Forum Conversations

Goodbye, Borders: Expansions in Digital Reading

2011-09-19T17:10:00.004-06:00

Earlier this week, I ran into two interesting articles. The first, featured on CBCNews, dealt with a possible expansion of Amazon's current online book services to include Netflix-style book rentals for annual fees. The second was an NPR article detailing several reasons the Borders chain failed (as a bookstore fanatic, I'm still coming to terms with this).

Here are the links for both:

http://www.cbc.ca/news/technology/story/2011/09/13/f-vp-misener-amazon-ebooks.html

http://www.npr.org/2011/07/19/138514209/why-borders-failed-while-barnes-and-noble-survived

I found these articles thought-provoking because they both relate to the growth and development of the ereader industry, a topic that I often reflect on as a student, reader, and aspiring writer. There's a part of me that saw the collapse of my favorite bookstore and irrationally labeled digital reading as an evil trend that would eventually conquer books for good, forcing me to stare at bright, tiny screens for the rest of my life and never find joy in reading again. The other part of me, though, feels the strain of carrying my textbooks around campus and recognizes the practicality of ereaders.

I've seen avid readers swear that they would never pick up a Nook or a Kindle, only to find themselves fiddling with ereaders in bookstores or falling in love with one that they receive as a gift. In reading-intensive seminar courses, you're likely to see an equal division between digital media (laptops, ereaders, even smart phones) and physical textbooks.

This is the inevitable progression of the literary world; books, after all, couldn't remain immune to technological advancement forever. The ereader industry is a fascinating thing to follow. Libraries around the world are integrating online systems for ebooks, and an entire niche of the publishing world has opened up, offering writers the chance to publish work electronically that traditional publishing houses might have rejected.

I'm interested to hear what Honors students think about the subject. Are you a die-hard fan of digital reading? Do you think ereaders the downfall of literature? Feel free to share an opinion.

Wisconsin Police Union Announces Solidarity

2011-02-28T14:27:00.000-07:00

This is so amazing to me. People with conscience standing up for what's right and making a difference. This just shows me that we all really can do something big if we listen to our own selves.

Watching the Middle East

2011-02-23T15:45:00.002-07:00

A lot of attention has been put on the Middle East recently with the many protests occurring throughout the region. The resignation of President Mubarak in Egypt has been greeted with enthusiastic expectations of democracy in Egypt, and the spreading of democratic sentiments to nearby nations. The expectation should be hedged, however, with the understanding that the Middle East has a long road ahead, for better or worse.

Political scientists have long identified transitions from authoritarian rule to democracy to be one of the most dangerous situations for a country to find itself in. Consider, for instance, the many different groups within the country that are used to a high degree of power. In Egypt the military now has control of the country, and while they have stated that they will soon hold elections, we should understand that military regimes rarely, if ever, hand over power once they have gained it. Even if they do, creating democracy is a very arduous process that frequently requires outside monitoring by international parties. Libya faces an even worse situation, with a dictator who has demonstrated clearly his intentions to stay in power as long as he can. Should the protests continue there is little doubt that Libya will descend into civil war.

These are all very pressing concerns for America, given our national interests in the Middle East. Iraq, still unstable from recent years of turmoil is in a very delicate situation that could easily be upset should the violence spread. My final thought is that we should approach this situation cautiously, understanding that even if true democracy is finally arriving in the Middle East, it's still a long ways from over.

First Annual Registration Party

2010-12-03T12:41:00.001-07:00

Late the night of the 28th, students gathered in the Honors Forum to register for their spring classes. They were all going to be up late anyway, waiting for 12:01 exactly, hoping the powers that be didn't decide to apply an update to Banner at the exact wrong time. So why not have a party?

HSAC hosted the event and had treats for sale. And even though the steely resolve was obvious in everyone, so was the late hour after a Thanksgiving break. I had imagined that as midnight neared, the crowd would become loud and agitated, sort of like New Years Eve at Times Square. But the mood was calm, and as 12:01 struck, I hardly noticed. Everyone was simply at work.

For most, those were a few good minutes that set them up for the spring semester. Overall the mood was jubilant.

Okay, maybe that one was a little posed. Not my idea though, I promise.

Unfortunately, for some 12:01 was the time when they found out they had a hold of one sort or another on their account, and they would be unable to register for classes that evening. Since most of UNM isn't open when registration begins, there's no one to remove that hold until the morning.

For many classes, this isn't such a big deal since the next group of students isn't eligible until the following week, but for those popular Honors classes, those first five (if not two) minutes are key. Even among those without problems that night, a frequently heard piece of advice was to sign up for the Honors class first because the few seconds elapsing between successive page refreshes would mean the difference between a seat and the waiting list.

All in all, I'd say the night was a success. Look for the registration party again next semester!

Wireless in Honors

2010-11-11T12:47:00.002-07:00

For those of you trying to find the inter-tron through one of our X-women at the back of Honors (think rooms 8,9, 12), things may have just gotten a little better. We've moved the routers to some better ports, and no you should be able to find Jubilee from those locations.

Happy Surfing

Post-Election Thoughts

2010-11-03T18:07:00.003-06:00

The Election is over, and it looks like the GOP has taken back the House of Representatives, but not the Senate. I know that many Republican supporters are very excited about this, but I would just like to add in a few thoughts about the next few years. First off, given that the Democrats still control (an albeit tiny) majority in the Senate, this means that Republicans will need to attempt at least a little bipartisanship if they wish to pass any real legislation. This means compromise. And as for those big pieces of legislation they've been talking about, namely repealing the Health Care Bill, I have just one word: veto. Basically, in order for the Republicans to get rid of the Health Care Bill, they would have to pass another Bill essentially canceling the first one out. And in order to do this, they would need not only cooperation from the Democrats, but the signature of the President.

I'm sure we can all imagine what Obama's reaction would be to an attempt to get rid of his prize piece of legislation.

On the flip side, the Democrats won't be able to get anything through that the Republicans don't like either. So what this means is that for at least the next two years, we're likely to see a whole lot of nothing coming out of Congress. Just food for thought.

China's Rising Star

2010-10-19T09:52:00.003-06:00

Folks who follow international news are likely aware that China is becoming more and more prosperous, and by extension more powerful year by year. Since the death of Mao in the 1970s, economic reorientation has brought the Chinese economy to almost unimaginable heights. They have maintained 10% GDP growth ever year since the early 90s, and now have the second largest economy in the world, surpassed only by the United States. With the US economy on the downturn, it is not uncommon for me to hear people say that China is set to become the new dominant world power. However, as I've pointed out before, media hyperbole, and actual fact are much different things, so I'm here to briefly address China's social and economic stability.

Here's the deal: China is arguably the most powerful country, economically, in the world now. They have experienced unprecedented growth, and are still in the possession of enormous economic surplussed, while most of the rest of the world is in debt. Nearly every powerful country in the world, including ours, would like to see China become a democracy, mostly because it would allow us to influence their economic policies in a way that would be more favorable to us. Bodies like the UN want China to adopt humanitarian measures that would open up their society to greater social freedoms. The very simple fact is that none of this is going to work, because not a single one of us can back it up. China owns most of the US debt through various governments bonds, meaning there is not one bit of leverage we can bring to bear against them. As a member of the Security Council, China is practically immune to international pressure of almost any kind. It is reasonable to label them as a great power, because in many senses, they cannot be touched by anyone else.

It is for many of these reasons that China is predicted to replace the US at the top of the international totem pole. It is for others, however, that I would argue that China cannot maintain its current society as is. Political scientists have noted a tendency within various countries that as they become more wealthy, they also tend to become more democratic. This principle, called post-materialist values, while unproven statistically is nevertheless compelling. The idea is that as people become less concerned about providing themselves and their families with the basic necessities of life, they become more interested in freedom of expression, and influence in political discourse. This poses a particular danger to China as it brings in even more wealth.

There is also the simple fact that dictator-like countries are not stable. The particular characteristics of what we call authoritarian regimes prevent long term stability. So while China may survive and continue to grow in the next several decades, there are a vast number difficulties they would have to overcome in order to survive in their current state while continuing to grow and maintain their influence. Just something to keep in mind. If you're interested in more on this subject, click on the title to view an article on China in the coming years.

