Jason Brennan is a political philosopher and author known for his work in political theory, particularly in the areas of democracy, ethics, and political economy. He is a professor at Georgetown University, where he teaches in the McDonough School of Business and the Department of Philosophy. Brennan has gained recognition for his writings on topics such as democratic governance, the role of voter behavior, and the moral implications of democratic participation.
The Awards of the London Mathematical Society (LMS) recognize outstanding contributions to mathematics and to the mathematical community. The LMS, founded in 1865, is one of the principal organizations promoting mathematics in the UK. Some of the notable awards and prizes given by the LMS include: 1. **Senior Whitehead Prize**: Awarded to mathematicians for outstanding contributions in their field. 2. **Whitehead Prize**: Given to early-career mathematicians for their significant contributions.
A Reproducing Kernel Hilbert Space (RKHS) is a fundamental concept in functional analysis and machine learning, particularly in the context of kernel methods. It is a Hilbert space of functions in which point evaluations are continuous linear functionals. The main feature of an RKHS is the presence of a reproducing kernel, which allows for an elegant and powerful way to characterize functions in the space.
Pension regulation refers to the framework of laws, policies, and guidelines that govern the establishment, management, and operation of pension plans and retirement savings programs. These regulations are designed to ensure the security and fairness of pension funds for participants and beneficiaries, promoting the responsible management of pension assets. Key aspects of pension regulation include: 1. **Funding Requirements**: Regulations stipulate how much employers must contribute to pension plans and maintain adequate funding levels to meet future obligations.
Isaiah Berlin (1909–1997) was a prominent political theorist, philosopher, and historian of ideas. Born in Riga, Latvia, he later moved to England, where he became a significant figure in 20th-century intellectual life. Berlin is best known for his essays on the nature of liberty, pluralism, and the conflict of values, as well as his distinction between "negative" and "positive" liberty.
Israeli astronomers are scientists and researchers from Israel who study various aspects of astronomy, which is the scientific study of celestial objects, space, and the universe as a whole. Israel has made significant contributions to astronomy and astrophysics, with various institutions dedicated to research in these fields. Key institutions in Israel involved in astronomical research include: 1. **Weizmann Institute of Science**: Known for its research in physics and astronomy, providing significant contributions to theoretical and observational astronomy.
Near letter-quality printing refers to a level of print quality that approaches that of a traditional typewriter or a high-quality printed document, but may not achieve the full fidelity of letter-quality printing. This term is often associated with certain types of impact and dot matrix printers, where the output is sufficiently clear and legible for tasks like business correspondence, invoices, and forms, but it might not have the polished appearance of laser or inkjet prints.
James Hall is a contemporary English philosopher known for his work in the fields of philosophy of language, epistemology, and metaphysics. He has contributed to various discussions concerning the nature of meaning, reference, and the role of language in shaping our understanding of reality. Hall’s writings often explore the intersections between philosophical theories and practical implications, emphasizing intuitions and common experiences.
Firearms are portable, mechanical devices designed to launch projectiles, typically bullets, through the combustion of gunpowder or other propellants. They can be categorized into various types based on design and purpose, including handguns (like revolvers and pistols), rifles, shotguns, and automatic or semi-automatic weapons. Firearms are commonly used for purposes such as self-defense, hunting, law enforcement, and military applications.
Jesús Mosterín (born 1931, died 2021) was a Spanish philosopher, logician, and writer known for his contributions to various fields, including philosophy, logic, and the philosophy of science. He was particularly recognized for his work in the philosophy of language, philosophy of mind, and ethical theory. Mosterín also engaged with topics in biology, artificial intelligence, and the nature of scientific explanation.
The "Treatise on Light" (original title: "Traité de la Lumière") is a seminal work by the Dutch physicist and mathematician Christiaan Huygens, published in 1678. In this treatise, Huygens explored the nature of light, proposing that it behaves as a wave rather than as a particle, which was a revolutionary idea at the time.
A perfect spline, often referred to in the context of spline interpolation or spline approximation, is a mathematical construct used to create a smooth curve that passes through a given set of points (or control points). In general, "spline" refers to a piecewise polynomial function that is defined on intervals, and a "perfect" spline typically implies that the spline fits the data points exactly without any error.
John Earman is a philosopher of science and a prominent figure known for his work in the philosophy of physics, particularly regarding concepts like time, space, and the foundations of scientific theories. He has contributed significantly to discussions about determinism, causation, and the interpretation of scientific theories, particularly in relation to theories of time, such as the nature of time in relativity and quantum mechanics.
John Rawls (1921–2002) was an influential American philosopher best known for his work in political philosophy and moral theory. His most prominent work, "A Theory of Justice" (1971), presents a framework for thinking about justice and fairness in a structured society. In this book, Rawls introduces several key concepts, including the "Original Position" and the "Veil of Ignorance.
Jonathan Schaffer is a philosopher known for his work in metaphysics, epistemology, and philosophy of language. He has made significant contributions to discussions on issues such as grounding, causation, and the nature of existence. Schaffer is often associated with the view called "priority monism," which suggests that the cosmos as a whole is the fundamental entity, and that everything else (including individual objects) is dependent on it.
Joseph Raz is a prominent legal and moral philosopher, known for his work in the fields of legal theory, political philosophy, and ethics. Born on July 21, 1939, in Jerusalem, he became an influential figure in the development of theories of law, particularly through his contributions to the concept of legal positivism. Raz is best known for his work on the nature of authority, the relationship between law and morality, and the nature of practical reasoning.

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