Blink (book) Blink: The Power of Thinking Without Thinking is the second book by Malcolm Gladwell. It presents in popular science format research from psychology and behavioral economics on the adaptive unconscious; mental processes that work rapidly and automatically from relatively little information. It considers both the strengths of the adaptive unconscious, for example in expert judgment, and its pitfalls such as stereotypes. Summary[edit] The author describes the main subject of his book as "thin-slicing": our ability to gauge what is really important from a very narrow period of experience. We do that by "thin-slicing," using limited information to come to our conclusion. Gladwell gives a wide range of examples of thin-slicing in contexts such as gambling, speed dating, tennis, military war games, the movies, malpractice suits, popular music, and predicting divorce. The book argues that intuitive judgment is developed by experience, training, and knowledge. Research and examples[edit]
English to French, Italian, German & Spanish Dictionary - WordReference.com Money laundering Placing 'dirty' money in a service company, where it is layered with legitimate income, and then integrated into the flow of money is a common form of money laundering Money laundering is the process whereby the proceeds of crime are transformed into ostensibly legitimate money or other assets.[1] However in a number of legal and regulatory system the term money laundering has become conflated with other forms of financial crime, and sometimes used more generally to include misuse of the financial system, including terrorism financing, tax evasion and evading of international sanctions. Most anti-money laundering laws openly conflate money laundering (which is concerned with source of funds) with terrorism financing (which is concerned with destination of funds) when regulating the financial system.[2] Money obtained from certain crimes, such as extortion, insider trading, prostitution, drug trafficking, illegal gambling or tax evasion is "dirty". Methods[edit] Enforcement[edit]
Why the Arabic World Turned Away from Science Hillel Ofek Contemporary Islam is not known for its engagement in the modern scientific project. But it is heir to a legendary “Golden Age” of Arabic science frequently invoked by commentators hoping to make Muslims and Westerners more respectful and understanding of each other. President Obama, for instance, in his June 4, 2009 speech in Cairo, praised Muslims for their historical scientific and intellectual contributions to civilization: It was Islam that carried the light of learning through so many centuries, paving the way for Europe’s Renaissance and Enlightenment. Such tributes to the Arab world’s era of scientific achievement are generally made in service of a broader political point, as they usually precede discussion of the region’s contemporary problems. Today, however, the spirit of science in the Muslim world is as dry as the desert. Comparative metrics on the Arab world tell the same story. Original Contributions of Arabic Science Why Arabic Science Thrived What happened?
Offshore bank An offshore bank is a bank located outside the country of residence of the depositor, typically in a low tax jurisdiction (or tax haven) that provides financial and legal advantages. These advantages typically include: While the term originates from the Channel Islands being "offshore" from the United Kingdom, and most offshore banks are located in island nations to this day, the term is used figuratively to refer to such banks regardless of location, including Swiss banks and those of other landlocked nations such as Luxembourg and Andorra. Defenders of offshore banking have criticised these attempts at regulation. They claim the process is prompted not by security and financial concerns but by the desire of domestic banks and tax agencies to access the money held in offshore accounts. Advantages of offshore banking[edit] Offshore banks can sometimes provide access to politically and economically stable jurisdictions. Disadvantages of offshore banking[edit] Banking services[edit]
Chargeback Chargeback is the return of funds to a consumer, mainly used in the United States, forcibly initiated by the issuing bank of the instrument used by a consumer to settle a debt. Specifically, it is the reversal of a prior outbound transfer of funds from a consumer's bank account, line of credit, or credit card. Chargebacks also occur in the distribution industry. This type of chargeback occurs when the supplier sells a product at a higher price to the distributor than the price they have set with the end user. United States overview[edit] The chargeback mechanism exists primarily for consumer protection. A consumer may initiate a chargeback by contacting their issuing bank, and filing a substantiated complaint regarding one or more debit items on their statement. Chargeback in the United Kingdom[edit] Reason codes[edit] One of the most common reasons for a chargeback is a fraudulent transaction. Chargebacks can also result from a customer dispute over statement credits. See also[edit]
