Hodges' model: Is it a virus: or a universal vaccine?

The arrival of 'imposter syndrome' well-over a decade ago(?), from the speaker's podium was an interesting surprise. A case of lived experience, as I'd felt this in trying (and failing) to grapple with the ever-growing, morphing development stack of a software program. Long gone are the days of Sinclair and BBC BASIC. The mountain and learning cliff, was CMS content management system: Drupal. 

What contributed to that feeling back then? Well there was the people I was sat by and sharing time at various European DrupalCons. It was I who was the 'con'. A hobbyist, from pre-PC days. Seeing and hearing what they were creating and the great community. Fascinating also, to see web design fashions come-and-go.

I've written before about Hodges' model being an over-valued idea to me. As a mind-mapping meme it infected me decades ago. Is it a virus? If it is I clearly had no resistance, no immunity. I've always tried to acknowledge, reminded myself that the model is not the be-all-and-end-all.

While the specific mathematical is complex, it is worth trying to grasp some of the intent and meaning (even at the risk of exacerbating imposter reactions). Hestenes provides a paper (and several others):

'ABSTRACT. The discovery of Mathematical Viruses is announced here for the first
time. Such viruses are a serious threat to the general mental health of the mathematical
community. Several viruses inimical to the unity of mathematics are identified, and their
deleterious characteristics are described. A strong dose of geometric algebra and calculus
is the best medicine for both prevention and cure.'

Hestenes, D. (1992). Mathematical Viruses. In: Micali, A., Boudet, R., Helmstetter, J. (eds) Clifford Algebras and their Applications in Mathematical Physics. Fundamental Theories of Physics, vol 47. Springer, Dordrecht. https://doi.org/10.1007/978-94-015-8090-8_1

'The computer virus (CV) owes its name and perhaps its genesis to the biological virus
(BV). Like a BV, a CV cannot function by itself, but when attached to a host it replicates
repeatedly until it impairs the functioning of the host, sometimes to the point of disabling
the host altogether. ...

My purpose here is to call your attention to another kind of virus - one which can
infect the mind - the mind of anyone doing mathematics, from young student to professional
mathematician. As I believe this is the first published paper to explicitly identify
such viruses, I take the liberty of naming and describing them as follows: A mathematical
virus (MV) is a preconception about the structure, function or method of mathematics
which impairs one's ability to do mathematics. Just as a CV is program which impairs the
operating system of a computer, an MV is an idea which impairs the conceptualization of
mathematics in the mind. Indeed, as one definition of "virus," Webster gives "something that
corrupts the mind or soul." Since the identification and classification of MVs has only
just begun, it would be premature to attempt a more precise definition. The better course
is to examine some specific viruses to form a form empirical base for further study.
My first example is an easily recognized MV which is extremely virulent and as common
as the common cold. I call it the coordinate virus, designating it by MV/C to denote genesis
and type, and characterizing it as follows:' pp.1-2. (online copy)

Hestenes' biohistory is an interesting conceptual and interdisciplinary bridge. Another construct to add to our  collection. Is there a virus in the models deployed within medicine and healthcare to date? You know, the bed-round of the medical, biomedical, bio-psycho-social? The round were you don't need to count the number of beds, except in the event of a pandemic. Is the omission of the political, even as the socio-economic reality is now a constant point of reference a symptom of a centuries-long infection? 

For a long time now* the legacies that successive cohorts of students, and newly qualified professionals encounter have stood out. Another question is, just how far back in time do we need to travel to find can the origin of this situation? Was there an initial crisis involving the overt expression of 'power'? Can this be found the as the Hippocratic oath butted up - literally - against triage on the battlefield?

Now: Time won't tell (or will it?). Now that - is some virus.

Prof. George William Brown OBE, FBA (1930–2026)

"George Brown was a huge figure in sociology and social psychiatry. At a time when social science and psychiatry were so riven with conceptual differences they could not work constructively, George’s approach was collaborative, courageous and imaginative. His work addressed real-world problems and in so doing greatly enriched mental health research."

