welcome to outer mongolia—

how to get around this ger

   site map

mission statement

to advance rational education... this site is designed to provide the tools for the spread of sanity in education and culture.

what is this abelard thing anyway?

abelard is thought to live in a ger on the steppes of outer mongolia, surrounded by an indeterminate number of yaks, husbands and wives... and vast hordes of children preparing for the cultural conquest of the world... abelard is known to have long conversations with the good fairy. it is rumoured that abelard arrived on a cultural troubleshooting mission to this planet from a star system approximately 40 light years away: this prior to the earth being offered probationary membership of The Galactic Anarchy (some call it The Culture).

as abelard is from an advanced culture, this entity has to communicate in rather simple language in order to be understood by the savages... consequently there are various rumours...

one is that The Culture have forgotten all about this attaché, who often gets homesick and pissed off with living in such a primitive backwater.

another is that this entity is a reincarnation of another abelard born in 1179....

both of these rumours are true to a related degree.

i studied education....
came to the conclusion that what mattered was understanding behaviour (psychology)
read up on every psych theory i could get my hands on....
concluded that it was mostly pre-scientific.....
identified the prime problem as poorly structured language.....
concluded that advance was only possible with adequate language....
ended up applying empirics to language....
i believe that most of the issues in society cannot be discussed
        clearly and rationally within current language assumptions/structures.
now attempting to get others in a backward (pre scientific) milieu to understand

multiple uses for this glittering entity—
activities offered

skill areas
Communication logic, foundations of communication logic:   Why communication breaks down Why you can’t understand each other How to put it right	Money: Understanding inflation Money management Macro-economics
Relationships, negotiation: ‘Marriage’ and other conflict resolution  Management consultancy	Educational process, teaching: Getting others to understand
Modern, hard-edge artist History, nature and foundations of modern art	Web services Site management, web design, consultancy and implementation
	Rates negotiated by e-mail

citing documents from abelard.org

I write under the name ‘abelard’. If you want to cite a document from abelard.org as a source in your work, all work is by me, unless otherwise specified. Please refer to me as abelard [note lower-case ‘a’] and quote the web reference address to be found near the end of each document. If you should wish, also include the web site address, which is http://www.abelard.org/.

fair usage

If you wish to quote a portion of a page from abelard.org, you may quote up to 5 percent or one-twentieth of a page without asking for further permission, providing an acknowledgement and a web-page link to the page concerned are included with the quotation. Suitable wording might be:

Quoted from xyz document at abelard.org [with a link on the xyz document name to the xyz document itself]

Examples:
• Quoted from “Highest, longest : the Viaduct de Millau” at abelard.org
  or
• Quoted from “Highest, longest : the Viaduct de Millau” at abelard.org - http://www.abelard.org/france/viaduct-de-millau.asp

If you wish to quote a greater portion than 5% of a page, or if you wish to reproduce an image from abelard.org, please e-mail us, including clear details of the text you wish to quote or the image (or images) you wish to use. Please give the name of the name of the page, or describe precisely which image/s on which page.

Each page at abelard.org includes its web address in blue near the bottom of the page. The web address starts http://www.abelard.org/.... . An exception is for news items, these have an individual web address at the end of each item.

abelard and its yaks

abelard provides the concepts and the contents, along with advice on graphic design.
the auroran sunset does the technical stuff and some of the graphic design.
xavier does editing, layout and research, and the rest of the graphic design.
the auroran sunset [t.a.s.] and xavier also write for abelard.org.

customising your browser -
viewing/printing in black on white, changing text size

This site was designed using a range of editors from textpad to dreamweaverMX. the pages are best viewed in a browser that can cope with a number of features included with the html 4 and css 2 specifications; imperfect examples include microsoft internet explorer (ms-ie) 4+, netscape versions 4+ and a wide variety of less common beasts. Better browsers include the Firefox range.

