# kb

id: where-mathematics-comes-from-20260505-2
file: data/en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Where_Mathematics_Comes_From-2.md
category: reference
title: Where Mathematics Comes From
tags: science, encyclopedia
source_url: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Where_Mathematics_Comes_From
date_saved: 2026-05-05T08:47:17.193195+00:00
instance: kb-cron
parent: where-mathematics-comes-from-20260505-0
summary:
But their analysis leaves at least a couple of questions insufficiently answered. For one thing, the authors ignore the fact that brains not only observe nature, but also are part of nature. Perhaps the math that brains invent takes the form it does because math had a hand in forming the brains in the first place (through the operation of natural laws in constraining the evolution of life). Furthermore, it's one thing to fit equations to aspects of reality that are already known. It's something else for that math to tell of phenomena never previously suspected. When Paul Dirac's equations describing electrons produced more than one solution, he surmised that nature must possess other particles, now known as antimatter. But scientists did not discover such particles until after Dirac's math told him they must exist. If math is a human invention, nature seems to know what was going to be invented. Lakoff and Núñez tend to dismiss the negative opinions mathematicians have expressed about WMCF, because their critics do not appreciate the insights of cognitive science. Lakoff and Núñez maintain that their argument can only be understood using the discoveries of recent decades about the way human brains process language


id: the-whetstone-of-witte-20260505-0
file: data/en.wikipedia.org/wiki/The_Whetstone_of_Witte-0.md
category: reference
title: The Whetstone of Witte
tags: science, encyclopedia
source_url: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/The_Whetstone_of_Witte
date_saved: 2026-05-05T08:47:18.369323+00:00
instance: kb-cron
parent: the-whetstone-of-witte-20260505-0
summary:
The Whetstone of Witte is the shortened title of Robert Recorde's mathematics book published in 1557, the full title being The whetstone of witte, whiche is the seconde parte of Arithmetike: containyng thextraction of Rootes: The Coßike practise, with the rule of Equation: and the woorkes of Surde Nombers. The book covers topics including whole numbers, the extraction of roots and irrational numbers. The work is notable for containing the first recorded use of the equals sign and also for being the first book in English to use the plus and minus signs. Recordian notation for exponentiation, however, differed from the later Cartesian notation p q = p × p × p ⋯ × p {\displaystyle p^{q}=p\times p\times p\cdots \times p} . Recorde expressed indices and surds larger than 3 in a systematic form based on the prime factorization of the exponent: a factor of two he termed a zenzic, and a factor of three, a cubic. Recorde termed the larger prime numbers appearing in this factorization sursolids, distinguishing between them by use of ordinal numbers: that is, he defined 5 as the first sursolid, written as ʃz and 7 as the second sursolid, written as Bʃz. He also devised


id: word-processing-in-groups-20260505-0
file: data/en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Word_Processing_in_Groups-0.md
category: reference
title: Word Processing in Groups
tags: science, encyclopedia
source_url: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Word_Processing_in_Groups
date_saved: 2026-05-05T08:47:19.528199+00:00
instance: kb-cron
parent: word-processing-in-groups-20260505-0
summary:
Word Processing in Groups is a monograph in mathematics on the theory of automatic groups, a type of abstract algebra whose operations are defined by the behavior of finite automata. The book's authors are David B. A. Epstein, James W. Cannon, Derek F. Holt, Silvio V. F. Levy, Mike Paterson, and William Thurston. Widely circulated in preprint form, it formed the foundation of the study of automatic groups even before its 1992 publication by Jones and Bartlett Publishers (ISBN 0-86720-244-0). == Topics == The book is divided into two parts, one on the basic theory of these structures and another on recent research, connections to geometry and topology, and other related topics. The first part has eight chapters. They cover automata theory and regular languages, and the closure properties of regular languages under logical combinations; the definition of automatic groups and biautomatic groups; examples from topology and "combable" structure in the Cayley graphs of automatic groups; abelian groups and the automaticity of Euclidean groups; the theory of determining whether a group is automatic, and its practical implementation by Epstein, Holt, and Sarah Rees; extensions to asynchronous automata; and nilpotent groups. The second part has four chapters, on braid groups, isoperimetric


id: zahlbericht-20260505-0
file: data/en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Zahlbericht-0.md
category: reference
title: Zahlbericht
tags: science, encyclopedia
source_url: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Zahlbericht
date_saved: 2026-05-05T08:47:20.658964+00:00
instance: kb-cron
parent: zahlbericht-20260505-0
summary:
In mathematics, the Zahlbericht (number report) was a report on algebraic number theory by Hilbert (1897, 1998, (English translation)). == History == In 1893 the German Mathematical Society invited Hilbert and Minkowski to write reports on the theory of numbers. They agreed that Minkowski would cover the more elementary parts of number theory while Hilbert would cover algebraic number theory. Minkowski eventually abandoned his report, while Hilbert's report was published in 1897. It was reprinted in volume 1 of his collected works, and republished in an English translation in 1998. Corry (1996) and Schappacher (2005) and the English introduction to (Hilbert 1998) give detailed discussions of the history and influence of Hilbert's Zahlbericht. Some earlier reports on number theory include the report by H. J. S. Smith in 6 parts between 1859 and 1865, reprinted in Smith (1965), and the report by Brill & Noether (1894). Hasse (1926, 1927, 1930) wrote an update of Hilbert's Zahlbericht that covered class field theory (republished in 1 volume as (Hasse 1970)). == Contents == Part 1 covers the theory of general number fields, including ideals, discriminants, differents, units, and ideal classes. Part 2 covers Galois number fields, including in particular Hilbert's theorem 90.


id: aequanimitas-20260505-0
file: data/en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Aequanimitas-0.md
category: reference
title: Aequanimitas
tags: science, encyclopedia
source_url: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Aequanimitas
date_saved: 2026-05-05T08:47:22.189252+00:00
instance: kb-cron
parent: aequanimitas-20260505-0
summary:
Aequanimitas was one of Sir William Osler's most famous essays, delivered to new doctors in 1889 as his farewell address at the Pennsylvania School of Medicine, prior to his transfer to Johns Hopkins. It was published in the same year and in 1904 appeared in his collection of essays titled Aequanimitas with Other Addresses to Medical Students, Nurses and Practitioners of Medicine. A second edition was produced in 1906, and a third in 1932. In the essay, Osler advocates two qualities "imperturbability" and "equanimity", which he defined as "coolness and presence of mind under all circumstances". Between 1932 and 1953, Eli Lilly & Company distributed more than 150,000 copies of the third edition to medical graduates. Through the years Osler's ideal of "Aequanimitas" has been analysed by various academics. Daniel Sokol, medical ethics and law expert, reasons in the British Medical Journal in 2007, that whatever interpretation is made of Aequanimitas, it "tackles head-on a timeless question: what makes a good doctor?". == Publication == === The essay === Aequanimitas was an essay by Sir William Osler, delivered to new doctors on 1 May 1889 as his farewell address at the Pennsylvania School of Medicine. It was published in the


id: ahfs-drug-information-book-20260505-0
file: data/en.wikipedia.org/wiki/AHFS_Drug_Information_Book-0.md
category: reference
title: AHFS Drug Information Book
tags: science, encyclopedia
source_url: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/AHFS_Drug_Information_Book
date_saved: 2026-05-05T08:47:23.323678+00:00
instance: kb-cron
parent: ahfs-drug-information-book-20260505-0
summary:
The AHFS DI is one of several compendiums approved by the Social Security Act (Section 1861(t)(2)(B)(ii)(I)) as a source of off-label anti-cancer drug use. It was originally published in 1959 as the American Hospital Formulary Service (AHFS) by the American Society of Health-System Pharmacists. It is also the only one left of the originally authorized compendiums. == References == == Further reading == "Gain a solid understanding of compendia and its impact on patient access". Formulary Journal. 2012-07-01. Retrieved 2018-03-30. == External links == Official website


id: al-hawi-20260505-0
file: data/en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Al-Hawi-0.md
category: reference
title: Al-Hawi
tags: science, encyclopedia
source_url: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Al-Hawi
date_saved: 2026-05-05T08:47:24.437406+00:00
instance: kb-cron
parent: al-hawi-20260505-0
summary:
Kitab al-Hawi or Al-Hawi or Kitāb al-Ḥāwī fī al-ṭibb translated as The Comprehensive Book on Medicine is an extensive medical encyclopedia authored by the Persian polymath Abu Bakr Muhammad ibn Zakariya al-Razi (865–925), commonly known in the West as Rhazes in the 10th century. This monumental work is a compendium of Greek, Syrian, and early Arabic medical knowledge, as well as some Indian medical practices. It was first translated into Latin in 1279 under the title Continens by Faraj ben Salim, a physician of Sicilian-Jewish origin employed by Charles of Anjou. The oldest partial remaining copy of this work belongs to the National Library of Medicine in Bethesda, Maryland dated 1094 CE. == Historical context and composition == The Kitab al-Hawi was composed around the year 900 and spans 22 volumes. It was later published by the Dairat'l-Macarif-il-Osmania (Osmania Oriental Publications Bureau) in Hyderabad, India. == Contents and significance == The book covers a wide range of medical topics, including theoretical and practical medicine. Al-Razi's approach was notably comprehensive, as he not only included medical knowledge from Greek and Syrian sources but also incorporated insights from Indian medical traditions. Al-Razi frequently recommended various treatments, including those that might be considered


id: articella-20260505-0
file: data/en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Articella-0.md
category: reference
title: Articella
tags: science, encyclopedia
source_url: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Articella
date_saved: 2026-05-05T08:47:26.761166+00:00
instance: kb-cron
parent: articella-20260505-0
summary:
The Articella ('little art') or Ars medicinae ('art of medicine') is a Latin collection of medical treatises bound together in one volume that was used mainly as a textbook and reference manual between the 13th and the 16th centuries. In medieval times, several versions of this anthology circulated in manuscript form among medical students. Between 1476 and 1534, printed editions of the Articella were also published in several European cities. The earliest surviving manuscript of the collection was copied just after 1100. The original five texts, in their standard order, are the Isagoge Ioannitii ad Tegni Galieni by Hunayn ibn Ishaq; the Hippocratic Aphorisms and Prognostics; the De urinis of Theophilus Protospatharius; and the De pulsibus of Philaretus. The collection is usually supposed to have grown around Hunayn's Isagoge, an abridged introduction to Galen's classical Greek treatise Ars medica (Techne iatrike) translated from Arabic into Latin by Constantine the African in the 11th century. It circulated independently of the Articella. In the late 12th century, Galen's Ars was added to the Articella as a sixth text under the title Tegni. It was later moved into second place. In the mid-13th century, the emergence of formal medical education in several European


id: an-atlas-of-illustrations-of-clinical-medicine-surgery-and-pathology-20260505-0
category: reference
title: An Atlas of Illustrations of Clinical Medicine, Surgery and Pathology
tags: science, encyclopedia
source_url: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/An_Atlas_of_Illustrations_of_Clinical_Medicine,_Surgery_and_Pathology
date_saved: 2026-05-05T08:47:27.931520+00:00
instance: kb-cron
parent: an-atlas-of-illustrations-of-clinical-medicine-surgery-and-pathology-20260505-0
file:
data/en.wikipedia.org/wiki/An_Atlas_of_Illustrations_of_Clinical_Medicine,_Surgery_and_Pathology-0.md

summary:
An Atlas of Illustrations of Clinical Medicine, Surgery and Pathology is a medical book of images first published in 1901 by John Bale, Sons & Danielsson. It contains the widely cited photograph taken by Allan Warner of two 13-year-old boys from the same class, who after coming into contact with smallpox, the vaccinated boy remained well and the boy who did not receive the vaccine developed the disease. == References ==


id: autism-s-false-prophets-20260505-0
file: data/en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Autism's_False_Prophets-0.md
category: reference
title: Autism's False Prophets
tags: science, encyclopedia
source_url: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Autism's_False_Prophets
date_saved: 2026-05-05T08:47:30.278207+00:00
instance: kb-cron
parent: autism-s-false-prophets-20260505-0
summary:
Autism's False Prophets: Bad Science, Risky Medicine, and the Search for a Cure is a 2008 book by Paul Offit, a vaccine expert and chief of infectious diseases at Children's Hospital of Philadelphia. The book focuses on the controversy surrounding the now-discredited link between vaccines and autism. The scientific consensus is that no convincing scientific evidence supports these claims, and a 2011 pharmacotherapy journal article described the vaccine-autism connection as "the most damaging medical hoax of the last 100 years". == Summary == Offit describes the origins and development of claims regarding the MMR vaccine and the vaccine preservative thiomersal, as well as subsequent scientific evidence which has disproved a link with autism. The book discusses possible explanations for the persistence of these claims in the face of scientific evidence to the contrary, as well as the proliferation of potentially risky and unproven treatments for autism. The author takes a critical view of several advocates of a vaccine–autism link, including Andrew Wakefield, David Kirby, Mark Geier, and Boyd Haley, raising scientific and, in some cases, ethical and legal concerns. The book also explores divisions within the autism community on the topic of vaccines, as some parents consider the ongoing narrow


id: bad-pharma-20260505-0
file: data/en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Bad_Pharma-0.md
category: reference
title: Bad Pharma
tags: science, encyclopedia
source_url: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Bad_Pharma
date_saved: 2026-05-05T08:47:31.497683+00:00
instance: kb-cron
parent: bad-pharma-20260505-0
summary:
Bad Pharma: How Drug Companies Mislead Doctors and Harm Patients is a book by the British physician and academic Ben Goldacre about the pharmaceutical industry, its relationship with the medical profession, and the extent to which it controls academic research into its own products. It was published in the UK in September 2012 by the Fourth Estate imprint of HarperCollins, and in the United States in February 2013 by Faber and Faber. Goldacre argues in the book that "the whole edifice of medicine is broken", because the evidence on which it is based is systematically distorted by the pharmaceutical industry. He writes that the industry finances most of the clinical trials into its own products and much of doctors' continuing education, that clinical trials are often conducted on small groups of unrepresentative subjects and negative data is routinely withheld, and that apparently independent academic papers may be planned and even ghostwritten by pharmaceutical companies or their contractors, without disclosure. Describing the situation as a "murderous disaster", he makes suggestions for action by patients' groups, physicians, academics and the industry itself. Responding to the book's publication, the Association of the British Pharmaceutical Industry issued a statement in 2012 arguing that the


id: bad-pharma-20260505-1
file: data/en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Bad_Pharma-1.md
category: reference
title: Bad Pharma
tags: science, encyclopedia
source_url: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Bad_Pharma
date_saved: 2026-05-05T08:47:31.497683+00:00
instance: kb-cron
parent: bad-pharma-20260505-0
summary:
=== Chapter 2: "Where Do New Drugs Come From?" === In the second chapter, the book describes the process as new drugs move from animal testing through phase 1 (first-in-man study), phase 2, and phase 3 clinical trials. Phase 1 participants are referred to as volunteers, but in the US are paid $200–$400 per day, and because studies can last several weeks and subjects may volunteer several times a year, earning potential becomes the main reason for participation. Participants are usually taken from the poorest groups in society, and outsourcing increasingly means that trials may be conducted in countries with low wages by contract research organizations (CROs). The rate of growth for clinical trials in India is 20 percent a year, in Argentina 27 percent, and in China 47 percent, while trials in the UK have fallen by 10 percent a year and in the US by six percent. The shift to outsourcing raises issues about data integrity, regulatory oversight, language difficulties, the meaning of informed consent among a much poorer population, the standards of clinical care, the extent to which corruption may be regarded as routine in certain countries, and the ethical problem of raising a population's expectations for


id: bad-pharma-20260505-2
file: data/en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Bad_Pharma-2.md
category: reference
title: Bad Pharma
tags: science, encyclopedia
source_url: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Bad_Pharma
date_saved: 2026-05-05T08:47:31.497683+00:00
instance: kb-cron
parent: bad-pharma-20260505-0
summary:
=== Chapter 6: "Marketing" === In the final chapter, Goldacre looks at how doctors are persuaded to prescribe "me-too drugs," brand-name drugs that are no more effective than significantly cheaper off-patent ones. He cites as examples the statins atorvastatin (Lipitor, made by Pfizer) and simvastatin (Zocor), which he writes seem to be equally effective, or at least there is no evidence to suggest otherwise. Simvastatin came off patent several years ago, yet there are still three million prescriptions a year in the UK for atorvastatin, costing the National Health Service (NHS) an annual £165 million extra. He addresses the issue of medicalization of certain conditions (or, as he argues, of personhood), whereby pharmaceutical companies "widen the boundaries of diagnosis" before offering solutions. Female sexual dysfunction was highlighted in 1999 by a study published in the Journal of the American Medical Association, which alleged that 43 percent of women were suffering from it. After the article appeared, the New York Times wrote that two of its three authors had worked as consultants for Pfizer, which at the time was preparing to launch UK-414,495, known as female Viagra. The journal's editor said that the failure to disclose the relationship with Pfizer was


id: bad-pharma-20260505-3
file: data/en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Bad_Pharma-3.md
category: reference
title: Bad Pharma
tags: science, encyclopedia
source_url: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Bad_Pharma
date_saved: 2026-05-05T08:47:31.497683+00:00
instance: kb-cron
parent: bad-pharma-20260505-0
summary:
== Reception == The book was generally well received. The Economist described it as "slightly technical, eminently readable, consistently shocking, occasionally hectoring and unapologetically polemical". Helen Lewis in the New Statesman called it an important book, while Luisa Dillner, writing in the Guardian, described it as a "thorough piece of investigative medical journalism". Andrew Jack wrote in the Financial Times that Goldacre is "at his best in methodically dissecting poor clinical trials. ... He is less strong in explaining the complex background reality, such as the general constraints and individual slips of regulators and pharma companies' employees." Jack also argued that the book failed to reflect how many lives have been improved by the current system, for example with new treatments for HIV, rheumatoid arthritis and cancer. Max Pemberton, a psychiatrist, wrote in the Daily Telegraph that "this is a book to make you enraged ... because it's about how big business puts profits over patient welfare, allows people to die because they don't want to disclose damning research evidence, and the tricks they play to make sure doctors do not have all the evidence when it comes to appraising whether a drug really works or not." The Association of


id: big-pharma-book-20260505-0
file: data/en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Big_Pharma_(book)-0.md
category: reference
title: Big Pharma (book)
tags: science, encyclopedia
source_url: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Big_Pharma_(book)
date_saved: 2026-05-05T08:47:32.673802+00:00
instance: kb-cron
parent: big-pharma-book-20260505-0
summary:
Big Pharma: How the World's Biggest Drug Companies Control Illness is a 2006 book by British journalist Jacky Law. The book examines the history of the pharmaceutical industry. Before the book, Law was the associate editor of Scrip Magazine. == Reception == Ike Iheanacho writes about the book that "The author is clearly no great fan of the industry. But, refreshingly, she avoids the sort of lazy polemic that casts major pharmaceutical companies as an evil empire that continually foists its products on unwilling and unsuspecting healthcare professionals and patients." == See also == Bad Pharma (2012) by Ben Goldacre Side Effects (2008) by Alison Bass Lists about the pharmaceutical industry == References == == External links == Excerpt from the book


id: a-colour-atlas-of-urology-20260505-0
file: data/en.wikipedia.org/wiki/A_Colour_Atlas_of_Urology-0.md
category: reference
title: A Colour Atlas of Urology
tags: science, encyclopedia
source_url: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/A_Colour_Atlas_of_Urology
date_saved: 2026-05-05T08:47:33.835758+00:00
instance: kb-cron
parent: a-colour-atlas-of-urology-20260505-0
summary:
A Colour Atlas of Urology is a medical textbook of urology images first published by Wolfe Medical Publications in 1983. It is co-authored by Reginald Wyndham Lloyd-Davies, James G. Gow and D. R. Davies. 1,188 Images include those of pathological specimens, photographs at endoscopy of the bladder and diagrams that explain urological diagnostic procedures. 70 images relate to lesions of the penis and scrotum. A second edition was published in 1994. A review in the Postgraduate Medical Journal noted that the X-ray of lung metastases was back to front. Another review considered it a complete work covering everything a urologist could possibly see in their profession. The British Journal of Venereal Diseases noted that the book was aimed at urologists but suggested that genitourinary physicians might be interested in it. All three reviews reported that the book was expensive. == Publication == A Colour Atlas of Urology is co-authored by Reginald Wyndham Lloyd-Davies, James G. Gow and D. R. Davies, and was first published by Wolfe Medical Publications in 1983 at a cost of £48. A second edition, with co-author Helen Parkhouse, was published in 1994. == Content == 1,188 images include those of pathological specimens, photographs at endoscopy of


id: current-reviews-in-obstetrics-and-gynaecology-20260505-0
file: data/en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Current_Reviews_in_Obstetrics_and_Gynaecology-0.md
category: reference
title: Current Reviews in Obstetrics and Gynaecology
tags: science, encyclopedia
source_url: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Current_Reviews_in_Obstetrics_and_Gynaecology
date_saved: 2026-05-05T08:47:34.991149+00:00
instance: kb-cron
parent: current-reviews-in-obstetrics-and-gynaecology-20260505-0
summary:
Current Reviews in Obstetrics and Gynaecology, also spelled Current Reviews in Obstetrics and Gynecology, is a book series on obstetrics and gynecology which was edited by Tom Lind, Albert Singer, and Joseph A. Jordan and was published by Churchill Livingstone in the 1980s. Its International Standard Serial Number (ISSN) is 0264-5610. == Volumes == Volume 1: Obstetric Analgesia and Anaesthesia (Selwyn Crawford, 1982) Volume 2: Early Diagnosis of Fetal Defects (Brock, 1982) Volume 3: Early Teenage Pregnancy (Russell, 1982) Volume 4: Ovarian Malignancies: The Clinical Care of Adults and Adolescents (Piver & Scully, 1983) Volume 5: Cancer of the Cervix: Diagnosis and Treatment (Shingleton & Orr, 1983) Volume 6: Aspects of Care in Labour (Beazley & Lobb, 1983) Volume 7: Drug Prescribing in Pregnancy (Krauer, Krauer, & Hytten, 1984) Volume 8: Spontaneous Abortion (Huisjes, 1984) Volume 9: Female Puberty and Its Abnormalities (Dewhurst, 1984) Volume 10: Coagulation Problems During Pregnancy (Letsky, 1985) Volume 11: Infertility in the Male (Jequier, 1986) Volume 12: Endometriosis (O'Connor, 1987) Volume 13: Diabetic Pregnancy (Brudenell & Doddridge, 1989) == References == == External links == Current Reviews in Obstetrics & Gynaecology (0264-5610) - ISSN Portal Current Reviews in Obstetrics and Gynaecology - WorldCat Search


id: the-deadly-dinner-party-20260505-0
file: data/en.wikipedia.org/wiki/The_Deadly_Dinner_Party-0.md
category: reference
title: The Deadly Dinner Party
tags: science, encyclopedia
source_url: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/The_Deadly_Dinner_Party
date_saved: 2026-05-05T08:47:37.245785+00:00
instance: kb-cron
parent: the-deadly-dinner-party-20260505-0
summary:
The Deadly Dinner Party and Other Medical Detective Stories (2009, ISBN 978-0-300-12558-0) is a nonfiction book by Jonathan A. Edlow, MD about medical mysteries. The book contains fifteen real-life stories of everyday people caught up in medical crises that take deduction and detective work to solve, and to determine a correct diagnosis. The book has been compared to the "medical mystery" books of Berton Roueché. The book is published by Yale University Press. == Reception == In a review for New Scientist, Druin Burch wrote that the "collection of bite-sized essays about obscure infections, poisons and diseases […] make an enjoyable and interesting book. The stories don’t flow, but they do add up to more than a list of anecdotes […]." In The New York Review of Books, Jerome Groopman described how Edlow wrote in "clear and fluid prose" about unusual diagnoses and the ultimate need for a "discerning doctor". == See also == Diagnosis Medical ethics How Doctors Think Fatal Care: Survive in the U.S. Health System == References == == External links == Review of book in The New York Review of Books (November 5, 2009) Review in New Scientist (October 11, 2009)


id: the-desideratum-or-electricity-made-plain-and-useful-20260505-0
file: data/en.wikipedia.org/wiki/The_Desideratum-0.md
category: reference
title: The Desideratum; or, Electricity Made Plain and Useful
tags: science, encyclopedia
source_url: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/The_Desideratum;_or,_Electricity_Made_Plain_and_Useful
date_saved: 2026-05-05T08:47:38.416207+00:00
instance: kb-cron
parent: the-desideratum-or-electricity-made-plain-and-useful-20260505-0
summary:
The Desideratum; or, Electricity Made Plain and Useful - By a Lover of Mankind, and of Common Sense is a 1760 book by John Wesley advocating the use of electric shock therapy. Wesley collected the accounts of other researchers with "electrifying machines", and to them added observations from his own experiments in public clinics. == Legacy == The 72-page book has led Wesley to be mentioned alongside his contemporaries Richard Lovett and Jean Paul Marat as a pioneer advocate of the medical uses of electroconvulsive therapy, despite the fact that Wesley's tests and results are not considered scientific by modern standards. == References == == External links == Digital copy of an 1871 reprint at Archive.org


id: diagnosis-mercury-20260505-0
file: data/en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Diagnosis_Mercury-0.md
category: reference
title: Diagnosis Mercury
tags: science, encyclopedia
source_url: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Diagnosis_Mercury
date_saved: 2026-05-05T08:47:39.612590+00:00
instance: kb-cron
parent: diagnosis-mercury-20260505-0
summary:
Diagnosis Mercury: Money, Politics and Poison is a 2008 book by Jane Hightower. The book explains that mercury is a poison and that the majority of mercury in the environment comes from coal-fired power plants. But the book is mainly concerned with human exposure from the eating of large predatory fish such as swordfish, shark, king mackerel, large tuna, etc. The book also discusses industrial mercury poisonings, such as those in Minamata, Japan, in the 1950s and Ontario, Canada, in the 1970s. == See also == Mercury in fish Minamata Convention on Mercury == References == == External links == Diagnosis: Mercury Mercury poisoning symptoms and fish recommendations Mercury poisoning time line Mercury guidelines Author Bio at California Pacific Medical Center Mercury Facts


id: die-homosexualit-t-des-mannes-und-des-weibes-20260505-0
file: data/en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Die_Homosexualität_des_Mannes_und_des_Weibes-0.md
category: reference
title: Die Homosexualität des Mannes und des Weibes
tags: science, encyclopedia
source_url: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Die_Homosexualität_des_Mannes_und_des_Weibes
date_saved: 2026-05-05T08:47:40.768630+00:00
instance: kb-cron
parent: die-homosexualit-t-des-mannes-und-des-weibes-20260505-0
summary:
Die Homosexualität des Mannes und des Weibes is a classic 1914 book on homosexuality in men and women that was written by German sexologist Magnus Hirschfeld. A second edition was published in 1920. Hirschfeld was himself gay and an occasional crossdresser, known by other Berlin crossdressers as "Aunt Magnesia". The book was part of the series Handbuch der Gesamten Sexualwissenschaft in Einzeldarstellungen and was the third volume of this series. Die Homosexualität des Mannes und des Weibes was not translated until 2000, under the title The Homosexuality of Men and Women by Michael Lombardi-Nash. It has been said that the book was the most significant and authoritative text on homosexuality of its time. The book has often been overlooked in the English-speaking academia. == See also == Die Transvestiten: Eine Untersuchung über den Erotischen Verkleidungstrieb (Hirschfeld, 1910) == References ==


id: die-transvestiten-eine-untersuchung-ber-den-erotischen-verkleidungstrieb-20260505-0
category: reference
title: Die Transvestiten: Eine Untersuchung über den Erotischen Verkleidungstrieb
tags: science, encyclopedia
date_saved: 2026-05-05T08:47:41.916181+00:00
instance: kb-cron
parent: die-transvestiten-eine-untersuchung-ber-den-erotischen-verkleidungstrieb-20260505-0
file:
data/en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Die_Transvestiten:_Eine_Untersuchung_über_den_Erotischen_Verkleidungstrieb-0.md

summary:
Die Transvestiten: Eine Untersuchung über den Erotischen Verkleidungstrieb is a classic 1910 book on crossdressing and transvestism that was written by German sexologist Magnus Hirschfeld. An illustrated companion second volume to the book was published by Hirschfeld and Max Tilke in 1912. In addition, a second edition of Die Transvestiten was published by Hirschfeld in 1925. Subsequent to its publication, the book was translated into English with the title Transvestites: The Erotic Drive to Cross-Dress by Michael Lombardi-Nash in 1991. == Background == Hirschfeld was himself gay and an occasional crossdresser, known by other Berlin crossdressers as "Aunt Magnesia". It has been said that Die Transvestiten was the most significant and authoritative text on transvestism of its time. While the book is about crossdressing, it also clearly includes some people with cross-gender feelings who would likely be referred to as transgender today. The book has often been overlooked in the English-speaking academia. == Contents == Die Transvestiten includes first-person narratives of crossdressing, Hirschfeld's commentaries on these cases, and theorizing based on the observations. Of the narratives, there were 17 in total, with 16 of them natal male and one of them natal female. In the book, Hirschfeld wished to distinguish

source_url:
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Die_Transvestiten:_Eine_Untersuchung_über_den_Erotischen_Verkleidungstrieb


id: the-doctor-in-war-20260505-0
file: data/en.wikipedia.org/wiki/The_Doctor_in_War-0.md
category: reference
title: The Doctor in War
tags: science, encyclopedia
source_url: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/The_Doctor_in_War
date_saved: 2026-05-05T08:47:43.085159+00:00
instance: kb-cron
parent: the-doctor-in-war-20260505-0
summary:
The Doctor in War is a book published in November 1918 by Woods Hutchinson, an American physician who travelled throughout Europe from 15 January to 24 December 1917 visiting hospitals, ambulance trains, and other locations to offer his services to the war effort during World War I. == Background == As Hutchinson believed that "the doctor and the sanitarian would play an important part" in the World War, he offered to help the British Army medical staff but was told in order to serve he would have to swear allegiance and in turn lose his American citizenship. With the help of Secretary of War Newton Diehl Baker and Colonel Roosevelt he was able to travel to Europe and see everything that had "any value or interest from a medical and public health point of view." == Summary == Hutchinson emphasizes the importance that doctors played in the war. One of the major things they have contributed is the decrease in deaths due to disease. In the American Civil War the ratio was five deaths to disease for every one in battle, however during 'The Great War' the ratio was changed to ten deaths in battle for every one to disease.


id: donguibogam-20260505-0
file: data/en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Donguibogam-0.md
category: reference
title: Donguibogam
tags: science, encyclopedia
source_url: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Donguibogam
date_saved: 2026-05-05T08:47:44.248506+00:00
instance: kb-cron
parent: donguibogam-20260505-0
summary:
The Dongui Bogam (Korean: 동의보감; translated as "Principles and Practice of Eastern Medicine") is a Korean book compiled by the royal physician, Heo Jun and was first published in 1613 during the Joseon period of Korea. The book is regarded as important in traditional Korean medicine, and is one of the classics of Oriental medicine today. In July 2009, it was added to UNESCO’s Memory of the World International Register. The original edition of Dongui Bogam is currently preserved by the Korean National Library. The original was written in Hanja and only part of it was transcribed in Korean for wide reading use, as only officials understood in Hanmun. It was translated to English in 2013. == Name == The title literally translates as "A Precious Mirror of Eastern Medicine". The phrase "Precious Mirror" (보감 寶鑑) is a metaphorical idiom meaning 'something which can be modeled after'. Meanwhile, the phrase "Eastern Medicine" (동의 東醫) is not the antonym to 'Western Medicine'; "Dongguk" (동국 東國), meaning "Eastern Country," was one of the names of Korea, which means the country to the east of China. Therefore, the title can be rendered as "An Exemplary Explanation of Korean Medicine" and is listed in


id: endemic-goiter-20260505-0
file: data/en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Endemic_Goiter-0.md
category: reference
title: Endemic Goiter
tags: science, encyclopedia
source_url: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Endemic_Goiter
date_saved: 2026-05-05T08:47:45.385720+00:00
instance: kb-cron
parent: endemic-goiter-20260505-0
summary:
Endemic Goiter: The Adaptation of Man to Iodine Deficiency is a monograph about a study of endemic goiters conducted in Mendoza Province, Argentina by the Massachusetts General Hospital and the University of Cuyo. Written by John B. Stanbury, Gordon L. Brownell, Douglas S. Riggs, Hector Perinetti, Juan Itoiz and Enrique B. Del Castillo, it was published in 1954 by Harvard University Press as part of their Harvard University Monographs in Medicine and Public Health series. The study itself was conducted just before the addition of iodine was made mandatory in Mendoza, and it suggested that a thyroid deprived of iodine absorbed iodide in blood more quickly than their iodine-satiated counterparts. Contemporaneous reviews in The Quarterly Review of Biology, Archives of Internal Medicine, Science, and the American Journal of Clinical Pathology all praised the book for what they felt was clear, well-articulated research on the part of the authors. The reviews also felt that the work had provided a great deal of knowledge on thyroids, and several recommended it to wider audience, or just endocrinologists. The Journal of the American Medical Association differed in its assessment, feeling that the book was "too complex and theoretical" for general practitioners, though recommended it


id: ending-aging-20260505-0
file: data/en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Ending_Aging-0.md
category: reference
title: Ending Aging
tags: science, encyclopedia
source_url: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Ending_Aging
date_saved: 2026-05-05T08:47:46.562153+00:00
instance: kb-cron
parent: ending-aging-20260505-0
summary:
Ending Aging: The Rejuvenation Breakthroughs that Could Reverse Human Aging in Our Lifetime is a 2007 book written by biogerontologist Aubrey de Grey, with his research assistant Michael Rae. Ending Aging describes de Grey's proposal for eliminating aging as a cause of debilitation and death in humans, and restoring the body to an indefinitely youthful state, a project that he calls the "strategies for engineered negligible senescence" ("SENS"). De Grey argues that defeating aging is feasible, possibly within a few decades, and he outlines steps that can be taken to hasten the development of regenerative medicine treatments for each side of aging. == Editions == St. Martin's Press, 1st edition (hardcover, 389 pages), released September 4, 2007: ISBN 0-312-36706-6 St. Martin's Griffin, 1st reprint edition with new afterword (paperback, 448 pages), released October 14, 2008: ISBN 0-312-36707-4 == Translations == German: Niemals alt!: So lässt sich das Altern umkehren. Fortschritte der Verjüngungsforschung, transcript Verlag, Bielefeld 2010 Spanish: El Fin del Envejecimiento. Los avances que podrían revertir el envejecimiento humano durante nuestra vida, Lola Books, Berlín 2013 Italian: La fine dell'invecchiamento: Come la scienza potrà esaudire il sogno dell'eterna giovinezza, D Editore, Roma 2016 Portuguese: O fim do envelhecimento: Os avanços


id: epidemiology-in-country-practice-20260505-0
file: data/en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Epidemiology_in_Country_Practice-0.md
category: reference
title: Epidemiology in Country Practice
tags: science, encyclopedia
source_url: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Epidemiology_in_Country_Practice
date_saved: 2026-05-05T08:47:47.739445+00:00
instance: kb-cron
parent: epidemiology-in-country-practice-20260505-0
summary:
Epidemiology in Country Practice is a book by William Pickles (1885–1969), a rural general practitioner (GP) physician in Wensleydale, North Yorkshire, England, first published in 1939. The book reports on how careful observations can lead to correlations between transmission of infective disease between families, farms and villages. It contains the detailed observational studies of a 1928 epidemic of catarrhal jaundice and a 1929 epidemic of Bornholm disease which were published in the British Medical Journal (BMJ) in 1930 and 1933 respectively. == Background == William Pickles first realised the possibilities for epidemiological studies for a GP after he read James Mackenzie's The Principles of Diagnosis and Treatment in Heart Affections in the 1920s. With the assistance of his wife Gertie, who kept the charts, Pickles recorded his observations on a 1928 epidemic of catarrhal jaundice and a 1929 epidemic of Bornholm Disease in his district. His findings were published in the British Medical Journal in 1930 and 1933 respectively and in 1935 he presented them at the Royal Society of Medicine. The work was praised by Major Greenwood who wrote that Pickles's work would mark a "new era in epidemiology". His observations led to new understandings of the transmission of


id: epidemiology-in-relation-to-air-travel-20260505-0
file: data/en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Epidemiology_in_Relation_to_Air_Travel-0.md
category: reference
title: Epidemiology in Relation to Air Travel
tags: science, encyclopedia
source_url: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Epidemiology_in_Relation_to_Air_Travel
date_saved: 2026-05-05T08:47:48.910523+00:00
instance: kb-cron
parent: epidemiology-in-relation-to-air-travel-20260505-0
summary:
Epidemiology in Relation to Air Travel is a book by Arthur Massey, the medical officer of health of Coventry, published by H. K. Lewis & Co. in 1933. By comparing the travel times of journeys by ship to those of travelling by air, he demonstrated how the quarantinable diseases plague, cholera, yellow fever and smallpox, could arrive in the UK in the early 1930s. Massey noted that travelling by aeroplane, from countries where major infectious diseases were common, to countries where those diseases were rare or non-existent, risked spreading those diseases during the incubation period. It was noted by Air Commodore H. E. Whittingham and in The Indian Medical Gazette to be one of the earliest works of its kind. == Publication == Epidemiology in Relation to Air Travel was written by the Coventry-based medical officer of health Arthur Massey, and published by H. K. Lewis and Co. Ltd. in 1933, when the topic was relatively new, and in the year after the International Sanitary Convention for Aerial Navigation was drawn up. It has 59 pages and five maps. == Synopsis == The book deals briefly with the danger of spreading infectious disease via aircraft as flight times in the


id: etiology-concept-and-prophylaxis-of-childbed-fever-20260505-0
file: data/en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Etiology,_Concept_and_Prophylaxis_of_Childbed_Fever-0.md
category: reference
title: Etiology, Concept and Prophylaxis of Childbed Fever
tags: science, encyclopedia
source_url: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Etiology,_Concept_and_Prophylaxis_of_Childbed_Fever
date_saved: 2026-05-05T08:47:50.066960+00:00
instance: kb-cron
parent: etiology-concept-and-prophylaxis-of-childbed-fever-20260505-0
summary:
Etiology, Concept and Prophylaxis of Childbed Fever (German: Die Ätiologie, der Begriff und die Prophylaxis des Kindbettfiebers) is a pioneering medical book written by Ignaz Semmelweis and published in 1861, which explains how hygiene in hospitals can drastically reduce unnecessary deaths. The book and concept saved millions of mothers from a preventable streptococcal infection. The book is 524 pages long and includes studies in hospitals conducted in Vienna in 1847. It is claimed to be one of the most comprehensive medical studies ever published. It was translated into English in 1983 by Dr. K. Codell Carter. Semmelweis's findings challenged conventional ideas about the incidence of puerperal fever (also known as postpartum infections or childbed fever), finding that it could be drastically reduced by requiring hand disinfection in obstetrical clinics. He also cites bed hygiene by washing linens after each patient. Puerperal fever was a deadly infection, common in mid-19th-century hospitals. Semmelweis proposed the practice of washing hands with chlorinated lime solutions in 1847 while working in Vienna General Hospital's First Obstetrical Clinic, where doctors' wards had three times the mortality of midwives' wards. Semmelweis had his life ruined at the time of publication because his ideas, though now proved and


id: fantastic-voyage-live-long-enough-to-live-forever-20260505-0
file: data/en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Fantastic_Voyage:_Live_Long_Enough_to_Live_Forever-0.md
category: reference
title: Fantastic Voyage: Live Long Enough to Live Forever
tags: science, encyclopedia
source_url: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Fantastic_Voyage:_Live_Long_Enough_to_Live_Forever
date_saved: 2026-05-05T08:47:51.226341+00:00
instance: kb-cron
parent: fantastic-voyage-live-long-enough-to-live-forever-20260505-0
summary:
Fantastic Voyage: Live Long Enough to Live Forever (Rodale Books, ISBN 1-57954-954-3) is a book authored by Ray Kurzweil and Terry Grossman published in 2004. The basic premise of the book is that if middle aged people can live long enough, until approximately 120 years, they will be able to live forever—as humanity overcomes all diseases and old age itself. This might also be considered a break-even scenario where developments made during a year increase life expectancy by more than one year. Biogerontologist Aubrey de Grey called this the "Longevity escape velocity" in a 2005 TED talk. The book focuses primarily on health topics such as heart disease, cancer, and type 2 diabetes. It promotes lifestyle changes such as a low glycemic index diet, calorie restriction, exercise, drinking green tea and alkalinized water, and other changes to daily living. They also promote aggressive supplementation to make up for nutrient deficiencies they believe are common in Western society. In contrast to his previous book The 10% Solution for a Healthy Life, in which he recommended a diet with 10% of calories from fat, in this book, Kurzweil recommends consuming less than one third of calories from carbohydrates (and less than one


id: feminine-forever-20260505-0
file: data/en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Feminine_Forever-0.md
category: reference
title: Feminine Forever
tags: science, encyclopedia
source_url: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Feminine_Forever
date_saved: 2026-05-05T08:47:52.361242+00:00
instance: kb-cron
parent: feminine-forever-20260505-0
summary:
Feminine Forever is a 1966 book written by American gynecologist Robert A. Wilson. The book characterized menopause and associated symptoms as a serious disease state and strongly advocated the use of estrogen-based menopausal hormone therapy to alleviate it, maintain femininity and well-being, and improve quality of life and health. Wilson's claims were criticized as not being based on adequate research and evidence. Nonetheless, Wilson's book was marketed directly to women and was a best-seller, with it having been implicated in causing a rapid and large rise in prescriptions of menopausal hormone therapy. Subsequently, trials such as the Women's Health Initiative (WHI) contradicted Wilson's claims and showed that menopausal hormone therapy could have significant medical risks, such as venous thromboembolism and breast cancer, and that its benefits were not as great as once believed. Decades after the book's publication, it was revealed that the manufacturer of the estrogen drug Premarin had secretly paid Wilson to promote its use by menopausal women. == References ==


id: fixing-sex-20260505-0
file: data/en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Fixing_Sex-0.md
category: reference
title: Fixing Sex
tags: science, encyclopedia
source_url: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Fixing_Sex
date_saved: 2026-05-05T08:47:53.573873+00:00
instance: kb-cron
parent: fixing-sex-20260505-0
summary:
Fixing Sex: Intersex, Medical Authority, and Lived Experience, a book by Stanford anthropologist and bioethicist Katrina Karkazis, was published in 2008. Described as "thoughtful", "meticulous", and an "authoritative treatise on intersex", the book examines the perspectives of intersex people, their families, and clinicians to offer compassionate look at the treatment of people born with atypical sex characteristics. == Synopsis == In a scholarly work, Karkazis draws heavily on interviews with intersex adults, parents, and physicians to explore how intersex is understood and treated. In part 1, she reviews the history of treatment for intersex traits, highlighting the work of John Money and the introduction of the, then new, terms "gender", "gender role" and "gender identity". She explores the events following publication of Milton Diamond's study of the David Reimer or "John/Joan" case, and the ways in which public opinion impacted on medical treatment. In part 2, Karkazis presents an analysis of current medical approaches to intersex, and the risks involved, in the wake of a 2006 "consensus statement on the management of intersex disorders". She also reviews the methods utilised to assign a sex of rearing to intersex infants, such as genitals and penis size, chromosomes, fertility, "sexing of the


