Complete Idiot'S Guide To Solar Power - You'll Be Amazed !
If you think it might be smart to start researching on the complete idiot's guide to solar power, then you definitely need to read this quick article - it will give you a new slant on the possibilities of solar technology. If you learned that it's possible to do away with power bills with a system that creates useful electricity for you and your family from ordinary sunlight at a cost you can't afford to pass up - would you be interested? Keep reading the following article.
In the recent past, plugging your home to an independent solar power supply system was considered quite an expensive investment that only few could afford, still, some people hung onto the vision. It's now a common occurrence to seek information on the complete idiot's guide to solar power, which confirms that curiosity about green technology has grown, and with it the quantity of people who want to educate themselves on this electrifying new area.
The latest news in this field is that the time to easily 'solarize' your home is here and now and won't empty the wallet of those who want to start enjoying an absolutely free and unlimited home power supply. This technology has been around for a long time, but few people had the money to invest in getting set up with it; unfortunately we had to keep getting our power supply from the power company, all the while paying high prices for an essential need.
Before you go any further with your investigation into the complete idiot's guide to solar power, I want you to know that not so long ago, a pioneer in the field of 'clean' energy wants to expand the use of green energy by showing you how to make a solar energy system of your own, quickly and easily, with low-cost and easy-to-find materials and a simple method for assembling them. I also learned that there were thousands of american and worldwide users who have already discovered the advantages of this technology, not only to produce free and clean power supply, but even get paid by the power company for the extra power that they produce. Being that affordable and accessible, homemade energy production is sure to 'brighten up' the whole energy 'machine.'
Simulated forex trading is a method that forex traders can brush up their skill with. The whole of the trading process does not involve any bit of capital from the trade. A dummy account is create when doing simulated trading. The trader will experiment varies strategies on the simulated account to find out the working ones. A simulated trading is just like a real trading, you are playing base on the real market rates, the process for trades are exactly like what is done in the real trading. The only thing that is fake is the capital. You can suggest a capital from a few amounts options.
Simulated Forex trading can help a beginner to gain confident in their trades because they are playing against the real market. This can get them more exposure to the trading floor and let them practice trade more comfortably. Simulated forex trading not only helps the beginners, they also help the intermediate and professionals to improve or produce their own trading strategies. This is all made possible because you will not need to put in any capital while still can fulfill your goals.
There are many brokers online that provides demo accounts. These demo accounts are what we call simulated account. Were you specifying the capital available inside the account and play with it. Even if it is free, the trading platform given is the exact same as the real account. It can support a lot of advance features and you can trade like the real account. Your analysis skills can be polished with the trading platform while you are trading with the simulation.
However, there is always a difference between simulated forex trading account and a real account. Once you are comfortable with your simulation of trading and consistently profiting from, you can switch to a real account. Once you use a real account, you will be facing a problem of fear of losing your money. When you are overcome by fear of losing, your way of trading can change drastically and that could cost you to lose.
If you are planning on entering the forex market as a beginner, it is best recommended to use the simulated forex trading and get your skills polish before you put a dim into trading.
About the Author
Use Forex Auto Trading. See the system that makes profits everyday still keeping your account risk free! Forex Trade System
Commodity Trading for Dummies
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Chan do internet success system guides-How to Select Topics 4
This subject is the one I encourage you to read carefully.
Patric thought me that this is key to have e-book using
this incredible method.As it is explain in Chan Do
Internet Success System, this is the most effective way
to find hot and great topics. Now let's go..
There is almost no limit whatsoever on the marketability
of how-to books. Everyone wants an instruction manual,
advice, and courage that they can do anything
they read a how-to book for. Anything you be aware of how to
do, anything you've ever wanted to study, or anything
that's teachable at all, can become a how-to ebook.
How-to books for hobbyists are a good way to go, and
this overlaps with the argument above. A hobby
how-to ebook could be anything from how to build a
home from hay bales to how to play Texas Hold 'Em
to how to understand Shakespeare.
One book publisher knows how hungry we are for
how-to information, and has produced a whole series
of "Dummies" books around the market. Further, there
are other similar book series, and all of them are
doing quite well! "The Everything" series, "Idiot's
Guide" series and others are all cashing in on the
how-to phenomenon.
You could convert money by creating ebooks on any or all
subjects roofed in any of those series. Go to
www.dummies.com, and check out their list of titles.
Harvest one you like, and start full speed ahead!
Remember that even though the books hold "Dummies"
in the title, that the books are as fashionable as they
are because the readers are not treated like dummies
at all. The authors guide a person who wants to
find out the easiest way to do something without
too much lateral discussion. When you have your
ebook written and when you decide a title, make sure
you are appealing to a reader's smarts! If you use
words like silly, dumb, or hopeless in the title,
make sure and clear that the meaning would not extend to
insulting the specific reader.
Ebooks, because of their brevity and because they
are marketed primarily on the Internet can target
less significant readers. You don't have to put in writing a universal
book like "How to use a computer" (which may not be
interesting enough to sell anyway in this decade).
Ebooks can contain more specific territory. Knowing
this, you can
* produce your ebook in a specific way for a specific
niche readership, and
* establish additional ebooks for different facets of the
same area of interest, and sell each one separately!
Say you've decided to write an ebook on fishing.
(FYI, this is one of those hobbies where enthusiasts
are willing to spend money!). You could design
"How to Catch Freshwater Trout," "How to Tie Your
Own Flies," or "How to Plan a Winning Deep Sea
Fishing Trip." Almost anything related to the
hobby can become a distinct ebook depending on
how much detail you add in. Clearly, "How to put
on waders" maybe wouldn't be a great choice
(though some would say it's impossible to under estimate
today's consumer), because you could have to strain to
fill up 60 to 100 pages on such a uncomplicated topic. You get
the idea. The topic would need to be, in most cases,
book valuable. Use good wisdom.
Then, life itself requires instructions, as we know
from "Life's Little Instruction Book." So, life also
qualifies as a good how-to book topic. There are numerous
sub topics, and you'll never run out of ideas. Here are a
few examples:
•"How to ensure your child gets an A+ in math"
•"How to have a successful garage sale"
•"How to arrange your home office"
And while we're on the subject of how-to books, I'd
like to make one quick point. The titles of these
ebooks do not need to be incredibly intellectual. Be sure
the words "How to" are the first part of the title,
and the rest should tell exactly what the ebook is about.
For example, which of these three titles would be best?
1."How to have a successful garage sale."
