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The Chain Of Chance
''The Chain of Chance'' (original Polish title: ''Katar'', literally, "Rhinitis"/Catarrh) is a science fiction/detective novel by the Polish writer Stanisław Lem, published in 1976. Lem's treatment of the detective genre introduces many nontraditional elements. The reader is prompted not only to consider various suspects as possible culprits in a series of murders, but also the possibility that they have all happened purely by chance (hence the English title). In this way, the natural laws of probability and chaos theory play the role of suspects and characters in a murder mystery, lending elements of science fiction to the novel. The underlying philosophical idea is exploited by Lem in his major essay '' The Philosophy of Chance''. Plot A former astronaut is hired by a detective agency to help in an investigation of a case of mysterious deaths. Several victims became mad and committed suicide during their vacation in various Naples spas, apparently without reason. Due to certa ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Naples
Naples (; it, Napoli ; nap, Napule ), from grc, Νεάπολις, Neápolis, lit=new city. is the regional capital of Campania and the third-largest city of Italy, after Rome and Milan, with a population of 909,048 within the city's administrative limits as of 2022. Metropolitan City of Naples, Its province-level municipality is the third-most populous Metropolitan cities of Italy, metropolitan city in Italy with a population of 3,115,320 residents, and Naples metropolitan area, its metropolitan area stretches beyond the boundaries of the city wall for approximately 20 miles. Founded by Greeks in the 1st millennium BC, first millennium BC, Naples is one of the oldest continuously inhabited urban areas in the world. In the eighth century BC, a colony known as Parthenope ( grc, Παρθενόπη) was established on the Pizzofalcone hill. In the sixth century BC, it was refounded as Neápolis. The city was an important part of Magna Graecia, played a major role in the merging ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Detective Novels
Detective fiction is a subgenre of crime fiction and mystery fiction in which an investigator or a detective—whether professional, amateur or retired—investigates a crime, often murder. The detective genre began around the same time as speculative fiction and other genre fiction in the mid-nineteenth century and has remained extremely popular, particularly in novels. Some of the most famous heroes of detective fiction include C. Auguste Dupin, Sherlock Holmes, and Hercule Poirot. Juvenile stories featuring The Hardy Boys, Nancy Drew, and The Boxcar Children have also remained in print for several decades. History Ancient Some scholars, such as R. H. Pfeiffer, have suggested that certain ancient and religious texts bear similarities to what would later be called detective fiction. In the Old Testament story of Susanna and the Elders (the Protestant Bible locates this story within the apocrypha), the account told by two witnesses broke down when Daniel cross-examines them. I ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
1976 Novels
Events January * January 3 – The International Covenant on Economic, Social and Cultural Rights enters into force. * January 5 – The Pol Pot regime proclaims a new constitution for Democratic Kampuchea. * January 11 – The 1976 Philadelphia Flyers–Red Army game results in a 4–1 victory for the National Hockey League's Philadelphia Flyers over HC CSKA Moscow of the Soviet Union. * January 16 – The trial against jailed members of the Red Army Faction (the West German extreme-left militant Baader–Meinhof Group) begins in Stuttgart. * January 18 ** Full diplomatic relations are established between Bangladesh and Pakistan 5 years after the Bangladesh Liberation War. ** The Scottish Labour Party (1976), Scottish Labour Party is formed as a breakaway from the UK-wide party. ** Super Bowl X in American football: The Pittsburgh Steelers defeat the Dallas Cowboys, 21–17, in Miami. * January 21 – First commercial Concorde flight, from London to Bahrain. * January 27 ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Psychochemical Warfare
Psychochemical warfare — or "drug weapons" — involves the use of psychopharmacological agents ( mind-altering drugs or chemicals) with the intention of incapacitating an adversary through the temporary induction of hallucinations or delirium.Dando M, Furmanski M 2006. Mid-spectrum incapacitant programs. In: Wheelis M et al. (eds). ''Deadly cultures: biological weapons since 1945''. Cambridge, US: Harvard University Press. These agents have generally been considered chemical weapons and, more narrowly, constitute a specific type of incapacitating agent. Although never developed into an effective weapons system, psychochemical warfare theory and research—along with overlapping mind control drug research—was secretly pursued in the mid-20th century by the US military and Central Intelligence Agency (CIA) in the context of the Cold War. These research programs were ended when they came to light and generated controversy in the 1970s. The degree to which the Soviet Union develop ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
1951 Pont-Saint-Esprit Mass Poisoning
The 1951 Pont-Saint-Esprit mass poisoning, also known in French as Le Pain Maudit, was a mass poisoning on 15 August 1951, in the small town of Pont-Saint-Esprit in Southern France. More than 250 people were involved, including 50 people interned in asylums and seven deaths. A foodborne illness was suspected; among these it was originally believed to be a case of "cursed bread" (''pain maudit''). A majority of academic sources accept naturally occurring ergot poisoning as the cause of the epidemic, while a few theorize other causes such as poisoning by mercury, mycotoxins, or nitrogen trichloride. Background During the Vichy government, the supply of grains from field to mill to bakery was directed by the government's grain control board, the Office National Interprofessionnel des Céréales (ONIC), and later the Union Meuniere. Essentially, this created a government monopoly on the sale of flour, allowing the government a measure of control over wartime supply shortages. Th ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Grand Prix De Littérature Policière
