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The Cyberiad
''The Cyberiad'' ( pl, Cyberiada) is a series of humorous science fiction short stories by Polish writer Stanisław Lem, originally published in 1965, with an English translation appearing in 1974. The main protagonists of the series are Trurl and Klapaucius, the "constructors". The vast majority of characters are either robots or intelligent machines. The stories focus on problems of the individual and society, as well as on the vain search for human happiness through technological means. Two of these stories were included in the book ''The Mind's I.'' The word "Cyberiad" is used in the series only once as a name of a pretty woman in a poem by Elektrybałt, an electronic poet invented by Trurl. There is a steel statue of Elektrybałt in the Copernicus Science Centre, Warsaw. Stories The whole series was published in the 1965 Polish collection ''Cyberiada'' by Wydawnictwo Literackie and also included stories published previously elsewhere. * ''Jak ocalał świat'' ('' Bajki ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Michael Kandel
Michael Kandel (born December 24, 1941 in Baltimore, Maryland) is an American translator and author of science fiction. Biography Kandel received a doctorate in Slavistics from Indiana University Bloomington, Indiana University. His most recent position was editor at the Modern Language Association. Prior to that, at Harcourt (publisher), Harcourt, he edited (among others) Ursula K. Le Guin's work. Kandel is perhaps best known for his translations of the works of Stanisław Lem from Polish to English. by Maria Khodorkovsky, July 14, 2015 Recently he has also been translating works of other Polish science fiction authors, ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Middle Ages
In the history of Europe, the Middle Ages or medieval period lasted approximately from the late 5th to the late 15th centuries, similar to the post-classical period of global history. It began with the fall of the Western Roman Empire and transitioned into the Renaissance and the Age of Discovery. The Middle Ages is the middle period of the three traditional divisions of Western history: classical antiquity, the medieval period, and the modern period. The medieval period is itself subdivided into the Early, High, and Late Middle Ages. Population decline, counterurbanisation, the collapse of centralized authority, invasions, and mass migrations of tribes, which had begun in late antiquity, continued into the Early Middle Ages. The large-scale movements of the Migration Period, including various Germanic peoples, formed new kingdoms in what remained of the Western Roman Empire. In the 7th century, North Africa and the Middle East—most recently part of the Eastern Ro ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
SimCity (1989 Video Game)
''SimCity'', also known as ''Micropolis'' or ''SimCity Classic'', is a city-building simulation video game developed by Will Wright and released for a number of platforms from 1989 to 1991. ''SimCity'' features two-dimensional graphics and an overhead perspective. The objective of the game is to create a city, develop residential and industrial areas, build infrastructure, and collect taxes for further development of the city. Importance is placed on increasing the standard of living of the population, maintaining a balance between the different sectors, and monitoring the region's environmental situation to prevent the settlement from declining and going bankrupt. ''SimCity'' was independently developed by Will Wright, beginning in 1985; the game would not see its first release until 1989. Because the game lacked any of the arcade or action elements that dominated the video game market in the 1980s, video game publishers declined to release the title in fear of its commercia ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Victim Of The Brain
''Victim of the Brain'' is a 1988 film by Dutch director Piet Hoenderdos, loosely based on ''The Mind's I'' (1981), a compilation of texts and stories on the philosophy of mind and self, co-edited by Douglas Hofstadter and Daniel C. Dennett. The film weaves interviews with Hofstadter with adaptations of several works in the book: Dennett's ''Where am I?'', ''The Soul of the Mark III Beast'' by Terrel Miedaner, and also the short story ''The Seventh Sally: How Trurl's Own Perfection Led to No Good'' from ''The Cyberiad'' by Stanisław Lem. The film was shown several times on television in the Netherlands in the late 1980s. See also * Brain in a vat, the topic of the story ''Where am I?'' * Can a machine have a soul?, ideas related to ''The Soul of the Mark III Beast'' * Matrix reality A simulation is the imitation of the operation of a real-world process or system over time. Simulations require the use of models; the model represents the key characteristics or beha ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Sally
Sally may refer to: People *Sally (name), a list of notable people with the name Military *Sortie (siege warfare), Sally (military), an attack by the defenders of a town or fortress under siege against a besieging force; see sally port *Sally, the Allied reporting name for the Imperial Japanese Army's World War II Mitsubishi Ki-21 bomber Writings *''Sally'', a detective novel by E.V. Cunningham (aka Howard Fast) *Sally (short story), "Sally" (short story), by Isaac Asimov *"Sally", a poem by Patti Smith from her book ''Seventh Heaven (book), Seventh Heaven'' Music * Sally (band), an indie-rock band from Chicago, Illinois * Sally (Gogol Bordello song), "Sally" (Gogol Bordello song), 2005 * Sally (Gracie Fields song), "Sally" (Gracie Fields song), first performed in the film ''Sally in Our Alley'', 1931 * Sally (Hardwell song), "Sally" (Hardwell song), 2015 * Sally (Kerbdog song), "Sally" (Kerbdog song), 1996 * "Sally", a song by Anthony Phillips from ''Invisible Men'', 1983 * " ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Cyberiada (opera)
''Cyberiada'' (also known by its German title ') is an opera in three acts (11 scenes) composed by Krzysztof Meyer to a Polish-language libretto by the composer himself, based on ''The Cyberiad'', a series of science fiction short stories by Stanisław Lem. It won the Grand Prix of the Prince Pierre of Monaco composers' competition in 1970 and was first performed in its entirety on 11 May 1986 at the Opernhaus Wuppertal. Background and performance history Meyer's first (and only) opera, ''Cyberiada'' was composed between 1967 and 1970. The composer himself wrote the libretto which is based on Stanisław Lem's ''The Cyberiad'', a darkly comic series of science fiction short stories. The revolutionary approach by Meyer in terms of music included the incorporation of chance into the process of creation known as aleatoricism, and the use of sonorism in orchestration, based on inventing new types of sounds on individual instruments. The opera won the Grand Prix of the Prince Pierre of ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Krzysztof Meyer
