Library of America publishes Herman Melville: Complete Poems
The Library of America edition of Herman Melville: Complete Poems arrived on my porch last month. Its texts are those of the three related Northwestern-Newberry Edition volumes. I was one of four co-editors of “Billy Budd, Sailor“ and Other Uncompleted Writings, the last and final volume to be published of the fifteen-volume Northwestern-Newberry edition of The Writings of Herman Melville. It was an honor to be invited by the Library of America volume editor, Hershel Parker, and Thomas Tanselle to write the “Note on the Texts,” a bibliographical essay included in each Library of America volume that describes the editorial procedures used to establish accurate texts. The LOA volume editor, Hershel Parker, wrote new, expansive explanatory notes for each of the poems, as well as a detailed up-to-date chronology based on his research for his two-volume biography of Herman Melville. This LOA volume is one that will very likely be bought, read, and consulted for many years to come. It is a happy coincidence that it is being published in the month and year of Melville’s 200th birthday, August 1, 1819.
BILLY BUDD, SAILOR AND OTHER UNCOMPLETED WRITINGS – Publication of the Final Volume of the Northwestern-Newberry Series: The Writings of Herman Melville
As of today, October 29, the paperback edition of “Billy Budd, Sailor“ and Other Uncompleted Writings is available on Amazon as well as the Northwestern University Press website. The hardcover is still in production, but should be available by the end of November. Click here for the NUP catalog page, or here for the book on Amazon.
It has taken a very long time (more than 45 years) to process the 1,000 or so manuscript leaves for publication in the final volume of the fifteen-volume Northwestern-Newberry Writings of Herman Melville series. It was just over 35 years ago that I sat daily as a graduate student from June 8 through August 6, 1982, Monday through Saturday, at the Houghton Library at Harvard transcribing the 335 leaves of the Parthenope (formerly “Burgundy Club”) poems and prose pieces contained in fifteen folders (including the folder containing “Pausilippo” removed by Melville for publication in Timoleon). From July 30 to August 2, 1982, I transcribed what I eventually came to realize was the theretofore unknown and untranscribed, “House of the Tragic Poet.” At the time, I thought surely someone had transcribed this piece previously. But as I worked in the following years on my dissertation with my advisor, Harrison Hayford, we finally determined that “House of the Tragic” poet was in fact a new piece. In the summers of 2013 and 2015, to prepare the reading and transcription texts for the now published final volume, I did a fresh literal transcription of these same manuscripts, as well as new transcriptions of the manuscripts of “Rammon,” “Story of Daniel Orme,” “Under the Rose,” and around 36 uncollected poems unpublished at the time of Melville’s death on September 28, 1891.
Many funding issues delayed the work needed to complete the final volume of the Northwestern-Newberry Writings of Herman Melville series. Sadly, the series General Editor, Harrison Hayford — who began the Northwestern-Newberry publishing project in 1965 — passed away in 2001. But happily by 2010 Northwestern University Press could commit the funds needed to print the final volume, and the editors of the final volume — Hershel Parker, Thomas Tanselle, Alma A. MacDougall, and I — found time in our personal schedules, over a five-year period beginning in 2012, to bring to a successful conclusion the project of publishing the final volume.
Completion of the volume was the result of a sustained collaboration among the editors. Hershel Parker, General Editor, wrote the “Historical Note,” coordinated the editorial process, and negotiated the restart of the project with Northwestern University Press. G. Thomas Tanselle, Bibliographical Editor, who has contributed to each of the NN volumes, was again tireless in the effort he devoted to this final volume. He wrote the “General Note on the Text, produced all of the editorial appendices for BILLY BUDD and WEEDS AND WILDINGS, proofed and checked for accuracy the components of all the other the editorial appendices (discussion notes, lists of emendations, all transcriptions, notes on individual pieces, related documents), and corrected and revised the heretofore standard reading and transcription texts of BILLY BUDD (Harrison Hayford and Merton M. Sealts, Jr., Univ. of Chicago, 1962) and WEEDS AND WILDINGS (Robert C. Ryan, dissertation, 1967). Alma A. MacDougall has acted as the supervising editor for all the NN volumes published since 1982 [ISRAEL POTTER (1982), THE CONFIDENCE-MAN (1984), THE PIAZZA TALES (1987), MOBY-DICK (1988), JOURNALS (1989), CLAREL (1991), CORRESPONDENCE (1991), and PUBLISHED POEMS (2009)]. For this final volume, Alma served as Executive Editor and reviewed for accuracy all reading and transcription texts, historical notes, discussion notes, emendation lists, illustrations, created the index, and prepared the final printer’s copy for the press.
