Knowledge Explorer

Dynamic hedging

Dynamic Hedging is the definitive source on derivatives risk. It provides a real-world methodology for managing portfolios containing any nonlinear security. It presents risks from the vantage point of the option market maker and arbitrage operator. The only book about derivatives risk written by an experienced trader with theoretical training, it remolds option theory to fit the practitioner's environment. As a larger share of market exposure cannot be properly captured by mathematical models, noted option arbitrageur Nassim Taleb uniquely covers both on-model and off-model derivatives risks.

Bed of Procrustes

By the author of the modern classic The Black Swan, this collection of aphorisms and meditations expresses Taleb's view of modern civilization's hubristic side effects--modifying humans to satisfy technology, blaming reality for not fitting economic models, inventing diseases to sell drugs, defining intelligence as what can be tested in a classroom, and convincing people that employment is not slavery.

Antifragile

"The acclaimed author of the influential bestseller The Black Swan, Nicholas Nassim Taleb takes a next big step with a deceptively simple concept: the "antifragile." Like the Greek hydra that grows two heads for each one it loses, people, systems, and institutions that are antifragile not only withstand shocks, they benefit from them. In a modern world dominated by chaos and uncertainty, Antifragile is a revolutionary vision from one of the most subversive and important thinkers of our time. Praise for Nicholas Nassim Taleb "[This] is the lesson of Taleb. and also the lesson of our volatile times. There is more courage and heroism in defying the human impulse, in taking the purposeful and painful steps to prepare for the unimaginable."--Malcolm Gladwell, author of The Tipping Point "[Taleb writes] in a style that owes as much to Stephen Colbert as it does to Michel de Montaigne."--The Wall Street Journal "The most prophetic voice of all. [Taleb is] a genuinely significant philosopher. someone who is able to change the way we view the structure of the world through the strength, originality and veracity of his ideas alone."--GQ "Changed my view of how the world works."--Daniel Kahneman, Nobel laureate"-- "Examples of Antifragility: When you stress your body by lifting a big weight, your body gets stronger. New York has the best restaurants in the world because particular restaurants are always going bust, making the aggregate stronger and stronger, or antifragile. Evolution is antifragile. Certain business and investment strategies are antifragile. Older things tend to be more antifragile than newer ones - because they've been exposed to more Black Swans"--

Skin in the Game

The phrase "skin in the game" is one we have often heard but have rarely stopped to truly dissect. It is the backbone of risk management, but it's also an astonishingly complex worldview that, as Nassim Nicholas Taleb shows in this book, applies to literally all aspects of our lives. In his inimitable style, Taleb pulls on everything from Antaeus the Giant to Hammurabi to Donald Trump to Seneca to the ethics of disagreement to create a jaw-dropping tapestry for understanding our world in a brand new way. The phrase "skin in the game" means that you do not pay attention to what people say, only to what they do, and to how much of their necks they are putting on the line. This willingness to accept one's own risks is an essential attribute of people in all walks of life. Taleb challenges long-held beliefs about those who control our military, finances, religions, and so much more-- and shows how "skin in the game" applies to all aspects of our lives.

The Black Swan

From the critically acclaimed author of Fooled by Randomness, a book about the impact of improbable events on every aspect of life.

Fooled by randomness

"[Taleb is] Wall Street's principal dissident. . . . [Fooled By Randomness] is to conventional Wall Street wisdom approximately what Martin Luther's ninety-nine theses were to the Catholic Church."--Malcolm Gladwell, The New Yorker Finally in paperback, the word-of-mouth sensation that will change the way you think about the markets and the world. This book is about luck: more precisely how we perceive luck in our personal and professional experiences. Set against the backdrop of the most conspicuous forum in which luck is mistaken for skill--the world of business--Fooled by Randomness is an irreverent, iconoclastic, eye-opening, and endlessly entertaining exploration of one of the least understood forces in all of our lives. — From the Trade Paperback edition.

