Einstein (2009), Albert, and Translated by Alan Harris , Einstein's Essays in Science, Philosophical Library / Dover 1934, 2009 'His name is synonymous with "genius," but these essays by the renowned physicist and scholar are accessible to any reader. In addition to outlining the core of relativity theory in everyday language, Albert Einstein presents fascinating discussions of other scientific fields to which he made significant contributions. The Nobel Laureate also profiles some of history's most influential physicists, upon whose studies his own work was based. Assembled during Einstein's lifetime from his speeches and essays, this book marks the first presentation to the wider world of the scientist's accomplishments in the field of abstract physics. Along with relativity theory, these articles examine the methods of theoretical physics, principles of research, and the concept of scientific truth. Einstein's speeches to audiences at Columbia University and the Prussian Academy of Science appear here, along with his insightful observations on such giants of science as Johannes Kepler, Sir Isaac Newton, James Clerk Maxwell, Niels Bohr, Max Planck, and others.' 
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Feynman (1988), Richard, QED: The Strange Story of Light and Matter, Princeton UP 1988 Jacket: 'Quantum electrodynamics - or QED for short - is the 'strange theory' that explains how light and electrons interact. Thanks to Richard Feynmann and his colleagues, it is also one of the rare parts of physics that is known for sure, a theory that has stood the test of time. . . . In this beautifully lucid set of lectures he provides a definitive introduction to QED.' 
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James (1979), Grace, and Warwick Goble (Illustrator), Japanese Fairy Tales, Macmillan 1979 ' Most of us are familiar with the classic European fairy tales but those from further afield are still relatively unknown. This beautiful colletion of some thirty tales and legends from Japan was first published in 1910 and yet they are as fresh and charming today as when they first appeared. Grace Jamrd made her selection from many sources:some were taken from thre Ko-Ji-Ki or Records of Ancient Matters which contains the mythology of Japan andf many were retold from memory, the relics of childhood days, passed on by work of mouth.' 
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Sonnenschein (1977), Jacob, and Simon Green, Elements of Complex Analysis, Dickenson 1977 ' Preface: This book is the result of lectures given by Prof. Dr. J. Sonnenschein at the Brussels University. It is an introductory course in complex analysis of one complex variable. It contains sufficient material for about thirty lectures. The aim pf the book is to introduce the principal notions an theorems of complex analysis and to make the reader acquainted as quickly as possible and with as much rigor as can be obtained in a short course, with the knowledge necessary to use the most important results of complex analysis in pure and applied mathematics.' 
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Veltman (1994), Martinus, Diagrammatica: The Path to the Feynman Rules, Cambridge University Press 1994 Jacket: 'This book provides an easily accessible introduction to quantum field theory via Feynman rules and calculations in particle physics. The aim is to make clear what the physical foundations of present-day field theory are, to clarify the physical content of Feynman rules, and to outline their domain of applicability. ... The book includes valuable appendices that review some essential mathematics, including complex spaces, matrices, the CBH equation, traces and dimensional regularization. . . .' 
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Alex Lo, US chip war will end up hurting allies as much as China, ' “The more the US sanctions China, the harder China will try to make rapid technological progress. China will provide more national support for the goal. Then it will pose a crisis to South Korea, given China’s abundant talent and raw materials.” A chip engineer, Yang previously headed her country’s Democratic Party committee on enhancing semiconductor competitiveness. “If [Washington] continues to try to punish other nations and to pass bills and implement ‘America First’ policies in an unpredictable manner, other countries could form an alliance against the US,” she said. “The US is the strongest nation in the world … It should consider more of humanity’s common values. Appearing to use its strength as a weapon is not desirable". . . . So why does the US do it? Because it can, for one. But also it’s good domestic politics to go to extremes on China, never mind that it’s bad foreign policy, bad trade policy, and could potentially set the world economy back, if not threatening global peace. .' back

