Difference between revisions of "Alan Kay: Big Ideas are Sometimes Powerful Ideas"

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<subtitle id="0:0:24">so we</subtitle>
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<subtitle id="0:0:27"> actually are dealing with an  academic hour here</subtitle>
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<subtitle id="0:0:30"> and be fitting with  our school setting</subtitle>
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<subtitle id="0:0:33"> marvin minsky once  said school was the greatest</subtitle>
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<subtitle id="0:0:36"> invention  anybody ever came up with to keep</subtitle>
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<subtitle id="0:0:39"> you  from staying interested on anything for  any reasonable</subtitle>
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<subtitle id="0:0:42"> length of time because of  course</subtitle>
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<subtitle id="0:0:45"> it has all these schedules in  assembly line movements</subtitle>
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<subtitle id="0:0:48"> and we have one  of those today and</subtitle>
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<subtitle id="0:0:51"> I also wanted to  leave time for</subtitle>
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<subtitle id="0:0:54"> questions but one of the  ways I want to leave time</subtitle>
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<subtitle id="0:0:57"> for questions  is to encourage you to ask questions as  I</subtitle>
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<subtitle id="0:1:0"> talk so I have no idea how long this</subtitle>
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<subtitle id="0:1:3">  talk is and I am going to stop after</subtitle>
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<subtitle id="0:1:6"> 50  minutes and regardless of what what</subtitle>
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<subtitle id="0:1:9">  happened so please don't be</subtitle>
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<subtitle id="0:1:12"> shy ask  questions as we go if</subtitle>
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<subtitle id="0:1:15"> you like and  because this talk is</subtitle>
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<subtitle id="0:1:18"> not for me but for  you</subtitle>
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<subtitle id="0:1:21"> so it's</subtitle>
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<subtitle id="0:1:24"> in a series of ideas which  are</subtitle>
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<subtitle id="0:1:27"> somewhat connected I hope so</subtitle>
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<subtitle id="0:1:30"> one  contrast</subtitle>
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<subtitle id="0:1:33"> I'd like you to think about is  the notion beach of</subtitle>
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<subtitle id="0:1:36"> common sense that</subtitle>
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<subtitle id="0:1:39">  most people take</subtitle>
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<subtitle id="0:1:42"> the world around them  as reality I</subtitle>
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<subtitle id="0:1:45"> once came up with</subtitle>
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<subtitle id="0:1:48">at said technology is anything that  happened after</subtitle>
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<subtitle id="0:1:51"> you were born because</subtitle>
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<subtitle id="0:1:54"> the  technology that you're born into is</subtitle>
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<subtitle id="0:1:57">part of your world and it's taken to be  normal there and most</subtitle>
 +
 +
<subtitle id="0:2:0">internet Prince the Internet is one of  the great inventions</subtitle>
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<subtitle id="0:2:3"> of all time not the  web but the internet itself</subtitle>
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<subtitle id="0:2:6"> one of the  great maybe one of the greatest  engineering</subtitle>
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<subtitle id="0:2:9"> feats of all time and</subtitle>
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<subtitle id="0:2:12"> it  worked so well that hardly</subtitle>
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<subtitle id="0:2:15"> anybody  appreciates it particularly</subtitle>
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<subtitle id="0:2:18"> in computing  where they should pay more attention to  why</subtitle>
 +
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<subtitle id="0:2:21"> it works so well so here's a</subtitle>
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<subtitle id="0:2:24">  common-sense deduction that</subtitle>
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<subtitle id="0:2:27"> has been  made by most</subtitle>
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<subtitle id="0:2:30"> people on the planet for  the slightly less</subtitle>
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<subtitle id="0:2:33"> than 200,000 years  modern humans have been here</subtitle>
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<subtitle id="0:2:36"> and that is  something like a king</subtitle>
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<subtitle id="0:2:39">  natural and normal</subtitle>
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<subtitle id="0:2:42"> extension of the head  of the family</subtitle>
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<subtitle id="0:2:45"> hunted leaders</subtitle>
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<subtitle id="0:2:48"> of hunting  groups and etc etcetera so</subtitle>
 +
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<subtitle id="0:2:51"> this is just  regarded as common sense</subtitle>
 +
 +
<subtitle id="0:2:54"> and in fact was  not regarded as it as an idea</subtitle>
 +
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<subtitle id="0:2:57"> it was  just part of the part of the world that  people</subtitle>
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<subtitle id="0:3:0"> lived in then in</subtitle>
 +
 +
<subtitle id="0:3:3"> January 1776  Thomas Paine</subtitle>
 +
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<subtitle id="0:3:6"> wrote a book which he  ironically titled common</subtitle>
 +
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<subtitle id="0:3:9"> sense everybody  here has heard of Tom Paine's Common  Sense</subtitle>
 +
 +
<subtitle id="0:3:12"></subtitle>
 +
 +
<subtitle id="0:3:15"> but he had a big idea in it which</subtitle>
 +
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<subtitle id="0:3:18">  was instead of having the King be</subtitle>
 +
 +
<subtitle id="0:3:21"> the  law we can have the law be the king and</subtitle>
 +
 +
<subtitle id="0:3:24">what he meant was we can design a much  better society</subtitle>
 +
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<subtitle id="0:3:27"> than the what the natural</subtitle>
 +
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<subtitle id="0:3:30">  seeming hereditary monarchy as we can  take our</subtitle>
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<subtitle id="0:3:33"> future into our own hands we  can come up with a better plan</subtitle>
 +
 +
<subtitle id="0:3:36"> this is  an idea that surfaced</subtitle>
 +
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<subtitle id="0:3:39"> a couple of times  in Greece but not</subtitle>
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<subtitle id="0:3:42"> not before not after  and</subtitle>
 +
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<subtitle id="0:3:45"> this book</subtitle>
 +
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<subtitle id="0:3:48"> which pain published at  his own expense initially</subtitle>
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<subtitle id="0:3:51"> just gave it  away had a press run</subtitle>
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<subtitle id="0:3:54">between six hundred thousand and nine  hundred thousand</subtitle>
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<subtitle id="0:3:57"> in six months so</subtitle>
 +
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<subtitle id="0:4:0"> that's  a lot by today's standards and</subtitle>
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<subtitle id="0:4:3"> there  were 1.5 million non</subtitle>
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<subtitle id="0:4:6"> slaves in the  thirteen colonies</subtitle>
 +
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<subtitle id="0:4:9"> back then and so this  press run</subtitle>
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<subtitle id="0:4:12"> encompassed somewhere between  almost a half</subtitle>
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<subtitle id="0:4:15"> to more than a half of all  men women and children in</subtitle>
 +
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<subtitle id="0:4:18"> all 13  colonies so imagine just trying</subtitle>
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<subtitle id="0:4:21"> to reach  that number of people today</subtitle>
 +
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<subtitle id="0:4:24"> there is no  medium that you could do it with except</subtitle>
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<subtitle id="0:4:27">  with the internet I try</subtitle>
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<subtitle id="0:4:30"> to get sixty  percent of</subtitle>
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<subtitle id="0:4:33"> 300 million people no</subtitle>
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<subtitle id="0:4:36">  newspaper could do it so</subtitle>
 +
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<subtitle id="0:4:39"> so this is a  big idea but</subtitle>
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<subtitle id="0:4:42">  the powerful idea</subtitle>
 +
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<subtitle id="0:4:45"> and this is the  distinction I want to make was the</subtitle>
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<subtitle id="0:4:48">  Constitution as a</subtitle>
 +
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<subtitle id="0:4:51"> big idea is kind of an  insight and</subtitle>
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<subtitle id="0:4:54"> often insights insights</subtitle>
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<subtitle id="0:4:57"> are  wonderful but they're</subtitle>
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<subtitle id="0:5:0"> lightweight  they're relatively easy to have compared</subtitle>
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<subtitle id="0:5:3">  to doing something about it so the</subtitle>
 +
 +
<subtitle id="0:5:6">  Constitution said</subtitle>
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<subtitle id="0:5:9"> we should shape  society into a self-organizing</subtitle>
 +
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<subtitle id="0:5:12">  self-correcting shared idea and resource  system</subtitle>
 +
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<subtitle id="0:5:15"> and that is a very radical</subtitle>
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<subtitle id="0:5:18"> idea  even for today for instance most  Americans</subtitle>
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<subtitle id="0:5:21"> have no idea what the design  of the</subtitle>
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<subtitle id="0:5:24"> United States was or is it's</subtitle>
 +
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<subtitle id="0:5:27">imply not taught in schools it's not  the way American</subtitle>
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<subtitle id="0:5:30"> history is is taught  and</subtitle>
 +
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<subtitle id="0:5:33"> so</subtitle>
 +
 +
<subtitle id="0:5:36"> most societies on earth haven't</subtitle>
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<subtitle id="0:5:39">  gotten this idea even at the societal  level</subtitle>
 +
 +
<subtitle id="0:5:42"> most human beings on earth don't  have this</subtitle>
 +
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<subtitle id="0:5:45"> idea but this is one of these  powerful ideas</subtitle>
 +
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<subtitle id="0:5:48"> that makes qualitative</subtitle>
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<subtitle id="0:5:51">  differences in almost every</subtitle>
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<subtitle id="0:5:54"> area of life  and it's related to an even</subtitle>
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<subtitle id="0:5:57"> bigger set  of ideas so</subtitle>
 +
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<subtitle id="0:6:0"> another common sense</subtitle>
 +
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<subtitle id="0:6:3"> whoops</subtitle>
 +
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<subtitle id="0:6:6">  another another</subtitle>
 +
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<subtitle id="0:6:9"> common sense notion  which is</subtitle>
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<subtitle id="0:6:12"> actually with most Americans  today according to the surveys</subtitle>
 +
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<subtitle id="0:6:15"> I've seen  which is the world is pretty much as it  seems</subtitle>
 +
 +
<subtitle id="0:6:18"> so we this</subtitle>
 +
 +
<subtitle id="0:6:21"> is what our nervous  systems are set up to do we're</subtitle>
 +
 +
<subtitle id="0:6:24"> basically  weren't set up by nature to think</subtitle>
 +
 +
<subtitle id="0:6:27"> we're  set up by nature to cope and so</subtitle>
 +
 +
<subtitle id="0:6:30">primary mechanism is whatever  environment we</subtitle>
 +
 +
<subtitle id="0:6:33"> find ourselves in so the  answer anthropologists</subtitle>
 +
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<subtitle id="0:6:36"> know that you can  take a child at</subtitle>
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<subtitle id="0:6:39"> birth from any culture  on the planet and take</subtitle>
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<subtitle id="0:6:42">on the planet  that child will grow up as</subtitle>
 +
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<subtitle id="0:6:45"> a member of  that culture you took it too that's</subtitle>
 +
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<subtitle id="0:6:48">  because humans are rather more similar</subtitle>
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<subtitle id="0:6:51">  than they are different we have about  300</subtitle>
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<subtitle id="0:6:54"> traits that anthropologists have  identified</subtitle>
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<subtitle id="0:6:57"> that seem to be quite genetic  including</subtitle>
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<subtitle id="0:7:0"> things like language having  culture telling stories</subtitle>
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<subtitle id="0:7:3"> and those  mechanisms</subtitle>
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<subtitle id="0:7:6"> get embodied with the</subtitle>
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<subtitle id="0:7:9"> local  varieties of those and so the</subtitle>
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<subtitle id="0:7:12"> reality  you grow up within the language you</subtitle>
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<subtitle id="0:7:15"> grew  up with is the language and</subtitle>