The Partner

John Grisham's bestselling backlist repackaged with fantastic new coversThey found him in a small town in Brazil, near the border with Paraguay. He had a new name, Danilo Silva, and his appearance had been changed by plastic surgery. The search had taken four years. They'd chased him around the world, always just missing him. It had cost their clients three and a half million dollars. But so far none of them had complained. The man they were about to kidnap had not always been called Silva. Before he had had another life, a life which ended in a car crash in February 1992. His gravestone lay in a cemetry in Biloxi, Mississippi. His name before his death was Patrick S. Lanigan. He had been a partner at an up and coming law firm. He had a pretty wife, a new daughter, and a bright future. Six weeks after his death, $90 million had disappeared from the law firm. It was then that his partners knew he was still alive, and the long pursuit had begun . . .

The Runaway Jury

An anonymous woman tips officials that the jury for a multimillion dollar trial surrounding the tobacco industry may be tampered with.

The Client

In a weedy lot on the outskirts of Memphis, two boys watch a shiny Lincoln pull up to the curb...Eleven-year-old Mark Sway and his younger brother were sharing a forbidden cigarette when a chance encounter with a suicidal lawyer left Mark knowing a bloody and explosive secret: the whereabouts of the most sought-after dead body in America. Now Mark is caught between a legal system gone mad and a mob killer desperate to cover up his crime. And his only ally is a woman named Reggie Love, who has been a lawyer for all of four years. Prosecutors are willing to break all the rules to make Mark talk. The mob will stop at nothing to keep him quiet. And Reggie will do anything to protect her client -- even take a last, desperate gamble that could win Mark his freedom... or cost them both their lives. ([source][1]) [1]: http://www.jgrisham.com/books/the-client/ ---------- Also contained in: - [Novels: The Client / The Firm](https://openlibrary.org/works/OL17766481W) - [Reader's Digest Condensed Books. Volume 4 1993](https://openlibrary.org/works/OL15150385W)

A Time to Kill

A Time to Kill is a 1989 legal thriller and debut novel by American author John Grisham. The novel was rejected by many publishers before Wynwood Press eventually gave it a 5,000-copy printing. When Doubleday published The Firm, Wynwood released a trade paperback of A Time to Kill, which became a bestseller. Dell published the mass market paperback months after the success of The Firm, bringing Grisham to widespread popularity among readers. Doubleday eventually took over the contract for A Time to Kill and released a special hardcover edition. ---------- Also contained in: [The Pelican Brief / A Time to Kill](https://openlibrary.org/works/OL24697402W) [The Testament / A Time To Kill](https://openlibrary.org/works/OL20639558W)

The Firm

The Firm is a 1991 legal thriller by American writer John Grisham. It was his second book and the first which gained wide popularity. ---------- Also contained in: - [Novels (Firm / Pelican Brief)](https://openlibrary.org/works/OL76969W) - [Reader's Digest Condensed Books. Volume 3 1991](https://openlibrary.org/works/OL20544104W) - [Selections from Reader's Digest condensed books and other Reader's Digest Publications](https://openlibrary.org/works/OL16059729W) [1]: https://www.jgrisham.com/the-firm/

The Rainmaker

In his final semester of law school, Rudy Baylor "finds himself taking on one of the most powerful, corrupt, and ruthless companies in America -- and exposing a complex, multibillion-dollar insurance scam."

Long Walk to Freedom

The riveting memoirs of the outstanding moral and political leader of our time, Long Walk to Freedom brilliantly recreates the drama of the experiences that helped shape Nelson Mandela's destiny. Emotive, compelling and uplifting, Long Walk to Freedom is the exhilarating story of an epic life; a story of hardship, resilience and ultimate triumph told with the clarity and eloquence of a born leader.

Reclaiming Dignity in a World Built on Extraction

I have learned that dignity is not always something you are given. Sometimes, it is something you have to reconstruct quietly, in fragments, from places where it has been stripped from you without apology. There is a particular loneliness in doing work that forces you to confront the most fragile and most humiliating aspects of human existence. Care work teaches you the anatomy of dependence. It strips away illusion. It places you face-to-face with the undeniable truth that every human being, no

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2025 Birthday Dinner: Learning to Translate Myself

I went out for my birthday dinner expecting the usual: food, a candle I didn’t ask for, and the mild disappointment of getting older. Instead, I found myself hosting a poorly moderated summit of past selves—each fluent only in her own private language, each convinced she was the most reasonable person in the room. They arrived one by one. Different ages. Same eyes. None of us quite speaking the same language. The first to climb onto the chair was four-year-old Rancy . She had only just discover