id: flexner-report-20260505-0
file: data/en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Flexner_Report-0.md
category: reference
title: Flexner Report
tags: science, encyclopedia
source_url: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Flexner_Report
date_saved: 2026-05-05T08:47:54.714737+00:00
instance: kb-cron
parent: flexner-report-20260505-0
summary:
The Flexner Report is a book-length landmark report of medical education in the United States and Canada, written by Abraham Flexner and published in 1910 under the aegis of the Carnegie Foundation. Flexner not only described the state of medical education in North America, but he also gave detailed descriptions of the medical schools that were operating at the time. He provided both criticisms and recommendations for improvements of medical education in the United States. While it had many positive effects on American medical education, the Flexner report has been accused of introducing policies that encouraged systemic racism and sexism. The Report, also called Carnegie Foundation Bulletin Number Four, called on American medical schools to enact higher admission and graduation standards, and to adhere strictly to the protocols of mainstream science principles in their teaching and research. The report talked about the need for revamping and centralizing medical institutions. Many American medical schools fell short of the standard advocated in the Flexner Report and, subsequent to its publication, nearly half of such schools merged or were closed outright. Colleges for the education of the various forms of alternative medicine, such as electrotherapy, were closed. Homeopathy, traditional osteopathy, eclectic medicine, and


id: flexner-report-20260505-1
file: data/en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Flexner_Report-1.md
category: reference
title: Flexner Report
tags: science, encyclopedia
source_url: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Flexner_Report
date_saved: 2026-05-05T08:47:54.714737+00:00
instance: kb-cron
parent: flexner-report-20260505-0
summary:
== Recommended changes == To help with the transition and change the minds of other doctors and scientists, John D. Rockefeller gave many millions to colleges, hospitals and founded a philanthropic group called "General Education Board" (GEB). In the nineteenth century, it was relatively easy to not only receive a medical education, but also to start a medical school. When Flexner researched his report, many American medical schools were small "proprietary" trade schools owned by one or more doctors, unaffiliated with a college or university, and run to make a profit. A degree was typically awarded after only two years of study with laboratory work and dissection optional. Many of the instructors were local doctors teaching part-time. There were very few full-time professors, dedicated to medical education. Medical schools did not receive funding, and their only money came from the students' tuitions. Regulation of the medical profession by state governments was minimal or nonexistent. American doctors varied enormously in their scientific understanding of human physiology, and the word "quack" was in common use. Flexner carefully examined the situation. Using the Johns Hopkins School of Medicine as the ideal medical school, he issued the following recommendations: Reduce both the number of


id: flexner-report-20260505-2
file: data/en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Flexner_Report-2.md
category: reference
title: Flexner Report
tags: science, encyclopedia
source_url: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Flexner_Report
date_saved: 2026-05-05T08:47:54.714737+00:00
instance: kb-cron
parent: flexner-report-20260505-0
summary:
=== Strengthening state regulation of medical licensure === Chapter 11 of the Flexner Report, "The State Boards," offers a scathing critique of the medical regulatory landscape at the time, particularly focusing on the inefficacy and inconsistency of state medical boards. Flexner identifies the critical role these boards were intended to play in upholding medical education standards, both legally and ethically, but argues that they had largely failed in this responsibility."In 1906, the worst of the Chicago schools a school with no entrance requirement, no laboratory teaching, no hospital connections made before state boards the best record attained by any Chicago school in that year. This school, essentially the same now as then, has only recently been declared "not in good standing" with the state board of Illinois. Everywhere in Canada and the United States wretched institutions refute criticism by pointing to their successful state board records."Flexner's broader reform plan, which aimed to elevate medical education in the United States, was fundamentally dependent on state medical boards functioning as effective gatekeepers to the profession. He insisted that state boards must rigorously ensure that only those who completed proper, standardized training could enter medical practice. From a legal standpoint, state boards were


id: flexner-report-20260505-3
file: data/en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Flexner_Report-3.md
category: reference
title: Flexner Report
tags: science, encyclopedia
source_url: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Flexner_Report
date_saved: 2026-05-05T08:47:54.714737+00:00
instance: kb-cron
parent: flexner-report-20260505-0
summary:
"The practice of the Negro doctor will be limited to his own race, which in its turn will be cared for better by good Negro physicians than by poor white ones. But the physical well-being of the Negro is not only of moment to the Negro himself. Ten million of them live in close contact with sixty million whites. Not only does the Negro himself suffer from hookworm and tuberculosis; he communicates them to his white neighbors, precisely as the ignorant and unfortunate white contaminates him. Self-protection not less than humanity offers weighty counsel in this matter; self- interest seconds philanthropy. The Negro must be educated not only for his sake, but for ours. He is, as far as the human eye can see, a permanent factor in the nation." Flexner's findings also restricted opportunities for African-American physicians in the medical sphere. Even the Howard and Meharry schools struggled to stay open following the Flexner Report, having to meet the institutional requirements of white medical schools, reflecting a divide in access to health care between white and African-Americans. Following the Flexner Report, African-American students sued universities, challenging the precedent set by Plessy v. Ferguson. However, those students were met by


id: full-catastrophe-living-20260505-0
file: data/en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Full_Catastrophe_Living-0.md
category: reference
title: Full Catastrophe Living
tags: science, encyclopedia
source_url: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Full_Catastrophe_Living
date_saved: 2026-05-05T08:47:55.897257+00:00
instance: kb-cron
parent: full-catastrophe-living-20260505-0
summary:
Full Catastrophe Living: Using the Wisdom of Your Body and Mind to Face Stress, Pain, and Illness is a book by Jon Kabat-Zinn, first published in 1990, revised in 2013, which describes the mindfulness-based stress reduction (MBSR) program developed at the University of Massachusetts Medical Center's Stress Reduction Clinic. In addition to describing the content and background of MBSR, Kabat-Zinn describes scientific research showing the medical benefits of mindfulness-based interventions (MBIs), and lays out an approach to mind-body medicine emphasizing the depth of the interconnections between physical and mental health. The book has been called "one of the great classics of mind/body medicine", and has been seen as a landmark in the development of the secular mindfulness movement in the United States and internationally. == Background == Full Catastrophe Living grew out of the work of the University of Massachusetts Medical Center's Stress Reduction Clinic, founded in 1979 by Jon Kabat-Zinn. The purpose of the Clinic was to "serve as a referral service for physicians and other health providers, to which they could send medical patients with a wide range of diagnoses and conditions who were not responding completely to more traditional treatments, or who were 'falling through the cracks'


id: full-catastrophe-living-20260505-1
file: data/en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Full_Catastrophe_Living-1.md
category: reference
title: Full Catastrophe Living
tags: science, encyclopedia
source_url: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Full_Catastrophe_Living
date_saved: 2026-05-05T08:47:55.897257+00:00
instance: kb-cron
parent: full-catastrophe-living-20260505-0
summary:
=== Introduction === In the introduction to the revised edition of 2013, Kabat-Zinn defines mindfulness, reflects on the massive growth of MBSR and other mindfulness-based practices since the publication of the first edition in 1990, and lays out the findings of relevant scientific studies. He defines mindfulness operationally as "the awareness that arises by paying attention on purpose, in the present moment, and non-judgmentally", while noting that "when we speak of mindfulness, it is important to keep in mind that we equally mean heartfulness ... It is a more-than-conceptual knowing. It is more akin to wisdom, and to the freedom a wisdom perspective provides." He emphasizes that mindfulness involves accessing within ourselves capacities that we in fact already possess, "finding, recognizing, and making use of that in us which is already okay, already beautiful, already whole by virtue of our being human—and drawing upon it to live our lives as if it really mattered how we stand in relationship to what arises, whatever it is." While stressing that "mindfulness has its own internal logic and poetry", he suggests that scientific research showing its beneficial effects for health and well-being may provide extra incentive to follow the MBSR curriculum. He highlights,


id: full-catastrophe-living-20260505-2
file: data/en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Full_Catastrophe_Living-2.md
category: reference
title: Full Catastrophe Living
tags: science, encyclopedia
source_url: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Full_Catastrophe_Living
date_saved: 2026-05-05T08:47:55.897257+00:00
instance: kb-cron
parent: full-catastrophe-living-20260505-0
summary:
Health can be undermined by a lifetime of ingrained behavior patterns that compound and exacerbate the pressures of living we continually face. Ultimately, our habitual and automatic reactions to the stressors we encounter, particularly when we get in the habit of reacting maladaptively, determine in large measure how much stress we experience. Automatic reactions triggered out of unawareness—especially when the circumstances are not life-threatening but we take them that way all the same—can compound and exacerbate stress, making what might have remained basically simple problems into worse ones over time. They can prevent us from seeing clearly, from solving problems creatively, and from expressing our emotions effectively when we need to communicate with other people or even understand what is going on within ourselves. ... A lifetime of unconscious and unexamined habitual reactivity to challenges and perceived threats is likely to increase our risk of eventual breakdown and illness significantly. Habitual maladaptive reactions to stressors can include physical tensions, workaholism, addiction to various chemicals, drugs, or foods, and depressive rumination. Kabat-Zinn describes how mindfulness practice can help people to overcome such maladaptive reactions by bringing them into awareness, "allowing you to engage in and influence the flow of events and


id: galileo-s-middle-finger-20260505-0
file: data/en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Galileo's_Middle_Finger-0.md
category: reference
title: Galileo's Middle Finger
tags: science, encyclopedia
source_url: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Galileo's_Middle_Finger
date_saved: 2026-05-05T08:47:57.079400+00:00
instance: kb-cron
parent: galileo-s-middle-finger-20260505-0
summary:
Galileo's Middle Finger is a 2015 book about the ethics of medical research by Alice Dreger, an American bioethicist and author. Dreger explores the relationship between science and social justice by discussing a number of scientific controversies. These include the debates surrounding intersex genital surgery, autogynephilia, and anthropologist Napoleon Chagnon's work. == Synopsis == The first part of Galileo's Middle Finger recounts Dreger's activism against surgical "correction" of intersex individuals' genitalia. Some surgeons called this "total urogenital mobilization" which is "...ripping out everything that didn't seem right to the doctor and rebuilding a girl's genitals from scratch using Frankenstein stitches..." Based on her interactions with the intersex community as well as her own research, she advocated that genital surgery for intersex children be postponed until the individual is old enough to make an informed decision, in the absence of any evidence that the benefits of such surgery outweighed its already reported risks. The second section provides her analysis of the controversy surrounding The Man Who Would Be Queen (2003), by sex researcher and psychologist J. Michael Bailey. In that book, Bailey summarized research on Blanchard's transsexualism typology in a way that Dreger says is scientifically accurate, well-intended, and sympathetic, but


id: the-green-book-immunisation-guide-20260505-0
file: data/en.wikipedia.org/wiki/The_Green_Book_(immunisation_guide)-0.md
category: reference
title: The Green Book (immunisation guide)
tags: science, encyclopedia
source_url: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/The_Green_Book_(immunisation_guide)
date_saved: 2026-05-05T08:47:58.214179+00:00
instance: kb-cron
parent: the-green-book-immunisation-guide-20260505-0
summary:
Immunisation against infectious disease, popularly known as The Green Book, provides information on vaccines for vaccine-preventable diseases. It acts as a guide to the UK's vaccination schedule for health professionals and health departments that give vaccines in the United Kingdom. The first two editions were published in 1992 and 1996. A third edition in 2006, was the last to appear in print. Updates have since been added by its clinical editors through advice and recommendations from the Joint Committee on Vaccination and Immunisation (JCVI) and appear only online as individual chapters via the immunisation section of the GOV.UK website. As of 2021 it includes updates on COVID-19. == Purpose == Immunisation against infectious disease is popularly known as The Green Book, to provide information on the UK's vaccination schedule and vaccines for vaccine preventable infectious diseases. It is a guide for health professionals and health departments that give vaccines in the UK. Updates are added by its clinical editors through advice and recommendations from the Joint Committee on Vaccination and Immunisation (JCVI), as accepted by the Secretaries of State. Larger updates may also need consultations with UK health departments and public health bodies, MHRA, vaccine manufacturers, NHS England, National Travel


id: homeopathy-and-its-kindred-delusions-20260505-0
file: data/en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Homeopathy_and_Its_Kindred_Delusions-0.md
category: reference
title: Homeopathy and Its Kindred Delusions
tags: science, encyclopedia
source_url: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Homeopathy_and_Its_Kindred_Delusions
date_saved: 2026-05-05T08:47:59.420677+00:00
instance: kb-cron
parent: homeopathy-and-its-kindred-delusions-20260505-0
summary:
Homœopathy and Its Kindred Delusions is a work by Oliver Wendell Holmes Sr., based upon two lectures he gave in 1842, Medical Delusions and Homœopathy. The work criticizes homeopathy, which he considered to be akin to "astrology, palmistry and other methods of getting a living out of the weakness and credulity of mankind and womankind". It is considered to be a classic text, one of Holmes' most important works, as well as one of the earliest criticisms of homeopathy. == Synopsis == Homeopathy and Its Kindred Delusions is composed of two parts. In the first, Holmes explains how the placebo effect can produce false positives, and describes numerous forms of popular but ineffective quackery (including the royal touch, the tractors of Elisha Perkins, and the powder of sympathy), to demonstrate that positive anecdotal evidence is not necessarily indicative of an effective medical therapy. He also describes how Perkins claimed the healing powers of the tractors were due to their being made of a special alloy, but how they declined in popularity after it was discovered that the tractors had the same effect no matter what they were made of. In the second, he criticizes the basis of homeopathy itself, such


id: the-human-embryo-20260505-0
file: data/en.wikipedia.org/wiki/The_Human_Embryo-0.md
category: reference
title: The Human Embryo
tags: science, encyclopedia
source_url: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/The_Human_Embryo
date_saved: 2026-05-05T08:48:01.741856+00:00
instance: kb-cron
parent: the-human-embryo-20260505-0
summary:
The Human Embryo: Aristotle and the Arabic and European Traditions is a book looking at the philosophy and religious viewpoints of human reproduction over the ages by the Reverend Canon G. R. Dunstan and published by University of Exeter Press in 1990. It specialises in the study of the human embryo both historically and from different cultural viewpoints. The largest section is devoted to the understanding of the embryo in the Middle Ages, with seven articles alone reinterpreting Dante's passages on the animation of the embryo. == References ==


id: in-training-stories-from-tomorrow-s-physicians-20260505-0
file: data/en.wikipedia.org/wiki/In-Training:_Stories_from_Tomorrow's_Physicians-0.md
category: reference
title: In-Training: Stories from Tomorrow's Physicians
tags: science, encyclopedia
source_url: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/In-Training:_Stories_from_Tomorrow's_Physicians
date_saved: 2026-05-05T08:48:02.942655+00:00
instance: kb-cron
parent: in-training-stories-from-tomorrow-s-physicians-20260505-0
summary:
in-Training: Stories from Tomorrow’s Physicians is a print collection of 102 manuscripts originally published on in-Training, the online magazine for medical students, since its founding in July 2012. The collection was written, curated, and edited entirely by medical students. The book is “a compendium of peer-edited narratives written by medical students on humanism, our real-life patients, and the challenges of being a physician-in-training.” The book was published by Pager Publications, Inc., a 501c3 nonprofit literary corporation founded by Ajay Major and Aleena Paul, the founders of in-Training. == Authors == The 80 authors of the manuscripts in the collection are medical students across the United States and Canada, all of whom were writers for in-Training. The book was curated and edited by Ajay Major and Aleena Paul, the founders of in-Training. == Contents == The 102 manuscripts in the collection were selected from over 800 articles originally published on in-Training since its founding in July 2012. Each manuscript is accompanied by reflective discussion questions written by the medical student editors of in-Training. The book was designed as a resource guide for medical students and educators interested in the medical humanities, so the collection includes first-person accounts of experiences in dissection


id: kaitai-shinsho-20260505-0
file: data/en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Kaitai_Shinsho-0.md
category: reference
title: Kaitai Shinsho
tags: science, encyclopedia
source_url: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Kaitai_Shinsho
date_saved: 2026-05-05T08:48:04.089453+00:00
instance: kb-cron
parent: kaitai-shinsho-20260505-0
summary:
Kaitai Shinsho (解体新書; Kyūjitai: 解體新書, roughly meaning "New Text on Anatomy") is a medical text translated into Japanese during the Edo period. It was written by Sugita Genpaku, and was published by Suharaya Ichibee (須原屋市兵衛) in 1774, the third year of An'ei. The body comprises four volumes, the illustrations, one. The contents are written kanbun-style. It is based on a translation of the Dutch Ontleedkundige Tafelen, often known in Japan as Tafel Anatomie (ターヘル・アナトミア, Tāheru Anatomia), of Johann Adam Kulmus’ Latin Tabulae Anatomicae, published before 1722 (exact year is unknown) in Gdańsk, Polish–Lithuanian Commonwealth. As a full-blown translation from a Western language, it was the first of its kind in Japan. == Background == On 4 March 1771, the eighth year of Meiwa, the students of Rangaku medicine Sugita Genpaku, Maeno Ryōtaku, Nakagawa Jun'an, et al., by studying performing autopsies on criminals executed at the Kozukappara execution grounds (now, there is a possibility that Katsuragawa Hoshū was at this facility as well, but from the description in Rangaku Koto Hajime (蘭学事始), it seems more likely that he was not). Both Sugita and Maeno had the book Ontleedkundige Tafelen, imported from Holland. Sugita, marveling at the accuracy of the work while


id: kaitai-shinsho-20260505-1
file: data/en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Kaitai_Shinsho-1.md
category: reference
title: Kaitai Shinsho
tags: science, encyclopedia
source_url: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Kaitai_Shinsho
date_saved: 2026-05-05T08:48:04.089453+00:00
instance: kb-cron
parent: kaitai-shinsho-20260505-0
summary:
Kaitai Shinsho is generally said to be a translation of Ontleedkundige Tafelen. However, other than the work itself, Bartholini's, Blankaart's, Schamberger’s, Koyter’s, Veslingius', Palfijn's, and others' works were also consulted; the cover is based on Valuerda's. Of course, Asian sources and opinions also had an influence. The book is not a mere translation; the translation was done mostly by Maeno Ryōtaku and then transponed into classical Chinese by Sugita. There are notes in various places left by Sugita, as leftovers from the work. All those lengthy footnotes that cover more than 50% of Kulmus' book were left out. The contents are split into four volumes: Volume I General remarks; forms and names; parts of the body; skeletal structure: general remarks about joints; skeletal structure: detailed exposition about joints. Volume II The head; the mouth; the brain and nerves; the eyes; the ears; the nose; the tongue. Volume III The chest and the diaphragm; the lungs; the heart; arteries; veins; the portal vein; the abdomen; the bowels and stomach; the mesentery and lacteals; the pancreas. Volume IV The spleen; the liver and gall bladder; the kidneys and the bladder; the genitalia; pregnancy; the muscles. The illustrations only comprise one volume. ==


id: a-letter-to-a-friend-20260505-0
file: data/en.wikipedia.org/wiki/A_Letter_to_a_Friend-0.md
category: reference
title: A Letter to a Friend
tags: science, encyclopedia
source_url: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/A_Letter_to_a_Friend
date_saved: 2026-05-05T08:48:05.233170+00:00
instance: kb-cron
parent: a-letter-to-a-friend-20260505-0
summary:
A Letter to a Friend (written 1656; published posthumously in 1690), by Sir Thomas Browne, the 17th century English philosopher and physician, is a medical treatise of case-histories and witty speculations upon the human condition. == Publication == The Letter was first published as a folio pamphlet in 1690, after having been left out of the 1686 posthumous collection of Browne's complete works. Few copies of this pamphlet are extant; several of those which have survived did so because they were bound as an addition to his complete works. It was then included in his 1712 Poshumous Works printed by Edmund Curll, and a 1716 collection titled Christian Morals edited by John Jeffrey. == Morgellons == Browne's pamphlet is the source of a term Mary Leitao coined in 2001 to describe her son's skin condition. She chose the name "Morgellons disease" based on a skin condition described by Browne in Letter to a Friend, thus: Hairs which have most amused me have not been in the Face or Head, but on the Back, and not in Men but Children, as I long ago observed in that endemial Distemper33 of little Children in Languedock, called the Morgellons, wherein they critically break


id: libellus-de-medicinalibus-indorum-herbis-20260505-0
file: data/en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Libellus_de_Medicinalibus_Indorum_Herbis-0.md
category: reference
title: Libellus de Medicinalibus Indorum Herbis
tags: science, encyclopedia
source_url: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Libellus_de_Medicinalibus_Indorum_Herbis
date_saved: 2026-05-05T08:48:06.360253+00:00
instance: kb-cron
parent: libellus-de-medicinalibus-indorum-herbis-20260505-0
summary:
The Libellus de Medicinalibus Indorum Herbis (Latin for "Little Book of the Medicinal Herbs of the Indians") is an Aztec herbal manuscript, describing the medicinal properties of 250 plants used by the Aztecs. It was translated into Latin by Juan Badiano, from a Nahuatl original composed in the Colegio de Santa Cruz de Tlatelolco in 1552 by Martín de la Cruz that is no longer existant. The Libellus is also known as the Badianus Manuscript, after the translator; the Codex de la Cruz-Badiano, after both the original author and translator; and the Codex Barberini, after Cardinal Francesco Barberini, who had possession of the manuscript in the early 17th century. The Badianus Manuscript of 1552 is the first illustrated and descriptive scientific text of Nahua medicine and botany produced in the Americas. It is a significant text in the history of botany and the history of medicine. == History == In 1552 Jacobo de Grado, the friar in charge of the Convent of Tlatelolco and the College of Santa Cruz, had the herbal created and translated for Don Francisco de Mendoza, son of Don Antonio de Mendoza, the viceroy of New Spain. Mendoza sent the Latin manuscript to Spain, where it


id: medical-visions-20260505-0
file: data/en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Medical_Visions-0.md
category: reference
title: Medical Visions
tags: science, encyclopedia
source_url: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Medical_Visions
date_saved: 2026-05-05T08:48:07.505430+00:00
instance: kb-cron
parent: medical-visions-20260505-0
summary:
Medical Visions: Producing the Patient through Film, Television, and Imaging Technologies is a non-fiction book by Kirsten Ostherr. It was published in 2013 by Oxford University Press. == General references == Guy, Mary (2015-07-28). "Medical Visions: Producing the Patient Through Film, Television, and Imaging Technologies". Medical Law Review fwv033. doi:10.1093/medlaw/fwv033. ISSN 0967-0742. Jordanova, Ludmilla (2014). "Medical Visions: Producing the Patient through Film, Television, and Imaging Technologies by Kirsten Ostherr (review)". Literature and Medicine. 32 (1): 224–227. ISSN 1080-6571. Willis, Martin (July 2016). "Book Review: Medical Visions: Producing the Patient Through Film, Television, and Imaging Technologies". Critical Studies in Television: The International Journal of Television Studies. 11 (2): 257–260. doi:10.1177/1749602016642932. ISSN 1749-6020.


id: medicine-prep-manual-for-undergraduates-20260505-0
file: data/en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Medicine:_Prep_Manual_for_Undergraduates-0.md
category: reference
title: Medicine: Prep Manual for Undergraduates
tags: science, encyclopedia
source_url: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Medicine:_Prep_Manual_for_Undergraduates
date_saved: 2026-05-05T08:48:20.941786+00:00
instance: kb-cron
parent: medicine-prep-manual-for-undergraduates-20260505-0
summary:
Medicine: Prep Manual for Undergraduates is a book. The first edition was edited by K G Mathew and published by Kalasala Publishers in Kerala in 1994. The fifth edition was published by Elsevier in 2015. == Contents == The book explains in detail about clinical conditions. Medicine is the science and practice of the diagnosis, treatment, and prevention of disease. Medicine encompasses a variety of health care practices evolved to maintain and restore health by the prevention and treatment of illness. Contemporary medicine applies biomedical sciences, biomedical research, genetics, and medical technology to diagnose, treat, and prevent injury and disease, typically through pharmaceuticals or surgery, but also through therapies as diverse as psychotherapy, external splints and traction, medical devices, biologics, and ionizing radiation, amongst others. == Footnotes == == References == (1995) 54 British Journal of Hospital Medicine 295 Google Books G C Cook (1995) 89 Transactions of The Royal Society of Tropical Medicine and Hygiene 343 OUP.


id: men-trapped-in-men-s-bodies-narratives-of-autogynephilic-transsexualism-20260505-0
category: reference
title: Men Trapped in Men's Bodies: Narratives of Autogynephilic Transsexualism
tags: science, encyclopedia
date_saved: 2026-05-05T08:48:22.131765+00:00
instance: kb-cron
parent: men-trapped-in-men-s-bodies-narratives-of-autogynephilic-transsexualism-20260505-0
file:
data/en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Men_Trapped_in_Men's_Bodies:_Narratives_of_Autogynephilic_Transsexualism-0.md

summary:
Men Trapped in Men's Bodies: Narratives of Autogynephilic Transsexualism is a 2013 book about Blanchard's transsexualism typology written by sexologist Anne Lawrence. The book was published in 2013 by Springer in New York. The book includes 249 first-person narratives of autogynephilia by transgender women and 52 narratives of autogynephilia by cis men (301 narratives in total) that were submitted to and collected by Lawrence. This followed earlier collections of the same kinds of narratives that Lawrence had published in 1999. Besides the book, Lawrence has published a number of literature reviews on autogynephilia. == Title == The book's title is similar to the title of a chapter called Men Trapped in Men's Bodies in J. Michael Bailey's 2003 book, The Man Who Would Be Queen: The Science of Gender-Bending and Transsexualism, with this chapter title being inspired by and taking after the titles of Lawrence's earlier essays. The phrase "men trapped in men's bodies" refers to the fact that transgender women are often described as "women trapped in men's bodies", yet autogynephilic transgender women are claimed by Blanchard's typology to be behaviorally more similar to men and to have an intense desire to become women due to their autogynephilic feelings.

source_url:
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Men_Trapped_in_Men's_Bodies:_Narratives_of_Autogynephilic_Transsexualism


id: migrant-architects-of-the-nhs-20260505-0
file: data/en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Migrant_Architects_of_the_NHS-0.md
category: reference
title: Migrant Architects of the NHS
tags: science, encyclopedia
source_url: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Migrant_Architects_of_the_NHS
date_saved: 2026-05-05T08:48:23.273978+00:00
instance: kb-cron
parent: migrant-architects-of-the-nhs-20260505-0
summary:
Migrant Architects of the NHS: South Asian Doctors and the Reinvention of British General Practice (1940s–1980s), written by Julian M. Simpson, and published by Manchester University Press in 2018, is a book which combines archival research, images and interviews to tell the story of the physicians who immigrated to Britain from South Asia and became general practitioners (GPs) during the first four decades of Britain's National Health Service (NHS). The research in the book is the basis of an exhibition on migrant doctors at the Royal College of General Practitioners (RCGP), London, the opening of which also marked the launch of the book. == Content == The book combines archival research, images and interviews to tell the story of the physicians who immigrated to Britain from South Asia and entered general practice during the first four decades of the National Health Service. It focuses on physicians from India, Pakistan, Bangladesh and Sri Lanka. Intended for students and academic researchers with an interest in the history of migration, South Asian studies, oral history and the history of medicine, the book is also of interest to those curious about the links between the British Empire and medical migration. The book sets out


id: the-natural-history-of-alcoholism-revisited-20260505-0
file: data/en.wikipedia.org/wiki/The_Natural_History_of_Alcoholism_Revisited-0.md
category: reference
title: The Natural History of Alcoholism Revisited
tags: science, encyclopedia
source_url: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/The_Natural_History_of_Alcoholism_Revisited
date_saved: 2026-05-05T08:48:24.478686+00:00
instance: kb-cron
parent: the-natural-history-of-alcoholism-revisited-20260505-0
summary:
The Natural History of Alcoholism Revisited (1995) is a book by psychiatrist George E. Vaillant that describes two multi-decade studies of the lives of 600 American males, non-alcoholics at the outset, focusing on their lifelong drinking behaviours. By following the men from youth to old age it was possible to chart their drinking patterns and what factors may have contributed to alcoholism. Another study followed 100 severe alcoholics from a clinic eight years after their detoxification. The National Review hailed the first edition (1983) as "a genuine revolution in the field of alcoholism research" and said that "Vaillant has combined clinical experience with an unprecedented amount of empirical data to produce what may ultimately come to be viewed as the single most important contribution to the literature of alcoholism since the first edition of AA's Big Book." Some of the main conclusions of Vaillant's book are: That alcoholism is as much a social as a medical condition. "Alcoholism can simultaneously reflect both a conditioned habit and a disease." Factors predicting alcoholism were related to ethnic culture, alcoholism in relatives, and a personality that is antisocial and extroverted. An unhappy childhood predicted mental illness but not alcoholism—unless the family problems were


id: the-natural-history-of-alcoholism-revisited-20260505-1
file: data/en.wikipedia.org/wiki/The_Natural_History_of_Alcoholism_Revisited-1.md
category: reference
title: The Natural History of Alcoholism Revisited
tags: science, encyclopedia
source_url: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/The_Natural_History_of_Alcoholism_Revisited
date_saved: 2026-05-05T08:48:24.478686+00:00
instance: kb-cron
parent: the-natural-history-of-alcoholism-revisited-20260505-0
summary:
=== Techniques for research on alcoholics === Alcoholics present special challenges for researchers because they are good at concealing their drunkenness. Vaillant asserts that "Alcoholics are expert forgetters," have inaccurate memories, and give persuasive denials that manifest "an extraordinary ability to deny the consequences of their drinking." For effective interviews, the subject should first be relatively sober. The interviewer should ask non-threatening, non-judgmental questions that do not challenge the alcoholic's right to drink and that minimise guilt. (Failure to observe these guidelines by medical professionals has likely contributed to alcoholics’ reputation for denial.) Interviewers should ask for objective evidence. For example, if an alcoholic claims that his divorce led to him drinking, the interviewer could ask if the alcoholic's spouse ever complained of his drinking before they split. Interviews and questionnaires should always be backed up with interviews with the subject's family, with consultation of medical records, and with searches in public records for evidence of legal problems associated with drinking. == Book summary == === Medical or behavioural disorder? === A major focus in the book was a comparison of the various definitions of alcoholism: the medical model, which focuses on the individual's physical addiction and on symptoms such


id: the-natural-history-of-alcoholism-revisited-20260505-2
file: data/en.wikipedia.org/wiki/The_Natural_History_of_Alcoholism_Revisited-2.md
category: reference
title: The Natural History of Alcoholism Revisited
tags: science, encyclopedia
source_url: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/The_Natural_History_of_Alcoholism_Revisited
date_saved: 2026-05-05T08:48:24.478686+00:00
instance: kb-cron
parent: the-natural-history-of-alcoholism-revisited-20260505-0
summary:
=== Natural history of alcoholism === Contrary to popular conception, alcoholism does not start with the first drink, but usually has a gradual onset over 5 to 15 years of continuous alcohol abuse. One surprise to Vaillant was the number of men who were able to abuse alcohol for decades without becoming dependent. Of 29 alcohol abusers in the College sample, seven men were able to drink heavily for a mean of three decades without showing symptoms of dependence. The average age of onset of alcohol abuse was 29 years for the Core City men and 41 years for the College men. Full blown alcoholism, where it appeared, usually lasted a decade or two before sobriety was attained. The number of alcoholics increased steadily until age 40 and then began to decline at a rate of stable remission of 2 to 3% per year. Older alcoholics are relatively rare because of the rate of remission and a higher mortality rate. Seventy-two alcoholics in the Core City sample were successfully followed to age 70. By this age 54% had died, 32% were abstinent, 1% were controlled drinkers, and 12% were still abusing alcohol. By comparison 19 alcoholics in the College sample


id: the-natural-history-of-alcoholism-revisited-20260505-3
file: data/en.wikipedia.org/wiki/The_Natural_History_of_Alcoholism_Revisited-3.md
category: reference
title: The Natural History of Alcoholism Revisited
tags: science, encyclopedia
source_url: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/The_Natural_History_of_Alcoholism_Revisited
date_saved: 2026-05-05T08:48:24.478686+00:00
instance: kb-cron
parent: the-natural-history-of-alcoholism-revisited-20260505-0
summary:
=== Alcoholics Anonymous === Vaillant, who is a non-alcoholic Trustee of AA, made the effectiveness of AA one of the key questions to be investigated in his research. Vaillant argues that AA and other similar groups effectively harness the above four factors of healing and that many alcoholics achieve sobriety through AA attendance. However, he also notes that the “effectiveness of AA has not been adequately assessed” and that “direct evidence for the efficacy of AA… remains as elusive as ever. For example, if an alcoholic achieves sobriety during AA attendance, who is to say if AA helped or if he merely went to AA when he was ready to heal? In the Clinic sample, 48% of the 29 alcoholics who achieved sobriety eventually attended 300 or more AA meetings, and AA attendance was associated with good outcomes in patients who otherwise would have been predicted not to remit. In the Core City sample the more severe alcoholics attended AA, possibly because all other avenues had failed—after all, AA meetings are rarely attended for hedonistic reasons. The implication from all three samples was simply that many alcoholics find help through AA. == Book reviews == Vaillant’s academic peers saw The


id: novel-therapeutic-targets-for-antiarrhythmic-drugs-20260505-0
file: data/en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Novel_Therapeutic_Targets_for_Antiarrhythmic_Drugs-0.md
category: reference
title: Novel Therapeutic Targets for Antiarrhythmic Drugs
tags: science, encyclopedia
source_url: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Novel_Therapeutic_Targets_for_Antiarrhythmic_Drugs
date_saved: 2026-05-05T08:48:25.641149+00:00
instance: kb-cron
parent: novel-therapeutic-targets-for-antiarrhythmic-drugs-20260505-0
summary:
Novel Therapeutic Targets for Antiarrhythmic Drugs is a book edited by George Billman and published by John Wiley and Sons in 2010. == Content == According to the publisher, the book describes the current state of cardiac arrhythmia treatment, and attempts to identify future directions research may take. Its 21 chapters cover a variety of topics related to cardiac arrhythmia and electrophysiology, primarily reviewing known molecular targets for drugs. Subjects covered in the book include both traditional approaches to looking at arrhythmia, such as ion channel effects, and more general issues such as the genetics behind differential response to existing drug therapies. Drug safety and side effects are also cover. The book examines avenues by which new treatments might be developed, with four chapters (10, 13, 16, 17) specifically focused on novel targets. Novel ideas offered included studying sodium-calcium exchanger and ryanodine receptor effects. One chapter (5) is dedicated to examining the targets on which existing drugs operate, and another (8) examines drugs in clinical trial at the time of publication. The chemical structure of existing drugs is not covered. Overall, the book advocates for segregating drug targets by disease type and state, rather than the conventional approach of segregating


id: outlive-the-science-and-art-of-longevity-20260505-0
file: data/en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Outlive:_The_Science_and_Art_of_Longevity-0.md
category: reference
title: Outlive: The Science and Art of Longevity
tags: science, encyclopedia
source_url: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Outlive:_The_Science_and_Art_of_Longevity
date_saved: 2026-05-05T08:48:26.786576+00:00
instance: kb-cron
parent: outlive-the-science-and-art-of-longevity-20260505-0
summary:
Outlive: The Science and Art of Longevity is a non-fiction health and wellness book authored by Peter Attia, a physician specializing in longevity, and co-written with journalist Bill Gifford. Published in March 2023, Outlive was listed on The New York Times Best Seller list in 2023 and 2024. The book is divided into three parts with 17 chapters in total, exploring various aspects of longevity. == Synopsis == Outlive presents a guide to preventing age-related diseases and promoting longevity through lifestyle changes, emphasizing the importance of managing physical and emotional health. He sees longevity as encompassing two aspects: the length of life and the quality of life. Healthspan, a major theme in the book, refers to "the portion of life free from disability or disease." Attia identifies the "Four Horsemen" of aging as the primary causes of declining healthspan—heart disease, cancer, neurodegenerative disease, and type 2 diabetes. Attia advocates for early screening, personalized health management, and lifestyle adjustments such as improved sleep, regular exercise, a balanced diet, and emotional well-being. He integrates scientific research with practical, specific steps to optimize well-being and healthspan. == Key themes == Reviewers have noted some of the following themes in the book. === Preventative


id: der-philosophische-arzt-20260505-0
file: data/en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Der_Philosophische_Arzt-0.md
category: reference
title: Der Philosophische Arzt
tags: science, encyclopedia
source_url: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Der_Philosophische_Arzt
date_saved: 2026-05-05T08:48:27.930578+00:00
instance: kb-cron
parent: der-philosophische-arzt-20260505-0
summary:
Der Philosophische Arzt is a medical publication published in the late 18th century by Melchior Adam Weikard, a prominent German physician and philosopher to the Russian Empress, Catherine II. The first edition of Der Philosophische Arzt was first published in 1775, but was written perhaps as early as 1770. It was initially published anonymously as was the second edition, though it was widely believed that Weikard was the author. The reason for doing so is unclear but was probably due to anticipated critical reactions to its publication from several sources. A principal one was the Prince-Bishop of Fulda, to whom Weikard served as physician and in a Catholic region where Weikard worked as a spa doctor being supported by the state. According to Otto Schmitt's biography of Weikard published in 1970, the reaction of organized religion to the publication of his textbook was widespread condemnation. This was likely due to his attacks in the textbook on various religious practices for curing medical illnesses. According to Schmidt, the attacks against Weikard continued throughout his career but his patron, Prince Heinrich von Bibra, maintained an amicable relationship with him and supported him financially late in his career despite many people who criticized


id: the-preventive-obstacle-or-conjugal-onanism-20260505-0
file: data/en.wikipedia.org/wiki/The_preventive_obstacle-0.md
category: reference
title: The preventive obstacle; or, Conjugal onanism
tags: science, encyclopedia
source_url: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/The_preventive_obstacle;_or,_Conjugal_onanism
date_saved: 2026-05-05T08:48:29.122747+00:00
instance: kb-cron
parent: the-preventive-obstacle-or-conjugal-onanism-20260505-0
summary:
The preventive obstacle; or, Conjugal onanism is the English translation by P. De Marmon of the third French edition of Louis François Étienne Bergeret's book Des Fraudes dans l'Accomplissement des Fonctions Generatrices (1868). It was published in 1870 by Turner and Mignard Printers and Publishers. In the book, Bergeret used his nineteenth century clinical case studies to demonstrate his anti-contraception beliefs and his theory that sexual excitement without conception was "fraud", which leads to uterine inflammation, "indirect infanticide", and various physical and psychological illnesses in women. In 1874, the Royal Medical and Chirurgical Society of London library ordered the book to be burned. == References == == Further reading == Bergeret, Louis François Étienne (1974). The preventive obstacle; or, Conjugal onanism. New York, Arno Press. (translated by P. De Marmon)


id: the-relaxation-response-20260505-0
file: data/en.wikipedia.org/wiki/The_Relaxation_Response-0.md
category: reference
title: The Relaxation Response
tags: science, encyclopedia
source_url: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/The_Relaxation_Response
date_saved: 2026-05-05T08:48:30.304385+00:00
instance: kb-cron
parent: the-relaxation-response-20260505-0
summary:
The Relaxation Response is a book written in 1975 by Herbert Benson, a Harvard physician, and Miriam Z. Klipper. The response described in the book is an autonomic reaction elicited by a mental device and a passive attitude that has been used for altered states of consciousness throughout various religious traditions and cultures. The scientific characterization of the relaxation response was initially prompted by research studies on Transcendental Meditation ("TM"), a yogic meditation technique, that was presented primarily to people in the Western world. == Origin == Benson writes in his book, "We claim no innovation but simply a scientific validation of age-old wisdom". People from the Transcendental Meditation movement, who felt they could reduce blood pressure using TM, visited Harvard Medical School in 1968, asking to be studied. The school, which at the time was studying the relationship of monkeys' behavior and blood pressure, told them "No, thank you." But when they persisted, Benson told them he would study them. He met with Maharishi Mahesh Yogi first to find out if he could agree in advance to any outcome, which Mahesh did. Benson mentions in his book that independent studies were already underway by then-PhD candidate R. Keith Wallace


id: rethinking-madness-20260505-0
file: data/en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Rethinking_Madness-0.md
category: reference
title: Rethinking Madness
tags: science, encyclopedia
source_url: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Rethinking_Madness
date_saved: 2026-05-05T08:48:31.471062+00:00
instance: kb-cron
parent: rethinking-madness-20260505-0
summary:
Rethinking Madness: Towards a Paradigm Shift In Our Understanding and Treatment of Psychosis (Sky's Edge Publishing, 2012) is a book by the psychologist Paris Williams that explores creative ways of dealing with madness (psychosis). Williams says that psychotic experiences, which cause significant distress, typically occur deep within the mind. Given suitable conditions, this process can often result in a positive outcome, but Williams avoids the romantic notion that psychosis is always beneficial. Much of what Williams says is in close accord with a recovery approach. Williams says that the term "psychosis" has many meanings, and the definitions that have been put forward are controversial. Even the DSM-IV-TR, says that "the term psychosis has historically received a number of definitions, none of which has achieved universal acceptance". Williams says that the diagnosis of schizophrenia is also the subject of much debate: Despite over a century of intensive research, no biological markers or physiological tests that can be used to diagnose schizophrenia have been found, its etiology continues to be uncertain, and we don’t even have clear evidence that the concept of schizophrenia is a valid construct. However, diagnosis and treatment based upon the diagnosis continues unhindered by these serious problems. William's


id: stuck-how-vaccine-rumors-start-and-why-they-don-t-go-away-20260505-0
file: data/en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Stuck:_How_Vaccine_Rumors_Start_and_Why_They_Don't_Go_Away-0.md
category: reference
title: Stuck: How Vaccine Rumors Start and Why They Don't Go Away
tags: science, encyclopedia
source_url: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Stuck:_How_Vaccine_Rumors_Start_and_Why_They_Don't_Go_Away
date_saved: 2026-05-05T08:48:33.831719+00:00
instance: kb-cron
parent: stuck-how-vaccine-rumors-start-and-why-they-don-t-go-away-20260505-0
summary:
Stuck: How Vaccine Rumors Start and Why They Don't Go Away (2020), published by Oxford University Press and written by the director of the London School of Hygiene and Tropical Medicine's Vaccine Confidence Project, Heidi Larson, looks at what influences attitudes to vaccination. It was largely compiled before the COVID-19 pandemic and inspired by her feeling that the dialogue between scientists and the public regarding vaccines was becoming complex on a background of increasing online information. Using historical examples, from 19th century protests against smallpox vaccination to 21st-century boycotts of polio vaccination programmes, to show how rumours about vaccinations spread, the book looks chiefly at high-income countries and examines the factors that form opinions about vaccination. == Publication == Stuck: How Vaccine Rumors Start and Why They Don't Go Away was published by Oxford University Press in 2020, and written by the director of the London School of Hygiene and Tropical Medicine's Vaccine Confidence Project, Heidi Larson. It was largely compiled before the COVID-19 pandemic. It has 200 pages, of which 127 pages cover eight chapters, which are preceded by acknowledgements, prologue and an introduction, and are followed by notes and an index. == Synopsis == The book addresses misinformation


id: studies-in-the-social-history-of-medicine-20260505-0
file: data/en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Studies_in_the_Social_History_of_Medicine-0.md
category: reference
title: Studies in the Social History of Medicine
tags: science, encyclopedia
source_url: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Studies_in_the_Social_History_of_Medicine
date_saved: 2026-05-05T08:48:34.977652+00:00
instance: kb-cron
parent: studies-in-the-social-history-of-medicine-20260505-0
summary:
This is a list of books in the series Studies in the Social History of Medicine. The series was produced by the Society for the Social History of Medicine and Tavistock, later Routledge, between 1989 and 2009. It totalled 37 volumes. == Titles == Titles in the series were: Andrews, Bridie, and Mary P. Sutphen (Eds.), Medicine and Colonial Identity (2003). Barry, Jonathan, and Colin Jones (Eds.), Medicine and Charity before the Welfare State (1991). Bashford, Alison, and Claire Hooker, Contagion (2001). Berridge, Virginia, and Kelly Loughlin, Medicine, the Market and the Mass Media: Producing health in the twentieth century (2006). Cooter, Roger, In the Name of the Child: Health and welfare, 1880–1940 (1992). Cunningham, Andrew, and Ole Peter Grell (Eds.), Health Care and Poor Relief in Protestant Europe, 1500–1700 (2004). Dale, Pamela, and Joseph Melling (Eds.), Mental Illness and Learning Disability since 1850: Finding a place for mental disorder in the United Kingdom (2006). Davidson, Roger, and Lesley A. Hall (Eds.), Sex, Sin and Suffering: Venereal disease and European society since 1870 (2001). De Barros, Juanita, Steven Palmer, and David Wright (Eds.), Health and Medicine in the circum-Caribbean, 1800–1968 (2009). Digby, Anne, and David Wright (Eds.), From Idiocy to


id: substance-abuse-disorders-in-clinical-practice-20260505-0
file: data/en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Substance_Abuse_Disorders_in_Clinical_Practice-0.md
category: reference
title: Substance Abuse Disorders in Clinical Practice
tags: science, encyclopedia
source_url: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Substance_Abuse_Disorders_in_Clinical_Practice
date_saved: 2026-05-05T08:48:36.123098+00:00
instance: kb-cron
parent: substance-abuse-disorders-in-clinical-practice-20260505-0
summary:
Substance Abuse Disorders in Clinical Practice is a medical text written by Edward C. Senay. First published in 1983 by John Wright PSG, a second edition was published in 1998 by W.W. Norton & Co. == References == === General references === Ginzburg, Harold M. (January 1984). "Substance Abuse Disorders in Clinical Practice—.- by Edward C. Senay, M.D.; John Wright, Boston, 1983, 243 pages, $22.50". Psychiatric Services. 35 (1): 80–a. doi:10.1176/ps.35.1.80-a. ISSN 1075-2730. Lowinson, Joyce H. (1985-03-22). "Substance Abuse Disorders in Clinical Practice". JAMA: The Journal of the American Medical Association. 253 (12): 1799. doi:10.1001/jama.1985.03350360125037. ISSN 0098-7484. Mitcheson, Martin C. (June 1984). "Substance Abuse Disorders in Clinical Practice. By Edward C. Senay Boston, Bristol: John Wright PSG. 1983. Pp 243. £19.95". British Journal of Psychiatry. 144 (6): 676. doi:10.1192/S0007125000204169. ISSN 0007-1250. Willenbring, Mark (September 1999). "Substance Abuse Disorders in Clinical Practice, second edition". Psychiatric Services. 50 (9): 1241. doi:10.1176/ps.50.9.1241. ISSN 1075-2730.