Professor Matthew Hotopf, Executive Dean, Institute of Psychiatry, Psychology & Neuroscience:
https://www.kcl.ac.uk/news/professor-george-william-brown-obe-fba-19302026

Starting in Warrington School of Nursing (Winwick Hospital) as a student mental health nurse in October 1977 you can how that curriculum and programme of study came about; and influences on Brian Hodges' early career.

 

Hodges' Health Career - Care Domains - Model

 

 An individual's 'health career' is impacted by their life chances and life events.

 

 

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Individual Psychology Life events PSYCHIATRY psycho-	Life events EVOLUTIONARY PSYCHIATRY
social Group Psychology Life events SOCIAL & CULTURAL  PSYCHIATRY	LIFE EVENTS  PSYCHO-POLITICAL PSYCHIATRY

See also:

Wing, J.K., & Brown, G.W. (1970). Institutionalism and Schizophrenia: A Comparative Study of Three Mental Hospitals 1960–1968. Cambridge; Cambridge University Press. 

Brown, G. & Harris, T. (1978) Social Origins of Depression. A Study of Psychiatric Disorder in Women. London: Tavistock.Google Scholar 

Brown G.W. & Harris, T. (1979) Social origins of depression: a study of psychiatric disorder in women, London: Tavistock Publications.

Brown, G. W., & Harris, T. O. (Eds.). (1989). Life events and illness. The Guilford Press.

My source: Patrick Kidd. Forum, Obituary, The Observer. 20th September, 2026, p.42.
https://observer.co.uk/profile/obituary/article/george-brown-the-former-post-office-boy-who-unlocked-the-mystery-of-depression

Previously: 'social sciences' : 'psychiatry' : 'determinants'

Book review: 'Categories: A Study of a Concept in Western Philosophy and Political Thought'

Categories

 

To - Edinburgh University Press. 

Many thanks for this book -

O’Sullivan L. Categories: A Study of a Concept in Western Philosophy and Political Thought. Edinburgh University Press; 2024.

Requested in May, your response was quick. So, my apologies for the delay in picking this up. In mitigation, what I have been learning since, will help my reading of O'Sullivan's text.

As readers of W2tQ will have realised, there is a built in bias to my reading of any text. In short: It's all about the model. 

Categories was spotted in Foyles on a visit to London. It recommended itself instantly: title, Venn diagrams, sets and all.

A larger format paperback of 335 pages, the print quality, font and design match the values and usual care of the publisher. 

Given the subject, there are appropriately distinct indices of subjects and proper names.

At pages 2-3, I have already succumbed (my emphasis):

'As a result, there is widespread contemporary recognition that categories are both important and problematic. A non-exhaustive list of academic fields and disciplines in which issues to do with categories arise includes anthropology, critical theory, cultural studies, feminist studies, history, linguistics, philosophy, political science, political theory, post-colonial studies, post-modernism, post-humanism, psychoanalysis, psychology, rhetoric and sociology. It is clear, moreover, that this recognition reflects the situation in society at large. Popular authors articulate a pervasive feeling that "Things are in the wrong place. Religion is in the box where science used to be. Politics is on the shelf where you thought you left science the previous afternoon." Categorical worries have penetrated public as well as academic discourse.' pp.2-3.

But how did Luke O'Sullivan know? On page 3 having given us the informal uses of the word 'category':

'These, moreover, are only the informal uses; there are also formal, logical and mathematical, senses which we shall largely have to pass over.^'13

For me it is a disappointment that the formal aspects will be passed over. It is also a relief. 

For a model that is situated, as far as nursing theory, and models of nursing/care were concerned in 1997-8; Hodges' model had been left on the shelf - gathering dust.

I recognised a slide from a Youtube video this past week, care of Cheng I think? I'll share soon.

More to follow.

13 Eugenia Cheng, Cakes, Custard, and Category Theory Easy Recipes for Understanding Complex Mathematics (London: Profile Books, 2015) provides an introduction to mathematical category theory.

