This excerpt was originally posted on the John Deere, Straightforward Blog September 13, 2011. You can view the original post here.
John Deere Ozone NAAQS
After a long period of uncertainty and delay, President Obama announced last week he has requested that EPA Administrator Lisa Jackson withdraw the drafted Ozone National Ambient Air Quality Standards (NAAQS) at this time.
The President said he has continued to underscore the importance of reducing regulatory burdens and regulatory uncertainty as our economy continues to recover. This latest announcement is welcomed by many in the U.S. business community as they work to recover from the downturn and add much-needed jobs.
The next scheduled statutory review of the ozone standard is in 2013, and the scientific panel convened by the EPA to review the latest scientific evidence – the Clean Air Scientific Advisory Committee (CASAC) – has already begun its work.
What is the current standard and why is it important?
Ground-level Ozone is one of six “criteria” pollutants found in the atmosphere for which the Clean Air Act requires EPA to set NAAQS. In March of 2008, the EPA strengthened the NAAQS for ground-level ozone to 75 parts per billion (ppb).
Based on measurements taken by air quality monitors, a county or region is designated being in either “attainment” or “non-attainment”—meaning the air meets the NAAQS standard set by EPA or it does not. Currently, 333 counties in the U.S. are considered non-attainment based on this level.
Ozone and particulate matter are of concern to the construction industry because diesel engines used in construction equipment in many non-attainment areas emit a constituent of ozone.
The Most Recent Proposal
The EPA issued a proposal in 2010 to further strengthen the NAAQS for ozone; this proposal would have changed the current ozone standard from 75 ppb to a range from 60 ppb to 70 ppb.
The more stringent levels under consideration by EPA could have potentially brought over 1,000 counties into non-attainment status, many for the first time. In fact, according to modeling and projections based on available 2008-2010 monitoring data and extrapolating for counties without monitors, the number of counties that would be considered non-attainment could rise to:
• 1,053 counties under a 70 ppb standard
• 2,217 counties under a 65 ppb standard
• 2,795 counties under a 60 ppb standard
What will happen when the standard does change?
Within two years after the NAAQS is promulgated, the EPA must designate areas as attainment or non-attainment based on the most recent set of air monitoring data.
Within three years of a change in NAAQS, the Clean Air Act requires all states to submit a State Implementation Plan (SIP) to show they have the basic air quality management program components in place to implement the new NAAQS.
SIPs for ozone non-attainment areas specifically, are generally due within 36 months of the non-attainment designation. SIPs must contain provisions that prevent deterioration of air quality in areas where ambient standards are already being met. If a state fails to honor its legal obligation to maintain and improve air quality, it can lose federal infrastructure funds.
If new levels are approved, the actions taken by states and municipalities vary but in some cases are immediate. Of key interest to contractors, some state and local plans to address non-attainment may affect off-road diesel equipment through technological requirements or bid specifications on government funded projects.
In order to compete, a contractor may be required to retrofit, repower or replace its equipment to meet a state’s implementation plan.


Hydrogen Brazing Summary
Brazing in an inert gas like Hydrogen (H2) is a very common method for joining materials like copper and stainless steel to make assemblies destined for high vacuum applications or UHV applications (Ultra-High Vacuum). Hydrogen furnace brazing is a core competency of our Brazing Services here at Altair Technologies. Although Hydrogen brazing alloys and fillers do not use a flux, H2 acts as a fluxing agent to reduce oxides and remove hydrocarbons. Many oxides, such as oxides of iron (steel), copper, nickel, etc., are easily reduced by Hydrogen, whereas many others, such as aluminum, titanium, and beryllium are very difficult to reduce.
Dry Hydrogen is used instead of wet Hydrogen when materials form oxides at relatively low dew points. Moly, Tungsten and Stainless Steel are all processed in Dry Hydrogen. Unless a very dry atmosphere is needed, Wet Hydrogen, being better at removing residual hydrocarbons than dry Hydrogen, is the preferred atmosphere.
The question of whether to use wet or dry hydrogen brazing is a question about whether one wants to reduce oxides or remove hydrocarbons as it relates to the materials to be joined. In addition to the explanations below, our post on brazing copper in hydrogen gas offers more clarity with regards to why wet or dry hydrogen brazing would be chosen as it relates to copper. Equally helpful is our post on brazing stainless steel, further explaining the choice between Dry and Wet hydrogen brazing atmospheres for stainless.
Dry Hydrogen is one of the most active agents for reducing the oxides of many metals in the furnace. If an oxidized metal is heated to a sufficiently high temperature in dry hydrogen, the oxide of that metal will be reduced to native metal and the oxygen emissions will combine with hydrogen to form water. In order to create ideal conditions, in which the brazing alloy creates a joint with the native metal, a dry hydrogen environment can ensure a successful braze joint.
The resultant parts are metallurgically bonded across the entire mating surface, offering optimized thermal conductivity as well as strong hermetic seals to 10-10 vacuum scale. They come out of the furnace in an ultra-clean condition, free of surface hydrocarbon contaminants, oxide layers and chemical cleaning residues offering an aesthetically pleasing, product with a well-defined, uniform braze fillet.
Dry Hydrogen atmospheres are used instead of wet Hydrogen when materials form oxides at relatively low dew points. Moly, Tungsten and Stainless Steel are all processed in dry Hydrogen. Stainless steel is chromium-rich and readily forms chromium oxide on its surface when heated and is therefore commonly brazed in a Dry Hydrogen atmosphere.
Unless a very dry atmosphere is needed, wet Hydrogen, being better at removing residual hydrocarbons than Dry Hydrogen, is the preferred atmosphere. Argon, Helium and forming gas are also used in specialty applications. Stainless steel can also be Nickel plated and safely brazed in a wet Hydrogen atmosphere too.
Contact one of our advanced material joining specialists today for a quick feasibility study of your project.


If your doctor, nurse or health worker has told you that your abnormal cervical screening or Pap smear result may be due to an infection with HPV, you may be wondering what it is, how you got it and what it means for your health.
HPV is a very common virus, with four out of five people having it at some stage of their lives. In some cases, it can increase a woman’s risk of cervical cancer. However, most women with HPV do not develop cervical cancer.
There are many different types of HPV, including some that affect the genitals. Genital HPV is similar to the virus which causes warts on other parts of the body.
Genital HPV is so common that it could be considered a normal part of being a sexually active person. Most people will have HPV at some time in their lives and never know it. You may become aware of HPV if you have an abnormal cervical screening test result, or if genital warts appear.
HPV infection is very common and in most people, it clears up naturally in about 1-2 years.
How did I get HPV?
Genital HPV is spread through genital skin contact during sexual activity. As viruses are microscopic, HPV can pass through tiny breaks in the skin. HPV is not spread in blood or other body fluids. While condoms are an important barrier to many sexually transmitted infections, they offer limited protection against HPV as they do not cover all of the genital skin.
Because the virus can be hidden in a person’s cells for months or years, having a diagnosis of HPV does not necessarily mean that you or your partner has been unfaithful. For most people it is probably impossible to determine when and from whom HPV was contracted.
Can HPV be cured or treated?
There is no treatment for HPV. It will, in most cases, be cleared up by your immune system. Most people with a HPV infection have no symptoms and will never know they have it. If your body does not clear a HPV infection, it can cause changes to cells in your cervix, which in rare cases can develop into cervical cancer. If cervical cell changes are found as a result of your Cervical Screening Test, further testing and treatment will be needed.
Some types of HPV can cause genital warts. Consult your doctor or health practitioner if you are concerned about genital warts because of their appearance, or if they are causing you discomfort. There are a range of treatment options for warts.
What does HPV have to do with cervical cancer?
A few of the many types of HPV have been linked to causing abnormalities of the cervix and in some cases the development of cancer of the cervix.
It is important to remember that most women who have HPV clear the virus naturally and do not go on to develop cervical cancer. In a small number of women, the HPV stays in the cells of the cervix. When the infection is not cleared, there is an increased risk of developing abnormalities. In very rare cases, these abnormalities of the cervix can progress to cancer. When cervical cancer develops, HPV is found in almost all cases.
Cervical cancer is preventable with regular cervical screening. The Cervical Screening Test is more accurate at detecting HPV. By detecting a HPV infection early, it allows your healthcare provider to monitor the infection and intervene if there are any changes to cells in your cervix.
What about a vaccine for HPV?
Cervical cancer is one of the leading causes of cancer morbidity and mortality in women throughout the world. Persistent infection with oncogenic Human Papilloma Virus (HPV) is associated with the development of cervical cancer. Infection with oncogenic HPV types is also implicated in the development of other cancers, including cancer of the vulva, vagina, anus and penis.
Vaccination to prevent infection with oncogenic HPV types has the potential to reduce the incidence of precursor lesions and cervical cancer.
The HPV vaccine works best if you have it before you are sexually active and exposed to the HPV virus. If you have already been exposed to HPV, you may have less protection from the vaccine.
The HPV vaccine protects against the two main HPV types that cause around 70% of cervical cancers, as well as some anal, vaginal, oropharyngeal, vulva and penile cancers. It also protects against two HPV types that cause up to 90% of genital warts.
In Australia, the HPV vaccine is given to adolescents through the school-based immunisation program and is approved for use in females 9 to 45 years and in males 9 to 26 years.
Anyone who engages in genital skin-to-skin contact with a person of any gender (Lesbian, Gay, Bisexual, Transgender, Intersex [LGBTI] people) should get a HPV vaccine.
The HPV vaccine can be given to females who:
- Are lactating.
- Have minor acute illnesses (diarrhoea or mild upper respiratory tract infections, with or without fever)
- Are immunocompromised, either from disease or medication. However, vaccine efficacy might be less
The HPV vaccine should not be given to females who:
- Are pregnant (category B2)
- There is no evidence to suggest that administration of HPV vaccine adversely affects pregnancy or infant outcomes
- Have hypersensitivity to yeast
- Have moderate or severe acute illnesses
Vaccination is Not Treatment
The HPV vaccine is not therapeutic and is not intended to treat patients with abnormal cervical screening test, abnormal Pap smear or genital warts.
Vaccination of Women Older Than 26 Years
Although the peak incidence of genital HPV infection is within the first five years after commencement of sexual activity, new HPV infections do occur throughout a woman’s life, particularly in the context of new sexual partners and changing sexual behaviour. HPV vaccine is licenced for use in female up to the age of 45.
