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π List of video games considered the best
This is a list of video games that multiple video game journalists and critics have considered to be among the best of all time. The games listed here are included on at least six separate "best/greatest of all time" lists from different publications, as chosen by their editorial staffs.
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- "List of video games considered the best" | 2021-03-07 | 38 Upvotes 12 Comments
π Tendril perversion β spontaneous symmetry breaking, uncoiling helical structures
Tendril perversion, often referred to in context as simply perversion, is a geometric phenomenon found in helical structures such as plant tendrils, in which a helical structure forms that is divided into two sections of opposite chirality, with a transition between the two in the middle. A similar phenomenon can often be observed in kinked helical cables such as telephone handset cords.
The phenomenon was known to Charles Darwin, who wrote in 1865,
A tendril ... invariably becomes twisted in one part in one direction, and in another part in the opposite direction... This curious and symmetrical structure has been noticed by several botanists, but has not been sufficiently explained.
The term "tendril perversion" was coined by Goriely and Tabor in 1998 based on the word perversion found in the 19th Century science literature. "Perversion" is a transition from one chirality to another and was known to James Clerk Maxwell, who attributed it to the topologist J. B. Listing.
Tendril perversion can be viewed as an example of spontaneous symmetry breaking, in which the strained structure of the tendril adopts a configuration of minimum energy while preserving zero overall twist.
Tendril perversion has been studied both experimentally and theoretically. Gerbode et al. have made experimental studies of the coiling of cucumber tendrils. A detailed study of a simple model of the physics of tendril perversion was made by MacMillen and Goriely in the early 2000s. Liu et al. showed in 2014 that "the transition from a helical to a hemihelical shape, as well as the number of perversions, depends on the height to width ratio of the strip's cross-section."
Generalized tendril perversions were put forward by Silva et al., to include perversions that can be intrinsically produced in elastic filaments, leading to a multiplicity of geometries and dynamical properties.
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- "Tendril perversion β spontaneous symmetry breaking, uncoiling helical structures" | 2016-04-19 | 23 Upvotes 5 Comments
π Aramaic original New Testament theory
The Aramaic original New Testament theory is the belief that the Christian New Testament was originally written in Aramaic.
There are several versions of the New Testament in Aramaic languages:
- the Vetus Syra (Old Syriac), a translation from Greek into early Classical Syriac, containing mostβbut not allβof the text of the 4 Gospels, and represented in the Curetonian Gospels and the Sinaitic Palimpsest
- the Christian Palestinian Aramaic Lectionary fragments represented in such manuscripts as Codex Climaci Rescriptus, Codex Sinaiticus Rescriptus, and later lectionary codices (Vatican sir. 19 [A]; St Catherineβs Monastery B, C, D)
- the Classical Syriac Peshitta, a rendering in Aramaic of the Hebrew (and some Aramaic, e.g. in Daniel and Ezra) Old Testament, plus the New Testament purportedly in its original Aramaic, and still the standard in most Syriac churches
- the Harklean, a strictly literal translation by Thomas of Harqel into Classical Syriac from Greek
- the Assyrian Modern Version, a new translation into Assyrian Neo-Aramaic from the Greek published in 1997 and mainly in use among Protestants
- and a number of other scattered versions in various dialects
The traditional New Testament of the Peshitta has 22 books, lacking the Second Epistle of John, the Third Epistle of John, the Second Epistle of Peter, the Epistle of Jude and the Book of Revelation, which are books of the Antilegomena. Closure of the Church of the East's New Testament Canon occurred before the 'Western Five' books could be incorporated. Its Gospels text also lacks the verses known as Jesus and the woman taken in adultery (John 7:53β8:11) and Luke 22:17β18, but does have the 'long ending of Mark.'
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- "Aramaic original New Testament theory" | 2024-04-23 | 10 Upvotes 3 Comments
π Sisu
Sisu is a Finnish concept described as stoic determination, tenacity of purpose, grit, bravery, resilience, and hardiness and is held by Finns themselves to express their national character. It is generally considered not to have a literal equivalent in English.