id: survival-of-the-sickest-book-20260505-0
file: data/en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Survival_of_the_Sickest_(book)-0.md
category: reference
title: Survival of the Sickest (book)
tags: science, encyclopedia
source_url: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Survival_of_the_Sickest_(book)
date_saved: 2026-05-05T08:48:37.312452+00:00
instance: kb-cron
parent: survival-of-the-sickest-book-20260505-0
summary:
Survival of the Sickest: The Surprising Connections Between Disease and Longevity is a 2007 New York Times Bestselling science book by Sharon Moalem, an evolutionary biologist and neurogeneticist, and Jonathan Prince, senior advisor and speechwriter for the Clinton administration. It was originally titled, Survival of the Sickest: A Medical Maverick Discovers Why We Need Disease. == Overview == The book is a collection of case studies, which use scientific and historical data to support the individual proposed hypotheses, and the overall argument for a connection between some illnesses and increased longevity. Or, how many of the medical conditions that are diseases were the result of evolutionary changes that gave our ancestors a "leg up in the survival sweepstakes." It contains 266 pages all leading up to part 3. Chapter 1: Hemochromatosis, bloodletting, and human iron consumption Chapter 2: Diabetes, climate change, and brown fat Chapter 3: Sunlight, vitamin D, cholesterol, and the physiological makeup of race Chapter 4: Vegetables, fava beans, and the spread of malaria Chapter 5: The virulence of bacteria, Guinea worms, and parasitic diseases Chapter 6: Mutating DNA and “jumping” genes Chapter 7: Genetic suppression and childhood obesity Chapter 8: Cancer cells and childbirth Moalem includes an


id: technica-curiosa-20260505-0
file: data/en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Technica_Curiosa-0.md
category: reference
title: Technica Curiosa
tags: science, encyclopedia
source_url: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Technica_Curiosa
date_saved: 2026-05-05T08:48:38.495682+00:00
instance: kb-cron
parent: technica-curiosa-20260505-0
summary:
Technica Curiosa was an early compendium of scientific and medical technologies. It was one part of a two-volume work, the other being Physica Curiosa, authored by the German Jesuit scholar Gaspar Schott and published in 1664 during the early stages of the Scientific Revolution. == Background of the writer == Schott was an attentive spectator at the demonstrations of Otto von Guericke's vacuum pump and subsequently began extensive experiments and studies on his own. He established a fruitful correspondence with von Guericke and published the earliest account on von Guericke's experiments on air pressure and the vacuum in 1657, titled Experimentum Novum Magdeburgicum as an appendix of his Mechanica Hydraulico-pneumatica. With von Guericke as co-author, he published a reviewed and more detailed account in the Technica Curiosa. == Role in popularizing science == The work ranks among the early popular science publications and did much to inspire widespread interest in the sciences. == 21st-century legacy == In 2017 an online platform, that serves as host for several American science magazines for a modern audience has been titled Technica Curiosa. The site incorporates the popular magazines Popular Astronomy, Popular Electronics, and Mechanix Illustrated, among others. == References ==


id: the-tennis-partner-20260505-0
file: data/en.wikipedia.org/wiki/The_Tennis_Partner-0.md
category: reference
title: The Tennis Partner
tags: science, encyclopedia
source_url: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/The_Tennis_Partner
date_saved: 2026-05-05T08:48:39.659473+00:00
instance: kb-cron
parent: the-tennis-partner-20260505-0
summary:
The Tennis Partner is the second of Abraham Verghese's books. Published in 1999, when he was a physician practicing internal medicine in El Paso, Texas, this is an autobiographical memoir, and Abraham Verghese writes of his experience moving to El Paso in the midst of an unraveling marriage. Once there, he meets and eventually becomes a mentor to David Smith, a medical resident at the hospital where Verghese worked and a brilliant tennis player recovering from drug addiction. Because of his own love for the game and as part of his effort to reach out to the troubled resident, Verghese begins to play singles tennis regularly during their free time outside the hospital. What starts as a casual game between the two men eventually develops into a complex ritual that allows them to develop a deep friendship and understanding of the pressures they each face. In the hospital, Verghese is the teacher and Smith the student. On the court, however, Smith, the one-time professional player, becomes the teacher. The story tells of their all too brief friendship as Smith battles and eventually succumbs to his disease, and Verghese's helpless attempts to intervene. While cited as fiction, The Tennis Partner is


id: the-top-100-drugs-20260505-0
file: data/en.wikipedia.org/wiki/The_Top_100_Drugs-0.md
category: reference
title: The Top 100 Drugs
tags: science, encyclopedia
source_url: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/The_Top_100_Drugs
date_saved: 2026-05-05T08:48:40.830580+00:00
instance: kb-cron
parent: the-top-100-drugs-20260505-0
summary:
The Top 100 Drugs: Clinical Pharmacology and Practical Prescribing is a pocket-size medical manual focusing on the most commonly prescribed medicines by the British National Health Service (NHS). It was first published by Churchill Livingstone, Elsevier, in 2014, revised in a second edition in 2018, and again in 2022 in a third edition. It is authored by four clinical pharmacologists from St George's Hospital, London; Andrew Hitchings, Dagan Lonsdale, Daniel Burrage and Emma Baker. The drugs are described in alphabetical order, with each drug or drug class on a double page. Each is subsequently explained in terms of clinical pharmacology and practical prescribing. Intravenous fluids are dealt with later in the book, followed by a self-assessment. The book received a review in Pulse, and in 2018 was listed as an essential reference book for junior doctors by the Pharmaceutical Journal. == Development and publication == The Top 100 Drugs is a medical manual which aims to reduce risks in prescribing. It includes a list of commonly prescribed medicines by the British NHS, for undergraduate and postgraduate medical education in the UK. It was first published as an e-book by Churchill Livingstone, Elsevier, in 2014. A second edition was published in


id: train-your-brain-20260505-0
file: data/en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Train_Your_Brain-0.md
category: reference
title: Train Your Brain
tags: science, encyclopedia
source_url: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Train_Your_Brain
date_saved: 2026-05-05T08:48:42.042404+00:00
instance: kb-cron
parent: train-your-brain-20260505-0
summary:
Train Your Brain: 60 Days to a Better Brain is an English-language version of a Japanese book written by Ryuta Kawashima. The original book sold over a million copies in Japan. Dr. Kawashima found that by performing simple mathematical calculations and reading books aloud, one could retain mental clarity and stave off the mental effects of aging. The book is based on this research. The first half of the book contains simple mathematical calculations intermingled with memory tests and counting tests. The book recommends that one should do a set of maths questions every day and note the time it takes. This is complemented by a memory test, a counting test, and a stroop test (found at the back of the book) which should be undertaken every five days. A set of graphs are provided at the back of the book so that the results of the tests can be logged. The concepts presented in Train Your Brain would later be used to create the Nintendo DS game Brain Age: Train Your Brain in Minutes a Day!. == References ==


id: the-transsexual-phenomenon-20260505-0
file: data/en.wikipedia.org/wiki/The_Transsexual_Phenomenon-0.md
category: reference
title: The Transsexual Phenomenon
tags: science, encyclopedia
source_url: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/The_Transsexual_Phenomenon
date_saved: 2026-05-05T08:48:43.275697+00:00
instance: kb-cron
parent: the-transsexual-phenomenon-20260505-0
summary:
The Transsexual Phenomenon is a medical textbook published by American endocrinologist and sexologist Harry Benjamin in 1966 with The Julian Press. The text is notable for its examination of transsexualism not as a psychological issue, but rather as a somatic disorder that should be treated through medicine. Benjamin argues that transvestism and transsexuality are a spectrum of conditions, requiring different treatments that ranged from hormone replacement therapy to surgical intervention (such as orchiectomy). When initially published, the book was met with a mixed reception but would be later known as the "transsexuals' Bible", a standard for trans care in the medical community. Benjamin and his work (and specifically this text) are credited with the popularization of the term transsexual in medicine. However, some trans scholars argue that the book created many harmful stereotypes still perpetuated by the medical community today, such as the idea that trans people are "born in the wrong body". Scholars criticize Benjamin's reliance on the idea of "passing" and other cisnormative stereotypes. Overall, Benjamin's work was hugely influential in terms of trans visibility in the medical field and set the stage for transgender studies in the modern day. As a note, throughout his work, Benjamin defines


id: the-transsexual-phenomenon-20260505-1
file: data/en.wikipedia.org/wiki/The_Transsexual_Phenomenon-1.md
category: reference
title: The Transsexual Phenomenon
tags: science, encyclopedia
source_url: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/The_Transsexual_Phenomenon
date_saved: 2026-05-05T08:48:43.275697+00:00
instance: kb-cron
parent: the-transsexual-phenomenon-20260505-0
summary:
Table 1: Harry Benjamin's Sex Orientation Scale (sometimes abbreviated to S.O.S). Benjamin also notes how homosexuality is fundamentally different from both transvestism and transsexualism. In the closing of the section, he essentializes the difference to this: "The transvestite has a social problem. The transsexual has a gender problem. The homosexual has a sex[uality] problem." After introducing the S.O.S scale, Benjamin goes into greater detail about each of these "types". The "pseudo-transvestite", a Type 1 on the S.O.S, does not dress as the opposite sex, but derives great enjoyment from transvestitic fantasy. In contrast, the true transvestite's central "deviation" is cross-dressing, with a strong emotional and sexual urge to do so. The transvestite can be fetishistic (Type 2) or "latent and basically transsexual", (Type 3) where the transvestitism evolves into transsexualism. According to Benjamin, there is no one "so constantly unhappy (before sex change) as the transsexual." He documents that transsexual patients perform self-mutilation in order to more closely align their "genital sex" to their psychological one. In this discussion of genital sex, Benjamin also looks at the sexual activity of the transsexual. Sex can offer an outlet to express their femininity within a fetish, or simply to pass as a


id: the-transsexual-phenomenon-20260505-2
file: data/en.wikipedia.org/wiki/The_Transsexual_Phenomenon-2.md
category: reference
title: The Transsexual Phenomenon
tags: science, encyclopedia
source_url: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/The_Transsexual_Phenomenon
date_saved: 2026-05-05T08:48:43.275697+00:00
instance: kb-cron
parent: the-transsexual-phenomenon-20260505-0
summary:
Based on a physician’s certificate, the Hamburg police department issues a card to the transvestites, not giving them permission to “dress,” but merely stating that this person is known to the department as a transvestite. That is all, but it is enough to absolve the particular person from any suspicion of “criminal intent” in “dressing” and therefore from arrest. Finally, Benjamin presents a single chapter considering "female transsexuals", trans men, of which he reports a 1:6 ratio with "male transsexuals". He connects this disparity to an observed lesser frequency of female homosexual behavior as well, but concedes that the symptomatology between male and female transsexuals is nearly identical, though he describes that female transsexuals wish for "typically masculine occupations… but often they have to be practical and settle for office work." He describes androgen injection as a useful medication to suppress menstrual periods, as well as total hysterectomy, and double mastectomy when desired. The Transsexual Phenomenon concludes with four appendices. The first of which, written by Benjamin, presents a set of concluding remarks. He maintains that the etiology of transsexualism remains obscure, but points to neurology and psychology as disciplines that may provide answers. He predicts that sex reassignment surgery


id: the-transsexual-phenomenon-20260505-3
file: data/en.wikipedia.org/wiki/The_Transsexual_Phenomenon-3.md
category: reference
title: The Transsexual Phenomenon
tags: science, encyclopedia
source_url: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/The_Transsexual_Phenomenon
date_saved: 2026-05-05T08:48:43.275697+00:00
instance: kb-cron
parent: the-transsexual-phenomenon-20260505-0
summary:
When the first clinics were constituted, Benjamin’s book was the standard reference. And when the first transsexuals were evaluated for their suitability for surgery, their behavior matched up gratifyingly with Benjamin’s criteria. The researchers produced papers which reported on this, and which were used as bases for funding. It took a surprisingly long time--several years--for the researchers to realize that the reason the candidates’ behavioral profiles matched Benjamin’s so well was that the candidates, too, had read Benjamin’s book, which was passed from hand to hand within the transsexual community, and they were only too happy to provide the behavior that led to acceptance for surgery. In this manner, trans historians have argued that transsexuals at early gender clinics expressed Benjamin's criteria of "being in the wrong body" because they, too, had all read The Transsexual Phenomenon—and knew embodying Benjamin's descriptions was the path to the surgical affirmation of their gender identity. Benjamin has also been heavily criticized for his endorsements of heteronormativity and cisnormativity throughout the text, his reliance on notions of "passing", his construction of gender success, and his criteria for "male transsexuals" who would make "suitable" women. Other contemporary critiques of Benjamin also include Jillian St. Jacques,


id: transsexualism-and-sex-reassignment-20260505-0
file: data/en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Transsexualism_and_Sex_Reassignment-0.md
category: reference
title: Transsexualism and Sex Reassignment
tags: science, encyclopedia
source_url: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Transsexualism_and_Sex_Reassignment
date_saved: 2026-05-05T08:48:44.442140+00:00
instance: kb-cron
parent: transsexualism-and-sex-reassignment-20260505-0
summary:
Transsexualism and Sex Reassignment is a book on gender dysphoria which was edited by sexologists Richard Green and John Money and was published by Johns Hopkins University Press in 1969. It was the first medical textbook to be published on transgender people. The book contained a chapter on hormone replacement therapy written by Christian Hamburger and included an appendix with additional treatment suggestions and guidelines by Harry Benjamin. == References ==


id: trick-or-treatment-20260505-0
file: data/en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Trick_or_Treatment-0.md
category: reference
title: Trick or Treatment?
tags: science, encyclopedia
source_url: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Trick_or_Treatment?
date_saved: 2026-05-05T08:48:45.614970+00:00
instance: kb-cron
parent: trick-or-treatment-20260505-0
summary:
Trick or Treatment? Alternative Medicine on Trial (North American title: Trick or Treatment: The Undeniable Facts about Alternative Medicine) is a 2008 book by Simon Singh and Edzard Ernst. The book evaluates the scientific evidence for alternative medicines such as acupuncture, homeopathy, herbal medicine, and chiropractic, and briefly covers 36 other treatments. It finds that the scientific evidence for these alternative treatments is generally lacking. The authors concluded that homeopathy is merely a placebo. Although Trick or Treatment presents evidence that acupuncture, chiropractic and herbal remedies have limited efficacy for certain ailments, the authors conclude that the dangers of these treatments outweigh any potential benefits. Such potential risks outlined by the authors are contamination or unexpected interactions between components in the case of herbal medicine, risk of infection in the case of acupuncture and the potential for chiropractic manipulation of the neck to cause delayed stroke. The book, dedicated in an ironic fashion to Prince Charles, is critical of his advocacy of alternative medicine and the actions of his now-defunct The Prince's Foundation for Integrated Health. == Contents == The book contains six chapters: How do you determine the truth? This chapter describes the methods and history of clinical trials,


id: trick-or-treatment-20260505-1
file: data/en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Trick_or_Treatment-1.md
category: reference
title: Trick or Treatment?
tags: science, encyclopedia
source_url: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Trick_or_Treatment?
date_saved: 2026-05-05T08:48:45.614970+00:00
instance: kb-cron
parent: trick-or-treatment-20260505-0
summary:
== Reception == In 2008 and 2009, Trick or Treatment received mostly favorable reviews for its clear and thorough writing although several reviewers were critical that the book lacked acknowledgement of problems present in conventional medicine. Olivia Laing, writing for The Guardian, said "Singh and Ernst are scientists and their mainly dismissive conclusions are based on extensive, though bizarrely unfootnoted, research. In tones of quiet fury, they demolish the claims of acupuncture, chiropractic therapy, . . . and homeopathy." Laing criticized the book for a lack of "acknowledgement of the problems of funding adequate trials" and "discussion of the equivalent risks and inadequacies of conventional medicine" such as the side effects of pharmaceutical drugs. In a review for Nature, Toby Murcott described the book as "thoroughly researched and clearly written", where the authors, in discussing the available randomized clinical trials for each of four treatments, "make repeated claims that they provide the truth, and have even included this word in the title of every chapter. The balance of evidence from randomized controlled trials supports their arguments, but the authors are not tendering a disprovable hypothesis." Murcott expressed concern that the authors' sense of certainty "mirrors that of the proponents of


id: users-guides-to-the-medical-literature-20260505-0
file: data/en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Users'_Guides_to_the_Medical_Literature-0.md
category: reference
title: Users' Guides to the Medical Literature
tags: science, encyclopedia
source_url: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Users'_Guides_to_the_Medical_Literature
date_saved: 2026-05-05T08:48:46.778342+00:00
instance: kb-cron
parent: users-guides-to-the-medical-literature-20260505-0
summary:
The Users' Guides to the Medical Literature is a series of articles originally published in the Journal of the American Medical Association, later rewritten and compiled in a textbook, now in its third edition. The guides provide practical, clinician-friendly advice on all aspects of evidence-based medicine. == As articles == During the late 1970s, a group of clinical epidemiologists at McMaster University including David Sackett prepared a series of articles to assist clinicians interpreting clinical research. These articles, introducing the term "critical appraisal", appeared in the Canadian Medical Association Journal beginning in 1981. In 1990, Gordon Guyatt introduced the term "evidence-based medicine" to stress the role of rigorous, systematic evidence from clinical research in conjunction with patients’ values and preferences in clinical decision-making. A group of academic physicians subsequently formed the international Evidence-based Medicine Working Group and published a 1992 article announcing the "new paradigm" of evidence-based medicine. The Evidence-based Medicine Working Group decided to build on the popular series in the Canadian Medical Association Journal by creating a more practical approach to applying the medical literature to clinical practice. Championed by Drummond Rennie, an editor of the Journal of the American Medical Association, the result was the Users' Guides.


id: vitamin-c-and-the-common-cold-book-20260505-0
file: data/en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Vitamin_C_and_the_Common_Cold_(book)-0.md
category: reference
title: Vitamin C and the Common Cold (book)
tags: science, encyclopedia
source_url: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Vitamin_C_and_the_Common_Cold_(book)
date_saved: 2026-05-05T08:48:47.915250+00:00
instance: kb-cron
parent: vitamin-c-and-the-common-cold-book-20260505-0
summary:
Vitamin C and the Common Cold is a popular book by Linus Pauling, first published in 1970, on vitamin C, its interactions with common cold and the role of vitamin C megadosage in human health. The book promoted the idea that taking large amounts of vitamin C could reduce the duration and severity of the common cold. A Nobel Prize-winning chemist and activist, Pauling promoted a view of vitamin C that is strongly at odds with most of the scientific community, which found little evidence for the alleged health benefits of greatly increased vitamin C intake. The book went through multiple editions, and a revised version that discussed the flu and other diseases, retitled Vitamin C, the Common Cold & the Flu, came out in 1976. The book characterizes the inability of humans and some other animals to produce vitamin C (ascorbic acid) in terms of evolution and Pauling's concept of "molecular disease" (first articulated in his 1949 study, "Sickle Cell Anemia, a Molecular Disease"). Pauling argues that the loss of vitamin C synthesis first arose as a molecular disease, because of a genetic mutation that resulted in the loss of the biochemical capacity to make the vitamin, but because


id: who-blue-books-20260505-0
file: data/en.wikipedia.org/wiki/WHO_Blue_Books-0.md
category: reference
title: WHO Blue Books
tags: science, encyclopedia
source_url: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/WHO_Blue_Books
date_saved: 2026-05-05T08:48:49.101051+00:00
instance: kb-cron
parent: who-blue-books-20260505-0
summary:
The WHO Classification of Tumours, more commonly known as the WHO Blue Books, is a series of books that classify tumours. They are compiled by expert consensus and published by the World Health Organization's (WHO) International Agency for Research on Cancer (IARC). They appear in print and online in a series of 15 books, each of which focuses on a major tumour group and defines the cause, mechanism, signs and symptoms, basic structure, diagnosis, epidemiology and outcomes of up to 300 types of tumours. The project was started by the WHO in 1956 and the first series of books was published between 1967 and 1981, as the International Histological Classification of Tumors series. A fifth series was released in 2019. Terms included in the books appear in the international classification of diseases for tumours. The classifications are regularly updated by an editorial board composed mostly of practicing pathologists. The method of classifying tumours in the Blue Books was discussed in an accompanying article in the International Journal of Cancer in June 2020, titled "WHO Classification of Tumours: How should tumors be classified? Expert consensus, systematic reviews or both?" == The series == The WHO Classification of Tumours series, more commonly


id: who-blue-books-20260505-1
file: data/en.wikipedia.org/wiki/WHO_Blue_Books-1.md
category: reference
title: WHO Blue Books
tags: science, encyclopedia
source_url: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/WHO_Blue_Books
date_saved: 2026-05-05T08:48:49.101051+00:00
instance: kb-cron
parent: who-blue-books-20260505-0
summary:
Digestive System Tumours. Vol. 1 (5th ed.). Lyon (France): International Agency for Research on Cancer. 2019. ISBN 978-92-832-4499-8. Breast Tumours. Vol. 2 (5th ed.). Lyon (France): International Agency for Research on Cancer. 2019. ISBN 978-92-832-4500-1. Soft Tissue and Bone Tumours. Vol. 3 (5th ed.). Lyon (France): International Agency for Research on Cancer. 2020. ISBN 978-92-832-4502-5. Female Genital Tumours. Vol. 4 (5th ed.). Lyon (France): International Agency for Research on Cancer. 2020. ISBN 978-92-832-4504-9. Thoracic Tumours. Vol. 5 (5th ed.). Lyon (France): International Agency for Research on Cancer. 2021. ISBN 978-92-832-4506-3. Central Nervous System Tumours. Vol. 6 (5th ed.). Lyon (France): International Agency for Research on Cancer. 2021. ISBN 978-92-832-4508-7. Paediatric Tumours. Vol. 7 (5th ed.). Lyon (France): International Agency for Research on Cancer. 2023. ISBN 978-92-832-4510-0. Urinary and Male Genital Tumours. Vol. 8 (5th ed.). Lyon (France): International Agency for Research on Cancer. 2022. ISBN 978-92-832-4512-4. Head and Neck Tumours. Vol. 9 (5th ed.). Lyon (France): International Agency for Research on Cancer. 2024. ISBN 978-92-832-4514-8. == Consensus based versus evidence based approach == The method of classifying tumours in the Blue Books was discussed in an accompanying article in the International Journal of Cancer in June 2020, titled "WHO Classification


id: the-woman-who-knew-too-much-20260505-0
file: data/en.wikipedia.org/wiki/The_Woman_Who_Knew_Too_Much-0.md
category: reference
title: The Woman Who Knew Too Much
tags: science, encyclopedia
source_url: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/The_Woman_Who_Knew_Too_Much
date_saved: 2026-05-05T08:48:50.232380+00:00
instance: kb-cron
parent: the-woman-who-knew-too-much-20260505-0
summary:
The Woman Who Knew Too Much is a book about Alice Stewart, authored by Gayle Greene, and published by University of Michigan Press in 1999. The foreword is written by Helen Caldicott. == References ==


id: adaptive-coloration-in-animals-20260505-0
file: data/en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Adaptive_Coloration_in_Animals-0.md
category: reference
title: Adaptive Coloration in Animals
tags: science, encyclopedia
source_url: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Adaptive_Coloration_in_Animals
date_saved: 2026-05-05T08:48:51.760603+00:00
instance: kb-cron
parent: adaptive-coloration-in-animals-20260505-0
summary:
Adaptive Coloration in Animals is a 500-page textbook about camouflage, warning coloration and mimicry by the Cambridge zoologist Hugh Cott, first published during the Second World War in 1940; the book sold widely and made him famous. The book's general method is to present a wide range of examples from across the animal kingdom of each type of coloration, including marine invertebrates and fishes as well as terrestrial insects, amphibians, reptiles, birds and mammals. The examples are supported by many of Cott's own drawings, diagrams, and photographs. This essentially descriptive natural history treatment is supplemented with accounts of experiments by Cott and others. The book had few precedents, but to some extent follows (and criticises) Abbott Handerson Thayer's 1909 Concealing-Coloration in the Animal Kingdom. The book is divided into three parts: concealment, advertisement, and disguise. Part 1, concealment, covers the methods of camouflage, which are colour resemblance, countershading, disruptive coloration, and shadow elimination. The effectiveness of these, arguments for and against them, and experimental evidence, are described. Part 2, advertisement, covers the methods of becoming conspicuous, especially for warning displays in aposematic animals. Examples are chosen from mammals, insects, reptiles and marine animals, and empirical evidence from feeding experiments with


id: adaptive-coloration-in-animals-20260505-1
file: data/en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Adaptive_Coloration_in_Animals-1.md
category: reference
title: Adaptive Coloration in Animals
tags: science, encyclopedia
source_url: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Adaptive_Coloration_in_Animals
date_saved: 2026-05-05T08:48:51.760603+00:00
instance: kb-cron
parent: adaptive-coloration-in-animals-20260505-0
summary:
Cott argues with diagrams, drawings, photographs and examples that animals are often extremely effectively disruptively patterned. He analyses the component effects of disruption, including "differential blending" and "maximum disruptive contrast". Cott's figure 7 is a set of nine drawings, arranged as a 3x3 table. On the left is an animal's outline in grey tone against a differently coloured background. In the centre, the same animals are now disruptively patterned against the same plain backgrounds. On the right, the disruptively patterned animals are shown against realistic broken backgrounds containing vegetation or rocks. Cott explains The simplified diagrams in Fig. 7 illustrate the value and effectiveness of maximum disruptive contrasts better than any verbal description... On looking at these drawings from a little distance, it will be seen that the conspicuous patches operate most efficiently in distracting attention from the form of the animals wearing them. By sheer force of their brightness, or blackness, or contrasts, they dominate the picture presented to the eye, apparently destroying their form... Cott goes on to explain that the right-hand drawing shows the effect "of broken surroundings in further blending and confusing the picture", observing that this is the closest to what is seen in nature.


id: adaptive-coloration-in-animals-20260505-2
file: data/en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Adaptive_Coloration_in_Animals-2.md
category: reference
title: Adaptive Coloration in Animals
tags: science, encyclopedia
source_url: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Adaptive_Coloration_in_Animals
date_saved: 2026-05-05T08:48:51.760603+00:00
instance: kb-cron
parent: adaptive-coloration-in-animals-20260505-0
summary:
Animals keep still, sway in the wind, or play dead to assist their camouflage. Poulton's examples of twig-like Geometridae caterpillars are praised. There are fine photographs of leaf insects, and Cott's admired drawing of a poor-me-one or potoo, Nyctibius griseus, sitting on its nest mimicking a broken branch. Cott explains, in a section on "Special resemblances in relation to the attitude of rest" This wonderful bird ... habitually selects the top of an upright stump as a receptacle for its egg, which usually occupies a small hollow just, and only just, large enough to contain it.... the stump selected had thrown up a new leader just below the point of fracture;... the bird sat facing this in such a way that when viewed from behind they came into line and blended with the grey stem. Chapter 3. Adventitious Concealing Coloration. Cott begins by citing Shakespeare's Macbeth with "until/ Great Birnamwood to the Dunsinane hill/ Shall come against him" to introduce his chapter on the use of materials as camouflage. Animals from crabs to caterpillars are described. Conspicuous localized characters Chapter 4. Deflective marks. Cott describes markings that help to deflect attack, such as the eyespots of butterfly wings and the


id: adaptive-coloration-in-animals-20260505-3
file: data/en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Adaptive_Coloration_in_Animals-3.md
category: reference
title: Adaptive Coloration in Animals
tags: science, encyclopedia
source_url: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Adaptive_Coloration_in_Animals
date_saved: 2026-05-05T08:48:51.760603+00:00
instance: kb-cron
parent: adaptive-coloration-in-animals-20260505-0
summary:
In this Neodarwinian epic Dr. Cott stamps himself as a true disciple of the master evolutionist. Indeed, he rivals Darwin in the thorough, objective and penetrating analysis of a major biological problem. An immense body of facts and interpretation, much of it original, has been judiciously considered and brought to bear on the question of the biological significance of coloration. Hubbs notes that Cott is seeming concerned about the scarcity of experimental data for the survival value of camouflage, and accordingly relies on Sumner and Isely's "clear-cut results", but at once continues that Cott relies on "the general lore of natural history". Hubbs also remarks on the "resurgence to Darwinian views", referring to the scepticism about the power of natural selection among both geneticists of the time and to the Lamarckist views of Trofim Lysenko. Hubbs observes that Cott is both an artist and a naturalist as well as a scientist: "In section after section, rivaling one another in fascination, this master of art and of natural history unfolds the biological significance of adaptive coloration in animals." And Cott's emphasis on disruptive patterning and (following Thayer) countershading clearly affected the reviewer: "Particularly impressive is the author's treatment of "coincident disruptive


id: adaptive-coloration-in-animals-20260505-4
file: data/en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Adaptive_Coloration_in_Animals-4.md
category: reference
title: Adaptive Coloration in Animals
tags: science, encyclopedia
source_url: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Adaptive_Coloration_in_Animals
date_saved: 2026-05-05T08:48:51.760603+00:00
instance: kb-cron
parent: adaptive-coloration-in-animals-20260505-0
summary:
1940, Methuen, Frome and London (printed by Butler and Tanner). Foreword by Julian Huxley 1940, Oxford University Press, New York 1941, Oxford University Press, New York 1957, Methuen, London (reprinted with minor corrections) 1966, Methuen, London (reprinted with minor corrections) == See also == Concealing-Coloration in the Animal Kingdom (G. H. Thayer, 1909) The Colours of Animals (E. B. Poulton, 1890) Animal Coloration (F. E. Beddard, 1892) == References == === Primary === === Secondary === == Bibliography == Behrens, Roy R. (2009). Camoupedia: A Compendium of Research on Art, Architecture and Camouflage. Bobolink Books. ISBN 978-0-9713244-6-6. Cott, Hugh B. (1940). Adaptive Coloration in Animals. Methuen. Forbes, Peter (2009). Dazzled and Deceived: Mimicry and Camouflage. Yale. Hubbs, Carl L. (1942). "Book Review:Adaptive Coloration in Animals: Hugh B. Cott". American Naturalist. 76 (764): 318–321. doi:10.1086/281046. Retrieved 2012-11-16.{{cite journal}}: CS1 maint: deprecated archival service (link) Poulton, Edward B. (August 1940). "Book Review:Adaptive Coloration in Animals". Nature. 146 (3692): 144–145. doi:10.1038/146144a0. S2CID 4114423. Poulton, Edward B. (1890). The Colours of Animals. London: Int. Sci. Ser. LXVIII. == External links == Ohio State University: The Camouflage Project: Hugh Cott Smithsonian: A Painter of Angels Became the Father of Camouflage by Richard Meryman, April 1999


id: animal-book-20260505-0
file: data/en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Animal_(book)-0.md
category: reference
title: Animal (book)
tags: science, encyclopedia
source_url: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Animal_(book)
date_saved: 2026-05-05T08:48:52.908291+00:00
instance: kb-cron
parent: animal-book-20260505-0
summary:
Animal is a non-fiction coffee table book edited by David Burnie, who was the main-editor, and several co-authors. The full title of the book is: Animal: The Definitive Visual Guide to The World's WildLife. The 624-page book was published by Dorling Kindersley in 2001. The book is printed in full gloss paper and has numerous, full-color pictures. The book is divided into several separate sections, each covering either a specific topic or a class of animals such as mammals or reptiles. The introduction deals with how animals are classified. It also touches on animal behaviour and life cycles. Later content delves into the habitats of animals and how they live in them, Mammals, Birds, Reptiles, Amphibians, Fish, and Invertebrates. == References ==


id: animal-coloration-book-20260505-0
file: data/en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Animal_Coloration_(book)-0.md
category: reference
title: Animal Coloration (book)
tags: science, encyclopedia
source_url: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Animal_Coloration_(book)
date_saved: 2026-05-05T08:48:54.089679+00:00
instance: kb-cron
parent: animal-coloration-book-20260505-0
summary:
Animal Coloration, or in full Animal Coloration: An Account of the Principal Facts and Theories Relating to the Colours and Markings of Animals, is a book by the English zoologist Frank Evers Beddard, published by Swan Sonnenschein in 1892. It formed part of the ongoing debate amongst zoologists about the relevance of Charles Darwin's theory of natural selection to the observed appearance, structure, and behaviour of animals, and vice versa. Beddard states in the book that it contains little that is new, intending instead to give a clear overview of the subject. The main topics covered are camouflage, then called 'protective coloration'; mimicry; and sexual selection. Arguments for and against these aspects of animal coloration are intensively discussed in the book. The book was reviewed in 1892 by the major journals including The Auk, Nature, and Science. The scientist reviewers Joel Asaph Allen, Edward Bagnall Poulton and Robert Wilson Shufeldt took up different positions on the book and accordingly praised or criticized Beddard's work. Modern evaluation of the book is from a variety of perspectives, including the history of Darwinism, the history of the Thayer debate on the purpose of camouflage, the mechanisms of camouflage, sexual selection, and mimicry. Beddard


id: animal-coloration-book-20260505-1
file: data/en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Animal_Coloration_(book)-1.md
category: reference
title: Animal Coloration (book)
tags: science, encyclopedia
source_url: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Animal_Coloration_(book)
date_saved: 2026-05-05T08:48:54.089679+00:00
instance: kb-cron
parent: animal-coloration-book-20260505-0
summary:
Comparative Rarity of Green tree-frequenting Animals an Argument in favour of SelectionIt is not a little surprising to find how few green animals there are ... it is precisely because the sandy colour of desert animals and the transparency of pelagic organisms is so universal, that some general environmental cause appears to be necessary for the explanation of the facts; on the other hand, the picking and choosing among arboreal animals savours distinctly of natural selection. He observes that "Every naturalist traveller appears to have some instance to relate of how he was taken in by a protectively-coloured insect. These stories are told with a curiously exaggerated delight at the deception...", giving as example how Professor Drummond in his book Tropical Africa thought a mantid was a wisp of hay. He picks up on the casually mentioned fact that Drummond's African companion was not deceived, writing that we should not judge camouflage "from the human standpoint". On the other hand, Beddard writes that people who had only seen the giraffe, zebra, and jaguar in the zoo would think them "among the most conspicuously coloured of the Mammalia", but that seen "in their native countries" they are "most difficult to detect".


id: animal-coloration-book-20260505-2
file: data/en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Animal_Coloration_(book)-2.md
category: reference
title: Animal Coloration (book)
tags: science, encyclopedia
source_url: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Animal_Coloration_(book)
date_saved: 2026-05-05T08:48:54.089679+00:00
instance: kb-cron
parent: animal-coloration-book-20260505-0
summary:
==== The Auk ==== The American zoologist and ornithologist Joel Asaph Allen reviewed Animal Coloration in The Auk in 1893. Allen notes Beddard's remark that the book contains hardly anything novel, so that it is mainly a review of previous theories, but welcomes it as a review of the state of knowledge together with Beddard's critical commentary. Allen notes that Beddard could have gone further in criticising Weismann and Poulton on colour changes, but is "glad to see [that Beddard] is willing to grant that the influence of an animal's surroundings may exercise a direct influence upon its coloration without the intervention of the agency of 'natural selection.'" Allen praises Beddard's "commendable conservatism" in his discussion of camouflage, which he compares to the "credulous spirit" of other authors. Reviewing the chapter on warning coloration, Allen remarks that the great horned owl is known to prey on the skunk, showing that even such a disagreeably pungent animal can be subject to predation. On mimicry, Allen is critical of Bates's theory, arguing that edible mimics (such as flies) are often not protected by resembling distasteful models (such as wasps). Allen notes that Beddard deals with many special cases "as of .. spiders


id: animal-coloration-book-20260505-3
file: data/en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Animal_Coloration_(book)-3.md
category: reference
title: Animal Coloration (book)
tags: science, encyclopedia
source_url: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Animal_Coloration_(book)
date_saved: 2026-05-05T08:48:54.089679+00:00
instance: kb-cron
parent: animal-coloration-book-20260505-0
summary:
==== Sexual selection ==== The ornithologist Geoffrey Edward Hill, writing in 2002, notes that both Poulton and Beddard discuss sexual selection, and both agreed that "sexual selection by female choice is a likely explanation for the bright coloration of at least some species of birds". In contrast, Hill observes, Cott's detailed 1940 book does not mention it at all; like other zoologists including Wallace and Huxley, Cott preferred explanations "firmly rooted in natural selection". ==== Mimicry ==== The American evolutionary zoologists Jane Van Zandt Brower and Lincoln Pierson Brower followed up the experiments described in the book (pp. 153–159). Beddard, they write, observed the results of feeding the drone fly Eristalis tenax, a harmless but intimidating Batesian mimic of honeybees, to various predators. A chameleon, a green lizard, and a sand skink eagerly consumed the flies, whereas a thrush and a great spotted woodpecker did not. However, they — like Cott before them, they note — were unable to replicate Beddard's claim that toads would eat insects of any kind, including stinging bees and wasps. They describe their own experimental investigations of bees and their drone fly mimics, like Beddard using toads as the predators, concluding that the Batesian mimicry


id: animals-are-like-that-20260505-0
file: data/en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Animals_Are_Like_That-0.md
category: reference
title: Animals Are Like That
tags: science, encyclopedia
source_url: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Animals_Are_Like_That
date_saved: 2026-05-05T08:48:55.293246+00:00
instance: kb-cron
parent: animals-are-like-that-20260505-0
summary:
Animals Are Like That! (1939) was Frank Buck's sixth book, which continued his stories of capturing exotic animals. Animals Are Like That! has entered the public domain in the United States and the full text is available online at HathiTrust. If you should find yourself with a monkey or ape on your hands and no knowledge of what to do with it, Buck told co-author Carol Weld, just treat it like a child. And the elephant, like a man in the tropics, needs a sheltered siesta in mid-afternoon because he is susceptible to sunstroke. Monkeys pick up human ways and copy them. But you should never, never trust a tiger, any more than you should trust a crocodile. == Critical reception == "Buck describes the animals in their native haunts, the capture of some of them, their characteristics, and their reactions in captivity...filled with adventure and odd bits of animal lore." Booklist 36:170 Jan 1, 1940 "The vast legion of Frank Buck's followers will find Animals Are Like That thoroughly enjoyable and instructive reading. When the author doesn't know the answer to some more intangible animal trait he frankly admits his deficiency; but this happens infrequently. Mr. Buck has selected


id: awful-splendour-20260505-0
file: data/en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Awful_Splendour-0.md
category: reference
title: Awful Splendour
tags: science, encyclopedia
source_url: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Awful_Splendour
date_saved: 2026-05-05T08:48:56.469844+00:00
instance: kb-cron
parent: awful-splendour-20260505-0
summary:
Awful Splendour: A Fire History of Canada is a 2007 non-fiction book by American environmental historian Stephen J. Pyne. It examines the natural, social and political history of forest fires in Canada. == Background == Author Pyne has a long relationship with forest fires; the Arizona State University professor was a wildland firefighter on the North Rim of the Grand Canyon for fifteen years, as well as a member of the United Nations Wildfire Advisory Group. The book is part of a series on forest fires by Pyne. In his Circle of Fire series, he has covered forest fires in the U.S., Australia and on a global scale. The Canadian Forest Service encouraged Pyne to tackle the topic of Canadian forest fires. The phrase "awful splendour" was taken from a quote from early Canadian naturalist Henry Youle Hind, referring to the destructive beauty of prairie fires. == Synopsis == The book is divided into three sections, titled "Torch", "Axe", and "Engine", roughly corresponding to the pre-contact, exploration, and industrial periods of Canadian history. In its frequent mentions of American experiences with fire, the book engages in some comparative history. Pyne defines several geographical "rings" of fire in Canada, including the


id: beaverland-20260505-0
file: data/en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Beaverland-0.md
category: reference
title: Beaverland
tags: science, encyclopedia
source_url: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Beaverland
date_saved: 2026-05-05T08:48:57.676562+00:00
instance: kb-cron
parent: beaverland-20260505-0
summary:
Beaverland: How One Weird Rodent Made America is a non-fiction book written by Leila Philip published on December 6, 2022 by Twelve Books. == Overview == Beaverland is a non-fiction book describing the behavior, history, and cultural significance of the North American beaver. Philip discusses the relationship between beavers and humans throughout history with a focus on Indigenous cultures and the American westward expansion. The title, Beaverland, is an allusion to Philip's argument that "Before 1600, all of the continent from west to east, save a few desert sections, had stretched out as one great Beaverland". == Reception == Beaverland received positive reviews from critics. Kate Bellody reviewed the book for Library Journal and positively described the level of detail it gave to beaver activity, along with praising Philip for weaving discussion of "Indigenous wisdom" throughout the book. Richard Adams Carey, writing in The Wall Street Journal, described Beaverland as being "in parts a memoir, a local and national history, and a sort of quest narrative." Kirkus Reviews noted the large amount of field research conducted by Philip while writing the book, while Publishers Weekly praised Philip's prose and described the book as a "triumph of popular nature writing." Beaverland