Violence is a . . .

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violence is a STATE of mind: and ...?
	Photo: Nidal Eshtayeh

My source: Financial Times. 9 September, 2026, p.1.

Previously: 'violence' : 'law' : 'power'

Is the Individual-Group axis health's proscenium arch?

Speech: “All the world’s a stage”

By William Shakespeare
(from As You Like It, spoken by Jaques)

          

     All the world’s a stage, 
And all the men and women merely players; 
They have their exits and their entrances; 
And one man in his time plays many parts, 
His acts being seven ages. At first the infant,
Mewling and puking in the nurse’s arms; 
And then the whining school-boy, with his satchel
And shining morning face, creeping like snail
Unwillingly to school. And then the lover,
Sighing like furnace, with a woeful ballad 
Made to his mistress’ eyebrow. Then a soldier,
Full of strange oaths, and bearded like the pard,
Jealous in honour, sudden and quick in quarrel,
Seeking the bubble reputation
Even in the cannon’s mouth. And then the justice,
In fair round belly with good capon lin’d,
With eyes severe and beard of formal cut,
Full of wise saws and modern instances;
And so he plays his part. The sixth age shifts
Into the lean and slipper’d pantaloon,
With spectacles on nose and pouch on side;
His youthful hose, well sav’d, a world too wide
For his shrunk shank; and his big manly voice,
Turning again toward childish treble, pipes
And whistles in his sound. Last scene of all,
That ends this strange eventful history,
Is second childishness and mere oblivion;
Sans teeth, sans eyes, sans taste, sans everything.

Source: https://www.poetryfoundation.org/poems/56966/speech-all-the-worlds-a-stage

TIME FRAMES

'As Shakespeare and his contemporaries wrote for the epic scale, the imaginative commitment and the 360-degree embrace of the Globe so, three hundred years later, generations of playwrights wrote for the velvety darkness, the enclosed acoustic and the picture framing of the proscenium arch.

For a century, the story of the changing world was told inside proscenium theatres, by a series of remarkable playwrights. In over sixty irreverent, illuminating pen portraits – of both famous giants and lesser-known talents – Dominic Dromgoole takes us on a journey from 1865 to 1965, revealing how these writers used the framed stage to reflect the social upheavals of their times.' 

This post began with: 'All the world's a stage', but I realised I'm no Shakespeare. Hodges' model is a frame; and users of the model can put it to work, readily. Be that in the sciences, arts, and across curricula. The 'arch' in Hodges' model appears to be inverted, working from within, rather than out. Similarly to the proscenium arch, however, the model provides a structure, for whatever performance, situated, will surely follow.

Hodges' model: Axes and Domains

Of course, the question posed here might be re-framed as: 

Are the axes of Hodges' model, life and death's proscenium arch?


Dominic Dromgoole (2026) Time Frames: A century of proscenium playwrights. London: Faber. 
https://www.faber.co.uk/product/9780571374113-time-frames/ [Text source].

Previously: 'drama' : 'stage' : 'frame'

Bonjour Bayeux: Tapestries Historical & Modern

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'I think my favourite story to work on has been the 434 dinosaurs that are in the tapestry.  So much has changed about what we know about dinosaurs and all because the study of fossils and dinosaurs has grown up alongside geological survey for mining and petroleum drilling. Studies say dinosaurs were much more colourful than originally imagined and many were feathered, and in fact birds are their distant relatives.  Only 50 years ago we were taught that oil was made from decomposed dinosaurs and plants. Today research suggests oil formed from aquatic algae, called diatoms. Much more than half of all life on earth died in a mass extinction at the end of the Cretaceous period. The most agreed upon theory, based on research, suggests the cause was when an asteroid collided with the earth and triggered volcanic eruptions, that disrupted weather patterns, growing seasons and ecosystems.  This one-two punch killed off the majority of Earth’s flora and fauna, including the dinosaurs, all of which were unable to adapt to the changes in climate.' Sandra Sawatzky - https://www.theblackgoldtapestry.com/notes

Detail - Panel 1 - Beginnings The Black Gold Tapestry

THE BRITISH MUSEUM A historic loan from France The Bayeux Tapestry Experience / 10 September 2026 – 11 July 2027

My source: Sandra Sawatzky, Oil in a Material World, Resurgence & Ecologist, Nov/Dec 2022, Issue 335, pp.52-55.