We have chosen off-white on a black background, after various tests, as the most restful and readable combination of page colours for light-driven screens. Having a black background on a browser page also reduces energy usage by a considerable percentage - good for our planet, no? However, it appears that there are some who still hanker for the glare of black on white pages, inherited from books. Be not too dismayed, you may still take comfort from that old world by some small adjustments to your browser, as described in the next section.

if you're using firefox or another mozilla-based browser....
and you want to print black on white,
or if you don't like the text being white on black on the screen:

1. Opening the 'tools' menu and clicking on 'options'.
2. When the box opens, in the 'content' section (if necessary, click on the button at the top that is labelled 'content').
3. In the 'font and colors' box, click on the 'Color' button.
4. Next uncheck the tick in the check box next to 'Allow pages to use their own colors, instead of my own', then press 'OK'. Beware this will make all sites (not just this one) use your colours not that site's colours.
5. To turn back to the web site's color scheme, you redo the same process, so that the checkbox ends up with a tick in it.

In our view, this should be your standard browser setting. This setting will make the background of coloured boxes, as well as the general background, appear white with black text. All coloured linked words and all images (buttons, etc) will remain their original colours.

A fast method to read some unclear text, without following the instructions above, is to highlight the text you wish to read using your mouse. This will give harder contrast between text and background.

to change the text size on the screen:

1. open the 'View' menu;
2. click on 'Text Size', then on 'Increase' or 'Decrease' to change the text viewing size.

A fast method to read some unclear text without following the instructions above is to highlight the text you wish to read using your mouse. This will give harder contrast between text and background.

if you're using ms-ie 4/5....
and you want to print black on white: go to the 'tools' menu: 'internet options'. go to the 'advanced' tab. next go down to the 'printing' section and deselect the 'print background colors and images' box. press ok. in our view this should be your standard browser setting. This setting will make the background of coloured boxes, as well as the general background, appear white with black text. All coloured linked words and all images (buttons, etc) will remain their original colours.

if you don't like the text being white on black on the screen, you can tell ie to override with whatever your standard colours are... do this by:-

1. opening the 'tools' menu and clicking on 'internet options'...
2. clicking on the 'accessibility' button, and then...
3. selecting the options you want, and pressing ok to the two boxes.
4. to turn it back you go back into the 'accessibility' window, and change the options again.
5. beware that these options apply to all websites that you view, not just ours.
   
   A fast method to read some unclear text without following the instructions above is to highlight the text you wish to read using your mouse. This will give harder contrast between text and background.

to change the text size on the screen:

1. open the 'view' menu and click on 'text size';
2. choose a size from the drop-down list and click on it.

if you're using netscape 4.X....
and you want to print black on white: go to the 'file' menu: 'page setup', and select 'black text'. in our view this should be your standard browser setting. This setting will make the background of coloured boxes, as well as the general background, appear white with black text. All coloured linked words and all images (buttons, etc) will remain their original colours.

if you don't like the text being white on black on the screen, you can tell netscape to override with whatever your standard colours are... do this by:-

1. opening the 'edit' menu and clicking on 'preferences'...
2. when the box opens click on the '+' next to 'appearance' (on the top left hand side)... then click 'colors'... this should change the right hand area...
3. next click on the check box next to 'always use my colors, overriding document'.... then press 'ok'.... beware this will make all sites (not just ours) use your colours not that site's colours...
4. to turn it back you redo the same process, so that the checkbox ends up without a tick in it.
   
   A fast method to read some unclear text without following the instructions above is to highlight the text you wish to read using your mouse. This will give harder contrast between text and background.

to change the text size on the screen:

1. open the 'view' menu;
2. click on increase font, or on decrease font, to change the text viewing size.

viewing documents, that require microsoft internet explorer, with mozilla firefox

You can now view our documents that require Microsoft Internet Explorer browser [MSIE] in Mozilla Firefox. You do this by downloading and installing either:

• IE View, or
• IE Tab [If you need some instructions, visit their official website.]

