# kb

id: performativity-20260505-0
file: data/en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Performativity-0.md
category: reference
title: Performativity
tags: science, encyclopedia
source_url: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Performativity
date_saved: 2026-05-05T07:11:52.163007+00:00
instance: kb-cron
parent: performativity-20260505-0
summary:
Performativity is the concept that language can function as a form of social action and have the effect of change. The concept has multiple applications in diverse fields such as anthropology, social and cultural geography, economics, gender studies (social construction of gender), law, linguistics, performance studies, history, management studies and philosophy. The concept is first described by philosopher of language John L. Austin when he referred to a specific capacity: the capacity of speech and communication to act or to consummate an action. Austin differentiated this from constative language, which he defined as descriptive language that can be "evaluated as true or false". Common examples of performative language are making promises, betting, performing a wedding ceremony, an umpire calling a foul, or a judge pronouncing a verdict. The concept of performance has been developed by such scholars as Richard Schechner, Victor Turner, Clifford Geertz, Erving Goffman, John Austin, John Searle, Pierre Bourdieu, Stern and Henderson, and Judith Butler. == Defining performance == Performance is a bodily practice that produces meaning. It is the presentation or 're-actualization' of symbolic systems through living bodies as well as lifeless mediating objects, such as architecture. In the academic field, as opposed to the domain


id: performativity-20260505-1
file: data/en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Performativity-1.md
category: reference
title: Performativity
tags: science, encyclopedia
source_url: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Performativity
date_saved: 2026-05-05T07:11:52.163007+00:00
instance: kb-cron
parent: performativity-20260505-0
summary:
=== J. L. Austin === The term derives from the founding work in speech act theory by ordinary language philosopher J. L. Austin. In the 1950s, Austin gave the name performative utterances to situations where saying something was doing something, rather than simply reporting on or describing reality. The paradigmatic case here is speaking the words "I do". Austin did not use the word performativity. Breaking with analytic philosophy, Austin argued in How to Do Things With Words that a "performative utterance" cannot be said to be either true or false as a constative utterance might be: it can only be judged either "happy" or "infelicitous" depending upon whether the conditions required for its success have been met. In this sense, performativity is a function of the pragmatics of language. Having shown that all utterances perform actions, even apparently constative ones, Austin famously discarded the distinction between "performative" and "constative" utterances halfway through the lecture series that became the book and replaced it with a three-level framework: locution (the actual words spoken, that which the linguists and linguistic philosophers of the day were mostly interested in analyzing) illocutionary force (what the speaker is attempting to do in uttering the locution)


id: performativity-20260505-2
file: data/en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Performativity-2.md
category: reference
title: Performativity
tags: science, encyclopedia
source_url: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Performativity
date_saved: 2026-05-05T07:11:52.163007+00:00
instance: kb-cron
parent: performativity-20260505-0
summary:
=== Jacques Derrida === Philosopher Jacques Derrida drew on Austin's theory of performative speech act while deconstructing its logocentric and phonocentric premises and reinscribing it within the operations of generalized writing. In contrast to structuralism's focus on linguistic form, Austin had introduced the force of speech acts, which Derrida aligns with Nietzsche's insights on language. In "Signature, Event, Context," Derrida focused on Austin's privileging of speech and the accompanying presumptions of the presence of a speaker ("signature") and the bounding of a performative's force by an act or a context. In a passage that would become a touchstone of poststructuralist thought, Derrida stresses the citationality or iterability of any and all signs.Every sign, linguistic or nonlinguistic, spoken or written (in the current sense of this opposition), in a small or large unit, can be cited, put between quotation marks; in doing so it can break with every given context, engendering an infinity of new contexts in a manner which is absolutely illimitable. This does not imply that the mark is valid outside of a context, but on the contrary that there are only contexts without any center or absolute anchorage [ancrage]. This citationality, this duplication or duplicity, this iterability of


id: performativity-20260505-3
file: data/en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Performativity-3.md
category: reference
title: Performativity
tags: science, encyclopedia
source_url: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Performativity
date_saved: 2026-05-05T07:11:52.163007+00:00
instance: kb-cron
parent: performativity-20260505-0
summary:
== Various applications == Performance offers a tremendous interdisciplinary archive of social practices. It offers methods to study such phenomena as body art, ecological theatre, multimedia performance and other kinds of performance arts. Performance also provides a new registry of kinaesthetic effects, enabling a more conscientious observation of the moving body. The changing experience of movement, for example as a result of new technologies, has become an important subject of research. Moreover, the performative turn has helped scholars to develop an awareness of the relations between everyday life and stage performances. For example, at conferences and lectures, on the street and in other places where people speak in public, performers tend to use techniques derived from the world of theatre and dance. Performance allows us to study nature and other apparently 'immovable' and 'objectified' elements of the human environment (e.g. architecture) as active agents, rather than only as passive objects. Thus, in recent decades environmental scholars have acknowledged the existence of a fluid interaction between man and nature. The performative turn has provided additional tools to study everyday life. A household for example may be considered as a performance, in which the relation between wife and husband is a role


id: performativity-20260505-4
file: data/en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Performativity-4.md
category: reference
title: Performativity
tags: science, encyclopedia
source_url: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Performativity
date_saved: 2026-05-05T07:11:52.163007+00:00
instance: kb-cron
parent: performativity-20260505-0
summary:
=== Video art === Theories of performativity have extended across multiple disciplines and discussions. Notably, interdisciplinary theorist José Esteban Muñoz has related video to theories of performativity. Specifically, Muñoz looks at the 1996 documentary by Susana Aiken and Carlos Aparicio, "The Transformation." Although historically and theoretically related to performance art, video art is not an immediate performance; it is mediated, iterative and citational. In this way, video art raises questions of performativity. Additionally, video art frequently puts bodies and display, complicating borders, surfaces, embodiment, and boundaries and so indexing performativity. == Issues and debates == Despite cogent attempts at definition, the concept of performance continues to be plagued by ambiguities. Most pressing seems to be the paradox between performance as the consequence of following a script (cf. Schechners restored behaviour) and performance as a fluid activity with ample room for improvisation. Another problem involves the discrepancy between performance as a human activity that constructs culture (e.g. Butler and Derrida) on the one hand and performance as a representation of culture on the other (e.g. Bourdieu and Schechner). Another issue, important to pioneers such as Austin but now deemed irrelevant by postmodernism, concerns the sincerity of the actor. Can performance be


id: performativity-20260505-5
file: data/en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Performativity-5.md
category: reference
title: Performativity
tags: science, encyclopedia
source_url: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Performativity
date_saved: 2026-05-05T07:11:52.163007+00:00
instance: kb-cron
parent: performativity-20260505-0
summary:
== Bibliography and further reading == Austin, J. L. 1962. How to Do Things with Words. Oxford: Clarendon Press. Austin, J. L. 1970. "Performative Utterances." In Austin, "Philosophical Papers", 233–52. London: Oxford University Press. Bakhtin, Mikhail. "Discourse in the Novel", The dialogic imagination : four essays; edited by Michael Holquist; translated by Caryl Emerson and Michael Holquist Austin: University of Texas Press, c1981. Bamberg, M., Narrative. State of the Art (2007). Barad, Karen. 2003. "Posthumanist Performativity: Toward and Understanding of How Matter Comes to Matter." Signs: Journal of Women in Culture and Society 28.3: 801–831. Boldyrev, Ivan and Svetlova, Ekaterina. 2016. Enacting Dismal Science: New Perspectives on the Performativity of Economics. Basingstoke: Palgrave Macmillan. Bourdieu, P., Outlines of a Theory of Practice (Cambridge 1972). Burke, Peter, 'Performing history: the importance of occasions', in: Rethinking history 9 afl. 1 (2005), pp. 35–52. Brickell, Chris. 2005. "Masculinities, Performativity, and Subversion: A Sociological Reappraisal." Men and Masculinities 8.1: 24–43. Brisset, Nicolas. 2017. "On performativity: Option Theory and the Resistance of Financial Phenomena". Journal of the History of Economic Thought. 39(4) : 549–569. DOI: https://doi.org/10.1017/S1053837217000128 Brisset, Nicolas. 2019. Economics and Performativity. Exploring limits,Theories and Cases. Routledge INEM Advances in Economic Methodology. Butler, Judith. 1993.


id: list-of-philosophers-of-technology-20260505-0
file: data/en.wikipedia.org/wiki/List_of_philosophers_of_technology-0.md
category: reference
title: List of philosophers of technology
tags: science, encyclopedia
source_url: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/List_of_philosophers_of_technology
date_saved: 2026-05-05T07:11:53.407591+00:00
instance: kb-cron
parent: list-of-philosophers-of-technology-20260505-0
summary:
This is a list of philosophers of technology. It includes philosophers from other disciplines who are recognised as having made an important contribution to the field, for example those commonly included in reference anthologies. == A–C == Hans Achterhuis Alison Adam Günther Anders Hannah Arendt Aristotle Joxe Azurmendi Francis Bacon Jean Baudrillard Seth Baum Anthony Beavers Walter Benjamin Bernadette Bensaude-Vincent Albert Borgmann Nick Bostrom Joanna Bryson Mario Bunge Wendy Hui Kyong Chun Mark Coeckelbergh Kate Crawford == D–G == John Dewey Hubert Dreyfus Jacques Ellul Andrew Feenberg Michel Foucault Luciano Floridi Ursula Franklin Alexander R. Galloway Marina Gržinić == H–L == Jürgen Habermas Byung-Chul Han Donna Haraway Martin Heidegger Eric Higgs Yuk Hui Don Ihde Lucas Introna Sheila Jasanoff Karl Jaspers Hans Jonas Ernst Kapp Nicole C. Karafyllis Douglas Kellner Friedrich Kittler == M–R == Catherine Malabou Herbert Marcuse Karl Marx Marshall McLuhan Carl Mitcham Lewis Mumford José Ortega y Gasset Jussi Parikka Joseph C. Pitt Neil Postman Günter Ropohl == S–Z == Egbert Schuurman Emanuele Severino Gilbert Simondon Oswald Spengler Bernard Stiegler Mariarosaria Taddeo Behnam Taebi Tiziana Terranova Eugene Thacker Iain Thomson Konstantin Tsiolkovsky Ibo van de Poel Jeroen van den Hoven Álvaro Vieira Pinto Meredith Whittaker Aimee van


id: philosophy-of-design-20260505-0
file: data/en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Philosophy_of_design-0.md
category: reference
title: Philosophy of design
tags: science, encyclopedia
source_url: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Philosophy_of_design
date_saved: 2026-05-05T07:11:54.685525+00:00
instance: kb-cron
parent: philosophy-of-design-20260505-0
summary:
Philosophy of design is the study of definitions of design, and the assumptions, foundations, and implications of design. The field, which is mostly a sub-discipline of aesthetics, is defined by an interest in a set of problems, or an interest in central or foundational concerns in design. In addition to these central problems for design as a whole, many philosophers of design consider these problems as they apply to particular disciplines (e.g. philosophy of art). Although most practitioners are philosophers specialized in aesthetics (i.e., aestheticians), several prominent designers and artists have contributed to the field. For an introduction to the philosophy of design see the article by Per Galle at the Royal Danish Academy of Art. == Notable philosophers and theorists == Philosophers of design, or philosophers relevant to the philosophical study of design: == References ==


id: philosophy-of-technology-20260505-0
file: data/en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Philosophy_of_technology-0.md
category: reference
title: Philosophy of technology
tags: science, encyclopedia
source_url: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Philosophy_of_technology
date_saved: 2026-05-05T07:11:56.003968+00:00
instance: kb-cron
parent: philosophy-of-technology-20260505-0
summary:
The philosophy of technology is a reflective inquiry into the assumptions, values, knowledge claims, and consequences embedded in human making and doing, especially when people design, use, and organize tools, systems, and processes. It examines what technology is (beyond mere tools), how technological artifacts are designed and used, and how technology differs from science and craft, addressing ethical, social, and political questions, such as whether technology is value-neutral, how responsibility for technological risks should be assigned, and how technologies shape human behavior, culture, power relations, and conceptions of knowledge and agency. Philosophical discussion of questions relating to technology (or its Greek ancestor techne) dates back to the very dawn of Western philosophy. The phrase "philosophy of technology" was first used in the late 19th century by German-born philosopher and geographer Ernst Kapp, who published a book titled Elements of a Philosophy of Technology (German title: Grundlinien einer Philosophie der Technik). == History == === Greek philosophy === The western term 'technology' comes from the Greek term techne (τέχνη) (art, or craft knowledge) and philosophical views on technology can be traced to the very roots of Western philosophy. A common theme in the Greek view of techne is that it arises


id: philosophy-of-technology-20260505-1
file: data/en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Philosophy_of_technology-1.md
category: reference
title: Philosophy of technology
tags: science, encyclopedia
source_url: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Philosophy_of_technology
date_saved: 2026-05-05T07:11:56.003968+00:00
instance: kb-cron
parent: philosophy-of-technology-20260505-0
summary:
=== 20th century to present === Five early and prominent 20th-century philosophers to directly address the effects of modern technology on humanity include John Dewey, Martin Heidegger, Herbert Marcuse, Günther Anders and Hannah Arendt. They all saw technology as central to modern life, although Heidegger, Anders, Arendt and Marcuse were more ambivalent and critical than Dewey. The problem for Heidegger was the hidden nature of technology's essence, Gestell or Enframing which posed for humans what he called its greatest danger and thus its greatest possibility. Heidegger's major work on technology is found in The Question Concerning Technology. His theory of the Gestell is influential in dispositif thinking. Technological determinists such as Jaques Ellul have argued that modern technology constitutes a unified monolithic and deterministic force, and that the notion of technology being simply a tool is a serious error. Ellul views the modern technological world-system as being motivated by the needs of its own efficiency and power, not the welfare of the human race or the integrity of the biosphere. While a number of important individual works were published in the second half of the twentieth century, Paul Durbin has identified two books published at the turn of the century


id: plantationocene-20260505-0
file: data/en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Plantationocene-0.md
category: reference
title: Plantationocene
tags: science, encyclopedia
source_url: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Plantationocene
date_saved: 2026-05-05T07:11:57.333864+00:00
instance: kb-cron
parent: plantationocene-20260505-0
summary:
The Plantationocene is a proposed theoretical framework describing the ways in which the plantation system established in the Americas during early settler-colonialism continues to shape the world and the environment today. It was coined in conversation with several interdisciplinary scholars as a response to critiques of the existing proposed epochal names, specifically the Anthropocene and the Capitalocene. In contrast to the Anthropocene, it was not proposed as a scientific geological epoch but rather as a name for a transitional phase between epochs. The Plantationocene aims to explain human impact on the environment and global climate change as a result of social, political, and economic systems based on the plantation. Scholars point to monocrop agriculture, violent control and exploitation of labour, colonial land dispossession and transformation, transplanting of various species, racism, and prioritization of profit over human and non-human well-being as examples of logic inherent to the plantation which still shapes the modern world. The Plantationocene has been adopted by some scholars, but remains somewhat controversial. Various academics have rejected it for differing reasons: some claim that any alternative to the Anthropocene is unnecessary, while others claim that the Plantationocene inadequately considers Black and Indigenous realities and scholarship on the lasting


id: plantationocene-20260505-1
file: data/en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Plantationocene-1.md
category: reference
title: Plantationocene
tags: science, encyclopedia
source_url: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Plantationocene
date_saved: 2026-05-05T07:11:57.333864+00:00
instance: kb-cron
parent: plantationocene-20260505-0
summary:
The Plantationocene refers to the globalization of a plantation economy, continuing into the modern day, which is characterized by unequal and unsustainable metabolic exchange and which includes factories and similar sites of non-agricultural production in addition to traditional plantations; It centers the history of colonialism and slavery as what led to modern globalization and to the socio-ecological injustices which are called out by the Anthropocene and Capitalocene; It analyzes geographical relations of power and consumption, emphasizing spatial relationships which recreate the plantation system such as how sites of production characterized by poor working conditions and/or ecological degradation are rarely the same place where products are consumed and wealth is accumulated; It indicates the existence of a "plantation politics", meaning global political systems which are characterized by uniformity and assimilation, by racial, gender, and other social hierarchies, and by exploitation of labour; It emphasizes disturbances to landscapes and reduction of biodiversity caused by plantations, highlighting non-human elements in analysis and critique of modern social-political-ecological organizations. The non-human element addressed in aspect five is a particularly core feature in early discussions around the Plantationocene. Haraway et al. discuss how the enforcement of uniformity onto indigenous landscapes and the transportation of plants and


id: plantationocene-20260505-2
file: data/en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Plantationocene-2.md
category: reference
title: Plantationocene
tags: science, encyclopedia
source_url: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Plantationocene
date_saved: 2026-05-05T07:11:57.333864+00:00
instance: kb-cron
parent: plantationocene-20260505-0
summary:
== Critiques == The Plantationocene and other proposed alternatives to the Anthropocene have been criticized for being unnecessary or "silly". Some scholars claim that despite its imperfections, the Anthropocene has value in that it draws attention to the detrimental impacts of certain human actions on the global environment and incites action in a way that other terms do not. Others represent models of modern life using the -cene suffix as inherently Eurocentric and thereby problematic. The initial proposal of the Plantationocene by Haraway et al. has also drawn criticism for inadequately considering racial dynamics and Black scholarship on the plantation. Davis et al. discuss how their emphasis on multi-species considerations, at the expense of taking human considerations into account, ignores the way that slavery, racial struggle, and anti-Blackness specifically impacted plantation systems and the way they persist in the modern day. Critics point to significant existing publications regarding the long-lasting impacts of plantations on Black communities, which Haraway and her colleagues do not cite. Another example of this critique comes from Mythri Jegathesan, who takes a Black feminist perspective and posits that the quote by Noboru Ishikawa in the conversation when the Plantationocene was initially coined, "plantations are just the


id: platform-capitalism-20260505-0
file: data/en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Platform_capitalism-0.md
category: reference
title: Platform capitalism
tags: science, encyclopedia
source_url: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Platform_capitalism
date_saved: 2026-05-05T07:11:58.664105+00:00
instance: kb-cron
parent: platform-capitalism-20260505-0
summary:
Platform capitalism refers to the activities of companies such as Google, Facebook, Apple, Microsoft, Uber, Airbnb, Amazon and others to operate as platforms. In this business model both hardware and software are used as a foundation (platform) for other actors to conduct their own business. Platform capitalism has been both heralded as beneficial and denounced as detrimental by various authors. The trends identified in platform capitalism have similarities with those described under the heading of surveillance capitalism. Technology companies build platforms that entire industries rely on, and those industries can easily collapse due to the decisions of those technology companies. The possible effect of platform capitalism on open science has been discussed. Platform capitalism has been contrasted with platform cooperativism. Companies that try to focus on fairness and sharing, instead of just profit motive, are described as cooperatives, whereas more traditional and common companies that focus solely on profit, like Airbnb and Uber, are platform capitalists (or cooperativist platforms vs capitalist platforms). In turn, projects like Wikipedia, which rely on unpaid labor of volunteers, can be classified as commons-based peer-production initiatives. == See also == Enshittification Platform economy == References ==


id: political-economy-of-research-and-innovation-20260505-0
file: data/en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Political_Economy_of_Research_and_Innovation-0.md
category: reference
title: Political Economy of Research and Innovation
tags: science, encyclopedia
source_url: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Political_Economy_of_Research_and_Innovation
date_saved: 2026-05-05T07:11:59.936327+00:00
instance: kb-cron
parent: political-economy-of-research-and-innovation-20260505-0
summary:
The Political Economy of Research and Innovation (PERI) (or sometimes political economy of technoscience) is an emerging academic field at the interface of science and technology studies and political economy. It focuses on the production, distribution, and consumption of knowledge, and how these shape and are shaped by different political economies. Most scholars in this field have so-far focused on the two-way relationship between science, technology, and innovation and political economic processes, practices, and logics. It has its origins in the critique of neoclassical or orthodox economics of science by scholars like Philip Mirowski, the 'economic turn' in science and technology studies (see social studies of finance and valuation studies), and innovation studies or science policy. Examples of the field include: An annual Changing Political Economy of Research and Innovation (CPERI) workshop which has been held in Lancaster (UK 2012), Toronto (Canada 2013), San Diego (USA 2015), Liege (Belgium 2016), Boston (USA 2017), and Lancaster (UK 2018). Programmatic handbooks like The Routledge Handbook of the Political Economy of Science (2017, edited by David Tyfield, Rebecca Lave, Samuel Randalls, and Charles Thorpe) and Critical Studies of Innovation (2017, edited by Benoît Godin and Dominique Vinck) published by Edward Elgar. Special issues


id: positive-computing-20260505-0
file: data/en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Positive_computing-0.md
category: reference
title: Positive computing
tags: science, encyclopedia
source_url: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Positive_computing
date_saved: 2026-05-05T07:12:03.422665+00:00
instance: kb-cron
parent: positive-computing-20260505-0
summary:
Positive computing is a technological design perspective that embraces psychological well-being and ethical practice, aiming at building a digital environment to support happier and healthier users. Positive computing develops approaches that incorporates psychology, education, neuroscience, and HCI with technological development, bridging technology with mental health. == Background == The design of a tool impacts the people who use it. Small design implications of technologies can have their effects amplified when used by many people. Technology researchers typically focus primarily on technical aspects, paying less attention to the ethical impact and ethical considerations of their products. However, researchers from other fields such as psychology and philosophy studied these matters extensively and provided a wealth of methodologies to assess users' well-being, with thousands of quality-of-life assessment methods and validating studies. Positive computing draws many ideas from positive psychology, a domain of psychology that focuses on societal well-being and improving quality of life. === Well-being in technology and technology research === The recognition of the impact of technology and inventions on people's lives has moved technology professionals to rethink the technology tools we use and seek a realignment of companies' goals to the social good. Exemplary of this disposition is the famous Google's


id: post-normal-science-20260505-0
file: data/en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Post-normal_science-0.md
category: reference
title: Post-normal science
tags: science, encyclopedia
source_url: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Post-normal_science
date_saved: 2026-05-05T07:12:04.688073+00:00
instance: kb-cron
parent: post-normal-science-20260505-0
summary:
Post-normal science (PNS) was developed in the 1990s by Silvio Funtowicz and Jerome R. Ravetz. It is a problem-solving strategy appropriate when "facts [are] uncertain, values in dispute, stakes high and decisions urgent", conditions often present in policy-relevant research. In those situations, PNS recommends suspending temporarily the traditional scientific ideal of truth, concentrating on quality as assessed by internal and extended peer communities. PNS can be considered as complementing the styles of analysis based on risk and cost-benefit analysis prevailing at that time and integrating concepts of a new critical science developed in previous works by the same authors. PNS is not a new scientific method following Aristotle and Bacon, a new paradigm in the Kuhnian sense, or an attempt to reach a new 'normal'. It is instead, a set of insights to guide actionable and robust knowledge production for policy decision making and action in challenges like pandemics, ecosystems collapse, biodiversity loss and, in general, sustainability transitions. == Context == According to its proponents Silvio Funtowicz and Jerome R. Ravetz, the name "post-normal science" echoes the seminal work on modern science by Thomas Kuhn. For Carrozza PNS can be "framed in terms of a call for the 'democratization of


id: post-normal-science-20260505-1
file: data/en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Post-normal_science-1.md
category: reference
title: Post-normal science
tags: science, encyclopedia
source_url: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Post-normal_science
date_saved: 2026-05-05T07:12:04.688073+00:00
instance: kb-cron
parent: post-normal-science-20260505-0
summary:
== Applications == Beside its dominating influence in the literature on 'futures', PNS is considered to have influenced the ecological 'conservation versus preservation debate', especially via its reading by American pragmatist Bryan G. Norton. According to Jozef Keulartz the PNS concept of "extended peer community" influenced how Norton's developed his 'convergence hypothesis'. The hypothesis posits that ecologists of different orientation will converge once they start thinking 'as a mountain', or as a planet. For Norton this will be achieved via deliberative democracy, which will pragmatically overcome the black and white divide between conservationists and preservationists. More recently it has been argued that conservation science, embedded as it is in a multi-layered governance structures of policy-makers, practitioners, and stakeholders, is itself an 'extended peer community', and as a result conservation has always been 'post-normal'. Other authors attribute to PNS the role of having stimulated the take up of transdisciplinary methodological frameworks, reliant on the social constructivist perspective embedded in PNS. Post-normal science is intended as applicable to most instances where the use of evidence is contested due to different norms and values. Typical instances are in the use of evidence based policy and in evaluation. As summarized in a recent work


id: postnormal-times-20260505-0
file: data/en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Postnormal_times-0.md
category: reference
title: Postnormal times
tags: science, encyclopedia
source_url: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Postnormal_times
date_saved: 2026-05-05T07:12:05.980479+00:00
instance: kb-cron
parent: postnormal-times-20260505-0
summary:
Postnormal times (PNT) is a concept developed by Ziauddin Sardar as a development of post-normal science. Sardar describes the present as "postnormal times", "in an in-between period where old orthodoxies are dying, new ones have yet to be born, and very few things seem to make sense." == Context == In support of engaging communities of various scope and scale on how to best navigate PNT and imagine preferred pathways toward the future(s), Sardar and Sweeney published an article in the journal Futures outlining The Three Tomorrows method, which fills a gap in the field as "many methods of futures and foresight seldom incorporate pluralism and diversity intrinsically in their frameworks, and few, if any, emphasize the dynamic and merging nature of futures possibilities, or highlight the ignorance and uncertainties we constantly confront". == Theory and criticism == Rakesh Kapoor criticized PNT in 2011 as a Western concept that does not apply to India and other emerging markets. Sam Cole criticised the three Cs of PNT (chaos, complexity and contradictions) as "Alliterative Logic, theorizing through alliterative word-triads that is not based on empirical evidence". Jay Gary has suggested that PNT is embryonic, needs a more robust framework, and should be


id: private-collective-model-of-innovation-20260505-0
file: data/en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Private-collective_model_of_innovation-0.md
category: reference
title: Private-collective model of innovation
tags: science, encyclopedia
source_url: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Private-collective_model_of_innovation
date_saved: 2026-05-05T07:12:07.242484+00:00
instance: kb-cron
parent: private-collective-model-of-innovation-20260505-0
summary:
The term private-collective model of innovation was coined by Eric von Hippel and Georg von Krogh in their 2003 publication in Organization Science. This innovation model represents a combination of the private investment model and the collective-action innovation model. In the private investment model innovators appropriate financial returns from innovations through intellectual property rights such as patents, copyright, licenses, or trade secrets. Any knowledge spillover reduces the innovator's benefits, thus freely revealed knowledge is not in the interest of the innovator. The collective-action innovation model explains the creation of public goods which are defined by the non-rivalry of benefits and non-excludable access to the good. In this case the innovators do not benefit more than any one else not investing into the public good, thus free-riding occurs. In response to this problem, the cost of innovation has to be distributed, therefore governments typically invest into public goods through public funding. As combination of these two models, the private-collective model of innovation explains the creation of public goods through private funding. The model is based on the assumption that the innovators privately creating the public goods benefit more than the free-riders only consuming the public good. While the result of the


id: rachel-carson-prize-academic-book-prize-20260505-0
file: data/en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Rachel_Carson_Prize_(academic_book_prize)-0.md
category: reference
title: Rachel Carson Prize (academic book prize)
tags: science, encyclopedia
source_url: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Rachel_Carson_Prize_(academic_book_prize)
date_saved: 2026-05-05T07:12:08.586204+00:00
instance: kb-cron
parent: rachel-carson-prize-academic-book-prize-20260505-0
summary:
The Rachel Carson Prize is awarded annually by the Society for Social Studies of Science, an international academic association based in the United States. It is given for a book "of social or political relevance" in the field of science and technology studies. This prize was created in 1996. == Honorees == |2025 |Emily Yates-Doerr |Mal-Nutrition: Maternal Health Science and the Reproduction of Harm |} == References ==


id: resisting-ai-20260505-0
file: data/en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Resisting_AI-0.md
category: reference
title: Resisting AI
tags: science, encyclopedia
source_url: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Resisting_AI
date_saved: 2026-05-05T07:12:09.763744+00:00
instance: kb-cron
parent: resisting-ai-20260505-0
summary:
Resisting AI: An Anti-fascist Approach to Artificial Intelligence is a book on artificial intelligence (AI) by Dan McQuillan, published in 2022 by Bristol University Press. == Content == Resisting AI takes the form of an extended essay, which contrasts optimistic visions about AI's potential by arguing that AI may best be seen as a continuation and reinforcement of bureaucratic forms of discrimination and violence, ultimately fostering authoritarian outcomes. For McQuillan, AI's promise of objective calculability is antithetical to an egalitarian and just society. McQuillan uses the expression "AI violence" to describe how – based on opaque algorithms – various actors can discriminate against categories of people in accessing jobs, loans, medical care, and other benefits. The book suggests that AI has a political resonance with soft eugenic approaches to the valuation of life by modern welfare states, and that AI exhibits eugenic features in its underlying logic, as well as in its technical operations. The parallel is with historical eugenicists achieving saving to the state by sterilizing defectives so the state would not have to care for their offspring. The analysis of McQuillan goes beyond the known critique of AI systems fostering precarious labour markets, addressing "necropolitics", the politics of


id: reverse-salient-20260505-0
file: data/en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Reverse_salient-0.md
category: reference
title: Reverse salient
tags: science, encyclopedia
source_url: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Reverse_salient
date_saved: 2026-05-05T07:12:11.006697+00:00
instance: kb-cron
parent: reverse-salient-20260505-0
summary:
A reverse salient refers to a component of a technological system that, due to its insufficient development, prevents the system in its entirety from achieving its development goals. The term was coined by Thomas P. Hughes, in his work Networks of power: Electrification in western society, 1880-1930. == Technological systems and their evolution == Technological systems may refer to a hierarchically nested structure of technological parts, whereby the system is seen as a composition of interdependent sub-systems that are themselves systems comprising further sub-systems. In this manner the holistic system and its properties are seen to be synthesized through the sub-systems that constitute them. Technological systems may also be seen as socio-technical systems that contain both technical and social sub-systems, such as the creators and users of technology, as well as overseeing regulatory bodies. In both perspectives, technological systems are imputed to be goal-seeking, therefore evolving towards objectives. Hughes proposed that technological systems pass through certain phases during their evolution. The first is invention and development, owed greatly to the efforts of inventors and entrepreneurs, such as Thomas Edison in the development of the electric technological system. The second is the era of technological transfer from one region or society


id: reverse-salient-20260505-1
file: data/en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Reverse_salient-1.md
category: reference
title: Reverse salient
tags: science, encyclopedia
source_url: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Reverse_salient
date_saved: 2026-05-05T07:12:11.006697+00:00
instance: kb-cron
parent: reverse-salient-20260505-0
summary:
== Reverse salient examples == While numerous studies illustrate technological systems that have been hampered by reverse salients, the most seminal work in this field of study is that of Hughes, who gives a historical account of the development of Edison's direct-current electric system. In order to supply electricity within a defined region of distribution, sub-systems such as the direct current generator were identified as reverse salients and corrected. The most notable limitation of the direct-current system was, however, its low voltage transmission distance, and the resulting cost of distributing electricity beyond a certain range. To reduce costs, Edison introduced a three-wire system to replace the previously installed two-wire alternative and trialed different configuration of generators, as well as the usage of storage batteries. These improvements however did not correct the reverse salient completely. The satisfactory resolution of the problem was eventually provided by the radical innovation of the alternating current system. Since Hughes' seminal work, other authors have also provided examples of reverse salients in different technological systems. In the ballistic missile technological development, where the systemic objective has been to increase missile accuracy, MacKenzie has identified the gyroscope sub-system as a technical reverse salient. Takeishi and Lee have


id: river-city-science-academy-20260505-0
file: data/en.wikipedia.org/wiki/River_City_Science_Academy-0.md
category: reference
title: River City Science Academy
tags: science, encyclopedia
source_url: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/River_City_Science_Academy
date_saved: 2026-05-05T07:12:12.263762+00:00
instance: kb-cron
parent: river-city-science-academy-20260505-0
summary:
River City Science Academy (RCSA) is Charter School in Jacksonville, Florida, part of the Duval County School District. The school currently has six locations in Jacksonville being Southeast, Intracoastal, Innovation, Mandarin, Elementary and, Middle High and is known for its focus on STEM curriculum. == School grades == RCSA Middle-High currently has an "A" as of 2019 on the Florida School Accountability Grading Scale. RCSA Elementary currently has an "A" as of 2019 on the Florida School Accountability Grading Scale. RCSA Mandarin currently has an "A" as of 2025 on the Florida School Accountability Grading Scale. RCSA Innovation currently has a "A" as of 2025 on the Florida School Accountability Grading Scale. RCSA Southeast currently has an "A" as of 2025 on the Florida School Accountability Grading Scale. == Academic programs == RCSA offers degree programs to its students including the gifted program, dual enrollment classes through Florida State College at Jacksonville and University of North Florida, the AP Capstone program, and multiple CTE electives, and debate. The debate team that they have is one that was created three years ago. They had multiple placements in the FCDI state debate championship, for both their middle and high school teams. ==


id: science-technology-engineering-and-mathematics-20260505-0
file: data/en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Science,_technology,_engineering,_and_mathematics-0.md
category: reference
title: Science, technology, engineering, and mathematics
tags: science, encyclopedia
source_url: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Science,_technology,_engineering,_and_mathematics
date_saved: 2026-05-05T07:12:14.664269+00:00
instance: kb-cron
parent: science-technology-engineering-and-mathematics-20260505-0
summary:
Science, technology, engineering, and mathematics (STEM) is an umbrella term used to group together the related technical disciplines of science, technology, engineering, and mathematics. It represents a broad and interconnected set of fields that are crucial for innovation and technological advancement. These disciplines are often grouped together because they share a common emphasis on critical thinking, problem-solving, and analytical skills. The term is typically used in the context of education policy or curriculum choices in schools. It has implications for workforce development, national security concerns (as a shortage of STEM-educated citizens can reduce effectiveness in this area), and immigration policy, with regard to admitting foreign students and tech workers. There is no universal agreement on which disciplines are included in STEM; in particular, whether or not the science in STEM includes social sciences, such as psychology, sociology, economics, and political science. In the United States, these are typically included by the National Science Foundation (NSF), the Department of Labor's O*Net online database for job seekers, and the Department of Homeland Security. In the United Kingdom, the social sciences are categorized separately and are instead grouped with humanities and arts to form another counterpart acronym HASS (humanities, arts, and social sciences),


id: science-technology-engineering-and-mathematics-20260505-1
file: data/en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Science,_technology,_engineering,_and_mathematics-1.md
category: reference
title: Science, technology, engineering, and mathematics
tags: science, encyclopedia
source_url: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Science,_technology,_engineering,_and_mathematics
date_saved: 2026-05-05T07:12:14.664269+00:00
instance: kb-cron
parent: science-technology-engineering-and-mathematics-20260505-0
summary:
To promote STEM in China, the Chinese government issued a guideline in 2016 on national innovation-driven development strategy, "instructing that by 2020, China should become an innovative country; by 2030, it should be at the forefront of innovative countries; and by 2050, it should become a technology innovation power." "[I]n May 2018, the launching ceremony and press conference for the 2029 Action Plan for China's STEM Education was held in Beijing, China. This plan aims to allow as many students to benefit from STEM education as possible and equip all students with scientific thinking and the ability to innovate." "In response to encouraging policies by the government, schools in both public and private sectors around the country have begun to carry out STEM education programs." "However, to effectively implement STEM curricula, full-time teachers specializing in STEM education and relevant content to be taught are needed." Currently, "China lacks qualified STEM teachers and a training system is yet to be established." Several Chinese cities have made programming a mandatory subject for elementary and middle school students. This is the case of the city of Chongqing. However, most students from small and medium-sized cities have not been exposed to the concept of


id: science-technology-engineering-and-mathematics-20260505-2
file: data/en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Science,_technology,_engineering,_and_mathematics-2.md
category: reference
title: Science, technology, engineering, and mathematics
tags: science, encyclopedia
source_url: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Science,_technology,_engineering,_and_mathematics
date_saved: 2026-05-05T07:12:14.664269+00:00
instance: kb-cron
parent: science-technology-engineering-and-mathematics-20260505-0
summary:
=== Philippines === In the Philippines, STEM is a two-year program and strand that is used for Senior High School (Grades 11 and 12), assigned by the Department of Education or DepEd. The STEM strand is under the Academic Track, which also includes other strands like ABM, HUMSS, and GAS. The purpose of the STEM strand is to educate students in the field of science, technology, engineering, and mathematics, in an interdisciplinary and applied approach, and to give students advanced knowledge and application in the field. After completing the program, the students will earn a Diploma in Science, Technology, Engineering, and Mathematics. In some colleges and universities, they require students applying for STEM degrees (like medicine, engineering, computer studies, etc.) to be a graduate of STEM, if not, they will need to enter a bridging program. === Qatar === In Qatar, AL-Bairaq is an outreach program to high-school students with a curriculum that focuses on STEM, run by the Center for Advanced Materials (CAM) at Qatar University. Each year around 946 students, from about 40 high schools, participate in AL-Bairaq competitions. AL-Bairaq makes use of project-based learning, encourages students to solve authentic problems, and inquires them to work with each


id: science-technology-engineering-and-mathematics-20260505-3
file: data/en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Science,_technology,_engineering,_and_mathematics-3.md
category: reference
title: Science, technology, engineering, and mathematics
tags: science, encyclopedia
source_url: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Science,_technology,_engineering,_and_mathematics
date_saved: 2026-05-05T07:12:14.664269+00:00
instance: kb-cron
parent: science-technology-engineering-and-mathematics-20260505-0
summary:
==== Immigration policy ==== Although many organizations in the United States follow the guidelines of the National Science Foundation on what constitutes a STEM field, the United States Department of Homeland Security (DHS) has its own functional definition used for immigration policy. In 2012, DHS or ICE announced an expanded list of STEM-designated degree programs that qualify eligible graduates on student visas for an optional practical training (OPT) extension. Under the OPT program, international students who graduate from colleges and universities in the United States can stay in the country and receive up to twelve months of training through work experience. Students who graduate from a designated STEM degree program can stay for an additional seventeen months on an OPT STEM extension. As of 2023, the U.S. faces a shortage of high-skilled workers in STEM, and foreign talents must navigate difficult hurdles to immigrate. Meanwhile, some other countries, such as Australia, Canada, and the United Kingdom, have introduced programs to attract talent at the expense of the United States. In the case of China, the United States risks losing its edge over a strategic rival. ==== Education ==== By cultivating an interest in the natural and social sciences in preschool


id: science-technology-engineering-and-mathematics-20260505-4
file: data/en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Science,_technology,_engineering,_and_mathematics-4.md
category: reference
title: Science, technology, engineering, and mathematics
tags: science, encyclopedia
source_url: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Science,_technology,_engineering,_and_mathematics
date_saved: 2026-05-05T07:12:14.664269+00:00
instance: kb-cron
parent: science-technology-engineering-and-mathematics-20260505-0
summary:
==== American Competitiveness Initiative ==== In the State of the Union Address on January 31, 2006, President George W. Bush announced the American Competitiveness Initiative. Bush proposed the initiative to address shortfalls in federal government support of educational development and progress at all academic levels in the STEM fields. In detail, the initiative called for significant increases in federal funding for advanced R&D programs (including a doubling of federal funding support for advanced research in the physical sciences through DOE) and an increase in U.S. higher education graduates within STEM disciplines. The NASA Means Business competition, sponsored by the Texas Space Grant Consortium, furthers that goal. College students compete to develop promotional plans to encourage students in middle and high school to study STEM subjects and to inspire professors in STEM fields to involve their students in outreach activities that support STEM education. The National Science Foundation has numerous programs in STEM education, including some for K–12 students such as the ITEST Program that supports The Global Challenge Award ITEST Program. STEM programs have been implemented in some Arizona schools. They implement higher cognitive skills for students and enable them to inquire and use techniques used by professionals in the


id: science-technology-engineering-and-mathematics-20260505-5
file: data/en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Science,_technology,_engineering,_and_mathematics-5.md
category: reference
title: Science, technology, engineering, and mathematics
tags: science, encyclopedia
source_url: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Science,_technology,_engineering,_and_mathematics
date_saved: 2026-05-05T07:12:14.664269+00:00
instance: kb-cron
parent: science-technology-engineering-and-mathematics-20260505-0
summary:
==== Jobs ==== In November 2012 the White House announcement before the congressional vote on the STEM Jobs Act put President Obama in opposition to many of the Silicon Valley firms and executives who bankrolled his re-election campaign. The Department of Labor identified 14 sectors that are "projected to add substantial numbers of new jobs to the economy or affect the growth of other industries or are being transformed by technology and innovation requiring new sets of skills for workers." The identified sectors were as follows: advanced manufacturing, Automotive, construction, financial services, geospatial technology, homeland security, information technology, Transportation, Aerospace, Biotechnology, energy, healthcare, hospitality, and retail. The Department of Commerce notes STEM fields careers are some of the best-paying and have the greatest potential for job growth in the early 21st century. The report also notes that STEM workers play a key role in the sustained growth and stability of the U.S. economy, and training in STEM fields generally results in higher wages, whether or not they work in a STEM field. In 2015, there were around 9.0 million STEM jobs in the United States, representing 6.1% of American employment. STEM jobs were increasing by around 9% percent per year.


