Kuhn (1996), Thomas S, The Structure of Scientific Revolutions, U of Chicago Press 1962, 1970, 1996 Introduction: 'a new theory, however special its range of application, is seldom just an increment to what is already known. Its assimilation requires the reconstruction of prior theory and the re-evaluation of prior fact, an intrinsically revolutionary process that is seldom completed by a single man, and never overnight.' [p 7]  
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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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Alexander Bird (Stanford Encyclopedia of Philosophy), Thomas Kuhn, ' Thomas Samuel Kuhn (1922–1996) is one of the most influential philosophers of science of the twentieth century, perhaps the most influential. His 1962 book The Structure of Scientific Revolutions is one of the most cited academic books of all time. Kuhn’s contribution to the philosophy of science marked not only a break with several key positivist doctrines, but also inaugurated a new style of philosophy of science that brought it closer to the history of science. His account of the development of science held that science enjoys periods of stable growth punctuated by revisionary revolutions.' back

Brian Welch et al, JWST Imaging of Earendel, the Extremely Magnified Star at Redshift z = 6.2, ' The gravitationally lensed star WHL0137-LS, nicknamed Earendel, was identified with a photometric redshift zphot = 6.2 ± 0.1 based on images taken with the Hubble Space Telescope. Here we present James Webb Space Telescope (JWST ) Near Infrared Camera (NIRCam) images of Earendel in 8 filters spanning 0.8–5.0μm. In these higher resolution images, Earendel remains a single unresolved point source on the lensing critical curve, increasing the lower limit on the lensing magnification to μ > 4000 and restricting the source plane radius further to r < 0.02 pc, or ∼ 4000 AU. These new observations strengthen the conclusion that Earendel is best explained by an individual star or multiple star system. The new imaging also supports the previous photometric redshift estimate, solidifying the interpretation of Earendel as a stellar source within the first billion years of the universe. Fitting stellar spectra to our photometry yields a stellar temperature of Teff ' 13000–16000 K assuming the light is dominated by a single star. The delensed bolometric luminosity in this case ranges from log(L) = 5.8– 6.6 L , which is in the range where one expects luminous blue variable stars. Allowing for two stars with different temperatures can yield better fits to the photometry at the expense of increased free parameters, leading to non-unique well-fitting temperatures of Teff & 20000 K and Teff . 13000 K for the hotter and cooler components, respectively. back

Carol Kuruvilla, Pope Francis issues dire warning to followers at Vatican Mass: Satan is real, ' The pontiff warned his followers to look out for the devil’s temptations. On the same day, he asked forgiveness from victims of sex abuse who were betrayed by pedophile priests.' back

Eigenvalues and eigenvectors - Wikipedia, Eigenvalues and eigenvectors - Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia, ' In linear algebra, an eigenvector or characteristic vector of a linear transformation is a nonzero vector that changes at most by a scalar factor when that linear transformation is applied to it. The corresponding eigenvalue, often denoted by λ, is the factor by which the eigenvector is scaled. Geometrically, an eigenvector, corresponding to a real nonzero eigenvalue, points in a direction in which it is stretched by the transformation and the eigenvalue is the factor by which it is stretched. If the eigenvalue is negative, the direction is reversed. Loosely speaking, in a multidimensional vector space, the eigenvector is not rotated.' back

Freda Kreier (2022), Ancient tooth DNA reveals how ‘cold sore’ herpes virus has evolved, 'Ancient DNA extracted from the teeth of humans who lived long ago is yielding new information about pathogens past and present. In one of the latest studies, researchers uncovered and sequenced ancient herpes genomes for the first time, from the teeth of long-dead Europeans. The strain of herpes virus that causes lip sores in people today — called HSV-1 — was once thought to have emerged in Africa more than 50,000 years ago. But the new data, published in Science Advances on 27 July1, indicate that its origin was much more recent: around 5,000 years ago during the Bronze Age.' back

Jeffrey Nicholls (1967), How universal is the universe?, ' 61 The future is beyond our comprehension, but we can get an idea of it and speed its coming by studying what we already have. Contemplating the size and wonder of the universe as it stands in the light of its openness to the future must surely be a powerful incentive to men to love God. We have come a long way since the little world of St Thomas. Ours is open to all things, even participating in god. This is what I mean by universal. ' back

John McKay, Sweden has broken its neutrality convention and sided with Ukraine. Does this matter?, ' Sweden’s decision to apply for NATO membership following Russia’s invasion of Ukraine has generally been greeted with enthusiasm, as a further demonstration of Western unity in the face of Vladimir Putin’s aggression. But even two years ago, such a step would have been unthinkable. Since the end of the Napoleonic Wars in 1814, Sweden had asserted a firm policy of neutrality that involved non-participation in any wars and an avoidance of alliances during peacetime. For Swedes, neutrality was at the centre of their identity and their perception of their special place in the world. Their new position will inevitably involve some psychological readjustments. However, for the rest of us, there are also some significant costs that flow from the end of Swedish neutrality.' back

