Customer Reviews:
Loads of great knowledge, but hard, hard work!.......2007-06-01
I read this book a couple of years ago, and found it fascinating and highly detailed. I imagine that for some very technically minded people this is something they can really get their teeth into and enjoy. But for simple folk like me, it was just too much, and I found much simpler methods to interpret Elliott waves that didn't take half as much time or knowledge. So, I give it a 3 star rating as its brilliance is somewhat dampened by its complexity.
Not for the majority........2007-02-20
This book is very complictated. One might have a chance if this book was treated as textbook and offered in a university over a semester long class, taking each chapter apart with live examples.
Other reviews mention that it takes years to master this method.I somewhat agree. The rules of logic are not clear and that is mainly because if the autor wanted to go to great lenght to explain everything this book would be around 2000 to 3000 pages. So, you gonna have to figure it out on your own and that will take you a lot of time!
Get an Elliot Wave Charting software you'll save yourself a lot of headache and time.
excellent style.......2006-08-17
Books concerning Elliot Wave in Taiwan, no matter it is a translation version or the texts used by many teachers in teaching technical analysis, never have the style that
Mr. Glenn Neely has in his book. I must say that this book
expresses the topics in a concise, step-by-step and to-the-point way, it's a great book that I've ever had; no book can exceed its excellence. If possible, grant me the right to translate it here in Taiwan.
very difficult.......2006-06-30
Very hard to understand, if you can read, understand and enjoy this book at all you could probably give the boys a hand in Egypt with the Hieroglyphics ........If you enjoy scientology well this one's for you!!!!!!!!!!!
like learning to ride a bike.......2006-04-22
You really don't need this level of detail for Elliot wave trading to increase your P&L. Like any other trading systems, elliot waves mostly work except when it doesn't. Without years of experience and gains and losses you won't have the confidence to make a huge P&L. Buy a simpler book unless you are really into Elliot Waves. Enjoy the third waves.
Average customer rating:
- Calculations are only as good as your numbers
- Pants on fire?
- Accepted History & Chronology Must Be Changed.
- Very Interesting
- History as Science Fiction
|
History: Fiction or Science? (Chronology, No. 1)
Anatoly Fomenko
Manufacturer: Mithec
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History: Fiction or Science? Chronology 2 (Chronology)
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History: Fiction or Science? Astronomical methods as applied to chronology. Ptolemy's Almagest. Chronology III
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Discovering the Mysteries of Ancient America: Lost History And Legends, Unearthed And Explored
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Before the Pharaohs: Egypt's Mysterious Prehistory
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They Cast No Shadows: A Collection of Essays on the Illuminati, Revisionist History, and Suppressed Technologies
ASIN: 2913621058 |
Book Description
Recorded history is a finely-woven magic fabric of intricate lies about events predating the sixteenth century. There is not a single piece of evidence that can be reliably and independently traced back earlier than the eleventh century. This book details events that are substantiated by hard facts and logic, and validated by new astronomical research and statistical analysis of ancient sources.
Customer Reviews:
Calculations are only as good as your numbers.......2007-08-03
Yes, we can all agree that mainstream history is nearly 100% BS due to politics, economics, ego, problems with dating techniques, and various conspiracies. Agreed. But, I've been researching the distinct possibility that human history (in terms of civilizations) are much more ancient than we've been told, so coming across this book was very interesting to me. I wondered how Fomenko could be wrong (if at all) because he is very persuasive in his presentations. Then it dawned on me. If at previous times in prehistory, due to the various catastrophies that are well documented (comets, asteroids, planetary disruptions, plasma discharge, pole reversals, etc) the Earth was in a different position in relation to the sun, different tilt on its axis, different orbit, different rotation (in terms of velocity and DIRECTION), and the continents were in different positions, then would this not cause the ancients to see the sky (constellations) differently? In other words, is Fomenko making erronious assumptions about the physics of the Earth in pre-history, which then corrupt his data with regards to dating the relevant astrology? The last event to seriously disrupt our planet occured roughly 3500 years ago, according to other good researchers, so is it possible Fomenko has been confused by this? The vastly different physics of our planet in the not so distant past may explain this confusion, which is not to say the "mainstream" version of history is correct; on the contrary. I am not an expert in these fields, but wanted to see if this idea could spark discussion.
Pants on fire?.......2007-07-19
Will people ever read before spamming? Yes, Jesuits could not rewrite world history alone, they had help. Anyway, Dr Prof Acad A.Fomenko does not point to jesuits as the driving force of world wide history manipulation in published volumes 1,2,3;, actually he barely mentions the poor devils. Check it with 'Search inside' feature, please. China is rarely mentioned either, in fact, Dr Fomenko is completely eurocentric. Right, his theory contradicts all mainstream schools of history, because in their actual state they are all built on blatantly erroneus chronology. You don't need a mysterious cabal (conspiracy) to falsify history, the falsification is its modus operandi. It is inherent to history(ians) to falsify (distort) events, as it is inherent to humans to boast as it is inherent to power (authority) to legimize itself by referrring to glorious past made to its own order. Dr Prof Fomenko and team have identified scores of instances of such manipulation in Russian, European, etc.. history, and delivered valid statistical proof thereof. His own 'reconstruction' is completely another story. Forget c14 as a valid method of dating. W.Libby has initially discovered a brilliant method of INDEPENDENT dating. Too bad, c14 method has become a joke after a forced marrige with dendrochronology with consensual chronological scale inbuilt. Radiocarbon method can't stand blind tests, but is so very productive as a rubberstamp.