It should be emphasised to them that vaccination is about prevention of future HPV infections, whilst continuation of cervical screening is vital to detect pre-cancerous changes related to past infections.
Two prophylactic HPV vaccines are currently available in Australia
- Gardasil – licensed for use in females aged 9 to 45 years of age for the prevention of cervical cancer and its precursor lesions due to HPV types 16 and 18 and HPV types 6 and 11, the latter two which cause 90% of genital warts. To be given in a three dose schedule at 0, 2 and 6 months Gardasil® is also approved for use in males aged 9 to 15 years for the prevention of HPV infections.
- Cervarix – licensed for use in females from 10 to 45 years of age for the prevention of cervical cancer and its precursor lesions due to HPV types 16 and 18. It is given at 0, 1 and 6 months.
Cervical screening after HPV vaccine
Even if you have had the HPV vaccine you should have regular Cervical Screening Tests.
The HPV vaccine protects against the types of HPV that cause around 70% of cervical cancers. It does not protect you against all types of HPV.
You do not need to stop having sex if your Cervical Screening Test shows you have a HPV infection.
The HPV virus is very common and there is no way of knowing if your partner currently has, or has previously had, this type of virus. Most of the time your body can clear the virus without causing any problems.
It is your choice whether you discuss your Cervical Screening Test results with your partner.
Having a HPV infection does not necessarily mean that you or your partner have been unfaithful. HPV infection is very common and the HPV virus can remain inactive for long periods of time in the body. For most people, it is impossible to know when or from whom they were infected with HPV.
Your queries are best answered over the phone, our friendly reception staff would be happy to assist you with your enquiry, contact us on +02 8824 4998


GIGANTIC FARMS AND FAILURES.
THE BIG BELL FARM.
ing wheat on the Bell Farm he put at five dollars an acre; and this in-
eluded depreciation and interest on capital. Major Bell's plan for working
the farm was by dividing it into 200-acre portions and treating each as a
separate farm with separate outfits. Each farm had on it a house and
stables and the whole of these places were connected with Major Bell's
office by telephone. There were foremen who each looked after a certain
number of these 200-acre divisions. The year 1884 was a good year on
the Bell Farm, and it grew fifty to sixty thousand bushels of wheat. This
was all taken by the Ogilvie Milling Company at a dollar a bushel; and
the big scheme seemed to have proved itself. In 1885 all the teams were
on the rebellion transport and no crop was put in.
1886 was a very dry and unremunerative year. The price of wheat
was seventy-five to eighty cents a bushel and it cost 32 cents a bushel to
get it to Montreal. The loss was heavy Major Bell went to England.to
further a scheme to establish an Agricultural College on the farm and a.
large: building was erected for this purpose at a cost of twelve thousand
dollars. It was expected that Dr.. Tanner, a noted professor of agricul-
ture, would be the principal. The scheme, however, never materialized.
The prospects of the company at first were very bright. Governor
Dewdney was the President of the Company and the report of 1884 shows
that in 1883, the first season, 2,700 acres were .broken. In 1883 a thirty
thousand bushel granary was erected; in 1884 six thousand acres were in
crop. The idea was to sell the small farms to bona fide settlers, but the
time came when the Company was glad to sell in large or small lots. Lord
Brassey bought a big block mostly south. of Indian Head, and the
Brassey farms as they were called attracted a good deal of notice. Lord
Brassey started a creamery in Indian Head, and built an Anglican Church,
and a Bishop's residence south of the track. But the Brassey farms went
the way of all large enterprises. They did not pay. Eventually all the
Bell Farm passed into the hands of small. holders and actual occupiers,
while a section became the Experimental Farm. Major Bell deserves the
most kindly and appreciative remembrance, and .he has it from all the old
timers. He was deservedly popular and was one of the brightest and most
energetic men the west ever saw. Mr. A. W. Sherwood, a popular and
highly respected citizen of Indian Head, and a cousin of Major Bell. was
the secretary of Qu'Appelle Valley Farming Company.


World Watch – A study published in the December 1998 Bulletin of the American Meterological Society suggests that long-term climate patterns could result in droughts of unprecedented severity in the United States. Records show that droughts like the seven-year dust bowl of the 1930s occur in our country about twice a century, according to Connie Woodhouse and Jonathan Overpick of the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration. There also exists a historic pattern of droughts that last for decades, the last two being recorded in the 16th and 12th Centuries. Severe droughts ?could recur in the future, leading to a disaster of a dimension unprecedented in the twentieth century.? Erosion caused by planting of marginal areas could hasten this process. In addition scientific models show that green house gasses cause ?a marked increase in the frequency and duration of extreme droughts.?
Thanks to World Watch, March/April 1999 Issue.
NOTE: This news story, previously published on our old site, will have any links removed.


September epsilon Perseid cluster as a result of orbital fragmentation
1 Astronomical Institute, CAS, Fričova 298, 25165 Ondřejov, Czech Republic
2 Institut de Mécanique Céleste et de Calcul des Éphémérides, 77 avenue Denfert-Rochereau, 75014 Paris, France
3 Institute of Atmospheric Physics, CAS, 14131 Prague, (station Nýdek), Czech Republic
Received: 14 December 2016
Accepted: 13 February 2017
Context. A bright fireball was observed above the Czech Republic on September 9, 2016, at 23:06:59 UT. Moreover, the video cameras at two different stations recorded eight fainter meteors flying on parallel atmospheric trajectories within less than 2 s. All the meteors belong to the September epsilon Perseid meteor shower. The measured proximity of all meteors during a very low activity meteor shower suggests that a cluster of meteors was observed.
Aims. The goal of the paper is first to determine whether this event was a random occurrence or a real meteor cluster and second, if it was a cluster, to determine the epoch and at what distance from the Earth the separation of the particles occurred.
Methods. The atmospheric trajectories of the observed meteors, masses, and relative distances of individual particles were determined using a double-station observation. According to the distances and masses of the particles, the most probable distance and time of fragmentation is determined.
Results. The observed group of meteors is interpreted as the result of the orbital fragmentation of a bigger meteoroid. The fragmentation happened no earlier than 2 or 3 days before the encounter with the Earth at a distance smaller than ~0.08 AU from the Earth.
Key words: meteorites, meteors, meteoroids
© ESO, 2017


What goes on inside a rapper's mouth during a beatboxing session? Science wants to know!
Enter Shrinkanth Narayanan, a speech and audio engineer at the University of Southern California, who made recordings of a beatboxer performing in real time using MRI:
The investigators made 40 recordings each lasting 20-40 seconds long as the beatboxer produced all the effects in his repertoire, as individual sounds, composite beats, rapped lyrics, sung lyrics and freestyle combinations of these elements. He categorized 17 distinct percussion sounds into five instrumental classes — kick drums, rim shots, snare drums, hi-hats, and cymbals. The artist demonstrated his repertoire at several different tempos, ranging from slower at roughly 88 beats per minute, to faster at 104.
"We were astonished by the complex elegance of the vocal movements and the sounds being created in beatboxing, which in itself is an amazing artistic display," Narayanan said. "This incredible vocal instrument and its many capabilities continue to amaze us, from the intricate choreography of the 'dance of the tongue' to the complex aerodynamics that work together to create a rich tapestry of sounds that encode not only meaning but also a wide range of emotions."
LiveScience has more: Link


[T]he staph germ called MRSA [pronounced Muhr-suh, which stands for methicillin-resistant Staphylococcus aureus]. . . . causes dangerous infections that sicken more than 90,000 Americans each year and kill nearly 19,000. . . . People in health care settings, like hospitals and nursing homes, are most at risk for MRSA infections. Doctors and nurses who treat staph-infected patients and then don't carefully wash up can spread the germ to other patients. Germ-contaminated medical devices used on people having dialysis or medical procedures also can spread staph. [It] has been around for decades and in recent years has spread to schools, prisons and crowded public housing projects. . . . Other worrisome bugs include C-difficile (an intestinal infection), vancomycin-resistant Enterococcus (linked with intestinal, skin and blood infections), and drug-resistant Acinetobacter (which can cause pneumonia, skin and blood infections); none of them accounts for more than 10 percent of hospital infections [the percentage caused by MRSA]. . . .
[I]n Pittsburgh. . . the Veterans Affairs hospital tested new patients for staph, using a nose swab. They isolated those who had the germ, and annual infection rates fell from about 60 to 18 cases . . . The staph bug used to cause "occasional" deaths, but no patient has died since 2005 when testing of all patients began[.] . . . In May, the VA began putting a $28 million testing system in place for all 155 hospitals. . . . Denmark, Iceland, Norway, and the Netherlands have reduced their MRSA rates and all test high-risk patients . . . . [S]ince 2005 at three Chicago area hospitals in the Evanston Northwestern Healthcare system [test all patients]. There, the MRSA infection rate has dropped 60 percent . . . at the VA hospital in Pittsburgh . . . . The rates for other hospital-acquired infections also fell after MRSA testing began. Why? The testing may have caused hospital workers to pay more attention to hand washing and other prevention efforts[.]
Experience has show that one of the most important cognitive biases of most doctors is to underestimate the benefits and importance of good systems. The VA is one of the few bastions that takes a strongly systems oriented approach instead and because of this approach achieves good results despite having some of the lowest paid doctors in the country.


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Gnosticism (from "Ancient Greek: γνωστικός gnostikos, "having knowledge", from γνῶσις gnōsis, knowledge) is a modern name for a variety of ancient religious ideas and systems, originating in Jewish "milieus in the first and second century AD. Based on their readings of the "Torah and other Biblical writings,["specify] these systems induced that the material world is created by an emanation of the highest God, trapping the "Divine spark within the human body. This Divine spark could be liberated by "gnosis of this Divine spark.
The Gnostic ideas and systems flourished in the Mediterranean world in the second century AD, in conjunction with and influenced by the early Christian movements and "Middle Platonism. After the second century a decline set in, but Gnosticism persisted throughout the centuries as an undercurrent of western culture, remanifesting with the Renaissance as "Western esotericism, taking prominence with modern "spirituality. In the Persian Empire, Gnosticism spread as far as China with "Manicheism, while "Mandeism is still alive in Iraq.
