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Stephen, Sir Leslie

(Encyclopedia)Stephen, Sir Leslie, 1832–1904, English author and critic. The first serious critic of the novel, he was also editor of the great Dictionary of National Biography from its beginning in 1882 until 18...

complexity

(Encyclopedia)complexity, in science, field of study devoted to the process of self-organization. The basic concept of complexity is that all things tend to organize themselves into patterns, e.g., ant colonies, im...

Ghose, Aurobindo

(Encyclopedia)Ghose, Aurobindo ôrōbĭnˈdō gōsh [key], 1872–1950, Indian nationalist leader and mystic philosopher. Born in Bengal, he was sent to England and lived there for 14 years, completing his educatio...

buttress

(Encyclopedia)CE5 Types of buttresses buttress, mass of masonry built against a wall to strengthen it. It is especially necessary when a vault or an arch places a heavy load or thrust on one part of a wall. In t...

cave

(Encyclopedia)cave, a cavity in the earth's surface usually large enough for a person to enter. Caves may be formed by the chemical and mechanical action of a stream upon soluble or soft rock, of rainwater seeping ...

star cluster

(Encyclopedia)star cluster, a group of stars near each other in space and resembling each other in certain characteristics that suggest a common origin for the group. Stars in the same cluster move at the same rate...

Australopithecus

(Encyclopedia)Australopithecus ôstrāˌlōpĭthˈəkəs, –pəthēˈkəs [key], an extinct hominin genus found in Africa between about 4 and 1 million years ago. At least seven species of australopithecines are n...

Paleolithic period

(Encyclopedia)Paleolithic period pāˌlēəlĭthˈĭk, –lēō–, pălˌ– [key] or Old Stone Age, the earliest period of human development and the longest phase of mankind's history. It is approximately coexten...

universe

(Encyclopedia)universe, totality of matter and energy in existence. The study of the origin of the universe, or cosmos, is known as cosmogony, and that of its structure and evolution, cosmology. The age of the univ...

Wilson, Edward Osborne

(Encyclopedia)Wilson, Edward Osborne, 1929–2021, American sociobiologist, b. Birmingham, Ala., Univ. of Alabama (B.S., 1949; M.S.,1950), Harvard Univ (Ph.D., 1955)....