it would be very much a reason to celebrate the changing of the times, and would surely motivate the teachers to devise a new system to accommodate the phenomenon. Finally, remember what Mr. Robbins stressed: Preparation. You must be competent and ready to do the assignment, even if you have the chance to do it. If you don't know your material, you won't be able to do the work. That may require some further reading into your textbooks, more than what had been assigned, and that's to be expected, since you are tackling the problem well beforehand. Throwing bricks again, while the house is burning. Let me leave you with one more example. Assume that you have to do a report on a certain book that your teacher has assigned. Assume that you got the assignment hand-out in class, and the due-date is not for another three months. Further assume that apart from yourself, nobody else seems to be especially concerned that anyone do the assignment right now. What course of action do you take? The answer is that you should go to the library, get the book, and do the assignment as soon as possible. The reason? Again, limited resources, just like the computer lab example. If you don't get the book now, how will you find it when everyone wants to borrow it, and when the bookstore is sold out when people are desperate enough to buy them to do the assignment. Again, you are not injuring anyone, and in fact doing a good deed by relieving other students of the additional demand you put on the book if they have to compete with you to obtain a copy. The "burning house" is an empty library, or an empty computer lab. By "looting" it when the situation is most favorable - when nobody is competing with you for the resources - you have
secured your assets and enabled you to do the work. Furthermore, you have finished the assignment long before other students start to panic, and you have thus more time to concentrate on the final exams that may be slated around the book report deadline.
The Sheep's Clothing

Your Attitude One of the things I want to discuss is one's attitude in school, business and life. The Stratagem of the Pig says: "Pretend to be a pig, and eat a tiger." This stratagem calls for deception. I refer to it not in a malevolent sense, but in the regard that one must not be arrogant when dealing with other people. If your peers perceive you as intimidating, or threatening, they will retreat from you. The path to success can greatly be facilitated with the support and assistance from others. It does you no good to act overly smart and clever to the extent of drawing scorn and contempt from others for your showy attitude. In an academic scenario, the student who remains humble and asks for help will often receive it. Sometimes, others will offer assistance even without your asking, if you exhibit friendliness, honesty and sincerity. If you are having difficulty with a certain assignment, ask for advice from your classmates or your teacher. Always ask for help. There is nothing shameful or "wimpy" about being willing to learn and grow. The true warrior is one who is courageous enough to admit to himself that he is not as powerful as he may want to believe. Unless you ask for other people's opinions, you may be fooling yourself with false confidence in the face of danger. Discussions with a school counsellor, no matter how successful you are as a student, may give you new insight into your academic progress. When acting amongst employees or other people in your place of business, do not wear your rank like a medal, and intimidate and overly impose upon them. The general who commands an army still needs people to willingly and enthusiastically support his leadership decisions. By being a decent person to those under his command, the true strategist reveals his strength and competence only in the achievement of worthwhile goals, never in a display of arrogance and abuse of power. The key to personal rapport is to understand that everyone is only human, even cybernetically enhanced entities such as cyborgs. By pretending to be a "pig" -
even when you are already an A student or a successful business executive - you will be able to "eat the tiger" of higher achievements and ultimate success.
Interdependency
The Power of Cooperation Related to the above discussion of a need for humility, is the following strategem: "Kill with a borrowed knife." Again, I do not want to focus on the negative implications of this stratagem. "Killing" with a "borrowed knife" only means, in the context of this book, the strategic management of your human peers. Even the fully-functioning and totally organized cyborg will find that there is always space for improvement of efficiency. Asking for assistance from other people will lighten your own load, and allow you more freedom to explore other possibilities, and more time to attend to those objectives of yours which remain. To illustrate, assume that you have several big assignments to do. In order to hand in an assignment for the following week, you must somehow get your essay typed up quickly. Unfortunately your typing skills are dismally lacking, and there is no time to take a typing course. Furthermore, assume that if you spent your time slowly grinding away at the keyboard, you will not be able to finish the other assignments that have to be done. Your only course of action? Find someone else to type the assignment for you. The other person can be in the form of a friend, or a fellow classmate, or a professional typist. However, the wisdom of this stratagem encourages interdependency and an overall conservation of resources. Although the fastest route to take is to hire the services of a typist, that may incur additional expenses and this additional burden on your limited resources should be avoided. The better route would be to ask the help of a classmate who can type much faster than you, but who may be lacking in some other skill which you can help with. For instance, perhaps your fellow student is not clear on how to do research in the library. If you strike a deal with him, and ask him to type your assignment, while you help him find the books he needs, then you have created a relationship of interdependency (rather than dependency - in which you depend on him totally for your essay to be typed, and he may resent not getting anything in return for his time - or independency - in which you decide to grit your teeth and bear the brunt of it all, hammering away however slowly at the keyboard by
yourself). Of course, I am not condoning actually doing the entire research project for him. I am only suggesting that you lend him a hand and show him how it is done, and maybe do a bit of the work for him, while he helps you get your essay finalized in time for the deadline. Another example of "killing with a borrowed knife" can be seen in the form of asking favors from other people to perform activities for you that you need not really have to do yourself. For example, when running a business, perhaps you don't really have to meet a client yourself, and someone else can do the job just as effectively. You can delegate your assignments to other people, and lighten your own load, but always be sure to be totally sensitive and concerned about their feelings. Hopefully, you can exchange skills, so that you can help them with something that you are more competent to do, otherwise just remember the favor you asked, and return it when you have the opportunity to do so. Actions speak louder than words. Don't just "promise" them that you will return the favor, and then forget all about it. Make a personal commitment. Never assume that people will "forget" that they did a favor for you. Have you ever "forgotten" that you went out of your way to do someone else a favor, and they didn't return it? A sense of cooperation and interdependency will ensure that everyone gets to borrow each other s "knives" from time to time, and the overall system efficiency will be elevated. Finally, always follow up on tasks you have delegated to another person. Not only can they make mistakes, but your additional perspective can reveal new ideas that can contribute to a better result than via the efforts of one person. If you let someone else type your paper, proofread it even after they have already done so. Follow up by calling the client that you asked your employee to meet, and seeing if everything went OK. Remember that in the end, you are only one who is really responsible for the tasks you delegated, not the person from whom you asked the favor.
The Stratagem of a Transporter

Materializing Out of Thin Air Sometimes, watching Star Trek on television, I wonder whether or not some day we can actually "transport" people over a beam of energy and rematerialize them somewhere else. The technical considerations aside, we can learn from this concept via yet another of the 36 Stratagems: "Create something out of nothing."
Perhaps the best way of helping you understand this concept is by using the example of 3M's Post It note pads. I'm sure you've used them before, those yellow sticky paper pads that you can stick on and peel off virtually anything. Have you ever wondered how such an incredibly useful thing came to be? Well, the idea for the pads didn't initially arrive out of deliberate research. In fact, what 3M's engineers came up with one day was an adhesive - a glue - that was neither very sticky, nor very non-sticky. It was a half-way kind of thing, and 3M didn't know what to use it for. It was too strong for some applications, and too weak for the rest. It was an invention that was... nothing. Then, one clever 3M person decided to put it on a notepad, and created the first prototypes of "relocatable" sticky paper. He sent these prototypes around the company, and people started to use them. Demand for the "prototype" increased so much, that this engineer called a stop to its limited production, and asked 3M to consider marketing it as a real product. The rest is history. Another example of creating something out of nothing is demonstrated to us by the Coca-Cola Company. Remember when they discontinued the sale of the "original" Coke, and introduced the "new" Coke? Remember how the public went into an uproar and demanded that they make the old one again? Well, now we have the "new" Coke and Coke-Classic. The company effectively created something - an issue, a public uproar, free advertisement - out of nothing. Before the company stopped producing the original formula, nobody complained, and nothing was happening. They decided to fill the vacuum, by materializing, out of thin air, a "new" need for the original Coke. Such is the stuff legends are made of. In your life, try to take advantage of this valuable stratagem. Look at things that you had never considered useful, and try to think of uses for them. Not only is this going to benefit yourself in the long run, but it also reduces the amount of garbage in the environment. Whoever said that cyborgs can't be environmentallyfriendly?! Even intangible things can be converted and made useful. Perhaps you know a special song or poem by heart, but never thought it could help you in any real way. Well, why don't you use it as the basis for a memory story? If you know it so well, you can attach memory images onto it, and use it for an upcoming essay exam. Make a commitment to reconsider everything "worthless" in your life, and dream up new applications for them. You will soon find that there really is
nothing in the universe that is totally worthless. Usually the best ideas are derived from things that people had overlooked (as sometimes the best books that are published were ones that had been rejected by other publishers!).
General Strategic Theory

Beyond the Stratagems We have covered quite a lot of strategic theory thus far. Perhaps you have found it rather difficult to absorb so much information. Don't worry. Relax. Once you have the basic foundations of those concepts in your mind, your subconscious will automatically think of ways to put them to use. In this section, I will discuss ideas about strategy that do not fit into any specific category, and so I present them as a complete collection.
A Time To Recharge
Timeouts in the battlefield One of the key things to keep in mind when contemplating command decisions is to understand the need to take a break. Soldiers must rest, tanks refueled, artillery reloaded. When studying or working hard, take a 10-minute break, for every 50 minutes you work. Use the break to rest your mind, and allow your brain to consolidate the information into your memory. When I take my breaks, I usually drink a herbal tea with some gotu kola in it (see Chapter Nine). I focus on nothing in particular, and just allow my mind to wander, while subconsciously I am actually reviewing the material I just learned. When I am working, such as writing something, or designing a computer program, I let my breaks serve as launching pads for new ideas. By relaxing yourself, you free your imagination to consider all kinds of possibilities, the constraints of logic and concentration no longer in place.
The Shortest Path

Save Energy Even While Using MaxOK Do not prolong warfare. It is to your best interests to expedite the process and minimize your "exposure" to the effects of war. In other words, find the shortest route to your objective. If you have to secure a degree at college, take
only the required courses, and then the easiest ones as electives. While it is enlightening to learn as many subjects as possible, do so in your spare time. It is strategically inappropriate to jeopardize your grade point average by taking more courses than necessary, or taking more difficult courses to enjoy a "challenge." If it is information and more education you seek, go to the library or sign up for courses that do not affect your GPA. If you want to learn a foreign language, take it outside of your college in another institution. If you want to learn about quantum physics, go to a bookstore or library, or read the textbooks of students in those classes. I am not advocating laziness or a superficial education. I am suggesting that education can be found outside of the traditional educational system. Remember, your grades will summarize how others perceive you whether they are potential employers, or admissions officers for graduate school. Take every consideration to maximize your GPA, and minimize the risks of lowering it. In warfare, the enemy's front lines contain both strong and weak points. These are of tactical interest. By concentrating one's forces on the weakest points, it is easy to MaxOK them and break through. Thus, in any set of courses for college or university, there are easy and more difficult courses. It is up to you to determine which ones the easy courses are, by asking around and doing your own research. Note, however, that what others find easy you may find difficult. Some students will breeze through Computer Science 101, while others will prefer a humanities course. You are responsible for gathering your own information and making your own decisions in this matter.
The Best Defense

Traditional martial arts theory teaches the fighter that the best form of defense is not to engage in battle. In other words, don't initiate the fight, and try to prevent it even if the enemy provokes you. That does not mean you become super-wimp and let other people walk all over you. Cyborgs don't take that kind of treatment. You must learn to fight only when absolutely necessary, only when there is no other route to your objective. When applying this to business, don't startle or offend your clients or other people you work with. Attempt to persuade, rather than intimidate. Negotiate rather than attack. One of the best negotiation tactics is to listen to what the other party has to say. Absorb the information, and then try to build around this structure to reach an agreement. If everyone talks at the same time, nobody listens. If you find that you do not
understand the other party's side of the story, ask questions, tell them exactly what you do not understand. Get them to be specific about their descriptions. Try to analyze the situation objectively, without subjective emotions or personal prejudices. Again, fighting is the last mode of action to take.
Commitment to Battle
If efforts to prevent war fail, then you must be totally committed to the cause, and concentrate your power into warfare. If your negotiations fail, then annihilate the opponent using MaxOK. If you cannot avoid taking a certain course, then MaxOK it, and do your best. Once you're committed, there's no turning back. Otherwise, you would have wasted your energies. If you keep quitting once you start your projects, the accumulation of all the energy wasted in those aborted attempts would amount to a considerable sum. Obtain information about your choices, consider carefully, but once you decide what to do, you have to be committed. Remember, once committed, once battle begins, you must take the shortest path to victory. Once you have decided to do a certain assignment out of a variety of choices offered by the teacher, then you have to concentrate on that assignment, and not spend time musing about the other choices that you didn't choose. I stress again, MaxOK requires good judgment, both before, and during battle. Always remember Stratagem Number 36: Reassessment, Retreat, Reconsideration, Regroup, and then Re-enter the battle. Sun Tzu gave us the analogy of warfare as likened to the use of a crossbow. Energy is spent on bending it, until it bends no more, and then the decision to take action is the releasing of the crossbow, transforming all the potential energy into kinetic energy, swiftly targeting and destroying the opponent. Thus, once committed, be swift, silent, and deadly. Finally, the superior strategist will understand two things about energy: He can combine them - as in synergy - and he can use momentum to increase their power. This last concept is likened to a large boulder rolling down a hill. As it gathers momentum, it becomes progressively harder to stop. Once you start to study, no matter how difficult initially it is to get into the proper frame of mind, it becomes easier to continue (to a certain extent). Like the boulder sitting on top of the hill, it takes a bit of effort to push it and start it rolling, since its inertia must
first be overcome. Likewise, in all human endeavors, it is always hardest to get things started, but once you do it, it is easier to keep the wheels turning. Have faith in yourself. You're a cyborg. You can handle it!
Information
The Ultimate Resource One of the last things I want to talk about in this chapter is the key to success in our modern society: Information. There is nothing more valuable than information. With the proper information, you can obtain anything. Power, money, you name it. But the keyword here is "proper." Information is useless if it does not fit the requirements of a particular situation, and the only way to obtain proper information is through research (see Chapter Six). In all your battles, you have your personal energy, both mental and physical, to manage. Those are of supreme importance. The other thing you should be concerned with, is the management of information. I use this term loosely, to encompass everything that you can know which will enable you to achieve success. This includes not only the specific material in the textbooks and lectures for a certain course, but also "extraneous" information such as where the professor's office is located, how to use the library's resources, the phone numbers of your fellow students, and - of course - school holidays. A basic rule to follow is that you should try to obtain as much information about anything and everything as possible (but don't overexert yourself in this mission of reconnaissance). By having a large reservoir of information at your disposal, you will be able to draw on it for sources of guidance and inspiration when making command decisions.
The Mind of the Strategist

