When most people (well, probably not people from this site, but the general public) think of an alien, they probably think of an alien in the general form like below:    This sort of alien has the large round eyes, round face, fairly thin.  I'm wondering what is the first piece of science fiction to describe aliens like this and is this where this stereotype originated from, or was it from somewhere else?
As I show below, typical alien depictions include an elongated, pale face, two dark elliptical eyes, and a small mouth.  Who first used this design for an alien?  Where does this design come from?
What are the key principles that effective designs share? You have arrived on this page because you are clearly curious about underlying fundamentals that you can incorporate into your thought process when designing.  According to many that came before us, there are key principles that can be considered when creating an effective design. In the following answers, you will find useful theories from a variety of respected sources.  Use this question as a reference for navigating the variety of topics:  Gestalt Principles  &nbsp;&nbsp;  &nbsp;&nbsp;  &nbsp;&nbsp;  &nbsp;&nbsp;  Other Fundamentals and Useful Information  &nbsp;&nbsp;  &nbsp;&nbsp;  &nbsp;&nbsp;  &nbsp;&nbsp;  If you know of a topic that hasn't been covered here, please add an answer with references to respected resources and it will be added to the list.  Of course direct quotes and paraphrasing from respected resources are a must, but should be limited to a small paragraph per topic at most and referenced back to their source as thoroughly as possible.  A  has been posted before, but not to create a collection of snippets that are enlightening for graphic designers of any and all skill levels. Rectangles around cells in table $G$ solvable $\implies$ composition factors of $G$ are of prime order. I'm trying to prove the equivalency of the following definitions for a finite group, $G$:  (i) $G$ is solvable, i.e. there exists a chain of subgroups $1 = G_0  \trianglelefteq G_1 \trianglelefteq \cdots \trianglelefteq G_s = G $ such that $G_{i+1}/ \ G_i$ is abelian for all $0 \leq i \leq s-1$  (ii) $G$ has a chain of subgroups $1 = H_0  \trianglelefteq H_1 \trianglelefteq \cdots \trianglelefteq H_s = G $ such that $H_{i+1} /\  H_i$ is cyclic for all $0 \leq i \leq s-1$.  (iii) All composition factors of $G$ are of prime order.  (iv) G has a chain of subgroups $1 = N_0  \trianglelefteq N_1 \trianglelefteq \cdots \trianglelefteq N_t = G $ such that each $N_i$ is a normal subgroup of $G$, and $N_{i+1}/ \ N_i$ is abelian for all $0 \leq i \leq t-1$.  It was simple to show that (iii) $\implies$ (ii) and (ii) $\implies$ (i). Now, I'm trying to prove that (i) $\implies$ (iii), and I'm getting stuck.   I know that If $G$ is an abelian simple group, then $|G|$ is prime, so all I need to show is that each $G_{i+1}/ \ G_i$ in the definition of solvable is simple.  If I knew that $1 = G_0  \trianglelefteq G_1 \trianglelefteq \cdots \trianglelefteq G_s = G $ were a composition series, then each $G_{i+1}/ \ G_i$ would be simple by definition. But the definition of solvable doesn't assume a composition series. I know every group has a unique composition series, but I'm not sure how to connect that to the subgroups in the definition of solvable.   More generally, I guess I just don't understand how being abelian connects to being of simple or of prime order.  Any pushes in the right direction would be appreciated! Suppose I have a question in my mind that I think is answerable but because I don't already know the answer, I'm not sure how to express in a way that makes it clear and definitively answerable. I suspect that someone more knowledgable than me would understand what I'm trying to get at though and could help me word the question properly.  Is there a good place to find this sort of help? asp.net mvc put controllers into a separate project I'm just learning asp.net mvc and I'm trying to figure out how to move my controllers into a separate project.  Typically when I have designed asp.net web apps before, I created one project for my models, another for my logic, and then there was the web.    Now that I'm learning asp.net mvc I was hoping to follow a similar pattern and put the models and controllers each into their own separate projects, and just leave the views/scripts/css in the web.  The models part was easy, but what I don't understand is how to make my controllers in a separate project be "found".  Also, I would like to know if this is advisable.  Thanks! Using echo "20+5" literally produces the text "20+5".  What command can I use to get the numeric sum, 25 in this case?  Also, what's the easiest way to do it just using bash for floating point? For example, echo $((3224/3807.0)) prints 0 :(.  