Tropical grasses are fast growing and often used for phytoremediation. Three different types of tropical grasses: Vetiver (V. zizanoides), Imperata (I. cylindrical) and Pennisetum (P. purpureum) tested in different growth media of spiked heavy metal contents under the glasshouse environment of RimbaIlmu for 60-day. The growth performance, metals tolerance and phyto-assessment of cadmium (Cd), lead (Pb), zinc (Zn) and copper (Cu) in shoots and roots were assessed using flame atomic absorption spectrometry (FAAS).Tolerance index (TI), translocation factor (TF), biological (...) class='Hi'>accumulation coefficient (BAC), biological concentration factor (BCF), and uptake efficacy was applied to evaluate the metal translocation ability among all three grasses. All three grasses showed significantly higher (p<0.05) accumulation of the total heavy metals in the spiked metal treatment compared with other tested treatments. Vetiver accumulated remarkably higher total concentration of Cd (93.08 ± 3.81 mg/kg) and Zn (1284.00 ± 234.83 mg/kg) than both Imperata and Pennisetum. The overall trend of heavy metals accumulation for all three grasses followed the order of Zn>Pb>Cd>Cu. The results of study suggested that both Imperata and Pennisetum are commendable and potential phytoextractors for Zn as well as phytostabilizers for Cd, Pb and Cu, respectively. (shrink)

Tropical grasses are fast growing and often used for phytoremediation. Three different types of tropical grasses: Vetiver (V. zizanoides), Imperata (I. cylindrical) and Pennisetum (P. purpureum) tested in different growth media of spiked heavy metal contents under the glasshouse environment of RimbaIlmu for 60-day. The growth performance, metals tolerance and phyto-assessment of cadmium (Cd), lead (Pb), zinc (Zn) and copper (Cu) in shoots and roots were assessed using flame atomic absorption spectrometry (FAAS).Tolerance index (TI), translocation factor (TF), biological (...) class='Hi'>accumulation coefficient (BAC), biological concentration factor (BCF), and uptake efficacy was applied to evaluate the metal translocation ability among all three grasses. All three grasses showed significantly higher (pPb> Cd >Cu. The results of study suggested that both Imperata and Pennisetum are commendable and potential phytoextractors for Zn as well as phytostabilizers for Cd, Pb and Cu, respectively. (shrink)

The growth response, metal tolerance and phytoaccumulation properties of water spinach (Ipomoea aquatica) and okra (Abelmoschus esculentus) were assessed under different contaminated spiked metals: control, 50 mg Pb/kg soil, 50 mg Zn/kg soil and 50 mg Cu/kg soil. The availability of Pb, Zn and Cu metals in both soil and plants were detected using flame atomic absorption spectrometry. The concentration and accumulation of heavy metals from soil to roots and shoots (edible parts) were evaluated in terms of translocation (...) factor, accumulation factor and tolerance index. Okra recorded the highest accumulation of Pb (80.20 mg/kg) in its root followed by Zn in roots (35.70 mg/kg) and shoots (34.80 mg/kg) of water spinach, respectively. Different accumulation trends were observed with, Pb > Zn > Cu in okra and Zn > Pb > Cu in water spinach. Significant differences (p < 0.01) of Pb, Zn and Cu accumulation were found in both water spinach and okra cultivated among tested treatments. However, only the accumulation of Pb metal in the shoots of water spinach and okra exceeded the maximum permissible levels of the national Malaysian Food Act 1983 and Food Regulations 1985 ([2006]) as well as the international Codex Alimentarius Commission limits. This study has shown that both water spinach and okra have good potential as Pb and Zn phytoremediators. (shrink)

Over the years, ethylene-diamine-tetra-acetate (EDTA) has been widely used for many purposes. However, there are inadequate phytoassessment studies conducted using EDTA in Vetiver grass. Hence, this study evaluates the phytoassessment (growth performance, accumulation trends, and proficiency of metal uptake) of Vetiver grass, Vetiveria zizanioides (Linn.) Nash in both single and mixed heavy metal (Cd, Pb, Cu, and Zn)—disodium EDTA-enhanced contaminated soil. The plant growth, metal accumulation, and overall efficiency of metal uptake by different plant (...) parts (lower root, upper root, lower tiller, and upper tiller) were thoroughly examined. The relative growth performance, metal tolerance, and phytoassessment of heavy metal in roots and tillers of Vetiver grass were examined. Metals in plants were measured using the flame atomic absorption spectrometry (F-AAS) after acid digestion. The root-tiller (R/T) ratio, biological concentration factor (BCF), biological accumulation coefficient (BAC), tolerance index (TI), translocation factor (TF), and metal uptake efficacy were used to estimate the potential of metal accumulation and translocation in Vetiver grass. All accumulation of heavy metals were significantly higher (p < 0.05) in both lower and upper roots and tillers of Vetiver grass for Cd + Pb + Cu + Zn + EDTA treatments as compared with the control. The single Zn + EDTA treatment accumulated the highest overall total amount of Zn (8068 ± 407 mg/kg) while the highest accumulation for Cu (1977 ± 293 mg/kg) and Pb (1096 ± 75 mg/kg) were recorded in the mixed Cd + Pb + Cu + Zn + EDTA treatment, respectively. Generally, the overall heavy metal accumulation trends of Vetiver grass were in the order of Zn >>> Cu > Pb >> Cd for all treatments. Furthermore, both upper roots and tillers of Vetiver grass recorded high tendency of accumulation for appreciably greater amounts of all heavy metals, regardless of single and/or mixed metal treatments. Thus, Vetiver grass can be recommended as a potential phytoextractor for all types of heavy metals, whereby its tillers will act as the sink for heavy metal accumulation in the presence of EDTA for all treatments. (shrink)

This study used a flame atomic absorption spectrometer (FAAS) and atomic fluorescence spec-trophotometer (AFS) to detect the concentrations of chromium (Cr), cadmium (Cd), lead (Pb), hy-drargyrum (Hg) and arsenic (As) in soils and three genotypes of vegetables in greenhouse, as well as analyzed the physical and chemical properties of soils, including soil pH, soil organic matter (OM), basic nutrients, electrical conductivity (EC) and cation exchange capacity (CEC) in Guan- zhong areas, Shaanxi province, China. The results showed that comparing to subsoil, (...) the sampled topsoil is enriched in Cr, Cd, Pb, As and Hg. Cd (0.83 - 3.17 mg·kg-1) and Hg (0.40 - 1.44 mg·kg-1) are exceeding the limited value stated in “the 2006 Greenhouse Vegetable Producing Environmental Quality Evaluation Standards” of 0.40 mg·kg-1 and 0.35 mg·kg-1 respectively. However, Nanzhuang greenhouse soil is within the limits. The heavy metal pollution index (HPI) of soil in Sanyuan (8.10) is the highest and in Dongzhang (4.23) is the lowest. The contents of Pb (0.201 - 0.376 mg·kg-1) were exceeding the limited value (0.20 mg·kg-1) in vegetables species, and Cd (0.0363 - 0.0572 mg·kg-1) in some place were also exceeding the limited value (0.05 mg·kg-1). Greenhouse soils were becoming acidified year after year; the ratios of N, P and K in soil were seriously imbalanced. According to the impacting factors, OM, pH, available P, EC and CEC have obviously effected the accumulation of Cr and Hg. However, there was not enough evidence for the effects of available nitrogen and available potassium. (shrink)

