Magic Character Research Articles

Event and Chance in Pavel Bazhov’s Tales

This article aims at revealing the interrelation between event and chance in the plots of tales by Pavel Petrovich Bazhov, a famous Ural writer. Yuri Lotman defined an event in a text as “the shifting of a persona across the borders of a semantic field”, which constitutes an irreversible change in the baseline situation. Chance is distinguished from an event by its abruptness; it is an intrusion of the unexpected into our life, a disturbance of the daily routine and logic, certain excess. However, even A. S. Pushkin noted that chance is sometimes a “tool of Providence”. In Bazhov’s tales, one can find both chance and event which condition the genre setup of the tales which in their turn may correspond to myth texts or those defined by Lotman as peripheral, i.e. novelistic. In Bazhov’s prose, chance usually leads to an event whose starting point, as well as centre, is an encounter ; an encounter brings about an event. In tales about craftsmen, such an event is manifested by an encounter of a man with the Mistress of the Copper Mountain. These tales should be classified as myth texts: in them, the basic conflicts of the mythical world unfold and the type of relations between a mysterious force and man is formed. In the other tales, encounters between the persona and the mysterious force are more accidental in nature, and the tales themselves tilt towards one of the two genre-narrative models: either a novelette or a purely epic, even historical, narrative (short story, novella). Novelette tales are Tayutka’s Mirror , The Fire-Fairy , The Blue Snake , Sinyushka’s Well , and Silver Hoof , where personas encounter magical characters of a lesser rank than the Mistress of the Copper Mountain. Epic-like tales are The Cat’s Ears , The Grass Hideaway , Dikes of Gold , Yermak’s Swans , Beloved Name . Thus, throughout the whole collection of his tales, Bazhov built a peculiar compromise between myth, history, and eternity inhabited by the Mistress and other fairytale creatures, and the brief span of human life, between fiction (and belief in it) and mundanity.

ОБ ОДНОЙ ИНТЕРКУЛЬТУРНОЙ ПАРАЛЛЕЛИ В ПОНИМАНИИ ПРИРОДЫ ЯЗЫКА: ГУМБОЛЬДТ, ЭМЕРСОН, БХАРТРИХАРИ

The aim of the study was to reveal the cause of the noteworthy resemblance between Wilhelm von Humboldt’s view of the nature of language, the conception of poetry in American Romanticism, and the philosophy of language in early Vedānta (Bhartṛhari, 5th century AD) that demonstrates a non-accidental affinity of the views on the associations of language and poetry between Indian and Western cultures. Five tasks were set for solving the problem: (1) to reveal the basic principles of Humboldt’s conception of language; (2) to explicate the basic traits of Ralf Emerson’s views on the nature of poetry; (3) to discover their common source; (4) to reveal the fundamental principles of Bhartṛhari’s conception of language; (5) to define the common cultural basis of these conceptions. The study was based on the works by Humboldt, Emerson, Plato, on Bhartṛhari’s treatise Vākyapadīya, and on modern works on shamanism. The principal methods of the study were: (1) a hermeneutic method, presupposing that any term of a philosophical treatise is treated as an integral part of the conception explicated; (2) a comparative historical method based on the analysis of the context where a phenomenon of culture took place; and (3) a comparative philosophical method based on the explication and definition of fundamental concepts of theories in comparison, their origin, place of each concept in its system, and function of each system in the general cultural context. Humboldt treated language as a product of a human need for a semantic organization of the world. Language in his philosophy is a primary manifestation of Volksgeist (people’s spirit) generating firstly the language specific for it, and the language forms the basis for any other aspects of culture. Emerson’s Over-Soul also reveals itself as an inner need that must be verbalized to become conscious. Self-reliance is necessary for human to hear the inner voice of Over-Soul. The poet for Emerson is a person whose inner hearing is more acute than that of other people, and this allows him to hear the voice of Over-Soul more clearly and transform it to words that can be apprehended by common people. The poet in his creative activity can perform only the inspirations of Over-Soul. Both these theories go back to Ancient Greece with its peculiar interpretation of poetic works as induced not by the will of a poet himself, but by a supernatural power. Similar ideas were elaborated in ancient Indian philosophy. According to Bhartṛhari, Brahman is an eternal Sacred Speech that creates the world. Any real language is a partial and scanty form of this Sacred Speech audible only for prophets (ṛṣi) having a “supernatural ear” (divya-śrotra). The conclusion of the study is that Humboldt’s and Emerson’s conceptions go back to Ancient Greek view of poetry as inspired by a supernatural power that cannot be controlled consciously, and this view, together with Bhartṛhari’s theory, has roots in the idea of the magical character of poetry, peculiar to ancient cultures.

