Chapter 73: 706-713
Page 706
Sir William Johnson
See page 532.
Zeno's Paradox
Zeno of Elea (ca. 490 BC? – ca. 430 BC?) was a pre-Socratic Greek philosopher of southern Italy and a member of the Eleatic School founded by Parmenides. Aristotle called him the inventor of the dialectic. He is best known for his paradoxes, which Betrand Russell has described as "immeasurably subtle and profound"... This seems to be a reference to the paradox of Achilles and the Tortoise: Achilles is in a footrace with the tortoise. Achilles allows the tortoise a head start of 100 metres. If we suppose that each racer starts running at some constant speed (one very fast and one very slow), then after some finite time, Achilles will have run 100 metres, bringing him to the tortoise's starting point. During this time, the tortoise has run a much shorter distance, say, 10 metres. It will then take Achilles some further time to run that distance, by which time the tortoise will have advanced farther; and then more time still to reach this third point, while the tortoise moves ahead. Thus, whenever Achilles reaches somewhere the tortoise has been, he still has farther to go. Therefore, because there are an infinite number of points Achilles must reach where the tortoise has already been, he can never overtake the tortoise. Of course, simple experience tells us that Achilles will be able to overtake the tortoise, which is why this is a paradox. From WIKI
Page 707
inimical
1. Harmful in effect
2. Unfriendly; hostile
From WIKI
Bourbon Court
The House of Bourbon is an important European royal house, a branch of the Capetian dynasty. Bourbon kings first ruled Navarre and France in the 16th century. By the 18th century, members of the Bourbon dynasty also held thrones in Spain, Naples & Sicily, and Parma. Spain and Luxembourg currently have Bourbon monarchs. From WIKI - Also, see page 377.
Haute Cuisine
See page 385.
Vongolli
Clammy
When they happen across an Adventurer from Mexico, and the ancient City he has discover'd beneath the Earth, where thousands of Mummies occupy the Streets...
Yet another reference to Hollow Earth theory. See p.548 - This also, takes it a bit further, as this seems intended to focus on the archaic idea of the Afterlife being Underground, and the fusion of Ancient Egyptian ideas (that one must be mummified to reach the Afterlife) as well as Ancient Hebrew (that when one dies they go to Sheol, a place underground). Also, see WIKI
Page 708
Vis Inertiae
Inner Inertia
Herschel... Uranus
Friedrich Wilhelm Herschel, KH, FRS, English: Sir Frederick William Herschel, (15 November 1738 – 25 August 1822) was a German astronomer, technical expert and composer who became famous for discovering Uranus. He also discovered infrared radiation and made many other discoveries in astronomy... The object was soon universally accepted as a new planet. By 1783, Herschel himself acknowledged this fact to Royal Society president Joseph Banks: "By the observation of the most eminent Astronomers in Europe it appears that the new star, which I had the honour of pointing out to them in March 1781, is a Primary Planet of our Solar System." In recognition of his achievement, King George III gave Herschel an annual stipend of £200 on the condition that he move to Windsor so that the Royal Family could have a chance to look through his telescopes. From WIKI
