Why is the Universe Accelerating?

The universe appears to be accelerating, but the reason why is a complete mystery. The simplest explanation, a small vacuum energy (cosmological constant), raises three difficult issues: why the vacuum energy is so small, why it is not quite zero, and why it is comparable to the matter density today. I discuss these mysteries, some of their possible resolutions, and some issues confronting future observations.Comment: 22 pages; Contribution to Measuring and Modeling the Universe, Carnegie Observatories Astrophysics Series Vol. 2, ed. W. L. Freedman; references improve

"And Why Not?" Hegel, Comedy, and the End of Art

Towards the very end of his wide-ranging lectures on the philosophy of art, Hegel unexpectedly expresses a preference for comedy over tragedy. More surprisingly, given his systematic claims for his aesthetic theory, he suggests that this preference is arbitrary. This essay suggests that this arbitrariness is itself systematic, given Hegel’s broader claims about unity and necessity in art generally and his analysis of ancient as opposed to modern drama in particular. With the emergence of modern subjectivity, tragic plots lose their necessity and so their redemptive conclusions; comic plots disintegrate into mockery and entertainment. In many cases, the dramas in question consequently fail to be art. This does not, however, mean that art ends: insofar as it inspires humans to a better understanding of their unity with the divine, it will continue to meet its mandate. But the lack of necessity in modern drama means we are free to prefer happy endings. Hegel’s seemingly arbitrary preference is, in the end, systematically justified

Why Is There More Crime in Cities?

Crime rates are much higher in big cities than in either small cities or rural areas, and this situation has been relatively pervasive for several centuries. This paper attempts to explain this connection by using victimization data, evidence from the NLSY on criminal behavior and the Uniform Crime Reports. Higher pecuniary benefits for crime in large cities can explain approximately 27% of the effect for overall crime, though obviously much less of the urban- crime connection for non-pecuniary crimes such as rape or assault. Lower arrest probabilities, and lower probability of recognition, are a feature of urban life, but these factors seem to explain at most 20% of the urban crime effect. The remaining 45-60% of the effect can be related to observable characteristics of individuals and cities. The characteristics that seem most important are those that reflect tastes, social influences and family structure. Ultimately, we can say that the urban crime premium is associated with these characteristics, but we are left trying to explain why these characteristics are connected with urban living.

Levi Pennington writing to the American Friends Service Committee, September 8, 1946

Levi Pennington writing to the American Friends Service Committee about the upcoming campaign for overseas relief, explaining why the local committee he was in closed their campaign, how they were going to proceed, and asking how much relief supplies will be needed.https://digitalcommons.georgefox.edu/levi_pennington/1084/thumbnail.jp

Troubling children's families: who's troubled and why? Approaches to inter-cultural dialogue

This article draws on multi-disciplinary perspectives to consider the need and the possibilities for inter-cultural dialogue concerning families that may be seen by some to be ‘troubling’. Starting from the premise that ‘troubles’ are a ‘normal’ part of children’s family lives, we consider the boundary between ‘normal’ troubles and troubles that are troubling (whether to family members or others). Such troubling families potentially indicate an intervention to prevent harm to less powerful family members (notably children). On what basis can such decisions be made in children’s family lives, how can this question be answered across diverse cultural contexts, and are all answers inevitably subject to uncertainty? Such questions arguably re-frame and broaden existing debates about ‘child maltreatment’ across diverse cultural contexts. Beyond recognizing power dynamics, material inequalities, and historical and contemporary colonialism, we argue that attempts to answer the question on an empirical basis risk a form of neo-colonialism, since values inevitably permeate research and knowledge claims. We briefly exemplify such difficulties, examining psychological studies of childrearing in China, and the application of neuroscience to early childhood interventions in the UK. Turning to issues of values and moral relativism, we also question the possibility of an objective moral standard that avoids cultural imperialism, but ask whether cultural relativism is the only alternative position available. Here we briefly explore other possibilities in the space between ‘facile’ universalism and ‘lazy’ relativism (Jullien, 2008/2014). Such approaches bring into focus core philosophical and cultural questions about the possibilities for ‘happiness’, and for what it means to be a ‘person’, living in the social world. Throughout, we centralize theoretical and conceptual issues, drawing on the work of Jullien (2008/2014) to recognize the immense complexities inter-cultural dialogue entails in terms of language and communication

