Below is a summary of the world's knowledge, in the form of an outline. Each subject in turn links to an outline that summarizes that subject. Together, these outlines also form a multipage site map of Wikipedia.
Books – a book is a set of written, printed, illustrated sheets, made of ink, paper, parchment, or other materials, usually fastened together to hinge at one side. Books are used to convey knowledge and other information.
Knowledge – familiarity, awareness or understanding of someone or something, such as facts, information, descriptions, or skills, which is acquired through experience or education by perceiving, discovering, or learning. Knowledge can refer to a theoretical or practical understanding of a subject. It can be implicit (as with practical skill or expertise) or explicit (as with the theoretical understanding of a subject); it can be more or less formal or systematic.
Wikipedia – free-access, free content Internet encyclopedia, supported and hosted by the non-profit Wikimedia Foundation. Anyone who can access the site can edit almost any of its articles. Wikipedia is the sixth-most visited website and constitutes the Internet's largest and most popular general reference work.
Culture – set of shared attitudes, values, goals, and practices that define a group of people, such as the people of a particular region. Culture includes the elements that characterize a particular peoples' way of life.
The arts – vast subdivision of culture, composed of many creative endeavors and disciplines. The arts encompasses visual arts, literary arts and the performing arts.
Fiction – any form of narrative which deals, in part or in whole, with events that are not factual, but rather, imaginary and invented by its author(s).
Poetry – literary art in which language is used for its aesthetic and evocative qualities in addition to, or in lieu of, its apparent meaning.
Critical theory – examination and critique of society and culture, drawing from knowledge across the social sciences and humanities.
Visual arts – art forms that create works which are primarily visual in nature.
Architecture – The art and science of designing and erecting buildings and other physical structures.
Classical architecture – architecture of classical antiquity and later architectural styles influenced by it.
Crafts – recreational activities and hobbies that involve making things with one's hands and skill.
Drawing – visual art that makes use of any number of drawing instruments to mark a two-dimensional medium.
Design – the process for planning the overall look of an object.
Photography – art, science, and practice of creating pictures by recording radiation on a radiation-sensitive medium, such as a photographic film, or electronic image sensors.
Sculpture – three-dimensional artwork created by shaping or combining hard materials – typically stone such as marble – or metal, glass, or wood.
Performing arts – those forms of art that use the artist's own body, face, and presence as a medium.
Acting – is an activity in which a story is told by means of its enactment by an actor who adopts a character—in theatre, television, film, radio, or any other medium that makes use of the mimetic mode.
Film – moving pictures, the art form that records performances visually.
Theatre – collaborative form of fine art that uses live performers to present the experience of a real or imagined event before a live audience in a specific place.
Music – art form the medium of which is sound and silence.
Music genres
Classical music – art music of the Western world, considered to be distinct from Western folk music or popular music traditions.
Jazz – musical style that originated at the beginning of the 20th century in African American communities in the Southern United States, mixing African and European music traditions.
Opera – art form in which singers and musicians perform a dramatic work combining text (called a libretto) and musical score.
Musical instruments – devices created or adapted for the purpose of making musical sounds.
Guitars – the guitar is a plucked string instrument, usually played with fingers or a pick. The guitar consists of a body with a rigid neck to which the strings, generally six in number, are attached. Guitars are traditionally constructed of various woods and strung with animal gut or, more recently, with either nylon or steel strings.
Stagecraft – technical aspects of theatrical, film, and video production. It includes, but is not limited to, constructing and rigging scenery, hanging and focusing of lighting, design and procurement of costumes, makeup, procurement of props, stage management, and recording and mixing of sound.
Gastronomy – the art and science of good eating, including the study of food and culture.
Food preparation – act of preparing foodstuffs for eating. It encompasses a vast range of methods, tools, and combinations of ingredients to improve the flavour and digestibility of food. Includes but is not limited to cooking.
Cuisines – styles of cooking characterized by distinctive ingredients, techniques and dishes, each usually associated with a specific culture or geographic region.
Meals – eating occasions that take place at a certain time and includes specific prepared food.
Chocolate – raw or processed food produced from the seed of the tropical Theobroma cacao tree.
Herbs – leaves, flowers, or stems used for food, flavoring, medicine, or fragrances. Herbs are typically valued for their savory or aromatic properties.
Spices – seeds, fruits, roots, bark, or other plant substances primarily used for flavoring, coloring or preserving food.
Strawberries – fruit widely appreciated for its characteristic aroma, bright red color, juicy texture, and sweetness.
Wine – alcoholic beverage made from fermented fruit juice (typically from grapes).
Whisky – distilled alcoholic beverage made from fermented grain mash.
Recreation and Entertainment – any activity which provides a diversion or permits people to amuse themselves in their leisure time. Entertainment is generally passive, such as watching opera or a movie.
Festivals – entertainment events centering on and celebrating a unique aspect of a community, usually staged by that community.
Tourism - travel for pleasure or business and the structures that support this travel.
Fiction – any form of narrative which deals, in part or in whole, with events that are not factual, but rather, imaginary and invented by its author(s).
Spy fiction – genre of fiction concerning forms of espionage.
James Bond – fictional character created in 1953 by writer Ian Fleming. Since then, the character has grown to icon status, featured in many novels, movies, video games and other media.
Fantasy – genre of fiction using magic and the supernatural as primary elements of plot, theme or setting, often in imaginary worlds, generally avoiding the technical/scientific content typical of Science fiction, but overlapping with it.
A Song of Ice and Fire franchise (Game of Thrones) – fantasy series and setting by writer George R. R. Martin, home to dragons, White Walkers, and feuding noble houses.
Harry Potter – stories, setting, and media franchise revolving around the character Harry Potter, including books and movies.
Middle-earth – fantasy setting by writer J.R.R. Tolkien, home to hobbits, orcs, and many other mystical races and creatures.
Narnia – fantasy setting by C.S. Lewis, home to talking animals, centaurs, witches, and many other mythical creatures and characters.
Science fiction – a genre of fiction dealing with imaginary but more or less plausible (or at least nonsupernatural) content such as future settings, futuristic science and technology, space travel, aliens, giant monsters (Kaiju), and paranormal abilities. Exploring the consequences of scientific innovations is one purpose of science fiction, making it a "literature of ideas".
Star Trek – sci-fi setting created by Gene Roddenberry, focused mostly upon the adventures of the personnel of Star Fleet of the United Federation of Planets and their exploration and interaction with the regions of space within and beyond their borders.
Games – structured playing, usually undertaken for enjoyment, involving goals, rules, challenge, and interaction.
Board games – tabletop games that involve counters or pieces moved or placed on a pre-marked surface or "board", according to a set of rules.
Chess – two-player board game played on a chessboard, a square-checkered board with 64 squares arranged in an eight-by-eight grid. Each player begins the game with sixteen pieces: One king, one queen, two rooks, two knights, two bishops, and eight pawns.
Card games – game using playing cards as the primary device with which the game is played, be they traditional or game-specific.
Poker – family of card games that share betting rules and usually (but not always) hand rankings.
Video games – electronic games that involves interaction with a user interface to generate visual feedback on a video device.
Sports – organized, competitive, entertaining, and skillful activity requiring commitment, strategy, and fair play, in which a winner can be defined by objective means. Generally speaking, a sport is a game based in physical athleticism.