I am looking for answers using either the basic command shell ('command line') itself or through using languages that are available from the command line. How to Micro Manage Manipulator Let $(\mathcal{H}, (\cdot, \cdot))$ be a complex Hilbert space, and $A :  \mathcal{H} \to \mathcal{H}$ a positive, bounded operator ($A$ being positive means $(Ax,x) \ge 0$ for all $x \in \mathcal{H}$). Prove that $A$ is self-adjoint. That is, prove that $(Ax,y) = (x, Ay)$ for all $x,y \in \mathcal{H}$. Here's what I have so far. Because $A$ is positive we have $\mathbb{R} \ni (Ax,x) = \overline{(x,Ax)} = (x,Ax)$, all $x \in \mathcal{H}$. Next, I have seen some hints that tell me to apply the polarization identity: $$(x,y) = \frac{1}{4}((\lVert x+y \rVert^2 + \lVert x-y \rVert^2) - i(\lVert x + iy \rVert^2 - \lVert x - iy \rVert^2)),$$ where of course the norm is defined by $\lVert \cdot \rVert^2 = (\cdot, \cdot)$. So my guess is that I need to start with the expressions: $$(Ax,y) = \frac{1}{4}((\lVert Ax+y \rVert^2 + \lVert Ax-y \rVert^2) - i(\lVert Ax + iy \rVert^2 - \lVert Ax - iy \rVert^2)),$$ $$(x,Ay) = \frac{1}{4}((\lVert x+Ay \rVert^2 + \lVert x-Ay \rVert^2) - i(\lVert x + iAy \rVert^2 - \lVert x - iAy \rVert^2)),$$ and somehow show they are equal. But here is where I have gotten stuck. Hints or solutions are greatly appreciated. Evaluate trigonometric function Find all the numbers $n$ such that $\frac{4n-5}{60-12n}$ can't be reduced. How do i testfor a item a player is holding? Scatterplot with too many points Breaking single polygon into multiple polygons? I created voronoi polygons after which I dissolved them on the basis of one attribute. Now there are cases where in for one single attribute "abc" I have3 polygons at different places with same object id. I would like to break these into 3 polygons as they are at different locations.  Is there any tool in ArcGIS Desktop or QGIS which can help me in doing that? Let $a,b,c$ be $3$ distinct integers, and let $P$ be a polynomial with integer coefficients.Show that in this case the conditions $$P(a)=b,P(b)=c,P(c)=a$$ cannot be satisfied simultaneously.  Any hint would be appreciated. I use a Canon EOS Rebel T3i (600D) with the kit lens. I have experimented a lot with different settings and modes, but I feel like I have wasted many good shots that could have looked amazing, if only they were a little bit sharper.  I use auto-focus on most of my pictures and make sure to choose the right focus point, but all of my photos are still a little bit out of focus. When I zoom in, I can see that the pixels are not very crisp or well-aligned.  I am not sure if this issue is caused by my equipment or skills. The usual example of unitary ring without the  property is the ring of column finite matrices, and in this case we have $R\simeq R^2$ as (left) $R$-modules. (See also .) In particular, we have $R^2\simeq R^3$.      I wonder if there is an example of unitary ring (without the IBN property) such that $R^2\simeq R^3$, but $R\not\simeq R^2$ (as $R$-modules). I'm wondering how to approach duct work, piping, and wiring? In the past, I have used the spin tool to make corners, but I find it very cumbersome. How do you do duct work and piping? I have seen people use curves, but I find it's hard to get straight 90 degree angles or just uniform angling across the whole model. It's also hard connecting piping together if they started from different locations. Here's some reference: How do I find the right size of filters for a lens? I was looking to get a circular polarizing filter and an UV filter for my Canon 550D, 18-135mm lens. When I checked online I found these filters came in different sizes, like 62mm, 67mm, 72mm, 77mm. How do I know which is right?  Also, will there be any degradation of photo quality if I put both these filters on the lens? Can Ability Score increases caused by magic items qualify me for feats? As far as I know, only a player character's non-temporary ability scores are considered for taking feats, taking prestige classes, etc. Meanwhile, any ability bonus that comes from spells, or magic items that are in effect only while worn, is not counted (except tomes which increase abilities permanently).  So a Fighter with low Int who wants to qualify for Combat Expertise can't use spells or items that gives an Int bonus to raise it high enough to qualify. Is that right?  For example:  Say our fighter has Str 12, so he can not take the Power Attack feat. Suppose he asks for a spell from the wizard to make his Str 16, or to borrow a ring which provides +4 Str from another character. (Or any other method that will provide him a non-permanent bonus). His Str is now 16. Can he take Power Attack with that non-permanent bonus now? Because after the spell duration ends or he takes off the ring, his Str score will be to low again to qualify for Power Attack. Fast(est) and intuitive ways to look at matrix multiplication?