A major question in scholarly research is the qualification of Gnosticism, based on the study of its texts, as either an interreligious phenomenon or as an independent religion.
Gnosis refers to knowledge based on personal experience or perception. In a religious context, gnosis is "mystical or esoteric "knowledge based on direct participation with the divine. In most Gnostic systems the sufficient cause of salvation is this "knowledge of" ("acquaintance with") the divine. It is an inward "knowing," comparable to that encouraged by "Plotinus ("neoplatonism), and differs from Christian proto-orthodox views.
The usual meaning of gnostikos in Classical Greek texts is "learned" or "intellectual", such as used by Plato in the comparison of "practical" (praktikos) and "intellectual" (gnostikos).[note 1] Plato's use of "learned" is fairly typical of Classical texts.[note 2]
By the "Hellenistic period, it began to also be associated with "Greco-Roman mysteries, becoming synonymous with the Greek term musterion. The adjective is not used in the New Testament, but "Clement of Alexandria[note 3] speaks of the "learned" (gnostikos) Christian in complimentary terms. The use of gnostikos in relation to heresy originates with interpreters of "Irenaeus. Some scholars[note 4] consider that Irenaeus sometimes uses gnostikos to simply mean "intellectual",[note 5] whereas his mention of "the intellectual sect"[note 6] is a specific designation.[note 7][note 8][note 9]
The term "Gnosticism" does not appear in ancient sources,[note 10] and was first coined in the 17th century by "Henry More in a commentary on the seven letters of the "Book of Revelation, where More used the term "Gnosticisme" to describe the heresy in "Thyatira.[note 11] The term Gnosticism was derived from the use of the Greek adjective gnostikos (Greek γνωστικός, "learned," "intellectual") by St. Irenaeus (c. 185 AD) to describe the school of "Valentinus as he legomene gnostike haeresis "the heresy called Learned (gnostic)."[note 12]
The earliest origins of Gnosticism are obscure and still disputed. The Christian groups called Gnostics a branch of Christianity,[note 13]["not in citation given] but according to the modern scholars the theology's origin is closely related to Jewish sectarian milieus and early Christian sects.[note 14] Gnostics seem to have originated in "Alexandria and coexisted with the early Christians until the 4th century AD. Because there was as yet no fixed church authority, "syncretism with pre-existing belief systems as well as new religions were often embraced.
Some scholars prefer to speak of "gnosis" when referring to 1st-century ideas that later developed into gnosticism, and to reserve the term "gnosticism" for the synthesis of these ideas into a coherent movement in the 2nd century. No gnostic texts have been discovered that pre-date Christianity,[note 15] and "pre-Christian Gnosticism as such is hardly attested in a way to settle the debate once and for all."
Contemporary scholarship largely agrees that Gnosticism has Jewish or Judeo-Christian origins, originating in the late first century CE in nonrabbinical Jewish sects and early Christian sects.[note 14]
Many heads of gnostic schools were identified as "Jewish Christians by Church Fathers, and Hebrew words and names of God were applied in some gnostic systems. The "cosmogonic speculations among Christian Gnostics had partial origins in Ma`aseh Bereshit and "Ma`aseh Merkabah. This theses is most notably put forward by "Gershom Scholem (1897-1982) and "Gilles Quispel (1916-2006). Scholem detected Jewish gnosis in the imagery of the "merkavah, which can also be found in "Christian" Gnostic documents, for example Paul's ascencion to the "third heaven. Quispel sees Gnosticism as an independent Jewish development, tracing its origins to Alexandrian Jews., to which Valentinus was also connected. According to Robert M. Grant, Gnosticism developed out of "the remains of apocalyptic escatological expectations after the fall of Jerusalem," which shattered the hopes of the coming of God's kingdom on earth and lead to a rejection of the world. Gnosticism united material from the "outer fringes of Judaism," such as the "Essenes and the Diaspora Judaism of the Aramaic Syro-Mesopotamian world.
Many of the "Nag Hammadi texts make reference to Judaism, in some cases with a violent rejection of the Jewish God.[note 14] "Gershom Scholem once described Gnosticism as "the Greatest case of metaphysical anti-Semitism". Professor "Steven Bayme said gnosticism would be better characterized as "anti-Judaism. Recent research into the origins of Gnosticism shows a strong Jewish influence, particularly from "Hekhalot literature.
Within early Christianity, the teachings of Paul and John may have been a starting point for Gnostic ideas, with a growing emphasis on the opposition between flesh and spirit, the value of charisma, and the disqualification of the Jewish law. The mortal body belonged to the world of the archons, and only the spirit or soul could be saved. The term gnostikos may have acquired a deeper significance here.
Alexandria was of central importance for the birth of Gnosticism. The Christian ecclesia was of Jewish-Christian origin, but also attracted Greek members, and various strand of thought were available, such as "Judaic "apocalypticism, "speculation on divine wisdom, Greek philosophy, and Hellenistic "mystery religions."
Per the angel Christology of some early Christians, Darrell Hannah notes:
[Some] early Christians understood the pre-incarnate Christ, ontologically, as an angel. This "true" angel Christology took many forms and may have appeared as early as the late first century, if indeed this is the view opposed in the early chapters of the Epistle to the Hebrews. The Elchasaites, or at least Christians influenced by them, paired the male Christ with the female Holy Spirit, envisioning both as two gigantic angels. Some Valentinian Gnostics supposed that Christ took on an angelic nature that he might be the Saviour of angels. The author of the Testament of Solomon held Christ to be a particularly effective "thwarting" angel in the exorcism of demons. The author of De Centesima and Epiphanius’ "Ebionites" held Christ to have been the highest and most important of the first created archangels, a view similar in many respects to Hermas’ equation of Christ with Michael. Finally, a possible exegetical tradition behind the Ascension of Isaiah and attested by Origen's Hebrew master, may witness to yet another angel Christology, as well as an angel Pneumatology.
[The Lord Christ is commissioned by the Father] And I heard the voice of the Most High, the father of my LORD as he said to my LORD Christ who will be called Jesus, ‘Go out and descend through all the heavens...
"The Shepherd of Hermas is a Christian literary work considered as "canonical scripture by some of the early "Church fathers such as "Irenaeus. Jesus is identified with angel Christology in parable 5, when the author mentions a Son of God, as a virtuous man filled with a Holy "pre-existent spirit".
In the 1880s Gnostic connections with neo-Platonism were proposed. Ugo Bianchi, who organised the Congress of Medina of 1966 on the origins of Gnosticism, also argued for Orphic and Platonic origins. Gnostics borrowed significant ideas and terms from Platonism,["citation needed] using Greek philosophical concepts throughout their text, including such concepts as "hypostasis (reality, existence), "ousia (essence, substance, being), and demiurge (creator God). Both "Sethian Gnostics and "Valentinian Gnostics seem to have been influenced by "Plato, "Middle Platonism, and "Neo-Pythagoreanism academies or schools of thought. Both schools attempted "an effort towards conciliation, even affiliation" with late antique philosophy, and were rebuffed by some "Neoplatonists, including Plotinus.
Early research into the origins of Gnosticism proposed Persian origins or influences, spreading to Europe and incorporating Jewish elements. According to "Wilhelm Bousset (1865-1920), Gnosticism was a form of Iranian and Mesopotamian syncretism, and "Richard August Reitzenstein (1861-1931) most famously situated the origins of Gnosticism in Persia.
Carsten Colpe (b.1929) has analyzed and criticised the Iranian hypothesis of Reitzenstein, showing that many of his hypotheses are untenable. Nevertheless, Geo Widengren (1907-1996) argued for the origin of (Mandaean) Gnosticism in "Mazdean (Zoroastrianism) "Zurvanism, in conjunction with ideas from the Aramaic Mesopotamian world.
In 1966, at the Congress of Median, Buddhologist "Edward Conze noted phenomenological commonalities between "Mahayana Buddhism and Gnosticism, in his paper Buddhism and Gnosis, following an early suggestion put forward by "Isaac Jacob Schmidt.[note 16] The influence of Buddhism in any sense on either the gnostikos Valentinus (c. 170) or the Nag Hammadi texts (3rd century) is not supported by modern scholarship, although "Elaine Pagels (1979) called it a "possibility".
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The Syrian-Egyptian traditions postulate a remote, supreme Godhead, the "Monad. From this highest divinity "emanate lower divine beings, known as "Aeons. The Demiurg, one of those Aeons, creates the physical world. Divine elements "fall" into the material realm, and are locked within human beings. This divine element returns to the divine realm when Gnosis, esoteric or "intuitive knowledge of the divine element within is obtained.
Gnostic systems postulate a "dualism between God and the world, varying from the "radical dualist" systems of "Manichaeism to the "mitigated dualism" of classic gnostic movements. Radical dualism, or absolute dualism, posits two co-equal divine forces, while in mitigated dualism one of the two principles is in some way inferior to the other. In qualified monism the second entity may be divine or semi-divine. Valentinian Gnosticism is a form of "monism, expressed in terms previously used in a dualistic manner.["citation needed]
Gnostics tended toward "asceticism, especially in their sexual and dietary practice. In other areas of morality, Gnostics were less rigorously ascetic, and took a more moderate approach to correct behaviour. In normative early Christianity the "Church administered and prescribed the correct behaviour for Christians, while in Gnosticism it was the internalised motivation which was important. Ritualistic behaviour was not important unless it was based on a personal, internal motivation. Ptolemy's Epistle to Flora describes a general asceticism, based on the moral inclination of the individual.[note 17]
In many Gnostic systems, God is known as the Monad, "the One.[note 18] God is the high source of the pleroma, the region of light. The various emanations of God are called æons. According to Hippolytus, this view was inspired by the "Pythagoreans, who called the first thing that came into existence the Monad, which begat the dyad, which begat the numbers, which begat the "point, begetting "lines, etc.
The Sethian cosmogony as most famously contained in the Apocryphon ("Secret book") of John describes an unknown God, very similar to the "orthodox apophatic theology, but different from the orthodox teachings that this God who is the creator of heaven and earth. Orthodox theologians often attempt to define God through a series of explicit positive statements: he is "omniscient, "omnipotent and truly "benevolent. The Sethian hidden transcendent God is, by contrast, defined through "negative theology: he is immovable, invisible, intangible, ineffable; commonly, "he" is seen as being "hermaphroditic, a potent symbol for being, as it were, "all-containing". In the "Apocryphon of John, this god is good in that it bestows goodness. After the apophatic statements, the process of the Divine in action are used to describe the effect of such a god.