Accepted History & Chronology Must Be Changed. .......2007-04-09
There is no doubt that history as most know it is a sham, & institution's version of History both University & Church is fradulent & inaccurate. Everything was established with an agenda, The real "Dark Ages" are now when we have access to incredible amounts of information past authorities & more important 'common folk' didn't have but our institutions & educators are slow to evolve because of what has ignorantly & arrogantly been taught for too long. This is on many subjects not just Chronology.
For anyone to question "Why would a Mathematician have anything credible to say of History?" The answer is from Dr. Fomenko's preface in the book: "It would be worthwhile to remind the reader that in the XVI-XVII century Chronology was considered to be a subdivision of Mathematics." These volumes could possibly be some of the most important works to date & should be read by everyone with an interest in History, especially professors & educators who have a duty to the public. I have read both books & must say that 'Chronology 1' has some very eye opening & revolutionary information. Even if these volumes are part true the implications are profound & opens the doors to further investigations & questions which must be done. I speak several different lanquages & must say the logic Dr. Fomenko uses with "inflection" of words & words being read from left to right in one region & right to left in another then written backwards, the removal of vowels & get down to basics of words, or different cities & locations having the same name etc. is correct. Vowel usage has always been optional & varied, actually complicating linquistics & study. The first thing one has to understand is that words never had a fixed spelling in history like we do now, the spelling of words was mutable & regional, as well as names & titles of people were vast, varied & changed, NOTHING WAS FIXED or understood linear. Matters of Life & Death as well as financial profiteering yesterday & today were & are made with ignorant, illogical & conspiratorial views of history & reality, it's time people get closer to the Truth & society collectively grow up.
Very Interesting.......2007-03-07
It is a good proposal and I believe it will mature into something even better in the future. I think it deserves to be read.
History as Science Fiction.......2007-01-10
Anatoly Fomenko has written a very intriguing book, full of pictures, charts, and computer 'proof' of his thesis: backwards of AD900 we don't really know what happened or when. Between AD900 and AD1600 there is more certainty, but there is still a lot of fuzzy ground, and things don't get reliable until we get past the 1600's where the printing press made it very difficult for the perpetrators of this timeline manipulation to change anything that had been committed to print. The Dark Ages did not happen. Books were burned for a reason. One organization has doubled the actual length of its existence by expanding the real chronology. Read why.
I had always wondered why Christ died about AD33 and yet men waited until the 11th century to form the Knights Templar, the Cathars, etc and go after the Holy Land by force. Why the 1000 year gap? Turns out there wasn't more than a 10-12 year gap and he proves it using astronomy. This also implies that the planet is not as old as we have been told, and current Christian and other creationist scientists are already championing that idea without being aware of Fomenko's book. The two groups, creationist scientists and the Russian mathematical analysts corroborate each other. Fascinating.
Of course, all this flies in the face of what we have been told traditionally is the 'proper' chronology of western civilization, and most readers will experience 'cognitive dissonance' in reading this book. It means that our history going backwards from AD1600 becomes progressively more incorrect and unreliable until it cannot be trusted at all... in the space of 700-800 years.
Naturally, the curious, open-minded reader will want to know WHO did this, WHY, and did any of the events we think of as really ancient ever happen?
Dr. Fomenko is a respected scientist/mathematician at Moscow State University who has already answered these questions to the satisfaction of his initially skeptical colleagues. Most of them are now believers, a few still refuse to believe (the usual diehards), and of course the western press has ignored Fomenko's work -- for obvious reasons when you read the book. The ones who perpetrated this chronology ruse have a lot to answer for. They are still with us. That's why this book is a well-kept secret.
I gave the book a 4-star rating because I was unable to check out some of his claims; those I checked were as he said. But if even 1/3 of his claims are true, this punches a big hole in what we think is our history, the meaning of western civilization, our educational process (for repeating the ruse as gospel), and the trustworthiness of the organization that perpetrated this ruse, well-intentioned or not.
This book relates to current research into a Young Earth paradigm, to John Keel's discoveries about our planet, and Fr Malachi Martin's insights (in his now out-of-print books). We are indeed sheep who are manipulated and kept ignorant -- for a reason. While knowing what these men have to say may be the "booby prize" (as in: 'what can you do with this knowledge?'), it will provide interesting reading. Didn't someone say: "...and the Truth will set you free."?? For you to judge if this book contains the truth.
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Uncertainty, Calibration and Probability: The Statistics of Scientific and Industrial Measurement (The Adam Hilger Series on Measurement Science and)
C.F Dietrich
Manufacturer: Taylor & Francis
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ASIN: 0750300604 |
Book Description
All measurements are subject to error because no quantity can be known exactly; hence, any measurement has a probability of lying within a certain range. The more precise the measurement, the smaller the range of uncertainty. Uncertainty, Calibration and Probability is a comprehensive treatment of the statistics and methods of estimating these calibration uncertainties. The book features the general theory of uncertainty involving the combination (convolution) of non-Gaussian, student t, and Gaussian distributions; the use of rectangular distributions to represent systematic uncertainties; and measurable and nonmeasurable uncertainties that require estimation. The author also discusses sources of measurement errors and curve fitting with numerous examples of uncertainty case studies. Many useful tables and computational formulae are included as well. All formulations are discussed and demonstrated with the minimum of mathematical knowledge assumed. This second edition offers additional examples in each chapter, and detailed additions and alterations made to the text. New chapters consist of the general theory of uncertainty and applications to industry and a new section discusses the use of orthogonal polynomials in curve fitting. Focusing on practical problems of measurement, Uncertainty, Calibration and Probability is an invaluable reference tool for R&D laboratories in the engineering/manufacturing industries and for undergraduate and graduate students in physics, engineering, and metrology.
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Introducing Students to Scientific Inquiry: How Do We Know What We Know?
