Auguries of Hegemony: The Sex Omens of Mesopotamia

Ancient Mesopotamian scholars examined problematic aspects of male erotic desire within the discourse of divination. They documented an array of sexual acts, reading each as an omen, a sign signifying an aspect of the future. Guinan shows that the omens are informed by a coherent perspective and, in general, are concerned with the impact of erotic desire on notions of male identity and expectations of gender hierarchy. The omens oppose masculine hegemony and male/female eroticism in such a way that the denial of one is the assertion of the other. In these omens, masculine power and agency are both expressed and preserved by the disavowal of erotic interactions with women.     

Visual motion illusions, eye movements, and the search for objectivity

The initial interpretations of motion phenomena are often in terms of eye movements. It reflects a desire to link an objective expression of motion (of the eyes) with a subjective experience of motion. This approach is examined historically with respect to induced motion, motion aftereffects, visual vertigo, autokinetic effects and stroboscopic motion. All but one of these phenomena were initially observed in the natural environment and they have subsequently been studied under laboratory conditions. Eye movements are not correlated with induced motion, the motion aftereffect, or stroboscopic motion, but they do correspond to the direction and extent of visual vertigo. The extent of apparent visual motion in the autokinetic effect far exceeds that of involuntary eye movements but there might be a weak relation between them. If eye movements are to provide a reasonable account of motion illusions then they should apply to all the contours that are visible. This does apply to visual vertigo, but not to induced motion, the motion aftereffect and stroboscopic motion, all of which involve relative motion in a visible display. The autokinetic phenomenon involves the perception of isolated stimuli, and so interpretations in terms of some internal eye movement signals remain sustainable.     

托勒密彩绘装饰与罗马彩绘装饰的比较实例：埃及图那-艾尔-葛贝尔的动物图案

2007年春天开罗大学和慕尼黑大学在Tunael—Gebel联合发掘,发现一个原始的罗马坟墓有一石顶,其形式如同金字塔,命名源于希腊某一铭文。这一小石灰石墓葬包含未发生变化的埃及埋葬风格。两个沉重的石灰和镀金木乃伊被安置于两个木棺中,其中一个有一木制锦缎屋顶。该木乃伊有五彩缤纷的玻璃镶嵌,双方的床都展示着华丽的宗教仪式场景色绘画ajoure-work（这些图像被木板分割）。部分埃及和希腊的70个护身符挂在床上,用石灰制成并刷成绿色。两个石灰雕像伊希斯（高38cm）被置于头部附近。雕像是利用周围的木桩加工成型的,然后涂上颜色。它们是一个明显的混合风格的实例。它们被加工成一个典型的希腊姿势,但仍然有一埃及背景。在传统的老埃及,光谱中的每一道颜色有特定象征意义。通过它可以读出背景的循环往复变化。例如,颜色变化从红色（祭品／敌人）-白（天狼星的位置）-黑色（看不见的东西）-绿色（再生）再次到地球上五彩缤纷的形式。这一统一已经在罗马时代瓦解。新的颜色如粉色的出现,白色王冠上画的黄色等等。埃及的象征意义似乎完全消失在罗马新的墓葬彩色装饰上。     

Patent portfolio analysis of cities: statistics and maps of technological inventiveness

ABSTRACT

Cities can be considered as engines of the knowledge-based economy, because they are the primary sites of knowledge production activities that subsequently shape the rate and direction of technological change and economic growth. Patents provide rich information to analyse the knowledge specialization of specific places, such as technological details and information on inventors and entities involved. The technology codes attributed at the level of individual patent documents can be used to indicate the diversity and scope of the knowledge claims underlying a specific invention. In this study we introduce tools for portfolio analysis in terms of patents that provide insights into the technological specialization of cities. The mapping and analysis of patent portfolios of cities exploits data derived from the Unites States Patent and Trademark Office (USPTO) and dedicated tools (at https://leydesdorff.net/software/patents/). The results allow policy makers and other stakeholders to identify promising areas of further knowledge development, including smart specialization strategies.     

“Lachkabinett” und “großes Fest” der Physiker. Walter Grotrians “physikalischer Einakter” zu Max Plancks 80. Geburtstag

“Funhouse” and “Big Celebration” of the Physicists. Walter Grotrian's ?Physical One‐Act Play”? for Max Planck's 80th Birthday. On the occasion of Max Planck's 80th birthday on April 23, 1938, a “big celebration of the physicists” (großes Fest der Physiker) was celebrated at the Harnack‐House in Berlin. The festivities were organized by the German Physical Society. Part of the ceremony was a “Physical One‐act‐play” (Physikalischer Einakter) written by the Potsdam astrophysicist Walter Grotrian. The actors of the humorous play were chief protagonists in the development of quantum theory such as Debye, Sommerfeld and Heisenberg. In this essay we analyze Grotrian's drama against the background of both the festive event and the professional and social setting of the physicists. We argue that below the level of comedy a number of characteristic and normally unexpressed aspects of the epistemic culture of the German physics by the end of the nineteen‐thirties is treated in the play.