When the the soviet union collapsed, Cuba found itself in what they call the "Special Period." Without support from the soviet union, fuel became very scarce, as did things like fertilizer and pesticides. They realized that in order to survive they'd have to make a big change.
They switched to an almost 100% organic approach and use oxen to work the fields. Very few people knew how to do it anymore, so they had to learn a lot to make it effective.
What's interesting is that their yields are higher now than they were before when they used fertilizers!
We musn't be trapped into thinking what we're doing now is the only way.
"It's producing quite a bit more power than I can really use"
It seems that their methodology is consistent with their goals. Sure it's not as efficient as it could be, but they've achieved what they set out to do.
Close to a third of American adults are obese (not just overweight). The numbers of diabetes and other weight-related diseases have skyrocketed. This is easily preventable through regular physical exercise and you recommend scaling back?
You have some interesting ideas, although others are a bit misled.
Grade on a curve To decide this, you have to decide on the purpose of your education. Is the purpose to rank students, or is it to learn? If the purpose is to learn (as I believe it is), then what is more important is that students reach the learning objectives. If all the students meet all the learning objectives and get great marks, then that should be considered the best case.
It may currently be the case that students who do not meet the learning objectives are getting good marks, but this does not mean that we should mark on a curve, rather that the assessment should match the objectives.
Pay teachers based on their students progress This assumes that all classes are homogeneous and that teachers are universally skilled or unskilled. Classes are not homogeneous. Some classes are strong, some are weak. Some have higher numbers of special needs kids. Some have more strong learners. Some years are stronger than other years. There is a lot of variation. Should this be reflected in a teacher's salary? No!
Teachers are not universally skilled or unskilled. Some are good at math. Some are good at English. Some are good at encouraging interpersonal relationships. By going through 13 years of school, you are exposed to many different teachers, all with their strengths and weaknesses. How are you going to map this to salary?
Fewer objective assignments What you really mean here is less low-level assessment. It is possible to create objective, but high level assessments. This, however, is difficult and therefore not often done. This does not mean that objective is bad. I would much rather be evaluated in an objective way rather than by the whims of the teacher.
THE PADDLE Your approach to discipline shows are remarkable misunderstanding of the problem (and the psychology of education in general). Read "Hold on to Your Kids: Why Parents Matter" to get you going in the right vein. Fear and anxiety preclude learning. I agree that some degree of order is necessary, but not through the means you describe.
Same sex schools Unfortunately, your stereotypes don't hold (welcome to the 21st century). Boys are active and girls are not? Give me a break. The truth is that people of all sexes have different learning styles. Some people require activity, some people require thoughtful reflection, some people require creative outlet, some people require order. No relation to sex.
Education is a tricky beast. Like anything else, the best procedure is to first sit down and figure out what your goals and objectives are. From there, figure out how you are going to best achieve them. The answers are often not as obvious as the ones you've presented.
As a teacher of mine once said to perpetual underachievers in class: Perhaps you might consider a career in food service instead?
Some people are too arrogant for words. People learn differently and are motivated by different things. That teacher has clearly not studied learning in any meaningful way.
That's simply how the technology develops. The extra memory is useless, for now. Within short order there will be an application that requires it. Guaranteed.
This would never happen with sound cards because there isn't any application that requires anything whizbang on the sound side.
I think you've got things switched around a bit. The reason why video cards are such a big deal is not because of the numbers. Video card sales are pushed by gamers who need the latest and greatest video card to play the latest and greatest game. Old card, no fix.
Look at my own mother. As soon as Sims 2 came out, she had to have a new video card because it looked too choppy on the old one.
When was the last time you couldn't play a game because your sound card was too old? Creative would have a death wish if they started adding lots of RAM on their cards. Consumers are ignorant, but not that ignorant.
Ok, so you caught me up. I pulled the first link that google could find. Yes, it was biased and you've provided some other sources that are a bit more balanced.
