1.
Mysticism
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Mysticism is popularly known as becoming one with God or the Absolute, but may refer to any kind of ecstasy or altered state of consciousness which is given a religious or spiritual meaning. It may also refer to the attainment of insight in ultimate or hidden truths, the term mysticism has Ancient Greek origins with various historically determined meanings. Derived from the Greek word μυω, meaning to conceal, mysticism referred to the liturgical, spiritual. During the early period, the definition of mysticism grew to include a broad range of beliefs. In modern times, mysticism has acquired a limited definition, with applications, as meaning the aim at the union with the Absolute. This limited definition has been applied to a range of religious traditions and practices. Since the 1960s scholars have debated the merits of perennial and constructionist approaches in the research of mystical experiences. The perennial position is now largely dismissed by scholars, most scholars using a contextual approach, Mysticism is derived from the Greek μυω, meaning I conceal, and its derivative μυστικός, mystikos, meaning an initiate. The verb μυώ has received a different meaning in the Greek language. The primary meanings it has are induct and initiate, secondary meanings include introduce, make someone aware of something, train, familiarize, give first experience of something. The related form of the verb appears in the New Testament. As explained in Strongs Concordance, it properly means shutting the eyes and its figurative meaning is to be initiated into the mystery revelation. The meaning derives from the rites of the pagan mysteries. Also appearing in the New Testament is the related noun μυστήριον, the term means anything hidden, a mystery or secret, of which initiation is necessary. According to Thayers Greek Lexicon, the term μυστήριον in classical Greek meant a hidden thing, a particular meaning it took in Classical antiquity was a religious secret or religious secrets, confided only to the initiated and not to be communicated by them to ordinary mortals. In the Septuagint and the New Testament the meaning it took was that of a purpose or counsel. It is sometimes used for the hidden wills of humans, but is often used for the hidden will of God. Elsewhere in the Bible it takes the meaning of the mystic or hidden sense of things and it is used for the secrets behind sayings, names, or behind images seen in visions and dreams
2.
Number
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Numbers that answer the question How many. Are 0,1,2,3 and so on, when used to indicate position in a sequence they are ordinal numbers. To the Pythagoreans and Greek mathematician Euclid, the numbers were 2,3,4,5, Euclid did not consider 1 to be a number. Numbers like 3 +17 =227, expressible as fractions in which the numerator and denominator are whole numbers, are rational numbers and these make it possible to measure such quantities as two and a quarter gallons and six and a half miles. What we today would consider a proof that a number is irrational Euclid called a proof that two lengths arising in geometry have no common measure, or are incommensurable, Euclid included proofs of incommensurability of lengths arising in geometry in his Elements. In the Rhind Mathematical Papyrus, a pair of walking forward marked addition. They were the first known civilization to use negative numbers, negative numbers came into widespread use as a result of their utility in accounting. They were used by late medieval Italian bankers, by 1740 BC, the Egyptians had a symbol for zero in accounting texts. In Maya civilization zero was a numeral with a shape as a symbol. The ancient Egyptians represented all fractions in terms of sums of fractions with numerator 1, for example, 2/5 = 1/3 + 1/15. Such representations are known as Egyptian Fractions or Unit Fractions. The earliest written approximations of π are found in Egypt and Babylon, in Babylon, a clay tablet dated 1900–1600 BC has a geometrical statement that, by implication, treats π as 25/8 =3.1250. In Egypt, the Rhind Papyrus, dated around 1650 BC, astronomical calculations in the Shatapatha Brahmana use a fractional approximation of 339/108 ≈3.139. Other Indian sources by about 150 BC treat π as √10 ≈3.1622 The first references to the constant e were published in 1618 in the table of an appendix of a work on logarithms by John Napier. However, this did not contain the constant itself, but simply a list of logarithms calculated from the constant and it is assumed that the table was written by William Oughtred. The discovery of the constant itself is credited to Jacob Bernoulli, the first known use of the constant, represented by the letter b, was in correspondence from Gottfried Leibniz to Christiaan Huygens in 1690 and 1691. Leonhard Euler introduced the letter e as the base for natural logarithms, Euler started to use the letter e for the constant in 1727 or 1728, in an unpublished paper on explosive forces in cannons, and the first appearance of e in a publication was Eulers Mechanica. While in the subsequent years some researchers used the letter c, e was more common, the first numeral system known is Babylonian numeric system, that has a 60 base, it was introduced in 3100 B. C. and is the first Positional numeral system known
3.
Coincidence
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A coincidence is a remarkable concurrence of events or circumstances which have no apparent causal connection with each other. The perception of remarkable coincidences may lead to supernatural, occult, or it may lead to belief in fatalism, which is a doctrine that events will happen in the exact manner of a predetermined plan. From a statistical perspective, coincidences are inevitable and often less remarkable than they may appear intuitively, an example is the birthday problem, which shows that the probability of two persons having the same birthday already exceeds 50% in a group of only 23 persons. The first known usage of the word is from c.1605 with the exact correspondence in substance or nature from the French coincidence, from coincider. Swiss psychiatrist Carl Jung developed a theory which states that remarkable coincidences occur because of what he called synchronicity, one of Kammerers passions was collecting coincidences. He published a book titled Das Gesetz der Serie, which has not been translated into English, in this book he recounted 100 or so anecdotes of coincidences that had led him to formulate his theory of seriality. He postulated that all events are connected by waves of seriality, kammerer was known to make notes in public parks of how many people were passing by, how many of them carried umbrellas, etc. Albert Einstein called the idea of seriality interesting and by no means absurd, Carl Jung drew upon Kammerers work in his book Synchronicity. A coincidence lacks an apparent causal connection, a coincidence may be synchronicity, that being the experience of events which are causally unrelated, and yet their occurrence together has meaning for the person who observes them. To be counted as synchronicity, the events should be unlikely to occur together by chance, some skeptics perceive synchronicity as merely an instance of apophenia. They say that probability and statistics theorems suffice to explain remarkable coincidences, charles Fort compiled hundreds of accounts of interesting coincidences and anomalous phenomena. Measuring the probability of a series of coincidences is the most common method of distinguishing a coincidence from causally connected events, to establish cause and effect is notoriously difficult, as is expressed by the commonly heard statement that correlation does not imply causation. In statistics, it is accepted that observational studies can give hints but can never establish cause. Mathematical coincidence Synchronicity Synchronism The Roots of Coincidence Alignments of random points Ley line Bible code David Marks, fluke, The Maths and Myths of Coincidences, London, Oneworld Publications
4.
Paranormal
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A paranormal phenomenon is different from hypothetical concepts such as dark matter and dark energy. Unlike paranormal phenomena, these concepts are based on empirical observations. The most notable paranormal beliefs include those that pertain to ghosts, extraterrestrial life, unidentified flying objects, psychic abilities or extrasensory perception, the term paranormal has existed in the English language since at least 1920. The word consists of two parts, para and normal, the definition implies that the scientific explanation of the world around us is normal and anything that is above, beyond, or contrary to that is para. On the classification of paranormal subjects, Terence Hines in his book Pseudoscience, what sets the paranormal apart from other pseudosciences is a reliance on explanations for alleged phenomena that are well outside the bounds of established science. Thus, paranormal phenomena include extrasensory perception, telekinesis, ghosts, poltergeists, life after death, reincarnation, faith healing, human auras, the explanations for these allied phenomena are phrased in vague terms of psychic forces, human energy fields, and so on. This is in contrast to many pseudoscientific explanations for other nonparanormal phenomena, in traditional belief and fiction, a ghost is a manifestation of the spirit or soul of a person. Alternative theories expand on that idea and include belief in the ghosts of deceased animals, sometimes the term ghost is used synonymously with any spirit or demon, however in popular usage the term typically refers to a deceased persons spirit. The belief in ghosts as souls of the departed is closely tied to the concept of animism, as the 19th-century anthropologist George Frazer explained in his classic work, The Golden Bough, souls were seen as the creature within that animated the body. Although the evidence for ghosts is largely anecdotal, the belief in ghosts throughout history has remained widespread, the possibility of extraterrestrial life is not, by itself, a paranormal subject. Many scientists are engaged in the search for unicellular life within the solar system, carrying out studies on the surface of Mars. Projects such as SETI are conducting a search for radio activity that would show evidence of intelligent life outside the solar system. Scientific theories of how life developed on Earth allow for the possibility that life developed on other planets as well, the paranormal aspect of extraterrestrial life centers largely around the belief in unidentified flying objects and the phenomena said to be associated with them. Early in the history of UFO culture, believers divided themselves into two camps, the first held a rather conservative view of the phenomena, interpreting them as unexplained occurrences that merited serious study. They began calling themselves ufologists in the 1950s and felt that logical analysis of sighting reports would validate the notion of extraterrestrial visitation, the second camp consisted of individuals who coupled ideas of extraterrestrial visitation with beliefs from existing quasi-religious movements. These individuals typically were enthusiasts of occultism and the paranormal, many had backgrounds as active Theosophists, Spiritualists, or were followers of other esoteric doctrines. In contemporary times, many of these beliefs have coalesced into New Age spiritual movements, both secular and spiritual believers describe UFOs as having abilities beyond what are considered possible according to known aerodynamic constraints and physical laws. The transitory events surrounding many UFO sightings also limits the opportunity for repeat testing required by the scientific method, acceptance of UFO theories by the larger scientific community is further hindered by the many possible hoaxes associated with UFO culture
5.
Astrology
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Astrology is the study of the movements and relative positions of celestial objects as a means for divining information about human affairs and terrestrial events. Throughout most of its history astrology was considered a tradition and was common in academic circles, often in close relation with astronomy, alchemy, meteorology. It was present in political circles, and is mentioned in works of literature, from Dante Alighieri and Geoffrey Chaucer to William Shakespeare, Lope de Vega. Astrology thus lost its academic and theoretical standing, and common belief in it has largely declined, Astrology is now recognized to be pseudoscience. The word astrology comes from the early Latin word astrologia, which derives from the Greek ἀστρολογία—from ἄστρον astron, astrologia later passed into meaning star-divination with astronomia used for the scientific term. Many cultures have attached importance to astronomical events, and the Indians, Chinese, the majority of professional astrologers rely on such systems. Astrology has been dated to at least the 2nd millennium BCE, with roots in systems used to predict seasonal shifts. A form of astrology was practised in the first dynasty of Mesopotamia, Chinese astrology was elaborated in the Zhou dynasty. Hellenistic astrology after 332 BCE mixed Babylonian astrology with Egyptian Decanic astrology in Alexandria, Alexander the Greats conquest of Asia allowed astrology to spread to Ancient Greece and Rome. In Rome, astrology was associated with Chaldean wisdom, after the conquest of Alexandria in the 7th century, astrology was taken up by Islamic scholars, and Hellenistic texts were translated into Arabic and Persian. In the 12th century, Arabic texts were imported to Europe, major astronomers including Tycho Brahe, Johannes Kepler and Galileo practised as court astrologers. Astrological references appear in literature in the works of such as Dante Alighieri and Geoffrey Chaucer. Throughout most of its history, astrology was considered a scholarly tradition and it was accepted in political and academic contexts, and was connected with other studies, such as astronomy, alchemy, meteorology, and medicine. At the end of the 17th century, new concepts in astronomy. Astrology thus lost its academic and theoretical standing, and common belief in astrology has largely declined, Astrology, in its broadest sense, is the search for meaning in the sky. This was a first step towards recording the Moons influence upon tides and rivers, by the 3rd millennium BCE, civilisations had sophisticated awareness of celestial cycles, and may have oriented temples in alignment with heliacal risings of the stars. Scattered evidence suggests that the oldest known references are copies of texts made in the ancient world. The Venus tablet of Ammisaduqa thought to be compiled in Babylon around 1700 BCE, a scroll documenting an early use of electional astrology is doubtfully ascribed to the reign of the Sumerian ruler Gudea of Lagash
6.