These installations are not difficult, and Firefox developers are always friendly and helpful if there is a hitch. There are discussions linked from the download pages linked above.

using the web, for the young or inexperienced
Appropriate data is included in all documents on this site to enable making further researches on the topics concerned.

1. If you wish to follow up, then go to an academic library or use a search engine to look up the researchers’ names. [Your teacher, or others on the web, will usually advise you.]
   
   
2. Remember also that it is not sensible to put your name and location out freely on the Internet to people you do not know. If you are unsure what to do instead, show this note to someone with greater life experience, such as ‘your’ teacher or a carer, and ask them for advice.

don't send out attachments when using ms outlook express
You can easily send attachments without realising when using ms outlook express e-mail software. This software sends html attachments by default, unless you specifically 'tell' it not to. The attachments could easily hide a virus, or another e-nasty, waiting for a chance to spread to your friends, relations, work......

To stop this happening:

1. in the outlook express 'tools' menu, go to 'options';
2. click the 'send' tab;
3. at the bottom of the 'send' sheet, click 'plain text' for both 'mail sending' and 'news sending' formats;
4. click on the 'ok' button.

books quoted around the ger
books referred to on this site can be purchased from amazon.com [USA: prices in $] or amazon.co.uk [UK: prices in £], or sometimes both, by clicking on the links provided... (green+underline on title, isbn number or price indicates a purchase link).

If you wish to purchase a book referenced at abelard.org, please click on the green amazon.com or amazon.co.uk link (usually on the price). This way you will help support abelard.org and enable us to continue maintaining and expanding this website.

you can also search for other books at amazon.com or amazon.co.uk.

decode the different coloured text links on abelard.org
in general,
blue links to parts of the document currently displayed
orange links to bibliography and to other bibliographic information
yellow gives links to other documents within  the  abelard site
green gives links to sites external to www.abelard.org
light green indicates editorial text from abelard or the yaks (generally seen in the News and comment zone)
all links are underlined

however , the documents
'heresies', quarrels, words and authority and the rise and fall of the Church of Rome are highly interlinked.
for these two documents, the rules are modified and details are noted on each.

magenta highlights points of special note
red attracts attention to important points
light green indicates information particular to that document (for instance, statements made by Hitler)

words in single quotes emphasise less than close meaning for those words.

site and document ratings
This section of this document is under construction

abelard.org is introducing the GoldenYak™ rating system.

• Up to five GoldenYaks will awarded to either a web page when it is referenced, or to a web-site when it is either referenced or recommended. Naturally, a similar rating for a web-site represents an higher recommendation than it would for a single document.
• A GoldenYak™ Number reflects content, clarity of presentation and html efficiency. Comments reflecting these elements may be found at some links, but will not usually indicate why, in detail, the criticism has been made.
• Should a site owner see a negative comment and wish advice on improving the situation, they are welcome to e-mail abelard.org for more information. A charge may well be made for more complex advice.
• At the moment, we do not have resources to inform site owners when we have made a citation.
• Where no GoldenYak Award appears, as will be the case in the great majority of situations at present, this indicates that the document or site has not been assessed for GoldenYak Awards. Therefore, a lack of a GoldenYak Award does not indicate any view, either positive or negative, about the page or site concerned.
• Here is what a Yak looks like — well, it doesn’t really,
  and here is a picture of one of the yaks that form part of the abelard community.
  

• If you have been awarded a GoldenYak Number, you may, if you wish, indicate this on your site. You may do this by copying the appropriate image and placing it at appropriate place on your site, such as your home page. While we would welcome a link from the image, or from any other place on your site, GoldenYak Awards are given on merit alone and they are entirely unconditional. You receive GoldenYak Awards because we judge you have earned them entirely by your efforts.
  Where a GoldenYak Award is given for a particular story, it must not be presented as a general award for your site.
  
