Numerological patterning in literature, where structural details of a literary work are symbolically related to its meaning on the verbal level, was particularly common from the Middle Ages up to the seventeenth century. Originally published in 1973, the author breaks new ground in revealing that familiarity with this technique lived on into the eighteenth century, supplying the more artistically aware of the early British novelists with meaningful formal guidelines.An account is given of the origins and continuity of the numerological tradition in Western European – and particularly English – thought as it affected literary structure. The careful structural patterning in the novels of Defoe and in Fielding’s Joseph Andrews and Tom Jones is examined in detail. Smollett, too, is shown to have been interested in exploring the possibilities of number and pattern, and the clear-cut numerological framework of Sterne’s Tristram Shandy is revealed.This original and controversial study combines structural analysis with fresh interpretative insights, and draws parallels with painting, music and architecture. It also has an important bearing on the history of ideas in the first half of the eighteenth century.
Numerological patterning in literature, where structural details of a literary work are symbolically related to its meaning on the verbal level, was particularly common from the Middle Ages up to the seventeenth century. Originally published in 1973, the author breaks new ground in revealing that familiarity with this technique lived on into the eighteenth century, supplying the more artistically aware of the early British novelists with meaningful formal guidelines.An account is given of the origins and continuity of the numerological tradition in Western European – and particularly English – thought as it affected literary structure. The careful structural patterning in the novels of Defoe and in Fielding’s Joseph Andrews and Tom Jones is examined in detail. Smollett, too, is shown to have been interested in exploring the possibilities of number and pattern, and the clear-cut numerological framework of Sterne’s Tristram Shandy is revealed.This original and controversial study combines structural analysis with fresh interpretative insights, and draws parallels with painting, music and architecture. It also has an important bearing on the history of ideas in the first half of the eighteenth century.
To document and preserve an ancient craft tradition in danger of disappearing, Douglas Brooks apprenticed with five master boatbuilders in Japan between 1996 and 2010, building a different traditional wooden boat with each. His research and experiences were presented in his landmark 2015 publication, Japanese Wooden Boatbuilding. This book documents his most recent apprenticeship, building a cormorant fishing boat with 85-year-old master craftsman Seichi Nasu, in Gifu, Japan. Using trained cormorants to fish has a 1,300 year history in Gifu, and is done at night from special river craft called ubune, literally "cormorant boat." The boat features an extended bow with pivoting boom from which is hung an iron fire basket to light up the water and attract fish, which are then retrieved by the enthusiastic birds. Together with Mr. Nasu, then 85, Brooks worked with several volunteers over a two-month period to build the 42 foot craft, a design largely unchanged for centuries. As in his previous publications, readers are introduced to important aspects of traditional Japanese boatbuilding, including design and measurements, workshop and tools, wood and materials, joinery and fastenings, and above all, secrets of the craft.
With Japan's unprecedented modernization in the last century, the demand for traditional boats (wasen) faded, leaving the last generation of boatbuilders with no one to teach. This is the story of the author's apprenticeships with five Japanese masters to build their unique and endangered traditional watercraft. Brooks was the sole apprentice for each craftsman, and worked under a time-honored system in which apprentices first swept floors and sharpened tools, learning chiefly by observation with only limited direct instruction. The resulting book is part ethnography, part instruction, and part the personal story of a wooden boatbuilder fueled by a passion to preserve a craft tradition on the brink of extinction. It fills a large and long-standing gap in the literature on Japanese crafts, and will be of interest to boatbuilders, woodworkers, and all those impressed with the marvels of Japanese design and workmanship.
A very important part of printed circuit board (PCB) design involves sizing traces and vias to carry the required current. This exciting new book will explore how hot traces and vias should be and what board, circuit, design, and environmental parameters are the most important. PCB materials (copper and dielectrics) and the role they play in the heating and cooling of traces are covered. The IPC curves found in IPC 2152, the equations that fit those curves and computer simulations that fit those curves and equations are detailed. Sensitivity analyses that show what happens when environments are varied, including adjacent traces and planes, changing trace lengths, and thermal gradients are presented. Via temperatures and what determines them are explored, along with fusing issues and what happens when traces are overloaded. Voltage drops across traces and vias, the thermal effects going around right-angle corners, and frequency effects are covered. Readers learn how to measure the thermal conductivity of dielectrics and how to measure the resistivity of copper traces and why many prior attempts to do so have been doomed to failure. Industrial CT Scanning, and whether or not they might replace microsections for measuring trace parameters are also considered.
