Al-Khalili (2010), Jim, Pathfinders: The Golden Age of Arabic Science, Allen Lane 2010 ' For over 700 years the international language of science was Arabic. In Pathfinders, Jim al-Khalili celebrates the forgotten pioneers who helped shape our understanding of the world. All scientists have stood on the shoulders of giants. But most historical accounts today suggest that the achievements of the ancient Greeks were not matched until the European Renaissance in the 16th century, a 1,000-year period dismissed as the Dark Ages. In the ninth-century, however, the Abbasid caliph of Baghdad, Abu Ja'far Abdullah al-Ma'mun, created the greatest centre of learning the world had ever seen, known as Bayt al-Hikma, the House of Wisdom. The scientists and philosophers he brought together sparked a period of extraordinary discovery, in every field imaginable, launching a golden age of Arabic science. Few of these scientists, however, are now known in the western world. Abu Rayhan al-Biruni, a polymath who outshines everyone in history except Leonardo da Vinci? The Syrian astronomer Ibn al-Shatir, whose manuscripts would inspire Copernicus's heliocentric model of the solar system? Or the 13th-century Andalucian physician Ibn al-Nafees, who correctly described blood circulation 400 years before William Harvey? Iraqi Ibn al-Haytham who practised the modern scientific method 700 years before Bacon and Descartes, and founded the field of modern optics before Newton? Or even ninth-century zoologist al-Jahith, who developed a theory of natural selection a thousand years before Darwin? The West needs to see the Islamic world through new eyes and the Islamic world, in turn, to take pride in its extraordinarily rich heritage. Anyone who reads this book will understand why.' 
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Nielsen (2016), Michael A, and Isaac L Chuang, Quantum Computation and Quantum Information, Cambridge University Press 2016 Review: A rigorous, comprehensive text on quantum information is timely. The study of quantum information and computation represents a particularly direct route to understanding quantum mechanics. Unlike the traditional route to quantum mechanics via Schroedinger's equation and the hydrogen atom, the study of quantum information requires no calculus, merely a knowledge of complex numbers and matrix multiplication. In addition, quantum information processing gives direct access to the traditionally advanced topics of measurement of quantum systems and decoherence.' Seth Lloyd, Department of Quantum Mechanical Engineering, MIT, Nature 6876: vol 416 page 19, 7 March 2002. 
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Polkinghorne (2008), John, Quantum Physics and Theology: An Unexpected Kinship, Yale University Press 2008 Jacket: 'Despite the differences of their subject matter, science and theology have a cousinly relationship, John Polkinghorne contends in his latest thought-provoking book.  From his unique perspective as both theoretical physicist and Anglican priest, Polkinghorne considers aspects of quantum physics and theology and demonstrates that the two truth-seeking enterprises are engaged in analogous rational techniques of inquiry. His exploration of the deep connections between science and theology shows with new clarity a common kinship in the search for truth.'   
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Streater (2000), Raymond F, and Arthur S Wightman, PCT, Spin, Statistics and All That, Princeton University Press 2000 Amazon product description: 'PCT, Spin and Statistics, and All That is the classic summary of and introduction to the achievements of Axiomatic Quantum Field Theory. This theory gives precise mathematical responses to questions like: What is a quantized field? What are the physically indispensable attributes of a quantized field? Furthermore, Axiomatic Field Theory shows that a number of physically important predictions of quantum field theory are mathematical consequences of the axioms. Here Raymond Streater and Arthur Wightman treat only results that can be rigorously proved, and these are presented in an elegant style that makes them available to a broad range of physics and theoretical mathematics.' 
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Zee (2010), Anthony, Quantum Field Theory in a Nutshell, Princeton University Press 2010 ' Since it was first published, Quantum Field Theory in a Nutshell has quickly established itself as the most accessible and comprehensive introduction to this profound and deeply fascinating area of theoretical physics. Now in this fully revised and expanded edition, A. Zee covers the latest advances while providing a solid conceptual foundation for students to build on, making this the most up-to-date and modern textbook on quantum field theory available. This expanded edition features several additional chapters, as well as an entirely new section describing recent developments in quantum field theory such as gravitational waves, the helicity spinor formalism, on-shell gluon scattering, recursion relations for amplitudes with complex momenta, and the hidden connection between Yang-Mills theory and Einstein gravity. Zee also provides added exercises, explanations, and examples, as well as detailed appendices, solutions to selected exercises, and suggestions for further reading.' 
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Funerary archaeology - Wikipedia, Funerary archaeology - Wikipedia, the feee encyclopedia, ' Funerary archaeology (or burial archaeology) is a branch of archaeology that studies the treatment and commemoration of the dead. It includes the study of human remains, their burial contexts, and from single grave goods through to monumental landscapes. Funerary archaeology might be considered a sub-set of the study of religion and belief. A wide range of expert areas contribute to funerary archaeology, including epigraphy, material culture studies, thanatology, human osteology, zooarchaeology and stable isotope analysis.' back