Hershel Parker, who succeeded Harrison Hayford as the series General Editor, suggested that we might think of the publication of the final volume as a birthday present for Harry Hayford on what would have been, on November 1st, his 101st birthday. Happy Birthday, Harry!
Harrison Hayford
Kant Confessed His Suspicions about the Limitations of His System, but Persisted Anyway
Immanuel Kant
It is a mark of courage or at least bold if not heroic confidence that Kant forged ahead with his attempt to describe the mechanisms and functions of human cognition, even though he suspected that some of the descriptive ideas he invented would probably never be scientifically verified.
In a section of the Critique of Pure Reason, titled “The Schematism of the Pure Concepts of the Understanding” (chapter 1 of book 2 of the “Transcendental Analytic”) he wrote:
This schematism of our understanding, in its application to appearances and their mere form, is an art concealed in the depths of the human soul, whose real modes of activity nature is hardly likely ever to allow us to discover, and to have open to our gaze.
Preceding this pessimistic observation, Kant had been explaining his hypothesized “schema” as rules for how to conjoin or link an a priori concept that is not dependent on sensual experience with an object of perception obtained through the senses. He uses several examples to illustrate. With the example of a triangle he asserts that associating the concept of triangle with an empirically apprehend image of a triangle is effected by means of set of innate rules or instructions that he calls a schema. A “schematism” according to Kant is an application of a set of rules whereby a pure, a priori concept of understanding such as space, time, triangle, or number is correlated with an empirically constituted object or idea.
But in the interjected “aside” to the reader quoted above, Kant expresses his suspicion that “nature is hardly likely ever to allow us to discover” the “real modes of activity” that constitute the functioning of those schema, or rules for linking the inner, mental world of pure concepts with sensibly perceived objects or empirically derived ideas.
Kant may have been trying with his schema — sets of rules for linking a priori concepts with sensually perceived objects — to (among other things) heal the body/mind split of Descartes. If Kant was right about “nature” being likely to never allow us to “gaze” upon schema, then neuroscientists who today address the hard problem of consciousness by mapping the areas of the brain that correlate with subjectively reported states of consciousness (qualia), observed behavior, or visible correlates of autonomic nerve activity, these neuroscientists may then, like Kant, worry that they too will likely never succeed in actually “gazing” on the mechanisms (schema, rules) that link inner consciousness experience with the exterior world of things.
More than 230 years following the publication of Kant’s Critique of Pure Reason, many philosophers and cognitive scientists working with or following the ideas of philosophers like Daniel Dennett, prefer not to invent and use terms or ideas like Kant’s “schema” — the hypothesized (invisible, postulated, unverifiable) rules for how we link or associate inner concepts with perceived objects. They avoid and argue against using scientifically unverifiable ideas or hypotheses. They, like Dennett, will for the sake of argument deign to take up for discussion ideas that are not susceptible to empirical proof (cf. the ether and phlogiston hypotheses), but then, after discussing and exposing their vacuousness and unusability, summarily drop them, and urge others to do the same.
