From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia

Meta (Greek: "about," "beyond"), is a common English prefix, used to indicate a concept which is an abstraction from another concept, used to analyze the latter. For example "metaphysics" refers to things beyond physics, and "meta language" refers to a type of language or system which describes language.

In organic chemistry, "meta" (along with "ortho" and "para") is used to distinguish the three types of isomer of disubstituted benzenes: it indicates that the substituents are at locants 1 and 3. It is printed in italic type, and is often abbreviated as m in compound names. For example, the compound name meta-xylene is equivalent to m-xylene.

Meta may specifically refer to:

General

· meta-, a common English prefix, as in metacognition.

· Meta, a typeface developed by Erik Spiekermann.

· Meta, a genus of spiders of the family Tetragnathidae

· An abbreviation for Metamorphose temps de fille, a Japanese Lolita fashion brand.

· In Greek mythology, Meta was the first wife of Aegeas, who bore him no heirs.

Computers and technology

· <meta> (also <META>), an HTML tag used to provide structured metadata about a web page such as search keywords or a page summary

· Meta key, a special key on some computer keyboards.

· Meta is the name of the Ra-Seru worn by Vahn in the video game Legend of Legaia.

Geography

· Meta Incognita (Latin for unknown frontier) is the name originally given to the territory now known as Baffin Island; see Martin Frobisher.

· Meta Department, a department of Colombia.

· Meta River, a river of Colombia.

· There are three towns named Meta

o Meta, Kentucky, a town in Kentucky, United States.

o Meta, Missouri; a town in Missouri, United States.

o Meta, a town in the province of Naples, Italy.

· A language and tribe in Momo Division of Cameroon.

This is a disambiguation page: a list of articles associated with the same title. If an internal link referred you to this page, you may wish to change the link to point directly to the intended article.

Retrieved from "http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Meta"

Categories: Disambiguation

Meta DNA

Change in a DNA structure to denote a continuing trait or evolutionaly progression of a living entity

Meta Key

Meta key

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The Meta key was a special key on old MIT computer keyboards. Sun keyboards continue to include a Meta key, marked as a solid diamond. The key may be considered equivalent to the Macintosh's command key, which has the same location and similar function.

On modern keyboards, it is usually emulated with Alt key or with the Windows key. As an alternative in some programs, Meta key is emulated by pressing and releasing the Esc key (see Emacs).

This computer hardware-related article is a stub. You can help Wikipedia by expanding it.

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Meta Ra- Seru

Ra-Seru

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In Legend of Legaia, Ra-Seru are a special type of Seru worn by the game's three heroes. They differ from ordinary Seru in that they are unaffected by the mist which has recently covered all of Legaia. Each Ra-Seru has its own elemental affiliation: for example, Vahn's Ra-Seru Meta is affiliated with Fire. The Ra-Seru cannot survive without the Great Genesis Tree in Seru-Kai. There is also a connection between Ra-Seru and Mist Generators. This connection however, is not well understood by most players. It is the "secret" of the game.

Specific Ra-Seru

Terra

Terra is Noa's Ra-Seru and is associated with wind. Terra initially takes the form of a she-wolf and raises Noa as her daughter, since Noa is too young for Terra to bind with. However, when Noa and Terra attempt to revive the Mt. Rikuroa Genesis Tree, they are attacked by the creature Caruban, and the wolf is wounded. Vahn arrives just in time to save Noa and defeat Caruban, and with the power of the Genesis Tree, Terra transfers from the dying wolf to Noa herself.

Ozma

Ozma is the Ra-Seru associated with lightning. After the heroes find Ozma's egg in the dead Genesis Tree of West Voz Forest, they take it to East Voz Forest, where they use the power of that forest's Genesis Tree to hatch the egg. Ozma immediately binds with Gala, and the Biron Warrior Monk is excommunicated as a result.

Rogue

Rogue is a boss enemy from the Legend of Legaia. He is an evil Ra-Seru, the nemesis of Tieg, and the mastermind behind the Mist. Rogue contacted Cort and shared with him the secrets of making Mist, but failed to disclose its full effect to the young Prince of Conkram. Cort built a primitive Mist Generator per Rogue's instructions, but his first experiment predictably went awry. The Ra-Seru heroes from the near future had traveled to this time to find a Nemesis Gem, and upon the accident, they journeyed into Cort's labaratory where they found the device. They used its conduit to travel to his tower in Seru-Kai, and fought their way up to the top floor, where they encountered Rogue himself, and a fight ensued. During this battle, Rogue will only attack every other turn, but his attacks are very powerful. The other turns he uses to shift his elemental affiliation, which affects which of his three attacks he will use on the next turn. Despite the Ra-Seru heroes' victory over Rogue, the Mist plot was to continue, for Cort had been corrupted. Cort built his own Mist Generator in Jette's Absolute Fortress, improving upon the design given to him by Rogue.

Retrieved from "http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Ra-Seru"

Metabolism

Metabolism

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Metabolism (from μεταβολισμος ("metabolismos")) is the biochemical modification of chemical compounds in living organisms and cells. This includes the biosynthesis of complex organic molecules (anabolism) and their breakdown (catabolism). Metabolism usually consists of sequences of enzymatic steps, also called metabolic pathways. The total metabolism are all biochemical processes of an organism. The cell metabolism includes all chemical processes in a cell.

The term is derived from the Greek word for "change", or "overthrow" (Etymonline)).

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Metabolic pathways

Important metabolic pathways are:

General pathways

· Carbohydrate metabolism

· Fatty acid metabolism

· Protein metabolism

· Nucleic Acid metabolism

Anabolism

Anabolic pathways that create building blocks and compounds from simple precursors:

· Glycogenesis

· Gluconeogenesis

· Porphyrin synthesis pathway

· HMG-CoA reductase pathway, leading to cholesterol and isoprenoids.

· Secondary metabolism, metabolic pathways that are not essential for growth, development or reproduction, but that usually have ecological function.

