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Dark Matter Signal...

Posted by Reginald L. Goodwin on December 16, 2014 at 6:28am
This ellipse shows a region of sky where a galaxy made of dark matter is thought to exist.
Astronomers may finally have detected a signal of dark matter, the mysterious and elusive stuff thought to make up most of the material universe.
While poring over data collected by the European Space Agency's XMM-Newton spacecraft, a team of researchers spotted an odd spike in X-ray emissions coming from two different celestial objects — the Andromeda galaxy and the Perseus galaxy cluster.
The signal corresponds to no known particle or atom and thus may have been produced by dark matter, researchers said.

Space.com: Cosmic Mystery Solved? Possible Dark Matter Signal Spotted, Mike Wall Eureka Alert: Researchers detect possible signal from dark matter

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BSFS Member Chris Crawley's 'Let's Restore the Store' campaign....

Posted by H. Wolfgang Porter on December 15, 2014 at 6:53pm

Hey everyone,

I'm plugging for fellow BSFS member Chris Crawley and his 'Let's Restore the Store' campaign on Indie Gogo. Chris is working to restore the 100 year old bookstore that launched the writing career of author 'John Grisham' (Pelican Brief, The Firm) and many others myself included. A donation of $5, 10, 25 or more will go a long way to help keep one of the most 'Author Friendly' bookstores in the country alive and well! Former President Bill Clinton called the store known officially as 'That Bookstore in Blytheville' "One of his favorite bookstores on earth!" Check out the indie gogo campaign and if not for yourself for a future book signing, then for other authors who may one day do their first signing there only to blow up later.

Here's the link: https://www.indiegogo.com/projects/that-bookstore-in-blytheville-restoration-project/x/9154575

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ARM...

Posted by Reginald L. Goodwin on December 15, 2014 at 7:30pm
Source: Link below

KENNEDY SPACE CENTER, Fla. — NASA will weigh several factors when it makes a Dec. 16 decision on a plan for its Asteroid Redirect Mission (ARM), including how well each option supports later human missions to Mars, according to the agency official who will make that decision.


In an interview here Dec. 1, NASA Associate Administrator Robert Lightfoot said he will use a “matrix” of variables when deciding between two options for carrying out the robotic portion of ARM.

In one approach, called simply Option A by NASA, a robotic spacecraft would shift the orbit of a small near-Earth asteroid, up to ten meters in diameter, into an orbit around the Moon. The alternative, Option B, would use a robotic spacecraft to grab a boulder a few meters across from a larger asteroid and move that into lunar orbit.

“One of the main things I’m looking for is the extensibility to a martian mission,” Lightfoot said. Hardware proposed for ARM under each option should also be applicable for missions to the moons of Mars or even the martian surface itself, he said. “I want to build as little ‘one-offs’ as we can.”

Another factor will be potential commercial partnership opportunities for the mission. That would include, Lightfoot said, “commercial entities coming in to either help us do this or even take advantage of it once we’ve done it.” Other major factors he said he will consider are the technical and budgetary risks of each option.

 

Spacenews.com:
NASA To Weigh Several Factors in Decision on Asteroid Mission Option, Jeff Foust

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The Bauer Mythos...

Posted by Reginald L. Goodwin on December 14, 2014 at 6:45am
Image source: Forbes

“The United States participated actively and effectively in the negotiation of the Convention. It marks a significant step in the development during this century of international measures against torture and other inhuman treatment or punishment. Ratification of the Convention by the United States will clearly express United States opposition to torture, an abhorrent practice unfortunately still prevalent in the world today. The core provisions of the Convention establish a regime for international cooperation in the criminal prosecution of torturers relying on so-called ‘universal jurisdiction.’ Each State Party is required either to prosecute torturers who are found in its territory or to extradite them to other countries for prosecution.”



- Ronald Reagan, President of the United States, 1984

Address to the Nation upon signing the UN Convention on Torture

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Colony: Ascension: An Erotic Space Opera

Posted by Valjeanne Jeffers on December 12, 2014 at 6:34pm

"The Tyrian female he was mating with cooed and groaned. While in the back of her mind she wondered about the light she’d seen. It hadn’t come from her planet." From the mind of Valjeanne Jeffers comes a tale that is truly out of this world. Born of the short stories Colony and Probe, the long awaited full novel Colony: Ascension has landed! The Earth is dying. Populations have been segregated into worthless and valuable populations. Wages buy only food and shelter, while the rich live like kings. Earth looks to the black abyss of space to save them. And the abyss looks back. Other species have their eyes on Earth, each with their own plans. Cover art and design by Quinton Veal.