The bulk of the links say that most helmet studies are poorly done, have an inadequate sample size, or fail to look at realistic scenarios. In short, they exagerate the benefit of wearing a helmet.
That changes what I said: The most common cause of a fatality in a bike crash is a head injury, of which some are preventable by wearing a helmet. Where some is a disputed amount.
That's not about to make me stop wearing one. Once you get used to it, you forget it's on your head. Seems like a pretty minimal effort for some amount of protection. Will it save you in a collision with a 2000kg SUV? No, but nothing will.
It depends on a lot of factors. I've cycle commuted on and off for 10+ years and have never been hit. Most important factors:
Driver awareness. If drivers are used to having bikes around you're better off. Depends where you live.
Cyclist awareness. You have to watch out when you're on your bike. Most drivers don't see you, but it's not a big deal if that's what you assume.
Speed differential. If you are moving within 10km/h of the traffic around you, you have more options if a problem comes up.
If you're not an accomplished cyclist, it doesn't hurt to take a bike skills course. You might feel a bit silly taking it (everyone knows how to ride a bike, right?), but it could give you the confidence you need to ride in traffic.
The only times I've had a close call were when I was doing something stupid or something that drivers didn't expect (i.e. I was doing something stupid).
Fidel Castro did not get rid of Che. Che was given several high ranking posts in the government but he chose to leave in order to fight for other oppressed people.
Hahahahaha...doesn't sound like anyone has actually had persian rice before. From what I understand, it's more art than science. A persian friend of mine would also put thinly sliced potatoes on the bottom, underneath the rice. I'm not sure if that was just for extra crunch, or to prevent it from burning. You might give it a try...
The book is mainly about interfaces. When you cross a camera and a computer, you're stuck with the interface of a computer. You have to wait for the camera to boot up before you can take a picture, you have to know how to navigate menus to change camera settings, etc.
His point is that computer interfaces can be hard to use and more attention should be paid to their design.
Although I agree with most of your points, there is a reason there are stricter laws for minors. I was reading an article the other day that said that alcohol affects inexperienced drivers *much* more than experienced drivers. Even mild intoxication and inexperience can be a dangerous combination.
This is because the British government subsidizes textbook costs in the UK. This is why an American book can get sent to England, shipped back, and even with the exchange it will end up significantly cheaper. It's a nice loophole that allowed me to get cheap textbooks in Canada when I was in school too. Thanks Mr. Blair!
Linux isn't ready for the desktop. I'm not poorly informed either. I ran Linux as my primary operating system for several years, then switched back to Windows 2000. I have a Linux box and a Windows box at work and am intimately familiar with both.
The reason why it has been perfect for your needs is that it doesn't appear that you do that much with it. Word processing isn't an extraordinarily difficult task. There are many other things, however, that the average desktop user uses their system for, such as web browsing, email, and music. There are equivalent programs to do this things in Linux, but what happens when you want to view a quicktime video? Or an AVI? Or watch a DVD? Or read an Excel document? Or...
Yes, these tools exist, but it takes a combination of the knowledge of their existance and the know-how to install and configure them in order to use them. This is beyond the average user. Frankly, I found it tedious to have to go through a drawn out setup procedure every time I wanted to get something to work in Linux that just worked in Windows.
Linux is prefectly suitable for the hobbyist, but is not anywhere near the stage of being ready for the average desktop user.
Slashdot Mirror
You're supposed to make the answers first, THEN alphabetize them. It's not my fault your teacher was a tool.
The best practice for multiple choice tests is to put the answers in alphabetical order. Bingo, no predictability.
When the the soviet union collapsed, Cuba found itself in what they call the "Special Period." Without support from the soviet union, fuel became very scarce, as did things like fertilizer and pesticides. They realized that in order to survive they'd have to make a big change.
They switched to an almost 100% organic approach and use oxen to work the fields. Very few people knew how to do it anymore, so they had to learn a lot to make it effective.
What's interesting is that their yields are higher now than they were before when they used fertilizers!
We musn't be trapped into thinking what we're doing now is the only way.