Julia Yost, New York’s Hottest Club Is the Catholic Church, ' As senior churchmen seek to make Catholicism palatable to modernity, members of a small but significant scene are turning to the ancient faith in defiance of liberal pieties. The scene is often associated with “Dimes Square,” a downtown Manhattan neighborhood popular with a pandemic-weary Generation Z — or Zoomer — crowd, but it has spread across a network of podcasts and upstart publications. Its sensibility is more transgressive than progressive. Many of its denizens profess to be apolitical. Others hold outré opinions, whether sincerely or as fashion statements. Reactionary motifs are chic: Trump hats and “tradwife” frocks, monarchist and anti-feminist sentiments. Perhaps the ultimate expression of this contrarian aesthetic is its embrace of Catholicism.' back

Michèle Dominici, Becoming Marilyn, On the 60th anniversary of Marilyn Monroe's passing, this documentary provides a unique portrait of the screen icon from her own perspective. In contrast to the many films made and books written about her, this one offers to give her back her voice, through the interviews she gave, the books she wrote and the fragments she left behind. For the first time, it will be a matter of understanding how Norma Jeane Baker created the iconic Marilyn Monroe. Because Marilyn was not born Marilyn, she became her. back

Paul Baumann, Transgressive Traditionalists, ; The Times’s most recent effort to provide a glimpse of how traditional Catholics think comes from Julia Yost, a senior editor at First Things. Yost’s op-ed is titled “New York’s Hottest Club Is the Catholic Church.” She describes a Manhattan “scene” frequented by young Catholic-curious artists and intellectuals and propelled by “a network of podcasts and upstart publications.” Unlike “senior churchmen,” who mistakenly try to “make Catholicism palatable to modernity,” these nascent Catholics are “more transgressive than progressive.” The soulless tyranny of secular liberalism is once again in the dock. “Reactionary motifs are chic: Trump hats and ‘tradwife’ frocks, monarchist and anti-feminist sentiments".' back

Recovery of Aristotle - Wikipedia, Recovery of Aristotle - Wikipedia, the free encclopedia , 'The "Recovery of Aristotle" (or Rediscovery) refers to the copying or re-translating of most of Aristotle's books (of ancient Greece), from Greek or Arabic text into Latin, during the Middle Ages, of the Latin West. The Recovery of Aristotle spanned about 100 years, from the middle 12th century into the 13th century, and copied or translated over 42 books (see: Corpus Aristotelicum), including Arabic texts from Arabic authors, where the previous Latin versions had only two books in general circulation: Categories and On Interpretation (De Interpretatione).' back

Samantha Hepburn, Opening 10 new oil and gas sites is a win for fossil fuel companies – but a staggering loss for the rest of Australia, ' King’s announcement came at a resources conference in Darwin, where she said: Gas enables greater use of renewables domestically by providing energy security. Australian [liquefied natural gas] is also a force for regional energy security and helps our trading partners meet their own decarbonisation goals. The problem with this assessment is that it ignores two things. First, Australia exports nearly 90% of domestically produced gas and lacks robust export controls to moderate this. Without these controls, increasing domestic production will not improve Australia’s energy security. Second, gas can only enable greater use of renewables domestically and provide energy security where it is “decarbonised” through the use of carbon-capture and storage. If it isn’t decarbonised, using gas undermines energy security by risking further global warming. However the deployment of CCS technology is complex, expensive and faces many barriers. To date it has a history of over-promising and under-delivering.' back

Thales of Miletus - Wikipedia, Thales of Miletus - Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia, ' Thales of Miletus (Greek: Θαλῆς (ὁ Μιλήσιος), c. 624/623 – c. 548/545 BC) was a Greek mathematician, astronomer and pre-Socratic philosopher from Miletus in Ionia, Asia Minor. He was one of the Seven Sages of Greece. Many, most notably Aristotle, regarded him as the first philosopher in the Greek tradition, and he is otherwise historically recognized as the first individual in Western civilization known to have entertained and engaged in scientific philosophy.
Thales was a hylozoist (one who thinks that matter is alive, i.e. containing soul(s). Aristotle wrote (De Anima 411 a7-8) of Thales: " Thales thought all things are full of gods." ' back

The Wannsee Conference (film) - Wikipedia, The Wannsee Conference (film) - Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia, ' The Wannsee Conference (German: Die Wannseekonferenz) is a 1984 German TV film portraying the events of the Wannsee Conference, held in Berlin in January 1942. The script is derived from the minutes of the meeting.[1] Since no verbatim transcription of the meeting exists, the dialogue is necessarily fictionalised. The main theme of the film is the bureaucratic nature of the genocide.' back