Divination
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Divination is the attempt to gain insight into a question or situation by way of an occultic, standardized process or ritual. Divination can be seen as a method with which to organize what appear to be disjointed. Fortune-telling, on the hand, is a more everyday practice for personal purposes. Particular divination methods vary by culture and religion, divination is dismissed by the scientific community and skeptics as being superstition. Psychologist Julian Jaynes categorized divination into the four types, Omens. Chinese history offers scrupulously documented occurrences of births, the tracking of natural phenomena. Chinese governmental planning relied on this method of forecasting for long-range strategies and it is not unreasonable to assume that modern scientific inquiry began with this kind of divination, Joseph Needhams work considered this very idea. This consists of the casting of lots, or sortes, whether with sticks, stones, bones, beans, coins, modern playing cards and board games developed from this type of divination. This ranks a set of given possibilities and it can be qualitative, for example, dowsing developed from this type of divination. The Romans, in times, used Etruscan methods of augury such as hepatoscopy. Augury is normally considered to refer to divination by studying the flight patterns of birds. An unconstrained form of divination, free from any particular medium, the answer comes from whatever object the diviner happens to see or hear. Some religions use a form of bibliomancy, they ask a question, riffle the pages of their holy book, other forms of spontaneous divination include reading auras and New Age methods of feng shui such as intuitive and fuzion. In this practice, the examines the hands of a person for whom they are divining for indications of their future. The Oracle of Amun at the Siwa Oasis was made famous when Alexander the Great visited it after delivering Egypt from Persian rule in 332 BC, deuteronomy 18, 10-12 or Leviticus 19,26 can be interpreted as categorically forbidding divination. However, some would claim that divination is indeed practiced in the Bible, such as in Exodus 28, communicating with God through prayer is not the same as divination, though both are open, typically two-way conversations with God. Both oracles and seers in ancient Greece practiced divination, oracles were the conduits for the gods on earth, their prophecies were understood to be the will of the gods verbatim. Because of the demand for oracle consultations and the oracles’ limited work schedule
7.
Underwood Dudley
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Underwood Dudley is a mathematician, formerly of DePauw University, who has written a number of research works and textbooks but is best known for his popular writing. Most notable are several books describing crank mathematics by people who think they have squared the circle or done other impossible things and these books, which alternate between appreciation and exasperation, include The Trisectors, Mathematical Cranks, and Numerology, Or, What Pythagoras Wrought. They helped him win the Trevor Evans Award for expository writing from the Mathematical Association of America in 1996, Dudley has also written and edited straightforward mathematical works such as Readings for Calculus and Elementary Number Theory. He is the discoverer of the Dudley Triangle, Dudley is a native of New York City. He received bachelors and masters degrees from the Carnegie Institute of Technology and his academic career consisted of two years at Ohio State University followed by thirty-seven at DePauw University, from which he retired in 2004. He has edited the College Mathematics Journal and the Pi Mu Epsilon Journal, the suit was dismissed in 1996 due to failure to state a claim. The dismissal was upheld on appeal in a written by Richard Posner. From the decision, A crank is a person obsessed by an obviously unsound idea—a person with a bee in his bonnet. To call a person a crank is to say that because of some quirk of temperament he is wasting his time pursuing a line of thought that is plainly without merit or promise
8.
Elliott wave principle
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Ralph Nelson Elliott, a professional accountant, discovered the underlying social principles and developed the analytical tools in the 1930s. He proposed that market prices unfold in specific patterns, which practitioners today call Elliott waves, the empirical validity of the Elliott Wave Principle remains the subject of debate. The Elliott Wave Principle posits that collective investor psychology, or crowd psychology and these mood swings create patterns evidenced in the price movements of markets at every degree of trend or time scale. In Elliotts model, market prices alternate between an impulsive, or motive phase, and a phase on all time scales of trend. Corrective waves subdivide into 3 smaller-degree waves starting with a five-wave counter-trend impulse, a retrace, in a bear market the dominant trend is downward, so the pattern is reversed—five waves down and three up. Motive waves always move with the trend, while corrective waves move against it, the patterns link to form five and three-wave structures which themselves underlie self-similar wave structures of increasing size or higher degree. Note the lowermost of the three idealized cycles, in the first small five-wave sequence, waves 1,3 and 5 are motive, while waves 2 and 4 are corrective. This signals that the movement of the wave one degree higher is upward and it also signals the start of the first small three-wave corrective sequence. The completed motive pattern includes 89 waves, followed by a completed corrective pattern of 55 waves, each degree of a pattern in a financial market has a name. Practitioners use symbols for each wave to indicate both function and degree—numbers for motive waves, letters for corrective waves, degrees are relative, they are defined by form, not by absolute size or duration. Waves of the degree may be of very different size and/or duration. Understanding those personalities is key to the application of the Wave Principle, Elliotts market model relies heavily on looking at price charts. Practitioners study developing trends to distinguish the waves and wave structures, the structures Elliott described also meet the common definition of a fractal. Seashell, galaxy, snowflake or human, were all bound by the same order, critics say it is a form of pareidolia. A correct Elliott wave count must observe three rules, Wave 2 never retraces more than 100% of wave 1, Wave 3 cannot be the shortest of the three impulse waves, namely waves 1,3 and 5. Wave 4 does not overlap with the territory of wave 1. Corrective wave patterns unfold in forms known as zigzags, flats, in turn these corrective patterns can come together to form more complex corrections. Similarly, a triangular pattern is formed usually in wave 4, but very rarely in wave 2
9.
Stock market
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Examples of the latter include shares of private companies which are sold to investors through equity crowdfunding platforms. Stock exchanges list shares of equity as well as other security types, e. g. corporate bonds. Stocks can be categorised in various way, one way is by the country where the company is domiciled. S. At the close of 2012, the size of the stock market was about US$55 trillion. By country, the largest market was the United States, followed by Japan, as of 2015, there are a total of 60 stock exchanges in the world with a total market capitalization of $69 trillion. Of these, there are 16 exchanges with a capitalization of $1 trillion or more. Apart from the Australian Securities Exchange, these 16 exchanges are based in one of three continents, North America, Europe and Asia, a stock exchange is a place where, or an organization through which, individuals and organisations can trade stocks. Many large companies have their stock listed on a stock exchange and this makes the stock more liquid and thus more attractive to many investors. It may also act as a guarantor of settlement, other stocks may be traded over the counter, that is, through a dealer. Some large companies will have their stock listed on more than one exchange in different countries, Stock exchanges may also cover other types of securities, such as fixed interest securities or derivatives, which are more likely to be traded OTC. Trade in stock markets means the transfer for money of a stock or security from a seller to a buyer and this requires these two parties to agree on a price. Equities confer an ownership interest in a particular company and their buy or sell orders may be executed on their behalf by a stock exchange trader. Some exchanges are physical locations where transactions are carried out on a trading floor and this method is used in some stock exchanges and commodity exchanges, and involves traders shouting bid and offer prices. The other type of exchange has a network of computers where trades are made electronically. An example of such an exchange is the NASDAQ, a potential buyer bids a specific price for a stock, and a potential seller asks a specific price for the same stock. Buying or selling at the means you will accept any ask price or bid price for the stock. When the bid and ask prices match, a sale takes place, on a first-come, the purpose of a stock exchange is to facilitate the exchange of securities between buyers and sellers, thus providing a marketplace. The exchanges provide real-time trading information on the securities, facilitating price discovery
10.
Pythagoras
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Pythagoras of Samos was an Ionian Greek philosopher, mathematician, and the putative founder of the movement called Pythagoreanism. Most of the information about Pythagoras was written centuries after he lived. He was born on the island of Samos, and travelled, visiting Egypt and Greece, around 530 BC, he moved to Croton, in Magna Graecia, and there established some kind of school or guild. In 520 BC, he returned to Samos, Pythagoras made influential contributions to philosophy and religion in the late 6th century BC. He is often revered as a mathematician and scientist and is best known for the Pythagorean theorem which bears his name. Many of the accomplishments credited to Pythagoras may actually have been accomplishments of his colleagues, some accounts mention that the philosophy associated with Pythagoras was related to mathematics and that numbers were important. It was said that he was the first man to himself a philosopher, or lover of wisdom, and Pythagorean ideas exercised a marked influence on Plato. Burkert states that Aristoxenus and Dicaearchus are the most important accounts, Aristotle had written a separate work On the Pythagoreans, which is no longer extant. However, the Protrepticus possibly contains parts of On the Pythagoreans and his disciples Dicaearchus, Aristoxenus, and Heraclides Ponticus had written on the same subject. These writers, late as they are, were among the best sources from whom Porphyry and Iamblichus drew, while adding some legendary accounts. Herodotus, Isocrates, and other writers agree that Pythagoras was the son of Mnesarchus and born on the Greek island of Samos. His father is said to have been a gem-engraver or a wealthy merchant, a late source gives his mothers name as Pythais. As to the date of his birth, Aristoxenus stated that Pythagoras left Samos in the reign of Polycrates, at the age of 40, around 530 BC he arrived in the Greek colony of Croton in what was then Magna Graecia. There he founded his own school the members of which he engaged to a disciplined. He furthermore aquired some political influence, on Greeks and non-Greeks of the region, following a conflict with the neighbouring colony of Sybaris, internal discord drove most of the Pythagoreans out of Croton. Pythagoras left the city before the outbreak of civil unrest and moved to Metapontum, after his death, his house was transformed into a sanctuary of Demeter, out of veneration for the philosopher, by the local population. In ancient sources there was disagreement and inconsistency about the late life of Pythagoras. His tomb was shown at Metapontum in the time of Cicero, according to Walter Burkert, Most obvious is the contradiction between Aristoxenus and Dicaearchus, regarding the catastrophe that overwhelmed the Pythagorean society
11.
Augustine of Hippo
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Augustine of Hippo was an early Christian theologian and philosopher whose writings influenced the development of Western Christianity and Western philosophy. He was the bishop of Hippo Regius, located in Numidia, Augustine is viewed as one of the most important Church Fathers in Western Christianity for his writings in the Patristic Era. Among his most important works are The City of God and Confessions, according to his contemporary, Jerome, Augustine established anew the ancient Faith. In his early years, he was influenced by Manichaeism. After his baptism and conversion to Christianity in 386, Augustine developed his own approach to philosophy and theology, accommodating a variety of methods and perspectives. Believing that the grace of Christ was indispensable to human freedom, he helped formulate the doctrine of original sin, when the Western Roman Empire began to disintegrate, Augustine developed the concept of the Church as a spiritual City of God, distinct from the material Earthly City. His thoughts profoundly influenced the medieval worldview, the segment of the Church that adhered to the concept of the Trinity as defined by the Council of Nicaea and the Council of Constantinople closely identified with Augustines On the Trinity. Augustine is recognized as a saint in the Catholic Church, the Eastern Christian Church, and he is also the patron of the Augustinians. His memorial is celebrated on 28 August, the day of his death, Augustine is the patron saint of brewers, printers, theologians, the alleviation of sore eyes, and a number of cities and dioceses. Many Protestants, especially Calvinists and Lutherans, consider him to be one of the fathers of the Protestant Reformation due to his teachings on salvation. Lutherans, and Martin Luther in particular, have held Augustine in preeminence, Luther himself was a member of the Order of the Augustinian Eremites. In the East, some of his teachings are disputed and have in the 20th century in particular come under attack by such theologians as John Romanides, but other theologians and figures of the Eastern Orthodox Church have shown significant appropriation of his writings, chiefly Georges Florovsky. The most controversial doctrine surrounding his name is the filioque, which has been rejected by the Orthodox Church, other disputed teachings include his views on original sin, the doctrine of grace, and predestination. Nevertheless, though considered to be mistaken on some points, he is considered a saint. In the Orthodox Church his feast day is celebrated on 28 August and he was an early Christian theologian and philosopher whose writings influenced the development of Western Christianity and Western philosophy. Augustine was the bishop of Hippo Regius, located in Numidia and he is viewed as one of the most important Church Fathers in Western Christianity for his writings in the Patristic Era. Among his most important works are The City of God and Confessions, Augustine was born in the year 354 AD in the municipium of Thagaste in Roman Africa. His mother, Monica or Monnica, was a devout Christian, in his writings, Augustine leaves some information as to the consciousness of his African heritage
12.