E-waste, also known as waste from electrical and electronic equipment, is a solid waste that accumulates quickly due to high demand driven by the market for replacing newer electrical and electronic products. The global e-waste generation is estimated to be between 53.6 million tons, and it is increasing by 3–5% per year. Metals make-up approximately 30% of e-waste, which contains precious elements Au, Ag, Cu, Pt, and other high-value elements, valued at USD 57 billion, which is driving the e-waste recycling (...) industry. It is noteworthy that the recycling of precious elements from e-waste has emerged as a profitable enterprise in several parts of developing nations. E-waste contains 50–100 times higher levels of precious metals compared to natural ores, making it suitable for mining. E-waste recycling in developing nations, mostly occurs through the informal sector comprising manual collection, crushing, segregation and selling of precious elements, such as Au, Ag, Cu, Pb, Pt, and other rare elements (Nd, In, and Ga). The organized sector, on the other hand, mostly employs mechano-chemical methods, such as pyrometallurgy, hydrometallurgy, and bio-hydrometallurgy, which have serious environmental consequences. Both the informal and formal sectors of e-waste processing lead to the leaching of toxic elements into groundwater and soils. Owing to the lesser efficiency of greener technologies, such as phytoremediation and bioremediation, their use in precious metal extraction is very limited. However, this review explores several hyper-accumulating and tolerant plants viz. Brassica juncea and Berkheya coddii, which holds great potential in phytomining of precious metal from e-waste. Thus, the state of the art in precious metal extraction from e-waste as well as the advantages and disadvantages of different metal extraction technologies has been reviewed. (shrink)

Three different types of low cost soil amendments, namely, EDTA, elemental S and N-fertilizer, were investigated with Vetiver grass, Vetiveria zizanioides (Linn.) Nash growing under highly mixed Cd–Pb contamination conditions. A significant increase (p < 0.05) in Cd and Pb accumulation were recorded in the shoots of all EDTA and N-fertilizer assisted treatments. The accumulation of Cd in 25 mmol EDTA/kg soil and 300 mmol N/kg soil showed relatively higher translocation factor (1.72 and 2.15) and percentage metal (...) efficacy (63.25 % and 68.22 %), respectively, compared to other treatments. However, it was observed that the increased application of elemental S may inhibit the availability of Pb translocation from soil-to-root and root-to-shoot. The study suggests that viable application of 25 mmol EDTA/kg, 300 mmol N/kg and 20 mmol S/kg soil have the potential to be used for soil amendment with Vetiver grass growing under contaminated mixed Cd–Pb soil conditions. (shrink)

Sources of soil contamination can exist in various types of conditions including in the form of semifluids. In this study, 3 different types of tropical plants, Acacia (Acacia mangium Willd), Mucuna (Mucuna bracteata DC. ex Kurz) and Vetiver (Vetiveria zizanioides L. Nash), were tested under different levels of soil-leachate conditions. The relative growth rate, metal tolerance, and phytoassessment of cadmium (Cd) and lead (Pb) accumulation in the roots and shoots were determined using flame atomic absorption spectrometry. Tolerance index, (...) translocation factor, metal accumulation ratio, and percentage metal efficacy were applied to assess the metal translocation ability among all the 3 types of plants. Significantly higher (P < .05) accumulation of Cd and Pb was exhibited in the roots and shoots of all 3 plants growing under the soil-leachate conditions. However, negative growth performance and plant withering were observed in both Acacia and Mucuna with increased application of higher soil-leachate levels. Vetiver accumulated remarkably higher total concentration of Cd (116.16-141.51 mg/kg) and Pb (156.37-365.27 mg/kg) compared with both Acacia and Mucuna. The overall accumulation trend of Cd and Pb in the 3 plants growing under the soil-leachate conditions was in the order of Vetiver > Acacia > Mucuna. The findings of the study suggest that Vetiver has great potential as Cd and Pb phytoremediator in soil-leachate conditions. (shrink)

Sources of soil contamination can exist in various types of conditions including in the form of semifluids. In this study, 3 different types of tropical plants, Acacia (Acacia mangium Willd), Mucuna (Mucuna bracteata DC. ex Kurz) and Vetiver (Vetiveria zizanioides L. Nash), were tested under different levels of soil-leachate conditions. The relative growth rate, metal tolerance, and phytoassessment of cadmium (Cd) and lead (Pb) accumulation in the roots and shoots were determined using flame atomic absorption spectrometry. Tolerance index, (...) translocation factor, metal accumulation ratio, and percentage metal efficacy were applied to assess the metal translocation ability among all the 3 types of plants. Significantly higher (P < .05) accumulation of Cd and Pb was exhibited in the roots and shoots of all 3 plants growing under the soil-leachate conditions. However, negative growth performance and plant withering were observed in both Acacia and Mucuna with increased application of higher soil-leachate levels. Vetiver accumulated remarkably higher total concentration of Cd (116.16-141.51 mg/kg) and Pb (156.37-365.27 mg/kg) compared with both Acacia and Mucuna. The overall accumulation trend of Cd and Pb in the 3 plants growing under the soil-leachate conditions was in the order of Vetiver > Acacia > Mucuna. The findings of the study suggest that Vetiver has great potential as Cd and Pb phytoremediator in soil-leachate conditions. (shrink)

This article was motivated by the avalanche of finance spent annually on addressing the harm caused by corrosion on household wares and buildings, industrial machines and facilities, hospital equipment and many other establishment of man in the universe. Corrosion is a universal phenomenon referred to as the deterioration of metallic material. Metal alloys like stainless steel and aluminium are extensively used in household utensils for their durability, affordability and corrosion resistance. However, these materials can leach heavy metals such as (...) chromium, nickel, iron, and aluminium into food, posing serious health challenges. Stainless steel, despite its corrosion resistance, releases harmful metals when exposed to acidic foods, while aluminium utensils corrode and release harmful elements under certain conditions too. Hence, this article was aimed at examining the historical background of corrosion, the causes of corrosion in household wares and utensils, its impact especially on human health and economy, and the potential remedies. The findings indicated that acidic foods and prolonged storage increase metal leaching. Health concerns included increased risks of anemia, dementia, and osteomalacia due to excessive metal accumulation in the body. Mitigation strategies included using anodized aluminium, minimizing storage time of acidic foods in metal containers, and increasing public awareness about the potential health risks. Proper maintenance and selection of utensils could significantly reduce the hazards associated with metal leaching. (shrink)

Various types of plant species have been extensively used for heavy metals phyto-remediation without taking into consideration its tolerance threshold. In this study, Vetiver grass, Vetiveria zizanioides (Linn.) Nash was evaluated under five different sets of contaminated spiked cadmium (5Cd, 10Cd, 50Cd, 100Cd and 150Cd mg/kg) and lead (50Pb, 100Pb, 200Pb, 400Pb and 800Pb mg/kg) concentration levels in soil. The growth performance, metal tolerance and phyto-assessment of Cd and Pb in the roots and tillers were assessed using flame atomic (...) absorption spectrometry (FAAS). Tolerance index (TI), translocation factor (TF), biological transfer factor (BTF), biological accumulation coefficient (BAC) and metal uptake efficacy were used to determine the Cd and Pb translocation capability in Vetiver grass. Significantly higher (p<0.05) accumulation of Cd and Pb was recorded in the roots of all spiked treatments. Furthermore, strong and significantly positive correlations were exhibited between the increased levels of spiked heavy metal concentrations with both Cd (r=0.975) and Pb (r=0.952) accumulations. The results of this study showed Vetiver grass as an effective phyto-stabilizer for both Cd and Pb. Nevertheless, the growth of Vetiver grass was restricted when the tolerance threshold of 100 mg/kg (dry weight basis) Cd was exceeded in the contaminated soil. (shrink)