Susan Etheredge , and
Al Rudnitsky
Manufacturer: Allyn & Bacon
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Geology: A Self-Teaching Guide
ASIN: 0205348122 |
Book Description
Since the publication of "Spectral Methods in Fluid Dynamics", spectral methods, particularly in their multidomain version, have become firmly established as a mainstream tool for scientific and engineering computation. While retaining the tight integration between the theoretical and practical aspects of spectral methods that was the hallmark of the earlier book, Canuto et al. now incorporate the many improvements in the algorithms and the theory of spectral methods that have been made since 1988. The initial treatment Fundamentals in Single Domains discusses the fundamentals of the approximation of solutions to ordinary and partial differential equations on single domains by expansions in smooth, global basis functions. The first half of the book provides the algorithmic details of orthogonal expansions, transform methods, spectral discretization of differential equations plus their boundary conditions, and solution of the discretized equations by direct and iterative methods. The second half furnishes a comprehensive discussion of the mathematical theory of spectral methods on single domains, including approximation theory, stability and convergence, and illustrative applications of the theory to model boundary-value problems. Both the algorithmic and theoretical discussions cover spectral methods on tensor-product domains, triangles and tetrahedra. All chapters are enhanced with material on the Galerkin with numerical integration version of spectral methods. The discussion of direct and iterative solution methods is greatly expanded as are the set of numerical examples that illustrate the key properties of the various types of spectral approximations and the solution algorithms.
A companion book "Evolution to Complex Geometries and Applications to Fluid Dynamics" contains an extensive survey of the essential algorithmic and theoretical aspects of spectral methods for complex geometries and provides detailed discussions of spectral algorithms for fluid dynamics in simple and complex geometries.
Amazon.com
Take it easy: that's Michio Kaku's motto. Given the extraordinary advances science has thrown up in time for the millennium, the only way you could possibly fit them into a single volume is by a correspondingly massive simplification.
Subtitled How Science Will Revolutionize the 21st Century and Beyond, Visions assumes that, by and large, scientists get to do whatever they like, that all technologies are consumer technologies, and that consumers welcome anything and everything science throws at them. Kaku gets away with this frankly dodgy strategy by dint of sheer hard work. He has based his predictions on interviews with more than 150 renowned working scientists; he integrates these interviews with a huge body of original journalistic material; and, above all, he roots that mass of information on an entirely reasonable model of what the purpose of science will be in the third millennium. Up until now, science has expended its efforts on decoding most of the fundamental natural processes--"the dance," as Kaku puts it, of elementary particles deep inside stars and the rhythms of DNA molecules coiling and uncoiling within our bodies. Science's task now, Kaku believes, is to cross-pollinate advances thrown up by the study of matter, biology, and mind--modern science's three main theaters of endeavor. "We are now making the transition from amateur chess players to grand masters," he writes, "from observers to choreographers of nature." Then again, he also believes that "the Internet ... will eventually become a 'Magic Mirror' that appears in fairy tales, able to speak with the wisdom of the human race." Kaku, in short, deserves a good slapping--but he also deserves to be read. --Simon Ings, Amazon.co.uk
Book Description
In a spellbinding narrative that skillfully weaves together cutting-edge research among today's foremost scientists, theoretical physicist Michio Kaku--author of the bestselling book Hyperspace--presents a bold, exhilarating adventure into the science of tomorrow.
In Visions, Dr. Kaku examines in vivid detail how the three scientific revolutions that profoundly reshaped the twentieth century--the quantum, biogenetic, and computer revolutions--will transform the way we live in the twenty-first century. The fundamental elements of matter and life--the particles of the atom and the nucleus of the cell--have now been decoded, closing one of the great chapters of scientific history. But this is just the preface to an even more far-reaching scientific revolution, as we make the transition from being passive observers of the mysteries of nature to becoming masters of nature, able to manipulate matter, life, and intelligence to remold the world around us.
In the first part of Visions, Dr. Kaku discusses the cyber future, when millions of microprocessors are scattered throughout our environment; when the iron principle that has ruled the computer industry, Moore's Law, finally collapses, forcing scientists to adopt startling new designs like DNA computers and quantum computers; and when artificial intelligence systems finally arrive.
In the next section, Dr. Kaku shows how the decoding of DNA will allow us to conquer devastating genetic diseases, defeat many cancers at the molecular level, synthesize new medicines using virtual reality, grow new organs, conquer aging and reshape our genetic inheritance.
Finally, he explores how quantum physicists will perfect new ways to harness the cosmic energy of the universe--from molecular machines to supermagnets that may energize a second industrial revolution, to powerful fusion engines that one day may take us to the stars.
What makes Michio Kaku's vision of the future of science so compelling and authoritative is that it is based on the groundbreaking research already underway at leading laboratories around the world. Weaving interviews with over 150 scientists--several of them Nobel laureates--into a rich, inspiring narrative, Dr. Kaku reveals the growing consensus among key scientists about how science will likely evolve through the early, middle, and late years of the twenty-first century.
An intimate, thrilling tour through the next century of science, Visions is a riveting, essential map to how scientists will reshape our future.
Customer Reviews:
A Letdown.......2007-06-20
After reading Hyperspace I wanted more from Michio Kaku, and this was not it. Yes, it was from Kaku, but it was nothing like Hyperspace. This book is mostly just a series of predictions about the future, most of which are wild speculation, even though the basic physics behind them is solid. If that's what you're looking fro, you've found it. However, don't expect to be overly impressed. Read one of Kaku's other books... they have SO MUCH more to offer.
A convincing extrapolation of science, technology and computers in the future.......2007-05-12
This was the first book I had read in this genre of "Scientific postulation or progressive hypothesis" (I choose to not call it prediction, a word which feels more akin to soothsayers fortelling seeing crystal ball or like Nostradamus). I was simply blown away with the wealth of material presented in this book that too in such a way that neither does the author spend too less time on a certain topic nor a great deal and thankfully he does not go into any equations. The technical jargon when used is explained. This is the perfect book for a layman who loves thinking about what would the future looks like. The books is divided into 3 revolutions. The computer, biomolecular and quantum revolution.
