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Ordinary Geniuses: How Two Mavericks Shaped Modern Science
by Gino SegreA biography of two maverick scientists whose intellectual wanderlust kick-started modern genomics and cosmology. <P><P> Max Delbruck and George Gamow, the so-called ordinary geniuses of Segre's third book, were not as famous or as decorated as some of their colleagues in midtwentieth-century physics, yet these two friends had a profound influence on how we now see the world, both on its largest scale (the universe) and its smallest (genetic code). Their maverick approach to research resulted in truly pioneering science. Wherever these men ventured, they were catalysts for great discoveries. Here Segre honors them in his typically inviting and elegant style and shows readers how they were far from "ordinary". While portraying their personal lives Segre, a scientist himself, gives readers an inside look at how science is done--collaboration, competition, the influence of politics, the role of intuition and luck, and the sense of wonder and curiosity that fuels these extraordinary minds. Ordinary Geniuses will appeal to the readers of Simon Singh, Amir Aczel, and other writers exploring the history of scientific ideas and the people behind them.
Ordinary Girls: A Memoir
by Jaquira Díaz<P><P> In this searing memoir, Jaquira Díaz writes fiercely and eloquently of her challenging girlhood and triumphant coming of age. While growing up in housing projects in Puerto Rico and Miami Beach, Díaz found herself caught between extremes. As her family split apart and her mother battled schizophrenia, she was supported by the love of her friends. As she longed for a family and home, her life was upended by violence. As she celebrated her Puerto Rican culture, she couldn’t find support for her burgeoning sexual identity. <P><P>From her own struggles with depression and sexual assault to Puerto Rico’s history of colonialism, every page of Ordinary Girls vibrates with music and lyricism. Díaz writes with raw and refreshing honesty, triumphantly mapping a way out of despair toward love and hope to become her version of the girl she always wanted to be. Reminiscent of Tara Westover’s Educated, Kiese Laymon’s Heavy, Mary Karr’s The Liars’ Club, and Terese Marie Mailhot’s Heart Berries, Jaquira Díaz&’s memoir provides a vivid portrait of a life lived in (and beyond) the borders of Puerto Rico and its complicated history—and reads as electrically as a novel.
Ordinary Girls \ Muchachas ordinarias (Spanish edition): Memorias
by Jaquira DíazPara las muchachas que fuimos, para la muchacha que fui, para las muchachas de todo el mundo que son como nosotras solíamos ser. Para las muchachas que nunca se vieron reflejadas en los libros. Para las muchachas ordinarias.Jaquira Díaz siempre se encontró entre extremos en lugares permeados por la violencia. A pesar de añorar tener una familia unida y un hogar seguro, éstos eran difíciles de conseguir viviendo bajo los niveles de pobreza en el caserío Padre Rivera en Puerto Rico y en Miami Beach, sobre todo tras el diagnóstico de esquizofrenia de su madre y la subsiguiente ruptura familiar. El amor y apoyo de sus panas la mantuvieron a flote al encontrarse ante otra disyuntiva: su identidad y orgullo como puertorriqueña no dejaba cabida para su nueva identidad sexual.Cada página de Muchachas ordinarias brilla por su lirismo, crudeza y sensibilidad. Desde su lucha contra la depresión y el tortuoso camino que debió recorrer como sobreviviente de agresión sexual, pasando por el estado colonial actual de Puerto Rico, Díaz narra sus vivencias con increíble lucidez y brutal honestidad, trazando la ruta que la alejó de la desesperanza y la llevó hacia el amor y el deseo de convertirse en la muchacha que siempre quiso ser.Jaquira Díaz nació en Puerto Rico y se crió en Miami Beach. Su obra ha sido publicada en Rolling Stone, The Guardian, The New York Times Style Magazine e incluida en la antología The Best American Essays 2016, entre otros. Ha sido galardonada con el Whiting Award, la medalla de oro del Florida Book Awards y ha sido finalista de los Lambda Literary Awards. Divide su tiempo entre Montreal y Miami con su espose, le escritore Lars Horn.