id: science-technology-engineering-and-mathematics-20260505-6
file: data/en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Science,_technology,_engineering,_and_mathematics-6.md
category: reference
title: Science, technology, engineering, and mathematics
tags: science, encyclopedia
source_url: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Science,_technology,_engineering,_and_mathematics
date_saved: 2026-05-05T07:12:14.664269+00:00
instance: kb-cron
parent: science-technology-engineering-and-mathematics-20260505-0
summary:
The gender ratio depends on the field of study. For example, in the European Union in 2012 women made up 47.3% of the total, 51% of the social sciences, business, and law, 42% of the science, mathematics, and computing, 28% of engineering, manufacturing, and construction, and 59% of PhD graduates in Health and Welfare. In a study from 2019, it was shown that part of the success of women in STEM depends on the way women in STEM are viewed. In a study that researched grants given based primarily on a project versus primarily based on the project lead there was almost no difference in the evaluation between projects from men or women when evaluated on the project, but those evaluated mainly on the project leader showed that projects headed by women were given grants four percent less often. Improving the experiences of women in STEM is a major component of increasing the number of women in STEM. One part of this includes the need for role models and mentors who are women in STEM. Along with this, having good resources for information and networking opportunities can improve women's ability to flourish in STEM fields. A 2018 study suggested the


id: science-technology-engineering-and-mathematics-20260505-7
file: data/en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Science,_technology,_engineering,_and_mathematics-7.md
category: reference
title: Science, technology, engineering, and mathematics
tags: science, encyclopedia
source_url: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Science,_technology,_engineering,_and_mathematics
date_saved: 2026-05-05T07:12:14.664269+00:00
instance: kb-cron
parent: science-technology-engineering-and-mathematics-20260505-0
summary:
== Criticism == The focus on increasing participation in STEM fields has attracted criticism. In the 2014 article "The Myth of the Science and Engineering Shortage" in The Atlantic, demographer Michael S. Teitelbaum criticized the efforts of the U.S. government to increase the number of STEM graduates, saying that, among studies on the subject, "No one has been able to find any evidence indicating current widespread labor market shortages or hiring difficulties in science and engineering occupations that require bachelor's degrees or higher", and that "Most studies report that real wages in many—but not all—science and engineering occupations have been flat or slow-growing, and unemployment as high or higher than in many comparably-skilled occupations." Teitelbaum also wrote that the then-current national fixation on increasing STEM participation paralleled previous U.S. government efforts since World War II to increase the number of scientists and engineers, all of which he stated ultimately ended up in "mass layoffs, hiring freezes, and funding cuts"; including one driven by the Space Race of the late 1950s and 1960s, which he wrote led to "a bust of serious magnitude in the 1970s." According to the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics, various STEM occupational outlooks have shown slowing


id: snowmass-process-20260505-0
file: data/en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Snowmass_Process-0.md
category: reference
title: Snowmass Process
tags: science, encyclopedia
source_url: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Snowmass_Process
date_saved: 2026-05-05T07:12:15.856191+00:00
instance: kb-cron
parent: snowmass-process-20260505-0
summary:
The Snowmass Process is a particle physics community planning exercise sponsored by the Division of Particles and Fields of the American Physical Society. During this process, scientists develop a collective vision for the next seven to ten years for particle physics research in the US. == History == Original planning meetings were held beginning in 1982 in Snowmass, Colorado, but that has not been the location since 2005. More recent locations of the Snowmass Process include the University of Minnesota (2013) and the University of Washington (2021), which was delayed until July 2022, due to COVID. == Description == The modern Snowmass Process consists of a series of small meetings, which culminate in a community-wide meeting. The Snowmass Process solicits reports on progress and plans within "frontiers". Snowmass 2021 identified ten frontiers: "energy; neutrino physics; rare processes and precision measurements; cosmic; theory; accelerator; instrumentation; computation; underground facilities; and community engagement". Members of the particle physics community submit Letters of interest and provide input to contributed whitepapers. The frontiers use these whitepapers to provide web-based reports based on the material that they receive. The final output of the Snowmass Process is a Snowmass Summary for the Public, a Snowmass Summary Report,


id: social-construction-of-technology-20260505-0
file: data/en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Social_construction_of_technology-0.md
category: reference
title: Social construction of technology
tags: science, encyclopedia
source_url: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Social_construction_of_technology
date_saved: 2026-05-05T07:12:17.191936+00:00
instance: kb-cron
parent: social-construction-of-technology-20260505-0
summary:
Social construction of technology (SCOT) is a theory within the field of science and technology studies. Advocates of SCOT—that is, social constructivists—argue that technology does not determine human action; rather, human action shapes technology. Additionally, they also argue that the ways a technology is used cannot be understood without a thorough understanding of how that technology is embedded within its respective social context. SCOT is a response to technological determinism, and it is sometimes known as technological constructivism. SCOT draws from the contributions of constructivist school of the sociology of scientific knowledge, and its subtopics include actor-network theory (a branch of the sociology of science and technology) and historical analysis of sociotechnical systems, such as the work of historian Thomas P. Hughes. Its empirical methods are an adaptation of the Empirical Programme of Relativism (EPOR), which outlines a method of analysis to demonstrate the ways in which scientific findings are socially constructed (see strong program). Leading adherents of SCOT include Wiebe Bijker and Trevor Pinch. SCOT holds that those who seek to understand the reasons for acceptance or rejection of a technology, should look to the social world. According to SCOT, a mere assertion of a technology's preeminence as "the


id: social-construction-of-technology-20260505-1
file: data/en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Social_construction_of_technology-1.md
category: reference
title: Social construction of technology
tags: science, encyclopedia
source_url: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Social_construction_of_technology
date_saved: 2026-05-05T07:12:17.191936+00:00
instance: kb-cron
parent: social-construction-of-technology-20260505-0
summary:
==== Relevant social groups ==== The most basic relevant groups are the users and the producers of the technological artifact, but most often many subgroups can be delineated – users with different socioeconomic status, competing producers, etc. Sometimes there are relevant groups who are neither users, nor producers of the technology, for example, journalists, politicians, and civil organizations. Trevor Pinch has argued that the salespeople of technology should also be included in the study of technology. The groups can be distinguished based on their shared or diverging interpretations of the technology in question. ==== Design flexibility ==== Just as technologies have different meanings in different social groups, there are always multiple ways of constructing technologies. A particular design is only a single point in the large field of technical possibilities, reflecting the interpretations of certain relevant groups. ==== Problems and conflicts ==== The different interpretations often give rise to conflicts between criteria that are hard to resolve technologically (e.g., in the case of the bicycle, one such problem was how a woman could ride the bicycle in a skirt while still adhering to standards of decency), or conflicts between the relevant groups (the "Anti-cyclists" lobbied for the banning of the


id: social-shaping-of-technology-20260505-0
file: data/en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Social_shaping_of_technology-0.md
category: reference
title: Social shaping of technology
tags: science, encyclopedia
source_url: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Social_shaping_of_technology
date_saved: 2026-05-05T07:12:18.378498+00:00
instance: kb-cron
parent: social-shaping-of-technology-20260505-0
summary:
Social shaping of technology (SST) is the concept that there are choices (though not necessarily conscious choices) inherent in both the design of individual artifacts and systems, and in the direction or trajectory of innovation programs. If technology does not emerge from the unfolding of a predetermined logic or a single determinant, then innovation is a 'garden of forking paths'. Different routes are available, potentially leading to different technological outcomes. Significantly, these choices could have differing implications for society and for particular social groups. SST is one of the models of the technology: society relationship which emerged in the 1980s with MacKenzie and Wajcman's influential 1985 collection, alongside Pinch and Bijker's social construction of technology framework and Callon and Latour's actor-network theory. These have a common feature of criticism of the linear model of innovation and technological determinism. It differs from these notably in the attention it pays to the influence of the social and technological context of development which shapes innovation choices. SST is concerned to explore the material consequences of different technical choices, but criticizes technological determinism, which argues that technology follows its own developmental path, outside of human influences, and in turn, influences society. In this way,


id: social-studies-of-finance-20260505-0
file: data/en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Social_studies_of_finance-0.md
category: reference
title: Social studies of finance
tags: science, encyclopedia
source_url: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Social_studies_of_finance
date_saved: 2026-05-05T07:12:19.595301+00:00
instance: kb-cron
parent: social-studies-of-finance-20260505-0
summary:
Social studies of finance is an interdisciplinary research area that combines perspectives from anthropology, economic sociology, science and technology studies, international political economy, behavioral finance, and cultural studies in the study of financial markets and financial instruments. Work in social studies of finance emphasizes the social and cultural dimensions of financial activities, but focuses also on technical and economic dimensions such as pricing and trading. == History == Financial markets have been an object for sociological inquiry since, at least, Max Weber’s Die Börse. The rise of quantitative financial theory in financial economics from the 1950s onwards has led to an academic specialization on financial markets rather focused on economic modeling, and poorly attentive to sociological aspects. In the 1980s, a number of economic sociologists developed empirical investigation on the social structure and cultural characteristics of financial markets, especially in the US. Such pioneering researcher included contributions from Wayne E. Baker, Mitchel Y. Abolafia and Charles W. Smith, and was based on methods such as ethnographic observation or social network analysis. In the 1990s, a number of researchers from the field of science and technology studies such as Karin Knorr-Cetina and Donald A. MacKenzie started also developing empirical research in


id: sociology-of-quantification-20260505-0
file: data/en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Sociology_of_quantification-0.md
category: reference
title: Sociology of quantification
tags: science, encyclopedia
source_url: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Sociology_of_quantification
date_saved: 2026-05-05T07:12:20.832512+00:00
instance: kb-cron
parent: sociology-of-quantification-20260505-0
summary:
The sociology of quantification is the investigation of quantification as a sociological phenomenon in its own right. == Content == According to a review published in 2018, the sociology of quantification is an expanding field which includes the literature on the quantified self, on algorithms, and on various forms of metrics and indicators. A prior review in 2016 names a similar range of topics: "quantification processes in the sciences, quantification in society driven by the sciences, quantification processes driven by other social processes, including for example implementations of numeric technologies, standardization procedures, bureaucratic management, political decision-taking and newer trends as self-quantification." Older works which can be classified under the heading of the sociology of quantification are Theodore Porter’s Trust in Numbers, the works of French sociologists Pierre Bourdieu and Alain Desrosières, and the classic works on probability by Ian Hacking and Lorraine Daston. The discipline gained traction due to the increasing importance and scope of quantification, its relation to the economics of conventions, and the perception of its dangers as a weapon of oppression or as means to undesirable ends. For Sally Engle Merry quantification is a technology of control, but whether it is reformist or authoritarian depends on who


id: sociotechnology-20260505-0
file: data/en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Sociotechnology-0.md
category: reference
title: Sociotechnology
tags: science, encyclopedia
source_url: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Sociotechnology
date_saved: 2026-05-05T07:12:22.023934+00:00
instance: kb-cron
parent: sociotechnology-20260505-0
summary:
Sociotechnology (short for "social technology") is the study of processes on the intersection of society and technology. Vojinović and Abbott define it as "the study of processes in which the social and the technical are indivisibly combined". Sociotechnology is an important part of socio-technical design, which is defined as "designing things that participate in complex systems that have both social and technical aspects". The term has been attributed to Mario Bunge. He defines it as a grouping of social engineering and management science. He sees it thus as a form of technology, distinguished from other branches of it such as engineering, biotechnology, information technology and general technology. Its goal is to help engineer sociosystems and evaluate their performance, while making use of social science research. In short, sociotechnology can be seen as the creation, modification and maintenance of social systems. Writing on sociotechnical change, Bijker wrote: "Society is not determined by technology, nor is technology determined by society. Both emerge as two sides of the sociotechnical coin." Technology is the sum of ways in which social groups construct the material objects of their civilizations. The things made are socially constructed just as much as technically constructed. The merging of these


id: sociotechnology-20260505-1
file: data/en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Sociotechnology-1.md
category: reference
title: Sociotechnology
tags: science, encyclopedia
source_url: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Sociotechnology
date_saved: 2026-05-05T07:12:22.023934+00:00
instance: kb-cron
parent: sociotechnology-20260505-0
summary:
== Social technology == Science and technology are big contributions to the economic development, but can also lead to negative side effects as it evolves. For example, people care more about materialistic things than the negative influences they have created in human morals and education. For example, it is more important for people to know words to songs than to remember things for their test. There are other problems due to the development of new technologies such as the conservation of the environment because there is a demand for more products which leads to more destruction of environment to build more to sell from. Many social problems have appeared in society and cannot seem to be solved by natural science and technology alone. It requires the need for social sciences as well. Social technology is the strategy used to help solve the wrong behaviors in the world that are caused by social problems like how to solve the issue of people being invested in materialistic goods more than morals, so that they economy can still continue to grow, and society can be a better place. Organizational theory borrows from sociotechnology through its use of sociotechnical systems, a subset of the


id: software-studies-20260505-0
file: data/en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Software_studies-0.md
category: reference
title: Software studies
tags: science, encyclopedia
source_url: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Software_studies
date_saved: 2026-05-05T07:12:23.197878+00:00
instance: kb-cron
parent: software-studies-20260505-0
summary:
Software studies is an emerging interdisciplinary research field, which studies software systems and their social and cultural effects. The implementation and use of software has been studied in recent fields such as cyberculture, Internet studies, new media studies, and digital culture, yet prior to software studies, software was rarely ever addressed as a distinct object of study. To study software as an artifact, software studies draws upon methods and theory from the digital humanities and from computational perspectives on software. Methodologically, software studies usually differs from the approaches of computer science and software engineering, which concern themselves primarily with software in information theory and in practical application; however, these fields all share an emphasis on computer literacy, particularly in the areas of programming and source code. This emphasis on analysing software sources and processes (rather than interfaces) often distinguishes software studies from new media studies, which is usually restricted to discussions of interfaces and observable effects. == History == The conceptual origins of software studies include Marshall McLuhan's focus on the role of media in themselves, rather than the content of media platforms, in shaping culture. Early references to the study of software as a cultural practice appear in Friedrich


id: steps-centre-20260505-0
file: data/en.wikipedia.org/wiki/STEPS_Centre-0.md
category: reference
title: STEPS Centre
tags: science, encyclopedia
source_url: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/STEPS_Centre
date_saved: 2026-05-05T07:12:25.752852+00:00
instance: kb-cron
parent: steps-centre-20260505-0
summary:
The STEPS Centre (Social, Technological and Environmental Pathways to Sustainability) was an interdisciplinary research centre hosted at the University of Sussex, funded by the Economic and Social Research Council. The Centre's research brought together development studies with science and technology studies. It was launched at Portcullis House in London on 25 June 2007 and closed in 2022. The STEPS Centre described its aim as to "highlight, reveal and contribute to just and democratic pathways to sustainability that include the needs, knowledge and perspectives of poor and marginalised people". Based at the Institute of Development Studies (IDS) and the Science Policy Research Unit (SPRU) at the University of Sussex, the centre worked with partners in Africa, Asia and Latin America. Professor Ian Scoones and Professor Andy Stirling were its co-directors. Professor Melissa Leach stepped down as STEPS Director in 2014 to become the Director of the Institute of Development Studies. == Areas of work == The STEPS Centre's research investigated the politics of sustainability in various domains, including climate change, food systems, urbanization, and technology. It focused on the perspectives and needs of marginalized people, particularly in poor countries and settings, as well as methodologies for including these priorities in policy


id: sussex-manifesto-20260505-0
file: data/en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Sussex_Manifesto-0.md
category: reference
title: Sussex Manifesto
tags: science, encyclopedia
source_url: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Sussex_Manifesto
date_saved: 2026-05-05T07:12:41.896406+00:00
instance: kb-cron
parent: sussex-manifesto-20260505-0
summary:
The Sussex Manifesto was a report on science and technology for development written at the request of the United Nations and published in 1970. == History == In the late 1960s the United Nations asked for recommendations on science and technology for development from a team of academics at the Institute of Development Studies (IDS) and the Science Policy Research Unit (SPRU) at the University of Sussex, UK. This team became known as the Sussex Group and their report, Science and Technology to Developing Countries during the Second Development Decade, became known as the Sussex Manifesto. The Sussex Manifesto was intended as the introductory chapter to the UN World Plan of Action on Science and Technology for Development. But the solutions presented in the Manifesto were deemed too radical to be used for that purpose. It was instead published in 1970 as an annex in Science and Technology for Development: Proposals for the Second United Nations Development Decade, a UN report by the Advisory Committee on the Application of Science and Technology to Development (ACAST). The Sussex Manifesto helped raise awareness of science and technology for development in UN circles influenced the design of development institutions and was used for


id: techno-progressivism-20260505-0
file: data/en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Techno-progressivism-0.md
category: reference
title: Techno-progressivism
tags: science, encyclopedia
source_url: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Techno-progressivism
date_saved: 2026-05-05T07:12:43.149434+00:00
instance: kb-cron
parent: techno-progressivism-20260505-0
summary:
Techno-progressivism, or tech-progressivism, is a stance of active support for the convergence of technological change and social change. Techno-progressives argue that technological developments can be profoundly empowering and emancipatory when they are regulated by legitimate democratic and accountable authorities to ensure that their costs, risks and benefits are all fairly shared by the actual stakeholders to those developments. One of the first mentions of techno-progressivism appeared within extropian jargon in 1999 as the removal of "all political, cultural, biological, and psychological limits to self-actualization and self-realization". == Stance == Techno-progressivism maintains that accounts of progress should focus on scientific and technical dimensions, as well as ethical and social ones. For most techno-progressive perspectives, then, the growth of scientific knowledge or the accumulation of technological powers will not represent the achievement of proper progress unless and until it is accompanied by a just distribution of the costs, risks, and benefits of these new knowledges and capacities. At the same time, for most techno-progressive critics and advocates, the achievement of better democracy, greater fairness, less violence, and a wider rights culture are all desirable, but inadequate in themselves to confront the quandaries of contemporary technological societies unless and until they are accompanied


id: technological-convergence-20260505-0
file: data/en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Technological_convergence-0.md
category: reference
title: Technological convergence
tags: science, encyclopedia
source_url: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Technological_convergence
date_saved: 2026-05-05T07:12:44.472653+00:00
instance: kb-cron
parent: technological-convergence-20260505-0
summary:
Technological convergence is the tendency for technologies that were originally unrelated to become more closely integrated and even unified as they develop and advance. For example, watches, telephones, television, computers, and social media platforms began as separate and mostly unrelated technologies, but have converged in many ways into an interrelated telecommunication, media, and technology industry. == Definitions == "Convergence is a deep integration of knowledge, tools, and all relevant activities of human activity for a common goal, to allow society to answer new questions to change the respective physical or social ecosystem. Such changes in the respective ecosystem open new trends, pathways, and opportunities in the following divergent phase of the process". Siddhartha Menon defines convergence as integration and digitalization. Integration, here, is defined as "a process of transformation measure by the degree to which diverse media such as phone, data broadcast and information technology infrastructures are combined into a single seamless all purpose network architecture platform". Digitalization is not so much defined by its physical infrastructure, but by the content or the medium. Jan van Dijk suggests that "digitalization means breaking down signals into bytes consisting of ones and zeros". Convergence is defined by Blackman (1998) as a trend


id: technological-convergence-20260505-1
file: data/en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Technological_convergence-1.md
category: reference
title: Technological convergence
tags: science, encyclopedia
source_url: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Technological_convergence
date_saved: 2026-05-05T07:12:44.472653+00:00
instance: kb-cron
parent: technological-convergence-20260505-0
summary:
=== The Internet === The role of the Internet has changed from its original use as a communication tool to easier and faster access to information and services, mainly through a broadband connection. The television, radio, and newspapers were the world's media for accessing news and entertainment; now, all three media have converged into one, and people all over the world can read and hear news and other information on the Internet. The convergence of the Internet and conventional TV became popular in the 2010s, through Smart TV, also sometimes referred to as "Connected TV" or "Hybrid TV", (not to be confused with IPTV, Internet TV, or with Web TV). Smart TV is used to describe the current trend of integration of the Internet and Web 2.0 features into modern television sets and set-top boxes, as well as the technological convergence between computers and these television sets or set-top boxes. These new devices most often also have a much higher focus on online interactive media, Internet TV, over-the-top content, as well as on-demand streaming media, and less focus on traditional broadcast media like previous generations of television sets and set-top boxes always have had. ==== Social movements ==== The integration


id: technological-convergence-20260505-2
file: data/en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Technological_convergence-2.md
category: reference
title: Technological convergence
tags: science, encyclopedia
source_url: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Technological_convergence
date_saved: 2026-05-05T07:12:44.472653+00:00
instance: kb-cron
parent: technological-convergence-20260505-0
summary:
Media technological convergence is the tendency that as technology changes, different technological systems sometimes evolve toward performing similar tasks. It is the interlinking of computing and other information technologies, media content, media companies, and communication networks that have arisen as the result of the evolution and popularization of the Internet as well as the activities, products, and services that have emerged in the digital media space. Generally, media convergence refers to the merging of both old and new media and can be seen as a product, a system, or a process. Jenkins states that convergence is "the flow of content across multiple media platforms, the cooperation between multiple media industries, and the migratory behaviour of media audiences who would go almost anywhere in search of the kinds of entertainment experiences they wanted". According to Jenkins, there are five areas of convergence: technological, economic, social or organic, cultural, and global. Media convergence is not just a technological shift or a technological process, it also includes shifts within the industrial, cultural, and social paradigms that encourage the consumer to seek out new information. Convergence, simply put, is how individual consumers interact with others on a social level and use various media platforms


id: technological-convergence-20260505-3
file: data/en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Technological_convergence-3.md
category: reference
title: Technological convergence
tags: science, encyclopedia
source_url: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Technological_convergence
date_saved: 2026-05-05T07:12:44.472653+00:00
instance: kb-cron
parent: technological-convergence-20260505-0
summary:
The Reuters Island in Second Life was a virtual version of the Reuters real-world news service but covering the domain of Second Life for the citizens of Second Life (numbering 11,807,742 residents as of January 5, 2008). The virtual island was abandoned in 2009 due to lack of financial viability. Media convergence in the digital era means the changes that are taking place with older forms of media and media companies. Media convergence has two roles, the first is the technological merging of different media channels – for example, magazines, radio programs, TV shows, and movies, now are available on the Internet through laptops, iPads, and smartphones. As discussed in Media Culture (by Campbell), convergence of technology is not new. It has been going on since the late 1920s. An example is RCA, the Radio Corporation of America, which purchased Victor Talking Machine Company and introduced machines that could receive radio and play recorded music. Next came the TV, and radio lost some of its appeal as people started watching television, which has both talking and music as well as visuals. As technology advances, convergence of media change to keep up. The second definition of media convergence Campbell discusses is


id: technological-convergence-20260505-4
file: data/en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Technological_convergence-4.md
category: reference
title: Technological convergence
tags: science, encyclopedia
source_url: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Technological_convergence
date_saved: 2026-05-05T07:12:44.472653+00:00
instance: kb-cron
parent: technological-convergence-20260505-0
summary:
=== History === Communication networks were designed to carry different types of information independently. The older media, such as television and radio, are broadcasting networks with passive audiences. Convergence of telecommunication technology permits the manipulation of all forms of information, voice, data, and video. Telecommunication has changed from a world of scarcity to one of seemingly limitless capacity. Consequently, the possibility of audience interactivity morphs the passive audience into an engaged audience. The historical roots of convergence can be traced back to the emergence of mobile telephony and the Internet, although the term properly applies only from the point in marketing history when fixed and mobile telephony began to be offered by operators as joined products. Fixed and mobile operators were, for most of the 1990s, independent companies. Even when the same organization marketed both products, these were sold and serviced independently. In the 1990s, an implicit and often explicit assumption was that new media was going to replace the old media and Internet was going to replace broadcasting. In Nicholas Negroponte's Being Digital, Negroponte predicts the collapse of broadcast networks in favor of an era of narrow-casting. He also suggests that no government regulation can shatter the media conglomerate.


id: technological-convergence-20260505-5
file: data/en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Technological_convergence-5.md
category: reference
title: Technological convergence
tags: science, encyclopedia
source_url: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Technological_convergence
date_saved: 2026-05-05T07:12:44.472653+00:00
instance: kb-cron
parent: technological-convergence-20260505-0
summary:
...a "catalyst" for amateur digital film-making and what this case study suggests about the future directions popular culture may take. Star Wars fan films represent the intersection of two significant cultural trends—the corporate movement towards media convergence and the unleashing of significant new tools, which enable the grassroots archiving, annotation, appropriation, and recirculation of media content. These fan films build on long-standing practices of the fan community but they also reflect the influence of this changed technological environment that has dramatically lowered the costs of film production and distribution. === Appliances === Some media observers expect that we will eventually access all media content through one device, or "black box". As such, media business practice has been to identify the next "black box" to invest in and provide media for. This has caused a number of problems. Firstly, as "black boxes" are invented and abandoned, the individual is left with numerous devices that can perform the same task, rather than one dedicated for each task. For example, one may own both a computer and a video games console, subsequently owning two DVD players. This is contrary to the streamlined goal of the "black box" theory, and instead creates clutter. Secondly,


id: technological-convergence-20260505-6
file: data/en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Technological_convergence-6.md
category: reference
title: Technological convergence
tags: science, encyclopedia
source_url: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Technological_convergence
date_saved: 2026-05-05T07:12:44.472653+00:00
instance: kb-cron
parent: technological-convergence-20260505-0
summary:
=== VoIP === The U.S. Federal Communications Commission (FCC) has not been able to decide how to regulate VoIP (Internet Telephony) because the convergent technology is still growing and changing. In addition to its growth, FCC is tentative to set regulation on VoIP in order to promote competition in the telecommunication industry. There is not a clear line between telecommunication service and the information service because of the growth of the new convergent media. Historically, telecommunication is subject to state regulation. The state of California concerned about the increasing popularity of Internet telephony will eventually obliterate funding for the Universal Service Fund. Some states attempt to assert their traditional role of common carrier oversight onto this new technology. Meisel and Needles (2005) suggests that the FCC, federal courts, and state regulatory bodies on access line charges will directly impact the speed in which Internet telephony market grows. Convergence has also raised several debates about classification of certain telecommunications services. As the lines between data transmission, and voice and media transmission are eroded, regulators are faced with the task of how best to classify the converging segments of the telecommunication sector. Traditionally, telecommunication regulation has focused on the operation of physical


id: technological-convergence-20260505-7
file: data/en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Technological_convergence-7.md
category: reference
title: Technological convergence
tags: science, encyclopedia
source_url: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Technological_convergence
date_saved: 2026-05-05T07:12:44.472653+00:00
instance: kb-cron
parent: technological-convergence-20260505-0
summary:
== Further reading == Roco, Mihail C.; Bainbridge, William Sims; Tonn, Bruce; Whitesides, George, eds. (2013). Convergence of Knowledge, Technology and Society: Beyond Convergence of Nano-Bio-Info-Cognitive Technologies. Science Policy Reports. Springer International Publishing. ISBN 9783319022031 – via www.springer.com. Bainbridge, William Sims; Roco, Mihail C. (2016). Handbook of Science and Technology Convergence. Springer International Publishing. ISBN 9783319070513 – via www.springer.com. Roco, Mihail C. (2015). "Principles and Methods That Facilitate Convergence". Handbook of Science and Technology Convergence. Cham: Springer International Publishing. pp. 1–20. doi:10.1007/978-3-319-04033-2_2-2. ISBN 9783319040332. Kurbanoglu, Serap; Al, Umut; Erdogan, Phyllis Lepon; Tonta, Yasar; Ucak, Nazan (2010-09-09). Technological Convergence and Social Networks in Information Management: Second International Symposium on Information Management in a Changing World, IMCW 2010, Ankara, Turkey. Springer Science & Business Media. ISBN 978-3-642-16031-8. Goundar, Sam (2021-01-01). Enterprise Systems and Technological Convergence: Research and Practice. IAP. ISBN 978-1-64802-343-9. Colomo, Pablo Ibáñez (2011-12-14). European Communications Law and Technological Convergence: Deregulation, Re-regulation and Regulatory Convergence in Television and Telecommunications. Kluwer Law International B.V. ISBN 978-90-411-4293-1. Wienroth, Matthias; Rodrigues, Eugénia (2015-02-20). Knowing New Biotechnologies: Social Aspects of Technological Convergence. Routledge. ISBN 978-1-317-69150-1. == External links == Amdocs MultiPlay Strategy WhitePaper Archived 2022-01-18 at the Wayback Machine Technology Convergence Update with Bob Brown


id: technological-determinism-20260505-0
file: data/en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Technological_determinism-0.md
category: reference
title: Technological determinism
tags: science, encyclopedia
source_url: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Technological_determinism
date_saved: 2026-05-05T07:12:45.770046+00:00
instance: kb-cron
parent: technological-determinism-20260505-0
summary:
Technological determinism is a reductionist theory in assuming that a society's technology progresses by following its own internal logic of efficiency, while determining the development of the social structure and cultural values. The term is believed to have originated from Thorstein Veblen (1857–1929), an American sociologist and economist. The most radical technological determinist in the United States in the 20th century was most likely Clarence Ayres who was a follower of Thorstein Veblen as well as John Dewey. William Ogburn was also known for his radical technological determinism and his theory on cultural lag. == Origin == The origins of technological determinism as a formal concept are often traced to Thorstein Veblen (1857–1929), an influential American sociologist and economist. Veblen, known for his work on social and economic issues, introduced ideas that portrayed technology as a powerful, autonomous force capable of shaping societal norms and structures. He argued that the development and use of machinery exerted an independent influence on human thought and behavior, notably asserting that "the machine throws out anthropomorphic habits of thought." === Historical Context and Influences === During Veblen's time, rapid industrialization and advancements in technology were radically altering American society. Innovations in manufacturing and transportation,


id: technological-determinism-20260505-1
file: data/en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Technological_determinism-1.md
category: reference
title: Technological determinism
tags: science, encyclopedia
source_url: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Technological_determinism
date_saved: 2026-05-05T07:12:45.770046+00:00
instance: kb-cron
parent: technological-determinism-20260505-0
summary:
Technological determinism seeks to show technical developments, media, or technology as a whole, as the key mover in history and social change. It is a theory subscribed to by "hyperglobalists" who claim that as a consequence of the wide availability of technology, accelerated globalization is inevitable. Therefore, technological development and innovation become the principal motor of social, economic or political change. Technological determinism has been defined as an approach that identifies technology, or technological advances, as the central causal element in processes of social change. It has been described by different scholars as "the belief in technology as a key governing force in society" (Merritt Roe Smith); as "the idea that technological development determines social change" (Bruce Bimber); and as the three-word logical proposition that "technology determines history"' (Rosalind H. Williams). It is the belief that social progress is driven by technological innovation, which in turn follows an inevitable" course. Technological determinism presumes that technology dictates users' behaviors. Therefore, technological determinism implies that "technological progress equals social progress." Therefore, technological determinism is a common ideology in international development aid, assuming that the transfer of modern technology to underdeveloped contexts will lead to social and economic development in the context where


id: technological-determinism-20260505-2
file: data/en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Technological_determinism-2.md
category: reference
title: Technological determinism
tags: science, encyclopedia
source_url: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Technological_determinism
date_saved: 2026-05-05T07:12:45.770046+00:00
instance: kb-cron
parent: technological-determinism-20260505-0
summary:
== Criticism == In his article "Subversive Rationalization: Technology, Power and Democracy with Technology," Andrew Feenberg argues that technological determinism is not a very well founded concept by illustrating that two of the founding theses of determinism are easily questionable and in doing so calls for what he calls democratic rationalization (Feenberg 210–212). Another conflicting idea is that of technological somnambulism, a term coined by Winner in his essay "Technology as Forms of Life". Winner wonders whether or not we are simply sleepwalking through our existence with little concern or knowledge as to how we truly interact with technology. In this view, it is still possible for us to wake up and once again take control of the direction in which we are traveling (Winner 104). However, it requires society to adopt Ralph Schroeder's claim that, "users don't just passively consume technology, but actively transform it". In opposition to technological determinism are those who subscribe to the belief of social determinism and postmodernism. Social determinists believe that social circumstances alone select which technologies are adopted, with the result that no technology can be considered "inevitable" solely on its own merits. Technology and culture are not neutral and when knowledge comes


id: technological-determinism-20260505-3
file: data/en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Technological_determinism-3.md
category: reference
title: Technological determinism
tags: science, encyclopedia
source_url: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Technological_determinism
date_saved: 2026-05-05T07:12:45.770046+00:00
instance: kb-cron
parent: technological-determinism-20260505-0
summary:
== Further reading == G.A. Cohen, Karl Marx's Theory of History: A Defence, Oxford and Princeton, 1978. Cowan, Ruth Schwartz (1983). More Work for Mother: The Ironies of Household Technology from the Open Hearth to the Microwave. New York: Basic Books. ISBN 978-0-465-04732-1. Croteau, David; Hoynes, William (2003). Media Society: Industries, Images and Audiences ((third edition) ed.). Thousand Oaks: Pine Forge Press. pp. 305–307. ISBN 9780761987734. Ellul, Jacques (1964). The Technological Society. New York: Alfred A. Knopf. Green, Lelia (2002). Technoculture. Crows Nest: Allen & Unwin. pp. 1–20. ISBN 9781865080482. Huesemann, Michael H., and Joyce A. Huesemann (2011). Technofix: Why Technology Won't Save Us or the Environment, New Society Publishers, Gabriola Island, British Columbia, Canada, ISBN 0865717044, 464 pp. Miller, Sarah (January 1997). "Futures Work – Recognising the Social Determinants of Change". Social Alternatives (vol.1, No.1 ed.). pp. 57–58. Murphie, Andrew; Potts, John (2003). "1". Culture and Technology. London: Palgrave. p. 21. Ong, Walter J (1982). Orality and Literacy: The Technologizing of the Word. New York: Methuen. Postman, Neil (1992). Technopoly: the Surrender of Culture to Technology. Vintage: New York. pp. 3–20. Roland, Alex. Once More into the Stirrups; Lynne White Jr, Medieval Technology and Social Change" Classics Revisited. 574-


id: technological-revolution-20260505-0
file: data/en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Technological_revolution-0.md
category: reference
title: Technological revolution
tags: science, encyclopedia
source_url: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Technological_revolution
date_saved: 2026-05-05T07:12:47.013689+00:00
instance: kb-cron
parent: technological-revolution-20260505-0
summary:
A technological revolution is a period in which one or more technologies is replaced by another new technology in a short amount of time. It is a time of accelerated technological progress characterized by innovations whose rapid application and diffusion typically cause an abrupt change in society. == Description == A technological revolution may involve material or ideological changes caused by the introduction of a device or system. It may potentially impact business management, education, social interactions, finance and research methodology, and is not limited to technical aspects. It has been shown to increase productivity and efficiency. A technological revolution often significantly changes the material conditions of human existence and has been seen to reshape culture. A technological revolution can be distinguished from a random collection of technology systems by two features: 1. A strong interconnectedness and interdependence of the participating systems in their technologies and markets. 2. A potential capacity to greatly affect the rest of the economy (and eventually society). On the other hand, negative consequences have also been attributed to technological revolutions. For example, the use of coal as an energy source have negative environmental impacts, including being a contributing factor to climate change and the increase


id: technological-somnambulism-20260505-0
file: data/en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Technological_somnambulism-0.md
category: reference
title: Technological somnambulism
tags: science, encyclopedia
source_url: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Technological_somnambulism
date_saved: 2026-05-05T07:12:48.251998+00:00
instance: kb-cron
parent: technological-somnambulism-20260505-0
summary:
Technological somnambulism is a concept used when talking about the philosophy of technology. The term was used by Langdon Winner in his essay Technology as forms of life. Winner puts forth the idea that we are simply in a state of sleepwalking in our mediations with technology. This sleepwalking is caused by a number of factors. One of the primary causes is the way we view technology as tools, something that can be put down and picked up again. Because of this view of objects as something we can easily separate ourselves from technology, and so we fail to look at the long term implications of using that object. A second factor is the separation of those who make the technology and those who use the technology. This division causes there to be little thought and research going into the effects of using/developing that technology. The third and most important idea is the way in which technology seems to create new worlds in which we live. These worlds are created by the restructuring of the common and seemingly everyday things around us. In most situations the changes take place with little attention or care from us because we are more


id: technological-transitions-20260505-0
file: data/en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Technological_transitions-0.md
category: reference
title: Technological transitions
tags: science, encyclopedia
source_url: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Technological_transitions
date_saved: 2026-05-05T07:12:49.516863+00:00
instance: kb-cron
parent: technological-transitions-20260505-0
summary:
Technological transitions (TT) can best be described as a collection of theories regarding how technological innovations occur, the driving forces behind them, and how they are incorporated into society. TT draws on a number of fields, including history of science, technology studies, and evolutionary economics. Alongside the technological advancement, TT considers wider societal changes such as "user practices, regulation, industrial networks (supply, production, distribution), infrastructure, and symbolic meaning or culture". Hughes refers to the 'seamless web' where physical artifacts, organizations, scientific communities, and social practices combine. A technological transition occurs when there is a major shift in these socio-technical configurations. == Origins == Work on technological transitions draws on a number of fields including history of science, technology studies, and evolutionary economics. The focus of evolutionary economics is on economic change, but as a driver of this technological change has been considered in the literature. Joseph Schumpeter, in his classic Theory of Economic Development placed the emphasis on non-economic forces as the driver for growth. The human actor, the entrepreneur is seen as the cause of economic development which occurs as a cyclical process. Schumpeter proposed that radical innovations were the catalyst for Kondratiev cycles. === Long wave theory ===


id: technological-transitions-20260505-1
file: data/en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Technological_transitions-1.md
category: reference
title: Technological transitions
tags: science, encyclopedia
source_url: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Technological_transitions
date_saved: 2026-05-05T07:12:49.516863+00:00
instance: kb-cron
parent: technological-transitions-20260505-0
summary:
=== Multi-level perspective (MLP) framework === The multi-level perspective (MLP) is an analytical tool that attempts to deal with this complexity and resistance to change. Focussing on the dynamics of wider transitionary developments as opposed to discrete technological innovations, the MLP concerns itself with socio-technical system transformations, particularly with transitions towards sustainability and resilience. As the name implies, the MLP posits three analytical and heuristic levels on which processes interact and align to result in socio-technical system transformations; landscape (macro-level), regimes (meso-level) and niches (micro-level). Firstly, the regime level represents the current structures and practices characterised by dominant rules, institutions and technologies that are self-reinforcing. The socio-technical regime is dynamically stable in the sense that innovation still transpires albeit incrementally and along a predictable trajectory. This makes the regime 'locked-in' and resistant to both technological and social transitions. Secondly, the landscape level is defined as the exogenous, broader contextual developments in deep-seated cultural patterns, macro-economics, macro-politics and spatial structures, potentially arising from shocks associated with wars, economic crisis, natural disaster and political upheaval. Additionally, landscapes are beyond the direct influence of actors, yet stimulate and exert pressure on them at the regime and niche levels. Finally, the niche is defined