Air pollutants pose a threat to biodiversity throughout the world. This study was conducted to evaluate atmospheric element accumulation in Isparta city, including Gölcük Nature Park, located in the Western Mediterranean Region of Turkey. It is aimed to determine the air quality and potential pollutant sources in the region through lichen biomonitoring. Specimens of the epiphytic foliose lichen Physcia aipolia (Erh. ex Humb.) Fürnr. were sampled from 14 sites in the study area and analyzed by ICP-MS with reference material (...) in order to detect 11 trace elements; Al, As, Cd, Cr, Cu, Fe, Mn, Ni, Pb, V, and Zn. The spatial distribution of these airborne elements in the study area was mapped. The results showed that the elemental sequence in terms of average concentrations measured was as follows: Ni >Cr >V >Fe >As >Al >Zn >Cu> >Cd >Mn >Pb. The results of cluster analyses of the elemental data indicated that the 3 major contaminants in the urban area were Cr, Ni, and V, probably due to the extensive use of coal in heating facilities and gasoline in vehicles. P. aipolia specimens accumulated maximal concentrations of As, Cr, Fe, Ni, and V in the northern and the southeastern localities surrounding the city, while Cd, Pb were most abundant in the eastern edge of Gölcük Nature Park. The pollution in Isparta city with heavy metal is worse than expected, mostly due to the extensive use of coal as fossil fuel. In addition, it seems to be associated with the city's topographic and climatic characteristics, e.g. inversion effects. (shrink)

When this article was first planned, writing was going to be exclusively about two things - the origin of life and human evolution. But it turned out to be out of the question for the author to restrict himself to these biological and anthropological topics. A proper understanding of them required answering questions like “What is the nature of the universe – the home of life – and how did it originate?”, “How can time travel be removed from fantasy and (...) science fiction, to be made scientific and practical?”, and “How can the proposed young age of genus Homo be made to actually be reasonable – when simply stating it would be solid ground for instant rejection and dismissal?” The result is that the article also talks about subjects like Artificial Intelligence, General Relativity, and cosmology. -/- From where did life originate? God? Evolution? Panspermia? If the tendency of humans and scientists to regard undiscovered science as pseudoscience can be overcome, Einstein gave another alternative to consider when he introduced General Relativity. Time isn’t linear – progressing in a straight line from past to present to future. That assumption ignores Relativity which states that space AND TIME are curved. Where did life and the genetic code come from? Can the answer build AI? -/- The first question can be answered by the section of this article titled SETI, Evolution, and Time which says life (possibly multicellular and intelligent) and the genetic code came from humans acquiring knowledge of these things over the centuries, then applying that knowledge – via terraforming, accumulation of raw materials like amino acids and nucleic acids, genetic engineering - to a time in the past when life didn’t exist. From that origin, life evolved through innumerable mutations and adaptations, with humans once again acquiring knowledge of it in cyclic (nonlinear) time. -/- The second question is answered by saying artificial intelligence (AI) as the product of life is only half of the equation. The other half refers to Relativity’s curved space-time and violation of the notion that time always travels from past to future. We have always lived in an artificially intelligent, non-probabilistic universe where everything in time and space is connected into one thing by quantum entanglement – making the brain and genes products of binary-digit activity or artificial intelligence (life is not merely dependent on biology’s “lock and key” mechanisms but also possesses AI). -/- The earliest documented representative of the genus Homo is Homo habilis, which evolved around 2.8 million years ago. Scientists used to believe there was a straight line from H. habilis to us, Homo sapiens. This article will use the “advanced” waves loved by Physics Nobel laureate Richard Feynman, view the history of science through the lens of Conic Sections applied to Relativity’s curved space-time, and incorporate the necessity of so-called imaginary time * – popularized by Prof. Stephen Hawking. While the evolutionary proposals are more in agreement with this early straight line than with modern theories, Albert Einstein’s General Relativity is used to transform the straight line into a curved line, ultimately concluding that Homo habilis (H. habilis) originated only (and unbelievably, as far as today’s science and technology is concerned) ~250,000 years ago. Other branches and dead ends of Homo – e.g. Neanderthals – are the result of mutations and adaptations, with the resultant modifications to anatomy and physiology. The surprisingly young age of H. habilis allows nearly 200,000 years for habilis, or one of its descendants, to reach Australia … if this country’s indigenous Aboriginal population did, as claimed, reach this “island continent” 60,000 years ago. -/- * The ultraviolet catastrophe, also called the Rayleigh–Jeans catastrophe, is a failure of classical physics to predict observed phenomena: it can be shown that a blackbody - a hypothetical perfect absorber and radiator of energy - would release an infinite amount of energy, contradicting the principles of conservation of energy and indicating that a new model for the behaviour of blackbodies was needed. At the start of the 20th century, physicist Max Planck derived the correct solution by making some strange (for the time) assumptions. In particular, Planck assumed that electromagnetic radiation can only be emitted or absorbed in discrete packets, called quanta. Albert Einstein postulated that Planck's quanta were real physical particles (what we now call photons), not just a mathematical fiction. From there, Einstein developed his explanation of the photoelectric effect (when quanta or photons of light shine on certain metals, electrons are released and can form an electric current). So it appears entirely possible that another supposed mathematical trickery (imaginary time and the y-axis of Wick rotation) will find practical application in the future. -/- The article includes mathematical references to cosmology (spoiler alert – you’ll read about things like Vector-Tensor-Scalar Geometry, topology, the “eternal present”, Einstein’s Unified Field, the inverse-square law, and there being no Big Bang and no multiverse - but there will also be no equations). -/- The other subheadings in this essay are – -/- NONLINEAR TIME AND ELECTRICAL ENGINEERING (about a 2009 electrical engineering experiment at America’s Yale University, and cosmic wormholes) -/- BITS AND TOPOLOGY (base-2 maths aka Binary digiTS, Mobius strips, and figure-8 Klein bottles) -/- WICK ROTATION, CAUSALITY, AND UNITING TIME (do past, present and future co-exist in an “eternal present”?) -/- DIGITAL BRAIN, DIGITAL UNIVERSE (if the brain and the universe are ultimately composed of binary digits, we'll someday be able to do the same things with the brain and universe that we now do with computers) -/- PROPOSAL: HUMAN AND ANIMAL INSTINCTS ARE THE RESULT OF THE UNIVERSE BEING UNIFIED BY BINARY DIGITS (AND TOPOLOGY) (If everything in the universe is ultimately composed of electronic BITS, then the universe must possess Artificial Intelligence - some prefer the term Cosmic Consciousness) -/- INFORMATION THEORY CONQUERS A RED GIANT (preserving Earth by keeping the Sun near today’s level of activity forever). 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Abstract: Global chemical contamination is an underexplored source of global catastrophic risks that is estimated to have low a priori probability. However, events such as pollinating insects’ population decline and lowering of the human male sperm count hint at some toxic exposure accumulation and thus could be a global catastrophic risk event if not prevented by future medical advances. We identified several potentially dangerous sources of the global chemical contamination, which may happen now or could happen in the future: (...) autocatalytic reactions, exposure to multiple subthreshold sources, and long-term unintended consequences, arising from both natural and bioengineered sources. We list several especially dangerous chemicals—dioxin, organiс compounds, and toxic heavy metals. We also discuss the features of such dangerous chemicals—molecules that can stay in the biosphere for a long time and affect it over time. We explore several social processes and scenarios where global chemical contamination becomes possible: large natural catastrophe like meteorite impact, supervolcano eruption, new ways of predicting properties of the chemicals via machine learning and their manufacturing via synthetic biology, uncontrolled “capitalistic” economic development with a corresponding large waste production, quick adoption of many chemicals with unknown long-term properties and unintended side-effects. These are all low probability, so work on other global catastrophic risks should be prioritized, but chemical risks could exacerbate other types of catastrophe contributing to social collapse. (shrink)

