My math class here at NYU is the only class that disappoints me. I understand that some people don't have a strong grasp of fundamental mathematical concepts, but the reason for it is: colleges and high schools are teaching math INCORRECTLY. We are a society that learns visually and through audio - the more interactive, the better.
In the near future, teachers will need to learn how to engage students with video-based, three-dimensional representations of mathematical functions. If and when that happens, boys and girls alike will quickly come to excel in math and science-based courses. Until that happens, though, we will see yet another generation of students that fail to live up to the achievements of the 1960's and '70's.
Educational stagnation is the worst thing that could happen to anyone.
Unfortunately, it would seem as if educators, at least for now, are scared of anything interactive. When it comes to pictures, movies, or video-game related content, it is all but forbidden inside the classroom. So what's the solution? Either younger teachers need to get into the field sooner, or sometime soon, many people will start calling for urgent reform.
Think about it. What would happen if America fell behind the E.U. In education metrics?
So until then? I might as well start making videos and tutorials that teach this stuff concisely, simply, and in a way where even a 5th-grader could understand the basics of calculus. It CAN be done: my sister knew algebra before she was 7 years old with the same principles.
I watched a TEDtalk the other day where a middle-school teacher was advocating video games as a route to teaching boys in the classroom. I couldn't agree more; NOT because I'm a gamer (I use do to be), but because as a boy, I know that video games are the most visually stimulating material that the world offers today. If public/private institutions want to regain the attention of children in America, they will have to do the gaming industry a one-up.
Showing posts with label Rant. Show all posts
Showing posts with label Rant. Show all posts
Tuesday, September 6, 2011
Friday, August 19, 2011
Why tech companies are failing
Hewlett-Packard, Dell, and other top PC makers are all losing incredible amounts of revenue because of rapidly falling PC sales. Consumers aren't buying laptops, desktops, or any particular piece of old-style technology right now. They don't have the money. They do have money to spend on essential technology, like cell phones (smartphones) and tablets, depending on what industry they work in. These same PC makers saw the success of the iPad and tried to get in on the mobile computing market. HP came out with the Touchpad and the Veer (a tiny, blackberry-esque smartphone), and Dell came out with their Streak 7 tablet. Their products were cheaper than iPads, ran on the Android OS, and had pretty much the same hardware specs as an iPad.
So what's the problem? Everyone who wanted an iPad already owns one. I bought one for myself a few weeks ago, and I love it. Even though I dislike Apple's corporate culture, I have to admit that their consumer products are consistently in line with what their customers want. People didn't like how clunky and relatively immobile netbooks are (just try to carry one around with you on the subway), so Apple came up with a product as small and light as an e-reader. The result was one of the most profitable business segment ever created by a technology company.
Apple's competitors don't seem to understand a fundamental rule of the tech business; me-too devices never sell as well as innovative products. If any of them tried to one-up Apple in R&D, by offering 4G/WiMAX connectivity and turning their tablets into smartphones, they would've quickly become top gun.
To all tech manufacturing companies; if you want to profit from mobile computing, you can't half-ass your R&D. Spend the time and money necessary to give your customers a good product, and they will thank you for it.
So what's the problem? Everyone who wanted an iPad already owns one. I bought one for myself a few weeks ago, and I love it. Even though I dislike Apple's corporate culture, I have to admit that their consumer products are consistently in line with what their customers want. People didn't like how clunky and relatively immobile netbooks are (just try to carry one around with you on the subway), so Apple came up with a product as small and light as an e-reader. The result was one of the most profitable business segment ever created by a technology company.
Apple's competitors don't seem to understand a fundamental rule of the tech business; me-too devices never sell as well as innovative products. If any of them tried to one-up Apple in R&D, by offering 4G/WiMAX connectivity and turning their tablets into smartphones, they would've quickly become top gun.
To all tech manufacturing companies; if you want to profit from mobile computing, you can't half-ass your R&D. Spend the time and money necessary to give your customers a good product, and they will thank you for it.
Saturday, October 23, 2010
Something bigger
There's gotta be something bigger than this. Than going to school, than having a career, than attending a church or helping with a charity organization. There's gotta be something bigger than vacations. There's gotta be more to look forward to than the same old SHIT!
Why are we doing this anyway? Why're we in school in the first place? Why does everyone tell us we have to go to college? The only thing that comes out of it is the 'opportunity' to get a job! Let me tell you, It's gonna take more motivation than that! I've only got one life to live, and I do NOT intend to spend it conventionally. I don't like shopping at supermarkets - I HATE going to the same church week after week, and I. HATE. WORK. the kind of work that doesn't accomplish anything - worksheets and tests and the like. None of that stays in your brain once you're out of school; just ask your parents what the fuck a derivative is!!
There has to be something bigger than sports. No matter how good we get, we won't break the world record. If we DO break the world record, someone else is going to eventually break ours!
