# kb

id: source-criticism-20260505-2
file: data/en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Source_criticism-2.md
category: reference
title: Source criticism
tags: science, encyclopedia
source_url: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Source_criticism
date_saved: 2026-05-05T03:17:54.398591+00:00
instance: kb-cron
parent: source-criticism-20260505-0
summary:
Photos are often manipulated during wars and for political purposes. One well known example is Joseph Stalin's manipulation of a photograph from May 5, 1920, on which Stalin's predecessor Lenin held a speech for Soviet troops that Leon Trotsky attended. Stalin had later Trotsky retouched out of this photograph. (cf. King, 1997). A recent example is reported by Healy (2008) about North Korean leader Kim Jong Il. === Internet sources === Much interest in evaluating Internet sources (such as Wikipedia) is reflected in the scholarly literature of library and information science and in other fields. Mintz (2002) is an edited volume about this issue. Examples of literature examining Internet sources include Chesney (2006), Fritch & Cromwell (2001), Leth & Thurén (2000) and Wilkinson, Bennett, & Oliver (1997). === Archaeology and history === "In history, the term historical method was first introduced in a systematic way in the sixteenth century by Jean Bodin in his treatise of source criticism, Methodus ad facilem historiarium cognitionem (1566). Characteristically, Bodin's treatise intended to establish the ways by which reliable knowledge of the past could be established by checking sources against one another and by so assessing the reliability of the information conveyed by them,


id: source-criticism-20260505-3
file: data/en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Source_criticism-3.md
category: reference
title: Source criticism
tags: science, encyclopedia
source_url: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Source_criticism
date_saved: 2026-05-05T03:17:54.398591+00:00
instance: kb-cron
parent: source-criticism-20260505-0
summary:
The most important legal sources are created by parliaments, governments, courts, and legal researchers. They may be written or informal and based on established practices. Views concerning the quality of sources differ among legal philosophies: Legal positivism is the view that the text of the law should be considered in isolation, while legal realism, interpretivism (legal), critical legal studies and feminist legal criticism interprets the law on a broader cultural basis. == See also == == Notes == == References == American Library Association (1994) Evaluating Information: A Basic Checklist. Brochure. American Library Association Anderson, Richard C. (1978). Schema-directed processes in language comprehension. IN: NATO International Conference on Cognitive Psychology and Instruction, 1977, Amsterdam: Cognitive Psychology and Instruction. Ed. by A. M. Lesgold, J. W. Pellegrino, S. D. Fokkema & R. Glaser. New York: Plenum Press (pp. 67–82). Anderson, Richard C. & Pichert, J. W. (1977). Recall of previously unrecallable information following a shift of perspective. Urbana, Il: University of Illinois, Center for the Study of Reading, April. 1977. (Technical Report 41). Available in full-text from: http://eric.ed.gov/ERICDocs/data/ericdocs2sql/content_storage_01/0000019b/80/31/83/58.pdf Bazerman, Charles (1995). The Informed Writer: Using Sources in the Disciplines. 5th ed. Houghton Mifflin. Bee, Ronald E. (1983). Statistics and Source Criticism.


id: source-criticism-20260505-4
file: data/en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Source_criticism-4.md
category: reference
title: Source criticism
tags: science, encyclopedia
source_url: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Source_criticism
date_saved: 2026-05-05T03:17:54.398591+00:00
instance: kb-cron
parent: source-criticism-20260505-0
summary:
== External links == The Source Compass: Source Criticism The History Sourcebook: The Need for Source Criticism


id: statistical-alchemy-20260505-0
file: data/en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Statistical_alchemy-0.md
category: reference
title: Statistical alchemy
tags: science, encyclopedia
source_url: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Statistical_alchemy
date_saved: 2026-05-05T03:17:55.564146+00:00
instance: kb-cron
parent: statistical-alchemy-20260505-0
summary:
Statistical alchemy was a term originated by John Maynard Keynes to describe econometrics in 1939. The phrase has subsequently been used by Alvan Feinstein to describe meta-analysis. It is generally regarded as a deprecatory term which undermines attempts to present such activities as meeting the rigorous standards of science. == Econometrics == Keynes (1939) wrote a review of Jan Tinbergen's Statistical Testing of Business-Cycle Theories. Although he praised Tinbergen for his objectivity, he however depicted his methodology as "black magic" which he regarded as essentially untrustworthy. He was unpersuaded that "this brand of statistical alchemy is ripe to become a branch of science" (emphasis in the original). Often this metaphor is seen as a way of suggesting that econometricians were following a foolhardy pursuit comparable to the alchemical quest of turning base metal into gold. However G. M. P. Swann points out that Keynes was well aware that such eminent early scientists as Isaac Newton. He rather proposes a more nuanced interpretation of the metaphor as referring to the Alkahest, a universal solvent, which, it was claimed could turn stone into water. He claimed that by restricting econometrics to theory, mathematics and statistics, econometricians had discarded other important applied techniques.


id: statistical-inference-20260505-0
file: data/en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Statistical_inference-0.md
category: reference
title: Statistical inference
tags: science, encyclopedia
source_url: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Statistical_inference
date_saved: 2026-05-05T03:17:56.828887+00:00
instance: kb-cron
parent: statistical-inference-20260505-0
summary:
Statistical inference is the process of using data analysis to infer properties of an underlying probability distribution. Inferential statistical analysis infers properties of a population, for example by testing hypotheses and deriving estimates. It is assumed that the observed data set is sampled from a larger population. Inferential statistics can be contrasted with descriptive statistics. Descriptive statistics is solely concerned with properties of the observed data, and it does not rest on the assumption that the data come from a larger population. In machine learning, the term inference is sometimes used instead to mean "make a prediction, by evaluating an already trained model"; in this context inferring properties of the model is referred to as training or learning (rather than inference), and using a model for prediction is referred to as inference (instead of prediction); see also predictive inference. == Introduction == Statistical inference makes propositions about a population, using data drawn from the population with some form of sampling. Given a hypothesis about a population, for which we wish to draw inferences, statistical inference consists of (first) selecting a statistical model of the process that generates the data and (second) deducing propositions from the model. Konishi and Kitagawa state


id: statistical-inference-20260505-1
file: data/en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Statistical_inference-1.md
category: reference
title: Statistical inference
tags: science, encyclopedia
source_url: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Statistical_inference
date_saved: 2026-05-05T03:17:56.828887+00:00
instance: kb-cron
parent: statistical-inference-20260505-0
summary:
Given the difficulty in specifying exact distributions of sample statistics, many methods have been developed for approximating these. With finite samples, approximation results measure how close a limiting distribution approaches the statistic's sample distribution: For example, with 10,000 independent samples the normal distribution approximates (to two digits of accuracy) the distribution of the sample mean for many population distributions, by the Berry–Esseen theorem. Yet for many practical purposes, the normal approximation provides a good approximation to the sample-mean's distribution when there are 10 (or more) independent samples, according to simulation studies and statisticians' experience. Following Kolmogorov's work in the 1950s, advanced statistics uses approximation theory and functional analysis to quantify the error of approximation. In this approach, the metric geometry of probability distributions is studied; this approach quantifies approximation error with, for example, the Kullback–Leibler divergence, Bregman divergence, and the Hellinger distance. With indefinitely large samples, limiting results like the central limit theorem describe the sample statistic's limiting distribution if one exists. Limiting results are not statements about finite samples, and indeed are irrelevant to finite samples. However, the asymptotic theory of limiting distributions is often invoked for work with finite samples. For example, limiting results are often invoked to


id: statistical-inference-20260505-2
file: data/en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Statistical_inference-2.md
category: reference
title: Statistical inference
tags: science, encyclopedia
source_url: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Statistical_inference
date_saved: 2026-05-05T03:17:56.828887+00:00
instance: kb-cron
parent: statistical-inference-20260505-0
summary:
This paradigm calibrates the plausibility of propositions by considering (notional) repeated sampling of a population distribution to produce datasets similar to the one at hand. By considering the dataset's characteristics under repeated sampling, the frequentist properties of a statistical proposition can be quantified—although in practice this quantification may be challenging. ==== Examples of frequentist inference ==== p-value Confidence interval Null hypothesis significance testing ==== Frequentist inference, objectivity, and decision theory ==== One interpretation of frequentist inference (or classical inference) is that it is applicable only in terms of frequency probability; that is, in terms of repeated sampling from a population. However, the approach of Neyman develops these procedures in terms of pre-experiment probabilities. That is, before undertaking an experiment, one decides on a rule for coming to a conclusion such that the probability of being correct is controlled in a suitable way: such a probability need not have a frequentist or repeated sampling interpretation. In contrast, Bayesian inference works in terms of conditional probabilities (i.e. probabilities conditional on the observed data), compared to the marginal (but conditioned on unknown parameters) probabilities used in the frequentist approach. The frequentist procedures of significance testing and confidence intervals can be constructed without regard


id: statistical-inference-20260505-3
file: data/en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Statistical_inference-3.md
category: reference
title: Statistical inference
tags: science, encyclopedia
source_url: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Statistical_inference
date_saved: 2026-05-05T03:17:56.828887+00:00
instance: kb-cron
parent: statistical-inference-20260505-0
summary:
Formulating the statistical model: A statistical model is defined based on the problem at hand, specifying the distributional assumptions and the relationship between the observed data and the unknown parameters. The model can be simple, such as a normal distribution with known variance, or complex, such as a hierarchical model with multiple levels of random effects. Constructing the likelihood function: Given the statistical model, the likelihood function is constructed by evaluating the joint probability density or mass function of the observed data as a function of the unknown parameters. This function represents the probability of observing the data for different values of the parameters. Maximizing the likelihood function: The next step is to find the set of parameter values that maximizes the likelihood function. This can be achieved using optimization techniques such as numerical optimization algorithms. The estimated parameter values, often denoted as y ¯ {\displaystyle {\bar {y}}} , are the maximum likelihood estimates (MLEs). Assessing uncertainty: Once the MLEs are obtained, it is crucial to quantify the uncertainty associated with the parameter estimates. This can be done by calculating standard errors, confidence intervals, or conducting hypothesis tests based on asymptotic theory or simulation techniques such as bootstrapping. Model checking:


id: stigler-s-law-of-eponymy-20260505-0
file: data/en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Stigler's_law_of_eponymy-0.md
category: reference
title: Stigler's law of eponymy
tags: science, encyclopedia
source_url: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Stigler's_law_of_eponymy
date_saved: 2026-05-05T03:17:58.015991+00:00
instance: kb-cron
parent: stigler-s-law-of-eponymy-20260505-0
summary:
Stigler's law of eponymy, proposed by University of Chicago statistics professor Stephen Stigler in 1980, states that no scientific discovery is named after its original discoverer. Examples include Hubble's law, which was derived by Georges Lemaître two years before Edwin Hubble; the Pythagorean theorem, which was known to Babylonian mathematicians and to Indian mathematicians before Pythagoras; and Halley's Comet, which was observed by astronomers since at least 240 BC (although its official designation is due to the first ever mathematical prediction of such astronomical phenomenon in the sky, not to its discovery). Stigler attributed the discovery of Stigler's law to sociologist Robert K. Merton, making "Stigler's law" an example of Stigler's law. In his paper, Stigler wrote: I have chosen as a title for this paper, and for the thesis I wish to present and discuss, "Stigler's law of eponymy". At first glance this may appear to be a flagrant violation of the "Institutional Norm of Humility," and since statisticians are even more aware of the importance of norms than are members of other disciplines, I hasten to add a humble disclaimer. If there is an idea in this paper that is not at least implicit in Merton's The Sociology


id: list-of-examples-of-stigler-s-law-20260505-0
file: data/en.wikipedia.org/wiki/List_of_examples_of_Stigler's_law-0.md
category: reference
title: List of examples of Stigler's law
tags: science, encyclopedia
source_url: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/List_of_examples_of_Stigler's_law
date_saved: 2026-05-05T03:17:59.384401+00:00
instance: kb-cron
parent: list-of-examples-of-stigler-s-law-20260505-0
summary:
Stigler's law concerns the supposed tendency of eponymous expressions for scientific discoveries to honor people other than their respective originators. Examples include: == A == Aharonov–Bohm effect. Werner Ehrenberg and Raymond E. Siday first predicted the effect in 1949, and similar effects were later rediscovered by Yakir Aharonov and David Bohm in 1959. Ampère's circuital law was inspired by the experimental results of André-Marie Ampère, and named in his honor. However, it was James Clerk Maxwell who combined those results into a single mathematical law. Arabic numerals, first developed in India around 7th century. Archimedes' screw is known to predate Archimedes by at least three centuries in ancient Babylon. Argand diagram by Caspar Wessel in 1797, predating Jean-Robert Argand by nine years. Arrhenius equation. The equation was first proposed by the Dutch chemist J. H. van 't Hoff in 1884; five years later in 1889, the Swedish chemist Svante Arrhenius provided a physical justification and interpretation for it. Auger effect. First discovered by Lise Meitner in 1922 and then, independently, in 1923 by Pierre Victor Auger. == B == Bailey–Borwein–Plouffe formula was discovered by Simon Plouffe, who has since expressed regret at having to share credit for his discovery. Bell


id: list-of-examples-of-stigler-s-law-20260505-1
file: data/en.wikipedia.org/wiki/List_of_examples_of_Stigler's_law-1.md
category: reference
title: List of examples of Stigler's law
tags: science, encyclopedia
source_url: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/List_of_examples_of_Stigler's_law
date_saved: 2026-05-05T03:17:59.384401+00:00
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parent: list-of-examples-of-stigler-s-law-20260505-0
summary:
== C == Cantor–Bernstein–Schröder theorem (also known by other variations, such as Schröder-Bernstein theorem) first proved by Richard Dedekind Cantor set, discovered in 1874 by Henry John Stephen Smith and introduced by German mathematician Georg Cantor 1883. Carmichael number: Václav Šimerka listed the first seven Carmichael numbers in 1885; they are named after Robert Daniel Carmichael who subsequently discovered the first one in 1910. Cartan matrices, first investigated by Wilhelm Killing. Cardano's formula, the solution to general cubic equations. Cardano stated that it was discovered by Scipione del Ferro, who passed the knowledge to his student Antonio Maria Fior. Around 1535 Niccolò Fontana Tartaglia learned of this from Fior and re-derived the formula for the cubic, which he later shared with Cardano. Cassegrain reflector, named after a design published in 1672 which has been attributed to Laurent Cassegrain, but was already known to Bonaventura Cavalieri in 1632 and Marin Mersenne in 1636. Cartesian duality: Named for René Descartes, but Teresa of Avila and her contemporaries wrote about similar methods of philosophical exploration eight to ten years before Descartes was born. Cavendish balance for measuring the universal gravitational constant, first devised and constructed by John Michell. The Cayley–Hamilton theorem was proven


id: list-of-examples-of-stigler-s-law-20260505-2
file: data/en.wikipedia.org/wiki/List_of_examples_of_Stigler's_law-2.md
category: reference
title: List of examples of Stigler's law
tags: science, encyclopedia
source_url: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/List_of_examples_of_Stigler's_law
date_saved: 2026-05-05T03:17:59.384401+00:00
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parent: list-of-examples-of-stigler-s-law-20260505-0
summary:
== G == Galileo's paradox: the property of infinite sets was known to Duns Scotus. Gauss's law: first described by Joseph Louis Lagrange in 1773, over half a century before Gauss. Gauss's theorem: first proved by Ostrogradsky in 1831. Gaussian distribution: the normal distribution was introduced by Abraham de Moivre in 1733, but named after Carl Friedrich Gauss who began using it in 1794. Gaussian elimination: was already in well-known textbooks such as Thomas Simpson's when Gauss in 1809 remarked that he used "common elimination." Gibbs phenomenon: named for Josiah Willard Gibbs who published in 1901. First discovered by Henry Wilbraham in 1851. Goodhart's law, with several earlier variations, like Campbell's law. The Graetz circuit, also known as the diode bridge, was invented and patented in 1896 by Karol Pollak a year before it was published by Leo Graetz. The Graham escapement is often erroneously credited to English clockmaker George Graham but it was actually invented by astronomer Richard Towneley. The Gregorian telescope is named after James Gregory, who published it in 1663, but was already known to Bonaventura Cavalieri in 1632 and Marin Mersenne in 1636. Gresham's law was described by Nicolaus Copernicus in 1519, the year of Thomas


id: list-of-examples-of-stigler-s-law-20260505-3
file: data/en.wikipedia.org/wiki/List_of_examples_of_Stigler's_law-3.md
category: reference
title: List of examples of Stigler's law
tags: science, encyclopedia
source_url: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/List_of_examples_of_Stigler's_law
date_saved: 2026-05-05T03:17:59.384401+00:00
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parent: list-of-examples-of-stigler-s-law-20260505-0
summary:
== M == Maxwell's equations. The modern form of the equations in their most common formulation is credited to Oliver Heaviside, based on James Clerk Maxwell's original work. Madelung rule, describing the order in which electron orbitals are filled, named after Erwin Madelung but first discovered by Charles Janet. Magellanic Clouds, while observed by Antonio Pigafetta on one of Magellan's voyages there were previous reports made by 16th century Italian authors Peter Martyr d'Anghiera and Andrea Corsali and earlier reports by Arabic astronomers. Matthew effect, named by Robert K. Merton after the writer of the Gospel of Matthew quoting the words of Jesus. Meadow's law, the formulation that one cot death in a family is tragic, two suspicious, and three murder, originally described by D.J. and V.J.M. Di Maio. Metropolis–Hastings algorithm. The algorithm was named after Nicholas Metropolis, who was the director of the Theoretical Division of Los Alamos National Laboratory at the time of writing the paper Equation of State Calculations by Fast Computing Machines. However, Metropolis did not contribute to that study in any way, as confirmed by various sources. The research problem was proposed by Augusta H. Teller and solved by Marshall N. Rosenbluth and Arianna W.