Available at www.vjeffersandqveal.com and Amazon

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Einstein's Dead Sea Scrolls...

Posted by Reginald L. Goodwin on December 12, 2014 at 6:33am
Source: Link below

On the sexist treatment of Madame Curie (fellow Nobel Laureate):

The treatment to which Einstein referred included the fact that the French Academy of Sciences denied her application for a seat, possibly because of rumors that she was Jewish — or because she was having an affair with a married man, the physicist Paul Langevin.

“I am convinced that you consistently despise this rabble,” Einstein wrote, “whether it obsequiously lavishes respect on you or whether it attempts to satiate its lust for sensationalism!”

“Anyone who does not number among these reptiles,” he said of her critics, “is certainly happy, now as before, that we have such personages among us as you, and Langevin too, real people with whom one feels privileged to be in contact.”

Einstein concluded that “[i]f the rabble continues to occupy itself with you, then simply don’t read that hogwash, but rather leave it to the reptiles for whom it has been fabricated.”

On the discrimination against African Americans:

“Even among these there are prejudices of which I as a Jew am clearly conscious,” he continued, “but they are unimportant in comparison with the attitude of the ‘Whites’ toward their fellow-citizens of darker complexion, particularly toward Negroes. The more I feel an American, the more this situation pains me. I can escape the feeling of complicity in it only by speaking out.”

Einstein then addressed the complaints of those who have had “unfavorable experiences…living side by side with Negroes” which have led them to believe “[t]hey are not our equals in intelligence, sense of responsibility, reliability.”

“I am firmly convinced that whoever believes this suffers from a fatal misconception,” he wrote. “Your ancestors dragged these black people from their homes by force; and in the white man’s quest for wealth and an easy life they have been ruthlessly suppressed and exploited, degraded into slavery. The modern prejudice against Negroes is the result of the desire to maintain this unworthy condition.”

“The ancient Greeks also had slaves,” he wrote. “They were not Negroes but white men who had been taken captive in war. There could be no talk of racial differences. And yet Aristotle, one of the great Greek philosophers, declared slaves inferior beings who were justly subdued and deprived of their liberty. It is clear that he was enmeshed in a traditional prejudice from which, despite his extraordinary intellect, he could not free himself.”

The "Dead Sea Scrolls of Physics" online: Princeton Einstein Papers
#P4TC: Einstein

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'Dark Dining' ~ cover art & design for James R Lord, III (@KhoTheMinotaur)

Posted by Aidana WillowRaven on December 11, 2014 at 6:41pm

For Dark Dining, James already had a good design concept; it just needed a few tweaks.

Blurb:

VAMPIRE ARE MADE.
VAMPYR ARE BORN.

 
Vampires. They used to walk among the humans of the world, feeding on them. They were feared of in tales and legends told throughout the centuries.  
Then they died out.  

All except Lincoln, a Vampyr, one of the upper echelon of the vampire society.  

After waking from a twenty five year sleep, Lincoln begins looking for a woman that is pregnant. He needs such a woman to rebuild his race...  

Even a down on her luck waitress at Reba's, an all night truck stop diner located just outside of Hillview, West Virginia, would do.
 
But Lincolns' quest will not be as easy as he thinks.  

Between a boyfriend that does not even want to be a father, a slighted ex employee, an old cook that remembers Lincoln from years past, a misunderstood dishwasher, and a hopelessly in love short order cook, this diner serves up a dangerous secret and Lincoln's task ends up becoming a nightmare, even for him.

Interesting twist on an exciting and chilling species. :D 
 



Oh! And James' original cover ...

I especially like cover re-dos.

It's good to see an author concerned for what's best for the book.

Don't forget to connect with James on Twitter :D 



Onto wrapping up the next book :-D


Until next time ...


This post edited by Grammarly*


*Blurbs and quotes provided are not edited by WillowRaven, but posted as provided by author/publisher. 