Daniel Dennett
Knowing what terms or ideas to avoid using in attempting scientifically to solve the riddle and mystery of consciousness is important. Knowing what not to do or think is progress. But the hard problem of consciousness (what is like to be something; qualia; John Searle’s Chinese room; Mary the color-blind super scientist) is still unsolved. Notwithstanding his occasional use of non-verifiable ideas like “schema” and “schematism,” Kant’s attempts in the Critique to heal the mind-body split deduced by René Descarte in his Meditations, argue against the empirical skepticism expressed by David Hume in his Treatise and Enquiry, and correct or balance the radical empiricism of John Locke’s Essay surely contain many useable ideas that can be “operationalized” by neuroscientists, cognitive researchers, and philosophers of consciousness in their attempt to solve, understand, and explain the “hard problem” of consciousness.
Robert Paul Wolff
A book published many years ago by Robert Paul Wolff, Kant’s Theory of Mental Activity: A Commentary on the Transcendental Analytic of the Critique of Pure Reason (Harvard University Press, 1963; Kindle [Society for Philosophy and Culture, 2013]) is the best commentary I have yet read on Kant’s Critique. Wolff has also recorded and published on YouTube a very helpful nine-part lecture series on the Critique.
Politics, Culture, Philosophy
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by William Rivers Pitt Read at Truthout.org Unless something truly extraordinary intervenes, we are on the cusp of what could become the bleakest winter in living memory. There are 166 days standing between us and... The post via Truthout.org: Mitch McConnell Is Sacrificing the Entire Economy to Impede Biden Administration appeared first on Frank Schaeffer - Official Blog. [...]
By Dana Milbank Read at Washington Post As partisans and analysts puzzle over the higher-than-expected turnout for President Trump (nearly 6 million fewer votes than for President-elect Joe Biden, but still high), they are poring over groups... The post via Washington Post: Trump’s racist appeals powered a White evangelical tsunami appeared first on Frank Schaeffer - Official Blog. [...]
By Michael Gerson Read at Washington Post One of the better speeches I helped produce for George W. Bush was never given. On election night 2000 — standing outside in the rain, at an Austin victory... The post via Washington Post: This is a massive failure of character among Republicans — with evangelicals out in front appeared first on Frank Schaeffer - Official Blog. [...]
By Dana Milbank Read at Washington Post President Trump isn’t really trying to overturn the election. He’s simply running one more scam before he leaves office that would enable him to enrich himself. That’s the... The post via Washington Post: Trump’s election challenge looks like a scam to line his pockets appeared first on Frank Schaeffer - Official Blog. [...]
My family knew the Bush family. Looking back, I can think of nothing that comes close to what Donald Trump is doing to stop President-elect Biden from taking part in Intelligence Briefings to prepare to... The post Trump deserves to be stripped of citizenship and deported appeared first on Frank Schaeffer - Official Blog. [...]
Want more political videos and commentary? Show your support. The post Joe, please bore us! Kamala, please heal us! appeared first on Frank Schaeffer - Official Blog. [...]
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Adding more justices to the bench might be the only way to stop them. By Adam Serwer For a judge with a brilliant legal mind, Amy Coney Barrett seemed oddly at a loss for words. Does... The post via The Atlantic: The Supreme Court Is Helping Republicans Rig Elections appeared first on Frank Schaeffer - Official Blog. [...]
Want more political videos and commentary? Show your support. The post Have confidence in American democracy—we’ll be okay appeared first on Frank Schaeffer - Official Blog. [...]
KNOXVILLE, TENN. — The new congregation is gathered in a barn in Lenoir City, Tenn., with a roof that has a 60-foot American flag painted on it. And they are praying for a Trump landslide.... The post via The Washington Post: Seeking power in Jesus’ name: Trump sparks a rise of ‘Patriot Churches’ appeared first on Frank Schaeffer - Official Blog. [...]
After having been unjustly convicted of the bogus charges brought against him in that most infamous and influential of trials, Socrates was asked to propose a penalty for himself. Defying everyone's expectations (exile, paying a fine, delivering a public apology, etc.), Socrates claimed he should be rewarded with free room and board at the Prytaneum. This response upset the Athenians so much that an even greater number than those who had originally found him guilty decided the proper sentence should now be death.In the Crito, and against all sorts of arguments—moral, prudential, political, philosophical—urging him to escape this unjust punishment,… [...]
