Random links
- Women in Computing Around the World
- "This paper describes the participation of women in computing in more than 30 countries, by focussing on participation at undergraduate level. A brief discussion covers how societal and cultural factors may affect women's participation. Statistics from many different sources are presented for comparison. Generally, participation is low - most countries fall in the 10-40% range with a few below 10% and a few above 40%."
- Manufacturing Terrorists
- "How FBI sting operations make jihadists out of hapless malcontents"
- USC battery wields silicon nanowires to hold triple the energy, charge in 10 minutes
- "Triple the capacity of today's batteries? Full recharges in 10 minutes? More than 2,000 charging cycles? Check. It all sounds a bit fantastical, but USC does see real-world use on the horizon." Would be nice if this turns out to be workable though I'll remain skeptical for the moment.
- Teaching to Fail
- "What can we conclude when undergraduates bemoan, "How did anyone ever come up with this stuff?" Although the students might feel confused or bedazzled, there’s one thing for certain: the instructor jumped over the requisite missteps that originally led to the discovery at hand. ... Individuals need to embrace the realization that taking risks and failing are often the essential moves necessary to bring clarity, understanding, and innovation. By making a mistake, we are led to the pivotal question: "Why was that wrong?" By answering this question, we are intentionally placing ourselves in a position to develop a new insight and to eventually succeed. But how do we foster such a critical habit of mind in our students — students who are hardwired to avoid failure at all costs?" The author of this article apparently includes in his grading scheme 5% of the final grade for their "quality of failure." I'd agree that accepting failure and learning how to address it is important. I'm just not sure this is a particularly effective way.