Ball games
Association football (soccer) – sport played between two teams of 11 players who primarily use their feet to propel the ball around a rectangular field called a pitch, to score more goals than the opposition by moving the ball beyond the goal line into a rectangular framed goal defended by the opposing side.
Baseball – bat-and-ball sport played between two teams of nine players each where the aim is to score runs by hitting a thrown ball with a bat and touching a series of four bases arranged at the corners of a ninety-foot diamond.
Basketball – team sport in which two teams of five players try to score points by throwing or "shooting" a ball through the top of a basketball hoop while following a set of rules.
Golf – club and ball sport in which players use various clubs to hit balls into a series of holes on a course in as few strokes as possible.
Tennis – sport usually played between two players (singles) or between two teams of two players each (doubles), using specialized racquets to strike a felt-covered hollow rubber ball over a net into the opponent's court.
Combat sports
Fencing – family of combat sports using bladed weapons.
Martial arts – extensive systems of codified practices and traditions of combat practiced for a variety of reasons including self-defense, competition, physical health and fitness as well as mental and spiritual development.
Traveling / racing sports
Auto racing – sport involving the racing of automobiles for competition.
Boating
Canoeing and kayaking – two closely related forms of watercraft paddling, involving manually propelling and navigating specialized boats called canoes and kayaks using a blade that is joined to a shaft, known as a paddle, in the water.
Sailing – using sailboats for sporting purposes. It can be recreational or competitive. Competitive sailing is in the form of races.
Cycling – use of bicycles or other non-motorized cycles for transport, recreation, or for sport. Also called bicycling or biking.
Motorcycling – riding a motorcycle. A variety of subcultures and lifestyles have been built up around motorcycling and motorcycle racing.
Running – moving rapidly on foot, during which both feet are off the ground at regular intervals.
Skiing – mode of transport, recreational activity and competitive winter sport in which the participant uses skis to glide on snow. Many types of competitive skiing events are recognized by the International Olympic Committee (IOC), and the International Ski Federation (FIS).
Humanities – academic disciplines that study the human condition, using methods that are primarily analytical, critical, or speculative, as distinguished from the mainly empirical approaches of the natural sciences.
Area studies – comprehensive interdisciplinary research and academic study of the people and communities of particular regions. Disciplines applied include history, political science, sociology, cultural studies, languages, geography, literature, and related disciplines.
Sinology – study of China and things related to China, such as its classical language and literature.
Classical studies – branch of the Humanities comprising the languages, literature, philosophy, history, art, archaeology and all other cultural elements of the ancient Mediterranean world (Bronze Age ca. BC 3000 – Late Antiquity ca. AD 300–600); especially Ancient Greece and Rome.
Health – Health is a state of complete physical, mental and social well-being. This is a level of functional and (or) metabolic efficiency of a person in mind, body, and spirit; being free from illness, injury or pain (as in "good health" or "healthy"). The World Health Organization (WHO) defined health in its broader sense in 1946 as "a state of complete physical, mental, and social well-being and not merely the absence of disease or infirmity."
Exercise – any bodily activity that enhances or maintains physical fitness and overall health and wellness. It is performed for various reasons including strengthening muscles and the cardiovascular system, honing athletic skills, weight loss or maintenance, and mental health including the prevention of depression. Frequent and regular physical exercise boosts the immune system and helps prevent the "diseases of affluence" such as heart disease, cardiovascular disease, Type 2 diabetes mellitus, and obesity.
Nutrition – provision, to cells and organisms, of the materials necessary (in the form of food) to support life.
Life extension – The study of slowing down or reversing the processes of aging to extend both the maximum and average lifespan.
Health sciences – applied sciences that address the use of science, technology, engineering, or mathematics in the delivery of healthcare to human beings.
Medicine – science and art of healing. It encompasses a variety of health care practices evolved to maintain and restore health by the prevention and treatment of illness.
Anesthesia – a way to control pain during a surgery or procedure by using a medicine called anesthetics.
Cardiology – the branch of medicine dealing with disorders of the human heart. The field includes medical diagnosis and treatment of congenital heart defects, coronary artery disease, heart failure, valvular heart disease, and electrophysiology.
Clinical research – aspect of biomedical research that addresses the assessment of new pharmaceutical and biological drugs, medical devices, and vaccines in humans.
Diabetes – a group of metabolic diseases in which the person has high blood glucose (blood sugar) above 200mg/dl, either because insulin production is inadequate, or because the body's cells do not respond properly to insulin or both.
Dentistry – a branch of medicine that is involved in the study, diagnosis, prevention, and treatment of diseases, disorders, and conditions of the mouth, maxillofacial area, and the adjacent and associated structures (teeth) and their impact on the human body.
Emergency medicine – medical specialty involving care for undifferentiated, unscheduled patients with acute illnesses or injuries that require immediate medical attention. Emergency physicians undertake acute investigations and interventions to resuscitate and stabilize patients.
Obstetrics – medical specialty dealing with the care of all women's reproductive tracts and their children during pregnancy (prenatal period), childbirth, and the postnatal period.
Trauma and Orthopedics – medical specialty dealing with bones, joints and operative management of trauma.
Psychiatry – medical specialty devoted to the study and treatment of mental disorders. These mental disorders include various affective, behavioral, cognitive, and perceptual abnormalities.
Autism – mental condition, present from early childhood, characterized by great difficulty in communicating and forming relationships with other people and in using language and abstract concepts.
Bipolar disorder – mental disorder that causes periods of depression and periods of abnormally elevated mood.
Psychiatric survivors movement – diverse association of individuals who either currently access mental health services (known as consumers or service users), or who are survivors of interventions by psychiatry, or who are ex-patients of mental health.
Public health – preventing disease, prolonging life and promoting health through the organized efforts and informed choices of society, organizations, public and private, communities and individuals".[1][2]
History (timelines) – records of past events and the way things were. It is also a field responsible for the discovery, collection, organization, and presentation of information about the past.
Classical antiquity (timeline) – long period of cultural history in the lands surrounding the Mediterranean Sea, comprising the Greco-Roman world.
Ancient Greece (timeline) – period of Greek history lasting from the Greek Dark Ages (ca. 1100 BC) to 146 BC and the Roman conquest of Greece. It was the seminal culture which provided the foundation of Western civilization.
Ancient Rome (timeline) – civilization that started on the Italian Peninsula and lasted from as early as the 10th century BC to the 5th century AD. Over centuries it shifted from a monarchy to a republic to an empire which dominated South-Western Europe, South-Eastern Europe/Balkans and the Mediterranean region.
Classical architecture – architecture of classical antiquity, that is, ancient Greek architecture and the architecture of ancient Rome. It also refers to the style or styles of architecture influenced by those.
Ancient East
Ancient China – China from about 2070 to 221 BC, spanning the Xia Dynasty, Shang Dynasty, Zhou Dynasy, the Spring and Autumn period, to the end of the Warring States period.
Ancient Egypt – ancient civilization of eastern North Africa, along the lower reaches of the Nile River starting about 3150 BC, in what is now the modern country of Egypt.
Ancient India – India as it existed from pre-historic times (c. 7000 BCE or earlier) to the start of the Middle Ages (c. 500 CE).