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- "Sisu" | 2022-03-02 | 16 Upvotes 2 Comments
π Airliner Number 4
Airliner Number 4 was a design by Norman Bel Geddes and Otto A. Koller for a 9-deck amphibious passenger aircraft intended to replace the large transatlantic liners that traveled between Europe and North America before the Second World War. It was never built.
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- "Airliner Number 4" | 2021-08-21 | 85 Upvotes 8 Comments
π Proofs from the Book
Proofs from THE BOOK is a book of mathematical proofs by Martin Aigner and GΓΌnter M. Ziegler. The book is dedicated to the mathematician Paul ErdΕs, who often referred to "The Book" in which God keeps the most elegant proof of each mathematical theorem. During a lecture in 1985, ErdΕs said, "You don't have to believe in God, but you should believe in The Book."
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- "Proofs from the Book" | 2023-07-21 | 72 Upvotes 8 Comments
π Chloropicrin
Chloropicrin, also known as PS and nitrochloroform, is a chemical compound currently used as a broad-spectrum antimicrobial, fungicide, herbicide, insecticide, and nematicide. It was used as a poison gas in World War I. Its chemical structural formula is Cl3CNO2.
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- "Chloropicrin" | 2023-08-08 | 11 Upvotes 1 Comments
π Shunting-yard algorithm
In computer science, the shunting-yard algorithm is a method for parsing mathematical expressions specified in infix notation. It can produce either a postfix notation string, also known as Reverse Polish notation (RPN), or an abstract syntax tree (AST). The algorithm was invented by Edsger Dijkstra and named the "shunting yard" algorithm because its operation resembles that of a railroad shunting yard. Dijkstra first described the Shunting Yard Algorithm in the Mathematisch Centrum report MR 34/61.
Like the evaluation of RPN, the shunting yard algorithm is stack-based. Infix expressions are the form of mathematical notation most people are used to, for instance "3 + 4" or "3 + 4 Γ (2 β 1)". For the conversion there are two text variables (strings), the input and the output. There is also a stack that holds operators not yet added to the output queue. To convert, the program reads each symbol in order and does something based on that symbol. The result for the above examples would be (in Reverse Polish notation) "3 4 +" and "3 4 2 1 β Γ +", respectively.
The shunting-yard algorithm was later generalized into operator-precedence parsing.
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- "Shunting-yard algorithm" | 2019-02-18 | 75 Upvotes 26 Comments
π Rithmomachy
Rithmomachy (or Rithmomachia, also Arithmomachia, Rythmomachy, Rhythmomachy, or sundry other variants; sometimes known as The Philosophers' Game) is a highly complex, early European mathematical board game. The earliest known description of it dates from the eleventh century. A literal translation of the name is "The Battle of the Numbers". The game is much like chess, except most methods of capture depend on the numbers inscribed on each piece.
It has been argued that between the twelfth and sixteenth centuries, "rithmomachia served as a practical exemplar for teaching the contemplative values of Boethian mathematical philosophy, which emphasized the natural harmony and perfection of number and proportion. The game, Moyer argues, was used both as a mnemonic drill for the study of Boethian number theory and, more importantly, as a vehicle for moral education, by reminding players of the mathematical harmony of creation."
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- "Rithmomachy" | 2016-01-30 | 142 Upvotes 16 Comments
- "Rithmomachy" | 2009-12-06 | 79 Upvotes 8 Comments
π Joybubbles
Joybubbles ((1949-05-25)May 25, 1949 β (2007-08-08)August 8, 2007), born Josef Carl Engressia Jr. in Richmond, Virginia, was an early phone phreak. Born blind, he became interested in telephones at age four. He had absolute pitch, and was able to whistle 2600 hertz into a telephone, an operator tone also used by blue box phreaking devices. Joybubbles said that he had an IQ of "172 or something". Joybubbles died at his Minneapolis home on August 8, 2007(2007-08-08) (agedΒ 58). According to his death certificate, he died of natural causes with congestive heart failure as a contributing condition.
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- "Joybubbles" | 2021-10-17 | 84 Upvotes 6 Comments