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Mad Scientists Of Stanisław Lem
Mad scientists and inventors appear in the fiction of Stanisław Lem in the memoirs of Lem's starfaring vagabond Ijon Tichy, collected in ''The Star Diaries'' and '' Memoirs of a Space Traveller,'' as well as in '' The Cyberiad''. Most of Lem's mad scientist stories fit into the format of stories about unusual inventions, known since the 19th century, most of them are devoid of ironic tone characteristic of most of Ijon Tichy's stories and robots' fables, and they are literary frames for various Lem's theories. Lem's mad scientists include professors Corcoran, who created several artificial universes in isolated lockers; Decantor, who created an immortal soul, Zazul, who cloned himself and was apparently killed by the clone who took his place; Diagoras, who created progressing makes of an "independent and self-perfecting device that is capable of spontaneous thought" and was unwittingly used by two such devices as a communication medium; doctor Vliperdius, a robot doctor who run ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Mad Scientist
The mad scientist (also mad doctor or mad professor) is a stock character of a scientist who is perceived as " mad, bad and dangerous to know" or "insane" owing to a combination of unusual or unsettling personality traits and the unabashedly ambitious, taboo or hubristic nature of their experiments. As a motif in fiction, the mad scientist may be villainous (evil genius) or antagonistic, benign, or neutral; may be insane, eccentric, or clumsy; and often works with fictional technology or fails to recognise or value common human objections to attempting to play God. Some may have benevolent intentions, even if their actions are dangerous or questionable, which can make them accidental antagonists. History Prototypes The prototypical fictional mad scientist was Victor Frankenstein, creator of his eponymous monster, who made his first appearance in 1818, in the novel ''Frankenstein, or the Modern Prometheus'' by Mary Shelley. Though the novel's title character, Victor Frankenst ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Lymphater's Formula
"Lymphater's Formula" ( pl, "Formula Lymphatera") is a 1961 science fiction short story by Polish writer Stanisław Lem. It is a story of a "mad scientist", mathematician Ammon Lymphater, who invents an artificial intelligence, and then he realizes that it is capable of rendering the humankind obsolete. It was first published in the 1961 collection ' (''Book of Robots'') with the pre-annotation "from the memoirs of Ijon Tichy". The story was never republished with this pre-annotation, and nothing in the novel gives any indication at Ijon Tichy. Piotr Krywak tried to figure out possible explanations for this, apart from a typographical error. Piotr Krywak, ''„Formuła Lymphatera” Stanisława Lema – zapomniana opowieść o Ijonie Tichym?'', Annales Universitatis Paedagogicae Cracoviensis , Studia ad Bibliothecarum Scientiam Pertinentia, vol. 4, 2006 Plot Ammon Lymphater became interested in the emerging science of cybernetics and information theory, and started studying ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Short Film
A short film is any motion picture that is short enough in running time not to be considered a feature film. The Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences defines a short film as "an original motion picture that has a running time of 40 minutes or less, including all credits". In the United States, short films were generally termed short subjects from the 1920s into the 1970s when confined to two 35 mm reels or less, and featurettes for a film of three or four reels. "Short" was an abbreviation for either term. The increasingly rare industry term "short subject" carries more of an assumption that the film is shown as part of a presentation along with a feature film. Short films are often screened at local, national, or international film festivals and made by independent filmmakers with either a low budget or no budget at all. They are usually funded by film grants, nonprofit organizations, sponsor, or personal funds. Short films are generally used for industry experience and ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
The Lancet
''The Lancet'' is a weekly peer-reviewed general medical journal and one of the oldest of its kind. It is also the world's highest-impact academic journal. It was founded in England in 1823. The journal publishes original research articles, review articles ("seminars" and "reviews"), editorials, book reviews, correspondence, as well as news features and case reports. ''The Lancet'' has been owned by Elsevier since 1991, and its editor-in-chief since 1995 has been Richard Horton. The journal has editorial offices in London, New York City, and Beijing. History ''The Lancet'' was founded in 1823 by Thomas Wakley, an English surgeon who named it after the surgical instrument called a lancet (scalpel). Members of the Wakley family retained editorship of the journal until 1908. In 1921, ''The Lancet'' was acquired by Hodder & Stoughton. Elsevier acquired ''The Lancet'' from Hodder & Stoughton in 1991. Impact According to the ''Journal Citation Reports'', the journal has a 202 ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Probability Theory
Probability theory is the branch of mathematics concerned with probability. Although there are several different probability interpretations, probability theory treats the concept in a rigorous mathematical manner by expressing it through a set of axioms. Typically these axioms formalise probability in terms of a probability space, which assigns a measure taking values between 0 and 1, termed the probability measure, to a set of outcomes called the sample space. Any specified subset of the sample space is called an event. Central subjects in probability theory include discrete and continuous random variables, probability distributions, and stochastic processes (which provide mathematical abstractions of non-deterministic or uncertain processes or measured quantities that may either be single occurrences or evolve over time in a random fashion). Although it is not possible to perfectly predict random events, much can be said about their behavior. Two major results in probability ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
A Perfect Vacuum