Ordinary Hazards: A Memoir
by Nikki GrimesNikki Grimes discovered the power of writing at the tender age of six, when, alone in her room, she poured her fears, anger, and tears onto a piece of paper--and felt sweet relief. Words and faith were her most enduring companions as life flung her headlong from one harrowing experience to the next through her childhood and teenage years. Words, spilled into notebook after notebook, kept her moving forward. Words turned what might have been into what could be. In the course of this remarkable memoir in verse, Nikki Grimes shows how grace, wisdom, and the power of words can help a brave soul conquer the hazards--ordinary and extraordinary--of life. NIKKI GRIMES received the 2017 Children's Literature Legacy Award for substantial and lasting contributions to literature for children. Her books include the Coretta Scott King Author Honor Award-winning Words with Wings; the Boston Globe-Horn Book Honor Book One Last Word; the groundbreaking best seller Bronx Masquerade; and Garvey's Choice. She lives in Corona, California.
Ordinary Hazards: A Memoir
by Nikki GrimmesA Michael L. Printz Honor BookA Robert F. Sibert Informational Honor BookArnold Adoff Poetry Award for TeensSix Starred Reviews -- ★Booklist ★BCCB ★The Horn Book ★Publishers Weekly ★School Library Connection ★Shelf AwarenessA Booklist Best Book for Youth * A BCCB Blue Ribbon * A Horn Book Fanfare Book * A Shelf Awareness Best Children's Book * Recommended on NPR's "Morning Edition" by Kwame Alexander"This powerful story, told with the music of poetry and the blade of truth, will help your heart grow."--Laurie Halse Anderson, author of Speak and Shout"[A] testimony and a triumph."--Jason Reynolds, author of Long Way DownIn her own voice, acclaimed author and poet Nikki Grimes explores the truth of a harrowing childhood in a compelling and moving memoir in verse.Growing up with a mother suffering from paranoid schizophrenia and a mostly absent father, Nikki Grimes found herself terrorized by babysitters, shunted from foster family to foster family, and preyed upon by those she trusted. At the age of six, she poured her pain onto a piece of paper late one night - and discovered the magic and impact of writing. For many years, Nikki's notebooks were her most enduing companions. In this accessible and inspiring memoir that will resonate with young readers and adults alike, Nikki shows how the power of those words helped her conquer the hazards - ordinary and extraordinary - of her life.
Ordinary Heroes: A Memoir of 9/11
by Joseph PfeiferFrom the first FDNY chief to respond to the 9/11 attacks, an intimate memoir and a tribute to those who died that others might live <P><P> When Chief Joe Pfeifer led his firefighters to investigate an odor of gas in downtown Manhattan on the morning of 9/11, he had no idea that his life was about to change forever. A few moments later, he watched as the first plane crashed into the World Trade Center. Pfeifer, the closest FDNY chief to the scene, spearheaded rescue efforts on one of the darkest days in American history. <P><P> Ordinary Heroes is the unforgettable and intimate account of what Chief Pfeifer witnessed at Ground Zero, on that day and the days that followed. Through his eyes, we see the horror of the attack and the courage of the firefighters who ran into the burning towers to save others. We see him send his own brother up the stairs of the North Tower, never to return. And we walk with him and his fellow firefighters through weeks of rescue efforts and months of numbing grief, as they wrestle with the real meaning of heroism and leadership. <P><P> This gripping narrative gives way to resiliency and a determination that permanently reshapes Pfeifer, his fellow firefighters, NYC, and America. Ordinary Heroes takes us on a journey that turns traumatic memories into hope, so we can make good on our promise to never forget 9/11. <P><P><b>A New York Times Best Seller</b>
Ordinary Joe
by Joe Schmidt'He's a great coach. He lives and breathes the game. There's nothing he doesn't know' Brian O'Driscoll'The best coach Irish rugby - arguably Irish sport - has ever had' Malachy Clerkin, Irish TimesIn the autumn of 2010, a little-known New Zealander called Joe Schmidt took over as head coach at Leinster. He had never been in charge of a professional team. After Leinster lost three of their first four games, a prominent Irish rugby pundit speculated that Schmidt had 'lost the dressing room'.Nine years on, Joe Schmidt has stepped down as Ireland coach having achieved success on a scale never before seen in Irish rugby. Two Heineken Cups in three seasons with Leinster. Three Six Nations championships in six seasons with Ireland, including the Grand Slam in 2018. And a host of firsts: the first Irish victory in South Africa; the first Irish defeat of the All Blacks, and then a second; and Ireland's first number 1 world ranking.Along the way, Schmidt became a byword for precision and focus in coaching, remarkable attention to detail and the highest of standards. But who is Joe Schmidt? In Ordinary Joe, Schmidt tells the story of his life and influences: the experiences and management ideas that made him the coach, and the man, that he is today. And his diaries of the 2018 Grand Slam and the 2019 Rugby World Cup provide a brilliantly intimate insight into the stresses and joys of coaching a national team in victory and