Suggested Books of the Week 06, 2020 | Books - Helge Scherlund's eLearning News

Check out these books below by Cambridge University Press and Ancient Origins.

Photo: JumpStory

A Concise History of Mathematics for Philosophers

A Concise History of Mathematics for Philosophers

This Element aims to present an outline of mathematics and its history, with particular emphasis on events that shook up its philosophy. It ranges from the discovery of irrational numbers in ancient Greece to the nineteenth- and twentieth-century discoveries on the nature of infinity and proof. Recurring themes are intuition and logic, meaning and existence, and the discrete and the continuous.

Date Published: June 2019
Read more... 

Numerical Methods - Fundamentals and Applications 

Numerical Methods
Fundamentals and Applications

Written in an easy-to-understand manner, this comprehensive textbook brings together both basic and advanced concepts of numerical methods in a single volume. Important topics including error analysis, nonlinear equations, systems of linear equations, interpolation and interpolation for Equal intervals and bivariate interpolation are discussed comprehensively...

Pedagogical features including solved examples and unsolved exercises are interspersed throughout the book for better understanding.

• Includes C program codes for methods including bisection, secant, regular-falsi, Newton–Rapson, Chebyshev and Aitken process
• Presents a step-by-step methodology to solve problems, and both basic and advanced topics are covered
• Extensive pedagogical features including solved examples and unsolved exercises are interspersed throughout the book

Date Published: May 2019 
Read more...

Decision Theory with a Human Face

Decision Theory with a Human Face

When making decisions, people naturally face uncertainty about the potential consequences of their actions due in part to limits in their capacity to represent, evaluate or deliberate. Nonetheless, they aim to make the best decisions possible...

He engages with the strengths and flaws of Bayesian reasoning, and presents clear and comprehensive explorations of key issues in decision theory, from belief and desire to semantics and learning. His book draws on philosophy, economics, decision science and psychology, and will appeal to readers in all of these disciplines.

• Presents a comprehensive treatment of rational decision-making in situations of severe factual and evaluative uncertainty, and develops a unified theory of rational bounded agency
• Provides researchers in different fields - philosophy, economics, psychology - with a coherent conceptual framework within which to investigate key issues
• Includes clear and detailed presentation of formal and conceptual philosophical material, enabling readers to develop an advanced understanding of the latest research

Publication planned for: April 2020
Read more...

The Logic in Philosophy of Science

The Logic in Philosophy of Science

Major figures of twentieth-century philosophy were enthralled by the revolution in formal logic, and many of their arguments are based on novel mathematical discoveries...

This book dissects these and other arguments through in-depth investigation of the mathematical facts undergirding them. It presents a systematic, mathematically rigorous account of the key notions arising from such debates, including theory, equivalence, translation, reduction, and model. The result is a far-reaching reconceptualization of the role of formal methods in answering philosophical questions.

• Examines the role of formal logic in key debates in twentieth-century philosophy
• Applies cutting-edge mathematical techniques to philosophical questions, providing philosophers with new tools to aid their analysis
• Contains an introduction to metalogic, basic topology, set theory, and category theory

Date Published: July 2019
Read more...

Theories of Human Learning - Mrs Gribbin's Cat  

Theories of Human Learning
Mrs Gribbin's Cat

Both a serious academic text and an intriguing story, this seventh edition reflects a significant update in research, theory, and applications in all areas. It presents a comprehensive view of the historical development of learning theories from behaviorist through to cognitive models...

The stage is given to Mrs Gribbin and her swashbuckling cat, who both lighten things up and supply much-needed detail. These two help to explore the importance of technology for simulating human cognitive processes and engage with current models of memory. They investigate developments in, and applications of, brain-based research and plunge into models in motivation theory, to name but a few of the adventures they embark upon in this textbook.

• Presents the development of the big ideas behind learning theory with emphasis on their interconnectedness
• Every chapter contains one or more sections detailing relevant educational implications and applications
• A third-person narrator, Mrs Gribbin, is used to insert a footnoted level of meta-commentary that simplifies and clarifies difficult concepts

Date Published: October 2019 
Read more...

