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In Memoriam: Amir Aczel, Mathematician, Author, and Science Communicator
In Memoriam: Amir Aczel, Mathematician, Author, and Science Communicator
We remember Amir Aczel, a brilliant mathematician, historian of science, and gifted science writer who passed away on November 26, 2015 at the age of 65. Aczel's profound curiosity and... Read more...
Jaakko Hintikka: The Philosopher Who Made Thinking an Adventure
Jaakko Hintikka: The Philosopher Who Made Thinking an Adventure
Jaakko Hintikka, a towering figure in philosophy and logic, passed away on August 12, 2015, at the age of 86. Known as a relentless pioneer in epistemology, logic, and the... Read more...
The Western Flyer: Steinbeck's Boat, the Sea of Cortez, and the Saga of the Pacific Fisheries
The Western Flyer: Steinbeck's Boat, the Sea of Cortez, and the Saga of the Pacific Fisheries
Readers of John Steinbeck’s The Log of the Sea of Cortez will certainly recognize the Western Flyer as the boat that Steinbeck and his friend, the marine biologist Ed Ricketts,... Read more...
The Nucleus of War: Niels Bohr's Role in the Manhattan Project
The Nucleus of War: Niels Bohr's Role in the Manhattan Project
In yet another example of a fictional account inspired by real historical events, WGN America TV network recently launched a series titled “Manhattan.” The show is loosely based on the... Read more...
10 Things You Might Not Know About Albert Einstein
10 Things You Might Not Know About Albert Einstein
1. Does a big head equal a big brain? Maybe, maybe not. But when Albert Einstein was born, his head was so unusually big that doctors were worried he would... Read more...
Arthur Danto
Remembering Arthur Danto: Beyond Good, Evil, and Art
Arthur Danto, a philosopher, critic, and intellectual icon, passed away on October 25, 2013, at the age of 89. His ideas about art and philosophy transformed how we think about... Read more...
Avrum Stroll
In Memoriam: Avrum Stroll – A Life of Thoughtful Inquiry and Philosophical Legacy
It is with deep respect that we remember Avrum Stroll, a distinguished philosopher and scholar, who passed away on September 12, 2013, at the age of 92. A research professor at... Read more...
Alfred Hitchcock
10 Things You Might Not Know About Alfred Hitchcock
1. Alfred Hitchcock’s 1929 film Blackmail is considered to be the first British “talkie,” even though it actually began production as a silent film. British International Pictures initially wanted to... Read more...
10 Things You Might Not Know About René Descartes
10 Things You Might Not Know About René Descartes
1. Although René Descartes is primarily known for his philosophy, he was also a mathematician. He created the rectangular coordinate system, which is also known as the Cartesian coordinate system.... Read more...
Pablo Picasso
10 Things You Might Not Know About Pablo Picasso
1. Pablo Picasso, born in 1881, held the first exhibition of his work at the age of 13, in the back of an umbrella store. He grew up in an... Read more...
Our Secret Discipline: Yeats and Lyric Form
Our Secret Discipline: Yeats and Lyric Form
Helen Vendler is one of the most important literary critics in recent decades. This latest offering, Our Secret Discipline: Yeats and Lyric Form, is the sort of book that one... Read more...
Between Mozart and Haydn: Lewis Lockwood on Ludwig van Beethoven's “Tormented Genius”
Between Mozart and Haydn: Lewis Lockwood on Ludwig van Beethoven's “Tormented Genius”
Few figures in Western music loom as large—or as mythologized—as Ludwig van Beethoven. A revolutionary force who reshaped the very language of composition, Beethoven’s life has become almost inseparable from... Read more...