Featured Quote - Byron

“There is the moral of all human tales:
’Tis but the same rehearsal of the past,
First Freedom, and then Glory - when that fails,
Wealth, vice, corruption - barbarism at last.
And History, with all her volumes vast,
Hath but one page . . .”

-Lord Byron (Childe Harold's Pilgrimage)

Featured Quote - Rickover

"Success teaches us nothing; only failure teaches."

-Hyman G. Rickover

HISTORY OF CHINA AT HARVARD

This course is titled “China: Traditions and Transformations,” and it is taught by Professors Peter Bol and William Kirby. Provided by Harvard's Open Learning Initiative, the lecture videos are free to watch, but college credit will not be given. If you want credits, then you will have to pay tuition. Why study China? Its rapid growth and development are making it a new superpower in global politics and economics. Countless businesses import or export goods and services from China, often taking advantage of notoriously cheap labor. China's relationships with countries such as Japan, Tibet, and North Korea also make this nation extremely influential and worth watching as events unfold. Studying the history, political, and philosophical aspects of this country can provide insights into how its people think and how the government makes decisions.

China: Traditions and Transformations (Harvard)

Featured Quote

“Reward and punishment is the lowest form of education.”

-Chuang Tzu

LEARNING HOW TO USE ILLUSTRATOR

Whereas Photoshop is used for editing photos, Adobe Illustrator is great for graphic art and abstract art. This program creates and edits vector images, pictures that maintain clarity no matter how much you zoom in on them. Using vector format allows one to print both an advertising flyer and a billboard sign using the same file. With Illustrator, there are no blocky or blurred edges. Listed below are a few websites for learning how to use vector editing software, especially Illustrator.

N.Design Studio

Vectortuts+

Tutvid Illustrator

LEARNING HOW TO USE PHOTOSHOP

Adobe Photoshop is a very powerful and versatile program. The possible uses range from removing red-eye on family photos to creating lightsaber effects. There are so many tools and effects available to the user! But Photoshop's strength is also its weakness. Having so many features (for over $600 it ought to have lots of features) can cause bewilderment for new users (and even experienced ones!). Fortunately there are plenty of helpful tutorials to be found that can illuminate the method of creating whatever effect you want. Below are a few websites worth visiting if you want learn how to use this impressive software. If Photoshop CS5 is too expensive, then Photoshop Elements is a good alternative. It has many of the same features but wears a much friendlier price tag.

Psdtuts+

Photoshop Essentials

Photoshop Lady

Tutvid Photoshop

FIRST DAY OF SCHOOL—GOT TECH?

Today is the first of many in the new school year. As Eric Schmidt has recently pointed out, many schools have yet to fully integrate computer science into their curricula. Technology has the potential to greatly improve students' education, and computer literacy is an increasingly common job requirement. It seems that students must take the initiative in making technology part of their education. A technology progress checklist and list of ideas are provided at Dangerously Irrelevant. Students can now use software to take notes. There is an iPhone app for keeping track of homework assignments. There is even a planner/agenda app that is designed by students. A website can also manage class schedules. As demonstrated in a new commercial, the iPad can facilitate a highly interactive learning experience. Textbooks are much less of a burden when carried in PDF format. In these ways and many more, technology can improve students' learning experiences. 

 

Featured Quote

“An error does not become truth by reason of multiplied propagation, nor does truth become error because nobody sees it. Truth stands, even if there be no public support. It is self sustained.”

-Mahatma Gandhi

UK DOESN'T VALUE COMPUTER SCIENCE?

Google Chairman Eric Schmidt is in for some backlash. While giving a speech in Edinburgh, Scotland, he talked about the unsatisfactory job the United Kingdom is doing in teaching its youth about computer science. He talked about how innovative the island nation has been in the past, like inventing television and computers. Schmidt seems to think that Silicon Valley should have more competition from across the pond.

Rather than a swarm of controversy, Schmidt was probably hoping to cause a wake-up call for Britons. Being at the heart of Google, and seeing the power of computer science firsthand, it is understandable that he is disappointed with his view of Britain's progress in the field of information technology. A person in his position gets to see just how wonderful the internet can be. He understands the benefits of fluency in computer programming. School administrators, however, might not have the same perspective. They deal with laws, regulations, disciplinary matters, and budgets. Admittedly “impolite,” Schmidt is concerned that UK schools focus too much on humanities and not enough on technical subjects. Ewan McIntosh asserts that the education system of Scotland and that of England are two very different matters. Perhaps Schmidt is only dissatisfied with England, and he is applying his observations to the whole island.