Homer, Iliad book 17:423-455, ' 445] Was it that among wretched men ye too should have sorrows? For in sooth there is naught, I ween, more miserable than man among all things that breathe and move upon earth. back

Isobel Koshiw, Kherson torture centres were planned by Russian state, say lawyers, ' Evidence collected from Kherson in southern Ukraine shows Russian torture centres were not “random” but instead planned and directly financed by the Russian state, according to a team of Ukrainian and international lawyers headed by a UK barrister. . . . The lawyers, called the Mobile Justice Team, said on Thursday they had investigated 20 torture chambers in Kherson and concluded they were part of a “calculated plan to terrorise, subjugate and eliminate Ukrainian resistance and destroy Ukrainian identity”. . . . “The mass torture chambers, financed by the Russian state, are not random but rather part of a carefully thought-out and financed blueprint with a clear objective to eliminate Ukrainian national and cultural identity,” said the British barrister Wayne Jordash, who is leading the team. More than 1,000 survivors have submitted evidence and more than 400 people have vanished from Kherson, the lawyers say.' back

Jack Shafer, Opinion | Rupert Murdoch Rides the Trump Tiger — and Gets Eaten , ' Murdoch’s pursuit of power and money, and his deft combination of the two, has always been a naked secret for those who care to inquire. These latest court filings only strip the top layer of epidermis from his hide and expose his venal essence. As late as Jan. 26, 2021, Murdoch was still so fearful of Trump that he had not executed the pivot and was still allowing stolen-election crackpot (and loyal Fox advertiser) Mike “MyPillow” Lindell a platform on the network’s Tucker Carlson Tonight show. Why allow it? Murdoch was asked. Presumably cashing Lindell’s fat checks in his mind’s eye, Murdoch replied, “It is not red or blue, it is green.”.' back

James V. Wertsch, Russia’s narrative of a Great Patriotic War in Ukraine must be buried, ' The first priority is to reassert that no national narrative justifies the invasion of a sovereign country. This applies to everyone, including the United States with our own dark chapters in Vietnam, Iraq, the Caribbean and elsewhere. But in the midst of the largest land war in Europe since 1945 and the possibility of a massive conflagration, the focus is on Russia. Putin’s incessant use of the Great Patriotic War narrative, and insistence that Russians must relive it, continue to guide his actions even in the face of mounting losses and international condemnation. This is a narrative campaign that deserves to be called out and opposed.' 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

Jeffrey Nicholls (1992), An essay on the divinity of money , ' The rise of science questioned revelation and the churches as sources of truth, but they have remained in existence because science still lacks the power to ask or answer the fundamental questions of life and death that concern theology. Here I outline a new scientific theology whose model of god derives not from ancient text but from the mathematical theory of text and communication itself. I propose that this model describes the universe of our experience, which is therefore fittingly called god. I then interpret this model using elements of current physical theory. These ideas are then applied to money. The movement of money is an abstract representation of the the activity of society as a whole, just as the flow of momentum in space-time is an abstract representation of the physical universe. My hypothesis is that proper understanding and political control of public cashflows is necessary and sufficient to obtain peaceful civilisation.' back

John Baez (2012), Spin, Statistics, CPT and All That Jazz, 'This is a little grab-bag of proofs of the spin-statistics theorem. Quantum mechanics says that if you turn a particle around 360°, its wavefunction changes by a phase of either +1 (that is, not at all) or -1. It also says that if you interchange two particles of the same type, their joint wavefunction changes by a phase of +1 or -1. The spin-statistics theorem says that these are not independent choices: you get the same phase in both cases! The phase you get by rotating a particle is related to its spin, while the phase you get by switching two goes by the funny name of "statistics". The spin-statistics theorem says how these are related. The theorem lays out two possibilities. Some particles change phase by +1 when you rotate one by 360° or switch two of them. These are called bosons. They include photons, the W and Z boson, and gluons. Others change phase by -1 when you rotate one by 360° or switch two of them. These are called fermions. They include protons, neutrons, electrons and neutrinos.' back

John Paul II (1983), Code of Canon Law: §331: Papal Power, ' Can. 331 The bishop of the Roman Church, in whom continues the office given by the Lord uniquely to Peter, the first of the Apostles, and to be transmitted to his successors, is the head of the college of bishops, the Vicar of Christ, and the pastor of the universal Church on earth. By virtue of his office he possesses supreme, full, immediate, and universal ordinary power in the Church, which he is always able to exercise freely. . . . §3 No appeal or recourse is permitted against a sentence or decree of the Roman Pontiff. ' back

