Scotland 1373: Crispinus, the head of Oronsay Priory, is found dead, strangled and battered, his mouth stuffed with sand, in the middle of the tidal strand separating the holy island of Oronsay from the larger island of Colonsay. The Lord of the Isles, overlord of the islands, assigns the task of finding the killer to Muirteach, the Priors bastard son.Since breaking with Scotland 1373: Crispinus, the head of Oronsay Priory, is found dead, strangled and battered, his mouth stuffed with sand, in the middle of the tidal strand separating the holy island of Oronsay from the larger island of Colonsay. The Lord of the Isles, overlord of the islands, assigns the task of finding the killer to Muirteach, the Prior’s bastard son.Since breaking with his father and leaving the monastery, Muirteach has spent his time acting as scribe for his uncle, an island chieftain.

Muirteach’s father, a powerful churchman, leaves behind a mistress and several other bastards as well as his embittered eldest son, who is thankful he will never hear the words, “My bastard son, the cripple” again.As Muirteach seeks to find his father’s murderer he is helped by the physician Fearchar Beaton, and his daughter Mariota. Muirteach himself is suspected of the murder, as are the Prior’s mistress, her family, and the sub-prior.

The killer strikes again, His Lordship wants the mystery solved before the Pope and the King in Edinburgh learn of it, and Muirteach himself must come to terms with his own troubled relationship with his father. Muirteach’s investigation submerges him deep into a whirlpool of deceit, long buried sins, and treachery, from which no one emerges unscathed. A very pleasant surprise for a first novel from a previously unknown-to-me author. Set in the 1370's in the remote Inner Hebrides (a group of islands off the coast of Scotland), it features a young man named Muirteach who is expected to find the murderer of his father. He is the bastard son of the local Prior, a man with many enemies, so Muirteach's task is not an easy one.The book presents that too-seldom found combination of excellent research and outstanding writing and storytelling which A very pleasant surprise for a first novel from a previously unknown-to-me author. Set in the 1370's in the remote Inner Hebrides (a group of islands off the coast of Scotland), it features a young man named Muirteach who is expected to find the murderer of his father. He is the bastard son of the local Prior, a man with many enemies, so Muirteach's task is not an easy one.The book presents that too-seldom found combination of excellent research and outstanding writing and storytelling which come together in the best possible way.

Then another scroll was opened, the book of life. The dead were judged according to their deeds, by what was written in the scrolls. The sea gave up its dead; then Death and Hades gave up their dead. All the dead were judged according to their deeds. Then Death and Hades were thrown into the pool of fire.

Looking forward to reading the second one if I can ever lay hands on it!I apologize for the lack of a 'real' review.time has slipped away and with 40+ books listed as 'currently reading' (obviously not accurate!) I need to just give a star rating and move along so I can catch up! This was quite a surprise. It actually exceeded my expectations for a first historic mystery novel. I picked it up quite by chance as I'm intrigued by all things Scottish and/or Medieval and this seemed as if it would fit the bill. Muirteach McPhee is tasked with finding the murderer of his father a not-so-holy prior. And it goes on from there.

Great characters, great scenery and except for one itty-bitty-nit, great history. I have never heard of Tir Na Nog referenced as a Scottish story and so This was quite a surprise. It actually exceeded my expectations for a first historic mystery novel. I picked it up quite by chance as I'm intrigued by all things Scottish and/or Medieval and this seemed as if it would fit the bill. Muirteach McPhee is tasked with finding the murderer of his father a not-so-holy prior. And it goes on from there.

Great characters, great scenery and except for one itty-bitty-nit, great history. I have never heard of Tir Na Nog referenced as a Scottish story and so the reference to it seems a bit out of place. I could be wrong but I've just never seen it with any Scottish connotation at all. I liked this so much I bought the next 2 in the series so I'm off to #2!

