A Sogdian Manichaean Parable

A Reuse Parable

The complexity of computer applications and systems continues to grow at an exponential rate. In a very short period of time, we have evolved from single applications addressing a specific functionality or set of requirements on a dedicated mainframe to an integrated set of applications representing an enterprise e-business that are able to sense and respond to fluctuating market conditions and...

Water Babies: an evolutionary parable.

The nineteenth-century Anglican theologian Charles Kingsley was immediately impressed by Darwin's Origin of Species. Whilst many in Victorian Britain reacted against the idea of natural selection, Kingsley saw in the contingency of selection a divinely ordained imperative for human endeavour, not least the pursuit of scientific knowledge. Here, Kingsley believed, was a crucial insight into the ...

The parable of the mandarin

592 In response to the articles and editorial in the May issue of EMBO reports that commented on the strengths and weaknesses of the peer review system (Gannon F (2005) EMBO Rep 5: 387; Greener M (2005) EMBO Rep 5: 402–404; Hunter P (2005) EMBO Rep 5: 405–407), we would like to draw attention to another discouraging aspect, namely the disproportionate power and responsibility of editors to shap...

Location perception: the X-Files parable.

Three aspects of visual object location were investigated: (1) how the visual system integrates information for locating objects, (2) how attention operates to affect location perception, and (3) how the visual system deals with locating an object when multiple objects are present. The theories were described in terms of a parable (the X-Files parable). Then, computer simulations were developed...

Matthew’s Parable of the Talents: a Story of Faith