Hey - the internet isn't only for voyeurs and narcissists and videos of monkeys washing cats!
The Khan Academy is a non-profit, web-based grassroots initiative founded by MIT graduate Sal Khan. The Khan Academy's mission is to educate the masses, free of charge, on just about any topic you can think of, from simple arithmetic to chemistry and much more, all delivered in short, easy to follow YouTube videos.
It all started as a series of short videos posted to the internet to help tutor his cousins, and has now grown to an video library with more than 2300 short films which has served up more than 58 million videos to date. A non-profit organization, the Khan Academy has received funding from both the Bill and Melinda Gates Foundation and Google.
I have viewed a couple of these videos (cough) simple math (cough) and they are quite well done. they're not heavy, not too long, and there are a lot of pictures (suits me well)!
I wanted to share because it seems like a good place to pick up some extra smarts, if you or someone you know happens to need them.
Tuesday, June 7, 2011
Friday, June 3, 2011
Debunking Fuel Myths
Gearing up to take The Fam to Florida this summer I have been reading up on cost saving and travel tips. An interesting article I happened upon from Edmund's is on gas related myths. As the vacation season and gas prices are in full swing, I thought I would share.
One part I found funny:
High gas prices can stop you from being sedentary! Get your butt out of that car tubby!
Happy Weekend!
One part I found funny:
Changes caused by high gas prices aren't all bad: Many families that have made changes to their lifestyles to cut down on the gas spending have found some unexpected benefits. One mother decided to walk to swimming practice with her children and enjoyed the extra opportunity to bond with them. Other people have taken to walking or riding bikes and have lost weight as a result.
High gas prices can stop you from being sedentary! Get your butt out of that car tubby!
Happy Weekend!
Tuesday, May 31, 2011
Implanting False Memory
Implanting False Memory
Great post on Neurologica regarding memory and perception. Last night I was watching a show on Animal Planet called 'Finding Bigfoot' (boo Animal Planet, boo!) and the bigfoot 'experts' were validating the sighting of a bigfoot based on the strong eyewitness accounts. This article helps understand why such accounts are practically worthless.
Great post on Neurologica regarding memory and perception. Last night I was watching a show on Animal Planet called 'Finding Bigfoot' (boo Animal Planet, boo!) and the bigfoot 'experts' were validating the sighting of a bigfoot based on the strong eyewitness accounts. This article helps understand why such accounts are practically worthless.
Wednesday, January 19, 2011
Autism Vaccines Fraud
This is essentially the death blow to the autism/vaccinnes link that was invented and perpetuated by Andrew Wakefield. The British Medical Journal has determined that Wakefield's research was an orchestrated fraud with direct financial interests as his key motivation behind its design. Though the woo will no doubt continue on, all credibility of its original and chief propagator has been officially obliterated.
How much blood is on this man's hands?
How much blood is on this man's hands?
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Homeopathic Woo, Part 2
The second half of the Canadian news piece. My head is going to explode.
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Homeopathic Woo
A look at the multi-billion dollar homeopathy industry. Look out Big-Pharma, Big Alt-Med is looking at you. Reminds me of the skeptic joke: What do you call alternative medicine that actually works? Medicine.
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Saturday, September 18, 2010
7 Reasons For Not Believing In UFOs
Let me first say that it's ok to believe in UFOs as they are real. What?? Yes... objects in the sky that you can't identify are UFOs. However, that does not mean that they are space ships piloted by E.T.
Let me also say that I typed this post and all of the content below using swype on my droid x... Please forgive grammar and spelling errors.
I read this post over at Totally Off Beat news and thought I would take a stab at a point by point take down of their arguments to believe in (alien piloted) UFOs while I sit here at the Honda dealership waiting for my car to be serviced.
Here is the original article
Here is my sophomoric comment:
This post, though entertaining, is rife with logical fallacies... I'll try to expound on each 'reason' as a service to clear thought.