Putting it all together In this chapter we have discussed many issues and concepts. Combined with everything else you have learned, or will learn, in this book, you have at your service a very powerful synergistic programme towards achievement of your goals. Understand that each individual tactical advantage - such as memory skills, advanced sleep schedules, reading methods, nootropic nutrients - cannot
function properly without being guided to their proper targets via an overall structure, a master strategy. From time to time, perhaps biweekly, take a look at the blueprint for success you drew up at the beginning of this chapter. Look at your BigT, and see if it's really what you still want. If not, then look at the reasons you wrote down for choosing it when you did, and determine your new BigT. You'll have to do the same thing with the SmallT's. Finally, examine your list of enemies, and reconsider them as well. Write down any thoughts you may have at the time but which don't necessarily fit into any particular category, and refer to these again in the future. They may hold the key to new insight which you never realized before. A final thought: Military commanders always keep a log of their actions. It has been said that you can tell your future by looking at where you've gone before. Commanders and generals look at their records, and see their previous paths. They also learn from mistakes they made by reading their thoughts at the time those decisions were made. Likewise, I recommend you keep a journal, and record your life in it. You don't have to go by a day-to-day listing. Just write in it whenever you feel the need to, or when something important happens, or when you have to make a crucial command decision. It will serve you well, and let plot your trajectory by your previous flight path, and learn from your past failures and successes. Oh, and keep the journal safe and secret, away from the enemy spies! In the next chapter, we will learn the secret of...
Chapter 8
Video Interface Acceleration
Maximizing reading speed and comprehension "Step on it!" "This is the vehicle's top speed." --- Terminator 2
Speed Limits
The Ceiling to your Success Avoiding a highway chase in a lousy truck with a big tanker-trailer behind you would be in dire straits if you were chased by a T-1000 and your truck was capable of mere sixty miles an hour Likewise, you are severely disadvantaged if your reading speed is a bottleneck in your programme of success. All smart cyborgs know how to speed through their problems. In this chapter you will learn how to read a book at FTL - faster than light - warp speeds. Commander Data, warp nine and engage!
Speed Reading - The Basic Concepts

What your grade school teacher didn't tell you Remember when you first learned how to read? You must have started off by learning how to pronounce individual words, and then stringing them together by reading aloud the entire sentence. Soon, you were told to "read to yourself," and that culminated in the sub vocalization you experience today, when your mind "silently" pronounces the words. This form of reading, sub vocal reading, is relatively slow. Unfortunately, the only way to minimize it is through practice. If you're reading this chapter in order to speed through a certain book, you will not be able to afford the time required for speed reading training. Therefore, I will present a quick and dirty method of higher reading speed first, and give you the proper training information at the end of the chapter. But first, some information about the factors involved in reading speed.
Achieving Mach Speeds

Breaking the Sound Barrier As mentioned, pronouncing words while reading them slows you down. The worst form of this is explicit vocalization, or actually reading the words out aloud. Even the fastest talking person on this planet cannot read as quickly as person who has broken the "sound barrier." Better, yet still considered slow, are the readers who sub vocalize. Sub vocal readers may move their lips, or their tongue, or parts of their speech system, without actually making any noises, yet this physical movement puts a check on their speeds. Even the reader who silently imagines each sound in the mind will be slow compared to the graphic-oriented reader. To explain this concept, imagine that you are driving on a road, or walking around in your house. You do not pronounce the name of every object you see, nor do you consciously tell yourself what you are doing at all given moments. If you did, it might drive you crazy! The only reason why you hear the words when you read them, is because of habit. Words in themselves should not elicit a sound. They are merely icons, or symbols, not unlike the way a set of skull and crossbones automatically tell you that something is hazardous. Graphic-oriented readers will be able to ascertain the information from the text by "seeing" pictures in the mind's eye, instead of "hearing" the sounds. Likewise, watching a movie is usually faster, and provides more information, than hearing a story that is read out aloud. The only way to really cut down on sub vocalization is by reading so quickly that your mind does not have time to form the sounds. In order to be able to read quickly, you must avoid anything that slows you down. The very first thing that will do just that, is lack of concentration. Be sure you are focussed, and in a quiet place. Use maximum shielding. Be comfortable in your chair, or on your bed. Ensure adequate lighting. If you wish to do so, meditate before you begin your reading session. Minimize multi-tasking by jotting down all the things that worry you, and just leave them alone for the reading session. Forget all else. You cannot dwell on topics in your mind while reading at the same time. Your mind will wander, and you will experience the all-toocommon phenomenon of not realising what you had read just moments ago, and regressing to, or re-reading, previous text. The number of eye "stops," or the number of times your eye focuses on certain words while reading an entire line on a page, will determine the overall speed at which you complete the reading of the line. High-speed readers
generally make between one and four stops per line, while low-speed readers may stop at every word. Finally, the number of stops you make per line is determined by the amount of peripheral vision you are capable of, or the "width" of your vision span. If you can see, and understand, a wider area of the text, you will take in more information at any given moment. Likewise, speed-readers train themselves to read multiple-lines simultaneously. For the time being, just understand that it can be done.
The Cyber Read Method - Rapid Reading Rapidly

Or the no-frills way to immediately increase reading speed Acquire a sheet of transparent plastic. It should be relatively firm. Saran Wrap will not do. The best material to use is a transparency sheet for overhead projectors. Now, place the plastic sheet on top of a page of text. Pick a page that is typical and representative of the bulk of the material you will have to read. Take a permanent marker with a thin point, and a ruler, and draw a vertical line about one-third the width of the text, from the left margin. Repeat with the right margin. In this manner, you will have two vertical lines running down the page, roughly dividing the text into three columns. These two vertical lines represent your focal points. In other words, you are only allowed two stops per line of text, and the two stops are where the lines intersect the text. Unless the book you have to read is extremely wide, you should be able to peripherally see all the text you need, per stop. If you have a wide book, make three lines instead of two. Now, be sure your mind is concentrated, and begin your reading session. Force yourself to make the two stops, and not any more than that. Speed through the text. At first, you may find that your comprehension drops even though your speed has increased. If this happens, slow down a little. However, as long as your mind doesn't wander, you will be able to take in much more information at much higher speeds than you had thought possible. Don't slow down to the point where you can sub vocalize again. You should aim at speeds higher than that. In any case, by reading faster, you will have created the opportunity for a review reading later on. If the plastic sheet becomes unwieldy to handle, cut it down so that it fits exactly on the page. You may have to adjust the lighting to minimize reflections off the plastic.
Higher Reading Effectiveness

To increase your comprehension level of the text, it is advisable to do a "prescan" of the book before you actually begin reading the material. The prescan is easily done. Simply read the front and back covers to get an idea of what the book is really about. Next, check out the table of contents to see the overall layout. This is the master plan for the book. See how the author develops the ideas. Finally, look through the index if there is one. Consider the index to be a complete checklist of all the important ideas in the book. If something isn't in the index, it probably isn't very important anyway. You will want to use the index at a later time to review the entire book. Your prescan serves multiple functions. The primary objective is to give you an overview of the book. Ask yourself whether or not you actually have to read the book at all. Perhaps you were misled by the title or the description. Don't waste your time reading the book if it contains very little material relevant to your needs. Even if the book does contain important material, consider whether or not the effort to read it would be worthwhile. Some books have such a poor presentation format or writing style, it takes considerable effort to ascertain the valuable information contained between the covers. The prescan allows you to quickly determine if a book should be read, and allows you time to make another selection if need be. If you decide to go ahead and read the book, determine which sections of the book deserve more attention. Sometimes it is not necessary to read the entire volume from front to back, in order to extract the information you need. Of course, the procedure in which you read the book depends on the genre of literature you are perusing. Non-fiction can usually be read out of order, but most works of fiction demand a strict chronological order from beginning to end. When reading the book proper, start with the prefaces or introductions , and look for important information that describes the overall theme of the book. The introduction is usually the first chapter, or it may be an entirely separate section altogether. Read these initial sections and try to locate the thesis for the book. There is usually an argument the author is trying to make through the book. When you have finished all of this, read the book itself. You will have enough background knowledge to guide you through the book. You should be able to tell which points are important and which are not. In this manner, you won't waste your efforts trying to understand irrelevant concepts. Always keep in mind the book's thesis.
Finish the reading with the conclusion. At this stage, you should note any discrepancies between the author's summary and what you understand regarding the material. Pay attention, furthermore, to opinions that you have formed about the book. Perhaps you disagree with certain arguments, or can provide more effective ones. In many subjects, personal opinions are the focal point of the entire schedule of instruction, and instructors may require you to describe them in essays or class discussions. In any event, the concluding chapter should summarize the book contents. You can complete the reading session by scanning the index again, noting whether or not certain entries are listed. Throughout the reading of the book, have your microcassette recorder, or pen and paper, handy. Dictate, or write down, ideas that pop into your mind. These are valuable for future use in essays or class discussions. The microcassette recorder is more desirable for this purpose because it does not detract from your reading as much as the use of pen and paper.
Cyber Read Explained - The Reasoning Behind the Technique

To finger or not to finger, that is the question Speed reading theory can be divided into two camps. On the one hand, there are techniques that stress hand or finger movement. The placement of fingers on the text serves as a marker for the eyes, and helps the reader keep track of the focal location. The movement of the hand across the page then guides the eyes as it flies over the words. The other side of the coin has other theories that discourage the use of fingers on the page. They consider the mechanical guidance a hinder to rapid reading. Hands can cover up text which can otherwise be read via peripheral vision. Eyes can also scan an entire page at much higher speeds than the hand can move across it. The "hands-free" methods stress training the reader's vision capacity, per se, without the need of incorporating the training of hands and fingers as well. I have taken an intermediary approach with the Cyber Read method. The use of lined transparencies on the page take the best from both worlds. The vertical lines provide the "crosshairs" to prevent losing the place in the text, while avoiding the complications of the text being obscured. The only drawback lies in the relatively cumbersome need to reposition the transparency on every page. However, in time the reader will be able to dispense with the transparency altogether, and reading with minimal eye-stops will become second
nature. Therefore, the lined-transparency is to be considered a helping hand at this early stage of development.
Cyber Read Enhanced - Advanced Techniques

Turning yourself into a gigantic eyeball I presented the Cyber Read method above so that a student can use the information immediately to accelerate reading speed, in the event of imminent demand for knowledge of the book the next day. Advanced training for speed reading can be accomplished when the reader has more time on his or her hands. The very first skill we must develop is the ability to read in more text at every glance. In essence, this calls for the expansion of peripheral vision. Some rapid reading books provide the learner with various columns of letters, and require the reader to focus on the center of the column while attempting to determine the outermost letters. This is very effective, yet extremely boring when the exercise is repeated with the same columns of letters, ad nauseum. A more interesting approach is to actually use reading material for practice. Take another sheet of transparent plastic, and this time draw a vertical line down the centre of the plastic. Take this sheet and place it on top of a column in a newspaper or magazine. Make sure the column is narrow enough for you to be able to read all the text without shifting the eyes from the centre. The exercise simply requires you to read the column from top to bottom, keeping your eyes on the centre line. Fight the natural urge to look from side to side. In time, you will be able to minimize and eliminate unnecessary side-to-side motion, and rely strictly on vertical scanning and peripheral vision. Practice every day for five to ten minutes. Try to find selections to read which are of interest to you. There is no worse deterrent to high-speed reading than textual material that does not appeal to the reader. Likewise, very exciting and interesting material is usually read at higher speeds. When you have become reasonably proficient at reading that uses extensive peripheral vision, try to expand that peripheral vision vertically. That is, try to take in more than one line at a time. The best manner in which to consider this is by focusing on the space between two lines, and read the text that sandwiches it. The tricky part of this skill is the requirement of maintain a check on two sources of information at the same time. Actually, it is not as hard as it sounds. Although technically two lines of text represent two trains of thought, usually the
information on the two lines are so related that they essentially say the same thing. By reading two lines at the same time, you are doubling your already accelerated reading speed. When twin-line reading has been perfected, the motivated reader can try for three lines of text for even more reading power.
Greased Lightning - A Final Note on Accelerated Reading