id: list-of-examples-of-stigler-s-law-20260505-4
file: data/en.wikipedia.org/wiki/List_of_examples_of_Stigler's_law-4.md
category: reference
title: List of examples of Stigler's law
tags: science, encyclopedia
source_url: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/List_of_examples_of_Stigler's_law
date_saved: 2026-05-05T03:17:59.384401+00:00
instance: kb-cron
parent: list-of-examples-of-stigler-s-law-20260505-0
summary:
== R == The Reynolds number in fluid mechanics was introduced by George Stokes, but is named after Osborne Reynolds, who popularized its use. Richards equation is attributed to Richards in his 1931 publication, but was earlier introduced by Richardson in 1922 in his book "Weather prediction by numerical process." (Cambridge University press. p. 262) as pointed out by John Knight and Peter Raats in "The contributions of Lewis Fry Richardson to drainage theory, soil physics, and the soil-plant-atmosphere continuum" EGU General Assembly 2016. Russell's paradox is a paradox in set theory that Bertrand Russell discovered and published in 1901. However, Ernst Zermelo had independently discovered the paradox in 1899. == S == The Sankey diagram was invented by Charles Joseph Minard The Schottky diode was neither discovered by Schottky nor its operation correctly explained by him. The actual nature of the metal–semiconductor junction was noted by Hans Bethe. The Schröder–Bernstein theorem in set theory was first stated without proof by Georg Cantor and first proved by Richard Dedekind Shuey's equation from 1985, which is an approximation of the Zoeprittz Equation first published in 1919. Simpson's paradox, a term introduced by Colin R. Blyth in 1972; but Edward Simpson did


id: strong-inference-20260505-0
file: data/en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Strong_inference-0.md
category: reference
title: Strong inference
tags: science, encyclopedia
source_url: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Strong_inference
date_saved: 2026-05-05T03:18:00.515209+00:00
instance: kb-cron
parent: strong-inference-20260505-0
summary:
In philosophy of science, strong inference is a model of scientific inquiry that emphasizes the need for alternative hypotheses, rather than a single hypothesis to avoid confirmation bias. The term "strong inference" was coined by John R. Platt, a biophysicist at the University of Chicago. Platt notes that some fields, such as molecular biology and high-energy physics, seem to adhere strongly to strong inference, with very beneficial results for the rate of progress in those fields. == The single hypothesis problem == The problem with single hypotheses, confirmation bias, was aptly described by Thomas Chrowder Chamberlin in 1897: The moment one has offered an original explanation for a phenomenon which seems satisfactory, that moment affection for [one’s] intellectual child springs into existence, and as the explanation grows into a definite theory [one’s] parental affections cluster about [the] offspring and it grows more and more dear .... There springs up also unwittingly a pressing of the theory to make it fit the facts and a pressing of the facts to make them fit the theory... The temptation to misinterpret results that contradict the desired hypothesis is probably irresistible. Despite the admonitions of Platt, reviewers of grant-applications often require "A Hypothesis" as


id: structuralism-philosophy-of-science-20260505-0
file: data/en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Structuralism_(philosophy_of_science)-0.md
category: reference
title: Structuralism (philosophy of science)
tags: science, encyclopedia
source_url: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Structuralism_(philosophy_of_science)
date_saved: 2026-05-05T03:18:05.133111+00:00
instance: kb-cron
parent: structuralism-philosophy-of-science-20260505-0
summary:
In the philosophy of science, structuralism (also known as scientific structuralism or as the structuralistic theory-concept) asserts that all aspects of reality are best understood in terms of empirical scientific constructs of entities and their relations, rather than in terms of concrete entities in themselves. == Overview == Structuralism is an active research program in the philosophy of science, which was first developed in the late 1960s and throughout the 1970s by several analytic philosophers. As an instance of structuralism, the concept of matter should be interpreted not as an absolute property of nature in itself, but instead of how scientifically grounded mathematical relations describe how the concept of matter interacts with other properties, whether that be in a broad sense such as the gravitational fields that mass-produces or more empirically as how matter interacts with sense systems of the body to produce sensations such as weight. Structuralism's aim is to comprise all important aspects of an empirical theory in one formal framework. The proponents of this meta-theoretic theory are Frederick Suppe, Patrick Suppes, Ronald Giere, Joseph D. Sneed, Wolfgang Stegmüller, Carlos Ulises Moulines, Wolfgang Balzer, John Worrall, Elie Georges Zahar, Pablo Lorenzano, Otávio Bueno, Anjan Chakravartty, Tian Yu Cao,


id: structuralism-philosophy-of-science-20260505-1
file: data/en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Structuralism_(philosophy_of_science)-1.md
category: reference
title: Structuralism (philosophy of science)
tags: science, encyclopedia
source_url: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Structuralism_(philosophy_of_science)
date_saved: 2026-05-05T03:18:05.133111+00:00
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parent: structuralism-philosophy-of-science-20260505-0
summary:
=== Ontic structural realism === While ESR claims that only the structure of reality is knowable, ontic structural realism (OSR) goes further to claim that structure is all there is. In this view, reality has no "nature" underlying its observed structure. Rather, reality is fundamentally structural, though variants of OSR disagree on precisely which aspects of structure are primitive. OSR is strongly motivated by modern physics, particularly quantum field theory, which undermines intuitive notions of identifiable objects with intrinsic properties. Some early quantum physicists held this view, including Hermann Weyl (1931), Ernst Cassirer (1936), and Arthur Eddington (1939). Recently, OSR has been called "the most fashionable ontological framework for modern physics". Max Tegmark takes this concept even further with the mathematical universe hypothesis, which proposes that, if our universe is only a particular structure, then it is no more real than any other structure. == Definition of structure == In mathematical logic, a mathematical structure is a standard concept. A mathematical structure is a set of abstract entities with relations between them. The natural numbers under arithmetic constitute a structure, with relations such as "is evenly divisible by" and "is greater than". Here the relation "is greater than" includes the


id: suspension-of-judgment-20260505-0
file: data/en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Suspension_of_judgment-0.md
category: reference
title: Suspension of judgment
tags: science, encyclopedia
source_url: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Suspension_of_judgment
date_saved: 2026-05-05T03:18:06.269957+00:00
instance: kb-cron
parent: suspension-of-judgment-20260505-0
summary:
Suspended judgment is a cognitive process and a rational state of mind in which one withholds judgments, particularly on the drawing of moral or ethical conclusions. The opposite of suspension of judgment is premature judgement, usually shortened to prejudice. While prejudgment involves drawing a conclusion or making a judgment before having the information relevant to such a judgment, suspension of judgment involves waiting for all the facts before making a decision. == Law == Suspension of judgment is used in civil law to indicate a court's decision to nullify a civil judgment. Motions to set aside judgments entered in civil cases in the United States district courts are governed by Rule 60 of the Federal Rules of Civil Procedure which opens with the statement, "On motion and just terms, the court may relieve a party or its legal representative from a final judgment, order, or proceeding...". The rule is quite straightforward and court room application is mostly as stated. In the New York Law Journal David Bliven argues that suspended judgement ought to be an alternative disposition in family offenses (a type of civil case), particularly in cases where a family judgement is being used as behavior modification rather than


id: testability-20260505-0
file: data/en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Testability-0.md
category: reference
title: Testability
tags: science, encyclopedia
source_url: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Testability
date_saved: 2026-05-05T03:18:07.572128+00:00
instance: kb-cron
parent: testability-20260505-0
summary:
Testability is a primary aspect of science and the scientific method. There are two components to testability: Falsifiability or defeasibility, which means that counterexamples to the hypothesis are logically possible. The practical feasibility of observing a reproducible series of such counterexamples if they do exist. In short, a hypothesis is testable if there is a possibility of deciding whether it is true or false based on experimentation by anyone. This allows anyone to decide whether a theory can be supported or refuted by data. However, the interpretation of experimental data may be also inconclusive or uncertain. Karl Popper introduced the concept that scientific knowledge had the property of falsifiability as published in The Logic of Scientific Discovery. == See also == Confirmability Controllability Observability Scientific method Test method == Further reading == == References ==


id: twyman-s-law-20260505-0
file: data/en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Twyman's_law-0.md
category: reference
title: Twyman's law
tags: science, encyclopedia
source_url: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Twyman's_law
date_saved: 2026-05-05T03:18:08.893317+00:00
instance: kb-cron
parent: twyman-s-law-20260505-0
summary:
Twyman's law states that "Any figure that looks interesting or different is usually wrong", following the principle that "the more unusual or interesting the data, the more likely they are to have been the result of an error of one kind or another". It is named after the media and market researcher Tony Twyman and has been described as one of the most important laws of data analysis. The law is based on the fact that errors in data measurement and analysis can lead to observed quantities that are wildly different from typical values. These errors are usually more common than real changes of similar magnitude in the underlying process being measured. For example, if an analyst at a software company notices that the number of users has doubled overnight, the most likely explanation is a bug in logging, rather than a true increase in users. The law can also be extended to situations where the underlying data is influenced by unexpected factors that differ from what was intended to be measured. For example, when schools show unusually large improvements in test scores, subsequent investigation often reveals that those scores were driven by fraud. == See also == Extraordinary claims


id: violation-paradigm-20260505-0
file: data/en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Violation_paradigm-0.md
category: reference
title: Violation paradigm
tags: science, encyclopedia
source_url: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Violation_paradigm
date_saved: 2026-05-05T03:18:10.160078+00:00
instance: kb-cron
parent: violation-paradigm-20260505-0
summary:
A violation paradigm is a scientific method where the scientist perturbs an expected factor to look at the subject's following reactions. These reactions are believed to be relevant to the process studied. For example, creating wrong word segmentations in a text will destabilize the reader. This warns the researcher that the respondent's brain considers the characters are united into words, and not just as a succession of given sets of letters. The process was originally developed by Danks, Bohn & Fear (1983), and proved valid (Chen 1999). == See also == Danks, Bohn, Fear (1983), Comprehension processes in oral reading, The process of language understanding, pp. 193–223. Chen, H.-C. (1999), "How do readers of Chinese process words during reading for comprehension ?", Reading Chinese Script: A Cognitive Analysis, Routledge, pp. 257–278, ISBN 9780805824780


id: why-most-published-research-findings-are-false-20260505-0
file: data/en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Why_Most_Published_Research_Findings_Are_False-0.md
category: reference
title: Why Most Published Research Findings Are False
tags: science, encyclopedia
source_url: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Why_Most_Published_Research_Findings_Are_False
date_saved: 2026-05-05T03:18:11.339554+00:00
instance: kb-cron
parent: why-most-published-research-findings-are-false-20260505-0
summary:
"Why Most Published Research Findings Are False" is a 2005 essay written by John Ioannidis, a professor at the Stanford School of Medicine, and published in PLOS Medicine. It is considered foundational to the field of metascience. In the paper, Ioannidis argued that a large number, if not the majority, of published medical research papers contain results that cannot be replicated. In simple terms, the essay states that scientists use hypothesis testing to determine whether scientific discoveries are significant. Statistical significance is formalized in terms of probability, with its p-value measure being reported in the scientific literature as a screening mechanism. Ioannidis posited assumptions about the way people perform and report these tests; then he constructed a statistical model which indicates that most published findings are likely false positive results. While the general arguments in the paper recommending reforms in scientific research methodology were well-received, Ionnidis received criticism for the validity of his model and his claim that the majority of scientific findings are false. Responses to the paper suggest lower false positive and false negative rates than what Ioannidis puts forth. == Argument == Suppose that in a given scientific field there is a known baseline probability that a


id: why-most-published-research-findings-are-false-20260505-1
file: data/en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Why_Most_Published_Research_Findings_Are_False-1.md
category: reference
title: Why Most Published Research Findings Are False
tags: science, encyclopedia
source_url: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Why_Most_Published_Research_Findings_Are_False
date_saved: 2026-05-05T03:18:11.339554+00:00
instance: kb-cron
parent: why-most-published-research-findings-are-false-20260505-0
summary:
== Reception == Despite skepticism about extreme statements made in the paper, Ioannidis's broader argument and warnings have been accepted by a large number of researchers. The growth of metascience and the recognition of a scientific replication crisis have bolstered the paper's credibility, and led to calls for methodological reforms in scientific research. In commentaries and technical responses, statisticians Goodman and Greenland identified several weaknesses in Ioannidis' model. Ioannidis's use of dramatic and exaggerated language that he "proved" that most research findings' claims are false and that "most research findings are false for most research designs and for most fields" [italics added] was rejected, and yet they agreed with his paper's conclusions and recommendations. Biostatisticians Jager and Leek criticized the model as being based on justifiable but arbitrary assumptions rather than empirical data, and did an investigation of their own which calculated that the false positive rate in biomedical studies was estimated to be around 14%, not over 50% as Ioannidis asserted. Their paper was published in a 2014 special edition of the journal Biostatistics along with extended, supporting critiques from other statisticians. Leek summarized the key points of agreement as: when talking about the science-wise false discovery rate one


id: woozle-effect-20260505-0
file: data/en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Woozle_effect-0.md
category: reference
title: Woozle effect
tags: science, encyclopedia
source_url: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Woozle_effect
date_saved: 2026-05-05T03:18:12.579282+00:00
instance: kb-cron
parent: woozle-effect-20260505-0
summary:
The Woozle effect, also known as evidence by citation, occurs when a source is widely cited for a claim that the source does not adequately support, giving said claim undeserved credibility. If results are not replicated and no one notices that a key claim was never well-supported in its original publication, faulty assumptions may affect further research. The Woozle effect is somewhat similar to circular reporting in journalism, where someone makes a questionable claim, and a journalist unthinkingly accepts the claim and republishes it without realizing its dubious and unreliable origins. In turn, other journalists and the public then continue to repeat and duplicate the unsupported claim. == Origin and definition == A Woozle is an imaginary character in the A. A. Milne book Winnie-the-Pooh, published in 1926. In chapter three, "In which Pooh and Piglet Go Hunting and Nearly Catch a Woozle", Winnie-the-Pooh and Piglet start following tracks left in snow believing they are the tracks of an imaginary animal called a woozle. The tracks keep multiplying until Christopher Robin explains to them that they have been following their own tracks in circles around a spinney. Prior to the introduction of the specific term "Woozle effect", the underlying concept


id: woozle-effect-20260505-1
file: data/en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Woozle_effect-1.md
category: reference
title: Woozle effect
tags: science, encyclopedia
source_url: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Woozle_effect
date_saved: 2026-05-05T03:18:12.579282+00:00
instance: kb-cron
parent: woozle-effect-20260505-0
summary:
== Examples == In 1980, Gelles illustrated the Woozle effect, showing how work by Gelles (1974) based on a small sample and published in The Violent Home by Straus, who had written the foreword for Gelles's book, was presented as if it applied to a large sample. Both of these were then cited by Langley & Levy in their 1977 book, Wife Beating: The Silent Crisis. In the 1998 book Intimate Violence, Gelles and Straus use the Winnie-the-Pooh woozle to illustrate how poor practice in research and self-referential research causes older research to be taken as fresh evidence causing error and bias. One notable example of the effect can be seen in citations of "Addiction Rare in Patients Treated with Narcotics", a letter to the editor by Jane Porter and Hershel Jick published by the New England Journal of Medicine in 1980. The letter, which was five sentences long and unlikely to have been peer reviewed according to a NEJM spokesperson, reported findings from analysis of medical records regarding the use of pain medication for hospital patients and concluded that "despite widespread use of narcotic drugs in hospitals, the development of addiction is rare in medical patients with no history


