Noam Chomsky is a renowned linguist, philosopher, cognitive scientist, and political activist. His political positions are generally characterized by a strong critique of U.S. foreign policy, neoliberalism, and corporate power. Here are some key aspects of Chomsky's political views: 1. **Anti-Imperialism**: Chomsky is a vocal critic of U.S. imperialism and interventionist foreign policy.
The Projection Principle is a concept primarily found within the realms of syntax and semantics in linguistics, particularly in the framework of generative grammar. It refers to the idea that the structure of a sentence, including its syntactic categories and hierarchical arrangement, is determined by the lexical entries of its words.
The Propaganda Model is a theoretical framework for understanding how media functions within the context of power structures and economic interests. Developed by Edward S. Herman and Noam Chomsky in their 1988 book "Manufacturing Consent: The Political Economy of the Mass Media," the model suggests that mass media in the United States and many other countries serve as a means of conveying information that aligns with the interests of dominant elites, rather than serving as an independent or objective source of information.
Desiring-production is a concept developed by French philosophers Gilles Deleuze and Félix Guattari in their influential work "Anti-Oedipus," which is part of their broader project known as "Capitalism and Schizophrenia." Desiring-production refers to the process through which desire operates in the formation of social, economic, and psychological realities. It contrasts with traditional views of desire as a lack or absence that needs to be fulfilled.
The term "Geist" has several meanings depending on the context: 1. **Philosophy**: In German philosophy, particularly in the works of G.W.F. Hegel, "Geist" translates to "spirit" or "mind" and refers to the collective consciousness of humanity or the cultural and intellectual development of societies. Hegel’s concept of Geist is central to his understanding of history and culture, where it is seen as an evolving entity that manifests through various historical developments.
Cooperation is the process of individuals or groups working together towards a common goal or benefit, often involving the sharing of resources, information, and responsibilities. It typically requires communication, coordination, and mutual support, and it can occur in various contexts, such as in social settings, workplaces, communities, and international relations. Cooperation can enhance effectiveness, foster teamwork, and lead to outcomes that may be unattainable through individual efforts alone.
Meditation is a practice that involves focusing the mind and achieving a mentally clear and emotionally calm state. It often includes techniques such as mindfulness, concentration, and breathing exercises, allowing individuals to cultivate a sense of awareness, relaxation, and inner peace. Meditation can take many forms, including: 1. **Mindfulness Meditation**: Involves paying attention to thoughts, feelings, and sensations in the present moment without judgment.
The term "mental world" can refer to various concepts depending on the context in which it is used. Here are a few interpretations: 1. **Psychological Perspective**: In psychology, the mental world can denote an individual's internal experiences, including thoughts, emotions, perceptions, and imagination. It encompasses how a person interprets their surroundings and experiences events through their cognitive processes.
A "pattern" can refer to various concepts depending on the context in which it is used. Here are a few common interpretations: 1. **Mathematics and Geometry**: In these fields, a pattern often refers to a repeating arrangement of numbers, shapes, or figures that follow a specific rule or formula. 2. **Art and Design**: In visual arts, a pattern is a decorative motif or design that is repeated at regular intervals.
In the context of philosophy, "Si" might refer to the concept of "self-identity" or "self" (the Latin term "si" can be translated as "if"), although it is not a widely recognized philosophical term on its own.
The term "neural correlates of consciousness" (NCC) refers to the specific brain states, processes, or structures that are associated with conscious experience. It is an area of research within neuroscience and philosophy that seeks to identify how certain brain activities correlate to specific thoughts, feelings, perceptions, and overall awareness. Key points regarding NCC include: 1. **Definition**: NCC are the minimal neural mechanisms or activities necessary for a particular conscious experience.
Moral psychologists are researchers who study how individuals perceive, reason about, and make judgments regarding moral issues. This field of psychology explores various aspects of morality, including the development of moral reasoning, the influence of emotions on moral decisions, the factors that shape moral behavior, and the differences in moral beliefs across cultures.
The bystander effect is a social psychological phenomenon in which individuals are less likely to offer help to a victim when other people are present. This effect is often attributed to the diffusion of responsibility, where individuals feel less personal responsibility to take action when there are others around. The more bystanders present, the less likely any one individual is to intervene, as they may assume someone else will take action or might be uncertain about whether intervention is necessary.
The Dark Triad is a psychological construct that refers to a group of three personality traits that are often associated with negative interpersonal behavior and a lack of empathy. These traits are: 1. **Narcissism**: Characterized by grandiosity, a need for admiration, and a lack of empathy for others. Narcissistic individuals often have an inflated sense of self-importance and may exploit others to achieve their own goals.
The "Lady Macbeth effect" refers to a psychological phenomenon where individuals engage in cleansing behaviors—both literal and metaphorical—after committing a perceived moral transgression or wrongdoing. The term is derived from Shakespeare's character Lady Macbeth, who, after participating in the murder of King Duncan, becomes obsessed with washing her hands to rid herself of the guilt, famously exclaiming, "Out, damned spot!
Moral panic is a sociological concept that refers to widespread public anxiety or concern over an issue that is perceived to threaten the moral standards or social order of a community or society. This phenomenon is often characterized by exaggerated responses to certain behaviors, events, or groups that are viewed as detrimental to societal values or norms. Key features of moral panic include: 1. **Triggering Event**: A specific event, action, or behavior typically initiates the panic, often involving sensationalized media coverage.
Moral reasoning refers to the process of identifying, evaluating, and making judgments about what is right and wrong, good and bad, or just and unjust in various situations. It involves the application of ethical principles and theories to understand moral dilemmas and to determine the most appropriate course of action. The process of moral reasoning typically includes several key components: 1. **Identification of the Moral Issue**: Recognizing that a situation has moral implications and that decisions made can impact the well-being of others.
Outrage is a strong emotional response characterized by intense feelings of anger, indignation, or fury. It often arises when an individual perceives an action, event, or situation as unjust, unfair, or morally wrong. Outrage can be triggered by various factors, including personal experiences, social injustices, violations of rights, or even public scandals. This emotion can manifest in various ways, including vocal expressions, physical gestures, or changes in behavior.
Relational Model Theory, often simply referred to as the relational model, is a foundational concept in database management and design. It provides a framework for organizing data based on relations (often represented as tables) and has deeply influenced how databases are structured, queried, and manipulated. Here are the key aspects of the relational model: 1. **Relations**: In the relational model, data is organized into relations (commonly known as tables). Each relation consists of tuples (rows) and attributes (columns).
System justification refers to a psychological and social theory that explains how individuals and groups rationalize and defend the status quo, even when it may be disadvantageous to them. This concept suggests that people have a tendency to support and legitimize the existing social, economic, and political systems, often to maintain a sense of order, stability, and predictability in their lives.

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 2.
    You can publish local OurBigBook lightweight markup files to either https://OurBigBook.com or as a static website
    .
    Figure 3.
    Visual Studio Code extension installation
    .
    Figure 4.
    Visual Studio Code extension tree navigation
    .
    Figure 5.
    Web editor
    . 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.
    Video 4.
    OurBigBook Visual Studio Code extension editing and navigation demo
    . Source.
  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