Middle Ages (Medieval history) (timeline) – historical period following the Iron Age, fully underway by the 5th century and lasting to the 15th century and preceding the early Modern Era. It is the middle period in a three-period division of history: Classic, Medieval, and Modern.
Renaissance – cultural movement that spanned roughly the 14th to the 17th century, beginning in Florence in the Late Middle Ages and later spreading to the rest of Europe. It encompassed a flowering of literature, science, art, religion, and politics, and gradual but widespread educational reform.
Ancient Egypt – ancient civilization of eastern North Africa, along the lower reaches of the Nile River starting about 3150 BC, in what is now the modern country of Egypt.
Ancient Rome (timeline) – civilization that started on the Italian Peninsula and lasted from as early as the 10th century BC to the 5th century AD. Over centuries it shifted from a monarchy to a republic to an empire which dominated South-Western Europe, South-Eastern Europe/Balkans and the Mediterranean region.
Byzantine Empire (timeline) – the Eastern Roman Empire that existed throughout Late Antiquity and the Middle Ages. Known simply as the Roman Empire or Romania by its inhabitants and neighbors, the empire was centered on the capital of Constantinople and was the direct continuation of the Ancient Roman State. Byzantium, however, was distinct from ancient Rome, in that it was Christian and predominantly Greek-speaking, being influenced by Greek, as opposed to Latin, culture.
Ottoman Empire (timeline) – historical Muslim empire, also known by its contemporaries as the Turkish Empire or Turkey. At its zenith in the second half of the 16th century it controlled Southeast Europe, Southwest Asia and North Africa.
Soviet Union – socialist state on the Eurasian continent that existed from 1922 to 1991. A union of multiple subnational Soviet republics, its government and economy were highly centralized. The Soviet Union was a one-party state, governed by the Communist Party with Moscow as its capital. It was a major ally during World War II, a main participant in the Cold War, and it grew in power to become one of the world's two superpowers (the other being the United States). The Soviet Union collapsed in 1991.
Wars of Scottish Independence - series of military campaigns fought from 1296–1357 by the Kingdom of Scotland to maintain their nation's independence from the Kingdom of England.
Wars of the Three Kingdoms (timeline) - series of interconnected conflicts within the kingdoms of England, Ireland and Scotland which took place from 1639-1651.
American Revolutionary War (timeline) - war between Great Britain and its Thirteen Colonies in North America from 1775 to 1783 that established the United States of America as an independent nation.
American Civil War (timeline) – civil war in the United States of America from 1861–1865 in which 11 Southern slave states tried to secede.
World War I (timeline) – major war centred in Europe that began on 28 July 1914 and lasted until 11 November 1918. It involved all the world's great powers, which were assembled in two opposing alliances: the Allies (centred on the Triple Entente of Britain, France and Russia) and the Central Powers (originally centred on the Triple Alliance of Germany, Austria-Hungary and Italy).
World War II (timeline) – global military conflict from 1939 to 1945, which involved most of the world's nations forming two opposing military alliances, the Allies and the Axis. It was the most widespread, largest, most costly, and deadliest war in history.
Cold War (timeline) – period of political and military tension between the Western Bloc and the Eastern Bloc, accentuated by the rivalry between the two superpowers at that time: America (U.S.) and the Soviet Union (U.S.S.R.).
Vietnam War – Cold War era military conflict that occurred in Vietnam, Laos, and Cambodia from 1 November 1955 to the fall of Saigon on 30 April 1975. This war followed the First Indochina War and was fought between North Vietnam, supported by its communist allies, and the government of South Vietnam, supported by the United States and other anti-communist nations.
The Troubles (timeline) – historical ethno-nationalist conflict in Northern Ireland that lasted about 30 years, beginning in the late 1960s and ending with the Good Friday Agreement of 1998. Also known internationally as the Northern Ireland conflict, it is sometimes described as an "irregular war" or "low-level war".
Iraq War (timeline)– Invasion by a United States-led coalition, followed by occupation. The invasion occurred as part of the George W. Bush administration's war on terror following the September 11 attacks. The war lasted from 2003 to 2011.
Russo-Ukrainian War (timeline) — war of aggression by Russia upon Ukraine, including Russia's annexation of Crimea in 2014, the War in Donbas (2014-), and the Russian invasion of Ukraine (2022-).
2023 Israel–Hamas war (timeline) – armed conflict between Hamas-led Palestinian militant groups and Israeli military forces, starting with a Hamas attack on southern Israel, which triggered extensive strikes against Palestine's Gaza Strip by Israel and a subsequent invasion of Gaza.
The arts – vast subdivision of culture, composed of many creative endeavors and disciplines. The arts encompasses visual arts, literary arts and the performing arts.
Applied science – application of scientific knowledge transferred into a physical environment. Examples include all fields of engineering.
Formal science – branch of knowledge with many subbranches which are concerned with formal systems. Unlike other sciences, the formal sciences are not concerned with the validity of theories based on observations in the real world, but instead with the properties of formal systems based on definitions and rules.
Natural science – major branch of science that tries to explain and predict nature's phenomena, based on empirical evidence. In natural science, hypotheses must be verified scientifically to be regarded as scientific theory. Validity, accuracy, and social mechanisms ensuring quality control, such as peer review and repeatability of findings, are among the criteria and methods used for this purpose.
Social science – study of the world and its cultures and civilizations. Social science has many branches, each called a "social science".
Sports – organized, competitive, entertaining, and skillful activity requiring commitment, strategy, and fair play, in which a winner can be defined by objective means. Generally speaking, a sport is a game based in physical athleticism.
Transport – the transfer of people or things from one place to another.
Underwater diving – practice of people descending below the water's surface to interact with the environment.
War – state of armed conflict between states, governments, societies and informal paramilitary groups, such as mercenaries, insurgents and militias. It is generally characterized by extreme violence, aggression, destruction, and mortality, using regular or irregular military forces.
Formal science – branches of knowledge that are concerned with formal systems. Unlike other sciences, the formal sciences are not concerned with the validity of theories based on observations in the real world, but instead with the properties of formal systems based on definitions and rules.
Mathematics – study of quantity, structure, space, and change. Mathematicians seek out patterns, and formulate new conjectures. (See also: Lists of mathematics topics)
Arithmetic – the oldest and most elementary branch of mathematics, involving the study of quantity, especially as the result of combining numbers. The simplest arithmetical operations include addition, subtraction, multiplication and division.
Algebra – the branch of mathematics concerning the study of the rules of operations and relations, and the constructions and concepts arising from them, including terms, polynomials, equations and algebraic structures.
Linear algebra – the branch of mathematics concerning linear equations and linear maps and their representations in vector spaces and through matrices.
Abstract algebra – the branch of mathematics concerning algebraic structures, such as groups, rings, fields, modules, vector spaces, and algebras.
Commutative algebra – branch of abstract algebra that studies commutative rings, their ideals, and modules over such rings.
Algebraic coding theory – aka coding theory, is the study of the properties of codes and their respective fitness for specific applications.
Boolean algebra – branch of algebra in which the values of the variables are the truth values true and false, usually denoted 1 and 0, respectively. It is used for describing logical operations.