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Artificial Skin...

Posted by Reginald L. Goodwin on December 11, 2014 at 6:35am
Source: Link below

Some high-tech prosthetic limbs can be controlled by their owners, using nerves, muscles, or even the brain. However, there’s no way for the wearer to tell if an object is scalding hot, or about to slip out of the appendage’s grasp.






Materials that detect heat, pressure, and moisture could help change this by adding sensory capabilities to prosthetics. A group of Korean and U.S. researchers have now developed a polymer designed to mimic the elastic and high-resolution sensory capabilities of real skin.



The polymer is infused with dense networks of sensors made of ultrathin gold and silicon. The normally brittle silicon is configured in serpentine shapes that can elongate to allow for stretchability. Details of the work are published today in the journal Nature Communications.


 MIT Technology Review:
Artificial Skin That Senses, and Stretches, Like the Real Thing, David Talbot

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Nanobuds...

Posted by Reginald L. Goodwin on December 10, 2014 at 7:37am
A nanobud consists of a tube of carbon atoms with a bud-like appendage.

Transparent films containing carbon nanobuds—molecular tubes of carbon with ball-like appendages—could turn just about any surface, regardless of its shape, into a touch sensor.



The films were developed by a Finnish startup, Canatu, and could be used to add touch controls to curved automobile consoles and dashboards, for example. The films are rugged and can be repeatedly bent around something as thin as the cord for your earbuds, so they could be handy for adding buttons to flexible devices.



Touch screens are usually made by overlaying a display screen with a transparent sheet of indium tin oxide. This material is brittle, however, and can’t be used on anything other than a flat surface. Individual carbon nanotubes have long been seen as a promising alternative because they conduct electricity so well. But carbon nanotubes have performed badly in touch screens due to poor electrical connections between different nanotubes. Carbon nanobuds are better because the ball-like appendages are particularly good at emitting electrons, which improves those electrical connections.



 MIT Technology Review:
“Nanobuds” Could Turn Almost Any Surface Into a Touch Sensor, Kevin Bullis

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Unconventional Superconductors...

Posted by Reginald L. Goodwin on December 9, 2014 at 6:42am


Top: Ripples extending down the chain of atoms breaks translational symmetry (like a checkerboard with black and white squares), which would cause extra spots in the diffraction pattern (shown as red dots in the underlying diffraction pattern). Bottom: Stretching along one direction breaks rotational symmetry but not translational symmetry (like a checkerboard with identical squares but stretched in one of the directions), causing no additional diffraction spots. The experiments proved that a new family of superconductors has the second type of electron density distribution, called a nematic. Credit: Ben Frandsen



A team of scientists from the U.S. Department of Energy's (DOE) Brookhaven National Laboratory, Columbia Engineering, Columbia Physics and Kyoto University has discovered an unusual form of electronic order in a new family of unconventional superconductors. The finding, described in the journal Nature Communications, establishes an unexpected connection between this new group of titanium-oxypnictide superconductors and the more familiar cuprates and iron-pnictides, providing scientists with a whole new family of materials from which they can gain deeper insights into the mysteries of high-temperature superconductivity.



A team of scientists from the U.S. Department of Energy's (DOE) Brookhaven National Laboratory, Columbia Engineering, Columbia Physics and Kyoto University has discovered an unusual form of electronic order in a new family of unconventional superconductors. The finding, described in the journal Nature Communications, establishes an unexpected connection between this new group of titanium-oxypnictide superconductors and the more familiar cuprates and iron-pnictides, providing scientists with a whole new family of materials from which they can gain deeper insights into the mysteries of high-temperature superconductivity.



 Phys.org:
Unusual electronic state found in new class of unconventional superconductors

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Aeon Map for the coming novel, 'Infinitas', by David N Sebastian (@DavidNSebastian) is ready for show.

Posted by Aidana WillowRaven on December 7, 2014 at 9:41pm
Map by WillowRaven

David N. Sebastian, author of the soon-to-be-completed novel, Infinitas, commissioned me to create this map. I always have fun creating maps. They're a nice change of pace and make me think of treasure and adventure.

