Month: March 2010
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Ada Lovelace Day
Today is Ada Lovelace Day to celebrate women in technology and science. I’ve read women need role models more than men. If true, then movements like this to promote those who are doing great work in fields like technology are good. First a little about Ada. Ada [Lovelace[ called herself  “an Analyst (& Metaphysician),” and the…
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Digital Natives
In ten years (by 2020), the goal of the Obama administration is to have 60% of the American population hold at least a 2-year post-secondary degree and graduate college-ready high school students. I’m hoping the first, stated as “We will raise the proportion of college graduates from where it now stands [39%] so that 60% of…
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TED Talk: We Are all Empaths
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Spoon
Do not try and bend the spoon. That’s impossible. Instead… only try to realize the truth. There is no spoon. Then you’ll see, that it is not the spoon that bends, it is only yourself. Spoon Boy, The Matrix (1999) This is still one of my favorite scenes in a movie. What is the nature of reality…
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Nature is Gorgeous
Nature is Gorgeous, originally uploaded by Ezra S F. Stuff at the bottom of a stream flowing into the restored wetland. Read and post comments | Send to a friend
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TED Talk: Epic Wins
While I like video games and found Everything Bad Is Good for You: How Today’s Popular Culture Is Actually Making Us Smarter an entertaining ride, I am skeptical when people describe video games in all glowing terms. Like everything, they improve specific skills. Also people are attracted to games in which they have specific skills.…
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TED Talk: Optimism
I agree all too often we think of our interactions with others as competition (a zero sum game where other’s loss is our gain). Instead, our fortunes are correlated with others, aka in non-zero sum game, so cooperation is the effective strategy (like Tit For Tat). Because non-zero is becoming more an more the norm, working effectively…
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Accents
A few of you may know my accent is completely abnormal for the region where I was raised. In some ways it sounds midwestern or even Canadian. Apparently children also identify affiliation by accents like they do gender and skin color. So I had TWO strikes against me? My parents seem the likely culprits for my…
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Try Different
Seth Godin’s post, Try Different, assumes we should try as hard as we can. If you ever reach the point you are trying as hard as you can, then you probably have passed the point where you should try another approach. Once the effort has exceeded the value of the work, something is wrong. This is…