Alex Lo, US and UK are far more dangerous to themselves than China, ' I cannot imagine being an independent journalist and critic under former Philippine president Rodrigo Duterte. Without doubt, Maria Ressa deserves every bit of her Nobel Peace Prize. This week, she made some insightful observations about the state of democracy in the world today. Speaking at a democracy forum in Jakarta, she said: “If we keep electing authoritarian leaders through democratic elections and if this trend continues, authoritarian leaders will destroy democracy from within.”. . . .. In truth, China has no religious or ideological conflicts with the world. Much of its disputes and fights are in the normal course of relations between confronting nation states, but especially among great powers throughout history. Authoritarianism is not the ideological enemy of democracy; it is the default position of practically all political regimes, including democracy undergoing internal decay. It may seem like the West is at war with China. But if the UK and the US either wake up from their delusions of empire or fall off a cliff, if they are simply taken out of the equation, the “China threat” will magically disappear because the conjurors can no longer conjure.' back

Alice Miranda Ollstein, Staggering Ohio loss ignites an identity crisis within the anti-abortion movement , ' Anti-abortion forces suffered a staggering loss in Ohio’s special election this week. Now, in the aftermath of that defeat and others over the last year, the movement is grappling with how to forge ahead. State and national conservatives offer a litany of competing explanations for why they were massively outspent and out-organized, and are butting heads on how to turn things around before November, when abortion will be on Ohio’s ballot directly. With no consensus on the real reason for the loss in a state dominated by Republicans, some are pleading with the GOP to move away from backing near-total bans with no exemptions to stave off further electoral disaster. “We’re going to have to live with messier compromises going forward or risk this happening again and again,” said Patrick Brown, a fellow at the conservative Ethics and Public Policy Center who called Tuesday’s result a “five-alarm fire for the pro-life movement.” “Some think that only a total ban is acceptable. But we see, over and over again, that such an uncompromising position doesn’t have support. There’s no political appetite for that,” he said.' back

Amy Maguire, Australia’s decision to again use the term ‘occupied Palestinian territories’ brings it into line with international law, ' The UN’s longstanding condemnation of Israel’s occupation was reasserted in a General Assembly resolution on December 30 2022. The resolution noted Israel’s obligations, as the occupying power, to: comply with the Geneva Conventions on the protection of civilians during war cease violating the human rights of the Palestinian people cease efforts to modify Palestinian territory through illegal settlements, and bring an end to the occupation stop construction and dismantle the wall it has been constructing in the occupied territories respect the right to self-determination of the people of Palestine and the territorial unity of the occupied territories end the blockade of the Gaza strip and other onerous limitations on freedom of movement for people and goods. Read more: 'I can live with either one': Palestine, Israel and the two-state solution The General Assembly also took the significant step of requesting a new advisory opinion from the ICJ on the legal implications of Israel’s continuing occupation.' back

Anil Oza & Mariana Lenharo, How the ‘groundbreaking’ Henrietta Lacks settlement could change research, ' Earlier this week, the biotechnology company Thermo Fisher Scientific reached a settlement with the family of Henrietta Lacks, a Black woman who had cells taken from her and used for research without consent more than 70 years ago. The cervical cancer cells, removed during Lacks’s treatment at Johns Hopkins Hospital in Baltimore, Maryland, and known as HeLa cells, were shared widely because of their ability to survive and divide indefinitely in the laboratory — and have led to numerous scientific discoveries. Eventually, they made their way into the hands of companies such as Thermo Fisher in Waltham, Massachusetts, which sells products derived from the cells. . . . .. The grim story behind Lacks’s cells entered the mainstream after journalist Rebecca Skloot published a book, The Immortal Life of Henrietta Lacks, in 2010. The book “shined a very bright light” on the non-consensual use of Henrietta’s cells — which by that point had become “ubiquitous” in research — says Carrie Wolinetz, a science-policy specialist at Lewis–Burke Associates, a government-relations firm in Washington DC with a focus on higher-education advocacy.' back