id: biologia-centrali-americana-20260505-0
file: data/en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Biologia_Centrali-Americana-0.md
category: reference
title: Biologia Centrali-Americana
tags: science, encyclopedia
source_url: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Biologia_Centrali-Americana
date_saved: 2026-05-05T08:48:58.819243+00:00
instance: kb-cron
parent: biologia-centrali-americana-20260505-0
summary:
The Biologia Centrali-Americana is an encyclopedia of the natural history of Mexico and Central America, privately issued in 215 parts from 1879 to 1915 by the editors Frederick DuCane Godman and Osbert Salvin, of the British Museum (Natural History) in London. It was begun by Alfred Maudslay publishing his first long-form description of the Archaeology at Chichen Itza (London: R.H. Porter and Dulau, 1889–1902). This work is still fundamental for the study of Neotropical plants and animals, because it contains almost all that was known of the biodiversity of Mexico and Central America at the time of its publication. Leading scientists of the day were the authors of the volumes. The whole series has 63 volumes with 1677 lithograph plates (more than 900 of which are in color) depicting 18,587 subjects. In total, 50,263 species are treated, of which 19,263 are described as new. Archaeology was added to the already monumental project because of new discoveries in the region. Since the Biologia Centrali-Americana was published, several volumes have been reprinted, but on the whole the series is rare in libraries and mostly absent from Latin American research institutions. The original volumes were printed on acid paper and have suffered from


id: cat-sense-20260505-0
file: data/en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Cat_Sense-0.md
category: reference
title: Cat Sense
tags: science, encyclopedia
source_url: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Cat_Sense
date_saved: 2026-05-05T08:48:59.985303+00:00
instance: kb-cron
parent: cat-sense-20260505-0
summary:
Cat Sense is a 2013 non-fiction book written by John Bradshaw. It was published on August 15, 2013, and was chosen by The New York Times as one of its best-sellers in 2013. It was also publicly well received and praised for its humorist approach to its subject: cat psychology. Major newspapers and radios gave good reviews. NPR, for example, included it as an NPR Staff Pick on their "Guide to 2013's Great Reads." == References ==


id: chasing-kangaroos-20260505-0
file: data/en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Chasing_Kangaroos-0.md
category: reference
title: Chasing Kangaroos
tags: science, encyclopedia
source_url: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Chasing_Kangaroos
date_saved: 2026-05-05T08:49:01.154436+00:00
instance: kb-cron
parent: chasing-kangaroos-20260505-0
summary:
Chasing Kangaroos: A Continent, a Scientist, and a Search for the World's Most Extraordinary Creature, is a 2007 book (ISBN 978-0802118523) by Professor Tim Flannery. The book draws on three decades of travel, research, and field work to explore Australia's kangaroos. Seventy species make up the kangaroo family, which includes wallabies and rat-kangaroos. Professor Tim Flannery is also author of The Weather Makers, which received much critical acclaim. == See also == List of Australian environmental books == References ==


id: the-colours-of-animals-20260505-0
file: data/en.wikipedia.org/wiki/The_Colours_of_Animals-0.md
category: reference
title: The Colours of Animals
tags: science, encyclopedia
source_url: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/The_Colours_of_Animals
date_saved: 2026-05-05T08:49:02.340033+00:00
instance: kb-cron
parent: the-colours-of-animals-20260505-0
summary:
The Colours of Animals is a zoology book written in 1890 by Sir Edward Bagnall Poulton (1856–1943). It was the first substantial textbook to argue the case for Darwinian selection applying to all aspects of animal coloration. The book also pioneered the concept of frequency-dependent selection and introduced the term "aposematism". The book begins with a brief account of the physical causes of animal coloration. The second chapter gives an overview of the book, describing the various uses of colour in terms of the advantages it can bring through natural selection. The next seven chapters describe camouflage, both in predators and in prey. Methods of camouflage covered include background matching, resemblance to specific objects such as bird droppings, self-decoration with materials from the environment, and the seasonal colour change of arctic animals. Two chapters cover warning colours, including both Batesian mimicry, where the mimic is edible, and Müllerian mimicry, where distasteful species mimic each other. A chapter then looks at how animals combine multiple methods of defence, for instance in the puss moth. Two chapters examine coloration related to sexual selection. Finally Poulton summarizes the subject with a fold-out table including a set of Greek derived words that he invented,


id: the-colours-of-animals-20260505-1
file: data/en.wikipedia.org/wiki/The_Colours_of_Animals-1.md
category: reference
title: The Colours of Animals
tags: science, encyclopedia
source_url: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/The_Colours_of_Animals
date_saved: 2026-05-05T08:49:02.340033+00:00
instance: kb-cron
parent: the-colours-of-animals-20260505-0
summary:
The effects of natural selection in creating or destroying colour are discussed. Colour can be non-significant, e.g. directly useful for absorbing heat, Poulton argues, but "By far the most widespread use of colour is to assist an animal in escaping from its enemies or in capturing its prey; the former is Protective, the latter Aggressive [resemblance, i.e. camouflage]." The topics of mimicry, warning coloration, and sexual selection are introduced. Chapter 3 Protective Resemblances in Lepidoptera. Poulton distinguishes "special" from "general" resemblances, meaning mimicking a specific object "of no interest to its enemies", or just harmonising "with the general artistic effect of its surroundings", giving examples from moth caterpillars found in England such as the peppered moth and the brimstone moth. Chapter 4 Protective Resemblances in Lepidoptera (continued), Dimorphism, Etc. The privet hawkmoth caterpillar is used as an example of "general resemblance". Dimorphism, where caterpillars of a species are sometimes green, sometimes brown, is discussed. The delicacy of larvae is given as a reason for their "wonderful concealment": one touch from a predator "being practically fatal". The resemblance of Kallima and some moths to dead leaves is examined. Chapter 5 Protective Resemblances In Vertebrata, Etc. The camouflage of snakes, female birds


id: the-colours-of-animals-20260505-2
file: data/en.wikipedia.org/wiki/The_Colours_of_Animals-2.md
category: reference
title: The Colours of Animals
tags: science, encyclopedia
source_url: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/The_Colours_of_Animals
date_saved: 2026-05-05T08:49:02.340033+00:00
instance: kb-cron
parent: the-colours-of-animals-20260505-0
summary:
The co-discoverer of natural selection Alfred Russel Wallace, reviewing Poulton in Nature, was interested by Poulton's observations on thin films producing iridescence: "In some cases dried insects lose some of their metallic colours, but these reappear when the specimen is dipped in water." However, Wallace objected to Poulton's suggestion that arctic birds and mammals are white to reduce heat loss by radiation, for which he argued there was no evidence in favour, while a thicker "covering, such as actually occurs in all arctic animals" would reduce heat loss effectively, and could be observed to do so. Wallace was enthusiastic about Poulton's experimental work on how butterfly larvae vary their coloration according to the background, admiring "a number of ingenious experiments" in which Poulton illuminated the insects in light of one colour or another, causing reliable colour changes which could not be direct, like photography, but had to be mediated by the animal's nervous system: In some cases even the cocoons spun by the larvæ are modified by the surrounding colours; and still more curious changes are effected in the larva itself when ... the same species feeds on several plants having differently-coloured leaves. Even the presence of numerous dark twigs


id: the-colours-of-animals-20260505-3
file: data/en.wikipedia.org/wiki/The_Colours_of_Animals-3.md
category: reference
title: The Colours of Animals
tags: science, encyclopedia
source_url: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/The_Colours_of_Animals
date_saved: 2026-05-05T08:49:02.340033+00:00
instance: kb-cron
parent: the-colours-of-animals-20260505-0
summary:
The Neo-Lamarckian Edward Drinker Cope, reviewing the book for the American Naturalist, wrote that "Mr. Poulton supports his own theory of the direct physiological value of the uses of colour to animals by a large amount of experimental evidence brought together from many sources". Cope is attracted by "a detail of great interest" in a caterpillar's camouflage "by the semblance of a small hole to indicate piercing by insect larvae" (ichneumon flies, since they avoid caterpillars that are already parasitised), and is impressed by Poulton's observations of "perhaps the most perfect concealment attained by any butterfly" in the dead leaf butterfly Kallima, first described by Alfred Russel Wallace. While admiring of Poulton's detailed observations, Cope was critical of his support for Darwin, arguing that Poulton failed to explain how the variability that natural selection needs to work on actually arises. (The mechanisms of mutation and genetics were not to become adequately understood until the twentieth century rediscovery of Mendel's work.) Cope also objected to Poulton's critique of Lamarckism, where in a footnote he cites S.B.J. Skertchly as writing that "other butterflies noticed this immunity [and] copied it, to which Cope replies as that "even the American Neo-Lamarckians [like Cope] do


id: the-colours-of-animals-20260505-4
file: data/en.wikipedia.org/wiki/The_Colours_of_Animals-4.md
category: reference
title: The Colours of Animals
tags: science, encyclopedia
source_url: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/The_Colours_of_Animals
date_saved: 2026-05-05T08:49:02.340033+00:00
instance: kb-cron
parent: the-colours-of-animals-20260505-0
summary:
=== Modern view === Poulton was a staunch supporter of Darwin, through a period when there was no adequate theory of heredity and both natural selection and sexual selection had become unpopular among scientists, and was attacked for his support both in The Colours of Animals and outside it. And he is recognised as the first scientist to identify frequency-dependent selection, as described in this book. By 1919, the book was being described in Nature as a classic work. Poulton is paid homage by J.A. Allen and B.C. Clarke for his pioneering work on frequency-dependent selection "by predators acting on non-mimetic polymorphic prey (i.e. for apostatic selection), anticipating many of the points made by later workers. We draw attention to his remarkable insight." The Oxford Dictionary of National Biography comments that Poulton's book "concisely and simply explained the many forms of coloration in terms of natural selection; these forms he ingeniously summarized in a comparative table introducing terms which became the standard nomenclature." In her book The Ant and the Peacock: Altruism and Sexual Selection from Darwin to Today, the Darwinian philosopher and rationalist Helena Cronin writes that in The Colours of Animals, Poulton defended Darwin's theory of sexual selection,


id: concealing-coloration-in-the-animal-kingdom-20260505-0
file: data/en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Concealing-Coloration_in_the_Animal_Kingdom-0.md
category: reference
title: Concealing-Coloration in the Animal Kingdom
tags: science, encyclopedia
source_url: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Concealing-Coloration_in_the_Animal_Kingdom
date_saved: 2026-05-05T08:49:03.554381+00:00
instance: kb-cron
parent: concealing-coloration-in-the-animal-kingdom-20260505-0
summary:
Concealing-Coloration in the Animal Kingdom: An Exposition of the Laws of Disguise Through Color and Pattern; Being a Summary of Abbott H. Thayer's Discoveries is a book published ostensibly by Gerald H. Thayer in 1909, and revised in 1918, but in fact a collaboration with and completion of his father Abbott Handerson Thayer's major work. The book, illustrated artistically by Abbott Thayer, sets out the controversial thesis that all animal coloration has the evolutionary purpose of camouflage. Thayer rejected Charles Darwin's theory of sexual selection, arguing in words and paintings that even such conspicuous animal features as the peacock's tail or the brilliant pink of flamingoes or roseate spoonbills were effective as camouflage in the right light. The book introduced the concepts of disruptive coloration to break up an object's outlines, of masquerade, as when a butterfly mimics a leaf, and especially of countershading, where an animal's tones make it appear flat by concealing its self-shadowing. The book was criticised by big game hunter and politician Theodore Roosevelt for its central assertion that every aspect of animal coloration is effective as camouflage. Roosevelt's detailed reply attacked the biased choice of examples to suit Abbott Thayer's thesis and the book's reliance


id: concealing-coloration-in-the-animal-kingdom-20260505-1
file: data/en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Concealing-Coloration_in_the_Animal_Kingdom-1.md
category: reference
title: Concealing-Coloration in the Animal Kingdom
tags: science, encyclopedia
source_url: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Concealing-Coloration_in_the_Animal_Kingdom
date_saved: 2026-05-05T08:49:03.554381+00:00
instance: kb-cron
parent: concealing-coloration-in-the-animal-kingdom-20260505-0
summary:
Introduction by Abbott H. Thayer. An essay on the psychological and other basic principles of the subject. Outline of the book's scope. "The Law which underlies Protective Coloration" Definition of terms. Obliterative Shading First principles of the use of markings with obliterative shading Picture-patterns, with obliterative shading, on birds. American Woodcock, and Snipe Picture-patterns on obliteratively-shaded birds, continued. Terrestrial Goatsuckers Picture-patterns on counter-shaded birds. Forest Grouse, Owls, European Woodcock Picture-patterns on counter-shaded birds, continued. Grass-patterns, heather-patterns Picture-patterns on counter-shaded birds, continued. Scansorial (climbing) birds Picture-patterns on counter-shaded birds, continued. Shore-birds Picture-patterns on counter-shaded birds, continued. Reed-patterns, etc., of Bitterns Background-picturing on counter-shaded birds, continued. Marsh-birds. Wood Duck Background-picturing on counter-shaded birds, continued. Birds of the ocean Birds, etc. The inherent 'obliterative' power of markings. 'Ruptive' and 'Secant' patterns Birds, etc. Special functions of markings Birds. Masking of bill and feet for offensive purposes Birds, etc. The manifold obliterative power of iridescence Birds, etc. Appendages, and their part in 'obliteration' Birds: miscellany. "Mimicry" (vs 'obliteration') Birds, concluded Mammals Mammals, continued Mammals, concluded Fishes Reptiles and Amphibians Caterpillars A glance at Insects other than Lepidoptera Butterflies and Moths == Outline == Chapter 1 sets out the "long-ignored laws" of "protective coloration", an


id: concealing-coloration-in-the-animal-kingdom-20260505-2
file: data/en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Concealing-Coloration_in_the_Animal_Kingdom-2.md
category: reference
title: Concealing-Coloration in the Animal Kingdom
tags: science, encyclopedia
source_url: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Concealing-Coloration_in_the_Animal_Kingdom
date_saved: 2026-05-05T08:49:03.554381+00:00
instance: kb-cron
parent: concealing-coloration-in-the-animal-kingdom-20260505-0
summary:
The light stripes on the bill were repeated and continued by the light stripes on the sides of the head and neck, and together they imitated very closely the look of separate, bright reed-stems; while the dark stripes pictured reeds in shadow, or the shadowed interstices between the stems. Chapter 11 argues (in a way that was heavily criticised when the book appeared, see below) that water birds, some of them highly conspicuous like the jacana and notoriously the male wood duck, are colored for camouflage: "The beautifully contrasted black-and-white bars on the flanks of the Wood Duck (Aix sponsa) are ripple pictures, and as potent [as camouflage], in their place, as the most elaborate markings of land birds". Chapter 12 argues that the "pure white" of ocean birds such as gulls and terns equally functions as camouflage. Thayer admits that these often appear conspicuous, but argues that against varied backgrounds, white offers "the greatest average inconspicuousness against the ocean" (his italics) or against the bright sky when seen from below. Chapter 13 analyses "markings and patterns in detail, starting with a color plate that shows the effect of disruptive patterning, which Thayer calls "strong 'secant' and 'ruptive' patterns". Using


id: concealing-coloration-in-the-animal-kingdom-20260505-3
file: data/en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Concealing-Coloration_in_the_Animal_Kingdom-3.md
category: reference
title: Concealing-Coloration in the Animal Kingdom
tags: science, encyclopedia
source_url: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Concealing-Coloration_in_the_Animal_Kingdom
date_saved: 2026-05-05T08:49:03.554381+00:00
instance: kb-cron
parent: concealing-coloration-in-the-animal-kingdom-20260505-0
summary:
Several photographs using stuffed skins of skunks attempt to prove the point. The chapter goes on to claim that roseate spoonbills, flamingoes, and prongbuck are all obliteratively colored. The raccoon's head resembles "the end of a hollow stump or log", while its tail is said to be "distractive", the strong banding serving like an eyespot to divert the attention of a predator to the tail rather than the head while the animal dives down a hole. But Thayer is unable to resist arguing that when "quiet, their tail-bands act obliteratively". Chapter 23 looks at fish, admitting frankly that the authors "know next to nothing about fishes from the standpoint of systematic science", but saying that they have gathered a "trustworthy general estimate" of their "disguising coloration" from market stalls, museums and books. Many fish are countershaded. The bioluminescence of some deep sea fish and other animals is seen as a problem as it is not "obliterative"; the possibility of counterillumination camouflage is not considered. Chapter 24 considers the reptiles and amphibians. These are noted to be predominantly green, often with "ruptive" patterns. Plate 11 treats a "Copperhead snake on dead leaves", the caption explaining that "This is a bona-fide study


id: concealing-coloration-in-the-animal-kingdom-20260505-4
file: data/en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Concealing-Coloration_in_the_Animal_Kingdom-4.md
category: reference
title: Concealing-Coloration in the Animal Kingdom
tags: science, encyclopedia
source_url: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Concealing-Coloration_in_the_Animal_Kingdom
date_saved: 2026-05-05T08:49:03.554381+00:00
instance: kb-cron
parent: concealing-coloration-in-the-animal-kingdom-20260505-0
summary:
with the blue sky showing through the leaves in just sufficient quantity here and there to warrant the author-artists explaining that the wonderful blue hues of the peacock's neck are obliterative because they make it fade into the sky. This, Roosevelt writes, would be an extremely rare sight in nature. Worse, the female (the peahen) would, he argues, be conspicuous in those conditions. The Thayers have chosen a blue sky to argue that the peacock is camouflaged; but then they choose a white sky to allow the prongbuck's white rump to fade into that background. This, Roosevelt argues, is so dishonest that an engineer who constructed a report in that way would at once be dismissed, and the directors of a corporation who "tried to float shares on the strength of such a report" would be liable to "prosecution for fraud". Roosevelt had recently returned from his African safari, having seen, admired and shot large numbers of animals. He was scornful of Thayer's theories, which he described as "phantasmagoria", and the writer as "a well meaning and ill-balanced enthusiast". Thayer's suggestion that the white markings on the body of the harnessed bush buck are meant to resemble "flecks of water


id: concealing-coloration-in-the-animal-kingdom-20260505-5
file: data/en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Concealing-Coloration_in_the_Animal_Kingdom-5.md
category: reference
title: Concealing-Coloration in the Animal Kingdom
tags: science, encyclopedia
source_url: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Concealing-Coloration_in_the_Animal_Kingdom
date_saved: 2026-05-05T08:49:03.554381+00:00
instance: kb-cron
parent: concealing-coloration-in-the-animal-kingdom-20260505-0
summary:
Unfortunately certain of Thayer's explanations and illustrations misrepresent nature and are deceptive because they depend upon observations made under abnormal circumstances. Cott then gives the examples of the peacock in the woods with the blue sky behind the neck; the "flock of red Flamingoes matching a red sunset sky", and the roseate spoonbill "whose pink plumage matches a pink cloud scheme". He then lists the cases of the white flamingo, the skunk and the white rump of the prongbuck, quoting Roosevelt ("The raven's coloration is of course concealing if it is put into a coal scuttle"), notes "How unreasonable are extreme views like that adopted by Thayer", and admits that criticisms of "certain of Thayer's conclusions" are justified, before returning to the attack on those critics, robustly defending the "theory of protective and aggressive resemblance". More favourably, Cott explicitly recognises Thayer's work on countershading, though granting Edward Bagnall Poulton's partial anticipation with his work on the chrysalis of the purple emperor butterfly. Further, Cott quotes Thayer's description of countershading, and Cott's Figure 1, of countershaded fish, is captioned "Diagrams illustrating Thayer's principle of obliterative shading". Implicitly, also, Cott follows Thayer in his Figure 3 "Larva of Eyed Hawk-moth" in both


id: cry-of-the-kalahari-20260505-0
file: data/en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Cry_of_the_Kalahari-0.md
category: reference
title: Cry of the Kalahari
tags: science, encyclopedia
source_url: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Cry_of_the_Kalahari
date_saved: 2026-05-05T08:49:04.727534+00:00
instance: kb-cron
parent: cry-of-the-kalahari-20260505-0
summary:
Cry of the Kalahari (1984) is an autobiographical book detailing two young American zoologists, Mark and Delia Owens, and their experience studying wildlife in the Kalahari Desert in Botswana in the mid-1970s. There they lived and worked for seven years in an uninhabited area named Deception Valley in the Central Kalahari Game Reserve. With no roads and the nearest civilization eight hours away they had only each other and the animals they studied as company, most of which had never seen humans before. Their research focused mainly on lions, brown hyenas, jackals and other African carnivores. Cry of the Kalahari is the personal story of the Owenses' encounters with these and a myriad of other animals and depicts their own struggle to live and work in such an inhospitable and unforgiving environment. Cry of the Kalahari was a national and international bestseller, translated into seven languages and is the 1985 John Burroughs Medal winner. == References == == External links == Cry of the Kalahari, book website


id: de-materia-medica-20260505-0
file: data/en.wikipedia.org/wiki/De_materia_medica-0.md
category: reference
title: De materia medica
tags: science, encyclopedia
source_url: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/De_materia_medica
date_saved: 2026-05-05T08:49:05.984182+00:00
instance: kb-cron
parent: de-materia-medica-20260505-0
summary:
De materia medica (Latin name for the Greek work Περὶ ὕλης ἰατρικῆς, Peri hulēs iatrikēs, both meaning "On Medical Material") is a pharmacopoeia of medicinal plants and the medicines that can be obtained from them. The five-volume work was written between 50 and 70 CE by Pedanius Dioscorides, a Greek physician in the Roman army. It was widely read for more than 1,500 years until supplanted by revised herbals in the Renaissance, making it one of the longest-lasting of all natural history and pharmacology books. The work describes many drugs known to be effective, including aconite, aloes, colocynth, colchicum, henbane, opium and squill. In total, about 600 plants are covered, along with some animals and mineral substances, and around 1000 medicines made from them. De materia medica was circulated as illustrated manuscripts, copied by hand, in Greek, Latin, and Arabic throughout the medieval period. From the 16th century onwards, Dioscorides' text was translated into Italian, German, Spanish, French, and into English in 1655. It served as the foundation for herbals in these languages by figures such as Leonhart Fuchs, Valerius Cordus, Lobelius, Rembert Dodoens, Carolus Clusius, John Gerard, and William Turner. Over time, these herbals incorporated increasing numbers of direct


id: de-materia-medica-20260505-1
file: data/en.wikipedia.org/wiki/De_materia_medica-1.md
category: reference
title: De materia medica
tags: science, encyclopedia
source_url: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/De_materia_medica
date_saved: 2026-05-05T08:49:05.984182+00:00
instance: kb-cron
parent: de-materia-medica-20260505-0
summary:
A little of it (taken with as much as a grain of ervum) is a pain-easer, a sleep-causer, and a digester, helping coughs and abdominal cavity afflictions. Taken as a drink too often it hurts (making men lethargic) and it kills. It is helpful for aches, sprinkled on with rosaceum; and for pain in the ears dropped in them with oil of almonds, saffron, and myrrh. For inflammation of the eyes it is used with a roasted egg yolk and saffron, and for erysipela and wounds with vinegar; but for gout with women's milk and saffron. Put up with the finger as a suppository it causes sleep. Dioscorides then describes how to tell a good from a counterfeit preparation. He mentions the recommendations of other physicians, Diagoras (according to Eristratus), Andreas, and Mnesidemus, only to dismiss them as false and not borne out by experience. He ends with a description of how the liquid is gathered from poppy plants, and lists names used for it: chamaesyce, mecon rhoeas, oxytonon; papaver to the Romans, and wanti to the Egyptians. As late as in the Tudor and Stuart periods in Britain, herbals often still classified plants in the same way as Dioscorides


id: de-materia-medica-20260505-2
file: data/en.wikipedia.org/wiki/De_materia_medica-2.md
category: reference
title: De materia medica
tags: science, encyclopedia
source_url: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/De_materia_medica
date_saved: 2026-05-05T08:49:05.984182+00:00
instance: kb-cron
parent: de-materia-medica-20260505-0
summary:
The Dioscorides translator and editor Tess Anne Osbaldeston notes that "For almost two millennia Dioscorides was regarded as the ultimate authority on plants and medicine", and that he "achieved overwhelming commendation and approval because his writings addressed the many ills of mankind most usefully." To illustrate this, she states that "Dioscorides describes many valuable drugs including aconite, aloes, bitter apple, colchicum, henbane, and squill". The work mentions the painkillers willow (leading ultimately to aspirin, she writes), autumn crocus and opium, which however is also narcotic. Many other substances that Dioscorides describes remain in modern pharmacopoeias as "minor drugs, diluents, flavouring agents, and emollients ... [such as] ammoniacum, anise, cardamoms, catechu, cinnamon, colocynth, coriander, crocus, dill, fennel, galbanum, gentian, hemlock, hyoscyamus, lavender, linseed, mastic, male fern, marjoram, marshmallow, mezereon, mustard, myrrh, orris (iris), oak galls, olive oil, pennyroyal, pepper, peppermint, poppy, psyllium, rhubarb, rosemary, rue, saffron, sesame, squirting cucumber (elaterium), starch, stavesacre (delphinium), storax, stramonium, sugar, terebinth, thyme, white hellebore, white horehound, and couch grass—the last still used as a demulcent diuretic." She notes that medicines such as wormwood, juniper, ginger, and calamine also remain in use, while "Chinese and Indian physicians continue to use liquorice". She observes that the many


id: de-natura-rerum-cantimpr-20260505-0
file: data/en.wikipedia.org/wiki/De_natura_rerum_(Cantimpré)-0.md
category: reference
title: De natura rerum (Cantimpré)
tags: science, encyclopedia
source_url: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/De_natura_rerum_(Cantimpré)
date_saved: 2026-05-05T08:49:07.153560+00:00
instance: kb-cron
parent: de-natura-rerum-cantimpr-20260505-0
summary:
De natura rerum (or Liber de natura rerum) is a thirteenth century work of natural history, written by Flemish Roman Catholic friar and medieval writer. Thomas of Cantimpré. De natura rerum may be Thomas' most significant work, as it's both the one he dedicated more time to (almost twenty years of work, between 1225 and 1244) and the one that had the largest posthumous fortune, as witnessed by the large number of codices that contain this work, but also by the many authors that took inspiration from it. == Contents == De natura rerum is an encyclopedic work – thus belonging to the encyclopedic genre, largely widespread on the Latin Late Middle Ages – that wants to represent a complete and exhaustive compendium of the previous scientific history, specifically for clergy. A first 'stable' redaction of the work is dated between 1237 and 1240 (as to say, in the period when Thomas is located at the Dominica studium in Paris) and it's structured into nineteen books. Later, anyway, the author himself deeply revises the text, adding many interpolations to it: this second redaction of De natura rerum, dated 1244, is organized into twenty book, of different topics: === Outline ===


id: des-singularit-s-de-la-nature-20260505-0
file: data/en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Des_singularités_de_la_nature-0.md
category: reference
title: Des singularités de la nature
tags: science, encyclopedia
source_url: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Des_singularités_de_la_nature
date_saved: 2026-05-05T08:49:08.322001+00:00
instance: kb-cron
parent: des-singularit-s-de-la-nature-20260505-0
summary:
Des singularités de la nature is a book on natural history by the French philosopher and author Voltaire, first published in 1768. In it, he defends Preformationism, the idea that organisms develop from tiny versions of themselves. He defends the idea of a supreme being, and the idea that many features of the natural world have been made to benefit people, including noses for smelling and mountains for forming the landscape. == References == == Further reading == Marguerite Carozzi (1985) "Voltaire's geological observations in Les singularités de la nature" in Studies on Voltaire and the Eighteenth Century, volume 215. Oxford; the Voltaire Foundation Porter, Roy (5 January 2009). "Review: Enlightenment Marguerite Carozzi, Voltaire's attitude toward geology. Geneva: Société de Physique et d'Histoire Naturelle, 1983. Pp. 146. SFRp 28". The British Journal for the History of Science. 17 (1): 116. doi:10.1017/S0007087400020732.


id: dinosaurs-of-tendaguru-20260505-0
file: data/en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Dinosaurs_of_Tendaguru-0.md
category: reference
title: Dinosaurs of Tendaguru
tags: science, encyclopedia
source_url: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Dinosaurs_of_Tendaguru
date_saved: 2026-05-05T08:49:10.581550+00:00
instance: kb-cron
parent: dinosaurs-of-tendaguru-20260505-0
summary:
Dinosaurs of Tendaguru (original title in Swahili: Dinosaria wa Tendaguru) is a Tanzanian booklet for young readers on natural history, focussing on the discovery and subsequent excavations of dinosaur fossils at Tendaguru hill in Lindi Region of South Eastern Tanzania between 1906 and 1913. It was written in the country’s national language Swahili by Tanzanian authors Cassian Magori and Charles Saanane, with illustrations by the German graphic artist Thomas Thiemeyer. The booklet was published in 1998 with the support of the Goethe-Institut in Dar es Salaam, the local branch of the German cultural institute, by E&D Vision Publishing, Tanzania. == Contents == Through its illustrations and a partially fictional story, the book tells the story of dinosaurs that lived approximately 150 million years ago in East Africa. Their skeletons were excavated between 1906 and 1913 in the former colony of German East Africa and until today represent the most important excavations of dinosaur fossils found in Africa. As the booklet is directed towards young readers in Tanzania, the authors invented a partially new narrative to set the story of the discovery, the subsequent excavations, and the scientific knowledge about natural history and the life of dinosaurs into a contemporary Tanzanian


id: dinosaurs-of-tendaguru-20260505-1
file: data/en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Dinosaurs_of_Tendaguru-1.md
category: reference
title: Dinosaurs of Tendaguru
tags: science, encyclopedia
source_url: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Dinosaurs_of_Tendaguru
date_saved: 2026-05-05T08:49:10.581550+00:00
instance: kb-cron
parent: dinosaurs-of-tendaguru-20260505-0
summary:
== Reception == In 2009, paleontologist Gerhard Maier mentioned the booklet in his comprehensive study on the history of the excavations African Dinosaurs Unearthed: The Tendaguru Expeditions. He commented on the effect of this booklet as "a most welcome outcome (...) was the popularization of Tendaguru for the people of Tanzania." In 2022, Dinosaria wa Tendaguru was mentioned in the report "Reclaiming restitution" by Open Restitution Africa, an Africa-led heritage project that referred to the Tendaguru fossils as a case study for the discussion on restitution of African cultural heritage. In a 2024 chapter on how the Berlin Dinosaurs got their names, the German authors working for the Natural History Museum in Berlin described how excavation leaders Janensch and Hennig had recorded the work of several African workers at the excavation. This acknowledgement was based on the preliminary names for several specific fossil specimens, including "Abdallahsaurus", named after fossil preparator Sefu Abdallah, "Salimosaurus", named after the excavator Salim Tombali and "Mohammadisaurus", named after Mohammai Keranje. In the same article, the authors also referred to chief overseer Boheti bin Amrani, whose contribution to the excavation was recorded both in the field notes and photographs by Janensch. These specimen names bearing African


id: earth-s-deep-history-20260505-0
file: data/en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Earth's_Deep_History-0.md
category: reference
title: Earth's Deep History
tags: science, encyclopedia
source_url: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Earth's_Deep_History
date_saved: 2026-05-05T08:49:11.776752+00:00
instance: kb-cron
parent: earth-s-deep-history-20260505-0
summary:
Earth's Deep History is a 2014 book by historian and geologist Martin J. S. Rudwick about advances in geological time and deep history, a term for the development of Earth's history and the distant past of the human species. Reviews were largely positive although some criticized Rudwick's minimalism in relation to the conflict between science and religion and the rejection of evolution by religious groups. == Synopsis == From a geologist's perspective where everything has a history, Earth's Deep History explains how the discovery of the Earth's old age progressively moved humans from the center. It focuses on details of the difficult and slow path to knowledge, the difference between law-like and physical history and the interplay of science and religion. It explains how scholars gradually discovered and came to understand the mechanisms that shaped the Earth, rather than remaining limited by event reconstructions. Earth's Deep History is considered to be a more condensed and approachable overview than Rudwick's previous works like Worlds Before Adam. == Reviews == Editor Ted Nield, writing for the Geoscientist, praised the book and Rudwick's elegant prose, and added that Earth's Deep History is a more approachable summary of Rudwick's voluminous previous works, notably Bursting


id: elephant-de-camp-book-20260505-0
file: data/en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Elephant_(de_Camp_book)-0.md
category: reference
title: Elephant (de Camp book)
tags: science, encyclopedia
source_url: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Elephant_(de_Camp_book)
date_saved: 2026-05-05T08:49:12.942498+00:00
instance: kb-cron
parent: elephant-de-camp-book-20260505-0
summary:
Elephant is a science book by L. Sprague de Camp, published by Pyramid Books in July 1964 as part of The Worlds of Science series. The cover title is Elephant: The Fascinating Life Cycle of the World's Largest Land Animal. == Summary == The book treats its subject comprehensively, covering elephants in captivity and the wild, their use in ancient warfare, modern conflicts between elephants and farmers, and preservation efforts, among other topics. A "generalized account of the life history of elephants, living and fossil, their relatives, and their use throughout history," it deals with "the various aspects of the world's largest land animal, from fossils to captive elephants." It is illustrated with pen-and-ink sketches, maps and charts, and includes eight pages of unnumbered black-and-white photographs, a bibliography and index. == Reception == The Science News-Letter notes that the book is "[d]esigned for the general reader and student." The Science Teacher praises the book's "academic and sometimes lighthearted text," noting "[t]he author has a knack for interjecting subtleties such as 'nobody has yet fitted an elephant with false teeth.'" It rates the book "an excellent junior high school library reference, especially for students who need a readable source for a


id: the-end-of-night-book-20260505-0
file: data/en.wikipedia.org/wiki/The_End_of_Night_(book)-0.md
category: reference
title: The End of Night (book)
tags: science, encyclopedia
source_url: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/The_End_of_Night_(book)
date_saved: 2026-05-05T08:49:14.173297+00:00
instance: kb-cron
parent: the-end-of-night-book-20260505-0
summary:
The End of Night: Searching for Natural Darkness in an Age of Artificial Light is a 2013 non-fiction book by Paul Bogard on the gradual disappearance, due to light pollution, of true darkness from the night skies of most people on the planet. Bogard examines the effects of this loss on human physical and mental health, society, and ecosystems, and how it might be mitigated. The book has been translated into Chinese, German, Japanese, Korean, and Spanish. == Synopsis == The nine chapters of Bogard's book map to the nine levels of the Bortle scale, which attempts to quantify the subjective brightness and suitability for astronomy of the sky in different environments. Bogard has said of the scale, invented in 2001, "one of the reasons why identifying different depths of darkness is so important is that we don't recognize that we're losing it, unless we have a name to recognize it by." Bogard begins at a Bortle level 9 environment, by the Luxor Sky Beam, the brightest spotlight on Earth, located on the Las Vegas Strip. He explores the nighttime landscapes of London and Paris, and examines the planning, or lack thereof, in each city's lighting. He visits locations throughout


id: the-extermination-of-the-american-bison-20260505-0
file: data/en.wikipedia.org/wiki/The_Extermination_of_the_American_Bison-0.md
category: reference
title: The Extermination of the American Bison
tags: science, encyclopedia
source_url: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/The_Extermination_of_the_American_Bison
date_saved: 2026-05-05T08:49:15.345339+00:00
instance: kb-cron
parent: the-extermination-of-the-american-bison-20260505-0
summary:
The Extermination of the American Bison is a book by William Temple Hornaday first published in 1889 by the Government Printing Office. It was reprinted from a report Hornaday wrote for the Smithsonian Institution in the years 1886–87. Extermination contains an exhaustive account of bison ecology and the story of the near-entire destruction of the bison population in the United States. The book argues for the consequent necessity of protecting the small number of bison then in Yellowstone National Park. The book is divided into three parts. The first relates to the habits, geographical distribution, and probable population of the bison before the European settlement of North America. The second describes the extermination of the animal by industrial-scale bison hunting. It argues that the speed of extermination has been increased by unnecessary slaughter and the lack of legal protection of the bison population, among other things. The third part describes the Smithsonian's 1886 expedition to Montana to obtain specimens for the National Museum of Natural History before bison went extinct in North America. A census of the animals known to exist in captivity on January 1, 1889, showed 256 specimens in the United States and abroad.One contemporary writer notes that


id: fabre-s-book-of-insects-20260505-0
file: data/en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Fabre's_Book_of_Insects-0.md
category: reference
title: Fabre's Book of Insects
tags: science, encyclopedia
source_url: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Fabre's_Book_of_Insects
date_saved: 2026-05-05T08:49:16.483957+00:00
instance: kb-cron
parent: fabre-s-book-of-insects-20260505-0
summary:
Fabre's Book of Insects is a non-fiction book that is a retelling of Alexander Teixeira de Mattos' translation of Jean-Henri Fabre's Souvenirs entomologiques. It was retold by Mrs. Rodolph Stawell and illustrated by Edward Detmold. It talks about insects in real life, mythology and folklore. == Reception == A Times Higher Education review says, "It was Fabre's Book of Insects, extracts from that extraordinary man's Souvenirs entomologiques, "retold" – and with an exemplary clarity and simplicity which made me feel enlisted and embraced but never patronised – by a Mrs Rudolph Stawell. Years later I read the full Souvenirs themselves and wondered why I had not done so long before, as soon as I could read French. The magic is Fabre's own, not imported by Mrs Stawell." It was reviewed by The New York Times. == References ==


id: fauna-japonica-20260505-0
file: data/en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Fauna_Japonica-0.md
category: reference
title: Fauna Japonica
tags: science, encyclopedia
source_url: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Fauna_Japonica
date_saved: 2026-05-05T08:49:17.617091+00:00
instance: kb-cron
parent: fauna-japonica-20260505-0
summary:
Fauna Japonica is a series of monographs on the zoology of Japan. It was the first book written in a European language (French) on the Japanese fauna, and published serially in five volumes between 1833 and 1850. The full title is Fauna Japonica sive Descriptio animalium, quae in itinere per Japoniam, jussu et auspiciis superiorum, qui summum in India Batava imperium tenent, suscepto, annis 1825–1830 collegit, notis, observationibus et adumbrationibus illustravit Ph. Fr. de Siebold. Conjunctis studiis C. J. Temminck et H. Schlegel pro vertebratis atque W. de Haan pro invertebratis elaborata. Based on the collections made by Philipp Franz von Siebold (who edited the text) and his successor Heinrich Bürger in Japan, Fauna Japonica's vertebrate volumes were authored by the Leyden Museum naturalists Coenraad Jacob Temminck and Hermann Schlegel. Wilhem de Haan, also at the Leyden museum, wrote the invertebrate volumes assisted by the Japanese artist naturalists Keiga Kawahara, Kurimoto Masayoshi and others. The volumes were a rare chance for European naturalists to learn about the wildlife in isolationist Japan. == Publication == The 5 volumes that make up Fauna Japonica were published by P. F. von Siebold and Lugduni Batavorum between 1833 and 1850. Originally intended to include


id: the-fauna-of-british-india-including-ceylon-and-burma-20260505-0
file: data/en.wikipedia.org/wiki/The_Fauna_of_British_India,_Including_Ceylon_and_Burma-0.md
category: reference
title: The Fauna of British India, Including Ceylon and Burma
tags: science, encyclopedia
source_url: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/The_Fauna_of_British_India,_Including_Ceylon_and_Burma
date_saved: 2026-05-05T08:49:18.789713+00:00
instance: kb-cron
parent: the-fauna-of-british-india-including-ceylon-and-burma-20260505-0
summary:
The Fauna of British India (short title) with long titles including The Fauna of British India, Including Ceylon and Burma, and The Fauna of British India Including the Remainder of the Oriental Region is a series of scientific books that was published by the British government in India and printed by Taylor and Francis of London. The series was started sometime in 1881 after a letter had been sent to the Secretary of State for India signed by Charles Darwin, Sir Joseph Dalton Hooker and other "eminent men of science" forwarded by P.L.Sclater to R.H. Hobart. W. T. Blanford was appointed editor and began work on the volume on mammals. In the volume on the mammals, Blanford notes: The need for new and revised descriptive works had, for some years before 1881, been felt and discussed amongst naturalists in India, but the attention of the Government was, I believe, first called to the matter by a memorial dated Sept. 15th of that year, prepared by Mr. P. L. Sclater, the well-known Secretary of the Zoological Society, signed by Mr. Charles Darwin, Sir J. Hooker, Professor Huxley, Sir J. Lubbock, Prof. W. H. Flower, and by Mr. Sclater himself, and presented


id: the-fauna-of-british-india-including-ceylon-and-burma-20260505-1
file: data/en.wikipedia.org/wiki/The_Fauna_of_British_India,_Including_Ceylon_and_Burma-1.md
category: reference
title: The Fauna of British India, Including Ceylon and Burma
tags: science, encyclopedia
source_url: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/The_Fauna_of_British_India,_Including_Ceylon_and_Burma
date_saved: 2026-05-05T08:49:18.789713+00:00
instance: kb-cron
parent: the-fauna-of-british-india-including-ceylon-and-burma-20260505-0
summary:
Andrewes, H. (1929) Carabidae 1. Carabinae [ 431 p - 62 figs - 9 pl (1 col) ] Andrewes, H. (1935) Carabidae 2. Harpalinae [ 323 p - 51 figs - 5 pl ] Arrow, G.J. (1910) Lamellicornia 1. Cetoniinae and Dynastinae [xiv + 322 p - 76 figs - 2 col. pl. ] Arrow, G.J. (1917) Lamellicornia 2. Rutelinae, Desmonycinae, Euchirinae [xiii + 387 p - 77 figs - 5 pl (1 col.)] Arrow, G.J. (1931) Lamellicornia 3. Coprinae [428 p - 61 figs - 13 pl (1 col.) - 1 map ] Arrow, G.J. (1949) Lamellicornia 4. Lucanidae & Passalidae[vii + 274 pp., 23 pl] Arrow, G.J. (1925) Clavicornia : Erotylidae, Languriidae & Endomychidae [xv + 416 p - 76 figs - 1 col. pl. - 1 map] Beeson, C.F.C. (?) Platypodidae () Browne, J Balfour (never published) Dytiscidae, Gyrinidae and Haliplidae Cameron, M. (1930) Staphylinidae 1. (Micropeplinae, Oxytelinae, Oxyporinae, Megalopinae, Steninae, Enaesthetinae) [471 p - 134 figs - 1 map - 3 col. plates] Cameron, M. (1934) Staphylinidae. 2. (Paederinae) 257 p - 2 col. pl. Cameron, M. (1932) Staphylinidae 3. (Staphylininae, Trichophyinae, Termitodiscinae, Pygosteninae, Tachyporinae) 443 p - 4 col. pl. Cameron, M. (1939) Staphylinidae 4.