Highlights
----------
(Topics discussed )
Xray Lasers
Nanotechnology, self replicating nanobots
Fusion reactors for power generation
Interstellar travel - warp drives, Worm hole generators
Black holes
Hover cars
Type I,II and III advanced civiizations - What would they look like, how advanced would their technology be
Time travel
Travelling below the speed of light
Solar and Extrasolar colonization.
Terraforming mars.
Space colonies on asteriods. Colonizing other galaxies.
Superstring theorg - The unified theory which unifies the electromagnetic, gravitations, and the strong nuclear and the weak nuclear forces.
cancer cure
Gene therapy...
(For a good book on string theory read "Elegant universe" by Brian Greene)
...and many more.
(As per the author What is not possible with the known physics)
- Invisiblity, force fields, "Beam me up scotty" - Teleportation devices.
Pls note thought that some of the information in teh book is dated as it was written in 1998. So many of the predictions have already come true or many of the expected dates for scientific projects got postponed for eg the nasa shuttle launch dates, the International space station proposed dates. The author obviously did not know back then that The shutdown of the shuttleprogram will take place due to the discovery mishap or another one is a sentence attributing enron as a legit company as the author was not aware of what was to come. Glitches which possible annoy you with respect to the present but this is not a drawback since it was written before all these incidents.
The books is filled with such kernel ideas that hit you like shrapnel. This offcourse is not one man's writing. The author is simply assimilating the thoughts of various scientists (over 150 it seems as in the preface the author informs that he had the oppurtunity to have intervies with them). The author borrows from different books as is only natural in a book with such a grand scope in that all the sciences have to be covered. The bibliography shows what an extensive research was made. The bibliography shows sentences which have been used by the author to be attributed to certain scientific papers, journals, conversations with scienties, or books of other reputed popular science writers, scientists alike. I loved every page and it is one of those rare books which is totally non fiction and dealing with such a formidable scientific subject matter but is so beautifully explained for the layman that it reads as fast a paperback John Grisham novel. Books of this kind normally are difficult to sustain interest in a reader atleast in terms of being able to actually finish in a sitting or 2 like you would do would with say a Michael Connelly paperback. But this book does it. Infact its the kind of book that has so much going on it that a lot of enjoyment can be attained by doing multiple rereads. Infact a paper back book would not really be considered to be a reference book, but I would rather keep this book on my shelf to read and re-read certain sections or may be read the whole book again at a latter time. I would buy this book again if the author came out with a revised edition to correct out and bring the book up to date.
(Other 2 fantastic books by Michio Kaku)
- Parallel worlds - The Science of alternative universes and our future in the cosmos
- Hyperspace.
regards, Vikram
Good stuff!.......2007-05-04
Very good book for those who seek how will technology be within the next decades. The future is being created now in the laboratories of big corporations and universities. These creations are shaping the world of the future, life will become much easier and mankind will take benefit of advancements in computer science, medicine and material mechanics. We already see some of these new approaches coming in such as the new plastic chip to replace silicon, a composite material for aircrafts instead of using aluminium hulls, development of super drugs to struggle against cancer and AIDS, and the list goes on. Good stuff for those who love technology.
An intensely researched and knowledgeable yet uncritical set of predictions about the future .......2006-03-07
Kaku really does his work. He interviews not simply one or two but the major experts in all areas he considers. His predictions on a wide variety of subjects are detailed, and apparently 'sensible'.
He himself is a physicist of great reputation. The first section of the work covers the cyber future, in which he believes that millions of microprocessors will be everywhere in the environment. There will be new technologies when Moore's law collapses. DNA and quantum computers as well as artifical intelligences are part of the future he sees.
In the second section of the work he speaks of how the decoding of DNA will enable us to shape our medical and genetic futures.
He believes many diseases such as cancer will be eliminated, and new medicines emerge which will enable us to conquer aging.
In the third section he predicts that research in quantum physics will yield discoveries that will provide incredible sources of energy including those which will power us in great expeditions to the stars.
It is difficult for me to know how to evaluate the credibility of specific predictions though I am more than a little skeptical about those which seem to suggest a total control of environment and destiny.
The work's tone disturbs me in its largely uncritical acceptance of all future developments being worked on.
This very much connects with a sense that the human dimension and implication is not felt deeply enough.
Nonetheless again the book is a richly informed one filled with interesting ideas regarding what the human future might be.
Biological neurosynapic networks.......2005-12-29
Quantum Machine:
David Deutch (Qubit Field Theory)
Julian Brown (Minds, Machines and the Multiverse)
Seth Loyd (A Shortcut Through Time : The Path to the Quantum Computer)
Jeff Kimble (Quantum networks with atomic ensembles, Cavity Quantum Electrodynamics )
David Wineland (Quantum Computation and Shor's Factoring Algorithm, Quantum Physics and Computers)
Chris Monroe(Ion Trap in a Semiconductor Chip, Near-Perfect
Simultaneous Measurement of a Qubit Register, Implementation of Grover's Quantum Search Algorithm in a Scalable System, Precision Lifetime Measurement of a Single Trapped Ion with Ultrafast Laser Pulses)
Marvin Minsky (Why People Think Computers Can't, Matter, Mind and Models, Symbolic vs. Connectionist, Framework for Representing Knowledge, Steps Toward Artificial Intelligence)
Thinking Machines:
De Garis (CAM-Brain Machine will be able to update Computer Automata cells at a 100 of billons per second and change the state of the neural net within seconds.)
