This is interesting. They ran the calculation three times on their supercomputer, and came up with the same answer -- the calculation of the wonderful number PI ended at 1.3511 trillion places! This is actually old news, from June 2004. I'll have to figure out what's become of this, since I would think that this would really upset some people, especially those in the "Ancient and Honorable Society of Pi Watchers."
Saturday, February 19, 2005
A.I. matches human intelligence (only in California!)
This article in the Watley Review is pretty entertaining. What's up with the educational system in CA? Then again, you should probably criticize the researchers methods of validation. Regardless, it again shows that when doing research, choose your "control" subject carefully!
Thursday, February 17, 2005
Senate Passes Ban on Genetic Discrimination
Who wants to wager a bet on how many years it will take before this ban is repealed? Will it be in my lifetime? I would bet on it.
Tuesday, February 15, 2005
Inventor preserves self to witness immortality - Feb 15, 2005
Check out this article from CNN.com.
Hmmm... I actually don't have much to say. I mean, don't get me wrong -- the logical, analytical side of me says, "BWHAAAHAHAHA! Yeah, right!" But, Ray Kurzweil is a real visionary. I know technology has come a long way, but we have a long way to go, particularly in the nanosciences. But, regardless... 20 years? Immortality?
With just the right mixture of green tea and other dietary supplements, in combination with nanobots that work through your system to maintain your living state, you'll live forever, or so Dr. Kurzweil says. A heart?!?!? Bahhh! Who needs a stinkin' heart!
Do you have any idea how many books he's going to sell to people that know nothing about what he's talking about? I wonder how much money he's going to make from this claim. That's probably the part that bothers me the most.
I don't know. I think he may have gone too far this time. I do not doubt that small parts of his claim will prove true. I suspect that much of his dietary information he provides in the book are probably based on known facts that have come out over the years. (e.g. green tea, wine, whole grains, olive oil, fish, etc...) But, I just hope that those that spend the money on this book will read it with a grain of salt, or... some other preservative. :-)
Hmmm... I actually don't have much to say. I mean, don't get me wrong -- the logical, analytical side of me says, "BWHAAAHAHAHA! Yeah, right!" But, Ray Kurzweil is a real visionary. I know technology has come a long way, but we have a long way to go, particularly in the nanosciences. But, regardless... 20 years? Immortality?
With just the right mixture of green tea and other dietary supplements, in combination with nanobots that work through your system to maintain your living state, you'll live forever, or so Dr. Kurzweil says. A heart?!?!? Bahhh! Who needs a stinkin' heart!
Do you have any idea how many books he's going to sell to people that know nothing about what he's talking about? I wonder how much money he's going to make from this claim. That's probably the part that bothers me the most.
I don't know. I think he may have gone too far this time. I do not doubt that small parts of his claim will prove true. I suspect that much of his dietary information he provides in the book are probably based on known facts that have come out over the years. (e.g. green tea, wine, whole grains, olive oil, fish, etc...) But, I just hope that those that spend the money on this book will read it with a grain of salt, or... some other preservative. :-)
Blogging is all fun and games, until the boss finds out - Feb. 14, 2005
Check out this article posted on CNN. Blogging can cost you your job, unless you write nice things about your place of employment. But, seriously, why was he blogging from his workplace? Do you mean to tell me that people use the internet from their work computers?!?! NO!!! Tell me it isn't so! :-)
Seriously, controlling internet use at the workplace is becoming a bigger and bigger problem throughout corporate America. You better think twice before you type that e-mail to your friend from your work account telling him/her about how your boss sucks. Take my word for it. I know people personally that have been fired for such things. Resist the urge! Don't be fooled -- there is no privacy on the internet, particularly from your work computer. If there is something you would not say with your boss standing next to you, then don't say it in an e-mail. If you wouldn't go to that web site with your boss standing over you, then don't go to that web site while you're at work.
Seriously, controlling internet use at the workplace is becoming a bigger and bigger problem throughout corporate America. You better think twice before you type that e-mail to your friend from your work account telling him/her about how your boss sucks. Take my word for it. I know people personally that have been fired for such things. Resist the urge! Don't be fooled -- there is no privacy on the internet, particularly from your work computer. If there is something you would not say with your boss standing next to you, then don't say it in an e-mail. If you wouldn't go to that web site with your boss standing over you, then don't go to that web site while you're at work.
Wednesday, February 02, 2005
Big pants, no shoes?
So, I have this professor this semester. Let's call him Professor P(x). I must say, he is extremely refreshing after some of the ordeals I've been through since I've been back to school. I'd consider him to be the epitomy of eccentricity -- a true genius in every sense of the word. Our class is an 80 minute class. In a recent class, he started by spending about 20 minutes regrouping his thoughts after several meetings he had earlier in the day. He then began teaching. Every 30 seconds, he'd face the blackboard, yank his pants up (which I was very thankful for), and turn around to continue teaching. He periodically hops up on the desk in the room, kicks off his shoes (literally), sits with his legs crossed on the desk, and starts talking as if we were at a campfire. (All together now! "Kum-bah-ya...") Sometimes he gets bored with the material he's teaching, and starts sharing stories of his past experiences while at Harvard, sharing class notes with Bill Gates. (Poor P(x) continued his education, while Mr. Gates dropped out and earned the big bucks.) But, somehow, through all of this, he manages to teach the material, and gets several laughs out of everyone through the process. I'm not sure if this is the best approach for everyone, but I've been learning a lot from him. After considering all of my graduate classes I've been through, this is one that is going to really stick out in my head for years to come.