id: natural-history-20260505-0
file: data/en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Natural_history-0.md
category: reference
title: Natural history
tags: science, encyclopedia
source_url: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Natural_history
date_saved: 2026-05-05T03:18:14.271358+00:00
instance: kb-cron
parent: natural-history-20260505-0
summary:
Natural history is a domain of inquiry involving organisms, including animals, fungi, and plants, in their natural environment, leaning more towards observational than experimental methods of study. A person who studies natural history is called a naturalist or natural historian. Natural history encompasses scientific research but is not limited to it. It involves the systematic study of any category of natural objects or organisms, so while it dates from studies in the ancient Greco-Roman world and the medieval Arab world, through to European Renaissance naturalists working in near isolation, today's natural history is a cross-discipline umbrella of many specialty sciences; e.g., geobiology has a strong multidisciplinary nature. == Definitions == === Before 1900 === The meaning of the English term "natural history" (a calque of the Latin historia naturalis) has narrowed progressively with time, while, by contrast, the meaning of the related term "nature" has widened (see also History below). In antiquity, "natural history" covered essentially anything connected with nature, or used materials drawn from nature, such as Pliny the Elder's encyclopedia of this title, published c. 77 to 79 AD, which covers astronomy, geography, humans and their technology, medicine, and superstition, as well as animals and plants. Medieval European


id: natural-history-20260505-1
file: data/en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Natural_history-1.md
category: reference
title: Natural history
tags: science, encyclopedia
source_url: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Natural_history
date_saved: 2026-05-05T03:18:14.271358+00:00
instance: kb-cron
parent: natural-history-20260505-0
summary:
=== Prehistory === Prior to the advent of Western science, humans were engaged and highly competent in indigenous ways of understanding the more-than-human world that are now referred to as traditional ecological knowledge. 21st century definitions of natural history are inclusive of this understanding, such as this by Thomas Fleischner of the Natural History Institute (Prescott, Arizona): Natural history – a practice of intentional focused attentiveness and receptivity to the more-than-human world, guided by honesty and accuracy – is the oldest continuous human endeavor. In the evolutionary past of our species, the practice of natural history was essential for our survival, imparting critical information on habits and chronologies of plants and animals that we could eat or that could eat us. Natural history continues to be critical to human survival and thriving. It contributes to our fundamental understanding of how the world works by providing the empirical foundation of natural sciences, and it contributes directly and indirectly to human emotional and physical health, thereby fostering healthier human communities. It also serves as the basis for all conservation efforts, with natural history both informing the science and inspiring the values that drive these. === Ancient === As a precursor to Western


id: natural-history-20260505-2
file: data/en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Natural_history-2.md
category: reference
title: Natural history
tags: science, encyclopedia
source_url: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Natural_history
date_saved: 2026-05-05T03:18:14.271358+00:00
instance: kb-cron
parent: natural-history-20260505-0
summary:
Natural history museums, which evolved from cabinets of curiosities, played an important role in the emergence of professional biological disciplines and research programs. Particularly in the 19th century, scientists began to use their natural history collections as teaching tools for advanced students and the basis for their own morphological research. == Societies == The term "natural history" alone, or sometimes together with archaeology, forms the name of many national, regional, and local natural history societies that maintain records for animals—including birds (ornithology), insects (entomology) and mammals (mammalogy)—fungi (mycology), plants (botany), and other organisms. They may also have geological and microscopical sections. Examples of these societies in Britain include the Natural History Society of Northumbria founded in 1829, London Natural History Society (1858), Birmingham Natural History Society (1859), British Entomological and Natural History Society founded in 1872, Glasgow Natural History Society, Manchester Microscopical and Natural History Society established in 1880, Whitby Naturalists' Club founded in 1913, Scarborough Field Naturalists' Society and the Sorby Natural History Society, Sheffield, founded in 1918. The growth of natural history societies was also spurred due to the growth of British colonies in tropical regions with numerous new species to be discovered. Many civil servants took an


id: list-of-natural-history-dealers-20260505-0
file: data/en.wikipedia.org/wiki/List_of_natural_history_dealers-0.md
category: reference
title: List of natural history dealers
tags: science, encyclopedia
source_url: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/List_of_natural_history_dealers
date_saved: 2026-05-05T03:18:15.431724+00:00
instance: kb-cron
parent: list-of-natural-history-dealers-20260505-0
summary:
Natural history specimen dealers had an important role in the development of science in the 18th, 19th and early 20th centuries. They supplied the rapidly growing, both in size and number, museums and educational establishments and private collectors whose collections, either in entirety or parts finally entered museums. Most sold not just zoological, botanical and geological specimens but also equipment and books. Many also sold archaeological and ethnographic items. They purchased specimens from professional and amateur collectors, sometimes collected themselves as well as acting as agents for the sale of collections. Many were based in mercantile centres notably Amsterdam, Hamburg, and London or in major cities. Some were specialists and some were taxonomic authorities who wrote scientific works and manuals, some functioned as trading museums or institutes. This is a list of natural history dealers from the 16th to the 19th century: here are names that are frequently encountered in museum collections. Johan Hans Abegg (fl. 1882–1885) Mineral collector and dealer in Zurich. Augustus Theodore Abel (?1802-1882); German Mineral dealer resident in Ballarat. Anton Franz Abraham Preparator and dealer in educational materials at " "Naturhistorisches Institut" on Beatrixgasse, Vienna, 1896, on Ungargasse, Vienna in 1903–1906.Supplied specimens to Archduke Franz Ferdinand.


id: list-of-natural-history-dealers-20260505-1
file: data/en.wikipedia.org/wiki/List_of_natural_history_dealers-1.md
category: reference
title: List of natural history dealers
tags: science, encyclopedia
source_url: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/List_of_natural_history_dealers
date_saved: 2026-05-05T03:18:15.431724+00:00
instance: kb-cron
parent: list-of-natural-history-dealers-20260505-0
summary:
Edmund Reitter "Natural History Institute" 1879 -1880 Vienna, 1881-1891 Mödling, after 1891 Paskau and Munich (extant). Carl Ribbe Heinrich Ribbe (1832–1898) Entomologist and dealer in Berlin Hermann Rolle Berlin William Frederick Henry Rosenberg (1868–1957) 57 Haverstock Hill, London fl. 1920s. Claimed to hold 5,000 bird species as scientific skins (and to be the largest bird skin dealership in the world). Supplier to museums and private collectors. Traveller. Emil Adolf Rossmässler Natural History dealer Karl Rost Fritz Rühl Auguste Sallé L.W. Schaufuß else E. Klocke, Dresden Christian Julius Wilhelm Schiede Wilhelm Schlüter Gustav Schneider (1867–1958) Basel Gustav Schrader Wilhelm Schlüter Abraham Scrivener (fl. 1840s) naturalist and merchant with a shop at Deptford Bridge, Greenwich. Paul Smart Southwick & Jencks’ Natural History Store Providence, Rhode Island Otto Staudinger Stazione Zoologica Anton Dohrn Marine specimens. Wilh. Steeg "Dr. Steeg & Reuter" after 1879. Crystallographic microscope slides. Alexandre Stuer(fl. 1890s-1920?) Paris mineral dealer. Owner of Comptoir Géologique et Minéralogique, 40, rue de Mathurins and at 4, rue de Castellane. John Crace Stevens Covent Gardens auctioneer. Emanuel Sweerts (1552–1612) Dutch merchant and natural history dealer. Rudolf Tancré (1842–1934) Anklam, Pomerania Dealer in Lepidoptera mainly of Central Asia and Siberia. Georg Thorey - Hamburg pharmacist and


id: affinity-taxonomy-20260505-0
file: data/en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Affinity_(taxonomy)-0.md
category: reference
title: Affinity (taxonomy)
tags: science, encyclopedia
source_url: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Affinity_(taxonomy)
date_saved: 2026-05-05T03:18:16.623989+00:00
instance: kb-cron
parent: affinity-taxonomy-20260505-0
summary:
Affinity (taxonomy) – mainly in life sciences or natural history – refers to resemblance suggesting a common descent, phylogenetic relationship, or type. The term does, however, have broader application, such as in geology (for example, in descriptive and theoretical works), and similarly in astronomy (for example, see "Centaur object" in the context of 2060 Chiron's close affinity with icy comet nuclei.) == Basis == In taxonomy the basis of any particular type of classification is the way in which objects in the domain resemble each other. A resemblance of a type that seems appropriate to the classification that we propose, we may call an affinity, and when we decide how to classify say, a specimen of rock or butterfly, we justify our decision according to the affinities that we observe. Other resemblances we dismiss as being out of context or at least non-cogent; for example, in deciding whether to classify a lizard as having closer affinities to a snake than to a table, biologists rely on affinities such as the scales, blood, physiology, vertebral anatomy, and reproductive system as being more relevant than the possession of four "feet". == Application and obstacles == Analysing and determining the proper classification of


id: alfred-russel-wallace-centenary-20260505-0
file: data/en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Alfred_Russel_Wallace_centenary-0.md
category: reference
title: Alfred Russel Wallace centenary
tags: science, encyclopedia
source_url: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Alfred_Russel_Wallace_centenary
date_saved: 2026-05-05T03:18:21.378199+00:00
instance: kb-cron
parent: alfred-russel-wallace-centenary-20260505-0
summary:
The centenary of the death of the naturalist Alfred Russel Wallace on 7 November 1913 was marked in 2013 with events around the world to celebrate his life and work. The commemorations was co-ordinated by the Natural History Museum, London. Events between October 2013 and June 2014 were planned by the Natural History Museum and other organisations including the Zoological Society of London, Cardiff University, the University of Alberta, Dorset County Museum, Swansea Museum, Dorset Wildlife Trust, Ness Botanical Gardens (South Wirral), the Royal Society, the Linnean Society, the Harvard Museum of Natural History, the American Museum of Natural History, Hertford Museum and the National Museum of Wales. == Context == The naturalist, explorer, geographer, anthropologist and biologist Alfred Russel Wallace (born 8 January 1823) died on 7 November 1913. He is principally remembered now for having independently conceived the theory of evolution through natural selection, which prompted Charles Darwin to publish On the Origin of Species. Some of his books such as The Malay Archipelago remain in print; it is considered one of the best accounts of scientific exploration published during the 19th century. Wallace is also remembered for recognizing the presence of a biogeographical boundary, now known as


id: botanical-expedition-20260505-0
file: data/en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Botanical_expedition-0.md
category: reference
title: Botanical expedition
tags: science, encyclopedia
source_url: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Botanical_expedition
date_saved: 2026-05-05T03:18:22.541125+00:00
instance: kb-cron
parent: botanical-expedition-20260505-0
summary:
A botanical expedition (sometimes called "Plant hunting") is a scientific voyage designed to explore the flora of a particular region, either as a specific design or part of a larger expedition. A naturalist or botanist would be responsible for identification, description and collection of specimens. In some cases the plants might be collected by the person in the field, but described and named by a government sponsored scientist at a botanical garden or university. For example, species collected on the Lewis and Clark Expedition were described and named by Frederick Traugott Pursh. While accounts of plant collection occur in antiquity, a scientific basis occurred during the Renaissance and was associated with the establishment of botanical gardens and the teaching of botany as a discipline. The practice of botanical expeditions reached a peak in the late 18th and during the 19th century with the systematic organisation of plants into taxonomic classifications. Plant collection has attracted a number of criticisms of exploitation and colonialism leading to the establishment of international regulations and safeguards. == Description == Botanical expeditions have often been referred to as "plant hunting" (or less commonly "botanomania"). They are mainly scientific journeys or voyages designed to explore the flora


id: conservation-and-restoration-of-insect-specimens-20260505-0
file: data/en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Conservation_and_restoration_of_insect_specimens-0.md
category: reference
title: Conservation and restoration of insect specimens
tags: science, encyclopedia
source_url: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Conservation_and_restoration_of_insect_specimens
date_saved: 2026-05-05T03:18:23.772860+00:00
instance: kb-cron
parent: conservation-and-restoration-of-insect-specimens-20260505-0
summary:
The conservation and restoration of insect specimens is the process of caring for and preserving insects as a part of a collection. Conservation concerns begin at collection and continue through preparation, storage, examination, documentation, research and treatment when restoration is needed. == Collection == Insect collecting can be done in many different ways depending on the kind of insects being collected and from which habitats. Both hobbyists and professional entomologist have found particular ways to collect with minimal damage to their specimens. Following established techniques helps begin the conservation of insect specimens from the beginning by eliminating as much potential damage as possible. It must be done delicately to ensure that neither the collector nor the live insect itself will cause harm to the distinctive features such as wings, legs and antennae that give purpose to the collection. Special collection nets, traps and techniques must be utilized in consideration of how easily breakage can happen. A kill jar is often used to immediately immobilize the insect before it can damage itself. == Preparation == The way an insect specimen is prepared is often the first step in their conservation. They have to be carefully prepared with the appropriate methods depending


id: conservation-and-restoration-of-insect-specimens-20260505-1
file: data/en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Conservation_and_restoration_of_insect_specimens-1.md
category: reference
title: Conservation and restoration of insect specimens
tags: science, encyclopedia
source_url: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Conservation_and_restoration_of_insect_specimens
date_saved: 2026-05-05T03:18:23.772860+00:00
instance: kb-cron
parent: conservation-and-restoration-of-insect-specimens-20260505-0
summary:
==== Safe handling ==== Proper handling for insect specimens prevents the excessive breaking of legs, antennae and other body parts that could then easily be lost. Curved forceps may be used to allow more precision and less chance of the brittle specimen coming in contact with the handler. The handler picks up the specimen by the pin, which is placed with enough space below the specimen for the handler to put in the pinning block and enough space above to grip without touching the specimen. ==== Integrated pest management ==== Integrated pest management (IPM) is a specialized modern pest control used in museums. All IPM systems begin with regular sanitation and monitoring of collections to detect castings from various pests, and checking insect traps laid out to capture and identify which pests are present. Some pests, such as carpet beetles and flour beetles, feed on dried insects. When an infestation is present, treatment may be necessary. Freezing is commonly used to rid insect collections of pests. Alternatively, inert gases may be used for an anoxic fumigation – depriving the pests of oxygen to exterminate, and in extreme cases chemical fumigation proven to be safe for collections and people may be


id: cymdeithas-edward-llwyd-20260505-0
file: data/en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Cymdeithas_Edward_Llwyd-0.md
category: reference
title: Cymdeithas Edward Llwyd
tags: science, encyclopedia
source_url: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Cymdeithas_Edward_Llwyd
date_saved: 2026-05-05T03:18:24.997260+00:00
instance: kb-cron
parent: cymdeithas-edward-llwyd-20260505-0
summary:
Cymdeithas Edward Llwyd (Welsh for 'Edward Llwyd Society') is a Welsh natural history organisation whose name commemorates the great Welsh natural historian, geographer and linguist Edward Llwyd (1660–1709). The Cymdeithas Edward Llwyd organises regular country walks throughout Wales in sites of interest of the Welsh environment, including SSSIs and post-industrial landscapes. These are Welsh-language walking groups, although learners are just as welcome. They also organise a variety of nature and environmental activities, including lectures, publications and conservation work. They have worked on collecting and documenting the names of natural species. In 2010, the society held a conference on Welsh toponymy, at which it was agreed to form the Welsh Place-Name Society. == References == == External links == Official site


id: field-guide-20260505-0
file: data/en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Field_guide-0.md
category: reference
title: Field guide
tags: science, encyclopedia
source_url: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Field_guide
date_saved: 2026-05-05T03:18:26.186649+00:00
instance: kb-cron
parent: field-guide-20260505-0
summary:
A field guide is a book designed to help the reader identify wildlife (flora or fauna or funga) or other objects of natural occurrence (e.g. rocks and minerals). It is generally designed to be brought into the "field" or local area where such objects exist to help distinguish between similar objects. Field guides are often designed to help users distinguish animals and plants that may be similar in appearance but are not necessarily closely related. It will typically include a description of the objects covered, together with paintings or photographs and an index. More serious and scientific field identification books, including those intended for students, will probably include identification keys to assist with identification, but the publicly accessible field guide is more often a browsable picture guide organized by family, colour, shape, location or other descriptors. == History == Popular interests in identifying things in nature probably were strongest in bird and plant guides. Perhaps the first popular field guide to plants in the United States was the 1893 How to Know the Wildflowers by "Mrs. William Starr Dana" (Frances Theodora Parsons). In 1890, Florence Merriam published Birds Through an Opera-Glass, describing 70 common species. Focused on living birds observed


id: flying-and-gliding-animals-20260505-0
file: data/en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Flying_and_gliding_animals-0.md
category: reference
title: Flying and gliding animals
tags: science, encyclopedia
source_url: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Flying_and_gliding_animals
date_saved: 2026-05-05T03:18:27.546944+00:00
instance: kb-cron
parent: flying-and-gliding-animals-20260505-0
summary:
A number of animals are capable of aerial locomotion, either by active flight, by passive gliding or, in rare occasions, by kiting/ballooning. Such animals typically have appendages that interact with air to generate lift in order to overcome the weight of their own body and any payload they are carrying (e.g. food/prey, nesting materials). Majority of flying and glide animals are terrestrial, while species from one extant taxon, i.e. the flying fish, are aquatic. The ability to fly or glide has appeared via convergent evolution many times throughout the history of life, and has evolved prominently in at least four terrestrial clades: insects, pterosaurs, birds and bats. Gliding and kiting, which are essentially controlled, prolonged free falls, have evolved on many more occasions, especially among arboreal species. Usually the aerial trait is to aid animals leaping directly across extended distances from one tree canopy to another without having to descend to the ground, which will otherwise expose them to risks from ground predators, although there are other reasons why aerial locomotions have developed. Gliding, in particular, has evolved among forest animals, especially in the rainforests in Asia (most especially Borneo) where the trees are tall (making it costly to descend