See also: https://www.theblackgoldtapestry.com/

Previously: 'Canada' : 'environment' : 'activism'

Socialism & Adult Education - Historical perspectives for a revived lifelong learning

Call for Papers

How important has socialism been to adult education? For most of history, adult education – structured learning, involving organised study and usually teaching – was restricted largely to social and religious elites. During the nineteenth century, however, as the industrial revolution tore apart the bonds of ‘traditional’ economies and societies, propelled migrants to towns and foreign lands, and demanded mastery of new skills, new popular democratic movements arose – most profoundly, the socialist movement.

In Britain, prior to the Elementary Education Act 1870, few working-class people had any formal education; even after that opportunities were limited. In response, a diverse range of non-statutory voluntary adult education organisations emerged. These included the Mutual Improvement Societies, the Young Adult Schools, the Education Settlements, the Mechanics’ Institutes, the Working Men’s College, University Extension, Co-operative Education, the Workers’ Educational Association (WEA), and Independent Working Class Education and the Labour College Movement. Some were deeply linked with socialism – others more tenuously, if at all – but together they made adult education in literacy, technical skills and knowledge, the liberals arts and politics accessible to many adults.

Through the twentieth century, at least until the neo-liberal era, the influence of socialist ideas and movements on adult education was deep. In the 21st century, however, the forces of global capitalism have systematically sought to marginalise socialist (and democratic) thought. As jobs, and much work that rewards the human spirit, are threatened by the advance of Artificial Intelligence, adult education is more and more expected to meet the objectives of “the economy” and the labour market. Wider educational purpose is ignored.

How have we come to this? The marginalisation of socialist perspectives is by no means confined to adult education. Yet so central was adult education to the emergence and growth of socialism – and the reverse is also true – as to pose essential and urgent questions. In what ways did adult education contribute to the development of socialism? Why did socialist perspectives play so central a role in the practice of adult education – and did they enrich or constrain it? What can we learn from examining the part that socialism, and socialists, played in adult education’s rich history?

We aim to revisit the topic of adult education and socialism in Britain in the 21st century through a special issue of the journal Socialist History. It seeks to revive the field of study, and to explore the idea to meet the diverse needs of a multi-cultural society more – rather than less – adult education is needed – and that the adult education needed should be broad rather than narrowly job-related. This is especially relevant to consider in connection with the new Lifelong Learning Entitlement which has the potential to transform how post-18 students fund and approach their studies throughout the course of their lifetimes.

What new research perspectives can academics – and scholar-practitioners and activists – from all disciplines bring to the history of adult education, and to the understanding of socialist approaches to improving economic, social and cultural welfare?

We invite submission of abstracts of approx. 300 words. They may explore any aspect of the interlinked history of adult education and socialism. We welcome contributions relating not only to Britain, but to Europe (western, central and eastern) and other locations around the world. Topics may include (but are not limited to):

• The experience of tutors and students of different forms of adult education
• The politics of adult education
• Organisations that provided adult education
• The impact of adult education on socialist ideology and movements
• Key figures in the adult education movement – tutors, students and organisers
• Gendered perspectives of adult education
• The buildings and spaces of adult education
• The organisation and delivery of adult education
• The content and curriculum of different forms of adult education
• Biographical and autobiographical accounts of adult education
• Local and regional case studies of adult education
• The consuming of adult education
• The role of socialism in colonial adult education
• The financing of adult education initiatives
• State support for adult education
• Local government and adult education provision

Please email abstracts with your affiliation, a short biography and contact information to:
john.holford AT nottingham.ac.uk and p.kumbhat AT staff.newman.ac.uk. 