Ever since I first watched Memento and its fascinating exploration of the philosophical question of personal identity as constituted by memory through time, film director Christopher Nolan has been on my radar. And, Insomnia aside, he has consistently managed to set the bar higher and higher to the point where he stands on a category of cinematographic and philosophical genius all by himself.In addition of being a master of character development, non-linear storytelling and building hair-raising suspense—not to say anything about the pure aesthetic beauty of his films—Nolan is a director of big ideas. There's virtually no film in which he… [...]
The philosophical problem of evil—the question of how the existence of unnecessary suffering is possible in a world created and sustained by an all-powerful, all-knowing and benevolent deity—has vexed theologians and philosophers for millennia.Apologists have attempted to vindicate God's goodness in various versions of what is known as theodicy. One of the most famous was articulated by the Enlightenment polymath Gottfried Wilhelm Leibniz. Given that he thought the existence of contingent beings requires an explanation that is itself not contingent, Leibniz deployed a really clever argument to prove the metaphysical necessity of the existence of God. Since God was for… [...]
Life is hard enough as it is. Existence, in many ways, is suffering. Obviously, some have it much worse than others, and that matters, but at some point in our lives we all experience pain, disease, loss, betrayal. We struggle with existential angst, with the fear of meaninglessness, with questions of character, with the impending coming of oblivion. We struggle to pay rent, to put food on the table, and to have enough energy at the end of the day to make a positive difference in the world.And we don't all find love. Few things make the loneliness of existence… [...]
If you are a geek, you are likely to get excited over things others might find boring, laughable, lame, etc. You still like what you like, but you also know when to keep that to yourself.But sometimes you stumble upon something so incredibly brilliant that, no matter what else may be going on in your life, you just have to let your inner geek go nuts. And the following parody of 'Despacito' is just such an instance... [...]
James Baldwin, the great essayist, poet, civil rights activist, writer and orator, would have turned 93 this week. In order to commemorate the importance of his memory and legacy, we are showcasing today the very famous Cambridge debate in which—while surrounded by an overwhelmingly white audience—he courageously and adeptly defended the proposition that “The American Dream is at the expense of the American negro” against the influential conservative writer William F. Buckley, Jr.Prior to this debate, Buckley had made his reputation as a leading American conservative, at least partly, through his writings opposing the civil rights movement and desegregation, and by… [...]
Few figures have been more important and influential in the history of civilization than the ancient Greek philosopher Socrates. And it's not simply that he was a philosopher either. Despite the importance of the intellectual contributions made by his predecessors, and despite the vast differences between them (just think Thales, Anaximander, Pythagoras, Parmenides, Heraclitus, Democritus, etc.), virtually all philosophers who preceded him were ultimately consigned to the category of Pre-Socratics.So what exactly was so special about Socrates that it would be he, and not any of his forerunners, who would be generally recognized to be the first master of philosophy?… [...]
Anyone who's ever contemplated Raphael's celebrated painting The School of Athens knows that the painting centers, quite literally, around Plato and Aristotle (the former pointing up toward his transcendent Realm of the Forms, while the latter attempts to ground his understanding of reality on a much more naturalistic conception). A quick glance also reveals a few other obvious personalities: Socrates, Diogenes the Cynic, Pythagoras, and Euclid (or perhaps Archimedes?). But if you look even closer, you can see that this painting is also paying homage to the Presocratics, those thinkers who dared to imagine the cosmos might be intelligible to… [...]
As his presidency sadly comes to an end, President Obama delivered last night what is sure to become one of the most powerful and memorable speeches in his already admirable history of powerful and memorable speeches.In a time when democracy, justice, freedom, equality and human rights have come under threat in America—as a right-wing administration inspired by unabashed hatred, divisiveness, racism, xenophobia and greed prepares to take office—President Obama's message is a sober and thoughtful reminder that this experiment in self-governing is not a foregone conclusion but a process that requires permanent work, vigilance and cooperation.Thank you for being an… [...]