In this paper, a metal cutting machine position control have been designed and simulated using Matlab/Simulink Toolbox successfully. The open loop response of the system analysis shows that the system needs performance improvement. Static output feedback and full state feedback H 2 controllers have been used to increase the performance of the system. Comparison of the metal cutting machine position using static output feedback and full state feedback H 2 controllers have been done to track a set point (...) position using step and sine wave input signals and a promising results have been analyzed. (shrink)

The accumulation of potentially toxic elements (PTEs) has raised public awareness due to harmful contamination to both human and marine creatures. This study was designed to determine the concentration of copper (Cu), zinc (Zn), cadmium (Cd), and nickel (Ni) in the intestine, kidney, muscle, gill, and liver tissues of local commercial edible fish, fourfinger threadfin (Eleutheronema tetradactylum), and black pomfret (Parastromateus niger) collected from Morib (M) and Kuala Selangor (KS). Among the studied PTEs, Cu and Zn were essential elements (...) to regulate body metabolism with certain dosages required while Cd and Ni were considered as non-essential elements that posed chronic and carcinogenic risk. The concentration of PTEs in fish tissue samples was analyzed using flame atomic absorption spectrometry (F-AAS). By comparing the concentration of PTEs in fish tissues as a bioindicator, the environmental risk of Morib was more serious than Kuala Selangor because both fish species collected from Morib resulted in a higher PTEs concentration. For an average 62 kg adult with a fish ingestion rate (FIR) of 0.16 kg/person/day in Malaysia, the estimated weekly intake (EWI) of Cd from the consumption of E. tetradactylum (M: 0.0135 mg/kg; KS: 0.0134 mg/kg) and P. niger (M: 0.0140 mg/kg; KS: 0.0132 mg/kg) had exceeded the provisional tolerable weekly intake (Cd: 0.007 mg/kg) established by the Joint FAO/WHO Expert Committee on Food Additives (JECFA) and oral reference dose (ORD) values of Cd (0.001 mg/kg/day) as provided by the United States Environmental Protection Agency (USEPA) regional screening level, thus it posed chronic risks for daily basis consumption. Besides, the value of the carcinogenic risk of Cd (0.7−3 to 0.8−3) and Ni (0.5−3 to 0.6−3) were in between the acceptable range (10−6 to 10−4) of the health index that indicates a relatively low possibility cancer occurrence to the consumers in both Morib and Kuala Selangor. This study recommended FIR to be 0.80 kg/person/day to reduce the possibility of posing chronic and carcinogenic risks while at the same time obtaining the essential nutrients from the fish. (shrink)

Abstract The rapid growth of Indonesian Heavy Metal music, especially the Death Metal subgenre, since around the turn of the millennium, has been quite remarkable. Indonesia is now numerically the largest scene in the world. Man, the vocalist of Jasad, told the author that the provincial West Javanese city of Bandung had 128 active Death Metal bands as at February 2011. This chapter will discuss the cancellation of an April 2012 music festival held in the Bandung hinterland (...) by police halfway through the festival, and explain how and why it took place. Police became nervous and worried about Heavy Metal shows following the deaths of eleven concertgoers, due to a crowd crush, at a Beside album launch in Bandung in 2008. The chapter analyses the “maternal rage” of a band member’s mother (also a policewoman at the scene) from the perspective of grounded gendered cosmopolitanism. Lastly, a short case study of Sickles, a young band from the religiously-conservative Madura Island, shows the problems that young bands experience plus the type of global underground support which they can attract. (shrink)

The nationwide economic reform in 1986 transformed Vietnam from a centrally planned economy to a socialist-oriented market economy. Entrepreneurs and entrepreneurial spirits within the populace are suggested to fuel the structural changes. Despite the importance of entrepreneurship in Vietnam’s economy, studies in Vietnam mainly pay attention to the practical aspects of entrepreneurial activities and neglect the cognitive and theoretical aspects of entrepreneurship. Thus, the current study employs the information-processing perspective of the Mindsponge Theory to explore how entrepreneurs’ knowledge accumulation (...) can affect their perceived likelihood of business success. Bayesian analysis indicates that business-related experience positively affects entrepreneurs’ business success likelihood. Greater willingness/readiness to transform thinking, acting, and beliefs can improve the business success of entrepreneurs who study others’ failures carefully. However, for entrepreneurs who perceive learning from others’ failures as unnecessary, higher willingness/readiness to transform diminishes their chance of success. Based on these findings, we recommend Vietnamese entrepreneurs accumulate knowledge through experience, learning, and an open mind for better decision-making and innovation creation capabilities. However, the learning process should be selective. (shrink)

It has recently been argued that metal’s ‘heaviness’ is conceptually inarticulable. I argue, on the contrary, that ‘heaviness’ is a matter of inaccessibility—the ‘something more’ that makes metal ‘heavy’ is actually something less: less auditory processing fluency. Like profound literature, metal resists, but also invites and rewards, interpretation. I argue that understanding ‘heaviness’ in terms of auditory processing fluency allows us to make sense of a number of otherwise puzzling features of the music, and to articulate a (...) unifying gestalt for the genre. (shrink)

Here, I explore a modernist aesthetics of death metal. First, I briefly describe a few themes that characterize some modern art, without any claim that they are necessary, sufficient, or exhaustive. The goal is to obtain a set of themes that might be set against similar themes characteristic of death metal. This is the task in the second half of the paper. In particular, I argue that (some) modernist art and death metal share themes centered on transgressively (...) breaking with the past, pursue their conception of the truth, eliminate elements in their art form to purity them, and attack the art/non-art or music/non-music distinction. I contend that centering on death metal vocals reflects these themes. Death metal growls, like some modernist art, transgresses on past vocal traditions, tells us important truths, eliminates traditional concepts/techniques of signing, and undermines the singing/noise distinction. (shrink)