Part inspirational memoir, part philosophical teaching, part practical application, this book is an accessible, actionable guide to the true Tantra -- not the sex-focused version that popular culture promotes. Todd Norian, founder of Ashaya Yoga and international spiritual teacher, brings to life Nondual Śaiva-Śākta Tantra, the revolutionary philosophy that has been misunderstood and largely hidden... until now. Often regulated to the realm of theological history and academia, Nondual Śaiva-Śākta Tantra is an ancient, powerful path of heart-centric learning, and Todd is the perfect guide to that path. Since his first encounter with it more than 25 years ago, he has sought to understand, teach, and apply its lessons, creating an entirely new Tantra-based yoga lineage along the way.By steadfastly following his heart, Todd has lived an uncommon life: living like a monk for 13 years at the then-ashram Kripalu in Massachusetts; going overboard on meditative practices and ending up in a psych ward; and overcoming the heartbreak of being spiritually betrayed by beloved teachers -- not once, but twice. Now, writing with gentle, compassionate authority, he shares the life-changing philosophy that taught him how to embrace all of it -- the pain, disillusionment, and suffering -- as the gift it was always meant to be. "Here's the quintessential Tantric attitude: everything in life is for your awakening. The alternative - that some things are for your awakening, but others are not - imply that some things should not have happened. You must have failed in some way or made a mistake; you must have zigged when you should have zagged on the spiritual path. But if you believe that everything is for your awakening, light and dark, then you are empowered to make meaning that uplifts your life. This is the yogic journey that has seen me through every one of my dark episodes. In Nondual Śaiva-Śākta Tantra, when the night sky is the darkest, that's when the stars shine the brightest."By setting down on paper his remarkable journey, woven together with Tantric teachings, Todd gives seekers the tools that have changed his life forever for the better - not by lecturing in a scholarly way, but by bringing Tantra to life with humor and day-to-day relevance.Who are those "seekers"? There are 36 million active yogis in America. That number grew by 50% in four years... and it's still growing. They practice yoga to get more flexible, to heal an aching back, to reduce stress. Yet in time, many of these practitioners want more. They want to go deeper. Yes, yoga makes me feel better, but what lies underneath? How can I be happy? How can I live a meaningful life? Relatable, funny, candid, Todd has written this book for those individuals, the ones who are looking for a heart-centered path to life fulfillment. It will inspire readers to access their own hearts, leading them from the unknown to the known, from darkness to light, and from fear to love as they walk their own paths of hope, happiness, and true transformation.
The esoteric Hindu traditions of Tantrism have profoundly influenced the development of Indian thought and civilization. Emerging from elements of yoga and wisdom traditions, shamanism, alchemy, eroticism, and folklore, Tantrism began to affect brahmanical Hinduism in the ninth century. Nevertheless, Tantrism and its key historical figures have been ignored by scholars. This accessible work introduces the concepts and practices of Hindu Sakta Tantrism to all those interested in Hinduism and the comparative study of religion.
The esoteric Hindu traditions of Tantrism have profoundly influenced the development of Indian thought and civilization. Emerging from elements of yoga and wisdom traditions, shamanism, alchemy, eroticism, and folklore, Tantrism began to affect brahmanical Hinduism in the ninth century. Nevertheless, Tantrism and its key historical figures have been ignored by scholars. This accessible work introduces the concepts and practices of Hindu Sakta Tantrism to all those interested in Hinduism and the comparative study of religion.
Rooting itself in Kashmir Shaivism, Srividya became a force in South India no later than the seventh century, and eventually supplanted the Trika as the dominant Tantric tradition in Kashmir. This is the first comprehensive study of the texts and traditions of this influential school of goddess-centered, Sakta, Tantrism. Centering on the goddess's three manifestations-the beneficent deity Lalita Tripurasundari, her mantra, and the visually striking sricakra-Srividya creates a systematic esoteric discipline that combines elements of the yogas of knowledge, of devotion, and of ritual. Utilizing canonical works, historical commentaires, and the interpretive insights of living practitioners, this book explores the theological and ritual theories that form the basis for Srividya practice and offers new methods for critical and comparative studies of esoteric Hinduism.