See if you can guess my favorite map icon. ;D

And although I didn't create the cover (commissioned prior to my meeting David), I thought I'd share it for him, and post the blurb: 
~

In a world where the evil dragon sorceress rules supreme, the warrior maiden and dragon slayer come together in an epic journey destined to fulfill the 100 year old Prophesy of Drakon, returning balance and goodness to the land.

...

Join sixteen year old cousins, Kali and Drake, and their best friends, Ferrah and Harold, in their search for the hidden Pool of Life where the great sword - 'Omar - lies waiting to fulfill it's duty. Tremble, scream out, and laugh along as they encounter all manner of crazy obstacles in their quest to return peace to their world by infiltrating the dragon sorceresses impregnable stronghold, Infinitas, and ending the battle begun by their ancestors 100 years ago.

Cover Art: Angeline Janeiro
~
~
~
Be sure to keep an eye on the Infinitas Wattpad page for updates. 

Also:



Onto wrapping up the next book :-D


Until next time ...


This post edited by Grammarly*


*Blurbs and quotes provided are not edited by WillowRaven, but posted as provided by author/publisher. 


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Some thoughts for game developers - How Candy Crush gets you hooked - six addictive tricks

Posted by William Hayashi on December 8, 2014 at 12:59pm

Casual games like Candy Crush Saga and Angry Birds may look simple, but underneath those bright colours, calming sounds and flashing messages, there's a lot of deep thinking going on.

In the era of omnipresent smartphones and tablets, these sacharrine treats are nigh-on inescapable, and as breakthrough hits are guaranteed millions of dollars in revenue (Candy Crush Saga alone generated $1.5bn last year), it's no wonder developers are employing increasingly clever psychological tricks to give their creations a crucial edge.

To find out some of the hidden rules of casual game design, we spoke to Steve Stopps, Nic Williams and Jonathan Evans of Lumo Developments, whose first game, Lumo Deliveries Inc, is being specifically designed for a “distracted” audience – people who want to play for short sequences during busy days. We also talk to Dr Simon Moore, a psychologist specialising in games.

Here are six of the key compulsion tactics to look out for the next time you're browsing the app stores.

Click here for the full story

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Dumbbells and Detection Techniques...

Posted by Reginald L. Goodwin on December 8, 2014 at 6:17am
Figure 1: Nano-objects with varying curvatures, Nature

ARGONNE, Ill. – Like snowflakes, nanoparticles come in a wide variety of shapes and sizes. The geometry of a nanoparticle is often as influential as its chemical makeup in determining how it behaves, from its catalytic properties to its potential as a semiconductor component. 

Thanks to a new study from the U.S. Department of Energy’s (DOE) Argonne National Laboratory, researchers are closer to understanding the process by which nanoparticles made of more than one material – called heterostructured nanoparticles – form. This process, known as heterogeneous nucleation, is the same mechanism by which beads of condensation form on a windowpane.

Heterostructured nanoparticles can be used as catalysts and in advanced energy conversion and storage systems. Typically, these nanoparticles are created from tiny “seeds” of one material, on top of which another material is grown. In this study, the Argonne researchers noticed that the differences in the atomic arrangements of the two materials have a big impact on the shape of the resulting nanoparticle. [1]


ARGONNE, Ill. ― A team of researchers from the U.S. Department of Energy's Argonne National Laboratory and Ohio University have devised a powerful technique that simultaneously resolves the chemical characterization and topography of nanoscale materials down to the height of a single atom.

The technique combines synchrotron X-rays (SX) and scanning tunneling microscopy (STM). In experiments, the researchers used SX as a probe and a nanofabricated smart tip of a STM as a detector.

Using this technique, researchers detected the chemical fingerprint of individual nickel clusters on a copper surface at a two-nanometer (nm) lateral resolution, and at the ultimate single atom height sensitivity. By varying the photon energy, the researchers used the difference in photoabsorption cross sections for nickel and the copper substrate to chemically image a single-nickel nanocluster - thus opening the door to new opportunities for chemical imaging of nanoscale materials. Until now, a spatial limit of about only 10-nm was attainable, and the researchers would simultaneously sample a large sample area. The researchers have improved the spatial resolution to 2 nm. [2]



 Argonne National Laboratories:
1. Atomic 'mismatch' creates nano 'dumbbells', Jared Sagoff
2. Powerful new technique simultaneously determines nanomaterials' chemical makeup, topography, Angela Hardin