id: technological-transitions-20260505-2
file: data/en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Technological_transitions-2.md
category: reference
title: Technological transitions
tags: science, encyclopedia
source_url: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Technological_transitions
date_saved: 2026-05-05T07:12:49.516863+00:00
instance: kb-cron
parent: technological-transitions-20260505-0
summary:
== Diffusion: transition phases == Diffusion of an innovation is the concept of how it is picked up by society, at what rate and why. The diffusion of a technological innovation into society can be considered in distinct phases. Pre-development is the gestation period where the new technology has yet to make an impact. Take-off is when the process of a system shift is beginning. A breakthrough is occurring when fundamental changes are occurring in existing structures through the interplay of economic, social and cultural forces. Once the rate of change has decreased and a new balance is achieved, stabilization is said to have occurred. A full transition involves an overhaul of existing rules and change of beliefs which takes time, typically spanning at least a generation. This process can be speeded up through seismic, unforeseen events such as war or economic strife. Geels proposed a similar four-phase approach which draws on the multi-level perspective (MLP) developed by Dutch scholars. Phase one sees the emergence of a novelty, born from the existing regime. Development then occurs in the niche level at phase two. As before, breakthrough then occurs at phase three. In the parlance of the MLP the new technology,


id: technology-acceptance-model-20260505-0
file: data/en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Technology_acceptance_model-0.md
category: reference
title: Technology acceptance model
tags: science, encyclopedia
source_url: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Technology_acceptance_model
date_saved: 2026-05-05T07:12:50.769788+00:00
instance: kb-cron
parent: technology-acceptance-model-20260505-0
summary:
The technology acceptance model (TAM) is an information systems theory that models how users come to accept and use a technology. The actual system use is the end-point where people use the technology. Behavioral intention is a factor that leads people to use the technology. The behavioral intention (BI) is influenced by the attitude (A) which is the general impression of the technology. The model suggests that when users are presented with a new technology, a number of factors influence their decision about how and when they will use it, notably: Perceived usefulness (PU) – This was defined by Fred Davis as "the degree to which a person believes that using a particular system would enhance their job performance". It means whether or not someone perceives that technology to be useful for what they want to do. Perceived ease-of-use (PEOU) – Davis defined this as "the degree to which a person believes that using a particular system would be free from effort". If the technology is easy to use, then the barrier is conquered. If it's not easy to use and the interface is complicated, no one has a positive attitude towards it. External variables such as social influence is


id: technology-acceptance-model-20260505-1
file: data/en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Technology_acceptance_model-1.md
category: reference
title: Technology acceptance model
tags: science, encyclopedia
source_url: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Technology_acceptance_model
date_saved: 2026-05-05T07:12:50.769788+00:00
instance: kb-cron
parent: technology-acceptance-model-20260505-0
summary:
Subjective norm – An individual's perception that other individuals who are important to him/her/them consider if he/she/they could perform a behavior. This was consistent with the theory of reasoned action (TRA). Voluntariness – This was defined by Venkatesh & Davis as "extent to which potential adopters perceive the adoption decision to be non-mandatory". Image – This was defined by Moore & Benbasat as "the degree to which use of an innovation perceived to enhance one's status in one's social system". Job relevance – Venkatesh & Davis defined this as personal perspective on the extent to which the target system is suitable for the job. Output quality – Venkatesh & Davis defined this as personal perception of the system's ability to perform specific tasks. Result demonstrability – The production of tangible results will directly influence the system's usefulness. In an attempt to integrate the main competing user acceptance models, Venkatesh et al. formulated the unified theory of acceptance and use of technology (UTAUT). This model was found to outperform each of the individual models (Adjusted R square of 69 percent). UTAUT has been adopted by some recent studies in healthcare. In addition, authors Jun et al. also think that the technology


id: technology-adoption-life-cycle-20260505-0
file: data/en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Technology_adoption_life_cycle-0.md
category: reference
title: Technology adoption life cycle
tags: science, encyclopedia
source_url: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Technology_adoption_life_cycle
date_saved: 2026-05-05T07:12:51.930612+00:00
instance: kb-cron
parent: technology-adoption-life-cycle-20260505-0
summary:
The technology adoption lifecycle is a sociological model that describes the adoption or acceptance of a new product or innovation, according to the demographic and psychological characteristics of defined adopter groups. The process of adoption over time is typically illustrated as a classical normal distribution or "bell curve". The model calls the first group of people to use a new product "innovators", followed by "early adopters". Next come the "early majority" and "late majority", and the last group to eventually adopt a product are called "laggards" or "phobics". For example, a phobic may only use a cloud service when it is the only remaining method of performing a required task, but the phobic may not have an in-depth technical knowledge of how to use the service. The demographic and psychological (or "psychographic") profiles of each adoption group were originally specified by agricultural researchers in 1956: innovators – had larger farms, were more educated, more prosperous and more risk-oriented early adopters – younger, more educated, tended to be community leaders, less prosperous early majority – more conservative but open to new ideas, active in community and influence to neighbors late majority – older, less educated, fairly conservative and less socially active


id: technology-dynamics-20260505-0
file: data/en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Technology_dynamics-0.md
category: reference
title: Technology dynamics
tags: science, encyclopedia
source_url: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Technology_dynamics
date_saved: 2026-05-05T07:12:53.174967+00:00
instance: kb-cron
parent: technology-dynamics-20260505-0
summary:
Technology dynamics is broad and relatively new scientific field that has been developed in the framework of the postwar science and technology studies field. It studies the process of technological change. Under the field of Technology Dynamics the process of technological change is explained by taking into account influences from "internal factors" as well as from "external factors". Internal factors relate technological change to unsolved technical problems and the established modes of solving technological problems and external factors relate it to various (changing) characteristics of the social environment, in which a particular technology is embedded. == Overview == For the last three decades, it has been argued that technology development is neither an autonomous process, determined by the "inherent progress" of human history, nor a process completely determined by external conditions like the prices of the resources that are needed to operate (develop) a technology, as it is theorized in neoclassical economic thinking. In mainstream neoclassical economic thinking, technology is seen as an exogenous factor: at the moment a technology is required, the most appropriate version can be taken down from the shelf based on costs of labor, capital and eventually raw materials. Conversely, modern technology dynamics studies generally advocate


id: technology-life-cycle-20260505-0
file: data/en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Technology_life_cycle-0.md
category: reference
title: Technology life cycle
tags: science, encyclopedia
source_url: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Technology_life_cycle
date_saved: 2026-05-05T07:12:54.417280+00:00
instance: kb-cron
parent: technology-life-cycle-20260505-0
summary:
The technology life cycle (TLC) describes the commercial gain of a product through the expense of research and development phase, and the financial return during its "vital life". Some technologies, such as steel, paper or cement manufacturing, have a long lifespan (with minor variations in technology incorporated with time) while in other cases, such as electronic or pharmaceutical products, the lifespan may be quite short. The TLC associated with a product or technological service is different from product life-cycle (PLC) dealt with in product life-cycle management. The latter is concerned with the life of a product in the marketplace with respect to timing of introduction, marketing measures, and business costs. The technology underlying the product (for example, that of a uniquely flavoured tea) may be quite marginal but the process of creating and managing its life as a branded product will be very different. The technology life cycle is concerned with the time and cost of developing the technology, the timeline of recovering cost, and modes of making the technology yield a profit proportionate to the costs and risks involved. The TLC may, further, be protected during its cycle with patents and trademarks seeking to lengthen the cycle and to


id: technology-life-cycle-20260505-1
file: data/en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Technology_life_cycle-1.md
category: reference
title: Technology life cycle
tags: science, encyclopedia
source_url: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Technology_life_cycle
date_saved: 2026-05-05T07:12:54.417280+00:00
instance: kb-cron
parent: technology-life-cycle-20260505-0
summary:
=== In the R&D phase === There are always smaller firms (SMEs) who are inadequately situated to finance the development of innovative R&D in the post-research and early technology phases. By sharing incipient technology under certain conditions, substantial risk financing can come from third parties. This is a form of quasi-licensing which takes different formats. Even large corporates may not wish to bear all costs of development in areas of significant and high risk (e.g. aircraft development) and may seek means of spreading it to the stage that proof-of-concept is obtained. In the case of small and medium firms, entities such as venture capitalists or business angels, can enter the scene and help to materialize technologies. Venture capitalists accept both the costs and uncertainties of R&D, and that of market acceptance, in reward for high returns when the technology proves itself. Apart from finance, they may provide networking, management and marketing support. Venture capital connotes financial as well as human capital. Larger firms may opt for Joint R&D or work in a consortium for the early phase of development. Such vehicles are called strategic alliances – strategic partnerships. With both venture capital funding and strategic (research) alliances, when business gains


id: technology-life-cycle-20260505-2
file: data/en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Technology_life_cycle-2.md
category: reference
title: Technology life cycle
tags: science, encyclopedia
source_url: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Technology_life_cycle
date_saved: 2026-05-05T07:12:54.417280+00:00
instance: kb-cron
parent: technology-life-cycle-20260505-0
summary:
=== In the decline phase === After reaching a point such as D in the above diagram, the earnings from the technology begin to decline rather rapidly. To prolong the life cycle, owners of technology might try to license it out at some point L when it can still be attractive to firms in other markets. This, then, traces the lengthening path, LL'. Further, since the decline is the result of competing rising technologies in this space, licenses may be attracted to the general lower cost of the older technology (than what prevailed during its vital life). Licenses obtained in this phase are 'straight licenses'. They are free of direct control from the owner of the technology (as would otherwise apply, say, in the case of a joint-venture). Further, there may be fewer restrictions placed on the licensee in the employment of the technology. The utility, viability, and thus the cost of straight-licenses depends on the estimated 'balance life' of the technology. For instance, should the key patent on the technology have expired, or would expire in a short while, the residual viability of the technology may be limited, although balance life may be governed by other criteria such as


id: technology-trajectory-20260505-0
file: data/en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Technology_trajectory-0.md
category: reference
title: Technology trajectory
tags: science, encyclopedia
source_url: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Technology_trajectory
date_saved: 2026-05-05T07:12:55.651469+00:00
instance: kb-cron
parent: technology-trajectory-20260505-0
summary:
Technology trajectory refers to a single branch in the evolution of a technological design of a product/service, with nodes representing separate designs. With Technology trajectory referring to a single branch we do expect the development of new technologies to precede recent uses and advance future technologies. The development of future technologies allows for the innovation of new ideas, research, and much more. It also can be defined as the paths by which innovations in a given field occur. Movement along the technology trajectory is associated with research and development. Due to the institutionalization of ideas, markets, and professions, technology development can get 'stuck' (locked-in) within one trajectory, and firms and engineers are unable to adapt to ideas and innovation from the outside. Technological trajectory/development may break- out of trajectory and can cause three understandings 1. when technology will lock in into a trajectory, 2.) when technology may break out of lock-in, and 3.) when competing technologies may co-exist in a balance. A lock-in is when a certain technology develops along a certain trajectory allowing the development to get stuck due to certain circumstances. Not all trajectories are permanently locked into a trajectory. Let us take for example the Technological Advancement/Trajectory


id: technoscience-20260505-0
file: data/en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Technoscience-0.md
category: reference
title: Technoscience
tags: science, encyclopedia
source_url: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Technoscience
date_saved: 2026-05-05T07:12:56.853441+00:00
instance: kb-cron
parent: technoscience-20260505-0
summary:
In common usage, technoscience refers to the entire long-standing and global human activity of technology, combined with the relatively recent scientific method that occurred primarily in Europe during the 17th and 18th centuries. Technoscience is the study of how humans interact with technology using the scientific method. Technoscience thus comprises the history of human application of technology and modern scientific methods, ranging from the early development of basic technologies for hunting, agriculture, or husbandry (e.g. the well, the bow, the plow, the harness) and all the way through atomic applications, biotechnology, robotics, and computer sciences. This more common and comprehensive usage of the term technoscience can be found in general textbooks and lectures concerning the history of science. The relationship with the history of science is important in this subject and also underestimated, for example, by more modern sociologists of science. Instead, it is worth emphasizing the links that exist between books on the history of science and technology and the study of the relationship between science and technology within a framework of social developments. The generational leap between historical periods and scientific discoveries, the construction of machines, and the creation of tools in relation to the technological changes that


id: technoscience-20260505-1
file: data/en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Technoscience-1.md
category: reference
title: Technoscience
tags: science, encyclopedia
source_url: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Technoscience
date_saved: 2026-05-05T07:12:56.853441+00:00
instance: kb-cron
parent: technoscience-20260505-0
summary:
=== Political === Science and technology are tools that continually change social structures and behaviors. Technoscience can be viewed as a form of government or having the power of government because of its impact on society. The impact extends to public health, safety, the environment, and beyond. Innovations create fundamental changes and drastically change the way people live. For example, C-SPAN and social media give American voters a near real-time view of Congress. This has allowed journalists and the people to hold their elected officials accountable in new ways. === Environmental === Chlorine chemists and their scientific knowledge helped set the agenda for many environmental problems: PCBs in the Hudson River are polychlorinated biphenols; DDT, dieldrin, and aldrin are chlorinated pesticides; CFCs that deplete the ozone layer are chlorofluorocarbons. Industry actually manufactured the chemicals and consumers purchased them. Therefore, one can determine that chemists are not the sole cause for these issues, but they are not blameless. == See also == Bernard Stiegler Feminist technoscience Technocriticism Technoethics == Notes == == References == Steven Lukes, Power (1974), A Radical View, London: Macmillan Bruno Latour and Steve Woolgar (1979). Laboratory Life: the Social Construction of Scientific Facts. Princeton University Press. ISBN


id: the-measure-of-reality-20260505-0
file: data/en.wikipedia.org/wiki/The_Measure_of_Reality-0.md
category: reference
title: The Measure of Reality
tags: science, encyclopedia
source_url: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/The_Measure_of_Reality
date_saved: 2026-05-05T07:12:58.050081+00:00
instance: kb-cron
parent: the-measure-of-reality-20260505-0
summary:
The Measure of Reality: Quantification in Western Europe, 1250-1600 is a 1997 nonfiction historiography and macrohistory book by Alfred W. Crosby, about the role of quantification in Western civilization. It is published by Cambridge University Press. == Content == The Measure of Reality examines the origins and effects of quantitative thinking in post-medieval European history', suggesting it as a major factor in the ensuing European colonial domination of much of the rest of the world. For Crosby, this was made possible by a shift in mindset and worldview that the author collectively calls mentalité (Bourdieu's habitus comes to mind) toward quantitative and visual thinking fostering a superior understanding of science and technology. To illustrate how Crosby describes the shift away from a qualitative and theological view of reality, philosopher Denis Dutton offers the example of geography: Geography was qualitative, holding that the peoples of the Indies, governed by slow-moving Saturn, were slow moving. Europeans, on the other hand, lived in the land of the seventh climate, that of the moon, which revolves around the earth faster than any other body. Therefore, Europeans are the most active people. Maps were designed not geometrically, but to show what was near and far,


id: theories-of-technology-20260505-0
file: data/en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Theories_of_technology-0.md
category: reference
title: Theories of technology
tags: science, encyclopedia
source_url: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Theories_of_technology
date_saved: 2026-05-05T07:12:59.239982+00:00
instance: kb-cron
parent: theories-of-technology-20260505-0
summary:
Theories of technological change and innovation attempt to explain the factors that shape technological innovation as well as the impact of technology on society and culture. Some of the most contemporary theories of technological change reject two of the previous views: the linear model of technological innovation and other, the technological determinism. To challenge the linear model, some of today's theories of technological change and innovation point to the history of technology, where they find evidence that technological innovation often gives rise to new scientific fields, and emphasizes the important role that social networks and cultural values play in creating and shaping technological artifacts. To challenge the so-called "technological determinism", today's theories of technological change emphasize the scope of the need of technical choice, which they find to be greater than most laypeople can realize; as scientists in philosophy of science, and further science and technology often like to say about this "It could have been different." For this reason, theorists who take these positions often argue that a greater public involvement in technological decision-making is desired. == Sociological theories == Sociological theories and researches of the Society and the Social focus on how human and technology actually interact and


id: theories-of-technology-20260505-1
file: data/en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Theories_of_technology-1.md
category: reference
title: Theories of technology
tags: science, encyclopedia
source_url: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Theories_of_technology
date_saved: 2026-05-05T07:12:59.239982+00:00
instance: kb-cron
parent: theories-of-technology-20260505-0
summary:
=== Approaches of the critical theory === Critical theory attempts, according to some, to go beyond the descriptiveness of one account that may show of how things are, the exam and question of why they have come to be that way and how they might otherwise be. Critical theory asks whose interests are being served by the questioned status quo and assesses the potentials of a future, that alternates and propose "to better" both the technological service, and even social justice. Here Geuss's definition is given, where "a critical theory, then, is a reflective theory which gives agents a kind of knowledge inherently productive of enlightenment and emancipation" (1964). Thus Marcuse argued that while technology matters and design are often presented as neutral technical choices, in fact, they manifest political or moral values. Critical theory is seen as a "form of archaeology" that attempt to get beneath common-sense understandings in order to reveal the power relationships and interests determining particular technological configuration and use. Perhaps the most developed contemporary critical theory of technology is contained in the works of Andrew Feenberg included in his book 'Transforming Technology' (2002). Values in Design asks how do we ensure a place for values


id: theories-of-technology-20260505-2
file: data/en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Theories_of_technology-2.md
category: reference
title: Theories of technology
tags: science, encyclopedia
source_url: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Theories_of_technology
date_saved: 2026-05-05T07:12:59.239982+00:00
instance: kb-cron
parent: theories-of-technology-20260505-0
summary:
=== Other Stances === Additionally, many authors have posed technology so as to critique and or emphasize aspects of technology as addressed by the mainline theories. For example, Steve Woolgar (1991) considers technology as text in order to critique the sociology of scientific knowledge as applied to technology and to distinguish between three responses to that notion: the instrumental response (interpretive flexibility), the interpretivist response (environmental/organizational influences), the reflexive response (a double hermeneutic). Pfaffenberger (1992) treats technology as drama to argue that a recursive structuring of technological artifacts and their social structure discursively regulate the technological construction of political power. A technological drama is a discourse of technological "statements" and "counterstatements" within the processes of technological regularization, adjustment, and reconstitution. An important philosophical approach to technology has been taken by Bernard Stiegler, whose work has been influenced by other philosophers and historians of technology including Gilbert Simondon and André Leroi-Gourhan. In the Schumpeterian and Neo-Schumpeterian theories technologies are critical factors of economic growth (Carlota Perez). == Analytical theories == There are theories of technological change and innovation which are not defined or claimed by a proponent, but are used by authors in describing existing literature, in contrast to their own


id: trading-zones-20260505-0
file: data/en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Trading_zones-0.md
category: reference
title: Trading zones
tags: science, encyclopedia
source_url: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Trading_zones
date_saved: 2026-05-05T07:13:00.402632+00:00
instance: kb-cron
parent: trading-zones-20260505-0
summary:
The metaphor of a trading zone is being applied to collaborations in science and technology. The basis of the metaphor is anthropological studies of how different cultures are able to exchange goods, despite differences in language and culture. == Overview == Peter Galison produced the "trading zone" metaphor in order to explain how physicists from different paradigms went about collaborating with each other, and with engineers to develop particle detectors and radar. According to Galison, "Two groups can agree on rules of exchange even if they ascribe utterly different significance to the objects being exchanged; they may even disagree on the meaning of the exchange process itself. Nonetheless, the trading partners can hammer out a local coordination, despite vast global differences. In an even more sophisticated way, cultures in interaction frequently establish contact languages, systems of discourse that can vary from the most function-specific jargons, through semispecific pidgins, to full-fledged creoles rich enough to support activities as complex as poetry and metalinguistic reflection" (Galison 1997, p. 783) In the case of radar, for example, the physicists and engineers had to gradually develop what was effectively a pidgin or creole language involving shared concepts like ‘equivalent circuits’ that the physicists represented


id: trust-in-numbers-20260505-0
file: data/en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Trust_in_Numbers-0.md
category: reference
title: Trust in Numbers
tags: science, encyclopedia
source_url: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Trust_in_Numbers
date_saved: 2026-05-05T07:13:01.565399+00:00
instance: kb-cron
parent: trust-in-numbers-20260505-0
summary:
Trust in Numbers: The Pursuit of Objectivity in Science and Public Life is a book by Theodore Porter, published in 1995 by Princeton University Press, that proposes that quantification in public life is driven by bureaucratic necessities to obtain legitimacy through objectivity. == Synopsis == In Trust in Numbers: The Pursuit of Objectivity in Science and Public Life, Theodore Porter reverses the classic notion that quantification descends from the successes of natural sciences being adopted by other disciplines, to investigate instead the opposite movement, whereby quantification is driven by political, administrative and bureaucratic necessities to standardize, communicate, and obtain legitimacy through objectivity.The appeal of numbers is especially compelling to bureaucratic officials who lack the mandate of a popular election, or divine right, p. 8.After noting how officials fear being criticized for arbitrariness and bias, he concludes:A decision made by the numbers (or by explicit rules of some other sort) has at least the appearance of being fair and impersonal, p. 8.Thus, "trust may sometimes be based less on the solidity of the numbers themselves than on the needs of expert and client communities". == Analysis == Defined as the book that comes closest to establishing a common theoretical language for


id: ucl-department-of-science-and-technology-studies-20260505-0
file: data/en.wikipedia.org/wiki/UCL_Department_of_Science_and_Technology_Studies-0.md
category: reference
title: UCL Department of Science and Technology Studies
tags: science, encyclopedia
source_url: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/UCL_Department_of_Science_and_Technology_Studies
date_saved: 2026-05-05T07:13:02.892283+00:00
instance: kb-cron
parent: ucl-department-of-science-and-technology-studies-20260505-0
summary:
The UCL Department of Science and Technology Studies (STS) is an academic department in University College London, London, England. It is part of UCL's Faculty of Mathematics and Physical Sciences. The department offers academic training at both undergraduate and graduate (MSc and MPhil/PhD) levels. The department received its current name in 1995. It had been the "Department of History and Philosophy of Science" from 1938 to 1995, and the "Department of History and Method of Science" from 1921 to 1938. University College London was the first UK university to offer single honours undergraduate degrees in this interdisciplinary subject, launching its BSc in history and philosophy of science in 1993. Two related BSc degrees followed shortly thereafter. At UCL, science and technology studies (abbreviated "STS") includes three specialist research clusters: "history of science," "philosophy of science," and "science, culture, and democracy". In 2022 STS accepted its first cohort for an MSc in Science Communication. The department offices are located on UCL's campus in Gordon Square, Bloomsbury, London. == References == == External links == UCL Department of Science and Technology Studies website


id: user-innovation-20260505-0
file: data/en.wikipedia.org/wiki/User_innovation-0.md
category: reference
title: User innovation
tags: science, encyclopedia
source_url: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/User_innovation
date_saved: 2026-05-05T07:13:04.078953+00:00
instance: kb-cron
parent: user-innovation-20260505-0
summary:
User innovation refers to innovation by intermediate users (e.g. user firms) or consumer users (individual end-users or user communities), rather than by suppliers (producers or manufacturers). This is a concept closely aligned to co-design and co-creation, and has been proven to result in more innovative solutions than traditional consultation methodologies. Eric von Hippel and others observed that many products and services are actually developed or at least refined, by users, at the site of implementation and use. These ideas are then moved back into the supply network. This is because products are developed to meet the widest possible need; when individual users face problems that the majority of consumers do not, they have no choice but to develop their own modifications to existing products, or entirely new products, to solve their issues. Often, user innovators will share their ideas with manufacturers in hopes of having them produce the product, a process called free revealing. However, user innovators also generate their own firms to commercialize their innovations and generate new markets, a process called "consumer-led market emergence." For example, research on how users innovated in multiple boardsports shows that some users capitalized on their innovations, founding firms in sports that became


id: the-world-in-the-model-how-economists-work-and-think-20260505-0
file: data/en.wikipedia.org/wiki/The_World_in_the_Model:_How_Economists_Work_and_Think-0.md
category: reference
title: The World in the Model: How Economists Work and Think
tags: science, encyclopedia
source_url: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/The_World_in_the_Model:_How_Economists_Work_and_Think
date_saved: 2026-05-05T07:13:05.383725+00:00
instance: kb-cron
parent: the-world-in-the-model-how-economists-work-and-think-20260505-0
summary:
The World in the Model: How Economists Work and Think is a work by Mary S. Morgan published by Cambridge University Press in 2012. == Content == Mary S. Morgan, defined by Robert Sugden "a major philosopher and historian of economics", analyzes with examples how economists work and think using models. Her book reconstructs the path taken by models to become economists' "natural way of doing economics." For Morgan, both the "method of mathematical postulation and proof" and that of modelling have emerged in late 19th century, and models have become economists' main tools only from the 1930s, replacing classical economics relying on "universal laws". A concept stressed throughout this work is that: Economic modelling is not primarily a method of proof, but rather a method of inquiry. The pragmatic orientation of her work is stated right at the beginning, noting that "Science is messy", thus Asking: What qualities do models need to make them useful in a science? and What functions do models play in a science? are more fruitful than asking What are models? According to Morgan, who draws a parallel with physics, economists follow four general steps in their work with models: Step 1: Create a model


id: the-world-in-the-model-how-economists-work-and-think-20260505-1
file: data/en.wikipedia.org/wiki/The_World_in_the_Model:_How_Economists_Work_and_Think-1.md
category: reference
title: The World in the Model: How Economists Work and Think
tags: science, encyclopedia
source_url: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/The_World_in_the_Model:_How_Economists_Work_and_Think
date_saved: 2026-05-05T07:13:05.383725+00:00
instance: kb-cron
parent: the-world-in-the-model-how-economists-work-and-think-20260505-0
summary:
== Reception == The book is praised by Verena Halsmayer and by Maxime Desmarais-Tremblay for showing the variety of tools mobilized by economists, such as the hydraulic system of the Newlyn–Philips Machine made of pipes, valves and tanks, graphs such as those of the Edgeworth box, pen and paper tabulated records such as Ricardo's ideal farm, conceptual games such as the Prisoner dilemma, and modern day equations. For François Claveau it is disappointing that Morgan, though author of The History of Econometric Ideas (1990) does not discuss econometric models, nor the distinction between these, embedded into real world data and statistical testing, and non-econometric models. Claveau also laments the absence of a discussion of the difference between theories and models. A limit of Morgan's work that is flagged by Verena Halsmayer is that in examining a selected set of successful models the book discounts alternative traditions, the "verbal economics" and other historical traditions, evading the strategic development leading to the dominance of (neoclassical) economic modeling, thus ignoring "what was lost by adopting modeling as the dominant mode of economic knowledge production". Robert Sugden praises Morgan's vivid portrait of Ricardo. Morgan details how the numerical examples of his model farm were


id: aceramic-20260505-0
file: data/en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Aceramic-0.md
category: reference
title: Aceramic
tags: science, encyclopedia
source_url: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Aceramic
date_saved: 2026-05-05T07:13:06.971443+00:00
instance: kb-cron
parent: aceramic-20260505-0
summary:
Aceramic is defined as "not producing pottery". In archaeology, the term means "without pottery". Aceramic societies usually used bark, basketry, gourds and leather for containers. "Aceramic" is used to describe a culture at any time prior to its development of pottery as well as cultures that lack pottery altogether. A preceramic period is traditionally regarded as occurring in the early stage of the Neolithic period of a culture, but recent findings in Japan and China have pushed the origin of ceramic technology there well back into the Paleolithic era. == West Asia == In Western Asian archaeology, Aceramic is used to refer to a specific early Neolithic period before the development of ceramics, the Middle Eastern Pre-Pottery Neolithic, in which case it is a synonym of preceramic or pre-pottery. The Western Asian Pre-Pottery Neolithic A began roughly around 8500 BC and can be identified with over a half a dozen sites. The period was most prominent in Western Asia in an economy based on the cultivation of crops or the rearing of animals or both. Outside Western Asia, Aceramic Neolithic groups are more rare. Aceramic Neolithic villages had many attributes of agricultural communities: large settlement size, substantial architecture, long settlement


id: action-tendency-20260505-0
file: data/en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Action_tendency-0.md
category: reference
title: Action tendency
tags: science, encyclopedia
source_url: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Action_tendency
date_saved: 2026-05-05T07:13:08.318647+00:00
instance: kb-cron
parent: action-tendency-20260505-0
summary:
Action tendency is a psychological term in behavioural science, which refers to an individual's urge to carry out a particular behaviour, particularly as a component of emotion. It represents a person’s initial compulsion for goal-directed behaviour in response to environmental stimuli, directly addressing the emotions experienced. Importantly, action tendencies do not guarantee that a behaviour will occur. Instead, they serve as effective predictors of how emotions guide actions, showcasing patterns of readiness to engage or avoid situations depending on the emotional context. In behavioural science, an individual's emotions direct their response to current circumstances or relationships; thus, the action tendency, as a constituent factor of the individual's overall emotional responsivity, is a temporary and immediate impulse. == Role of emotions == There are several distinct emotions - such as joy, sadness, fear, disgust, and anger – that form actions tendencies including approach, inaction, withdrawal, and attack. Emotional valence – whether the experienced emotion is positive or negative – arises from the measure of congruency between an individuals’ goals and their environment. Environments that support goal attainment typically elicit positive emotions and approach behaviours. Conversely, environments that limit resources necessary for goal achievement, activate negative emotions and avoidance behaviours. However, action


id: action-tendency-20260505-1
file: data/en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Action_tendency-1.md
category: reference
title: Action tendency
tags: science, encyclopedia
source_url: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Action_tendency
date_saved: 2026-05-05T07:13:08.318647+00:00
instance: kb-cron
parent: action-tendency-20260505-0
summary:
==== Two cognitive systems maintain action tendency activation ==== Source: The Behavioural Activation System (BAS): Responds to reward cues, predisposing individuals to approach behaviours. The Behavioural Inhibition System (BIS): Responds to punishment or novelty cues, predisposing individuals to avoidance or inhibiting behaviours. Neuroimaging studies show the left frontal cortex links to approach tendencies (BAS), while the right frontal cortex links to withdrawal tendencies (BIS). === Cognitive and social regulation === The activation, suppression, and regulation of action tendencies are influenced by cognitive, social, and contextual factors. One primary regulatory mechanism is cognitive reappraisal – the ability to reinterpret emotionally-inducing events to align with personal goals. This mechanism allows individuals to adjust emotional impulses prior to the full onset of a reaction. Studies show it effectively reduces negative emotions and promote positive emotions to generate more socially appropriate tendencies. Social environments and cultural norms also shape cognitive responses to emotional events. Social Identity Theory argues individuals internalise the beliefs and behaviours of their in-groups – groups they identify with – creating strong desires to perform actions that reinforce conformity to group norms. For instance, while anger may promote aggressive, confrontational urges, societal norms and law-compliance often inhibit these behaviours. This is


id: collective-action-20260505-0
file: data/en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Collective_action-0.md
category: reference
title: Collective action
tags: science, encyclopedia
source_url: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Collective_action
date_saved: 2026-05-05T07:13:09.558887+00:00
instance: kb-cron
parent: collective-action-20260505-0
summary:
Collective action refers to action taken together by a group of people whose goal is to enhance their condition and achieve a common objective. It is a term that has formulations and theories in many areas of the social sciences including psychology, sociology, anthropology, political science and economics. == The social identity model == Researchers Martijn van Zomeren, Tom Postmes, and Russell Spears conducted a meta-analysis of over 180 studies of collective action, in an attempt to integrate three dominant socio-psychological perspectives explaining antecedent conditions to this phenomenon – injustice, efficacy, and identity. In their resultant 2008 review article, an integrative Social Identity Model of Collective Action (SIMCA) was proposed which accounts for interrelationships among the three predictors as well as their predictive capacities for collective action. An important assumption of this approach is that people tend to respond to subjective states of disadvantage, which may or may not flow from objective physical and social reality. === Perceived injustice === Examining collective action through perceived injustice was initially guided by relative deprivation theory (RDT). RDT focuses on a subjective state of unjust disadvantage, proposing that engaging in fraternal (group-based) social comparisons with others may result in feelings of relative deprivation


id: collective-action-20260505-1
file: data/en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Collective_action-1.md
category: reference
title: Collective action
tags: science, encyclopedia
source_url: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Collective_action
date_saved: 2026-05-05T07:13:09.558887+00:00
instance: kb-cron
parent: collective-action-20260505-0
summary:
The term collective action problem describes the situation in which multiple individuals would all benefit from a certain action, but has an associated cost making it implausible that any individual can or will undertake and solve it alone. The ideal solution is then to undertake this as a collective action, the cost of which is shared. Situations like this include the prisoner's dilemma, a collective action problem in which no communication is allowed, the free rider problem, and the tragedy of the commons, also known as the problem with open access. An allegorical metaphor often used to describe the problem is "belling the cat". Solutions to collective action problems include mutually binding agreements, government regulation, privatisation, and assurance contracts, also known as crowdacting. === Exploitation of the great by the small === Mancur Olson made the claim that individual rational choice leads to situations where individuals with more resources will carry a higher burden in the provision of the public good than poorer ones. Poorer individuals will usually have little choice but to opt for the free rider strategy, i.e., they will attempt to benefit from the public good without contributing to its provision. This may also encourage the under-production


id: collective-action-20260505-2
file: data/en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Collective_action-2.md
category: reference
title: Collective action
tags: science, encyclopedia
source_url: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Collective_action
date_saved: 2026-05-05T07:13:09.558887+00:00
instance: kb-cron
parent: collective-action-20260505-0
summary:
== In philosophy == Since the late 20th century, analytic philosophers have been exploring the nature of collective action in the sense of acting together, as when people paint a house together, go for a walk together, or together execute a pass play. These particular examples have been central for three of the philosophers who have made well known contributions to this literature: Michael Bratman, Margaret Gilbert, and John Searle, respectively. In (Gilbert 1989) and subsequent articles and book chapters including Gilbert (2006, chapter 7), whom argues for an account of collective action according to which this rests on a special kind of interpersonal commitment, what Gilbert calls a "joint commitment". A joint commitment in Gilbert's sense is not a matter of a set of personal commitments independently created by each of the participants, as when each makes a personal decision to do something. Rather, it is a single commitment to whose creation each participant makes a contribution. Thus suppose that one person says "Shall we go for a walk?" and the other says "Yes, let's". Gilbert proposes that as a result of this exchange the parties are jointly committed to go for a walk, and thereby obligated to one


id: collective-action-20260505-3
file: data/en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Collective_action-3.md
category: reference
title: Collective action
tags: science, encyclopedia
source_url: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Collective_action
date_saved: 2026-05-05T07:13:09.558887+00:00
instance: kb-cron
parent: collective-action-20260505-0
summary:
=== Methods and techniques === Due to the interdisciplinary nature of both the mechanisms as well as the applications of spontaneous consensus, a variety of techniques have been developed to study the emergence and evolution of spontaneous cooperation. Two of the most widely used are game theory and social network analysis. ==== Game theory ==== Traditionally game theory has been used to study zero-sum games but has been extended to many different types of games. Relevant to the study of spontaneous consensus are cooperative and non-cooperative games. Since a consensus must be reached without the presence of any external authoritative institution for it to be considered spontaneous, non-cooperative games and Nash equilibrium have been the dominant paradigm for which to study its emergence. In the context of non-cooperative games, a consensus is a formal Nash equilibrium that all players tend towards through self-enforcing alliances or agreements. An important case study of the underlying mathematical dynamics is the coordination game. Even when coordination is desired, it can be difficult to achieve due to incomplete information and constrained time horizons. ==== Social network analysis ==== An alternative approach to studying the emergence of spontaneous consensus—that avoids many of the unnatural or overly


id: collective-action-problem-20260505-0
file: data/en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Collective_action_problem-0.md
category: reference
title: Collective action problem
tags: science, encyclopedia
source_url: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Collective_action_problem
date_saved: 2026-05-05T07:13:10.731395+00:00
instance: kb-cron
parent: collective-action-problem-20260505-0
summary:
A collective action problem or social dilemma is a situation in which all individuals would be better off cooperating but fail to do so because of conflicting interests between individuals that discourage joint action. The collective action problem has been addressed in political philosophy for centuries, but was more famously interpreted in 1965 in Mancur Olson's The Logic of Collective Action. Problems arise when too many group members choose to pursue individual profit and immediate satisfaction rather than behave in the group's best long-term interests. Social dilemmas can take many forms and are studied across disciplines such as psychology, economics, and political science. Examples of phenomena that can be explained using social dilemmas include resource depletion and low voter turnout. The collective action problem can be understood through the analysis of game theory and the free-rider problem, which results from the provision of public goods. Additionally, the collective problem can be applied to numerous public policy concerns that countries across the world currently face. == Prominent theorists == === Early thought === Although he never used the words "collective action problem", Thomas Hobbes was an early philosopher on the topic of human cooperation. Hobbes believed that people act purely out


id: collective-action-problem-20260505-1
file: data/en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Collective_action_problem-1.md
category: reference
title: Collective action problem
tags: science, encyclopedia
source_url: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Collective_action_problem
date_saved: 2026-05-05T07:13:10.731395+00:00
instance: kb-cron
parent: collective-action-problem-20260505-0
summary:
The prisoner's dilemma model, one of the most famous examples in game theory, is crucial to understanding the collective problem because it illustrates the consequences of individual interests that conflict with the interests of the group. In simple models such as this one, the problem would have been solved had the two prisoners been able to communicate. In more complex real world situations involving numerous individuals, however, the collective action problem often prevents groups from making decisions that are of collective economic interest. The prisoner's dilemma is a simple game that serves as the basis for research on social dilemmas. The premise of the game is that two partners in crime are imprisoned separately and each are offered leniency if they provide evidence against the other. As seen in the table below, the optimal individual outcome is to testify against the other without being testified against. However, the optimal group outcome is for the two prisoners to cooperate with each other. In iterated games, players may learn to trust one another, or develop strategies like tit-for-tat, cooperating unless the opponent has defected in the previous round. Asymmetric prisoner's dilemma games are those in which one prisoner has more to gain


id: collective-action-problem-20260505-2
file: data/en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Collective_action_problem-2.md
category: reference
title: Collective action problem
tags: science, encyclopedia
source_url: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Collective_action_problem
date_saved: 2026-05-05T07:13:10.731395+00:00
instance: kb-cron
parent: collective-action-problem-20260505-0
summary:
A public goods dilemma is a situation in which the whole group can benefit if some of the members give something for the common good but individuals benefit from "free riding" if enough others contribute. Public goods are defined by two characteristics: non-excludability and non-rivalry—meaning that anyone can benefit from them and one person's use of them does not hinder another person's use of them. An example is public broadcasting that relies on contributions from viewers. Since no single viewer is essential for providing the service, viewers can reap the benefits of the service without paying anything for it. If not enough people contribute, the service cannot be provided. In economics, the literature around public goods dilemmas refers to the phenomenon as the free-rider problem. The economic approach is broadly applicable and can refer to the free-riding that accompanies any sort of public good. In social psychology, the literature refers to this phenomenon as social loafing. Whereas free-riding is generally used to describe public goods, social loafing refers specifically to the tendency for people to exert less effort when in a group than when working alone. Public goods are goods that are nonrival and nonexcludable. A good is said to