''A Perfect Vacuum'' ( pl, Doskonała próżnia) is a 1971 book by Polish author Stanisław Lem, the largest and best known collection of Stanislaw Lem's fictitious criticism of nonexisting books. It was translated into English by Michael Kandel. Some of the reviews remind the reader of drafts of his science fiction novels, some read like philosophical pieces across scientific topics, from cosmology to the pervasiveness of computers, finally others satirize and parody everything from the nouveau roman to pornography, ''Ulysses'', authorless writing, and Dostoevsky. Contents The book contains reviews of 16 imaginary books and one real book: itself. * ''A Perfect Vacuum:'' review of the book itself. This is the only real book reviewed in the entire collection. However, even this is not entirely real. For example, the reviewer criticized the preface of ''A Perfect Vacuum'', entitled Auto-Momus, even though the actual ''A Perfect Vacuum'' does not have a preface or a section t ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Science Fiction Studies
''Science Fiction Studies'' (''SFS'') is an academic journal founded in 1973 by R. D. Mullen. The journal is published three times per year at DePauw University. As the name implies, the journal publishes articles and book reviews on science fiction, but also occasionally on fantasy and horror when the topic also covers some aspect of science fiction as well. Known as one of the major academic publications of its type, ''Science Fiction Studies'' is considered the most "theoretical" of the academic journals that publish on science fiction. History ''SFS'' has had three different institutional homes during its lifetime. It was founded in 1973 at Indiana State University by the late English professor Dr. R. D. Mullen, where it remained for approximately five years. In 1978, it moved to McGill University and then to Concordia University in Montreal, Canada, where it was supported by a Canadian government grant until 1991. ''SFS'' was brought back to Indiana to DePauw University i ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Non Serviam (Lem)
''A Perfect Vacuum'' ( pl, Doskonała próżnia) is a 1971 book by Polish author Stanisław Lem, the largest and best known collection of Stanislaw Lem's fictitious criticism of nonexisting books. It was translated into English by Michael Kandel. Some of the reviews remind the reader of drafts of his science fiction novels, some read like philosophical pieces across scientific topics, from cosmology to the pervasiveness of computers, finally others satirize and parody everything from the nouveau roman to pornography, ''Ulysses'', authorless writing, and Dostoevsky. Contents The book contains reviews of 16 imaginary books and one real book: itself. * ''A Perfect Vacuum:'' review of the book itself. This is the only real book reviewed in the entire collection. However, even this is not entirely real. For example, the reviewer criticized the preface of ''A Perfect Vacuum'', entitled Auto-Momus, even though the actual ''A Perfect Vacuum'' does not have a preface or a section t ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Stanislaw Lem's Fictitious Criticism Of Nonexisting Books
Stanislav and variants may refer to: People *Stanislav (given name), a Slavic given name with many spelling variations (Stanislaus, Stanislas, Stanisław, etc.) Places * Stanislav, a coastal village in Kherson, Ukraine * Stanislaus County, California * Stanislaus River, California * Stanislaus National Forest, California * Place Stanislas, a square in Nancy, France, World Heritage Site of UNESCO * Saint-Stanislas, Mauricie, Quebec, a Canadian municipality * Stanizlav, a fictional train depot in the game '' TimeSplitters: Future Perfect'' * Stanislau, German name of Ivano-Frankivsk, Ukraine Schools * St. Stanislaus High School, an institution in Bandra, Mumbai, India * St. Stanislaus High School (Detroit) * Collège Stanislas de Paris, an institution in Paris, France * California State University, Stanislaus, a public university in Turlock, CA * St Stanislaus College (Bathurst), a secondary school in Bathurst, Australia * St. Stanislaus College (Guyana), a secondary school in ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
General Theory Of Everything
The General Theory of Everything ( pl, Ogólna Teoria Wszystkiego) is a sarcastic coinage of Stanisław Lem introduced in 1966. The biographical sketch of Ijon Tichy in "The Twenty-eighth Voyage" of Tychy's ''Star Diaries'' says that a grandfather of Ijon, Jeremiasz Tichy, "decided to create the General Theory of Everything, and nothing stopped him from doing this". Apart of being a precursor of the term "Theory of Everything," the term GTE was used to characterize Lem's essays of fundamental character, such as ''The Philosophy of Chance'' and ''Science Fiction and Futurology ''Science Fiction and Futurology'' ( pl, Fantastyka i futurologia) is a monograph of Stanisław Lem about science fiction and futurology, first printed by Wydawnictwo Literackie in 1970. The official Lem website describes the book as a triple f ...'', [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Koniec świata O ósmej
"Koniec świata o ósmej" ("End of the World at Eight O'Clock") is an early (1947) science fiction novelette by Polish writer Stanisław Lem. Professor Farragus claims that he discovered a "matter detonator" substance, which, when heated, starts a chain reaction causing the destruction of all matter. Irritated by a non-recognition of his fundamental discovery, and mockery, he decides to prove he is right by destroying the Universe. Publication history It was first printed in ''Co Tydzień Powieść'', Katowice, 1947, no.67, p. 2-12. The collection ''Dzienniki gwiazdowe'' (''The Star Diaries''), Warszawa, Iskry, 1957, includes a revised version under the title "Koniec świata o ósmej (Bajka amerykańska)", although it is not related to Ijon Tichy, the protagonist of the ''Star Diaries''. Wojciech Orliński writes that ''Koniec...'' and two other stories were added to the collection simply because there was not enough volume for a book with Tychy's stories only. In 1974 it was ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Social Engineering (political Science)
Social engineering is a top-down effort to influence particular attitudes and social behaviors on a large scale—most often undertaken by governments, but also carried out by media, academia or private groups—in order to produce desired characteristics in a target population. Social engineering can also be understood philosophically as a deterministic phenomenon where the intentions and goals of the architects of the new social construct are realized. Some social engineers use the scientific method to analyze and understand social systems in order to design the appropriate methods to achieve the desired results in the human subjects. Overview Decision-making can affect the safety and survival of billions of people. The scientific theory expressed by German sociologist Ferdinand Tönnies in his 1905 study ''The Present Problems of Social Structure'', proposes that society can no longer operate successfully using outmoded methods of social management. To achieve the best outcome ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
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