The need, the need, the need for speed - maybe The speed at which you read a book is determined by a multiple of factors. The basic speed is established by the fundamental comprehension level of the reader. It is boosted by physical skills such as those described above. Favorable environmental circumstances such as comfort and tranquility will provide the ambience conducive to clear thinking and concentration. Finally, the actual level of interest the reader has for the material will make or break the motivation during a reading session. Sometimes, speed-readers will make the mistake of confusing the means for the ends. They make reading speed the objective, and sprint through whole volumes of book, instead of using the skill to accomplish a specific goal: Making the reading session more effective and, above all, more enjoyable. While it may be possible to read an entire novel in half an hour, rapid reading will likely prevent the reader from "chewing on" the story itself. Therefore, vary your reading with the material. It may be better to spend an hour contemplating the nuances of a poem, rather than whipping past it in five seconds. Reading ability is a critical resource. The ability to read quickly will enable you to access much more information in the same amount of time. You will also be less physically and mentally drained by being able to finish a large book in a fraction of the time originally required. Remember to keep training yourself. The only way to more rapid reading speed, is by reading more, at a rapid speed. Now that you have broken new ground in your reading abilities, let us examine the revolutions from the cutting edge of technology. Look to the horizons, and see the blazing neon of...
Chapter 9
The New Edge
Options From The Cutting Edge Of Technology And Beyond "Look. I am not stupid you know. They cannot make things like that yet." "Not yet. Not for about 40 years." "Are you saying it's from the future?!" --- The Terminator DISCLAIMER: It is the author's honest opinion that the risks involved with ingesting experimental pharmaceuticals that are not approved by the government far outweigh any expected benefits from their use. Therefore, the reader is asked not to experiment with such products until they have been legally approved. The information in this chapter is provided for educational purposes only. Neither the author nor the publisher takes responsibility for whatever actions the reader may decide to take. YOU HAVE BEEN WARNED.
Smart Drugs - The Nootropic Controversy

Popping pills to ace exams? Imagine that in the future, you will pop a "brain pill" in the morning along with your daily vitamins and orange juice. Then, you will go to school, or work, and have the benefits of double or triple your natural intelligence level. This scenario may not be far away, and scientists are already experimenting with substances that affect the intelligence level of humans. These products, called nootropics - from the Greek words that mean "acting on the mind." - are a spinoff from research that was done primarily on drugs to alleviate symptoms of Alzheimer's and other cognitive disorders. Nootropic compounds - smart drugs are part of a sub cultural movement known as the New Edge. With roots in science-fiction literature such as Neuromancer by William Gibson, the New Edge is an attempt at true cybernetics: The fusing of the human organism with the machine. The original source of the New Edge movement (and the Rave culture) was the CyberPunk, the latest trendy social rebel, anarchist, and revolutionary all rolled into one, spawned and forged from the marriage of far-future sciencefiction and the computer movement. However, the New Edge itself now
encompasses many more people from more walks of life and, as OMNI tells us, its sympathizers - not synthesizers - "...run the gamut from computer nerds and cyberpunks to AIDS activists and life extension enthusiasts." With regards to smart drugs (only a component part of the whole movement), the cybernetic theme is obvious: Increasing organic intelligence through the use of artificial man-made - products. In this case, nootropic pharmaceuticals. The demand for products that increase intelligence has been overwhelming in the past few years. Jerry Stahl, the author of an article on smart drugs, puts it succinctly: "The Nineties are about survival. And to survive, you have to be smart."1 He gives an overview of the budding "Brain Gain" movement: Smart drugs... is the term for a vast new breed of cerebral aids. Some are high-powered pharmaceuticals; others are vitamins and nutrients... They all aim to empower a populace as hell-bent on boosting brainpower as it once was on pumping iron. Say goodbye to rippling muscles, say hello to a souped-up cerebellum. It's enough to make Nancy Reagan just say yes.2 Unfortunately for people interested on getting a piece of the action, the scientific verdict for all of this is not yet in. Divergent views make the smart drug movement a very controversial issue, and justly so: Drugs that can make you smart, might in fact make you sick. The lack of solid scientific proof that intelligence levels of normal, healthy humans can be boosted by ingestion of nootropic compounds is a testimony to the risks involved when experimenting with nootropics. Flying in the face of medical opinion, proponents of nootropics swear by personal experience. "I'll never quit taking Hydergine," says Mark Rennie who is not only a lawyer but also a partner in Smart Products in San Francisco.3 Tony (no last name), the bar-tender at a Smart Bar - establishments that serve beverages and other products that contain nootropics, so-called "Smart Drinks" - says that smart drugs "...help to improve short-term memory and concentration. They do work. I take them all the time."4 What exactly are smart drugs and what do they do to you? The rationale behind why nootropics work is this: They increase the speed at which your brain processes information, and therefore make you "smarter." In the analogy of the computer, it is like installing a faster microprocessor. John Morgenthaler, co-author with Ward Dean of the "bible" of nootropics Smart Drugs & Nutrients, says it is "...not a software installation; it's better, faster, more
powerful hardware." In other words, your brain is not working better because you learned a memory technique - such as that described in chapter two - but has been accelerated and improved biochemically. Physically. Another book, Mind Food & Smart Pills, by Ross and Taffy Pelton, says that nootropics:
y Increase y Improve
the level of neurotransmitters in the brain brain cell metabolism the action of certain enzymes the supply of oxygen to brain cells and remove cellular garbage deposits from cells the level of electrical activity in the brain
y Optimize y Increase y Dissolve y Improve
These, then, are the general benefits that may be achieved through the use of "cerebroactive compounds," or smart drugs. Let us examine each point in more detail. I will attempt to keep the technical jargon and concepts to a minimum for simplicity's sake. Firstly, we have an increase in the level of neurotransmitters in the brain. Neurotransmitters are the chemicals that the body uses to transmit information between neurons - or the wiring in your body. For example, to transmit a command from the brain to a finger, neurons throughout your body pass messages to and from each other via neurotransmitters. The rationale behind increasing the amount of neurotransmitters in the body (and thus the brain) is that more of these chemicals will be available for neurons to "fire" (send messages) and thus the overall speed of neural communication will be increased. When your brain "thinks" it also fires neurons within itself, much like a microprocessor's circuitry has electrical charges surging throughout its structure. Improvement of brain cell metabolism means that the individual cells in the brain are able to process their biochemical activities more efficiently. Every cell is a basic unit of life, and by helping them do their job better, the overall result should be improved cognitive performance. Optimization of certain enzymes in the brain will likewise accelerate chemical reactions that lead to faster brain response time. Enzymes are biological catalysts, or substances that speed up chemical reactions. Increasing the supply of oxygen to the brain is probably the easiest to understand. The human body requires oxygen for all of its functions. By increasing the amount of oxygen available to the brain, the nootropics attempt to raise this
ceiling on the upper levels of brain performance. The reasoning is that chemical and neural activity cannot be accelerated unless more oxygen is available for their successful metabolism. Enhanced removal of cellular "garbage" from the brain cells helps again to minimize the bottlenecks in neural activity. If waste residues "block" the cells' activities, then the higher performance of the brain is obstructed. Finally, by elevation of electrical activity in the brain, nootropics should, in essence, give the brain more power or energy, to operate. The above lines of reasoning towards improved cognitive functions are logical, and sound feasible. Indeed, it is surprising that anyone would fail to grasp the obvious significance of these advantages. However, the major caveat to nootropic theory is that these drugs are not approved and not tested for such uses. It would be an easy decision to make, if they were harmless. People would simply try them out, and if they worked, then they would continue the regime of ingesting them, otherwise they would stop. Unfortunately, the situation is not so cut and dried. Although certain smart drugs have been demonstrated to be relatively safe in even large amounts on a short term basis, there is no solid scientific proof that there are no long-term ill effects. In other words, even though people don't immediately suffer from nausea or neural damage, there is no evidence to suggest that long term damage does not occur. In fact, damage that might occur may be so invisible to cursory examination, that it is overlooked or ignored in the zest towards higher mental function. Granted, the lure of super-intelligence is a large temptation indeed, but the real horror is the possibility of lowering of intelligence (or damaging the body) through the use of these products. Like a multiple-choice exam where there is a penalty for wrong answers, it is not a strategically wise choice to guess haphazardly.
To Be Or Not To Be - The Nootropic Dilemma

Just say... maybe?! Perhaps the anguish of the decision to take nootropics is relieved by government action. The Food and Drug Administration - the FDA - in the United States has put a ban on many of the known nootropics. Most of the substances are not available in the USA, but smart drug advocates make use of a loophole in federal law that permit individuals to order or import a small amount of drugs
from other countries.5 However, this importation is actively discouraged by the FDA to the extent that shipments are simply returned to their countries of origin. This "nootropic censorship" has sparked a huge controversy, with white-hot issues of individual rights versus public safety. Proponents of both sides of the argument stand fast, and refuse to budge, each with evermore compelling arguments. Neutral observers hedging their bets find themselves drawn first to one side, then the other. The situation seems hopeless. However, I have found an optimum method of balancing the benefits and risks related to nootropic compounds. The entire category of smart products can be classified, somewhat arbitrarily, into two groups: Harder Smart Drugs, and Softer Smart Nutrients. The smart drugs - SDs for short - are usually unavailable in North America. However, the smart nutrients - SNs - are available easily over the counter at health stores. Many SNs are, in fact, familiar products such as ginseng, with a few esoteric compounds such as ginko biloba, and gotu kola. I have found that SNs are both approved by the government, and usually "proven" safe through the use by millions of people over the centuries. Ginseng is the obvious example. The Chinese have been taking it for a long, long time, and the only side effects reported have been beneficial ones. We will leave discussion of the "harder" SDs until later in this chapter. For the moment, I wish to draw your attention to the safer and more convenient smart nutrients. NOTE: Our examination of these compounds - both SDs and SNs - will be concise. I will present only the major substances and just enough information to describe their usage and benefits. For in-depth coverage, please refer to the sources indicated at the end of this chapter.
Smart Nutrients - The Mighty Vitamins

A more natural way towards higher brain power The most readily available of all smart nutrients are the vitamins. Of these substances, the one most familiar to everyone is probably Vitamin C. This chemical, known also as ascorbic acid, has a myriad of uses. In fact, it is probably one of, if not the most, remarkable substances you can take. Vitamin C speeds healing of wounds, reduces the duration and severity of some types of infection, helps protect against cardiovascular disease, is a very potent detoxifier, reduces anxiety, promotes restful sleep, and in addition to many other benefits it also enhances mental function.
Vitamin C is a water-soluble vitamin. That means, it cannot be stored in the body, unlike the fat-soluble vitamins. Water-soluble vitamins are expelled from the body easily, through normal bodily cycles. Therefore, it is necessary that people have a constant daily intake of this vitamin. (Another water-soluble vitamin is Vitamin B.) Because Vitamin C is so easily lost from the body - and in fact its effects only last for about six hours after ingestion - the vitamin must be replenished in the body regularly, at specific times during the day. Popular belief is that a daily vitamin pill (containing, among other things, Vitamin C) in the morning suffices. In fact, the amounts of vitamins present in these multi-vitamin pills are so minute, that for the most part, the pill is ineffective when it comes to the specific substances that improve mental function and overall health. The reason why multi-vitamins have such miniscule amounts of these vitamins is that the RDA (recommended daily allowance) stipulates such small amounts. In fact, there has been some controversy in general medical circles - unrelated to the nootropic movement - that the RDA levels are too low for good health, and should be raised. In any case, we are not concerned with these general guidelines and commonly set levels of vitamin intake. The benefits of nootropic enhancement are realized only at higher-than-normal levels of SN intake. To return to Vitamin C, the required amount for mental enhancement (in addition to general health improvement) is from 1000 mg to 3000 mg daily. It is advisable to gradually increase your consumption of the vitamin over a period of several days in order to find your bowel tolerance. This is the level of intake at which you feel soft stools (slight diarrhea) and is exactly a little above the optimum level you should take. This bowel tolerance level varies among individuals. You should experiment to find yours. Taking this increased amount of Vitamin C should benefit you with sharper mental function, and general wellness. One important point to note is that once you go on this programme of high-level Vitamin C intake, you must not suddenly stop. Your body manufactures larger amounts of certain enzymes when you are on a high-level Vitamin C regime, to make better use of the extra Vitamin C now available. If you suddenly drop the supplementation level, your body experiences a rebound effect, and your immunity level will drop sharply, and you will suddenly be very susceptible to colds and infections. If you must stop, then do so by gradually reducing your intake levels over a period of two weeks. A tip from me concerning the timing of Vitamin C intake is that you can purchase timed-release
versions of this, and other nutrients. Usually, the caplets release their vitamins over a period of 12 hours. Therefore, you need only take them in the morning, and before retiring at night, and your body will be constantly replenished with Vitamin C throughout the day. Another vitamin you may be interested in is Vitamin B. In fact, there are many sub-divisions of this category of vitamin, from B-1 to B-12. It would take too long to describe all the benefits associated with every type of Vitamin B. Suffice to say that this vitamin helps with the regeneration and maintenance of nerve cells, and is critical in proper cellular metabolism. The suggested daily dosage is about 1000 mg of a caplet with a Vitamin B-Complex formulation. Both of the above vitamins are of the water-soluble variety. They are easily lost from the body. On the other hand, we have the fat-soluble vitamins. These are stored by the body in fatty tissues, and are therefore easier to retain. However, there is a danger associated with experimentation with fat-soluble vitamins: You can overdose on them. The danger is checked by the fact that even though it is theoretically possible to overdose on fat-soluble vitamins, the reality is that it hardly ever happens. Harder as it is to lose these vitamins compared to the water-solubles, lose them your body will, on a daily basis. Following directions on the containers of these vitamins will guarantee safety. Nootropic levels generally do not exceed these recommended levels when it comes to fat-soluble vitamins. (Perhaps it is proper to mention here that there is a fat-soluble form of Vitamin C, called Ascorbyl Palmitate, but since it is virtually impossible to overdose on Vitamin C - only there is really no need to be alarmed.) One of the more important fat-soluble vitamins is Vitamin E. It offers excellent protection for your tissues and brain cells against the ravages of free radicals - substances that damage body cells. Vitamin E also retards cellular aging, in addition to many other benefits. The nootropic level of intake is from 400 IU to 800 IU daily. (Vitamin E is measured in International Units, and not in Milligrams.) The final vitamin that I want to present to you is Vitamin A. It is also available in the form of Beta Carotene. Both these substances offer cellular protection and have anti-aging properties. Your body converts Beta Carotene into Vitamin A, and therefore it is more efficient to take Beta Carotene instead of Vitamin A. Besides, Beta Carotene is harmless even at high concentrations in your body. Vitamin A can be toxic if overdosed. The nootropic level of Beta Carotene is from 10,000 IU to 35,000 IU daily. To gauge the optimum level of Beta Carotene intake, lower the
amounts when you observe a yellow-orange discoloration of your palms and soles of your feet. This effect is called kerotenosis and is harmless, and will disappear when Beta Carotene levels are decreased. We have covered four of the vitamins involved in nootropic enhancement. There is much literature on these, and other vitamins. Please refer to the sources in Appendix B for further information. We now turn to the topic of smart nutrients in the form of herbs.
Ginko Biloba - The Invincible Tree

