The Demon-Haunted World The Demon-Haunted World: Science as a Candle in the Dark is a book by astrophysicist Carl Sagan, which was first published in 1995. The book is intended to explain the scientific method to laypeople, and to encourage people to learn critical or skeptical thinking. It explains methods to help distinguish between ideas that are considered valid science, and ideas that can be considered pseudoscience. Themes[edit] As an example, Sagan relates the story from the chapter "The Dragon in My Garage" (which he notes follows a group therapy approach by the psychologist Richard L. Sagan presents a set of tools for skeptical thinking which he calls the "baloney detection kit". Sagan provides a skeptical analysis of several examples of what he refers to as superstition, fraud, and pseudoscience such as witches, UFOs, ESP, and faith healing. Contents[edit] The book's contents are:[2][3] See also[edit] References[edit] Sagan, Carl, The Demon-Haunted World: Science As a Candle in the Dark. [edit]
Blog Archive » Mr. X by Carl Sagan This account was written in 1969 for publication in Marihuana Reconsidered (1971). Sagan was in his mid-thirties at that time. He continued to use cannabis for the rest of his life. It all began about ten years ago. I had reached a considerably more relaxed period in my life – a time when I had come to feel that there was more to living than science, a time of awakening of my social consciousness and amiability, a time when I was open to new experiences. I had become friendly with a group of people who occasionally smoked cannabis, irregularly, but with evident pleasure. I can remember another early visual experience with cannabis, in which I viewed a candle flame and discovered in the heart of the flame, standing with magnificent indifference, the black-hatted and -cloaked Spanish gentleman who appears on the label of the Sandeman sherry bottle. I want to explain that at no time did I think these things ‘really’ were out there. There is a very nice self-titering aspect to cannabis.
Crocodilia Large, solidly built, lizard-like reptiles, crocodilians have long flattened snouts, laterally compressed tails, and eyes, ears, and nostrils at the top of the head. They swim well and can move on land in a "high walk" and a "low walk", while smaller species are even capable of galloping. Their skin is thick and covered in non-overlapping scales. They have conical, peg-like teeth and a powerful bite. They have a four-chambered heart and, somewhat like birds, a unidirectional looping system of airflow within the lungs, but like other reptiles they are ectotherms. Eight species of crocodilians are known to have attacked humans. Spelling and etymology[edit] The group is often spelled 'Crocodylia' for consistency with the genus Crocodylus (Laurenti, 1768). Morphology and physiology[edit] Mounted skeleton and taxidermy of Nile crocodile Crocodilians, like this spectacled caiman, can hide in water with only their nostrils, eyes and ears at the surface. Locomotion[edit] Jaws and teeth[edit]
Foundation (novel) Foundation is the first novel in Isaac Asimov's Foundation Trilogy (later expanded into The Foundation Series). Foundation is a collection of five short stories, which were first published together as a book by Gnome Press in 1951 which, together, form a single plot. (First published in the book edition in 1951) Using psychohistory, Seldon has discovered the declining nature of the Empire, angering the aristocratic members of the Committee of Public Safety, the de facto rulers of the Empire. The Committee considers Seldon's views and statements treasonous, and he is arrested along with young mathematician Gaal Dornick, who has arrived on Trantor to meet Seldon. Seldon is tried by the Committee and defends his beliefs, explaining his theories and predictions, including his belief that the Empire will collapse in 300 years and enter a 30,000-year dark age, to the Committee's members. (First published in Astounding Science-Fiction (May 1942) as "Foundation") The Psychohistorians The Mayors
Mesozoic The Mesozoic era /mɛzɵˈzoʊɪk/ is an interval of geological time from about 252 to 66 million years ago. It is also called the age of reptiles, a phrase introduced by the 19th century paleontologist Gideon Mantell who viewed it as dominated by reptiles such as Iguanadon, Megalosaurus, Plesiosaurus and what are now called Pseudosuchia.[1] The era began in the wake of the Permian–Triassic extinction event, the largest well-documented mass extinction in Earth's history, and ended with the Cretaceous–Paleogene extinction event, another mass extinction which is known for having killed off non-avian dinosaurs, as well as other plant and animal species. Geologic periods[edit] The lower (Triassic) boundary is set by the Permian–Triassic extinction event, during which approximately 90% to 96% of marine species and 70% of terrestrial vertebrates became extinct.[3] It is also known as the "Great Dying" because it is considered the largest mass extinction in the Earth's history. Climate[edit]