id: feathers-the-evolution-of-a-natural-miracle-20260505-0
file: data/en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Feathers:_The_Evolution_of_a_Natural_Miracle-0.md
category: reference
title: Feathers: The Evolution of a Natural Miracle
tags: science, encyclopedia
source_url: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Feathers:_The_Evolution_of_a_Natural_Miracle
date_saved: 2026-05-05T08:49:19.999877+00:00
instance: kb-cron
parent: feathers-the-evolution-of-a-natural-miracle-20260505-0
summary:
Feathers: The Evolution of a Natural Miracle is a natural history book by American conservation biologist Thor Hanson. Published by Basic Books in 2011 and written for general audiences, the book discusses the significance of feathers, their evolution, and their history both in nature and in use by humans. Feathers is divided into five parts. In "Evolution", Hanson discusses the scientific debate over how feathers evolved, interviewing ornithologists Richard Prum and Alan Feduccia, as well as paleontologist Xing Xu. In "Fluff", Hanson discusses how feathers play a role in regulating a bird's body temperature and how feather insulation has also been utilized by humans. "Flight" discusses how flight might have evolved in birds, interviewing Prum, Feduccia, Xu, and also ornithologist Ken Dial, who described wing-assisted incline running. In "Fancy", Hanson discusses the role of feathers in sexual selection, as well as how humans have utilized feathers for fashion, interviewing costume and fashion designers on the Las Vegas Strip and New York City. "Function" discusses how feathers have been adapted for other purposes, such as waterproofing, fly fishing, and quill pens. Hanson decided he would write Feathers after going on a run and noticing a feather dropped at his feet by


id: feathers-the-evolution-of-a-natural-miracle-20260505-1
file: data/en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Feathers:_The_Evolution_of_a_Natural_Miracle-1.md
category: reference
title: Feathers: The Evolution of a Natural Miracle
tags: science, encyclopedia
source_url: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Feathers:_The_Evolution_of_a_Natural_Miracle
date_saved: 2026-05-05T08:49:19.999877+00:00
instance: kb-cron
parent: feathers-the-evolution-of-a-natural-miracle-20260505-0
summary:
Scientists disagree on how feathered flight originally evolved, and Hanson describes various viewpoints on the subject. The "ground-up" view holds that flight originated from theropod dinosaurs running along the ground, whereas the "tree-down" view holds that flight originated from animals who lived in trees "as a means to extend their hops from branch to branch". Hanson discusses the issue with Feduccia, who argues for the "tree-down" view, noting that other vertebrates also developed flight from the tree down. Hanson also discusses with Prum and Xu, who state that while the origin of feathers might have been ground-based theropods, the origin of flight could have been theropods who climbed trees, especially considering four-winged feathered theropods like Microraptor. Hanson interviews Ken Dial, an ornithologist who described wing-assisted incline running (WAIR), a behavior exhibited by baby birds learning how to fly. WAIR has been proposed as an alternative model for the origin of avian flight, as it addresses weaknesses in both the "ground-up" and "tree-down" views. Later, Hanson interviews Ken Franklin, who raised Frightful, a peregrine falcon whose dive was measured to be 242 miles per hour (389 km/h), making her the fastest flying animal on record. Franklin describes the role of feathers


id: feathers-the-evolution-of-a-natural-miracle-20260505-2
file: data/en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Feathers:_The_Evolution_of_a_Natural_Miracle-2.md
category: reference
title: Feathers: The Evolution of a Natural Miracle
tags: science, encyclopedia
source_url: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Feathers:_The_Evolution_of_a_Natural_Miracle
date_saved: 2026-05-05T08:49:19.999877+00:00
instance: kb-cron
parent: feathers-the-evolution-of-a-natural-miracle-20260505-0
summary:
=== Literary === Literary reception to Feathers has been positive. Amanda Katz, in a review published by The New York Times, wrote that because Feathers is a work of synthesis, bird enthusiasts will find the book's content already "familiar", but noted that "as synthesis goes, it is gracious, funny, persuasive and wide ranging." Peter Forbes, in a review published by The Guardian, stated that Hanson's "enthusiasm is infectious", particularly for a topic Forbes found "alluring". The Economist published a review which also described Hanson as having "infectious enthusiasm" and stated, "Mr Hanson's unpretentious style makes what is essentially an excellent scientific work into an enjoyable read for the ignorant and uninitiated." Irene Wanner, in a review published by The Seattle Times, highlighted Hanson's analogies, calling them "apt" and helping to "simplify complex concepts". Kirkus Reviews described Feathers as a "delightful ramble through the byways of evolution and the wonderful world of birds." Scientific American published an online review of Feathers in their blog Tetrapod Zoology by Darren Naish. Naish commented that prior to Hanson's book, "it doesn’t seem that any one book has ever been devoted to feathers and feathers alone. ... Feathers is thus a rather significant book, and


id: golden-field-guide-20260505-0
file: data/en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Golden_Field_Guide-0.md
category: reference
title: Golden Field Guide
tags: science, encyclopedia
source_url: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Golden_Field_Guide
date_saved: 2026-05-05T08:49:21.158314+00:00
instance: kb-cron
parent: golden-field-guide-20260505-0
summary:
The Golden Field Guides are a series of larger pocket-sized books about the natural world which were created by Western Publishing and published under their "Golden Press" line (mostly used for children's books at the time), as a related series to the Golden Guides. Edited by Herbert Zim and Vera Webster, the books were written by experts in their field and illustrated with a simple straightforward style. Unlike the Golden Guides, the Field Guides covered their subjects in greater depth, being more aimed at the high school/college level. They also had sturdier covers, obviously intending that they be used in the field. Most note that they are a "Guide to Field Identification" on the cover. To cover their subject matter in greater depth, and intended as both identification and educational, most of the Field Guides limited themselves to North America, while the Golden Guides were usually worldwide. The series, updated, was relaunched in 2001 as "Golden Field Guides by St. Martin's Press". Certain titles have been discontinued, such as the Amphibians of North America and Families of Birds books. == Series list == Amphibians of North America, by Hobart Muir Smith (1978) — discontinued by St. Martin's Press Birds of


id: gossip-from-the-forest-maitland-book-20260505-0
file: data/en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Gossip_from_the_Forest_(Maitland_book)-0.md
category: reference
title: Gossip from the Forest (Maitland book)
tags: science, encyclopedia
source_url: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Gossip_from_the_Forest_(Maitland_book)
date_saved: 2026-05-05T08:49:22.332572+00:00
instance: kb-cron
parent: gossip-from-the-forest-maitland-book-20260505-0
summary:
Gossip from the Forest: the Tangled Roots of our Forests and Fairytales is a 2012 book by Sara Maitland about the connections between forests and fairytales in Northern Europe. It is structured around accounts of walks through 12 forests in Scotland and England, one per month of the year, and 12 associated retellings of traditional fairytales, and was published by Granta (ISBN 9781847084293). Maitland has described the book as "a hybrid book ... history and photographs and nature and politics and science and anthropology and fiction (my own retellings of 12 Grimm stories) and, indeed, gossip." == The chapters: the forests and the retold tales == March Airyolland Wood, Dumfries and Galloway "Thumbling" April Saltridge Wood, near Stroud, Gloucestershire "The White Snake" May The New Forest, Hampshire "Rumpelstiltskin" June Epping Forest, Greater London and Essex "Hansel and Gretel" July The Great North Wood, Dulwich, Sydenham and Norwood, London "Little Goosegirl" August Staverton Thicks (and Staverton Park), Suffolk "The Seven Swans' Sister" - see "The Six Swans" September Forest of Dean, Gloucestershire "The Seven Dwarves" October Ballochbuie, near Braemar and the Forest of Mar, Aberdeenshire "Rapunzel" November Kielder Forest, Northumberland "Little Red Riding Hood and the Big Bad Wolf" December The


id: hen-s-teeth-and-horse-s-toes-20260505-0
file: data/en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Hen's_Teeth_and_Horse's_Toes-0.md
category: reference
title: Hen's Teeth and Horse's Toes
tags: science, encyclopedia
source_url: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Hen's_Teeth_and_Horse's_Toes
date_saved: 2026-05-05T08:49:23.558184+00:00
instance: kb-cron
parent: hen-s-teeth-and-horse-s-toes-20260505-0
summary:
Hen's Teeth and Horse's Toes (1983) is Stephen Jay Gould's third volume of collected essays reprinted from his monthly columns for Natural History magazine titled "This View of Life". Three essays appeared elsewhere. "Evolution as Fact and Theory" first appeared in Discover magazine in May 1981; "Phyletic size decrease in Hershey bars" appeared in C. J. Rubins's Junk Food, 1980; and his "Reply to Critics", was written specifically for this volume as a commentary upon criticism of essay 16, "The Piltdown Conspiracy". == Awards == The book was awarded the 1983 Phi Beta Kappa Award for Science from the Phi Beta Kappa Society. == References == == External links == Steven Rose, "And Zebra Stripes and Chocolate Bars", The New York Times, 8 May 1983, section 7, page 3. Richard Dawkins, "The Art of the Developable. Review of Pluto's Republic by Peter Medawar and Hen's Teeth and Horse's Toes by Stephen Jay Gould", reprinted in The Devil's Chaplain: Selected Essays, Phoenix, 2003 (ISBN 978-0-7538-1750-6). W. W. Norton's promotional page


id: histoire-naturelle-20260505-0
file: data/en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Histoire_Naturelle-0.md
category: reference
title: Histoire Naturelle
tags: science, encyclopedia
source_url: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Histoire_Naturelle
date_saved: 2026-05-05T08:49:24.741406+00:00
instance: kb-cron
parent: histoire-naturelle-20260505-0
summary:
The Histoire Naturelle, générale et particulière, avec la description du Cabinet du Roi (French: [istwaʁ natyʁɛl]; English: Natural History, General and Particular, with a Description of the King's Cabinet) is an encyclopaedic collection of 36 large (quarto) volumes written between 1749 and 1804, initially by the Comte de Buffon, and continued in eight more volumes after his death (in 1788) by his colleagues, led by Bernard Germain de Lacépède. The books cover what was known of the "natural sciences" at the time, including what would now be called material science, physics, chemistry and technology as well as the natural history of animals. The early volumes (IV to XV) are on quadrupeds. The next group (XVI to XXIV) are on birds, followed by a group on minerals (XXV to XXIX). There followed a group of supplements on geology and related subjects, with additional quadrupeds (XXX to XXXVI). Further supplements covered the reptiles (XXXVII to XXXVIII) and fishes (XXXIX to XXXXIII). Finally there was a volume on cetaceans (XXXXIV). The work was republished in various editions in France, and was translated into languages including English, German, Swedish, Italian, and Russian. Buffon was assisted over the years by a variety of authors with


id: histoire-naturelle-20260505-1
file: data/en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Histoire_Naturelle-1.md
category: reference
title: Histoire Naturelle
tags: science, encyclopedia
source_url: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Histoire_Naturelle
date_saved: 2026-05-05T08:49:24.741406+00:00
instance: kb-cron
parent: histoire-naturelle-20260505-0
summary:
Volume XXXVII (Reptiles I) : Histoire générale et particulière des Quadrupèdes ovipares, 1788 Volume XXXVIII (Reptiles II) : Histoire des Serpents, 1789 Histoire Naturelle des Poissons (Fish) (1798–1803) Volume XXXIX (Poissons I) : 1798 Volume XXXX (Poissons II) : 1800 Volume XXXXI (Poissons III) : 1802 Volume XXXXII (Poissons IV) : 1802 Volume XXXXIII (Poissons V) : 1803 Histoire Naturelle des Cétacés (Cetaceans) (1804) Volume XXXXIV (Cétacés) : 1804 == Authors and artists == The descriptive and anatomical part of l’Histoire des Quadrupèdes was the work of Louis Jean-Marie Daubenton. Philippe Guéneau de Montbeillard worked on the birds, assisted later by Barthélemy Faujas de Saint-Fond and the abbot Gabriel Bexon. Barthélemy Faujas de Saint-Fond and Louis Bernard Guyton de Morveau provided sources for the mineral volumes. Buffon commissioned Jacques de Sève to illustrate the quadrupeds, while François-Nicolas Martinet illustrated the birds. Some 2000 plates by de Sève adorn the work, representing mammals, reptiles, and some birds. After Buffon's death, the work was continued by Bernard Germain de Lacépède, who described the egg-laying quadrupeds, snakes, fishes and cetaceans in 8 volumes (1788–1804). == Approach == Each group is introduced with a general essay. This is followed by an article, sometimes of


id: histoire-naturelle-20260505-2
file: data/en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Histoire_Naturelle-2.md
category: reference
title: Histoire Naturelle
tags: science, encyclopedia
source_url: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Histoire_Naturelle
date_saved: 2026-05-05T08:49:24.741406+00:00
instance: kb-cron
parent: histoire-naturelle-20260505-0
summary:
=== Translations === The Histoire Naturelle was translated (in whole, in part, or abridged) into languages including English, German, Swedish, Russian and Italian. R. Griffith published an early translation of the volume on The Horse in London in 1762. T. Bell published a translation of the first six volumes in London between 1775 and 1776. William Creech published an edition in Edinburgh between 1780 and 1785. T. Cadell and W. Davies published another edition in London in 1812. An abridged edition was published by Wogan, Byrne et al. in Dublin in 1791; that same year R. Morison and Son of Perth, J. and J. Fairbairn of Edinburgh and T. Kay and C. Forster of London published their edition. W. Strahan and T. Cadell published a translation with notes by the encyclopaedist William Smellie in London around 1785. Barr's Buffon in ten volumes was published in London between 1797 and 1807. W. Davidson published an abridged version including the natural history of insects taken from Swammerdam, Brookes, Goldsmith et al., with "elegant engravings on wood"; its four volumes appeared in Alnwick in 1814. German translations include those published by Grund and Holle, 1750–1775; Johann Samuel Heinsius, 1756–1782; Joseph Georg Trassler, 1784–1785;


id: histoire-naturelle-20260505-3
file: data/en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Histoire_Naturelle-3.md
category: reference
title: Histoire Naturelle
tags: science, encyclopedia
source_url: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Histoire_Naturelle
date_saved: 2026-05-05T08:49:24.741406+00:00
instance: kb-cron
parent: histoire-naturelle-20260505-0
summary:
==== Evolutionary thought ==== The evolutionary biologist Ernst Mayr comments that "In this monumental and fascinating Histoire naturelle, Buffon dealt in a stimulating manner with almost all the problems that would subsequently be raised by evolutionists. Written in a brilliant style, this work was read in French or in one of the numerous translations by every educated person in Europe". Mayr argued that "virtually all the well-known writers of the Enlightenment" were "Buffonians", and calls Buffon "the father of all thought in natural history in the second half of the eighteenth century". Mayr notes that Buffon was not an "evolutionist", but was certainly responsible for creating the great amount of interest in natural history in France. He agrees that Buffon's thought is hard to classify and even self-contradictory, and that the theologians forced him to avoid writing some of his opinions openly. Mayr argues however that Buffon was "fully aware of the possibility of 'common descent', and was perhaps the first author ever to articulate it clearly", quoting Buffon at length, starting with "Not only the ass and the horse, but also man, the apes, the quadrupeds, and all the animals might be regarded as constituting but a single family",


id: historia-naturalis-brasiliae-20260505-0
file: data/en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Historia_Naturalis_Brasiliae-0.md
category: reference
title: Historia Naturalis Brasiliae
tags: science, encyclopedia
source_url: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Historia_Naturalis_Brasiliae
date_saved: 2026-05-05T08:49:25.885193+00:00
instance: kb-cron
parent: historia-naturalis-brasiliae-20260505-0
summary:
Historia Naturalis Brasiliae (English: Brazilian Natural History), originally written in Latin, is the first scientific work on the natural history of Brazil, written by Dutch naturalist Willem Piso and containing research done by the German scientist Georg Marcgraf, published in 1648. The work includes observations made by the German naturalist H. Gralitzio, in addition to humanist Johannes de Laet. It was dedicated to Johan Maurits, Count of Nassau, who was the patron of the project during the period of Dutch rule in Brazil. The research of the work focuses on the coast of the Northeast, during its occupation by the Dutch West India Company. Marcgraf and Piso had started their field research of the area in 1637. The work covers tropical diseases and Indigenous therapies, but Piso depicts the Indigenous peoples of Brazil as barbarians who lack scientific education. Piso and his contemporaries thought that the Indigenous peoples would be unable to contribute to any studies on medicine and botany. The book had wide circulation in Northern Europe, and was admired for the illustrations accompanying the text. The work remained unsurpassed until the 19th century. In Denmark, Ole Worm followed the book's organizational structure when documenting the natural history of


id: history-of-animals-20260505-0
file: data/en.wikipedia.org/wiki/History_of_Animals-0.md
category: reference
title: History of Animals
tags: science, encyclopedia
source_url: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/History_of_Animals
date_saved: 2026-05-05T08:49:27.075544+00:00
instance: kb-cron
parent: history-of-animals-20260505-0
summary:
History of Animals (Ancient Greek: Τῶν περὶ τὰ ζῷα ἱστοριῶν, Ton peri ta zoia historion, "Inquiries on Animals"; Latin: Historia Animalium, "History of Animals") is one of the major texts on biology by the ancient Greek philosopher Aristotle. It was written in sometime between the mid-fourth century BC and Aristotle's death in 322 BC. Generally seen as a pioneering work of zoology, Aristotle frames his text by explaining that he is investigating the what (the existing facts about animals) prior to establishing the why (the causes of these characteristics). The book is thus an attempt to apply philosophy to part of the natural world. Throughout the work, Aristotle seeks to identify differences, both between individuals and between groups. A group is established when it is seen that all members have the same set of distinguishing features; for example, that all birds have feathers, wings, and beaks. This relationship between the birds and their features is recognized as a universal. The History of Animals contains many accurate eye-witness observations, in particular of the marine biology around the island of Lesbos, such as that the octopus had colour-changing abilities and a sperm-transferring tentacle, that the young of a dogfish grow inside their


id: history-of-animals-20260505-1
file: data/en.wikipedia.org/wiki/History_of_Animals-1.md
category: reference
title: History of Animals
tags: science, encyclopedia
source_url: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/History_of_Animals
date_saved: 2026-05-05T08:49:27.075544+00:00
instance: kb-cron
parent: history-of-animals-20260505-0
summary:
The History of Animals contains a large number of eye-witness observations, in particular of marine biology, in sharp contrast to Plato's "symbolic zoology". Aristotle's style and precision can be seen in the passage where he discusses the behaviour and anatomy of the cephalopods, mentioning the use of ink against predators, camouflage, and signalling. This is D'Arcy Thompson's translation: Of molluscs the sepia is the most cunning, and is the only species that employs its dark liquid for the sake of concealment as well as from fear: the octopus and calamary make the discharge solely from fear. These creatures never discharge the pigment in its entirety; and after a discharge the pigment accumulates again. The sepia, as has been said, often uses its colouring pigment for concealment; it shows itself in front of the pigment and then retreats back into it; it also hunts with its long tentacles not only little fishes, but oftentimes even mullets. The octopus is a stupid creature, for it will approach a man's hand if it be lowered in the water; but it is neat and thrifty in its habits: that is, it lays up stores in its nest, and, after eating up all that is


id: history-of-animals-20260505-2
file: data/en.wikipedia.org/wiki/History_of_Animals-2.md
category: reference
title: History of Animals
tags: science, encyclopedia
source_url: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/History_of_Animals
date_saved: 2026-05-05T08:49:27.075544+00:00
instance: kb-cron
parent: history-of-animals-20260505-0
summary:
The comparative anatomist Richard Owen said in 1837 that "Zoological Science sprang from [Aristotle's] labours, we may almost say, like Minerva from the Head of Jove, in a state of noble and splendid maturity". Ben Waggoner of the University of California Museum of Paleontology wrote that Though Aristotle's work in zoology was not without errors, it was the grandest biological synthesis of the time, and remained the ultimate authority for many centuries after his death. His observations on the anatomy of octopus, cuttlefish, crustaceans, and many other marine invertebrates are remarkably accurate, and could only have been made from first-hand experience with dissection. Aristotle described the embryological development of a chick; he distinguished whales and dolphins from fish; he described the chambered stomachs of ruminants and the social organization of bees; he noticed that some sharks give birth to live young—his books on animals are filled with such observations, some of which were not confirmed until many centuries later. Walter Pagel comments that Aristotle "perceptibly influenced" the founders of modern zoology, the Swiss Conrad Gessner with his 1551–1558 Historiae animalium, the Italian Ulisse Aldrovandi (1522–1605), the French Guillaume Rondelet (1507–1566), and the Dutch Volcher Coiter (1534–1576), while his methods of


id: a-history-of-british-birds-20260505-0
file: data/en.wikipedia.org/wiki/A_History_of_British_Birds-0.md
category: reference
title: A History of British Birds
tags: science, encyclopedia
source_url: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/A_History_of_British_Birds
date_saved: 2026-05-05T08:49:28.311838+00:00
instance: kb-cron
parent: a-history-of-british-birds-20260505-0
summary:
A History of British Birds is a natural history book by Thomas Bewick, published in two volumes. Volume 1, Land Birds, appeared in 1797. Volume 2, Water Birds, appeared in 1804. A supplement was published in 1821. The text in Land Birds was written by Ralph Beilby, while Bewick took over the text for the second volume. The book is admired mainly for the beauty and clarity of Bewick's wood-engravings, which are widely considered his finest work, and among the finest in that medium. British Birds has been compared to works of poetry and literature. It plays a recurring role in Charlotte Brontë's novel Jane Eyre. William Wordsworth praised Bewick in the first lines of his poem "The Two Thieves": "Oh now that the genius of Bewick were mine, And the skill which he learned on the banks of the Tyne." The book was effectively the first "field guide" for non-specialists. Bewick provides an accurate illustration of each species, from life if possible, or from skins. The common and scientific name(s) are listed, citing the naming authorities. The bird is described, with its distribution and behaviour, often with extensive quotations from printed sources or correspondents. Those who provided skins or


id: a-history-of-british-birds-20260505-1
file: data/en.wikipedia.org/wiki/A_History_of_British_Birds-1.md
category: reference
title: A History of British Birds
tags: science, encyclopedia
source_url: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/A_History_of_British_Birds
date_saved: 2026-05-05T08:49:28.311838+00:00
instance: kb-cron
parent: a-history-of-british-birds-20260505-0
summary:
The preface to A History of British Birds states that "while one of the editors [Bewick] of this work was engaged in preparing the cuts, which are faithfully drawn from Nature, and engraved upon wood, the compilation of the descriptions .. (of the Land Birds) was undertaken by the other [Beilby], subject, however, to the corrections of his friend, whose habits had led him to a more intimate acquaintance with this branch of Natural History", and goes on to mention that the compilation of text was the "production of those hours which could be spared from a laborious employment", namely the long hours of work engraving the minutely detailed wood printing blocks. What the preface does not say is the reason for this statement about the "editors", which was an angry stand-off between Bewick and Beilby. Beilby's original intention was to have an introduction which merely thanked Bewick for his "assistance", and a title-page naming Beilby as the sole author. Bewick's friend (and his wife's godfather) Thomas Hornby heard of this, and informed Bewick. An informal trade panel met to judge the matter, and the preface as printed was the result; Beilby's name did not appear on the title-page. Each


id: a-history-of-british-birds-20260505-2
file: data/en.wikipedia.org/wiki/A_History_of_British_Birds-2.md
category: reference
title: A History of British Birds
tags: science, encyclopedia
source_url: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/A_History_of_British_Birds
date_saved: 2026-05-05T08:49:28.311838+00:00
instance: kb-cron
parent: a-history-of-british-birds-20260505-0
summary:
To the practical ornithologist there arises a considerable gratification in being able to ascertain the distinguishing characters of birds as they appear at a distance, whether at rest, or during their flight; for not only every genus has something peculiar to itself, but each species has its own appropriate marks, by which a judicious observer may discriminate almost with certainty. Bewick also mentions conservation, in the context of the probable local extinction of a valuable resource: "Both this and the Great Bustard are excellent eating, and would well repay the trouble of domestication; indeed, it seems surprising, that we should suffer these fine birds to be in danger of total extinction, although, if properly cultivated, they might afford as excellent a repast as our own domestic poultry, or even as the Turkey, for which we are indebted to distant countries." The 1847 edition, revised with additional woodcuts and descriptions, is organized as follows, with the species grouped into families such as the shrikes: === Water birds === The second volume "containing the History and Description of Water Birds" begins with its own preface, and its own introduction. Bewick discusses the question of where many seabirds go to breed, revisits the


id: a-history-of-british-birds-20260505-3
file: data/en.wikipedia.org/wiki/A_History_of_British_Birds-3.md
category: reference
title: A History of British Birds
tags: science, encyclopedia
source_url: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/A_History_of_British_Birds
date_saved: 2026-05-05T08:49:28.311838+00:00
instance: kb-cron
parent: a-history-of-british-birds-20260505-0
summary:
=== Modern === John Brewer, writing in the London Review of Books, says that for his Birds, "Bewick had acquired national renown as the artist who most truthfully depicted the flora and fauna of the British countryside." He adds that "Bewick's achievement was both technical and aesthetic." In his view, Bewick "reconciled nature, science and art. His engravings of British birds, which represent his work at its finest, are almost all rendered with the precision of the ornithologist: but they also portray the animals in their natural habitat – the grouse shelters in his covert, the green woodpecker perches on a gnarled branch, waders strut by streams ..." He observes that "Most of the best engravings include a figure, incident or building which draws the viewer's eye beyond and behind the animal profile in the foreground. Thus the ploughboy in the distant field pulls our gaze past the yellow wagtail ..." British Birds, reviewing a "lavishly illustrated" British Library book on Bewick, writes that "No ornithologist will ever regard Thomas Bewick, known primarily for The History of British Birds (1797–1804), as a naturalist of the same standing as contemporaries such as Edward Donovan, John Latham and James Bolton", noting however


id: a-history-of-british-birds-20260505-4
file: data/en.wikipedia.org/wiki/A_History_of_British_Birds-4.md
category: reference
title: A History of British Birds
tags: science, encyclopedia
source_url: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/A_History_of_British_Birds
date_saved: 2026-05-05T08:49:28.311838+00:00
instance: kb-cron
parent: a-history-of-british-birds-20260505-0
summary:
Peter Hall's 1974 film Akenfield (from the 1969 book by Ronald Blythe) contains a scene where the grandfather as a young man is reaping a cornfield. He weeps when he accidentally crushes a bird's egg, an image derived from Bewick's tail-piece woodcut for the partridge. The woodcut shows a reaper with a scythe, a dead bird and its nest of a dozen eggs on the ground under the scythe, which has just lifted. George Ewart Evans used the image on the title-page of his 1956 book about Blaxhall (near Charsfield, on which 'Akenfield' is probably partly based). == Legacy == Bewick's reputation as a wood engraver was at its height in the nineteenth century, with the critic John Ruskin writing that the way Bewick had engraved the feathers of his birds was "the most masterly thing ever done in woodcutting". The advent of mechanical printing techniques from the 1860s led to something of a decline in his importance, but his fame, already nationwide across Britain for his Birds, grew during the nineteenth century. In 1830, William Yarrell named Bewick's swan in his honour, and Bewick's son Robert engraved the bird for later editions of British Birds. Bewick had met the


id: a-history-of-british-birds-yarrell-book-20260505-0
file: data/en.wikipedia.org/wiki/A_History_of_British_Birds_(Yarrell_book)-0.md
category: reference
title: A History of British Birds (Yarrell book)
tags: science, encyclopedia
source_url: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/A_History_of_British_Birds_(Yarrell_book)
date_saved: 2026-05-05T08:49:29.754136+00:00
instance: kb-cron
parent: a-history-of-british-birds-yarrell-book-20260505-0
summary:
William Yarrell's A History of British Birds was first published as a whole in three volumes in 1843, having been serialised, three sheets (=48 pages) every two months, over the previous six years. It is not a history of ornithology but a natural history, a handbook or field guide systematically describing every species of bird known to occur in Britain. A separate article of about six pages, containing an image, a description, and an account of worldwide distribution, together with reports of behaviour, is provided for each species. It quickly became the standard reference work for a generation of British ornithologists, replacing Thomas Bewick's book of the same name through its increased scientific accuracy, but following Bewick in its mixture of scientific data, accurate illustrations, detailed descriptions and varied anecdotes, as well as in the use of small 'tail-piece' engravings at the ends of articles. This made the book attractive to the public as well as to specialists. Yarrell, a newsagent without university education, corresponded widely with eminent naturalists such as Thomas Pennant and Coenraad Jacob Temminck, and consulted the writings of scientists including Carl Linnaeus, to collect accurate information on the hundreds of species illustrated in the work. The


id: a-history-of-british-birds-yarrell-book-20260505-1
file: data/en.wikipedia.org/wiki/A_History_of_British_Birds_(Yarrell_book)-1.md
category: reference
title: A History of British Birds (Yarrell book)
tags: science, encyclopedia
source_url: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/A_History_of_British_Birds_(Yarrell_book)
date_saved: 2026-05-05T08:49:29.754136+00:00
instance: kb-cron
parent: a-history-of-british-birds-yarrell-book-20260505-0
summary:
Yarrell broadly follows the lead of Bewick in describing each species in a separate section, with essentially no introduction. The first bird, the Egyptian vulture, is preceded by nothing more than the Index (there is no table of contents) and the heading "British Birds", though there is an introductory paragraph on page 2, inside the Egyptian vulture article. Like Bewick, Yarrell's sections begin with a large wood engraving, depicting the species against a more or less realistic background: that of the Egyptian vulture shows a pyramid and a pair of laden camels. An immediate difference from Bewick is the list of Latin names that follows, with Vultur percnopterus (Bewick), Neophron percnopterus (Selby, Jenyns, Eyton, and Gould), and Cathartes percnopterus (Temminck). This care reflects both the rapidly advancing state of ornithology in the early nineteenth century, and Yarrell's more scientific approach. The account of the first species of each genus, such as the vulture genus Neophron, includes a paragraph on "Generic Characters", describing the beak, legs, wings and any distinguishing features useful for identification. These features are often small, requiring examination or measurement of specimens in the hand, reflecting the fact, repeated many times in the book, that those interested in


id: a-history-of-british-birds-yarrell-book-20260505-2
file: data/en.wikipedia.org/wiki/A_History_of_British_Birds_(Yarrell_book)-2.md
category: reference
title: A History of British Birds (Yarrell book)
tags: science, encyclopedia
source_url: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/A_History_of_British_Birds_(Yarrell_book)
date_saved: 2026-05-05T08:49:29.754136+00:00
instance: kb-cron
parent: a-history-of-british-birds-yarrell-book-20260505-0
summary:
The peculiar formation and direction of the parts of the beak in the Crossbill, its anomalous appearance, as well as the particular and powerful manner in which it is exercised, had long excited in me a desire to examine the structure of an organ so curious, and the kindness of a friend supplied me with the means. Yarrell at once goes on to explain that the crossbills are unique in making use of "any lateral motion of the mandibles, and it is my object here to describe the bony structure and muscles by which this peculiar and powerful action is obtained." He explains the anatomy and how the jaws are closed, and then how their unique side-to-side motion is achieved: When the lateral motion is required, the great pyramidal muscle on the right side pulls the extremity of the lower jaw, to which it is attached backwards; the pterygoid muscle of the left side at the same time powerfully assisting by carrying that side of the lower jaw inwards. He then quotes a Mr. Townson's account of how crossbills feed on pine cones, inserting their beaks between the scales and then forcing them sideways, opening the cone. Yarrell then immediately


id: a-history-of-british-birds-yarrell-book-20260505-3
file: data/en.wikipedia.org/wiki/A_History_of_British_Birds_(Yarrell_book)-3.md
category: reference
title: A History of British Birds (Yarrell book)
tags: science, encyclopedia
source_url: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/A_History_of_British_Birds_(Yarrell_book)
date_saved: 2026-05-05T08:49:29.754136+00:00
instance: kb-cron
parent: a-history-of-british-birds-yarrell-book-20260505-0
summary:
== Reception == Contemporaries enjoyed Yarrell's Birds, which sold well through various editions. In The Birds of Shakespeare (1871), James Edmund Harting notes that "an excellent dissertation on the organ of voice in the raven will be found in the second volume of Yarrell's 'British Birds'", and Harting refers to Yarrell when he needs ornithological facts. Thomas R. Forbes, in his biographical paper on Yarrell, writes that "All [editions of Birds] are outstanding because of the author's clear, narrative style, accuracy, careful scholarship, and unassuming charm." Simon Holloway, in his Historical Atlas of Breeding Birds in Britain and Ireland 1875–1900, writes that Yarrell's Birds was "far more thoroughly dealt with than in Bewick's work and, once again, was liberally illustrated with wood-engravings". He adds that the book was "also hugely influential in its day", being "reasonably cheap", and that it was the book that the future authors of "the county avifaunas were bought as children and remained their standard textbook", i.e. that Yarrell influenced a whole generation of ornithological authors in Britain. Holloway used Yarrell's figures to accompany the account of each species of bird in his Historical Atlas. The Soffer Ornithology Collection at Amherst College observes that "Yarrell's History


id: a-history-of-british-fishes-20260505-0
file: data/en.wikipedia.org/wiki/A_History_of_British_Fishes-0.md
category: reference
title: A History of British Fishes
tags: science, encyclopedia
source_url: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/A_History_of_British_Fishes
date_saved: 2026-05-05T08:49:42.048901+00:00
instance: kb-cron
parent: a-history-of-british-fishes-20260505-0
summary:
A History of British Fishes is a natural history book by William Yarrell, serialised in nineteen parts from 1835, and then published bound in two volumes in 1836. It is a handbook or field guide systematically describing every type of fish found in the British Isles, with an article for each species. Yarrell was a London bookseller and newsagent with the time and income to indulge his interest in natural history. He was a prominent member of several natural history societies and knew most of the leading British naturalists of his day. He was able to draw on his own extensive library and collection of specimens, his wide network of like-minded naturalist friends, and his access to major libraries to garner material for his writings, the most important of which were A History of British Fishes and the 1843 A History of British Birds. A History of British Fishes followed the example of Thomas Bewick's natural history books in its combination of up-to-date scientific data, accurate illustrations, detailed descriptions and varied anecdotes. The wood engraving illustrations were drawn by Alexander Fussell and engraved by John Thompson; three editions and their two supplements were published by John Van Voorst's company, based


id: a-history-of-british-fishes-20260505-1
file: data/en.wikipedia.org/wiki/A_History_of_British_Fishes-1.md
category: reference
title: A History of British Fishes
tags: science, encyclopedia
source_url: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/A_History_of_British_Fishes
date_saved: 2026-05-05T08:49:42.048901+00:00
instance: kb-cron
parent: a-history-of-british-fishes-20260505-0
summary:
Yarrell was a great admirer of Thomas Bewick (he named a new wildfowl species "Bewick's swan" after the engraver). Bewick's A History of British Birds, published in two volumes in 1797 and in 1804, had brought him nationwide fame, and since Yarrell owned several editions of Bewick's books, he followed the older man's format for his own fish project. Volume 1 has a preface which also acknowledges the people who had helped Yarrell with his project, followed by an introduction discussing the general characteristics of fish (fifteen pages in the first edition) and an alphabetical index before the main species accounts start. There was no established taxonomic sequence for arranging fish, so where possible Yarrell followed Cuvier and Valenciennes, otherwise using anatomical resemblances in features including fins, teeth, and head bones to order his species. Each entry started with a wood engraving of the species, followed by its scientific and English names and their synonyms, and a lead section "Generic characteristics" summarising the key anatomical features. The main text described the fish in more detail, noted when it was recorded as a British species, mentioned interesting anatomical characteristics, described its habits in terms of gregariousness and water depth, and recorded


id: a-history-of-british-fishes-20260505-2
file: data/en.wikipedia.org/wiki/A_History_of_British_Fishes-2.md
category: reference
title: A History of British Fishes
tags: science, encyclopedia
source_url: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/A_History_of_British_Fishes
date_saved: 2026-05-05T08:49:42.048901+00:00
instance: kb-cron
parent: a-history-of-british-fishes-20260505-0
summary:
... the task could not have been undertaken by one more competent for it. History and patient observations are enriched by a science of no ordinary kind ... We have little hesitation, therefore, in saying that the work before us is, perhaps, the most perfect of its kind which has been yet published. It is written in a style at once clear and satisfactory, and the illustrations are quite equal, if not superior, to those of Bewick's birds and quadrupeds. Indeed, we hardly thought it possible that fish could be so perfectly represented by engravings on wood ... The Quarterly Review saw the book as of wider importance. Near the end of a 35-page review, it states This book ought to be largely circulated, not only on account of its scientific merits – though these, as we have in part shown, are great and signal – but because it is popularly written throughout, and therefore likely to excite general attention to a subject which ought to be held as one of primary importance by all those gentlemen of education and property who happen to be more immediately connected with some of the most extensive, and which might be among the


id: a-history-of-the-birds-of-europe-20260505-0
file: data/en.wikipedia.org/wiki/A_History_of_the_Birds_of_Europe-0.md
category: reference
title: A History of the Birds of Europe
tags: science, encyclopedia
source_url: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/A_History_of_the_Birds_of_Europe
date_saved: 2026-05-05T08:49:43.204827+00:00
instance: kb-cron
parent: a-history-of-the-birds-of-europe-20260505-0
summary:
A History of the Birds of Europe, Including all the Species Inhabiting the Western Palearctic Region is a nine-volume ornithological book published in parts between 1871 and 1896. It was mainly written by Henry Eeles Dresser, although Richard Bowdler Sharpe co-authored the earlier volumes. It describes all the bird species reliably recorded in the wild in Europe and adjacent geographical areas with similar fauna, giving their worldwide distribution, variations in appearance and migratory movements. The pioneering ornithological work of John Ray and Francis Willughby in the seventeenth century had introduced an effective classification system based on anatomical features, and a dichotomous key to help readers identify birds. This was followed by other English-language ornithologies, notably John Gould's five-volume Birds of Europe published between 1832 and 1837. Sharpe, then librarian of the Zoological Society of London, had worked closely with Gould and wanted to expand on his work by including all species reliably recorded in Europe, North Africa, parts of the Middle East and the Atlantic archipelagos of Madeira, the Canary Islands and the Azores. He lacked the resources to undertake this task on his own, so he proposed to Dresser that they work together on this encyclopaedia, using Dresser's extensive


id: a-history-of-the-birds-of-europe-20260505-1
file: data/en.wikipedia.org/wiki/A_History_of_the_Birds_of_Europe-1.md
category: reference
title: A History of the Birds of Europe
tags: science, encyclopedia
source_url: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/A_History_of_the_Birds_of_Europe
date_saved: 2026-05-05T08:49:43.204827+00:00
instance: kb-cron
parent: a-history-of-the-birds-of-europe-20260505-0
summary:
In an age before modern cameras and binoculars, nineteenth century ornithology was dominated by the collection of eggs taken from the nest and birds obtained through shooting. The corpses were skinned, preserved with arsenical soap, and sometimes stuffed for display. Ornithologists acquired birds and eggs through their own shooting and collecting activities, by purchases from bird markets, auctions and commercial dealers, and through exchanges with other collectors. Henry Dresser's father, also named Henry, was a successful timber merchant, and sent his son to a school in Ahrensburg near Hamburg to learn German, and another in Gefle (now Gävle) to study Swedish. Henry junior also acquired fluency in Danish, Finnish, French and Norwegian. Between 1856 and 1862, the younger Dresser's work sent him to Finland on three occasions and to New Brunswick twice, giving him the opportunity to add birds and eggs from these regions to his collection. On his second trip to Finland he became the first person to find a nest and eggs of the waxwing, which helped to establish his reputation as a serious ornithologist. In 1863 and 1864, during the American Civil War, Dresser travelled to North America, setting up shop in the Mexican border town of


id: a-history-of-the-birds-of-europe-20260505-2
file: data/en.wikipedia.org/wiki/A_History_of_the_Birds_of_Europe-2.md
category: reference
title: A History of the Birds of Europe
tags: science, encyclopedia
source_url: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/A_History_of_the_Birds_of_Europe
date_saved: 2026-05-05T08:49:43.204827+00:00
instance: kb-cron
parent: a-history-of-the-birds-of-europe-20260505-0
summary:
Each part of the book contained birds from different families to prevent subscribers attempting to collect only a particularly popular group, such as birds of prey or ducks, the different families coming together only when the articles and plates were reorganised in the final binding. The first part released therefore included birds as diverse as the Eurasian teal, red-footed falcon, marsh sandpiper and woodchat shrike. Articles for each species included alternative binomial names, a detailed description of both sexes and the juveniles, the bird's range, habitat and habits, and the specimens that had been examined during preparation of the text. The taxonomy used by Dresser was based on a scheme created by Thomas Henry Huxley and developed by Philip Sclater which used a hierarchical classification using orders and families rather than the arbitrary division into bird groups used by earlier writers. His book started with the passerines, rather than the traditional birds of prey. When choosing binomial names for his species, Dresser kept strictly to chronological priority. Since the first mention might be in an obscure or foreign language journal, this led to changes in the established Latin names of some species, "causing great consternation among his colleagues". The situation


id: a-history-of-the-birds-of-europe-20260505-3
file: data/en.wikipedia.org/wiki/A_History_of_the_Birds_of_Europe-3.md
category: reference
title: A History of the Birds of Europe
tags: science, encyclopedia
source_url: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/A_History_of_the_Birds_of_Europe
date_saved: 2026-05-05T08:49:43.204827+00:00
instance: kb-cron
parent: a-history-of-the-birds-of-europe-20260505-0
summary:
... as acts of ignorance and folly on the part of two juvenile ornithologists who had nothing new to say on the birds of which they wrote, and consequently made a desperate effort to achieve notoriety by introducing novelties into nomenclature ... I think we all owe a debt of gratitude to these two gentlemen who thus heroically sacrificed their reputation for common sense and sound judgment for the good of the science they loved. Overall, Birds of Europe was very well received by its contemporary reviewers, as was the Supplement when it was published. When Dresser died in 1915 aged 77 his obituary in Ibis, an avian science journal, after summarising his life and his major role in scientific societies, went on to say his "most important work is undoubtedly the well-known 'History of the Birds of Europe' ... the whole forms a monument of the industry and accuracy of the author." His obituarist, though, added a caveat that "his views on the limits of specific variation and nomenclature would not perhaps commend themselves to present-day workers." == Legacy == The Birds of Europe continued a tradition dating from Ray's time whereby the study and classification of specimens operated


id: a-history-of-the-birds-of-europe-20260505-4
file: data/en.wikipedia.org/wiki/A_History_of_the_Birds_of_Europe-4.md
category: reference
title: A History of the Birds of Europe
tags: science, encyclopedia
source_url: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/A_History_of_the_Birds_of_Europe
date_saved: 2026-05-05T08:49:43.204827+00:00
instance: kb-cron
parent: a-history-of-the-birds-of-europe-20260505-0
summary:
=== Cited texts === Birkhead, Tim (2011). The Wisdom of Birds: An Illustrated History of Ornithology. London: Bloomsbury. ISBN 978-0-7475-9822-0. Birkhead, Tim (2018). The Wonderful Mr Willughby: The First True Ornithologist. London: Bloomsbury. ISBN 978-1-4088-7848-4. Birkhead, Tim; Smith, Paul J.; Doherty, Meghan; Charmantier, Isabelle (2016). "Willughby's Ornithology". In Birkhead, Tim (ed.). Virtuoso by Nature: The Scientific Worlds of Francis Willughby FRS (1635–1672). Leiden: Brill. pp. 268–304. ISBN 978-90-04-28531-6. Charmantier, Isabelle; Johnston, Dorothy; Smith, Paul J (2016). "The legacies of Francis Willughby". In Birkhead, Tim (ed.). Virtuoso by Nature: The Scientific Worlds of Francis Willughby FRS (1635–1672). Leiden: Brill. pp. 360–385. ISBN 978-90-04-28531-6. Dresser, Henry Eeles (1871–1896). A History of the Birds of Europe : including all the Species inhabiting the Western Palaearctic region. Vol. 1. London: self-published. OCLC 861242766. Johanson, Zerina; Barrett, Paul M; Richter, Martha; Smith, Mike (2016). Arthur Smith Woodward: His Life and Influence on Modern Vertebrate Palaeontology. Geological Society of London, Special Publications. Vol. 430. London: Geological Society of London. ISBN 978-1-86239-741-5. Kusukawa, Sachiko (2016). "Historia Piscium (1686) and its sources". In Birkhead, Tim (ed.). Virtuoso by Nature: The Scientific Worlds of Francis Willughby FRS (1635–1672). Leiden: Brill. pp. 305–334. ISBN 978-90-04-28531-6. McGhie, Henry A. (2011). "Dresser,


id: the-intelligence-of-dogs-20260505-0
file: data/en.wikipedia.org/wiki/The_Intelligence_of_Dogs-0.md
category: reference
title: The Intelligence of Dogs
tags: science, encyclopedia
source_url: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/The_Intelligence_of_Dogs
date_saved: 2026-05-05T08:49:44.384130+00:00
instance: kb-cron
parent: the-intelligence-of-dogs-20260505-0
summary:
The Intelligence of Dogs: A Guide to the Thoughts, Emotions, and Inner Lives of Our Canine Companions is a 1994 book on dog intelligence by Stanley Coren, a professor of canine psychology at the University of British Columbia. The book explains Coren's theories about the differences in intelligence between various breeds of dogs. Coren published a second edition in 2006. Coren defines three aspects of dog intelligence in the book: instinctive intelligence, adaptive intelligence, and working and obedience intelligence. Instinctive intelligence refers to a dog's ability to perform the tasks it was bred for, such as herding, pointing, fetching, guarding, or supplying companionship. Adaptive intelligence refers to a dog's ability to solve problems on its own. Working and obedience intelligence refers to a dog's ability to learn from humans. == Methods == The book's ranking focuses on working and obedience intelligence. Coren sent evaluation requests to American Kennel Club and Canadian Kennel Club obedience trial judges, asking them to rank breeds by performance, and received 199 responses, representing about 50 percent of obedience judges then working in North America. Assessments were limited to breeds receiving at least 100 judge responses. This methodology aimed to eliminate the excessive weight that might


id: jungle-animals-20260505-0
file: data/en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Jungle_Animals-0.md
category: reference
title: Jungle Animals
tags: science, encyclopedia
source_url: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Jungle_Animals
date_saved: 2026-05-05T08:49:45.543900+00:00
instance: kb-cron
parent: jungle-animals-20260505-0
summary:
Jungle Animals was Frank Buck’s eighth book, written with Ferrin Fraser, describing some of the animals, birds, and reptiles of the jungle, which Buck had come in contact with in his years of travel around the world. The lavishly illustrated book was intended for schoolchildren grades five to eight. A children’s book illustrator, Roger Vernam (1912–1992), was the artist. == Critical reception == "Large and beautifully illustrated by Roger Vernam, this book is authoritative and fascinating...Best for the pre-high school age, but would interest all." == References ==


id: life-nature-library-20260505-0
file: data/en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Life_Nature_Library-0.md
category: reference
title: Life Nature Library
tags: science, encyclopedia
source_url: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Life_Nature_Library
date_saved: 2026-05-05T08:49:46.736150+00:00
instance: kb-cron
parent: life-nature-library-20260505-0
summary:
The Life Nature Library is a series of 25 hardbound books published by Time-Life between 1961 and 1965, with revisions to 1968. It has been translated from English into eight languages and sold in 90 countries. Each volume explores an important division of the natural world and is written for educated laymen by a primary author (or authors) "and the Editors of LIFE". The 25 volumes: The Forest (1961; revised 1963), by Peter Farb The Sea (1961; revised 1963), by Leonard Engel The Desert (1961; revised 1962), by A. Starker Leopold The Mountains (1962; revised 1967), by Lorus J. Milne and Margery Milne Evolution (1962; revised 1964), by Ruth Moore The Poles (1962; revised 1968), by Willy Ley The Earth (1962; revised 1963), by Arthur Beiser The Universe (1962; revised 1966, 1967), by David Bergamini The Insects (1962), by Peter Farb The Birds (1963), by Roger Tory Peterson The Plants (1963; revised 1968), by Frits W. Went The Mammals (1963; revised 1967), by Richard Carrington The Fishes (1963; revised 1964), by F.D. Ommanney The Reptiles (1963), by Archie Carr Ecology (1963), by Peter Farb The Land and Wildlife of North America (1964; Revised 1966), by Peter Farb The Land and


id: mannahatta-project-20260505-0
file: data/en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Mannahatta_Project-0.md
category: reference
title: Mannahatta Project
tags: science, encyclopedia
source_url: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Mannahatta_Project
date_saved: 2026-05-05T08:49:47.883486+00:00
instance: kb-cron
parent: mannahatta-project-20260505-0
summary:
The Mannahatta Project is a Wildlife Conservation Society research project in historical ecology led by landscape ecologist Eric W. Sanderson that principally ran for 10 years from 1999-2009, reconstructing the island at the point of first contact between the Dutch ship Halve Maen and the Lenape in 1609. The work culminated in the publication of Mannahatta: A Natural History of New York City in 2009 and has subsequently developed as the Welikia Project and in influence on other environmental initiatives. == Project and book == The project has explored the great biodiversity and ecological complexity through a historical geographic information system based on georeferencing of the British Headquarters Map of 1782 and the Randel Farm Maps made for the Commissioners' Plan of 1811, while also detailing the formative impact of Native American use of fire in ecosystems. It culminated in 2009 for the 400th anniversary with the publication of the book Mannahatta: A Natural History of New York City, which also includes a speculative look forward to the effect of climate change on New York City and hopeful human adaptations in the year 2409. An exhibition at the Museum of the City of New York was held the same year.