Anatolia Coordinates: Definition[edit] The traditional definition of Anatolia within modern Turkey[2][3] The Anatolian peninsula, also called Asia Minor, is bounded by the Black Sea to the north, the Mediterranean Sea to the south, the Aegean Sea to the west, and the Sea of Marmara to the northwest, which separates Anatolia from Thrace in Europe. However, following the establishment of the Republic of Turkey, Anatolia was defined by the Turkish government as being effectively co-terminous with Asian Turkey. Turkey's First Geography Congress in 1941 created two regions to the east of the Gulf of Iskenderun-Black Sea line named the Eastern Anatolia Region and the Southeastern Anatolia Region,[4] the former largely corresponding to the western part of the Armenian Highland, the latter to the northern part of the Mesopotamian plain. Etymology[edit] In English the name of Turkey for ancient Anatolia first appeared c. 1369. History[edit] Prehistory and antiquity[edit] Ancient regions of Anatolia (500 BC)
Comedy Comedy (from the Greek: κωμῳδία, kōmōidía), in the contemporary meaning of the term, is any discourse or work generally intended to be humorous or to amuse by inducing laughter, especially in theatre, television, film and stand-up comedy. This sense of the term must be carefully distinguished from its academic one, namely the comic theatre, whose Western origins are found in Ancient Greece. In the Athenian democracy, the public opinion of voters was influenced by the political satire performed by the comic poets at the theaters.[1] The theatrical genre can be simply described as a dramatic performance which pits two societies against each other in an amusing agon or conflict. Northrop Frye famously depicted these two opposing sides as a "Society of Youth" and a "Society of the Old",[2] but this dichotomy is seldom described as an entirely satisfactory explanation. Etymology[edit] History[edit] Dionysiac origins and Aristophanes[edit] In ancient Sanskrit drama[edit] Forms[edit]
Dame Edna Everage Dame Edna is a character created and performed by Australian dadaist performer and comedian Barry Humphries, famous for her lilac-coloured or "wisteria hue" hair and cat eye glasses or "face furniture", her favourite flower, the gladiolus ("gladdies") and her boisterous greeting: "Hello, Possums!" As Dame Edna, Humphries has written several books including an autobiography, My Gorgeous Life, appeared in several films and hosted several television shows (on which Humphries has also appeared as himself and other alter-egos). Edna describes her chat-shows as "an intimate conversation between two friends, one of whom is a lot more interesting than the other". Although Humphries freely states that Edna is a character he plays, Edna refers to Humphries as her "entrepreneur" or manager. In March 2012, Humphries announced that the character would be retired at the end of the current stage tour;[3] however, as of 2013 he has decided to bring her back.[4] Character story[edit] Honours[edit]
Barry Humphries John Barry Humphries, AO, CBE (born 17 February 1934) is an Australian comedian, satirist, artist, and author. Humphries is best known for writing and playing his on-stage and television alter egos Dame Edna Everage and Sir Les Patterson. He is also a film producer and script writer, a star of London's West End musical theatre, an award-winning writer and an accomplished landscape painter. For his delivery of dadaist and absurdist humour to millions, biographer Anne Pender described Humphries in 2010 as not only "the most significant theatrical figure of our time … [but] the most significant comedian to emerge since Charlie Chaplin".[1] Humphries' characters have brought him international renown, and he has appeared in numerous films, stage productions and television shows. Early childhood[edit] Disguising myself as different characters and I had a whole box of dressing up clothes ... Education[edit] Humphries was legendary for his provocative public pranks. London and the 1960s[edit]
Word play Word play or wordplay[1] is a literary technique and a form of wit in which the words that are used become the main subject of the work, primarily for the purpose of intended effect or amusement. Examples of word play include puns, phonetic mix-ups such as spoonerisms, obscure words and meanings, clever rhetorical excursions, oddly formed sentences, double entendres, and telling character names (such as in the play The Importance of Being Earnest, Ernest being a given name that sounds exactly like the adjective earnest). Word play is quite common in oral cultures as a method of reinforcing meaning. Examples of visual orthographic and sound-based word play abound in both alphabetically and non-alphabetically written literature (e.g. Techniques[edit] Some techniques often used in word play include interpreting idioms literally and creating contradictions and redundancies, as in Tom Swifties: "Hurry up and get to the back of the ship," Tom said sternly. Examples[edit] He was killed with a gun.
Garden path sentence According to one current psycholinguistic theory, as a person reads a garden path sentence, the reader builds up a structure of meaning one word at a time. At some point, it becomes clear to the reader that the next word or phrase cannot be incorporated into the structure built up thus far; it is inconsistent with the path down which they have been led. Garden path sentences are less common in spoken communication because the prosodic qualities of speech (such as the stress and the tone of voice) often serve to resolve ambiguities in the written text. This phenomenon is discussed at length by Stanley Fish in his book Surprised by Sin. He argues that incremental parsing of sentences needs to be addressed by literary theorists. He also covers this topic in several essays from his book Is there a text in this Class?. Examples[edit] Garden path sentences can be either simple or complex. Simple[edit] A second phrase can cause the reinterpretation of meaning (see paraprosdokian): Complex[edit]