Morality has always been a pressing issue in video game scholarship, but became more contentious after “realistic” violence in games became possible. However, few studies concern themselves with how players experience moral dilemmas in games, choosing instead to focus on the way games affect postplay behavior. In my thesis I discuss the moral choices players encounter in the Metal Gear series of games; then, I analyze and compare the responses of players with and without martial career experiences. My argument (...) is that the moral choices players encounter during gameplay affect them differently, particularly if they have life experiences related to medical trauma, law enforcement, fire fighting, or military career fields, and that the behavior of those players will be observably different from players without the same experiences. In chapter one I present my personal history with Metal Gear, before moving on to the literature review in chapter two, which focuses on scholarship about the Metal Gear series of games and video game research as a whole, particularly studies concerned with how violent content affects players. In chapters three and four, I analyze Metal Gear Solid 3 (2004) and Metal Gear Solid V (2014/2015) in order to gain insight into the moral dilemmas posed by each game. In chapter five I report the results of a survey about player responses towards the game dilemmas given by martial and non-martial groups to identify observable patterns of behavior in how they act and react towards each scenario. -/- This is a preprint version of the official paper until an update is produced. The current official version is available at the West Chester Digital Commons in the external link section below. (shrink)

The pacemaker-accumulator model provides a framework in which the results of different duration estimation tasks are commonly accounted for. Nevertheless, the model remains abstract and it does not provide proper explanations nor predictions for duration estimations in various experimental set-ups. This paper aims to address these shortcomings by explicating an experiential pacemaker-accumulator model that supplements the standard pacemaker-accumulator model with two claims. Both of them concern the role that experiences play in duration estimation tasks and are also partly supported by (...) studies not directly related to duration estimation. First, the internal responses based on which the switch between the pacemaker and the accumulator operates are the same as the neural processes that realize conscious access to experiences. Second, the processes that realize the experiences of stimuli realize the function of the pacemaker. By supplementing the standard pacemaker-accumulator model with these claims, the model affords proper explanations for the systematic errors and empirically testable predictions in duration estimations tasks. One likely consequence of the model is that the experience of duration and the duration of experience can differ. (shrink)

Wittgenstein’s comment that what can be shown cannot be said has a special resonance with visual representations of power in both Heavy Metal and Fundamentalist Christian communities. Performances at metal shows, and performances of ‘religious theatre’, share an emphasis on violence and destruction. For example, groups like GWAR and Cannibal Corpse feature violent scenes in stage shows and album covers, scenes that depict gory results of unrestrained sexuality that are strikingly like Halloween ‘Hell House’ show presented by neo-Conservative, (...) Fundamentalist Christian churches in the southeastern United States’ ‘Bible Belt’. One group may claim to celebrate violence, the other sees violence as a tool to both encourage ‘moral’ behaviour, and to show that the Christian church is able to ‘speak the language’ of young people who are fans of metal, gore, and horror. Explicit violence, in each case, signifies power relationships that are in transformation. Historically, medieval morality plays and morality cycles had been used as a pedagogical tool. In the modern-day context of fundamentalist religious education, these Hell House performances seek to exclude outsiders and solidify teen membership in the Christian community. Hell House performances are marketed to the young church members, and are seen as a way to reinvigorate conservative Fundamentalist Christianity. Women and girls routinely take part in, and often organize Hell House events. In the context of heavy metal, violent performances do not seek to exclude, but provide an outlet for a variety of socially unacceptable or unpopular feelings. In each context there is an apparent, if not actual, empowering of women who are willing to play particular kinds of roles. The use of violence and gore has a value beyond merely shocking the audience, it is arguably a way that some women find their voice, both for fundamentalist Christians and fundamentalist gore metal fans. (shrink)

In this article, I attempt to clarify all terms related to causality within Buddhist teachings and make the following bold claims: 1. ‘cause.’” 2. “The mere doctrinal explanation of Dependent Origination does not define “The sequence of ‘consciousness, contact, feeling, perception, and thought’ is based on the meaning of ‘accumulation’ (集) as aggregation, rather than being the true sequence of Dependent Origination.” 3. “Therefore, we have the terms ‘contact with ignorance’ (無明觸) and ‘contact with wisdom’ (明觸).”.

Philosophers are granted the liberty to envision René Descartes presenting his questions and meditations in a controlled philosophical environment devoid of human and intellectual epistemic accumulation. In this conceptual experiment, Descartes is assumed to operate from a purely abstract mind, uninhabited by any knowledge of existence, regardless of its simplicity. Additionally, the controlled environment mandates that no interpretation, explanation, or validation of concepts or metaphysical terms is permitted until those ideas are substantiated independently. This paper posits that "René Descartes" (...) existed in a hypothetical setting approximately 5,000 years ago. Discovering his self-awareness between the ages of three and four, he perceives his existence in solitude, eventually hypothesizing that his parents might have abandoned or passed away, leaving him within the natural surroundings of Earth, with various living and non-living entities. In this isolated setting, the paper discusses essential elements of Descartes' meditations, particularly existence and the concept of a complete deity, while deliberately circumventing any of Descartes' discussions that involve metaphysical constructs such as time or soul. The purpose is to explore whether human cognition can engage in reflection and contemplation without reverting to humanity's epistemic repository or ambiguous terms, possibly demonstrating the mind’s intrinsic capacity to comprehend and recognize phenomena potentially deemed metaphysical, thereby deducing their essence, purpose, and mode of operation. -/- . (shrink)

This paper explores how a set of observations on the weight of lead were interpreted and assessed between the 1540s and the 1630s across three different interconnecting disciplines: medicine, mineralogy and chemistry. The epistemic import of these discussions will be demonstrated by showing: 1) the changing role and articulation of experience and quantification in the investigation of metals; and 2) the notions associated with weight in different disciplinary frameworks. In medicine and mineralogy, weight was not considered as a specific subject (...) of inquiry in itself, but as a “sign” indicating other relevant properties of metals. In contrast, the chemistry tradition was increasingly concerned with the specific investigation of weight as a property of matter, as seen in the debates that took place in the “chemical revolution.” In addition, this study will reveal the versatility, polysemy, and parallel purposes of the recourse to experiential knowledge in different contexts, where the same “facts” operate within different disciplines. (shrink)

This paper adopts two modeling tools, namely, multiple linear regression (MLR) and artificial neural networks (ANNs), to predict the concentrations of heavy metals (zinc, boron, and manganese) in surface waters of the Oued Inaouen watershed flowing towards Inaouen, using a set of physical-chemical parameters. XLStat was employed to perform multiple linear and nonlinear regressions, and Statista 10 was chosen to construct neural networks for modeling and prediction. The effectiveness of the ANN- and MLR-based stochastic models was assessed by the determination (...) coefficient (R²), the sum squared error (SSE) and a review of fit graphs. The results demonstrate the value of ANNs for prediction modeling. Drawing on supervised learning and back propagation, the ANN-based prediction models adopt an architecture of [18-15-1] for zinc, [18-11-1] for manganese, and [18-8-1] for boron, and perform effectively with a single cached layer. It was found that the MLR-based prediction models are substantially less accurate than those based on the ANNs. In addition, the physical-chemical parameters being investigated are nonlinearly correlated with the levels of heavy metals in the surface waters of the Oued Inaouen watershed flowing towards Inaouen. (shrink)

