Essay on History and Philosophy of Science - 1695 Words

History and Philosophy of Science The world of science, as we know it today, is a difficult subject to grasp. So many new ideas are present and these new ideas are not interchangeable. Some parts do work together although as a whole they don’t fully coincide with each other. The three basic ideas that science is now based upon come from Newton, Einstein, and Hawking. I call these ideas/theories â€Å"new† based on what I classify the state of the scientific community of today. After looking at what is going on in science, it is clear to me that the scientific world is in a crisis state. According to Kuhn, a crisis state is when science is in the middle of choosing a particular paradigm to work under. For scientists, there is a general theme†¦show more content†¦Newton had given the world what we now know as physics. For the past three hundred years Newtonian Mechanics have been taught to every student aspiring to elevate their minds. Newtonian Mechanics were the end all to the questions that ha d plagued thinkers since the beginning of time. The key difference is that Newton was never exposed to the world of science that technology had made prevalent to the likes of an Einstein or Hawking, or even my colleague studying neuro surgery at John’s Hopkins University. When Newton was sitting under his apple tree conjuring up ideas for how and why he did not fly off into space or why the harder you hit something the farther it goes, technology was moving along at the rate of most people’s grandmothers in their walkers. The scientists that had surrounded Newton knew only of what they could see. Their were no people looking to the far ends of the galaxies and their were no people looking in to the unseen cells that make up everything that we can see. Basically, Newton did not have a reason to explain what he was not aware of. He did have quite good reason, however, to explain why he got a bump on his head from that ripe apple that no longer needed the shelter of the t ree. According to Shlain, Newton set the world he knew to mechanics and set the parameters for the new and final, well what was thought to be the final paradigm of the world. Then in 1905,Show MoreRelatedEssay on Philosophy vs. Science1181 Words   |  5 Pageswe know today as science and philosophy. Many intellectuals answer the siren call of one or the other, and with reason, as these different patrons of truth vary from and bear semblance to each other in manifold ways that may appeal to certain people. Of these ways, philosophy and science differ in their history, intrinsic nature, and method. To begin with, the history of philosophy and science are their most similar aspects, both having emerged in the same manner. Philosophy is traceable mostlyRead MoreThe Impact Of Science And Philosophy Of Science Essay1336 Words   |  6 Pages Alan Francis Chalmers is an associate professor who works extensive in the history and philosophy of science (physical). Alan Chalmers has taught at the University of Sydney since 1971, first in the School of Philosophy, and from 1987 at the Unit for the History and Philosophy of Science. He attained a B.Sc. in physics at the University of Bristol, and his M.Sc. in physics from the University of Manchester. His Ph.D. on the electromagnetic theory of J.CRead MoreEvaluating Kuhn ´s Theory of Scientific Development Essay1545 Words   |  7 Pagesexperimental procedures. The understanding or the attempt to understand the human’s perspective of the world through scientific theories is the birth to the philosophy of science (Okasha, 2002). Several perspectives of scientific theories have been postulated by many on the history and philosophy of science. One of such is the Kuhn theory of science development postulated by Thomas Kuhn. His t heory brought about a new perspective where scientific theories are placed in an umbrella of a grand theory calledRead MoreHistory of Modern Psychology836 Words   |  4 PagesA History of Modern Psychology Franklyn Rivas UOPX History and Systems in Psychology 310 Lillian Fillpot May 03, 2011 A History of Modern Psychology Before psychology officially became a science, many great intellectuals of previous centuries had contributed to the philosophy behind psychology. This philosophy can be trace back to the times of the Greeks, middle ages, and the renaissance period. However, the link between philosophy and modern psychology became possible in the late 18thRead MoreWhy Does Philosophy Exist?895 Words   |  4 PagesWhy does philosophy exist and why does it confuse everyone? Who is Socrates and Plato and why are they such a significant figure in today’s history? These are the questions that we ask as someone who is studying philosophy. What we may not know is that in present society, the â€Å"who, what, where, when, why, how† questions are the thoughts that Socrates was thinking back in ancient history. He wanted to know why apples fell from trees, how fast an arrow was traveling that was hit and struck into himRead MoreThe Point Bellah Is Trying To Get Across Is That â€Å"We Must829 Words   |  4 Pagesmust try to restore the idea of social science as public philosophy.