Magical Thinking: Conversation with Geoffrey Batchen

His long-standing interest in the history of early photography makes Geoffrey Batchen the appropriate speaker to discuss the question of photographic magic. Therefore, our conversation oscillates between magic and realism, but also other antonyms within the medium: negative and positive, analogue and digital. Taking in consideration all these oppositional notions, Batchen suggests that theoreticians “need to acknowledge and embrace photography’s abstractions and contradictions”. Different contradictions within photography’s theory and history became pivotal in our conversation. We also discussed the indexicality of digital images. According to Batchen, the negative/positive system of traditional photography can be compared with the binary code of digital images, which “is therefore based on the same oppositional logic, the same interplay of one and its other, that generated the analogue photograph.” Moreover, digitality does not eliminate the magic character of the contemporary photographs; in this context, Batchen mentions the capacity of instant transmission of snapshots from one place of Earth to another. In conclusion, Batchen reveals some details of his upcoming book Negative/Positive: A History of Photography. Keywords: magic, indexicality, negative, digital, Barthes

The Legend of St. Sisynnios in Ethiopian Charms: Interconnection with His Life

AbstractThe legend of St. Sisynnios has been widespread in both Christian and popular Ethiopian tradition up to the present time. It exists in the form of written texts in the Ge’ez language, inserted in so-called magic scrolls among other closely connected texts of both magical and religious character. These scrolls have a protective function, and St. Sisynnios is venerated by the Ethiopian Church. There are two versions of his life. The shorter one comprises part of the Synaxarion whilethe longer one is included in a corpus of hagiographical compilations entitled “The Lives of the Martyrs”. Both of these were translated from the Arabic prototype, borrowed from the mother Coptic Church of Alexandria. There is a notable interconnection between the legend in the amulets and the religious texts. It is unknown whether the text of the legend once existed in form of verbal charm or not. In any case, different elements of the saint’s life passed to the legend. Some have remained unchanged while others have undergone transformations or lost some elements. It is important to study different elements of the legend using the examples conserved in the available manuscript scrolls. Analysis of these interconnections and the evolution of the text constitutes the basis of the present research.

Shell evolution of N = 40 isotones towards 60Ca: First spectroscopy of 62Ti

Excited states in the N=40 isotone 62Ti were populated via the 63V(p,2p)62Ti reaction at ∼200 MeV/nucleon at the Radioactive Isotope Beam Factory and studied using γ-ray spectroscopy. The energies of the 21+→0gs+ and 41+→21+ transitions, observed here for the first time, indicate a deformed 62Ti ground state. These energies are increased compared to the neighboring 64Cr and 66Fe isotones, suggesting a small decrease of quadrupole collectivity. The present measurement is well reproduced by large-scale shell-model calculations based on effective interactions, while ab initio and beyond mean-field calculations do not yet reproduce our findings. The shell-model calculations for 62Ti show a dominant configuration with four neutrons excited across the N=40 gap. Likewise, they indicate that the N=40 island of inversion extends down to Z=20, disfavoring a possible doubly magic character of the elusive 60Ca.