The deadline for submission of abstracts is Friday 30th October 2026.

We hope to convene a symposium on this theme on Wednesday 7th April 2027 at Birmingham Newman University, where contributors can discuss their draft papers and ideas. The symposium will provide an opportunity to share work in progress, receive feedback, and develop papers to be considered for publication in the Socialist History special issue in autumn 2027. The April symposium will be an in-person event, although authors based outside the UK will have the option of presenting remotely via Microsoft Teams.

My source: Bob Foster, Admin: https://www.raymondwilliamsfoundation.org.uk/

UN votes to adopt new world map to reflect Africa's true size | BBC News

UN tells the world: Stop making Africa look small

'By 164 votes to one, Member States on Friday endorsed a resolution promoting map projections that more accurately reflect the true size of continents – the culmination of an African-led campaign against the 16th-century Mercator projection, still the most widely used map in the world. 

The United States cast the sole vote against, dismissing the initiative as part of a “radical ideological project.” 

Six countries – Estonia, Georgia, Lithuania, Moldova, Serbia and Ukraine – abstained. 

The resolution does not ban the Mercator projection or impose a replacement. Instead, it encourages governments, schools, international organizations and technology companies to use the Equal Earth projection and other so-called equal-area maps when relative size matters, and to teach the limitations of any flat map in representing a spherical planet.'

Continued ... UN

Previously: 'cartography'

Call for Submissions: Fall-Winter 2026 Intima Journal of Narrative Medicine

OUR CALL FOR SUBMISSIONS  FOR OUR FALL-WINTER 2026
JOURNAL IS OPEN. SUBMIT YOUR WORK TODAY.

 

Intima: A Journal of Narrative Medicine is a literary journal dedicated to promoting the theory and practice of narrative medicine, an interdisciplinary field that enhances healthcare through the effective communication, empathy and understanding between clinicians, caregivers and patients. Our name Intima has a specific resonance in the field: For us, narrative involves the intimate interface between people, who yield and gain from the experience of stories involving the clinical encounter.

 The word itself has an anatomical reality: intima is  the thin layer lining a blood vessel, speeding blood to the heart and brain, an apt analogy for the kind of narratives we publish that speak to the emotions and the intellect, the feelings and facts that engage the senses in stories with meaning and impact..

 

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	©The Art of Anatomy by Khalil Harbie. Intima, Fall 2013

Art - https://www.theintima.org/missionandvison also reminded of Escher and Byte Magazine.

My source: Intima list

Previously: 'creativity' : 'crossroads' : 'narrative'

Celebrating Black History Month with the RCN NW Multicultural Group

From Allyship to Action: Building an Inclusive, Anti-Racist Future for Nursing

22 Oct 2026, 10:00 - 16:00
6 Mount Street, , Manchester, M2 5NS

Free

Book onto our celebration for Black History Month.

Join us for a full day at the Friend's Meeting House in Manchester to celebrate Black History Month!

North west members are invite to join us in celebration alongside the RCN President, who is making a special trip to Manchester to join us for part of the day.  This year we will be exploring the theme: From Allyship to Action: Building an Inclusive, Anti-Racist Future for Nursing.

The event, organised by the member-led North West Multicultural Group, will hear from speakers including:

Estephanie Dunn: Non-Executive Director of the Caribbean and African Health Network (CAHN)

Estephanie will discuss exceptionalism and how intentional and unintentional actions can negatively impact equity, inclusion and belonging in healthcare. Her session will encourage reflection on bias, challenge inequitable practices, and promote more inclusive workplaces for all.

Temitope Babajide: General Practice Nurse

Creator of both the General Practice Nurse Starter Manual and a separate nursing-themed colouring book, will share her inspiring journey in primary care. Her session will recognise and celebrate the historic and ongoing contributions of Black nurses, while showcasing the achievements, leadership and influence of Black nursing professionals in the North West and beyond.

Patricia Hughes: Associate Director RCN : Nursing Practice Nursing

Patricia will focus on equality, leadership and career progression, encouraging greater representation of Black nurses in senior and decision-making roles.