ixi lang: a SuperCollider parasite for live coding

This demo paper describes the rationale and design of the ixi lang, a live coding language built on top of SuperCollider. The paper explains why SuperCollider is used for this task, and reports on a survey conducted with users of the language. It concludes that simple and constrained systems can be useful in specific musical contexts, in particular when sketching or improvising, but that such systems can be limiting in the long run

Paying for What You Get—Restitution Recovery for Breach of Contract

This article begins with a brief discussion of restitution as a remedy for breach of contract under the Restatement (Second) of Contracts. It then discusses the changes the Restatement of Restitution adopts and the reasons for the changes. Next, it discusses why the changes have not only failed to achieve the goal of clarifying the “prevailing confusion” related to restitution and breach of contract, but have at times created more confusion. It then explains that contract and restitution principles are not only not in tension relative to restitution for breach of contract, but in fact support such a recovery

Why teach mathematics

Ko pri začetnem pouku matematike otroku predstavljamo matematične vsebine, največkrat izhajamo iz abstraktnih temeljev in ne iz izkušenj, ki jih otrok že ima, s čimer je pretrgana vez med matematiko in stvarnim svetom oziroma med matematiko in tistim matematičnim svetom, ki ga otrok že pozna. V nasprotju s tem bi moral učitelj učenca usmerjati, da skladno s svojimi izkušnjami in sposobnostmi viša raven matematične pismenosti, obenem pa gradi abstraktni matematični odsev stvarnega sveta ter bogati svoj matematični jezik. V zadnjem času se poudarja pomen igre oziroma dejavnosti, v katerih naj bi bil otrok aktivno udeležen. Z vživljanjem v problemsko situacijo in v razreševanje le-te naj bi spoznaval nove koncepte in strategije. Poraja pa se dvom, ali je v učni praksi res zaživel tak način pouka ali pa se dejavnosti uvajajo zgolj kot neka začetna motivacija, ki izzveni v prenašanje oziroma sprejemanje faktografskega znanja. Otrok mora nova spoznanja sproti prilagajati že usvojenim znanjem in povezovati matematiko z realnimi situacijami. Le tako občuti varnost, zadovoljstvo in uspeh ter je motiviran za doseganje novih znanj, s čimer učenje in poučevanje matematike dobita pravi smisel.When first introducing mathematical contents to children as part of early mathematics instruction, we tend to refer to abstract notions rather than to the experience that children already have, by which we break the link between mathematics and the material world or at least between mathematics and the kind of mathematical world that children already know. Contrary to that, teachers should give pupils guidance to help them increase the level of their mathematical literacy in line with their experiences and abilities and at the same time build abstract mathematical reflection of the material world and to enrich their own mathematical language. Recently, the importance of play or those activities in which children are actively involved has been emphasised. Through personal identification with a problem situation and problem solving, a child is supposed to learn about new concepts and strategies. However, doubts have emerged as to whether this kind of instruction has really come to life in teaching practice or whether such activities have been introduced merely as an initial motivation which fades away into mere transmission or reception of factographic knowledge. Children must regularly adjust the newly acquired knowledge to the priorly mastered knowledge and link mathematics to real-time situations. This is the only way for them to feel safe, satisfied, and successful and to be motivated for attaining new knowledge, through which mathematics instruction gets a true meaning

International Trade Theory: The Evidence

This paper provides a critical look at recent empirical work in international trade theory. The paper addresses the issue of why empirical work in international trade has perhaps not been as influential as it could have been. The paper also provides several suggestions on directions for future empirical research in international trade.