Columbia Encyclopedia

(Encyclopedia) Anderson, Jack (Jackson Northman Anderson), 1922–2005, American newspaper columnist, b. Long Beach, Calif. After serving as a Mormon missionary (1941–44) and a term as a war correspondent during 1...

(Encyclopedia) Grisham, John, 1955–, American novelist and lawyer, b. Jonesboro, Ark., B.S. Mississippi State Univ., 1977, J.D. Univ. of Mississippi School of Law, 1981. He practiced law for nearly a decade and se...

(Encyclopedia) limit, in mathematics, value approached by a sequence or a function as the index or independent variable approaches some value, possibly infinity. For example, the terms of the sequence 1⁄2, 1⁄4, ...

(Encyclopedia) pinochle pēˈnŭˌkəl [key], card game, probably derived from bezique, that was developed in the United States in the 19th cent. Pinochle is played by two, three, or four players, with a deck of 48 ...

(Encyclopedia) dysentery dĭsˈəntĕrˌē [key], inflammation of the intestine characterized by the frequent passage of feces, usually with blood and mucus. The two most common causes of dysentery are infection wit...

(Encyclopedia) conflict of laws, that part of the law in each state, country, or other jurisdiction that determines whether, in dealing with a particular legal situation, its law or the law of some other jurisdictio...

(Encyclopedia) mirror, in optics, a reflecting surface that forms an image of an object when light rays coming from that object fall upon it (see reflection). Usually mirrors are made of plate glass, one side of whi...

(Encyclopedia) arbitration, industrial, method of settling disputes between two parties by seeking and accepting the decision of a third party. Arbritration differs from mediation in that the arbritrator does not at...

(Encyclopedia) narcolepsy, a sleep disorder characterized by excessive daytime sleepiness and recurring unwanted episodes of sleep (“sleep attacks”). People with narcolepsy may abruptly fall asleep at almost any...

(Encyclopedia) narthex närˈthĕks [key], entrance feature peculiar to early Christian and Byzantine churches, although also found in some Romanesque churches, especially in France and Italy. Usually extending acro...