The 21 grams experiment refers to a scientific study published in 1907 by Duncan MacDougall, a physician from. MacDougall hypothesized that have physical weight, and attempted to measure the mass lost by a human when the soul departed the body. MacDougall attempted to measure the mass change of six patients at the moment of death. One of the six subjects lost three-fourths of an ounce (21.3 grams).MacDougall stated his experiment would have to be repeated many times before any conclusion could be obtained. The experiment is widely regarded as flawed and unscientific due to the small, the methods used, as well as the fact only one of the six subjects met the hypothesis. The case has been cited as an example of.

Despite its rejection within the scientific community, MacDougall's experiment popularized the concept that the soul has weight, and specifically that it weighs 21 grams. Duncan MacDougall, pictured in 1911In 1901, Duncan MacDougall, a physician from, who wished to scientifically determine if a had weight, identified six patients in nursing homes whose deaths were imminent. Four were suffering from tuberculosis, one from diabetes, and one from unspecified causes. MacDougall specifically chose people who were suffering from conditions that caused physical exhaustion, as he needed the patients to remain still when they died to measure them accurately. When the patients looked like they were close to death, their entire bed was placed on an industrial sized scale that was sensitive within two tenths of an ounce (5.6 grams). On the belief that humans have souls and that animals do not, MacDougall later measured the changes in weight from fifteen dogs after death. MacDougall said he wished to use dogs that were sick or dying for his experiment, though was unable to find any.

It is therefore presumed he poisoned healthy dogs. Results One of the patients lost weight but then put the weight back on, and two of the other patients registered a loss of weight at death but a few minutes later lost even more weight. One of the patients lost 'three-fourths of an ounce' (21.3 grams) in weight, coinciding with the time of death.

While using a decoy device disguised as a bomb to draw away the, Crucible fought Reed Richards and activated a device that would drain his inventive genius and transfer it into himself before escaping.Morlak and Shinski relocate to and began using the war-torn nation to test their weapons and tactics, gathering and experimenting on the Genoshan people in hopes of transforming them into a master race. The two captured Kismet and brainwashed her into serving them. They altered her appearance and powers, and renamed her Ayesha. The Genoshan government sent to capture Mister Fantastic not knowing that Crucible had stolen Mister Fantastic's inventive genius. The razorland trilogy.

MacDougall disregarded the results of another patient on the grounds the scales were 'not finely adjusted', and discounted the results of another as the patient died while the equipment was still being calibrated. MacDougall reported that none of the dogs lost any weight after death.While MacDougall believed that the results from his experiment showed the human soul might have weight, his report, which was not published until 1907, stated the experiment would have to be repeated many times before any conclusion could be obtained. Reaction. Article from 11 March 1907Before MacDougall was able to publish the results of his experiments, broke the story in an article titled 'Soul has Weight, Physician Thinks'.

MacDougall's results were published in April of the same year in the, and the medical journal. Criticism Following the publication of the experiment in American Medicine, physician Augustus P.

Clarke criticized the experiment's validity. Clarke noted that at the time of death there is a sudden rise in body temperature as the lungs are no longer cooling blood, causing a subsequent rise in sweating which could easily account for MacDougall’s missing 21 grams. Clarke also pointed out that, as dogs do not have sweat glands, they would not lose weight in this manner after death. Clarke's criticism was published in the May issue of American Medicine.

Arguments between MacDougall and Clarke debating the validity of the experiment continued to be published in the journal until at least December that year.MacDougall's experiment has been rejected by the scientific community, and he has been accused of both flawed methods and outright fraud in obtaining his results. Noting that only one of the six patients measured supported the hypothesis, has stated the experiment is a case of, as MacDougall ignored the majority of the results. Kruszelnicki also criticized the small, and questioned how MacDougall was able to determine the exact moment when a person had died considering the technology available at the time. Physicist has written that MacDougall's experiments 'are not regarded today as having any scientific merit', and psychologist wrote that 'because the weight loss was not reliable or replicable, his findings were unscientific'. Professor said that within the scientific community, the experiment is confined to a 'large pile of scientific curiosities labelled 'almost certainly not true'.An article by in 2013 said the experiment was flawed because the methods used were suspect, the sample size was much too small, and the capability to measure weight changes too imprecise, concluding: 'credence should not be given to the idea his experiments proved something, let alone that they measured the weight of the soul as 21 grams.' The fact that MacDougall likely poisoned and killed fifteen healthy dogs in an attempt to support his research has also been a source of criticism. Aftermath In 1911 The New York Times reported that MacDougall was hoping to run experiments to take photos of souls, but he appears to not have continued any further research into the area and died in 1920.