Bhagavad Gita - Wikipedia, Bhagavad Gita - Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia, 'The Bhagavad Gita . . . , often referred to as simply the Gita, is a is a 700-verse Hindu scripture, which is part of the epic Mahabharata. It forms the chapters 23–40 of book 6 of the Mahabharata called the Bhishma Parva. The work is dated to the second half of the first millennium BCE. Typical of the Hindu synthesis, it is considered one of the holy scriptures of Hinduism. The Bhagavad Gita is set in a narrative framework of dialogue between the Pandava prince Arjuna and his charioteer guide Krishna, an avatar of lord Vishnu. At the start of the Kurukshetra War between the Pandavas and the Kauravas, Arjuna despairs thinking about the violence and death the war will cause in the battle against his kin and becomes emotionally preoccupied with a dilemma. Wondering if he should renounce the war, Arjuna seeks the counsel of Krishna, whose answers and discourse constitute the Bhagavad Gita. Krishna counsels Arjuna to "fulfil his Kshatriya (warrior) duty" for the upholdment of dharma The Krishna–Arjuna dialogue covers a broad range of spiritual topics, touching upon moral and ethical dilemmas, and philosophical issues that go far beyond the war that Arjuna faces. The setting of the text in a battlefield has been interpreted as an allegory for the struggles of human life.' back

Cosmos - Wikipedia, Cosmos - Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia, ' The verb κοσμεῖν (κοσμεῖν) meant generally "to dispose, prepare", but especially "to order and arrange (troops for battle), to set (an army) in array"; also "to establish (a government or regime)", "to adorn, dress" (especially of women). Thus kosmos meant "ornaments, decoration" (compare kosmokomes "dressing the hair," and cosmetic). The philosopher Pythagoras used the term kosmos (Ancient Greek: κόσμος, Latinized kósmos) for the order of the universe. Anaxagoras further introduced the concept of a Cosmic Mind (Nous) ordering all things. The modern Greek κόσμος "order, good order, orderly arrangement" is a word with several main senses rooted in those notions. κόσμος has developed, along with primary "the universe, the world", the meaning of "people" (collectively).' back

Cyma Hibri, Iraqi journalist Ghaith Abdul-Ahad watched Saddam’s statue topple in 2003. His ‘standout’ war memoir de-centres the West, ' On March 20 2023, the 20-year anniversary of the Iraq War, media outlets around the world published op-eds lamenting the US-led coalition’s “mistakes” in Iraq. Review: A Stranger in Your Own City: Travels in the Middle East’s Long War – Ghaith Abdul-Ahad (Hutchinson Heinemann) ' In the two decades since the brutal invasion, its architects have held onto near-total impunity. Iraqis attempting to pursue justice through lawsuits and criminal trials have faced countless obstacles. And in 2019, the UK government even sought to grant amnesty to troops who committed war crimes during their deployment. Countless memoirs from US and UK veterans published over the past two decades betray persisting delusions of heroism. Historians and journalists, too, continue to pore over the justifications and motives behind the war. A Stranger in Your Own City, a “de-centering of the West in the history and contemporary situation of the region”, is a standout in this saturated field. Although published to coincide with the anniversary of Iraq’s invasion, this captivating debut broadens its scope beyond the US bombardment campaign of “shock and awe”. back

de Ronde, Domenech & Freytes, Quantum Logic in Historical and Philosophical Perspective, ' Quantum Logic (QL) was developed as an attempt to construct a propositional structure that would allow for describing the events of interest in Quantum Mechanics (QM). QL replaced the Boolean structure, which, although suitable for the discourse of classical physics, was inadequate for representing the atomic realm.' back