Pleroma (Greek πληρωμα, "fullness") refers to the totality of God's powers. The heavenly pleroma is the center of divine life, a region of light "above" (the term is not to be understood spatially) our world, occupied by spiritual beings such as aeons (eternal beings) and sometimes archons. Jesus is interpreted as an intermediary aeon who was sent from the pleroma, with whose aid humanity can recover the lost knowledge of the divine origins of humanity. The term is thus a central element of Gnostic "cosmology.
Pleroma is also used in the general Greek language, and is used by the Greek Orthodox church in this general form, since the word appears in the book of "Colossians. Proponents of the view that "Paul was actually a gnostic, such as "Elaine Pagels, view the reference in Colossians as a term that has to be interpreted in a gnostic sense.
The Supreme Light or Consciousness descends through a series of stages, gradations, worlds or hypostases, becoming progressively more material and embodied. In time it will turn around to return to the One (epistrophe), retracing its steps through spiritual knowledge and contemplation.
From the initial unitary beginning, the One spontaneously emanated further Aeons, pairs of progressively "lesser" beings in sequence. The lowest of these pairs were Sophia and Christ. The Aeons together make up the Pleroma, or fullness of divinity and thus should not be seen as identical with God nor as distinct from the divine, but as embodied divine emanations.["citation needed]
In many Gnostic systems, the aeons are the various emanations of the superior God or Monad. From this first being, also an æon, a series of different emanations occur, beginning in certain Gnostic texts with the "hermaphroditic Barbelo, from which successive pairs of aeons emanate, often in male-female pairings called syzygies. The numbers of these pairings varied from text to text, though some identify their number as being thirty. The aeons as a totality constitute the pleroma, the "region of light". The lowest regions of the pleroma are closest to the darkness; that is, the physical world.["citation needed]
Two of the most commonly paired æons were Christ and Sophia (Greek: "Wisdom"); the latter refers to Christ as her "consort" in A Valentinian Exposition.
In Gnostic tradition, the term Sophia (Σoφíα, Greek for "wisdom") refers to the final and lowest emanation of God. In most if not all versions of the gnostic myth, Sophia births the demiurge, who in turn brings about the creation of materiality. The positive or negative depiction of materiality thus resides a great deal on mythic depictions of Sophia's actions. She is occasionally referred to by the "Hebrew equivalent of Achamoth (this is a feature of Ptolemy's version of the Valentinian gnostic myth). Jewish Gnosticism with a focus on Sophia was active by 90 CE.["citation needed]
Sophia, emanating without her partner, resulting in the production of the Demiurge (Greek: lit. "public builder"), who is also referred to as Yaldabaoth and variations thereof in some Gnostic texts. This creature is concealed outside the Pleroma; in isolation, and thinking itself alone, it creates materiality and a host of co-actors, referred to as archons. The demiurge is responsible for the creation of mankind; trapping elements of the Pleroma stolen from Sophia inside human bodies. In response, the Godhead emanates two savior aeons, Christ and the Holy Spirit; Christ then embodies itself in the form of Jesus, in order to be able to teach man how to achieve gnosis, by which they may return to the Pleroma.
The term Demiurge derives from the "Latinized form of the Greek term dēmiourgos, δημιουργός, literally "public or skilled worker."[note 20] This figure is also called "Ialdabaoth", "Samael ("Aramaic: sæmʻa-ʼel, "blind god"), or "Saklas" ("Syriac: sækla, "the foolish one"), who is sometimes ignorant of the superior god, and sometimes opposed to it; thus in the latter case he is correspondingly malevolent. Other names or identifications are "Ahriman, "El, "Satan, and "Yahweh.
The Demiurge creates the "physical universe and the physical aspect of "humanity. The demiurge typically creates a group of co-actors named "archons who preside over the material realm and, in some cases, present obstacles to the soul seeking ascent from it. The inferiority of the demiurge's creation may be compared to the technical inferiority of a work of art, painting, sculpture, etc. to the thing the art "represents. In other cases it takes on a more "ascetic tendency to view material existence negatively, which then becomes more extreme when materiality, and the human body, is perceived as evil and constrictive, a deliberate prison for its inhabitants.
Moral judgements of the demiurge vary from group to group within the broad category of Gnosticism, viewing materiality as being inherently evil, or as merely flawed and as good as its passive constituent matter allows.
In late antiquity some variants of Gnosticism used the term archon to refer to several servants of the demiurge. In this context they may be seen as having the roles of the "angels and demons of the "Old Testament.
According to "Origen's "Contra Celsum, a sect called the "Ophites posited the existence of seven archons, beginning with Iadabaoth or Ialdabaoth, who created the six that follow: Iao, "Sabaoth, Adonaios, Elaios, Astaphanos and Horaios. Similarly to the "Mithraic "Kronos and "Vedic "Narasimha, a form of "Vishnu, Ialdabaoth had a head of a lion.
Other Gnostic concepts are:
Jesus is identified by some Gnostics as an embodiment of the "supreme being who became "incarnate to bring gnōsis to the earth, while others adamantly denied that the supreme being came in the flesh, claiming Jesus to be merely a human who attained divinity through gnosis and taught his disciples to do the same.["citation needed] Among the "Mandaeans, Jesus was considered a mšiha kdaba or ""false messiah" who perverted the teachings entrusted to him by "John the Baptist. Still other traditions identify "Mani and "Seth - third son of "Adam and Eve - as salvific figures.
Three periods can be discerned in the development of Gnosticism:
During the first period, four types of tradition developed:
The movement spread in areas controlled by the "Roman Empire and "Arian Goths, and the "Persian Empire. It continued to develop in the Mediterranean and Middle East before and during the 2nd and 3rd centuries, but decline also set in during the third century CE, due to a growing aversion from the Catholic Church, and the economic and cultural detoriation of the Roman Empire. Conversion to Islam, and the "Albigensian Crusade (1209–1229), greatly reduced the remaining number of Gnostics throughout the Middle Ages, though a few Mandaean communities still exist. Gnostic and pseudo-gnostic ideas became influential in some of the philosophies of various esoteric "mystical movements of the 19th and 20th centuries in Europe and North America, including some that explicitly identify themselves as revivals or even continuations of earlier gnostic groups.
The Christian heresiologists, most notably "Irenaeus, regarded Gnosticism as a Christian heresy. Modern scholarship notes that early Christianity was very diverse, and Christian orthodoxy only settled in the 4th century, when the Roman Empire declined and Gnosticism lost its influence. The division between "orthodoxy" and "heresy" is too simplistic, and can't be maintained. Gnostic Christians and proto-orthodox Christians had a broadly shared terminology, and were initially hard to distinguish from each other.
According to Walter Bauer, "heresies" may well have been the original form of Christianity in many regions. This theme was further developed by Elaine Pagels, who argues that "the proto-orthodox church found itself in debates with gnostic Christians that helped them to stabilize their own beliefs." According to Gilles Quispel, Catholicism arose in response to Gnosticism, establishing safeguards in the form of the "monarchic episcopate, the "creed, and the canon of holy books.
The Gnostic movements may contain information about the historical Jesus, since some texts preserve sayings which show similarities with canonical sayings. Especially the Gospel of Thomas has a significant amount of parallel sayings. Yet, a striking difference is that the canonical sayings center on the coming endtime, while the Thomas-sayings center on a kingdom of heaven which is already here, and not a future event. According to Koester, this is because the Thomas-sayings are older, implying that in the earliest forms of Christianity Jesus was regarded as a wisdom-teacher. An alternative hypothesis states that the Thomas authors wrote in the second century CE, changing existing sayings and eliminating the apocalyptic concerns. According to April DeConinck, such a change occurred when the endtime didn't come, and the Thomasine tradition turned toward a "new theology of mysticism" and a "theological commitment to a fully-present kingdom of heaven here and now, where their church had attained Adam and Eve's divine status before the Fall."
The prologue of the "Gospel of John describes the incarnated Logos, the light that came to earth, in the person of Jesus. The Apocryphon of John contains a scheme of three descendants from the heavenly realm, the third one being Jesus, just as in the Gospel of John. The similarities probably point to a relationship between gnostic ideas and the Johannine community. According to Raymond Brown, the Gospel of John shows "the development of certain gnostic ideas, especially Christ as heavenly revealer, the emphasis on light versus darkness, and anti-Jewish animus." The Johannine material reveals debates about the redeemer myth. The Johannine letters show that there were different interpretations of the gospel story, and the Johannine images may have contributed to second century Gnostic ideas about Jesus as a redeemer who descended from heaven. According to DeConinck, the Gospel of John shows a "transitional system from early Christianity to gnostic beliefs in a God who transcends our world." According to DeConinck, the John shows a beginning bifurcation between Jesus' "Father in Heaven," and the Jews "Father of the Devil," which may have developed into the gnostic idea of the Monad and the Demiurge.
"Tertullian calls Paul "the apostle of the heretics", because Paul's writings were attractive to gnostics, and interpreted in a gnostic way, while Jewish Christians found him to stray from the Jewish roots of Christianity. Paul wrote to the Corinthian church members as "having knowledge" ("Greek: τον εχοντα γνωσιν, ton echonta gnosin). In some cases Paul affirmed views which were closer to the gnostics than to proto-orthodox Christianity.
According to "Clement of Alexandria, the disciples of Valentinus said that Valentinus was a student of a certain "Theudas who was a student of Paul, and Elaine Pagels notes that Paul's epistles were interpreted by Valentinus in a gnostic way, and Paul could be considered a proto-"gnostic as well as a proto-"Catholic. Many Nag Hammadi texts, including, for example, the Prayer of Paul and the Coptic Apocalypse of Paul, consider Paul to be "the great apostle". The fact that he claimed to have received his gospel directly by revelation from God appealed to the gnostics, who claimed gnosis from the risen Christ. The Naasenes, Cainites and Valentinians referred to Paul's epistles. Authors such as Timothy Freke and Peter Gandy have expanded upon this idea of Paul as a gnostic teacher; nevertheless, Paul does not claim to be a gnostic, and his revelation was different from the gnostic revelations.