id: flying-and-gliding-animals-20260505-1
file: data/en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Flying_and_gliding_animals-1.md
category: reference
title: Flying and gliding animals
tags: science, encyclopedia
source_url: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Flying_and_gliding_animals
date_saved: 2026-05-05T03:18:27.546944+00:00
instance: kb-cron
parent: flying-and-gliding-animals-20260505-0
summary:
=== Gliding and parachuting === While gliding occurs independently from powered flight, it has some ecological advantages of its own as it is the simplest form of flight. Gliding is a very energy-efficient way of travelling from tree to tree. Although moving through the canopy running along the branches may be less energetically demanding, the faster transition between trees allows for greater foraging rates in a particular patch. Glide ratios can be dependent on size and current behavior. Higher foraging rates are supported by low glide ratios as smaller foraging patches require less gliding time over shorter distances and greater amounts of food can be acquired in a shorter time period. Low ratios are not as energy efficient as the higher ratios, but an argument made is that many gliding animals eat low energy foods such as leaves and are restricted to gliding because of this, whereas flying animals eat more high energy foods such as fruits, nectar, and insects. Mammals tend to rely on lower glide ratios to increase the amount of time foraging for lower energy food. An equilibrium glide, achieving a constant airspeed and glide angle, is harder to obtain as animal size increases. Larger animals need


id: flying-and-gliding-animals-20260505-2
file: data/en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Flying_and_gliding_animals-2.md
category: reference
title: Flying and gliding animals
tags: science, encyclopedia
source_url: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Flying_and_gliding_animals
date_saved: 2026-05-05T03:18:27.546944+00:00
instance: kb-cron
parent: flying-and-gliding-animals-20260505-0
summary:
Powered flight has evolved unambiguously only four times—birds, bats, pterosaurs, and insects (though see above for possible independent acquisitions within bird and bat groups). In contrast to gliding, which has evolved more frequently but typically gives rise to only a handful of species, all three extant groups of powered flyers have a huge number of species, suggesting that flight is a very successful strategy once evolved. Bats, after rodents, have the most species of any mammalian order, about 20% of all mammalian species. Birds have the most species of any class of terrestrial vertebrates. Finally, insects (most of which fly at some point in their life cycle) have more species than all other animal groups combined. The evolution of flight is one of the most striking and demanding in animal evolution, and has attracted the attention of many prominent scientists and generated many theories. Additionally, because flying animals tend to be small and have a low mass (both of which increase the surface-area-to-mass ratio), they tend to fossilize infrequently and poorly compared to the larger, heavier-boned terrestrial species they share habitat with. Fossils of flying animals tend to be confined to exceptional fossil deposits formed under highly specific circumstances, resulting


id: flying-and-gliding-animals-20260505-3
file: data/en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Flying_and_gliding_animals-3.md
category: reference
title: Flying and gliding animals
tags: science, encyclopedia
source_url: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Flying_and_gliding_animals
date_saved: 2026-05-05T03:18:27.546944+00:00
instance: kb-cron
parent: flying-and-gliding-animals-20260505-0
summary:
Unlike most air vehicles, in which the objects that generate lift (wings) and thrust (engine or propeller) are separate and the wings remain fixed, flying animals use their wings to generate both lift and thrust by moving them relative to the body. This has made the flight of organisms considerably harder to understand than that of vehicles, as it involves varying speeds, angles, orientations, areas, and flow patterns over the wings. A bird or bat flying through the air at a constant speed moves its wings up and down (usually with some fore-aft movement as well). Because the animal is in motion, there is some airflow relative to its body which, combined with the velocity of its wings, generates a faster airflow moving over the wing. This will generate lift force vector pointing forwards and upwards, and a drag force vector pointing rearwards and upwards. The upwards components of these counteract gravity, keeping the body in the air, while the forward component provides thrust to counteract both the drag from the wing and from the body as a whole. Pterosaur flight likely worked in a similar manner, though no living pterosaurs remain for study. Insect flight is considerably different, due


id: flying-and-gliding-animals-20260505-4
file: data/en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Flying_and_gliding_animals-4.md
category: reference
title: Flying and gliding animals
tags: science, encyclopedia
source_url: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Flying_and_gliding_animals
date_saved: 2026-05-05T03:18:27.546944+00:00
instance: kb-cron
parent: flying-and-gliding-animals-20260505-0
summary:
==== Most maneuverable glider ==== Many gliding animals have some ability to turn, but which is the most maneuverable is difficult to assess. Even paradise tree snakes, Chinese gliding frogs, and gliding ants have been observed as having considerable capacity to turn in the air. == Flying animals == === Extant === ==== Insects ==== Pterygota: The first of all animals to evolve flight, they are also the only invertebrates that have evolved flight. As they comprise almost all insects, the species are too numerous to list here. Insect flight is an active research field. ==== Birds ==== Birds (flying, soaring) – Most of the approximately 10,000 living species can fly (flightless birds are the exception). Bird flight is one of the most studied forms of aerial locomotion in animals. See List of soaring birds for birds that can soar as well as fly. ==== Mammals ==== Bats. There are approximately 1,240 bat species, representing about 20% of all classified mammal species. Most bats are nocturnal and many feed on insects while flying at night, using echolocation to home in on their prey. === Extinct === ==== Reptile: Pterosaurs ==== Pterosaurs were the first flying vertebrates, and are generally agreed


id: flying-and-gliding-animals-20260505-5
file: data/en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Flying_and_gliding_animals-5.md
category: reference
title: Flying and gliding animals
tags: science, encyclopedia
source_url: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Flying_and_gliding_animals
date_saved: 2026-05-05T03:18:27.546944+00:00
instance: kb-cron
parent: flying-and-gliding-animals-20260505-0
summary:
==== Fish ==== Flying fish. There are over 50 species of flying fish belonging to the family Exocoetidae. They are mostly marine fishes of small to medium size. The largest flying fish can reach lengths of 45 centimetres (18 in) but most species measure less than 30 cm (12 in) in length. They can be divided into two-winged varieties and four-winged varieties. Before the fish leaves the water it increases its speed to around 30 body lengths per second and as it breaks the surface and is freed from the drag of the water it can be traveling at around 60 kilometres per hour (37 mph). The glides are usually up to 30–50 metres (100–160 ft) in length, but some have been observed soaring for hundreds of metres using the updraft on the leading edges of waves. The fish can also make a series of glides, each time dipping the tail into the water to produce forward thrust. The longest recorded series of glides, with the fish only periodically dipping its tail in the water, was for 45 seconds (Video here). It has been suggested that the genus Exocoetus is on an evolutionary borderline between flight and gliding. It flaps


id: flying-and-gliding-animals-20260505-6
file: data/en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Flying_and_gliding_animals-6.md
category: reference
title: Flying and gliding animals
tags: science, encyclopedia
source_url: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Flying_and_gliding_animals
date_saved: 2026-05-05T03:18:27.546944+00:00
instance: kb-cron
parent: flying-and-gliding-animals-20260505-0
summary:
Flying squirrels (tribe pteromyini). There are more than 50 living species divided between 16 genera of flying squirrel. Flying squirrels are found in Asia (most species), North America (genus Glaucomys) and Europe (Siberian flying squirrel). They inhabit tropical, temperate, and Subarctic environments, with the Glaucomys preferring boreal and montane coniferous forests, specifically landing on red spruce (Picea rubens) trees as landing sites; they are known to rapidly climb trees, but take some time to locate a good landing spot. They tend to be nocturnal and are highly sensitive to light and noise. When a flying squirrel wishes to cross to a tree that is further away than the distance possible by jumping, it extends the cartilage spur on its elbow or wrist. This opens out the flap of furry skin (the patagium) that stretches from its wrist to its ankle. It glides spread-eagle and with its tail fluffed out like a parachute, and grips the tree with its claws when it lands. Flying squirrels have been reported to glide over 200 metres (660 ft). Anomalures or scaly-tailed flying squirrels (family Anomaluridae). These brightly coloured African rodents are not squirrels but have evolved to a resemble flying squirrels by convergent evolution.


id: flying-and-gliding-animals-20260505-7
file: data/en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Flying_and_gliding_animals-7.md
category: reference
title: Flying and gliding animals
tags: science, encyclopedia
source_url: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Flying_and_gliding_animals
date_saved: 2026-05-05T03:18:27.546944+00:00
instance: kb-cron
parent: flying-and-gliding-animals-20260505-0
summary:
== Further reading == Davenport, J. (1994). "How and why do flying fish fly?". Reviews in Fish Biology and Fisheries. 40 (2): 184–214. Bibcode:1994RFBF....4..184D. doi:10.1007/BF00044128. S2CID 34720887. Saidel, W.M.; Strain, G.F.; Fornari, S.K. (2004). "Characterization of the aerial escape response of the African butterfly fish, Pantodon buchholzi Peters". Environmental Biology of Fishes. 71 (1): 63–72. Bibcode:2004EnvBF..71...63S. doi:10.1023/b:ebfi.0000043153.38418.cd. S2CID 11856131. Xu, Xing; Zhou, Zhonghe; Wang, Xiaolin; Kuang, Xuewen; Zhang, Fucheng; Du, Xiangke (2003). "Four-winged dinosaurs from China" (PDF). Nature. 421 (6921): 335–340. Bibcode:2003Natur.421..335X. doi:10.1038/nature01342. PMID 12540892. S2CID 1160118. Schiøtz, A.; Vosloe, H. (1959). "The gliding flight of Holaspis guentheri Gray, a west-African lacertid". Copeia. 1959 (3): 259–260. doi:10.2307/1440407. JSTOR 1440407. Arnold, E. N. (2002). "Holaspis, a lizard that glided by accident: mosaics of cooption and adaptation in a tropical forest lacertid (Reptilia, Lacertidae. )". Bulletin of the Natural History Museum, Zoology Series. 68 (2): 155–163. doi:10.1017/s0968047002000171. S2CID 49552361. McGuire, J. A. (2003). "Allometric Prediction of Locomotor Performance: An Example from Southeast Asian Flying Lizards". The American Naturalist. 161 (2): 337–349. Bibcode:2003ANat..161..337M. doi:10.1086/346085. PMID 12675377. S2CID 29494470. Demes, B.; Forchap, E.; Herwig, H. (1991). "They seem to glide. Are there aerodynamic effects in leaping prosimian primates?". Zeitschrift für Morphologie und Anthropologie. 78


id: geologic-time-scale-20260505-0
file: data/en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Geologic_time_scale-0.md
category: reference
title: Geologic time scale
tags: science, encyclopedia
source_url: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Geologic_time_scale
date_saved: 2026-05-05T03:18:29.061904+00:00
instance: kb-cron
parent: geologic-time-scale-20260505-0
summary:
The geologic time scale or geological time scale describes how geologic time is divided into standardised intervals. It uses the rock record together with the principles of chronostratigraphy to place rock sequences into their relative age positions, and geochronology techniques, such as radiometric dating, to precisely date the boundaries between them. It is used primarily by Earth scientists (including geologists, paleontologists, geophysicists, geochemists, and paleoclimatologists) to describe the timing and relationships of events in geologic history. The time scale has been developed through the study of rock layers and the observation of their relationships and identifying features such as lithologies, paleomagnetic properties, and fossils. The definition of standardised international units of geological time is the responsibility of the International Commission on Stratigraphy (ICS), a constituent body of the International Union of Geological Sciences (IUGS), whose primary objective is to precisely define global chronostratigraphic units of the International Chronostratigraphic Chart (ICC) that are used to define divisions of geological time. The chronostratigraphic divisions are in turn used to define geochronologic units. == Principles == The geologic time scale is a way of representing deep time based on events that have occurred throughout Earth's history, a time span of about 4.54 ±


id: geologic-time-scale-20260505-1
file: data/en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Geologic_time_scale-1.md
category: reference
title: Geologic time scale
tags: science, encyclopedia
source_url: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Geologic_time_scale
date_saved: 2026-05-05T03:18:29.061904+00:00
instance: kb-cron
parent: geologic-time-scale-20260505-0
summary:
=== Global Boundary Stratotype Section and Point (GSSP) === Historically, regional geologic time scales were used due to the litho- and biostratigraphic differences around the world in time equivalent rocks. The ICS has long worked to reconcile conflicting terminology by standardising globally significant and identifiable stratigraphic horizons that can be used to define the lower boundaries of chronostratigraphic units. A Global Boundary Stratotype Section and Point (GSSP) defines the lower boundary of a stage as being at a precise point in a specific rock succession in a particular geographic location. These reference points are known informally as "golden" spikes. All the beds above the spike belong to one time interval and all those below it to another. This allows beds of a similar age around the world to be correlated with the strata that contain the golden spike. For example, the iridium anomaly produced by the Chicxulub asteroid impact marks the lower boundary of the Paleogene System and thus the boundary between the Cretaceous and Paleogene. Whilst the GSSP is defined at Oued Djerfane in Tunisia, strata containing the iridium anomaly are found worldwide. The Proterozoic (apart from the Ediacaran), Archean and Hadean are subdivided by absolute ages (Global Standard


id: geologic-time-scale-20260505-2
file: data/en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Geologic_time_scale-2.md
category: reference
title: Geologic time scale
tags: science, encyclopedia
source_url: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Geologic_time_scale
date_saved: 2026-05-05T03:18:29.061904+00:00
instance: kb-cron
parent: geologic-time-scale-20260505-0
summary:
=== Early history === The most modern geological time scale was not formulated until 1911 by Arthur Holmes (1890 – 1965), who drew inspiration from James Hutton (1726–1797), a Scottish Geologist who presented the idea of uniformitarianism or the theory that changes to the Earth's crust resulted from continuous and uniform processes. The broader concept of the relation between rocks and time can be traced back to (at least) the philosophers of Ancient Greece from 1200 BC to 600 AD. Xenophanes of Colophon (c. 570–487 BCE) observed rock beds with fossils of seashells located above the sea-level, viewed them as once living organisms, and used this to imply an unstable relationship in which the sea had at times transgressed over the land and at other times had regressed. This view was shared by a few of Xenophanes's scholars and those that followed, including Aristotle (384–322 BC) who (with additional observations) reasoned that the positions of land and sea had changed over long periods of time. The concept of deep time was also recognized by Chinese naturalist Shen Kuo (1031–1095) and Islamic scientist-philosophers, notably the Brothers of Purity, who wrote on the processes of stratification over the passage of time in


id: geologic-time-scale-20260505-3
file: data/en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Geologic_time_scale-3.md
category: reference
title: Geologic time scale
tags: science, encyclopedia
source_url: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Geologic_time_scale
date_saved: 2026-05-05T03:18:29.061904+00:00
instance: kb-cron
parent: geologic-time-scale-20260505-0
summary:
Respectively, these are the principles of superposition, original horizontality, lateral continuity, and cross-cutting relationships. From this Steno reasoned that strata were laid down in succession and inferred relative time (in Steno's belief, time from Creation). While Steno's principles were simple and attracted much attention, applying them proved challenging. These basic principles, albeit with improved and more nuanced interpretations, still form the foundational principles of determining the correlation of strata relative to geologic time. Over the course of the 18th-century geologists realised that: Sequences of strata often become eroded, distorted, tilted, or even inverted after deposition Strata laid down at the same time in different areas could have entirely different appearances The strata of any given area represented only part of Earth's long history === Formulation of a modern geologic time scale === The apparent, earliest formal division of the geologic record with respect to time was introduced during the era of Biblical models by Thomas Burnet who applied a two-fold terminology to mountains by identifying "montes primarii" for rock formed at the time of the 'Deluge', and younger "monticulos secundarios" formed later from the debris of the "primarii". Anton Moro (1687–1784) also used primary and secondary divisions for rock units


id: geologic-time-scale-20260505-4
file: data/en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Geologic_time_scale-4.md
category: reference
title: Geologic time scale
tags: science, encyclopedia
source_url: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Geologic_time_scale
date_saved: 2026-05-05T03:18:29.061904+00:00
instance: kb-cron
parent: geologic-time-scale-20260505-0
summary:
=== Modern international geological time scale === The establishment of the IUGS in 1961 and acceptance of the Commission on Stratigraphy (applied in 1965) to become a member commission of IUGS led to the founding of the ICS. One of the primary objectives of the ICS is "the establishment, publication and revision of the ICS International Chronostratigraphic Chart which is the standard, reference global Geological Time Scale to include the ratified Commission decisions". Following on from Holmes, several A Geological Time Scale books were published in 1982, 1989, 2004, 2008, 2012, 2016, and 2020. However, since 2013, the ICS has taken responsibility for producing and distributing the ICC citing the commercial nature, independent creation, and lack of oversight by the ICS on the prior published GTS versions (GTS books prior to 2013) although these versions were published in close association with the ICS. Subsequent Geologic Time Scale books (2016 and 2020) are commercial publications with no oversight from the ICS, and do not entirely conform to the chart produced by the ICS. The ICS produced GTS charts are versioned (year/month) beginning at v2013/01. At least one new version is published each year incorporating any changes ratified by the ICS since


