screens

I have come to the realization that I have too many screens.
am I going to do anything about this?
no...
I am just another wrapped up in the false, simulacra of this world.
all in the same room I have :

• a computer
• tablet
• laptop
• smartphone

the plugs indeed run deep.
this reminds me of the allegory of the cave, with so many representations and fantasy worlds at our fingertips it is too easy for me to allow myself to become disconnected from the world (with the irony that I have become more connected to the internet). am I any more happy or self actualized as a person because of this? arguable no.
am I better off because of this technology? questionable.
I am glad that I have come to this realization. now to just actualize this realization is another problem in itself.

Sage on the Stage

lecturing has never been an effective teaching technique now that information is everywhere

great article on lecturing and its ineffectiveness in the classroom. I for one agree with the article, with information at our fingertips it makes it unnecessary for a teacher to lecture and instead should allow for more open and flexible forms of teaching. Technology should be leveraged to maximize the opportunities to educate. With digital media ubiquitous it should be no problem to record the lectures for the students viewing out of class which then frees the teacher to provide opportunities to apply knowledge or if needed provide further instruction to those who need it. Salaman Khan of khanacademy.org I think has a great model and approach to teaching that I think would not be a huge obstacle to implement.

I have noticed in many of my science classes which are lecture based that pure memorization over reasoning tends to be emphasized. It is all too often in my science classes that I get the feeling that I am learning the "Story of Science" instead of gaining the firsthand experience gaining the knowledge through an experiment or teaching someone.

.3 watts per search

Google is massive. With huge data centers keeping data safe and serving up each query to inquisitive visitors. Maintaining these servers requires quite a bit of energy but amazingly Google has kept energy consumption low.
Google has shown how to do more with less, and commentators have noticed that being green is not only good sense for the environment but good business sense

Internet Repression

it is widely known of the power that technology played in the arab spring but here the NYT weighs in on the more repressive and sinister side of technology.

Amid the cheerleading over recent events in the Middle East, it's easy to forget the more repressive uses of technology. In addition to the rosy narrative celebrating how Facebook and Twitter have enabled freedom movements around the world, we need to confront a more sinister tale: how greedy companies, fostered by Western governments for domestic surveillance needs, have helped suppress them.

Stanisław Lem on the internet

What is your opinion about Internet? Is Internet a new revolution in human life?Each new technology has its advantages and disadvantages. And each one may be used for or against human beings. I am somewhat afraid of this. There is nothing wrong with the tale of Hansel and Gretel, the witch and her hut made of sweets - as long as it remains in the domain of fantasy. However eating the entire roof of a real eatable hut made of sweets would certainly result in indigestion. Everything that is tempting always lies between the outstretched hand and the fruit. Once picked, the fruit turns out to be rotten and it does not suit us any more. The same is the case with the availability of information. What are the advantages of great possibilities to process information if all networks may be paralyzed by Internet viruses? The technology opens new possibilities for wrongdoing. I am a cruel person, hence I hate people who create the "I LOVE YOU" - types of viruses; I would gladly have them whipped and had "enemy of mankind of the first degree" written on their foreheads. I am irritated by evil and stupidity. Evil results from stupidity, while stupidity feeds on Evil. Television is full of violence and desensitizes us. Internet makes it easier to hurt our neighbors. I recently read an article about a young man who tried to (almost successfully) gain control of a computer of a large American aircraft carrier. Had I written such a story some thirty years ago, everybody would consider me mad. However nowadays such a paradox is possible. The entire history of humankind is just a little second on the geological clock. We live in a period of an incredible acceleration. We are like a man who jumped off the roof of a fifty-story building and reached the thirtieth floor.Someone looking out of the windows asks: "How are you doing?" and the falling man replies: "Everything is fine, so far". We are unaware of the speed that captured us. The technology moves forward, however the control of its direction is very weak. 

From science fiction author Stanisław Lem

Nasa Spin-off Tech

NASA tech

with the talk of the last shuttle flight and the increasing worries of the national debt people often wonder if NASA is worth American tax payer dollars when currently it only consumes .05-1% of the federal budget.

Here are several "practical" applications that have arisen due to NASA. But really if you are trying to decide if NASA is worth American tax dollars just have a drink of Tang, I mean come on the stuff is delicious!

