| theory of culture | source ref : ebookcul. htm | part ii : culture, collectiv purpose, and polity | whenever a group of sociologists meets to discuss culture, it becomes quickly apparent that there is ( still ) no agreement on the meaning of this core term of sociological analysis. at one time or another, myths, values, eating and dressing habits, scientific theories, social norms, novels, and situational definitions have all been treated as elements of culture. keesing ' s challenge " to narrow the concept of ' culture ' so that it includes less and reveals more " ( keesing 1974 ) is still being met in different ways by different schools of thinking. one important step in the direction of terminological specification has been the analytical distinction between social system and cultural system that has become a hallmark of the parsonian tradition of thinking. when kroeber and parsons advocated this distinction, they did so in contrast to a view prevalent among cultural anthropologists that regards societies as sociocultural systems in which social and cultural elements are inextricably intertwined, forming one integrated whole ( kroeber & parsons 1958 ). the analytical distinction between culture and social system ( or social structure ) excludes observable behavior patterns from the concept and characterizes culture as an idea system. such systems, however, can still be conceptualized and circumscribed in different ways, for instance, with respect to the emphasis placed on the ideas in people ' s heads or on collective representations such as myths or doctrines or with respect to the ( relative or even exclusive ) emphasis on symbolic, cognitive / interpretive, or evaluative elements. as michael schmid points out in chapter 4, parsons himself was inconsistent in this and has emphasized different elements on different occasions. regardless of these unresolved conceptual issues, the parsonian distinction between cultural and social systems has the advantage of directing attention to the relationship between them. two sets of questions are thus raised, one referring to the causal linkage between both systems, the other to the delimitation of the social basis ( or scope ) of a culture. both issues are familiar. with respect to the first, marxist orthodoxy assumes that the ideational superstructure is determined by the socioeconomic basis ; parsons in contrast ascribes a regulative function to the cultural system ( parsons 1951 ). if one wants to avoid both materialist and idealist determinism by assuming the relationship between culture and social structure to be one of mutual influence


the magnetic and electric fields are force fields. they exert forces on magnetic or charged particles. we can measure these fields easily with instruments that respond to such forces. magnetic and electric fields therefore have a very real and tangible existence. but these force fields themselves are merely higher order expressions of something more fundamental known as potential fields. potential fields form an underlying substrate in which certain distortions give rise to magnetic or electric fields. but even without such distortions, and hence without any measurable magnetic or electric fields, the potential field can still exist in its distortion - free state. there are three main potential fields : magnetic vector potential ` vec ( a ) `, scalar electric potential ` v `, and gravitational potential ` varphi `. these respectively give rise to the three main force fields : magnetic field ` vec ( b ) `, electric field ` vec ( e ) `, and gravitational field ` vec ( g ) `. the following equations show how these relate : ` grad xx vec ( a ) = vec ( b ) ` ` - grad v = vec ( e ) ` ` - grad varphi = vec ( g ) ` the first equation is pronounced “ del cross a equals b ” or “ curl of a equals b. ” this means that curl ( vorticity, circulation, twist ) in the magnetic vector potential gives rise to a magnetic force field. for instance, if ` vec ( a ) ` uniformly circulates counter - clockwise around your computer screen, the equivalent magnetic field ` vec ( b ) ` points out of the screen toward you ; ` vec ( b ) ` is always at right angles to the curled parts of ` vec ( a ) `. a magnetic field line may be visualized as the central axis of a vortex made of vector potential. but if the vector potential has zero vorticity, then no magnetic field arises, yet it can still distort in other ways by fluctuating, diverging, or compressing. the second equation is pronounced “ minus grad v equals e ” or “ negative gradient of v equals e ”. gradients are inclines, increases in some quantity over some distance. when the scalar electric potential ` v `, also known as voltage, changes over some distance, that establishes an electric field. for example, if electric scalar potential is lower at the left side of your screen and increases steadily toward the right, the electric field from this will point toward the left, down