Search for exotic features in the ground state light nuclei with 10 ≤Z ≤ 18 from stable valley to drip lines

We present a systematic description of the exotic features in the ground states of light nuclei from the stable valley to the drip lines. A study with the even and odd isotopes of Ne, Mg, Si, S and Ar has been performed using theoretical formalisms (i) Relativistic mean-field plus state-dependent BCS approach and (ii) Macroscopic–Microscopic (MM) approach using the triaxially deformed Nilsson–Strutinsky Method. The computed binding energies and one- and two-neutron separation energies using both the theories show magic character of [Formula: see text] and 40. The neutron and proton radii and the neutron densities show a well-developed neutron skin in the neutron-rich isotopes. The exotic phenomena such as weakly bound structures and the central density depletion characterized as bubble effect are explored. Our calculations for the single particle levels, density profiles and the charge form factors indicate bubble-like structures. Few new candidates of bubble nuclei are identified. Most of the nuclei in this region are found deformed with mostly prolate shape and few triaxial shapes while many nuclei exhibit the phenomenon of shape coexistence. Our results display a reasonable agreement between both the theories and the available experimental data.

Excitations of the magic N=50 neutron-core revealed in Ga81

The high-spin states of the neutron-rich Ga81, with three valence protons outside a Ni78 core, were measured. The measurement involved prompt γ-ray spectroscopy of fission fragments isotopically identified using the combination of the variable mode spectrometer (VAMOS++) and the advanced gamma tracking array (AGATA). The new γ-ray transitions, observed in coincidence with Ga81 ions, and the corresponding level scheme do not confirm the high-spin levels reported earlier. The newly observed high-spin states in Ga81 are interpreted using the results of state-of-the-art large-scale shell model (LSSM) calculations. The lower excitation energy levels are understood as resulting from the recoupling of three valence protons to the closed doubly magic core, while the highest excitation energy levels correspond to excitations of the magic N=50 neutron core. These results support the doubly magic character of Ni78 and the persistence of the N=50 shell closure but also highlight the presence of strong proton-neutron correlations associated with the promotion of neutrons across the magic N=50 shell gap, only few nucleons away from Ni78.Received 11 January 2019Revised 30 April 2019DOI:https://doi.org/10.1103/PhysRevC.100.011301©2019 American Physical SocietyPhysics Subject Headings (PhySH)Research AreasEnergy levels & level densitiesNuclear structure & decaysRare & new isotopesProperties59 ≤ A ≤ 89TechniquesGamma ray spectroscopyShell modelSpectrometers & spectroscopic techniquesNuclear Physics

The Real in the Magic: A Study of Magic Realism in Salman Rushdie’s Haroun and the Sea of Stories (1990)

While many studies have focused on Salman Rushdie’s use of magic realism in his highly-acclaimed novels, the way it is employed in his children’s fiction remains understudied. This paper, hence, attempts to fill in this gap by applying Anne Hegerfeldt’s (2005)’s theoretical framework on magic realism onto its reading of Salman Rushdie’s Haroun and the Sea of Stories (1990). This framework relies on five techniques or features namely: a realist mode of writing to describe fantastic events and characters; a marginalized focaliser; subverted scientific and historical discourses; a supernatural reality; and, finally, a literal manifestation of a figurative expression. This paper also suggests that Rushdie employs magic realism to undermine the realist narrative mode as well as scientific and historical discourses in order to present an alternative worldview that places narrative knowledge, gathered from stories with magical characters and events, as a legitimate source of knowledge regarding the world.

Description of nuclei with magic number Z (N) = 6

Encouraged by the evidence for Z = 6 magic number in neutron-rich carbon isotopes, we have performed relativistic mean-field plus BCS calculations to investigate ground state properties of entire chains of isotopes (isotones) with Z (N) = 6 including even and odd mass nuclei. Our calculations include deformation, binding energy, separation energy, single particle energy, root mean squared radii, along with charge and neutron density profile, etc., and are found to be an excellent match with latest experimental results demonstrating Z = 6 as a strong magic number. N = 6 is also found to have a similar kind of strong magic character.