Stanford Ovshinsky (The Ovonic Cognitive Computer achieves the requirement of plasticity. Plasticity is encoded energy. Plasticity is the ability for a system to adapt in response to incoming energy signals. Ovshinsky has demonstrated that electrical and optical cognitive computing is possible. Ovonic optical and electrical phase change memories are devices composed of tellurium, germanium, and antimony and when exposed to optical or electrical energy change states from crystalline to amorphous or amorphous to crystalline.
Jolts of electricity switch chalcogenide patch between a orderly crystaline form and a more disordered, amorphous one. A lower energy warms the atoms of the amorphous state just enough so that they can rearrange themselves back into an orderly lattice. The amorphous state absorbs light and the crystalline state reflects and devices can distinquish between bits as 1s or 0s.
Ovonic devices within a network are adaptive and can be configured to function as weighting devices used to control the interconnection strength between the Ovonic devices. Thus, the Ovonic device is capable of synaptic function such as receiving and weighting multiple inputs that result in threshold activation. Activation is an operation mode that accumulates energy until a certain energy level is achieved and once reached the Ovonic device transforms from a high resistant state to a low resistant state mimicking the firing of a neuron. The Ovonic devices weighting can be controlled. The devices are small, operate at room temperature, possible of 2D and 3D device parallelism, and able to process and store information in a reconfigurational nonvolatile manner alleviating the need to separate memory and logic functions of a computer. Ovinshinsky suggests his networks are analogous to the quantum computer. Hard to believe since a quantum computer, if possible to build, is infinite solutions simulanteous. The biggest problem would be extraction from the solution set, since it is infinite.)
Book Description
In this 1921 opus, Wittgenstein defined the object of philosophy as the logical clarification of thoughts and proposed the solution to most philosophic problems by means of a critical method of linguistic analysis. Beginning with the principles of symbolism, the author applies his theories to traditional philosophy, and more. Introduction by Bertrand Russell.
Customer Reviews:
Worth a PHD for the writer........2007-04-02
"That which we cannot speak of we must pass over in silence".
'The world is all that is the case'.......2006-11-24
The Tractatus was Wittgenstein's attempt to solve all philosophical problems. Believing he was successful, he retired from Philosophy after publishing this text to become a schoolteacher for several years in Austria, before returning to philosophy.
The Tractatus is one of the most important intellectual works of the 20th century, arguably as important as Bertrand Russell's and Whitehead's 'Principa Mathematica', Heidigger's 'Being and Time', and Husserl's 'Logical Investigations.' This little work, beautiful in its logical simplicity and purity, can be regarded as the manifesto of analytical philosophy in the 20th century.
The Tractus is essentially a work dealing with epistemology, what we can and cannot know about the world. However, rather than looking at the mind or conciousness or sensations, Wittgenstein instead looks at how we use language and logic to describe the world. If we can solve the inherent logical ambiguity of language, we can then solve philosophical problems which are in fact simply faults which come from lack of logical coherence or clarity when we use language to make certain statements about things and the relationship between things.
Wittgenstein's approach is somewhat reductionistic. The propositional format of the work mirrors the Ethics of Spinoza, though for Wittgenstein the world is made of certain basic atomistic components which have fairly simple relations to each other. These arrangements may change in space and time but the world remains the same.
A number of propositions deal with logical problems explored by Russell, Frege and others. Some of these are very abstract and subtle and require careful study to properly understand.
Towards the end of the treatise Wittgenstein's concerns seem to border on the mystical. 'It is not what the world is, but that it is, which is mystical' and 'What we cannot speak of, we have to pass over in silence.' These Zenlike statements seem to hint at a deep mystery about things which crops up when we reach questions beyond the scope of language and logic, which can only be approached with silent contemplation, somewhat like Nicholas of Cusa's approach to the mystery of God. While Wittgenstein was not a religious man, his statements in this sense have often been quoted by philosophers and scientists whenever a metaphysical question which seems unanswerable arises in their discourse.
Wittgenstein later abandoned many of the statements he made in the Tractatus when he returned to philosophy, instead focusing more on problems with language rather than logic. This is somewhat unfortunate, given the elegance and beauty of this work from the philosophical viewpoint.
While the ambitions of Wittgenstein to solve all problems by clearing up our usage of language may seem excessive looking back, the clarity and precision of this work is admirable and the project worthwhile. For this and for many other reasons, it remains a work worth studying carefully and with sympathy, even after a century or so after its publication.
A modern Classic .......2006-02-07
Originally published in 1921 Wittgenstein's Tractatus Logico-Philosophicus is arguably the most influential piece of twentieth century philosophical writing. This edition contains the well respected 1961 Pears and McGuinness translation as well as the introduction to the original English edition by Bertrand Russell. I offer the following comments for potential readers.
Despite its unquestioned historical significance the Tractatus is not necessarily a good entry point into Wittgenstein's thought. Arguably, if one were to read it not aware of the context within it which it was written it might seem pedantic and tedious - it is largely focused on addressing logico-linguistic questions prevalent at the outset of the twentieth century. From my perspective, an understanding of Frege and Russell is essential to appreciating the Tractatus. In particular it is important to have an appreciation for Frege's notions of concept, and his views on sense and reference; Whereas, Russell's approach to names and descriptions is also important.
Although I appreciate Wittgenstein's work in the fields of language and logic I think his influence on modern philosophy has not been entirely positive. For instance it could be argued that the Logical-Positivist movement stemming from Wittgenstein's early work steered philosophical discussion into and sterile and uninteresting period where large metaphysical questions were deemed out of bonds (undoubtedly some would consider this a good thing).
Overall, the Tractatus is a classic in modern philosophy - an important read for all serious students. For non-Wittgenstein enthusiasts, however, it can be a difficult read in early twentieth century analytic philosophy.
