Philosophy: Panopticism

Panopticism: "Panopticism is a social theory originally developed by French philosopher Michel Foucault in his book, Discipline and Punish.

Jeremy Bentham proposed the panopticon as a circular building with an observation tower in the centre of an open space surrounded by an outer wall. This wall would contain cells for occupants. This design would increase security by facilitating more effective surveillance. Residing within cells flooded with light, occupants would be readily distinguishable and visible to an official invisibly positioned in the central tower. Conversely, occupants would be invisible to each other, with concrete walls dividing their cells. Although usually associated with prisons, the panoptic style of architecture might be used in other institutions with surveillance needs, such as schools, factories, or hospitals.

In Discipline and Punish, Michel Foucault builds on Bentham's conceptualization of the panopticon as he elaborates upon the function of disciplinary mechanisms in such a prison and illustrated the function of discipline as an apparatus of power. The ever-visible inmate, Foucault suggests, is always "the object of information, never a subject in communication". He adds that,

"He who is subjected to a field of visibility, and who knows it, assumes responsibility for the constraints of power; he makes them play spontaneously upon himself; he inscribes in himself the power relation in which he simultaneously plays both roles; he becomes the principle of his own subjection" (202-203)."

WotD: Ambigram

Ambigram: "An ambigram is a word, art form or other symbolic representation, whose elements retain meaning when viewed or interpreted from a different direction, perspective, or orientation."

WotD: Arete

Arete: "Arete (/ˈærətiː/; Greek: ἀρετή), in its basic sense, means "excellence of any kind".[1] The term may also mean "moral virtue".[1] In its earliest appearance in Greek, this notion of excellence was ultimately bound up with the notion of the fulfillment of purpose or function: the act of living up to one's full potential."

History: Towers of Bologna

Towers of Bologna - Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia: "Between the 12th and the 13th century, the number of towers in the city was very high, possibly up to 180. The reasons for the construction of so many towers are not clear. One hypothesis is that the richest families used them for offensive/defensive purposes during the period of the Investiture Controversy."

California Certified Air Cleaning Devices

California Certified Air Cleaning Devices: "To be certified, air cleaners must be tested for electrical safety and ozone emissions, and meet an ozone emission concentration limit of 0.050 parts per million."

Science: Mammalian diving reflex

Mammalian diving reflex: "The mammalian diving reflex is a reflex in mammals which optimizes respiration to allow staying underwater for extended periods of time. It is exhibited strongly in aquatic mammals (seals,[1] otters, dolphins, etc.), but exists in weaker versions in other mammals, including humans, including babies up to 12 months old (see Infant swimming)."

Psychology WotD: Anhedonia

Anhedonia: "In psychology and psychiatry, anhedonia (/ˌænhiˈdoʊniə/ an-hee-doh-nee-ə; Greek: ἀν- an-, "without" and ἡδονή hēdonē, "pleasure") is defined as the inability to experience pleasure from activities usually found enjoyable, e.g. exercise, hobbies, music, sexual activities or social interactions."

History: Sator Square

Sator Square: "The Sator Square (or Rotas Square) is a word square containing a Latin palindrome:

SATOR
AREPO
TENET
OPERA
ROTAS
The five words may be read top-to-bottom, bottom-to-top, left-to-right, or right-to-left."

English WotD: halcyon

halcyon:



Adjective



halcyon (comparative more halcyon, superlative most halcyon)

Pertaining to the halcyon or kingfisher

Calm, undisturbed, peaceful, serene.

Japanese: Miyabi

Miyabi: "Miyabi (雅) is one of the traditional Japanese aesthetic ideals, though not as prevalent as Iki or Wabi-sabi. In modern Japanese, the word is usually translated as "elegance," "refinement," or "courtliness" and sometimes refers to a "heart-breaker"."

Aarne–Thompson classification system

Aarne–Thompson classification system: "The Aarne–Thompson tale type index is a multivolume listing designed to help folklorists identify recurring plot patterns in the narrative structures of traditional folktales, so that folklorists can organize, classify, and analyze the folktales they research."

Japanese WotD: Tokonoma

Tokonoma: "Tokonoma (床の間 toko-no-ma[1]?), also referred to simply as toko,[2][3] is a Japanese term generally referring to a built-in recessed space in a Japanese style reception room, in which items for artistic appreciation are displayed. In English, tokonoma is usually called alcove."

Wine: Amarone

Amarone: "Amarone della Valpolicella, usually known as Amarone, is a typically rich Italian dry red wine made from the partially dried grapes of the Corvina (45% – 95%, of which up to 50% could be substituted with Corvinone), Rondinella (5% – 30%) and other approved red grape varieties (up to 25%)."

Anthropodermic bibliopegy

Anthropodermic bibliopegy: "Anthropodermic bibliopegy is the practice of binding books in human skin. Though extremely uncommon in modern times, the technique dates back to at least the 17th century. The practice is inextricably connected with the practice of tanning human skin, often done in certain circumstances after a corpse has been dissected."

Literature & Philosophy: Debate between bird and fish

Debate between bird and fish: "The Debate between bird and fish is a literature essay of the Sumerian language, on clay tablets from the mid to late 3rd millennium BC."

Augmented Reality Sandbox

Oliver Kreylos' Research and Development Homepage - Augmented Reality Sandbox:

Science: Kármán vortex street

Kármán vortex street: "In fluid dynamics, a Kármán vortex street (or a von Kármán vortex sheet) is a repeating pattern of swirling vortices caused by the unsteady separation of flow of a fluid around blunt bodies. It is named after the engineer and fluid dynamicist Theodore von Kármán,[1] and is responsible for such phenomena as the "singing" of suspended telephone or power lines, and the vibration of a car antenna at certain speeds."

Science: Avoirdupois

Avoirdupois: "The avoirdupois system is a system of weights (more properly, mass) based on a pound of 16 ounces. It is the everyday system of weight used in the United States and is still used to varying degrees in everyday life in the United Kingdom, Canada, and some other former British colonies despite the official adoption of the metric system."

WotD: Cryptid

Cryptid: "In cryptozoology and sometimes in cryptobotany, a cryptid (from the Greek κρύπτω, krypto, meaning "hide") is a creature or plant whose existence has been suggested but is not discovered or documented by the scientific community."

Science: Jenks natural breaks optimization

Jenks natural breaks optimization: "The Jenks optimization method, also called the Jenks natural breaks classification method, is a data classification method designed to determine the best arrangement of values into different classes. This is done by seeking to minimize each class’s average deviation from the class mean, while maximizing each class’s deviation from the means of the other groups. In other words, the method seeks to reduce the variance within classes and maximize the variance between classes."