09 JUN 2015 by ideonexus
Raising Caring Children
1. Children and youth need ongoing opportunities to practice caring and helpfulness,
sometimes with guidance from adults. Children are not simply born good or bad
and we should never give up on them. A good person is something one can always
become; throughout life we can develop our capacities for caring and fairness as
well as many other social, emotional, and ethical capacities. Learning to be caring
and to lead an ethical life is like learning to play an instrument or hone a craft.
Daily ...Folksonomies: parenting
Folksonomies: parenting
1 24 FEB 2015 by ideonexus
Collaborative Fractal Fictional History Building
In Microscope, you build an epic history as you play. Want to play a game that spans the entire Dune series, the Silmarillion, or the rise and fall of Rome in an afternoon? That’s Microscope.
But you don’t play the history from start to finish, marching along in chronological order. Instead, you build your history from the outside in. You start off knowing the big picture, the grand scheme of what happens, then you dive in and explore what happened in between, the how and why that shaped...19 FEB 2014 by ideonexus
There are "Levels" to Understanding Mathematics
The way it was described to me when I was in high school was in terms of 'levels'.
Sometimes, in your mathematics career, you find that your slow progress, and careful accumulation of tools and ideas, has suddenly allowed you to do a bunch of new things that you couldn't possibly do before. Even though you were learning things that were useless by themselves, when they've all become second nature, a whole new world of possibility appears. You have "leveled up", if you will. Something clicks,...Folksonomies: mathematics levels
Folksonomies: mathematics levels
1 
notes
notesAs you learn more and more, your comprehension grows and you see more of the big picture. Conversations with people at other levels change as you rise.
30 DEC 2013 by ideonexus
Look for What Makes You Different
“Some of you think your hand in life is all deuces and treys.” At the front of the room were some really dedicated students, not much older than Juan. They were wearing, but they had no clothes sense and had never learned ensemble coding. As Chumlig spoke, you could see their fingers tapping away, searching on “deuces” and “treys.” “But I have a theory of life,” said Chumlig, “and it is straight out of gaming: There is always an angle. You, each of you, have some special wil... 1 notes
notesFictional scene from a future where IT is much more advanced.
13 DEC 2013 by ideonexus
Reasons to Give Up News
News misleads. News leads us to walk around with the completely wrong risk map in our heads. So terrorism is over-rated. Chronic stress is under-rated. The collapse of Lehman Brothers is overrated. Fiscal irresponsibility is under-rated. Astronauts are over-rated. Nurses are under-rated.
News is irrelevant. Out of the approximately 10,000 news stories you have read in the last 12 months, name one that – because you consumed it – allowed you to make a better decision about a serious matter... 1 notes
notesTaking just the titles/headers of the reasons, and abbreviated explanations.
15 NOV 2013 by ideonexus
The Internet as a Brain
The brain is one of the most complex networks in the world, with more neurons than there are stars in the galaxy. Its hardware is a complex network of neurons; its software a complex network of memories. And so too is the Internet a network. Its hardware is a complex network of computers; its software a complex network of websites. There is a lot we can learn from the brain and it can tell us where the Internet is headed next.
[...]
In practice, the Internet is clunkier, slower, and smaller...The question for me is: How do you detect the intelligence? If we are only interacting with neurons, how to we see the big picture?
01 JUN 2012 by ideonexus
Parable of Many People Working on a Large Project
A parable: A man was examining the construction of a cathedral. He asked a stone mason what he was doing chipping the stones, and the mason replied, “I am making stones.” He asked a stone carver what he was doing. “I am carving a gargoyle.&rdquo. And so it went, each person said in detail what they were doing. Finally he came to an old woman who was sweeping the ground. She said. “I am helping build a cathedral.”
...Most of the time each person is immersed in the details of one...Often we are so immersed in the details of our work that we fail to see the big picture of what we are contributing to. I could see this parable apply to anyone in our society, where we all are building civilization.
07 MAY 2012 by ideonexus
Why the Pioneer Anomaly is Worth Investigating
In the short run, knowing the gravitational constant to one more decimal digit of precision or placing even tighter limits on any deviation from Einstein's gravitational theory may seem like painfully nitpicking detail. Yet one must not lose sight of the "big picture." When researchers were measuring the properties of electricity with ever more refined instruments over two hundred years ago, they did not envision continent-spanning power grids, an information economy, or tiny electrical signa... 1 notes
notesThe effect is tiny, but magnified over great distances, and if we are meticulous now, we make it possible for future generations to traverse the solar system.
09 JAN 2012 by ideonexus
Types of Romanticism VS Enlightenment
Compare to:
Mother Nature, Father Science: Romanticism is aligned with Nature, Enlightenment with Science. Related to this, as the trope suggests Nature is inherently 'feminine' and Science inherently 'masculine'. Depending on how the work treats these dynamics, Closer to Earth may make an appearance.
Elves Versus Dwarves: Elves are Romantic, Dwarves are Enlightened.
Emotions vs. Stoicism: Romanticism accepts emotions as the only true way to understand the world, Enlightenment may believe...Folksonomies: enlightenment romanticism
Folksonomies: enlightenment romanticism
1 notes
notesThis conflict shows up in entertainment as Elves VS Dwarves, Nature VS Science, Harmony VS Discipline, etc, etc.
27 JUL 2011 by ideonexus
Science Takes No Sides--and No Prisoners
The great thing about science is that it takes no sides—and no prisoners. Once you know which research to trust, the big picture emerges and myths fade away. To gain my trust, research must pass my “grump factor.” To make it into this book, studies must first have been published in the refereed literature and then successfully replicated. Some results have been confirmed dozens of times. Where I make an exception for cutting-edge research, reliable but not yet fully vetted by the passag...Folksonomies: scientific method peer review
Folksonomies: scientific method peer review
1 notes
notesA good summary of what research to take seriously.
