Conservapedia - User contributions [en]

Urysohn lemma

2007-09-30T23:25:23Z

Sxp151: Elaborating the converse, and adding historical notes.

The '''Urysohn lemma''' states:
<blockquote>
If ''A'', ''B'' are two disjoint, closed subsets of a [[normal space]] ''X'', then there exist a [[continuous function]] ''f'' : ''X'' → [0, 1], such that ''f(A)'' = 0 and ''f(B)'' = 1.
</blockquote>
The converse of the Urysohn lemma also holds: if there is such a continuous function for any two disjoint closed sets ''A'' and ''B'' in ''X'', then ''X'' is normal.

Urysohn died mysteriously in the [[Soviet Union]] in 1924. Some mathematicians have speculated that party officials feared his separation results could be used to undermine the distribution theory underpinning [[Communism]].

[[category: Topology]]

Fireman

2007-09-30T23:05:41Z

Sxp151: Historical note

[[Image:Fireman.jpg|right]]
A '''Fireman''' can be:

* The traditional term for [[firefighting|Firefighter]], replaced due to [[political correctness]]
* Formerly, the [[man]] who shovels [[coal]] and tends the [[fire]] on a [[steam]]-powered [[engine]] such as a [[locomotive]]

{{disambig}}

Open set

2007-09-30T23:03:38Z

Sxp151: Definition of open sets

An '''open set''' in Euclidean space is a set that contains a ball around each of its points. Intuitively, if a point is contained in an open set, then all points sufficiently close to it are also contained. Such sets tend to be preferred by liberal philosophers, as they allow for small differences in elements to be subsumed by the whole; however, conservative philosophers claim the concept better fits the traditional concept of close-knit communities acting to preserve individual liberties.

Open sets are the basic objects in [[topology]], in terms of which all other objects are defined.

Manny's Law

2007-09-30T22:25:52Z

Sxp151: Removed liberal antibusiness POV

'''Manny's Law''' is a New York law (effective Jan. 2007) that prohibits state funding to hospitals which overcharge the uninsured who earn less than three times the poverty level. Its citation is NY CLS Pub Health § 2807-k.

This new law probably affects far more than half of all hospital patients in New York. These patients cannot be charged more for medical care than the hospital would charge an insurance company, Medicare or Medicaid. This law also prevents aggressive collection practices, such as foreclosing on someone's home.

Hospitals that fail to comply will lose $850 million in state funds for charity care. For non-emergency cases, a proposed regulation would limit application of this law to those patients who use their local hospital.

The law removes the incentive for the poor to buy private health insurance and forces hospitals to cover the costs. It was passed by the liberal New York state government and has been accused of being a step toward socialization of medicine. Most conservative groups such as the Ludwig Von Mises Institute, the CATO Institute, and the Heritage Foundation, oppose the law.

Conservative [[New Yorker]]s support the law, although conservatives in the rest of the country view conservatives from New York as liberals.

[[category:United States law]]

New math

2007-09-30T21:54:17Z

Sxp151: New Math article created

'''New Math''' is a derisive term for the elementary school mathematics curriculum introduced in America in the 1960s. Its emphasis was on much less memorization of basic sums and products, and more on axiomatic set theory and computations in number bases other than 10.

Many parents complained that they could no longer help their children with their mathematics homework, and the system was later reformed again to provide a compromise between memorization and more abstract techniques. Some have argued that New Math led to the cultural permissiveness of the late 1960s and 1970s, since children became accustomed to not looking to their parents for guidance. Conservatives point to the fact that New Math originated with the Bourbaki school in [[France]] as an example of French hostility to American traditions.

Isaac Newton

2007-09-30T21:06:40Z

Sxp151: /* Gravity */ Correction to gravitational proportions

[[Image:Newton.png|right|thumb]]

'''Sir Isaac Newton''' was an English [[scientist]] who lived from 1634 to 1727. He was a physicist, astronomer, mathematician, alchemist and natural philosopher. He is probably best known for his [[Theory of Universal Gravitation]] and his [[Laws of Motion]]. He also developed [[calculus]] simultaneously with German physicist [[Gottfried Leibniz]]. (Each accused the other of plagiarism, but neither could prove it.<ref>Newton Biography[http://scienceworld.wolfram.com/biography/Newton.html]</ref>). In addition, he invented the reflecting [[telescope]], and made numerous other contributions to his fields of study.

Newton was the first to demonstrate that the same laws that govern the motion of celestial objects also govern the motion of things on [[Earth]]. Newton contributed greatly to the advancement of science. His work also advanced the concept of [[heliocentrism]] (the view that the [[Sun]] is at the center of the [[solar system]]).

