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sociology

(Encyclopedia)sociology, scientific study of human social behavior. As the study of humans in their collective aspect, sociology is concerned with all group activities—economic, social, political, and religious. ...

heliograph

(Encyclopedia)heliograph hēˈlēəgrăf [key] [Gr.,=sun-writer], signaling device using flashes of sunlight. It has two mirrors that are used to reflect sunlight on a distant point and a shutter through which the ...

note, in music

(Encyclopedia)note, in musical notation, symbol placed on or between the lines of a staff to indicate the pitch and the relative duration of the tone to be produced by voice or instrument. The largest note value in...

Lewis, Clarence Irving

(Encyclopedia)Lewis, Clarence Irving, 1883–1964, American philosopher, b. Stoneham, Mass., grad. Harvard (B.A., 1906; Ph.D., 1910). After teaching (1911–20) at the Univ. of California, he was professor of philo...

Weaver, Warren

(Encyclopedia)Weaver, Warren, 1894–1978, American scientist, b. Reedsburg, Wis., grad. Univ. of Wisconsin. He taught mathematics at Wisconsin (1920–32), was director of the division of natural sciences at the R...

MacKinnon, Roderick

(Encyclopedia)MacKinnon, Roderick, 1956–, American biochemist, b. Burlington, Mass., M.D. Tufts Univ., 1982. MacKinnon was on the faculty at Harvard Medical School from 1989–96 and has been a professor at the H...

speech, freedom of

(Encyclopedia)speech, freedom of, liberty to speak and otherwise express oneself and one's opinions. Like freedom of the press (see press, freedom of the), which pertains to the publication of speech, freedom of sp...

taffeta

(Encyclopedia)taffeta, cloth, originally silk but now also made of synthetic fibers, supposed to have originated in Persia. The name, derived from Persian, means “twisted woven.” Taffeta is in the same class an...

Frege, Gottlob

(Encyclopedia)Frege, Gottlob gôtˈlōp frāˈgə [key], 1848–1925, German philosopher and mathematician. He was professor of mathematics (1879–1918) at the Univ. of Jena. Frege was one of the founders of moder...

Massah

(Encyclopedia)Massah mĕrˈĭbə [key], or Massah and Meribah, in the Bible, symbolic name of the place, near Horeb, where Moses brought forth water from the rock. A similar event and an equally symbolic name conce...