Cox Crow

Teach a Man to Fish

Jenny pointed out Glenn Fleishman's irate response to an article from the Lewiston, Maine, paper on Maine's iBook deployment. It follows on an IM discussion that she and I had earlier this year.

Computers — I almost said technology — are not taught well. Adding them as another tool in the classroom can do just as much harm as good, depending on how they are used. (They are, after all, just a tool.) Most instruction that I've encountered has focused on learning specific applications, in order to prepare for life outside the academy. But where are WordPerfect and Lotus 1-2-3 now? Teaching Microsoft Office does not teach first priciples; it teaches Microsoft Office. You understand nothing.

6:10:12 PM # Google It!
categories: Learning

Far Talking

Dave outpointed the most significant item in the New York Times' coverage of the XBox Live rollout. It's the last sentence.

"By Christmas, Microsoft could become the nation's fourth-largest phone company."

12:37:39 PM # Google It!
categories: Industry

Sympathetic Magic

Things that were once together retain a bond, and so can affect each other. This is sympathetic magic. Do you recall The Sopranos episode where Tony goes to the Old Country? In it, Annalisa, who runs things there, collects her nails to burn them, so they can't be used in Works against her. This is only prudent:

DNA in the Public Domain. Employed by an anxious American eager to know who his son's father was, a private investigator sifted through Bing's rubbish and stole a piece of dental floss which was later analysed. [kuro5hin.org] via [Ernie the Attorney]

11:49:01 AM # Google It!
categories: Law