2."One weekend away from a cleaner house"
3."How to sell your old shoes for a profit"
Although numbers 2 and 3 are clever, a little
punchy, and correspond with the ebook subject matter,
I would still recommend using title number 1.
"How to have a successful garage sale" summarizes
it up pretty well and will catch the eye of
an Internet searcher who is interested in putting
together a garage sale and desires a how-to manual.
Anyway, back to the point. Any stage of life,
way of coping with life, or large or small thing
about life can be the area of interest of a how-to book.
Looking young
Perhaps sixteen year old girls don't want to look
younger, but from that point on, and for most of
the population in Western society, looking young
is a mutual desire. Everybody requests to find the
fountain of youth, whether it be in a pill container,
a special diet, operation, or an ebook.
An ebook about staying or appearing young in the
face of growing old will have a solid future. Here
are some title ideas, and I'm sure you can come up
with a truckload more.
•"Drop ten years and ten pounds in ten days"
•"How to look 28 forever"
•"100 ways to look younger"
•"Grocery store products that will help you look younger"
•"Look 30 again not including surgery"
•"How to live to be 100"
This topic is red hot. Botox, esthetic operation, chemical peels,
lasers, diets, acupuncture, electronic pulses, mega
vitamins, prescription teas, thigh cream, and teeth
whitener are being purchased by baby boomers, the
elderly, and even women as young as age 20 ! No one wants
to look a day older than they have to.
Health
Health is a worry to anybody who is growing old or
sick or faced illness with a loved one or desires more
energy or, fundamentally, everybody. Health ebooks are a
good investment for you to produce. And doctors don't
have to be the authors. Anyone with any qualifications,
or no credentials at all, can put in writing books on health.
Just be sure you don't claim to be a doctor if you're
not one.
Here are some health topics you can attain at this moment
in time and be almost guaranteed burning interest,
readership, and sales!
Disease prevention and therapy. As our baby boomer population
ages, most will be afflicted with heart disease, cancer,
diabetes, dementia, or some other difficulty. Give these
people some hope. Create an ebook on how to handle, how
to find the best practitioners, how to avoid disease
triggers, or cures American doctors are unaware of.
Natural remedies. People are curious about alternatives
to standard medicine, and are anxious to try herbal,
natural, or holistic treatments. Make a book on any
disease that covers alternative cures. For example,
"How to Treat Lymphoma, Naturally." Or, you could
just address natural supplements in wide-ranging, "The
best natural remedies for general ailments," or
"Holistic health."
Diet. What we eat is always a hot topic. There are
exactly dozens if not hundreds of diet fads currently
out there. Pick any one of them for an ebook. Then
there's obesity, general health, and also diet supplements
like vitamins. Think "How to equip your kitchen for
macrobiotic dieting." Or, "Eat to cure cancer."
Travel
Never has so much travel been available to so many.
People today would like to get in touch with the people they
love. They want to go through different parts of the
world. See exotic things. Be entertained. Also, because,
especially in America, adults from time to time work well more
than 40 hours a week, people want really good holidays.
They're doing their research to make sure that they
will really enjoy their valuable few weeks off each year.
Here are some topics for you: how to trade frequent
flyer miles, how to keep airport security off your
back, how to travel on a dime and get change, and
how to keep your children in high spirits on long car trips.
Beyond the how-to's, there is plenty of room for books
like, the best entertainment parks for your money, top 100
camp grounds, things you must observe and do in Utah before
you die, and free things to do when visiting Washington, D.C.
Get the idea? The good thing about creating travel
ebooks is that you may already know a lot about a
place that other people may be interested in visiting.
Makes it easy!
Money
Money makes the world go around (well that and the earth's
axis and driving forces), and so it would make sense that
ebooks would abound on the topic of money. They do, but the
market is nowhere near drenched. There's always opportunity for
more. From getting wealthy to just saving money day-to-day,
people are until the end of time interested in how-to books related to
money. Ideas below:
•"How to feed your family on less than $40 a week"
•"How to get free stuff"
•"How to pay almost no taxes"
•"How to buy a retirement home for no money down"
•"How to be richer than your parents"
•"How to buy cars at auction"
•"How to start a financial management business"
Life enhancement
In these days, although less and fewer are attending
churches, more and more are flocking to obtain self-help
books. Self-help books are leaping off shelves at brick
and mortar book stores. People want to feel that if they
read a self-help book, they take all the capacity to change
their lives. Whether or not this is real is moot. Changing
your life, soul searching, and helping thyself, are all
great ebook topics.
As much as ever before, people want to know how to find
peace with their pasts, how to be creative or spiritual
in a consuming society, and how to find true love. There
is no end to how-to books you could create in the category
of self-help, or life enrichment. Here are a few more ideas
here:
•How to marry for life
•How to unbreak your heart
•How to stay sane in a crazy world
•How to meditate
About the Author
Discover the exact system how an ordinary guy is able to make money online in a hyper-competitive niche market from this free case study video --> www.createyoursuccessonline.com
May 21 Rapture - Idiot's guide to the END of TIME
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[simpleaffiliate source="chitika" results="0"][/simpleaffiliate] In your opinion what is the best Biology Book?
I have been out of school for awhile and forgot a lot of things I learned in Biology over the years. I've decided to start from the beginning and re-learn the fundamentals. Which book would you recommend as a good introductory Biology book? Are the 'For dummies' series good as a stand alone text or are they just a good supplement; and should I purchase a college introductory textbook? Is their an order to Biology classes and if so what are they? For example, Introductory Biology is where you start and it's very comprehensive; where do you go from there? Biochemistry and or genetics?
madar - Life
Schaums outlines are chaep and good
Get to Grips with Biochemistry (Glycolysis - Part 1)
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[simpleaffiliate source="chitika" results="0"][/simpleaffiliate] What Parts Of The ASVAB Count The Most For The Army?
I've Gotten The ASVAB 4 Dummies Book It's Helping Alot I Just Was Wondering What Part Or Parts Are The Most Important To Get Right. Im TRYING MY Best To Get In to The Army A Be A Radiologist. Thanks Ladies And Gents In Advance.
A radiology specialist (MOS 68P) requires an ST score of 110. This score is derived from the four following tests on the ASVAB: GS, VE, MK, & MC .
Good luck!
NOTE: VE is Verbal Expression, derived from the WK & PC scores.