id: natural-history-pliny-20260505-0
file: data/en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Natural_History_(Pliny)-0.md
category: reference
title: Natural History (Pliny)
tags: science, encyclopedia
source_url: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Natural_History_(Pliny)
date_saved: 2026-05-05T08:49:49.227740+00:00
instance: kb-cron
parent: natural-history-pliny-20260505-0
summary:
The Natural History (Latin: Naturalis historia) is a Latin work by Pliny the Elder. The largest single work to have survived from the Roman Empire to the modern day, the Natural History compiles information gleaned from other ancient authors. Despite the work's title, its subject area is not limited to what is today understood by natural history; Pliny himself defines his scope as "the natural world, or life". It is encyclopedic in scope, but its structure is not like that of a modern encyclopedia. It is the only work by Pliny to have survived, and the last that he published. He published the first 10 books in AD 77, but had not made a final revision of the remainder at the time of his death during the AD 79 eruption of Vesuvius. The rest was published posthumously by Pliny's nephew, Pliny the Younger. The work is divided into 37 books, organised into 10 volumes. These cover topics including astronomy, mathematics, geography, ethnography, anthropology, human physiology, zoology, botany, agriculture, horticulture, pharmacology, mining, mineralogy, sculpture, art, and precious stones. Pliny's Natural History became a model for later encyclopedias and scholarly works as a result of its breadth of subject matter, its referencing


id: natural-history-pliny-20260505-1
file: data/en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Natural_History_(Pliny)-1.md
category: reference
title: Natural History (Pliny)
tags: science, encyclopedia
source_url: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Natural_History_(Pliny)
date_saved: 2026-05-05T08:49:49.227740+00:00
instance: kb-cron
parent: natural-history-pliny-20260505-0
summary:
=== Purpose === Pliny's purpose in writing the Natural History was to cover all learning and art so far as they are connected with nature or draw their materials from nature. He says: My subject is a barren one – the world of nature, or in other words life; and that subject in its least elevated department, and employing either rustic terms or foreign, nay barbarian words that actually have to be introduced with an apology. Moreover, the path is not a beaten highway of authorship, nor one in which the mind is eager to range: there is not one of us who has made the same venture, nor yet one among the Greeks who has tackled single-handed all departments of the subject. === Sources === Pliny studied the original authorities on each subject and took care to make excerpts from their pages. His indices auctorum sometimes list the authorities he actually consulted, though not exhaustively; in other cases, they cover the principal writers on the subject, whose names are borrowed second-hand from his immediate authorities. He acknowledges his obligations to his predecessors: "To own up to those who were the means of one's own achievements." In the preface, the


id: natural-history-pliny-20260505-2
file: data/en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Natural_History_(Pliny)-2.md
category: reference
title: Natural History (Pliny)
tags: science, encyclopedia
source_url: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Natural_History_(Pliny)
date_saved: 2026-05-05T08:49:49.227740+00:00
instance: kb-cron
parent: natural-history-pliny-20260505-0
summary:
About the middle of the 3rd century, an abstract of the geographical portions of Pliny's work was produced by Solinus. Early in the 8th century, Bede, who admired Pliny's work, had access to a partial manuscript which he used in his "De natura rerum", especially the sections on meteorology and gems. However, Bede updated and corrected Pliny on the tides. In total there are some 307 extant medieval manuscripts of the work, however this was narrowed down to just 17 for work on the critical edition by Detlefsen (1858–1904). Olsen (1985) published details of all of Pliny's manuscripts pre-1200, however did not attempt to reconstruct the stemma. In 1141 Robert of Cricklade wrote the Defloratio Historiae Naturalis Plinii Secundi consisting of nine books of selections taken from an ancient manuscript. There are three independent classes of the stemma of the surviving Historia Naturalis manuscripts. These are divided into: Late Antique Codices: 5th–6th centuries. None survive intact; all as palimpsests or as recycled book bindings. Vetustiores (older): 8th–9th centuries Recentiores (younger): 9th century. From these descend all known later medieval recensions from the 11th–12th centuries up to 1469 printed edition. The textual tradition/stemma was established by the German scholars J. Sillig,


id: natural-history-pliny-20260505-3
file: data/en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Natural_History_(Pliny)-3.md
category: reference
title: Natural History (Pliny)
tags: science, encyclopedia
source_url: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Natural_History_(Pliny)
date_saved: 2026-05-05T08:49:49.227740+00:00
instance: kb-cron
parent: natural-history-pliny-20260505-0
summary:
The first topic covered is Astronomy, in Book II. Pliny starts with the known universe, roundly criticising attempts at cosmology as madness, including the view that there are countless other worlds than the Earth. He concurs with the four (Aristotelian) elements, fire, earth, air and water, and records the seven "planets" including the Sun and Moon. The Earth is a sphere, suspended in the middle of space. He considers it a weakness to try to find the shape and form of God, or to suppose that such a being would care about human affairs. He mentions eclipses, but considers Hipparchus's almanac grandiose for seeming to know how Nature works. He cites Posidonius's estimate that the Moon is 230,000 miles away. He describes comets, noting that only Aristotle has recorded seeing more than one at once. Book II continues with natural meteorological events lower in the sky, including the winds, weather, whirlwinds, lightning, and rainbows. He returns to astronomical facts such as the effect of longitude on time of sunrise and sunset, the variation of the Sun's elevation with latitude (affecting time-telling by sundials), and the variation of day length with latitude. === Geography === In Books III to VI, Pliny


id: natural-history-pliny-20260505-4
file: data/en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Natural_History_(Pliny)-4.md
category: reference
title: Natural History (Pliny)
tags: science, encyclopedia
source_url: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Natural_History_(Pliny)
date_saved: 2026-05-05T08:49:49.227740+00:00
instance: kb-cron
parent: natural-history-pliny-20260505-0
summary:
=== Drugs, medicine and magic === A major section of the Natural History, Books XX to XXIX, discusses matters related to medicine, especially plants that yield useful drugs. Pliny lists over 900 drugs, compared to 600 in Dioscorides's De Materia Medica, 550 in Theophrastus, and 650 in Galen. The poppy and opium are mentioned; Pliny notes that opium induces sleep and can be fatal. Diseases and their treatment are covered in book XXVI. Pliny addresses magic in Book XXX. He is critical of the Magi, attacking astrology, and suggesting that magic originated in medicine, creeping in by pretending to offer health. He names Zoroaster of Ancient Persia as the source of magical ideas. He states that Pythagoras, Empedocles, Democritus and Plato all travelled abroad to learn magic, remarking that it was surprising anyone accepted the doctrines they brought back, and that medicine (of Hippocrates) and magic (of Democritus) should have flourished simultaneously at the time of the Peloponnesian War. === Agriculture === The methods used to cultivate crops are described in Book XVIII. He praises Cato the Elder and his work De Agri Cultura, which he uses as a primary source. Pliny's work includes discussion of all known cultivated crops


id: natural-history-pliny-20260505-5
file: data/en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Natural_History_(Pliny)-5.md
category: reference
title: Natural History (Pliny)
tags: science, encyclopedia
source_url: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Natural_History_(Pliny)
date_saved: 2026-05-05T08:49:49.227740+00:00
instance: kb-cron
parent: natural-history-pliny-20260505-0
summary:
In the last two books of the work (Books XXXVI and XXXVII), Pliny describes many different minerals and gemstones, building on works by Theophrastus and other authors. The topic concentrates on the most valuable gemstones, and he criticises the obsession with luxury products such as engraved gems and hardstone carvings. He provides a thorough discussion of the properties of fluorspar, noting that it is carved into vases and other decorative objects. The account of magnetism includes the myth of Magnes the shepherd. Pliny moves into crystallography and mineralogy, describing the octahedral shape of the diamond and recording that diamond dust is used by gem engravers to cut and polish other gems, owing to its great hardness. He states that rock crystal is valuable for its transparency and hardness, and can be carved into vessels and implements. He relates the story of a woman who owned a ladle made of the mineral, paying the sum of 150,000 sesterces for the item. Nero deliberately broke two crystal cups when he realised that he was about to be deposed, so denying their use to anyone else. Pliny returns to the problem of fraud and the detection of false gems using several tests, including


id: natural-history-pliny-20260505-6
file: data/en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Natural_History_(Pliny)-6.md
category: reference
title: Natural History (Pliny)
tags: science, encyclopedia
source_url: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Natural_History_(Pliny)
date_saved: 2026-05-05T08:49:49.227740+00:00
instance: kb-cron
parent: natural-history-pliny-20260505-0
summary:
The anonymous fourth-century compilation Medicina Plinii contains more than 1,100 pharmacological recipes, the vast majority of them from the Historia naturalis; perhaps because Pliny's name was attached to it, it enjoyed huge popularity in the Middle Ages. Isidore of Seville's Etymologiae (The Etymologies, c. 600–625) quotes from Pliny 45 times in Book XII alone; Books XII, XIII and XIV are all based largely on the Natural History. Through Isidore, Vincent of Beauvais's Speculum Maius (The Great Mirror, c. 1235–1264) also used Pliny as a source for his own work. In this regard, Pliny's influence over the medieval period has been argued to be quite extensive. For example, one twentieth-century historian has argued that Pliny's reliance on book-based knowledge, and not direct observation, shaped intellectual life to the degree that it "stymie[d] the progress of western science". This sentiment can be observed in the early modern period when Niccolò Leoniceno's 1509 De Erroribus Plinii ("On Pliny's Errors") attacked Pliny for lacking a proper scientific method, unlike Theophrastus or Dioscorides, and for lacking knowledge of philosophy or medicine. Sir Thomas Browne expressed scepticism about Pliny's dependability in his 1646 Pseudodoxia Epidemica: Now what is very strange, there is scarce a popular error


id: natural-history-pliny-20260505-7
file: data/en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Natural_History_(Pliny)-7.md
category: reference
title: Natural History (Pliny)
tags: science, encyclopedia
source_url: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Natural_History_(Pliny)
date_saved: 2026-05-05T08:49:49.227740+00:00
instance: kb-cron
parent: natural-history-pliny-20260505-0
summary:
L330) Volume I. Books 1–2 L352) Volume II. Books 3–7 L353) Volume III. Books 8–11 L370) Volume IV. Books 12–16 L371) Volume V. Books 17–19 L392) Volume VI. Books 20–23 L393) Volume VII. Books 24–27. Index of Plants L418) Volume VIII. Books 28–32. Index of Fishes L394) Volume IX. Books 33–35 L419) Volume X. Books 36–37 Collection Budé (Latin and French): Livre I: Vue d'ensemble des 36 livres Livre II: Cosmologie, astronomie et géologie Livre III: Géographie des mondes connus: Italie, Espagne, Narbonnaise Pline l'Ancien; Silberman, Alain; Zehnacker, Hubert (28 February 2015). Histoire naturelle. Livre IV: Géographie de l'Europe, suite (in French and Latin). Paris: Les Belles Lettres. ISBN 9782251014692. (This was the most recently published edition, finally completing the collection) Livre V, 1re partie: Géographie: L'Afrique du Nord Livre VI, 2e partie: L'Asie centrale et orientale. L'Inde Livre VI, 4e partie: L'Asie africaine sauf l'Egypte. Les dimensions et les climats du monde habité Livre VII: De l'homme Livre VIII: Des animaux terrestres Livre IX: Des Animaux marins Livre X: Des Animaux ailés Livre XI: Des Insectes. Des Parties du corps Ernout, Alfred (1947). Histoire naturelle. Livre XI: Des Insectes. Des Parties du corps (in French and Latin). Paris: Les


id: the-natural-history-and-antiquities-of-selborne-20260505-0
file: data/en.wikipedia.org/wiki/The_Natural_History_and_Antiquities_of_Selborne-0.md
category: reference
title: The Natural History and Antiquities of Selborne
tags: science, encyclopedia
source_url: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/The_Natural_History_and_Antiquities_of_Selborne
date_saved: 2026-05-05T08:49:50.488013+00:00
instance: kb-cron
parent: the-natural-history-and-antiquities-of-selborne-20260505-0
summary:
The Natural History and Antiquities of Selborne, or just The Natural History of Selborne is a book by English parson-naturalist Gilbert White (1720–1793). It was first published in 1789 by his brother Benjamin. It has been continuously in print since then, with nearly 300 editions up to 2007. The book was published late in White's life, compiled from a mixture of his letters to other naturalists—Thomas Pennant and Daines Barrington; a 'Naturalist's Calendar' (in the second edition) comparing phenology observations made by White and William Markwick of the first appearances in the year of different animals and plants; and observations of natural history organized more or less systematically by species and group. A second volume, less often reprinted, covered the antiquities of Selborne. Some of the letters were never posted, and were written for the book. White's Natural History was at once well received by contemporary critics and the public, and continued to be admired by a diverse range of nineteenth and twentieth century literary figures. His work has been seen as an early contribution to ecology and in particular to phenology. The book has been enjoyed for its charm and apparent simplicity, and the way that it creates a


id: the-natural-history-and-antiquities-of-selborne-20260505-1
file: data/en.wikipedia.org/wiki/The_Natural_History_and_Antiquities_of_Selborne-1.md
category: reference
title: The Natural History and Antiquities of Selborne
tags: science, encyclopedia
source_url: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/The_Natural_History_and_Antiquities_of_Selborne
date_saved: 2026-05-05T08:49:50.488013+00:00
instance: kb-cron
parent: the-natural-history-and-antiquities-of-selborne-20260505-0
summary:
There are 44 letters to White's friend Thomas Pennant (1726–1798), of which the first nine were never posted and are thus undated. Of those that were posted, the first, Letter 10 giving an overview of Selborne, is dated 4 August 1767; the last, Letter 44 on wood pigeons, is dated 30 November 1780. It is not known how the men became friends, or even if they ever met; White writes repeatedly that he would like to meet "to have a little conversation face to face after we have corresponded so freely for several years" so it is certain they did not meet for long periods, and possible they never met at all. The letters are edited from the form in which they were actually posted; for example, Letter 10 as posted had a cringing introductory paragraph of thanks to Pennant which White edited out of the published version. ==== Letters to the Hon. Daines Barrington ==== There are 66 letters to the lawyer Daines Barrington (1727–1800), occupying half the book. Letter 1, on summer birds of passage, is dated 30 June 1769; Letter 66, on thunderstorms, is dated 25 June 1787. The Barrington letters therefore largely overlap the time frame


id: the-natural-history-and-antiquities-of-selborne-20260505-2
file: data/en.wikipedia.org/wiki/The_Natural_History_and_Antiquities_of_Selborne-2.md
category: reference
title: The Natural History and Antiquities of Selborne
tags: science, encyclopedia
source_url: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/The_Natural_History_and_Antiquities_of_Selborne
date_saved: 2026-05-05T08:49:50.488013+00:00
instance: kb-cron
parent: the-natural-history-and-antiquities-of-selborne-20260505-0
summary:
=== The Antiquities of Selborne === This section, often omitted from later editions, consists like the Natural History of 26 "Letters", none of them posted, and without even the fiction of being addressed to Pennant or Barrington. Letter 1 begins "It is reasonable to suppose that in remote ages this woody and mountainous district was inhabited only by bears and wolves." Letter 2 discusses Selborne in Saxon times; Selborne was according to White a royal manor, belonging to Editha, queen to Edward the Confessor. Letter 3 describes the village's church, which "has no pretensions to antiquity, and is, as I suppose, of no earlier date than the beginning of the reign of Henry VII." Letter 5 describes the ancient Yew tree in the churchyard. Letter 7 describes the (ruined) priory. Letter 11 discusses the properties of the Knights Templar in and near the village. Letter 14 describes the visit of bishop William of Wykeham in 1373, to correct the scandalous "particular abuses" in the religious houses in the parish. He orders the canons of Selborne priory (Item 5th) "to take care that the doors of their church and priory be so attended to that no suspected and disorderly females, suspectae


id: the-natural-history-and-antiquities-of-selborne-20260505-3
file: data/en.wikipedia.org/wiki/The_Natural_History_and_Antiquities_of_Selborne-3.md
category: reference
title: The Natural History and Antiquities of Selborne
tags: science, encyclopedia
source_url: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/The_Natural_History_and_Antiquities_of_Selborne
date_saved: 2026-05-05T08:49:50.488013+00:00
instance: kb-cron
parent: the-natural-history-and-antiquities-of-selborne-20260505-0
summary:
[T]he sequestered retreat of the naturalist still remains ... inaccessible to all the improved knowledge and refinement which belong to these enlightened and virtuous times. It has been excluded from the blessings of increasing commerce and population, from factories and filiations, manufactures and Methodism, genius and gin, prosperity and pauperism. The book was widely admired by contemporary writers. Samuel Taylor Coleridge called it a "sweet, delightful book"; John Clare imitated its style of natural history letters. Thomas Carlyle wrote that "It is one of our most excellent books; White, a quiet country Parson, has preached a better sermon here than all the loud Bishops that then were". Charles Darwin is said to have been delighted by it. Circa 1862, the retired surgeon and zoologist Thomas Bell moved to The Wakes. He devoted his time to studying White's work, and editing new edition of the book. === Edwardian era === The 1907–1921 Cambridge History of English and American Literature begins its essay on White's Selborne with the words: Gilbert White's Natural History and Antiquities of Selborne (1789) holds a unique position in English literature as the solitary classic of natural history. It is not easy to give, in a few words,


id: the-natural-history-and-antiquities-of-selborne-20260505-4
file: data/en.wikipedia.org/wiki/The_Natural_History_and_Antiquities_of_Selborne-4.md
category: reference
title: The Natural History and Antiquities of Selborne
tags: science, encyclopedia
source_url: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/The_Natural_History_and_Antiquities_of_Selborne
date_saved: 2026-05-05T08:49:50.488013+00:00
instance: kb-cron
parent: the-natural-history-and-antiquities-of-selborne-20260505-0
summary:
== Legacy == Thomas Bewick, in the first volume (Land Birds) of his A History of British Birds (1797), presents a phenological list of 19 birds which are "chiefly selected from Mr. White's Natural History of Selborne, and are arranged nearly in the order of their appearing". The list begins with the wryneck ("Middle of March"), places the cuckoo in the middle of April, and ends with the flycatcher in the middle of May. Charles Darwin read the Natural History as a young man, inspiring him to take "much pleasure in watching the habits of birds" and to wonder "why every gentleman did not become an ornithologist". Sara Losh, too, read the Natural History as part of her "wonderful, varied and advanced [home] education for a young girl". White's Natural History has been continuously in print since its first publication. It was long held ("apocryphally", according to White's biographer, Richard Mabey) to be the fourth-most published book in the English language after the Bible, the works of Shakespeare, and John Bunyan's The Pilgrim's Progress. White's frequent accounts in The Natural History and Antiquities of Selborne of his tortoise Timothy, inherited from his aunt, form the basis for a variety of


id: the-natural-history-of-aleppo-20260505-0
file: data/en.wikipedia.org/wiki/The_Natural_History_of_Aleppo-0.md
category: reference
title: The Natural History of Aleppo
tags: science, encyclopedia
source_url: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/The_Natural_History_of_Aleppo
date_saved: 2026-05-05T08:49:51.632320+00:00
instance: kb-cron
parent: the-natural-history-of-aleppo-20260505-0
summary:
The Natural History of Aleppo is a 1756 book by naturalist Alexander Russell on the natural history of Aleppo. In 1794 his half-brother, Patrick Russell, revised and expanded the text in a second edition. The book is significant for its quality, the contemporary interest it attracted, and for being a product of the Scottish Enlightenment. When the book was published it was immediately an important European record and perspective on the state of contemporary science in Syria. The book contains the earliest known description of the Syrian hamster. == References == == External links == The Natural History of Aleppo at Internet Archive 2008 sale of book by Christie's


id: the-natural-history-of-iceland-20260505-0
file: data/en.wikipedia.org/wiki/The_Natural_History_of_Iceland-0.md
category: reference
title: The Natural History of Iceland
tags: science, encyclopedia
source_url: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/The_Natural_History_of_Iceland
date_saved: 2026-05-05T08:49:52.781546+00:00
instance: kb-cron
parent: the-natural-history-of-iceland-20260505-0
summary:
The Natural History of Iceland (Danish: Tilforladelige efterretninger om Island) is a natural history of Iceland by Danish lawyer Niels Horrebow. It was published in Danish in 1752, with an English translation in 1758. == History of the work == The book was intended to correct errors in past natural histories of Iceland, particularly the work of Hamburg mayor Johann Anderson, who had written about the island without ever actually visiting it. Anderson had relied entirely on accounts from German and Dutch sea captains, but Horrebow lived in Iceland for two years, studying the animals, plants, weather, and geological features. He also made note of the cultural practices of the Icelandic people. Horrebow's resulting work was published in Danish in 1752, then translated into German (1753), Dutch (1754), English (1758) and French (1764). == "Concerning Snakes" == The Natural History of Iceland is often noted for its seventy-second chapter, "Concerning Snakes", which, in its English translation, consists solely of one sentence: No snakes of any kind are to be met with throughout the whole island. Several works of English literature make light of this brief passage. For example, James Boswell's Life of Johnson (1791) relates how Samuel Johnson bragged to


id: natural-history-of-the-canary-islands-20260505-0
file: data/en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Natural_History_of_the_Canary_Islands-0.md
category: reference
title: Natural History of the Canary Islands
tags: science, encyclopedia
source_url: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Natural_History_of_the_Canary_Islands
date_saved: 2026-05-05T08:49:53.962391+00:00
instance: kb-cron
parent: natural-history-of-the-canary-islands-20260505-0
summary:
Natural History of the Canary Islands (French: Histoire Naturelle des Îles Canaries) is an illustrated reference work of the natural history of the Canary Islands. It was written by the English botanist Philip Barker-Webb and the French naturalist and ethnologist Sabin Berthelot, in cooperation with several other scientists. It was published in Paris between 1836 and 1850. The work is considered the most important 19th century text about the Canary Islands in the field of natural sciences. The work consists of three main parts and nine volumes: Volume 1-1: ethnography and the annals of conquest Volume 1-2: Canarian miscellany (travel, excursions, various observations etc.) Volume 2-1: geography, statistics and geology Volume 2-2: zoology Volume 3-1: botanical geography Volume 3-2: Canarian phytography (in 4 volumes) Most of the work is written in French, except the phytography part, which consists of scientific descriptions of plants in Latin. == References == == External links == Histoire Naturelle des Îles Canaries full text at Biodiversity Heritage Library


id: the-naturalist-on-the-river-amazons-20260505-0
file: data/en.wikipedia.org/wiki/The_Naturalist_on_the_River_Amazons-0.md
category: reference
title: The Naturalist on the River Amazons
tags: science, encyclopedia
source_url: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/The_Naturalist_on_the_River_Amazons
date_saved: 2026-05-05T08:49:55.173131+00:00
instance: kb-cron
parent: the-naturalist-on-the-river-amazons-20260505-0
summary:
The Naturalist on the River Amazons, subtitled A Record of the Adventures, Habits of Animals, Sketches of Brazilian and Indian Life, and Aspects of Nature under the Equator, during Eleven Years of Travel, is an 1863 book by the British naturalist Henry Walter Bates about his expedition to the Amazon basin. Bates and his friend Alfred Russel Wallace set out to obtain new species and new evidence for evolution by natural selection, as well as exotic specimens to sell. He explored thousands of miles of the Amazon and its tributaries, and collected over 14,000 species, of which 8,000 were new to science. His observations of the coloration of butterflies led him to discover Batesian mimicry. The book contains an evenly distributed mixture of natural history, travel, and observation of human societies, including the towns with their Catholic processions. Only the most remarkable discoveries of animals and plants are described, and theories such as evolution and mimicry are barely mentioned. Bates remarks that finding a new species is only the start; he also describes animal behaviour, sometimes in detail, as for the army ants. He constantly relates the wildlife to the people, explaining how the people hunt, what they eat and


id: the-naturalist-on-the-river-amazons-20260505-1
file: data/en.wikipedia.org/wiki/The_Naturalist_on_the_River_Amazons-1.md
category: reference
title: The Naturalist on the River Amazons
tags: science, encyclopedia
source_url: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/The_Naturalist_on_the_River_Amazons
date_saved: 2026-05-05T08:49:55.173131+00:00
instance: kb-cron
parent: the-naturalist-on-the-river-amazons-20260505-0
summary:
There are 39 illustrations, some of animals and plants, some of human topics such as the "Masked-dance and wedding-feast of Tucuna Indians", which is signed by Josiah Wood Whymper. Some illustrations including "Turtle Fishing and Adventure with Alligator" are by the German illustrator Johann Baptist Zwecker; some, such as "Bird-Killing Spider (Mygale Avicularia) Attacking Finches" are by E.W. Robinson; others by the zoological artist Joseph Wolf. == Chapters == The structure of the readable, cut-down second edition of 1864 is as follows: 1 Pará — arrival, aspect of the country, etc. (now the city of Belém) Bates arrives, and at once starts learning about the country's peoples and natural history. The impressions received during this first walk can never wholly fade from my mind... Amongst them were several handsome women, dressed in a slovenly manner, barefoot or shod in loose slippers; but wearing richly-decorated ear-rings, and around their necks strings of very large gold beads. They had dark expressive eyes, and remarkably rich heads of hair. It was a mere fancy, but I thought the mingled squalor, luxuriance and beauty of these women were pointedly in harmony with the rest of the scene; so striking, in the view, was the


id: the-naturalist-on-the-river-amazons-20260505-2
file: data/en.wikipedia.org/wiki/The_Naturalist_on_the_River_Amazons-2.md
category: reference
title: The Naturalist on the River Amazons
tags: science, encyclopedia
source_url: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/The_Naturalist_on_the_River_Amazons
date_saved: 2026-05-05T08:49:55.173131+00:00
instance: kb-cron
parent: the-naturalist-on-the-river-amazons-20260505-0
summary:
He describes Santarem and the customs of its people. He goes on short "excursions" around the little town. The pure "Indians" choose to build light open shelters, resting inside in hammocks, whereas those of mixed or African origin build more substantial mud huts. He enjoys watching small pale green Bembex and other kinds of sand wasps. He regrets that the people cut down the Oenocarpus distichus palm to harvest its fruits, which yield a milky, nutty beverage. He describes some potter wasps and mason bees. He meets a "feiticeira" or witch who knows the uses of many plants, but remarks that "the Indian men all become sceptics after a little intercourse with the whites" and that her witchcraft "was of a very weak quality" though others have more dangerous tricks. 9 Voyage up the Tapajos Bates hires a boat made of stonewood for a three month trip up the Tapajos river. He prepares for the trip by salting meat, grinding coffee, and placing all the food in tin boxes to keep insects and damp out. He buys trade-goods such as fishhooks, axes, knives and beads. He witnesses poison-fishing using lianas of Paullinia pinnata. At Point Cajetuba he finds a line


id: the-naturalist-on-the-river-amazons-20260505-3
file: data/en.wikipedia.org/wiki/The_Naturalist_on_the_River_Amazons-3.md
category: reference
title: The Naturalist on the River Amazons
tags: science, encyclopedia
source_url: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/The_Naturalist_on_the_River_Amazons
date_saved: 2026-05-05T08:49:55.173131+00:00
instance: kb-cron
parent: the-naturalist-on-the-river-amazons-20260505-0
summary:
==== Charles Darwin ==== Charles Darwin, having encouraged Bates to publish an account of his travels, read The Naturalist on the River Amazons with great pleasure, writing to Bates on 18 April 1863 that My criticisms may be condensed into a single sentence, namely that it is the best book of Natural History Travels ever published in England. Your style seems to me admirable. Nothing can be better than the discussion on the struggle for existence & nothing better than the descriptions on the Forest scenery. It is a grand book, & whether or not it sells quickly it will last. You have spoken out boldly on Species; & boldness on this subject seems to get rarer & rarer.— How beautifully illustrated it is. The cut on the back is most tasteful. I heartily congratulate you on its publication. Darwin noted in his letter that Athenaeum magazine reviewed the book coldly and insolently, while the Reader received it warmly. Darwin published An Appreciation of the book in the Natural History Review in 1863, in which he notes that Bates sent back "a mass of specimens" of "no less than 14,712 species" (mostly of insects), of which 8000 were new to


id: the-naturalist-on-the-river-amazons-20260505-4
file: data/en.wikipedia.org/wiki/The_Naturalist_on_the_River_Amazons-4.md
category: reference
title: The Naturalist on the River Amazons
tags: science, encyclopedia
source_url: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/The_Naturalist_on_the_River_Amazons
date_saved: 2026-05-05T08:49:55.173131+00:00
instance: kb-cron
parent: the-naturalist-on-the-river-amazons-20260505-0
summary:
==== Joseph F. James ==== An unabridged edition was reviewed by botanist and geologist Joseph F. James (1857-1897) in Science in 1893. James was reviewing a book which was at that time already a 30-year-old classic that had been reprinted at least four times. He compared it to Gilbert White's 1789 The Natural History and Antiquities of Selborne, Darwin's Voyage of the Beagle, and Alfred Russel Wallace's The Malay Archipelago, writing that No one can err, we believe, in placing Bates's "Naturalist on the River Amazons" among the foremost books of travel of this age; and no one who has read it, but recalls its graphic pages with delight. James notes that "on the appearance of the book in 1868 it met with cordial praise from all quarters". Despite his professed liking for Bates's "direct and concise" style, he quotes at length Bates' description of the tropics, with the whirring of cicadas, the shrill stridulation of a vast number and variety of field-crickets and grasshoppers, each species sounding its peculiar note; the plaintive hootings of tree-frogs,- all blended together in one continuous ringing sound, - the audible expression of the teeming profusion of nature." James spends much space in his


id: the-naturalist-on-the-river-amazons-20260505-5
file: data/en.wikipedia.org/wiki/The_Naturalist_on_the_River_Amazons-5.md
category: reference
title: The Naturalist on the River Amazons
tags: science, encyclopedia
source_url: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/The_Naturalist_on_the_River_Amazons
date_saved: 2026-05-05T08:49:55.173131+00:00
instance: kb-cron
parent: the-naturalist-on-the-river-amazons-20260505-0
summary:
==== In science, education, and literature ==== Bates's book is cited in papers for its accurate early observations, such as of the urticating hairs of tarantulas, the puddle drinking habits of butterflies, or of the rich insect fauna in the tropics. The book and Bates' Amazon trip are covered in lecture courses on evolution by professors such as Anne E. Magurran and Maria Dornelas. The warm reception of Bates's Naturalist was not confined to scientists. The novelists D.H. Lawrence and George Orwell both wrote admiringly of the book. Lawrence wrote to his friend S. S. Koteliansky "I should like, from the Everyman Library Bates' – Naturalist on the Amazon... because I intend some day to go to South America – to Peru or Ecuador, not the Amazon. But I know Bates is good." == See also == The Malay Archipelago by Alfred Russel Wallace, 1869 == Notes == == References == === Primary === === Secondary === == Bibliography == Bates, H. W. (1863). The naturalist on the River Amazons, a record of adventures, habits of animals, sketches of Brazilian and Indian life and aspects of nature under the Equator during eleven years of travel. London: J. Murray. (First edition.)


id: nature-studies-manuscript-20260505-0
file: data/en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Nature_Studies_(manuscript)-0.md
category: reference
title: Nature Studies (manuscript)
tags: science, encyclopedia
source_url: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Nature_Studies_(manuscript)
date_saved: 2026-05-05T08:49:56.338528+00:00
instance: kb-cron
parent: nature-studies-manuscript-20260505-0
summary:
Nature Studies is an album or codex containing 170 drawings dating principally from the 16th century made by various artists. The drawings are naturalistic depictions of plants, birds, animals, insects, fish and landscape vedute. The album was compiled in the beginning of the 17th century and was originally in the collection of the Holy Roman Emperor Rudolf II. It is currently in the collection of the National Library of Austria in Vienna. == Physical description and provenance == The codex is made of parchment and measures 48.7 x 36.1 centimeters. The drawings on paper of a smaller scale are glued onto the parchment pages. The drawings are executed in various techniques such as pen and ink, watercolor, opaque white and tempera painting and some with gold highlights. The parchment pages are bound in green leather. The album passed from the possession of Emperor Rudolf II to the Imperial Treasury, from where it became part of the Imperial Court Library in 1783. The Imperial Court Library later became the National Library of Austria in Vienna. == Contents == The drawings are grouped thematically and include plants, birds, mammals, insects, fish, and natural landscapes. The technique they display is extremely varied, ranging


id: new-naturalist-20260505-0
file: data/en.wikipedia.org/wiki/New_Naturalist-0.md
category: reference
title: New Naturalist
tags: science, encyclopedia
source_url: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/New_Naturalist
date_saved: 2026-05-05T08:49:57.529402+00:00
instance: kb-cron
parent: new-naturalist-20260505-0
summary:
The New Naturalist Library (also known as The New Naturalists) is a series of books published by Collins in the United Kingdom, on a variety of natural history topics relevant to the British Isles. The aim of the series at the start was: "To interest the general reader in the wild life of Britain by recapturing the inquiring spirit of the old naturalists." An editors' preface to a 1952 monograph says: "An object of the New Naturalist series is the recognition of the many-sidedness of British natural history, and the encouragement of unusual and original developments of its forgotten or neglected facets." == History == The first volume to appear was E. B. Ford's Butterflies in 1945. The authors of this series are usually eminent experts, often professional scientists. This gives the series authority, and many are or have been authoritative introductory textbooks on a subject for some years. The books are written in scientific style, but are intended to be readable by the non-specialist, and are an early example of popular science in the media. The books of the series have had considerable influence on many students who later became professional biologists, such as W. D. Hamilton and Mike


id: next-of-kin-fouts-book-20260505-0
file: data/en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Next_of_Kin_(Fouts_book)-0.md
category: reference
title: Next of Kin (Fouts book)
tags: science, encyclopedia
source_url: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Next_of_Kin_(Fouts_book)
date_saved: 2026-05-05T08:49:58.686320+00:00
instance: kb-cron
parent: next-of-kin-fouts-book-20260505-0
summary:
Next of Kin is a 1997 book by Roger Fouts combining his experiences with Washoe and other chimpanzees who learned American Sign Language, and a polemic in favor of great ape personhood. == References == Next of Kin: what chimpanzees have taught me about who we are. written by Roger Fouts. New York: William Morrow and Company, 1997. ISBN 0-688-14862-X


id: on-jungle-trails-20260505-0
file: data/en.wikipedia.org/wiki/On_Jungle_Trails-0.md
category: reference
title: On Jungle Trails
tags: science, encyclopedia
source_url: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/On_Jungle_Trails
date_saved: 2026-05-05T08:50:00.413259+00:00
instance: kb-cron
parent: on-jungle-trails-20260505-0
summary:
On Jungle Trails is a book-length compilation of Frank Buck’s stories describing how he captures wild animals. For many years, this book was a fifth grade reader in the Texas public schools, approved for state-wide use. Some of the facts Buck relates are observational, such as his description of the pangolin, a scaly anteater, getting his fill of red ants. Among the other accounts: Buck describes the capture of a man-eating tiger (the only one, he explains, which was ever brought to America, the Man-eater of Johore); Buck traps a rare clouded leopard when, contrary to the usual leopard habit, the cat takes refuge in a tree; Buck writes of trapping elephants and crocodiles; Buck tells of seizing of "the largest orangutan ever captured alive." Buck brought these animals back to America; but when he obtained several tiny Malaysian mouse deer, the smallest deer in the world, weighing two pounds, and made pets of them, a quarantine against ruminating animals made it impossible to bring them into the United States. Buck's writes of his jungle camp and his methods for feeding and caring for his animals. At the end of the book there is a partial list of animals which


id: overshoot-book-20260505-0
file: data/en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Overshoot_(book)-0.md
category: reference
title: Overshoot (book)
tags: science, encyclopedia
source_url: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Overshoot_(book)
date_saved: 2026-05-05T08:50:01.637199+00:00
instance: kb-cron
parent: overshoot-book-20260505-0
summary:
Overshoot: The Ecological Basis of Revolutionary Change is a book by American sociologist William R. Catton Jr. The book is a critical work that many consider one of the most essential yet overlooked books of the 20th century. The book discusses how humanity's overexploitation of Earth's resources has led to a situation where our consumption exceeds the planet's capacity for regeneration. It is divided into several parts, each addressing different aspects of ecological overshoot. It covers the historical development of human society, our dependence on unsustainable practices, and the need for a new environmental perspective. Catton emphasizes that humanity must recognize and adapt to the limits imposed by nature to avoid catastrophic consequences. Catton urges humanity to adopt a more realistic and sustainable way of life on Earth. He warns that ignoring these ecological limits will have severe repercussions, and only by understanding and respecting them can we hope to create a viable future for ourselves and future generations. == Background == William Catton came of age in sociology when the major debates were about social-only theoretical orientations (structural functionalism or consensus theory versus Marxism or conflict theory) and methodology (quantitative versus qualitative). His primary contribution was articulating an environmental


id: overshoot-book-20260505-1
file: data/en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Overshoot_(book)-1.md
category: reference
title: Overshoot (book)
tags: science, encyclopedia
source_url: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Overshoot_(book)
date_saved: 2026-05-05T08:50:01.637199+00:00
instance: kb-cron
parent: overshoot-book-20260505-0
summary:
The book emphasizes the need for a new perspective on the unsustainable exploitation of resources, which threatens future generations’ well-being. It stresses the importance of questioning old ways of thinking and putting more emphasis on being aware of the environment. The book highlights what the author calls “the tragic story of human success,” a period of rapid population growth and technological innovation, which led to an overshoot of the planet’s carrying capacity. The myth of limitlessness, distorted by technological advancements and exploitation of new lands, has exacerbated the environmental crisis. The book also discusses the culture of abundance, which led to a belief in human exemption from natural constraints. The book calls for a shift in perspective, acknowledging the ecological reality of finite resources and adapting to them. Abundance and liberty, once supported by ecological prerequisites, are under threat as living standards decline. The decline from what the author calls “the Age of Exuberance” has led to environmental changes and an overshoot crisis, causing declining living standards and political instability. Humans must acknowledge their role in altering their habitats and the interconnectedness of all life forms. The rapid growth and mechanization of agriculture have amplified this impact, suggesting a shift


id: overshoot-book-20260505-2
file: data/en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Overshoot_(book)-2.md
category: reference
title: Overshoot (book)
tags: science, encyclopedia
source_url: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Overshoot_(book)
date_saved: 2026-05-05T08:50:01.637199+00:00
instance: kb-cron
parent: overshoot-book-20260505-0
summary:
In 1995, Derrick Jensen similarly chose to highlight Catton's generosity of soul—despite the dark certainty of humanity's future. In his book Listening to the Land, Jensen chose to introduce his interview with Catton by way of this pull quote from Catton's book Overshoot: In a future that is as unavoidable as it will be unwelcome, survival and sanity may depend upon our ability to cherish rather than to disparage the concept of human dignity. In 2008, the introductory paper (by Richard York) for the "Symposium on Catton and Dunlap’s Foundational Work Establishing an Ecological Paradigm" concluded: The effect of Catton and Dunlap’s work has been profound, since it opened up a large swath of new terrain to sociological inquiry. It made possible the growing body of research in sociology that examines both human effects on the environment and the effects of the environment on society.York listed as "foundational" to the field not only the 1978 "New Paradigm" collaboration by Catton and Dunlap but also their coauthored papers published in the Annual Review of Sociology in 1979 and American Behavioral Scientist in 1980. Together, these provided "an explicit intellectual grounding for environmental sociology—defined as the study of societal-environmental interactions." In an