defeat.From the small towns in New Zealand's North Island where he played barefoot rugby and jostled around the dinner table with seven siblings, to the training grounds and video rooms where he consistently kept his teams a step ahead of the opposition, Ordinary Joe reveals an ordinary man who has helped his teams to achieve extraordinary things.'Rugby obsessives and amateur coaches will revel in the insight that Schmidt offers into his training methods, tactics and preparation ... Full of insight, emotion and considered analysis' Irish Daily Mail'An insight into the fascinating personality of the man who has been the single most influential figure in Irish rugby over the last decade' Irish Times'He is clearly more than an ordinary coach, the winning of two Heinekens, beating New Zealand twice, the 2018 Grand Slam and reaching no.1 in the World Rankings are positive brushstrokes, marking Irish rugby for ever ... A rocky read about exceptional deeds, told in extraordinary fashion' Irish Daily Star'Undoubtedly the greatest coach in Irish rugby history' Daily Telegraph
Ordinary Light: A memoir
by Tracy K. SmithNATIONAL BOOK AWARD FINALIST • This dazzling memoir from the former U.S. Poet Laureate and Pulitzer Prize-winning author of Life on Mars is the story of a young artist struggling to fashion her own understanding of belief, loss, history, and what it means to be black in America."Engrossing in its spare, simple understatement.... Evocative ... luminous." —The Washington PostIn Ordinary Light, Pulitzer Prize–winning poet Tracy K. Smith tells her remarkable story, giving us a quietly potent memoir that explores her coming-of-age and the meaning of home against a complex backdrop of race, faith, and the unbreakable bond between a mother and daughter.
An Ordinary Man
by Paul RusesabaginaThe remarkable life story of the man who inspired the film "Hotel Rwanda" Readers who were moved and horrified by "Hotel Rwanda" will respond even more intensely to Paul Rusesabaginas unforgettable autobiography. As Rwanda was thrown into chaos during the 1994 genocide, Rusesabagina, a hotel manager, turned the luxurious Hotel Milles Collines into a refuge for more than 1,200 Tutsi and moderate Hutu refugees, while fending off their would-be killers with a combination of diplomacy and deception. In "An Ordinary Man," he tells the story of his childhood, retraces his accidental path to heroism, revisits the 100 days in which he was the only thing standing between his guests and a hideous death, and recounts his subsequent life as a refugee and activist.
An Ordinary Man: An Autobiography
by Paul Rusesabagina Tom ZoellnerThis is the story of Paul Rusesabagina. He tells of the history of the Hutu and Tutsi people in Rwanda, why the strife between the two groups developed, and the part he played in the conflict, saving over a thousand people from almost certain death. Rusesabagina skillfully weaves the story of the Hutu-tutsi conflict with his efforts to save as many people as he could. this is the autobiography of the man portrayed in the award-winning movie entitled Hotel Rwanda.
An Ordinary Man: The Surprising Life and Historic Presidency of Gerald R. Ford
by Richard Norton Smith“Richard Norton Smith had brought a lifetime of wisdom, insight, and storytelling verve to the life of a consequential president—Gerald R. Ford. Ford’s is a very American life, and Smith has charted its vicissitudes and import with great grace and illuminating perspective. A marvelous achievement!” -- Jon MeachamFrom the preeminent presidential scholar and acclaimed biographer of historical figures including George Washington, Herbert Hoover, and Nelson Rockefeller comes this eye-opening life of Gerald R. Ford, whose presidency arguably set the course for post-liberal America and a post-Cold War world.For many Americans, President Gerald Ford was the genial accident of history who controversially pardoned his Watergate-tarnished predecessor, presided over the fall of Saigon, and became a punching bag on Saturday Night Live. Yet as Richard Norton Smith reveals in a book full of surprises, Ford was an underrated leader whose tough decisions and personal decency look better with the passage of time.Drawing on hundreds of interviews and thousands of documents, Smith recreates Ford’s hardscrabble childhood in Michigan, his early anti-establishment politics and lifelong love affair with the former Betty Bloomer, whose impact on American culture he predicted would outrank his own. As president, Ford guided the nation through its worst Constitutional crisis since the Civil War and broke the back of the most severe economic downturn since the Great Depression—accomplishing both with little fanfare or credit (at least until 2001 when the JFK Library gave him its prestigious Profile in Courage Award in belated recognition of the Nixon pardon).Less coda than curtain raiser, Ford's administration bridged the Republican pragmatism of Eisenhower and Nixon and the more doctrinaire conservatism of Ronald Reagan. His introduction of economic deregulation would transform the American economy, while his embrace of the Helsinki Accords hastened the collapse of the Soviet Union.Illustrated with sixteen pages of black-and-white photos, this definitive biography, a decade in the making, will change history’s views of a man whose warning about presidential arrogance (“God help the country”) is more relevant than ever.
