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🔗 Languages 🔗 Melanesia 🔗 Melanesia/Papua New Guinea

Manam is a Kairiru–Manam language spoken mainly on the volcanic Manam Island, northeast of New Guinea.

🔗 Software 🔗 Software/Computing

Tierra is a computer simulation developed by ecologist Thomas S. Ray in the early 1990s in which computer programs compete for time (central processing unit (CPU) time) and space (access to main memory). In this context, the computer programs in Tierra are considered to be evolvable and can mutate, self-replicate and recombine. Tierra's virtual machine is written in C. It operates on a custom instruction set designed to facilitate code changes and reordering, including features such as jump to template (as opposed to the relative or absolute jumps common to most instruction sets).

🔗 Molecular and Cell Biology 🔗 Microbiology 🔗 Genetics 🔗 Citizendium Porting 🔗 Evolutionary biology

Horizontal gene transfer (HGT) or lateral gene transfer (LGT) is the movement of genetic material between unicellular and/or multicellular organisms other than by the ("vertical") transmission of DNA from parent to offspring (reproduction). HGT is an important factor in the evolution of many organisms.

Horizontal gene transfer is the primary mechanism for the spread of antibiotic resistance in bacteria, and plays an important role in the evolution of bacteria that can degrade novel compounds such as human-created pesticides and in the evolution, maintenance, and transmission of virulence. It often involves temperate bacteriophages and plasmids. Genes responsible for antibiotic resistance in one species of bacteria can be transferred to another species of bacteria through various mechanisms of HGT such as transformation, transduction and conjugation, subsequently arming the antibiotic resistant genes' recipient against antibiotics. The rapid spread of antibiotic resistance genes in this manner is becoming medically challenging to deal with. Ecological factors may also play a role in the LGT of antibiotic resistant genes. It is also postulated that HGT promotes the maintenance of a universal life biochemistry and, subsequently, the universality of the genetic code.

Most thinking in genetics has focused upon vertical transfer, but the importance of horizontal gene transfer among single-cell organisms is beginning to be acknowledged.

Gene delivery can be seen as an artificial horizontal gene transfer, and is a form of genetic engineering.

🔗 Computing 🔗 Computing/Computer science

m4 is a general-purpose macro processor included in all UNIX-like operating systems, and is a component of the POSIX standard.

The language was designed by Brian Kernighan and Dennis Ritchie for the original versions of UNIX. It is an extension of an earlier macro processor m3, written by Ritchie for an unknown AP-3 minicomputer.

The macro preprocessor operates as a text-replacement tool. It is employed to re-use text templates, typically in computer programming applications, but also in text editing and text-processing applications. Most users require m4 as a dependency of GNU autoconf.

🔗 International relations 🔗 Philosophy 🔗 Psychology 🔗 Philosophy/Ethics 🔗 Holidays 🔗 International relations/United Nations

The International Day of Happiness is celebrated worldwide every year on 20 March, and was originally conceptualized and founded in 2006 by Jayme Illien, CEO of the United Nations New World Order project, to advance happiness as a fundamental human right for all human beings, and happytalism, as new economic system, theory, and philosophy, which achieves the United Nations global goals, and the happiness, well-being, and freedom of all life on earth.

The next international day of happiness is March 20, 2021.

The 2020 International Day of Happiness campaign theme is ‘Happiness For All, Together'”. To celebrate, UNIDOHappiness, the UN secretariat for the International Day Of Happiness, is calling on all 7.8 billion people and all 206 nations and territories, to take the "Ten Steps to Global Happiness" challenge and call to action. The ten steps to global happiness are "ten easy steps any individual, organization, or country, can take on the international day of happiness, and throughout happiness week, to celebrate the international day of happiness, while also advancing the happiness, wellbeing, and freedom of all life on earth by 2050, when the United Nations forecasts global population to reach 10 billion". The first step is “Tell Everyone", which is designed "spread the word" to increase global awareness about the very existence of the international day of happiness, and the UN's unanimous recognition of happiness as a human right, as well as happiness as an approach to sustainable economic and human development.