id: collective-action-problem-20260505-3
file: data/en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Collective_action_problem-3.md
category: reference
title: Collective action problem
tags: science, encyclopedia
source_url: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Collective_action_problem
date_saved: 2026-05-05T07:13:10.731395+00:00
instance: kb-cron
parent: collective-action-problem-20260505-0
summary:
A social trap occurs when individuals or groups pursue immediate rewards that later prove to have negative or even lethal consequences. This type of dilemma arises when a behavior produces rewards initially but continuing the same behavior produces diminishing returns. Stimuli that cause social traps are called sliding reinforcers, since they reinforce the behavior in small doses and punish it in large doses. An example of a social trap is the use of vehicles and the resulting pollution. Viewed individually, vehicles are an adaptive technology that have revolutionized transportation and greatly improved quality of life. But their current widespread use produces high levels of pollution, directly from their energy source or over their lifespan. == Perceptual dilemma == A perceptual dilemma arises during conflict and is a product of outgroup bias. In this dilemma, the parties to the conflict prefer cooperation while simultaneously believing that the other side would take advantage of conciliatory gestures. === In conflict === The prevalence of perceptual dilemmas in conflict has led to the development of two distinct schools of thought on the subject. According to deterrence theory, the best strategy to take in conflict is to show signs of strength and willingness to use


id: collective-action-problem-20260505-4
file: data/en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Collective_action_problem-4.md
category: reference
title: Collective action problem
tags: science, encyclopedia
source_url: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Collective_action_problem
date_saved: 2026-05-05T07:13:10.731395+00:00
instance: kb-cron
parent: collective-action-problem-20260505-0
summary:
=== Motivational solutions === Motivational solutions assume that people have other-regarding preferences. There is a considerable literature on social value orientations which shows that people have stable preferences for how much they value outcomes for self versus others. Research has concentrated on three social motives: (1) individualism—maximizing own outcomes regardless of others; (2) competition—maximizing own outcomes relative to others; and (3) cooperation—maximizing joint outcomes. The first two orientations are referred to as proself orientations and the third as a prosocial orientation. There is much support for the idea that prosocial and proself individuals behave differently when confronted with a social dilemma in the laboratory as well as the field. People with prosocial orientations weigh the moral implications of their decisions more and see cooperation as the most preferable choice in a social dilemma. When there are conditions of scarcity, like a water shortage, prosocials harvest less from a common resource. Similarly prosocials are more concerned about the environmental consequences of, for example, taking the car or public transport. Research on the development of social value orientations suggest an influence of factors like family history (prosocials have more sibling sisters), age (older people are more prosocial), culture (more individualists in Western


id: collective-action-problem-20260505-5
file: data/en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Collective_action_problem-5.md
category: reference
title: Collective action problem
tags: science, encyclopedia
source_url: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Collective_action_problem
date_saved: 2026-05-05T07:13:10.731395+00:00
instance: kb-cron
parent: collective-action-problem-20260505-0
summary:
=== Structural solutions === Structural solutions change the rules of the game either through modifying the social dilemma or removing the dilemma altogether. Field research on conservation behaviour has shown that selective incentives in the form of monetary rewards are effective in decreasing domestic water and electricity use. Furthermore, numerous experimental and case studies show that cooperation is more likely based on a number of factors, including whether or not individuals have the ability to monitor the situation, to punish or "sanction" defectors, if they are legitimized by external political structures to cooperate and self-organize, can communicate with one another and share information, know one another, have effective arenas for conflict resolution, and are managing social and ecological systems that have well-defined boundaries or are easily monitorable. Yet implementation of reward and punishment systems can be problematic for various reasons. First, there are significant costs associated with creating and administering sanction systems. Providing selective rewards and punishments requires support institutions to monitor the activities of both cooperators and non-cooperators, which can be quite expensive to maintain. Second, these systems are themselves public goods because one can enjoy the benefits of a sanctioning system without contribution to its existence. The police,


id: filial-piety-20260505-0
file: data/en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Filial_piety-0.md
category: reference
title: Filial piety
tags: science, encyclopedia
source_url: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Filial_piety
date_saved: 2026-05-05T07:13:12.177574+00:00
instance: kb-cron
parent: filial-piety-20260505-0
summary:
Filial piety is the virtue of exhibiting love and respect for one's parents, elders, and ancestors within the context of Confucian, Chinese Buddhist, and Daoist ethics. The Confucian Classic of Filial Piety, thought to be written around the late Warring States-Qin-Han period, has historically been the authoritative source on the Confucian tenet of filial piety. The book—a purported dialogue between Confucius and his student Zengzi—is about how to set up a good society using the principle of filial piety. Filial piety is central to Confucian role ethics. In more general terms, filial piety means to be good to one's parents; to take care of one's parents; to engage in good conduct, not just towards parents but also outside the home so as to bring a good name to one's parents and ancestors; to show love, respect, and support; to display courtesy; to ensure male heirs; to uphold fraternity among brothers; to wisely advise one's parents, including dissuading them from moral unrighteousness; to display sorrow for their sickness and death; and to bury them and carry out sacrifices after their death. Filial piety is considered a key virtue in Chinese and other East Asian cultures, and it is the main subject


id: filial-piety-20260505-1
file: data/en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Filial_piety-1.md
category: reference
title: Filial piety
tags: science, encyclopedia
source_url: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Filial_piety
date_saved: 2026-05-05T07:13:12.177574+00:00
instance: kb-cron
parent: filial-piety-20260505-0
summary:
Confucian ethics does not regard filial piety as a choice, but rather as an unconditional obligation of the child. The relationship between parents and children is the most fundamental of the five cardinal relationships (五倫; wǔlún) described by Confucius in his role ethics. Filial piety, together with fraternal love, underlies this system. It is the fundamental principle of Confucian morality: Filial piety was seen as the basis for an orderly society, together with loyalty of the ministers toward the ruler, and servitude of the wife toward the husband. In short, filial piety is central to Confucian role ethics and is the cardinal virtue that defines, limits, or even overrides all other virtues. According to the traditional texts, filial piety consists of physical care, love, service, respect, and obedience. Children should attempt not to bring disgrace upon their parents. Confucian texts such as Book of Rites give details on how filial piety should be practiced. Respect is envisioned by detailed manners such as the way children salute their parents, speak to them (words and tone used), or enter and leave the room in which their parents are, as well as seating arrangements and gifts. Care means making sure parents are comfortable


id: filial-piety-20260505-2
file: data/en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Filial_piety-2.md
category: reference
title: Filial piety
tags: science, encyclopedia
source_url: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Filial_piety
date_saved: 2026-05-05T07:13:12.177574+00:00
instance: kb-cron
parent: filial-piety-20260505-0
summary:
Filial piety is regarded as a principle that ordered society, without which chaos would prevail. It is described as "an inevitable fact of nature", as opposed to mere convention, and it is seen to follow naturally out of the father-son relationship. In the Chinese tradition of patriarchy, roles are upheld to maintain the harmony of the whole. According to the Neo-Confucian philosopher Cheng Hao (1032–1085 CE), relationships and their corresponding roles "belong to the eternal principle of the cosmos from which there is no escape between heaven and earth". The idea of filial piety became popular in China because of the many functions it had and many roles it undertook, as the traditional Confucian scholars such as Mencius (4th century BCE) regarded the family as a fundamental unit that formed the root of the nation. Though the virtue of xiào was about respect by children toward their parents, it was meant to regulate how the young generation behaved toward elders in the extended family and in society in general. Furthermore, devotion to one's parents was often associated with one's devotion to the state, described as the "parallel conception of society" or the "Model of Two". The Classic of Filial Piety


id: filial-piety-20260505-3
file: data/en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Filial_piety-3.md
category: reference
title: Filial piety
tags: science, encyclopedia
source_url: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Filial_piety
date_saved: 2026-05-05T07:13:12.177574+00:00
instance: kb-cron
parent: filial-piety-20260505-0
summary:
Psychologists have found correlations between filial piety and lower socio-economic status, female gender, elders, minorities, and non-westernized cultures. Traditional filial piety beliefs have been connected with positive outcomes for the community and society, care for elder family members, positive family relationships, and solidarity. Filial piety has also been related to an orientation to the past, resistance to cognitive change, superstition and fatalism, dogmatism, authoritarianism, conformism, a belief in the superiority of one's culture, and a lack of active, critical, and creative learning attitudes. Ho connects the value of filial piety with authoritarian moralism and cognitive conservatism in Chinese patterns of socialization, basing this on findings among subjects in Hong Kong and Taiwan. He defines authoritarian moralism as hierarchical authority ranking in family and institutions, and pervasive use of moral precepts as criteria of measuring people. Cognitive moralism he derives from social psychologist Anthony Greenwald, and is a "disposition to preserve existing knowledge structures" and resistance to change. He concludes that filial piety appears to have a negative effect on psychological development, but at the same time, partly explains the high motivation of Chinese people to achieve academic results. In family counselling research, filial piety has been seen to help establish


id: filial-piety-20260505-4
file: data/en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Filial_piety-4.md
category: reference
title: Filial piety
tags: science, encyclopedia
source_url: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Filial_piety
date_saved: 2026-05-05T07:13:12.177574+00:00
instance: kb-cron
parent: filial-piety-20260505-0
summary:
Filial piety has been an important aspect of Buddhist ethics since early Buddhism, and was essential in the apologetics and texts of Chinese Buddhism. In the Early Buddhist Texts such as the Nikāyas and Āgamas, filial piety is prescribed and practiced in three ways: to repay the gratitude toward one's parents; as a good karma or merit; and as a way to contribute to and sustain the social order. Buddhist scriptures portray the Buddha and his disciples practicing filial piety toward their parents, based on the qualities of gratitude and reciprocity. Initially, scholars of Buddhism like Kenneth Ch'en saw Buddhist teachings on filial piety as a distinct feature of Chinese Buddhism. Later scholarship, led by people such as John Strong and Gregory Schopen, has come to believe that filial piety was part of Buddhist doctrine since early times. Strong and Schopen provided epigraphical and textual evidence to show that early Buddhist laypeople, monks, and nuns often displayed strong devotion to their parents, and concluded that filial piety was already an important part of the devotional life of early Buddhists. When Buddhism was introduced in China, it had no organized celibacy. Confucianism emphasized filial piety to parents and loyalty to the


id: filial-piety-20260505-5
file: data/en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Filial_piety-5.md
category: reference
title: Filial piety
tags: science, encyclopedia
source_url: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Filial_piety
date_saved: 2026-05-05T07:13:12.177574+00:00
instance: kb-cron
parent: filial-piety-20260505-0
summary:
=== 19th–20th century === During the rise of progressivism and communism in China in the early 20th century, Confucian values and family-centered living were discouraged by the state and intellectuals. During the New Culture Movement of 1911, Chinese intellectuals and foreign missionaries attacked the principle of filial piety, the latter considering it an obstruction of progress. In Japan, filial piety was not regarded as an obstacle to modernization, though scholars disagree about why this was so. Francis Hsu believed that "the human networks through which it found concrete expressions" were different in Japan, and there never was a movement against filial piety as there was in China. The late imperial trend of increased patriarchalism made it difficult for the Chinese to build strong patrimonial groups that went beyond kin. Though filial piety was practiced much in both China and Japan, the Chinese way was more limited to close kin than in Japan. When industrialization increased, filial piety was therefore criticized more in China than in Japan, because China felt it limited the way the country could meet the challenges from the West. For this reason, China developed a more critical stance towards filial piety and other aspects of Confucianism than


id: markedness-20260505-0
file: data/en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Markedness-0.md
category: reference
title: Markedness
tags: science, encyclopedia
source_url: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Markedness
date_saved: 2026-05-05T07:13:13.402808+00:00
instance: kb-cron
parent: markedness-20260505-0
summary:
In linguistics and social sciences, markedness is the state of standing out as nontypical or divergent as opposed to regular or common. In a marked–unmarked relation, one term of an opposition is the broader, dominant one. The dominant default or minimum-effort form is known as unmarked; the other, secondary one is marked. In other words, markedness involves the characterization of a "normal" linguistic unit against one or more of its possible "irregular" forms. In linguistics, markedness can apply to, among others, phonological, grammatical, and semantic oppositions, defining them in terms of marked and unmarked oppositions, such as honest (unmarked) as opposed to dishonest (marked). Marking may be purely semantic, or may be realized as extra morphology. The term derives from the marking of a grammatical role with a suffix or another element, and has been extended to situations where there is no morphological distinction. In social sciences more broadly, markedness is, among other things, used to distinguish two meanings of the same term, where one is common usage (unmarked sense) and the other is specialized to a certain cultural context (marked sense). In psychology, the social science concept of markedness is quantified as a measure of how much one variable


id: markedness-20260505-1
file: data/en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Markedness-1.md
category: reference
title: Markedness
tags: science, encyclopedia
source_url: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Markedness
date_saved: 2026-05-05T07:13:13.402808+00:00
instance: kb-cron
parent: markedness-20260505-0
summary:
== Cultural markedness and informedness == Since a main component of markedness is the information content and information value of an element, some studies have taken markedness as an encoding of that which is unusual or informative, and this is reflected in formal probabilistic definitions of markedness and informedness that, for dichotomous problems, correspond to the chance-correct unidirectional components of the Matthews correlation coefficient known as Δp and Δp'. Conceptual familiarity with cultural norms provided by familiar categories creates a ground against which marked categories provide a figure, opening the way for markedness to be applied to cultural and social categorization. As early as the 1930s Jakobson had already suggested applying markedness to all oppositions, explicitly mentioning such pairs as life/death, liberty/bondage, sin/virtue, and holiday/working day. Linda Waugh extended this to oppositions like male/female, white/black, sighted/blind, hearing/deaf, heterosexual/homosexual, right/left, fertility/barrenness, clothed/nude, and spoken language/written language. Battistella expanded this with the demonstration of how cultures align markedness values to create cohesive symbol systems, illustrating with examples based on Rodney Needham's work. Other work has applied markedness to stylistics, music, and myth. == Local markedness and markedness reversals == Markedness depends on context. What is more marked in some general contexts may


id: markedness-20260505-2
file: data/en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Markedness-2.md
category: reference
title: Markedness
tags: science, encyclopedia
source_url: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Markedness
date_saved: 2026-05-05T07:13:13.402808+00:00
instance: kb-cron
parent: markedness-20260505-0
summary:
We will assume that [Universal Grammar] is not an 'undifferentiated' system, but rather incorporates something analogous to a 'theory of markedness.' Specifically, there is a theory of core grammar with highly restricted options, limited expressive power, and a few parameters. Systems that fall within core grammar constitute 'the unmarked case'; we may think of them as optimal in terms of the evaluation metric. An actual language is determined by fixing the parameters of core grammar and then adding rules or conditions, using much richer resources, ... These added properties of grammars we may think of as the syntactic analogue of irregular verbs. A few years later, Chomsky describes it thus: The distinction between core and periphery leaves us with three notions of markedness: core versus periphery, internal to the core, and internal to the periphery. The second has to do with the way parameters are set in the absence of evidence. As for the third, there are, no doubt, significant regularities even in departures from the core principles (for example, in irregular verb morphology in English), and it may be that peripheral constructions are related to the core in systematic ways, say by relaxing certain conditions of core grammar. Some


id: microaggression-20260505-0
file: data/en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Microaggression-0.md
category: reference
title: Microaggression
tags: science, encyclopedia
source_url: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Microaggression
date_saved: 2026-05-05T07:13:14.791929+00:00
instance: kb-cron
parent: microaggression-20260505-0
summary:
Microaggression is a term used for commonplace verbal, behavioral or environmental slight, whether intentional or unintentional, that communicates hostile, derogatory, or negative attitudes toward members of marginalized groups. The term was coined by Harvard University psychiatrist Chester M. Pierce in 1970 to describe insults and dismissals which he regularly witnessed non-black Americans inflicting on African Americans. By the early 21st century, use of the term was applied to the casual disparagement of any socially marginalized group, including LGBT, poor, and disabled people. Psychologist Derald Wing Sue defines microaggressions as "brief, everyday exchanges that send denigrating messages to certain individuals because of their group membership". In contrast to aggression, in which there is usually an intent to cause harm, persons making microaggressive comments may be otherwise well-intentioned and unaware of the potential impact of their words. A number of scholars and social commentators have criticized the concept of microaggression for its lack of a scientific basis, over-reliance on subjective evidence, and promotion of psychological fragility. Critics argue that avoiding behaviors that one interprets as microaggressions restricts one's own freedom and causes emotional self-harm, and that employing authority figures to address microaggressions (i.e. call-out culture) can lead to an atrophy of those


id: microaggression-20260505-1
file: data/en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Microaggression-1.md
category: reference
title: Microaggression
tags: science, encyclopedia
source_url: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Microaggression
date_saved: 2026-05-05T07:13:14.791929+00:00
instance: kb-cron
parent: microaggression-20260505-0
summary:
Microassault: an explicit racial derogation; verbal/nonverbal; e.g. name-calling, avoidant behavior, purposeful discriminatory actions. Microinsult: communications that convey rudeness and insensitivity and demean a person's racial heritage or identity; subtle snubs; unknown to the perpetrator; hidden insulting message to the recipient. Microinvalidation: communications that exclude, negate, or nullify the psychological thoughts, feelings, or experiential reality of a person belonging to a particular group. Environmental Microaggressions (Macro-Level): Racial assaults, insults and invalidations which are manifested on systemic and environmental level. Some psychologists have criticized microaggression theory for assuming that all verbal, behavioral, or environmental indignities are due to bias. Thomas Schacht says that it is uncertain whether a behavior is due to racial bias or is a larger phenomenon that occurs regardless of identity conflict. However, Kanter and colleagues found that racial microaggressions were robustly correlated to five separate measures of bias. In reviewing the microaggression literature, Scott Lilienfeld suggested that microassaults should probably be struck from the taxonomy because the examples provided in the literature tend not to be "micro", but are outright assaults, intimidation, harassment and bigotry; in some cases, examples have included criminal acts. Others have pointed out that what could be perceived as subtle snubs could be due


id: microaggression-20260505-2
file: data/en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Microaggression-2.md
category: reference
title: Microaggression
tags: science, encyclopedia
source_url: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Microaggression
date_saved: 2026-05-05T07:13:14.791929+00:00
instance: kb-cron
parent: microaggression-20260505-0
summary:
=== Gender === Gender microaggressions may replace more blatant forms of sexism and gender discrimination when a society evolves sufficiently for those forms of outright prejudice to be deemed no longer acceptable. For instance, explicit sexism in the society of the US is on the decline, but still exists in a variety of subtle and non-subtle expressions. Women encounter microaggressions in which they are made to feel inferior, sexually objectified, and bound to restrictive gender roles, both in the workplace and in academia, as well as in athletics. Microaggressions against sexual and gender minority people and cisgender women share many common themes. Influential early studies on gender microaggressions documented common themes across incidents. The themes are sexual objectification, treatment as an invisible or second-class citizen, assuming inferiority, denying the reality of sexism, assuming traditional gender roles, using sexist language, denying one's own sexism, and systemic or environmental issues. As one example, when one employer paid women less than men for the same work, it sent the message that the company believed women were less smart or capable than men, fitting the themes of second-class citizen and environmental mistreatment. Researchers continue to draw out further themes for classifying gender microaggressions, like


id: microaggression-20260505-3
file: data/en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Microaggression-3.md
category: reference
title: Microaggression
tags: science, encyclopedia
source_url: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Microaggression
date_saved: 2026-05-05T07:13:14.791929+00:00
instance: kb-cron
parent: microaggression-20260505-0
summary:
Microaggressions about sexual orientation can be rooted in heterosexist language and heteronormativity; stereotyping, deriding, undersexualizing or exoticizing the LGBTQ experience; or denying that heterosexism exists. Documented sources of systemic microaggressions include the media, religious groups, governments and educational organizations. Systemic microaggressions can involve negative, discriminatory portrayals and policies that target people who aren't straight, or queer people more broadly. In some studies, researchers found that microaggressions affected queer targets' self-acceptance and self-esteem, increasing the potential for anxiety, stress, and PTSD symptoms. Microaggressions towards LGBTQ people are likely to cause less distress when the target has high levels of self-acceptance. K. L. Nadal and M. J. Corpus documented some microaggressions against LGBTQ people in a pair of 2013 studies. Example microassaults (explicit insults) include using heterosexist language, like saying "that's so gay" as a put-down. Microinsults (subtly rude messaging) include comments rooted in stereotypes. As an example, a joke that a gay man couldn't like sports implies that all gay men are feminine, or a comment that a woman is too pretty to be lesbian implies that all lesbians are masculine. An example microinvalidation (denial of someone's reality) might happen after a queer person speaks up about a time they felt


id: microaggression-20260505-4
file: data/en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Microaggression-4.md
category: reference
title: Microaggression
tags: science, encyclopedia
source_url: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Microaggression
date_saved: 2026-05-05T07:13:14.791929+00:00
instance: kb-cron
parent: microaggression-20260505-0
summary:
People with mental illness report receiving more overt forms of microaggression than subtle ones, coming from family and friends as well as from authority figures. In fact, family, friends, and healthcare workers are some of the most common reported sources of microaggressions towards people with mental illness. In a study involving college students and adults who were being treated in community care, five themes were identified: invalidation, assumption of inferiority, fear of mental illness, shaming of mental illness, and being treated as a second-class citizen. Invalidation would occur, for example, when friends and family members minimized mental health symptoms; one participant described others claiming "You can't be depressed, you're smiling." People would sometimes falsely assume that mental illness means lower intelligence; a participant reported that the hospital staff in a psych ward were speaking to mentally ill patients as if they could not understand instructions. Many documented mental health microaggressions have themes of stereotyping mental illness: whether the stereotype assumes people with mental illness are incapable, weak, dangerous, or cold, they share a negative association. Microaggressions also may involve treating people with mental illness differently than others: devaluing someone, patronizing them, or treating them like a child, speaking condescendingly or


id: microaggression-20260505-5
file: data/en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Microaggression-5.md
category: reference
title: Microaggression
tags: science, encyclopedia
source_url: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Microaggression
date_saved: 2026-05-05T07:13:14.791929+00:00
instance: kb-cron
parent: microaggression-20260505-0
summary:
== Effects == A 2013 scholarly review of the literature on microaggressions concluded that "the negative impact of racial microaggressions on psychological and physical health is beginning to be documented; however, these studies have been largely correlational and based on recall and self-report, making it difficult to determine whether racial microaggressions actually cause negative health outcomes and, if so, through what mechanisms". A 2017 review of microaggression research argued that as scholars try to understand the possible harm caused by microaggressions, they have not conducted much cognitive or behavioral research, nor much experimental testing, and they have overly relied on small collections of anecdotal testimonies from samples who are not representative of any particular population. These assertions were later argued against in that same journal in 2020, but the response was criticized for failing to address the findings of the systematic reviews and continuing to draw causal inferences from correlational data. A 2022 meta-analysis concluded that experienced microaggressions were associated with worse psychological and physical health, more use of coping mechanisms, and negative job impacts, across a broad range of environments and types of people. These associations demonstrate correlation but cannot prove a causal relationship between microaggressions and negative effects.


id: microaggression-20260505-6
file: data/en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Microaggression-6.md
category: reference
title: Microaggression
tags: science, encyclopedia
source_url: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Microaggression
date_saved: 2026-05-05T07:13:14.791929+00:00
instance: kb-cron
parent: microaggression-20260505-0
summary:
=== Emotional distress === In The Atlantic, Greg Lukianoff and Jonathan Haidt expressed concern that the focus on microaggressions can cause more emotional trauma than the experience of the microaggressions at the time of occurrence. They believe that self-policing by an individual of thoughts or actions in order to avoid committing microaggressions may cause emotional harm as a person seeks to avoid becoming a microaggressor, as such extreme self-policing may share some characteristics of pathological thinking. Referring especially to prevention programs at schools or universities, they say that the element of protectiveness, of which identifying microaggression allegations are a part, prepares students "poorly for professional life, which often demands intellectual engagement with people and ideas one might find uncongenial or wrong". They also said that it has become "unacceptable to question the reasonableness (let alone the sincerity) of someone's emotional state", resulting in adjudication of alleged microaggressions having characteristics of witch trials. Amitai Etzioni, writing in The Atlantic, suggested that attention to microaggressions distracts individuals and groups from dealing with much more serious acts. === Political correctness === According to Derald Wing Sue, whose works popularized the term, many critiques are based on the term being misunderstood or misused. He


id: off-the-verandah-20260505-0
file: data/en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Off_the_verandah-0.md
category: reference
title: Off the verandah
tags: science, encyclopedia
source_url: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Off_the_verandah
date_saved: 2026-05-05T07:13:16.159915+00:00
instance: kb-cron
parent: off-the-verandah-20260505-0
summary:
Off the verandah (alt. spelling off the veranda; longer, come down off the verandah) is a phrase often attributed to anthropologist Bronisław Malinowski, who stressed the need for fieldwork enabling the researcher to experience the everyday life of his subjects along with them. In this context, it is also interpreted as criticism of armchair theorizing. == Origin == While often used to describe Malinowski's message and occasionally attributed directly to him, the origins of the phrase are unclear, and it has also been attributed to Ian Jarvie's criticism of Malinowski's idea in his 1964 The Revolution in Anthropology, in which he paraphrased Malinowski's message to his followers: Soon the voices of the swelling mass of students could be heard ... "Father ... show us how we may come to do so" they beseeched Malinowski ... Malinowski heeded their plea. Back came the reply, the second slogan: "Come down off the verandah, come out of your studies and join the people". Translated this reads "do not sit spinning theories like spider webs on the verandah ... go down among the people, get to know them ..." == Significance == The phrase refers to the argument promoted by anthropologist Bronisław Malinowski who


id: therapy-speak-20260505-0
file: data/en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Therapy_speak-0.md
category: reference
title: Therapy speak
tags: science, encyclopedia
source_url: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Therapy_speak
date_saved: 2026-05-05T07:13:18.707219+00:00
instance: kb-cron
parent: therapy-speak-20260505-0
summary:
Therapy speak is the incorrect use of terminology which is frequently used in psychotherapy and mental health. It tends to be linguistically prescriptive and formal in tone. Therapy speak is related to psychobabble and buzzwords. It is vulnerable to miscommunication and relationship damage as a result of the speaker not fully understanding the terms they are using, as well as using the words in a weaponized or abusive manner. Therapy speak is not generally used by therapists during psychotherapy sessions. == Motivation == Although the use of therapy speak may be unintentional, a variety of different motivations have been identified in different situations. People use therapy speak because it makes them or their emotions sound more important or superior. In this sense, the use of therapy speak may be no different from academese, which is jargon needlessly used by university professors and other academics to make themselves sound educated. This can come across as the speaker being condescending and unkind. Therapy speak may be used in other ways to claim social status, e.g., by engaging in conspicuous consumption under the guise of self-care. The motivation may be to win an argument, or to prevent people from questioning why they have


id: therapy-speak-20260505-1
file: data/en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Therapy_speak-1.md
category: reference
title: Therapy speak
tags: science, encyclopedia
source_url: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Therapy_speak
date_saved: 2026-05-05T07:13:18.707219+00:00
instance: kb-cron
parent: therapy-speak-20260505-0
summary:
== Effects == Therapy speak can be associated with controlling behavior. It can be used as a weapon to shame people or to pathologize them by declaring the other person's behavior (e.g., accidentally hurting the other person's feelings) to be a mental illness, as well as a way to excuse or minimize the speaker's choices, for example, by blaming their attachment style on a conscious behavior like ghosting rather than working to change the behavior. Like other forms of pop psychology, therapy speak can result in miscommunication. When people use the same word to mean different things, they may have difficulty understanding each other. For example, someone might talk about trauma bonding, thinking that it's the emotional bond between survivors of a shared experience; the actual meaning is the emotional attachment of abuse victims to their abusers. Using the word to refer to a relationship between abuse survivors will confuse people who believe it refers to an abuser–victim relationship, and vice versa. In sessions, therapists may address this by asking the speaker to define the word or explain it in more detail. It also impairs communication by substituting a superficial judgement for clear communication. Therapy speak can prevent the person


id: therapy-speak-20260505-2
file: data/en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Therapy_speak-2.md
category: reference
title: Therapy speak
tags: science, encyclopedia
source_url: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Therapy_speak
date_saved: 2026-05-05T07:13:18.707219+00:00
instance: kb-cron
parent: therapy-speak-20260505-0
summary:
Trauma Many psychotherapists consider the term "trauma" to be overused to describe "anything bad". According to George Bonanno, psychological trauma is often defined to begin with a horrific "violent or life-threatening event that is outside the range of normal experience", such as rape, a natural disaster, or a mass shooting. Early symptoms may include shock and denial; later symptoms, for those who develop post-traumatic stress disorder, may include unpredictable labile mood (e.g., a normal comment provokes an obviously abnormal feeling), intense nightmares or flashbacks (feeling like the traumatic event is happening again), and other debilitating symptoms. However, other clinicians argue that another form of trauma isn't yet included in the Diagnostic and Statistical Manual of Mental Disorders (DSM), caused by experiences that may not be explicitly violent, but still mirror the effects of more "severe" trauma and affects people deeply. Trigger The term "trigger" is often used to say that the person is upset, or that a behavior caused the person to feel bad. However, a trauma trigger in clinical terms describes something that may be harmless (e.g., the sound of a motorcycle) that is mentally tied for that individual to a previous terrible event (e.g., witnessing gun violence). Gaslighting


id: unintended-consequences-20260505-0
file: data/en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Unintended_consequences-0.md
category: reference
title: Unintended consequences
tags: science, encyclopedia
source_url: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Unintended_consequences
date_saved: 2026-05-05T07:13:20.047109+00:00
instance: kb-cron
parent: unintended-consequences-20260505-0
summary:
In the social sciences, unintended consequences (sometimes unanticipated consequences or unforeseen consequences, more colloquially called knock-on effects) are outcomes of a purposeful action that are not intended or foreseen. The term was popularized in the 20th century by American sociologist Robert K. Merton. Unintended consequences can be grouped into three types: Unexpected benefit: A positive unexpected benefit (also referred to as luck, serendipity, or a windfall). Unexpected drawback: An unexpected detriment occurring in addition to the desired effect of the policy (e.g., while irrigation schemes provide people with water for agriculture, they can increase waterborne diseases that have devastating health effects, such as schistosomiasis). Perverse result: A perverse effect contrary to what was originally intended (when an intended solution makes a problem worse). == History == === John Locke === The idea of unintended consequences dates back at least to John Locke who discussed the unintended consequences of interest rate regulation in his letter to Sir John Somers, Member of Parliament. === Adam Smith === The idea was also discussed by Adam Smith, the Scottish Enlightenment, and consequentialism (judging by results). The invisible hand theorem is an example of the unintended consequences of agents acting in their self-interest. As Andrew


id: unintended-consequences-20260505-1
file: data/en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Unintended_consequences-1.md
category: reference
title: Unintended consequences
tags: science, encyclopedia
source_url: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Unintended_consequences
date_saved: 2026-05-05T07:13:20.047109+00:00
instance: kb-cron
parent: unintended-consequences-20260505-0
summary:
==== Friedrich Hayek and Catallactics ==== Economist and philosopher Friedrich Hayek (1899 – 1992) is another key figure in the Austrian School of Economics who is notable for his comments on unintended consequences. In "The Use of Knowledge in Society" (1945) Hayek argues that a centrally planned economy cannot reach the level of efficiency of the free market economy because the necessary (and pertinent) information for decision-making is not concentrated but dispersed among a vast number of agents. Then, for Hayek, the price system in the free market allows the members of a society to anonymously coordinate for the most efficient use of resources, for example, in a situation of scarcity of a raw material, the price increase would coordinate the actions of an uncountable amount of individuals "in the right direction". The development of this system of interactions would allow the progress of society, and individuals would carry it out without knowing all its implications, given the dispersion (or lack of concentration) of information. The implication of this is that the social order (which derives from social progress, which in turn derives from the economy), would be result of a spontaneous cooperation and also an unintended consequence, being born


id: unintended-consequences-20260505-2
file: data/en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Unintended_consequences-2.md
category: reference
title: Unintended consequences
tags: science, encyclopedia
source_url: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Unintended_consequences
date_saved: 2026-05-05T07:13:20.047109+00:00
instance: kb-cron
parent: unintended-consequences-20260505-0
summary:
=== Unexpected drawbacks === The implementation of a profanity filter by AOL in 1996 had the unintended consequence of blocking residents of Scunthorpe, North Lincolnshire, England, from creating accounts because of a false positive. The accidental censorship of innocent language, known as the Scunthorpe problem, has been repeated and widely documented. In 1990, the Australian state of Victoria made safety helmets mandatory for all bicycle riders. While there was a reduction in the number of head injuries, there was also an unintended reduction in the number of juvenile cyclists—fewer cyclists obviously leads to fewer injuries, all else being equal. The risk of death and serious injury per cyclist seems to have increased, possibly because of risk compensation. Research by Vulcan et al. found that the reduction in juvenile cyclists was because the youths considered wearing a bicycle helmet unfashionable. A health-benefit model developed at Macquarie University in Sydney suggests that, while helmet use reduces "the risk of head or brain injury by approximately two-thirds or more", the decrease in exercise caused by reduced cycling as a result of helmet laws is counterproductive in terms of net health. Prohibition in the 1920s United States, originally enacted to suppress the alcohol trade,


id: unintended-consequences-20260505-3
file: data/en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Unintended_consequences-3.md
category: reference
title: Unintended consequences
tags: science, encyclopedia
source_url: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Unintended_consequences
date_saved: 2026-05-05T07:13:20.047109+00:00
instance: kb-cron
parent: unintended-consequences-20260505-0
summary:
In 2003, Barbra Streisand unsuccessfully sued Kenneth Adelman and Pictopia.com for posting a photograph of her home online. Before the lawsuit had been filed, only 6 people had downloaded the file, two of them Streisand's attorneys. The lawsuit drew attention to the image, resulting in 420,000 people visiting the site. The Streisand Effect was named after this incident, describing when an attempt to censor or remove a certain piece of information instead draws attention to the material being suppressed, resulting in the material instead becoming widely known, reported on, and distributed. Passenger-side airbags in motorcars were intended as a safety feature, but led to an increase in child fatalities in the mid-1990s because small children were being hit by airbags that deployed automatically during collisions. The supposed solution to this problem, moving the child seat to the back of the vehicle, led to an increase in the number of children forgotten in unattended vehicles, some of whom died under extreme temperature conditions. Risk compensation, or the Peltzman effect, occurs after implementation of safety measures intended to reduce injury or death (e.g. bike helmets, seatbelts, etc.). People may feel safer than they really are and take additional risks which they would


id: unintended-consequences-20260505-4
file: data/en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Unintended_consequences-4.md
category: reference
title: Unintended consequences
tags: science, encyclopedia
source_url: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Unintended_consequences
date_saved: 2026-05-05T07:13:20.047109+00:00
instance: kb-cron
parent: unintended-consequences-20260505-0
summary:
=== Other === According to Lynn White, the invention of the horse stirrup enabled new patterns of warfare that eventually led to the development of feudalism (see Stirrup Thesis). == Perverse consequences of environmental intervention == Almost all environmental problems, from chemical pollution to global warming, are the unexpected consequences of the application of modern technologies. Traffic congestion, deaths and injuries from car accidents, air pollution, and global warming are unintended consequences of the invention and large scale adoption of the automobile. Hospital infections are the unexpected side-effect of antibiotic resistance, and even human population growth leading to environmental degradation is the side effect of various technological (i.e., agricultural and industrial) revolutions. Because of the complexity of ecosystems, deliberate changes to an ecosystem or other environmental interventions will often have (usually negative) unintended consequences. Sometimes, these effects cause permanent irreversible changes. Examples include: During the Four Pests campaign, Maoist China ordered the killing of sparrows, as well as rats, flies, and mosquitoes. The campaign was successful in reducing the sparrow population; however, in their absence, locust populations previously kept in check by sparrow predation grew out of control and came to infest crops. Rice yields were substantially decreased; the campaign


id: wild-problem-20260505-0
file: data/en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Wild_problem-0.md
category: reference
title: Wild problem
tags: science, encyclopedia
source_url: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Wild_problem
date_saved: 2026-05-05T07:13:21.408700+00:00
instance: kb-cron
parent: wild-problem-20260505-0
summary:
A wild problem is a class of problems where the various parts that specify the problem can change, or keep changing, and there is no single "right" outcome to aim for. Every move or intended solution reveals new complications, trade-offs have no well-defined end, and "success" depends more on judgment and values rather than a clear formula or finish line. The term has distinct uses in the domains of mathematics, and in social sciences and economics. == Mathematics == A wild problem in mathematics is an ill-posed or indeterminate problem lacking a clear, unique solution due to incomplete constraints or evolving parameters. In areas of linear algebra and representation theory, a problem is wild if it contains the problem of classifying pairs of square matrices up to simultaneous similarity. Examples of wild problems are classifying indecomposable representations of any quiver that is neither a Dynkin quiver (i.e. the underlying undirected graph of the quiver is a (finite) Dynkin diagram) nor a Euclidean quiver (i.e., the underlying undirected graph of the quiver is an affine Dynkin diagram). Necessary and sufficient conditions have been proposed to check the simultaneously block triangularization and diagonalization of a finite set of matrices under the assumption


id: international-scientific-vocabulary-20260505-0
file: data/en.wikipedia.org/wiki/International_scientific_vocabulary-0.md
category: reference
title: International scientific vocabulary
tags: science, encyclopedia
source_url: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/International_scientific_vocabulary
date_saved: 2026-05-05T07:13:23.251826+00:00
instance: kb-cron
parent: international-scientific-vocabulary-20260505-0
summary:
International scientific vocabulary (ISV) is the set of scientific and specialized words that are in current use in several modern languages. Although the language of origin of ISV may or may not be certain, they are used translingually, whether in naturalized, loanword, or calque forms. The name "international scientific vocabulary" was first used by Philip Gove in Webster's Third New International Dictionary (1961). As noted by David Crystal, science is an especially productive field for new coinages. It is also especially predisposed to immediate translingual sharing of words owing to its very nature: scientists working in many countries and languages, reading each other's latest articles in scientific journals (via foreign language skills, translation help, or both), and eager to apply any reported advances to their own context. == Instances == According to Webster's Third, "some ISV words (like haploid) have been created by taking a word with a rather general and simple meaning from one of the languages of antiquity, usually Latin and Greek, and conferring upon it a very specific and complicated meaning for the purposes of modern scientific discourse." An ISV word is typically a classical compound or a derivative which "gets only its raw materials, so to


id: nomenclature-20260505-0
file: data/en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Nomenclature-0.md
category: reference
title: Nomenclature
tags: science, encyclopedia
source_url: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Nomenclature
date_saved: 2026-05-05T07:13:24.614245+00:00
instance: kb-cron
parent: nomenclature-20260505-0
summary:
Nomenclature (UK: , US: ) is a system of names or terms, or the rules for forming these terms in a particular field of arts or sciences. The theoretical field studying nomenclature is sometimes referred to as onymology or taxonymy. The principles of naming vary from the relatively informal conventions of everyday speech to the internationally agreed principles, rules, and recommendations that govern the formation and use of the specialist terminology used in scientific and any other disciplines. Naming "things" is a part of general human communication using words and language: it is an aspect of everyday taxonomy as people distinguish the objects of their experience, together with their similarities and differences, which observers identify, name and classify. The use of names, as the many different kinds of nouns embedded in different languages, connects nomenclature to theoretical linguistics, while the way humans mentally structure the world in relation to word meanings and experience relates to the philosophy of language. Onomastics, the study of proper names and their origins, includes: anthroponymy (concerned with human names, including personal names, surnames and nicknames); toponymy (the study of place names); and etymology (the derivation, history and use of names) as revealed through comparative and