Analysis/Calculus – the branch of mathematics focused on limits, functions, derivatives, integrals, and infinite series. Calculus is the study of change, in the same way that geometry is the study of shape and algebra is the study of operations and their application to solving equations.
Category theory – the branch of mathematics examining the properties of mathematical structures in terms of collections of objects and arrows
Discrete mathematics – the study of mathematical structures that are fundamentally discrete rather than continuous. In contrast to real numbers that have the property of varying "smoothly", the objects studied in discrete mathematics – such as integers, graphs, and statements in logic – do not vary smoothly in this way, but have distinct, separated values.
Combinatorics – the branch of mathematics concerning the study of finite or countable discrete structures.
Geometry – this is one of the oldest branches of mathematics, it is concerned with questions of shape, size, relative position of figures, and the properties of space.
Circles – geometric shapes consisting of all points in a plane that are at a given distance from a given point, the center.
Combinatorial computational geometry – states problems in terms of geometric objects as discrete entities and hence the methods of their solution are mostly theories and algorithms of combinatorial character.
Differential geometry – geometry of smooth shapes and smooth spaces, otherwise known as smooth manifolds.
Topology – developed from geometry, it looks at those properties that do not change even when the figures are deformed by stretching and bending, like dimension.
Algebraic topology – uses tools from abstract algebra to study topological spaces.
General topology – also known as point-set topology, it deals with the basic set-theoretic definitions and constructions used in topology. It is the foundation for most of the other branches of topology.
Geometric topology – study of manifolds and maps between them, particularly embeddings of one manifold into another.
Set theory – studies sets, which can be informally described as collections of objects.
Algebraic structure – the sum total of all properties that arise from the inclusion of one or more operations on a set.
Trigonometry – branch of mathematics that studies triangles and the relationships between their sides and the angles between these sides. Trigonometry defines the trigonometric functions, which describe those relationships and have applicability to cyclical phenomena, such as waves.
Triangles – type of polygon, with three edges and three vertices. The triangle is one of the basic shapes in geometry.
Logic – formal systematic study of the principles of valid inference and correct reasoning. Logic is used in most intellectual activities, but is studied primarily in the disciplines of philosophy, mathematics, semantics, and computer science.
Other mathematical sciences – academic disciplines that are primarily mathematical in nature but may not be universally considered subfields of mathematics proper.
Statistics – study of the collection, organization, and interpretation of data. It deals with all aspects of this, including the planning of data collection in terms of the design of surveys and experiments.
Regression analysis – techniques for modeling and analyzing several variables, when the focus is on the relationship between a dependent variable and one or more independent variables. More specifically, regression analysis helps one understand how the typical value of the dependent variable changes when any one of the independent variables is varied, while the other independent variables are held fixed.
Probability – way of expressing knowledge or belief that an event will occur or has occurred. The concept has an exact mathematical meaning in probability theory, which is used extensively in such areas of study as mathematics, statistics, finance, gambling, science, artificial intelligence/machine learning and philosophy to draw conclusions about the likelihood of potential events and the underlying mechanics of complex systems.
Theoretical computer science – a division or subset of general computer science and mathematics that focuses on more abstract or mathematical aspects of computing and includes the theory of computation.
Science – systematic enterprise that builds and organizes knowledge in the form of testable explanations and predictions about the world. An older and closely related meaning still in use today is that of Aristotle, for whom scientific knowledge was a body of reliable knowledge that can be logically and rationally explained.
Basis of natural science – natural science is a major branch of science, that tries to explain and predict nature's phenomena, based on empirical evidence. In natural science, hypotheses must be verified scientifically to be regarded as scientific theory. Validity, accuracy, and social mechanisms ensuring quality control, such as peer review and repeatability of findings, are amongst the criteria and methods used for this purpose.
Scientific method – body of techniques for investigating phenomena, acquiring new knowledge, or correcting and integrating previous knowledge. To be termed scientific, a method of inquiry must be based on gathering empirical and measurable evidence subject to specific principles of reasoning.
Metric system – decimal based system of measurement based on the metre and the kilogram, units of measure that were developed in France in 1799 and which is now used in most branches on international commerce, science and engineering.
Branches of natural science – also called "the natural sciences", which are:
Biology – study of life and living organisms, including their structure, function, growth, origin, evolution, distribution, and taxonomy.
Anatomy – study of the structure of living things.
Human nervous system – part of the human body that coordinates a person's voluntary and involuntary actions and transmits signals between different parts of the body.
Human brain – central organ of the nervous system located in the head of a human being, protected by the skull
Biochemistry – interdisciplinary field at the nexus of biology and chemistry, elucidating the molecular processes that underpin life. Investigating the structure, function, and interactions of biological molecules, biochemists explore the intricate mechanisms within cells and organisms. Central themes include enzymes catalyzing biochemical reactions, DNA's genetic information storage, and the synthesis of proteins. Understanding cellular metabolism, signal transduction, and molecular genetics, biochemistry plays a pivotal role in advancing medical research, biotechnology, and pharmacology. Analyzing the molecular intricacies of life, biochemistry not only unlocks the secrets of biological phenomena but also informs innovations in medicine and the development of novel therapies.
Biophysics – interdisciplinary science that uses the methods of physical science to study biological systems. Studies included under the branches of biophysics span all levels of biological organization, from the molecular scale to whole organisms and ecosystems.
Botany – a branch of biology, focuses on the study of plants, encompassing their structure, physiology, classification, and ecology. Botanists explore plant life at various levels, from cellular processes to entire ecosystems. This scientific discipline contributes crucial insights into plant evolution, growth patterns, and interactions with the environment. Understanding botany is essential for agricultural advancements, environmental conservation, and the development of sustainable practices. From microscopic algae to towering trees, botany unravels the mysteries of plant life, fostering appreciation for the diverse and vital role plants play in the world.
Cell biology – study of cells. Their physiological properties, their structure, the organelles they contain, interactions with their environment, their life cycle, division and death.
Ecology – study of interactions between organisms and their environment.
Environmental studies – multidisciplinary academic field that systematically studies human interaction with the environment, bringing together principles of the physical sciences, commerce/economics and social sciences to solve today's complex contemporary environmental problems.
Air pollution dispersion – distribution of air pollution, the study of which is used by many regulatory agencies to control air pollution
Evolution – study of evolutionary processes that produced the diversity of life on Earth.
Genetics – study of genes, heredity, and variation in living organisms.
Immunology – study of immune systems in all organisms.
Neuroscience – scientific study of the nervous system.
Brain mapping – neuroscience techniques for making spatial maps of the (human or non-human) brain.
Paleontology – study of prehistoric life, including organisms' evolution and interactions with each other and their environments (their paleoecology).
Dinosaurs – diverse group of animals that were the dominant terrestrial vertebrates for over 160 million years, from the late Triassic period (about 230 million years ago) until the end of the Cretaceous (about 65 million years ago), when the Cretaceous–Paleogene extinction event led to the extinction of most dinosaur species at the close of the Mesozoic era.
Pharmacology – broadly defined as the study of drug action and pharmacokinetics.
Physiology – study of how living organisms function.
Zoology – study of the animal kingdom, including the structure, embryology, evolution, classification, habits, and distribution of all animals, both living and extinct.