The 2006 origin and inspiration for creating the international day of happiness initially came from founder Jayme Illien's belief that the happiness, wellbeing, and freedom of all life on earth is the ultimate purpose of every human being, nation, and society. Illien developed his vision for global happiness as humanity's ultimate purpose, through a life spent on the frontlines saving orphaned and abandoned children fleeing war, genocide, and extreme poverty, and theorizing about solutions to the human condition, and the great challenges facing humankind, after he himself was abandoned as an orphan, and rescued from a roadside in India in 1980, by missionaries of Mother Teresa, who first named him Adam, and sent him to live in America.

In 2006, Illien first presented the new economic theory, "happytalism", as a new economic system for the 21st century and beyond, to replace old world economic systems (from 5th to 20th century) such as capitalism, communism, socialism, mercantilism, colonialism, feudalism, racism, and sexism, among others - all created more than 150-1000 years ago. In 2006, Illien successfully demonstrated to prominent economists, academics, political scientists, philosophers, presidents, prime ministers, and heads of state, all in a position to advance happytalism as a solution to the great challenges facing humankind, that the new economic theory was the solution to the world's most pressing and greatest human development challenges and opportunities. However, despite Illien's successful proof of happytalism as a new economic system to replace capitalism and other old world, archaic, obsolete economic systems and models, this eminent multidisciplinary group of experts rejected the idea, and refused to further evaluate or consider the new economic theory due to what Illien, and co founder, Ndaba Mandela, believed were "old world and obsolete tyranny of the status quo, entrenched racist and sexist bias, mindset, incompetence, failed intelligence and intellectual vitality, and an archaic, potentially criminal world view that is a gross violation of global ethical norms, and implicit fiduciary responsibility to all humanity, incapable of seeing and doing what is right and necessary to advance humanity forward".

In 2008, in response to the rejection of Illien's concept of "happytalism" as a new economic theory, and convinced of happytalism as the solution to humanity's great challenges and opportunities in the 21st century and beyond, Illien launched the United Nations New World Order project with co founder Ndaba Mandela, grandson of Nelson Mandela, former president of South Africa, who led the revolution and movement that ended apartheid, and "gave birth to a new nation, a new political party, and a new era of democratic governance in South Africa, and the African Continent.". The United Nations New World Order Project launched in 2008 envisioned, among several UN based policy initiatives, the creation of a United Nations sanctioned "international day of happiness", as a global day of awareness that commemorates and recognizes happiness as a human right, and a fundamental, universal human goal, and calls for a new happiness centric human development paradigm which achieves the happiness, wellbeing, and freedom of all life on earth.

Illien drew inspiration for the idea of establishing the international day of happiness from the founders of the United States of America, and authors of the US Declaration of Independence, as well as, the founders of the United Nations, and UN Day, and the authors of the United Nations Charter. Illien believed that an "international day of happiness", established with, and recognized by, a new UN resolution, with the support of all 193 UN member countries, would provide the essential, unique, and broad-based, wide-ranging democratic support, international credibility, and worldwide legal legitimacy, for a new global day of happiness for humanity, which in turn, would enable future generations to eventually, objectively consider the concept of happytalism as a new economic system to solve to the great challenges facing humanity, thereby placing the fate and future of happytalism directly in the hands of the people and future generations.

In 2012, the United Nations General Assembly adopted UN resolution 66 281: International Day of Happiness with the unanimous consensus of all 193 Member States, and the support of then UN Secretary General Ban Ki moon, declaring March 20 as the international day of happiness. Illien chose 20 March for its significance as the March equinox, a universal phenomenon felt simultaneously by all of humankind.

In 2012, the United Nations also hosted the first high level meeting on Happiness and Well-being: Defining A New Economic Paradigm, at which UN Secretary General Ban Ki moon declared:

Later in 2012, then UN Secretary General Ban Ki moon stated in his closing remarks to the 66th session of the UN General Assembly:

On January 22, 2013, then UN Secretary General Ban Ki moon stated in an address to the UN General Assembly:

On March 20, 2013, the first ever international day of happiness was celebrated with the launch of UNIDOHappiness, and the "Ten Steps to Global Happiness" campaign theme, which has since become an annual tradition.