From the Security of a Computer

2010-10-12T10:42:00.002-06:00

If you've ever taken the time to stop by the Daily Lobo's website and read some of the comments posted there, you'll have noticed that people can be rather vicious in their remarks. When it comes to the Opinion pieces especially I have seen some truly ignorant things thrown back and forth between people. It made me think some more about the continued effects of the internet on modern communication. It seems to me that not having to look another person in the eye when you're speaking to them has strongly reduced the tactfulness of society. Can you imagine two people throwing around the kinds of insults you see on internet forums if they were having a conversation in person? Maybe it's a good thing that people aren't mincing words online the way they do in person, but to me that seems hypocritical. If you're not willing to say something to a person's face, I don't think you should be saying it to their forum avatar.

Who's Your Oil Daddy?

2010-10-04T13:21:00.004-06:00

As a political add on to Kate's last post, I thought it would be interesting to address the political side of things like the oil crisis. The recent oil spill in the Gulf Coast points to a rising trend in off shore oil drilling all over the world as an alternative to land based oil drilling. Why is this? Because the vast majority of oil resources to be found on land are almost totally depleted. Which is why drilling in Alaska, and off the coasts has become such a big thing.

However, offshore drilling has a number of dangers, the most prevelant of which we witnessed with this recent oil spill. Far from being the norm, such spills are much more common occurrences in offshore oil operations, than land based ones. Meaning that while few are likely to have the magnitude of the one in the spring, such spills are only likely to continue.

Of course, the biggest question (aside from complete destruction of oceanic environments) is what happens once the oil in the seas is gone too? The answer, as some might guess, is buy from Saudi Arabia. The large desert country, long the world's largest producer of oil, might soon be the world's only producer of oil. According to some estimates Saudi Arabia has only used 10% of their total oil resources. In however many decades, when all other oil resources have been exhausted, Saudi Arabia will still be going strong with production.

So who's your oil daddy? That would be Saudi Arabia.

Who cares about the environment, Part II

2010-09-30T15:27:00.009-06:00

Last week I wrote a post about why humans may be "hardwired" not to care about environmental change. This week I would like to talk about what evolutionary theory has to say about how we can get people to care, as we discussed in one of my classes.

Most environmental education programs cater to our propensity to reason about economics. They present our relationship with nature as a business exchange, meaning that we tend to focus on the depletion of valuable resources. They target our "business sense" by suggesting that the resources that we need, like coal for example, may not be as readily available to us in fifteen years as they are now if we keep using it at the rate we are. These environmental education programs then suggest that we can each make small cutbacks to offset the predicted deficiency, such as riding our bikes to school and work or purchasing locally grown produce that doesn't need to be shipped in. It is then implied that if we each make these changes, then in the future we won't face as severe of an oil shortage. This reasoning is sound. However, the truth is that environmental education programs are essentially asking individuals to make substantial sacrifices for relatively small, long term rewards. I say that they are relatively small rewards because you know that MOST people are not willing to make these sacrifices, so the payback to you will be minimal if there is any at all. (We know this inherently, see Hardin's Tragedy of the Commons for further info). To put it in more concrete terms, you may spend an extra hour each day commuting on your bike (time that could be spent studying, earning money, going on dates, etc.) but in fifty years we may be totally out of oil anyway. See for yourself, are the business-style arguments depicted in the following images convincing?

I mean, having seen these images, are you now going to make a significant change to your lifestyle to be more green? Probably not.

But there is another option, another way to convince people to change their behaviors. Instead, perhaps we can appeal to peoples' softer side. Throughout human history, the genes that have been successful in getting passed down (i.e. the genes that you and I carry) have belonged to people who favored the well-being of themselves and their family members over others (Hamilton's rule for you biologists). Said another way, we have psychological adaptations, built in by evolution, that cause us to share benefits with the people with whom we have common genes, that is, our family. Additionally, we are also inclined to form social alliances with non-kin who can provide us with benefits. (This is probably where division of labor comes from - maybe I know the best way to shape an arrowhead and you know the best way to build a stable hut so we team up and form a social alliance, since neither of us has both talents.) The professor of this class suggested that if perhaps we were to encourage people to view nature as a family member or even as a social partner rather than just a collection of resources, then people might be more inclined to treat nature with more care. We have all experienced the joys of helping out a friend or family member, and the pangs of disappointment when one of them may be in trouble. How about the following images? Observe what goes on internally for you as you view them.
These are more convincing, right? Did you notice yourself thinking or feeling something along the lines of, "Oh no!" And did you have that reaction with the first set of images? Maybe the family fleeing from their home that is being destroyed by flooding really got to you. Or the hungry child in the desert is displaying the same mannerism that your favorite nephew does. The family of worried-looking polar bears that is stranded on the few remaining icebergs might remind you of how you feel trying to support your own children in these tough economic times. Or the frogs dying in droves might bring home what we are doing to the earth we live on. Maybe these are the types of arguments that environmental education programs should be making in order to actually convince people to change their ways.

HSAC UHP Town Hall: Preview Night Improvement

2010-09-28T20:17:00.008-06:00

Town Hall Test Run

HSAC's new committee, the Honors Student Action Group a.k.a. HSAG, is all about making changes on campus that benefit UHP students and the UNM community. HSAG is in the process of organizing a 'Town Hall' for honors students. This town hall would offer honors students the opportunity to voice their opinions and influence change within the honors program. The first thing that HSAG would like to tackle is UHP's Preview Night, so they centered the 'Town Hall Test Run' around that topic. We all know that honors students have long complained about preview night and it's inconveniences, so HSAG is going to try and improve the format of Preview Night and remind honors students that it really is an awesome event and privilege that is unique to the honors program. At this test run town hall meeting HSAC members discussed what preview night is, the goals of preview night, whether or not preview night is currently reaching those goals, possible improvements to preview night, and ways to implement these improvements. HSAG will be announcing the first UHP wide town hall meeting in the next few weeks. If you think that this is something you think you'd like to participate in look out for the meeting announcement on the UHP list-serve and flyers in the forum.

Quite Interesting

2010-09-28T09:10:00.002-06:00

Click on the title to check out an article about religious knowledge. Turns out the most knowledgeable people in America about religion are the ones who are least religious. The survey shows that, on average, Atheists and Agnostics know more about religion than their Christian and Jewish counterparts. I won't spoil the whole article for you, I just wanted to highlight the very interesting contrast in religious knowledge.

ARTS Lab Stretches Boundaries of Digital Media

2010-09-24T18:08:00.000-06:00

Just when I think I have a good grasp of the potential uses of digital media, an article like this comes along to blow my mind away and show me that I haven't even grasped the beginnings of what such media might be capable of. Any other new uses of digital media that blow your mind?

ARTS Lab Stretches Boundaries of Digital Media

GOP To Retake Congress...

2010-09-22T18:31:00.002-06:00

...Not likely. I know the media outlets have been buzzing about how the country is dissatisfied with the Democratic White House and Congress at the moment, and also how the Tea Party is picking up a lot of popularity, but it would take a lot for the Democrats to lose the House, let alone the entire Congress. The Republicans are currently up against a large number of incumbents in Congress, and a little fact that the media doesn't often mention is that incumbents win.

For anyone who hasn't taken much PoliSci, an incumbent is a politician who is running for reelection. At least in American politics, incumbents tend to have a sizable advantage over challengers, especially in Congressional elections. For one thing, members of Congress don't have to pay postage. This may not seem like a big deal, but think about the millions of pamphlets and other campaign items that Congressmen send out to their districts, and the cost of stamps start to add up.

I would go into more examples, but I know how boring it would be, so I'll just sum it up this way: It doesn't matter what party you are, if you're a member of Congress, you want to continue being a member of Congress. Regardless your party affiliation you want to be able to get reelected. And it's a handy fact that members of Congress happen to be able to pass the laws regarding election regulations and such.

Now I'm not saying that the Democrats won't suffer losses. They won a lot of seats a few years back that originally belonged to Republicans, and odds are they'll lose a few, if not all of those. But honestly, to gain a majority in Congress, the Republicans would have to win more seats than they did in the 1994 election, to which the current election has been much compared. So again, could the Republicans take Congress back? Sure. Will they? Not likely.

Who cares about the environment?

2010-09-20T08:09:00.003-06:00

Last week I posted something about a topic we discussed in one of my classes, Evolution of Religiosity. This week again I was inspired to write about something else from discussion in that class. Climate change - and why we may not be wired to care.