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<subtitle id="0:7:18"> the reality  of the culture you you're born in Q</subtitle>
 +
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<subtitle id="0:7:21"> so</subtitle>
 +
 +
<subtitle id="0:7:27">now this big ideas</subtitle>
 +
 +
<subtitle id="0:7:30"> have been had a  number of times in history I happen to  like the</subtitle>
 +
 +
<subtitle id="0:7:33"> Talmud version of it</subtitle>
 +
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<subtitle id="0:7:36"> we see  things not as they are but as we are</subtitle>
 +
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<subtitle id="0:7:39"> so  this is a bit I'd love to know</subtitle>
 +
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<subtitle id="0:7:42"> what  actually</subtitle>
 +
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<subtitle id="0:7:45"> happened to the person who came  up with this</subtitle>
 +
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<subtitle id="0:7:48"> idea did they take it to  its logical conclusion</subtitle>
 +
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<subtitle id="0:7:51"> considering and</subtitle>
 +
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<subtitle id="0:7:54">was interesting that was published in  this Talmud is part</subtitle>
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<subtitle id="0:7:57"> of the commentary</subtitle>
 +
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<subtitle id="0:8:0">  but this is one</subtitle>
 +
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<subtitle id="0:8:3"> of the great big ideas  of all time this</subtitle>
 +
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<subtitle id="0:8:6"> is a really hard one  because it</subtitle>
 +
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<subtitle id="0:8:9"> completely relative izes  what's</subtitle>
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<subtitle id="0:8:12"> going on however it's not a  powerful idea</subtitle>
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<subtitle id="0:8:15"> but had numerous</subtitle>
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<subtitle id="0:8:18"> times and</subtitle>
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<subtitle id="0:8:21">powerful idea came in</subtitle>
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<subtitle id="0:8:24"> the 17th century  and you</subtitle>
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<subtitle id="0:8:27"> could point to a number of  people and you could point to various</subtitle>
 +
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<subtitle id="0:8:30">  societies but</subtitle>
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<subtitle id="0:8:33"> 17th century has a has a  perfect</subtitle>
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<subtitle id="0:8:36"> atomic</subtitle>
 +
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<subtitle id="0:8:39"> bomb place where science  started</subtitle>
 +
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<subtitle id="0:8:42"> because we had Galileo</subtitle>
 +
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<subtitle id="0:8:45"> and  Kepler and maybe Copernicus</subtitle>
 +
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<subtitle id="0:8:48"> beforehand  and a few other people but in fact</subtitle>
 +
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<subtitle id="0:8:51"> when  Newton did</subtitle>
 +
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<subtitle id="0:8:54"> the Principia he actually  revolutionized</subtitle>
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<subtitle id="0:8:57"> human thought and it's  probably the largest leap in human</subtitle>
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<subtitle id="0:9:0">  thought of this kind that we know of  historically</subtitle>
 +
 +
<subtitle id="0:9:3"> this is why most scientists</subtitle>
 +
 +
<subtitle id="0:9:6">think of Newton as being the greatest  scientist</subtitle>
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<subtitle id="0:9:9"> and he was almost the first  scientist and</subtitle>
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<subtitle id="0:9:12"> not just in</subtitle>
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<subtitle id="0:9:15"> relative terms  but in absolute terms the amount</subtitle>
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<subtitle id="0:9:18"> of  distance he was able to cover not just</subtitle>
 +
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<subtitle id="0:9:21">in terms of knowledge but in terms of  about look and</subtitle>
 +
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<subtitle id="0:9:24"> the powerful idea of  science</subtitle>
 +
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<subtitle id="0:9:27"> is not so easy to state  everything</subtitle>
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<subtitle id="0:9:30"> else comes out pretty nicely  as slogans and</subtitle>
 +
 +
<subtitle id="0:9:33"> there's more to science  than just</subtitle>
 +
 +
<subtitle id="0:9:36"> this but this is one half of  it which</subtitle>
 +
 +
<subtitle id="0:9:39"> is science is not about  knowledge  as</subtitle>
 +
 +
<subtitle id="0:9:42"> niels bohr said science is not there  to tell</subtitle>
 +
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<subtitle id="0:9:45"> us about the universe is what  most people think</subtitle>
 +
 +
<subtitle id="0:9:48"> most non-scientists  most kids in school</subtitle>
 +
 +
<subtitle id="0:9:51"> are taught what is  called science</subtitle>
 +
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<subtitle id="0:9:54"> as in roughly the same  way they learn religion in</subtitle>
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<subtitle id="0:9:57"> when they go  to church or</subtitle>
 +
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<subtitle id="0:10:0"> synagogue or mosque but</subtitle>
 +
 +
<subtitle id="0:10:3">in what science is at all it's not about  knowledge</subtitle>
 +
 +
<subtitle id="0:10:6"> it's about relating the</subtitle>
 +
 +
<subtitle id="0:10:9"> stuff  we can do and can't do in here</subtitle>
 +
 +
<subtitle id="0:10:12"> all the  things that we can do with</subtitle>
 +
 +
<subtitle id="0:10:15"> our  representational systems to stuff</subtitle>
 +
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<subtitle id="0:10:18"> out  there that we can't get to directly  because</subtitle>
 +
 +
<subtitle id="0:10:21"> everything we do is filtered  through our nervous</subtitle>
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<subtitle id="0:10:24"> systems as filtered  through our culture's is</subtitle>
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<subtitle id="0:10:27"> filtered for  through the the difficulties</subtitle>
 +
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<subtitle id="0:10:30"> we have  with making relationships</subtitle>
 +
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<subtitle id="0:10:33"> about things  and this was not an</subtitle>
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<subtitle id="0:10:36"> easy idea to have  we'll</subtitle>
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<subtitle id="0:10:39"> see in a bit but</subtitle>
 +
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<subtitle id="0:10:42"> what's happened  in the last 400 years in</subtitle>
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<subtitle id="0:10:45"> many many  dimensions</subtitle>
 +
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<subtitle id="0:10:48"> has been more than has  happened</subtitle>
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<subtitle id="0:10:51"> in the rest of the 200,000  years and you</subtitle>
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<subtitle id="0:10:54"> know the cliche that</subtitle>
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<subtitle id="0:10:57"> most  scientists 90 more</subtitle>
 +
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<subtitle id="0:11:0">of all the scientists who ever lived  you're alive today</subtitle>
 +
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<subtitle id="0:11:3"> and most of the  things that</subtitle>
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<subtitle id="0:11:6"> are happening today and some</subtitle>
 +
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<subtitle id="0:11:9">of the problems and some of the  solutions to those problems</subtitle>
 +
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<subtitle id="0:11:12"> are all  caused this by different way</subtitle>
 +
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<subtitle id="0:11:21">and much is made</subtitle>
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<subtitle id="0:11:24"> particularly in the pop  culture of</subtitle>
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<subtitle id="0:11:27"> bringing bright</subtitle>
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<subtitle id="0:11:30"> this is  because pop</subtitle>
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<subtitle id="0:11:33"> culture's or cultures  without a lot</subtitle>
 +
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<subtitle id="0:11:36"> of developed knowledge  basically</subtitle>
 +
 +
<subtitle id="0:11:39"> live by their wits and so you  out</subtitle>
 +
 +
<subtitle id="0:11:42"> with each other and you</subtitle>
 +
 +
<subtitle id="0:11:45"> compete at  the level of width but</subtitle>
 +
 +
<subtitle id="0:11:48"> imagine being  born with an IQ</subtitle>
 +
 +
<subtitle id="0:11:51"> of 500 who knows how</subtitle>
 +
 +
<subtitle id="0:11:54">  smart leonardo was let's</subtitle>
 +
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<subtitle id="0:11:57"> just no 203 who  because</subtitle>
 +
 +
<subtitle id="0:12:0"> those figures don't what does IQ  me in any</subtitle>
 +
 +
<subtitle id="0:12:3"> way but let's just say hey  suppose</subtitle>
 +
 +
<subtitle id="0:12:6"> you're just a hell of a lot  smarter than anybody who ever lived</subtitle>
 +
 +
<subtitle id="0:12:9"> but  you were born in 10,000 BC</subtitle>
 +
 +
<subtitle id="0:12:12"> how far you  going to get so</subtitle>
 +
 +
<subtitle id="0:12:15"> you can probably out wit  everybody around you before</subtitle>
 +
 +
<subtitle id="0:12:18"> they burn  you at the stake</subtitle>
 +
 +
<subtitle id="0:12:21"> but in fact Leonardo</subtitle>
 +
 +
<subtitle id="0:12:24">  who we know is very very bright could</subtitle>
 +
 +
<subtitle id="0:12:27">  not invent a single engine</subtitle>
 +
 +
<subtitle id="0:12:30"> for any of  the vehicles that he designed so</subtitle>
 +
 +
<subtitle id="0:12:33"> he's  famous for designing things that look</subtitle>
 +
 +
<subtitle id="0:12:36">like planes and things that maybe look  like helicopters</subtitle>
 +
 +
<subtitle id="0:12:39"> and I'll and they're  wonderful and he did a lot</subtitle>
 +
 +
<subtitle id="0:12:42">hings but he couldn't make a single  goddamn one of</subtitle>
 +
 +
<subtitle id="0:12:45"> them work that is and  that's</subtitle>
 +
 +
<subtitle id="0:12:48"> because he wasn't smart enough to  think himself out</subtitle>
 +
 +
<subtitle id="0:12:51"> of the era he had been  born into as</subtitle>
 +
 +
<subtitle id="0:12:54"> far as we know if nobody  has the closest person who's ever</subtitle>
 +
 +
<subtitle id="0:12:57">thought himself out of the era he was  born into his</subtitle>
 +
 +
<subtitle id="0:13:0"> Newton so</subtitle>
 +
 +
<subtitle id="0:13:3"> you have this  odd paradox</subtitle>
 +
 +
<subtitle id="0:13:6"> that whoops sorry that</subtitle>
 +
 +
<subtitle id="0:13:12">Henry Ford who is not nearly as smart as</subtitle>
 +
 +
<subtitle id="0:13:15">Leonardo just happened to be born in the  right time and</subtitle>
 +
 +
<subtitle id="0:13:18"> so he did revolutionize  one</subtitle>
 +
 +
<subtitle id="0:13:21"> of the areas that Leonardo wanted to  revolutionize</subtitle>
 +
 +
<subtitle id="0:13:24"> by being able</subtitle>
 +
 +
<subtitle id="0:13:27"> to do  adaptive engineering and a little</subtitle>
 +
 +
<subtitle id="0:13:30">invention to the stuff that was already  around</subtitle>
 +
 +
<subtitle id="0:13:33"> so his knowledge was</subtitle>
 +
 +
<subtitle id="0:13:36"> processed  knowledge and this was very powerful and  what</subtitle>
 +
 +
<subtitle id="0:13:39"> was the difference between these  two these</subtitle>
 +
 +
<subtitle id="0:13:42"> two guys was this</subtitle>
 +
 +
<subtitle id="0:13:45"> change of  outlook that Newton</subtitle>
 +
 +
<subtitle id="0:13:48"> was one of the  promulgate errs of</subtitle>
 +
 +
<subtitle id="0:13:51"> so one of the ways I</subtitle>
 +
 +
<subtitle id="0:13:54">  when I talked to grabs grad students</subtitle>
 +
 +
<subtitle id="0:13:57"> or  children I say well knowledge</subtitle>
 +
 +
<subtitle id="0:14:0"> is silver  but outlook is</subtitle>
 +
 +
<subtitle id="0:14:3"> gold our</subtitle>
 +
 +
<subtitle id="0:14:6"> world is built  on changes of outlook that was what the</subtitle>
 +
 +
<subtitle id="0:14:9">  Constitution was that was what Tom Paine  did</subtitle>
 +
 +
<subtitle id="0:14:12"> and that's what science did and</subtitle>
 +
 +
<subtitle id="0:14:15"> IQ  is led</subtitle>
 +
 +
<subtitle id="0:14:18"> because there is no</subtitle>
 +
 +
<subtitle id="0:14:21"> we know of no  developed field knowledge in</subtitle>
 +
 +
<subtitle id="0:14:24"> which you  can get by with just talent there's</subtitle>
 +
 +
<subtitle id="0:14:27"> no  developed sport in which you can get by  with</subtitle>
 +
 +
<subtitle id="0:14:30"> just talent and some of the most</subtitle>
 +
 +
<subtitle id="0:14:33">  difficult sports have been</subtitle>
 +
 +
<subtitle id="0:14:36"> excelled in  by people who are not as athletic</subtitle>
 +
 +
<subtitle id="0:14:39"> so for  instance Chris effort</subtitle>
 +
 +
<subtitle id="0:14:42"> as an example who  is not a particularly athletic</subtitle>
 +
 +
<subtitle id="0:14:45"> tennis  player but man that you know</subtitle>
 +
 +
<subtitle id="0:14:48"> how to work  and so she got very very</subtitle>
 +
 +
<subtitle id="0:14:51"> good at it and  most things have</subtitle>
 +
 +
<subtitle id="0:14:54"> this thing an Outlook  also</subtitle>
 +
 +
<subtitle id="0:14:57"> tells you what kind of knowledge to</subtitle>
 +
 +
<subtitle id="0:15:0">  go after because of course every group</subtitle>
 +
 +
<subtitle id="0:15:3">in history had a zillion amount of not  you going to the</subtitle>
 +
 +
<subtitle id="0:15:6"> Australian outback  without a</subtitle>
 +
 +
<subtitle id="0:15:9"> native Australian there</subtitle>
 +
 +
<subtitle id="0:15:12"> to  help you you're going to die whereas for</subtitle>
 +
 +
<subtitle id="0:15:15">  them is just a walk in the park because</subtitle>
 +
 +
<subtitle id="0:15:18">  everything is food they know how to get  water and</subtitle>
 +
 +
<subtitle id="0:15:21"> it's there just they know  where the dangers are they</subtitle>
 +
 +
<subtitle id="0:15:24">it's no big deal  so every group</subtitle>
 +
 +
<subtitle id="0:15:27"> has lots of knowledge the  real thing to think about is</subtitle>
 +
 +
<subtitle id="0:15:30"> what kind  of knowledge is that what's the quality</subtitle>
 +
 +
<subtitle id="0:15:33">level what's the level of flexibility  what can you</subtitle>
 +
 +
<subtitle id="0:15:36"> you do with it and these  outlook</subtitle>
 +
 +
<subtitle id="0:15:39"> changes are more pine Steiners  another</subtitle>
 +
 +
<subtitle id="0:15:42"> one so about a hundred years ago</subtitle>
 +
 +
<subtitle id="0:15:45">something</subtitle>
 +
 +
<subtitle id="0:15:48"> that Newton in a</subtitle>
 +
 +
<subtitle id="0:15:51"> slightly  different Einstein was quite sure that</subtitle>
 +
 +
<subtitle id="0:15:54">  Newton if he lived longer and had not</subtitle>
 +
 +
<subtitle id="0:15:57">  been put in had a head</subtitle>
 +
 +
<subtitle id="0:16:0"> of the Treasury  in England that Newton would have  actually</subtitle>