Syrian-Egyptian Gnosticism includes "Sethianism, "Valentinianism, "Basilideans, Thomasine traditions, and Serpent Gnostics, as well as a number of other minor groups and writers. Hermetism is also a western Gnostic tradition, though it differs in some respects from these other groups. The Syrian-Egyptian school derives much of its outlook from Platonist influences. It depicts creation in a series of "emanations from a primal monadic source, finally resulting in the creation of the material universe. These schools tend to view evil in terms of matter that is markedly inferior to goodness, lacking spiritual insight and goodness, rather than to portray evil as an equal force.
Many of these movements used texts related to Christianity, with some identifying themselves as specifically Christian, though quite different from the "Orthodox or "Roman Catholic forms. "Jesus and several of his apostles, such as "Thomas the Apostle, claimed as the founder of the "Thomasine form of Gnosticism, figure in many Gnostic texts. "Mary Magdalene is respected as a Gnostic leader, and is considered superior to the "twelve apostles by some gnostic texts, such as the "Gospel of Mary. "John the Evangelist is claimed as a Gnostic by some Gnostic interpreters, as is even "St Paul. Most of the literature from this category is known to us through the Nag Hammadi Library.
Sethianism was one of the main currents of Gnosticism during the 2nd to 3rd centuries, and the prototype of Gnosticism as condemned by Irenaeus. Sethianism attributed its gnosis to "Seth, third son of "Adam and Eve and "Norea, wife of "Noah, who also plays a role in "Mandeanism and "Manicheanism. Their main text is the Apocryhon of John, which does not contain Christian elements, and is an amalgam of two earlier myths. Earlier texts such as "Apocalypse of Adam show signs of being pre-Christian and focus on the Seth, third son of Adam and Eve. Later Sethian texts continue to interact with Platonism. Sethian texts such as "Zostrianos and "Allogenes draw on the imagery of older Sethian texts, but utilize "a large fund of philosophical conceptuality derived from contemporary Platonism, (that is late middle Platonism) with no traces of Christian content."[note 22]
According to "John D. Turner, German and American scholarship views Sethianism as "a distinctly inner-Jewish, albeit syncretistic and heterodox, phenomenon," while British and French scholarship tends to see Sethianism as "a form of heterodox Christian speculation." Roelof van den Broek notes that "Sethianism" may never have been a separate religious movement, but that the term rather refers to a set of mythological themes which occur in various texts.
According to Smith, Sethianism may have begun as a pre-Christian tradition, possibly a "syncretic cult that incorporated elements of Christianity and Platonism as it grew. According to Temporini, Vogt and Haase, early Sethians may be identical to or related to the "Nazarenes (sect), "Ophites or to the sectarian group called "heretics by "Philo.
According to Turner, Sethianism was influenced by "Christianity and "Middle Platonism, and originated in the second century CE as a fusion of a Jewish baptizing group of possibly priestly lineage, the socalled Barbeloites, named after "Barbelo, the first emanation of the Highest God, and a group of Bibilical exegetes, the Sethites, the "seed of "Seth." At the end of the second century Sethianism grew apart from the developing Christian orthodoxy, which rejected the "docetian view of the Sethians on Christ. In the early third century Sethianism was fully rejected by Christian heresiologists, while Sethianism shifted toward the contemplative practices of Platonism, while losing their interest in their own origins. In the late third century Sethianism was attacked by neo-Platonists like "Plotinus, and Sethianism alienated from Platonism. In the early to mid fourth century, Sethianism fragmented into various sectarian Gnostic groups, like the "Archontics, Audians, "Borborites, and Phibionites, and perhaps "Stratiotici, and Secundians). Some of these groups existed into the Middle Ages.
According to Magris, Samaritan Baptist sects were an offshoot of "John the Baptist. One offshoot was in turn headed by "Dositheus, "Simon Magus, and "Menander. It was in this milieu that the idea emerged that the world was created by ignorant angels. Their baptismal ritual removed the consequences of sin, and lead to a regeneration by which natural death, which was caused by these angels, was overcome. The Samaritan leaders were viewed as "the embodiment of God's power, spirit, or wisdom, and as the redeemer and revealer of 'true knowledge'."
The "Simonians centered on Simon Magus, the magician baptised by Philip and rebuked by Peter in Acts 8, became in early Christianity the archetypal false teacher. The ascription by Justin Martyr, Irenaeus and others of a connection between schools in their time and the individual in Acts 8 may be as legendary as the stories attached to him in various apocryphal books. Justin Martyr identifies Menander of Antioch as Simon Magus' pupil. According to Hippolytus Simonianism is an earlier form of the "Valentinian doctrine.
The "Basilidians or Basilideans were founded by "Basilides of "Alexandria in the 2nd century. Basilides claimed to have been taught his doctrines by Glaucus, a disciple of "St. Peter, but could also have been a pupil of Menander]]. Basilidianism survived until the end of the 4th century as "Epiphanius knew of Basilidians living in the "Nile Delta. It was however almost exclusively limited to "Egypt, though according to "Sulpicius Severus it seems to have found an entrance into "Spain through a certain Mark from "Memphis. "St. Jerome states that the "Priscillianists were infected with it.
Valentinianism was named after its founder "Valentinus (c. 100 – 180 AD), who was a candidate for "bishop of Rome but started his own group when another was chosen. Valentinianism flourished after the middle of the 2nd century AD. The school was popular, spreading to Northwest Africa and Egypt, and through to Asia Minor and Syria in the east, and Valentinus is specifically named as gnostikos by Irenaeus. It was an intellectually vibrant tradition, with an elaborate and philosophically "dense" form of Gnosticism. Valentinus' students elaborated on his teachings and materials, and several varieties of their central myth are known.
Valentinian Gnosticism may have been monistic rather than dualistic.[note 23] In the Valentinian myths, the creation of a flawed materiality is not due to any moral failing on the part of the Demiurge, but due to the fact that he is less perfect than the superior entities from which he emanated. Valentinians treat physical reality with less contempt than other Gnostic groups, and conceive of materiality not as a separate substance from the divine, but as attributable to an error of perception which becomes symbolized mythopoetically as the act of material creation.
The followers of "Valentinius attempted to systematically decode the Epistles, claiming that most Christians made the mistake of reading the Epistles literally rather than allegorically. Valentinians understood the conflict between Jews and Gentiles in "Romans to be a coded reference to the differences between "Psychics (people who are partly spiritual but have not yet achieved separation from carnality) and "Pneumatics (totally spiritual people). The Valentinians argued that such codes were intrinsic in gnosticism, secrecy being important to ensuring proper progression to true inner understanding.[note 24]
According to "Bentley Layton "Classical Gnosticism" and "The School of Thomas" antedated and influenced the development of Valentinus, whom Layton called "the great [Gnostic] reformer" and "the focal point" of Gnostic development. While in Alexandria, where he was born, Valentinus probably would have had contact with the Gnostic teacher "Basilides, and may have been influenced by him. Simone Petrement, while arguing for a Christian origin of Gnosticism, places Valentinus after Basilides, but before the Sethians. According to Petrement Valentinus represented a moderation of the anti-Judaism of the earlier Hellenized teachers; the demiurge, widely regarded as a mythological depiction of the Old Testament God of the Hebrews, is depicted as more ignorant than evil.
The Thomasine Traditions refers to a group of texts which are attributed to the apostle Thomas.[note 25] Karen L. King notes that "Thomasine Gnosticism" as a separate category is being criticised, and may "not stand the test of scholarly scrutiny."
"Marcion was a Church leader from "Sinope (present-day Turkey), who preached in Rome around 150 CE, but was expelled and started his own congregation, which spread throughout the Mediterranean. He rejected the Old Testament, and followed a limited Christian canon, which included only a redacted version of Luke, and ten edited letters of Paul. Some scholars do not consider him to be a gnostic,[note 26] but his teachings clearly resemble some Gnostic teachings. He preached a radical difference between the God of the Old Testament, the "Demiurge, and the highest God, who had sent Jesus to the earth to free mankind from the tyranny of the Jewish Law. Like the Gnostics, Marcion argued that Jesus was essentially a divine spirit appearing to men in the shape of a human form, and not someone in a true physical body. Marcion held that the heavenly Father (the father of Jesus Christ) was an utterly alien god; he had no part in making the world, nor any connection with it.
The Persian Schools, which appeared in the western Persian province of "Babylonia (in particular, within the "Sassanid province of "Asuristan), and whose writings were originally produced in the Aramaic dialects spoken in Babylonia at the time, are representative of what is believed to be among the oldest of the Gnostic thought forms. These movements are considered by most to be religions in their own right, and are not emanations from Christianity or "Judaism.
Manicheism was founded by the "Prophet Mani (216–276 AD). Mani's father was a member of the "Jewish-Christian sect of the "Elcesaites, a subgroup of the "Gnostic Ebionites. At ages 12 and 24, Mani had visionary experiences of a "heavenly twin" of his, calling him to leave his father's sect and preach the true message of Christ. In 240–41, Mani travelled to the "Indo-Greek Kingdom of the "Sakhas in modern-day "Afghanistan, where he studied "Hinduism and its various extant philosophies. Returning in 242, he joined the court of "Shapur I, to whom he dedicated his only work written in Persian, known as the "Shabuhragan. The original writings were written in "Syriac Aramaic, in a unique "Manichaean script.
Manichaeism conceives of two coexistent realms of light and darkness that become embroiled in conflict. Certain elements of the light became entrapped within darkness, and the purpose of material creation is to engage in the slow process of extraction of these individual elements. In the end the kingdom of light will prevail over darkness. Manicheanism inherits this dualistic mythology from "Zurvanist Zoroastrianism, in which the eternal spirit "Ahura Mazda is opposed by his antithesis, "Angra Mainyu. This dualistic teaching embodied an elaborate cosmological myth that included the defeat of a primal man by the powers of darkness that devoured and imprisoned the particles of light.
According to Kurt Rudolph, the decline of "Manicheism that occurred in Persia in the 5th century was too late to prevent the spread of the movement into the east and the west. In the west, the teachings of the school moved into Syria, Northern Arabia, Egypt and North Africa.[note 27] There is evidence for Manicheans in Rome and "Dalmatia in the 4th century, and also in Gaul and Spain. From Syria it progressed still farther, into Palestine, "Asia Minor and Armenia. The influence of Manicheanism was attacked by imperial elects and polemical writings, but the religion remained prevalent until the 6th century, and still exerted influence in the emergence of the "Paulicians, "Bogomils and Cathari in the Middle Ages, until it was ultimately stamped out by the Catholic Church.