Dissolving Philosophy By Logical Atomism.......2005-12-16
Since most of the reviews of the Tractatus here contain either fawning praise or vituperation without much expository content, it may perhaps be useful to give an account, in reasonably clear terms, of what this book is actually about. Granted that my account is somewhat simplified, it will still be better than quasi-mystical gushing praise or bitter unargued criticism. The central idea of the Tractatus is expressed very clearly at proposition 4.01 and certain comments following it:
"A proposition is a picture of reality.
A proposition is a model of reality as we imagine it." [4.01]
"At first sight a proposition--one set out on the printed page, for example--does not seem to be a picture of the reality with which it is concerned. But neither do written notes seem at first sight to be a picture of a piece of music . . . And yet these sign-languages prove to be pictures, even in the ordinary sense, of what they represent." [4.011]
"A gramophone record, the musical idea, the written notes, and the sound-waves, all stand to one another in the same internal relation of depicting that holds between language and the world.
They are all construed according to a common logical pattern." [4.014]
So, Wittgenstein's basic view in the Tractatus is simple: statements ("propositions") are pictures or models of the situations they are about. The sequence of words "The cat is on the mat" would be taken by him to picture the situation that consists in one object (the cat) standing in a certain relation (being on) to another object (the mat). Or rather, this would be the way to understand this proposition if the cat and mat themselves were indivisible atoms, without any smaller parts. Since, actually, the cat is made up of a great many smaller parts, as is the mat, the full analysis of "The cat is on the mat" would be much more complicated. But basically, a proposition is a picture of the situation it describes just as the notes on a sheet of music depict a melody, and just as the written letters "pop" depict a certain sound. In breaking down the cat and the mat, we must eventually come to a point where things can't be broken down any further, with objects that are the basic constituents of reality. The relationships between these basic objects, which Wittgenstein just calls "objects", but which others have called "logical atoms", constitute the most elementary situations. These situations are described by what he calls "elementary propositions". Given a bunch of elementary propositions, we can combine and re-combine them by certain basic operations, called truth-functional operations, which are explained in any textbook of elementary formal logic. Two such operations are conjunction and negation. So, given three atoms, a, b, and c, and a relation R (R might be the relation "being on", as with the cat and the mat), we have, as elementary propositions, for instance:
aRb ("a is on b")
bRc ("b is on c")
aRc ("a is on c")
Then we can make new, compound propositions like
(aRb & bRc)
~aRc
(aRb & bRc) & ~aRc
Where "&" just means "and", as in "The cat is on the mat and the cherry is on the tree", and "~" means "It is not the case that", as in "It is not the case that the cat is on the mat". So the first of the above three compounds means "a is on b and b is on c", and the second means "It is not the case that a is on c", that is, a is not on c. You can easily work out the third one for yourself.
By means of operations like this (actually, Wittgenstein uses a different, but equivalent operation), one can build up an enormous stock of compound propositions. In fact, according to Wittgenstein, anything that can be said at all can be said by taking elementary propositions and applying operations like this repeatedly (albeit you might have to apply such operations infinitely, or to an infinite collection of propositions). Basically, then, given the simplest pictures of the world, we can stitch them together into more and more complicated pictures, and these yield all the statements and thoughts we can make, or at least all the ones that make any sense. Every meaningful statement ultimately breaks down to elementary propositions, propositions entirely in terms of simple signs or names (like "a" and "b") that stand for logical atoms. Everything that can be said meaningfully can, in principle, be broken down like this. This is the basic idea of logical atomism. Most of the technical work in this book consists of machinery for reducing all propositions of science and mathematics to combinations of elementary propositions. In the process, Wittgenstein shows you, he thinks, how to reduce claims with notions like "all" and "some" (like "All whales are mammals", "Some lawyers are crooks") and numerical claims ("There are four books on the shelf") to combinations of elementary propositions. If Wittgenstein succeeds in this, he considers himself to have shown that his "picture theory" of language is correct.
Okay, now you want to know, what's the *philosophical* point of all this? Well, for one thing, it means that anything you *can't* picture cannot be expressed by a meaningful proposition. If you try to speak of things that can't be pictured in Wittgenstein's way, you end up talking nonsense, in that what you are saying won't be true or false. Such utterances may express how you feel, or they may serve some other function (besides saying something) but they won't *say* anything that can be true (or false), and so there won't be any point in *arguing* about it. And what "things" are these, that you can't meaningfully talk about? The short answer is, all of traditional philosophy. Take ethics, for instance: "things" like right and wrong, or good and bad, can't be pictured, and so ethical "propositions" like "Murder is wrong" don't say anything. Maybe they express your feelings, or reflect some psychological fact, but they are not true or false. Likewise for religious claims that defy picturing, like "God is love" or "Brahman manifests itself in all things". Likewise for metaphysical claims about God or substance or causation or any underlying non-empirical reality. Likewise for epistemological worries about justification or rationality; these cannot be pictured in the requisite way either (hence Wittgenstein dismisses skepticism as nonsense). Wittgenstein's views of language are *so* restrictive that most of what philosophers have wanted to talk about turn out to fall into the category of the unspeakable, what he calls "the mystical". The mystical is what cannot be pictured, what is therefore beyond the realm of logic, reasoning, and articulate speech. About it, Wittgenstein claims, we cannot speak, and therefore we should be silent.
Oddly enough, Wittgenstein's own book turns out to be an attempt to talk about the mystical. For one of the things that cannot be pictured, is the very fact, as Wittgenstein takes it to be, that propositions are pictures of reality. (Think about it: how can you make a picture that says that propositions are pictures of reality? There's no way to do it along the lines of "The cat is on the mat", is there?) In fact, every attempt to talk about the relation between language and reality is itself an attempt to speak of the unspeakable, to attempt to characterize what can't be pictured. Wittgenstein recognizes this and responds thus:
"My propositions serve as elucidations in the following way: anyone who understands me eventually recognizes them as nonsensical, when he has used them--as steps--to climb up beyond them. (He must, so to speak, throw away the ladder after he has climbed up it.)