There has to be something bigger than watching movies or reading books. There has to be something bigger than making them. Why can't people exercise their own imaginations once in awhile? Why put a monetary value on creativity? Why do we give each other nobel prizes, oscars, and pulitzer? THEY DON'T MEAN ANYTHING! The value of the book is contained in the words themselves - not in somebody's opinion of it!
There has to be something bigger than waiting for the future.
There has to be something bigger than living in the present.
There has to be something bigger than remembering the past.
And if there's not, I'm going to have to come up with that something for myself, because the world has become pretty damn predictable these days.
Why are we doing this anyway? Why're we in school in the first place? Why does everyone tell us we have to go to college? The only thing that comes out of it is the 'opportunity' to get a job! Let me tell you, It's gonna take more motivation than that! I've only got one life to live, and I do NOT intend to spend it conventionally. I don't like shopping at supermarkets - I HATE going to the same church week after week, and I. HATE. WORK. the kind of work that doesn't accomplish anything - worksheets and tests and the like. None of that stays in your brain once you're out of school; just ask your parents what the fuck a derivative is!!
There has to be something bigger than sports. No matter how good we get, we won't break the world record. If we DO break the world record, someone else is going to eventually break ours!
There has to be something bigger than watching movies or reading books. There has to be something bigger than making them. Why can't people exercise their own imaginations once in awhile? Why put a monetary value on creativity? Why do we give each other nobel prizes, oscars, and pulitzer? THEY DON'T MEAN ANYTHING! The value of the book is contained in the words themselves - not in somebody's opinion of it!
There has to be something bigger than waiting for the future.
There has to be something bigger than living in the present.
There has to be something bigger than remembering the past.
And if there's not, I'm going to have to come up with that something for myself, because the world has become pretty damn predictable these days.
Thursday, May 20, 2010
Today
Another panic, run-like-hell, day; getting up at 5:00, going through the motions of getting to school in a half-assed manner and FALLING ASLEEP on the train so that I end up in Hoboken, NJ. Wunderbar - realizing how badly I'd messed up, I sprinted to the PATH train and took it to Penn station, managing to get to school on time solely because of my ability to run. Speaking of running, the reservoir run is today. 1.57 miles with a goal time of sub-10:00. Very VERY nervous about it, but It's going to go a lot better than it would've on Tuesday since it's been another 48 hours of no smoking (9 days total as of this morning ^^ )
(later) 9:43 time for the res' run!!!! HELL YES! - fistpump - that made this whole week worthwhile. Ah, mmm, but then again someone special made it even more worthwhile yesterday =)
I'm supposed to be doing homework, but I can't get around to it, and I've been working pretty much all day. I guess i'll finish my lit/common man thing and get to work on Kawano's stuff.
Speaking of Kawano. I hear news that gossip is going around that i've relapsed on drugs. Not specifically which kinds, not how much, not how recently; according to this anonymous source i'm a druggie till the day I die.
If you know me, you're going to take that statement back. I quit smoking pot four months ago, I kicked ritalin and adderall two months ago, and I haven't smoked for more than a week now. I'm making the biggest effort I ever have to be clean and stay clean - why the FUCK would you rain on that? If you've got something against me, fine, talk to Ms. Kilmer or Dr. Soghoian or even My dean - tell them i'm snorting coke in the bathrooms and shooting up heroin between free periods. Tell them i've smoked DMT two hours ago and am probably tripping right now - you know what? You could even suggest I get drug tested. For everything. I could even do several drug tests; once a month, once a week, once a day from now until the end of time. I'm CLEAN.
I don't know what I have to do to prove it to you people, but If you keep playing this shit, I'm either gonna have to pull down my pants and piss in the cup (get a drug test) or ask that they do the same to you. You're probably full of shit too - how straightedge can you be in this school, this city, this day and age?
I'm done with drugs. Please stop saying otherwise.
(later) 9:43 time for the res' run!!!! HELL YES! - fistpump - that made this whole week worthwhile. Ah, mmm, but then again someone special made it even more worthwhile yesterday =)
I'm supposed to be doing homework, but I can't get around to it, and I've been working pretty much all day. I guess i'll finish my lit/common man thing and get to work on Kawano's stuff.
Speaking of Kawano. I hear news that gossip is going around that i've relapsed on drugs. Not specifically which kinds, not how much, not how recently; according to this anonymous source i'm a druggie till the day I die.
If you know me, you're going to take that statement back. I quit smoking pot four months ago, I kicked ritalin and adderall two months ago, and I haven't smoked for more than a week now. I'm making the biggest effort I ever have to be clean and stay clean - why the FUCK would you rain on that? If you've got something against me, fine, talk to Ms. Kilmer or Dr. Soghoian or even My dean - tell them i'm snorting coke in the bathrooms and shooting up heroin between free periods. Tell them i've smoked DMT two hours ago and am probably tripping right now - you know what? You could even suggest I get drug tested. For everything. I could even do several drug tests; once a month, once a week, once a day from now until the end of time. I'm CLEAN.
