FXI. The worlds smallest computer matters.

 I haven't posted anything in a while.  I plan on post a lot more about da Vinci kind of soon.  Also some lectures that I was blessed to hear while at college last month... simply amazing.

Here is a new product that was at CES this year and is now available for pre-sale.  It is literally a thumb drive computer!  Powered by android, it is a little computer that plugs into any screen.  Check it out!
fxitech.com/products/

 

Leonardo da Vinci (Part II: Our Education)

Part I mentioned that da Vinci's education was unorthodox and boundless.  There was no one there to tell him what subjects were... he learned knowledge rather than math or history.  With the way the American school system is set up (that is really all I know enough about) breaking ideas into subjects is a method of organization that is used as a measuring stick.  Students must do well to graduate high school for example.  I did well in high school, performed really well in math and science (particularly calculus and physics), somewhat well in my English classes, and okay in my history classes.  My getting a diploma and going to college shows that I gained quite a bit of knowledge, but it all was given to me in small segments that were disassociated from one another.  According to my personal religious and psychological views, I believe truth is one whole; no matter the truth it is all the same pie.  Not seeing that in my education until far later in my student career has hindered me somewhat.  History has had a tremendous effect on literature in society, which has shaped science, helped develop mathematics, change religious views, which has altered political systems, and the world.

Figuring out that everything is intertwined, there is a curiosity that emits from the student to find out what silicon is, how that is connected to Silicon Valley, and how money flows into the equation.
What are the similarities exist between our education and da Vinci's?  The better question is how has da Vinci influenced learning, invention, and curiosity?

KHAN Academy... new Free School

 Teaching is one of the most difficult, underpaid, and rewarding jobs in the history of the world.  Right now, however, technology (e.g., the web, video, Google) has allowed children to learn a little different than in the past.  The truth is, everyone that has access to a computer learns very different than the past.  A relatively new company called Khan Academy.  It is a free website to either aid in education or be the main core in education.  The creator Salman Khan was invited to TEDtalk in March 2011 to talk about his new company.  Take a look!

So what do I think.  He talks about a new paradigm: We encourage you to experiment and encourage you to failure, but expect MASTERY!  That is what this blog is about.  A new paradigm from a convoluted one.  I have been familiar with the site for some time but recently made an account on the site.  I hope to use the site with my family.  The coolest thing is all of the data that is available to the teachers/coaches.  There is no asking what the student doesn't understand because the data is presented so the teacher can see what the student struggles with and address that directly with teacher-student time.

A comment made at the end of the video is, "I think you just got a glimpse of the future of education."  I think so as well!

Kindle e-reader

I am a college student.  This semester I have four different text books, all rather heavy.  Now electronics can hold much more than a book and do so in a smaller and light space.  Here comes the world of e-readers.  Arguably the most popular e-reader is the Amazon Kindle.  As an engineering student, there are not very many text books that are available for the Kindle, but for a friend of mine, who is an English major, it is perfect!  Still I really like the new Kindle Touch that comes out the day before my birthday.

Reading old classics (which are usually free), the new best seller, or the scriptures, it is a great devise to have for even the occasional reader.  And with the available 3G with and experimental Web Browser, you have the internet everywhere. 

The exciting point of discussion is the new Kindle Fire tablet.  There is virtually no user information as it comes out the same time as the Kindle Touch, but it may prove to be the best foe to the iPad thus far.  The Kindle Fire still has some growing up to do to fill the expectations of the masses who want a cheaper, effective, user friendly tablet.  The future is rich with possibilities.

jetlev.com: One Amazing toy

I found a new toy that I will get when I become rich an famous!  It is a Jetlev water jet pack!  It uses water to push a person up into the air.  There are some limitations... only 30 or so feet in the air, there is a little boat connected to you by a long tube.  But here is the thing, that boat does all of the work of pumping the water and you can fly around for about 3 hours before you run out of gas.

Now why must I wait until I am rich and famous?  Because the MSRP on this thing is $99,500.

Blue Man Group: perfect fit for BYU

I recently saw online that Blue man Group is going on tour and they are stopping in Salt Lake.  I grew up wanting to play drums all the time.  And I did just that for about 10 years... through my senior year of high school.  During those last few years of high school and still to this day, I loved to preform.  I then had a new dream job: to become a member of the Blue Man Group!  It was pretty ambitious, and true is... it may never happen.  But if I am ever asked I will have to be held down so I don't break things as I am jumping around with excitement. 