id: geologic-time-scale-20260505-5
file: data/en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Geologic_time_scale-5.md
category: reference
title: Geologic time scale
tags: science, encyclopedia
source_url: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Geologic_time_scale
date_saved: 2026-05-05T03:18:29.061904+00:00
instance: kb-cron
parent: geologic-time-scale-20260505-0
summary:
==== Van Kranendonk et al. 2012 (GTS2012) ==== The book, Geologic Time Scale 2012, was the last commercial publication of an international chronostratigraphic chart that was closely associated with the ICS and the Subcommission on Precambrian Stratigraphy. It included a proposal to substantially revise the pre-Cryogenian time scale to reflect important events such as the formation of the Solar System and the Great Oxidation Event, among others, while at the same time maintaining most of the previous chronostratigraphic nomenclature for the pertinent time span. As of April 2022 these proposed changes have not been accepted by the ICS. The proposed changes (changes from the current scale [v2023/09]) are italicised: Hadean Eon (4567–4030 Ma) Chaotian Era/Erathem (4567–4404 Ma) – the name alluding both to the mythological Chaos and the chaotic phase of planet formation. Jack Hillsian or Zirconian Era/Erathem (4404–4030 Ma) – both names allude to the Jack Hills Greenstone Belt which provided the oldest mineral grains on Earth, zircons. Archean Eon/Eonothem (4030–2420 Ma) Paleoarchean Era/Erathem (4030–3490 Ma) Acastan Period/System (4030–3810 Ma) – named after the Acasta Gneiss, one of the oldest preserved pieces of continental crust. Isuan Period/System (3810–3490 Ma) – named after the Isua Greenstone Belt. Mesoarchean Era/Erathem (3490–2780


id: geologic-time-scale-20260505-6
file: data/en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Geologic_time_scale-6.md
category: reference
title: Geologic time scale
tags: science, encyclopedia
source_url: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Geologic_time_scale
date_saved: 2026-05-05T03:18:29.061904+00:00
instance: kb-cron
parent: geologic-time-scale-20260505-0
summary:
== Further reading == Aubry, Marie-Pierre; Van Couvering, John A.; Christie-Blick, Nicholas; Landing, Ed; Pratt, Brian R.; Owen, Donald E.; Ferrusquia-Villafranca, Ismael (2009). "Terminology of geological time: Establishment of a community standard". Stratigraphy. 6 (2): 100–105. doi:10.7916/D8DR35JQ. Gradstein, Felix M.; Ogg, James G. (June 2004). "Geologic Time Scale 2004 – why, how, and where next!". Lethaia. 37 (2): 175–181. Bibcode:2004Letha..37..175G. doi:10.1080/00241160410006483. Gradstein, Felix M.; Ogg, James G.; Smith, Alan G., eds. (2005). A Geologic Time Scale 2004. doi:10.1017/CBO9780511536045. ISBN 978-0-521-78673-7. Gradstein, Felix M.; Ogg, James G.; Smith, Alan G.; Bleeker, Wouter; Laurens, Lucas, J. (June 2004). "A new Geologic Time Scale, with special reference to Precambrian and Neogene". Episodes. 27 (2): 83–100. doi:10.18814/epiiugs/2004/v27i2/002. CORE output ID 11773078.{{cite journal}}: CS1 maint: multiple names: authors list (link) Ialenti, Vincent (28 September 2014). "Embracing 'Deep Time' Thinking". NPR. NPR Cosmos & Culture. Ialenti, Vincent (21 September 2014). "Pondering 'Deep Time' Could Inspire New Ways To View Climate Change". NPR. NPR Cosmos & Culture. Knoll, Andrew H.; Walter, Malcolm R.; Narbonne, Guy M.; Christie-Blick, Nicholas (30 July 2004). "A New Period for the Geologic Time Scale". Science. 305 (5684): 621–622. doi:10.1126/science.1098803. PMID 15286353. Levin, Harold L. (2010). "Time and Geology". The Earth Through Time.


id: humboldtian-science-20260505-0
file: data/en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Humboldtian_science-0.md
category: reference
title: Humboldtian science
tags: science, encyclopedia
source_url: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Humboldtian_science
date_saved: 2026-05-05T03:18:31.591065+00:00
instance: kb-cron
parent: humboldtian-science-20260505-0
summary:
Humboldtian science refers to a movement in science in the 19th century closely connected to the work and writings of German scientist, naturalist, and explorer Alexander von Humboldt. It maintained a certain ethics of precision and observation, which combined scientific field work with the sensitivity and aesthetic ideals of the age of Romanticism. Like Romanticism in science, it was rather popular in the 19th century. The term was coined by Susan Faye Cannon in 1978. The example of Humboldt's life and his writings allowed him to reach out beyond the academic community with his natural history and address a wider audience with popular science aspects. It has supplanted the older Baconian method, related as well to a single person, Francis Bacon. == Brief biography == Humboldt was born in Berlin in 1769 and worked as a Prussian mining official in the 1790s until 1797 when he quit and began collecting scientific knowledge and equipment. His extensive wealth aided his infatuation with the spirit of Romanticism; he amassed an extensive collection of scientific instruments and tools as well as a sizeable library. In 1799 Humboldt, under the protection of King Charles IV of Spain, left for South America and New Spain,


id: humboldtian-science-20260505-1
file: data/en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Humboldtian_science-1.md
category: reference
title: Humboldtian science
tags: science, encyclopedia
source_url: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Humboldtian_science
date_saved: 2026-05-05T03:18:31.591065+00:00
instance: kb-cron
parent: humboldtian-science-20260505-0
summary:
insistence on accuracy for all scientific instruments and observations; a mental sophistication in which theoretical mechanisms and entities of past science were taken lightly; a new set of conceptual tools, including isomaps, graphs, and a theory of errors; the application of accuracy, mental sophistication, and tools not to isolated science in laboratories, but to greatly variable real phenomena. == Humboldt's "terrestrial physicist" == Humboldt was committed to what he called 'terrestrial physics.' Essentially Humboldt's new scientific approach required a new type of scientist: Humboldtian science demanded a transition from the naturalist to the physicist. Humboldt described how his idea of terrestrial physics differs from traditional "descriptive" natural history when he stated, "[traveling naturalists] have neglected to track the great and constant laws of nature manifested in the rapid flux of phenomena…and to trace the reciprocal interaction of the divided physical forces." Humboldt did not consider himself an explorer, but rather a scientific traveler, who accurately measured what explorers had reported inaccurately. According to Humboldt, the goal of the terrestrial physicist was to investigate the confluence and interweaving of all physical forces. An incredibly extensive array of precise instrumentation had to be readily available for Humboldt's terrestrial physicist. The expansive amount


id: humboldtian-science-20260505-2
file: data/en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Humboldtian_science-2.md
category: reference
title: Humboldtian science
tags: science, encyclopedia
source_url: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Humboldtian_science
date_saved: 2026-05-05T03:18:31.591065+00:00
instance: kb-cron
parent: humboldtian-science-20260505-0
summary:
== Transformation of Humboldtian science == Ralph Waldo Emerson once dubbed Humboldt to be "one of those wonders of the world… who appear from time to time, as if to show us the possibilities of the human mind." When Humboldt first began his studies of organisms and the environment he claimed that he wanted to "reorganize the general connections that link organic beings and to study the great harmonies of Nature". He is often considered one of the world's first genuine ecologists. Humboldt succeeded in developing a comprehensive science that joined the separate branches of natural philosophy under a model of natural order founded on the concept of dynamic equilibrium. Humboldt's work reached far beyond his personal expeditions and discoveries. Figures from all across the globe participated on his work. Some such participants included French naval officers, East India Company physicians, Russian provincial administrators, Spanish military commanders, and German diplomats. As was mentioned previously, Charles Darwin carried a copy of Humboldt's Personal Narrative aboard H.M.S. Beagle. Humboldt's projects, particularly those related to natural philosophy, played a significant role in the influx of European money and travelers to Spanish America in increasing numbers in the early 19th century. Sir Edward Sabine,


id: insect-collecting-20260505-0
file: data/en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Insect_collecting-0.md
category: reference
title: Insect collecting
tags: science, encyclopedia
source_url: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Insect_collecting
date_saved: 2026-05-05T03:18:32.821341+00:00
instance: kb-cron
parent: insect-collecting-20260505-0
summary:
Insect collecting refers to the collection of insects and other arthropods for scientific study or as a hobby. Most insects are small and the majority cannot be identified without the examination of minute morphological characters, so entomologists often make and maintain insect collections. Very large collections are preserved in natural history museums or universities where they are maintained and studied by specialists. Many college courses require students to form small collections. There are also amateur entomologists and collectors who keep collections. Historically, insect collecting has been widespread and was in the Victorian age a very popular educational hobby. Insect collecting has left traces in European cultural history, literature and songs, e.g., Georges Brassens's La chasse aux papillons (The Hunt for Butterflies). The practice is particularly common among Japanese youths. == Capture and kill techniques == Insects may be passively caught using traps such as funnels, pitfall traps, bottle traps, malaise traps, or flight interception traps, some of which are baited with small bits of sweet foods (such as honey). Entomologists collecting nocturnal insects (especially moths) during faunistic survey studies might utilize ultraviolet light traps such as the Robinson trap. Aspirators, sometimes called "pooters", suck up insects too small or delicate


id: insect-collecting-20260505-1
file: data/en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Insect_collecting-1.md
category: reference
title: Insect collecting
tags: science, encyclopedia
source_url: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Insect_collecting
date_saved: 2026-05-05T03:18:32.821341+00:00
instance: kb-cron
parent: insect-collecting-20260505-0
summary:
Direct pinning. Direct pinning is the insertion of an entomological pin directly through the thorax of a specimen. The insects are pinned vertically through the thorax with a suitably sized pin, but by convention they are not pinned on the midline, but to the right, so as to leave at least one side undamaged. Point. A point is a triangular piece of white card. Specially designed point punches permit the production of large numbers of points of standard sizes as required. To use a point, a pin is inserted through the broad base of the triangle. To mount the specimen, a tiny amount of glue is placed on the tip and applied to the right side of the insect's thorax. If appropriate the tip of the point may be bent at the necessary angle to hold the body of the specimen horizontal when the pin is vertical, with the long axis of the insect at right angles to the point. Minuten pins. Insect pins without heads, 12mm long. They are used for double mounting (staging) very small insects. They also may be used profitably for staging insects of moderate size, where they have the advantage of being less damaging to


id: list-of-natural-history-articles-by-gerard-krefft-in-the-sydney-mail-20260505-0
category: reference
title: List of Natural History articles by Gerard Krefft in The Sydney Mail
tags: science, encyclopedia
source_url: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/List_of_Natural_History_articles_by_Gerard_Krefft_in_The_Sydney_Mail
date_saved: 2026-05-05T03:18:34.064719+00:00
instance: kb-cron
parent: list-of-natural-history-articles-by-gerard-krefft-in-the-sydney-mail-20260505-0
file:
data/en.wikipedia.org/wiki/List_of_Natural_History_articles_by_Gerard_Krefft_in_The_Sydney_Mail-0.md

summary:
Johann Ludwig (Louis) Gerard Krefft (1830 – 1881), one of Australia's first and most influential zoologists and palaeontologists, was an artist, draughtsman, scientist, and natural historian who served as the curator of the Australian Museum, in Sydney, New South Wales, for 13 years (1861–1874). The following is a list of Krefft's articles that were regularly published in the "Natural History" Section of The Sydney Mail between 4 March 1871 and 26 June 1875. Although a small number of relevant items written by others appeared in The Sydney Mail's "Natural History" section from time to time — e.g., John William Brazier (2 March 1872), George Bennett (9 August 1873), Georgen Mivart (7 March 1874), "Anonymous" (16 May 1874), etc. — the section's very first article was Krefft's 4 March 1871 contribution, and its very last was Krefft's 26 June 1875 contribution: == See also == Krefft's "Natural History" articles in The Sydney Mail


id: kunstformen-der-natur-20260505-0
file: data/en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Kunstformen_der_Natur-0.md
category: reference
title: Kunstformen der Natur
tags: science, encyclopedia
source_url: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Kunstformen_der_Natur
date_saved: 2026-05-05T03:18:38.605024+00:00
instance: kb-cron
parent: kunstformen-der-natur-20260505-0
summary:
Kunstformen der Natur (known in English as Art Forms in Nature) is a book of lithographic and halftone prints by German biologist Ernst Haeckel. == Publication == Originally published in sets of ten between 1899 and 1904 and collectively in two volumes in 1904, it consists of 100 prints of various organisms, many of which were first described by Haeckel himself. Over the course of his career, over 1000 prints were produced based on Haeckel's sketches and watercolors; many of the best of these were chosen for Kunstformen der Natur, translated from sketch to print by lithographer Adolf Giltsch. A second edition of Kunstformen, containing only 30 prints, was produced in 1914. == Themes == According to Haeckel scholar Olaf Breidbach, the work was "not just a book of illustrations but also the summation of his view of the world." The over-riding themes of the Kunstformen plates are symmetry and level of organization. The subjects were selected to embody these to the full, from the scale patterns of boxfishes to the spirals of ammonites to the perfect symmetries of jellies and microorganisms, while images composing each plate are arranged for maximum visual impact. Among the notable prints are numerous radiolarians,


id: list-of-parson-naturalists-20260505-0
file: data/en.wikipedia.org/wiki/List_of_parson-naturalists-0.md
category: reference
title: List of parson-naturalists
tags: science, encyclopedia
source_url: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/List_of_parson-naturalists
date_saved: 2026-05-05T03:18:39.762551+00:00
instance: kb-cron
parent: list-of-parson-naturalists-20260505-0
summary:
Parson-naturalists were ministers of religion who also studied natural history. The archetypical parson-naturalist was a priest in the Church of England in charge of a country parish, who saw the study of science as an extension of his religious work. The philosophy entailed the belief that God, as the Creator of all things, wanted man to understand his Creations and thus to study them through scientific techniques. They often collected and preserved natural artefacts such as leaves, flowers, birds' eggs, birds, insects, and small mammals to classify and study. Some wrote books or kept nature diaries. == Parson-naturalists == == See also == List of Christian thinkers in science Science in the Age of Enlightenment == References == == Bibliography == Armstrong, Patrick (2000). The English Parson-naturalist: A Companionship Between Science and Religion. Gracewing Publishing. ISBN 978-0-85244-516-7.


