A Smoother Pebble

Offering a selective cultural history of algorithmic approaches to calculation, from Babylonian arithmetic and Egyptian geometric and surveying methods, through Newton's calculus, this text should appeal to students and to amatuer mathematicians.

Until the middle of the twentieth century, few thought of science as a social system, instead seeing scientific discovery as the work of individual geniuses. Columbia University’s Department of Sociology played a pivotal role in advancing the social study of science. Researchers of the “Columbia Program” analyzed how science works as a social institution, exploring its norms, values, and structure. Smoother Pebbles presents a collection of essays authored or coauthored by Jonathan R. Cole, a leading Columbia Program figure, that trace the development and institutionalization of the sociology of science. Spanning from the 1960s to the 2020s and including both empirical and theoretical studies of science, the book is at once wide-ranging and united by core questions. Are scientists rewarded for the merits of their work or for other reasons? How does the system of social stratification in science operate? Has the funding of scientists been the result of an “old boys’ network”? How fair is the peer review process? In what ways does science fall short of its universalistic ideals? What factors have constrained opportunities for women in science? How has science fared amid attacks on academic freedom and free inquiry at universities? Cole’s introduction contextualizes both individual essays and the major concerns of the Columbia Program. Smoother Pebbles is essential reading for those interested in the growth and crucial questions of the sociology and social studies of science.

An explosion of invention 150 years ago, connected by a new singular idea-environments-revolutionized the disciplines. Today, a new singular idea-artifacts-enables us to understand the invention of knowledge and unify the arts and sciences.

This planet abounds in myths and legends prevalent in various cultures. More often than not, these are based on a kernel of truth. The facts get grossly exaggerated through the ages, much like a fishing tale! Pebbles on the Beach is a concise examination of many of these. There are adequate references given at the end of each chapter, in case the reader wishes to follow-up on these. Some of the stories examined are pertaining to the year 2012, the biblical end-of-times, as well as the story of Atlantis, the Ark of the Covenant, and an examination of the secrets of the Great Pyramid at Giza in Egypt, amongst others. This book also includes an investigation of the story of Moses, especially the identity of the Pharaoh responsible for the Exodus. This is a result of many years of patient study of such topics by the author and is presented for the first time in the form of one book for easy reading! One is reminded of the famous quote attributed to Sir Isaac Newton, wherein he said that “I seem to have been only like a boy playing on the sea-shore, and diverting myself in now and then finding a smoother pebble or a prettier shell than ordinary, whilst the great ocean of truth lay all undiscovered before me.”

Americans and people throughout the world have become increasingly dependent on America's great research universities. Yet few of us truly understand to what we owe this extraordinary excellence or what we must do to keep it. From the development of technologies like the laser, the global positioning system, the MRI, radar, and even Viagra, to predicting weather patterns, American research universities are one of our most vital sources of economic growth and social welfare. They have flourished because of a system that has invested public tax dollars in their work and, more importantly, granted substantial autonomy to funding agencies and the universities. This system is now under attack, the university's preeminence endangered by the USA PATRIOT Act and other conservative policies. This revelatory and alarming book will show how this vital institution is at risk of tragically losing its dominant status and why a threat to the university is a threat to the health and wealth of our nation.

Something of a ?foreigner? in his own country, Richard Outram was uncommonly dedicated to living an "examined life" and to the act of creation for its own reward. This book represents a posthumous, introductory panorama of this late Canadian poet's work, written by those who continue to admire his achievement. Much of it is new material, offering fresh consideration and a charting of the path of Outram's lifelong engagement with poetry.

This book is a collection of 280 fundamental quotes and aphorisms of Blaise Pascal: "You always admire what you really don't understand." "All man's troubles come from not knowing how to sit still in one room." "Between us and heaven or hell there is only life, which is the frailest thing in the world." "Do you wish people to think well of you? Don't speak well of yourself." "Happiness is neither without us nor within us. It is in God, both without us and within us." "The supreme function of reason is to show man that some things are beyond reason." "We understand nothing of the works of God unless we take it as a principle that He wishes to blind some and to enlighten others."