Cantor, Georg, Contributions to the Founding of the Theory of Transfinite Numbers (Translated, with Introduction and Notes by Philip E B Jourdain), Dover 1895, 1897, 1955 Jacket: 'One of the greatest mathematical classics of all time, this work established a new field of mathematics which was to be of incalculable importance in topology, number theory, analysis, theory of functions, etc, as well as the entire field of modern logic.' 
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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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Darwin, Charles, and Greg Suriano (editor), The Origin of Species, Gramercy 1998 Introduction: 'In considering the Origin of Species, it is quite conceivable that a naturalist, reflecting on the mutual affinities of organic beings, on their embryological relations, their geographical distribution, geological succession, and other such facts, might come to the conclusion that each species has not been independently created, but has descended, like varieties, from other species.' 
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Dirac, P A M, The Principles of Quantum Mechanics (4th ed), Oxford UP/Clarendon 1983 Jacket: '[this] is the standard work in the fundamental principles of quantum mechanics, indispensible both to the advanced student and the mature research worker, who will always find it a fresh source of knowledge and stimulation.' (Nature)  
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Edelman (2102), Shimon, The Happiness of Pursuit: What Neuroscience Can Teach Us About the Good Life, Basic books 2012 Jacket: ' "The ancient injunction to 'Know thyself' gets a lively update in Shimon Edelman's eclectic examination of 'knowing' and 'self' through the lens of twenty-first century cognitive science. Its human to wander thoughtfully through real and imaginary landscapes, learning as we go—this is happiness, embodied in Edelman's witty odyssey, which provokes the very pleasures it describes.' Dan Lloyd, Brownell Professor of Philosophy, Trinity College 
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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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Haight, Roger, Jesus Symbol of God, Orbis Books 1999 Jacket: 'This book is the flagship of the fleet of late twentieth century works that show American Catholic theology has indeed come of age. Deeply thoughtful in its exposition, lucid in its method, and by turns challenging and inspiring in its conclusions, this christology gives a new articulation of the saving "point" of it all. . . . Highly recommended for all who think about and study theology.' Elizabeth Johnson CSJ, Fordham University. 
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Lonergan (1992), 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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Mead, Margaret, Blackberry Winter, Peter Smith Publishers 1989 Amazon: Editorial Review 'During her lifetime, Margaret Mead (1901-78) was the world's most famous anthropologist. In this insightful memoir, she recalls her childhood, her place in her family, and how the lessons learned and ideals instilled then shaped her life. ... In Blackberry Winter, she reflects on her life and work, through three marriages and ground-breaking fieldwork in eight cultures. But perhaps her most fascinating revelations are the "gathered threads" of her own experience of childhood, motherhood, and grandparenthood. From her observations of sex roles, childhood, and parenting styles in other cultures, her appreciation of her own upbringing, and her shift to single, working motherhood after the break-up of her third marriage, she anticipated and pioneered a new model for family life. ... ' Lynne Auld 
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Pétrement, Simone, and Raymond Rosenthal (translator), Simone Weil: A Life, Schocken 1988 Jacket: 'A French Jew who broke with Judaism and wavered on the edge of Roman Catholicism, the daughter of a respected physician, the sister of one of the century's greatest mathematicians, Simone Weil devoted her life to the search for truth and God amid the poverty and misery of the poor.

Since her death in 1943 at the age of thirty-four, Simone Weil has become a person of legend. T S Eliot, Dwight Macdonald, Leslie Fiedler and Robert Coles spoke of her as the saint of the twentieth century who lived the contradictions of our era more intensely and continuously than anyone else.' 
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Reid, Constance, Hilbert-Courant, Springer Verlag 1986 Jacket: '[Hilbert] is woven out of three distinct themes. It presents a sensitive portrait of a great human being. It describes accurately and intelligibly on a non-technical level the world of mathematical ideas in which Hilbert created his masterpieces. And it illuminates the background of German social history against which the drama of Hilbert's life was played. ... Beyond this, it is a poem in praise of mathematics.' Science 
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Veltman, 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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von Neumann, John, and Robert T Beyer (translator), Mathematical Foundations of Quantum Mechanics, Princeton University Press 1983 Jacket: '. . . a revolutionary book that caused a sea change in theoretical physics. . . . JvN begins by presenting the theory of Hermitean operators and Hilbert spaces. These provide the framework for transformation theory, which JvN regards as the definitive form of quantum mechanics. . . . Regarded as a tour de force at the time of its publication, this book is still indispensable for those interested in the fundamental issues of quantum mechanics.' 
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Babaev, Egor, Asle Sudbo, N W Ashcroft, "A superconductor superfluid phase transition in liquid metallic hydrogen", Nature, 431, 7009, 7 October 2004, page 666-668. Abstract: 'Although hydrogen is the lightest of atoms, it does not form the simplest of solids or liquids. Quantum effects in these phases are considerable (a consequence of the light proton mass) and they have a demonstrable and often puzzling influence on many physical proerties, including spatial order. ...'. back