Metanoia - Wikipedia, Metanoia - Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia, 'Metanoia (from the Greek μετάνοια, metanoia, changing one's mind) in the context of theological discussion, where it is used often, is usually interpreted to mean repentance. However, some people[citation needed] argue that the word should be interpreted more literally to denote changing one's mind, in the sense of embracing thoughts beyond its present limitations or thought patterns (an interpretation which is compatible with the denotative meaning of repentance but replaces its negative connotation with a positive one, focusing on the superior state being approached rather than the inferior prior state being departed from).' back

Philip Ball, Can we use quantum computers to make music?, ' The event was attended by about 150 people, who were listening to an improvised musical performance orchestrated by the Brazilian composer and computer scientist Eduardo Reck Miranda, who is currently based at the University of Plymouth in the UK. In one piece, Miranda and two colleagues were each using their own laptops, which were connected to a quantum computer over the Internet, to control – via hand gestures – the state of a quantum bit (qubit). When the state of the qubit was measured, the result dictated the characteristics of the sounds created by synthesizers back in London.' back

Richard Feynman & Steven Weinberg (1986), Elementary Particles and the Laws of Physics: The 1986 Dirac Memorial Lectures, Foreword: John C Taylor: 'Dirac Died in 1984, and St John's College, Cambridge (Dirac's College), very generously endowed an annual lecture to be held at Cambridge University in Dirac's memory. The First two lectures, printed here, are contrasting variations of Dirac's theme of the union of quantum theory and relativity.' back

Ruchi Kumar, Al Jazeera, ‘Books they love’: A Kabul graveyard library for two schoolgirls, ' Kabul, Afghanistan – One morning in early October last year, 16-year-old cousins Marzia and Hajar Mohammadi were laid to rest next to one another in a remote graveyard on the outskirts of Kabul. Among the roses on the girls’ graves, their grieving family members placed a few of the teenagers’ favourite books – a tribute to their love of reading. . . . After Marzia and Hajar’s funeral, their 22 siblings returned regularly to the quiet, dusty, hilltop cemetery. About a week later, they found several books – mostly in Persian, some in English, and all well-worn from years of reading – left behind by strangers. The following week, there were about two dozen books – titles by Shafak, American author Rachel Hollis and Iraqi Yazidi human rights activist Nadia Murad. . . . In late October, the sturdy cabinet was brought to the graveyard and placed next to the cousins’ graves. The shelves hold about two dozen books, protected by glass doors which are left unlocked so the volumes can be easily accessed.' back

Shreegireesh Jalihal & Kumar Sambhav, Modi govt allowed Adani coal deals it knew were ‘inappropriate’, ' New Delhi, India – The Indian government granted an extraordinary favour to controversial tycoon Gautam Adani, boosting his coal business, documents reveal. After Prime Minister Narendra Modi’s office had ascertained that a particular regulation handing over coal blocks to the private sector was ‘inappropriate’ and lacked transparency, his government made an exception. It allowed Adani Enterprises Limited to mine from a block holding more than 450 million tonnes of coal in one of India’s densest forest patches. . . . But the Modi government’s decisions enabled the Adani Group, whose business fortune has risen in parallel with Modi’s political heft, to continue to mine coal, unfettered by the court ruling as well as the government’s own policy decisions that put many other private players at a disadvantage. To date, the company has mined more than 80 million tonnes of coal from the block.' back

Tree of life (biology) - Wikipedia, Tree of life (biology) - Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia, 'The tree of life or universal tree of life is a metaphor used to describe the relationships between organisms, both living and extinct, as described in a famous passage in Charles Darwin's On the Origin of Species (1859).' back

William E. Bayliss (2004), Relativity in Introductory Physics, 'A century after its formulation by Einstein, it is time to incorporate special relativity early in the physics curriculum. The approach advocated here employs a simple algebraic extension of vector formalism that generates Minkowski spacetime, displays covariant symmetries, and enables calculations of boosts and spatial rotations without matrices or tensors. The approach is part of a comprehensive geometric algebra with applications in many areas of physics, but only an intuitive subset is needed at the introductory level. The approach and some of its extensions are given here and illustrated with insights into the geometry of spacetime.' back

William Shakespeare (1608), King Lear act IV, scene 1, ' GLOUCESTER He has some reason, else he could not beg. I’ th’ last night’s storm, I such a fellow saw, Which made me think a man a worm. My son Came then into my mind, and yet my mind Was then scarce friends with him. I have heard more since. As flies to wanton boys are we to th’ gods; They kill us for their sport. [35-42] back