Monday, May 25, 2020

Sofia Kovalevskaya, Russian Mathematician

Sofia Kovalevskayas father, Vasily Korvin-Krukovsky, was a general in the Russian Army and was part of Russian nobility. Her mother,  Yelizaveta Shubert,  was from a German family with many scholars; her maternal grandfather and great-grandfather were both mathematicians. She was born in Moscow, Russia, in 1850. Background Known for:first woman to hold a university chair in modern Europefirst woman on the editorial staff of a mathematical journalDates:  January 15, 1850 to February 10, 1891Occupation:  novelist,  mathematicianAlso known as:  Also known as:Sonya KovalevskayaSofya KovalevskayaSophia KovalevskaiaSonia KovelevskayaSonya Korvin-Krukovsky Learning Mathematics As a young child, Sofia Kovalevskaya was fascinated with the unusual wallpaper on the wall of a room on the family estate: the lecture notes of Mikhail Ostrogradsky on differential and integral calculus. Although her father provided her with private tutoring, he would not allow her to study abroad for further education, and Russian universities would not then admit women. Sofia Kovalevskaya wanted to continue her studies in mathematics, so she found a solution: an amenable young student of paleontology, Vladimir Kovalensky, who entered into a marriage of convenience with her. This allowed her to escape the control of her father. In 1869, they left Russia with her sister, Anyuta. Sonja went to Heidelberg, Germany, Sofia Kovalensky went to Vienna, Austria, and Anyuta went to Paris, France. University Study In Heidelberg, Sofia Kovalevskaya obtained the permission of the mathematics professors to allow her to study at the University of Heidelberg. After two years she went to Berlin to study with Karl Weierstrass. She had to study privately with him, as the university in Berlin would not allow any women to attend class sessions, and Weierstrass was unable to get the university to change the rule. With Weierstrass support, Sofia Kovalevskaya pursued a degree in mathematics elsewhere, and her work earned her a doctorate sum cumma laude from the University of Gà ¶ttingen in 1874. Her doctoral dissertation on partial differential equations is today called the Cauch-Kovelevskaya Theorem. It so impressed the faculty that they awarded Sofia  Kovalevskaya the doctorate without examination and without her having attended any classes at the university. Looking for Work Sofia Kovalevskaya and her husband returned to Russia after she earned her doctorate. They were unable to find the academic positions they desired. They pursued commercial ventures and produced a daughter as well. Sofia Kovalevskaya began writing fiction, including a novella Vera Barantzova which won sufficient acclaim to be translated into several languages. Vladimir Kovalensky, immersed in a financial scandal for which he was about to be prosecuted, committed suicide in 1883. Sofia Kovalevskaya had already returned to Berlin and mathematics, taking their daughter with her. Teaching and Publishing She became a privatdozent at Stockholm University, paid by her students rather than the university. In 1888 Sofia Kovalevskaya won the Prix Bordin from the French Academie Royale des Sciences for research now called the Kovelevskaya top. This research examined how Saturns rings rotated. She also won a prize from the Swedish Academy of Sciences in 1889, and that same year was appointed to a chair at the university—the first woman appointed to a chair at a modern European university. She was also elected to the Russian Academy of Sciences as a member that same year. She only published ten papers before her death from influenza in 1891, after a trip to Paris to see Maxim Kovalensky, a relative of her late husband with whom she was having a love affair. A lunar crater on the far side of the moon from Earth and an asteroid were both named in her honor. Sources Ann Hibner Koblitz. A Convergence of Lives: Sofia Kovalevskaia: Scientist, Writer, Revolutionary. 1993 reprint.Roger Cooke. The Mathematics of Sonya Kovalevskaya. 1984.Linda Keene, editor. The Legacy of Sonya Kovalevskaya: Proceedings of a Symposium. 1987.

Wednesday, May 6, 2020

Dracula Barrier of Sanity vs. Insanity Essay - 1738 Words

Dracula Essay Rough Copy The setting of Bram Stoker’s Dracula is in the late nineteenth-century London, where the flourishing of technology is replacing people’s belief of the old superstitious ways. The characters in this novel experience contacts with the supernatural beings that is unable to be proven even by the most advanced technology at the time, which leads them to doubt their own sanity. However, the progression of the novel proves that peace is restored into the characters’ lives after their doubts and confusions about what is reality and who is really mad. Ultimately, the categorization of the sane against the mad is unnecessary since the distinguishing factors shown in the novel are ambiguous. Subsequently, no characters can†¦show more content†¦Lastly, the character Van Helsing, who is the wisest among the pack of friends, also â€Å"[gives] away to a regular fit of hysterics† (Stoker 186) when staying calm and logical is not satisfying enough to express his current situation. If even the wisest man can act unstable, then it shows that the average, sane, citizens habiting in Britain can also lose self-control, and act insane at times. At the same time, the less mentally stable characters are able to demonstrate philosophical thoughts and reasoning, very similar to the other educated and non-institutionalized characters. This is most notable for the character Renfield, who is a patient at the mental asylum operated by Jack Seward. Renfield is able to speak with proper reasoning when he chooses to, and descriptions regarding Renfield often results in the use of paradox or other forms of contrast. When Renfield feels there is the need, he will engage in proper conversations regarding theories and historical allusions. During the time that he is persuading his doctor, Seward, to release him from the asylum because he feels that he is a endangering them, he uses proper persuasive strategy to express his goal. He first recognizes that his target audience is not Seward alone, since his friends Morris, Lord Godalming, and Van Helsing are also present. He immediate decides to appeal to his audiences’ pathos by praising their honour and