Maybe BYU could think about doing a Blue Man Group show for a little bit.  They both bleed blue!  I'd try out; because I could never leave this dream go.  It's part of me to preform.  I hope to get back into it.  One day...

Leonardo da Vinci (Part I: His Education)

Da Vinci has always been one of my idols as a kid and as an adult.  He was and is the epitome of a Renaissance Man.  He was an artist, anatomist, scientist, engineer, innovator, inventor, and centuries before his own time.  Many have asked how da Vinci flourished in an environment that almost mandated the best schooling of the time?  Part of the answer to this question lies in the answer as to why da Vinci flourished.

Born as a bastard child in 15 April, 1452 to a peasant woman and a notary, he was not really entitled to a formal education.  He instead was informally tutored in Latin, geometry, and mathematics.  At this young age Leonardo started to show his curiosity.  His lost education would have put him on a course like many students today   thinking that all subjects have to be separate and categorized.

Because of his father and young talent, he was educated as a painter under Verrocchio.  While in Verrocchio's workshop Leonardo would have learn theory and technical skills in many areas relating to art: drafting, chemistry, metallurgy, metal working, plaster casting, leather working, mechanics, carpentry, drawing, painting, sculpting and modelling.

Da Vinci's schooling was unorthodox, yet it enabled him to remain curious and thus creative.  For him there really weren't any subjects; there was just knowledge.  He made connections between fields.  For example, da Vinci became a renowned anatomist (which was very rare during his time because of the Catholic Church's ban on dissecting bodies) in order to be a better painter.  He believed that he could paint something accurately only if he knew what happens under the facade.  This applies mostly to humans but he also developed basic theories about plat tectonics.
To help explain my point, da Vinci is recorded to have said, "The Human foot is a masterpiece of engineering and a work of art."

Schadenfreude!

Oh how wonderful it is to speak a language that has taken so many words from different languages and pronounces them how we want.  This lists includes many but is not limited to the following: chance, Los Angeles, San Diego, taco, schnitzel, crepe, foot, book, kaput, light, schadenfreude.... Schad-WHAT?!

(A band named Avenue Q wrote a song about the word.  Its funny, but not appropriate for children.)

You know, the German word schadenfreude; a compound word from two words meaning "damage" and "joy" respectively.  So what does this mean?  Well, it has one of the best meanings ever and I am happy that the English (or at least American English) has adopted this vengeful word to our diction.  It means, "to be entertained because of the pain of others" or from Webster, "enjoyment obtained from the troubles of others".

from: nichtlustig.de

I first heard the word while serving in the Hamburg, Germany LDS mission along with the likes of "ohrworm" and "tja", meaning "ear-worm" (a song stuck in your head) and "alright-y then" (there really isn't a good translation for this one... look at the picture).  So why do I like this word so much?  It's german for one and I don't have to make up a word in english for it now.

PREZI: the new way to present

While in my junior year at college, I was in a Shakespeare class because I thought I would like it and would be very different from my mostly math and science based classes within my Civil Engineering major.  The class was set up so there were seven groups and each group was assigned a play.  Each person in the group would then choose a question to answer in a presentation.  I saw a fellow student use a "Prezi".  I'd heard of it before but this was the first time I had seen it.  I then decided to give my presentation using the same online software.  My group was assigned the play Timon of Athens, a masterpiece written towards the end of Shakespeare's career.  I presented on how history influenced the play Timon of Athens.

Timon of Athens on Prezi

My second Prezi that I made was for technical presentation in an engineering competition known as Concrete Canoe.   It went well and our team got 2nd in that competition.  As a school was got 4th overall in our region.

Concrete Canoe - INVISCID on Prezi

Its a great alternative to Power Point especially if you have group presentation.  The remote group live editing is wonderfully amazing.  Its a new look and will keep the crowd interested for the entire presentation.  And showing an overview or answering questions with the Prezi itself is easy.  No more looking for the right slide to show because the whole thing is on one slide in the first place.

