Month: November 2024

Graphology

Used to evaluate job recruits, potential jurors, and romantic partners, graphology is the study and analysis of handwriting, especially in relation to human psychology. Supporters cite anecdotal evidence for its accuracy in personality evaluation, but empirical studies have often failed to prove its validity. Among its most controversial forms, medical graphology uses handwriting analysis to evaluate patient health. What do proponents of holistic graphology claim John Wayne’s signature revealed? Discuss

Harvey Milk and George Moscone Are Assassinated (1978)

After gaining a following as a leader of San Francisco’s gay community, Milk was elected to the city’s Board of Supervisors in 1977, becoming one of the first openly gay elected officials in US history. In 1978, he and Moscone, the city’s mayor, were shot and killed in City Hall by Dan White, a former city supervisor. White’s conviction on the less serious charge of voluntary manslaughter sparked riots in the city. What now infamous defense did White’s attorneys present at his murder trial? Discuss

Chaim Weizmann (1874)

A Russian-born chemist, Weizmann became a British subject in 1910, developed a process for creating a synthetic acetone to be used in the manufacture of explosives in 1912, and was director of the British admiralty laboratories for much of WWI. An active Zionist, Weizmann helped negotiate the 1917 Balfour Declaration pronouncing British support of a Jewish homeland in Palestine. When the republic of Israel was eventually founded, he was elected its first president. What is the Weizmann organism? Discuss

Along the River During the Qingming Festival

Often called “China’s Mona Lisa,” Along the River During the Qingming Festival is a 17-ft (5.2-m) long panoramic painting that depicts life during the Song dynasty. The subject of several similar works painted over the next few hundred years, the 12th-century original depicts 814 people in a bucolic countryside and busy city and reveals some of the nuances of class structure at the time. Why do some scholars question the traditionally accepted translation of the painting’s name? Discuss

University of Notre Dame Is Founded (1842)

Located in Notre Dame, Indiana, the University of Notre Dame was established and opened in 1842 and chartered in 1844. Famous for its football team, it has a noted law school and computing center as well as laboratories for research in botany, radiation, geology, metallurgy, and engineering. It also operates important research institutes in the humanities. The school was founded by French priests and was originally given the name L’Université de Notre Dame du Lac, which means what? Discuss

Mary Edwards Walker (1832)

Walker was an American surgeon and feminist. She served as a nurse in the Union army in the American Civil War, before being commissioned as an assistant surgeon. She was the first woman to serve in such a capacity and was awarded the Medal of Honor for her service. Walker remains the only woman ever to receive this award. After the war, she was active in the struggle for women’s rights, lecturing and writing on such issues as dress reform and women’s suffrage. Why was her medal revoked in 1917? Discuss

Absolute Zero

The lowest temperature theoretically achievable by a system, absolute zero is the point at which substances possess no thermal energy. In 1848, British physicist Lord Kelvin devised a temperature scale that set absolute zero, or 0°K, at -273.15°C. Although absolute zero is impossible to achieve, scientists have brought some substances within a billionth of a degree of 0°K, inducing in these materials odd quantum effects such as superconductivity. Where is the coldest known place in the universe? Discuss