id: nomenclature-20260505-1
file: data/en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Nomenclature-1.md
category: reference
title: Nomenclature
tags: science, encyclopedia
source_url: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Nomenclature
date_saved: 2026-05-05T07:13:24.614245+00:00
instance: kb-cron
parent: nomenclature-20260505-0
summary:
in all languages natural groups of organisms are distinguished (present-day taxa) these groups are arranged into more inclusive groups or ethnobiological categories in all languages there are about five or six ethnobiological categories of graded inclusiveness these groups (ethnobiological categories) are arranged hierarchically, generally into mutually exclusive ranks the ranks at which particular organisms are named and classified is often similar in different cultures The levels, moving from the most to least inclusive, are: "unique beginner" — e.g. plant or animal. A single all-inclusive name rarely used in folk taxonomies but loosely equivalent to an original living thing, a "common ancestor" "life form" — e.g. tree, bird, grass and fish. These are usually primary lexemes (basic linguistic units) loosely equivalent to a phylum or major biological division. "generic name" — e.g. oak, pine, robin, catfish. This is the most numerous and basic building block of all folk taxonomies, the most frequently referred to, the most important psychologically, and among the first learned by children. These names can usually be associated directly with a second level group. Like life-form names these are primary lexemes. "specific name" — e.g. white fir, post oak. More or less equivalent to species. A secondary lexeme


id: nomenclature-20260505-2
file: data/en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Nomenclature-2.md
category: reference
title: Nomenclature
tags: science, encyclopedia
source_url: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Nomenclature
date_saved: 2026-05-05T07:13:24.614245+00:00
instance: kb-cron
parent: nomenclature-20260505-0
summary:
The distinction between proper names and common names is that proper names denote a unique entity e.g. London Bridge, while common names are used in a more general sense in reference to a class of objects e.g. bridge. Many proper names are obscure in meaning as they lack any apparent meaning in the way that ordinary words mean, probably for the practical reason that when they consist of Collective nouns, they refer to groups, even when they are inflected for the singular e.g. "committee". Concrete nouns like "cabbage" refer to physical bodies that can be observed by at least one of the senses while abstract nouns, like "love" and "hate" refer to abstract objects. In English, many abstract nouns are formed by adding noun-forming suffixes ('-ness', '-ity', '-tion') to adjectives or verbs e.g. "happiness", "serenity", "concentration." Pronouns like "he", "it", "which", and "those" stand in place of nouns in noun phrases. The capitalization of nouns varies with language and even the particular context: journals often have their own house styles for common names. === -onym nouns === Distinctions may be made between particular kinds of names simply by using the suffix -onym, from the Greek ónoma (ὄνομα, 'name'). So we


id: international-code-of-area-nomenclature-20260505-0
file: data/en.wikipedia.org/wiki/International_Code_of_Area_Nomenclature-0.md
category: reference
title: International Code of Area Nomenclature
tags: science, encyclopedia
source_url: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/International_Code_of_Area_Nomenclature
date_saved: 2026-05-05T07:13:25.858217+00:00
instance: kb-cron
parent: international-code-of-area-nomenclature-20260505-0
summary:
The International Code of Area Nomenclature (ICAN) was proposed by a group of few biogeographers to provide a universal naming system or nomenclature for areas of endemism used in contemporary biogeography. There are other proposals to palaeobiogeographic areas. The ICAN also serves as the international standard rules for proposing and using "area of endemism" names. The ICAN was ratified by the Systematic and Evolutionary Biogeographical Association (SEBA) in Paris in the only meeting of the group, during July 2007. This community was created and maintained by the same group of biogeographers that proposed the ICAN. There is little agreement on the use of different methods and systems of nomenclature in Biogeography, and this proposal represents one of the various kinds of study in this science. == References == == External links == ICAN Website


id: nomenclator-nomenclature-20260505-0
file: data/en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Nomenclator_(nomenclature)-0.md
category: reference
title: Nomenclator (nomenclature)
tags: science, encyclopedia
source_url: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Nomenclator_(nomenclature)
date_saved: 2026-05-05T07:13:27.132624+00:00
instance: kb-cron
parent: nomenclator-nomenclature-20260505-0
summary:
A nomenclator ( NOH-mən-KLAY-tər; English plural nomenclators, Latin plural nomenclatores; derived from the Latin nomen- name + calare – to call), in classical times, referred to a slave whose duty was to recall the names of persons his master met during a political campaign. Later, the scope was expanded to include names of people in any social context and also other socially important information about them. However, it has taken on several other meanings and also refers to a book containing collections or lists of words. It also denotes a person, generally a public official, who announces the names of guests at a party or other social gathering or ceremony. In more general terms still, it is a person who provides or creates the names for things, and this can apply to the application of names in a scientific or any other context, but especially in relation to specialist terminologies, glossaries etc. == Nomenclators in biology == Several nomenclators have been created in biology. They usually list the names of genera and sometimes species together with the origins (sources) of these names. Sometimes they also include additional information, such as the distribution. For instance, an entry in the Nomenclator Zoologicus


id: priority-biology-20260505-0
file: data/en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Priority_(biology)-0.md
category: reference
title: Priority (biology)
tags: science, encyclopedia
source_url: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Priority_(biology)
date_saved: 2026-05-05T07:13:28.487963+00:00
instance: kb-cron
parent: priority-biology-20260505-0
summary:
Priority is a principle in biological taxonomy by which a valid scientific name is established based on the oldest available name. It is a decisive rule in botanical and zoological nomenclature to recognise the first binomial name (also called binominal name in zoology) given to an organism as the correct and acceptable name. The purpose is to select one scientific name as a stable one out of two or more alternate names that often exist for a single species. The International Code of Nomenclature for algae, fungi, and plants (ICN) defines it as: "A right to precedence established by the date of valid publication of a legitimate name or of an earlier homonym, or by the date of designation of a type." Basically, it is a scientific procedure to eliminate duplicate or multiple names for a species, for which Lucien Marcus Underwood called it "the principle of outlaw in nomenclature". == History == The principle of priority has not always been in place. When Carl Linnaeus laid the foundations of modern nomenclature, he offered no recognition of prior names. The botanists who followed him were just as willing to overturn Linnaeus's names. The first sign of recognition of priority came


id: priority-biology-20260505-1
file: data/en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Priority_(biology)-1.md
category: reference
title: Priority (biology)
tags: science, encyclopedia
source_url: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Priority_(biology)
date_saved: 2026-05-05T07:13:28.487963+00:00
instance: kb-cron
parent: priority-biology-20260505-0
summary:
The first formal scientific name published for a plant or animal taxon shall be the name that is to be used, called the valid name in zoology and correct name in botany (principle of synonymy). Once a name has been used, no subsequent publication of that name for another taxon shall be valid (zoology) or validly published (botany) (principle of homonymy). Note that nomenclature for botany and zoology is independent, and the rules of priority regarding homonyms operate within each discipline but not between them. Thus, an animal and a plant can bear the same name, which is then called a hemihomonym. There are formal provisions for making exceptions to the principle of priority under each of the Codes. If an archaic or obscure prior name is discovered for an established taxon, the current name can be declared a nomen conservandum (botany) or conserved name (zoology), and so conserved against the prior name. Conservation may be avoided entirely in zoology, as these names may fall in the formal category of nomen oblitum. Similarly, if the current name for a taxon is found to have an archaic or obscure prior homonym, the current name can be declared a nomen protectum (zoology)


id: taxonomy-20260505-0
file: data/en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Taxonomy-0.md
category: reference
title: Taxonomy
tags: science, encyclopedia
source_url: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Taxonomy
date_saved: 2026-05-05T07:13:29.818243+00:00
instance: kb-cron
parent: taxonomy-20260505-0
summary:
Taxonomy is a practice and science concerned with classification or categorization. Typically, there are two parts to it: the development of an underlying scheme of classes (a taxonomy) and the allocation of things to the classes (classification). Originally, taxonomy referred only to the classification of organisms on the basis of shared characteristics. Today it also has a more general sense. It may refer to the classification of things or concepts, as well as to the principles underlying such work. Thus a taxonomy can be used to organize species, documents, videos or anything else. A taxonomy organizes taxonomic units known as "taxa" (singular "taxon"). Many are hierarchies. One function of a taxonomy is to help users more easily find what they are searching for. This may be effected in ways that include a library classification system and a search engine taxonomy. Though often used interchangeably, taxonomies are distinct from typologies in that the former are concerned with empirical and objective characteristics, while the latter are concerned with abstract or subjective criteria. == Etymology == The word was coined in 1813 by the Swiss botanist A. P. de Candolle and is irregularly compounded from the Greek τάξις, taxis 'order' and νόμος, nomos


id: taxonomy-20260505-1
file: data/en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Taxonomy-1.md
category: reference
title: Taxonomy
tags: science, encyclopedia
source_url: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Taxonomy
date_saved: 2026-05-05T07:13:29.818243+00:00
instance: kb-cron
parent: taxonomy-20260505-0
summary:
Corporate taxonomy, the hierarchical classification of entities of interest to an enterprise, organization or administration Economic taxonomy, a system of classification for economic activity Global Industry Classification Standard, an industry taxonomy developed by MSCI and Standard & Poor's (S&P) Industry Classification Benchmark, an industry classification taxonomy launched by Dow Jones and FTSE International Standard Industrial Classification (ISIC), a United Nations system for classifying economic data North American Industry Classification System (NAICS), used in Canada, Mexico, and the United States of America Pavitt's Taxonomy, classification of firms by their principal sources of innovation Standard Industrial Classification, a system for classifying industries by a four-digit code United Kingdom Standard Industrial Classification of Economic Activities, a Standard Industrial Classification by type of economic activity EU taxonomy for sustainable activities, a classification system established to clarify which investments are environmentally sustainable, in the context of the European Green Deal. Records management taxonomy, the representation of data, upon which the classification of unstructured content is based, within an organization. XBRL Taxonomy, eXtensible Business Reporting Language SRK taxonomy, in workplace user-interface design === Computing === ==== Software engineering ==== Vegas et al. make a compelling case to advance the knowledge in the field of software engineering


id: taxonomy-20260505-2
file: data/en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Taxonomy-2.md
category: reference
title: Taxonomy
tags: science, encyclopedia
source_url: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Taxonomy
date_saved: 2026-05-05T07:13:29.818243+00:00
instance: kb-cron
parent: taxonomy-20260505-0
summary:
Two of the predominant types of relationships in knowledge-representation systems are predication and the universally quantified conditional. Predication relationships express the notion that an individual entity is an example of a certain type (for example, John is a bachelor), while universally quantified conditionals express the notion that a type is a subtype of another type (for example, "A dog is a mammal", which means the same as "All dogs are mammals"). The "has-a" relationship is quite different: an elephant has a trunk; a trunk is a part, not a subtype of elephant. The study of part-whole relationships is mereology. Taxonomies are often represented as is-a hierarchies where each level is more specific than the level above it (in mathematical language is "a subset of" the level above). For example, a basic biology taxonomy would have concepts such as mammal, which is a subset of animal, and dogs and cats, which are subsets of mammal. This kind of taxonomy is called an is-a model because the specific objects are considered as instances of a concept. For example, Fido is-an instance of the concept dog and Fluffy is-a cat. In linguistics, is-a relations are called hyponymy. When one word describes a category,


id: taxonomy-20260505-3
file: data/en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Taxonomy-3.md
category: reference
title: Taxonomy
tags: science, encyclopedia
source_url: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Taxonomy
date_saved: 2026-05-05T07:13:29.818243+00:00
instance: kb-cron
parent: taxonomy-20260505-0
summary:
=== Logical and rationalist approaches === Logical division, or logical partitioning (top-down classification or downward classification) is an approach that divides a class into subclasses and then divide subclasses into their subclasses, and so on, which finally forms a tree of classes. The root of the tree is the original class, and the leaves of the tree are the final classes. Plato advocated a method based on dichotomy, which was rejected by Aristotle and replaced by the method of definitions based on genus, species, and specific difference. The method of facet analysis (cf., faceted classification) is primarily based on logical division. This approach tends to classify according to "essential" characteristics, a widely discussed and criticized concept (cf., essentialism). These methods may overall be related to the rationalist theory of knowledge. Michelle Bunn notes that logical partitioning uses categories which are established a priori; data is then collected and used to test the extent to which the classification system can be sustained. === Empiricist approaches === "Empiricism alone is not enough: a healthy advance in taxonomy depends on a sound theoretical foundation" Phenetics or numerical taxonomy is by contrast bottom-up classification, where the starting point is a set of items or


id: taxonomy-20260505-4
file: data/en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Taxonomy-4.md
category: reference
title: Taxonomy
tags: science, encyclopedia
source_url: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Taxonomy
date_saved: 2026-05-05T07:13:29.818243+00:00
instance: kb-cron
parent: taxonomy-20260505-0
summary:
John Stuart Mill explained the artificial nature of the Linnaean classification and suggested the following definition of a natural classification:"The Linnæan arrangement answers the purpose of making us think together of all those kinds of plants, which possess the same number of stamens and pistils; but to think of them in that manner is of little use, since we seldom have anything to affirm in common of the plants which have a given number of stamens and pistils.""The ends of scientific classification are best answered, when the objects are formed into groups respecting which a greater number of general propositions can be made, and those propositions more important, than could be made respecting any other groups into which the same things could be distributed." "A classification thus formed is properly scientific or philosophical, and is commonly called a Natural, in contradistinction to a Technical or Artificial, classification or arrangement."Ridley (1986) provided the following definitions: "artificial classification. The term (like its opposite, natural classification) has many meanings; in this book I have picked a phenetic meaning. A classificatory group will be defined by certain characters, called defining characters; in an artificial classification, the members of a group resemble one another in


id: taxonomy-20260505-5
file: data/en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Taxonomy-5.md
category: reference
title: Taxonomy
tags: science, encyclopedia
source_url: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Taxonomy
date_saved: 2026-05-05T07:13:29.818243+00:00
instance: kb-cron
parent: taxonomy-20260505-0
summary:
Idiophones: instruments that rely on the body of the instrument to create and resonate sound. Membranophones: instruments that have a membrane that is stretched over a structure, often wood or metal, and struck or rubbed to produce a sound. The subcategories are largely determined by the shape of the structure that the membrane is stretched over. Chordophone: Instruments that use vibrating strings, which are most commonly stretched across a metal or wooden structure, to create sound. Aerophones Instruments that require air passing through, or across, them to create sound. Most commonly constructed of wood or metal. A fifth top category, Electrophones: Instruments that require electricity to be amplified and heard. This group was added by Sachs in 1940. Each top category is subdivided and Hornbostel-Sachs is a very comprehensive classification of musical instruments with wide applications. In Wikipedia, for example, all musical instruments are organized according to this classification. In opposition to, for example, the astronomical and biological classifications presented above, the Hornbostel-Sachs classification seems very little influenced by research in musicology and organology. It is based on huge collections of musical instruments, but seems rather as a system imposed upon the universe of instruments than as a system with


id: anatomical-terms-of-bone-20260505-0
file: data/en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Anatomical_terms_of_bone-0.md
category: reference
title: Anatomical terms of bone
tags: science, encyclopedia
source_url: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Anatomical_terms_of_bone
date_saved: 2026-05-05T07:13:32.882162+00:00
instance: kb-cron
parent: anatomical-terms-of-bone-20260505-0
summary:
Many anatomical terms descriptive of bone are defined in anatomical terminology, and are often derived from Greek and Latin. Bone in the human body is categorized into long bone, short bone, flat bone, irregular bone and sesamoid bone. == Types of bone == === Long bones === A long bone is one that is cylindrical in shape, being longer than it is wide. However, the term describes the shape of a bone, not its size, which is relative. Long bones are found in the arms (humerus, ulna, radius) and legs (femur, tibia, fibula), as well as in the fingers (metacarpals, phalanges) and toes (metatarsals, phalanges). Long bones function as levers; they move when muscles contract. === Short bones === A short bone is one that is cube-like in shape, being approximately equal in length, width, and thickness. The only short bones in the human skeleton are in the carpals of the wrists and the tarsals of the ankles. Short bones provide stability and support as well as some limited motion. === Flat bones === The term “flat bone” is something of a misnomer because, although a flat bone is typically thin, it is also often curved. Examples include the cranial


id: anatomical-terms-of-bone-20260505-1
file: data/en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Anatomical_terms_of_bone-1.md
category: reference
title: Anatomical terms of bone
tags: science, encyclopedia
source_url: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Anatomical_terms_of_bone
date_saved: 2026-05-05T07:13:32.882162+00:00
instance: kb-cron
parent: anatomical-terms-of-bone-20260505-0
summary:
=== Walls === The following terms are used to describe the walls of a cavity: A labyrinth refers to the bony labyrinth and membranous labyrinth, components of the inner ear, due to their fine and complex structure. A sinus refers to a bony cavity, usually within the skull. == Joints == A joint, or articulation is the region where adjacent bones contact each other, for example the elbow, shoulder, or costovertebral joint. Terms that refer to joints include: articular process, referring to a projection that contacts an adjacent bone. suture, referring to an articulation between cranial bones. == Features of long bones == === Gross features === Bones are commonly described with the terms head, neck, shaft, body and base. The head of a bone usually refers to the proximal end of a long bone, but also refers to the distal end of metacarpals, metatarsals, and the ulna. The shaft refers to the elongated sections of long bone, and the neck the segment between the head and shaft (or body). The end of the long bone opposite to the head is known as the base. === Internal regions === === Internal and external === The cortex of a bone is


id: anatomical-terms-of-microanatomy-20260505-0
file: data/en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Anatomical_terms_of_microanatomy-0.md
category: reference
title: Anatomical terms of microanatomy
tags: science, encyclopedia
source_url: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Anatomical_terms_of_microanatomy
date_saved: 2026-05-05T07:13:34.068800+00:00
instance: kb-cron
parent: anatomical-terms-of-microanatomy-20260505-0
summary:
A histological scope of anatomical terminology describes structure, layout and position more precisely and mitigates ambiguity. An internationally accepted lexicon is Terminologia Histologica. == Layout == === Epithelia and endothelia === Epithelial cells line body surfaces, and are described according to their shape, with three principal shapes: squamous, columnar, and cuboidal. Squamous epithelium has cells that are wider than their height (flat and scale-like). Cuboidal epithelium has cells whose height and width are approximately the same (cube shaped). Columnar epithelium has cells taller than they are wide (column-shaped). Endothelium refers to cells that line the interior surface of blood vessels and lymphatic vessels, forming an interface between circulating blood or lymph in the lumen and the rest of the vessel wall. It is a thin layer of simple, or single-layered, squamous cells called endothelial cells. Endothelial cells in direct contact with blood are called vascular endothelial cells, whereas those in direct contact with lymph are known as lymphatic endothelial cells. Epithelium can be arranged in a single layer of cells described as "simple", or more than one layer, described as "stratified". By layer, epithelium is classed as either simple epithelium, only one cell thick (unilayered) or stratified epithelium as stratified


id: anatomical-terms-of-muscle-20260505-0
file: data/en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Anatomical_terms_of_muscle-0.md
category: reference
title: Anatomical terms of muscle
tags: science, encyclopedia
source_url: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Anatomical_terms_of_muscle
date_saved: 2026-05-05T07:13:35.226075+00:00
instance: kb-cron
parent: anatomical-terms-of-muscle-20260505-0
summary:
Anatomical terminology is used to uniquely describe aspects of skeletal muscle, cardiac muscle, and smooth muscle such as their actions, structure, size, and location. == Types == There are three types of muscle tissue in the body: skeletal, smooth, and cardiac. === Skeletal muscle === Skeletal muscle, or "voluntary muscle", is a striated muscle tissue that primarily joins to bone with tendons. Skeletal muscle enables movement of bones, and maintains posture. The widest part of a muscle that pulls on the tendons is known as the belly. ==== Muscle slip ==== A muscle slip is a slip of muscle that can either be an anatomical variant, or a branching of a muscle as in rib connections of the serratus anterior muscle. === Smooth muscle === Smooth muscle is involuntary and found in parts of the body where it conveys action without conscious intent. The majority of this type of muscle tissue is found in the digestive and urinary systems where it acts by propelling forward food, chyme, and feces in the former and urine in the latter. Other places smooth muscle can be found are within the uterus, where it helps facilitate birth, and the eye, where the pupillary sphincter


id: anatomical-terms-of-muscle-20260505-1
file: data/en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Anatomical_terms_of_muscle-1.md
category: reference
title: Anatomical terms of muscle
tags: science, encyclopedia
source_url: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Anatomical_terms_of_muscle
date_saved: 2026-05-05T07:13:35.226075+00:00
instance: kb-cron
parent: anatomical-terms-of-muscle-20260505-0
summary:
Synergist muscles also called fixators, act around a joint to help the action of an agonist muscle. Synergist muscles can also act to counter or neutralize the force of an agonist and are also known as neutralizers when they do this. As neutralizers they help to cancel out or neutralize extra motion produced from the agonists to ensure that the force generated works within the desired plane of motion. Muscle fibers can only contract up to 40% of their fully stretched length. Thus the short fibers of pennate muscles are more suitable where power rather than range of contraction is required. This limitation in the range of contraction affects all muscles, and those that act over several joints may be unable to shorten sufficiently to produce the full range of movement at all of them simultaneously (active insufficiency, e.g., the fingers cannot be fully flexed when the wrist is also flexed). Likewise, the opposing muscles may be unable to stretch sufficiently to allow such movement to take place (passive insufficiency). For both these reasons, it is often essential to use other synergists, in this type of action to fix certain of the joints so that others can be moved effectively,


id: anatomical-terms-of-muscle-20260505-2
file: data/en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Anatomical_terms_of_muscle-2.md
category: reference
title: Anatomical terms of muscle
tags: science, encyclopedia
source_url: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Anatomical_terms_of_muscle
date_saved: 2026-05-05T07:13:35.226075+00:00
instance: kb-cron
parent: anatomical-terms-of-muscle-20260505-0
summary:
Fusiform muscles have fibres that run parallel to the length of the muscle, and are spindle-shaped. For example, the pronator teres muscle of the forearm. Unipennate muscles have fibres that run the entire length of only one side of a muscle, like a quill pen. For example, the fibularis muscles. Bipennate muscles consist of two rows of oblique muscle fibres, facing in opposite diagonal directions, converging on a central tendon. Bipennate muscle is stronger than both unipennate muscle and fusiform muscle, due to a larger physiological cross-sectional area. Bipennate muscle shortens less than unipennate muscle but develops greater tension when it does, translated into greater power but less range of motion. Pennate muscles generally also tire easily. Examples of bipennate muscles are the rectus femoris muscle of the thigh, and the stapedius muscle of the middle ear. == State == === Hypertrophy and atrophy === Hypertrophy is increase in muscle size from an increase in size of individual muscle cells. This usually occurs as a result of exercise. == See also == == References == This article incorporates text in the public domain from the 20th edition of Gray's Anatomy (1918) Books Taber, Clarence Wilbur; Thomas, Clayton L.; Venes, Donald


id: anatomy-20260505-0
file: data/en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Anatomy-0.md
category: reference
title: Anatomy
tags: science, encyclopedia
source_url: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Anatomy
date_saved: 2026-05-05T07:13:36.446370+00:00
instance: kb-cron
parent: anatomy-20260505-0
summary:
Anatomy (from Ancient Greek ἀνατομή (anatomḗ) 'dissection') is the branch of morphology concerned with the study of the internal and external structure of organisms and their parts. Anatomy is a branch of natural science that deals with the structural organization of living things. It is an old science, having its beginnings in prehistoric times. Anatomy is inherently tied to developmental biology, embryology, comparative anatomy, evolutionary biology, and phylogeny, as these are the processes by which anatomy is generated, both over immediate and long-term timescales. Anatomy and physiology, which study the structure and function of organisms and their parts respectively, make a natural pair of related disciplines, and are often studied together. Human anatomy is one of the essential basic sciences that are applied in medicine, and is often studied alongside physiology. Anatomy is a complex and dynamic field that is constantly evolving as discoveries are made. In recent years, there has been a significant increase in the use of advanced imaging techniques, such as MRI and CT scans, which allow for more detailed and accurate visualizations of the body's structures. The discipline of anatomy is divided into macroscopic and microscopic parts. Macroscopic anatomy, or gross anatomy, is the examination of


id: anatomy-20260505-1
file: data/en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Anatomy-1.md
category: reference
title: Anatomy
tags: science, encyclopedia
source_url: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Anatomy
date_saved: 2026-05-05T07:13:36.446370+00:00
instance: kb-cron
parent: anatomy-20260505-0
summary:
=== Connective tissue === Connective tissues are fibrous and made up of cells scattered among inorganic material called the extracellular matrix. Often called fascia (from the Latin "fascia," meaning "band" or "bandage"), connective tissues give shape to organs and hold them in place. The main types are loose connective tissue, adipose tissue, fibrous connective tissue, cartilage and bone. The extracellular matrix contains proteins, the chief and most abundant of which is collagen. Collagen plays a major part in organizing and maintaining tissues. The matrix can be modified to form a skeleton to support or protect the body. An exoskeleton is a thickened, rigid cuticle which is stiffened by mineralization, as in crustaceans or by the cross-linking of its proteins as in insects. An endoskeleton is internal and present in all developed animals, as well as in many of those less developed. === Epithelium === Epithelial tissue is composed of closely packed cells, bound to each other by cell adhesion molecules, with little intercellular space. Epithelial cells can be squamous (flat), cuboidal or columnar and rest on a basal lamina, the upper layer of the basement membrane, the lower layer is the reticular lamina lying next to the connective tissue in


id: anatomy-20260505-2
file: data/en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Anatomy-2.md
category: reference
title: Anatomy
tags: science, encyclopedia
source_url: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Anatomy
date_saved: 2026-05-05T07:13:36.446370+00:00
instance: kb-cron
parent: anatomy-20260505-0
summary:
The body of a fish is divided into a head, trunk and tail, although the divisions between the three are not always externally visible. The skeleton, which forms the support structure inside the fish, is either made of cartilage, in cartilaginous fish, or bone in bony fish. The main skeletal element is the vertebral column, composed of articulating vertebrae which are lightweight yet strong. The ribs attach to the spine and there are no limbs or limb girdles. The main external features of the fish, the fins, are composed of either bony or soft spines called rays, which with the exception of the caudal fins, have no direct connection with the spine. They are supported by the muscles which compose the main part of the trunk. The heart has two chambers and pumps the blood through the respiratory surfaces of the gills and on round the body in a single circulatory loop. The eyes are adapted for seeing underwater and have only local vision. There is an inner ear but no external or middle ear. Low frequency vibrations are detected by the lateral line system of sense organs that run along the length of the sides of fish, and these


id: anatomy-20260505-3
file: data/en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Anatomy-3.md
category: reference
title: Anatomy
tags: science, encyclopedia
source_url: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Anatomy
date_saved: 2026-05-05T07:13:36.446370+00:00
instance: kb-cron
parent: anatomy-20260505-0
summary:
Reptiles are a class of animals comprising turtles, tuataras, lizards, snakes and crocodiles. They are tetrapods, but the snakes and a few species of lizard either have no limbs or their limbs are much reduced in size. Their bones are better ossified and their skeletons stronger than those of amphibians. The teeth are conical and mostly uniform in size. The surface cells of the epidermis are modified into horny scales which create a waterproof layer. Reptiles are unable to use their skin for respiration as amphibians do and have a more efficient respiratory system drawing air into their lungs by expanding their chest walls. The heart resembles that of the amphibian but there is a septum which more completely separates the oxygenated and deoxygenated bloodstreams. The reproductive system has evolved for internal fertilization, with a copulatory organ present in most species. The eggs are surrounded by amniotic membranes which prevents them from drying out and are laid on land, or develop internally in some species. The bladder is small as nitrogenous waste is excreted as uric acid. Turtles are notable for their protective shells. They have an inflexible trunk encased in a horny carapace above and a plastron below. These


id: anatomy-20260505-4
file: data/en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Anatomy-4.md
category: reference
title: Anatomy
tags: science, encyclopedia
source_url: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Anatomy
date_saved: 2026-05-05T07:13:36.446370+00:00
instance: kb-cron
parent: anatomy-20260505-0
summary:
Mammals are a diverse class of animals, mostly terrestrial but some are aquatic and others have evolved flapping or gliding flight. They mostly have four limbs, but some aquatic mammals have no limbs or limbs modified into fins, and the forelimbs of bats are modified into wings. The legs of most mammals are situated below the trunk, which is held well clear of the ground. The bones of mammals are well ossified and their teeth, which are usually differentiated, are coated in a layer of prismatic enamel. The teeth are shed once (milk teeth) during the animal's lifetime or not at all, as is the case in cetaceans. Mammals have three bones in the middle ear and a cochlea in the inner ear. They are clothed in hair and their skin contains glands which secrete sweat. Some of these glands are specialized as mammary glands, producing milk to feed the young. Mammals breathe with lungs and have a muscular diaphragm separating the thorax from the abdomen which helps them draw air into the lungs. The mammalian heart has four chambers, and oxygenated and deoxygenated blood are kept entirely separate. Nitrogenous waste is excreted primarily as urea. Mammals are amniotes, and


id: anatomy-20260505-5
file: data/en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Anatomy-5.md
category: reference
title: Anatomy
tags: science, encyclopedia
source_url: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Anatomy
date_saved: 2026-05-05T07:13:36.446370+00:00
instance: kb-cron
parent: anatomy-20260505-0
summary:
Arthropods comprise the largest phylum of invertebrates in the animal kingdom with over a million known species. Insects possess segmented bodies supported by a hard-jointed outer covering, the exoskeleton, made mostly of chitin. The segments of the body are organized into three distinct parts, a head, a thorax and an abdomen. The head typically bears a pair of sensory antennae, a pair of compound eyes, one to three simple eyes (ocelli) and three sets of modified appendages that form the mouthparts. The thorax has three pairs of segmented legs, one pair each for the three segments that compose the thorax and one or two pairs of wings. The abdomen is composed of eleven segments, some of which may be fused and houses the digestive, respiratory, excretory and reproductive systems. There is considerable variation between species and many adaptations to the body parts, especially wings, legs, antennae and mouthparts. Spiders a class of arachnids have four pairs of legs; a body of two segments—a cephalothorax and an abdomen. Spiders have no wings and no antennae. They have mouthparts called chelicerae which are often connected to venom glands as most spiders are venomous. They have a second pair of appendages called pedipalps


id: anatomy-20260505-6
file: data/en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Anatomy-6.md
category: reference
title: Anatomy
tags: science, encyclopedia
source_url: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Anatomy
date_saved: 2026-05-05T07:13:36.446370+00:00
instance: kb-cron
parent: anatomy-20260505-0
summary:
Incredible feats were made during the third century BCE in both the digestive and reproductive systems. Herophilus discovered and described not only the salivary glands but also the small intestine and liver. He showed that the uterus is a hollow organ and described the ovaries and uterine tubes. He recognized that spermatozoa were produced by the testes and was the first to identify the prostate gland. The anatomy of the muscles and skeleton is described in the Hippocratic Corpus, an Ancient Greek medical work written by unknown authors. Aristotle described vertebrate anatomy based on animal dissection. Praxagoras identified the difference between arteries and veins. Also in the 4th century BCE, Herophilos and Erasistratus produced more accurate anatomical descriptions based on vivisection of criminals in Alexandria during the Ptolemaic period. In the 2nd century, Galen of Pergamum, an anatomist, clinician, writer, and philosopher, wrote the final and highly influential anatomy treatise of ancient times. He compiled existing knowledge and studied anatomy through the dissection of animals. He was one of the first experimental physiologists through his vivisection experiments on animals. Galen's drawings, based mostly on dog anatomy, became effectively the only anatomical textbook for the next thousand years. His work was


id: anatomy-20260505-7
file: data/en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Anatomy-7.md
category: reference
title: Anatomy
tags: science, encyclopedia
source_url: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Anatomy
date_saved: 2026-05-05T07:13:36.446370+00:00
instance: kb-cron
parent: anatomy-20260505-0
summary:
Before the modern medical era, the primary means for studying the internal structures of the body were dissection of the dead and inspection, palpation, and auscultation of the living. The advent of microscopy opened up an understanding of the building blocks that constituted living tissues. Technical advances in the development of achromatic lenses increased the resolving power of the microscope, and around 1839, Matthias Jakob Schleiden and Theodor Schwann identified that cells were the fundamental unit of organization of all living things. The study of small structures involved passing light through them, and the microtome was invented to provide sufficiently thin slices of tissue to examine. Staining techniques using artificial dyes were established to help distinguish between different tissue types. Advances in the fields of histology and cytology began in the late 19th century along with advances in surgical techniques allowing for the painless and safe removal of biopsy specimens. The invention of the electron microscope brought a significant advance in resolution power and allowed research into the ultrastructure of cells and the organelles and other structures within them. About the same time, in the 1950s, the use of X-ray diffraction for studying the crystal structures of proteins, nucleic acids,


id: axial-line-dermatomes-20260505-0
file: data/en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Axial_line_(dermatomes)-0.md
category: reference
title: Axial line (dermatomes)
tags: science, encyclopedia
source_url: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Axial_line_(dermatomes)
date_saved: 2026-05-05T07:13:37.756459+00:00
instance: kb-cron
parent: axial-line-dermatomes-20260505-0
summary:
The axial line is the line between two adjacent dermatomes that are not represented by immediately adjacent spinal levels. Although dermatomes are shown to be discrete segments on dermatomal maps (like in the image opposite), they are in fact not; adjacent dermatomes overlap with one another. This is one of the reasons for the variety of different dermatomal maps proposed. However, at axial lines, adjacent dermatomes do not overlap. An example of an axial line would be the line between the S2 and L4 dermatomes on the calf. == References ==


id: axillary-joints-20260505-0
file: data/en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Axillary_joints-0.md
category: reference
title: Axillary joints
tags: science, encyclopedia
source_url: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Axillary_joints
date_saved: 2026-05-05T07:13:39.059857+00:00
instance: kb-cron
parent: axillary-joints-20260505-0
summary:
The axillary joints are two joints in the axillary region of the body, and include the shoulder joint and the acromioclavicular joint. == Shoulder joint == The shoulder joint also known as the glenohumeral joint is a synovial ball and socket joint. The shoulder joint involves articulation between the glenoid cavity of the scapula (shoulder blade) and the head of the upper arm bone (humerus) and functions as a diarthrosis and multiaxial joint. Due to the very loose joint capsule that gives a limited interface of the humerus and scapula, it is the most mobile joint of the human body. == Acromioclavicular joint == The acromioclavicular joint, is the joint at the top of the shoulder. It is the junction between the acromion (part of the scapula that forms the highest point of the shoulder) and the clavicle. It is a plane synovial joint. The acromioclavicular joint allows the arm to be raised above the head. This joint functions as a pivot point (although technically it is a gliding synovial joint), acting like a strut to help with movement of the scapula resulting in a greater degree of arm rotation. == References ==


id: bonwill-triangle-20260505-0
file: data/en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Bonwill_Triangle-0.md
category: reference
title: Bonwill Triangle
tags: science, encyclopedia
source_url: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Bonwill_Triangle
date_saved: 2026-05-05T07:13:40.277512+00:00
instance: kb-cron
parent: bonwill-triangle-20260505-0
summary:
The Bonwill Triangle is a triangle formed by the contact point of the mandibular central incisors and the right and left mandibular condyles. == Description == The distance between those points is equal in most humans and amounts on average to about 10 cm. The triangle is therefore an equilateral triangle in those cases. William Gibson Arlington Bonwill (1833–1899) was the first to describe this. Two variants of the Bonwill Triangle have been described that differ in the exact location of the points on the condyles. In one the points are located on the articulating surfaces of the condyles whilst in the other they are located centrally within the heads of the mandible. == Application == In terms of practical application, the Bonwill Triangle is utilized in the construction and correct application of fixed articulators, which (in contrast to fully- and semi-adjustable articulators) are a type of articulator that does not allow for adjustments to imitate the specific movements of an individual's jaw. Instead, these articulators are designed to replicate the average movements of the jaw, and among others the Bonwill Triangle relationship is used to achieve this result. == See also == Frankfurt plane == References == == External


id: commissure-20260505-0
file: data/en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Commissure-0.md
category: reference
title: Commissure
tags: science, encyclopedia
source_url: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Commissure
date_saved: 2026-05-05T07:13:41.455791+00:00
instance: kb-cron
parent: commissure-20260505-0
summary:
A commissure () is the location at which two objects abut or are joined. The term is used especially in the fields of anatomy and biology. The most common usage of the term refers to the brain's commissures, of which there are at least nine. Such a commissure is a bundle of commissural fibers as a tract that crosses the midline at its level of origin or entry (as opposed to a decussation of fibers that cross obliquely). The nine are the anterior commissure, posterior commissure, corpus callosum, commissure of fornix (hippocampal commissure), habenular commissure, ventral supraoptic decussation, Meynert's commissure, anterior hypothalamic commissure of Gasner, and the interthalamic adhesion. They consist of fibre tracts that connect the two cerebral hemispheres and span the longitudinal fissure. In the spinal cord, there are the anterior white commissure, and the gray commissure. Commissural neurons refer to neuronal cells that grow their axons across the midline of the nervous system within the brain and the spinal cord. Commissure also often refers to cardiac anatomy of heart valves. In the heart, a commissure is the area where the valve leaflets abut. When such an abutment is abnormally stiffened or even fused, valvular stenosis results, sometimes


id: decussation-20260505-0
file: data/en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Decussation-0.md
category: reference
title: Decussation
tags: science, encyclopedia
source_url: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Decussation
date_saved: 2026-05-05T07:13:42.634474+00:00
instance: kb-cron
parent: decussation-20260505-0
summary:
Decussation is used in biological contexts to describe a crossing (due to the shape of the Roman numeral for ten, an uppercase 'X' (decussis), from Latin decem 'ten' and as 'as'). In Latin anatomical terms, the form decussatio is used, e.g. decussatio pyramidum. Similarly, the anatomical term chiasma is named after the Greek uppercase 'Χ' (chi). Whereas a decussation refers to a crossing within the central nervous system, various kinds of crossings in the peripheral nervous system are called chiasma. Examples include: In the brain, where nerve fibers obliquely cross from one lateral side of the brain to the other, that is to say they cross at a level other than their origin. See for examples decussation of pyramids and sensory decussation. In neuroanatomy, the term chiasma is reserved for crossing of- or within nerves such as in the optic chiasm. In botanical leaf taxology, the word decussate describes an opposite pattern of leaves which has successive pairs at right angles to each other (i.e. rotated 90 degrees along the stem when viewed from above). In effect, successive pairs of leaves cross each other. Basil is a classic example of a decussate leaf pattern. In tooth enamel, where bundles of


id: federative-international-programme-on-anatomical-terminology-20260505-0
file: data/en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Federative_International_Programme_on_Anatomical_Terminology-0.md
category: reference
title: Federative International Programme on Anatomical Terminology
tags: science, encyclopedia
source_url: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Federative_International_Programme_on_Anatomical_Terminology
date_saved: 2026-05-05T07:13:43.862158+00:00
instance: kb-cron
parent: federative-international-programme-on-anatomical-terminology-20260505-0
summary:
The Federative International Programme for Anatomical Terminology (FIPAT) is a group of experts who review, analyze, and discuss the terms of the morphological structures of the human body. It was created by the International Federation of Associations of Anatomists (IFAA) and was previously known as the Federative Committee on Anatomical Terminology (FCAT) and the Federative International Committee on Anatomical Terminology (FICAT). == Origins and history == This committee was created in 1989, at the XIII International Congress of Anatomists, held in Rio de Janeiro (Brazil). It followed the old International Anatomical Nomenclature Committee (IANC). The professionals involved are renowned professors and researchers with knowledge of medical terminology. They hold periodic meetings in different countries on a rotating basis, where they study morphological terminology: anatomical, histological and embryology of the human being. The results of this committee were published in 1998 in the anatomical area and in 2008 in the histological area. It is currently working in the embryologist area. == Objectives and scope == The main objective is to study the problem of morphological terms and its possible solutions. The aim is to achieve a common scientific language that allows international integration, facilitating scientific exchange and progress in the various