id: marine-counterparts-of-land-creatures-20260505-0
file: data/en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Marine_counterparts_of_land_creatures-0.md
category: reference
title: Marine counterparts of land creatures
tags: science, encyclopedia
source_url: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Marine_counterparts_of_land_creatures
date_saved: 2026-05-05T03:18:40.956845+00:00
instance: kb-cron
parent: marine-counterparts-of-land-creatures-20260505-0
summary:
The idea that there are specific marine counterparts to land creatures, inherited from the writers on natural history in Antiquity, was firmly believed in Islam and in Medieval Europe. It is exemplified by the creatures represented in the medieval animal encyclopedias called bestiaries, and in the parallels drawn in the moralising attributes attached to each. "The creation was a mathematical diagram drawn in parallel lines," T. H. White said a propos the bestiary he translated. "Things did not only have a moral they often had physical counterparts in other strata. There was a horse in the land and a sea-horse in the sea. For that matter there was probably a Pegasus in heaven". The idea of perfect analogies in the fauna of land and sea was considered part of the perfect symmetry of the Creator's plan, offered as the "book of nature" to mankind, for which a text could be found in Job: But ask the animals, and they will teach you, or the birds of the air, and they will tell you; or speak to the earth, and it will teach you, or let the fish of the sea inform you. Which of all these does not know that


id: natural-history-of-australia-20260505-0
file: data/en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Natural_history_of_Australia-0.md
category: reference
title: Natural history of Australia
tags: science, encyclopedia
source_url: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Natural_history_of_Australia
date_saved: 2026-05-05T03:18:42.114564+00:00
instance: kb-cron
parent: natural-history-of-australia-20260505-0
summary:
The natural history of Australia has been shaped by the geological evolution of the Australian continent from Gondwana and the changes in global climate over geological time. The building of the Australian continent and its association with other land masses, as well as climate changes over geological time, have created the unique flora and fauna present in Australia today. There are many species of flora and fauna that are unique to Australia, and do not exist in any other part of the world. The natural history of Australia begins with rock formation, followed by geological development, life evolution, and continues to change today. == Precambrian == Three areas of the Australian landmass that are made of Archaean rocks are more than 2.5 billion years old, among the oldest known rocks. These igneous and metamorphic rocks are found in the Yilgarn (West) and Pilbara (North) cratons in today's Western Australia and the Gawler (South) craton which makes up the Eyre Peninsula in South Australia. During the Proterozoic, 2,500 to 545 Ma, continent building took place around the existing cratons; the accretions include sedimentary deposition of the banded iron formations and the formation of Australia's major orebodies – sources of gold, copper,


id: natural-history-of-australia-20260505-1
file: data/en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Natural_history_of_Australia-1.md
category: reference
title: Natural history of Australia
tags: science, encyclopedia
source_url: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Natural_history_of_Australia
date_saved: 2026-05-05T03:18:42.114564+00:00
instance: kb-cron
parent: natural-history-of-australia-20260505-0
summary:
During the Carboniferous glaciation, erosion by ice extended into the Early Permian. Crustal extension and subsidence around 295 Ma formed shallow basins in which thick coal deposits were formed. During the Mesozoic, when the Earth became much warmer, 251 to 140 Ma, the Australian landmass was covered with riverine plains. Humid conditions allowed the formation of peatlands, particularly in the east. Dinosaurs, reptiles and primitive mammals were present in Australia. Between 140 and 99 Ma, sea levels rose, and much of the continent was covered. In the same period (between 120 and 105 Ma), there was more volcanism in eastern Australia, leading to uplift creating the Tasman Sea to the southeast and the Coral Sea to the north. The earliest land plants preserved in Australia occur in deposits from the Upper Silurian and the Lower Devonian in marine sediments in Victoria, named the Baragwanathia Assemblage for its most prominent element, the simple vascular plant the lycopod Baragwanathia. The assemblage also included Rhyniophyta, Zosterophyllophyta, and Trimerophyta in addition to other lycopods. All these plants were herbaceous, coastal and required an aqueous environment for reproduction. During the Devonian the first shrub-sized to tree-sized lycopods appeared in Australia and Antarctica; they dominated the


id: nature-center-20260505-0
file: data/en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Nature_center-0.md
category: reference
title: Nature center
tags: science, encyclopedia
source_url: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Nature_center
date_saved: 2026-05-05T03:18:43.393710+00:00
instance: kb-cron
parent: nature-center-20260505-0
summary:
A nature center (or nature centre) is an organization with a visitor center or interpretive center designed to educate people about nature and the environment. Usually in a protected open space, nature centers often have trails through their property. Some are in a state or city park, and some have special gardens or an arboretum. Their properties can be characterized as nature preserves and wildlife sanctuaries. Nature centers generally display small live animals, such as reptiles, rodents, insects, or fish. There are often museum exhibits and displays about natural history, or preserved mounted animals or nature dioramas. Nature centers are staffed by paid or volunteer naturalists and most offer educational programs to the general public, as well as summer camp, after-school and school group programs. These educational programs teach people about nature conservation as well as the scientific method, biology, and ecology. Some nature centers allow free admission but collect voluntary donations in order to help offset expenses. They usually rely on support from volunteers. Environmental education centers differ from nature centers in that their museum exhibits and education programs are available mostly by appointment, although casual visitors may be allowed to walk on their grounds. Some city, state and


id: nature-writing-20260505-0
file: data/en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Nature_writing-0.md
category: reference
title: Nature writing
tags: science, encyclopedia
source_url: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Nature_writing
date_saved: 2026-05-05T03:18:44.729995+00:00
instance: kb-cron
parent: nature-writing-20260505-0
summary:
Nature writing is nonfiction or fiction prose about the natural environment. It often draws heavily from scientific information and facts while also incorporating philosophical reflection upon various aspects of nature. Works are frequently written in the first person and include personal observations. Nature writing encompasses a wide variety of works, ranging from those that place primary emphasis on natural history (such as field guides) to those focusing on philosophical interpretation. It includes poetry, essays of solitude or escape, as well as travel and adventure writing. Modern-day nature writing traces its roots to works of natural history that initially gained popularity in the second half of the 18th century, and continued to do so throughout the 19th century. An important early figure in nature writing was the parson-naturalist Gilbert White (1720–1793), a pioneering English naturalist and ornithologist. He is best known for writing Natural History and Antiquities of Selborne (1789). William Bartram (1739–1823) was another significant American pioneer naturalist who became a respected figure in literary and scientific communities after his first work was published in 1791. == Early history == The tradition of clerical naturalists can be traced back to the monastic writings of the Middle Ages, although under modern-day


id: nature-writing-20260505-1
file: data/en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Nature_writing-1.md
category: reference
title: Nature writing
tags: science, encyclopedia
source_url: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Nature_writing
date_saved: 2026-05-05T03:18:44.729995+00:00
instance: kb-cron
parent: nature-writing-20260505-0
summary:
== 20th century to date == The second half of the 20th century saw a significant increase in nature writing in fiction and non-fiction in Britain. One of the earliest of these works was John Moore (1907–1967), a best-selling pioneer conservationist. Writing from the 1930s to 1960s, he was described by Sir Compton Mackenzie as the most talented writer about the countryside of his generation. Moore's contemporaries included Henry Williamson (1895–1977), best known for Tarka the Otter, whose imaginative prose won him the Hawthornden Prize in 1928. Other 20th century writers included American authors Edward Abbey (1927–1989), Aldo Leopold (1887–1948) and Indian author M. Krishnan (1912–1996). After World War II, other writers emerged including English teacher and naturalist Margaret Hutchinson (1904–1997), who strongly advocated for raising children as naturalists from an early age. American author Rachel Carson (1907–1964) is known for Silent Spring, published in 1962. Carson heralded a new and pointed style of nature writing that carried stronger warnings of environmental loss as pesticide use in industrial agriculture became an increasing concern after World War II. Relevant contemporary nature writers in Britain include Richard Mabey, Roger Deakin, Mark Cocker, and Oliver Rackham. Rackham's books included Ancient Woodland (1980) and


id: naturhistorieselskabet-20260505-0
file: data/en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Naturhistorieselskabet-0.md
category: reference
title: Naturhistorieselskabet
tags: science, encyclopedia
source_url: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Naturhistorieselskabet
date_saved: 2026-05-05T03:18:46.133642+00:00
instance: kb-cron
parent: naturhistorieselskabet-20260505-0
summary:
Naturhistorieselskabet (lit. 'the Society for Natural History') was a private society that was the only institution to offer education in natural history in Denmark in the late 18th century. The spirit of the Age of Enlightenment and an escalating agricultural crisis, led the king and the Danish elite to call foreign experts on economy, including botany and silviculture, to the country. The autonomous University of Copenhagen, on the other hand, was reluctant to employ foreign experts in little-established disciplines. Naturhistorieselskabet was formed in 1788 in order to ensure education in botany, zoology and mineralogy based on private funds. For example, Martin Vahl lectured in botany. After the appointment in 1795 of a professor in geology and in 1797 one in botany, the society gradually lost its importance. It was soon abolished and its collections donated to the state (much later united with the university collections). == Sources == Wagner, P.H. 2001. Institutionaliseringen af botanik og geologi i Danmark-Norge i det 18. århundrede (colloquium). Institut for Videnskabshistorie.


id: peterson-identification-system-20260505-0
file: data/en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Peterson_Identification_System-0.md
category: reference
title: Peterson Identification System
tags: science, encyclopedia
source_url: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Peterson_Identification_System
date_saved: 2026-05-05T03:18:47.337124+00:00
instance: kb-cron
parent: peterson-identification-system-20260505-0
summary:
The Peterson Identification System is a practical method for the field identification of animals, plants and other natural phenomena. It was devised by ornithologist Roger Tory Peterson in 1934 for the first of his series of Field Guides (See Peterson Field Guides.) Peterson devised his system "so that live birds could be identified readily at a distance by their 'field marks' without resorting to the bird-in-hand characters that the early collectors relied on. During the last half century the binocular and the spotting scope have replaced the shotgun." As such, it both reflected and contributed to awareness of the emerging early environmental movement. Another application of this system was made when Roger Tory Peterson was enlisted in the US Army Corps of Engineers from 1943 to 1945. “...plane identification—the aircraft spotting technique—was based on Roger’s bird identification method-the Peterson system.”. == The system == Created for use by amateur naturalists and laymen, rather than specialists, the "Peterson System" is essentially a pictorial key based upon readily noticed visual impressions rather than on the technical features of interest to scientists. The technique involves patternistic drawings with arrows that pinpoint the key field comparisons between similar species. == Influence == Since the


id: plant-collecting-20260505-0
file: data/en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Plant_collecting-0.md
category: reference
title: Plant collecting
tags: science, encyclopedia
source_url: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Plant_collecting
date_saved: 2026-05-05T03:18:48.701818+00:00
instance: kb-cron
parent: plant-collecting-20260505-0
summary:
Plant collecting is the acquisition of plant specimens for the purposes of research, cultivation, or as a hobby. Plant specimens may be kept alive, but are more commonly dried and pressed to preserve the quality of the specimen. Plant collecting is an ancient practice with records of a Chinese botanist collecting roses over 5000 years ago. Herbaria are collections of preserved plants samples and their associated data for scientific purposes. The largest herbarium in the world exist at the Muséum National d'Histoire Naturelle, in Paris, France. Plant samples in herbaria typically include a reference sheet with information about the plant and details of collection. This detailed and organized system of filing provides horticulturist and other researchers alike with a way to find information about a certain plant, and a way to add new information to an existing plant sample file. The collection of live plant specimens from the wild, sometimes referred to as plant hunting, is an activity that has occurred for centuries. The earliest recorded evidence of plant hunting was in 1495 BC when botanists were sent to Somalia to collect incense trees for Queen Hatshepsut. The Victorian era saw a surge in plant hunting activity as botanical adventurers


id: plant-collecting-20260505-1
file: data/en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Plant_collecting-1.md
category: reference
title: Plant collecting
tags: science, encyclopedia
source_url: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Plant_collecting
date_saved: 2026-05-05T03:18:48.701818+00:00
instance: kb-cron
parent: plant-collecting-20260505-0
summary:
=== Preservation without pressing === Some specimens cannot be compressed, degrade when dried, or require other techniques for preservation and storage. Large seeds or fruits may be stored in boxes without compression. Aquatic plants and delicate plants may be stored in a liquid preservative. Cacti may be stored in ethanol. In cases where drying or pressing a plant may destroy or alter a plant feature being studied, 50-75% ethanol can be used to preserve the specimen for up to 4 weeks. This is commonly used when sectioning tissue samples. If a collector wishes to preserve a flower in its natural shape they will use a desiccant. The most commonly used desiccant is silica gel. To do this flowers are placed in a box, and the desiccant is added till the flowers are covered. After 2–7 days the desiccant is removed, revealing the preserved flowers. == Collection of herbarium specimens == Herbarium specimens of plants are collected for a number of different uses. They can assist in accurate identification and provide a species record for a time and place that can be used in distribution maps. They can also provide biological material for researchers, a reference point to document scientific names


id: plant-collecting-20260505-2
file: data/en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Plant_collecting-2.md
category: reference
title: Plant collecting
tags: science, encyclopedia
source_url: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Plant_collecting
date_saved: 2026-05-05T03:18:48.701818+00:00
instance: kb-cron
parent: plant-collecting-20260505-0
summary:
Another Victorian craze known as Orchidelirium similarly led to a drastic decline of several species of orchids. The lady's slipper orchid Cypripedium calceolus was declared extinct in the UK in 1917 and later rediscovered in 1930 as a single wild plant in the Yorkshire Dales, the only remaining site in the UK for these plants. Once found, the plant was guarded 24 hours a day. ==== Summer lady's-tresses orchid ==== In 1956, the UK's last remaining plants of the Spiranthes aestivalis, summer lady's-tresses orchid, were stolen. The orchid is still classified as extinct in the UK. === Modern examples === Many botanical gardens have been the target of plant theft, given the nature of their collections, which often house rare and valuable plants. ==== Kew Royal Botanic Gardens (2014) ==== In 2014, Kew Royal Botanic Gardens saw the theft of one of twenty-four of their Nymphaea thermarum, the world's smallest water lily ever discovered. There are about 100 of these species left, which survive solely in botanical gardens, last seen in the wild in 2008. ==== Kirstenbosch National Botanical Garden (2014) ==== In 2014 in two separate incidents, a total of twenty four cycads were taken from the Kirstenbosch National


id: science-20260505-0
file: data/en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Science-0.md
category: reference
title: Science
tags: science, encyclopedia
source_url: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Science
date_saved: 2026-05-05T03:23:20.804703+00:00
instance: kb-cron
parent: science-20260505-0
summary:
Science is a systematic discipline that builds and organises knowledge in the form of testable hypotheses and predictions about the universe. Modern science is typically divided into two – or three – major branches: the natural sciences, which study the physical world, and the social sciences, which study individuals and societies. While referred to as the formal sciences, the study of logic, mathematics, and theoretical computer science are typically regarded as separate because they rely on deductive reasoning instead of the scientific method as their main methodology. Meanwhile, applied sciences are disciplines that use scientific knowledge for practical purposes, such as engineering and medicine. The history of science spans the majority of the historical record, with the earliest identifiable predecessors to modern science dating to the Bronze Age in Egypt and Mesopotamia (c. 3000–1200 BCE). Their contributions to mathematics, astronomy, and medicine entered and shaped the Greek natural philosophy of classical antiquity and later medieval scholarship, whereby formal attempts were made to provide explanations of events in the physical world based on natural causes; while further advances, including the introduction of the Hindu–Arabic numeral system, were made during the Golden Age of India and Islamic Golden Age. The recovery and


id: science-20260505-1
file: data/en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Science-1.md
category: reference
title: Science
tags: science, encyclopedia
source_url: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Science
date_saved: 2026-05-05T03:23:20.804703+00:00
instance: kb-cron
parent: science-20260505-0
summary:
In classical antiquity, there is no real ancient analogue of a modern scientist. Instead, well-educated, usually upper-class, and almost universally male individuals performed various investigations into nature whenever they could afford the time. Before the invention or discovery of the concept of phusis or nature by the pre-Socratic philosophers, the same words tend to be used to describe the natural "way" in which a plant grows, and the "way" in which, for example, one tribe worships a particular god. For this reason, it is claimed that these men were the first philosophers in the strict sense and the first to clearly distinguish "nature" and "convention". The early Greek philosophers of the Milesian school, which was founded by Thales of Miletus and later continued by his successors Anaximander and Anaximenes, were the first to attempt to explain natural phenomena without relying on the supernatural. The Pythagoreans developed a complex number philosophy and contributed significantly to the development of mathematical science. The theory of atoms was developed by the Greek philosopher Leucippus and his student Democritus. Later, Epicurus would develop a full natural cosmology based on atomism, and would adopt a "canon" (ruler, standard) which established physical criteria or standards of scientific


id: science-20260505-2
file: data/en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Science-2.md
category: reference
title: Science
tags: science, encyclopedia
source_url: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Science
date_saved: 2026-05-05T03:23:20.804703+00:00
instance: kb-cron
parent: science-20260505-0
summary:
From a single print shop in Mainz, Germany around 1440, the movable type printing-press had spread to no less than around 270 cities in Central, Western and Eastern Europe and had already produced more than 20 million volumes by the end of the 15th century. Printing made scholarly books more widely accessible, allowing researchers to consult ancient texts freely and to compare their own observations with those of fellow scholars. Printing ended the manuscript culture of the Middle Ages, where facts were few and far between, and replaced it with a printing culture where reliable and documented facts rapidly proliferated and became the secure foundation for scientific knowledge. In the 16th century, Nicolaus Copernicus formulated a heliostatic model of the Solar System, with the Sun positioned near the center of the Universe, motionless, with Earth and the other planets orbiting around it in circular motions, modified by epicycles, and at uniform speeds. The Copernican model challenged the dominant geocentric model of Ptolemy, which had placed Earth at the center of the Universe. 16th-century astronomers believed that Copernicus' elimination of the equant was his chief achievement but his model never displaced Ptolemy's, which only fell out of favor 70 years later


id: science-20260505-3
file: data/en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Science-3.md
category: reference
title: Science
tags: science, encyclopedia
source_url: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Science
date_saved: 2026-05-05T03:23:20.804703+00:00
instance: kb-cron
parent: science-20260505-0
summary:
During the 19th century, many distinguishing characteristics of contemporary modern science began to take shape. These included the transformation of the life and physical sciences; the frequent use of precision instruments; the emergence of terms such as "biologist", "physicist", and "scientist"; an increased professionalisation of those studying nature; scientists gaining cultural authority over many dimensions of society; the industrialisation of numerous countries; the thriving of popular science writings; and the emergence of science journals. During the late 19th century, psychology emerged as a separate discipline from philosophy when Wilhelm Wundt founded the first laboratory for psychological research in 1879. During the mid-19th century Charles Darwin and Alfred Russel Wallace independently proposed the theory of evolution by natural selection in 1858, which explained how different plants and animals originated and evolved. Their theory was set out in detail in Darwin's book On the Origin of Species, published in 1859. Separately, Gregor Mendel presented his paper, "Experiments on Plant Hybridisation" in 1865, which outlined the principles of biological inheritance, serving as the basis for modern genetics. Early in the 19th century John Dalton suggested the modern atomic theory, based on Democritus's original idea of indivisible particles called atoms. The laws of conservation