· Photosynthesis

o Light-dependent reaction (light reaction)

o Light-independent reaction (dark reaction)

· Calvin cycle

· Carbon fixation

· Glyoxylate_cycle

Drug metabolism

Drug metabolism pathways, the modification or degradation of drugs and other xenobiotic compounds through specialized enzyme systems:

· Cytochrome P450 oxidase system

· Flavin-containing monooxygenase system

· Alcohol metabolism

Nitrogen metabolism

Nitrogen metabolism includes the pathways for turnover and excretion of nitrogen in organisms as well as the biological processes of the biogeochemical nitrogen cycle:

· Urea cycle, important for excretion of nitrogen as urea.

· Biological nitrogen fixation

· Nitrogen assimilation

· Nitrification

· Denitrification

Other

· Human iron metabolism

History

Santorio Santorio (1561-1636) in his steelyard balance, from Ars de statica medecina, first published 1614

The first controlled experiments in human metabolism were published by Santorio Santorio in 1614 in his book Ars de statica medecina that made him famous throughout Europe. He describes his long series of experiments in which he weighed himself in a chair suspended from a steelyard balance (see image), before and after eating, sleeping, working, sex, fasting, depriving from drinking, and excreting. He found that by far the greatest part of the food he took in was lost from the body through perspiratio insensibilis (insensible perspiration).

Metacarpus

The metacarpus is the intermediate part of the hand skeleton that is located between the fingers distally and the carpus which forms the connection to the forearm. It consists of five cylindrical bones which are numbered from the radial to the ulnar side (ossa metacarpalia I-V).

· First metacarpal bone

· Second metacarpal bone

· Third metacarpal bone

· Fourth metacarpal bone

· Fifth metacarpal bone

Each consists of a body and two extremities.

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Common Characteristics of the Metacarpal Bones

Body

The body (corpus; shaft) is prismoid in form, and curved, so as to be convex in the longitudinal direction behind, concave in front.

It presents three surfaces: medial, lateral, and dorsal.

The medial and lateral surfaces are concave, for the attachment of the interosseus muscles, and separated from one another by a prominent anterior ridge.

The dorsal surface presents in its distal two-thirds a smooth, triangular, flattened area which is covered in by the tendons of the Extensor muscles.

This surface is bounded by two lines, which commence in small tubercles situated on either side of the digital extremity, and, passing upward, converge and meet some distance above the center of the bone and form a ridge which runs along the rest of the dorsal surface to the carpal extremity.

This ridge separates two sloping surfaces for the attachment of the Interossei dorsales.

To the tubercles on the digital extremities are attached the collateral ligaments of the metacarpophalangeal joints.

Base

The base or carpal extremity (basis) is of a cuboidal form, and broader behind than in front: it articulates with the carpus, and with the adjoining metacarpal bones; its dorsal and volar surfaces are rough, for the attachment of ligaments.

Head

The head or digital extremity (capitulum) presents an oblong surface markedly convex from before backward, less so transversely, and flattened from side to side; it articulates with the proximal phalanx.

It is broader, and extends farther upward, on the volar than on the dorsal aspect, and is longer in the antero-posterior than in the transverse diameter.

On either side of the head is a tubercle for the attachment of the collateral ligament of the metacarpophalangeal joint.

The dorsal surface, broad and flat, supports the tendons of the extensor muscles; the volar surface is grooved in the middle line for the passage of the Flexor tendons, and marked on either side by an articular eminence continuous with the terminal articular surface.

Articulations

Besides their phalangeal articulations, the metacarpal bones articulate as follows:

· the first with the greater multangular;

· the second with the greater multangular, lesser multangular, capitate and third metacarpal;

· the third with the capitate and second and fourth metacarpals;

· the fourth with the capitate, hamate, and third and fifth metacarpals;

· and the fifth with the hamate and fourth metacarpal.

Metal

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This article is about metallic materials. For other uses of the term, see Metal (disambiguation).

Hot metal work from a blacksmith

Look up Metal in Wiktionary, the free dictionary.

In chemistry, a metal (Greek: Metallon) is an element that readily forms ions (cations) and has metallic bonds. Metals are sometimes described as a lattice of positive ions (cations) surrounded by a cloud of delocalized electrons. The metals are one of the three groups of elements as distinguished by their ionisation and bonding properties, along with the metalloids and nonmetals. On the periodic table, a diagonal line drawn from boron (B) to polonium (Po) separates the metals from the nonmetals. Elements on this line are metalloids, sometimes called semi-metals; elements to the lower left are metals; elements to the upper right are nonmetals.

A more modern definition of metals is that they have overlapping conduction bands and valence bands in their electronic structure. This definition opens up the category for metallic polymers and other organic metals, which have been made by researchers and employed in high-tech devices. These synthetic materials often have the characteristic silvery-grey reflectiveness of elemental metals.

Nonmetal elements are more abundant in nature than are metallic elements, but metals in fact constitute most of the periodic table. Some well-known metals are aluminium, copper, gold, iron, lead, silver, titanium, uranium, and zinc.

The allotropes of metals tend to be lustrous, ductile, malleable, and good conductors, while nonmetals generally speaking are brittle (for solid nonmetals), lack luster, and are insulators.

The properties of conductivity are mainly because each atom exerts only a loose hold on its outermost electrons (valence electrons); thus, the valence electrons form a sort of sea around the close-packed metal nuclei cations.

Most metals are chemically unstable, reacting with oxygen in the air to form oxides over varying timescales (for example iron rusts over years and potassium burns in seconds). The alkali metals react quickest followed by the alkaline earth metals, found in the leftmost two groups of the periodic table. The transition metals take much longer to oxidise (such as iron, copper, zinc, nickel). Others, like palladium, platinum and gold, do not react with the atmosphere at all. Some metals form a barrier layer of oxide on their surface which cannot be penetrated by further oxygen molecules and thus retain their shiny appearance and good conductivity for many decades (like aluminium, some steels, and titanium). The oxides of metals are basic (as opposed to those of nonmetals, which are acidic).

Painting or anodising metals are good ways to prevent their corrosion.

Alloys

An alloy is a mixture with metallic properties that contains at least one metal element. Examples of alloys are steel (iron and carbon), brass (copper and zinc), bronze (copper and tin), and duralumin (aluminium and copper). Alloys specially designed for highly demanding applications, such as jet engines, may contain more than ten elements.

Physical properties

Traditionally, metals have certain characteristic physical properties: they are usually shiny (they have "lustre"), have a high density, are ductile and malleable, usually have a high melting point, are usually hard, and conduct electricity and heat well. However this is mainly because the low density, soft, low melting point metals happen to be reactive, and we rarely encounter them in their elemental, metallic form. Metals conduct sound well, that is, they are sonorous.