If we go back about 70,000 years ago, there was a supereruption of Mt. Toba (in Sumatra, Indonesia) that was so powerful it ejected 670 cubic miles of volcanic ash (the 1980 eruption of Mt. St. Helens ejected 0.29 cubic miles of ash). Scientists conjecture that a 6 to 10 year volcanic winter followed, and that it caused a huge bottleneck in human evolution, reducing the number of breeding pairs down to somewhere between 1,000 and 10,000. So who survived?

What we know for sure is that Homo sapiens survived, and some scientists speculate that H. sapiens were able to adapt to the new climate and that Neanderthals, for example, couldn't adapt and therefore became extinct. The hominids that did survive must have been doing something right. It may be the case that the survivors of the Mt. Toba supereruption, the ones that got through the bottleneck and are the ancestors of you and me, were of the mindset that natural disasters, climate change, and huge ecological turnovers really aren't that big of a deal. This kind of thinking may or may not have directly influenced their ability to survive the volcanic winter and ensuing ecological changes, but the survivors obviously did not need to be as worried about these things as did their counterparts who perished. You and I both carry the genes of the volcanic eruption survivors, and those genes may very well not be too concerned with environmental change. The bottom line is, we may not be hardwired to care about the current climate change we experience in the world today.

Look for a future post about what evolutionary science says about how we CAN get people to care...

What is Mathematics For?

2010-09-15T16:39:00.000-06:00

A colleague gave me an interesting article the other day. Titled What is Mathematics For?, it claims that proponents of higher math education (algebra and up) are way out of line when they claim that math is useful for most people out in the world in the jobs they do. It is by Underwood Dudley and published in the May 2010 edition of the Notices of the American Mathematical Society. Maybe you'll find it interesting too.

Nintendo Marks Super Mario's Anniversary With A Commercial

2010-09-14T12:50:00.000-06:00

Nintendo Marks Super Mario's Anniversary With A Commercial

Super Mario is now 25. The little clip of the original theme song still brings joy to my heart. Many of my life long friendships were formed through playing this game, and several of those friends now live in Japan, essentially thanks to Mario's role as a cultural ambassador. Domo, Miyamoto-san.

Campus Safety

2010-09-14T10:28:00.002-06:00

With the semester in full swing and a lot of new students starting at the university, I just wanted to make a brief note about campus security. While violent crime is not a prevalent issue at UNM, theft is. A recent Daily Lobo article highlighted several recent thefts on campus, most from parked cars. So if you're planning on being on campus late at night, make sure to lock up your vehicle, and not to leave any valuables laying around. And in the interest of being safe, don't spend too much time lingering outside after dark. While the statistics for violent crime at UNM are low, it would be better if they were simply non-existent.

Child v. Chimp

2010-09-13T09:13:00.004-06:00

Researchers who are interested in the evolution of human behavior often compare our behaviors to those of chimpanzees, our closest living genetic relatives. Comparative studies such as these help us decide what makes humans so uniquely... well, human.

Click the title of this post ("Child v. Chimp") to access the link to a video of a learning experiment between a child and a chimpanzee. The gist of it is this: given an opaque puzzle box with a reward inside, both chimpanzees and children follow the directions of the demonstrator about how to open the box - even the instructions that have nothing to do with actually accessing the reward. However, when the box is transparent and it is obvious which actions need to be taken to get the reward and which ones don't, chimpanzees go straight for the reward and children continue to include the erroneous actions as well. The kids seem old enough and certainly bright enough to see that sliding the bars and tapping the box have nothing to do with getting a gummy bear - afterall even the chimp sees that - so Why does the chimp skip the BS and the child doesn't?

We talked about this video in one of my classes recently and the students came up with some interesting perspectives. Perhaps the child includes the erroneous gestures because he or she wants the approval of the experimenter, or is signaling that he or she defers to the experimenter's authority as a subordinate. Or perhaps going through the motions is not so much a sign of respect, but it may be an indication of higher level learning geared towards dealing with technology. Often we don't know how technology works, but we know we must go through a ritualized set of steps in order to get the result we want, even though it is not apparent what each of the steps is for. For example, I have no clue how my car works - but I do know that I need to insert a key into the ignition and turn it, and push the gas and break pedals if I want it to move. And I know that if I don't put gas and clean oil in it every once in a while it won't run either. There is nothing intuitive about using and maintaining a car, because you cannot see all of the moving parts and how they work together to produce motion. Using technology requires a type of learning that tacitly accepts not understanding the mechanism behind the action and result. Perhaps the child, who is probably used to using very advanced technologies and certainly doesn't understand them, is simply using the same mechanisms for learning about the puzzle box as he or she does to use the family computer.

This experiment may be evidence of the fact that humans have highly evolved, extremely complex, social interactions, and that children thus learn to navigate this social landscape using techniques such as deferral to authority. Or it may indicate our propensity to go through highly ritualized behaviors, perhaps as a by-product of our ability to use technology and all of its "unobservable" parts. There is something akin to supernatural belief about using technology. I don't know how my car works, but I do know that if I put x in I get y out, and I'm perfectly content with that. This suggests that humans may uniquely have a propensity towards supernatural beliefs as a result of the highly adaptive value of using technology. That's not to say that supernatural belief entirely or necessarily arose from using technology in human history, and it's also not to say that supernatural beliefs are false. (After all, that which cannot be detected by our natural sense, i.e. the supernatural, of course cannot be observed by science, which can rely only on the natural senses.) It merely suggests that humans' unique ability to use highly advanced technology may result in our propensity to utilize rituals that do not appear to have any practical meaning in completing tasks.

Lobo Article

2010-09-08T18:18:00.002-06:00

Dr. DeSantis pointed out this article to me last week. It's been pretty common knowledge that the faculty are generally pretty upset with the current administration, but it's interesting to see just how much.
The horrible thing is how much people at the University are affected from the bottom up. First the students have to deal with tuition and fee hikes, then the staff have to worry about being laid off, and now the rumors are that faculty might be the next ones taking pay cuts. Somehow the possibility of cutting an unneeded layer of bureaucracy off the administration is hardly ever addressed.

Very cool art posting sight

2010-09-08T14:18:00.000-06:00

This sight has the latest and greatest contemporary art from artists who are pushing the envelope.

Adventures in my White Coat

2010-09-07T11:15:00.000-06:00

For all of you who plan to go to medical school someday, check out the new blog
"Adventures in my White Coat" by recent UHP graduate Sevy Gurule.

It is in its initial stages, but it already has some wonderful firsthand perspectives on what medical school is like.

An Interesting Use of Google Maps

2010-09-07T11:14:00.000-06:00

A Google Chrome Project titled "The Wilderness Downtown" has been getting a lot of attention lately. Many of you may have seen it already, but I looked at it recently and found it to be an engaging and quite moving example of interactive digital storytelling. For those like me who have wondered what Google Maps might be used for other than Geography or travel projects, it gave me some new and interesting ideas about ways digital projects can connect to a variety of areas and lives. If you have not seen it, check it out:
The Wilderness Project

(If you don't remember your childhood address, that's OK. Just put down any address to see how it works. Also, write anything on the postcard to your younger self to get the full impact of the project's experience. It is meant to be a start-to-finish experience, rather than an explore-and-browse site)

Real invisibility threads would be fit for an emperor - tech - 28 August 2010 - New Scientist

2010-09-02T18:19:00.000-06:00

For those of us who thought The Invisible Man was just a fantastical movie idea, check out the article below on how scientists are working on making invisible threads for clothing a reality. So, what is the first thing you would do if you were wearing a head-to-toe suit of invisible threads?

Real invisibility threads would be fit for an emperor - tech - 28 August 2010 - New Scientist

Spanish Students Spend Summer in Nicaraguan Bicycle Venture - UNM Today | The University of New Mexico

2010-09-02T18:08:00.000-06:00

If you did not see the article below, this is the fun and rewarding work some of our students got to take part in this summer.

Spanish Students Spend Summer in Nicaraguan Bicycle Venture - UNM Today | The University of New Mexico

Meeting People

2010-04-07T09:21:00.002-06:00

Hey everyone. My name is Alana Hoffman and I transferred here this semester from Florida Gulf Coast University. I am a freshman pre-nursing student in the Honor's Program. I'm all for meeting new people, so if you want to hang out and talk about cool things, blog it!!!! :)

Now Introducing . . .