LISTENING TO MUSIC AT YALE

This course is called “Listening to Music” and is taught by Professor Craig Wright at Yale. While this course is focused on classical music, there are occasional references to modern styles such as hip-hop. The goal is to give the student “aural skills” necessary to understand and appreciate composition of music in the West. If you are interested in writing music, playing an instrument, or having an intellectual discussion over a glass of wine, this is a good place to start.

This course includes the following topics: musical genres, rhythm, melody, notes, scales, harmony, chords, sonata-allegro form, fugue, Benedictine chant, Baroque music, Bach, Mozart, Beethoven, Mahler, Ravel, opera, and musical style.

Listening to Music (Yale)

Featured Quote

“What we find in books is like the fire in our hearths. We fetch it from our neighbors, we kindle it at home, we communicate it to others, and it becomes the property of all.”

-Voltaire

DOES THE BRAIN USE PROCEDURAL GENERATION?

Have you ever been surprised by a scent that suddenly brings back a long lost memory? It can be astounding how detailed memories are recalled just because of a single stimulus. The fragrance of a home-cooked meal can trigger a barrage of childhood memories. Looking at an apple, you can imagine what it tastes and smells like, perhaps remembering cold cider quenching your thirst on a summer afternoon. Someone recovering from mental trauma might hear a loud noise and be instantly returned to whatever calamity they suffered in the past. How does this process of remembering past events and scenes work? Nobody knows for sure. The brain is a complicated organ, and it is possible we may never fully understand its inner workings. But the process is reminiscent of procedural generation.

In case you have never heard of it before, procedural generation is a way of creating lots of detail in a virtual object without taking up a lot of computer memory. Fractals are good examples of this. Take a look at the “Koch snowflake” at right for a rough understanding of this concept. First, you start with a triangle. You might call this starting point the “seed” or “input.” The “procedure,” or “algorithm,” involves adding smaller triangles to the sides of the original one. Once you have repeated the procedure an infinite number of times, you have then “generated” the Koch snowflake. In its finished form, the snowflake has infinite detail and a perimeter of infinite length. Now imagine trying to save a perfect Koch snowflake in JPEG format. Since the perimeter is infinitely long, it would take an infinite number of pixels to represent the outline alone. But computers have finite/limited memory capacity. However, if you write some computer code to generate an image of the snowflake in real time, as you are viewing it, that code can be saved on a hard drive. You can zoom in as much as you want, and the code could keep generating just enough detail to fit on the screen.

Perhaps human memory works in a similar manner. Try as we might, the majority of humans cannot recall scenes with perfect detail. If you create a mental image of your kitchen, and focus on it, the level of detail is pitiful when compared to a high-resolution photograph of the same room. You can focus on smaller areas of the mental image, but the resolution of the overall picture is quite limited. This is quite similar to the fractal situation mentioned above. The brain only remembers detail in parts of a picture on which it is focusing. Humans (at least, most of us) cannot store the same amount of information with the same reliability that a computer can. It seems unlikely that we would store images pixel by pixel like digital photos. Maybe the brain takes in simple stimuli, such as smells or symbols, performs some complex procedure, and generates rich memories on the fly.

On this framework, memories are not stored data, but rather impromptu experiences generated when stimuli are processed through intricate neural pathways. The brain might only store basic building blocks of experience that constitute any and all memories. For instance, the colors we remember might be stored for future use like a painter's pallet. While flavors, aromas, sensations, and words might be kept for instant access within the brain, their combinations only exist in the transient experience of remembering a scene from one's life. When someone mentions “sunset,” you can instantly imagine a red and pink horizon with the orange sun sinking beyond the edge of the world. Maybe such a picture only exists in your brain for the few seconds that you imagine it. What the brain actually stores is some algorithm for recognizing the word “sunset” and pulling together the right colors and shapes to recreate a familiar picture.

