Andrew Pelling challenges conventions in science and academia
Pat Rich, University Affairs, 2017/08/09
I get criticized for my won approach to research, so it's good to see this article about Andrew Pelling, a University of Ottawa biophysicist who indulges in, as the article says, "brainstorming whimsy." I can identify. More...
Best practices for passwords updated after original author regrets his advice
Nick Statt, The Verge, 2017/08/08
My password is written on a PostIt attached to my computer monitor.* This practice is the result of very bad advice viven 15 years ago by Bill Burr and implemented into policy by computer services. It's the rule that says we have to use special characters and rotate the password every six months. More...
Algorithm learns to understand natural beauty
BBC, 2017/08/08
It's really time for some proper scepticism from news articles reporting on artificial intelligence. This item on understanding natural beauty is a case in point. For training data, "they focused the algorithm on 200,000 images rated by people on the website ScenicOrNot." The new images are then rated by their similarity to images in the training data. More...
Drum Machine
Mary Rose Cook, Glitch, 2017/08/08
I'm going to keep gushing about Glitch some more, and not only because it allows me to finallyt play in the band with Jim and Brian and others. First, try this drum machine, then, have a look at the code, and then, realize that you could clone it and make your own in about as long as it took me to type these words. More...
Wait, Will Anyone Investigate Legacy Admissions?
Eric Hoover, Chronicle of Higher Education, 2017/08/04
A lot of what enables Americcan universties to discriminate against the disadvanged would persist even if they were to eliminate legacy admissions, writes Eric Hoover. But it nnetheless strikes the reader as odd that there is opposition to selection by race while admission by parentage remains largely unopposed. More...
Canadian Telcos Take Aim At Kodi Addon Site With Shocking Search: True Purpose to “Destroy Livelihood of the Defendant”
Michael Geist, 2017/08/04
I am as alarmed as Michael Geist about the extraordinary and excessive behaviour of some Canadian Telcos in their efforts to limit competition to cabe television subscriptions. They are fighting "the sale and distribution of Android set-top boxes and websites that facilitate distribution of addons for Kodi software." Kodi is a free media player designed to look good on large screen TVs. More...
Teaching by Algorithm
Tim Stahmer, Assorted Stuff, 2017/08/04
Tim Stahmer critiques a BBC segment on learning technology. "A BBC video starts by asking 'Could computer algorithms upgrade education?'" he writes. "It just gets worse from there." The video describes Alt School, a chain of private schools partially funded by Mark Zuckerberg. More...
The digital native is a myth
Nature, 2017/08/04
People have been disproving the 'digital native' theory for more than a decade now. Here is my 2007 coverage of the denouement of the debate. The behaviours attributed to being 'digital native' are caused not by age or generation, but by use of the technology. More...
Vermont Medical School Says Goodbye To Lectures
Audie Cornish, Sam Gringlas, NPR, 2017/08/04
Short video segment plus transcript on why Vermont medical School is employing active learning rather than lectures in the future. More...
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