Ordinary Notes
by Christina SharpeOne of The Millions&’ &“Most Anticipated Books of 2023One of The New York Times&’ &“19 Works of Nonfiction to Read This Spring&”A dazzlingly inventive, deeply moving, intellectually bracing exploration of pain and beauty, private memory and public monument, art and complexity in contemporary Black life.&“I wanted to write about silences and terror and acts that hover over generations, over centuries. I began by writing about my mother and grandmother.&” —from &“Note 18&” in Ordinary NotesA singular achievement, Ordinary Notes explores with immense care profound questions about loss, and the shapes of Black life that emerge in the wake. In a series of 248 brief and urgent notes that gather meaning as we read them, Christina Sharpe skillfully weaves artifacts from the past—public ones alongside others that are poignantly personal—with present-day realities and possible futures, intricately constructing an immersive portrait of everyday Black existence. Through the striking images and words in these pages, themes and tones echo: sometimes about life, art, language, beauty, memory; sometimes about history, photography, and literature—but always attending, with exquisite care, to the ordinary-extraordinary dimensions of Black life. At the heart of Ordinary Notes is the indelible presence of the author&’s mother, Ida Wright Sharpe. &“I learned to see in my mother&’s house,&” writes Sharpe. &“I learned how not to see in my mother&’s house . . . My mother gifted me a love of beauty, a love of words.&” Using these and other gifts and ways of seeing, Sharpe steadily summons a chorus of voices and experiences to become present on the page. She articulates and follows an aesthetic of "beauty as a method,&” collects entries from a community of thinkers towards a &“Dictionary of Untranslatable Blackness,&” and rigorously examines sites of memory and memorial. And in the process, she forges a new literary form, as multivalent as the ways of Black being it traces.
Ordinary People
by Family OsbourneIn their own words (and we all know how colorful those can be), the five members of the notorious Osbourne clan tell the amazing story of the first family of rock. OZZY talks about his first beer, his legendary career,and why he's the only sane member of the Osbourne family. SHARON explains the root of her shopaholic nature, the ups and downs of being married to Ozzy, and what it's like to battle cancer and host a talk show. AIMEE reveals why she opted out of MTV's The Osbournes, why she thinks her mother's in denial, and why her father destroyed himself with drugs. KELLY offers cutting thoughts on sibling relationships and growing up Osbourne as well as on life as a fledgling rock star. JACK shares stories about life without privacy ("What's privacy?") and his stint in rehab -- and claims he's the only sane one in the family. IF YOU THOUGHT YOU ALREADY KNEW THE OSBOURNES, THINK AGAIN!
Ordinary People: Our Story
by Ozzy Osbourne Sharon OsbourneIn their own words (and we all know how colorful those can be), the five members of the notorious Osbourne clan tell the amazing story of the first family of rock. OZZY talks about his first beer, his legendary career,and why he's the only sane member of the Osbourne family. SHARON explains the root of her shopaholic nature, the ups and downs of being married to Ozzy, and what it's like to battle cancer and host a talk show. AIMEE reveals why she opted out of MTV's The Osbournes, why she thinks her mother's in denial, and why her father destroyed himself with drugs. KELLY offers cutting thoughts on sibling relationships and growing up Osbourne as well as on life as a fledgling rock star. JACK shares stories about life without privacy ("What's privacy?") and his stint in rehab -- and claims he's the only sane one in the family. IF YOU THOUGHT YOU ALREADY KNEW THE OSBOURNES, THINK AGAIN!
