The Height of Nonsense

The Height of Nonsense
Author: Paul Clements
Publisher: Gill & Macmillan Ltd
Total Pages: 284
Release: 2016-06-01
Genre: Travel
ISBN: 1848895798

Paul Clements took to the road in search of the county tops, armed with his own rules of the road, 'Forsake all 21st century Celtic superhighways in favour of boreens'. Faced with leave he couldn't afford, Paul travelled the GMRs (Great Mountain Roads), exploring remote corners of little known counties, some very flat, and spent time with the eccentric and the quaint. Meet Cathy Rea who can see, and even smell, fairies! Listen to tales of druids, banshees, highwaymen and loose women. And learn how a poet stops Errigal's ego from deflating. P.S. Paul found only 28 tops!

A Theology of Nonsense

A Theology of Nonsense
Author: Josephine Gabelman
Publisher: Lutterworth Press
Total Pages: 238
Release: 2017-10-26
Genre: Religion
ISBN: 0718847342

There is within all theological utterances something of the ridiculous, perhaps more so in Christianity, given its proclivity for the paradoxical and the childlike. Few theologians are willing to discuss how consent to the Christian doctrine often requires a faith that goes beyond reason. There seems to be a fear that the association of theology with the absurd will give fuel to the sceptic's refrain: 'You can't seriously believe in all that nonsense.' Josephine Gabelman considers the legitimacy of the sceptic's objection and explores the possibility that an idea can be contrary to rationality and also true and meaningful using the systematic analysis of central stylistic features of literary non sense such as Lewis Carroll's Alice stories. Gabelman sets up a nonsense theology by considering the practical and evangelical ramifications of associating Christian faith with nonsense literature and, conversely, the value of relating theological principles to the study of literary nonsense.Ultimately, Gabelman says, faith is always a risk and a strictly rational apologetic misrepresents the nature of Christian truth.

Sociobiology: Sense or Nonsense?

Sociobiology: Sense or Nonsense?
Author: M. Ruse
Publisher: Springer Science & Business Media
Total Pages: 272
Release: 2012-12-06
Genre: Philosophy
ISBN: 9400964382

In June 1975, the distinguished Harvard entomologist Edward O. Wilson published a truly huge book entitled, Sociobiology: The New Synthesis. In this book, drawing on both fact and theory, Wilson tried to present a com prehensive overview of the rapidly growing subject of 'sociobiology', the study of the biological nature and foundations of animal behaviour, more precisely animal social behaviour. Although, as the title rather implies, Wilson was more surveying and synthesising than developing new material, he com pensated by giving the most thorough and inclusive treatment possible, beginning in the animal world with the most simple of forms, and progressing via insects, lower invertebrates, mammals and primates, right up to and in cluding our own species, Homo sapiens. Initial reaction to the book was very favourable, but before the year was out it came under withering attack from a group of radical scientists in the Boston area, who styled themselves 'The Science for the People Sociobiology Study Group'. Criticism, of course, is what every academic gets (and needs!); but, for two reasons, this attack was particularly unpleasant. First, not only were Wilson's ideas attacked, but he himself was smeared by being linked with the most reactionary of political thinkers, including the Nazis.

Sociobiology: Sense or Nonsense?

Sociobiology: Sense or Nonsense?
Author: Michael Ruse
Publisher: Springer Science & Business Media
Total Pages: 243
Release: 2013-03-09
Genre: Science
ISBN: 9400993897

In June 1975, the distinguished Harvard entomologist Edward O. Wilson published a truly huge book entitled, Sociobiology: The New Synthesis. In this book, drawing on both fact and theory, Wilson tried to present a com prehensive overview of the rapidly growing subject of 'sociobiology', the study of the biological nature and foundations of animal behaviour, more precisely animal social behaviour. Although, as the title rather implies, Wilson was more surveying and synthesising than developing new material, he com pensated by giving the most thorough and inclusive treatment possible, beginning in the animal world with the most simple of forms, and progressing via insects, lower invertebrates, mammals and primates, right up to and in cluding our own species, Homo sapiens. Initial reaction to the book was very favourable, but before the year was out it came under withering attack from a group of radical scientists in the Boston area, who styled themselves 'The Science for the People Sociobiology Study Group'. Criticism, of course, is what every academic gets (and needs!); but, for two reasons, this attack was particularly unpleasant. First, not only were Wilson's ideas attacked, but he himself was smeared by being linked with the most reactionary of political thinkers, including the Nazis.

Mabel Clement

Mabel Clement
Author: John Milton Sallee
Publisher:
Total Pages: 298
Release: 1903
Genre: Christian fiction
ISBN:

Dr. Joe's Science, Sense and Nonsense

Dr. Joe's Science, Sense and Nonsense
Author: Dr. Joe Schwarcz
Publisher: Anchor Canada
Total Pages: 258
Release: 2011-05-24
Genre: Science
ISBN: 0385666055

When did "chemical" become a dirty word? Forty or so years ago, chemistry -- which had been recognized as a miracle-making boon to humanity - somehow became associated with warfare, sinister food additives, "toxins" and pollution. It's a situation that Dr. Joe Schwarcz aims to put into perspective. Yes, there's a downside to chemistry, he says, but this is dwarfed by its enormous benefits. Dr. Joe's new collection of commentaries will inspire an appreciation for the science of everyday life, and equip you to spot the muddled thinking, misunderstandings and deceptions in media stories and advertising claims. Does organic food really always equal better food? Are vaccines dangerous? Will the latest health fad make you ill? Do expensive wrinkle creams do the job? What are the best ways to avoid cancer? The answers to such questions often lie in an understanding of the chemistry involved. Ask Dr. Joe. Science, Sense and Nonsense celebrates chemistry's great achievements, lambastes its charlatans, and explores its essential connections to our wellbeing. And does so in authoritative, highly readable, good humoured style.

