Are the Hessdalen Lights a Reality, an Illusion, or a Mix of the Two ?

The Hessdalen lights (HLs in the following) are luminous, floating, more or less spherical atmospheric phenomena, with a lifetime of a few seconds to sometimes several minutes. These phenomena are seen in the Hessdalen Valley in Norway for decades. Unfortunately a full understanding of these baffling events is still lacking in spite of solid working scientific projects intended to explain them. This paper tries to improve the situation. It raises the questions where the energy for the creation of the HLs comes from, and what was its nature : (geo) chemical, electric or still other ? We propose a new scenario for the Hessdalen lights. It exploits the recent idea of stable and traversable wormholes whose the potential existence is beginning to be recognized in physics. Even though appearing highly speculative, this hypothesis has not been so far explored elsewhere while it could supply a full description of the wholeness of the phenomenon. On the other side even if the probability that a HL could indeed be a wormhole is may be low, this question should not dismissed out of hand. These theoretical considerations could help to increase knowledge and understanding of both the HLs and the wormholes, drawing mutual enrichment. In other words HLs could betray the presence of hidden wormholes and we must not let slip through our fingers this possibility even if it is very tiny. In this framework we discuss of the stability, the energetics and the oversized dimension of the HLs. In physics the final arbiter is not the theory but the experiment. Thus some “simple” experiments are eventually suggested (high time resolution photometry and magnetic field measurements). Eventually, if the process described is real and after mastering it, there is a free and inexhaustible source of energy that would be derived, a tremendous breakthrough after which we could forget the controlled nuclear fusion. Regarding its structure, the paper is divided in four paragraphs 1, 2,3, 4 independent of each other. Illustrative pictures help to understand the text.

The Transtextual Gender Construction in the Opera Madame White Snake

The opera Madame White Snake (hereafter Madame), co-commissioned by Opera Boston and Beijing Music Festival, premiered at Boston Cutler Majestic Theater in February 2010. It was the first commissioned opera by Opera Boston.1 Based on the story from the famous Chinese ancient myth Bai She Zhuan 2 (in Chinese: 白蛇传), this opera’s libretto was created by a Singaporean American librettist, who has shed the story’s “traditional skin and taking on modern trappings” (Smith, 2019: 27) on purpose. When sniffing at male librettists’ discourses about female characters’ vulnerable and tragic lives in their operas, opera Madame’s initiator and librettist Cerise Lim Jacobs argues that women should seize the initiative to make their own decisions in life. The white snake, in her mind, ought to be a whole woman who is powerful and demonic, and yet, is also nurturing and caring, is capable of deep and intense love. In the first section of this article, I introduce the original legend’s background and the story outline in its operatic adaptation; I also trace back the opera’s commissioning process. After providing the background information of the story and the operatic version, then, in the second section I analyze the opera in terms of its transtextual figural gender construction in her characterization through comparative studies of the white and green snakes’ images from the sources of literary works, traditional xiqu scripts and operatic librettos. Referring to Lim’s personal growth and migrating history, as well as she and her husband co-founded charitable foundation’s missions and its recent IDEA (Inclusion, Diversity, Equity, and Access) opera grant program partnering with Opera America, I aim to examine her gender construction of the “female” roles in the opera from the perspectives of feminism, interracial marriage; and heterosexual, transsexual, and homosexual relationships.

Decomposition of Feynman integrals by multivariate intersection numbers

We present a detailed description of the recent idea for a direct decomposition of Feynman integrals onto a basis of master integrals by projections, as well as a direct derivation of the differential equations satisfied by the master integrals, employing multivariate intersection numbers. We discuss a recursive algorithm for the computation of multivariate intersection numbers, and provide three different approaches for a direct decomposition of Feynman integrals, which we dub thestraight decomposition, thebottom-up decomposition, and thetop-down decomposition. These algorithms exploit the unitarity structure of Feynman integrals by computing intersection numbers supported on cuts, in various orders, thus showing the synthesis of the intersection-theory concepts with unitarity-based methods and integrand decomposition. We perform explicit computations to exemplify all of these approaches applied to Feynman integrals, paving a way towards potential applications to generic multi-loop integrals.