The Ganga is one of the most sacred and worshipped river of India, is regarded as the cradle of Indian civilization. Uttar Pradesh the largest state of India is blessed with the most holy and important river in its region but due to increased urbanization and industrialization this river is under intimidation of high water pollution. The major objectives of the present study were to investigate heavy metal's concentration in water and sediments of the River Ganga. Water and sediments (...) collected from different locations were analyzed for Iron (Fe), Chromium (Cr), Lead (Pb),Nickel(Ni) and Zinc(Zn). The concentration of these heavy metals in the study area indicates that the river is highly polluted. The possible sources of these heavy metal pollutants are diverse, originated from natural or anthropogenic sources and point sources. The concentrations determined were more than the maximum admissible and desirable limit when compared with the National and International organizations like WHO, USEPA. Exposure to heavy metals has been linked to chronic and acute toxicity developing retardation, neurotoxicity, kidney damage, various cancers, liver damage, lung damage, and fragile bones and even death in instances of very high exposure. (shrink)

The aim of this paper is to analyze the basis for the moral obligation to remember. As the moral relation to the past is primarily a matter of shared identity, the kind of obligation in question splits into two related issues, namely, that of political, state-oriented and state-organized memory on which the political identity rests and that of memory labour grounded in social identities based in shared, time-extended projects. Drawing upon tensions between these two, I discuss time control and the (...) accumulation of identity as central to memory labour and, referring to John Zerzan’s critique of symbolical roots of power, pinpoint the moral basis of such an accumulation. On the basis of this, I argue for nesting the duty to remember in acknowledging the agent’s recognition of the relatedness and dependency of their agency and possibilities of flourishing which can be obtained thanks to adjusting the field of the virtue of practical wisdom so that it includes members of the time-extended community. (shrink)

The main aim of this paper is to clarify the relation between epistemic feel- ings, mental action, and self-ascription. Acting mentally and/or thinking about one’s mental states are two possible outcomes of epistemic or metacognitive feelings. Our men- tal actions are often guided by our E-feelings, such as when we check what we just saw based on a feeling of visual uncertainty; but thought about our own perceptual states and capacities can also be triggered by the same E-feelings. The first (...) section of the pa- per presents Dokic’s argument for the insufficiency of the “ascent routine” to account for non-transparent cases of self-ascription, as well as his account of E-feelings. The second section then presents a two-level model of metacognition that builds on Dokic’s account and my own view of the issue. The two-level model links E-feelings to a min- dreading capacity in order to account for non-transparent self-ascriptions. Finally, the third section develops a deeper characterization of the relation among E-feelings, mental action, and self-ascription of mental states based on epistemic rules. In the context of self-knowledge, these remarks suggest the existence of means of forming self-ascriptions other than the ascent routine. (shrink)

This article introduces the idea of ‘dependence subtexts’ to explain how the stories that we encounter in property theory and public rhetoric function to make some actors appear ‘independent’, and thus capable of acquiring property in their own right, while making other actors appear ‘dependent’ and thus incapable of acquiring property. The argument develops the idea of ‘dependence subtexts’ out of the work of legal scholar Carol Rose and political theorist Carole Pateman, before using it as a tool for contrasting (...) the canonical property stories of John Locke and Pierre-Joseph Proudhon. We argue that the link between property and dependence provides a useful starting point for understanding issues of economic justice that share a common political problem: how do we choose to govern the relation between dependence and independence through the institution of property? (shrink)

This paper focuses on the question of filtration through the perspective of “too much information”. It concerns Western society within the context of new media and digital culture. The main aim of this paper is to apply a philosophical reading on the video game concept of Selection for Societal Sanity within the problematics of cultural filtration, control of behaviors and desire, and a problematization of trans-individuation that the selected narrative conveys. The idea of Selection for Societal Sanity, which derives from (...) the first postmodern video game Metal Gear Solid 2: Sons of Liberty (2001), is applied into a philosophical framework based on select concepts from Bernard Stiegler’s writing and incorporating them with current events such as post-truth or fake news in order to explore the role of techne and filtration within social organizations and individual psyches. Alternate forms of behavior, which contest cultural paradigms, are re-problematized as tension between calculability and incalculability, or market value versus social bonding. (shrink)

Desde los trabajos de Catriona McKinnon se ha empezado a hablar del crimen de postericidio. Este crimen es entendido como aquella conducta intencional o imprudente capaz de provocar la casi extinción de la humanidad. En este trabajo mostraré por qué el principio de daño (intergeneracional e internacional) puede aportar buenas razones en favor de la justificación moral de la criminalización del postericidio. Argumentaré que ni el problema de la no-identidad ni el de los daños por acumulación hablan en contra de (...) considerar que la criminalización del postericidio está moralmente justificada. -/- ---------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- -------------------------- -/- The discussion on the crime of postericide has acquired a considerable boost since Catriona McKinnon’s writings. The crime of postericide is understood as an intentional or reckless conduct fit to bring about the near extinction of humanity. In this paper, I will show why the harm principle (intergenerational and international) is able to provide good reasons in favour of the moral justification of the criminalization of the postericide. I will argue that neither the non-identity problem nor the problem of the accumulative harms speak against considering the criminalization of the postericide morally justifiable. (shrink)

In this first edition of Introduction to materials and production technologies, the reader will find a practical guide to agile a conceptual approach to materials and processing technologies. The text is organized into seven main chapters: ceramics, composites, wood and derivatives, metal alloys, paints, plastics and glass. Through alphabetic tables, various commercial types are listed. Each chapter culminates with picture and analytical development of various technologies applicable in each case. Moreover, the text is supplemented with photos, explanatory images, spreadsheets (...) and commercial grading prepackaged measures. This work is based on the Scientific Report Final Adopted (Resolution CIC No. 685/02) on the topic "Relationship between new materials and durability of goods or products", held at the Department of Industrial Design at the National University of La Plata, under the Scholarship Program of the Committee on Scientific Research of the Province of Buenos Aires, granted by Decree No. 4468/98 and Resolution CIC No. 1919/99. This publication is intended for students, technical and professional disciplines proyectuales. It is a useful tool for those who wish to have a clear and comprehensive picture of the different materials and production processes query. -/- RESUMEN. En esta primera edición de Introducción a los materiales y tecnologías de producción, el lector encontrará una guía práctica ágil para una aproximación conceptual a los materiales y sus tecnologías de transformación. El texto está organizado en siete capítulos principales: cerámicos, compuestos, maderas y derivados, aleaciones metálicas, pinturas, plásticos y vidrios. A través de cuadros alfabéticos, se enumeran los diversos tipos comerciales. Cada capítulo culmina con el cuadro y desarrollo analítico de las distintas tecnologías aplicables en cada caso. Además, el texto se complementa con fotos, imágenes explicativas, planillas de clasificación y medidas comerciales de preelaborados. Este trabajo está basado en el Informe Científico Final Aprobado (Resolución CIC N° 685/02) sobre el tema: “Relación entre nuevos materiales y la durabilidad en bienes o productos”, realizado en el Departamento de Diseño Industrial de la Universidad Nacional de La Plata, en el marco del Programa de Becas de la Comisión de Investigaciones Científicas de la Provincia de Buenos Aires, otorgadas por Decreto Nº 4468/98 y Resolución CIC Nº 1919/99. Esta publicación está dirigida a estudiantes, técnicos y profesionales de disciplinas proyectuales. Es una herramienta de consulta útil para todos aquellos que deseen tener una idea clara y comprensiva de los distintos materiales y los procesos de producción. (shrink)