In the east, Rudolph relates, Manicheanism was able to bloom, because the religious monopoly position previously held by Christianity and Zoroastrianism had been broken by nascent Islam. In the early years of the Arab conquest, Manicheanism again found followers in Persia (mostly amongst educated circles), but flourished most in Central Asia, to which it had spread through Iran. Here, in 762, Manicheanism became the state religion of the "Uyghur Empire.
The Mandaeans are "Semites and speak a dialect of Eastern Aramaic known as Mandaic. Their religion has been practised primarily around the lower "Karun, "Euphrates and "Tigris and the rivers that surround the "Shatt-al-Arab waterway, part of southern Iraq and "Khuzestan Province in Iran. Mandaeanism is still practiced in small numbers, in parts of southern Iraq and the Iranian province of "Khuzestan, and there are thought to be between 60,000 and 70,000 Mandaeans worldwide.
The name of the group derives from the term Mandā d-Heyyi, which roughly means "Knowledge of Life." Although the exact chronological origins of this movement are not known, John the Baptist eventually came to be a key figure in the religion, as an emphasis on baptism is part of their core beliefs. As with Manichaeism, despite certain ties with Christianity, Mandaeans do not believe in Moses, Jesus, or Mohammed. Their beliefs and practices likewise have little overlap with the religions that manifested from those religious figures and the two should not be confused. Significant amounts of original Mandaean Scripture, written in "Mandaean Aramaic, survive in the modern era. The primary source text is known as the "Genzā Rabbā and has portions identified by some scholars as being copied as early as the 3rd century AD. There is also the "Qolastā, or Canonical Book of Prayer and The Book of John the Baptist (sidra ḏ-iahia).
After its demise in the Mediterranean world, Gnosticism lived on in the periphery of the Byzantine Empire, and resurfaced in the western world. The "Paulicians, an "Adoptionist group which flourished between 650 and 872 in Armenia and the Eastern Themes of the "Byzantine Empire, were accused by orthodox medieval sources of being Gnostic and quasi "Manichaean Christian. The "Bogomils, emerged in "Bulgaria between 927 and 970 and spread throughout Europe. It was as "synthesis of Armenian "Paulicianism and the "Bulgarian Orthodox Church reform movement.
The "Cathars (Cathari, Albigenses or Albigensians) were also accused by their enemies of the traits of Gnosticism; though whether or not the Cathari possessed direct historical influence from ancient Gnosticism is disputed. If their critics are reliable the basic conceptions of Gnostic cosmology are to be found in Cathar beliefs (most distinctly in their notion of a lesser, Satanic, creator god), though they did not apparently place any special relevance upon knowledge (gnosis) as an effective salvific force.["verification needed]
Gnostic ideas found a Jewish variation in the mystical study of "Kabbalah. Many core Gnostic ideas reappear in Kabbalah, where they are used for dramatically reinterpreting earlier Jewish sources according to this new system. The Kabbalists originated in 13th-century "Provence,[note 28] which was at that time also the center of the Gnostic "Cathars. While some scholars in the middle of the 20th century tried to assume an influence between the Cathar "gnostics" and the origins of the Kabbalah, this assumption has proved to be an incorrect generalization not substantiated by any original texts. On the other hand, other scholars, such as Scholem, have postulated that there was originally a Jewish gnosticism, which influenced the early origins of gnosticism.
Kabbalah does not employ the terminology or labels of non-Jewish Gnosticism, but grounds the same or similar concepts in the language of the "Torah (the first five books of the Hebrew Bible). The 13th-century "Zohar ("Splendor"), a foundational text in Kabbalah, is written in the style of a Jewish Aramaic Midrash, clarifying the five books of the Torah with a new Kabbalistic system that uses completely Jewish terms.
The "Mandaens are an ancient Gnostic sect that have survived to this day and are found today in "Iraq. Their namesake owes to their following "John the Baptist and in that country, they have about five thousand followers. A number of ecclesiastical bodies that think of themselves as Gnostic have set up or re-founded since World War II as well, including the "Ecclesia Gnostica, "Apostolic Johannite Church, "Ecclesia Gnostica Catholica, the Thomasine Church, the Alexandrian Gnostic Church, and the North American College of Gnostic Bishops.
A number of 19th-century thinkers such as "Arthur Schopenhauer, "Albert Pike and "Madame Blavatsky studied Gnostic thought extensively and were influenced by it, and even figures like "Herman Melville and "W. B. Yeats were more tangentially influenced. "Jules Doinel "re-established" a Gnostic church in France in 1890, which altered its form as it passed through various direct successors (Fabre des Essarts as Tau Synésius and Joanny Bricaud as Tau Jean II most notably), and, though small, is still active today.
Early 20th-century thinkers who heavily studied and were influenced by Gnosticism include "Carl Jung (who supported Gnosticism), Eric Voegelin (who opposed it), "Jorge Luis Borges (who included it in many of his short stories), and "Aleister Crowley, with figures such as "Hermann Hesse being more moderatedly influenced. "Rene Guenon founded the gnostic review, Le Gnose in 1909, before moving to a more "Perennialist position, and founding his "Traditionalist School. Gnostic "Thelemite organizations, such as Ecclesia Gnostica Catholica and "Ordo Templi Orientis, trace themselves to Crowley's thought.
The discovery and translation of the Nag Hammadi library after 1945 has had a huge effect on Gnosticism since World War II. Intellectuals who were heavily influenced by Gnosticism in this period include "Lawrence Durrell, Hans Jonas, "Philip K. Dick and Harold Bloom, with "Albert Camus and "Allen Ginsberg being more moderately influenced. "Celia Green has written on Gnostic Christianity in relation to her own philosophy.
Prior to the discovery of the Nag Hammadi library in 1945 Gnosticism was known primarily through the works of "heresiologists, "Church Fathers who opposed those movements. These writings had an antagonistic bias towards gnostic teachings, and were incomplete. Several heresiological writers, such as Hippolytus, made little effort to exactly record the nature of the "sects they reported on, or transcribe their sacred texts. Reconstructions of incomplete Gnostic texts were attempted in modern times, but research on Gnosticism was coloured by the orthodox views of those heresiologists.
"Justin Martyr (c. 100/114 – c. 162/168) wrote the "First Apology, addressed to "Roman Emperor "Antoninus Pius, which criticising "Simon Magus, "Menander and "Marcion. Since this time, both Simon and Menander have been considered as 'proto-Gnostic'. "Irenaeus (died ca. 202 CE) wrote "Against Heresies (c. 180–185 CE), which identifies "Simon Magus from "Flavia Neapolis in "Samaria as the inceptor of Gnosticism. From Samaria he charted an apparent spread of the teachings of Simon through the ancient 'knowers' into the teachings of Valentinus and other, contemporary Gnostic sects.[note 29] "Hippolytus (170 – 235 CE) wrote the seven-volume "Refutation Against all Heresies, of which only fragments are known. Thirty-three of the groups he reported on are considered Gnostic by modern scholars, including 'the foreigners' and 'the "Seth people'. Hippolytus further presents individual teachers such as Simon, "Valentinus, Secundus, "Ptolemy, "Heracleon, "Marcus and "Colorbasus. "Tertullian (c. 155–230) from "Carthage wrote Adversus Valentinianos ('Against the Valentinians'), c. 206, as well as five books around 207–208 chronicling and refuting the teachings of "Marcion.
Prior to the discovery at Nag Hammadi, a limited number of texts were available to students of Gnosticism. Reconstructions were attempted from the records of the heresiologists, but these were necessarily coloured by the motivation behind the source accounts.
The Nag Hammadi library [note 30] is a collection of "Gnostic texts discovered in 1945 near Nag Hammadi, Upper Egypt. Twelve leather-bound "papyrus "codices buried in a sealed jar were found by a local farmer named Muhammed al-Samman. The writings in these codices comprised fifty-two mostly Gnostic "treatises, but they also include three works belonging to the "Corpus Hermeticum and a partial translation/alteration of Plato's Republic. These codices may have belonged to a nearby "Pachomian monastery, and buried after "Bishop Athanasius condemned the use of "non-canonical books in his "Festal Letter of 367 AD. Though the original language of composition was probably "Greek, the various codices contained in the collection were written in "Coptic. A 1st- or 2nd-century date of composition for the lost Greek originals has been proposed, though this is disputed; the manuscripts themselves date from the 3rd and 4th centuries. The Nag Hammadi texts demonstrated the fluidity of early Christian scripture and early Christianity itself.[note 31]
Prior to the discovery of Nag Hammadi, the Gnostic movements were largely perceived through the lens of the early church heresiologists. "Johann Lorenz von Mosheim (1694-1755) proposed that Gnosticism developed on its own in Greece and Mesopotamia, spreading to the west and incorporating Jewish elements. According to Mosheim, Jewish thought took Gnostic elements and used them against Greek philosophy. J. Horn and Ernest Anton Lewald proposed Persian and Zoroastrian origins, while Jacques Matter described Gnosticism as an intrusion of eastern cosmological and theosophical speculation into Christianity.
In the 1880s Gnosticism was placed within Greek philosophy, especially neo-Platonism. "Adolf von Harnack (1851-1930), who belonged to the School of the History of Dogma and proposed a Kirchengeschichtliches Ursprungsmodell, saw gnosticism as an internal development within the church under the influence of Greek philosophy. According to Harnack, Gnosticism was the "acute Hellenization of Christianity."
The "Religionsgeschichtliche Schule ("History of religions school," 19th century) had a profound influence on the study of Gnosticism. The Religionsgeschichtliche Schule saw Gnosticism as a pre-Christian phenomenon, and Christian gnosis as only one, and even marginal instance of this phenomenon. According to "Wilhelm Bousset (1865-1920), Gnosticism was a form of Iranian and Mesopotamian syncretism, and "Eduard Norden (1868-1941) also proposed pre-Christian origins, while "Richard August Reitzenstein (1861-1931) and "Rudolf Bultmann (1884-1976) also situated the origins of Gnosticism in Persia. "Hans Heinrich Schaeder (1896-1957) and Hans Leisegang saw Gnosticism as an amalgam of eastern thought in a Greek form.