  
• A little on yaks
  Yaks live in the wide plains and mountains of Mongolia and Tibet. Without them, the country would be uninhabited. There, yaks principally raise humans, goats and sheep. These areas, almost desert, are home to various nomadic groups for whom the yak is their main solace.

  Yaks can measure 3.6 m long and 2.3 m high with horns 90 cm long. Yaks can resist very severe cold, -30 or -40°C. Up in the steppes, the ground remains frozen between 6 to 8 months of the year. Yaks can live at altitudes of up to 6000 metres. In fact, yaks can do anything.

  Sometimes, yaks kindly help humans by carrying their worldly possessions gently and with sure feet through the mountain passes. Yaks supply milk from which butter is made and airag is fermented, and oil for lamps. From their long hair, they make ropes, clothes, blankets and felt for the ‘tents’ (in Mongolia, we call them gers; in Tibet, they call them yurts). Yak dung is burnt for boiling the local tea.

related material
abelard’s yaks

social book marking - what is it? why bother?

so what is social bookmarking?
You’ve just been to a interesting, or even a brilliant site and you want let other people know, or you’d like to help make that page/site more widely known. Social bookmarking is an efficient method of doing this.

With social bookmark services, you tell people on the Internet know that you have found a site, a page, or article that is worth going to visit, something that you would recommend.

what are social bookmarks?
You have probably noticed net news items and other articles with a string of little icons, such as . These icons take you different social networking sites, where you can recommend a page. Well-known social bookmarking sites that come to mind quickly include reddit, diggit, del.icio.us, Stumbleupon, Furl, Slashdot, Squidoo, Technorati, Yahoo My Web - but there are dozens of others.

abelard.org uses a social bookmarking button from AddThis.com that enables you to bookmark easily and rapidly to many such sites at one go .

[Note that most social bookmarking sites require you to do a free registration beforehand and sign in before you add a link. This is to ensure that the social bookmarking system is not spammed by spambots, as spambots cannot (yet) register and then login to a site.]

why bother?
From abelard.org’s point of view, it is very helpful to have personal recommendations made on the Internet. Spreading the word also spreads knowledge, and even wisdom, through the net and through the wider world. Social bookmarks would seem and efficient way to pass on information about a ‘good thing’.J

We first used Socializer links from http://ekstreme.com/. From March 2008, abelard.org changed social bookmarking services to one that provides statistics - addthis.com.

[We will gradually be adding social bookmarking throughout abelard.org.]

advertising policy
All advertising on this site is clearly indicated as such. All editorial links are placed on this site entirely by merit. no reciprocal links are given, nor are links traded with other sites.
Advertising is taken only from sources which abelard.org is reasonably convinced are honest and undamaging. For example, we will not take cigarette advertising, nor will we continue to advertise any organisation that does not respond to reasonable complaints.

Note: we are currently experimenting with displaying commissioned advertising from Google. The advertisements offered under this system are claimed pre-classified by Google as “Family-Safe” .

We have minimal control over which advertisers are selected for display and do not endorse the advertisers or their products. Any interactions, including money exchanges, made with advertisers are done at your own risk and by your own choice.

As we are experimenting with this system, we shall be watching it. We also request user comments if any problem is noticed. [30.09.2003]

privacy policy

Regarding advertising, whether from Google or elsewhere, note that third parties may be placing and reading cookies on your users’ browser, or using web beacons to collect information, in the course of ads being served on your website. A cookie will not be placed by abelard.org, but this may happen if you click on an ad and are sent to a third-party website.

abelard.org is not responsible or liable for the independent privacy policies of third-party sites and advertisers.

Current versions of Web browsers offer enhanced user controls regarding the placement and duration of both first and third party cookies. Search for Cookies under your Web browser's Help menu for more information on cookie management features available to you.

email abelard at abelard.org

© abelard, 1998 - 2006
V 2.2


all rights reserved

the address for this document is http://www.abelard.org/choose/choose.htm

1690 words
prints as 7 A4 pages (on my printer and set-up)