The Han Dynasty (206 BC – 220 AD) was the first stable, long-lasting and politically powerful Chinese empire. This meant a formative period during which the administrative structure and political and cultural patterns that were largely followed by subsequent Chinese dynasties were established. Additionally, the conception of the world was developed and systematized which influenced not only the traditional but also the contemporary Chinese understanding of the world. Although it is a key period of Chinese history, the philosophy of the (...) Han dynasty, and thus its conception of the world, has not been sufficiently explored. As a contribution to the understanding of the thought of the period, this paper examines the philosophical reflection on the world focusing on the key texts of the Western Han period. The aim of this paper is to present the basic features of the conception of the world and to provide a hermeneutic framework for their explanation. It will be shown that the conception of the world in the philosophy of the Western Han dynasty is based on the conception of order and the categorical apparatus that supports it, which is the theory of correlativity, the principles of accumulation and radial order. This understanding of the world will have implications for the new place and role of man, his relationship with other living beings, as well as the ontological status of human work. Namely, man is assigned the role of the one who "completes" natural processes through moral and any other correct action, which opens up the possibility of realization "of great peace." This conception of the world manifests the language of incorporation and accommodation typical of the Han dynasty period, and can be understood as a result of the historical and social circumstances and cultural and philosophical tendencies of the first stable empire. (shrink)

Philosophers are granted the liberty to envision René Descartes presenting his questions and meditations in a controlled philosophical environment devoid of human and intellectual epistemic accumulation. In this conceptual experiment, Descartes is assumed to operate from a purely abstract mind, uninhabited by any knowledge of existence, regardless of its simplicity. Additionally, the controlled environment mandates that no interpretation, explanation, or validation of concepts or metaphysical terms is permitted until those ideas are substantiated independently. This paper posits that "René Descartes" (...) existed in a hypothetical setting approximately 5,000 years ago. Discovering his self-awareness between the ages of three and four, he perceives his existence in solitude, eventually hypothesizing that his parents might have abandoned or passed away, leaving him within the natural surroundings of Earth, with various living and non-living entities. In this isolated setting, the paper discusses essential elements of Descartes' meditations, particularly existence and the concept of a complete deity, while deliberately circumventing any of Descartes' discussions that involve metaphysical constructs such as time or soul. The purpose is to explore whether human cognition can engage in reflection and contemplation without reverting to humanity's epistemic repository or ambiguous terms, possibly demonstrating the mind’s intrinsic capacity to comprehend and recognize phenomena potentially deemed metaphysical, thereby deducing their essence, purpose, and mode of operation. (shrink)

Martin and Deutscher’s remarkable 1966 paper ‘Remembering’ still offers great riches to memory researchers across distinctive traditions, both in its methodological ambition (successfully marrying phenomenological and causal discourses) and in its content. In this short discussion, after briefly setting the paper in its context, we hone in on two live and under-explored issues which have gained attention recently under new labels – the extended mind hypothesis, and the constructive nature of memory. We suggest that Martin and Deutscher’s causal analysis of (...) memory is compatible with the idea that activities of remembering may be distributed across heterogeneous social and external resources, focussing in on their neglected example of creatures who ‘remember as we do’ as long as they carry round metal boxes which are given to them at birth. We then argue that the causal analysis is in some tension with the extent to which remembering is a constructive activity, because there may be no clear way to determine the appropriate ‘limits of accuracy’ within which a past event or experience must be represented. (shrink)

У статті розглянуто актуальне явище сучасної культури – взаємопроникнення кількох різних культур (в історико-типологічному сенсі) в Україні. Увагу акцентовано на вірменській меншині як культуротворчій діаспорі України. Досліджено роль вірменських музикантів у поліетнічній культурі України та їх самоідентифікацію у творчості. Увагу сконцентровано на проявах задіяння зразків класичного різножанрового мистецтва в сучасних творах та взаємодії українського й вірменського мистецтва в цьому ракурсі. Проаналізовано творчість вірменських музикантів, які спочатку як імпровізацію, а згодом і в більшості своїх проектів використовують прийом міксування етнічних елементів українського (...) та вірменського мелосу. Розглянуто зручні для імпровізації жанри джазової та важкої музики (jazz-funk, groove, death-metal, pop-jazz та ін.). -/- . (shrink)

1. Animal Cruelty Industrial farming is appallingly abusive to animals. Pigs. In America, nine-tenths of pregnant sows live in “gestation crates. ” These pens are so small that the animals can barely move. When the sows are first crated, they may flail around, in an attempt to get out. But soon they give up. Crated pigs often show signs of depression: they engage meaningless, repetitive behavior, like chewing the air or biting the bars of the stall. The sows live like (...) this for four months. Gestation crates will be phased out in Europe by the end of 2012, but they will still be used in America.1 In nature, pigs nurse their young for about thirteen weeks. But in industrial farms, piglets are taken from their mothers after about ten days. Because the piglets are weaned prematurely, they develop a lifelong craving to suck and chew. But the farmers don’t want them sucking and chewing on other pigs’ tails. So the growers routinely snip off the tails of all their pigs. They do this with a pair of pliers and no anesthetic. However, the whole tail is not removed; a tender stump remains. The point is to render the area sensitive, so the pigs being chewed on will fight back. Which they do.2 Over 113 million pigs are slaughtered each year in America.3 Typically, these pigs are castrated, their needle teeth are clipped, and one of their ears is notched for identification —all without pain relief.4 In nature, pigs spend up to three quarters of their waking hours foraging and exploring their environment.5 But in the factory farms, “tens of thousands of hogs spend their entire lives ignorant of earth or straw or sunshine, crowded together beneath a metal roof standing on metal slats suspended over a septic tank. ”6 Bored, and in constant pain, the pigs must perpetually inhale the fumes of their own waste. These pigs often get sick, and their ill health is exacerbated by the overcrowding. In 2000, the U.S. Department of Agriculture compared hog farms containing over 10,000 pigs—which is the norm—with farms containing under 2,000 pigs. (shrink)

Popper's well-known demarcation criterion has often been understood to distinguish statements of empirical science according to their logical form. Implicit in this interpretation of Popper's philosophy is the belief that when the universe of discourse of the empirical scientist is infinite, empirical universal sentences are falsifiable but not verifiable, whereas the converse holds for existential sentences. A remarkable elaboration of this belief is to be found in Watkins's early work on the statements he calls “all-and-some,” such as: “For every (...) class='Hi'>metal there is a melting point.” All-and-some statements are both universally and existentially quantified in that order. Watkins argued that AS should be regarded as both nonfalsifiable and nonverifiable, for they partake in the logical fate of both universal and existential statements. This claim is subject to the proviso that the bound variables are “uncircumscribed” ; i.e., that the universe of discourse is infinite. (shrink)