Art critic John Berger's recent death has left a huge void in the world of art appreciation. While his career prompted numerous controversies and instances of outrage and public condemnation, Berger's attacks on what sometimes amounts to the condescending and elitist attitude of his own profession helped popularize the appreciation of art. His 1972 BBC documentary series Ways of Seeing, as well as its subsequent eponymous book, helped bring the world of thoughtful art appreciation to an entire generation of people who may have otherwise never gotten interested in the fine arts. Unlike conventional forms of art criticism and appreciation—which tend… [...]
Right Living, Thinking, Etc
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Tracy Franz on a diverse and inspiring selection of new Buddhist books. The post True Liberation appeared first on Lion's Roar. [...]
Austin Mabry on how the Christian-inflected music of Mumford & Sons turns his mind to the dharma. The post Austin Mabry on Mumford & Sons’s Album “Sigh No More” appeared first on Lion's Roar. [...]
Hip hop, like Buddhism, is about liberation. Johnny Edward Dean Jr. on the dharma of Big Sean. The post The Voice of Liberation appeared first on Lion's Roar. [...]
Ray Buckner on how Grammy nominee Phoebe Bridgers’ music is a spiritual friend, a path forward into the unknown. The post Phoebe Bridgers: Her Music as Meditation appeared first on Lion's Roar. [...]
For Michael Imperioli, ANOHNI’s voice is a reminder that he’s part of a vast interconnected network of minds and beings. Her voice makes him feel emotions he never knew he had. The post The Music in My Heart appeared first on Lion's Roar. [...]
Run the Jewels demands its listeners look outward as much as inward. Annaka Gale on this legendary hip-hop duo. The post Hip-Hop Wisdom appeared first on Lion's Roar. [...]
The best music opens our hearts and minds. Jarboe on how Flying Lotus lyrically and sonically explores liberation. The post Jarboe on Flying Lotus’s Album “Your Dead!” appeared first on Lion's Roar. [...]
For the sake of future generations, the Dalai Lama tells journalist and activist Franz Alt, we must develop a sense of universal responsibility — for the earth and all humanity. The post The Dalai Lama on Surviving the Climate Crisis Together appeared first on Lion's Roar. [...]
The 14th Annual Lion's Roar Online Auction, our biggest fundraising event of the year, is open for bidding. The post The 14th Annual Lion’s Roar Online Auction has begun appeared first on Lion's Roar. [...]
Actor, writer, narrator, and one-time radical — Jennifer Keishin Armstrong on the many roles of Zen priest Peter Coyote. The post The Zen of Peter Coyote appeared first on Lion's Roar. [...]
(Natural News) Viewership of our daily “Situation Update” podcasts is exploding, as each day we’re bringing you hard-hitting breaking news intel on the election theft / cyber war situation against America. I’m going to be posting a Situation Update each day, including on Thanksgiving, so check NaturalNews.com (upper right-hand column) for new podcast videos as... [...]
(Natural News) Former federal prosecutor Sidney Powell has been dropping bombshells like a boss over the past several days as she prepares to file what she described as a lawsuit of “biblical” proportions in Georgia, alleging massive electronic vote fraud that flipped several states from President Trump to Joe Biden. In an interview with Newsmax... [...]
(Natural News) Before Team Trump gets to fully blowing the lid on election fraud, there could be a whole lot of other revelations that come first, according to attorney Lin Wood, one of President Trump’s attorneys. During a recent interview on the Thrive Time radio show, Wood discussed how Trump is wasting no time getting... [...]
(Natural News) The current 2020 Presidential Election is in a state of crisis. Not only have Big Tech and Big Media ignored vast evidence of election fraud, but these institutions have conspired to promote one candidate as the winner, long before the conclusion of all election software audits, statistical analysis, recounts and court proceedings (which... [...]