I don't know what I have to do to prove it to you people, but If you keep playing this shit, I'm either gonna have to pull down my pants and piss in the cup (get a drug test) or ask that they do the same to you. You're probably full of shit too - how straightedge can you be in this school, this city, this day and age?
I'm done with drugs. Please stop saying otherwise.
Saturday, May 8, 2010
meh
I wake up and there's a 5k I forgot to train for - what the hell? Oh well, should probably run it anyway. Wonder who I'm running against, this can't be that hard to dominate... holy god that guy's tall! =/ run run run run, someone's trying to pass me, noooo!!! sprint sprint sprint - YES! Kept my position, and gun time is 20:30, probz 20:00 or less since I started late.
Saw 'Babies' later in the day. Great documentary, not very wordy, but it really shows you how babies grow up - I can't stop cooing over them =3
Saw 'Babies' later in the day. Great documentary, not very wordy, but it really shows you how babies grow up - I can't stop cooing over them =3
Sunday, May 2, 2010
Zen
Sundays are an uncomfortable lull in the conversation. The entire day, every week, Is devoted to the family. Morning run with mom (at a really fucking slow pace), breakfast with her and sister, Church and then lunch, train-ride home. Car-ride home with dad, babysit sister one he's gone to work, do homework, then pass out. Wake up five hours later feeling like Jason Statham from Crank; you've gotta do anything and everything in your power just to stay awake.
Don't get me wrong, I love my sister. I don’t dislike spending time with her. I love my mom and dad, and I don’t dislike spending time with them either: what I do dislike is the fact that most Sundays (and indeed weekends as a whole) are entirely devoted to them. That's not healthy, because I don't enjoy spending time with them as a result; it's all or nothing.
The first weekend - day I have to myself, sans family, I’m going to live out a little fantasy. Wake up at 7:30, chug two cups of coffee, run four miles as fast I can. Take a leisurely shower after, breakfast at Le pain quotidian, reading Nabokov over country porridge and eggs. Call a friend and go see a movie with them (anything goes, just please no Sandra Bullock), then go home to read ‘Locas’ for a bit before starting in on homework. Finish homework by ~ 6:00, find an unexplored Urbex location. Spend the rest of the evening infiltrating it and taking pictures.
AGH! This wishful thinking is getting me down.. How long’s it gonna be before I can actually DO that?! No, you know that? Forget that fantasy. What would make me happier more than anything Is to be able to spend a day with YOU. Just one day - no plans. All we’d need is a bit of money and a place to go home to for the night; think about the things we’d see, the stuff we could do, the memories we’d make! We’d eat the best food, see the newest movies, talk face-to-face for who cares how long, explore the deepest part of the city, and we'd be able to show affection for each other whenever and wherever we damn well pleased. That’s what I’d call living.
With everything going on at school, and obligations I’ve got to my family and friends, I don’t know when that day’ll be if ever. The thought of it, however, is enough to make me smile and stop worrying about the day-to-day. Today is pleasant, and tomorrow will be even better because I’m counting down to that day somewhere in the future. Maybe that’s what a fantasy’s supposed to do then, hmm? Gives you hope.
Don't get me wrong, I love my sister. I don’t dislike spending time with her. I love my mom and dad, and I don’t dislike spending time with them either: what I do dislike is the fact that most Sundays (and indeed weekends as a whole) are entirely devoted to them. That's not healthy, because I don't enjoy spending time with them as a result; it's all or nothing.
The first weekend - day I have to myself, sans family, I’m going to live out a little fantasy. Wake up at 7:30, chug two cups of coffee, run four miles as fast I can. Take a leisurely shower after, breakfast at Le pain quotidian, reading Nabokov over country porridge and eggs. Call a friend and go see a movie with them (anything goes, just please no Sandra Bullock), then go home to read ‘Locas’ for a bit before starting in on homework. Finish homework by ~ 6:00, find an unexplored Urbex location. Spend the rest of the evening infiltrating it and taking pictures.
AGH! This wishful thinking is getting me down.. How long’s it gonna be before I can actually DO that?! No, you know that? Forget that fantasy. What would make me happier more than anything Is to be able to spend a day with YOU. Just one day - no plans. All we’d need is a bit of money and a place to go home to for the night; think about the things we’d see, the stuff we could do, the memories we’d make! We’d eat the best food, see the newest movies, talk face-to-face for who cares how long, explore the deepest part of the city, and we'd be able to show affection for each other whenever and wherever we damn well pleased. That’s what I’d call living.
With everything going on at school, and obligations I’ve got to my family and friends, I don’t know when that day’ll be if ever. The thought of it, however, is enough to make me smile and stop worrying about the day-to-day. Today is pleasant, and tomorrow will be even better because I’m counting down to that day somewhere in the future. Maybe that’s what a fantasy’s supposed to do then, hmm? Gives you hope.
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