21 MAY 2016 by ideonexus
Essay Writing is About Figuring Things Out
To understand what a real essay is, we have to reach back into history again, though this time not so far. To Michel de Montaigne, who in 1580 published a book of what he called "essais." He was doing something quite different from what lawyers do, and the difference is embodied in the name. Essayer is the French verb meaning "to try" and an essai is an attempt. An essay is something you write to try to figure something out.
Figure out what? You don't know yet. And so you can't begin with a ... 1 
notes
notes24 JAN 2014 by ideonexus
Science Should be Accessible to All
The circulation of accurate and meaningful natural science ideas is of vital concern to our age. These are abundant in science but scarce in society. They should be rendered accessible to all. . . without education in natural science it is impossible to develop a strong intellect.... By placing natural science at the beginning of a course of education we would cleanse the child's mind of all prejudices; we would raise him on healthful food until the time when, strong of intellect . . . and re...Folksonomies: enlightenment education
Folksonomies: enlightenment education
1 The importance of universal public education.
16 NOV 2013 by ideonexus
The Game of Life is Purposeless
The real deal-breaker of this game is it's slow storyline; nothing is explained in the first level, you just start on your front door's porch with no objectives or mini-map. The NPCs don't give you any clues on what you're supposed to be doing, you're just forced to figure it out. The huge area is interesting, but as impressive as the graphics are, it seems wasted on a very "average" environment that doesn't really give the player any "Wow" visuals, like huge machines or supernatural events. ...Folksonomies: humor game reviews
Folksonomies: humor game reviews
The goals aren't clear. You have no idea what you're supposed to when you stand on your front porch.
17 JUN 2013 by ideonexus
Banks Knows What Caused His Cancer
As we walk to the door, Banks pulls one final, left-field surprise. "Do you know that I know what caused the cancer?" I think I pull a face like Macaulay Culkin in Home Alone. "Cosmic ray," he says. "I won't brook any contradiction; it was a high-energy particle. A star exploded hundreds or thousands of years ago and ever since there's been a cosmic ray – a bad-magic bullet with my name on it, to quote Ken – heading towards the moment where it hit one of my cells and mutated it. That's an... 1 notes
notesClaims it was a "cosmic ray." A poetic notion.
08 APR 2013 by ideonexus
The Monty Hall Problem
Here’s how Monty’s deal works, in the math problem, anyway. (On the real show it was a bit messier.) He shows you three closed doors, with a car behind one and a goat behind each of the others. If you open the one with the car, you win it. You start by picking a door, but before it’s opened Monty will always open another door to reveal a goat. Then he’ll let you open either remaining door.
Suppose you start by picking Door 1, and Monty opens Door 3 to reveal a goat. Now what should y...You should always switch doors because you had a 1 in 3 chance of getting the right one the first time, and a 1 in 2 chance if you switch.
30 MAY 2012 by ideonexus
Perspectives on the Physician
When Death lurks at the door, the physician is considered as a God. When danger has been overcome, the physician is looked upon as an angel. When the patient begins to convalesce, the physician becomes a mere human. When the physician asks for his fees, he is considered as the devil himself. Quoting Hendrick Goltzius In Harper's Magazine (1931-32), 164, 512
30 JAN 2012 by ideonexus
Who Really Needs Bioethics
Renegade scientists and totalitarian loonies are not the folks most likely to abuse genetic engineering. You and I are--not because we are bad but because we want to do good. In a world dominated by competition, parents understandably want to give their kids every advantage. ... The most likely way for eugenics to enter into our lives is through the front door as nervous parents ... will fall over one another to be first to give Junior a better set of genes. 1 notes
notesIt's not scientists who need ethics when it comes to genetic engineering, it's ordinary consumers who will jump at the chance to improve their children with the technology.
05 JAN 2012 by ideonexus
Creationsim VS "I Don't Know"
Where did the primal seed of the big bang come from? How did life begin? How did monarch butterflies evolve the ability to navigate to their winter home? God did it, says the believer. I don't know, says the agnostic. The two statements have exactly the same explanatory value. Zero.
Why then opt for one rather than the other? The first provides an illusion of understanding, and reinforces the ancient belief in a personal divinity who attends to our individual lives. The second is a goad to c...Neither explains any natural phenomena, but the latter leads the door open to curiosity.
18 DEC 2011 by ideonexus
Matthew 6:6 - Don't Pray in Public
1 “Be careful not to practice your righteousness in front of others to be seen by them. If you do, you will have no reward from your Father in heaven.
2 “So when you give to the needy, do not announce it with trumpets, as the hypocrites do in the synagogues and on the streets, to be honored by others. Truly I tell you, they have received their reward in full. 3 But when you give to the needy, do not let your left hand know what your right hand is doing, 4 so that your giving may be in... 1 notes
notesPray in private and don't make a big display for others.
06 JUL 2011 by ideonexus
Babies are Little Mars Rovers
Walk upstairs, open the door gently, and look in the crib. What do you see? Most of us see a picture of innocence and helplessness, a clean slate. But, in fact, what we see in the crib is the greatest mind that has ever existed, the most powerful learning machine in the universe. The tiny fingers and mouth are exploration devices that probe the alien world around them with more precision than any Mars rover. The crumpled ears take a buzz of incomprehensible noise and flawlessly turn it into m... 1 notes
notesThey are incredibly powerful learning machines.