First Council of Nicaea
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The First Council of Nicaea was a council of Christian bishops convened in the Bithynian city of Nicaea by the Roman Emperor Constantine I in AD325. Constantine I organized the Council along the lines of the Roman Senate and presided over it and this ecumenical council was the first effort to attain consensus in the Church through an assembly representing all of Christendom. Hosius of Cordoba, who was one of the Papal legates. The First Council of Nicaea was the first ecumenical council of the Church, St. Alexander of Alexandria and Athanasius took the first position, the popular presbyter Arius, from whom the term Arianism comes, took the second. The council decided against the Arians overwhelmingly, through it a precedent was set for subsequent general councils to adopt creeds and canons. This council is considered the beginning of the period of the First seven Ecumenical Councils in the History of Christianity. The First Council of Nicaea was convened by Emperor Constantine the Great upon the recommendations of a synod led by Hosius of Córdoba in the Eastertide of 325 and this synod had been charged with investigation of the trouble brought about by the Arian controversy in the Greek-speaking east. To most bishops, the teachings of Arius were heretical and dangerous to the salvation of souls and this was the first general council in the history of the Church summoned by emperor Constantine I. In the Council of Nicaea, The Church had taken her first great step to define revealed doctrine more precisely in response to a challenge from a heretical theology. Constantine had invited all 1,800 bishops of the Christian church within the Roman Empire, Eusebius of Caesarea counted more than 250, Athanasius of Alexandria counted 318, and Eustathius of Antioch estimated about 270. Later, Socrates Scholasticus recorded more than 300, and Evagrius, Hilary of Poitiers, Jerome, Dionysius Exiguus and this number 318 is preserved in the liturgies of the Eastern Orthodox Church and the Coptic Orthodox Church of Alexandria. Delegates came from every region of the Roman Empire, including Britain, the participating bishops were given free travel to and from their episcopal sees to the council, as well as lodging. These bishops did not travel alone, each one had permission to bring him two priests and three deacons, so the total number of attendees could have been above 1,800. Eusebius speaks of an almost innumerable host of accompanying priests, deacons, the Eastern bishops formed the great majority. Of these, the first rank was held by the three patriarchs, Alexander of Alexandria, Eustathius of Antioch, and Macarius of Jerusalem and this position is supported by patristic scholar Timothy Barnes in his book Constantine and Eusebius. Historically, the influence of these marred confessors has been seen as substantial, Athanasius of Alexandria, a young deacon and companion of Bishop Alexander of Alexandria, was among the assistants. Athanasius eventually spent most of his life battling against Arianism, Alexander of Constantinople, then a presbyter, was also present as representative of his aged bishop. The supporters of Arius included Secundus of Ptolemais, Theonus of Marmarica, Zphyrius, other supporters included Eusebius of Nicomedia, Paulinus of Tyrus, Actius of Lydda, Menophantus of Ephesus, and Theognus of Nicaea
13.
State church of the Roman Empire
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Nicene Christianity became the state church of the Roman Empire with the Edict of Thessalonica in 380 CE, when Emperor Theodosius I made it the Empires sole authorized religion. A series of ecumenical councils met during the 4th and 5th centuries, but Christianity continued to suffer rifts and schisms surrounding the issues of Arianism, Nestorianism, and Miaphysitism. However, apart from the aforementioned schisms, the church as an institution persisted in communion, if not without tension, in the 6th century the Byzantine armies of the Eastern Roman Emperor Justinian I recovered Italy and other sections of the western Mediterranean shore. The Eastern Roman Empire soon lost most of gains, but it held Rome, as part of the Exarchate of Ravenna, until 751. Pope Gregory III became the last Bishop of Rome to ask the Byzantine ruler to ratify his election, by then, the Roman Empires state church as originally conceived had ceased to exist. The Eastern Roman Empire finally collapsed with the Fall of Constantinople to the Islamic Ottoman Turks in 1453, Western missionary activities created a communion of churches that extended beyond the empire, the beginnings of which predated the establishment of the state church. The legacy of the idea of a universal church polity carries on, directly or indirectly, in todays Catholic Church and Eastern Orthodox Church, as well as in others, before the end of the 1st century, the Roman authorities recognized Christianity as a separate religion from Judaism. Pliny the Younger, when propraetor in Bithynia in 103, assumes in his letters to Trajan that because Christians do not pay the tax and their refusal to worship the Roman gods or to pay homage to the emperor as divine resulted at times in persecution and martyrdom. Church Father Tertullian, for instance, attempted to argue that Christianity was not inherently treasonous, Christians accounted for approximately 10% of the Roman population by 300, according to some estimates. In 301, the Kingdom of Armenia, which Rome considered de jure a client kingdom though yielded de facto to the Parthians, Constantine began to utilize Christian symbols such as the Chi-Rho early in his reign but still encouraged traditional Roman religious practices including sun worship. In 330, Constantine established the city of Constantinople as the new capital of the Roman Empire, the city would gradually come to be seen as the intellectual and cultural center of the Christian world. Over the course of the 4th century the Christian body became consumed by debates surrounding orthodoxy, a church synod, or council, was held in Rome in 313, followed by another in Arles in 314, the latter presided over by Constantine while still a junior emperor. However, during the reign of Emperor Julian the Apostate, the Donatists, Christian scholars and populace within the Empire were increasingly embroiled in debates regarding christology. Opinions ranged from belief that Jesus was entirely human to belief that he was entirely divine, emperors thereby became ever more involved with the increasingly divided Church. Constantine was of divided opinions, but he backed the Athanasian side. His successor Constantius II supported a Semi-Arian position, Emperor Julian returned to the traditional Roman/Greek religion, quickly quashed by his successor Jovian, a supporter of the Athanasian side. A Council of Rimini in 359 supported the Arian view, a Council of Constantinople in 360 supported a compromise. The Council of Constantinople in 381, called by Emperor Theodosius I reasserted the Nicene or Athanasian view and this council further refined the definition of orthodoxy, issuing, according to tradition, the Niceno-Constantinopolitan Creed
14.
Roman Empire
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Civil wars and executions continued, culminating in the victory of Octavian, Caesars adopted son, over Mark Antony and Cleopatra at the Battle of Actium in 31 BC and the annexation of Egypt. Octavians power was then unassailable and in 27 BC the Roman Senate formally granted him overarching power, the imperial period of Rome lasted approximately 1,500 years compared to the 500 years of the Republican era. The first two centuries of the empires existence were a period of unprecedented political stability and prosperity known as the Pax Romana, following Octavians victory, the size of the empire was dramatically increased. After the assassination of Caligula in 41, the senate briefly considered restoring the republic, under Claudius, the empire invaded Britannia, its first major expansion since Augustus. Vespasian emerged triumphant in 69, establishing the Flavian dynasty, before being succeeded by his son Titus and his short reign was followed by the long reign of his brother Domitian, who was eventually assassinated. The senate then appointed the first of the Five Good Emperors, the empire reached its greatest extent under Trajan, the second in this line. A period of increasing trouble and decline began with the reign of Commodus, Commodus assassination in 192 triggered the Year of the Five Emperors, of which Septimius Severus emerged victorious. The assassination of Alexander Severus in 235 led to the Crisis of the Third Century in which 26 men were declared emperor by the Roman Senate over a time span. It was not until the reign of Diocletian that the empire was fully stabilized with the introduction of the Tetrarchy, which saw four emperors rule the empire at once. This arrangement was unsuccessful, leading to a civil war that was finally ended by Constantine I. Constantine subsequently shifted the capital to Byzantium, which was renamed Constantinople in his honour and it remained the capital of the east until its demise. Constantine also adopted Christianity which later became the state religion of the empire. However, Augustulus was never recognized by his Eastern colleague, and separate rule in the Western part of the empire ceased to exist upon the death of Julius Nepos. The Eastern Roman Empire endured for another millennium, eventually falling to the Ottoman Turks in 1453, the Roman Empire was among the most powerful economic, cultural, political and military forces in the world of its time. It was one of the largest empires in world history, at its height under Trajan, it covered 5 million square kilometres. It held sway over an estimated 70 million people, at that time 21% of the entire population. Throughout the European medieval period, attempts were made to establish successors to the Roman Empire, including the Empire of Romania, a Crusader state. Rome had begun expanding shortly after the founding of the republic in the 6th century BC, then, it was an empire long before it had an emperor
15.
Christianity
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Christianity is a Abrahamic monotheistic religion based on the life and teachings of Jesus Christ, who serves as the focal point for the religion. It is the worlds largest religion, with over 2.4 billion followers, or 33% of the global population, Christians believe that Jesus is the Son of God and the savior of humanity whose coming as the Messiah was prophesied in the Old Testament. Christian theology is summarized in creeds such as the Apostles Creed and his incarnation, earthly ministry, crucifixion, and resurrection are often referred to as the gospel, meaning good news. The term gospel also refers to accounts of Jesuss life and teaching, four of which—Matthew, Mark, Luke. Christianity is an Abrahamic religion that began as a Second Temple Judaic sect in the mid-1st century, following the Age of Discovery, Christianity spread to the Americas, Australasia, sub-Saharan Africa, and the rest of the world through missionary work and colonization. Christianity has played a prominent role in the shaping of Western civilization, throughout its history, Christianity has weathered schisms and theological disputes that have resulted in many distinct churches and denominations. Worldwide, the three largest branches of Christianity are the Catholic Church, the Eastern Orthodox Church, and the denominations of Protestantism. There are many important differences of interpretation and opinion of the Bible, concise doctrinal statements or confessions of religious beliefs are known as creeds. They began as baptismal formulae and were expanded during the Christological controversies of the 4th and 5th centuries to become statements of faith. Many evangelical Protestants reject creeds as definitive statements of faith, even agreeing with some or all of the substance of the creeds. The Baptists have been non-creedal in that they have not sought to establish binding authoritative confessions of faith on one another. Also rejecting creeds are groups with roots in the Restoration Movement, such as the Christian Church, the Evangelical Christian Church in Canada, the Apostles Creed is the most widely accepted statement of the articles of Christian faith. It is also used by Presbyterians, Methodists, and Congregationalists and this particular creed was developed between the 2nd and 9th centuries. Its central doctrines are those of the Trinity and God the Creator, each of the doctrines found in this creed can be traced to statements current in the apostolic period. The creed was used as a summary of Christian doctrine for baptismal candidates in the churches of Rome. Most Christians accept the use of creeds, and subscribe to at least one of the mentioned above. The central tenet of Christianity is the belief in Jesus as the Son of God, Christians believe that Jesus, as the Messiah, was anointed by God as savior of humanity, and hold that Jesus coming was the fulfillment of messianic prophecies of the Old Testament. The Christian concept of the Messiah differs significantly from the contemporary Jewish concept, Jesus, having become fully human, suffered the pains and temptations of a mortal man, but did not sin
16.
