The Academics Thread

[Starlord]

Sadly, blackbody radiation is also probably something they warn about in KKK monthly newsletters.

[Cancer]

Warn?  That's a big part of what comes from a fire.

[Old Man]

Blackbody was definitely second year.  It was in the class that had all the weird stuff that wasn't E&M, like optics and radiation.

[Cancer]

Early modern physics, yeah.

[Old Man]

[Cancer]

Quote

A tailless aerial robotic flapper reveals that flies use torque coupling in rapid banked turns

 

Title of a paper in this week's Science magazine.  "Flapper" here means a robot with a pair of double wings, and the wings are flapped in the usual sense of that word.  Each wing is about a hand's size, but made of clear plastic film.  The motor and control bits (the body of the bug, so to speak) are (in size) about as big as your index and  middle fingers held straight out next to each other.

[Bazza]

Year 11 and 12 students in NSW will no longer learn about women’s contributions to physics

https://theconversation.com/year-11-and-12-students-in-nsw-will-no-longer-learn-about-womens-contributions-to-physics-102988

[Old Man]

Texas just voted Hillary Clinton and Helen Keller out of the history curriculum. So NSW has company?

[Badger]

Well, with Hillary, you need to know about history's villains, to prepare for their like in the future

 

As for the physics, I gotta say I don't care at its most basic level.   It should be taught based on the importance of said contribution, not a contributor's gender.   In all seriousness,  I want the subject taught as it is, as unfiltered as possible (yeah too idyllic?, idealic? to ever happen).  I don't care about the semantics and agendas.  (in all seriousness with the history too, I just made that Hillary comment earlier for fun, and the fact that Texas probably isn't a Clinton fan state)

 

Edit: I admit that I don't fully understand needing to have role models that fit with one's gender/race is a bit beyond me.  But, given one of my top hero's in history is Harriet Tubman, and someone I might not have been introduced to as much if not for Black History Month...well, my point get a little fuzzy in my head.  But, I do worry about wasting limited classroom time trying to showcase one person in history (my easiest to relate to subject, for an example) at the expense of a more prominent member in history.   

[Cancer]

Texas curriculum has been politicized for half a century at least; see Mel and Norma Gabler for the obvious case.

[Badger]

Yeah, well, I do remember a few other things they've over the past 25 years.  In any case, even if politically I tend to be more on TX's side of things that many other states.  I still detest politicizing education.

 

Oh and I figured out the words lacked earlier.  I want the core of the subject to take forefront in teaching.   Not an agenda to hate Hillary, or teach more about women in physics just for the sake of pointing to more women in physics.  The core material should always come first.  Though, sometimes figuring out what is the core of what we should teach is difficult.

[Bazza]

4 hours ago, Old Man said:

Texas just voted Hillary Clinton and Helen Keller out of the history curriculum. So NSW has company?

 

Possibly. Though I'm thinking Hidden Figures 2: The Aussie Sequel. 

[Bazza]

ANU touts tiny camera lens for quantum information transfer

The Australian National University believes the new invention could result in a device that links quantum computers to an optical fibre network.

 

https://www.zdnet.com/google-amp/article/anu-touts-tiny-camera-lens-for-quantum-information-transfer/

[Pariah]

12 hours ago, Badger said:

Oh and I figured out the words lacked earlier.  I want the core of the subject to take forefront in teaching.   Not an agenda to hate Hillary, or teach more about women in physics just for the sake of pointing to more women in physics.  The core material should always come first.

 

This idea is one of the guiding principles in my district. We refer to it as "Fidelity to the Core". 

[Cancer]

Full-day retreat yesterday, half-day retreat tomorrow.  Naturally, classes start a week from tomorrow.

[Pariah]

Parent-Teacher Conference today and tomorrow from 4-7.

 

Nothing like a nice 12-1/2 hour work day to get you excited in the morning!

[L. Marcus]

To each their own, I guess. But I never figured you for a masochist.

[Pariah]

I'm an educator. It comes with the territory, I'm afraid.

[Cancer]

If we required the administrators to be on-site the entire time those took place (ostensibly to be present for handling parent complaints in a timely way) I expect there would be fewer 12.5-hour days required of the teachers.

[Old Man]

But they get to take all summer off!  *ducks*

[Bazza]

What's summer? (  )

[Old Man]

IIRC that's when your island is a flooded-out wasteland as opposed to an on-fire wasteland. 

[Bazza]

Pretty close. 

[Cancer]

Survived my first day of class, but next Tuesday will be another matter, as I have a morning lab class, and literally the rest of the day I have a succession of meetings that require my attendance.  The last one ends after 5:00, but I think not too long after.

[Old Man]

I believe this calls for a bomb threat.