varies over time can induce a dynamic electric field without its corresponding dynamic magnetic field. so what is the significance of potential fields? well, aside from giving rise to phenomena that we can detect and measure, they can also do things that we cannot detect using standard methods, things that may have effects we might not even imagine possible. what if the frequency of an oscillating but uniform scalar potential ( voltage ) can affect our mood? then our mood could be manipulated by such fields without us — being limited to mainstream modern technology — ever finding out what the true cause might be. same can be said for curl - free magnetic vector potential fields, or gradient - free gravitational potential fields. well it turns out that technology does exist to detect some of these exotic potential fields that lack any measurable force field components. however, these are out of reach for the average person. see for instance a list of patents dealing with the vector potential. most of these employ what are known as josephson junctions, which are quantum mechanical devices that allow direct measurement of the vector potential regardless of whether or not a magnetic force field is present. but good luck to anyone who desires to build or buy a josephson junction ; these require superconducting materials assembled with precision. they can be found in a less effective configuration in medical mri machines, employed as the core components of squid ( superconducting quantum interference devices ) detectors designed to measure very weak magnetic fields. the important thing to know about all this is that force - free potential fields have subtle effects on reality at the quantum level. whereas magnetic and electric fields play a greater role in physical processes involving energy transfers, potential fields work more on the quantum level as phase selectors, probability shapers, and spacetime torsion inducers. this is what scalar physics is all about, using those more exotic aspects of electromagnetic theory that are unknown or ignored by mainstream science. for further discussion and several diagrams concerning the vector potential and its role in electromagnetism, please see my research notes on transverse and longitudinal waves. and if you feel comfortable with the math, then read about one important appplication of all this : portal physics ( also known as space - time engineering ). for a non - mathematical diagram - based explanation of potential fields in relation to electricity, gravity, magnetism, and non - maxwellian wave phenomena, see the etheric origins of gravity, electricity, and magnetism


notes to wittgenstein ' s logical atomism 1. this observation is owed to ray monk. see monk 1996, 200. it was brought to my attention by peter simons. 2. wittgenstein ' s logical atomism is related to his logical constructivism, according to which every proposition is the result of successive applications of one logical operation — the so - called “ n - operator ” — to a base of elementary propositions, but this topic goes beyond the scope of the present entry. for a discussion see geach 1981, 1982 ; fogelin 1982, 1987 ; soames 1983. 3. there are difficulties in stating the appropriate constraints on these replacements. we cannot say that a given apparent name should be replaced by a synonymous term for a complex since wittgenstein denies that sub - sentential expressions have sense ( 3. 3 ). but nor would it be correct to say that an apparent name should be replaced by a co - referring expression, for strictly speaking, terms for complexes do not refer. it seems we can only say that the replacing term should have the same apparent reference as the term it replaces. by this means we might secure preservation of modal truth conditions, but whether that is all that tractarian analysis is supposed to preserve is an open question. 4. in the original the word “ about ” occurs ungrammatically in the ellipsis. this seems to be a slip. 5. in the analysis of sentences containing “ the f ” espoused by russell immediately prior to his adoption of theory of descriptions, the phrase “ the f ” is taken to have meaning in isolation. the meaning of “ the f ” is a propositional constituent distinct from the f, which bears the special relation of “ denoting ” to the f. the phrase “ the f ” is considered to both express and designate this “ denoting concept. ” the theory of descriptions, because it treats “ the f ” as having no meaning in isolation, enables one to recognize sentences in which “ the f ” occurs as expressing propositions without incurring a commitment to denoting concepts. 6. both the claim that having an “ indeterminate sense ” is to be understood as failing to be truth - valued with respect to some possible world and the claim that wittgenstein holds it to be essential to a proposition to have a determinate sense are defended on detailed textual grounds in proops 2004, section 5. 7. the general strategy of the argument of this paragraph, though not all of the