Ordinary People as Monks and Mystics: Lifestyles for Self-Discovery
by Marsha Sinetar'Ordinary People as Monks and Mystics' is an interesting and novel approach to the fascinating subject of finding one's spiritual way. It speaks very simply to the rising quest of many people to find a more spiritual meaning in a materialistic universe and among people who have no place for a spiritual dimension.
An Ordinary Soldier
by Doug Beattie Mc Philip GommOn 11th September 2006 - exactly five years after the attacks on the Twin Towers - a modern day Rorke's Drift was played out in the town of Garmsir, known as the Taliban gateway to Helmand Province. 40-year-old Capt. Doug Beattie of the 1st Battalion Royal Irish Regiment was charged with the mission to help retake Garmsir from the Taliban. His commanders said it would take two days; it actually took two weeks of exhausting, bloody conflict in which at times he would be one of only a small unit up against a ferocious enemy in impossible conditions. For his repeated bravery Doug Beattie was decorated with the Military Cross. AN ORDINARY SOLDIER offers an extraordinary insight into the mission in Afghanistan and, crucially, the relationship between British troops and the Afghans they serve alongside. Above all, it's Beattie's personal story of being what he modestly calls 'an ordinary soldier' - someone who balances being a loving father and husband with that of fighting in the world's most hostile place. It demands to be read.
The Ordinary Spaceman: From Boyhood Dreams to Astronaut
by Clayton C. Anderson Nevada BarrWhat’s it like to travel at more than 850 MPH, riding in a supersonic T-38 twin turbojet engine airplane? What happens when the space station toilet breaks? How do astronauts “take out the trash” on a spacewalk, tightly encapsulated in a space suit with just a few layers of fabric and Kevlar between them and the unforgiving vacuum of outer space?The Ordinary Spaceman puts you in the flight suit of U.S. astronaut Clayton C. Anderson and takes you on the journey of this small-town boy from Nebraska who spent 167 days living and working on the International Space Station, including more than forty hours of space walks. Having applied to NASA fifteen times over fifteen years to become an astronaut before his ultimate selection, Anderson offers a unique perspective on his life as a veteran space flier, one characterized by humility and perseverance. From the application process to launch aboard the space shuttle Atlantis, from serving as a family escort for the ill-fated Columbia crew in 2003 to his own daily struggles—family separation, competitive battles to win coveted flight assignments, the stress of a highly visible job, and the ever-present risk of having to make the ultimate sacrifice—Anderson shares the full range of his experiences. With a mix of levity and gravitas, Anderson gives an authentic view of the highs and the lows, the triumphs and the tragedies of life as a NASA astronaut.
Ordinary Time: Cycles in Marriage, Faith, and Renewal
by Nancy MairsIn a series of personal essays, Nancy Mairs writes about her lifelong relationship with spirituality and organized religion. Raised a Congregationalist in New England, she converts to Catholicism as an adult. The essays deal frontally with issues in the author's marriage, including a series of infidelities; forgiveness is a major theme.
An Ordinary Woman: A Dramatized Biography of Nancy Kelsey
by Cecelia HollandWith her stunningly realistic and exhaustively researched novels, Cecelia Holland has earned unanimous acclaim as one of the finest historical novelists of our time. Her subjects range from the dawn of prehistory and the turbulent middle ages to the rough-and-tumble pioneer days of her own native California, chronicled in such sweeping epics as The Bear Flag, Pacific Street, and her most recent novel, Railroad Schemes. Now, in An Ordinary Woman, Holland gives us an intimate portrait of a remarkable woman who played a crucial role in the settlement of the West--Nancy Kelsey, the courageous young pioneer who was the first American woman to set foot in California. Drawing upon Nancy's own accounts of her harrowing journey, as well as the writings of those who traveled with her, Cecelia Holland has crafted a stunning biography of this amazing woman that is filled with all of the action, passion, danger, and determination that have made her historical novels bestsellers around the world. Married at the age of fifteen to Ben Kelsey, a restless young Scotch-Irish pioneer who eked out a meager living on the Missouri frontier, Nancy Roberts Kelsey was a strong and capable woman who could milk a cow, skin a deer, make hew own clothes, plant a field, drive a team of oxen, and shoot a rifle. The child pioneers, bred to courage and risk, she had grown up in the wilderness only a few miles from the great Missouri River that was, in 1838, the border of the settled United States. But when the lure of a new life on the farthest edge of the frontier beckoned to Ben Kelsey, Nancy was determined to be at his side. Together they embarked on an arduous odyssey across thousands of miles of uncharted wilderness, crossing the Great Plains, the Rockies, and the High Sierra to reach their promised land. Braving hunger, disaster, illness, betrayal, and death, Nancy Kelsey and her family would play a crucial role in American history, becoming the first wave of a great tide that would transform a nation.