Aex Lo, The ugly reality of the American empire, ' "For better or worse, nation building is woven into America’s diplomatic DNA. The effort to build functioning, legitimate states in troubled societies has been part of US foreign policy since America has been a global power.” - Hal Brands, Bloomberg opinion columnist, on the aftermath of the Afghanistan disaster. . . . Have you ever wondered why and how the US has been at war in 229 years of its 245 years in existence, equivalent to 93 per cent of its history? This doesn’t count foreign subversions, coup sponsorships, assassinations and war by proxies.' back

Alex Lo, US didn’t ‘engage’ China to make it rich and free; it profited off it, ' There is, also, a historical dimension to this whole story. At least since the first Opium War and actually well before that, all major Western powers had wanted to take over the Chinese market with its vast profit potentials. When Chinese communists opened up, of course Americans and others jumped right in. The problem is that this communist party, it turns out, isn’t a tinpot dictatorship but a rather competent one. It has learned from its mistakes and those of others. It prefers its own “Beijing consensus” rather than “the Washington consensus”.' back

Austin Ramzy & Chis Buckley, 'Absolutely No Mercy': Leaked Files Expose How China Organized Mass Detention of Muslims, ' More than 400 pages of internal Chinese documents provide an unprecedented inside look at the crackdown on ethnic minorities in the Xinjiang region. . . . HONG KONG — The students booked their tickets home at the end of the semester, hoping for a relaxing break after exams and a summer of happy reunions with family in China’s far west. Instead, they would soon be told that their parents were gone, relatives had vanished and neighbors were missing — all of them locked up in an expanding network of detention camps built to hold Muslim ethnic minorities. The authorities in the Xinjiang region worried the situation was a powder keg. And so they prepared. The leadership distributed a classified directive advising local officials to corner returning students as soon as they arrived and keep them quiet. It included a chillingly bureaucratic guide for how to handle their anguished questions, beginning with the most obvious: Where is my family?' back

Beatrice Alba, The evolutionary history of men and women should not prevent us from seeking gender equality, 'Research shows that females and males – including girls and boys, as well as women and men – have many psychological differences. The field of evolutionary psychology attempts to explain these differences in terms of biological adaptations. In essence, this means examining the differing reproductive challenges faced by the sexes throughout our species’ history, and linking these with psychological and behavioural characteristics.' back

Chris Mackie, Guide to the classics: Euripides’ The Trojan Women – an unflinching look at the brutality of war, ' The Trojan Women focuses on a small group of women of the royal house of Troy who await their fate in Greece – Hecuba, the widow of king Priam; Cassandra, the prophetess daughter of Priam and Hecuba; Andromache, widow of Hector and mother of the boy Astyanax; and Helen of Sparta, who has to plead for her life from Menelaus, her former husband. The chorus of the play are captive Trojan women. . . . The women are dispersed as slaves to particular princes throughout the Greek world who have led contingents within the Greek army. The obvious cruelty of this process is added to by the cold calculation as to who will go where.' back

Craig Timberg, New whistleblower claims Facebook allowed hate, illegal activity to go unchecked, ' A new whistleblower affidavit submitted by a former Facebook employee Friday alleges that the company prizes growth and profits over combating hate speech, misinformation and other threats to the public, according to a copy of the document obtained by The Washington Post. The whistleblower’s allegations, which were declared under penalty of perjury and shared with The Post on the condition of anonymity, echoed many of those made by Frances Haugen, another former Facebook employee whose scathing testimony before Congress this month intensified bipartisan calls for federal action against the company.' back