possible applications for solar cells and other small - scale circuits san diego, ca - - learning how to control the movement of electrons on the molecular and nanometer scales could help scientists devise small - scale circuits for a wide variety of applications, including more efficient ways of storing and using solar energy. marshall newton, a theoretical chemist at the u. s. department of energy ' s brookhaven national laboratory, will present at talk at the 229th national meeting of the american chemical society highlighting the theoretical techniques used to understand the factors affecting electron movement. the talk will take place monday, march 14, at 10 a. m. in room 8 of the san diego convention center. " electron donor / acceptor interactions govern a huge number of microscopic processes that everything and everybody is dependent upon, " says newton, " from the movement of electrons in electronic devices to the separation of charges necessary for life processes such as nerve cell communication and photosynthesis. " theoretical chemists like newton are trying to develop models to understand these interactions in molecular systems, where complex molecules with arbitrary shapes communicate electronically over long distances. measuring the electronic conductance, or the strength of electron transfer, is one essential part of understanding how the electrons move. of particular interest to newton is learning how the atomic nuclei that exist in the surrounding environment affect the electrons ' flow. " the nuclei produce what we call vibronic interactions, which can inhibit or facilitate the flow of the electrons, " newton says. " so we need to understand this effect of the electrons ' ' environment ' if we want to control the flow. " for example, newton says, " if you are trying to move charge or energy down a wire, you ideally want it to move down a particular linear pathway. you want to keep it directed in a narrow, confining path, without any conducting paths going off in other directions. if you understand what factors aid or hinder conductance, it should be possible to align the conducting properties in one direction and inhibit them in other directions to achieve that goal. " through collaborations with experimental colleagues, newton regularly has a chance to test his theoretical analyses against actual experimental results. " the more we look into these processes theoretically and experimentally, the more complicated the picture becomes. but we think we are getting a good understanding of the key variables that control events at this scale - - what promotes good electronic communication and what may inhibit it, " he says. with that understanding, it might be possible to design molecular systems to achieve particular goals, such as improving upon photosynthesis


individual differences | methods | statistics | clinical | educational | industrial | professional items | world psychology | trichromacy or trichromaticism is the condition of possessing three independent channels for conveying color information, derived from the three different cone types. organisms with trichromacy are called trichromats. the normal explanation of trichromacy is that the organism ' s retina contains three types of color receptors ( called cone cells in vertebrates ) with different absorption spectra. in actuality the number of such receptor types may be greater than three, since different types may be active at different light intensities. in vertebrates with three types of cone cells, at low light intensities the rod cells may contribute to color vision, giving a small region of tetrachromacy in the color space. humans and other animals that are trichromatsedit humans and closely related primates are usually trichromats, as are some of the females of most species of new world monkeys, and both male and female howler monkeys. recent research suggests that trichromacy may also be quite general among marsupials. most other mammals are currently thought to be dichromats, with only two types of cone ( though limited trichromacy is possible at low light levels where the rods and cones are both active ). most studies of carnivores, as of other mammals, reveal dichromacy, examples including the domestic dog, the ferret, and the spotted hyena. some species of insects ( such as honeybees ) are also trichromats, being sensitive to ultraviolet, blue and green instead of blue, green and red. trichromatic color visionedit trichromatic color vision is the ability of humans and some other animals to see different colors, mediated by interactions among three types of color - sensing cone cells. the trichromatic color theory began in the 18th century, when thomas young proposed that color vision was a result of three different photoreceptor cells. hermann von helmholtz later expanded on young ' s ideas using color - matching experiments which showed that people with normal vision needed three wavelengths to create the normal range of colors. the trichromatic theory was later proven physiologically by gunnar svaetichin ( 1956 ). each of the three types of cones in the retina of the eye contains a different type of photosensitive pigment, which is composed of a transmembrane protein called opsin and a light