In 1705, in recognition of Isaac Newton's scientific and mathematical contributions, [[Queen Anne]] [[knighted]] him. <ref>Sir Isaac Newton (1642/3–1727): A Scientific Genius, by Ann Lamont[http://www.answersingenesis.org/creation/v12/i3/newton.asp]</ref> It was the first knighthood to be given for scientific achievement rather than prowess on the battlefield or work in government. <ref>Isaac Newton and God's Law of Gravity[http://www.doesgodexist.org/NovDec01/IsaacNewtonAndGodsLawOfGravity.html] </ref>

Newton is often seen as one of the greatest scientists of all time due to his contributions, which inspired [[Kant]] to create the philosophical concepts of the [[categorical imperative]] and the [[synthetic a priori]].

After his death and burial, Newton was exhumed so he could be buried in a more prominent location in [[Westminster Abbey]]. During this exhumation process, it was discovered that Newton had large amounts of mercury in his body, probably as a direct result of his [[alchemy|alchemical]] experiments. Exposure to large amounts of mercury may explain Newton’s eccentricity in his latter years, as well as his cause of death. <ref>Newton Biography[http://scienceworld.wolfram.com/biography/Newton.html]</ref>

== Gravity ==
Newton developed the [[Theory of Universal Gravitation]], more commonly known as gravity, when, according to legend, a falling apple struck him on the head. He realized that the same force that pulled the apple to the ground could be what keeps [[Jupiter]]'s moons in orbit. His theory stated that all matter is attracted to matter by a force, whose strength increases proportionally to the mass of the objects involved, and inversely proportional to the squared distance between them. The theory's accuracy was later improved by the theory of [[relativity]], which replaces Newton's theory entirely at cosmological scales but gives similar results at small scales.

== Religious Beliefs ==
Newton was a sincere religious believer, who said his discoveries were inspired by [[God]]. He devoted more time to the study of Scripture than to science. He said of himself, "I have a fundamental belief in the [[Bible]] as the Word of God, written by those who were inspired. I study the Bible daily."<ref>Tiner, J.H. (1975). Isaac Newton: Inventor, Scientist and Teacher. Milford, Michigan, U.S.: Mott Media.</ref> Newton wrote, "This most beautiful system of the sun, planets, and comets, could only proceed from the counsel and dominion of an intelligent Being... All variety of created objects which represent order and life in the universe could happen only by the willful reasoning of its original Creator, Whom I call the Lord God."

Newton believed that God's creation of the universe was self evident given its grandeur.<ref>Webb, R.K. ed. Knud Haakonssen. “The emergence of Rational Dissent.” Enlightenment and Religion: Rational Dissent in eighteenth-century Britain. Cambridge University Press, Cambridge: 1996. p19.</ref> He also warned against using his laws to replace the creator. He said, "Gravity explains the motions of the planets, but it cannot explain who set the planets in motion. God governs all things and knows all that is or can be done."<ref>Tiner, J.H. (1975). Isaac Newton: Inventor, Scientist and Teacher. Milford, Michigan, U.S.: Mott Media.</ref>

Biographers have speculated that Newton's views would today be considered those of a [[Unitarian]],<ref>Bell, E.T. Men of Mathematics.</ref> although it would be more historically accurate to describe his beliefs as [[Arian]]. It is suggested that Newton did not accept the Trinity or the divinity of Christ.<ref>ISAAC NEWTON'S TWELVE ARTICLES ON GOD AND CHRIST,KEYNES MS 8, KING'S COLLEGE, CAMBRIDGE. http://www.isaacnewton.ca/keynes/Keynes_8.en.html "Artic. 9. We need not pray to Christ to intercede for us. If we pray the father aright he will intercede."</ref>

However, the evidence for Newton holding to Arianism is scant. It is true that Newton held a lot to himself, but to say that because of his association with William Whiston, that he is therefore an Arianist is hardly conclusive. It is more probable that Newton held to an Eastern Orthodox view of the Trinity.<ref>ISAAC NEWTON'S TWELVE ARTICLES ON GOD AND CHRIST,KEYNES MS 8, KING'S COLLEGE, CAMBRIDGE. http://www.isaacnewton.ca/keynes/Keynes_8.en.html "Artic. 12. To us there is but one God the father of whom are all things and we of him, and one Lord Jesus Christ by whom are all things and we by him. That is, we are to worship the father alone as God Almighty and Jesus alone as the Lord the Messiah the great King the Lamb of God who was slain and hath redeemed us with his blood and made us kings and Priests."</ref>

John Conduitt, the husband of Newton's niece had this to say about Newton's theology.

