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Noam Chomsky on the Purpose of Education

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 Related:  eyalrosenthal

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? מבחן: איזה צד של המוח שלכם דומיננטי יותר, הימני או השמאלי? | הפטריה הביטו היטב על סרטון הרקדנית המסתובבת הבא. האם הרקדנית מסתובבת בכיוון השעות או שמא מסתובבת נגד כיוון השעון? תתפלאו, אבל מספר בני אדם שונים שיסתכלו על התמונה הזאת, יענו תשובות שונות. מבחן אינטרנטי קצר ופשוט שיקח לכם שלושים שניות מהחיים, מתיימר לקבוע אלו מבין חלקי המוח שלכם, הימני או השמאלי הוא זה ששולט אצלכם. את האשליה האופטית הנהדרת "מבחן הרקדנית", אשליה מאוד מוכרת ברשת, יצר האמן היפני נובויוקי קאיאהרה, והיא מצליחה לתעתע במוח שלנו בזכות העובדה שהצללית בה אנחנו צופים מכילה מידע דו מימדי בלבד ולא מאפשרת למוח לקבוע בוודאות באיזה כיוון מסתובבת הרקדנית. בשורה התחתונה, אנחנו לא מבינים גדולים במדעי המוח, אבל אנחנו יכולים לשער כי גם המבחן אותו ביצעתם למעלה הוא למעשה קשקוש מוחלט, ונוצר רק בשביל הכיף, ובשביל שכותבים כמוני ייאלצו לבזבז דקות ארוכות מסמנם ברשת בחיפוש אחר מחקרים ותשובות מעמיקות בהקשר הזה. אז המטרה הושגה, החכמתי מעט, ואני מניח שגם אתם (ממש מעט), ובכל זאת, רק בשביל הכיף, גם אתם מוזמנים לבצע את המבחן, ולבחון את אשליית הרקדנית על אנשים אחרים. הרשמו לקבלת עדכון יומי על הסיפורים החדשים שלנו

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. A live cell is shown by putting a marker on its square. A dead cell is shown by leaving the square empty. 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. How Complex Can Life Get?

Project Shapeshifter 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. More readers and viewers mean more revenues from advertisement. 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?

Siv-food סיו-פוד: עוגת קפה טבעונית אחת מההתמכרויות הכי גרועות שלי - קפה. אני לא יודעת אם אצליח להיגמל אי פעם, אז בינתיים אני חיה עם זה... נס קפה עם חלב סויה זה אחד מהדברים המנחמים ביותר שיש, השלוק הראשון הוא כמו טיפול פסיכולוגי של שעה מכווץ לתוך כמה שניות. רכיבים: (ל-2 תבניות אינגליש קייק) חומרים יבשים: 1.5 כוסות קמח 10 גרם (שקית) אבקת אפיה קורט מלח 0.5 כוס צימוקים רטובים: 3/4 כוס סוכר 1 כוס חלב סויה (או חלב צמחי אחר) 3 כפות אבקת נס קפה מגורען מאיכות טובה 1 שקית סוכר וניל 1 בננה מעוכה היטב 0.5 כוס שמן לציפוי: 100 גרם שוקולד מריר 0.5 כוס חלב סויה הכנה: מחממים תנור לחום בינוני (180 מעלות) מערבבים בקערה את החומרים היבשים. בתאבון!

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. As recently as last month, students spent weeks passing time in the gym, library or cafeteria due to a lack of teachers, parents said. 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.

Chewbacca Actor Shares Vintage Photos From 'Star Wars' Set A long time ago on a movie set far, far away, people gathered to make the original Star Wars trilogy. Our memories of these films usually revolve around their iconic scenes, but one actor is giving a sneak peek at dozens of behind-the-scenes photos.

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. Since 2009, enrollment in California community colleges has fallen by 300,000 students, to 2.6 million, and many believe the difficulty of registering for classes is the most important deterrent. So the two-tiered tuition structure being proposed here is raising eyebrows, and fundamental questions, about the role and obligations of community colleges.

This Is What Happens When A Kid Leaves Traditional Education Logan Laplante is a 13 year-old boy who was taken out of the education system to be home schooled instead. Not only was he home schooled, but Logan had the ability to tailor his education to his interests and also his style of learning, something traditional education does not offer. As Logan has mentioned, when he grows up he wants to be happy and healthy. At a TEDx talk in 2013, he discussed how hacking his education is helping him achieve that goal. Logan’s story can be seen in a similar light as Jacob Barnett‘s story who was first put in Special Ed by his school until he was pulled out of standard education and is now seen as an incredibly intelligent young person who is on track to winning a Nobel Prize one day. I also recently did a TEDx talk in 2014 about my story of leaving college for good. More on Education & Homeschooling Currently about 3.8% of children ages 5 – 17 are home schooled in the US. Does Education Kill Creativity? Sources: Learn To Use Your Thoughts To Reverse Aging!

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

The Ultimate Social Media Image Size Cheat Sheet If you’re tired of chasing down all the pixel sizes for images in your financial institution’s social media profiles, bookmark this page. Here’s everything you need for Facebook, Twitter, YouTube and Linkedin. Cover Photo: 851 x 315 px You can’t upload a cover photo that’s less than 720 px wide. Profile Picture: 160 x 160 px Profile pictures must be at least 180 x 180 px to upload. App Tab Images: 111 x 74 px If you upload an image larger than this, Facebook will scale it to 111 px wide then crop it to 74 px tall starting from the top of the image. ( Read More: 75 Facebook Cover Photo Ideas for Financial Marketers ) Click to enlarge. Timeline Image: 403 x 403 pxHighlighted Image: 843 x 403 px The maximum file size for uploaded images is 2048 x 2048 px. ( Read More: Facebook Lifts Ban On Profile Promotional Photos ) Profile Picture: 73 x 73 px The maximum file size is 500 x 500 px, and this is what users will see when they click on your picture in your profile. Cover Photo: 646 x 220 px

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