id: fistula-20260505-0
file: data/en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Fistula-0.md
category: reference
title: Fistula
tags: science, encyclopedia
source_url: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Fistula
date_saved: 2026-05-05T07:13:45.159599+00:00
instance: kb-cron
parent: fistula-20260505-0
summary:
In anatomy, a fistula (pl.: fistulas or fistulae ; from Latin fistula, "tube, pipe") is an abnormal connection (i.e. tube) joining two hollow spaces (technically, two epithelialized surfaces), such as blood vessels, intestines, or other hollow organs to each other, often resulting in an abnormal flow of fluid from one space to the other. An anal fistula connects the anal canal to the perianal skin. An anovaginal or rectovaginal fistula is a hole joining the anus or rectum to the vagina. A colovaginal fistula joins the space in the colon to that in the vagina. A urinary tract fistula is an abnormal opening in the urinary tract or an abnormal connection between the urinary tract and another organ. An abnormal communication (i.e. hole or tube) between the bladder and the uterus is called a vesicouterine fistula, while if it is between the bladder and the vagina it is known as a vesicovaginal fistula, and if between the urethra and the vagina: a urethrovaginal fistula. When occurring between two parts of the intestine, it is known as an enteroenteral fistula, between the small intestine and the skin it is known as an enterocutaneous fistula, and between the colon and the skin


id: fistula-20260505-1
file: data/en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Fistula-1.md
category: reference
title: Fistula
tags: science, encyclopedia
source_url: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Fistula
date_saved: 2026-05-05T07:13:45.159599+00:00
instance: kb-cron
parent: fistula-20260505-0
summary:
=== N: Diseases of the urogenital system === (N32.1) Vesicointestinal fistula (N36.0) Urethral fistula Innora:between the prostatic utricle and the outside of the body (N64.0) Fistula of nipple (N82) Fistulae involving female genital tract / Obstetric fistula (N82.0) Vesicovaginal fistula: between the bladder and the vagina (N82.1) Other female urinary-genital tract fistulae Cervical fistula: abnormal opening in the cervix (N82.2) Fistula of vagina to small intestine Enterovaginal fistula: between the intestine and the vagina (N82.3) Fistula of vagina to large intestine Rectovaginal: between the rectum and the vagina (N82.4) Other female intestinal-genital tract fistulae (N82.5) Female genital tract-skin fistulae (N82.8) Other female genital tract fistulae (N82.9) Female genital tract fistula, unspecified === Q: Congenital malformations, deformations and chromosomal abnormalities === (Q18.0) Sinus, fistula and cyst of branchial cleft Congenital preauricular fistula: A small pit in front of the ear. Also known as an ear pit or preauricular sinus. (Q26.6) Portal vein-hepatic artery fistula (Q38.0) Congenital fistula of lip (Q38.4) Congenital fistula of salivary gland (Q42.0) Congenital absence, atresia and stenosis of rectum with fistula (Q42.2) Congenital absence, atresia and stenosis of anus with fistula (Q43.6) Congenital fistula of rectum and anus (Q51.7) Congenital fistulae between uterus and digestive and urinary


id: foundational-model-of-anatomy-20260505-0
file: data/en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Foundational_Model_of_Anatomy-0.md
category: reference
title: Foundational Model of Anatomy
tags: science, encyclopedia
source_url: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Foundational_Model_of_Anatomy
date_saved: 2026-05-05T07:13:46.338803+00:00
instance: kb-cron
parent: foundational-model-of-anatomy-20260505-0
summary:
The Foundational Model of Anatomy Ontology (FMA) is a reference ontology for the domain of human anatomy. It is a symbolic representation of the canonical, phenotypic structure of an organism; a spatial-structural ontology of anatomical entities and relations which form the physical organization of an organism at all salient levels of granularity. FMA is developed and maintained by the Structural Informatics Group at the University of Washington. == Description == FMA ontology contains approximately 75,000 classes and over 120,000 terms, over 2.1 million relationship instances from over 168 relationship types. == See also == Terminologia Anatomica Anatomography == References == == External links == The Foundational Model of Anatomy Ontology The Foundational Model of Anatomy Browser - current (tested 14 October 2025) [tried 15 Dec 2025, didn't work] The Foundational Model of Anatomy Browser - Archived on Web Archive- Wayback machine - seems to contain only front page but non functional FMA Ontology Browser (Note: dead link, tested 14 October 2025)


id: list-of-terms-using-the-word-occipital-20260505-0
file: data/en.wikipedia.org/wiki/List_of_terms_using_the_word_occipital-0.md
category: reference
title: List of terms using the word occipital
tags: science, encyclopedia
source_url: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/List_of_terms_using_the_word_occipital
date_saved: 2026-05-05T07:13:47.505322+00:00
instance: kb-cron
parent: list-of-terms-using-the-word-occipital-20260505-0
summary:
The adjective occipital, in zoology, means pertaining to the occiput (rear of the skull). Occipital is a descriptor for several areas of animal and human anatomy. External occipital protuberance Internal occipital crest Greater occipital nerve Lesser occipital nerve Occipital artery Occipital bone Occipital bun Occipital condyle Occipital groove Occipital lobe Occipital plane Occipital pole Occipital ridge Occipital scales Occipital triangle Occipital vein Parieto-occipital sulcus PGO (Ponto-geniculo-occipital) waves Preoccipital notch == References ==


id: medial-umbilical-fold-20260505-0
file: data/en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Medial_umbilical_fold-0.md
category: reference
title: Medial umbilical fold
tags: science, encyclopedia
source_url: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Medial_umbilical_fold
date_saved: 2026-05-05T07:13:48.759233+00:00
instance: kb-cron
parent: medial-umbilical-fold-20260505-0
summary:
The medial umbilical fold is an elevation of the peritoneum (on either side of the body) lining the inner surface of the lower anterior abdominal wall formed by the underlying medial umbilical ligament (the obliterated distal portion of the umbilical artery) which the peritoneum covers. Superiorly, the two medial umbilical folds converge towards the midline to meet and terminate at the umbilicus. The unpaired midline median umbilical ligament lies medially to each medial umbilical fold; a lateral umbilical fold lies lateral to either medial umbilical fold. A supravesical fossa lies between the median umbilical fold and either medial umbilical fold on either side. A medial inguinal fossa lies between the median umbilical fold and lateral umbilical fold of the same side on either side. == References ==


id: anatomical-terms-of-neuroanatomy-20260505-0
file: data/en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Anatomical_terms_of_neuroanatomy-0.md
category: reference
title: Anatomical terms of neuroanatomy
tags: science, encyclopedia
source_url: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Anatomical_terms_of_neuroanatomy
date_saved: 2026-05-05T07:13:49.992851+00:00
instance: kb-cron
parent: anatomical-terms-of-neuroanatomy-20260505-0
summary:
This article describes anatomical terminology that is used to describe the central and peripheral nervous systems - including the brain, brainstem, spinal cord, and nerves. == Anatomical terminology in neuroanatomy == Neuroanatomy, like other aspects of anatomy, uses specific terminology to describe anatomical structures. This terminology helps ensure that a structure is described accurately, with minimal ambiguity. Terms also help ensure that structures are described consistently, depending on their structure or function. Terms are often derived from Latin and Greek, and like other areas of anatomy are generally standardised based on internationally accepted lexicons such as Terminologia Anatomica. To help with consistency, humans and other species are assumed when described to be in standard anatomical position, with the body standing erect and facing observer, arms at sides, palms forward. === Location === Anatomical terms of location depend on the location and species that is being described. To understand the terms used for anatomical localisation, consider an animal with a straight CNS, such as a fish or lizard. In such animals the terms "rostral", "caudal", "ventral" and "dorsal" mean respectively towards the rostrum, towards the tail, towards the belly and towards the back. For a full discussion of those terms, see


id: anatomical-terms-of-neuroanatomy-20260505-1
file: data/en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Anatomical_terms_of_neuroanatomy-1.md
category: reference
title: Anatomical terms of neuroanatomy
tags: science, encyclopedia
source_url: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Anatomical_terms_of_neuroanatomy
date_saved: 2026-05-05T07:13:49.992851+00:00
instance: kb-cron
parent: anatomical-terms-of-neuroanatomy-20260505-0
summary:
Axial or "transverse" or "horizontal", the plane that is horizontal and parallel to the ground with the body standing in the standard anatomical position. It contains (and thus is defined by) the lateral and the medial axes of the brain. Coronal, a vertical plane that passes through the coronal suture of the skull (or through both ears), or any plane parallel to this. There is no term "paracoronal" comparable to the commonly used "parasagittal". Sagittal, a vertical plane that passes from between the nostrils, and between the cerebral hemispheres, dividing the brain into left and right halves. "Median plane" specifically defines the midline between left and right sides of the body. It contains the dorsoventral and medial axes of the brain. A parasagittal plane is any plane parallel to the sagittal plane. == Nerves == === Function === Specific terms are used for peripheral nerves that originate from, or arrive at, a specific point. An afferent nerve fiber is a fibre originating at the present point. For example, a striatal afferent is an afferent originating at the striatum. An efferent nerve fiber is one that arrives at the present point. For example, a cortical efferent is a fibre coming from


id: neurolex-20260505-0
file: data/en.wikipedia.org/wiki/NeuroLex-0.md
category: reference
title: NeuroLex
tags: science, encyclopedia
source_url: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/NeuroLex
date_saved: 2026-05-05T07:13:51.339499+00:00
instance: kb-cron
parent: neurolex-20260505-0
summary:
NeuroLex is a lexicon of neuroscience concepts supported by the Neuroscience Information Framework project, which is funded by the NIH Blueprint for Neuroscience Research. It is the lexical part of the NIF knowledge base, and NeuroLex is intended to make literature review easier and ensure consistent terminology and usage across researchers for the topics of experimental, clinical, and transnational neuroscience, and for genetic and genomic resources. It is structured as a semantic wiki, using Semantic MediaWiki. NIF provides access to resources that are relevant to neuroscience, search strategies tailored to the field, and access to content that is traditionally "hidden" from web search engines. The Framework is an inventory of neuroscience databases, annotated and integrated with a unified system of biomedical terminology (i.e., NeuroLex). NIF supports concept-based queries across multiple scales of biological structure and multiple levels of biological function. As part of the NIF, a search interface to many different sources of neuroscience information and data is provided. To make this search more effective, the NIF is constructing ontologies to help organize neuroscience concepts into category hierarchies, e.g. stating that a neuron is a cell. This will allow users to perform more effective searches and to organize and understand


id: neuronames-20260505-0
file: data/en.wikipedia.org/wiki/NeuroNames-0.md
category: reference
title: NeuroNames
tags: science, encyclopedia
source_url: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/NeuroNames
date_saved: 2026-05-05T07:13:52.590276+00:00
instance: kb-cron
parent: neuronames-20260505-0
summary:
NeuroNames is an integrated nomenclature for structures in the brain and spinal cord of the four species most studied by neuroscientists: human, macaque, rat and mouse. It offers a standard, controlled vocabulary of common names for structures, which is suitable for unambiguous neuroanatomical indexing of information in digital databases. Terms in the standard vocabulary have been selected for ease of pronunciation, mnemonic value, and frequency of use in recent neuroscientific publications. Structures and their relations to each other are defined in terms of the standard vocabulary. Currently NeuroNames contains standard names, synonyms and definitions of some 2,500 neuroanatomical entities. The nomenclature is maintained by the University of Washington and is the core component of a tool called "BrainInfo". BrainInfo helps one identify structures in the brain. One can either search by a structure name or locate the structure in a brain atlas and get information such as its location in the classical brain hierarchy, images of the structure, what cells it has, its connections and genes expressed there. Information can be accessed by any of some 16,000 synonyms in eight languages. NeuroNames is a source vocabulary of the Metathesaurus of the Unified Medical Language System. == Further reading == ==


id: nomina-anatomica-20260505-0
file: data/en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Nomina_Anatomica-0.md
category: reference
title: Nomina Anatomica
tags: science, encyclopedia
source_url: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Nomina_Anatomica
date_saved: 2026-05-05T07:13:53.781877+00:00
instance: kb-cron
parent: nomina-anatomica-20260505-0
summary:
Nomina Anatomica (NA) was the international standard on human anatomic terminology from 1895 until it was replaced by Terminologia Anatomica in 1998. In the late nineteenth century some 30,000 terms for various body parts were in use. The same structures were described by different names, depending (among other things) on the anatomist's school and national tradition. Vernacular translations of Latin and Greek, as well as various eponymous terms, were barriers to effective international communication. There was disagreement and confusion among anatomists regarding anatomical terminology. == Editions == The first and last entries in the following table are not NA editions, but they are included for the sake of continuity. Although these early editions were authorized by different bodies, they are sometimes considered part of the same series. Before these codes of terminology, approved at anatomists congresses, the usage of anatomical terms was based on authoritative works of scholars like Galen, Berengario da Carpi, Gaspard Bauhin, Henle, Hyrtl, etc. == The IANC and the FCAT == === Twelfth congress === Around the time of the Twelfth Congress (London, 1985), a dispute arose over the editorial independence of the IANC. The IANC did not believe that their work should be subject to


id: nomina-anatomica-veterinaria-20260505-0
file: data/en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Nomina_Anatomica_Veterinaria-0.md
category: reference
title: Nomina Anatomica Veterinaria
tags: science, encyclopedia
source_url: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Nomina_Anatomica_Veterinaria
date_saved: 2026-05-05T07:13:54.920675+00:00
instance: kb-cron
parent: nomina-anatomica-veterinaria-20260505-0
summary:
The Nomina Anatomica Veterinaria (often abbreviated as NAV) is a standardized nomenclature. It is made by World Association of Veterinary Anatomists (WAVA). It is used as the standard reference for anatomical (zootomical) terminology in the field of veterinary science regarding domestic mammals (domestic birds are regarded in the Nomina Anatomica Avium). It is based on cats, dogs, pigs, cows, sheep, goats, rabbits and horses—horses being their main subjects. == History == Veterinary anatomists split at the 6th International Congress of the International Anatomical Nomenclature Committee in Paris in 1955, due to disagreements about the Nomina Anatomica. Following Professor Clement Bressou in 1957 in Freiburg (Germany), they formed the International Committee on Veterinary Anatomical Nomenclature, which was renamed World Association of Veterinary Anatomists in 1961, and published the first edition of the Nomina Anatomica Veterinaria (NAV) in 1968. There have been six editions of the NAV, the latest being published in 2017. The fourth edition, published in 1994, was the last commercially printed edition; the fifth and sixth editions are available in PDF. == See also == Nomina Anatomica == References ==


id: permanent-cell-20260505-0
file: data/en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Permanent_cell-0.md
category: reference
title: Permanent cell
tags: science, encyclopedia
source_url: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Permanent_cell
date_saved: 2026-05-05T07:13:56.212552+00:00
instance: kb-cron
parent: permanent-cell-20260505-0
summary:
Permanent cells are cells that are incapable of regeneration. These cells are considered to be terminally differentiated and non-proliferative in postnatal life. This includes neurons, heart cells, skeletal muscle cells. Although these cells are considered permanent in that they neither reproduce nor transform into other cells, this does not mean that the body cannot create new versions of these cells. For instance, structures in the bone marrow produce new red blood cells constantly, while skeletal muscle damage can be repaired by underlying satellite cells, which fuse to become a new skeletal muscle cell. Disease and virology studies can use permanent cells to maintain cell count and accurately quantify the effects of vaccines. Some embryology studies also use permanent cells to avoid harvesting embryonic cells from pregnant animals; since the cells are permanent, they may be harvested at a later age when an animal is fully developed. == See also == Labile cells, which multiply constantly throughout life Stable cells, which only multiply when receiving external stimulus to do so == References ==


id: anatomical-plane-20260505-0
file: data/en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Anatomical_plane-0.md
category: reference
title: Anatomical plane
tags: science, encyclopedia
source_url: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Anatomical_plane
date_saved: 2026-05-05T07:13:57.524568+00:00
instance: kb-cron
parent: anatomical-plane-20260505-0
summary:
An anatomical plane is an imaginary flat surface (plane) that is used to transect the body, in order to describe the location of structures or the direction of movements. In anatomy, planes are mostly used to divide the body into sections. In human anatomy three principal planes are used: the sagittal plane, coronal plane (frontal plane), and transverse plane. Sometimes the median plane as a specific sagittal plane is included as a fourth plane. In animals with a horizontal spine the coronal plane divides the body into dorsal (towards the backbone) and ventral (towards the belly) parts and is termed the dorsal plane. A parasagittal plane is any plane that divides the body into left and right sections. The median plane or midsagittal plane is a specific sagittal plane; it passes through the middle of the body, dividing it into left and right halves. The coronal plane, also frontal plane divides the body into front and back parts. The transverse plane, also called the axial or horizontal plane, is perpendicular to the other two planes, and is parallel to the ground. == Terminology == There could be any number of sagittal planes, sometimes called parasagittal planes but they all run


id: anatomical-plane-20260505-1
file: data/en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Anatomical_plane-1.md
category: reference
title: Anatomical plane
tags: science, encyclopedia
source_url: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Anatomical_plane
date_saved: 2026-05-05T07:13:57.524568+00:00
instance: kb-cron
parent: anatomical-plane-20260505-0
summary:
In discussing the neuroanatomy of animals, particularly rodents used in neuroscience research, a simplistic convention has been to name the sections of the brain according to the homologous human sections. Hence, what is technically a transverse (orthogonal) section with respect to the body length axis of a rat (dividing anterior from posterior) may often be referred to in rat neuroanatomical coordinates as a coronal section, and likewise a coronal section with respect to the body (i.e. dividing ventral from dorsal) in a rat brain is referred to as transverse. This preserves the comparison with the human brain, whose length axis in rough approximation is rotated with respect to the body axis by 90 degrees in the ventral direction. It implies that the planes of the brain are not necessarily the same as those of the body. However, the situation is more complex, since comparative embryology shows that the length axis of the neural tube (the primordium of the brain) has three internal bending points, namely two ventral bendings at the cervical and cephalic flexures (cervical flexure roughly between the medulla oblongata and the spinal cord, and cephalic flexure between the diencephalon and the midbrain), and a dorsal (pontine or rhombic


id: pugmark-20260505-0
file: data/en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Pugmark-0.md
category: reference
title: Pugmark
tags: science, encyclopedia
source_url: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Pugmark
date_saved: 2026-05-05T07:13:58.742342+00:00
instance: kb-cron
parent: pugmark-20260505-0
summary:
A pugmark is a footprint left by a wild animal. The distinctive pugmark of an individual species is useful for identification. "Pug" means foot in Hindi (Sanskrit पद् "pad"; Greek πούς "poús"). Pugmark tracking is a technique used by wildlife conservationists to identify the distribution of species. For some species, such as tigers, pugmark tracking is now considered to be an unreliable method of determining an area's total animal population, leading to the rise in the use of alternative techniques to count populations, such as photographic capture. == Field data collection == Indian forester Saroj Raj Choudhury developed the technique of the ‘pugmark census’ in 1966 to track tigers. It involves collecting pugmark tracings and plaster casts from the field and analyzing these to determine the number, track dimensions and spatial distribution of key species. === Technique === In order to obtain good pug impressions, PIPs (pug impression pads) are laid along roads, animal tracks and footpaths. Field data for each pugmark are then collected in specially devised census forms. The plaster casts and tracings along with field information are together analysed with map of the area to remove repetitions and overlaps in pug-evidences collected for the same tiger. The


id: snomed-ct-20260505-0
file: data/en.wikipedia.org/wiki/SNOMED_CT-0.md
category: reference
title: SNOMED CT
tags: science, encyclopedia
source_url: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/SNOMED_CT
date_saved: 2026-05-05T07:13:59.990399+00:00
instance: kb-cron
parent: snomed-ct-20260505-0
summary:
SNOMED CT or SNOMED Clinical Terms is a systematically organized computer-processable collection of medical terms providing codes, terms, synonyms and definitions used in clinical documentation and reporting. SNOMED CT is considered to be the most comprehensive, multilingual clinical healthcare terminology in the world. The primary purpose of SNOMED CT is to encode the meanings that are used in health information and to support the effective clinical recording of data with the aim of improving patient care. SNOMED CT provides the core general terminology for electronic health records. SNOMED CT comprehensive coverage includes: clinical findings, symptoms, diagnoses, procedures, body structures, organisms and other etiologies, substances, pharmaceuticals, devices and specimens. SNOMED CT is maintained and distributed by SNOMED International, an international non-profit standards development organization, located in London, UK. SNOMED International is the trading name of the International Health Terminology Standards Development Organisation (IHTSDO), established in 2007. SNOMED CT provides for consistent information interchange and is fundamental to an interoperable electronic health record. It provides a consistent means to index, store, retrieve, and aggregate clinical data across specialties and sites of care. It also helps in organizing the content of electronic health records systems by reducing the variability in the way data


id: snomed-ct-20260505-1
file: data/en.wikipedia.org/wiki/SNOMED_CT-1.md
category: reference
title: SNOMED CT
tags: science, encyclopedia
source_url: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/SNOMED_CT
date_saved: 2026-05-05T07:13:59.990399+00:00
instance: kb-cron
parent: snomed-ct-20260505-0
summary:
Concept Codes – numerical codes that identify clinical terms, primitive or defined, organized in hierarchies Descriptions – textual descriptions of Concept Codes Relationships – relationships between Concept Codes that have a related meaning Reference Sets – used to group Concepts or Descriptions into sets, including reference sets and cross-maps to other classifications and standards. SNOMED CT "Concepts" are representational units that categorize all the things that characterize healthcare processes and need to be recorded therein. In 2011, SNOMED CT included more than 311,000 concepts, which are uniquely identified by a concept ID, e.g. the concept 22298006 refers to Myocardial infarction. All SNOMED CT concepts are organized into acyclic taxonomic (is-a) hierarchies; for example, Viral pneumonia IS-A Infectious pneumonia IS-A Pneumonia IS-A Lung disease. Concepts may have multiple parents, for example Infectious pneumonia is also a child of Infectious disease. The taxonomic structure allows data to be recorded and later accessed at different levels of aggregation. SNOMED CT concepts are linked by approximately 1,360,000 links, called relationships. Concepts are further described by various clinical terms or phrases, called Descriptions, which are divided into Fully Specified Names (FSNs), Preferred Terms (PTs), and Synonyms. Each Concept has exactly one FSN, which is unique


id: snomed-ct-20260505-2
file: data/en.wikipedia.org/wiki/SNOMED_CT-2.md
category: reference
title: SNOMED CT
tags: science, encyclopedia
source_url: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/SNOMED_CT
date_saved: 2026-05-05T07:13:59.990399+00:00
instance: kb-cron
parent: snomed-ct-20260505-0
summary:
Such expressions are said to have been 'postcoordinated'. Post-coordination avoids the need to create large numbers of defined Concepts within SNOMED CT. However, many systems only allow for precoordinated representations. Reliable analysis and comparison of post-coordinated expressions is possible using appropriate algorithms machinery to efficiently process the expression taking account of the underlying description logic. Major Electronic Health Record Systems (EHRS) have repeatedly complained to IHTSDO and other standards organizations about the "complexity" of post-coordinated expressions. For example, the postcoordinated expression above can be transformed using a set of standard rules to the following "normal form expression" which enables comparison with similar concepts. 64572001 | disease | : 246075003 | causative agent | = 47448006 | hot water | , 363698007 | finding site | = ( 83738005 | index finger structure | : 272741003 | laterality | = 7771000 | left | ) , { 116676008 | associated morphology | = 80247002 | third degree burn injury | , 363698007 | finding site | = 39937001 | skin structure | } Postcoordination is an important desirable feature of a terminology. Prior 2020, International Classification of Diseases (ICD) did not allow post-coordination and SNOMED CT was the only terminology that


id: snomed-ct-20260505-3
file: data/en.wikipedia.org/wiki/SNOMED_CT-3.md
category: reference
title: SNOMED CT
tags: science, encyclopedia
source_url: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/SNOMED_CT
date_saved: 2026-05-05T07:13:59.990399+00:00
instance: kb-cron
parent: snomed-ct-20260505-0
summary:
=== Known deficiencies and mitigation strategies === Earlier SNOMED versions had faceted structure ordered by semantic axes, requiring that more complex situations required to be coded by a coordination of different codes. This had two major shortcomings. On the one hand, the necessity of post-coordination was perceived as a user-unfriendly obstacle, which has certainly contributed to the low adoption of early SNOMED versions. On the other hand, uniform coding was difficult to obtain. E.g., Acute appendicitis could be post-coordinated in three different ways with no means to compute semantic equivalences. SNOMED RT had addressed this problem by introducing description logic formula. With the addition of CTV3 many concepts were redefined using formal expressions. However, the fusion with CTV3, as a historically grown terminology with many close-to user descriptions, introduced some problems which still affect SNOMED CT. In addition to a confusing taxonomic web of many hierarchical levels with massive multiple inheritance (e.g. there are 36 taxonomic ancestors for Acute appendicitis), many ambiguous, context-dependent concepts have found their way into SNOMED CT. Pre-coordination was sometimes pushed to extremes, so there are, for example, 350 different concepts for burns found on the head. A further phenomenon which characterizes parts of SNOMED CT


id: snomed-ct-20260505-4
file: data/en.wikipedia.org/wiki/SNOMED_CT-4.md
category: reference
title: SNOMED CT
tags: science, encyclopedia
source_url: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/SNOMED_CT
date_saved: 2026-05-05T07:13:59.990399+00:00
instance: kb-cron
parent: snomed-ct-20260505-0
summary:
==== SNOMED CT and MedDRA ==== There is overlap between MedDRA and SNOMED CT that is not beneficial for pharmaceutical industry. In 2021, two maps map between SNOMED CT and MedDRA were jointly published by both organizations (from SNOMED CT to MedDRA and from MedDRA to SNOMED CT). == Use == SNOMED CT is used in several different ways, some of which are: It captures clinical information at the level of detail needed for the provision of healthcare Through sharing data, it can reduce the need to repeat health history at each new encounter with a healthcare professional Information can be recorded by different people in different locations and combined into simple information views within the patient record Use of a common terminology decreases the potential for differing interpretation of information Structured Data Capture medical forms and questionnaires based on the FHIR standard Electronic recording in a common way reduces errors and can help to ensure completeness in recording all relevant data Standardised information makes analysis easier, supporting quality, cost effective practice, research and future clinical guideline development A clinical terminology allows a health care provider to identify patients based on specified coded information, and more effectively manage screening, treatment


id: snomed-ct-20260505-5
file: data/en.wikipedia.org/wiki/SNOMED_CT-5.md
category: reference
title: SNOMED CT
tags: science, encyclopedia
source_url: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/SNOMED_CT
date_saved: 2026-05-05T07:13:59.990399+00:00
instance: kb-cron
parent: snomed-ct-20260505-0
summary:
== Authoring conventions == A goal for SNOMED CT is consistency. Several mechanisms are employed to ensure this. Machine readable concept model is used to check for compliance with a set of rules. Rules for creating fully specified name for a concept define allowed and not allowed patterns. When defining a concept, a proximal primitive parent rule is used (in stated definition) to employ best description logic derived classification of concepts. Separate conventions govern grouping of relationships. Ability to group related relationships is an important strength of SNOMED CT. Rules in Machine Readable Concept Model (MRCM) specify by domain which relationships are never grouped (e.g., 'Is a' or 'Laterality' attributes) and which relationships are always grouped (e.g., 'Finding site'). For correct subsumption inference, some relationships may be in a group but consist of a single relationship. Another convention for SNOMED CT international edition is to avoid creating intermediate primitive concepts (unless medically necessary and impossible to define with existing concept model). An intermediate primitive (=not defined) concept is a non-defined concept that has children concepts and parent concepts. This convention is related to the use of description logic to facilitate terminology maintenance. Because primitive concepts can not be processed by


id: standard-anatomical-position-20260505-0
file: data/en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Standard_anatomical_position-0.md
category: reference
title: Standard anatomical position
tags: science, encyclopedia
source_url: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Standard_anatomical_position
date_saved: 2026-05-05T07:14:01.293917+00:00
instance: kb-cron
parent: standard-anatomical-position-20260505-0
summary:
The standard anatomical position, or standard anatomical model, is the scientifically agreed upon reference position for anatomical location terms. Standard anatomical positions are used to standardise the position of appendages of animals with respect to the main body of the organism. In medical disciplines, all references to a location on or in the body are made based upon the standard anatomical position. A straight position is assumed when describing a proximo-distal axis (towards or away from a point of attachment). This helps avoid confusion in terminology when referring to the same organism in different postures. For example, if the elbow is flexed, the hand remains distal to the shoulder even if it approaches the shoulder. == Human anatomy == In standard anatomical position, the human body is standing erect and at rest. Unlike the situation in other vertebrates, the limbs are placed in positions reminiscent of the supine position imposed on cadavers during autopsy. Therefore, the body has its feet together (or slightly separated), and its arms are rotated outward so that the palms are forward, and the thumbs are pointed away from the body (forearms supine). As well, the arms are usually moved slightly out from the body, so


id: systematized-nomenclature-of-medicine-20260505-0
file: data/en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Systematized_Nomenclature_of_Medicine-0.md
category: reference
title: Systematized Nomenclature of Medicine
tags: science, encyclopedia
source_url: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Systematized_Nomenclature_of_Medicine
date_saved: 2026-05-05T07:14:02.542763+00:00
instance: kb-cron
parent: systematized-nomenclature-of-medicine-20260505-0
summary:
The Systematized Nomenclature of Medicine (SNOMED) is a systematic, computer-processable collection of medical terms, in human and veterinary medicine, to provide codes, terms, synonyms and definitions which cover anatomy, diseases, findings, procedures, microorganisms, substances, etc. It allows a consistent way to index, store, retrieve, and aggregate medical data across specialties and sites of care. Although now international, SNOMED was started in the U.S. by the College of American Pathologists (CAP) in 1973 and revised into the 1990s. In 2002 CAP's SNOMED Reference Terminology (SNOMED RT) was merged with, and expanded by, the National Health Service's Clinical Terms Version 3 (previously known as the Read codes) to produce SNOMED CT. Versions of SNOMED released prior to 2001 were based on a multiaxial, hierarchical classification system. As in any such system, a disease may be located in a body organ (anatomy), which results in a code in a topography axis and may lead to morphological alterations represented by a morphology code. In 2002 the first release of SNOMED CT adopted a completely different structure. A sub-type hierarchy, supported by defining relationships based on description logic, replaced the axes described in this article. Versions of SNOMED prior to SNOMED CT are planned to


id: terminologia-anatomica-20260505-0
file: data/en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Terminologia_Anatomica-0.md
category: reference
title: Terminologia Anatomica
tags: science, encyclopedia
source_url: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Terminologia_Anatomica
date_saved: 2026-05-05T07:14:03.788839+00:00
instance: kb-cron
parent: terminologia-anatomica-20260505-0
summary:
Terminologia Anatomica (commonly abbreviated TA) is the international standard for human anatomical terminology. It is developed by the Federative International Programme on Anatomical Terminology (FIPAT) a program of the International Federation of Associations of Anatomists (IFAA). == History == The sixth edition of the previous standard, Nomina Anatomica, was released in 1989. The first edition of Terminologia Anatomica, superseding Nomina Anatomica, was developed by the Federative Committee on Anatomical Terminology (FCAT) and the International Federation of Associations of Anatomists (IFAA) and released in 1998. In April 2011, this edition was published online by the Federative International Programme on Anatomical Terminologies (FIPAT), the successor of FCAT. The first edition contained 7635 Latin items. The second edition was released online by FIPAT in 2019 and approved and adopted by the IFAA General Assembly in 2020. The latest errata is dated August 2021. It contains a total of 7112 numbered terms (1-7113 skipping 2590), with some terms repeated. == Adoption and reception == A 2014 survey of the American Association of Clinical Anatomists found that the TA preferred term had the highest frequency of usage in only 53% of the 25 anatomical terms surveyed, and was highest or second-highest for 92% of terms.


id: terminologia-embryologica-20260505-0
file: data/en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Terminologia_Embryologica-0.md
category: reference
title: Terminologia Embryologica
tags: science, encyclopedia
source_url: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Terminologia_Embryologica
date_saved: 2026-05-05T07:14:05.062406+00:00
instance: kb-cron
parent: terminologia-embryologica-20260505-0
summary:
The Terminologia Embryologica (TE) is a standardized list of words used in the description of human embryologic and fetal structures. It was produced by the Federative International Committee on Anatomical Terminology on behalf of the International Federation of Associations of Anatomists and posted on the Internet since 2010. It has been approved by the General Assembly of the IFAA during the seventeenth International Congress of Anatomy in Cape Town (August 2009). It is analogous to the Terminologia Anatomica (TA), which standardizes terminology for adult human anatomy and which deals primarily with naked-eye adult anatomy. It succeeds the Nomina Embryologica, which was included as a component of the Nomina Anatomica. It was not included in the original version of the TA. == Codes == e1.0: General terms [1] e2.0: Ontogeny [2] e3.0: Embryogeny [3] e4.0: General histology [4] e5.0: Bones; Skeletal system [5] e5.1: Joints; Articular system [6] e5.2: Muscles; Muscular system [7] e5.3: Face [8] e5.4: Alimentary system [9] e5.5: Respiratory system [10] e5.6: Urinary system [11] e5.7: Genital systems [12] e5.8: Coelom and septa [13] e5.9: Mesenchymal mesenteric masses [14] e5.10: Endocrine glands [15] e5.11: Cardiovascular system [16] e5.12: Lymphoid system [17] e5.13: Nervous system [18] e5.14: Central nervous


id: terminologia-histologica-20260505-0
file: data/en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Terminologia_Histologica-0.md
category: reference
title: Terminologia Histologica
tags: science, encyclopedia
source_url: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Terminologia_Histologica
date_saved: 2026-05-05T07:14:06.367463+00:00
instance: kb-cron
parent: terminologia-histologica-20260505-0
summary:
The Terminologia Histologica (TH) is the controlled vocabulary for use in cytology and histology. In April 2011, Terminologia Histologica was published online by the Federative International Programme on Anatomical Terminologies (FIPAT), the successor of FCAT. It was intended to replace Nomina Histologica. The Nomina Histologica was introduced in 1977, with the fourth edition of Nomina Anatomica. It was developed by the Federative International Committee on Anatomical Terminology. == Outline == h1.00: Cytology [1] h2.00: General histology [2] H2.00.01.0.00001: Stem cells [3] H2.00.02.0.00001: Epithelial tissue [4] H2.00.02.0.01001: Epithelial cell H2.00.02.0.02001: Surface epithelium H2.00.02.0.03001: Glandular epithelium H2.00.03.0.00001: Connective and supportive tissues [5] H2.00.03.0.01001: Connective tissue cells H2.00.03.0.02001: Extracellular matrix H2.00.03.0.03001: Fibres of connective tissues H2.00.03.1.00001: Connective tissue proper H2.00.03.1.01001: Ligaments H2.00.03.2.00001: Mucoid connective tissue; Gelatinous connective tissue H2.00.03.3.00001: Reticular tissue H2.00.03.4.00001: Adipose tissue H2.00.03.5.00001: Cartilage tissue H2.00.03.6.00001: Chondroid tissue H2.00.03.7.00001: Bone tissue; Osseous tissue H2.00.04.0.00001: Haemotolymphoid complex [6] H2.00.04.1.00001: Blood cells H2.00.04.1.01001: Erythrocyte; Red blood cell H2.00.04.1.02001: Leucocyte; White blood cell H2.00.04.1.03001: Platelet; Thrombocyte H2.00.04.2.00001: Plasma H2.00.04.3.00001: Blood cell production H2.00.04.4.00001: Postnatal sites of haematopoiesis H2.00.04.4.01001: Lymphoid tissue H2.00.05.0.00001: Muscle tissue [7] H2.00.05.1.00001: Smooth muscle tissue H2.00.05.2.00001: Striated muscle tissue H2.00.06.0.00001: Nerve tissue [8] H2.00.06.1.00001: Neuron H2.00.06.2.00001: Synapse H2.00.06.2.00001: Neuroglia h3.01: Bones


id: terminology-of-transgender-anatomy-20260505-0
file: data/en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Terminology_of_transgender_anatomy-0.md
category: reference
title: Terminology of transgender anatomy
tags: science, encyclopedia
source_url: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Terminology_of_transgender_anatomy
date_saved: 2026-05-05T07:14:07.626494+00:00
instance: kb-cron
parent: terminology-of-transgender-anatomy-20260505-0
summary:
Transgender people use a variety of terms to refer to their genitals and other sexually dimorphic body parts and bodily functions. While some may use the standard clinical and colloquial terms (e.g. penis, dick; vagina, pussy), others follow neologistic approaches. These replacement words serve as alternatives to existing names that may conflict with a person's gender identity and trigger gender dysphoria. In medical contexts, providers may use traditional clinical terms, may mirror patients' preferred terms, or may use alternate terms such as internal genitals and external gonads. Common approaches include using terms associated with analogous body parts (e.g. penis for a clitoris or vice versa), modifying conventional terms to mark for gender (e.g. girldick or boy cunt), and novel terms that do not relate to existing terminology (e.g. front hole for a vagina). Some words are humorous, like hen for a transfeminine penis (contrast cock) or chesticles for a transmasculine breast. The naming of body parts is an important component of transgender sexuality. Trans people may pick different words for different contexts. In both colloquial and medical contexts, experts emphasize deferring to individual preference. == Context == Prior to the 2010s, there was little research on the social aspects of


id: trochlea-20260505-0
file: data/en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Trochlea-0.md
category: reference
title: Trochlea
tags: science, encyclopedia
source_url: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Trochlea
date_saved: 2026-05-05T07:14:08.822532+00:00
instance: kb-cron
parent: trochlea-20260505-0
summary:
Trochlea (Latin for pulley) is a term in anatomy. It refers to a grooved structure reminiscent of a pulley's wheel. == Related to joints == Most commonly, trochleae bear the articular surface of saddle and other joints: Trochlea of humerus (part of the elbow hinge joint with the ulna) Trochlea of femur (forming the knee hinge joint with the patella) The trochlea tali in the superior surface of the body of talus (part of the ankle hinge joint with the tibia) Trochlear process of the calcaneus In quadrupeds, the trochlea of the radial bone The "knuckles" of the tarsometatarsus which articulate with the proximal phalanges in a bird's foot == Related to muscles == It also can refer to structures which serve as a guide for muscles: Trochlea of superior oblique (see also superior oblique muscle), a mover of the eye which is supplied by the trochlear nerve, or fourth cranial nerve == References ==


id: uberon-20260505-0
file: data/en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Uberon-0.md
category: reference
title: Uberon
tags: science, encyclopedia
source_url: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Uberon
date_saved: 2026-05-05T07:14:10.028085+00:00
instance: kb-cron
parent: uberon-20260505-0
summary:
The Uber-anatomy ontology (Uberon) is a comparative anatomy ontology representing a variety of structures found in animals, such as lungs, muscles, bones, feathers and fins. These structures are connected to other structures via relationships such as part-of and develops-from. One of the uses of this ontology is to integrate data from different biological databases, and other species-specific ontologies such as the Foundational Model of Anatomy. == References == == External links == http://uberon.org


id: wingspan-20260505-0
file: data/en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Wingspan-0.md
category: reference
title: Wingspan
tags: science, encyclopedia
source_url: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Wingspan
date_saved: 2026-05-05T07:14:11.270186+00:00
instance: kb-cron
parent: wingspan-20260505-0
summary:
The wingspan (or just span) of a bird or an airplane is the distance from one wingtip to the opposite wingtip. For example, the Boeing 777–200 has a wingspan of 60.93 metres (199 ft 11 in), and a wandering albatross (Diomedea exulans) caught in 1965 had a wingspan of 3.63 metres (11 ft 11 in), the official record for a living bird. The term wingspan, more technically 'extent', is also used for other winged animals such as pterosaurs, bats, insects, etc., and other aircraft such as ornithopters. In humans, the term wingspan also refers to the arm span, which is the distance between the length from the end of an individual's arm (measured at the fingertips) to the individual's fingertips on the other arm when raised parallel to the ground at shoulder height. == Wingspan of aircraft == The wingspan of an aircraft is always measured in a straight line, from wingtip to wingtip, regardless of wing shape or sweep. === Implications for aircraft design and animal evolution === The lift from wings is proportional to their area, so the heavier the animal or aircraft the bigger that area must be. The area is the product of the span times


