science

Simon Iff

Simon Iff is a science topic covered in the lgStudy science library. This page brings together a partial reference excerpt, illustrations, worked examples, real-world applications and a short study plan, so you can understand Simon Iff rather than just read about it. In short: Simon Iff is the protagonist of a series of short detective stories written by occultist Aleister Crowley. He is portrayed as a mystic, magician, world traveller, high society figure and great detective who is advanced in years but possesses a thorough insight into human psychology.

Key takeaways

Simon Iff belongs to science; place it in that map before memorising details.
Learn the definition first, then one example that makes the definition concrete.
Connect Simon Iff to a quantity you can measure, compute or draw — that is where exam questions come from.
Reproduce the core statement of Simon Iff from memory before moving on to harder problems.

Reference excerpt

Simon Iff is the protagonist of a series of short detective stories written by occultist Aleister Crowley. He is portrayed as a mystic, magician, world traveller, high society figure and great detective who is advanced in years but possesses a thorough insight into human psychology. According to publisher, editor and Crowley scholar William Breeze, the character is based on Crowley's idealised self-image of his own old age. The stories typically revolve around an apparently unsolvable crime, which is eventually untangled by Iff's magical and psychological logic. Crowley explained the method of crafting a Simon Iff story in simple terms:

Think of a situation as inexplicable as possible, then to stop up all the chinks with putty, and having satisfied myself that no explanation was possible, to make a further effort and find one.

Publication history The Simon Iff stories were written during a visit to New Orleans in December 1916, primarily as a means of alleviating Crowley's financial hardships. The mystic was verging on bankruptcy, a result of his lifestyle, and extravagant self-publishing, while having never earned a wage. The initial collection of six stories which Crowley penned would be labelled The Scrutinies of Simon Iff. Crowley would later write twelve more stories under the title Simon Iff in America, six stories as Simon Iff Abroad, and two final stories as Simon Iff Psychoanalyst. The Scrutinies of Simon Iff were first published in 1917–1918 in the New York publication The International under the pseudonym Edward Kelly (presumably a nod to Edward Kelley, the Elizabethan alchemist and enochian magician). There is an edition of The Scrutinies of Simon Iff published by Teitan Press; while a 2012 Wordsworth Editions release under their "Tales of Mystery & the Supernatural" line, contains the complete works. Simon Iff also appears in Crowley's most widely read novel Moonchild (1929).

References

Worked examples

Example 1 — a first encounter with Simon Iff

Start with the simplest possible case. Write down what Simon Iff claims or describes in one sentence, then invent the smallest concrete situation in which that sentence is true. In science, the smallest case is usually a single object, a single equation or a single measurement. Check that every symbol or term in your sentence has a meaning in that case.

Example 2 — changing one variable

Take the situation from Example 1 and change exactly one quantity: double it, halve it, or set it to zero. Predict what should happen to Simon Iff before you calculate. Comparing your prediction with the result is the fastest way to find out whether you understand the idea or only the words.

Example 3 — an exam-style question

Typical questions about Simon Iff ask you to (a) state it precisely, (b) apply it to given data, and (c) explain a limitation. Practise writing all three answers in under five minutes; the third part is what separates a full-mark answer from an average one.

Applications of Simon Iff

In research: Simon Iff appears in science research whenever the underlying quantities have to be modelled precisely. Papers usually cite it as a starting assumption and then explore where it breaks down.
In technology and industry: Engineering practice reuses Simon Iff in design rules, simulations and safety margins. Knowing the idea lets you read a specification sheet and understand why the numbers look the way they do.
In the classroom: Simon Iff is common in secondary-school and first-year university syllabi. It links to neighbouring topics Author surrogates, Characters in 20th-century British novels, Characters in fantasy literature, so understanding it makes those chapters shorter.
In everyday life: Look for Simon Iff outside the textbook — in sport, cooking, traffic, electronics or the sky above you. An example you found yourself is remembered far longer than one you were given.

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How to study Simon Iff in 20 minutes

Read the reference excerpt below once, without taking notes.
Close the page and write down what Simon Iff means in your own words.
Compare your version with the excerpt and mark what you missed.
Work through the three examples above with pen and paper.
Explain Simon Iff out loud to somebody else — or to Teacher Smith in the lgStudy chat.

Frequently asked questions

What is Simon Iff in simple terms?

Why does Simon Iff matter?

Because it connects several science ideas at once: it gives you a definition you can apply, a quantity you can calculate, and a way to check whether a result is plausible.

How should I study Simon Iff?

Read the excerpt, restate it from memory, then work through the examples and applications listed on this page. The five-step study plan above takes about twenty minutes.

What does this page cover?

It gives you a compact reference excerpt plus original lgStudy explanations, examples, applications and study material on Simon Iff.