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2015 Humanities Conference Call for Papers: “Speculative Humanities: Steampunk to Afrofuturism”

Posted by Rebecca Williams on December 7, 2014 at 12:14pm

2015 Humanities Conference

Call for Papers: “Speculative Humanities: Steampunk to Afrofuturism”

 

On March 11-12, 2015, the Humanities Division at Essex County College will host its Spring 2015 Conference, “Speculative Humanities: Steampunk to Afrofuturism.” This two-day conference offers space for writers, musicians, artists, and academicians to explore, expand upon, and rethink the implications of speculative humanities. This year's conference will feature a special emphasis on the life, work, and influence of Octavia E. Butler.

 

Speculative humanities encompasses a diverse array of works, from the 18th century mysticism of Swedenborg to the 20th century spiritual teachings of Gurdjieff, along with the 19th century texts of authors such as Mary Shelley, Samuel Butler, and Jules Verne to the 20th and 21st century works of H.G. Wells, Octavia E. Butler, Margaret Atwood, Samuel Delany, Cormac McCarthy, and L.A. Banks. The revolutionary wave sweeping across Europe during the 19th century along with the publication of texts such as The Communist Manifesto influenced generations of writers to produce works featuring both urban utopias and dystopian metropolises.

 

Historical and fictional texts include post-apocalyptic narratives, steampunk, Afrofuturism, fantasy, fan fiction, fabulist, anime, horror, and what was once categorized as science fiction. 

Open to all humanities disciplines--literature, music, history, religion, philosophy, art, architecture, theater, dance, and media--we invite papers, panel presentations, screenings, and performances of works that can be included in the admittedly broad category of “speculative humanities.” We welcome interactive, unorthodox panels, screenings, exhibits, musical performances, and other presentations related to our central theme. Papers on the works of Octavia E. Butler are especially encouraged for submission.

 

Please email (abstracts of 250-300 words) for panels and individual presentations to both of the conference co-chairs: Prof. Jennifer Wager (jwager@essex.edu) and Prof. Rebecca Williams (wrebecca@essex.edu) by Sunday, January 16, 2015.

 

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Broken Windows, Shattered Dreams...

Posted by Reginald L. Goodwin on December 7, 2014 at 9:12am

Dear Mayor Bill de Blasio,





I share your concern as I as an African American father, have not one, but two sons that I am constantly concerned about.



The concern did not start with Eric Garner, nor Mike Brown, nor Jordan Davis, nor Trayvon Martin, nor Renesha McBride, nor Amadeu Diallo, nor Sean Bell, nor Jonathan Ferrell nor a host of others that have become the current bodies in a dark, efficient version, according the the Guardian, of high-tech lynching.



My concern started when I had an Afro - an impressive one, like your son's - when I was fourteen years old in Winston-Salem, NC.



I pulled out a pick to comb my Afro (had one then). It was one of those folding-handle jobs: one side red, the other green, Black Nationalist colors. I was too young to know that or how it mattered. What I was doing was fixing my “do,” getting my ‘fro right, looking at model cars and toys in King’s Department store as my mother shopped for clothes; reminiscing when this was my whole focus in the world.



He was big: bald receding hairline, hair on the sides like Larry of “Moe, Larry and Curly” but greasy and laid flat with flakes of dandruff. He had a pot belly lapping over his large belt buckle. I was a little over five feet tall and 110 lbs. He was over six feet and outweighed me by about 200 lbs.



“What you doing, boy?”



I was startled, and turned around. I was as respectable as my parents had taught me to be in situations like this: “Nothing,” I said, and turned away.



“What’s in your pocket?”



“My pick!” and frankly, that’s all that was in my pocket. This man, who hadn’t announced who he was or why I was getting the 4-1-1, was beyond annoying me.



“Up against the wall!” he barked.



The wall was again, a shelf of model cars and toys only kids would like. “This isn’t much of a wall,” I quipped.



I was grabbed by the throat and left arm, shoved hard into the toy shelves. An avalanche fell on my ‘fro denting my styling. At this point, I was in shock.



“Who are you, man!?”



“Store detective…” He flipped me like an omelet. I was being bodily frisked…against my will.