Dorotheus of Gaza
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Not to be confused with Theodorus Gaza. Dorotheus of Gaza or Abba Dorotheus, was a Christian monk and he joined the monastery Abba Serid near Gaza through the influence of elders Barsanuphius and John. Around 540 he founded his own monastery nearby and became abbot there, do not wish for everything to be done according to your determination, but wish that it is how it should be, and in this way, you will attain peace with everyone. And believe that everything happens to us, even the most insignificant. Then you will be able to endure everything that comes upon you without any agitation, everyone that desires salvation must not only avoid evil, but is obliged to do good, just as it says in the Psalm, Depart from evil and do good. For example, if somebody was angry, he must not only not get angry, thus, every passion has an opposing virtue, pride — humility, stinginess — charity, lust — chastity, faintheartedness — patience, anger — meekness, hatred — love. Who resembles a person who satisfies his passions and he is like a person who, after being struck down with his enemy’s arrows, then takes them with his hands and pierces his own heart with them. He who opposes passions is like a person that is showered with his enemy’s arrows, when God created man, He planted something divine into him — a certain conception — a spark that has both light and warmth. The conception that enlightens the mind and indicates what is right, living in times before any written law, patriarchs and saints pleased God by following the voice of their conscience. Not only should we observe moderation with food, but we must also abstain from every other sin so that just as we fast with our stomach, we should fast with our tongue. Likewise, we should fast with our eyes i. e. not look at agitating things, not allow your eyes freedom to roam, not to look shamelessly, similarly, arms and legs should be restrained from doing any evil acts. It is impossible for anyone to get angry with his neighbor without initially raising himself above him, belittling him, when we suffer something unpleasant from our best friend, we know that he did not do it intentionally and that he loves us. We must think likewise of God, Who created us, for our sake incarnated and we must remind ourselves that He does everything from His goodness and from His love for us. We may think that while our friend loves us, in not having sufficient good sense in order to do everything correctly and this cannot be said of God because He is the highest wisdom. He knows what is good for us and accordingly, directs everything for our benefit and it can also be said that although our friend loves us and is sufficiently sensible, he is powerless to help us. But this certainly cannot be said of God, because to Him everything is possible, consequently, we know that God loves us and shows clemency toward us, that He is eternally wise and omnipotent. Everything that He does, He does for our benefit, and we should accept it with gratitude as from a Benefactor, let us examine as to why a person sometimes gets annoyed when he hears an insult, and other times he endures it without getting agitated. What is the reason for this contrast, and is there one reason or are there several
17.
Greek Orthodox Church
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Historically, the term Greek Orthodox has also been used to describe all Eastern Orthodox Churches in general, since Greek in Greek Orthodox can refer to the heritage of the Byzantine Empire. Over time, most parts of the liturgy, traditions, and practices of the church of Constantinople were adopted by all, thus, the Eastern Church came to be called Greek Orthodox in the same way that the Western Church is called Roman Catholic. Orthodox Churches, unlike the Catholic Church, have no Bishopric head, such as a Pope, however, they are each governed by a committee of Bishops, called the Holy Synod, with one central Bishop holding the honorary title of first among equals. Greek Orthodox Churches are united in communion with other, as well as with the other Eastern Orthodox Churches. The Eastern Orthodox hold a doctrine and a common form of worship. The most commonly used Divine Liturgy of the Orthodox Church was written by Saint John Chrysostom, others, are attributed to St. Basil the Great, St. James, the Brother of God and St. The majority of Greek Orthodox Christians live within Greece and elsewhere in the southern Balkans, but also in Lebanon, Cyprus, Anatolia, European Turkey, and the South Caucasus. In addition, due to the large Greek diaspora, there are many Greek Orthodox Christians who live in North America, Orthodox Christians in Finland, who compose about 1% of the population, are also under the jurisdiction of a Greek Orthodox Church. Thus, they may attend services held in Old Russian and Old Church Slavonic, the Church conducts its liturgy in Koine Greek in the areas of Albania populated by the ethnic Greek minority, alongside the use of Albanian throughout the country. The Greek and Eastern Churches online Constantelos, Demetrios J. Understanding the Greek Orthodox church, its faith, history, the Orthodox Eastern Church Hussey, Joan Mervyn. The orthodox church in the Byzantine empire online Kephala, Euphrosyne, the Church of the Greek People Past and Present Latourette, Kenneth Scott. Christianity in a Revolutionary Age, II, The Nineteenth Century in Europe, The Protestant,2, 479-484, Christianity in a Revolutionary Age, IV, The Twentieth Century in Europe, The Roman Catholic, Protestant, and Eastern Churches McGuckin, John Anthony. The Encyclopedia of Eastern Orthodox Christianity, media related to Greek Orthodox Church at Wikimedia Commons
18.
Alchemy
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Alchemy is a philosophical and protoscientific tradition practiced throughout Europe, Egypt and Asia. It aimed to purify, mature, and perfect certain objects, the perfection of the human body and soul was thought to permit or result from the alchemical magnum opus and, in the Hellenistic and western tradition, the achievement of gnosis. In Europe, the creation of a stone was variously connected with all of these projects. In English, the term is limited to descriptions of European alchemy, but similar practices existed in the Far East, the Indian subcontinent. In Europe, following the 12th-century Renaissance produced by the translation of Islamic works on science, Islamic and European alchemists developed a structure of basic laboratory techniques, theory, terminology, and experimental method, some of which are still in use today. However, they continued antiquitys belief in four elements and guarded their work in secrecy including cyphers and their work was guided by Hermetic principles related to magic, mythology, and religion. The latter interests historians of esotericism, psychologists, and some philosophers, the subject has also made an ongoing impact on literature and the arts. The word alchemy was borrowed from Old French alquemie, alkimie, taken from Medieval Latin alchymia, the Arabic word is borrowed from Late Greek chēmeía, chēmía, with the agglutination of the Arabic definite article al-. This ancient Greek word was derived from the early Greek name for Egypt, Chēmia, based on the Egyptian name for Egypt, the Medieval Latin form was influenced by Greek chymeia meaning ‘mixture’ and referring to pharmaceutical chemistry. Alchemy covers several philosophical traditions spanning some four millennia and three continents and these traditions general penchant for cryptic and symbolic language makes it hard to trace their mutual influences and genetic relationships. It is still a question whether these three strands share a common origin, or to what extent they influenced each other. Here, elements of technology, religion, mythology, and Hellenistic philosophy, each with their own much longer histories, Zosimos of Panopolis wrote the oldest known books on alchemy, while Mary the Jewess is credited as being the first non-fictitious Western alchemist. They wrote in Greek and lived in Egypt under Roman rule, mythology – Zosimos of Panopolis asserted that alchemy dated back to Pharaonic Egypt where it was the domain of the priestly class, though there is little to no evidence for his assertion. Alchemical writers used Classical figures from Greek, Roman, and Egyptian mythology to illuminate their works and these included the pantheon of gods related to the Classical planets, Isis, Osiris, Jason, and many others. The central figure in the mythology of alchemy is Hermes Trismegistus and his name is derived from the god Thoth and his Greek counterpart Hermes. Hermes and his caduceus or serpent-staff, were among alchemys principal symbols, according to Clement of Alexandria, he wrote what were called the forty-two books of Hermes, covering all fields of knowledge. The Hermetica of Thrice-Great Hermes is generally understood to form the basis for Western alchemical philosophy and practice and these writings were collected in the first centuries of the common era. Technology – The dawn of Western alchemy is sometimes associated with that of metallurgy, Many writings were lost when the emperor Diocletian ordered the burning of alchemical books after suppressing a revolt in Alexandria
19.
Jabir ibn Hayyan
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Born and educated in Tus, he later traveled to Kufa. He is sometimes referred to as the father of early chemistry, as early as the 10th century, the identity and exact corpus of works of Jabir was in dispute in Islamic circles. In 988 Ibn al-Nadim compiled the Kitab al-Fihrist which mentions Jabir as a follower and as a companion to Jafar as-Sadiq. In another reference al-Nadim reports that a group of philosophers claimed Jabir was one of their own members, another group, reported by al-Nadim, says only The Large Book of Mercy is genuine and that the rest are pseudographical. Their assertions are rejected by al-Nadim, joining al-Nadim in asserting a real Jabir, Ibn-Wahshiyya Rejecting a real Jabir, Abu Sulayman al-Mantiqi claims the real author is one al-Hasan ibn al-Nakad al-Mawili. The 14th century critic of Arabic literature, Jamal al-Din ibn Nubata al-Misri declares all the attributed to Jabir doubtful. Jabir was a philosopher who lived mostly in the 8th century, he was born in Tus, Khorasan, in Persia. Jabir in the sources has been entitled differently as al-Azdi al-Barigi or al-Kufi or al-Tusi or al-Sufi. There is a difference of opinion as to whether he was a Persian from Khorasan who later went to Kufa or whether he was, as some have suggested, of Syrian origin and later lived in Persia and Iraq. His ethnic background is not clear, but most sources reference him as a Persian, in some sources, he is reported to have been the son of Hayyan al-Azdi, a pharmacist of the Arabian Azd tribe who emigrated from Yemen to Kufa during the Umayyad Caliphate. While Henry Corbin believes Geber seems to have been a client of the Azd tribe, Hayyan had supported the Abbasid revolt against the Umayyads, and was sent by them to the province of Khorasan to gather support for their cause. He was eventually caught by the Umayyads and executed and his family fled to Yemen, where Jabir grew up and studied the Quran, mathematics and other subjects. Jabirs fathers profession may have contributed greatly to his interest in alchemy, after the Abbasids took power, Jabir went back to Kufa. He began his practicing medicine, under the patronage of a Vizir of Caliph Harun al-Rashid. His connections to the Barmakid cost him dearly in the end, when that family fell from grace in 803, Jabir was placed under house arrest in Kufa, where he remained until his death. It has been asserted that Jabir was a student of the sixth Imam Jafar al-Sadiq and Harbi al-Himyari, in total, nearly 3,000 treatises and articles are credited to Jabir ibn Hayyan. The 112 Books dedicated to the Barmakids, viziers of Caliph Harun al-Rashid and this group includes the Arabic version of the Emerald Tablet, an ancient work that proved a recurring foundation of and source for alchemical operations. In the Middle Ages it was translated into Latin and widely diffused among European alchemists, the Seventy Books, most of which were translated into Latin during the Middle Ages
20.
Arabic
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Arabic is a Central Semitic language that was first spoken in Iron Age northwestern Arabia and is now the lingua franca of the Arab world. Arabic is also the language of 1.7 billion Muslims. It is one of six languages of the United Nations. The modern written language is derived from the language of the Quran and it is widely taught in schools and universities, and is used to varying degrees in workplaces, government, and the media. The two formal varieties are grouped together as Literary Arabic, which is the language of 26 states. Modern Standard Arabic largely follows the standards of Quranic Arabic. Much of the new vocabulary is used to denote concepts that have arisen in the post-Quranic era, Arabic has influenced many languages around the globe throughout its history. During the Middle Ages, Literary Arabic was a vehicle of culture in Europe, especially in science, mathematics. As a result, many European languages have borrowed many words from it. Many words of Arabic origin are found in ancient languages like Latin. Balkan languages, including Greek, have acquired a significant number of Arabic words through contact with Ottoman Turkish. Arabic has also borrowed words from languages including Greek and Persian in medieval times. Arabic is a Central Semitic language, closely related to the Northwest Semitic languages, the Ancient South Arabian languages, the Semitic languages changed a great deal between Proto-Semitic and the establishment of the Central Semitic languages, particularly in grammar. Innovations of the Central Semitic languages—all maintained in Arabic—include, The conversion of the suffix-conjugated stative formation into a past tense, the conversion of the prefix-conjugated preterite-tense formation into a present tense. The elimination of other prefix-conjugated mood/aspect forms in favor of new moods formed by endings attached to the prefix-conjugation forms, the development of an internal passive. These features are evidence of descent from a hypothetical ancestor. In the southwest, various Central Semitic languages both belonging to and outside of the Ancient South Arabian family were spoken and it is also believed that the ancestors of the Modern South Arabian languages were also spoken in southern Arabia at this time. To the north, in the oases of northern Hijaz, Dadanitic and Taymanitic held some prestige as inscriptional languages, in Najd and parts of western Arabia, a language known to scholars as Thamudic C is attested
21.
