UBP Open Books

A New Bible in Three Testaments

Terence Meaden — Thu, 11 Jul 2024 00:00:00 +0100

This is the story of the Universe and Life . . . of origins and history . . . arranged in Three Testaments to honour the supreme achievements of the talented men and women who have been unravelling the mysteries of the cosmos and evolution.

The book has the essence of a new bible―not a Holy Bible, not a sacred text, but a scientific one presenting facts without fables, and history without distortion. These Testaments bear witness to truths gained by observation, instrumentation, insight, intelligence, reason, and the application of physical laws and the formulation of harmonious, logical models. In defining the latest wisdom, they spell out the fundamentals of the physics of the wonders of the Universe―all the while acquiring ever-better perfection in scientific detail. It is testimony and eulogy, in praise of high scholarship and logic―the ultimate Enlightenment.

The Third Testament is the story of humanity as it proceeds to the present-day―humans enriched with high intelligence and a genetically promising future. And yet, despite all the successes here narrated, the volume draws to a close by sadly asking (Epilogue page 305) “How did it come about that Homo sapiens in the course of its 160,000 years of progress got itself into the current mess”―referring to the amalgam of authoritarian religions, undemocratic governments, reckless overpopulation, and irresponsible worldwide waste on land and ocean?

AUTHORS

The authors are many. They number millions―scientists probing the mysteries of the Universe and the origins of Life, unprejudiced archaeologists evaluating the evidence of prehistory, and the best-informed historians and accomplished writers poring over the records of past millennia―between them reporting the triumphs, events and disasters of humankind. The assembler of these truths is a retired physics professor and active archaeologist―his alma mater Oxford University. The resulting book is a compendium of knowledge annotated with honourable intentions for the common good.

Socrates: “There is only one good, Knowledge, and only one evil, Ignorance.”

Q

Terence Meaden — Tue, 09 Jul 2024 00:00:00 +0100

This is the Fourth Testament of A New Bible.

It advocates and justifies atheism, with befitting quotations that epitomize universal truths, for it is offered in the language of inspired men and women, and completes a tetralogy of volumes having a common cause.

The earlier testaments deal with the Origins of the Universe, Stars, Sun, Earth, Life and Humankind. The Third Testament is the story of human progress as known from the evidence of archaeology and the chronicles of the more ethical historians through to the present day.

The four testaments speak for the freethinker and New Atheist, and for everybody who truly seeks to understand the world that we inhabit.

The previous testaments have been twice published. In 2018 as A New Bible in Three Testaments, and in 2020re-expressed as a hybrid, print-and-audio volume The Book of The Universe, Stars, Sun, Earth, Life and Humankind.

"The great enemy of the truth is very often not the lie-deliberate, contrived and dishonest-but the myth-persistent, persuasive, and unrealistic." John F. Kennedy. Address to Yale University. 11 June 1962.

"And on the matter of faith, let's be clear. A truly liberal society guarantees the freedom of all religions, but it accepts the tyranny of none. People must be free to live without threat or fear. To say the things, write the words and live the lives they choose. Does that offend some people? Yes, of course. But the price of freedom is the risk of offence. And, for me, that price is always worth paying." Menzies Campbell. 2007 when leader of the Liberal Democrats in Britain.

"The time appears to me to have come when it is the duty of all to make their dissent from religion known." John Stuart Mill. 1806-1873.

The Book of the Universe, Stars, Sun, Earth, Life and Humankind

Terence Meaden — Tue, 09 Jul 2024 00:00:00 +0100

This is the story of the Universe including life as we know it.

It is a book of origins, prehistory and history … arranged in Three Testaments to honour the supreme achievements of the talented men and women who have been unravelling the mysteries of the cosmos, evolution, human antiquity and world history. Composed in biblical-prose format, the volume presents the facts of science and, as best as possible, relevant truths of history. The scientific facts rest on proven principles gained by observation, instrumentation, insight, intelligence, reason, and the application of physical laws and the formulation of harmonious, logical models. In defining the latest wisdom, they spell out the fundamentals of the physics of the wonders of the Universe―regarding which ever more exact details are improving all the time.

It is testimony and eulogy, in praise of high scholarship and logic―the ultimate Enlightenment. Testament 1 tells the story of the Universe, the Stars, the Solar System and Planet Earth. Testament 2 examines the Origins of Life on Earth. The Third Testament treats the story of humanity as it proceeds to the present day―humans enriched with intelligence and a genetically-promising future. Yet, despite the successes, the story concludes with an Epilogue contemplating “How did it come about that Homo sapiens in the course of 160,000 years manage to get itself into the current mess?”―referring to the amalgam of authoritative religions, undemocratic governments, reckless overpopulation and irresponsible worldwide waste on land and ocean.