Army for dummies episode 1
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I had completed a project for a client. Due to some legal issues I wont be able to provide him with the overall work invoice at the time. It will have to be delayed for a month or more. Anyway the client will have to be informed about the work cost in a professional manner. I had planned to send the invoice to the client marked dummy, but a friend had suggested using the term performa invoice instead. But what is performa invoice actually and will it be the right term to be used in such a situation?
I have used Tentative Invoice, before for the same situation.
I'm not sure what term you should use maybe Tentative Invoice, or Provisional Invoice, but be sure to add a line under the title stating," That this is not the final invoice", or "this is a tentative invoice the Official Invoice will be sent on or by x/xx/xxxx date". That way it is clear, and they can not contest you if things get messy.
ten·ta·tive adj 1.said or done in a slow, hesitant, and careful way, revealing a lack of confidence 2.likely to have many later changes before it becomes final and complete
pro·vi·sion·al adj temporary or conditional, pending confirmation or validation
Starting a Home Based Travel Business | New Home Based Travel Business
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Everybody starts from beginner and progress accordingly to different level of fitness and skills, to reach the intermediate and advance stage. However during this process, understanding the basic techniques and appropriate gears required for the particular sport is very importance.
This article is to provide you with the basic information you need to know, as a beginner. After going through this guide, you can start your cycling routine safely!
Things to note:
1. Basic attire and gears:
Getting a bike:
As a beginner in cycling, the first thing is to decide getting the right type of bicycle. There are 3 main categories of bicycles, namely the Road bike, Hybrid bike and Mountain bike.
- Road bike is light weighted with narrow tyres, offering great speed. It is suitable for confident riders, perfect for fitness riding, touring on bike, and competitions such as cycling races and triathlon races.
- Hybrid bike is a combination of lightweight and wider tyres, suitable for beginners enjoying leisure riding on the road. It can be used as normal transportation, fitness riding, touring and competitions for novice.
- Mountain bike is heavy with the widest tyres, perfect for off-road riding, and trail competitions and fitness.
Next is to ensure the correct size of the bike that fits the individual, as everyone has different human anatomy. The size of the bike affects the comfort and is essential for biking efficiency as well as injuries prevention. This bike fitting service is available in major bike stores and the price ranged from fifty to a couple of hundreds.
Getting a helmet:
A helmet is essential for absorbing the impact during a crush. Although it is not a compulsory rule to wear a helmet on the road currently, it is a good practice to wear it for personal safety. There are also many types of helmet:
- Road helmet is designed for aerodynamic purpose with a sharper and longer shape. The cost can be quite expensive.
- Commuter/Sport helmet is more affordable and good for leisure riders. It is designed for inexpensive protection and has a rounder shape.
- Mountain bike helmet is harder as it provides better protection due to the hazardous terrain of cross-country biking.
There are also different sizes to choose from, and the general rule to a correct sized helmet is that it sits straight and level slightly above the eyebrows. It should not wobble when you shake your head but allow slight movement with the strap tightened.
Clothing to wear:
Cycling in our humid and hot weather requires light and comfortable attire. To ensure comfortable cycling experience, the clothing includes:
- a light and comfortable top that is not too baggy. At this stage, a bicycle vest is not necessary, unless you want to look like a pro.
- a pair of tights with padded seat is preferred over a baggy short, as it provides the cushioning effect for the butt due to the constant sitting position.
- a pair of sport shoes and socks is good enough for a beginner.
Other gears (optional):
- front and rear lights (preferred all times), for safety and visibility to other road users.
- Water bottle holder.
- Speedometer to track the cycling speed.
- Heart rate monitor for tracking performance's heart rate.
2. Proper warm up and cool down
Static stretching before exercise is no longer valid based on recent research. However, there are still coaches and trainers practicing this old school's method. It is not hard to understand why static stretching is not preferred, if we understand the purpose of warming up. Performing warm up prior to cycling is to prepare the body for the actual action, by bringing up the body's core temperature as well as all the joints and muscles ready for the activity.
Static stretching is done by holding on to a specific muscle's stretch, without movement. Hence, it does not create any joints' movement or increase body temperature, which is critical to prepare the body for the cycle process.
The proper warm up is performed dynamically, involving muscles' activation and stretching. Some examples of dynamic warm up include swinging the leg front and back, and side-to-side, or twisting the trunk, shoulders rotation, high knees stepping on the spot, or even just relax cycling at very easy pace. There has not been any specific research to support how long a warm up session should last; a generic 10-mins is good from experience.
After cycling, a cool down static stretching session is encouraged. First, it helps the body to cool down for recovery, and the stretching enables the worked muscles to elongate to normal flexibility.
Both dynamic warm up and cool down sessions are crucial for efficient cycling, injuries prevention and recovery.
3. Recommended training programs:
Start slow and easy pace during the start and choose flat terrain. The distance and duration for novices depend largely on the individual's fitness. For aerobic benefit, perform at least 30-mins or more for 2-3 times a week. At an average speed of 25, an estimated 10km distance can be achieved within 45 mins. It may take a few weeks to a few months (based on individual) to adapt well and ready for higher intensity (faster pace) or longer distance.
Besides performing actual cycling, strength training at the gym is important. Specific strength training helps to strengthen and tone, especially the lower limbs. Some examples of strength training are spinning on the stationary bike, perform squat and many other legs exercises, as well as trunk exercises to strengthen the lower back and core stability. This is crucial for muscles' power, strength and endurance to sustain the continuous cycling on the road.
4. Cycling ethics:
All sports required ethical execution in order to ensure safety of the individual, as well as others. A lot of elite cyclists may be sharing the same route with beginners, hence learning some of the road ethic is very important. Ethics like keeping to the left lane for slow cyclist, let faster cyclists overtake on the right, turn on bike's lights, abide to road traffic, lookout for other road users, slow down on turns...etc.
Ultimately, what we want is to have a safe environment to enjoy our sports with other commuters/sportsmen.
5. Places to cycle:
There are currently many places in Singapore for novices, such as the park connectors around the island, East Coast park and West Coast park. More may be on the way!
There will be more to learn about cycling on the road, but as for a beginner, this information should be relevant enough to ensure a pleasure and safe biking!
About the Author
Angelin holds a Sports Science Degree (ECU) and Strength & Conditioning Certifications (NSCA/ASCA), with years of experience in Fitness. She walks the talk and delivers Personal Training, group's workshop as well as Corporate Workshop's presentation. To know her background, visit www.fitness-solution.sg
[simpleaffiliate source="chitika" results="0"][/simpleaffiliate] Anywhere to download Organic Chemistry for Dummies ebook?
ive been looking for it everywhere, but have found no luck at all =( the available ones are all charged or links are broken! im currently taking Organic Chemistry of which i am clueless about now! Help is needed! Also the book is not available in my country & would take ages to order it from America. Thankyou in advanced! I want a link that is free & really works! Please help me out!
