Kirjahaku

These nine essays, commissioned on the initiative of the Philosophy section of the British Academy, address fundamental questions about time in philosophy, physics, linguistics, and psychology. Are there facts about the future? Could we affect the past? In physics, general relativity and quantum theory give contradictory treatments of time. So in the current search for a theory of quantum gravity, which should give way: general relativity or quantum theory? In linguistics and psychology, how does our language represent time, and how do our minds keep track of it?

How many words are there in the English language and where were they born? Why does spelling 'wobble' and why do meanings change? How do words behave towards each other - and how do we behave towards words? And what does this all mean for dictionary-making in the 21st century? This entertaining book has the up-to-date and authoritative answers to all the key questions about our language. Using evidence provided by the world's largest language databank, the Oxford English Corpus, Butterfield exposes the English language's peculiarities and penchants, its development and difficulties, revealing exactly how it operates. Interpolating his expert knowledge of dictionary-making, Butterfield explains how dictionaries decide which words to include, how they find definitions, and how a Corpus influences the process. Whether you are happy to give the language free rein (free reign?), or whether you are more straight-laced (strait-laced?) when it comes to change, you will be amazed at what is revealed when the English language goes buck naked. (Or should that be butt naked?)

The Multiverse is an introduction to the idea that our universe is just one of many universes. Philosophers have proposed that all logically possible universes are equally real. In physics, the many-worlds interpretation of quantum mechanics proposes that every possible outcome of a quantum event exists in its own world. Leading philosopher Jeremy Butterfield presents and assesses three versions of the idea of the multiverse, one from philosophy and two from physics. He explores the ideas of logically possible worlds, the branches of the quantum state, and the bubbles of inflationary cosmology. For each idea, he selects one philosophical question to explore in depth: what is a possible world, what is chance, and what is explanation? Written for students and newcomers, The Multiverse provides an explanation of leading theories, without requiring any prerequisites in philosophy or physics. This book will lead readers to a proper academic understanding of multiverse proposals in logic, quantum theory, and cosmology.

The Multiverse is an introduction to the idea that our universe is just one of many universes. Philosophers have proposed that all logically possible universes are equally real. In physics, the many-worlds interpretation of quantum mechanics proposes that every possible outcome of a quantum event exists in its own world. Leading philosopher Jeremy Butterfield presents and assesses three versions of the idea of the multiverse, one from philosophy and two from physics. He explores the ideas of logically possible worlds, the branches of the quantum state, and the bubbles of inflationary cosmology. For each idea, he selects one philosophical question to explore in depth: what is a possible world, what is chance, and what is explanation? Written for students and newcomers, The Multiverse provides an explanation of leading theories, without requiring any prerequisites in philosophy or physics. This book will lead readers to a proper academic understanding of multiverse proposals in logic, quantum theory, and cosmology.

Ever wondered why it rains cats and dogs? Why some are early birds and others night owls? Or why on earth a cat would wear pyjamas? English is home to a veritable menagerie of animal metaphors, similes, sayings, adages proverbs, idioms and rhymes, ranging from the commonsense to the utterly absurd. From curious cats to elephant memories, lexicographer Jeremy Butterfield takes a species-by-species safari through the English language in pursuit of its most unusual animal idioms. Learn how coots – perfectly nice little birds – become synonymous with madness, baldness and idiocy. Figure out if bees actually have knees, and if so, why they’re so great. And discover why frogs ‘ribbit’ in English, ‘quak-quak’ in German, ‘gua gua’ in Mandarin – but cats always mew. Filled to the brim with fascinating facts and trivia, The Metaphor Zoo is the perfect gift for language lovers, amateur linguists and grammar nerds alike.