Dalton Trumbo - Wikipedia, Dalton Trumbo - Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia, ' James Dalton Trumbo (December 9, 1905 – September 10, 1976) was an American screenwriter and novelist who scripted many award-winning films including Roman Holiday, Exodus, Spartacus, and Thirty Seconds Over Tokyo. One of the Hollywood Ten, he refused to testify before the House Un-American Activities Committee (HUAC) in 1947 during the committee's investigation of communist influences in the motion picture industry. He, along with the other members of the Hollywood Ten and hundreds of other industry professionals, was subsequently blacklisted by that industry.' back

Einstein coefficients - Wikipedia, Einstein coefficients - Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia, 'In 1916, Albert Einstein proposed that there are three processes occurring in the formation of an atomic spectral line. The three processes are referred to as spontaneous emission, stimulated emission, and absorption. With each is associated an Einstein coefficient which is a measure of the probability of that particular process occurring. Einstein considered the case of isotropic radiation of frequency ν, and spectral energy density ρ (ν).' back

Hail, Holy Queen, Catholic Online, 'Hail, holy Queen, Mother of mercy, hail, our life, our sweetness and our hope. To thee do we cry, poor banished children of Eve: to thee do we send up our sighs, mourning and weeping in this vale of tears. Turn then, most gracious Advocate, thine eyes of mercy toward us, and after this our exile, show unto us the blessed fruit of thy womb, Jesus, O merciful, O loving, O sweet Virgin Mary! Amen.' back

Heinrich Zille - Wikipedia, Heinrich Zille - Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia, 'Rudolf Heinrich Zille (January 10, 1858 - August 9, 1929), German illustrator and photographer, was born in Radeburg near Dresden, as the son of watchmaker Johann Traugott Zill (Zille since 1854) and Ernestine Louise (born Heinitz). In 1867, his family moved to Berlin, where he finished school in 1872 and started an apprenticeship as a lithographer.' back

Jack Nicas, Brazilian Leader’s Pandemic Handling Draws Explosive Allegation: Homicide, ' BRASÍLIA, Brazil — A Brazilian congressional panel is set to recommend mass homicide charges against President Jair Bolsonaro, asserting that he intentionally let the coronavirus rip through the country and kill hundreds of thousands in a failed bid to achieve herd immunity and revive Latin America’s largest economy. A report from the congressional panel’s investigation, excerpts from which were viewed by The New York Times ahead of its scheduled release this week, also recommends criminal charges against 69 other people, including three of Mr. Bolsonaro’s sons and numerous current and former government officials.' back

Jeffrey Nicholls (2021a) , §16: The Minkowski metric and the quantum origin of space-time, ' We are inclined to take spacetime as given and see it as somehow emerging (like a time reversed black hole?) from the initial singularity. On the other hand we are convinced that the proper explanation of the nature of the world is quantum mechanics, so it seems reasonable to expect spacetime to be constructed by elements provided by quantum mechanics. This is consistent with the idea that the quantum world precedes the spacetime world and is in some way the source of spacetime. Quantum mechanics is the underlying symmetry that is applied (and broken) to create the transition from energy-time to spacetime, accompanied by the parallel emergence of momentum-distance. back

Jeffrey Nicholls (July 2019), Entropy and metaethics, ' I propose an answer [to the problematic search for modern ethics] in terms of what Einstein considered to be the most fundamental and irrefutable law of nature, the second law of thermodynamics, which expresses the fact that entropy almost never decreases. In a more morally relevant frame, this law expresses the fact that the universe is inherently creative. Human spirituality, whatever it may be, has emerged from the natural world. back

Joe Gelonesi, Einstein vs Bergson, science vs philosophy and the meaning of time , ' When Henri met Albert the stars didn’t quite align; nor did their clocks. Jimena Canales, historian of science, tells Joe Gelonesi about her discovery of an explosive 20th century debate that changed our view of time and destroyed a reputation. Physicists and philosophers have a curious relationship. They both need each other for the cosmic dance, but one partner sometimes refuses to join in. Star physicist Stephen Hawking even declared the end of philosophy in 2011. In some ways the pronouncement was to be expected; physics triumphalism dictates that at some point philosophy will exhaust itself and be unable to solve the mysteries that science seems to conquer in leaps. It’s been coming for a while; at least since the word science replaced natural philosophy a few centuries ago. back