Hi,you again :P Maybe you could download the ebooks you need by searching on some free ebooks providing software. And here is an article prevides more than 30 free ebooks download websites, including ebook search engine and ebook database.check out the link below and you may get what you want. http://wattscott.wordpress.com/2010/03/08/30-free-ebooks-download-websites/ Have a try and hope it helps:)
Chemistry For Dummies (Flash Animation)
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[simpleaffiliate source="chitika" results="0"][/simpleaffiliate] dropped out of highschool, now i want my diploma...HELP!?
I dropped out of highschool on my last year, dummy move. I def. regret it. Now i want to get my highschool diploma and finally move on in life and start college. any ideas? I dont want a GED. And i dont want to go to the same high school i was in before. I search online and all i seem to fins is courses to take online, I dont want that. I actually want to attend a school and finish. Any ideas? How do i even get started? By the way, im 19 and living in nyc... thanks for the help, anything is appreciated.
i would suggest that you should do a ged but since you dont want one always try going online an goggle schools for drop outs
hope i helped =D
GED -- God Educates Dummies
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[simpleaffiliate source="chitika" results="0"][/simpleaffiliate] Would I score high enough to enlist if....{Please Help}?
Im kind of bad at math...I can study and get maybe 10 out of 25 questions right (if that) but I was wondering if I do good in the paragraph comprehension, word knowledge electronics and the section with the shapes, do you think I could score a well enough score on the test to be able to enlist?
Im really worried about the math and science section. I kind of hit the snooze button on math in high school and im really paying the price now. Science use to be my favorite subject but I doubt if I can remember most on the subject if its not basic biology/earth/anatomy.....
I bought the book asvab for dummies...hopefully it helps! also if you have any key things that I really need to know to score well on the test please let me know what they are.
I took the practice asvab and scored a 30...I need a 36 for the air force. (of course I want higher but...i at least want to qualify)
Math is absolutely necessary..it is one of the main components of your line scores and will determine what if any jobs you would be eligible for.
just scoring the minimum does NOT necessarily mean you will actually qualify for any jobs.
Anatomy Project Doctors For Dummies
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People using this highly addictive substance called smokeless tobacco are not safe. It has no discriminations based on one's race, social status or gender. People around the world have tried smokeless tobacco. Generally, people associate tobacco products with sports stars and other celebrities. The unfortunate aspect is that smokeless tobacco leads to a range of health problems in its users. The reasons for pursuing smokeless-tobacco-derived satisfaction vary widely. The reasons can be attributed to appetite control and also the relief from stress. And this rage has been hurting the world in a big way. Governments around the world have to address this issue since the predominant users are mostly in their teens and sometimes in their pre-teens; and, it is an extremely dangerous addiction.
No known cures or effective preventive methods have been discovered for either the oral or the gastrointestinal cancers that are caused by smokeless tobacco and tobacco products. The situation can cost the person a fortune in terms of medical treatment costs, and in a lighter vein, the funeral costs. Quitting the habit of using smokeless tobacco is generally thought to be very hard. A large amount of nicotine will get absorbed by the body while the person is in the process of dipping or chewing. This amount of nicotine that gets into the body system is almost twice as high as that expected from smoking tobacco cigarettes. The use of smokeless tobacco by teenagers is a prominent problem. It is creating many lifelong smokeless tobacco users who suffer from different types of health problems and health risks. These are just too dangerous to be overlooked and too addictive to be ignored. Use of smokeless tobacco in children is on the rise, according to statistical reports of researchers. Some users start at the age of nine, which is a very disturbing figure.
Teenagers living in the rural areas are at a higher risk of using smokeless tobacco. If the person shares a home with an adult user that smoke, the chances of following the habit will increase in a dramatic fashion. An approximate 12 percent of all the U.S. students in high school use some kind of smokeless tobacco. In white students, the average comes to approximately one in six users. But what all are the effects and consequences of using smokeless tobacco and what are the advantages and disadvantages one gains by using it? To some people, they want the appeal of looking cool and one fitting in with one's colleagues or peers. Smokeless tobacco causes an odd sensation in new users by first relaxing them. This is facilitated by the release of dopamine in the brain centre. The brain cells are then excited with a dose of adrenaline. In addition to that, the appetite of the person is reduced. On the flip side are some serious implications that make it a really harmful habit. It leads to tooth and gum problems and halitosis. A wide range of products are available in the market to help wean smokeless tobacco users off the habit.
About the Author
The author is an SEO Thcopy writer and internet marketing specialist. To know more about e-pipe and e-liquid refill visit epuffer.eu
Organic Chemistry I for Dummies (Paperback)
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Read Economics for Dummies book in Under 24 hours is it possible?
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Why Soa Does not Deliver
If your IT is supposed to make your business more agile, then you need to turn to SOA, right? I do not agree. Why? Because everyone is once again mixing up cause and effect! An agile organization will fully utilize IT with or without SOA. SOA will not make a business or its people more agile.
Agility will only come from business and IT being willing to innovate and empower their users by doing away with rigid business processes and the straightjacket like impediment of BPM, CRM and ECM. Encoding your processes into rigid Java for SOA is a business killer.
Why the incredible SOA hype?
The SOA bandwagon is overloaded and subsequently bogged because everyone has jumped on to sell products and services. No surprise that Network Computing Magazine has named SOA the most despised buzzword in November 2006. The ‘If You Can’t Sell It, Rename It Game’ played by the likes of IBM (with Tivoli and WebSphere), Oracle (with Fusion), BEA (with Aqualogic) and others. Something has to change, and it’s not just the product names.
Do we even know what is wrong?
I seriously doubt it. The influential quantum physicist David Bohm wrote in 1980: “Fragmentation is so widespread in our society that it interferes with our perception and stops us from solving the simplest problems.” Sounds familiar, right? We put everything in little boxes, buy best-of-breed software solutions for each and every business problem and now we are surprised that they won’t work together.
On the process level we dissect work into little process pieces because they seem easier to manage this way. Process fragmentation was described by Thomas Davenport in 1993 as such: “A process is thus a specific ordering of work activities across time and space, with a beginning and an end, and clearly defined inputs and outputs: a structure for action. Taking a process approach implies adopting the customer’s point of view. Processes are the structure by which an organization does what is necessary to produce value for its customers.”