2010-02-10T11:03:00.002-07:00

Now introducing the Math Made Almost Bearable Podcast! As many of you know Frank Kelly, Chris Holden and I have been putting together videos for the MMAB project. Many of those videos are on this site! However, sometimes the best way (as Journey Through Genius students know) to approach math is to just talk about it! And thus was born the MMAB podcast. Two interview with Frank are up now with more to come. To subscribe via iTunes follow this link

http://itunes.apple.com/WebObjects/MZStore.woa/wa/viewPodcast?id=351462016

If you're not as big a fan of iTunes the episodes can also be viewed here

http://www.smokeandgold.com/?tag=math-made-almost-bearable

Mobile Technology Ready, Set, Go!

2010-01-27T15:17:00.004-07:00

I've been talking about the promises of mobile technology for years, but now all of a sudden, everyone else seems to see this too. But to make sure these handheld devices serve our needs and aren't simply used to reproduce the status quo, hard work and good ideas from committed people is necessary to begin rethinking how we relate to information, place, ourselves and each other. Ideas, not only code. Maybe you're one of these people. Maybe you can help.

But first a little context.

The ipad

So I'm sure you all saw the Apple news today. The ipad, anticipated since 2002, is reality. But I'm not writing about that particular device. Rather, it demonstrates how mobile technology has recently really begun to take off and change they way we relate to the world around us. I mean growing up, I never saw this kind of anticipation outside the Super Bowl or a Presidential election. Lots and lots of people have been operating at a fever pitch for months about the possible existence of this slate. And unlike the ipad's predecessors, the iphone and ipod touch, this new handheld is expected by laypeople to be used explicitly in formal educational settings. Most of this thought is from my point of view somewhat unimaginative (for reading textbooks - really? Wow! The future!), but it's important to me that the populace sees this in students' hands. That's new.

Mobile Tech in Education

Consumer electronics companies and myself are not the only ones suddenly bullish on the idea that mobile technology has a capacity to transform education. Last week, the New Media Consortium (an international not-for-profit consortium of learning-focused organizations dedicated to the exploration and use of new media and new technologies) released their 2010 Horizon report. This annual report is intended "to identify and describe emerging technologies likely to have considerable impact on teaching, learning, and creative expression within higher education," and is rather influential in the field. This year, mobile technology was foregrounded, and the message was essentially "Now is the time for mobile. Don't be left behind."

Earlier Work - Augmented Reality Games

For the past several years, along with a few other people who really felt this coming, I've been trying to design content to figure out exactly how education can take advantage of the chief affordances of mobile technology. In particular, I've been focusing on the design and implementation of what have come to be called augmented reality place-based games. In Wisconsin, we designed games for middle schoolers around local lakes and rivers that looked at issues of biological and urban ecology.

Mentira and UNM

Here at UNM, with Spanish and Portuguese professor Julie Sykes, grad students Linda Lemus and Aaron Salinger, and Language Learning Center Supervisor Derek Roff, I've designed a Spanish game, Mentira, that takes place in the Los Griegos neighborhood and is being used in Spanish 202 classes.

The game works on an ipod touch and the best thing is that we could make it without a programmer. Thanks to some open-source software built by some colleagues of mine in Wisconsin, we have at our disposal an authoring tool for place-based augmented reality games that is super easy to use. Last semester in my games class, a small group of students (Shannon Conover, John Tennison, Casey Holland, and Jenny Suen) used this tool to create a Steampunk-themed game for the rest of the class that took place on campus, and without a lot of help from me.

Your Role

So if you want to be a part of the way mobile tech changes the educational landscape, start thinking and talking. Find me. Come up with an idea for a game. Don't leave it all to Apple and Houghton Mifflin.

Introducing Cultivars!

2009-12-14T16:57:00.002-07:00

Hi all!

Well, it's been a long-time coming, but at last, here is the very first volume of Cultivars, the annual, community-wide and carbon neutral newsletter from the UHP. This newsletter features articles by and about current students, faculty, staff, and alumni in the Program!

We hope you enjoy it! And should you want to contribute anything to the 2010 issue, please come by the Honors Office, or email Jenny at honors@unm.edu

Thanks

Jenny and all the wonderful work study students in our office who made this possible!

Cleopatra

2009-12-11T15:36:00.001-07:00

Cleopatra, Queen of the Nile

By: Matt Mahboub

New York is awake around us. New York is throbbing with life. The park we sit in lies in the shadow of four buildings. It is a haven in the city, a place to escape. The trees, flowers and birds in the park live just as fully as New York, but in a different way. Yellow taxi cabs blur by, honking their horns obsessively as the birds in the old sycamore tree behind me chirp pleasantly. The dried wood of the bench beneath me scratches my legs as I adjust in my seat. I sit next to an elderly woman in a wheelchair, with my mother. People chatter around us, relaxing in the warm New York city afternoon.

“Who are you?” she says, with a smile on her face. She is always happy to meet new people.

“You’re nephew, we’re family,”

“I’m Cleopatra, Queen of the Nile,” her voice floating off as she observes the world around her.

“Nice to meet you, your highness,” I say smiling.

“Do you live here?”

“No. I’m from Albuquerque.” I respond, knowing what she is going to say next.

“Really, I have family in New Mexico, Silver City.”

“I know Aunt Cleo, remember, I’m your nephew.” I state the obvious once more.

“We’re related?” she asks innocently.

I have patience with her. She doesn’t understand. As she sits here in this park with me, she suffers from dementia, a broken leg, and ovarian cancer. She is old and dark, having lived most of her life, chasing her dreams. The dreams she had as a small child of acting in a “big city.” However, I only learn about her fanciful life through her lapses in memory, she tells me erratically when she needs to leave the park for work, or that her housekeeper didn’t work today and she needs to return to her apartment to clean. When she’s in this park, she doesn’t realize she’s 93 and living in a dreadful retirement home. Here, she is young again. She sits quietly for a moment, smiling happily just looking around at the people and the sky. Many greet her as they walk by; she returns their greetings with glee. She doesn’t recognize many of them, but she still talks to them. It isn’t until a short elderly man walks up that her confused responses change to understanding.

“Jim!” she exclaims.

“Hello Cleo,” the adoring old man says gently.

Jim Sobrino is blind, or near it. He is the one person in Cleo’s life who has been there through thick and thin. He is the one person she still recognizes; the only person significant enough in her life to remember. Though he can no longer see the details of her face, he loves her. They have been friends for a long time. At times they were more than just friends. Their story is secret. It can only be gently uncovered by the musky glances given to one another. In these short looks, words are spoken, secret and hidden, a language that only the two can understand.

“Is everything alright Tamara, Matthew?”

“Yes, we are just sitting here enjoying the afternoon” my mother responds gently.

“Has she eaten?”

We look at each other, “No.”

Jim looks at his best friend, his comrade and sternly says, “You need to eat Cleo.” I can tell it hurts him, seeing the one he loves slowly wasting away. The look on his face spills the feeling of his soul, strong, aged, yet fragile. He knows the end is soon for her, and it worries him.

“I’m not hungry,” Cleo snaps indignantly, “I’ll eat later.”

Quickly, Jim responds, “Have you eaten today?”

“Yes,” she lies like a child.

“Oh really,” Jim says with a sarcastic smile on his face.

Jim sits down next to me with a small, elderly grunt. His cologne, a thick musky fragrance burns my nose. Feeling the eyes of someone watching me, I look to Cleo. She is staring at me, smiling her whimsical smile.

“You’re so handsome.”

“Thank you,” I say a little too modestly.

“Who are you?” She is always happy to meet new people.

“You’re nephew, we’re family,” I say simply.

“I’m Cleopatra, Queen of the Nile,” her voice floating off once more, observing the world around her.

“Nice to meet you, your highness,” I say smiling

Preview Night

2009-11-19T10:11:00.001-07:00

I'm curious to know as to what everyone signed up for. What are some classes that you found especially appealing?

Be Careful on Facebook

2009-11-16T12:35:00.002-07:00

Here is a link to a very short video on BBC that interviews a Facebook employee who works on keeping bullies off of Facebook. Some of info may be helpful to avoid receiving warnings about you Facebook behavior. Some of the things they monitor may surprise you.

Beowulf-The Film

2009-10-25T12:41:00.003-06:00

The other night, as we were watching the film, a elderly man (VERY OLD) commented on the "inappropriate laughter" throughout the film. I, of course, immediately considered it to be the laughter of my classmates and I since we were the youngest in the room, however, it also made me think of something else. What makes laughter appropriate in the classroom? In your opinion, is learning really education without enjoyment? Do you believe that a student will retain more with laughter? And finally, do you think that education is the FULL experience, including the laughter in class? "All work and no play makes jack a dull boy." Let's not be an 150 year old Jack like the man in the forum.