The Lion, the Witch and the Wardrobe The Lion, the Witch and the Wardrobe is a high fantasy novel for children by C. S. Lewis, published by Geoffrey Bles in 1950. Plot summary[edit] In 1940, four siblings – Peter, Susan, Edmund, and Lucy Pevensie – are among many children evacuated from London during World War II to escape the Blitz. While the four children explore the house, Lucy climbs into a wardrobe and discovers that inside it is a magical forest in a land called Narnia. When Lucy returns through the wardrobe, she discovers that only a few seconds have gone by in normal time during her absence. Lucy discovers Edmund by the lamppost on her way back from visiting Mr Tumnus and is delighted to find that he has also gotten into Narnia. Soon afterward, all four children enter Narnia together while hiding in the wardrobe after an encounter with the professor's housekeeper, Mrs Macready. They are spotted by Mr. Aslan allows Lucy and Susan to ride on his back as he hurries to Jadis' castle. Character list[edit] Writing[edit]
Cretaceous The Cretaceous (/krɨˈteɪʃəs/, krə-TAY-shəs), derived from the Latin "creta" (chalk), usually abbreviated K for its German translation Kreide (chalk), is a geologic period and system from circa 145 ± 4 to 66 million years (Ma) ago. In the geologic timescale, the Cretaceous follows the Jurassic period and is followed by the Paleogene period of the Cenozoic era. It is the last period of the Mesozoic Era, and, spanning 79 million years, the longest period of the Phanerozoic Eon. Geology[edit] Key events in the Cretaceous An approximate timescale of key Cretaceous events. Research history[edit] Stratigraphic subdivisions[edit] As with other older geologic periods, the rock beds of the Cretaceous are well identified but the exact ages of the system's base is uncertain by a few million years. Rock formations[edit] The high eustatic sea level and warm climate of the Cretaceous meant a large area of the continents was covered by warm shallow seas. Paleogeography[edit] Climate[edit] Life[edit]
The Magician's Nephew The Magician's Nephew is a high fantasy novel for children by C. S. Lewis, published by Bodley Head in 1955. It was the sixth published of seven novels in the The Chronicles of Narnia (1950–1956); it is volume one in recent editions, which are sequenced according to Narnia history. Like the others it was illustrated by Pauline Baynes and her work has been retained in many later editions. The Bodley Head was a new publisher for The Chronicles, a change from Geoffrey Bles.[1][2] The Magician's Nephew is a prequel to the books of the same series. Lewis began The Magician's Nephew soon after completing The Lion, the Witch and the Wardrobe, spurred by a friend's question about the lamp-post in the middle of nowhere, but he needed more than five years to complete it. Plot summary[edit] Digory finds himself transported to a sleepy woodland with an almost narcotic effect; he finds Polly nearby. Despite protests from Polly, Digory rings the bell. Principal characters[edit] Writing[edit] Style[edit]
Jurassic Etymology[edit] The chronostratigraphic term "Jurassic" is directly linked to the Jura Mountains. Alexander von Humboldt recognized the mainly limestone dominated mountain range of the Jura Mountains as a separate formation that had not been included in the established stratigraphic system defined by Abraham Gottlob Werner, and he named it "Jurakalk" in 1795.[4][5][6][7] The name "Jura" is derived from the Celtic root "jor", which was Latinised into "juria", meaning forest (i.e., "Jura" is forest mountains).[5][6][8] Divisions[edit] Key events in the Jurassic An approximate timescale of key Jurassic events. Various dinosaurs roamed forests of similarly large conifers during the Jurassic period. Paleogeography and tectonics[edit] During the early Jurassic period, the supercontinent Pangaea broke up into the northern supercontinent Laurasia and the southern supercontinent Gondwana; the Gulf of Mexico opened in the new rift between North America and what is now Mexico's Yucatan Peninsula.
C. S. Lewis Lewis and fellow novelist J. R. R. Tolkien were close friends. Both authors served on the English faculty at Oxford University, and both were active in the informal Oxford literary group known as the "Inklings". According to his memoir Surprised by Joy, Lewis had been baptized in the Church of Ireland (part of the Anglican Communion) at birth, but fell away from his faith during his adolescence. In 1956, he married the American writer Joy Davidman, 17 years his junior, who died four years later of cancer at the age of 45. Lewis's works have been translated into more than 30 languages and have sold millions of copies. Biography Childhood Little Lea, home of the Lewis family from 1905 to 1930 Clive Staples Lewis was born in Belfast, Ireland, on 29 November 1898.[2] His father was Albert James Lewis (1863–1929), a solicitor whose father, Richard, had come to Ireland from Wales during the mid-19th century. "The New House is almost a major character in my story. "My Irish life" First World War
Vlad III the Impaler Dracula is an 1897 Gothic horror novel by Irish author Bram Stoker.[1] Famous for introducing the character of the vampire Count Dracula, the novel tells the story of Dracula's attempt to move from Transylvania to England, and the battle between Dracula and a small group of men and women led by Professor Abraham Van Helsing. Dracula has been assigned to many literary genres including vampire literature, horror fiction, the gothic novel and invasion literature. The novel touches on themes such as the role of women in Victorian culture, sexual conventions, immigration, colonialism, and post-colonialism. Plot summary[edit] Stoker's handwritten notes on the personnel of the novel. The story is told in epistolary format, as a series of letters, diary entries, ships' log entries, and so forth. Not long afterward, a Russian ship, the Demeter, having weighed anchor at Varna, runs aground on the shores of Whitby, England, during a fierce tempest. Lucy begins to waste away suspiciously.