Cranial Nerves Can't remember the names of the cranial nerves? Here is a handy-dandy mnemonic for you: On Old Olympus Towering Top AFamous Vocal German Viewed Some Hops. The bold letters stand for: olfactory, optic, oculomotor, trochlear, trigeminal, abducens, facial, vestibulocochlear, glossopharyngeal, vagus, spinal accessory, hypoglossal. Still can't remember the cranial nerves? Wonders of Math - The Game of Life What is the Game of Life? by Paul Callahan Rules of the Game of Life Life is played on a grid of square cells--like a chess board but extending infinitely in every direction. A cell can be live or dead. To apply one step of the rules, we count the number of live neighbors for each cell. A dead cell with exactly three live neighbors becomes a live cell (birth). Note: The number of live neighbors is always based on the cells before the rule was applied. In Life, as in nature, we observe many fascinating phenomena. The rules described above are all that's needed to discover anything there is to know about Life, and we'll see that this includes a great deal. Life Patterns A good way to get started in Life is to try out different patterns and see what happens. The R-pentomino is the first pattern Conway found that defied his attempts to simulate by hand. What Kinds of Objects Emerge in Life? Still Life Objects Some of the most common objects in Life remain the same from step to step. Buttons
Becoming Well-Spoken: How to Minimize Your Uh’s and Um’s In the pursuit of becoming a better man, becoming well-spoken is a task that should not be overlooked. How you speak is a huge component of the impression you make on others, and thus your potential influence on them. People will form judgments about your education, intelligence, background, and personality simply based on the sound of your voice and the language you use to express yourself. Being well-spoken encompasses a lot of traits: Creating well-formed sentencesBeing articulateHaving a large and diverse vocabularySpeaking clearly (not mumbling)Having a good pace, tone, and intonation (not too loud, fast, or monotone)Being fluent – words come easily to youBeing able to explain things easilyBeing straightforward and meaning what you sayBeing thoughtful and courteous to the needs of the listenerUsing little filler and empty language Ummmm… What is filler? But the most famous fillers of all — the type that comes in for the most attention and disdain – are “uh” and “um.” Why Do We Say Um?
Noam Chomsky on the Purpose of Education by Maria Popova On the value of cultivating the capacity to seek the significant. In this talk based on his presentation at the Learning Without Frontiers conference in January, philosopher, linguist, and cognitive scientist Noam Chomsky — easily one of our time’s sharpest thinkers — discusses the purpose of education. Despite the slow pace and the cheesy AfterEffects animated typography, the video is a treasure trove of insight on everything from the role of technology to the pitfalls of policy. On the industrialization of education, echoing Sir Ken Robinson’s admonition about its effects on creativity: There have been many measures taken to try to turn the educational system towards more control, more indoctrination, more vocational training, imposing a debt, which traps students and young people into a life of conformity… That’s the exact opposite of [what] traditionally comes out of The Enlightenment. On technology: Technology is basically neutral. On the whimsy of inquiry: ↬ @openculture
About JunkScience.com What is “junk science”? Junk science is faulty scientific data and analysis used to advance special interests and hidden agendas. Examples of special interests include: The media may use junk science to produce sensational headlines and programming, the purpose of which is to generate increased readership and viewership. CAUTION: Being wrong is not the same as being guilty of junk science. The scientific method calls for trial-and-error until the truth is determined. Wrong science becomes junk science only when its obvious or easily-determined flaws are ignored and it is then used to advance some special interest. What is JunkScience.com? Since April 1, 1996, JunkScience.com has led the fight against junk science, including being named: a “Top Resource” and one of the “Most Popular” health news web sites by Yahoo! Who publishes JunkScience.com?
Douglass Academy walkout earns suspensions for about 50 high schoolers About 50 high school students at Frederick Douglass Academy in Detroit were suspended Thursday after walking out of classes to protest a host of issues at the all-boys school. The concerns included a lack of consistent teachers and the removal of the principal. The boys, dressed in school blazers, neckties and hoodies, chanted, "We want education!" as they marched outside the school. Parents organized the walkout because they fear for the school's future. Worries escalated after district offices moved into part of the building in January, and the school was not listed as an application school for next year. In addition, the school's founding principal, Sean Vann, was reassigned when he returned Wednesday after a three-month sick leave. "They're failing these young black men," said Sharise Smith, who has two sons at Douglass. Smith said her son received an A in geometry during the first semester without taking a final exam. "It was by default, just for showing up.
Community College to Charge More for Top Courses Monica Almeida/The New York Times Students at Santa Monica College held a rally last week to protest a proposed two-tiered tuition system that will offer some courses at a higher price. Now, though, Santa Monica College is about to try something novel. This summer it will offer some courses for a higher price, so that students who are eager to get into a particular class can do so if they pay more. The plan may be the first of its kind in the country, college officials and other higher education experts say, and if the college succeeds in implementing it, many other community colleges are likely to follow. For generations, community colleges have been seen as a social equalizer, providing a relatively inexpensive education for poor students, immigrants and others without the skills, grades or money to attend a four-year institution. So the two-tiered tuition structure being proposed here is raising eyebrows, and fundamental questions, about the role and obligations of community colleges.
The Tool Works at Both Ends From chipping out spearheads in primitive times to modern day tinkering with computer chips, men have always been very connected to their tools. For thousands of years tools have magnified and extended our natural abilities, allowing us to gain power and control over nature and our circumstances and better fulfill our roles as providers and protectors. Tools enable us to mold and shape things in our external environment for our use and benefit. And that is what we typically focus on when it comes to tools: what does this tool allow me to do? But something else you need to think about is this: what is this tool doing to me? You may have heard that tools are neutral things. The way in which you use your tools creates real biological and neurological changes in your brain, which fundamentally alters who you are. This Is Your Brain on Tools And also by the tools we use. The brains of the literate and illiterate have been shown to handle interhemispheric processing differently. Tool Tradeoffs
keybr.com - Take typing speed test and practice typing online Top 6 Sites that Inspire and Educate & Life Scoop - StumbleUpon If you’re a professional who likes to be intellectually stimulated and you enjoy keeping up with the latest news and breaking trends, the internet provides you with an endless choice of carefully curated sites to visit. Today, we bring you six of them that we believe are leaps and bounds above the rest. These sites will not only educate you on topics ranging from business and technology to art and design, they’ll motivate you to find your own, original ideas and see them through. They’re culturally relevant, they’re idea driven and most of all, they’re deeply inspirational. TED is short for three incredibly important subjects in our modern world; technology, entertainment and design. Tip: Download TED’s free iPad app to browse through 800 videos by date, popularity or keyword. 2. Brain Pickings started from very humble beginnings. Tip: With over 63K Twitter followers, Brainpicker has a strong audience…and for good reason. 4. 5.
Game Theory 101: Game Theory Made Easy - StumbleUpon