Rigel Kent

Between 900 and 953, Captain Buzurg ibn Shahriyar, a Persian shipmaster, compiled a collection of sailors’ tales, and among them appears a curious creature named zarāfah زرافة in the story of Lamri لامری (present day Aceh, North Sumatra). For the uninitiated, zarāfah may seem easily identifiable as a giraffe. But a closer reading of ibn Shahriyar’s account quickly reveals a mismatch: the tame diurnal animal bears little resemblance to the beast described in the text. Instead, the creature in question more plausibly corresponds to the Sumatran rhinoceros. The following Persian text can be found in a French translation published in 1883: وحدثنی أن بجزیره لامری من الزرافة ما لا یوصف کبره، و حکِی عن من حدثه من أهل المراکب الذین کسرهم البحر أنهم اضطروا الی المشی من نواحی فنصور الی لامری، و کانوا لا یمشون باللیل خوفًا من الزرافه لأنها لا تظهر بالنهار، فاذا أقبل اللیل ص...

Petitioner, the widow Kok Kang Keow 1 , respectfully submits this petition. Although my husband’s grave has yet to dry, the family fortune has already started to slip away. I earnestly beseech your grace to look kindly and with compassion upon the plight of a widow and her children. It is known that my late husband, Yap Tet Loy, was once entrusted with the post of Captain China, though it was merely empty name propagated vainly, with little actual asset. Tracing back to the time when petty villians began to manufacture unrest and the region was left devastated in the flames of war and destruction, my husband diligently raised military provisions and distinguished himself repeatedly in battle. It is impossible to calculate the many efforts and resources he expended before gaining any benefit at all. The land he acquired was narrow and overgrown with wild vegetation. He had to reopen the settlem...

Part One. Motivating example Suppose that \(\alpha, \beta\) are the roots to the following quadratic equation $$x^2 + qx + p = 0$$ Following Viete's theorem, we can directly express \(\alpha + \beta\) and \(\alpha \beta\) in terms of the coefficients of the equation, and they can be written as $$ \left\{ \begin{array}{l} \alpha + \beta = -q\\ \alpha \beta = p \end{array}\right. $$ We know that \(\alpha\) and \(\beta\) can be written as linear combination of \(\alpha + \beta\) and \(\alpha - \beta\): $$\begin{pmatrix}\alpha \\ \beta \end{pmatrix} = \mathbf{a} ( \alpha + \beta) + \mathbf{b} (\alpha - \beta) $$ where \(\mathbf{a} = \begin{pmatrix}\frac{1}{2} & \frac{1}{2}\end{pmatrix}\) and \(\mathbf{b} = \begin{pmatrix}\frac{1}{2} & -\frac{1}{2}\end{pmatrix}\). We also know that \((\alpha - \beta)^2\) can be written in terms of \(p\...