Astronomy

In the specialised usage of astronomy and astrophysics, the term "metal" is often used to refer to any element other than hydrogen or helium, and includes substances as chemically non-metallic as neon, fluorine, and oxygen. Because the temperatures of stellar bodies allow practically no solid or liquid matter, and little normal chemistry can exist at temperatures that break down almost all chemical bonds, the term "metal" refers to materials that result from the triple-helium process which are much scarcer than hydrogen and helium in stars in the Main Sequence.

See metal-rich.

Metaman

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Metaman is the name given by the author Gregory Stock to the concept of a superorganism comprising mankind and his technology. It is close to, but not the same as, the concept of the Global brain.

While many people have had ideas about a global brain, they have tended to suppose that this can be improved or altered by man according to his will. Metaman can be seen as a development that directs mankind's will to its own ends, whether he likes it or not, through the operation of market forces. While it is difficult to think of making a life-form based on metals that can mine its own 'food', it is possible to imagine a superorganism that incorporates men as its 'cells' and entices them to sustain it, just as our cells interwork to sustain us.

The book 'Metaman' was published in 1993 by Gregory Stock.

Retrieved from "http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Metaman"

Metamania

The act of Looking for everything and anything everywhere. Commonly used in defence cases where they are implying that the police where under the auspices of a warrant were searching for any possible information or item that may be able to link a potential suspect to a crime.

Metamark

The act of changing the mark (Grade) on a test, paper or item where scoring is concerned

Metamaterials

Metamaterial

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In electromagnetism (covering areas like optics and photonics), a meta material (or metamaterial) is an object that gains its (electromagnetic) material properties from its structure rather than inheriting them directly from the materials it is composed of. This term is particularly used when the resulting material has properties not found in naturally-formed substances.

In order for its structure to affect electromagnetic waves, a metamaterial must have features with size comparable to the wavelength of the electromagnetic radiation it interacts with. For visible light, this is on the order of one micrometre; for microwave radiation, this is on the order of one decimetre. An example of a visible light metamaterial is opal, which is composed of tiny cristobalite (metastable silica) spheres. Photonic bandgap materials are an example of an artificial visible light metamaterial. Microwave frequency metamaterials are almost always artificial, constructed as arrays of current-conducting elements (such as loops of wire) that have suitable inductive and capacitive characteristics.

J. B. Pendry was the first to imagine a practical way to make a left-handed metamaterial (LHM). 'Left-handed' in this context means a material in which the 'right-hand rule' is not obeyed, allowing an electromagnetic wave to convey energy in the opposite direction to wave propagation. Pendry's initial idea was that metallic wires aligned along propagation direction could provide a metamaterial with negative permittivity (ε<0). Note however that natural materials (such as ferroelectrics) were already known to exist with negative permittivity. The challenge was to construct a material that also showed negative permeability (µ<0). In 1999, Pendry demonstrated that an open ring ('C' shape) with axis along the propagation direction could provide a negative permeability. In the same paper, he showed that a periodic array of wires and ring could give rise to a negative refractive index.

The analogy is as follows: Natural materials are made of atoms, which are dipoles. These dipoles modify the light velocity by a factor n (the refractive index). The ring and wire units play the role of atomic dipoles: the wire acts as a ferroelectric atom, while the ring acts as an inductor L and the open section as a capacitor C. So the whole ring can be considered as a LC circuit. When the electromagnetic field passes through the ring, an induced current is created and the generated field is perpendicular to the magnetic field of the light. There is a magnetic resonance so the permeability is negative, and the index is negative too.

Negative refractive index

A comparison of refraction in a left-handed metamaterial to that in a normal material

Very nearly all materials encountered in optics, such as glass or water, have positive values for both permittivity $ε$ and permeability $μ$ . However, many metals (such as silver and gold) have negative $ε$ at visible wavelengths. A material having either (but not both) $ε$ or $μ$ negative is opaque to electromagnetic radiation (see surface plasmon for more details).

Although the optical properties of a transparent material are fully specified by the parameters $ε$ and $μ$ , in practice the refractive index $N$ is often used. $N$ may be determined from . All known transparent materials possess a positive index because $ε$ and $μ$ are both positive.

However, some engineered metamaterials have $ε < 0$ and $μ < 0$ ; because the product $εμ$ is positive, $N$ is real. Under such circumstances, it is necessary to take the negative square root for $N$ . Physicist Victor Veselago proved that such substances are transparent to light.

Metamaterials with negative $N$ have numerous startling properties:

Snell's law ( $N 1 sinθ 1 = N 2 sinθ 2$ ) still applies, but rays are refracted away from the normal on entering the material
The Doppler shift is reversed (that is, a light source moving toward an observer appears to reduce its frequency)
Cherenkov radiation points the other way
The group velocity is antiparallel to phase velocity (as opposed to parallel for normal materials)

One common metamaterial is the Swiss roll.

Such metamaterials follow a "left-hand rule".

The first Superlens (an optical lens employing negative refraction with vastly improved microscopic resolution) was created and demonstrated in 2005 by Xiang Zhang et al of UC Berkeley, as reported that year in the April 22 issue of the journal Science [1]

Scientists are currently working with metamaterials to produce an invisibility cloak, much like the one used in the Harry Potter series of books and movies[2]

External links

Experimental Verification of a Negative Index of Refraction
For a special issue featuring current research on the field of Metamaterials see the April 2006 issue of Journal of Optics A[3]

Retrieved from "http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Metamaterial"

Categories: Electric and magnetic fields in matter

blends of polymers and tiny coils or wires that twist the paths of electromagnetic radiation

Metamorphose

Metamorphose

METAMORPHOSE - METAMORPHOSIS Mask Sound & Dance Theatre is an original idea created by Reinhard Kreckel in 1987. Since then, he has produced several nonverbal performances with international artists, working with various elements of body, masks, sound, music and space.

Program and method of work

In the main centre of these performances stands the human being in relation to its environment. The acoustical-visual atmosphere is created through body masks, dance, sound elements and multi-media based projections. Thus the viewer will be inspired to experience and to feel the basic connections of life in a new way. The viewer has the opportunity to broaden his horizon and to understand himself and others better, through a changed view.