sustain and protract that state of doubt which is the stimulus to thorough enquiry, so as not to accept an idea or make a positive assertion of a belief, until justifying reasons have been found. further synthesizing dewey, beveridge captures the heart of how i, too, believe creativity works : it is not possible deliberately to create ideas or to control their creation. when a difficulty stimulates the mind, suggested solutions just automatically spring into the consciousness. the variety and quality of the suggestions are functions of how well prepared our mind is by past experience and education pertinent to the particular problem. what we can do deliberately is to prepare our minds in this way, voluntarily direct our thoughts to a certain problem, hold attention on that problem and appraise the various suggestions thrown up by the subconscious mind. the intellectual element in thinking is, dewey says, what we do with the suggestions after they arise. other things being equal, the greater our store of knowledge, the more likely it is that significant combinations will be thrown up. furthermore, original combinations are more likely to come into being if there is available a breadth of knowledge extending into related or even distant branches of knowledge. i frequently use lego as a metaphor for combinatorial creativity — if we only have bricks of one shape, size, and color, what we build with them remains limited ; but if we build with pieces of various shapes, sizes, and colors, our creations will be infinitely more interesting. beveridge corroborates this by citing dr. e. l. taylor : new associations and fresh ideas are more likely to come out of a varied store of memories and experience than out of a collection that is all of one kind. further confirming what einstein, anne lamott, and steve jobs have said about rationality and intuition, beveridge cites iconic physicist max planck, father of quantum physics : again and again the imaginary plan on which one attempts to build up order breaks down and then we must try another. this imaginative vision and faith in the ultimate success are indispensable. the pure rationalist has no place here. indeed, einstein himself put it thusly : there is no logical way to the discovery of these elemental laws. there is only the way of intuition, which is helped by a feeling for the order lying behind the appearance. beveridge goes on to argue that intuition is really a pattern of ideas that forms as we accumulate experiences and education, and even relates this to our well - documented fear of being wrong : the


by a feeling for the order lying behind the appearance. beveridge goes on to argue that intuition is really a pattern of ideas that forms as we accumulate experiences and education, and even relates this to our well - documented fear of being wrong : the instinctive sense of irritation we feel when someone disagrees with us or when some fact arises which is contrary to our beliefs may be due to the break in the pattern we have formed. writing about the importance of imagination in science, the prominent 19th - century physicist john tyndall insisted : newton ’ s passage from a falling apple to a falling moon was an act of the prepared imagination. out of the facts of chemistry the constructive imagination of dalton formed the atomic theory. davy was richly endowed with the imaginative faculty, while with faraday its exercise was incessant, preceding, accompanying and guiding all his experiments. his strength and fertility as a discoverer are to be referred in great part to the stimulus of the imagination. beveridge sums it up beautifully : facts and ideas are dead in themselves and it is the imagination that gives life to them. but dreams and speculations are idle fantasies unless reason turns them to useful purpose. vague ideas captured on flights of fancy have to be reduced to specific propositions and hypotheses. echoing carl sagan ’ s wisdom on the balance between skepticism and open - mindedness, he continues : while imagination is the source of inspiration in seeking new knowledge, it can also be dangerous if not subjected to discipline ; a fertile imagination needs to be balanced by criticism and judgment. this is, of course, quite different from saying it should be repressed or crushed. the imagination merely enables us to wander into the darkness of the unknown where, by the dim light of the knowledge that we carry, we may glimpse something that seems of interest. but when we bring it out and examine it more closely it usually proves to be only trash whose glitter had caught our attention. things not clearly seen often take on grotesque forms. imagination is at once the source of all hope and inspiration but also of frustration. to forget this is to court despair. returning once again to the pivotal role of embracing failure, beveridge writes : the scientist who is excessively cautious is not likely to make either errors or discoveries … humphry davy said : ‘ the most important of my discoveries have been suggested to me by my failures. ’ the trained thinker shows to great advantage over the untrained person in his reaction to finding his idea to be wrong. the former profits from his


