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13-Year-Old CEO Steals the Show At TiECON
An anonymous reader tells us about a 13-year old Silicon Valley CEO with a plan to change the way kids learn chemistry. Yesterday he stole the show at TiECON 2007, the big entrepreneur conference held in Santa Clara, CA. VentureBeat has the story and a video interview. The company's VP of sales is the CEO's sister. She's 11. They're looking for $100K to ramp up production and distribution.
At least that help to demonstrate that a CEO only need to know how to make a keynote. Technical knowledge, experience, ... : that's only required for low salary workers.
This is just a tacky thing that sounds fun to a 13-year-old
That's the whole point. It's not meant for those studying year 12 chemistry, its meant for kids. Nobody is teaching thirteen year olds "the procedure for a titration? The workings of an atomic absorption spectrometer? Electron configurations? Secondary interactions?" They are teaching them the basic concepts of chemistry that this game attempts to put forward.
Childhood is a precious time and I would not want my kids of that age to be doing this sort of thing. Childhood is something that should be treasured and nurtured. It is very sad they way that kids are rushed to adulthood so they can become consumer units. I find the sight of 10 year old adults quite pathetic.
I was the top of my class at 13, but only because I found what I was learning to be entertaining. If I hadn't been enjoying the learning, I wouldn't have done it. If this helps kids who are otherwise not interested in learning chemistry to be more interested in learning it, then great! I understand that some people poorly implement modern experimental teaching strategies and end up with kids who learn nothing, but that doesn't mean that all modern experimental teaching strategies are crap or that all implementations of them are poor. This kid sounds like he has a pretty good idea. I wouldn't want to see a class converted to playing this game instead of using books, but if the kids enjoy the card game as a supplement to their class, and if it helps them to learn more from their class, what's the problem?
I know those words... but the way you use them, they don't make any sense...
The mental age is what matters and if these kids have a mental age of 13, they're already more mature than most executives. They're probably also better adjusted with fewer physiological and emotional problems.
Scary isn't it?
As somewho knows something about Chemistry (going to the 2007 Moscow IChO), this idea is flawed. A high school chemistry syllabus is structered the way it is for a reason. I can think of several examples. 1. Chemistry is not all about elements, even at this basic level. For example, how will they teach acid-base chemistry? How will they teach gas laws? Even if this is just a small component of the syllabus, it is a waste. 2. There is too much of a gulf, knowledge wise, between the reactions that are listed in this RPG. For example - 2Mg + O2 -> 2MgO . This is simple to explain, using an Ionic Bonding Model. But then, using similar cards, you have 2Al + 3O2 -> Al2O3. Now you have to teach valencies. Then you have H2 + Br2 -> 2HBr. Try explaining that with an Ionic bonding model (If you can, account for it's properties). Then, lets say they do do acids. Mg + 2H+ -> Mg2+ + H2 . But how do you then account for Au not reacting with dilute acid, whereas Mg will? At this level? How do you account for Mg + Cu2+ -> Mg2+ + Cu ? Teaching electrochemistry cannot be done at similar times to teaching a simple valence bond theory, but that is what will happen with this stupid solution. My take - chemistry may be boring in high school, but so are most things. It's structed in a way that builds upon previous knowledge, and this guy is just hoping to make a quick buck off VC's with a product that is clearly not thought out.
"Sure there's porn and piracy on the Web but there's probably a downside too."
You can see from just the summary that they are too young and inexperienced - if they want to be taken seriously they should be asking for at least $5M. (hmmm, funny? insightful?)
ccalam - acoustic versions of new songs.
I'd appreciate that you wouldn't make far reaching assumptions based on a short post of mine. Especially if you happen to be wrong about it. I have been lucky to have great teachers in high school and it was a joy to learn in their classes. They made mathematics, physics and history interesting, but their goal wasn't to entertain me, but to teach me.
It takes a man to suffer ignorance and smile
Be yourself no matter what they say
Do i detect the familiar setup of a stage mommy/daddy here somewhere going "you're not raising seed money fast enough! no dinner tonight!"
stuff |
Perhaps a third word should be introduced, how about engaged. Whenever the student is engaged in what is being taught, they will learn more about that subject. That engagement could come because the student finds the material interesting for it's own worth; or perhaps the student is entertained by the teacher who keeps their attention while the student is learning.
I believe either method can be successful. For some students (yourself included) perhaps they would never allow themselves to be entertained while learning so that method will not work. I believe whatever method, and I am sure there are others, is employed as long as the student is engaged they will learn something. If the student simply does not care and is busy daydreaming or thinking about other classes they are engaged in, well, I can't believe they will ever gain knowledge on the subject.
Dude, you want to become a CEO?
Go file incorporation paperwork. Poof you're a CEO.
it is not hard to become a CEO, it's a title on a piece of paper that costs for about $150 to file for a LLC. nothing magical, nothing powerful, nothing to give any respect to just because someone says they are a CEO.
Do not look at laser with remaining good eye.
Honestly - how about aspiring to TEACH KIDS IN WAYS THEY WANT TO LEARN?
There, read his webpage - find out what his intentions are, rather than just making stuff up.
If you can impart two or three important concepts in this game, which seems more than likely, you've basically got Super Flashcards. And frankly, just getting kids to KNOW the names of elements is one step to getting them to ask questions about elements. What happened to slashdot's ability to dream? I don't get it, I really don't.
Bottom line is, Anshul Samhar inspires, whereas YOU just piss on the parade.
Exactly - can't have them selling their vote for hotdog and fries when selling it for the safety of their eternal soul is much more sexy.
This kid is in middle school, he, like most kids, hates textbooks, but unlike most kids, he actually came up with an alternative. He's touting it like a replacement for textbooks, and of course it would work better as a supplement, but it's still a great idea. And if the parents are helping out, they're doing the right thing. If my kid came up to me with a brilliant, if not necessarily feasible idea, I wouldn't want to quash his dreams right away. I'd want to encourage him. Any kid that's come this far isn't going to be shaken by temporary failure. Look at the about the creator page on his website and read his quotes in the article. Just because he's thirteen doesn't mean he shouldn't be taken seriously, it just means that he has a different approach than most adults.
As for the game's actual usefulness... I remember how much more exciting world history was for me because I recognized the names of cultures and cities from Civilization II. This could inspire the same kind of fascination in kids for Chemistry. Most kids aren't taught a lot of Chemistry until the middle of high school, and I don't think anyone other than the creators think this can replace textbooks completely, but how cool would it feel to walk into your high school chemistry class and already know about valence and the periodic table from a card game you played in middle school? If this game inspired a lifelong love of chemistry in a few kids and helped a few more understand the basic concepts... that alone, I think, would be worth it.
I'm always amazed at those messages: "We recently hired xyz and it turns out he's totally useless."
Not blaming any one, but are job interviews out of fashion? What sort of questions do people ask in interviews? Or, in other words, can't you tell within 20 minutes that someone simply doesn't have a clue?
Not only is Slashdot becoming a day-later Digg mirror, but the worst fucking stories are the ones making the jump.
Slashdot has been in decline ever since the VA Software buyout. The evidence shows it's pretty well close to dead.
The truth hurts, doesn't it?