Why am I an Honors student?

2009-10-22T23:11:00.000-06:00

While completing an assignment for my Honors Legacy class several days ago, I began to think about why exactly I decided to be a part of the Honors Program at UNM. I am sure that my reason is the same as many others: I was always an Honors student in high school and figured that I would continue with it in college. However, I never before stopped to think about why exactly I thought this way. During the aforementioned Legacy assignment, I was discussing fear and what exactly my fears are. I realized that one of my biggest fears, probably the biggest fear, is that of failure. Failure in life in general. I am absolutely terrified of not completing the 4-year plan that I recently made myself to complete my double major and minor. This may just sound like me tooting my own horn, but it is the exact opposite. The reason that I try to do so much, take the hard classes, and do things like join the Honors Program is because I want to make sure that I do everything possible to accomplish my dreams. Now, I just have to learn that joining clubs, taking the hard classes, and signing up for the Honors program is simply not enough. By doing those things I was passively pursuing my dreams. It's time to become active and make sure that I do not let another day slip by without doing everything possible to make my life what I want it to be. And I encourage all of you to do the very same.

To everyone who has ever wanted to run a marathon

2009-10-22T19:08:00.002-06:00

Follow the link this documentary called "Spirit of the Marathon" on Hulu. If the link does not work then go directly to hulu and search for the film. This is an excellent and very inspirational documentary that proves anyone can run this amazing race! A must see for all fans of sports and the human spirit.

I Dare You...

2009-10-22T03:54:00.002-06:00

In the interest of keeping this blog at least semi-academic, I dare you to explain your wildest midterm (or exam) moment! I know, I know, this sounds a bit odd. But just roll with it for a little while. I am currently sitting up, at 4:00am after studying for not only the entire day and night, but the past week at least! This is ABSOLUTELY ridiculous and I need some inspiration to keep me going in the future.

Staying true to my nature as a college student, I am sitting here thinking of the things I want to to in order to avoid what I need to do (which is obviously to continue studying). So I ask you to share your 1) Most hilarious midterm moment (like turning a study session into a gossiping session like I did with the lovely and talented Co-President, Jessica Mazzie, just the other day), 2) your most terrifying midterm moment (like forgetting the test was tomorrow or studying the wrong chapters, etc.), or 3) your most outrageous midterm experience (like locking your keys in your car while picking up a redbull right before the exam)! All of these would be in the very least interesting to read, especially coming from the Honors crowd.

I can honestly say from experience, while we may be the best at what we do academically, sometimes you just can't fight the truth that we too do some pretty childish/odd/funny/moronic (yeah I said it) things.

I wonder which of us will have the best story?!

- Christopher Hicks

Coffee...

2009-10-16T23:45:00.002-06:00

I scoured the kitchen…looking for caffeine. A preliminary search revealed little hope. Soda, which I’ve had too much of in my life (trying to cut back, you see) is out. Tea, which is good for morning, but not so much for certain metabolisms in which the caffeine might not affect the system in the same manner in the midst of altered mindsets (i.e. Sleep Deprivation) of certain people (me), is out as well. This left… coffee. Mmmm… coffee… Knowing how tired I was earlier, and knowing my fourth (or is it fifth?) wind would give out any second… I tried a mixture…

As with most things coming from a kitchen at two in the morning, the aroma, while pleasing, left an awful aftertaste and stained my teeth. This was the strong stuff. Albeit mixing brewed coffee and instant coffee might seem, well, redundant, it was two in the morning and I was already suffering from sleep deprivation. as stated earlier. I tend to repeat myself in such dire times. I tend to repeat myself in such dire times. The substance made my teeth itch, and made my insides turn an awful color I’m sure. I tried to pour some cream into the… well, I dunno what to call it. Anyway, the darkness existing in this already shaking mug (or is that my arm?) enveloped the cream quickly - never to be seen again. I took a sip and it reminded me of fishing with some buddies from work. It was early and the sugar was at the bottom of the supply box and, afraid to look like a sissy, I settled for a dab of creamer in my coffee and was able to hold it down. Consequently that’s the same trip in which I learned to appreciate the amphetamine affects of pure percolated black coffee. Back to tonight. I barely suppressed my gag reflex for several reasons, one, I need the caffeine to set in, but mostly because I was afraid of the vomit - the taste, the smell, I wondered about the color as well. You would understand if you saw that coffee.

After the first mug, my arm wasn’t shaking any more, just the rest of my body. And the room. Probably the world, too. A wolf howled in the distance. I offered some coffee to the man standing next to me, before I realized that it wasn’t a person, but a manifestation of my spirit outside my body, taking refuge from the ill effects. That is, the vomiting. He took some anyway though, and then he promptly rushed to the bathroom. I wasn’t distraught, mostly because I knew I didn’t need a soul to write my English paper. The world stopped shaking, and an evil spirit rose from the cup and forced me to add butterscotch chips to what I can only assume is now a living mixture. It also possessed my body to force a cup of butterscotch pitch black slightly creamed instewed (instant + brewed) coffee down my piehole. I wondered where the word piehole came from when I regained control of most of my bodily functions; however I was still unable to stop my heart. Amazingly, at this point my gag reflex gave way and as a courtesy to the readers at home, or really, wherever you are, I will omit this…colorful description of my… pitch black… uncontrollable… projectile… nevermind.

The world gave up shaking altogether and decided to spin instead. I sat down, and poured whatever was left down the drain. Dad says the plumbers will be out on Tuesday and until then we’ll need to go to other places for running water and bathroom privileges. Also he said the drains have never been cleaner. He inquired about the butterscotch chips and I admitted dairy related addiction, and I go to a group on Friday. The English paper isn’t written, and this paper you are reading now (or that is being read to you) represents a quality thirty minutes of procrastination. My spleen is singing Irish drinking songs that I’ve never heard of and my stomach still refuses consolation. An MRI would surely reveal black spots along major blood lines and important organs, and I am neither surprised nor distraught, because those are merely aftereffects of said coffee and I’m sure they’ll wear off promptly after death. Even if they do match my shoes. My eyeballs philosophize about colors and higher meaning when my ears get involved. Tensions are only stressed when they take sides and once again my teeth are forced to mediate. As with most debates, things get political and my ears fire-bomb my eyes, resulting in bloodshot…ness. My nose has yet to forgive me for other reasons. I’m shaking again but only because it’s cold, and the letters on this paper are fighting with odd Yiddish weaponry. Mostly Throwing Stars of David. My bed welcomed me as a weary traveler welcomes cacti. Slowly fading into unconsciousness, I realized that sleep was impossible and remembered my English paper. I was suddenly aware that I hadn’t blinked in an hour and a half and I realized that I was hungry. I lazily walked to the kitchen, and evaluated my options. After ten minutes of this, I decided to experiment.

As with most things coming from the kitchen at two-thirty in the morning…

Trick or Treat: Halloween '09

2009-10-12T21:38:00.003-06:00

Hello fellow UHP students/faculty!

I was just sitting here wondering what I should be for Halloween. It is my absolute favorite holiday, if only for the fact that more horror flicks are on, and everyone gets to dress up in terrifyingly outrageous costumes. So to get to the point, does anyone have any great costume ideas or like to share what they will be dressing up as this year?

Finding a costume for a guy is difficult because the only real male costumes I have found are ridiculous. They are all along the lines of some hefty version of a normal costume, something extremely perverse, or just plain stupid. And as far as female costumes go, they are generally all the same (a skimpy version of a well-known character, etc.).

Why is it SO difficult to find a good costume?! I guess I could always make a costume, but that is where all of you come in. I need the ideas in order to choose the perfect one. So please, share your ideas on future or past costumes, and hopefully in your attempt to help me, you can gain some insight as well.

Thanks :)

Short on Reading?

2009-10-05T13:32:00.004-06:00

"Short on Reading" is a new Noticias weekly feature that former Uber-Editor Molly Sroges writes every week. While I don't always have time to read the books Molly suggests, I do love reading her reviews!