† (Page 298) He wants to remake the big picture or as he says it, larger view. He doesn t think that it needs to be remade, instead, society in the new world needs a new approach. It has worked so well in the past that there is no reason to need a new one, all it needs is to be encouraged and strengthened (298). The old idea has made it through lots of years of narrow professional social science. Basically it’s good it just needs toRead MoreAncient Greece And Modern Medieval Europe1686 Words   |  7 PagesMany historians and scientists regard Europe as completely devoid of interest in the history of science. Contemptuously, medieval Europe is most often referred to as the â€Å"Dark Ages,† the epithet clearly illustrating the struggles of the time period and disdain for this part of history. The modern perception of medieval society is overwhelmingly dominated by a skewed interpretation of a barbaric, war-torn civilization barely surviving through suffrage of plague and poverty that stifled nearly everyRead MoreFrancis Bacon s Philosophy On Science863 Words   |  4 Pagesshall be on the major philosophies, Francis Bacon developed upon exposure and interests in the various field. He was a philosopher whose origin was from England and throughout his life he sought to find answers to various issues relative to his character of being a man of high ambitions like attaining high political positions just like his father (Hammer, 74). His passion for philosophy has over the decades and centuries found its ways to the hearts and blossoms of philosophy scholars and publicationsRead MorePolitics And Progress : The Emergence Of American Political Science1013 Words   |  5 PagesPolitics and Progress: The Emergence of American Political Science by Dennis Mahoney is an account of the origins of contemporary political science in the Progressive Movement. In th e book, Mahoney, attempts to show how American political science came to be due to the influence of three different factors. The first factor is German Historicism and its allgemeine Staatslehre, or general State theory. The second factor is philosophical pragmatism and the final factor is political Progressivism. MahoneyRead MoreThe Philosophy Of Philosophy And Philosophy998 Words   |  4 PagesPhilosophy is the attempt at answering or understanding the questions that the being who is philosophizing yearns to know or wishes to understand. The importance of what the philosopher wishes to know or understand is not a determinate factor in what it means to do philosophy. The act of doing philosophy is not defined by the subject of examination but by the driving passion of knowing and understanding. This means that an individual that wishes to know why a laptop is a laptop or why is it that

Puritan Discipline - 810 Words

Puritan Discipline The Puritans, arguably the most well-known group of early English colonists settled in the Massachusetts Bay colony in the 1600’s, and are considered catalysts to modern American culture. The Puritans are famous for their theological insights, advances in the sciences, and for the establishment of the first public schools in America. The Puritans however are infamous for their potentially brutal punishment, and harsh discipline. To the devout Puritan punishment was love, this was evident in the ways they raised children, punished criminals, and how they lived. These policies played a major role in shaping American society for many years and in part made America what it is today. Childhood in Puritan society was†¦show more content†¦However the Puritans are known to have severely punished people for specific crimes, †William Carlisle was convicted of passing counterfeit dollars and sentenced to stand one hour on the Pillory†¦ to have both ears cropped, and to be branded on both cheeks with†¦R†¦(Rouge† The Essex Gazette, Newport April 23, 1771. In Nathaniel Hawthorne’s â€Å"The Scarlet Letter† an adulteress was doomed to wear an ‘A’ for Adulterer, and made routine visits to the pillory to be pelted with leftovers and insults by the local population. Sadly seventeen or more people found themselves on death row, convicted of witchcraft in the early Massachusetts society in the infamous Salem Witch Trials. Consequently the Puritans are now known for their severity and less of their admirable attempt to have a pure society. Order, this was one of the most valued aspects of Puritan society, after all the word Puritan can be defined as ‘one who is pure’. â€Å"Puritans needed to live a closely examined life.† Peace of the Elect, Illinois College. All actions and words were known to someone, being in such small communities the words of others were the way to the pillory or to the church, this is why Puritans are renowned for being a solemn people of littleShow MoreRelatedPuritans and the Scarlet Letter739 Words   |  3 PagesNathaniel Hawthorne was not a Puritan, but he had deep bonds back to this religion, and had ancestors that were in charge of the Salem Witch Trials, a fact that Hawthorne always felt remorse for. In choosing this time period as the setting for The Scarlet Letter, a classic story of love, betrayal and religion, he showcased both the weakness and strengths of this time period and religion. Like the Pilgrims, the Puritans were from England, and were dissatisfied with the church reform of England. SoRead MoreColonial America: Founding the Dream Essay example1742 Words   |  7 Pagescultures. Like the Pilgrims, the Puritans fled Europe for religious freedom in the New world, but their dream was. The Puritans were considered non-separatists; they did not wish to leave the Church of England but rather reform and reshape its borders and beliefs. Arriving in Massachusetts Bay in 1630 with six hundred followers and John Winthrop as their leader the Puritans desired to create a new society similar to the Dream that the Pilgrims had. The Puritans journey represents an Exodus fromRead MoreThe Truth Behind Puritanism : Puritanism1975 Words   |  8 Pagesprobably think of purity and cleanliness. However, the Puritan’s have a very interesting way of achieving purity. The Puritans believe that God has predestined the salvation of certain souls and one can do nothing to change this. They also believe there is zero credit for good works and that people by nature are wholly sinful and can only achieve goodness by severe discipline, but living a godly life is the result of being chosen as one of God’s â€Å"elect.