Christie, Agatha, Elephants Can Remember, Bantam Books 1984 'A Classic example of the ingenious three-card trick she has been playing on us for so many years.' Sunday Express 
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Feferman, Anita Burdman, and Solomon Feferman, Alfred Tarski: Life and Logic, Cambridge University Press 2004 Review "A chain smoker, a heavy drinker, a frequent user of 'speed', a relentless womaniser, and a man of Napoleonic self-regard and worldly ambition. This is not how one pictures an eminent Professor of Logic. And yet, this is how the great logician, Alfred Tarski, emerges from this marvellous biography. The Fefermans, of course, are uniquely qualified to lead the reader through the intricacies of Tarski's work, which they do very engagingly and with great expository skill. Tarski's colourful personality is conveyed with prose that is economical, superbly readable and extremely vivid, and the whole book is a joy to read." Ray Monk, Professor of Philosophy, University of Southampton 
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Kolmogorov, A N, and Nathan Morrison (Translator) (With an added bibliography by A T Bharucha-Reid), Foundations of the Theory of Probability, Chelsea 1956 Preface: 'The purpose of this monograph is to give an axiomatic foundation for the theory of probability. . . . This task would have been a rather hopeless one before the introduction of Lebesgue's theories of measure and integration. However, after Lebesgue's publication of his investigations, the analogies between measure of a set and mathematical expectation of a random variable became apparent. These analogies allowed of further extensions; thus, for example, various properties of independent random variables were seen to be in complete analogy with the corresponding properties of orthogonal functions . . .' 
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Lonergan, Bernard J F, Insight: A Study of Human Understanding (Collected Works of Bernard Lonergan : Volume 3), University of Toronto Press 1992 '. . . Bernard Lonergan's masterwork. Its aim is nothing less than insight into insight itself, an understanding of understanding' 
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Pierce, John Robinson, An Introduction to Information Theory: Symbols Signals and Noise, Dover 1980 Jacket: 'Behind the familiar surfaces of the telephone, radio and television lies a sophisticated and intriguing body of knowledge known as information theory. This is the theory that has permitted the rapid development of all forms of communication . . . Even more revolutionary progress is expected in the future.'  
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Yandell, Benjamin H., The Honours Class: Hilbert's Problems and their Solvers, A K Peters/CRC Press 2002 Book description: 'This eminently readable book focuses on the people of mathematics and draws the reader into their fascinating world. In a monumental address, given to the International Congress of Mathematicians in Paris in 1900, David Hilbert, perhaps the most respected mathematician of his time, developed a blueprint for mathematical research in the new century. Jokingly called a natural introduction to thesis writing with examples, this collection of problems has indeed become a guiding inspiration to many mathematicians, and those who succeeded in solving or advancing their solutions form an Honors Class among research mathematicians of this century. In a remarkable labor of love and with the support of many of the major players in the field, Ben Yandell has written a fascinating account of the achievements of this Honors Class, covering mathematical substance and biographical aspects.' 
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Allen, Jenny, Mason Weinrich, Will Hoppit, Luke Rendell, "Network-Based Diffusion Analysis Reveals Cultural Transmission of Lobtail Feeding in Humpback Whales", Science, 340, 6131, 26 April 2013, page 485-488. Abstract: 'We used network-based diffusion analysis to reveal the cultural spread of a naturally occurring foraging innovation, lobtail feeding, through a population of humpback whales (Megaptera novaeangliae) over a period of 27 years. Support for models with a social transmission component was 6 to 23 orders of magnitude greater than for models without. The spatial and temporal distribution of sand lance, a prey species, was also important in predicting the rate of acquisition. Our results, coupled with existing knowledge about song traditions, show that this species can maintain multiple independently evolving traditions in its populations. These insights strengthen the case that cetaceans represent a peak in the evolution of nonhuman culture, independent of the primate lineage.'. back