Every 20 March since 2013, the International Day of Happiness is celebrated in 193 UN Member states, 2 observer states, and 11 territories.

On the 3rd ever international day of happiness, UN Secretary Ban Ki moon said,

🔗 Board and table games

Uckers is a two- or four-player board game traditionally played in the Royal Navy and has spread to many of the other arms of the UK Armed Forces as well as to, mainly Commonwealth Forces. It can now be found also in the Royal Marines, Army Air Corps, Royal Canadian Navy, Royal New Zealand Navy, Royal Australian Navy, Royal Australian Air Force (RAAF), Royal Dutch Navy, and the Royal Air Force (RAF). It is believed to originate in the 18th/19th centuries from the Indian game Pachisi, although the first reference to it in print does not appear until 1946. It is mentioned in a diary by EJF Records (served 1928-1950) in 1937 as Huckers. Uckers is generally played using the rules stated below, but these will vary from one branch of the Royal Navy to another, most famously with the WAFU Rules of the Fleet Air Arm. Where those branches of the RN have worked with the other Armed Forces usually has dictated what rules the new playing Service use; why fellow aviators tend to play under WAFU Rules for example.

It is also played in units of the Army Air Corps (United Kingdom) where it was introduced by aircraft technicians on loan from the Fleet Air Arm in the late 1950s/early 1960s. Uckers boards can now also be found in most RAF Squadron crewroom, where the game has caught on, especially with the Aircraft Technicians. Most RAAF crew rooms feature uckers boards also. In addition to the units services, units mentioned, uckers was also played by units in the Royal Artillery, particularly meteorologists and LifeFlight Toowoomba Rescue Helicopter crews aka Rescue 588. The current and now 7-time world champion is Queenslander Mark Arthur. In the UK the Pusser's Rum World 'Uckers championships have been played for the last 5 years at various ROYAL NAVAL MUSEUMS, the most being notable being 2017 when the final was played on Nelson's Flagship HMS VICTORY and was won by the'timber shifters' Wally Blagden and David Clark both ex RN. The next Pusser's Rum WORLD 'uckers' championships are being played in the Explosion Museum Gosport 26 October 2019. Wally andDavid are also current HMS GANGES Champions won in April 2019 Update Wally Blagden and Dave Clark the 'Timbershifters' have won the 2019 Championships. Knock knock. The chicken

It is similar to the board game Ludo and is based on the same principles; getting four player pieces around the board before the opposition. The whole point of Uckers is to get all player pieces home before the opponent does. However, greater glory is attached to achieving all pieces home without the opponent getting any home at all—this is known as an 8 piecer. The ultimate win is when the player gets all their pieces home and the opponent has all their pieces still in the base—this is called an 8 piece in harbour, or an eight-piece dicking and merits the unfortunate player's name to be recorded on the reverse of the board.

🔗 Africa 🔗 Ancient Near East 🔗 Ancient Egypt 🔗 Greece 🔗 Turkey 🔗 Archaeology

The Late Bronze Age collapse was a dark age transition in a large area covering much of Southeast Europe, West Asia and North Africa (comprising the overlapping regions of the Near East, the Eastern Mediterranean and North Africa, with the Balkans, the Aegean, Anatolia, and the Caucasus), which took place from the Late Bronze Age to the emerging Early Iron Age. It was a transition which historians believe was violent, sudden, and culturally disruptive, and involved societal collapse for some civilizations during the 12th century BCE. The palace economy of Mycenaean Greece, the Aegean region and Anatolia that characterized the Late Bronze Age disintegrated, transforming into the small isolated village cultures of the Greek Dark Ages. The Hittite Empire of Anatolia and the Levant collapsed, while states such as the Middle Assyrian Empire in Mesopotamia and the New Kingdom of Egypt survived but were considerably weakened.

