Reductio ad absurdum is a Latin phrase which means "reduction to the absurd". The phrase describes a kind of indirect proof. It is a proof by contradiction, and is a common form of argument. It shows that a statement is true because its denial leads to a contradiction, or a false or absurd result. It is a way of reasoning that has been used throughout the history of mathematics and philosophy from classical antiquity onwards.
The ridiculous or ""absurdum"" conclusion of a "reductio ad absurdum" argument can have many forms. For example,
The phrase can be traced back to the Greek "η εις άτοπον απαγωγή" ("hê eis átopon apagogê"). This phrase means "reduction to the impossible". It was often used by Aristotle. The method is used a number of times in "Euclid's Elements".
"Reduction ad absurdum" can be a tool of discovery.
The method of proving something works by first assuming something about it. Then other things are deduced from that. If there is a contradiction, it shows that the first something cannot be correct. For example,
Sandoz
Today Sandoz is a part of Novartis. It is a big pharmaceutical firm in Switzerland. Today, Sandoz produces many drugs whose patents have run out (so called generic drugs). The original company, which was founded in 1886, is known for several things:
Artificial sweetener
An artificial sweetener or sugar substitute is a chemical. It is added to some foods to make them taste sweet. It is made to taste like sugar or corn syrup. Usually it has a much lower energy value than sugar. It can be found in many products which say "Light" or "Diet" in their name.
Consumers use artificial sweeteners for one of the following reasons:
Studies done with animals have shown that artificial sweeteners cause weight gain. A sweet taste causes insulin to be produced. This will store some of the sugar in the blood in tissues, including fat. With artificial sweeteners, the amount of sugar in the blood does not increase. This means that there will be too little sugar in the blood. This is known as hypoglycemia. On the next meal, more food will be eaten to get the blood sugar level back to normal values.
After a while, rats given sweeteners have steadily increased the amount of calories. This increased body weight, and adiposity (fatness). The natural response to eating sugary foods is to eat less at the next meal and to use some of the extra energy to warm the body after the meal. When using artificial sweeteners, this effect is lost gradually.
Larry Sanger
Lawrence Mark Sanger (born July 16, 1968) is an American internet project developer. He worked with Jimmy Wales to create the online encyclopedias, Nupedia and Wikipedia before he created his own online encyclopedias Digital Universe and Citizendium.
Wales, through his company Bomis, paid Sanger to help them to maintain Nupedia.
On January 2, 2001, Ben Kovitz, Sanger's friend, had the idea to use a wiki to help to make Nupedia better. Sanger in turn told Wales, and on January 15, 2001, Wikipedia was launched. There are different opinions on which of the three people are most responsible for Wikipedia.
In 2005, Sanger created Digital Universe, an online encyclopedia like Wikipedia.
In 2006, Sanger created Citizendium, another online encyclopedia. Citizendium uses the MediaWiki engine (like Wikipedia) but the rules are different. People must use their given names on Citizendium and experts are given special status in approving articles.
In December 2017, Sanger joined Everipedia. He left the project in 2019.
Cats (musical)
Cats is a musical. It is based on "Old Possum's Book of Practical Cats", a book of poems by T.S. Eliot. Trevor Nunn wrote the lyrics for the song, "Memory", which is based on some of T.S Eliot's poems. Andrew Lloyd Webber wrote the music.
"Cats" premiered at the New London Theatre in the West End on 11 May 1981. It closed on 11 May 2002 after 8,949 performances. It opened on Broadway on 7 October 1982 at the Winter Garden Theatre. It closed on 10 September 2000, after 7,485 performances.
The musical won the 1982 Laurence Olivier Award for Best New Musical and the 1983 Tony Award for Best Musical.
Plot
Every year, a tribe of cats known as the Jellicle Cats meet for the Jellicle Ball. At the Jellicle Ball, Old Deuteronomy, the leader of the tribe, chooses one cat to ascend to the Heaviside Lair to be reborn and return to a new life.
Grizabella, an elderly (younger in some productions) glamour cat who left the Jellicle tribe's junkyard home, comes back to her tribe, but they shun her. While the other cats dance at the Jellicle Ball, Grizabella watches in the background. She performs a simple dance when the other cats leave, and sings about how she wants to be accepted. Old Deutoronomy sees this and sympathizes with her.
In act two, Old Deuteronomy gets kidnapped by Macavity, a "mystery cat" who is the only true antagonist in the musical. As soon as he is successfully returned, it is time to choose who goes to the Heaviside Layer.
Grizabella is chosen, and she is taken on a tire to fly into the Heaviside layer.
Independent movie
An independent movie, or independent film (often called indie film), is the name usually given to a movie that is made by a small movie studio for not much money. Sometimes the name is used for art films; which are less expensive and often have less plot. Independent movies are being made (produced) more as the technology needed, such as cameras and editing-software, is becoming less expensive. Movies like "Reservoir Dogs", "American History X", "The Basketball Diaries" and the documentary "Bowling for Columbine" are independent because they were made for little money and by small studios.
Flower power
"Flower power" was a 1960s slogan, used by hippies and other people who were against war and violence. It was a symbol of passive resistance and non-violence ideology.
These people used flowers as a symbol of life, of love, and of peace. They wore flowers, made art with flowers and images of them, and gave them away often. Hippies sometimes placed flowers in the rifle barrels of marching soldiers.
Songs such as "San Francisco, Be Sure to Wear Flowers in Your Hair" by folk musicians The Mamas & the Papas were associated with flower power.
Cargo cult
Cargo cult is a name given to several religions. There are many cargo cults in Melanesia and New Guinea. These religions are started when tribal societies come into contact with Western civilisation. When the first contact happened, the tribespeople saw Western manufactured goods, like radios. These things are called "cargo". The tribespeople did not know how the manufactured goods worked nor how they were made.
They imitate the behaviour they saw the Westerners do, in the hope that some spirits will send them more cargo. In other cases, such as on the island of Tanna in Vanuatu, cult members worship Americans who brought the cargo.
During the age of colonialism, the colonial powers came in contact with many technologically less advanced societies. The first cargo cults were documented in New Guinea, and other countries of Micronesia, Melanesia and the West Pacific Ocean.
The people who are part of the cargo cults think that the cargo was created by their deities and ancestors. They think that the cargo was made for the members of the cargo cult, but the foreigners have it. For this reason, the efforts and rituals of cargo cults are done so that the foreigners should get less of these goods and the cult members more of them.
Walloon language
Walloon is a Romance language. It belongs to the family of the "oïl languages" along with French, Picard and Norman.
Walloon is spoken in Wallonia in Belgium and in some villages in Wisconsin in the United States.
It has about 3,400,000 speakers.
Gallo language
Gallo is one of the two regional languages of Brittany. It is an Oïl language of the Romance language family, with Latin at the base. Gallo is spoken in the eastern part of Brittany.