Machine Learning Refined - Foundations, Algorithms, and Applications

Machine Learning Refined
Foundations, Algorithms, and Applications

With its intuitive yet rigorous approach to machine learning, this text provides students with the fundamental knowledge and practical tools needed to conduct research and build data-driven products. The authors prioritize geometric intuition and algorithmic thinking, and include detail on all the essential mathematical prerequisites, to offer a fresh and accessible way to learn...

A suite of online resources including sample code, data sets, interactive lecture slides, and a solutions manual are provided online, making this an ideal text both for graduate courses on machine learning and for individual reference and self-study.

• Encourages geometric intuition and algorithmic thinking to provide an intuitive understanding of key concepts and an interactive way of learning
• Features coding exercises for Python to help put knowledge into practice
• Emphasizes practical applications, with real-world examples, to give students the confidence to conduct research, build products, and solve problems
• Completely self-contained, with appendices covering the essential mathematical prerequisites

Date Published: January 2020 
Read more...    

Unexplained Mysteries: Ancient Aliens Or Lost Technology?: The Missing Tech Behind The World's Greatest Structures

Unexplained Mysteries: Ancient Aliens Or Lost Technology?:
The Missing Tech Behind The World's Greatest Structures

When we look at the incredible feats of engineering that our ancestors were able to achieve, it leaves us in awe. Not just because these structures are beautiful and shrouded in mystery, but because they were constructed on a scale we can't comprehend, thousands of years ago. Modern science claims everything boils down to physical labor and primitive tools, yet can't replicate an effective recreation strategy.  
Read more...

Egyptian Mythology: A Guide to the Gods, Goddesses, and Traditions of Ancient Egypt

Egyptian Mythology:
A Guide to the Gods, Goddesses,
and Traditions of Ancient Egypt

From stories of resurrected mummies and thousand-year-old curses to powerful pharaohs and the coveted treasures of the Great Pyramids, ancient Egypt has had an unfaltering grip on the modern imagination. Now, in Egyptian Mythology, Geraldine Pinch offers a comprehensive introduction that untangles the mystery of Egyptian Myth. 
Read more... 

Sit in the studyroom enjoy a hot cup of ☕️coffee and a good 📚book

Source: Cambridge University Press and Ancient Origins.

Bookstore In China Built In Abandoned House Is Every Book Lovers' Dream | Rest of the World - Republic World

Vishal Tiwari, Republic World notes, A paddy field bookstore in China is receiving a lot of attention and rightly so because it is built inside a giant abandoned house. It is located in the Xiadi.

Bookstore
Photo: Krisada T. Prachaya/Facebook

A paddy field bookstore in China is receiving a lot of attention and rightly so because it is built inside a giant abandoned house. The Paddy Field Bookstore, located in the Xiadi village in China is surrounded by paddy fields and is isolated by mountains. According to media reports, the paddy field bookstore is situated in China's Fujian province, which is closer to the bordering island country of Taiwan and the village Xiadi where it is located is over 800 years old.

The picturesque bookstore 
The village has around 60 dilapidated buildings build at the time of the Ming and Qing dynasties. Volunteers are working to restore and renovate the buildings and are transforming them into new picturesque places.
Read more...

Source: Republic WorldVishal Tiwari, Republic World

Till’s Bookshop – A literary treasure trove | Spotted by Locals

Till’s Bookshop is an independent bookseller that deals exclusively in buying and selling second-hand books, says Catriona Laxton, Edinburgh Spotted by Locals. 

Photo: Catriona Laxton

It is one of the city’s longest-running bookshops, having first opened in 1986. The shop’s future was a little uncertain when the couple who founded the bookshop announced they were retiring in 2019, but happily the shop has recently been taken over by another family.

Located opposite to the Meadows park, the distinctive green shopfront is hard to miss. Walking inside is like stepping into a bookish Aladdin’s cave. 
Read more...