The Phone That Ate My Peace

I’ve lost my phone. Not just misplaced it — it has evaporated into some cosmic limbo, leaving me both exposed and, strangely, a little free. One minute it was clutched in my pocket after a night shift; the next, it was gone, left behind in the seat of a stranger’s car, a stranger whose number I don’t have, whose kindness I cannot summon, except through an employer who treats my existence like a utility meter: as long as I show up, everything else is irrelevant. Empathy? Optional. Helpfulness? In

Mistress of a Fading Moon

The last fifteen months prior to finally graduating were not a calendar — they were a sentence. Not the kind a professor scribbles in red pen, but the kind a judge delivers with a heavy gavel. I was both prisoner and jailer, trapped inside a routine of deadlines, debt, and desperation. Each day was another bar on the cage; each assignment another shackle around my wrists. And yet, I hadn’t arrived empty. I came with high hopes tucked into a suitcase already too heavy. A new country, a new contin

Dreams on Credit

They say money cannot buy happiness. What they don’t say is neither does poverty. In fact, poverty is the most efficient thief I know—it steals dignity first, then confidence, then esteem, and on its hungriest days, it gnaws at your intelligence too (yes, you can buy knowledge, and no, wisdom does not come free with suffering). Poverty empties your dreams, sells off your present, and replaces it with a layaway plan for a fantasy future that never arrives. Time? The rich buy more of it—maids, cha

The Universe is on Do Not Disturb

For some time now, I’ve been trudging through my own private inferno—no flames, no devils with pitchforks, just endless shifts that burn me out without ever igniting real strength. Manual labor is my cross to bear for now; white-collar salvation keeps ghosting me like a bad Tinder date. Still, I’m painfully aware that I’m a few thousand steps ahead of that imaginary girl in Africa—though she’s no stranger to me. She lives in my marrow, reminding me of the days when having both the will and the a

The Quest for Meaning: From Chaos to Connection

Chepchirchir R. As I sit in my sister’s flat in Truro with no more shifts forthcoming, staring out at the rain that seems to have taken up permanent residence, I can’t help but chuckle at the irony of it all. Coming from a tiny village, where the sun shines with the enthusiasm of a child on Christmas morning, I find myself in a place where the weather is as reliable as a Kenyan politician—mostly cloudy with a chance of disappointment. I often found solace in the simplicity of life, the warmth o

Echoes of a Thirty-Year Sunrise: A Journey Through Time, Promise, and Dreams

Reimagining the afternoon's mundane yet necessary errand, I find myself reluctantly drawn to the familiarity of the worn salon chair. The walls of the tiny room, nestled in the bustling heart of Moi Avenue in Nairobi, hold stories told by peeling paint — a testament to its many years of service. It's a refuge I've frequented since my days of dreadlocks began, a time that now feels like a distant memory. Loyalty has long since been replaced by a weary resignation; the thought of hunting for a sal

Wes Anderson's Short Films (The Way I See It)

It's the 7th of October, and I find myself sprawled in my living room, wrestling with work's lingering tendrils. Yet, my mind seems locked in a stubborn fog, plunging into an uninvited abyss of existential ponderings. These reflective bouts visit more often than I care to acknowledge. But fret not, for I've crafted my own remedy - a dose of Stoic philosophy, a captivating novel, or - dare I say - the alluring allure of Netflix (bet you didn't expect that twist, did you?). As midday approaches, a

Yuval Noah Harari (Sapiens) versus Yann Le Cun (Meta) on artificial intelligence

The annihilation of democracy or new age of Enlightenment? Best-selling Sapiens author Yuval Noah Harari and Meta head of research Yann LeCun debate. By Guillaume Grallet and Héloïse Pons This is the topic of the moment, one that is on the minds of both Xi Jinping and Joe Biden . Vladimir Putin himself said in 2017 that the country that would lead the field of artificial intelligence would be the one that would dominate the world. History has shown how bellicose the intentions of the master

Meditations

Chapter 1 Hello there! I know it's been a minute here..my house is officially haunted, and in need of the holy ghost (lol..kidding..and yet not). So these thoughts have been inspired by a discussion between Jay Shetty and Trevor Noah sometime back. This is further stressed by another discussion between Noah Yuval Harari and Tristan Harris. The latter is centralized in the AI era where we have super sophisticated recommender systems that have a better sense of who we are than most of us do or at

Tribute to Teacher JM.