Thomas Browne
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Sir Thomas Browne was an English polymath and author of varied works which reveal his wide learning in diverse fields including science and medicine, religion and the esoteric. Brownes writings display a deep curiosity towards the world, influenced by the scientific revolution of Baconian enquiry. Brownes literary works are permeated by references to Classical and Biblical sources as well as the idiosyncrasies of his own personality, the son of a silk merchant from Upton, Cheshire, he was born in the parish of St Michael, Cheapside, in London on 19 October 1605. His father died while he was young and he was sent to school at Winchester College. In 1623 Browne went to Oxford University and he settled in Norwich in 1637 and practiced medicine there until his death in 1682. Brownes first literary work was Religio Medici and this work was circulated as a manuscript among his friends. It surprised him when an edition appeared in 1642, since the work included several unorthodox religious speculations. An authorised text appeared in 1643, with some of the controversial views removed. The book is significant in the history of science because it promoted an awareness of up-to-date scientific journalism, Brownes last publication during his lifetime were two philosophical Discourses which are closely related to each other in concept. The other discourse in the diptych is antithetical in style, subject-matter, in Religio Medici, Browne confirmed his belief, in accordance with the vast majority of seventeenth century European society, in the existence of angels and witchcraft. He attended the 1662 Bury St, in 1671 King Charles II, accompanied by the Court, visited Norwich. During his visit, Charles visited Brownes home, a banquet was held in the Civic Hall St. Andrews for the Royal visit. Obliged to honour a local, the name of the Mayor of Norwich was proposed to the King for knighthood. The Mayor, however, declined the honour and proposed Brownes name instead, Sir Thomas Browne died on his 77th birthday,19 October 1682. His Library was held in the care of his eldest son Edward until 1708, the auction of Browne and his son Edwards libraries in January 1711 was attended by Hans Sloane. Editions from Sir Thomas Brownes Library subsequently became included in the collection of the British Library. His skull became the subject of dispute when it was removed from his lead coffin when accidentally re-opened by workmen in 1840. It was not re-interred until 4 July 1922 when it was registered in the church of Saint Peter Mancroft as aged 317 years
22.
The Garden of Cyrus
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The Garden of Cyrus, or The Quincuncial Lozenge, or Network Plantations of the Ancients, naturally, artificially, mystically considered, is a discourse written by Sir Thomas Browne. It was first published in 1658, along with its diptych companion, in modern times it has been recognised as Brownes major literary contribution to Hermetic wisdom. Its fundamental quest was of concern to Hermetic philosophy, proof of the wisdom of God. The Discourse includes early recorded usage of the prototype and archetype in English. Complete text of The Garden of Cyrus Essay on Browne and Hermeticism
23.
Quincunx
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A quincunx /ˈkwɪn. kʌŋks/ is a geometric pattern consisting of five points arranged in a cross, with four of them forming a square or rectangle and a fifth at its center. It forms the arrangement of five units in the corresponding to the five-spot on six-sided dice, playing cards. It is represented in Unicode as U+2059 ⁙ Five dot punctuation or U+2684 ⚄ Die face-5, the quincunx was originally a coin issued by the Roman Republic c. 211–200 BC, whose value was five twelfths of an as, on the Roman quincunx coins, the value was sometimes indicated by a pattern of five dots or pellets. However, these dots were not always arranged in a quincunx pattern, the Oxford English Dictionary dates the first appearances of the Latin word in English as 1545 and 1574. The first citation for “A pattern used for planting dates from 1606. The OED also cites a 1647 reference to the German astronomer Kepler to the astronomical/astrological meaning, quincunx patterns occur in many contexts, In heraldry, groups of five elements are often arranged in a quincunx pattern, called in saltire in heraldic terminology. The flag of the Solomon Islands features this pattern, with its five stars representing the five island groups in the Solomon Islands. Another instance of this occurred in the flag of the 19th-century Republic of Yucatán. A quincunx is a pattern for planting an orchard. Quincunxes are used in computer graphics as a pattern for multisample anti-aliasing. Quincunx antialiasing samples scenes at the corners and centers of each pixel and these five sample points, in the shape of a quincunx, are combined to produce each displayed pixel. However, samples at the points are shared with adjacent pixels. In numerical analysis, the quincunx pattern describes the two-dimensional five-point stencil, in architecture, a quincuncial plan, also defined as a cross-in-square, is the plan of an edifice composed of nine bays. The central and the four angular ones are covered with domes or groin vaults so that the pattern of these forms a quincunx. In Khmer architecture, the towers of a temple, such as Angkor Wat, are arranged in a quincunx to represent the five peaks of Mount Meru. A quincunx is one of the designs of Cosmatesque inlay stonework. A quincuncial map is a map projection that maps the poles of the sphere to the centre and four corners of a square
24.
Occult
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The occult is knowledge of the hidden. In common English usage, occult refers to knowledge of the paranormal, as opposed to knowledge of the measurable, the terms esoteric and arcane can also be used to describe the occult, in addition to their meanings unrelated to the supernatural. Occultism is the study of practices, including magic, alchemy, extra-sensory perception, astrology, spiritualism, religion. Alchemy was common among important seventeenth-century scientists, such as Isaac Newton, Newton was even accused of introducing occult agencies into natural science when he postulated gravity as a force capable of acting over vast distances. By the eighteenth century these unorthodox religious and philosophical concerns were well-defined as occult, inasmuch as they lay on the outermost fringe of accepted forms of knowledge and they were, however, preserved by antiquarians and mystics. Occult science is the research into or formulation of occult concepts in a manner that resembles the way natural science researches or describes phenomena. In his 1871 book Primitive Culture, the anthropologist Edward Tylor used the term occult science as a synonym for magic, Occult qualities are properties that have no known rational explanation, in the Middle Ages, for example, magnetism was considered an occult quality. Newtons contemporaries severely criticized his theory that gravity was effected through action at a distance, some religions and sects enthusiastically embrace occultism as an integral esoteric aspect of mystical religious experience. This attitude is common within Wicca and many other modern pagan religions, some other religious denominations disapprove of occultism in most or all forms. They may view the occult as being anything supernatural or paranormal which is not achieved by or through God, monistic in contrast to Christian dualistic beliefs of a separation between body and spirit, Gnostic i. e. Walker, Benjamin. Encyclopedia of the Occult, the Esoteric and the Supernatural, harold W. Percival, Joined the Theosophical Society in 1892. Blavatsky, Occultism versus the Occult Arts, Lucifer, May 1888 Bardon, true to His Ways, Purity & Safety in Christian Spiritual Practice, ISBN 1-932124-61-6. ISBN 1-57863-150-5 Forshaw, Peter, The Occult Middle Ages, in Christopher Partridge, The Occult World, London, Routledge,2014 Gettings, Fred, Vision of the Occult, ISBN 0-7126-1438-9 Kontou, Tatiana – Willburn, Sarah. The Ashgate Research Companion to Nineteenth-Century Spiritualism and the Occult, ISBN 978-0-7546-6912-8 Martin, W. Rische, J. Rische, K. & VanGordon, K. W. B. Eerdmans Publishing Co.201 p. N. B, the scope of this study also embraces the occult. ISBN 0-8028-0262-1 Partridge, Christopher, The Occult World, London, the Tree of Life, An Illustrated Study in Magic. Newton, Isaac, Observations upon the Prophecies of Daniel, Observations upon the Prophecies of Daniel, and the Apocalypse of St. John by Sir Isaac Newton Rogers, L. W. Hints to Young Students of Occultism. Albany, NY, The Theosophical Book Company, joseph H. Peterson, Twilit Grotto, Archives of Western Esoterica Occult Science and Philosophy of the Renaissance
25.
Superstition
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The word superstition is generally used to refer to the religion not practiced by the majority of a given society regardless of whether the prevailing religion contains superstitions. In the classical era, the existence of gods was actively debated both among philosophers and theologians, and opposition to superstition arose consequently, the poem De rerum natura, written by the Roman poet and philosopher Lucretius further developed the opposition to superstition. Cicero’s work De natura deorum also had a influence on the development of the modern concept of superstition as well as the word itself. Where Cicero distinguished superstitio and religio, Lucretius used only the term religio, Cicero, for whom superstitio meant “excessive fear of the gods” wrote that “superstitio, non religio, tollenda est ”, which means that only superstition, and not religion, should be abolished. The Roman Empire also made laws condemning those who excited excessive religious fear in others, during the Middle Ages, the idea of God’s influence on the world’s events went mostly undisputed. Trials by ordeal were quite frequent, even though Frederick II was the first king who explicitly outlawed trials by ordeal as they were considered “irrational”, the rediscovery of lost classical works and scientific advancement led to a steadily increasing disbelief in religions. This led to studies of biblical exegesis, pioneered by Spinoza, opposition to superstition was central to the Age of Enlightenment. The word superstition is first used in English in the 15th century, the earliest known use as an English noun occurs in Friar Daws Reply, where the foure general synnes are enumerated as Cediciouns, supersticions, þe glotouns, & þe proude. The French word, together with its Romance cognates continues Latin superstitio, while the formation of the Latin word is clear, from the verb super-stare, to stand over, stand upon, survive, its original intended sense is less clear. The earliest known use as a Latin noun occurs in Plautus, Ennius and later by Pliny, Cicero derived the term from superstitiosi, lit. Those who are left over, i. e. survivors, descendants, while Cicero distinguishes between religio and superstitio, Lucretius uses only the term religio. Throughout all of his work, he distinguished between ratio and religio. The use of the noun by Cicero and Horace thus predates the first attestation of the verb and it doesnt exclude that the verb might have been created and used after the name. The term superstitio, or superstitio vana vain superstition, was applied in the 1st century to those religious cults in the Roman Empire which were officially outlawed. This concerned the religion of the druids in particular, which was described as a superstitio vana by Tacitus, such fear of the gods was what the Romans meant by superstition. Diderots Encyclopédie defines superstition as any excess of religion in general, the Catechism is a defense against the accusation that Catholic doctrine is superstitious, Superstition is a deviation of religious feeling and of the practices this feeling imposes. It can even affect the worship we offer the true God, to attribute the efficacy of prayers or of sacramental signs to their mere external performance, apart from the interior dispositions that they demand is to fall into superstition. Cf. Matthew 23, 16–22 As discussed above, there is distinction between superstition and religion
26.
Pseudoscience
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Pseudoscience consists of claims, beliefs, or practices presented as being plausible scientifically, but which are not justifiable by the scientific method. The term pseudoscience is often considered pejorative because it suggests something is being presented as science inaccurately or even deceptively, accordingly, those termed as practicing or advocating pseudoscience often dispute the characterization. The demarcation between science and pseudoscience has philosophical and scientific implications, differentiating science from pseudoscience has practical implications in the case of health care, expert testimony, environmental policies, and science education. The word pseudoscience is derived from the Greek root pseudo meaning false and the English word science, an earlier recorded use of the term was during 1843 by the French physiologist François Magendie. From time to time, though, the usage of the word occurred in a formal, technical manner around a perceived threat to individual and institutional security in a social and cultural setting. A number of principles are accepted by scientists as standards for determining whether a body of knowledge, method. Experimental results should be reproducible and verified by other researchers, statistical quantification of significance, confidence, and error are also important tools for the scientific method. During the mid-20th century, Karl Popper emphasized the criterion of falsifiability to distinguish science from nonscience, falsifiability means a result can be disproved. For example, a statement such as God exists may be true or false, Popper used astrology and psychoanalysis as examples of pseudoscience and Einsteins theory of relativity as an example of science. The point is made there is no physical test to refute the claim of the presence of this dragon. No matter what test you think you can devise, there is then a reason why this does not apply to the invisible dragon, sagan concludes, Now, whats the difference between an invisible, incorporeal, floating dragon who spits heatless fire and no dragon at all. During 1942, Robert K. Merton identified a set of five norms which he characterized as what makes a real science, If any of the norms were violated, Merton considered the enterprise to be nonscience. These are not broadly accepted by the scientific community and his norms were, Originality, The tests and research done must present something new to the scientific community. Detachment, The scientists reasons for practicing this science must be simply for the expansion of their knowledge, the scientists should not have personal reasons to expect certain results. Universality, No person should be able to easily obtain the information of a test than another person. Social class, religion, ethnicity, or any other factors should not be factors in someones ability to receive or perform a type of science. Skepticism, Scientific facts must not be based on faith, one should always question every case and argument and constantly check for errors or invalid claims. Public accessibility, Any scientific knowledge one obtains should be available to everyone
27.