“METAMORPHOSE – Mask Sound & Dance Theatre“ works consciously without speech. The space of communication increases, natural borders of verbal communication explode. Thoughts, associations, and impressions develop freely and lead the way to new insights. The artistic-creative performance from METAMORPHOSE Mask Sound and Dance Theatre offers new impulses so that the state of consciousness may broaden its awareness and be sensitized to discovering the basic contexts.

The visionary symbol called METAMORPHOSE-Mask is made up of a mask that covers the whole head and an all-over covering costume. By the metamorphosis of their appearance the actors succeed in generating especially lively and expressive pictures of emotions and mental processes. A special meaning emerges through the representation of the METAMORPHOSE-Performances. During the dance, the body becomes a medium that expresses emotions and feelings, without falsifying them. The moves of the fi gures and their appearance blend in natural sound compositions, freely improvised by the musicians. The arising sound collages add to an atmospheric, complete composition. By these means the METAMORPHOSE-Performance becomes a truly special experience.

The METAMORPHOSE Ensemble is open to change. Every performance arises in a new way. The artists live and work together during the whole production. With the art director Reinhard Kreckel they develop the performance in Germany or abroad. The artistic team establishes an intense understanding of the thematic contents of the project so as to represent them in a genuine way.

Every performance is a co-production of a particular team. This special form of teamwork by such an international ensemble creates space for interpersonal meetings and creative inspiration. The non-verbal exchange and the collaborative production of the international projects show to the participants and the audience a new, artistic-creative way for international understanding and peace.

The group is located in Germany in Bochum and Essen in the Ruhrarea. METAMORPHOSE cooperates with partners from Denmark, Norway, Poland, Croatia, Austria, Netherlands, France, Spain, Italy, Russia and USA.

Performance

For the year 2005 a new production will be presented, focusing on understanding, healing and peace.

VIAVITA – THE WHEEL OF LIFE

Place of origin: Ruhr Area

ViaVita is the current production of METAMORPHOSE. It deepens in the understanding of the cycles of life, the principle of cause and effect and the different states of mind, following the Tibetan picture “The Wheel of Life“.

IL CICLO DE LA LUNA

Place of origin: Tuscany (Italy)

Il Ciclo de la Luna tells of “stories of the moon“ incorporating abstract, visual, sculptural and tonal elements. The concepts within the story revolve around superstition and dream, moonfascination and enchantment, moon cycles and rituals. Fabulous creatures and appearances portray the effects of the moonlight and its gravitational pull of the human body and mind.

QUAKE

Place of origin: Sardinia

Quake symbolizes the fl ow of human and natural habitats. It also offers the opportunity to encounter and accept changes in a new way. Furthermore, it predicts the future while exemplifying positive opportunities for a new beginning of the human being.

REQUIEM TRINITATIS INDUSTRIAE

Place of origin: Ruhr Area

“Requiem Trinitatis Industriae“, or “Requiem of the Industrial Trinity“ is a celebration of one performance. The artists develop a critical review on the gigantic industrial production line of the 20th century. Life in the Ruhr Area is defi ned by the industry of steel, energy and chemicals.

RENDEZ–VOUS–ELEMENTAIRE

Place of origin: France and Germany

This production refl ects on our relationship with the elements and the continuousness of being in the dependence of space and time. The base of the story is set by the “Medicine wheel“, that comes from Indian philosophy, and also old European myths. The artists portray the characteristic aspects of the elements of earth, water, fire and air and the different relationships that are established between them

Metangle

The act of changing an angle or perspective (See Metaview)

Metaphor

Metaphor

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This article is about metaphor in language and rhetoric. For metaphors in cognitive linguistics see conceptual metaphor. For metaphors in psychotherapy see therapeutic metaphor.

In language, a metaphor (from the Greek: metapherin) is a rhetorical trope defined as a direct comparison between two or more seemingly unrelated subjects. In the simplest case, this takes the form: "The [first subject] is a [second subject]." More generally, a metaphor describes a first subject as being or equal to a second subject in some way. Thus, the first subject can be economically described because implicit and explicit attributes from the second subject are used to enhance the description of the first. This device is known for usage in literature, especially in poetry, where with few words, emotions and associations from one context are associated with objects and entities in a different context.

Metaphor comprises a subset of analogy and closely relates to other rhetorical concepts such as comparison, simile, allegory and parable.

Aspects of metaphor

A metaphor, according to I. A. Richards in The Philosophy of Rhetoric (1936), consists of two parts: the tenor and vehicle. The tenor is the subject to which attributes are ascribed. The vehicle is the subject from which the attributes are borrowed.

All the world's a stage,

And all the men and women merely players

They have their exits and their entrances; — (William Shakespeare, As You Like It, 2/7)

This well known quote is a good example of a metaphor. In this example, "the world" is compared to a stage, the aim being to describe the world by taking well-known attributes from the stage. In this case, the world is the tenor and the stage is the vehicle. "Men and women" are a secondary tenor and "players" is the vehicle for this secondary tenor.

The metaphor is sometimes further analysed in terms of the ground and the tension. The ground consists of the similarities between the tenor and the vehicle. The tension of the metaphor consists of the dissimilarities between the tenor and the vehicle. In the above example, the ground begins to be elucidated from the third line: "They all have their exits and entrances". In the play, Shakespeare continues this metaphor for another twenty lines beyond what is shown here - making it a good example of an extended metaphor.

The corresponding terms to 'tenor' and 'vehicle' in George Lakoff's terminology are target and source. In this nomenclature, metaphors are named using the convention "target IS source", with the word "is" always capitalized; in this notation, the metaphor discussed above would state that "humankind IS theater".

Types of metaphor

· An extended metaphor, or conceit, sets up a principal subject with several subsidiary subjects or comparisons. The above quote from As you like it is a good example. The world is described as a stage and then men and women are subsidiary subjects that are further described in the same context.