 +
 +
<subtitle id="0:16:3"> come up with a theory of  relativity I don't</subtitle>
 +
 +
<subtitle id="0:16:6"> know whether he could  have could have actually</subtitle>
 +
 +
<subtitle id="0:16:9"> done that  because but Newton</subtitle>
 +
 +
<subtitle id="0:16:12"> didn't know that</subtitle>
 +
 +
<subtitle id="0:16:15"> he  thought it was ridiculous that his  equations</subtitle>
 +
 +
<subtitle id="0:16:18"> had action at a distance</subtitle>
 +
 +
<subtitle id="0:16:21"> so he  said so in letters as just</subtitle>
 +
 +
<subtitle id="0:16:24"> that nobody  could measure well enough</subtitle>
 +
 +
<subtitle id="0:16:27"> and what they  did measure the</subtitle>
 +
 +
<subtitle id="0:16:30"> gravitational forces  seem to</subtitle>
 +
 +
<subtitle id="0:16:33"> transmit instantly but</subtitle>
 +
 +
<subtitle id="0:16:36"> from  Newton standpoint that was ridiculous</subtitle>
 +
 +
<subtitle id="0:16:45">okay so that was</subtitle>
 +
 +
<subtitle id="0:16:48"> the first section so  the second section is to look at</subtitle>
 +
 +
<subtitle id="0:16:51">children can actually do under ideal  conditions and</subtitle>
 +
 +
<subtitle id="0:16:54"> this is not easy to find  so</subtitle>
 +
 +
<subtitle id="0:16:57"> a couple of these things are results  of</subtitle>
 +
 +
<subtitle id="0:17:0"> just dealing with hundreds</subtitle>
 +
 +
<subtitle id="0:17:3"> and  hundreds of teachers over more than 40</subtitle>
 +
 +
<subtitle id="0:17:6">  years and in this case this was an</subtitle>
 +
 +
<subtitle id="0:17:9">  accident because we were working in the  fourth</subtitle>
 +
 +
<subtitle id="0:17:12"> and fifth grades in the school  and of course I started</subtitle>
 +
 +
<subtitle id="0:17:15"> wandering around  the school and I happen to poke my</subtitle>
 +
 +
<subtitle id="0:17:18"> nose  into first grade and</subtitle>
 +
 +
<subtitle id="0:17:21"> what I saw was  quite shocking</subtitle>
 +
 +
<subtitle id="0:17:24"> to me i should mention I  have a</subtitle>
 +
 +
<subtitle id="0:17:27"> degree in mathematics and another  one in molecular biology</subtitle>
 +
 +
<subtitle id="0:17:30"> as well as the  computer science degrees</subtitle>
 +
 +
<subtitle id="0:17:33"> so when I  walked into this math this first grade  classroom</subtitle>
 +
 +
<subtitle id="0:17:36"> and SAT there for a few  minutes</subtitle>
 +
 +
<subtitle id="0:17:39">  I gradually realize</subtitle>
 +
 +
<subtitle id="0:17:42"> that this teacher  was doing real math with</subtitle>
 +
 +
<subtitle id="0:17:45"> first graders  not school</subtitle>
 +
 +
<subtitle id="0:17:48"> math but real math the real  deal and</subtitle>
 +
 +
<subtitle id="0:17:51"> as I got to know her Julia  nishijima was her name</subtitle>
 +
 +
<subtitle id="0:17:54"> I found she was  that</subtitle>
 +
 +
<subtitle id="0:17:57"> she have not taken any math in  college but</subtitle>
 +
 +
<subtitle id="0:18:0"> she was like one of these  musician friends you</subtitle>
 +
 +
<subtitle id="0:18:3"> might have who was  just a natural musician she</subtitle>
 +
 +
<subtitle id="0:18:6"> was a net  she just saw the world in terms of math  and</subtitle>
 +
 +
<subtitle id="0:18:9"> her outlook was in the world of the</subtitle>
 +
 +
<subtitle id="0:18:12">  kindergarten and first grade child so</subtitle>
 +
 +
<subtitle id="0:18:15">  over a couple of years I saw some</subtitle>
 +
 +
<subtitle id="0:18:18">most amazing things I've ever seen in  any classroom at any age</subtitle>
 +
 +
<subtitle id="0:18:21"> this one was  done after the kids have been there for</subtitle>
 +
 +
<subtitle id="0:18:24">  about three months and the school</subtitle>
 +
 +
<subtitle id="0:18:27"> is a  busing school in LA and what</subtitle>
 +
 +
<subtitle id="0:18:30"> that means  is that the children in order</subtitle>
 +
 +
<subtitle id="0:18:33"> to induce  the parents</subtitle>
 +
 +
<subtitle id="0:18:36"> to get on the that have</subtitle>
 +
 +
<subtitle id="0:18:39">their children but if you think about  bus driving</subtitle>
 +
 +
<subtitle id="0:18:42"> a car in LA as ridiculous so</subtitle>
 +
 +
<subtitle id="0:18:45">  let's put our children on buses twice</subtitle>
 +
 +
<subtitle id="0:18:48">  twice a day to</subtitle>
 +
 +
<subtitle id="0:18:51"> try and deal with some of  the racial imbalance</subtitle>
 +
 +
<subtitle id="0:18:54"> problems and but</subtitle>
 +
 +
<subtitle id="0:18:57">  they did and there was</subtitle>
 +
 +
<subtitle id="0:19:0">interesting inducements to get the  parents to do that but</subtitle>
 +
 +
<subtitle id="0:19:3"> the law was that  for each of the busing</subtitle>
 +
 +
<subtitle id="0:19:6"> schools had to  have the same demographic</subtitle>
 +
 +
<subtitle id="0:19:9"> as the city as  a whole so</subtitle>
 +
 +
<subtitle id="0:19:12"> these busing schools were the  perfect place for doing</subtitle>
 +
 +
<subtitle id="0:19:15"> educational  experiments because the city</subtitle>
 +
 +
<subtitle id="0:19:18">forty-five percent Hispanic until you  have forty-five</subtitle>
 +
 +
<subtitle id="0:19:21"> percent Hispanic kids in  there and</subtitle>
 +
 +
<subtitle id="0:19:24"> just down the line in these  schools so</subtitle>
 +
 +
<subtitle id="0:19:27"> here's the thing she</subtitle>
 +
 +
<subtitle id="0:19:30"> had and  this is not unlike a lot of the things</subtitle>
 +
 +
<subtitle id="0:19:33">  that she did with the kids so this one</subtitle>
 +
 +
<subtitle id="0:19:36">  was fine to shape you like a square  diamond</subtitle>
 +
 +
<subtitle id="0:19:39"> a triangle a trapezoid and</subtitle>
 +
 +
<subtitle id="0:19:42"> make  a progression</subtitle>
 +
 +
<subtitle id="0:19:45"> of shapes just using these  shapes</subtitle>
 +
 +
<subtitle id="0:19:48"> so  next</subtitle>
 +
 +
<subtitle id="0:19:51"> larger size next larger size next  larger size and trapezoids</subtitle>
 +
 +
<subtitle id="0:19:54"> are coarser  are a tricky but</subtitle>
 +
 +
<subtitle id="0:19:57"> so 30 kids in the class  and</subtitle>
 +
 +
<subtitle id="0:20:0"> they all pick</subtitle>
 +
 +
<subtitle id="0:20:3"> the ones that they  like they all did did something and</subtitle>
 +
 +
<subtitle id="0:20:6"> then  she did something</subtitle>
 +
 +
<subtitle id="0:20:9"> that seems a little  strange to me which was to have</subtitle>
 +
 +
<subtitle id="0:20:12"> him now  go from these easy to handle wouldn't</subtitle>
 +
 +
<subtitle id="0:20:15">  manipulatives to cutting</subtitle>
 +
 +
<subtitle id="0:20:18"> out the same  shapes out of cardboard so I asked</subtitle>
 +
 +
<subtitle id="0:20:21"> her  afterwards why she did this and she said  well little</subtitle>
 +
 +
<subtitle id="0:20:24"> kids are always jumping to  conclusions and this</subtitle>
 +
 +
<subtitle id="0:20:27"> part now that  they've done the thing I want them to  think about</subtitle>
 +
 +
<subtitle id="0:20:30"> it so this part slows them  down so the idea here</subtitle>
 +
 +
<subtitle id="0:20:33"> is make a we're  going to make a little thing to free to  take</subtitle>
 +
 +
<subtitle id="0:20:36"> home to your parents to show what  what</subtitle>
 +
 +
<subtitle id="0:20:39"> you're doing and so here's one of  them and</subtitle>
 +
 +
<subtitle id="0:20:42"> Laura in here</subtitle>
 +
 +
<subtitle id="0:20:45"> on this sheet she  wrote down what she</subtitle>
 +
 +
<subtitle id="0:20:48"> noticed that the  first diamond</subtitle>
 +
 +
<subtitle id="0:20:51"> here took one diamond the  total number of diamonds</subtitle>
 +
 +
<subtitle id="0:20:54"> was one and  then she had to add three</subtitle>
 +
 +
<subtitle id="0:20:57"> more diamonds  to get the next</subtitle>
 +
 +
<subtitle id="0:21:0"> diamond shape and the  total was four and then she had to add</subtitle>
 +
 +
<subtitle id="0:21:3">  five to get the next one the total  number of tiles</subtitle>
 +
 +
<subtitle id="0:21:6"> was nine and she could  see</subtitle>
 +
 +
<subtitle id="0:21:9"> that she was adding to each time</subtitle>
 +
 +
<subtitle id="0:21:12">  it's get the first column and then</subtitle>
 +
 +
<subtitle id="0:21:15"> up  you can see</subtitle>
 +
 +
<subtitle id="0:21:18"> she wasn't quite sure what  six times six was</subtitle>
 +
 +
<subtitle id="0:21:21"> but she knew the  square numbers</subtitle>
 +
 +
<subtitle id="0:21:24"> up to five times five</subtitle>
 +
 +
<subtitle id="0:21:27">  then she worked this all out so this is  her sheet</subtitle>
 +
 +
<subtitle id="0:21:30"> then the teacher</subtitle>
 +
 +
<subtitle id="0:21:33"> julia had</subtitle>
 +
 +
<subtitle id="0:21:36">kids all bringing their projects up to  the front of the room</subtitle>
 +
 +
<subtitle id="0:21:39"> there it is</subtitle>
 +
 +
<subtitle id="0:21:42">kids</subtitle>
 +
 +
<subtitle id="0:21:45"> look to each other's projects and  they looked at the little</subtitle>
 +
 +
<subtitle id="0:21:48"> tables and  they went holy shit</subtitle>
 +
 +
<subtitle id="0:21:51"> technical term</subtitle>
 +
 +
<subtitle id="0:21:54">  because everybody had filled</subtitle>
 +
 +
<subtitle id="0:21:57">same table regardless of what the shapes  were the</subtitle>
 +
 +
<subtitle id="0:22:0"> growth laws were the same so</subtitle>
 +
 +
<subtitle id="0:22:3">  this was hugely exciting I was there</subtitle>
 +
 +
<subtitle id="0:22:6"> I  just happened to be there that day and</subtitle>
 +
 +
<subtitle id="0:22:9">I'm looking at this stuff with tears  running down my because</subtitle>
 +
 +
<subtitle id="0:22:12"> this is one of  the best mathematical</subtitle>
 +
 +
<subtitle id="0:22:15"> things I've ever  seen done in any classroom at any age  and</subtitle>
 +
 +
<subtitle id="0:22:18"> some of you</subtitle>
 +
 +
<subtitle id="0:22:21"> are we'll</subtitle>
 +
 +
<subtitle id="0:22:24"> have some  mathematical background and</subtitle>
 +
 +
<subtitle id="0:22:27">realize what the kids were doing is  actually</subtitle>
 +
 +
<subtitle id="0:22:30"> deriving to</subtitle>
 +
 +
<subtitle id="0:22:33"> differential laws  one</subtitle>
 +
 +
<subtitle id="0:22:36"> is the differential law for smooth  progressions</subtitle>
 +
 +
<subtitle id="0:22:39"> sometimes called linear  progressions</subtitle>
 +
 +
<subtitle id="0:22:42"> that's that first column  and</subtitle>
 +
 +
<subtitle id="0:22:45"> of course if they used instead of  using two</subtitle>
 +
 +
<subtitle id="0:22:48"> they used one it would have a  different growth</subtitle>
 +
 +
<subtitle id="0:22:51"> but it would still be  smooth and linear</subtitle>
 +
 +
<subtitle id="0:22:54"> they could use three  or they could use 3.5 so</subtitle>
 +
 +
<subtitle id="0:22:57"> basic ideas are  just adding the same</subtitle>
 +
 +
<subtitle id="0:23:0"> thing in there and  in math that's</subtitle>
 +
 +
<subtitle id="0:23:3"> called the first order  differential equation if it were</subtitle>
 +
 +
<subtitle id="0:23:6"> in a  continuous space like we like</subtitle>
 +
 +
<subtitle id="0:23:9"> to teach  in school but for the kids this is the  screen</subtitle>
 +
 +
<subtitle id="0:23:12"> and there's a math for that its</subtitle>
 +
 +
<subtitle id="0:23:15"> a  math we don't teach but it's called a</subtitle>
 +
 +
<subtitle id="0:23:18">  first order differential discreet  relationship</subtitle>
 +
 +
<subtitle id="0:23:21"> and the second one is</subtitle>
 +
 +
<subtitle id="0:23:24"> all  the square numbers</subtitle>
 +
 +
<subtitle id="0:23:27"> it's a quadratic one  so this is</subtitle>
 +
 +
<subtitle id="0:23:30"> called the second order  differential discreet</subtitle>
 +
 +
<subtitle id="0:23:33"> relationship and  it's built on the first an important</subtitle>
 +
 +
<subtitle id="0:23:36">  thing here is that virtually everything</subtitle>
 +
 +
<subtitle id="0:23:39">in high school physics and most things  in your first physics</subtitle>
 +
 +
<subtitle id="0:23:42"> course in college  can be handled with no more</subtitle>
 +
 +
<subtitle id="0:23:45"> mathematics  than this this is</subtitle>
 +
 +
<subtitle id="0:23:48"> actually the real  basis of the calculus</subtitle>
 +
 +
<subtitle id="0:23:51">wind  using in high school and college his</subtitle>
 +
 +
<subtitle id="0:23:54">  calculus has nothing to do with algebra  even</subtitle>
 +
 +
<subtitle id="0:23:57"> though it's cloaked in algebra for  historical</subtitle>
 +
 +
<subtitle id="0:24:0"> reasons most Mountain  mathematicians did not realize this</subtitle>
 +
 +
<subtitle id="0:24:3"> what  calculus is is actually an idea</subtitle>
 +
 +
<subtitle id="0:24:6"> quite  separate from the symbology that's</subtitle>
 +
 +
<subtitle id="0:24:9"> used  on so</subtitle>
 +
 +
<subtitle id="0:24:12"> and of course the kids could  calculate with this</subtitle>
 +
 +
<subtitle id="0:24:15"> so the</subtitle>
 +
 +
<subtitle id="0:24:18"> little rule  they had was you start with</subtitle>
 +
 +
<subtitle id="0:24:21"> one piece  and then you add to the new new pieces  column</subtitle>
 +
 +
<subtitle id="0:24:24"> add to each time and then you</subtitle>
 +
 +
<subtitle id="0:24:27"> add  from that column to</subtitle>
 +
 +
<subtitle id="0:24:30"> the total column to  get the next one and</subtitle>
 +
 +
<subtitle id="0:24:33"> a few if you act it  out you get something like this</subtitle>
 +
 +
<subtitle id="0:24:36"> so you  start off with ones and</subtitle>
 +
 +
<subtitle id="0:24:39"> you do a plus  two to get</subtitle>
 +
 +
<subtitle id="0:24:42"> the next guy there and then  you take that guy and the preceding</subtitle>
 +
 +
<subtitle id="0:24:45"> guy  to gets the next guy in okay</subtitle>
 +
 +
<subtitle id="0:24:48"> so that's  called a second</subtitle>
 +
 +
<subtitle id="0:24:51"> order differential  machine</subtitle>
 +
 +
<subtitle id="0:24:54"> and</subtitle>
 +
 +
<subtitle id="0:24:57"> it just happens to be what</subtitle>
 +
 +
<subtitle id="0:25:0">  Babbage member Babbage what</subtitle>
 +
 +
<subtitle id="0:25:3"> did Babbage  do then the invented computer so first</subtitle>
 +
 +
<subtitle id="0:25:6">hing he did was to actually make a  machine for computing</subtitle>
 +
 +
<subtitle id="0:25:9"> exactly those  numbers and it</subtitle>
 +
 +
<subtitle id="0:25:12"> was just he did it so you  could compute seven stages</subtitle>
 +
 +
<subtitle id="0:25:15"> of them  because again in mathematical</subtitle>
 +
 +
<subtitle id="0:25:18"> terms this  is a way of computing all of the values</subtitle>
 +
 +
<subtitle id="0:25:21">  of all of the polynomials of up to a  certain</subtitle>
 +
 +
<subtitle id="0:25:24"> order and Babbage did it because  when he was</subtitle>
 +
 +
<subtitle id="0:25:27"> a kid he was 19 or 20 there</subtitle>
 +
 +
<subtitle id="0:25:30">  were so many errors in his mathematical</subtitle>
 +
 +
<subtitle id="0:25:33">  tables booked in the early 1800s he</subtitle>
 +
 +
<subtitle id="0:25:36">  screwed across the room and he said to  his friend</subtitle>
 +
 +
<subtitle id="0:25:39"> herschel who became a great  astronomer he</subtitle>
 +
 +
<subtitle id="0:25:42"> said I wish to god these  calculations have been executed</subtitle>
 +
 +
<subtitle id="0:25:45"> by steam  meaning</subtitle>
 +
 +
<subtitle id="0:25:48"> gee whiz people make</subtitle>
 +
 +
<subtitle id="0:25:51"> so many  mistakes we can build a machine to just</subtitle>
 +
 +
<subtitle id="0:25:54">  compute all its math we can</subtitle>
 +
 +
<subtitle id="0:25:57">machine to compute all this duck  so</subtitle>
 +
 +
<subtitle id="0:26:0"> that's what this teacher intuited  from</subtitle>
 +
 +
<subtitle id="0:26:3"> these kids and now let's take a  look at</subtitle>
 +
 +
<subtitle id="0:26:6"> relationship</subtitle>
 +
 +
<subtitle id="0:26:9"> to the world that  you're more familiar with and</subtitle>
 +
 +
<subtitle id="0:26:12">going to do is go through this thing  again and just watch</subtitle>
 +
 +
<subtitle id="0:26:15"> where the points</subtitle>
 +
 +
<subtitle id="0:26:18">  are and I've drawn a line through</subtitle>
 +
 +
<subtitle id="0:26:21"> the  curves are so start</subtitle>
 +
 +
<subtitle id="0:26:24"> off again so there's  the ones</subtitle>
 +
 +
<subtitle id="0:26:27"> okay there's</subtitle>
 +
 +
