Our Pale Blue Dot (CSagan)

It's home.  The only one we (currently) have.

TftD #8

Thought for the Day:

A smooth sea never made a skilled mariner.

-- English Proverb

TftD #7

Thought for the Day:

Q: What does love mean?

A: When someone loves you, the way they say your name is different. You know that your name is safe in their mouth.

-- Billy, age 4

TftD #6

Thought for the Day:

It's because people share the vision.  That the power of computing should be available and accessible to everyone.  That with the right tools, ordinary people can achieve the extraordinary.  That changing the world is indeed possible.

-- Apple Advertisement

Exponential Growth and Paper Folding

Here is a very cool (and surprising.... bordering on the unbelievable) video on the power of exponential growth demonstrated through a simple idea: paper folding.

A great example of how to make difficult to comprehend concepts understandable.  Nice work...

 

TftD #5

Thought for the Day:

There are a million parts in this spacecraft and if any part fails, I can be in deep trouble. Of course I am nervous, especially knowing that each one of these parts were procured from the lowest bidder.

-- American Astronaut preparing to blast off when asked by a reporter if he was nervous

TftD #4

Thought for the Day:

THE BANANA AND THE MONKEYS:

1. Hang a banana from a room's ceiling and put some steps underneath so that it is possible to reach the banana. Make sure there is no other way to reach it.

2. Install a system that makes freezing water fall from the ceiling every time a monkey tries to climb the steps.

3. Put twenty monkeys inside the room and lock it.

4. Note how the monkeys quickly learn that it is not possible to climb the steps while avoiding the freezing water.

5. Stop the mechanism and replace one of the twenty monkeys with a new one. Note how he will immediately try to climb the steps and reach the banana. Without understanding why, he will be severely punished by the others.

6. Replace a second monkey with a new one. He will be punished too. The monkey entering the room immediately before him will be the most severe punisher.

7. Go on with this process until new monkeys have replaced all twenty of the original monkeys.

8. Now, none of the monkeys will climb the steps. If any monkey even thinks about it, he will be severely punished by the others. Worst of all, none of the monkeys will have the faintest clue of why they are doing it. 

This is how the culture of an organization is born.

-- Adaptation from "El Pensador Sistémico"