Neuroplasticity is a well-known phenomena in which the brain “rewires” itself as part of the learning process and in reaction to incoming stimuli. Around the clock, your brain's neurons are changing their connections to one another: strengthening some connections, cutting off others, generally improving the neural network to perform whatever functions are needed. If you practice pitching a baseball often and long enough, your brain will organize itself to control your arms better for the purpose of throwing the ball. As you learn a second language, your brain is changing its own microscopic structure to process the additional vocabulary. What if this rewiring is a way of tweaking the algorithms that generate memories? Say an aviation enthusiast takes a flight that goes horribly wrong. The plane crashes and the enthusiast barely survives. Before the flight, the individual associated planes with positive emotions and aspirations of soaring like a bird. Saying “airplane” to this person before the accident might have triggered memories of the Wright brothers or looking at the ground from high up. After the crash, the individual's brain has rewired itself. Now, saying “airplane” might trigger memories of the crash and struggling to stay alive, accompanied by negative emotions like fear. Did the individual forget about the Wright brothers? Certainly not. The “algorithm” (that is, the pathways in the brain) has been altered so that the same stimulus,or “seed” (the word “airplane”), is processed differently than before, generating different memories.

MORE CALCULUS AT MIT

If you have gained competence in single variable calculus, and want to learn more, then you might try studying “Multivariable Calculus” from MIT. This course is taught by Professor Denis Auroux. The main focus here is on vector calculus and working with multiple variables. As is usual, you have access to transcripts, lecture notes, exams, and assignments in addition to the lecture videos.

This course includes the following topics: dot products, determinants, matrices, parametric equations, Kepler's Second Law, partial derivatives, least squares, second derivative test, chain rule, Lagrange Multipliers, partial differential equations, polar coordinates, change of variables, vector fields, path independence, flux, spherical coordinates, divergence theorem, line integrals, Stokes' Theorem, and Maxwell's Equations.

Multivariable Calculus (MIT)

CALCULUS AT MIT

This free course is called “Single Variable Calculus” and is taught by Professor David Jerison. It introduces students to differentiation of a single variable and integration. In addition to lecture videos there are transcripts, lecture notes, exams, and assignments available.

This course includes the following topics: rate of change, slope, limits, derivatives, chain rule, implicit differentiation, exponents, logarithms, hyperbolic functions, approximations, maxima, minima, Newton's Method, Mean Value Theorem, differential equations, definite integrals, fundamental theorems, work, probability, substitution, polar coordinates, infinite series, and Taylor series.

Single Variable Calculus (MIT)

Featured Quote

"Where my reason, imagination or interest were not engaged, I would not or I could not learn."

-Winston Churchill

BUSINESS PLANNING AT CMU

This free course is titled “Entrepreneurship and Business Planning,” and it is taught by Professor Mark Juliano of Carnegie Mellon University. The lectures are in audio-only format, and they can be streamed or downloaded. Professor Juliano talks about starting a company, organizing it, ending it, and other subjects that are of interest to any entrepreneur.

This course includes the following topics: business plan, team building, incorporation, funding, forecasting, target market, strategy, competition, marketing, sales, pricing, liquidity, exit strategies, management, advertising, and ownership.

Entrepreneurship and Business Planning (iTunes, TalkShoe)

Featured Quote

"In great states, children are always trying to remain children, and the parents wanting to make men and women of them. In vile states, the children are always wanting to be men and women, and the parents to keep them children."

-John Ruskin

INTRODUCTION TO PROGRAMMING AT MIT

This is a course from MIT's OpenCourseWare website. It is called “Introduction to Computer Science and Programming” and was instructed by Professors Eric Grimson and John Guttag. You can watch the lectures, read the transcripts, and view class assignments and exams. No programming experience is required. This course is intended to enable students to write small programs and use them for solving problems. The programming language utilized here is Python. Coincidentally, Python is the same language used by Blender.

This course includes the following topics: operators, variables, iteration, code patterns, recursion, bisection methods, lists, efficiency, algorithms, binary search, testing, debugging, dynamic programming, abstract data types, encapsulation, computational models, plotting, distributions, simulations, curve fitting, linear regression, and stock market simulation.

Intro. to Computer Sci. and Programming (MIT)

Featured Quote

"Ultimately a genuine leader is not a searcher for consensus, but a molder of consensus."

-Martin Luther King, Jr.

HOW VIDEO GAMES CAN IMPROVE OUR LIVES

Video games often present players with virtual worlds that can be explored and manipulated. Playful exploration is a key aspect of the learning and creative processes. When we are toddlers that is our primary occupation, but, as we progress through public schooling, our method of learning is forced to become quiet listening and frantic memorization. The lack of exploration and experimentation stifles creativity in students. Video games provide environments where experimentation and exploration are highly encouraged and beneficial. Is it any wonder that so many kids hate school and love video games?