Alphabet
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An alphabet is a standard set of letters that is used to write one or more languages based upon the general principle that the letters represent phonemes of the spoken language. This is in contrast to other types of writing systems, such as syllabaries and logographies, the Proto-Canaanite script, later known as the Phoenician alphabet, is the first fully phonemic script. Thus the Phoenician alphabet is considered to be the first alphabet, the Phoenician alphabet is the ancestor of most modern alphabets, including Arabic, Greek, Latin, Cyrillic, Hebrew, and possibly Brahmic. Under a terminological distinction promoted by Peter T. Daniels, an alphabet is a script that represents both vowels and consonants as letters equally. In this narrow sense of the word the first true alphabet was the Greek alphabet, in other alphabetic scripts such as the original Phoenician, Hebrew or Arabic, letters predominantly or exclusively represent consonants, such a script is also called an abjad. A third type, called abugida or alphasyllabary, is one where vowels are shown by diacritics or modifications of consonantal letters, as in Devanagari. The Khmer alphabet is the longest, with 74 letters, there are dozens of alphabets in use today, the most popular being the Latin alphabet. Many languages use modified forms of the Latin alphabet, with additional letters formed using diacritical marks, while most alphabets have letters composed of lines, there are also exceptions such as the alphabets used in Braille. Alphabets are usually associated with an ordering of letters. This makes them useful for purposes of collation, specifically by allowing words to be sorted in alphabetical order and it also means that their letters can be used as an alternative method of numbering ordered items, in such contexts as numbered lists and number placements. The English word alphabet came into Middle English from the Late Latin word alphabetum, the Greek word was made from the first two letters, alpha and beta. The names for the Greek letters came from the first two letters of the Phoenician alphabet, aleph, which also meant ox, and bet, in the alphabet song in English, the term ABCs is used instead of the word alphabet. Knowing ones ABCs, in general, can be used as a metaphor for knowing the basics about anything, the history of the alphabet started in ancient Egypt. These glyphs were used as guides for logograms, to write grammatical inflections. Based on letter appearances and names, it is believed to be based on Egyptian hieroglyphs and this script had no characters representing vowels, although originally it probably was a syllabary, but unneeded symbols were discarded. An alphabetic cuneiform script with 30 signs including three that indicate the vowel was invented in Ugarit before the 15th century BC. This script was not used after the destruction of Ugarit, the Proto-Sinaitic script eventually developed into the Phoenician alphabet, which is conventionally called Proto-Canaanite before ca.1050 BC. The oldest text in Phoenician script is an inscription on the sarcophagus of King Ahiram and this script is the parent script of all western alphabets
28.
Abjad numerals
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The Abjad numerals are a decimal numeral system in which the 28 letters of the Arabic alphabet are assigned numerical values. They have been used in the Arabic-speaking world since before the century when Arabic numerals were adopted. In modern Arabic, the word abjadīyah means alphabet in general, in the Abjad system, the first letter of the Arabic alphabet, alif, is used to represent 1, the second letter, bāʾ, is used to represent 2, etc. Individual letters also represent 10s and 100s, yāʾ for 10, kāf for 20, qāf for 100, the word abjad itself derives from the first four letters in the Phoenician alphabet, Aramaic alphabet, Hebrew alphabet and other scripts for Semitic languages. These older alphabets contained only 22 letters, stopping at taw, the Arabic Abjad system continues at this point with letters not found in other alphabets, ṯāʾ=500, etc. The Abjad order of the Arabic alphabet has two different variants. Loss of samekh was compensated for by the split of shin ש into two independent Arabic letters, ش and ﺱ, which moved up to take the place of samekh. The most common Abjad sequence, read right to left, is, This is commonly vocalized as follows. Before the introduction of the Hindu–Arabic numeral system, the numbers were used for all mathematical purposes. In modern Arabic, they are used for numbering outlines, items in lists. In English, points of information are sometimes referred to as A, B, and C, the abjad numbers are also used to assign numerical values to Arabic words for purposes of numerology. The common Islamic phrase بسم الله الرحمن الرحيم bismillāh al-Raḥmān al-Raḥīm has a value of 786. The name Allāh الله by itself has the value 66, a few of the numerical values are different in the alternative Abjad order. For four Persian letters these values are used, The Abjad numerals are equivalent to the earlier Hebrew numerals up to 400, the Hebrew numeral system is known as Gematria and is used in Kabbalistic texts and numerology. Like the Abjad order, it is used in times for numbering outlines and points of information. The Greek numerals differ in a number of ways from the Abjad ones, the Greek language system of letters-as-numbers is called isopsephy
29.
Hebrew numerals
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The system of Hebrew numerals is a quasi-decimal alphabetic numeral system using the letters of the Hebrew alphabet. The system was adapted from that of the Greek numerals in the late 2nd century BC, the current numeral system is also known as the Hebrew alphabetic numerals to contrast with earlier systems of writing numerals used in classical antiquity. The Greek system was adopted in Hellenistic Judaism and had been in use in Greece since about the 5th century BC, in this system, there is no notation for zero, and the numeric values for individual letters are added together. Each unit is assigned a letter, each tens a separate letter. The later hundreds are represented by the sum of two or three letters representing the first four hundreds, to represent numbers from 1,000 to 999,999, the same letters are reused to serve as thousands, tens of thousands, and hundreds of thousands. In Israel today, the system of Arabic numerals is used in almost all cases. The Hebrew numerals are used only in cases, such as when using the Hebrew calendar, or numbering a list. Numbers in Hebrew from zero to one million, Hebrew alphabet are used to a limited extent to represent numbers, widely used on calendars. In other situations Arabic numerals are used, cardinal and ordinal numbers must agree in gender with the noun they are describing. If there is no such noun, the form is used. For ordinal numbers greater than ten the cardinal is used and numbers above the value 20 have no gender, note, For ordinal numbers greater than 10, cardinal numbers are used instead. Note, For numbers greater than 20, gender does not apply, cardinal and ordinal numbers must agree in gender with the noun they are describing. If there is no such noun, the form is used. Ordinal numbers must also agree in number and definite status like other adjectives, the cardinal number precedes the noun, except for the number one which succeeds it. The number two is special - shnayim and shtayim become shney and shtey when followed by the noun they count, for ordinal numbers greater than ten the cardinal is used. The Hebrew numeric system operates on the principle in which the numeric values of the letters are added together to form the total. For example,177 is represented as קעז which corresponds to 100 +70 +7 =177, mathematically, this type of system requires 27 letters. In practice the last letter, tav is used in combination with itself and/or other letters from kof onwards, to numbers from 500
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Greek numerals
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Greek numerals are a system of writing numbers using the letters of the Greek alphabet. These alphabetic numerals are known as Ionic or Ionian numerals, Milesian numerals. In modern Greece, they are used for ordinal numbers. For ordinary cardinal numbers, however, Greece uses Arabic numerals, attic numerals, which were later adopted as the basis for Roman numerals, were the first alphabetic set. They were acrophonic, derived from the first letters of the names of the numbers represented and they ran =1, =5, =10, =100, =1000, and =10000. 50,500,5000, and 50000 were represented by the letter with minuscule powers of ten written in the top right corner, the same system was used outside of Attica, but the symbols varied with the local alphabets, in Boeotia, was 1000. The present system probably developed around Miletus in Ionia, 19th-century classicists placed its development in the 3rd century BC, the occasion of its first widespread use. The present system uses the 24 letters adopted by Euclid as well as three Phoenician and Ionic ones that were not carried over, digamma, koppa, and sampi. The position of characters within the numbering system imply that the first two were still in use while the third was not. Greek numerals are decimal, based on powers of 10, the units from 1 to 9 are assigned to the first nine letters of the old Ionic alphabet from alpha to theta. Each multiple of one hundred from 100 to 900 was then assigned its own separate letter as well and this alphabetic system operates on the additive principle in which the numeric values of the letters are added together to obtain the total. For example,241 was represented as, in ancient and medieval manuscripts, these numerals were eventually distinguished from letters using overbars, α, β, γ, etc. In medieval manuscripts of the Book of Revelation, the number of the Beast 666 is written as χξϛ, although the Greek alphabet began with only majuscule forms, surviving papyrus manuscripts from Egypt show that uncial and cursive minuscule forms began early. These new letter forms sometimes replaced the ones, especially in the case of the obscure numerals. The old Q-shaped koppa began to be broken up and simplified, the numeral for 6 changed several times. During antiquity, the letter form of digamma came to be avoided in favor of a special numerical one. By the Byzantine era, the letter was known as episemon and this eventually merged with the sigma-tau ligature stigma. In modern Greek, a number of changes have been made
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Jews
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The Jews, also known as the Jewish people, are an ethnoreligious group originating from the Israelites, or Hebrews, of the Ancient Near East. Jews originated as a national and religious group in the Middle East during the second millennium BCE, the Merneptah Stele appears to confirm the existence of a people of Israel, associated with the god El, somewhere in Canaan as far back as the 13th century BCE. The Israelites, as an outgrowth of the Canaanite population, consolidated their hold with the emergence of the Kingdom of Israel, some consider that these Canaanite sedentary Israelites melded with incoming nomadic groups known as Hebrews. The worldwide Jewish population reached a peak of 16.7 million prior to World War II, but approximately 6 million Jews were systematically murdered during the Holocaust. Since then the population has risen again, and as of 2015 was estimated at 14.3 million by the Berman Jewish DataBank. According to the report, about 43% of all Jews reside in Israel and these numbers include all those who self-identified as Jews in a socio-demographic study or were identified as such by a respondent in the same household. The exact world Jewish population, however, is difficult to measure, Israel is the only country where Jews form a majority of the population. The modern State of Israel was established as a Jewish state and defines itself as such in its Declaration of Independence and its Law of Return grants the right of citizenship to any Jew who requests it. The English word Jew continues Middle English Gyw, Iewe, according to the Hebrew Bible, the name of both the tribe and kingdom derive from Judah, the fourth son of Jacob. The Hebrew word for Jew, יְהוּדִי ISO 259-3 Yhudi, is pronounced, with the stress on the syllable, in Israeli Hebrew. The Ladino name is ג׳ודיו, Djudio, ג׳ודיוס, Djudios, Yiddish, ייִד Yid, ייִדן, Yidn. The etymological equivalent is in use in languages, e. g. but derivations of the word Hebrew are also in use to describe a Jew, e. g. in Italian. The German word Jude is pronounced, the corresponding adjective jüdisch is the origin of the word Yiddish, in such contexts Jewish is the only acceptable possibility. Some people, however, have become so wary of this construction that they have extended the stigma to any use of Jew as a noun, a factual reconstruction for the origin of the Jews is a difficult and complex endeavor. It requires examining at least 3,000 years of ancient human history using documents in vast quantities, as archaeological discovery relies upon researchers and scholars from diverse disciplines, the goal is to interpret all of the factual data, focusing on the most consistent theory. In this case, it is complicated by long standing politics and religious, Jacob and his family migrated to Ancient Egypt after being invited to live with Jacobs son Joseph by the Pharaoh himself. The patriarchs descendants were later enslaved until the Exodus led by Moses, traditionally dated to the 13th century BCE, Modern archaeology has largely discarded the historicity of the Patriarchs and of the Exodus story, with it being reframed as constituting the Israelites inspiring national myth narrative. The growth of Yahweh-centric belief, along with a number of practices, gradually gave rise to a distinct Israelite ethnic group
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Latin alphabet
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The Latin alphabet is the most widely used alphabetic writing system in the world. It is the script of the English language and is often referred to simply as the alphabet in English. It is an alphabet which originated in the 7th century BC in Italy and has changed continually over the last 2500 years. It has roots in the Semitic alphabet and its offshoot alphabets, the Phoenician, Greek, the phonetic values of some letters changed, some letters were lost and gained, and several writing styles developed. Two such styles, the minuscule and majuscule hands, were combined into one script with alternate forms for the lower and upper case letters, due to classicism, modern uppercase letters differ only slightly from their classical counterparts. The Latin alphabet started out as uppercase serifed letters known as roman square capitals, the lowercase letters evolved through cursive styles that developed to adapt the formerly inscribed alphabet to being written with a pen. Throughout the ages, many stylistic variations of each letter have evolved that are still identified as being the same letter. From the Cumae alphabet, the Etruscan alphabet was derived, the Latins ultimately adopted 21 of the original 26 Etruscan letters. Gaius Julius Hyginus, who recorded much Roman mythology, mentions in Fab, the Parcae, Clotho, Lachesis, and Atropos invented seven Greek letters — A B H T I Y. Others say that Mercury invented them from the flight of cranes, which, palamedes, too, son of Nauplius, invented eleven letters, Simonides, too, invented four letters — Ó E Z PH, Epicharmus of Sicily, two — P and PS. The Greek letters Mercury is said to have brought to Egypt, Cadmus in exile from Arcadia, took them to Italy, and his mother Carmenta changed them to Latin to the number of 15. Apollo on the added the rest. The original Latin alphabet was, The oldest Latin inscriptions do not distinguish between /ɡ/ and /k/, representing both by C, K and Q according to position, K was used before A, Q was used before O or V, C was used elsewhere. This is explained by the fact that the Etruscan language did not make this distinction, C originated as a turned form of Greek Gamma and Q from Greek Koppa. In later Latin, K survived only in a few such as Kalendae, Q survived only before V. G was later invented to distinguish between /ɡ/ and /k/, it was simply a C with an additional diacritic. C stood for /ɡ/ I stood for both /i/ and /j/, V stood for both /u/ and /w/. K was marginalized in favour of C, which stood for both /ɡ/ and /k/