Competing and even mutually compatible theories for the ultimate cause of the Late Bronze Age collapse have been made since the 19th century. These include volcanic eruptions, droughts, invasions by the Sea Peoples or migrations of Dorians, economic disruptions due to the rising use of ironworking, and changes in military technology and methods of war that saw the decline of chariot warfare.

🔗 Physics

In quantum mechanics, the Kochen–Specker (KS) theorem, also known as the Bell–Kochen–Specker theorem, is a "no-go" theorem proved by John S. Bell in 1966 and by Simon B. Kochen and Ernst Specker in 1967. It places certain constraints on the permissible types of hidden-variable theories, which try to explain the predictions of quantum mechanics in a context-independent way. The version of the theorem proved by Kochen and Specker also gave an explicit example for this constraint in terms of a finite number of state vectors.

The theorem is a complement to Bell's theorem (to be distinguished from the (Bell–)Kochen–Specker theorem of this article). While Bell's theorem established nonlocality to be a feature of any hidden variable theory that recovers the predictions of quantum mechanics, the KS theorem established contextuality to be an inevitable feature of such theories.

The theorem proves that there is a contradiction between two basic assumptions of the hidden-variable theories intended to reproduce the results of quantum mechanics: that all hidden variables corresponding to quantum-mechanical observables have definite values at any given time, and that the values of those variables are intrinsic and independent of the device used to measure them. The contradiction is caused by the fact that quantum-mechanical observables need not be commutative. It turns out to be impossible to simultaneously embed all the commuting subalgebras of the algebra of these observables in one commutative algebra, assumed to represent the classical structure of the hidden-variables theory, if the Hilbert space dimension is at least three.

The Kochen–Specker theorem excludes hidden-variable theories that assume that elements of physical reality can all be consistently represented simultaneously by the quantum mechanical Hilbert space formalism disregarding the context of a particular framework (technically a projective decomposition of the identity operator) related to the experiment or analytical viewpoint under consideration. As succinctly worded by Isham and Butterfield, (under the assumption of a universal probabilistic sample space as in non-contextual hidden variable theories) the Kochen–Specker theorem "asserts the impossibility of assigning values to all physical quantities whilst, at the same time, preserving the functional relations between them".

🔗 Astronomy 🔗 Astronomy/Astronomical objects

TON 618 (short for Tonantzintla 618) is a hyperluminous, broad-absorption-line, radio-loud quasar and Lyman-alpha blob located near the border of the constellations Canes Venatici and Coma Berenices, with the projected comoving distance of approximately 18.2 billion light-years from Earth. It possesses one of the most massive black holes ever found, at 40 billion M_☉.

🔗 Systems

Chartjunk consists of all visual elements in charts and graphs that are not necessary to comprehend the information represented on the graph, or that distract the viewer from this information.

Markings and visual elements can be called chartjunk if they are not part of the minimum set of visuals necessary to communicate the information understandably. Examples of unnecessary elements that might be called chartjunk include heavy or dark grid lines, unnecessary text, inappropriately complex or gimmicky font faces, ornamented chart axes, and display frames, pictures, backgrounds or icons within data graphs, ornamental shading and unnecessary dimensions.

Another kind of chartjunk skews the depiction and makes it difficult to understand the real data being displayed. Examples of this type include items depicted out of scale to one another, noisy backgrounds making comparison between elements difficult in a chart or graph, and 3-D simulations in line and bar charts.

The term chartjunk was coined by Edward Tufte in his 1983 book The Visual Display of Quantitative Information. Tufte wrote:

The interior decoration of graphics generates a lot of ink that does not tell the viewer anything new. The purpose of decoration varies—to make the graphic appear more scientific and precise, to enliven the display, to give the designer an opportunity to exercise artistic skills. Regardless of its cause, it is all non-data-ink or redundant data-ink, and it is often chartjunk.

The term is relatively recent and is often associated with Tufte in other references.

The concept is analogous to Adolf Loos's idea that ornament is a crime.