id: overshoot-book-20260505-3
file: data/en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Overshoot_(book)-3.md
category: reference
title: Overshoot (book)
tags: science, encyclopedia
source_url: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Overshoot_(book)
date_saved: 2026-05-05T08:50:01.637199+00:00
instance: kb-cron
parent: overshoot-book-20260505-0
summary:
In his 2015 obituary for Catton, John Michael Greer put this ecological term into its activist context: The core of Overshoot, which is also the core of the entire world of appropriate technology and green alternatives that got shot through the head and shoved into an unmarked grave in the Reagan years, is the recognition that the principles of ecology apply to industrial society just as much as they do to other communities of living things. The manuscript itself attracted an icon of the environmental movement, former U.S. Interior Secretary Stewart Udall. To write the book's foreword was a sign of the popular (and activist) reach the book would garner. That reach included wilderness advocate Dave Foreman, a cofounder of Earth First! and of Wild Earth magazine. In a reflection upon Catton's death, Foreman wrote:William Catton's Overshoot is one of the most important books I've ever read, and Bill was one of my greatest teachers." Catton attributed his own wilderness experiences in national parks of the USA as the source of his drive to understand ecological systems and ecological limits — including the fundamental ecological principle of carrying capacity.In a 2021 guest post titled "Overshoot: Where We Now Stand," Michael


id: peterson-field-guides-20260505-0
file: data/en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Peterson_Field_Guides-0.md
category: reference
title: Peterson Field Guides
tags: science, encyclopedia
source_url: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Peterson_Field_Guides
date_saved: 2026-05-05T08:50:02.800825+00:00
instance: kb-cron
parent: peterson-field-guides-20260505-0
summary:
The Peterson Field Guides (PFG) are a popular and influential series of American field guides intended to assist the layman in identification of birds, plants, insects and other natural phenomena. The series was created and edited by renowned ornithologist Roger Tory Peterson (1908–1996). His inaugural volume was the classic 1934 book A Field Guide to the Birds, published (as were all subsequent volumes) by the Houghton Mifflin Company. The PFG series utilized what became known as the Peterson Identification System, a practical method for field identification which highlights readily noticed visual features rather than focusing on the technical features of interest to scientists. The series both reflected and contributed to awareness of the emerging environmental movement. Most books in this series use a section of plates of drawings (usually reduced from commissioned paintings) rather than photographs of the subject species, grouped at the center of the book. This allows for idealized portraits that highlight the identifying "field marks" of each species; such field marks are often indicated by arrows or straight lines in the plate illustrations. However, in several books in this series, the plates consist of photographs (usually without such arrows or indicators), such as in the guides for


id: peterson-field-guides-20260505-1
file: data/en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Peterson_Field_Guides-1.md
category: reference
title: Peterson Field Guides
tags: science, encyclopedia
source_url: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Peterson_Field_Guides
date_saved: 2026-05-05T08:50:02.800825+00:00
instance: kb-cron
parent: peterson-field-guides-20260505-0
summary:
== The Peterson Field Guides == PFG 1: A Field Guide to the Birds (1934), by Roger Tory Peterson Second edition (1939): A Field Guide to the Birds Third edition (1947): A Field Guide to the Birds Fourth edition (1980): A Field Guide to the Birds: A Completely New Guide to All the Birds of Eastern and Central North America Fifth edition (2002): A Field Guide to the Birds of Eastern and Central North America Sixth edition (2010): Field Guide to Birds of Eastern and Central North America, ISBN 9780547152462 Seventh edition (2020): Field Guide to Birds of Eastern & Central North America, ISBN 9781328771438 PFG ??: Field Guide to Birds of North America (2008), ISBN 9780618966141 Second edition (2020): Field Guide to Birds of North America, ISBN 9781328771445 PFG 1A: Bird Songs (Eastern) (1990)[CD] by the Cornell Laboratory of Ornithology PFG 2: A Field Guide to Western Birds: Field Marks of All Species Found in North America West of the 100th Meridian, with a Section on the Birds of the Hawaiian Islands (1941), by Roger Tory Peterson and Virginia Marie Peterson Second edition (1961): A Field Guide to Western Birds: Field Marks of All Species Found in North America


id: peterson-field-guides-20260505-2
file: data/en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Peterson_Field_Guides-2.md
category: reference
title: Peterson Field Guides
tags: science, encyclopedia
source_url: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Peterson_Field_Guides
date_saved: 2026-05-05T08:50:02.800825+00:00
instance: kb-cron
parent: peterson-field-guides-20260505-0
summary:
PFG 19: A Field Guide to the Insects of America North of Mexico (1970), by Donald J. Borror and Richard E. White PFG 20: Mexican Birds: Mexico, Guatemala, Belize, and El Salvador (1973), by Roger Tory Peterson and Edward L. Chalif PFG 21: Eastern Birds' Nests: The United States East of the Mississippi River (1975), by Hal H. Harrison, Mada Harrison and Ned Smith PFG 22: A Field Guide to Wildflowers of the Pacific States (1976), by Niehaus and Ripper PFG 23: A Field Guide to Edible Wild Plants of Eastern and Central North America (1977), by Lee Allen Peterson; Illustrated by Lee Allen Peterson and Roger Tory Peterson; Photos by Lee Allen Peterson PFG 24: A Field Guide to the Atlantic Seashore: Invertebrates and Seaweeds of the Atlantic Coast from the Bay of Fundy to Cape Hatteras (1978), by Kenneth L. Gosner; Illustrations by Kenneth L. Gosner PFG 25: Western Birds' Nests: The United States West of the Mississippi River (1979), by Harrison PFG 26: A Field Guide to the Atmosphere (1981), by Vincent J. Schaefer and John A. Day; Illustrated by Christy E. Day PFG 27: A Field Guide to Coral Reefs of the Caribbean and Florida: A


id: peterson-field-guides-20260505-3
file: data/en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Peterson_Field_Guides-3.md
category: reference
title: Peterson Field Guides
tags: science, encyclopedia
source_url: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Peterson_Field_Guides
date_saved: 2026-05-05T08:50:02.800825+00:00
instance: kb-cron
parent: peterson-field-guides-20260505-0
summary:
=== Unnumbered volumes === PFG ??: Revision of (part of) Fourth edition of PFG 1 as: A Field Guide to Feeder Birds: Eastern and Central North America (2000), by Roger Tory Peterson, Virginia Marie Peterson, and Noble Proctor PFG ??: A Field Guide to Hummingbirds of North America (2001), by Sheri L. Williamson PFG ??: A Field Guide to the North American Prairie (2004), by Ruth Carol Cushman and Stephen R. Jones PFG ??: Mammals of Britain and Europe (1968, 1986), by F. H. van den Brink PFG ??: Peterson Reference Guide to Birding by Impression: A Different Approach to Knowing and Identifying Birds (2015), by Kevin T. Karlson and Dale Rosselet PFG ??: Peterson Field Guide to Finding Mammals in North America (2015), by Vladimir Dinets PFG ??: Peterson Reference Guide to Owls of North America and the Caribbean (2015), by Scott Weidensaul PFG ??: Peterson Reference Guide to Woodpeckers of North America (2016), by Stephen Shunk PFG ??: Peterson Field Guide to Birds of Northern Central America (2016), by Jesse Fagan and Robert Dean; Illustrated by Robert Dean and Peter Burke PFG ??: Peterson Field Guide to Bird Sounds of Eastern North America (2017), by Nathan Pieplow ==


id: physica-curiosa-20260505-0
file: data/en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Physica_Curiosa-0.md
category: reference
title: Physica Curiosa
tags: science, encyclopedia
source_url: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Physica_Curiosa
date_saved: 2026-05-05T08:50:04.026147+00:00
instance: kb-cron
parent: physica-curiosa-20260505-0
summary:
Physica Curiosa written by the German scholar, Jesuit priest and scientist Gaspar Schott is a seventeenth century encyclopedia, published first in 1662, is divided into twelve books and has been richly illustrated with prints of copper engravings. It is the first part of a two-volume work, the other being Technica Curiosa, published in 1664. Schott primarily used works by well-known scholars and naturalists as his sources, including Ulisse Aldrovandi, Conrad Gesner, John Jonston, Conrad Lycosthenes, and Ambroise Paré. There is an emphasis on the illustrations of monsters and so-called "freaks" (deformed people). The first volume covers the miracles attributed to both angels and demons. The 11th volume is devoted entirely to the study of meteorites. == Publication == Schott compiled his volumes from previously published and widely known works of authors, scholars and naturalists such as Conrad Gesner, Ulisse Aldrovandi, Joannes Jonstonus, Ambroise Paré, Conrad Lycosthenes and many others, including many of the immensely popular illustrations of monsters and physical deformities. Schott summarized: ...what was either left out in the Magia and other works, was published later by learned men, or has only recently reached me. For his own research he extensively relied on the libraries and Jesuit universities of


id: pliny-on-mammals-20260505-0
file: data/en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Pliny_on_mammals-0.md
category: reference
title: Pliny on mammals
tags: science, encyclopedia
source_url: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Pliny_on_mammals
date_saved: 2026-05-05T08:50:05.193405+00:00
instance: kb-cron
parent: pliny-on-mammals-20260505-0
summary:
Book VIII of Pliny the Elder's Natural History centres around the concept of zoology, and mainly that which pertains to terrestrial animals, including mammals, amphibians, reptiles, as well as some birds and insects. Pliny discusses these animals as being a part of specific categories, firstly starting with those he considers to be wild, including, but not limited to, elephants, snakes, lions, giraffes, rhinoceroses, lynxes, camels, leopards, hyenas, foxes, rabbits, skinks, beavers, frogs, seals, geckoes, chameleons, deer, reindeer, jackals, porcupines, bears, hedgehogs, squirrels, snails, crocodiles, and lizards. He then goes on to cover those he considers to be domesticated, such as dogs, horses, donkeys, mules, oxen, sheep, goats, and pigs. Following this, he mentions animals that are “half-wild," or what he considers to be wild varieties of commonly domesticated animals, including boars, chamoises, ibexes, oryxes, antelopes, monkeys, and hares, as well as those that are “neither wild nor tame but of a character intermediate between each," such as swallows, bees, dolphins, and mice. Lastly, on various occasions he mentions animals that would be considered mythological, such as unicorns, pegasi, basilisks, and werewolves, of which he considers only the existence of werewolves to be obviously improbable. Pliny describes the anatomical traits of


id: pliny-on-mammals-20260505-1
file: data/en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Pliny_on_mammals-1.md
category: reference
title: Pliny on mammals
tags: science, encyclopedia
source_url: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Pliny_on_mammals
date_saved: 2026-05-05T08:50:05.193405+00:00
instance: kb-cron
parent: pliny-on-mammals-20260505-0
summary:
=== Emotional competence === Pliny the Elder describes elephants as not only exhibiting impressive brilliance with regards to their memory, learning, and methods of survival, but also with their capacity to feel emotions. Pliny outlines the ability of elephants to shame, such that in battle they offer their conqueror leaves and dirt, and their predilection towards modesty which forces them to mate only in secret. Additionally, Pliny also comments on their morality by putting forward that elephants never engage in adultery or any of the intermale competition "that is so disastrous to the other animals." However, Pliny specifies that this is not due to a lack of emotion, and provides several examples of elephants falling in love with humans, and in one instance so intensely that the elephant refused to eat without the presence of its preferred person. Pliny repeatedly refers to the distinct behavioural phenomena of animals feeling gratitude and respect towards humans. For example, he recounts the tale of a lion who, after having a painful bone pulled from its teeth, always brought any game it caught to its saviour, a female panther who guides a man out of the desert after he rescues her cubs from a


id: pliny-on-mammals-20260505-2
file: data/en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Pliny_on_mammals-2.md
category: reference
title: Pliny on mammals
tags: science, encyclopedia
source_url: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Pliny_on_mammals
date_saved: 2026-05-05T08:50:05.193405+00:00
instance: kb-cron
parent: pliny-on-mammals-20260505-0
summary:
=== Historical influence === The Roman perspective and Stoicism were two major ideologies that likely informed Pliny’s manner of observing mammals, and thus how he contextualized them within the work of Natural History. The Roman consciousness held an idea of anthropocentricity, in which man was perceived to be the highest level of physical beings and that “the rest of creation existed to serve his needs." Thereby, Pliny may have been influenced to write about animals by highlighting their benefit to humans, such as in his numerous points on medicinal properties, companionship, and domestication. Stoicism encompassed ethical ideals involving “independence of mind” and “devotion to duty," which possibly affected Pliny’s opinions on the cognitive capabilities of animals, such as their consciousness and loyalty. Further to this, in his analyzing the narrative structure of Pliny, Thorsten Fögen asserts that the way that Pliny describes elephants is akin to the virtuosity of "good Roman citizens," and that elephants could serve as a representative for how humans should behave. Fögen also highlights how Pliny's aim in composing Natural History seemed to be centred around communicating the ethical components of animal behaviour through the discussion, as well as many examples, of their moral qualities and


id: protogaea-20260505-0
file: data/en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Protogaea-0.md
category: reference
title: Protogaea
tags: science, encyclopedia
source_url: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Protogaea
date_saved: 2026-05-05T08:50:06.382494+00:00
instance: kb-cron
parent: protogaea-20260505-0
summary:
Protogaea is a work by Gottfried Leibniz on geology and natural history. Unpublished in his lifetime, but made known by Johann Georg von Eckhart in 1719, it was conceived as a preface to his incomplete history of the House of Brunswick. == Life == Protogaea is a history of the Earth written in conjectural terms; it was composed by Leibniz in the period from 1691 to 1693. A summary in Latin was published in 1693 in the Leipzig Acta Eruditorum. The text was first published in full at Göttingen in 1749, shortly after Benoît de Maillet's more far-reaching ideas on the origin of the Earth, circulated in manuscript, had been printed. == Views == Protogaea built on, and criticized, the natural philosophy of René Descartes, as expressed in his Principia Philosophiae. Leibniz in the work adopted the Cartesian theory of the Earth as a sun crusted over with sunspots. He relied on the authority of Agostino Scilla writing about fossils to discredit the speculations of Athanasius Kircher and Johann Joachim Becher; he had met Scilla in Rome a few years earlier. He took up suggestions of Nicolaus Steno that argued for the forms of fossils being prior to their inclusion


id: le-r-gne-animal-20260505-0
file: data/en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Le_Règne_Animal-0.md
category: reference
title: Le Règne Animal
tags: science, encyclopedia
source_url: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Le_Règne_Animal
date_saved: 2026-05-05T08:50:07.544009+00:00
instance: kb-cron
parent: le-r-gne-animal-20260505-0
summary:
Le Règne Animal (lit. 'The Animal Kingdom') is the most famous work of the French naturalist Georges Cuvier. It sets out to describe the natural structure of the whole of the animal kingdom based on comparative anatomy, and its natural history. Cuvier divided the animals into four embranchements ("Branches", roughly corresponding to phyla), namely vertebrates, molluscs, articulated animals (arthropods and annelids), and zoophytes (cnidaria and other phyla). The work appeared in four octavo volumes in December 1816 (although it has "1817" on the title pages); a second edition in five volumes was brought out in 1829–1830 and a third, written by twelve "disciples" of Cuvier, in 1836–1849. In this classic work, Cuvier presented the results of his life's research into the structure of living and fossil animals. With the exception of the section on insects, in which he was assisted by his friend Pierre André Latreille, the whole of the work was his own. It was translated into English many times, often with substantial notes and supplementary material updating the book in accordance with the expansion of knowledge. It was also translated into German, Italian and other languages, and abridged in versions for children. Le Règne Animal was influential in


id: le-r-gne-animal-20260505-1
file: data/en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Le_Règne_Animal-1.md
category: reference
title: Le Règne Animal
tags: science, encyclopedia
source_url: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Le_Règne_Animal
date_saved: 2026-05-05T08:50:07.544009+00:00
instance: kb-cron
parent: le-r-gne-animal-20260505-0
summary:
=== Translations === Le Règne Animal was translated into languages including English, German and Italian. Many English translations and abridged versions were published and reprinted in the nineteenth century; records may be for the entire work or individual volumes, which were not necessarily dated, while old translations were often brought out in "new" editions by other publishers, making for a complex publication history. A translation by Edward Griffith (with assistance by Edward Pidgeon for some volumes and other specialists for other volumes) was published in 44 parts by G.B. Whittaker and partners from 1824 to 1835 and many times reprinted (up to 2012 and eBook format); another by G. Henderson in 1834–1837. A translation was made and published by the ornithologist William MacGillivray in Edinburgh in 1839–1840. Another version by Edward Blyth and others was published by William S. Orr and Co. in 1840. An abridged version by an "experienced teacher" was published by Longman, Brown, Green and Longman in London, and by Stephen Knapp in Coventry, in 1844. Kraus published an edition in New York in 1969. Other editions were brought out by H.G. Bohn in 1851 and W. Orr in 1854. An "easy introduction to the study of


id: le-r-gne-animal-20260505-2
file: data/en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Le_Règne_Animal-2.md
category: reference
title: Le Règne Animal
tags: science, encyclopedia
source_url: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Le_Règne_Animal
date_saved: 2026-05-05T08:50:07.544009+00:00
instance: kb-cron
parent: le-r-gne-animal-20260505-0
summary:
I. Vertébrés. (Vertebrates) Mammifères (Mammals): 1. Bimanes, 2. Quadrumanes, 3. Carnassiers (Carnivores), 4. Rongeurs (Rodents), 5. Édentés (Edentates), 6. Pachydermes (Pachyderms), 7. Ruminants (Ruminants), 8. Cétacés (Cetaceans). Oiseaux (Birds): 1. Oiseaux de proie (Birds of prey), 2. Passereaux (Passerines), 3. Grimpeurs (Piciformes), 4. Gallinacés (Gallinaceous birds), 5. Échassiers (Waders), 6. Palmipèdes (Anseriformes). Reptiles (Reptiles, inc. Amphibians): 1. Chéloniens (Chelonii), 2. Sauriens (Lizards), 3. Ophidiens (Snakes), 4. Batraciens (Amphibians). Poissons (Fishes): 1. Chrondroptérygiens à branchies fixes (Chondrichthyes), 2. Sturioniens ou Chrondroptérygiens à branchies libres (Sturgeons), 3. Plectognates (Tetraodontiformes), 4. Lophobranches (Syngnathidae), 5. Malacoptérygiens abdominaux, 6. Malacoptérygiens subbrachiens, 7. Malacoptérygiens apodes, 8. Acanthoptérygiens (Acanthopterygians). II. Mollusques. (Molluscs) Céphalopodes. (Cephalopods) Ptéropodes. (Pteropods) Gastéropodes (Gastropods): 1. Nudibranches (Nudibranchs), 2. Inférobranches, 3. Tectibranches, 4. Pulmonés (Pulmonata), 5. Pectinibranches, 6. Scutibranches, 7. Cyclobranches. Acéphales: 1. Testacés (Bivalves), 2. Sans coquilles (Tunicates). Brachiopodes. (Brachiopods, now a separate phylum) Cirrhopodes. (Barnacles, now in Crustacea) III. Articulés. (Articulated animals: now Arthropods and Annelids) Annélides (Annelids): 1. Tubicoles, 2. Dorsibranches, 3. Abranches. Crustacés (Crustaceans): 1. Décapodes (Decapods), 2. Stomapodes (Stomatopods), 3. Amphipodes (Amphipods), 4. Isopodes (Isopods), 5. Branchiopodes (Branchiopods). Arachnides (Arachnids): 1. Pulmonaires, 2. Trachéennes. Insectes (Insects, inc. Myriapods): 1. Myriapodes, 2. Thysanoures (Thysanura), 3. Parasites, 4. Suceurs, 5. Coléoptères


id: le-r-gne-animal-20260505-3
file: data/en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Le_Règne_Animal-3.md
category: reference
title: Le Règne Animal
tags: science, encyclopedia
source_url: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Le_Règne_Animal
date_saved: 2026-05-05T08:50:07.544009+00:00
instance: kb-cron
parent: le-r-gne-animal-20260505-0
summary:
The entomologist William Sharp Macleay, in his 1821 book Horae Entomologicae which put forward the short-lived "Quinarian" system of classification into 5 groups, each of 5 subgroups, etc., asserted that in the Règne Animal "Cuvier was notoriously deficient in the power of legitimate and intuitive generalization in arranging the animal series". The zoologist William Swainson, also a Quinarian, added that "no person of such transcendent talents and ingenuity, ever made so little use of his observations towards a natural arrangement as M. Cuvier." The Magazine of Natural History of 1829 expressed surprise at the long interval between the first and second editions, surmising that there were too few scientific readers in France, apart from those in Paris itself; it notes that while the first volume was little changed, the treatment of fish was considerably altered in volume II, while the section on the Articulata was greatly enlarged (to two volumes, IV and V) and written by M. Latreille. It also expressed the hope that there would be an English equivalent of Cuvier's work, given the popularity of natural history resulting from the works of Thomas Bewick (A History of British Birds 1797–1804) and George Montagu (Ornithological Dictionary, 1802). The same


id: the-sixth-extinction-an-unnatural-history-20260505-0
file: data/en.wikipedia.org/wiki/The_Sixth_Extinction:_An_Unnatural_History-0.md
category: reference
title: The Sixth Extinction: An Unnatural History
tags: science, encyclopedia
source_url: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/The_Sixth_Extinction:_An_Unnatural_History
date_saved: 2026-05-05T08:50:08.763215+00:00
instance: kb-cron
parent: the-sixth-extinction-an-unnatural-history-20260505-0
summary:
The Sixth Extinction: An Unnatural History is a 2014 nonfiction book written by Elizabeth Kolbert and published by Henry Holt and Company. The book argues that the Earth is in the midst of a modern, man-made, sixth extinction. In the book, Kolbert chronicles previous mass extinction events, and compares them to the accelerated, widespread extinctions during our present time. She also describes specific species extinguished by humans, as well as the ecologies surrounding prehistoric and near-present extinction events. The author received the Pulitzer Prize for General Nonfiction for the book in 2015. The target audience is the general reader, and scientific descriptions are rendered in understandable prose. The writing blends explanations of her treks to remote areas with interviews of scientists, researchers, and guides, without advocating a position, in pursuit of objectivity. Hence, the sixth mass extinction theme is applied to flora and fauna existing in diverse habitats, such as the Panamanian rainforest, the Great Barrier Reef, the Andes, Bikini Atoll, city zoos, and the author's own backyard. The book also applies this theme to a number of other habitats and organisms throughout the world. After researching the current mainstream view of the relevant peer-reviewed science, Kolbert estimates flora and


id: the-sixth-extinction-an-unnatural-history-20260505-1
file: data/en.wikipedia.org/wiki/The_Sixth_Extinction:_An_Unnatural_History-1.md
category: reference
title: The Sixth Extinction: An Unnatural History
tags: science, encyclopedia
source_url: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/The_Sixth_Extinction:_An_Unnatural_History
date_saved: 2026-05-05T08:50:08.763215+00:00
instance: kb-cron
parent: the-sixth-extinction-an-unnatural-history-20260505-0
summary:
=== Chapter 3: The Original Penguin === The great auk was a large flightless bird that lived in the Northern Hemisphere. It had a large, intricately grooved beak. When the first settlers arrived in Iceland, the auk population was probably in the millions. However, the settlers found the auks to be “very good and nourishing meat.” They also used their oily bodies for fuel and fish bait, and their feathers for stuffing mattresses. Despite attempts at protecting the species, by 1844, the last auks were killed. Kolbert uses the great auk as a symbol of how human overexploitation of resources is another important mechanism of extinction. === Chapter 4: The Luck of the Ammonites === Kolbert explains that the main cause of the Cretaceous–Paleogene extinction event was not the impact of the asteroid itself. It was the dust created by the impact. The debris from the impact incinerated anything in its path. She states that it is impossible to estimate the full extent of the various species that died out due to this catastrophe. However, one class of animals we know did die out because of the effects of the asteroid's impact, are the ammonites. Kolbert explains that, even though


id: the-sixth-extinction-an-unnatural-history-20260505-2
file: data/en.wikipedia.org/wiki/The_Sixth_Extinction:_An_Unnatural_History-2.md
category: reference
title: The Sixth Extinction: An Unnatural History
tags: science, encyclopedia
source_url: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/The_Sixth_Extinction:_An_Unnatural_History
date_saved: 2026-05-05T08:50:08.763215+00:00
instance: kb-cron
parent: the-sixth-extinction-an-unnatural-history-20260505-0
summary:
=== Chapter 10: The New Pangea === Kolbert points out that there is an evolutionary arms race, in which each species must be equipped to defend against their potential predators and need to be more fit than their competition. A species has no defense if it encounters a new fungus, virus, or bacterium. This can be extremely deadly, as it was in the case of the American bats killed by the psychrophilic fungus Geomyces destructans. Another example of this occurred in the 1800s. The American chestnut was the dominant deciduous tree in eastern American forests. Then, a fungus (Cryphonectria parasitica) started to cause chestnut blight. It was nearly 100 percent lethal. This fungus was unintentionally imported to the US by humans. Kolbert then explains that global trade and travel are creating a virtual "Pangaea", in which species of all kinds are being redistributed beyond historical geographic barriers. This furthers the first chapter's idea that invasive species are a mechanism of extinction. === Chapter 11: The Rhino Gets an Ultrasound === The Sumatran Rhino was once so abundant in numbers it was considered an agricultural pest. However, as Southeast Asia's forests were cut down, the rhino's habitat became fragmented. In the


id: suites-buffon-20260505-0
file: data/en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Suites_à_Buffon-0.md
category: reference
title: Suites à Buffon
tags: science, encyclopedia
source_url: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Suites_à_Buffon
date_saved: 2026-05-05T08:50:09.936874+00:00
instance: kb-cron
parent: suites-buffon-20260505-0
summary:
Les Suites à Buffon is a French 19th-century scientific publication. Les Suites à Buffon carries the complete title Suites à Buffon formant avec les œuvres de cet auteur un cours complet d'histoire naturelle embrassant les trois règnes de la nature, confié aux plus célèbres naturalistes et habiles écrivains (Sequels to Buffon Constituting a Complete Course of Natural History Encompassing the Three Reigns of Nature, Entrusted to the Most Famous Naturalists and to Skillful Writers). The three reigns or kingdoms are Botany, Zoology and Geology. This work constitutes a vast realization in 89 volumes edited and published by the Parisian editor Nicolas Roret. Published between 1834 and 1890, it appears in many forms and is often extracted, sometimes under the titles Nouvelles Suites à Buffon, Suites à Buffon, and Nouvelles Suites à Buffon. An example of a Suites à Buffon title is Louis Augustin Guillaume Bosc, Histoire Naturelle des Coquilles,contenant leur description, les moeurs des animaux qui les habitant et leurs usages in 5 vols. 2nd ed. Paris, Verdière, 1824. Several new species of shells are described in this rather rare work which included a long "table alphabétique de toutes les espèces mentionnées dans ces ouvrages avec les synonymes de Lamarck".


id: tableau-encyclop-dique-et-m-thodique-20260505-0
file: data/en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Tableau_encyclopédique_et_méthodique-0.md
category: reference
title: Tableau encyclopédique et méthodique
tags: science, encyclopedia
source_url: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Tableau_encyclopédique_et_méthodique
date_saved: 2026-05-05T08:50:11.116230+00:00
instance: kb-cron
parent: tableau-encyclop-dique-et-m-thodique-20260505-0
summary:
The Tableau encyclopédique et méthodique des trois regnes de la nature was an illustrated encyclopedia of plants, animals and minerals, notable for including the first scientific descriptions of many species, and for its attractive engravings. It was published in Paris by Charles Joseph Panckoucke, from 1788 on. Although its several volumes can be considered a part of the greater Encyclopédie méthodique, they were titled and issued separately. Contributors: Jean-Baptiste Lamarck (plants, taxonomy) Pierre Joseph Bonnaterre (cetaceans, mammals, birds, reptiles, amphibians, fish, insects) Louis Pierre Vieillot (birds, second volume) Jean Guillaume Bruguière (invertebrates) == External links == Cambridge University Library account Archived 2011-09-27 at the Wayback Machine == References == Christabel P. Braunrot & Kathleen Hardesty Doig, 1995 The Encyclopédie méthodique: an introduction, Studies in Voltaire and the Eighteenth Century, 327 (1995): 1–152. Robert Darnton, 1979 The business of Enlightenment: a publishing history of the Encyclopédie Cambridge, Mass.: Belknap Press. George B. Watts,1965 "Thomas Jefferson, the 'Encyclopedie' and the Encyclopedie methodique French Review 38:318-25.


id: the-ocean-s-menagerie-20260505-0
file: data/en.wikipedia.org/wiki/The_Ocean's_Menagerie-0.md
category: reference
title: The Ocean's Menagerie
tags: science, encyclopedia
source_url: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/The_Ocean's_Menagerie
date_saved: 2026-05-05T08:50:12.223279+00:00
instance: kb-cron
parent: the-ocean-s-menagerie-20260505-0
summary:
The Ocean's Menagerie: How Earth's Strangest Creatures Reshape the Rules of Life is a 2025 non-fiction book by marine biologist Drew Harvell, It was published by Viking Press. The book explores the evolution of invertebrate marine life and the environmental threats facing the marine ecosystem. == Reception == The book received positive reviews from critics. Kirkus Reviews referred to the book as "a good read about bizarre creatures", while The Times referred to it as "a deep dive into the strange kingdom of the ocean". George I. Matsumoto, in a review for Oceanography, described the book as "a true marvel". Publishers Weekly noted ow "Harvell emphasizes invertebrates’ outsize influence on their ecosystems, describing how giant clams filter pathogenic bacteria from water and how coral provide protection from waves and erosion for the crustaceans, fish, and other creatures that live on reefs." Claudia De Luca of Earth.org wrote that "Harvell leads readers in her underwater adventures, from a submarine lab in the Caribbean to Fiji’s Great Sea Reef, guiding them through overlooked marvels and biological adaptations that, through her storytelling, become actual superpowers." == References ==


id: wild-animals-i-have-known-20260505-0
file: data/en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Wild_Animals_I_Have_Known-0.md
category: reference
title: Wild Animals I Have Known
tags: science, encyclopedia
source_url: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Wild_Animals_I_Have_Known
date_saved: 2026-05-05T08:50:13.381143+00:00
instance: kb-cron
parent: wild-animals-i-have-known-20260505-0
summary:
Wild Animals I Have Known is an 1898 book by naturalist and author Ernest Thompson Seton. The first entry in a new genre of realistic wild-animal fiction, Seton's first collection of short stories quickly became one of the most popular books of its day. "Lobo the King of Currumpaw", the first story in the collection, was based upon Seton's experience hunting wolves in the southwestern United States. It became a classic, setting the tone for his future works that would similarly depict animals—especially predators who were often demonized in literature—as compassionate, individualistic beings. Several years after its publication, Seton and his works came under fire during the nature fakers controversy, which began in 1903 when naturalist John Burroughs published an essay called "Real and Sham Natural History" in The Atlantic Monthly. In particular Burroughs blamed Seton's collection of stories for founding the sentimental animal story genre, which he felt featured fabricated events and wild animal behaviors; he even amended the title of the collection to Wild Animals I Alone Have Known. == Contents == Lobo, the King of Currumpaw Silverspot, the Story of a Crow Raggylug, the Story of a Cottontail Rabbit Bingo, the Story of My Dog The Springfield


id: bicameral-mentality-20260505-0
file: data/en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Bicameral_mentality-0.md
category: reference
title: Bicameral mentality
tags: science, encyclopedia
source_url: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Bicameral_mentality
date_saved: 2026-05-05T08:50:16.060514+00:00
instance: kb-cron
parent: bicameral-mentality-20260505-0
summary:
Bicameral mentality is a psychological hypothesis proposed by American psychologist Julian Jaynes. It suggests that early modern humans experienced thoughts and emotions not as originating within themselves but as commands from external "gods". According to the theory, the human mind once functioned with a division in which one part generated verbal instructions while a second part obeyed, forming a "bicameral mind". The eventual collapse of this mental structure is proposed to have led to the development of self-reflective consciousness in humans. The term was coined by Jaynes, who presented the idea in his 1976 book The Origin of Consciousness in the Breakdown of the Bicameral Mind, wherein he makes the case that a bicameral mentality was the "normal and ubiquitous state" of the human mind as recently as 3,000 years ago, at the end of the Bronze Age. == The Origin of Consciousness in the Breakdown of the Bicameral Mind == Jaynes uses "bicameral" (two chambers) to describe a mental state in which the experiences and memories of the right hemisphere of the brain are transmitted to the left hemisphere via auditory hallucinations. The metaphor is based on the idea of lateralization of brain function, although each half of a


id: bicameral-mentality-20260505-1
file: data/en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Bicameral_mentality-1.md
category: reference
title: Bicameral mentality
tags: science, encyclopedia
source_url: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Bicameral_mentality
date_saved: 2026-05-05T08:50:16.060514+00:00
instance: kb-cron
parent: bicameral-mentality-20260505-0
summary:
=== Jaynes's evidence === Jaynes built a case for this hypothesis that human brains existed in a bicameral state until as recently as 3,000 years ago by citing evidence from many diverse sources, including historical literature. He took an interdisciplinary approach, drawing data from many different fields. Citing Dodds, Snell, and Adkins, Jaynes proposed that until roughly the times written about in Homer's Iliad, humans did not generally have the self-awareness characteristic of consciousness as most people experience it today. Rather, the bicameral individual was guided by mental commands believed to be issued by external "gods"—commands that were recorded in ancient myths, legends, and historical accounts. This is exemplified in not only the commands given to characters in ancient epics but also the very muses of Greek mythology who "sang" the poems. According to Jaynes, the ancients literally heard muses as the direct source of their music and poetry. Jaynes asserts that in the Iliad and sections of the Old Testament, no mention is made of any kind of cognitive processes such as introspection, and there is no apparent indication that the writers were self-aware. Jaynes suggests that the older portions of the Old Testament (such as the Book of


id: bicameral-mentality-20260505-2
file: data/en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Bicameral_mentality-2.md
category: reference
title: Bicameral mentality
tags: science, encyclopedia
source_url: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Bicameral_mentality
date_saved: 2026-05-05T08:50:16.060514+00:00
instance: kb-cron
parent: bicameral-mentality-20260505-0
summary:
=== Popular reception === Early coverage by Sam Keen in the November 1977 issue of Psychology Today considered Jaynes's hypothesis worthy and offered conditional support, arguing the notion deserves further study. The Origin of Consciousness in the Breakdown of the Bicameral Mind was a successful work of popular science, selling out the first print run before a second could replace it. It received dozens of positive book reviews, including those by well-known critics such as John Updike in The New Yorker, Christopher Lehmann-Haupt in the New York Times, and Marshall McLuhan in the Toronto Globe and Mail. Articles on Jaynes and his ideas appeared in Time in 1977, and in Quest/78 in 1978. The book was nominated for the National Book Award in Contemporary Thought in 1978. Philip K. Dick, Terence McKenna, and David Bowie have all cited the book as an influence. === Scholarly reactions === According to Jaynes, language is a necessary but not sufficient condition for consciousness: Language existed thousands of years earlier, but consciousness did not emerge as soon as language did. The idea that language is a necessary component of subjective consciousness and more abstract forms of thinking has gained the support of proponents including


id: bicameral-mentality-20260505-3
file: data/en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Bicameral_mentality-3.md
category: reference
title: Bicameral mentality
tags: science, encyclopedia
source_url: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Bicameral_mentality
date_saved: 2026-05-05T08:50:16.060514+00:00
instance: kb-cron
parent: bicameral-mentality-20260505-0
summary:
==== Individual scholars' comments ==== Sociologist W. T. Jones asked in 1979, "Why, despite its implausibility, is [Jaynes's] book taken seriously by thoughtful and intelligent people?" Jones agreed with Jaynes that "the language in which talk about consciousness is conducted is metaphorical", but he contradicted the basis of Jaynes's argument – that metaphor creates consciousness – by asserting that "language (and specifically metaphor) does not create, it discovers, the similarities that language marks". Jones also argued that three "cosmological orientations" biased Jaynes's thinking: 1) "hostility to Darwin" and natural selection; 2) a "longing for 'lost bicamerality'" (Jones accused Jaynes of holding that "we would all be better off if 'everyone' were once again schizophrenic"); 3) a "desire for a sweeping, all-inclusive formula that explains everything that has happened". Jones concluded that "those who share these biases ... are likely to find the book convincing; those who do not will reject [Jaynes's] arguments". Walter J. Ong noted that the Homeric Iliad is a structurally oral epic poem so, he asserted, the very different cultural approach of oral culture is sufficient justification for the apparent different mentalities in the poem. Philosopher Daniel Dennett suggested that Jaynes may have been wrong about some


id: bicameral-mentality-20260505-4
file: data/en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Bicameral_mentality-4.md
category: reference
title: Bicameral mentality
tags: science, encyclopedia
source_url: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Bicameral_mentality
date_saved: 2026-05-05T08:50:16.060514+00:00
instance: kb-cron
parent: bicameral-mentality-20260505-0
summary:
=== Literature === A number of publications discuss and expand on Julian Jaynes's theory, including three books by Brian J. McVeigh (one of Jaynes' graduate students) which expand on Jaynes' theories: Kuijsten, Marcel (2007). Reflections on the Dawn of Consciousness: Julian Jaynes's Bicameral Mind Theory Revisited. Julian Jaynes Society. ISBN 978-0-9790744-1-7. A collection of essays on consciousness and the bicameral mind theory, with contributors including psychological anthropologist Brian J. McVeigh, psychologists John Limber and Scott Greer, clinical psychologist John Hamilton, philosophers Jan Sleutels and David Stove, and sinologist Michael Carr (see shi "personator"). The book also contains an extensive biography of Julian Jaynes by historian of psychology William Woodward and June Tower, and a foreword by neuroscientist Michael Persinger. Jaynes, Julian (2012). Kuijsten, Marcel (ed.). The Julian Jaynes Collection. Julian Jaynes Society. ISBN 978-0-9790744-2-4. A collection of many of the lectures and articles by Jaynes relevant to his theory (including some that were previously unpublished), along with interviews and question and answer sessions where Jaynes addresses misconceptions about the theory and extends the theory into new areas. Cohn, James (2013). The Minds of the Bible: Speculations on the Cultural Evolution of Human Consciousness. Julian Jaynes Society. Examines the evidence for


id: brain-renaissance-20260505-0
file: data/en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Brain_Renaissance-0.md
category: reference
title: Brain Renaissance
tags: science, encyclopedia
source_url: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Brain_Renaissance
date_saved: 2026-05-05T08:50:17.212307+00:00
instance: kb-cron
parent: brain-renaissance-20260505-0
summary:
Brain Renaissance is a book written by Marco Catani and Stefano Sandrone. It was published on the 500th anniversary of the birth and the 450th anniversary of the death of the anatomist Andreas Vesalius. In 2016 Brain Renaissance won the biennial Award for Outstanding Book in the History of the Neurosciences presented by the International Society for the History of the Neurosciences. == Synopsis == The 304-page book is divided into three parts. The first part deals with the biography of Andreas Vesalius, one of the greatest anatomists of all time. The second parts provides a modern translation from Latin of Vesalius' original book on the brain, namely the seventh book of De Humani Corporis Fabrica. The third part tells a 500-year story behind some of the most important discoveries in neuroscience, while relating the findings of Vesalius with the subsequent development of neuroscience. In these pages the reader becomes familiar with the ebb and flow of many ideas that had a significant impact in the history of neuroscience. At the end of the book the authors have added an appendix with the figures and captions from the seventh book of the Fabrica. == Reception == Alison Abbott dedicated a


id: brain-rules-20260505-0
file: data/en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Brain_Rules-0.md
category: reference
title: Brain Rules
tags: science, encyclopedia
source_url: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Brain_Rules
date_saved: 2026-05-05T08:50:18.414265+00:00
instance: kb-cron
parent: brain-rules-20260505-0
summary:
Brain Rules: 12 Principles for Surviving and Thriving at Work, Home, and School is a book written by John Medina, a developmental molecular biologist. The book has tried to explain how the brain works in twelve perspectives: exercise, survival, wiring, attention, short-term memory, long-term memory, sleep, stress, multisensory perception, vision, gender and exploration. Each chapter demonstrates things scientists already know about the brain, and things we as people do that can affect how our brain will develop. == Background == When the author has encountered certain articles and books with startling claims, such as, "Mozart Effect", on how brain functions and how we should teach or do business, he did not find any supporting evidence in brain science literature he was familiar with. He has concluded that all these misconceptions are there because brain scientists have not sufficiently talked to people at other domains, such as teachers, business professionals, education majors, etc. Therefore, he has decided to close this gap by writing this book. In this book, Medina cites only research that has appeared in peer-reviewed journals and that has been successfully replicated. The author has listed all the references he has used here Archived 2018-03-24 at the Wayback Machine.


id: the-brain-that-changes-itself-20260505-0
file: data/en.wikipedia.org/wiki/The_Brain_that_Changes_Itself-0.md
category: reference
title: The Brain that Changes Itself
tags: science, encyclopedia
source_url: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/The_Brain_that_Changes_Itself
date_saved: 2026-05-05T08:50:19.605319+00:00
instance: kb-cron
parent: the-brain-that-changes-itself-20260505-0
summary:
The Brain That Changes Itself: Stories of Personal Triumph from the Frontiers of Brain Science is a book on neuroplasticity by psychiatrist and psychoanalyst Norman Doidge. == Content == The book is a collection of stories of doctors and patients showing that the human brain is capable of undergoing change, including stories of recovering use of paralyzed body parts, deaf people learning to hear, and others getting relief from pain using exercises to retrain neural pathways. Doidge also covers scientists who first identified neuroplasticity, the subjects of persistent pain, sexual attraction and love, how culture impacts the changing brain, the developing pediatric brain and the preservation of the geriatric brain. The book contains 11 chapters: A Woman Perpetually Falling, Rescued by the Man Who Discovered the Plasticity of Our Senses Building Herself, a Better Brain A Woman Labeled "Retarded" Discovers How to Heal Herself Redesigning the Brain, A Scientist Changes Brains to Sharpen Perception and Memory, Increase Speed of Thought, and Heal Learning Problems Acquiring Tastes and Loves What Neuroplasticity Teaches Us About Sexual Attraction and Love Midnight Resurrections, Stroke Victims Learn to Move and Speak Again Brain Lock Unlocked, Using Plasticity to Stop Worries, Obsessions, Compulsions, and Bad Habits


id: the-computer-and-the-brain-20260505-0
file: data/en.wikipedia.org/wiki/The_Computer_and_the_Brain-0.md
category: reference
title: The Computer and the Brain
tags: science, encyclopedia
source_url: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/The_Computer_and_the_Brain
date_saved: 2026-05-05T08:50:20.727911+00:00
instance: kb-cron
parent: the-computer-and-the-brain-20260505-0
summary:
The Computer and the Brain is an unfinished book by mathematician John von Neumann, begun shortly before his death and first published in 1958. Von Neumann was an important figure in computer science, and the book discusses how the brain can be viewed as a computing machine. The book is speculative in nature, but von Neumann discusses several important differences between brains and computers of his day (such as processing speed and parallelism), as well as suggesting directions for future research. At only 96 pages, the book was originally intended for Yale's Silliman lectures, but it was published posthumously. The first edition was published in 1958 with a preface by Klara Dan von Neumann. The second edition, published in 2000, contains a foreword by Paul Churchland and Patricia Churchland that places von Neumann's views in the context of science at that time. The third edition, published in 2012, features a foreword by Ray Kurzweil. It has the ISBN 9780300181111. == See also == Computational theory of mind == References == == External links == Leydesdorff, Loet (2016). "The Code of Mathematics: John von Neumann's The Computer and the Brain".


