Auyang, Sunny Y., How is Quantum Field Theory Possible?, Oxford University Press 1995 Jacket: 'Quantum field theory (QFT) combines quantum mechanics with Einstein's special theory of relativity and underlies elementary particle physics. This book presents a philosophical analysis of QFT. It is the first treatise in which the philosophies of space-time, quantum phenomena and particle interactions are encompassed in a unified framework.' 
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Casti, John L, Five Golden Rules: Great Theories of 20th-Century Mathematics - and Why They Matter, John Wiley and Sons 1996 Preface: '[this book] is intended to tell the general reader about mathematics by showcasing five of the finest achievements of the mathematician's art in this [20th] century.' p ix. Treats the Minimax theorem (game theory), the Brouwer Fixed-Point theorem (topology), Morse's theorem (singularity theory), the Halting theorem (theory of computation) and the Simplex method (optimisation theory). 
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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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Misner, Charles W, and Kip S Thorne, John Archibald Wheeler, Gravitation, Freeman 1973 Jacket: 'Einstein's description of gravitation as curvature of spacetime led directly to that greatest of all predictions of his theory, that the universe itself is dynamic. Physics still has far to go to come to terms with this amazing fact and what it means for man and his relation to the universe. John Archibald Wheeler. . . . this is a book on Einstein's theory of gravity. . . . ' 
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Pauling, Linus, and Roger Hayward, Architecture of Molecules, W.H.Freeman & Co Ltd 1970 Jacket: 'Nobelist Pauling and artist Hayward have teamed up to produce a technically sound, aesthetically beautiful book which introduces young people to the architecture of molecules. . . . Artist Hayward has produced full page drawings in color, and chemist Pauling has written concise and lucid explanations of the drawing and the chemistry involved. Highly recommended as a supplementary enrichment source for students and teachers in grades seven through twelve.' The Science Teacher. 
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Peacock, John A, Cosmological Physics, Cambridge University Press 1999 Nature Book Review: ' The intermingling of observational detail and fundamental theory has made cosmology an exceptionally rich, exciting and controversial science. Students in the field — whether observers or particle theorists — are expected to be acquainted with matters ranging from the Supernova Ia distance scale, Big Bang nucleosynthesis theory, scale-free quantum fluctuations during inflation, the galaxy two-point correlation function, particle theory candidates for the dark matter, and the star formation history of the Universe. Several general science books, conference proceedings and specialized monographs have addressed these issues. Peacock's Cosmological Physics ambitiously fills the void for introducing students with a strong undergraduate background in physics to the entire world of current physical cosmology. The majestic sweep of his discussion of this vast terrain is awesome, and is bound to capture the imagination of most students.' Ray Carlberg, Nature 399:322 
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Teilhard de Chardin, Pierre, The Phenomenon of Man, Collins 1965 Sir Julian Huxley, Introduction: 'We, mankind, contain the possibilities of the earth's immense future, and can realise more and more of them on condition that we increase our knowledge and our love. That, it seems to me, is the distillation of the Phenomenon of Man.'  
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Rebbi, Claudio, "Solitons", Scientific American, , 2, February 1979, page 76-91. 'They are waves that do not disperse or dissipate but instead maintain their size and shape indefinitely. A recent finding is that solitons may appear as massive elementary particles.'. back

Ariana Eunjung Cha, Mythology of 'Patient Zero' and how the AIDS virus travelled to the United States is all wrong, 'In a study published Wednesday in the journal Nature, researchers used genomic sequencing of blood samples from that era to go back in time and reconstruct the “family tree” of the virus in unprecedented detail. The findings are stunning, debunking many popular beliefs about the virus's origins and spread and filling in holes about how it made its way to the United States.' back

Carl Zimmer, How the Brown Rat Conquered New York City (and Every Other One, Too), 'Despite their ubiquity, Rattus norvegicus, otherwise known as the brown rat, remains surprisingly mysterious. Scientists have only a hazy idea of how it morphed from wild rodent to human companion. Now Dr. Munshi-South and his colleagues have completed the first in-depth genetic study of brown rats from around the world. Their story has twists and turns that surprise even the experts.' back

