Free open distance education courses from Yale

There are a lot of Open Course Wares (OCW) on the Internet. But, it would be nice if you can get direct online courses from Ivy league institutions, that only a few can study. Yale seems to make that dream come true by making their courses truly open. What does that mean. Well, you will have access to the same high-quality education and world-renown professors. The following seven free courses :

• Frontiers and Controversies in Astrophysics – Instructed by Professor Charles Bailyn, this fascinating class discusses areas of astronomy that are changing rapidly. This includes Extra-Solar Planets, Black Holes and Dark Energy.
• Modern Poetry – Instructed by Professor Langdon Hammer, this course covers the characteristics and major influences in modern poetry. Hammer’s work is frequently published in The New York Times and he is currently the poetry editor of The American Scholar.
• Death – Professor Shelly Kagan discusses the philosophical aspect of death and dying in this course. Kagan is Clark Professor of Philosophy at Yale.
• Fundamentals of Physics – Professor Ramamurti Shankar introduces students to the fundamentals of physics, though the course is designed for those with a solid background in mathematics.
• Introduction to Political Philosophy – Instructed by Professor Steven B. Smith, this course examines political philosophy as seen through popular texts and influential thinkers. Smith is the Alfred Cowles Professor of Political Science and Master of Branford College at Yale.
• Introduction to Psychology – This course, taught by Professor Paul Bloom, provides a comprehensive overview of thought and behavior. Bloom is Professor of Psychology at Yale University and did his doctoral work at MIT.
• Introduction to the Old Testament – Professor Christine Hayes examines both the religious significance and historical documentation of the Old Testament in this course. Hayes is the Robert F. and Patricia Ross Weis Professor of Religious Studies in Classical Judaica at Yale.

[ - Guest posting: Seven free distance courses from Yale - ]

New World Order:the balancing of power & Asia

My feeling is that the US can not open another war front and to flock it ahead successfully while they are losing two other invasions (not wars) . But the US administration has not shown signs for of retiring from their efforts to hit at Iran.

But I am amazed at the (strong) Iranian responses, because they appeared so bold and it seems the Americans are backing off, a bit, even if they are verbally very aggressive. Afghanistan and Iraq are different cases IMHO. Iran has an active military, research and development programs. More than that, they have energy resources.

And I believe more than the military might, energy will play a key role, if this attack ever materialize. Because the rising Asian economies of India and China are fighting for big energy resources (and Indians are losing to Chinese companies recently) but the planned pipelines from Iran via arch rival Pakistan may help Indians to achieve their rising energy needs to a small extent. U.S.A itself is depending on other nations on their conventional energy needs. So, they can’t just come and say to stop all the dealings with the Iranians to other nations.

As each day progress, the East Asia is getting bigger in terms of economic might (but don’t confuse they are as big as the US, that will take decades, but one day they will be there), making it difficult for the US to bully on them.

Anyway the Chinese are too big for them to bully, but they can surely try it on Indians, but the opposition is strong in India and there is a strong opposition to the nuclear deal which everyone outside India thinks is a bargain for the Indians.

A summary at FPRI on Kaplan’s latest work on the new balance of power.

Kaplan feels that we tend to divide the world up artificially into old Cold War classifications of the Middle East, the South Asian Indian subcontinent, and the Pacific Rim of East Asia. These divisions were forced on the U.S. by the Cold War, in which the country had a whole world to patrol, in a way. And so Washington broke it up into academic specialties in order to get a better grip on things. But increasingly, as China, North Korea, Japan, and India do more and more trade with Iran and Syria, and the Indian and Chinese navies are increasingly in the Persian Gulf, these boundaries are breaking apart. A holistic map of Eurasia is reasserting itself. Any conflict with Iran would involve India and China in some way, because of all the trade they do there. The Persian Gulf is about to become much more clogged with oil supertankers than it ever was. That is because among a number of big phenomena going on in the world today, Kaplan said, one is the growth of the Chinese and Indian middle classes.

India has 1.5 billion people. Its middle class is growing from 200 million to a predicted 350 million. China has similar statistics. Middle classes are acquisitive, Kaplan observed. They buy things and consume a lot of energy. And so the growth of these middle classes means tremendous energy consumption, much of which is going to have to be solved by oil. Ninety percent of India’s energy requirements are going to be filled by oil in the Persian Gulf within a few years, as opposed to 65 percent today. China’s statistics are similar. We are about to see a major energy highway from the Persian Gulf across the Indian Ocean to the strait of Malacca to China and Japan and across the Persian Gulf to the west coast of India. Energy politics are going to tie China and India much more closely to the Arab and Persian world than they ever were before.