"It's producing quite a bit more power than I can really use"
It seems that their methodology is consistent with their goals. Sure it's not as efficient as it could be, but they've achieved what they set out to do.
Not bad, in my opinion.
36 watts was with one coil installed. In the later pages it says they could get 2000 watts in a moderate wind and have seen as high as 3800 watts.
Thanks for the clarification. I live in Canada, so obviously things are a bit different.
Scale back athletics
Holy crap! Are you for real?
Close to a third of American adults are obese (not just overweight). The numbers of diabetes and other weight-related diseases have skyrocketed. This is easily preventable through regular physical exercise and you recommend scaling back?
Madness.
Grade on a curve
To decide this, you have to decide on the purpose of your education. Is the purpose to rank students, or is it to learn? If the purpose is to learn (as I believe it is), then what is more important is that students reach the learning objectives. If all the students meet all the learning objectives and get great marks, then that should be considered the best case.
It may currently be the case that students who do not meet the learning objectives are getting good marks, but this does not mean that we should mark on a curve, rather that the assessment should match the objectives.
Pay teachers based on their students progress
This assumes that all classes are homogeneous and that teachers are universally skilled or unskilled. Classes are not homogeneous. Some classes are strong, some are weak. Some have higher numbers of special needs kids. Some have more strong learners. Some years are stronger than other years. There is a lot of variation. Should this be reflected in a teacher's salary? No!
Teachers are not universally skilled or unskilled. Some are good at math. Some are good at English. Some are good at encouraging interpersonal relationships. By going through 13 years of school, you are exposed to many different teachers, all with their strengths and weaknesses. How are you going to map this to salary?
Fewer objective assignments
What you really mean here is less low-level assessment. It is possible to create objective, but high level assessments. This, however, is difficult and therefore not often done. This does not mean that objective is bad. I would much rather be evaluated in an objective way rather than by the whims of the teacher.
THE PADDLE
Your approach to discipline shows are remarkable misunderstanding of the problem (and the psychology of education in general). Read "Hold on to Your Kids: Why Parents Matter" to get you going in the right vein. Fear and anxiety preclude learning. I agree that some degree of order is necessary, but not through the means you describe.
Same sex schools
Unfortunately, your stereotypes don't hold (welcome to the 21st century). Boys are active and girls are not? Give me a break. The truth is that people of all sexes have different learning styles. Some people require activity, some people require thoughtful reflection, some people require creative outlet, some people require order. No relation to sex.
Education is a tricky beast. Like anything else, the best procedure is to first sit down and figure out what your goals and objectives are. From there, figure out how you are going to best achieve them. The answers are often not as obvious as the ones you've presented.
As a teacher of mine once said to perpetual underachievers in class: Perhaps you might consider a career in food service instead?
Some people are too arrogant for words. People learn differently and are motivated by different things. That teacher has clearly not studied learning in any meaningful way.
Don't forget "something you are", as in biometrics. Any two of three will do.
Ahem...an artifact of browsing at 3+. I didn't see all the crud above. I am completely offtopic.
In Word:
Tools->AutoCorrect Options->AutoFormat as You Type tab->Uncheck "Internet and network paths as hyperlinks".
Yes, it's annoying, but it can be turned off.
That's simply how the technology develops. The extra memory is useless, for now. Within short order there will be an application that requires it. Guaranteed.
This would never happen with sound cards because there isn't any application that requires anything whizbang on the sound side.
I think you've got things switched around a bit. The reason why video cards are such a big deal is not because of the numbers. Video card sales are pushed by gamers who need the latest and greatest video card to play the latest and greatest game. Old card, no fix.
Look at my own mother. As soon as Sims 2 came out, she had to have a new video card because it looked too choppy on the old one.
When was the last time you couldn't play a game because your sound card was too old? Creative would have a death wish if they started adding lots of RAM on their cards. Consumers are ignorant, but not that ignorant.
Ok, so you caught me up. I pulled the first link that google could find. Yes, it was biased and you've provided some other sources that are a bit more balanced.