Specificity and functions of a dance as a component of syncretic “mousikē” art of the Ancient world

Specificity and functions of a dance as a component of syncretic “mousikē” art of the Ancient world

Persistence of magicity in neutron-rich exotic 78Ni in ground as well as excited states

Recent experimental observation of magicity in [Formula: see text]Ni has infused the interest to examine the persistence of the magic character across the [Formula: see text] shell gap in extremely neutron-rich exotic nucleus [Formula: see text]Ni in ground as well as excited states. A systematic study of Ni isotopes and [Formula: see text] isotones in ground state is performed within the microscopic framework of relativistic mean-field (RMF) theory and the triaxially deformed Nilsson–Strutinsky model (NSM). Ground state density distributions, charge form factors, radii, separation energies, pairing energies, single-particle energies and the shell corrections show strong magicity in [Formula: see text]Ni. Excited nuclei are treated within the statistical theory of hot rotating nuclei where the variations of level density parameter and entropy show significant magicity with a deep minima at [Formula: see text], which persists up to the temperatures [Formula: see text]1.5–2[Formula: see text]MeV and then slowly disappears with increasing temperature. Rotational states are evaluated and effect of rotation on [Formula: see text] ([Formula: see text]) isotones are studied. Our results agree very well with the available experimental data and few other theoretical calculations.

An Octatonic History of Prokofiev’s Compositional Oeuvre

The article examines Prokofiev’s compositional oeuvre through the lens of the Rimsky-Korsakov scale (octatonic collection) and its prominence in selected works from 1915 through 1941. Although he never took a composition lesson with Rimsky-Korsakov, Prokofiev’s careful use of the collection shows his intimate knowledge of the scale. The article seeks to add a understanding of the development of the Rimsky-Korsakov scale within Russian theoretical thought. A survey of short octatonic sections culminates in the analysis of Sonata no. 6, which not only uses the same octatonic collection to characterize the themes of first and last movements, but also features a scalar version of the octatonic collection at the very climax of the last movement. This event further enhances the importance of the scale and takes on a dramatic role from its initial association with magical characters in Rimsky-Korsakov’s music to depicting the despicable woes of the Great Patriotic War in Prokofiev’s music.

Theoretical predictions for α -decay chains of Og118290−298 isotopes using a finite-range nucleon-nucleon interaction

The $\ensuremath{\alpha}$-decay half-lives of the recently synthesized superheavy nuclei (SHN) are investigated by employing the density dependent cluster model. A realistic nucleon-nucleon ($\mathit{NN}$) interaction with a finite-range exchange part is used to calculate the microscopic $\ensuremath{\alpha}$-nucleus potential in the well-established double-folding model. The calculated potential is then implemented to find both the assault frequency and the penetration probability of the $\ensuremath{\alpha}$ particle by means of the Wentzel-Kramers-Brillouin (WKB) approximation in combination with the Bohr-Sommerfeld quantization condition. The calculated values of $\ensuremath{\alpha}$-decay half-lives of the recently synthesized Og isotopes and its decay products are in good agreement with the experimental data. Moreover, the calculated values of $\ensuremath{\alpha}$-decay half-lives have been compared with those values evaluated using other theoretical models, and it was found that our theoretical values match well with their counterparts. The competition between $\ensuremath{\alpha}$ decay and spontaneous fission is investigated and predictions for possible decay modes for the unknown nuclei $_{\phantom{\rule{0.16em}{0ex}}\phantom{\rule{0.16em}{0ex}}\phantom{\rule{0.16em}{0ex}}\phantom{\rule{0.16em}{0ex}}\phantom{\rule{0.16em}{0ex}}\phantom{\rule{0.16em}{0ex}}\phantom{\rule{1em}{0ex}}118}^{290\ensuremath{-}298}\mathrm{Og}$ are presented. We studied the behavior of the $\ensuremath{\alpha}$-decay half-lives of Og isotopes and their decay products as a function of the mass number of the parent nuclei. We found that the behavior of the curves is governed by proton and neutron magic numbers found from previous studies. The proton numbers $Z=114$, 116, 108, 106 and the neutron numbers $N=172$, 164, 162, 158 show some magic character. We hope that the theoretical prediction of $\ensuremath{\alpha}$-decay chains provides a new perspective to experimentalists.