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Modulo operation
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In computing, the modulo operation finds the remainder after division of one number by another. Given two positive numbers, a and n, a n is the remainder of the Euclidean division of a by n. Although typically performed with a and n both being integers, many computing systems allow other types of numeric operands, the range of numbers for an integer modulo of n is 0 to n −1. See modular arithmetic for an older and related convention applied in number theory, when either a or n is negative, the naive definition breaks down and programming languages differ in how these values are defined. In mathematics, the result of the operation is the remainder of the Euclidean division. Computers and calculators have various ways of storing and representing numbers, usually, in number theory, the positive remainder is always chosen, but programming languages choose depending on the language and the signs of a or n. Standard Pascal and ALGOL68 give a positive remainder even for negative divisors, a modulo 0 is undefined in most systems, although some do define it as a. Despite its widespread use, truncated division is shown to be inferior to the other definitions, when the result of a modulo operation has the sign of the dividend, it can lead to surprising mistakes. For special cases, on some hardware, faster alternatives exist, optimizing compilers may recognize expressions of the form expression % constant where constant is a power of two and automatically implement them as expression &. This can allow writing clearer code without compromising performance and this optimization is not possible for languages in which the result of the modulo operation has the sign of the dividend, unless the dividend is of an unsigned integer type. This is because, if the dividend is negative, the modulo will be negative, some modulo operations can be factored or expanded similar to other mathematical operations. This may be useful in cryptography proofs, such as the Diffie–Hellman key exchange, identity, mod n = a mod n. nx mod n =0 for all positive integer values of x. If p is a number which is not a divisor of b, then abp−1 mod p = a mod p. B−1 mod n denotes the multiplicative inverse, which is defined if and only if b and n are relatively prime. Distributive, mod n = mod n. ab mod n = mod n, division, a/b mod n = mod n, when the right hand side is defined. Inverse multiplication, mod n = a mod n, modulo and modulo – many uses of the word modulo, all of which grew out of Carl F. Gausss introduction of modular arithmetic in 1801. Modular exponentiation ^ Perl usually uses arithmetic modulo operator that is machine-independent, for examples and exceptions, see the Perl documentation on multiplicative operators. ^ Mathematically, these two choices are but two of the number of choices available for the inequality satisfied by a remainder
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Decimal
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This article aims to be an accessible introduction. For the mathematical definition, see Decimal representation, the decimal numeral system has ten as its base, which, in decimal, is written 10, as is the base in every positional numeral system. It is the base most widely used by modern civilizations. Decimal fractions have terminating decimal representations and other fractions have repeating decimal representations, Decimal notation is the writing of numbers in a base-ten numeral system. Examples are Brahmi numerals, Greek numerals, Hebrew numerals, Roman numerals, Roman numerals have symbols for the decimal powers and secondary symbols for half these values. Brahmi numerals have symbols for the nine numbers 1–9, the nine decades 10–90, plus a symbol for 100, Chinese numerals have symbols for 1–9, and additional symbols for powers of ten, which in modern usage reach 1072. Positional decimal systems include a zero and use symbols for the ten values to represent any number, positional notation uses positions for each power of ten, units, tens, hundreds, thousands, etc. The position of each digit within a number denotes the multiplier multiplied with that position has a value ten times that of the position to its right. There were at least two independent sources of positional decimal systems in ancient civilization, the Chinese counting rod system. Ten is the number which is the count of fingers and thumbs on both hands, the English word digit as well as its translation in many languages is also the anatomical term for fingers and toes. In English, decimal means tenth, decimate means reduce by a tenth, however, the symbols used in different areas are not identical, for instance, Western Arabic numerals differ from the forms used by other Arab cultures. A decimal fraction is a fraction the denominator of which is a power of ten. g, Decimal fractions 8/10, 1489/100, 24/100000, and 58900/10000 are expressed in decimal notation as 0.8,14.89,0.00024,5.8900 respectively. In English-speaking, some Latin American and many Asian countries, a period or raised period is used as the separator, in many other countries, particularly in Europe. The integer part, or integral part of a number is the part to the left of the decimal separator. The part from the separator to the right is the fractional part. It is usual for a number that consists only of a fractional part to have a leading zero in its notation. Any rational number with a denominator whose only prime factors are 2 and/or 5 may be expressed as a decimal fraction and has a finite decimal expansion. 1/2 =0.5 1/20 =0.05 1/5 =0.2 1/50 =0.02 1/4 =0.25 1/40 =0.025 1/25 =0.04 1/8 =0.125 1/125 =0.008 1/10 =0
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Radix
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In mathematical numeral systems, the radix or base is the number of unique digits, including zero, used to represent numbers in a positional numeral system. For example, for the system the radix is ten. For example,10 represents the one hundred, while 2 represents the number four. Radix is a Latin word for root, root can be considered a synonym for base in the arithmetical sense. In the system with radix 13, for example, a string of such as 398 denotes the number 3 ×132 +9 ×131 +8 ×130. More generally, in a system with radix b, a string of digits d1 … dn denotes the number d1bn−1 + d2bn−2 + … + dnb0, commonly used numeral systems include, For a larger list, see List of numeral systems. The octal and hexadecimal systems are used in computing because of their ease as shorthand for binary. Every hexadecimal digit corresponds to a sequence of four binary digits, a similar relationship holds between every octal digit and every possible sequence of three binary digits, since eight is the cube of two. However, other systems are possible, e. g. golden ratio base. Base Radix economy Non-standard positional numeral systems Base Convert, a floating-point base calculator MathWorld entry on base
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Vigesimal
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The vigesimal or base 20 numeral system is based on twenty. In a vigesimal system, twenty individual numerals are used. One modern method of finding the extra needed symbols is to write ten as the letter A20, to write nineteen as J20, and this is similar to the common computer-science practice of writing hexadecimal numerals over 9 with the letters A–F. Another method skips over the letter I, in order to avoid confusion between I20 as eighteen and one, so that the number eighteen is written as J20, the number twenty is written as 1020. According to this notation,2020 means forty in decimal = + D020 means two hundred and sixty in decimal = +10020 means four hundred in decimal = + +, in the rest of this article below, numbers are expressed in decimal notation, unless specified otherwise. For example,10 means ten,20 means twenty, in decimal, dividing by three twice only gives one digit periods because 9 is the number below ten. 21, however, the adjacent to 20 that is divisible by 3, is not divisible by 9. Ninths in vigesimal have six-digit periods, the prime factorization of twenty is 22 ×5, so it is not a perfect power. However, its part,5, is congruent to 1. Thus, according to Artins conjecture on primitive roots, vigesimal has infinitely many cyclic primes, but the fraction of primes that are cyclic is not necessarily ~37. 395%. An UnrealScript program that computes the lengths of recurring periods of various fractions in a set of bases found that, of the first 15,456 primes. In many European languages,20 is used as a base, vigesimal systems are common in Africa, for example in Yoruba. Ogún,20, is the basic numeric block, ogójì,40, =20 multiplied by 2. Ogota,60, =20 multiplied by 3, ogorin,80, =20 multiplied by 4. Ogorun,100, =20 multiplied by 5, twenty was a base in the Maya and Aztec number systems. The Maya used the names for the powers of twenty, kal, bak, pic, calab, kinchil. See also Maya numerals and Maya calendar, Mayan languages, Yucatec, the Aztec called them, cempoalli, centzontli, cenxiquipilli, cempoalxiquipilli, centzonxiquipilli and cempoaltzonxiquipilli. Note that the ce prefix at the beginning means one and is replaced with the number to get the names of other multiples of the power
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Chinese Numerology
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In Chinese tradition, certain numbers are believed by some to be auspicious or inauspicious based on the Chinese word that the number name sounds similar to. The numbers 0,6,8, and 9 are believed to have auspicious meanings because their names similar to words that have positive meanings. The superstitious aspects of this primarily grow out of the Cantonese culture, the number 0 is a whole number and it is also an even number for money because it ends in 0. The number 2 is most often considered a number in Chinese culture. There is a Chinese saying, good things come in pairs and it is common to repeat characters in product brand names, such as double happiness, which even has its own character 囍, a combination of two 喜. In Cantonese, two is homophone of the characters for easy and bright, in Northern China, the number, when used as an adjective, can also mean stupid. The number 3 sounds similar to the character for birth, and is considered a lucky number, the number 3 is significant since there are three important stages in a man’s life. 3 is also used for the word Sandwich, the number 5 is associated with the five elements in Chinese philosophy, and in turn was historically associated with the Emperor of China. For example, the Tiananmen gate, being the main thoroughfare to the Forbidden City, has five arches, the number 6 sounds similar to the character 流 which means to flow and also sounds like luck or road. Therefore, Six is considered lucky in business, on the other hand, Six in Cantonese which has a similar pronunciation to that of lok6. The number 7 (七, Pinyin, qī chut symbolizes togetherness and it is a lucky number for relationships. It is also recognized as the luckiest number in the West and it is a lucky number in Chinese culture, because it sounds alike to the Chinese word 起 in Mandarin meaning arise, and also 气 meaning life essence. In Cantonese it sounds like the verb to leave which adds emphasis, for example, three and seven together in Cantonese emphasizes that you not only are able to grow, but you can also grow out of any situation you might be trying to have. It is for this reason it is auspicious, the word for eight sounds similar to the word which means prosper or wealth. In regional dialects the words for eight and fortune are also similar, the word is also phonetically similar to the word for a hundred, alluding to greater wealth. Note as well, this particular symbol matches the symbol of infinity. While Chinese does have other words for luck, this understanding of luck that includes the infinity concept marries into a Chinese understanding of this particular word. There is also a resemblance between two digits,88, and 囍, the shuāng xĭ, a popular decorative design composed of two stylized characters 喜
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Parity (mathematics)
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Parity is a mathematical term that describes the property of an integers inclusion in one of two categories, even or odd. An integer is even if it is divisible by two and odd if it is not even. For example,6 is even there is no remainder when dividing it by 2. By contrast,3,5,7,21 leave a remainder of 1 when divided by 2, examples of even numbers include −4,0,8, and 1738. In particular, zero is an even number, some examples of odd numbers are −5,3,9, and 73. Parity does not apply to non-integer numbers and this classification applies only to integers, i. e. non-integers like 1/2,4.201, or infinity are neither even nor odd. The sets of even and odd numbers can be defined as following and that is, if the last digit is 1,3,5,7, or 9, then it is odd, otherwise it is even. The same idea will work using any even base, in particular, a number expressed in the binary numeral system is odd if its last digit is 1 and even if its last digit is 0. In an odd base, the number is according to the sum of its digits – it is even if. The following laws can be verified using the properties of divisibility and they are a special case of rules in modular arithmetic, and are commonly used to check if an equality is likely to be correct by testing the parity of each side. As with ordinary arithmetic, multiplication and addition are commutative and associative in modulo 2 arithmetic, however, subtraction in modulo 2 is identical to addition, so subtraction also possesses these properties, which is not true for normal integer arithmetic. The structure is in fact a field with just two elements, the division of two whole numbers does not necessarily result in a whole number. For example,1 divided by 4 equals 1/4, which is neither even nor odd, since the concepts even, but when the quotient is an integer, it will be even if and only if the dividend has more factors of two than the divisor. The ancient Greeks considered 1, the monad, to be neither odd nor fully even. It is this, that two relatively different things or ideas there stands always a third, in a sort of balance. Thus, there is here between odd and even numbers one number which is neither of the two, similarly, in form, the right angle stands between the acute and obtuse angles, and in language, the semi-vowels or aspirants between the mutes and vowels. A thoughtful teacher and a pupil taught to think for himself can scarcely help noticing this, integer coordinates of points in Euclidean spaces of two or more dimensions also have a parity, usually defined as the parity of the sum of the coordinates. For instance, the cubic lattice and its higher-dimensional generalizations
39.