<subtitle id="0:26:30"> a3 and a4</subtitle>
 +
 +
<subtitle id="0:26:33"> so you  can see the quadratic one is growing  very quickly now</subtitle>
 +
 +
<subtitle id="0:26:36"> it's next one will be  out of sight there</subtitle>
 +
 +
<subtitle id="0:26:39"></subtitle>
 +
 +
<subtitle id="0:26:42"> the difference here  is pretty interesting because</subtitle>
 +
 +
<subtitle id="0:26:45"> this way  of looking at</subtitle>
 +
 +
<subtitle id="0:26:48"> it is simply not what you  do in first grade because</subtitle>
 +
 +
<subtitle id="0:26:51"> the looking at</subtitle>
 +
 +
<subtitle id="0:26:54">all the values at once which is the way  classical mathematics</subtitle>
 +
 +
<subtitle id="0:26:57"> likes to look at  them</subtitle>
 +
 +
<subtitle id="0:27:0"> in this case requires  multiplication</subtitle>
 +
 +
<subtitle id="0:27:3"> so even in the simple</subtitle>
 +
 +
<subtitle id="0:27:6"> guy  you have to multiply the slope</subtitle>
 +
 +
<subtitle id="0:27:9"> times X</subtitle>
 +
 +
<subtitle id="0:27:12">  to get each succeeding y as you go  through</subtitle>
 +
 +
<subtitle id="0:27:15"> there and you have to square you</subtitle>
 +
 +
<subtitle id="0:27:18">have a squared term to get the quadratic  so so this</subtitle>
 +
 +
<subtitle id="0:27:21"> way takes it completely out  of the child's world and yet the</subtitle>
 +
 +
<subtitle id="0:27:24"> idea  and the capturing</subtitle>
 +
 +
<subtitle id="0:27:27"> of what change is  actually is more fundamental</subtitle>
 +
 +
<subtitle id="0:27:30"> than the  algebraic way of looking at it</subtitle>
 +
 +
<subtitle id="0:27:33"> because  we've made a machine we</subtitle>
 +
 +
<subtitle id="0:27:36"> don't have to  solve in equations we can generate the  answers</subtitle>
 +
 +
<subtitle id="0:27:39"> so</subtitle>
 +
 +
<subtitle id="0:27:42"> in other words we can  mechanically in calculus terms</subtitle>
 +
 +
<subtitle id="0:27:45"> we can  mechanically integrate these things</subtitle>
 +
 +
<subtitle id="0:27:48">instead of symbolically having to  integrate them and it just changes</subtitle>
 +
 +
<subtitle id="0:27:51">  everything round this was see more paper</subtitle>
 +
 +
<subtitle id="0:27:54">  it's great insight not this particular  example but</subtitle>
 +
 +
<subtitle id="0:27:57"> another one this this is an  example I did</subtitle>
 +
 +
<subtitle id="0:28:0">  but the basic idea is if you have a  machine that</subtitle>
 +
 +
<subtitle id="0:28:3"> can help you do the  integration then all</subtitle>
 +
 +
<subtitle id="0:28:6"> of a sudden you can  chop ten years and change</subtitle>
 +
 +
<subtitle id="0:28:9"> outlook to  teaching</subtitle>
 +
 +
<subtitle id="0:28:12"> real math in terms that are  built into human beings</subtitle>
 +
 +
<subtitle id="0:28:15"> so one of the  reasons and it happened science</subtitle>
 +
 +
<subtitle id="0:28:18"> thinks  of math this way</subtitle>
 +
 +
<subtitle id="0:28:21"> because</subtitle>
 +
 +
<subtitle id="0:28:24"> scientists are  lazy mathematicians that's</subtitle>
 +
 +
<subtitle id="0:28:27"> because it  takes so much energy to deal with the  real world that</subtitle>
 +
 +
<subtitle id="0:28:30"> you don't want to spend  a lot of time messing around with</subtitle>
 +
 +
<subtitle id="0:28:33">  mathematics so everything in science is</subtitle>
 +
 +
<subtitle id="0:28:36">done by just adding things together and  these additions</subtitle>
 +
 +
<subtitle id="0:28:39"> are quantities that are  called vectors you've heard</subtitle>
 +
 +
<subtitle id="0:28:42"> of those but  there are fairly simple generalizations</subtitle>
 +
 +
<subtitle id="0:28:45">  of what numbers are so this</subtitle>
 +
 +
<subtitle id="0:28:48"> whole area  is incredibly fruitful for</subtitle>
 +
 +
<subtitle id="0:28:51"> dealing even  with very young children</subtitle>
 +
 +
<subtitle id="0:28:54"> and of course  we have computers</subtitle>
 +
 +
<subtitle id="0:28:57"> so we can do things</subtitle>
 +
 +
<subtitle id="0:29:0">  with them based on these ideas</subtitle>
 +
 +
<subtitle id="0:29:3"> and we're  used to using computers</subtitle>
 +
 +
<subtitle id="0:29:6"> in school not  for this stuff we're</subtitle>
 +
 +
<subtitle id="0:29:9"> used to using it to  imitate paper</subtitle>
 +
 +
<subtitle id="0:29:12">in fact</subtitle>
 +
 +
<subtitle id="0:29:15"> it's expensive paper with a  little bit of magic</subtitle>
 +
 +
<subtitle id="0:29:18"> in their pay a  little extra money and we can run a  movie</subtitle>
 +
 +
<subtitle id="0:29:21"> in our book and we</subtitle>
 +
 +
<subtitle id="0:29:24"> can go look at  something in a library that spread</subtitle>
 +
 +
<subtitle id="0:29:27"> out  over the entire world rather than going  down the</subtitle>
 +
 +
<subtitle id="0:29:30"> hall to do it but by and large  pretty</subtitle>
 +
 +
<subtitle id="0:29:33"> much every use of computing in  most schools particularly</subtitle>
 +
 +
<subtitle id="0:29:36"> in elementary  schools is to do what business</subtitle>
 +
 +
<subtitle id="0:29:39"> people do  with their computers which is not to use  them for</subtitle>
 +
 +
<subtitle id="0:29:42"> anything interesting it's  basically automating the past</subtitle>
 +
 +
<subtitle id="0:29:45"> but if</subtitle>
 +
 +
<subtitle id="0:29:48">take a look at what computers actually  are so</subtitle>
 +
 +
<subtitle id="0:29:51"> we can get our selves a little</subtitle>
 +
 +
<subtitle id="0:29:54">  paint palette here</subtitle>
 +
 +
<subtitle id="0:29:57"> and I'll</subtitle>
 +
 +
<subtitle id="0:30:0"> make a  little car</subtitle>
 +
 +
<subtitle id="0:30:3"> and obviously</subtitle>
 +
 +
<subtitle id="0:30:6"> i'm not using  powerpoint here but</subtitle>
 +
 +
<subtitle id="0:30:9"> you can think about  this as a teacher as to whether</subtitle>
 +
 +
<subtitle id="0:30:12"> you  would</subtitle>
 +
 +
<subtitle id="0:30:15"> when you're trying to help</subtitle>
 +
 +
<subtitle id="0:30:18">  children with examples and stuff you</subtitle>
 +
 +
<subtitle id="0:30:21">  kind of would like to just be able to</subtitle>
 +
 +
<subtitle id="0:30:24">  make things on</subtitle>
 +
 +
<subtitle id="0:30:27"> the fly because you do  have a dynamic medium</subtitle>
 +
 +
<subtitle id="0:30:30"> this has been one  of the hardest idea</subtitle>
 +
 +
<subtitle id="0:30:33"> is to make happen  because people</subtitle>
 +
 +
<subtitle id="0:30:36"> okay I've got my little  car and</subtitle>
 +
 +
<subtitle id="0:30:39"> the thing that's understandable  it's sort of a graphical</subtitle>
 +
 +
<subtitle id="0:30:42"> object and I'll  just call it a car here</subtitle>
 +
 +
<subtitle id="0:30:45"> and but I can  also look inside it and here's</subtitle>
 +
 +
<subtitle id="0:30:48"> something  that's a little less usual for</subtitle>
 +
 +
<subtitle id="0:30:51"> instance  here's cars heading it's</subtitle>
 +
 +
<subtitle id="0:30:54"> where the car  is pointing and if I click</subtitle>
 +
 +
<subtitle id="0:30:57"> over here and  start changing the angle you</subtitle>
 +
 +
<subtitle id="0:31:0"> can see  it's changing the car and conversely if</subtitle>
 +
 +
<subtitle id="0:31:3">  you look over where it says heading and  notice</subtitle>
 +
 +
<subtitle id="0:31:6"> what happens when I change it</subtitle>
 +
 +
<subtitle id="0:31:9">so here I have a visual representation  where</subtitle>
 +
 +
<subtitle id="0:31:12"> the car is pointing and here i  have a symbolic 1 and</subtitle>
 +
 +
<subtitle id="0:31:15"> similarly I have  little behaviors car</subtitle>
 +
 +
<subtitle id="0:31:18"> turn by five car 4  by 15 and</subtitle>
 +
 +
<subtitle id="0:31:21"> those of you tried logo you  recognize these are standard</subtitle>
 +
 +
<subtitle id="0:31:24"> logo ones  if I want to make a little script</subtitle>
 +
 +
<subtitle id="0:31:27">  to take advantage</subtitle>
 +
 +
<subtitle id="0:31:30"> of these I can just  pull out some tiles and</subtitle>
 +
 +
<subtitle id="0:31:33"> now I've got my  car going and maybe</subtitle>
 +
 +
<subtitle id="0:31:36"> I'll get it to go 10  at a pop</subtitle>
 +
 +
<subtitle id="0:31:39"></subtitle>
 +
 +
<subtitle id="0:31:42"> okay so</subtitle>
 +
 +
<subtitle id="0:31:45"> in fact that I can  steer</subtitle>
 +
 +
<subtitle id="0:31:48"> my car so for instance if i</subtitle>
 +
 +
<subtitle id="0:31:51"> want  to make the car go straight i can take  it down to</subtitle>
 +
 +
<subtitle id="0:31:54"> zero that's a big one for  kids go</subtitle>
 +
 +
<subtitle id="0:31:57"> the other direction turned it in  the negative direction</subtitle>
 +
 +
<subtitle id="0:32:0"> so very young  children just</subtitle>
 +
 +
<subtitle id="0:32:3"> get a sense of concrete</subtitle>
 +
 +
<subtitle id="0:32:6">  magnitudes and numbers but</subtitle>
 +
 +
<subtitle id="0:32:9">driving a car this way is a little bit  like kissing your sister</subtitle>
 +
 +
<subtitle id="0:32:12"> so what you  really want to do is make a steering</subtitle>
 +
 +
<subtitle id="0:32:15">  wheel so we'll paint another</subtitle>
 +
 +
<subtitle id="0:32:18"> little  drawing</subtitle>
 +
 +
<subtitle id="0:32:21"> and these drawings were all the  same entities and</subtitle>
 +
 +
<subtitle id="0:32:24"> when I look inside  this wheel I</subtitle>
 +
 +
<subtitle id="0:32:27"></subtitle>
 +
 +
<subtitle id="0:32:30"> see the same thing and</subtitle>
 +
 +
<subtitle id="0:32:33"> if I  turn this wheel</subtitle>
 +
 +
<subtitle id="0:32:36"> can see the number going  up and</subtitle>
 +
 +
<subtitle id="0:32:39"> negative and stuff and if you  remember the number</subtitle>
 +
 +
<subtitle id="0:32:42"> i put in here  determine</subtitle>
 +
 +
<subtitle id="0:32:45"> which way the car was going  which direction</subtitle>
 +
 +
<subtitle id="0:32:48"> to turn and how much so  it's kind of a invitation</subtitle>
 +
 +
<subtitle id="0:32:51"> to take the  name of those</subtitle>
 +
 +
<subtitle id="0:32:54"> the turn numbers coming  out of the wheel</subtitle>
 +
 +
<subtitle id="0:32:57"> and just dropping it  into the script here and</subtitle>
 +
 +
<subtitle id="0:33:0"> now as I change  the wheel</subtitle>
 +
 +
<subtitle id="0:33:3"> we can see that</subtitle>
 +
 +
<subtitle id="0:33:6"> the car is  turning by whatever the wheels heading</subtitle>
 +
 +
<subtitle id="0:33:9">  is so here's an interesting thing to  think about</subtitle>
 +
 +
<subtitle id="0:33:12"> if you've ever had trouble  with teaching children about variables</subtitle>
 +
 +
<subtitle id="0:33:15"> a  child who learns variables this</subtitle>
 +
 +
<subtitle id="0:33:18"> way  learns it the first time and forever</subtitle>
 +
 +
<subtitle id="0:33:21">  it's not the variables are hard for</subtitle>
 +
 +
<subtitle id="0:33:24">children it's just that the way they're  taught is completely</subtitle>
 +
 +
<subtitle id="0:33:27"> unseated yes</subtitle>
 +
 +
<subtitle id="0:33:30">  oh this so this is called squeaky</subtitle>
 +
 +
<subtitle id="0:33:33"> toys  if you go to squeak LAN</subtitle>
 +
 +
<subtitle id="0:33:36"> org runs on  every it's</subtitle>
 +
 +
<subtitle id="0:33:39"> free</subtitle>
 +
 +
<subtitle id="0:33:42"> yes that was so both of  these the</subtitle>
 +
 +
<subtitle id="0:33:45"> scratch was not the media lab</subtitle>
 +
 +
<subtitle id="0:33:48">  and was also done on top of squeak so</subtitle>
 +
 +
<subtitle id="0:33:51">  scratch and e toys or to scratch</subtitle>
 +
 +
<subtitle id="0:33:54"> was  done kind of four teenage</subtitle>
 +
 +
<subtitle id="0:33:57"> after school  kids as</subtitle>
 +
 +
<subtitle id="0:34:0"> a media thing they're both  relatively similar</subtitle>
 +
 +
<subtitle id="0:34:3"> and you can both do a  lot of the same things here</subtitle>
 +
 +
<subtitle id="0:34:6"> so the basic  idea</subtitle>
 +
 +
<subtitle id="0:34:9"> here is that you're trying</subtitle>
 +
 +
<subtitle id="0:34:12"> to  situate a</subtitle>
 +
 +
<subtitle id="0:34:15"> motivation if I want to I</subtitle>
 +
 +
<subtitle id="0:34:18">to drive this car with a steering wheel  and</subtitle>
 +
 +
<subtitle id="0:34:21"> the fact that the number is coming</subtitle>
 +
 +
<subtitle id="0:34:24">out of the steering wheel are going to  be different and so it makes sense to  have</subtitle>
 +
 +
<subtitle id="0:34:27"> them name and this script</subtitle>
 +
 +
<subtitle id="0:34:30">icking over and over again so this  could hardly be simpler</subtitle>
 +
 +
<subtitle id="0:34:33"> and one other  little</subtitle>
 +
 +
<subtitle id="0:34:36"> thing is the car is a little  difficult to control</subtitle>
 +
 +
<subtitle id="0:34:39"> here and so</subtitle>
 +
 +
<subtitle id="0:34:42">to the kids will want it why don't you  just put a gear and a</subtitle>
 +
 +
<subtitle id="0:34:45"> gear here being  for example dividing</subtitle>
 +
 +
<subtitle id="0:34:48"> the number coming  out by three</subtitle>
 +
 +
<subtitle id="0:34:54">now you have to turn</subtitle>
 +
 +
<subtitle id="0:34:57"> the way the wheel  much further in order to get the same  influence</subtitle>
 +
 +
<subtitle id="0:35:0"> on the car so most 5th graders</subtitle>
 +
 +
<subtitle id="0:35:3">have no idea why they should ever learn  how to multiply or divide</subtitle>
 +
 +
<subtitle id="0:35:6"> because in the  world that they're taught in school</subtitle>
 +
 +
<subtitle id="0:35:9"> math they're taught it's not  about scaling</subtitle>
 +
 +
<subtitle id="0:35:12"> it's about solving other  kinds of problems but</subtitle>
 +
 +
<subtitle id="0:35:15"> in the world of  science and</subtitle>
 +
 +
<subtitle id="0:35:18"> engineering it's not about  scaling</subtitle>
 +
 +
<subtitle id="0:35:21"> not about</subtitle>
 +
 +
<subtitle id="0:35:24"> multiplying as we as</subtitle>
 +
 +
<subtitle id="0:35:27">we generally do but it's about scaling  things okay</subtitle>
 +
 +
<subtitle id="0:35:30"> so let</subtitle>
 +
 +
<subtitle id="0:35:33"> me try another little  idea on you i'm going</subtitle>
 +
 +
<subtitle id="0:35:36"> to make a little  script here so</subtitle>
 +
 +
<subtitle id="0:35:39"> i'm going to set cars  speed to 30 and</subtitle>
 +
 +
<subtitle id="0:35:42"> i'm</subtitle>
 +
 +
<subtitle id="0:35:45"> going to</subtitle>
 +
 +
<subtitle id="0:35:48"></subtitle>
 +
 +
<subtitle id="0:35:51"> set say</subtitle>
 +
 +
<subtitle id="0:35:54">  increase the cars</subtitle>
 +
 +
<subtitle id="0:35:57"> horizontal position by  cars speed each time</subtitle>
 +
 +
<subtitle id="0:36:0"> so if I just do  this</subtitle>
 +
 +
<subtitle id="0:36:3"> or if I just let it go</subtitle>
 +
 +
<subtitle id="0:36:6"> stop</subtitle>
 +
 +
<subtitle id="0:36:9"> so does  does everybody see that</subtitle>
 +
 +
<subtitle id="0:36:12"> this is that</subtitle>
 +
 +
<subtitle id="0:36:15">  first column that the six-year-olds did</subtitle>
 +
 +
<subtitle id="0:36:18">  what I'm</subtitle>
 +
 +
<subtitle id="0:36:21"> increasing is the position</subtitle>
 +
 +
<subtitle id="0:36:24">where they are so the</subtitle>
 +
 +
<subtitle id="0:36:27"> car is doing a  uniform</subtitle>
 +
 +
<subtitle id="0:36:30"> speed and these little dots i'm</subtitle>
 +
 +
<subtitle id="0:36:33">dropping help us see the uniformity of  it but</subtitle>
 +
 +
<subtitle id="0:36:36"> what if i say okay instead</subtitle>
 +
 +
<subtitle id="0:36:39"> of  instead of doing that what</subtitle>
 +
 +
<subtitle id="0:36:42"> if I okay</subtitle>
 +
 +
<subtitle id="0:36:45">look at this one really carefully now  what if I increase this by 30</subtitle>
 +
 +
<subtitle id="0:36:48"> each time  alright so the speed is going to start  off</subtitle>
 +
 +
<subtitle id="0:36:51"> 0 36 d all</subtitle>
 +
 +
<subtitle id="0:36:54"> right so now the speed is  growing and</subtitle>
 +
 +
<subtitle id="0:36:57"> then I'm going to whatever</subtitle>
 +
 +
<subtitle id="0:37:0">that has grown to i'm going to then bump  the car ahead</subtitle>
 +
 +
<subtitle id="0:37:3"> right so you see this is  the two columns</subtitle>
 +
 +
<subtitle id="0:37:6"> so the car is going to  go exponentially</subtitle>
 +
 +
<subtitle id="0:37:9"> so if i go do</subtitle>
 +
 +
<subtitle id="0:37:12"> it cow</subtitle>
 +
 +
<subtitle id="0:37:15">and this gives us a visual way of</subtitle>