The magic tree from ancient China The most famous nootropic herbal product is ginko biloba. Usually it is available as the extract, in pill or liquid form, of the leaves of the ginko biloba tree. The leaves themselves were widely used in Chinese history as a herbal medicine. Its nootropic properties have been heralded throughout the world. Ginko biloba trees are the most primitive trees on this planet today. They have been dated to 300 million years ago. Each ginko biloba tree may live a thousand years or more. The traditional Chinese use for ginko biloba is as a brain tonic. Nowadays, over a million prescriptions are dispensed daily in Europe by doctors, to stimulate circulation in the body (and the brain). Ginko biloba acts to produce several effects: It is a vasodilator, increasing circulation in the body; it prevents free-radical cellular damage; it prevents cellular damage due to low levels of oxygen (hypoxia); it enhances the brain's ability to metabolize glucose (the main "fuel" in the body); it increases nerve transmission; it helps repair lesions in cellular membranes caused by free-radicals. These are but some of the many other properties of ginko biloba. The bottom line is, it fits many of the criteria for a safe and effective nootropic compound. It is perhaps the best and most effective nootropic compound available, at least for now. All these benefits do not come easily. Ginko biloba is quite expensive. An average bottle with 60 tablets (almost a month's supply) goes for $30. There are other formulations that cost less, but the most effective type is one with 24% concentration of bioflavonoids - the "active ingredients" in the plant - at a 50:1 production ratio - meaning fifty units of ginko biloba were used to make one unit of final product. There are other products with lower concentrations and lower production ratios, but they are not worth your while. Ginko biloba is also available
in liquid form, as a sublingual - a liquid that is primarily absorbed through the soft membranes of your mouth, going directly into your bloodstream. Sublinguals are supposed to be more effective because of their direct path to the bloodstream, but I have yet to come across one that tastes good. Most sublinguals need quite a bit of getting used to, and I find that sometimes I skip my daily dosage when using sublinguals. Therefore, I recommend a high-quality pill form instead. The daily dosage of ginko biloba is 3 tablets a day, taken in the morning, noon, and night (for a total of about 160 mg daily). If you cannot afford that regime, the absolute minimum is one tablet daily, but a compromise can be reached at two tablets per day. The effects of ginko biloba are not immediate. On average, you may begin to experience stimulated circulation in several days, and a sharper sense of mind in about a week. My personal experience has been very fruitful with ginko biloba. I used to suffer from cold hands and feet during the winter months, especially during sports such as skiing, because of poor circulation. The problems disappear when I start taking ginko biloba. Combined with other nootropics, ginko biloba is a powerful health and mind enhancer.
Gotu Kola - The Supercharger

Fuel-injected power for the brain In my opinion, the second-most important smart nutrient is gotu kola. This herbal extract is not discussed at all in Smart Drugs & Nutrients, and is only briefly mentioned in Mind Food & Smart Pills. However, I have found that gotu kola is the only natural nootropic compound out there that gives almost immediate results. After taking gotu kola, immediate effects can include a "hot" but not uncomfortable "energizing" of the brain. When I take gotu kola, during a period of high mental demand, the substance acts to "clear" any mental blocks because of overload, or mental fatigue. It is a refresher, and energizer. I have recommended gotu kola to many people and almost all of them report increased mental activity. Their dreams on even the first night after taking gotu kola appear to be more vivid and intense. Of course, these effects are highly subjective, and individual results vary from person to person. In India, where its properties have been wellexplored, gotu kola has been used for a very long time, as a folk remedy and tonic. In the rest of the world, gotu kola is very popular in both Asia and Europe.
Gotu kola is available in several forms, but the best I have found is a liquid extract by Herbs, Etc. The liquid is added to a drink - for example a hot cup of herbal tea. There is no set daily intake level for gotu kola. I use it whenever I need to. However, for long term benefits, it is perhaps desirable to ingest at least one dosage of gotu kola per day (e.g., one cup of herbal tea with gotu kola added). Note that I have recommended a herbal tea preparation. Do not use normal tea, for it contains caffeine. Contrary to popular belief, caffeine is not a good stimulator for mental functioning. In fact, it - and other harmful stimulants such as nicotine - can have intelligence-reducing effects.6 One of the key benefits of nootropics is a minimization of the confusion and anxiety experienced during memory recall. Caffeine and nicotine act to increase this anxiety and confusion, and create what is commonly referred to as tip-of-the-tongue phenomena. Stimulants such as these also inhibit restful sleep - interrupting your deeper delta and theta cycles - and therefore make you feel not as rested as you might have otherwise been. It also takes a long time before your body completely rids itself of these stimulants - it can take up to 24 hours for complete elimination. In addition, these harmful substances deplete your levels of beneficial chemicals such as Vitamin C, as your body deploys the anti-oxidants to protect your cells from the damaging effects of caffeine and nicotine. Therefore, during tasks that require higher mental function, refrain from coffee, tea, and cigarettes. Even the so-called "decaffeinated" products contain a small but very potent amount of caffeine. Substitute these products for natural and healthy choices such as herbal tea. There are enough varieties of herbal tea to satisfy even the fastidious connoisseur, or struggling student.
Chlorella - Solar Energy for the Mind

The little micro-organism that could Finally, we arrive at the powerful chlorella. This magnificent product has not been covered at all by the two "bibles" of nootropic substances. There may be two reasons for this. First of all, chlorella is a relatively unknown substance in North America until recently. It has, however, gained considerable attention in the Far East, especially in Japan where it is exported to the rest of the world. The second reason for its relative obscurity in nootropic literature is that it does not really appear to be a nootropic in the sense that it acts on the mind, per se.
Chlorella is an overall health enhancer, and yet nootropic enthusiasts tend to overlook it simply because it does not act solely to increase mental function. Chlorella is not an herb. In fact, chlorella is an organism. It is a single-celled, fresh-water alga, the oldest and most primitive organism on this planet. Chlorella is approximately two-billion years old! Scientists have speculated that it serves as the bottom, the very foundation, of the food chain. For every "step" you move up the food chain, you lose some 95% of food energy. That means eating meat from an animal provides far less energy than eating plants (provided you can digest and absorb the plants). Since chlorella is at such a low-level in the food chain, imagine the tremendous amounts of energy it contains! Chlorella is not spirulina. Some people mistakenly assume that they are one and the same. Spirulina is a valuable addition to a programme of health, but chlorella is a wholly different substance. It was discovered in 1890 by the Dutch microbiologist M.W. Beijernick. Until recently, chlorella has been virtually useless for humans, because we cannot digest it. The cell walls of chlorella are extremely strong. That is the reason why chlorella has survived to this day. It is very well protected. However, a Japanese company called YSK perfected a process to reduce the impenetrability of the chlorella cell. By "grinding" down the cell walls, they have transformed chlorella into a form highly digestible for humans. Through their efforts, our species now has access to the most remarkable food substance on this planet. Literature on the effects of chlorella have been relatively difficult to obtain by the general public. However, I will list several of its key benefits:
y Powerful
Antioxidant. source. removal of poisons and wastes from the body. cellular growth and regeneration via CGF.
y Super-concentrated energy y Accelerates
y Supercharges y Retards
aging high amounts of important vitamins and minerals.
y Contains y Boosts
immunity
Chlorella has been hailed as a miracle food. The super-concentrations of energy it provides to the body elevate all metabolic functions and enhances cellular activity. It provides a vast source of energy for your body to do its work, whether repairing cells, healing wounds, recovering from disease, or general daily
operation. In the paradigm of the cyborg, chlorella is indeed an auxiliary power source. Chlorella also contains CGF - Chlorella Growth Factor. This is a substance that accelerates biological growth. Studies have been done that show CGF effectuates the proper growth of children with developmental defects. CGF also plays a key role in speeding up cellular repair. The bottom line is, chlorella is the most miraculous substance ever made available to people. The Japanese use it consistently and frequently. It is even available as a topping for ice-cream in Tokyo. Again, these powerful benefits come with a price. Chlorella is available in many forms, but the only really effective product is that made by YSK International Corporation. YSK's exclusive production process - the Dyno-Mill process - is patented and their product - Sun Chlorella-A - is available in both a power and a tablet form. I recommend the tablet form, for convenience. Those are available in packages of 300 tablets each (about $30), or in a box containing 1500 tablets (five packages per box, about $150). You can even get a box that contains one package, of 300 tablets, but that is a waste of money and packaging. The reason why there are so many tablets per package is that chlorella pills are extremely small. In fact, they are small and fragile. Each tablet is easily crushed. Handle the packages carefully. The daily dosage of chlorella required depends on the person's state of health. Although the YSK package instructions indicate up to 15 tablets per day, this is too small a dosage to have significant effects. There is literature on chlorella that recommend enormous amounts, levels at which it would be impractical to maintain given the high cost of chlorella. My recommendation is a total of 30 tablets per day, taken in three divided dosages. That comes to about $3 per day using a 300-tablet package, at $30 per package. On the other hand, if you are feeling unwell or need the extra energy, increase the dosage to 50 tablets or even 80 tablets per day. One important point to take note of regarding chlorella is that you must gradually increase your dosage over a period of time. Initial experiences with chlorella may include stomach upsets and gas while your body adjusts to the absorption of this new substance. A gradual introduction into your diet will minimize these effects, and allow you to reap the rewards of this miracle food. A couple of years ago, I was very sick, but had to go on a "forest marathon" with a friend. We had signed up the previous year for the event, and neither of us wanted to cancel it. So I began taking up to 90 tablets per day of chlorella (30
tablets per dosage) along with high levels of Vitamin C and B-Complex (among other things). I was able to make it through the marathon (which involved carrying a very heavy backpack, and travelling some 30 kilometers in six hours, up and down hills, around marshes, through forests, and sleeping overnight in a tent) and enjoy the event. We did not win the event, but I doubt I would have been able to even make it to the finish line without the assistance of chlorella. For a good booklet about chlorella, please refer to: Lee & Rosenbaum. Chlorella. Keats Publishing, Inc. Connecticut. 1987 For more information about Sun Chlorella-A, please contact: YSK International Corporation at (800) 537-0077
Other Smart Nutrients - Honorary Mentions

Presenting a few of the other fellas In this section, I will list several other important SNs. They are not as important as the ones we have already covered, but nevertheless deserve our attention. Dosage recommendations are based on my personal opinion. Check the additional sources listed in Appendix B for more information. Lecithin: Lecithin contains choline, a precursor to the neurotransmitter acetylcholine. Lecithin itself is also a component of the myelin sheath - the protective covering of neurons to prevent cross-talk, or interference. Dosage is one 1200 mg tablet per day. Your body will convert lecithin into choline. Panthothenic Acid (vitamin B-5): This vitamin should be taken along with lecithin. Panthothenic acid is required for the successful metabolism of choline into acetylcholine. Dosage is 250 mg daily, taken with lecithin. Ginseng: The ginseng root is so famous that perhaps it is not necessary for me to go into great depth about it. Indeed, the myriad of benefits of ginseng would require several volumes of books to document! This remarkable plant has been used throughout the centuries in Asia, particularly by the Chinese. Ginseng was not meant to be taken on a daily basis, and there are many different varieties of ginseng. You would do best to consult expert sources on the proper use of this plant. For the time being, follow directions given on the packaging of ginseng products you obtain from health food stores.
Pure Energy (by Montana Big Sky): This is a commercial preparation of a variety of substances. Pure Energy contains bee pollen, gotu kola, Siberian ginseng, and royal jelly. Although I do not recommend using Pure Energy as a substitute for direct sources of gotu kola and ginseng, this product has its own benefits as a source of increased energy and vitality. The concentrations of the ingredients have been carefully balanced to maximize synergy. It is available in capsule form at most health food stores, and is relatively inexpensive. Recommended dosage is 6 tablets per day, 2 tablets each in three divided dosages. SOURCE: Montana Pollen & Herbs, Inc. Box 1, Hwy. 93 N., Arlee, Montana 59821. (406) 726-3214
SN Biochemical Effects Revisited