Source: Spotted by Locals

Lou Henry reveals book vending machine for students | kwwl.com

An elementary school in the Waterloo Community Schools District received a book vending machine for students, Vinny Lowerre, Producer & Multimedia Journalist reports.

 Book vending machine for students

Waterloo Schools say it's the first book vending machine of its kind in the state of Iowa. Students are able to bring gold coins they receive after hitting reading goals to select their own book and keep it.

Lou Henry Elementary had a big reveal on Wednesday with all it's students cheering for the new vending machine. Lou Henry received the machine from Global Vending Group out of New York. The total cost was around $4,000 but it was covered by Lou Henry's Parent Teacher Organization.
Read more...

Source: kwwl.com

Book that inspired St. Francis on exhibit | St. Francis - Texarkana Gazette

This is the book that set St. Francis on the path to poverty.

Lynley Herbert, Curator of Rare Books and Manuscripts at the Walters Art Museum, discusses a legendary item in their collection, the St. Francis Missal from Italy, circa 1200, which is once again accessible after the museum undertook a two-year conservation project.
Photo: Amy Davis/Baltimore Sun/TNS

The 12th-century collection of prayers is slightly larger than a sheet of notebook paper. A corner of the beechwood boards covering the manuscript has crumbled away and the surface is delicately pitted with wormholes. Restorers found the dried carapace of an unidentified species of insect trapped inside the pages.

It seems fitting that even after an ambitious and painstaking two-year restoration, the book that persuaded the man from Assisi to renounce earthly goods — and that resulted in the founding of the Franciscan order — appears as humble and unprepossessing as a monk's brown habit.

Now, the book has its own public exhibit at the Walters Art Museum for the first time in nearly 40 years.

"The St. Francis Missal" is an intimate show in which the famous volume is shown with about two dozen paintings, ceramics, ivories and illustrated manuscripts taken from the museum's collection...

According to several accounts of Francis' life written shortly after he died, he was inspired to dedicate himself to a life of poverty in 1208 after he and two friends — all wealthy young men — had been up all night debating about how they could best serve God.

When they couldn't agree, "Francis basically said, 'Let's let God decide,' " Herbert said.
Read more... 

Source: Texarkana Gazette

Thousands attend annual VNSA used book sale | Phoenix - FOX 10 News Phoenix

Book lovers from across the region waited hours to get into the annual VNSA used book sale by Steve Nielsen, Reporter at FOX 10 News Phoenix.

Book lovers from across the region waited hours to get into the annual VNSA used book sale. The sale raises hundreds of thousands of dollars every year for charities. It's also become a spectacle as the doors open and thousands rush in to see what is available.

The sale raises hundreds of thousands of dollars every year for charities. It's also become a spectacle as the doors open and thousands rush in to see what is available.

"It's actually the largest book sale in the state of Arizona," said Angela Caed the VNSA Book Sale Chairman. 

Every year, the VNSA Book Sale brings out thousands to scour through 500,000 donated used books. Then the funds go to local charities.

To get the best selection, you have to get there early...

The textbooks are where the real money is at. 

It doesn't matter if they resell the books or just keep them to read, either way, the love of reading wins along with the local charities.
Read more...

Source: FOX 10 News Phoenix

How to torment your colleagues with statistics | Design World Network

Lee Teschler, Executive Editor of the Design World network of websites, online resources and print publications insist, Here’s a quick way to make yourself unpopular and bruise egos among researchers in your field: Check the statistics in their research findings for errors.

How to torment your colleagues with statistics

It turns out that researchers in many fields aren’t particularly good statisticians. So when they apply statistical tools to data they’ve collected, they often screw up the math or draw the wrong conclusions from their calculations.

In particular, researchers are prone to find statistical significance in results where there really isn’t any. So warns Steve Ziliak, an economics professor at Roosevelt University. Ziliak coauthored a book called The Cult of Statistical Significance wherein he warns that researchers frequently misuse the student T-test and p values. Ziliak combed through papers published in numerous prestigious economics, operations research, and medical journals. He found many instances of researchers using statistical significance as if it was the same as correlation...