 +
 +
<subtitle id="0:37:18">  thinking about acceleration because the</subtitle>
 +
 +
<subtitle id="0:37:21">  distance between those two dots is the  distance</subtitle>
 +
 +
<subtitle id="0:37:24"> travel per unit time and the  distance travel</subtitle>
 +
 +
<subtitle id="0:37:27"> per unit time is the  speed</subtitle>
 +
 +
<subtitle id="0:37:30"> right so many so much distance</subtitle>
 +
 +
<subtitle id="0:37:33"> per  tick 30 miles per hour</subtitle>
 +
 +
<subtitle id="0:37:36"> and so what's  happening here is we can see</subtitle>
 +
 +
<subtitle id="0:37:39">accelerating and the fifth graders love  to</subtitle>
 +
 +
<subtitle id="0:37:42"> know that the term for this is  acceleration</subtitle>
 +
 +
<subtitle id="0:37:45"></subtitle>
 +
 +
<subtitle id="0:37:48"> okay we have a question yes  I</subtitle>
 +
 +
<subtitle id="0:37:51"> know</subtitle>
 +
 +
<subtitle id="0:37:54"> your your commentary is focusing  on math</subtitle>
 +
 +
<subtitle id="0:37:57"> but my question has</subtitle>
 +
 +
<subtitle id="0:38:0"> to do with  the kids response to reading</subtitle>
 +
 +
<subtitle id="0:38:3"> and writing  or reading and typing in this case do</subtitle>
 +
 +
<subtitle id="0:38:6">  you find that the kids</subtitle>
 +
 +
<subtitle id="0:38:9"> are more do they  get the transference from being able</subtitle>
 +
 +
<subtitle id="0:38:12"> to  use this high place and I try that after</subtitle>
 +
 +
<subtitle id="0:38:15">  yeah</subtitle>
 +
 +
<subtitle id="0:38:18"> that's a good question though</subtitle>
 +
 +
<subtitle id="0:38:24">reason I'm hurrying along here is I'm</subtitle>
 +
 +
<subtitle id="0:38:27">going to be cut out regardless of how  interesting this talk is</subtitle>
 +
 +
<subtitle id="0:38:30"> it's going to  end at 10 minutes to</subtitle>
 +
 +
<subtitle id="0:38:33"> the hour okay let's  move</subtitle>
 +
 +
<subtitle id="0:38:36"> so I want the only comment here</subtitle>
 +
 +
<subtitle id="0:38:39"> is  does everybody</subtitle>
 +
 +
<subtitle id="0:38:42"> see that what you're  doing on the</subtitle>
 +
 +
<subtitle id="0:38:45"> computer can't be science  but</subtitle>
 +
 +
<subtitle id="0:38:48"> is only math that you can't do</subtitle>
 +
 +
<subtitle id="0:38:51">  science on a computer</subtitle>
 +
 +
<subtitle id="0:38:54"> why</subtitle>
 +
 +
<subtitle id="0:39:0">eah</subtitle>
 +
 +
<subtitle id="0:39:3"> I can simulate any goddamn thing I</subtitle>
 +
 +
<subtitle id="0:39:6">  want on a computer I can live up one  side</subtitle>
 +
 +
<subtitle id="0:39:9"> and down the other so it's just all  math is is</subtitle>
 +
 +
<subtitle id="0:39:12"> a story that's consistent but</subtitle>
 +
 +
<subtitle id="0:39:15">he problem is the degrees of freedom in  in any reasonable</subtitle>
 +
 +
<subtitle id="0:39:18"> human language are  larger than those the universe has</subtitle>
 +
 +
<subtitle id="0:39:21"> and  so this is this is why the Greeks</subtitle>
 +
 +
<subtitle id="0:39:24">quite invent science except maybe  Archimedes</subtitle>
 +
 +
<subtitle id="0:39:27"> and the reason is they  thought God was a mathematician and</subtitle>
 +
 +
<subtitle id="0:39:30">thought if they started off with  self-evident</subtitle>
 +
 +
<subtitle id="0:39:33"> first principles that they  could just</subtitle>
 +
 +
<subtitle id="0:39:36"> deduce the universe the same  way God did</subtitle>
 +
 +
<subtitle id="0:39:39"> could be true because that  this is a</subtitle>
 +
 +
<subtitle id="0:39:42"> lot of physicists think this  might</subtitle>
 +
 +
<subtitle id="0:39:45"> be true I doubt it so</subtitle>
 +
 +
<subtitle id="0:39:48"> let's take a  look let's look at the kids in the world  now</subtitle>
 +
 +
<subtitle id="0:39:51"> so you're a bunch of objects objects  that</subtitle>
 +
 +
<subtitle id="0:39:54"> you think will fall to the earth at  the same</subtitle>
 +
 +
<subtitle id="0:39:57"></subtitle>
 +
 +
<subtitle id="0:40:0"> okay</subtitle>
 +
 +
<subtitle id="0:40:3"> oh do not pay any  attention to</subtitle>
 +
 +
<subtitle id="0:40:6"> what anybody else the  grapefruit now</subtitle>
 +
 +
<subtitle id="0:40:9"> you two levels of shot  put sponge balls</subtitle>
 +
 +
<subtitle id="0:40:12"> are a couple</subtitle>
 +
 +
<subtitle id="0:40:15"> sleep  janet</subtitle>
 +
 +
<subtitle id="0:40:18"> is up on the roof  because</subtitle>
 +
 +
<subtitle id="0:40:21"> stopwatches by</subtitle>
 +
 +
<subtitle id="0:40:24"> the way to do it  but</subtitle>
 +
 +
<subtitle id="0:40:27"> when do you really not go</subtitle>
 +
 +
<subtitle id="0:40:30"></subtitle>
 +
 +
<subtitle id="0:40:33"></subtitle>
 +
 +
<subtitle id="0:40:36"> together  so put a sponge ball</subtitle>
 +
 +
<subtitle id="0:40:39"> okay I think we  should do the shot</subtitle>
 +
 +
<subtitle id="0:40:42"> right and the sub  ball because</subtitle>
 +
 +
<subtitle id="0:40:45"> they're two totally  different ways and if</subtitle>
 +
 +
<subtitle id="0:40:48"> you drop them at  the same time but they'll drop</subtitle>
 +
 +
<subtitle id="0:40:51"> at the  same speed drop</subtitle>
 +
 +
<subtitle id="0:40:54"> okay so</subtitle>
 +
 +
<subtitle id="0:40:57"> if you do this  so Aristotle</subtitle>
 +
 +
<subtitle id="0:41:0"> did not ask any children  when</subtitle>
 +
 +
<subtitle id="0:41:3"> he came up with the wrong theory of  this he</subtitle>
 +
 +
<subtitle id="0:41:6"> just deduced it using</subtitle>
 +
 +
<subtitle id="0:41:9"> a using a  wrong a common-sense way of thinking  about</subtitle>
 +
 +
<subtitle id="0:41:12"> what's actually going on but we  found that one</subtitle>
 +
 +
<subtitle id="0:41:15"> child in 30 roughly so if  you if</subtitle>
 +
 +
<subtitle id="0:41:18"> you have a class of 30 kids</subtitle>
 +
 +
<subtitle id="0:41:21">you've got an excellent chance that one  child will do what that little girl</subtitle>
 +
 +
<subtitle id="0:41:24"> did  which is to pull the Galileo and just</subtitle>
 +
 +
<subtitle id="0:41:27">  cut to the chase and say hey wait</subtitle>
 +
 +
<subtitle id="0:41:30"> a  minute that's</subtitle>
 +
 +
<subtitle id="0:41:33"> the I'm already in the</subtitle>
 +
 +
<subtitle id="0:41:36">place</subtitle>
 +
 +
<subtitle id="0:41:39"> where all I have to do is just  listen and of course the</subtitle>
 +
 +
<subtitle id="0:41:42"> scaffolding in  the Leaning Tower of Pisa was</subtitle>
 +
 +
<subtitle id="0:41:45"> what  Galileo listen to it was under repair at</subtitle>
 +
 +
<subtitle id="0:41:48">  that time so</subtitle>
 +
 +
<subtitle id="0:41:51"> but that's</subtitle>
 +
 +
<subtitle id="0:41:54"> quality could  call that a big idea</subtitle>
 +
 +
<subtitle id="0:41:57"> however</subtitle>
 +
 +
<subtitle id="0:42:0"> can also do  something</subtitle>
 +
 +
<subtitle id="0:42:3"> a little bit more here so we</subtitle>
 +
 +
<subtitle id="0:42:6">  take a video these</subtitle>
 +
 +
<subtitle id="0:42:9"> might look like funny  video frames but video is just</subtitle>
 +
 +
<subtitle id="0:42:12"> part of  the objects that these this language  deals</subtitle>
 +
 +
<subtitle id="0:42:15"> with so we can make the frames  convenient to take every fifth frame</subtitle>
 +
 +
<subtitle id="0:42:18"> you  can stack them sideways or</subtitle>
 +
 +
<subtitle id="0:42:21"> you can stack  them like this if</subtitle>
 +
 +
<subtitle id="0:42:24"> you look at this what  do you think the kids say</subtitle>
 +
 +
<subtitle id="0:42:27"> when they see  that pattern</subtitle>
 +
 +
<subtitle id="0:42:30">acceleration four months later</subtitle>
 +
 +
<subtitle id="0:42:33"> so four  months previously they did the  horizontal</subtitle>
 +
 +
<subtitle id="0:42:36"> thing with the car four  months later remember the</subtitle>
 +
 +
<subtitle id="0:42:39"> visual path  what kind of acceleration</subtitle>
 +
 +
<subtitle id="0:42:42"> so well</subtitle>
 +
 +
<subtitle id="0:42:45"> let's  measure</subtitle>
 +
 +
<subtitle id="0:42:48"> so we measure from the bottom of  one</subtitle>
 +
 +
<subtitle id="0:42:51"> guy and so we can just use these  little</subtitle>
 +
 +
<subtitle id="0:42:54"> translucent rectangles to do it</subtitle>
 +
 +
<subtitle id="0:42:57">pre-measured these so</subtitle>
 +
 +
<subtitle id="0:43:0"> i don't have to  fiddle while I'm rushed</subtitle>
 +
 +
<subtitle id="0:43:3"> for time as it  is but then the cool thing</subtitle>
 +
 +
<subtitle id="0:43:6"> is i can just  stack these up</subtitle>
 +
 +
<subtitle id="0:43:9"> like</subtitle>
 +
 +
<subtitle id="0:43:18">okay what do you think these</subtitle>
 +
 +
<subtitle id="0:43:21"> things mean  what are these</subtitle>
 +
 +
<subtitle id="0:43:24"> these are the differences</subtitle>
 +
 +
<subtitle id="0:43:27">  between the speed at each time tick</subtitle>
 +
 +
<subtitle id="0:43:30">  right each rectangle is the speed at</subtitle>
 +
 +
<subtitle id="0:43:33">  each time tick in i'm doing a visual  subtraction</subtitle>
 +
 +
<subtitle id="0:43:36"> there and what i'm showing  is their progressive if I just subtract</subtitle>
 +
 +
<subtitle id="0:43:39">hem off they're all the same what kind  of acceleration is</subtitle>
 +
 +
<subtitle id="0:43:42"> that acceleration</subtitle>
 +
 +
<subtitle id="0:43:45"> so  the kids immediately write this</subtitle>
 +
 +
<subtitle id="0:43:48"> little  script right here</subtitle>
 +
 +
<subtitle id="0:43:51"> let's listen to Tyrone  here</subtitle>
 +
 +
<subtitle id="0:43:54"> and to make sure that I was</subtitle>
 +
 +
<subtitle id="0:43:57"> doing  it just right I got</subtitle>
 +
 +
<subtitle id="0:44:0"> a magnifier which  would help me</subtitle>
 +
 +
<subtitle id="0:44:3"> so I figure out if the  size was just</subtitle>
 +
 +
<subtitle id="0:44:6"> right after I'd done that  I would</subtitle>
 +
 +
<subtitle id="0:44:9"> go and click on the little basic</subtitle>
 +
 +
<subtitle id="0:44:12">  category button and then a little mini</subtitle>
 +
 +
<subtitle id="0:44:15">  would pop up and one</subtitle>
 +
 +
<subtitle id="0:44:18"> of the categories  would be geometry so I click on that and</subtitle>
 +
 +
<subtitle id="0:44:21">  here it has many things have</subtitle>
 +
 +
<subtitle id="0:44:24"> to do with  the size and shape of</subtitle>
 +
 +
<subtitle id="0:44:27"> the rectangle so</subtitle>
 +
 +
<subtitle id="0:44:30"> I  would see with the Heidi I kept</subtitle>
 +
 +
<subtitle id="0:44:33"> going  along the process until I</subtitle>
 +
 +
<subtitle id="0:44:36"> had them all  lined up with their height i subtracted</subtitle>
 +
 +
<subtitle id="0:44:39">the smaller ones height from the big one  to see</subtitle>
 +
 +
<subtitle id="0:44:42"> if there was a kind of pattern  anywhere there</subtitle>
 +
 +
<subtitle id="0:44:45"> could help me I'm not as  this worked so</subtitle>
 +
 +
<subtitle id="0:44:48"> in order to show that it  was working</subtitle>
 +
 +
<subtitle id="0:44:51"> i decided to leave a doc  copy so that it</subtitle>
 +
 +
<subtitle id="0:44:54"> would show if the ball  was really the exact right speed Henry</subtitle>
 +
 +
<subtitle id="0:44:57">  simulated ball is tracking the movie</subtitle>
 +
 +
<subtitle id="0:45:0">  this is how he's showing that his model</subtitle>
 +
 +
<subtitle id="0:45:3">  is in accord with the real world at</subtitle>
 +
 +
<subtitle id="0:45:6">least two within a pixel so what you got  here so</subtitle>
 +
 +
<subtitle id="0:45:9"> here's something to think about  lily and mcdermott of</subtitle>
 +
 +
<subtitle id="0:45:12">Washington is a physicist who looks at  college kids seventy</subtitle>
 +
 +
<subtitle id="0:45:15"> percent of all  college kids including science majors</subtitle>
 +
 +
<subtitle id="0:45:18"> in  this country fail to understand Galilean</subtitle>
 +
 +
<subtitle id="0:45:21">  gravity that's what this is ninety</subtitle>
 +
 +
<subtitle id="0:45:24">  percent of the children going doing it</subtitle>
 +
 +
<subtitle id="0:45:27">  this way actually derive the equations</subtitle>
 +
 +
<subtitle id="0:45:30">themselves actually  make the simulations from scratch</subtitle>
 +
 +
<subtitle id="0:45:33">  themselves and show within</subtitle>
 +
 +
<subtitle id="0:45:36"> the limits of  the accuracy hear</subtitle>
 +
 +
<subtitle id="0:45:39"> that their model is an</subtitle>
 +
 +
<subtitle id="0:45:42">  accord with physical reality and in fact  the difference</subtitle>
 +
 +
<subtitle id="0:45:45"> between Galilean gravity  14</subtitle>
 +
 +
<subtitle id="0:45:48"> feet above the ground and Newtonian  gravity is only one part</subtitle>
 +
 +
<subtitle id="0:45:51"> in a million  and so we can think of get</subtitle>
 +
 +
<subtitle id="0:45:54"> Galileo is  very lucky that</subtitle>
 +
 +
<subtitle id="0:45:57"> he couldn't measure that  one part</subtitle>
 +
 +
<subtitle id="0:46:0"> in a million or he would have  been very confused right</subtitle>
 +
 +
<subtitle id="0:46:3"> this way had to  be done first before the</subtitle>
 +
 +
<subtitle id="0:46:6"> Newtonian way  hat okay so let me I think I'm</subtitle>
 +
 +
<subtitle id="0:46:9"> getting  to the point where I have to finish up</subtitle>
 +
 +
<subtitle id="0:46:12">  so</subtitle>
 +
 +
<subtitle id="0:46:18"> let's think about serious stuff now</subtitle>
 +
 +
<subtitle id="0:46:21">e</subtitle>
 +
 +
<subtitle id="0:46:24"> live inside of systems and we are  systems so</subtitle>
 +
 +
<subtitle id="0:46:27"> it's a nice unification  through all of the</subtitle>
 +
 +
<subtitle id="0:46:30"> sciences engineering  and art</subtitle>
 +
 +
<subtitle id="0:46:33"> so if you're going to make up a  middle school science</subtitle>
 +
 +
<subtitle id="0:46:36"> curriculum for say  the eighth grade I would</subtitle>
 +
 +
<subtitle id="0:46:38"> not pick a  science like biology but I pick</subtitle>
 +
 +
<subtitle id="0:46:41"> a  uniform unifying rubric</subtitle>
 +
 +
<subtitle id="0:46:45"> like systems and  I teach all of different Sciences</subtitle>
 +
 +
<subtitle id="0:46:47"> the  systems aspect of those and</subtitle>
 +
 +
<subtitle id="0:46:50"> use  mathematics to deal with those</subtitle>
 +
 +
<subtitle id="0:46:53"> things  and my romantic ideal</subtitle>
 +
 +
<subtitle id="0:46:56"> would be the  planet is in trouble and we need to  learn</subtitle>
 +
 +
<subtitle id="0:46:59"> how to save it</subtitle>
 +
 +
<subtitle id="0:47:2"> and</subtitle>
 +
 +
<subtitle id="0:47:5"> what we've got  going in general is</subtitle>
 +
 +
<subtitle id="0:47:8"> something like this  if you hit</subtitle>
 +
 +
<subtitle id="0:47:11"> this mystery object with a  hammer it</subtitle>
 +
 +
<subtitle id="0:47:14"> returns to equilibrium but if</subtitle>
 +
 +
<subtitle id="0:47:17">  I raise it up far enough it</subtitle>
 +
 +
<subtitle id="0:47:20"> doesn't come  back</subtitle>
 +
 +
<subtitle id="0:47:23">so</subtitle>
 +
 +
<subtitle id="0:47:26"> what we got here</subtitle>
 +
 +
<subtitle id="0:47:29"> the most systems</subtitle>
 +
 +
<subtitle id="0:47:32"> are  like this the equilibrium</subtitle>
 +
 +
<subtitle id="0:47:35"> they have is  actually dynamically</subtitle>
 +
 +
<subtitle id="0:47:38"> stable but not  statically stable so</subtitle>
 +
 +
<subtitle id="0:47:41"> if you just tap  this thing</subtitle>
 +
 +
<subtitle id="0:47:44"> it won't do anything but if</subtitle>
 +
 +
<subtitle id="0:47:47">tap it enough to get it passed its  center of mass bunk</subtitle>
 +
 +
<subtitle id="0:47:50"> and</subtitle>
 +
 +
<subtitle id="0:47:53"> thing to  understand here is that's</subtitle>
 +
 +
<subtitle id="0:47:56"> that's what  we're doing so what we're doing is  stressing</subtitle>
 +
 +
<subtitle id="0:47:59"> the earth and</subtitle>
 +
 +
<subtitle id="0:48:2"> little bits of  stress like</subtitle>
 +
 +
<subtitle id="0:48:5"> burning the river in  Cleveland can</subtitle>
 +
 +
<subtitle id="0:48:8"> be fixed up in large  amounts of stress</subtitle>
 +
 +
<subtitle id="0:48:17">can topple the system and think</subtitle>
 +
 +
<subtitle id="0:48:20"> about  systems is when they get toppled they</subtitle>
 +
 +
<subtitle id="0:48:23">  don't stop but it's in a new state</subtitle>
 +
 +
<subtitle id="0:48:26"> now  and it's going to resist</subtitle>