Virtual worlds allow a player to take risks, explore freely, and test the rules that govern how those worlds function. The interactivity of video games makes players more engaged and mentally stimulated than quietly sitting in a classroom. Players have to act, observe any reactions, hypothesize appropriate courses of action, and act again to achieve goals set by the games. All this thinking and focus is good exercise for the brain, and it improves problem solving ability.

The demanding hand-eye coordination required for some video games is also a good thing. Some surgeons actually play video games to prepare for surgery with very satisfying results. First-person shooters, while criticized for their violence, improve hand-eye coordination and reaction times for players. Perhaps martial artists should play video games, and vice versa.

The Nintendo Wii has become a fun tool for physical fitness. No longer sitting on the couch, Wii players are up and moving—burning calories in front of the TV instead of gaining them. Dance Dance Revolution has been a popular video game that also has its players exercising and having fun at the same time.

Even creating video games can be beneficial. There is the obvious benefit of earning money. The video game industry earns tens of billions of dollars a year in the United States alone. To make a good game, collaboration is needed between artists, programmers, marketers, writers, and many more talented people. Programming is a good way to hone one's logic, reasoning, and problem-solving skills.

Massively multiplayer online games (MMOs) allow players to meet other people from around the globe and communicate with them in real time. Players make friends, improve social skills, and sometimes even experience romance via video games. Some players even end up marrying people they meet in MMOs.

Playing video games can be quite lucrative. There is a definite need for players to test games for bugs and glitches before they are sold to the public. Gaming competitions often reward winners with cash and other prizes. People have even created virtual economies in online games such as Second Life. People design virtual merchandise that is purchased by players with real world money.

Video games can also enhance school learning. Young children are often given simple games that challenge their math, spelling, and other skills. Yet, older kids playing video games is viewed with a very different attitude. There is a lot of unseen potential for games being applied to adolescents' education. Reading from a textbook can be boring for many students. Video games often introduce players to new ideas and give unique perspectives on events which can make textbook content feel more relevant. For instance, the game Age of Empires allows one to control small armies, manage resources, and strategize attacks against opposing civilizations. Reading about Sir William Wallace's exploits is much more interesting after virtually leading his troops into battle. The numerous World War II games create an interest in that period of history. Maybe future games will be embraced by teachers as interactive means to educate students.

There are plenty of reasons why video games are beneficial. The negative aspects of gaming should not be overlooked, perhaps the most prevalent one being addiction, but any human activity has its occasional shortcomings. With the proper attitude and ingenuity, video games should greatly benefit their players.

Featured Quote

“Men with the muckrake are often indispensable to the well-being of society, but only if they know when to stop raking the muck, and to look upward to the celestial crown above them.”

-Theodore Roosevelt

Featured Classics - Rickover

"I suggest that this is a good time to think soberly about our responsibilities to our descendants - those who will ring out the Fossil Fuel Age. Our greatest responsibility, as parents and as citizens, is to give America's youngsters the best possible education. We need the best teachers and enough of them to prepare our young people for a future immeasurably more complex than the present, and calling for ever larger numbers of competent and highly trained men and women."

-Hyman G. Rickover

Today I am actually featuring two texts, but from the same person. These “classics” are the transcripts of two speeches given by Admiral Hyman G. Rickover, the “Father of the Nuclear Navy.” He oversaw the integration of nuclear reactors into the navy and had the longest naval career in U.S. history. In addition to maintaining a spotless record of nuclear safety, he was very concerned about education in America. Rickover knew that only a well-educated society could be prosperous in a technologically oriented world.

The first classic is called “Thoughts on Man's Purpose in Life.” This speech expresses Rickover's beliefs about how to have a meaningful life—a life with purpose. He talks about the necessity for individuals to strive towards achieving goals and exercising morality.

The second classic is called “Energy Resources and Our Future.” In it Rickover discusses the relationship between civilizations' energy use and their standards of living. He offers insights into our much unappreciated dependence on fossil fuels that are still relevant today. He reminds us that without technology and affordable fuel, we would be living in constant exertion, working constantly just to survive. Rickover also offers some startling statistics to punctuate the cruciality of our energy needs.

Thoughts on Man's Purpose in Life (PDF, HTML)

Energy Resources and Our Future (HTML)

Feature Quote

“Great minds discuss ideas, average minds discuss events, small minds discuss people.”