The Grand Prix de Littérature Policière (or the Police Literature Grand Prize) is a French literary prize founded in 1948 by author and literary critic Maurice-Bernard Endrèbe. It is the most prestigious award for crime and detective fiction in France. Two prizes are awarded annually to the best French novel and to the best international crime novel published in that year.Guide des Prix littéraires online ed. ''Le Rayon du Polar''. Synopsis of French prizes rewarding French and international crime literature, with lists of laureates for each Prize. Grand Prix de littérature policière: pp. 18–36. French Prize 1940s * 1948 – ''Le Cinquième procédé'' by |
The Investigation
''The Investigation'' (original title ''Śledztwo'') is a science fiction/ detective/ thriller novel by the Polish writer Stanisław Lem. The novel incorporates a philosophical discourse on explanation of unknown phenomena. It was first published in 1958 in ''Przekrój'' magazine (issues 698-711) and in 1959 as a book by the Publishing House of the Ministry of National Defense (Wydawnictwo Ministerstwa Obrony Narodowej). Plot The novel is set in London. A young Scotland Yard lieutenant Gregory investigates the mysterious disappearances of corpses from London morgues to reappear somewhere else. The only "explanation" is an abstruse statistical theory that correlates the body snatching with local cancer rates. The detective suspects the statistician Sciss who came up with the theory of being the perpetrator. In reality it appears as if the corpses " resurrect". Gregory suggests that the corpses are being infested by certain microorganisms, which have some kind of collective inte ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
The Philosophy Of Chance
''The Philosophy of Chance'', with subtitle ''"Literature in the Light of Empiricism"'' ( pl, Filozofia przypadku. Literatura w świetle empirii) is an essay by Polish author Stanisław Lem on the literary theory and the influence of literature on the modern culture. However, as literary critic Henryk Markiewicz noted, the subtitle is somewhat misleading: starting with Lem's take on literary theory, the essay turns into the " General Theory of Everything": of the Universe, evolution, and culture, based on a premise that chance, eventuality is the universal factor.An afterword to the book/ref> The essay was first published in 1968 by Wydawnictwo Literackie as a book of over 600 pages. Lem's literary theory In the essay, Lem criticizes the contemporary literary theory, in particular, Roman Ingarden's ''Literary Work of Art'', and proceeds with his own. He cautions that he deals only with the ontological side of the issue, disregarding the esthetical side of literature. Lem's ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Rhinitis
Rhinitis, also known as coryza, is irritation and inflammation of the mucous membrane inside the nose. Common symptoms are a stuffy nose, runny nose, sneezing, and post-nasal drip. The inflammation is caused by viruses, bacteria, irritants or allergens. The most common kind of rhinitis is allergic rhinitis, which is usually triggered by airborne allergens such as pollen and dander. Allergic rhinitis may cause additional symptoms, such as sneezing and nasal itching, coughing, headache, fatigue, malaise, and cognitive impairment. The allergens may also affect the eyes, causing watery, reddened, or itchy eyes and puffiness around the eyes. The inflammation results in the generation of large amounts of mucus, commonly producing a runny nose, as well as a stuffy nose and post-nasal drip. In the case of allergic rhinitis, the inflammation is caused by the degranulation of mast cells in the nose. When mast cells degranulate, they release histamine and other chemicals, s ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Chaos Theory
Chaos theory is an interdisciplinary area of scientific study and branch of mathematics focused on underlying patterns and deterministic laws of dynamical systems that are highly sensitive to initial conditions, and were once thought to have completely random states of disorder and irregularities. Chaos theory states that within the apparent randomness of chaotic complex systems, there are underlying patterns, interconnection, constant feedback loops, repetition, self-similarity, fractals, and self-organization. The butterfly effect, an underlying principle of chaos, describes how a small change in one state of a deterministic nonlinear system can result in large differences in a later state (meaning that there is sensitive dependence on initial conditions). A metaphor for this behavior is that a butterfly flapping its wings in Brazil can cause a tornado in Texas. Small differences in initial conditions, such as those due to errors in measurements or due to roundin ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Stanisław Lem
Stanisław Herman Lem (; 12 September 1921 – 27 March 2006) was a Polish writer of science fiction and essays on various subjects, including philosophy, futurology, and literary criticism. Many of his science fiction stories are of satirical and humorous character. Lem's books have been translated into more than 50 languages and have sold more than 45 million copies. Worldwide, he is best known as the author of the 1961 novel '' Solaris''. In 1976 Theodore Sturgeon wrote that Lem was the most widely read science fiction writer in the world. Lem is the author of the fundamental philosophical work " Summa Technologiae", in which he anticipated the creation of virtual reality, artificial intelligence, and also developed the ideas of human autoevolution, the creation of artificial worlds, and many others. Lem's science fiction works explore philosophical themes through speculations on technology, the nature of intelligence, the impossibility of communication with and unders ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
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