"Hans Jonas (1903-1993) took an intermediate approach, using both the comparative approach of the Religionsgeschichtliche Schule and the exitentialist hermeneutics of Bultmann. Jonas emphasized the duality between God and the world, and concluded that Gnosticism cannot be derived from Platonism.
Contemporary scholarship largely agrees that Gnosticism has Jewish or Judeo-Christian origins; this theses is most notably put forward by Gershom G. Scholem (1897-1982) and "Gilles Quispel (1916-2006).
The study of Gnosticism and of early Alexandrian Christianity received a strong impetus from the discovery of the "Coptic "Nag Hammadi Library in 1945. A great number of translations have been published, and the works of "Elaine Pagels, Professor of Religion at "Princeton University, especially The Gnostic Gospels, which detailed the suppression of some of the writings found at Nag Hammadi by early bishops of the Christian church, has popularized Gnosticism in mainstream culture,[web 3][web 4] but also incited strong responses and condemnations from clergical writers.
According to Matthew J. Dillon, six trends can be discerned in the definitions of Gnosticism:
The 1966 "Messina conference on the origins of gnosis and Gnosticism proposed to designate
...a particular group of systems of the second century after Christ" as gnosticism, and to use gnosis to define a conception of knowledge that transcends the times, which was described as "knowledge of divine mysteries for an élite.
This definition has now been abandoned. It created a religion, "Gnosticism," from the "gnosis" which was a widespread element of ancient religions,[note 32] suggesting a homogeneous conception of gnosis by these Gnostic religions, which did not exist at the time.
According to Dillon, the texts from Nag Hammadi made clear that this definition was limited, and that they are "better classified by movements (such as Valentinian), mythological similarity (Sethian), or similar tropes (presence of a Demiurge)." Dillon further notes that the Messian-definition "also excluded pre-Christian Gnosticism and later developments, such as the Mandaeans and the Manichaeans."
Hans Jonas discerned two main currents of Gnosticism, namely Syrian-Egyptian, and Persian, which includes "Manicheanism and "Mandaeanism. Among the Syrian-Egyptian schools and the movements they spawned are a typically more Monist view. Persian Gnosticism possesses more dualist tendencies, reflecting a strong influence from the beliefs of the Persian "Zurvanist Zoroastrians. The medieaval the Cathars, Bogomils, and Carpocratians seem to include elements of both categories.
Gilles Quispel divided Syrian-Egyptian Gnosticism further into Jewish Gnosticism (the "Apocryphon of John) and Christian Gnosis (Marcion, Basilides, Valentinus). This "Christian Gnosticism" was Christocentric, and influenced by Christian writings such as the Gospel of John and the Pauline epistles. Other authors speak rather of "Gnostic Christians," noting that Gnostics were a prominent substream in the early church.
The best known example of this approach is "Adolf von Harnack (1851–1930), who stated that "Gnosticism is the acute Hellenization of Christianity." According to Dillon, "many scholars today continue in the vein of Harnack in reading gnosticism as a late and contaminated version of Christianity," notably Darrell Block, who criticises Elaine Pagels for her view that early Christianity was wildly diverse.
"Hans Jonas (1903–1993) took an "existential phenomenological approach to Gnosticism. According to Jonas, "alienation is a distinguishing characteristics of Gnosticism, making it different from contemporary religions. Jonas compares this alienation with the existentialist notion of "geworfenheit, being thrown into a hostile world.
In the late 1980s scholars voiced concerns about the broadness of "Gnosticism" as a meaningful category. Bentley Layton proposed to category Gnosticism by delineating which groups were marked as gnostic in ancient texts. According to Layton, this term was manily applied by heresiologists to the myth described in the Apocryphon of John, and was used manily by the Sethians and the Ophites. According to Layton, texts which refer to this myth can be called "classical Gnostic."
In addition, Alastair Logan uses social theory to identify Gnosticism. He uses "Rodney Stark & William Bainbridge's sociological theory on traditional religion, sects and cults. According to Logan, the Gnostics were a cult, at odds with the society at large.
According to "Michael Allen Williams, the concept of Gnosticism as a distinct religious tradition is questionable, since "gnosoi" was a pervasive characteristics of many religious traditions in antiquity, and not restricted to the socalled Gnostic systems. According to Williams, the conceptual foundations on which the category of Gnosticism rests are the remains of the agenda of the "heresiologists. The early church heresiologists created an interpretive definition of Gnosticism, and modern scholarship followed this example and created a categorical definition. According to Williams the term needs replacing to more accurately reflect those movements it comprises,and suggests to replace it with the term "the Biblical demiurgical tradition."
According to Karen King, scholars have "unwittingly continued the project of ancient heresiologists," searching for non-Christian influences, thereby continuing to portray a pure, original Christianity.
"Carl Jung approached Gnosticism from a psychological perspective, which was followed by Gilles Quispel. According to this approach, Gnosticism is a map for the human development, in which an undivided person, centered on the "Self, develops out of the fragmentary personhood of young age. According to Quispel, gnosis is a third force in western culture, alongside faith and reason, which offers an experiential awareness of this Self.
According to Ioan Culianu, gnosis is made possible through universal operations of the mind, which can be arrived at "anytime, anywhere". A similar suggestion has been made by Edward Conze, who suggested that the similarities between "prajñā and sophia may be due to "the actual modalities of the human mind", which in certain conditions result in similar experiences.
The most prominent example of Angel Adoptionism from the early Church would have to be the document known as The Shepherd of Hermass. In The Shepherd, the savior is an angel called the “angel of justification,” who seems to be identified with the archangel Michael. Although the angel is often understood to be Jesus, he is never named as Jesus.
The Saviour, jesus Christ, who from the fullness (the pleroma) of the Father descended on earth, is identified with the Logos, but initially not entirely with the Only Begotten Son. In john 1:14 is written, after all, that his glory was as of the Only Begotten, from which is concluded that his glory must be distinguished from this (7, 3b). When the Logos or Saviour descended, Sophia, according to Theodotus, provided a piece of flesh (sarkion), namely a carnal body, also called ‘spiritual seed’ (1, 1).
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Hi everyone. Here i would like to post an interesting fact about snakes.
Many people believe that the South American Anaconda is the longest snake in the world. But its not been proved yet. May be we would have seen in the Hollywood movie. The reason behind the above fact is that once the US President Theodore Roosevelt offered $5000 to anyone who would produce the skin of vertebrae of an Anaconda of more than a 9m long. The US wildlife Conservation Society increased this offer to even $50000,but the prize has never been claimed.
Then which one is the longest..?
Its the reticulated or Royal Python is probably the longest snake up to 10.7m.
But Anaconda succeed Python in weight as it weighs up to 230kg.


Here is The Research
Better Ball Flight for all Golfers
Only five factors determine how a club can loft a golf ball into the air. Regardless of how the club is taken away from the ball in the backswing, it must approach the ball with a square face, on-target path, and make centred contact, for straight direction. A shallow angle of approach gives better trajectory. Additionally, greater clubhead speed results in increased distance. These five factors are the only scientific principles known to affect ball-flight, and are termed the Ball Flight Laws.
Hypothesis: To introduce a new backswing, which is shorter and wider in order to incorporate all the components of the Ball Flight Laws. This backswing, termed the ‘pure-width’ backswing, has maximum attainable width of both the arms, associated with minimum possible length of swing, and no intentional wrist-cock. It permits the club to remain low to the ground and square to the target line for the longest possible time. It thus sets the club on the correct path and angle earlier in the downswing, thereby allowing the club more time in which to accelerate past the ball. This swing, therefore, gives more consistency, as it is less reliant on perfect timing for its success.
Technique: A golfer is first required to feel and visualise the wider arc and the swing path of the new backswing: Set up in the normal ‘address’ position. Remove the left hand from the club. Remain in posture, and with no body movement, move the right arm to a horizontal position, level with the waist and along the body line. The right shoulder and elbow remain relaxed, and the palm of the right hand faces the target line. Stretch the left arm across the body and reach for the club, then make the usual grip, without any adduction of the right arm. Standardised instruction is used to achieve the prescribed backswing:
- A club is placed on the ground, parallel to the target line. Its grip-end is placed two feet from the golfer’s right foot, at its centre.
- The golfer moves the arms-triangle low and wide, without any fold in elbows or wrists. This move continues until the butt-end of the club being swung is level with the right hip. In this position, it exactly matches the position of the club on the ground ( in terms of width of swing and of direction of shaft travel). The shoulders should neither rock, nor rotate intentionally, during this phase.
- The arms triangle then proceeds upwards from this position for another foot, by minimal flexion of the right elbow.
- The golfer keeps his/her feet as close together as possible, until the arms movement has been grooved.
A pilot study using 21 golfers as subjects was undertaken. Their centredness of impact, clubhead speed and swing path were found to improve. Additional observations as seen from video recordings of these subjects were:
- Automatic weight-shift, which helps to shallow-out the swing arc in the impact area
- Hips leading in the downswing as there is more room for the arms to fall ‘into the slot’ as opposed to ‘hit from the top’.
- Wrist cock occurs only ‘pre-impact’. The early- or late-hit of deliberately cocked wrists is avoided.
- The arms and body remain ‘connected’ and hence move in synchronisation during the downswing.
- The backswing is too short to allow faulty shaft, arm or wrist positions at the top.
- Fewer relative movements of the small muscles of the arms and wrists are involved, making this swing a simpler motor skill to acquire.
Further randomised, prospective study would compare the ‘pure-width’ backswing to the conventional backswing.
Teaching a ‘Pure-Width’ Backswing
Conventional teaching of the golf backswing involves the use of complex manoeuvres and the use of many different muscle groups. A simpler teaching content can give the golf swing greater consistency, and better results. A backswing having maximum attainable width of both the arms, associated with minimum possible length and wrist-cock – a ‘pure-width’ backswing – is simple to teach, and less complex to master.
Aim: To demonstrate that a ‘pure-width’ backswing is attainable with simple coaching and in a limited time-frame.
Method Twenty-one right-handed, Caucasian, amateur golfers, eighteen male and three female, of ages ranging from 19 to 70 and handicaps from -4 to -27 participated in this pilot study. They attended one-hour sessions over four consecutive days. Backswing width was assessed from video-replay of the subjects’ existing swings. The angle of the left forearm from horizontal was used as an indication of arm width, 30 degrees being ideal. The angle between the left forearm and shaft was measured as an indication of width at the wrists. This angle was required to be greater than 100 degrees. Subjects were then taught the ‘pure-width’ backswing, and, within a controlled environment were re-assessed for backswing width in terms of arms and wrists.