I can go along with that but what IT implemented was more aptly described by Foote and Yoder in 1999, who wrote: “A ‘Big Ball of Mud’ system is a haphazardly structured, sprawling, sloppy, duct-tape-and-baling-wire, spaghetti-code jungle. These systems show unmistakable signs of unregulated growth, and repeated, expedient repair. Information is shared promiscuously among distant elements of the system, often to the point where nearly all the important information becomes global or duplicated.” This perfectly describes most SOA-Java application servers. Why? Because the clean object-oriented encapsulation is destroyed by an irrational requirement to use XML messages. XML conflicts with SOA, because Metadata has to be managed in a repository and not inside the data file.
I propose that David Bohm is right and that fragmentation is needed for our ability to think, organize and plan. However, the world around us is not built in process fragments and thus the current SOA approach will not solve fragmentation but rather, create a software engineering nightmare at a higher level. Business processes and process change management needs to be first looked at before IT systems can be defragmented.
Business Process 1911’s Style
There are those who say that SOA is an extension of process management. BPM proponents are however stuck in 1911’s-Taylorism and SOA makes it worse because there is still fragmented change management. Frederick Taylor believed in fragmentation and specialization and proposed rigidly structured corporations. Hence, each and every IT application represents such a business process fragment, because if not, according to Davenport, we don’t need it. But what is a business process? Rummler and Brache (1990) proposed that ”a business process is a series of steps designed to produce a product or service for a customer.” And that is quite simply, incorrect.
Yes, there are rigid processes and some Ad-Hoc approaches giving more room to the user to choose the course of the process. Strangely enough, hardly anyone seems to realize that the need for an agile enterprise is created by the dynamics inherent in process related business communication. It is obvious that the state of the communication content controls the process and not its meaningless steps. Business communication is not just a document or an email, but can be anything: a selection menu, a web page, a sticker on the document, a data record, images, or even a voice recording or video. No matter how much time and money is spent on business process analysis, there will always be one more communication item needed for a business process once it gets going. This is why collaboration tools and email are now so pervasive. They don’t require analysis to communicate.
In ‘Reengineering the Corporation’ Hammer and Champy made a very important suggestion: “Not the individual task or process is important but only the outcome.” BPM systems and BPR projects miss the ability to adjust to the dynamics of goal-orientation.
Damelio writes in ‘Basics of Process Mapping’: “Maps and flowcharts make work visible ... they represent a snapshot in time …” And that is all that business process is supposed to be, as Bohm said. We need fragmentation to understand, but life does not work this way.
How relevant is IT to process?
In 'Does IT matter?' Nicolas G.Carr writes that '… in the 1990’s many strategic investments went to waste … and business executives have grown skeptical about IT, ...' and claims that IT is now a commodity and no longer producing a competitive advantage. I tend to agree, but the problem is not IT but what the business users request from IT!
Users want to organize their work in their own indescribable way, while management wants to rigidly control the user process. IT has absolutely no clue how to go about both, because the underlying technology (mostly because of Windows, Java and XML) has become nearly unmanageable. SOA simply adds to the already incredible complexity.
Business users are human and point at something to say: This I like and this I don’t. Once users see a cute GUI front-end they think the inside must be cute as well. Users buy a GUI, not architecture, flexibility or long-term manageability.
They demand however 99.99% availability (which is fine for the underlying mainframe-based, bank-transaction system); but when the average mental and physical availability of an employee is at most 50% then the availability expectation linked with the current complexity of technology creates the long rollout cycles. Users expect IT to be inhumane and that’s exactly what they get. And because they cant get what they want business is fighting for control over IT with Outsourcing and Governance. Bad idea!
Adherence to ineffective governance rules is usually more important than what constituents need, in case you have not yet noticed. On his ZD-Net blog Joe McKendrick asks to “Turn your SOA into a HOA (human oriented architecture)” and says, “Without governance, there is no SOA. But maybe we don’t want too much governance.” I want to add: Maybe we don’t want SOA at all if it requires even more rigidity to control and manage our business processes?
Business Process Decision Making:
Let’s face it: The AGILE-SOA-jBPEL-XML-enterprise can’t see beyond Tayloristic 2-D process graphs! The latest buzzword of ‘IT-Industrialization’ describes our plan to create Henry Ford conveyor-belt-IT-processes for lobotomized business users.
It gets worse. In 2005 Davenport and Harris further claimed in a MIT-Sloan article: “Rather than require people to identify the problems or to initiate the analysis, companies typically embed decision-making capabilities in the normal flow of work. Those systems then sense online data, apply codified knowledge or logic, and make decisions all with minimal amounts of human intervention.”
In “Super Crunchers: Why Thinking-by-Numbers Is the New Way to Be Smart” Ian Ayres too claims that huge data sets allow previously impossible predictions and that statistical methods are more accurate than the more intuitive conclusions drawn by experts.
From my perspective, Business Intelligence produces an unintelligible mess of data that has little to no meaning for business decisions, automated or not. Imagine that we not only make the processes more rigid but also the codified decision-making knowledge? That will ruin each and every business because the `statistical data facts' are illusions and at best average values from the past that do not apply to the current point of decision. Face-to-face interviews with the relevant managers, employees and customers will give you an emotional intuitive feel for the right decision that statistics won’t.
You might ask: Emotions?
I have been asked to replace 'emotions' with 'instinct' because emotions is seen so negatively. I refuse! Instinct is more in the area of reflexes which do not require any thinking at all. Maybe feelings would be better, but feelings also require emotions deeper down in our human nature. I can go with intuition because intuition is an emotional function.
Today’s assumption is unfortunately that emotion or intuition is the opposite of reason. Maybe that is not so. Why can in the UK and the US the anti-depression drug Prozac be detected in the rivers? Because people are continuously forced to be reasonable and not emotional. Look inside yourself and you will feel that it is against human nature and it makes us sick.
Human decision-making is most likely an emotionally weighted pattern-matching ability of the brain. Rationality is only used for post-decisions justification or verification. Are not strong managers and entrepreneurs mostly very emotional, even unreasonable people? Absolutely! Pioneers such as Broca (1878), Papez (1937), and MacLean (1952) suggested that emotion is related to a group of structures in the center of the brain called the limbic system, which includes the hypothalamus, cingulate cortex, and hippocampi among others. Antonio Damasio - today Professor of Neuroscience at the University of Southern California - has long researched neural systems for memory, language, emotion, and decision-making. In his 1994 book, “Descartes' Error: Emotion, Reason and the Human Brain,” he documents his discovery that “humans with dysfunctional emotional centers face grave difficulties in decision-making.” Thus human decisions - intuitive or not - are emotionally weighted and how do you want to encode that, Mr. Process-Analysis-Consultant?