(Natural News) It’s time to get back to normal life, America. But wait, what about the pandemic? There isn’t one, says Dr. Michael Yeadon – you are all being fooled. A new interview with this former chief science officer at Pfizer, which was pulled from YouTube within two hours, reveals that the so-called “second wave”... [...]
(Natural News) Contrary to what Democrats have convinced themselves is reality, the 2020 presidential election is far from over. And if attorney Lin Wood is correct in his claims, Donald Trump will be inaugurated on January 20. In a recent interview, Wood unveiled a trove of evidence about election fraud that once the dust settles... [...]
(Natural News) Editor’s note: We are currently transcribing this interview and will be posting the transcription soon on NaturalNews.com. Guest: 3-Star General Thomas McInerney, National Intelligence authors Mary Fanning and Alan Jones. Topic: General McInerney joins us to explain how the Central Intelligence Agency (CIA) aided the Marxist Democrats in stealing the 2020 Presidential election... [...]
(Natural News) The recent elections may have been rigged to ensure a Democratic victory by using two programs, suggests a former military official. During a recent appearance at the Two Mikes podcast, retired Air Force Lt. Gen. Thomas McInerney described the programs, dubbed Hammer and Scorecard, that were used to influence election results. The programs were... [...]
(Natural News) A private security company has come forward with details on how Democrats could have stolen the election. In an interview with L. Todd Wood and George Eliason on CD Media’s Information Operation, Russel Ramsland, a founding member of the Allied Security Operations Group (ASOG), took a deep dive into the mechanics behind a possible electronic vote steal... [...]
(Natural News) Election results released Nov. 5 showed that Joe Biden got huge leads over President Donald Trump by absentee mail-in ballots in Pennsylvania and Michigan. The Democratic presidential candidate got a 60-point lead over Trump in Pa. and a 38-point lead in Mich. according to results released by the New York Times. Other swing states... [...]
Science News
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We use the term ‘supermassive black hole’ with a kind of casual familiarity. But stop and think about what they really are: Monstrous, beguiling singularities where the understood laws of physics and cosmology are brought to their knees. A region where gravity is so powerful that it warps everything around it, drawing material in—even light … Continue reading "Hubble Sees Dark Shadows That Could Be Cast by a Supermassive Black Hole" The post Hubble Sees Dark Shadows That Could Be Cast by a Supermassive Black Hole appeared first on Universe Today. [...]
In many ways, stars are the engines of creation. Their energy drives a whole host of processes necessary for life. Scientists thought that stellar radiation is needed to create compounds like the amino acid glycine, one of the building blocks of life. But a new study has found that glycine detected in comets formed in … Continue reading "One of the Building Blocks of Life Can Form in the Harsh Environment of Deep Space Itself. No Star Required" The post One of the Building Blocks of Life Can Form in the Harsh Environment of Deep Space Itself. No Star Required… [...]
Mars is an arid place, and aside from a tiny amount of water vapour in the atmosphere, all water exists as ice. But it wasn’t always this arid. Evidence of the planet’s past wet chapter dots the surface. Paleolakes like Jezero Crater, soon to be explored by NASA’s Perseverance Rover, provide stark evidence of Mars’ … Continue reading "Mars Might Have Lost its Water Quickly" The post Mars Might Have Lost its Water Quickly appeared first on Universe Today. [...]
Nailing down cosmic expansion could depend on distant quasars, and the time it takes their light to reach us when gravitationally lensed. The post Gravitational lenses could be the key to measuring the expansion rate of the Universe appeared first on Universe Today. [...]
In the wake of a second structural failure, the NSF has announced that the iconic Arecibo Observatory will be decommissioned after 57 years of service. The post Arecibo’s Damage is so Serious and Dangerous, They’re Just Going to Scrap the Observatory Entirely appeared first on Universe Today. [...]
