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Monthly Archives: January 2013
Real Number
real number. Article #23. Vol 9, pg 973. The set of real numbers is probably best described as the set of numbers that includes all numbers that most of us will ever care about. Put another way, the real numbers are: … Continue reading
Posted in Science
Tagged Freaky Imaginary Numbers, Mathematics, Real Number, Science
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James II (Great Britain)
James II (Great Britain). Article #22. Vol 6, pg 482. The Stuarts came to power in England when James I took the throne in 1603. He and son Charles I were big on the idea that the king had all the power, … Continue reading
Cable (engineering)
cable (engineering). Article #20. Vol. 2, pg 705. A cable, or wire rope, is a rope made of several strands of metal wire, twisted together. Wire rope was invented in the 1830s by a German miner and used for hauling and … Continue reading
Pasig River
Pasig River. Article #19. Vol. 9, pg 182. The Pasig River runs from Laguna de Bay, the largest lake in the Philippines, to Manila Bay, bisecting Manila. The river isn’t much to write home about, described as shallow and sluggish, although … Continue reading
Zakat
zakat. Article #18. Vol 12, pg 888. Along with declaring your faith, praying every day, fasting and heading to Mecca, zakat (almsgiving) is one of the five pillars of Islam. Zakat, however, appears to be more of a pseudo-obligatory tax than … Continue reading
Jean de Muris
Muris, Jean de. Article #17. Vol 8, pg 431. Jean de Muris (1290-1351) was a French philosopher who was a champion for the new musical style of the 14th century. He must have really been digging the new scene, because at … Continue reading
Saint Anselm of Canterbury
Anselm of Canterbury, Saint. Article #16. Vol 1, pg 434. Anselm of Canterbury (1033-1109) was born in Italy, but found his way to France, where he eventually became the abbot of the monastery of Bec. He later became Archbishop of Canterbury, … Continue reading
Posted in People
Tagged Ontological Argument, People, Purple Cows, St. Anselm of Canterbury
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Hwicce
Hwicce. Article #15. Vol 6, pg 183. The Hwicce were the inhabitants of one of the sub-kingdoms in Anglo-Saxon England, from around 580 AD to 780 AD. I guess being just a sub-kingdom explains why Britannica only gives them about an … Continue reading
Carbon-14 Dating
carbon-14 dating. Article #14. Vol 2, pg 850. Here’s how it works. Without knowing it, we’re all breathing in Carbon-14, a radioactive isotope of Carbon. While we’re alive, the amount of Carbon-14 in our bodies, as a percentage of the total … Continue reading