Don't try this at home kids (maybe) Let me mention once more that the benefits of synergy work with SNs just like it works with everything else. By paying attention to a variety of powerful enhancers, such as chlorella and ginko biloba, you are maximizing your body's potential to rid itself of toxins, prevent damage from occurring, and operate at peak levels of performance. The effects of the nutrients covered in the preceding sections have been well document, and I use them every day with confidence and peace of mind. I cannot say the same thing for the smart drugs that we now turn to. However, I do not mean to imply that smart nutrients - including, but not limited to the substances covered above - are absolutely safe. All nutrients contain amino acids, and their introduction into a normal human body may be interfering with the natural equilibrium of these substances: [A study conducted for the FDA released in August of 1992 was] prompted by the recent deaths of 28 people who had taken the amino-acid supplement Ltryptophan, now banned for sale in the U.S. The actual cause of the deaths has not yet been determined, although some experts suspect a toxic impurity. Amino-acid supplements are widely sold in health food stores as powders or capsules. They're toted not only as smart drugs but also for such purposes as building strength and muscle mass...
Like all nutritional supplements, amino acids are classified as foods rather than drugs, so they're not subjected to the same rigorous safety testing that drugs undergo.7 Although I have mentioned that it is my opinion that the benefits of nootropic compounds may be available in the form of smart nutrients (as opposed to smart drugs) I cannot guarantee safety for each and every person that experiments with them. Individuals with unique health constitutions or disorders may experience wholly different effects from other people. Again, I remind the reader that it is not recommended that a person experiment with any drugs, especially with unapproved substances. I say that honestly, and sincerely. If you must experiment, you are better off trusting the thousand-year old evidence of effectiveness and safety on a particular smart nutrient, rather than the results of a few of years of inconclusive experimentation done with smart drugs.
Smart Drugs - The New Frontiers of the Mind

One a day (might) keep the parent-teacher meeting at bay In the 1970's, a pharmacologist by the name of Cornelius Giurgea coined the term "nootropics" to describe a class of drugs that have specific effects on the mind. Giurgea's criteria for a nootropic substance are that it has to: learning and memory, especially under conditions of disturbed neural metabolism resulting from a lack of oxygen, electroshock or age-related changes
y Facilitate y Enhance y Enhance
information flow between the cerebral hemispheres the general resistance of the brain to physical and chemical
injuries
y Be
devoid of any other psychological or physiological effects8
Although relatively clear as a layman's language, these criteria are in fact very vague compared to the strict standards by which modern pharmaceuticals are classified. The criteria that substances toted as modern "smart drugs" have the most problems with is the last one: "Be devoid of any other psychological or physiological effects." As the results from research now stands, nobody can say with absolute certainty and conviction that smart drugs are perfectly safe for everyone.
Some of the smart drugs being used for nootropic purposes in normal humans were actually developed for treating disorders such as Alzheimer's Disease. "We're talking about treating elderly people with memory deficits... not 25-year-olds who want to earn more money on the stock market," says Tom Crook, president of Memory Assessments Clinic Incorporated, a Washington company that specializes in assessing potential memory-boosting drugs for pharmaceutical firms.9 The reasoning is that since certain chemicals can improve the mental functions of people with disorders, their use in normal humans would likewise increase cognitive capacity. Unfortunately, Crook tells us that there is no scientific proof to back up this assertion.10 What evidence there is on the effects of drugs such as Piracetam include details of undesirable side-effects. Both Piracetam and Hydergine can cause insomnia, nausea and other gastrointestinal distress, and headaches. Other drugs cause similar and additional effects, some of them very harmful.11 Regardless of these facts, SD advocates insist on using them. Ward Dean estimates 10,000 users of smart drinks - beverages served at smart bars that contain mostly SNs - and many of those people using actual SDs. Here, then, is a brief look at what all the fuss has been about.
Piracetam - The King of them All

That which started the (snow)ball rolling The most famous of all smart drugs has to be Piracetam. It was invented by UCB Laboratories in Belgium, and is reported to be an intelligence booster. One of the brand names of pircetam is Nootropil, attesting to its cognitive enhancement abilities. Piracetam works on the brain as follows: It reduces the effects of hypoxia (reduced oxygen flow) in the brain; it promotes an increased level of data-transfer between the two hemispheres of the brain - essentially, encouraging whole-brain thinking; it is synergistically improved by the additional use of choline (lecithin) and other smart drugs. This "king" of all SDs is used outside of New Edge circles by medical authorities as a treatment for alcoholism, stroke, vertigo, senile dementia, sickle-cell anemia, dyslexia and other disorders. However, Piracetam's cognitive effects have lately been the focus of attention, and more than any other SD, Piracetam helped bring about the awareness of this new genre of pharmaceuticals. The exact reasoning behind why Piracetam works is unclear. Research on this, and other SDs, has existed in a limbo state: It is hard to tell
whether a report is valid or not. As a result, there is no conclusive evidence of the cognitive enhancement effects of Piracetam. On the other hand, there is no conclusive evidence to disprove its effects either. A recent magazine article says of Piracetam: [It] alone has inspired scores of clinical trials over the last 10 years yet still remains in pharmacological limbo. It is just one of hundreds of compounds that have shown great promise in animal experiments - such as helping rats learn their way around mazes - yet seem to produce at best only marginal effects in patients.12 Piracetam is not available in North America. It must be imported. The dosage recommended by Smart Drugs & Nutrients is from 2400 mg to 4800 mg daily, in three divided dosages. A final point that I wish to make about Piracetam - and most other drugs, for that matter - is that it operates on an inverted-U curve of performance. In other words, the effectiveness of Piracetam may initially rise with increasing amounts of the drug, escalating proportionally with intake until it reaches a peak. At that point, effectiveness begins to drop, when too much of the drug is taken, until results become negative - as in overdosing. (Students of economics may understand this as an example of the theory of diminishing marginal returns). Therefore, with any medication, there is an optimum consumption point - the peak of the curve. However, this optimum point varies between people. The important thing to understand is that the relationship between the effectiveness of a drug and the amount taken is not immutable, and performance does not rise infinitely with ever-increasing levels of intake.
Hydergine - The Neural Synthesizer

Making happier little grey cells Strangely enough, Hydergine is an extract of the ergot fungus, but it should not be confused with the tamer SNs. Hydergine is fully a SD. It was synthesized in the 1940's by Albert Hoffman13, and is now manufactured by the pharmaceutical firm Sandoz. Its earliest applications included treatment for Alzheimer's disease (Branconnier, 1983). Hydergine is one of the very few smart drugs that are approved for use in the United States, but a doctor's prescription is necessary to obtain it.
The bartender at the Nutrient Cafe of San Francisco, known only as "Cat," offers his personal testimony on the merits of Hydergine: "Smart drugs help me focus. When I use Hydergine, I never feel scattered."14 Dean & Morgenthaler' s book states that Hydergine:
y Increases y Enhances y Protects y Speeds
blood supply and oxygen to the brain brain cell metabolism
against free-radical damage, and inhibits free-radical activity intelligence, memory, learning and recall systolic blood pressure
elimination of age pigment (lipofuscin)
y Increases
y Normalizes
In addition, Hydergine may reduce high cholesterol levels in some cases. The primary way that Hydergine acts may be the manner in which it mimics the substance known as NGF - Nerve Growth Factor. This is not to be confused with the Chlorella Growth Factor discussed previously. NGF is neural-specific. It acts primarily as a stimulant for nerve growth. "NGF stimulates protein synthesis, resulting in the growth of dendrites... Dendrites are the communications connections between nerve and brain cells and are crucial to memory and learning."15 The potential that NGF holds for cognitive enhancement is tremendous. Brain cells that have been damaged or destroyed can be repaired or regenerated. Unfortunately, the status quo of mainstream NGF research has not yet led to an effective and proven method for this application. Certain SD advocates may be trying to reap the perceived rewards in this pioneering technology through the use of Hydergine. The U.S. recommended dosage is 3 mg daily. The effects of Hydergine may not be noticeable until several months into the regime. This may be because time is required for the NGF to stimulate the regeneration of enough neural units to make a significant difference.
Vincamine - The Oxygen Booster

High octane for your brain Vincamine is marketed under several names. One of them is "Oxicebral," alluding to the oxygen-flow enhancement attributes of the drug. Again, we have a
drug extracted from a plant. In this case, the periwinkle. Vincamine is a vasodilator, promoting circulation not unlike ginko biloba. Vincamine has been prescribed outside of the United States to treat symptoms of reduced blood and oxygen flow to the brain. It has also been allegedly used to improve memory and concentration. The dosage for Vincamine is 30 mg every 12 hours. It is not available in the United States.
Vasopressin - The Memory Enhancer

A nose job that helps you remember your stuff Vasopressin is secreted by the posterior portion of the pituitary gland. It is a hormone vital for imprinting of new information into memory. Reputedly, it assists in the learning and recall of large amounts of memory. Vasopressin is available in the form of a nasal spray, usually under the brand name "Diapid." Effects are supposed to be experienced within seconds of application. The speedy transport of Vasopressin through the nasal membranes directly into the bloodstream is similar to the manner in which sublinguals enter the body through the mouth. SD advocates use it to "wake up" the mind. The other side of the story is that Vasopressin has been less than friendly to some users. Reports on the undesirable effects of this drug include "pallor, nausea, belching, cramps... etc."16 Like all other medications, effects may vary among different people when using Vasopressin. The dosage is 12 to 16 USP units per day, or about two whiffs three to four times a day. Vasopressin is available in the United States with a doctor's prescription.
Nootropics - The Bottom Line

What your doctor might say to you if you dared ask for a prescription We have examined a good number of compounds, most of them believed by smart drug advocates to enhance cognitive functions. However, because of the lack of substantial evidence to prove, to a reasonable extent, both their effectiveness and safety, the best course of action to take is a conservative one. The future may yet hold the promise of truly safe and effective nootropics. Research into this remarkable area of medicine is going on at a rapid pace.
Needless to say, drug companies acknowledge the gains that come with the invention of a nootropic substance. The market value of this future industry has already been projected to be worth more than $40 billion, by 1994.17 But at the moment we must regard alleged nootropic compounds with a skeptical eye. Steven Rose, the head of the Brain and Behavior Research Group, at Open University, and who has examined more than 100 studies done on nootropic compounds, wrote that: There is no reason to assume that, for most of us at most times, our enzymes and neurotransmitter systems are not working at more or less optimal levels. The brain is well buffered against the effects of arbitrary increases or decreases in circulating chemicals so that simply consuming food additives which are acetylcholine precursors will not normally increase your brain acetylcholine level. And even if it did, increasing neurotransmitter activity is no guarantee of increased mental performance; rather, it can be positively deleterious to throw chemical spanners into the exquisitely balanced biochemical system that is the human brain. More does not mean better.18 Indeed, the human brain is the product of millions of years of evolution. Nature had carefully crafted it over the millennia, and we would be foolish and arrogant to doubt her ingenuity or wisdom, believing that in the span of a few years we could harmlessly change her designs. The goal of maximizing cognitive power should not be done at such a critical and virtually irrevocable level of biology. In fact, the better options to turn to when a cybernetic upgrade is required are the machines.
Program Modification - Redesigning The Self

Performing serious brain surgery on yourself with pen and paper We come now to the closing of the book. This section on subconscious psychology will be the final presentation on advanced technologies for the mind. I organized it to be part of the last chapter in order to wrap up our discussion. In the very beginning of the book, I mentioned passion to be the critical motive force behind our endeavors. Although the concept was touched upon, it was not investigated with very much depth. The reason was that I wanted to show you all the tools first, before teaching you how to acquire the motivation to use them. Now that you know the what, when, where, and how of peak mental performance, it is time to know the why behind it all.
The Subconscious
A Mind Within Perhaps you are already itching to try out some of the advanced techniques. On the other hand, perhaps you are still undecided about taking action. In our chapter on military strategy, we designed our master battle plan, and within it we defined our ultimate goals, and our reasoning behind why we needed to achieve them. In a similar vein, motivation for any activity stems from the fact that our subconscious minds believe that it is in our best interests to undertake certain tasks, or adopt certain attitudes. Evolution, and the survival instinct, has endowed us with this subconscious intelligence so that we have a fundamental guidance in our lives. Regardless of the activity, deep down we believe that whatever we are doing will ultimately benefit us. Even if certain tasks seem harmful, we believe subconsciously that they are the best possible choices to take, given our circumstances. Without going into technical details in the science of psychology, suffice to say that our subconscious acts in our best interests by minimizing harm, and maximizing safety. In other words, we try to avoid pain, and embrace pleasure. An important point to take note of is that the pain and pleasure can take either physical or psychological form. That is, we can suffer actual physical pain as in stubbing our toes against a door, or suffer emotional hurt from someone slamming a door in our face. In fact, physical pain is relatively easy to identify. It is obvious, and explicit. Few people have trouble recognizing physical danger and harm. The complicated part is figuring out the emotional aspect. It is not as easy to identify and deal with psychological danger. Our minds are equipped with highly developed psychological defense mechanisms that are constantly at work minimizing the damage to our psyche from daily experiences. In effect, we are relying on these innate psychological defenses to keep us functioning properly. It is actually a very precarious situation indeed. Every stimulus or experience we encounter has the potential to either empower or depower us. Most of the time we go through life without regard for this background process, and throw ourselves to the winds of chance encounters. We hope that our personalities will somehow be strong enough to deal with the "slings and arrows of outrageous fortune." Strength of character will indeed protect us. That is why people who have gone through more trials and tests in life are more successful at dealing with crisis and pressures in the face of danger. But strength of character takes time to
develop. Most training comes to us haphazardly via trial and error. It has been said that success comes from the ability to make good decisions; good decisions are a result of experience; and experience comes by way of mistakes! Even people who deliberately train their characters through controlled experiences, such as the wilderness survival courses offered the world over by the Outward Bound schools, have to endure great physical and mental demands over a significant period of time. One does not overnight become a fully-armored cyborg. However, in addition to real-life experience, we can conscientiously boost our character strength and will by way of inner psychological work that we perform on our subconscious minds.
Two Masters of the Mind