As Heather Morris puts it in his work The Tattooist of Auschwitz , “If you wake up in the morning, it is a good day.” Nonetheless, I've seen better days than others. Moreso, in the last 2 years than the rest of the years I have been on this planet..this is not to say I don't like life. I treasure it..in fact, I'd give anything to have it extended as much as humanly possible. The scene is at our place, one of the apartments on the 3rd floor of Riviera court in South B in Nairobi, It's one of the

Have a Little Faith

Dear Junior, This is for you my darling nephew, Junior, and of course my dearest sister, Abby. I know this letter is way overdue (I actually decided to go on hiatus and focus on stuff that aid in earning me some money, but I recently realized it’s 2021 and I can no longer put this on hold (besides, money is never enough..yea, we're animals of bad habit). I am gonna share what I am still trying to live by and hope it'll come in handy in one way or the other. First and foremost, the past 2 years

The Inevitable Light

How fast time flies. But they say that only time flies when you're having fun. My life is f*cking boring, yet I can still feel every second, millisecond and microsecond passing me by. One second I’m sat at Fr Boyle Montessori being caned for having mucus all over my face or failing ‘1+1’, the other second I’m trying to stomach my bosses’ mood-swings and shouting while still keeping a smile for the client beside me, who's waiting for a solution to the problem she’s just been explaining, that i al

My Advice to you Amora

And then I thought; why not do something from the mum’s perspective? (this is for you my dearest sister and now Mama Nono) Dearest Amora, It was only yesterday when you were born, and at the time, I wondered what I had done to deserve such a blessing. An angel had come into my life. Small and delicate with rosy red cheeks and tiny feet and hands. You were beautiful beyond words.Just perfect. As they placed you in my arms, I looked at you properly for the first time. When you opened your eyes a

An open letter (from Amora)

Having spent some amount of time with my niece today..for those who weren't aware am now a f***** aunt...i have no idea what the title entails but I'm really glad to be..this promotion has been overly overdue..not complaining though..bear in mind this is from Amora's perspective. Dear Mummy and Daddy (This is for you Phil and Abie; the new parents in town..Congrats btw) Please keep this letter from me in a place where you can read it and re-read it when things are rough and you are feeling dow

Sign of Victory or Failure?

I can see the colors of the rainbow, I can feel the sun on my face ( not literally, it’s 0230hrs in the morning!! ). I see the light at the end of the tunnel, and I can feel the heavens in its place, and for me it’s a sign of victory. Now I can see the distance of the journey…women’s journey to liberation. Now, I am sitting on the sofa at 0230hrs writing this while taking black tea, a beverage my bro has noticed I’m addicted to. I mean which Kalenjin isn’t? Before I forget, Congrats to Sahle-Wor

An Open Letter to My Lil' Sissy

via An Open Letter to My Lil' Sissy

An Open Letter to My Lil' Sissy

Dear Faith, I look up to you in so many ways, and you inspire me more than you could ever imagine. I know, I was once the annoying, lazy sister who got everything she wanted by just commanding you around from the comfort of my bed, and you were the mean little sister who always picked on me (if we’re being honest, you still do, on a very light note), but now that we are older and somewhat more mature, I realize how lucky I am to have a little sister. I like to think of you as my built-in best fr

An Open Letter (Kapmais Family)

Fourth day of January, 2018 marked the ‘best’ day of my life career-wise having received a phone call from my current workplace. Let’s just say some sort-a-dreams do come true but after a very long time. Damn I had waited for this day for my entire life, like literally. If there’s anything I learnt from this, is the fact that if you’re impatient you can never make it in this life. You see, my parents never taught me this. Not even my brightest teachers in primary through University. Such a shame

Equalize Unequal Voting Weight (open letter)

It’s yet another chance to choose our next president, and we’re not gonna let the opportunity go to waste as it only comes once in 5 years. Going home to Tach-Asis from Nairobi alongside my two kid sisters always feels like the best thing in the world but then again, there are quite a number of stuff that just work so damn hard to make the experience just a nightmare. Don’t get me started with the occasional congestion at Easy-coach stage especially during such times of campaigns/elections. Keny

Solution to Poor Graduates (Dedication to Kapmais Members)

So today am seated in one of those Integrity buses from Ngumba to town at my favourite seat in the matatu, the second last seat on the right next to the window. This counts as one of my best times of the day as long as I have neither forgotten my earphones somewhere nor my old Huawei phone shows a red label indicating a 5% battery charge and for the third time I am repeating the thing around your neck just for my brain’s sake. Just switching off the world alien to me and squinching into my own l

Volatility Timing..is now its time?