Sharp one-sided curvature estimates for fully nonlinear curvature flows and applications to ancient solutions

We prove several sharp one-sided pinching estimates for immersed and embedded hypersurfaces evolving by various fully nonlinear, one-homogeneous curvature flows by the method of Stampacchia iteration. These include sharp estimates for the largest principal curvature and the inscribed curvature (“cylindrical estimates”) for flows by concave speeds and a sharp estimate for the exscribed curvature for flows by convex speeds. Making use of a recent idea of Huisken and Sinestrari, we then obtain corresponding estimates for ancient solutions. In particular, this leads to various characterisations of the shrinking sphere amongst ancient solutions of these flows.

Chestnut-crowned babbler calls are composed of meaningless shared building blocks

A core component of human language is its combinatorial sound system: meaningful signals are built from different combinations of meaningless sounds. Investigating whether nonhuman communication systems are also combinatorial is hampered by difficulties in identifying the extent to which vocalizations are constructed from shared, meaningless building blocks. Here we present an approach to circumvent this difficulty and show that a pair of functionally distinct chestnut-crowned babbler (Pomatostomus ruficeps) vocalizations can be decomposed into perceptibly distinct, meaningless entities that are shared across the 2 calls. Specifically, by focusing on the acoustic distinctiveness of sound elements using a habituation-discrimination paradigm on wild-caught babblers under standardized aviary conditions, we show that 2 multielement calls are composed of perceptibly distinct sounds that are reused in different arrangements across the 2 calls. Furthermore, and critically, we show that none of the 5 constituent elements elicits functionally relevant responses in receivers, indicating that the constituent sounds do not carry the meaning of the call and so are contextually meaningless. Our work, which allows combinatorial systems in animals to be more easily identified, suggests that animals can produce functionally distinct calls that are built in a way superficially reminiscent of the way that humans produce morphemes and words. The results reported lend credence to the recent idea that language’s combinatorial system may have been preceded by a superficial stage where signalers neither needed to be cognitively aware of the combinatorial strategy in place, nor of its building blocks.

Mathematical proof: from mathematics to school mathematics

Proof plays a central role in developing, establishing and communicating mathematical knowledge. Nevertheless, it is not such a central element in school mathematics. This article discusses some issues involving mathematical proof in school, intending to characterize the understanding of mathematical proof in school, its function and the meaning and relevance attributed to the notion of simple proof. The main conclusions suggest that the idea of addressing mathematical proof at all levels of school is a recent idea that is not yet fully implemented in schools. It requires an adaptation of the understanding of proof to the age of the students, reducing the level of formality and allowing the students to experience the different functions of proof and not only the function of verification. Among the different functions of proof, the function of explanation deserves special attention due to the illumination and empowerment that it can bring to the students and their learning. The way this function of proof relates to the notion of simple proof (and the related aesthetic issues) seems relevant enough to make it, in the future, a focus of attention for the teachers who address mathematical proof in the classroom. This article is part of the theme issue ‘The notion of ‘simple proof’ - Hilbert's 24th problem’.

Moral Dichotomization at the Heart of Prejudice: The Role of Moral Foundations and Intolerance of Ambiguity in Generalized Prejudice

This study confronted the classical idea that generalized prejudice is rooted in a cognitive tendency to sort reality into rigid and simple categories with the more recent idea that prejudice is shaped by moral intuitions. In a diverse Swedish sample ( N = 430), moral absolutism was more strongly associated with generalized prejudice against derogated and dissident (but not dangerous) groups than were other aspects of intolerance of ambiguity. But there was little direct association between any aspect of intolerance of ambiguity and generalized prejudice once indirect relations through binding moral intuitions (which elevated prejudice) and individualizing moral intuitions (which decreased prejudice) had been taken into account. These findings suggest that intolerance of ambiguity is associated with generalized prejudice mainly insofar as it leads to a distinctly moral dichotomization of persons into categories such as insiders and outsiders, law-abiding citizens and deviants, and the righteous and the impure.