1. This is an argument from authority. If Chef Ramsey thought there was a gold butcher knife with a diamond encrusted handle orbiting Mars, that doesn't make it true.
2. Same as number 1, but worse; let's not forget the witch trials and exorcism, purgatory, etc... Magical thinkers saying it's ok to think magically isn't a convincing argument.
3. I like this reason (except for the magical thinkers endorsement). The math suggests that there is a pretty damn good chance that there is life on other planets (google Drake equation). However, this likelihood in no way supports that idea that aliens loaded up the truck and moved to Beverly.
4. Another argument from authority. People in power are still just people who are likely to be wrong about things... or lying for the sake of being sensational - hell, he's a politician...that's his job!
5. Anecdotal observations without evidence. If I claim I saw bigfoot mowing my neighbors lawn, does that make it true? What if the whole block saw it? Does it mean that there is a tribe of prehistoric primates living in the woods of the local skate park or does my neighbor just like to wear a monkey suit when he does lawn work?
6. The Rockefeller Initiative was a flop basically because there really isn't anything to report; just because I demand the government hand over documents about purple dragons living under Mount Rushmore doesn't mean they exist (the documents, well, purple dragons too, actually). Clinton did disclose what he could on some more well known incidents, but we still have thing called National Security that we have to maintain. This is called 'moving the goal post'. Ask for A, receive it, then cry that B is being withheld, therefore conspiracy!
7. Holy tractor beams another argument from authority - this is easier than I thought it would be. I won't explain this one again, but I will say this: History Channel be damned! I mean come on already! Really? You can't come up with a show that covers something that deals with history?? You're the HISTORY CHANNEL! Tell those dweeb writers coming up with this crap to send their resumes to the Sci-Fy channel. Good grief.
Let me also say that I typed this post and all of the content below using swype on my droid x... Please forgive grammar and spelling errors.
I read this post over at Totally Off Beat news and thought I would take a stab at a point by point take down of their arguments to believe in (alien piloted) UFOs while I sit here at the Honda dealership waiting for my car to be serviced.
Here is the original article
Here is my sophomoric comment:
This post, though entertaining, is rife with logical fallacies... I'll try to expound on each 'reason' as a service to clear thought.
1. This is an argument from authority. If Chef Ramsey thought there was a gold butcher knife with a diamond encrusted handle orbiting Mars, that doesn't make it true.
2. Same as number 1, but worse; let's not forget the witch trials and exorcism, purgatory, etc... Magical thinkers saying it's ok to think magically isn't a convincing argument.
3. I like this reason (except for the magical thinkers endorsement). The math suggests that there is a pretty damn good chance that there is life on other planets (google Drake equation). However, this likelihood in no way supports that idea that aliens loaded up the truck and moved to Beverly.
4. Another argument from authority. People in power are still just people who are likely to be wrong about things... or lying for the sake of being sensational - hell, he's a politician...that's his job!
5. Anecdotal observations without evidence. If I claim I saw bigfoot mowing my neighbors lawn, does that make it true? What if the whole block saw it? Does it mean that there is a tribe of prehistoric primates living in the woods of the local skate park or does my neighbor just like to wear a monkey suit when he does lawn work?
6. The Rockefeller Initiative was a flop basically because there really isn't anything to report; just because I demand the government hand over documents about purple dragons living under Mount Rushmore doesn't mean they exist (the documents, well, purple dragons too, actually). Clinton did disclose what he could on some more well known incidents, but we still have thing called National Security that we have to maintain. This is called 'moving the goal post'. Ask for A, receive it, then cry that B is being withheld, therefore conspiracy!
7. Holy tractor beams another argument from authority - this is easier than I thought it would be. I won't explain this one again, but I will say this: History Channel be damned! I mean come on already! Really? You can't come up with a show that covers something that deals with history?? You're the HISTORY CHANNEL! Tell those dweeb writers coming up with this crap to send their resumes to the Sci-Fy channel. Good grief.
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