“I didn’t steal anything,” I said, “the only thing in my pockets is a pick you prick!”



“SHUT UP, boy: I knows nigras steal!” Source: Old Tapes



Welcome to America: this is the America Dr. Maya Angelou thought had "grown up" after the election of our first black president. This is the America that a representative from South Carolina in the seat of Congress shouts "you lie" disrespectfully during a State of the Union Address. This is an American congress that costs $24 billion in a government shutdown. This is a congress that used the fears of ISIS/ISIL and Ebola to win the midterms that has now "mysteriously" vanished from the news cycle.



This is also, the America where "Broken Windows" became the shared pseudo academic delusion and pursued public policy. It is the spiritual and literal father of "Stop and Frisk"; "Stand Your Ground."



Welcome to the America I have not escaped with extensive and ongoing training and a career in a STEM field - physics. Welcome to the America that causes my pulse to rise, my heart to skip beats when either son doesn't answer their cell phones. These are young men, mind you, that have never committed a crime; never had a record; never seen the inside of a jail cell, yet lately they, I, their mother are all guilty of "existing while black," which covers all the colloquialism bases. Our existence, over a long, painful history that IS America, is an indictment to the American Mythology of Exceptionalism. Every story, every bloodbath, every riot, every acquittal of our murders by citizens or the police only lessens my lifespan: I am constantly and consistently concerned to NOT become the next grieving parent!



Welcome sir, to my America as I, and your children will either witness or sadly experience it, and the ever-present fear of being a part of this darkly efficient, ever-repeating tragedy.



"Black Like Me," John Howard Griffin


"Invisible Man," Ralph Ellison

















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A Golden Spike...

Posted by Reginald L. Goodwin on December 6, 2014 at 7:30am
Image Source: Interesting Engineering

Having had the pleasure of lunch in San Antonio with a good friend and scientist I admire along with his wife Alicia and mine (Cassandra), Mark pointed out STEM is difficult, it takes effort to master it and good scientists are usually busy doing...GOOD science. Popular shows have their place in framing the importance of science in our daily affairs, but the best most of us can hope for is a general appreciation for that import, and a vision not to hinder its growth and continuance. 

We used to do great things.

Then, we gave voice to a warped skepticism; a clear evidence of the abhorred vacuum of nature being filled by the inexperienced, the uneducated: the loud, obnoxious nincompoops with a microphone and an audience of willfully ignorant malcontents that sadly: vote. In return for this political Baal worship, they are rewarded with policies against their, and the country's long term best interests.


There are some, still to this day, who doubt the moon landing ever happened. Never having lived during the era or too young to have witnessed it for themselves, their evidence are web articles of dubious expertise and sourcing; Internet videos that can be fabricated on laptops and uploaded to web sites NOW: neither sites, laptops or URLs existed during those days.

The technology we use today is a direct spin off from the space program. The integrated circuit was initially developed due to reducing rocket payloads. Newtonian physics is what we use at the moment to get satellites or astronauts into orbit. Our 238-year experiment in self-government seems to work on cartoon physics at the moment.

We've driven a golden spike into the trail leading inexorably into the future leading to the first manned landing on Mars; the mining of asteroids and Helium 3 on a moon base and more of us having the "Overlook Effect" as we become a space faring species. It will be a paradigm shift technologically, politically and sociologically. Only myopia, fear, draconian budget cuts, conspiratorial and magical thinking will drive us into another inexorable, tragic direction: back to tribalism, the caves and dissolution of the nation state.

We used to do great things. Maybe we can do it...again.
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Al-Jabr...

Posted by Reginald L. Goodwin on December 5, 2014 at 7:39am
Image Source: Kevtak Algebra Readiness Classroom and Homework page

This reminds me of a student in one of my first math classes I taught at the high school level - Algebra 1 - stating emphatically he "didn't need math to be a mechanic." A visit to the web page for UTI, and that "troubleshooting" and electronic technology involves a considerable amount of math managed to refocus him successfully (the Pre-Calculus class was a bit older, and concentrated on graduating - I didn't need to do much "pep-talking").

A little history for perspective: we use it to balance chemical equations; the first high school physics you'll ever learn before you run into Calculus will be based on this foundation.