id: science-20260505-4
file: data/en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Science-4.md
category: reference
title: Science
tags: science, encyclopedia
source_url: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Science
date_saved: 2026-05-05T03:23:20.804703+00:00
instance: kb-cron
parent: science-20260505-0
summary:
Social science is the study of human behaviour and the functioning of societies. It has many disciplines that include, but are not limited to anthropology, economics, history, human geography, political science, psychology, and sociology. In the social sciences, there are many competing theoretical perspectives, many of which are extended through competing research programmes such as the functionalists, conflict theorists, and interactionists in sociology. Due to the limitations of conducting controlled experiments involving large groups of individuals or complex situations, social scientists may adopt other research methods such as the historical method, case studies, and cross-cultural studies. Moreover, if quantitative information is available, social scientists may rely on statistical approaches to better understand social relationships and processes. === Formal === Formal science is an area of study that generates knowledge using formal systems. A formal system is an abstract structure used for inferring theorems from axioms according to a set of rules. It includes mathematics, systems theory, and theoretical computer science. The formal sciences share similarities with the other two branches by relying on objective, careful, and systematic study of an area of knowledge. They are, however, different from the empirical sciences as they rely exclusively on deductive reasoning, without the


id: science-20260505-5
file: data/en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Science-5.md
category: reference
title: Science
tags: science, encyclopedia
source_url: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Science
date_saved: 2026-05-05T03:23:20.804703+00:00
instance: kb-cron
parent: science-20260505-0
summary:
Scientific research involves using the scientific method, which seeks to objectively explain the events of nature in a reproducible way. Scientists usually take for granted a set of basic assumptions that are needed to justify the scientific method: there is an objective reality shared by all rational observers; this objective reality is governed by natural laws; these laws were discovered by means of systematic observation and experimentation. Mathematics is essential in the formation of hypotheses, theories, and laws, because it is used extensively in quantitative modelling, observing, and collecting measurements. Statistics is used to summarise and analyse data, which allows scientists to assess the reliability of experimental results. In the scientific method an explanatory thought experiment or hypothesis is put forward as an explanation using parsimony principles and is expected to seek consilience – fitting with other accepted facts related to an observation or scientific question. This tentative explanation is used to make falsifiable predictions, which are typically posted before being tested by experimentation. Disproof of a prediction is evidence of progress. Experimentation is especially important in science to help establish causal relationships to avoid the correlation fallacy, though in some sciences such as astronomy or geology, a predicted observation


id: science-20260505-6
file: data/en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Science-6.md
category: reference
title: Science
tags: science, encyclopedia
source_url: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Science
date_saved: 2026-05-05T03:23:20.804703+00:00
instance: kb-cron
parent: science-20260505-0
summary:
There are different schools of thought in the philosophy of science. The most popular position is empiricism, which holds that knowledge is created by a process involving observation; scientific theories generalise observations. Empiricism generally encompasses inductivism, a position that explains how general theories can be made from the finite amount of empirical evidence available. Many versions of empiricism exist, with the predominant ones being Bayesianism and the hypothetico-deductive method. Empiricism has stood in contrast to rationalism, the position originally associated with Descartes, which holds that knowledge is created by the human intellect, not by observation. Critical rationalism is a contrasting 20th-century approach to science, first defined by Austrian-British philosopher Karl Popper. Popper rejected the way that empiricism describes the connection between theory and observation. He claimed that theories are not generated by observation, but that observation is made in the light of theories, and that the only way theory A can be affected by observation is after theory A were to conflict with observation, but theory B were to survive the observation. Popper proposed replacing verifiability with falsifiability as the landmark of scientific theories, replacing induction with falsification as the empirical method. Popper further claimed that there is actually only


id: science-20260505-7
file: data/en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Science-7.md
category: reference
title: Science
tags: science, encyclopedia
source_url: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Science
date_saved: 2026-05-05T03:23:20.804703+00:00
instance: kb-cron
parent: science-20260505-0
summary:
=== Awards === Science awards are usually given to individuals or organisations that have made significant contributions to a discipline. They are often given by prestigious institutions; thus, it is considered a great honour for a scientist receiving them. Since the early Renaissance, scientists have often been awarded medals, money, and titles. The Nobel Prize, a widely regarded prestigious award, is awarded annually to those who have achieved scientific advances in the fields of medicine, physics, and chemistry. == Society == === Funding and policies === Funding of science is often through a competitive process in which potential research projects are evaluated and only the most promising receive funding. Such processes, which are run by government, corporations, or foundations, allocate scarce funds. Total research funding in most developed countries is between 1.5% and 3% of GDP. In the OECD, around two-thirds of research and development in scientific and technical fields is carried out by industry, and 20% and 10%, respectively, by universities and government. The government funding proportion in certain fields is higher, and it dominates research in social science and the humanities. In less developed nations, the government provides the bulk of the funds for their basic scientific research.


id: science-20260505-8
file: data/en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Science-8.md
category: reference
title: Science
tags: science, encyclopedia
source_url: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Science
date_saved: 2026-05-05T03:23:20.804703+00:00
instance: kb-cron
parent: science-20260505-0
summary:
Attitudes towards science are often determined by political opinions and goals. Government, business and advocacy groups have been known to use legal and economic pressure to influence scientific researchers. Many factors can act as facets of the politicisation of science such as anti-intellectualism, perceived threats to religious beliefs, and fear for business interests. Politicisation of science is usually accomplished when scientific information is presented in a way that emphasises the uncertainty associated with the scientific evidence. Tactics such as shifting conversation, failing to acknowledge facts, and capitalising on doubt of scientific consensus have been used to gain more attention for views that have been undermined by scientific evidence. Examples of issues that have involved the politicisation of science include the global warming controversy, health effects of pesticides, and health effects of tobacco. === Challenges === The replication crisis is an ongoing systemic crisis that affects parts of science. The results of a fraction of scientific studies have been proven to be unreproducible. The crisis has long-standing roots; the phrase was coined in the early 2010s as part of a growing awareness of the problem. A 2026 replication study found low replication rates in social and behavioural sciences (business, economics, education,


id: outline-of-science-20260505-0
file: data/en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Outline_of_science-0.md
category: reference
title: Outline of science
tags: science, encyclopedia
source_url: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Outline_of_science
date_saved: 2026-05-05T03:23:22.154849+00:00
instance: kb-cron
parent: outline-of-science-20260505-0
summary:
The following outline is provided as a topical overview of science: Science is a systematic discipline that builds and organises knowledge in the form of testable hypotheses and predictions about the universe. Modern science is typically divided into two – or three – major branches: the natural sciences, which study the physical world, and the social sciences, which study individuals and societies. While referred to as the formal sciences, the study of logic, mathematics, and theoretical computer science are typically regarded as separate because they rely on deductive reasoning instead of the scientific method as their main methodology. Meanwhile, applied sciences are disciplines that use scientific knowledge for practical purposes, such as engineering and medicine. == Study and experimentation == Experimentation is the use of controlled conditions to test an idea. A single independent variable is altered while all other conditions are kept the same to test the alteration's effect on a dependent variable. Design of experiments History of experiments Descriptive and normative science are contrasting methods to explain scientific ideas. Descriptive science explains ideas objectively while normative science explains what should be true using value judgments. Empirical research is conducted using observation and experimentation instead of theory. Empirical evidence


id: outline-of-science-20260505-1
file: data/en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Outline_of_science-1.md
category: reference
title: Outline of science
tags: science, encyclopedia
source_url: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Outline_of_science
date_saved: 2026-05-05T03:23:22.154849+00:00
instance: kb-cron
parent: outline-of-science-20260505-0
summary:
Alchemy is the historical study of what is now associated with chemistry. It was accepted as a science until the end of the 17th century. Astrology is a method used in ancient and medieval times to study the social sciences through physical phenomena. Cosmogony is the study of Earth's origins through divine creation. Natural history is the historical name for study of subjects that are now associated with biology. Natural philosophy is the historical name for study of subjects that are now associated with physics and astronomy. == Philosophy of science == Philosophy of science encompasses the questions, assumptions, foundations, methods and implications of science. Anti-realism is the opposition to scientific realism. Anti-realists believe that scientific theories cannot be objectively true or that they do not correlate to objectively real phenomena. Antiscience is a criticism and rejection of modern science and the scientific community. Denialism is the rejection of scientific facts that conflict with one's previous beliefs. Empiricism is the belief that truth is obtained from sense experience. Empiricists believe that science is a systematic and detailed application of common everyday thought and inquiry. Constructive empiricism is the belief that scientific theories can be true but successful testing does not


id: outline-of-science-20260505-2
file: data/en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Outline_of_science-2.md
category: reference
title: Outline of science
tags: science, encyclopedia
source_url: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Outline_of_science
date_saved: 2026-05-05T03:23:22.154849+00:00
instance: kb-cron
parent: outline-of-science-20260505-0
summary:
Consensus is general agreement among scientists on a conclusion or finding. Demarcation is the division of scientific and non-scientific ideas, and the resulting dispute over how to divide them. Different fields of study may be evaluated on the level of experimental rigor, how much they engage in abstraction, how closely related they are with the humanities, or other qualities. Funding of science can come from governments and donors. Junk science is the presentation of uncertain scientific claims as facts, typically to a legal or political end. List of topics characterized as pseudoscience Meta-analysis is the comparing of several studies on the same topic to draw conclusions. A paradigm is the overall understanding and accepted system of how science functions. Paradigm shifts are historical periods of total change in how science is practiced. The concept was introduced by Thomas Kuhn. Peer review is a process in which an academic provides feedback on scientific writing, often anonymously, before publication. Pseudoscience is unscientific practice or belief that is presented as scientific or uses scientific language to suggest credibility. History of pseudoscience Regulation of science involves the use of policy to limit scientific activity that regulators determine to be dangerous, unethical, or ineffective. Scientific


id: outline-of-science-20260505-3
file: data/en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Outline_of_science-3.md
category: reference
title: Outline of science
tags: science, encyclopedia
source_url: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Outline_of_science
date_saved: 2026-05-05T03:23:22.154849+00:00
instance: kb-cron
parent: outline-of-science-20260505-0
summary:
== References == Agassi, Joseph (1981). Science and Society: Studies in the Sociology of Science. D. Reidel. ISBN 978-90-277-1244-8. Armstrong, Jon Scott; Green, Kesten C. (2022). The Scientific Method: A Guide to Finding Useful Knowledge. Cambridge University Press. ISBN 978-1-009-09642-3. Bird, Alexander (2005). Philosophy of Science. Routledge. ISBN 978-1-85728-504-8. Browne, Janet; Porter, Roy; Bynum, William F., eds. (1981). Dictionary of the History of Science. Macmillan. ISBN 978-0-333-29316-4. Collocott, Thomas C., ed. (1971). Dictionary of Science and Technology. W. & R. Chambers. ISBN 978-0-550-13202-4. Daintith, John; Martin, Elizabeth (2010) [1984]. Oxford Dictionary of Science (6th ed.). Oxford University Press. ISBN 978-0-19-956146-9. Erickson, Mark (2005). Science, Culture and Society: Understanding Science in the 21st Century. Polity. ISBN 978-0-7456-2974-2. Godfrey-Smith, Peter (2003). Theory and Reality: An Introduction to the Philosophy of Science. University of Chicago Press. ISBN 978-0-226-30062-7. Hagstrom, Warren O. (1965). The Scientific Community. Basic Books. LCCN 65-10539. Heilbron, J. L., ed. (2003). The Oxford Companion to the History of Modern Science. Oxford University Press. ISBN 978-0-19-511229-0. Morris, Christopher G., ed. (1992). Academic Press Dictionary of Science and Technology. Elsevier Science. ISBN 978-0-12-200400-1. Pigliucci, Massimo; Boudry, Maarten, eds. (2013). Philosophy of Pseudoscience: Reconsidering the Demarcation Problem. The University of Chicago Press. ISBN


id: aic-judd-award-20260505-0
file: data/en.wikipedia.org/wiki/AIC_Judd_Award-0.md
category: reference
title: AIC Judd Award
tags: science, encyclopedia
source_url: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/AIC_Judd_Award
date_saved: 2026-05-05T03:23:23.364410+00:00
instance: kb-cron
parent: aic-judd-award-20260505-0
summary:
The AIC - Deane B. Judd Award is an international prize, created in 1973 and instituted for the first time in 1975 by the International Colour Association (AIC). It is given to researchers or research groups in recognition of outstanding contributions to the field of color science. The award is named in honor of Deane B. Judd, an American scientist who made significant contributions to colorimetry, color discrimination, color models, and color vision. The AIC has been carrying out the process of selection of the recipients for this award every two years, since 1975. The selection is an arduous procedure that includes nominations by AIC members and analysis of antecedents of the nominees by a Committee composed of previous recipients of the award and AIC past-presidents. The award is given at AIC Congresses. == Awardees == The researchers who have received this award in the past 50 years are: 1975: Dorothy Nickerson (USA); 1977: William David Wright (UK); 1979: Günter Wyszecki (Germany, USA, Canada); 1981: Manfred Richter (Germany); 1983: David L. MacAdam (USA); 1985: Leo Hurvich & Dorothea Jameson (USA); 1987: Robert William G. Hunt (UK); 1989: Tarow Indow (Japan, USA); 1991: Johannes J. Vos & Pieter L. Walraven (Netherlands);


id: eurotrac-20260505-0
file: data/en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Eurotrac-0.md
category: reference
title: Eurotrac
tags: science, encyclopedia
source_url: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Eurotrac
date_saved: 2026-05-05T03:23:24.459733+00:00
instance: kb-cron
parent: eurotrac-20260505-0
summary:
EUROTRAC (European Experiment on Transportation and Transformation of Environmentally Relevant Trace Constituents) was a joint European scientific research programme within the Eureka Framework. EUROTRAC was accepted as a Eureka project at the second Eureka Ministerial Conference held in Hannover (Germany) in November 1985. After a two-year definition phase, the work started in January 1988 and ended in 1995. At the peak of the programme, it included more than 250 research groups from 24 European countries and its budget exceeded 16 million ECU per year (equivalent to approx. 16 million Euro). == Objectives and focus areas == The objectives of Eurotrac were to: Increase the basic knowledge in atmospheric science; Promote the technological development of sensitive, specific, and fast response instruments for environmental research and monitoring; Improve the scientific basis for future political decisions on environmental management in European countries. EUROTRAC studied the impact of human activities on the troposphere over Europe, focusing on: The chemistry and transport of photo-oxidants (especially ozone) in the troposphere The processes leading to the formation of acidity in the atmosphere The uptake and release of atmospheric trace substances by the biosphere. EUROTRAC was an interdisciplinary programme involving field experiments and campaigns, laboratory studies, comprehensive model


id: ideonomy-20260505-0
file: data/en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Ideonomy-0.md
category: reference
title: Ideonomy
tags: science, encyclopedia
source_url: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Ideonomy
date_saved: 2026-05-05T03:23:25.646281+00:00
instance: kb-cron
parent: ideonomy-20260505-0
summary:
Ideonomy is a combinatorial "science of ideas" developed by American independent scholar Patrick M. Gunkel (1947–2017). Specifically, Ideonomy is concerned with the systematic organization of ideas and the discovery of the rules behind how ideas combine, diverge, and transform. Gunkel defined ideonomy as "the science of the laws of ideas and of the application of such laws to the generation of all possible ideas in connection with any subject, idea, or thing." In his 1992 book A History of Knowledge, Charles Van Doren compared ideonomy to a "mining operation" that excavates meanings and thought to discover treasures hidden deep within language. Sources from the 1980s and 1990s demonstrate that ideonomy was useful to academic researchers in fields including biology, toxicology, and nursing/patient care. Beginning in the 2010s, academics in a wide range of fields including machine learning, marketing, computational modeling, and cybersecurity have relied on materials generated for ideonomy to provide methodological support for their research. == Etymology and definition == The word "ideonomy" combines the Greek roots ideo- (from idea, meaning pattern or form) and -nomy (from nomos, meaning law or custom). The suffix -nomy suggests the laws concerning or the totality of knowledge about a given subject, as