-Hyman G. Rickover

ANOTHER FREE PHYSICS TEXTBOOK

Here is another physics textbook that you can download for free. This one actually comes in six volumes. It is called Motion Mountain and is written by Dr. Christoph Schiller in Germany. This textbook emphasizes concepts instead of equations so that a wide range of readers can enjoy learning about physics. Even if you specialize in physics, there is enough math and plenty of deep questions to keep your brain stimulated. The author's goal is to have readers enjoy learning about physics while seeing the world in new ways. He has certainly achieved that goal. Anyone who is interested in physics and likes deep thinking should take a look at Motion Mountain. 
 

Here are the names of the six volumes: (I) Fall, Flow and Heat, (II) Relativity, (III) Light, Charges and Brains, (IV) Quantum Theory: the Smallest Change, (V) Pleasure, Technology and Stars, (VI) A Speculation on Unification

This textbook includes the following topics: measurement, space-time, classical mechanics, kinematics, conservation laws, vectors, circular motion, gravity, friction, symmetry, oscillations, waves, heat, entropy, notation, special relativity, speed of light, general relativity, forces, astrophysics, cosmology, black holes, electromagnetism, optics, the brain, language, patterns, observations, mathematics, quantum mechanics, photons, spin, biology, neuroscience, chemistry, technology, elementary particles, grand unification, and modern physics research.

Motion Mountain

Featured Quote

“Our senses enable us to perceive only a minute portion of the outside world. Our hearing extends to a small distance. Our sight is impeded by intervening bodies and shadows. To know each other we must reach beyond the sphere of our sense perceptions.”

-Nikola Tesla

WHAT THE INTERNET DOES TO YOUR BRAIN

Have you ever thought about it? Surfing the web is a new and unique experience in humanity's history. Never before have we been given access to so much information and at such speed as today. The internet is fundamentally changing how we interact with each other and the world around us. What, specifically, does this mean for our brains, our thought patterns, and our culture?

The internet is perhaps the most influential invention ever contrived. The spread of ideas has long been the source of change in the world. Throughout history people have killed and been killed for the sake of spreading or halting information. The old sayings, “the pen is mightier than the sword,” and “loose lips sink ships,” are testament to the power of ideas. A connection to the internet allows people to share and find ideas almost instantaneously. This means a lot of change can happen to societies very quickly. Political alliances can be forged through social networking. Scientists can share theories and data with each other very easily. Money can be exchanged and earned in new ways. Children in poor countries can benefit from the academic resources of wealthy nations. These are macroscopic effects, but changes to a single brain are microscopic in scope.

The brain is marvelously able to change its “wiring” in order to adapt to different environments. This plasticity allows people to adjust to new careers, learn to read, cope with blindness, and much more. As a person gets accustomed to using the internet, that person's brain “rewires” itself to interact more effectively with cyberspace. The internet is full of distractions, namely links and advertisements. It also makes being distracted very pleasing. Stray thoughts are easily pursued by opening additional browser tabs and using search engines. You could be right in the middle of reading a news article when you think about what tomorrow's weather will be like. A couple clicks later and you are dreading the impending snow storm. Then you go back to the article and try to remember where you left off. A few minutes later you think about checking your email and promptly do so. All along you might have been receiving and responding to text messages on your phone. From your perspective this may seem like harmless multitasking, but your brain is being spoiled by instant gratification. Over long periods of time, excessive internet use can make people generally impatient and prone to distraction. The brain learns that distractions are okay and interruptions are enjoyable. We like constant updates nowadays, but previous generations were accustomed to longer periods of sustained attention—focusing on each task until it was finished. For them, mail was received once a day or even less often. They read about topics one at a time and usually in some logical order. Today, reading on the internet is directed by the stream of consciousness, and topics can be quite random. Switching between multiple webpages will break a reader's concentration and increase the cognitive load. That means your brain must work harder to keep track of what you are reading, and less mental energy is used to absorb and process the information on those pages. In accordance with that change in behavior, the brain becomes better at managing multiple tasks and worse at reading comprehension.