Dasgupta, Partha S., Paul R Ehrlich, "Pervasive Externalities at the Population, Consumption and Environment Nexus", Science, 340, 6130, 19 April 2013, page 324-328. Abstract: ' Growing concerns that contemporary patterns of economic development are unsustainable have given rise to an extensive empirical literature on population growth, consumption increases, and our growing use of nature’s products and services. However, far less has been done to reach a theoretical understanding of the socio-ecological processes at work at the population-consumption-environment nexus. In this Research Article, we highlight the ubiquity of externalities (which are the unaccounted for consequences for others, including future people) of decisions made by each of us on reproduction, consumption, and the use of our natural environment. Externalities, of which the “tragedy of the commons” remains the most widely discussed illustration, are a cause of inefficiency in the allocation of resources across space, time, and contingencies; in many situations, externalities accentuate inequity as well. Here, we identify and classify externalities in consumption and reproductive decisions and use of the natural environment so as to construct a unified theoretical framework for the study of data drawn from the nexus. We show that externalities at the nexus are not self-correcting in the marketplace. We also show that fundamental nonlinearities, built into several categories of externalities, amplify the socio-ecological processes operating at the nexus. Eliminating the externalities would, therefore, require urgent collective action at both local and global levels.'. back

van de Waal, Erica, Christele Borgeaud, Andrew Whiten, "Potent Social Learning and Conformity Shape a Wild Primate's Foraging Decisions", Science, 340, 6131, 26 April 2013, page 483-485. Abstract: 'Conformity to local behavioral norms reflects the pervading role of culture in human life. Laboratory experiments have begun to suggest a role for conformity in animal social learning, but evidence from the wild remains circumstantial. Here, we show experimentally that wild vervet monkeys will abandon personal foraging preferences in favor of group norms new to them. Groups first learned to avoid the bitter-tasting alternative of two foods. Presentations of these options untreated months later revealed that all new infants naïve to the foods adopted maternal preferences. Males who migrated between groups where the alternative food was eaten switched to the new local norm. Such powerful effects of social learning represent a more potent force than hitherto recognized in shaping group differences among wild animals.'. back

Aristotle, Metaphysics, 'Written 350 B.C.E, Translated by W. D. Ross. Book I Part 1 "ALL men by nature desire to know. An indication of this is the delight we take in our senses; for even apart from their usefulness they are loved for themselves; and above all others the sense of sight. For not only with a view to action, but even when we are not going to do anything, we prefer seeing (one might say) to everything else. The reason is that this, most of all the senses, makes us know and brings to light many differences between things. ' back

Associated Press, German Holocaust archive puts millions of documents online, ' The International Tracing Service in Germany has uploaded more than 13 million documents from Nazi concentration camps, including prisoner cards and death notices, to help Holocaust researchers and others investigate the fate of victims. Established by the Western Allies in the final days of World War II and initially run by the Red Cross, the ITS also announced Tuesday it was changing its name to "Arolsen Archives — International Center on Nazi Persecution." ' back

Avengers: Endgame - Wikipedia, Avengers: Endgame - Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia, ' Avengers: Endgame is a 2019 American superhero film based on the Marvel Comics superhero team the Avengers, produced by Marvel Studios and distributed by Walt Disney Studios Motion Pictures. It is the sequel to 2012's The Avengers, 2015's Avengers: Age of Ultron, and 2018's Avengers: Infinity War, and the 22nd film in the Marvel Cinematic Universe (MCU), culminating The Infinity Saga which began with Iron Man back in 2008.' back

Ben Steverman, The Wealth Detective Who Finds the Hidden Money of the Super Rich, ' Gabriel Zucman started his first real job the Monday after the collapse of Lehman Brothers. . . . A decade later, Zucman, 32, is an assistant professor at the University of California at Berkeley and the world’s foremost expert on where the wealthy hide their money. His doctoral thesis, advised by Piketty, exposed trillions of dollars’ worth of tax evasion by the global rich. For his most influential work, he teamed up with his Berkeley colleague Emmanuel Saez, a fellow Frenchman and Piketty collaborator. Their 2016 paper, “Wealth Inequality in the United States Since 1913,” distilled a century of data to answer one of modern capitalism’s murkiest mysteries: How rich are the rich in the world’s wealthiest nation? The answer—far richer than previously imagined—thrust the pair deep into the American debate over inequality.' back