To improve decision making with the help of computing we need to invent technology to model intuitive human decision-making far beyond logical rules. While Ian Ayres mentions neural networks and pattern matching he fails to understand that both do not need statistical data but decision-points linked to real data. It is not important how many people took a certain decision, but what data pattern was used by each individual to come to the decision. Therefore we do not need to crunch meaningless and inaccurate data with unproven mathematical assumptions, but today's computing power has to be used to interactively learn decisions from humans.
And what about ‘Agility’?
I am serious: Agility is a human property and not system functionality. What stops current organizations from being agile? The Java/XML ‘Big Ball of Mud’? Tayloristic BPM? Windows DLL hell? I say it is the lack of agility in people and their small-minded resistance to true innovation.
An agile IT department run by a truly agile CIO supported by an agile board creates an application platform that puts great power into the hands of the skilled business user who is willing to be agile himself.
In their SOA White Papers the likes of IBM, BEA, TIBCO and Oracle name an endless array of technical complexities to create SOA when there is not enough IT manpower available on this planet to even do 2 % of such SOA projects (Source: Max Pucher, 2007, informed guess of 35 years IT). Remember, once the hole is so deep that you can’t climb out, digging deeper will not improve your situation.
KISS – Keep it simple, stupid!
Simplification is needed, and it was I who first humbly proposed in 2000/2001 the consolidation of Inbound and Outbound documents into Closed-Loop CRM processes with Papyrus WebRepository - to the blank eyes of every big-name analyst I spoke to! Today, you find Inbound/Outbound in every ECM vendor’s White Paper. Thank you all, because copying is the sincerest form of flattery. Today, I already propose the consolidation of ECM, BPM, and CRM … So you better stop digging!
Do we need Governance?
I do agree that we need some oversight to make the user happy. We can call it governance if you prefer, but it is simply the requirements of management between users and IT. If you already have a deeply fragmented IT landscape with too many outsourcers and external consultants maybe you do need governance to stay afloat.
SOA or Change Management?
The core issue of IT is change management. Change Management is about metadata: structured data about data that “describes, explains, locates, or otherwise makes it easier to retrieve, use, or manage an information resource.”
Yes, but we do all that with XML, I am told. Listen, WSDL metadata for SOAP and UDDI metadata for WSDL is still not enough because neither links to the user interface and the process. You need DTDs, XSLs, XSLTs, XPATH, BPML and BPEL and a lot of Java code to verify that the data is valid and use it in hard-coded decision blocks.
In ‘SOA For Dummies’ the BEA-friendly authors therefore recommend a repository for the Java programs AND a registry for the dynamically linked SOA services. Their argument for two management products is understandable in the light of BEA’s old Tuxedo, the programmed Java Weblogic and the acquired Aqualogic workflow world.
However, a metadata change in a service interface is NOT automatically propagated to all user interfaces, all Java modules, all process definitions, all XML transforms and all databases. There is NO WAY that a user himself can make any change simply and quickly. As there is no common versioning and no common deployment, we are right where we were before – in a ‘Big Ball of Mud’ – just more complex.
Standards – where art thou?
Others believe that standards are the solution. There are many SOA definitions from various organizations such as the Open Group, Oasis, OMG and others. Most definitions still miss several core issues, such as global transactions, security and event handling. As a consequence there is still no standard way to deliver SOA.
Several vendors offer SOA Change Management with tools such as HP-Mercury, IBM Tivoli and others. These are huge investments to deal with SOA infrastructure and networking but not with the front-end business service needed by the user.
As you can see, confusion reigns. I see RFPs where SOA compliance is requested at the same time as ‘fully-featured APIs’. RFPs request XML and Java standards, when there is no such thing. That is an easy ‘YES’ response in the RFP. Many IT people seem to believe that SOA in some way solves the non-standard situation of Java and XML, when at best it hides some of the problems.
Where are we going with SOA?
I think that in a few years we will have forgotten it. The big new buzzword is already ‘Event-Driven Architecture’.
Why am I not surprised? When I designed WebRepository in 1996 it was built around state/event-driven application models. BPM/SOA vendors claim that you can ‘simply connect’ events to the 2-D workflow graphs of a BPEL process by using Java code (i.e. with Oracle jDeveloper).
From my perspective, to use the word ‘agility’ for SOA that requires Java programmers to create a simple event-driven process is misrepresentation.
Consultants and analysts:
Why do I seem to continuously needle against consultants, analysts and outsourcers? I actually do not. But like everyone else, not all of the ideas that consultants have are good ones.
Service-oriented architecture (SOA) was first described by Gartner in 1996 in an SSA Research paper. Gartner, like most research companies have a cupboard full of skeletons (failed predictions) and I am not holding that against them. SOA is not a wrong idea and neither is EDA, but what the industry made of it is what I am speaking out against. I am asking you to not let the prevailing vision cloud your ability to judge for yourself. I am asking you to not be afraid, to stand up and say what you – as someone who is right there at the grass roots of IT – have to say about it. I am asking users and business department to not interfere with what IT wants to deliver as long as IT has a process focus on the user. Actually, I am asking users and IT to be more agile!
The Vision of the Anointed:
What is it then that stops most large organizations from forward-thinking strategic change and innovation – as requested by Barbara Gomolski above - equally in government or business? Why are otherwise excellent professionals so afraid to do something new?
I have found one explanation: In “The Vision of the Anointed” Thomas Sowell wrote in 1996 about political visions in a way that fully applies to other areas including business and IT visions: “Differing visions, of course, are based on differing assumptions … For a prevailing vision, however, meaning that its assumptions are taken for granted by the so-called thinking-people, those assumptions are never challenged with demands for empirical evidence … A prevailing vision offers more than anything a state-of-grace for those who believe in it.”
The subtitle of Sowell's book is fittingly: “Self-Congratulation as a Basis for Social Policy.” Only politicians and stock market analysts outdo IT in the art of self-congratulation.
Someone who opposes a prevailing vision is fought with all means possible by claiming that 'the hidden motives have to be disclosed.' Much like the dicussion on climate change ...