Bejoy Sebastian: RCN President

The President, will discuss the importance of allyship and the role nursing professionals play in creating anti-racist, inclusive workplaces. He will recognise and celebrate the significant contributions of Black nurses to the NHS and wider health and social care sector. The session will explore how inclusive leadership, workforce equality standards and fair career progression can help create a culture of belonging. Attendees will be encouraged to take practical action to challenge discrimination, support equality and inspire the next generation of nursing leaders.

Anandi Ramamurthy: Professor of Media and Culture, Sheffield Hallam University; Principal Investigator, Nursing Narratives: Racism and the Pandemic; Co-Editor, Anti-Racist Nursing and Midwifery: A Resource for Students, Practitioners and Activists.

The Anti-Racist Nursing and Midwifery book, the Nursing Narratives research project, and the film 'Exposed'.

There will also be a panel discussion and a poetry workshop and 'Allyship in Action' challenge workshop in the afternoon. 

Book now to avoid missing out. This event will take place in person and is open to all North West members. A sandwich lunch is provided. 

For further information regarding the aims and objectives of the NW Multicultural Group, please visit our webpage. 

Olanike Babalola

Olanike.Babalola AT reps.rcn.org.uk

Blueprints ...

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Du Sautoy, M. (2024). Blueprints: How mathematics shapes creativity. Glasgow: 4th Estate.
https://www.4thestate.co.uk/products/blueprints-how-mathematics-shapes-creativity-marcus-du-sautoy-9780008685034/

Burgis, B., Bhaskar Sunkara, B., and Beggs, M. (2026 - 26th Sept) The Blueprint: How Socialism Can Work in the Real World. London: Verso.
https://www.versobooks.com/en-gb/products/2843-the-blueprint/

Book covers c/o Waterstones (Du Sautoy) and Verso Books. 

My source https://www.liverpool.ac.uk/philosophy/philos-l/ (Beggs et al.) and various.

Previously: 'creativity' : 'socialism' : 'politics'

Disciplines in Disarray - Scope of Practice, Disciplinary boundaries

To be in a state of disarray, is to be disarmed, without access to resources, or at least having an impaired ability to organise strategically for reasons of defence, disputation or argument. Constructive debate will be hard to achieve and so the confusion continues.

Prior to 2013 ideas for a paper with a would-be co-author began. Early that year there were 5000 words. There's probably mention of (another!) project on these pages – somewhere/when? The focus was using Hodges' model to explore 'scope of practice' in nursing. As the conceptual gift that keeps giving, Hodges' model can encompass all health disciplines, curricula, and professions, informal caring and social care too.

This post is prompt-ed (human ‘intelligence’ needs a nudge too) by ‘discussion’ on what was twitter, and currently on ‘X’. So in turn I can reflect on how relevant this paper would be today.

I still have that draft of over 5000 words. It is now woefully out-of-date. Out-of-date? Well the available job postings across the health and care sectors, have always changed. If you scan the paper copies of  Nursing Times, Nursing Standard, Nursing Mirror (anyone?) and the BMJ, The Lancet, Health Service Journal over three-four decades the evidence is clear. Then try the e-media, (and with it AI!)?

Now, for several years the impacts of  policy and change in advanced nursing practice, plus associate roles, that have also been applied in medical training and education are coming home to roost. Depending on your corner, and position in the debate there's a position called 'Noctor' (Vaughan and Kar, 2026).

I find it regrettable that consultants and 'senior' nurses have taken corners, as policy results in grossly negative examples with potentially safety consequences. There has always been a 'distance' to be bridged between health disciplines. In the past any sense of competition was usually, and so constructively patient-centred - grounded in the delivery and quality of care. The contest was tempered through mutual respect and dignity, and recognition of respective roles, knowledge, abilities and contribution to what is (and remains?) the multidisciplinary team?

Now with technology and AI in the mix, maintaining goodwill, common-sense and keeping the patient, public and future generations in sight will need a degree of diplomacy as yet not called-upon.