Carl Zimmer, A Single Migration From Africa Populated the World, Studies Find, 'Modern humans evolved in Africa roughly 200,000 years ago. But how did our species go on to populate the rest of the globe? . . . In a series of extraordinary genetic analyses published on Wednesday, researchers believe they have found an answer. In the journal Nature, three separate teams of geneticists survey DNA collected from cultures around the globe, many for the first time, and conclude that all non-Africans today trace their ancestry to a single population emerging from Africa between 50,000 and 80,000 years ago.' back

Giovanni Navarria, Looking back at Italy 1992: the sudden spring of civil society, 'Civil society is one of those concepts that is not easy to explain. The Italian philosopher Norberto Bobbio argued that one way to define it is through comparison, by coupling it with its antithesis: the state. The former doesn’t exist without the latter. Civil society, therefore, is always represented negatively as “the realm of social relations not regulated by the state” (where the state is defined “narrowly and nearly always polemically as the complex of apparatuses that exercise coercive power within an organised social system”). back

Giovanni Navarria, Looking back at Italy 1992: Internet Politics comes of age, 'Television networks played such a major role in shaping public opinion in Berlusconi’s Italy that dissent rarely found its way into the limelight. . . . Consequently, civil society actors were forced to find new ways to connect with each other; to operate and manifest their dissent; to infiltrate the system with the information it censored; and ultimately, if parties kept ignoring them, enter the political fray directly. The Internet provided the ideal space for this new course of action.' back

Global Atheist Convention, 212 Global Atheist Convention | A Celebration of Reason, 'We are currently drafting the speakers program and expect to release official presentation times in early 2012. For those that are currently organising their travel arrangements, here is a tentative program of opening and closing times for each day of the convention. Please note these are not final and are subject to change. Friday 13th 5:45pm – Registration opens (subject to change) 6:15pm – Cocktail event commences 7:30pm – Official opening of the GAC 9:30pm – Close Saturday 14th 8:30am – Introduction and opening 5:45pm – Close of presentations 7:15pm – Start of dinner 11:00pm – Close of dinner Sunday 15th 8:45am – First presentation 4:00pm – Close of GAC (Book signing likely to follow) back

Harriet Sherwood, Vatican bans Catholics from keeping ashes of loved ones at home, 'Cardinal Gerhard Müller, the prefect of the Congregation for the Doctrine of the Faith, reiterated that burial of the dead was preferable to cremation. “We come from the earth and we shall return to the earth,” he said. “The church continues to incessantly recommend that the bodies of the dead be buried either in cemeteries or in other sacred ground.” . . . “Furthermore, in order to avoid any form of pantheistic or naturalistic or nihilistic misunderstanding, the dispersion of ashes in the air, on the ground, on water or in some other way as well as the conversion of cremated ashes into commemorative objects is not allowed.” ' back

Isaac Newton, Method of Fluxions and Infinite Series with its Application to the Geometry of Curve-Lines, 'The method of fluxions and infinite series with its application to the geometry of curve-lines by the inventor Sir Isaac Newton ... ; translated from the author's Latin original not yet made publick. To which is subjoin'd, A perpetual comment upon the whole work, consisting of annotations, illustrations, and supplements, to make this treatise a compleat institution for the use of learners. back

Isaac Newton, The General Scholium to the Principia Mathematica, 'Published for the first time as an appendix to the 2nd (1713) edition of the Principia, the General Scholium reappeared in the 3rd (1726) edition with some amendments and additions. As well as countering the natural philosophy of Leibniz and the Cartesians, the General Scholium contains an excursion into natural theology and theology proper. In this short text, Newton articulates the design argument (which he fervently believed was furthered by the contents of his Principia), but also includes an oblique argument for a unitarian conception of God and an implicit attack on the doctrine of the Trinity, which Newton saw as a post-biblical corruption. The English translation here is that of Andrew Motte (1729). Italics and orthography as in original.' back