Slow reading is good for maximizing the intellectual benefit of textual information. But information is no longer a scarce commodity. Rather than straining to get new information, we are now striving to contend with an overabundance of content. People are finding new ways to organize, search, and analyze the vast amounts of data provided by the internet. On a personal level, people tend to forgo slow reading and adopt skimming as their primary reading method. With so much content to absorb, it is difficult to slow down one's reading for fear of missing out on something. People learn about more varied topics, but they have only a passable understanding of each one. In this way, the internet makes more people “well-rounded,” but it subtly hinders any achievement of expertise by overfeeding us with content. Where does this copious content come from, anyway?

The internet creates a two-way stream of information. Not only can data be downloaded, but it can be uploaded, too. Every time someone sends a tweet, uploads a video, creates a blog post, edits a Wikipedia page, or updates a social networking profile, that person is contributing to internet content. Try to imagine one million YouTube users, and each one uploads a one minute video on the same day. In just one day, YouTube would have acquired one million minutes of video content. Without any interruptions (eating, sleeping, etc.), it would take someone almost two years to watch all those videos. Think about that!

All this exchange of content makes people dependent and addicted to internet use. The anguish some people experience when their internet connections fail, or when their cellphones are missing, is evidence of this. GPS devices in cars are great, but, when they do not work properly, many people can find themselves distressingly lost. Texting for some people has become so important that interrupting conversations and work is acceptable and commonplace. When the phone beckons, all must pause for a couple lines of text to be read and then answered. Such behavior would have been considered deplorable in the twentieth century, but nowadays it is rather normal.

For good or bad, the internet is helping extinguish many aspects of life from the last century. One of the most precious things would be free time for deep thinking. The Industrial Revolution made us more productive and efficient so we could have more time to spend on family, hobbies, etc. Now we cannot get enough work-hours to earn all the money we want. And when we are not at work, the internet tempts us with countless new things—videos, articles, games, messages. Sooner or later we have to squeeze in time for sleeping, although not enough for most of us. Where is the time for thinking? For daydreaming, meditating, getting a perspective on our lives? We are losing that time to the internet, much like earlier generations lost it to watching television. When there is time to just sit and think, many of us cannot stand it and languish for access to a computer. Spending time face-to-face with family members and friends is diminishing as well. Video on demand, texting, and other forms of personalized content use eliminate the need for shared experiences. Why watch television with your family when you can watch your shows any time you want on the internet. You no longer have to be in the same room with someone for conversation if you can text or video-conference with them. MP3 players make listening to radios and jukeboxes unnecessary.

What will future internet users be like? Without self-restraint, they will be even more impatient and easily distracted than today. Their writing will be painfully concise. Perhaps the average book's word count will go down. Textbooks, or curricula in general, will be customized excerpts from the online collection of all human knowledge. Nearly all of people's education will come from the internet, not parents and teachers. They will appear to live in separate worlds from an external observer. As they navigate physical environments, earphones let them listen to anything they want. Tiny screens let them see anything they want. And the internet gives them any information they might need in daily tasks. Using the internet as a second brain, they will appear much more knowledgeable and capable than us. They will be more productive because of their connection to cyberspace, but this augmentation will come at a cost. Future users will feel anxious whenever they are disconnected. Sleep deprivation will be a major health concern. The physical world will seem less real than the digital one. Take the internet away, and its users might struggle to cope even with mundane situations. With the internet, they may eventually seem omniscient.

Too much internet use reduces our ability to concentrate, and its distractions hinder the learning process. Depending on your point of view, that is okay because the internet holds more information than we could ever hope to absorb. We just need to make sure that relevant information is available whenever it is needed. Some old-fashioned moderation would protect our mental focus from significantly deteriorating. If we take the time to contemplate what we learn once in a while, then our brains should experience intellectual prosperity. So far we have seen a net benefit from the internet, and, hopefully, we will continue to adapt to our technologies without losing ourselves in the process.

COMPUTERS CAN IMPROVE EDUCATION!

Computers have become ubiquitous in modern life. We get news updates, find driving directions, communicate with one another, write papers, make calculations, and perform countless other tasks with the aid of various computers. Yet, as these fabulous tools increasingly permeate our lives, they remain undercapitalized in most classroom settings. Many kids learn to text with their cellphones years before they learn to type on keyboards. Why?

Public schools seem to be built for intellectual stagnation. The most apparent academic goal in most students' minds is surviving the next test or exam. Grades are everything. Is there any consideration for the interests and talents of the students? No. You must learn these subjects, by this date, or you are a failure. If you excel linguistically and are passionate about history but have trouble with math, then your education will be plagued by a spotty record and perhaps impressions of inadequacy. Math adepts who are uninterested and unskilled in other classes will experience the same problems. The often uncompromising attitude of school authority “kills creativity” and subdues individual excellence. People's abilities shine most when they have the freedom to follow their passions.