As I continue down this path, with the goal of becoming a professor myself, one skill that they don't teach professors is how to teach! Many institutions hire you with NO teaching experience. Can you believe it?!?!? I find this to be insane! Every professor has gained their position without any formal training in pedagogic skills. And, frankly, it shows with many professors. I think many of them can teach, but they simply lack interest. They are there for research purposes, and consider teaching to be an inconvenience -- something that gets in the way of their real goals in research. (After all, it's the research that pays the university bills, not teaching. Teaching is overhead.) Other professors that I've encountered over the past 15 years lack skills to properly impart knowledge to students and inspire learning. Believe me, I'm not saying I have it figured out either. I'll be the first to admit that I don't! But, I'm trying my best to learn from professors who do it right, as well as learn from their mistakes. I've had no formal training myself, other than a few teaching seminars here and there that I've attended out of my own will. The main rule I apply is to teach a class the way I would want to be taught. (Now, I have to try to put myself back in the mindset of an undergraduate, and that's not easy.) However, that philosophy is not right for everyone either. So... regardless, I have a lot to learn still. Don't we all?
Thinking about where I'm at right now, the minority of professors with excellent pedagogic skills outweigh the majority in my head. These are the ones that leave you wanting more. P(x) is actually doing that for me. I haven't had a class like this in years.
P(x) is a unique professor, probably the most unique I've ever had. I'm learning the class subject, as well as observing his teaching methodologies. He's showing me I have more things to learn, for sure. I'm far from getting everything right, and unfortunately, I can't really apply his methods. (For starters, most students would run if I started kicking off my shoes every class.) I teach a class of over 100 students. P(x)'s class size is 8 students. You use completely different teaching methods with a class size of 8 vs. 100 students. Furthermore, advanced graduate courses use completely different teaching methods than introductory undergraduate courses (like I'm teaching.) And regardless, as a PhD student, my primary responsibilities revolve around my own research and dissertation work, which is just beginning. Oh, the question constantly begs every morning; "How do I juggle all of this work today? What should I do first? How do I handle these student issues? I really need something sweet. I know I didn't explain call-by-reference as clearly as I could have. Where's the pizza? I could be making 10x the amount of money I'm making now. Again, why am I doing this? Where's the wine?" and so on. So, I can't really put the time into it that I want to. But, it's enjoyable regardless. Yup, I have much to learn.
As I continue down this path, with the goal of becoming a professor myself, one skill that they don't teach professors is how to teach! Many institutions hire you with NO teaching experience. Can you believe it?!?!? I find this to be insane! Every professor has gained their position without any formal training in pedagogic skills. And, frankly, it shows with many professors. I think many of them can teach, but they simply lack interest. They are there for research purposes, and consider teaching to be an inconvenience -- something that gets in the way of their real goals in research. (After all, it's the research that pays the university bills, not teaching. Teaching is overhead.) Other professors that I've encountered over the past 15 years lack skills to properly impart knowledge to students and inspire learning. Believe me, I'm not saying I have it figured out either. I'll be the first to admit that I don't! But, I'm trying my best to learn from professors who do it right, as well as learn from their mistakes. I've had no formal training myself, other than a few teaching seminars here and there that I've attended out of my own will. The main rule I apply is to teach a class the way I would want to be taught. (Now, I have to try to put myself back in the mindset of an undergraduate, and that's not easy.) However, that philosophy is not right for everyone either. So... regardless, I have a lot to learn still. Don't we all?
Thinking about where I'm at right now, the minority of professors with excellent pedagogic skills outweigh the majority in my head. These are the ones that leave you wanting more. P(x) is actually doing that for me. I haven't had a class like this in years.
P(x) is a unique professor, probably the most unique I've ever had. I'm learning the class subject, as well as observing his teaching methodologies. He's showing me I have more things to learn, for sure. I'm far from getting everything right, and unfortunately, I can't really apply his methods. (For starters, most students would run if I started kicking off my shoes every class.) I teach a class of over 100 students. P(x)'s class size is 8 students. You use completely different teaching methods with a class size of 8 vs. 100 students. Furthermore, advanced graduate courses use completely different teaching methods than introductory undergraduate courses (like I'm teaching.) And regardless, as a PhD student, my primary responsibilities revolve around my own research and dissertation work, which is just beginning. Oh, the question constantly begs every morning; "How do I juggle all of this work today? What should I do first? How do I handle these student issues? I really need something sweet. I know I didn't explain call-by-reference as clearly as I could have. Where's the pizza? I could be making 10x the amount of money I'm making now. Again, why am I doing this? Where's the wine?" and so on. So, I can't really put the time into it that I want to. But, it's enjoyable regardless. Yup, I have much to learn.
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