Tuesday, May 5, 2020

Compare and Contrast The Characters of Romeo and Juliet Example For Students

Compare and Contrast The Characters of Romeo and Juliet In the famous play of Romeo Juliet, written by William Shakespeare, two teenagers decide to challenge the views of the strong patriarchal society that was lived in over 100 years ago. Patriarchy means that men were in control of women; women had no way of standing up to them. They were used as slaves and to reproduce. Patriarchy was just another way of life in Verona, in Shakespearian times; men were the dominant sex. Women were treated like they were just a piece of meat, often struck to the ground whenever they spoke out of place. Romeo and Juliets relationship challenged patriarchy because Juliet was dominating Romeo in some ways; by challenging him he was confused, when Juliet was doing this she tried to show Romeo that men and women are equals. This was the first that any woman had decided to try and dominate a relationship. If many women challenged their relationships just as Juliet did, then the world patriarchal society could be changed forever. The relationship between sexes in Act 1 Scene 1 is not very romantic, it is abusive and women are shown as mediocre to men because they were seen as weak. Shakespeare shows this by using the sexual violence between them with the thrust. Sex and violence are used together in this scene as Sampson says When I have fought with the men, I will be civil with the maids, I will cut off their heads. Here he is saying that after killing any Montague he will be rape the maid and then cut off their heads. In Act 1 Scene 3 the nurse tells Juliet a story about her husband making a joke about Juliet falling over onto her back when she was just an infant. When she says, Thou wilt fall backward when thou has more wit what he is saying here that Juliet will once again be on her back when she is older but she will be enjoying it and not in pain, she will do this for sex. This shows the social expectations of women in those days, where they were shown from a young age that these inequalities are taught and accepted. It is also unsettling to know that the man thinks that it is right to treat small girls in this sexual way. Shakespeare shows that patriarchy isnt just men treating women badly; he also shows that women treat each other badly as well. In Act 1 Scene 3 Juliet was asked a question about how she would feel about marriage, Juliet clearly states that she is not interested in a fairy tale view of love. She has a view of a love in a very realistic sense and regards it in very practical ways. It is because of this tha Juliet gets told off by the nurse, the nurse looks at it in a degrading way and indicates that Juliet is acting like a whore. Juliet has no control over the decision she told that she is going to marry Parris and does not have a choice. She realizes that she has no control over her life and she now power at all, she says, Than your consent gives strength to make it fly here she is admitting that she may not like Paris when she marries him but realizes her mothers decision to decide her love in the future. In the first four scenes of Romeo Juliet Shakespeare sets up a society very quickly showing that there is violence towards women. It is also the case that Romeo and Benvolio try to just get women into bed and not think about their thoughts and feelings, as if it were a battle, men against women and men being the winners. Shakespeare shows that when Romeo meets someone who is willing to challenge these strong patriarchal ways then the audience would be shocked, thats exactly what he did to keep the audience interested with the play. When Romeo met Juliet he was just as shocked as the audience to find that there was a women wanting to changes this way of life. Portia is a mixture of both attractive and less attractive qualities EssayIn Act 3 Scene 5 Romeo and Juliet are just waking up after spending their last night together in Verona before he has to go to Mauntua because of his banishment for murdering Tybalt. It is fascinating that they take it in turns to persuade each other to stay over for the night and then argue against it. This shows it is an open relationship where both take it in turns to dominate each other and say what to do. The fact that the only freedom that have is achieved is in secret is representative of the way patriarchy takes control of their thoughts, feelings and wants. In act 3 Scene 4 Lord Capulet shows the way of the patriarchal society in Verona by showing that he has the right to make his daughter marry who ever he chooses. This is the complete opposite to what the audience have already seen, in past scenes of the play, where Romeo and Juliet create their own relationship without others interfering. At this point Juliet is already married when she is told that she must marry another man, this use of dramatic irony increases our awareness of the lack of control that Juliet has in creating her own relationship and identity in the future. When her father enters the room she pleads with him that she shouldnt marry when she says, not proud, you have; but thankful, that you have: proud can I never be of what I hate; but thankful even for hate, that is meant as love. Here she is saying that her father allows her to love but the love is based on hate. Lord Capulet shows the nature of patriarchy when he says, Speak not, reply not, do not answer me; my fingers itch. He is saying to his own daughter that when she was born he was not blessed, but cursed. This shows that when she stands up to patriarchy she is looked at as evil and corrupted; almost as if she was against the will of God. Lady Capulet at this time says nothing until Lord Capulet gets violent, she tries to pull him off of Juliet as does the nurse but he just strikes his own wife to the ground feeling no shame about it. When he leaves in rage, Juliet asks for help and forgiveness from her mother, but she just says that Juliet is no daughter of mine. This showing that there are also women against women in this patriarchal society. Verona was a place which was used to death, violence and power. Romeo and Juliets suicide exposes and challenges the foundations of the patriarchal society they were introduced to when they were born. When he saw Juliet he killed himself in the name of love. Juliets suicide has great representative value in the sense that she uses a dagger to kill herself. This weapon has been shown to be only used by men, so when she used it on herself it showed masculinity and power. She takes control over her own life for once as uses that power to kill her self to be with the one she loves. When he saw Juliet apparently dead he took his own life. This showed that a woman could control the destiny of a man which was fundamentally against the patriarchal society of Verona.