What does that have to do with technology, especially computers? Computers allow us to exceed the academic limits of previous generations. Why memorize lists and tables of numerous facts when you can access them at will with a search query? Hard drives store raw information so that we can focus on interpreting and utilizing data instead of memorizing it. Email and satellite transmissions make long-distance communication nearly instantaneous. Software plots data faster, more accurately, and in more ways than a single human ever could by hand. People can do so much more with the aid of technology, and we are constantly finding new ways to exploit it. Government officials do not appear to care about a potential leap in human-computer capability. They just want test scores so they can rank with other countries. The quantification of students eases the task of assigning value to them and their schools. Much of the time schools are focused on improving standardized test scores and fail to devote energy towards exploring how students learn—much less how to improve their learning experience.

One problem that schools face is a shortage of teachers and a surplus of students. Standardization and mass production are themes that seem natural for dealing with this dilemma. Working out standardized problems with pencil and paper, in addition to reading standardized texts, is the classic approach that has emerged for cramming information and skills into students' brains. Is this still a valid method of learning, considering today's technology? With computers and the internet, a student can find countless sources of information regarding any topic in class. The versatility of computers enables any student to express their knowledge in myriad ways—slide-show presentations, animations, typed essays, etc. In light of this, the dull exams of today seem unnecessary. A common complaint for schools is the infrequent buying of new textbooks. The internet allows access to free, legal, easily updated textbooks written by qualified experts who value education above profit. Using digital textbooks and unconventional methods of assessing academic progress reduce the use of physical resources like paper. In this way, going digital is also going green.

Many schools seem to be in denial about the ubiquity of computers. Computer skills are more important than ever and can be very lucrative. But some schools do not even teach their students how to touch-type. Why is programming—or, at the very least, computer literacy—not a major subject alongside social studies and math? Programming develops language and logic skills while empowering individuals to innovate with software. Knowing how to use computers is necessary for countless careers, but that importance is overlooked by many teachers and administrators. The internet gives people access to vast amounts of knowledge, but students are severely limited in time that is allowed to explore it.

America's ideal economic model is one that provides individual freedom and allows personal experimentation. Ideally, citizens are free to buy what they want and start businesses selling what they want. This results in net economic growth because people will learn how to make a profit and provide for the needs and wants of customers. Such freedom is expected in virtually every facet of life except, it seems, in schooling. Unless you want to change your address, you cannot choose which public school your kids attend. Students have very little choice about what subjects they study until they get to the college level. Students must study the same subjects and devote the same amount of time to each one, and they have no say in the curriculum of those subjects. The administrators get to make all the decisions. This power structure is analogous to a communist state. Everybody gets equal pay, and the people in charge manage all the resources. With this you get low productivity and little innovation. If students had more freedom to choose what subjects they study and how to manage their time, then they would be more productive and creative. They have more freedom outside of school, and they quickly learn how to use cellphones, personal computers, game consoles, etc. as long as their families can afford such things. Once connected to the World Wide Web, a person is free to learn about any topic imaginable. The internet holds much more information than a room full of textbooks, but school systems are too rigid to take advantage of it.

There are some people who are trying to bring public education into the twenty-first century and use technology for academic benefit, but they cannot do it alone. School administrators need to be more open-minded. Teachers need to be willing to learn as much as their students. Parents need to speak up about the quality of their children's education. Students need to care about their education. Today's technology is just too powerful to be wasted.

RECOMMENDED READING

If you are open-minded and interested about education, then I would recommend taking a look at the following:

2¢ Worth by David Warlick

Dangerously Irrelevant by Scott McLeod

EDTE.CH by Tom Barrett

edu.blogs.com by Ewan McIntosh

OLDaily & articles by Stephen Downes

"Where gaming and education converge." by Lucas Gillispie
 

STUDYING EARLY CHRISTIANITY AT YALE

Here is another free course from Open Yale Courses. Professor Dale B. Martin teaches “Introduction to New Testament History and Literature.” This course examines the early history of Christianity and its various interpretations. The Bible's New Testament is the main body of text used, but other sources are studied as well. Keep in mind that this course is taught from a strictly secular perspective, and it is not intended for religious insight. If you are interested in the origins of Easter and its customs, then this is a good place to start. This may also be a good course for those interested in Roman civilization and its subjects. Happy Easter!

