Are mathematical objects affected by their historicity? Do they simply lose their identity and their validity in the course of history? If not, how can they always be accessible in their ideality regardless of their transmission in the course of time? Husserl and Foucault have raised this question and offered accounts, both of which, albeit different in their originality, are equally provocative. Both acknowledge that a scientific object like a geometrical theorem or a chemical equation has a history because it (...) is only constituted in and transmitted through history. But they see that history as a part of its ideality, so that, although historical, a scientific object retains its identity as one and the same object. (shrink)

Liver transplantation (LT) activities during the COVID-19 pandemic have been curtailed in many countries. The impact of various policies restricting LT on outcomes of potential LT candidates is unclear. We studied all patients on the nationwide LT waitlists in Hong Kong and Singapore between January 2016 and May 2020. We used continuous time Markov chains to model the effects of different scenarios and varying durations of disruption on LT candidates.

This essay examines the thematic exploration of the writer’s journey in Toni Morrison’s Burn This Book, a collection of essays by notable authors reflecting on the dualities they navigate as writers—balancing personal identity with the demands of the external world. Through close readings of contributions by Nadine Gordimer, Salman Rushdie, Orhan Pamuk, Pico Iyer, and David Grossman, the essay highlights how each writer contends with the tension between private inwardness and public engagement. These essays illustrate that the journey to (...) becoming a writer involves a process of self-discovery, evolving perspectives, and the maturity to witness the outer world without becoming burdened by it. From Gordimer’s reflections on inner agency to Grossman’s experience of personal loss and resilience, each author reveals the complex journey required to transform outward events into profound inner insights. In doing so, Burn This Book underscores the transformative power of writing and the essential inner clarity that enables writers to bear witness to the world’s tragedies while maintaining their own voice. (shrink)