· An epic or Homeric simile is an extended metaphor containing details about the vehicle that are not, in fact, necessary for the metaphoric purpose. This can be extended to humorous lengths, for instance: "This is a crisis. A large crisis. In fact, if you've got a moment, it's a twelve-story crisis with a magnificent entrance hall, carpeting throughout, 24-hour porterage and an enormous sign on the roof saying 'This Is a Large Crisis.'" (Black Adder)

· A mixed metaphor is one that leaps, in the course of a figure, to a second identification inconsistent with the first one. Example: "He stepped up to the plate and grabbed the bull by the horns," where two commonly used metaphors are confused to create a nonsensical image.

· A dead metaphor is one in which the sense of a transferred image is not present. Example: "to grasp a concept" or "to gather you've understood." Both of these phrases use a physical action as a metaphor for understanding (itself a metaphor), but in none of these cases do most speakers of English actually visualize the physical action. Dead metaphors, by definition, normally go unnoticed. Some people make a distinction between a "dead metaphor" whose origin most speakers are entirely unaware of (such as "to understand" meaning to get underneath a concept), and a dormant metaphor, whose metaphorical character people are aware of but rarely think about (such as "to break the ice"). Others, however, use dead metaphor for both of these concepts, and use it more generally as a way of describing metaphorical cliché.

Other types of metaphor have been identified as well, though the nomenclatures are not as universally accepted:

· An active metaphor is one which by contrast to a dead metaphor, is not part of daily language and is noticeable as a metaphor. Example: "You are my sun."

· An absolute or paralogical metaphor (sometimes called an antimetaphor) is one in which there is no discernible point of resemblance between the idea and the image. Example: "The couch is the autobahn of the living room."

· A complex metaphor is one which mounts one identification on another. Example: "That throws some light on the question." Throwing light is a metaphor and there is no actual light.

· A compound or loose metaphor is one that catches the mind with several points of similarity. Example: "He has the wild stag's foot." This phrase suggests grace and speed as well as daring.

· An implicit metaphor is one in which the tenor is not specified but implied. Example: "Shut your trap!" Here, the mouth of the listener is the unspecified tenor.

· A submerged metaphor is one in which the vehicle is implied, or indicated by one aspect. Example: "my winged thought". Here, the audience must supply the image of the bird.

· A simple or tight metaphor is one in which there is but one point of resemblance between the tenor and the vehicle. Example: "Cool it". In this example, the vehicle, "cool", is a temperature and nothing else, so the tenor, "it", can only be grounded to the vehicle by one attribute.

· A root metaphor is the underlying association that shapes an individual's understanding of a situation. Examples would be understanding life as a dangerous journey, seeing life as a hard test, or thinking of life as a good party. A root metaphor is different from the previous types of metaphor in that it is not necessarily an explicit device in language, but a fundamental, often unconscious, assumption.
Religion provides one common source of root metaphors, since birth, marriage, death and other universal life experiences can convey a very different meaning to different people, based on their level or type of religious conditioning or otherwise. For example, some religions see life as a single arrow pointing toward a future endpoint. Others see it as part of an endlessly repeating cycle.
An individual's political affiliations provide another source of root metaphors. In the United States, both conservatives and liberals assume a 'family' metaphor for the nation. However, as George Lakoff has shown, in Moral Politics, they have very different ideas about what a family comprises and how it should function. Many conservatives believe in a "strict father" type of family whilst a lot of liberals see the family as a nurturing and educating social institution.

· A dying metaphor is a derogatory term coined by George Orwell in his essay Politics and the English Language. Orwell defines a dying metaphor as a metaphor that isn't dead (dead metaphors are different, as they are treated like ordinary words), but has been worn out and is used because it saves people the trouble of inventing an original phrase for themselves. In short, a cliché. Example: Achilles' heel. Orwell suggests that writers scan their work for such dying forms that they have 'seen regularly before in print' and replace them with alternative language patterns.

The category of metaphor can be further considered to contain the following specialized subsets:

· allegory: An extended metaphor in which a story is told to illustrate an important attribute of the subject

· catachresis: A mixed metaphor (sometimes used by design and sometimes a rhetorical fault)

· parable: An extended metaphor told as an anecdote to illustrate or teach a moral lesson

Etymology

Originally, metaphor was a Greek word meaning "transfer". The Greek etymology is from meta, implying "a change" and pherein meaning "to bear, or carry".

In modern Greek, the word metaphor also means transport or transfer.

Metaphor and Simile

Metaphor and simile are two of the best known tropes and are often mentioned together as examples of rhetorical figures. Metaphor and simile are both terms that describe a comparison: the only difference between a metaphor and a simile is that a simile makes the comparison explicit by using "like" or "as." The Colombia Encyclopedia, 6th edition, explains the difference as:

a simile states that A is like B, a metaphor states that A is B or substitutes B for A.

According to this definition, then, "You are my sunshine" is a metaphor whereas "Your eyes are like the sun" is a simile. However, some describe similes as simply a specific type of metaphor (see Joseph Kelly's The Seagull Reader (2005), pages 377-379). Most dictionary definitions of both metaphor and simile support the classification of similes as a type of metaphor, and historically it appears the two terms were used essentially as synonyms.

Despite the similarity of the two figures, and the fact that they have historically been used as synonyms, it is the distinction between them which is normally focused upon when the terms are introduced to students. Ironically, "not knowing the difference between a simile and a metaphor" is sometimes used as a euphemism for knowing little about rhetoric or literature. Of course, someone truly versed in rhetoric understands that there is very little difference between metaphor and simile, and that the distinction is trivial compared to, for example, the difference between metonymy and metaphor. Nonetheless, many lists of literary terms define metaphor as "a comparison not using like or as", showing the emphasis often put on teaching this distinction.

Usually, similes and metaphors could easily be interchanged. For example remove the word 'like' from William Shakespeare's simile, "Death lies on her, like an untimely frost," and it becomes "Death lies on her, an untimely frost," which retains almost exactly the same meaning. However, at other times using a simile as opposed to a metaphor clarifies the analogy by calling out exactly what is being compared. "He had a posture like a question mark" (Corbett, Classical rhetoric for the modern student (1971), page 479) has one possible interpretation, that the shape of the posture is that of a question mark, whereas "His posture was a question mark" has a second interpretation, that the reason for the posture is in question. At other times use of a simile rather than a metaphor adds meaning by calling to attention the process of comparison, as in "A woman without a man is like a fish without a bicycle" (Irina Dunn). The point is not to compare a woman to a fish, but to ask the reader to consider how the woman is like the fish. Finally, similes are often more convenient than metaphors when analogizing actions as opposed to things: "Wide sleeves fluttering like wings" (Marcel Proust) does not translate easily from simile to metaphor.