A group of amateur and professional astronomers have collaborated to create what may be the highest resolution global map of Mars ever created with images taken from Earth. The images were taken with the 1-meter telescope at the Pic-du-Midi observatory in the Pyrenees of France, during several nights in October and November, 2020 when Mars … Continue reading "A High Resolution, Cross-Eyed Look at the Entire Surface of Mars" The post A High Resolution, Cross-Eyed Look at the Entire Surface of Mars appeared first on Universe Today. [...]
The team that detected phosphine in Venus' atmosphere has reexamined the data and confirmed their discovery, with a few caveats and addendums. The post Scientists Have Re-Analyzed Their Data and Still See a Signal of Phosphine at Venus. Just Less of it appeared first on Universe Today. [...]
Recently at UT, author Matt Williams has been writing a series called “Beyond Fermi’s Paradox”, which takes a look at possible resolutions to one of the most famous questions in science: “Where is everybody?” As Matt discusses, there are multiple hypothetical solutions, but there may eventually come a day when we can definitively answer it. … Continue reading "The First Civilization We Contact Will Have Been Around Much Longer Than Humanity" The post The First Civilization We Contact Will Have Been Around Much Longer Than Humanity appeared first on Universe Today. [...]
A team from UT Austin has renewed a proposal for a liquid-mirror telescope on the Moon that could study the first stars in the Universe. The post A 100-Meter Rotating Liquid Mirror Telescope on the Moon? Yes Please. appeared first on Universe Today. [...]
According to NASA, an object detected between the Earth and Moon could actually be the spent stage of a rocket booster from the early Space Age. The post Earth and the Moon Might Have Captured an Old Upper Stage Rocket appeared first on Universe Today. [...]
Perimeter Institute launches Clay Riddell Centre for Quantum MatterThursday Oct 15, 2020A new research hub at Perimeter seeks to accelerate discovery in one of the fastest-growing fields in physics, thanks to a $10 million investment from the Riddell Family Charitable Foundation. [...]
Perimeter congratulates 2020 winners of the Nobel Prize in PhysicsTuesday Oct 06, 2020This year’s winners were honoured for their discoveries relating to black holes. [...]
CHIME receives Governor General’s Innovation AwardWednesday Jul 15, 2020The CHIME team is recognized for its outstanding and groundbreaking telescope. [...]
Perimeter participates in #Strike4BlackLivesFriday Jun 26, 2020Perimeter Institute participated in the Strike for Black Lives and continues to evaluate ways to become a stronger ally in the fight against anti-Black racism. [...]
Perimeter among top winners at CCAE AwardsTuesday Jun 16, 2020The Canadian Council for the Advancement of Education honoured Perimeter Institute with four Prix d’Excellence awards. [...]
Four new Simons Emmy Noether Fellows announcedMonday Jun 15, 2020The next group of Simons Emmy Noether Visiting Fellows includes four talented physicists with specialties ranging from the tiniest particles to large-scale theories of gravity. [...]
Anna Golubeva earns Borealis AI FellowshipMonday Jun 08, 2020Perimeter PhD student named one of 10 Borealis AI Fellows for her research in machine learning. [...]
Kevin Costello admitted as Honorary Member of the Royal Irish AcademyWednesday May 27, 2020Perimeter Faculty member Kevin Costello was one of 29 members admitted in a virtual ceremony in May. [...]
Flash of insight opens new paths for Luke Santi Award winnerThursday Mar 26, 2020Mackenzie Pereira, a first-year physics student at McGill University, is this year’s recipient of Perimeter’s Luke Santi Memorial Award for Student Achievement. [...]
PI-NRC partnership to fuel made-in-Canada breakthroughsTuesday Mar 03, 2020A new collaboration between Canada's National Research Council and Perimeter Institute will facilitate leading-edge astrophysics and quantum research. [...]
Like humans who can instantly tell which friend or relative is calling by the timbre of the person's voice, zebra finches have a near-human capacity for language mapping. [...]