 +
 +
<subtitle id="0:48:29"> getting it back  it could so</subtitle>
 +
 +
<subtitle id="0:48:32"> for instance when the  climate has toppled in the past</subtitle>
 +
 +
<subtitle id="0:48:35">aken between ten thousand a hundred  thousand</subtitle>
 +
 +
<subtitle id="0:48:38"> and five hundred thousand years  to restore all</subtitle>
 +
 +
<subtitle id="0:48:41"> of those numbers are a  lot larger than our lifetime</subtitle>
 +
 +
<subtitle id="0:48:44"></subtitle>
 +
 +
<subtitle id="0:48:47"> okay</subtitle>
 +
 +
<subtitle id="0:48:50"> let me  just try it</subtitle>
 +
 +
<subtitle id="0:48:56">so</subtitle>
 +
 +
<subtitle id="0:48:59"> what we've seen here is a Jerry</subtitle>
 +
 +
<subtitle id="0:49:2">  Bruner idea but I've tried to show you</subtitle>
 +
 +
<subtitle id="0:49:5">  is that the</subtitle>
 +
 +
<subtitle id="0:49:8"> most important idea here is  that you have to heed the level of</subtitle>
 +
 +
<subtitle id="0:49:11">development of the person you're trying  to teach and</subtitle>
 +
 +
<subtitle id="0:49:14"> if you know yourself like  it doesn't</subtitle>
 +
 +
<subtitle id="0:49:17"> make sense for a non  mathematician to try and teach math to</subtitle>
 +
 +
<subtitle id="0:49:20"> a  six-year-old it just doesn't</subtitle>
 +
 +
<subtitle id="0:49:23"> because the  six the</subtitle>
 +
 +
<subtitle id="0:49:26"> six-year-old doesn't think in  the same way as a teenager or an</subtitle>
 +
 +
<subtitle id="0:49:29">doesn't if you want to teach real math  you</subtitle>
 +
 +
<subtitle id="0:49:32"> have to be a mathematician or have a  mathematician</subtitle>
 +
 +
<subtitle id="0:49:35"> in the loop because the  mathematicians job is to figure out what</subtitle>
 +
 +
<subtitle id="0:49:38">  kind of real math is within the  wheelhouse</subtitle>
 +
 +
<subtitle id="0:49:41"> of the six-year-old</subtitle>
 +
 +
<subtitle id="0:49:44"> that's  really the job</subtitle>
 +
 +
<subtitle id="0:49:47"> so discovery learning so</subtitle>
 +
 +
<subtitle id="0:49:50">here's the thing we have two poles in  the United States back to</subtitle>
 +
 +
<subtitle id="0:49:53"> basics and  discovery learning</subtitle>
 +
 +
<subtitle id="0:49:56"> both of this both  these are absolute</subtitle>
 +
 +
<subtitle id="0:49:59"> vs it</subtitle>
 +
 +
<subtitle id="0:50:2"> so it's very  complicated going into a meeting with</subtitle>
 +
 +
<subtitle id="0:50:5">educators because they tend to polarize  long those and you</subtitle>
 +
 +
<subtitle id="0:50:8"> know any scientist  and mathematician guys think Oh No</subtitle>
 +
 +
<subtitle id="0:50:11"> and  the</subtitle>
 +
 +
<subtitle id="0:50:14"> the joke here is about discovery  learning is is</subtitle>
 +
 +
<subtitle id="0:50:17"> whoops is the teacher</subtitle>
 +
 +
<subtitle id="0:50:20">saying oh no they're discovering the  wrong things why</subtitle>
 +
 +
<subtitle id="0:50:23"> are they discovering  the wrong things well consider</subtitle>
 +
 +
<subtitle id="0:50:26"> our  200,000 years on the planet</subtitle>
 +
 +
<subtitle id="0:50:29"> we had to go  almost all the</subtitle>
 +
 +
<subtitle id="0:50:32"> way to the present to  just do agriculture Greece was</subtitle>
 +
 +
<subtitle id="0:50:35"> only  2,500 years ago that was modern math and</subtitle>
 +
 +
<subtitle id="0:50:38">  real science was just 400 years ago</subtitle>
 +
 +
<subtitle id="0:50:41">  think about that the</subtitle>
 +
 +
<subtitle id="0:50:44"> u.s. know a stable</subtitle>
 +
 +
<subtitle id="0:50:47">  dynamically stable democratic government</subtitle>
 +
 +
<subtitle id="0:50:50">is only a few hundred years old these  ideas are</subtitle>
 +
 +
<subtitle id="0:50:53"> not easy so what you need is a  guide</subtitle>
 +
 +
<subtitle id="0:50:56"> so</subtitle>
 +
 +
<subtitle id="0:50:59"> it's not Hillary climbing  Everest it's Tenzing</subtitle>
 +
 +
<subtitle id="0:51:2"> and Hillary and</subtitle>
 +
 +
<subtitle id="0:51:5">  sure we'd love to have Socrates and  Fineman</subtitle>
 +
 +
<subtitle id="0:51:8"> as guides but these guys don't</subtitle>
 +
 +
<subtitle id="0:51:11">scale this is one of the problems with  school</subtitle>
 +
 +
<subtitle id="0:51:14"> books are great because you can  get some</subtitle>
 +
 +
<subtitle id="0:51:17"> of Fineman and Socrates but</subtitle>
 +
 +
<subtitle id="0:51:20"> I  used books a lot but I needed to have</subtitle>
 +
 +
<subtitle id="0:51:23">real teacher that teacher had something  libraries didn't</subtitle>
 +
 +
<subtitle id="0:51:26"> have which is a table  full of junk you could make things and  learn things with</subtitle>
 +
 +
<subtitle id="0:51:29"> libraries should have</subtitle>
 +
 +
<subtitle id="0:51:32">these but they don't know that they  should and I have</subtitle>
 +
 +
<subtitle id="0:51:35"> my dad who is a  physiologist to ask questions of</subtitle>
 +
 +
<subtitle id="0:51:38"> so what  we're thinking about</subtitle>
 +
 +
<subtitle id="0:51:41"> today is what</subtitle>
 +
 +
<subtitle id="0:51:44"> kind  of use could we make</subtitle>
 +
 +
<subtitle id="0:51:47"> out of the computer  since it has booked like properties</subtitle>
 +
 +
<subtitle id="0:51:50"> but  it also is active enough to</subtitle>
 +
 +
<subtitle id="0:51:53"> be able to  sense what the user is doing</subtitle>
 +
 +
<subtitle id="0:52:2">so here's a simple</subtitle>
 +
 +
<subtitle id="0:52:5"> thing that's very  popular guitar hero</subtitle>
 +
 +
<subtitle id="0:52:8"> so the interesting  thing</subtitle>
 +
 +
<subtitle id="0:52:11"> about guitar hero is that people</subtitle>
 +
 +
<subtitle id="0:52:14">don't have to go to school to learn how  to play it like</subtitle>
 +
 +
<subtitle id="0:52:17"> most video games</subtitle>
 +
 +
<subtitle id="0:52:20"> now the  bug with this is that</subtitle>
 +
 +
<subtitle id="0:52:23"> real guitar I used  to be a professional guitar</subtitle>
 +
 +
<subtitle id="0:52:26"> player jazz  guitar it's just</subtitle>
 +
 +
<subtitle id="0:52:29"> like a thousand times  harder than guitar hero guitar hero</subtitle>
 +
 +
<subtitle id="0:52:32"> is  it like simple drumming if</subtitle>
 +
 +
<subtitle id="0:52:35"> you ever  tried drumming is very like</subtitle>
 +
 +
<subtitle id="0:52:38"> just having  a snare and a high hat</subtitle>
 +
 +
<subtitle id="0:52:41"> and that's tricky  enough if</subtitle>
 +
 +
<subtitle id="0:52:44"> you've ever tried it you have  to get a couple of things going it's  tricky</subtitle>
 +
 +
<subtitle id="0:52:47"> you can think it's the entire  world because</subtitle>
 +
 +
<subtitle id="0:52:50"> this trick Ian of itself  and there's all these great sounds</subtitle>
 +
 +
<subtitle id="0:52:53">coming out but it's absolutely a snare  and a delusion and</subtitle>
 +
 +
<subtitle id="0:52:56"> most here's the  prediction most schools</subtitle>
 +
 +
<subtitle id="0:52:59">States are going to wind up using  computers in</subtitle>
 +
 +
<subtitle id="0:53:2"> classrooms to do a form of  guitar hero</subtitle>
 +
 +
<subtitle id="0:53:5"> for most of the important  subjects</subtitle>
 +
 +
<subtitle id="0:53:8"> because most teachers in</subtitle>
 +
 +
<subtitle id="0:53:11"> the  united states are not guitar players</subtitle>
 +
 +
<subtitle id="0:53:14">alright so this is a huge</subtitle>
 +
 +
<subtitle id="0:53:17"> problem and  yet</subtitle>
 +
 +
<subtitle id="0:53:20"> without</subtitle>
 +
 +
<subtitle id="0:53:23"> replacing humans it's</subtitle>
 +
 +
<subtitle id="0:53:26">  absolutely possible to make some</subtitle>
 +
 +
<subtitle id="0:53:29"> a  fantastic tutoring system for learning  any level</subtitle>
 +
 +
<subtitle id="0:53:32"> of guitar playing at any level</subtitle>
 +
 +
<subtitle id="0:53:35">without having to have a human in the  loop that's what's interesting</subtitle>
 +
 +
<subtitle id="0:53:38"> you don't  get everything you get with</subtitle>
 +
 +
<subtitle id="0:53:41"> a human but  you get about ninety-five</subtitle>
 +
 +
<subtitle id="0:53:44">stuff that you need to be able to do  anyway you</subtitle>
 +
 +
<subtitle id="0:53:47"> can do it and that's what</subtitle>
 +
 +
<subtitle id="0:53:50"> I  want you to think about is not replacing  teachers</subtitle>
 +
 +
<subtitle id="0:53:53"> here but to listen</subtitle>
 +
 +
<subtitle id="0:53:56"> to our  smarter than the average President as</subtitle>
 +
 +
<subtitle id="0:53:59">talked to the National Academy last  spring he</subtitle>
 +
 +
<subtitle id="0:54:2"> gets it the</subtitle>
 +
 +
<subtitle id="0:54:5"> only way we're  ever going to get enough science</subtitle>
 +
 +
<subtitle id="0:54:8"> savvy  knowledge into schools is to help</subtitle>
 +
 +
<subtitle id="0:54:11">existing teacher with media that  understand</subtitle>
 +
 +
<subtitle id="0:54:14">  the science as children can practice it</subtitle>
 +
 +
<subtitle id="0:54:17">  this is going to be a revolution</subtitle>
 +
 +
<subtitle id="0:54:20">going to happen over the next year and  it is a grand challenge it's</subtitle>
 +
 +
<subtitle id="0:54:23"> as  difficult as the challenge that we faced</subtitle>
 +
 +
<subtitle id="0:54:26">  40 years ago where the challenge was  everybody</subtitle>
 +
 +
<subtitle id="0:54:29"> should have a personal  computer pervasively network worldwide</subtitle>
 +
 +
<subtitle id="0:54:32">  and</subtitle>
 +
 +
<subtitle id="0:54:35"> we have the funding for it and</subtitle>
 +
 +
<subtitle id="0:54:38"> we  were able to invent it now several  billion</subtitle>
 +
 +
<subtitle id="0:54:41"> people have it and it's time to  use the computers</subtitle>
 +
 +
<subtitle id="0:54:44"> for what they're  really good for what</subtitle>
 +
 +
<subtitle id="0:54:47"> do you think thank  you very much</subtitle>

Latest revision as of 21:57, 6 December 2017

so we
actually are dealing with an  academic hour here
and be fitting with  our school setting
marvin minsky once  said school was the greatest
invention  anybody ever came up with to keep
you  from staying interested on anything for  any reasonable
length of time because of  course
it has all these schedules in  assembly line movements
and we have one  of those today and
I also wanted to  leave time for
questions but one of the  ways I want to leave time
for questions  is to encourage you to ask questions as  I
talk so I have no idea how long this
  talk is and I am going to stop after
50  minutes and regardless of what what
  happened so please don't be
shy ask  questions as we go if
you like and  because this talk is
not for me but for  you
so it's
in a series of ideas which  are
somewhat connected I hope so
one  contrast
I'd like you to think about is  the notion beach of
common sense that
  most people take
the world around them  as reality I
once came up with
at said technology is anything that  happened after
you were born because
the  technology that you're born into is
part of your world and it's taken to be  normal there and most
internet Prince the Internet is one of  the great inventions
of all time not the  web but the internet itself
one of the  great maybe one of the greatest  engineering
feats of all time and
it  worked so well that hardly
anybody  appreciates it particularly
in computing  where they should pay more attention to  why
it works so well so here's a
  common-sense deduction that
has been  made by most
people on the planet for  the slightly less
than 200,000 years  modern humans have been here
and that is  something like a king
  natural and normal
extension of the head  of the family
hunted leaders
of hunting  groups and etc etcetera so
this is just  regarded as common sense
and in fact was  not regarded as it as an idea
it was  just part of the part of the world that  people
lived in then in
January 1776  Thomas Paine
wrote a book which he  ironically titled common
sense everybody  here has heard of Tom Paine's Common  Sense
but he had a big idea in it which
  was instead of having the King be
the  law we can have the law be the king and
what he meant was we can design a much  better society
than the what the natural
  seeming hereditary monarchy as we can  take our
future into our own hands we  can come up with a better plan
this is  an idea that surfaced
a couple of times  in Greece but not
not before not after  and
this book
which pain published at  his own expense initially
just gave it  away had a press run
between six hundred thousand and nine  hundred thousand
in six months so
that's  a lot by today's standards and
there  were 1.5 million non
slaves in the  thirteen colonies
back then and so this  press run
encompassed somewhere between  almost a half
to more than a half of all  men women and children in
all 13  colonies so imagine just trying
to reach  that number of people today
there is no  medium that you could do it with except
  with the internet I try
to get sixty  percent of
300 million people no
  newspaper could do it so
so this is a  big idea but
  the powerful idea
and this is the  distinction I want to make was the
  Constitution as a
big idea is kind of an  insight and
often insights insights
are  wonderful but they're
lightweight  they're relatively easy to have compared
  to doing something about it so the
  Constitution said
we should shape  society into a self-organizing
  self-correcting shared idea and resource  system
and that is a very radical
idea  even for today for instance most  Americans
have no idea what the design  of the
United States was or is it's
imply not taught in schools it's not  the way American
history is is taught  and
so
most societies on earth haven't
  gotten this idea even at the societal  level
most human beings on earth don't  have this
idea but this is one of these  powerful ideas
that makes qualitative
  differences in almost every
area of life  and it's related to an even
bigger set  of ideas so
another common sense
whoops
  another another
common sense notion  which is
actually with most Americans  today according to the surveys
I've seen  which is the world is pretty much as it  seems
so we this
is what our nervous  systems are set up to do we're
basically  weren't set up by nature to think
we're  set up by nature to cope and so
primary mechanism is whatever  environment we
find ourselves in so the  answer anthropologists
know that you can  take a child at
birth from any culture  on the planet and take
on the planet  that child will grow up as
a member of  that culture you took it too that's
  because humans are rather more similar
  than they are different we have about  300
traits that anthropologists have  identified
that seem to be quite genetic  including
things like language having  culture telling stories
and those  mechanisms
get embodied with the
local  varieties of those and so the
reality  you grow up within the language you
grew  up with is the language and
the reality  of the culture you you're born in Q
so
now this big ideas
have been had a  number of times in history I happen to  like the
Talmud version of it
we see  things not as they are but as we are
so  this is a bit I'd love to know
what  actually
happened to the person who came  up with this
idea did they take it to  its logical conclusion
considering and
was interesting that was published in  this Talmud is part
of the commentary
  but this is one
of the great big ideas  of all time this
is a really hard one  because it
completely relative izes  what's
going on however it's not a  powerful idea
but had numerous
times and
powerful idea came in
the 17th century  and you
could point to a number of  people and you could point to various
  societies but
17th century has a has a  perfect
atomic
bomb place where science  started
because we had Galileo
and  Kepler and maybe Copernicus
beforehand  and a few other people but in fact
when  Newton did
the Principia he actually  revolutionized
human thought and it's  probably the largest leap in human
  thought of this kind that we know of  historically
this is why most scientists
think of Newton as being the greatest  scientist
and he was almost the first  scientist and
not just in
relative terms  but in absolute terms the amount
of  distance he was able to cover not just
in terms of knowledge but in terms of  about look and
the powerful idea of  science