References and innovation:
IT people in large organizations more than others shy away from innovation. I am always asked for reference installations (and no one wants to be one) which is impossible for innovative software. Hey, it’s NEW; no one else has done it before! Additionally there are no two customers who actually do the same thing with our software or have the same infrastructure. As always, a reference should be about the integrity of the people involved and not about technology.
You can obviously choose the safe route and decide not to innovate and make your choice from a Gartner Magic Quadrant. Gartner Group is however a market analyst company and thus their information is from the past. You won’t find innovation there.
SOA is not innovation but an evolution of object-oriented messaging that took a wrong turn because vendors needed to sell what they had – they just renamed it. My position in this paper has in difference translated into ISIS Papyrus products over the last twenty years and therefore some of it has been and is once again very innovative.
I propose that going into a huge programming effort yourself or buying a rigid piece of ‘standard’ software (with rigid processes) involves a much bigger risk than giving something new a try. IT is the most powerful competitive tool there is – if implemented and used by agile people.
You can’t lead by walking in someone else’s footsteps. If you don’t innovate, your IT is not leading edge no matter how buzzword compliant you are. Benchmarking IT against others who don’t innovate will only pull everyone down to the same low level. But then … you can show that you are among the best in your benchmark!
Innovation – doing something new – always bears some risk. Be brave!
Bibliography and References:
Allen, Paul (2006). Service Orientation, winning strategies and best practices. ISBN 0521843367.
Ayres, Ian (2007) Super Crunchers: Why Thinking-by-Numbers Is the New Way to Be Smart. ISBN 978-0553805406
Bohm, David, (1980) Wholeness and Implicate Order, ISBN-13: 978-0710003669
Carr, N. G. (2004) Does IT Matter?: IT and the Corrosion of Competitive Advantage ISBN-13: 978-1591394440
Damelio, R. (1996) Basics of Process Mapping, ISBN-13: 978-0527763169
Damasio, Antonio (2005) Descartes' Error: Emotion, Reason, and the Human Brain, ISBN 0-380-72647-5
Davenport, Thomas (1993), Process Innovation: Reengineering work through information technology
Draheim, D. & Weber, G. (2006) Trends in Enterprise Application Architecture, ISBN-13: 978-3540327349
Erl, Thomas (2005). Service-Oriented Architecture: Concepts, Technology, and Design. ISBN 0-13-185858-0.
Hammer, M. ; Champy, J. (1993), Reengineering the Corporation: A Manifesto … ISBN-13: 978-1863735056
Hurwitz; Bloor; Baroudi; Kaufman (2006). Service Oriented Architecture for Dummies. ISBN 0-470-05435-2.
Johansson, Henry J. et.al. (1993), BPR: BreakPoint Strategies for Market Dominance ISBN-13: 978-0471938835
Newcomer, Eric; Lomow, Greg (2005). Understanding SOA with Web Services. ISBN 0-321-18086-0.
Pulier, Eric; Hugh Taylor (2005). Understanding Enterprise SOA. ISBN 1-932394-59-1
Rummler & Brache (1990), Improving Performance: How to manage the white space … ISBN-13: 978-1555422141
Sowell, Thomas, (1996) The Vision of the Anointed ISBN-13: 978-0465089956
Taylor F. W. (1911) The Principles of Scientific Management, ISBN-13: 978-1434638205
Watson, Thomas Jr. (1997) Father, Son and Company, ISBN-13: 978-0593020937
Internet resources:
SSA Research Note SPA-401-068, 12 April 1996, "'Service Oriented' Architectures, Part 1"
SSA Research Note SPA-401-069, 12 April 1996, "'Service Oriented' Architectures, Part 2"
SOA Reference Model Technical Committee, OASIS (2006). A Reference Model for Service Oriented Architecture. (PDF).
Rational Unified Process, IBM, Mar. 2005, www-3.ibm.com/software/awdtoolsrup.
IEEE Std. 1003.1, Standard for Information Technology— Portable Operating System Interface (POSIX), IEEE, 2004.
E. Christensen et al., Web Services Description Language (WSDL) 1.1, World Wide Web Consortium (W3C) note, Mar. 2001; www.w3.org/TRwsdl
SOAP Version 1.2, World Wide Web Consortium (W3C) recommendation, June 2003; www.w3.org/TRsoap
SOA Blueprints, Middleware Research, Mar. 2005, www.middlewareresearch.comsoa-blueprints
Anderson, A. "IEEE Policy 2004 Workshop, 8 June 2004, Comparing WSPL and WS-Policy," Sun Labs, 2004; www.policy-workshop.org/2004/slidesAnderson-WSPL_vs_WS-Policy_v2.pdf
Brian Foote, Joseph Yoder (1999) http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Big_ball_of_mud
Joe Kendricks, (2007) http://blogs.zdnet.com/service-oriented/?p=913
Coenen, Alcedo (2006). SOA agility in practice (PDF). Via Nova Architectura.
Jones, Steve (2005). Toward an acceptable definition of service (PDF). IEEE Software.
Mittal, Kunal (2006). Requirements process for SOA projects, Part 1 of 3: Capturing requirements for an SOA application - Initial requirements to build out your SOA (HTML). IBM Developerworks.
Shan, Tony; Hua, Winnie (2006). Solution Architecture for N-Tier Applications (PDF). In Proc. of the 3rd IEEE International Conference on Services Computing (SCC 2006), pp. 349-356.
Wada, Hiroshi; Suzuki, Junichi (2006). A Model-Driven Development Framework for Non-Functional Aspects in Service Oriented Grids (PDF). In Proc. of 2nd IEEE International Conference on Autonomic and Autonomous Systems (ICAS 2006).
Bieber, Guy (2000). Programming Service Oriented Programming (HTML). Motorola.
Gomolski, B. (2006) Computerworld Opinion, Oct. 2006
About the Author
Max J. Pucher is the founder and current Chief Architect of ISIS Papyrus Software, a globally operating software company that specializes in Artificial Intelligence for Business Process and Communication. He has written several books, frequently speaks and writes on IT and holds several patents.
VIsual Phototransduction
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[simpleaffiliate source="chitika" results="0"][/simpleaffiliate] What topics are covered in an organic chemistry college course?
I keep hearing nightmare stories about how hard this course is so I've convinced myself that I need to study independently a semester in advance so I won't feel too overwhelmed when I eventually take it.
I bought a cheap ochem textbook (and ochem for dummies to supplement) but I'm not sure what parts I should read in the textbook, unless most courses require that you read the book from beginning to end! (which in that case, might be a good idea to start reading now!)
oh yea, if possible, can you specify which ones are in ochem-I and ochem-II?