We show that critically accumulating "difficult" problems, contradictions and stagnation in modern science have the unified and well-specified mathematical origin in the explicit, artificial reduction of any interaction problem solution to an "exact", dynamically single-valued (or unitary) function, while in reality any unreduced interaction development leads to a dynamically multivalued solution describing many incompatible system configurations, or "realisations", that permanently replace one another in causally random order. We obtain thus the universal concept of dynamic complexity and chaos impossible in unitary (...) mathematics. This huge difference between the unreduced mathematics of real-world dynamics and strongly limited unitary “models” of traditional mathematics inevitably induces a growing series of “unsolvable” problems and other “mysteries” that culminate now in the crisis of the “end of science”, where the stagnating unitary “science” in question includes only the described limitation of the traditional mathematical framework (unfortunately accepted as the unique possible basis for any scientific knowledge). In this brief review, we show that science extension to the unreduced, dynamically multivalued mathematics of the intrinsically complex real-world dynamics provides stagnating problem solutions and reconstitution of the intrinsic causality and unity of science desperately missing in its artificially limited unitary framework. Painful stagnation of the latter should be replaced now by the unlimited new progress of the extended, causally complete knowledge of the universal science of complexity, which provides the urgently needed issue from the current impasse of the global civilisation development. (shrink)

Prior to the nineteenth century, those who are now regarded as scientists were referred to as natural philosophers. With empiricism, science was claimed to be a superior form of knowledge to philosophy, and natural philosophy was marginalized. This claim for science was challenged by defenders of natural philosophy, and this debate has continued up to the present. The vast majority of mainstream scientists are comfortable in the belief that through applying the scientific method, knowledge will continue to accumulate, and that (...) claims to knowledge outside science apart from practical affairs should not be taken seriously. This is referred to as scientism. It is incumbent on those who defend natural philosophy against scientism not only to expose the illusions and incoherence of scientism, but to show that natural philosophers can make justifiable claims to advancing knowledge. By focusing on a recent characterization and defense of natural philosophy along with a reconstruction of the history of natural philosophy, showing the nature and role of Schelling’s conception of dialectical thinking, I will attempt to identify natural philosophy as a coherent tradition of thought and defend it as something different from science and as essential to it, and essential to the broader culture and to civilization. (shrink)

Building upon Nancy Cartwright's discussion of models in How the Laws of Physics Lie, this paper addresses solid state research in transition metal oxides. Historical analysis reveals that in this domain models function both as the culmination of phenomenology and the commencement of theoretical explanation. Those solid state chemists who concentrate on the description of phenomena pertinent to specific elements or compounds assess models according to different standards than those who seek explanation grounded in approximate applications of the Schroedinger (...) equation. Accurate accounts of scientific debate in this field must include both perspectives. (shrink)

This article reconsiders the early hominid ‘‘lithic niche’’ by examining the social implications of stone artifact making. I reject the idea that making tools for use is an adequate explanation of the elaborate artifact forms of the Lower Palaeolithic, or a sufficient cause for long-term trends in hominid technology. I then advance an alternative mechanism founded on the claim that competency in making stone artifacts requires extended learning, and that excellence in artifact making is attained only by highly skilled individuals (...) who have been taught and practiced for extensive periods. Consequently both competency and expertise in knapping comes at a high learning cost for both the individual learner and the social group to which they belong. Those high intrinsic costs of learning created contexts in which groups selected cost-reducing forms of social learning and teaching, and in which specialization could develop. Artifacts and their manufacturing processes probably acquired functions as social signals—as honest signals of valuable capacities. The magnification of these signals, through competition between knappers and through inspiring later craftspeople, may account for a substantial amount of the accumulated elaboration visible in the archaeological record. Consequently lithic artifacts operated as material symbols from an early time in hominid evolution. (shrink)

What is scientific progress? On Alexander Bird’s epistemic account of scientific progress, an episode in science is progressive precisely when there is more scientific knowledge at the end of the episode than at the beginning. Using Bird’s epistemic account as a foil, this paper develops an alternative understanding-based account on which an episode in science is progressive precisely when scientists grasp how to correctly explain or predict more aspects of the world at the end of the episode than at the (...) beginning. This account is shown to be superior to the epistemic account by examining cases in which knowledge and understanding come apart. In these cases, it is argued that scientific progress matches increases in scientific understanding rather than accumulations of knowledge. In addition, considerations having to do with minimalist idealizations, pragmatic virtues, and epistemic value all favor this understanding-based account over its epistemic counterpart. (shrink)

Beginning with the role of the Sex Pistols’s “God Save the Queen” in Lee Edelman and J. Jack Halberstam’s debates about queer death and failure, I follow a musical motive from the Pistols track to its reappearance in Atari Teenage Riot’s 1995 “Delete Yourself .” In this song, as in much of ATR’s work from the 1990s, overlapping queer and Afro-diasporic aesthetics condense around the idea of death or “bare life.” ATR’s musical strategies treat this death as a form of (...) de-intensification and divestment— not, as in Edelman or the Pistols, as a form of negation . I will show that ATR’s musical recontextualization of the Pistols’s riff mirrors the political recontextualization of queerness and queer death from negation to disinvestment. Pushing this misprision or sticky interface between cyberpunk, queer, and Afro-diasporic musical aesthetics, I use ATR’s music to consider how queer death might work as a political response to neoliberal demands to invest in “normal” life. I first discuss the traditional concept of death as negation in both the Sex Pistols song "God Save the Queen," and in Lee Edelman and Jack Halberstam’s formulations. I then argue that Atari Teenage Riot's song “Delete Yourself” describes a neoliberal, biopolitical concept of death, death as carefully administered divestment. Finally, I use Deleuze and Guattari’s discussion of drugs, and Ronald Bogue’s Deleuzian reading of death metal to identify and explain how “MIDIjunkies” and “Into the Death” complicate the biopolitical/neoliberal management of death by reworking traditional black/queer critical aesthet- ics. In these songs, ATR undermine biopolitical neoliberalism’s demand to invest in and intensify regular “normal” life: rather than treating death as a nadir of intensity, they intensify it–that is, they go into the death. This strategy of going “into the death” is one possible queer necropolitical response to neoliberalism. (shrink)

Contemporary debate surrounding the nature of scientific progress has focused upon the precise role played by justification, with two realist accounts having dominated proceedings. Recently, however, a third realist account has been put forward, one which offers no role for justification at all. According to Finnur Dellsén’s (Stud Hist Philos Sci Part A 56:72–83, 2016) noetic account, science progresses when understanding increases, that is, when scientists grasp how to correctly explain or predict more aspects of the world that they could (...) before. In this paper, we argue that the noetic account is severely undermotivated. Dellsén provides three examples intended to show that understanding can increase absent the justification required for true belief to constitute knowledge. However, we demonstrate that a lack of clarity in each case allows for two contrasting interpretations, neither of which serves its intended purpose. On the first, the agent involved lacks both knowledge and understanding; and, on the second, the agent involved successfully gains both knowledge and understanding. While neither interpretation supports Dellsén’s claim that understanding can be prised apart from knowledge, we argue that, in general, agents in such cases ought to be attributed neither knowledge nor understanding. Given that the separability of knowledge and understanding is a necessary component of the noetic account, we conclude that there is little support for the idea that science progresses through increasing understanding rather than the accumulation of knowledge. (shrink)

Few have given an extended treatment of the non-statistical sense of normality: a sense captured in sentences like “dogs have four legs,” or “hammers normally have metal heads,” or “it is normal for badgers to take dust baths.” The most direct extant treatment is Bernhard Nickel’s Between Logic and the World, where he claims that the normal or characteristic for a kind is what we can explain by appeal to the right sorts of explanations. Just which explanatory strategies can (...) ground normalities, though, is difficult to determine without inviting circularity into the account. After raising this and other worries for Nickel’s account, I develop my own account according to which normal features are those which are explained by the kind of thing involved. (shrink)