davy said : ‘ the most important of my discoveries have been suggested to me by my failures. ’ the trained thinker shows to great advantage over the untrained person in his reaction to finding his idea to be wrong. the former profits from his mistakes as much as from his successes. dewey says : ‘ what merely annoys and discourages a person not accustomed to thinking … is a stimulus and guide to the trained enquirer … it either brings to light a new problem or helps to define and clarify the problem. to that effect, upon receiving the nobel prize in physics, max planck remarked : looking back … over the long and labyrinthine path which finally led to the discovery [ of the quantum theory ], i am vividly reminded of goethe ’ s saying that men will always be making mistakes as long as they are striving after something. beveridge cautions that the most important element in harnessing the power of the imagination is avoiding the trap of conditioned thinking : psychologists have observed that once we have made an error, as for example in adding up a column of figures, we have a tendency to repeat it again and again. this phenomenon is known as the persistent error. the same thing happens when we ponder over a problem ; each time our thoughts take a certain course, the more likely is that course to be followed the next time. associations form between the ideas in the chain of thoughts and become firmer each time they are used, until finally the connections are so well established that the chain is very difficult to break. thinking becomes conditioned just as conditioned reflexes are formed. we may have enough data to arrive at a solution to the problem, but, once we have adopted an unprofitable line of thought, the oftener we pursue it, the harder it is for us to adopt the profitable line. after offering several first - hand accounts of discovery by prominent scientists, berveridge summarizes the gist of intuition : the most characteristic circumstances of an intuition are a period of intense work on the problem accompanied by a desire for its solution, abandonment of the work perhaps with attention to something else, then the appearance of the idea with dramatic suddenness and often a sense of certainty. often there is a feeling of exhilaration and perhaps surprise that the idea had not been thought of previously. the psychology of the phenomenon is not thoroughly understood. there is a fairly general, though not universal, agreement that intuitions arise from the subconscious activities of the mind which has continued to turn over the problem even though perhaps


had not been thought of previously. the psychology of the phenomenon is not thoroughly understood. there is a fairly general, though not universal, agreement that intuitions arise from the subconscious activities of the mind which has continued to turn over the problem even though perhaps consciously the mind is no longer giving it attention. ( of course, though the exact mechanisms of ideation remain, and possibly always will, not fully understood, in the half - century since beveridge ’ s work psychology and neuroscience have done a great deal to shed some light on how creativity works and what happens backstage in the brain. ) beveridge outlines the process thusly : ideas spring straight into the conscious mind without our having deliberately formed them. evidently they originate from the subconscious activities of the mind which, when directed at a problem, immediately brings together various ideas which have been associated with that particular subject before. when a possibly significant combination is found it is presented to the conscious mind for appraisal. intuitions coming when we are consciously thinking about a problem are merely ideas that are more startling than usual. but some further explanation is needed to account for intuitions coming when our conscious mind is no longer dwelling on that subject. the subconscious mind has probably continued to be occupied with the problem and has suddenly found a significant combination. now, a new idea arriving during conscious thinking often produces a certain emotional reaction — we feel pleased about it and perhaps somewhat excited. perhaps the subconscious mind is also capable of reacting in this way and this has the effect of bringing the idea into the conscious mind. because such intuitive ideas often vanish quickly after their appearance, beveridge recommends a “ valuable device ” for capturing them : the habit of carrying pencil and paper to note down original ideas. ( or, fifty years later, evernote, my preferred alternative. ) he advises : ideas often make their appearance in the fringe of consciousness when one is reading, writing or otherwise engaged mentally on a theme which it is not desirable to interrupt. these ideas should be roughly jotted down as quickly as possible ; this not only preserves them but also serves the useful purpose of getting them ‘ off your mind ’ with the minimum interruption to the main interest. concentration requires that the mind should not be distracted by retaining ideas on the fringe of consciousness. to underline the role of the intuition, beveridge quotes german - british philosopher f. c. s. schiller : it is not too much to say that the more deference men of science have paid to logic, the worse it has been for the scientific value