id: ideonomy-20260505-1
file: data/en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Ideonomy-1.md
category: reference
title: Ideonomy
tags: science, encyclopedia
source_url: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Ideonomy
date_saved: 2026-05-05T03:23:25.646281+00:00
instance: kb-cron
parent: ideonomy-20260505-0
summary:
Edward Fredkin, former director of MIT's computer science laboratory, who praised Gunkel's "provocative ideas on artificial intelligence." Marvin Minsky, AI scientist and MIT professor, who described ideonomy as "perhaps the most extensive study of ways to generate ideas." Frederick Seitz, president emeritus of Rockefeller University, who noted Gunkel's "encyclopedic scope" Robert C. Clark, Harvard law professor, who called Gunkel "the most intelligent person I ever met" However, skeptics questioned whether ideonomy constituted a genuine science. Fredkin himself noted that Gunkel "pours out about 60 ideas a minute, and 59 of them are bad," though he added that "even with one good idea out of 60, it's still an amazing accomplishment." Douglas Lenat observed that brainstorming with Gunkel was "a bit like being hit over the head by the muse with a sledgehammer" and that "he puts people off." Gunkel himself acknowledged that ideonomy was in its infancy and might seem "absurdly utopian." His planned magnum opus on ideonomy remained incomplete, and was posted on an MIT website thanks to faculty advisor Whitman Richards. Gunkel wrote: "Pioneering in a completely new field, yes in a new science, is almost unreal. It is heartbreaking, it is pitiable, it is almost inhuman. Honestly,


id: peter-lwabi-20260505-0
file: data/en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Peter_Lwabi-0.md
category: reference
title: Peter Lwabi
tags: science, encyclopedia
source_url: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Peter_Lwabi
date_saved: 2026-05-05T03:23:26.834130+00:00
instance: kb-cron
parent: peter-lwabi-20260505-0
summary:
Lwabi Peter Solomon is a consultant pediatric cardiologist at Mulago National Referral Hospital in Kampala, Uganda. He concurrently serves as the deputy executive director of Uganda Heart Institute (UHI). He also serves as the Head of the Pediatric Cardiology Division at Makerere University School of Medicine. Peter Lwabi also sits on the Board of Directors of UHI. Lwabi is a Senior Consultant cardiac pediatrician who has trained numerous medical personnel, including nurses, medical students, postgraduate students, and cardiology fellows. He provides mentorship and clinical oversight to research and training initiatives, == Education and background == He holds bachelors of medicine and bachelors of surgery and masters of medicine, paediatrics & child health == Leadership == He worked as the president of the Uganda Heart Association. He also head of the Pediatric Cardiology Division at the Makerere University School of Medicine.A member of the Board of Directors at the Uganda Heart Institute == See also == Roy Mugerwa Aggrey Kiyingi == References == == External links == Website of Uganda Ministry of Health Archived 2024-11-25 at the Wayback Machine A bad heart condition has caused her body to swell


id: physics-20260505-0
file: data/en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Physics-0.md
category: reference
title: Physics
tags: science, encyclopedia
source_url: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Physics
date_saved: 2026-05-05T03:23:28.076442+00:00
instance: kb-cron
parent: physics-20260505-0
summary:
Physics is the scientific study of matter, its fundamental constituents, its motion and behavior through space and time, and the related entities of energy and force. It is one of the most fundamental scientific disciplines. A scientist who specializes in the field of physics is called a physicist. Physics is one of the oldest academic disciplines. Over much of the past two millennia, physics, chemistry, biology, and certain branches of mathematics were part of natural philosophy, but during the Scientific Revolution in the 17th century, these natural sciences branched into separate research endeavors. Physics intersects with many interdisciplinary areas of research, such as biophysics and quantum chemistry, and the boundaries of physics are not rigidly defined. New ideas in physics often explain the fundamental mechanisms studied by other sciences and suggest new avenues of research in these and other academic disciplines, such as mathematics and philosophy. Advances in physics often enable new technologies. For example, advances in the understanding of electromagnetism, solid-state physics, and nuclear physics led directly to the development of technologies that have transformed modern society, such as television, computers, domestic appliances, and nuclear weapons; advances in thermodynamics led to the development of industrialization; and advances in mechanics


id: physics-20260505-1
file: data/en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Physics-1.md
category: reference
title: Physics
tags: science, encyclopedia
source_url: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Physics
date_saved: 2026-05-05T03:23:28.076442+00:00
instance: kb-cron
parent: physics-20260505-0
summary:
The Western Roman Empire fell to invaders and internal decay in the fifth century, resulting in a decline in intellectual pursuits in western Europe. By contrast, the Eastern Roman Empire (usually known as the Byzantine Empire) resisted the attacks from invaders and continued to advance various fields of learning, including physics. In the sixth century, John Philoponus challenged the dominant Aristotelian approach to science although much of his work was focused on Christian theology. In the sixth century, Isidore of Miletus created an important compilation of Archimedes' works that are copied in the Archimedes Palimpsest. Islamic scholarship inherited Aristotelian physics from the Greeks and during the Islamic Golden Age developed it further. The most notable innovations under Islamic scholarship were in the field of optics and vision, which came from the works of many scientists like Ibn Sahl, Al-Kindi, Ibn al-Haytham, Al-Farisi and Avicenna. In his Book of Optics (also known as Kitāb al-Manāẓir) Ibn al-Haytham presented the idea of light rays as an alternative to the ancient Greek idea about visual rays. Like Ptolemy, Ibn al-Haytham applied controlled experiments, verifying the laws of refraction and reflection with the new concept of light rays, but still lacking the concept of


id: physics-20260505-2
file: data/en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Physics-2.md
category: reference
title: Physics
tags: science, encyclopedia
source_url: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Physics
date_saved: 2026-05-05T03:23:28.076442+00:00
instance: kb-cron
parent: physics-20260505-0
summary:
Classical physics includes the traditional branches and topics that were recognized and well-developed before the beginning of the 20th century—classical mechanics, thermodynamics, and electromagnetism. Classical mechanics is concerned with bodies acted on by forces and bodies in motion and may be divided into statics (study of the forces on a body or bodies not subject to an acceleration), kinematics (study of motion without regard to its causes), and dynamics (study of motion and the forces that affect it); mechanics may also be divided into solid mechanics and fluid mechanics (known together as continuum mechanics), the latter include such branches as hydrostatics, hydrodynamics and pneumatics. Acoustics is the study of how sound is produced, controlled, transmitted and received. Important modern branches of acoustics include ultrasonics, the study of sound waves of very high frequency beyond the range of human hearing; bioacoustics, the physics of animal calls and hearing; and electroacoustics, the manipulation of audible sound waves using electronics. Optics, the study of light, is concerned not only with visible light but also with infrared and ultraviolet radiation, which exhibit all of the phenomena of visible light except visibility, e.g., reflection, refraction, interference, diffraction, dispersion, and polarization of light. Heat is a


id: physics-20260505-3
file: data/en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Physics-3.md
category: reference
title: Physics
tags: science, encyclopedia
source_url: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Physics
date_saved: 2026-05-05T03:23:28.076442+00:00
instance: kb-cron
parent: physics-20260505-0
summary:
=== Scope and aims === Physics covers a wide range of phenomena, from elementary particles (such as quarks, neutrinos, and electrons) to the largest superclusters of galaxies. Included in these phenomena are the most basic objects composing all other things. Therefore, physics is sometimes called the "fundamental science". Physics aims to describe the various phenomena that occur in nature in terms of simpler phenomena. Thus, physics aims to both connect the things observable to humans to root causes, and then connect these causes together. For example, the ancient Chinese observed that certain rocks (lodestone and magnetite) were attracted to one another by an invisible force. This effect was later called magnetism, which was first rigorously studied in the 17th century. But even before the Chinese discovered magnetism, the ancient Greeks knew of other objects such as amber, that when rubbed with fur would cause a similar invisible attraction between the two. This was also first studied rigorously in the 17th century and came to be called electricity. Thus, physics had come to understand two observations of nature in terms of some root cause (electricity and magnetism). However, further work in the 19th century revealed that these two forces were just


id: physics-20260505-4
file: data/en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Physics-4.md
category: reference
title: Physics
tags: science, encyclopedia
source_url: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Physics
date_saved: 2026-05-05T03:23:28.076442+00:00
instance: kb-cron
parent: physics-20260505-0
summary:
Atomic, molecular, and optical physics (AMO) is the study of matter—matter and light—matter interactions on the scale of single atoms and molecules. The three areas are grouped together because of their interrelationships, the similarity of methods used, and the commonality of their relevant energy scales. All three areas include both classical, semi-classical and quantum treatments; they can treat their subject from a microscopic view (in contrast to a macroscopic view). Atomic physics studies the electron shells of atoms. Current research focuses on activities in quantum control, cooling and trapping of atoms and ions, low-temperature collision dynamics and the effects of electron correlation on structure and dynamics. Atomic physics is influenced by the nucleus (see hyperfine splitting), but intra-nuclear phenomena such as fission and fusion are considered part of nuclear physics. Molecular physics focuses on multi-atomic structures and their internal and external interactions with matter and light. Optical physics is distinct from optics in that it tends to focus not on the control of classical light fields by macroscopic objects but on the fundamental properties of optical fields and their interactions with matter in the microscopic realm. ==== Condensed matter ==== Condensed matter physics is the field of physics that deals


id: physics-20260505-5
file: data/en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Physics-5.md
category: reference
title: Physics
tags: science, encyclopedia
source_url: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Physics
date_saved: 2026-05-05T03:23:28.076442+00:00
instance: kb-cron
parent: physics-20260505-0
summary:
Ontology is a prerequisite for physics, but not for mathematics. It means physics is ultimately concerned with descriptions of the real world, while mathematics is concerned with abstract patterns, even beyond the real world. Thus physics statements are synthetic, while mathematical statements are analytic. Mathematics contains hypotheses, while physics contains theories. Mathematics statements have to be only logically true, while predictions of physics statements must match observed and experimental data. The distinction is clear-cut, but not always obvious. For example, mathematical physics is the application of mathematics in physics. Its methods are mathematical, but its subject is physical. The problems in this field start with a "mathematical model of a physical situation" (system) and a "mathematical description of a physical law" that will be applied to that system. Every mathematical statement used for solving has a hard-to-find physical meaning. The final mathematical solution has an easier-to-find meaning, because it is what the solver is looking for. === Fundamental vs. applied physics === Physics is a branch of fundamental science (also called basic science). Physics is also called "the fundamental science" because all branches of natural science including chemistry, astronomy, geology, and biology are constrained by laws of physics. Similarly, chemistry


id: scienticide-20260505-0
file: data/en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Scienticide-0.md
category: reference
title: Scienticide
tags: science, encyclopedia
source_url: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Scienticide
date_saved: 2026-05-05T03:23:29.302484+00:00
instance: kb-cron
parent: scienticide-20260505-0
summary:
Scienticide is a concept used to refer to various multifaceted processes or phenomena that lead to the harassment, reduction, or outright destruction of scientific and technological systems in some countries of the world, as well as the exile or abandonment of researchers from their places of training. These can occur for various reasons, such as wars, political repression, lack of opportunities, climate crises, foreign interventions, economic policies, or ideological persecution. == Etymology == The term metaphorically refers to the "murder of science," as it combines the word *science* with the Latin suffix - *cidium*, which comes from the root *caedĕre* ("to kill"). A comparative use of the term has been proposed alongside "femicide", as part of policies aimed at eliminating the scientific and technological systems of a country. == History == The first references to this concept using the English word "scienticide" date back to the 1990s when it was used to refer to the destruction of the network of educational, scientific, and research institutions created by the Anti-Fascist Council for the National Liberation of Yugoslavia between 1942 and 1945. The educational system established was systematically attacked by the Yugoslav Army in the Homeland, commonly known as *Chetniks*, a nationalist,


id: scientific-lacuna-20260505-0
file: data/en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Scientific_lacuna-0.md
category: reference
title: Scientific lacuna
tags: science, encyclopedia
source_url: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Scientific_lacuna
date_saved: 2026-05-05T03:23:30.486703+00:00
instance: kb-cron
parent: scientific-lacuna-20260505-0
summary:
Scientific lacuna describes an area of science that has not been studied but has the potential to be studied scientifically. Often, this may be the case because it falls between different areas of sciences, such that it doesn't fall into a single specific discipline of science. However, it also may be the case that the right situation for study has not yet occurred, or the conditions for study have been too ephemeral. Scientific lacunae often have the potential to be studied in the future when more areas of sciences are explicitly defined or the right conditions do occur, yet this can be made difficult if the area of science is commonly not considered a proper area for scientific study. == References ==


id: scientism-20260505-0
file: data/en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Scientism-0.md
category: reference
title: Scientism
tags: science, encyclopedia
source_url: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Scientism
date_saved: 2026-05-05T03:23:31.695544+00:00
instance: kb-cron
parent: scientism-20260505-0
summary:
Scientism is the belief that science and the scientific method are the best or only way to render truth about the world and reality. While the term was defined originally to mean "methods and attitudes typical of or attributed to natural scientists", some scholars, as well as political and religious leaders, have also adopted it as a pejorative term with the meaning "an exaggerated trust in the efficacy of the methods of natural science applied to all areas of investigation (as in philosophy, the social sciences, and the humanities)". == Overview == Francis Bacon has been viewed by some scholars as an early proponent of scientism, but this is a modern assertion as Bacon was a devout Anglican, writing in his Essays, "a little philosophy inclineth man's mind to atheism, but depth in philosophy bringeth men's minds about to religion." With respect to the philosophy of science, the term scientism frequently implies a critique of the more extreme expressions of logical positivism and has been used by social scientists such as Friedrich Hayek, philosophers of science such as Karl Popper, and philosophers such as Mary Midgley, the later Hilary Putnam, and Tzvetan Todorov to describe (for example) the dogmatic endorsement


id: scientism-20260505-1
file: data/en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Scientism-1.md
category: reference
title: Scientism
tags: science, encyclopedia
source_url: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Scientism
date_saved: 2026-05-05T03:23:31.695544+00:00
instance: kb-cron
parent: scientism-20260505-0
summary:
It is used to criticize a totalizing opinion of science as if it were capable of describing all reality and knowledge, or as if it were the only true method to acquire knowledge about reality and the nature of things; It is used, often pejoratively, to denote violations by which the theories and methods of one (scientific) discipline are applied inappropriately to another (scientific or non-scientific) discipline and its domain. An example of this second usage is to term as scientism any attempt to claim science as the only or primary source of human values (a traditional domain of ethics) or as the source of meaning and purpose (a traditional domain of religion and related worldviews). The term scientism was popularized by F. A. Hayek, who defined it in 1942 as the "slavish imitation of the method and language of Science". Mathematician Alexander Grothendieck, in his 1971 essay "The New Universal Church", characterized scientism as a religion-like ideology that advocates scientific reductionism, scientific authoritarianism, political technocracy and technological salvation, while denying the epistemological validity of feelings and experiences such as love, emotion, beauty and fulfillment. He predicted that "in coming years, the chief political dividing line will fall less and


id: scientism-20260505-2
file: data/en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Scientism-2.md
category: reference
title: Scientism
tags: science, encyclopedia
source_url: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Scientism
date_saved: 2026-05-05T03:23:31.695544+00:00
instance: kb-cron
parent: scientism-20260505-0
summary:
== Relevance to debates about science and religion == Both religious and non-religious scholars have applied the term scientism to individuals associated with New Atheism. Theologian John Haught argued that philosopher Daniel Dennett and other New Atheists subscribe to a belief system of scientific naturalism, which includes the dogma that "only nature, including humans and our creations, is real: that God does not exist; and that science alone can give us complete and reliable knowledge of reality." Haught argued that this belief system is self-refuting since it requires its adherents to assent to beliefs that violate its own stated requirements for knowledge. Christian philosopher Peter Williams argued in 2013 that it is only by conflating science with scientism that New Atheists feel qualified to "pontificate on metaphysical issues". Daniel Dennett responded to religious criticism of his 2006 book Breaking the Spell: Religion as a Natural Phenomenon by saying that accusations of scientism "[are] an all-purpose, wild-card smear ... When someone puts forward a scientific theory that [religious critics] really don't like, they just try to discredit it as 'scientism'. But when it comes to facts, and explanations of facts, science is the only game in town". Non-religious scholars have also


id: scientism-20260505-3
file: data/en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Scientism-3.md
category: reference
title: Scientism
tags: science, encyclopedia
source_url: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Scientism
date_saved: 2026-05-05T03:23:31.695544+00:00
instance: kb-cron
parent: scientism-20260505-0
summary:
Thomas M. Lessl argued that religious themes persist in what he terms scientism, the public rhetoric of science. There are two methods of describing this idea of scientism: the epistemological method (the assumption that the scientific method trumps other ways of knowing) and the ontological method (that the rational mind represents the world and both operate in knowable ways). According to Lessl, the ontological method is an attempt to "resolve the conflict between rationalism and skepticism". Lessl also argued that without scientism, there would not be a scientific culture. == Rationalization and modernity == In the introduction to his collected works on the sociology of religion, Max Weber asked why "the scientific, the artistic, the political, or the economic development [elsewhere] ... did not enter upon that path of rationalization which is peculiar to the Occident?" According to the German social theorist Jürgen Habermas, "For Weber, the intrinsic (that is, not merely contingent) relationship between modernity and what he called 'Occidental rationalism' was still self-evident." Weber described a process of rationalisation, disenchantment and the "disintegration of religious world views" that resulted in modern secular societies and capitalism. "Modernization" was introduced as a technical term only in the 1950s. It is