"I had no hesitation when writing the Like of Sir Isaac Newton in 1830, in coming to the conclusions that he was a believer in the Trinity; and in giving this opinion on the creed of so great a man, and so indefatigable a student of scripture, I was well aware that there are various forms of Trinitarian truth, and various modes of expressing it, which have been received as orthodox in the purest societies of the Christian Church."<ref>Thomas C. Pfizenmaier - Was Isaac Newton an Arian?. http://links.jstor.org/sici?sici=0022-5037(199701)58%3A1%3C57%3AWINAA%3E2.0.CO%3B2-O</ref>

In an effort to debunk widespread claims of his time that the world would be ending soon, Newton wrote a private manuscript estimating that the world would not end prior to the year A.D. 2060.<ref>http://www.isaac-newton.org/newton_2060.htm</ref>

==Reference==
<references/>

{{DEFAULTSORT:Newton, Sir Isaac}}
[[Category:Physicists]]
[[Category:Astronomers]]
[[Category:Mathematicians]]

Jebus

2007-09-30T00:43:35Z

Sxp151:

'''Jebus''' may have been the first name of [[Jerusalem]]. The name is derived from a tribe called the [[Jebusite]]s, who owned the district in the first centuries of [[Israel]]'s occupation of Canaan.

The term was popularized by [[The Simpsons]] as a synonym for [[Jesus]].

==See Also==
*[[Jerusalem]]

[[category:cities]]
[[category:Israel]]

Atomic radius

2007-09-30T00:29:14Z

Sxp151:

The Atomic radius is a rough measurement of the distance from an [[atom]]'s [[nucleus]] to one edge. The roughness is necessitated by the fact that atoms do not generally have edges.

{{science-stub}}

[[Category:Physics]]

Fluoride

2007-09-30T00:25:54Z

Sxp151: /* Anti-Fluoridation Movement */

Fluoride is a chemical element that is a common food and water additive throughout the developed world. It is commomly thought to work to prevent tooth decay.

==Anti-Fluoridation Movement==

In 1978, Michigan became the first state to repeal mandatory fluoridation laws, leaving the decision to local jurisdictions. Many municipalities have since mounted successful challenges against mandatory flouridation laws. The character Jack D. Ripper from [[Dr. Strangelove]] starts a war over his concerns about excessive fluoridation, signified by his motto, "POE" or "Purity of Essence."

==Avoiding Fluoride==

The best way to avoid fluoride is to have your own source of water, such as a spring or well. Additionally a small number of communities in the United States do not practice fluoridation, but most do. If you are not sure whether your community does or not, you can purchase a home test kit. Do not trust the fluoride information self-reported by your local water company.

Bottled water used to be a good alternative, but many bottlers now add fluoride. Look for spring water or filter your own using a "[[reverse osmosis]]" filter.

Nearly all bottled beverages, including soda, beer, and baby formula, use fluoridated water. Use dehydrated products and rehydrate them yourself. When possible, make your own wine and fruit juices (commercial juices are either rehydrated or come from fruit irrigated with fluoridated water).

Other sources of fluoride include animal bones (found in deboned animal products like McNuggets and fish sticks), Teflon-coated pans, most cosmetic dental inserts, shellfish, and bananas.

===Footnotes===
<references />

[[category:health]]

John Lilly

2007-09-30T00:11:39Z

Sxp151:

'''John Lilly''' (1915-2001) was a [[scientist]] and [[psychology|psychologist]] who used [[psychedelic]] [[drug]]s such as [[LSD]] and advocated [[sensory deprivation]]. He also wanted to build a [[salt]] [[water]] tank with a portion on the top where [[dolphin]]s and [[human]]s could chat with each other.{{fact}}

Pi Day

2007-09-30T00:09:42Z

Sxp151:

Pi day is a holiday celebrating [[mathematics]].

March 14 marks Pi Day, a facetious holiday on which the mathematical constant is celebrated. The date comes from the first three digits of pi; some people begin their celebration at 1:59 pm, derived from the following three digits.

Pi Approximation day is a similar holiday, celebrated on July 22 (from the approximation 22/7). [3]

See also: [[pi]]

Fundamental group

2007-09-30T00:03:54Z

Sxp151: Expanded description of objects in the fundamental group.

The fundamental group is a concept in the study of [[algebraic topology]], used primarily to distinguish one [[topological space]] from another. The fundamental group is the first [[homotopy group]], defined at a particular point to be the set of loops based at the point, modulo the relationship of being contractible to the identity loop.
[[Category:Topology]]
[[Category:Algebra]]