He must transcend these propositions, and then he will see the world aright." [6.54]
Wittgenstein's Tractatus itself, then, is a violation of his commandment to be silent in the face of the mystical. And once it is *recognized* as a violation, Wittgenstein hopes you will throw the book away and return to the ordinary, empirical world, free of any further desire to do philosophy, having gotten a clear vision of language and the world that makes it obvious to you that philosophy is a mistaken attempt to speak of the unspeakable. (You can now see why this book provokes bitter hostility in those who cherish traditional philosophy--after all, it says they're wasting their time!) But if so, how can Wittgenstein himself be right in writing the book? Isn't *it* a mistaken attempt to speak about the unspeakable? Yes and no. Yes, it *is* an attempt to say what can't be said--hence, once you understand it, paradoxically, you see that it's nonsense! But it is not a *mistaken* attempt, rather it is a self-conscious attempt, made necessary by our confusion and unclarity about the world while we are still enmeshed in the tangles of traditional philosophy. While that nonsense imprisons us, we cannot recognize it *as* nonsense, and as such, like mentally deranged people, we have to be approached *with* nonsense if we are to be cured--nonsense is all we respond to. So this book is a kind of curative "nonsense", like a purgative for the soul; it is meant to cleanse the mind of philosophical confusion (that is, of philosophy itself) and, at the end, to remove itself as the final piece of "confusion". To use a computer metaphor, the Tractatus is a program that wipes your whole philosophical "hard drive", and erases itself as its final operation. And after that final erasure, we return to the ordinary world, free of philosophy, in the deafening silence that is our acknowledgement of "das Mystiche"--the mystical in, and above, the ordinary.
another perspective.......2005-12-13
a great work that should be read as a comprehensive attempt to elaborate a philosophical viewpoint that becomes, through this elaboration, no longer easily defensible.
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Quantum Fluctuations of Spacetime (World Scientific Series in Contemporary Chemical Physics) (World Scientific Series in Contemporary Chemical Physics) Vol.25
Lawrence B. Crowell
Manufacturer: World Scientific Publishing Company
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Binding: Hardcover
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ASIN: 9812565159 |
Book Description
Three key aspects of quantum gravity are considered in this book: phenomenology, potential experimental aspects and foundational theory. The phenomenology is the treatment of metric quantum fluctuations as torsional curves that deviate from classical expectations. This leads to possible experimental configurations that may detect such fluctuations. Most of these proposed experiments are quantum optical measurements of subtle quantum gravity effects in the interaction of photons and atoms. The foundational discussions attempt to find an substratum to string theories, which are motivated by the phenomenological treatment. Quantum gravity is not the quantization of general relativity, but is instead the embedding of quantum theory and gravitation into a more fundamental field theoretic framework.
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The Qcd Vacuum, Hadrons and Superdense Matter (World Scientific Lecture Notes in Physics)
E. V. Shuryak
Manufacturer: World Scientific Publishing Company
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ASIN: 9812385746 |
Book Description
This invaluable book is an extensive set of lecture notes on various aspects of non-perturbative quantum chromodynamics — the fundamental theory of strong interaction on which nuclear and hadronic physics is based.
The original edition of the book, written in the mid-1980's, had more of a review style. In the second edition the outline remains the same, but the text has been completely rewritten, and extended. Apart from the new developments over the years, this edition has benefited from several graduate courses which the author has taught at Stony Brook during the last decade. The text is now complemented by exercises and has a total of about 1000 references to major works, arranged by subject.
Three major issues — the structure of the QCD vacuum, the structure of hadrons, and the physics of hot/dense matter — are addressed as physics problems. Therefore, when discussing any specific subject, the book attempts to incorporate (1) all the solid theoretical results, (2) experimental information, and (3) results of numerical (lattice) simulations, which are playing an increasing role in quantum field theory in general, and the development of QCD in particular.
The QCD Vacuum, Hadrons and Superdense Matter takes the reader from the first encounter with the subject to the front line of research, as quickly as possible.
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- Good, Critical Treatment; Read Popper First!
- Well-written and wide-ranging
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Popper: Philosophy, Politics and Scientific Method (Key Contemporary Thinkers)
Geoffrey Stokes
Manufacturer: Polity Press
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ASIN: 074560322X |
Book Description
Karl Popper is a philosopher of knowledge and politics, rationality and freedom. His ideas have won acceptance and provoked controversy among an academic as well as a more general audience. This book aims to broaden our understanding of Popper's philosophy. It is one of the few studies to present his work as an evolving "system of ideas", and to take account of the full range of his writings.The book discusses Popper's early philosophy of politics, science and social science, as well as his later philosophy, which offers an evolutionary account of human nature and the growth of knowledge. Contrary to many earlier interpretations, Stokes argues that we should look to Popper's political values to understand the unity of his work and the evolution of his theory of knowledge and general philosophy. The chapters in this book examine Popper's arguments, and offer critical analysis of the achievements and shortcomings of his philosophy. In particular, Stokes considers the problems of rationality, politics and ethics in the context of debates between the Frankfurt School of critical theory and critical rationalism. The book will be of interest to second-year undergraduates and above in the fields of philosophy and critical theory.
Customer Reviews:
Good, Critical Treatment; Read Popper First!.......2003-02-03
For a while now, I've been a big fan of Karl Popper and it's good to see that his work is getting some (not all) of the attention it deserves. This book, while far from comprehensive, is a decent addition to any student of Popper and while explanatory, is far from an uncritical exposition.