EDIT: tang was actually not invented by NASA and was only used after the astronauts found the water on the spacecrafts distasteful and used tang to make it more palatable 

The Open Web

what does your local mexican resturaunt reviewer and the vetted political blog fivethirtyeight.com have in common?
they were started by the same guy using the powereful and open technologies of the web. This is a good write up on the just what one can do when you can harness the technologies of the web, tech that has changed the way we interact with the vast array of knowledge available at our fingertips.
also touches on the dynamic between academic circles and online blogging communities in disseminating information. As noted in the article the web has changed in what we value when it comes to knowledge. gone are the days of the reclusive sage holed up in the ivory tower, today information does not spread by decree but through the democratizing power of the web to connect. A point debated by traditional newspaper journalists and academics on the legitimacy is as follows:

Mary Coussons-Read, a professor of psychology at CU Denver, says today’s quick turnaround of information helps to make it more compelling.
“Information travels so much more quickly,” she says. “(We expect) instant gratification. If people have a question, they want an answer.”
That real-time quality can bring with it the illusion that it’s possible to perceive a whole reality by accessing various bits of information.
“There’s this immediacy of the transfer of information that leads people to believe they’re seeing everything … and that they have an understanding of the meaning of it all,” she says.

but this idea that academic legitimacy is changing with the adoption of wikipedia as the go to source for much of the general population.

the do-it-yourself nature of much of the most innovative work on the web, and how one can iterate toward perfection rather than publishing works in fully polished states. His tale [this] underlines the principle that good is good, and that the web is extraordinarily proficient at finding and disseminating the best work, often through continual, post-publication, recursive review. FiveThirtyEight also shows the power of openness to foster that dissemination and the dialogue between author and audience. Finally, the open web enables and rewards unexpected uses and genres.

7 unique and creative uses for Google+

The future of education: "flipping the classroom"

A video from youtube of a ted talk about khan academy...awesome.
Sal (the main guy behind Khan Academy) really presents a solid case for the future of education. a future where students are learning at their own pace and become empowered and inspired by their own progress. a future where teachers can actually teach and intereact with students individually instead of standing in front of a chalkboard. This really is the future of education, a virtual classroom that is free for all to use.
I have registered into Khan Academy classroom and have already ranked up 2 merit badges and 2,908 points, wanna join and see if you can beat me?

What the web needs to be about

I have been taking a remedial math class for the past couple of weeks and have been poking around on the web for some useful resources to help me learn. One of these incredible assests that every single user of the web has access to is Khan Academy, this is probably one of the most useful websites I know of for learning as it covers topics ranging from basic addition and subtraction to calculus and even the recent finacial crisis. Each topic is carfuly and slowly explained in a way that really invites you to take a part in the learning. and has even implemented a sort of virtual classroom that will test and present excersizes that you need to lean and ranks you progress with a points system which I can see as an excellent way to encourage students to engage with material.
I think this website is some of the best examples of what the web needs to be about: open, free, skill/knowledge based. While I can see the importance of social media such as FBook and Twitter as important parts of the web (this is witnessed by the indispensable use of twitter in organizing protest in Egypt's uprising/Arab spring). But with sites like Wikipedia, TED, Youtube, and Khan Academy you really get the sense that the web has allowed for more democratization of the world and allows you to expose yourself to beneficial material. I see sites like these really working to make change and opportunity in the world and makes me wonder how as these websites grow in importance to the world what impacts will they begin to have on our day to day lives. But as our oppoutunity to access this material grows it is important to note that there are still those who do not have the same access to this information as we do and makes it all the more important to close the "digital divide" This is truly an amazing time to live in
the web is something that I believe in, I believe in its amazing capacity to connect us with information ,people (but let me be clear: the web does not replace person to person social interaction),cultures and viewpoints. The web is a place for information and ideas to spread at a rate never before seen or comprehended and this I believe is important to protect and cultivate as we move forward

DNA is now DIY: PCR machine for only 512$

Long Live the Web: A Call for Continued Open Standards and Neutrality

deep shot

great idea that I would love to see more implemented. It really seem to solve the problem that divides mobile devices and computers.