definition of set : a group of things of the same kind that belong together and are so used ; " a set of books " ; " a set of golf clubs " ; " a set of teeth " ( mathematics ) an abstract collection of numbers or symbols ; " the set of prime numbers is infinite " several exercises intended to be done in series ; " he did four sets of the incline bench press " representation consisting of the scenery and other properties used to identify the location of a dramatic production ; " the sets were meticulously authentic " an unofficial association of people or groups ; " the smart set goes there " ; " they were an angry lot " a relatively permanent inclination to react in a particular way ; " the set of his mind was obvious " the act of putting something in position ; " he gave a final set to his hat " a unit of play in tennis or squash ; " they played two sets of tennis after dinner " the process of becoming hard or solid by cooling or drying or crystallization ; " the hardening of concrete " ; " he tested the set of the glue " evil egyptian god with the head of a beast that has high square ears and a long snout ; brother and murderer of osiris the descent of a heavenly body below the horizon ; " before the set of sun " ( psychology ) being temporarily ready to respond in a particular way ; " the subjects ' set led them to solve problems the familiar way and to overlook the simpler solution " ; " his instructions deliberately gave them the wrong set " any electronic equipment that receives or transmits radio or tv signals ; " the early sets ran on storage batteries " put into a certain place or abstract location ; " put your things here " ; " set the tray down " ; " set the dogs on the scent of the missing children " ; " place emphasis on a certain point " fix conclusively or authoritatively ; " set the rules " decide upon or fix definitely ; " fix the variables " ; " specify the parameters " establish as the highest level or best performance ; " set a record " put into a certain state ; cause to be in a certain state ; " set the house afire " fix in a border ; " the goldsmith set the diamond " make ready or suitable or equip in advance for a particular purpose or for some use, event, etc ; " get the children ready for school! " ; " prepare for war " ; " i was fixing to leave town after i paid the hotel bill " set to a certain position or cause to operate


physics is grand. it ' s the grandest of the many achievements of our species - - greater than music, greater than art, greater than our omni - present consumer marketplace with its daily provision of ever - smarter phones and ever - stupider advertisements. when physics shows up on our doorstep, as it does when we purchase a mysterious new piece of electronics containing lasers, memory chips and magical glass, we get a stir of excitement. but that stir is little more than the buzz created by magicians, circus performers or olympic gymnasts doing mysterious things that we can ' t comprehend. underneath the glitter and magic of high tech toys made possible by physics are deep ideas about the fundamental nature of the world. without an understanding of these deep ideas there would be no magical products. reflect on the fact that almost all the physics of the 20th century is validated every time your smart phone powers up. if just one of those physics laws disappeared, or changed a little bit, much of our civilization would shut down. as remarkable as our progress has been in understanding the deep laws of physics, mysteries persist. under each layer of understanding lies a new layer of questions. as soon as the chemists organized the periodic table of the elements - - one of the great achievements of 19th century science - - questions arose about the underlying reasons for the organizational scheme. why, exactly, was sodium so much like potassium - - so similar that you can swap it out and make sodium - free salt with potassium? physicists answered these questions. they figured how nature had built the entire periodic table of the elements from protons, electrons and neutrons. the explanation was called quantum mechanics and it was an elegant advance in our knowledge, perhaps the greatest discovery of the first half of the 20th century. atoms were the way they were because they were composed of smaller particles. but why were these smaller particles the way they were? why, for example, were electrons so light and protons almost 2, 000 times heavier? why were electrons point particles with zero diameter but protons and neutrons had " size "? such questions were answered when it was discovered that the proton and the neutron were composed of quarks. the electron was a member of a family of particles called leptons that did not have any internal constituents - - a feature that made them both lighter and without diameters. patterns within the respective families of quarks and leptons - - there is six of each and they relate to each other in interesting ways - - raised questions about the nature of