His experiment has not been repeated. Similar experiments In December 2001, published an article in where he exhibited the results of a similar experiment. He tested the weight of one, seven ewes, three lambs and one at the moment of death, seeking to explore upon MacDougall's purported findings. His experiment showed that seven of the adult sheep varied their weight upon dying, though not losing it, but rather gaining an amount of 18 to 780 grams, which was lost again over time until returning to their initial weight.In 2009, this experiment was subjected to by Masayoshi Ishida in the same journal. Ishida found Hollander's statement of a transient gain of weight was 'not an appropriate expression of the experimental result', though he admitted 'the cause of the force event remains to be explained'. He also warned about possible malfunctions of the weighing platform in two of the cases.Similarly inspired by MacDougall's research, physician Gerard Nahum proposed in 2005 a follow-up experiment, based on utilizing an array of electromagnetic detectors to try to pick up any type of escaping energy at the moment of death. He offered to sell his idea to engineering, physics, and philosophy departments at, and, as well as the, but he was rejected.

In popular culture Despite its rejection as scientific fact, MacDougall's experiment popularized the idea that the soul has weight, and specifically that it weighs 21 grams. Most notably, '21 Grams' was taken as the title of a, which references the experiment.The concept of a soul weighing 21 grams is mentioned in numerous media, including a 2013 issue of the manga, a 2013 podcast of and the 2015 film.

Songs entitled '21 Grams' which reference the weight of a soul have been released by (2015), (2015) and the (2017). References the concept in the song 'No Bystanders', released in 2018. MacDougall and his experiments are explicitly mentioned in the 1978 documentary film, and episode five of the first season of. A fictional American scientist named 'Mr. MacDougall' appears in 's 2009 novel, as an expert in the weight and measurement of souls. See also.References. Andrews McMeel Publishing.

Pp. 199–201. ^ (1 April 2011). Pp. 32–34. ^ (6 September 2012).

Penguin. ^ Mikkelson, Barbara; Mikkelson, David P. (27 October 2003). From the original on 30 June 2014. Retrieved 31 July 2018. ^ (22 September 2008). Princeton University Press.

11 March 1907. Archived from on 17 July 2017.

Retrieved 16 July 2017. MacDougall, Duncan (1907).

Journal of the American Society for Psychical Research. 1 (1): 237. MacDougall, Duncan (April 1907). 'The Soul: Hypothesis Concerning Soul Substance Together with Experimental Evidence of the Existence of Such Substance'.

American Medicine. 2: 240–243. ^ (1 June 2009). P. 151. '. 15 (4): 495-500.

Ishida, Masayoshi. 5–28, 2009. Bosveld, Jane (12 June 2007). Discover magazine. Retrieved 20 March 2020. (w, a). 'Gantz' Where the Missing Mass Goes 372: 12 (19 March 2013).

(Podcast). Proverb 1: The human soul weighs 21 grams, smells like grilled vegetables, looks like a wrinkled tartan quilt, and sounds like bridge traffic. Sum, Ed (16 February 2016). Otaku no Culture.

From the original on 16 July 2017. Retrieved 16 July 2017. Wass, Mike (10 August 2015). From the original on 16 July 2017. Retrieved 16 July 2017.

Beyond and Back (Documentary film). 1978. 21 Grams, Missing Cosmonauts, Sound of Death (TV episode). Dark Matters: Twisted But True. 28 September 2011.

(2 September 2010). Hachette.External links.