Donell Harvin, Opinion: Here’s the Intelligence Assessment of Donald Trump that the Government Can’t Write, ' Throughout his time in office, Trump openly advocated violence on numerous occasions. Whether it was suggesting that protesters should be roughed up or praising those who engaged in violence against journalists and dissenters, his remarks encouraged a dangerous disregard for the rule of law and the sanctity of peaceful protest. But most significantly, he normalized the notion of politically motivated violence. In doing so, he emboldened individuals and groups whose base instinct or lack of civil restraint inclined them to protest with their fists and weapons, rather than their voices. . . . . . From the distant past, Abraham Lincoln whispers this premonition to us: “Shall we expect some transatlantic military giant to step the ocean and crush us at a blow? Never! … If destruction be our lot, we must ourselves be its author and finisher.” As it was in Lincoln’s time, the greatest threat to our homeland is ourselves; today, Donald Trump is that catalyst.' back

Hannah Jane Partkinson, Forget Instagram influencers, Sinéad O’Connor showed mental illness as it truly is, ' I don’t know how O’Connor died. But as well as her incredible music, her wit and verve and strength, her activism, she leaves a legacy of representation for those of us who know what it’s like to have their headphones confiscated in the inpatient wards, who know what it’s like to look in the mirror and see something not quite human. Not the hashtags or the reels or the self-diagnosis of ADHD after leaving dishes in the sink for two days (try weeks, try months); not the mantras written on a Post-it that are somehow supposed to assuage hours of daily skin-picking or a two-year waiting list. Sinéad O’Connor was a truth-teller. Perhaps her most visceral truth of all was how she showed us her suffering – and how she was desperate for it not to be in vain.' back

Howard Manns & Kate Burridge, How ‘witch-hunts’ and ‘Stockholm syndrome’ became part of political language (and what it has to do with wrestling), ' So, we’re faced with witch-hunts, lynchings and Stockholm syndrome. People don’t hear the same thing, and even if they do, it may or may not be real. Language as a social contract has more loopholes than footholds. Journalist and essayist Abraham Josephine Riesman, lamenting the impact of kayfabe on US politics, might be observing language when she writes: perhaps the only antidote […]is radical honesty. It’s less fun, but it tends to do less material harm, in the long term. We love metaphors, but accountability and honest debate disappear in a mist of kayfabe when powerful people use them. But metaphorical meaning requires collaboration - sometimes we just have to say, no, actually, that’s a cappuccino. back

Jason Bordoff, Behind All the Talk, This Is What Big Oil Is Actually Doing, ' If you’ve been listening to the world’s major energy companies over the past few years, you probably think the clean energy transition is well on its way. But with fossil fuel use and emissions still rising, it is not moving nearly fast enough to address the climate crisis. . . .. The industry can point to efforts to reduce emissions and pursue green energy technologies. But those efforts pale in comparison with what they are doing to maintain and enhance oil and gas production. As the International Energy Agency put it, investment by the industry in clean fuels “is picking up” but “remains well short of where it needs to be.” . . . .. The industry has spent less than 5 percent of its production and exploration investments on low-emission energy sources in recent years, according to the I.E.A. Indeed, the fact that many companies (with some notable exceptions) seem to be prioritizing dividends, share buybacks and continued fossil fuel production over increasing their clean energy investments suggests they are unable or unwilling to power the transition forward.' back

Jeffrey Nicholls (1987), A theory of Peace, ' The argument: I began to think about peace in a very practical way during the Viet Nam war. I was the right age to be called up. I was exempted because I was a clergyman, but despite the terrors that war held for me, I think I might have gone. It was my first whiff of the force of patriotism. To my amazement, it was strong enough to make even me face death.
In the Church, I became embroiled in a deeper war. Not a war between goodies and baddies, but the war between good and evil that lies at the heart of all human consciousness. Existence is a struggle. We need all the help we can get. Religion is part of that help and theology is the scientific foundation of religion.' back

John C. Eccles, Innovation in Science: The Physiology of Imagination, ' Our task here is to see how far our present ideas on the working of the brain can be related to the experiences of mind. The way to the imagination, the highest level of mental experience, lies through the lower levels of sensory experience, imagery, hallucination and memory, and that is the path we shall traverse. All that we shall learn must itself, of course, be the product of perceiving, reasoning and imagining by our brains! back