Oregon Indians: Voices from Two Centuries
by Stephen Dow BeckhamFrom their first encounters with European traders along the coast to their struggles for the restoration of tribal rights in the 1980s, the Indians or Oregon have managed to hold onto their identity in a constantly changing world. In this book Beckham tells the story of Oregon's Indians through letters, diaries, memoirs, newspaper articles, and legal documents. Beckham begins each entry by setting it in context, often giving biographical information about the people involved in a particular incident. The book is very sympathetic toward Native American perspective, and reveals how Oregon's Indians were cheated and abused again and again for more than two hundred years.
Oregon Moonshine: Bootleggers, Busts & Brawls (American Palate)
by Mr. Bruce HaneyMoonshining is deep-rooted in the history of Oregon. In 1844, when it was still Oregon Territory, one of the first moonshiners, James Conner, challenged a lawman to a duel for busting his illegal operation. The McKenzie River Bandits had better luck hiding from the law and produced bootleg booze for nearly five years before their arrest. It wouldn't be the last time they were caught. Over the years, outlaw moonshiners engaged in car chases, shootouts and even attempted an assassination to protect their hidden distilleries--and way of life. Join author Bruce Haney as he chronicles the intoxicating history of Oregon Moonshine.
Oregon Running Legend Steve Prefontaine (Sports)
by Paul C. Clerici Pat TysonIn the Footsteps of Oregon's beloved U.S. Olympic Athlete, Activist, and IconBorn in the small town of Coos Bay, Oregon, Steve "Pre" Prefontaine's meteoric rise to cross-country and track superstardom included national recognition in high school followed by state, national, and world records. From the University of Oregon track to a fourth-place finish in the 1972 Munich Olympic Games, he never stopped striving to make his mark on the world. Even today, his name conjures up images of athleticism, activism, and charisma. While his life tragically ended in a car accident at the youthful age of 24 - at which time he owned every American record from 2,000 to 10,000 meters and two to six miles - his legacy lives on.Join author and runner Paul C. Clerici as he brings you this legendary Oregon athlete.
The Oregon Trail
by Francis ParkmanThe author's journey brings the sight, sound and smell of the Great Plains of the mid-19th century, a dry, treeless land of wild grasses and sagebrush.
Oreos and Dubonnet: Remembering Governor Nelson A. Rockefeller (Excelsior Editions)
by Joseph H. Boyd Charles R. HolcombA unique figure and an outsized personality, Nelson Aldrich Rockefeller was a man whose character, personal style, and (of course) wealth shaped both his goals and how he pursued them. Although many stories about Rockefeller have been published over the years, many more remain to be told, and in Oreos and Dubonnet, Rockefeller's former advance man and personal assistant Joseph H. Boyd Jr. and former political reporter Charles R. Holcomb bring together scores of behind-the-scenes anecdotes, accounts, and observations from a wide variety of people who worked with and for Rockefeller in various circumstances. Some of them (and even the title itself, which refers to the two things that Rockefeller asked to have in his hotel room at every campaign stop) add amusing or telling detail to the mosaic of this complex and creative man. Others illustrate the personal approaches or techniques he relied on to persuade, cajole, or otherwise get his way in the rough-and-tumble world of gubernatorial and presidential politics. And all of them add to our understanding of one of New York's most lively and influential governors.
Organization Design and Engineering: Coexistence, Cooperation or Integration
by Rodrigo MagalhãesThe key aim of the volume of original papers on the theory and practice of ODE featured in Organization Design and Engineering is to contribute towards overcoming the academic challenges stated above. A secondary aim is to launch the debate about ODE, including whether or not the debate itself is warranted.