Source: Volatility Timing..is now its time?

Volatility Timing..is now its time?

Market timing is the strategy of making buy or sell decisions of financial assets (often stocks) by attempting to predict future market price movements. The prediction may be based on an outlook of market or economic conditions resulting from technical or fundamental analysis. Attempts at market timing reflect the general desire to improve portfolio performance over a “buy-and-hold” portfolio. Yet, there is little evidence that market returns are predictable in the short term given that for effi

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https://rancychep.wordpress.com/2023/10/07/wes-andersons-short-films-the-way-i-see-it/

Untitled writing

https://rancychep.wordpress.com/2023/10/07/wes-andersons-short-films-the-way-i-see-it/

A Special Interview With Enos

The time is 1900hrs EAT at Riviera court Hse 305, in South B when a scheduled zoom meeting with our special guest, Enos Rotich, takes place. For those who're not aware, he's the last-born son of Peter Rotich of Uasin Gishu county (and he's the only Kapmais' kid in the US (I know, a phenomenal guy). The main incentive for the interview was to share his journey to the land of Obama; the gains, the challenges, the ups, and the downs, etc. It turns out that we thought we knew was but the tip of the

Life in a Flash (Part 13)

Another chill struck Randy at fifteen minutes past nine o’clock in the evening. This was huge considering this was the same guy that never woke up easily especially on such a night when he was damn exhausted and besides, he always slept through all the alarms. Though he had been deeply asleep, immersed in dreams of playing in the park with his sister, Laurent, on a Saturday afternoon, he sat up quickly in bed. The pallid twenty-six-year-old dude clutched an old woolen blanket and stared into the

What’s happening with the South African Companies in Kenya??

Despite the major successes seen by most South African companies doing businesses in other African countries, Kenya has however been able to keep the South African business heavyweights at arm’s length. In the past; The experiences of South African companies doing business in Kenya show that successes and challenges go hand-in-hand when doing business in Africa. The clash between local and South African firms reached its peak in the widely reported ‘beer wars’, in which South African Breweries

Youth And Agriculture

We are currently witnessing a growth rate in most African countries of 5% and above. This should be maintained through agriculture, which is main sector in Africa and has been thought of as an important facet for poverty reduction, as it provides livelihoods to 2.5billion people and has been lagging behind the population growth. Africa has a large, young growing workforce and will be the largest by 2030, and thus should be motivated to participate in Agriculture. Better conditions are therefore

Life in a Flash (Part 12)

Soon three figures ran down Banda Street past the Sarova Stanley hotel, briskly crossing the road, right ahead where stood a particularly impressive building with an ornate multistoried facade of marble columns, graceful statues, and stately blocks of gray-white stone, a cool summary of the prestigious Hilton hotel. They heightened their pace past the alley to the Kencom building as gun shots went off behind them with a huge crowd running aimlessly on the streets. The noise rose steadily in volu

Life in a Flash (Part 11)

As he got closer he noticed that they were both black and wondered why the waiter had just lied to him, but it was too late as there was no one at the counter now. His face was now stamped into a mask of fury; his brown eyes were not of the warmth of its colour, more a deadly tan. Luca Ochieng’ had no fear for the authority, nor God, nor hell, nor his fellow man, leave alone his family. But he had elected, he had chosen to fear and respect Sir Kelvins as he believed he owed him his life after re

Life in a Flash (Part 10)

The conversation went on and on that at some point Martha thought it would have been better if she had just left earlier. It was already two o’clock for Christ’s sake. It touched all areas from the Nairobian thieves, the best shopping stores, fancy coffee places to the fabulous restaurants in the city. One-for-the-road had turned to a whole-night-out. “So, how are you finding Nairobi so far?” Martha asked Laurent, who she thought had been staring at her while nodding to whatever Keisha had to sa

Life in a Flash (Part 9)

