"Calculus ratiocinator" is a term coined by the 17th-century philosopher and mathematician Gottfried Wilhelm Leibniz. It refers to a formal system of reasoning that combines elements of logic and mathematics to enable the computation of truths. The concept is part of Leibniz's broader vision of a universal language or a "characteristic language" (lingua characteristica) that could express all human knowledge and facilitate clear reasoning.
"Bullshit" is a colloquial term often used to describe statements, claims, or behaviors that are considered insincere, nonsensical, misleading, or lacking in genuine meaning or truth. It can refer to exaggerations, falsehoods, or empty rhetoric. The term conveys a sense of frustration or cynicism regarding the quality or integrity of what is being communicated.
Absurdity refers to a situation, concept, or condition that is wildly unreasonable, illogical, or inappropriate. It often highlights a disconnect between human aspirations and the indifferent or chaotic nature of the universe. The term is frequently used in philosophy, literature, and the arts to explore themes of meaninglessness, existential conflict, and the limits of human understanding.
A posteriori necessity refers to a philosophical concept concerning the nature of necessary truths that can only be known through experience or empirical evidence, rather than through pure reason or a priori reasoning. To break it down: - **A posteriori** knowledge is knowledge that is gained through experience or observation. For example, scientific knowledge, derived from experiments and empirical data, is a priori. - **Necessary truths** are propositions that could not have been otherwise; they hold in all possible worlds.
The timeline of women in computing highlights key milestones and contributions made by women in the field of computing throughout history. Here’s a brief overview: ### Early History - **1843**: Ada Lovelace, recognized as the first computer programmer, writes algorithms for Charles Babbage's early mechanical general-purpose computer, the Analytical Engine.
The timeline of web search engines highlights the evolution of technology designed to help users find information on the internet. Here’s an overview of significant milestones in the development of web search engines: ### 1990s - **1990**: **Archie** - One of the first search engines, created to index FTP archives to help people find specific files. - **1993**: **W3Catalog** - One of the first web directories, it started categorizing web pages.
The timeline of web browsers is a history of the development and evolution of software applications that allow users to access and navigate the World Wide Web. Here’s a broad overview of key milestones in the history of web browsers: ### 1990s - **1990**: **WorldWideWeb** - The first web browser, created by Tim Berners-Lee. It was primarily a tool for viewing HTML documents.
The timeline of video formats spans several decades, reflecting the evolution of technology, media standards, and consumer preferences. Here’s a chronological overview highlighting some of the key video formats: ### 1950s-1970s: Early Video Formats - **1956**: **Magnetic Tape** - Development of the first magnetic tapes for video recording; Ampex introduces the first commercial video tape recorder (VTR).
The Apple II series was one of the first successful lines of personal computers, produced by Apple Computer, Inc. Below is a timeline outlining the key models and milestones in the Apple II series: ### Timeline of the Apple II Series - **1977: Apple II** - Introduced in April 1977, the Apple II was one of the first highly successful mass-produced microcomputer products. It featured a color display, open architecture, and expansion slots.
The history of optical character recognition (OCR) is marked by significant advancements in technology and computer science. Here’s a timeline highlighting key milestones in the development of OCR: ### Early Developments - **1914**: Emanuel Goldberg develops a machine called the "Statistical Machine," which can recognize printed characters. - **1929**: The first known OCR machine, designed by Gustave R. Schroeder, reads hand-printed characters.
The timeline of operating systems (OS) is a rich history that marks the advancements in computing, moving from simple command-line interfaces to modern graphical user interfaces and beyond. Here's a general timeline highlighting significant milestones in the evolution of operating systems: ### 1950s: - **1956**: **IBM 704**: One of the first computers to support a very primitive form of time-sharing.
The timeline of online advertising reflects the evolution of digital marketing techniques and technologies from the early days of the internet to the present. Here’s a brief overview: **1990s: The Birth of Online Advertising** - **1994**: The first banner ad is displayed on HotWired, marking the official beginning of online advertising. The ad was for AT&T. - **1995**: The term “online advertising” begins to enter common usage as more companies begin to advertise online.
The timeline of machine translation (MT) highlights significant developments in the field over the decades. Below is an overview of key milestones in the history of machine translation: ### 1940s - 1950s: Early Foundations - **1949**: Warren Weaver published the "Weaver Memorandum," which proposed using computers for language translation, laying groundwork for MT.