Free Will and Mental Powers

In this paper, we investigate how contemporary metaphysics of powers can further an understanding of agent-causal theories of free will. The recent upsurge of such ontologies of powers and the understanding of causation it affords promises to demystify the notion of an agent-causal power. However, as we argue pace (Mumford and Anjum in Analysis 74:20–25, 2013; Am Philos Q 52:1–12, 2015a), the very ubiquity of powers also poses a challenge to understanding in what sense exercises of an agent’s power to act could still be free—neither determined by external circumstances, nor random, but self-determined. To overcome this challenge, we must understand what distinguishes the power to act from ordinary powers. We suggest this difference lies in its rational nature, and argue that existing agent-causal accounts (e.g., O’Connor in Libertarian views: dualist and agent-causal theories, Oxford University Press, Oxford, 2002; Lowe in Personal agency: the metaphysics of mind and action, Oxford University Press, Oxford, 2013) fail to capture the sense in which the power to act is rational. A proper understanding, we argue, requires us to combine the recent idea that the power to act is a ‘two-way power’ (e.g., Steward in A metaphysics for freedom, Oxford University Press, Oxford, 2012b; Lowe (in: Groff, Greco (eds) Powers and capacities in philosophy: the new aristotelianism, Routledge, New York, 2013) with the idea that it is intrinsically rational. We sketch the outlines of an original account that promises to do this. On this picture, what distinguishes the power to act is its special generality—the power to act, unlike ordinary powers, does not come with any one typical manifestation. We argue that this special generality can be understood to be a feature of the capacity to reason. Thus, we argue, an account of agent-causation that can further our understanding of free will requires us to recognize a specifically rational or mental variety of power.

Moral-Epistemic Enhancement

The idea of using biomedical means to make people more likely to behave morally may have a certain appeal. However, it is very hard to find two persons – let alone two moral philosophers – who agree on what it means to be moral or to act morally. After discussing some of the proposals for moral enhancements that all ethicists could agree on, I engage more closely with the recent idea of “procedural moral enhancement” that aims at improving deliberative processes instead of particular moral views, motivations, or dispositions. I argue that it is better understood as a contribution to moral epistemology and should thus be labeled “moral-epistemic enhancement”. I then defend perspective-taking as a moral epistemic capacity which can be enhanced by both traditional and non-traditional biomedical means; a capacity which almost always contributes to the epistemic value of moral decision-making. Perspective-taking seems to be an uncontroversial non-trivial capacity for moral decision-making reasonably widely shared by proponents of ethical beliefs within the academic community. The enhancement of this capacity is thus a good candidate for an uncontroversial non-trivial moral enhancement.

Smiling tigers: trauma, sexuality and creaturely life in Echo’s Bones

In analysing ‘Sanies I’ and ‘Serena II’ meticulously, with special attention to the animal imagery, Conor Carville in this chapter links Otto Rank’s theory of the trauma of birth with Eric Santner’s recent idea of ‘creaturely life’ – the life that is exposed to biopolitical power at moments of trauma. Trauma is here considered as constitutive of the subject, not an exceptional phenomenon, and also as providing the raw material for biopolitical power. In the process of Carville’s analyses emerge hitherto uncharted networks concerning Beckett’s fixation on the trauma of birth and the contemporary biopolitical concerns with birth, reproduction and population in Ireland and Britain. Carville’s article not only provides original close readings of those difficult poems in the light of Rank but also illustrates how a highly personal unease about sexual identity caused by birth trauma can be connected to the biopolitical discourses by the use of Santner’s idea of ‘creaturely life’ that itself draws on the ideas of Benjamin, Foucault, Lacan, Agamben and other theorists.