Animals – multicellular, eukaryotic organisms of the kingdom Animalia (also called Metazoa). All animals are motile, meaning they can move spontaneously and independently at some point in their lives. Their body plan eventually becomes fixed as they develop, although some undergo a process of metamorphosis later on in their lives. All animals are heterotrophs: they must ingest other organisms or their products for sustenance.
Ants – more than 12,000 species of social insects evolved from wasp-like ancestors, that live in organised colonies which may consist of millions of ants.
Gastropods – any member of the class Gastropoda, which includes slugs and snails.
Reptiles – group of tetrapods with an ectothermic ('cold-blooded') metabolism and amniotic development. Includes turtles, crocodilians, lizards and snakes, and tuatara.
Birds – feathered, winged, bipedal, endothermic (warm-blooded), egg-laying, vertebrate animals. There are about 10,000 living species of birds.
Fish – any member of a paraphyletic group of organisms that consist of all gill-bearing aquatic craniate animals that lack limbs with digits.
Sharks – type of fish with a full cartilaginous skeleton and a highly streamlined body. The earliest known sharks date from more than 420 million years ago.
Fungi – group of eukaryotic organisms that includes microorganisms such as yeasts and molds, as well as the more familiar mushrooms.
Lichens – composite organisms made up of one or more fungal partners and one or more photosynthetic partners (either algae or cyanobacteria)
Extraterrestrial life – life that may occur outside Earth and which did not originate on Earth.
Physical sciences – encompasses the branches of science that study non-living systems, in contrast to the life sciences. However, the term "physical" creates an unintended, somewhat arbitrary distinction, since many branches of physical science also study biological phenomena.
Chemistry – study of matter, especially its properties, structure, composition, behavior, reactions, interactions and the changes it undergoes.
Organic chemistry – study of the structure, properties, composition, reactions, and preparation (by synthesis or by other means) of carbon-based compounds, hydrocarbons, and their derivatives.
Water – chemical substance with the chemical formula H2O. Its molecule contains one oxygen and two hydrogen atoms connected by covalent bonds. Water is a liquid at ambient conditions, but it often co-exists on Earth with its solid state, ice, and gaseous state (water vapor or steam).
Alchemy – protoscience considered a predecessor to chemistry
Earth science – all-embracing term for the sciences related to the planet Earth. It is arguably a special case in planetary science, the Earth being the only known life-bearing planet.
Earth – planet you are on right now. Third planet from the Sun, the densest planet in the Solar System, the largest of the Solar System's four terrestrial planets, and the only astronomical object known to harbor life.
Geography – study of the Earth and its lands, features, inhabitants, and phenomena. A literal translation would be "to describe or write about the Earth".
Geology – study of the Earth, with the general exclusion of present-day life, flow within the ocean, and the atmosphere. The field of geology encompasses the composition, structure, physical properties, and history of Earth's components, and the processes by which they are shaped. Geologists typically study rock, sediment, soil, rivers, and natural resources.
Plate tectonics – theory that describes the surface of the Earth as comprised of large tectonic plates
Geophysics – physics of the Earth and its environment in space; also the study of the Earth using quantitative physical methods. Includes Earth's shape; its gravitational and magnetic fields; its internal structure and composition; its dynamics and their surface expression in plate tectonics, the generation of magmas, volcanism and rock formation.
Meteorology – study of the atmosphere, including study and forecasting of the weather.
Tropical cyclones – storm systems characterized by a large low-pressure center and numerous thunderstorms that produce strong winds and heavy rain.
Oceanography – The study of the physical and biological aspects of the ocean.
Physics – study of matter and its motion through spacetime, along with related concepts such as energy and force. More broadly, it is the general analysis of nature, conducted in order to understand how the universe behaves.
Acoustics – interdisciplinary science that deals with the study of all mechanical waves in gases, liquids, and solids including topics such as vibration, sound, ultrasound and infrasound.
Energy – scalar physical quantity that describes the amount of work that can be performed by a force. Energy is an attribute of objects and systems that is subject to a conservation law.
Fluid dynamics – subdiscipline of fluid mechanics that describes the flow of fluids (liquids and gases).
Astronomy – study of celestial objects (such as stars, planets, comets, nebulae, star clusters and galaxies) and phenomena that originate outside the Earth's atmosphere (such as the cosmic background radiation).
Solar System – gravitationally bound system comprising the Sun and the objects that orbit it, either directly or indirectly. Where the Earth is located (the third planet orbiting the Sun).
Venus – second closest planet to the sun. It is a terrestrial planet.
Earth – home of the human race, and 3rd planet closest to the sun. It is the only planet known to support life.
Moon – astronomical object that orbits planet Earth, being Earth's only permanent natural satellite.
Mars – terrestrial planet. Fourth closest planet to the sun.
Jupiter – gas giant, and fifth planet from the sun.
Saturn – gas giant, famous for its rings, and sixth planet from the sun.
Uranus – ice giant, and seventh planet from the sun.
Neptune – ice giant. Eighth and furthest planet from the sun.
Black holes – mathematically defined region of spacetime exhibiting such a strong gravitational pull that no particle or electromagnetic radiation can escape from it.
Galaxies – gravitationally bound systems of stars, stellar remnants, interstellar gas, dust, and dark matter. Earth is located in the Milky Way galaxy.
Ethics – The study of the right, the good, and the valuable. Includes study of applied ethics.
Sexual ethics – The study of sexual relations rooted in particular behaviors and standards.
Logic – The study of good reasoning, by examining the validity of arguments and documenting their fallacies.
Metaphysics – traditional branch of philosophy concerned with explaining the fundamental nature of being and the world that encompasses it, although the term is not easily defined.
Philosophies
Atheism – the rejection of belief in the existence of deities. In a narrower sense, atheism is specifically the position that there are no deities.
Critical theory – examination and critique of society and culture, drawing from knowledge across the social sciences and humanities.
Humanism – approach in study, philosophy, worldview or practice that focuses on human values and concerns.
Transhumanism – international intellectual and cultural movement that affirms the possibility and desirability of fundamentally transforming the human condition by developing and making widely available technologies to eliminate aging and to greatly enhance human intellectual, physical, and psychological capacities. It is often abbreviated as H+ or h+.
Political philosophies:
Anarchism – political philosophy which considers the state undesirable, unnecessary, and harmful, and instead promotes a stateless society, or anarchy.
Libertarianism – political philosophy that advocates minimization of the government and maximization of individual liberty and political freedom.
Marxism – method of socioeconomic analysis that applies historical materialism to understand class relations and social conflict, and a dialectical perspective to view social transformation.
Socialism – range of economic and social systems characterised by social ownership of the means of production and workers' self-management as well as the political theories and movements associated with them.
Thought – mental or intellectual activity involving an individual's subjective consciousness. It can refer either to the act of thinking or the resulting ideas or arrangements of ideas.
Neuroscience – scientific study of the nervous system.
Psychology – science of behavior and mental processes.
Religion – collection of cultural systems, belief systems, and worldviews that establishes symbols that relate humanity to spirituality and sometimes to moral values.
World's religions:
Abrahamic religions:
Judaism – "religion, philosophy, and way of life" of the Jewish people. Originating in the Hebrew Bible (also known as the Tanach) and explored in later texts such as the Talmud, it is considered by religious Jews to be the expression of the covenantal relationship God developed with the Children of Israel.
