In visual arts, composition is the placement or arrangement of the visual elements, such as figures, trees, and so on in a work of art, as distinct from the subject or the style with which it was depicted. It can also be thought of as the organization of the elements of art according to the principles of art. The composition of a picture is different from its subject, which is depicted, whether a moment from a story, a person, or a place. Many subjects, for example Saint George and the Dragon, are often portrayed in art, but using a great range of compositions even though the two figures are typically the only ones shown. The term composition means "putting together" and can apply to any work of art, from music, to writing, to photography, that is arranged through conscious thought. In the visual arts, composition is often used interchangeably with various terms such as design, form, visual ordering, or formal structure, depending on the context. In graphic design for press a...

Suspension of disbelief, sometimes willing suspension of disbelief, is the intentional avoidance of critical thinking or logic in examining something surreal, such as a work of speculative fiction, in order to believe it for the sake of enjoyment. Aristotle first explored the idea of the concept in its relation to the principles of theater; the audience ignores the unreality of fiction in order to experience catharsis. The poet and aesthetic philosopher Samuel Taylor Coleridge introduced the term "suspension of disbelief" in 1817 and suggested that if a writer could infuse a "human interest and a semblance of truth" into a fantastic tale, the reader would suspend judgment concerning the implausibility of the narrative. Coleridge sought to revive the use of fantastic elements in poetry and developed a concept to support how a modern enlightened audience might continue to enjoy such types of literature. The term resulted from a philosophical experiment which Coleridge...

Group dynamics is a system of behaviors and psychological processes occuring within a social group (intragroup dynamics) or between social groups (intergroup dynamics). The study of group dynamics can be useful in understanding decision-making behavior, tracking the spread of diseases in society, creating effective therapy techniques, and following the emergence and popularity of new ideas and technologies. Group dynamics are at the core of understanding racism, sexism, and other forms of social prejudice and discrimination.  The history of group dynamics (or group processes) has a consistent, underlying premise: "the whole is greater than the sum of its parts." A social group is an entity that has qualities which cannot be understood just by studying the individuals that make up the group. In 1924, Gestalt psychologist Max Wertheimer proposed, "There are entities where the behavior of the whole cannot be derived from its individual elements nor from the way these elemen...

Leninism is a political ideology developed by Russian revolutionary Vladimir Lenin that proposes the establishment of the dictatorship of proletariat, led by a revolutionary vanguard party, as the political prelude to the establishment of communism. The function of the Leninist vanguard party is to provide the working classes with the political consciousness (education and organization) and revolutionary leadership necessary to depose capitalism in the Russian Empire. Leninist revolutionary leadership is based upon The Communist Manifesto (1848) identifying the communist party as "the most advanced and resolute section of the working class parties of every country; that section which pushes forward all others." As the vanguard party, Bolsheviks viewed history through the theoretical framework of dialectical materialism, which sanctioned political commitment to the successful overthrow of capitalism, and then to instituting socialism, and as the revolutionary national governme...