"Short on Reading" by Molly Sroges

Life of Pi by Yann Martel
By now, there is a good chance you're familiar with Yann Martel's Life of Pi: a young boy stuck in a lifeboat in the middle of the Pacific Ocean with a tiger. I will tell you something else: Pi has three religions, and that's why I opened the book. By the time I closed it, it had found its place among my favorites. I have heard others argue that it drags, it's unbelievable, and it's just downright weird, but you have to try it for yourself before you can criticize it. A bit of advice if you do pick it up: read the Author's Note at the beginning. It's more of a prologue really.

It's the book for you if... you dare to believe in God.

Thoughts from the Scholars Wing: Noticias in the Blogosphere

2009-10-02T21:29:00.003-06:00

Hello! My name is Andrea Schoeny and I am the Uber-Editor of Noticias, the weekly newsletter of the Scholars Wing, the Honors residence in Hokona Hall. I have been asked to share snippits of our newsletter with you, and am happy to do so. I'll try to post as often as I can. Enjoy!

Goodbye to the Fireflies by Ioan Belovarski
Birds call onward in the evening sky –
Their flutter of wings, a faintest goodbye –
As blue sky recedes to the natural black
And night embarks on its fated track

And all the while I look out dead –
There’s little left in my emptied head –
But I see the moon make its steady rise
Midst the quiet buzz of the fireflies

Thus one thought springs in my reverie –
It’s not something I would wish to see –
I simply cannot help but wonder at why
I choose to live and not just to die

When everything tells me there’s no more light –
The future’s not clear, but it’s also not bright –
Should I even bother to continue my stay
And fade as fireflies do in the day?

Interesting video about modern education

2009-09-30T11:20:00.000-06:00

Interesting video about how quickly our world is changing--

When I graduate I will have a job that doesn't exist today

The Age of Stupid

2009-09-28T12:14:00.002-06:00

I attended the "Age of Stupid" global premier on September 21st with 32 countries around the world participating. This is a 2009 film by Franny Armstrong, director and Lizzie Gillett, producer with Peter Postlethwaite starring as a man living alone in the devasted world of 2055, watching archive footage from 2008 and asking "Why didn't we stop climate change when we had the chance?"

What stood out for me was the comment that WE (adults living in 2009) have the ever-narrowing chance to save the planet from global warming. Armstong points to grassroots initiatives that have led to major changes: the US civil rights movement, anti-Vietnam War protests, investment boycotts that helped unravel South Africa's apartheid regime--so we can get involved and make a difference now, too.

Science is clear on what needs to be done--keep global temperatures from rising more than 3.6 degrees Fahrenheit compared to pre-industrial times, and make sure greenhouse gas emissions peak no later than 2015. World leaders will be meeting in Copenhagen in December. So our job is two-fold: contact our US leaders so that Copenhagen does not become another Kyoto and (2) reduce our carbon footprint (carbonfootprint.com/calculator). I produce 55 tons of CO2 annually --what about you? Dr. O

100 Awesome Open Courses for Those Who Want to Change the World

2009-09-24T18:54:00.000-06:00

Check out the courses on the list from "Select Courses: It is never too late to learn." The list is divided into nine sections spanning topics from health to environmental science to engineering, politics, religion, and education. Some amazing ideas for courses and topics to pursue.

100 Awesome Open Courses for Those Who Want to Change the World

Fraternities and Sororities

2009-09-18T11:28:00.003-06:00

I was pondering on the issue of fraternities and sororities and how they seem to have a bad reputation; I would like to know (based on facts and data) the reasons why they have such a bad image? Some say all they do is drink and party, and that you pay for the friends you have. However, from the people that are part of fraternities and sororities I have been exposed to a completely different side of the story. Yes, they admit they like to have a good time, but doesn't everyone else outside of them too? They have stated to me multiple times that they are men of commitment, respect, integrity, and the like, but nonetheless they are still college students. I think these groups get stereotyped horribly, mainly due to the media, but from what I've been witness to, these guys and girls seem to be just like any other student, but having more of a social life. Can anyone tell me, based on cold facts, why they are viewed as "partiers", "drinkers", etc?

Mac users can be very strange

2009-09-15T15:30:00.002-06:00

This documentary is funny, strange, historical, cult-like, and bizzare. It tracks the strange cult behavior that emerged and survived decades from the birth of Mac computers. Some people are way too into their computers don't ya think?

Robby Ortiz
Peer Advisor

A Preview Night Debate

2009-09-14T10:49:00.003-06:00

One, two, three, four: I declare a debate war!

Other Honors Colleges across the U.S. who also have Banner are experimenting with year-long scheduling, meaning that each March (for example) students register for their Fall, Summer AND Spring classes.

So this post is two-pronged. Presidents and Provosts at these campuses say it will help them provide better course offerings (more of what students want) and more sections of what students need. To me, it feelsl ike going into the grocery store and buying everything I'll need for the next year for which the store manager will then make better selections for when I come back (in 365 days)...but if what I need is not one shelf, how would I ever buy it? So I'm curious if UNM ever moved in this direction (and I'm not saying we will as UNM tends to do things differently from the rest of the country), would this be helpful to anyone making their schedules?

My other thought directly relates to Honors on a year-long schedule. Every semester we have Preview Night so that students and faculty can come together as a community and get a look ahead at the next semester's courses. It takes about 2 hours to go through 1 semester of courses (with each teacher speaking for a max of 2 minutes!). So if we were on a year-long schedule, we could then presume Preview Night would take 4-5 hours!!! Holy Cow! Thus I open up the topic of Preview Night for a fun hypothetical debate. If you, the UHP student reading this post, were the new "Dr. O-director" of Honors, what would you do with Preview Night? Put teacher presentations online for students to watch whenever? Do away with it completely? Span it over 2 days? This is all hypothetical. Pretend there are no limits to technology or money.

Senior Exit Packets Are Now Available Online

2009-09-10T11:10:00.002-06:00

Honors students who are graduating in December now have the opportunity to download the senior exit packet from the Honors website. Just click on the "Senior Exit Packet" link and you will be able to download the packet as a Word document.

A senior exit packet is required for all graduating Honors students who wish to receive a designation of Summa, Magna, or Cum Laude. If you are not sure whether or not you qualify to graduate with Honors, take a look at the Student Handbook on our website to review the graduation requirements.

Packets are due in the UHP main office (Rm 21) by Friday, November 6th at 5 pm.

Please be aware that the senior packet consists of several pages and requires a meaningful reflection of your experience in the Honors Program. It will be to your advantage to start this packet EARLY in order to complete all requirements by the deadline. If you have any questions, feel free to call 277-4211 or e-mail honors@unm.edu

Antonio’s Gun and Delfino’s Dream

2009-09-06T21:39:00.000-06:00

UNM's Provost chose Antonio’s Gun and Delfino’s Dream by acclaimed Los Angeles Times journalist Sam Quinones as this summer's inaugural work for the Lobo Reading Experience, a summer reading program for UNM Freshmen. So, who read this book over the summer? What did you think about it? What did you think was most successful about the book? Least successful? Was it a good selection for UNM students? Why or why not?

Literature-- Why do we bother?

2009-09-06T21:36:00.000-06:00

Not that I don't love Frank's math videos, but it seems time to get some discussion going about non-math topics. So, what about literature? Why do we bother with it? What makes a classic a classic? And why should we read classics at all?

One of my students recently raised this issue and I believe it is an important one-- central in fact to the role of humanities education in this century. Most "great" literature is so far removed from our lives in the 21st century as to be almost in another galaxy. Those of us who teach literature talk about relating it to our students' lives and those students may even tell us that they learned a lot from a text they read. But what do we actually learn about our own lives when we read "classics"? Why is it "good for us" to read such literature? Why does having that kind of background still make people consider us more educated?

In other words, what would we actually lose out on, if we just started studying and/or teaching books we enjoy rather than those works that others have stamped as works of great literature? How many of us actually enjoy the classics and would pick them up to read on our own, without being required to read them for a class assignment? To get specific here, how many of you read Shakespeare before you go to sleep or on a plane trip? Beowulf? Steinbeck, maybe?

Math Made Almost Bearable: Statistics (Made Almost Bearable)

2009-09-06T15:55:00.001-06:00

In this episode of Math Made Almost Bearable Frank Kelly explains some of the mathematical AND philosophical techniques employed by statisticians in order to make statistics almost bearable!

Math Made Almost Bearable: Why 30?

2009-08-26T08:55:00.001-06:00

In a previous episode of MMAB Frank mentioned that in statistics, 30 is considered a "large" sample size. In this episode of Math Made Almost Bearable Frank will explain the mystery behind the number 30 as it pertains to statistics and will also reveal one of math's dirty little secrets!