Catherine Shoard and Chrid Wiegand, 'I even loved his Twankey': Dench, Hopkins, Mirren and more on Ian McKellen at 80, ' Wild parties, stunning performances, silhouette erections and marrying Patrick Stewart twice. As the actor turns 80, friends including Derek Jacobi, Janet Suzman, Michael Sheen, Bill Condon and Stephen Fry pay tribute' back

Chelsea Ritschel, Who was Omar Khyyam? Goodle Doodle celebrates pioneering astronomer and poet, ' At the age of 22, Khayyam was already making a name for himself in the field of mathematics through the publication of Treatise on Demonstration of Problems of Algebra and Balancing. In the text, Khayyam explained his observation that cubic equations can have multiple solutions, as well as his methods for solving quadratic equations. ' back

CIFAR, Canadian Institute for Advanced Research, 'CIFAR, the Canadian Institute for Advanced Research, was founded on the belief that Canada has an important role in finding new ways to create a better future for the world. Today, nearly 400 researchers in 16 countries participate in our long-term, multidisciplinary, global research networks. back

David Brynn Hibbert, The way we define kilograms, metres and seconds changes today, ' From today the kilogram is defined using the Planck constant, something that doesn’t change from quantum physics. The challenge now though is to explain these new definitions to people – especially non-scientists – so they understand. Comparing a kilogram to a metal block is easy. Technically a kilogram (kg) is now defined: […] by taking the fixed numerical value of the Planck constant h to be 6.626 070 15 × 10–34 when expressed in the unit J s, which is equal to kg m2 s–1, where the metre and the second are defined in terms of c and ΔνCs.' back

Dylan Thomas, Do not go gentle into that good night, ' Do not go gentle into that good night, Old age should burn and rave at close of day; Rage, rage against the dying of the light. Though wise men at their end know dark is right, Because their words had forked no lightning they Do not go gentle into that good night. Good men, the last wave by, crying how bright Their frail deeds might have danced in a green bay, Rage, rage against the dying of the light. Wild men who caught and sang the sun in flight, And learn, too late, they grieved it on its way, Do not go gentle into that good night. Grave men, near death, who see with blinding sight Blind eyes could blaze like meteors and be gay, Rage, rage against the dying of the light. And you, my father, there on the sad height, Curse, bless, me now with your fierce tears, I pray. Do not go gentle into that good night. Rage, rage against the dying of the light.' back

General covariance - Wikipedia, General covariance - Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia, In theoretical physics, general covariance (also known as diffeomorphism covariance or general invariance) is the invariance of the form of physical laws under arbitrary differentiable coordinate transformations. The essential idea is that coordinates do not exist a priori in nature, but are only artifices used in describing nature, and hence should play no role in the formulation of fundamental physical laws.' back

Hilbert's sixth problem - Wikipedia, Hilbert's sixth problem - Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia, 'Hilbert's sixth problem is to axiomatize those branches of science in which mathematics is prevalent. It occurs on the list of Hilbert's problems given out in 1900. The explicit statement reads 6. Mathematical Treatment of the Axioms of Physics. The investigations on the foundations of geometry suggest the problem: To treat in the same manner, by means of axioms, those physical sciences in which already today mathematics plays an important part; in the first rank are the theory of probabilities and mechanics' back

Joannah Luetjens, Michael Mintron and Paul 't Hart, From gun control to HIV: six ingredients of successful public policy, ' In the lead up to the recent federal election, there was plenty of negative rhetoric about current policy settings. Piecing together the various messages, it seems we have entered an armageddon of poor fiscal management, intolerable social inequality, and environmental degradation. If we took the rhetoric seriously, who in their right minds would want to take charge of the mess that is government?' back

John Palmer - Parmenides, Parmenides (Stanford Encyclopedia of Philosophy), First published Fri Feb 8, 2008 'Immediately after welcoming Parmenides to her abode, the goddess describes as follows the content of the revelation he is about to receive:
You must needs learn all things,/ both the unshaken heart of well-rounded reality/ and the notions of mortals, in which there is no genuine trustworthiness./ Nonetheless these things too will you learn, how what they resolved/ had actually to be, all through all pervading. (Fr. 1.28b-32) ' back