Jewish law – the collective body of Jewish religious laws derived from the Written and Oral Torah.
Christianity – monotheistic religion based on the life and teachings of Jesus as presented in canonical gospels and other New Testament writings.
Catholicism – Catholicism is the largest denomination of Christianity. It holds that its Bishops are the successors of the Apostles of Jesus and its Pope the successor of St Peter, and Mary the mother of Jesus is venerated. The term Catholicism broadly denotes the varying body of traditions, nations, demographics and behaviours generally subscribed to the Faith.
Protestantism – Protestantism is a broad term, usually used for Christians who are not of the Catholic, Anglican, or Eastern Churches. However, some consider Anglicanism to be Protestant, and some consider Radical Reformism not to be Protestant.
Book of Mormon – the earliest distinctive scripture of the Latter Day Saint movement.
Joseph Smith – the founding Prophet of the Latter Day Saint movement.
Islam – monotheistic religion articulated by the Quran, a text considered by its adherents to be the verbatim word of one God, Allah (Arabic: الله Allāh), and by the teachings and normative example (called the Sunnah and composed of Hadith) of Muhammad, considered by them to be the last prophet of Allah.
Mandaeism – a monotheistic ethnic religion practiced by the Mandaeans of Iraq and Iran.
Bábism – Predecessor of the Baháʼí Faith founded in 1844 by the Báb (b. ʻAli Muhammad), an Iranian merchant turned prophet who taught that there is one incomprehensible God who manifests his will in an unending series of Manifestations of God.
Baháʼí Faith – a monotheistic religion founded by Baháʼu'lláh in the 19th century, proclaims Spiritual unity of mankind
East Asian religions:
Taoism – a religious and philosophical tradition of Chinese origin with an emphasis on living in harmony with, and in accordance to the natural flow or cosmic structural order of the universe commonly referred to as the Tao. The Tao Te Ching, along with the Zhuangzi, is a fundamental text for both philosophical and religious Taoism. Laozi is traditionally regarded as one of the founders of Taoism and is closely associated in this context with "original" or "primordial" Taoism.
Indian religions:
Buddhism – religion and philosophy encompassing a variety of traditions, beliefs and practices, largely based on teachings attributed to Siddhartha Gautama, commonly known as the Buddha (Pāli/Sanskrit "the awakened one").
Hinduism – predominant and indigenous religious tradition), amongst many other expressions.
Ayyavazhi – Henotheistic belief that originated in South India. It is cited as an independent monistic religion by several newspapers, government reports and academic researchers. In Indian censuses, however, the majority of its followers declare themselves as Hindus. Therefore, Ayyavazhi is also considered a Hindu denomination.
Sikhism – monotheistic religion founded during the 15th century in the Punjab region, on the teachings of Guru Nanak Dev Ji and ten successive Sikh Gurus (the last teaching being the holy scripture Guru Granth Sahib Ji).
Contemporary Paganism – a contemporary set of beliefs modelled on the ancient pagan religions (usually of Europe or the Near East).
Religious debates:
Creation–evolution controversy – recurring theological and cultural-political dispute about the origins of the Earth, humanity, life, and the universe, between the proponents of various forms of abiogenesis, and proponents of the various forms of special creation. In both cases, there is limited scientific support for any origin of life hypothesis. The dispute particularly involves the field of evolutionary biology, but also the fields of geology, palaeontology, thermodynamics, nuclear physics and cosmology.
Religious issues:
Theology – systematic and rational study of religion and its influences and of the nature of religious truths, or the learned profession acquired by completing specialized training in religious studies, usually at a university or school of divinity or seminary.
Christian theology – enterprise to construct a coherent system of Christian belief and practice based primarily upon the texts of the Old Testament and the New Testament as well as the historic traditions of the faithful. Christian theologians use biblical exegesis, rational analysis, and argument to clarify, examine, understand, explicate, critique, defend or promote Christianity.
Irreligion – absence of religious belief, or indifference or hostility to religion, or active rejection of religious traditions.
Atheism – rejection of belief in the existence of deities. In a narrower sense, atheism is specifically the position that there are no deities. Most inclusively, atheism is simply the absence of belief that any deities exist. Atheism is contrasted with theism, which in its most general form is the belief that at least one deity exists.
Secular humanism – embraces human reason, ethics, and justice while specifically rejecting religious dogma, supernaturalism, pseudoscience or superstition as the basis of morality and decision-making.
Spirituality – can refer to an ultimate or an alleged immaterial reality; an inner path enabling a person to discover the essence of their being; or the "deepest values and meanings by which people live."
Social science – study of the world and its cultures and civilizations. Social science has many branches, each called a "social science". Some of the major social sciences are:
Anthropology – study of how humans developed biologically and culturally.
Archaeology – study of human cultures through the recovery, documentation, and analysis of material remains and environmental data, including architecture, artifacts, biofacts, human remains, and landscapes.
Economics – study of how people satisfy their wants and needs. Economics is also the study of supply and demand.
Futures studies – seeks to understand what is likely to continue and what could plausibly change
Principles of interpretation – methods used to understand language and texts, primarily legal documents and sacred texts.
Political science – study of different forms of government and the ways citizens relate to them.
Psychology – study of the mind, mental processes and behavior.
Abnormal psychology – is the scientific study of abnormal behavior in order to describe, predict, explain, and change abnormal patterns of functioning.
Human intelligence – mental capacities of human beings to reason, plan, problem solve, think, comprehend ideas, use languages, and learn.
Human sexuality – impacts and is impacted upon by cultural, political, legal, philosophical, moral, ethical, and religious aspects of life. Sexual activity is a vital principle of human living that connects the desires, pleasures, and energy of the body with a knowledge of human intimacy.
Semiotics – study of symbols and how they relate to one another.
Sociology – study of the formation of human societies and social organizations, their structure, and the interaction and behavior of people in organized groups.
Society – group of people sharing the same geographical or virtual territory and therefore subject to the same political authority and dominant cultural expectations. Such people share a distinctive culture and institutions, which characterize the patterns of social relations between them.
Community – group of interacting people, possibly living in close proximity, and often refers to a group that shares some common values, and is attributed with social cohesion within a shared geographical location, generally in social units larger than a household.
LGBT – lesbian, gay, bisexual, and transgender community
Business – organization engaged in the trade of goods, services, or both to consumers for the purpose of making a profit.
Accounting – measurement, processing and communication of financial information about economic entities.
Actuarial science – discipline that applies mathematical and statistical methods to assess risk in the insurance and finance industries.
Business administration – also called "business management", this comprises planning, organizing, staffing, and directing a company's operations in order to achieve its goals.
Finance – funds management, including raising capital to fund an enterprise.
Corporate finance – deals with the sources of funding, the capital structure of corporations, increasing the value of the firm to the shareholders, and the tools and analysis used to allocate financial resources.
Marketing – process used to determine what products or services may be of interest to customers, and the strategy to use in sales, communications and business development. It generates the strategy that underlies sales techniques, business communication, and business developments.
Production – creating 'use' value or 'utility' that can satisfy a want or need. Any effort directed toward the realization of a desired product or service is a "productive" effort and the performance of such an act is production.
