Model Thinking This course will consist of twenty sections. As the course proceeds, I will fill in the descriptions of the topics and put in readings. Section 1: Introduction: Why Model? In these lectures, I describe some of the reasons why a person would want to take a modeling course. To be an intelligent citizen of the worldTo be a clearer thinkerTo understand and use dataTo better decide, strategize, and design There are two readings for this section. The Model Thinker: Prologue, Introduction and Chapter 1 Why Model? Section 2: Sorting and Peer Effects We now jump directly into some models. In this second section, I show a computational version of Schelling's Segregation Model using NetLogo. NetLogo The Schelling Model that I use can be found by clicking on the "File" tab, then going to "Models Library". The readings for this section include some brief notes on Schelling's model and then the academic papers of Granovetter and Miller and Page. Notes on Schelling Granovetter Model Miller and Page Model
Listening to World Music About the Course With the click of a mouse, now more than ever we are able to access sounds made by people from all around the world. And yet, most of us don't listen to the wide diversity of music available to us, probably because it sounds so strange. This class will open up the world of music to you. We begin with a brief history of recording technology, the music industry and the place of world music in that narrative; you are introduced to keywords for talking about music cross-culturally; and then proceed to half a dozen musical cultures around the world. Course Syllabus Week One: Introductions with an overview of recording technology history and ties to world music and cultures; vocabulary for talking about world music and global cultural encounters, and a case study of “Chant,” the 1990s Gregorian chant recording that crossed over into the popular music market.Week Two: Graceland, Paul Simon's "collaborative" album. Recommended Background In-course Textbooks Suggested Readings
9 Daily Habits That Will Make You Happier Happiness is the only true measure of personal success. Making other people happy is the highest expression of success, but it's almost impossible to make others happy if you're not happy yourself. With that in mind, here are nine small changes that you can make to your daily routine that, if you're like most people, will immediately increase the amount of happiness in your life: 1. If there's any big truth about life, it's that it usually lives up to (or down to) your expectations. 2. The most common source of stress is the perception that you've got too much work to do. 3. I'm not talking about a formal, wrapped-up present. 4. Arguments about politics and religion never have a "right" answer but they definitely get people all riled up over things they can't control. 5. Since you can't read minds, you don't really know the "why" behind the "what" that people do. 6. Sometimes we can't avoid scarfing something quick to keep us up and running. 7. 8. 9.
AIDS About the Course Did you grow up in a world without red ribbons, AZT, the AIDS Memorial Quilt, or Project Red? If you did, chances are good that you came of age before 1981 and are a member of the last generation of humans on this planet to be able to say that you remember those ‘carefree days when all you had to worry about was getting pregnant, herpes, and a bad reputation’ (AID Atlanta). On June 5, 1981 the CDC released a Morbidity and Mortality Weekly Report describing the first five cases of what later became known as the Acquired Immune Deficiency Syndrome, or AIDS. On that day human history broke into two generations: Those who can remember a time before the AIDS pandemic and those who can't. No matter what generation you grew up in, what we all have in common is a curiosity about AIDS. All of this and more will be covered in AIDS. Course Syllabus Lectures: Dr. Dr. Dr. Dr. Dr. Dr. Dr. Dr. Dr. Dr. Dr. Dr. Dr. Recommended Background In-course Textbooks Suggested Readings Course Format No.
Brain Pickings