The bulk of the links say that most helmet studies are poorly done, have an inadequate sample size, or fail to look at realistic scenarios. In short, they exagerate the benefit of wearing a helmet.
That changes what I said: The most common cause of a fatality in a bike crash is a head injury, of which some are preventable by wearing a helmet. Where some is a disputed amount.
That's not about to make me stop wearing one. Once you get used to it, you forget it's on your head. Seems like a pretty minimal effort for some amount of protection. Will it save you in a collision with a 2000kg SUV? No, but nothing will.
Not true. The most common cause of a fatality in a bike crash is a head injury, of which 45-88% are preventable by wearing a helmet.
That's not to say that wearing a helmet makes you invulnerable, rather it dramatically lowers the risk of death. Sounds pretty good to me.
http://www.bhsi.org/stats.htm
If you're not an accomplished cyclist, it doesn't hurt to take a bike skills course. You might feel a bit silly taking it (everyone knows how to ride a bike, right?), but it could give you the confidence you need to ride in traffic.
The only times I've had a close call were when I was doing something stupid or something that drivers didn't expect (i.e. I was doing something stupid).
http://slashdot.org/article.pl?sid=04/08/13/122523 8&tid=126&tid=146 1 8&tid=184 0 6/169247&tid=160&tid=14 1 2/0156220&tid=126&tid=14 5 7239&tid=111&tid=146&tid=218
http://slashdot.org/article.pl?sid=04/02/27/17352
http://science.slashdot.org/article.pl?sid=02/11/
http://science.slashdot.org/article.pl?sid=03/06/
http://it.slashdot.org/article.pl?sid=05/02/06/02
There is stuff from Canadian universities on slashdot all the time.
Fidel Castro did not get rid of Che. Che was given several high ranking posts in the government but he chose to leave in order to fight for other oppressed people.
Poor example.
Hahahahaha...doesn't sound like anyone has actually had persian rice before. From what I understand, it's more art than science. A persian friend of mine would also put thinly sliced potatoes on the bottom, underneath the rice. I'm not sure if that was just for extra crunch, or to prevent it from burning. You might give it a try...
The book is mainly about interfaces. When you cross a camera and a computer, you're stuck with the interface of a computer. You have to wait for the camera to boot up before you can take a picture, you have to know how to navigate menus to change camera settings, etc.
His point is that computer interfaces can be hard to use and more attention should be paid to their design.
Great book.
Although I agree with most of your points, there is a reason there are stricter laws for minors. I was reading an article the other day that said that alcohol affects inexperienced drivers *much* more than experienced drivers. Even mild intoxication and inexperience can be a dangerous combination.
This is because the British government subsidizes textbook costs in the UK. This is why an American book can get sent to England, shipped back, and even with the exchange it will end up significantly cheaper. It's a nice loophole that allowed me to get cheap textbooks in Canada when I was in school too. Thanks Mr. Blair!
Linux isn't ready for the desktop. I'm not poorly informed either. I ran Linux as my primary operating system for several years, then switched back to Windows 2000. I have a Linux box and a Windows box at work and am intimately familiar with both.
The reason why it has been perfect for your needs is that it doesn't appear that you do that much with it. Word processing isn't an extraordinarily difficult task. There are many other things, however, that the average desktop user uses their system for, such as web browsing, email, and music. There are equivalent programs to do this things in Linux, but what happens when you want to view a quicktime video? Or an AVI? Or watch a DVD? Or read an Excel document? Or...
Yes, these tools exist, but it takes a combination of the knowledge of their existance and the know-how to install and configure them in order to use them. This is beyond the average user. Frankly, I found it tedious to have to go through a drawn out setup procedure every time I wanted to get something to work in Linux that just worked in Windows.
Linux is prefectly suitable for the hobbyist, but is not anywhere near the stage of being ready for the average desktop user.
What time was that? I looked around 11 last night and didn't see anything. Mind you...I'm downtown and there's a fair amount of light pollution : (