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Lie-to-children
A lie-to-children is a simplified explanation of technical or complex subjects as a teaching method for children and laypeople. The technique has been incorporated by academics within the fields of biology, evolution, bioinformatics and the social sciences. It is closely related to the philosophical concept known as Wittgenstein's ladder. Origin The "lie-to-children" concept was first discussed by scientist Jack Cohen and mathematician Ian Stewart in the 1994 book ''The Collapse of Chaos: Discovering Simplicity in a Complex World''. They further elaborated upon their views in their coauthored 1997 book ''Figments of Reality: The Evolution of the Curious Mind''. The concept gained greater exposure when they collaborated with popular author Terry Pratchett, discussing "lies-to-children" in the book ''The Science of Discworld'' (1999). Cohen and Stewart discussed "lies-to-children" and the desire inherent in society for a view of simplicity with regards to complex concepts in ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Wittgenstein's Ladder
In philosophy, Wittgenstein's ladder is a metaphor set out by Ludwig Wittgenstein about learning. In what may be a deliberate reference to Søren Kierkegaard's ''Concluding Unscientific Postscript to Philosophical Fragments'', the penultimate proposition of the ''Tractatus Logico-Philosophicus'' (translated from the original German) reads: Given the preceding problematic at work in his ''Tractatus'', this passage suggests that, if a reader understands Wittgenstein's aims in the text, then those propositions the reader would have just read would be recognized as nonsense. From Propositions 6.4–6.54, the ''Tractatus'' shifts its focus from primarily logical considerations to what may be considered more traditionally philosophical topics (God, ethics, meta-ethics, death, the will) and, less traditionally along with these, the mystical. The philosophy presented in the ''Tractatus'' attempts to demonstrate just what the limits of language are—and what it is to run up against them. ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
The Science Of Discworld
''The Science of Discworld'' is a 1999 book by novelist Terry Pratchett and popular science writers (and University of Warwick science researchers) Ian Stewart and Jack Cohen. Three sequels, '' The Science of Discworld II: The Globe'', '' The Science of Discworld III: Darwin's Watch'', and '' The Science of Discworld IV: Judgement Day'', have been written by the same authors. Following publication of the first book in 1999 Terry Pratchett made both Jack Cohen and Professor Ian Stewart "Honorary Wizards of the Unseen University" at the same ceremony at which the University of Warwick gave Terry Pratchett an honorary degree. The book alternates between a typically absurd ''Discworld'' story and serious scientific exposition after each chapter. The cover of the book, designed by Paul Kidby, is a parody of the 1768 painting "An Experiment on a Bird in the Air Pump" by Joseph Wright of Derby. Plot summary The Discworld part of the book begins when a new experimental power sourc ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Biology
Biology is the scientific study of life. It is a natural science with a broad scope but has several unifying themes that tie it together as a single, coherent field. For instance, all organisms are made up of cells that process hereditary information encoded in genes, which can be transmitted to future generations. Another major theme is evolution, which explains the unity and diversity of life. Energy processing is also important to life as it allows organisms to move, grow, and reproduce. Finally, all organisms are able to regulate their own internal environments. Biologists are able to study life at multiple levels of organization, from the molecular biology of a cell to the anatomy and physiology of plants and animals, and evolution of populations.Based on definition from: Hence, there are multiple subdisciplines within biology, each defined by the nature of their research questions and the tools that they use. Like other scientists, biologists use the scient ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Trope (literature)
A literary trope is the use of figurative language, via word, phrase or an image, for artistic effect such as using a figure of speech. Keith and Lundburg describe a trope as, "a substitution of a word or phrase by a less literal word or phrase." The word ''trope'' has also come to be used for describing commonly recurring or overused literary and rhetorical devices, motifs or clichés in creative works. Literary tropes span almost every category of writing, such as poetry, film, plays, and video games. Origins The term ''trope'' derives from the Greek (''tropos''), "turn, direction, way", derived from the verb τρέπειν (''trepein''), "to turn, to direct, to alter, to change". Tropes and their classification were an important field in classical rhetoric. The study of tropes has been taken up again in modern criticism, especially in deconstruction. Tropological criticism (not to be confused with tropological reading, a type of biblical exegesis) is the historical study ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Function Model
In systems engineering, software engineering, and computer science, a function model or functional model is a structured representation of the functions ( activities, actions, processes, operations) within the modeled system or subject area.FIPS Publication 183 released of IDEFØ December 1993 by the Computer Systems Laboratory of the National Institute of Standards and Technology (NIST). 
A function model, similar with the activity model or process mode ...
