Near And Distant Horizons

Near and Distant Horizons: In Search of the Primary Sources of Knowledge With originality and insight, the author makes a compelling case for the need to identify the sources of a traditional knowledge that still has the power to enrich people's lives in today's materialistic and anti-spiritual world. What are the true sources of knowledge? Are there headwaters for the universal laws of nature? Is there a source so transcendent that it can resolve the perennial mystery concerning the origin of life and the creation of man? Is there a wellspring of knowledge that can neutralize the duality of the world by offering a unified vision of the Whole? This work reflects upon the significance of three principal sources of knowledge in the Islamic Traditions. They are Revelation as the expression of the supreme mind of God, Nature as the universal body of God, and Man as the human image of God. The book's absorbing inquiry and reflective style throw light on the dark mysteries that still confront people today, and will appeal to readers interested in an alternative to the theories of modern science, taking them on an inward journey whose destination lies far beyond the horizon of our time. John Herlihy, an American Muslim, was educated at Boston University and Columbia University in New York City. He has written a number of books on traditional themes, including Modern Man at the Crossroads and Borderlands of the Spirit. He is the Director of an educational program at the Petroleum Institute, a new engineering university in the United Arab Emirates.

Just as a traveler crossing a continent won’t sense the curvature of the earth, one lifetime of reading can’t grasp the largest patterns organizing literary history. This is the guiding premise behind Distant Horizons, which uses the scope of data newly available to us through digital libraries to tackle previously elusive questions about literature. Ted Underwood shows how digital archives and statistical tools, rather than reducing words to numbers (as is often feared), can deepen our understanding of issues that have always been central to humanistic inquiry. Without denying the usefulness of time-honored approaches like close reading, narratology, or genre studies, Underwood argues that we also need to read the larger arcs of literary change that have remained hidden from us by their sheer scale. Using both close and distant reading to trace the differentiation of genres, transformation of gender roles, and surprising persistence of aesthetic judgment, Underwood shows how digital methods can bring into focus the larger landscape of literary history and add to the beauty and complexity we value in literature.

Truth is stranger than fiction, it is said. If so then Distant Horizons presents some of the strangest sea mysteries of all time. For it is not the product of uncritically passing along tales of the sea. It is the result of decades of research. The stories in this compendium are true, often presented with meticulous detail. Sometimes this explodes myth. Sometimes the facts reveal myth to be anemic by comparison. Famous ghost ships like the Mary Celeste and the Carroll A. Deering have become literary formula and economic rehash. But what are the actual facts? Thousands of derelicts once peppered the North Atlantic, but these two mystery ships have stood the test of time. What is really so unique about them? The Bermuda Triangle has earned its infamous reputation, but is it really to blame for some of its most famous victims? Did the Marine Sulphur Queen truly even vanish in the Triangle? What about the USS Cyclops? Could it truly be the American version of the HMS Bounty?

The Community hides a terrifying secret. Sixty years ago, a hallucinogenic plague annihilated half the world’s population, leading to the formation of a strict Community—an international society that promises its citizens safety, security, and efficiency. To protect everyone from a resurgence of the plague, students are given a daily pill in their teen years and tested with the mandatory Health Scan before entering the adult world. It is boring but safe... Except that Jenna hasn't been taking her daily pill, and a surprise Health Scan was just announced. Terrified she's going to fail the scan, Jenna digs into everything she can find about what happens to those who fail-- And discovers none of them have returned, despite assurances of the Health Scan's safety. Making matters worse, two of the Community's most prominent leaders have arrived on campus in an unprecedented visit, and Jenna's long-thought-dead grandfather decides now would be a great time to try kidnapping her. Turns out he's the leader of a rebellion against the Community and he believes the plague is a cover-up for powers. Normally she would dismiss him as crazy, especially since those leaders have him hauled off to the coolers after she calls for help. But something doesn't sit right. Why was the Health Scan announced last minute? Why did not one, but two world leaders show up to a routine scan? And why is it that plants really are starting to act strangely around her... Read Distant Horizon to uncover the truth in this thrilling dystopian fantasy! KEYWORDS: young adult dystopian, young adult science fiction, dystopian science fiction, young adult dystopian fantasy, science fantasy, superpowers, evil organization, telepathy, mind games, mind control, rebel organization, rebel airship, plant powers, plant elemental, dystopian community, dystopian society, secret powers, female dystopian

1851 Ireland. After enduring years of a devastating potato famine, Ellen Kittrick is a survivor. Crop failures and a descent into poverty changes her from a happy wife and mother to a woman struggling to keep her children alive. To put food on the table and to stop the landowner's agent from tearing down their cottage due to unpaid rent, Ellen defies her family and works at an Englishman's manor, but with her husband out of work, and a secretive brother-in-law wanting her for his own, Ellen must face every challenge with new strength. When several shocking events occur, it forces her to make an enormous decision. With aid coming from an unlikely source, namely Englishman Rafe Hamilton, Ellen leaves Ireland with what is left of her family to start again in a new country. But will the colony give her the security and happiness she longs for, especially when she has left her heart behind? Can Ellen thrive in a strange land? Or has she made the greatest mistake of her life?

This unique volume attempts to answer one of mankind's oldest puzzles -- why the moon appears to be larger and closer on the horizon than when it is high in the sky. Over the centuries, many viable solutions have been proposed for this psychological phenomenon. The Moon Illusion presents papers by major theorists striving to explain the illusion and providing commentaries on the works of others. Research on the moon illusion has been scattered throughout journals in many disciplines including philosophy, physiology, physics, and psychology. As the first publication to present a comprehensive treatment of the problem, this book is of vital interest to professionals whose major concern is visual perception, experimental psychology, or the neurosciences. Of additional interest to those whose focus is physics or astronomy.