Metaphors in literature and language

Metaphor is present in written language back to the earliest surviving writings. From the Epic of Gilgamesh (one of the oldest Sumerian texts):

My friend, the swift mule, fleet wild ass of the mountain, panther of the wilderness, after we joined together and went up into the mountain, fought the Bull of Heaven and killed it, and overwhelmed Humbaba, who lived in the Cedar Forest, now what is this sleep that has seized you? - (Trans. Kovacs, 1989)

In this example, the friend is compared to a mule, a wild ass, and a panther to indicate that the speaker sees traits from these animals in his friend.

The Greek plays of Sophocles, Aeschylus, and Euripides, among others, were almost invariably allegorical, showing the tragedy of the protagonists, either to caution the audience metaphorically about temptation, or to lambast famous individuals of the day by inferring similarities with the caricatures in the play.

Even when they are not intentional, parallels can be drawn between most writing or language and other topics. In this way it can be seen that any theme in literature is a metaphor, using the story to convey information about human perception of the theme in question.

References

· Aristotle. Poetics. Trans. I. Bywater. In The Complete Works of Aristotle: The Revised Oxford Translation. (1984). 2 Vols. Ed. Jonathan Barnes. Princeton, Princeton University Press.

· Max Black. (1962). Models and Metaphor. Ithaca, Cornell University Press.

· Donald Davidson. (1978). "What Metaphors Mean." Reprinted in Inquiries Into Truth and Interpretation. (1984). Oxford, Oxford University Press.

· Jacques Derrida. (1982). "White Mythology: Metaphor in the Text of Philosophy." In Margins of Philosophy. Trans. Alan Bass. Chicago, University of Chicago Press.

· George Lakoff and Mark Johnson. (1980). Metaphors We Live By. Chicago, Chicago University Press. (1990). Women, Fire, and Dangerous Things: What Categories Reveal about the Mind. Chicago, Chicago University Press.

· I. A. Richards. (1936). The Philosophy of Rhetoric. Oxford, Oxford University Press.

· Paul Ricoeur. (1977). The Rule of Metaphor. Trans. Robert Czerny. Toronto, University of Toronto Press.

Metaphrase

Literal,word for word translation from foreign language, ie.e to translate literally.

Metaphysics

Metaphysics (Greek words μετα [meta] = after/beyond and Φυσις [physis] = nature) is a branch of speculative philosophy concerned with explaining the world. A central branch of metaphysics is ontology, the investigation into what categories of things are in the world and what relations these things bear to one another. The metaphysician also attempts to clarify the notions by which people understand the world, including existence, objecthood, property, space, time, causality, and possibility.

History of metaphysics

One theory of the origin of the word 'metaphysics' (in Greek, μεταφυσικά) is based on the organization of some of Aristotle's books in the Library of Alexandria. The ancient Greek philosopher Aristotle produced a number of works which together were called the Physics. In the Library of Alexandria, the works of Aristotle were organized in such a way that another set of Aristotle's works were placed right after the Physics. These books seemed to concern a basic, fundamental area of philosophical inquiry, which Aristotle himself called "first philosophy". So early Aristotelian scholars called those books τὰ μετὰ τὰ φυσι κά βιβλια, "ta meta ta physika biblia", which means "the books that come after the (books about) physics".

The term "Metaphysics" covers the subjects addressed in those books by Aristotle which have come to be called, collectively, the Metaphysics.

The Metaphysics was divided into three parts, now regarded as the traditional branches of Western metaphysics, called (1) ontology, (2) theology and (3) universal science. There were also some smaller, perhaps tangential matters: a philosophical lexicon, an attempt to define philosophy in general and several extracts from the Physics repeated verbatim.

· Ontology is the study of existence; it has been traditionally defined as 'the science of being qua being', where the Latin word qua is usally translated "as". Hence, in English, "being as being."

· Theology means, here, the study of God (or the gods) and of questions about the divine.

· Universal science is supposed to be the study of so-called first principles, which underlie all other inquiries; an example of such a principle is the law of non-contradiction: A = A, A not = B, Not both A and B. In other words, the elementary laws of logic as Aristotle knew them.

Universal science or first philosophy treats of "being qua being" — that is, what is basic to all science before one adds the particular details of any one science. This includes topics like causality, substance, species and elements. It also includes topics like relationship, interaction, finitude and a theoretically boundless infinity.

Metaphysics as a discipline was a central part of academic inquiry and scholarly education even before the age in which Aristotle coined the word. Long considered "the Queen of Sciences", its issues were considered no less important than the other main formal subjects of physical science, medicine, mathematics, poetics and music. Since the Age of Reason, problems that were not originally considered metaphysical have been added to metaphysics. Other problems that were considered metaphysical problems for centuries are now typically relegated to their own separate subheadings in philosophy, such as philosophy of religion, philosophy of mind, philosophy of perception, philosophy of language, and philosophy of science. In some cases subjects of metaphysical research have been found to be entirely physical and natural, thus making them part of physics.

In more recent times, an alternate usage of the term "metaphysics" has arisen. People often use the term to refer esotericism and occultism. These other uses are, for the most part, entirely unrelated to the academic philosophical discipline.

Central questions of metaphysics

Most positions that can be taken with regards to any of the following questions are endorsed by one or another notable philosopher. It is often difficult to frame the questions in a non-controversial manner.

Particulars and universals

The world seems to be filled, partially or wholly, by physical objects. Consider an apple. We can touch an apple and interact with it. It occupies space and time and appears to have a variety of properties. Such concrete objects are called particulars. Now, consider two apples. There seem to be many ways in which those two apples are similar, they may be approximately the same size, or shape, or color. They are both fruit, etc. One might also say that the two apples seem to have some thing or things in common. Universals or Properties are said to be those things.

Metaphysicians working on questions about universals or particulars are interested in the nature of objects and their properties, and the relationship between the two. For instance, one might hold that properties are abstract objects, existing outside of space and time, to which particular objects bear special relations. Others maintain that what particulars are is a bundle or collection of properties (specifically, a bundle of properties they have).