id: acropolis-20260505-0
file: data/en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Acropolis-0.md
category: reference
title: Acropolis
tags: science, encyclopedia
source_url: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Acropolis
date_saved: 2026-05-05T07:14:14.203861+00:00
instance: kb-cron
parent: acropolis-20260505-0
summary:
An acropolis was the settlement of an upper part of an ancient Greek city, especially a citadel, and frequently a hill with precipitous sides, mainly chosen for purposes of defense. The term is typically used to refer to the Acropolis of Athens, yet nearly every Greek city had an acropolis of its own. The term derives from the homonymous Greek word "Ακρόπολις", composed from "akron" (ἄκρον), which means "top", and "polis" (πόλις), which means "city". Acropolises were used as religious centers and places of worship, forts, and places in which the royal and high-status resided. Acropolises became the nuclei of large cities of classical ancient times, and served as important centers of a community. Some well-known acropolises have become the centers of tourism in the present day, and they are a rich source of archaeological information of ancient Greece, especially, the Acropolis of Athens. == Origin == The plural of acropolis (ακρόπολη) is acropolises, also commonly as acropoleis and acropoles, and ακροπόλεις in Greek. The term acropolis is also used to describe the central complex of overlapping structures, such as plazas and pyramids, in many Maya cities, including Tikal and Copán. Acropolis is also the term used by archaeologists and


id: acropolis-20260505-1
file: data/en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Acropolis-1.md
category: reference
title: Acropolis
tags: science, encyclopedia
source_url: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Acropolis
date_saved: 2026-05-05T07:14:14.203861+00:00
instance: kb-cron
parent: acropolis-20260505-0
summary:
=== Tourism === Acropolises today have become the epicenters of tourism and attraction sites in many modern-day Greek cities. The Athenian Acropolis, in particular, is the most famous, and has the best vantage point in Athens, Greece. Today, tourists can purchase tickets to visit the Athenian Acropolis, including walking, sightseeing, and bus tours, as well as a classic Greek dinner. === Cultural ties === Because of its classical Hellenistic and Greco-Roman style, the ruins of Mission San Juan Capistrano's Great Stone Church in California, United States has been called an American Acropolis. The civilization developed its religious, educational, and cultural aspects of the acropolis, and is used today as a location that holds events, such as operas. The neighborhood of Morningside Heights in New York City is commonly referred to as the "Academic Acropolis" due to its high elevation and the concentration of educational institutions in the area, including Columbia University and its affiliates, Barnard College, Teachers College, Union Theological Seminary and the Jewish Theological Seminary of America; Manhattan School of Music; Bank Street College of Education; and New York Theological Seminary. The analogy is also aided by the neoclassical architecture of the Columbia University campus, which was designed by


id: agora-20260505-0
file: data/en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Agora-0.md
category: reference
title: Agora
tags: science, encyclopedia
source_url: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Agora
date_saved: 2026-05-05T07:14:15.374935+00:00
instance: kb-cron
parent: agora-20260505-0
summary:
The agora (English: or ; Ancient Greek: ἀγορά, romanized: agorá, meaning "market" in Modern Greek) was a central public space in ancient Greek city-states. The literal meaning of the word "agora" is "gathering place" or "assembly". The agora was the centre of the athletic, artistic, business, social, spiritual, and political life in the city. The Ancient Agora of Athens is the best example. == Origins == Early in Greek history (10th–4th centuries BC), free-born citizens would gather in the agora for military duty or to hear statements of the ruling king or council. Later, the agora also served as a marketplace, where merchants kept stalls or shops to sell their goods amid arcades. This attracted artisans who built workshops nearby. From these twin functions of the agora as a political and a commercial spot came the two Greek verbs ἀγοράζω, agorázō, "I shop", and ἀγορεύω, agoreúō, "I speak in public". == Ancient Agora of Athens == The Ancient Agora of Athens was situated beneath the northern slope of the Acropolis. The Ancient Agora was the primary meeting ground for Athenians, where members of democracy congregated affairs of the state, where business was conducted, a place to hang out, and watch


id: amphora-20260505-0
file: data/en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Amphora-0.md
category: reference
title: Amphora
tags: science, encyclopedia
source_url: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Amphora
date_saved: 2026-05-05T07:14:16.557361+00:00
instance: kb-cron
parent: amphora-20260505-0
summary:
An amphora (; Ancient Greek: ἀμφορεύς, romanized: amphoreús; English pl. amphorae or amphoras) is a type of container with a pointed bottom and characteristic shape and size which fit tightly (and therefore safely) against each other in storage rooms and packages, tied together with rope and delivered by land or sea. The size and shape have been determined from at least as early as the Neolithic Period. Amphorae were used in vast numbers for the transport and storage of various products, both liquid and dry, but mostly for wine. They are most often ceramic, but examples in metals and other materials have been found. Versions of the amphorae were one of many shapes used in Ancient Greek vase painting. The amphora complements a vase, the pithos, which makes available capacities between one-half and two and one-half tons. In contrast, the amphora holds under a half-ton, typically less than 50 kilograms (110 lb). The bodies of the two types have similar shapes. Where the pithos may have multiple small loops or lugs for fastening a rope harness, the amphora has two expansive handles joining the shoulder of the body and a long neck. The necks of pithoi are wide for scooping


id: amphora-20260505-1
file: data/en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Amphora-1.md
category: reference
title: Amphora
tags: science, encyclopedia
source_url: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Amphora
date_saved: 2026-05-05T07:14:16.557361+00:00
instance: kb-cron
parent: amphora-20260505-0
summary:
== Production == Roman amphorae were wheel-thrown terracotta containers. During the production process the body was made first and then left to dry partially. Then coils of clay were added to form the neck, the rim, and the handles. Once the amphora was complete, the maker then treated the interior with resin that would prevent permeation of stored liquids. The reconstruction of these stages of production is based primarily on the study of modern amphora production in some areas of the eastern Mediterranean. Amphorae often were marked with a variety of stamps, sgraffito, and inscriptions. They provided information on the production, content, and subsequent marketing. A stamp usually was applied to the amphora at a partially dry stage. It indicates the name of the figlina (workshop) and/or the name of the owner of the workshop. Painted stamps, tituli picti, recorded the weight of the container and the contents, and were applied after the amphora was filled. Today, stamps are used to allow historians to track the flow of trade goods and recreate ancient trade networks. == Classification == The first systematic classification of Roman amphorae types was undertaken by the German scholar Heinrich Dressel. Following the exceptional amphora deposit uncovered


id: amphora-20260505-2
file: data/en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Amphora-2.md
category: reference
title: Amphora
tags: science, encyclopedia
source_url: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Amphora
date_saved: 2026-05-05T07:14:16.557361+00:00
instance: kb-cron
parent: amphora-20260505-0
summary:
===== Panathenaic prize amphora ===== Another special type is the Panathenaic prize amphora, with black-figure decoration, produced exclusively as prize vessels for the Panathenaia and retaining the black-figure technique for centuries after the introduction of red-figure vase painting. Some examples bear the inscription "ΤΩΝ ΑΘΗΝΗΘΕΝ ΑΘΛΩΝ" meaning "[I am one] of the prizes from [the goddess] Athena". They contained the prize of oil from the sacred olive tree of the goddess Athena for the winners of the athletic contests held to honour the goddess, and were evidently kept thereafter, and perhaps used to store wine, before being buried with the prize-winner. They depicted goddess Athena on one side (as seen on the second image on this page) and the athletic event on the other side, e.g. a scene of wrestling or running contest etc. === Ancient Rome === By the Roman period utilitarian amphorae were normally the only type produced. The first type of Roman amphora, Dressel 1, appears in central Italy in the late 2nd century BC. This type had thick walls and a characteristic red fabric. It was very heavy, although also strong. Around the middle of the 1st century BC the so-called Dressel 2-4 starts to become


id: artifact-archaeology-20260505-0
file: data/en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Artifact_(archaeology)-0.md
category: reference
title: Artifact (archaeology)
tags: science, encyclopedia
source_url: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Artifact_(archaeology)
date_saved: 2026-05-05T07:14:18.953802+00:00
instance: kb-cron
parent: artifact-archaeology-20260505-0
summary:
An artifact or artefact (British English) is a general term for an item made or given shape by humans, such as a tool or a work of art, especially an object of archaeological interest. In archaeology, the word has become a term of particular nuance; it is defined as an object recovered by archaeological endeavor, including cultural artifacts (of cultural interest). "Artefact" is the general term used in archaeology, while in museums the equivalent general term is normally "object", and in art history perhaps artwork or a more specific term such as "carving". The same item may be called all or any of these in different contexts, and more specific terms will be used when talking about individual objects, or groups of similar ones. Artefacts exist in many different forms and can sometimes be confused with ecofacts and features; all three of these can sometimes be found together at archaeological sites. They can also exist in different types of context depending on the processes that have acted on them over time. A wide variety of analyses take place to analyze artefacts and provide information on them. However, the process of analyzing artefacts through scientific archaeology can be hindered by the


id: artifact-archaeology-20260505-1
file: data/en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Artifact_(archaeology)-1.md
category: reference
title: Artifact (archaeology)
tags: science, encyclopedia
source_url: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Artifact_(archaeology)
date_saved: 2026-05-05T07:14:18.953802+00:00
instance: kb-cron
parent: artifact-archaeology-20260505-0
summary:
== Analysis == Artifact analysis is determined by what type of artifact is being examined, the best. Lithic analysis refers to analyzing artifacts that are created with stones and are often in the form of tools. Stone artifacts occur often throughout prehistoric times and are, therefore, a crucial aspect in answering archaeological questions about the past. On the surface, lithic artifacts can help archaeologists study how technology has developed throughout history by showing a variety of tools and manufacturing techniques from different periods of time. However, even deeper questions can be answered through this type of analysis; these questions can revolve around topics that include how societies were organized and structured in terms of socialization and the distribution of goods. The following lab techniques all contribute to the process of lithic analysis: petrographic analysis, neutron activation, x-ray fluorescence, particle-induced x-ray emission, individual flake analysis and mass analysis. Another type of artifact analysis is ceramic analysis, which is based around the archaeological study of pottery. This type of analysis can help archaeologists gain information on the raw materials that were used and how they were utilized in the creation of pottery. Laboratory techniques that allow for this are mainly based around


id: biofact-archaeology-20260505-0
file: data/en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Biofact_(archaeology)-0.md
category: reference
title: Biofact (archaeology)
tags: science, encyclopedia
source_url: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Biofact_(archaeology)
date_saved: 2026-05-05T07:14:20.214138+00:00
instance: kb-cron
parent: biofact-archaeology-20260505-0
summary:
In archaeology, a biofact (or ecofact) is any organic material including flora or fauna material found at an archaeological site that has not been technologically altered by humans yet still has cultural relevance. Biofacts can include but are not limited to plants, seeds, pollen, animal bones, insects, fish bones and mollusks. The study of biofacts, alongside other archaeological remains such as artifacts are a key element to understanding how past societies interacted with their surrounding environment and with each other. Biofacts also play a role in helping archaeologists understand questions of subsistence and reveals information about the domestication of certain plant species and animals which demonstrates, for example, the transition from a hunter-gatherer society to a farming society. Biofacts are differentiated from artifacts in that artifacts are typically considered anything purposefully manipulated or made by human art and workmanship, whereas ecofacts represent matter that has not been made or deliberately influenced by humans yet still has cultural relevance. Biofacts reveal how people respond to their surroundings. There are many different ways that biofacts can be preserved, including through carbonisation, waterlogging, desiccation and mineralization. There are also varying methods of recovering them depending on the location in which they were found.


id: biofact-archaeology-20260505-1
file: data/en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Biofact_(archaeology)-1.md
category: reference
title: Biofact (archaeology)
tags: science, encyclopedia
source_url: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Biofact_(archaeology)
date_saved: 2026-05-05T07:14:20.214138+00:00
instance: kb-cron
parent: biofact-archaeology-20260505-0
summary:
=== Waterlogging === Waterlogging is another form of preservation that occurs when an ecofact or similar archaeological deposit is preserved under the groundwater table, where a reduction in oxygen allows for preservation. Ecofacts found in most waterlogged archaeology sites are often well preserved yet delicate. To result in a high quality preservation, the groundwater level should remain consistent which ensures anaerobic conditions that ultimately prevent the decay of the organic matter. It is possible that both waterlogged and charred ecofacts can be found at the same archaeological site. === Desiccation === Desiccation is another type of preservation that only occurs in highly arid environments where there is a lack of water, such as a desert. Under these conditions, organic materials gain a resistance to high or low temperatures and UV exposure and retain their key biological structures such as their membranes, nucleic acids and proteins. Where an ecofact experiences this type of preservation, it is possible to rehydrate the tissue of the organism to cause it to resume physiological activity. Whilst rare, desiccation is another form of preservation that allows for the study of ecofacts. === Mineralization === Mineralized ecofacts require a specific set of conditions for correct preservation. Mineralization


id: botija-container-20260505-0
file: data/en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Botija_(container)-0.md
category: reference
title: Botija (container)
tags: science, encyclopedia
source_url: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Botija_(container)
date_saved: 2026-05-05T07:14:21.533021+00:00
instance: kb-cron
parent: botija-container-20260505-0
summary:
Botija is a term used by archaeologists for a style of ceramic vessel produced in Seville, Spain from early in the 16th-century through the middle of the 19th century. It was radially symmetrical, widest near the top, tapering down to a rounded or nearly pointed bottom. It had a fairly small mouth, and did not have any handles or protusions. While the measurements of individual botijas vary, they tend to cluster around roughly standard sizes. They were sealed with cork stoppers. Botijas were widely used for shipping and storing liquids and some solids, and whole or broken botijas are found almost everywhere the Spanish Empire reached, as well as areas that the Spanish never controlled. Changes to certain elements of botijas over time, documented from jars found in shipwrecks of known date, allow whole jars and sherds found in archaeological sites to be roughly dated. == Names == Spanish records refer to botijas peruleras, botijas medias, botijuelas, botijuelas peruleras, and botixuelas. In colonial Guatemala, the terms botija de vino (wine), botija da aceite (oil), and botija de aceitunas (olives) are attested. Larger jars were commonly called botijas perulera or just peruleras, while the smaller ones were often called botijuellas. Perulera


id: botija-container-20260505-1
file: data/en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Botija_(container)-1.md
category: reference
title: Botija (container)
tags: science, encyclopedia
source_url: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Botija_(container)
date_saved: 2026-05-05T07:14:21.533021+00:00
instance: kb-cron
parent: botija-container-20260505-0
summary:
=== James === In 1988, Stephen James described more than 1,000 intact ceramic jars recoved from two ships, the Conde de Tolosa and Neustra Senora de Guadalupe, which sank in 1724 in Samana Bay on the north coast of Hispaniola after sailing from Cádiz, Spain. He recognized four forms among the intact jars. They were variously unglazed, glazed only on the interior, or glazed on the interior and exterior. Intact jars from the wrecks were measured, including the volume of water held for jars with interior glazing. Interior glazing is believed to indicate the jar was intended to hold liquids that could be readily absorbed by unglazed ceramics. Sherds from broken jars were examined for paste composition, and were found similar enough to suggest that all of the jars were made from the same source of clay. Form I jars from the wrecks are egg-shaped and the largest found in the shipwrecks, ranging from 47 to 52 cm in height, 29.3 to 32.8 cm diameter at the widest part, and 15 to 20.1 liters in volume. They correspond to Goggin's Middle Style Shape A. Most of the jars have an empty weight of 8.5 to 9.5 kg. The jars have


id: botija-container-20260505-2
file: data/en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Botija_(container)-2.md
category: reference
title: Botija (container)
tags: science, encyclopedia
source_url: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Botija_(container)
date_saved: 2026-05-05T07:14:21.533021+00:00
instance: kb-cron
parent: botija-container-20260505-0
summary:
== Production == The production of botijas was concentrated in Andalusia, with Seville being the most important center of ceramic production in the Iberian Peninsula during the Early modern period. The Casa de Contratación de Indias (the institution that controlled trade with the New World) was established in Seville in 1503, where it remained until it was transferred to Cádiz in 1717. The need for ceramic containers to hold merchandise sent to the New World led to development of potters' neighborhoods in Seville and Cádiz. Ceramic containers similar to botijas were produced in Portuguese centers such as Aveiro and in Spanish possessions in the Americas, but did not necessarily match the standards of jars produced in Seville. Colin Martin suggested that there were "official" and "civilian" botijas, with the official jars being Goggin's Form B (globular) in two sizes, while civilian jars varied considerable in shape. The jars were thrown in two parts. The body of the jars from the base up to the widest part was thrown as one part, and the top was thrown as another. The two parts were then joined with a slip while being turned on a wheel. Busto-Zapico surmises that the potter throwing the


id: botija-container-20260505-3
file: data/en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Botija_(container)-3.md
category: reference
title: Botija (container)
tags: science, encyclopedia
source_url: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Botija_(container)
date_saved: 2026-05-05T07:14:21.533021+00:00
instance: kb-cron
parent: botija-container-20260505-0
summary:
== Uses == Botijas were used to store, conserve, and transport solid and liquid goods. The botija was designed for liquid foods, and was used primarily for shipping wine, olive oil, and vinegar. Botijas were also used for solid items that would fit through the mouth of the jar. The ovoid to elongated top-heavy design of botijas, with pointed or rounded bottoms, is evidence they were not intended for long-term storage of liquids while sitting on the ground. Vessels with flat bottoms and wider mouths, such as tinajas and orzas were more suitable for storing liquids. Orzas were usually made with the same paste as ''botijas, making it difficult to assign many sherds to a particular style of container. Worth suggests that botijas intended for oil were lead-glazed to prevent the oil being absorbed by the walls of the botijas and becoming rancid. Botijas carrying wine were lined with pez (colofonia), a resin which sealed the ceramic from the wine. Pez could be removed and reapplied to the interior of botijas as needed. Spices and herbs could be added to the pez to help disguise the taste of the pez, and the botijas were rinsed with vinegar and water to


id: clausurae-20260505-0
file: data/en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Clausurae-0.md
category: reference
title: Clausurae
tags: science, encyclopedia
source_url: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Clausurae
date_saved: 2026-05-05T07:14:22.853525+00:00
instance: kb-cron
parent: clausurae-20260505-0
summary:
Clausurae (sing. clausura) are short, linear cut-off walls—a term modern scholars apply to masonry or earthen barriers erected across valleys, gorges or road corridors in Late Antiquity. == Etymology and definition == The word derives from late-Latin clausura “a closing, barrier,” but philological studies have shown that in military contexts it denoted a discrete obstacle rather than a continuous frontier line. Because contemporary texts used the term variably—sometimes for a gate or fortified town—today’s historians reserve clausurae for short walls, normally a few hundred metres to several kilometres long, that seal natural bottlenecks. == Historical context == An imperial rescript of 443 CE required the magister officiorum to report annually “on the state of the camps and of the clausurae along every frontier,” confirming their recognised role in the late-Roman defence-in-depth system. While earlier scholarship misread clausurae as grand linear ramparts, current consensus treats them instead as tactical choke-points manned by modest detachments and supported by nearby forts or watch-towers. == Construction and typology == Most clausurae were stone walls 1–3 m thick and up to 5 m high, sometimes reinforced with towers and a frontal ditch; lighter barriers of timber and earth are also attested. Their alignments exploit steep


id: cradle-of-civilization-20260505-0
file: data/en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Cradle_of_civilization-0.md
category: reference
title: Cradle of civilization
tags: science, encyclopedia
source_url: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Cradle_of_civilization
date_saved: 2026-05-05T07:14:24.048097+00:00
instance: kb-cron
parent: cradle-of-civilization-20260505-0
summary:
A cradle of civilization is a location and a culture where civilization was developed independently of other civilizations in other locations. A civilization is any complex society characterized by the development of the state, social stratification, urbanization, and symbolic systems of communication beyond signed or spoken languages (namely, writing systems and graphic arts). Scholars generally acknowledge six cradles of civilization: Mesopotamia, Ancient Egypt, Ancient India and Ancient China are believed to be the earliest in Afro-Eurasia, while the Caral–Supe civilization of coastal Peru and the Olmec civilization of Mexico are believed to be the earliest in the Americas. All of the cradles of civilization depended upon agriculture for sustenance (except possibly Caral–Supe which may have depended initially on marine resources). All depended upon farmers producing an agricultural surplus to support the centralized government, political leaders, religious leaders, and public works of the urban centers of the early civilizations. == Rise of civilization == The earliest signs of a process leading to sedentary culture can be seen in the Levant to as early as 12,000 BC, when the Natufian culture became sedentary; it evolved into an agricultural society by 10,000 BC. The importance of water to safeguard an abundant and stable


id: cradle-of-civilization-20260505-1
file: data/en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Cradle_of_civilization-1.md
category: reference
title: Cradle of civilization
tags: science, encyclopedia
source_url: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Cradle_of_civilization
date_saved: 2026-05-05T07:14:24.048097+00:00
instance: kb-cron
parent: cradle-of-civilization-20260505-0
summary:
In Mesopotamia (a region encompassing modern Iraq and bordering regions of Southeast Turkey, Northeast Syria and Northwest Iran), the convergence of the Tigris and Euphrates rivers produced rich fertile soil and a supply of water for irrigation. Neolithic cultures emerged in the region from 8000 BC onwards. The civilizations that emerged around these rivers are the earliest known non-nomadic agrarian societies. It is because of this that the Fertile Crescent region, and Mesopotamia in particular, are often referred to as the cradle of civilization. The period known as the Ubaid period (c. 6500 to 3800 BC) is the earliest known period on the alluvial plain, although it is likely earlier periods exist obscured under the alluvium. It was during the Ubaid period that the movement toward urbanization began. Agriculture and animal husbandry were widely practiced in sedentary communities, particularly in Northern Mesopotamia (later Assyria), and intensive irrigated hydraulic agriculture began to be practiced in the south. Around 6000 BC, Neolithic settlements began to appear all over Egypt. Studies based on morphological, genetic, and archaeological data have attributed these settlements to migrants from the Fertile Crescent in the Near East arriving in Egypt and North Africa during the Egyptian and North


id: cradle-of-civilization-20260505-2
file: data/en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Cradle_of_civilization-2.md
category: reference
title: Cradle of civilization
tags: science, encyclopedia
source_url: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Cradle_of_civilization
date_saved: 2026-05-05T07:14:24.048097+00:00
instance: kb-cron
parent: cradle-of-civilization-20260505-0
summary:
=== Northeastern Africa === The region is intermediate between North Africa and East Africa, and encompasses the Horn of Africa (Djibouti, Eritrea, Ethiopia, and Somalia), as well as Sudan, South Sudan, Libya, and Egypt. The region has a very long history of habitation with fossil finds from the early hominids to modern human and is one of the most culturally and linguistically diverse regions of the world, being the home to many civilizations and located on an important trade route that connects multiple continents. A range of linguistic, biological anthropological, archaeological and genetic data have identified shared affinities between early Egypt and northeastern African populations. Genetic evidence has identified the Horn of Africa as a source of a genetic marker "M35/215" Y-chromosome lineage for a significant population component which moved north from that region into Egypt and the Levant. This genetic distribution paralleled the spread of the Afrasian language family with the movement of people from the Horn of Africa into Egypt and added a new demic component to the existing population of Egypt 17,000 years ago. Mainstream scholars have situated the ethnicity and the origins of predynastic, southern Egypt as a foundational community primarily in northeast Africa which included


id: cradle-of-civilization-20260505-3
file: data/en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Cradle_of_civilization-3.md
category: reference
title: Cradle of civilization
tags: science, encyclopedia
source_url: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Cradle_of_civilization
date_saved: 2026-05-05T07:14:24.048097+00:00
instance: kb-cron
parent: cradle-of-civilization-20260505-0
summary:
The developed Neolithic cultures belonging to the phases Pre-Pottery Neolithic A (10,200 BC) and Pre-Pottery Neolithic B (7600 to 6000 BC) appeared in the Fertile Crescent and from there spread eastwards and westwards. Contemporaneously, a grain-grinding culture using the earliest type of sickle blades had replaced the culture of hunters, fishers, and gathering people using stone tools along the Nile. Geological evidence and computer climate modeling studies also suggest that natural climate changes around 8000 BC began to desiccate the extensive pastoral lands of northern Africa, eventually forming the Sahara. Continued desiccation forced the early ancestors of the Egyptians to settle around the Nile more permanently and to adopt a more sedentary lifestyle. The oldest fully developed neolithic culture in Egypt is Fayum A culture that began around 5500 BC. By about 5500 BC, small tribes living in the Nile valley had developed into a series of inter-related cultures as far south as Sudan, demonstrating firm control of agriculture and animal husbandry, and identifiable by their pottery and personal items, such as combs, bracelets, and beads. The largest of these early cultures in northern Upper Egypt was the Badari, which probably originated in the Western Desert; it was known for


id: cradle-of-civilization-20260505-4
file: data/en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Cradle_of_civilization-4.md
category: reference
title: Cradle of civilization
tags: science, encyclopedia
source_url: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Cradle_of_civilization
date_saved: 2026-05-05T07:14:24.048097+00:00
instance: kb-cron
parent: cradle-of-civilization-20260505-0
summary:
The earliest reliably-dated Neolithic site in South Asia is Mehrgarh in the Kacchi Plain of present-day Pakistan dating from 7000 BC. The aceramic Neolithic at Mehrgarh in present-day Pakistan lasts from 7000 to 5500 BC, with the ceramic Neolithic at Mehrgarh lasting up to 3300 BC; blending into the Early Bronze Age. Mehrgarh is one of the earliest sites with evidence of farming and herding in the Indian subcontinent. It is likely that the culture centered around Mehrgarh migrated into the Indus Valley in present-day Pakistan and became the Indus Valley Civilisation. The earliest fortified town in the region is found at Rehman Dheri, dated 4000 BC in Khyber Pakhtunkhwa close to River Zhob Valley in present-day Pakistan. Other fortified towns found to date are at Amri (3600–3300 BC), Kot Diji in Sindh, and at Kalibangan (3000 BC) at the Hakra River. The Indus Valley Civilization starts around 3300 BC with what is referred to as the Early Harappan Phase (3300 to 2600 BC), although at the start this was still a village-based culture, leaving mostly pottery for archaeologists. The earliest examples of the Indus script date to this period, as well as the emergence of citadels representing centralised authority


id: cradle-of-civilization-20260505-5
file: data/en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Cradle_of_civilization-5.md
category: reference
title: Cradle of civilization
tags: science, encyclopedia
source_url: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Cradle_of_civilization
date_saved: 2026-05-05T07:14:24.048097+00:00
instance: kb-cron
parent: cradle-of-civilization-20260505-0
summary:
Drawing on archaeology, geology and anthropology, modern scholars do not see the origins of the Chinese civilization or history as a linear story but rather the history of the interactions of different and distinct cultures and ethnic groups that influenced each other's development. The specific cultural regions that developed Chinese civilization were the Yellow River civilization, the Yangtze civilization, and Liao civilization. Early evidence for Chinese millet agriculture is dated to around 7000 BC, with the earliest evidence of cultivated rice found at Chengtoushan near the Yangtze River, dated to 6500 BC. Chengtoushan may also be the site of the first walled city in China. By the beginning of the Neolithic Revolution, the Yellow River valley began to establish itself as a center of the Peiligang culture, which flourished from 7000 to 5000 BC, with evidence of agriculture, constructed buildings, pottery, and burial of the dead. With agriculture came increased population, the ability to store and redistribute crops, and the potential to support specialist craftsmen and administrators. Its most prominent site is Jiahu. Some scholars have suggested that the Jiahu symbols (6600 BC) are the earliest form of proto-writing in China. However, it is likely that they should not be


id: cradle-of-civilization-20260505-6
file: data/en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Cradle_of_civilization-6.md
category: reference
title: Cradle of civilization
tags: science, encyclopedia
source_url: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Cradle_of_civilization
date_saved: 2026-05-05T07:14:24.048097+00:00
instance: kb-cron
parent: cradle-of-civilization-20260505-0
summary:
=== Ancient Peru === The earliest evidence of agriculture in the Andean region dates to around 9000 BC in Ecuador at sites of the Las Vegas culture. The bottle gourd may have been the first plant cultivated. The oldest evidence of canal irrigation in South America dates to 4700 to 2500 BC in the Zaña Valley of northern Peru. The earliest urban settlements of the Andes, as well as North and South America, are dated to 3500 BC at Huaricanga, in the Fortaleza area, and Sechin Bajo near the Sechin River. Both sites are in Peru. The Caral–Supe or Norte Chico civilization is understood to have emerged around 3200 BC, as it is at that point that large-scale human settlement and communal construction across multiple sites becomes clearly apparent. In the early 21st century, Peruvian archaeologist Ruth Shady established Caral–Supe as the oldest known civilization in the Americas. The civilization flourished near the Pacific coast in the valleys of three small rivers, the Fortaleza, the Pativilca, and the Supe. These river valleys each have large clusters of sites. Further south, there are several associated sites along the Huaura River. Notable settlements include the cities of Caral, the largest and most


id: cradle-of-civilization-20260505-7
file: data/en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Cradle_of_civilization-7.md
category: reference
title: Cradle of civilization
tags: science, encyclopedia
source_url: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Cradle_of_civilization
date_saved: 2026-05-05T07:14:24.048097+00:00
instance: kb-cron
parent: cradle-of-civilization-20260505-0
summary:
=== Mesoamerica === Maize is believed to have been first domesticated in southern Mexico about 7000 BC. The Coxcatlan Caves in the Valley of Tehuacán provide evidence for agriculture in components dated between 5000 and 3400 BC. Similarly, sites such as Sipacate in Guatemala provide maize pollen samples dating to 3500 BC. Around 1900 BC, the Mokaya domesticated one of the dozen species of cacao. A Mokaya archaeological site provides evidence of cacao beverages dating to this time. The Mokaya are also thought to have been among the first cultures in Mesoamerica to develop a hierarchical society. What would become the Olmec civilization had its roots in early farming cultures of Tabasco, which began around 5100 to 4600 BC. The emergence of the Olmec civilization has traditionally been dated to around 1600 to 1500 BC. Olmec features first emerged in the city of San Lorenzo Tenochtitlán, fully coalescing around 1400 BC. The rise of civilization was assisted by the local ecology of well-watered alluvial soil, as well as by the transportation network provided by the Coatzacoalcos River basin. This environment encouraged a densely concentrated population, which in turn triggered the rise of an elite class and an associated demand for


id: cradle-of-civilization-20260505-8
file: data/en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Cradle_of_civilization-8.md
category: reference
title: Cradle of civilization
tags: science, encyclopedia
source_url: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Cradle_of_civilization
date_saved: 2026-05-05T07:14:24.048097+00:00
instance: kb-cron
parent: cradle-of-civilization-20260505-0
summary:
== Cradle of Western civilization == There is academic consensus that Classical Greece was a major culture that provided the foundation of modern Western culture, democracy, art, theatre, philosophy, and science. For this reason, it is known as the cradle of Western Civilization. Along with Greece, Rome has sometimes been described as a birthplace or as the cradle of Western Civilization because of the role the city had in politics, republicanism, law, architecture, warfare and Western Christianity. == Other uses == Because the word civilization can be defined widely, the term "cradle of civilization" has also been used to describe the origin-point of a particular cultural group, or as the basis for a national mysticism or the origin myth of a nation. This is separate from the use of the term in the study of human prehistory and the development of complex, sedentary societies. "Cradle of civilization" has been used in Indian nationalism (In Search of the Cradle of Civilization 1995) and Taiwanese nationalism (Taiwan;— The Cradle of Civilization 2002). The terms also appear in esoteric pseudohistory, such as the Urantia Book, claiming the title for "the second Eden", or the pseudoarchaeology related to Megalithic Britain (Civilization One 2004, Ancient


id: desert-kite-20260505-0
file: data/en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Desert_kite-0.md
category: reference
title: Desert kite
tags: science, encyclopedia
source_url: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Desert_kite
date_saved: 2026-05-05T07:14:25.325383+00:00
instance: kb-cron
parent: desert-kite-20260505-0
summary:
Desert kites (Arabic: مصائد صحراوية, romanized: maṣāʾid ṣaḥrāwiyya, lit. 'desert traps') are dry stone wall structures found in Southwest Asia (Middle East, but also North Africa, Central Asia and Arabia), which were first discovered from the air during the 1920s. There are over 6,000 known desert kites, with sizes ranging from less than a hundred metres to several kilometres. They typically have a kite shape formed by two convergent "antennae" that run towards an enclosure, all formed by walls of dry stone less than one metre high, but variations exist. Little is known about their ages, but the few dated examples appear to span the entire Holocene. While the majority view holds that these structures were traps for hunting game animals such as gazelles, which were driven into the kites, a minority view suggests they were used for managing livestock. == Appearance == Desert kites are stone structures with a convergent shape, composed of linear piles of stones. The structures have lengths ranging from less than a hundred metres to several kilometres and heights of less than one metre, even accounting for erosion. There often are gaps in the lines, which were presumably either purposeful (left by the builders) or


id: desert-kite-20260505-1
file: data/en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Desert_kite-1.md
category: reference
title: Desert kite
tags: science, encyclopedia
source_url: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Desert_kite
date_saved: 2026-05-05T07:14:25.325383+00:00
instance: kb-cron
parent: desert-kite-20260505-0
summary:
Both archaeological studies and ethnographic accounts from the 19th and 20th century indicate that desert kites in the Middle East and North Africa were used as traps for wild game. A minority viewpoint is that they were used for livestock management. The disagreement stems mainly from a lack of factual evidence to support either hypothesis, from disputes on the interpretation of evidence, and from the extinction of traditions involving desert kites. There is almost no evidence of what happened to animals after they were trapped or which animals were targeted, but ethnographic analyses indicate that kites were used to hunt ungulates like gazelles, which live in groups and form defensive formations when threatened. The usage of traps in catching animals in the steppe is mentioned in the Epic of Gilgamesh. The construction of kites would have required coordinated work from multiple people and are thus indicative of social organization, even if the trapping of animals is a comparatively simple hunting technique. The use of kites in trapping animals is depicted in Israeli, Mongolian and Sinai petroglyphs; these drawings may not always be contemporaneous to the actual usage of the kites. Petroglyphs relating to kites have been found on kites. Studies


id: destruction-layer-20260505-0
file: data/en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Destruction_layer-0.md
category: reference
title: Destruction layer
tags: science, encyclopedia
source_url: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Destruction_layer
date_saved: 2026-05-05T07:14:26.527421+00:00
instance: kb-cron
parent: destruction-layer-20260505-0
summary:
A destruction layer is an archaeological stratum showing clear evidence of widespread burning, structural collapse, weapon finds, human remains, or other signs of violent or catastrophic events. Such layers may result from warfare, seismic activity, accidental fires, or other disasters. In archaeological interpretation, destruction horizons provide chronological anchors for cultural sequences and may indicate major historical turning points, such as the fall of cities, regional crises, or the collapse of polities. Finding comparable destruction layers across several sites in a region can signal a broader episode of unrest or transition, as in the case of the Late Bronze Age collapse. The archaeologist Sharon Zuckerman emphasized that destruction contexts should be analyzed together with the occupational phases preceding and following them, as part of a long-term cultural process rather than isolated events. == Examples == The city of Troy shows several destruction layers, notably Troy II (c. 2200 BC) and Troy VIIa (c. 1200 BC), the latter often associated with the end of the Late Bronze Age and possibly reflecting conflict in the region. The volcanic eruption of Thera (Santorini) produced a well-preserved destruction layer at Akrotiri, dated to the late 17th century BC. The Late Bronze Age cities of the


id: disjecta-membra-20260505-0
file: data/en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Disjecta_membra-0.md
category: reference
title: Disjecta membra
tags: science, encyclopedia
source_url: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Disjecta_membra
date_saved: 2026-05-05T07:14:27.707953+00:00
instance: kb-cron
parent: disjecta-membra-20260505-0
summary:
Disjecta membra, also written disiecta membra, is Latin for "scattered fragments" (also scattered limbs, members, or remains) and is used to refer to surviving fragments of ancient poetry, manuscripts, and other literary or cultural objects, including even fragments of ancient pottery. It is derived from disiecti membra poetae, a phrase used by Horace, a Roman poet. == Ancient and medieval poetry, literature, and manuscripts == Fragments of ancient writing, especially ancient Latin poetry found in other works, are commonly referred to as disjecta membra. The terms disiecta membra and disjecta membra are paraphrased from the Roman lyric poet Horace (65 BC – 8 BC), who wrote of disiecti membra poetae in his Satires, 1.4.62, referring to the "limbs of a dismembered poet". In full, the term originally appeared as Invenias etiam disiecti membra poetae, in reference to the earlier Roman poet Ennius. Although Horace's intended meaning remains the subject of speculation and debate, the passage is often taken to imply that if a line from poetry were torn apart and rearranged, the dismembered parts of the poet would still be recognisable. In this sense, in the study of literature, disjecta membra is often used to describe the piecing together of


id: disturbance-archaeology-20260505-0
file: data/en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Disturbance_(archaeology)-0.md
category: reference
title: Disturbance (archaeology)
tags: science, encyclopedia
source_url: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Disturbance_(archaeology)
date_saved: 2026-05-05T07:14:28.951367+00:00
instance: kb-cron
parent: disturbance-archaeology-20260505-0
summary:
A disturbance is any change to an archaeological site due to events which occurred after the site was laid down. Disturbances may be caused by natural events or human activity, and may result in loss of archaeological value. In some cases, it can be difficult to distinguish between features caused by human activity in the period of interest, and features caused by later human activity or natural processes. == Causes == === Natural causes === The soil scientist Francis D. Hole identified nine natural processes resulting in soil disturbance, including the movements of animals and plants (known as bioturbation, and including burrowing, root growth and treefalls); freezing and thawing; movement under gravity (including earthflow and rockslides); swelling and shrinking of clays; the actions of wind and water; the growth and dissolution of salt crystals; and movement caused by earthquakes. Different sites are subject to different degrees, combinations, and interactions of these processes, and archaeologists working with a given site must be familiar with the processes in play at that site to avoid the risk of misinterpretation. In some environments, animal activity can completely turn over the surface soil in as few as five to six years. The activity of earthworms,


id: ephyraean-style-20260505-0
file: data/en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Ephyraean_style-0.md
category: reference
title: Ephyraean style
tags: science, encyclopedia
source_url: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Ephyraean_style
date_saved: 2026-05-05T07:14:30.128916+00:00
instance: kb-cron
parent: ephyraean-style-20260505-0
summary:
The Ephyraean style is a distinctive type of Mycenaean pottery defined by a specific vessel, the Ephyraean goblet. This ware was first identified by archaeologist Carl Blegen during his excavations at Korakou, a site near Corinth. Blegen named the ware after Ephyra (Ancient Corinth), that he thought he was excavating. The style's stratigraphic position places it firmly in the Late Helladic II (LH II) period (approx. 1450–1350 BC), and it is considered a key "date-mark" for this phase of the Mycenaean era. While other shapes, such as jugs, were sometimes decorated in the Ephyraean manner, the goblet is its most characteristic form. == Goblets == === Shape, origin, and fabric === The Ephyraean goblet is a decorated subdivision of Yellow Minyan ware, which itself is a refined development of Middle Helladic Grey Minyan ware. Its characteristic shape—a one- or two-handled goblet with a short stem—is thought to be a direct imitation of metal vessels. This Helladic origin, derived from Minyan goblets, was emphasized by scholars like Persson and Wace, who refuted earlier theories by Arthur Evans that the shape had a Minoan origin. The classic goblet has a specific shape: A short stem with a hollowed foot. A deep bowl