Researchers have found that physical distancing is universally effective at reducing the spread of COVID-19, while social bubbles and masks are more situation-dependent. The researchers developed a model to test the effectiveness of measures such as physical distancing, masks or social bubbles when used in various settings. [...]
While the broad architecture and organization of the human brain is universal, new research shows how the differences between how people reimagine common scenarios can be observed in brain activity and quantified. These unique neurological signatures could ultimately be used to understand, study, and even improve treatment of disorders such as Alzheimer's disease. [...]
Scientists have generated a huge true random number using DNA synthesis. It is the first time that a number of this magnitude has been created by biochemical means. [...]
Floods of unimaginable magnitude once washed through Gale Crater on Mars' equator around 4 billion years ago -- a finding that hints at the possibility that life may have existed there, according to data collected by NASA's Curiosity rover. [...]
A new study identifies a region of the thalamus as a key source of signals encoding past experiences in the neocortex. [...]
Healthy sleep habits are associated with a lower risk of heart failure. Adults with the healthiest sleep patterns (morning risers, sleeping 7-8 hours a day and no frequent insomnia, snoring or excessive daytime sleepiness) experienced a 42% reduction in the risk of heart failure compared to those with unhealthy sleep patterns. [...]
An international crew of astronauts is en route to the International Space Station following a successful launch on the first NASA-certified commercial human spacecraft system in history. NASA's SpaceX Crew-1 mission lifted off at 7:27 p.m. EST Sunday from Launch Complex 39A at the agency's Kennedy Space Center in Florida. [...]
Massive explosions of energy happening thousands of light-years from Earth may have left traces in our planet's biology and geology, according to new research. [...]
Climate change is causing hurricanes that make landfall to take more time to weaken, reports a new study. Researchers showed that hurricanes that develop over warmer oceans carry more moisture and therefore stay stronger for longer after hitting land. This means that in the future, as the world continues to warm, hurricanes are more likely to reach communities farther inland and be more destructive. [...]
The aim of China's Chang'e 5 mission is to return samples of lunar soil to Earth by the end of 2020. The post China Launches Ambitious Sample-Return Mission to the Moon appeared first on Sky & Telescope. [...]
Capella is the sixth-brightest star in the sky — and it's more than one star! The main two stars in the system are near-twins, bright yellow giants. The post Meet Capella, the Goat Star appeared first on Sky & Telescope. [...]
An object set to pass near Earth next month may in fact be a relic of the early Space Age. The post Earth's New "Minimoon" May be a 1960s-Era Rocket Booster appeared first on Sky & Telescope. [...]
What happens when two neutron stars don't add up to a black hole? The post Gamma-ray Flash Heralds Birth of a Magnetar appeared first on Sky & Telescope. [...]
Whenever Fomalhaut is "southing" (crossing the meridian due south), the first stars of Orion are just about to rise above the east horizon. And, the Pointers of the Big Dipper stand upright low due north, straight below Polaris. The post This Week's Sky at a Glance, November 20 – 28 appeared first on Sky & Telescope. [...]
The iconic Arecibo telescope, damaged by two cable failures within three months, is beyond repair. The post Iconic Arecibo Telescope Damaged, To Be Dismantled appeared first on Sky & Telescope. [...]
After 16 years, astronomers have figured out the origin of a strange ring of ultraviolet light, and shed light on a common — but rarely observed — event. The post The Case of the Blue Ring Nebula appeared first on Sky & Telescope. [...]
The already tentative detection of phosphine is under heavy scrutiny from the scientific community. A problem with the ALMA data hasn't helped. The post Is the Phosphine Biosignature on Venus a Calibration Error? appeared first on Sky & Telescope. [...]
Use high-speed cameras to capture spectacular live views of galaxies and high-res images of the Moon and planets. The post Two Ways to Use Video for Astrophotography appeared first on Sky & Telescope. [...]
Modest but reliable, the annual Leonid meteor shower returns this week. Take an hour or two to relax and enjoy the show. The post Leonid Meteor Shower to the Rescue appeared first on Sky & Telescope. [...]