Change and identity

Identity, sometimes called Numerical Identity, is the relation that everything bears to itself, and which nothing bears to anything other than itself. According to Leibniz, if some object x is identical to some object y, then any property that x has, y will have also. However, it seems to us that objects can change over time. If you were to look at a tree one day, and the tree later lost a leaf, it would seem that you could still go look at that same tree. Metaphysicians work to explain what it means for the same object to have different properties at different times, as well as the question of how objects persist through time. (See Also: identity and change)

Space and time

This apple exists in space (it sits on a table in a room) and in time (it was not on the table a week ago and it will not be on the table a week from now). But what does this talk of space and time mean? Can we say, for example, that space is like an invisible three-dimensional grid in which the apple is located? Suppose the apple, and every other physical object in the universe, were to be entirely removed from existence: then would space, that "invisible grid," still exist? Some people say not—they say that without physical objects, space would not exist, because space is the framework in which we understand how physical objects are related to each other. There are many other metaphysical questions to ask about space and time.

Necessity and possibility

Metaphysicians investigate questions about the ways the world could have been. David Lewis, in "On the Plurality of Worlds", endorsed a view called Concrete Modal Realism, according to which facts about how things could have been are made true by other concrete worlds, just like ours, in which things are different. Other philosophers, such as Gottfried Leibniz have dealt with the idea of possible worlds as well. The idea of necessity is that any necessary fact is true across all possible worlds; that is, we could not imagine it to be otherwise. A possible fact is one that is true in some possible world, even if not in the actual world. For example, it is possible that cats could have had two tails, or that any particular apple could have not existed. By contrast, certain truths seem necessary, such as analytic truths, e.g. "All bachelors are unmarried." The particular example of analytic truth being necessary is not universally held among philosophers. A less controversial view might be that self-identity is necessary, as it seems fundamentally incoherent to claim that for any x, it is not identical to itself.

Personal identity

Metaphysicians have long been interested in questions of personal identity. For instance, imagine that we are able to invent teletransporters akin to those from Star Trek, that work by annihilating all of your molecules, and assembling a duplicate structure at a new location. Some philosophers worry that the entity that comes out on the other side of the process cannot be identical to the person who they resemble, because they have no parts in common. Another problem would be that, conceivably, a malfunction could result in two individuals (or more) who equally well resemble the original person coming out the other end. This creates problems determining which person, if any, after the fact, is identical to the individual before they enter the machine.

Abstract objects

Apart from Universals, some philosophers endorse views according to which there are abstract particulars. Mathematical objects and objects in fictions are two types of abstract objects that have been endorsed.

In computer science the difference between real-world object and abstract object becomes very clear. Formal abstractions of real-world objects are described, the content of this formal abstraction depends on the uses that should be possible to be made of it. The result is an abstract object which refers to a concrete object.

Criticism

Metaphysics has been attacked, at different times in history, as being futile and overly vague. Lord Byron often mocked the subject in his works. David Hume and Immanuel Kant both prescribed a limited role to the subject and argued against knowledge progressing beyond the world of our representations (except, in the case of Kant, to knowledge that the noumena exist). A.J. Ayer is famous for leading a "revolt against metaphysics", where he claimed that its propositions were meaningless. Martin Heidegger often criticised metaphysics, yet his early work dealt with questions that many would consider to be metaphysical. British universities became less concerned with the area for much of the 20th century but it has seen a reemergence in recent times amongst philosophy departments.

A more nuanced view is that metaphysical statements are not meaningless statements, but rather that they are generally not fallible, testable or provable statements. That is to say, there is no valid set of empirical observations nor a valid set of logical arguments which could definitively prove metaphysical statements to be true or false. Hence, a metaphysical statement usually implies a belief about the world or about the universe which may seem reasonable but is ultimately not empirically verifiable. That belief could be changed in a non-arbitrary way, based on experience or argument, yet there exists no evidence or argument so compelling that it could rationally force a change in that belief, in the sense of definitely proving it false.

Metaphysical subdisciplines

· Natural philosophy

· Ontology

· Philosophy of religion

· Philosophy of mind

· Philosophy of perception

Metaphysical topics and problems

· Identity and change

· Problem of free will

· The nature of time

· The nature of the mind

People

· Metaphysics writers

· Aristotle

· Thomas Aquinas

· Louis-Victor de Broglie

· William Kingdon Clifford

· Donald Davidson

· Pierre Teilhard de Chardin

· Emma Curtis Hopkins

· Aldous Huxley

· Immanuel Kant \

· Saul Kripke

· Gottfried Leibniz

· David Lewis

· George Edward Moore

· Charles Peirce

· Robert M. Pirsig

· Plato

· Max Planck

· Karl Popper

· Willard Van Orman Quine

· Ayn Rand

· John F Wippel, Preeminant commentator and scholar of Thomas of Aquinas' Metaphysical thought.

· Darren Daulton, former Major League baseball player turned metaphysics expert and author,

References

· Lowe, E. J. (2002). A survey of metaphysics. Oxford: Oxford University Press.

· Loux, M. J. (2002). Metaphysics: A contemporary introduction (2nd ed.). London: Routledge.

· Kim, J. and Ernest Sosa Ed. (1999). Metaphysics:An Anthology. Blackwell Philosophy Anthologies.

· Kim, J. and Ernest Sosa, Ed. (2000). A Companion to Metaphysics. Malden Massachusetts, Blackwell, Publishers.

· Fillmore, Charles (1931, 17th printing July 2000). Metaphysical Bible Dictionary. Unity Village, Missouri: Unity House. ISBN 0-871-59067-0

Metatarsus

Metatarsus

The metatarsus consists of the five long bones of the foot, which are numbered from the medial side (ossa metatarsalia I.-V.); each presents for examination a body and two extremities. These are analogous to the metacarpals of the hand.

Common characteristics of the metatarsal bones

The body is prismoid in form, tapers gradually from the tarsal to the phalangeal extremity, and is curved longitudinally, so as to be concave below, slightly convex above. The base or posterior extremity is wedge-shaped, articulating proximally with the tarsal bones, and by its sides with the contiguous metatarsal bones: its dorsal and plantar surfaces are rough for the attachment of ligaments. The head or anterior extremity presents a convex articular surface, oblong from above downward, and extending farther backward below than above. Its sides are flattened, and on each is a depression, surmounted by a tubercle, for ligamentous attachment. Its plantar surface is grooved antero-posteriorly for the passage of the flexor tendons, and marked on either side by an articular eminence continuous with the terminal articular surface.