John J. Mearsheimer, The Inevitable Rivalry: America, China, and the Tragedy of Great-Power Politics, ' Beguiled by misguided theories about liberalism’s inevitable triumph and the obsolescence of great-power conflict, both Democratic and Republican administrations pursued a policy of engagement, which sought to help China grow richer. Washington promoted investment in China and welcomed the country into the global trading system, thinking it would become a peace-loving democracy and a responsible stakeholder in a U.S.-led international order. Of course, this fantasy never materialized. . . . Engagement may have been the worst strategic blunder any country has made in recent history: there is no comparable example of a great power actively fostering the rise of a peer competitor. And it is now too late to do much about it.' back

Kareem Chehayeb, Al Jazeera, Analysis: How Judge Bitar’s probe shook Lebanon leaders, ' Beirut, Lebanon – When the Lebanese government announced more than a year ago that the probe into the devastating explosion in Beirut’s port would be conducted domestically, few expected that senior officials would be charged. But even fewer expected that the lead investigator, Judge Tarek Bitar, could rattle the country’s entrenched leadership, which for decades has reigned with impunity and routinely quashed legal investigations that may hold it accountable. . . . Bitar’s persistence to pursue senior political and security officials, despite their attempts to delegitimise and remove him, has put the country on notice.' back

Käthe Kollwitz - Wikipedia, Käthe Kollwitz - Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia, 'Käthe Schmidt Kollwitz (July 8, 1867 – April 22, 1945) was a German painter, printmaker, and sculptor whose work offered an eloquent and often searing account of the human condition in the first half of the 20th century. Her empathy for the less fortunate, expressed most famously through the graphic means of drawing, etching, lithography, and woodcut, embraced the victims of poverty, hunger, and war. Initially her work was grounded in Naturalism, and later took on Expressionistic qualities back

Lashmar, Gilby & Oliver, Slaughter in Indonesia: Britain’s secret propaganda war, ' The proof of Britain’s role in inciting what the CIA later described as “one of the worst mass murders of the 20th century” lies in another leafy suburb. In declassified Foreign Office documents – held far beyond the 20-year rule – in Kew in London. Recently released in Britain’s National Archives are pamphlets purporting to be written by Indonesian patriots, but in fact written by British propagandists, calling on Indonesians to eliminate the PKI, then the biggest communist party in the non-communist world. The outcome of the turmoil was a brutal and corrupt 32-year military dictatorship whose legacy shapes Indonesia to this day.' back

Mhairi Cowden, A PhD by publication or how I got my doctroate and kept my sanity, 'A PhD by Publication is just what it sounds like, instead of producing one large monograph, you produce a series of articles to be published in peer reviewed journals or as book chapters. The normal format is four to five research papers bookended by a substantial introductory chapter and a concluding chapter. The thesis must still read as a cohesive whole and therefore despite the articles being stand alone pieces, they must also relate to each other. The aim is that when they are read together they become more than just the sum of their parts.' back

Moses Mendelssohn - Wikipedia, Moses Mendelssohn - Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia, 'Moses Mendelssohn (6 September 1729 – 4 January 1786) was a German Jewish philosopher to whose ideas the renaissance of European Jews, Haskalah (the Jewish Enlightenment) is indebted. He has been referred to as the father of Reform Judaism. Born to a poor Jewish family in Dessau and originally destined for a rabbinical career, Mendelssohn educated himself in German thought and literature and from his writings on philosophy and religion came to be regarded as a leading cultural figure of his time by both Germans and Jews. He also established himself as an important figure in the Berlin textile industry, which was the foundation of his family's wealth. Moses Mendelssohn's descendants include the composers Fanny and Felix Mendelssohn and the founders of the Mendelssohn & Co. banking house.' back