As Mr. Champion below pointed out, this book has a 'top down' theory. Wheras it is generally assumed that Popper's epistemology and metaphysical theories are the foundation on which his political (and metaethical for that matter) philosophy rests, Stokes sees it the other way round. This actually makes a bit more sense to me as his political and epistemological theory are only somewhat cohesive with eachother. Pointed out are things like Popper's instrumentalism in politics in contrast to his 'knowledge for its own sake' epistemology. (I was glad to hear John Dewey's name mentioned here as any Popper reader would be wise to get into JD). Also the dualism held between objective fact and subjective value is pointed out (mainly because Popper never offers a satisfactory bridge between the two).
Stokes seems to very much like Popper's political thought while still calling falsifiability into question as an exclusive demarcation between science and non. (He correctly mentions Feyerabend's quip that too many scientific theories later deemed accurate were initially falisfied.) In fact, I think it's safe to say that Stokes, while laying out Popper's philosophy accurately albeit hurriedly, ends up with ambivolence. Every philosophy has holes, no philosopher has thought of everything or wiped out every contradiction in their work. This book should help the next generation understand, examine, and strengthen Popper's critical rationalism.
Well-written and wide-ranging.......2002-03-05
Stokes has provided a well-written report on a wide range of Popper's work, though in order to keep the task within reasonable bounds he has not attempted to treat quantum theory or Popper's technical work in logic and probability. The book addresses, in turn, Popper's project (problem and method); falsification and its critics; the politics of critical rationalism; the methodology of social science; metaphysics and freedom; evolutionary epistemology; and critical rationalism and critical theory (an engagement with the Frankfurt School). The aim is to indicate the key intellectual components and priorities in his thought, to show how they form a complex whole, and how they lead to certain problems and inconsistencies.
Stokes is especially interested in the relationship between Popper's views on scientific methodology and his politics. This approach has enabled him to locate some important points that are often overlooked, such as Popper's concern about the political consequences of the 'manifest truth' epistemologies of Bacon and Descartes. The consequences that concerned Popper were the fanaticism and intolerance of those who believed that important truths of were self-evident to those who adopted the correct approach (the correct authority or the correct methodology), so that any deviation from those truths could be attributed to wickedness or bad faith.
Stokes has also identified some problems that have not received adequate attention from Popper's supporters. These include some awkward comments by Popper on the need for a little dogmatism to maintain a theory in its early stages, ambiguity about which proposition or propositions have actually been refuted in the event of experimental falsification (the Duhem-Quine problem), difficulties with methodological individualism and uncertainty about the precise nature of Popper's social and political liberalism.
Such a large number of complex and controversial issues are touched in the book that most readers are likely to feel that their special area of interest has not been given adequate coverage. A major concern in this regard is the lack of development of some of Popper's central ideas. An obvious example is Popper's non-authoritarian stance in epistemology and politics, where it would be helpful to have an explanation of the logic of Popper's arguments against the demand for decisive justification of theories and the political counterpart of this stance, namely his critique of all doctrines of unlimited political power. In the political domain this led to his suggestion that the fundamental problem in democratic politics is not "who shall rule" but instead "how can we design institutions to ensure that even incompetent rulers cannot do too much damage?".
Another shortcoming is the neglect of a number of people who have applied and developed Popper's ideas in interesting and important ways. These include Bartley on rationality and the limits of criticism, Jarvie on the application of objective knowledge to the task of explanation in the social sciences in "Concepts and Society" and Munz on evolutionary epistemology as an alternative to the "mirror" theories of positivism and the "lamp" theories of Wittgenstein and Rorty in "Our Knowledge of the Growth of Knowledge: Popper or Wittgenstein?".
In addition to noting those omissions (and some other neglected opportunities) I would like to make two main points. First, more attention to Bartley's development of Popper's ideas might relieve some of the tensions in Popper's epistemology and in the project of critical rationalism generally. Second, following Shearmur in "The Political Thought of Karl Popper" it is most likely that Popper's social philosophy can be located close to the classical or market liberalism of Hayek.
Stokes picked up Popper's comments on the authoritarian strand in the traditional epistemologies, and he noted Popper's concern at some of the likely political consequences, notably fanaticism and intolerance. However he did not attempt to unpack the institutional consequences of Popper's critique of sovereignty, or of Popper's critique of the Platonic notion that individualism and altruism are inevitably opposing tendencies. A revised view on sovereignty along with some development of Popper's critical views on self determination for various religious, cultural or racial groups would appear to offer an avenue to deal with the problem of dissident minorities, short of attempts to redraw the boundaries of nation states, war and genocide.
Given the many controversial aspects of Popper's thought, most people will find plenty to disagree with, both in the primary works and in Stokes's interpretation of them. In case the comments above appear ungenerous I had better close by saying that it is gratifying to note that Stokes has been prepared to put so much time and effort into the work of a thinker who is not widely regarded in philosophical circles as a living influence or a significant force. Those who beg to differ will be pleased that Stokes has kept Popper's ideas "in play", at least for the time being.
Books:
- Medisin
- Migrating Raptors of the World: Their Ecology and Conservation
- Mr. Sammler's Planet (Penguin Classics)
- North Carolina Birds
- Not Even Wrong: The Failure of String Theory And the Search for Unity in Physical Law
- Our Iceberg Is Melting: Changing and Succeeding Under Any Conditions
- Parallel Worlds: A Journey Through Creation, Higher Dimensions, and the Future of the Cosmos
- Parrots of the World: An Identification Guide
- Problems of Democratic Transition and Consolidation: Southern Europe, South America, and Post-Communist Europe
- Red-Tails in Love: A Wildlife Drama in Central Park
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