Results: At the end of the backswing, eighteen subjects came closer to the ideal left arm angle than they were before, and eight of the thirteen who had bent left forearms, unwittingly lost the bend it. All subjects were divided into two groups – those with a ‘before’ left arm angle greater than 30 degrees, and those with a ‘before’ left arm angle less than or equal to 30 degrees. For subjects (n=16) who had mean arm angles of >30 degrees, (62.2 +/- 3.5 vs. 53.1 +/- 3.0 : mean +/- SE) the arm angle was significantly (p=0.03, 2 tailed t test) reduced. For subjects with an arm angle equal to or <30 degrees, (14 +/- 6.2 vs. 35 +/-7.4 ; mean +/- SE), the arm was significantly (p= 0.04, 2 tailed t test) closer to the ideal required angle.
All 21 subjects increased the left wrist-to-clubshaft angle, and 11 showed a 90 degree or greater angle. The increase was significant (p<0.001, 2 tailed t test), with mean wrist angle being 86.33 +/- 2.3 vs. 74.95 +/- 2.78; mean +/- SE. Data was analysed using SPSS Inc. software, copyright 1995
Conclusion: This study proves that ‘pure-width’ is easily attainable, and requires only some easy-to-follow and basic instruction. Further study is required to assess what long-term effect the ‘pure-width’ backswing has on a golfer’s ball striking ability.
Consistently Better Ball-Striking, using a Shorter, Wider (‘Pure-Width’) Backswing
The ambition of every golfer is to increase distance of ball carry and to improve direction. However, rapid improvement in ball striking, and with greater consistency, is difficult using the conventional golf swing. It is a difficult motor-skill to master, being a complicated, multi-planar manoeuvre, involving the use of several small and large
Aim: To verify whether a ‘pure-width’ swing gives improved ball striking and greater consistency, as compared to a conventional swing. This backswing has maximum attainable width of both right and left arms, associated with minimum possible length and wrist-cock. The arms and club shaft at the top of this swing are in line with the golfers’ body line, and parallel to the target line. A pilot study was conducted to compare the two swings.
Method: Twenty-one right-handed, Caucasian, amateur golfers, eighteen male and three female, of ages ranging from 19 to 70 and handicaps from -4 to -27 participated in this pilot study. They attended one-hour sessions over four consecutive days. Subjects were given standardised instruction to achieve the desired backswing.
Results: The number of centred shots of one best set of 15 balls both ‘before’ and ‘after’ was compared. Clubhead speed of these centred shots was also compared. It was observed that: seventeen subjects had the same or a greater number of centred shots ‘after’. The increase was significant (p=0.005, Wilcoxon Signed Ranks Test), and went from a median of 6 (3 – 7; 25th to 75th quartiles) out of 15 balls hit to 7 (5 – 8). Sixteen subjects had significantly (p=0.001, 2 tailed t Test) greater clubhead speed ‘after’. The average clubhead speed (mph) increased from 71.84 +/- 1.95 to 74.52 +/- 1.97 ( mean +/- SE). Club path changed significantly (p=0.05, 2 tailed t test), going from an average of out-to-in(O-I) 3.8 [O-I 4.9 to O-I 2.7; range of SE] to in-to-out (I-O) 0.86 [I-O 0.05 to I-O 1.7; range of SE]. There was no significant difference in club face angle ‘before’ and ‘after’. The averages were ‘closed’ 2.05 vs. ‘closed’ 2.1. Data was analysed using SPSS Inc. software, copyright 1995. Impact readings were obtained from a Golftek light-sensitive analyser mat.
Conclusion: The study shows that a much simpler backswing – the ‘pure-width’ backswing – is simple to implement, and yields an improvement in a golfer’s overall ball striking, in a very short time. The improvement is associated with greater adherence of the backswing to the ball-flight law criteria of square clubface, straight swing path and shallow swing arc. The minimal relative movements made by the arm muscles also aid consistency. The ‘pure-width’ backswing can be used by any golfer, regardless of sex, age or handicap, to improve ball-striking. The hypothesis needs further research in terms of a comparative study of golfers of two groups – one which changes to a ‘pure-width’ backswing, and one which uses the conventional golf swing as control.
Twenty three women golfers participated in this study, and improved quickly and dramatically using the Your Golf Guru prescribed full-swing technique. The study was conducted at the Tappan Golf Driving Range, in New York State, USA, during June 2004, with the help of Golf Digest Magazine, and with subjects sourced with the help of the Executive Women’s Golf Association and the LPGA of USA
Effect of right arm and shoulder kinematic modification of the take-away in the golf backswing on ball flight distance
Methods: Subjects: Three experienced, right-handed golfers, two male (handicaps –10 and –7) and one female (handicap –17) were used for this single-session pilot study. Procedure: Each golfer was required to use their own 6-iron. The same golf balls were used throughout the experiment. All swings were recorded using the same camera, at the same distances from the subject, for both the frontal and down-the-line views. Following a warm-up session consisting of hitting several balls, subjects hit 8 golf shots which were recorded for swing, and simultaneously measured for carry distance. They were then asked to make one change in the take-away parts of their backswings – bring the right arm and clubshaft in line with the right heel, with no intentional pronation of the arm, and without any bend of the elbow or wrist, and then fold the right elbow, in order for the swing to continue to the top. After practising the new swing for 20 balls, 8 more swings recorded, and carry distance was measured. Results were calculated only for the one best shot in terms of carry distance, in the ‘before training’ and ‘after training’ phases, with balls hit outside the 46 metres fairway not being considered.
This pilot study sought to demonstrate that if the right arm and shoulder are in a better position both during takeaway and at the ‘top’, the downswing is more efficient, and much easier, to execute. It is the same move as would be used if one arm was asked to slap the other. The modified backswing taught in this pilot study ensures that the right shoulder is not in a dominant/aggressive position from which it can start the downswing. It also puts the shoulders and hips in a position from which their downswing planes are more synchronised with one another, rather than antagonistic. The body is thus placed in a position from which the hips can lead in the downswing, without volition, thus creating the extra power required for more distance. This modification is utilised in order to ensure a smooth and consistent swing plane on the downswing, the only time in the entire golf swing when correct swing plane is really essential. Such a swing places the arms, and thus also the body, in a position which, while not conforming to the universally recommended backswing plane, yields better performance during the downswing. This backswing modification should be examined in further detail including examining the effects on the kinematic sequence of the golfswing.
The Most Recent Research
Effects of a golf swing intervention on senior golfers’ ball-striking and motivation to play golf.


The baleen whales, also called whalebone whales or great whales, form the Mysticeti, one of two suborders of the Cetacea (whales, dolphins, and porpoises). Baleen whales are characterized by having baleen plates for filtering food from water, rather than having teeth. This distinguishes them from the other suborder of cetaceans, the toothed whales or Odontoceti. Living Mysticeti species have teeth only during the embryonal phase. Fossil Mysticeti had teeth before baleen evolved.
The suborder contains four families and fourteen species. A list of species can be found below and at the Cetacea article. The scientific name derives from the Greek word mystidos, which means "unknowable".
Baleen whales are the largest animals on earth, yet they feed on some of the smallest animals in the ocean. There are 12 baleen whale species divided into 4 families: right, pygmy right, gray and rorqual whales.
Right whales were called the "right" whales to catch by early hunters because they are large, swim slowly, have long baleen plates, contain lots of oil, and float when killed.
Right whales do not have dorsal fins or throat grooves. The taxonomy of this family is rather confusing, but currently there are three species of right whales: the Northern right whale, Southern right whale, and bowhead whale. The pygmy right is in a separate family although it shares similar characteristics to right whales.
Gray whales have their own taxonomic family, genus, and species. They are the most coastal of the baleen whales and are often found within a few miles of shore. Each year gray whales migrate between their summer feeding grounds in the Bering, Chukchi, and Beaufort Seas to their winter breeding grounds off Baja California, Mexico. This is one of the longest migrations by a mammal species.
Gray whales are gray in color and their skin is encrusted with barnacles and a unique species of small crustaceans known as "whale lice." They have 2-3 short throat grooves and instead of a dorsal fin they have a low dorsal hump followed by 6-12 "knuckles" or bumps. Whalers used to call gray whales "devil fish" because of their aggressive response to being hunted.
Rorqual whales are relatively streamlined in appearance and have pointed heads and small pointed fins. They can be distinguished from other whales by many (25-90) deep groves along their throats that expand when they feed. There are 8 species of rorqual whales: the humpback whale, fin whale, Bryde's whale, blue whale, northern minke, antarctic minke, Eden's ("small-type") whale.
Early baleen whales first appeared as far back as Early Oligocene, or perhaps the latest Eocene (39-29 million years ago; E.g. Llanocetus). Early baleen whales possessed teeth inherited from their ancestors, as opposed to baleen, in modern species. The Oligocene species Aetiocetus cotylalveus is considered the evolutionary link between toothed and baleen whales. It was discovered by renowned fossil collector Douglas Emlong in 1964 near Seal Rock State Recreation Site, Oregon in a sandstone formation. In the early 1990s, the species Janjucetus hunderi was discovered in Victoria, Australia by a surfer and was described in 2006 by E. M. G. Fitzgerald. Janjucetus was a baleen whale with sharp teeth that hunted fish and squid as well as larger prey, potentially including sharks and dolphin-like cetaceans. These fossils hint that early baleen whales were predatory and eventually evolved into the gentler, toothless whales known today. A recent study identified palatal foramina (bony impressions of blood vessels that 'feed' the baleen racks) in the palate of a toothed mysticete, Aetiocetus weltoni. The scientists involved indicated that this discovery implies that this whale possessed both teeth and baleen, and serves as an intermediate adaptive role between primitive toothed mysticetes and more advanced toothless mysticetes. The first baleen-bearing, toothless baleen whales (such as Eomysticetus, and Micromysticetus)appeared in the late Oligocene. Early baleen whales probably could not echolocate; no anatomical evidence preserved in the skulls and ear regions of any fossil baleen whales show any of the adaptations associated with echolocation as in 'toothed whales' (Odontoceti).