AUTHORS
The authors number millions―among them leading scientists who have been probing the mysteries of the Universe and the origins of life, unprejudiced archaeologists evaluating the evidence of prehistory, and ethical historians and erudite writers considering the chronicled records of past millennia. Between them, they report the triumphs, discoveries, events and disasters of humankind.
Professor Dr Terence Meaden―retired physicist and active archaeologist from Oxford University―serves as editor and commentator. The result is a compendium of knowledge annotated with honourable intentions for the common good.

Socrates: “There is only one good, Knowledge, and only one evil, Ignorance.”

Jacob Bronowski: Fear not insight; fear not science, for “science is only a Latin word for knowledge.” 1973. The Ascent of Man.

“Through genius and the employment of mature theories, rational principles and the logic of mathematical physics comes enlightenment ... and the world of conscious knowledge is poised to advance.” 2020. First Testament, Chapter 1, Verse 13, Page 6.

Jacob Bronowski: “In every age there is a turning point, a new way of seeing and asserting the coherence of the world.” 1973. Ascent of Man, Chapter 1.

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A Critique of Pure Judicial Reason

Kieron Alastair Baxter-Cockbill — Fri, 10 May 2024 00:00:00 +0100

This thesis examines the role of emotion and subjectivity in judicial review decision-making, and it questions the role of rationality. Emotion in this sense pertains to one’s natural reactions and evaluation of phenomena, whereas reason pertains to reflection and rational thought. Modern theorists, as diverse as Finnis and Raz, try to explain the law using reason alone, and many, such as Elliot and Barak, see judicial review as particularly rational. Thus, the role of emotion is usually neglected. This work provides a unique view by bringing emotion to the forefront. It uses discourse analysis developed by Laclau and Mouffe, amongst others, to question this popular understanding of the law.

The thesis examines cases of genuine public interest, often pertaining to public order and life and death. It puts forward an emotional model to understand decision-making by scrutinising judgements, the role of justice, and what judges truly strive to achieve.

This work seeks to answer three important questions: does emotion provide a better account of judicial decision-making than reason; does emotion precede reason in judicial decision-making; and does the theoretical emotional foundation provide accurate predictions of past and present judicial conduct? To answer these questions, the work draws upon philosophers, psychologists, and political theorists from all ages to understand reason’s origin and meaning. The thesis applies this understanding to selected cases which plainly demonstrate emotion in action in judicial decision-making. This work argues that emotion is a necessary, rather than optional, condition in all decision-making.

Philosophers such as Plato, one of the earliest champions of reason,; Aquinas, a mediaevalmedieval philosopher of reason,; and Kant, perhaps the most influential rationalist, are considered alongside Hume and Nilsson, as well as the psychoanalyst and anthropologist Hegeman, who provide alternative emotional accounts. These theorists often recognised the importance of emotion but did not go so far as to create an emotional model of the world. This thesis expands on their work and applies it in a legal context.

The Design and Construction of Deadlock-Free Concurrent Systems

Jeremy Malcolm Randolph Martin — Thu, 18 Apr 2024 00:00:00 +0100

It is a difficult task to produce software that is guaranteed never to fail, but it is a vital goal for which to strive in many real-life situations. The problem is especially complex in the field of parallel programming, where there are extra things that can go wrong. A particularly serious problem is deadlock. Here, we consider how to construct systems that are guaranteed deadlock-free by design.

Design rules, old and new, that eliminate deadlock are catalogued and their theoretical foundation illuminated. Then the development of a software engineering tool is described, which proves deadlock freedom by verifying adherence to these methods. The use of this tool is illustrated with several case studies.

The thesis concludes with a discussion of related issues of parallel program reliability

How Pytheas the Greek Discovered Iron-Age Britain, Stonehenge and Thule, c. 325BC

Terence Meaden — Mon, 12 Feb 2024 00:00:00 +0000

Pytheas of Massalia—a Greek scientific adventurer of the fourth century BC—was the first literate explorer to meet British countryfolk and write of their customs, crafts, food and farming practices. He explored parts of Britain including Kent, Stonehenge and the Cornish tin mines, then sailed to Scotland, Shetland, Iceland and the amber coasts of Denmark. His was a truly ambitious voyage, extremely risky for mariners in the boats of the time, especially in stormy conditions and near-Arctic drift ice.