The classes include the following topics: Biblical canon, Greco-Roman world, Judaism, the gospels, Jesus as a historical figure, Saint Paul, interpretations of scripture, and the afterlife.

New Testament History/Literature (OYC)

Featured Quote

"In any moment of decision the best thing you can do is the right thing, the next best thing is the wrong thing, and the worst thing you can do is nothing."

-Theodore Roosevelt

DIY COMPUTER ANIMATIONS AND VIDEO GAMES

Have you ever watched a Pixar film and wished you could have a go at making CG animations? Do you aspire to becoming a video game developer, but you lack the resources to gain any experience? Blender might be just what you need. It is a 3D computer graphics program which is free and open-source. All you need is a reasonably fast computer and internet connection. This software is capable of building 3D models, rendering artwork, making animations, running user-created video games and simulations, and more. A diligent user's creations are only limited by imagination, and, in some cases, computing power. In commercial applications Blender has been used to make advertisements, short films, and was even used by the storyboard department of Spider-Man 2. The experience acquired from using this program can be invaluable if you are pursuing a career in the film/animation or video game industries. Learning to use Blender takes some time, but there is a lot of support via the Blender community. Users who are highly skilled often create tutorials to share their knowledge. Not only is the software free, but getting educated in how to use it is free, too. Below is a screenshot of Blender followed by a few short films.

Blender (software)

“Esign 2”

“Elephants Dream”

“Sintel” (some violence and blood)

Featured Quote

"In this age of specialization men who thoroughly know one field are often incompetent to discuss another. The great problems of the relations between one and another aspect of human activity have for this reason been discussed less and less in public."

-Richard Feynman

INNOVATORS PITCH THEIR IDEAS TO THE WORLD

The free exchange of ideas is arguably the greatest function of the internet. Millions of people are online every second, and they are accessing one of mankind's greatest resources. One source where you are likely to get a premium selection of ideas is TED. TED (Technology, Entertainment, Design) is an organization that hosts conferences with businessmen, inventors, scientists, artists, politicians, and others as both presenters and audience. These presentations, or TED Talks, are opportunities for speakers to share their ideas with an audience of influential and appreciative listeners. The presentations are later uploaded to the internet to be watched by the biggest audience in the world, free of charge. The ideas vary from new ways of interfacing with computers to getting clean water for those in need. Any video is sure to inspire and challenge open minds; below are a few examples.

TED Talks

Sir Ken Robinson finds faults in public schooling

Prof. Sugata Mitra finds kids can teach themselves

Stewart Brand and Mark Z. Jacobson debate nuclear fission power

Featured Classic - Franklin

"Love your Enemies, for they tell you your Faults."  -Ben Franklin

Now and again I will feature texts authored by individuals whose past achievements can serve to inspire today's people and cultivate intellectual growth. Learning from history is a vital component of anyone's education. Avoiding past mistakes and building on past successes facilitate progress in both everyday life and modern science. With new communication technologies affecting our lives, it can be difficult to remember our heritage. It is increasingly easy to get swept up by social pressures and lose focus on the direction of one's life and the world at large. By staying cognizant of our roots we nurture personal growth and integrity. Works such as those featured here are part of mankind's intellectual heritage and are well worth anyone's study.

Today's featured classic is Benjamin Franklin's autobiography. America owes much to this prodigious man. His lightning rod has prevented countless fires and deaths. His theory of electricity was a crucial milestone in scientific progress. Other inventions have significantly benefited mankind immeasurably. Benjamin Franklin founded the United States' first public lending library and other valuable institutions. He was Ambassador to France, rallying support for the United States during the Revolutionary War. As a Founding Father, he helped start a nation that would stand for freedom, individualism, and humanitarianism. In his autobiography Ben Franklin narrates his astonishing life with humility. One of the best-known parts is his “moral perfection” project where he focused on thirteen virtues (temperance, silence, order, resolution, frugality, industry, sincerity, justice, moderation, cleanliness, tranquility, chastity, humility) with which to improve himself as a person. During his life he went from being a poor news printer to co-founding a nation. His values and accomplishments have helped shape the American Dream.

Ben Franklin's Autobiography (free download)

The Autobiography of Benjamin Franklin (amazon.com)