is not so easy to state  everything
else comes out pretty nicely  as slogans and
there's more to science  than just
this but this is one half of  it which
is science is not about  knowledge  as
niels bohr said science is not there  to tell
us about the universe is what  most people think
most non-scientists  most kids in school
are taught what is  called science
as in roughly the same  way they learn religion in
when they go  to church or
synagogue or mosque but
in what science is at all it's not about  knowledge
it's about relating the
stuff  we can do and can't do in here
all the  things that we can do with
our  representational systems to stuff
out  there that we can't get to directly  because
everything we do is filtered  through our nervous
systems as filtered  through our culture's is
filtered for  through the the difficulties
we have  with making relationships
about things  and this was not an
easy idea to have  we'll
see in a bit but
what's happened  in the last 400 years in
many many  dimensions
has been more than has  happened
in the rest of the 200,000  years and you
know the cliche that
most  scientists 90 more
of all the scientists who ever lived  you're alive today
and most of the  things that
are happening today and some
of the problems and some of the  solutions to those problems
are all  caused this by different way
and much is made
particularly in the pop  culture of
bringing bright
this is  because pop
culture's or cultures  without a lot
of developed knowledge  basically
live by their wits and so you  out
with each other and you
compete at  the level of width but
imagine being  born with an IQ
of 500 who knows how
  smart leonardo was let's
just no 203 who  because
those figures don't what does IQ  me in any
way but let's just say hey  suppose
you're just a hell of a lot  smarter than anybody who ever lived
but  you were born in 10,000 BC
how far you  going to get so
you can probably out wit  everybody around you before
they burn  you at the stake
but in fact Leonardo
  who we know is very very bright could
  not invent a single engine
for any of  the vehicles that he designed so
he's  famous for designing things that look
like planes and things that maybe look  like helicopters
and I'll and they're  wonderful and he did a lot
hings but he couldn't make a single  goddamn one of
them work that is and  that's
because he wasn't smart enough to  think himself out
of the era he had been  born into as
far as we know if nobody  has the closest person who's ever
thought himself out of the era he was  born into his
Newton so
you have this  odd paradox
that whoops sorry that
Henry Ford who is not nearly as smart as
Leonardo just happened to be born in the  right time and
so he did revolutionize  one
of the areas that Leonardo wanted to  revolutionize
by being able
to do  adaptive engineering and a little
invention to the stuff that was already  around
so his knowledge was
processed  knowledge and this was very powerful and  what
was the difference between these  two these
two guys was this
change of  outlook that Newton
was one of the  promulgate errs of
so one of the ways I
  when I talked to grabs grad students
or  children I say well knowledge
is silver  but outlook is
gold our
world is built  on changes of outlook that was what the
  Constitution was that was what Tom Paine  did
and that's what science did and
IQ  is led
because there is no
we know of no  developed field knowledge in
which you  can get by with just talent there's
no  developed sport in which you can get by  with
just talent and some of the most
  difficult sports have been
excelled in  by people who are not as athletic
so for  instance Chris effort
as an example who  is not a particularly athletic
tennis  player but man that you know
how to work  and so she got very very
good at it and  most things have
this thing an Outlook  also
tells you what kind of knowledge to
  go after because of course every group
in history had a zillion amount of not  you going to the
Australian outback  without a
native Australian there
to  help you you're going to die whereas for
  them is just a walk in the park because
  everything is food they know how to get  water and
it's there just they know  where the dangers are they
it's no big deal  so every group
has lots of knowledge the  real thing to think about is
what kind  of knowledge is that what's the quality
level what's the level of flexibility  what can you
you do with it and these  outlook
changes are more pine Steiners  another
one so about a hundred years ago
something
that Newton in a
slightly  different Einstein was quite sure that
  Newton if he lived longer and had not
  been put in had a head
of the Treasury  in England that Newton would have  actually
come up with a theory of  relativity I don't
know whether he could  have could have actually
done that  because but Newton
didn't know that
he  thought it was ridiculous that his  equations
had action at a distance
so he  said so in letters as just
that nobody  could measure well enough
and what they  did measure the
gravitational forces  seem to
transmit instantly but
from  Newton standpoint that was ridiculous
okay so that was
the first section so  the second section is to look at
children can actually do under ideal  conditions and
this is not easy to find  so
a couple of these things are results  of
just dealing with hundreds
and  hundreds of teachers over more than 40
  years and in this case this was an
  accident because we were working in the  fourth
and fifth grades in the school  and of course I started
wandering around  the school and I happen to poke my
nose  into first grade and
what I saw was  quite shocking
to me i should mention I  have a
degree in mathematics and another  one in molecular biology
as well as the  computer science degrees
so when I  walked into this math this first grade  classroom
and SAT there for a few  minutes
  I gradually realize
that this teacher  was doing real math with
first graders  not school
math but real math the real  deal and
as I got to know her Julia  nishijima was her name
I found she was  that
she have not taken any math in  college but
she was like one of these  musician friends you
might have who was  just a natural musician she
was a net  she just saw the world in terms of math  and
her outlook was in the world of the
  kindergarten and first grade child so
  over a couple of years I saw some
most amazing things I've ever seen in  any classroom at any age
this one was  done after the kids have been there for
  about three months and the school
is a  busing school in LA and what
that means  is that the children in order
to induce  the parents
to get on the that have
their children but if you think about  bus driving
a car in LA as ridiculous so
  let's put our children on buses twice
  twice a day to
try and deal with some of  the racial imbalance
problems and but
  they did and there was
interesting inducements to get the  parents to do that but
the law was that  for each of the busing
schools had to  have the same demographic
as the city as  a whole so
these busing schools were the  perfect place for doing
educational  experiments because the city
forty-five percent Hispanic until you  have forty-five
percent Hispanic kids in  there and
just down the line in these  schools so
here's the thing she
had and  this is not unlike a lot of the things
  that she did with the kids so this one
  was fine to shape you like a square  diamond
a triangle a trapezoid and
make  a progression
of shapes just using these  shapes
so  next
larger size next larger size next  larger size and trapezoids
are coarser  are a tricky but
so 30 kids in the class  and
they all pick
the ones that they  like they all did did something and
then  she did something
that seems a little  strange to me which was to have
him now  go from these easy to handle wouldn't
  manipulatives to cutting
out the same  shapes out of cardboard so I asked
her  afterwards why she did this and she said  well little
kids are always jumping to  conclusions and this
part now that  they've done the thing I want them to  think about
it so this part slows them  down so the idea here
is make a we're  going to make a little thing to free to  take
home to your parents to show what  what
you're doing and so here's one of  them and
Laura in here
on this sheet she  wrote down what she
noticed that the  first diamond
here took one diamond the  total number of diamonds
was one and  then she had to add three
more diamonds  to get the next
diamond shape and the  total was four and then she had to add
  five to get the next one the total  number of tiles
was nine and she could  see
that she was adding to each time
  it's get the first column and then
up  you can see
she wasn't quite sure what  six times six was
but she knew the  square numbers
up to five times five
  then she worked this all out so this is  her sheet
then the teacher
julia had
kids all bringing their projects up to  the front of the room
there it is
kids
look to each other's projects and  they looked at the little
tables and  they went holy shit
technical term
  because everybody had filled
same table regardless of what the shapes  were the
growth laws were the same so
  this was hugely exciting I was there
I  just happened to be there that day and
I'm looking at this stuff with tears  running down my because
this is one of  the best mathematical
things I've ever  seen done in any classroom at any age  and
some of you
are we'll
have some  mathematical background and
realize what the kids were doing is  actually
deriving to
differential laws  one
is the differential law for smooth  progressions
sometimes called linear  progressions
that's that first column  and
of course if they used instead of  using two
they used one it would have a  different growth
but it would still be  smooth and linear
they could use three  or they could use 3.5 so
basic ideas are  just adding the same
thing in there and  in math that's
called the first order  differential equation if it were
in a  continuous space like we like
to teach  in school but for the kids this is the  screen
and there's a math for that its
a  math we don't teach but it's called a
  first order differential discreet  relationship
and the second one is
all  the square numbers
it's a quadratic one  so this is
called the second order  differential discreet
relationship and  it's built on the first an important
  thing here is that virtually everything
in high school physics and most things  in your first physics
course in college  can be handled with no more
mathematics  than this this is
actually the real  basis of the calculus
wind  using in high school and college his
  calculus has nothing to do with algebra  even
though it's cloaked in algebra for  historical
reasons most Mountain  mathematicians did not realize this
what  calculus is is actually an idea
quite  separate from the symbology that's
used  on so
and of course the kids could  calculate with this
so the
little rule  they had was you start with
one piece  and then you add to the new new pieces  column
add to each time and then you
add  from that column to
the total column to  get the next one and
a few if you act it  out you get something like this
so you  start off with ones and
you do a plus  two to get
the next guy there and then  you take that guy and the preceding
guy  to gets the next guy in okay
so that's  called a second
order differential  machine
and
it just happens to be what
  Babbage member Babbage what
did Babbage  do then the invented computer so first
hing he did was to actually make a  machine for computing
exactly those  numbers and it
was just he did it so you  could compute seven stages
of them  because again in mathematical
terms this  is a way of computing all of the values
  of all of the polynomials of up to a  certain
order and Babbage did it because  when he was
a kid he was 19 or 20 there
  were so many errors in his mathematical
  tables booked in the early 1800s he
  screwed across the room and he said to  his friend
herschel who became a great  astronomer he
said I wish to god these  calculations have been executed
by steam  meaning
gee whiz people make
so many  mistakes we can build a machine to just
  compute all its math we can
machine to compute all this duck  so
that's what this teacher intuited  from
these kids and now let's take a  look at
relationship
to the world that  you're more familiar with and
going to do is go through this thing  again and just watch
where the points
  are and I've drawn a line through
the  curves are so start
off again so there's  the ones
okay there's
a3 and a4
so you  can see the quadratic one is growing  very quickly now
it's next one will be  out of sight there
the difference here  is pretty interesting because
this way  of looking at
it is simply not what you  do in first grade because
the looking at
all the values at once which is the way  classical mathematics
likes to look at  them
in this case requires  multiplication
so even in the simple
guy  you have to multiply the slope
times X
  to get each succeeding y as you go  through
there and you have to square you
have a squared term to get the quadratic  so so this
way takes it completely out  of the child's world and yet the
idea  and the capturing
of what change is  actually is more fundamental
than the  algebraic way of looking at it
because  we've made a machine we
don't have to  solve in equations we can generate the  answers
so
in other words we can  mechanically in calculus terms
we can  mechanically integrate these things
instead of symbolically having to  integrate them and it just changes
  everything round this was see more paper
  it's great insight not this particular  example but
another one this this is an  example I did
  but the basic idea is if you have a  machine that
can help you do the  integration then all
of a sudden you can  chop ten years and change
outlook to  teaching
real math in terms that are  built into human beings
so one of the  reasons and it happened science
thinks  of math this way
because
scientists are  lazy mathematicians that's
because it  takes so much energy to deal with the  real world that
you don't want to spend  a lot of time messing around with
  mathematics so everything in science is
done by just adding things together and  these additions
are quantities that are  called vectors you've heard
of those but  there are fairly simple generalizations
  of what numbers are so this
whole area  is incredibly fruitful for
dealing even  with very young children
and of course  we have computers
so we can do things
  with them based on these ideas
and we're  used to using computers
in school not  for this stuff we're
used to using it to  imitate paper
in fact
it's expensive paper with a  little bit of magic
in their pay a  little extra money and we can run a  movie
in our book and we
can go look at  something in a library that spread
out  over the entire world rather than going  down the
hall to do it but by and large  pretty
much every use of computing in  most schools particularly
in elementary  schools is to do what business
people do  with their computers which is not to use  them for
anything interesting it's  basically automating the past
but if
take a look at what computers actually  are so
we can get our selves a little
  paint palette here
and I'll
make a  little car
and obviously
i'm not using  powerpoint here but
you can think about  this as a teacher as to whether
you  would
when you're trying to help
  children with examples and stuff you
  kind of would like to just be able to
  make things on
the fly because you do  have a dynamic medium
this has been one  of the hardest idea
is to make happen  because people
okay I've got my little  car and
the thing that's understandable  it's sort of a graphical
object and I'll  just call it a car here
and but I can  also look inside it and here's
something  that's a little less usual for
instance  here's cars heading it's
where the car  is pointing and if I click
over here and  start changing the angle you
can see  it's changing the car and conversely if
  you look over where it says heading and  notice
what happens when I change it
so here I have a visual representation  where
the car is pointing and here i  have a symbolic 1 and