Luke, The Acts of the Apostles, 'The Acts of the Apostles, the second volume of Luke’s two-volume work, continues Luke’s presentation of biblical history, describing how the salvation promised to Israel in the Old Testament and accomplished by Jesus has now under the guidance of the holy Spirit been extended to the Gentiles.' back

Malcolm Scott and Cedric Sam, Here's How Fast China's Economy Is Catching Up to the U.S. , ' President Donald Trump says China won’t become the world’s top economic superpower under his watch because of the trade war he’s “very happy” with. Even without his tariff salvos, China was unlikely to take that mantle by early 2025—when a second Trump presidency would be due to end should he win reelection. But it was catching up fast, even if its growth moderates back closer to the 6 percent mark as seen by most economists.' back

Martin Heidegger - Wikiquote, Martin Heidegger - Wikiquote, ' Warum ist überhaupt Seiendes und nicht vielmehr Nichts? Das ist die Frage. Why are there beings at all, and why not rather nothing? That is the question. What is Metaphysics? (1929), p. 110 Cf. Gottfried Leibniz, De rerum originatione radicali (1697)ː "cur aliquid potius extiterit quam nihil." ' back

Matt Levine, The Wild Frauds Are the Good Ones, ' There seem to be two basic approaches to financial fraud. One approach is to pretend to do a real thing as accurately as possible, with the minimum necessary tweaks to make it a fraud. . . . The other, opposite approach is just to accumulate fantasy. You set up a hedge fund that will use quantum algorithms based on astrology to trade prime bank certificates on the Ruritanian Exchange, and that promises a risk-free return of 100% per month, over the blockchain, and the portfolio manager is Elvis. And then you steal the money and tell your investors that aliens took it.' back

Pam Belluck, 4 Women With Lives Scarred by Genital Cutting: Could a Surgeon Heal Them?, ' More than 200 million women and girls alive today have undergone genital cutting in 30 countries in Africa, the Middle East and Asia, ranging from nicks to extreme damage. Yet despite the extraordinary need for appropriate medical care, there has been little rigorous research on how surgeons can relieve enduring physical harm or improve sexual sensation.' back

Phillip Almond, Five aspects of Pentecostalism that shed light on Scott Morrison's politics, ' . . . only born-again Christians will gain salvation. Muslims, Jews, Buddhists, Hindus, atheists, and non-born-again Christians are doomed to spend an eternity in the torments of hell. Thus, as the website of the Christian group to which Scott Morrison’s Horizon church belongs puts it, “We believe in the everlasting punishment of the wicked (in the sense of eternal torment) who wilfully reject and despise the love of God manifested in the great sacrifice of his only Son on the cross for their salvation”.' back

Stephen Long, Inside Scott Morrison's Donald Trump-like election victory, ' Electorates that swung hardest to the Liberal and National parties on a two-party preferred basis had a higher share of voters on low incomes, with low educational attainment, and higher levels of unemployment. "Low income, low education and Christian religion were all features of electorates which swung to the Coalition," says Professor Ben Phillips, an economic modelling specialist from the ANU. . . .. In sharp contrast, wealthy electorates with higher incomes swung Labor's way.' back

Tantra - Wikipedia, Tantra - Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia, ' Tantra (Sanskrit: तन्त्र, literally "loom, weave, system") denotes the esoteric traditions of Hinduism and Buddhism that co-developed most likely about the middle of the 1st millennium AD. The term tantra, in the Indian traditions, also means any systematic broadly applicable "text, theory, system, method, instrument, technique or practice".' back

Thomas Aquinas, Summa Theologica, Thomas Aquinas: The medieval theological classic online : 'Because the doctor of Catholic truth ought not only to teach the proficient, but also to instruct beginners (according to the Apostle: As unto little ones in Christ, I gave you milk to drink, not meat -- 1 Cor. 3:1-2), we purpose in this book to treat of whatever belongs to the Christian religion, in such a way as may tend to the instruction of beginners. We have considered that students in this doctrine have not seldom been hampered by what they have found written by other authors, partly on account of the multiplication of useless questions, articles, and arguments, partly also because those things that are needful for them to know are not taught according to the order of the subject matter, but according as the plan of the book might require, or the occasion of the argument offer, partly, too, because frequent repetition brought weariness and confusion to the minds of readers.' back