A few moments ago, Laurent had looked at her surroundings with disdain, waving her straw hat in front of her face as much to chase away the odors as to cool herself. She was a pallid beauty in her early twenties; to her, traveling so far from home was an unpleasant chore instead of an adventure, only exceptional for this case. She loved travelling. "Nairobi, the big city at least according to the map of Kenya", she made a snorting sound. According to the briefing at the Microsoft office, this wa

Life in a Flash (Part 8)

As usual he had slept through all the three alarms he always set. He did not know exactly why he still insisted on setting them anyway. Life can really take a turn. He lazily got up and tried to tidy up just in case his parents decided to surprise him by coming in his room without knocking, something he was now used to. It still really bugged him though. Talk of privacy. "Randy should come up with life goals to keep him motivated and on track", he thought he heard someone say across the hall, so

Life in a Flash (Part 7)

Love. My love. Let me into your dreams. Open your heart again and hear me. Randy, I need you so. Don't turn from me now, or all is lost. I am lost. Love. My love. It was half past midnight and he still could not get a hint of sleep, not even its echo. The house was engulfed by a deafening silence as his parents had already retired to bed. He shifted restlessly in sleep, turned his face into the pillow. Felt her there, somehow. Her scent. Definitely her witchy smell that had Randy enslaved under

Life in a Flash (Part 6)

At exactly two minutes to four she was in town at Afya centre and quickly making her way to the uptown side of town. Gibson’s café wasn’t far from where she was infact it was along the same avenue. In ten minutes she was already seated at the café and dialling a ten digit contact number, “Hello, Keisha I am already at the café, where are you?” she asked as she busied herself studying the menu though at the back of her head she knew exactly what she had been craving, caramel cappuccino with a Fre

Life in a Flash (Part 5)

“So how have you been?” she asked, “I heard from your mum that you got yourself a green card. I am so happy for you” she added. She almost choked; she had not expected the nun to have been told of the news already. She then thought of how many more people her mum could have told already within the short time span, had to be the all village really considering how outspoken and widely known her mum was compared to her dad who was more reserved just like her. Her mum was known by almost everyone ar

Life in a Flash (Part 4)

The next day, Martha decided to leave for the convent. She had met Sister Patricia in church a year ago and she always stroked her as more than any of those mentors she had been able to talk to concerning her life and its many shortcomings that never seemed to come to an end. Sister Patricia was one of those white missionaries of the Franciscan sisters with sole aim of spreading God’s word to Africans who always seemed to lag behind when it came to any sort of evolution, whether in religion or i

Life in a Flash (Part 3)

The next day, Martha visited the American embassy to start off her visa application given that with a green card she did not have to go through the torture of giving a three month bank statements to prove stability and what not. Despite the considerably long queue at the embassy, she didn’t seem notice due to the numerous thoughts criss-crossing her mind with what ifs situations upon moving to the USA and how she was going to miss the next Christmas celebrations that year with her family. Moreov

Life in a Flash (Part 2)

Now the elephant in the room had to be dealt with, her joblessness. She glanced at the round, white clock that hang on the wall just above the kitchen cabinet and the short arrow was pointing in the middle of four and five while the long one at nine which had to be wrong since it was morning and the sun was clearly up already. She made another mental note to purchase a clock battery at the mall if she ever found herself there with the minute chances as she did not have to remind herself of how b

Life in a Flash (Part 1)

Life in a Flash (Part 1)

“Hello dad, I am calling to remind you that I will still need to be paid for this month’s rent”. These were the words she always dreaded saying especially to her father who with time seemed to be growing restless and impatient of the dependency she still posed on him. I mean for her age it was getting uneasy to ask for such assistance. The Kenyan labour market was really intolerable with both the private and public sectors being highly comprised of cartel-systems; only good for the rich kids wit

The Day a Spider Followed Me Home

There are memories that refuse to stay where you leave them. Most memories are well behaved. They arrive when invited, usually over dinner with friends or while scrolling through old photographs. They are courteous guests. They come, remind you of something warm or embarrassing, and quietly excuse themselves before bedtime. Others are less civilised. They hide in ordinary moments, waiting patiently for years before returning with the persistence of an unpaid debt. They have no respect for chron

Seedless fruits

So i have been thinking alot lately about the current trend with seedless fruits. This is not normal and is gonna be challenging going forward given the power going to a few individuals/institutions.