† The â€Å"elect† are said to be saved from hellRead MorePuritanism And Its Impact On Society1508 Words   |  7 Pagesthe American society in a way everyone can see it nowadays takes roots in the times of British colonization. Puritans Migration The teaching of Puritanism arose in the British Isles around 1560, â€Å"when dissident members of the Church of England, still the mother church of the Anglican Communion today, attempted to â€Å"purify† it by removing all trace of its Roman Catholic past.†1 The Puritans were sure that the Church of England did not work enough on its reforms according to the fact that a lot ofRead MoreRoles Of The Puritan Society1137 Words   |  5 PagesRoles of the Puritan Society Puritans were English Protestants who were committed to â€Å"purifying† the Church of England. After being religiously persecuted in England, the Puritans fled to North America to start their new beginning. The Puritans maintained their Protestant beliefs with a patriarchal family. Their family roles differed from other colonists that settled in America. In my paper, I will describe the different roles that were established in the Puritan society. The Puritans society wasRead MoreThe Religious Convictions Of The Puritans1170 Words   |  5 PagesThe Puritans were a group of people from England who settled the New World (1) called America after the year of 1630. They went to America to be free to practice their religion without being persecuted because their beliefs were opposing the catholic’ one. The difference was that the Puritans tried harder to enforce the Ten Commandments but Americans were influenced by the moral, ethical, and religious convictions of the Puritans. The Puritans’ life was very hard in England so that they focused theRead MorePuritans Influence On Today s Society1599 Words   |  7 PagesToday, people describe the Puritans with their biased point of view. It is not unfathomable why people do not like the Puritans. The Puritans’ society and today’s society are very different. Puritan society was very restrained; people could only believe in God and the Bible was the law. Unlike Puritan society, today’s society does not restrain religion. Even though Puritans had bad influences on today’s society, Puritans played a pivotal role in constructing the USA. If you look around more carefullyRead MoreWorlds Colliding : Hypocrisy, Rules And Punishments1446 Words   |  6 PagesTwo Worlds Colliding: Hypocrisy, Rules and Punishments In two not so different societies, the Puritan people and the people of The Church of Fire and Brimstone learn to live a life under the fear of God. Both societies share the similarity of living a life of holiness on land so that they may be taken into the Kingdom of God. In order to do so, these people put themselves through strict rules and harsh punishment that are near inhumane. Each of these people live out their lives in fear of being leftRead MoreTheme Of Patriarchy In The Crucible1601 Words   |  7 Pagesso often throughout this play seem to be connected to the downfall of this small Puritanical town. Today I will bring to light the biased views and sexual repression that led this small town to its untimely demise. This paper will delve into the puritans daily way of life and beliefs and expose that sexual repression and patriarchy were the real killers in this play based on real events. To achieve this goal I have organized this paper into 3 main sections, which will each explain the sexual biasRead MoreComparing The Scarlet Letter by Nathaniel Hawthrone and The Crucible by Arthur Miller1021 Words   |  5 Pages The Puritans had a heavily important part in the formation of early America, as well as a religion that influenced our early American society. This society has been the target which many authors have picked to set their novels in. The topic of Puritan life contains a broad list of aspects that can be easily compared to one another in several different books. Two selections that go into detail about some of the different aspects of the Puritan people are The Crucible, by Arthur Miller, and The Scarlet

Systems Analysis and Design Free Essays