This made me think of the unions in the 1970s and more recent examples of work-to-rule. 

As health professionals argue between themselves, what is the cost of distraction?

Yes, that paper using Hodges' model on 'scope of practice (and theory!)' would be timely now.
In fact, it is urgently needed.

Vaughan L, Kar P. Vexatious complaints are being weaponised to discourage debate BMJ 2026; 394 :e100697 doi:10.1136/bmj-2026-100697 

Previously: 'scope' : 'publications'

Medicine - Mathematics & History

'We now come to the input of mathematics into medical history, and to the related questions of arithmetic and quantification, ratio and proportion, geometrical argument and diagrams, and probability. Mathematics (consisting in arithmetic, geometry, astrology and music) had an established place in the quadrivium of the medieval arts course; its application to medicine is demonstrated in such textbooks as the Articella, which include treatises on weights and measures, and in studies of proportion and ratio such as those of the medieval Oxford calculators which Italian doctors among others caused to be revived at the beginning of our period. In the sixteenth century, it was a vigorously debated subject; there is a well-documented discussion of the certainty of mathematics, concerning its status in respect to the logical adequacy of its proofs, in which some natural philosophers and doctors (notably Cardano) take part. It will come therefore as no surprise that it was prescribed for doctors by most Renaissance pedagogical writers;  this prescription is often specifically linked to Galen's geometrical (axiomatic) method whose operations are the constitution of objects from elements, the comparison of existing objects and their reduction into their constitutive elements.

Associated with mathematics are diagrams, that is, abstract quantified spatial representations. There is a modern debate about the contribution of technical innovations in illustration in the Renaissance (most notably perspective) to the scientific revolution: this is only relevant here insofar as some participants in this debate argue for the importance of diagrammatic symbolisation of mental abstractions above those, like perspective, which are still representations of the real world, and see the former as a step on the path to full algebraic notation of geometry. Not all Renaissance thinkers were persuaded of their usefulness: Argenterio describes the diagrams of Manardo and Akakia reproduced below as 'vain and false tables and figures'; but I shall argue here that they were related to the uptake of doctors from the arts course insofar as well-known logical diagrams reproduced above (4.3:3) were adapted by them for their own purposes.' pp.171-172.

Maclean, Ian. 2002. Chapter 5, Beyond logic: geometry, proportion, quantity. In Logic, Signs, and Nature in the Renaissance: The Case of Learned Medicine. Cambridge/New York: Cambridge University Press.

Related to ongoing reading, Maclean provides two (among several) historical illustrations (with apologies for the quality) on pp.174-175, the first is from the Wellcome Collection:

Dubois, Jacques, 1478-1555 (Boe͏̈, Jacques, Bois, J. d., Boë, J., del, Boë, J., Del Boë, J., DelBoe͏̈, J., . . . Sylvius/de Bois). (1548). Methodus sex librorum galeni in differentiis et causis morborum et symptomatum in tabellas sex ordine suo conjecta paulo fusius ne brevitas obscura lectorem remoretur & fallat. de signis omnibus medicis, hoc est salubribus, insalubribus, & neutris, commentarius / ... per jacobum sylvium ..Paris: Retrieved from https://www.proquest.com/books/methodus-sex-librorum-galeni-differentiis-et/docview/2090356749/se-2

Jacobus Sylvius, 1539

Which Maclean then translates / interprets (p.174):

Maclean. Figure 5.1, p.174.

'Manardo goes further, and causes and symptoms adapts the square of contraries to represent not only all the possible combinations of temperaments (combinations of cold and hot and wet and dry are cleverly excluded) but also inserts a mediate point to represent the absolutely temperate body: see fig. 5.2.
This adaptation of the square of contraries (which has precedents in the medieval period) shows the appropriation for their own use by doctors of the logical instruments at their disposal.

As we have seen, it is a feature of medical thinking to take into account many circumstantiae or variables, and, over time, the numbers of variables taken into consideration increases.' p.174-175.