Change we can believe in

At this defining moment in our history, Americans are hungry for change. After years of failed policies and failed politics from Washington, this is our chance to reclaim the American dream. Barack Obama has proven to be a new kind of leader--one who can bring people together, be honest about the challenges we face, and move this nation forward. Change We Can Believe In outlines his vision for America. In these pages you will find bold and specific ideas about how to fix our ailing economy and strengthen the middle class, make health care affordable for all, achieve energy independence, and keep America safe in a dangerous world. Change We Can Believe In asks you not just to believe in Barack Obama's ability to bring change to Washington, it asks you to believe in yours.

Pioneers

Tells the story of the Irish ancestry of Barack Obama's mother, Ann Dunham. "Her great-great grandfather who immigrated from the small village of Moneygall in Ireland to the Scioto Valley in Ohio, and of his relatives who made the journey before him. This Irish family, the Kearneys, came first to Baltimore, Maryland, then moved west with the frontier to Ohio... [and] further, to Indiana ... before many of the Dunhams and Kearneys moved on to Kansas, some to Oklahoma ... [This is] a poignant evocation of Ireland's darkest years, America's pioneering past and ow the two are intertwined in a dramatic narrative encapsulating the American Dream ... This is also the story of the eighteenth century Irish Protestant immigrants."

The Light We Carry

There may be no tidy solutions or pithy answers to life’s big challenges, but Michelle Obama believes that we can all locate and lean on a set of tools to help us better navigate change and remain steady within flux. In The Light We Carry, she opens a frank and honest dialogue with readers, considering the questions many of us wrestle with: How do we build enduring and honest relationships? How can we discover strength and community inside our differences? What tools do we use to address feelings of self-doubt or helplessness? What do we do when it all starts to feel like too much? Michelle Obama offers readers a series of fresh stories and insightful reflections on change, challenge, and power, including her belief that when we light up for others, we can illuminate the richness and potential of the world around us, discovering deeper truths and new pathways for progress. Drawing from her experiences as a mother, daughter, spouse, friend, and First Lady, she shares the habits and principles she has developed to successfully adapt to change and overcome various obstacles—the earned wisdom that helps her continue to “become.” She details her most valuable practices, like “starting kind,” “going high,” and assembling a “kitchen table” of trusted friends and mentors. With trademark humor, candor, and compassion, she also explores issues connected to race, gender, and visibility, encouraging readers to work through fear, find strength in community, and live with boldness. “When we are able to recognize our own light, we become empowered to use it,” writes Michelle Obama. A rewarding blend of powerful stories and profound advice that will ignite conversation, The Light We Carry inspires readers to examine their own lives, identify their sources of gladness, and connect meaningfully in a turbulent world.

The Audacity of Hope

Senator Obama calls for a different brand of politics--a politics for those weary of bitter partisanship and alienated by the "endless clash of armies" we see in Congress and on the campaign trail; a politics rooted in the faith, inclusiveness, and nobility of spirit at the heart of our democracy. He explores those forces--from the fear of losing, to the perpetual need to raise money, to the power of the media--that can stifle even the best-intentioned politician. He examines the growing economic insecurity of American families, the racial and religious tensions within the body politic, and the transnational threats--from terrorism to pandemic--that gather beyond our shores. And he grapples with the role that faith plays in a democracy. Only by returning to the principles that gave birth to our Constitution, he says, can Americans repair a broken political process, and restore to working order a government dangerously out of touch with millions of ordinary Americans. --From publisher description.

Dreams from My Father

Dreams from My Father is Barack Obama's remarkable memoir. The son of a black African father and a white American mother, Obama was only two years old when his father walked out on the family. Many years later, Obama receives a phone call from Nairobi: his father is dead. This sudden news inspires an emotional odyssey for Obama, determined to learn the truth of his father's life and reconcile his divided inheritance. Written at the age of thirty-three, long before Obama had thoughts of a political career, Dreams from My Father is an unforgettable read. It illuminates not only Obama's journey, but also our universal desire to understand our history, and what makes us the people we are.