ACME Financial is a fast growing company that owes part of its growth to several recent acquisitions. ACME Financial now wants to consolidate the companies’ information technology resources to eliminate redundancy and share information among the new companies. The Chief Information Officer (CIO) has oversight responsibility for the project and has hired Client/Servers R Us to develop the architecture for the new corporate information system. We will write a custom essay sample on Systems Analysis and Design or any similar topic only for you Order Now Joe Consultant of C/S R Us presented 3 client/server designs to the CIO and is requesting the CIO to select one. The CIO is not sure which middleware design is best for the company’s goals. The CIO has asked Chris Consultant to present the advantages and disadvantages for each of the alternatives. Background ACME Financial Incorporated (AF Inc. ) is an investment banking company that provides an on-line service that allows their clients to access account and market information. ACME Financial Inc. recently acquired several small and medium sized companies throughout the country, each with their own financial and accounting systems. Almost all of the companies have developed their own application software for their analysts’ use in their daily jobs, but only a few provided on-line account service. The analytical tools rely on near-real time market data and historical market data. The CIO wants to consolidate the financial and accounting information into a corporate information system that can support decision support applications for corporate management. Naturally, since the computer hardware is different for different companies, the CIO expects to upgrade the hardware to accommodate the new Information Technology (IT) system. The CIO will select the best analytical software as the standard software used by all company analysts. Each local site will be expected to provide an on-line service for their customers. Customers will be given the necessary application software to access their account information. Finally, ACME Financial has developed special data mining software that gives them a competitive advantage. AF Inc. offers their customers investment advice based on the information derived by the data mining software. Each account manager receives the information and then provides tailored recommendations  to each customer based on their portfolio. System Requirements The following list of system requirements reflects the system’s priorities (listed roughly in order of priority): 1. Availability: The CIO’s number one priority is high availability. AF Inc. markets their reliability and feels that most clients choose them for their dependability. The CIO wants to maximize the system’s availability. To achieve high availability, if a regional office cannot provide support then a customer must always have access to the on-line service through a different office. 2. Data Integrity: The requirement for data integrity varies within the system. The most important data are customer’s transactions. It is essential that a customer’s transaction is never lost and the system must guarantee that each transaction is completed. In contrast, data lost from the high data rate inputs, such as Reuter’s and the NYSE, are easily recovered during the each broadcast so it is not critical if some data are lost during a broadcast. 3. Performance: Financial markets are highly volatile; time sensitivity of data is measured in minutes. Millions can be lost if information is delayed getting to the analysts. The system must be able to support information broadcast throughout the network. 4. Security: The CIO is concerned about the security of the data mining software and the information produced by the data mining software. The Chief Executive Officer thinks the data mining information software provides a competitive advantage for the company. If an unauthorized user had access to the information they could steal the data mining applications or steal the information produced by the data mining software. In either case, the perpetrator could make the same investment recommendations as AF Inc. account managers. Therefore, if competitors had access to the information the results could be financially devastating to the company. The CIO is concerned that a competitor could pose as a customer and hack into the highly sensitive information through his on-line service account. 5. Growth: The CIO envisions an incremental migration process to install the new system due to the magnitude of the change. Also, he expects that AF Inc. will continue to grow and acquire more companies. The CIO wants to be able to develop more application software as new customer services are added. The CIO also wants to add more near-real time information sources to  the system. 6. Backup and Recovery: The CIO understands that the system will encounter problems from time to time. A key factor in determining the system’s success is how quickly the system can recover from a failure. Backup and recovery must be smooth and non-disruptive. One way to ensure that the system can easily recover from a system crash is to make sure the data is duplicated elsewhere on the system. The corporate database is the primary back up for each of the regional offices. Configuration Each local office (Northeast, Northwest, Southeast, Southwest) has accesses a regional information hub. Local offices use client software to access the local application server. These application servers access the local databases for almost all of the information needed on a daily basis. For access to information needed less frequently the application software should access the central database at corporate headquarters. Each regional database has only the subset of information that is relevant for its area, whereas the corporate headquarters maintains all of the information from each region as well as data that is unique to corporate applications, such as additional accounting and company financial information. The corporate office is also responsible for the data mining software and information. Each of the regional databases is connected with high capacity links to the corporate database. Finally, the corporate office receives information from Reuter’s, NYSE, NASDAQ, and other financial markets. The information flow