Traditional Chinese medicine
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It is primarily used as a complementary alternative medicine approach. TCM is widely used in China and is becoming prevalent in Europe. One of the tenets of TCM holds that the bodys vital energy circulates through channels, called meridians. Concepts of the body and of disease used in TCM reflect its ancient origins and its emphasis on dynamic processes over material structure, scientific investigation has not found histological or physiological evidence for traditional Chinese concepts such as qi, meridians, and acupuncture points. The TCM theory and practice are not based upon scientific knowledge, the effectiveness of Chinese herbal medicine remains poorly researched and documented. There are concerns over a number of toxic plants, animal parts. There are also concerns over illegal trade and transport of endangered species including rhinoceroses and tigers, a review of cost-effectiveness research for TCM found that studies had low levels of evidence, but so far have not shown benefit outcomes. Pharmaceutical research has explored the potential for creating new drugs from traditional remedies, proponents propose that research has so far missed key features of the art of TCM, such as unknown interactions between various ingredients and complex interactive biological systems. The doctrines of Chinese medicine are rooted in such as the Yellow Emperors Inner Canon and the Treatise on Cold Damage, as well as in cosmological notions such as yin-yang. Starting in the 1950s, these precepts were standardized in the Peoples Republic of China, including attempts to integrate them with modern notions of anatomy, in the 1950s, the Chinese government promoted a systematized form of TCM. TCMs view of the body places little emphasis on anatomical structures, while health is perceived as the harmonious interaction of these entities and the outside world, disease is interpreted as a disharmony in interaction. Traces of therapeutic activities in China date from the Shang dynasty, which Shang elites usually attributed to curses sent by their ancestors. There is no evidence that the Shang nobility used herbal remedies, according to a 2006 overview, the Documentation of Chinese materia medica dates back to around 1,100 BC when only dozens of drugs were first described. By the end of the 16th century, the number of drugs documented had reached close to 1,900, and by the end of the last century, published records of CMM had reached 12,800 drugs. Stone and bone found in ancient tombs led Joseph Needham to speculate that acupuncture might have been carried out in the Shang dynasty. The earliest evidence for acupuncture in this sense dates to the second or first century BC, the Yellow Emperors Inner Canon, the oldest received work of Chinese medical theory, was compiled around the first century BC on the basis of shorter texts from different medical lineages. It was also one of the first books in which the doctrines of Yinyang. The Treatise on Cold Damage Disorders and Miscellaneous Illnesses was collated by Zhang Zhongjing sometime between 196 and 220 CE, at the end of the Han dynasty
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Varieties of Chinese
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Chinese, also known as Sinitic, is a branch of the Sino-Tibetan language family consisting of hundreds of local language varieties, many of which are not mutually intelligible. The differences are similar to those within the Romance languages, with particularly strong in the more rugged southeast. These varieties, often called dialects, have been classified into seven to ten groups, the largest being Mandarin, Wu, Min, Chinese varieties differ most in their phonology, and to a lesser extent in vocabulary and syntax. Southern varieties tend to have fewer initial consonants than northern and central varieties, all have phonemic tones, with northern varieties tending to have fewer distinctions than southern ones. Many have tone sandhi, with the most complex patterns in the area from Zhejiang to eastern Guangdong. Standard Chinese takes its phonology from the Beijing dialect, with vocabulary from the Mandarin group and it is the sole official language of both China and Taiwan, one of the four official languages of Singapore, and one of the six official languages of the United Nations. At the end of the 2nd millennium BC, a form of Chinese was spoken in an area around the lower Wei River. From there it expanded eastwards across the North China Plain to Shandong and then south into the valley of the Yangtze River, as the language spread, it replaced formerly dominant languages in those areas, and regional differences grew. Simultaneously, especially in periods of unity, there was a tendency to promote a central standard to facilitate communication between people from different regions. The first evidence of variation is found in texts from the Spring. At that time, the Zhou royal domain, though no longer politically powerful, the Fangyan is devoted to differences in vocabulary between regions. Commentaries from the Eastern Han period contain much discussion of local variations in pronunciation, the Qieyun rhyme book noted wide variation in pronunciation between regions, and set out to define a standard pronunciation for reading the classics. This standard, known as Middle Chinese, is believed to be a based on the reading traditions of northern and southern capitals. The North China Plain provided few barriers to migration, leading to relative linguistic homogeneity over an area in northern China. In contrast, the mountains and rivers of southern China have spawned the other six major groups of Chinese languages, with great internal diversity, until the mid-20th century, most Chinese people spoke only their local language. As a practical measure, officials of the Ming and Qing dynasties carried out the administration of the using a common language based on Mandarin varieties. Knowledge of this language was thus essential for an official career, in the early years of the Republic of China, Literary Chinese was replaced as the written standard by written vernacular Chinese, which was based on northern dialects. In the 1930s a standard language was adopted, with its pronunciation based on the Beijing dialect
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Homophone
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A homophone is a word that is pronounced the same as another word but differs in meaning, and may differ in spelling. The words may be spelled the same, such as rose and rose, or differently, such as carat, caret, homophones that are spelled the same are also both homographs and homonyms. Homophones that are spelled differently are also called heterographs, the term homophone may also apply to units longer or shorter than words, such as phrases, letters or groups of letters that are pronounced the same as another phrase, letter or group of letters. A word or unit with this property is said to be homophonous, homophone derives from the Greek homo-, same, and phōnḗ, voice, utterance. Homophones are often used to create puns and to deceive the reader or to suggest multiple meanings, the last usage is common in poetry and creative literature. An example of this is seen in Dylan Thomass radio play Under Milk Wood, some examples from English are, pin and pen in many southern American accents. Merry, marry, and Mary in most American accents, the pairs do, due and forward, foreword are homophonous in most American accents but not in most English accents. Wordplay is particularly common in English because the multiplicity of linguistic influences offers considerable complication in spelling and meaning, malapropisms, which often create a similar comic effect, are usually near-homophones. Homophones of multiple words or phrases are known as oronyms. This term was coined by Gyles Brandreth and first published in his book The Joy of Lex, and it was used in the BBC programme Never Mind the Full Stops, examples of oronyms include, ice cream vs. Notable examples include, Initiate, My wife ate two sandwiches, initiate a bag o tater chips, Mayonnaise, Mayonnaise a lot of people here tonight. Innuendo, Hey dude I saw a bird fly innuendo, Moustache, I Moustache you a question. There are differences in such lists due to dialect pronunciations and usage of old words, in English, there are approximately 88 triples,24 quadruples,2 quintuples,1 sextet and 1 septet. If proper names are allowed then a nonet is Ayr, Aire, Eyre, heir, air, err, ere, eer, are. An extreme example is kikō, which is the pronunciation of at least 22 words, including, 機構, 紀行, 稀覯, 騎行, 貴校 (, 奇功, 貴公, 起稿, 奇行, 機巧, 寄港, 帰校, 気功, 寄稿, 機甲, 帰航, 奇効, 季候, 気孔, 起工, 気候, 帰港. The Korean language contains a combination of words that belong to Korean. For example, 화장하다, to put on makeup and 화장하다, also, 유산, inheritance and 유산, miscarriage. There are heterographs, but far fewer, contrary to the tendency in English, for example, 학문, learning, and 항문, anus
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Shanghainese
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The Shanghainese language, also known as the Shanghai dialect, Hu language or Hu dialect, is a variety of Wu Chinese spoken in the central districts of the City of Shanghai and its surrounding areas. It is classified as part of the Sino-Tibetan language family, in English, Shanghainese sometimes refers to all Wu languages, variants and dialects, although they are only partially intelligible with one another. Shanghainese proper is a language of Taihu Wu, it contains vocabulary and expressions from the entire Taihu Wu area of southern Jiangsu. With nearly 14 million speakers, Shanghainese is also the largest single form of Wu Chinese and it serves as the lingua franca of the entire Yangtze River Delta region. Shanghainese is rich in vowels and in consonants, like other Taihu Wu dialects, Shanghainese has voiced initials. Neither Cantonese nor Mandarin has voiced initial stops or affricates, the Shanghainese tonal system is also significantly different from other Chinese varieties, sharing more similarities with the Japanese pitch accent. Shanghainese has two level tonal contrasts, while Cantonese and Mandarin are typical of contour tonal languages, Shanghai did not become a regional center of commerce until it was opened to foreign investment during the late Qing dynasty. Consequently, languages and dialects spoken around Shanghai had long been subordinate to those spoken around Jiaxing, in the late 19th century, most vocabulary of the Shanghai region had been a hybrid between Southern Jiangsu and Ningbonese. It underwent sustained growth that reached a hiatus in the 1930s during the Republican era, after 1949, the government imposed Mandarin as the official language of the whole nation of China. The dominance and influence of Shanghainese began to wane slightly, especially since Chinese economic reform began in 1978, Shanghai became home to a great number of migrants from all over the country. Due to the prominence of Mandarin, learning Shanghainese was no longer necessary for migrants. However, Shanghainese remained a vital part of the citys culture. In the 1990s, it was common for local radio. In 1995, the TV series Sinful Debt featured extensive Shanghainese dialogues, the Shanghainese TV series Lao Niang Jiu was broadcast from 1995 to 2007 and received tremendous popularity among Shanghainese residents. Shanghainese programming has since declined, over concerns of regionalist/localist accusations. From 1992 onward, Shanghainese use was discouraged in schools, in addition, Shanghais emergence as a cosmopolitan global city consolidated the status of Mandarin as the standard language of business and services, at the expense of the local language. Since 2005, new movements have emerged to protect Shanghainese from fading away, Shanghais former party boss Chen Liangyu, a native Shanghainese himself, reportedly supported her proposal. There have been talks of re-integrating Shanghainese into pre-kindergarten education, because children are unable to speak any Shanghainese