John von Neumann (2014), Mathematical Foundations of Quantum Mechanics, ' Mathematical Foundations of Quantum Mechanics by John von Neumann translated from the German by Robert T. Beyer (New Edition) edited by Nicholas A. Wheeler. Princeton UP Princeton & Oxford. Preface: ' This book is the realization of my long-held intention to someday use the resources of TEX to produce a more easily read version of Robert T. Beyer’s authorized English translation (Princeton University Press, 1955) of John von Neumann’s classic Mathematische Grundlagen der Quantenmechanik (Springer, 1932).'This content downloaded from 129.127.145.240 on Sat, 30 May 2020 22:38:31 UTC back

Manley, D. B., & Taylor, C. S. (1996), Descartes Meditations - Trilingual Edition, ' The publication of this English-Latin-French edition of Descartes' Meditations on First Philosophy is quite simply an experiment in electronic scholarship. We decided to make this edition available and to encourage its free distribution for scholarly purposes. The idea behind the experiment is to see how others involved in electronic scholarship might put these texts to use. We have no predetermined ideas of what such use may be when transformed from this origin. The texts have no hypertext annotations except for those used for navigation. We invite others to download this edition and to create their own hypertext annotated editions and then to publish those additions on their own Web servers for everyone to use.' back

Michael Greshko, New measurements of a tiny particle deepen a big mystery in physics, ' To probe the Standard Model’s limits, scientists have turned to the muon. These particles have electrical charge like electrons, and they have a quantum property called spin. Combined, the two traits make muons act like small magnets, which causes them to wobble like spinning tops when placed in a magnetic field. The rate of the muon’s wobble depends on how it interacts with all the other known particles and forces, so if there’s something in the universe the Standard Model currently doesn’t account for, it could be nudging the muon, too — giving it extra oomph that Fermilab could detect.' back

Nicole Tan, Host of Hong Kong’s axed LGBTQ radio show reflects on 17 years of We Are Family, and reveals why the cancellation wasn’t ‘something that surprised’ him, ' Public broadcaster RTHK, which has come under greater government control since the introduction of the National Security Law in 2020 and has since then axed programmes deemed to be critical of the authorities, has not explained why it decided to cancel the show. . . .. “To be able to run an LGBT programme on RTHK – I think it’s a statement in itself,” Leung says. “[At the time, I thought] it might be cancelled in three months, but even three months could [make] history.” And so he accepted the station’s invitation and named the programme after Sister Sledge’s 1979 hit song and gay anthem. “Chosen family is very important to the LGBTQ community,” Leung says. “No one is alone or being left behind.” . . .. “I’m proud to say I have tried my very best to keep this programme alive over the last 17 years,” Leung says. “If, over the years, I made even one [listener] who tuned in feel less alone, I believe I have already accomplished something".' back

Vrinda Narain, The Taliban’s war on women in Afghanistan must be formally recognized as gender apartheid, ' Presenting his report at the UN Human Rights Council, Richard Bennett — the UN Special Rapporteur on the Situation of Human Rights in Afghanistan — stated: “A grave, systematic and institutionalized discrimination against women and girls is at the heart of Taliban ideology and rule, which also gives rise to concerns that they may be responsible for gender apartheid.” Criminalizing gender apartheid globally would allow the international community to fulfil its obligation to respond effectively and try to eradicate it permanently. It would provide the necessary legal tools to ensure that international commitments to women’s rights in all aspects of life are upheld. Shaharzad Akbar, head of the Rawadari human rights group and former chair of the Afghanistan Independent Human Rights Commission, has urged the Human Rights Council to acknowledge the situation in Afghanistan as gender apartheid. She’s noted that the “Taliban have turned Afghanistan to a mass graveyard of Afghan women and girls’ ambitions, dreams and potential".' back