fluctuates daily from 30 – 40 KBps to 4 – 5 MBps. Twenty-five percent of the information is immediately broadcast to the regional offices to support the on-line account service. All the information is filtered and stored in the database. Architectural Alternatives Alternative I: The Database Management System This alternative takes advantage of the extended functionality provided by the popular relational database management companies, such as Oracle and Sybase. All information is delivered into the system where it is immediately stored into one of the databases. The relational database management software is responsible for the distribution of information throughout the system. Clients communicate with the databases through Standard Query Language (SQL). Corporate and regional databases are kept synchronized using features supplied by the RDBMS software. Transactions are guaranteed by using special Transaction Processing Software. The vendor-supplied RDBMS software is responsible for back-up and recovery of all the databases. Data security is handled at the row level within each database. This means that clients can only receive records for which their user has permission. Existing application software may have to be modified to use SQL. Alternative II: Common Object Request Broker Architecture (CORBA) This solution depends on CORBA to tie together the clients and databases. CORBA is responsible for distributing data across the system. The RDBMS software is still responsible for the back-up and recovery, but the databases are kept synchronized using CORBA as the primary transport mechanism for the data. Clients, application servers, and databases communicate to each other through CORBA’s transport mechanism. Existing application software would be wrapped in IDL to communicate with other applications. Special near-real time handling application software would send the information to each of the regional offices where it would be directed to clients that subscribe to the information. Alternative III: Message and Queuing (MQ) The message and queuing design uses commercial M Q software combined with a transaction processing product to ensure customer’s transactions are completed. Dec Message Queue and MQ Series are some of the leading products for messaging and queuing software. Clients communicate to other entities using messages. Messages are deposited in queues and the message and queuing middleware is responsible for message distribution to the appropriate clients. The software applications will be modified to send and receive messages from queues. Questions to Answer (Total 100 points) The case study must be discussed covering the designs and these questions with your teammates, but your final write-up should be your collaborative work. Doing research on specific products for the assignment should certainly be a team activity. The total length of the write-up should probably not exceed 5 pages. 1. Describe in more detail the architecture of each architectural alternative. To do this you will need to flesh out the specifics of the various parts. This will require some research on the  products indicated (or other comparable products that you locate). Note that some services are automatically provided when a particular product is purchased, while others must be developed to satisfy the system requirements. You should describe what services are automatically provided by the products, which services would need to be developed, and how services should be distributed across the network. (40 points) 2. Evaluate each of the alternatives against the system requirements, discussing the advantages and disadvantages of each. (You may assume that the hardware will support all solutions.) In your analysis you might consider issues such as which alternative gives the system developers the most flexibility, which alternative provides easiest maintenance, and which alternative requires the least modification to the current system. Other hints for system comparison are listed below. (40 points) 3. Prioritize each alternative or suggest a different solution if you think it superior to the presented alternatives. (20 points) Suggestions on how to proceed 1. There is not enough information to make an informed decision about each of the alternatives. As a team, allot a percentage of your time to discover which products offer what type of services. You do not have enough time to do a complete market survey so be selective. 2. If you depend only on marketing information you may find that the alternatives are equivalent. So you might want to go beyond the market literature in doing your research for this assignment. 3. As you do your analysis, pay particular attention to some of the following kinds of issues: a. How well does the architecture support the basic system functionality requirements? b. How much run time performance overhead does the architecture impose? c. How well will specific products handle the high volume of data? d. How will each architecture handle occasional peak loads? e. How easy is it to customize the system to new requirements? 4. In your analysis, when you are considering costs, you do not need to consider the actual product cost. (It may be impossible to get actual product costs anyway. ) Instead, evaluate cost with respect to the amount of customized software that will be necessary to implement each alternative, and how this might affect long-term maintenance costs, time to implement, flexibility, etc. How to cite Systems Analysis and Design, Papers