Today's automobiles have very specific motor oil viscosity requirements set by the manufacturer. Many cars use 5W-30 motor oil, but what do those numbers really mean? The first number in our example is 5W, which specifies that the oil must behave like a 5 weight oil (very thin and light) in cold...
TimaeusBy Plato Written 360 B.C.E Translated by Benjamin Jowett Persons of the Dialogue-SOCRATES- CRITIAS- TIMAEUS- HERMOCRATES Socrates. One, two, three; but where, my dear Timaeus, is the fourth of those who were yesterday my guests and are to be my entertainers to-day? Timaeus. He...
Aesop's FablesBy Aesop Translated by George Fyler Townsend The Wolf and the Lamb Wolf, meeting with a Lamb astray from the fold, resolved not to lay violent hands on him, but to find some plea to justify to the Lamb the Wolf's right to eat him. He thus addressed him: "Sirrah, last year you...
The MeditationsBy Marcus Aurelius Written 167 A.C.E.Translated by George Long Book One From my grandfather Verus I learned good morals and the government of my temper. From the reputation and remembrance of my father, modesty and a manly character. From my mother, piety and beneficence, and...
Paul of TarsusSaul of Tarsus, a.k.a. Paul the Apostle, Paul of Tarsus [?-65 c.e.] was a Hellenistic Jew and student of Gamaliel the Elder who served as enforcer for the Pharisaic Sanhedrin against the apostate Christian sect following the crucifixion of Jesus. Around 33 c.e. he experienced a dramatic...
There are many unique characteristics differentiating one person from the next. People like to say that is what makes life interesting. But no matter how many facets of ourselves are unique, there are always going to be some in which we share a commonality with a percentage of the population....
Atheism is generating quite a lot of attention these days. Prominent atheists are getting the word out about their views in increasing numbers and generating lots of public debate on the proper place of religion in governments and societies in the modern world. And now more than ever, atheists...
There are a number of diseases, infections, viruses, and medical conditions that come with some surprising - if occasionally dubious - side benefits.
The Refutation of Idealism by G. E. Moore Mind 12 (1903) Modern Idealism, if it asserts any general conclusion about the universe at all, asserts that it is spiritual. There are two points about this assertion to which I wish to call attention. These points are that, whatever be its exact meaning,...
Xanthan gum sounds like something out of a science fiction movie, but it actually has quite mundane origins. The term actually comes from a kind of bacteria called Xanthomonas campestris. This bacteria is the culprit behind the icky, black rot that can form around leafy vegetables and cauliflower...