Freud and Pavlov The existence of the subconscious mind was first suggested by the great Sigmund Freud, the father of all subconscious (or unconscious) psychology. He believed that there was a "hidden" part of us that acts without our conscious knowledge, and in fact was the key determinant of our destinies. Unfortunately, Freud was rather much the proverbial pessimist. He did not believe that people could change their destinies, and the totality of their lives was centered entirely on childhood experiences. In another branch of psychology, we encounter the proponents of conditioning. These psychologists believe that all animals can be conditioned by associating a natural reaction to an artificial stimulus. For example, Pavlov showed us how dogs could be made to salivate upon hearing the ring of a bell. Conditioning denies to a large extent the existence of the mind, whether subconscious or not. Subconscious, and conditioning, psychology seem to be diametrically opposed. One stresses the power of the subconscious mind, while the other builds its theory simply on innate animal instinct. However, I consider both views equally valid, and we can use these powerful psychological theories to our advantages. When I refer to the "subconscious" I will mean, in the context of this section, the part of us which operates in the "background," and which can be affected either by intelligent design or simple instinctive reaction.
Integrated Circuits
Modifying Conditioned Responses We can perform "modifications" on our subconscious in several ways. For starters, we can extract our subconscious feelings into the open, analyze them, and redefine them consciously. This takes considerable effort and much psychoanalytical work. Another possibility is to design a conscious plan that is so compelling, that it evokes an emotional response from us, typically fear or passion, and induces the subconscious to operate towards the achievement of that goal. Finally, we can apply conditioning principles to manage our emotional states by creating conscious links to objects or experiences. In a sense, revamping our "response matrix." Let us look at the latter method. It is the simplest to implement, yet perhaps not the simplest to understand. The theory, however, requires merely that we associate a certain basic natural response such as hunger, fear or joy, to an artificial stimulus, or cue. This process actually happens to us on a daily basis. We learn to associate the sound of a police siren or fire alarm with the possibility of danger, and thus we elicit a fear and alert reaction whenever we hear these sounds. Likewise, most people are conditioned to associate commercial products such as Coca-Cola with joyful and exciting states of emotion, through the presentation of images of people having fun when they are drinking Coca-Cola. The method of association can either be conscious, or subconscious. We can be aware of the association, as in the usual television commercial, or we can be oblivious to the attempt at conditioning. If the latter, the process is referred to as subliminal programming. We can thus be influenced regardless of our knowledge about the attempts. A classical example of subliminal programming is in the form of the story about a New Jersey theatre owner who flashed the words "Drink Coca-Cola" on the screen during a movie, and enjoyed a 58 per cent increase in sales of the drink over a six-week period.19 It is a tenacious existence indeed, when we realise that we are exposed every second to stimuli with the potential to be associated with certain states of mind within us. Thus far, the ability to be conditioned seems to resemble more of an Orwellian psychological nightmare than anything else. On the contrary, it was probably a survival trait. If our ancestors learned to associate the potential of injury or death with specific cues related to danger, and the possibility of food with its respective cues, their chances of continued existence would be greatly increased, especially since the conditioned reaction is provided in an instant,
without the delays of rationalization. On the other hand, conditioning can become maladaptive. People with phobias, or unreasonable fears about certain things, have learned to associate panic and discomfort with specific conditions or items. This unfortunate phobic reaction was probably formed during early childhood. Therapists treat phobics by exposing them to the fear-producing stimuli under controlled conditions. However, it is not an easy task, for the conditioned stimulus is able to produce states of mind in the person even without the original conditions that evoked the emotional response in the first place. In other words, the person who fears large bodies of water can experience panic even if they are on dry land, and totally safe, because of a childhood experience of drowning. The panic they experience is bad enough to be self-sufficient and serves to maintain the phobic reaction. Likewise, cigarette smokers have associated the act of smoking initially with peer approval, and yet as time progresses, they elicit emotional reactions of relaxation and luxury by smoking (encouraged, no doubt, by the myriad of cigarette advertisements that induce such links). If we, as cyborgs, need to modify our internal processing, we must apply proper conditioning to maximize beneficial mind states, and minimize maladaptive ones. We achieve this by consciously envisioning a specific mental image, whenever we want to associate a certain cue to that emotion. The key here is the subjective emotion we feel in the mental image. We associate emotions to cues. For example, if we want to reduce our smoking, we must associate the physical cue of holding a cigarette, or drawing on the cigarette, with a totally horrible and disgusting emotion such as that experienced while on the verge of vomiting. Some of my friends have successfully cut down, or eliminated altogether, their smoking by inducing themselves to vomit (using some very ingenious ways, I might add!) whenever they felt the desire to smoke. Conscious and rational modification of your conditioned links requires a lot of good planning, patience while the links are being modified, and faith in the results. As surely as your knee will jerk when hit properly, your conditioned responses will be modified eventually. The actual duration depends on the severity of the link, and the amount of emotion involved. People can become phobically sensitized to certain cues by a single traumatic event. Others become programmed to do certain things out of the accumulated reinforcement of daily habit. Please go now, and write down a list of all the conditioned responses in your life that you can think of, and pick the ones you need to modify or eliminate. This is no easy task. Because of their hidden nature, conditioned links are sometimes hard to fathom. But take your time, and over the next few days write down all the
links you can think of. Then devise new links for them, and recondition yourself. The cigarette-smoking example above is probably something that a lot of people may want to attempt. In order to make it most effective, you should create very specific and vivid mental images. While suffering from the physical discomfort, really feel in your mind the every nuance of smoking, really feel each breath you draw, and the pressure between your fingers of the cigarette filter. The keys to effectiveness are frequency of association, attention to detail, and magnitude of emotional response.
Prime Directives - Modifying Our Programming

On-site upgrades for the software in your brain The next method of subconscious programming that I want to discuss is related to simple conditioning. This time, we will look at a more rational and thought-out way of modifying our internal behavior. Recall that our subconscious can be influenced by external conditions. Although we usually think of external events as comprised of experiences, we can also modify our internal programming by conscious and rational thought. We do this by creating a compelling rationale for doing something, and this will create the appropriate emotional reaction to induce our subconscious to awaken to the new directive. When both our conscious and subconscious minds are focussed on a certain objective, there's no stopping us. To begin, we must identify an objective, and the reasons why we must achieve it. If the reasoning is not adequate, we will not be subconsciously compelled to achieve that objective. No matter how much logic is involved, if we are not emotionally aroused by the idea, we will not likely take adequate action to see to its fruition. The subconscious is performing its energy-saving functioning. In effect, it is telling us to take it easy, and really think about whether or not it is absolutely necessary we embark on a certain course of action. Most people stop at this stage, and don't exhaust the train of thought. Unless you believe that it is absolutely necessary you do something, chances are you probably won't do it. Take a writing instrument and some lined paper, or fire up your wordprocessor. Now, referring to your master battle plan, write down your BigT and/or any other objective. Perhaps you feel that you are sufficiently empowered and compelled to achieving your BigT already. In that case, pick an objective that you're not that sure about. The best way of identifying these objectives are seeing
which ones you've been procrastinating or putting-off. Perhaps it's a specific assignment you have to complete, or a client you have to confront. Now write down, with as much detail as possible, the reasons why you have to achieve this objective. Be very specific, and through. Exhaust completely the line of questioning. When you are finished, write down the consequences of not achieving the objective. Again, be precise in your language. Now, looking at the results of the latter exercise, imagine what your life would be like in exactly one year from now, if you did not perform your task. Where will you be? What kind of person will you be viewed as? Will you be happy? Above all, write down the level of possibility of fixing the mistake. As long as your mind believes that you can still do something to change the consequences of non-action, it will not be totally compelled to take action. When you are finished with projecting ahead one year, repeat the exercise for a projection of five years, and then ten years. Really think about all the things that can happen because you were "lazy" now. If you are not going to your classes as often as you really should, think about the consequences of not being qualified for a wellpaying job in the future. Think about all the hardships you will have to endure because of this. Perhaps you won't be able to support yourself, or you will be unable to help your loved ones financially. What if your spouse, or a member of your family, needed money for an operation? What if you could not give your children a proper education? What if you had to perform monotonous and menial tasks all your life just to get by? This exercise in future projection is not futile and irrelevant. It will become your reality, if you continue on your present trajectory. You are doing yourself a favor now, by time-travelling into the future, and placing yourself in the upcoming situation. If you find that your future self would probably have much cause for regret, be thankful that you are still in the here and now, and that you can do something about it all. Do not neglect this very important mental exercise. When you have finished with this powerful session, take your master battle plan and modify it. Reconsider objectives and methods. Streamline the plan by eliminating the unnecessary.
The Subliminals
Beyond The Limits Striking up a conversation with the "little voice" inside us Scientists have determined that there is a "threshold" between the conscious and subconscious minds. Above this threshold, stimuli are perceived by the conscious mind. Below it, the information is processed only by the subconscious. By targeting information at the level just below the threshold of perception, the subconscious mind can be optimally influenced. This can be achieved in the form of visual images flashed at fractions of a second, a speed too fast for the conscious mind to perceive, yet slow enough for the subconscious to acknowledge. Information can also be in an audio form, by presenting it just below the threshold of conscious hearing. Most subliminal products on the market today use either of these two methods. Unique are those that utilize both. The value of subliminals is that it provides a direct "gateway" into your subconscious mind. Analogous to the computer programmer who can edit the program listing directly, we now have the technology to edit the core "program" of a person. Subliminals implant specific beliefs into your subconscious mind. The process is direct. You are "rescripting" your internal dialogue without the time and effort involved in the above mental exercises. When your subconscious mind receives the new information, it will adopt the new beliefs. The important point to note is that the subconscious mind cannot differentiate between reality and fantasy. The responsibility of identifying reality falls on your conscious mind. However, when the subconscious is rescripted, it will induce the conscious mind find reasons for its beliefs. In other words, whatever your subconscious mind believes is true, your conscious mind will evoke action to prove that the subconscious is correct. To take an example, if you subconsciously believe that you are a failure, you will have the paradigm of constantly seeing bad luck happen to you. On the other hand, if you believe that you are a successful person, you will find that you can identify numerous examples that support your belief. Think of the subconscious mind as a filtering system, through which you perceive life. But filtering isn't the only thing the subconscious does. If you believe, for example, that you are successful, then that affects your self-esteem and your confidence. If you are confident about yourself, you will take intelligent risks, and dedicate yourself to achieving your goals. However, if you lack the belief that you are able to do the job, you will not have enough confidence to keep you going when you run into
difficulties. As a result, you may abandon your projects. In this manner, you are perpetuating a self-fulfilling prophecy: Once you believe you cannot do something, you will stop your attempts, and ultimately prove yourself correct. It has been said that whether you believe you can or cannot, you are correct. To summarize, subliminal programming cuts through the conscious pathways and accesses directly your subconscious mind. In effect, your subconscious paradigms are restructured. By doing so, it provides your conscious mind the fundamental beliefs it requires to prove the subconscious correct. In this manner, you will be internally and intrinsically motivated. People who have reservations about the possibility of deliberate manipulation of the subconscious mind should take note of the irrational behaviors of millions of people who daily smoke or otherwise perform activities detrimental to good health. Remember, the combination of proper subliminal programming and conscious mental work will guarantee maximization of self-confidence and secure your total success. There are many subliminal products available commercially. Uses range from cigarette smoking reduction, to stress management, to higher brain function. Because the quality of subliminal products is virtually impossible to ascertain by the general consumer, there are unfortunately a lot of subliminals that don't work. As a result, they can contribute to decreased public confidence in the effacy of subliminal technology. However, I firmly believe that subliminals are powerful, and when properly executed can help even the most unmotivated individual to succeed. The only ways in which a person can rate subliminal products currently on the market, are through word of mouth by satisfied customers, and by looking at the manufacturer. Promising attributes include a large scale of operation, and a considerable length of time the firm has stayed in business. However, the best yardstick is still customer testimony. I do not profess that they are the best manufacturer for subliminals on this planet, but Zygon International seems to put out very high quality products. I have had the best results from their material, compared with the technology from other companies. Their information is listed in Appendix. Your subconscious is being bombarded by subliminal influence every day, from a multiple of sources. It is your responsibility to put a check on the amount of randomness you allow this bombardment. By using subliminals, and performing "brain surgery" on yourself through the above mental exercises, you
ensure that you remain the captain of your ship, and allow your body to "boldly go," without fear or lack of confidence.
True Cybernetics - The Human/Machine Interface