Image source: Famous Scientists

Muhammad al-Khwarizmi

Baghdad in the 9th century was a global center of culture and trade, a hub connecting India and China with the Mediterranean and Europe. It was a rich city, a center of learning, and scholars from all over the world would come to study at the House of Wisdom, a renowned library and academy where Muhammad al-Khwarizmi lived as a scholar.

Ideas traveled in consort with commerce along the roads of Baghdad, and al-Khwarizmi embodied the wide range of the city's global vision. The Muslim scholar expanded upon the work of Greco-Roman astronomers such as Ptolemy, created one of the oldest surviving treatises on the Jewish calendar and employed and popularized the Hindu number system of 1, 2, 3... (which, because of al-Khwarizmi's work, we now refer to as the Hindu-Arabic numeration).

But his most influential work dealt with methods to solve complete equations. In "The Compendious Book on Calculation by Completion and Balancing," al-Khwarizmi demonstrated how to simplify equations by adding or subtracting an identical quantity from both sides. For example, adding 4x to each side of 6x = 40 - 4x reveals that 10x = 40. This "act of completion" - al-jabr - gave mathematicians a new tool: algebra.

From Time, Special Editions: Great Scientists - The Geniuses, Eccentrics and Visionaries Who Transformed Our World, Mathematics, page 21.

And, in the spirit of irony as well as completion: x = 4 (today). Smiley Faces
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Author beware: 'Custom Cover Design' does not mean 'Original Cover Art'. {revisited}

Posted by Aidana WillowRaven on December 5, 2014 at 1:43am

Due to a question asked me on Twitter, I've refreshed and republished this post. This article was also posted on the 4RV Publishing Blog.on 12/09/12


So, you've decided you want a unique book cover for your book. You don't want it to look like every other book on the shelf or web browser.

You hop on Twitter or Facebook and put some feelers out, searching for a cover artist or designer. You get dozens and dozens of responses, from both amateurs and professionals. How do you know you are going to get what you want and that it's unique?

 First you must learn a few key terms.


1- cover designer

Designers are trained in typesetting, photo-manipulation, and composition. Though rare, some designers are also trained photographers and/or traditional artists. It's accepted, once an image is altered it is a 'new work', and by law, that is true. All it takes are three distinct changes. If you are looking for something more original than manipulated parts of stock photos that could potentially be used on another book cover, be sure to tell the cover designer you are not interested in using stock imagery. A cover designer may or may not be trained for what you are looking for.


2- cover artist

In years past, publishers hired a cover artist to do the visual artwork and a cover designer to do the typesetting and layout. In today's tough job market, more and more designers are doing both the cover image (see above) and the design under one job. On that same note, more and more illustrators or cover artists are tackling the job of design. It is prudent to verify, before trusting your book to anyone that the person you hire is trained and skilled to do what you want for your cover. After all, your cover will be the first impression potential readers will have.


3- custom vs original

Many designers and websites that boast cheap 'custom' cover designs or art can be misleading. Again, let's look at the laws regarding art. By law, if an image (art or design), is altered in three ways, it is a new work. If an artist or designer manipulates two images by combining a figure from one and changing the color of something from another, all they have to do is add text. By law, that is a custom cover. That may be acceptable to you. Designs like this tend to be a cost-effective way to dress a book. However, some authors want a more detailed, more story-relevant cover, that does not include mixing existing stock imagery. If you are in that group, be sure to hire someone who insures the art is original, not simply custom. You'll likely pay more, but as the old saying goes, you get what you pay for.


How do you recognize the difference between cover art and cover design when looking through portfolios?

A cover artwork should be able to stand alone and still tell a story. A design, though it may look awesome and fitting with the title and cover text, if presented alone it would just be a cool visual. Does the portfolio use photographs? And if so, were they taken by the designer or a photographer they hired? Or, if you are looking for artwork, does the artist also do the design aspect of the cover. How well does their design compliment the art?

These are all questions that should be answered before money changes hands.


If anybody has questions as to what is considered original vs custom, or the difference between cover design & cover art, please leave comment or contact me at my signature links.


Onto wrapping up the next book :-D


Until next time ...


This post edited by Grammarly*


*Blurbs and quotes provided are not edited by WillowRaven, but posted as provided by author/publisher. 


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