Project management – discipline of initiating, planning, executing, controlling, and closing the work of a team to achieve specific goals and meet specific success criteria. A project is a temporary endeavor to produce a unique product, service or result with a defined beginning and end. The temporary nature of projects stands in contrast with business as usual (or operations).
Economics – analyzes the production, distribution, and consumption of goods and services. It aims to explain how economies work and how economic agents interact.
Industrial organization – studies the structure of and boundaries between firms and markets and the strategic interactions of firms.
Communication – activity of conveying meaningful information, which requires a sender, a message, and an intended recipient.
Journalism – gathering, processing, and dissemination of news and information related to the news to an audience. It includes both the method of inquiring for news and the literary style which is used to disseminate it.
Environmental journalism – collection, verification, production, distribution and exhibition of information regarding current events, trends, issues and people that are associated with the non-human world with which humans necessarily interact.
Public relations – practice of managing the spread of information between an individual or an organization (such as a business, government agency, or a nonprofit organization) and the public.
Education – any act or experience that has a formative effect on the mind, character, or physical of an individual. In its technical sense, education is the process by which society deliberately transmits its accumulated knowledge, skills, and values from one generation to another. Education can also be defined as the process of becoming an educated person.
Academia – nationally and internationally recognized establishment of professional scholars and students, usually centered around colleges and universities, who are engaged in higher education and research.
Harvard University – private Ivy League university located in Cambridge, Massachusetts, United States, established in 1636 by the Massachusetts legislature. Harvard is the oldest institution of higher learning in the United States and the first corporation (officially The President and Fellows of Harvard College) chartered in that country.
Globalization – process of international integration arising from the interchange of world views, products, ideas, and other aspects of culture.
Politics – process by which groups of people make collective decisions. The term is generally applied to the art or science of running governmental or state affairs, including behavior within civil governments, but also applies to institutions, fields, and special interest groups such as the corporate, academic, and religious segments of society.
Political ideologies:
Environmentalism – broad philosophy, ideology and social movement regarding concerns for environmental conservation and improvement of the health of the environment, particularly as the measure for this health seeks to incorporate the concerns of non-human elements.
Green politics – political ideology that aims for the creation of an ecologically sustainable society rooted in environmentalism, social liberalism, and grassroots democracy.
Government types:
Democracy – form of government in which all the people have an equal say in the decisions that affect their lives.
Public affairs – public policy and public administration. Public policy is a principled guide to action taken by the administrative or executive branches of a state with regard to issues in a manner consistent with law and institutional customs. Public administration is "the management of public programs"; the "translation of politics into the reality that citizens see every day"; and "the study of government decision making, the analysis of the policies themselves, the various inputs that have produced them, and the inputs necessary to produce alternative policies."
Law – A set of rules and principles by which a society is governed.
Commercial law – body of law that governs business and commercial transactions.
Criminal justice – system of practices and institutions of governments directed at upholding social control, deterring and mitigating crime, or sanctioning those who violate laws with criminal penalties and rehabilitation efforts. Those accused of crime have protections against abuse of investigatory and prosecution powers.
Domestic violence – violence between partners in a close relationship (marriage, family, dating and so on). This form of violence can manifest itself in a variety of ways.
Forgery – process of making, adapting, or imitating objects, statistics, or documents with the intent to deceive.
Law enforcement – any system by which some members of society act in an organized manner to promote adherence to the law by discovering and punishing persons who violate the rules and norms governing that society. The term usually refers to organizations that engage in patrols or surveillance to dissuade and discover criminal activity, and to those who investigate crimes and apprehend offenders.
Intellectual property – distinct types of creations of the mind for which a set of exclusive rights are recognized—and the corresponding fields of law.
Patents – set of exclusive rights granted by a sovereign state to an inventor or assignee for a limited period of time in exchange for detailed public disclosure of an invention. An invention is a solution to a specific technological problem and is a product or a process. Patents are a form of intellectual property.
Tort law – laws and legal procedures dealing with torts. In common law jurisdictions, a tort is a civil wrong that involves a breach of a civil duty (other than a contractual duty) owed to someone else. A tort is differentiated from a crime, which involves a breach of a duty owed to society in general. Though many acts are both torts and crimes, prosecutions for crime are mostly the responsibility of the state; whereas any party who has been injured may bring a lawsuit for tort.
Rights – legal, social, or ethical principles of freedom or entitlement; that is, rights are the fundamental normative rules about what is allowed of people or owed to people, according to some legal system, social convention, or ethical theory.
Urban planning – technical and political process that is focused on the development and design of land use and the built environment, including air, water, and the infrastructure passing into and out of urban areas, such as transportation, communications, and distribution networks and their accessibility.
Transportation planning – process of defining future policies, goals, investments, and spatial planning designs to prepare for future needs to move people and goods to destinations.
Applied Science – The application of scientific knowledge transferred into a physical environment. Examples include testing a theoretical model through the use of formal science or solving a practical problem through the use of natural science.
Technology – The making, usage, knowledge of tools, machines, techniques, crafts, systems or methods of organization in order to solve a problem or perform a specific function is referred as technology. It can also refer to the collection of such tools, machinery, and procedures.
Technologies and applied sciences
Aerospace – flight or transport above the surface of the Earth.
Space exploration – the physical investigation of the space more than 100 km above the Earth by either manned or unmanned spacecraft.
Applied physics – physics which is intended for a particular technological or practical use. It is usually considered as a bridge or a connection between "pure" physics and engineering.
Agriculture – cultivation of plants, animals, and other living organisms.
Fishing – activity of trying to catch fish. Fish are normally caught in the wild. Techniques for catching fish include hand gathering, spearing, netting, angling and trapping.
Fisheries – A fishery is an entity which is engaged in raising or harvesting fish which is determined by some authority to be a fishery. According to the FAO, a fishery is typically defined in terms of the "people involved, species or type of fish, area of water or seabed, method of fishing, class of boats, purpose of the activities or a combination of the foregoing features".
Fishing industry – industry or activity concerned with taking, culturing, processing, preserving, storing, transporting, marketing or selling fish or fish products. It is defined by the FAO as including recreational, subsistence and commercial fishing, and the harvesting, processing, and marketing sectors.
Forestry – art and science of tree resources, including plantations and natural stands. The main goal of forestry is to create and implement systems that allow forests to continue a sustainable provision of environmental supplies and services.
Organic gardening and farming – a method of crop and livestock production that involves much more than choosing not to use pesticides, fertilizers, genetically modified organisms, antibiotics and growth hormones.
Sustainable agriculture – farming in sustainable ways based on an understanding of ecosystem services, and the study of relationships between organisms and their environment.
Communication – the imparting or exchanging of information by speaking, writing, or using some other medium.
Books – A book is a set of written, printed, illustrated, or blank sheets, made of ink, paper, parchment, or other materials, fastened together to hinge at one side
Telecommunication – the transfer of information at a distance, including signaling, telegraphy, telephony, telemetry, radio, television, and data communications.
Computing – any goal-oriented activity requiring, benefiting from, or creating computers. Computing includes designing and building hardware and software systems; processing, structuring, and managing various kinds of information; doing scientific research on and with computers; making computer systems behave intelligently; creating and using communications and entertainment media; and more.
Computer engineering – discipline that integrates several fields of electrical engineering and computer science required to develop computer systems, from designing individual microprocessors, personal computers, and supercomputers, to circuit design.
