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Yearly Archives: 2018

astronomy
And Kepler Has His Own Opera – Kepler’s 3rd Planetary Law

And Kepler Has His Own Opera – Kepler’s 3rd Planetary Law

Harald Sack
On May 15, 1618, famous astronomer Johannes Kepler discovered the 3rd and also last of his planetary laws, and concluded the general revolution of our celestial world that started with Nicolaus Copernicus about 100 years earlier.[1] And that made him rather popular as he still is today. Did you know that there is a Kepler crater on the Moon, a Kepler crater on Mars, a Kepler asteroid, a Kepler supernova, of course there…
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computer science
Do You Speak Polish… Or Maybe Reverse Polish?

Do You Speak Polish… Or Maybe Reverse Polish?

Harald Sack
I guess almost nobody except a few mathematicians and computer scientists have ever heard of the Australian computer scientist Charles Leonard Hamblin, who passed away on May 14, 1985. And also most of my fellow computer scientists might not have heard of him. But, one of his major contributions to computer science was the introduction of the so-called Reverse Polish Notation. Does that ring a bell? Charles Leonard Hamblin – Early Years…
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art
Georges Braque and the Invention of Cubism

Georges Braque and the Invention of Cubism

Harald Sack
On May 13, 1882, French painter and sculptor Georges Braque was born, who, along with Pablo Picasso, developed the art style known as Cubism, an early-20th-century avant-garde art movement that revolutionized European painting and sculpture. In Cubist artwork, objects are analyzed, broken up and reassembled in an abstracted form—instead of depicting objects from one viewpoint, the artist depicts the subject from a multitude of viewpoints to represent the subject in a greater…
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literature
The Decadence of Joris-Karl Huysmans

The Decadence of Joris-Karl Huysmans

Harald Sack
On May 12, 1907, French writer and art critic Joris-Karl Huysmans passed away. Hysmans is most famous for the novel “À rebours”, by which he broke from Naturalism and became the ultimate example of “decadent” literature. Huysmans’ work is considered remarkable for its idiosyncratic use of the French language, large vocabulary, descriptions, satirical wit and far-ranging erudition. “Immersed in solitude, he would dream or read far into the night. By protracted contemplation…
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literature
Don’t Panic! – remembering Douglas Adams

Don’t Panic! – remembering Douglas Adams

Tabea Tietz
On May 11, 2001, writer, dramatist, and musician Douglas Noel Adams has passed away. His efforts as author resulted in five books of ‘The Hitchhiker’s Guide to Galaxy’, the book ‘Dirk Gently’s Holistic Detective Agency’ and many other. He was also active as screenwriter for the television series ‘Doctor Who‘ and (very notable) appeared twice in the fourth series of Monty Python’s Flying Circus.[1] BTW he is one of only two people…
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engineering
Thomas Savery and the Invention of Steam Power

Thomas Savery and the Invention of Steam Power

Tabea Tietz
At about 1650, English inventor and engineer Thomas Savery was born. Savery invented the first commercially used steam powered powered device, a steam pump which is often referred to as an “engine“. Savery‘s “engine” was a revolutionary method of pumping water, which solved the problem of mine drainage and made widespread public water supply practical. Rowing of ships with greater ease… Thomas Savery became a military engineer and was promoted to Captain in…
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art
‘Art is the Daughter of Freedom’ – Friedrich Schiller

‘Art is the Daughter of Freedom’ – Friedrich Schiller

Tabea Tietz
On May 9, 1805, the German poet, philosopher, and historian Friedrich Schiller passed away in Weimar, Germany. As a representative of the Weimar Classicism and the ‘Sturm und Drang’ (Storm and Drive) movement, Schiller published some of the most influential works of the time. “He who has done his best for his own time has lived for all times.” — Friedrich Schiller, Wallenstein (1798), Prologue – Wallensteins Lager (Wallenstein’s Camp) Early Youth Friedrich…
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philosophy
Liberty vs. Authority according to John Stuart Mill

Liberty vs. Authority according to John Stuart Mill

Harald Sack
On May 8, 1873, British philosopher, political economist and civil servant John Stuart Mill passed away. One of the most influential thinkers in the history of liberalism, he contributed widely to social theory, political theory and political economy. Dubbed “the most influential English-speaking philosopher of the nineteenth century“, Mill‘s conception of liberty justified the freedom of the individual in opposition to unlimited state and social control. His views still are significant today…
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philosophy
You Don’t Exist – according to David Hume

You Don’t Exist – according to David Hume

Harald Sack
On May 7, 1711, the great Philosopher David Hume was born. He was one of the most important figures in the history of Western philosophy as well as the Scottish Enlightenment. In his ‘Treatise of Human Nature‘ (1739), he was about to create a total naturalistic “science of man” examining the psychological basis of human nature. In stark to Descartes, he concluded that desire rather than reason governed human behavior: “Reason is,…
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medical science
Freudian Slips and other Trifles

Freudian Slips and other Trifles

Harald Sack
On May 6, 1856, Sigmund Freud was born, founder of modern Psychology and Psychoanalysis. As the father of Psychoanalysis, which dealt greater with subconscious motives to behavior, Sigmund Freud alone sculpted what modern psychology would become. His renowned ideas, which have focused on the Id, Ego, and Super-Ego of the mind are still studied to this very day and are employed in the offices of psychologists in some form or another worldwide. Freud’s theories,…
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