Google+ works! (but still in beta testing)

I have a Google+ account.  I was actually invited to the "field test" by my best friend.  I want to use it for its great group interaction tools: group chat and (the coolest thing on Google+) GROUP VIDEO chat.  As soon as I saw the intro to Google+ I saw the implications on school group projects and presentations; (in fact, you mix this with a Prezi presentation and its real time group editing tool and you have got one hot potato) I even saw the great business implications that Google is working to get mainstream.  Plus, the site is still in a beta version.  So when the site rolls out to anyone and everyone it is sure to be a hit.  Now whether that hit is a winner up the line, a extraordinarily played drop shot, a backwards-between-the-legs winner, or simply a return to the other court will depend on the masses.

I read an article today from techrepublic.com titled Why Google Plus is about to change the Web as we know it.  Of course the article talks about the competing sites of twitter, facebook, and google+. The author highlights the privacy of updates in google+ because of friend "circles" and the ease of adding new friends to circles.  The overall out come of the article is summed up well by the author, "Google+ is going to be less of a destination and more like the connective social tissue of the Web."  No boundaries....

My take on it... I like it.  Google has integrated a lot of its other software right into it.  Picsa, chatting, video conferencing... its all there.  Google+ won't replace facebook, facebook is just to far to catch right now.  But Google+ does add some competition to the social juggernaut.  It would be nice to see another clash of an unstoppable force colliding with an immovable object.


If still interested in the craze, check out this other article about 10 features missing from Google+.

The Night Sky

With all of its grandeur and beauty, the night sky is really a sight to see.  Unfortunately, so much light pollution in cities makes it difficult to how many stars light up in the heavens.  A man by the name of Nick Risinger is an amateur photographer who quit his day job to fulfill a dream of publishing a comprehensive high quality picture of the entire sky.

His website explains his project and has some really cool pictures and interactive material for anyone to use.  My favorite feature in the website is the Interactive 360 degree view of the night.  Just click the info button and all of the constellations pop up and as you scroll over stars or galaxy the name appears and when you click on it, you are sent to the wiki page about it.

I was stunned again as I was on vacation at Bear Lake, Ut that the night sky is so full of light.  I saw the milky way for the first time in years.  It was a pretty sight.

A World to Create

Creativity is all around.  Where do you look?  What do you see and hear?  I grew up in a fortunate house where both parents had graduated from college and where successful in their fields.  My mother is very "theatrical, innovative, and crazy". (that's the best way to put it mom...)  My father is a very open minded engineer.  Now from my mom doing something with scrapbooking (or at least wanting to) and my dad's problem solving skills, I have grown up all around creativity.

At a young age I developed a liking to drumming, hitting pots and pans on occasion.  My parents would turn on the dish washer as they went into their room after putting the kids to sleep and I would make up beats in my head to the rhythm of the machine.  And although I haven't been in any part of a musical group since high school, I still walk to a beat and compose percussion music mentally.  When you hear an obnoxious kink in the dryer from a pair of jeans, I hear a rhythm.  When you hear the loud construction work on you way to work, I am tapping out a funky beat.  And when the engineering side of me comes out (just ask my friends... or my wife, who hated my concrete canoe and never let me forget it) construction is cool!  Blue prints are someones innovation and creativity waiting to explode into something much, much bigger.


This poem comes from a take home essay test I took in a class called History of Creativity.  It is much different from my normal creative niche.  The Last question of the test asked for a Sonnet with at least 10 key terms from the chapter covered by the test. Here is my Sonnet and explanation:

More and his Utopia, describes earth

In its perfection. Richelieu’s rule today

Brings pow’r to Louis, France’s noble birth.

Thirty years ‘til Majesty’s Letter say

“Be peace” ye Protestant and Catholics.

See beauty, el’gant Hands drawn by Dürer.

See splendor and be ye not hypocrites,

St. Bartholomew not Mary Stuar’.

De Vinci saw the future of mankind

And sought to give all that he could his part.

Create a better outcome with the mind,

With Ninety-five good reasons from the heart.

Ideas flow. They need no restoration.

Creature, take note with consideration.

The main theme of the sonnet is having a better world. There is a standard that Thomas More established with his book, but that standard has yet to be met. Thus, all we can do is strive to be good, look to the future, and creatively change the present. With the last line I suggest that humans have yet to reach their full potential and should look to others who have shown big “C” creativity (creativity that has changed the world) in the past. The last two lines vary from the usual emphasis because they are my main argument. The world will become a better place, but only with the help of great ideas from many sources.

So, I repeat my initial questions: Where do you look?  What do you see and hear?  "And if I don't?" you ask... MAKE something!