Figure 5.2 Giovanni Manardo, p.175.

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quality logic	quantity past - present - future diagrams symptoms - signs
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Previously: 'medicine' : 'history' : 'diagram'

"Poetics of Relation" by Édouard Glissant

'The Slave Trade came through the cramped doorway of the slave ship, leaving a wake like that of crawling desert caravans. It might be drawn like this:

African countries to the East; the lands of America to the West. This creature is in the image of a fibril.

African languages became deterritorialized, thus contributing to creolization in the West. This is the most completely known confrontation between the powers of the written word and the impulses of orality. The only written thing on slave ships was the account book listing the exchange value of slaves. Within the ship's space the cry of those deported was stifled, as it would be in the realm of the Plantations. This confrontation still reverberates to this day.' p.5.

'Not just a specific knowledge, appetite, suffering, and delight of one particular people, not only that, but knowledge of the Whole, greater from having been at the abyss and freeing knowledge of Relation within the Whole.' p.8.

 
Édouard Glissant. (1990, 2025) The Open Boat. Poetics of Relation. Dublin: Penguin.

The above image runs within the text in the book.

My image source: https://annstreetgallery.org/Nolan-Oswald-Dennis

"It's an equation Jim, but not as we know it!"

Silver (2013) in “The Signal and the Noise” refers to Drake’s equation, which has fascinated me since my teens. It is a formula that provides a framework for predicting the number of intelligent extraterrestrial species in the galaxy. Due to the high number of parameters and uncertainties that make up Drake's equation, Silver describes how the extreme range of results depend on the initial ‘inputs’. Given the variables presented they are estimates. I made a connection to Drake's work through BBC BASIC programming:

'The Nursing Process'
'Computer-Aided Patient Assessment'
'Blood Groups'
'Shades of Grey'

As time went on the simplicity of 'The NP' gave way to DIM arrays, which can provide data structures, and DEF PROC and DEF FN with parameters. 

The evidence for the elements of Drake's equation has made great strides since the 1990s. Despite the remaining uncertainties, Silver notes that Drake's equation has provided a useful lens for astronomers, plus - philosophers and the lay-person to think about life, the universe and everything.

Is there an implicit theory – an equation – in Hodges’ model?

See also: BBC BASIC

Previously: 'Sagan' : 'SETI' ; 'math' : 'Publication list (2024)'

Nate Silver (2013). “The Signal and the Noise”, Notes 89, London: Penguin. p.488.

Title Ack. the original is often misattributed: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=FCARADb9asE

Koln 75

The film Koln 75 was very enjoyable ...

'Brandes quit the music business a few years ago, after a very successful career. Why? "Digital formats were taking over the record industry, which was giving away entire repertoires to companies like Apple with a completely idiotic accounting system in the background, which would never, ever allow for the artists to get properly remunerated for their rights. The whole industry thought that digital would be the biggest portion of whipped cream on top of the cake that they would continue to be eating until the end of all time.'"

Instead, inspired by a 1993 study that found that listening to classical music-specifically Mozart-enhances spatial-temporal reasoning, and by Don Campbell's bestselling 1997 book The Mozart Effect: Tapping the Power of Music to Heal the Body, Strengthen the Mind, and Unlock the Creative Spirit. Brandes studied psychology at university and then, funded by the Austrian Ministry of Culture, established the Research Program for Music-Medicine at the Paracelsus Medical University in Salzburg. "Being a music producer, I dreamt about doing scientific research on the effect of music and trying to figure out what effects music has on us - cognitive, emotional, whatever," she says. "Since then I have developed a method to use music to help people with chronic depression."

individual

|
INTERPERSONAL : SCIENCES             

humanistic ------------------------------- mechanistic

SOCIOLOGY : POLITICAL   

|

group

cognitive emotional chronic depression
Jazz

Stuart Jeffries, How a teenager helped to make jazz history, Life&Arts, FTWeekend, 30/31 May 2026. p.15.

See also: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=3CrFdGMj4cM