id: favissa-20260505-0
file: data/en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Favissa-0.md
category: reference
title: Favissa
tags: science, encyclopedia
source_url: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Favissa
date_saved: 2026-05-05T07:14:31.628120+00:00
instance: kb-cron
parent: favissa-20260505-0
summary:
A favissa is a cultic storage place, usually a pit or an underground cellar, for sacred utensils and votive objects no longer in use. Favissae were located within the sacred temple precincts of the various ancient Mediterranean civilizations. Archaeologists have found such pits in Ancient Egypt, the Roman world and in the Phoenician and Punic world. == Etymology == The term is derived from the Etruscan or related to the Latin fovea "pit". During the time of ancient Rome, the term favissa referred to a cylindrical underground storage space, specifically designed to house votive objects. These repositories were typically located outside the main sanctuary but within the sacred grounds known as temenos. The Roman favissa served a similar purpose as the Greek treasury, functioning as a dedicated space for storing valuable offerings and dedicatory items. == Roman favissae == Similar to other ancient religions, the Romans had a tradition of offering relatively inexpensive objects made of materials like bronze, lead, tin, or common clay as votive offerings to the temple deities. Over time, the quantity of these votive objects became excessive, necessitating their removal. However, it was crucial for priests to ensure these offerings remained within consecrated ground and were


id: foundation-deposit-20260505-0
file: data/en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Foundation_deposit-0.md
category: reference
title: Foundation deposit
tags: science, encyclopedia
source_url: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Foundation_deposit
date_saved: 2026-05-05T07:14:32.813442+00:00
instance: kb-cron
parent: foundation-deposit-20260505-0
summary:
Foundation deposits are the archaeological remains of the ritual burial of materials under the foundations of buildings. == Ancient Egypt == In the case of Ancient Egypt, foundation deposits took the form of ritual mudbrick lined pits or holes dug at specific points under temples or tombs, which were filled with ceremonial objects, usually amulets, scarabs, food, or ritual miniature tools, and were supposed to prevent the building from falling into ruin. == Examples == == See also == Builders' rites Cornerstone Cyrus Cylinder == References ==


id: glyph-20260505-0
file: data/en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Glyph-0.md
category: reference
title: Glyph
tags: science, encyclopedia
source_url: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Glyph
date_saved: 2026-05-05T07:14:34.076369+00:00
instance: kb-cron
parent: glyph-20260505-0
summary:
A glyph ( GLIF) is any kind of purposeful mark. In typography, a glyph is "the specific shape, design, or representation of a character". It is a particular graphical representation, in a particular typeface (or computer font), of an element of written language. That "element" is called a grapheme – the conceptual abstraction of some letter, number or symbol, which is independent of the glyph designed to represent it in a particular font. == Glyphs, graphemes and characters == In modern English, each symbol (such as a letter or numerical digit) is a grapheme that can be represented by a single glyph that is unique to the font where it used. Detailed differences in the design of each glyph in the repertoire is the distinguishing feature of a typeface (or computer font) but in each case the grapheme being represented is constant. In most languages written in any variety of the Latin alphabet except English, the use of diacritics to signify a sound mutation is common. For example, the grapheme ⟨à⟩ requires two glyphs: the basic |a| and the grave accent |`|. In general, a diacritic is regarded as a glyph, even if it is contiguous with the rest of


id: haltern-cooking-pot-20260505-0
file: data/en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Haltern_cooking_pot-0.md
category: reference
title: Haltern cooking pot
tags: science, encyclopedia
source_url: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Haltern_cooking_pot
date_saved: 2026-05-05T07:14:35.343034+00:00
instance: kb-cron
parent: haltern-cooking-pot-20260505-0
summary:
The Haltern cooking pot is an earthenware vessel from the Roman period. Due to its frequent occurrence as utility pottery in eastern Gallic and Rhinelandic settlements and military sites of the 1st century AD, it serves as a type fossil in provincial Roman archaeology for dating archaeological finds. In ceramic typology, the form is referred to as Haltern 91 after its eponymous site, the Haltern Roman camp. == Form == The Haltern cooking pot is a bulbous vessel whose widest diameter is at the shoulder. It is characterized by an inwardly curved, grooved rim with a sharp shoulder angle. It tapers steeply toward the base, with the narrowest part located at the flat base. Early vessels were handmade, but during the Tiberian era, they were replaced by wheel-thrown pots, maintaining the same shape. The vessel surface is often coated with a clay slip, roughened with straw or twigs before firing to improve grip. The sherd is clay-based with sand tempering. Depending on the production site, it is black, light-colored, or reddish. Two variants are distinguished in current literature. Haltern 91 A consists of poorly levigated clay, with reddish-brown to black sherds and a cork-like texture ("cork ware"). In contrast, Haltern


id: holocene-calendar-20260505-0
file: data/en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Holocene_calendar-0.md
category: reference
title: Holocene calendar
tags: science, encyclopedia
source_url: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Holocene_calendar
date_saved: 2026-05-05T07:14:36.505459+00:00
instance: kb-cron
parent: holocene-calendar-20260505-0
summary:
The Holocene calendar, also known as the Holocene Era or Human Era (HE), is a year numbering system that adds exactly 10,000 years to the currently dominant (AD/BC or CE/BCE) numbering scheme, placing its first year near the beginning of the Holocene geological epoch and the Neolithic Revolution, when humans shifted from a hunter-gatherer lifestyle to agriculture and fixed settlements. The current year by the Gregorian calendar, AD 2026, is 12026 HE in the Holocene calendar. The HE scheme was first proposed by Cesare Emiliani in 1993 (11993 HE), though similar proposals to start a new calendar at the same date had been put forward decades earlier. Emiliani thereby dismissed his original proposal to align the era with the 7980-year Julian cycles, i.e. start with the epoch in 4713 BCE (5288 HE). == Overview == Cesare Emiliani's proposal for a calendar reform sought to solve a number of alleged problems with the current Anno Domini era, also called the Common Era, which numbers the years of the commonly accepted world calendar. These issues include: The Anno Domini era has no year "zero", with 1 BC followed immediately by AD 1, making calculation of time spans difficult. The years BC/BCE are


id: olive-jar-20260505-0
file: data/en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Olive_jar-0.md
category: reference
title: Olive jar
tags: science, encyclopedia
source_url: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Olive_jar
date_saved: 2026-05-05T07:14:37.702321+00:00
instance: kb-cron
parent: olive-jar-20260505-0
summary:
Spanish olive jars are ceramic containers produced in the 15th through the 19th centuries and used for transporting various products to Spanish colonies. Olive jars are commonly found in archaeological sites throughout the former Spanish Empire, including shipwrecks, and have also been found at sites that were never under Spanish control. Variations in the form of individual olive jars have been used by archaeologists to date sites in which olive jars and sherds have been found. == Names == The term "Spanish Olive Jar" was introduced by William Henry Holmes in 1903, as he believed a specific type of sherd found in archaeological sites in America came from jars that had been used to ship olives to America. American archaeologists have since then often called Spanish-produced ceramic containers found at archaeological sites "olive jars" or "Spanish olive jars". They have been inconsistent in their use of "olive jar", varying between "olive jar" as a name for all Spanish ceramics, and as a name for the most common type, the botija, which has a distinctive form and paste. Other types of Spanish ceramics that are sometimes called "olive jars", and sometimes "Spanish storage jars" include the cantimplora, tinaja, and orza. American


id: olive-jar-20260505-1
file: data/en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Olive_jar-1.md
category: reference
title: Olive jar
tags: science, encyclopedia
source_url: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Olive_jar
date_saved: 2026-05-05T07:14:37.702321+00:00
instance: kb-cron
parent: olive-jar-20260505-0
summary:
== Archaeological finds == Olive jars found on shipwrecks of known date help establish a time line for changes in styles. Botijas were important shipping containers in the Spanish Empire, but were also used in wider trade networks. They have been found in the British Isles, Brittany, the Netherlands, Poland, Sweden, Caribbean Islands, Mexico, Colombia, Ecuador, Argentina, Canada, the Philippines, Australia, the Solomon Islands, English settlements in North and South Carolina, and at the site of a Native American camp in Nebraska. Olive jars probably were used extensively by the Spanish for travel by land or small water vessels, carrying wine, olive oil, and water. The presence of olive jar sherds at archaeological sites are a good indicator of Spanish presence that lasted long enough for one or more jars to break. On the other hand, the absence of such sherds at archaeological sites that do have other artifacts of Spanish provenance, which may have arrived through trade or as plunder, may indicate that there was no Spanish presence at the site. == References == == Sources == Beaman, Thomas E., Jr.; Mintz, John J. (Summer 1998). "Iberian Olive Jars at Brunswick Town and Other British Colonial Sites: Three Models


id: palace-style-20260505-0
file: data/en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Palace_Style-0.md
category: reference
title: Palace Style
tags: science, encyclopedia
source_url: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Palace_Style
date_saved: 2026-05-05T07:14:39.082684+00:00
instance: kb-cron
parent: palace-style-20260505-0
summary:
The Palace Style is an archaeological term, coined by Sir Arthur Evans, for a style of Minoan pottery. It flourished during the Late Minoan II (LMII) period, from approximately 1450 to 1400 BC. This "magnificent" style disappears after the final destruction of the Knossos palace around 1400 BC. The style is characterized by a "grandiose and increasingly formal character" as well as "geometric severity" and "rhythmic, balanced" designs. It is often described as "grand, formal, tectonic, and rather cold" compared to the "fresher" Minoan styles that preceded it, such as the Floral Style and Marine Style. It represents a shift toward more schematic, symmetrical, and "stiff" designs, losing the "vibrancy" of earlier naturalistic art. == Etymology == The term "Palace Style" was chosen because the pottery, primarily large, high-quality storage vessels, was found almost exclusively in the vicinity of the Palace of Knossos. == Characteristics and evolution == The Palace Style is a monumental style that adapts earlier naturalistic motifs into more stylized designs. Motifs are often inspired by decorations found on the palace walls, and many designs reproduce details from metalwork models. Common motifs include: Stylized plants, especially the papyrus (often seen with wave patterns), lilies, and reeds. Marine


id: porticus-20260505-0
file: data/en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Porticus-0.md
category: reference
title: Porticus
tags: science, encyclopedia
source_url: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Porticus
date_saved: 2026-05-05T07:14:40.237009+00:00
instance: kb-cron
parent: porticus-20260505-0
summary:
In church architecture, a porticus (Latin for "portico") is usually a small room in a church. Commonly, porticuses form extensions to the north and south sides of a church, giving the building a cruciform plan. They may function as chapels, rudimentary transepts or burial-places. For example, Anglo-Saxon kings of Kent were buried in the south porticus at St Augustine's Abbey in Canterbury, with the exception of Eadberht II, who was buried in a similar location in St Mary's Church, Reculver. This feature of church design originated in the late Roman period and continued to appear in those built on the European continent and, in Anglo-Saxon England, until the 8th century. == Notes == == References == === Citations === === Bibliography === Cherry, B. (1981) [1976], "Ecclesiastical architecture", in Wilson, D.M. (ed.), The Archaeology of Anglo-Saxon England, Cambridge University Press, pp. 151–200, ISBN 0-521-28390-6 Kelly, S. (2008), "Reculver Minster and its early charters", in Barrow, J.; Wareham, A. (eds.), Myth, Rulership, Church and Charters Essays in Honour of Nicholas Brooks, Ashgate, pp. 67–82, ISBN 978-0-7546-5120-8


id: proto-city-20260505-0
file: data/en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Proto-city-0.md
category: reference
title: Proto-city
tags: science, encyclopedia
source_url: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Proto-city
date_saved: 2026-05-05T07:14:41.432872+00:00
instance: kb-cron
parent: proto-city-20260505-0
summary:
A proto-city is a large, dense Neolithic settlement that is largely distinguished from a city by its lack of planning and centralized rule. The term mega-sites is also used. While the precise classification of many sites considered proto-cities is ambiguous and subject to considerable debate, common examples include sites of the Pre-Pottery Neolithic B culture and following cultures in the Fertile Crescent such as Jericho and Çatalhöyük, sites of the Cucuteni-Trypillia culture in Southeast Europe, and of the Ubaid period in Mesopotamia. These sites pre-date the Mesopotamian city-states of the Uruk period that mark the development of the first indisputable urban settlements, with the emergence of cities such as Uruk at the end of the Fourth Millennium, B.C. The emergence of cities from proto-urban settlements is a non-linear development that demonstrates the varied experiences of early urbanization. Whilst the proto-urban sites of the Ubaid period in northern Mesopotamia anticipate the social and political developments of the first Sumerian cities, many proto-cities show little correlation with later urban settlements. The development of cities and proto-cities and the transition away from hunting and gathering toward agriculture is known as the Neolithic Revolution. == Definition == The label of a proto-city is applied


id: proto-city-20260505-1
file: data/en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Proto-city-1.md
category: reference
title: Proto-city
tags: science, encyclopedia
source_url: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Proto-city
date_saved: 2026-05-05T07:14:41.432872+00:00
instance: kb-cron
parent: proto-city-20260505-0
summary:
== Development of cities == The development of cities from proto-urban sites was not a linear progression in most cases. Rather, proto-cities are defined as "early experiments" in high-density living that "did not develop further", particularly in their level of population, suggesting a more flexible and complex trajectory to urbanisation. Alternatively, a number of proto-urban population centres such as Tell Brak in Northern Mesopotamia in the fourth millennium B.C. can be considered "successful experiments" that adopted new social and political institutions to mitigate internal conflicts. These sites anticipate the administrative practices of Southern Mesopotamian city-states such as Uruk, such as the use of seals to denote ownership or control. At Tell Brak, a stamp sealing with a motif of a lion suggests the authority of a senior official; in later periods Mesopotamians considered the lion a symbol of kingship. By the end of the fourth millennium B.C., the emergence of the city of Uruk in Southern Mesopotamia reflected the social, cultural and political developments of proto-cities in the region during prior centuries. The city can be viewed as "the culmination of a series of increasingly successful experiments in settlement nucleation". Extremely large in scale (250 ha, twice the size of


id: qiance-20260505-0
file: data/en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Qiance-0.md
category: reference
title: Qiance
tags: science, encyclopedia
source_url: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Qiance
date_saved: 2026-05-05T07:14:43.789970+00:00
instance: kb-cron
parent: qiance-20260505-0
summary:
Qiance, i.e., qiǎncè (Chinese traditional: 遣冊; Chinese simplified: 遣册), is a term for funerary-furnishing inventory list documents excavated from Chinese archaeological sites. == Description == Qiance were usually written on bamboo and wooden slips. According to Professor Qiu Xigui of Fudan University, most of the bamboo and wooden slips unearthed from ancient tombs and frontier fortress sites in China are ancient books and qiance. According to archaeological discoveries and ancient textual evidence, scholars believe that shorter funerary inventory lists, usually with less than one hundred item names, were written on fengfang, a wooden tablet, instead. == Purpose == It has been argued that qiance, together with the other tomb objects, were meant to guarantee the tomb owner's social status in the world beyond. == References ==


id: seriation-archaeology-20260505-0
file: data/en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Seriation_(archaeology)-0.md
category: reference
title: Seriation (archaeology)
tags: science, encyclopedia
source_url: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Seriation_(archaeology)
date_saved: 2026-05-05T07:14:44.954311+00:00
instance: kb-cron
parent: seriation-archaeology-20260505-0
summary:
In archaeology, seriation is a relative dating method in which assemblages or artifacts from numerous sites in the same culture are placed in chronological order. Where absolute dating methods, such as carbon dating, cannot be applied, archaeologists have to use relative dating methods to date archaeological finds and features. Seriation is a standard method of dating in archaeology. It can be used to date stone tools, pottery fragments, and other artifacts. In Europe, it has been used frequently to reconstruct the chronological sequence of graves in a cemetery (e.g. Jørgensen 1992; Müssemeier, Nieveler et al. 2003). == Contextual and frequency seriation == Two different variants of seriation have been applied: contextual seriation and frequency seriation (Renfrew and Bahn 1996, pp. 116–117). Whereas contextual seriation is based on the presence or absence of a design style, frequency seriation relies on measuring the proportional abundance or frequency of a design style. Contextual seriation is often used for reconstructing the chronological sequence of graves as only the presence or absence of a design style or type is important. Frequency seriation is applied in cases of large quantities of objects belonging to the same style. An example of this being assemblages of pottery shards


id: seriation-archaeology-20260505-1
file: data/en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Seriation_(archaeology)-1.md
category: reference
title: Seriation (archaeology)
tags: science, encyclopedia
source_url: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Seriation_(archaeology)
date_saved: 2026-05-05T07:14:44.954311+00:00
instance: kb-cron
parent: seriation-archaeology-20260505-0
summary:
=== Correspondence analysis for seriation purposes === Today, the most popular seriation method both for contextual and frequency problems is based on correspondence analysis. The sequence of the first axis of a correspondence analysis is considered the best seriation order (Shennan 1997, p. 342; Lock 2003, p. 127; Jensen & Høilund Nielsen 1997). Using this technique, not only the sequence of the objects but also those of the design styles is established. Note that external evidence is needed to establish the direction of the sequence calculated, i.e. the method does not tell whether the first object in the sequence is the oldest or the youngest object. Kendall (1971) applied multidimensional scaling to the cemetery data of Münsingen. The resulting scatterplot showed the form of a horse-shoe where the graves were arranged on the curve according to their chronological order. Similarly, a mapping of the component scores for the first two axes of the correspondence analysis result will display a parabola if the design styles considered are controlled by one factor only (like chronology). This is called the arch effect by Hill and Gauch (1980). Both Kendall and Jensen & Høilund Nielsen (1997) created artificial data sets to show that the


id: seriation-archaeology-20260505-2
file: data/en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Seriation_(archaeology)-2.md
category: reference
title: Seriation (archaeology)
tags: science, encyclopedia
source_url: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Seriation_(archaeology)
date_saved: 2026-05-05T07:14:44.954311+00:00
instance: kb-cron
parent: seriation-archaeology-20260505-0
summary:
=== Example 3: Ideal data, seriation and correspondence analysis === The contingency table shows 29 contexts with ideal seriation data as created by Kendall and Jensen & Høilund Nielsen (see above). With each new context a new type appears and another type disappears. For this regular data, it seems reasonable to assume constant time intervals for contexts adjacent in time. The correspondence analysis results shown in the figures below were calculated on the basis of 49 contexts with ideal seriation data. The scatterplot of the first two correspondence analysis axes shows the typical parabola shape. The display of the scores on the first and the third axes exhibits points lying on a third degree polynomial curve. Similarly, the plot of the scores on the first and the fourth axes will show a fourth degree polynomial for ideal data – and so on. Note that the distances of the scores for adjacent contexts on the first axis vary: At the beginning and the end, the distances are extremely small, the largest distances in the centre is about 30 times as large as the smallest distance. Hill and Gauch (1979) created a similar contingency table with a regular structure with each context


id: technofossil-20260505-0
file: data/en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Technofossil-0.md
category: reference
title: Technofossil
tags: science, encyclopedia
source_url: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Technofossil
date_saved: 2026-05-05T07:14:46.134506+00:00
instance: kb-cron
parent: technofossil-20260505-0
summary:
A technofossil refers to geological evidence of human technological activity preserved in Earth's strata that will persist for millions of years. These anthropogenic materials form distinctive markers in the geological record, with many geologists, paleobiologists, and environmental researchers stating that they would provide future evidence of humanity's industrial and consumer-oriented civilization. Technofossils represent a significant aspect of the proposed Anthropocene epoch, characterized by humanity's profound geological impact on the planet due to the mass production of synthetic resources, modified biological remains, and chemical or radioactive markers. == Concept == The term "technofossil", first coined in 2014, describes manufactured or modified materials that possess sufficient durability to persist in Earth's geological record for millions of years. Unlike traditional biological fossils, technofossils result from human technological processes rather than natural and biological processes. These persistent artifacts form a distinctive stratigraphic signature that several geologists and environmental scientists state will remain identifiable to future geologists or intelligent entities examining Earth's history. University of Leicester Department of Geology professors Jan Zalasiewicz, Mark Williams, and Sarah Gabbott, consider technofossils a defining characteristic of the Anthropocene. Each theorize that their durability and vast global distribution are in the process of creating an unprecedented geological signature distinct


id: technofossil-20260505-1
file: data/en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Technofossil-1.md
category: reference
title: Technofossil
tags: science, encyclopedia
source_url: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Technofossil
date_saved: 2026-05-05T07:14:46.134506+00:00
instance: kb-cron
parent: technofossil-20260505-0
summary:
== Preservation == Like traditional fossils, technofossils will require specific conditions for long-term preservation. Burial beneath sediment, particularly in marine or lacustrine environments, are believed to provide the most favorable conditions for preservation. Subsiding coastal urban areas provide proper conditions for preservation of human infrastructure, as gradually sinking land allows for sediment accumulation that protects artifacts from erosion and weathering. Landfills create artificial preservation environments that inhibit degradation by limiting oxygen exposure and microbial activity. Deep geological formations provide stable preservation environments for subterranean technofossils, protecting them from surface erosional processes. Many technofossils will release chemicals into the environment over geological timeframes, potentially affecting future ecosystems. === Cultural preservation === Some technofossils may unintentionally preserve cultural information. Paper documents demonstrate fossilization potential based on preserved ancient leaves and plant materials that underwent similar preservation processes. Graphite from pencils shows considerable geological stability, potentially preserving written or drawn information. Children's drawings are posited to represent potentially enduring human cultural expressions due to their simple graphite composition and potential for burial in sediments. Digital information storage media, despite their abundance, may prove less durable than older analog technologies, creating a potential gap in the cultural record preserved for future study. == See


id: virtual-archaeology-20260505-0
file: data/en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Virtual_archaeology-0.md
category: reference
title: Virtual archaeology
tags: science, encyclopedia
source_url: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Virtual_archaeology
date_saved: 2026-05-05T07:14:58.279288+00:00
instance: kb-cron
parent: virtual-archaeology-20260505-0
summary:
Virtual archaeology is a subfield of digital archeology that creates and use virtual models and simulations of archaeological sites, artifacts, and processes. It makes use of 3D modeling, virtual reality (VR), augmented reality (AR), and other technologies to recreate or visualize archaeological findings. == Etymology == It is a term introduced in 1990 by archaeologist and computer scientist Paul Reilly to describe the use of computer based simulations of archaeological excavations. Since that time, scientific results related to virtual archaeology were annually discussed, among others, at Computer Applications and Quantitative Methods in Archaeology (CAA). The keyword "visualization" defined the aim of the virtual archaeology in the London Charter Initiative: It should be made clear to users what a computer-based visualization seeks to represent, for example the existing state, an evidence-based restoration or an hypothetical reconstruction of a cultural heritage object or site, and the extent and nature of any factual uncertainty. Since its introduction, the focus of the term has been extended to explore methods that increase the visibility and accessibility of archaeology. Today it serves as an integration paradigm that allows many modern three-dimensional datasets to be analysed together, taking account preliminary reconstructions of archaeological sites and guiding further


id: waterlogging-archaeology-20260505-0
file: data/en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Waterlogging_(archaeology)-0.md
category: reference
title: Waterlogging (archaeology)
tags: science, encyclopedia
source_url: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Waterlogging_(archaeology)
date_saved: 2026-05-05T07:14:59.422773+00:00
instance: kb-cron
parent: waterlogging-archaeology-20260505-0
summary:
In archaeology, waterlogging is the long-term exclusion of air by groundwater, which creates an anaerobic environment that can preserve artifacts perfectly. Such waterlogging preserves perishable artifacts. Thus, in a site which has been waterlogged since the archaeological horizon was deposited, exceptional insight may be obtained by study of artifacts made of leather, wood, textile or similar materials. 75-90% of the archaeological remains at wetland sites are found to be organic material. Tree rings found from logs that have been preserved allow archaeologists to accurately date sites. Wetland sites include all those found in lakes, swamps, marshes, fens, and peat bogs. Peat bogs, nearly all of which occur in northern latitudes, are some of the most important environments for wetland archaeology. Peat bogs have likewise preserved many wooden trackways, including the world's oldest road, which is a 6,000-year-old one-mile stretch of track. Bog bodies are the best-known finds from the peat bogs of northwest Europe, with most of them dating from the Iron Age. Most corpses that were found were individuals that met a violent death and were probably either executed as criminals or killed as a sacrifice before thrown into the bog. For example, the Old Croghan Man was stabbed,


id: acclimatization-20260505-0
file: data/en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Acclimatization-0.md
category: reference
title: Acclimatization
tags: science, encyclopedia
source_url: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Acclimatization
date_saved: 2026-05-05T07:15:01.114425+00:00
instance: kb-cron
parent: acclimatization-20260505-0
summary:
Acclimatization or acclimatisation (also called acclimation or acclimatation) is the process in which an individual organism adjusts to a change in its environment (such as a change in altitude, temperature, humidity, photoperiod, or pH), allowing it to maintain fitness across a range of environmental conditions. Acclimatization occurs in a short period of time (hours to weeks), and within the organism's lifetime (compared to adaptation, which is evolution, taking place over many generations). This may be a discrete occurrence (for example, when mountaineers acclimate to high altitude over hours or days) or may instead represent part of a periodic cycle, such as a mammal shedding heavy winter fur in favor of a lighter summer coat. Organisms can adjust their morphological, behavioral, physical, and/or biochemical traits in response to changes in their environment. While the capacity to acclimate to novel environments has been well documented in thousands of species, researchers still know very little about how and why organisms acclimate the way that they do. == Names == The nouns acclimatization and acclimation (and the corresponding verbs acclimatize and acclimate) are widely regarded as synonymous, both in general vocabulary and in medical vocabulary. The synonym acclimation is less commonly encountered, and fewer


id: adaptation-20260505-0
file: data/en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Adaptation-0.md
category: reference
title: Adaptation
tags: science, encyclopedia
source_url: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Adaptation
date_saved: 2026-05-05T07:15:02.299236+00:00
instance: kb-cron
parent: adaptation-20260505-0
summary:
In biology, adaptation has three related meanings. Firstly, it is the dynamic evolutionary process of natural selection that fits organisms to their environment, enhancing their evolutionary fitness. Secondly, it is a state reached by the population during that process. Thirdly, it is a phenotypic trait or adaptive trait, with a functional role in each individual organism, that is maintained and has evolved through natural selection. Historically, adaptation has been described from the time of the ancient Greek philosophers such as Empedocles and Aristotle. In 18th and 19th-century natural theology, adaptation was taken as evidence for the existence of a deity. Charles Darwin and Alfred Russel Wallace proposed instead that it was explained by natural selection. Adaptation is related to biological fitness, which governs the rate of evolution as measured by changes in allele frequencies. Often, two or more species co-adapt and co-evolve as they develop adaptations that interlock with those of the other species, such as with flowering plants and pollinating insects. In mimicry, species evolve to resemble other species; in mimicry this is a mutually beneficial co-evolution as each of a group of strongly defended species (such as wasps able to sting) come to advertise their defences in the


id: adaptation-20260505-1
file: data/en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Adaptation-1.md
category: reference
title: Adaptation
tags: science, encyclopedia
source_url: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Adaptation
date_saved: 2026-05-05T07:15:02.299236+00:00
instance: kb-cron
parent: adaptation-20260505-0
summary:
=== What adaptation is === Adaptation is primarily a process rather than a physical form or part of a body. An internal parasite (such as a liver fluke) can illustrate the distinction: such a parasite may have a very simple bodily structure, but nevertheless the organism is highly adapted to its specific environment. From this we see that adaptation is not just a matter of visible traits: in such parasites critical adaptations take place in the life cycle, which is often quite complex. However, as a practical term, "adaptation" often refers to a product: those features of a species which result from the process. Many aspects of an animal or plant can be correctly called adaptations, though there are always some features whose function remains in doubt. By using the term adaptation for the evolutionary process, and adaptive trait for the bodily part or function (the product), one may distinguish the two different senses of the word. Adaptation is one of the two main processes that explain the observed diversity of species, such as the different species of Darwin's finches. The other process is speciation, in which new species arise, typically through reproductive isolation. An example widely used today to


id: adaptation-20260505-2
file: data/en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Adaptation-2.md
category: reference
title: Adaptation
tags: science, encyclopedia
source_url: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Adaptation
date_saved: 2026-05-05T07:15:02.299236+00:00
instance: kb-cron
parent: adaptation-20260505-0
summary:
There is a relationship between adaptedness and the concept of fitness used in population genetics. Differences in fitness between genotypes predict the rate of evolution by natural selection. Natural selection changes the relative frequencies of alternative phenotypes, insofar as they are heritable. However, a phenotype with high adaptedness may not have high fitness. Dobzhansky mentioned the example of the Californian redwood, which is highly adapted, but a relict species in danger of extinction. Elliott Sober commented that adaptation was a retrospective concept since it implied something about the history of a trait, whereas fitness predicts a trait's future. 1. Relative fitness. The average contribution to the next generation by a genotype or a class of genotypes, relative to the contributions of other genotypes in the population. This is also known as Darwinian fitness, selection coefficient, and other terms. 2. Absolute fitness. The absolute contribution to the next generation by a genotype or a class of genotypes. Also known as the Malthusian parameter when applied to the population as a whole. 3. Adaptedness. The extent to which a phenotype fits its local ecological niche. Researchers can sometimes test this through a reciprocal transplant. Sewall Wright proposed that populations occupy adaptive peaks


id: adaptation-20260505-3
file: data/en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Adaptation-3.md
category: reference
title: Adaptation
tags: science, encyclopedia
source_url: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Adaptation
date_saved: 2026-05-05T07:15:02.299236+00:00
instance: kb-cron
parent: adaptation-20260505-0
summary:
In coevolution, where the existence of one species is tightly bound up with the life of another species, new or 'improved' adaptations which occur in one species are often followed by the appearance and spread of corresponding features in the other species. In other words, each species triggers reciprocal natural selection in the other. These co-adaptational relationships are intrinsically dynamic, and may continue on a trajectory for millions of years, as has occurred in the relationship between flowering plants and pollinating insects. === Mimicry === Bates' work on Amazonian butterflies led him to develop the first scientific account of mimicry, especially the kind of mimicry which bears his name: Batesian mimicry. This is the mimicry by a palatable species of an unpalatable or noxious species (the model), gaining a selective advantage as predators avoid the model and therefore also the mimic. Mimicry is thus an anti-predator adaptation. A common example seen in temperate gardens is the hoverfly (Syrphidae), many of which—though bearing no sting—mimic the warning coloration of aculeate Hymenoptera (wasps and bees). Such mimicry does not need to be perfect to improve the survival of the palatable species. Bates, Wallace and Fritz Müller believed that Batesian and Müllerian mimicry


id: adaptation-20260505-4
file: data/en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Adaptation-4.md
category: reference
title: Adaptation
tags: science, encyclopedia
source_url: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Adaptation
date_saved: 2026-05-05T07:15:02.299236+00:00
instance: kb-cron
parent: adaptation-20260505-0
summary:
=== Pre-adaptation === Pre-adaptation occurs when a population has characteristics which by chance are suited for a set of conditions not previously experienced. For example, the polyploid cordgrass Spartina townsendii is better adapted than either of its parent species to their own habitat of saline marsh and mud-flats. Among domestic animals, the White Leghorn chicken is markedly more resistant to vitamin B1 deficiency than other breeds; on a plentiful diet this makes no difference, but on a restricted diet this preadaptation could be decisive. Pre-adaptation may arise because a natural population carries a huge quantity of genetic variability. In diploid eukaryotes, this is a consequence of the system of sexual reproduction, where mutant alleles get partially shielded, for example, by genetic dominance. Microorganisms, with their huge populations, also carry a great deal of genetic variability. The first experimental evidence of the pre-adaptive nature of genetic variants in microorganisms was provided by Salvador Luria and Max Delbrück who developed the Fluctuation Test, a method to show the random fluctuation of pre-existing genetic changes that conferred resistance to bacteriophages in Escherichia coli. The word is controversial because it is teleological and the entire concept of natural selection depends on the presence of


id: adaptation-20260505-5
file: data/en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Adaptation-5.md
category: reference
title: Adaptation
tags: science, encyclopedia
source_url: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Adaptation
date_saved: 2026-05-05T07:15:02.299236+00:00
instance: kb-cron
parent: adaptation-20260505-0
summary:
Adaptation raises philosophical issues concerning how biologists speak of function and purpose, as this carries implications of evolutionary history – that a feature evolved by natural selection for a specific reason – and potentially of supernatural intervention – that features and organisms exist because of a deity's conscious intentions. In his biology, Aristotle introduced teleology to describe the adaptedness of organisms, but without accepting the supernatural intention built into Plato's thinking, which Aristotle rejected. Modern biologists continue to face the same difficulty. On the one hand, adaptation is purposeful: natural selection chooses what works and eliminates what does not. On the other hand, biologists by and large reject conscious purpose in evolution. The dilemma gave rise to a famous joke by the evolutionary biologist Haldane: "Teleology is like a mistress to a biologist: he cannot live without her but he's unwilling to be seen with her in public.'" David Hull commented that Haldane's mistress "has become a lawfully wedded wife. Biologists no longer feel obligated to apologize for their use of teleological language; they flaunt it." Ernst Mayr stated that "adaptedness... is an a posteriori result rather than an a priori goal-seeking", meaning that the question of whether something is


id: aerobic-organism-20260505-0
file: data/en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Aerobic_organism-0.md
category: reference
title: Aerobic organism
tags: science, encyclopedia
source_url: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Aerobic_organism
date_saved: 2026-05-05T07:15:03.488289+00:00
instance: kb-cron
parent: aerobic-organism-20260505-0
summary:
An aerobic organism or aerobe is an organism that can survive and grow in an oxygenated environment. The ability to exhibit aerobic respiration may yield benefits to the aerobic organism, as aerobic respiration yields more energy than anaerobic respiration. Energy production of the cell involves the synthesis of ATP by an enzyme called ATP synthase. In aerobic respiration, ATP synthase is coupled with an electron transport chain in which oxygen acts as a terminal electron acceptor. In July 2020, marine biologists reported that aerobic microorganisms (mainly), in "quasi-suspended animation", were found in organically poor sediments, up to 101.5 million years old, 250 feet below the seafloor in the South Pacific Gyre (SPG) ("the deadest spot in the ocean"), and could be the longest-living life forms ever found. == Types == Obligate aerobes need oxygen to grow. In a process known as cellular respiration, these organisms use oxygen to oxidize substrates (for example sugars and fats) and generate energy. Facultative anaerobes use oxygen if it is available, but also have anaerobic methods of energy production. Microaerophiles require oxygen for energy production, but are harmed by atmospheric concentrations of oxygen (21% O2). Aerotolerant anaerobes do not use oxygen but are not harmed


id: animal-20260505-0
file: data/en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Animal-0.md
category: reference
title: Animal
tags: science, encyclopedia
source_url: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Animal
date_saved: 2026-05-05T07:15:04.727619+00:00
instance: kb-cron
parent: animal-20260505-0
summary:
Animals are multicellular, eukaryotic organisms belonging to the biological kingdom Animalia (). With few exceptions, animals consume organic material, breathe oxygen, have myocytes and are able to move, can reproduce sexually, and grow from a hollow sphere of cells, the blastula, during embryonic development. Animals form a clade, meaning that they arose from a single common ancestor. Over 1.5 million living animal species have been described, of which around 1.05 million are insects, over 85,000 are molluscs, and around 65,000 are vertebrates. It has been estimated there are as many as 7.77 million animal species on Earth. Animal body lengths range from 8.5 μm (0.00033 in) to 33.6 m (110 ft). They have complex ecologies and interactions with each other and their environments, forming intricate food webs. The scientific study of animals is known as zoology, and the study of animal behaviour is known as ethology. The animal kingdom is divided into five major clades, namely Porifera, Ctenophora, Placozoa, Cnidaria and Bilateria. Most living animal species belong to the clade Bilateria, a highly proliferative clade whose members have a bilaterally symmetric and significantly cephalised body plan, and the vast majority of bilaterians belong to two large clades: the protostomes, which


id: animal-20260505-1
file: data/en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Animal-1.md
category: reference
title: Animal
tags: science, encyclopedia
source_url: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Animal
date_saved: 2026-05-05T07:15:04.727619+00:00
instance: kb-cron
parent: animal-20260505-0
summary:
Nearly all animals make use of some form of sexual reproduction. They produce haploid gametes by meiosis; the smaller, motile gametes are spermatozoa and the larger, non-motile gametes are ova. These fuse to form zygotes, which develop via mitosis into a hollow sphere, called a blastula. In sponges, blastula larvae swim to a new location, attach to the seabed, and develop into a new sponge. In most other groups, the blastula undergoes more complicated rearrangement. It first invaginates to form a gastrula with a digestive chamber and two separate germ layers, an external ectoderm and an internal endoderm. In most cases, a third germ layer, the mesoderm, also develops between them. These germ layers then differentiate to form tissues and organs. Repeated instances of mating with a close relative during sexual reproduction generally leads to inbreeding depression within a population due to the increased prevalence of harmful recessive traits. Animals have evolved numerous mechanisms for avoiding close inbreeding. Some animals are capable of asexual reproduction, which often results in a genetic clone of the parent. This may take place through fragmentation; budding, such as in Hydra and other cnidarians; or parthenogenesis, where fertile eggs are produced without mating, such as


id: animal-20260505-2
file: data/en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Animal-2.md
category: reference
title: Animal
tags: science, encyclopedia
source_url: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Animal
date_saved: 2026-05-05T07:15:04.727619+00:00
instance: kb-cron
parent: animal-20260505-0
summary:
Evidence of animals is found as long ago as the Cryogenian period. 24-Isopropylcholestane (24-ipc) has been found in rocks from roughly 650 million years ago; it is only produced by sponges and pelagophyte algae. Its likely origin is from sponges based on molecular clock estimates for the origin of 24-ipc production in both groups. Analyses of pelagophyte algae consistently recover a Phanerozoic origin, while analyses of sponges recover a Neoproterozoic origin, consistent with the appearance of 24-ipc in the fossil record. The first body fossils of animals appear in the Ediacaran, represented by forms such as Charnia and Spriggina. It had long been doubted whether these fossils truly represented animals, but the discovery of the animal lipid cholesterol in fossils of Dickinsonia establishes their nature. Animals are thought to have originated under low-oxygen conditions, suggesting that they were capable of living entirely by anaerobic respiration, but as they became specialised for aerobic metabolism they became fully dependent on oxygen in their environments. Many animal phyla first appear in the fossil record during the Cambrian explosion, starting about 539 million years ago, in beds such as the Burgess Shale. Extant phyla in these rocks include molluscs, brachiopods, onychophorans, tardigrades, arthropods, echinoderms


id: animal-20260505-3
file: data/en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Animal-3.md
category: reference
title: Animal
tags: science, encyclopedia
source_url: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Animal
date_saved: 2026-05-05T07:15:04.727619+00:00
instance: kb-cron
parent: animal-20260505-0
summary:
The remaining animals, the great majority—comprising some 29 phyla and over a million species—form the Bilateria clade, which have a bilaterally symmetric body plan. The Bilateria are triploblastic, with three well-developed germ layers, and their tissues form distinct organs. The digestive chamber has two openings, a mouth and an anus, and in the Nephrozoa there is an internal body cavity, a coelom or pseudocoelom. These animals have a head end (anterior) and a tail end (posterior), a back (dorsal) surface and a belly (ventral) surface, and a left and a right side. A modern consensus phylogenetic tree for the Bilateria is shown below. Having a front end means that this part of the body encounters stimuli, such as food, favouring cephalisation, the development of a head with sense organs and a mouth. Many bilaterians have a combination of circular muscles that constrict the body, making it longer, and an opposing set of longitudinal muscles, that shorten the body; these enable soft-bodied animals with a hydrostatic skeleton to move by peristalsis. They also have a gut that extends through the basically cylindrical body from mouth to anus. Many bilaterian phyla have primary larvae which swim with cilia and have an apical