A power tool for the mind Subliminals are only one type of mind-enhancement product from the hightech world. Companies such as Zygon have made available devices that can induce specific mind states. That is to say, you can change your emotions at the push of a button. One such product is the InnerQuest machine. It stimulates your brain via subliminal signals produced over a pair of headphones. By varying the pattern in which the signals are presented, the machine can induce your brain to go into the various alpha, beta, delta, and theta modes that we discussed in the section on sleep. Therefore, you have the possibility of "forcing" your mind to do as you wish. This is a way of establishing conscious control over your natural and subconscious urges. Some brain units combine the use of audio and visual stimulation, by providing an additional visor which stimulates the eyes via flashing LED lights. Brain machines can work in conjunction with subliminal programming, to enhance the programming effect. By creating a mind state that is most conducive to learning, for example, it can accelerate education by remarkable factors. Unfortunately, this powerful technology does not come cheap. Most brain machines cost about $300 and not all of them are effective. Specialty hobby and consumer electronics stores should carry them. They epitomize the true cybernetic connection between the human and the machine. Thus ends our discussion of the tools and skills towards maximization of cognitive power. Your brain is the most valuable component of your organic body. Both the conscious and subconscious aspects must be recognized and catered to. Careful attention to detail and a conscientious programme of maintenance and tune-ups will ensure peak performance. In the next and final chapter, we will chart a course towards...
Chapter 10
The Final Frontier
Epilogue "The future, always so clear to me, had become like a black highway at night. We were in uncharted territory now, making up history as we went along.." --- Terminator 2
The Endgame - A Window on the Future

Some final thoughts on the act of being a Cyborg It has been said that if you travel far enough, you will meet up with yourself; that a complete voyage always ends up with you back in the same place you started. And so we arrive, at our final destination, and where we had started. Our journey has taken us to the far-future, to a place where humans will exist not as they had naturally evolved, but as they might be, symbiotically linked with machine components, empowered thus beyond the capabilities that biology had be able to give us. Returning to the present, we realise that although the technologies already exist, few people take full account of their benefits. They continue to exist and function in the Old Ways, and risk becoming obsolete and disadvantaged in this competitive world. We upgrade our software every month. It is high time for a new version of humanity. A cursory reading of this book may yield the impression that I, the author, spend all my time in front of the computer, popping vitamins and minerals every five seconds, munching on a banana one in a while, and never see another human being. This portrait cannot be further from the truth. In fact, school and work aside, I party till dawn, drink beer, sing Karaoke, and just go nuts with my friends at nightclubs and Karaoke joints. My room is sometimes a total mess, and I can be on the phone for hours sometimes. Basically, what I'm trying to say is, I am human too, with all the idiosyncratic yearnings to just let it all hang loose, and not give a thought to our responsibilities in life. My phone book has some three hundred names of friends that I can call up anytime, and go partying with. To be sure, it should be obvious that if I wasn't a total party animal before, I would not have had any trouble with my academic performance. Yet one cannot live on beer and Karaoke alone. When it comes time to do my work, I switch immediately into cyborg mode. The reason why many of the
tools in this book seem to be very "extreme" is simply because most people party to the extreme. Without the corresponding amount of responsible work to balance out the irresponsible party times, we would never get anything done at peak levels. As a committed party animal, I also understand the requirement for any "success" literature to be interesting and useful. That is why I used the cyborg paradigm in the presentation of my material. Hopefully, you enjoyed this format. I simply want to smash the myths that success literature has to be serious (and thus boring) and that party animals must totally abandon their friends and social lives in order to succeed. I believe that there are times for everything, so long as we organize everything properly and give each individual item enough attention. If there is an overall theme to my book, it is that of unification. The human species has become too segmented in its behavior and thinking. The life disciplines have become compartmentalized. Individuals embrace only certain theories, or beliefs, and neglect and denounce others. The myopic assumption of mutual opposition and exclusivity fuels the misunderstanding. Skepticism for its own sake, fear of the unknown, and fear of change, perpetuate the inability to embrace and see the big picture. In this book, I have attempted to consolidate diverse disciplines, and focus them on a central objective, to demonstrate that collective effort is the key to the future. And, there is still much to learn. The process of success is a continuous one. Every moment brings new opportunity for improvement and expansion. A long time ago, I had thought that a person had learned enough about the world when he is finally saddened by it. Now, I realise that that he must continue to learn until he discovers the opposite. In our collective arrogance, we had opened up Pandora's box for too long. We must not simply close it and Hope for the best. We must take the initiative to change things, put the evils back into the box if you will! Now empowered, you have excelled above the limiting constraints of most other mortals on this planet, but mortal you still are, as all cyborgs will in the end accept. Your energy, and your time, have been enhanced, but ultimately what you do with your extended resources will become the facts of your life, come judgment day. And so, friend, use your body and mind well, for one like you is few and far between. There are a multitude of reasons for discontent in the world, and perhaps you will find the strength of heart to venture thus forth, and through your actions ease the load, no matter how slightly, on humanity. I leave you now, to face your own future and destiny. The road may be long, the voyage treacherous. Be brave, and wise, and when in doubt, trust yourself above all. Never forget, "there is no fate, but what you make."
And know this: My book serves only as the beginning of the path to invincibility, for the warrior who is truly invincible to all enemies, is the one who has found the capacity to love. A.T.K.W. July 13th 1993 A.D. Toronto Canada anguswong@yahoo.com (please include the word CYBORG in your subject line for all email)
Chapter 11
Bugs In The System
The Failures and Shortcomings of the Educational System "Defense network computers. New. Powerful. Hooked into everything. Trusted to run it all. They say it got smart. A new order of intelligence... Decided our fate in a microsecond: Extermination." --- The Terminator
Cognitive Oxidization - The Rusting of Education

The status quo of our schools and universities While doing the research for this book, I spent many hours at libraries and bookstores. Something that struck me was the enormous amounts of literature that called attention to the inadequacies of modern education. The quality of education was questionable, they said. Test scores were declining while student drop-out rates increased. Yet there has never been a time than right now when the demands for good education were so pressing. With the expansion of the information age and the increased demand for more people to know more about more things, education has become less of a luxury or status symbol, and become more of a vital and critical survival necessity. The shift towards a society of information and information workers has been well documented by authors such as John Naisbitt and Alvin Toffler. There is no escaping the new law of the concrete and blackboard jungles: People need to learn in order to survive. A common theme to many books that criticize modern education is the assumption that problems lie within the so-called educational "system." Suggested solutions include curriculum revision, extra funding, more parental involvement. Yet I have found few that directly tackle what I think is the key issue: Absence of effective learning skills. In my opinion, they are more important than effective teaching skills. While it is valuable to have instructors that can provide quality teaching, the students must themselves be equipped with the requisite skills, and motivate, to partake of that teaching ability. The highly trained doctor who prescribes the precise medication still requires the patient to take them properly, and at the required times.
In addition, I have perceived a background resistance to improving the technology of teaching, on the part of the school. In fact, it is ironic that although today we identify the classroom with the blackboard, when blackboards were first introduced as a teaching tool they were feverently rejected and denounced by the teaching elite. Likewise, new technologies such as computer assisted teaching, and accelerated learning methods are assimilated reluctantly, if at all, into mainstream education. Again, with the medical analogy, the patient will better benefit from the use of an advanced surgical instrument than if her doctor insisted on resorting to obsolete equipment. While the intention may be good and well, the outcome of the operation and the livelihood of the patient depend greatly on proper skill and equipment, and not simply on doctor goodwill. Having said all of the above, I am not making a revelation that the only way to improve education is by making students aware of learning skills, and at the same time putting computers into the classroom. What I am saying is that there should be more attention paid to these issues, than is presently being afforded. My own experiences have concluded as much. When I sat in my classes, especially during my university years, I could not help but notice the amount of student frustration around me. While the instructor rambled on at the front, my classmates and I frantically scribbled down notes. Frequently, students may even try to record word-for-word on cassette tape, the entire lecture. Some of my friends even joked around and said that they were considering buying a video-camcorder for class, to record both the teacher's voice and antics, and the vast amounts of material written on the blackboard. They might even get lucky and capture a piece for America's Funniest Home Videos. All humor aside, the inefficiency of the generic teaching pattern is quite evident. Students should be able to minimize the pressure on them to produce sharp pencils, clean while paper, a quick writing hand, and the transcription abilities of a court secretary. In class, far too many students hectically scribble on reams of paper, without enough thought as to how relevant the material they are writing down is to the present discussion. Their mental energies are sapped from worrying that they might not be writing fast enough, every micro-second of the lecture wound up like a provoked cat, waiting to pounce on the slightest hint that something will be included on an exam. . The pace is quite feverish, and in extreme cases the classroom can resemble a turn of the century sweat shop. To compound the situation, lack of educational funding provides fewer teachers for
the job, at a time when enrollment was never so high. This mass-production of education becomes fast-food for thought. Although it may not be the best solution, I think an good alternative to this frenzy would be for students to be entitled to listen and participate actively in class, without any need of concern towards the pen and paper. At the end of the session, the instructor simply hands out printed sheets that summarize the material learned. If necessary, the sheets could easily be updated during the classroom session on a micro-computer and quickly printed out on a laser printer. This saves countless volumes of "notes," and burnt out pens and pencils, from being piled onto landfill sites at the end of each semester. Charts, diagrams, and pictures could easily be included on these summary notes. Writing cramps, squinting eyes, headaches, and back pain would additionally diminish. With regards to the teacher, he or she can utilize slide projectors or even computer projected displays, to replace the outdated blackboard. Chalk produces a threat to respiratory health, and puts additional strain on hand and arm. Most importantly, it lacks impact. Slides and projections are multi-colored, precise, clean, easily reusable year after year, and conveniently editable with the new hardware. A teacher can produce her own slides for an entire course in the span of an afternoon, certainly no more than a few well-spent hours, with a computer system costing under one and a half thousand dollars. There is simply no good reason why all these improvements cannot be accomplished immediately. The prices of micro-computer equipment are astonishingly low, and modern software is easily learned, shattering the myth that computers are expensive and hard to use. The only real obstacles that I find standing in the way of these kinds of educational improvement are fear of change, adherence to tradition, and outdated misconceptions about the technology. Awareness of memory and reading skills are also astonishingly low. Few students learn memory skills as a result of deliberate classroom instruction. The relatively few who are lucky enough to come across such training usually do so haphazardly, through introduction by friends or random accident. It is surprising that most universities offer free typing classes, yet neglect those for speed reading and advanced memory, the two most important skills in effective learning and comprehension. And yet, as the ignorance continues, information daily grows with every new discovery or insight by scientists and writers the world over. Thus far, our discussion may spark the imagination of conspiracy buffs, yet I think that the problems stem not so much from conscious effort, than as
byproducts of outdated beliefs and misunderstanding. In the July 1993 issue of Technology Review, Professor Seymour Papert wrote: Some contend that it is inappropriate to expect education to undergo the same kind of mega change that has affected many other fields - such as surgery. According to this argument, the latter is susceptible to change because it is an essentially technical act. But learning is a natural act, like eating. In other words, some people may demand technological uplifting of medicine or engineering, while allowing education the leeway of more "traditional" means of operation. Although, for instance, the computer may be seen as beneficial in certain respects to education, it is not seen as essential to the task of teaching. There is an acknowledgment of the value of the computer to some extent, but no real effort to actively incorporate it into the teaching process. Education has been myopic, fearful, and adamant. The situation is steeped in irony: An industry priding itself on teaching others what to do, fails to reassess its own situation objectively. It reminds me of people who have become so successful that they have forgotten that they first became that way because they listened to the valuable advice of others. Gradually, they succumb to arrogance and stagnation, and ultimately become withered and obsolete. Dewey sounded the horn. The educational revolution must continue. All new technologies, when first introduced, were praised and heralded in with similar proclamations. Electricity, for instance, was considered the bane of inequality, champion against all the tyranny that coal and the steam engine represented. Likewise, when the computer was invented, people expected it to magically enhance all life on earth, education being no exception. Many years later, people are now tired of hearing the same story, without seeing any real results. They may even now be waiting for the first glimmer of evidence that the computer can save them from their troubled lives. Yet any device, no matter how technically advanced or sophisticated, cannot automatically and autonomously spring up and announce the answer to the meaning of life. It is up to humans to properly apply the technology. New technologies cannot simply be inserted into convenient niches in the status quo, and left to mutate and evolve on their own. Advances must be deliberately made by reassessment of the total situation. Education has succumbed to the conservative and vacillating line. The computer has not been assimilated into the totality of the educational process, to aid the teaching of all subjects, but has been isolated, compartmentalized and hermetically sealed in its own niche, its own category: Computer Science. It is
valid for computers to deserve a topic all their own but the educational system orphans it neatly, safely, conservatively in another world. The absurdity of it all can only truly be appreciated when one considers how the world would be if the telephone was spirited away into a discipline called "telephone science" while the rest of humanity satisfied itself with the less risky methods of pigeons and smoke signals. (Parents would then be hard-pressed to keep their teenagers away from the aviary and fire pit!) Papert states that: ...a subversive instrument of change [the computer] was neutralized by the system and converted into an instrument of consolidation... The logic of the process was to bring the intruder back into line with School's ways [as tradition dictated]. The fear of change cripples education so that it ...does not have the capacity for local adaptation that is necessary to function and evolve in a changing environment. The benefits of computer-assisted learning are multitudinous. The most obvious advantage is a lightening of the load on the teacher. The educator should not become a walking and talking equivalent of the textbook or video presentation. The scribe became almost extinct after the invention of the printing press. Imagine how backward the world would be today, if those in the high towers of educational policy-making in the 15th century had isolated and discouraged the printing of books via Gutenberg's brainchild. Likewise, the classroom setting should delegate pure information presentation to the new mechanical instruments, to reduce the burden and tedium on the teacher. It is encouraging that in a few schools, teachers use computers equipped with cd-rom units that make available virtually the entire store of human knowledge to the student, as a miniaturized library. The teacher serves as the intelligent and human counterpart, the overseer, the guide, answering questions that the computer and textbook cannot, and engaging the students in creative discussion. The rest of education should take heed of these scattered oases of revolution. It cannot continue on its present path and still expect students and teachers to somehow cope with the increased need to learn and retain growing reservoirs of information. Technologies of accelerated-learning are generally regarded as nothing more than technical curiosities, reserved only for the peculiar few who dare take it upon themselves to make use of them. No wonder students and teachers alike show disappointment with the system. No wonder there is a loss of confidence.
While the textbook hails the theories of Charles Darwin and the marvelous progression of human achievements throughout history, the classroom itself has failed to sufficiently evolve.
The Paradigm of the Cyborg