The Vienna Melody

The Vienna Melody
Author: Ernst Lothar
Publisher: Penguin
Total Pages: 500
Release: 2015-07-21
Genre: Fiction
ISBN: 1609452828

All Vienna knows that the inhabitant of number 10 Seilerstatte is none other than Christopher Alt, piano maker, the best in Vienna, probably in all of Austria, and possiblly the world over. His piano keys have given life to melodies by Mozart, Haydn, Beethoven, and many more. On his deathbed, moved by the wish to keep his children united, he leaves a will specifying that his descendants, if they are to get their inheritance, must live together in the family home. Over successive generations of the Alt family, history itself passes through the doors, down the halls, and into the private rooms of the Alt’s building. There is intrigue at the court of Franz-Josef: an heir to the throne has fallen in love with Henrietta Alt, who will have to carry the guilt for his eventual suicide. There are betrayals, beloved illegitimate children, and despised legitimate offspring. There are seething passions and icy relations, a world war and the rise of Nazism to contend with. There are duals, ambitions, hopes, affairs of the heart and affairs of state. Three generations of Alts live and die at number 10 Silerstatte and each member of the family, in his or or her own way, is a privileged witness to the winds of change and a Europe at the height of both its splendor and decadence

Common Nonsense

Common Nonsense
Author: Kabembo Chinku
Publisher: Xlibris Corporation
Total Pages: 227
Release: 2012-09
Genre: Fiction
ISBN: 1479708410

It's almost a universal phenomenon. Nobody knows when, how, and why it started, but society somehow allows their political leaders to get away with nearly anything, up to and including murder- at least in many countries in Asia, Eastern Europe, Africa, and Central and South America. Here in these United States of America, no one is suggesting (at least not me) that our political leaders are guilty of committing murders. To the extent that anybody can accuse them of such, it's their enacting of lax gun laws at the behest of the NRA. Thanks to these laws, anyone applying for a permit to buy an automatic assault weapon is no more subjected to rigorous background check than they are buying candy. By this and this alone, U.S. politicians are partly to blame in the deaths of innocent people. Anyway, this book is not about murders or guns. In a way though, it's about "death"- the death of reason and sense in politics. It's about some insidious behavior that politicians get away with. Society itself is to blame for tacitly permitting politicians to engage in such a behavior. So here in the United States, as is the case everywhere, politicians get away with too much: Corruption; lying or showing a disdain for facts; being lazy; stealing; and cheating on their spouses. We also allow them to make promises that they can't possibly keep- or never keeping promises that they can easily keep. We have put the bar for tolerable behaviors, or conduct expected of our leaders, very low. We have reached a stage where the moral code of our politicians is on par with, if not worse than, that of criminals. Well, this author decided to draw a line, a "red line," if you want to be dramatic, on dumbassedness- or rather- on the dumb things that the people we look up to in society, especially our political leaders, say. They can get away with lying, being corrupt, etc., but they will not be let off so easily for saying things that are decidedly dumb. Just as Iran will hear from Israel and the U.S. if its nuclear (or as George W. Bush would say, "nucular") ambitions crosses Israeli Prime Minister, Benjamin Netanyahu's somewhat arbitrary "red line," politicians here will hear from me if and when they cross my own arbitrarily laid "dumbassedness" red line. Like most citizens, I'll tolerate- barely- such maladapted behaviors of our politicians as corruption, cheating, infidelity, lying, not keeping campaign promises, etc., but not dumbassedness. This is what this book is about. This author's blood boils when he hears these stupid politicians, like Indiana's U.S. Senate candidate, Richard Mourdock say such things as, "A woman being raped and conceiving as a result, is in God's grand scheme of things." That is, God wanted it that way, and therefore that the victim shouldn't be allowed to terminate such a pregnancy. Unlike most books, this is not one long, continuous story. One need not necessarily start reading from page one or chapter one successively to the last. One can jump around, or even begin with the last chapter. Every chapter is a stand-alone chapter. There is no "continuity" to worry about if you decide to read the book in a sort of haphazard manner. You're going to encounter unbelievable dumbassedness of our politicians on every page.Politicians and other leaders of society may get away with having the morals and ethics of alley cats, but I ́ll be damned if I ́ll let them get away with the immaturity of pre-adolescents and the dumbassedness of a jackass. This is my raison d ́etre, or if you want to be "religious" about it, it ́s my calling.Let me add that had my sense of self-preservation not been so heightened, I ́d have moved to Russia to take on Emperor Vladimir Putin.But I don ́t like having Polonium-210 as part of my diet. Thank you and enjoy. Kabembo Chinku.