This is why the U.S. position now in the Middle East is untenable, Kaplan argued. The U.S. has to find a way gradually, with carrots and sticks, to open up Iran and have some sort of normalized relationship with that country. The rest of the world is not going to wait the U.S. out, but is moving closer to Iran and Russia, because crude oil petroleum prices are going to continue to go up over the long run because of the growth of middle classes around the world.

Recommended books for reading

If you are a person with the habit of reading books, then you may like to check these lists of favorite books published by The Telegraph :

The Telegraph lists their 110 favorite books. While I prefer my own list for obvious reasons, I’ve added some of these books to my library list and look forward to reading them. Any other great book recommendations? [ 110 Best Books ]

I also love recommendation lists as they give us enough space to explore the unknown. However, do remember to read what you like to know and not what some others say

Charles Babbage and Lord Alfred Tennyson : Why art and science don’t go together

 Charles Babbage (1791–1871), the English mathematician was the father of the idea of a programmable computer. Babbage built a mechanical computer called “the difference engine.” He once corresponded with Alfred, Lord Tennyson.

Sir,

In your otherwise beautiful poem “The Vision of Sin”, there is a verse which reads,

“Every moment dies a man,
Every moment one is born.”

It must be manifest that if this were true, the population of the world would be at a standstill. In truth, the rate of birth is slightly in excess of that of death.

I would suggest that in the next edition of your poem you have it read:

“Every moment dies a man,
Every moment 1,1/16th is born…”

I am, Sir, yours, etc.

Big yuk-fest for the mechanic, but he left himself open to a rebuke from the wordsmith along these lines:

Dear Mr Babbage,

If I had sucked several thousand pounds out of the government teat, by telling them that I was building an automatic calculator, without delivering so much as a pile of rusty cogs, I would be a bit more conscious of my own foibles and a bit less ready to poke fun at the works of others. Particularly as vacuum tubes won’t be invented until 1906. So stick that in your big red engine and take the difference of it.

Your most humble and obedient servant,

Lord Tennyson.

One can easily imagine the roar of protest, and the rapid return of fire from Babbage:

To Tennyson,

Listen funny boy, the analytic engine is based on sound principles, unlike your blasted poetry. If I wanted to hear from the organ grinder, I would speak to him, not the monkey. I’ve got a good mind to come round there and duff you up, proper.

So stick it in your ear.

How could the poet resist slamming back a reply of his own:

to Babbage the wanker,

There once was a man named Babbage
Whose head was green and shaped like a cabbage

Unfortunately, you do not inspire me further. If I see you on the street, I’ll whack you with a stick Then me and my mate Wordsworth will “do” you good.

This is why today there is still not a proper accommodation between art and science.

[The above is from a posting on alt.folklore.urban from years ago by someone. He said he found it in a book (not cited) at his own garage sale.]

[ - Babbage and Tennyson - ] Atanu Dey , Mon, 17 Mar 2008 10:43:27 GMT

How to edit essays to make it worth reading

If you are a student, you will have to write many essays. The first thing to impress someone with your essay is by the sheer content present in the essay. By content I mean correct, valid and interesting information orderd in the format of an essay. The second important thing is to edit it. Polish it. The rough edges must be removed, this enables the content to be worthy of spending their time.  Here are a few practical tips on how to edit an essay you are preparing.

1. Put aside the work you have just written. Take a cup of coffee, call your friend. In other words, just try to re-fresh your brains.
2. After you had some rest, look at your essay – do you like the general appearance of your work? If it seems to be ok, then pass to the next step…
3. Read your essay aloud. Do you like the way it sounds? Maybe, it is better to change something? Have you answered all the questions in your essay?
4. Pay attention to each word in your essay. While editing essays, it is very important to find the phrases, which are of no particular importance, meaningless. Change them or just delete.
5. Think about the importance of each word. Try to choose the words, which are the most appropriate to this text. English is a difficult language due to its semantics. So, make sure that each word is used correctly.

[ 10 Steps in Essays Editing ]

Sci-Fi in action being a Social Network "Friend"?

Social Networking has enabled dreams come to reality. That was once only possible in science fiction works. Not any more. We are living the dream a generation ago envisioned. Don’t believe me, then read this piece from blogs.msdn it will give you a real example

Being a Social Network “Friend”

Veronica Kennedy is getting married in October. For the past 2 months, I’ve followed the wedding challenges she’s faced via Status Updates on Facebook. It’s been fun to see her get the dress, book the hall, etc. Thing is, I had never met her face to face until yesterday. And when I did, we gave each…

We may feel this is very simple these days. Yes, it is very simple and that’s why we don’t take notice of it and remember how great it is. But there are many more good things to come and as our world become more connected, lets hope it will become a better place to live.