Math Made Almost Bearable: The Birthday Problem

2009-08-26T08:50:00.001-06:00

The human population on the earth is increasing at what could seem like an alarming rate. Many people would say that if the population continues to increase that this rate that the earth will not be able to support human life for much longer! In this episode of Math Made Almost Bearable Frank examines these and similar claims about population growth and shows that things are not always what they seem!

Math Made Almost Bearable: Population Growth

2009-08-26T08:46:00.001-06:00

Travel Abroad

2009-07-21T12:24:00.003-06:00

I know there are others who took advantage of the opportunity to travel this summer. I think it would be nice to explore and reflect with one another on the experiences and insights gained. What did you expect from your trip? Did it surprise you? Were you able to broaden your outlook on life? Why so, and in what ways? Really the topics within this discussion could be endless...

Math Made Almost Bearable: President Garfield's Proof of the Pythagorean Theorem

2009-06-30T15:12:00.001-06:00

Name the New Laptops

2009-06-30T09:13:00.001-06:00

Name the New Laptops Conest! The UHP just lucked out and acquired 4 new mini-laptops for our classrooms, but they need names. Our current laptops are Micaelangelo, Leonard, Donatello & Raphael, while our wifi routers are Jubilee, Rogue & Storm. Make your entry here or on facebook. Anyone can play. Be creative. An independent panel will vote on 7/31. Happy naming and good luck!

Antonio’s Gun and Delfino’s Dream

2009-06-25T12:19:00.002-06:00

UNM's Provost chose Antonio’s Gun and Delfino’s Dream by acclaimed Los Angeles Times journalist Sam Quinones as this summer's inaugural work for the Lobo Reading Experience, a summer reading program for UNM Freshmen. Antonio’s Gun and Delfino’s Dream is recommended (not required) reading for freshmen enrolling at UNM in the fall of 2009. The book will be used in numerous discussion groups and selected class assignments early in the semester, and a further series of events is being planned around a visit by the author later in the term.

So, has anyone in the Honors community (not only freshmen) yet read this book? If so, what did you think about it? Was it a good selection for UNM students? What did you think was most successful about the book? Least successful?

Math Made Almost Bearable: Episode 3: President Garfield's Proof of the Pythagorean Theorem part 1

2009-06-11T00:48:00.004-06:00

In this episode, Frank discusses the first half of president Garfield's proof the of the pythagorean Theorem.

Math Made Almost Bearable: Episode 2: Math as a Performance Art

2009-05-02T01:05:00.000-06:00

In this episode I sit down with Frank Kelly to discuss what it means for math to be considered as an art, namely a performing art. Don't worry though! on the next episode we'll be right back to PERFORMING math for you as in episode one!

Math Made Almost Bearable: Episode 1: Fractions and Repeating Decimals

2009-05-02T01:04:00.001-06:00

This is the first in a series called “Math Made Almost Bearable” One of my favorite professors, Dr. Frank Kelly and I are collaborating on this little project. The goal is simply to present short, interesting and intriguing facts about math in an approachable and engaging way. This first episode is called “Fractions and Repeating Decimals”.

Explore Latin America

2009-04-15T19:29:00.002-06:00

Explore Latin America with all your senses taking one (or two) of these
courses on Latin America offered in the Fall 09:

- "Drums and Dreams of Liberation: Latin American Music as Text"

To experience this class before you take it go to:

http://www.tangoingreen.tucampus.org
Username: student 09
Password: honors09

And/Or

- The Magic and the "Reel": Literature and History in Latin American
Cinema, with student teacher Katya Hafich

More about this class at:

http://www.unm.edu%2F%7Ehonors%2Fseminars_llevel.html

Combatting the Cost of Texts

2009-04-10T14:14:00.001-06:00

In response to current economic spasms, Dr. Otero has asked that all UHP instructors try to keep the cost of books down to $50 per course or less. This means that we will be relying more on other ways to access texts, including E-Reserves and hardcopies of course readers which can be purchased through the UHP office. Jenny has also suggested that we might even provide course readers on disk, which would be cheaper than paper versions. (Incidentally, the UHP does not profit from these readers—you are charged only what it costs to produce them.) In the case of E-Reserve documents, students need not even pay directly for printing out the readings if they use the main university computer pods. (Of course, in this case, your student fees help defray the cost of paper and ink, so technically, this isn’t entirely free.)

My question, then, is this: given a choice, would you prefer E-Reserves, hardcopies of readers, or copies of readers provided on disk? So far in my two classes, students have overwhelmingly voiced a preference for E-Reserves, but some are interested in the disk option. Let us know what you think by commenting here; your preferences will definitely influence the choices many of us make about how we help you access texts for classes.

The Spirit of Debate

2009-04-03T09:52:00.003-06:00

I had my exit interview with Leslie Donovan yesterday, she asked me some questions about the strengths and weaknesses of the Honors Department that got me thinking. I feel that the open discussion of ideas between people in different disciplines, with different interests and perspectives on the world is the great strength of the department and what we call our 'interdisciplinary approach'. I hope that anyone who has taken an honors class knows by now that this does not mean we always have to agree, or that if other people don't agree with our views at the end of class that we have failed. This type of communication is important and unique because it helps us to put our own views in a larger perspective, and it helps both (or all) parties come away having gained insight into their own views and the views of others. What helps to foster this spirit of debate helps the program; what keeps people's views insular and narrow hurts the program. In the spirit of constructive debate, I would like to share a great essay written by Paul Graham entitled "How to Disagree." It is a great crash course on rules of argument, and how (and why) to attack the argument and not the person making it. He has many other great essays, which I would recommend if you have time: The Age of the Essay, Hackers and Painters, Copy What You Like, Microsoft is Dead, Holding a Program in One's Head, Keep Your Identity Small, and Cities and Ambition are all good places to start. Feel free to comment with ideas or inspiration from other great debaters.

Max...

Economics and Finances

2009-04-01T18:04:00.000-06:00

Since Michael Thomas will be talking at this Friday's IDEX about what the current financial crisis might mean for college students, let's start talking about it here. What has the current economic crisis meant for you?

I know I am consciously cutting back where I can and worrying more when I have to use my credit card for something. Stock that I had counted on as my emergency fund has gone so far down that it would no longer fund any emergency. So, there goes all of my savings/emergency funds. Other than these, I'm holding up OK.

But, what about you? Has the current state of the economy affected you much at this point or not?

A New Honors Seminar

2009-03-26T09:26:00.003-06:00

Well, Friday is the workshop for Senior Teachers, as well as the info-session for would-be senior teachers, and this has me thinking: If I were going to propose an Honors seminar, what would it be?

Working Title: Time Travel and the Angst of Humanity
Time travel pervades our literature, our cinema, our music, our art, and our fantasies. As a reader, writer, and movie fanatic, I find I have an insatiable appetite for this particular topic. Judging by the extraordinary popularity of so many time travel books and movies, I am inclined to think I'm not the only one. In class we could feed our imagination on sumptuous texts like Twain's A Connecticut Yankee in King Arthur's Court, Dickens' A Christmas Carol, H.G. Wells' The Time Machine, L'Engle's A Wrinkle in Time, Clarke's Time's Arrow, Rafferty's Rainbird, and so many other amazing authors like Ursula K. Le Guin, L. Sprague de Camp, John Kessel, Connie Willis; on and on the list goes. We could gorge on discussions about the physics and mathematics of time travel theory: from wormholes to cosmic strings; from special relativity to the speed of light. We might snack on the theories of Stephen Hawking and Carl Sagan. We could nibble the current research and actual experiments conducted by experts like Lijun Wang or Günter Nimtz. And most importantly, we should indulge our hungry eyes with the wonders of films like Back to the Future, Groundhog Day, Somewhere in Time, A Sound of Thunder, Bill and Ted's Excellent Adventure, Flight of the Navigator, The Philidelphia Experiment, Les Visiteurs (my all-time favorite and all-time-awful Jean Reno movie), or Planet of the Apes, La Jetée, Time After Time, and Primer. Our futuristic feast would not be complete with TV series like "Buck Rogers," "Dr. Who," "Land of the Lost," "Quantum Leap," "Futurama," which deal exclusively with time travel, and others like “The Simpsons,” which just dabble in its possibilities. And for dessert, we must have Star Trek and Star Wars!
Whether we move forwards or backwards, by centuries or by seconds, time travel is a means of releasing the angst of mankind; our preoccupation with consequences; our yearning for lost eras; and our desire to know the unknown.
What else would you add to this time-travel banquet? What class would you teach?