Consequences arising from Pytheas’ inspection of Stonehenge are far-reaching because as a learned Greek he understood its purpose and, in the assessment of the present author, validly identified it as a Temple to the Sun. Temples implicitly accommodate and safeguard in their inner sanctum one or more icons to the divine. Befittingly, the present author had previously noted a significant, hitherto-unrecognized, carefully-carved phallic icon (a fallen bluestone) in the middle of the monument, and in this volume makes it public knowledge.

Moreover, Pytheas describes the Stonehenge priesthood in enough detail as to indicate that the monument was still in use when he was there. Purposeful, exciting, audacious, this was a sensational exploit on sea and land. The 58 illustrations help to express the points under study, and allow readers to appreciate the mood of ocean and countryside that Pytheas encountered.

Grow and Evolve Your Business

Mon, 17 Oct 2022 00:00:00 +0100

As 2022 progresses, the legacy of the Covid pandemic coupled with the after-effects of Brexit on trade and supply chains and rising energy costs have compounded business leaders' problems. Any 'new normal' is not yet within our grasp. Established businesses, start-ups or early-stage companies will need resilience and flexibility in recalibrating their offerings or completely reconfiguring their business plans. In all cases, innovation and flair are key.

In Grow and Evolve Your Business contributors look at these problems from two directions. Part One focuses on the development of entrepreneurial skills and tools for growth generation and includes a dissertation on the severe risks to cybersecurity daily afflicting all growing businesses.

Part Two reminds us of management fundamentals and the threats that can trip us up and ambush corporate growth. New business owners and managers need to take this advice on board and managers of established businesses are invited to take the time to revisit current practice. The book offers directions through which companies can ‘build back better.’

Seeking the Person at the Center of Medicine

Juan Mezzich, W James Appleyard — Mon, 16 May 2022 00:00:00 +0100

It has become clear that reductionist models of health care are unsustainable in both economic and humanistic terms. There is a pressing need, therefore, articulated increasingly by patients themselves, to move away from impersonal, fragmented and decontextualized systems of healthcare towards personalized, integrated and contextualised models of clinical practice within a humanistic framework of care that recognizes the importance of applying science in a manner which respects the patient as a whole person and takes full account of his values, preferences, aspirations stories, cultural context, fears, worries and hopes and which thus recognizes and responds to his emotional, social and spiritual necessities in addition to his physical needs.

The Educational Program for Person-centered Care aims to achieve this. It is divided into three discrete but interrelated sections. The first section of four papers includes the conceptualization and measurement in person centered medicine and embraces the relevance of the social determinants of health and people centered public health. The second group of articles moves on to the practical aspects of patient-physician communication and the importance of a comprehensive diagnosis. The third section emphasizes the importance of shared decision making with key examples and inter-professional collaboration. The program is a living document and will be revised with the help of those who study and apply a person-centered approach to their own practice.

Start-Up Wise

Jonathan Reuvid — Tue, 03 May 2022 00:00:00 +0100

'The perfect concise guide to creating your own company from scratch: brilliant' Graham Richards

There is much to consider when starting a business. Knowing what to do first, whether you have a concept that works for you, what resources to access and how to get started can be overwhelming and seemingly-complicated.

Start-Up Wise is a comprehensive, all-in-one-place guide providing everything you need to know for your journey, outlining seven key steps on how to start, manage and develop your business:

Generating, developing and confirming your business ideas

Correct legal structure and brand identity

Realistic business plan

Financial and tax obligations

Funding options

Cost and time-effective business systems

Building and growing your business for the future

It is important to understand why you are starting a business and then to focus on ideas and steps that will build your ideal growing and successful business. Start-Up Wise has compiled all of the key information in one guide to help you achieve this.

Jonathan Reuvid is a former economist for French oil company Total and later Director of European Operations of the manufacturing subsidiaries of a Fortune 500 multinational before engaging in joint ventures and start-ups in China. He is an experienced business writer having authored and edited over 80 business books.

Be Cyber Secure

Jonathan Reuvid — Fri, 29 Apr 2022 00:00:00 +0100

This important edition focuses on the human factor in training, cautionary tales of breaches that occurred through human error, while also identifying storytelling as an effective tool in cyber eduction.

Topics include:

Addressing management issues

Approaches to cyber defence

Innovative tools for threat response

Recruiting management

GDPR