Serial Nuns: Michelle Williams Gamaker’s <em>The Fruit Is There to Be Eaten</em> as Serial and Trans-Serial

Serial Nuns: Michelle Williams Gamaker’s <em>The Fruit Is There to Be Eaten</em> as Serial and Trans-Serial

Persistence of the Z=28 Shell Gap Around ^{78}Ni: First Spectroscopy of ^{79}Cu.

In-beam γ-ray spectroscopy of ^{79}Cu is performed at the Radioactive Isotope Beam Factory of RIKEN. The nucleus of interest is produced through proton knockout from a ^{80}Zn beam at 270 MeV/nucleon. The level scheme up to 4.6MeV is established for the first time and the results are compared to MonteCarlo shell-model calculations. We do not observe significant knockout feeding to the excited states below 2.2MeV, which indicates that the Z=28 gap at N=50 remains large. The results show that the ^{79}Cu nucleus can be described in terms of a valence proton outside a ^{78}Ni core, implying the magic character of the latter.

Binding Energy of ^{79}Cu: Probing the Structure of the Doubly Magic ^{78}Ni from Only One Proton Away.

The masses of the neutron-rich copper isotopes ^{75-79}Cu are determined using the precision mass spectrometer ISOLTRAP at the CERN-ISOLDE facility. The trend from the new data differs significantly from that of previous results, offering a first accurate view of the mass surface adjacent to the Z=28, N=50 nuclide ^{78}Ni and supporting a doubly magic character. The new masses compare very well with large-scale shell-model calculations that predict shape coexistence in a doubly magic ^{78}Ni and a new island of inversion for Z<28. A coherent picture of this important exotic region begins to emerge where excitations across Z=28 and N=50 form a delicate equilibrium with a spherical mean field.

Behaviour of the pf shell under the RMF+BCS description

We have employed the RMF+BCS (relativistic mean-field plus BCS) approach to study the behaviour of the pf shell with the help of the ground state properties of even-even nuclei. Our present investigations include the single particle energies, the deformations, the separation energies as well as the pairing energies, etc. As per recent experiments showing neutron magicity at N = 32 for Ca isotopes, our results with mass dependent pairing indicate a shell closure at N = 32 in Ca isotopes and a more strong shell closure at N = 34 in proton deficient 48Si because of reorganization of the neutron pf shell. In a similar manner, the proton pf shell structure is more likely to produce shell closure at Z = 34 with a doubly magic character for 84,116Se. We have also included N = 40 isotones and Z = 40 isotopes in our study and predicted 60Ca and 68Ni as doubly magic nuclei out of which 60Ca is found near the drip-line of Ca and is a potential candidate for future studies in the chain of Ca isotopes next to doubly magic 52Ca.

Van den Broek, Roelof. Gnostic Religion in Antiquity. Cambridge: Cambridge University Press, 2013. ix+255 pp. $99.99 (cloth); $32.99 (paper).

Van den Broek, Roelof. <i>Gnostic Religion in Antiquity</i>. Cambridge: Cambridge University Press, 2013. ix+255 pp. $99.99 (cloth); $32.99 (paper).

Ho! Ho! Who? Parent promotion of belief in and live encounters with Santa Claus

There is a long enduring lay notion that children must be taught the difference between fiction and reality. Yet, cultural fictional characters such as Santa Claus and the Tooth Fairy are widely promoted as real. With Santa Claus, children are faced with an additional conundrum: multiple live versions of Santa Claus seen at malls, museums and parades. In two studies we investigate how and when children come to understand this live version of a fictional, magical character. In both studies, we find parents are highly promoting of the live Santa as real, regardless of child age. In Study 1, we find the more live Santas children are exposed to, the more they believe a live Santa is the real Santa. In Study 2, we find the more parents promote Santa Claus, the less likely children are to question who live Santa is. Taken together, findings indicate parental promotion of Santa does not change much with age, and that amount of Santa promotion is negatively associated with understanding this live version of a fictional character.

