07 AUG 2017 by ideonexus
The Double Multiplicative Nature of Fraction or Ratio Equ...
Most real-world numbers aren’t always so nice and neat, with wholenumber multiples. If, say, Plant A grew from 2 to 3 feet, and Plant B grew from 6 to 8 feet, then we would say that Plant A grew 1/2 of its original height, whereas Plant B only grew 1/3 of its original height. Such reasoning exemplifies multiplicative thinking and necessarily involves rational numbers.
Consider a final example. If you ask a rising 6th grader to compare 13/15 and 14/ 16, chances are that the student will say... 1 
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notes10 MAR 2017 by ideonexus
1937 Description of Lightspeed Travel
After a while I noticed that the sun and all the stars in his neighborhood were ruddy. Those at the opposite pole of the heaven were of an icy blue. The explanation of this strange phenomenon flashed upon me. I was still traveling, and traveling so fast that light itself was not wholly indifferent to my passage. The overtaking undulations took long to catch me. They therefore affected me as slower pulsations than they normally were, and I saw them therefore as red. Those that met me on my hea... 1 notes
notes09 NOV 2015 by ideonexus
How to Teach Vocabulary
Begin with a story or explanation of the term. Modeling how you use the word in your life
or in conversation may be helpful to students.
Have students put information into their own words. This process, which I call “recoding,”
is necessary to make sure students understand the word. This is a vital step in the memory
process. Skipping this step can be disastrous as students may have a misconception
that will be placed in long-term memory through incorrect rehearsals (Sprenger, 2005).
Ask ...Folksonomies: teaching vocabulary
Folksonomies: teaching vocabulary
1 notes
notes25 SEP 2013 by ideonexus
Explaining the Name "ideonexus"
The name "ideonexus" is not an English word, but it is a combination of two words: "ideo" and "nexus." The "ideo" is a version of the word "idea" (想法) that we use in compound words, like "ideology." The word "nexus" means "intersection" (路口), "relationship" (关系), or "connection" (连接). So the name "ideonexus" is something I made up to symbolize my interest in connecting and relating ideas to one another (maybe "想法连接"?).An explanation I gave a Chinese Paleontology student for my blogging moniker.
19 JAN 2013 by ideonexus
Kuhn's Explanation of Scientific Revolutions as Post-Mode...
The politics the book ascribed to science resonated closely with prevailing attitudes. Scientists ("the Man") resist new (baby boomer) ideas, clinging to old (Western white male), outdated theories even as the evidence they are being willfully blind to accumulates (discrimination) like energy in an electron until it finally becomes overwhelming (the civil rights movement). Then, suddenly, in a crystallizing moment (revelation), the ruling order is displaced (comeuppance) and the intellectual ... 1 notes
notesAn interesting comparison.
21 JUN 2012 by ideonexus
Scientific Knowledge is the Only Thing That Gets Better
No history of civilization can be tolerably complete which does not give considerable space to the explanation of scientific progress. If we had any doubts about this, it would suffice to ask ourselves what constitutes the essential difference between our and earlier civilizations. Throughout the course of history, in every period, and in almost every country, we find a small number of saints, of great artists, of men of science. The saints of to-day are not necessarily more saintly than thos...
2 Art, religion, and scientists are all of the same caliber throughout history, the only difference is the wealth of knowledge they have access to grows larger all the time.
04 JUN 2012 by ideonexus
Science Extends the Range of Phenomena
Science is in a literal sense constructive of new facts. It has no fixed body of facts passively awaiting explanation, for successful theories allow the construction of new instruments—electron microscopes and deep space probes—and the exploration of phenomena that were beyond description—the behavior of transistors, recombinant DNA, and elementary particles, for example. This is a key point in the progressive nature of science—not only are there more elegant or accurate analyses of p... 1 notes
notesThere is not a set number of facts, but science expands boundaries.
30 MAY 2012 by ideonexus
The Shortest Route
For if as scientists we seek simplicity, then obviously we try the simplest surviving theory first, and retreat from it only when it proves false. Not this course, but any other, requires explanation. If you want to go somewhere quickly, and several alternate routes are equally likely to be open, no one asks why you take the shortest. The simplest theory is to be chosen not because it is the most likely to be true but because it is scientifically the most rewarding among equally likely altern... 1 notes
notesIsn't taken because it's easiest, but because we look for elegant simplicity.
18 MAR 2012 by ideonexus
Nuclear Winter
In discussing the state of the atmosphere following a nuclear exchange, we point especially to the effects of the many fires that would be ignited by the thousands of nuclear explosions in cities, forests, agricultural fields, and oil and gas fields. As a result of these fires, the loading of the atmosphere with strongly light absorbing particles in the submicron size range (1 micron = 10-6 m) would increase so much that at noon solar radiation at the ground would be reduced by at least a fac...Folksonomies: environmentalism
Folksonomies: environmentalism
1 notes
notesAn explanation of the science behind this concept and the back-of-the-napkin calculation.
16 MAR 2012 by ideonexus
The Concept of the Chemical Bond
[The chemical bond] First, it is related to the disposition of two electrons (remember, no one has ever seen an electron!): next, these electrons have their spins pointing in opposite directions (remember, no one can ever measure the spin of a particular electron!): then, the spatial distribution of these electrons is described analytically with some degree of precision (remember, there is no way of distinguishing experimentally the density distribution of one electron from another!): concept...Folksonomies: chemistry
Folksonomies: chemistry
1 notes
notes...is based on things we cannot see or measure and only exist in terms of probabilities.