James Gorman, Flying for 10 Months Without a Layover, 'The common swift is a bird shaped by and for the air. In flight it looks like a crescent moon, with just a hint of head and a tail that, when spread, echoes the curve of its wings. Scientists have now confirmed that it can spend up to 10 months in the air without landing. Only when it makes a nest does it need to come to Earth. It can even mate during flight.' back

kelnaldinho, kelnaldinho's Channel - You Tube, back

Luke Harding, Pussy Riot celebrate the vgina in lyrical riposte to Trump, 'Pussy Riot have released a song celebrating the vagina, in an unashamed feminist riposte to Donald Trump and his boast that when he meets beautiful women he “grabs them by the pussy”.' back

Mark Brown, Paul Beatty wins Man Booker prize 2016, 'Beatty has admitted readers might find it a difficult book to digest but the historian Amanda Foreman, who chaired this year’s judging panel, said that was no bad thing. “Fiction should not be comfortable,” Foreman said. “The truth is rarely pretty and this is a book that nails the reader to the cross with cheerful abandon … that is why the novel works. “While you’re being nailed, you’re being tickled. It is highwire act which he pulls off with tremendous verve and energy and confidence. He never once lets up or pulls his punches. This is somebody writing at the top of their game.” ' back

Newton.org, Sir Isaac Newton, 'Welcome to newton.org.uk - the virtual museum of Sir Isaac Newton and the history of science.' back

Rick Noack, The ugly history of 'Lügenpresse,' A Nazi slur shouted at a Trump rally, 'BERLIN — When a video of two Donald Trump supporters shouting “Lügenpresse” (lying press) started to circulate Sunday, viewers from Germany soon noted its explosive nature. The defamatory word was most frequently used in Nazi Germany. Today, it is a common slogan among those branded as representing the “ugly Germany”: members of xenophobic, right-wing groups.' 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

Thomas Aquinas, Opera Omnia, The complete works of one of the most important writers in the Christian tradition. [© 2019 Fundación Tomás de Aquino Iura omnia asservantur OCLC nr. 49644264] back

Thomas Aquinas, Opera Omnia, Summa, Proemium, The complete works of one of the most important writers in the Christian tradition. [© 2019 Fundación Tomás de Aquino Iura omnia asservantur OCLC nr. 49644264] back

Thomas Piketty, An evening with economist Professor Thomas Piketty, 'Monash Business School is proud to host an evening with French economist Professor Thomas Piketty at Melbourne Town Hall on Thursday 28 October 2016. While the event is sold out, we will be live streaming the lecture live on this page from 6pm, Friday 28 October.' back

Waleed Ali, Australia's Poisonous Refugee Policy, 'It’s here we confront Amnesty’s most arresting finding: Australia’s policy is a kind of contagion, lowering global standards on refugee policy, shifting the boundaries of what nations now find acceptable. The most direct example is Indonesia, which, partly at Australia’s urging, has sharply increased its own use of detention centers, criminalized the act of providing accommodations for anyone without a visa, and attempted to return boats headed for Indonesia back to the countries they had left.' back

Wojciech Hubert Zurek, Quantum origin of quantum jumps: breaking of unitary symmetry induced by information transfer and the transition from quantum to classical, 'Submitted on 17 Mar 2007 (v1), last revised 18 Mar 2008 (this version, v3)) Measurements transfer information about a system to the apparatus, and then further on – to observers and (often inadvertently) to the environment. I show that even imperfect copying essential in such situations restricts possible unperturbed outcomes to an orthogonal subset of all possible states of the system, thus breaking the unitary symmetry of its Hilbert space implied by the quantum superposition principle. Preferred outcome states emerge as a result. They provide framework for the “wavepacket collapse”, designating terminal points of quantum jumps, and defining the measured observable by specifying its eigenstates.' back