Magic in the Cloister: Pious Motives, Illicit Interests, and Occult Approaches to the Medieval Universe by Sophie Page (review)

Reviewed by: Magic in the Cloister: Pious Motives, Illicit Interests, and Occult Approaches to the Medieval Universe by Sophie Page Kathleen Kamerick KEYWORDS Kathleen Kamerick, Sophie Page, medieval magic, Christian magic, Magic in History, Abbey of St. Augustine, monastic magic Sophie Page. Magic in the Cloister: Pious Motives, Illicit Interests, and Occult Approaches to the Medieval Universe. University Park, Pennsylvania: Penn State University Press, 2013. Pp. xi + 232. The late medieval library of the wealthy Benedictine abbey of St. Augustine in Canterbury contained an extraordinary collection of books, one of the largest in England. Its almost two thousand volumes included at least thirty texts that can be called magical. In this library an occult work might occupy its own volume, or form one part of a volume that contained other less problematical genres. Some of this magical literature entered the library through donations from monks: so, for example, one William de Clara brought with him fourteen volumes of scientific works and also the extraordinary Liber de quindecim stellis that explains how to channel the influence of the stars into talismans. A subprior owned three lapidaries describing the occult powers of stones, and another monk endowed the library with texts on geomancy and astrology. The monk known as John of London donated eighty-five volumes that included texts on a wide array of occult practices, including the Ars Notoria, image magic texts, astrology, and many more. St. Augustine’s library clearly distinguished itself by its size, richness, and, as Sophie Page demonstrates, its stunning evidence for the tolerance and even encouragement of the study of magic in a period when magic faced increasing hostility and outright condemnations. Page investigates several issues that this remarkable library presents, among the most crucial being the conditions that allowed these magical texts to become part of monastic life. The monks clearly realized that studying certain works of magic—including some they owned—could be dangerous. She offers several possibilities for understanding the presence of these works in their library, first suggesting that the monks might see their vocation as a protective cloak against magic’s dangers. More surprising is her finding that creative cataloguing in the monastic library created a safe haven for some occult works by shelving them in sections with more orthodox volumes. In addition, certain forms of magic fell through holes in the nets of condemnation issuing from Paris and elsewhere. Magical texts in Arabic, Greek, and [End Page 251] Hebrew, for instance, offered new “knowledge and useful practical arts” (30). Chapter 2 shows how natural magic, as part of the larger study of natural science, found acceptance even as the clouds of suspicion gathered. Page’s detailed study of the contents of certain manuscripts in St. Augustine’s library reveals, for instance, that material on the magical uses of animal parts or instructions for creating marvels can be found alongside subjects like surgery. Four chapters take up specific texts to show how monastic study and devotions could accommodate their magical contents. Chapter 3 examines the Liber Vaccae, translated from a ninth-century Arabic text and bursting with experiments for the magical practitioner to try his hand at. The St. August-ine’s copy was paired with a safer text, the Latin translation of Ibn al-Jazzar’s Kitab al-khawass called De proprietatibus, an immediate context that Page believes allowed readers to see the Liber Vaccae in the “safe context of natural magic” (54) even though it gave instructions for creating rational animals from organic matter. The Liber Vaccae clearly challenged orthodoxy and was widely condemned; its transgressions led to the removal of certain parts in the St. Augustine’s copy, but even so its presence in the library seems daring. In Chapter 4 Page focuses on image magic, deftly examining its various strains in popular and learned traditions. Writings on image magic comprised a distinctive genre among the magical works in St. Augustine’s library, with sixteen separate texts and many more copies and excerpts. Despite fears of idolatry and concerns voiced by thinkers like Thomas Aquinas that magical characters were part of a demonic pact, Page clearly shows how monastic readers could interpret image magic within a Christian context...