Jurassic Park

Am I really so old? Today I found myself wondering. But, let me back up a bit.

The 203 students and I had a great time in Lab today (that's the students in 203, not two hundred and three students). I gave them no instructions other than a list of available equipment, and a task to complete, and had them brainstorm a way to achieve it, and then carry it out. The task was to measure the distance to the Hyatt hotel on the other side of the river. After they all more or less figured out parallax, we went up to the roof for them to take their measurements. It was fun.

While we were waiting for the last group to come up with their procedure, a few of my students were talking about determinism. One girl was explaining how, theoretically, if you knew all the information about a system you could set it up and predict that it was going to do. And then asking "are our actions really free, or are we just being controlled by chemical reactions and physical principles, all of which can be predicted from initial conditions?" It's the old philosophical debate, really. I couldn't resist breaking in and telling them how quantum theory and the uncertainty principle leans toward disproving this theory, and how non-determinism is really the whole basis of chaos theory. I then asked "have you seen Jurassic Park?" I was rewarded with some blank stares. Then one girl said, "no... it was rated PG-13 and I wasn't 13 yet..."

Holy. cow.

To me, Jurassic Park is still a blockbuster favorite. I just assumed everyone had seen Jurassic Park. I can't believe there are people to whom that's an "old" movie. I think JP has become to this generation kind of what Jaws was to me when I was a teenager (only probably not such a legend as Jaws): a movie they have heard of and knew it was big in its day, but have never seen and don't really know much about. Crazy. Am I really so old?

Anyway, the reason I referenced Jurassic Park is because of the one scene where Ian is attempting to explain chaos theory by dripping some water on Ellie's hand. He was trying to illustrate that even with the same initial conditions, and the same system, you can end up with wildly different results. It's a crappy way to explain it, since the scale of the system in question was way too big and the initial conditions were nowhere near the same each time he tried it, (not even on the microscopic level, let alone the atomic or quantum mechanical level) but the underlying principles are true.

All in all, my students and I had a great discussion... but I still can't believe they're never seen Jurassic Park.

unrelated notes

Sometimes when I'm going through a door it ends up being locked, and I slam into it because I'm anticipating it being unlocked so I don't decrease my momentum enough to stop.

On an unrelated note, I think I need twitter.

What's happening online

Yes, we all hate HBO now. No more emails, please.

No, I will not join your "mafia" on Facebook.

Nor am I interested in any of the
* 7 friend suggestions (people I don't know)
* 5 friend requests (more people I don't know, and don't want to)
* 2 event invitations
* 23 group invitations
* 1 cuddling, hugs and kisses request (probably from someone I don't know)
* 1 bracket challenge invitation
* 1 bracketchallenge invitation
* 1 pillow fight request
* 7 kidnap! requests
* 3 guerra de pandillas invitations
* 3 mafia wars requests
* 3 mob wars invitations
* 1 adoption invitation
* 1 collect edward cullen request
* 5 relative invitations
* 1 body parts request
* 1 lds gifts request
* 1 which harry potter character are you request
* 1 best friend request
* 1 harry potter challenge request
* 1 super sushi request
* 1 request invitation
* 1 best friend contest request
* 1 john hughes characters request
* 1 cumpleaños request
* 1 if you are an animal request
* 2 (lil) blue cove requests
* 1 fødselsdag request
* 1 birthday request
* 1 eres positivo/a o pe request
* 1 spread the love request
* 1 request
* 1 abrazos request
* 1 como seras a los 40? invitation
* 1 bumper sticker request
* 1 dragon wars invitation request
* 8 (lil) green patch requests
* 1 sketch me request
* 1 funspace request
* 2 car madness invitations
* 1 coolest person invitation
* 1 friend invitation
* 1 honesty box question request
* 1 friendship day wishe request
* 1 brain game request
* 1 glad we're friends request
* 2 christmas tree requests
* 3 snowball requests
* 6 cause invitations
* 2 sea garden requests
* 1 o christmas tree request
* 1 christmas decoration request
* 1 xmas stocking request
* 2 best friend requests
* 1 birthday request
* 2 birthday requests
* 1 hug from kimberly request
* 1 addicted to arrested invitation
* 1 you're the best request
* 1 vampires invitation
* 2 optical illusions requests
* 1 emily wheelwright be request
* 1 cupcakes request
* 1 growing flower request
* 2 love secrets box invitations
* 1 What kind of hair cut should you get? request

...that I have received. (actually, I accepted the "John Hughes Characters" one... who could resist Duckie?) I wonder if the people sending me these are offOK, I'M GLAD YOU'RE "HAPPILY MARRIED" BUT SO HELP ME IF YOU KEEP THAT AS YOUR MSN SCREEN NAME AND SIGN ON REPEATEDLY SO IT KEEPS POPPING UP ON MY SCREEN EVERY TWO MINUTES...

ok, I'm done now. That's what's happening online this week. :P

Obama on Education

Obama called for the promotion of educational "innovation and excellence" by renewing his campaign pledge to support charter schools. He called on states to lift caps on the number of allowable charter schools.

He also urged a longer school calendar.

"I know longer school days and school years are not wildly popular ideas," Obama said. "But the challenges of a new century demand more time in the classroom." (http://www.cnn.com/2009/POLITICS/03/10/obama.education/index.html)

No, they don't. There are plenty of other, far superior ways to learn besides in a "classroom." Most of what kids do in classrooms these days are busywork, waste-of-time assignments that teachers design to keep them occupied. People want longer school days and school years because working parents don't know what to do with their kids when the kids are actually at home, and not at the glorified babysitter we call "public school." They spend so little time interacting with their kids, they don't even know how anymore.

What we need is higher quality education. One can't make up with quantity what lacks in quality.

4 Years

I've been back from my mission 4 years today. I suppose I should do something to celebrate. But I probably won't.

Sometimes I wonder why I even try

Today is one of those days.

It's Spring Break Time!

Do I have plans, you ask? :)