Just as an update to my previous post on Joe Stiglitz, I got a hold of one of the pictures I took at the department reception and revamped it to reflect what should have been asked:
Oct
22
Oct
21
Teaching and Learning
Yesterday, I had a wonderful opportunity to give a presentation in front of a couple hundred Principles of Microeconomics students. The slides are here. I thought it went pretty well, and several students were interested enough in the material to come talk to me afterwards and/or give me a thanks (which, by the way, is one of the nicest things you can do for your teachers.)
I was a little disheartened, however, by the handful of students that made an exit when they realized that my talk wouldn’t be covered on any test they had in that class. It reminded me of this website I came across a few weeks back, which discusses some of the myths and realities of college education. While I don’t necessarily agree with all of what is said, I think this professor hits on some very good points.
I know that as a student I was probably guilty of a few of these, but as a teacher, it has become clear to me that the meaning of a college education has really changed over the past few decades. You read stories about students in the olden days really getting into learning the material and deepening their knowledge base, rather than just showing up to class and doing the minimum that is necessary to get that piece of paper at the end of 4, 5, or 6 years. The huge jump in demand for a college education has forced these eager learners to pursue graduate studies. Is this bad, or is it just progress? I think we’ll have to wait and see what happens in the next few decades.
Thanks again to those students who spent just 45 minutes of their Friday with me, learning for the sake of learning. I really do appreciate it.
Oct
18
Joe Stiglitz
Every once in a while, the University of Washington brings in a big name economist to give a talk. Today, Joe Stiglitz, the winner of the Nobel Prize in Economics in 2001, gave a talk about his ideas for making globalization work. I was one of the lucky few who got to attend a reception after the talk. Unfortunately, it was monopolized by conversations involving micro-credit, Bono, and the like, and I didn’t get to ask what would have undoubtedly been the most important of the night: “How long did it take you to grow the perfect beard?”
Aug
03
Darth Vader Fan Videos
I’ve seen a few videos on youtube lately that, well, are just plain silly. Enjoy!
Chad Vader – Episode 1
Jul
20
Juggling Videos, Part Two
So, you want an update, BJ!
I blogged about two jugglers quite some time ago. This debate about art vs. technicality in juggling made it to Time magazine this week. There are 10 total videos of these amazing technical jugglers, Vova and Olga Galchenko. My two favorites are:
and
.
Their home page is: http://www.galchenko.com/
Now for some pure art and beauty: Michael Moschen. Probably my most favorite professional juggler that’s not a professional juggler. The stuff he does is just plain amazing and awe-inspiring, as these “Energy” and “Light” videos illustrate.