News Agencies: Al Jazeera, Afghanistan: Taliban agrees to door-to-door polio vaccine drive, ' Health workers in Afghanistan will begin a house-to-house polio vaccination drive next month after the new Taliban government agreed to support the campaign, the World Health Organization and the United Nations Children’s Fund said. “WHO and UNICEF welcome the decision by the Taliban leadership supporting the resumption of house-to-house polio vaccination across Afghanistan,” they said in a statement on Monday.' back

Nicholas Bourbaki - Wikipedia, Nicholas Bourbaki - Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia, 'Nicolas Bourbaki is the collective pseudonym under which a group of (mainly French) 20th-century mathematicians wrote a series of books presenting an exposition of modern advanced mathematics, beginning in 1935. With the goal of founding all of mathematics on set theory, the group strove for rigour and generality. Their work led to the discovery of several concepts and terminologies still discussed.' back

Nucleosynthesis - Wikipedia, Nucleosynthesis - Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia, 'Nucleosynthesis is the process that creates new atomic nuclei from pre-existing nucleons, primarily protons and neutrons. The first nuclei were formed about three minutes after the Big Bang, through the process called Big Bang nucleosynthesis. It was then that hydrogen and helium formed to become the content of the first stars, and is responsible for the present hydrogen/helium ratio of the cosmos.' back

Order of Preachers, Dominican Province of the Assumption, 'Preaching the Gospel of Jesus Christ in Australia, Aotearoa_New Zealand, Solomon Islands and Papua New Guinea' back

Reuters: Al Jazeera, ‘Immense bravery’: Kremlin critic Navalny wins EU rights prize, ' Jailed Kremlin critic Alexey Navalny was awarded the European Parliament’s annual human rights prize on Wednesday for his efforts to challenge President Vladimir Putin’s grip on power. Navalny, 45, who was poisoned in August 2020 by what Western nations said was a nerve agent, is serving a two-and-a-half-year sentence for parole violations he calls trumped up. . . . “He has fought tirelessly against the corruption of Vladimir Putin’s regime. This cost him his liberty and nearly his life. Today’s prize recognises his immense bravery and we reiterate our call for his immediate release,” the European Parliament said on Twitter, announcing Navalny as the winner.' back

Second Vatican Council: Decree on Ecumenism, Unitas redintegratio, '1. The restoration of unity among all Christians is one of the principal concerns of the Second Vatican Council. Christ the Lord founded one Church and one Church only. However, many Christian communions present themselves to men as the true inheritors of Jesus Christ; all indeed profess to be followers of the Lord but differ in mind and go their different ways, as if Christ Himself were divided. Such division openly contradicts the will of Christ, scandalizes the world, and damages the holy cause of preaching the Gospel to every creature.' back

Sharon Mesmer, Silence & Contradiction: ‘The Complete Poems of San Juan de la Cruz’, ' The saint’s poems, written more than four hundred years ago and considered the apex of Spanish mystical literature, seem to forget the familiar, easy, and convenient, to slip into darkness and unknowing to find God. They are written in a highly symbolic, sometimes sensual language. It’s no wonder translators got it wrong. But I was so impressed by the new version by poets María Baranda and Paul Hoover that I emailed them to ask how they’d managed to keep San Juan’s paradoxes intact without adding words and ideas.' back

The Editors, Commomweal, Reckoning with Guantánamo, ' Nearly eight hundred people have passed through the Guantánamo Bay prison camp since the United States opened it in January 2002. Twenty years after 9/11 and more than a month after the withdrawal of American forces from Afghanistan, thirty-nine detainees are still there. In all that time only twelve have been charged with war crimes, and ten of those are still awaiting trial. . . . The glaring injustice of the situation at Guantánamo Bay presented Russian President Vladimir Putin with the opportunity to criticize the United States on human rights after his meeting with President Joe Biden in June: “Guantánamo is still open. This is contrary to all imaginable rules, to international law or American laws, but it is still functioning.” ' back

The Song of Names - Wikipedia, The Song of Names - Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia, ' The Song of Names is a 2019 drama film directed by François Girard. An adaptation of the novel of the same name by Norman Lebrecht, it stars Tim Roth and Clive Owen as childhood friends from London whose lives have been changed by World War II. The film was nominated for nine Canadian Screen Awards, winning five. back