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Hal Abelson
Harold Abelson (born April 26, 1947) is the Class of 1922 Professor of Computer Science and Engineering in the Department of Electrical Engineering and Computer Science at the Massachusetts Institute of Technology (MIT), a fellow of the Institute of Electrical and Electronics Engineers (IEEE), and a founding director of both Creative Commons and the Free Software Foundation. He directed the first implementation of the language Logo for the Apple II, which made the language widely available on personal computers starting in 1981; and published a widely selling book on Logo in 1982. Together with Gerald Jay Sussman, Abelson developed MIT's introductory computer science subject, ''The Structure and Interpretation of Computer Programs'' (called by the course number, 6.001), a subject organized around the idea that a computer language is primarily a formal medium for expressing ideas about methodology, rather than just a way to get a computer to perform operations. Abelson and Sussman ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Gerald Sussman
Gerald Jay Sussman (born February 8, 1947) is the Panasonic Professor of Electrical Engineering at the Massachusetts Institute of Technology (MIT). He received his S.B. and Ph.D. degrees in mathematics from MIT in 1968 and 1973 respectively. He has been involved in artificial intelligence (AI) research at MIT since 1964. His research has centered on understanding the problem-solving strategies used by scientists and engineers, with the goals of automating parts of the process and formalizing it to provide more effective methods of science and engineering education. Sussman has also worked in computer languages, in computer architecture and in Very Large Scale Integration (VLSI) design. Education Sussman attended the Massachusetts Institute of Technology as an undergraduate and received his S.B. in mathematics in 1968. He continued his studies at MIT and obtained a Ph.D. in 1973, also in mathematics, under the supervision of Seymour Papert. His doctoral thesis was titled "A ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Lewis Acids And Bases
A Lewis acid (named for the American physical chemist Gilbert N. Lewis) is a chemical species that contains an empty orbital which is capable of accepting an electron pair from a Lewis base to form a Lewis adduct. A Lewis base, then, is any species that has a filled orbital containing an electron pair which is not involved in bonding but may form a dative bond with a Lewis acid to form a Lewis adduct. For example, NH3 is a Lewis base, because it can donate its lone pair of electrons. Trimethylborane (Me3B) is a Lewis acid as it is capable of accepting a lone pair. In a Lewis adduct, the Lewis acid and base share an electron pair furnished by the Lewis base, forming a dative bond. In the context of a specific chemical reaction between NH3 and Me3B, a lone pair from NH3 will form a dative bond with the empty orbital of Me3B to form an adduct NH3•BMe3. The terminology refers to the contributions of Gilbert N. Lewis. From p. 142: "We are inclined to think of substances as posse ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Brønsted–Lowry Acid–base Theory
The Brønsted–Lowry theory (also called proton theory of acids and bases) is an acid–base reaction theory which was proposed independently by Johannes Nicolaus Brønsted and Thomas Martin Lowry in 1923. The fundamental concept of this theory is that when an acid and a base react with each other, the acid forms its conjugate base, and the base forms its conjugate acid by exchange of a proton (the hydrogen cation, or H+). This theory is a generalization of the Arrhenius theory. Definitions of acids and bases In the Arrhenius theory, acids are defined as substances that dissociate in aqueous solution to give H+ (hydrogen ions), while bases are defined as substances that dissociate in aqueous solution to give OH− (hydroxide ions). In 1923 physical chemists Johannes Nicolaus Brønsted in Denmark and Thomas Martin Lowry in England both independently proposed the theory that carries their names. In the Brønsted–Lowry theory acids and bases are defined by the way they rea ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Acid–base Reaction
An acid–base reaction is a chemical reaction that occurs between an acid and a base. It can be used to determine pH via titration. Several theoretical frameworks provide alternative conceptions of the reaction mechanisms and their application in solving related problems; these are called the acid–base theories, for example, Brønsted–Lowry acid–base theory. Their importance becomes apparent in analyzing acid–base reactions for gaseous or liquid species, or when acid or base character may be somewhat less apparent. The first of these concepts was provided by the French chemist Antoine Lavoisier, around 1776. – Table of discoveries attributes Antoine Lavoisier as the first to posit a scientific theory in relation to oxyacids. It is important to think of the acid-base reaction models as theories that complement each other. For example, the current Lewis model has the broadest definition of what an acid and base are, with the Brønsted-Lowry theory being a subse ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Matrix Mechanics
Matrix mechanics is a formulation of quantum mechanics created by Werner Heisenberg, Max Born, and Pascual Jordan in 1925. It was the first conceptually autonomous and logically consistent formulation of quantum mechanics. Its account of quantum jumps supplanted the Bohr model's electron orbits. It did so by interpreting the physical properties of particles as matrices that evolve in time. It is equivalent to the Schrödinger wave formulation of quantum mechanics, as manifest in Dirac's bra–ket notation. In some contrast to the wave formulation, it produces spectra of (mostly energy) operators by purely algebraic, ladder operator methods. Relying on these methods, Wolfgang Pauli derived the hydrogen atom spectrum in 1926, before the development of wave mechanics. Development of matrix mechanics In 1925, Werner Heisenberg, Max Born, and Pascual Jordan formulated the matrix mechanics representation of quantum mechanics. Epiphany at Helgoland In 1925 Werner Heisenberg was ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Bohr Model
In atomic physics, the Bohr model or Rutherford–Bohr model, presented by Niels Bohr and Ernest Rutherford in 1913, is a system consisting of a small, dense nucleus surrounded by orbiting electrons—similar to the structure of the Solar System, but with attraction provided by electrostatic forces in place of gravity. It came after the solar system Joseph Larmor model (1897), the solar system Jean Perrin model (1901), the cubical model (1902), the Hantaro Nagaoka Saturnian model (1904), the plum pudding model (1904), the quantum Arthur Haas model (1910), the Rutherford model (1911), and the nuclear quantum John William Nicholson model (1912). The improvement over the 1911 Rutherford model mainly concerned the new quantum physical interpretation introduced by Haas and Nicholson, but forsaking any attempt to align with classical physics radiation. The model's key success lay in explaining the Rydberg formula for the spectral emission lines of atomic hydrogen. While the Ry ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