Characteristics of the individual metatarsal bones

Figure 1 : The first metatarsal. (Left.)

Figure 2 : The second metatarsal. (Left.)

Figure 3 : The third metatarsal. (Left.)

Figure 4 : The fourth metatarsal. (Left.)

Figure 5 : The fifth metatarsal. (Left.)

The first metatarsal bone

('os metatarsale I; metatarsal bone of the great toe') [Fig. 1] The first metatarsal bone is remarkable for its great thickness, and is the shortest of the metatarsal bones. The body is strong, and of well-marked prismoid form. The base presents, as a rule, no articular facets on its sides, but occasionally on the lateral side there is an oval facet, by which it articulates with the second metatarsal. Its proximal articular surface is of large size and kidney-shaped; its circumference is grooved, for the tarsometatarsal ligaments, and medially gives insertion to part of the tendon of the Tibialis anterior; its plantar angle presents a rough oval prominence for the insertion of the tendon of the Peronæus longus. The head is large; on its plantar surface are two grooved facets, on which glide sesamoid bones; the facets are separated by a smooth elevation.

The second metatarsal bone

('os metatarsale II') [Fig. 2] The second metatarsal bone is the longest of the metatarsal bones, being prolonged backward into the recess formed by the three cuneiform bones. Its base is broad above, narrow and rough below. It presents four articular surfaces: one behind, of a triangular form, for articulation with the second cuneiform; one at the upper part of its medial surface, for articulation with the first cuneiform; and two on its lateral surface, an upper and lower, separated by a rough non-articular interval. Each of these lateral articular surfaces is divided into two by a vertical ridge; the two anterior facets articulate with the third metatarsal; the two posterior (sometimes continuous) with the third cuneiform. A fifth facet is occasionally present for articulation with the first metatarsal; it is oval in shape, and is situated on the medial side of the body near the base.

The third metatarsal bone

('os metatarsale III') [Fig. 3] The third metatarsal bone articulates proximally, by means of a triangular smooth surface, with the third cuneiform; medially, by two facets, with the second metatarsal; and laterally, by a single facet, with the fourth metatarsal. This last facet is situated at the dorsal angle of the base.

The fourth metatarsal bone

('os metatarsale IV') [Fig. 4] The fourth metatarsal bone is smaller in size than the preceding; its base presents an oblique quadrilateral surface for articulation with the cuboid; a smooth facet on the medial side, divided by a ridge into an anterior portion for articulation with the third metatarsal, and a posterior portion for articulation with the third cuneiform; on the lateral side a single facet, for articulation with the fifth metatarsal.

The fifth metatarsal bone

('os metatarsale V') [Fig. 5] The fifth metatarsal bone is recognized by a rough eminence, the tuberosity, on the lateral side of its base. The base articulates behind, by a triangular surface cut obliquely in a transverse direction, with the cuboid; and medially, with the fourth metatarsal. On the medial part of its dorsal surface is inserted the tendon of the Peronæus tertius and on the dorsal surface of the tuberosity that of the Peronæus brevis. A strong band of the plantar aponeurosis connects the projecting part of the tuberosity with the lateral process of the tuberosity of the calcaneus. The plantar surface of the base is grooved for the tendon of the Abductor digiti quinti, and gives origin to the Flexor digiti quinti brevis.

Articulations

The base of each metatarsal bone articulates with one or more of the tarsal bones, and the head with one of the first row of phalanges. The first metatarsal articulates with the first cuneiform, the second with all three cuneiforms, the third with the third cuneiform, the fourth with the third cuneiform and the cuboid, and the fifth with the cuboid.

Injuries

The metatarsal bones are often broken by soccer players, notably by David Beckham in 2002 and Wayne Rooney (a double fracture) in 2006, in both cases threatening their participation in World Cup tournaments. These and other recent cases have been atributed to the modern lightweight design of football boots, which give little protection to the foot.

Metaview

The act of changing ones perspective or point of view

Metawatch

Metawatch [1]

Meta- (defined as "change") and Watch (defined as "To look")

The term to look for change was actually started as to denote to look for ($ i.e. small change, money saving opportunities). It has now evolved into looking for any type of change

Metazoa

Multi cellular organisms

Metoogle

Metoogle

As Metawatching was the act of looking for change it went on to follow that to Metoogle was the act of using Google's search engine to look for change.

Uses

I Metoogled the "shoes" I was shopping for and found the best deal @

Did you metoogle the article to ensure it was the latest release ?

Metaphysical

Metaphysical

Speculative, abstract, unanwserable , intangible i.e. Trying to define God

Meta

From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia

Computers and technology

Meta key

From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia

Ra-Seru

From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia

Specific Ra-Seru

Meta

Terra

Ozma

Rogue

Metabolism

From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia

Contents

Metabolic pathways

General pathways

Anabolism

Drug metabolism

Nitrogen metabolism

Other

History

See also

Metacarpus

Contents

Common Characteristics of the Metacarpal Bones

Body

Base

Head

Articulations

Metal

From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia

Contents

Alloys

Physical properties

Astronomy

See also

Metaman

From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia

Metamaterial

Negative refractive index

External links

Metamorphose

Program and method of work

Performance

VIAVITA – THE WHEEL OF LIFE

IL CICLO DE LA LUNA

QUAKE

REQUIEM TRINITATIS INDUSTRIAE

RENDEZ–VOUS–ELEMENTAIRE

Metaphor

From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia

Aspects of metaphor

Types of metaphor

Etymology

Metaphor and Simile

Metaphors in literature and language

See also

References

History of metaphysics

Central questions of metaphysics

Particulars and universals

Change and identity

Space and time

Necessity and possibility

Personal identity

Abstract objects

Other metaphysical questions

Criticism

Metaphysical subdisciplines

Metaphysical topics and problems

People

See also

References

Metatarsus

Common characteristics of the metatarsal bones

Characteristics of the individual metatarsal bones

The first metatarsal bone

The second metatarsal bone

The third metatarsal bone