similarly I have  little behaviors car
turn by five car 4  by 15 and
those of you tried logo you  recognize these are standard
logo ones  if I want to make a little script
  to take advantage
of these I can just  pull out some tiles and
now I've got my  car going and maybe
I'll get it to go 10  at a pop
okay so
in fact that I can  steer
my car so for instance if i
want  to make the car go straight i can take  it down to
zero that's a big one for  kids go
the other direction turned it in  the negative direction
so very young  children just
get a sense of concrete
  magnitudes and numbers but
driving a car this way is a little bit  like kissing your sister
so what you  really want to do is make a steering
  wheel so we'll paint another
little  drawing
and these drawings were all the  same entities and
when I look inside  this wheel I
see the same thing and
if I  turn this wheel
can see the number going  up and
negative and stuff and if you  remember the number
i put in here  determine
which way the car was going  which direction
to turn and how much so  it's kind of a invitation
to take the  name of those
the turn numbers coming  out of the wheel
and just dropping it  into the script here and
now as I change  the wheel
we can see that
the car is  turning by whatever the wheels heading
  is so here's an interesting thing to  think about
if you've ever had trouble  with teaching children about variables
a  child who learns variables this
way  learns it the first time and forever
  it's not the variables are hard for
children it's just that the way they're  taught is completely
unseated yes
  oh this so this is called squeaky
toys  if you go to squeak LAN
org runs on  every it's
free
yes that was so both of  these the
scratch was not the media lab
  and was also done on top of squeak so
  scratch and e toys or to scratch
was  done kind of four teenage
after school  kids as
a media thing they're both  relatively similar
and you can both do a  lot of the same things here
so the basic  idea
here is that you're trying
to  situate a
motivation if I want to I
to drive this car with a steering wheel  and
the fact that the number is coming
out of the steering wheel are going to  be different and so it makes sense to  have
them name and this script
icking over and over again so this  could hardly be simpler
and one other  little
thing is the car is a little  difficult to control
here and so
to the kids will want it why don't you  just put a gear and a
gear here being  for example dividing
the number coming  out by three
now you have to turn
the way the wheel  much further in order to get the same  influence
on the car so most 5th graders
have no idea why they should ever learn  how to multiply or divide
because in the  world that they're taught in school
math they're taught it's not  about scaling
it's about solving other  kinds of problems but
in the world of  science and
engineering it's not about  scaling
not about
multiplying as we as
we generally do but it's about scaling  things okay
so let
me try another little  idea on you i'm going
to make a little  script here so
i'm going to set cars  speed to 30 and
i'm
going to
set say
  increase the cars
horizontal position by  cars speed each time
so if I just do  this
or if I just let it go
stop
so does  does everybody see that
this is that
  first column that the six-year-olds did
  what I'm
increasing is the position
where they are so the
car is doing a  uniform
speed and these little dots i'm
dropping help us see the uniformity of  it but
what if i say okay instead
of  instead of doing that what
if I okay
look at this one really carefully now  what if I increase this by 30
each time  alright so the speed is going to start  off
0 36 d all
right so now the speed is  growing and
then I'm going to whatever
that has grown to i'm going to then bump  the car ahead
right so you see this is  the two columns
so the car is going to  go exponentially
so if i go do
it cow
and this gives us a visual way of
  thinking about acceleration because the
  distance between those two dots is the  distance
travel per unit time and the  distance travel
per unit time is the  speed
right so many so much distance
per  tick 30 miles per hour
and so what's  happening here is we can see
accelerating and the fifth graders love  to
know that the term for this is  acceleration
okay we have a question yes  I
know
your your commentary is focusing  on math
but my question has
to do with  the kids response to reading
and writing  or reading and typing in this case do
  you find that the kids
are more do they  get the transference from being able
to  use this high place and I try that after
  yeah
that's a good question though
reason I'm hurrying along here is I'm
going to be cut out regardless of how  interesting this talk is
it's going to  end at 10 minutes to
the hour okay let's  move
so I want the only comment here
is  does everybody
see that what you're  doing on the
computer can't be science  but
is only math that you can't do
  science on a computer
why
eah
I can simulate any goddamn thing I
  want on a computer I can live up one  side
and down the other so it's just all  math is is
a story that's consistent but
he problem is the degrees of freedom in  in any reasonable
human language are  larger than those the universe has
and  so this is this is why the Greeks
quite invent science except maybe  Archimedes
and the reason is they  thought God was a mathematician and
thought if they started off with  self-evident
first principles that they  could just
deduce the universe the same  way God did
could be true because that  this is a
lot of physicists think this  might
be true I doubt it so
let's take a  look let's look at the kids in the world  now
so you're a bunch of objects objects  that
you think will fall to the earth at  the same
okay
oh do not pay any  attention to
what anybody else the  grapefruit now
you two levels of shot  put sponge balls
are a couple
sleep  janet
is up on the roof  because
stopwatches by
the way to do it  but
when do you really not go
together  so put a sponge ball
okay I think we  should do the shot
right and the sub  ball because
they're two totally  different ways and if
you drop them at  the same time but they'll drop
at the  same speed drop
okay so
if you do this  so Aristotle
did not ask any children  when
he came up with the wrong theory of  this he
just deduced it using
a using a  wrong a common-sense way of thinking  about
what's actually going on but we  found that one
child in 30 roughly so if  you if
you have a class of 30 kids
you've got an excellent chance that one  child will do what that little girl
did  which is to pull the Galileo and just
  cut to the chase and say hey wait
a  minute that's
the I'm already in the
place
where all I have to do is just  listen and of course the
scaffolding in  the Leaning Tower of Pisa was
what  Galileo listen to it was under repair at
  that time so
but that's
quality could  call that a big idea
however
can also do  something
a little bit more here so we
  take a video these
might look like funny  video frames but video is just
part of  the objects that these this language  deals
with so we can make the frames  convenient to take every fifth frame
you  can stack them sideways or
you can stack  them like this if
you look at this what  do you think the kids say
when they see  that pattern
acceleration four months later
so four  months previously they did the  horizontal
thing with the car four  months later remember the
visual path  what kind of acceleration
so well
let's  measure
so we measure from the bottom of  one
guy and so we can just use these  little
translucent rectangles to do it
pre-measured these so
i don't have to  fiddle while I'm rushed
for time as it  is but then the cool thing
is i can just  stack these up
like
okay what do you think these
things mean  what are these
these are the differences
  between the speed at each time tick
  right each rectangle is the speed at
  each time tick in i'm doing a visual  subtraction
there and what i'm showing  is their progressive if I just subtract
hem off they're all the same what kind  of acceleration is
that acceleration
so  the kids immediately write this
little  script right here
let's listen to Tyrone  here
and to make sure that I was
doing  it just right I got
a magnifier which  would help me
so I figure out if the  size was just
right after I'd done that  I would
go and click on the little basic
  category button and then a little mini
  would pop up and one
of the categories  would be geometry so I click on that and
  here it has many things have
to do with  the size and shape of
the rectangle so
I  would see with the Heidi I kept
going  along the process until I
had them all  lined up with their height i subtracted
the smaller ones height from the big one  to see
if there was a kind of pattern  anywhere there
could help me I'm not as  this worked so
in order to show that it  was working
i decided to leave a doc  copy so that it
would show if the ball  was really the exact right speed Henry
  simulated ball is tracking the movie
  this is how he's showing that his model
  is in accord with the real world at
least two within a pixel so what you got  here so
here's something to think about  lily and mcdermott of
Washington is a physicist who looks at  college kids seventy
percent of all  college kids including science majors
in  this country fail to understand Galilean
  gravity that's what this is ninety
  percent of the children going doing it
  this way actually derive the equations
themselves actually  make the simulations from scratch
  themselves and show within
the limits of  the accuracy hear
that their model is an
  accord with physical reality and in fact  the difference
between Galilean gravity  14
feet above the ground and Newtonian  gravity is only one part
in a million  and so we can think of get
Galileo is  very lucky that
he couldn't measure that  one part
in a million or he would have  been very confused right
this way had to  be done first before the
Newtonian way  hat okay so let me I think I'm
getting  to the point where I have to finish up
  so
let's think about serious stuff now
e
live inside of systems and we are  systems so
it's a nice unification  through all of the
sciences engineering  and art
so if you're going to make up a  middle school science
curriculum for say  the eighth grade I would
not pick a  science like biology but I pick
a  uniform unifying rubric
like systems and  I teach all of different Sciences
the  systems aspect of those and
use  mathematics to deal with those
things  and my romantic ideal
would be the  planet is in trouble and we need to  learn
how to save it
and
what we've got  going in general is
something like this  if you hit
this mystery object with a  hammer it
returns to equilibrium but if
  I raise it up far enough it
doesn't come  back
so
what we got here
the most systems
are  like this the equilibrium
they have is  actually dynamically
stable but not  statically stable so
if you just tap  this thing
it won't do anything but if
tap it enough to get it passed its  center of mass bunk
and
thing to  understand here is that's
that's what  we're doing so what we're doing is  stressing
the earth and
little bits of  stress like
burning the river in  Cleveland can
be fixed up in large  amounts of stress
can topple the system and think
about  systems is when they get toppled they
  don't stop but it's in a new state
now  and it's going to resist
getting it back  it could so
for instance when the  climate has toppled in the past
aken between ten thousand a hundred  thousand
and five hundred thousand years  to restore all
of those numbers are a  lot larger than our lifetime
okay
let me  just try it
so
what we've seen here is a Jerry
  Bruner idea but I've tried to show you
  is that the
most important idea here is  that you have to heed the level of
development of the person you're trying  to teach and
if you know yourself like  it doesn't
make sense for a non  mathematician to try and teach math to
a  six-year-old it just doesn't
because the  six the
six-year-old doesn't think in  the same way as a teenager or an
doesn't if you want to teach real math  you
have to be a mathematician or have a  mathematician
in the loop because the  mathematicians job is to figure out what
  kind of real math is within the  wheelhouse
of the six-year-old
that's  really the job
so discovery learning so
here's the thing we have two poles in  the United States back to
basics and  discovery learning
both of this both  these are absolute
vs it
so it's very  complicated going into a meeting with
educators because they tend to polarize  long those and you
know any scientist  and mathematician guys think Oh No
and  the
the joke here is about discovery  learning is is
whoops is the teacher
saying oh no they're discovering the  wrong things why
are they discovering  the wrong things well consider
our  200,000 years on the planet
we had to go  almost all the
way to the present to  just do agriculture Greece was
only  2,500 years ago that was modern math and
  real science was just 400 years ago
  think about that the
u.s. know a stable
  dynamically stable democratic government
is only a few hundred years old these  ideas are
not easy so what you need is a  guide
so
it's not Hillary climbing  Everest it's Tenzing
and Hillary and
  sure we'd love to have Socrates and  Fineman
as guides but these guys don't
scale this is one of the problems with  school
books are great because you can  get some
of Fineman and Socrates but
I  used books a lot but I needed to have
real teacher that teacher had something  libraries didn't
have which is a table  full of junk you could make things and  learn things with
libraries should have
these but they don't know that they  should and I have
my dad who is a  physiologist to ask questions of
so what  we're thinking about
today is what
kind  of use could we make
out of the computer  since it has booked like properties
but  it also is active enough to
be able to  sense what the user is doing
so here's a simple
thing that's very  popular guitar hero
so the interesting  thing
about guitar hero is that people
don't have to go to school to learn how  to play it like
most video games
now the  bug with this is that
real guitar I used  to be a professional guitar
player jazz  guitar it's just
like a thousand times  harder than guitar hero guitar hero
is  it like simple drumming if
you ever  tried drumming is very like
just having  a snare and a high hat
and that's tricky  enough if
you've ever tried it you have  to get a couple of things going it's  tricky
you can think it's the entire  world because
this trick Ian of itself  and there's all these great sounds
coming out but it's absolutely a snare  and a delusion and
most here's the  prediction most schools
States are going to wind up using  computers in
classrooms to do a form of  guitar hero
for most of the important  subjects
because most teachers in
the  united states are not guitar players
alright so this is a huge
problem and  yet
without
replacing humans it's
  absolutely possible to make some
a  fantastic tutoring system for learning  any level
of guitar playing at any level
without having to have a human in the  loop that's what's interesting
you don't  get everything you get with
a human but  you get about ninety-five
stuff that you need to be able to do  anyway you
can do it and that's what
I  want you to think about is not replacing  teachers
here but to listen
to our  smarter than the average President as
talked to the National Academy last  spring he
gets it the
only way we're  ever going to get enough science
savvy  knowledge into schools is to help
existing teacher with media that  understand
  the science as children can practice it
  this is going to be a revolution
going to happen over the next year and  it is a grand challenge it's
as  difficult as the challenge that we faced
  40 years ago where the challenge was  everybody
should have a personal  computer pervasively network worldwide
  and
we have the funding for it and
we  were able to invent it now several  billion
people have it and it's time to  use the computers
for what they're  really good for what
do you think thank  you very much