- a feature that made them both lighter and without diameters. patterns within the respective families of quarks and leptons - - there is six of each and they relate to each other in interesting ways - - raised questions about the nature of those patterns - - the same sort of questions once asked about the periodic table. one of the questions was how the particles got their particular masses, charges and other properties. ( these properties include charm, strangeness, upness, downness, as well as some less esoteric magnetic features. ) just as quantum mechanics unlocked the secrets of the organizational structure of the periodic table, a theory called the standard model unlocked the secrets of the of organizational structure of the quarks and leptons, providing deep insights into their nature. perhaps the most ambitious explanatory component of the standard model was its explanation for the origin of mass. why do particles have mass in the first place? some particles, like photons, have no mass - - technically no rest mass - - and thus can buzz about at the speed of light. but electrons and quarks have mass and cannot travel at the speed of light, a fact gloriously confirmed by the resolution of recent experiments that hinted otherwise. the standard model explained the origin of mass as the result of a field existing everywhere - - a sort of universal fog through which moving particles have to plough. this fog - - if it exists - - impedes moving particles, like millions of tiny arms reaching out and grabbing at the particles as they pass. the slowing created by this creates the phenomenon of mass. the universal fog is known as the higgs field. but is it real? how do we know this field exists and does what the standard model claims? how do we know, for example, that particles didn ' t get their mass from god at the creation? or maybe from tiny mass fairies riding on them? enter the higgs boson. fields in physics have particles associated with them and the existence of the particles provides evidence that the fields are real. the familiar photon is evidence for the electromagnetic field. peter higgs, and some colleagues, predicted the existence of his namesake boson in 1964. for decades physicists have been devising experiments to make the elusive mass - giving particle show itself and, after several months of peeking its head around corners at the large hadron collider in europe, the particle has been definitively sighted. the buzz about the discovery of the higgs boson reminds us once again that we are progressing


itself and, after several months of peeking its head around corners at the large hadron collider in europe, the particle has been definitively sighted. the buzz about the discovery of the higgs boson reminds us once again that we are progressing in our understanding the deeper features of the world. such progress can seem like a scientific intrusion onto theological turf. are we not now claiming that mass is created by the higgs field and not by god? is this not why the new boson is called the god particle? such concerns are exacerbated by a misunderstanding created by a joke, when physicist leon lederman titled his book about the quest for the higgs boson, " the god particle. " ( publishers discovered long ago that putting " god " in the title of science books helps sales ; examples include " god : the failed hypothesis, " " the mind of god, " " god and the new physics, " " god ' s universe. " one can only guess the fate of lederman ' s book had he titled it " the quest for the higgs boson. " ) understandably, journalists have persisted in calling the god particle by its provocative nickname, to the dismay of most physicists including peter higgs. discovering the higgs boson undermines nothing in theology, however. if anything, its discovery provides more evidence of the deeply rational character of the universe, a topic i explore in more detail in my recent book, " the wonder of the universe. " whether god assigns mass directly to particles, or creates a field to do so is theologically irrelevant, although i would argue the latter is more elegant. lederman even suggests as much in the god particle, when he rewrites scripture, and has god saying, " let us go down, and there give them the god particle so that they may see how beautiful is the universe i have made. " follow karl giberson, ph. d on twitter : www. twitter. com / gibersok


to secure ( sp 64 - 66 ). if derrida ’ s point is simply that husserl ’ s phenomenology holds within itself conclusions that husserl failed to recognise, derrida seems to be able to disavow any transcendental or ontological position. this is why he argues that his work occupies a place in the margins of philosophy, rather than simply being philosophy per se. deconstruction contends that in any text, there are inevitably points of equivocation and ‘ undecidability ’ that betray any stable meaning that an author might seek to impose upon his or her text. the process of writing always reveals that which has been suppressed, covers over that which has been disclosed, and more generally breaches the very oppositions that are thought to sustain it. this is why derrida ’ s ‘ philosophy ’ is so textually based and it is also why his key terms are always changing, because depending upon who or what he is seeking to deconstruct, that point of equivocation will always be located in a different place. this also ensures that any attempt to describe what deconstruction is, must be careful. nothing would be more antithetical to deconstruction ’ s stated intent than this attempt at defining it through the decidedly metaphysical question “ what is deconstruction? ” there is a paradoxicality involved in trying to restrict deconstruction to one particular and overarching purpose ( og 19 ) when it is predicated upon the desire to expose us to that which is wholly other ( tout autre ) and to open us up to alternative possibilities. at times, this exegesis will run the risk of ignoring the many meanings of derridean deconstruction, and the widely acknowledged difference between derrida ’ s early and late work is merely the most obvious example of the difficulties involved in suggesting “ deconstruction says this ”, or “ deconstruction prohibits that ”. that said, certain defining features of deconstruction can be noticed. for example, derrida ’ s entire enterprise is predicated upon the conviction that dualisms are irrevocably present in the various philosophers and artisans that he considers. while some philosophers argue that he is a little reductive when he talks about the western philosophical tradition, it is his understanding of this tradition that informs and provides the tools for a deconstructive response. because of this, it is worth briefly considering the


