The first history of the western polymath, from the fifteenth century to the present day From Leonardo Da Vinci to John Dee and Comenius, from George Eliot to Oliver Sacks and Susan Sontag, polymaths have moved the frontiers of knowledge in countless ways. But history can be unkind to scholars with such encyclopaedic interests. All too often these individuals are remembered for just one part of their valuable achievements. In this engaging, erudite account, renowned cultural historian Peter Burke argues for a more rounded view. Identifying 500 western polymaths, Burke explores their wide-ranging successes and shows how their rise matched a rapid growth of knowledge in the age of the invention of printing, the discovery of the New World and the Scientific Revolution. It is only more recently that the further acceleration of knowledge has led to increased specialisation and to an environment that is less supportive of wide-ranging scholars and scientists. Spanning the Renaissance to the present day, Burke changes our understanding of this remarkable intellectual species.

Every human is born with multifarious potential. Why, then, do parents, schools and employers insist that we restrict our many talents and interests; that we 'specialise' in just one? We've been sold a myth, that to 'specialise' is the only way to pursue truth, identity, or even a livelihood. Yet specialisation is nothing but an outdated system that fosters ignorance, exploitation and disillusionment and thwarts creativity, opportunity and progress. Following a series of exchanges with the world’s greatest historians, futurists, philosophers and scientists, Waqas Ahmed has weaved together a narrative of history and a vision for the future that seeks to disrupt this prevailing system of unwarranted ‘hyper-specialisation.’ In The Polymath, Waqas shows us that there is another way of thinking and being. Through an approach that is both philosophical and practical, he sets out a cognitive journey towards reclaiming your innate polymathic state. Going further, he proposes nothing less than a cultural revolution in our education and professional structures, whereby everyone is encouraged to express themselves in multiple ways and fulfil their many-sided potential. Not only does this enhance individual fulfilment, but in doing so, facilitates a conscious and creative society that is both highly motivated and well equipped to address the complexity of 21st century challenges.

Explores the work of novelists including Naguib Mahfouz, 'Abd al-Khaliq al-Rikabi, Jamal al-Ghitani, Ben Salem Himmich, Ali Mubarak, Adonis, Mahmoud Darwish and Nizar Qabbani to show how the development of the Arabic novel has created a politics of nostal

Problem Solving in Chemical and Biochemical Engineering with POLYMATH", Excel, and MATLAB , Second Edition, is a valuable resource and companion that integrates the use of numerical problem solving in the three most widely used software packages: POLYMATH, Microsoft Excel, and MATLAB. Recently developed POLYMATH capabilities allow the automatic creation of Excel spreadsheets and the generation of MATLAB code for problem solutions. Students and professional engineers will appreciate the ease with which problems can be entered into POLYMATH and then solved independently in all three software packages, while taking full advantage of the unique capabilities within each package. The book includes more than 170 problems requiring numerical solutions. This greatly expanded and revised second edition includes new chapters on getting started with and using Excel and MATLAB. It also places special emphasis on biochemical engineering with a major chapter on the subject and with the integration of biochemical problems throughout the book. General Topics and Subject Areas, Organized by Chapter Introduction to Problem Solving with Mathematical Software Packages Basic Principles and Calculations Regression and Correlation of Data Introduction to Problem Solving with Excel Introduction to Problem Solving with MATLAB Advanced Problem-Solving Techniques Thermodynamics Fluid Mechanics Heat Transfer Mass Transfer Chemical Reaction Engineering Phase Equilibrium and Distillation Process Dynamics and Control Biochemical Engineering Practical Aspects of Problem-Solving Capabilities Simultaneous Linear Equations Simultaneous Nonlinear Equations Linear, Multiple Linear, and Nonlinear Regressions with Statistical Analyses Partial Differential Equations (Using the Numerical Method of Lines) Curve Fitting by Polynomials with Statistical Analysis Simultaneous Ordinary Differential Equations (Including Problems Involving Stiff Systems, Differential-Algebraic Equations, and Parameter Estimation in Systems of Ordinary Differential Equations) The Book's Web Site (http://www.problemsolvingbook.com) Provides solved and partially solved problem files for all three software packages, plus additional materials Describes discounted purchase options for educational version of POLYMATH available to book purchasers Includes detailed, selected problem solutions in Maple", Mathcad , and Mathematica"

This volume honours Ann Chownings contributions to anthropology as a whole and to the anthropology of Melanesia in particular. It reflects the scope of her interests by bringing together a wide range of scholars and topics. A biographical narrative (by Judith Huntsman) of her life to date traces her career and there is a comprehensive bibliography of her works (Kathryn Creely). The essays deal primarily with issues in Oceania, except for two addressing one of her favourite pasttimes detective fiction, as a source of innovative word formation (Laurie Bauer) and its parallels to ethnography (Claudia Gross). Three archaeology essays discuss stone artefacts in Papua New Guinea (Pamela Swadling, Jim Specht, Susan Buhner), and one essay surveys dental morphology in Oceania (Daris R. Swindler). Essays in linguistics range from surveys of Oceanic plant names (Malcolm Ross), Proto Micronesian (Ward II. Goodcnough) and Proto Oceanic (Andrew Pawley) to detailed analyses of the languages of Tokelau (Robin Hooper) and Aneityum (John Lynch). The largest section consists of essays in socio-cultural anthropology, combining themes that have been the focus of Ann Chowning's work: marriage and social organisation, gender and sexuality, social and economic change, leadership, religion, myth and human-animal relations. These essays include a survey of anthropology in Oceania (Harriet D. and Andrew P. Lyons) and cover Polynesia (Phyllis Herda, Judith Huntsman, Penelope Schoeffel), New Zealand (Joan Metge, Julie Park), the Solomon Islands (Christine Dureau) and Papua New Guinea (John Barker, Mark Busse, Michael Monsell-Davis, Mark Mosko, Maev O'Collins, Marilyn Strathern). There are also essays recollecting Ann Chowning as a teacher, colleague and friend (Jane C. Goodale, Virginia Greene, Harriet D. Lyons, Luisa Margolies, James Urry, Michael W. Young).

A journal of philosophy covering epistemology, metaphysics, philosophy of language, philosophy of logic, and philosophy of mind.