An additional fun online tool is WebPlotDigitizer (apps.automeris.io/wpd/) which examines a plot you upload (as an image) to it and extracts the x and y values, among other things. Given a forest plot (a graphical display of estimated results from a number of scientific studies addressing the same question,), the tool also extracts other parameters such as means and confidence intervals. When given histograms or bar charts it figures percentages and calculates angles and distances from images.
Read more...

Recommended Reading

The Cult of Statistical Significance:
How the Standard Error Costs Us Jobs, Justice, and Lives (Economics, Cognition, And Society)

Source: Design World Network

Penn State Music Lab Helps People Find Their Voices | Penn State - State College News

Brian Nichols grew up in a household with two deaf parents. Without a radio in the house for years, he and his sister had an unconventional introduction to music by Centre County Report.

Photo: Screenshot from StateCollege.com's Video

"We would take my mom's keys and go outside to the car and listen to tapes in the tape deck," said Nichols, an assistant professor of music at Penn State.

Now he and his lab of graduate and undergraduate students are focused on music and people's voices. Nichols is director of the Pitch Exploration Lab, which does research into how singing and voice affect the brain. Topics include understanding the pitch range in familiar songs and helping people protect their voices...

Scott Atchison is a Ph.D. student in music education and a member of the lab. He says the projects benefit everybody, regardless of singing ability. 
Read more... 

Source: State College News

Lehigh in South Korea offers music education | Lifestyle - The Brown and White

The Office of International Affairs recently announced a new summer program in Seoul, South Korea, that will take place from May 16 to June 3 this summer by Caleigh Avramis, The Brown and White.

Paul Salerni and Tong Soon Lee, professors from Lehigh’s department of music, are co-teaching one course, “Korean Musical Culture: Historical and Contemporary Traditions,” for this program. The program is called “Lehigh in South Korea – Korean Musical Culture.”
Lee has never studied abroad. But while talking to Salerni about his experiences studying and teaching abroad, the two were inspired to create a program that would be a transformative experience for Lehigh students...

Students in this program will also be looking at local professional musicians, students and teachers to get a better understanding of how they prepare for musical performances in their culture. 
Michael Hoben, ‘20, said as a musician, this is a great way for him to listen to different styles of music in a disparate environment. 
Read more...


Source: The Brown and White

GSU student pays tribute to Johnny Mercer with new arrangements of unpublished works | Atlanta Music Scene - Atlanta Journal Constitution

Melissa Ruggieri, staff writer at Atlanta Journal-Constitution summarizes, The songs of Johnny Mercer are as familiar as air.

Marco Maritz, a Graduate Research Assistant in the Georgia State University Library Special Collections and Archives, has crafted new arrangements for some of Johnny Mercer s unpublished songs...
Photo: Daniel Rutland Manners

“Moon River.” “Hooray for Hollywood.” “Summer Wind.” “Autumn Leaves.” “Come Rain or Come Shine.”

The Savannah-born lyricist and singer’s legacy doesn’t need any amplifying, but when his timeless work is presented on Friday by the Georgia State University Jazz Band with guest trumpeter Joe Gransden and vocalist Tierney Sutton, there will be a few surprises in the setlist.

Marco Maritz, a South African trumpet player who has worked as a graduate research 
assistant in the GSU Library Special Collections and Archives, crafted new arrangements for four of Mercer’s unpublished works...

In a recent conversation, Maritz explained his interest in Mercer’s work and his process in writing the new arrangements. He also repeatedly expressed his gratitude for the opportunity to embark on this “learning curve” and said he hopes to return to his native country to share his knowledge.

“My goal in life was to see how I could leave a footprint behind for other people, and the Mercer Foundation uplifted me to do that,” Maritz said. “I can say I’m not the same man from three years ago to now.”
Read more...

Source: Atlanta Journal Constitution