Double-aspect theory is a philosophical concept primarily associated with the philosophy of mind and metaphysics. It posits that mental states and physical states are two aspects of a single underlying reality. Unlike dualism, which asserts that mental and physical substances are fundamentally different, or materialism, which reduces all phenomena to physical processes, double-aspect theory proposes that both mental and physical phenomena arise from the same foundational substance or reality, but they are perceived or experienced in different ways.
Metaphysical solipsism is a philosophical idea that asserts that only one's own mind is sure to exist. In this view, knowledge of anything outside one's own mind is considered uncertain; the external world and other minds cannot be known or may not exist at all. Essentially, it posits that the individual self is the only certain reality, and everything else—including other people, objects, and the physical world—exists only as a representation or perception within that individual's consciousness.
The theory of language encompasses a range of ideas and frameworks that seek to understand the nature, structure, and function of language. It is an interdisciplinary field that draws from linguistics, philosophy, cognitive science, psychology, sociology, and anthropology, among other disciplines.
In semiotics, a "code" refers to a system of signs and rules that govern the production and interpretation of meaning in communication. Codes are essential to understanding how meaning is created and understood within various contexts, whether in language, visual media, gestures, or cultural practices. Key aspects of codes in semiotics include: 1. **Structure**: Codes consist of a set of conventions or rules that dictate how signs (words, images, sounds) interact with one another.
"Hypotext" is a term that is not widely recognized in mainstream terminology, and it could refer to different concepts depending on the context. However, it is often used in relation to interactive media and digital literature, possibly drawing inspiration from the notion of "hypertext." In general, "hypertext" refers to a system of linking text to other text or multimedia, allowing users to navigate non-linearly through information. It is a foundational concept of the World Wide Web.
Prudence is generally defined as the ability to govern and discipline oneself through the use of reason. It is often regarded as a virtue in moral philosophy and ethical behavior. Prudence involves making judicious decisions and choices that are thoughtful, careful, and conducive to achieving good outcomes. In practical terms, being prudent means considering the potential consequences of actions before taking them, weighing risks against rewards, and acting in a way that is wise and responsible.
The term "symbol" can refer to different concepts depending on the context: 1. **General Definition**: In a general sense, a symbol is something that represents or stands for something else. This can be an object, word, or visual image that conveys a particular meaning or idea. 2. **Language and Literature**: In literature, symbols are often used to convey deeper meanings or themes. For example, a dove may symbolize peace, while a red rose may symbolize love.
In linguistics, "catena" refers to a sequence of words that functions as a meaningful unit within a sentence, even if that sequence does not correspond to a traditional syntactic constituent like a phrase or clause. The term is often used in the context of dependency grammar or construction grammar, where the relationships between words are highlighted. A catena can be formed by words that are connected through dependency relationships, rather than being contiguous in the syntactic structure.
Camille Noûs is a term used to refer to a specific candidate for a fictional or theoretical concept in the realm of cognitive science, philosophy, or artificial intelligence. It is often used in discussions about consciousness, self-awareness, and the nature of identity. The name itself is a play on the French phrase "nous," which means "we" or "us," suggesting a collective or shared aspect of identity.
The "Strong Programme" is a theoretical framework in the sociology of knowledge that was developed by a group of sociologists primarily in the 1970s. It is most closely associated with the work of David Bloor and other members of the Edinburgh School, who sought to analyze the relationship between scientific knowledge and social context.
Personal finance by Ciro Santilli 40 Updated 2025-07-16
  • the American stock market gives 10% / year, which is about 2x over 10 years. It has been the sure-fire best investment on a 10 year horizon for many decades, and should serve as your benchmark.
  • risky diversified investments (e.g. ETFs that track a market index) are basically the best investment if you can keep your money in them in the long term (10 years)
  • risky investments can gown down for a while, and you cannot take your money out then. This effectively means risk is a form of illiquidity
  • investment funds have taxes, which eat into your profit. The best investments are dumb index tracking investments (like an ETF that tracks the stock market) that are simply brainless to manage, and therefore have lowest taxes. No fund has managed to beat the market long term essentially.
  • when you are young, ideally you should invest everything into riskier higher yielding assets like stock. And as you get older, you should move part of it to less risky (and therefore more liquid, but lower yielding) assets like bonds
    The desire to buy a house however complicates this for many people.
Figure 1.
The Men Who Stole the World by Benoît Bringer
. This timestamp contains a good explanation of how banks were knowingly reselling bad loans at incredible profits. It features Richard Bowen, previously from Citi Group compliance.
Chinese scholar house by Ciro Santilli 40 Updated 2025-07-16
Video 1.
Confucian Scholar's House by Asian Art Museum (2009)
Source. The only video on YouTube showing the house of a scholar!? It is alas about Korean scholars, but the concept is basically the same.

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