Computers – general purpose devices that can be programmed to carry out a finite set of arithmetic or logical operations. Since a sequence of operations can be readily changed, computers can solve more than one kind of problem.
Computer science – the study of the theoretical foundations of information and computation and of practical techniques for their implementation and application in computer systems.
Artificial intelligence – intelligence of machines and the branch of computer science that aims to create it.
Computer vision – interdisciplinary field that deals with how computers can be made to gain high-level understanding from digital images or videos. From the perspective of engineering, it seeks to automate tasks that the human visual system can do.
Object recognition – in computer vision, this is the task of finding a given object in an image or video sequence.
Natural language processing – computer activity in which computers are entailed to analyze, understand, alter, or generate natural language. This includes the automation of any or all linguistic forms, activities, or methods of communication, such as conversation, correspondence, reading, written composition, dictation, publishing, translation, lip reading, and so on.
Cryptography – the technology to secure communications in the presence of third parties.
Human-computer interaction – the study of how people interact with computers and to what extent computers are or are not developed for successful interaction with human beings.
Information technology – the acquisition, processing, storage and dissemination of vocal, pictorial, textual and numerical information by a microelectronics-based combination of computing and telecommunications.
Software engineering – the systematic approach to the development, operation, maintenance, and retirement of computer software.
Programming – the process of designing, writing, testing, debugging, and maintaining the source code of computer programs.
Software development – development of a software product, which entails computer programming (process of writing and maintaining the source code), but also encompasses a planned and structured process from the conception of the desired software to its final manifestation.
Web design and web development – web design encompasses many different skills and disciplines in the production and maintenance of websites, while web development is the work involved in developing a web site for the Internet (World Wide Web) or an intranet (a private network).
C++ – one of the most popular programming languages with application domains including systems software, application software, device drivers, embedded software, high-performance server and client applications, and entertainment software such as video games.
Perl – high-level, general-purpose, interpreted, dynamic programming language. Used for text processing, CGI scripting, graphics programming, system administration, network programming, finance, bioinformatics, and more.
Software – one or more computer programs and data held in the storage of the computer for one or more purposes. In other words, software is a set of programs, procedures, algorithms and its documentation concerned with the operation of a data processing system.
Application software – is program or a group of programs designed for end users.
Databases – is a collection of information that is organized so that it can easily be accessed, managed and updated.
MySQL ("My Structured Query Language") – world's second most widely used relational database management system (RDBMS) and most widely used open-source RDBMS.
Search engines – information retrieval systems designed to help find information stored on a computer system.
Free software – software that can be used, studied, and modified without restriction.
Operating systems
iOS – mobile operating system developed and distributed by Apple Inc. Originally released in 2007 for the iPhone and iPod Touch, it has since been extended to support other Apple devices such as the iPad and Apple TV.
Internet – the global system of interconnected computer networks that use the standard Internet Protocol Suite (TCP/IP).
Wikipedia – a multilingual free internet encyclopedia created by volunteers using a wiki-based editing system
Computer industry
Apple Inc. – manufacturer and retailer of computers, hand-held computing devices, and related products and services. It is one of the Big Five American information technology companies.
Google – Google Inc. and its Internet services including Google Search.
Microsoft – American multinational technology corporation producing computer software and hardware. It is one of the Big Five American information technology companies.
Computer security – Computer security, also known as cybersecurity or IT security, is the protection of information systems from theft or damage to the hardware, the software, and to the information on them, as well as from disruption or misdirection of the services they provide.
Construction – building or assembly of any physical structure.
Design – the art and science of creating the abstract form and function for an object or environment.
Architecture – the art and science of designing buildings.
Electronics – the branch of physics and technology concerned with the design of circuits using transistors and microchips, and with the behavior and movement of electrons in a semiconductor, conductor, vacuum, or gas.
Industry – production of an economic good or service.
Automation – use of machinery to replace human labor.
Machines – devices that perform or assist in performing useful work.
Manufacturing – use of machines, tools and labor to produce goods for use or sale. The term may refer to a range of human activity, from handicraft to high tech, but is most commonly applied to industrial production, in which raw materials are transformed into finished goods on a large scale.
Metalworking – the science, art, industry, and craft of shaping metal.
Robotics – deals with the design, construction, operation, structural disposition, manufacture and application of robots.
Control engineering –a discipline that applies control theory to design systems with desired behaviors. The practice uses sensors to measure the output performance of the device being controlled and those measurements can be used to give feedback to devices that can make corrections toward desired performance.
Electrical engineering – the technology and application of electromagnetism, including electricity, electronics, telecommunications, computers, electric power, magnetics, and optics.
Software engineering – the technology and application of a systematic approach to the development, operation, maintenance, and retirement of computer software.
Firefighting – act of extinguishing fires. A firefighter fights fires to prevent destruction of life, property and the environment. Firefighting is a professional technical skill.
Forensic science – application of a broad spectrum of sciences to answer questions of interest to a legal system. This may be in relation to a crime or a civil action.
Futures studies – includes identification and forecasting of possible futures and future events, and analysis of their ramifications
Biotechnology – applied biology that involves the use of living organisms and bioprocesses in engineering, technology, medicine and other fields requiring bioproducts.
Ergonomics – the study of designing equipment and devices that fit the human body, its movements, and its cognitive abilities.
Medicine – applied science of diagnosing and treating illness and disease.
Hydrology – The study of the movement, distribution, and quality of water on Earth and other planets, including the hydrologic cycle, water resources and environmental watershed sustainability.
Cartography – the study and practice of making maps. Combining science, aesthetics, and technique, cartography builds on the premise that reality can be modeled in ways that communicate spatial information effectively.
Library science – technology related to libraries and the information fields.
Military science – the study of the technique, psychology, practice and other phenomena which constitute war and armed conflict.
Mining – extraction of mineral resources from the earth.
Nanotechnology – The study of manipulating matter on an atomic and molecular scale. Generally, nanotechnology deals with structures sized between 1 to 100 nanometre in at least one dimension, and involves developing materials or devices possessing at least one dimension within that size.
Prehistoric technology – technologies that emerged before recorded history (i.e., before the development of writing).
Rocketry – the design and construction of rockets.
Sustainability – capacity to endure. In ecology, the word describes how biological systems remain diverse and productive over time. Long-lived and healthy wetlands and forests are examples of sustainable biological systems. For humans, sustainability is the potential for long-term maintenance of well being, which has environmental, economic, and social dimensions.
Transport – the transfer of people or things from one place to another.
Rail transport – means of conveyance of passengers and goods by way of wheeled vehicles running on rail tracks consisting of steel rails installed on sleepers/ties and ballast.
Transport, by power source:
Animal-powered transport – human use of non-human working animals for the movement of people and goods, via riding, having them carry packs or pull sleds or wheeled vehicles.
Transportation planning – process of defining future policies, goals, investments, and spatial planning designs to prepare for future needs to move people and goods to destinations.
Transportation Systems
Bridges – a structure built to span physical obstacles without closing the way underneath.
Public transport – transport of passengers by group travel systems available for use by the general public, typically managed on a schedule, operated on established routes, and that charge a posted fee for each trip.
Vehicles – mechanical devices for transporting people or things.