More power to the people When this book was being edited, one of the more common complaints I received was that it was not comprehensive enough in its coverage of the various topics. There is much more, I was told, on memory skills, strategy, computers. But my intent was not to produce the de facto standard and last word on the subjects. This book is not a desktop encyclopedia. If I were to write completely about each of the various items in the table of contents, the work would span ten volumes, at least, and I would have long ago lost the interest of the aspiring reader. As it is, I have distilled the essence of the most powerful tools that a person can use, presenting them in a quick and concise format. This book contains all that a person needs to know to dynamically enhance her life. Immediately, and effectively. In addition, I do not believe that readers of this book would be so lacking in imagination and self-directedness that they must be spoon-fed an exhaustive set of actions that consider every single reader and angle. Nor can this be done by any book. Cyborg 101 simply provides the most important step: The start. Upon its foundation all else is built. This book is relevant in yet another way: The major complaint that students have towards school is that it is boring. More precisely, the student does not feel that school is worthwhile. By adopting the paradigm of the cyborg, a student can feel that school is exciting. One reason is that there is more apparent control over the academic situation. Many people play so-called war games, games that in themselves seem pointless, except for the fact that the players have the opportunity to use their mental skills in strategic and tactical decisions. Likewise, the student, when adopting the cyborg paradigm and treating school as an enormous war-game, will be able to see the complete situation holistically - and not be bogged down by the seemingly overwhelming number of assignments and classes - and appreciate the totality of the situation. As the war-game participants do, so the cybernetic students likewise enjoy "playing the game," shifted as it were from a point of view haphazardly created over the years as a passive recipient of the "slings and arrows of outrageous [scholastic] fortune," to one of mature and deliberate personal control and active - not passive - participation.
Tactical considerations such as memory and reading skills give the student the advantage of understanding that mundane skills necessary in top grade performance can be fun and painless. The banishment of the anguish normally associated with rote memorization and heavy reading therefore frees the student to enjoy the actual material being studied, much the same way that automation of text editing by the use of the computer word-processor frees the writer to concentrate on the material being written, rather than spending time on the drudgery of manual retyping and revising. The strategic concepts outlined in this book further empower the student to make good decisions with regards to his continuing academic progress. In a sense, by putting control back into the hands of the student, the emphasis is on individual responsibility, and unlike the imaginary student examples above, treat the educational experience as a two-fold phenomenon, releasing the burden of proof, so to speak, on the school system. The Classroom Crucible raises an interesting issue: "Teachers and students are ordinary." Therefore, if excellence cannot be found - generally speaking - in innate individual traits, excellence must come from the external tools and techniques utilized in the classroom. The knowledge of special techniques to assist the student in learning, such as those covered by Cyborg 101, transform the "ordinary" person into an exceptional one. Unfortunately, the usage of the word "exceptional" here implies that the empowered student is a relatively endangered creature. A better situation would be a world with the vast majority, if not all, students and teachers schooled in such techniques and tools. With better equipment to grasp the educational experience, more control can be wielded by the students and teachers not in an adversarial relationship against "the system" or each other, but control and power towards uplifting the quality of education. To summarize, here are the key advantages of the paradigm of the cyborg:
y Conscious
and deliberate participation into the experience of school over situational and environmental events
y Direct and self-initiated control y Holistic
perception of the schooling experience active cognitive awareness and problem-solving goal-setting feedback and coherent framework in which to operate
y Promotes
y Multi-term y Immediate
y Consolidatory

y Fun
In addition, the underlying principle behind the entire cyborg programme is that the search for truth in nature and life cannot be accomplished with an arbitrary fragmentation of the many avenues of human exploration. The humanities and the sciences are not mutually exclusive. Indeed, they are interdependent. The myriad of problems we have with the abuse or misuse of technological power today stand as sore monuments to this myopia. As such, learning in school cannot be a piecemeal event. The common practice of student segmentation and compartmentalization is a self-fulfilling prophecy. As will all true learners ultimately understand, life and truth can only be thoroughly known and appreciated through a holistic and multi-disciplinary approach. In the final analysis, the cyborg teaches us that what may be lacking in a certain system of function must be improvised and compensated for through our own extra-system initiatives. Only in this manner can we supersede the arbitrary limitations of the structure, and reestablish control.
Psychological Theory in the Cyborg Paradigm

A Brief Look The capacity of control, above all, prevents learned helplessness, a psychological term coined by Martin Seligman during his experiments with animals and electric shock. Ethical considerations notwithstanding - as is unfortunately the case with many a research project in the name of scientific pursuit - dogs which were taught to avoid an electric shock would, when placed in a situation where shock was imminent and unavoidable, soon become apathetic and learn to become "helpless" - in a sense, become a passive recipient of whatever experience comes along. Interestingly enough, one major effect of learned helplessness is retardation of learning. The animal (or student) has "learned" that consequences cannot be altered by individual action, and therefore becomes apathetic. Even when control is relinquished back to the individual, this mind-set has become so solidly crystallized, that it takes considerable effort and time to unlearn this paradigm, and realise that outcomes can be controlled by active action. Thus, the student who has "learned" that there is no relationship between his grades and his effort will diminish active participation in schoolwork until he is considered "lazy" by teachers and parents.
The cyborg paradigm empowers the student by demonstrating that control can be accomplished and maintained, on a personal level, and that the individual is not at a hopeless and helpless disadvantage compared to the relative enormity of an entity called the "educational system." Many people think of the "system" indeed, any system - as a disembodied entity, to be treated with faith as if it were a divine spirit, and embrace whatever outcomes that fate and this entity would throw at them. Such is the common faulty and subconscious perception of students (and their parents) towards school. Thus also, the continued emphasis on changing the "system." The psychologist Edward L. Deci proposed the model of extrinsic/intrinsic motivation - as mentioned in the opening chapter - along with the closely related concepts of competence and personal causation. Simply put, he suggested that people not only needed to feel that they have control over their environment, but also needed to feel competent about that control. Humans are born not only with the capacity to learn, but also the aspiration to overcome challenges. This is the biological drive that helped humans push their limits throughout history, and enabled them to start with the wooden wheel and end up landing on the moon. The application of military strategy towards school in a paradigm of an enormous war-game allows the student to relish each and every success, no matter how seemingly trivial, as a good "move" in this game of chess. Intrinsic motivation seeks to optimize stimulation, and bored students will find that they not only will do more, but will seek also to conquer challenges. In this manner, they will feel both competent and in control, and maximize the conditions of intrinsic motivation. The zeal that students are capable of in school is demonstrated by their "industriousness and eagerness that school seldom generates, in learning the rules and strategies of video games that appeared much more demanding than any homework assignment."1 Cyborg 101hopes to inject this same zeal into the student's attitude towards school. There is much that can be further discussed, but again, such material is beyond the scope and purpose of this appendix. It serves only as a cursory overview of the academic situation, and how this book fits into the scheme of things .(The sources listed at the end of this work include several books on motivational psychology).
The Future of Education - Plotting a Trajectory

How things are and how they might turn out to be At present, the educational system as a whole is somewhat akin to a factory set-up. The analogy of students as workers, albeit far-fetched, is not entirely without ground. There are several key points that the system, perhaps subconsciously, emphasizes and none of them desirable: requirement of student submissiveness, regardless of the actual merit of the material being taught.
yA yA yA
marked emphasis on rote memory and rote learning.
suppression of creativity and disagreement in favor of authoritative (and final) knowledge. These key points were summarized in a paper entitled Muckraking the Educational System.2 Although that paper was written in 1977, there seems to be relatively little progress made in changing those key problems. Granted, for the past couple of decades, there has been an awareness of the passive nature of the system, and more time has been spent on in-class discussions, for example, the fact remains that these twenty odd years has not seen a dramatic shift. Tradition again, clamped a lid on budding transformations. To recap, there has to be a reliance, and faith, on advanced technologies in the learning situation. Innovations such as computers and telecommunications applied to education will have a profound effect on the evolution of academic endeavours.3 Flexibility seems to be the key. By removing the constraints of time and space, students would be able to learn whenever and wherever they want, without having their emotional preferences and desires forced and beaten into submission, to learn when they least want to, governed by an abstract schedule and the whim of an arbitrary "educational system." Finally, I wish to quote yet again Professor Papert: What can be seen today is certainly an intimidation of what will come, but only in the way the Wright Flyer [the first aircraft by the Wright brothers] prefigured jet transportation. Reading the significance of the Wright brothers first flights required an effort of imagination to grasp the principles they embodied and the social and technological evolution they would seed. The seed of the future, the continued evolution of education towards more knowledge with less pain, depends first on revolution.
And revolution requires, above all else, courage. Angus T.K. Wong Written circa 1993.
The Warrior's Guide to the Blackboard Jungle. Online book by Angus T.K. Wong.
With the recent release of Terminator 3, we went back in time to retrieve this cult classic by Angus Wong. Unfortunately his original site has vanished. Some of the information is dated, but overall it stands as an inspiring journal of an intrepid explorer. It is too unique to let fade into the pixel dust of cyberhistory so we've reproduced what we could, without modification; all rights are retained by Angus.
Extracted from the WAYBACK MACHINE by SYNNER90

Cyborg 101

Uploaded by

Document Information

Copyright

Available Formats

Share this document

Share or Embed Document

Sharing Options

Did you find this document useful?

Is this content inappropriate?

Copyright:

Available Formats

Cyborg 101

Uploaded by

Copyright:

Available Formats

CYBORG 101

The Warrior's Guide to the Blackboard Jungle

2 Cyborg 101: Warriors Guide to the Blackboard Jungle

3 Cyborg 101: Warriors Guide to the Blackboard Jungle

Why is it published on the Internet?

4 Cyborg 101: Warriors Guide to the Blackboard Jungle

5 Cyborg 101: Warriors Guide to the Blackboard Jungle

About This Book

6 Cyborg 101: Warriors Guide to the Blackboard Jungle

7 Cyborg 101: Warriors Guide to the Blackboard Jungle

8 Cyborg 101: Warriors Guide to the Blackboard Jungle

Judgment Day: 1989 A.D.

9 Cyborg 101: Warriors Guide to the Blackboard Jungle

10 Cyborg 101: Warriors Guide to the Blackboard Jungle

Preliminary Reconnaissance - What's the Secret?

11 Cyborg 101: Warriors Guide to the Blackboard Jungle

Passion - The Critical Difference

12 Cyborg 101: Warriors Guide to the Blackboard Jungle

The Binary System - Intrinsic / Extrinsic Motivation

13 Cyborg 101: Warriors Guide to the Blackboard Jungle

14 Cyborg 101: Warriors Guide to the Blackboard Jungle

Paradigms - Changing the World View

15 Cyborg 101: Warriors Guide to the Blackboard Jungle

16 Cyborg 101: Warriors Guide to the Blackboard Jungle

17 Cyborg 101: Warriors Guide to the Blackboard Jungle

18 Cyborg 101: Warriors Guide to the Blackboard Jungle

19 Cyborg 101: Warriors Guide to the Blackboard Jungle

Preliminary Mission Briefing

20 Cyborg 101: Warriors Guide to the Blackboard Jungle

21 Cyborg 101: Warriors Guide to the Blackboard Jungle

Pre-Emptive Strike - Activity / Passivity

22 Cyborg 101: Warriors Guide to the Blackboard Jungle

The Art Of War - Taking Command

Maximum Overkill - MaxOK

23 Cyborg 101: Warriors Guide to the Blackboard Jungle

24 Cyborg 101: Warriors Guide to the Blackboard Jungle

25 Cyborg 101: Warriors Guide to the Blackboard Jungle

Synergy - Multiple Weaponry

26 Cyborg 101: Warriors Guide to the Blackboard Jungle

Concentration Of Power - Advantages of Focus

27 Cyborg 101: Warriors Guide to the Blackboard Jungle

Time Warp - Failures and Regrets in Life

28 Cyborg 101: Warriors Guide to the Blackboard Jungle

29 Cyborg 101: Warriors Guide to the Blackboard Jungle

30 Cyborg 101: Warriors Guide to the Blackboard Jungle

31 Cyborg 101: Warriors Guide to the Blackboard Jungle

Total Recall - The Ultimate Weapon

32 Cyborg 101: Warriors Guide to the Blackboard Jungle

Sequential Access - The Basic Technique

33 Cyborg 101: Warriors Guide to the Blackboard Jungle

34 Cyborg 101: Warriors Guide to the Blackboard Jungle

Random Access - The Peg System

35 Cyborg 101: Warriors Guide to the Blackboard Jungle

36 Cyborg 101: Warriors Guide to the Blackboard Jungle

37 Cyborg 101: Warriors Guide to the Blackboard Jungle

38 Cyborg 101: Warriors Guide to the Blackboard Jungle

Advanced Sequential Access - Putting Sonic Boom into Presentations

is an ionized gas - i.e., a gas with an electrical charge.

rifles look cool on cyborgs.

39 Cyborg 101: Warriors Guide to the Blackboard Jungle

40 Cyborg 101: Warriors Guide to the Blackboard Jungle

High-Resolution Graphical InterFACE - The Key to Personal Rapport

41 Cyborg 101: Warriors Guide to the Blackboard Jungle

Mental Fax Machines - Streamlining Your Studying