Imagine a TV display that contains millions of “smart pixels” that can move into different places and reliably create 3D images? That’s what researchers at an MIT research lab are currently doing. But, in the absence of real smart pixels, they’re using “remotely controlled micro-helicopters that can be choreographed electronically to display shapes and images.” (Read more about this in Wired.) The clip above offers a two minute demo of the “Flyfire” project, showing the micro-helicopters in action…
This morning, Macmillan announced a new kind of textbook — a remixable electronic textbook that will give professors, according the New York Times, the ability “to reorganize or delete chapters; upload course syllabuses, notes, videos, pictures and graphs; and perhaps most notably, rewrite or delete individual paragraphs, equations or illustrations.” Essentially, Macmillan provides the core text, and then professors get to customize the book to their liking. This remixing is a definite plus. But what’s even better? This new line of textbook, dubbed DynamicBooks, will reduce costs for students, bringing a book traditionally priced at $150 down to a much saner $47. Perfect for the lean years. For more details, read this longer piece in Publishers Weekly.
A quick fyi: Starting this morning, Stanford Continuing Studies opened registration for its spring lineup of online writing courses. Offered in partnership with the Stanford Creative Writing Program (one of the most distinguished writing programs in the country), these online courses give beginning and advanced writers, no matter where they live, the chance to refine their craft with gifted writing instructors. As you will see, there are a couple of courses offered in conjunction with The New York Times. The idea here is that you’ll learn writing from a Stanford writing instructor and then get your work reviewed by a New York Times book critic/writer. Quite a perk. And the courses sell out quickly. For more information, click here, or separately check out the FAQ and the testimonials.
Caveat emptor: These classes are not free, and I helped set them up. So while I wholeheartedly believe in these courses, you can take my views with a grain of salt.
More and more, the Dalai Lama has been developing an interest in what modern science has to say about human emotion — or, more particularly, how neuroscience makes sense of meditation and compassion. Partly as a result, Stanford University has launched The Center for Compassion and Altruism Research and Education, which is delving deeper into these questions. The clip above features Daniel Goleman, the bestselling science journalist (Emotional IntelligenceandDestructive Emotions), talking about the Dalai Lama’s work on this front. You can find the full conversation with Goleman at Bigthink.com, a good resource for thought-provoking video.
A few resources for classical music lovers. They come recommended by Robert B, one of our faithful readers.
ArsAntiguaPresents.com offers a series of free audio programs of music from the Renaissance, Baroque, and Classical eras, all performed on period instruments. This month’s edition focuses on Mozart’s Salzburg Symphonies. You can start listening via mp3 right here.
Art of the States features work by American composers that can be otherwise hard to find. To get a quick taste, you can start listening to works by John Cage right here.
Finally, the Petrucci Music Library is the largest and most active site dedicated to offering free, downloadable classical music scores. Want the complete score for Bach’s Brandenburg Concertos? You can start here.
For three years, English teacher Jerome Burg has been using Google Earth to teach literature. Each “Lit Trip” involves mapping the movements of characters over a plot’s timeline and providing excerpts, pictures, and links at each location. I found a lit trip for one of my favorite novels, Cormac McCarthy’s Blood Meridian, which involves a lot of movement across the old West. McCarthy himself is said to have spent years tracing these paths and studying locations in preparation for writing the novel. You’ll find a complete list of lit trips here, including such classics as Macbeth, Portrait of the Artist as a Young Man, and The Odyssey. It’s difficult to get a sense of the fantastic effect of visually unpacking a plot without downloading a lit trip and trying it within Google Earth (download here). But here’s a video of a lit trip for Make Way for Ducklings by Robert McCloskey. It will give you a quick taste of the lit trip experience:
Finally, you can find a two-part video introduction to Lit Trips by Kate Reavey, a professor at Peninsula College, here and here.
Wes Alwan lives in Boston, Massachusetts, where he works as a writer and researcher and attends the Institute for the Study of Psychoanalysis and Culture. He also participates in The Partially Examined Life, a podcast consisting of informal discussions about philosophical texts by three philosophy graduate school dropouts.
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