Becoming

IN A LIFE filled with meaning and accomplishment, Michelle Obama has emerged as one of the most iconic and compelling women of our era. As First Lady of the United States of America—the first African American to serve in that role—she helped create the most welcoming and inclusive White House in history, while also establishing herself as a powerful advocate for women and girls in the U.S. and around the world, dramatically changing the ways that families pursue healthier and more active lives, and standing with her husband as he led America through some of its most harrowing moments. Along the way, she showed us a few dance moves, crushed Carpool Karaoke, and raised two down-to-earth daughters under an unforgiving media glare. In her memoir, a work of deep reflection and mesmerizing storytelling, Michelle Obama invites readers into her world, chronicling the experiences that have shaped her—from her childhood on the South Side of Chicago to her years as an executive balancing the demands of motherhood and work, to her time spent at the world’s most famous address. With unerring honesty and lively wit, she describes her triumphs and her disappointments, both public and private, telling her full story as she has lived it—in her own words and on her own terms. Warm, wise, and revelatory, Becoming is the deeply personal reckoning of a woman of soul and substance who has steadily defied expectations—and whose story inspires us to do the same. ([source][1]) [1]: https://becomingmichelleobama.com/

Der Antichrist

"Here is Friedrich Nietzsche's great masterpiece The Anti-Christ, wherein Nietzsche attacks Christianity as a blight on humanity. This classic is essential reading for anyone wishing to understand Nietzsche and his place within the history of philosophy ..."--Description from www.amazon.com

Open →07/08/2026

Zur Genealogie der Moral

On the Genealogy of Morals (1887) is a book about the history of ethics and about interpretation. Nietzsche rewrites the former as a history of cruelty, exposing the central values of the Judaeo-Christian and liberal traditions - compassion, equality, justice - as the product of a brutal process of conditioning designed to domesticate the animal vitality of earlier cultures. The result is a book which raises profoundly disquieting issues about the violence of both ethics and interpretation. Nietzsche questions moral certainties by showing that religion and science have no claim to absolute truth, before turning on his own arguments in order to call their very presuppositions into question. The Genealogy is the most sustained of Nietzsche's later works and offers one of the fullest expressions of his characteristic concerns. This edition places his ideas within the cultural context of his own time and stresses the relevance of his work for a contemporary audience.

Open →07/08/2026

The complete works of Friedrich Nietzsche

Imported from openlibrary. Authors: Friedrich Nietzsche. Categories: Philosophy, Philosophie

Open →07/08/2026

War

A recurring theme identified across Codex knowledge objects.

Virtue

A recurring theme identified across Codex knowledge objects.

Truth

A recurring theme identified across Codex knowledge objects.

Suffering

A recurring theme identified across Codex knowledge objects.

Stoicism

A recurring theme identified across Codex knowledge objects.

Stochastic Differential Equation

A differential equation containing one or more stochastic processes.

Society

A recurring theme identified across Codex knowledge objects.

Score Matching

A method for estimating the score function of a probability distribution.

Redemption

A recurring theme identified across Codex knowledge objects.

Random Walk

A discrete stochastic process formed by successive random increments.

Politics

A recurring theme identified across Codex knowledge objects.

Physics-Informed Neural Networks

Neural networks trained using physical equations and constraints in their objective function.

Mortality

A recurring theme identified across Codex knowledge objects.

Memory

A recurring theme identified across Codex knowledge objects.

Love

A recurring theme identified across Codex knowledge objects.

Justice

A recurring theme identified across Codex knowledge objects.

Itô Calculus

A calculus for stochastic processes driven by Brownian motion.

History

A recurring theme identified across Codex knowledge objects.

Heat Equation

A parabolic partial differential equation describing the diffusion of heat or other quantities.

Guilt

A recurring theme identified across Codex knowledge objects.

Grace

A recurring theme identified across Codex knowledge objects.

Freedom

A recurring theme identified across Codex knowledge objects.

Fokker–Planck Equation

A partial differential equation describing the time evolution of a stochastic process's probability density.

Fate

A recurring theme identified across Codex knowledge objects.

Family

A recurring theme identified across Codex knowledge objects.

Faith

A recurring theme identified across Codex knowledge objects.

Evil

A recurring theme identified across Codex knowledge objects.

Education

A recurring theme identified across Codex knowledge objects.

Doubt

A recurring theme identified across Codex knowledge objects.

Discipline

A recurring theme identified across Codex knowledge objects.

Diffusion Process

A continuous-time stochastic process commonly described by a stochastic differential equation.