Happy St. Patrick's Day Everyone!!!
As all of you know commercials on TV right now are exploiting the fast break and slam dunk like it's manifest destiny for their widget to become synonymous with all facets of the game of basketball. All of this product posturing being a shameful bow to the cash cow that has become one of the greatest losses to worker productivity in the United States, yes, the NCAA Basketball Tournament.
Not that I am complaining or opting out of the spectable. Yes, I will watch the games, I will chart my picks, I will wallow in self-pity as my co-workers repeatedly jibe me for choosing Oral Roberts in a first round upset. But at the same time, I want to offer a bit of a diversion from this mindless marketing shape shift. When those same idiot commercials pop up on the tube, run to your closest web enabled device to discover your inner physics child at the UC Berkeley cyber-campus.
Here's the deal...
As of Fall 2006, a course entitled, Physics for Future Presidents, has been web and podcasted for the entire world to see and listen to for free (click here for a media article). Now granted I don't have any delusions of becoming president, although I was tempted when Barak and Hillary both turned down the public pot of money available to them (you know that little checkbox on your tax return to contribute to the presidential campaign) because they didn't need it, but this podcast is worth a listen even to those who don't aspire to the most dangerous job in the country.
And I've downloaded more educational podcasts than I, or my wife, would like to acknowledge to our family and friends, but none stack up to this one.
Dr. Richard Muller has to be one of the best lecturers I've heard in a long while. He's affable, humourous, patient, and an extremely intelligent teacher. His demos during class are great, as are his examples to explain difficult concepts to non-physics majors(i.e., me). He tries to make physics immediately relevant and interesting, and he succeeds on both counts.
If you have an itch to learn a bit about how the universe works, but were afraid to browse the science and technology section in your downtown Borders Bookstore, check your fear at the portal door and click on this link:
As all of you know commercials on TV right now are exploiting the fast break and slam dunk like it's manifest destiny for their widget to become synonymous with all facets of the game of basketball. All of this product posturing being a shameful bow to the cash cow that has become one of the greatest losses to worker productivity in the United States, yes, the NCAA Basketball Tournament.
Not that I am complaining or opting out of the spectable. Yes, I will watch the games, I will chart my picks, I will wallow in self-pity as my co-workers repeatedly jibe me for choosing Oral Roberts in a first round upset. But at the same time, I want to offer a bit of a diversion from this mindless marketing shape shift. When those same idiot commercials pop up on the tube, run to your closest web enabled device to discover your inner physics child at the UC Berkeley cyber-campus.
Here's the deal...
As of Fall 2006, a course entitled, Physics for Future Presidents, has been web and podcasted for the entire world to see and listen to for free (click here for a media article). Now granted I don't have any delusions of becoming president, although I was tempted when Barak and Hillary both turned down the public pot of money available to them (you know that little checkbox on your tax return to contribute to the presidential campaign) because they didn't need it, but this podcast is worth a listen even to those who don't aspire to the most dangerous job in the country.
And I've downloaded more educational podcasts than I, or my wife, would like to acknowledge to our family and friends, but none stack up to this one.
Dr. Richard Muller has to be one of the best lecturers I've heard in a long while. He's affable, humourous, patient, and an extremely intelligent teacher. His demos during class are great, as are his examples to explain difficult concepts to non-physics majors(i.e., me). He tries to make physics immediately relevant and interesting, and he succeeds on both counts.
If you have an itch to learn a bit about how the universe works, but were afraid to browse the science and technology section in your downtown Borders Bookstore, check your fear at the portal door and click on this link:
2 comments:
color me white and nerdy...when i pointed the iTunes store at all of UCBerkeley I downloaded podcasts from no less than 15 courses.
Bonjour, Waffle man! You will not be disappointed. This is right up your white and nerdy alley. Let me know what you think.
Post a Comment