Feedback for UHP

2009-03-25T11:28:00.001-06:00

In addition to giving us a place to share ideas and learn from each other, we hope this blog will also provide a place for input and feedback about what UHP is doing and how well it is working. So, please notice the poll to the right side of the page asking about the Legacy experience. Any other ideas for future polls?

Honors has Wireless?

2009-03-15T20:16:00.004-06:00

One of the things that bugged me most when I got here is the spotty (i.e. non-existent) wireless coverage here in the basement of the Student Health Center. We've been told that we're on a list at ITS to get a wireless transceiver in the forum, but that list is apparently long. Even when we do get wireless, from the Forum there's no guarantee it will reach back down the hall, say to Scribendi and the eastern most classrooms. For a time, I was making due by dragging a portable router with me to class each day, but that got old fast. Jenny and I at least have been chomping at the bit to do something about this, and we recently spotted some cheap wireless routers online. They were easy to set up, but harder to name.
Now we have three access points: Storm, Rogue, and Jubilee (well Jubilee's with me right now, but she'll be back later today). These should provide wireless coverage to our Forum, halls, and classrooms. So if you're setting up a laptop for presentations, hopefully this means one less wire for you to connect, and if you've got your laptop for anything else, the entire distracting and information filled intertubes should be at your fingertips.

If you have suggestions for names, we're shooting for a natural trio (I left out Jean Grey on purpose) of powerful women.

Thinking about my relationships with feeds

2009-03-13T07:57:00.004-06:00

It wasn't so long ago that I began reading and using feeds (rss, atom), but today I see that feeds have totally changed the way I interact with the internet. For anyone who doesn't know the first thing about feeds, this short video from produced by Commoncraft and part of the 'in plain english' series should be of help.
For those of you who want the gist of a three-minute video without watching it, feeds take the old direction of internet reading:
me------>favorite sites
and reverse it:
me<------favorite sites.
I notice this simple reversal the most in how it has enabled me at long last to experience the joy/boredom/frustration/routine I had always noticed among my parents and others as they habitually worked through the morning paper. Sometimes the experience is relaxing, a gentle introduction to the day, think a cup of coffee and warm sunbeams streaming through the kitchen window. Sometimes you just don't have time to get around to reading and the experience breeds a certain kind of guilt as you see events piling up on your table. But the basic and overriding similarity is that news (or comics, or classifieds, or whatever) come to you.

If you still think of blogs (or whatever other word you might apply to periodic content delivered on the internet) as a hinterland, this is not the time or place for me to convince you of their importance and ubiquity, evan and especially compared to only four years ago. But I won't leave you empty handed. The Pew Research Center and Technocrati keep track of some of the raw numbers, and the same outfit that produced the above video also produced this little gem, another three-minute introduction, this time to blogs.
Getting back on topic, the main difference between my day-to-day experience with feeds as compared to 'reading the newspaper' is that this new newspaper is infinitely customizable, in both content and form. I can constantly choose what it is I'm reading, who it's coming from, how much of it I see at once, the medium in which it's presented, etc., etc.. The second difference is that even though the main arrow of interaction is:
me<------favorite sites
reading feeds is not a passive, one way street. Any item is an invitation to discussion in either the original context of creation (e.g. a comment feed attached to a blog post) or among any of the other distributed communities on the internet to which I belong. The extent of intercommunicative affordances of feed readers or aggregators (the user-side tech that does the work of presenting the content you subscribe to) themselves increases at an incredible pace. Just yesterday, my main reader Google Reader implemented a more robust method of holding these conversations. It's as if the newspaper included the watercooler as well.

Summer Reading for Entering Freshmen

2009-03-12T19:23:00.003-06:00

UNM is considering choosing one book each year that they ask entering freshmen to read over the summer before starting classes in the fall. The idea is to give students some common ground to discuss and then be able to connect with each other about. As the Provost's memo explains "The basic concept is a recommended summer reading for all new students, the goal of which is to foster a common experience that will help develop a sense of community with their new environment and introduce them to a part of the academic life they are beginning." Books other institutions have used for such programs include:
Ehrenreich, Nickel and Dimed in America
Levitt and Dubner, Freakonomics
Suskind, A Hope in the Unseen
Kolbert, Field Notes from a Catastrophe
Hosseini, The Kite Runner
Prejean, The Death of Innocents
Salzman, Iron and Silk
Hakakian, Journey from the Land of No
Kidder, Mountains beyond Mountains
Urrea, The Devil's Highway

For a memo about this Lobo Reading Experience program, follow this link.

What do you think? Would this be a good idea? What other books might you suggest for such reading?

DNA and Due Process

2009-03-03T08:34:00.007-07:00

My friends will tell you that I love a good legal debate (even though I am not a law school grad). I love the intricacies of the arguments, the evaluation of evidence, and the importance of precedence. I also love the sound and rhythm of words like "jurisprudence," "preponderance of evidence," "substantive vs procedural," "pejorative meanings," and “penumbras of interpretation.”

Yesterday evening, while stuck in the usual, bad traffic along Alameda, I was delighted to hear a reading of the transcripts from a recent Supreme Court case on NPR. The case involves William Osborne of Alaska who, in 1993, was convicted of raping and beating a prostitute. Prosecutors did use DNA evidence, but the methods of DNA testing 16 years ago were only about as good as a blood test. DNA testing now is so accurate, that the odds of two unrelated people sharing the same DNA are one in several trillion, explained NPR judicial correspondent Nina Totenberg. As such, Osborne sought a federal appeal to have evidence from his trial tested under new methods and compared with his DNA. The federal appeals court ruled in Osborne's favor but the State of Alaska has now appealed this ruling to the Supreme Court. Does the State of Alaska not think that DNA evidence is reliable? Do they not trust it? No, they trust it. But the state of Alaska contends that Osborne was given a fair trial and given access to DNA testing available at the time. Not only that, but his victim identified him, and he also admitted guilt before a Parole Board in 2007. All of his deadlines for appeals have expired and essentially Osborne has exhausted all of his options under due process of the law. And that granting this post-conviction examination of evidence would place an undue financial burden on the state if other convicts were allowed to apply for the same process and essentially “game” the system.

To hear what I heard on NPR: http://www.npr.org/templates/player/mediaPlayer.html?action=1&t=1&islist=false&id=101277033&m=101329681

So, by the time this report has ended, my car was still creeping along between 4th Street and Rio Grande. With time to kill, I began to wonder: what’s really at stake? Alaska is among 6 states in the U.S. that does not allow convicts to access DNA testing AFTER a conviction has been made. But why not? Doesn't the Constitution guarantee all citizens the right to confront and cross examine evidence and witnesses brought against them? Yes, it does under a little clause called due process in both the 5th and 14th Amendments. No person shall be…deprived of life, liberty, or property without due process of the law. But Alaska feels they gave Osborne due process. Essentially, they are worried about the finality of criminal proceedings. And that makes sense because if convictions are not final, then defendants can file an unlimited number of appeals, thereby backlogging the courts. I agree we definitely do not want that to happen, because then all citizens might lose access to the judicial process to which they are entitled. On the other hand, the due process clause does not invoke a time-frame. And in the end, due process ultimately obligates the courts to establish guilt or INNOCENCE based on evidence. DNA testing serves simultaneous roles: to release the innocent (wrongly convicted) AND to capture the guilty. There are some 232 recent cases which have been overturned thanks to re-examination of DNA evidence, as well as the case of Ronald Cotton, who was exonerated of rape 11 years after his conviction. The victim in that case identified Cotton and was more than 100% sure she had accused the right man. DNA evidence showed her real attacker was actually a man named Bobby Poole, who looked somewhat similar to Cotton. If modern DNA testing had been around when Ronald Cotton was arrested, then Poole would not have been able to roam free for 11 years committing six more rapes. If Osborne is innocent, then who has been roaming free the last 16 years?

In the end, the question I am left to grapple with (until the Supreme Court rules on this case) is the same question Justice Kennedy posed: Do you think there is a right to establish innocence based on new evidence after conviction? Lawyers for the State of Alaska ultimately responded that they did not believe there was any such Constitutional right, but I’m not sure I agree. I do open this question up to debate here.