The timeline of machine learning reflects a continuous evolution of ideas, techniques, and technologies that form the foundation of this dynamic field. Here’s a summary of key milestones in the development of machine learning, spanning decades: ### 1950s - **1950**: Alan Turing publishes "Computing Machinery and Intelligence," proposing the Turing Test as a measure of machine intelligence.
The timeline of hypertext technology showcases the evolution of how information can be interconnected and accessed non-linearly through various systems and platforms.
The timeline of free and open-source software (FOSS) is marked by significant events, publications, and key figures that have shaped the movement. Below is a succinct overview of some landmark moments in the history of FOSS: ### 1960s - **1969**: The UNIX operating system is developed at AT&T's Bell Labs, promoting the culture of sharing source code among academic institutions.
The timeline of file sharing is a history of the evolution of technologies and methods used to share files electronically. Here's a brief overview of key milestones from the inception of file sharing to the present day: ### 1970s - Early Development - **1971**: The **ARPANET** (Advanced Research Projects Agency Network) was developed as one of the first networks to share information between computers, laying the groundwork for future file-sharing systems.
Anonymous is a decentralized international activist and hacktivist collective known for various actions promoting freedom of information and internet privacy. Below is a timeline highlighting some of the key events associated with Anonymous: ### 2003 - Formation - **Origins**: Anonymous is formed on the imageboard 4chan, where users contributed to a culture of pranking and internet activism. The term “Anonymous” refers to the collective nature of contributors using anonymous identities.
The timeline of digital preservation reflects the evolution of methods and strategies for maintaining digital materials over time. Here’s a brief overview of key milestones in the history of digital preservation: ### 1960s - 1970s: Early Concepts - **1965**: The concept of digital preservation begins to emerge with the development of computer storage systems. - **1970s**: Research and development in computer technologies and the first digital archives begin to form.
The timeline of computing hardware before 1950 includes several key developments and devices that laid the groundwork for modern computing. Here’s a chronological overview of significant milestones: ### Pre-20th Century - **Abacus (circa 3000 BCE)**: One of the first known calculating tools used for counting and arithmetic operations.

Pinned article: Introduction to the OurBigBook Project

Welcome to the OurBigBook Project! Our goal is to create the perfect publishing platform for STEM subjects, and get university-level students to write the best free STEM tutorials ever.
Everyone is welcome to create an account and play with the site: ourbigbook.com/go/register. We belive that students themselves can write amazing tutorials, but teachers are welcome too. You can write about anything you want, it doesn't have to be STEM or even educational. Silly test content is very welcome and you won't be penalized in any way. Just keep it legal!
We have two killer features:
  1. topics: topics group articles by different users with the same title, e.g. here is the topic for the "Fundamental Theorem of Calculus" ourbigbook.com/go/topic/fundamental-theorem-of-calculus
    Articles of different users are sorted by upvote within each article page. This feature is a bit like:
    • a Wikipedia where each user can have their own version of each article
    • a Q&A website like Stack Overflow, where multiple people can give their views on a given topic, and the best ones are sorted by upvote. Except you don't need to wait for someone to ask first, and any topic goes, no matter how narrow or broad
    This feature makes it possible for readers to find better explanations of any topic created by other writers. And it allows writers to create an explanation in a place that readers might actually find it.
    Figure 1.
    Screenshot of the "Derivative" topic page
    . View it live at: ourbigbook.com/go/topic/derivative
  2. local editing: you can store all your personal knowledge base content locally in a plaintext markup format that can be edited locally and published either:
    This way you can be sure that even if OurBigBook.com were to go down one day (which we have no plans to do as it is quite cheap to host!), your content will still be perfectly readable as a static site.
    Figure 5. . You can also edit articles on the Web editor without installing anything locally.
    Video 3.
    Edit locally and publish demo
    . Source. This shows editing OurBigBook Markup and publishing it using the Visual Studio Code extension.
  3. https://raw.githubusercontent.com/ourbigbook/ourbigbook-media/master/feature/x/hilbert-space-arrow.png
  4. Infinitely deep tables of contents:
    Figure 6.
    Dynamic article tree with infinitely deep table of contents
    .
    Descendant pages can also show up as toplevel e.g.: ourbigbook.com/cirosantilli/chordate-subclade
All our software is open source and hosted at: github.com/ourbigbook/ourbigbook
Further documentation can be found at: docs.ourbigbook.com
Feel free to reach our to us for any help or suggestions: docs.ourbigbook.com/#contact