, caputo dn 31 ). to put derrida ’ s point simplistically, it might be suggested that the meaning of a particular object, or a particular word, is never stable, but always in the process of change ( eg. the dissemination of meaning for which deconstruction has become notorious ). moreover, the significance of that past change can only be appreciated from the future and, of course, that ‘ future ’ is itself implicated in a similar process of transformation were it ever to be capable of becoming ‘ present ’. the future that derrida is referring to is hence not just a future that will become present, but the future that makes all ‘ presence ’ possible and also impossible. for derrida, there can be no presence - to - self, or self - contained identity, because the ‘ nature ’ of our temporal existence is for this type of experience to elude us. our predominant mode of being is what he will eventually term the messianic ( see section 6 ), in that experience is about the wait, or more aptly, experience is only when it is deferred. derrida ’ s work offers many important temporal contributions of this quasi - transcendental variety. in its first and most famous instantiation, undecidability is one of derrida ’ s most important attempts to trouble dualisms, or more accurately, to reveal how they are always already troubled. an undecidable, and there are many of them in deconstruction ( eg. ghost, pharmakon, hymen, etc. ), is something that cannot conform to either polarity of a dichotomy ( eg. present / absent, cure / poison, and inside / outside in the above examples ). for example, the figure of a ghost seems to neither present or absent, or alternatively it is both present and absent at the same time ( sm ). however, derrida has a recurring tendency to resuscitate terms in different contexts, and the term undecidability also returns in later deconstruction. indeed, to complicate matters, undecidability returns in two discernible forms. in his recent work, derrida often insists that the condition of the possibility of mourning, giving, forgiving, and hospitality, to cite some of his most famous examples, is at once also the condition of their impossibility ( see section 7 ). in his explorations of these


the act of interpreting ; explanation of what is obscure ; translation ; version ; construction ; as, the interpretation of a foreign language, of a dream, or of an enigma. the sense given by an interpreter ; exposition or explanation given ; meaning ; as, commentators give various interpretations of the same passage of scripture. the act or process of applying general principles or formulæ to the explanation of the results obtained in special cases. the assigning of meaning to a linguistic chain. the deciphering of any extrasensory perception. the medium ' s responsibility is for delivery of what is factually received. attempts to offer consciously - created interpretation of unknown - relationship symbols by the medium would be a pretentious act. reduction of information to appropriate and understandable terms and explanations. [ d00873 ] pmk87 the process of discerning how the original meaning of a text can be appropriated for us today. ( in · ter · pre · ta · tion ). the providing of meaning, supposedly, for the contemporary world from hermeneutic analysis. a mental representation of the meaning or significance of something an explanation that results from interpreting something ; " the report included his interpretation of the forensic evidence " an explanation of something that is not immediately obvious ; " the edict was subject to many interpretations " ; " he annoyed us with his interpreting of parables " ; " often imitations are extended to provide a more accurate rendition of the child ' s intended meaning " a document of narrow scope that provides clarifications of original meaning, additional definitions, or other guidance pertaining to an existing federal accounting standard an individual response that addresses meaning a view on the meaning of a dream an educational activity which aims to reveal meanings and relationships through the use of original objects, by first hand experience, and illustrative media, rather than by simply communicating factual information. an analysis of a work to determine its meaning an explanation or opinion of what something means. the explanation or elucidation of a creative work, a political event, or other activity. decision made by the specification authority that elaborates or refines the meaning of a free standards group specification or a standard or specification referenced by a free standards group specification. an interpretation is one possible outcome of a problem report. the viewer ' s activity of analyzing the implicit and symptomatic meanings suggested in a film. see also meaning. the general explanation of the meaning of a literary work. interpretation may take into account any of the other terms in this glossary, especially theme.