id: connectome-book-20260505-0
file: data/en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Connectome_(book)-0.md
category: reference
title: Connectome (book)
tags: science, encyclopedia
source_url: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Connectome_(book)
date_saved: 2026-05-05T08:50:21.954926+00:00
instance: kb-cron
parent: connectome-book-20260505-0
summary:
Connectome: How the Brain's Wiring Makes Us Who We Are (2012) is a book by Sebastian Seung. It introduces basic concepts in neuroscience and then elaborates on the field of connectomics, that is, how to scan, decode, compare, and understand patterns in brain connectivity. The book concludes with musings on cryonics and mind uploading. It was selected by The Wall Street Journal as Top Ten Nonfiction of 2012. == Book outline == === Introduction === Seung frames the idea of connectomics and argues that "You are more than your genes. You are your connectome." === Ch. 1: Genius and Madness === Seung introduces the 19th-century idea of phrenology and its modern-day counterpart, which he calls "neo-phrenology", i.e., the idea that sizes of brain regions play a role in intelligence (e.g., Einstein's enlarged inferior parietal lobule) or mental disorders (e.g., schizophrenia and autism). That said, Seung emphasizes that these size correlations only show up for large samples and cannot necessarily predict what will happen in any individual's brain. === Ch. 2: Border Disputes === Seung discusses localization maps of the brain that attempt to confine particular functions to particular regions. For instance, phantom-limb pain is hypothesized to result when brain regions


id: connectome-book-20260505-1
file: data/en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Connectome_(book)-1.md
category: reference
title: Connectome (book)
tags: science, encyclopedia
source_url: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Connectome_(book)
date_saved: 2026-05-05T08:50:21.954926+00:00
instance: kb-cron
parent: connectome-book-20260505-0
summary:
== Reactions == Abigail Zuger characterized Connectome as a book arguing that we are more than just our genes. She adds: "it is a testament to Dr. Seung's remarkable clarity of exposition that the reader is swept along with his enthusiasm". Terry Sejnowski echoed this sentiment about the book's style: "With the first-person flavour of James Watson's Double Helix—an account of how DNA's structure was discovered—Connectome gives a sense of the excitement on the cutting edge of neuroscience." Susan Okie affirms that "Seung is a clear, lively writer who chooses vivid examples," though she expresses skepticism about the "science-fiction fantasy that, one day, a human being's connectome could be simulated and 'uploaded' onto a computer". Daniel Levitin praised Connectome as "the best lay book on brain science I've ever read." He says it is "witty and exceptionally clear" and includes "the equivalent of a college course on neuroscience". That said, Levitin raised the caveat that a person's connectome by itself is not the whole story of who that person is, because beyond understanding neural wiring, "we also need to know the precise chemical soup du jour in the brain" as well as the update rules for how experiences change brain


id: delusions-of-gender-20260505-0
file: data/en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Delusions_of_Gender-0.md
category: reference
title: Delusions of Gender
tags: science, encyclopedia
source_url: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Delusions_of_Gender
date_saved: 2026-05-05T08:50:23.086906+00:00
instance: kb-cron
parent: delusions-of-gender-20260505-0
summary:
Delusions of Gender: How Our Minds, Society, and Neurosexism Create Difference is a 2010 book by Cordelia Fine, written to debunk the idea that men and women are hardwired with different interests. The author criticizes claimed evidence of the existence of innate biological differences between men and women's minds as being faulty and exaggerated, and while taking a position of agnosticism with respect to inherent differences relating to interest/skill in "understanding the world" versus "understanding people", reviews literature demonstrating how cultural and societal beliefs contribute to sex differences. == Contents == In the first part of the book, "'Half Changed World', Half Changed Minds", Fine argues that social and environmental factors strongly influence the mind, challenging a "biology as fallback" view that, since society is equal now for the sexes, persistent inequalities must be due to biology. She also discusses the history and impact of gender stereotypes and the ways that science has been used to justify sexism. In the second part of the book, "Neurosexism", Fine criticizes the current available arguments and studies supporting sex differences in the mind, focusing on methodological weaknesses and implicit assumptions. Within neuroscientific investigations, these include small samples that give rise to unreliable, spurious


id: the-expression-of-the-emotions-in-man-and-animals-20260505-0
file: data/en.wikipedia.org/wiki/The_Expression_of_the_Emotions_in_Man_and_Animals-0.md
category: reference
title: The Expression of the Emotions in Man and Animals
tags: science, encyclopedia
source_url: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/The_Expression_of_the_Emotions_in_Man_and_Animals
date_saved: 2026-05-05T08:50:24.321203+00:00
instance: kb-cron
parent: the-expression-of-the-emotions-in-man-and-animals-20260505-0
summary:
The Expression of the Emotions in Man and Animals is Charles Darwin's third major work of evolutionary theory, following On the Origin of Species (1859) and The Descent of Man, and Selection in Relation to Sex (1871). Initially intended as a chapter in Descent of Man, Expression grew in length and was published separately in 1872. Darwin explores the biological aspects of emotional behaviour and the animal origins of human characteristics like smiling and frowning, shrugging shoulders, the lifting of eyebrows in surprise, and the baring of teeth in an angry sneer. Though Expression has never been out of print since its first publication, it has also been described as Darwin's "forgotten masterpiece". Psychologist Paul Ekman has argued that Expression is the foundational text for modern scientific psychology. Before Darwin, human emotional life had posed problems to the traditional philosophical categories of mind and body. Darwin's interest in the subject can be traced to his time as an Edinburgh medical student and the 1824 edition of Anatomy and Philosophy of Expression by Charles Bell, which argued for a spiritual dimension to the subject. In contrast, Darwin's biological approach links emotions to their origins in animal behaviour and allows cultural factors


id: the-expression-of-the-emotions-in-man-and-animals-20260505-1
file: data/en.wikipedia.org/wiki/The_Expression_of_the_Emotions_in_Man_and_Animals-1.md
category: reference
title: The Expression of the Emotions in Man and Animals
tags: science, encyclopedia
source_url: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/The_Expression_of_the_Emotions_in_Man_and_Animals
date_saved: 2026-05-05T08:50:24.321203+00:00
instance: kb-cron
parent: the-expression-of-the-emotions-in-man-and-animals-20260505-0
summary:
=== Universal nature of expression === In the book, Darwin notes the universal nature of expressions: "The young and the old of widely different races, both with man and animals, express the same state of mind by the same movements." This connection of mental states to the neurological organisation of movement, as suggested by the words motive and emotion, is central to Darwin's understanding of emotion. Darwin displayed several biographical links between his psychological life and locomotion: taking long, solitary walks around Shrewsbury after his mother died in 1817; in his seashore rambles near Edinburgh with the influential Lamarckian thinker Robert Edmond Grant in 1826 and 1827; and in laying out the sandwalk, his "thinking path", at Down House in Kent in 1846. These aspects of Darwin's personal life are discussed in the psychoanalytic biography Charles Darwin, A Biography (1990) by John Bowlby. Darwin contrasts his notion of a shared human and animal ancestry with the ideas of Charles Bell which were aligned with natural theology. Bell claimed that facial muscles were designed to express uniquely human feelings. In the fifth edition of The Anatomy and Philosophy of Expression (1865), Bell stated: "Expression is to passion what language is to


id: the-expression-of-the-emotions-in-man-and-animals-20260505-2
file: data/en.wikipedia.org/wiki/The_Expression_of_the_Emotions_in_Man_and_Animals-2.md
category: reference
title: The Expression of the Emotions in Man and Animals
tags: science, encyclopedia
source_url: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/The_Expression_of_the_Emotions_in_Man_and_Animals
date_saved: 2026-05-05T08:50:24.321203+00:00
instance: kb-cron
parent: the-expression-of-the-emotions-in-man-and-animals-20260505-0
summary:
Because of the limited printing techniques of the 1800s, photographs were usually tipped into the pages of books. This process was expensive and labour-intensive since each photograph had to be printed and tipped in individually. Darwin proposed using heliotype to print the photographs to his publisher—John Murray—believing it would be cheaper. It allowed the illustrations to be bound directly with the pages of text, and the printing plates could be reused, which reduced costs. The printing company Darwin chose for the photographs proved to be expensive. Robert F. Cooke, John Murray III's cousin and partner in his publishing company, expressed concern about the increasing production costs and warned Darwin that including the photographs "will make a terrible hole in the profits of each edition". Darwin proceeded with the printing process, and most of Expression was illustrated by photographic prints—with seven heliotype plates; figures 19–21 were printed using woodcuts. The published book contains the work of several artists: Engravings of the Darwin family's domestic pets by the zoological illustrator T. W. Wood Drawings and sketches by Briton Rivière, A. May, and Joseph Wolf Portraits by the Swedish photographer Oscar Rejlander Anatomical diagrams by Charles Bell and Friedrich Henle Illustrative quotations from


id: the-expression-of-the-emotions-in-man-and-animals-20260505-3
file: data/en.wikipedia.org/wiki/The_Expression_of_the_Emotions_in_Man_and_Animals-3.md
category: reference
title: The Expression of the Emotions in Man and Animals
tags: science, encyclopedia
source_url: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/The_Expression_of_the_Emotions_in_Man_and_Animals
date_saved: 2026-05-05T08:50:24.321203+00:00
instance: kb-cron
parent: the-expression-of-the-emotions-in-man-and-animals-20260505-0
summary:
==== Evolutionary psychology ==== William James followed up Darwin's ideas in his What Is An Emotion? (1884). In the James–Lange theory of emotions, James develops Darwin's emphasis on the physical aspects, including the autonomically mediated, visceral components of emotions. In Bodily Changes in Pain, Hunger, Fear and Rage (1915) by Walter Cannon, Cannon introduces the phrase fight-or-flight response, formulating emotions in terms of strategies for interpersonal behaviour and showing how these emotions are amplified in groups or crowds—herd behavior. Psychological theories of emotion have also been set out in the Two-factor theory of emotion put forward by Schachter and Singer, the Papez–Maclean hypothesis, and the theory of constructed emotion. Theories on somatic factors in personality were elaborated by psychiatrist Ernst Kretschmer; by the neurologist Paul Schilder, with his notion of body image in The Image and Appearance of the Human Body (1950); and in the concepts of somatotypology proposed by William Herbert Sheldon in the 1940s—now largely discredited. Zoologist Desmond Morris further explored the biological aspects of human emotions in his extensively illustrated scientific book Manwatching (1978), and recent research has confirmed that while cultural factors are critical to determining gestures, genetic factors are crucial to the formation of facial


id: the-female-brain-book-20260505-0
file: data/en.wikipedia.org/wiki/The_Female_Brain_(book)-0.md
category: reference
title: The Female Brain (book)
tags: science, encyclopedia
source_url: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/The_Female_Brain_(book)
date_saved: 2026-05-05T08:50:25.486349+00:00
instance: kb-cron
parent: the-female-brain-book-20260505-0
summary:
The Female Brain is a book written by the American neuropsychiatrist Louann Brizendine in 2006. The main thesis of the book is that women's behavior is different from that of men due, in large measure, to hormonal differences. The book was a commercial success but received mixed reviews due to questions about its scientific validity. The author has been criticized for unsubstantiated claims and irrelevant citations. == Structure == Brizendine's main thesis is that the human female brain is affected by the following hormones: estrogen, progesterone, testosterone, oxytocin, neurotransmitters (dopamine, serotonin), and that there are differences in the architecture of the brain (prefrontal cortex, hypothalamus, amygdala) that regulate such hormones and neurotransmitters. The book has seven chapters, each one of which is dedicated to a specific part of a woman's life, such as puberty, motherhood, and menopause, or a specific dimension of a women's emotional life, such as feelings, love and trust, and sex. The book also includes three appendices on hormone therapy, postpartum depression, and sexual orientation. == Reception == The book sold well but received mixed reviews because a number of journalists, popular science writers, and scientists questioned the validity of some of the content. Some of the


id: the-gap-book-20260505-0
file: data/en.wikipedia.org/wiki/The_Gap_(book)-0.md
category: reference
title: The Gap (book)
tags: science, encyclopedia
source_url: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/The_Gap_(book)
date_saved: 2026-05-05T08:50:26.667538+00:00
instance: kb-cron
parent: the-gap-book-20260505-0
summary:
The Gap is a 2013 nonfiction book by Thomas Suddendorf that discusses what cognitive qualities separate humans from other animals, and how they evolved. The Gap: The Science of What Separates Us From Other Animals. Basic Books: New York ISBN 978-0-465-03014-9 == Reviews == Anil Ananthaswamy (27 January 2014). What separates us from other animals? New Scientist Robyn Williams (March 2014). The science of what separates us from other animals. Australian Book Review Joseph Maldonado (2013). The Gap: The Science of What Separates Us from Other Animals. Psych Central. Retrieved on October 5, 2014, from http://psychcentral.com/lib/the-gap-the-science-of-what-separates-us-from-other-animals/00018372 Steven Mithen (3 April 2013). Most of Us Are Part Neanderthal. The New York Review of Books Wray Herbert (10 February 2014). Social Animals - Pondering the limits of anthropomorphism. The Weekly Standard Vol. 19, No. 21. Retrieved on October 5, 2014, from [1] David Barash (15 November 2013). Book Review: 'The Gap' by Thomas Suddendorf - What makes humans unique—tools? Language? Cooking?. The Wall Street Journal Nina Bai (17 October 2013). MIND Reviews: The Gap. Scientific American Mind volume 24 issue 5. Eric Michael Johnson (20 March 2014). The Gap: The Science of What Separates Us From Other Animals, by Thomas Suddendorf. The


id: how-to-create-a-mind-20260505-0
file: data/en.wikipedia.org/wiki/How_to_Create_a_Mind-0.md
category: reference
title: How to Create a Mind
tags: science, encyclopedia
source_url: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/How_to_Create_a_Mind
date_saved: 2026-05-05T08:50:27.810593+00:00
instance: kb-cron
parent: how-to-create-a-mind-20260505-0
summary:
How to Create a Mind: The Secret of Human Thought Revealed is a non-fiction book about brains, both human and artificial, by the inventor and futurist Ray Kurzweil. First published in hardcover on November 13, 2012 by Viking Press it became a New York Times Best Seller. It has received attention from The Washington Post, The New York Times and The New Yorker. Kurzweil describes a series of thought experiments which suggest to him that the brain contains a hierarchy of pattern recognizers. Based on this he introduces his Pattern Recognition Theory of Mind (PRTM). He says the neocortex contains 300 million very general pattern recognition circuits and argues that they are responsible for most aspects of human thought. He also suggests that the brain is a "recursive probabilistic fractal" whose line of code is represented within the 30-100 million bytes of compressed code in the genome. Kurzweil then explains that a computer version of this design could be used to create an artificial intelligence more capable than the human brain. It would employ techniques such as hidden Markov models and genetic algorithms, strategies Kurzweil used successfully in his years as a commercial developer of speech recognition software. Artificial brains


id: how-to-create-a-mind-20260505-1
file: data/en.wikipedia.org/wiki/How_to_Create_a_Mind-1.md
category: reference
title: How to Create a Mind
tags: science, encyclopedia
source_url: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/How_to_Create_a_Mind
date_saved: 2026-05-05T08:50:27.810593+00:00
instance: kb-cron
parent: how-to-create-a-mind-20260505-0
summary:
Kurzweil next writes about creating a digital brain inspired by the biological brain he has been describing. One existing effort he points to is Henry Markram's Blue Brain Project, which is attempting to create a full brain simulation by 2023. Kurzweil says the full molecular modeling they are attempting will be too slow, and that they will have to swap in simplified models to speed up initial self-organization. Kurzweil believes these large scale simulations are valuable, but says a more explicit "functional algorithmic model" will be required to achieve human levels of intelligence. Kurzweil is unimpressed with neural networks and their potential while he's very bullish on vector quantization, hidden Markov models and genetic algorithms since he used all three successfully in his speech recognition work. Kurzweil equates pattern recognizers in the neocortex with statements in the LISP programming language, which is also hierarchical. He also says his approach is similar to Jeff Hawkins' hierarchical temporal memory, although he feels the hierarchical hidden Markov models have an advantage in pattern detection. Kurzweil touches on some modern applications of advanced AI including Google's self-driving cars, IBM's Watson which beat the best human players at the game Jeopardy!, the Siri personal assistant


id: how-to-create-a-mind-20260505-2
file: data/en.wikipedia.org/wiki/How_to_Create_a_Mind-2.md
category: reference
title: How to Create a Mind
tags: science, encyclopedia
source_url: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/How_to_Create_a_Mind
date_saved: 2026-05-05T08:50:27.810593+00:00
instance: kb-cron
parent: how-to-create-a-mind-20260505-0
summary:
Simson Garfinkel, an entrepreneur and professor of computer science at the Naval Postgraduate School, says Kurzweil's pattern recognition theory of mind (PRTM) is misnamed because of the word "theory", he feels it is not a theory since it cannot be tested. Garfinkel rejects Kurzweil's one-algorithm approach instead saying "the brain is likely to have many more secrets and algorithms than the one Kurzweil describes". Garfinkel caricatures Kurzweil's plan for artificial intelligence as "build something that can learn, then give it stuff to learn", which he thinks is hardly the "secret of human thought" promised by the subtitle of the book. Gary Marcus, a research psychologist and professor at New York University, says only the name PRTM is new. He says the basic theory behind PRTM is "in the spirit of" a model of vision known as the neocognitron, introduced in 1980. He also says PRTM even more strongly resembles Hierarchical Temporal Memory promoted by Jeff Hawkins in recent years. Marcus feels any theory like this needs to be proven with an actual working computer model. And to that end he says that "a whole slew" of machines have been programmed with an approach similar to PRTM, and they have often


id: i-of-the-vortex-20260505-0
file: data/en.wikipedia.org/wiki/I_of_the_Vortex-0.md
category: reference
title: I of the Vortex
tags: science, encyclopedia
source_url: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/I_of_the_Vortex
date_saved: 2026-05-05T08:50:28.930745+00:00
instance: kb-cron
parent: i-of-the-vortex-20260505-0
summary:
I of the Vortex: From Neurons to Self is a popular science book by the Colombian neuroscientist Rodolfo Llinás, published in February 2002 by MIT Press. and whose Spanish edition features a prologue by his friend, Nobel laureate Gabriel García Márquez. The book is considered a best seller for scientific dissemination and won the "best health book" award at the International Latino Book Award Fair in BookExpo America 2013, in New York, and according to Google Scholar has received more than 1000 citations. == Content == The book traces the history of neuroscience in its search for trying to explain the functioning of the mind and the brain. In addition, the author includes some of his ideas and research, published in international research journals, but prepared for a general public. == See also == Human evolution Neuroscience == References == == External links == NYU Medical Center Rodolfo Llinás Librería Norma The MIT Press: I of the vortex


id: incognito-the-secret-lives-of-the-brain-20260505-0
file: data/en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Incognito:_The_Secret_Lives_of_the_Brain-0.md
category: reference
title: Incognito: The Secret Lives of the Brain
tags: science, encyclopedia
source_url: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Incognito:_The_Secret_Lives_of_the_Brain
date_saved: 2026-05-05T08:50:30.074718+00:00
instance: kb-cron
parent: incognito-the-secret-lives-of-the-brain-20260505-0
summary:
Incognito: The Secret Lives of the Brain is a 2011 New York Times best-selling nonfiction book by American neuroscientist David Eagleman, an adjunct professor at Stanford University. The book explores the juxtaposition of the conscious and the unconscious mind, with Eagleman summing up the text's themes with the question: "If the conscious mind—the part you consider to be you—is just the tip of the iceberg, what is the rest doing?" In Incognito, Eagleman contends that most of the operations of the brain are inaccessible to awareness, such that the conscious mind "is like a stowaway on a transatlantic steam ship, taking credit for the journey without acknowledging the massive engineering underfoot." == Overview == Incognito presents Eagleman's personal neuroscientific beliefs rather than detailed science or philosophy. It offers an enthusiastic exploration of how modern neuroscience reshapes our understanding of human nature and consciousness, focusing on its broader implications as a worldview rather than on technical or philosophical analysis. Eagleman argues that just as past scientific discoveries displaced humankind from the cosmic center, brain science reveals that consciousness is not central to the mind but a small, uncertain part of vast unconscious processes, where most mental activity operates "incognito". == Reception


id: irreducible-mind-20260505-0
file: data/en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Irreducible_Mind-0.md
category: reference
title: Irreducible Mind
tags: science, encyclopedia
source_url: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Irreducible_Mind
date_saved: 2026-05-05T08:50:31.247137+00:00
instance: kb-cron
parent: irreducible-mind-20260505-0
summary:
Irreducible Mind: Toward a Psychology for the 21st Century is a 2007 psychological book by Edward Francis Kelly, Emily Williams Kelly, Adam Crabtree, Alan Gauld, Michael Grosso, and Bruce Greyson. It attempts to bridge contemporary cognitive psychology and mainstream neuroscience with "rogue phenomena", which the authors argue exist in near-death experiences, psychophysiological influence, automatism, memory, genius, and mystical states. The authors' approach repudiates the conventional theory of human consciousness as a material epiphenomenon that can be fully explained in terms of physical brain processes and advances the mind as an entity independent of the brain or body. They advance an alternative "transmission" or "filter" theory of the mind-brain relationship. In doing so they explain how dualism may be a more fundamental theory that rejects a materialistic perspective of consciousness. == Authors == The authorship of the book is diverse, with representatives from the United States, United Kingdom, and Canada. The book is interdisciplinary in that the authors also come from various fields of psychology, science studies, and psychical research. Lead author Edward F. Kelly is Professor of Research in the Division of Perceptual Studies at the University of Virginia School of Medicine. == Contents == The book begins by presenting


id: livewired-20260505-0
file: data/en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Livewired-0.md
category: reference
title: Livewired
tags: science, encyclopedia
source_url: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Livewired
date_saved: 2026-05-05T08:50:32.451499+00:00
instance: kb-cron
parent: livewired-20260505-0
summary:
Livewired: The Inside Story of the Ever-Changing Brain is a non-fiction book by David Eagleman, a neuroscientist at Stanford University. The book explores and extends the phenomenon of brain plasticity, with the term livewired proposed as a term to supersede plastic. As of late 2020, the book was nominated for the Pulitzer Prize. A Kirkus review described the book as "outstanding popular science," while New Scientist magazine wrote that "Eagleman brings the subject to life in a way I haven’t seen other writers achieve before." Harvard Business Review wrote that Livewired "gets the science right and makes it accessible... completely upending our basic sense of what the brain is in the process." The Wall Street Journal wrote that "since the passing of Isaac Asimov, we haven't had a working scientist like Eagleman, who engages his ideas in such a variety of modes. Livewired reads wonderfully, like what a book would be if it were written by Oliver Sacks and William Gibson, sitting on Carl Sagan's front lawn.” == References == == External links == Livewired website (includes excerpts)


id: the-man-who-tasted-shapes-20260505-0
file: data/en.wikipedia.org/wiki/The_Man_Who_Tasted_Shapes-0.md
category: reference
title: The Man Who Tasted Shapes
tags: science, encyclopedia
source_url: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/The_Man_Who_Tasted_Shapes
date_saved: 2026-05-05T08:50:33.566909+00:00
instance: kb-cron
parent: the-man-who-tasted-shapes-20260505-0
summary:
The Man Who Tasted Shapes is a book by neurologist Richard Cytowic about synesthesia. == Summary == The book is divided into two parts. In the first part, Cytowic describes his chance encounter during a dinner party on February 10, 1980 with MW, the "Man Who Tasted Shapes." Cytowic describes how his host reported that "There aren't enough points on the chicken!" and how this chance comment led to Cytowic's investigations of the neurological phenomenon of synesthesia. Early chapters include background information on how the brain is organized, drawn mainly from Paul D. MacLean's Triune Brain theory. Cytowic describes MW's synesthesia, noting the consistency of his reports, that such experiences are "generic" and consistent over time. Chapters dealing with more scientific theories, data and experimentation are alternated with autobiographical and more personal chapters describing the historical details of Cytowic's investigations into synesthesia. In order to explore the biological basis of synesthesia, Cytowic describes experiments in which he tested how MW's synesthesia was reduced by MW's daily routine of stimulants such as nicotine and caffeine and depressants such as alcohol. In more intensive investigations of the effects of different psychoactive substances, Cytowic notes that stimulants, including a dose of amphetamine, decreased


id: a-mind-of-its-own-how-your-brain-distorts-and-deceives-20260505-0
file: data/en.wikipedia.org/wiki/A_Mind_of_Its_Own:_How_Your_Brain_Distorts_and_Deceives-0.md
category: reference
title: A Mind of Its Own: How Your Brain Distorts and Deceives
tags: science, encyclopedia
source_url: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/A_Mind_of_Its_Own:_How_Your_Brain_Distorts_and_Deceives
date_saved: 2026-05-05T08:50:37.024502+00:00
instance: kb-cron
parent: a-mind-of-its-own-how-your-brain-distorts-and-deceives-20260505-0
summary:
A Mind of Its Own: How Your Brain Distorts and Deceives is the first book written by Cordelia Fine, published in 2005 by W.W. Norton & Company. It is made of eight chapters that explore how the brain distorts reality and exhibits biased thinking. In The Quarterly Review of Biology, Massimo Pigliucci described the book as "a short and sensible manual for its [the brain's] proper care and usage". Richard Lipkin also reviewed A Mind of Its Own in Scientific American Mind. A Mind of Its Own was longlisted for the Royal Society Prizes for Science Books General Prize in 2007. == References ==


id: the-mind-s-eye-sacks-book-20260505-0
file: data/en.wikipedia.org/wiki/The_Mind's_Eye_(Sacks_book)-0.md
category: reference
title: The Mind's Eye (Sacks book)
tags: science, encyclopedia
source_url: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/The_Mind's_Eye_(Sacks_book)
date_saved: 2026-05-05T08:50:38.171687+00:00
instance: kb-cron
parent: the-mind-s-eye-sacks-book-20260505-0
summary:
The Mind's Eye is a 2010 book by neurologist Oliver Sacks. The book contains case studies of people whose ability to navigate the world visually and communicate with others have been compromised, including the author's own experience with cancer of the eye and his lifelong inability to recognise faces. == Case studies == One of the case studies concerns Susan R. Barry, nicknamed "Stereo Sue," whom Sacks wrote about in 2006. Due to strabismus, she lived without stereoscopic vision for 48 years, but became able to see stereoscopically through vision therapy. Another case study is of the acclaimed concert pianist Lilian Kallir, who suffered from posterior cortical atrophy yet was surprisingly resilient despite the numerous deficits it caused; the effect on her musical abilities was particularly notable. While her memory and personality were intact, she had problems processing visual stimuli, and was no longer able to read words or music, yet for years lived an extremely active life, frequently performing entirely from memory, with no one but her husband knowing she had any problems. Another case study was about a vivacious, social woman named Pat who suffered a stroke that resulted in aphasia; a complete inability to speak or understand


id: musicophilia-20260505-0
file: data/en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Musicophilia-0.md
category: reference
title: Musicophilia
tags: science, encyclopedia
source_url: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Musicophilia
date_saved: 2026-05-05T08:50:39.398520+00:00
instance: kb-cron
parent: musicophilia-20260505-0
summary:
Musicophilia: Tales of Music and the Brain is a 2007 book by Oliver Sacks. It explores a range of psychological and physiological ailments and their connections to music. It is divided into four parts, each with a distinctive theme: Haunted by Music examines mysterious onsets of musicality and musicophilia (and musicophobia); A Range of Musicality looks at musical oddities musical synesthesia; parts three and four are entitled Memory, Movement, and Music and Emotion, Identity, and Music. Each part has between six and eight chapters, each of which is in turn dedicated to a particular case study (or several related case studies) that fit the overarching theme of the section. Four case studies from the book are featured in the NOVA program Musical Minds aired on June 30, 2009. == Purpose == According to Sacks, Musicophilia was written in an attempt to widen the general populace's understanding of music and its effects on the brain. As Sacks states at the outset of the book's preface, music is omnipresent, influencing human's everyday lives in how we think and act. However, unlike other animal species (such as birds) whose musical prowess is easier to understand in relation on a biological/evolutionary level, humanity's draw


id: musicophilia-20260505-1
file: data/en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Musicophilia-1.md
category: reference
title: Musicophilia
tags: science, encyclopedia
source_url: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Musicophilia
date_saved: 2026-05-05T08:50:39.398520+00:00
instance: kb-cron
parent: musicophilia-20260505-0
summary:
=== Behavioral effects === Certain portions of the brain are associated with how we use the brain to interact with music. For example, the cerebellum, a portion that coordinates movement and stores muscle memory, responds well to the introduction of music. For example, an Alzheimer's patient would not be able to recognize his wife, but would still remember how to play the piano because he dedicated this knowledge to muscle memory when he was young. Those memories never fade. Another example is the Putamen. This portion of the brain processes rhythm and regulates body movement and coordination. When introduced to music, if the amount of dopamine in the area is increased, it increases our response to rhythm. By doing this, music has the ability to temporarily stop the symptoms of such diseases as Parkinson's Disease. The music serves as a cane to these patients, and when the music is taken away, the symptoms return. When it comes to which music people respond best to, it is a matter of individual background. In patients with dementia, it is found that most patients respond to music from their youth, rather than relying on a certain rhythm or element. Neuroscientist Kiminobu Sugaya explains


id: neural-basis-of-self-20260505-0
file: data/en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Neural_basis_of_self-0.md
category: reference
title: Neural basis of self
tags: science, encyclopedia
source_url: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Neural_basis_of_self
date_saved: 2026-05-05T08:50:40.576831+00:00
instance: kb-cron
parent: neural-basis-of-self-20260505-0
summary:
The neural basis of self is the idea of using modern concepts of neuroscience to describe and understand the biological processes that underlie humans' perception of self-understanding. The neural basis of self is closely related to the psychology of self with a deeper foundation in neurobiology. == Experimental techniques == In order to understand how the human mind makes the human perception of self, there are different experimental techniques. One of the more common methods of determining brain areas that pertain to different mental processes is by using Functional Magnetic Resonance Imaging (fMRI), the results of which are often used to determine activation levels in various portions of the brain, since fMRI measures blood flow in the brain. Areas with higher blood flow as shown on fMRI scans are said to be activated. This is due to the assumption that portions of the brain receiving increased blood flow are being used more heavily during the moment of scanning. Positron emission tomography is another method used to study brain activity. == Self-awareness == === Anatomy === Two areas of the brain that are important in retrieving self-knowledge are the medial prefrontal cortex and the medial posterior parietal cortex. The posterior cingulate


id: neural-basis-of-self-20260505-1
file: data/en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Neural_basis_of_self-1.md
category: reference
title: Neural basis of self
tags: science, encyclopedia
source_url: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Neural_basis_of_self
date_saved: 2026-05-05T08:50:40.576831+00:00
instance: kb-cron
parent: neural-basis-of-self-20260505-0
summary:
=== Autism === Autism is a disorder which impairs social interactions, communication, and behaviors. A new approach to studying autism is to focus on individuals’ perception of self rather than understanding the individual's social interactions. A common thought is that understanding of the differences between the self and others is impaired. However, the exact biological mechanism of self-understanding in autistic children is currently unknown. It has been found that there are significant differences in brain activation in self and other situations in autistic children when compared to children who do not have autism. In adults who do not have autism, during self-recognition tasks, the inferior frontal gyrus and the inferior parietal lobule in the right hemisphere are activated. Children who do not have autism show activation in these areas when performing face processing tasks for their own faces and those of others. Children with autism, however, only show activation in these areas when recognizing their own faces. The activation in the inferior frontal gyrus is less in children with autism than in those who do not have autism. === Schizophrenia === The cortical midline structure is extremely important in the understanding of the self, especially during the task of self-reflection.


id: organization-of-behavior-20260505-0
file: data/en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Organization_of_Behavior-0.md
category: reference
title: Organization of Behavior
tags: science, encyclopedia
source_url: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Organization_of_Behavior
date_saved: 2026-05-05T08:50:42.853121+00:00
instance: kb-cron
parent: organization-of-behavior-20260505-0
summary:
Organization of Behavior is a 1949 book by the psychologist Donald O. Hebb. One of the main takeaways was that it proposed a theory about learning based on conjunctures on neural networks and synapses being able to strengthen or weaken over time. == Reception == The author Richard Webster identifies Organization of Behavior as the most influential outline of Hebb's postulate. According to Webster, the hypothesis has classic status within science and is supported by recent research. == References == === Bibliography === Books


id: the-organized-mind-20260505-0
file: data/en.wikipedia.org/wiki/The_Organized_Mind-0.md
category: reference
title: The Organized Mind
tags: science, encyclopedia
source_url: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/The_Organized_Mind
date_saved: 2026-05-05T08:50:44.073064+00:00
instance: kb-cron
parent: the-organized-mind-20260505-0
summary:
The Organized Mind: Thinking Straight in the Age of Information Overload is a bestselling popular science book written by the McGill University neuroscientist Daniel J. Levitin, PhD, and first published by Dutton Penguin in the United States and Canada in 2014. It is Levitin's 3rd consecutive best-seller, debuting at #2 on the New York Times Best Seller List, #1 on the Canadian best-seller lists, #1 on Amazon, and #5 on The London Times bestseller list. In The Organized Mind, Levitin demonstrates how the Information Age is drowning us with an unprecedented deluge of data, and uses the latest brain science to explain how the brain can organize this flood of information. The book is divided in three parts. The first part focuses on attention. Levitin argues that attention is the most essential mental resource for any organism and describes how the brain's attentional system works: it determines which aspects of the environment an individual will deal with, and what gets passed through to that individual's conscious awareness. The attentional awareness system is the reason one can safely drive or walk to work without noticing most of the buildings or cars one passes by. Additionally, Levitin states that the phrase "paying


id: phantoms-in-the-brain-20260505-0
file: data/en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Phantoms_in_the_Brain-0.md
category: reference
title: Phantoms in the Brain
tags: science, encyclopedia
source_url: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Phantoms_in_the_Brain
date_saved: 2026-05-05T08:50:45.266711+00:00
instance: kb-cron
parent: phantoms-in-the-brain-20260505-0
summary:
Phantoms in the Brain: Probing the Mysteries of the Human Mind (also published as Phantoms in the Brain: Human Nature and the Architecture of the Mind) is a 1998 popular science book by neuroscientist V.S. Ramachandran and New York Times science writer Sandra Blakeslee, discussing neurophysiology and neuropsychology as revealed by case studies of neurological disorders. The book, which began as a lecture presented to the Society for Neuroscience, features a foreword by neuroscientist and author Oliver Sacks. == Synopsis == Ramachandran discusses his work with patients exhibiting phantom limbs, the Capgras delusion, pseudobulbar affect and hemispatial neglect following stroke, and religious experiences associated with epileptic seizure, among other disorders. Ramachandran uses these cases to illustrate the construction of body image, and the functioning of mood, decision-making, self-deception, and artistic skill. In the final chapter of the book, Ramachandran addresses the so-called hard problem of consciousness, discussing qualia and various facets of the self. == Reception == Neurology researcher Michael E. Goldberg, writing for The New York Times, described the book as "enthralling not only for its clear, eloquent descriptions of neurological phenomena, their relationship to physiological mechanisms and their integration with philosophy of mind, but also for its portrait


id: the-primordial-emotions-20260505-0
file: data/en.wikipedia.org/wiki/The_Primordial_Emotions-0.md
category: reference
title: The Primordial Emotions
tags: science, encyclopedia
source_url: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/The_Primordial_Emotions
date_saved: 2026-05-05T08:50:46.441212+00:00
instance: kb-cron
parent: the-primordial-emotions-20260505-0
summary:
The Primordial Emotions: The Dawning of Consciousness is a 2006 book by Australian neuroscientist Derek Denton. == Summary == Denton argues that, if self-awareness and intentionality are intrinsic to consciousness, the primordial emotions such as thirst, hunger and pain (that involve feeling the self and intentionality) are the likely precursors to consciousness; that a kind of non-reflective consciousness evolved along with these feelings and before the emergence of cognition. This opposes the view put by Edelman and others that consciousness emerged after the development of cognitive processes such as the ability to create a scene from diverse sensory inputs. He sees the evolution of consciousness as a gradual, continuous process, beginning in the brain's most primitive regions with non-reflective consciousness of instincts, followed by reflective consciousness of the feelings and impulses associated with these instincts (this subjective experience is what he terms "primordial emotions"), then reflective consciousness of surroundings evolves, followed by the emergence of reflective consciousness of memories and behavioural options. Denton distinguishes between primordial emotions, "imperious states of arousal and compelling intentions to act" (p. 7) driven by activation of interoceptors and involving ancient, lower brain regions such as the medulla, midbrain and hypothalamus, and "classic" emotions, such


id: principles-of-neural-science-20260505-0
file: data/en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Principles_of_Neural_Science-0.md
category: reference
title: Principles of Neural Science
tags: science, encyclopedia
source_url: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Principles_of_Neural_Science
date_saved: 2026-05-05T08:50:47.618631+00:00
instance: kb-cron
parent: principles-of-neural-science-20260505-0
summary:
Principles of Neural Science is a neuroscience textbook edited by Columbia University professors Eric R. Kandel, James H. Schwartz, and Thomas M. Jessell. First published in 1981 by McGraw-Hill, the original edition was 468 pages, and has now grown to 1,646 pages on the sixth edition. The second edition was published in 1985, third in 1991, fourth in 2000. The fifth was published on October 26, 2012 and included Steven A. Siegelbaum and A. J. Hudspeth as editors. The sixth and latest edition was published on March 8, 2021. == Authors == === Editors === Kandel was one of the recipients of the 2000 Nobel Prize in Physiology or Medicine. He is currently a professor of biochemistry, molecular biophysics, physiology, cellular biophysics, and psychiatry at Columbia University. He is a senior investigator at the Howard Hughes Medical Institute and a recipient of the National Medal of Science. Schwartz was a professor of physiology, cellular biophysics, neurology, and psychiatry at Columbia University. Jessell became an editor of the book starting from the third edition. He was a professor of biochemistry and molecular biophysics at Columbia University, and an investigator at the Howard Hughes Medical Institute. Hudspeth is a professor of sensory


id: proust-was-a-neuroscientist-20260505-0
file: data/en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Proust_Was_a_Neuroscientist-0.md
category: reference
title: Proust Was a Neuroscientist
tags: science, encyclopedia
source_url: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Proust_Was_a_Neuroscientist
date_saved: 2026-05-05T08:50:48.758484+00:00
instance: kb-cron
parent: proust-was-a-neuroscientist-20260505-0
summary:
Proust Was a Neuroscientist is a non-fiction book written by Jonah Lehrer, first published in 2007. In it, Lehrer argues that many 20th and 21st-century discoveries of neuroscience are actually re-discoveries of insights made earlier by various artists, including Gertrude Stein, Walt Whitman, Paul Cézanne, Igor Stravinsky, and, as alluded to in the title, Marcel Proust. Lehrer became embroiled in controversy following the publication of his third book, Imagine: How Creativity Works (2012), and his work was subject to charges of plagiarism and fabrication. Though both Imagine and one of his other books, How We Decide, were pulled from publication, Proust Was a Neuroscientist was found by his publisher to be without significant problems and would remain in print. == References ==


id: sleights-of-mind-20260505-0
file: data/en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Sleights_of_Mind-0.md
category: reference
title: Sleights of Mind
tags: science, encyclopedia
source_url: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Sleights_of_Mind
date_saved: 2026-05-05T08:50:49.893928+00:00
instance: kb-cron
parent: sleights-of-mind-20260505-0
summary:
Sleights of Mind: What the Neuroscience of Magic Reveals about Our Everyday Deceptions is a 2010 popular science book, written by neuroscientists Stephen Macknik and Susana Martinez-Conde, with science writer Sandra Blakeslee. Working alongside several magicians, Macknik and Martinez-Conde studied how conjuring techniques trick the brain. Sleights of Mind considers the greater implications of magic and misdirection for clinical conditions such as autism, and for everyday life situations, including choice and trust in personal and business relationships. Sleights of Mind introduces Neuromagic as a new area of scientific endeavor, a discipline aimed to uncover the interaction between brain science and the art of magic. Macknik and Martinez-Conde propose that understanding how the mind perceives magic and illusion will provide a greater understanding of perception and cognition at large. == Synopsis == Macknik and Martinez-Conde say that magic tricks fool us because humans have hardwired processes of attention and awareness that are hackable. Good magicians use our inherent mental and neural limitations against us by leading us to perceive and feel what we are neurologically inclined to. Working with renowned magicians like Apollo Robbins, Teller, Mac King, and James Randi, Macknik and Martinez-Conde research the ways in which the perceptual and


id: the-space-between-our-ears-20260505-0
file: data/en.wikipedia.org/wiki/The_Space_Between_Our_Ears-0.md
category: reference
title: The Space Between Our Ears
tags: science, encyclopedia
source_url: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/The_Space_Between_Our_Ears
date_saved: 2026-05-05T08:50:51.056850+00:00
instance: kb-cron
parent: the-space-between-our-ears-20260505-0
summary:
The Space Between Our Ears: How the Brain Represents Visual Space is a 2001 non-fiction book by Michael J. Morgan, which explores the workings of vision. == Reception == The Space Between Our Ears won the Wellcome Trust Book Prize for science writing. In the Guardian, Steven Rose lauded Morgan's explanations of binocularity and depth perception, but faulted the inclusion of "irrelevant anecdotes, bad poems and even worse jokes". Perception described it as an "intelligent and erudite romp", and commended its appeal to scientists, noting that Morgan sets ideas which (to vision specialists) are of "cosy (...) familiarity" in a "rich context". == References ==


id: the-tale-of-the-dueling-neurosurgeons-20260505-0
file: data/en.wikipedia.org/wiki/The_Tale_of_the_Dueling_Neurosurgeons-0.md
category: reference
title: The Tale of the Dueling Neurosurgeons
tags: science, encyclopedia
source_url: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/The_Tale_of_the_Dueling_Neurosurgeons
date_saved: 2026-05-05T08:50:52.249199+00:00
instance: kb-cron
parent: the-tale-of-the-dueling-neurosurgeons-20260505-0
summary:
The Tale of the Dueling Neurosurgeons, also known by its full title The Tale of the Dueling Neurosurgeons: The History of The Human Brain as Revealed by True Stories of Trauma, Madness, and Recovery is a science book regarding the brain and its functions by Sam Kean. The Daily Telegraph described it as "A dramatic account of the gruesome accidents that shaped modern neuroscience." == Publication == The book was published in hardback on May 6, 2014 by Little, Brown and Company. == Contents/Synopsis == In The Tale of the Dueling Neurosurgeons, Sam Kean travels through time with stories of startling peculiarity and incredible fascination, stories of neurological curiosities: phantom limbs, cannibalism, Siamese brains and a plethora of other strange, though equally fascinating things. Kean effortlessly ties historical accounts, stories of madness and insanity, with the scientific breakthroughs that often followed. His writing shows that every breakthrough was borne of malady, injury, necessity. === Part I: Gross Anatomy === ==== Introduction ==== Each chapter begins with a rebus, a word puzzle, pertaining to the subject of the chapter. In this introductory section, Kean essentially provides some background information and summarizes how the book will continue. ==== Chapter 1: The Dueling