Krzysztof Meyer (born 11 August 1943) is a Polish composer, pianist, and music scholar, formerly Dean of the Department of Music Theory (1972–1975) at the State College of Music (now Academy of Music in Kraków), and president of the Union of Polish Composers (1985–1989). Meyer served as professor of composition at the Hochschule für Musik in Cologne from 1987 to 2008, prior to his retirement. Biography Meyer was born in Kraków, Poland. As a boy he played piano and organ, and he began his composition study early – in 1954, with Stanisław Wiechowicz. Then, at the State College of Music in Kraków he continued studying with Wiechowicz, and after the latter's death in 1963, did his diploma with Krzysztof Penderecki (1965). He also studied music theory (diploma in 1966). In Paris, he took courses with Nadia Boulanger (1964, 1966, and 1968), and in Warsaw he became a private pupil of Witold Lutosławski. His ''Symphony No. 1'' was his first work to be performed, in Kraków ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Joust
Jousting is a martial game or hastilude between two horse riders wielding lances with blunted tips, often as part of a tournament. The primary aim was to replicate a clash of heavy cavalry, with each participant trying to strike the opponent while riding towards him at high speed, breaking the lance on the opponent's shield or jousting armour if possible, or unhorsing him. The joust became an iconic characteristic of the knight in Romantic medievalism. The participants experience close to three and a quarter times their body weight in G-forces when the lances collide with their armour. The term is derived from Old French , ultimately from Latin "to approach, to meet". The word was loaned into Middle English around 1300, when jousting was a very popular sport among the Anglo-Norman knighthood. The synonym tilt (as in tilting at windmills) dates . Jousting is based on the military use of the lance by heavy cavalry. It transformed into a specialized sport during the Late Middle ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Fables For Robots
''Fables for Robots'' ( pl, Bajki Robotów) is a series of humorous science fiction short stories by Polish writer Stanisław Lem, first printed in 1964. The fables are written in the grotesque form of folk fairy tales, set in the universe populated by robots. In this universe there are robot kings, robot peasants, robot knights, robot scientists; a robot damsel in distress is pestered by a robot dragon, robot dogs have robot fleas, etc. The ''Fables'' constituted the bulk of the collection ''Mortal Engines'' () translated by Michael Kandel. Two of them were also included into the 1981 collection ''The Cosmic Carnival of Stanislaw Lem'' (). Stories In 1965 three of the fables, "Jak ocalał świat" ("How the World Survived"), "Maszyna Trurla" ("Trurl's Machine"), and "Wielkie lanie" ("The Great Spanking") were included into the cycle ''The Cyberiad ''The Cyberiad'' ( pl, Cyberiada) is a series of humorous science fiction short stories by Polish writer Stanisław Lem, origin ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Spaceflight
Spaceflight (or space flight) is an application of astronautics to fly spacecraft into or through outer space, either with or without humans on board. Most spaceflight is uncrewed and conducted mainly with spacecraft such as satellites in orbit around Earth, but also includes space probes for flights beyond Earth orbit. Such spaceflight operates either by telerobotic or autonomous control. The more complex human spaceflight has been pursued soon after the first orbital satellites and has reached the Moon and permanent human presence in space around Earth, particularly with the use of space stations. Human spaceflight programs include the Soyuz, Shenzhou, the past Apollo Moon landing and the Space Shuttle programs, with currently the International Space Station as the main destination of human spaceflight missions while China's Tiangong Space Station is under construction. Spaceflight is used for placing in Earth's orbit communications satellites, reconnaissance satellites ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Anthropomorphic
Anthropomorphism is the attribution of human traits, emotions, or intentions to non-human entities. It is considered to be an innate tendency of human psychology. Personification is the related attribution of human form and characteristics to abstract concepts such as nations, emotions, and natural forces, such as seasons and weather. Both have ancient roots as storytelling and artistic devices, and most cultures have traditional fables with anthropomorphized animals as characters. People have also routinely attributed human emotions and behavioral traits to wild as well as domesticated animals. Etymology Anthropomorphism and anthropomorphization derive from the verb form ''anthropomorphize'', itself derived from the Greek ''ánthrōpos'' (, "human") and ''morphē'' (, "form"). It is first attested in 1753, originally in reference to the heresy of applying a human form to the Christian God.''Oxford English Dictionary'', 1st ed. "anthropomorphism, ''n.''" Oxford University P ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Dragon
A dragon is a reptilian legendary creature that appears in the folklore of many cultures worldwide. Beliefs about dragons vary considerably through regions, but dragons in western cultures since the High Middle Ages have often been depicted as winged, horned, and capable of breathing fire. Dragons in eastern cultures are usually depicted as wingless, four-legged, serpentine creatures with above-average intelligence. Commonalities between dragons' traits are often a hybridization of feline, reptilian and avian features. Scholars believe huge extinct or migrating crocodiles bear the closest resemblance, especially when encountered in forested or swampy areas, and are most likely the template of modern Oriental dragon imagery. Etymology The word ''dragon'' entered the English language in the early 13th century from Old French ''dragon'', which in turn comes from la, draconem (nominative ) meaning "huge serpent, dragon", from Ancient Greek , (genitive , ) "serpent, giant s ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
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