"An Abundance of Katherines" is a novel written by John Green, published in 2006. The story follows a teenage boy named Colin Singleton, a prodigy who has a penchant for dating girls named Katherine. After being dumped by his latest girlfriend, Katherine XIX, Colin embarks on a road trip with his friend Hassan to try to recover from the heartbreak and find new direction in his life.

"Diaspora" is a science fiction novel written by Greg Egan, published in 1997. The book is notable for its exploration of themes related to the nature of consciousness, identity, and the concept of existence in a post-human future. The novel is set in a universe where various forms of intelligent life exist, including both biological humans and digital beings called "polises," which are simulations of consciousness that reside in virtual environments.

The Foundation series is a seminal work of science fiction written by Isaac Asimov. It consists of a series of stories and novels that originally appeared as separate short stories in magazines and were later compiled into books. The series revolves around the concepts of psychohistory, a fictional science that combines history, sociology, and statistical mathematics to predict the future of large populations. The main premise of the Foundation series is the decline and fall of the Galactic Empire, which encompasses a vast number of planets.

The Foundation universe refers to a science fiction series created by author Isaac Asimov, which is centered on the concept of "psychohistory," a scientific discipline that combines history, sociology, and statistical mathematics to predict the future of large groups of people. The original Foundation series consists of a series of interconnected stories and novels that explore the rise and fall of civilizations, primarily focusing on the Galactic Empire.

Edmund Storms is a physicist and a prominent figure in the field of cold fusion research. He is known for his work on the phenomenon of cold fusion, which refers to nuclear fusion reactions that occur at or near room temperature, as opposed to the extremely high temperatures typically required for fusion to take place. Storms has published various papers and books on the subject, discussing both the scientific implications and the controversies surrounding cold fusion.

A control-flow graph (CFG) is a representation used in computer science and software engineering to model the flow of control within a program or a function. It is particularly useful in the fields of compiler design, static analysis, and program optimization. ### Key Characteristics of a Control-flow Graph: 1. **Nodes**: Each node in a CFG represents a basic block of code, which is a straight-line sequence of instructions with no control transfers (like jumps or branches) except at the start and end.

The convection zone is a layer within a star, such as the Sun, where energy is transported primarily through the process of convection. In this zone, hot plasma rises toward the surface, cools down, and then sinks back down to be reheated. This cycle creates convective currents, much like boiling water where hot water rises and cooler water descends.

Conversation Analysis (CA) is a qualitative research method used to study the structure and organization of talk in interaction, primarily focusing on naturally occurring conversations. Developed in the 1960s by sociologist Harvey Sacks, CA examines how people communicate in everyday interactions, emphasizing the ways in which participants understand and produce conversational turns, manage the flow of dialogue, and construct social meanings.

The term "bitangents" refers to lines that touch a curve at two distinct points, and for a quartic curve, which is a polynomial of degree four, the concept of bitangents becomes particularly interesting. In the context of a quartic curve, a bitangent is a line that intersects the quartic at exactly two points, where both intersection points are tangential—meaning the line is tangent to the curve at both points.

Bring's curve, also known as the Bring radical or the Bring curve, is a specific type of algebraic curve of degree five. It can be defined using the formula: \[ y^2 = x(x - 1)(x - a)(x - b)(x - c) \] where \( a, b, c \) are constants. This curve has interesting mathematical properties and is closely related to the study of algebraic functions and complex analysis.

The Castelnuovo curve is a specific type of algebraic curve that arises in algebraic geometry. More precisely, it is a smooth projective curve of genus 1, and it is defined as a complete intersection in a projective space \( \mathbb{P}^3 \). The term "Castelnuovo curve" is often associated with a general class of curves that can be embedded in projective space using certain embeddings, typically via a linear system of divisors.

Quantum cohomology is a branch of mathematics that combines concepts from algebraic geometry, symplectic geometry, and quantum physics. It arises in the study of certain moduli spaces and has applications in various fields, including string theory, mathematical physics, and enumerative geometry. At a high level, quantum cohomology seeks to extend classical cohomology theories, particularly for projective varieties, to incorporate quantum effects, which can be thought of as counting curves under certain conditions.

Giambattista Vico (1668–1744) was an Italian philosopher, historian, and jurist, known primarily for his ideas about the philosophy of history and his contributions to social and cultural theory. He is best known for his work "Scienza Nuova" ("The New Science"), published in various editions between 1725 and 1744.

"Cosmic Evolution: The Rise of the Multiverse" is a popular science book authored by the astrophysicist and cosmologist Lawrence M. Krauss. Generally, the book explores the concept of cosmic evolution, which outlines how the universe has developed from the Big Bang to its current state, and discusses implications for the future of the cosmos.

Gian Carlo Wick was an influential Italian theoretical physicist, best known for his contributions to quantum field theory and statistical mechanics. Born on May 12, 1919, he made significant advancements in the mathematical formulation and interpretation of quantum fields. One of Wick's notable achievements is the development of the so-called "Wick rotation," a technique used to relate quantum field theories in real time to those in imaginary time.

The Cosmic Microwave Background (CMB) is the afterglow radiation from the Big Bang, providing crucial evidence for the Big Bang theory and our understanding of the early universe. It is a faint, uniform background radiation that fills the universe and can be detected in every direction in space.

A Costas array is a special type of combinatorial design that arises in the field of mathematics, specifically in the study of sequences and arrays. Named after the mathematician John P. Costas, who introduced them, Costas arrays have applications in radar, communications, and various areas of engineering.

Coulomb blockade is a quantum mechanical phenomenon that occurs in small conductive structures, such as small metal or semiconductor particles (quantum dots) or single-electron transistors. It is characterized by the suppression of electrical conduction due to the electrostatic repulsion between charged particles—specifically, electrons. In a typical scenario, when an electron is added to a small conductor, it experiences a Coulomb energy barrier due to the presence of other electrons already in the conductor.

The Watson interferometer is a type of interferometer known for its use in optical measurements and experiments involving the interference of light waves. It is named after the physicist who developed it, although there may be some variation in the name and someone's identification with the invention. Interferometers, in general, work by splitting a beam of light into two paths that are later recombined to create an interference pattern.

Watson Wyatt Worldwide was a global consulting firm that specialized in human capital and financial management. Founded in 1998 through the merger of Watson Wyatt & Company and the Wyatt Company, it offered services in areas such as employee benefits, talent management, retirement planning, and compensation consulting. The firm worked with clients to improve their workforce management and organizational effectiveness.