I am very grateful for your answers. Thanks in advance!
I can't speak for your school, but the course and expectations can vary quite widely. From my experience, most students succeed with stereochemistry, conformational analysis, nomenclature, etc. They describe static things. If given enough practice, students know what sp3 or axial mean.
Reactions are a different matter. You start with something and end up with something else and the variations are endless. I used reaction mechanisms or mechanistic thinking as a staple of my teaching activities. I also introduced a mechanism workbook to supplement the class. By doing so, I raised my class average on the ACS organic exam by 20 percentile points.
Many students (and professors) resist a mechanism approach. A mechanisms is a logical explanation of the electron movements that lead to the products. I like it. That kind of thinking appeals to me and has worked well with my class.
Learn reaction mechanisms with "The Language of Organic Chemistry; A Guide to Organic Chemistry Mechanisms" at http://www.curvedarrowpress.com. Incidentally, I had a summer high school student learning reactions from the book without taking organic chemistry. The book makes the reactions accessible and I believe my results are a reflection of that.
At the other extreme, some schools emphasize retrosynthesis and can be rigid in how it is formatted. I have tutored some students in schools like that. I mention this because it strikes me as being extremely challenging to try to make use of reactions frequently did not know. It is like translating from English with a foreign language dictionary. I would expect organic chemistry to be extremely challenging at those schools.
Catalysts for Dummies
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As the fall semester draws to a close, many college students are faced with increasing anxiety over final exams, or rather whether or not their performance during those exams will elevate their grade to the desired level. While there’s no substitution for semester long studying and academic preparedness, there are a few things students can do besides cramming to put their most knowledgeable face forward.
The first step is to know your professor. Most college professors will give plenty of indication as to what the final exams will contain. If not, you can usually expect something similar to the midterm or any other tests you’ve taken along the way. Some professors take great delight in testing on the most esoteric statements or principles of the study materials or lectures while others simply stick to the salient points. Those who fall into the former category should take up a lot more of your precious study time than those from the latter.
The second step is to study smart by tailoring your efforts to fit the type of class you’re in. As an example, few literature professors will ask for specific details of a drama or novel, instead wanting to make sure you understand the overall themes of a story or the motivations behind the character contained therein. Study guides on popular fiction, such as the “for dummies” series of books will usually impart a high level of understanding in a very small timeframe. A calculus final, on the other hand, will likely require you to have mastered the equations covered in class throughout the entire semester or at least the second half. Systematically going over them and working through some examples, either as a refresher or to learn what you should have already, is a good investment of your time.
The third step is to know yourself, specifically how much sleep you need to be functional. Getting less sleep than normal is a given, but there’s a point at which your mind will have a much harder time recalling all that last minute knowledge you’ve attempted to stuff it full of. Some people can function perfectly with three hours of sleep, while others need six. It’s better to be under-prepared and well rested than to be the walking dead.
The final step is to play the odds based on your academic situation. If you have a high GPA and want to retain it, you probably have a class or two that doesn’t present much of a problem for you. Skip studying for those and concentrate on the classes that you have a hard time with. Analytical thinkers who dread an essay test may want to brush up on their understanding of sociology themes for a sociology class rather than spend time solidifying their understanding of covalent bonding for a chemistry final. Needless to say, if your goal is simply to pass and you have a class or two for which your performance up to finals leaves you wondering if you’ll have to take the class again, spend your time there.
[simpleaffiliate source="chitika" results="0"][/simpleaffiliate] Can you hear a meteorite?
OK, strange question....Last night, I heard this subtle but pronounced "rumble". I couldn't tell where it was coming from (outside?), but I have notoriously bad hearing so I'm not surprised (thanks iPod!).
To my surprise, I read in the paper today that a meteorite pretty much passed right over where I live around the same time.
Co-incidence? Or not?
Any astronomy experts opinions greatly appreciated for this "astronomy dummy"! ;)
Thanks!
A meteor traveling faster than the speed of sound can produce a sonic boom, that is probably what you heard. It can produce a sound when it explodes in the atmosphere, or strikes the earth.
Astronomy for Dummies
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I suck at Physics but have always been interested in string / quantum theory. Does anyone know of any good books / online rescources that are suitable for the layman?
There is one book that I've found to be very good for explaining string theory, and the stuff preceding it, and that's Road to Reality by Roger Penrose. It is thick and has a bit of math in it, but don't panic! The book is very wordy, and you should be able to get a good idea of what's going on even if you skip the equations and the 300 page math section.
If you want to get familiar with the math, the math section isn't too bad either. He walks you through it, and you'll end up learning calculus, complex numbers, group theory, differential geometry and a whole host of other mathematical topics. It may help if you have a working knowledge of high school algebra though.
If you don't want any math at all, you can try The Complete Idiot's Guide to String Theory, by George Musser.
You can also try looking at some of the books in the Demystified series, especially the ones by David McMahon. He has a string theory book out, but it requires some knowledge of multivariable calculus, something that you normally learn in a few calculus courses at a community college.
Before tackling the string theory book, you should look at his other books first, namely Quantum Mechanics Demystified, Linear Algebra Demystified, and Quantum Field theory Demystified. You may even want to take a peek at Complex Variables Demystified. It may also help to start out with Statics and Dynamics Demystified, if the other books don't quite demystify things for you.
Dr Quantum - Double Slit Experiment
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[simpleaffiliate source="chitika" results="0"][/simpleaffiliate] Explain enantiomers for the dummy :D?
Please explain to me what an enantiomer is. I already know that enantiomers are isomers that mirror image each other. But, I don't understand what that MEANS. Can someone please explain...? this is for AP biology.... ok so now i get what an enantiomer is but i don't understand this question: Why does the body manipulate and synthesize only one type of enantiomer? i know it has something to do with enzymes...
It means they are non-superimposable. Its like your right and left hands...they are opposites of eachother and no matter what way you put them together, you can't have your thumb on the same side when your palms are facing in the same direction.
It might make more sense if you looked at some pictures. This page has a few: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Enantiomer
Understanding Car Crashes: When Physics Meets Biology
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I have seen in the webpage fxcm.com that they let you "trade" currencies when you open a training account; they give you 50k FAKE money, so you can train before going into the real stuff. Is there something similar but for the stock market??
Yes there is. You can use the simulator on investopedia.com or use virtualstockexchange.com
Hope this helps!
Currency Trading For Dummies - Understand Forex Trading
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